“It seems incredible the Harper government purchased these heavy-lift aircraft and told us at the time we'd no longer have to rent [planes] and now we're going to spend another $900,000 to ship aid to Burma” — Dawn Black, NDP Defence Critic
Via the Globe & Mail — Where are the planes now?
Last year, the Harper government spent $3.4-billion on four C-17 aircraft, known as Globemasters, that can carry a payload of 77,500 kilograms and fly 4,400 kilometres without refuelling.
1 At Canadian Forces Base Trenton, broken down and rated “unserviceable” because it is awaiting parts. It’s not known when these parts will arrive.
2 In Bangkok, broken down after an aid flight to Thailand last week to help cyclone-stricken Myanmar. It will have to be flown elsewhere to be fixed.
3 Believed to be in Texas being fitted with defensive aids that will help protect it from missile attacks.
4 Supporting the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan.
Three out of four planes out of service for one reason or another. Pretty impressive.
Note: Video is a C-17 Globemaster taking off from Abbotsford, B.C. in 2001.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Buddy, can you spare a lift?
One For All and All For One
Not that this entirely unexpected burst of fraternal goodwill is displeasing. Quite to the contrary, it’s rather nice to see a story about party solidarity and unity for a change rather than the more usual tales featuring “unnamed sources” plaintively carping about Dion’s leadership.
Journey to the Centre of Clinton’s Mind
David Rees @ The Huffington Post:
She has a point: June is a great month for political assassinations.
Why drop out of the race before all the assassins have had their say?
After all, we know Barack Obama has received multiple death threats — because he is black, of course, and because some of our fellow citizens think he’s a secret Muslim terrorist who is going to take the oath of office on the Koran and make us all pray to Mecca five times a day with that screechy music coming over the loudspeakers(?) and then he’ll crash Air Force One into the White House(?) and force our wives to wear those Muslim beekeeper helmets(?).
And the truth is, Obama has consistently failed to win over those voters who want to see him murdered.
Sorry, but I’m still astounded by Clinton’s remarks.
Star Trek: “The Slaver Weapon”
Good Saturday morning, boys and girls. Cartoon time!
In the shuttlecraft Copernicus, Spock, Uhura, and Sulu are en-route to Starbase 25 to deliver a stasis box — a rare artifact of the Slaver culture. The now-extinct Slavers used these objects to carry weapons, valuables, and other scientific instruments and data. The boxes can detect each other and evidence shows that another device is located nearby. The shuttle lands on an ice planet where hostile Kzinti lie in ambush. Written by Larry Niven based on his short story The Soft Weapon.
Links: Part 2 and Part 3.
The Road to Total War (Part 3)
A war that began with much enthusiasm in August 1914 and was expected to be over in a matter of months soon bogs down into the stalemate of gruesome trenches stretching across the Western Front. Efforts to break through the continuous front such as the Battle of the Somme in 1916 accomplish little more than futile slaughter — 60,000 British killed and wounded in just one day (total losses by the end of the “battle” several months later were ten times that). The first primitive tanks (then called “landships”) make their appearance, but too late to play a truly decisive role.
Big Bucks, Big Pharma (Part 5)
More about conflicts of interest with managed care and the pharmaceutical industry and a look at the efforts of groups such as the American Medical Student Association and No Free Lunch, a US-based advocacy organization that holds that marketing methods employed by drug companies influence the way doctors and other healthcare providers prescribe medications. These groups seek to convince physicians to refuse to accept gifts, money, or hospitality from pharmaceutical companies because it claims that these gifts create a conflict of interest for providers. They also advocate for less involvement of drug companies in medical education and practice in a variety of other ways.
Who Killed the Electric Car? (Part 8)
Government is another “suspect” fingered in the film. The federal government joined in the auto industry suit against California, has failed to act in the public interest to limit pollution and require increased fuel economy, has promoted the purchase of vehicles with poor fuel efficiency through preferential tax breaks, and has redirected alternative fuel research from electric towards hydrogen.
Friday, May 23, 2008
MST3K: A Date With Your Family
“These boys treat their dad as though they are genuinely glad to see him, as though they really missed being away from him during the day...”
Über-creepy “social guidance” film from the 50s that advises children to do whatever is necessary to achieve harmonious, unemotional family relations. It’s hilarious even without the added wisecracking from the MST3K crew.
Did Hillary REALLY Say That?
A: Yes, she did.
My husband didn’t wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don’t understand it...
Today’s reason for Clinton to stay in: Obama might get whacked.
Simply amazing. Talk about classy.
Bill O’Reilly’s Producer
Hilarious new version of the now infamous outtake of Bill O losing it on Inside Edition.
“NAFTA-gate” Mystery Solved!
Well, glad we could clear that up!
Update: He’s most certainly already toast, but in case it didn’t occur to anyone this is another black mark for Bernier.
Britain’s Worst Impressionist
Let’s drop in once again on the questionably named Britain’s Got Talent show, this time for some painfully bad impressions of three British MPs.
“Morpho Towers” — Liquid Metal Sculptures
Dynamic sculptures by Sachiko Kodama and Yasushi Miyajima that utilize the paramagnetic properties of ferrofluids (liquids that become strongly polarized in the presence of a magnetic field) to form spikes that move around the edge of two iron spirals.
Another Angry McCain Eruption
Mark Kleiman @ The Reality Based Community:
Of course McCain’s speech is convincing only to those who haven’t seen the Obama remarks it responds to, which contained no “cheap shot” and did not impugn McCain’s motives. The only cheap shot is McCain’s attack on Obama’s lack of a service record, hardly discreditable in someone too young to have served in Vietnam and too old to have served in Iraq. And also of course it makes a hash of McCain’s famous reluctance to exploit his own military record for political purposes.
It’s more than a little disconcerting how readily McCain can whipsaw from being an affable elder statesman to a nasty, embittered old crank.
