...and the anomaly is increasing rapidly (bottom graph). Will it reach last year's record lows? The betting is on.Monday, March 31, 2008
Arctic Ice Starting To Melt Again
...and the anomaly is increasing rapidly (bottom graph). Will it reach last year's record lows? The betting is on."Radical" Imam Takes It On The Road
Calgary imam Syed Soharwardy has announced a multi-faith walk against violence, which aims to draw thousands of Canadians to the streets, as the walk winds its way across the country over the next eight months.
[...]
"There are people who justify violence based on religion. This walk will show that every religion, including Islam, is against violence."
And what is Ezra Levant, the Iman's arch-Nemesis, up to these days? Hmm. Still wanking it over the "success" of his blog:
The commission states that the HRC's official website received, on average, 22,717 visits a month. In three days, my single blog entry about an Alberta HRC staffer named Arman Chak clocked more readers than that. A few of my posts about the HRC have exceeded that traffic in a single day.
I don't note this just to boast...
While the Imam is remortgaging his house in an attempt to spread a message of non-violence, Ezra is still trying to hustle up funds to...do something with. Not sure what. "Fight" someone, I guess.
But, I wonder, by all objective standards: who is the better Canadian? Who is more useful to the nation?
[...]
"There are people who justify violence based on religion. This walk will show that every religion, including Islam, is against violence."
And what is Ezra Levant, the Iman's arch-Nemesis, up to these days? Hmm. Still wanking it over the "success" of his blog:
The commission states that the HRC's official website received, on average, 22,717 visits a month. In three days, my single blog entry about an Alberta HRC staffer named Arman Chak clocked more readers than that. A few of my posts about the HRC have exceeded that traffic in a single day.
I don't note this just to boast...
While the Imam is remortgaging his house in an attempt to spread a message of non-violence, Ezra is still trying to hustle up funds to...do something with. Not sure what. "Fight" someone, I guess.
But, I wonder, by all objective standards: who is the better Canadian? Who is more useful to the nation?
The Nazis Strike Back
I believe Human Rights commissions are the wrong mechanism for dealing with hate speech. Most of their Islamicist litigants place no real value on civil rights, except to use their grievances as a cudgel. I know they wouldn't speak up for yours or mine, or for natural human rights in the Muslim world. I also find it very disturbing that Ottawa lawyer and former Canadian Human Rights Commission employee Richard Warman is the litigator in the vast majority of the Sec. 13(1) cases. But I just read a posting on an American Nazi web site that not only clearly calls for Warman's murder, it publishes his home address.
That's from Mark Bourrie's Ottawa Watch site. I won't link to material referenced, but yeah its out there, and Mr. Bourrie's post contains enough background that if you want you can find it.
That's from Mark Bourrie's Ottawa Watch site. I won't link to material referenced, but yeah its out there, and Mr. Bourrie's post contains enough background that if you want you can find it.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
New Quebec Poll: Liberals Maintain
...the same province-wide percentage of the vote as they did in the 2006 election.
Not that the new CROP poll is good news. Quite the opposite. But it arguably portends no worse a result than election'06 actually produced. And the stuff about Quebec Liberals being "reduced to a rump" isn't so much false as redundant, as it has already occurred.
Good news for the Tories, as it might result in...I don't know...another 5 or 10 seats or so (they picked up 25% in 2006) at the expense of the Bloc. But, in the bigger picture, this is probably more than countered by the fact they appear to be cratering in Ontario.
Not that the new CROP poll is good news. Quite the opposite. But it arguably portends no worse a result than election'06 actually produced. And the stuff about Quebec Liberals being "reduced to a rump" isn't so much false as redundant, as it has already occurred.
Good news for the Tories, as it might result in...I don't know...another 5 or 10 seats or so (they picked up 25% in 2006) at the expense of the Bloc. But, in the bigger picture, this is probably more than countered by the fact they appear to be cratering in Ontario.
Fairy House For Sale!
Though I am a fan of all things "Fortean", I came to the story of the Cottingley Fairies late. If you don't know, these were:...a series of five photographs taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, two young cousins living in Cottingley, near Bradford in England, depicting the two in various activities with supposed fairies. In 1917, when the first two photos were taken, Elsie was 16 years old and Frances was 10.
The photographs sparked a decades-long debate about their authenticity, and earned the cousins widespread notoriety. Although four of the five were ultimately admitted to be fake, the two cousins disagree about the authenticity of the last.
Of them, number two (above, with a "gnome") is probably my favorite, because of the weird effect with Elsie's(?) hand which I believe is said to be the result of a long exposure. Although this one
...is the more famous, in fact it is supposed to be one of the most repoduced photographs on the planet.
In any case, the Cottingley house, containing the garden where Elsie and Frances cavorted with their fairies is now up for sale (£154,995). As it turns out, its the end unit on an old row house:
Ah well, when fantasy meets reality, reality usually loses. The garden, however, is still there, and still a little bit uncanny.
I have emailed the Realtor in question to see if there is any connection to the original inhabitants (the Wright's, I think). Will update if I hear anything.
h/t CFI blog.
Earth Hour In The 'Burbs
I will admit to a certain amount of disappointment...
Although the pub I hang out in was burning candles. Mind you, its always lit somewhat murkily, because the owner doesn't want you to get a close look at his food when the lights are on and you're sober.
And our building super, while legally required to keep incandescents going in the common areas, did turn the thermostat down to zero. Generally speaking, if you can survive a night in our hallways around this time of year you're ready for the arctic.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Try A Little Political JuJitsu Instead
Scott Tribe is still banging the drum for an early election. He finds this quote from the Star in support of his position:
"How can this party portray itself as the party of immigration, the Trudeau era of multiculturalism, and here you have this dangerous piece of legislation and you might let it pass because you're not organized enough or your leader isn't charismatic enough to go in an election?" [ Mohamed Boudjenane] said. "People would be more supportive of a gutsy party who will go . . . on a principled position than a party that will stay there until they're in better shape."
What I would tell Mr. Boudjenane (and Scott) is: there are more effective ways for the Liberals to oppose this and other Tory proposals than by forcing an election they would (most probably) lose. Kady "The Blogging Wonderbabe" O'Malley talks of some of the possible stratagems here. In brief, they involve a copious use of the fact that the Libs and other opposition parties have a majority on the various committees, including the Finance Committee where these proposals are (apparently) likely to wind-up. Once in committee, who knows what might be done to change, delay, or discredit them?
And of course in other cases the Libs Senate majority can be used to defuse dangerous legislation.
Now, people might argue that its better to win these things in a stand-up fight, but my opinion is that, at the end of the day, if some piece of junk law disappears in the Senate or is modified beyond recognition and then handed back to the ruling party, that's fine. Victory is Victory.
Because, no matter what you may have heard, Stephen Harper does not have a majority and is not governing as though he did. The Tory agenda as it has developed over the past couple of years is intensely minimalist, and is only about two-thirds accomplished. You want to see what a Tory majority looks like? Then rush into an election for which the Libs are ill-prepared and you may well get a chance.
My bet is it will look like Mike Harris writ large. Who wants that? Anyone? ANYONE???
Have patience, grasshopper! as the old guy in Kung Fu! used to say.
(NOTE: For the time being I have turned anonymous comments off. We shall see how long that has to be for, and it may be permanent. Cheers and apologies to the "good" anons)
"How can this party portray itself as the party of immigration, the Trudeau era of multiculturalism, and here you have this dangerous piece of legislation and you might let it pass because you're not organized enough or your leader isn't charismatic enough to go in an election?" [ Mohamed Boudjenane] said. "People would be more supportive of a gutsy party who will go . . . on a principled position than a party that will stay there until they're in better shape."
What I would tell Mr. Boudjenane (and Scott) is: there are more effective ways for the Liberals to oppose this and other Tory proposals than by forcing an election they would (most probably) lose. Kady "The Blogging Wonderbabe" O'Malley talks of some of the possible stratagems here. In brief, they involve a copious use of the fact that the Libs and other opposition parties have a majority on the various committees, including the Finance Committee where these proposals are (apparently) likely to wind-up. Once in committee, who knows what might be done to change, delay, or discredit them?
And of course in other cases the Libs Senate majority can be used to defuse dangerous legislation.
Now, people might argue that its better to win these things in a stand-up fight, but my opinion is that, at the end of the day, if some piece of junk law disappears in the Senate or is modified beyond recognition and then handed back to the ruling party, that's fine. Victory is Victory.
Because, no matter what you may have heard, Stephen Harper does not have a majority and is not governing as though he did. The Tory agenda as it has developed over the past couple of years is intensely minimalist, and is only about two-thirds accomplished. You want to see what a Tory majority looks like? Then rush into an election for which the Libs are ill-prepared and you may well get a chance.
My bet is it will look like Mike Harris writ large. Who wants that? Anyone? ANYONE???
Have patience, grasshopper! as the old guy in Kung Fu! used to say.
(NOTE: For the time being I have turned anonymous comments off. We shall see how long that has to be for, and it may be permanent. Cheers and apologies to the "good" anons)
Then Don't Participate, Rex
Rex Murphy whines about Earth hour.
As for myself, the wife and hope to be out having a nice walk between 8 and 9 pm, see if we can spot any stars through the smog.
Not that such events make alot of difference in and of themselves. They do however indicate the possibility of collective action, freely taken. A good signal to our political leaders, if any of them are listening.
As for myself, the wife and hope to be out having a nice walk between 8 and 9 pm, see if we can spot any stars through the smog.
Not that such events make alot of difference in and of themselves. They do however indicate the possibility of collective action, freely taken. A good signal to our political leaders, if any of them are listening.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Can't Stop Progress
Canadian Tire Corp. is quietly phasing out the printed edition of the catalogue it has been publishing twice a year for almost nine decades, with a whopping current print run of 6 million copies an issue – in favour of taking the publication entirely online.
When, for example, is the last time you actually used a telephone book to look up a phone number. Mine props up the wobbly leg on my coffee table.
When, for example, is the last time you actually used a telephone book to look up a phone number. Mine props up the wobbly leg on my coffee table.
Fool Me Once, Shame On You; Fool Me Twice
...shame on Jonathon Kay for, yet again, becoming the unwitting dupe of the Canadian White Supremacist Movement:
The most scandalous disclosure to emerge on Tuesday involved the manner by which investigators logged on to Lemire's Web site. In what appears to be a ham-fisted attempt to avoid revealing the commission's IP address, they tapped into the unsecured wi-firouter of a 26-year-old Ottawa woman who lived near the commission's 344 Slater St. headquarters. At Tuesday's hearing, a Bell Canada employee read out the woman's name, address and phone number to shocked audience members. A National Post reporter contacted the woman and found that she'd never heard of Lemire, Steacy, or his investigations. Unless she is secretly working undercover for Steacy, it appears that the commission cynically invaded the privacy of an innocent citizen in order to pursue an obscure Web-trawling vendetta; and then caused her name to be read out to the Canadian public, thereby identifying her as an unwitting conduit to neo-Nazi Web sites. One likes to imagine that the privacy commissioner will be having a chat with Dean et al. in coming days.
This claim has come up in two versions. One, which I wrote about yesterday, has CHRC employees accomplishing the impossible task of tapping into the wifi network at 750 Laurier Ave. from about 1,200 feet away, through several concrete office towers. The other has a legally blind CHRC investigator doing a little wardriving, and camping out in the lobby of the condo building in question in order to access the said network.
Crazy ideas, but the most important point is that both theories are the brainchild of Canadian Nazi Mark Lemire, whose previous display of technical sleuthing ability got Kay and the National Post into so much legal trouble just one month ago.
