Reader Tips

Reader Tips 69 Comments

Welcome to the Wednesday (EBD) Late Nite Radio.
Tonight’s selection was cued up for almost a year in anticipation of Kate’s birthday, but then a couple days beforehand it was removed by the user. It recently came back up again, so I figure I’ll post it while it’s still there. Not only do I love the song, I also like the heartfelt fan-made amateur video that accompanies it. The fact that it treats the lyrics a bit too literally at times is part of its charm; the personal-photo collage is quite touching and really brings out the emotional heart of the song.
Here’s Bob Dylan, accompanied by Robbie Robertson and the rest of The Band, singing Forever Young.
Your Reader Tips are welcome, as always, in the comments.

69 Replies to “Reader Tips”

  1. From Ray, over at WUWT
    “Anthropogenic Global Warming is REAL… but only in cities according to how NOAA computes global temperatures. They shouldn’t tax CO2, in fact they should tax concrete and asphalt.”

  2. The PIGS have no ability politically to cut the costs of national government. The welfare state mentality is universal. Politicians refuse to slow the rate of spending. Raising taxes will tank their economies. Politicians may try it, but there will be painful economic repercussions.
    Rising interest rates will tank their economies.
    This leaves only one possible solution: kick the can. Promise stability and growth. Promise that they will get their financial houses in order.
    The welfare state is based on promises. All over the world, it is facing bankruptcy. But the voters believe in the promises, and politicians dare not tell the truth.
    The PIGS are getting no help from the European Central Bank. The capital markets are raising interest rates. Their economies are still declining.
    There is an answer: open default by the welfare state. I mean across-the-board default, all over the world. “We are sorry to inform you that, contrary to our expectations and yours, Social Security and Medicare are no longer solvent. The IOUs in the trust funds can no longer be met. They have been shut down.” This would be coupled with the refusal of central banks to buy further debt, anywhere, for any reason.
    http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article17147.html

  3. The Toronto Star breathlessly announces “2 U.S. firms wash hands of tar sands.”
    Canada’s controversial tar sands industry took its first retail blow Wednesday as two Fortune 500 companies announced plans to eliminate the high-carbon Alberta fuel from its supply chain.
    The U.S.-based firms Whole Foods Market Inc. and Bed, Bath and Beyond Inc. both unveiled new fuel policies designed to wean themselves off “higher-than-normal greenhouse gas footprints” inherent in feedstock from the Alberta tar sands.
    No doubt those are two important companies to Toronto Star metrosexuals, but to everyone else, not so much.

  4. Busting the Safety Net
    Three decades ago, angst over the looming insolvency of Social Security reached fever pitch. President Ronald Reagan responded by grasping the third rail of American politics long enough to add decades to the entitlement’s solvency by increasing the taxes employers and employees paid and by incrementally extending the age of retirement from 65 to 67.
    http://amconmag.com/article/2010/mar/01/00008/

  5. Joseph Goebbels quote “The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly – it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over”

  6. Harper will, to all intents and purposes, be paying for all of his Olympic tickets.

    A spokesman for Ignatieff said the liberal [sic] leader would not be following Harper’s example because they did not want to “politicize the Olympics,” they simply wanted to make use of the pass given to them by the Prime Minister’s Office.

  8. Read that they found Ernest Shackleton’s stash of scotch and brandy under one of the sheds he had stayed in. They have reason to believe that some of the bottles could still contain drinkable booze. Seeing as the distiller had gone defunct years ago (remember this was about 1909) they may be able to analyze it and re-distill it as the original recipe is lost in time. I’d pay a little extra for a draught of such historical liquid gold.

  9. Thanks for that link to Fred Singer’s piece, Lev. I’m still wary at this point, if not outright pessimistic, about any suggestion that recent events spell the end of the AGW movement, or even the end of the IPCC, though. I hope so, but I have my doubts, for two reasons: first, to the extent that the AGW movement and its goals were never actually fact-based in the first place, the recent revelations aren’t going to affect the true believers, albeit the recent scandals/exposure will probably affect the opinions of a lot of people who were, through no fault of their own, credulous about the climate-alarmist’s pronouncements. Second, and maybe most importantly, it’s those who are actually fully aware of the scope of the fraud tend to be blog readers, but there are still a lot of people get their information entirely from the MSM. Which means, if the MSM, particularly the broadcast media – think CBC/CTV, for example, and CNN – continue to put on sunglasses and turn the other way and whistle – proverbially speaking – rather than saying “hey, whaddy’a know, we’ve been duped, and we’ve been duping YOU, too”, there are still going to be political demands made on governments to “act now”. Governments are more beholden to voters than they are to the truth.

