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Rex Murphy has a way with words.

"It's an uncomfortable pivot from the audacity of hope to buyer's remorse."

The media, especially Canadian media, buying the 'empty suit'.

No wonder major American blogs are linking to The Rex regularly.

Startribue hides freezing temps:

http://minnesotansforglobalwarming.com/m4gw/2010/01/startribune-hides-freezing-temps.html

Vit, as a professional classical musician I have only one question: 'why?'

What a pedantic unmusical performance.

it occurs to me The B.O. could prove to be a 'Captain Smith of the Titanic' among american presidents.

Smith was selected because he had never had a marine disaster happen on his watch. In my opinion that was luck and not the result of great foresight, preparation, training and teamwork.

Thus when the most memorable marine disaster happened, he had no clue what measures to take and wound up wandering around the bridge and deck, aimlessly, in way over his depth (pun intended).

What will The B.O.'s iceberg be?

Now this is a beautiful piece of music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twy4gaJeLqs

I'm not a great musical classicist, but that rendition sounded as good as any others I've heard of the piece. Perhaps Doug just doesn't like Debussy? I've heard it said that personally he was a bit of a cad, but I've got no problem with his creations.

As a musician myself I am afraid I have to agree with Doug. The performance sounds to contrived and seems to lack the proper expressiveness required for good Debussy.

Thanks Vit!! Happy New Year, and may the wind fill your sails with happiness and good fortune!!

Is the Polar Bear population growing or shrinking? This WSJ story was featured on John Batchelor's show, where the [female] writer was interviewed.

Happy new year to you too, Joe,
I'm glad you like these LNR shows.

Vit

As an admittedly unmusical heathen I found that performance to be a wonder of woodwinds.

Nice.

Syncro

Under the Influence
Hellenism in ancient Jewish life
By Martin Goodman

How and why and to what extent Greek culture was absorbed into the ancient Jewish world is not always clear, but that it was is undeniable.

http://www.bib-arch.org/bar/article.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=36&Issue=01&ArticleID=29

National Post, Saturday, letter to the editor (I'm paraphrasing a little, and not adding any comment this time).

Re: Court Allows Mother Who Lied to Stay (Dec. 29); Family Must Leave Due to Disabled Daughter (Dec. 30).

Early in the week, a story detailed how a mother used fake birth certificates to gain entry to Canada, but will be allowed to remain in Canada because her son "requires four medications, periodic MRI scans, physiotherapy, speech therapy and special education, among other things".

Then yesterday, I read that a family must leave Canada, since their daughter has cerebral palsy. Despite being in the country for four years and starting a thriving business, the government has determined that the daughter might cost health and social services up to $5,000 a year more than a typical child.

We seemingly encourage cheats and liars to immigrate, but discourage honest, hard-working taxpaying families.

Interesting lead stories at DEBKAfile right now: http://www.debka.com/index1.php

De Bussy...hmm isn't that when you kiss the girls on both cheeks.

I ain't given up on Christmas until the 3 wise guys come.

In the meantime here is a fun Bob Dylan tune:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW6iLcFSsaM

Bob Dylan : Must be Santa

Cheers

Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht, Commander in Chief

1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North"

The Toronto Star reported on Friday that the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) gave about $20,000 to a Colombian woman named Liliany Obando, who is currently on trial there for managing the resources of the left-wing terrorist group FARC. Some material found on the computer of one of the guerillas killed by the military in 2008 alleged that she funneled $3,000 of the OSSTF gifts to FARC.

The purpose of the $20,000 was for "educational and human rights projects" (says the article). An indignant Roger Langen, described as "human rights officer with the Toronto branch of the OSSTF" said one project was a "human rights self-defense project for activists who may be in trouble". Another was an experimental farming and education facility for displaced rural families (the story doesn't say whether the families were displaced by the depredations of FARC or the military).

