The World is Being Run by Crazy People

The second coming of Noah

White Roof Time

Geo-Engineering

The Real World Laboratory

From WUWT:

The final question that arises is what prediction has the AGW made that has been demonstrated, and that strongly supports the theory. It appears that there is NO real supporting evidence and much disagreeing evidence for the AGW theory as proposed. That is not to say there is no effect from Human activity. Clearly human pollution (not greenhouse gases) is a problem. There is also almost surely some contribution to the present temperature from the increase in CO2 and CH4, but it seems to be small and not a driver of future climate. Any reasonable scientific analysis must conclude the basic theory wrong!!

The Story of Ilan Halimi

The story of Ilan Halimi is one of torture ... real torture:

Ilan was lured to his death by a woman he had met in his telephone store. They met up late on the night of January 20, 2006, in one of Paris's southern suburbs, Bagneux. She was what is called a "honey pot." She lured Ilan from his home and into the hands of a group of local radical Islamists called the Barbarians. They targeted him because he was a Jew. The Barbarians had connections with Hamas. They kept him naked and tied up for weeks. They tortured him and invited their friends and family over to torture him. They cut him and burned him with cigarettes and in the end stabbed him in the neck, poured flammable liquid on him, set him on fire, and pushed him from a train.Ilan died that day.

... the details.

Dreams from William Ayers

The Genius of Obama is that there is no genius at all ... who needs genius anyway, when one has their very own ex-terrorist ghost writer:

For the literary left, the fact that Ayers helped Obama would be a less troubling revelation than that Obama needed help at all. They have built a foundational myth around his genius, a genius that can be located only in Dreams. The dark side of the Democrat genius mythology, of course, is the Republican dunce mythology of which Sarah Palin and George Bush are the most recent victims.

... the essay.

Stimulate This

Steyn:

I was in Vermont the other day and made the mistake of picking up the local paper. Impressively, it contained a quarter-page ad, a rare sight these days. The rest of the page was made up by in-house promotions for the advertising department’s special offer on yard-sale announcements, etc. But the one real advertisement was from something called SEVCA. SEVCA is a “non-profit agency,” just like the New York Times, General Motors, and the State of California. And it stands for “South-Eastern Vermont Community Action.”

Why, they’re “community organizers,” just like the president! The designated “anti-poverty agency” is taking out quarter-page ads in every local paper is because they’re “seeking applicants for several positions funded in full or part by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA)” — that’s the “stimulus” to you and me. Isn’t it great to see those bazillions of stimulus dollars already out there stimulating the economy? Creating lots of new jobs at SEVCA, in order to fulfill the president’s promise to “create or keep” 2.5 million jobs. At SEVCA, he’s not just keeping all the existing ones, but creating new ones, too. Of the eight new positions advertised, the first is:
... keep reading.

DNC 11; GOP 4

GOP wins:

Democratic members of Congress: Sanford Bishop of Georgia, Jesse Jackson of Illinois, Allan Mollohan of West Virginia, John Murtha of Pennsylvania, Charlie Rangel of New York, Linda Sanchez of California, Loretta Sanchez of California, Pete Visclosky of Indiana.

Democratic Senators: Roland Burris of Illinois, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Bob Menendez of New Jersey.

Republican members of Congress: Jerry Lewis of California, Garry Miller of California, Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, Don Young of Alaska.

Republican Senators: None.

... the details.

Multi-Culti Mess

This sounds like a tragedy waiting to happen:

When the landlady of my Toronto apartment building said an outraged neighbour had filed a complaint about me over an apparently inappropriate hallway interaction with his wife, my mind raced through the countless conversations I've had with fellow tenants, none of which seemed a possible source of offence.

It turns out, it wasn't a salacious transaction that had caused the complaint, but rather a neighbourly and -- to me -- entirely forgettable greeting, little more than a brief "good morning" as I passed my neighbours on the way to work.

Poison Yourself With an Eco-Bag

You know those nifty reusable grocery bags that are all the rage ... think faecal intestinal bacteria ... click.

ht

Memorial Day

"Make up your mind that happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous." ~ Pericles

Audio Essay

Government Motors

... Previous

Drive to the Unemployment Office in a Government Clown-car

As if it weren't bad enough that Obama is setting the United States on an economic course that will likely lead to massive inflation and an anaemic economy, his energy policy just may trigger another deep recession.

IBD considers the cost:

Be careful what you wish for, goes the old proverb. Well, as we all had hoped, energy prices have fallen — but only as part of the global decline in economic activity. This has been used as an excuse to further discourage exploration for and development of domestic oil resources. But if the economy does recover, that policy could provoke another recession.

Daniel Yergin, chairman of HIS-CERA, testified before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress last week that we have already experienced a "demand shock" with very high prices driven by rising global demand led by the economies of China and India.

We've also experienced what he calls a "recession shock" with flat or falling demand and low prices. But there might be another "long aftershock" in our future with high demand returning with a vengeance along with a global economic recovery, leaving those who buried their heads in the oil sands in the economic lurch.

... keep reading.

How Unfettered Attacks on Civilians Can be Successful

Muslim purists know that to confront the military forces of most any country openly in battle is a quick way to defeat. They also know, that to use civilians as targets to sap will and tie down military forces in protecting civilians works much better. War against civilians can go on almost indefinately, especially when safe haven is available:

As the Pakistani military operation in Swat is called into question, the Taliban have stepped up attacks in the central region in the Northwest Frontier Province. Over the past 24 hours the Taliban conducted three deadly attacks against security forces and civilians in Peshawar, Tank, and Dera Ismail Khan.

