Quebec is one of the most heavily indebted industrial economies in the world. Once again you have to ask how does Quebec continue on this path with gold plated social programs? It does by using a lot of equalization money. The idea of Quebec independence is actually a laughable idea unless as the separatists would want , they get continued equalization. Not very likely. My friend Joanne Marcotte discusses Quebec independence in 2020, a pretty amusing read( here is a google translation , but it is better in French).
An analysis by the Quebec Ministry of Finance suggests the province has one of the most heavily indebted economies in the industrialized world.
The 44-page document calculates the province's total debt as 94 per cent of GDP, employing methods used by the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development.
The government report, available on the ministry's website, compares the total provincial public debt to that of other Canadian provinces and to major industrialized nations.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sarah Thomson
I went to a campaign event for Sarah Thomson. The publisher, founder and CEO of the Woman's Post is running to be mayor of Toronto. I think she will be an excellent candidate. She is a fiscal conservative. She is dynamic and experienced in business. My friend Wendy Stewart is her campaign manager. Best of all she believes in subways over trams. From what I see so far, she is the best candidate and would be a huge improvement over leftist miller. The event was well attended and she has a lot of enthusiastic volunteers.
HM PM Stephen Harper on CTV
Another impressive interview with HM PM Harper, another hockey mad Canadian.
And a thank you from the other Brian Williams.
And a thank you from the other Brian Williams.
A perfect storm?
An excellent article bringing together all the climate scandals and the billions wasted on the hoax.
But this completely misses the point. Put the errors together and it can be seen that one after another they tick off all the central, iconic issues of the entire global warming saga. Apart from those non-vanishing polar bears, no fears of climate change have been played on more insistently than these: the destruction of Himalayan glaciers and Amazonian rainforest; famine in Africa; fast-rising sea levels; the threat of hurricanes, droughts, floods and heatwaves all becoming more frequent.
All these alarms were given special prominence in the IPCC's 2007 report and each of them has now been shown to be based, not on hard evidence, but on scare stories, derived not from proper scientists but from environmental activists. Those glaciers are not vanishing; the damage to the rainforest is not from climate change but logging and agriculture; African crop yields are more likely to increase than diminish; the modest rise in sea levels is slowing not accelerating; hurricane activity is lower than it was 60 years ago; droughts were more frequent in the past; there has been no increase in floods or heatwaves.
But this completely misses the point. Put the errors together and it can be seen that one after another they tick off all the central, iconic issues of the entire global warming saga. Apart from those non-vanishing polar bears, no fears of climate change have been played on more insistently than these: the destruction of Himalayan glaciers and Amazonian rainforest; famine in Africa; fast-rising sea levels; the threat of hurricanes, droughts, floods and heatwaves all becoming more frequent.
All these alarms were given special prominence in the IPCC's 2007 report and each of them has now been shown to be based, not on hard evidence, but on scare stories, derived not from proper scientists but from environmental activists. Those glaciers are not vanishing; the damage to the rainforest is not from climate change but logging and agriculture; African crop yields are more likely to increase than diminish; the modest rise in sea levels is slowing not accelerating; hurricane activity is lower than it was 60 years ago; droughts were more frequent in the past; there has been no increase in floods or heatwaves.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Ever more errors from the chicken littles
It seems that yet more errors were found in Met office data. All met data is to be reanalyzed. It would be better if all this data was made availible on the internet, so everyone can look at it.
LONDON: The British Meteorological Office has been forced to correct its global temperature records after a science blogger discovered that Australian weather data had been misused or discarded.
The mistakes were discovered by Dr John Graham-Cumming when the temperature records were made public by the office in December in the wake of the East Anglia University email scandal.
Dr Graham-Cumming, a London mathematician and computer programmer who describes himself as a ''computer geek'', found that data from seven weather stations in Australia had been accidentally discarded while another 112 Australian stations - or 28 per cent of the Oceania total - had not been fully included in the calculations.
''What appears to have happened is that the Met Office calculated the averages and then got more data from Oceania and then failed to update the averages,'' Dr Graham-Cumming said.
''The site with the greatest error was Napier Nelson Park, in New Zealand, where the average temperature was off by more than 1 degree. That's a lot given that the total warming seen since the 1970s is less than 1 degree and for this location the Met Office had it more than 1 degree hotter than it is. Had the error I'd found been more widespread, it could have had a real effect on the overall picture.''
LONDON: The British Meteorological Office has been forced to correct its global temperature records after a science blogger discovered that Australian weather data had been misused or discarded.
The mistakes were discovered by Dr John Graham-Cumming when the temperature records were made public by the office in December in the wake of the East Anglia University email scandal.
Dr Graham-Cumming, a London mathematician and computer programmer who describes himself as a ''computer geek'', found that data from seven weather stations in Australia had been accidentally discarded while another 112 Australian stations - or 28 per cent of the Oceania total - had not been fully included in the calculations.
''What appears to have happened is that the Met Office calculated the averages and then got more data from Oceania and then failed to update the averages,'' Dr Graham-Cumming said.
''The site with the greatest error was Napier Nelson Park, in New Zealand, where the average temperature was off by more than 1 degree. That's a lot given that the total warming seen since the 1970s is less than 1 degree and for this location the Met Office had it more than 1 degree hotter than it is. Had the error I'd found been more widespread, it could have had a real effect on the overall picture.''
What a surprise...
The murderous Burmese junta has disallowed the appeal of Aung San Suu Kyi. The idea that the Burmese "supreme court" is any way independent is laughable. The world must continue to pressure these killers. They must free Aun San Suu Kyi and restore democracy.
Aung San Suu Kyi appeal rejected by Burma court
Ms Suu Kyi has spent most of the last 20 years in detention
The Supreme Court in Burma has rejected an appeal by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi against an extension of her house arrest.
Ms Suu Kyi has spent most of the past 20 years in some form of detention, despite her party overwhelmingly winning Burma's last general election.
The Burmese military government ignored those results but are planning their own elections for later in 2010.
Ms Suu Kyi has already been disqualified from standing in these.
Her extended detention has been seen by some analysts as a further guarantee for the military that she will not be able to campaign for others in the elections either.
Senator Inhofe on the goreacle
I love Senator Inhofe.
Here is Senator Inhofe announcing the Senate Minority report on Climategate.
Here he is with Neil Cavuto demanding that the goreacle be stripped of his fraudulent prize.
Lou Dobbs Congratulates Senator Inhofe
Thank you Senator Inhofe for your tireless attempts to expose the chicken littles
Here is Senator Inhofe announcing the Senate Minority report on Climategate.
Here he is with Neil Cavuto demanding that the goreacle be stripped of his fraudulent prize.
Lou Dobbs Congratulates Senator Inhofe
Thank you Senator Inhofe for your tireless attempts to expose the chicken littles
dems' Thelma and Louise maneuver?
