61 Replies to “Reader Tips”

  1. I recently recommened here Prof. Hans Rosling’s talk (from TED 2006) on Visualizing Recent Global Improvements:
    video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2670820702819322251
    I’ve been exploring Prof. Rosling’s work a bit further. The web site for his Gapminder venture is http://www.gapminder.org
    From Gapminder you can access the live interactive web-based software that Prof. Rosling has been using and talking about. It is directly available here:
    tools.google.com/gapminder
    This thing is amazing. I’ve been exploring it for hours. The on-line help is available here (and from the upper-left corner of the tool):
    http://www.gapminder.org/gapminderworld/help/gapminder_world_help.htm
    Here’s an animation I created involving Urban Population %, Women in the Labour Force %, Internet Users %, and population: tinyurl.com/3c6f8q – pick Play once it loads. Note that once you get there you can click-and-drag the time pointer to explore temporal inflection points, and otherwise modify the model, using the various interface options, to explore other configurations.

  4. Alas, Suzanne, as noted in the article, “in practice it is only going to be possible for micro-objects […], since this quantum force is small and acts only at short ranges”. Ah, but you say, will not this technology scale? Why? Quantum technology has not scaled so far, why should it start now?

  5. under the category “you dont know who you’re dealing with”, I am in the process of trying to petition/recruit/shanghai 2 people to attend a repetion of my record leg press at the local university exercise room and get it documented:
    1200 pounds.
    yup. some 550 kilos, 3 sets of I think it was between 3 and 5 reps. warnt no more room on the bar for additional plates.
    its all easy multiplication really, 26 plates, 13 on each side of the foot rest times 45 pounds each.
    but I get such little respect or cooperation however, the ‘trick’ of coaxing 2 people out of 1/3 million is proving far far more difficult than the actual feat (feet? LOL !!!). this lack of cooperation predates the web by some oh, about, umm…. 40 to 45 years. so dont anyone yammer about ‘well youre soooooo ruuuuude so thaaaaaats why.
    ‘you donts knows whos youse is dealin’ with’ much the same message I sent to the local cop shop when I detailed how I have decided to use nuclear deterrence to keep them at bay and not attempt to justify their miserable careers on my ass.
    ie an attempt by them at even a preemptive strike WILL result in horrendous consequences on their heads. hint: how much grief can be purchased for 80 grand?
    y’all have a real nice summer !!!

  7. Giant cross to mark Stalin terror
    bbc.co.uk
    So… what were the rest??
    Posted by: Imethisguy …-
    “The rest” was “everybody”. Stalin branded “everybody” as traitor.
    The natural end result of socialism: You are a traitor; to the Gulag with you.
    …-
    Gulag: A History
    Introduction
    And fate made everybody equal
    Outside the limits of the law
    Son of a kulak or Red commander
    Son of a priest or commissar . . .
    Here classes were all equalized,
    All men were brothers, camp mates all,
    Branded as traitors every one . . .
    -alexander tvardovsky,
    “By Right of Memory”
    […]
    “Over time, the word “Gulag” has also come to signify not only the administration of the concentration camps but also the system of Soviet slave labor itself, in all its forms and varieties: labor camps, punishment camps, criminal and political camps, women’s camps, children’s camps, transit camps. Even more broadly, “;Gulag” has come to mean the Soviet repressive system itself, the set of procedures that prisoners once called the “meat-grinder”: the arrests, the interrogations, the transport in unheated cattle cars, the forced labor, the destruction of families, the years spent in exile, the early and unnecessary deaths.”..-
    http://www.anneapplebaum.com/gulag/intro.html
    More here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1877170/posts
    Re: Stalin and his executioner, Beria, aka lberia.
    From the comments:
    “For what it is worth, if some accounts are accurate, he [Stalin] died knowing Beria poisoned him. His last hours were as his life was, bitter and hateful (and sometimes comatose).”