The largest attack took place today as the Taliban detonated a car bomb outside a cinema in the busy Khyber Bazaar in the provincial capital of Peshawar. Ten civilians were killed and more than 75 were wounded, some critically, according to Geo News.

The bombing was timed to maximize casualties. “The blast took place when a film show had just ended and the people were coming out,” a witness told Dawn.

Just hours after the attack, Taliban fighters tossed two hand grenades at a police checkpoint in Peshawar. No casualties were reported in that attack.

Never Quite Dead

With Muslims numbering in the 1.6 billion range, there is a deep well to draw from for those who want to employ terrorism as a means to fundamentalist ends. Terrorists are like Kleenexes, each time you pull one out, another is there to take its place.

Not that long ago it seemed that Russia had gotten its own Muslim terrorist problem under control, yet now, we learn that things may be heating up again:

Recent attacks in the Caucasus and statements by the leader of the Caucasus Emirate indicate the jihadist movement is reverting back to the use of terror tactics that plagued the second war of Chechnya. This potential return to terror tactics may be an attempt to implicate the governing elites as illegitimate and incapable of effective rule or security over the region, in response to Moscow's claims that the insurgency is officially defeated.

It's the Muslim purist's way:

... don't like an election result, kill civilians.

... don't like a law, kill civilians.

... don't like a politician, kill civilians.

... don't like women's rights, kill civilians.

... more.

Cheney Uncut

The Video

The Text

Hello, My Name is Robin ... And I'm a Recovering Liberal

Many said something to the effect of: Robin, congrats, but what in the world took you so long? So let me explain. I wasn't just your garden variety liberal who voted Democrat and that was about it. I was a true believer. A zealot. Like many leftists who had abandoned Judeo-Christian religion, I worshipped at the altar of liberalism. For instance, I never missed watching the Democratic National Convention. I watched every speech, with tissue box handy. (What kind of a freak was I anyway?) The Democratic Party symbolized hope, love, compassion, promise, everything that was good and holy in the world. I gave money, my time, my heart, my soul. I cried with joy when Democrats won; I was distraught when they lost.

... keep reading.

Hating America

... with your panties on:

If al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the rest of the Looney Tunes brigade want to kick America to death, they had better move in quickly and grab a piece of the action before Barack Obama finishes the job himself. Never in the history of the United States has a president worked so actively against the interests of his own people - not even Jimmy Carter.

Obama's problem is that he does not know who the enemy is. To him, the enemy does not squat in caves in Waziristan, clutching automatic weapons and reciting the more militant verses from the Koran: instead, it sits around at tea parties in Kentucky quoting from the US Constitution. Obama is not at war with terrorists, but with his Republican fellow citizens. He has never abandoned the campaign trail.

Canadian Ice-road Windsurfer

The Best Friend America Can Have

While Obama policies work to crush Ontario and Quebec eonomically ... they'll make Western Canada rich:

The next Saudi Arabia? Why, Canada. Don't believe it? A new study by the respected energy consultancy IHS-CERA (formerly Cambridge Energy Associates) says Canada's oil sands could provide the U.S. with billions of barrels of oil — oil we must have or our economy will shudder to a halt.

In 2000, Canada's sands produced just 600,000 barrels of oil a day; today, it produces 1.3 million. By 2030, it could be producing as much as 6 million.

It's a good thing they're doing it, because we'll need it — despite all the blather you hear about so-called alternative energy picking up the slack. It won't. It can't.

U.S.S.A

Welcome to your future:

You know, when I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know — Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.

Click

Freezing in the Dark

Picture: Eco-loons practice for life in our eco-loon future ... freezing in the dark. I think that deep down inside, environmentalists suffer from "Quest for Fire" fantasies, where they imagine themselves frolicking around nude and doing what nude hippies do. I suppose, that some of us evolved ... while others didn't.

I got an e-mail this morning from a Consultant who says for the USA to generate 20% of its electricity from wind power, would require lines of windmills from Canadian border to Mexican border with 500 ft diameter windmills spaced 500 feet apart, with the lines spaced 30 miles apart from coast to coast ? ~ George E. Smith

... Read WUWT for the latest on Wind Power mayhem to come.

UAW Cold Feet

Picture: Now that North American Car means "Government & UAW Motors", I've got even less incentive to trade my S-60 in for North American ... unless it's an F-150.


There's nothing like a bit of genuine responsibility to take the fight out of unions. It's finally dawning on UAW membership that from now on, the buck will stop with them. The days of more ... more ... more, are over:

The current plans to restructure General Motors and Chrysler LLC will leave the United Auto Workers union in the driver's seat at both companies. But it appears that the union would rather be in the back seat.

The UAW is set to receive a 55% stake in Chrysler through its union trust fund once that automaker emerges from bankruptcy. The trust fund will also likely get up to 38% of GM's stock as part of its reorganization.

But that doesn't mean the union will be calling the shots at either company. In fact, UAW president Ron Gettelfinger said the union hopes to sell its stake in both companies quickly because he is more interested in raising cash to cover retiree health care costs than having an ownership stake in GM (GM, Fortune 500) and Chrysler.

"Let somebody else take the stock. Give us the money," Gettelfinger said at a recent press conference. "We are trading debt for equity, and what is the value of the equity? Let's be honest, it's zero today."

Since the trust fund, and not individual union members or the union itself, will own the stakes in GM and Chrysler, it is expected that the UAW will not use its newfound role as a large shareholder to push for major changes at either company.