In God’s Name (Part 1)
Christian Fundamentalism… It’s not just an American phenomenon any more, as indicated by this BBC Panorama documentary from earlier in the week.
Hard-line Christian activists are now mobilizing believers in an attempt to make an impact on society nationally. Followers believe abortion and homosexuality should be illegal, there should be no sex before marriage and that the law of blasphemy should be strictly enforced.
They say the Bible is the definitive word of God and is literally true and are intolerant of other faiths. The film follows well funded and politically active Christian groups and shows them emerging as a significant voice in British politics.
What Tony Blair hath wrought…
Another Bernier Screw-up
If there was any doubt whatsoever that Bernier would be shuffled out of the foreign affairs portfolio next month, this latest gaffe should seal the deal on that move.
Veep Sweeps: “Nightmare Ticket” Dead?
Via Al Giordano:
The Field can now confirm, based on multiple sources, something that both campaigns publicly deny: that Senator Clinton has directly told Senator Obama that she wants to be his vice presidential nominee, and that Senator Obama politely but straightforwardly and irrevocably said “no.” Obama is going to pick his own running mate based on his own criteria and vetting process.
So much for all of Clinton’s hypocritical grandstanding to senior citizens in Florida the other day.
McCain Rejects, Denounces Evangelical Kooks
As expected, John McCain officially threw Rev. John Hagee under the “Straight Talk Express” bus yesterday following the release of a recording earlier in the week in which Hagee claimed Hitler and the Holocaust had been part of God’s plan to chase the Jews from Europe and drive them to Palestine. Later in the day, Pastor Ron Parsley of the World Harvest Church — another one of McCain’s previously sought-after “spiritual guides” — was likewise pushed overboard after his vehemently anti-Muslim sermons were broadcast on ABC’s Good Morning America. News of the rejections sent McCain’s rating on the “God-O-Meter” plunging to a new low.
The Road to Total War (Part 2)
How modern nationalism embodied by the French Revolution and mass conscription introduced during the Napoleonic era changed the scale of warfare. Subsequent development of more effective weaponry like rifled muskets, the process of industrialization and a state of permanent psychological readiness for war set the stage for the impersonalized killing machine of the First World War.
Big Bucks, Big Pharma (Part 4)
More about the creation of “disease awareness” to promote potentially harmful pharmaceuticals that may actually be of little benefit. The comprehensive promotional efforts targeting medical providers are also looked at, including ethically questionable practices euphemistically described as “educational” for reporting purposes.
Who Killed the Electric Car? (Part 7)
More suspects… The car companies are indicted for negative marketing, sabotaging their own product program, failure to produce cars to meet existing demand, and unusual business practices with regards to leasing versus sales.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Albatross!
“We are facing an economic slowdown. We are amongst the planet’s worst polluters. We still have to win the fight against poverty right here in Canada. Well, we need a plan.” — Stéphane Dion
Yep. Some of the “highlights” of Dion’s “good news” about the economy and environment during a recent speech at the Canadian Club of Toronto — also described at one point with great originality as “the politics of hope.”
If you come away from this piffle one iota better informed about his “vision” then you have some special kind of powers of detection that I appear to be sadly lacking.
Paraphrasing Trudeau to an audience of business executives about how the Liberals are going to “speak over the heads of Stephen Harper and the Conservatives...” Good messaging there! (If it’s that easy for me to snip a quote out of context, the Cons will have a field day with this sort of stuff.)
Oh, and his English coach should be sacked.
McCain’s “Friends” Feeling Jilted
Pity the poor lobbyists…
“If it was OK to have these people working for you in February, why is it not OK today?” asked one Republican lobbyist who counts a friend among the new McCain outcast class.
“McCain’s self-righteous bullshit has caught up with him. Now he’s got himself in a jam,” said another Republican lobbyist who asked to remain anonymous because he is a campaign volunteer. “He’s got to change the subject back to economic growth and taxation and the war on terror.”
And there’s this thought from another McCain supporter: “I find it a little offensive. It was good enough to get my $2,300 donation. If we’re not good enough, then send my check back. It pisses me off.”
Heh. More at Politico.
Drawing Conclusions: Stéphane Dion Must Go
According to the latest Toronto Star/Angus Reid opinion poll, Dion’s approval rating has sunk to its lowest level yet, with nine of 10 Canadians now saying they disapprove or are not sure of his performance as the head of the party.
Polling since the convention in Montreal almost a year and a half ago has consistently indicated that the new leader is failing to create a positive impact with the Canadian public. Had there been any hopeful signs of improvement in this regard perhaps my opinion would be rather more sanguine, but the incontestable fact of the matter is that things are actually getting progressively worse: an ever-increasing numbers of people are forming a distinctly unfavourable impression of Dion — and not, it has to be reluctantly admitted, entirely without reason.
Update: MoS highlights the most salient challenge regarding Dion’s leadership that should be apparent to everyone following the roll-out of the Liberal policy on carbon tax (or “tax shifting”). As he says: “The carbon tax has a problem. It’s not so much a problem with the merits of the idea itself or the political hurdles it poses. Its main problem is the guy who says he’ll stake all to make it happen — Stéphane Dion.”
This is a complex, highly problematic issue by any measure. It would be a hard sell at the best of times, but even more so when energy prices are soaring, the U.S. economy is verging on the brink of a full-blown recession and the short-term prospects for many average Canadians are worrisome at best. Dion simply doesn’t have the masterful sort of communication skills needed to champion something as potentially divisive and inherently unappealing to the public as a carbon tax. The fact that the detailed policy has yet to be released by the Liberal Party means that, once again, the Conservatives are being given a free hand to frame the issue to their advantage.
As MoS says, “The carbon tax initiative is too important to be put to a referendum by a leader who can't even sell himself.”
