Top-secret diplomatic cable revelations

WikiLeaks leaks previously reported news; journalists forget, credit Julian Assange for his top-secret sleuthing.
The Examiner published the following excerpt one week ago:

32% of British Muslim students support killing for Islam….In an ironic twist, this survey and its shocking poll results were made available only through the Wikileaks leaking of Julian Assange. The poll was revealed as part of a secret, diplomatic cable that emerged from the US Embassy in London.

Here’s the Daily Mail five days ago:

Around a third of young British Muslims favour killing in the name of Islam, a survey revealed by the WikiLeaks’ publication of U.S. diplomatic cables….A U.S. diplomatic cable from January 2009 quoted a poll by the Centre for Social Cohesion…

Here’s the problem: Julian Assange began releasing the American diplomatic cables just less than one month ago. The Centre for Social Cohesion’s study has not only been available to the public for over a year and a half, it has also been reported on in both blogs and newspapers.
Here’s “Islam in Europe”, from July of 2008:

The study “Islam on Campus” can be downloaded (PDF) from the Centre for Social Cohesion site. The study found that members of Islamic organizations held much more extremist views…

UK newspaper The Telegraph, July 27, 2008:

A third of Muslim university students believe killing in the name of religion can be justified, a survey has revealed….Hannah Stuart, from the Centre for Social Cohesion, co-author of the report, said…

(h/t Islam in Europe)

Amelia Earhart

I was brought up believing she was this great aviator. Notice I said “aviator.” Not “female aviator.” There was no discernment between male or female. She was just this kick ass chick who could do what the boys could do. Matter of fact, until I read more about Amelia I thought she was side by side with Charles Lindbergh in terms of feat-accomplishment in terms of a time line. She was like the hot IT geek chick of her time and like hot IT geek chicks of our time, we absolutely adore, worship and honor them. And this of course is what everybody else my age, as well as younger and older viewed her as.

The World Is Being Run By Crazy People

Bye, bye, biodiesel;

The City of Brandon is saying goodbye to its biodiesel processor.
Getting the proper licensing from Manitoba Labour to run the processor proved too expensive and time-consuming, said Rod Sage, Brandon’s director of operational services.
The city hopes to sell the equipment and recoup its $50,000 investment.

Wait! It gets better.

Another problem the city has run into is that there is no immediate use for the refined fuel.

Do read the whole thing – there’s even a mad cow moment.
h/t Mike
( Previous Keystone krazy.)

My Editor Hates Me

Now is the time at SDA when we juxtapose!
Norman Spector, 2005 – “I’m sure you have very nice permalinks on your site. As to substance, from all indications in this thread, you seem incapable of engaging in serious debate on issues that matter to Canadians. Adn I’ve yet to find your by-line in any Canadian newspaper mixing it up in Canadian debates.”
Norman Spector, 2010 – Editor’s Note: “We have removed the text of an original posting on this blog as it fell short of The Globe and Mail’s editorial standards with respect to fairness, balance and accuracy.”
Plus – What would we do without journalism professors?

They’re Not Anti-American. They’re On The Other Side.

Now is the time at SDA when we juxtapose!
Newbusters, May 2010 – New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg agreed the Times Square car bombing was likely “homegrown” as he proceeded, in an interview excerpt run on Monday’s CBS Evening News, to speculate it could have been placed by “somebody with a political agenda who doesn’t like the health care bill or something. It could be anything.”
Yid With Lid, December 2010 – NY Mayor Bloomberg Was ” In Cahoots” With Planners of Ground Zero Mosque
Related: Airline pilot disciplined by TSA after revealing airport security flaws.

Reader Tips

After hours of searching YouTube for a straightforward, reverential, calm, lyrical version of “Silent Night”, I was half tempted to type in “Eric Idle + Christmas” and post the result, but I restrained myself, because this is, in fact, the most wonderful time of the year.
Perhaps the purest, most traditional version I could find was by the Stockholm Church Choir, backed by the Högalids Chamber Orchestra; alas, the performance seems to have been recorded on a cell-phone camera from a detail-obscuring distance somewhere in the pews. The choir of King’s College, Cambridge, on the other hand, has a perfectly recorded and beautifully filmed version, but the director of the choir was evidently compelled to self-indulgently flower-arrange the harmonies in the second stanza, adding just enough flamboyant, mildly-discordant, outré notes to knock the wind out of the song. No one, apparently, was in a position to stop him.
No worries: here comes Munich-born pop singer Angela Wiedl to the rescue – thank you, Germany – as she and her young charges sing a firm, solid, meritorious and lovely version of Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht.
The comments are open for your Reader Tips.

We Don’t Need No Stinking Giant Fans

Just as the rest of the world begins to realize that SDA is Canada’s greatest untapped source for investment advice on alternative energy…

After 30 months, countless TV appearances, and $80 million spent on an extravagant PR campaign, T. Boone Pickens has finally admitted the obvious: The wind energy business isn’t a very good one.
The Dallas-based entrepreneur, who has relentlessly promoted his “Pickens Plan” since July 4, 2008, announced earlier this month that he’s abandoning the wind business to focus on natural gas.

It’s too late for T. Boone Pickens – but is there time to save Sask Power?

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