One Victory Won ... Hundreds to Go

My acquittal is therefore a major victory for free speech.

I have no doubt that the massive support I have received from freedom fighters around the world has been instrumental in securing my acquittal.

This outcome will encourage people all over the West and beyond to speak up.

The battle for freedom is far from lost.

Lars

The Tory Legacy ... Pablum

So if the past five years seem a peculiarly ugly, depressing episode in our nation’s political history, it is not because Stephen Harper is unusually unencumbered by principle. Rather, it is the absence of compensating achievement that distinguishes his tenure—if by achievement you mean something more than simply holding onto power. Scoundrels our past prime ministers may have been, but scoundrels with a purpose. Harper’s record, by contrast, is rare in its combination of longevity and vapidity. Seldom has a government lasted so long that did so little.

Coyne

... may I disagree ... the Harper Tories have done a lot ... they've just possibly destroyed the conservative movement in Canada.

A party that no longer believes who it is, can't survive. Here are my comments from SDA:

I'm confused, what "conservative" party are you people talking about?

There's the NDP socialists, the "Progressive" Liberal Party of Canada, the "Protection Racket" BLOC ... and the "New" Liberal Party of Canada ... I think they call themselves Tories or something like that.

How can you expect better ads from a party that no longer knows what it is, what it stands for ... they should really call themselves the BPP (Bi-Polar Party).

The BPP relies on an army of loyal sychophants whose excuses for the pablum that passes as policy are either a) they're better than the alternative, or b) just wait till we get a majority, then we can do what we want, or C) it's the MSM's fault.

Here's a news flash: Any modern political party run by a so-called brilliant Chess Player that dishes up ads like the one Kate illustrates is NOT led by a chess player ... it's led by hacks who can't see past the Ottawa battlelines and who would sell each and every conservative in the country down the drain for power.

Although,I'll admit, it must be a blast leading a party so full of ass kissing die-hard loyalists that no matter how much you insult them, they'll march in step as long as you toss them a bone now and then. (oh oh, the troops are restless ... quick, lend some meaningless support to Israel)

That ad, IS, the Harper Tories.

Egypt: Finally Obama Responds With Powerful Move

Politics Corrupts ... Always

Fire them all:

But after 18 years under the dome -- and just four as premier -- Stelmach is going to leave with a transition allowance of nearly $1 million. That's not a little something to tide him over until he can get back to farming; that's setting him up for life. And it's unconscionable.

If there ever was a case for a Canadian Tea Party ...

Sputnik Encounters Black Hole

Racism is Now Refusing to be Racist.

Most North Americans work upon the old understanding of the word racism. They seek to judge others by their personal conduct and character, not their race. Much of the Left - increasingly so as you move toward the extremes - defines racism as any conduct by a dominant racial group, which does not benefit a minority racial group. That your ancestors were victors in some long ago war, obliges you to apologize and bow to descendants of the vanquished.

... more @ The Gods.

Progressive Standby: Re-Education

With progressives it's always the same ... when you're losing the debate, re-educate your opposition:

President Obama’s top science adviser said there’s a need to “educate” GOP climate change skeptics on Capitol Hill as the White House seeks to advance its green energy agenda.

“It is an education problem. I think we have to educate them,” said John Holdren, who heads the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, in an interview broadcast Sunday.

Cheating to Make a Warmer Planet

The most telling moment, however, came in an interview between Nurse and a computer-modelling scientist from Nasa, presented as a general climate expert although he is only a specialist in ice studies. Asked to quantify the relative contributions of CO2 to the atmosphere by human and natural causes, his seemingly devastating reply was that 7 gigatons (billion tons) are emitted each year by human activity while only 1 gigaton comes from natural sources such as the oceans. This was so much the message they wanted that Nurse invited him to confirm that human emissions are seven times greater than those from all natural sources.

This was mind-boggling. It is generally agreed that the 7 billion tonnes of CO2 due to human activity represent just over 3 per cent of the total emitted. That given off by natural sources, such as the oceans, is vastly greater than this, more than 96 per cent of the total. One may argue about the “carbon cycle” and how much CO2 the oceans and plants reabsorb. But, as baldly stated, the point was simply a grotesque misrepresentation, serving, like many of the programme’s other assertions, only to give viewers a wholly misleading impression.

... read the whole thing.

The discussion.

Highway to Hell

Battling Muhammadanism ... In All the Wrong Places

Joakim Johansson (24), was leafing through a book about Islam on a plane to London, at which the pilot threw him off.

... WTF?

Fight back with speech ... not with infantile stunts on airplanes.

Speak ... often and everywhere:

The recently appointed leader of France’s far-right National Front party has once again turned her fire Islam, saying it is “absolutely not compatible” with a secular society. Le Pen, who took over as head of the party two weeks ago, has regularly faced accusations of Islamaphobia.

Saving Ontario

The Harper Tories are going in the right direction on corporate taxation ... especially for Ontario.

Unfortunately, all the economic good can be undone by a tax hungry, money wasting Ontario government:

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the fundamental direction of the economy is not up for discussion with the opposition parties, even as a debate over corporate tax cuts threatens to trigger an election.

Flaherty said the Conservative government is willing to talk with the opposition about the federal budget ahead of its March release, but is set on moving forward with tax cuts for businesses.

Chris Wallace: About That Drinking Problem You Have ...

Wallace: Mr. Kerry, why don't you stop getting drunk and hanging out with college girls.

John Kerry: Oh, why do we bring this up again?

~

Wallace: Mr. President, why don't you stop philandering?

Clinton: Oh, why do we bring this up again?

~

Wallace: Mr. Vice President, why don't you stop getting drunk in public?

Biden: Oh, why do we bring this up again?

~

Wallace: Mr. Senator, why do continue to drink excessively and why are you obese?

Kennedy: Oh, why do we bring this up again?

