"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato -
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Idle Know More..?..
http://www.globaltvcalgary.com/native+man+pledges+to+revoke+status+card+in+light+of+idle+no+more+movement/6442793725/story.html
..it's that simple.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Idle No More...
Having hunkered down in the face of the ought twelve apocalypse and allowing for Mayan rounding errors, I feel it's now safe to surface. In short, I think it's time to be idle no more.
So did I miss anything..?..
Friday, April 27, 2012
On the Cover of the Rolling Stone...
Meanwhile the Prez appears once again on the cover of the Rolling Stone...what the third time in the last year?
Sunday, March 11, 2012
"American Style" Dirty Tricks.
Case in point, the brouhaha surrounding comments Rush Limbaugh made about 30 yr. old student/activist Sandra Fluke. Those of you familiar with the American political scene will already know about the controversy which ensued when Limbaugh called Fluke a slut and a whore for her position on federally mandated birth control coverage by Catholic institutions.
I have no interest in debating this issue here and now but raise it to illustrate a point. And that point is the organized response of the left that seeks to make political hay of the controversy Limbaugh finds swirling around him. It seems that robocalls are a prominent aspect of the left's counter attack.
An excerpt;
A group calling itself "The Women of the 99 Percent" is making robocalls across the United States in an attempt to link Republican members of the House of Representatives to "the war on women led by Rush Limbaugh".
The automated calls are illegal because they do not state who they are from (there is no known group called The Women of the 99 Percent) or provide a callback number, as required under the US Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991.
Using the Left-wing "Occupy" terminology of the 99 percent versus the one percent, they appear to be the most aggressive attempt yet by Democrats to exploit politically the recent furore over comments by the controversial conservative radio talk show host.
Please note the illegality of these robocalls, oweing to the fact that they do not identify who is behind them.
Now lets jump north of the 49th where we Canadians are embroiled in our own robocall scrum, with the aforementioned leading lights of the left leading the charge. This would be all well and good except for the fact the Liberals have had to admit that they engaged in exactly the same unidentified calls that are going on in the USA.
This;
It seems the Conservatives were not the only campaign using robocalls in the race for Guelph, eventually won by Liberal, Frank Valeriotte.
A former provincial Progressive Conservative candidate, Greg Schirk, who lives in the city, has discovered a call made to his home on the Saturday night before the election that does not, in apparent contravention of the Elections Act, state clearly on whose behalf it was made.
The robo-caller identifies herself as Lori or Laurie McDonald of Guelph and says she is appalled by Mr. Burke’s beliefs on women’s rights. “Conservative candidate Marty Burke believes that under no circumstances should a woman have a right to choose…. The race in Guelph is very close — vote strategically on Monday to protect our rights from Marty Burke and his extreme views.”
And this;
UPDATE: Frank Valeriotte, Liberal MP for Guelph, has responded:So to recap. Our friends on the left, both north and south of the longest undefended border in the world, seem to have a penchant for raising inflamatory social issues in contravention of campaign laws. Specifically, failing to identify who is behind the smears.
“This was an issue based call, not a voter suppression call. It was paid for by our campaign.”
He said the fact it was not identified as coming from the Liberal Party was an “oversight” and that his office had been “completely open” with Elections Canada.
One could make the case that the illegal robocalls now happening in the U.S. were inspired by "Canadian Style" dirty tricks.
Go figure.
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Karma is a Bitch
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/30/fisker-recalling-239-karma-electric-cars-for-fire-hazard/#
Here's why.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rt-us-consumerreports-fiskerbre8271a5-20120308,0,3461662.story
Funny shit eh?
Monday, February 20, 2012
Elizabeth May Call Your Office...
Case in point, this recent missive from the University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit and Met Office in the UK. I will also add that the CRU was the organization at the center of the climategate e-mail scandal wherein all manner of dirty tricks and junk science were exposed.