The Road to Total War (Part 1)
Gwynne Dyer’s excellent 1983 National Film Board documentary on warfare. Although the geopolitical framework in which the film is set appears somewhat dated now, it’s still a thought-provoking reflection on the nature of war and the still-existent, quite real possibility of nuclear annihilation.
A little background on Dyer for those who may be unfamiliar with him. Born in Newfoundland, he received degrees from Canadian, American and British universities, finishing with a Ph.D. in Military and Middle Eastern History from the University of London. He served in three navies and held academic appointments at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Oxford University before launching his twice-weekly column on international affairs, which is published by over 175 papers in some 45 countries.
Because of his sometimes critical views about Israel, Dyer has been officially banned by the “pro free-speech” CanWest Global media group who refuse to carry his column.
Clinton Jumps the Shark
Yesterday, Hillary Clinton used a variety of preposterous arguments to convince her party to seat Florida and Michigan delegates, going as far as comparing the struggles of the voters in Florida and Michigan to those of abolitionists, suffragists, to the plight of Zimbabweans.
“In Florida, you learned the hard way what happens when your votes aren’t counted and the candidate with fewer votes is declared the winner,” she said. “The lesson of 2000 here in Florida is crystal clear: if any votes aren’t count, the will of the people isn’t realized and our democracy is diminished.” — Hillary Clinton
The only problem: Clinton herself had earlier agreed to the party’s plan to punish Florida and Michigan.
Andrew Sullivan:
How do you respond to a sociopath like this? She agreed that Michigan and Florida should be punished for moving up their primaries. Obama took his name off the ballot in deference to their agreement and the rules of the party. That he should now be punished for playing by the rules and she should be rewarded for skirting them is unconscionable.
I think she has now made it very important that Obama not ask her to be the veep. The way she is losing is so ugly, so feckless, so riddled with narcissism and pathology that this kind of person should never be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Obama, Clinton, McCain Join Forces
Presidential hopefuls John McCain (R-AZ), Barack Obama (D-IL), and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) announced their plans to form what many Beltway observers have already dubbed the “2008 Nightmare Ticket,” a calculated move that political analysts say offers voters the worst of both worlds.
After nearly a year of verbal attacks and negative campaign ads, the nominees announced that, for the good of the country, they were willing to push their differences to the fore. “No other ticket is capable of rallying this nation around a clearer, more unified message of chaos and hopelessness,” the candidates said in unison from three separate podiums, each adorned with its own American flag arrangement and personal message. “Together, we will lead this nation into the future—a future where absolute deadlock over even the most minute decisions and total inefficiency on matters of the war, the economy, and the environment will launch a bold new age of confusion and social decay. For America, the only choice is [indecipherable]!”
The candidates said they had not yet decided who would fill the offices of president, vice president, and a new post the nominees are calling “the middle president.” They did, however, confirm that each would choose his or her own full cabinet, would be able to veto any bills the others sign into law, and would reserve the right to cast the tie-breaking, tie-making, and tie-rebreaking votes in the Senate.
Read more.
A Wake-Up Call from Scott Ritter
A passionate statement made by ex-WMD weapons inspector, Scott Ritter. He explains the Bush Administration’s plan for Iran, which could well lead to nuclear disaster.
Ministers like John Hagee are pushing for a first strike on Iran, and this is the man coming to the forefront to back John McCain whose foreign policy is to stay the course established by George Bush.
Speaking of Hagee… Be offended, dear hearts.
Big Pharma, Big Bucks (Part 3)
How pharmaceutical companies increasingly engage in “disease mongering” — that is, promoting health conditions themselves for the purpose of medicalizing normal conditions of everyday life (e.g., “adult ADD” and “social anxiety disorder”) and normalzing relatively obscure conditions to create the false impression they’re common (e.g., “restless leg syndrome”).
Who Killed the Electric Car? (Part 6)
This episode looks at various questions surrounding battery technology and features an interview with Stan Oshinsky and his wife Dr. Iris Oshinsky of Energy Conversion Technologies who invented a superior form of battery to that originally provided by GM Delco. Oil companies such as Chevron and Texaco purchased the intellectual patents from Oshinsky but refuse to allow for production licensing.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Robot Rumpus
I might make this a little nighttime (afternoon for me) tradition around here for a while… They’re a nice break from politics and anything at all serious.
Homemade Electric Car
Well, here’s one answer to the high price of gasoline. A self-described computer geek from Kennedale, TX bought the 1993 Eagle Talon from a junkyard for just $750, pulled the engine and spent about $4,000 to convert the gas-guzzler to run on electricity alone doing all the work himself in his garage at home. The car can hit 55 mph and costs less than $10 per month on electricity to charge the batteries — enough to go about 300 miles.
Future Schlock
…“Alien Invasion: Repelled; Intergalactic Portal: Closed”
A McCain advert based on his bizarre speech from last week outlining various “accomplishments” of the old geezer’s imagined presidency in retrospect.
The Law of Unintended Consequences
Under the legislation being advanced by the so-called Conservatives, “a kid could have one conviction, re-offend, get hauled before court, get bail, re-offend again the next day, go before court again and still get bail.” It’s actually a step backwards from the current system.
Don’t these assclowns actually think these things though beforehand? It seems that an inordinate amount of their hastily concocted legislation is hopelessly flawed or ill-conceived.
Big Pharma, Big Bucks (Part 2)
A look at the phenomenon of high-priced “me too” drugs and “lifestyle” pharmaceuticals that offer little or no improvement over existing generic medications.
Promises v. “Accomplishments”
Hmmm. Sandy Crock said this was already “accomplished”… Go figure.
While it’s a good thing that the government is establishing a long-term spending plan that will aid in development of an organized national shipbuilding policy, it’s essential that the fiscal projections aren’t skewed to an artificially low level just for the sake minimizing the “sticker shock” of the expenditures involved. Perhaps the actual costs should have been properly determined through negotiations between the DoD and various contractors before Harper and his Defence minister went running around announcing all sorts of lavish promises of equipment they may not really be able to deliver on.