How to Turn a Prime Minister into a Lapdog

I find it interesting that while the press piles onto Pelosi, enjoying her sink like an old barge too full of shit to stay afloat, one important fact is being missed.

The CIA, with permission from the Obama administration, is fighting back, doing it's best to crush Pelosi. In fact, the CIA push back is remarkably unfettered.

Now consider, why would The Big O allow such a thing? Why would he sit quietly by and watch a "fellow" Democrat be reduced to a laughing stock?

Power ... Pelosi and Harry Reid represent the only threat to Obama's power at this time, and given the heady way in which House and Senate Democrats have been acting, neither Harry or Nancy are "lapdogs" to The Big O ... at least not until now.

With Pelosi effectively diminished, The Big O has eliminated a potential rival ... or in the least, assured that Pelosi no longer acts like Prime Minister Pelosi, but plays instead the lapdog. From now on, PM Pelosi will be in Obama's back pocket.

Discussion.

The First Lady of Me

Dripping with narcissism and twisting the truth.

Indeed, the First Lady of I ... Me ... Me ... Mine:

First lady Michelle Obama for the second time has talked about how alienated she was from the University of Chicago when she was growing up on the South Side.

Mrs. Obama commented about her relationship with the U. of C. in a commencement address she delivered Saturday at the University of California, Merced -- echoing remarks she made to children in March at a school here...

"I was once one of those kids. Most of you were once one of those kids," and then told the students how she grew up just a few miles from the University of Chicago.

"Yet that university never played a meaningful role in my academic development. The institution made no effort to reach out to me -- a bright and promising student in their midst -- and I had no reason to believe there was a place for me there.

"Therefore, when it came time for me to apply to college, I never ... considered the university in my own backyard as a viable option."

...Ironically, the U. of C. would become a focal point of her life: She was a high-level administrator at the school and medical center; President Obama taught at the law school for many years; their daughters attended the Lab School; their close friends are on U of C boards and were major presidential campaign fund-raisers and many members of the Obama White House have ties to the institution anchoring Hyde Park.

... the details.

Canada Versus the US

... a slide-show:

Now only if Canada could get healthcare sorted out.

The discussion.

Tough - Guy - In - Chief

President Panty-Waist makes a stern face:

U.S. President Barack Obama set a rough timetable for his diplomatic outreach to arch-foe Iran for the first time on Monday, saying he wanted to see serious progress by the end of the year.

He also held out the prospect of tougher sanctions against Tehran "to ensure that Iran understands we are serious."

Obama's comments came after talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which the new Israeli leader was expected to stress Israel's concerns about Iran's nuclear program. Israel believes it is a cover to build atomic weapons.

Only if The Big O would get as thuggish with Iran as he did with Chrysler's secured bond holders and with California law makers who want to institute cuts. But then, O may have a point ... if Israel and Palestine come to peace terms, then Iran will surely give up its nuclear ambitions ... *wink wink; nudge nudge*.

... and the centrifuges spin on and on.

Tortured Logic

Progressives champion the killing of millions of children at the hands of their mothers ... including the torturing to death of partial born infants; but they won't waterboard a terrorist to save an entire city.

The One calls for a search for common ground ... common ground?

I consider this a gray region. Abortion isn't murder — well, not until the last stage of pregnancy, when it is — but rather a sort of murder, murder lite, and I'm glad that I've conducted my life in such a way that I've never been party to one. ~ Steinberg

Previous

America: This is Your Future

One of my favorite historians dishes up a look into the crystal ball:

Fissures in the Obama Totem

Oh, I know that President Obama’s approval ratings are still around 62%. But I also remember that George Bush’s at the end of 2001 got even higher — and stayed at or above 60% through most of 2002, explaining why he increased his congressional majority in the midterm elections.

Nevertheless, I think we are beginning — after less than four months — to see fissures in Obama’s Pentelic statuary. And the cracks will widen, because in about six areas he has taken on human nature itself, age-old logic, and common sense-opponents that even a Harvard Law degree and Chicago organizing are no match for.

1) The Rule of Law. We are on dangerous ground here with the reordering of the bankruptcy statutes with Chrysler and the UAW; with the strong-arming of stimulus money for California predicated on the protection of unions; with the serial disdain for paying taxes on the part of Geithner, Solis, Daschle and others; and with the selective release of CIA memos, to denigrate those out of office as veritable torturers (they should reread the transcript of Eric Holder’s 2002 CNN interview with Paula Zahn in which he grandly denies that the Gitmo detainees have any recourse to the Geneva Convention accords and can be held there for as long as we think the war lasts). What separates the U.S. from Mexico, Cuba, or Haiti is the rule of law, the protection of capital and property, the evenhanded treatment of investment, and the faith in a fair media to uncover abuse. I think that is now all in question, as the Utopian ends justify the tawdry means.

2) Energy. We are finding more natural gas than ever. There are billions of barrels of U.S. oil in Alaska, offshore, and in shale. Yet rigs sit idle and government leases are constricting rather than expanding — and for reasons other than the economy. Logic dictated a simple course: expand exploration, increase production, use the revenue to pay down the deficit, and, along with conservation, ready ourselves for the next round of inflationary energy hikes, petro politics, and Middle East petro-bribery by transitioning to alternate energies. In other words, the rare carbon bounty of the U.S. was vital in providing a window of survival, until technology solves wind, solar, and bio-fuel by making them more competitive and plentiful.

... keep reading.