General Electric in Chief

Now Obama is shilling for GE ... you know, the company chaired by Jeff Immelt, Obama's new economic  advisor.  We reported the other day that Obama was pushing Orion Energy Systems ... which was a money loser.  Guess who is the principle shareholder of Orion?

Here's a clue: it's the same company that was selling military hardware to Iran until FOX got onto it.

Obsession

... pitbulls with lipstick:

Now that Keith Olbermann has left MSNBC, perhaps cable news can begin weaning itself from its addiction to Sarah Palin. Sure, it will be tough, even expensive — withdrawals usually are — but we all know that reporters themselves are aching for some Palin-free airtime, and audiences seem willing to give it a try as well, judging from her sudden drop in popularity polls.

... Hot Air discussion.

The Real Bachmann SOTU Response

Did CNN sabatoge the Bachmann speech?  CNN dished up a close-cropped off-angle presentation ... when in reality, here is what was supposed to be:

Going Green ...

... means going broke:

Despite millions in government grants and subsidies, the Manitowoc company President Barack Obama called a glimpse of the future lost $4.2 million last year and cannot promise shareholders it will be profitable in the foreseeable future.

Even Orion Energy Systems admits there are a lot of risks and uncertainties in the green energy industry.

“Many technologies do not become commercially profitable products, applications or services despite extensive development and commercialization efforts,”the company stated in its most recent 10-K SEC filing on June 14, 2010.

The last five years have been a rollercoaster for Orion. It lost a total of $3.9 million in 2005 and 2006, made $4.3 million in the next three years, and then finally lost $4.2 million in the 2010 fiscal year.

The Pragmatic Czechs

An interview with the "green" boss:

Even if emissions were reduced by X percent, a measurable impact could only be seen around the year 2050, Pretel adds. Moreover, no one knows whether anything in the world would improve. The focus must be on adaptation. In other words, Dr Pretel doesn't care whether the temperature increases by 2 °F or 11 °F. Instead, we should be interested what kind of trouble it could cause to us here, he says. It's impossible to fight climate change globally; one must adapt locally.

Condi, Egypt, 2005

Popping Balloonheads

Dehumanize

... a progressive skill:

Rather, what happened is the result of Tracy Morgan correctly reading signals from the liberal commissars of pop culture who have decided that Sarah Palin is the demonized Other, about whom it is permissible to say anything at all, except praise.

Condell Gold: The Criminal Truth

Famous Physicist Embarrasses Himself

Dr. Michio Kaku, to be precise:

Just a suggestion, if this is what the media establishment is putting out there to win over the public hearts and minds on draconian carbon taxation, then at least come up with some hardened facts. I am happy to hear the mention of El Nino, but the transition to a very strong La Nina is likely more important on top of the other alphabet soup of atmosphere/ocean oscillations on a bunch of timescales. It’s like the media, liberal politicians, and now television series scientists awoke out of a coma and are marveling about the drastic changes in the weather/climate all around them. It’s snowed before, it’s flooded before, and it will again. There is plenty of literature on storm track dynamics, extratropical cyclones, and countless broadcast meteorologists that could help a theoretical physicist out. Heck, turn on the Weather Channel and watch the jet stream blue-worm graphic.

There's No Place Like Home

If Middle Eastern revolution brings about a more liberal democratic Middle East, we may see more of this:

Two thirds of emigrants from the Netherlands are of immigrant origin. They're tired of the intolerance and see better career opportunities in their land of origin. Highly educated Moroccan or Turkish youth leave the Netherlands due to the harsh political climate. Though it's not a mass emigration, these groups of immigrants say 'increasing intolerance' is a reason for leaving.

... a welcome trend reversal, indeed.

Razor's Edge

Tunisia, Egypt, Syria ... who is next?  Revolution can go either way; ushering in a new era of ultra orthodox Islam ... or the beginnings of a more liberal democratic Middle East:

Cairo, Alexandria and Suez have been placed under curfew as the Egyptian government battles to restore control after the biggest protests so far.

Across the country tens of thousands of protesters turned out after Friday prayers and clashed with police.

President Hosni Mubarak, facing the biggest challenge to his authority of his 31 years in power, has ordered the army onto the streets of Cairo.

Mr Mubarak is expected to make a statement shortly.

The curfew is now in effect, but live television pictures from Cairo continue to show large crowds on the streets.

Flames have been seen from the area around the headquarters of the governing National Democratic Party (NDP) in Cairo.

Progressive Airport Security

Hand over that rifle sir:

Airport officials ordered a holidaymaker carrying a toy soldier onto a plane to remove its three-inch gun – because it was a safety threat.

Ken Lloyd was stunned when he was told he could not go on the plane with the nine-inch model soldier because it was carrying a ‘firearm’.

The Canadian tourist and his wife had bought the toy, which holds a replica SA80 rifle, during a visit to the Royal Signals Museum at Blandford Camp in Dorset.

But when he tried to take the £135 keepsake through Gatwick Airport in his hand luggage it triggered a security alert at the scanners.

Behold, The Peace of Islam

Click

Christie Argues Reality

French Style Car Barbeques in Canada By 2030

Stephen Harper Tories ... sleep walking Canada into a violent future:



Why the Peaceful Majority may be Dangerous

... the moderates will always lose.

Global Warming Quips

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Sputnik

"If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we hire another 10,000 public school teachers?"

Also, solar panels. Obama said the government was already "investing" in solar panels! That's a total relief. This must be how the president who brought us "Recovery Summer" is going to dig us out of the second Great Depression.

... and Ann pays more.

Tory Land: Remaking the Liberal Party of Canada

The roundtable – Conservative appointees from industry, former Tory politicians and a union member – was created to advise government on sustainable development practices that would boost the economy while preserving the environment.