Send in the Trolls
“Select from the numerous web, blog and news sites listed here, go there, and make your opinions supporting John McCain known. Once you’ve commented on a post, video or news story, report the details of your comment by clicking the button below. After your comments are verified, you will be awarded points through the McCain Online Action Center.”
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if The Stephen Harper Party tried something similar in the next election campaign, if they’re not doing so already. Far-fetched? Well, seeing as the McCain campaign is already using this practice to spread their message, I’d have to say not. Couldn’t possibly happen in Canada you say? How naïve.
Who Killed the Electric Car (Part 5)
The shredding of both old and brand new electric vehicles to wipe them out of existence. Bizarre.
Key Constituencies Moving to Obama
Via Gallup:
After nearly 20 grueling weeks on the campaign trail since he shook up the Democratic primary race by winning the Iowa caucuses, Obama has finally stretched his lead over his chief rival into the teens.
Having previously captured nearly the maximum level of support from black voters, Obama's latest gains have come from a broad spectrum of rank-and-file Democrats. At least for now, he has expanded his position as the preferred candidate of men, young adults, and highly educated Democrats, and has erased Clinton's advantages with most of her prior core constituency groups, including women, the less well-educated, and whites.
One notable change for Clinton: she now has less than 50 percent support from Hispanics — which as Andrew Sullivan points out could be due to her controversial comments about “white voters” supporting her. Clinton has also lost support among women, Easterners, whites, and adults with no college education. The only major demographic group still supporting Clinton to the tune of 51% or more is women aged 50 and older. This group’s preferences have changed little during May, at the same time that Clinton’s support among younger men (those 18 to 49) has declined by nearly 10 points. Many groups that previously supported Obama (men, 18- to 29-year-olds, postgrads, and upper-income Democrats) now support him even more so, in some cases by whopping margins. In other words: he has expanded part of his own base.
The argument that Clinton is the most electable of the two is becoming more tenuous than ever.
Clinton & the “War on Women”
The last ditch, desperate gambit of fanatical Clinton supporters. The Village Voice’s Allison Benedict (whose “lady parts do not ache for Hillary Clinton”) isn’t buying the imaginary War on Women:
“Here’s the thing: There is plenty of sexism—more than enough, thank you very much—in this country. Which is why it’s so sad to see Hillary’s supporters (and lately even her female detractors, and way too many column inches) elevate her to some kind of goddess warrior, symbolizing the decades-long fight for gender equality, absorbing the entirety of history’s catcall in one massive blow, and then standing tall again because that’s what women do. Powerful stuff, except that she’s a lying, race-baiting insult to our collective intelligence. Powerful, if she and her husband hadn’t sold out poor people in the ’90s or if she had stood tall like a woman against the war in Iraq or if she wasn’t right now trying to change the rules of the game and stir up the worst kind of identity politics. Powerful, if her most fervent supporters weren’t threatening to vote for John McCain out of spite...”
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Outlook Poor for Kennedy
As everyone knows by now Sen. Edward Kennedy has been diagnosed with a malignant glioma. Here’s the National Cancer Institute’s explanation of the tumor:
“Malignant gliomas are the most common primary brain tumor, accounting for more than half of the more than 18,000 primary malignant brain tumors diagnosed each year in the United States. The outlook for patients with malignant gliomas is poor. Median survival for patients with moderately severe (grade III) malignant gliomas is three to five years. For patients with the most severe, aggressive form of malignant glioma (grade IV glioma or glioblastoma multiforme), median survival is less than a year.”
Whatever one’s feelings about his politics, sad news that the last great Kennedy Lion may not be long for this world.
As a side note, in rather classless fashion, Kate takes the opportunity to scold the “old buffoon” over the Chappaquiddick incident and cites another callous ideologue who wagers on the most likely “gag-inducing nonsense” she guesses will be uttered by liberal cable news pundits. Uncouth, but sadly, not unexpected.
Update: Sen. Robert Byrd breaks down while paying tribute to his old friend.
Army Radio: U.S. to Attack Iran This Year
Another “October surprise” in the works?
From Israel Today:
A senior Israeli government source told Army Radio on Tuesday that US President George W. Bush intends to launch an attack against Iran before the end of his second term.
The Israeli learned of the planned attack from a senior US counterpart who was a member of Bush's entourage during the president's visit to Israel last week.
The official said that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are convinced that military action against Iran is necessary immediately, but that the move is being held up by “the hesitancy of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.”
Hizballah’s recent success in exerting control over Lebanon had reportedly led to the decision that an attack on Iran, Hizballah’s ally and sponsor, must take place this year.
Note: The above video is from September of last year.
Update: Unsurprisingly, the White House flatly denies the Army Radio report stating that the Administration prefers to resolve concerns about Iran’s push for a nuclear weapon “through peaceful diplomatic means.” Well that sounds entirely convincing, doesn’t it?
Update2: Here’s the video from CNN.
Big Pharma, Big Bucks (Part 1)
Via the Media Education Foundation:
Big Bucks, Big Pharma pulls back the curtain on the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry to expose the insidious ways that illness is used, manipulated, and in some instances created, for capital gain. Focusing on the industry’s marketing practices, media scholars and health professionals help viewers understand the ways in which direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising glamorizes and normalizes the use of prescription medication, and works in tandem with promotion to doctors. Combined, these industry practices shape how both patients and doctors understand and relate to disease and treatment. Ultimately, Big Bucks, Big Pharma challenges [Americans] to ask important questions about the consequences of relying on a for-profit industry for our health and well-being.
Selective Vision
Somehow though she seems to willfully ignore the fact that more than 94% of respondents to the poll attached to the diary entry think that the writer is a shameful, moronic, anti-Semitic turd.
