The Hunt For Gollum
While browsing through the selection of movies YouTube is now carrying I came across a little 39 minute gem called The Hunt For Gollum that you might like if you’re a Lord of the Rings fan. It’s an independently made prequel to the Lord of the Rings that’s surprisingly good for a film made on a budget of just $5,000.
Over the holidays, the Cook Islands have become embroiled in a political crisis. The sacking of an incompetant Minister caused a walkout from Cabinet, and the subsequent withdrawl of support for the government by the Democratic Party. The Cook Islands Party won’t support them either. The Prime Minister now has the support of just 5 MPs in the 24-member House; when Parliament reconvenes, he will face a confidence vote, which he will lose. So, he has hit on a simple strategy: don’t call Parliament:
Canadians will beam with pride knowing the Harper brand of democracy is spreading about the world.
Although 2008 was the coolest year of the decade because of a strong La Nina that cooled the tropical Pacific Ocean, 2009 saw a return to a near-record global temperatures as the La Nina diminished, according to the new analysis by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. The past year was a small fraction of a degree cooler than 2005, the warmest on record, putting 2009 in a virtual tie with a cluster of other years –1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2007 — for the second warmest on record.
I guess the climate change deniers will have to move on to their next delusion.
It’s a common refrain in the media, that the threat of terrorism comes from Islamic extremism.
Not true, according to a new study revealed by researchers at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which suggests that only 6% of terrorist attacks on the U.S. are from Muslims.
Canwest Communications Inc. is hoping to fetch at least $1 billion to $1.5 billion for its national chain of big city daily newspapers, including the National Post, sources close to the deal say.
That’s roughly half what the company paid for the publications, which includes the Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen and Calgary Herald.
I Guess Nobody Told Kenney The Roma Are A Nomadic People
Jason Kenney continues his campaign of persecution against the Roma.
The federal government is seriously considering imposing visa requirements on visitors from Hungary to cut off a growing flood of refugee applicants, mainly from the Roma community, The Canadian Press has learned.
It would be the third such move in less than a year, after Canada imposed visas on visitors from Mexico and the Czech Republic last summer.
Taxpayer Funded Bigotry
The Calgary Stampede is using some of the $2 million dollars taxpayers gave them to pay for a homophobic survey.
The Calgary Stampede, Calgary’s annual carnival and rodeo, has launched a marketing research survey that asks respondents for opinions on blatantly sexist and homophobic statements. Gems include “The only acceptable definition of a family is a husband, wife and children,” and “Some jobs are best suited to men. Women should just accept this.”
Are Conservative MPs Attending Meetings Sponsored By Pro Tamil Terrorist Groups? This guy seems to think they are.
Paul Calandra, MP
Conservative Member for Oak-Ridges-Markham
House of Commons, Ottawa
Dear Paul:
It has been brought to my notice by one of your Conservative Sri Lankan-Canadian constituents that you are now into the Hokey-Pokey cunning business of Town Hall meetings organized by the pro-Tamil Tiger front, the Canadian Tamil Congress. “Hokey-Pokey cunning” I said, since the recent planned meeting was under wraps until it was announced on the morning of the happening perhaps to filter the non-supporters of their separatist Eelam cause.
The survey, conducted over the past few days by Innovative Research Group for Canwest News Service, found 49 per cent of respondents disapproved of the government’s position at the Copenhagen climate conference…
The approval rating of the government’s position also dropped to 19 per cent from 32 per cent in the same period, while the disapproval rating rose to 49 per cent from 22 per cent
Today’s new Washington Post-ABC News Poll demonstrates yet again that the American people want action to “regulate the release of greenhouse gases from sources like power plants, cars and factories in an effort to reduce global warming.” Respondents supported this statement by more than two to one (65 percent favor, 29 percent oppose). This poll was conducted December 10-13, at the height of the trumped up brouhaha over stolen emails from a British climate research institution. These findings are consistent with the Associated Press-Stanford University poll released on Tuesday.
Chasing Ice
Nature photographer James Balog talks about his time lapse photography project documenting the receding glaciers for the upcoming feature length documentary Chasing Ice.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public support for Stephen Harper fell slightly in Canada this month, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 32 per cent of respondents approve of the prime minister’s performance, down two points since November.
Only 15 per cent of respondents approve of the way of Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is doing his job, up three points in a month. The approval rating for New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton is 29 per cent, up five points since November.
Of course this can only mean one thing to the paid pundits. Jack Layton needs to be replaced as leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada.
