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I don't know why I torture myself so, but I actually listened to Elizabeth May interviewed this afternoon and carefully recorded the key points she was making. I recorded it all here and followed up with a simple challenge; one that can be tested a year from now.

"the sweet sound of exploding watermelons""
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100020337/copenhagen-the-sweet-sound-of-exploding-watermelons/
This is too good to pass up.

Thanks Vitruvius for posting this really great episode. I only managed to see a few original episodes of the Twilight Zone and have fogotten virtually all of them by now.

Good choice for the season.

Ken, the watermelon link you provided seems to have disappeared but I also found it here.

I'm glad you liked that, Foobert. I saw it a few months ago and made a note then to add it to this year's SDA LNR Christmas Extravaganza. I do agree that it is a good choice for exemplifying some of the classic aspects and components of the Christmas tradition.

Kate,
You are THE BOMB!
thank you
Joel

I just saw this, and it kinda scares me a bit.

http://ezralevant.com/2009/12/should-mps-have-the-right-to-k.html

This should outrage a great many people. He doesn't make the connection in his piece, but I'm sure someone else will: Maxime Bernier. An unfortunate incident, but an example of what can happen when politicians have access to security secrets. Bernier was one thing, but letting Dosanjh and Rae have access to high-level stuff loosens my sphincter something fierce. And it beggars the imagination what someone like Elizabeth May would do with that sort of power, should she ever get elected.

Kady O'Mally didn't cover the climategate story because it wasn't her beat, but she did go to Copenhagen and she's on Harper like stink on a hippy for not caving into the Chinese and the UN.
Seems now it is her beat...

http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepolitics/2009/12/ad-hoc-prime-ministerial-liveblog-how-stephen-harper-spent-his-copenhagen-vacation.html#socialcomments
"5:32 PM
Aww, last question -- and it goes to Canadian Press' Steve Rennie, who wonders whether the PM agrees that these sorts of meta-multilateral conferences may not be the best way to actually come up with some sort of agreement, and he chuckles -- well, ish -- before acknowledging that yes, it isn't the easiest arrangement -- especially if every leader insists on being present for every meeting, which definitely isn't a complaint that anyone at this particular conference will make about him. "

Meow!

Thanks for Rod Sterling's Twilight Zone.

At 60, I can relate to the professor. Personally, I think retirement sucks.

Our kids are terrific. I haven't meet any that didn't want to improve ... this is one on one. I enjoy their company.

As in the video, (thanks Vitruvius) youth today appreciate value. Not all are mindless drones.

I heard most of Dizzy Lizzie with Sean Leslie on CKNW this afternoon. A truly staggering performance. "We don't want 9 metres of sea level rise, we don't want to lose Victoria, we don't want to lose Vancouver." And, of course, David Miller and Jean Charest were wonderful and Stephen Harper was an embarrassment, obstructing progress and making it more difficult for Obama to forge an agreement.

h/t Robert W. http://pelalusa.blogspot.com/2009/12/will-elizabeth-may-promise-to-apologize.html

She is nuts. I tend to agree more with the likes of Alex Tsakumis and Rex Murphy, but that's because I'm a flat-earth ultra right-wing extremist denier.

After a slow start to the cold season, Hudson Bay ice coverage is almost back to normal. I'm sure most of the baby poley bears have already been eaten by starving papa poley bears, but if any have survived they may have a better chance to grow up now that the papa bears have some ice to stand on to go fishing.

The unholy battle for Ethiopia's remaining Jews

By Gili Gurel

ADDIS ABABA AND GONDAR - Above the entrance to the synagogue in Gondar hangs a sign in Hebrew: "God the builder of Jerusalem will gather the far-flung of Israel." But no one enters the synagogue gates, at least not without authorization from Getu Zemene. His job is to ensure that no one he suspects of being a missionary goes in to influence the Falashmura community.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134605.html

for Jack Jones fans, an all time bittersweet fav of mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8uxTiGauW4&feature=related

Donald Pleasence is additional proof that the British are the best actors for serious roles. the earliest thing I recollect him in was 'The Great Escape' and then countless other stuff including a 'Columbo' episode where he plays a wine connoisseur who pitches the entire contents of a wine cellar over a cliff.

