Monday, February 28, 2011
Walking Off the Field
... when the game is about to be won:
Ultimately the decision to leave combat had nothing to do with tactical success or failure on the ground and everything to do with political debates at home.Toronto Sun
Canada earned a new level of respect and influence during the Kandahar mission, and specifically through committing to combat — something Lt. Gen. Peter Devlin, Canada’s army commander, told me last week in an exclusive interview. Much of the reputation the Canadian Forces have earned us in Afghanistan will be left in the dust of Kandahar.
Asked what could be done for his troops, one veteran officer answered, “Let them win, if you really want their efforts to have not been in vain.”
The Clue-Bat Strikes Again
Almost two-thirds of white Britons think immigration has been bad for the UK, according to a survey which anti-racism campaigners called a "disturbing picture" of society's attitudes.Prepare for a sea-change.
Research commissioned by the Searchlight Educational Trust also found that Asians were most likely to back a halt to all immigration, at least until the economy had recovered.
Labour MP Jon Cruddas said the findings should "ricochet through the body politic" as they showed the potential for the rise of the far-right unless mainstream parties acted soon.
Rubber Room Unionism
What have we become?
The rubber rooms — so nicknamed after the padded cells of old-style mental hospitals — have become a symbol of the unacceptable face of the city’s education system, which is the largest in the US. Around 600 teachers are currently occupying the temporary reassignment centres, as they are officially known, in locations across the city, including a trailer site in Washington Heights.
Palin Way Out Front
February 22nd, 2011 ... Palin:
...Gaddafi is a brutal killer and Libya – not to mention the world – would be better off if he were out of power. Now is the time to speak out. Speak out for the long-suffering Libyan people. Speak out for the victims of Gaddafi’s terror. NATO and our allies should look at establishing a no-fly zone so Libyan air forces cannot continue slaughtering the Libyan people. We should not be afraid of freedom, especially when it comes to people suffering under a brutal enemy of America.February 28th, 2011 ... Cameron:
British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced he is working on plans for a no-fly zone over Libya.February 28th, 2011 ... Obama:
Skin in the Game - in - Chief
Change you can believe in:
Remember this?
With a schedule as hectic as President Obama's it must be hard to stick to a training regimen without help -- but why does he insist on having his old trainer fly out from Chicago to D.C. regularly when Obama and his wife exhort the rest of us to drive less? And in a recession? According to Ashley Parker at the New York Times, Obama's fitness czar Cornell McClellan comes out to D.C. every week:
Remember this?
The Importance of Letting Assholes speak
It's vital, in a free society, to let the assholes speak. It's important to hold back the micro-managers who would rule our lives by regulating what we say ... and, it's important to rely on the criminal code to protect us ... not Progressives who would love nothing better than to eventually ban all speech they don't like.
If someone attempts to propagate violence using speech ... charge the bastard using laws that have nothing to do with hate-speech, but principles long laid down regarding violence ... but until he crosses that line let him or her air their views for all to hear.
Banning speech (or people we don't like) is the refuge of those who don't have confidence in their own speech; or who have ulterior motives. Banning so-called "hate speech" is above all the refuge of those who hate Western culture or progressives who seek weapons with which to silence their opposition under the guise of peace and harmony. We need look no further than Europe to see how “hate-speech” laws are used to silence logical, fact-based, discourse.
Banning foreigners from speaking simply because their views are icky is the first step to banning citizens from expressing views that the government of the day finds “unfriendly”.
And finally, don’t get fooled by those who wear the “conservative” label on their lapel ... Canada’s government which is apparently conservative has its share of fakes who’ve been wooed by the progressive serpent ... nothing corrupts like power:
If someone attempts to propagate violence using speech ... charge the bastard using laws that have nothing to do with hate-speech, but principles long laid down regarding violence ... but until he crosses that line let him or her air their views for all to hear.
Banning speech (or people we don't like) is the refuge of those who don't have confidence in their own speech; or who have ulterior motives. Banning so-called "hate speech" is above all the refuge of those who hate Western culture or progressives who seek weapons with which to silence their opposition under the guise of peace and harmony. We need look no further than Europe to see how “hate-speech” laws are used to silence logical, fact-based, discourse.
Banning foreigners from speaking simply because their views are icky is the first step to banning citizens from expressing views that the government of the day finds “unfriendly”.
And finally, don’t get fooled by those who wear the “conservative” label on their lapel ... Canada’s government which is apparently conservative has its share of fakes who’ve been wooed by the progressive serpent ... nothing corrupts like power:
Your Progressive Future
First Eurabia, then the world:
The Daily Mail tells us a story about an Englishman's home being his castle, or so the saying goes.Property Rights in Canada must be entrenched ... you'd think Steve could move a little quicker on this ... he's had what? ... 4 or more years. Would it be asking too much to request that the Chess Player employ his skill at obfuscation, double-talk, and shadow-boxing to move things ahead.
However, after squatters moved into John Hamilton-Brown's new £1million five bedroom home he has been forced to beg them to get out through his letterbox. Yet the group of foreigners who have taken possession, have been granted legal aid to fight an eviction order - while Hamilton-Brown has been forced to represent himself.
NYT ... WTF?
Hog-slop journalism:
“[T]hough I am quoted in the piece, this reporter never interviewed me. … The words that I find myself saying in this piece were said by me somewhere at some time and in some context but they were not said in the context of an interview for this piece. The reporter never called me after January 18th for any purpose including to confirm the quotation that he put together for me. The reporter did not ask the new administration for my contact information after I left office.”
“I was informed by agency radiation experts that the radiation levels were not a threat to truck drivers, workers at sewage treatment facilities or the public. … I believe the agency staff were handling this issue in a serious, careful manner. I still believe that to be the case.”