  8. Mao Strong say: No Free Tibet. It’s mine, mine, mine.
    The world is mine, too. All the world will be a Heavenly Kingdom for Moi, Mao the Red. It’s our Dream; as Citoyen Dion said, We have the Dream Team to make One World. Ask my nephew, Bob Rae.
    …-
    Canadian activists among those being held in China
    Six foreign activists have been detained for holding a protest on the Great Wall of China.
    Highlighting abuses
    The activists – from Canada, the US and Britain – unveiled a banner reading “One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008”, on the side of the Great Wall.
    “One World, One Dream” is the motto for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6934295.stm

  9. Anyone a little upset with CTV and other media hacks starting a rumour as if it were fact that Harper is about to dump the best defence minister we’ve had in memory?
    It seems they even know who will replace him, Jim Prentice. Why? Because THEY say Prentice is a FAVORITE of Harper.
    Seems a little odd that anyone in the Conservative party would LEAK such info to the media. Snoops don’t always get scoops but that doesn’t stop the unscrupulous wags from fabricating.
    If Harper falls pray to media hacks and fires O’Connor, he’s making one of the biggest mistakes of his tenure to this point. I for one will be very angry and disappointed with him. Conservative voters in Lanark County and Renfrew County will not be pleased at all.
    If it’s got anything to do with Quebec politics, he may get some support there and lose more in the ROC.

  10. I’m not sure if this article has been mentioned here yet, but it is certainly worth a read:
    “When I was still a member of what is probably best termed the British Jihadi Network – a series of British Muslim terrorist groups linked by a single ideology – I remember how we used to laugh in celebration whenever people on TV proclaimed that the sole cause for Islamic acts of terror like 9/11, the Madrid bombings and 7/7 was Western foreign policy.”
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=465570&in_page_id=1770

  11. ” Snoops don’t always get scoops but that doesn’t stop the unscrupulous wags from fabricating. …
    If it’s got anything to do with Quebec politics, he may get some support there and lose more in the ROC.”
    Isn’t it just as likely that the “unscrupulous wags” are also fabricating PM Harper’s “special treatment” of Quebec?
    If you recall, the detainees question was brought to the fore by the Globe and Mail and their “ace” reporter Graeme Smith.
    And is it not also likely that the “special treatment” for the Van Doos is just another example of media fabrication/speculation?

  13. Gabby, agreed, it’s entirely possible they’ve fabricated the Van Doos story. Nothing is beyond the pale with them even denigrating one of our most famous military regiments. They would not be pleased with news they were being coddled in a war zone.

  14. Well, it’s official. Pokemon is obviously robertbollocks, and he’s off his meds again.

  17. I was told that the war is going on in Russia’s Dagestan province, specifically around the villages of Gubden and Sergocal. There is no media coverage that I am aware of.

  19. “dump the best defence minister we’ve had in memory”- Posted by: Liz J at August 7, 2007 7:53 AM
    Liz I see you have a very short memory. Try taking some Ginkgo biloba, it may help.

  20. vitruvius – many thanks for the link and your work on setting it up. Fascinating. Seems to be a correlation between women in the work force and urbanization..and internet usage. Ah well, so much for Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

  22. Re: cal2 at August 7, 2007 10:53 AM
    What a great idea, but I’m sure the christian-right will be going ape over this one.

  23. Via Andrew Keyes site, I linked to the CBC site and the Ayaan Hirsi Ali/Avi Lewis show comments–white on black: maybe cutting edge but very hard on the eyes. (Hard on the brain too as most comments allowed–now closed until NOVEMBER!–were knee-jerk, sycophantic mewlings.)
    I was particularly struck by the following comment by one “Chris”:
    “Avi, I really am a huge fan of your work. I’m very glad to see you back on the air and am looking forward to seeing where you might take this show. ALSO I FEEL THAT THE CBC IS IN LARGE PART RESPONSIBLE FOR US HAVING THIS HUMILIATING CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT. Please keep an eye on your employer for us. Thanx, Chris.” (Emphasis mine)
    Is this person living on the same planet as the rest of us? Is there any logical explanation for such a fantasy? I’ve tried to come up with one. OK, I’ve just now thought of two:
    1) No one watches CBC TV so its vicious anti-Harper/CPC propaganda didn’t influence too many people.
    2) Those who might have watched were so put off by the propaganda that they dismissed the CBC’s rantings out of hand and voted accordingly.
    That’s the best I can do. Of course, Mr. Chris “Entitled” believes that his opinions are infallible and self-evident, so didn’t bother to explain himself.
    Perhaps someone else can “break the code”.

