Reader Tips

Reader Tips 33 Comments

I rarely enjoy cover versions of Bob Dylan songs – I almost always prefer the originals – but tonight’s musical selection is one of those welcome exceptions. Accompanied by images of paintings by the Dutch masters from the Beaux-Arts Museum in Brussels, here’s French musician Yaya Herman Dune (of the duo Herman Dune) singing an abridged version of the austere yet soulful title track from Dylan’s 1979 release Slow Train Coming. (Complete lyrics here.)
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33 Replies to “Reader Tips”

  2. By the time most Canadians wake up tomorrow, four Canadian Divisions, acting together as a Corps for the first time had already achieved
    most of their first objectives and were well on their way to their second objectives; four days later they would be in possession of Vimy Ridge.
    Though the military importance of the battle has been overstated, the importance to our Nation cannot. Ninety-four years ago tomorrow.

  5. Robert W I didn’t have to watch the whole clip, Just looks at the eyes when the goofy SOB is talking. That said it all.

  8. Hey, if anyone’s planning to visit Pottstown, Pennsylvania, this sounds like a great place to stay…
    /:>°>
    Be sure to click “more” underneath the individual reviews…

  12. From the U.K., here’s another one for the “Stinking Giant Fan” file.
    Wind power: Even worse than you thought
    “At each of the four highest peak demands of 2010 wind output was low being respectively 4.72%, 5.51%, 2.59% and 2.51% of capacity at peak demand.”
    …
    “It is clear from this analysis that wind cannot be relied upon to provide any significant level of generation at any defined time in the future. There is an urgent need to re-evaluate the implications of reliance on wind for any significant proportion of our energy requirement.”

  13. EBD, may I ask how you made acquainance with the reviews for a “Cockroach invested had to fight with the roaches all night long” motel in Pennsylvania? I mean, I spend far to much time on line, but even I don’t tend to stumble across…

  15. Black Mamba: I Googled “cockroach + fight + motel + Pottstown”, and voila…
    Seriously, though, I sometimes like reading TripAdvisor’s reviews of motels/hotels in strange and remote cities (Russian, Indian, Hebredean, Moldovian, etc.) just for fun. On one occasion, an excerpt from Pottstown review just happened to be on TA’s main page. It was put there, I think, as an amusement of sorts.

  18. “*Harper pledges to shrink government – quickly”
    Compare/contrast with the socialist Separatist Coalition.
    This is why Canada is having an election.
    …-
    “How Postmodern Socialism Destroyed Spain
    A case study on how incompetent politicians, blinded by postmodern socialist ideology and prone to reckless government spending, combined with voter apathy, can drive a nation into the ditch.”
    “By taking Spain into a war with Libya, Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was calculating that he could defy fate by diverting media headlines away from the fact that he has also led Spain to the brink of economic catastrophe. But like the haughty Babylonian King Belshazzar, drunk on the wine of narcissism, a dazed Zapatero has been forced to read the writing on the wall: He has been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
    After a recent opinion poll showed that more than 80 percent of Spanish voters have lost their trust in Zapatero, making him Spain’s least popular prime minister since the end of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco in 1975, Zapatero announced on April 2 that he will not be seeking a third term in the 2012 elections. “I thought it would be best for the country,” he said.
    The irony is that while many Spanish voters will be breathing a sigh of relief, Zapatero’s exit is likely to create even more problems for Spain than it resolves. Spain is hopelessly mired in the worst economic recession in its modern history, and Zapatero’s withdrawal from 2012 race has opened a power struggle within the Socialist Party. Analysts fear that any power vacuum may spook the markets and endanger Spain’s fiscal future by increasing its borrowing costs.
    The political uncertainty in Spain comes as Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Spain’s sovereign debt rating by one notch on March 10 and warned of further cuts to come as it expects bank restructuring will cost far more than what the government expects. Moody’s says Spain may need up to €120 billion ($165 billion) to recapitalize its failing banks, even though the Spanish government and central bank insist they need no more than €20 billion ($30 billion).
    At the same time, Spain announced on March 2 that its jobless rate surged to a 15-year record to above 20 percent at the end of February, the highest level in the industrialized world. The jobless rate among the young in Spain has soared to well above 40 percent, a figure that exceeds youth unemployment rates in Egypt and Tunisia. Overall, more than 4.7 million Spaniards are now out of work, and unemployment benefits constitute the largest single component of government expenditures.
    As if that were not enough, the Spanish government on March 7 imposed a series of extraordinary measures to combat an increase in fuel prices caused by popular uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, major suppliers of crude oil and natural gas to Spain. Among other measures, the government has reduced the speed limit on Spanish highways. Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba said “the objective is to lower the growth of our energy bill.”
    Meanwhile, the government announced that the Spanish economy contracted by 0.2 percent over the whole of 2010, after falling 3.7 percent in 2009. The economy is expected to stagnate in 2011.” (More)
    http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/how-postmodern-socialism-destroyed-spain/
    …-
    *PM Harper:
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/harper-pledges-to-shrink-government-quickly/article1976365/