A Colombian newspaper reported on the issue of the $3,000, although an official with the country's prosecutorial department told the Star that he was not certain what resources were allegedly diverted to FARC. OSSTF officials claim all the money was accounted for, and Langen called the Colombian newspaper's accusation a "slur". He also called "outlandish" the fact that the OSSTF was sent a questionnaire by the Colombian authorities, and may have to testify at Obando's trial. And he claims she remains in jail to send a message to "dissidents".

Thou dost protest too much, methinks?

A different topic: a letter to the editor of the Star the same day on the funding cut for KAIROS amid allegations of anti-Semitism.

The writer objects to the conflating of Israel with Judaism (a valid point), which he says hides real anti-Semitism. But he says, "The racialization of Israel to protect it from criticism denies Israel the right to be treated as an equal among nations; it conceives Israel as a nation of 'people apart'". "Racialized" is a recent extreme-left buzzword often used to refer to black or other non-white people. However, the suffix "-ized" generally refers to a process of transforming something, whereas everyone is born into his or her own race (which may include a mixture of course). Anyway, Israel's enemies hypocritically single it out for criticism re its self-defense policies while ignoring genuine anti-Semitism widespread in countries surrounding it.

The letter raises apparent objection to the fact that in using the term "new anti-Semitism", the intent of the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism is, among other things, to "demonize Iran". Isn't Iran pretty much demonizing itself these days, such as by killing "dissenters"?

Here's the kicker: the author of this letter is one Roger Langen. I strongly suspect it's the same one occupying the "human rights officer" position in the OSSTF. The overall impression is that he's much too friendly toward left-wing terrorists while unfriendly toward democracies that are currently under fire from left-wing activists and their Middle Eastern buddies the Islamic radicals.

And perhaps labour unions should be made to stick to performing their economic functions for their members, rather than possibly funding terrorist groups. It's time to overturn Lavigne, a 1991 Supreme Court of Canada decision, among others.

a Very important person in my life passed away - the inventor of the quarter pounder and, more significantly, the macdonald's French fry:

http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Inventor+Quarter+Pounder/2399004/story.html

(via bourque)

Gord

Grease be upon you.

Syncro

When is Prime Minister Stephen Harper making the announcement about the five new senators? I've been checking the Government of Canada Web site and the list of Canadian Senators, with dates of their appointments, but haven't seen anything yet.

I thought the appointments were being made on January 3rd. 'Anyone know?

"In pictures: Asia's record snowfall

The weekend's snowfall in Beijing was the heaviest for nearly 60 years. Residents have been organised into work groups to clear the snow and ice."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8439179.stm

"Snowstorm blasts South Korea
Xinhua - Eugene Kim, Anne Tang - ‎4 hours ago‎
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- On the first workday of the New Year on Monday, South Koreans were greeted by heavy snowfall, which was bringing the city to a near standstill."

"Hizballah Flag and Nazi Salutes in Toronto – Paid for with $3 million from Canadian taxpayers

Here are three photos from the “Gaza Freedom March” in Toronto on December 27. The top one, of the chappie with the flag of the jihad terrorist group Hizballah, comes from Shalom Life, where in “Hizbollah Flag in Downtown Toronto,” Jonathan Dahoah Halevi (translation by Elad Benari) gives a useful account of the demonstration.

The other two photos come from Lumpy, Grumpy and Frumpy, where there are many more. The two here show pro-Palestinian demonstrators giving the Nazi salute, and Blazing Cat Fur explains the significance of the second one:

[...]

Something caught my eye in one of her photos which I posted below, notice the “flag staff”, it reads “Palestine House”. I guess Nazi Ideology is part of the curriculum taught in their ” language instruction and lebensraum immigrant settlement programs”. You know, the ones your taxes pay for.This is taken from NGO Monitor’s submission to the CPCCA posted below.

•Palestine House Educational (PHE) (Mississauga, Ontario): PHE received $747,314 from the Canadian government in 2008-9 for language instruction ; and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has two agreements totaling over $3 million through 2010 for language instruction and immigrant settlement."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420487/posts
...-

"Updated: Islamists Über Alles - Nazis Stage Gaza Freedom March In Toronto Thanks To Your Tax Dollars!

