Thursday, January 29, 2009

Someone Bring a Rope, by Gråulf

Since I am in such a foul mood this evening, here is my list of people who should be hanging from lampposts. Not because they are mostly democrats, but because they turned the mortgage industry into a giant pyramid scheme.

Alan Greenspan, Chairman of US Federal Reserve 1987-2006. He allowed the housing bubbles to develop as a result o his low interest rates and lack of regulations in mortgage lending. He backed sub prime lending and urged homebuyer’s to swap fixed-rate mortgages for variable rate deals, which left borrowers unable to pay when interests rates rose.

Bill Clinton, former US president. In 1999 Clinton repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, which ensured a complete separation between commercial banks. The move prompted the era of the superbank and primed the sub-prime market for the eventual financial crash.

Senator Phil Gramm, former US senator from Texas. He fought long and hard for financial deregulation. His work, encouraged by Clinton’s administration, allowed the explosive growth of derivatives, including credit swaps.

Christopher Dodd, chairman, Senate banking committee (Democrat). He consistently resisted affords to tighten regulations on the mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Abby Cohen, Goldman Sachs chief US strategist. She failed to see previous share price crashes, and continued her upwards forecasts.

Kathleen Corbet, former CEO of Standard & Poor’s. Her credit-rating agency failed to warn of the risk posed by mortgage- backed securities.

Hank Greenberg, AIG Insurance Group. He had a vast business in credit default swaps and therefore a huge exposure to a residential mortgage crisis. He got an 85 billion bailout, and then spent half a million on a huge party to celebrate.

Dick Fuld, Lehman Brothers chief executive. He encouraged risk taking and Lehman was investing heavily in property at the top of the market.

Ralph Ciffi and Mathew Tannin. They were Bears Sterns bankers recently indicted for fraud over the collapse of two hedge funds, which was one of the triggers of the credit crunch.

Lewis Raniere, the “godfather” of mortgage finance, who pioneered mortgage-backed bonds in the 1980s.

Joseph Cassano, AIG Financial Products. He ran the AIG team that sold credit default swaps in London, and bankrupted the world’s biggest insurance company.

Chuck Prince, former Citi boss. He built Citi into the biggest bank in the world, When profits went into reverse in 2007 he insisted it was just a hiccup.

Angelo Moxilo, Countrywide Financial. He was responsible for selling risky loans to thousands who could not afford them.

Stan O’Neal, former boss of Merril Lynch. Shortly before he quit the bank admitted to 8 billions of exposure to bad debts.

Jimmy Cayne, former Bear Stearns boss. His bank collapsed after two of its hedge funds collapsed.

John Tiner, FSA chief executive 2003-07. He agreed that banks could make up their own minds about how much cash they needed to hoard to cover their tracks. Now he works for Clove Crowdery, buying up financial businesses laid low by the credit crunch.

Gråulf.

Pass the Vaseline, by Gråulf

We have just been victimized by the biggest heist in human history. The Democrats voted to take almost a trillion dollars from American taxpayers, and legitimized it by calling it a stimulus plan. It is not a stimulus plan, or even a bailout plan. It is one gigantic swindle. This plan is the wish list of every tax-and-spend Liberal in Nancy Peloci’s nutty government. Obviously, if the first trillion dollars didn’t do anything to fix the financial crisis, the logical thing to do is to drop another trillion into the hole. So much for Obama working both sides of the isle!

Like the first bailout, this one had to be done in a hurry so there was no time for discussion or debate, or to allow the public to discover that a large part of the money is designated for pork barrel projects favored by Democrats. The unseemly haste should have been a warning, because there is no need for hurry since less than 20% of the money will be spent during the first year, and a large part will not be spent for 3 years.

This so-called stimulus plan will cost 1.2 trillion dollars with interest. That comes to over $9,000 per American family, but wait a minute… only half the taxpayers in this country pay any income tax, although Obama still intend to give tax refunds to 95% of Americans. I wonder how that works, and will someone kindly pass the Vaseline while we bend over.

Anyone interested in what will happen to this country with a Democrat majority in Congress need only look to the Democrat states. They are the states that are broke, and clamoring for the Feds. to bail them out. Ain’t this a great country.

Gråulf.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Anomolies - By Moses

Are Machines Perfect?