  19. The following is an email sent to Stephen Harper our current Prime Minister with cc’s to a number of others in MSM including Mr. Black and of course kate McMillan as well.
    Dave MacKenzie, Oxford County, Ontario MP,, Kate McMillan , Conrad Black , George Molnar , Lorne Gunter , Heather Rivers , Lorrie Goldstein , Jeffrey Simpson , John Gormley , Patrick Muttart
    ………………..
    Dear Prime Minister Harper,
    Timing is everything, therefore I urge you to recognize Conrad Black’s birthright during this election as a Canadian Citizen.
    Mr. Black has much to offer Canada, a committed conservative capitalist and bulwark against socialism for Canada.
    I suspect Mr. Black will be absolved by the US Supreme Court, but that aside, he was by birth Canadian and only the vindictiveness of a former Liberal Prime Minister has kept Mr. Black from his birthright.
    I AM,
    Joseph (Joe) Molnar
    (snip)
    http://www.joeforwoodstockcouncil.ca/
    Post Script:
    By the way, Stephen, do no forget about Blogger Kate McMillan in Delisle Saskatchewan.
    She hosts “Small Dead Animals” blog and is currently the only conservative ‘national’ touchstone in Canada, Nattonal Post notwithstanding.
    Where else in the country would you once again reiterate the end of the ‘Long gun registry, but Saskatchewan with avid hunter, Kate McMillan?
    J.

  20. Lest We Forget.
    “This is the largest youth contingent ever to observe Vimy Ridge Day in Canada.”
    “The Royal Canadian Army Cadets also stood on guard at the memorial and remained there overnight to protect the wreaths and candles laid in front of the memorial.”
    …-
    “Youth vigil marks Vimy Ridge battle
    OTTAWA – This year’s anniversary of the battle at Vimy Ridge is the end of an era, with no surviving First World War veterans in Canada.
    But 2011 also marks the beginning of a new era, with the first youth-led candlelight ceremony on the eve of the battle’s 94th anniversary.
    Gov. Gen. David Johnston said this event proved those soldiers who risked their lives for Canada will never be forgotten.
    “This is the largest youth contingent ever to observe Vimy Ridge Day in Canada. It is an honour to share this moment with you,” Johnston told a group of about 450 youth in attendance at the National War Memorial Friday evening.
    Members of the Encounters with Canada youth group and the Vimy Foundation each contributed poems and speeches to the hour-long ceremony.
    The Royal Canadian Army Cadets also stood on guard at the memorial and remained there overnight to protect the wreaths and candles laid in front of the memorial.
    They will be relieved by the Canadian Forces Saturday morning at the official Vimy Day ceremony.
    Canadian war veterans were also on hand, including Betty Brown, who fought for Canada in the Second World War and is the daughter of a Vimy veteran.
    “At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them,” she said, reciting the Act of Remembrance to help start the ceremony.
    The event was run by teenagers — between the ages of 14 and 17 — who honoured those who fought in a war that many have said define an important moment in national pride.”
    http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2011/04/09/17931611.html

  21. Slow Train Coming was a watershed album for Bob Dylan — and for me! One reason I like Dylan so much is that, like Leonard Cohen, he’s a “person of the Book.” Both Cohen and Dylan know and respect the Scriptures of their ancestors and understand their profound wisdom.
    And, now for something completely different: Monica Zetterlund and Bill Evans, Some Other Time:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob0HX84Fojk

  23. That Dylan tune was horrible and the alleged art was disgusting. I see no value in any of it other than perhaps to a Prozac sales rep.

  24. Kate this press release should interest you, the links available lead one to some not so shocking information on Liberal Media. The site also will guide you to the venue that you can file formal complaints against those media outlets that are not making any effort to report the news without campaigning for the Liberal Party.
    Link: http://www.cbsc.ca/english/documents/prs/2009/090527.php

  26. Steve Janke has a great post up on his blog angry in the great white north
    posted april 08/11
    Coalition Consequences: Hug-A-Thug
    Friday, April 08, 2011 at 12:09 PM
    Comments: 5When it comes to dealing with crime, the NDP approach is well known. Sometimes dismissed as “hug-a-thug”, it involves a complex interplay of dealing with the core social issues in a respectful and positive exchange of ideas in the emotionally-positive context.
    Um, ok, “hug-a-thug”.
    For instance, for drug users, the NDP wants to give drug addicts warm and comfortable places to shoot up:
    The New Democrats and the Conservatives hold very different views about safe injection sites like Insite, a supervised injection site in Vancouver that allows drug addicts to take illegal drugs in a safe environment and provides access to treatment. The Conservatives would scrap it. The NDP would expand the sites across the country.
    Across the country? Oh goodie.
    more…. photo’s inc.