But still, Kay and co. are back to sip from the trough of Nazi wisdom. I guess any fool can write for the Post.
The most scandalous disclosure to emerge on Tuesday involved the manner by which investigators logged on to Lemire's Web site. In what appears to be a ham-fisted attempt to avoid revealing the commission's IP address, they tapped into the unsecured wi-firouter of a 26-year-old Ottawa woman who lived near the commission's 344 Slater St. headquarters. At Tuesday's hearing, a Bell Canada employee read out the woman's name, address and phone number to shocked audience members. A National Post reporter contacted the woman and found that she'd never heard of Lemire, Steacy, or his investigations. Unless she is secretly working undercover for Steacy, it appears that the commission cynically invaded the privacy of an innocent citizen in order to pursue an obscure Web-trawling vendetta; and then caused her name to be read out to the Canadian public, thereby identifying her as an unwitting conduit to neo-Nazi Web sites. One likes to imagine that the privacy commissioner will be having a chat with Dean et al. in coming days.
This claim has come up in two versions. One, which I wrote about yesterday, has CHRC employees accomplishing the impossible task of tapping into the wifi network at 750 Laurier Ave. from about 1,200 feet away, through several concrete office towers. The other has a legally blind CHRC investigator doing a little wardriving, and camping out in the lobby of the condo building in question in order to access the said network.
Crazy ideas, but the most important point is that both theories are the brainchild of Canadian Nazi Mark Lemire, whose previous display of technical sleuthing ability got Kay and the National Post into so much legal trouble just one month ago.
But still, Kay and co. are back to sip from the trough of Nazi wisdom. I guess any fool can write for the Post.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The Nuts Begin To Cluster
The big reveal at Tuesday's CHRC hearing was supposed to be the identity of a CHRC employee operating from IP address 70.48.181.203. But it turned out that this IP was assigned to someone nobody had ever heard of, living in an Ottawa condo building on Laurier Ave..
So, instead acknowledging the flop of his big gesture, Nazi boy Mark Lemire has concocted an elaborate tale about CHRC employees hacking the wifi of our innocent Ottawa condo dweller. To show off his techy creds, he even did a MapQuest search.
A quick mapquest shows that from the CHRC offices to *****'s house is about a block or more. An EASY distance for a wireless signal to travel. Especially over an open field.
Well, yeah, the operative phrase here is "or more". Specifically, 0.73 miles or 3,854 feet. And across an open field, sure, but then through a block full of office towers and other miscellaneous hi-rise buildings.
I suppose its barely in the realm of possibility, if the condo building in question had one of those military style long-range wifi units that can BLASTT!!! its signal through surrounding buildings. But they're heavy and you'd need a black helicopter to fly them in. I don't think the boyz at Freedomsite or FreeD are ready for the "lets invoke black helicopters" ploy yet.
You know you're argument is in trouble when Flanders believes it. You can link to all the other stuff through him.
And the take away lesson here really oughtta be that you can't trust "research" conducted by Nazi compĆ¼der X-burts. And the folks learning the lesson should be Ezra, Connie, Mark, and everyone getting their balls sued off by Mark Warman over the infamous Anne Cools posting.
PS: Bit of a correction. As the crow flies, the distance between is about 1,100 - 1,200 feet, still pretty hefty for (in fact out of range of) your standard residential wifi network, and still through a number of buildings.
So, instead acknowledging the flop of his big gesture, Nazi boy Mark Lemire has concocted an elaborate tale about CHRC employees hacking the wifi of our innocent Ottawa condo dweller. To show off his techy creds, he even did a MapQuest search.
A quick mapquest shows that from the CHRC offices to *****'s house is about a block or more. An EASY distance for a wireless signal to travel. Especially over an open field.
Well, yeah, the operative phrase here is "or more". Specifically, 0.73 miles or 3,854 feet. And across an open field, sure, but then through a block full of office towers and other miscellaneous hi-rise buildings.
I suppose its barely in the realm of possibility, if the condo building in question had one of those military style long-range wifi units that can BLASTT!!! its signal through surrounding buildings. But they're heavy and you'd need a black helicopter to fly them in. I don't think the boyz at Freedomsite or FreeD are ready for the "lets invoke black helicopters" ploy yet.
You know you're argument is in trouble when Flanders believes it. You can link to all the other stuff through him.
And the take away lesson here really oughtta be that you can't trust "research" conducted by Nazi compĆ¼der X-burts. And the folks learning the lesson should be Ezra, Connie, Mark, and everyone getting their balls sued off by Mark Warman over the infamous Anne Cools posting.
PS: Bit of a correction. As the crow flies, the distance between is about 1,100 - 1,200 feet, still pretty hefty for (in fact out of range of) your standard residential wifi network, and still through a number of buildings.
Levantian Logic
Remember the Calgary bus crash that killed young Kathelynn Occena? Remember how Ezra Levant, in an Op-Ed piece so unhinged that the Calgary Sun pulled it from their website, blamed this accident on the fact that the bus-driver's eyes were covered by her hijab?
Well, charges have been laid today. The bus-driver's name? Louise Rogers! How Islamic is that!
But wait! Ezra's original argument was just filled with nuance! The woman didn't really have to be Muslim, and her head scarf didn't really have to be a hijab, and didn't even have to be impairing her vision, for this unfortunate accident to have been the fault of Muslims:
What matters is that a school bus driver was allowed to operate while wearing a hood.
Clearly, that is an unacceptable risk -- and something that should be banned by common sense.
Ten years ago, to say that head scarves on bus drivers should be prohibited would have been uncontroversial.
But to say so today is to be called Islamophobic -- even if the bus driver in question was not a Muslim.
So there you have it: another poison fruit of multiculturalism and accommodation! You can't even criticize non-Muslim women for wearing scarves anymore!
(By the way, I've read Ezra's latest on the pathetic non-event in Ottawa the other day so you don't have to. The boy sure can rave on. But the shorter version is that, yeah, we lost, and blind people suck.)
h/t to Holly.
Well, charges have been laid today. The bus-driver's name? Louise Rogers! How Islamic is that!
But wait! Ezra's original argument was just filled with nuance! The woman didn't really have to be Muslim, and her head scarf didn't really have to be a hijab, and didn't even have to be impairing her vision, for this unfortunate accident to have been the fault of Muslims:
What matters is that a school bus driver was allowed to operate while wearing a hood.
Clearly, that is an unacceptable risk -- and something that should be banned by common sense.
Ten years ago, to say that head scarves on bus drivers should be prohibited would have been uncontroversial.
But to say so today is to be called Islamophobic -- even if the bus driver in question was not a Muslim.
So there you have it: another poison fruit of multiculturalism and accommodation! You can't even criticize non-Muslim women for wearing scarves anymore!
(By the way, I've read Ezra's latest on the pathetic non-event in Ottawa the other day so you don't have to. The boy sure can rave on. But the shorter version is that, yeah, we lost, and blind people suck.)
h/t to Holly.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
CHRC Hearing Shorts
Going around the blogging nerdosphere:
Shorter Mark Steyn:
This battle to restore ancient liberties (like the presumption of innocence) will be won in the open air not in the fetid "hearing rooms" of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
Translation: We lost.
The Shorter Dawg:
The hearing room was only a little over half-full...
Translation: the revolution will not be attended.
The Shorter Deborah Gyapong: A day out of my life, that I will never get back.
Shorter Ezra: WHAT? NO EZRA? The lad has been stricken with silence.
Shorter Mark Steyn:
This battle to restore ancient liberties (like the presumption of innocence) will be won in the open air not in the fetid "hearing rooms" of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
Translation: We lost.
The Shorter Dawg:
The hearing room was only a little over half-full...
Translation: the revolution will not be attended.
The Shorter Deborah Gyapong: A day out of my life, that I will never get back.
Shorter Ezra: WHAT? NO EZRA? The lad has been stricken with silence.
On Why They Deny
A fascinating study by Myanna Lahsen, "Experiences of modernity in the greenhouse: A cultural analysis of a physicist ‘‘trio’’ supporting the backlash against global warming", on how several first generation climate change deniers (specifically the trio of Frederick Seitz, Robert Jastrow, and William Nierenberg, with nods towards Fred S. "alien base" Singer and a few others) gravitated from the center of the American scientific establishment to the Marshall Institute, Cato Institute, and the fringe.
The short answer? After WWII, physicists, and in particular nuclear physicists associated the Manhattan project, assumed an elite position in both scientific and Washington policy making circles. However, as the decades passed this position was challenged by other scientists from other fields (among them environmental scientists). The participation of "the trio" in the "climate change backlash" can be seen as an effort to protect their elite status as well as to refocus U.S. Science policy on "basic science" (ie physics)--to take science policy "back to the 1950s", in other words.
My favorite passage (saying the same thing at greater length):
In the early 1970s, American environmental sociologists predicted that national efforts to solve widely perceived environmental problems would ‘‘run head-on into many traditional values and time-honored practices’’ (Dunlap et al., 1973). This paper confirms their prediction, revealing the role of associated struggles over meaning and values in US climate science and politics. In some respects Nierenberg, Seitz and Jastrow are representative of broader categories of which they are partly part. They share common characteristics with other physicists and with a particular subgroup of physicists and governmental advisors in particular, an older generation of elite physicists shaped by nuclear physicists. The Marshall Institute trio has lived through dramatic changes in popular attitudes towards science and the environment. Their engagement in US climate politics can be understood in part as a struggle to preserve their particular culturally and historically charged understandings of scientific and environmental reality, and an associated, particular normative order. The trio has found support for important dimensions of their worldviews and policy preferences within the backlash and among Congressional Republicans, but they must continuously contend with challenges to the privilege to which they had grown accustomed in science and government.
All sorts of interesting tid-bits along the way to this conclusion. For example, Lahsen confirms the "old fart" nature of the Denialist movement, and suggests that there will not be a second wave once this one has passed:
...the dissenting side has encountered difficulties in terms of attracting new Ph.D.s to their ranks. I base this statement on ten years of research involving monitoring of media articles and events on the climate issue as well as more than a hundred interviews among US scientists involved with the climate issue or knowledgeable about US climate science and politics. This research suggests that only few new actors have joined the ranks of the staunch scientific skeptics on the climate issue since it gained widespread attention in the late 1980s.
Lakatos Law: No New PHDs = A deteriorating research program.
Also, how I signed Seitz's Oregon Petition.
h/t Pielke Jr.
The short answer? After WWII, physicists, and in particular nuclear physicists associated the Manhattan project, assumed an elite position in both scientific and Washington policy making circles. However, as the decades passed this position was challenged by other scientists from other fields (among them environmental scientists). The participation of "the trio" in the "climate change backlash" can be seen as an effort to protect their elite status as well as to refocus U.S. Science policy on "basic science" (ie physics)--to take science policy "back to the 1950s", in other words.
My favorite passage (saying the same thing at greater length):
In the early 1970s, American environmental sociologists predicted that national efforts to solve widely perceived environmental problems would ‘‘run head-on into many traditional values and time-honored practices’’ (Dunlap et al., 1973). This paper confirms their prediction, revealing the role of associated struggles over meaning and values in US climate science and politics. In some respects Nierenberg, Seitz and Jastrow are representative of broader categories of which they are partly part. They share common characteristics with other physicists and with a particular subgroup of physicists and governmental advisors in particular, an older generation of elite physicists shaped by nuclear physicists. The Marshall Institute trio has lived through dramatic changes in popular attitudes towards science and the environment. Their engagement in US climate politics can be understood in part as a struggle to preserve their particular culturally and historically charged understandings of scientific and environmental reality, and an associated, particular normative order. The trio has found support for important dimensions of their worldviews and policy preferences within the backlash and among Congressional Republicans, but they must continuously contend with challenges to the privilege to which they had grown accustomed in science and government.
