December 31, 2009
Charity begins at home
Minutes of a July 1979 meeting with foreign secretary Lord Carrington and home secretary William Whitelaw show Lady Thatcher privately complained that too many Asian immigrants were being allowed into Britain.
Lady Thatcher responded that “in her view all those who wrote letters in this sense should be invited to accept one into their homes," the minutes disclose.
Directly related: There is no such thing as public money.
Nearer the real America
David Bowie's reply to his first fan letter from America (via Agent Bedhead).
December 30, 2009
The rule of law
Like the overwhelming majority of British people, I could not care less for the fate of "British drug smuggler" Akmal Shaikh, executed on Darwinian grounds for attempting to smuggle nine pounds of heroin into mainland China. For historical reasons, the Chinese are a bit touchy on the subject of British heroin smugglers. For more recent historical reaons, the Chinese no longer hesitate to execute a man with a British passport.
We are weak and they are strong, you see.
Mr Shaikh, who used to manage a cab firm in Kentish Town, had denied any wrongdoing. His family said they were ‘deeply saddened, stunned and disappointed’ by the execution, which was carried out in Urumqi.
Mr Shaikh was the first EU national to be executed in China since 1951.
Not only are the Chinese unswayed by Frankfurt School bleating about hegemony (should America's Marxists ever get around to condemning anyone but America, Israel and the West), the Chinese are strangely unmoved by the insanity defense. Perhaps the Chinese are still hypnotized by the illusion of "personal responsibility".
Alan Wake - Sam Lake Interview
There may be a rule of some kind... you know you are working in a mature medium when videogame writers use a writer as a main character. I gather Alan Wake is a novelist, however, so we are still a step away from using a videogame writer as a videogame protagonist.
Christopher Lee: Choose Your Poison
Hat tip to Ben, no stranger to setting fire to his pants in public places... with explosive results!
December 29, 2009
The blue clouds of the red planet
Emil Kraaikamp uses a 10″ telescope to capture astonishing images of Mars, Venus and Jupiter.
After all, it can be captured with a ten inch telescope.
Related: Joseph Shoer considers the physics of space battles, hoping modular spacecraft will be used for exploration, not for crushing the dreams of Martian colonists.
Martha and the Muffins: Delicate EPK
Hit tip to Mr. MacDonald.
A short history of Martha and the Muffins and the making of the first new album in 18 years, Delicate.
Directed, photographed & edited by James Brylowski/Solid Porcupine
Happy Holidays and all the best in 2010,
from Martha & Mark.
Lillian Allen's Riddim an' Hard Times, 1983
December 28, 2009
Contempt for economic realities
A difficult lesson is in store for the United States. Will she learn from history or will history teach her the same lesson by hard example. This is not an abstract question; it is the future of the West.
They must have felt invincible.
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes
Publius offers an all too apt comparison.
Let's pretend this is an unrelated note: "In the week that Britain's high speed rail link closed down because the wrong sort of snow interfered with the engine's electronics, China unveiled the world's fastest train service on one of the coldest days of the year." Click through for inspirational/depressing imagery. I am just as happy the Chinese still believe in scientific, technological and industrial progress. Like we used to.
December 27, 2009
We are still not serious about this fight
Below the jump: How to make a binary explosive or IED arrives via Hot Air, with all your suicide underwear needs.
December 26, 2009
Jesus walking in the heart with a lamp whose light exposes all sins and vices, 1585-86
Antonius Wierix, c. 1555/59-1604.
Grand Theft Horse
Boxing Day: Want this. Not yet available.
Dunhill Tradition
Boxing Day: Want this. Too dear.
The making of the Dunhill Tradition Double Document Case, a snip at £1,880!
Related: Dunhill by Design: A Very English Story
Tim Burton MoMA Spot
Boxing Day: Want to see this. Not in New York (a problem I can solve!).
December 25, 2009
Christmas in the Stars, 1980
Ralph McQuarrie, 1929-. Christmas in the Stars.
December 23, 2009
Season's Greetings from the IDF
Ghost of a flea: May His passing cleanse the world
May His passing cleanse the world
Ghost of a flea | MySpace Music Videos
Merry Christmas.