It’s difficult to see how the writer — one “Neo Libertas” — can be described as a “leftist” in any sense of the word. If anything, based on his cross-post at a site called “The Truth Shall Set You Free” he seems much closer in orientation to the extreme right, crackpot John Birchers and Libertarians. In fact, the writer states: “Yoo-hoo. It’s up at DKos. waits for the wave of indignation from historically challenged Ziotards and finally an autoban.”
Well, nice try, Kate. I’m sure all your slack-jawed minions will nevertheless happily assert that your baseless smear against all liberals is indeed the truth, without, as usual, ever letting the pesky “facts” of the matter get in the way of things.
By the way, I wonder what kind of hostile feedback and negative polling Kate would receive from her readers in response one of her own (or Kathy Shaidle’s) hateful screeds against the swarthy Mooslims if a similar kind of poll were attached to her post. Just a thought…
Super Chickens!
Perhaps no one has expressed the spineless creed of these misologistic douchebags better than the ever-dissembling “Conservative” spinner and aspiring fabulist Sandy “Crock-o-the-Matter”:
“Some comments have been deleted so as not to get involved in any discussion with anti-conservative bloggers who seem unsettled by these accomplishments [sic]. While I enjoy a good debate, I will not get dragged into someone’s else’s problem with the Harper government record. Instead, I would suggest that visitors go to the government and mainstream media sources I have used.”
There you go folks. Contradictory FACTS and reality-based information is your “problem” and Sandy will have nothing to do with any of it. So there... Harrumph! Comments that aren’t fulsome endorsements of Sandy’s drossy pack of lies and propaganda will either never see the light of day or will be summarily axed — it’s the “conservative” way.
Update: Responding to some more critical comments about her list of so-called “accomplishments” Sandy writes: “If you want justification on any entry, contact the PMO or CPC or the department that is involved. I have sourced my entry and that is as far as I am going to go in this ‘gotcha’ type of thread.” I have to say that’s the most amazing response I’ve ever heard in light of the fact that it’s rife with easily demonstrable errors and falsehoods… Whatever. As a simple “Canadian citizen who has a blog” it’s rather unimportant I suppose that her credibility and integrity now rate a big, fat ZERO.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Dumbfuck Radio
“It’s the usual kinda blogcast-bad — a long, smarmy, self-important, unfocused, ill-informed and not very funny conversation between two folks, stitched together with clumsy edits when they run out of stuff to say. Imagine the pointless chatter of your least favourite morning DJs stretched to unbearable length, or overhearing a desultory conversation on a long bus ride between two people trying to impress each other. Her and some older guy who doesn’t really get to say much.”
I forced myself to take a few notes:
On Nancy Pelosi in the Middle East:
“I hear Nancy Pelosi is in Iraq. I believe she’s fighting with the Taliban, although I’m not sure. It’s kind of funny considering she was in Israel the other day. I think it’s quite possible that she just stole secrets and sold them to the little brown people.” [Discussion with her co-host then went on to suggest that Pelosi is “probably giving them suicide bomber tips.”]
On Baby Boomers:
“The most spoiled generation in history. The first generation to go to university and you know… they just don’t know how to live in the real world. They’ve never been hungry. They’ve never had to work for a living. They had everything handed to them.”
“We’ve had the hedonistic generation and in my lifetime, mercifully, they’re going to die. And then we can get back to business as usual.”
On Parenting:
“I should have been beaten way more often. I think my parents were of that generation that was just starting to get out the regular beatings, you know, which was unfortunate.”
“I think my whole life would have been different if I’d been beaten more. I might have gone to college… if I’d been beaten more. You need the abuse.”
On the Bible:
If you do read the Bible, if you read the New Testament, there’s no smiting.”
[Wrong. For example, Acts 23.3: “Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?”]
I’m not sure if I can tolerate sitting through the remaining half hour. Further transcriptions may require a team effort of some sort in order to distribute the pain and suffering.
Imagine…
Largely overshadowed by Bush’s provocative remarks to the Israeli Knesset last week was John McCain’s crystal ball gazing speech describing what his presidency would look like… in retrospect. More than anything else, it was a bizarre exercise in wishful thinking somewhat reminiscent of a SNL skit from May of 2006 in which Al Gore reflected on his own wildly successful first term in office.
No Country for Old Men?
“I’m older than dirt and I have more scars than Frankenstein,” has been a standard McCain line on the campaign trail for some time and it makes perfect sense for the cranky septuagenarian to pre-empt the issue of his advanced age with self-effacing humour just as he did in his appearance on Saturday Night Live this past weekend.
Should it matter that he’s a cancer-prone geriatric known to suffer from “senior moments” (as Fox News anchor Britt Hume described his repeated confusion over the difference between Shia and Sunni Iraqis) who has been a fixture in Congress for almost a third of a century? The serious answer is “No” but it’s still a fair question given that a recent Pew Research Center survey found that 50% of respondents said they would be less likely to vote for someone “in their 70s.”
Queen Victoria (Part 2)
A bit of trivia about Queen Victoria… In 1865 she ordered that six Royal Navy gunboats be sent to Bolivia to sink their fleet after relations between the two countries soured. Her admirals, however, quickly pointed out to her that Bolivia has no coastline and, therefore, no naval fleet. Victoria then sent for a map and a pair of scissors and figuratively cut Bolivia from the world.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Being a “social conservative” means always finding something to whine about.
Douchebag Alert: JoJo Prissypants has deleted the post and all related commentary.Coughing Up a Hardball
I posted on this a couple of days ago, but it’s sooooo sweet that perhaps it’s worth a repeat — here, courtesy of Rachel Maddow filling in for Olbermann on Countdown. Matthews expands on talking points, double-speak and the power of buzzwords.
As Nicole @ Crooks & Liars says: “We’re quick to call out Matthews when he does something wrong, I think it’s incumbent upon us to let him know when he’s done well too.”
