Terror In Paris

Religion Of Submission Terrorism 134 Comments

12 dead in an attack on a satirical magazine;

Two masked gunmen stormed the offices of the controversial publication, which has previously been attacked over its portrayal of the Prophet Mohammed.
They were armed with Kalashnikov rifles and are also believed to have had a rocket-propelled grenade.[…]
It is reported both the publication’s editor and lead cartoonist were among those killed, as well as two police officers.
Some 20 people have also been injured, at least four seriously.
A manhunt is under way for the gunmen, who escaped after a shootout in the street with police.
Shocking footage has emerged of a wounded police officer being shot in the head as he lies on the ground, holding his hands up.
The killers then calmly return to their getaway car, which was later found abandoned.

Probably mental illness.

Y2Kyoto: Planetary Fever Update

Climate Cult Y2Kyoto 9 Comments

Winnipeg Free Press;

Predictions of increased ship traffic in the wake of diminished sea ice in Arctic waters may have been premature, said Malte Humpert, executive director of the Arctic Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think-tank .
“I think 2014 kind of shows that development and Arctic shipping may be further off than we might have thought a few years ago, that the ice is not melting as quickly as previously predicted,” Humpert said. […]
Joel Plouffe, a Montreal-based managing editor of the journal Arctic Yearbook, said access remains limited and development is expensive in the Arctic.
“This is the reality. The boom is not there. And whatever will happen will take years and years and years,” he said.

h/t Orville

Y2Kyoto: The Big Rink They Call “Gitche Gumee”

Y2Kyoto 9 Comments

Marine Link;

The seemingly glacial ice that brought shipping on the Great Lakes to a virtual standstill last winter cost the economy more than $700 million and nearly 4,000 jobs, the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) reported, promting the group to to call for construction of a second heavy icebreaker to partner with the U.S. Coast Guard’s MACKINAW to keep the shipping lanes open in the harshest of conditions.
According to LCA, the winter of 2013/2014 was so brutal that U.S.-flag cargo movement between December 1, 2013 and May 30, 2014, plummeted nearly 7 million tons compared the same period in 2012/2013. At least two steelmakers had to curtail production and some powerplants were extremely low on coal. The limestone trade did not resume in earnest until well into April, and U.S.-flag lakers suffered nearly $6 million in damage trying to resupply customers. Eventually three vessels that had not been scheduled to operate last year were fit out to help overcome the shortfall in deliveries during the ice season, but the industry played catch-up the rest of the year.

h/t Mark

Is There Nothing That Obama Can’t Do?

Forward! Political Animal 10 Comments

Via Weaselzippers;

State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki repeatedly refused to answer questions this afternoon about the 53 political detainees Cuba promised to release as part of a deal with President Obama to normalize relations with the United States. […]
After Psaki stated that she had no updates to provide, a befuddled Matt Lee asked, “Hold on — hold on a second. Can we — I mean, is it — what’s happening? Are they out? Are they not out? … Where are they?”
Psaki responded, “I don’t have any more updates to provide for you, Matt.”
Lee, frustrated, followed up, “So the Cubans don’t actually have to do anything?”

A lesson in Newspeak

Freespeechers 22 Comments

Daniel Hannan;

In an appendix to his dystopian novel, [Orwell] discussed how an idea could be made literally unthinkable if there were no words to express it. The illustration he gave was the word “free.” In Newspeak, “free” could be used only in the sense of “this field is free from weeds” or “this dog is free from lice.” The concept of political or intellectual freedom had disappeared, because no one could put it into words.

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