  10. MM
    I think I can get by without buying anything from Whole Foods or Bed Bath and Beyond.
    Whole food in my world requires killing, butchering and freezing. Beyond a bath and bed is another day of work.
    Tomorrow as we call it.
    Syncro

  11. Below is a copy of an email I sent Farm Credit Corporation today after receiving and email from them inviting me to read their publications on how to make my farm “green”.
    Their preamble read as follows.
    “Is your business ready for the green economy?
    Each edition of Knowledge Insider covers a topic that’s important to you. The new edition explores how some ag entrepreneurs are already finding value by including the environment in the bottom line. Get ideas for opportunities in your business.”
    My reply.
    “Our farm has always tried to adapt and adopt good farming practices when these practices made economic sense and were shown to be sound. However the tone of the content in the email “Insights for your business” and “What do trends in the green economy mean for your business?”, suggests to me that whoever thought up the content of this email has apparently bought the Al Gore, David Suzuki environmental nonsense and has not heard of the exposure of false anthropological global warming information put out by the CRU and IPCC and therefore what appears likely to be the biggest fraud ever perpetrated. Almost daily fresh reports of data manipulation by the IPCC are being exposed in the media around the world.
    To mix bad science and bad politics with efforts to produce wholesome and plentiful food for people is just plain wrong. All of society should however continue efforts to produce all food and material products we all use in a non-polluting manner.”

  12. EDB,
    You are right of course.
    As I mentioned a few days ago, you have people that are informed and know what is going on around the world.
    Then you have people that in their care for everyday living don’t have time or interest and go by the mass media.
    Then you have ideologues, those of course know the truth, though they can’t admit to it for it would remove them from money supply and others that can be described as control freaks.
    On CKNW in Vancouver you have Bill Good, a talk show guy who will shut you up if you oppose AGW hysteria.

  14. Aye, Lev, I remember well from my time in Vancouver the sound of Bill Good, and his “drop those facts and step away from the phone, sir” demeanor.
    Moving on, here’s one of those stories I can’t really make my mind up on:
    “Canada’s spy agency is pulling out all the stops to block the release of decades-old intelligence on socialist icon Tommy Douglas.
    “In an affidavit filed in Federal Court, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service argues that full disclosure of the file on Douglas could endanger the lives of confidential informants and jeopardize the agency’s ability to conduct secret surveillance.”
    Leaving Tommy Douglas himself entirely aside, it’s an interesting issue: Should such security intelligence reports remain sealed in perpetuity, or should such reports be released after X number of years, as is done (apparently) in other countries?
    There are reasonable arguments to be made for both sides. It seems likely that, in many cases, people’s opinions on the matter might be based in part on whose bull is being gored, as it were.

  15. Further to; xiat at February 10, 2010 10:53 PM
    [Quote]..The crisis over Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain – PIGS – continues to escalate. Because they have surrendered their monetary policy to the ECB, these nations are unable to inflate their way out of the fiscal crisis. This leaves the following options.
    1. Default on some or all of their debts
    2. Pay higher interest rates
    3. Cut spending
    4. Raise taxes
    5. Withdraw from the EMU
    6. Withdraw from the EU
    7. Wait for a bailout by the ECB.
    8. Choices 2-7
    There is a legal question regarding withdrawal. These nations have surrendered their national sovereignty to the New Europe. How can they regain it? At what price?
    If they leave, the EU will have to impose sanctions. Military invasion is out of the question. Want to fight Spain across the Pyrenees? How about fighting Greece in the hills? So, the sanctions would be economic. A major one would be to impose high tariffs on these nations. The borders would be closed.
    These four nations are ruled by politicians who cooperatively sold their nations’ sovereignties for a mess of pottage: access to northern Europe’s capital and markets. They are highly unlikely to secede. ” [/Quote]
    ==================
    There is one more possible solution. We use it in Canada; equalization.
    Richer EU members funding PIGS [ Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain..who are guilty of big deficits.
    Since this is true..
    [Quote]..Always before, monetary affairs have been conducted by central banks that represent central governments. The euro is an experiment in a central bank that officially operates on behalf of 16 nations. [/Quote]
    Then it may also be true that to operate the UE economy smoothly, it may have to govern 16 members centrally instead of in competition as is now the case.
    That would make the equalization balance function possible.
    The EU could then guide ” PIGS ” members on how to trim to the viable 3% deficit limit.