Surging the Sandbox

The Torch puts us in touch with the flood of US troops entering Canada's zone:

Additional 17,000 troops good news for Canadian soldiers

Members of the 82nd combat aviation Brigade arrive at Kandahar airfield on Friday. their presence quadruples the coalition forces' helicopter capacity in southern afghanistan [sic].

The first wave in a massive surge of American troops to southern Afghanistan has arrived, bringing old-fashioned pageantry, modern-day hardware and big promises to a region struggling to beat back a stub-born insurgency.

... keep reading.

Galloway Gets Destroyed - Updated

Update:

From Ann in SW ON, in the comments:

"On 21 May 2007, Galloway started presenting a television programme known as The Real Deal on Raj TV, a channel aimed at the Asian community in Britain available on Sky channel 171. After 10 Feb 2008, this show is back again and is hosted on the Press TV, a Tehran-based independent channel founded by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

That wouldn't be THIS Iran by any chance ... would it? (Warning, extremely graphic video)

Palin's First 100 Days

... a complete disaster:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first 100 days of the Palin presidency, according to a consensus of media commentators, have proven a near disaster. Perhaps it was Palin’s scant two years’ experience in a major government position that has eroded her gravitas, or maybe it was her flirty reliance on looks and informal chit-chat. In any case, the press has had a field day, and it is hard to see how President Palin can ever recover from the Quayle/potatoe syndrome. Here is a roundup of this week’s pundit mockery.

LET THEM EAT MOOSE
“Ted Stevens may have gotten off,” wrote Bob Herbert in the New York Times, “but he taught our Sarah something first — like using $100-a-pound beef for her state dinners. And what’s this $50 mil for her inauguration gala? Since when do you fly in your favorite pizza-maker from across the country on our dime? Or send the presidential 747 for a spin over the Big Apple for a third-of-a-million-dollar joyride? Does Palin think she’s still in Alaska and has to have everything flown in from the South 48 by jumbo jet?”

WASILLA CHIC
Also in the Times, Gail Collins weighed in on the already-tired yokelism of the new commander in chief. “What we’re getting is Wasilla chic. That’s what we’re getting. She arrives in the Oval Office, and first thing sends back Blair’s gift of the Churchill bust as if it’s a once-worn Penney’s outfit. Then she gives the Brits some unwatchable DVDs as a booby prize — as if she idled the old Yukon and ran into Target’s sale aisle. Did Sarah send Bristol into Wal-Mart back in Anchorage for that ‘engraved’ iPod for the queen? And what’s this don’t-bow-to-the-queen stuff, but curtsy for a Saudi sheik? Maybe that explains why she brags to Stephanopoulos about her ‘Muslim faith.’ So far, the best things going for her are Todd’s biceps.”

... keep reading.

Fire Starter

That Pretty Well Says it All

Listen to Gingrich as you've likely never heard him before ...




... as an aside ... I wonder how The One would fare against Gingrich in a debate?

I'm Not Buying That Baby

Someday Warmists Will Grow Up

... and realize that climate models are not reality, but merely a computer game created from an educated guess:

Science Daily is reporting that just because they teach you something in graduate school doesn’t make it right. A 50 year old model of global thermohaline circulation that predicts a deep Atlantic counter current below the Gulf Stream is now formally called into question by an armada of subsurface RAFOS floats drifting 700 – 1500m deep. Nearly 80% of the RAFOS floats escaped the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC), drifting into the open ocean.

This confirms suspicions that have been around since the 1990’s, and likely plays havoc with global models of climate change. The findings by Drs. Amy Bower of Wood’s Hole and Susan Lozier of Duke University et al. are published in a forthcoming issue of Nature.

The implications would be for more cold, oxygenated water along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, but I’m just making that last part up. Best to read for yourself. As I recall, the DWBC was notoriously slow. You have to wonder whether a big yellow float responds to these currents the same as suspended matter, like plankton and particulates. Either way, the research represents a major paradigm shift in ocean circulation theory.

ht

How to Short-Circuit a Lie Detector

"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first." - Reagan



... any bets on when we get a new "Speaker of the House"? It'll be too bad in a way, I thought Blinky made such a nice Prime Minister.

Buy American

What do you think of The Big O now, Canada?

Is this what the first trade war of the global economic crisis looks like?

Ordered by Congress to "buy American" when spending money from the $787 billion stimulus package, the town of Peru, Ind., stunned its Canadian supplier by rejecting sewage pumps made outside of Toronto. After a Navy official spotted Canadian pipe fittings in a construction project at Camp Pendleton, Calif., they were hauled out of the ground and replaced with American versions. In recent weeks, other Canadian manufacturers doing business with U.S. state and local governments say they have been besieged with requests to sign affidavits pledging that they will only supply materials made in the USA.

... keep reading.

The Don - in - Chief

There's no thug like a Chicago thug:

This is not gross, unambiguous lawlessness of the Nixonian sort -- burglaries, abuse of the IRS and FBI, etc. -- but it is uncomfortably close to an abuse of power that perhaps gave Nixon ideas: When in 1962 the steel industry raised prices, President John F. Kennedy had a tantrum and his administration leaked rumors that the IRS would conduct audits of steel executives, and sent FBI agents on predawn visits to the homes of journalists who covered the steel industry, ostensibly to further a legitimate investigation.

The Obama administration's agenda of maximizing dependency involves political favoritism cloaked in the raiment of "economic planning" and "social justice" that somehow produce results superior to what markets produce when freedom allows merit to manifest itself, and incompetence to fail. The administration's central activity -- the political allocation of wealth and opportunity -- is not merely susceptible to corruption, it is corruption.