Ed Morrissey ( a former Blogging Tory) wonders if nancy and harry want to pull a thelma and louise. Will they pass obamacare and accept political oblivion for the dems. I agree with Morrissey that many of the other dems will not be so willing to accept defeat. With the loss of murtha and wexler, pelosi will have a very difficult time passing much of anything in the obama radical agenda.
Andy may be right that Democratic leadership has made the decision that political oblivion is an acceptable cost for a one-time remaking of America that Republicans will find difficult to reverse in the next session. However, I suspect that this strategy doesn’t account for the fact that the people who will actually have to end their careers may not appreciate getting forced into marching off a cliff while the leadership stays safely in their rear-echelon bastions of San Francisco and New York City.
Friday, February 26, 2010
More separatist nonsense
No, not in Quebec but Scotland. The same double dealing we expect from Quebec separatists seem to have rubbed off on the snp. Why can't they ask should Scotland be an independent country. Because they would lose. Even with this question they will lose. Ivison proposes a clarity act for the UK. Not a bad idea.
The nationalist government in Scotland unveiled its plans for a referendum on independence yesterday and the results are as clear as Scotch mist.
The Scottish National Party, under leader "Smart" Alex Salmond, has contrived a deeply cynical two-question referendum that must have Quebec separatists green with envy. The first question would ask Scots if they back increased powers for the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. So far, so good.
The second question would then ask people if they agreed "the Parliament's powers should also be extended to enable independence to be achieved."
Mr. Salmond said the results would be merely "advisory," and it would be up to the U.K. and Scottish Parliaments to act on the will of the people, but it seems clear he would interpret a vote of 50% plus one as a mandate to negotiate independence...
The nationalist government in Scotland unveiled its plans for a referendum on independence yesterday and the results are as clear as Scotch mist.
The Scottish National Party, under leader "Smart" Alex Salmond, has contrived a deeply cynical two-question referendum that must have Quebec separatists green with envy. The first question would ask Scots if they back increased powers for the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. So far, so good.
The second question would then ask people if they agreed "the Parliament's powers should also be extended to enable independence to be achieved."
Mr. Salmond said the results would be merely "advisory," and it would be up to the U.K. and Scottish Parliaments to act on the will of the people, but it seems clear he would interpret a vote of 50% plus one as a mandate to negotiate independence...
Saving Freedom from Fascism #CPAC2010
A great Panel with Quin Hillyer, Jonah Goldberg, author of "Liberalism Fascism," Amity Schlaes , and Herb London. I found Jonah Goldberg and Amity Shlaes, the most compelling speaker. Professor Shaes was a great speaker. She ably made the case for conservatism and against socialism . Her book the Forgotten Man is the best explanation of the depression around.
I did speak to Jonah Goldberg after the speech and he admitted he really did like Canada. In spite of his previous excesses. I got it in writing.
I did speak to Jonah Goldberg after the speech and he admitted he really did like Canada. In spite of his previous excesses. I got it in writing.
L. Ian Macdonald on Quebec and Alberta
A great article on Quebec's dependence on Alberta and its oil. Premier charest and some of the other hypocritical "environmentalists" in Quebec, rail against the dirty tar sands, while financing the province's gold plated social programs with Alberta oil money. Its time for Quebec to balance its budget, increase university tuitions, rationalize social programs and cut taxes. Its also time to rid Canada of equalization.
Nor is there any evidence that it has the courage to raise day-care fees from $7 a day, when the actual cost is $49 a day — again subsidized by taxpayers, including the voters of Alberta through equalization. (Alberta sends $40 billion a year to Ottawa and gets only $19 billion back from the feds in transfers and entitlements, leaving $21 billion in equalization from Ottawa to the recipient provinces, which now include Ontario).
So Quebec, with 20% of the kids in the country, has 50% of all the day-care spaces in Canada.
Real needs
There’s more: About 25% of Quebec secondary students attend private schools, compared to around 10% in other provinces. But half of tuition fees for private schools are covered by the government. For example, one of the top high schools in Quebec is Loyola, where families pay $6,000 tuition, and the government covers the other half. Again, thanks to taxpayers, including those in Alberta.
I digress. To come back to the point of Bouchard and the group of 16, Quebec universities are chronically underfunded by at least $500 million a year relative to their real needs. And to ensure that no one is denied a college education because of inability to pay, any tuition increase could be accompanied by student aid.
The question is whether the Charest government has the courage to allow tuition fees to rise, or whether it will allow itself to be howled down by a mob of students. The same question goes for day-care costs.
“Political courage isn’t something you can swallow with your morning coffee,” Bouchard declared. “You can’t wait around for a knight to arrive atop a white horse and say, ‘I will solve the problem.’ That’s not how it happens. It’s the people who must support difficult decisions because they’re the ones who pay for them.”
By the way, thanks Alberta.
Nor is there any evidence that it has the courage to raise day-care fees from $7 a day, when the actual cost is $49 a day — again subsidized by taxpayers, including the voters of Alberta through equalization. (Alberta sends $40 billion a year to Ottawa and gets only $19 billion back from the feds in transfers and entitlements, leaving $21 billion in equalization from Ottawa to the recipient provinces, which now include Ontario).
So Quebec, with 20% of the kids in the country, has 50% of all the day-care spaces in Canada.
Real needs
There’s more: About 25% of Quebec secondary students attend private schools, compared to around 10% in other provinces. But half of tuition fees for private schools are covered by the government. For example, one of the top high schools in Quebec is Loyola, where families pay $6,000 tuition, and the government covers the other half. Again, thanks to taxpayers, including those in Alberta.
I digress. To come back to the point of Bouchard and the group of 16, Quebec universities are chronically underfunded by at least $500 million a year relative to their real needs. And to ensure that no one is denied a college education because of inability to pay, any tuition increase could be accompanied by student aid.
The question is whether the Charest government has the courage to allow tuition fees to rise, or whether it will allow itself to be howled down by a mob of students. The same question goes for day-care costs.
“Political courage isn’t something you can swallow with your morning coffee,” Bouchard declared. “You can’t wait around for a knight to arrive atop a white horse and say, ‘I will solve the problem.’ That’s not how it happens. It’s the people who must support difficult decisions because they’re the ones who pay for them.”
By the way, thanks Alberta.
Dr Roy visits Fox News
The gang with Bret Baier
Fox News Studio
On a recent trip to Washington D.C., a bunch of Canadians got to visit the Fox News studios ( Thank you Kory). It's not really a secret that I like Fox news Channel, a lot more than most media outlets. It was really amazing to watch how Fox got so much done in such a small space. The main studio has an amazing view of the Capitol building. We saw Greta Van Sustern and Chris Wallace and got a photo with Bret Baier. Everyone was super nice. We all got to meet Bill Sammon, FOX News Channel's (FNC) vice president of News and Washington managing editor. We all encouraged him to get Fox News on basic cable in Canada.
We also saw the studios of Fox Business news and the small Sky News operation.