All sorts of interesting tid-bits along the way to this conclusion. For example, Lahsen confirms the "old fart" nature of the Denialist movement, and suggests that there will not be a second wave once this one has passed:
...the dissenting side has encountered difficulties in terms of attracting new Ph.D.s to their ranks. I base this statement on ten years of research involving monitoring of media articles and events on the climate issue as well as more than a hundred interviews among US scientists involved with the climate issue or knowledgeable about US climate science and politics. This research suggests that only few new actors have joined the ranks of the staunch scientific skeptics on the climate issue since it gained widespread attention in the late 1980s.
Lakatos Law: No New PHDs = A deteriorating research program.
Also, how I signed Seitz's Oregon Petition.
h/t Pielke Jr.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Blonde Blogging Wonderbabe At Lemire Hearing
Kady O'Malley is live-blogging the "historic" event. Her impression so far:
You know, for a hearing that the National Post augured would be a 'watershed' for Canadian human rights in Canada, this is kind of -- anticlimatic.
And more:
And now ... they're quibbling over the mechanics of search engine queries. Kill me now.
And more:
"We are done," says the judge. "This case was done last June." This seems to aggravate Christie, who shoots back that nothing is more important than being in this courtroom at this time. I think that may be as close to drama as we're going to get.
Kadey has a way of making her experience of sitting through really boring stuff funny.
Frankly, this all sounds like a rehash of the testimony that's already appeared in transcript, although I would like to know what the "Bell Guy" had to say.
Update: The Bell guy was apparently testifying re. IP 70.48.181.203, which does NOT belong to Warman in any of his incarnations, but is supposed to belong to a CHRC agent of some sort. Not Mr. Steacy, however, and nobody I've heard of in regards to this matter (and, frankly, I'm not sure if I should be revealing the name it is attached to here). Furthermore, their address seems to be an Ottawa condo.
Updater: Looks like the IP above does NOT belong to an CHRC employee:
Barbara asks if he knows someone by the name of ******, and he seems genuinely baffled. No one else seems to have heard of her either, and CRHC lawyer worries that, as a result of that line of questioning, a possibly entirely innocent third party bystander may now have her name and address on the record. The chairman sympathizes, but reminds her that now that they've gone to digital voice recording, there's no transcript to redact.
Another Update: Why was Steacy signed-up on FreeD before a complaint was made against the site?
So why *was* he on freedominion.ca before there was a complaint? Because there was the *potential* for a complaint to come in, he says - prompting muffled gasps from the group beside me, which includes the two founders of Free Dominion.
Like, why wasn't he signed-up with a gazillion other possible forums (FreeD regs are asking themselves)? Well, duh! If you want to monitor internet hate, you go to where it occurs and not somewhere else.
You know, for a hearing that the National Post augured would be a 'watershed' for Canadian human rights in Canada, this is kind of -- anticlimatic.
And more:
And now ... they're quibbling over the mechanics of search engine queries. Kill me now.
And more:
"We are done," says the judge. "This case was done last June." This seems to aggravate Christie, who shoots back that nothing is more important than being in this courtroom at this time. I think that may be as close to drama as we're going to get.
Kadey has a way of making her experience of sitting through really boring stuff funny.
Frankly, this all sounds like a rehash of the testimony that's already appeared in transcript, although I would like to know what the "Bell Guy" had to say.
Update: The Bell guy was apparently testifying re. IP 70.48.181.203, which does NOT belong to Warman in any of his incarnations, but is supposed to belong to a CHRC agent of some sort. Not Mr. Steacy, however, and nobody I've heard of in regards to this matter (and, frankly, I'm not sure if I should be revealing the name it is attached to here). Furthermore, their address seems to be an Ottawa condo.
Updater: Looks like the IP above does NOT belong to an CHRC employee:
Barbara asks if he knows someone by the name of ******, and he seems genuinely baffled. No one else seems to have heard of her either, and CRHC lawyer worries that, as a result of that line of questioning, a possibly entirely innocent third party bystander may now have her name and address on the record. The chairman sympathizes, but reminds her that now that they've gone to digital voice recording, there's no transcript to redact.
Another Update: Why was Steacy signed-up on FreeD before a complaint was made against the site?
So why *was* he on freedominion.ca before there was a complaint? Because there was the *potential* for a complaint to come in, he says - prompting muffled gasps from the group beside me, which includes the two founders of Free Dominion.
Like, why wasn't he signed-up with a gazillion other possible forums (FreeD regs are asking themselves)? Well, duh! If you want to monitor internet hate, you go to where it occurs and not somewhere else.
Didn't Fit "The Narrative"
...of inevitable Tory Ascendancy.
Can West Squelches another one of their own polls:
Ottawa, ON – A new Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for CanWest News Service and Global Television reveals that Stephane Dion’s Liberals (33%) are edging closer to Harper’s Conservatives (35%), placing these two leading parties in a statistical tie. Gaining two points since early March, and rising steadily since the middle February, the Liberal Party is narrowing the gap between itself and the reigning Tories."
Andrew Coyne was on CBC the other day and talking about how, with respect to The Greens and ADQ, it seemed possible these days to attract votes without having much of a "ground game". Given stuff like this going on in Quebec, The Libs better learn the trick.
Mind you, I think Coyne mentioned something about having a coherent strategy to articulate...
Update: A few more details here.
Can West Squelches another one of their own polls:
Ottawa, ON – A new Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for CanWest News Service and Global Television reveals that Stephane Dion’s Liberals (33%) are edging closer to Harper’s Conservatives (35%), placing these two leading parties in a statistical tie. Gaining two points since early March, and rising steadily since the middle February, the Liberal Party is narrowing the gap between itself and the reigning Tories."
Andrew Coyne was on CBC the other day and talking about how, with respect to The Greens and ADQ, it seemed possible these days to attract votes without having much of a "ground game". Given stuff like this going on in Quebec, The Libs better learn the trick.
Mind you, I think Coyne mentioned something about having a coherent strategy to articulate...
Update: A few more details here.
Take The Skinheads Bowling
Given the day's events and what they may portend, I recalled my favorite "Nazi friendly" tune, which dares to ask the question: what do you do when you find skinheads on your lawn? Here is Camper Van Beethoven:
(PS. When I saw these guys back in the early 1980s they also played a wonderful, countrified version of the Clash's "White Riot", which doesn't seem to have made Youtube.)
(PS. When I saw these guys back in the early 1980s they also played a wonderful, countrified version of the Clash's "White Riot", which doesn't seem to have made Youtube.)
Monday, March 24, 2008
He Won't Be Attending Nazipalooza
He (its gotta be a guy) writes at FreeD under the name of "Edward Kennedy", and if Connie and Mark booted him from their forum it would go a long distance from being Nutz to being "merely Conservative". (Note: They've done this kind of thing before. You don't hear Bill Whatcott spouting off anymore)
A typical example of his freely exercised speech is:
Typical n****r behavior. Concealed carry would have made the outcome much different. Note if the perpetrators had been White, they would have all got the death penalty for a hate crime against n*****s. And the lieberals wonder why a large segment of Whites hate blacks and distrust them. I am surprised the black bastards did not try to rape them, that is standard fare for n*****s.
That's an old post, though. More recently he's taken to advocating Muslim genocide and issuing incoherent threats against Warren Kinsella. He thinks Ezra, Mark Steyn, and Mark Lemire are righteous, but Ezra is not convinced he's real.
Fortunately for everyone whose going to be in Ottawa later this week, the OPP has a less sanguine opinion:
I just received the occupants of two OPP crusisers into my house, and was warned that I am personna non grata at the star chamber hearing this week in Ottawa. I think the name attached to the warning was Katherine Slater, and if I appear there I will be arrested.
Ed has never posted his real name, but I suppose the important thing is that the police have it.
PS. I'd probably condemn Kate's latest if I could figure out what the hell she was on about. If anyone can pull a rational assertion from this, let me know. The Nazis merely employed the already existing German bureaucracy to implement the Holocaust? Is that her point?
If so, its crazy, but perhaps a product of the Conservative habit of seeing "The State" as an evil abstraction apart from the people who make it up.
A typical example of his freely exercised speech is:
Typical n****r behavior. Concealed carry would have made the outcome much different. Note if the perpetrators had been White, they would have all got the death penalty for a hate crime against n*****s. And the lieberals wonder why a large segment of Whites hate blacks and distrust them. I am surprised the black bastards did not try to rape them, that is standard fare for n*****s.
That's an old post, though. More recently he's taken to advocating Muslim genocide and issuing incoherent threats against Warren Kinsella. He thinks Ezra, Mark Steyn, and Mark Lemire are righteous, but Ezra is not convinced he's real.
Fortunately for everyone whose going to be in Ottawa later this week, the OPP has a less sanguine opinion:
I just received the occupants of two OPP crusisers into my house, and was warned that I am personna non grata at the star chamber hearing this week in Ottawa. I think the name attached to the warning was Katherine Slater, and if I appear there I will be arrested.
Ed has never posted his real name, but I suppose the important thing is that the police have it.
PS. I'd probably condemn Kate's latest if I could figure out what the hell she was on about. If anyone can pull a rational assertion from this, let me know. The Nazis merely employed the already existing German bureaucracy to implement the Holocaust? Is that her point?
If so, its crazy, but perhaps a product of the Conservative habit of seeing "The State" as an evil abstraction apart from the people who make it up.
The Battle Of Calgary
From the blog of Darcey, my favorite Abo-Con, pictures from Saturday's White Nationalist Rally in Calgary.
Nazi
Nazi
Anti-Nazi
I know what side I'm on. Mind you, Ezra says he "despises" both factions equally, but then Ezra couldn't pick up chicks on a radar screen.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
The Great Math Swindle!
Climate Change denier Ernst Beck is best known for producing the graph of historical CO2 levels shown above, which he has used to (yet again) totally disprove the AGW thesis. The graph shows:...that there were huge fluctuations in CO2 that ended by some strange coincidence exactly when they started making more accurate measurements.
Therefore, sucks to the warmist crown.
Even more radically, the same techniques that Beck developed have been applied to the field of mathematics, and the results have been shocking. Here's the data set to which inestimable science guy Theo applied his technique, and here is what he found:
Yes! You're reading that right! The value of Ļ (Pi) has fluctuated wildly over the past millenia! Which begs the question: is all of mathematics in the same boat? Maybe I didn't stink at numbers in highschool! Maybe their values were shifting even between the moment I wrote down my answers and the moment my teacher, that Jerk Mr. Glasscock, marked them!Obviously, he had been taken in by The Great Math Swindle. And I suspect this hoax about mathematics being the exploration of unchanging, universal truthes was perpetrated by a bunch of goddamn Mathematical Platonists, with all the nonsense they write about eternal Forms floating out there in airy fairy la la land.
In fact, I suspect that James Hansen and the whole warmist crew are a bunch of goddamn Climate Platonists! Get with the program, dudes, climate is always changing!
In Canada, The FireBombs Fly From Right To Left
Ezra chooses a most inopportune moment to go all cultural relativist on us:
Two groups of protesters met in Calgary yesterday: 25 members of the "Aryan Guard" white supremacist group, and 150 assorted leftist urchins, led by Bonnie Collins, the Communist Party candidate and spokewoman for the often-violent group, Anti-Racist Action.
A pox on both of their houses, I say.