The supposed ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming is facing an inconvenient challenge after the release of new temperature data showing the planet has not warmed for the past 15 years.
The figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost fairs held on the Thames in the 17th Century.
Based on readings from more than 30,000 measuring stations, the data was issued last week without fanfare by the Met Office and the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit. It confirms that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997.
So, based on actual observed data, global warming ceased in 1997. No wonder the Met and CRU released this report "without fanfare".
As if that wasn't bad enough news for a Canadian environmental warrior, there is this;
One of the world’s top climate scientists has calculated that emissions from Alberta’s oilsands are unlikely to make a big difference to global warming and that the real threat to the planet comes from burning coal.
“I was surprised by the results of our analysis,” said Andrew Weaver, a University of Victoria climate modeller, who has been a lead author on two reports from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “I thought (the threat of oilsands emissions) was larger than it was.”
In a commentary published Sunday in the prestigious journal Nature, Weaver and colleague Neil Stewart analyze how burning all global stocks of coal, oil and natural gas would affect temperatures. Their analysis breaks out unconventional gas, such as undersea methane hydrates and shale gas produced by fracking, as well as unconventional oil sources including the oilsands.
They found that if all the hydrocarbons in the oilsands were mined and consumed, the carbon dioxide released would raise global temperatures by about 0.36C. That’s about half the total amount of warming over the last century.
When only commercially viable oilsands deposits are considered, the temperature increase is only 0.03C.
It now seems that many of those who most loudly beat the AGW drums are now backing away from their specious claims. The world has not warmed in the past 15 years and even if it did the Alberta Oilsands are all but inconsequential in the bigger picture.As the renowned philosopher, Kermit the Frog once said, "It's not easy being green."
Update:
Just to underscore the problem Andrew Weaver's downplaying of the impact of Alberta Oilsands on AGW presents Elizabeth May, check out the links Here, here, here, here and here. Over the years Elizabeth and Andrew have been practically joined at the hip.
This NP editorial from a year ago also provides some insight into Andrew Weaver's possible motivation for backing away from warmist hysteria.
At the end of the day I suspect Elizabeth will do the only thing she can, tear out the goalpost and run like hell.
Sunday, February 05, 2012
Five Years Back
http://syncrodox.blogspot.com/2007/02/y2kyotohave-we-reached-peak-snake-oil.html
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Weather Gone Wild...
In Canada, the MSM barely recognized the Conservative majority as the leading story. This despite the fact that a majority was realized for the first time without significant representation from Quebec. That coupled with the addition of thirty seats in Parliament spread between Alberta, B.C. and Ontario has dramatically changed the political landscape in Canada. But hey...How about those NDP?
And then there's Elizabeth May. Thin (on logic) Lizzie has declared the story of the year to be...Weather Gone Wild. Now when I first read the headline I must admit an image of a drunken Mother Nature pulling up her Che Guevara t-shirt to flash her sagging endowments came to mind. Not a pretty mental picture. Somebody needs to help Ms. May on her lede's and her logic.
Case in point:
But I think, for me, the biggest story is the one that never gets told. 2011 was another year of record breaking extreme weather events, most of which are likely the result of human-induced climate change. Of course, the single most devastating event, the Japanese tsunami and the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, were unrelated to climate change.
For years the climate alarmists have told us that weather is not climate, apparently 2011 marked the year that they became synonymous. I will however credit Ms. May for refuting the linkage between the Japanese tsunami and climate change that some of the moonbats claimed.
This moment of lucidity is fleeting as Elizabeth reverts to form with specious claims and out and out bullshit. I'll leave it to you readers to spot the howlers in the following:
For Canada, extreme weather events made 2011 the second most expensive year for the insurance industry. The prairie floods put more land underwater than ever in our history. And the flooding lasted from October 2010 until late July 2011. More devastating floods hit Quebec.