Noise and vibration from giant wind turbines may be annoying but pose no risk to human health, an industry-funded study has found…
The study says there’s “nothing unique” about the noise or vibrations emitted by wind turbines and no evidence that the audible or sub-audible sounds have any direct adverse effect on health.
It suggests that those who are bothered by turbines simply have a lower tolerance for annoying sounds of all sorts.
Not surprisingly, anti-environmentalist hypochondriacs have already begun experiencing an adverse reaction to this study.
Here’s something that utterly infuriated me last night: DFAIT is looking to pay someone $100K to play around on Twitter, Flickr and YouTube to promote clubbing baby seals.
Can we finally bury the idea that Conservatives are good financial managers.
Space Beer…Get Your Space Beer Here
Mmmmm, Space Beer.
The wait is finally over for those who have been wanting to enjoy a tipple of Sapporo’s “Space Barley” beer, a beer brewed from space-grown barley. Until December 24th, Sapporo will have an online lottery for orders of a six-pack. 250 people will be chosen from the lottery, and allowed to purchase the beer. As with everything flown into orbit, space beer isn’t cheap though: the six-packs will run 10,000 yen apiece, which converts to about $110, or almost $19 a bottle.
Unfortunately the lottery is only open to residents of Japan.
An independent study suggests pollution from Alberta’s oilsands is nearly five times greater and twice as widespread as industry figures say…
In all, the study estimates about 34,000 tonnes of particulates are falling every year near Suncor’s and Syncrude’s facilities, which were designated as the centre of development. Company figures total just over 6,000 tonnes.
Worst environmental disaster ever.
Is Palin Palling Around With A Jew Hater? You betcha.
Because the second thing to note about Malek is that he was the man who drew up a list of Jews to be fired from the civil service under the Nixon administration. I am surprised that so many people have allowed themselves to forget this—and that Palin has never been asked a single question about it. In the early 1970s, Nixon, whose White House tapes show consistent evidence of anti-Semitic paranoia, gave orders that the Bureau of Labor Statistics be purged of what he called a “Jewish cabal.” The job of drawing up the list was given to Malek, whose information led to what was called the “reassignment” of some officials within the Labor Department. Malek later tried to give a weaselly excuse for his conduct, but was caught by my Slate colleague Timothy Noah.
In a recent phone interview with Maclean’s, Gross describes military life for wives as stepping back into the 1950s—most women don’t work and are full-time housewives, raising kids. “I did notice a lot of the wives drinking on a daily basis. It shocked me. I encourage women to ask themselves, what can I learn while my husband is away?” She suggests learning to sew or learning French or taking a cooking class.
I’ll let the experts handle this one…unless they’re too busy learning to sew or cook.
Suck On This, Climate Change Deniers
A new Harris Decima poll on how Canadians feel about the issue of climate change.
The poll asked Canadians if they agreed or disagreed with a resolution to be debated Tuesday during the fourth Munk Debate in Toronto, that: “Climate change is mankind’s defining crisis, and demands a commensurate response.”
Nearly two thirds of Canadians agreed while 31 per cent disagreed. A tiny fraction had no opinion.
Climate change is real and Canadians aren’t falling for the lies climate change deniers are peddling.
On one of the Galapagos islands whose finches shaped the theories of a young Charles Darwin, biologists have witnessed that elusive moment when a single species splits in two.
In many ways, the split followed predictable patterns, requiring a hybrid newcomer who’d already taken baby steps down a new evolutionary path…
The Grants have pushed that work further, with decades of painstaking observations providing a real-time record of evolution in action. In the PNAS paper, they describe something Darwin could only have dreamed of watching: the birth of a new species.
Suck On This, Obama Haters
TPM has put together a list of progressive policy changes President Obama has made in less than a year in office. He’s already accomplished more than Harper has in a quarter of the time.
Suck On This Too, Climate Change Deniers
One of the most often recited bits of climate change denier dogma is that climate change is a natural part of our world. True, but this time we’re breaking that cycle.
Of course the opposite is true in an ice-melting phase. Ice melting also follows a positive feedback loop since less ice means less albedo, meaning less solar radiation is reflected back into space and mean global temperatures rise. But again, CO2 becomes the limiting factor. With more exposed land, more CO2 is drawn from the atmosphere by photosynthesizing forests and rock weathering. A consequent drop in atmospheric CO2 cools the planet and hence limits ongoing ice melting.