Canada's Biggest Deficit
... is not the government's fault:
The gap in savings rates between Canada and the United States now sits at an all-time high. At 4.2 per cent, Canada’s saving rate is 1.6 percentage points below the U.S., at 5.8 per cent, according to the most recent data. On average, that means Canadians are spending nearly 96 per cent of their after-tax income.
Julian Fantino's Legacy
In a recent meeting with the OPP regarding the Truth and Reconciliation Rally this Sunday in Caledonia at 1 pm outside the Caledonia Lion’s Hall, Gary McHale was informed that the OPP have received instructions to arrest any member of McHale’s group who walks onto DCE. This is at the request of the property owner which is Dalton McGuinty.... the details.
The Ontario Government wrote a letter to Supt. Cain yesterday to instruct him to enforce the law. However, the letter also instructed the OPP that the Native Occupiers and their associates were permitted to use DCE.
Notes from the Truth and Reconciliation Meeting @ M & S
Carbon Wars
... Down Under:
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has confirmed the Coalition will repeal the Government's carbon tax if it wins the next election.
The Opposition has been on the attack over the tax since Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced it on Thursday, but until now had stopped short of saying the Coalition would repeal the scheme.
This morning, Opposition frontbencher Andrew Robb told reporters the Coalition would scrap the tax if it won the next election.
A short time later, Mr Abbott repeated the promise.
"Our position on this is the same as our position on the mining tax, we will oppose it in Opposition, we will rescind it in government," he said.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Eco-Mania
... Understanding the Enemy
... Reserves:
In other words, people should be placed in parks within ecosystems instead of parks placed in human communities. We need vast areas of the planet where humans do not live at all and where other species are free to evolve without human interference.We need to radically and intelligently reduce human populations to fewer than one billion. We need to eliminate nationalism and tribalism and become Earthlings. And as Earthlings, we need to recognize that all the other species that live on this planet are also fellow citizens and also Earthlings. This is a planet of incredible diversity of life-forms; it is not a planet of one species as many of us believe.
Irish Revolt?
Friday, February 25, 2011
The Up-coming Canadian Election
It's coming ... maybe sooner than later if the Liberals continue to be ham-fisted. Harper may get his tiny window ... that sliver of a chance at a majority and they'll be off with Jack trailing in the back stretch, the Igster thrashing about trying to stay on the track, Gilles serenely walking along happy to come in last ... and Harper trotting on an old nag he stole from the Liberal stable.
Question is though, other than assaults on personality, what could an election possibly be about, now that the CPC holds the ground previously held by the Martin LPC.
Perhaps attacking the Igster makes sense after all, given the fact that there is no difference between the two parties other than leaders.
And that, in a nutshell, just may be the Harper strategy ... reduce the ground between the LPC and CPC to the point that personal attacks are the only thing that counts. It'll come down to a choice between the Igster's "ick-factor" and Harper's dodginess.
The one place I'd be willing to put my money is in predicting that voter turn-out will be at a record low.
Question is though, other than assaults on personality, what could an election possibly be about, now that the CPC holds the ground previously held by the Martin LPC.
Perhaps attacking the Igster makes sense after all, given the fact that there is no difference between the two parties other than leaders.
And that, in a nutshell, just may be the Harper strategy ... reduce the ground between the LPC and CPC to the point that personal attacks are the only thing that counts. It'll come down to a choice between the Igster's "ick-factor" and Harper's dodginess.
The one place I'd be willing to put my money is in predicting that voter turn-out will be at a record low.
The Harper Tories: Spending Like Drunken Liberals
Then some bright light comes up with the idea to blitz the country with millions of dollars of announcements. Really, who dreams up this stuff and why didn’t someone in authority say no to what really is a dumb idea?... read more.
Like most Canadians, I don’t want someone waving a fistful of my money in my face, reminding me about how much of it they have spent. I don’t need to see stories comparing spending in Liberal versus Conservative ridings. I don’t need to see what looks like a last minute pre-election Conservative spending spree. Frankly, I didn’t need to see any of this.
Charting The Great Canadian Progressive Wave
Question: Has Mr. Harper added to, or held back, the wave?
Answer: Even if you remove the military and police from the equation, the federal public service has grown by 13% since the Harper government came to power.
Mr. Harper does have a hidden agenda, but it's not what most suspect.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Quebec Hockey: Brought to You via ROC
Gunter:
Curious, isn’t it, that the province of Quebec has $200 million to contribute to a new hockey rink in Quebec City, yet overworks and underpays its Crown prosecutors so badly they went on strike this week until being ordered back to work? Now many of the 450 prosecutors are threatening to quit, declaring they are too ill-equipped for a province-wide war against organized crime. It’s yet another sign of just how badly governed the province is.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
In Praise of Stephen Harper
This, is how you win a majority:
NDP Leader Jack Layton outlined his party's budget wishlist to the prime minister Friday afternoon as talk in Ottawa continued to turn to whether Canadians will see a spring election.All that is required now, is that any NDP proposals that make it into the budget, be clearly shown to be such by a statement from Mr. Harper or the finance minister. A cordial, open, sharing of ideas and clear show of respect will do more for the CPC in the eyes of Canadians than all the Oda-ish sleaze, committee torpedoing, and issue dodging in the world.
Layton said in a statement the talk with Prime Minister Stephen Harper was cordial and respectful.
"The prime minister offered no assurances, but I am confident that my proposals were received and well understood," Layton said in the statement.
"My message to Mr. Harper was this: It's time to put the political games aside and focus on immediate action to help families make ends meet."
The NDP have asked the Conservatives to take the GST off home heating bills, restore the EcoEnergy Retrofit program and increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors. The party also wants changes to the Canada Pension Plan and a plan to increase access to family doctors.
Harper's spokesman said in a statement the two party leaders "had a positive sharing of views about initiatives that matter to Canadians."
"This is not the time for an opportunistic election. The prime minister indicated that our government will continue to focus on what really matters to Canadians - jobs and economic growth," said Dimitri Soudas.