The wild fires brought on by extremely dry conditions destroyed one third of Slave Lake. Much of Canada was blanketed in record-breaking heat for much of the summer. Arctic sea ice hit a near record summer low.
There is more, but my biggest story of the year is the on-going refusal to connect the dots and describe climate change events for what they are. Not "Mother Nature" on a rampage; not some "wacky and wild curve ball."
Climate change events, fitting the pattern of increased extreme events one would expect due to, what is in human experience, the all-time high greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere.
So for political story -- Canada filing legal notice of withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol. For biggest story of 2011, the ongoing, accelerating losses due to the climate crisis and the fact of, unlike a suicide bomber in a troubled region where media are keen to find who "claims responsibility," the amazing level of denial. These disasters are no longer "natural"--their causes are known and our government is charting a course to make them worse, year by year.
My advice for Ms. May in 2012...Keep your shirt on.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Tradgedy in T.O.
It really all started two days before when Christy Blatchford fired a shot over the prow of T.O. metrosexuals...
The poignant bit...
And the novelty of being the toughest guy in the room – and by this I mean me – is getting really old.
As you can imagine the commentors were aghast, but this was only a precursor of the carnage to come.
No sooner then the latte had settled and a visit to the spa had calmed down our twitchier T.O. friends, the first torpedo hit.
Jason Kenney had declared himself head fashion Nazi!
The first strike here...
It's a "public declaration that you are joining the Canadian family and it must be taken freely and openly," he said, calling it "frankly, bizarre" that women were allowed to wear face veils while they swear their citizenship oaths.
Kenney said he doesn't accept that it's a religious obligation to wear the veil, explaining that when Muslim women perform the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca required by their faith, they are required not to cover their faces.
"It's a cultural tradition, which I think reflects a certain view about women that we don't accept in Canada. We want women to be full and equal members of Canadian society and certainly when they're taking the citizenship oath, that's the right place to start,"Who is Jason Kenney to tell anyone what's fashionable...I mean really...
Of course it got worse...in a devastating second wave Peter Kent flew in from Durban with the environmental a-bomb...NoKoyoto...the world suddenly changed...no longer would mankind wonder about it's demise...it's next Tuesday.
One would think that life had treated T.O. bad enough on this day...that would be wrong. The gay penguins went straight.
Sadly, it's true...
It appears a female has come between one of Canada’s celebrity couples.
Toronto Zoo officials say same-sex penguins Buddy and Pedro have been officially separated and Buddy has mated with a female.
Pedro has yet to get lucky, but officials say it’s not for a lack of trying.
December 12th 2011...A Day That Will Live in Infemy...
Friday, November 25, 2011
The NDP Hear the Sirens...Pat Martin does the Math...
“The word lobbyist has taken on a bit of a pejorative character to it, so for that I may get the odd joke from my social democratic friends, but it’s all in good humour,” said Mr. MacLachlan, 30, who worked for successive Ottawa Centre NDP MPs Ed Broadbent and Paul Dewar.
“Advocacy is a very important part of democracy … and my friends understand that I’m contributing to that process,” he said.
It seems NDP heavyweights like Pat Martin are applauding this new lobbying reality...
NDP MP Pat Martin, the sharp-tongued MP who criticized Ottawa’s lobbying culture, said the interest from lobbying firms shows the NDP is now in “the big leagues.”
“They’re going to have to update their rolodex because there’s some new kids in town,” he said. “Lots of them.”
That didn't take long...
Sunday, November 13, 2011
The Keystone XL takes a hard right...last seen headed for the coast...
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Sunday that he was looking at exporting more oil to China after the United States delayed a decision on a controversial pipeline.
President Barack Obama's administration last week put off a decision on Keystone XL project after a major protest campaign by environmentalists, who say the pipeline would be prone to accidents and worsen climate change.
The conservative Canadian leader, taking part in a summit in Hawaii hosted by Obama said the pipeline decision had produced "extremely negative reactions" and that he discussed oil exports with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Charter Rights and Campus Credibility...Incongruent or What?