The panel is calling for a national cap-and-trade system that would essentially set a price on carbon…

More from the Moose.

And, in case you doubt Harper's willingness to go cap-and-trade on our ass ... he's already got the entire infrastructure in place ... all it'll take is a flick of the switch.

Together We Fall

The New Civility

Palin's New Media Response.

Watch Progressives Cheer Their Own Folly

Details

Global Warming Means More Skiing

... less sun bathing.

So say the experts:

There are probably no two words in the entire English language that have become more debased than: "experts warn".

A Canadian Forces Obsession

One really does wonder about the idea that the CF should almost always be engaged abroad. And especially about the rationale that suggests the CF are just fine for sorting out Africans.

More from Mark.

Delingpole Crushes a Critic

Perfect:

If Goldacre really wants to stick his neck out, why doesn’t he try arguing against a rich, powerful, bullying Climate-Change establishment which includes all three British main political parties, the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society, the Prince of Wales, the Prime Minister, the President of the USA, the EU, the UN, most schools and universities, the BBC, most of the print media, the Australian Government, the New Zealand Government, CNBC, ABC, the New York Times, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, most of the rest of the City, the wind farm industry, all the Big Oil companies, any number of rich charitable foundations, the Church of England and so on?

I do, almost every day. Not because it makes me money or gets me lots of high-fives from right-on Guardian fans. But because I believe in the truth.

The Okhotsk Sea Drama

Over the past several weeks a fascinating drama has been unfolding in the Okhotsk Sea where a number of Russian ships have been trapped in ice.  For details, go to EUR where Richard has been following the drama ... click.

General David H. Patraeus' Letter to ISAF Forces

A letter you'd never write to a barbarian horde ... nor an imperial power:

The Country's In The Very Best of Hands

Timely ...

Birth ... There Wasn't One Named Obama

... I wonder, did they look for a certificate under all of Barry's potential names ... like Soetoro? My guess ... the idiot didn't legally change his name to Obama ... hence, the cover-up. There's no birth certificate for Obama ... but likely for Soetoro.

Talk about a chance for Republicans to go for the jugular ... perhaps some states should pass birth eligability laws ... no wait.

I wonder, would they have elected a President Barry Soetoro?

The Ice-Free Commercial Arctic

US Navy:

“We believe that sometime between 2035 and 2040, there is a pretty good chance that the Arctic Ocean will be essentially ice-free for about a month,” said US Rear Admiral Dave Titley, at an Arctic conference in Tromsø, Norway.

One is reminded of predictions that today's children won't know snow in the UK.

More on ice @ EUR.

Old Mother Hubbard

1.Ottawa’s cupboard is bare, so close it, already.

2.Such public “investments” return most of their profits to private pockets – so why shouldn’t the private sector also bear the risk?

3.This is naked vote-buying – and voters should have none of it. Add to that the fact that there is no likelihood of a “secondary” benefit, i.e., the Olympics, as this report makes clear, and there is absolutely no reason why taxpayers should be bankrolling a new arena in Quebec City or anywhere else.

More from Tasha.

The Tories Bend Over for Quebec Votes

Hacks:

The next major international trade deal is likely to be the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a nine-country trade negotiation that includes the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Canada wants in, even if it is playing coy publicly, but has been denied entry because it is not prepared to consider fundamental reforms to supply management.

This should be a pivotal moment in Canada’s irrational defence of supply management. There are signs that countries like Japan and Korea are prepared to undergo structural reforms to their agricultural sectors, in exchange for a seat at the TPP table. If all the members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation organization sign on, it would mean a free trade deal encompassing half the world’s economy. Yet Canada, an APEC member, remains hostage to 7,500 dairy farmers in Quebec and 5,000 in Ontario, accounting for less than 1% of the Canadian economy.

Previous ... Going Gollum.

ht and thoughts.

Gas

Burying "green jobs" under a mountain of Gas:

All the energy, half the CO2 of coal at a price a fraction that of unreliable wind or solar power: shale gas is putting the boots to the already uneconomic energy alternatives the greenies seem so intent upon. A 250 year US supply will pretty much ensure that the alternative energy sector collapses as fast as temperature will over the next couple of decades.

The sequence will go something like this ... Natural Gas will gradually take over from coal as the main energy source for electricity generation ... followed shortly after by nuke power. Eventually, oil will be the resource of choice for materials and industrial transportation because nothing in the foreseeable future will equal the diesel motor for efficiency.

As an aside, 250 years of Natural Gas supply is nothing when compared to potential of  Clathrate.

Progressia Explained

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Climate Context

The warming of the past half dozen decades is nothing ... absolutely nothing when compared to the massive shifts that have occured during the past 25,000 years:

But what about the magnitude and rates of climates change? How do past temperature oscillations compare with recent global warming (1977-1998) or with warming periods over the past millennia. The answer to the question of magnitude and rates of climate change can be found in the δ18O and borehole temperature data.

Are the Tories Going Gollum

SDA commentor Abe Froman put it best the other day, when he wrote that:

"Politicians are like Hobbits, you give them the ring and they turn into Gollum."

The temptation to turn the spigot that feeds the trough is overwhelming ... just a little turn open here, a little twist to the left there. Or, as we used to teach the kids when they wanted to operate the garden hose ... righty tighty; lefty loosy ... these days it seems that lefty loosy wins more often than not.

So it is with the Harper Tories ... the ring beckons, corrupts, and teases. It gets hard to keep track of the twists of the spigot ... is it three twists left, two twist right ... or visa versa?

The government’s eagerness to participate is embarrassing in its transparency. Until Quebecor came along, the city was hoping to finance the $400 million arena entirely on taxpayer cash. Fifty million from the city, $175 million from the province, the rest (they hoped) from Ottawa. Because if you take $400 million and divide it up among three governments, it’s not like all the money is coming from the same taxpayers, you see. It’s different taxpayers being fleeced, federal taxpayers plus provincial taxpayers plus municipal taxpayers. They might not even know one another.

