31 Replies to “Reader Tips”

  1. In the comments under an earlier Reader Tips post featuring this video some people noticed that taxidermist Chuck Testa was wearing a Nazi SS symbol on his hat.
    Testa:
    “Hi everyone! Thanks for buzz regarding the commercial, just wanted to address the pin on my hat. I’m part of the California historical group who does WW2 reenactments. I’m part of the US 2nd infantry division and I retrieved the pin in a battle against the 12th SS. I apologize if this offended anyone, hope you can enjoy the video for what it is.”
    Spoils of (play) war, in other words, ripped from the jacket of a defeated (play) Nazi.
    Put down the pitchforks and go back inside…

  3. Mao Stlong Lepolt*.
    How many soral paners you wan, McGuinty?
    *H/T Liberal leader Basement Bob Rae’s Uncle Maurice Strong somewhere in China.
    …-
    “China solar panel factory shut after protests”
    “A solar panel factory in eastern China has been shut down after protests by local residents over pollution fears.”
    “Some 500 villagers staged a three-day protest following the death of large numbers of fish in a local river.
    Some demonstrators broke into the plant in Zhejiang province, destroying offices and overturning company cars before being dispersed by riot police.
    Tests on water samples showed high levels of fluoride, which can be toxic in high doses, officials said.
    The BBC’s Juliana Liu in Shanghai says the Chinese villagers see the plant’s closure as a victory.”
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14968605

  4. Mother of 4 terrorist murderers chosen by the PA to launch statehood campaign
    The Palestinian Authority chose the mother of 4 terrorist murderers, one of whom killed seven Israeli civilians and attempted to killed twelve others, as the person to launch their statehood campaign with the UN.
    http://sassywire.wordpress.com/

  5. Why is Britain broke? “Civil servants were given extra paid holiday to attend an alcohol-fuelled sports event just hours after their unions voted for a mass strike.”
    “The CSSC Games began the day after union delegates representing hundreds of thousands of civil servants voted against proposed pension reforms, triggering plans for ‘a day of action’ on November 30, when public workers will use strikes and rallies to disrupt public services across the UK.”
    “The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Land Registry confirmed their staff received special paid leave – time off work handed out in addition to annual leave, usually granted only in the case of serious personal issues – to enjoy the games.”
    At least one guy felt a bit guilty…
    “‘I’ve been given two days’ paid special leave for this and I know most others have as well. It’s a bit of a joke because our unions have just voted to strike. Also, with this many civil servants off work you would imagine the country would grind to a halt, but it hasn’t, so some might say, “Why do we need them?”
    ‘That’s obviously not good for our argument that we should keep our jobs.’ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2038663/Striking-civil-servants-given-time-work-drunken-sports-day.html
    “CSSC, which provides sports and leisure services to 130,000 public-sector workers, received a Government subsidy of £1.06 million this year and £1.3 million in 2010. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are both current vice-presidents.”

  7. I have intermediate knowledge, at best, of the EU troubles but I think this a good synopsis:
    The complaint that the EU is lacking in strong political leadership is misconceived: it has had altogether too much “leadership” – which is to say, domination from political and bureaucratic authorities determined to lead with as little interference from real people as possible.
    “Consensus” has become coercion. The imperatives of federalism and ever closer union have come bang up against the basic principle of democracy: that elected governments should be answerable to their own electorates, particularly on matters that affect the lives of ordinary citizens, such as taxation and public spending. Federalism cannot allow democracy to disrupt its objectives, and democracy will not permit federalism to ignore its anger and frustration. Angela Merkel cannot do what her critics are insisting that she must do – as George Osborne put it, show that she recognises “the gravity of the situation” and is “dealing with it” – because her electorate will not wear it. She cannot commit herself to endless bail-outs and the under-writing of infinite Mediterranean debt, just as the Greek government cannot deliver the EU’s austerity measures – because the people of both these countries do not wish it. The irresistible force has met the immovable object.
    So the choice is between abandoning the democratic principle which holds that the legitimacy of government derives from the consent of the governed, or backing down on the commitment to the euro and all the strictures that go with it.
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/janetdaley/8770696/The-European-dream-lies-in-ruins.html
    via hotair