UPDATE: See the Screenshot at the bottom of this post. I found this information on the Canadian Union of Public Employees Blog Local 3907 which indicates the direct organizational involvement of Palestine House in the Nazi March. Palestine House is listed as a Sponsor and as the sole information & contact resource for the "Gaza Freedom March":

To endorse this action in Toronto and/or for more information please email info@palestinehouse.org
...
E-mail MP Bob Dechert whose riding Palestine House is located in at decheb@parl.gc.ca and bob@bobdechert.ca , Jason Kenney kennej@parl.gc.ca and his Communications Director Alykhan Velshi alykhan.Velshi@cic.gc.ca with this information. It's worth 3 Million of your dollars to do so!
...
Original Post Below:"

http://blazingcatfur.blogspot.com/2009/12/nazis-for-gaza-freedom-march-in-toronto.html

A feel-good New Year's story for Kate: Angel the golden retriever saves British Columbia boy from cougar attack... and lives to tell the tale.
http://tinyurl.com/ylqgk8u

Larry,
Maybe you need to take another look (or a first look) at this list of 450 peer reviewed skeptical articles. I know using your critical thinking skills is just so hard.........

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/11/15/reference-450-skeptical-peer-reviewed-papers/#comments

Oops - sorry if that seems out of place - posted in the wrong thread!

Happy birthday, Sir Isaac! (commemorative logo)

Eye-popping:

Afghanistan 2009: A Year in Photos

Images from the most-talked about place of 2009.

a new take on an airport in these days of harsh interrogation and grim reality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWjZX57QQDY&feature=player_embedded

The French and their carbecues:

J.E. Dyer, A Fiery Conundrum

Devotés of web news will by now have seen that French youths torched 1137 cars in their annual pyrotechnic celebration of the New Year. The good news is that the number is down slightly from last year’s total, and as French officials reported, only 11 police officers were injured, and no “major incidents” were reported...

Honest to G-d, I thought this was a joke 'cos I laughed out loud -- not LOL, actually laughed out loud. First thing in my inbox work day #1 2010, this:

Dear Amazon.ca Customer,

As someone who has purchased or rated Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto by Mark R. Levin or other books in the Political Doctrines > Conservatism category, you might like to know that Working on a Dream: The Progressive Political Vision of Bruce Springsteen will be released on January 11, 2010. You can pre-order yours at a savings of 28% by following the link below.

My dear Hans (Rupprecht): Need I remind you that Bob Zimmerman changed his last name in honour of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, to whom he couldn't hold a candle, and the latter was a pale imitation of Gerard Manley Hopkins, who wasn't a mostly unwashed, drunken poet, but rather, a priest.
All this from your friendly neighbourhood critic of Black,Semitic and Celtic music.

Left GuardianUK & The Man from NUANCE(sic):

"The net should be the ally of thought and nuance, not a booster shot for knee-jerk reaction."
...-

"End of journalism as we know it (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

How can we develop new media to produce nuanced discourse and solid recommendations for our politicians?

There's no doubt the two-centuries-old business model in which we journalists paid our way by scribbling on the back of adverts, collecting pence from citizens who wanted to read it, has collapsed. As journalists, we find that grim. But, as citizens, we sometimes seem to like the idea that journalism is in trouble. We are liberated from the dictates of a trade that's spent the last two decades retreating from servicing our basic civic needs, systematically shredding its right to mediate our public discourse, losing our trust as fast as it loses our attention.

But here's something to think about. Are we sure that a public sphere in which the proportion of our civic discourse hosted by traditional journalism falls and that hosted on a demotic, disaggregated web will support our acts of citizenship better?

A few years ago, people like myself who were at the heart of journalism "as we know it" were reading the signs, and writers like Dan Gillmor, with something like resignation. Gillmor considered that "the 'former audience' has turned its endless ideas into such unexpected, and in some cases superb, forms of journalism". He went on: "The net should be the ally of thought and nuance, not a booster shot for knee-jerk reaction."

As editor – between 2002 and 2006 – of the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, I noticed our audience's growing desire to turn the relationship from a one-to-many lecture into a conversation.

