38 Replies to “Reader Tips”

  1. “Norway…has received a huge boost to its reserves with the announcement that two previous North Sea oil discoveries are connected which may represent the biggest find in the Norwegian continental shelf in 30 years.
    “Statoil said in a statement Tuesday that the Aldous and Avaldsnes oil discoveries together contain between 500 million and 1.2 billion barrels of oil.”

  4. Had an interesting discussion at Liberal Kathleen Wynne’s campaign office this morning in Toronto. I asked them about the “green” energy jobs, how many are there, where are they, who pays for them and so on. Her staff told me there were 50,000 green jobs being created but as to the answers to my other questions, which they should know, there was only a vague response. When I stated every green job is a government job they protested but could not defend their position or even show where they got the 50k number.
    When I asked about how they could continue with wind power subsidies when every country is abandoning this as it only exists through tax payer subsidies they stated, “Well, Ontario has to look to the future and invest in this form of energy.” When I responded that it is only a maximum of 15% efficient and no coal or gas power plant has been closed as they need them to provide the power. One guy protested and said the Liberals had closed plants and checked on line where he found none had been closed only a future promise.
    Just reconfirmed that these politicians and their staff know zip about even their own platform. Why people would support the Liberals is far beyond my limited comprehension.

  5. Watching those foot stomping spiders made me wonder if they were the inspiration for sumo wrestlers.

  6. The Left’s Faustian bargain
    The Palestinians’ decision to place the issue of the establishment of a Palestinian state before the United Nations for a vote next month repudiates the principles of the 1993 Oslo peace framework, through which the Palestinian Authority was formed out of the PLO. The Oslo framework dictated that the final status of Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Jerusalem would be determined through direct negotiations between the PLO and Israel.
    http://carolineglick.com/

  8. Sh-t!! Gotta get off those drugs. Thought I saw Dawaiiiiyn Dinked-and Felt – her in that video.
    Sorry – back to rehab.

  9. Heard on Gormley Tuesday a.m. that Gilles Ducedippe had been hired by Radio Canada. Can’t find any word of it on CBC website. Is anyone as outraged at this as I am. Its bad enough that we’re wasting 1.5 billion on the CBC, but now more money has to go to this sepeartist traitor, who is also probably collecting a fat MP pension. Someone at the CBC is obviously getting back at the PM. Nice move, now if the government cuts funding to the CBC they’ll complain that it was because they hired Ducedippe

  11. EBD, I didn’t need to see that clip on the peacock spider just now. All summer I’ve managed to curb my interests in insect and arachnid neurophysiology but the singular nature of the peacock spiders mating ritual will probably have me spending hours looking up details of the spider nervous system.
    The bright coloration suggests that spiders have color vision although what I’d really like to see is what the pattern on his back looks like in UV light. I’m assuming that spiders can see in UV just like most insects.
    What will bug me until I find the answer is why the visual display and not pheromones? Perhaps the female has an ideal male pattern detector and the male that sets this circuitry off doesn’t get eaten.

  12. For those who love airplanes as much as I do, I’ve just posted some shots of the Blue Angels on my blog. Apologies for the lack of crystal clear sharpness but my good lens was being repaired and the best I had to work with was a 18-105mm zoom.

  13. Robert,thanks for those photos of the Blue Angels. I’ve seen them a couple of times flying over Seattle when I’ve been down there. Not bad photos at all for your “crappy lens”.
    Seeing those photos has motivated me to dig up my photographs from the Whidby Island air show that used to be held ever July until 2002 at which point the rules about getting on the base were made so restrictive that I haven’t gone in a decade. Even with my non-telephoto lens equipped Olympus film camera got some great shots of F14’s and F16’s. That was one of the things I most looked forward to every summer but it’s now yet another casualty of the WOT and attendant loss of freedom.