And that's the point. I despise them both. But I don't think either group should be arrested for having foul ideas. According to the press reports that I've seen, there was some chanting and sign-waving and even a few leaflets being handed out, but no violence, and no incitement of violence.
No incitement of violence but, just possibly, real violence directed against Ms. Collins' family not a month ago:
But since they started posting pictures of themselves on the Internet with guns and baseball bats -- and after two recent Molotov cocktail attacks in the city were tied to possible white supremacist activity -- it's the counter-protesters who have to hide their faces. One person who knows the danger of standing up against the neo-Nazis is Bonnie Collins.
That moment was painfully relived Friday, when Bonnie -- as part of a counter-demonstration -- confronted the neo-Nazis, who asked her, "How's your house, Bonnie?" while standing behind a cordon of police officers on the front steps of city hall.
"Is it nice and toasty in there? How's Jason and the kids?"
Apart from gaining ground in their intimidation campaign, the neo-Nazis showed they have absolute freedom of movement in Calgary.
Of course Ezra must know about all this stuff. It was reported widely in the Calgary MSM and here, among other places. That he chooses to brush off this important feature of the story says more about how hide-bound his own philosophy has become than about the real danger posed by a re-emergent Calgary Neo-Nazi movement. And indeed it IS on the ascendant again, as the Calgary Sun points out:
Whether we like it or not, the white supremacist movement in the city is growing and scoring points in its quest to spread a message of hate across Calgary.
And as the folks at Stormfront confirm (warning! link leads to nasty website!):
Keep up the good work lads, we're making headway in Calgary! I'd also like to say just how much this Bonnie Collins woman agitates me.
Meanwhile, a few of the speechies seem to be having 2nd thoughts re the tide of old Nazis they have unleashed on Ottawa this Tuesday. Not surprisingly, Ezra is not among them.
PS. Ezra and Mark Steyn et al always argue that the numbers of these Neo-Nazis is so tiny as to be insignificant. Well, this graphic from Stormfront suggests a Canadian membership of about 700. I don't know whether that's significant or not.
Two groups of protesters met in Calgary yesterday: 25 members of the "Aryan Guard" white supremacist group, and 150 assorted leftist urchins, led by Bonnie Collins, the Communist Party candidate and spokewoman for the often-violent group, Anti-Racist Action.
A pox on both of their houses, I say.
And that's the point. I despise them both. But I don't think either group should be arrested for having foul ideas. According to the press reports that I've seen, there was some chanting and sign-waving and even a few leaflets being handed out, but no violence, and no incitement of violence.
No incitement of violence but, just possibly, real violence directed against Ms. Collins' family not a month ago:
But since they started posting pictures of themselves on the Internet with guns and baseball bats -- and after two recent Molotov cocktail attacks in the city were tied to possible white supremacist activity -- it's the counter-protesters who have to hide their faces. One person who knows the danger of standing up against the neo-Nazis is Bonnie Collins.
That moment was painfully relived Friday, when Bonnie -- as part of a counter-demonstration -- confronted the neo-Nazis, who asked her, "How's your house, Bonnie?" while standing behind a cordon of police officers on the front steps of city hall.
"Is it nice and toasty in there? How's Jason and the kids?"
Apart from gaining ground in their intimidation campaign, the neo-Nazis showed they have absolute freedom of movement in Calgary.
Of course Ezra must know about all this stuff. It was reported widely in the Calgary MSM and here, among other places. That he chooses to brush off this important feature of the story says more about how hide-bound his own philosophy has become than about the real danger posed by a re-emergent Calgary Neo-Nazi movement. And indeed it IS on the ascendant again, as the Calgary Sun points out:
Whether we like it or not, the white supremacist movement in the city is growing and scoring points in its quest to spread a message of hate across Calgary.
And as the folks at Stormfront confirm (warning! link leads to nasty website!):
Keep up the good work lads, we're making headway in Calgary! I'd also like to say just how much this Bonnie Collins woman agitates me.
Meanwhile, a few of the speechies seem to be having 2nd thoughts re the tide of old Nazis they have unleashed on Ottawa this Tuesday. Not surprisingly, Ezra is not among them.
PS. Ezra and Mark Steyn et al always argue that the numbers of these Neo-Nazis is so tiny as to be insignificant. Well, this graphic from Stormfront suggests a Canadian membership of about 700. I don't know whether that's significant or not.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Your Daily Nazi, Saturday Edition
In which Macleans columnist Mark Steyn waxes enthusiastic over Barb Kulaszka, Nazi Mark Lemire's lawyer and author (or editor, depending on the attribution) of "Did Six Million Really Die? Report of the Evidence in the Canadian 'False News' Trial of Ernst ZĆ¼ndel".
Macleans must be so proud of their boy.
I've thought of organizing an anti-Macleans boycott, but where do you find copies these days other than the lobby of your local dentist's office? And how do you suppress the circulation of a magazine that is already only associated in people's minds with the sound of a dental drill?
Macleans must be so proud of their boy.
I've thought of organizing an anti-Macleans boycott, but where do you find copies these days other than the lobby of your local dentist's office? And how do you suppress the circulation of a magazine that is already only associated in people's minds with the sound of a dental drill?
Nearly 40 Years Later, And Still In Decline!
Someone clearly peed in Salim Mansur's cornflakes this morning:
This is the great liberal death wish, a twisted psychology of that intellectual class which willingly goes out to buy the lies of a culture that entombs freedom, as was done in the Soviet Union -- and continues in places such as China and Saudi Arabia -- and fashion these lies as a cure for manufactured ills in the West, with the purpose of undermining it.
The occasion behind this grim outburst? The 38th birthday of Malcolm Muggeridge's 1970 essay, "The Great Liberal Death Wish"!
Odd that a doomed ideology such as Liberalism should take so long to pass away, like a bad actor in a cheap movie endlessly stretching out their death scene. I guess the final throes must be coming any time now.
This is the great liberal death wish, a twisted psychology of that intellectual class which willingly goes out to buy the lies of a culture that entombs freedom, as was done in the Soviet Union -- and continues in places such as China and Saudi Arabia -- and fashion these lies as a cure for manufactured ills in the West, with the purpose of undermining it.
The occasion behind this grim outburst? The 38th birthday of Malcolm Muggeridge's 1970 essay, "The Great Liberal Death Wish"!
Odd that a doomed ideology such as Liberalism should take so long to pass away, like a bad actor in a cheap movie endlessly stretching out their death scene. I guess the final throes must be coming any time now.
Friday, March 21, 2008
CPoC Moves To Squelch Another Wingnut
More Tory Turmoil, this time in B.C.! From The Lifesite:
BURNABY, BC, March 19, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A revolt is brewing in the Conservative riding of Burnaby-New Westminster where the Party candidate in the last election - a strong social conservative - has been denied the opportunity to seek the nomination again despite massive local support. Last week directors from the local constituency association held a forum discussing their concern at the Conservative Party's decision to disqualify Marc Dalton, the Conservative Candidate of Record for 2006.
Of course, his social conservatism is not the only issue with Mr. Dalton. In May 2005 Dalton trashed the B.C. Teacher's federation for its "pro-NDP" stance in a story on BCTV, all without telling the network that he was Tory candidate for the riding.
He also, in March of 2007, snuck a number of his supporters onto the Burnaby-New Westminster Conservative riding association's BOD, presumably thinking that stealth was his only path to the re-nomination. One of these plants, Senna Ip, is quoted in the Lifesite article bitching about the lack of democracy in CPoC.
Oh the irony.
BURNABY, BC, March 19, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A revolt is brewing in the Conservative riding of Burnaby-New Westminster where the Party candidate in the last election - a strong social conservative - has been denied the opportunity to seek the nomination again despite massive local support. Last week directors from the local constituency association held a forum discussing their concern at the Conservative Party's decision to disqualify Marc Dalton, the Conservative Candidate of Record for 2006.
Of course, his social conservatism is not the only issue with Mr. Dalton. In May 2005 Dalton trashed the B.C. Teacher's federation for its "pro-NDP" stance in a story on BCTV, all without telling the network that he was Tory candidate for the riding.
He also, in March of 2007, snuck a number of his supporters onto the Burnaby-New Westminster Conservative riding association's BOD, presumably thinking that stealth was his only path to the re-nomination. One of these plants, Senna Ip, is quoted in the Lifesite article bitching about the lack of democracy in CPoC.
Oh the irony.
Rogers IP Addresses, Circa 2003
The blogging nerdosphere is atremble with anticipation at the thought of an upcoming confrontation between Richard Warman and the CHRC vs. Macleans Magazine, Mark Steyn, and the Nazis, which will take place in an Ottawa courtroom on March 25th. Some of the folks at FreeD are positively giddy at the thought of crashing the proceedings, breaking the camera ban (if one is in place), and blasting images of CHRC investigators all over the Internet:
They should go for the lifting of the camera ban, and if that is refused, video it in secret and post the proceedings everywhere possible all over the world. Let the whole world see what a Fascist State Canada has become.
They should go for the lifting of the camera ban, and if that is refused, video it in secret and post the proceedings everywhere possible all over the world. Let the whole world see what a Fascist State Canada has become.
Meanwhile, online investigator extraordinaire "Buckets" has been quietly chipping away at an answer to the most interesting question that will be raised during the course of this hearing: did Richard Warman post racist remarks using the pseud "90sAREover" to Freedomsite (a Nazi forum) in 2003?
There is more detail in my previous posts on the topic, but in short: the claim that Warman did make such a posting is based entirely on the fact that, later in 2003, he messaged Freedomsite under the name of Lucy from the same Rogers IP address (66.185.84.204) previously assigned to 90sAREover.
And, in short, Bucket's research challenges the reasoning behind this claim (which is, essentially, that once you get a Rogers address assigned to you, you are stuck with it for months or years at a time).
Bucket's rather ingenious method was to, painstakingly and at length, examine wikipedia edits (and other sources) from the time-period in question looking for this particular IP address, and other Rogers IP addresses, and track what happened to them, sometimes on a minute by minute basis. His general conclusion? They're fluid, baby, real fluid! Anyone assigned the IP in question might also have been assigned one of at least 16 other IP addresses, and anyone assigned one of these other IP addresses might also have been assigned, during their very next on-line session, or even during the course of the same on-line session, the IP 66.185.84.204.
Here's the money quote from his summary thread:
Have a good Easter everyone, and happy hunting Buckets! And everyone beware them Nazis!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Obama: Exotic As The Dark Side Of Ur-Anus
The Republicans are looking for new code words to throw at Obama should he become the Democratic nominee. Apparently they've settled on "exotic". What does that mean?I think it means black. I think it mean means foreign. I think it means "What’s this Kenya stuff about?" I think it means, it has to do with that Muslim dress photo that flew around. It has to do with Mrs. Obama remarking that this is the first time she’s been proud [of America] --
ROSE: So you think it's a gathering narrative?
MEACHAM: Sure, sure. If you are running against a formidable African-American candidate, and you have a minister who has said ‘God Damn America, ’ and you have the videotapes, always dangerous [grins broadly], you have, I think there's a real risk that the campaign becomes increasingly racialized.
I wish I thought The Dems and the Obama team were clever enough to counter this kind of attack. But uplifting speeches don't cut it down in Dixie, especially when it will be fiery Minister Wright who gets heard again and again going forward.
The only bright spot is that Obama has been able to raise scads of Internet money. Of course, the downside to that upside is that he has raised enough to fuel a disastrous 3rd party run (although the fellow at the end of the link thinks O might win in a 3-way contest).