The federal budget is expected in March. The governing Conservatives need at least one opposition party to support the budget or risk being defeated, sending Canadians to the polls.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Rex Comments on the Oda File
So when Mr. Harper stands and proceeds condescendingly to “explain” to the House that this is really what the whole controversy is about – the overruling – not even acknowledging, airily waving away, the real charges of misleading the House, or altering the document – he loses most people.Rex
[...]
It also shows another pattern. Any time this government manages to float the polling balloon near the 38% or 39% mark, anytime they get close to establishing a real lead over their rivals — they find some magic way of destroying it. They’re gifted in this regard. And the Oda mess is this month’s perfect example.
Like I've been saying ... 2 steps forward; 2 steps back.
You Brung Her
... you dance with her:
“To be blunt, Canada wasn’t on the mattress when this baby was conceived. Why are you forcing us to share the incubator? Haven’t we done enough already? Hasn’t our economy alone suffered enough collateral damage from the Washington-Wall St. stink bomb? Haven’t we been helpful by giving you access to millions of litres of ethical oil?
Hacks
Hacks to the left of me, hacks to the right of me:
The formal response from parliamentary secretary Tom Lukiwski is that ministerial paperwork doesn't have to be a work of art, and that opposition MPs have only themselves to blame if they asked the wrong questions about what happened.
Mr. Harper ... Pay Attention
JUST days after saying that multiculturalism had failed in France, President Sarkozy is launching a debate on religion and the secular state, asking what limits should be placed on Islam.France
Speaking to his UMP MPs at the Élysée, he said he wanted concrete measures on the place of Islam in France and its compatibility with the country’s secular laws.
He said the French had “paid dear” for their blindness towards immigration during the 1980s, when debate was taboo.
Beyond Parody
The integration of muslims is surely a question of particular public interest – you are allowed to be critical – but not incitement of hatredEuro-Logic
(- judge states the allowed utterances)
The language used in the seminars were not inciting hatred, but the utterances regarding muhammad and paedophilia were punishable.
“Paedophilia” is factually incorrect, since paedophilia is a sexual preference which solely or mainly is directed towards children. Nevertheless, it does not apply to mohammad. He was still married to Aisha when she was 18. It is a “denigration of religious teachings” and are found guilty and sentenced to 120 days, which approaches the minimum of € 480.
Meanwhile in Sweden ...
If You Can't Beat Them
... join them:
In essence, our "progressive" government, run by Stephen Harper, is accelerating immigration (much of it from Muslim shit holes), at the very time that European progressives are admitting that the multi-culti dream was one big lie ... failed ... and is even dangerous. I'm for immigration; but not the reckless rush to destruction that is threatening to bring down Europe. The issue ... Where Are We Drawing Immigrants From?
Apparently I’m still on Kenney’s mailing list after all. His office sent out the following email. What strikes me is how Kenney (and the Conservative government) seems focused on pleasing the Liberals and proving how much better the Conservatives are by being, essentially, more liberal:Previous
In essence, our "progressive" government, run by Stephen Harper, is accelerating immigration (much of it from Muslim shit holes), at the very time that European progressives are admitting that the multi-culti dream was one big lie ... failed ... and is even dangerous. I'm for immigration; but not the reckless rush to destruction that is threatening to bring down Europe. The issue ... Where Are We Drawing Immigrants From?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Epic Wind Power Fail
What? Will they use hydrocarbons to thaw them?
A $200-million wind farm in northern New Brunswick is frozen solid, cutting off a potential supply of renewable energy for NB Power.Exactly you moron ... that's why "wind power" doesn't work.
The 25-kilometre stretch of wind turbines, located 70 kilometres northwest of Bathurst, N.B. has been completely shutdown for several weeks due to heavy ice covering the blades.
[...]
"We can't control the weather," Julie Vitek said in an interview from company headquarters in Houston, Texas.
Oda: Just More Ragging the Puck from a Lost CPC
The Oda affair is just another example of why I believe Stephen Harper must go. Not only is he singlehandedly destroying the conservative movement in Canada, his dictatorial, micro-management style has produced a strategy that moves the CPC 2 steps forward, 2 steps back. He's the ultimate puck ragger ... the puck-hog who has some nifty skills, but who in the end does his team little good. Sure, he's adept at stick handling, but it’s all show. Mr. Harper is not capable of moving the puck past the opposition blue line ... and that, against the worst defence and forward line this country has ever seen Team Red put on the ice.
Oda must go ... and so, must the man who a short few years ago was an inspiration to conservatives, but who today has morphed into some bizarre form of liberal/conservative cross-dresser. In fact, if Harper wasn't supported by a loyal hoard of sycophantic ass-kissers who have forgotten who they were a few years ago (you know, conservatives or something), he'd be long gone. In the end, the MSM, Ottawa bureaucrats, and the same Central Canadian conservative losers who never manage to turn back the progressive tide will be the only winners. And of course, the first Liberal Leader who can even skate in a straight line.
The LPC will draft some Eddie Shack who will steal the puck, flay his way down the ice, and slap a lucky shot past the net minder. And that, will be the end of our little conservative experiment. Ironically, the zombies will for decades to come whisper the praises of the puck-hog who couldn’t score ... “If only he’d had better teammates”, they'll murmur ... or worse yet, they'll whine the refrain of all pathetic losers ... “the referee was against us!”
Coyne on Oda:
Oda must go ... and so, must the man who a short few years ago was an inspiration to conservatives, but who today has morphed into some bizarre form of liberal/conservative cross-dresser. In fact, if Harper wasn't supported by a loyal hoard of sycophantic ass-kissers who have forgotten who they were a few years ago (you know, conservatives or something), he'd be long gone. In the end, the MSM, Ottawa bureaucrats, and the same Central Canadian conservative losers who never manage to turn back the progressive tide will be the only winners. And of course, the first Liberal Leader who can even skate in a straight line.
