“Why is the left obsessed with it?
(sorry, link fixed)
For All We Know, So Was The Villager.
[Sandie] Rinaldo: So, you know, here we have Hamed Karzai in Washington talking about hopeful (sic) of peaceful future—how realistic is that given the threat of escalating attacks by the Taliban?
Hillier: Well, first of all I go back to the supposed threat of escalating attacks by the Taliban. It’s kind of interesting we have a report from a supposed Taliban commander who clearly is not going to be identified. And whatever he spouts, people put it on the front page of the newspaper— act as his vehicle to deliver it around the world no matter if there’s any truth or basis to it whatsoever and put him on TV, in fact, and show…
I think it’s actually appalling. I think if it was a Canadian commander or American saying things the dissection that would go on before that report was put out would be incredible. That has not occurred in this case. So on the case of the Taliban, you know, they can feel free to say what they want. They are unconstrained by the Geneva Convention; they are unconstrained by truth. And as a result they can say what they want.
For all we know, the reporters might have been talking to the village idiot.
(The Black Rod provided the transcript.)
CBC: “Look! Sarah Palin!”
Why we despise you….
h/t Cal2
Reader Tips
Good evening, welcome to the Wednesday edition of SDA Late Nite Radio. Tonight we present a song from troubled musical genius Jerry Lee Lewis, whose early music, at least, demonstrated his natural abilities in the essential skill which underlies (real) rock ‘n’ roll’s primal power: the seamless combining of swung and straight rhythms.
Lewis’ parents, members of the Assembly of God church, were devout Pentecosts who believed that “music to dance to from came from the devil,” and that “drinking and carousing with women would send him to hell.” This schism between his upbringing and his music might partially explain why Lewis — who was Jimmy Swaggart’s first cousin — seemed to be his own worst enemy; he often came across in interviews as being defensive and pointlessly arrogant at the same time. In performance, he seemed to be almost crawling out of his skin as he hammered out brilliantly off-timed, jacked beats on the piano and created a primal, prurient din of forward energy invigorated with a sense of can’t-stop-it-now straight-to-hell wrongdoing.
Without further ado, then, here’s Jerry Lee Lewis, a true iconoclast and one of the brilliant few who helped create and nail down rock ‘n’ roll’s distinct and unmistakable fusion of different idioms, in a 1965 performance of Breathless.
Your Reader Tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.
Y2Kyoto: Good Morning Class: Today We’re Learning About “Irony”
Big Oil’s wanton climate destruction continues with the removal of three potential carbon sinks from the Atlantic;
An expedition team which set sail from Plymouth on a 5,000-mile carbon emission-free trip to Greenland have been rescued by an oil tanker.
[…]
The expedition was followed by up to 40 schools across the UK to promote climate change awareness.
h/t Greg T.
Shorter Zerbisias
The poor girl. It’s all just another paternalistic plot.*
The First American Prime Minister, Not Waiting
Never get between a Liberal and his pork.
The First American Prime Minister In Waiting
I bet you thought this made no sense at all when he said it, didn’t you?
He spoke directly to Stephen Harper, condemning him for failing to unite Canadians by setting province against province, group against group, region against region, individual against individual.
Now, watch this…
“Do you speak French?” inquired Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez. “Don’t you think someone who has responsibility such as yours should be bilingual?”
Toews — who speaks English and Spanish as well as his first language, German — was incensed. “I should feel free to be able to speak the official language of my choice and for you to even ask that question is an insult,” he raged.
But Jean-Claude D’Amours, another Liberal MP, pursued the matter. “It seems to me that when we talk about official languages and bilingualism in Canada, you should be a bilingual person to better be able to serve the people,” D’Amours said.
Make no mistake about one thing. This was a deliberate and cynical maneuver by Michael Ignatieff to stir up the unity file.
In a real world, with real grown up politics, the Canadian media would be camped outside Ignatieff’s office, demanding he explain what his MP’s are up to. But they won’t because they’re not real journalists, and haven’t been for a very long time.
Enjoy It While We Can
Ezra Levant, on how he was saved by the internet.