December 22, 2009
Beyond hysteria and envy
Christopher Hitchens on what used to be called the Great Game. Britain's game in Afghanistan ended in tragedy leaving leaves today's superpower with the option of farce.
Unless.
On a related note: If 10% of London's population was Hindu almost nobody would notice, let alone complain.
The military-consumer complex
Having belatedly ginned up a clever play on Eisenhower, the Economist follows its recent article on military applications for consumer products and video-gaming technology with another on much the same topic.
It was my honour to be part of a discussion where much the same case was made to a naval architect whose job it would be to implement said case (this was more than ten years ago). I paraphrase his reply to the effect that, yes, consumer alternatives to military spec hardware offered potential savings to a military procurement program. The difficulty, he explained, is whether said consumer alternatives to military spec hardware would still work after they have been attacked with an anti-ship missile.
In some cases, one might reply, the consumer alternative could fair better on performance as well as price. Nevertheless, we should all take his point.
But it is no minor snark that leads me to point to an Economist article written, perhaps cynically, to promote a new catch phrase ("Military-consumer complex", please, any hack could do better. What about the "military-pornography complex" [which I just made up]?). It is, rather, the generalized banality of analysis of a once great magazine newspaper.* In a benighted pre-internet age, I used to treasure each issue of the Economist as a precious source of news and analysis of those parts of the world ignored by the Globe and Mail or the CBC. One article every two or three weeks about the exotic politics of Bangladesh or Bolivia gave me the impression of being a participant - or at the very least an observer - of a much larger scene than that afforded by the suburbs of Ottawa.
These days there is no corner of the Earth down to the smallest town with a local newspaper and a website which cannot be discovered and explored on-line. But before the internet the Economist and the BBC World Service on shortwave were my only life lines to the rest of the world. New technology has dropped both into a background of my beloved British tabloids and broadsheets and much the same from anywhere, everywhere else.
Still, it would be nice to look back on the Economist with affection. I just can't. Much as with the BBC, I now look back and wonder at the technocratic leftist cant I once took as my marching orders. They coin a buzz term like "military-consumer complex" and the best they can think to do with it is to suggest Obama look into commercially available green technologies with military applications and - with a heavy heart - I know there is every likelihood Obama will think it is a great idea.
Meanwhile, the crazies sharpen their knives.
* Don't ask me. This is how they used to describe themselves.
December 21, 2009
Reflection of Sunlight off Titan Lake, 2009
Cassini Equinox Mission, NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/DLR.
A fatwa against false Jedi
The heresiarch George Lucas takes a well deserved kicking for trying to prevent Andrew Ainsworth from manufacturing Stormtrooper helmets.
He dug out the original moulds from the cellar and began producing them through his company, Shepperton Design Studios, along with suits of Stormtrooper armour which cost up to £1500. They are highly sought after by Star Wars devotees, who wear them to fan conventions.
The Imperial Gunner Helmet was my first thought but then I noticed this Shadow Armour.
Also, Han fired first.
Related: Comments to Star Wars Ep. V- Final Scene & End Credits demonstrate the entire fanboy internet checking to see if Family Guy was right and that Lando Calrissian wears Han Solo's clothes at the end of Empire. He does.
Hermes 900
SpaceWar reports Israel's new long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can reach Iran. Good. But that is not the coolest news of Israel the report has to offer.
Operated from a surface ship or a shore base, the 27-foot craft reportedly carries a Close-In Weapons System for detecting and engaging anti-ship missiles and aircraft, as well as torpedoes and electronic jamming gear. It also carries four cameras with the resolution of satellite imaging systems as well as sonar and radar systems that can transmit three-dimensional images to its control base.
Hooray!
I link this BoingBoing piece not so much for its content, interesting as it is, but for the Venn diagram they chose to illustrate it (reproduced above). I think it is not only clever but useful to think with.
December 20, 2009
Only an energy inefficient Canada can save us now
Crank up your SUVs, the encoldening continues.
Also.
...
In New York City, where snow has been measured in Central Park since 1869, only two storms have produced more than two feet of snow, the most recent occurring in February 2006. Jeffrey Tongue, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service based in Upton, N.Y., said that about a foot and a half could fall in Central Park.
It is the reverse of the Emperor's new clothes. Our farcical version has Emperor Obama wearing snowpants while his courtiers insist global warming means he is really prancing around naked as the day he was born.