As for the picture above (the one on the right where Obama gets "blacked up"), the original theory was that it came from the Clinton campaign, but now nobody is really sure. That's how politics work down in the U.S. Nobody smears; the smear simply emerges.
Gnome More!
Loren Coleman thinks this video, of a "creepy gnome" terrorizing the Argentinian town of General Guemes, is a hoax. And it is true: ever since The Blair Witch Project certain stylistic tics derived from that movie have crept into fake Bigfoot/cryptid footage.
Here, teenagers sit around filming themselves pointlessly on a deserted Argentinian street until something untoward (the gnome pitching stones, apparently) attracts their attention. Shaky, grainy cellphone footage ensues.
This footage, genuine or not, has a certain grungy effectiveness, however. (You should see some of the lousy Bigfoot fakes out there!)The gnome has a certain resonance from 80s slasher flicks, and the scream at the end is fairly convincing.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Trout Fishermen Of Ancient Ontario
A neat little story about an underwater "structure" discovered in MacDonald Lake, Ontario:
Subsequent dives closely examined the structure for any signs of the use of tools, decorative images or other irregularities, to no avail. The thick layer of silt covering the vertical surfaces suggests that certainly within living memory no human has ever touched the structure. The geologists pointed to a dramatic drought, which gripped Eastern North America between 9000 and 7000 BCE. Conditions were so dry during that time that lake levels in the Great Lakes were up to 50 meters lower and inland lakes, like McDonald Lake, which were still fed by spring melt and summer rain water, were assumed several dozen feet lower than their present water levels.
And why then, at a time when so few humans roamed Ontario, would they pick remote MacDonald Lake for a stone cairn, especially such a large, elaborate one? Here is where the biologist pointed to the conclusion of his 30 years of research: McDonald Lake is home to an ancient, glacial relic lake trout, which had survived several bouts of glaciation and retained unique features, which allowed it to survive, where other fish had perished. From his records, he could also add that McDonald Lake, in prehistoric times was not a lake, but part and north-westerly end-point of an ancient river system which, for millennia, funnelled glacial meltwater south into what was then mighty Lake Agassis.
While many questions remain, it is very intriguing to imagine a small band of early humans, camped on the shores of a remote lake where today modern man camps and catches trout, just as his ancestors did thousands of years ago.
I've written occasioanally on Paleo-Ontario. Here's another post here.
Subsequent dives closely examined the structure for any signs of the use of tools, decorative images or other irregularities, to no avail. The thick layer of silt covering the vertical surfaces suggests that certainly within living memory no human has ever touched the structure. The geologists pointed to a dramatic drought, which gripped Eastern North America between 9000 and 7000 BCE. Conditions were so dry during that time that lake levels in the Great Lakes were up to 50 meters lower and inland lakes, like McDonald Lake, which were still fed by spring melt and summer rain water, were assumed several dozen feet lower than their present water levels.
And why then, at a time when so few humans roamed Ontario, would they pick remote MacDonald Lake for a stone cairn, especially such a large, elaborate one? Here is where the biologist pointed to the conclusion of his 30 years of research: McDonald Lake is home to an ancient, glacial relic lake trout, which had survived several bouts of glaciation and retained unique features, which allowed it to survive, where other fish had perished. From his records, he could also add that McDonald Lake, in prehistoric times was not a lake, but part and north-westerly end-point of an ancient river system which, for millennia, funnelled glacial meltwater south into what was then mighty Lake Agassis.
While many questions remain, it is very intriguing to imagine a small band of early humans, camped on the shores of a remote lake where today modern man camps and catches trout, just as his ancestors did thousands of years ago.
I've written occasioanally on Paleo-Ontario. Here's another post here.
Tory Turmoil, Redux
The situation over Melissa Bhaghat, putative CPoC candidate in Mississauga East-Cooksville, continues to churn. A number of the Tory electoral district association BOD (10 of 29) have quit, arguing that Melissa's appointment and acclamation has violated the party's populist roots:"I won't be a party to that kind of corruption," said Charles Conn, one of 10 people who recently resigned in protest from the electoral district association board of directors for Mississauga East-Cooksville.
As I reported three weeks ago, in addition to process issues, the local Torys are unhappy that Melissa is an ex-Liberal:
Inflicting us with a Party-selected candidate who has been rejected by the Liberals, both provincially in Brampton Centre and federally in Brampton Springdale, and who was not welcomed by the PC's provincially, is an invitation to disaster.
[...]
MEC members deserve a better candidate than a Liberal reject, from Brampton.
Now, in addition to these complaints, Charles Conn and his fellows have added another pair:
Conn and some other ex-directors also expressed their suspicions that Bhagat might have been preferred by the party because she is a woman and belongs to a minority.
Hoo Hah! And what a woman at that! But the Mississauga Torys apparently want to run under the slogan: "Lily white & unsullied by the touch of female flesh!"
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Poll: Still Deadlocked
OTTAWA – Another national poll suggests the Conservatives and the Liberals remain locked in a dead heat with little sign of momentum. The latest Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey had support for both the major federal parties flatlining at 32 per cent.
A number of writers, including Paul Wells today, seem to be implying that some of these polls are over-estimating Liberal support. On the other hand, plenty of bad news in this new poll from Calgary TV, the CPoC party organ.
Now that the by elections are past, however, the Libs should be able to take a more aggressive stance in the HOC. Might not do them any good, though, due to the crap nature of the NDP's support last night (which Wells also discusses).
Because it has been my secret belief that the NDP doesn't want an election at the moment either, but have been able to hide behind the Libs due to the latter's sad state for the last few months. Now that this sad state has been rectified, I wouldn't be surprised to see Layton's troops figuring out creative ways of chickening out.
Don't expect an election call any time soon, in other words.
A number of writers, including Paul Wells today, seem to be implying that some of these polls are over-estimating Liberal support. On the other hand, plenty of bad news in this new poll from Calgary TV, the CPoC party organ.
Now that the by elections are past, however, the Libs should be able to take a more aggressive stance in the HOC. Might not do them any good, though, due to the crap nature of the NDP's support last night (which Wells also discusses).
Because it has been my secret belief that the NDP doesn't want an election at the moment either, but have been able to hide behind the Libs due to the latter's sad state for the last few months. Now that this sad state has been rectified, I wouldn't be surprised to see Layton's troops figuring out creative ways of chickening out.
Don't expect an election call any time soon, in other words.
Not Victory, But... "Viggdury", Perhaps?
Took a pasting in Sask., Quadra closer than it had any right to be, Toronto what you would expect.
Just enough there to keep Liberal supporters from suicide; more than enough to give Torys something to gloat about.
Most important, the "getting our act together" phase of Liberal rebuilding should be over now. Organizers should get organizing, and preparations made for any upcoming election.
Here's a possible trigger right here. If Harper and co. attempt to extend the Afghanistan mission without Manley's conditions being met, they should be called on it.
Just enough there to keep Liberal supporters from suicide; more than enough to give Torys something to gloat about.
Most important, the "getting our act together" phase of Liberal rebuilding should be over now. Organizers should get organizing, and preparations made for any upcoming election.
Here's a possible trigger right here. If Harper and co. attempt to extend the Afghanistan mission without Manley's conditions being met, they should be called on it.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Steyn Supporter Maybe Threatens Warren Kinsella
At least that's what I think he's doing. FreeDominion's Edward "Kill Muslims" Kennedy is nothing if not incoherent:
And really, think about the hero yĆ²u could be facing off against as you call it, a ``far right lunatic and bigot`. `Better yet, try sneaking a look under my bed if youi want you, maybe you will find a Nazi. But I warn you, stay the hell out of my bathroom. Come on down, and make my day.
Ed's cool with Mark Steyn, though:
You might also like to get it through your politically corrupt head that I speak for myself, you do not even have a clue if I even like Mark Steyn, but it is indeed difficult not to admire a quick wit such as his that makes a damned fool and laughing stock out of you. Indeed.
At least that's my interpretation. There's that whole coherence thing again.
And Mark Steyn is asking, nay demanding, that folks like Edward be allowed to get within a hundred yards of HRC investigators.
And really, think about the hero yĆ²u could be facing off against as you call it, a ``far right lunatic and bigot`. `Better yet, try sneaking a look under my bed if youi want you, maybe you will find a Nazi. But I warn you, stay the hell out of my bathroom. Come on down, and make my day.
Ed's cool with Mark Steyn, though:
You might also like to get it through your politically corrupt head that I speak for myself, you do not even have a clue if I even like Mark Steyn, but it is indeed difficult not to admire a quick wit such as his that makes a damned fool and laughing stock out of you. Indeed.
At least that's my interpretation. There's that whole coherence thing again.
And Mark Steyn is asking, nay demanding, that folks like Edward be allowed to get within a hundred yards of HRC investigators.
Will John Tory Run in Leeds-Grenville?
There have been rumors lately that Tory MPP Bob Runciman might step down and seatless Ontario Tory leader John Tory might run in the vacated riding of Leeds-Grenville. Tory isn't saying one way or another, but this Chatsworth blogger doesn't think it would be an easy victory, due to a mini-resurgence of the (believe it or not) Reform Party of Ontario, possibly led by (believe it or not) elements from the Ontario Land Owners Association and Randy Hillier:
That John Tory spurned Rural Ontario by telling Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey that Urban Ontario is where he belonged, when he left to run in Toronto's Don Valley West, he killed any shot of getting back in through such a route again. The best he could do is follow Parry Sound—Muskoka MP Tony Clement up the 400, past Muskoka and north on the 69 because any Rural Ontario run will be complicated by the Ontario Landowners now. This is especially true if such a John Tory loyalist as Leeds—Grenville MPP Bob Runciman even tried his best to sneak him in by resigning, such a byelection would likely produce an Ontario Landowner under the Ontario Reform banner, who like Don Valley West MPP Kathleen Wynne would slaughter John Tory back to a Bay Street condo retreat over the Lakeshore.
The Ontario Tories seem to have themselves a nice little civil war going. I've argued previously that sticking with John Tory is the best solution for the Ont. Conservatives and, in the end, for the province in general. But if they want to self-flagellate themselves until they achieve some form of ideological cleansing, I guess that's okay too.
That John Tory spurned Rural Ontario by telling Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey that Urban Ontario is where he belonged, when he left to run in Toronto's Don Valley West, he killed any shot of getting back in through such a route again. The best he could do is follow Parry Sound—Muskoka MP Tony Clement up the 400, past Muskoka and north on the 69 because any Rural Ontario run will be complicated by the Ontario Landowners now. This is especially true if such a John Tory loyalist as Leeds—Grenville MPP Bob Runciman even tried his best to sneak him in by resigning, such a byelection would likely produce an Ontario Landowner under the Ontario Reform banner, who like Don Valley West MPP Kathleen Wynne would slaughter John Tory back to a Bay Street condo retreat over the Lakeshore.
The Ontario Tories seem to have themselves a nice little civil war going. I've argued previously that sticking with John Tory is the best solution for the Ont. Conservatives and, in the end, for the province in general. But if they want to self-flagellate themselves until they achieve some form of ideological cleansing, I guess that's okay too.
Still Thinking Of Retiring To Florida?
Up here in the frozen tundra you might get a skunk burrowing under your garden shed, or a raccoon knocking on the window, wondering where your garbage went. Down there, who knows...
This picture originated on Cryptomundo in one of a series of posts about Pinky the Florida Lake Monst
er, but even if Pinky doesn't get you, an American Alligator can easily out-pace Grandma here. Good argument to spend your Canadian earned money in Canada.
er, but even if Pinky doesn't get you, an American Alligator can easily out-pace Grandma here. Good argument to spend your Canadian earned money in Canada.Run Granny!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Cadmania: Have Tories Threatened Dan Wallace?