Trialer Park Boys in Saskatoon

Image: Nope ... it's not a picture from the set of Trailer Park Boys

Canada's most promising province has a smelly armpit. Saskatchewan is set to lead the country economically for perhaps the next decade or more, but there is a side to the province that is downright ugly; and that side is concentrated in two slums ... one in Regina and one in Saskatoon.

The Saskatoon slum is home to a mix of gang bangers, addicts, and chronic welfare abusers who live alongside seniors and working people in two areas called Riversdale and Pleasant Hill. The Regina and Saskatoon slums have given Saskatchewan the distinction of being Canada's crime and murder capital just about every second year. Fortunately, the "armpit" is concentrated into a relatively small part of both cities.

A sad reality of the slums is that very once in a while city police cross the line ... likely a result of frustration with having to arrest the same people again and again, spend hours preparing court documents, only to have liberal judges turn serial offenders back out onto the streets where it all starts again. It's a vicious cycle of offend, arrest, trial, release ... then re-offend.

Police officers need to be made of stern stuff ... they must put up with being spit at by AIDS carriers, scratched by hepatitis carriers, punched by gang bangers, and threatened by knife wielders high on drugs ... like Finesse. They have to handle individuals loaded up with needles and lice ... who bite and fight simply because ... well ... they feel they have some sort of mythical right to do so.

Add to this that officers must arrest mothers and fathers with neglected children at home ... children who are sure to fill the shoes of their parents in due course. If you ever want to get a hate-on for someone ... try dealing with a human who treats their own children worse than any animal would.

Indeed, police officers need to be made of stern stuff ... the kind of stuff that keeps them from over-reacting and hanging a beating on scum; the scum they deal with day in and day out. They need to be made of stuff that prevents them from doing that which comes naturally ... which is to terrify scum bags into compliance instead of turning them over to the liberal justice system that sure as shooting ... will compound the problem by simply playing "catch and release" ... or worse yet, "restore the culprit" with a wrist slap.

So it is, that on occasion officers cross the line. They forget in these moments that they are not allowed to be human, but must maintain a standard that is superhuman ... that is above the background noise of the slum. There can be, no other way.

For a taste of what passes for fun and games in the Saskatoon slum, and which has it all, check out the case of Rodderique Caisse:

Rodderique Caisse alleges he was beaten by police in an alley behind Avenue G South on Sunday at around 6:30 p.m.

[...]

"This kid started walking towards the police, wilfully walking towards him. They threw him down and proceeded to beat on him," said Nancy Zimmerman, another witness who is Mongovius' sister.

[...]

One witness, who asked to remain anonymous, said Caisse got beat up before police arrived. Male and female police officers came running at Caisse, who was already stunned from blows to the head from the previous beating.

[...]

When the officer arrived, he came across the suspect fending off four neighbours, one of them carrying a pipe. The suspect was challenging the neighbours, who dispersed when police arrived, according to police reports.

... Who done it? Mr. Officer with the billy-club, Mr. neighbour with the steel pipe, or Caisse with an inebriated face plant?

My Kind of Yard Sign

Liberal Means Less

At what point did classical liberalism ... as in Western "Liberal" Democracy, morph into the "movement of less?"

According to a new study released by the Mercatus Center of George Mason University, some of the most liberal U.S. states rank lowest when it comes to personal freedom.

The study, which calls itself the “first-ever comprehensive ranking of the American states on their public policies affecting individual freedoms in the economic, social, and personal spheres,” made a host of findings:

... keep reading.

Captain Jack Sparrow has a Sat-Phone

I suppose, that given the ransoms being paid, it wouldn't take much to pay off some lackey at Diana Shipping or DryShips to pass on need-to-know info to handlers. After all, did you ever wonder how a bunch of Somali teens in skiffs know which ships to target?

The Somali pirates attacking shipping in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean are directed to their targets by a "consultant" team in London, according to a European military intelligence document obtained by a Spanish radio station.

The document, obtained by Cadena SER radio, says the team and the pirates remain in contact by satellite telephone.

It says that pirate groups have "well-placed informers" in London who are in regular contact with control centres in Somalia where decisions on which vessels to attack are made. These London-based "consultants" help the pirates select targets, providing information on the ships' cargoes and courses.

In at least one case the pirates have remained in contact with their London informants from the hijacked ship, according to one targeted shipping company.

The Games Liberals Play

For "progressives", winning is everything: how you get there, irrelevant:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been cleared of two of the many ethics complaints filed against her.

The Alaska Public Offices Commission found Friday night that she did not violate state election laws by announcing her position on a controversial ballot measure requiring tougher environmental standards for new mines.

Soon after the commission’s finding, an attorney at the state’s Personnel Board announced that she also did not violate state ethics laws by using funds from her political action committee to travel to an a National Right to Life rally in Indiana.

More than a dozen ethics complaints covering a wide variety of issues have been filed against Palin, most since Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) chose her last year as his vice presidential running mate.

The governor has racked up more than $500,000 in legal fees to defend herself. And she set up a legal defense fund last month to pay her legal bills, though a complaint was quickly filed alleging she created it for personal profit.

... keep reading.

The West is Populated by Children over the Age of 18

A thermo-nuclear device, hidden aboard a dry bulk carrier in the port of San Francisco, explodes ... incinerating a 100 thousand Americans.

Later it comes out that fear of liberal retribution and legal action caused a chill to settle over the CIA ... that spooks the world over spent more time looking over their shoulders than treading the fine line between law and crime, and life and death, that always bears fruit in the world of espionage?