(hold for a long beat)
You see how I restrained myself there with that last thing? I could have added "in Kenya" or something else inflammatory but didn't.
Update: Also.
All flights into and out of Manchester airport have been put on hold as staff clear runways of snow and ice.
Saudi warplanes rain '1,011 missiles' on Yemen
I expect anti-war demonstrators in front of the Israeli consulate as soon as... what's that? You say the Israelis can't be blamed? Not even indirectly?
Nothing to see here, move along.
Funny how Obama gets a pass on this one. In fact, funny how Obama got involved in the first place. And funny how he is prepared to offer armed support to Sunni muslims over Shiite heretics. Being a life long Christian (ahem), it is not like he has a dog in that fight (dogs are haraam, btw).
Kitani Mohabbat Hai - Episode # 99
While I won't pretend I watched the whole thing carefully, I am delighted to report Indian courtroom dramas now appear in full on YouTube (with subtitles). Killer clown warning at the 8 minute mark.
Ganga Rai requests the judge to give her a chance to prove that Arjun is innocent but the judge refuses and asks her to appeal to the supreme court.
December 19, 2009
The Cloud Mystery
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Review
Allahpundit calls it the best movie review you will ever see. He is correct.
December 18, 2009
Dr. King preaching at Old St Paul's before James I, 1616
John Gipkyn, 1594–1629.
TypePad comment system farce
Update 2:49pm: Hello again, everyone. Comments were on the blink over the weekend, have been working again until this morning and now I find I cannot log in to my own blog to leave a pithy remark. I just sent a note to TypePad asking for their assistance but I am not expecting any help from them whatsoever. TypePad is introducing a "New TypePad!" which I suspect is the immediate source of the problem; the system has been sufficiently erratic over the years it is difficult to tell.
I am edging closer to disabling comments altogether. ("Welcome to the Ex-TypePad!")
In the meantime, this publication is provided free of charge (excepting the Amazon and Google eyeball fee), is published entirely at my expense and is the best I can do given my other responsibilities. I would therefore appreciate everyone fucking off about my non-functioning comments unless you have something constructive to suggest or hit my tip jar so I can hire someone to address the problem (excepting Jeff, who is sufficiently witty to entertain on this subject).
Now back to grading essays.
The Talibanization of the BBC
The BBC apologizes for hosting an online debate over whether or not Uganda is in the right to consider executing gay men. It is a non-apology: They say they were just asking questions. Crucial questions. Legitimate ones. Etc.
He added however that the program was a legitimate attempt to encourage discussion about a crucial African issue.
The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people
New Marxism: "Most throw cold water on China warming theory but some historical meteorologists suggest that China has prospered during periods when temperatures are higher than normal and that climate change may not be a bad thing after all."
A letter perfect description of this last decade of encoldening.
Key word: Desertification. We are confronting two evils; one would have us live in grass huts, the other a machine for making deserts both physical and spiritual. I prefer dentistry, toilet paper, reason and the rule of law. Call me new fashioned.
Old Marxism: "Network journalists who were quick to see racists, haters and extremists amongst the “tea party” protesters were oblivious to communists in the “climate justice” march in Copenhagen whose cause they trumpeted."
The Passenger
A film by Chris Jones. The facial expressions are priceless.
December 17, 2009
The bi-weekly ablution of 'The Ritz', 1915
Herbert Ponting and Frank Hurley,
The link. The exhibition. The Heart of the Great Alone: Scott, Shackleton, and Antarctic Photography
Delinquent
The United States military encounters difficulties in its civilizing mission in Afghanistan.
“I do not feel I am a mentor here,” said Capt. Jason Douthwaite, a logistics officer with the 73rd Troop Command of the Ohio National Guard who has tried to stop rampant pilfering by the Afghan soldiers his unit is training. “I feel like I am an investigating officer. It’s not, ‘Let me teach you your job.’ It’s more like, ‘How much did you steal from the American government today?’”…
A thought: We stop spending billions of dollars on a half-hearted civilizing mission in Afghanistan; either we are in it to win it or we give it up as a bad job and adopt other, properly Draconian measures. Either we change the enemy's culture or the enemy's culture will send jihadis from this generation and the next and the next until the end of days. Which could be sooner than you might think should said jihadis get their hands on proper weaponry.