Dan Wallace is Chuck Cadman's one-time executive assistant. Stephen Maher from the Chronicle Herald seems to think CPoC has shown him, as it were, an open grave:
"Mr. Wallace," I said.
He appeared not to hear me. "Dan Wallace?"
He moved to go down the stairs, without ever looking at me, and I followed him.
"Mr. Wallace, can I ask you a question?"
The elevator arrived. He got on and I followed him.
He got off the elevator.
"No, you can’t ask me a question," he said and made to go down the stairs.
I made to follow him, at which point he got on the elevator again. I stepped on.
"I’m going up anyway," I said, at which point he got off and I decided to leave him alone.
It is reasonable to conclude that the Tories have put the fear of God into Mr. Wallace.
Plus a passel of X-Reformers who believe a bribe was offered.
Come out come out, Art Hanger, you can run but you can't hide (unless its under Jack Layton's desk).
"Mr. Wallace," I said.
He appeared not to hear me. "Dan Wallace?"
He moved to go down the stairs, without ever looking at me, and I followed him.
"Mr. Wallace, can I ask you a question?"
The elevator arrived. He got on and I followed him.
He got off the elevator.
"No, you can’t ask me a question," he said and made to go down the stairs.
I made to follow him, at which point he got on the elevator again. I stepped on.
"I’m going up anyway," I said, at which point he got off and I decided to leave him alone.
It is reasonable to conclude that the Tories have put the fear of God into Mr. Wallace.
Plus a passel of X-Reformers who believe a bribe was offered.
Come out come out, Art Hanger, you can run but you can't hide (unless its under Jack Layton's desk).
Teh Warming...Is BACK!
Looks like our month long flirtation with a new ice-age is over.Climate change is making a comeback! In your face, delayer-1000s! And as Jon Stewart -- or the Pope -- might say, damn you, polluters! But where is the news coverage? This is just more proof (as if we needed it) that the media is fundamentally conservative.
Let's start with the temperature. NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies has their monthly global temperature dataset out through Feb. 2008 (it starts in Jan. 1880). January was only 0.12 degrees C above the 1951-1980 mean (for that month) and a full 0.74 degrees C colder than Jan. 2007 (the warmest January record).
A tongue-in-cheek posting from Gristmill, but for this bit:
Each of the past three years has seen an unusually early start to tornado season. One would expect to see a shift in tornado activity earlier in the year in a warming climate, along with an earlier than usual drop off in activity in late spring. We can see that in both 2005 and 2006 that tornado activity dropped off much earlier than usual, and it will be interesting to see if 2008 follows a similar pattern. Note that there is a very high natural variability in tornado numbers, and the record for fewest ever January and February tornadoes was set just six years ago in 2002, when only four twisters occurred. It will be at least ten more years before we can say with any confidence that a warming climate is leading to an earlier peak in tornado season.
Media Mogul Ted Turner knows all about it.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
How Come The Only Serious Politician Hinting At Scrapping The CHRC Is A Liberal MP?
Keith Martin rants on:
"We can’t let the commission go on as it is now," he said. "The issue is much larger than 13.1," he said, describing his motion as a mere "springboard" to examine the CHRC. He hopes that a thorough examination of the federal commission will prompt provincial legislatures to look at their own legislation and commissions.
Frankly, far more disturbing than the Liberal vacillating on budgetary and other matters is the fact that the leadership doesn't feel comfortable telling this one nobody to stuff a sock in it. Whatever you think of section 13, HRCs have done fine work on the behalf of the injured and disabled. That a Liberal should be leading the charge against them is truly pukeworthy.
"We can’t let the commission go on as it is now," he said. "The issue is much larger than 13.1," he said, describing his motion as a mere "springboard" to examine the CHRC. He hopes that a thorough examination of the federal commission will prompt provincial legislatures to look at their own legislation and commissions.
Frankly, far more disturbing than the Liberal vacillating on budgetary and other matters is the fact that the leadership doesn't feel comfortable telling this one nobody to stuff a sock in it. Whatever you think of section 13, HRCs have done fine work on the behalf of the injured and disabled. That a Liberal should be leading the charge against them is truly pukeworthy.
It's The Thought That Counts
Ottawa, ON – A new Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television finds that a majority of Canadians support (23% strongly/33% somewhat) the opposition-led RESP tax-break bill, even though the government has argued that this bill might cause them to run a deficit.
[...]
However, Just 14% of Canadians Want Election Fought Over This Issue, Most (81%) Believe Parties Should ‘Find a Way to Avoid Election’
All of which means that the Lib strategy on the RESP--bring it forward, brand it Liberal, let the Gov. look mean-spirited and anti-education by killing it, but don't let it serve as an election trigger--has been sound.
Let the pundits sniff about "political ploys geared to embarrassing the Harper Tories" if they like. This one worked.
[...]
However, Just 14% of Canadians Want Election Fought Over This Issue, Most (81%) Believe Parties Should ‘Find a Way to Avoid Election’
All of which means that the Lib strategy on the RESP--bring it forward, brand it Liberal, let the Gov. look mean-spirited and anti-education by killing it, but don't let it serve as an election trigger--has been sound.
Let the pundits sniff about "political ploys geared to embarrassing the Harper Tories" if they like. This one worked.
Friday, March 14, 2008
What You're Up Against [Bill C-484]
Can't really blame the Liberal Party brass for not whipping the vote when a survey of the grass-roots coughs up numbers like these:
In the survey, 52 per cent of Conservative Party voters express strong support for [Bill C-484], while the proportion is lower among New Democratic Party (NDP) voters (47%), Liberals (37%), Greens (34%) and Bloc QuƩbƩcois supporters (33%).
Got alotta work to do, ladies.
In the survey, 52 per cent of Conservative Party voters express strong support for [Bill C-484], while the proportion is lower among New Democratic Party (NDP) voters (47%), Liberals (37%), Greens (34%) and Bloc QuƩbƩcois supporters (33%).
Got alotta work to do, ladies.
Colby Cosh: Harper Covering For The Warmists!
Some freaky-deaky logic today from Colby Cosh on the release of From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007. This document is a major study re the effects of climate change on Canada involving 140 respected scientists. And, basically, the $64,000 question is: why did the Feds pay Hill and Knowlton $50,000 to flog the thing and then dump it on the GofC website without fanfare after some of the more disturbing results got leaked?
Colby thinks he has the answer:
We know the Conservative government is reluctant to make the large, immediate economic tradeoffs that professional environmentalists want. Could this be why the report was dropped quietly onto the internet like a Victorian flirt's handkerchief hitting a parqueted floor?
It's possible, but I don't think it's true. The report we're talking about is called From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007. It's not a document about what we can do now to save Mother Earth: it's about what we can do to ready ourselves if some planetary warming, irrespective of the cause, is inevitable. In that sense it does not suit the environmentalist agenda to have the report widely publicized. Adaptation measures are competing for the same reserve of attention and funding as the Kyoto-type hair-shirt efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas output. The more we talk about living with a warmer Earth, the more we may come to see it as acceptable.
Now that's CHHHHHHutzzzPahhhh! According to CC, Harper has had the report stuffed, not because it makes alarming reading and raises question like what the hell do you plan to do about it?, but because Harper is down with the environmentalist agenda and wants to run cover for them. The report is, in a sense, too anti-Kyoto for the Tory government.
That's the most logical reading of the above passage. Alternatively, maybe Cosh is arguing that somehow Environmentalists have managed to reach inside the Ministry of Natural Resources and influence government policy. A photo of an angry Al Gore heads today's column. Maybe Al made a nasty phone-call to Gary Lunn and gave him heck for blowing the whole scam wide open.
In any case, the fact that the Federal Tories are ignoring a study they commissioned is somehow, some way, the fault of the Environmental movement.
How Mr. Cosh manages to write this stuff without busting out in giggles is beyond me.
Colby thinks he has the answer:
We know the Conservative government is reluctant to make the large, immediate economic tradeoffs that professional environmentalists want. Could this be why the report was dropped quietly onto the internet like a Victorian flirt's handkerchief hitting a parqueted floor?
It's possible, but I don't think it's true. The report we're talking about is called From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007. It's not a document about what we can do now to save Mother Earth: it's about what we can do to ready ourselves if some planetary warming, irrespective of the cause, is inevitable. In that sense it does not suit the environmentalist agenda to have the report widely publicized. Adaptation measures are competing for the same reserve of attention and funding as the Kyoto-type hair-shirt efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas output. The more we talk about living with a warmer Earth, the more we may come to see it as acceptable.
Now that's CHHHHHHutzzzPahhhh! According to CC, Harper has had the report stuffed, not because it makes alarming reading and raises question like what the hell do you plan to do about it?, but because Harper is down with the environmentalist agenda and wants to run cover for them. The report is, in a sense, too anti-Kyoto for the Tory government.
That's the most logical reading of the above passage. Alternatively, maybe Cosh is arguing that somehow Environmentalists have managed to reach inside the Ministry of Natural Resources and influence government policy. A photo of an angry Al Gore heads today's column. Maybe Al made a nasty phone-call to Gary Lunn and gave him heck for blowing the whole scam wide open.
In any case, the fact that the Federal Tories are ignoring a study they commissioned is somehow, some way, the fault of the Environmental movement.
How Mr. Cosh manages to write this stuff without busting out in giggles is beyond me.
Harper Lawsuit: Politics By Other Means
Ottawa's blondest blogger is quick on the uptake:
Does this sound a lot like a Prime Minister who is suing (PDF of complaint - warning, large file) Stephane Dion, personally, for libel? Or, alternately, a Prime Minister who wants everyone listening to him to think that's what he's doing...
Stephane Dion: NOT a subject of litigation.
Anyway, I thought Cadmania might have been on its last legs, but thank you Mr. Harper, you've brought it back to Life.
Does this sound a lot like a Prime Minister who is suing (PDF of complaint - warning, large file) Stephane Dion, personally, for libel? Or, alternately, a Prime Minister who wants everyone listening to him to think that's what he's doing...
Stephane Dion: NOT a subject of litigation.
Anyway, I thought Cadmania might have been on its last legs, but thank you Mr. Harper, you've brought it back to Life.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Never Thought Of That
...many phones now have cameras and I wonder if people remember to use them for the logistics of everyday life. So this post is just a reminder that all those things you often forget (I certainly forget all sorts of details that would be helpful to remember later) can be captured easily with your pocket-sized camera.
I still don't want one, but now I'll make sure the wife is always carrying hers.
I still don't want one, but now I'll make sure the wife is always carrying hers.
PMO Slaps Down The Speechies!!!
On behalf of the Prime Minister, I would like to thank you for your e-mail regarding human rights commissions at the federal and provincial level. Please be assured that your comments are appreciated and have been carefully reviewed.
[...]
As the Commission operates at arm's length, the federal government respects the Commission's independence and does not interfere in its normal course of operations. For more information about the operations of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, we would encourage you to visit the Commission's Web site...
They're shocked and appalled over at FreeD. The government has flipped them the bird and, come next election, they'll be looking for a party even further to the right than the CPoC. Won't be easy to find; even Alberta's Wildrose Alliance has embraced the status quo with respect to HRCs.
Meanwhile, Ezra is doing a comprehensive survey of Human Rights Inquisitors and finding that the Alberta commission is Chock-a-block full of Tories!!! Since these are patronage appointments, I guess that makes sense in Alberta, right? And, horror or horrors...some even have legal training, although apparently not the appropriate legal training, according to Ezra.