The LPC will draft some Eddie Shack who will steal the puck, flay his way down the ice, and slap a lucky shot past the net minder. And that, will be the end of our little conservative experiment. Ironically, the zombies will for decades to come whisper the praises of the puck-hog who couldn’t score ... “If only he’d had better teammates”, they'll murmur ... or worse yet, they'll whine the refrain of all pathetic losers ... “the referee was against us!”
Coyne on Oda:
That’s about the size of it. This is about much more than Bev Oda, Minister of International Cooperation. This is about whether this government can be held to basic norms of civilized democratic behaviour.Update: Making Sense ... makes sense:
Or, for that matter, logic. There is, after all, nothing to be debated here. There isn’t any doubt that the minister initially claimed, or at least implied, that the decision to defund Kairos was made by CIDA officials. There isn’t any doubt that those same CIDA officials in fact recommended funding be continued. There isn’t any doubt that the document they signed recommending that she approve funding for Kairos was later altered, comically, by the handwritten addition of the word “not,” to suggest the opposite.
And there isn’t any doubt that Oda lied to Parliament about this addition: the only question is when. Did she lie in December when she told the Commons foreign affairs committee she had no idea who altered the document, or was she lying on Monday when she told the Commons that in fact it was done at her behest? (Or will she claim that, although she directed it be altered, she did not know, as of December, who did it? Is that the Clintonian reed to which she will cling?)
[...]
It would certainly fit a pattern. The ingredients of the Oda affair — secrecy, deception, stonewalling, contempt for Parliament, bureaucrats as fall guys and ministers as pawns — are evident throughout this government. And all stem from the same source: a refusal to deal openly with the public, to explain the reasons for its actions and take responsibility for them — because to do so would require the government to concede that its actions have reasons, an underlying intent, a purpose, a philosophy, an ideology. And the Harper government’s whole philosophy is to have no philosophy, or none that it acknowledges.
The whole Bev Oda scandal could have been avoided if the Conservative Party simply had more confidence in conservatism.
Just imagine, for instance, if Oda had stood up in the House of Commons months ago and emphatically stated she was denying Kairos any government funds for one simple reason: it's wrong to use tax dollars to subsidize a private church group.
That's how a conservative would handle it.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
OMG OJ
From the grocery store mag stand:
Disgraced gridiron great O.J. SIMPSON was beaten unconscious in a brutal prison yard attack, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.
Inmates cheered as a muscular young skinhead knocked him to the ground, punching and kicking him to a bloody pulp and inflicting injuries so severe he secretly spent nearly three weeks in the infirmary before he recovered.
The humiliating beating left 63-year-old Simpson in agony - and threw him into a spiral of depression so deep that he's now afraid to venture out of his cell, divulge sources.
Embarrassed by the fact that their most famous inmate was battered while in their custody, prison authorities have done their best to keep the incident secret.
Enjoy the Price at the Pump
While it lasts:
More important, Mr. Husseini acknowledged Saudi production is never likely to get to Aramco’s 12.5 million barrel per day target. Instead, the country is struggling to produce even 10 million barrels a day and it may soon encounter a production peak after which flow rates will inevitably decline. Yet the International Energy Agency is counting on Saudi Arabia to produce no less than 14.6 million barrels a day by 2035.Alternate headline ... Saskatchewan boom has no end in sight.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Stephen: What Have You Done?
The problem with micro-managers is that when things go wrong, all roads lead back to them:
What? Is it that Oda is enough of a sycophant to keep Stephen's favour? Guergis got booted for less.
Jay has some blunt thoughts.
Mr. Rae argued she wasn’t acting alone in Stephen Harper’s famously top-down government. “She would not have done what she did without instructions from the Prime Minister’s Office,” the Liberal MP said.Sadly, I must agree with the enemy on this one.
What? Is it that Oda is enough of a sycophant to keep Stephen's favour? Guergis got booted for less.
Jay has some blunt thoughts.
Monday, February 14, 2011
South Korea Hit by Global Warming
The heaviest snowfall in more than a century on South Korea's east coast is causing widespread chaos.... remember, snow was going to be a thing of the past.
Hundreds of houses have collapsed under the weight of the snow. One newspaper described it as a snow bomb.
The South Korean government has deployed 12,000 soldiers to rescue stranded residents.
Here Come the Mini-Reactors
Australians Take Border Security Seriously
... unlike Canadians:
The majority of the electorate takes this issue very seriously as a matter of principle. If a federal government cannot maintain territorial integrity the electorate will inflict political pain. That's why the phrase ''we will stop the boats'' were the first words of the mantra constantly repeated by Tony Abbott when he outperformed the robotic Julie Gillard in last year's election campaign. If an Australian government is perceived to be capitulating to the tactic of fait accompli on its borders by people demanding a right of entry, the government faces political death.
Bankers Bail
... on global warming alarmism:
All the estimates presented in this analysis are inherently uncertain. Each facet of the integrated assessment model is uncertain. The emissions scenario, the climate scenario, the change in extreme events, and how damages might change are all uncertain. A sensitivity analysis is performed for the five events in this study. The results tend to be very sensitive to the climate scenario and assumptions about the damage function. Unfortunately, the analysis could not test the importance of the emission trajectory or the link between climate and extreme events.