The Cassandras from the Panglosses
Niall Ferguson asks, given this last year - and if they had e-mail in the hereafter - which of the great thinkers of the past would be entitled to send us a message with the subject line: "I told you so"? It is a tedious piece but a handy write up if you are after a brief introduction to big names in economics.
Blame: the final taboo
Zombietime explains the moral objection to universal health coverage.
Not that this sort of argument cuts any ice with the left; if you object to paying for someone else's stupidity, you are immoral and your opinions count for nothing (but they still want your money). Read the whole thing. Trust me, you will want to learn about Dr. Earl Sunderhaus.
The times that try men's souls
Lt. Col. Allen West speaks to Florida conservatives; a welcome reminder of the American heart after this Annus Horribilis.
Allen West 2012 FTW.
Robert Mitchum: From a Logical Point of View
Hat tip to Ben.
Discuss: Hollywood Hi-Fi: Robert Mitchum Sings.
December 16, 2009
Never have so many shown so little gratitude to those few still willing to fight
More than a quarter of the Royal Air Force's frontline force is to be scrapped; nominally to pay for the war in Afghanistan but in reality to pay for the excesses of a country one suspects is hardly worth defending.
I would say how Her Majesty's government actually spends its treasures but I would be up on charges the next time I step off a plane at Heathrow.
Up to three squadrons of Harrier and Tornado fighter jets – more than a quarter of the frontline force – will be scrapped.
The Harrier airbase at RAF Cottesmore in Rutland will be closed.
Embarrassing dad dance explained
Psychologist Dr Peter Lovatt of the University of Hertfordshire believes he has found the secret to the "embarrassing dad dance"; older men are signalling their sexual incompatibility with younger women.
He is mistaken, obviously.
My comment to the Daily Mail:
Despite his background in psychology (mine is in anthropology), Dr Lovatt must realize older men are perfectly capable of fathering children; as a man Dr Lovatt may have noticed older men do not lose interest. Even if the older man is physiologically weaker compared to a young man, his appeal is backed up by the increased status, economic and social power enjoyed by older men, all of interest to a younger woman.
It isn't Mad Men, it's biology.
Shorthand for all the feelings that they're not ready to deal with yet
Stephen King says Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn. An outraged Twilight fan replies.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Flea, behold!, an immortal instance of the art of rhetoric.
Some dudes living in the woods
This had better be good. I am still wiping Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves off my brain.
December 15, 2009
The sun had closed the winter's day, c. 1904
Joseph Farquharson, 1846-1935.
The blindingly obvious
Martin Cohen asks some sensible questions about climate change and public policy. Pity the rational man in an age of post-rationality; surely a thankless existence.
Read the whole thing.
I suppose I'm obligated to say a few words about Tiger Woods
Dan Savage makes a sensible observation.
Three sacred words: LEGO. Digital. Designer.
I started downloading LEGO Digital Designer before I started typing this post. Design, purchasing and assembly; I almost don't care if it works.
Olly Murs & Robbie Williams: Angels
Think Morcambe circa 1950 - possibly Blackpool - as a reference for my favourite moment in this season of The X Factor. There is nothing intentionally upleasant about the show, nothing nasty; just a talent competition.
Not the strongest singer on the show, Olly Murs' competitive position has been down to his likability from the start and, I dare say, the fact there is something old fashioned about him, this emphasized in the linked duo performance with Robbie William, a Mancunian man of the people with wide boy appeal. It is all too easy to imagine these two as Tommies, spear carriers on the Elizabethan stage or, for that matter, half-listening to a speech on St. Crispin's Day. I am glad there is something left of England.
Also delighted to see a Christmas tree on stage. Good on you, Simon Cowell.
December 14, 2009
Sacrifice of Isaac, 1401-2
Lorenzo Ghiberti, 1378-1455.
Gates of Paradise. Images.
Comprehensiveness
These days I am only involved in virtual crisis management. Just as well, I shudder to think of all those underemployed social scientists grinding out report after report using hot keys for the word "comprehensiveness" and names involving specialized fonts if this Finnish defense meme spreads (pdf file).