  14. Of Blue Wave vs “part-time” judge.
    …-
    “Harper leading Canada into era where country ‘realizes its inner conservative self'”
    “Canadians won’t protest PM Harper’s attempt to gradually move country right, says pollster Frank Graves.”
    “Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be closer than he has ever been to putting his stamp not only on the federal government in its broadest sense when the 41st Parliament begins in earnest this fall but also on the nature of Canada itself, say two of Ottawa’s leading pollsters.
    Ekos pollster Franks Graves told The Hill Times that from the comments Mr. Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) has made since the May election and earlier, he is set to lead Canada into an era where, as Mr. Graves put it, he wants the country to “realize its inner conservative self, to let that flower grow if you like.”
    Mr. Harper has an unprecedented opportunity to reshape one of the most fundamental aspects of Canada’s overall government and legal institutions—the Supreme Court of Canada—when he fills two vacancies that are being created by the announced retirements earlier this year of Justices Louise Charron and Ian Binnie.
    While Cabinet recently took the required measure of proclaiming Justice Charron’s retirement effective Aug. 30, along with her $223,000 annual lifetime annuity, Justice Binnie may stay in his seat until it is certain both vacancies will be filled before the court’s fall sittings begin. Mr. Harper will have appointed four of the nine judges on the court to date, and more to come in the next four years.”
    http://www.hilltimes.com/page/view/harper-08-15-2011
    …-
    “Federal Court of Canada chief justice to step down in September”
    “Another top judge is set to step down within a few weeks, further strengthening the position of Stephen Harper’s government in shaping the face of Canada’s judiciary.
    Allan Lutfy told Justice Minister Rob Nicholson Tuesday that he will resign as Chief Justice of the Federal Court effective Sept. 30. He will, however, stay on as a supernumerary judge, meaning he will contine working for the court part-time.”
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/federal-court-of-canada-chief-justice-to-step-down-in-september/article2132002/

  15. Ich Bin Ein … Bismarck und Kaiser und Adolf und Markel und … One Deutschland Uber Alles mit der National Socialism socialism/fascism.
    “Be in no doubt what fiscal union means: it is one economic policy, one taxation system, one social security system, one debt, one economy, one finance minister. And all of the above would be German”
    “Where Hitler failed by military means to conquer Europe, modern Germans are succeeding through trade and financial discipline. Welcome to the Fourth Reich.”
    …-
    “”Rise of the Fourth Reich, how Germany is using the financial crisis to conquer Europe”
    “Yesterday’s crisis meeting between Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy was arranged before the participants knew of the disastrous growth figures in the Eurozone that emerged in the morning.
    The background to the meeting was last week’s tumult in the world financial markets. Shares had gone into freefall after the downgrading of America’s credit rating.
    Worse than that, however, were the tremors rattling some of Europe’s most important banks, notably in France, caused by further evidence of the utter failure of even the more developed European economies to live anything like within their means.”
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2026840/European-debt-summit-Germany-using-financial-crisis-conquer-Europe.html

  17. Great article by the fine James Delingpole:
    “London riots: Cameron has learned nothing, will do nothing . . .”
    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100101201/london-riots-cameron-has-learned-nothing-will-do-nothing/
    And in his remarks at the end: “3. The BBC has outstayed its welcome. We need a greater plurality of opinion in our broadcast media which, thanks to bien-pensant regulation, we are currently denied. Scrap the licence fee, now!”
    A man after my own heart!

  19. CBC wins reprieve from CRTC for one year. Rather i say starve it to death. re. switching from analog to digital broadcasting.

  20. AtlanticJim, thanks for posting the link to Matthew’s video. It was great. Felt like joining up again.

  23. Drudge report has a story that Prez Obama’s fortified bus is actually manufactured in, of all places, Quebec.
    Ouch!

  24. Thanks AJ for the link to Matt’s video. I only have one question: Am I now retired CAF or retired RCAF?
    Per Ardua Ad Astra

  26. Of Harvard Count Ignatieff’s Bust Tour Summer 2010 vs O’s bust tour 2011.
    Iggy vs Harper and ‘Harper Diesel’.
    …-
    “Liberal Express?
    Ignatieff’s bus breaks down”
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/ignatieffs-bus-breaks-down/article1638845/
    >>> “Ignatieff back on road after bus fixed at ‘Harper Diesel’ – CTV News”
    http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/…/liberal-express-ignatieff-100714/
    Iggy was thrown under the bus May 02, 2011.