Don't Wear a Uniform ... Pay the Price
During WW2, enemy soldiers who wore allied uniforms to trick allied forces, or who infiltrated allied lines in civilian clothing were dealt with in a simple manner. The same should apply to terrorists today ... each and everyone. Skulk around in civilian garb ... pay the price:
The Clue-Bat Strikes Again
AGW on the Stage
Global Warming hits the stage:
The New York Times actually chose the skeptical play to be a clear winner. While "Greenland" is described as a naive propaganda that licks the buttocks of the environmental establishment so thoroughly that even the most hardcore alarmists feel the need to vomit while watching the play (they didn't use exactly the same words, but they meant the same thing), "The Heretic" is a deep psychological probe into the life of an honest geodynamics lecturer Diane Cassell who is a "scientist and therefore doesn't believe in anything" and who becomes increasingly ostracized by her less ethical colleagues for claiming the obvious, namely that there's no proof of man-made climate change.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Twisted
... in the UK:
Such is the bizarre state of our immigration laws that, thanks to European legislation, we cannot deport a citizen of an EU country, even a rapist or murderer. Meanwhile, judges prevent the deportation of a Pakistani who knocked down a 12-year-old girl and caused her to "die like a dog" as she was dragged along by his car.
But a man who has sustained permanent injury in the field in the defence of Britain – for which he has not yet been paid any compensation - cannot be allowed to live in our country, although his only wish is to stay peaceably and to work for his living.
Ontario Birds Breath a Sigh of Relief
So Friday afternoon was an ideal time for Ontario’s Liberal government to take a big chunk of its alternative energy program and chuck it overboard. Attention was riveted on Egypt, where spectacular events were unfolding. The perfect opportunity for Premier Dalton McGuinty to engineer yet another major reversal, while paying a minimal price among voters.... more.
A Match Made in Gaia
United against the forces of darkness and warmth:
Here was a true mating, a yoking of heart-breaking genius. Gore, an imperious, lugubrious, dour and insistent one-cause Doomsday machine, a kind of oversized Spock without Spock’s lavish sense of humour, needed something of Olbermann’s manic, untethered zest. Olbermann , whose most charged flights during his days at MSNBC’s Countdown went into hitherto unpiloted altitudes of non-sequitur and denunciation, desperately needed an alignment with someone who occasionally glided within a few feet of the actual (albeit destined to imminent, carbonaceous ruin) earth.Rex
[...]
Still, there’s something wrong with this viewing equation for both parties. Twenty-three thousand viewers in a country of 300 million people — these are not CSI numbers. Heck, they’re not even fireplace-channel numbers; and can hardly constitute the “reach” that an impressario of Olbermann’s ego can tolerate.
Migrating Evil
In reaching the findings presented herein, the article also adds to the universalism-relativism debate by demonstrating that allowances for "plurality consciousness" on the international level may in certain instances undermine norms previously negotiated and accepted as authoritative by the international community. From this perspective, the movement in favor of prohibiting "defamation of religion" is not merely a case study that helps to expand our understanding of how anti-constitutional ideas migrate, but rather indicative of a reenergized campaign to challenge the promise, status and stability of universal human rights norms.
Click
The Lebanese Canadian Bank
On Thursday the Treasury described the Lebanese Canadian Bank in Beirut as a "financial institution of primary money laundering concern." The Treasury said it had reason to believe that managers at the bank were complicit in money laundering by Ayman Joumaa, an alleged trafficker accused by U.S. authorities of shipping drugs from South America to Europe and the Middle East through west Africa.CNN
Deficit, Debt, Recession, and Stocks
Image: The New Red Menace
For now, the important point for stock market investors to understand is that big spending and a low rate of tax collections as a percentage of GDP are great for pushing up the stock market. At the point when somebody in power decides to change that, in order to fix the problems described above, it is not going to be a pretty outcome.... read the whole thing.
Daniels
Friday, February 11, 2011
Stephen Harper, Destroying the Conservative Movement
... one offset at a time:
For free-market zealots, the Harper Conservatives sure are behaving like communists. And I’m not talking about the monument to sporting socialism they will apparently fund in Quebec City. I’m talking about climate change. On that file, they’ve gone Red.
Equalization Buys Quebec a Hockey Arena
No province that sucks up equalization money like Quebec should be able to afford a taxpayer funded arena. Just ask yourself, could Quebec afford its many perks if it had no access to Alberta money?
The province will pay half the $400 million. The city will pay $187 million. They’re counting on “the private sector”, ie. Quebecor, to kick in the rest. Which means that — other than the Quebecor share — Quebec taxpayers are on the hook for the whole thing.NP
The Clue-Bat Strikes Again
"My answer is clearly yes, it is a failure," he said in a television interview when asked about the policy which advocates that host societies welcome and foster distinct cultural and religious immigrant groups.Nick grows a brain.
"Of course we must all respect differences, but we do not want... a society where communities coexist side by side.
In Praise of Grizz
... and hoping he gets to chew on a bureaucrat or two:
As two teenage boys watched, one of them filming its actions with a cell phone, Grizz killed the coon, Foster said.
Now, Foster is facing a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty resulting in death, which is punishable by a maximum of 90 days in jail and a $500 fine. A jury trial is scheduled for Feb. 25 in Jackson County District Court.
Budding Young Cockroach
Saskatoon City Council has become a breeding ground:
There is an increasing number of youth in the city concerned about urban issues, reacting against sprawling, car-dependent Saskatoon to try to create a more liveable city, she said.For those who don't know Saskatoon ... it's a city of under 250,000 people located in the middle of the bald prairie. Urban Sprawl and Saskatoon don't even belong in the same sentence.
Letters Home
... from the front:
"Valerie, shall we become in engaged in a sort of distant way so that we are sort of linked together until we next meet? How would that suit you?"
"Anthony... yes, Anthony, shall we?"
Nobel Peace Price 2007
The year is 2007 ... the Nobel Committee has a difficult choice to make ...
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Efficient Wind Turbine ...
The most fatuous phrase in the English language:
Since it was switched on in 2005, this 2MW cash machine has extracted £600,000 from unwitting electricity consumers. But then even the fatuous Hendry has warned developers it was wrong for "inefficient" wind turbines to get "significant" public subsidies. What he does not not seem to realise is that, while this may be an extreme example, it is only a matter of degree. There is no such thing as an "efficient" windmill.