But there lies the rub. We are in an ice-melting phase of the Milankovitch cycle now, where the Earth’s orbit is closer to circular and the Earth’s tilt is closer to perpendicular. But CO2 levels aren’t declining – partly because we’ve chopped a lot of trees and forests down, but mostly because of anthropogenic CO2 production. Without the limiting factor of declining CO2 we’ve seen in previous Milankovitch cycles, presumably the ice is just going to keep on melting as the albedo of the Earth surface declines.
New Evidence Of Life On Mars
Actually it’s old evidence that’s been looked at again.
Scientists caused quite a stir in 1996 when they announced a meteorite had been found in Antarctica that might contain evidence for microscopic fossils of Martian bacteria. While subsequent studies of the now famous Alan Hills Meteorite shot down theories that the Mars rock held fossilized alien life, both sides debated the issue and the meteorite is still being studied. Now, Craig Covault in Spaceflightnow.com reports that a new look at ALH84001 provides “evidence that supports the existence of life on the surface of Mars, or in subsurface water pools, early in the planet’s history.” Covault says we can expect a public announcement by NASA Headquarters within a few days.
Hopefully once they determine whether or not life does or did exist on Mars they can turn their full attention to determining whether or not sentient life exists here.
Meanwhile In Actual Climate Change News
An upcoming study will show that the Arctic sea ice is on the verge of vanishing.
Multiyear sea ice used to cover 90 per cent of the Arctic basin, Dr. Barber said. It now covers roughly 19 per cent. Where it used to be up to 10 metres thick, it’s now two metres at most…
“The satellites give us only part of the story. The multiyear ice is disappearing and it’s almost all gone now from the northern hemisphere.”
We’re only a few years away from deep hull ships making their way through the NorthWest Passage. Climate change deniers better get started on their excuses for why that happened now.
ZOMG! The Homophobes Were Right
Same sex marriage has opened up the doors to dogs getting married.
Muslims…Praying On Our Streets. Suzie the fetus fetishist is upset because Muslims in Paris haven’t been arrested for praying without a permit. No, really. I’m not making this up. She actually thinks Parisians should gather to protest Muslims praying. No, really. That’s what she thinks. Go see for yourself if you don’t believe me and can withstand the waves of intense hatred toward Muslims emanating from her socalled Christian blog.
“Name Them, Duffy”
Liberal MP Glen Pearson calls out Conservative Senator Mike Duffy.
So, what we have now is a senator spouting unnamed sources to substantiate his false claims. And as we’ve learned from the “floor-crossing” Liberal MPs story, we’re all demeaned when falsehood is used to belittle others. Now we have a former media personality doing the same thing. He should know better, but, after all, he loves this pit-bull stuff. Duff, name who they are. I’ll bet you can’t, because they don’t exist.
It’s a fairly decent slap to Fluffy’s face, but for some reason Pearson fails to use the words lying crapweasel even once when describing him.
Put Up Or Shut Up, Keddy
Speaking of lying crapweasels, Accidental Deliberations slaps down Conservative MP Gerald Keddy’s lies.
Keddy: If (the NDP) actually cared about improving the EI system, why did they join the Liberals in refusing to even sit on the panel?
Now, it’s worth pointing out that this goes beyond mere falsehood to the realm of absurdity. After all, the “EI panel” which Keddy is referring to was based on a deal cut between Michael Ignatieff and Stephen Harper - who both had obvious reasons not to offer the NDP any chance to participate, and by all accounts designed the panel to exclude the NDP and the Bloc precisely to remove them from the table.
Of course, if Keddy wants to provide even a shred of evidence that the NDP was offered the chance to join the Libs in lunching with Pierre Poilievre but declined the opportunity, he’s welcome to do so.
For some reason the Jurist also fails to use the words lying crapweasel when describing Keddy.
A Lying Crapweasel Trifecta Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub knocks the stuffing out of lying crapweasel Lord Monckton. Monckton isn’t called a lying crapweasel even once. Seriously people, lying crapweasels is what they are.
I was sent this scan of a delightful article from Watchtower Magazine — you know, that bizarre piece of pulp from the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Look at their list of wicked temptations that might lead a faithful person into a life of sin. Take special note of #2.
“A well-intentioned teacher urges you to pursue higher education at a university.”
Restricting the availability of legal abortion does not appear to reduce the number of women trying to end unwanted pregnancies, a major report suggests.
The Guttmacher Institute’s survey found abortion occurs at roughly equal rates in regions where it is legal and regions where it is highly restricted.
In a first-of its-kind study, epidemiologists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that, on average, guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in an assault. The study estimated that people with a gun were 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault than those not possessing a gun.