  13. I get a kick out of newspeak terms such as “consensus”.
    A few years ago I gave up my position as a national director of a program to return to the field, albeit in a senior position in charge of a large group of people.
    My successor decided to reverse a position that I had taken on a critical aspect of the program. Fine. I disagreed, but he was there, and presumably had to, as I had, take responsibility for his decisions.
    But no. He flew out to Vancouver and spent a couple of days with me trying to achieve a “consensus” on the issue, knowing that whatever I agreed to would be adopted by other divisions across the country. If not, chances are they would not as well.
    He was a smart guy, with law degree etc., but not that smart when it came to principles and dealing with people who have those attributes.
    I explained at length to him that what he was proposing was wrong, and was completely unacceptable to me, and that I could never in conscience agree to it.
    He kept on bleating about consensus, which, as I told him, apparently meant that I would cave and agree to what he was proposing. Didn’t happen.
    Since today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, all I can say about the exchange is “Arrrrgggghhhhh”….

  14. @EBD: I think “OKa-blama’s” presidential trajectory appears somewhat like this…
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYazXWHv98o&feature=related
    V-2 test gone wrong
    As for the 12th SS hat badge…I wasn’t aware that any of Panzer Meyer’s boys made it to Ojai, California! But they appear to be prolific shooters and taxidermists.
    I gather the lesson is never bring a knife to an 88mm FLAK gun fight. I think even the old man might get a chuckle out of that one.
    Cheers
    Hans Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
    1st Saint Nicolaas Army
    Army Group “True North”

  15. @EBD: I think “OKa-blama’s” presidential trajectory appears somewhat like this…
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYazXWHv98o&feature=related
    V-2 test gone wrong
    As for the 12th SS hat badge…I wasn’t aware that any of Panzer Meyer’s boys made it to Ojai, California! But they appear to be prolific shooters and taxidermists.
    I gather the lesson is never bring a knife to an 88mm FLAK gun fight. I think even the old man might get a chuckle out of that one.
    Cheers
    Hans Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
    1st Saint Nicolaas Army
    Army Group “True North”

  16. Colluption? Mao Stlong*?
    Communism = Crime.
    …-
    “Chinese blogger points to luxury watches as sign of corruption”
    “An eagle-eyed Chinese internet activist has raised questions about the rampant corruption in China after spotting countless senior Chinese officials apparently wearing wristwatches they could not possibly afford on their official salaries.”
    “The search of online picture archives revealed officials wearing watches by Rolex, Piaget, Omega and Cartier each worth several thousand pounds, and in many cases equivalent to half the annual salary of just £10,000-a-year for an official of ministerial rank.
    Most embarrassing of all were pictures of China’s new railways minister, Sheng Guangzu, who according to the research was photographed wearing watches worth a total of 400,000 yuan (almost £40,000) in a series of pictures dredged up from Google Images.
    Among the glittering timepieces identified by the activist when he zoomed in for a closer look at Mr Sheng’s wrist were a Rolex Oyster Perpetual DateJust worth £7,300, a Paget Altiplano worth £7,000 and an Omega Constellation worth nearly £3,000.
    Mr Sheng, a former head of Customs in China, was only appointed in February after the previous railways minister Liu Zhijun, was arrested and investigated for corruption, with reports in China’s official media alleging he had taken up to £95m in bribes.
    Also on his list was a vice-minister of health spotted with a Rolex Submariner worth £9,200 and the vice-principal of State Administration Academy in Beijing, which trains civil servants, wearing what looked very like a Piaget Emperador, worth more than £10,000.”
    “The Chinese public reacted angrily to the pictures, sharing barbed comments via Sina Weibo, China’s equivalent of the Twitter microblog platform.
    The activist, operating under the pseudonym “Huaguoshan Zongshuji”, or “General Secretary of the Flower and Fruit Mountain” – an illusion to the anti-authoritarian Monkey King in the classic Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West’ – has now fallen victim to China’s online censors.
    Communicating via Weibo, he told The Telegraph he had been inspired to carry out the searches after July’s Wenzhou rail disaster in which 40 people died, provoking a public backlash over corruption and corner-cutting in China’s high speed rail boom.”
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8773715/Chinese-blogger-points-to-luxury-watches-as-sign-of-corruption.html
    *Liberal leader Basement Bob Rae’s Uncle Mo Strong.