The University of Calgary has seen fit to fight a judicial battle based on the premise that St.Peeairs Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not apply on university campus...in other words university campus' are above the law.
From the Calgary Herald:
"The University of Calgary must have autonomy in disciplining students for non-academic conduct and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms should not apply, its lawyer argued before the Alberta Court of Appeal on Wednesday."
Also from the Herald an opinion piece from Licia Corbella that further elucidates.
A snippet:
“The department head hired her spouse, who wasn’t qualified to teach that course and then she’s on the disciplinary committee? I mean it’s hard to believe this can happen. Look at this waste of money,” he said, referring to the high-priced lawyers arguing on behalf of the U of C, the University of Alberta and the Associations of Universities and Colleges of Alberta.
Read it all.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Obama 2012...The Campaign Song...
It occured to me that what the Obama campaign really needs is a theme song that sums up the Prez and what he's all about.
One song and one band came immediately to mind...Cheap Trick and their classic rock anthem "I Want You to Want Me".
Those lyrics would be perfect if "work" was substituted with "golf".
The whole cheap trick thing is, however, entirely appropriate.
syncro
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Robert Fife...Projecting His Inner Eeyore?
During the Friday edition of Power Play Mr. Fife described PMSH as "grumpy" with a "dark cloud" hanging over the campaign. Host Don Martin then asked, "What's the Eeyore complex all about"? During Roberts response he made mention of Mrs. Harper seeming to be happier serving beer to the reporters on the campaign plane.
This inspired me to search YouTube for behind the scenes campaign footage. I found the following examples, courtesy of one R. Fife.
Whatsamatter Bobby...teatotler? And then there's this:
In conclusion, I offer this quote from the original Eeyore:
"People who don't think probably don't have brains;
rather, they have grey fluff that's blown into "their heads by mistake."
Sunday, March 27, 2011
CTV; Liberal Fortress Toronto Safe...UofT Experts Assure...
One of Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's first stops on the campaign trail is a speech Sunday at the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton, in what will be the first of many attempts to woo GTA voters.
But experts say Toronto's Liberal-leaning voters aren't likely to switch allegiance to the Tories in large numbers before the May 2 election.
Stephen Clarkson, a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto, says even if Tories campaign hard in the GTA, they likely won't break the Liberal stronghold in many ridings.
Interesting observation but I wonder what Professor Clarkson bases it on. Further down he offers this:
Clarkson said the Conservatives likely won't make a big breakthrough in Toronto also because the NDP is likely to put in a strong campaign. He also pointed out that the Liberals can send out Ignatieff on the campaign without worrying about making silly mistakes like previous leaders.
"He speaks well, he has experience in campaigning and he's learned from his mistakes," said Clarkson.
Now this leads me to wonder if Professor Clarkson happened to catch Michael Ignatieff"s non-denial denial vis a vis coalition government. The one in which MI emphatically declares his devotion to democratic principles ..."from the bottom of my feet to the top of my toes..."
From my perspective what Count Ingatieff offered on day one of this campaign was both a mistake and poorly spoken. Then again I'm no polysci expert.
Of course CTV went a step further and consulted another political expert for this piece, one Nelson Wiseman, an associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto.
Professor Wiseman offered the following analysis:
Some ridings are vulnerable to a Conservative takeover on election day, says Nelson Wiseman, an associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto. He says some of these include Eglinton-Lawrence, York Centre, Brampton-Springdale, Mississauga-Brampton South.
Wiseman said that Liberals will campaign hard to hang on to the ridings they have.
"I think they'll also target some of the ridings they lost in the last few elections like Trinity-Spadina," which was lost in 2006 to NDP member Olivia Chow.
And this somewhat out of place observation:
Wiseman said that part of the Conservative's strategy has been, particularly in north-western ridings, to heavily target new Canadians.