China's Collapse

Before democracy, there is often pain:

China is a powder keg that could explode at any moment. And if it does explode, chaos could ensue — as the Chinese are only too well aware, the country has a brutal history of carnage at the hands of unruly mobs. For this reason, corrupt officials inside China, likely by the tens of thousands, have made contingency plans, obtaining foreign passports, buying second homes abroad, establishing their families and businesses abroad, or otherwise planning their escapes. Also for this reason, much of the middle class supports the government’s increasingly repressive efforts.

The Trend is Your Friend

... unless you're a member of the Global Warming religion:

A “simulated” La Nina 1999-2001 by just assuming the same temperature flow repeated starting Januar 2011 to get a rough idea. Now suddenly we have a full 16 years period of no warming. In fact we mostly see cooling trends. (If we imagine yet an El Nino to occur thereafter, then after 17 – 18 years, perhaps we will still just have a flat curve??)

If this were a stock chart, I'd short it.

The American Creed

... un-Canadian:

The American Creed's values are liberal, as that term was understood until liberalism succumbed to 20th-century statism. The values, expressing the 18th century's preoccupation with defending liberty against government, are, Huntington said, "individualistic, democratic, egalitarian, and hence basically anti-government and anti-authority." The various values "unite in imposing limits on power and on the institutions of government. The essence of constitutionalism is the restraint of governmental power through fundamental law."

Rome

*

*

Patrick Moore Outs the Greens

Peer Review

Recall the mocking tones of the warmists as they claimed again and again that "deniers" had little "peer reviewed" research to back their claims or doubts. You would be excused if you thought that peer review was some kind of gold standard that every single warmist clung to ... you'd be forgiven, but still misled:

In the words of those quoted above, the use of grey literature is essential, necessary, and unavoidable in the preparation of IPCC reports. According to these people, the IPCC has relied on grey literature extensively for some time.

The Enabling Concept of Our Entire Democracy

Happy Tory Time

... as they celebrate the 5 year plan:

Conservatives - as opposed to partisan Tories - have been given a meagre diet these last five years. It hasn't been gradualism or incrementalism, it's been bread and water. A trickle of positive movements and well intentioned gestures (especially against the CWB and the gun registry), but as Walter Mondale once asked, where's the beef? It's unlikely the next five years - assuming Harper is still Tory leader - will be anymore substantial than the last five.

Christina, Don't You Leave Me

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Is Christiane Amanpour Actually Martin Short?

Hanging Harper

In Absentia:

“Folks, you are going to have a hard time believing this, but a friend of mine shocked me yesterday at Timmy’s. He told me, and I hope you’ve got your emotional seatbelt fastened, but he told me he wouldn’t lose any sleep over the idea of this country putting Russell Williams to death.

“Can you believe any decent person with Canadian values saying that? I thought I knew my friend. But I guess you just never really know for sure what the strange thoughts go through the minds of human beings. I never thought my friend could ever feel this way. I guess he’s been hiding this from me. You might call it his hidden agenda.”

Take the F%$^ing Paper

Vote Progressive or Die

So says every progressive's favorite academic:

“The latest election, a couple of days ago, you could almost interpret it as a kind of death knell for the species,”

Self-defenceless in Canada

His surveillance cameras caught the attackers lobbing at least six Molotov cocktails at his house and bombing his doghouse, singeing one of his Siberian Huskies. But when Mr. Thomson handed the video footage to Niagara Regional Police, he found himself charged with careless use of a firearm.

More, from the Gods.

Extinction of Species

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Coming to a Neighbourhood Near You

Kanadastan:

Twelve Canadians who entered Afghanistan in February 2010 and fought against Coalition and Afghan forces there for nine months have been transferred to North Waziristan for more advanced training, a Pakistani Taliban leader told the Asia Times. Al Qaeda recruited the Canadians to carry out attacks in their home country.

They must be coming back to rescue their maidens from Canadian oppression:

I've been contacted by somebody in eastern Canada who needs urgent assistance with issues relating to forced marriage and honor-violence.

If you know of organizations in the country who help women in such situations, please send me their details. I couldn't find any.

Being good Canadian lads, I'm sure they enjoy the occasional marshmallow roast.

There's Nothing Like Advice from the Experienced

Iranium

Glavin:

When federal Cabinet Minister James Moore intervened Tuesday to protest the cancelled screening of the film Iranium at the National Library and Archives in Ottawa, he said: “I am disappointed that Library & Archives Canada chose not to show the film tonight due to threats of violence. . . The Iranian Embassy will not dictate to the Government of Canada which films will or will not be shown in Canada.”

Details and updates here.

Why Do Progressives Vote For Government Healthcare

... because math is hard:

Gutmenschen

What a wonderfully apt term for the self-righteous public servants for whom diversity really is enriching. How many people in Britain make a living from multiculturalism and “community cohesion”? The number of taxpayer and partly-taxpayer funded government bodies, community groups, political organisations and “charities” devoted towards diversity and equality or race relations is certainly in the four figures, and the total cost to the taxpayer must be several hundred millions of pounds – all totally wasted.

... parasites that can kill a country.  Apparently they've migrated to North America ... just saying.

Understanding Commerce

Blessed Be the Children

Another child was found on the steps of a mosque having been stoned to death on the orders of an extremist imam who has since disappeared

... more. ... *

Stuxnet

Canada's Number One Clown

Jack Layton:

The federal NDP leader made a “major” speech January 14 in which he, yet again, demanded that the Canadian Forces be withdrawn completely from Afghanistan and that the new, non-combat training mission be abandoned.