Climate Change: The Prequel
The CIA enters the climatological fray with a study suggesting a "detrimental global climatic change" threatens "the stability of most nations". The fear? Global cooling.*
* Reflecting the 1974 consensus. And my own vague anxiety.
Settled science
Much as people who advocate multiculturalism do so because they neither know anything about nor care to learn anything about cultural difference, the people who are most strident about anthropogenic climate change neither know nothing about nor care to learn anything about climate science. "Caring" they can manage; the work of learning, not so much.
Forward this to the slow witted and tell them to stick their absurd Chicken Little fantasies where the sun does not shine. Via.
Related: "Cuba, a model of sustainable development."
December 13, 2009
Comments on the blink
Update 12:28: Hi everybody, my pain in the ass comment defense system is once again malfunctioning. Am considering removing comments altogether given my technical incompetence in this area.
The cultural mosaic
Recruitment of nominal Canadians to this or that jihad no longer surprises me. Learning there is a part of this town called "Little Mogadishu" is another story.
The five friends, in their early to mid-20s, grew up and attended schools in Toronto. They spoke English and Somali. At least two of them were university students.
That is, until all five disappeared.
The Shadow King
Queen Elizabeth II is reportedly set to turn over some part of her her public duties to her grandson, Prince William.
...
It is bound to lead to new speculation that when the Queen dies, the monarchy could skip a generation, with the Crown bypassing Charles and being handed straight to William, although Royal sources strongly discount this option.
The war on Christmas, cont.
Christopher Hitchens is concerned at unconstitutional goings on in the White House. Unfortunately, he appears to be more concerned about the Christmas tree than the rest.
The following is a fair point, however.
Green TD turns Dail air blue
I realize this exhibits bad behaviour, coddling of said bad behaviour and is all over the tubes. Still, as an enthusiast for rhetoric, I believe it merits mention here (nsfw Irish Parliamentary disocurse featured).
December 12, 2009
30 suspected militants
The Security Crank ponders just how many times the United States and allied forces killed the Taliban in groups of 30 during 2009.
Harlan Ellison & Robin Williams discuss L. Ron Hubbard
In case I had never posted this little revelatory gem. So good I am irked it does not continue.
December 11, 2009
Barfüsserkirche II (Church of the Minorites II), 1926
Lyonel Feininger, 1871-1956.
Vlad the Impaler, a 15th century badass
While you may have heard Brad Pitt has a vampire film project crusading hero film project - Vlad - in the works, you may not have heard the screenplay was written by buddy from Sons of Anarchy.
Big Daddy and Little Sister
These Bioshock costumes make for the best cosplay ever.
Goths Make Better Lovers (2003)
It is time we accepted a dark, disturbing truth.
Robert Fisk says Obama is a disaster
Come for the Schadenfreude, stay for the spurious comparison of contemporary force levels to numbers of Crusaders.
Ransom note money quote: "At least with Bush you knew where he stood."
Accurate paraphrase: "(Obama) got the Nobel prize for public speaking."
December 10, 2009
Free the prisoners, jail the judges
There is a frisson of irony to be had watching John Lennon advocating the rights of violent criminals on the streets of New York City; hoist on his own retard, etc.
But I think the real lesson of this sorry little spectacle has to do with the nature of aristocracy. If you have too much money, too much freedom, too much attention as a young man, you are denied the opportunity for the blunt facts of the world to help you grow out of your stupidity.
Free the prisoners, jail the judges
Free all prisoners everywhere
All they want is truth and justice
All they need is love and care
Just breath-taking in its stupidity. I do not think I am watching a man valorizing his own murderer. I think I am watching a case study in the degeneration of every elite group since the dawn of time (via Five Feet of Fury).
The couple (typical middle-class, White, Archie-Bunker types that dominated NYC then) rip into Lennon for praising the prisoners.
Related: By their fruits ye shall know them.
Social animals
Gizmodo hosts a handy visual representation of the genesis and growth of social networking sites.
Related: How huge is the internet on an average day?
Gothgirl Adora BatBrat like a white fairy modelling Hellstorm hat
The latest from Adora BatBrat. Could be more moi than thoi.
December 09, 2009
I don't need a cloak to become invisible
Harry Potter: The Exhibition is coming to Toronto, its first venue outside the United States, on April 9, 2010 running through until August 22, 2010.