(This from a guy who thinks we operate under U.S. copyright laws. It's called fair dealing up here in the frozen tundra, Ez, not fair comment.)
h/t WK.
[...]
As the Commission operates at arm's length, the federal government respects the Commission's independence and does not interfere in its normal course of operations. For more information about the operations of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, we would encourage you to visit the Commission's Web site...
They're shocked and appalled over at FreeD. The government has flipped them the bird and, come next election, they'll be looking for a party even further to the right than the CPoC. Won't be easy to find; even Alberta's Wildrose Alliance has embraced the status quo with respect to HRCs.
Meanwhile, Ezra is doing a comprehensive survey of Human Rights Inquisitors and finding that the Alberta commission is Chock-a-block full of Tories!!! Since these are patronage appointments, I guess that makes sense in Alberta, right? And, horror or horrors...some even have legal training, although apparently not the appropriate legal training, according to Ezra.
(This from a guy who thinks we operate under U.S. copyright laws. It's called fair dealing up here in the frozen tundra, Ez, not fair comment.)
h/t WK.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tory Candidate Websites Hijacked!
After the last election, losing Conservative candidates often took down their now useless websites and in some cases let the domain names expire. Now, enterprising computer programmer Derek Seaborne has purchased a number of these domain names and linked them to Regressive Conservative, the website of "Canada's newest faith-based political party". At the website you can find Derek's manifesto:
The Conservative Party is a religious one, its views link sin almost exclusively to sex. If they gain enough seats, the Conservative will break their promise to the Canadian people and bring gay marriage to another vote. Make no mistake: After this passes issues like abortion, contraception, sex education, even divorce will be next.
The domain names snagged include those which previously pointed to the websites of Lou Grimshaw, Keith Fountain, John Mazzilli, Anthony Reale "mad" Rondo Thomas.
And I don't think that's a complete list. As FreeD's ConnieF writes:
... domaintools.com shows that Derek Seabrooke's email address is associated with 215 domains. I wonder how many of them are domains that belonged to CPC candidates -- domains that will not only be unavailable to them if they run again, but that will be actively working against them by pointing interested voters to an anti-CPC site during the next election.
Good work, Derek. Your country is proud of you.
The Conservative Party is a religious one, its views link sin almost exclusively to sex. If they gain enough seats, the Conservative will break their promise to the Canadian people and bring gay marriage to another vote. Make no mistake: After this passes issues like abortion, contraception, sex education, even divorce will be next.
The domain names snagged include those which previously pointed to the websites of Lou Grimshaw, Keith Fountain, John Mazzilli, Anthony Reale "mad" Rondo Thomas.
And I don't think that's a complete list. As FreeD's ConnieF writes:
... domaintools.com shows that Derek Seabrooke's email address is associated with 215 domains. I wonder how many of them are domains that belonged to CPC candidates -- domains that will not only be unavailable to them if they run again, but that will be actively working against them by pointing interested voters to an anti-CPC site during the next election.
Good work, Derek. Your country is proud of you.
Who The Heck Is Piers Corbyn, Or: Why Has The Denialist Movement Turned On One Of Its Own?
Piers Corbyn, according to his Wikipedia entry, is a a maverick British weather forecaster[2]. He runs WeatherAction, a company which makes weather forecasts up to year in advance, and publishes/sells these forecasts though his website. In fact, he has a
...wide range of weather sensitive customers, including gas and electricity companies, farmers and retailers.[6] - for example, PolyGram staggered their release dates and promotional tours for the motion picture Bean around Corbyn's predictions
While Corbyn's forecasts often resemble a horoscope--they are, that is, vague enough to be unverifiable--recently Piers has been making some fairly precise predictions that have clearly been proven wrong by actual weather events. As Corbyn himself writes:
Forecast errors in Jan and mid Feb and advances in the Solar Weather Technique which are coping with the present hypersensitivity on Sun-Earth weather links (a situation we reported at the Oct 16th 07 WeatherAction Press event).
Now, note the reference here to the "Solar Weather Technique". Piers is a hard core AGW Denier, and puts it all down to those ubiquitous "solar cycles", knowledge of which his "technique" (the methodology is a closely guarded secret) employs in crafting WeatherAction forecasts.
Corbyn's apparent successes have been oft-touted within the Denialist community, where they have been taken as evidence that the "solar cycles" explanation of recent global temperature changes has empirical support and predictive power.
However, as his recent forecasts have failed, so too has his reputation taken a hit within that community, the whole sad process currently playing out in discussions at the Climate Skeptic Cafe.
The grouching kicked off with the arrival of Corbyn's March forecast a few days ago, and this gusty blast from Hans Erren:
Piers missed today's severe gale. Combined with the absence of a forecast cold winter in holland I think there is not much confidence left....
This opinion was 2nded by Arthur Rorsch:
My problem is, however, that Piers forecasts, which where not sufficient accurate, has been used against me in the national (Dutch) debate on climate change. I did never refer to Piers. But it was assumed that I support his view, (as a sceptic) which weakened my own case, because the Piers forecasts where seriously questioned and he has not as yet been prepared to show the basis for his forecasts.
Of course, Corbyn still has a few supporters. Sweet Kristen, the Tiniest Denier, has leapt to his defense:
I recall Magnus explaining that the sun is not behaving as Piers expected and thus inaccuracies in his forecasts. I also recall that Piers gives degrees of accuracy. His forecasts all come with a probability of being correct. But when the sun does behave as he expects his forecasts are accurate.
Nice girl, but she oughtta be out rebelling someplace.
In any event, the upshot of all this is that, for the time-being, Corbyn has stopped publishing his forecasts. I do have a copy of the March version, however, and if anyone wants one, they can drop me an email.
...wide range of weather sensitive customers, including gas and electricity companies, farmers and retailers.[6] - for example, PolyGram staggered their release dates and promotional tours for the motion picture Bean around Corbyn's predictions
While Corbyn's forecasts often resemble a horoscope--they are, that is, vague enough to be unverifiable--recently Piers has been making some fairly precise predictions that have clearly been proven wrong by actual weather events. As Corbyn himself writes:
Forecast errors in Jan and mid Feb and advances in the Solar Weather Technique which are coping with the present hypersensitivity on Sun-Earth weather links (a situation we reported at the Oct 16th 07 WeatherAction Press event).
Now, note the reference here to the "Solar Weather Technique". Piers is a hard core AGW Denier, and puts it all down to those ubiquitous "solar cycles", knowledge of which his "technique" (the methodology is a closely guarded secret) employs in crafting WeatherAction forecasts.
Corbyn's apparent successes have been oft-touted within the Denialist community, where they have been taken as evidence that the "solar cycles" explanation of recent global temperature changes has empirical support and predictive power.
However, as his recent forecasts have failed, so too has his reputation taken a hit within that community, the whole sad process currently playing out in discussions at the Climate Skeptic Cafe.
The grouching kicked off with the arrival of Corbyn's March forecast a few days ago, and this gusty blast from Hans Erren:
Piers missed today's severe gale. Combined with the absence of a forecast cold winter in holland I think there is not much confidence left....
This opinion was 2nded by Arthur Rorsch:
My problem is, however, that Piers forecasts, which where not sufficient accurate, has been used against me in the national (Dutch) debate on climate change. I did never refer to Piers. But it was assumed that I support his view, (as a sceptic) which weakened my own case, because the Piers forecasts where seriously questioned and he has not as yet been prepared to show the basis for his forecasts.
Of course, Corbyn still has a few supporters. Sweet Kristen, the Tiniest Denier, has leapt to his defense:
I recall Magnus explaining that the sun is not behaving as Piers expected and thus inaccuracies in his forecasts. I also recall that Piers gives degrees of accuracy. His forecasts all come with a probability of being correct. But when the sun does behave as he expects his forecasts are accurate.
Nice girl, but she oughtta be out rebelling someplace.
In any event, the upshot of all this is that, for the time-being, Corbyn has stopped publishing his forecasts. I do have a copy of the March version, however, and if anyone wants one, they can drop me an email.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Gas To Hit $12,000.08 Per Litre?
"WASHINGTON (AP) - Adm. William Fallon, the top U.S. military commander for the Middle East, is resigning, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.
[...]
Fallon was the subject of an article published last week in Esquire magazine that portrayed him as opposed to President Bush's Iran policy. It described Fallon as a lone voice against taking military action to stop the Iranian nuclear program."
[...]
Gates described as "ridiculous" any notion that Fallon's departure signals the United States is planning to go to war with Iran.
Guess that means the U.S. is going to war with Iran.
PS. Here's a fuller account of the circumstances behind his resignation.
[...]
Fallon was the subject of an article published last week in Esquire magazine that portrayed him as opposed to President Bush's Iran policy. It described Fallon as a lone voice against taking military action to stop the Iranian nuclear program."
[...]
Gates described as "ridiculous" any notion that Fallon's departure signals the United States is planning to go to war with Iran.
Guess that means the U.S. is going to war with Iran.
PS. Here's a fuller account of the circumstances behind his resignation.
A Recent History Of The Western Standard
Noted this short piece in the Calgary Herald this morning:
A Muslim leader is praising Calgary police for making progress in their investigation of anti-Islamic postings on a local website last year.
Syed Soharwardy of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada thanked police for identifying two people who posted the remarks on the Western Standard website.
A quick backgrounder. When Ezra Levant abandoned the flaming wreckage of The Western Standard, he left behind one final blog post (which has since been sent down the memory hole). Fans quickly decorated the post with anti-Muslim sentiments. For example:
"...there is no such thing as innocent Muslims. They must all be killed. All of them."
Mr. Soharwardy swiftly organized protests outside of Calgary City Hall, and threatened a complaint via the AHRCC against the Western Standard, which elicited this grovelling apology from Matthew Johnston, the Standard's new Head Honcho. Afterwards, Mr. Johnston vowed to weed out the crazies posting to the WS Shotgun Blog.
What is interesting about the latest development is that, presumably, Mr. Johnston and the gang at WS must have co-operated with the police investigation.
A Muslim leader is praising Calgary police for making progress in their investigation of anti-Islamic postings on a local website last year.
Syed Soharwardy of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada thanked police for identifying two people who posted the remarks on the Western Standard website.
A quick backgrounder. When Ezra Levant abandoned the flaming wreckage of The Western Standard, he left behind one final blog post (which has since been sent down the memory hole). Fans quickly decorated the post with anti-Muslim sentiments. For example:
"...there is no such thing as innocent Muslims. They must all be killed. All of them."
Mr. Soharwardy swiftly organized protests outside of Calgary City Hall, and threatened a complaint via the AHRCC against the Western Standard, which elicited this grovelling apology from Matthew Johnston, the Standard's new Head Honcho. Afterwards, Mr. Johnston vowed to weed out the crazies posting to the WS Shotgun Blog.
What is interesting about the latest development is that, presumably, Mr. Johnston and the gang at WS must have co-operated with the police investigation.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Cadmania Lives!
James Moore today in the HOC:
“Mr. Cadman was going to run again,” responded Conservative MP James Moore, parliamentary secretary of public works and the government's point person on the contentious file.
“The only offer that was put on the table was the offer, as I said, to rejoin the Conservatives, get re-nominated as a Conservative, and that we would offer him any financial support that was necessary and mandated by Elections Canada – allowed by Elections Canada – to seek re-election.”
What Tom Flanagan said in "Harper’s Team: Behind the Scenes in the Conservative Rise to Power":
“The last thing [Cadman] wanted right now was an election. I knew then that we would lose the vote, which we did a couple hours later.”