I’ll not go into detail to rebut his truly hackneyed arguments (”Mission creep”; “working with the people to rebuild a country”; “time to bring our troops home”; “Canada can play a leadership role”; “our experience in resolving conflicts”). I would just point out that all the supposedly wonderful non-military things he wants Canada to do would be utterly impossible if the rest of NATO and other ISAF contributors followed such a Canadian lead - that, thank goodness, they are not: see here for the Dutch and Germans, and here for the Swedes and Danes).

Jack Layton has fans:

But to compare Afghanistan to World War II in any way is ludicrous, even for rhetorical purposes. With a population of 11 million, Canada riased 1.1 million men and women for service between 1939 and 1945 and suffered some 47,000 fatalities and 54,400 wounded and injured. In the Afghanistan theatre, Canada has deployed 2800 personnel on a succession of rotations from 2006, and this from a population of 33 million and a CF of at most 66,000 regulars and 21,000 reservists. The dead there number 154, the wounded in action 615.

History is a useful tool. But Mr. Layton has a PhD and we might expect him to know what he talks about. Fat chance.

Going All Nazi on Mr. Harper's Ass

... or just being an Ass:

Stephen Harper is just plain dangerous. He has not just cowed his own MPs, senators and the civil service; he has been allowed to run free by the so-called independent media. The only reason Harper gets away with his antics is because the Fourth Estate is far too accommodating. They fear that if they hold his feet to the fire they will lose what little access they have now. Start asking tough questions and you'll be eliminated.

[...]

Harper is proceeding on an incremental program of power and control which is little different than what happened in Germany in the 1930s.

... this is parody right? ... please tell me it's parody.

Take a Room Full of Narcissists

... add Ricky Gervais ... what could possibly go wrong?

The 68th annual Golden Globes veered into Cluedo territory last night as the event's host went missing for nearly an hour. Ricky Gervais's absence from the stage, following an opening monologue that drew more gasps than laughs, led excited observers to speculate that the British comic may have been collared backstage and fired … or worse.

Bubbles

Bubble bubble toil and trouble:

The manager, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “The Chinese delegation has said all week that there will be double-digit growth for years to come and the Brits have lapped it up. But the data doesn’t add up. We think we’ve experienced credit bubbles over the past few years, but China is the biggest. And yet the global economy is looking to China as not just a crutch but a springboard out of the recession. It’s crazy.”

Sambo

Unintelligentsia:

That was good enough for the Sydney Morning Herald, which ran the Sambo lie on its front page under the headline: “Palin packs racist punch.” At the time, Palin had been the Republican vice-presidential nominee and therefore a world figure for just 12 days.

Sharpton Goes to School

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Sarah Palin and the Teddy Bears of Truth

MSM Vultures

A recently wounded man, a Democrat operative, likely under heavy pain medication, is asked to be in a television debate that occurs while grief is raw, funerals are being held, and political rhetoric is charged ... what could possibly go wrong?

Earlier on Twitter, some accused ABC of scrubbing the outburst from Tucson shooting victim Eric Fuller when Tea Party organizer Trent Humphries spoke at This Week’s townhall event. Not so, reports Mediaite, but it’s obvious why some people thought so; the interjection of Fuller allegedly saying “You’re dead” was hard to hear during Humphries’ miked-up contribution. Tommy Christopher had to boost the audio and bold the preceding text to mark it, and even then it took two passes for me to hear it:

How to Mitigate a Global Warming Drought

Details ... @ EUR

The House that Paul Martin and Stephen Harper Built

Unless the Winter Olympics are on television or someone is clubbing baby seals, Americans don't pay much attention to what's happening in Canada. It's as if we live in a house with a set of quiet, orderly neighbors on one side and a bachelor pad with drunken parties, girls in the hot tub and occasional gunshot eruptions on the other. To whom would you pay more attention?

I dare say Americans could correctly name the president of Mexico (Filipe Calderon) over the prime minister of Canada (Stephen Harper) by a margin of 5-to-1. That's too bad. While we have every reason to fear the disorder spilling over from our increasingly lawless neighbor to the south, our well-mannered Canadian neighbors have pulled their act together. We could learn a lot from them.

Keep reading ... Go North, Young Man.

That's the Way You Do It

Adler:

I want you to know that despite my love of this country, which runs deep, there are times where I feel that the country I woke up to at 4:30 in the morning, is not as free as the country I fell asleep to six hours earlier.

Do you ever feel that way? I know you're busy. You're looking after your kids or looking after your parents, your office work, your homework, your furniture, your face, your teeth, the suitcases that used to be just bags under your eyes. You're looking after getting a passport so you can blow out of here for a few weeks and get away from Arctic Chill. I am thinking about doing the same. Maybe leaving will help chill me out. Maybe it will remove this chicken bone in the throat that feels so suffocating. I think about the story this week of the police officer in Toronto allegedly crushed to death by this barefooted buffoon who had stolen a snow plow. In trying to spare the lives of innocent people Sgt Ryan Russell was killed. He died a hero. The man was no coward. The man was no chicken.

Previous ... faggot.

Julian Fantino's Legacy

Part 2 and 3.

Worms and Isaeli War

The Dimona complex in the Negev desert is famous as the heavily guarded heart of Israel’s never-acknowledged nuclear arms program, where neat rows of factories make atomic fuel for the arsenal.

Over the past two years, according to intelligence and military experts familiar with its operations, Dimona has taken on a new, equally secret role — as a critical testing ground in a joint American and Israeli effort to undermine Iran’s efforts to make a bomb of its own.

...keep reading.

More reading from Michael Totten:

The dry forest on the Israeli-Lebanese border provided shade but little relief. Rain had not fallen for months, and the blistering season-long heat wave that would later set parts of northern Israel on fire was currently burning down forests in Russia.