The federal government has quietly paid nearly $100,000 to buy back historic antiques from Rideau Hall that it accidentally sold on an online government auction service, Sun Media has learned.
Since May, it has paid $95,150 to buy back silver and china that it flogged for $3,934.37 on the Crown Assets Distribution website usually used to offload old desks and filing cabinets.
Democracy Under Siege
Weekend Reading Julien Russel Brunet on the lack of pension protection in this country. Jesse McLean on the damage corporal punishment can do to children. Dawg’s Blawg on the Conservative Minister of Blackmail, Gary Goodyear.
Whoops Part 1
Don’t you hate it when you call the number for Maritime lobster aid and get a sex line instead.
Maritime lobster fishermen in need of financial help got a lift of another kind Tuesday when they were directed to a toll-free number that was supposed to detail an aid package but connected them to a lusty sex line instead.
That happens to me three or four times a week.
Whoops Part 2
It’s all just partisan fun and games until somebody inadvertently defunds the entire military-industrial complex.
The congressional legislation intended to defund ACORN, passed with broad bipartisan support, is written so broadly that it applies to “any organization” that has been charged with breaking federal or state election laws, lobbying disclosure laws, campaign finance laws or filing fraudulent paperwork with any federal or state agency. It also applies to any of the employees, contractors or other folks affiliated with a group charged with any of those things.
In other words, the bill could plausibly defund the entire military-industrial complex. Whoops.
Murdered Over A Can Of Tuna This is why vigilante justice must never be allowed to take root in our society.
A 61-year-old Winnipeg store owner has been arrested and charged in the death of 29-year-old Geraldine Beardy.
Police allege Beardy was confronted by the man, whose name has not been released by police, after she was caught trying to steal a can of luncheon meat worth $1.49 at a Sherbrook Street convenience store in Winnipeg on Sept. 13. She was assaulted before she fled to a nearby residence, police said…
Beardy, a mother of three, lapsed into a coma after being hit with a bat, Keno said.
Check out the comments if you want to see how truly sick conservatism has become.
The European Union’s top justice official warned Monday he will push for retaliatory measures against Canada if it does not take steps toward lifting travel restrictions on Czech citizens by the end of the year.
Zelaya’s Back
The legally elected President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya has returned to Honduras.
Mr Zelaya has sought refuge inside the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, and has called on supporters who gathered in the streets to go to the embassy.
In an interview with the BBC, he said he was seeking dialogue and a non-violent resolution to the crisis.
Lets hope he takes the country back from the rapist dictators that have seized it.
Afghan Soldiers Don’t Come Back
The Afghan Army is mostly comprised of ghost soldiers.
My educated guess is that such an army simply does not exist. It may well be true that Afghan men have gone through some version of “Basic Warrior Training” 90,000 times or more. When I was teaching in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2006, I knew men who repeatedly went through ANA training to get the promised Kalashnikov and the pay. Then they went home for a while and often returned some weeks later to enlist again under a different name.
A public opinion poll conducted for National Defence says half of Canadians surveyed want their soldiers to return to a “peacekeeping only” role in the world.
Comments Off :
Robert McClelland :
Sep 21, '09 :
-Blahg Bits
The Crazy Train Just Keeps Rolling Along
Maybe they should teabag themselves.
Protesters who attended Saturday’s Tea Party rally in Washington found a new reason to be upset: Apparently they are unhappy with the level of service provided by the subway system.
Rep. Kevin Brady asked for an explanation of why the government-run subway system didn’t, in his view, adequately prepare for this past weekend’s rally to protest government spending and government services.
I Always Feel Like, Somebody’s Watching Me This is disturbing.
War correspondents covering Canada’s efforts in Afghanistan have many faithful followers, but none more faithful than their own government.
Documents obtained by The Canadian Press detail how carefully reporters embedded with the military at Kandahar Airfield are monitored by officers in the field.
The reports are then circulated widely to officials back in Ottawa.
The Conservative Motto: If It Aint Broken, Break It
Does anyone have a problem with Canada Post’s service? I think they do a pretty good job and I doubt even our demented rightwing colleagues would have any credible complaints to make. So what the hell is up with this bit of dickishness.
The federal government has issued new marching orders for the post office that call for reasonable postage and that letters be delivered within Canada in less than a week.
It looks to me like the Conservatives are just trying to throw a wrench into the gears.
The NDP always say they support reform, but they don’t take advantage of any opportunities to talk about it (or to actually do something about it at the provincial level when they’ve had the opportunity). The NDP favors electoral reform, just not the models which have been proposed.