  27. Thanks for the spider footage. That’s pretty impressive. I didn’t think I would watch the whole thing, but honestly ……..I was mesmerized. 🙂

  28. Rumour nixed: Count Ignatieff, formerly of O’s Harvard, is not a $1.00-(USD)-a-year-man for O’bust; nor, is Iggy a bust consultant.
    Of course, the left in Canada will blame Conservative PM Harper.
    …-
    “Obama’s ‘made-in-Canada’ tour bus draws fire”
    “A luxury bus being used this week by U.S. President Barack Obama and built in part by a Quebec-based firm is causing quite a stir.
    One prominent tabloid has chastised the president for using Canadian-made transportation during his economic recovery tour.
    A New York Post piece on the bus ran with the headline: “Canucklehead Obama bus-ted!” There was also a cheeky insertion of a Canadian flag in a picture of the bus.”
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/americas/obamas-made-in-canada-tour-bus-draws-fire/article2132454/

  29. Q: when is a seperatist not a seperatist ?
    A: when there’s federal money to be had.
    OTTAWA – The Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation (CTF) expressed disdain Tuesday that former separatist frontman Gilles Duceppe will be banking a fat public pension while collecting an undisclosed retainer from a broadcaster that receives $1.1 billion annually from taxpayers.
    After spending nearly 20 years in Parliament fighting to break up Canada and getting a gold-plated pension of $140,765 a year for his efforts, Duceppe is sucking from the public trough again as a new voice on the state broadcaster. Radio-Canada – the French radio arm of the CBC – hired the defeated Bloc leader, 64, to contribute weekly to a two-hour daily morning show to chat about sports, culture, science and social issues.
    “I don’t think that would sit well with Canadians no matter what political party they happen to support,” CTF national director Gregory Thomas said about the double-dipping.
    Thomas also raised concerns over whether the hiring of a separatist violated the section of the Broadcasting Act that directs the CBC to be predominantly and distinctively Canadian.
    “It brings into question whether the state has a role in broadcasting at all.”
    Stephen Taylor of the National Citizen’s Coalition was equally taken aback.
    “This shows that the CBC isn’t even holding true to its mandate of being a supposed unifying cultural force for all Canadians,” he said.
    Heritage Minister James Moore’s office did not comment. His department funds the network.
    Ned Franks, professor emeritus with the department of political studies at Queen’s University, said as long as Duceppe keeps his separatist views to himself and “those at the CBC make it clear that the CBC is not a public platform for separatism” the former leader should be allowed to spout off.
    “We live in a democracy. We shouldn’t penalize people because of the fact they get elected to Parliament,” said Franks.
    CBC said Tuesday Duceppe will steer clear of politics – for now.
    “In keeping with our policy which imposes a two-year cooling-off period for active politicians, he will not comment on political matters,” said spokesman Marc Pichette.

  30. Welllll….THAT was FAST. 🙂
    UPDATED
    BREAKING NEWS
    Duceppe steps down from CBC
    “Following a misunderstanding about the nature of its mandate, Gilles Duceppe has chosen not to be a weekly columnist for the show,” the Radio-Canada said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.”
    Good.

  31. “he will not comment on political matters”
    Yeah, right. Then what’s the point of hiring him??? To keep the face of treason in the public’s eye???
    END the CBC funding. No democracy should have state owned media. EVER

