26 Replies to “Reader Tips”

  1. Former NASA Engineer, Homer Hickam (of Rocket Boys/October Sky fame) had a couple of blog posts this week about Obama’s NASA vision.
    He’s not a fan.

  2. The Homer blog post is pretty concise and to the point. Unfortunately being white and having a country accent he will be ignored. He just couldn’t possibly be as smart as someone who went to Harvard or grew up in New York.

  5. I was a Hogan’s Heroes fan.There was a lot of controvorsy over the series, but I always thought it was a good way of alleviating hard feelings towards what was still fresh in the minds of those who survived WWII!

  6. Cal2, the Bob Carter videos are very good. His opening quote:
    “…science is not about consensus, science is about testing hypothesis…”
    pretty much sums up the concerns I have with the global warming crowd.

  8. Taxed Enough Already!!
    The new HST (GST 5% +PST 7%) should be 12%, however the BC Liberals are instituting a 15% HST tax as of July 1. I shop at thrift stores and they only charge PST, but with the Harmonized Sales Tax I’ll be paying more…lots more. Damn it if I can’t shop at my local Sally Anne. WTF?

  10. Thursday, Apr. 15, National Post, William Watson. Link:
    http://www.financialpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=8d6bcbba-48f3-4571-9561-0f4d3dc6a57b
    “Do you sleep better at night knowing our communications companies are safely in Canadian hands?” he asks with obvious sarcasm.
    He notes that Canada restricts foreign ownership in communications given the sector’s “economic importance”. But “Could we have a list, please, of the economically unimportant industries?”
    And: “The usual assumption of the Canadian cultural nationalists is that Canadian capitalists – for whom in every other respect the nationalists have only contempt – will make different choices in this regard than foreign capitalists would.”
    Conclusion: “so much of CanCon is pure con”.
    You’re not kidding! Like, all of it.
    By the way, when is this man going to run for prime minister of Canada? He’s got my vote.
    – – – – –
    Friday, April 16, National Post. Link:
    http://www.nationalpost.com/m/story.html?id=2914533
    The Supreme Court won’t hear the case of an Ontario man who tried to get around anti-smoking laws by opening a private club …
    By the way, if drug addicts can get free needles from the state, do cigarette smokers get free lighters?
    – – – – –
    Friday, April 16, Globe and Mail. Link:
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article798991.ece
    Medical officials and environmentalists are raising concerns once again about fluoridation of the water suopply.
    As always: how about letting the public decide whether they want fluoride in the water? With a government monopoly, consumers lose their right to decide for themselves. Maybe an enterprising company could sell fluoridated bottled water.
    – – – – –
    Friday, April 16, Globe and Mail. Link:
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/supreme-court-ruling-a-20-million-windfall-for-montreal/article1536306/
    The Supreme Court of Canada rules that the CBC and the Montreal Port Authority have to play by the city’s rules when it comes to calculating their taxes.
    Once again we see government bodies wasting tax dollars suing each other. Isn’t the damn Constitution supposed to untangle this?
    The education system is “underfunded”, municipal governments are “underfunded”, the health care system is “underfunded”, the justice system itself is “underfunded”. Yet there’s always enough money for governments or the bodies they create to sue each other all the way to the Supreme Court.
    The real reason for all this “underfunding”, of course, is that collectivism cannot produce. Bring on laissez-faire capitalism now!
    – – – – –
    Friday, April 16, Toronto Star, Carol Goar. Link:
    http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/796149–goar-weak-case-for-corporate-tax-cuts
    She whines that businesses haven’t been investing in innovation (which was one reason tax cut advocates favour them) and have been replacing full-time jobs with part-timers.
    The real problem is enormous government with too many unproductive bureaucrats. Businesses still face uncertainty over economic conditions, and may not feel like investing at this time. Believe me, if corporate taxes are supposed to be kept high so that governments and their agencies can sue each other all the way to the Supreme Court, and so that drug addicts can get free needles, then we can safely stick with the tax cuts.
    – – – – –
    Saturday, April 17, Toronto Star. Link:
    http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/796931–complaints-overwhelm-human-rights-watchdog
    More bizarre stories about boorish rather than criminal behaviour. In one, a coffee shop owner of Chinese descent complained about Turkish customers. In another, a black woman who ran an immigrant settlement company (on public money, naturally) caused trouble for a Muslim employee.
    If nothing else, we can put to rest the fatuous notion that non-whites can’t be racist (which was itself racist).

  11. Here’s a tip. Don’t walk the streets of Saskatoon. The natives are angry. Angry enough to attack innocent husband / wife couples on their way home from a night at the pub. And apparently, us Saskatonians should know better, as accordindy to the local constabulary it is “gang initation season” when the aborignals get to strut their stuff and see how many whitey’s they can maim / kill. These proud aborignals, sure to get high fives from their peers for their “courageous” group attack on my friends, are going by the name of the native terror squad.
    Proud people indeed. A bunch of f*cking god damn cowards.

  13. Cal2,
    No joy in MSMville? How about no joy in Ontario?
    Atric at April 17, 2010 4:11 PM
    Quote]
    In Ontario you cannot put a wind generator on your roof. McGuinty says it must be at least 500 metres from any dwelling.
    [/Quote]
    That sounds like a law to prohibit you from hanging out your wash to dry in the sun to protect property values. How many properties have 500 meters to spare?
    Seems the 500 meter limit law would prevent any win-gen intrusion on exclusive Ontario Hydro billing.
    BTW, what toothpaste has McGuinty ruled you MUST use in the province of Ontario?
    Ontario,..The toxic law Province.