  24. Let me guess, Albatros, your idea of a good Defence Minister would be John McCallum who didn’t know Vimy from Vichy?
    Some of the individuals chosen by your Liberal leaders were proof they did not give the Military or Defence of our Country high priority.
    Conservative PM Mulroney made a poor choice in Marcel Masse to fill the post as well. That was done for pure politics, the politics of Quebec,more to do with retaining power, not for the good of the Country.
    It only seems common sense to give postings to the persons most knowledgeable in any given field.
    O’Connor is not a great communicator but knows the military and it’s needs. Communications could be relayed by a Junior Minister. Some very talented people are not sharp with the snap answers when smart-ass media hacks shove microphones in their faces.

  26. Liz J. I have no problem with Harper replacing O’Connor, within the context that the media fabricated at least two “controversies” during his tenure as MND. If I were Harper I would tell the MSM to shove it (or tell them to do their job properly, rather than the hack performance we’ve witnessed around all defense issues).
    I love this MSM, they pick a fight with Harper from day one, use misinformation regularly, refuse to retract when they are caught out, shows shameless Liberal bias (not all but notably Travers, Giggles, and Oliver), then accuse Tories of poisoned atmosphere.
    Harper should take a page from Trudeau’s approach to press, tell them to buzz off if they don’t like the way things are going.
    To Harper,and any politician of any stripe, the MSM is not your friend, except the few Liberal-friendly sycophants mentioned above. Ask Paul Martin, whom they savaged in the last federal election. They are like a pack of wild dogs that, once they smell blood attack viciously without regard to facts or professionalism.
    The MSM needs to understand they work for us, the public. We expect them to report the news on page one and editorials elsewhere. From what I’ve seen, journalists are not blessed with any wisdom above the rest of us; in fact, few of them have any training whatsoever in economics, the environment, and certainlnly not foreign or defense policy. Some of think they are rock stars and the analogy fits within the context of two groups of ignorant people full of themselves. Some of them are just plain rude fools, like the one alleged to have sang the US national anthem during the Canadian. Neither clever nor ethical.

  27. Yukon Gold and Texas Canuck are correct, “Pokemon” is indeed Robert J. Bullocks, ex B.A., B.Sc. He has started infecting other threads too. Even the police know he is nuttier than a fruitcake. Time to call Orkin.

  28. Liz: My impression of O’Connor has been that he’s been doing a generally good job BUT he has no idea how politics works. You have absolutely got to watch the things you say when you’re a cabinet minister. (Isn’t that why Solberg stopped blogging?)

  29. “O’Connor is not a great communicator but knows the military and it’s needs”
    Any lobbyist for the arms industry should.
    Lets all hope that Canada’s credibility as a supporter of human rights hasn’t been too badly damaged when O’Connor tried to cover up possible war crimes. It’s not the fact that war crimes may have been committed that will damage him, it’s the fact he intentionally tried to brush them under the carpet.

  30. lookout…
    “Is there any logical explanation for such a fantasy?”
    Sure there is.
    Blind partisanship,probably brought on by submerging himself in groupthink inducing liberal blogs,hearing the same perspectives echoed day after day after day after day…
    We see this kind of behavior a lot.
    Although,on the other hand,many myopic liberals are still convinced that the msm was firmly against them because of the last national election.
    You may remember that in the final week of the campaign,Martin’s team melted down in a flurry of outrageous gaffs.
    The msm was so in shock,they actually reported bad things about the LPC for a whole week!
    A WHOLE WEEK!….Those conservative loving bastards!
    On a more serious note,while attempting some research on another item,I stumbled across Garth Turner’s blogsite.
    You must read his comments section on the RCMP removing the media from the lobby if you seek some insight into the leftist view of Harper and the media.
    Scary or funny….I’ll let you decide for yourself.