It's Not a Canadian Value
... if you don't defend it:
Update: From the Gods
In Canada, we have wanted to treat people as equals, not separates. So many of these stupid politically correct ideas date back to the days of Trudeau and are still strong today, the messengers being mostly academics and political left-of-centre media types and left-of-centre so-called progressive politicians, who sell us their politically-correct cargo on the basis of National unity. It's time to call B.S. on that. It's been one long tedious counterproductive cerebral gym class.Previous at Cjunk ... Canadian car barbeque season starts in about 20 years.
Update: From the Gods
A small band - of which I count myself among - have pushed for years for improving the quality of history instruction in the schools. Only a generation whose heads are filled with multicultural platitudes, and wholly ignorant of our painful battles toward unity, could allow this to happen. They naively imagine that Canada's success is natural and to be taken for granted. The prosperity and peace of this nation are not the gifts of nature, they are the hard fought gains of those who came before us.
Surge Gains Support Among Afghans
Most Afghans were increasingly optimistic about the state of their country, a poll commissioned by the BBC, ABC News and German broadcaster ARD in December 2009 suggested.BBC
Of more than 1,500 Afghans questioned, 70% said they believed Afghanistan was going in the right direction - up from 40% a year earlier. Of those questioned, 68% backed the presence of US troops, compared with 63% 12 months previously.
For Nato troops, including UK forces, support rose from 59% to 62%.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
An Ideology Born in Deserts; Only Produces Deserts
... lest Canadians get cocky, consider the Canadian Facts.
Why the Peaceful Majority of Muslims ... in Canada ... may be dangerous.
Evianistan
One of the cleverest logistical developments in Afghanistan was the British Army building a bottled water plant in Kandahar. This is largely a desert area, but the Brits looked underground and found, as expected, underwater springs carrying water from the distant (but visible) Hindu Kush mountains. So they set up a water purification and bottling plant, that has eliminated the hassle and expense of bringing in over 1,000 truckloads of water a year since 2007. The plastic water bottles are brought in as small (test tube size) plastic preforms. When pumped full of air with a special machine, the plastic water bottle appears. Thus one pallet of preforms is turned into eleven of water bottles. The military uses more rugged plastic for their water bottles, not only to survive a harsher battlefield environment, but to have a longer shelf life (twice the one year for commercial bottled water).... more.
Power Projection
From LiveLeak.com:
This is how we did the MITO back in the day.
These are B-52G's and KC-135A's from the 416 BMW, at the former Griffiss AFB, NY. The Buff with the old "lizard" paint scheme is piloted by Capt. John Hannan. The loud voices you hear are the maintenance specialists that worked all night getting the aircraft ready.
Global Shield Minimum Interval Take Off (MITO) launch of B-52’s and K-135’s back in 1987. What you’re seeing in the video is taking place, simultaneously, at every SAC base in the United States. Every B-52 in the video was eventually sent to the boneyard by HW Bush to be chopped up according to STAT Treaty. We went from a fleet of 300 of these monsters to under 70 today.
You’ll notice the KC-135’s are flying heavy by the amount of runway they’re taking and they’re also trying to fly under the jet wash of the BUFF’s. The turbulence really bounces them around. "
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
A Time for Maxime
... right after the Harper Tories are handed a reduced minority come next election:
Mr. Bernier is openly positioning himself to run as the libertarian standard bearer in a future Conservative leadership race. He may not be dreaming in technicolour, as some of his critics charge. He is popular in the caucus, particularly with Western MPs, who regularly invite him to their ridings to speak in front of large, enthusiastic crowds.... that is, if Harper doesn't single handedly destroy the conservative movement in Canada before the likes of Maxime get a chance to save it.
Ah ... There Go Those "Models" Again
Is the primary prerequisite for getting grants to do research these days, the ability to be a weasel:
If spring break up in Hudson Bay comes one month earlier than in the 1990s, 40 to 73 per cent of pregnant female polar bears will not reproduce.Now there's a margin of error I can live with ... and I'm sure so can the polar bears.
Green Debt
... what could possibly go wrong?
Participating banks would be pooling the debt to avoid spoiling key financial ratios. Financial consulting firm Accenture told the New York Times, “Banks could provide primary debt, securitize it into ‘green bonds’ and place the securities on the mainstream public markets with minimal impact on their balance sheets.”
Unfortunately for An Aging Suzuki
... being older hasn't translated into being wiser:
Last week David Suzuki, Canada’s premiere environmental activist, was showered with praise during a ceremony in Vancouver. Yet even on that happy occasion his mood was bleak. According to a report by the Canadian Press news service:
…as he received a lifetime achievement award…the 74-year-old said the planet is in “far worse shape” today than when he began spreading his message almost 50 years ago. “We’ve gone backwards,” he said in an interview.
Lately, Suzuki has begun referring to himself as “an elder.” Unfortunately, age does not always bring wisdom. The idea that the planet is deteriorating is fashionable. People like Suzuki have, after all, been saying so forever. But what evidence supports this claim?
Almost a Muslim - in - Chief
Muslim? ... likely not. Transnational with a soft spot for Islam ... likely. No bible believing Christian could ever describe the Quran as "holy" ... but Obama does it with ease.
Christian? Perhaps ... but the sort that can sit through Reverend Wrights twisted bastardized version of it ... and never find anything wrong.
Christian? Perhaps ... but the sort that can sit through Reverend Wrights twisted bastardized version of it ... and never find anything wrong.
Why I Seldom Ever Purchase or View Movies
... because the movie industry is packed to the rafters with cockroaches. Seldom, will they get my money:
“Sir Mark and Carol are appalled at what they have learnt about the film,” says a friend of the family. “They think it sounds like some Left-wing fantasy. They feel strongly about it, but will not speak publicly for fear of giving it more publicity.”