Had I been charged with hate speech 10 years ago, I could not have fought back as effectively. If all this had happened in 1996 instead of 2006, few would have known anything about my battle. YouTube, which brought my story alive for 600,000 people by the time the traffic died down, debuted only in 2005. Before that, there was no universally surfed repository of current event–themed videos, and bloggers were much less prevalent. And without the credit card donations made possible by PayPal (which was started in 2000), it’s unlikely that I could have raised the money to cover my legal expenses.
In short, the Internet saved me. In that sense, my story isn’t just about free speech. It’s also about the way new technology has leveled the playing field between big government and private citizens.
Well, it was fun while it lasted.
Under a recently-introduced bill, H.R. 1966, bloggers would face up to two years in prison if they “harass” public figures by criticizing them in a “severe, repeated, and hostile” manner, and thereby cause them “substantial emotional distress.”
[…]
The bill is a telling example of how the American Left has turned against free speech and civil liberties. The bill’s sponsor, Linda Sanchez (D-CA), and nearly all of her 14 co-sponsors are liberals. All of them backed the federal hate-crimes bill passed by the House yesterday, which is designed to allow people who have been found innocent in state court to be reprosecuted in federal court..
Could mean big trouble for Andrew Sullivan…
h/t
We Are All Newfoundlanders Now
Here in Ottawa, were I to lose my job, I would have to prove that I was employed at a job that paid into the system for 700 hours, or about 4 ½ months of full-time work. If I could do that and show that I was not fired for taking money out of the till, I would be eligible for 41 weeks of EI benefits equating 55% of my “best 12 weeks” of work; it’s not lucrative, but I could get just over $400 per week. Now if I lived in rural Newfoundland, I would only need 420 hours of work (just over 10 weeks of full-time work) and would be eligible for up to 50 weeks of benefit payments.
The reason for the difference in qualifications is that unemployment rates vary, in Ottawa where help wanted signs are still posted on the side of the road, the unemployment rate is 5% while in rural Newfoundland the unemployment rate is 20.4%. One would assume it is easier to find a job in Ottawa that in Goose Bay and so the system adjusts each month based on local conditions.
What the opposition parties and the assorted commentators are calling for is EI to be enriched and expanded with what is called a national standard. Instead of different qualifications, the idea is that all Canadians will be eligible for EI after 360 hours of work, or 9 weeks of full time employment. In a vote on an opposition motion in the House of Commons in March, the Liberals, Bloc and NDP also supported getting rid of the two-week waiting period, allowing the self-employed to participate in the EI plan and expanding payments from 55% of your best work weeks to 60%.
What this would do in essence is give some Canadians 52 weeks of EI payments for 9 weeks of work. Someone who worked during July and August could get EI payments until the end of the next summer.
Reader Tips
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SDA Late Nite Radio. Tonight, for your delectation and pursuant to our Tuesday night open music show, here are The Flamingos performing Rock & Roll (3:07). According to the Wikipedia link supra: The foundation for the Flamingos was laid when cousins Jacob Carey and Ezekial Carey, bass and 2nd tenor, formed the group in Chicago, after meeting cousins baritone Paul Wilson and first tenor John Carter, at a black Messianic Jewish synagogue.
Your Reader Tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.
Y2Kyoto: I Was Told There’d Be No Math
This is low, even by National Geographic’s standards. There are readers here much better equipped to address the math behind the following intent to mislead, but I’ll get it started…
Even if the current solar lull is the beginning of a prolonged quiet, the scientists say, the star’s effects on climate will pale in contrast with the influence of human-made greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2).
“I think you have to bear in mind that the CO2 is a good 50 to 60 percent higher than normal, whereas the decline in solar output is a few hundredths of one percent down,” Lockwood said. “I think that helps keep it in perspective.”
The sun emits 3.846 × 1026 watts, or 3.846 × 1033 ergs/sec.
The concentration of C02 today is 387 ppm by volume, or .038% of total atmosphere – in other words, “a few hundredths of one percent”. (Here’s a convenient graph.)
Have at ‘er.
The First American Prime Minister In Waiting
Now Is The Time At SDA When We Juxtapose!
April 23: – “The Obama administration, in an agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union, said Thursday it will release photos of alleged abusive interrogations.”
May 5: – The $328,835 snapshots of an Air Force One backup plane buzzing lower Manhattan last week will not be shown to the public, the White House said yesterday.”