Real Estate Ad Speak
While every kind of sales profession traffics in a certain degree of linguistic mendacity to embellish their wares, surely none seems to do it with such shameless abandon as estate agents. Here’s an advertisement from 1890 by a fabulist named James Hutchinson that would be pretty hard to top for its staggering hyperbole. It appeared in the “Dub. News” and is quoted by Charles Carroll Bombaugh in his delightfully titled Gleanings for the Curious from the Harvest-Fields of Literature:
TO BE LET,
To an Oppidan, a Ruricolist, or a Cosmopolitan, and may be entered upon immediately:
The House in STONE Row, lately possessed by CAPT. SIREE. To avoid Verbosity, the Proprietor with Compendiosity will give a Perfunctory description of the Premises, in the Compagination of which he has Sedulously studied the convenience of the Occupant. It is free from Opacity, Tenebrosity, Fumidity, and Injucundity, and no building can have greater Pellucidity or Translucency — in short, its Diaphaneity even in the Crepuscle makes it like a Pharos, and without laud, for its Agglutination and Amenity, it is a most Delectable Commorance; and whoever lives in it will find that the Neighbors have none of the Truculence, the Immanity, the Torvity, the Spinosity, the Putidness, the Pugnacity, nor the Fugacity observable in other parts of the town, but their Propinquity and Consanguinity occasion Jocundity and Pudicity — from which, and the Redolence of the place (even in the dog-days), they are remarkable for Longevity. For terms and particulars apply to JAMES HUTCHINSON, opposite the MARKET-HOUSE.
Are you doing laundry in the love of God?
And other curious ways to get a “harvest” from the Almighty… Let the “miracle seed-planting” begin and the “anointing” flow! Learn how YOU too can be a healer!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
New Europe: Wild East (Part 1 & 2)
Another great BBC travel documentary with Michael Palin, this time in which he visits Eastern Europe. This is from the third episode called “Wild East” covering his travels through the Republic of Moldova (formerly a part of the USSR and now the poorest country in Europe) as well as the unrecognized breakaway state of Transdniester.
Who Killed the Electric Car (Part 1)
A 2006 documentary film that explores the birth, limited commercialization, and subsequent death of the battery electric vehicle in the United States, specifically the General Motors EV1 of the 1990s. The film explores the roles of automobile manufacturers, the oil industry, the US government, batteries, hydrogen vehicles, and consumers in limiting the development and adoption of this technology.
Some Perspective on Gas Prices
From an article by Robert Bryce in Slate:
When measured on an inflation-adjusted basis, the current price of gasoline is only slightly higher than it was in 1922. According to the Energy Information Administration, in 1922, gasoline cost the current-day equivalent of $3.11. Today, according to the EIA, gasoline is selling for about $3.77 per gallon, only about 20 percent more than 86 years ago.
In addition to comparing the price of gasoline to other “essential fuels” such as a Starbucks venti latte ($23 per gallon) and Budweiser beer ($11 per gallon), Bryce also compares American gas prices (that he calls “dirt-cheap”) to those in other countries around the world:
British motorists are currently paying about $8.38 per gallon for gasoline. In Norway, a major oil exporter, drivers are paying $8.73. In 2007, out of the 32 industrialized countries surveyed by the International Energy Agency, only one (Mexico) had cheaper gasoline than the United States. Last year, drivers in Turkey were paying three times as much for their gasoline as Americans were. The IEA data also show that in India—where the per capita gross domestic product is about $2,700 (about 6 percent of the per capita GDP in the United States)—drivers have been paying more for their diesel fuel and gasoline than their American counterparts.
Here in Canada (or Victoria at least) we’re paying the equivalent of just over $5 per gallon.
All that’s cold comfort for American drivers perhaps, but there’s something to be said or the contention that prices have been far too cheap for too long — a situation that certainly hasn’t done much to wean motorists off petroleum, move our countries towards energy independence or even encourage automobile companies to provide more fuel efficient vehicles. In fact, overall fuel economy had until recently been in a long period of decline since the late 70s.
Who Killed the Electric Streetcar?
In 1922, according to internal General Motors files, Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., the MIT-trained genius behind GM established a special unit within the corporation which was charged, among other things, with the task of replacing America’s electric railways with cars, trucks and buses.
A year earlier, in 1921, GM lost $65 million, leading Sloan to conclude that the auto market was saturated, that those who desired cars already owned them, and that the only way to increase GM’s sales and restore its profitability was by eliminating its principal rival: electric railways.
At the time, 90 percent of all trips were by rail, chiefly electric rail; only one in 10 Americans owned an automobile. There were 1,200 separate electric street and interurban railways, a thriving and profitable industry with 44,000 miles of track, 300,000 employees, 15 billion annual passengers, and $1 billion in income. Virtually every city and town in America of more than 2,500 people had its own electric rail system.
Together with Firestone Tire, Standard Oil of California and Phillips Petroleum, General Motors formed the National City Lines (NCL) holding company, which acquired most streetcar systems throughout the United States, dismantled them, and replaced them with buses in the mid 20th century.
Convicted of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, GM was fined $5,000 and each executive was ordered to pay a nominal fine of $1 for a conspiracy to force the streetcar systems to buy GM buses instead of other buses (but not for dismantling the streetcar systems, which were also being dismantled by non-NCL owned systems).
6 AM
A short film by Carmen Vidal Balanzat set in New York — winner of the Student Academy Award® in 2006. It’s a documentary in the “urban symphony” style depicting New York City in the moments before dawn.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Ripping Yarns: Tomkinson’s Schooldays
The first of Michael Palin’s post-Python series Ripping Yarns based on British boys’ adventure stories of the late 19th and early part of the 20th century. This one is an affectionate parody of the classic Tom Brown’s Schooldays and other such “school stories.”
Cap-and-Trade or Carbon Tax?
Economist and environmental studies professor at York University, Peter Victor discusses the various advantages and disadvantages of cap-and-trade systems (as advocated by U.S. politicians these days) as opposed to a carbon tax.