I suspect he was a very decent man in his personal life. I never heard anything to contradict that.

Welcome to O'narcissist*'s New World Ordure:

"Talks about himself in the 3rd person singluar or uses the regal "we"".

"A good, solid B-plus," > "If health care reform is enacted, Mr. Obama smugly asserted, "we tip into A-minus."
...-

"The failed president Bold policy concepts come up short

Barack Obama is on his way to being the worst president in U.S. history. This has not dawned on him - yet. But it will soon.

Last week, Oprah Winfrey in her "Christmas at the White House" special asked the president what grade he would give himself for his first year in office.

"A good, solid B-plus," Mr. Obama said. "I think we have inherited the biggest set of challenges of any president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We stabilized the economy. ... We are on our way out of Iraq. I think we've got the best possible plan for Afghanistan. We have reset our image around the world." Mr. Obama added: "I think that we're going to pass the most significant piece of social legislation since Social Security, and that's health insurance for every American."

If health care reform is enacted, Mr. Obama smugly asserted, "we tip into A-minus."

This is grade inflation at its worst. He is living in a liberal bubble - a bubble that is about to burst.

Mr. Obama's grade is an F. His economic policies have failed to restore robust growth. After passing his $787 billion fiscal stimulus package, he vowed that the unemployment rate would not rise above 8 percent. It now stands at 10 percent - and many economists expect it to climb next year to 11 percent or higher. This is not economic recovery. It is failure."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411568/posts
*O'narcissist:
http://www.globalpolitician.com/25109-barack-obama-elections

AGW Report: via gooreacle's GooGoo Choo-Choo.
...-

"Eurostar suspends services, probes 6 train failures"

"because of technical faults caused by snow and sub-zero temperatures, Eurostar said."
...-

"Five deaths as snow sweeps across America
Telegraph.co.uk"
...-

[Liberal McGuinty] "Premier pans public-sector wage freeze
Ottawa Citizen"

"Research finds happiest US States match a million Americans' own happiness states"

http://www.physorg.com/news180284820.html

A study that identifies the states that have the happiest people. On a lark, I checked the top ten and bottom ten states on the list and find:

- the top ten have governors, senators and congressmen PRIMARILY being Republican
- the bottom ten have governors, senators and congressmen PRIMARILY being Democract

Coincidence?

Can it really be as easy as "vote Republican and be happy"? Enquiring minds want to know.

Thanks, Vitruvius, for The Changing of the Guard. It reminds me of the time when TV was worth watching. What a tour de force by Donald Pleasence.

I used to watch the Twilight Zone every Saturday night, with the lights out, under a blanket, next to my sister!

'Too bad Mr. Pleasence ended his distinguished acting career as a villain in horror movies. A sign of the times ... he deserved better than that.

Eeyore: "Can it really be as easy as 'vote Republican and be happy'?"

Nope.

Happiness is not an end in itself but the by-product of honesty, decency, generosity, sacrifice, responsibility, and accountability daily practised and lived out.

Draw your own conclusions about the followers of which party best and most often exemplify these values ... ;-)

BTW, where is everyone?

The Changing of the Guard's message is so germane to Christmas: The greatest gift of all is not "things" but ourselves:

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

Christina Rossetti, In the Bleak Midwinter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RihuTtICxYo

Shifting gears here to American 'health care reform'.

THIS is how MSM should interview politicians. A real tough question and she was not prepared to answer with anything but smooth talk.

newsbusters, via Wintery Knight blog.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/12/19/dylan-ratigan-yells-dem-congresswomen-abruptly-ends-interview

More proof - it is all falling apart .

[In September 2009, the Wikipedia Arbitration Committee revoked Mr. Connolley’s administrator status after finding that he misused his administrative privileges while involved in a dispute unrelated to climate warming.] Wickedpedia

"... unrelated to climate warming."
Ya sure. If it 'really' was unrelated, wiki would not have mentioned it.

Who is this 'Connoley' Guy ?