  17. Neo-AGW Progress Report.
    “Deep Oceans Put Global Warming on Temporary Hiatus
    LiveScience.com”
    …-
    “Early Winter in Switzerland”
    “Global Warming alarmists have long claimed that snowfall would soon be a thing of the past in the Swiss Alps, that the glaciers would melt, tourists would leave, and the ski industry would die. There CERTAINLY would not be any snowfall at lower altitudes, or any snowfall even before the official start of autumn. Yet today there fell snow as low as 1200 meters, with heavy falls in St. Moritz, a very early time for a blizzard in the alps.”
    http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/09/19/early-winter-in-switzerland/#more-47691
    …-
    “It’s Already Snowing in Whistler | First Snowfall of Season for Whistler Blackcomb”
    “It’s September 17th, 2011 and there’s already snow on Whistler Blackcomb. It snowed about 6cm at the top of the Whistler Gondola and even more on the peak. I must say we never really had a summer in Whistler, with copious amounts of rain, cold temperatures and grey days many locals were stuck waiting for summer… and it never came. Now we’re into September and it’s already snowing! WHAT?”
    http://unofficialnetworks.com/snowing-whistler-september-17-whistler-blackcomb-42940/

  18. Since today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, all I can say about the exchange is “Arrrrgggghhhhh”….
    Posted by: Bruce at September 20, 2011 1:46 AM
    Is that one of the days featured in the student planners in Toronto? If so, I overreacted. Looks like they might not be all bad.

  19. Suicide: The natural end result of socialism.
    “Put mother rabbit in a different place from the little rabbits,” the note began.”
    “Mr. Petrakis survived that suicide attempt. But Greece’s collapsing economy and the ruin of his business would soon push him to a more determined effort.”
    …-
    “Suicides in Greece Rise Since Before Crisis Began”
    “Greek Crisis Exacts the Cruelest Toll”
    “HERAKLION, Greece—The first time he despaired of his debts, Vaggelis Petrakis drank a poisonous brew of beer and gasoline.
    A note he left didn’t mention the financial woes of his fruit and vegetable business, of which his family was well aware. Instead, he left instructions for his children on how to look after his animals. “Put mother rabbit in a different place from the little rabbits,” the note began.
    Then he had second thoughts and called his son, Stelios, who took him to a hospital. Mr. Petrakis survived that suicide attempt. But Greece’s collapsing economy and the ruin of his business would soon push him to a more determined effort.
    “It was shame, fear, pride, dignity,” says his son. “Whoever you ask, they will say he was a man of dignity.”
    Two years into Greece’s debt crisis, its citizens are reeling from austerity measures imposed to prevent a government debt default that could cause havoc throughout Europe. The economic pain is the price Greece and Europe are paying to defend the euro, the centerpiece of 60 years of efforts to unite the Continent. But as Greece’s economy shrinks, its society is fraying, raising questions about how long Greeks will be able to take the strain.”
    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904199404576538261061694524.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

  20. Suicide: The natural end result of socialism.
    “Put mother rabbit in a different place from the little rabbits,” the note began.”
    “Mr. Petrakis survived that suicide attempt. But Greece’s collapsing economy and the ruin of his business would soon push him to a more determined effort.”
    …-
    “Suicides in Greece Rise Since Before Crisis Began”
    “Greek Crisis Exacts the Cruelest Toll”
    “HERAKLION, Greece—The first time he despaired of his debts, Vaggelis Petrakis drank a poisonous brew of beer and gasoline.
    A note he left didn’t mention the financial woes of his fruit and vegetable business, of which his family was well aware. Instead, he left instructions for his children on how to look after his animals. “Put mother rabbit in a different place from the little rabbits,” the note began.
    Then he had second thoughts and called his son, Stelios, who took him to a hospital. Mr. Petrakis survived that suicide attempt. But Greece’s collapsing economy and the ruin of his business would soon push him to a more determined effort.
    “It was shame, fear, pride, dignity,” says his son. “Whoever you ask, they will say he was a man of dignity.”
    Two years into Greece’s debt crisis, its citizens are reeling from austerity measures imposed to prevent a government debt default that could cause havoc throughout Europe. The economic pain is the price Greece and Europe are paying to defend the euro, the centerpiece of 60 years of efforts to unite the Continent. But as Greece’s economy shrinks, its society is fraying, raising questions about how long Greeks will be able to take the strain.”
    urlm.in/jfhp