That's another week's worth of scandal right there.
“Mr. Cadman was going to run again,” responded Conservative MP James Moore, parliamentary secretary of public works and the government's point person on the contentious file.
“The only offer that was put on the table was the offer, as I said, to rejoin the Conservatives, get re-nominated as a Conservative, and that we would offer him any financial support that was necessary and mandated by Elections Canada – allowed by Elections Canada – to seek re-election.”
What Tom Flanagan said in "Harper’s Team: Behind the Scenes in the Conservative Rise to Power":
“The last thing [Cadman] wanted right now was an election. I knew then that we would lose the vote, which we did a couple hours later.”
That's another week's worth of scandal right there.
It Also Doesn't Work
David Keith and Thomas Homer-Dixon argue in last weekend's Globe Essay that environmentalists oppose carbon sequestration schemes because:
1) Environmentalists are gambling that we can make the huge cuts in CO2 emissions we need simply by improving our energy efficiency and using renewables like solar and wind power.
2) They possess a deep suspicion of big business and big industry that's a residue of the leftism of the original environmental movement.
They don't mention a third reason, which is that carbon sequestration is an expensive, iffy technology that may never work. I've written briefly about some of the challenges faced by Mr. Keith's preferred CCs project here, and many other writers have pointed out the technical issues that make any such project a questionable investment.
However, what I think is most significant are the doubts expressed re carbon sequestration by those within the power generation industry itself.
For example, in his day job, Richard S. Courtney, a well known climate change denier, was once Senior Material Scientist for British Coal. That's actually a PR position, but they gave him a fancy name. Now he edits CoalTrans International (journal of the international coal trading industry. His opinion of carbon sequestration:
Firstly, the value of carbon sequestration is political: n.b. it is not technological or economic.
There is opposition to power generation systems that emit CO2 as waste (this is similar to opposition to nuclear power systems that emit radioactive waste). A response to the opposition is needed until the AGW scare is ended. And claims of carbon sequestration (cs) provide that needed response although eveybody knows cs would be too expensive for it to be used.
When one of Big Coal's premier representatives calls CCs a crock meant to give the industry a thin green sheen, you have to wonder if some of that residue of distrust isn't warranted, and whether Mr. Homer-Dixon and Mr. Keith are not being a little bit naive.
1) Environmentalists are gambling that we can make the huge cuts in CO2 emissions we need simply by improving our energy efficiency and using renewables like solar and wind power.
2) They possess a deep suspicion of big business and big industry that's a residue of the leftism of the original environmental movement.
They don't mention a third reason, which is that carbon sequestration is an expensive, iffy technology that may never work. I've written briefly about some of the challenges faced by Mr. Keith's preferred CCs project here, and many other writers have pointed out the technical issues that make any such project a questionable investment.
However, what I think is most significant are the doubts expressed re carbon sequestration by those within the power generation industry itself.
For example, in his day job, Richard S. Courtney, a well known climate change denier, was once Senior Material Scientist for British Coal. That's actually a PR position, but they gave him a fancy name. Now he edits CoalTrans International (journal of the international coal trading industry. His opinion of carbon sequestration:
Firstly, the value of carbon sequestration is political: n.b. it is not technological or economic.
There is opposition to power generation systems that emit CO2 as waste (this is similar to opposition to nuclear power systems that emit radioactive waste). A response to the opposition is needed until the AGW scare is ended. And claims of carbon sequestration (cs) provide that needed response although eveybody knows cs would be too expensive for it to be used.
When one of Big Coal's premier representatives calls CCs a crock meant to give the industry a thin green sheen, you have to wonder if some of that residue of distrust isn't warranted, and whether Mr. Homer-Dixon and Mr. Keith are not being a little bit naive.
Electorate In Stasis
The poll shows the major parties practically frozen in place since December, 2006 with the Conservatives dropping one point to 35 per cent since the last survey two weeks ago, while Liberal support picked up the point in rising to 31 per cent.
Interesting. Abstaining hasn't hurt the Liberals. Cadman hasn't hurt the Tories. Preening like a peacock on American television hasn't helped Jack Layton.
Take away message?
On the question of an election, the poll shows a full two-thirds - 66 per cent, up four points since mid-February - of Canadians oppose the idea, saying "there's no need for an election at the moment." Meanwhile, only 27 per cent responded that "we need an election to clear the air" while seven per cent said they were unsure.
The Election Jihadis should take a cold shower, and knock off the hand-wringing. The nation doesn't feel your pain.
The Tories should continue doing what they're doing: posing and talking tough. Because it hasn't worked for two years, so success must be just around the corner.
Interesting. Abstaining hasn't hurt the Liberals. Cadman hasn't hurt the Tories. Preening like a peacock on American television hasn't helped Jack Layton.
Take away message?
On the question of an election, the poll shows a full two-thirds - 66 per cent, up four points since mid-February - of Canadians oppose the idea, saying "there's no need for an election at the moment." Meanwhile, only 27 per cent responded that "we need an election to clear the air" while seven per cent said they were unsure.
The Election Jihadis should take a cold shower, and knock off the hand-wringing. The nation doesn't feel your pain.
The Tories should continue doing what they're doing: posing and talking tough. Because it hasn't worked for two years, so success must be just around the corner.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
A Crap Alberta Government Survey Of Alberta "Rock Scientists" On Climate Change
Given the abuse that James Annan and Fergus Brown took as a result of their good-faith attempt to survey honest-to-god climate scientists (including from me here), zero weight can be given to this ghastly survey of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta (esp. given the state of some of the questions, but see below for more on that):
Virtually all respondents (99.4%) agree that the climate is changing. There is also general agreement that the climate is changing both regionally and globally (78.7% agree) and that it may result in both warming and cooling (83.0% agree). There is less agreement as to the magnitude of the change:65.7% believe that there are changes to both the average and variability of the climate, 20.2% believe that there are changes to the average state, and 14.1% believe that there are changes to the variability. There is also disagreement as to the timescale: 55.3% believe that there are both long and short term effects, 28.8% believe there are long term effects, and 11.6% believe that there are short term effects.
There is even less agreement as to the cause: 27.4% believe it is caused by primarily natural factors (natural variation, volcanoes, sunspots, lithosphere motions, etc.), 25.7% believe it is caused by primarily human factors (burning fossil fuels, changing land use, enhanced water evaporation due to irrigation), and 45.2% believe that climate change is caused by both human and natural factors.
[...]
The highest disagreement (68% disagree) with statement “the debate on the scientific causes of recent climate change is settled”. It is somewhat reassuring that 66% of respondents do not feel pressured by their peers to take a certain stance on climate change and 59% do not feel like that must base their professional work on factors other their solid scientific principles.
Note that the first couple of sentences in the first paragraph are so vague as to be meaningless. This is what you get when you ask your members to choose between the following assertions:
1) Our climate is not presently changing
2) Our climate is changing.
The Consensus that there is no consensus is similarly crap, since the survey does not make clear whether the respondents are disagreeing with the contention that the cause, or extent, or time scale, or magnitude of climate change is "settled" (or some combination.
And there is interesting data collected but not shared in the document above, such as do APEGGA members think Canada should uphold its Kyoto commitments?
The members of APEGGA have been ill-served by their association. In fact, it looks like they got suckered by the Alberta Environment Ministry (Alberta Environment), which designed the survey. Designed it to give the results they were looking for, no doubt.
Virtually all respondents (99.4%) agree that the climate is changing. There is also general agreement that the climate is changing both regionally and globally (78.7% agree) and that it may result in both warming and cooling (83.0% agree). There is less agreement as to the magnitude of the change:65.7% believe that there are changes to both the average and variability of the climate, 20.2% believe that there are changes to the average state, and 14.1% believe that there are changes to the variability. There is also disagreement as to the timescale: 55.3% believe that there are both long and short term effects, 28.8% believe there are long term effects, and 11.6% believe that there are short term effects.
There is even less agreement as to the cause: 27.4% believe it is caused by primarily natural factors (natural variation, volcanoes, sunspots, lithosphere motions, etc.), 25.7% believe it is caused by primarily human factors (burning fossil fuels, changing land use, enhanced water evaporation due to irrigation), and 45.2% believe that climate change is caused by both human and natural factors.
[...]
The highest disagreement (68% disagree) with statement “the debate on the scientific causes of recent climate change is settled”. It is somewhat reassuring that 66% of respondents do not feel pressured by their peers to take a certain stance on climate change and 59% do not feel like that must base their professional work on factors other their solid scientific principles.
Note that the first couple of sentences in the first paragraph are so vague as to be meaningless. This is what you get when you ask your members to choose between the following assertions:
1) Our climate is not presently changing
2) Our climate is changing.
The Consensus that there is no consensus is similarly crap, since the survey does not make clear whether the respondents are disagreeing with the contention that the cause, or extent, or time scale, or magnitude of climate change is "settled" (or some combination.
And there is interesting data collected but not shared in the document above, such as do APEGGA members think Canada should uphold its Kyoto commitments?
The members of APEGGA have been ill-served by their association. In fact, it looks like they got suckered by the Alberta Environment Ministry (Alberta Environment), which designed the survey. Designed it to give the results they were looking for, no doubt.
Rearranging The Deck Chairs On The Good Ship Denial
There's a new skeptic's group out there, the International Climate Science Coalition. There's not much to see. Led by a Terry Dunleavy, who writes for New Zealand Wine Grower Magazine, its the same old gang peddling the same old tripe. Only interesting perhaps in that it provides insight into the staffing of these kinds of groups. As Tim Ball writes at the Climate Skeptics Cafe:
Tom Harris has been hired as Executive Director, myself and Bob Carter and I believe Lord Monckton are in a core group. I am taking over Tom's position at nrsp until a replacement is found. I look forward to working with them and other groups such as the Friends of Science. The more groups and representation we have the better and wider the message is disseminated.
Hundreds of groups, composed in total of dozens of people. Money to pay them all.
Tom Harris has been hired as Executive Director, myself and Bob Carter and I believe Lord Monckton are in a core group. I am taking over Tom's position at nrsp until a replacement is found. I look forward to working with them and other groups such as the Friends of Science. The more groups and representation we have the better and wider the message is disseminated.
Hundreds of groups, composed in total of dozens of people. Money to pay them all.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
The Radical Imam Moves On
The Rad Imam Syed Soharwardy, arch-nemesis to Ezra "Lord of All Speeches" Levant, has decided to get on with his life. He's talking about the situation in Darfur, and OMYGAWD!!!, the radical shit coming out of his mouth!
'The majority of the people on both sides of this conflict are Muslims,' says [Syed Soharwardy].
'This is absolutely a genocide and a number of major global Islamic organizations have a major responsibility, compared with any other groups, to stop this.'
Soharwardy says the leadership of the broader Muslim world, not just the Sudanese regime, must be held to account for their inaction while millions suffer.
'It hurts every Muslim because it's a crisis and nobody is taking any interest,' he adds.
Meanwhile, what's Ezra up to? Click, click, click. Hmm. Looks like he's still talking about Ezra.
'The majority of the people on both sides of this conflict are Muslims,' says [Syed Soharwardy].
'This is absolutely a genocide and a number of major global Islamic organizations have a major responsibility, compared with any other groups, to stop this.'
Soharwardy says the leadership of the broader Muslim world, not just the Sudanese regime, must be held to account for their inaction while millions suffer.
'It hurts every Muslim because it's a crisis and nobody is taking any interest,' he adds.
Meanwhile, what's Ezra up to? Click, click, click. Hmm. Looks like he's still talking about Ezra.