[ Connolley took control of all things climate in the most used information source the world has ever known – Wikipedia. Starting in February 2003, just when opposition to the claims of the band members (CRU) were beginning to gel, Connolley set to work on the Wikipedia site. He rewrote Wikipedia’s articles on global warming, on the greenhouse effect, on the instrumental temperature record, on the urban heat island, on climate models, on global cooling. On Feb. 14, he began to erase the Little Ice Age; on Aug.11, the Medieval Warm Period. In October ... ] Lawrence Solomon

I may be wrong, but I think some of those changed entries were originally wrote by Tim Ball - so that our school children, for one, would not be misled by the climate-alarmists.

There is enough material to keep the fraud-suit lawyers going throughout the 21st century.

Iffy Who?

That’s O’s Harvard buddy.

Hezbollah Coderre’s pick refuses to run for LibIffy.

“Nathalie Le Prohon ne sera pas candidate libérale”
...-

http://www.bluelikeyou.com/2009/12/19/who-won-in-copenhagen/#comment-70582

A key source of global warming identified: watermelons. As in "green on the outside, red inside"

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100020337/copenhagen-the-sweet-sound-of-exploding-watermelons/

Ron, I appreciate what you're saying but if you think William Connelly's totalitarian actions on Wikipedia have lessened, you'd be kidding yourself.

For example, look at the discussion page for The Little Ice Age. The now infamous thug is all over it very recently.

When I viewed it, there was a mention of Lawrence Solomon's article but I bet that will disappear shortly.

Elizabeth May reaffirms her position on AGW:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk4Ntcq5uNg

All regular SDA'ers know that a frequent irritant of mine has been the heavily biased, dismissive reporting on Climategate by CKNW's Bill Good. He's truly been exceptionally pathetic.

A fellow he regularly has as a guest to "explain" to the masses why us skeptics are "flat earth nutbars" is one Dr. Andrew Weaver of the University of Victoria. A few words out of this man's mouth and you realized he was anything but neutral, but not until now did I learn that he was a LEAD author of the IPCC report.

He knows that his life's work is essentially on trial (and it ain't going well) so he will say ANYTHING to defend it. No wonder why a so-called man of science has so little trouble belittling callers who are just trying to get more information.

RW, I would never be so naive as to think Wikicked's ways would change so easily, but at least they have been flushed out. It is a start.

I asked Patrick Moore, GP founder, if he thought the alarmists would continue being crazy in light of the CRU leak ?

He said; Yes. It will get uglier.

The hard core alarmists will never, ever throw in the towel. They will take the lie to their graves. They will (hopefully) also take it to jail.

Tim Ball just told me he might take some action (against WiKi)

Could use some help, I am sure.

Has the Real Climate website been hacked?
Try it.

http://www.realclimate.org/

For all who want to see a great war movie without all the lefttard politics it's called the Hurt Locker. Great movie!

Yes Fred, I see what you mean.

"I asked Patrick Moore, GP founder, if he thought the alarmists would continue being crazy in light of the CRU leak ?

He said; Yes. It will get uglier."

Patrick Moore is very familiar with the tactics of Tzeporah Berman, who was at Copenhagen and whose opinions are so eagerly sought by our gullible and/or liberal Canadian media representatives.

Joe Citizen: "Personally, I think retirement sucks."

FYI: http://happily-retired.com

Apologies for the shameless self-promotion, but if you are retired and miserable, you should read this.

LindaL

Don't worry. I'm OK, thanks anyway. I could just relate with the Prof!!

How December 25 Became Christmas

On December 25, Christians around the world will gather to celebrate Jesus’ birth. Joyful carols, special liturgies, brightly wrapped gifts, festive foods—these all characterize the feast today, at least in the northern hemisphere. But just how did the Christmas festival originate? How did December 25 come to be associated with Jesus’ birthday?

The Bible offers few clues: Celebrations of Jesus’ Nativity are not mentioned in the Gospels or Acts; the date is not given, not even the time of year. The biblical reference to shepherds tending their flocks at night when they hear the news of Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:8) might suggest the spring lambing season; in the cold month of December, on the other hand, sheep might well have been corralled. Yet most scholars would urge caution about extracting such a precise but incidental detail from a narrative whose focus is theological rather than calendrical.

http://www.bib-arch.org/e-features/christmas.asp