More Canadian jobs
Unlike the American economy, The Canadian economy is adding new jobs every month for the last 4 months. I'm sure iffy and his grits will be unhappy.
Payroll employment in Canada increased by 22,000 in December 2009, its fourth straight month of modest gains.
Payroll employment is a measure that tracks the number of paid positions based on tax information submitted to the Canada Revenue Agency by businesses and excludes some volatile sectors, such as agriculture.
It has been on an upward trend since August 2009 but remains down 380,000 from its October 2008 peak, despite the recent gains, Statistics Canada said Thursday.
Walmart is saying that it will creat another 6500 jobs in Canada this year.
Payroll employment in Canada increased by 22,000 in December 2009, its fourth straight month of modest gains.
Payroll employment is a measure that tracks the number of paid positions based on tax information submitted to the Canada Revenue Agency by businesses and excludes some volatile sectors, such as agriculture.
It has been on an upward trend since August 2009 but remains down 380,000 from its October 2008 peak, despite the recent gains, Statistics Canada said Thursday.
Walmart is saying that it will creat another 6500 jobs in Canada this year.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
R.I.P.Andrew Koenig
My deepest sympathies to the family of Andrew Koenig.
Family and police confirmed Thursday that Andrew Koenig, an actor who had been missing in Vancouver since Valentine's Day, is dead.
Mr. Koenig's father, also an actor, told a news conference at Stanley Park that his 41-year-old son had committed suicide,and that his body has been discovered in the park.
Walter Koenig, famous for playing Russian crew member Pavel Chekov on the original Star Trek series, urged anyone with suicidal thoughts to seek help.
Andrew Koenig disappeared on Feb. 14. He was best known for his role as Richard “Boner” Stabone in the 1980s sitcom Growing Pains.
Family and police confirmed Thursday that Andrew Koenig, an actor who had been missing in Vancouver since Valentine's Day, is dead.
Mr. Koenig's father, also an actor, told a news conference at Stanley Park that his 41-year-old son had committed suicide,and that his body has been discovered in the park.
Walter Koenig, famous for playing Russian crew member Pavel Chekov on the original Star Trek series, urged anyone with suicidal thoughts to seek help.
Andrew Koenig disappeared on Feb. 14. He was best known for his role as Richard “Boner” Stabone in the 1980s sitcom Growing Pains.
Ann Coulter on Strictly Right Radio
My friend Andrew Lawton of the Blog Strictly Right. has an interview with Ann Coulter in anticipation of her Canadian tour. Listen here. Good work Andrew and Ari, I am jealous
.
Saving Freedom from the Hoax of Global Warming#CPAC2010
CPAC was full of climate realists. This panel was a lot of fun. I particularly enjoyed conservative convert Ann McElhinney , Producer of Not Evil, Just Wrong. That's her husband Phelim in the photo with the "polar bear". I have met them before at the climate realist conferences in NYC. Phelim told me he will probably also be at the climate realist conference in Chicago this May. Read Ann's criticism of James Cameron over at Big Hollywood.
A climate realist song.
My Friend Maxime Bernier is a ...
climate realist!! Maxime really is great!!! The reaction from the chicken littles has been of course hysteria. Keep up the good work Maxime. One day you will be HM PM.
He complements the moderate position of HM Government.
Greenhouse gases: Caution is the right stance for Canada
by Maxime Bernier, MP for Beauce
During the Copenhagen summit last December, Canada was ferociously denounced by environmental groups. They accused our government of trying to derail an agreement because it was not ready to sign anything. Critics were raised again at the end of January when Environment Minister Jim Prentice announced new targets for reducing greenhouse gases that were more modest than the previous ones.
However, every week that goes by brings more confirmation of the wisdom of our government’s moderate position. Since December, the debate over the scientific basis of global warming, which had been stifled for years by political correctness, is finally taking place in the media. The many errors made by the IPCC that have been recently unveiled add more weight to the various alternative theories that have been put forward for a number of years....
He complements the moderate position of HM Government.
Greenhouse gases: Caution is the right stance for Canada
by Maxime Bernier, MP for Beauce
During the Copenhagen summit last December, Canada was ferociously denounced by environmental groups. They accused our government of trying to derail an agreement because it was not ready to sign anything. Critics were raised again at the end of January when Environment Minister Jim Prentice announced new targets for reducing greenhouse gases that were more modest than the previous ones.
However, every week that goes by brings more confirmation of the wisdom of our government’s moderate position. Since December, the debate over the scientific basis of global warming, which had been stifled for years by political correctness, is finally taking place in the media. The many errors made by the IPCC that have been recently unveiled add more weight to the various alternative theories that have been put forward for a number of years....
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Steve Crowder at #CPAC2010
I had a chance to meet and talk to Steven Crowder. He was host of Day 3's morning panels.
Here is Steven Crowder's latest video.
Marco Rubio at #CPAC2010
I really loved this speech. I loved his story and his conservative values. He will be an excellent Senator. Maybe President? Florida is very lucky.
Guy Earle and Ezra on Q
Guy Earle and Ezra defend free speech and denounce the ridiculous thought police on CBC. The always politically correct jian ghomeshi is the host. There is someone to defended the indefensible, but even she just agrees with Ezra most of the time. Even most of the commentators on the Q blog agree with Ezra and Guy Earle. Most Canadians understand that free speech is a fundamental right and the hrc thought police are a threat to that fundamental right. Fire them all.
Listen here.
Listen here.
grits on an elevator
Someone sent me this video labelled dems on an escalator, but it applies to the policyless, delusional grits as well.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
75 reasons...
to be skeptical of global warming....
1* Carbon dioxide contributes to only 4.2 - 8.4% of the greenhouse gas effect
2 Only approximately 4% of carbon dioxide is man-made
3 Water vapor accounts for 90 - 95% of the green house gas effect
4 99.99% of water vapor is natural, meaning that no amount of deindustrialization could get rid of it...
read the rest here.
1* Carbon dioxide contributes to only 4.2 - 8.4% of the greenhouse gas effect
2 Only approximately 4% of carbon dioxide is man-made
3 Water vapor accounts for 90 - 95% of the green house gas effect
4 99.99% of water vapor is natural, meaning that no amount of deindustrialization could get rid of it...
read the rest here.
More Lord Monckton, climate realist
Lord Monckton interviewed by Tom Minchin
Doomed Planet
“Today’s debate about global warming is essentially a debate about freedom. The environmentalists would like to mastermind each and every possible (and impossible) aspect of our lives.”
Vaclav Klaus
Blue Planet in Green Shackles
Monckton on the IPCC
by Tom Minchin
February 22, 2010
The IPCC Is "Corrupt from top to bottom"
I met Lord Monckton at a luncheon in Melbourne during his recent tour of Australia. I was surprised journalists here had not thought to ask him how his views on climate science had evolved. Why had he become so interested in climate science fraud and its political implications? The Q and A that follows is the result of an interview conducted with him after his return to Scotland on February 15.