An Israeli intelligence officer led me to this concealed yet sweltering viewpoint near the border fence overlooking Lebanon where Hezbollah guerrillas were busy fortifying positions for the next round of conflict, a round that will almost certainly be bloodier and more destructive for both sides than the last. A small green valley covered with Mediterranean scrub stood between us and the Party of God.

Understanding the Tea Party

... no really; progressives actually believe this stuff.  Francis Fox Piven is a Canadian born (1932) "intellectual".

Hercs Low Level

ht

Global Warming Explained

Your Conservative Liberal Government

Canadian Tax Dollars at Work:

Marshall, lead researcher Nathan Gillett of the government agency Environment Canada, and their colleagues found that, by the year 3000, the brunt of the changes occurred in Southern Hemisphere. Not surprisingly, the 2100 scenario yielded more extreme results. In particular, the model predicted that southern oceans - the combined South Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, where the Antarctic Circumpolar Current resides - would warm considerably, with some far-reaching results.

What's a Chickssss ?

Boycott

So ... is the game over now?

Class

Previous

More at Malkin.

Christina to Rest in Special Casket

A 9-year-old girl killed in last weekend's mass shooting in Arizona will be buried in a hand-crafted casket donated by a group of Roman Catholic monks in Iowa.

Trappist Caskets , which is owned and operated by monks of the New Melleray Abbey near Dubuque, was contacted by the Bring Funeral Home in Tucson, Ariz., on behalf of Christina Taylor Green's family.

... the details.

Faggot

... now illegal on Canadian radio ... Say What?

In the vid, Knopfler, Collins, Sting, Elton John, Clapton et al.

The Canadian Injustice System

Pauchay:

Christopher Pauchay, the man who went to prison following the freezing deaths three years ago of his two young daughters, will be released in less than two weeks and does not intend to return to his Yellow Quill First Nation home.

[...]

The Dec. 30 parole board decision notes Pauchay completed a "moderate intensity" aboriginal offender substance abuse program and a family violence program. "Gains were noted in both programs," the board wrote.

Previous ... Little Voices

Gabrielle Giffords Opened Her Eyes

On January 9th, 2011:

The bullet “traveled the entire length of the brain on the left side,” said Dr. Rhee, Chief Trauma Surgeon at the University Medical Center, at a press conference on Sunday. In terms of being shot in the head, this is “about as good as it’s going to get,” said Rhee.

Giffords can open her eyes, but because she is on a ventilator she can’t speak, said Rhee.

The above was scrubbed overnight; here's an alternative link or Here.

But then the President spoke on January 12th.

President Barack Obama says that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has opened her eyes for the first time since being shot through the head on Saturday.

The president says it happened a few minutes after he left her hospital room Wednesday evening.

The Tuscon Memorial

What was that?

What did I just watch?

Why did people cheer at inappropriate moments?

... ecstatic shouts during somber moments ... "we love you!"

Boos for Brewer.

Why the triumphant tone?

Why the rally atmosphere?

Why the team uniforms?

Why ... the messianic moment where Gabrielle opened her eyes just minutes after “The One” had attended her side ... when it could just as surely have been the reflexive motions of a brain permanently and severely damaged ... a lightening of the sedation; all to massive applause. 

And then, some truly wonderful instances ... President Obama at his best ... the leader of a nation ... the Peace Maker ... the master of words.

But, just as quickly that God Damn cheering as if it was a 2008 stump speech instead of a memorial for 6 innocents gunned down in cold blood and the years long hell that their families have just entered.

And I ask ... how can a speech maker, since I've spoken publicly often enough myself ... turn from jovial, jubilant, to morose, to sorrowful, to triumphant in the blink of an eye ... what the hell was that ... a Soliloquy?

The ear to ear grin, the suppressed tears, the shout-out ... the compassion ... the campaigner ...

... all the world's a stage.

... plastic.

So ... when is the Memorial going to be?

What was that?

Progressive Voodoo

Spirits or sprites?

But — follow the leftist logic here — Loughner is not a Tea Partier, or a conservative, or even right leaning at all. This proves that not only can our provocations influence our own crazies (which is 60% of us, to hear them talk) but in fact are so potent they can even drive those who don’t listen to us to kill.

Do you see that next argument taking shape? Taking shape? Having taken shape, I should say, past perfect. Krugman and all the rest of them, having called this as a deranged right-winger (and been proven wrong) simply make their argument more all-encompassing. They’re no longer arguing that right-wing invective can have an unbalanacing effect on right-wingers who hear it.

Their new argument is that right-wing invective can have an unbalancing effect on non-right-wingers — left-wingers, even — who don’t hear it.

That’s how insidious this all is. That’s how dangerous this all is. Right wing chatter can now drive left-wingers who don’t even hear it to kill people.

... if you ever see what appear to be chicken feathers stuck to the corner of some Conservative's mouth ... don't be surprised; just stay clear.

Falling Down

If I am pessimistic about the future of liberty, it is because I am pessimistic about the strength of the English-speaking nations, which have, in profound ways, surrendered to forces at odds with their inheritance. “Declinism” is in the air, but some of us apocalyptic types are way beyond that. The United States is facing nothing so amiable and genteel as Continental-style “decline,” but something more like sliding off a cliff.

... keep reading.

Describing the Absurd

Krauthammer:

[T]he available evidence dates Loughner’s fixation on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to at least 2007, when he attended a town hall of hers and felt slighted by her response. In 2007, no one had heard of Sarah Palin. Glenn Beck was still toiling on Headline News. There was no Tea Party or health-care reform. The only climate of hate was the pervasive post-Iraq campaign of vilification of George W. Bush, nicely captured by a New Republic editor who had begun an article thus: “I hate President George W. Bush. There, I said it.”

Finally, the charge that the metaphors used by Palin and others were inciting violence is ridiculous. Everyone uses warlike metaphors in describing politics. When Barack Obama said at a 2008 fundraiser in Philadelphia, “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun,” he was hardly inciting violence.