  31. albatr’ass: you certainly are one fine Liberal, lies and damned lies are all you know.
    “O’Connor tried to cover up war crimes”????
    Is that Liberal speak for our Military engaged in war crimes?
    You are one desperate person,no lie or accusation would be too low for you to make.
    Whatever your attributes, shame would not be one of them.

  33. Re: Liz J at August 7, 2007 1:01 PM
    And
    Canadian Observer at August 7, 2007 12:42 PM
    So Liz, as a con would you say that covering up violations of the Geneva Convention is less of an offence than committing war crimes? Wouldn’t it be nice to find out the facts in order to know if crime were committed and a cover up is nothing more than an admission of wrongdoing.
    Apparently the cons would rather that the Canadian voters stayed ignorant of the facts, because it’s easier on them in the polls. The conservative persistence in preventing information transfer to the voter is nothing but an insult to the very democracy of this nation. This is greater scandal than anything a few Liberals workers may have committed during sponsorship . For the Liberals, a few unscrupulous characters tried to steal some money from the taxpayer, but the cons are trying to steal the entire nation against the wishes of the greater populous. For the Liberals it was just a few individual, but for the cons through their compliance, the scandal is party wide. The cons are depending on the right’s willingness to remain happily ignorant and neither question or demand the truth from those they elect, but fortunately the average right-wing voter is not the same thing as the average Canadian voter.
    Apparent O’Connor has seen the movie “A Few Good Men” a bit too often, as the line “The truth, you can’t handle the truth” runs non-stop in his head.

  34. Reuters spreads the Big Lie for Chairman Mao.
    The key phrase: “to wean them off their Internet addiction” …
    It is brainwashing, aka re-education, indoctrination into the Red Party line.
    The fear of the Net is obvious. It’s Mao’s Hammer.
    …-
    China hopes to cure Internet addicts at summer camp
    SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China is launching an experimental summer camp for 40 youngsters to try to wean them off their Internet addiction, state media said on Tuesday. The 10-day program would accept youngsters aged between 14 and 22 once they had undergone a psychological test and evaluation, the China Daily said. About 2.6 million — or 13 percent — of China’s 20 million Internet users under 18 are classed as addicts, state media have reported. The youngsters at the summer camp would be treated for depression, fear, unwillingness to interact with others, panic and agitation. It would appear to be…-
    http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1877656/posts
    More:
    The cultural revolution (1966-1976)[excerpt}
    3. Forms of criticism
    As in the past, the CR was a mass political movement. Everyone was mobilized. There were massive criticism meetings, during and after which those criticized were often forced to wear tall hats and were paraded around. Those who refused to participate often became the next target. Children of the denounced were often asked to separate from their parent(s). Picture posters and large word posters (dazibao), and loudspeakers at work units became the means to communicate the latest developments of the CR. View Cultural Revolution posters.
    4.How mass mobilization was achieved
    The Communist state mobilized the masses through instilling fear (“you are next”), social mobility (promotion), encouraging telling on one another (some did so to settle personal scores).
    The Red Guards: initially created of high school students in Beijing, soon spreading to all professions in the cities. From defending Mao, they broke into many factions standing for different figures in the Central party committee, and often settled their differences with armed fights.
    5. Installing a new culture …-
    http://www.iun.edu/~hisdcl/g387/cr.htm

  35. albatross: There are Us and Them. The commies like you want to trick Us into giving up our interests for the sake of Their interests in order to administer the redistribution of wealth from Us to Them and for lining your pockets in the process. That’s why we have arms industry – to keep Them and you in line. Lobby of arms industry is sweet music to my ears, you …hole!