Which seems hardly fair given the book's author, characters and settings are almost entirely British (an epic win for the Flea notwithstanding).
You'll also come upon authentic artifacts from the movies-including Harry's wand and glasses, the Marauders' Map, Professor Dumbledore's robe and more!
Red Dead Redemption
Time to shell out for the high definition screen, folks.
December 08, 2009
The Hegelian monster
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard says it is a return to the Star Chamber as Europe finally tramples Magna Carta into the dust.
Europe’s Constitution – the Lisbon Treaty, as we know it – began as a sort of Magna Carta. EU leaders agreed at Laeken in 2001 that the Project needed restraining after Danes and Swedes rejected EMU, the Irish rejected Nice, and youth torched Gothenburg in anti-EU riots.
People do not want Europe inveigling its way into "every nook and cranny of life", they said. Needless to say, insiders hijacked the process. A Hegelian monstrosity emerged.
Drain the swamp
Rusty at The Jawa Report points to David Headley*, charged with conspiracy and terrorism related to the Mumbai massacre and the first American accused of planning a major terror attack abroad.
Also, lest our neighbors in the Great White North feel left out there's a Canada connection too. Headley's accomplice -- the man who's business Headley used as a front to conduct his terrorist surveillance activities abroad -- is named Tahawar Rana and is a Canadian citizen.
The business which was really a front for terrorism? An immigration service that helped foreigners get US work visas.
Think about the implications of that.
* His advocates in the press will know him as Daood Gilani until he is convicted.
Black Hawk, Corsair 6: Amazing landings in Afghan South
December 07, 2009
The double double standard
Gil Troy publishes an excerpt from testimony he is to give today at the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism (via Blazing Catfur).
Add the English people to that list of groups willing to violate their defining values and their own self-interest in a mad rush to denounce Israel and the Jews. We have been possessed by evil.
There is nothing in the desert and no man needs nothing
Saudis panic. Popcorn futures rally.
...
"The Saudis are in a panic mode and don't have the troops or capabilities to stop the Yemeni Shi'ites," an intelligence source said.
The sources said Riyad's need for foreign forces stemmed from a refusal by Shi'ite-dominated Saudi units to fight the Believing Youth. They said this has led to the dismantling of several local security units familiar with the Saudi-Yemeni border.
December 06, 2009
The Extraordinary Adventures of Saturnino Farandola, 1914
Albert Robida, 1848-1926.
The film. Details. Stills. Large image.
How Twilight Works
The Oatmeal explains the structural appeal of Twilight, a must read for would be hack writers everywhere (via jvon).
An excellent point, if one that might be made of many lead characters who were also pants (Luke Skywalker, Seinfeld, Ted from How I Met Your Mother); we have the rest of an ensemble cast to represent Galenic personality types. Read the rest, of course, I only want to emphasize it is the unreality of Edward Cullen that makes it possible for him to be perfect in the eyes of Twilight fans. He is a vampire, he does not exist and consequently he may assume the form of a Platonic ideal; flawless and with no life of his own he is entirely unthreatening.
It is not as though this is a particularly new approach to marketing fiction to girls. I spent my undergraduate years being hectored by a variety of harpies in positions of authority power about unrealistic male expectations of women produced by pornography. A bit rich considering Jane Austen and the quivering mess that is the feminist literary canon.* The Twilight franchise only adds a few more volumes to a heap of Lucy Maud Montnography, a genre dedicated to the idealization of imaginary love interests and the generation of unrealistic female expectations of men, not least of which is the denial of biology. Men think about sex pretty much all the time and enjoy pictures of naked women and no progressive utopia will change the fact short of neutering every man alive and turning to a future of genderless English, tofurkey basters and human cloning.
Edward Cullen has no balls. Next they will elect him President.
* Nothing against Jane Austen, you understand. She would have skewered contemporary feminism on a sly rhetorical darning needle.
Small science
Christopher Essex, Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Western Ontario, replies to Daniel Henninger's Wall Street Journal article on the climate change scandal. False environmental science was created by and for politicians and a public who cannot be bothered to do the work of appreciating actual science.
Some important research fields have been “orchestrated” out of existence. Even before Climategate, I have been saying that we have set ourselves back a generation by taking the money from governments with so many strings attached.