  16. I say let er buck. Full disclosure. I also advocate for the inclusion of Elizabeth May in as many debates/interviews/discussions and scrums as possible.
    Syncro

  21. andycanuck – “A spokesman for Ignatieff said the liberal [sic] leader would not be following Harper’s example because they did not want to ‘politicize the Olympics,’ they simply wanted to make use of the pass given to them by the Prime Minister’s Office.”
    How conveeeeenient.

  22. “Forever Young” always reminds me of someone very special. Joan Baez also sings it beautifully. Thanks!

  23. Thanks for that, xiat (1:17). The opening paragraph sounds like an allegory of the Warmist’s recent behaviour:
    “What must it have been like to be a Stasi case officer in the autumn of 1989? What did they do? The answer, in this fascinating piece in Der Spiegel, was that they kept going to the office. In fact, they kept on going about their spooky business – questioning detainees, trying to recruit informers – until the evil day when the mob stormed their headquarters in the Normannenstraße.”

  24. Love Bob Dylan and the Song Forever Young – Rod Stewarts version is a good one also. Happy and sad memories attached to that song. Reminds me of someone Close that is departed that I loved and was here on this eath to short of a time.

  26. Governments are more beholden to voters than they are to the truth,
    because voters are more beholden to voters than they are to the truth.

  30. Gotta disagree with you on that particular impromptu adage, Vitruvius, in large part because I don’t really understand what the phrase “voters are more beholden to voters” means.
    I’d say governments are more beholden to voters than to the truth simply because politicians get elected by voters who may or may not be aware of certain facts (recent AGW revelations, for example.)
    If 90 percent of voters believed, in a thoroughgoing way, that all governments must follow the fictitious dictates of James ‘Hot Sauce’ Johnson The Volcano God, any politician who pointed out quietly – even once – in a public forum that Hot Sauce Johnson is in fact a fictitious creation wouldn’t be a politician any more – at least, not in a democracy.
    Gotta get those votes. That’s why information – such as information about what the climate-scammists have been up to – is more important in the long run than time-bound politics.

  32. whoops. among.
    And I agree with Vitruvius. Voters seem to be a selfish lot. Look at how our representatives get themselves elected. “Where’s mine”. Freebies are the order of the day. When interest rates rise, there may be a day of reckoning. These are definitely interesting times in which we have the good fortune to live.

  33. Ah, okay, blackash. To the extent that Vitruvius meant (something like) “voters are more beholden to themselves than they are to the truth”, you’ve bridged a gap in my understanding of his statement. I just couldn’t agree that voters are beholden to voters per se, inasmuch as the average Conservative voter, for example, isn’t beholden, in any way that I can see, to Liberal or Green Party voters.
    Tote that barge, split that hair.

  35. There has been a slight change in the motto for the Vancouver-based Winter Olympics.
    Instead of “own the podium” we have decided to go with “Steal the podium” to honour the local culture.
    🙂

  40. a spade is a spade is a spade no matter how you look at it!
    “Look Who is Proroguing”
    NP feb.11/2010
    *So Dalton McGuinty has decided to prorogue
    Where are the fuminating Editorials, the angry protest rallies, the open letters from acedemics hyperventilating the unprecedent assault on Democracy?
    more….

  41. Re @130am: “Love Bob Dylan and the Song Forever Young – Rod Stewarts version is a good one also…”
    Umm, Rod Stewart’s Forever Young is a different song. It’s actually a breakup song, which is funny when you hear it dedicated to people or played at weddings, etc.