  33. Look familiar folks?
    The Star’s story referred to how the Canucks had treated Rypien’s illness: “But general manager Mike Gillis told the Vancouver Sun at the time, ‘When you come to know somebody and realize they’re a really good person … but crazy… You don’t only support them when they’re at the top of their game … you support them when they’re not feeling good about things or have other issues they have to deal with.'”
    The Canucks were stunned, because the proper Sun quote did not include the words “but crazy” that appeared in the Star’s story. The “but crazy” comment went out in print and early online editions of the Star’s sports section (It was later corrected online.) The Canucks fired off a media statement: “A quote used in an article today in the Toronto Star sports section attributed to Mike Gillis is not accurate, not factual and does not reflect in anyway the feelings or level of commitment both Gillis and the organization had for Rick Rypien. Our organization is tremendously saddened by the passing of Rick and the newspaper’s choice of words in this article is unfair.”
    It doesn’t look like the apology is working with the Canucks. “Of all the media interactions I’ve ever had, this is the most irresponsible and inconsiderate,” Gillis told Usual Suspects. “It appears to have been done with a purpose.” The Canucks say they’re considering their legal options.
    The Star’s apology to Gillis comes just days after the paper had to make an effusive apology over a column Heather Mallick had written about British journalist Melanie Phillps.
    http://tinyurl.com/3ozlnme

  35. O’narcissist*: like a rock.
    “When I came into office, I knew I was going to have a big mess to clean up and, frankly, the mess has been bigger than I think a lot of people anticipated at the time,” Obama said. “We have made steady progress on these fronts, but we’re not making progress fast enough.”
    “Ultimately, the buck stops with me. I’m going to be accountable,” he said. “I think …”.
    “Obama Approval on Economy Plummets to 26 Percent in Gallup Poll, A New Low”
    http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/08/obama-approval-on-economy-plummets-to-26-percent-in-gallup-poll-a-new-low.html
    *O’narcissist:
    “Talks about himself in the 3rd person singluar or uses the regal “we”.”
    “His speech is peppered with “I”, “my”, “myself”, and “mine”.”
    http://www.globalpolitician.com/25109-barack-obama-elections

  36. Danny’s Long Tail visits “Craig Westcott, a former journalist,’.
    Watch for his by-line and his “return to the newspaper business.”
    …-
    “Liberal spin doctor who questioned Danny Williams’s mental health steps down”
    “The spin doctor for the Liberal Opposition in Newfoundland and Labrador who once questioned the mental health of former premier Danny Williams says he’s stepping down.
    Craig Westcott, a former journalist, says he will leave his position as the party’s director of communications at the end of this month and return to the newspaper business.”
    “Last November, Mr. Westcott apologized for an email questioning whether Mr. Williams — who was premier at the time — was mentally ill or in the last stages of syphilis.
    Mr. Westcott wrote the email to Mr. Williams’s communications director in February 2009 while working as a journalist, but its existence only became public last year.”
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/liberal-spin-doctor-who-questioned-danny-williamss-mental-health-steps-down/article2130872/

  37. I just found this site regarding immigration. I was drawn by an article about how the CBC promotes immigration: http://www.immigrationwatchcanada.org/cbc-and-immigration/ (Hope this is not a repeat, but if it is, some may have missed it.) —
    and then I encountered this shocker: http://www.immigrationwatchcanada.org/2011/08/13/august-9-2011-the-people-speak-somali-man-sponsors-100-family-members-much-more/
    Re the CBC issue — it is no wonder Sun is doing so well. They at least are raising issues that Canadians need to know about.

  38. maz2 @ 8:15 a.m.: “Mr. Harper has an unprecedented opportunity to reshape one of the most fundamental aspects of Canada’s overall government and legal institutions—the Supreme Court of Canada—when he fills two vacancies that are being created by the announced retirements earlier this year of Justices Louise Charron and Ian Binnie.”
    The PM should appoint one judge who can step in to become the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court when Beverley McLachlin retires.
    With judges Binnie and Charron stepping down, and with judges Fish, LeBel and Rothstein turning 75 before the chief justice, and with (from a Globe story) judge Deschamps considering quitting too, that would leave only two judges: the most junior member, Thomas Cromwell, appointed in 2009, and Rosalie Abella. No conservative in his right mind would want to see judge Abella become chief justice. Therefore, one of the two upcoming appointments must be made with a view to stepping in as chief justice.

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