I began by asking him what had started him on the road to his YouTube-covered speech exposing the draft Copenhagen treaty:
Minchin: What first made you suspect the "climate change" research of recent decades was skewed?
Monckton: The CEO of a boutique finance house in the City of London asked me to have a look at "global warming" because his analysts could not decide whether it was real or not. I first realized something was wrong when I wanted to find out how to convert radiative forcings in Watts per square meter to temperature in Kelvin, but not once in 1,000 pages did the IPCC's 2001 science assessment report reveal the existence of the Stefan-Boltzmann radiative-transfer equation, without which one cannot even begin the calculation. So obscurantist was the IPCC's methodology for determining climate sensitivity that it took me two years to research the underlying equations, some of which I had to derive for myself. A scientific establishment that was confident of its results would have explained the matter clearly and concisely.
Minchin: What do you predict will be the outcome of the current wave of revelations about the quality of IPCC research?...
Lord Monckton and Prof Ian Plimer at a sold out event in Sydney, Australia
Doomed Planet
“Today’s debate about global warming is essentially a debate about freedom. The environmentalists would like to mastermind each and every possible (and impossible) aspect of our lives.”
Vaclav Klaus
Blue Planet in Green Shackles
Monckton on the IPCC
by Tom Minchin
February 22, 2010
The IPCC Is "Corrupt from top to bottom"
I met Lord Monckton at a luncheon in Melbourne during his recent tour of Australia. I was surprised journalists here had not thought to ask him how his views on climate science had evolved. Why had he become so interested in climate science fraud and its political implications? The Q and A that follows is the result of an interview conducted with him after his return to Scotland on February 15.
I began by asking him what had started him on the road to his YouTube-covered speech exposing the draft Copenhagen treaty:
Minchin: What first made you suspect the "climate change" research of recent decades was skewed?
Monckton: The CEO of a boutique finance house in the City of London asked me to have a look at "global warming" because his analysts could not decide whether it was real or not. I first realized something was wrong when I wanted to find out how to convert radiative forcings in Watts per square meter to temperature in Kelvin, but not once in 1,000 pages did the IPCC's 2001 science assessment report reveal the existence of the Stefan-Boltzmann radiative-transfer equation, without which one cannot even begin the calculation. So obscurantist was the IPCC's methodology for determining climate sensitivity that it took me two years to research the underlying equations, some of which I had to derive for myself. A scientific establishment that was confident of its results would have explained the matter clearly and concisely.
Minchin: What do you predict will be the outcome of the current wave of revelations about the quality of IPCC research?...
Lord Monckton and Prof Ian Plimer at a sold out event in Sydney, Australia
Complete FDI event at CPAC#2010
Here is all the video from that Freedom defense Initiative at CPAC 2010.
Video playing as we entered the event: jihadi supporter violence in the weat
Pam Gellar and Wafa Sultan
Steve Coughlin
Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff: facing "hate speech" charges in Austria
Anders Gravers, Danish Leader for the Stop the Islamisation of Europe
Simon Deng Former Slave Sudan, Human Rights Activist, Leader of Freedom March
Lt Col Alan West ( running for Congrees in Florida)
Video playing as we entered the event: jihadi supporter violence in the weat
Pam Gellar and Wafa Sultan
Steve Coughlin
Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff: facing "hate speech" charges in Austria
Anders Gravers, Danish Leader for the Stop the Islamisation of Europe
Simon Deng Former Slave Sudan, Human Rights Activist, Leader of Freedom March
Lt Col Alan West ( running for Congrees in Florida)
Have you seen Andrew Koenig?
The son of Walter Koenig ( Chekov on Star Trek TOS), Andrew Koenig is missing. He was last seen in Vancouver. I hope and pray that this young man will be found safe and sound. I grew up watching Star Trek TOS and the actors seem like old friends to me. This must be agony for the Koenig family. I hope everyone in Vancouver can keep an eye out for Andrew Koenig.
Andrew Koenig was last seen on February 16 near Vancouver’s Stanley Park. He’s 5′5″ and weighs 135lbs.
Anyone with information on Koenig's whereabouts should call the Vancouver police at 604-717-2534.
An actor beloved to legions of Star Trek fans arrives in Vancouver Tuesday on a sad mission — to try to find his actor son who has been missing in the city since Valentine's Day.
Walter Koenig, who played Pavel Chekov on the landmark TV series, will join in the search for his son — Andrew Koenig — who had not been heard from since Feb. 14.
The younger Koenig achieved a level of fame himself as the recurring character Richard Stabone in the 1980s sitcom Growing Pains.
"We have to work in co-operation with police — who by the way have been extraordinary — but to do some kind of sweep, maybe of Stanley Park," Koenig told CBC News Friday in a telephone interview from Los Angeles.
"They haven't been able to find anything in the city."
Monday, February 22, 2010
Get Well soon Vice President Cheney #CPAC2010
Apparently Vice President Cheney has been hospitalized. Get well soon Vice President Cheney. Both he and his daughter Liz got an amazing reception at CPAC2010.
Liz Cheney blasted bo's foreign policy and Vice President Cheney said bo will be a one term president.
Watch Liz and Dick Cheney. They both got thunderous applause.
Liz Cheney blasted bo's foreign policy and Vice President Cheney said bo will be a one term president.
Watch Liz and Dick Cheney. They both got thunderous applause.
Keep America Safe Chairman Liz Cheney Addresses 37th CPAC from Keep America Safe on Vimeo.
GOProud #CPAC2010
I made friends with members of GOProud, a conservative gay organization. I had some great chats with the people manning their booth. There was a controversy at CPAC. A rather foolish young man, made some intemperate comments. He was booed off the stage. He was roundly denounced. I have actually begun to feel sorry for him. My new friends at GOProud told me that they have received overwhelming support since the event. Good, there are gay conservatives and it is important that they be part of the coalition. Gay people are part of our community and should be welcomed into the Conservative party. Inspite of the views of some gay activists, The Tory party is welcoming of gay people in Canada and I am glad to see the GOP is also becoming more welcoming of gay people.
Here is the event and an interview with Ryan Sorba.
Here is the event and an interview with Ryan Sorba.
Ann Coulter at #CPAC2010
Ann Coulter was in fine form at CPAC. She was over the top , as she usually is, but quite funny. Though I must admit even I winced occasionally. The room was packed and the audience was very amused. I didn't get to speak to her at CPAc, but I will in March, when she visits Canada.