  14. This is a story that virtually disappeared from the MSM. Remember the Tamil refugees that landed in BC about 6 months ago? Some were suspected of having connections with the Tamil Tigers. (Remember the rallies that blocked Toronto streets last summer?) The newly arrived were detained for a while and suddenly, without explanation, they were all let go. This is the only follow up story I’ve been able to find. It incenses me that Canada continues to be a haven for anyone that shows up. We provide welfare and even pay their legal bills while their “refugee” claims are processed. Why do we continue to do this?
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/the-tamil-boat-mystery/article1537736/

  15. Ahhhh, crap! I hate it when folks in the entertainment business that I respect go off with wild and stupid rants, figuring they know everything about everything. Willie Nelson’s engineering skills are on a par with his accounting prowess. Just ask the IRS.
    btw, when did another 747 crash into a building? An implosion takes down a structure by exploding the supporting structure away, causing it to fall in on itself. I’d classify a jumbo jet with fuel exploding at the structural core of a building reason enough for it to implode. Willie needs to spend more time watching the discovery Channel and less at the Maryjane Channel.

  16. Texas Canuck re Willie Nelson’s intellectual meltdown: ” … btw, when did another 747 crash into a building?”
    None ever have. Willie must have been stoned real good to answer Larry King’s question, “has any building been hit by a 747?” with “I’m sure there have been.”

  17. Exactly TG.
    And by the way, many Ontario municpalities have by-laws preventing backyard washlines. Honest!!!
    Good way to conserve energy-NOT!
    The toothpaste debate is probably scheduled for next week.

  18. Required reading:
    100 Years of US Medical Fascism
    In this 7-page piece from mises.org you will learn, among many other things, about the deliberate reduction of the number of medical schools; the purpose of ever onerous medical education standards; the deliberate discreditation of alternate forms of medicine; the fate of many private hospitals; the origin of Blue Cross; how health insurance got tied up with employment; the origins and real objective of the AMA, etc.
    Don’t be put off by the “fascism” tag. It’s perfectly apt.

  19. Required reading: (2nd try, without HTML link)
    100 Years of US Medical Fascism: http://mises.org/daily/4276
    In this 7-page piece from mises.org you will learn, among many other things, about the deliberate reduction of the number of medical schools; the purpose of ever more onerous medical education standards; the deliberate discreditation of alternate forms of medicine; the terrific rise of MD relative prosperity; the fate of many private hospitals; the origin of Blue Cross; how health insurance got tied up with employment, which lead indirectly to the pre-existing conditions “crisis” resulting from unemployment; the origin and malign purposes of the AMA [hint: not public health].

  22. Wallyj,
    Rock uses a time honoured side stepo manouver.
    In U. of Ottawa language, Rock says..
    ‘ ‘ He told the university senate that he hopes to develop a new policy on free speech, based on the university’s “collective view” of what free speech is. A proposal is expected at the senate’s next meeting. ‘ ‘
    In Parliament Hill language, Rock would say..
    Retired judge, the honourable Gom.. has been appointed to conduct an in-depth inquiry in order to lay bare the circumstances of this matter and to arrive at solid policies to avoid these conflicts from taking place during future conferences. [no time line]
    It’s called the Liberal dodge by study policy.

  23. Vostok, Antarctica
    Updated: 6:00 PM VOST on April 18, 2010
    Sunday Night
    Partly Cloudy. Low: -74 °C . Wind West 18 km/h . Windchill: -91 °C .
    Have fun with “Glow Ball” Warming…from somewhere due South!
    Cheers
    Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
    1st Saint Nicolaas Army
    Army Group “True North”

  25. “UPDATE 1-Volcanic ash relentless as tremors rock Iceland
    Tremors shake Iceland as volcano spews more ash into sky
    REYKJAVIK, April 18 (Reuters) – Powerful tremors from an Icelandic volcano that has been a menace for travellers across Europe shook the countryside on Sunday as eruptions hurled a steady stream of ash into the sky.
    Ash from the volcano drifted southeast towards the European continent, sparing the capital Reykjavik and other more populated centres but forcing farmers and their livestock indoors as a blanket of ash fell on the surrounding areas.”
    ” Kjartansson believes the volcano has melted about 10 percent of the glacier, but melting might have slowed in recent hours.
    However, that does not mean Europe will see any great relief from the plume of ash that is choking the upper atmosphere with tiny particles of glass and pulverised rock, threatening jet engines and airframes.
    The glacier on top of the volcano is about 200 metres (650 ft) thick — thinner than many glaciers atop other volcanoes that have erupted in recent times. That means there is less ice, and water, to suffocate the eruptions and resulting steam.
    “It might mean more intense ash production,” Kjartansson said.
    It still could take months for the volcano to burn through the rest of the glacier, to a point where the steam and ash would turn instead into lava, he said.”
    http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE63H0OV20100418?type=marketsNews

  26. At the risk of invoking the wrath of the great Vitruvius (I kid) “batb”, an El Al cargo 747 crashed into an Amsterdam apartment building in the mid-90s.

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