  36. IMO albatros39a is a bigot. Plain and simple. I love how the haters love to hate the haters, for hating.

  37. Defence Minister Bill Graham bought the infamous leaky subs that caught fire en route back to Canada. He continued to defend the purchase after a Canadian sailor died aboard one of these deathtraps. Yes, a fine, fine Defence Minister he was, too. Waaay better than Gordon O’ Connor, right Albatros?
    Okay I give up. Who exactly were you thinking of as a better example of a Defence Minister?
    Whatever happened to those subs anyway? Whatever happened to Bill Graham?

  38. Bread and a Circus, Part II of II – Micheal Yon Online
    After fueling the trucks in the convoy, we headed to Baghdad to get the food. The trucks took an exit down a route that we did not follow, because it had not been cleared of bombs. Sometimes bombs are so large they are buried under roads using earthmoving machines and sit for months waiting for someone just like us, taking a shortcut only to get launched to God. The shortcut caused an hour difference in arrival times, and the break in contact led to frustrating hours of additional delay, tooling around Baghdad trying to find the warehouse, and re-establishing contact with all the trucks. But if there were any huge bombs waiting for us, we avoided them, and this dispatch got written.
    (Excerpt) Read more at michaelyon-online.com …-
    http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1877196/posts

  39. *
    UPDATE: CTV now pointing finger… at the deceased
    “Police said Tyler McGill, 22, was in the drive-thru lane with
    his girlfriend around 3:30 a.m. when Danny Mohammad, 19,
    and Azard Mohammad, 45, allegedly struck McGill’s car.”
    “He apparently got out to confront them and was stabbed
    in the chest, police said.”
    Sounds a little like a, “victim was brutally raped, after choosing
    to wear a strapless dress”     kind of story.
    Remember now… if someone hits you with their car in
    Scarborough, you’re supposed to just ignore it… or run away.
    *

  40. Re: Toronto opinionist (vs journalist I refuse to call him that) Jim Travers.
    Has anybody else noticed how overweight he is and his colouring is high red and his face behind quite a large nose is very puffy. He looks very unhealthy.
    I’m wondering if he is a heart attack waiting to happen.
    Maybe all of that self rightious indignation over all things conservative is affecting his blood pressure or driving him to drink?

  41. Alby, what was covered up? Folks, alby is trying to keep a fabrication alive. Oh dear, the Red Cross contradicted the MND. Well, that’s proof of “possible war crimes”, thus “covering up” a contravention of the “Geneva Convention.”
    Yep, hit lots of hot buttons there. Alby, you tell us you have lots of military experience, yet you make every cub reporter error in your slanted attempt to create a scandal to discredit the military (yes, all the military unless you are proposing it was O’Connor himself who conducted, and of course covered up the actual “possible war crime.” Yes, the military, the Canadian Forces; the place where you earned your pension.
    I’m not sure what military you served in (mine was in Trenton, Esquimalt, Kingston – across all elements), where generals rose to their peter principle, where ringknockers put in their time before cavorting off the richland on civie street. I served with thorough professionals who worked their asses off to get the job done, always taking care of their people. In all my postings. Why do you feel such disloyalty to the military? I admit I don’t get it.
    Anyway, let’s review facts for Alby: (one more time)
    – military following detainee process agreed to by previous Liberal government (notwithstanding unsubstantiated allegations Hillier revamped)
    – previous government should be congratulated here, as we had best agreement of combat forces (Bill Graham was a fairly good MND IMO)
    – even if we insisted on access, we didn’t have forces and no other country was adhering to this new “standard” adopted by media through Michael Byars
    – oh yeah, not one substantiated allegation of Cdn mistreatement or negligence around handling of detainee – in fact, quite the contrary.
    – detainees who complained of abuse were not found, with no evidence these individuals were even harmed, and, BTW, they were trained to claim torture.
    Maybe Alby disagrees, but that’s my recollection of the “possible war crimes” and O’Connor’s “coverup.” I agree Hillier not great orator, but he and Hillier are great team and Harper should retain current MND, in only to p**s off the moonbats.