"Chinese-Canadians, Filipinos, South-Asian Canadians have been a target," he said, citing the example of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who made frequent appearances at events involving Asian-Canadian communities.
"Earlier this month, he was at a Filipino-sponsored affair where they put a cape on him and called him the ‘King of Multiculturalism,'" said Wiseman.
He says that at most, the GTA ridings may switch by maybe six or seven seats. "It's too early to tell, but according to the polls, Conservatives do have an early lead."
The piece concludes with the following:A recent poll conducted by Nanos Research for CTV and the Globe and Mail shows the Conservatives at 43 per cent support in Ontario, up from 39 per cent last month. The Liberals are at 30.9 per cent, down from 32.8.
"The only thing that strikes me that could work for the Conservatives is this ‘coalition is undemocratic' shtick. It might convince voters to elect more Conservatives." Clarkson said.
So to recap, two UofT polysci Profs offer a "nothing to see here" analysis regarding CPC prospects in the GTA despite polling trends in the Conservatives favor.
This caused me to pause and wonder about the credentials of the two professors CTV consulted for this story. A quick google search produced the following on Professor Clarkson:
Stephen Clarkson, CM, FRSC (born 1937) is one of Canada’s preeminent political scientists and a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto.
His current work focuses primarily on two areas: the evolution of North America as a continental state, reinstitutionalized by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and two decades of neo-conservatism; and the impact of globalization and trade liberalization on the Canadian state. His recent publications on these themes include Uncle Sam and Us: Globalization, Neoconservatism and the Canadian State, published in 2002; and Global Governance and the Semi-peripheral State: The WTO and NAFTA as Canada's External Constitution in Governing under Stress: Middle Powers and the Challenge of Globalization".
Clarkson has taught and written on Canadian foreign policy and federal party politics. Following an unsuccessful campaign as Liberal candidate for the mayoralty of Toronto in 1969, Clarkson was active in the Liberal Party for six years. After Pierre Trudeau’s retirement from active politics in 1984, Clarkson spent a decade co-authoring the epic, Trudeau and Our Times, with his wife Christina McCall, which won the Governor General's Award for non-fiction.
His knowledge and experience in Canadian politics led to the commissioning of a history of federal election campaigns in Canada from 1974 onward. These essays were the basis of his 2005 book, The Big Red Machine: How the Liberal Party Dominates Canadian Politics.The good Professor was also once married to somebody named Adrien Clarkson, a name which sounds vaguely familiar for some reason, but I digress.
I also found some interesting mention of the work Professor Wiseman is noted for here:
Nelson Wiseman’s Social Democracy in Manitoba: A History of the CCF/NDP fills a gap present in earlier histories of Manitoba...
...Nelson Wiseman is the first to chart the rise of the NDP as a political force in Manitoba and to provide a detailed account of the activities of the political left over the last ninety years...
...Wiseman began to research and write this book on the NDP as a strongly partisan insider. In the 1960s, he served as president of the University of Manitoba NDP Club and sat on the party’s provincial executive committee. He was active in the left-wing Waffle and quit the NDP in 1972 when the party refused to move closer to the Waffle position. Wiseman’s Waffle perspective is evident in this book, especially in his probing, thoughtful, and often critical account and analysis of the Schreyer years...
...Wiseman, the ex-Waffle member, is very critical of Ed Schreyer’s leadership and the NDP in power. He observes that “little in the NDP government’s performance diverged from what non-NDP government’s did” (p. 139) and that in office the NDP was just like any other government. He charges that little notice was taken of party policy and instead the “cabinet and caucus” (p. 132) were responsible for making policy. Wiseman chides the Schreyer government for failing to promote greater worker control in crown corporations, for failing to bring about major redistribution in income and for failing “to move towards public ownership of natural resource industries and urban land.” (p. 139).
Good to see that CTV found non-partisan experts.