Monday, February 7, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
40 to 1 are Bad Odds
“They started snatching jewelry, cell phones, cash, laptops and other belongings from the passengers,” Shrestha recalled. The soldier had somehow remained a silent spectator amidst the melee, but not for long. He had had enough when the robbers stripped an 18-year-old girl sitting next to him and tried to rape her right in front of her parents. He then took out his khukuri and took on the robbers.... meanwhile in Canada.
“The girl cried for help, saying ´You are a soldier, please save a sister´,” Shrestha recalled. “I prevented her from being raped, thinking of her as my own sister,” he added. He took one of the robbers under control and then started to attack the others. He said the rest of the robbers fled after he killed three of them with his khukuri and injured eight others.
Garçon in Chief
The shadow-president ... the one who both Mo and Bo can't blow their noses without, delivers a delicious faux pas:
According to our tipster, Jarrett was seated at the head table along with several other big-name politicians and a handful of high-ranking military officials. As an officer sporting several stars walked past Jarrett, she signaled for his attention and said, “I’d like another glass of wine.”
Garçon!
The Rancid Few
... shamelessly pushing their guano:
Nor has the looting been restricted to property and purse. Some have seized the chance to blame climate change and push the alarmist agenda. They are what might aptly be described as climate looters. To their credit, the majority of proponents of global warming have not attempted to claim the floods as due to human induced climate change. However, for a few it seems the temptation was too great to resist and, as might now be expected, the media have afforded them prominent coverage. Also not unexpectedly, the ABC has been prominent in propagating this blatant alarmist opportunism.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Eli
Eli ran to Pfc. Colton's side.
How Are Those Bird Choppers Working for Ya?
Mexico's state electricity company on Wednesday started supplying electricity to the US state of Texas, where demand shot up amid unusually cold temperatures and caused power outages.Texas ... what with Boone Pickens' bird chopper heaven and all, you'd think they'd be selling power ... not buying it.
Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission "was determined to support Texas with electrical energy faced with the problems the state is suffering due to climatological conditions," a statement said.
An energy transfer of 280 megawatts began at midday (1800 GMT) via the north Mexican border cities of Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Piedras Negras, it added.
I guess somebody forgot to tell them that for every electron of installed bird chopper power, you need to have a matching electron of conventional on-demand power ready to go. Those Natural Gas powerplants they didn't install must be looking pretty good about now.
Crushing Backlash Over Internet Billing
The head of the CRTC is being called before a Commons committee Thursday to explain an unpopular ruling that effectively kills unlimited Internet download packages.CTV
The federal government has already sent a clear message to Konrad von Finckenstein that it expects the CRTC to reverse the ruling.
In fact, if the CRTC doesn't backtrack, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Industry Minister Tony Clement will take the matter into their own hands, a senior official told CTV on Wednesday.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Carbon for Brains
There are still those who talk about the "green economy" as if it's a pancea:
ht
Earlier today ...
Europe must bridge a €2.2trillion (£1.9trn) "carbon capital chasm" if it is to meet 2020 carbon emissions reduction targets.Once they remove "carbon" and "global warming" from green talk and get back to reducing pollution and overall eco-destruction, then perhaps, just perhaps, "greening" the economy may make sense and may regain some credibility with thinking people.
The EU needs to invest €2.9trn in changes to its buildings, energy and transport infrastructure to reduce emissions. And given the state of public finances most of that will have to come from financial institutions, a study from Accenture and Barclays Capital said.
ht
Earlier today ...
New Low Rad Reactor Within 5 Years
Thorium:
Lubos has more.
Add this to Clathrate and things are looking not too bad.
China has committed itself to establishing an entirely new nuclear energy programme using thorium as a fuel, within 20 years. The LFTR (Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor) is a 4G reactor that uses liquid salt as both fuel and coolant. China uses the more general term TMSR (Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor).... and there's enough of the stuff to last 8000+ years. ... trust the Chi-Coms to beat us to it.
The thorium fuel cycles produce almost no plutonium, and fewer higher-isotope nasties, the long-lived minor actinides. Thorium is much more abundant than uranium, and the reduced plutonium output eases proliferation concerns. The energy output per tonne is also attractive, even though thorium isn't itself a fissile material.
Thorium reactors are also safer, with the fuel contained in a low-pressure reactor vessel, which means smaller (sub-500MWe) reactors may be worth building. The first Molten-Salt Breeder prototype was built at Oak Ridge in 1950, with an operational reactor running from 1965 to 1969. Six heavy-water thorium reactors are planned in India, which has the world's largest thorium deposits.
Lubos has more.
Add this to Clathrate and things are looking not too bad.
The Gloves Are Off
Spencer:
A Challenge to the Climate Research Community
I’ve been picking up a lot of chatter in the last few days about the ’settled science’ of global warming. What most people don’t realize is that the vast majority of published research on the topic simply assumes that warming is manmade. It in no way “proves” it.
If the science really is that settled, then this challenge should be easy:
Show me one peer-reviewed paper that has ruled out natural, internal climate cycles as the cause of most of the recent warming in the thermometer record.
Studies that have suggested that an increase in the total output of the sun cannot be blamed, do not count…the sun is an external driver. I’m talking about natural, internal variability.
The fact is that the ‘null hypothesis’ of global warming has never been rejected: That natural climate variability can explain everything we see in the climate system.
Al Gore Snow Job
... as opposed to what he expected from the masseuse.
Gore goes infantile as he adds to the AGW causes more blizzards myth.
Of course, Gore knows what he knows from the vast body of peer reviewed evidence produced over the past 20 years that warned repeatedly about more blizzards in the USA because of AGW ... I'm sure you all recall the endless horror stories coming from greens about the massive snows to blanket the USA because of warming ...