Two features stood out: one was the number of well-argued emails, 50,000 a year, which arrived at the programme. The other was the popularity of the Today website message board: listeners had begun more than 18,000 threads in five years."

(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420609/posts

When 4 months holidays just isn't enough:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Teacher+sick+days+bleeding+public+board/2402418/story.html

The board is funded for 8 days per teacher for the 8 months they actually work. The collective agreement gives them 20....

Boo-hoo, "Conservatives"!

"CALGARY -- Two Calgary-area Progressive Conservative MLAs in the Stelmach government are crossing the floor to join the upstart Wildrose Alliance, in what is the first set of defections from the Tory party during its 38-year reign over Alberta."

Boo effin' hoo!

" Public-private partnership" or in another words crony capitalism

Red-Green Commissar AGW: NyetWorth of AGW.

The Other Commissar Green-Red Mao Stlong say:

"Meanwhile, Chinese officials are saying that freak snowstorms and record low temperatures sweeping northern China are linked to global warming. Right!"
...-

"And Russia

Moscow is covered in deep snow (picture left) and the snowfall in St Petersburg has broken a 130-year record.

Much further east, from the New York Times we learn that five days of blizzards and avalanches have paralysed the Russian island of Sakhalin, cutting off air and sea links to the mainland, stranding dozens of motorists on highways, and burying a train, along with three railway workers, under snow drifts 10 feet deep.

The island is frequently buffeted by storms that sweep in from the Pacific but the weather that began assailing it a few days ago has taken an remarkable toll. Blizzards began New Year's Eve, when an avalanche forced a diesel locomotive and snowplough off their tracks, and continued Friday, when three workers sent to repair the damage were swept up.

One was found alive, and rescue teams retrieved the body of a second Sunday morning. Though 140 soldiers were ordered to help dig the train out (pictured below), emergency workers said they had little hope of saving the third man since the tracks are still covered by about 350,000 cubic feet of snow."

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2010/01/and-russia.html

another poll about greenhouse gases

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/01/04/12337416-sun.html

Dennis Miller: "My wife got me a documentary about the Hindenberg entitled 'The System Worked'."

“I believe that defending poor public policy that has been developed by a small band of out-of-touch government appointees and insiders would be a poor investment of my life and of taxpayers’ money,” he said....."

“Dysfunction” drives two across the floor

Alberta’s Wildrose Alliance seems farther ahead than ever with the defection of two Tory MLAs
by Nicholas Kohler on Monday, January 4, 2010 3:47pm

It wasn’t merely that the Wildrose Alliance, Alberta’s increasingly popular upstart conservative party, tripled in size today, thanks to the defections of two Progressive Conservative MLAs. It was that those floor-crossings were accompanied by a blistering denunciation of the inner workings of the Ed Stelmach government, delivered by a young, articulate former rising star within the Tory caucus.

Rob Anderson, the MLA for Airdrie-Chestermere, who left the Tories today along with fellow Calgarian Heather Forsyth, delivered the attack as part of a press conference this morning in Calgary, where the Wildrose Alliance still finds most of its support........."

http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/01/04/%E2%80%9Cdysfunction%E2%80%9D-drives-two-across-the-floor/

Down the memory hole.
...-

"'E&P' Suspends Operations--Good Chance for Return (Editor & Publisher closes)

E&P will shut its doors this afternoon after more than 125 years in operation as "the bible of the newspaper industry" and one of America's oldest magazines. Staffers are vacating the offices in New York City, but we still hope to be back.

We shipped our January issue on Monday and it will be mailed to subscribers next week. This Web site and our two blogs will remain alive but we will not be updating them after today."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420848/posts

Contrasted with the picture of two young pugilists on today's posts, here is a recent picture of boys and young men - without the opponents.

In North America, their parents would be in jail, and the children taken. No?

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/12/30/week-in-pictures-december-18th-%E2%80%93-december-31st-2009/wip1230_15/

AGW: Ich bin Ein Snowball.
...-

"German Snowball Fight Escalates Into Riot

A snowball fight in the eastern German city of Leipzig escalated into a full-scale riot in which several cars and a supermarket were damaged, two police officers were hurt and a glass recycling container was set on fire, police said.