In other words, the CIA had settled into a September 10th, 2001, world.

From IBD:

When we look back at history, it is amazing what foolish and even childish things people said and did on the eve of a catastrophe about to consume them.

In 1938, with Hitler preparing to unleash a war in which tens of millions of men, women and children would be slaughtered, the play that was the biggest hit on the Paris stage was a play about French and German reconciliation, and a French pacifist that year dedicated his book to Adolf Hitler.

When historians of the future look back on our era, what will they think of our time? Our media too squeamish to call murderous and sadistic terrorists anything worse than "militants" or "insurgents"? Our president going abroad to denigrate the country that elected him, pandering to feckless allies and outright enemies, and literally bowing to a foreign tyrant ruling a country from which most of the 9/11 terrorists came?

Canadian - in - Chief

In Canada, we have a political party called the NDP, that's New Democratic Party ... it's a "progressive" stew of unionists, academics, and environmentalists who use any excuse possible to bring into question the behavior of Canadian Forces in Afghanistan and to discredit the mission.

Now, I'm wondering if the Canadian NDP didn't parachute one of it's own into the USA ... and have him elected POTUS:



Previous ... Taliban White Phosphorus.

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The Afghan Winds are a Changing

With yesterday's change to US command in Afghanistan, we can expect a change of fortunes in the Afghan conflict. What those changes will mean for Canadians serving there, only time with tell ... but if I were a betting man, I'd say that in two years the Afghan conflict will be all but wrapped up. The Taliban will be a pain in the ass, but little else.

Americans tend to "go big or go home". They play to win ... and if they don't, their public quickly calls for their return. Obama, who depends on the far left for support, knows that if the Afghan problem hasn't been put to bed in two years, it will begin to define his presidency ... the right will assail him ... the center will assail him ... and left will march in the streets.

America, given the sheer size of her military and willingness to mix it up, can do what Canada and her allies couldn't; which is to crush the Taliban. Give the Yanks 2 years of hard combat and another 3 of consolidation, and they'll do what the Russians, NATO, and Canada couldn't.

Defence of the Realm has some thoughts:

The Guardian, or more specifically, Robert Fox sees it as "echoes of Vietnam". The summary sacking of General David McKiernan as the American commander in Afghanistan after only 11 months, he writes, "is a sure sign that things are not going well there."

Fox links to Simon Tisdall, who points out that there are questions surrounding the decision. Some would say, he avers, that it is a sign of panic in Washington about the impasse now developing in America's longest war since Vietnam.

Robert Gates, undoubtedly advised by Gen Petraeus, makes it clear that it is time for "fresh thinking" and "fresh eyes" on Afghanistan, also announcing his proposed replacement – nominated as Lt-Gen Stanley McChrystal, with Lt-Gen David Rodriguez as his deputy. Writes Fox:

... keep reading.

More reading @ The Torch with lots of questions.

Freedom to Speak and Leftist Hissy Fits

Although I agree that the attacks on Prejean were way over the top and amounted to little more than hate-filled rants, especially those on some MSM outlets, I think that in this case, freedom of speech prevailed.

Sure, Prejean may have lost her chance to win the crown by simply stating her opinion, but millions of Americans have lost opportunities in the past simply because they held certian stated beliefs. In Prejean's case, the issue has become part of the open marketplace of ideas and I'm pretty certian that her battle with the far left has crystalized, not weakend, those who hold the majority view, not the far left view of the world.

So, let the haters hate; but as long as they don't resort to violence or illegal means, so be it. Fight them in the open market place of ideas.

What Liberals Impose on Society

It sometimes amazes me what liberals have imposed on society via their world view, which is that just about anybody and anything, other than successful white males, are victims of one sort or another.

So it is, that society is once again forced to deal with another ejaculation of bleeding heart liberalism where an animal is released into society ... an animal that'd best be kept in a zoo:

Norbert Leslie Dumais has a lengthy history of sexually assaulting young teenaged girls and the RCMP say the soon-to-be released man is a high risk to re-offend and is headed to Saskatchewan.

[...]

In 2000, Dumais was sentenced to ten years after being convicted of paying two 16-year-old girls to hold down an 11-year-old girl while he sexually assaulted her.

[...]

At the time of this crime, Dumais was still on parole after his statutory release from the penitentiary in Prince Albert after having reached the two-thirds point of a sentence for a prior sexual assault.

[...]

In addition to sexually assaulting teenage girls, Dumais has a history of violence against "people he perceives that he has a grievance" as well as those he comes into contact with during the commission of other crimes, such as robberies. He has used weapons (mostly knives) during these types of offenses.

When Dumais rapes again or kills or maims someone ... we'll have only ourselves to blame. After all, it is we the people who have allowed liberal bleeding-heart notions of justice to utterly and completely take over Canada's justice system where the "restoration" of the culprit takes precedent over the safety of society in general.

Liberals often whine that you can't judge someone unless you've walked a mile in their moccasins ... and surprisingly I agree. In this case, I suggest that all those involved in rotating this man through the system again and again and again, be held down by two 16 year olds and raped ... and then stabbed just for effect.

That's what I call walking a mile in someone's moccasins.

Where's the Heat?

At what point, does a reasonable person toss in the towel and return to the drawing board?

ACCORDING to the anthropogenic global warming (AGW) hypothesis while surface temperatures may vary from year to year, as long as we spew out carbon dioxide there will be a gradual accumulation of heat in the climate system eventually resulting in a climate crisis.