Why? Because fighting and warfare are the most routine of political metaphors. And for obvious reasons. Historically speaking, all democratic politics is a sublimation of the ancient route to power – military conquest. That’s why the language persists. That’s why we say without any self-consciousness such things as “battleground states” or “targeting” opponents. Indeed, the very word for an electoral contest – “campaign” – is an appropriation from warfare.

When profiles of Obama’s first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, noted that he once sent a dead fish to a pollster who displeased him, a characteristically subtle statement carrying more than a whiff of malice and murder, it was considered a charming example of excessive – and creative – political enthusiasm. When Senate candidate Joe Manchin dispensed with metaphor and simply fired a bullet through the cap-and-trade bill – while intoning, “I’ll take dead aim at [it]” – he was hardly assailed with complaints about violations of civil discourse or invitations to murder.

Did Manchin push Loughner over the top? Did Emanuel’s little Mafia imitation create a climate for political violence? The very questions are absurd – unless you’re the New York Times and you substitute the name Sarah Palin.

Talk About Blowing Your Wad

Bummer ... 28%

The collapse of Progressia.

No Nuance here ... either within the facts, or with the incredible common sense expressed by the vast majority of Americans:

... A Man Must Stand for Something ...

Julian Fantino's Legacy

Julian, is now The Minister for Caledonia:

Take the case of Kathe and Guenter Golke, a couple in their late sixties who drove past the disputed Douglas Creek Estate, near Caledonia, in June of 2006. Their country pleasure drive provoked the wrath of some of the occupiers, who chased them to the parking lot of a local Canadian Tire Store.

An OPP officer took the couple into his cruiser for protection, and later to a police substation. Guenter Golke, a diabetic, was soon after transferred to a hospital for an irregular heart beat. The couple's car was stolen - likely in the presence of OPP officers - by some of the occupiers and taken for a joy ride. The car was returned to the Golkes two days later, with some three thousand dollars in damage. No one has been charged with the theft.

This is just one of the stories documented in Christie Blatchford's book Helpless. It is one of many incidents during the Caledonia Crisis when Canadian seniors, and Caledonia residents of all ages, were abandoned by the OPP.

Previous ... Julian a party to tyranny.

And further reading that asks ... Where Has Mr. Harper Been?

Rubbish ?

... or missing energy?

The trouble is that this energy was not showing up in any measurements which led to Trenberth's well publicised “travesty” comment in an email published as a result of the “Climategate” leaks which stated: “The fact is that we can’t account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we can’t”.

Knox and Douglass analysed Argo float temperature data for the period from 2003 to 2008 to estimate changes in ocean heat content (OHC). They state that “Our four estimates of the recent OHC trend for 2003–2008 adequately consider interannual variability and we find that the trend is negative”. That is that the ocean heat content has been falling and not increasing.

Islamophobia

Exhibit A ... click.

Blood Libel

Transcript

Antimatter

9/11 ... Tuscon ... All the Same

Hillary ... mentored at the knee of Alinsky:

Ladies and gentlemen, your Secretary of State….eagerly comparing a lone nut case to the very sane gentlemen who planned and carried out 9/11, as well as a number of other operations.

[...]

Still the crazed Leftist radical deep down after all these years.

Hitler

Tuscon must've made these people delighted with joy ... finally, a violent act to trigger the "they caused it" meme. Finally, a chance to be nailed to the cross ... finally, an Oklahoma. No wonder that within 2 hours of the shooting, the left's disgraceful narrative had begun.

ht

Finally; A Solution to Right-Wing Rhetoric

If the Left wants to eliminate at a stroke the vast majority of heated, hated right-wing rhetoric there’s a very simple way to do that: give up.

BG

Some Things Never Change

One of the depressing things about hanging out in journalism for a long time, or simply reading the newspapers for a long time, is that nothing changes. Stories repeat themselves. I have made that point before. So even that is a repetition, and depressing.

McVeigh and his helpers blew up the Oklahoma City building, killing more than 150. President Clinton strongly suggested that Rush Limbaugh and conservative talk radio were responsible. Do you remember his repulsive address at Michigan State University?

... keep reading.

Lists

Bummer

Loughner had heroes:

People who inspire him include Barack Obama, Saul Alinsky, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Huo Chavez, Noam Chomsky, Mao Tse-tung, Joseph Stalin, and Yassir Arafat

The Left's Modus Operandi ... Dehumanize

... more.

Charles Adler Responds to Palin Did It

Charles:

I don't know what was inside the head of an irrational individual in Tuscon on Saturday.

The man had supported flag burning and was extremely angry with the U-S military. Would any of those two things make him identify with Palin? The man murdered a nine-year-old in cold blood. Something Palin would want him to do? Murdered a right-wing judge in cold blood. Something Palin told him to do? How far do you want to go with this?

Don't you feel that at some point in the media coverage, you are being asked to go along with the media herd and pretend you know nothing about mental illness and you know nothing about media and political narcissism, an entire class of people who always want to make everything about themselves, their power, their influence. Their delusionary thinking does not have to become your thinking. This isn't yours truly defending Palin. I am defending your right to have your mind treated with respect. I am defending your right not to become a Piñata, a plaything for media turnips, political animals, and ideologues.

Canadian Liberal Assassination Fetish

Letters to Cjunk:

Listening to Neil Macdonald spin on the CBC, being insensitive enough in trying to weave Sarah Palin into the sad Tuscon tragedy, and a panel on the National on CBC Sunday night blaming Fox News, Bill O'reilly and Glen Beck ( they even referenced Sun TV) as well, is sad journalism particularly, if it isn't even known if the culprit in this case had any connection to these people. but I guess facts aren't necessary if you are looking only for an opportunity to attack Palin, Fox News , Beck, the right wing, etc.