It all started harmlessly when 30 people started pelting each other with snowballs. The crowd of combatants soon grew to 200 and the winter fun turned mischievous when they began targeting passing cars -- especially luxury vehicles -- as well as buses and trams."
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,669936,00.html

On todays Adler On Line, Chuck and a 'feminist" guest discussed her opinion that the term "Cougar" used to describe older women seeking younger men is derogatory and that it's not fair that men are not labeled in the same fashion. I wrote Chuck an email I'd like to share:

What about the cougars?

Chuck, I’ve done some thinking about the nickname “Cougar” describing older women on the hunt for younger men, and if it is an appropriate description; or, if it is derogatory as your self-proclaimed “feminist” guest suggested. Since the aforementioned guest also said that women could not “beat them” so they’ve “joined them” and I assume “them” to be men, I’ve decided to analyze this from the only perspective I can. That of a man.

Your guest was inferring there is an injustice since men that date younger women are not commonly referred to by a derogatory term such as “cougar” or some other predator. So the questions appear to be: Is “Cougar” an appropriate description for older women that seek younger men, or is it derogatory? And, should men exhibiting the same behaviour not also be ridiculed in a likewise fashion by society with an animalistic predatory nickname?

To answer this, one must look at motive: what is the motive of an older man seeking a younger woman? More often than not, when a man reaches maturity (which women will gladly tell you is much later than women) and financial stability, he will often search out a woman to start a family. Realistically speaking, a mature man in his late 20’s or older that desires children is better suited with a younger woman in her early 20’s because of the “biological clock”. It may not be fair, but men can help make babies long after a woman can naturally do so; therefore, it is quite natural and normal for an older man to seek a younger woman. Consider it Mother Natures way of “levelling the pitch” with respect to the maturity thing.

Now, comparing an older woman’s motive for seeking younger men is a much different animal. I’ll go out on a limb and say that most older women seeking younger men are not primarily looking for an investor in their baby factories. These women are looking for something quite different, they appear to be looking for “game”. These wily women hunting for young men will use every tactic learned over a long, long time to lure the naive young buck. Once the innocent babe is in the grasp, he is simply out witted by the savvy old crone. The only salvation for said young buck is Mother Natures pull, the pull for the buck to look where the pitch is greener, or in this case, less grey.

So to answer the first question:

Is “Cougar” an appropriate description for an older woman that seeks younger men, or is it derogatory? Since the so called “Cougar” is on the “hunt” seeking “game” the term is not derogatory at all in this man’s opinion, but in fact reasonably accurate. I say only “reasonably accurate” because honestly, is it truly fair to compare the sleek and graceful cougar to the old woman? I say no! Due to the wily nature of the older woman seeking younger men, I would like to suggest a much more suitable nickname for such a creature is: COYOTE.

And to answer the second question:

Should men exhibiting the same behaviour not also and be ridiculed in a likewise fashion by society with an animalistic predatory nickname? First, we do have a name for older men seeking “game” or younger women, it is: DOG. Generally speaking though, most men seeking younger women are not predators, but in fact are providers and protectors for the aforementioned reasons. So, a suitable animalistic nickname for such a creature is: Man. And since “man” is not much of a nickname at all for these men doing something that completely natural and normal, a more fitting nickname for such a man is “Prince Charming”; or, as they say in rap music “Captain Save a Hoe”.

Indiana Homez

Okay, flame away folks;-)

More media spin on AGW,--- http://www.ottawasun.com/news/canada/2010/01/04/12336476-sun.html . I think the real story is that, outside of Quebec, most Canadians don't believe the Gorey story.

Amateur shutter-bug in the UK stopped by police for "taking too many photos" of ... Christmas lights.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1232513/Photographer-taking-pictures-Christmas-lights-questioned-police-anti-terror-laws.html

Gord Tulk
Did Ronald Macdonald finally succumb to his gin & tonics?