In 2005, NASA boss James Hansen stated in an article in the journal ‘Science’ that confirmation of the planetary energy imbalance can be obtained by measuring the heat content of the oceans which are the principal reservoir for excess energy.

A problem for the AGW hypothesis now, is that the oceans have been cooling. Indeed there is no known mechanism to account for what some describe as vast amounts of missing heat, suggesting that contrary to the AGW hypothesis, heat is not accumulating in the climate system and there is no longer any radiative imbalance from all the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Unintended Consequences

My oh my ... talk about a cock up:

“I believe that they have done a fantastic job educating the public about the Arctic. Their mission has been followed breathlessly by BBC and Guardian reporters, who previously believed that the Arctic had melted and become a place for sunbathing.

“Following the daily reports of ice, cold, frostbite, hypothermia, pain and general misery being endured by the team – even the most daft newspaper reporter must be aware now that the Arctic is a very cold and icy place.”

LoopHoles

How the Worm Turns

The other day we reported on CTV's almost triumphant suggestion that US forces may have used white phosphorus weapons on civilian targets in Afghanistan.

Now we find though, that things may simply be as they've always been ... terrorists using every trick in the book, including the murder and maiming of civilians to impact Western public opinion.

And of course ... they've got plenty of help when it comes to Western journalists:

KABUL (AP) — The U.S. military says it has documented 44 cases where militants in Afghanistan have used white phosphorus in attacks or where the weapons have been found in caches.

Maj. Jenny Willis says insurgents are using white phosphorus in mortar attacks and in homemade bombs.

U.S. documents show that the most recent attack where militants used white phosphorus was last Thursday, when a NATO outpost in Logar province was hit with two rounds of white phosphorus fire. Most troops in Logar are American.

White phosphorus is a spontaneously flammable material that leaves severe chemical burns on flesh. Using it to illuminate a target or create smoke is allowed under international law, but rights groups say its use over populated areas constitutes a war crime.

... keep reading.

What's Fair Game

... and what's not.

In the new order, some targets are allowed to stay up, while others are taken down:

"This passage was a metaphor meant to describe how American troops felt about our 43rd president," Feherty said in a statement. "In retrospect, it was inappropriate and unacceptable, and has clearly insulted Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid, and for that, I apologize. As for our troops, they know I will continue to do as much as I can for them both at home and abroad."

Feherty has lived in Dallas the past dozen years. Along with working for CBS Sports, he writes a monthly column for Golf magazine and has written four books, the last one titled, "An Idiot for All Season."

CBS Sports distanced itself from Feherty's writing, saying it was "an unacceptable attempt at humor and is not in any way condoned, endorsed or approved" by the network. The PGA Tour also criticized him for an attempt at humor that "went over the line."

Yuk-Yuk-In-Chief

Oh what passes for yuk-yuk among friends:

What was his crime? Hoping that Obama's policies - which he views as socialist - will fail.

That's way, way beyond reasoned debate or comedy and Obama's reaction to it was astonishing.

Imagine if a comedian "joked" that Obama was a terrorist who was guilty of treason and should be tortured and allowed to die. There would justifiably be an outcry.

But when the "joke" comes from a liberal, Obama-supporting comedienne and the target is a right-winger then the likes of Hilary Rosen and Donna Brazile are on CNN saying it's just comedy and Limbaugh is "fair game".

And Obama laughing when someone wishes Limbaugh dead? Hard to take from the man who promised a new era of civility and elevated debate in Washington.

CTV Dirty Trick

It's amazing how skullduggerous journalists can be when they want to leave a false impression, without actually telling a lie.

Take for instance, the following paragraph, tossed into a CTV piece on Afghanistan.

The U.S. military used white phosphorus in the battle of Fallujah in Iraq in November 2004. Israel's military used it in January against Hamas targets in Gaza.

On first reading, one is inclined to understand that the US and IDF targeted humans with white phosphorus explosive devices in Fallujah and Gaza. If you are left with that impression, then who can blame you.

What we aren’t told though, is that the two battles were completely different tactically. In Fallujah, there were hardly any civilians present, while Gaza was heavily populated by civilians. Second, many illumination munitions and smoke screen munitions use white phosphorus. If US forces or IDF forces used any flares or screening munitions during the battles, they very likely used white phosphorus.

The use of these to screen or illuminate, however, is a far cry from using white phosphorus explosive devices aimed directly at targets, especially humans out in the open.

But CTV, typical of most news outlets today, uses omission to cloud the facts, preferring to simply leave a poisonous impression. It gives no context, and no hint as to the controversy still swirling around as to what kind of white phospherus devices were used in Iraq and in Gaza.

CTV demonstrates through its use of this one little paragraph that it can't be trusted to deliver pure unadulterated truth. In fact, I'd argue that there is hardly a living, breathing, journalist alive today who can be trusted. Context and truth have been scrubbed from almost all news reporting, and replaced instead by partial truths, withheld facts, and stunning lack of context. Reporters today far too often use their job as a soapbox. In the end, there is no news outlet in existence that the reader can trust ... not one single damn one. Only by double and triple checking the facts ... and waiting for time to elapse for new facts to emerge, can we be even half sure that we have a good picture of events.

CTV, Canada's premier television news network, is no better than the rest.

Why Western Civilization is in Good Hands

Two Things are Infinite

... the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” ~ Albert Einstein.

After reading the linked to post, @ WUWT, you may be inclined to purchase a snowblower ... CLICK.

From the comments:

If what we are witnessing is the onset of a Maunder type minimum then surely, once it has been confirmed, this will kill warmist driven alternative energy policies stone dead?