Questions and answers
John Bolton at #CPAC2010
Day 3 of CPAC was jam packed with great speakers. One of my favourite hawks Ambassador John Bolton spoke. I even got to speak to him. He tore into bo's weak foreign policy of appeasement. He was particularly concerned about Iran. He like most right thiking people wants Freedom for Iran. I told Ambassador Bolton that I wanted to see a Constututional Monarchy with HIH Prince Reza Pahlavi returned to the Peacock Throne. He just smiled.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Newsweek on the lack of integrity...
of the climate scientists. This article calls for pachuri to resign. I prefer to see him stay. he will giarantee that the ipcc will collapse under its own weight. Twenty years ago, before anybody outside a small circle of meteorologists cared about climate, Phil Jones completed a study that reads like a parody of dull science. Called "Assessment of Urbanization Effects in Time Series of Surface Air Temperature Over Land," it was essentially a look at thermometers around the world. Even Al Gore probably gave it a miss. For the past few months, however, tabloid headlines (climategate chaos and how climategate boss broke rules by hiding key data) have screamed at Jones for missing documents that don't have an impact on the study's results, among other indiscretions. Last week Jones told Nature that his team's handling of the missing documents from the 1990 study was "not acceptable." It was a welcome moment of contrition from one of the world's eminent scientists. If we're lucky, it will mark a turning point. |
CBS on michael mann
Now even CBS is playing that video ( that I posted weeks ago) mocking michael mann. The left is of course going mental over this.
They claim the U Penn white wash is exoneration. Mann's troubles are not yet done.
Watch CBS News Videos Online
They claim the U Penn white wash is exoneration. Mann's troubles are not yet done.
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Glenn Beck at #CPAC2010
I was sitting in the front row to watch Glenn Beck's spectacular speech. A great way to end CPAC 2010. Watch the beginning here.
and the rest here.
or
Whole speech
And an interesting reply from Bill Bennett.
and the rest here.
or
Whole speech
And an interesting reply from Bill Bennett.
Salim Mansur on free speech
Free speech and all freedom is at risk because our acquiescence to the soft jihadi threat. The west really needs to wake up.
Let’s revise the famous opening sentence of Marx and Engel’s Communist Manifesto to state there is a real peril, instead of a spectre, haunting the West — the peril of acquiescing to the Shariah-based demands of the Islamists.
At the top of the Islamist demands is to make defamation of religion a punishable offence. Since Judaism and Christianity are open to criticism, even ridicule in free and secular societies of the West, such a demand is to make an exception for Islam.
The trial of Geert Wilders in Amsterdam for offending Muslims indicates the extent to which Holland, one of the most open European countries, has tilted in the direction of becoming a “Shariah-compliant” society.
Holland is not alone in this effort to appease the Islamists. Across the West, a chill has fallen over the fundamental right to think and speak freely about Islam like any other subject of public interest.
Let’s revise the famous opening sentence of Marx and Engel’s Communist Manifesto to state there is a real peril, instead of a spectre, haunting the West — the peril of acquiescing to the Shariah-based demands of the Islamists.
At the top of the Islamist demands is to make defamation of religion a punishable offence. Since Judaism and Christianity are open to criticism, even ridicule in free and secular societies of the West, such a demand is to make an exception for Islam.
The trial of Geert Wilders in Amsterdam for offending Muslims indicates the extent to which Holland, one of the most open European countries, has tilted in the direction of becoming a “Shariah-compliant” society.
Holland is not alone in this effort to appease the Islamists. Across the West, a chill has fallen over the fundamental right to think and speak freely about Islam like any other subject of public interest.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
CPAC Day 2 #CPAC
I spent the morning at CPAC day 2 listening to Herman Cain. It was like being at a gospel revival meeting. He preached the values of Freedom, Faith and capitalism.
I spent the rest of the morning at Robert Spencer and Pam Gellar's event exposing Jihad. They have started a new group called the Freedom defense initiative. It was covered in detail here, here and here. Mark Steyn's America alone is coming true. The event was standing room only and the speakers included Wafa Sultan.
Here is some early video. I will post the rest as it is available.
Friday, February 19, 2010
CPAC Day 1 #CPAC
Tucker Carlson
Senator Scott Brown
Erick Erickson
Liz Cheney
An interesting first day at CPAC. Opening address by David Keene First speaker Marc Rubio GOP candidate for senate in Florida. Rubio is very impressive. he gave an amazing speech. I strongly suspect he will beat Charlie Crist and be elected senator. You can really feel the energy in the room. There are many many young activists in attendance.
Many impressive speeches . Here is Senator Demint. Liz Cheney's remarks here. There wer some wonderful surpises. Liz Cheney brought her dad Vice president Cheney who said bo would be a one term president. Dick Cheney was given a rapturous welcome. The other nice surprise was senator Scott Brown who introduced Governor Romney. Romney gave a pretty good speech. He actually praised President Bush. He seemed more polished , than in the past. He made some odd comment about the dems being crypto monarchists. I went out of the room to talk to him about that. I did shake his hand but I didn't get to talk to him. I wanted to tell him in Canada, the UK and HM other realms , freedom wears a Crown.
There were many more interesting speakers including Erick Erickson of Red State ( the US answer to Stephen Taylor) and Tucker Carlson. Lots more from my friends at Frum Forum.
Lots of Canadians in attendance.
Morc Morano and Andrew Breitbart at #CPAC
I have met Marc Morano a number of times at climate realist conferences. It was great to see him receive an AIM Reed Irvineaward yesterday at CPAC. I also got to meet Andrew Breitbart , who also received an AIM Reed Irvine award. Breibart thanked marc for helping undermine a lynch pin of leftist ideology. It was great to see Marc rip the warmists to shreds.
Breitbart also gave a great speech bashing the leftist media .
HM PM Stephen Harper is a winner
and he is a leader. Bob Plamondon has an excellent piece and how HM PM has the right stuff to lead. nice guys finish as Leader of HM Loyal Opposition. I am glad that HM PM is a strong leader and I'm even more glad that this annoys the grits and their media. I am sure iffy is a nice ineffective guy, just like dion.
Stephen Harper is an autocrat who keeps a Vise-Grip on power, bullies his opponents and runs roughshod over democratic traditions. And how different is this from his predecessors? Not much.
Not many prime ministers have been tagged with the “gentlemanly” moniker, but it has been an apt description for many leaders of the opposition over the years. Whether it's politics or hockey, Canadians respect toughness and winners. (We didn't seem to care about Bobby Clarke's vicious two-handed slash to the ankle of Valery Kharlamov so long as we won the 1972 Summit Series against the Russians.)
Stephen Harper is an autocrat who keeps a Vise-Grip on power, bullies his opponents and runs roughshod over democratic traditions. And how different is this from his predecessors? Not much.
Not many prime ministers have been tagged with the “gentlemanly” moniker, but it has been an apt description for many leaders of the opposition over the years. Whether it's politics or hockey, Canadians respect toughness and winners. (We didn't seem to care about Bobby Clarke's vicious two-handed slash to the ankle of Valery Kharlamov so long as we won the 1972 Summit Series against the Russians.)