Personally, I’m disinclined to weigh in on Dion’s proposed carbon tax (or “tax shift”) until details of the plan are revealed (where the proverbial devil resides).
Warren Kinsella offers his gloomy assessment this morning, which is probably sound from a purely political perspective, but one has to ask: if not now… then when?
Obtuse Like You
As clear as this all is to anyone who isn’t totally blinkered, the point somehow mysteriously eludes the hopelessly dense Joanne who offers up her own bizarre, cockamamie version of what she imagines Hébert to be saying before throwing a pass to her fellow partisan spinster Sandy and her “impressive list” of so-called “accomplishments” that the Harper government has piled up during its illustrious time in office. Readers are invited to compare this to previous Liberal administrations… that she contends only ushered in the “Charter of Rights and Entitlements” and Same-Sex marriage. Yep, that’s it… they did absolutely nothing else worthy of note. Ever.
Another Day, Another Flip-Flop
I suspect Grandpa McCain’s reversals of previously stated positions are going to become such a routine event over the months leading up to the election that nobody will ever know what he said, when and for how long before changing his mind entirely.
Of course no reasonable person expects politicians to be altogether consistent about absolutely everything, or thinks that their opinions shouldn’t evolve over time or sometimes even shift dramatically in response to changing circumstances or new information, but McCain’s flip-flops are so flagrantly egregious and transparently motivated to score cheap political points that it’s difficult to see how anyone can accept what he says on a given day without wondering how provisional or fleeting it may be. When will the mainstream press tear themselves away from the silly delusion that this is still the straight-talking, shoot-from-the-hip “maverick” of almost a decade ago?
Update: Speaking of the Cretaceous One — Things Younger Than McCain (a potentially inexhaustible list).
Update2: It seems that McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds (great name) is just about as much of a stupid asshat as my cretinous troll. Today he issued a statement saying “It was remarkable to see Barack Obama’s hysterical diatribe in response to a speech in which his name wasn’t even mentioned.” An “hysterical diatribe”… Wow. Talk about a gross distortion.
Remains of the Slow News Day
Oh no, pity poor WXYZ Action News reporter Peggy Agar. At a photo-op in Detroit the other day, Barack Obama referred to her in passing as… brace yourself… “sweetie”! Imagine the mock horror!
Obama later called Agar to personally apologize for being unaware the local TV reporter wasn’t included in the subsequent presser and for inappropriate use of the heinously offensive term.
The right, forever outraged at political correctness gone mad, react with predictable hypocrisy.
Meet “Trusty” (The Tory Spokesbot)
Trusty isn’t too knowledgeable or accurately informed about… well anything, but when not making shit up out of whole cloth, he’s quite happy to oblige the probing curiosity of his fellow “Conservatives” by reproducing press releases from the PMO’s office — completely verbatim! Plus, true-blue readers can be assured that all the opinions Trusty provides will be entirely uncritical of the Stephen Harper Party of Canada and 100% guaranteed fact-free. That’s right… none of that pesky “reality-based” stuff mucking up the works. And nuance… Ha! Forget that crapola, leftist elitists!
Take Trusty’s latest comprehensive analysis of Dion’s carbon tax proposal with the penetrating title of “Huh?” In it, we learn two things: 1) that the “left-wing” hates the military; and 2) that Liberals “fully endorse” the plan. The first assertion is something that’s apparently so obviously TRUE that no supporting evidence whatsoever is required for this defamatory blanket generalization. As for the “full endorsement” of a carbon tax, that’s sure a surprise to me! Heck, I thought there was actually a lot of debate and discussion over the matter. The Liblogs aggregator is certainly full of different reactions to it and all the news reports I’ve heard indicate that many MPs are quite wary about this emerging plan, the details of which haven’t even been released yet. But no… in the ultra-simple, black and white World of Trusty, Liberals “fully endorse” it. Now, some might call that an outright LIE, but they’d just be those persnickety dweebs who are incessantly quibbling over “the truth” and “reality” and other boring, inconvenient stuff that Trusty simply refers dismissively to as “blah, blah, blah.” Come on, who has time for that annoying nonsense when there’s so much relentless fellating of the Dear Leader to be done?
A Question a Douchebag Might Ask
“Why do Canada’s human rights commissions respect the Koran but ban a prayer from the Bible?”
Hmmm. Well, simply offering up an extract from the letter of complaint to the HRC by the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada is hardly evidence that “human rights commissions respect the Koran.” For what it’s worth, the snippet proffered is actually headed “Importance of the Prophet Mohammad for Muslims” and is part of the premise of the complaint by Imam Syed B. Soharwardy. Also, Quebec’s human rights commission made a recommendation to the city of Saguenay to stop praying before council meetings — it didn’t “ban a prayer from the Bible” as Ezra misleadingly states.
Regardless of whatever one might think about the merits of Levant’s case, it’s hard to see how being a deceptive bullshitter helps his cause.
How Dumb is My Pet Troll?
“Today, Red Tory Version 2.0 is at it again. He lies and says that Bush took a swipe at Barack Obama by saying he won't talk to Iran or Syria. The problem is, Bush never mentioned Barack Obama during his speech, so it seems kind of childish to equate the two.”
Fact: As soon as the speech hit the wires, the White House aides privately acknowledged it was a reference to calls by Obama and other Democrats for the U.S. president to sit down for talks with leaders like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Everyone on the planet who isn’t a complete fucking moron with pudding for brains has interpreted the speech exactly in the way that I did yesterday morning after first hearing it.
“Red Tory, I know you just had a hip replacement because you fell down your stairs, but grow the fuck up and quit putting words in peoples mouths. What a pathetic piece of shit this goofball is.”
Fact: No, my hip surgery was the result of avascular necrosis, not falling down stairs. My you do love to make shit up, don’t you? As for not putting words in people’s mouths and growing up, maybe you should take some of your own precious advice you pathetic racist twat.