Will increased CO2 emissions then be feted as the saviour of Greeniekind? Will the prospect of freezing their buttocks off and going hungry lead them to a rethink on the whole AGW agenda?

Probably not.

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” Albert Einstein.

How to Crack an Acorn

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The Futile Quest for Climate Control

“Global warming is a topic that sprawls in a thousand directions. There is no such thing as an ‘expert’ on global warming, because no one can master all the relevant subjects. On the subject of climate change everyone is an amateur on many if not most of the relevant topics.”

~ Taken by Storm

The idea that human beings have changed and are changing the basic climate system of the Earth through their industrial activities and burning of fossil fuels—the essence of the Greens’ theory of global warming—has about as much basis in science as Marxism and Freudianism. Global warming, like Marxism, is a political theory of actions, demanding compliance with its rules.

Marxism, Freudianism, global warming. These are proof—of which history offers so many examples—that people can be suckers on a grand scale. To their fanatical followers they are a substitute for religion. Global warming, in particular, is a creed, a faith, a dogma that has little to do with science. If people are in need of religion, why don’t they just turn to the genuine article?

~ Paul Johnson

The Essay.

Savage

... for the record, I'm opposed to the Harper Government banning George Galloway from Canada. I'm a believer in the open marketplace of ideas.

PS: Since I'm not too familiar with Savage, I'm wondering what he may have said or written to get himself banned from the UK?

Stem Cell Moment of Truth

Don't take the following as a criticism of Michael J. Fox ... take it as the death moment for another liberal/progressive issue. This moment, judging by Oprah's reaction, comes as a shock to her and Michael and the audience.

... hopefully Oprah will get over her shock though, and step out and promote knowledge of the new science.

What are the odds on that happening do you think?



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Stunningly Flawed Science

How can we trust warmists, when so much of the methodology is flawed ... in this case, it is the task of measuring temperature:

During the past few years I recruited a team of more than 650 volunteers to visually inspect and photographically document more than 860 of these temperature stations. We were shocked by what we found.

We found stations located next to the exhaust fans of air conditioning units, surrounded by asphalt parking lots and roads, on blistering-hot rooftops, and near sidewalks and buildings that absorb and radiate heat. We found 68 stations located at wastewater treatment plants, where the process of waste digestion causes temperatures to be higher than in surrounding areas.

In fact, we found that 89 percent of the stations – nearly 9 of every 10 – fail to meet the National Weather Service’s own siting requirements that stations must be 30 meters (about 100 feet) or more away from an artificial heating or radiating/reflecting heat source.

In other words, 9 of every 10 stations are likely reporting higher or rising temperatures because they are badly sited.

It gets worse. We observed that changes in the technology of temperature stations over time also has caused them to report a false warming trend. We found major gaps in the data record that were filled in with data from nearby sites, a practice that propagates and compounds errors. We found that adjustments to the data by both NOAA and another government agency, NASA, cause recent temperatures to look even higher.

Be Sure to Take Your Meds

Steyn: Intrusion of Reality

Steyn with the usual dead-on piece:

And it is. But underneath the thoughtful look is a transformative domestic agenda that represents a huge annexation of American life by an ever-more intrusive federal government. One cannot but admire the singleminded ruthlessness with which Obama is getting on with it, even as he hones his contemplative, unhurried, moderate routine on primetime press conferences. On foreign affairs, the shtick is less effective, but mainly because he’s not so engaged by the issues: He’s got big plans for health care, and federalized education, and an eco-friendly government-run automobile industry — and Iran’s nuclear program just gets in the way. He’d rather not think about it, and his multicontinental apology tours are his way of kicking the can down the road until that blessed day when America is just another sclerotic Euro-style social democracy and even your more excitable jihadi won’t be able to jump up and down chanting, “Death to the Great Satan!” with a straight face.

How to Undress a Moonbat

This is What it Looks Like ...

... when the tide turns:

Da Proofs of Global Warming

There is a difference between "model forecasts" and reality. Warmists, that'd be every single bloody last one of them, points to model forecasts, (that's artificial digital scientific computer games) as "proof" of global warming. The point that's more often than not skipped over, is that at some point, the real natural world must match the "computer game" in order for the "computer game" to be proven accurate.

So what happens when we pit the computer game against reality? After all, as one famous Canadian politician once said, "Well, ya know, we needs da proof and da proof is da proof and when you have da good proof, it’s proven."

IT'S snowing in April. Ice is spreading in Antarctica. The Great Barrier Reef is as healthy as ever.

And that's just the news of the past week. Truly, it never rains but it pours - and all over our global warming alarmists.

Time's up for this absurd scaremongering. The fears are being contradicted by the facts, and more so by the week.

Doubt it? Then here's a test.

Name just three clear signs the planet is warming as the alarmists claim it should. Just three. Chances are your "proofs" are in fact on my list of 10 Top Myths about global warming.

And if your "proofs" indeed turn out to be false, don't get angry with me.

Just ask yourself: Why do you still believe that man is heating the planet to hell? What evidence do you have?

So let's see if facts matter more to you than faith, and observations more than predictions.

... keep reading to se the "proof".

Wind Bag Utters Falsehood ... Again

... oops Mr. Gore ... I think it may be time for a RETRACTION!

Mob - Boss - in - Chief

... what's to be surprised about? You elect the Chicago machine ... you get the Chicago machine.

... the discussion.

Progressive Tolerance on Display

... the discussion.

Is the Cross-Over About to Occur?

If Obama were a stock, I'd short it ...