If these so called journalists believe in their heart of hearts that violent rhetoric are responsible for actions like those of the shooter, I wonder where were they , and what they had to say when LIberal spin doctor Scott Reid in a Globe and Mail column championed the death of Stephen Harper.

Do we recall Scott Reid writing "Kill him Kill Him dead" and also "if you don't put Mr. Harper in his grave, he'll put you in yours" in a caustic column laced with vitriol, I don't recall Palin, Fox News, Beck etc. using language like that. Where were these political pundits then in their condemnation?

Should we also add that after Scott Reid made these threatening and mortiferous comments, the irony is that the CBC hired him as a regular panelist, so obviously his views and statements don't make him a pariah with his CBC cohorts but a welcome addition - incredible.

Their accusations and attacks of the right leaning media and pundits should also be tempered as they are reminded that it was the Liberal Party of Canada who posted a composite photo showing Stephen Harper being assassinated which was part of a contest where the winning image wins a Liberal party mug and all this on the official Liberal Party website.

Gather the Vultures

If you only read one thing today ... read this by the acclaimed historian Victor Davis Hanson; at his best.

Christina Green's Father Speaks

Economic Headwinds

Things are not all roses, and Canadians should not get complacent, even though some provinces are booming.  Canada is an export economy ... thus what happens in Mexico, doesn't stay in Mexico.

A sample -

Portugal:

A senior euro zone source told Reuters on Sunday that Germany, France and other euro zone countries were pushing Portugal to seek an EU-IMF assistance programme, following Greece and Ireland, in a bid to prevent contagion spreading to much larger Spain, the fourth biggest economy in the euro area.

China:

For all seeking a reason why China will never voluntarily drop its CNYUSD peg, and why it will now actively buy PIIGS debt indefinitely, in its attempt to keep its currency low against the EUR and fixed against that ultimate debaser of currencies, just take one look at the December trade surplus. Even as gross trade surged to an all time high with total imports and exports just shy of $300 billion, at $295.2 billion, December's trade surplus plunged from $22.9 billion in November to just $13.1 billion, the lowest since March and April when China actually had a stunning trade deficit, and a nearly 50% miss to consensus which was at $21.4 billion.

Greece:

Greek bond yields hit another record high Monday amid a broader flare-up in Europe's debt crisis and despite better than expected deficit reduction figures.

California:

After years of cutting billions and billions in spending, California has to do it again.

The Golden State and its new governor, Jerry Brown, are facing a $25 billion shortfall that must be addressed by June 30.

Canada:

For working Canadians, however, 2011 will go down as the year they saw their net pay stubs shrink, in some cases by significant amounts.

... yes, even Canada:

Canada's Superintendent of Bankruptcy issued a warning to Canadians about the dangers of high household debt Friday, adding his voice to the chorus from officials concerned about the amount of leverage the average resident now has.

Oh, and if the above wasn't enough to get you at least a tad bit concerned ... click.

Pigs Do Fly

What is up at CTV?

In an amazingly frank piece, CTV steps back and takes a sober look at the reporting of the Tuscon massacre ... including a reference to "Newsbusters":

News organizations were closely watched in how they offered context to the events. The conservative watchdog publication Newsbusters, for example, faulted the AP for noting that Giffords' district was targeted by supporters of Sarah Palin while not discussing left-wing commentators' criticism of Democrats who did not support Nancy Pelosi for minority leader.

Canada Scores ...

Dead Last:

A new study ranks Canada dead last when it comes to freedom of information.

Published research by a pair of British academics looking at how well freedom-of-information laws operate in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Great Britain and Canada -- all of them parliamentary democracies -- judged Canada the least open.

No wonder our Canadian political class, Tories included, seem more and more disconnected these days ... almost as if they were living in Gated Communities where their base has less and less of a chance of penetrating.

That is as good as it gets. It serves to confirm that which we already knew. Communication with our politicians, and especially Conservative politicians, is a one-way street. They talk, we listen. That, at least, is the theory. They are very slow in learning that, if it is not two-way, then it is nothing. People are in no mood to be lectured by those they despise.

Therein lies a serious problem. The politicians have not only retreated physically but spiritually. We are seeing gated communities and gated minds. And if the politicians don't yet realise how dangerous this is, they will soon enough find out.

Hmmm ... our British traditions are certianly coming out, aren't they; is Ottawa Canada's biggest gated community where Jack, Stephen, Gille, and Mike get to do their thing while serenely removed from the testy Proles who pay their bills?

The Politics of Hate

... There was no waiting for the facts on Saturday. Likewise, last May New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and CBS anchor Katie Couric speculated, without any evidence, that the Times Square bomber might be a tea partier upset with the ObamaCare bill.

So as the usual talking heads begin their "have you no decency?" routine aimed at talk radio and Republican politicians, perhaps we should turn the question around. Where is the decency in blood libel?

... do read it all.

With bonus reading here.

Megyn Gold

Allow me to paraphrase:

"It is unacceptable when one side is trying to make this a better country, that the other side expend great energy in criticizing it!"

... the video.

Spree Killer Vibe

This guy was putting out the “spree killer” vibe so intensely that people around him were gossiping about it — and yet no one thought to try to get him help?

... great late-day summary.

More on Targets

There is something incredibly disturbing about leftists who would use the tragedy of Tucson to score cheap political points using the most dishonest of opining.  Yesterday, before most of us hardly knew any details, the Progressive spin machine was already in full gear as in "journolist" fashion the theme was picked and the spin-cycle turned on full speed. 

The theme being pushed is clearly that the mass killing in Tuscon was the fault of the Tea Party, of Sarah Palin, of Rush and Beck and even Fox News in general.  As quick as thinking, forgotten was the most hate-filled rhetoric to hit American politics in years, that being the left's constant attacks on Sarah Palin which in the blogosphere involve violent fantasy, both graphic, murderous,