Gay Marriage in California
Oh my Gawd… The end of the world is at hand!!!
Or maybe not. According to a survey by the Mass Equality Education Fund, fully 84% of voters in Massachusetts believe marriage equality has either had a positive impact or no impact on the quality of life in Massachusetts and 82% of those surveyed said allowing gays and lesbians to marry has either had a positive impact or no impact at all on traditional marriages. Furthermore, the last time I checked, contrary to what the likes of Charles McVety and other “family values” wingnuts would have had people believe, the institution of marriage in Canada hasn’t collapsed either.
The unfortunate downside of this development however is that it’s likely to invigorate the efforts of moral fascists “social conservatives” like Tony Perkins, Mullah Dobson, et. al. Doubtless they’ll use the California Supreme Court decision to whip up the usual paranoid, anti-gay hysteria and launch state ballot initiatives across the country purporting to “defend marriage” that will likely have the effect of boosting turnout amongst so-called “values voters” at the polls this fall.
Update: More details on the decision itself at Mike & Dean’s place.
An Islamic History of Europe (Part 6)
Final part of the series.
If you want a perspective that more accurately reflects that of many “Conservative” supporters, you can always visit this place and watch videos of swarthy “terrorists” being blown up by American gunships, seemingly harmless Iraqi cars being torn to ratshit with hails of bullets to the whooping, obscenity-filled cheers of American troops, and so on. Oh, and be sure to check out the jolly assortment of propaganda on offer from white supremacist groups like the BNP.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Talking to Wingnuts
How sad is it when even Tweety can eviscerate a shrieking loon from right-wing radio?
Via Jason Linkins at the Huffington Post:
Matthews, convinced that James was being a fatuous ass, called him out on his knowledge of geo-political history, asking James if he knew what Neville Chamberlain did at Munich in 1938. If you answered, “He signed the Munich Agreement, conceding a portion of Czechoslovakia to the Nazi regime,” you are right. If you answered, “He talked to Hitler, and caused 9/11 to happen and made the Statue of Liberty cry, just like Barack Hussein bin Laden wants to!” then you are Kevin James.
h/t: Blues Clair
Harper’s “White Box” Program
Doesn’t the Harper government already have a policy dealing with polar bears?
Dallaire Backtracks (sort of)
Obviously Stéphane Dion must have applied some pressure to Senator Romeo Dallaire yesterday, as he’s now backtracked on some of his more contentious assertions about a “moral equivalency” between the U.S. and Canadian governments and terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda. Probably just as well — those comments were unfortunately too easily prone to misinterpretation (quite deliberately so in the case of partisan thugs like Jason Kenney). Not exactly a profile in courage, but sensible politics. The last thing the Liberals need is something that feeds into the “soft on terrorism” meme.
Bush’s Clumsy Appeasement Smear
A couple of things Bush didn’t mention… First of all, Borah was a Republican (he made a failed bid for the party’s nomination in 1936, losing to Alf Landon) and leader of the “Irreconcilables” whose resolute opposition to the League of Nations led to the Senate’s ultimate rejection. And second, far from being indicative of Borah’s “appeasement” the remark could actually be construed as a repudiation of his own long-standing policy of isolationism and aversion to entangling alliances in foreign policy and involvement with European power politics in particular. In the past, Borah had said, “America has arisen to a position where she is respected and admired by the entire world. She did it by minding her own business.”
Update: It should more accurately be called “Retarded Thinking Unabridged” if Luca Manfredi honestly believes that simply talking to regimes such as Iran and Syria and other so-called “enemies” of the U.S. is a form of “appeasement” on the same level as that which enabled Hitler to solidify his position in Europe prior to WWII by various means.
Luca’s prerequisite that “Negotiating involves two parties in full possession of common sense and willing to come to an agreement” is beyond laughable. One wonders who will be the arbiter of “common sense” in this regard, and since when did achieving “an agreement” become the sine quo non of diplomacy?
Bone Idle Wanker of the Day
Um yeah. No coverage, huh? Unlike the stories here, here, here and elsewhere. Maybe if “Hunter” pulled her head out of the Dear Leader’s rectum for a breath of air once in a while, she’d really be “climbing out of the dark.”
Tales of the Enlightenment
Meet bar owner Mike Norman, who’s come up with the wickedly clever idea of peddling T-shirts featuring a knock-off of the “Curious George” character peeling a banana, with “Obama in ‘08” underneath. Norman, 63, the longtime proprietor of Mulligan’s Bar and Grill in Marietta, Georgia, acknowledges the imagery’s Jim Crow roots, but says the shirts aren’t meant to offend. He claims to see nothing wrong with depicting a prominent African-American as a monkey. “We’re not living in the 40’s,” he said. “Look at him…the hairline, the ears — he looks just like Curious George.”
The usual battlelines involving free speech on the one hand and allegations of racism on the other are at play of course. Norman (who Anderson Cooper referred to on his program as “a stupid jerk”) figures that he’s providing a public service of sorts, reminding people they have a right to offend. “This is my marketing tool,” he said. Apparently, proceeds from sale of the shirts are being donated to charity. I’m sure the folks at the Muscular Dystrophy Association will be thrilled.
The Edwards Factor
Nice timing for Obama, coming as it did a day after Hillary Clinton trounced him in West Virginia and good timing for Edwards as well. Even though he’s long since been out of he race, his name was one the ballot in West Virginian and he got 7% of the vote.
Perhaps his endorsement will help Obama somewhat as he tries to gain some traction with “Reagan Democrats” in Kentucky — doubtful, but it can’t hurt. It may even quell the prevalent narrative about Obama’s non-electability amongst white, blue collar voters. But the main significance is this: in his endorsement Edwards came on a day when Obama picked up five more Superdelegates, adding to the impression that the party is now finally starting to come together around the presumptive nominee.