  21. “cool”. Camus*: the new rebels? Same as the old rebels.
    …-
    “The New Rebels”
    “Germany’s Pirate Party Celebrates”
    “Once the Greens were Germany’s political rebels. But on Sunday they lost their title to the Pirate Party, which won seats in a regional government for the first time. The success of their data-driven message took even the party itself by surprise.”
    “As Berlin election results came in on Sunday evening, sweaty members of the Pirate Party danced arm in arm beneath a disco ball at popular club in the city’s Kreuzberg district. The smell of marijuana spread through the informal party, where guests made their own sandwiches and drank bottled beer.
    “I can’t believe it,” said newly elected parliamentarian Christopher Lauer as he fell onto a sofa, sending a message of thanks out via his Twitter account for the 8.9 percent of voter support. “It is breathtaking, a surreal feeling, because there is nothing that compares to this.”
    Standing before the television screen, the leader of the Pirate Party, Sebastian Nerz, called the historic moment “cool.”
    http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,787044,00.html
    …-
    *Camus:
    “The Rebel: An Essay on Man in Revolt by Albert Camus – Reviews …
    And in so doing, Camus gives succour, in my opinion, not so much to the rebels among us, as to those who dismiss rebels as mere trouble-makers, preferably to …”
    http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11990.The_Rebel

  24. Imagine* with John: Ringtone to your cell* now available, even. No combative O’line needed.
    …-
    “New York Times
    News Analysis: As Greece Struggles, the World Imagines a Default
    Obama, Newly Combative, Draws Line Over Long-Term Debt Reduction”
    http://www.spiegel.de/international/

  29. “*It is he himself, lui-mème.”
    “**I’m an Obama Sap.””
    “This is his sole legacy: a massive post-traumatic stress disorder.”
    “Barack Obama – Narcissist or Merely Narcissistic?”
    http://www.globalpolitician.com/25109-barack-obama-elections
    …-
    “What pundits should fear most about getting things wrong isn’t the scorn and gloating that other writers will pour on them after their error has been revealed. Its the consequences. Marty Peretz of the New Republic, who was sympathetic to Barack Obama in 2008 now writes Obama’s Middle East Is in Tatters, Utter Tatters. That is the title of his article, by the way. What follows is if anything, more savage.
    >>> *It is not actually his region. Still, with the arrogance that is so characteristic of his behavior in matters he knows little about (which is a lot of matters), he entered the region as if in a triumphal march. But it wasn’t the power and sway of America that he was representing in Turkey and in Egypt. For the fact is that he has not much respect for these representations of the United States. In the mind of President Obama, in fact, these are what have wreaked havoc with our country’s standing in the world. So what—or, rather, who—does he exemplify in his contacts with foreign countries and their leaders? His exultancy gives the answer away. It is he himself, lui-mème. >>>
    Which is to say Obama started all wrong, got it all wrong. Now everyone, especially Israel, will be lucky to simply get out of the impending crash in one piece. But Peretz isn’t the only one who has felt the scales dropping from his eyes. There’s David Brooks** who writes, “I’m a sap, a specific kind of sap. I’m an Obama Sap.”
    (more…)”
    “Bayes and Nice People”
    http://pajamasmedia.com/richardfernandez/2011/09/20/bayes-and-nice-people/#respond

  30. Dalton McGuinty is in Ottawa warning the people about a ‘tory trifecta’.
    This is a cry of desperation,and a lie also.
    Municipal votes are rarely connected to the main political parties,and if you live in a city that elected a mayor that is aligned with the NDP,does that mean it’s OK(in DM’s eyes)to vote for Hudak?
    Fear is for fools,DM is treating the voters as such.
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ontariovotes2011/story/2011/09/20/ontario-liberal-mcguinty-tory.html

  31. EBD,that video made me laugh.
    It also brought back memories. When I was a very young punk,there was a company called ‘Estes’ that sold model rockets. We couldn’t afford them,so my buds and I made our own rockets,propelled by matchheads, and later our very own homemade gunpowder.
    The rockets didn’t rocket,so we progressed onto pipe bombs and crude shotguns,good times.
    Nowadays,kids like us would be in foster care and our parents would be locked up. We never caused any serious hurt,and to the best of my knowledge no one has since attempted to fill their hat or gonch with explosives to do damage to others.
    It must suck to be a kid these days.

Proudly powered by WordPress & Skyrocket Themes

MENU

Navigation