  27. “Revealed: scandal of carbon credit firm”
    “A SYDNEY carbon credits company thought to have been running some of the world’s biggest offsets deals appears to be a fake, shifting paper certificates instead of saving forests and cutting greenhouse emissions.
    Shift2neutral says it has made high-profile events such as the Australian PGA golf championship and the Sydney Turf Club’s world-first ”green race day” carbon neutral.
    But deals to generate more than $1 billion worth of carbon credits by saving jungles from logging in the Philippines, the Congo and across south-east Asia do not seem to exist.
    The global network of investors and carbon offset certifiers supposed to be brokering deals with foreign presidents and the World Bank can be traced to a modest office in a shopping village in Westleigh, staffed by shift2neutral’s founder, Brett Goldsworthy.
    Mr Goldsworthy insists every certificate for carbon offsets he issues has value and represents a real reduction in greenhouse emissions somewhere in the world. That is what he has told puzzled investors and companies who have unwittingly sought to reduce their carbon footprint.
    But when pressed for examples of any specific project that has cut emissions to generate the carbon credits the company offers for sale, he was unable to provide even one.
    ”I just don’t have that information in front of me right now – there are all sorts of projects, it is all legit, I just am not in a position to tell you what they are at short notice,” said Mr Goldsworthy, who had been provided with written questions 24 hours before.
    ”There was a waste-to-energy plant in Korea, it would have been in about 2008. I don’t have a name for you right now, but given time I can get all the information.”
    He said none of his clients had ever raised concerns about where his carbon credits were coming from. But the Herald has spoken to many former investors and businesses who have dealt with shift2neutral.
    ”I realised there was something strange about Brett when we were negotiating with the tribes in the Philippines and he said he had a boatload of commandos waiting offshore in case he needed a ‘hot extraction’,” said Robert Hick, who invested in shift2neutral.
    The deal, supposedly to preserve $1 billion worth of tribal jungle in Mindanao with financial support from the World
    Bank, fell through. Mr Hick is still waiting to see a return.”
    http://www.smh.com.au/environment/revealed-scandal-of-carbon-credit-firm-20110407-1d6a4.html

  29. The Independent: “US soldiers seven times as likely as UK troops to develop post-traumatic stress”
    An eye-opening read.
    “That the creation of (PTSD) would help the anti-war effort was clear. (Psychoanalyst) Shatan wrote in a memo to his colleagues at the time: ‘This is an opportunity to apply our professional expertise and anti-war sentiments.'”
    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-invisible-division-us-soldiers-are-seven-times-as-likely-as-uk-troops-to-develop-posttraumatic-stress-2264849.html

  30. RAM JAM’s “offensive”song/ video, ‘Black Betty’ is nearing ten million views at YouTube. It’s a kickass tune, no surprises there, but great for a 1977 one-hit wonder.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Jam
    Some of the performers in the redneck video are now dead, sadly.

  31. Just encountered a fascinating tidbit from Sultan Knish:
    “What country in its right mind backs the overthrow of any ally by an enemy?
    We do. When Egyptian socialist thug Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, and
    England and France sent in the troops, we threatened to destroy the British
    economy unless they withdrew. Our reward for that was that Nasser’s Egypt
    became the chief Soviet spearhead in the region. For the last two decades,
    our number one foreign policy priority in the Middle East is to force Israel
    to hand over territory to PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, a graduate of the KGB’s
    Patrice Lumumba University, whose other famous alumnus was Carlos the
    Jackal.    “.

  32. Bryanr: “the NDP wants to give drug addicts warm and comfortable places to shoot up”
    In Nanaimo we call such places, “home”. We are in process of establishing several euhemistically named ‘wet houses’ – which means free housing with no rules.
    You’re a heroin addict? Feel free to shoot up in your taxpayer provided comfy room. Cheap wine is your drug of choice? Well you can wash your glasses in a taxpayer provided sink, before passing out in ‘your’ bed.
    And they’re putting these facilities in an area that includes our largest hospital (handy, no?) and close to several elementary schools.
    Of course it’s simply coincidence that the area is also represented by NDP MLA Jean Crowder.

  33. Whoops. I seemed to have dropped my ‘p’ in ‘euphemistically’. Ah well, I sometimes drop my ‘q’s, too!

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