Would Somebody Drop By Jim Fodey’s House To Check If He’s OK?
I keep checking there for developments in Lingenscam, but it seems a curtain of silence has descended … Buckdog updates! SDA gets results!
Meanwhile, Yens Pedersen is calling for Link’s resignation.
Update: A response from the Lingenfelter camp mouthpiece Judy Junor via a call to John Gormley Live. They’re accusing Pedersen of irresponsibility and demagoguery, and warning that this incident could damage the party if candidates insisted on pursuing it… heh.
When Junor was asked why Lingenfelter himself wasn’t answering the charge, she explained he was on his farm near Shaunavon – where apparently, they still lack phone service.
It gets better – Among the names on the list is Clayton Matchee, the former Canadian soldier who last fall saw charges of torture and murder of a Somali youth in 1993 dropped by the military because he was unfit to stand trial due to brain damage. It was unclear whether Matchee had agreed to join the party.
We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Giant Fans
Be still, my beating heart.
If ever there were two more perfect for each other…think Love Story, but with leftist head explosions. Or When Harry Met Sally with real geiger-counters instead fake orgasms. Romeo and Juliet living happily ever after, while David Suzuki raises a poisoned chalice to his own fatal despair.
Saskatchewan, we have seen the future, and it is us: nuclear-powered drilling rigs.
Does it get any better than that?
h/t
Reader Tips
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SDA Late Nite Radio. Tonight, for your delectation and pursuant to our Monday night jazz show, here are Tubby Hayes, his big band, and his quintet, featuring Jimmy Deuchar, Ronnie Scott, and Allan Ganley, performing Jimmy’s Suddenly Last Tuesday on Jazz 625 in 1965 (3:50).
Your Reader Tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.
Doctor Utopia’s ISM
h/t Shipped Out
“….these memberships were turned in by the Lingenfelter camp”: UPDATED
Update: “When the presumptive party leader does it, that means it’s not illegal!” *
It was an “overzealous” volunteer campaigner for NDP leadership candidate Dwain Lingenfelter who signed up hundreds of party members without ensuring they actually wanted the memberships, Lingenfelter says.
The former deputy premier, who’s considered the front-runner in the race to replace Lorne Calvert, had to do some explaining Monday as the party continued to investigate 1,100 membership applications.
That would be a “volunteer” with the authority to cut a cheque for $11,000.
The party said the Lingenfelter campaign had paid for all of the applications, some of which came from the Waterhen Lake and Flying Dust First Nations near Meadow Lake.
Saskatchewan politics just got a little more fun. Heh.
Original post continues below…
NDP LEADERSHIP SCANDAL ERUPTS!
Party insider: “My contacts say that over 1000 memberships were sold in the Meadow Lake area, many with the same phone number and address, all turned in by one of the campaigns for leadership.”
Irregularities alleged on Flying Dust and Waterhen reserves…
Acknowledgement here – “OK, so we got caught, but what does not kill us makes us stronger!”
… developing
The First American Prime Minister In Waiting
Colour Charles Adler unimpressed with the “accidental tourist” leading the Liberal Party of Canada;
Let’s talk about the episode in recent history where you accuse the prime minister of not understanding Canada, an interesting statement coming from a man who spent ninety percent of his adult life outside Canada, which I suppose is why you blow that windy stuff around about how the Liberal party is representative of every part of Canadian society. When you were a child living in Canada, you might have been able to say that without drawing gales of laughter. I am not clashing with your long term memory. Like a lot of aging men, it’s still intact. It’s your short term memory that appears a little foggy and so I go back to your statement at the end of your speech where you are attempting to, as they say in the country that you know much better than Canada, and that would be the USA, as they say in the USA, in that final portion of your speech where you are trying to hit for the fences you accuse Stephen Harper of threatening a national unity crisis by proroguing Parliament. Since you claim to be a public intellectual I know you can handle my depositing of context in the public airing of your failed home run swing.
(Allow me to add – the reference to Saddam Hussein was nothing short of inspired!)
Heh – “Unfortunately these same reports very rudely pointed out that actually some 7,000 delegates were eligible to attend, proving that Michael Ignatieff-mania is going viral especially in the sense that the other 5,500 were apparently not feeling well enough to show up.”