The base hungers for some red meat.
They’re Coming To Take Him Away, Ha-ha!
You might have already seen this today, but this level of insanity is worth watching again.
Comments Off :
Robert McClelland :
Sep 13, '09 :
-Blahg Bits
The purpose of this blog is an honest, no holds barred discussion about white people. I am an agnostic and have been studying white people for decades. This blog does not endorse any concept of racial superiority of any “chosen” people. Violence against any group of people based on their race, gender, religion and creed is abhorrent, and unacceptable. While some white people are gentle and enlightened souls, most unfortunately are not.
Contrary to popular imagination, the vast majority of terrorists in the world are white males. The most destructive wars in history were(and are still) waged by whites, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of millions. The most destructive weapons are made by whites. Pornography is manufactured exclusively by whites. They are slowly but surely destroying the environment. Whites are more likely to be sexual predators, child molesters, rapists, stalkers and mass murderers. Why? The problem lies in their own nihilistic belief of racial superiority and the lack of a real sustainable culture based on higher principles of tolerance and respect.
The white race must be pacified and civilized for the betterment of the planet. This will become a reality as enlightened whites shed their racist heritage and rejoin the human race as equals.
Point The Bullshit Detector At This
Sorry, but I have a hard time believing the Conservatives would actually be this stupid.
Ottawa is eyeing a climate change plan that would allow Alberta’s oil sands to continue growing – and polluting – but would clamp down on industries in the rest of the country, multiple sources have told the Toronto Star…
That could jeopardize the economies of eight provinces and three territories for the sake of continued growth in Alberta and Saskatchewan, detractors say.
Crazy Al Franken Opens A Can Of Whoopass On Teabaggers
He mercilessly pummels them with rationality.
Be Afraid, Mr. Harper. Be Very Afraid ThreeHundredEight.com has some seat projection numbers to go along with yesterday’s Angus Reid poll.
Who Is Funding The Taliban?
It might be US taxpayers.
The United States Agency for International Development has opened an investigation into allegations that its funds for road and bridge construction in Afghanistan are ending up in the hands of the Taliban, through a protection racket for contractors.
Researchers from the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee analyzed data reported by the insurers to the California Department of Managed Care. From 2002 through June 30, 2009, the six insurers rejected 45.7 million claims — 22 percent of all claims.
Whose Afraid Of An Election
If the Conservatives aren’t afraid of a fall election then why are they throwing every excuse imaginable out there in order to prevent one? Could it be that they are afraid because of this.
All G7 economies save those of Canada, Britain and Italy will expand in the third quarter, the Paris-based OECD said Thursday. Canada’s gross domestic product will contract at an annual rate of 2 per cent in the period, the weakest of the three laggards…
More economic contraction in the midst of an election would become a serious hurdle for the Conservatives to overcome.
Are The Dippers Afraid Of Going To The Polls
I doubt it. A new Angus Reid poll puts them at 19%.
CP: 33%
LP: 32%
NDP: 19%
BQ: 9%
GP: 7%
Previous polls have shown them trending upward back to their 2008 election night numbers.
What Dan Says Dan Gardner on the current state of politics in Canada.
As the more astute among us will know, there are a few things going on in the world at the moment. Economic crisis. Climate change. A failing war. And so on and so forth. Meanwhile in Canada, a party with no policies threatens to push a government with no principles into an election, prompting angry talk of home-renovation tax credits and taunts so childish they would make the average tween cringe.
Hey, that’s what happens when you put the tweeniors in charge. You get the worst of both worlds; teenage stupidity and senior senility.
I Demand You Apologize…
…for not agreeing with me. Alan Willaert is clearly campaigning hard for this year’s dumbest person in the world award.
A recent report by an Israeli non-governmental organisation says 5,000 Palestinian children in East Jerusalem will not be able to attend classes this year because there are not enough classrooms…
According to the report, there is a huge discrepancy in the number of schools and quality of education in the Arab East part of Jerusalem, compared to the predominantly Jewish West of the City.
Denial Was A River In Africa
The latest Climate Denial Crock of the Week from Peter Sinclair.
Have You Beaten Your Child Today
In a recent national referendum New Zealanders voted in favour of allowing violence against children to resume after it was banned two years ago. This is a perfect example of why direct democracy advocates can kiss my ass. Luckily for New Zealand’s children the referendum was non binding and Prime Minister Key has said he won’t change the law.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public support for Stephen Harper fell slightly in Canada this month, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 32 per cent of respondents approve of the prime minister’s performance, down two points since November.
