The 5 Taliban terrorists Obama released for #Bergdahl are a threat to Canada too. You'd think our media would notice. pic.twitter.com/kEdwBz1kyN
— John Groves (@jfgroves) January 27, 2015
The Great Blizzard Bust Of ’15
My deepest apologies to many key decision makers and so many members of the general public.
— Gary Szatkowski (@GarySzatkowski) January 27, 2015
Watch for tomorrow’s headline: Weather forecasting more difficult due to climate change
This Is Not Your Grandma’s Humane Society
Founder of dog rescue to be sentenced for dog theft. (h/t Karen)
We Don’t Need No Stinking Giant Mirrors
IF IT’S ONLY VIABLE WHEN SUBSIDIZED, YOUR TECHNOLOGY ISN’T REALLY VIABLE.
It’s That Time Of Year Again
Only YOU can help the Bloggies go horribly wrong.
Reader Tips
International music superstar Demis Roussos passed away yesterday at the age of 68. Although the bearded Greek was not very well known in North America, his relaxed, swarthy confidence and vaguely new-age persona helped make the romantic Kaftan King a beloved sex object to millions of jet-setting, toe-ring-wearing European women who were attracted to him like sand to massage oil.
In tonight’s tips music selection Roussos, who was a Gemini, puts the inspirational theme from Chariots of Fire to words in a song called Race to the End.
The comments are open, as always, for your Reader Tips.
Honey, I Finished The Internet
Operation Empty Chair
Syria: too little, too late.
“Is That A Fat Wad Of Research $$$ In Your Pocket?”
Oh, Shiny Pony!
Alberta Ardvark: Varinder Bhuller, the candidate who already was green-lighted for the Liberal Party of Canada’s nomination in Edmonton Mill Woods dropped a bombshell right in Justin Trudeau’s lap with his latest Facebook post…
I received my Green Light from the party in March 2014 and I was promised that there would be a nomination prior to Edmonton’s Sikh Parade in May 2014 so that I could campaign as a candidate there. In April 2014, however, I found out that Councillor Sohi came into the picture, and since then everything has stalled on the nomination front. Various party officials met with me in May, June and August 2014, pressuring me to withdraw my name in favour of Councillor Sohi so he wouldn’t need to contest a nomination. They tried to bribe me, threaten me and ultimately expired all my memberships by delaying the nomination beyond December 31, 2014 in the hope that our team would not renew their memberships.
Emphasis mine.
Embargo Lifted, Fidel Alive!
Nobody saw THIS coming: Cuba leaves talks on US ties insisting it won’t make major changes to its system
We Don’t Need No Stinking Giant Fans
In much of Europe energy policy is being formulated by policymakers who assume that combining wind generation over large areas will flatten out the spikes and fill in the troughs and thereby allow wind to be “harnessed to provide reliable electricity” as the European Wind Energy Association tells them it will:
“The wind does not blow continuously, yet there is little overall impact if the wind stops blowing somewhere – it is always blowing somewhere else. Thus, wind can be harnessed to provide reliable electricity even though the wind is not available 100% of the time at one particular site.”
Here we will review whether this assumption is valid.
I’d tell you how it ends, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise.
Renegade Regulator
So how did the [Canadian Standards Association] achieve identical test results, eighteen years apart, from a product so susceptible to external factors? Well, that was the CEO’s question….
Reader Tips
Tonight, New York jam-band Spin Doctors manage to get the last word in with Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong.
The comments are open, as always, for your Reader Tips.
Your Moral And Intellectual Superiors
Mike, via email; “At 19:15 of today’s Question Period, Robert Fife asks the Minister of Defence to reveal the position of Canada forces personnel when they are assisting Iraqi forces target hostile ISIS forces.”
I’m taking the writer at his word, as I can’t open CTV videos. If someone can download this portion to Youtube, let me know.
Update: I’ve received a transcript, relevant portion follows.
FIFE: Okay. Were the Iraqi soldiers that were with the Canadians, did they
not shoot at these ISIS forces, or was it just the Canadians?
NICHOLSON: Again, I think this was an effort by a whole group of people. My
information is that the Canadians fired back when they were fired upon, and
I think that all Canadians, quite apart from the opposition parties, would
agree that they did the right thing.
FIFE: Can you tell us how close our special ops are when they paint these
targets. Are they really close to the frontline? Are they say a kilometre or
so back?