  42. Agreed, Lorraine.
    Travers doesn’t look like a fitness buff for sure. The stuff he comes up with presented as factual reportage is often more in the line of all-knowing opinionating or Lefty pipe dreams.
    Maybe he should hang his ass over a bar stool to comb the depths of his mind and come up with something called truth in reporting,”in vino veritas” comes to mind.
    Presenting opinions as facts is dishonest and is done to manipulate the people’s take on any given issue.

  44. Right Shamrock, Harper should keep the status quo.
    Why would Harper or any PM get rid of a minister because the Opposition, and that INCLUDES the Media, says he should go? CTV has done the reporting on the shift of Minister O’Connor in favor of Prentice.
    Why would Harper give CTV such info?
    If he does make a change because of pressure in this case, we have to expect more pressure, then ask WHO THE HELL IS RUNNING THIS COUNTRY?

  45. ‘Hello everyone…In mid-August, we will be updating our Firearms, Weapons and Knives Policy to place more restrictions around gun-related items. Once these changes take effect, we will prohibit listings of any firearm part that is required for the firing of a gun. This includes items like bullet tips, brass casings and shells, barrels, slides, cylinders, magazines, firing pins, trigger assemblies, etc. Please read the Firearms, Weapons and Knives Policy for more details on our current policy.
    As you may know, eBay does not allow the listing of any items which are regulated by individual states or the federal government; however, there are still a large number of firearm-related parts that are legal and are widely available in retail stores. These items have also historically been allowed on eBay.
    After learning that some items purchased on eBay may have been used in the tragedy at Virginia Tech in April 2007, we felt that revisiting our policies was not only necessary, but the right thing to do. After much consideration, the Trust & Safety policy team – along with our executive leaders at eBay Inc. – have made the decision to further restrict more of these items than federal and state regulations require.
    This new update continues to encourage safety among our community members and brings our policies in the U.S. and Canada in closer alignment with our existing policies in other markets around the globe.
    Sincerely,
    Matt Halprin
    Vice President, Trust & Safety eBay.com’
    Remember fellow eBayers; People don’t kill people. Bullet tips, brass casings and shells, barrels, slides, cylinders, magazines, firing pins, and trigger assemblies kill people.

  47. Support Def/Min O’Connor. Send to PM Harper.
    …-
    CTV is reporting Prime Minister Stephen Harper will demote embattled Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor in a cabinet shuffle expected in the week of August 13. Do you agree with this move?
    Yes, O’Connor has stumbled on too many issues, particularly the controversy over Canada’s handover of Taliban detainees to Afghanistan’s secret police.
    36.4%
    No, O’Connor knows his portfolio very well and has done a great job rebuilding the Canadian Armed Forces
    61.5%
    Other
    1.83%
    Please vote first and then comment mornings@cfra.com
    0.17%
    Total Votes: 1748 …-
    http://cfra.com/headlines/index.asp

  48. War crimes??? Alby, you have been crawling around inside too many fuel cells without a resperator. If you are referring to the handing over of prisoners to the Afghan authorities then you are off base.The Afghan authority is the authority of Afghanistan and NATO is there to help them get rid of the Taliban. Perhaps you would prefer Canada takes these prisoners and make them Canadian refugees.

  49. War crimes??? Alby, you have been crawling around inside too many fuel cells without a resperator. If you are referring to the handing over of prisoners to the Afghan authorities then you are off base.The Afghan authority is the authority of Afghanistan and NATO is there to help them get rid of the Taliban. Perhaps you would prefer Canada takes these prisoners and make them Canadian refugees.

  50. War crimes??? Alby, you have been crawling around inside too many fuel cells without a resperator. If you are referring to the handing over of prisoners to the Afghan authorities then you are off base.The Afghan authority is the authority of Afghanistan and NATO is there to help them get rid of the Taliban. Perhaps you would prefer Canada takes these prisoners and make them Canadian refugees.

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