Hebert: Bouchard making a comeback
I am not a Lucien Bouchard fan, he betrayed his friend Brian Mulroney and Canada in the most horrible way. He founded the maudit bq. He changes his political party, like he changes his shirt. THere is a suggestion by Chantal hebert that he will come back to lead a right wing Quebec party. I do appreciate that he has basically punctured the separatist almost flaccid balloon. He has also endorsed the Quebec lucides movement, but I must say i don't trust him. I would like to see a Quebec Tory party, but that may not be possible. The adq is virtually dead, but you never know. It will be interesting to see what happens next.
For almost as long as Bouchard, who is now 71, has been back in private life, there has been rampant talk of a possible return to a more active political role. More recently, speculation that other high-profile political retirees – people like former Liberal health minister Philippe Couillard or former PQ minister François Legault – could be interested in a new right-of-centre rainbow coalition have fuelled that talk.
It may not be readily apparent that there is a conservative constituency large enough to propel to power in Quebec a right-of-centre party promoting the agenda Bouchard has in mind, but in 2007 Dumont came within a few seats of winning a government on the basis of a one-man right-wing show.
Pauline Marois and the PQ were the immediate casualties of Bouchard's cameo appearance on the political ice this week, but an encore to this week's performance could also impact on Jean Charest's ruling Liberals.
For almost as long as Bouchard, who is now 71, has been back in private life, there has been rampant talk of a possible return to a more active political role. More recently, speculation that other high-profile political retirees – people like former Liberal health minister Philippe Couillard or former PQ minister François Legault – could be interested in a new right-of-centre rainbow coalition have fuelled that talk.
It may not be readily apparent that there is a conservative constituency large enough to propel to power in Quebec a right-of-centre party promoting the agenda Bouchard has in mind, but in 2007 Dumont came within a few seats of winning a government on the basis of a one-man right-wing show.
Pauline Marois and the PQ were the immediate casualties of Bouchard's cameo appearance on the political ice this week, but an encore to this week's performance could also impact on Jean Charest's ruling Liberals.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
R.I.P. John Babcock
The last of Our World War 1 vets has passed away. God Bless him and all those who fought to preserve our freedom.
John Babcock, Canada's last known First World War veteran, has died at the age of 109, the Prime Minister's office said last night.
"On behalf of all Canadians, I would like to extend my sincere condolences to Mr. Babcock's family and friends. As a nation, we honour his service and mourn his passing," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement. "John Babcock was Canada's last living link to the Great War, which in so many ways marked our coming of age as a nation. In honouring his service and mourning his passing, we honour the proud history of our country and pay tribute to all those who fought and died for Canada."
John Babcock, Canada's last known First World War veteran, has died at the age of 109, the Prime Minister's office said last night.
"On behalf of all Canadians, I would like to extend my sincere condolences to Mr. Babcock's family and friends. As a nation, we honour his service and mourn his passing," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement. "John Babcock was Canada's last living link to the Great War, which in so many ways marked our coming of age as a nation. In honouring his service and mourning his passing, we honour the proud history of our country and pay tribute to all those who fought and died for Canada."
Marc Morano
.. will be getting an award at CPAC for truth in media.
He was on ABC debating
And MSNBC
And Phil Jones wants to correct his paper.
You warmists out there should read this. The five stages of climate grief.
He was on ABC debating
And MSNBC
And Phil Jones wants to correct his paper.
You warmists out there should read this. The five stages of climate grief.
iffy takes advice from dem candidate Coakley
iffy really has a tin ear , when it comes to things Canadian. I guess it comes form being abroad so long.
"It's interesting: Michael Ignatieff, he wasn't wearing a hockey jersey and I told you I was only going to speak to people in hockey jerseys, but he just happened to be at the Aboriginal Pavilion across the road and so I talked to him. He's Russian background, so he was a little bit betwixt and between about who he's pulling for. He took the very pragmatic approach." ...
"It's interesting: Michael Ignatieff, he wasn't wearing a hockey jersey and I told you I was only going to speak to people in hockey jerseys, but he just happened to be at the Aboriginal Pavilion across the road and so I talked to him. He's Russian background, so he was a little bit betwixt and between about who he's pulling for. He took the very pragmatic approach." ...
CPAC 2010 Day 1
Washington is buried in snow. There is much more snow on the ground than in Montreal. I have already net up with many Canadian conservative friends who are here for CPAC. There is a lot of energy here. One of the organizers tells me that there will be 10000 people attending this year. There is even a CPAC 2010 iphone app.
You can watch and read about much of what is happening here.
You can watch and read about much of what is happening here.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
The Climate Fraud exposed again
A great piece from the American Thinker. and the above graph from C3. In the graph notice the huge difference between reality and the ipcc projections.
The American Thinker article basically refutes the basis of the scam with peer reviewed studies with actual data , that has not been lost.
The science behind the AGW hypothesis is that increased amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere (that humans produce by burning fossil fuels) will block more outgoing long-wave IR radiation (OLR) from exiting the atmosphere and thereby warm the surface. It is well-known that IR radiation causes CO2 molecules to vibrate, but only at very specific wavelengths (wavelengths are the distances between peaks of each wave), and that wavelength is 15µm. (Fifteen µm means that each wavelength crests at a distance of 15 millionths of a meter.) As was discussed above, this vibration of the molecule causes it to heat and then radiate IR radiation back toward the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth. If the solar activity is taken to remain constant, more CO2 in the atmosphere will trap more of the OLR, and thus cause a net heating of the planet.
So what type of experiment could be performed to test this AGW hypothesis? If there were satellites in orbit monitoring the emission of OLR over time at the same location, then OLR could be measured in a very controlled manner. If, over time, the emission of OLR in the wavelengths that CO2 absorbs decreases over time, then that would prove the AGW hypothesis (i.e., that OLR is being absorbed by CO2 and heating the planet instead of being emitted from the atmosphere). But what if, over time (say, over thirty years), the emissions of OLR wavelengths that CO2 absorb remained constant? That would disprove the hypothesis and put the AGW argument to bed.
As luck would have it, that experiment has actually been performed! Three journal papers report the data from three monitoring satellites that have measured the OLR of 1997 and 2006 and compared those measurements to 1970, and they are located here, here, and here.
American Political Cartoons
An Evening with Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin
I love Broadway and I love musicals so this evening with Patii Lupone and Mandy Patinkin was just fantastic. I have seen both of them separately on stage, but never together. They have been friends since attending Julliard together and were in Evita together. They sang a litany of songs many from Sondheim and Rodgers and Hammerstein , that made little stories. It was playful, romantic and often very funny. The 2 hours passed by as if it were only a few minutes. It was truly an unforgettable evening.
An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin at Playhouse Square- Cleveland from PlayhouseSquare on Vimeo.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
CPAC
I will be in Washington D.C. for the next few days attending CPAC 2010. There will actually be several of my Canadian friends attending this year. The kids will be entertained. There will be a lot of interesting speakers and Glenn Beck will be giving the closing speech. Should be fun.
dems to run against incumbent obama?
Fascinating. It seems not only the GOP will run against obama. Obama wants dems to try and run against President Bus. but...