NICHOLSON: Well, again, I’m not in the business of pinpointing exactly
where our special forces are, but as has been indicated, they do quite a bit
of training well behind the lines, but they do advise and assist the Iraqis
to make them as effective as possible, because ultimately this is what we
have to have to be successful. The air strikes are absolutely vital, but the
Iraqis have to win this war on the ground, and so to the extent that we and
other coalition partners can advise them, this is all going in the right
direction.
FIFE: Well, Mr. Nicholson, on Thursday you met with coalition partners in
London where you are. We know that the French have committed to another, to
more coalition trainers in Iraq. Are we looking at sending more Special
Canadian forces?
NICHOLSON: We have a mandate here that will take us to about the first week
in April, and we’ll revisit the subject, but our mandate is here for up to
six months at this time, and that’s the mandate under which we’re operating.
FIFE: So you’re not ruling out, once we, I’m assuming we’re going to extend
this mission, sending more Canadian forces on top of the 69 we already have
there?
NICHOLSON: We’ll revisit the whole issue and, but for now we’re focusing on
assisting and advising them with the Special Forces on the ground, and with
the air strikes that are being operated out of Kuwait.
Y2Kyoto: Planetary Fever Update
The National Weather Service (NWS) in New York City is calling the potential for epic snowfall “historic,” while the Boston office says the incoming storm is a “textbook case for a major winter storm/blizzard.” Three-day snow totals could reach 24-36 inches in each city–good enough to rival the biggest Northeast snowstorms on record.
[…]
What’s making this particular storm so potent? In sharp contrast to last week’s nor’easter, there’s no shortage of cold air this time around. A blocking high-pressure system to the north will slow the storm’s advance to a crawl–with the center spending up to 24 hours just off Long Island–right as it is peaking in strength. Combine that with a roaring, perfectly kinked jet stream, and you have all the ingredients for an explosive storm that will reach “bomb” criteria, funneling Arctic air southwards and converting it into a thick blanket of wind-whipped white. All the extra cold air may also boost snow totals, because “drier,” colder snow is up to 50 percent fluffier than “wet” snow that falls with temperatures nearer the freezing point.
Great Moments In Socialism
A radical left-wing party vowing to end Greece’s painful austerity program won a historic victory in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, setting the stage for a showdown with the country’s international creditors that could shake the eurozone.[…]
The prospect of an anti-bailout government coming to power in Greece has sent jitters through the financial world, reviving fears of a potential Greek bankruptcy that could reverberate across the eurozone.
“The sovereign Greek people today have given a clear, strong, indisputable mandate. Greece has turned a page. Greece is leaving behind the destructive austerity, fear and authoritarianism. It is leaving behind five years of humiliation and pain,” Tsipras told a crowd of rapturous flag-waving party supporters.
Greece waves goodbye to austerity. Says hello to no money whatsoever. pic.twitter.com/XTykjKKCx6
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) January 25, 2015
We Need Another Stinking Icebreaker
Who’d a thunk it? It’s the ice that’s rising!
Second icebreaker sought for Great Lakes shipping
GREEN BAY – A brutal winter that slowed the start of the 2014 shipping season on the Great Lakes has one organization asking Congress for another heavy icebreaker.
The Lake Carriers’ Association said it would like to see a second vessel built to keep shipping lanes open on the lakes during harsh winter conditions. The group is requesting another ship similar to the Marinette Marine Corp.-built U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw.
“I want to stress that Lake Carriers’ Association and our members’ customers deeply appreciate the efforts of the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards this past ice season,” James H.I. Weakley, president of the association, said in a news release. “It is clear that the ice conditions that prevailed last winter call for a reassessment of both nations’ icebreaking fleets.”..
The theme continued:
Great Lakes Freeze Cost Economy $705m, 3,800 Jobs [2013-14]
Great Lakes ice makes a leap after January cold snap [note map]
…
As of Thursday [Jan. 15], ice covered 34.1 percent of the Great Lakes, up from just 5.6 percent on Jan. 1, and 10.8 percent on Jan. 5 — the first day of a polar plunge that gripped most of the eastern U.S. for days to come.
“Last year, the Great Lakes were 21.2 percent ice-covered on Jan. 14, making this year’s ice cover 13 percent higher to date,”..
Embrace Hollywood!
Now is the time at SDA when we juxtapose!
Michael Moore, 2004 – “Democrats need to embrace Hollywood because this is where they need to come to learn how to tell a story.”
Hollywood, 2015 – What Abandoned Movie Sets Look Like Today
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
FCC ponders plan to route U.S. 911 calls through Russian satellites.