Monday, December 14, 2009

Can Obama Save the World?...A CBC/BBC Documentary

I was surfing around today and came across this on Mothercorps website. This from the article:

America is locked in a battle between an army of climate campaigners and an army that opposes them. Can Obama Save the Planet? sets the stage for President Obama's much anticipated appearance at the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen by questioning how his dream of leading the world in the battle against climate change resonates with Americans.

This got me to thinking....didn't Obama already save the world? I sniffed around a bit on the net and sure enough I found the exact date that Barry saved mankind. It was June 3rd 2008 when the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee released the text of this speech.

The relevant bit:

Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on earth.

In light of this knowledge I think I'm gonna take a pass on tonights documentary for the same reason I have never watched James Cameron's Titanic. The boat sinks.

Maybe that's a bad analogy.....

Syncro


Sunday, December 13, 2009

Mole sought in release of e-mails designed to sabotage summit (Calgary Herald, 13 Dec 2009, Page A3)

I heard about this article this morning while reading a comment thread at Small Dead Animals. Unfortunately the commenter couldn't provide a link, so I went searching. As it turns out I had to sign up for a 21 day trial to get access to the piece but here it is.

For those of you who may not recognize the significance of this piece please let me explain. Lance Levsen (mentioned in the article) is a regular contributor at SDA. Lance produced an in-depth analysis into the CRU email hacking/whistle blower controversy a number of days ago which appeared on SDA.

A major theme in the climate alarmists denunciation of the CRU email leaks has been the illegality of the purported hacking. Lance's work goes a long way to refuting this claim and in fact suggests that a disaffected insider may well have released the data.

This is a significant point as motive has become a lynchpin in the AGW debate.

In a larger sense Lance's work is important in that the debate over AGW and the policies surrounding it has been driven by the internet, the bloggers. I'm working on a piece that takes a wider view of this and will post later.

BTW...be sure to read the comments...you'll either laugh or cry.

Syncro


Mole sought in release of e-mails designed to sabotage summit
ROBERT MENDICK
Calgary Herald
13 Dec 2009

Police are hunting a possible mole placed inside the University of East Anglia who may have leaked thousands of e-mails to sabotage the Copenhagen climate change summit. A source close to the university’s Climatic Research Unit has disclosed that...read more...

Elizabeth May Sets her Slacks on Fire on Question Period

Green Party leader, former Sierra Club director and all around whack job Elizabeth May was at her moonbatty best this morning on Question Period. While she didn't really set her pants on fire she might as well have. (if you can't stomach the whole thing run the clip from 5:45 on)

Weighing in from Copenhagen Ms. May described yesterdays demonstrations as a ..."support march"........"a positive and joyful event....." and further declared that, "the mood was very celebratory". May also claimed that Danish police had estimated the size of the demonstration/celebration at 100,000 people.

Well that all sounds ducky except I had read this piece from the BBC prior to viewing the Question Period clip.

Climate change groups have criticised Danish police for using heavy-handed tactics after they detained 968 people at a rally near the Copenhagen summit.

Mel Evans from Climate Justice Action told the BBC protesters were held for hours in freezing conditions without medical attention, water or toilets.


Well that doesn't sound positive or joyful. What about the celebrations?


The protest was mainly peaceful, but some protesters threw bricks and smashed windows in the city centre, while others set off fireworks.

Large numbers of mainly young people were later detained. TV pictures showed the police putting the demonstrators in seated lines on the street with their hands tied behind their backs. They were later removed on buses.

Ms Evans said the actions of the police were appalling.

"People were very scared and they were held for about four hours on the ground. They weren't able to have any medical attention, any water, and weren't allowed to have any toilet facilities," she told BBC Five Live.

"People were there in freezing conditions urinating on themselves and being held in lines like, essentially like animals."

Not really my kind of celebration but I guess in a crowd of 100,000 a thousand bad apples could happen. Danish police did say it was 100,000 people....right Liz?


Police said about 30,000 people took part in Saturday's demonstration in the Danish capital, although organisers put the number at 100,000.

So Jane and Liz initially downplay the number of arrests citing 40-50 when the actual number was around a thousand. Liz then typifies the event as a 100,000 strong love in, when it appears to have been anything but, in both size and spirit.

Is it any wonder that I'm a tad cynical when Lizzie dodges a legitimate question on the financial costs of a Copenhagen treaty by referring to a potential 9 meter seal level rises in Canada.

Liz yer full of shit.

Syncro

Saturday, December 12, 2009

On Infrequent Blogging

Hi All. As you may have noticed blogging around here has been practically non-existent. Let me explain.

As you may or may not know I operate an exterior finishing contracting business with two of my sons an adopted nephew (by him) and an adopted newf (by me). They range in age from 17-26 and nearly every one of them can be an insufferable pain in the ass.

That said, I;m proud of them all and here's why.

The recession coupled with a mid season hail storm dictated that the bulk of the contracts we undertook this year required extensive travel. We spent the first half of 09 living out of suitcases in shitty motels to keep the expenses down. In June we managed to acquire a fifth wheel trailer that met our needs and by the start of November the difference in living expenses had paid for the trailer.

Along the way we adjusted our truck, trailer and equipment configurations numerous times to meet the logistical challenges of contracting on the road. This included five different trucks and three different trailers in various combinations. Of course these transitions required installation or removal of hitches, wiring, insurance and plates, equipment racks, truck caps, scaffolding, hand tools and fasteners.....etc.

The upside is we came home with a modernized, adaptable and efficient operation.

On the personal side we have or are dealing with two deaths, one cancer diagnosis and two major surgeries within our immediate extended families. In short it has been one really long year.

It's been two weeks now since we made it home and I for one have welcomed the Gore effect weather as it has provided a legitimate excuse for not leaving the house. That being the case I've had the opportunity to sleep, read and catch up on the blogosphere .

Which brings me to the point of this entry. While blogging frequency may be important to some it is not the be all and end all of all. Some of us live a conservative lifestyle and some of us look to make a living pontificating about same. Yet others do both.

The trick is spotting the differences.

Syncro