Ryan Grim: Democrats In "Whatever Works" Mode Willing To Turn Against Obama In 2010 Election
Ryan Grim: Democrats In "Whatever Works" Mode Willing To Turn Against Obama In 2010 Election
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
HM PM Harper visits Haiti
I am glad that HM PM has been to the Olympics and then made a trip to haiti. He is still working hard, inspite of the whineing of delusional iffy and his friends. HM PM Harper is the first world leader to visit Haiti since the catastrophe. Canada has given a quarter billion in aid.
JACMEL, Haiti — Prime Minister Stephen Harper strolled from one medical tent to another, joked with soldiers, and chatted with patients in a Haitian coastal town where Canadian Forces medics were working Tuesday.
Harper visited a military facility by the beach during a brief visit to Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean's ancestral hometown of Jacmel, a colourful colonial port hub severely damaged by Haiti's earthquake.
JACMEL, Haiti — Prime Minister Stephen Harper strolled from one medical tent to another, joked with soldiers, and chatted with patients in a Haitian coastal town where Canadian Forces medics were working Tuesday.
Harper visited a military facility by the beach during a brief visit to Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean's ancestral hometown of Jacmel, a colourful colonial port hub severely damaged by Haiti's earthquake.
John Hawkins on chicken little solutions
This would be funny, if not for the fact that these things have actually been proposed.
Five Wacky Ways Libs Want to Fight Non-Existent Global Warming
by John Hawkins
As Americans have come to realize that the "science" behind global warming seems to mainly consist of fudging data and making doomsday prophecies in return for grant money, the wheels have started to come off Al Gore's hobby horse.
Of course, conservatives have not been shocked by this turn of events. That's because unlike far too many liberals, conservatives are actually interested in science, while the Left looks at it as little more than another institution to march through and corrupt in an effort to push their political agenda forward.
We've been seeing this play out for years in the debate over global warming which has featured conservatives actually asking basic questions about the science behind it that liberals have tried to dodge by screaming "scientific consensus" at the top of their lungs.
It seems this fiction of thousands of scientist backing the ipcc is just that. It is a small group of scientists mostly in the UK and the United States. In the U the papers have done many devastating exposes of the fraud. Indeed even the previous head of the ipcc is calling for an investigation into the bias. He says why are all the errors in favour of the hoax? If they were random errors , yu would errors in both directions.
Meanwhile, Adam insists that Chapter 10 is politics free. ‘There’s no politics in there just science’, he says. Is that even true? As we can see, alarmism projects itself through the seemingly scientific projection. Might this have been made possible because of the way Ch.10 itself has come into existence? For example, an interesting bias emerges when Ch.10’s authors are surveyed…
Country # researchers Secondary affiliation
USA 28 1
UK 17 3
Germany 7 1
Japan 7 0
France 6 0
Switzerland 6 0
Canada 4 0
China 3 2
Belgium 3 0
Australia 3 0
Russian Federation 2 2
Netherlands 2 0
ECMWF (LINK) 1 0
Finland 1 0
India 1 0
Monaco 1 0
Sweden 1 0
Senegal 1 0
TOTALS 94 9
Non – US/UK 49
US / UK
45
(Some contributors to ch10 are listed as belonging to 2 countries).
Climate modelling, it seems, is a very Northern Atlantic pastime (as we’ve noted before). In the case of the UK, at least, this must be owed to the two decades of emphasis that politicians have placed on climate research, starting with Thatcher in the 1980s. Also interesting is that it is the country which for a long time has been considered the enemy of action to prevent climate change – the USA – which appears to have contributed most to the development of climate models. But on an per-capita basis, no country rivals the UK.
That the UK is a world leader in a field of climate research is not necessarily a bad thing. But it does speak about the priorities and prejudices that dominate the political sphere here, which are reflected in the constitution of academic climate science, represented in Ch.10. The UK, since Thatcher, and increasingly in recent years, has sought to establish its moral authority on the world stage by embracing the climate issue, and making it the principle substance of international relations, and latterly its domestic polices: its ‘Green New Deal’, its Industrial Strategy, its ’sustainability agenda’, its energy policy, and so on . Whether or not these politics are expressed in the science, it somehow leaves a footprint that is politically-shaped, if it isn’t politically-driven.
It is a mainstay of the argument for action on climate change that the ‘overwhelming majority’ of climate scientists are in agreement on the need for it. Yet as the table above shows, there are just 94 authors responsible for compiling the report in which, Adam argues, the case for alarm rests. ‘Ah, but…’, says the alarmist, ‘it’s the weight of evidence that counts’. Never mind that there is no evidence for something that hasn’t happened yet – the catastrophe which is the object of the alarmism – these 94 researchers do not draw from a wealth of research, but manage instead to cite themselves a whopping 317 times in a document that contains references to just 550 papers (including references to previous IPCC reports). If we excluded those papers in which the chapter’s authors were directly involved, there would be just 292. Just eight researchers manage to cite themselves no less than 110 times – over a third of the chapter’s self-citations, and a fifth of the total.
Researcher Country # Citations
Jonathan M Gregory UK 19
Gerald A Meehl USA 17
Thomas F Stocker Switzerland 13
T M L Wigley USA 13
Myles Allen UK 12
P Huybrechts Belgium 12
Sarah C B Raper UK 12
R J Stouffer USA 12
TOTAL: 110
Between the USA and UK, there are 208 self-citations from the 45 researchers. Authors from just two countries produced nearly half the entire body of ‘evidence’ for alarmism, which they ‘review’ for themselves.
The population of self-citing climate modeller-projectionists are so small in number, and so interconnected that there may be an argument that it constitutes a community with its own insular politics. Given the predominance of certain individuals from that population in the climate debate, it seems hard to argue otherwise. That’s one for sociologists to mull over, perhaps.
Five Wacky Ways Libs Want to Fight Non-Existent Global Warming
by John Hawkins
As Americans have come to realize that the "science" behind global warming seems to mainly consist of fudging data and making doomsday prophecies in return for grant money, the wheels have started to come off Al Gore's hobby horse.
Of course, conservatives have not been shocked by this turn of events. That's because unlike far too many liberals, conservatives are actually interested in science, while the Left looks at it as little more than another institution to march through and corrupt in an effort to push their political agenda forward.
We've been seeing this play out for years in the debate over global warming which has featured conservatives actually asking basic questions about the science behind it that liberals have tried to dodge by screaming "scientific consensus" at the top of their lungs.
It seems this fiction of thousands of scientist backing the ipcc is just that. It is a small group of scientists mostly in the UK and the United States. In the U the papers have done many devastating exposes of the fraud. Indeed even the previous head of the ipcc is calling for an investigation into the bias. He says why are all the errors in favour of the hoax? If they were random errors , yu would errors in both directions.