Friday, March 25, 2011
On the Matter of Contempt
Many have also noted an unprecedented vitriolic atmosphere in the political air.
Few, if any, mention the unprecedented fact that we are are in our 7th consecutive year of minority government.
My sense of contempt is reserved for those who lack perspective.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Susan Delacourt...Obtuse or Self Satarizing?
She then publishes an entirely convincing case which points out the very privileged position the Ignatieff clan has always maintained regardless of where they resided.
An excerpt:
While the Ignatieffs have made the most of their coming to Canada in their respective fields, they have never ceased to enjoy great privilege, as a function of the financial and educational resources and social status they brought with them, and which are theirs to this day. The Ignatieff immigrant experience is one of significant wealth, first-rate educations and privilege. Very few Canadian families can claim this “immigrant experience.”
Hence my question.
OTOH the whole thing could also have been a poorly constructed vehicle to associate Canadian conservatives with those nasty American birthers. More from Sue...
Somewhere in here, they may well be claiming that he was born in Kenya.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Tradgedy Narrowly Averted
Warrants issued in kidnapping case
Kelly Turner
2/25/2011
RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb said it’s rare for police to issue such warnings when an offender is released but given his past that includes a conviction for sexual assault, felt the need to warn people.
“These are not done lightly and only when there is a risk to re-offend,” he said.
“If we believe there’s the potential for re-offending and we’re worried about the victimization of people, we feel they should be advised.”
Dionne, 43, was charged after his accuser, a drug-addicted former prostitute, said she was picked up in Calgary’s East Village on Oct. 28, 2008 and was driven outside the city where he forced himself on her for 10 hours.
During the trial, however, the victim recanted and said she lied about being raped.
Mounties said Dionne has a history of violence and sexual offences against females between the ages of 10 and 42 and has recently been diagnosed as HIV positive.
Dionne is white, 5-foot-11, 170 lb. with blue eyes and brown hair and drives a 1992 blue Dodge Caravan with Alberta licence plate NAE 434.
Webb said police won’t be able to keep tabs on him at all times and are making the public aware because of the potential risk.
You will notice that a description of this monsters van along with the licence plate number is included in the article.
What is not included in the text of the QR77 piece is some very disturbing details of how this went down last night. This man was pulled over by RCMP while he had the kidnapped child with him in the front seat. In fact he was issued with a moving violation ticket and sent on his way!!
This raises serious questions about either the competence of the officer involved or the effectiveness of the computer system used to track and flag sex offenders.
To be fair, the child was not yet reported missing when the traffic stop was made and apparently the child was too terrified to say anything to the police officer when he issued the moving violation.
On the other hand, it appears this POS was using the same van the public was warned about last October.
Thank God this innocent little girl is back safe with her family and not a tragic statistic, despite our law enforcement system.
Something more substantial needs to be done about these sick bastards.

I'm a Harvard ringer, attached to golden string'ers
And they're pulled by G. Soros
I preach about Change and I preach about Hope
While the debt, it does explode
I pass Healthcare bills
that excite the shills
But the thrill that never gets old
Is the thrill that'll get ya, when the shills put my picture
On the cover of the Rolling Stone
(refrain)
Rolling Stone
Gonna see my picture on the cover
Rolling Stone
Gonna charge five copies to another
Rolling Stone
Gonna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rolling Stone
I got a freaky First Lady with the class of Slim Shady
Who tells us what to eat
I got my grey haired Muslim step-daddy
Fryin' fido meat
Now it's all designed to sway weak minds
But their minds won't really get swayed
Like the sway that'll get ya when I get my picture
On the cover of the Rolling Stone
(refrain)
I've got a lot of usefull idiots
That'll do anything I say
And a genuine racist preacher
Teaching us the commie way
I've got all the fools that your money can buy
Even Alinsky and Dohrn
My cronies keep gettin' richer and I get my picture
On the cover of the Rolling Stone
(refrain)