According to warmists the warm 90 to 99 percent humid air over the Gulf that pumps north is clearly more "wet" than it was 30 years ago when it was warm 90 to 99 percent and humid ... not. And of course, the 500mb winds pushing all that cold Canuck air so far south that Texas is in rolling black outs ... has been proven beyond a doubt to be caused by AGW ... just check all that peer reviewed research on the topic. And finally, the similarity of these weather patterns to those experienced in the 70s, when Al Gore's mentor, a Dr. Hanson, was warning of Global Cooling, has nothing to do with any of this ... right?
Now here's a fact that even Gore can't shake ... upper air winds are forcing cold Canadian air further south than normal this year and for longer spells ... what exactly is causing this is up for grabs ... but one thing is certian ... it's happened before, it'll happen again ... and it has Zero to do with Global Warming.
This year's NOAA 6 - 10 day outlook map has been blue over the central and eastern states almost all winter so far ... rain, snow, or shine ... and that, you can take to the bank.
More Reading:
WUWT has fun with more Global Warming Blizzard nonsense.
Gore goes infantile as he adds to the AGW causes more blizzards myth.
Of course, Gore knows what he knows from the vast body of peer reviewed evidence produced over the past 20 years that warned repeatedly about more blizzards in the USA because of AGW ... I'm sure you all recall the endless horror stories coming from greens about the massive snows to blanket the USA because of warming ...
According to warmists the warm 90 to 99 percent humid air over the Gulf that pumps north is clearly more "wet" than it was 30 years ago when it was warm 90 to 99 percent and humid ... not. And of course, the 500mb winds pushing all that cold Canuck air so far south that Texas is in rolling black outs ... has been proven beyond a doubt to be caused by AGW ... just check all that peer reviewed research on the topic. And finally, the similarity of these weather patterns to those experienced in the 70s, when Al Gore's mentor, a Dr. Hanson, was warning of Global Cooling, has nothing to do with any of this ... right?
Now here's a fact that even Gore can't shake ... upper air winds are forcing cold Canadian air further south than normal this year and for longer spells ... what exactly is causing this is up for grabs ... but one thing is certian ... it's happened before, it'll happen again ... and it has Zero to do with Global Warming.
This year's NOAA 6 - 10 day outlook map has been blue over the central and eastern states almost all winter so far ... rain, snow, or shine ... and that, you can take to the bank.
More Reading:
WUWT has fun with more Global Warming Blizzard nonsense.
Thank God They Installed All Those Bird Choppers
Texas:
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has ordered utilities to begin rotating outages to compensate for a generation shortage due high usage in extreme weather.
Rotating outages are controlled, temporary interruptions of service designed to ease the load on the electric grid. To see recent reports on the grid load, click here.
The outages last anywhere from 10-45 minutes, though many NBCDFW readers are reporting outages lasting longer than an hour. The locations and durations of the outages are determined by the local carrier. Critical need customers such as hospitals and nursing homes are generally not included.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
It's On
It's time for popcorn and whatever beverage is your choice:
The Obama snub is the first sign of how the administration will respond to demands for documents and testimony by key officials from Republicans in control of the House now that the GOP holds the power of congressional subpoena.... and they haven't even started the Global Warming Hoax inquiries yet ... I can hardly wait for those.
A Jan. 28 letter from the Department of Homeland Security promised to cooperate with Issa’s document request sent Jan. 14 – but Issa’s deadline for the documents expired the next day.
“I asked DHS to produce this information by Jan. 29 – two weeks from the date of my second letter,” Issa says in his Feb. 1 reply to the deadline snub, “The department gave no indication that it would not be able to comply with the deadline.”
Further, Issa charges that top DHS officials actually instructed career employees not to search for the documents he is requesting.
Behold the Peace of Islam
... and your Canadian future:
A 15 year old Danish girl married a Muslim man in his twenties this summer in Copenhagen, in a mosque on 16 Vibevej road in the Nordvest district. [ed: Al Hidayah mosque]Previous
The man worked as a Koran teacher at the mosque and the marriage took place without consent from the girl's parents, and just a few months after the girl converted to Islam. The Copenhagen municipality reported the man to the police for having an illegal relationship between teacher and student, as well as for keeping a minor away from their parents.
Kill It
Liberals opposing usage-based billing ruling by CRTC for InternetCTV
The federal Liberals are opposing a CRTC decision they say will allow major Internet service providers to put a cap on how much data consumers can download and ultimately lead to higher Internet rates.
The Liberals say the decision, which allows usage-based billing to go ahead, limits competition and choice for consumers.
Industry Minister Tony Clement has said he will review the decision, as a groundswell of complaint begins to arise from Internet users.
A Glimmer of Hope
The manufacturing sector started off 2011 with a bang, growing at its fastest pace in more than six years, a purchasing managers' group said Tuesday.Good news indeed ... now only if they'd take Canada's example, things would really take off.
The Institute for Supply Management's index for manufacturing activity climbed to 60.8 in January, up from 58.5 in December.
Green With Envy
Shucks ... Canada only has the 3rd best university in the entire universe.
3rd prize goes toNortheastern University, United States York University, Canada.
3rd prize goes to
Egypt Riots ... So Let's Raise Taxes
The workings of the progressive mind are a wonder to behold:
“When democratic ideals and calls for the right to vote are stirring the imagination of young people in Egypt and Tunisia and other parts of the world, we in California can’t say now is the time to block a vote of the people,” Brown said in his first State of the State address in nearly 30 years.Meanwhile, back home ...
How To Perform a Stitch-Up
As to how it was done, the technique was fairly simple and direct. First paint a picture of Armageddon, and agree that this is real and has to be taken seriously. Then pick "mad" climate sceptic – enter Monckton – and build him up as representing the entire sceptic case. Go through the charade of exploring his views, refer to grave scientists who say this loon is a loon, "reluctantly" agree and conclude that the scientists must be believed. Game over.As simple as 1, 2 ,3 ... B, B, C.
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