Governments leaders wanted something where they could absolve themselves of the responsibility for making informed decisions. They would have to read science stuff otherwise. They ordered up a kind of unnatural scientist that would tell them precisely what they wanted to hear.
But they gave the puppeteers clubs to deal with those of us who remained true. And the perps of Climategate are what they got. All of my colleagues have had to endure these bullies and criminals for a very long time.
You should understand that (real) scientists have had to pay the heaviest price for the creation of these monsters for decades. And they were not created by us.
Update: Rumblings it was the Russian security services who hacked into and released records from the University of East Anglia's climate fraud unit. If so, civilzation owes the Russian security services a debt of gratitude.
An investigation by The Mail on Sunday has discovered that the explosive hacked emails from the University of East Anglia were leaked via a small web server in the formerly closed city of Tomsk in Siberia.
Update: Too good to summarize.
Intellectual terrorism at work
The global climate change hoax is headed for heavy weather; even a French news source is reporting the East Anglia email leak, the general silence of the French media on the subject and - critically - that the news is being reported not by English media - also ignoring the subject - but by the English speaking internet.
That means us, people.
For now, the IPCC said it would conduct its own investigation into Climategate. Phil Jones has given up his duties until the conclusion of the investigation. To be continued.
Emphasis in the original.
Related blast from the past: The People's Cube explains the Man-Made Global Warming Wager, a contemporary variation on the classic Pascal's Wager. Diagrams at the link.
1. The masses believe in Global Warming and it really exists: we prevent climate change and kill capitalism: our gain is infinite.
2. The masses believe in Global Warming but it doesn't exist: we lose nothing but kill capitalism anyway and claim we saved the planet.
3. The masses don't believe in Global Warming and it doesn't exist: the growth of capitalist prosperity will continue unabated, distracting the masses from the need to fight capitalism. Faith in socialism withers away: our loss is infinite.
4. The masses don't believe in Global Warming, but it exists and arrives to smite the nonbelievers: See #3, plus our beach homes get washed away: our loss is infinite.
From these possibilities, and the principles of Marxist ethics (anything is moral as long as it advances Socialist Revolution) we deduce that it would be better to believe in man-made Global Warming unconditionally.
December 05, 2009
Diastylis stygia - Cumacea, 1887
W. Schlachter of Stockholm (lithograph) for Report on the Cumacea collected by H.M.S. Challenger during the Years 1873-76 by Professor G. O. Sars, Diastylis stygia - Cumacea.
The mystery of steel
"Its totaly on IMDB which means its real."
With towels they fixed pillows to their heads, as protection against the falling stones
The ruins of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii have been added to Google Street View.
Cher: Half Breed
Quite possibly the best thing I have ever posted.
December 04, 2009
The Mysterious Sphinx, 1897
Charles van der Stappen, 1843-1910.
The state of the art
£400million of the £1 billion cost of each Type 45 destroyer is the Sea Viper missile system. HMS Dauntless has set to sea with hers on the blink.
The single greatest advance in punitive liberalism
Mark Steyn on documents leaked from East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit and the greatest scientific scandal of our times. Old news to the sort of people who read this blog but well worth it for the tag line.
The Master
Paul Thomas Anderson is set to direct The Master featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Master, a "charismatic intellectual" who starts up a new religion in 1952. While Variety is careful to suggest this is not a film about Scientology (or the Mormons?) but "the need to believe in a higher power, the choice of which one to embrace and the point at which a belief system graduates into a religion" New York Magazine is less sanguine, citing Philip Seymour Hoffman's physical resemblance to L. Ron Hubbard - and that Scientology (and not Mormonism) was founded in, for example, 1952.
The tour
"Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Michael Barratt provides a 20-minute tour of the International Space Station, documenting the full 167 feet of the space station's pressurized modules."
December 03, 2009
The Destruction of L'Orient at the Battle of the Nile (1st August, 1798), 1825-27.
Mather Brown, 1761-1831.
The 9/11 of 1859
The New York Times believe the massacre of September 11, 2001 was an expression of a yearning for social justice. Alienated from their fellow citizens and objectively evil, they are not alone in holding this view. To them, an imperialist forever war - carried out by a slaver ideology, no less - is the moral equivalent of a war to end slavery.