  42. There’s also Dylan doing the song on the Letterman show. He looked like he’d been on a binge and seemed to be chewing tobacco. His voice had that gritty quality that started up in the later years but it was quite compelling. He shows himself able to pick pretty good guitar too. Bob may not shine as a vocalist but he’s unmatched as a songsmth.
    On the subject of global warming, I fear that all the revelations will not stop that train. There are too many agencies who have invested themselves in the whole scheme, including governments who are looking for increased tax revenues. If there is a clean up, it will be superficial and cosmetic. The massively tragic result is that problems which do need addressing will founder for lack of resources and attention. If Ontario had spared itself a couple windmills, they might have been able to install decent scrubbers at Nanticoke for example–and spared southern Ontario and the adjacent states all sorts of pollution.
    These folks have had years to embed their story in the media and the minds of those who absorb their news with their morning cornflakes. They have played on the insecurities that everyone has–fears of big out-of-control forces that will devastate their lives. The UN has moved in and every failed state sees a giant cash cow to be milked. Celebs have gotten involved. So, I guess I’m pessimistic that much will change even with the most startling of revelations. Our politicians keep reciting the same old mantras of climate “science”. They just did their little Copenhagen commitment even though the door had been left wide open for them to ignore it. It’s mass insanity. I write to government folks and collect their little form letter responses telling me how my views are so important to them. It’s a tiny, tiny thing that I do but I won’t quit.

  43. TG:
    The eu already has a sort of equalization system. The pigs have recieved hundreds of billions from the wealthier members. But like equalization in Canada it only makes the recipients more dependent and spendthift.

  47. Ladies & Gentlemen:
    My apologies for not participating more at SDA of late. In addition to being a volunteer at the Games, I’ve also gone out of my way to help visiting volunteers – and there are a lot of them … thank you fellow Canadians!!!
    Last night I, and 25,000 other Team 2010 volunteers, were treated to a Dress Rehearsal of tomorrow’s 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies. I must tell you that it was THE MOST incredible show I’ve ever seen in my life!!!
    I’m sworn to secrecy, of course, but please do turn in tomorrow night at 6pm PST / 9pm EST and watch it. You will not be disappointed!
    Go Team Canada!
    Robert

  48. Flaherty the Runt will NOT raise taxes on Canadians. Unless he needs to raise tax on Canadians…
    Air travellers warned of new taxes
    Industry fears new security fees
    Norma Greenaway and Scott Deveau, Canwest News Service; with files from National Post Published: Thursday, February 11, 2010
    Canadian airline passengers should brace for the possibility of pricier travel after next month’s federal budget, a roundtable on air security heard yesterday…..
    Joseph Randell, the chief executive of Jazz Air Income Fund, the regional affiliate of Air Canada, condemned Ottawa’s approach to airport security yesterday, in particular on flights to the United States since the botched bombing attempt on Christmas Day.
    “The impact at Canadian airports over the past two months highlights the need for more unconventional thinking and policies to deal with these threats,” he said.
    We are pleading with [the government] that this is a national security issue and that national security is a responsibility of government and that it should be handled through the general revenues,” Mr. Skrobica, a vice-president of Air Transport Association of Canada, said later.”……….
    Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/story.html?id=2548202#ixzz0fFE07DGk
    Law and Order people. Law and Order.

  49. Why save Anders?
    Edmonton JournalFebruary 11, 2010
    You have to wonder how many how many horseshoes Calgary West MP Rob Anders has hidden in his sock drawer.
    For years, the hard-right Conservative back bencher has been an embarrassment to his party. Remember his attack on Nelson Mandela in 2001, when Anders attempted to block the saintly South African from receiving honorary Canadian citizenship?
    Now, in the face of the latest nomination challenge, this time by longtime Tory Calgary lawyer Donna Kennedy-Glans, the Conservative Party’s Ottawa brain trust has again put the hammer down — on the sitting MP’s behalf. The party’s governing bosses have overruled the local Conservative constituency association’s decision to stage a nomination meeting, seizing control of the Calgary West board and quashing any notion of a nomination contest.
    Oh, how things have changed since those halcyon days of the Reform party, when grassroots democracy was a sacred tenet. The old boys’ club has never seemed so strong and entrenched.
    © Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
    Why indeed.
    The faux-con’s don’t like uncertainty – especially around a lightweight who knows where Kenny’s bodies are buried. Anders could spike 3 cab mins, but as long as they keep the cheques a coming, hey – hakuna matada!
    Welcome to the Liberal Party of Canada – where every riding is gerrymandered, and opinions are dictated.

  50. Ottawa Citizen shows it’s Outrage Towards McGuinty for Prorogue & points out that McGuinty is Only 1wk & Harper’s Was 2months!! And funny that new math Harper 2months! When in reality its 2wks! Ohya Typo.
    “McGuinty Prorogues Legislature”
    brief break to be followed by throne speech
    robert sibly ottawa citizen feb.10/2010
    (1rst line article)
    *Stephen Harper did it So why not McGuinty?

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