Meanwhile, Adam insists that Chapter 10 is politics free. ‘There’s no politics in there just science’, he says. Is that even true? As we can see, alarmism projects itself through the seemingly scientific projection. Might this have been made possible because of the way Ch.10 itself has come into existence? For example, an interesting bias emerges when Ch.10’s authors are surveyed…
Country # researchers Secondary affiliation
USA 28 1
UK 17 3
Germany 7 1
Japan 7 0
France 6 0
Switzerland 6 0
Canada 4 0
China 3 2
Belgium 3 0
Australia 3 0
Russian Federation 2 2
Netherlands 2 0
ECMWF (LINK) 1 0
Finland 1 0
India 1 0
Monaco 1 0
Sweden 1 0
Senegal 1 0
TOTALS 94 9
Non – US/UK 49
US / UK
45
(Some contributors to ch10 are listed as belonging to 2 countries).
Climate modelling, it seems, is a very Northern Atlantic pastime (as we’ve noted before). In the case of the UK, at least, this must be owed to the two decades of emphasis that politicians have placed on climate research, starting with Thatcher in the 1980s. Also interesting is that it is the country which for a long time has been considered the enemy of action to prevent climate change – the USA – which appears to have contributed most to the development of climate models. But on an per-capita basis, no country rivals the UK.
That the UK is a world leader in a field of climate research is not necessarily a bad thing. But it does speak about the priorities and prejudices that dominate the political sphere here, which are reflected in the constitution of academic climate science, represented in Ch.10. The UK, since Thatcher, and increasingly in recent years, has sought to establish its moral authority on the world stage by embracing the climate issue, and making it the principle substance of international relations, and latterly its domestic polices: its ‘Green New Deal’, its Industrial Strategy, its ’sustainability agenda’, its energy policy, and so on . Whether or not these politics are expressed in the science, it somehow leaves a footprint that is politically-shaped, if it isn’t politically-driven.
It is a mainstay of the argument for action on climate change that the ‘overwhelming majority’ of climate scientists are in agreement on the need for it. Yet as the table above shows, there are just 94 authors responsible for compiling the report in which, Adam argues, the case for alarm rests. ‘Ah, but…’, says the alarmist, ‘it’s the weight of evidence that counts’. Never mind that there is no evidence for something that hasn’t happened yet – the catastrophe which is the object of the alarmism – these 94 researchers do not draw from a wealth of research, but manage instead to cite themselves a whopping 317 times in a document that contains references to just 550 papers (including references to previous IPCC reports). If we excluded those papers in which the chapter’s authors were directly involved, there would be just 292. Just eight researchers manage to cite themselves no less than 110 times – over a third of the chapter’s self-citations, and a fifth of the total.
Researcher Country # Citations
Jonathan M Gregory UK 19
Gerald A Meehl USA 17
Thomas F Stocker Switzerland 13
T M L Wigley USA 13
Myles Allen UK 12
P Huybrechts Belgium 12
Sarah C B Raper UK 12
R J Stouffer USA 12
TOTAL: 110
Between the USA and UK, there are 208 self-citations from the 45 researchers. Authors from just two countries produced nearly half the entire body of ‘evidence’ for alarmism, which they ‘review’ for themselves.
The population of self-citing climate modeller-projectionists are so small in number, and so interconnected that there may be an argument that it constitutes a community with its own insular politics. Given the predominance of certain individuals from that population in the climate debate, it seems hard to argue otherwise. That’s one for sociologists to mull over, perhaps.
Exactly right
Why does HM Government fund ngos? As I have said before in reply to my friend Tim Mak's posts on rights and democracy "ngo." Just defund them all. An ngo should not be getting government money and then whines about government interference.
But it's not as if this government has been shy about its support for Israel. And what's gone on at Rights & Democracy has been anything but stealthy. Rights & Democracy and organizations like it are essentially NGOs, except in that they receive government funding -- which makes them not NGOs at all, but, well O's. If the government dislikes their agendas, the fix could hardly be clearer.
But it's not as if this government has been shy about its support for Israel. And what's gone on at Rights & Democracy has been anything but stealthy. Rights & Democracy and organizations like it are essentially NGOs, except in that they receive government funding -- which makes them not NGOs at all, but, well O's. If the government dislikes their agendas, the fix could hardly be clearer.
Bye Bayh
Senator Evan Bayh is retiring. This opens open another competitve seat in November for the GOP. Some of the lefties are really annoyed. More eviden that hope and change under bo is illusion. Maybe the GOP can retake the senate. I think the dems wll lsoe many senate seats but not lose control.
He’s ditching his seat in a manner calculated to throw control of it to a conservative Republican. And nothing about his stated reasons for leaving suggest that he thinks replacing Evan Bayh with a conservative Republican will make the lives of Americans better. Nor does anything about his states reasons for leaving suggest that he thinks replacing Evan Bayh with a conservative Republican make the lives of foreigners better. But he’s acting to ensure that it happens anyway. Because he doesn’t care about the welfare of the American people or the people of the world. It’s not a recipe for good conduct as a Senator and it’s not a recipe for good conduct when it comes to choosing a way to depart.
He’s ditching his seat in a manner calculated to throw control of it to a conservative Republican. And nothing about his stated reasons for leaving suggest that he thinks replacing Evan Bayh with a conservative Republican will make the lives of Americans better. Nor does anything about his states reasons for leaving suggest that he thinks replacing Evan Bayh with a conservative Republican make the lives of foreigners better. But he’s acting to ensure that it happens anyway. Because he doesn’t care about the welfare of the American people or the people of the world. It’s not a recipe for good conduct as a Senator and it’s not a recipe for good conduct when it comes to choosing a way to depart.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Little House on the Prairie
I recently saw Little House on the Prairie, The Musical. It is part of my Mirvish subscription. I didn't think I would like it.( The Toronto critics hated it.) I have only watched the TV show a few times and I had never read the Laura Ingalls Wilders books. It's kind of America's Anne of Green Gables. Melissa Gilbert from the TV series played Ma. The cast and crew helped built Habitat for Humanity homes while in Toronto.
I did find the musical a bit saccharinely sweet and the songs were not memorable, but there were some quite touching moments. I did find it all a abit too long. It was certainly not my favourite musical, but I did enjoy it.
Carmen
I recently attended the COC production of Carmen. It was my first time in the Four Seasons center. The venue is quite spectacular. It is huge, full of light and has a great stage.
There was a pre performance chat. She tried to make the point that Carmen was a strong women and not just a life extinguishing criminal, temptress. She objected to posters advertising Carmen in the past, which show her as a vampire.
It was a spectacular performance. I don't actually like opera, but I love Carmen. Most would say it is the perfect Opera. The mezzo soprano who sang the role , Israeli born , Rinat Shaham, is acknowledged by many to be one of the best Carmens in the world. The stage was interesting there seemed to images of the Blessed Virgin and of the hand of fate. The rest of the caste were also wonderful. Including the many children that played in the crowd.
It was a delightful afternoon. The tickets are expensive, but try and see this amazing opera.
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