But the most troubling article today is one that the distinguished Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and author, Tony Hurwitz, wrote. Horwitz compares John Brown the “abolitionist” and “terrorist” to—you guessed it—Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the 9/11 hijackers. The title of his piece is “The 9/11 of 1859.”
What are they drinking or smoking over there?
December 02, 2009
Good men must not obey the laws too well
Moshe Feiglin argues insubordination can save Israel. I believe this is a timely piece not only for Israel and the IDF but for anyone left in the West prepared to say they will under no circumstance submit.
What if the Knesset passed a law requiring drivers to drive in reverse all winter? That would counter the logic side of the triangle. The public's subsequent refusal would be the fault of the government, not of the public.
In other words, the fact that we obey the law is not because of the law itself, but because it is logical enough to warrant our adherence.
The third side of the triangle is ethics. If the government ordered us to drive our elderly and infirm out onto the frozen tundra, as per Eskimo custom, we might agree that it would logically enhance the economy. But nobody would obey, because it would be patently immoral. The party at fault for the insubordination would be the government that enacted the law and not the citizens who refused to obey.
Feiglin is right (and this is something every law abiding conservative needs to think about and take to heart: We have the right to disobey the law. Sometimes we have the duty to disobey the law.
Directly related: Ed West observes the Swiss minaret result explains why they'll never allow democracy in Britain.
He is correct.
For example, the reason he United States has capital punishment and Europe doesn’t is not because Europeans are soft, hand-wringing lefties who all have sociology degrees, but because Europe is less democratic. In every opinion poll, the majority of British people have expressed support for capital punishment; even a majority of the Dutch, who we consider the most liberal and decadent people on earth, favour it.
Were Britain an actual democracy we would also still have corporal punishment in schools, Prince Charles would be in charge of the country’s architecture (while Lord Rogers would still be designing loft conversions), and the country would be as diverse as a golf club in the Hebrides.
The thin red line
We need a strong India. Record gold prices, an overseas labour market hit by the Dubai crunch and a whopping 15% inflation rate are not helping.
Funny I have not encountered that Middle East jobless figure before. You will be shocked to learn I believe our news media is covering the wrong stories.
Go Away
When I first clicked through to 27b/6 I wondered if the Neighbour of the Flea was trying to tell me something. Then I clicked again.
The Good Book
I post this not so much for the commentary - which is asinine - but for the selection itself. Feeling vaguely Protestant now.
You're The Bible!
by ?
One of the most controversial, misunderstood, and yet powerful
people alive, you spark extensive discourse wherever you go. People think you
hate a whole lot of things, and you probably do, but people forget about your
hatred for shrimp. Mostly, you like to tell stories and then be overwhelmed by
how many different ways people interpret the things you tell them. The older
you are, the less forgiving you become. While few can argue you're trying to
do good, most would say that you've wound up doing a good deal of ill. After
all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Maybe you should just
beget while the begetting's good.
Take the Book Quiz II
at the Blue Pyramid.
Brotherhood of Man: Save Your Kisses
This one goes out with an entirely unironic hat tip to Jeff because it reminds me of my Mum.
December 01, 2009
The Silence of the Woods, 1885
Arnold Böcklin, 1827-1901.
Where no MAN has gone before
Recently voted "Blogger or Pundit most likely to be charged under Hate Crime Laws", has Kathy Shaidle capitulated to identity politics? Or are there designated "victim" groups too terrifying to confront head on?
Come and get me you pansies!
Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie.
Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie.
Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie.
Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie.
Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie.
Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie. Trekkie.
Would you like to play a game
The love of man and money: Computer hacker arrested (in real life) for theft in online medieval fantasy game RuneScape.
...
One RuneScape account was recently sold on eBay for £46,000.
The love of man and elf: Players have dirty 'gay' sex in hit game.
"Dragon Age: Origins," released Nov. 3 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, depicts two men in various sex positions in a secret scene of homosexual seduction.
The love of man and avatar: First-ever marriage between man and videogame character in Japan: Nintendo DS "Love Plus".
St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold Trailer
Flea-readers may find it difficult to believe I could not watch the whole of the first St Trinian's outing. Boring, despite emphatic indications to the contrary.