It was in the mid-sixties when a number of planes vanished from Radar over the West-Indies, commonly referred to as the Bermuda Triangle. This would suggest a combatant to tracking technologies. Most airplanes made their destination, the ones that vanished however, were never found. It leaves one to question the cause and effects to a Radar that can be fogged into failure.
In the 1970's Ford put out a vehicle called the 'Vega'. It was such a success that the designers at Ford decided to build a similar automobile in design, called the 'Pinto'. The difference was that the 'Vega' had its' engine in the front hood, while the 'Pinto's' engine was under a rear hood. Many 'Pinto's' that were rear-ended blew up. 'Vega's' that tailgated into accident did not explode. There are still many Automobiles (including Porsche) that have rear engines, similar to that of the 'Pinto'. There are rarely any Automobile models with this design that have a concern as, and as severe as, the 'Pinto'. This was a problem in Ford's Production plants moreso than in design.
Today, practically every Automobile Manufacturer uses Robotic Technology on their assembly lines. This essentially standardizes every vehicle to upkeep standards. The Auto Workers themselves, while not as consistant as a Robotic Machine, are used in practically every assembly line, as a thinking, breathing person can troubleshoot and fix any Robotic mistake. Could you imagine every Chevrolet Corvette of a particular year being recalled because of a command programmed within a Robotic Assembly line. This is the reason we have people working with these machines. Likewise, a machine will never be able to operate outside the parameters of the designers programming. In other words, a Robotic machine DOES NOT DREAM. A person is viable in Auto Production Plants for this reason.
It was in 2006, in Toronto Canada that a 16 year old by the surname Kim was walking about in his neighbourhood. He mistakenly looked right, and seeing a green light walked left into oncoming traffic. He was killed instantaeneously. To those that would say Kim lacked the necessities to function effectively in a city, or even in his neighbourhood, all that can say is this;
In early 2006 (just prior to his death) Baseball Canada had Kim scouted and ranked the #1 under 18 Prospect in the City of Toronto, and in the top 10 in all of Canada. Being scouted this high leaves one to question very simply, what do we make of anomolies?

Conclusion

A level of tolerance towards anomolies is a very important concept. At no point will quantization be 100% achievable. To be intolerant of not knowing everything will eventually either fog our Radar, or cause disorientation or dimensia to the masses. The reasoning is that in panic mode (being in a terrorized state), a person does not make the rational decisions that one needs to make to feel secure. A machine does not feel guilt. Does a Suicide bomber feel guilt?

Gaza War Crimes, by Gråulf

My daughter is at the International Court at The Hague, and she is having a difficult time with the conflict in the Middle East. On one hand, she is a bleeding heart liberal, and terribly upset about the human suffering in Gaza. On the other hand, she is afraid to let her coworkers know she is Jewish, because Arab sympathizers at the court might compromise her work, as well as her safety. Much of Europe is rife with vociferous anti-Israel rhetoric, and anti-Semitism is on the raise. Nor are Jews in the US entirely spared. For 2007, FBI figures show that among 1,477 religiously motivated hate crimes reported, 9% were anti-Islamic, 9.5% were anti-other religion, 4.4% were anti-Catholic, and 68.4% were anti-Jewish.

Now the United Nations, and the International Court at The Hague, are considering charging Israel, as well as individual Jewish citizens, with war crimes. One of the most ardent advocates for a war crimes trial is a Danish lawyer, and professional busybody, by the name of Elna Sondergaard. In an article published in the Palestine Chronicle she writes:

  • “The brutal and indiscriminate Israeli attacks on the Palestinian population in Gaza during the last weeks have entailed numerous violations of basic norms of international law, such as the principles of proportionality and distinction (between civilians and combatants; and between civilian and military targets). Military acts, such as intentionally targeting schools and other civilian facilities are considered violations of international humanitarian law in relation to which the state of Israel bears responsibility – but they also constitute serious crimes under international law (e.g., war crimes and eventual crimes against humanity) in relation to which individuals should stand trial.”

This is not a lady I would want on the jury. As you can see from her language, she already knows who the guilty party is.

In stark contrast to that article, the Jerusalem Post interviewed Irwin Cotler, a former Canadian Justice minister, MP and law professor at Montreal’s McGill University. It is his opinion that Hamas has systematically violated international agreements related to armed conflict.

  • “Hamas is committing at least six violations of international law, Cotler explained.
  • "First, the deliberate targeting of civilians is in and of itself a war crime," he noted, referring to the Hamas rockets fired at southern towns for eight years.
  • "A second war crime is when Hamas attacks [from within] civilian areas and civilian structures, whether it be an apartment building, a mosque or a hospital, in order to be immune from a response from Israel," he went on. "Civilians are protected persons, and civilian areas are protected areas. Any use of a civilian infrastructure to launch bombs is itself a war crime."
  • That Hamas bears legal responsibility for the harm to civilians in areas from which it fires is enshrined throughout international law, he said: "In the general principles of customs binding on nations, in the specific international law of armed conflict [also called] international humanitarian law, in the Fourth Geneva Convention, in decisions of the International Court of Justice and the international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda - it's all set out there."
  • Third, he explained, "the misuse and abuse of humanitarian symbols for purposes of launching attacks is called the perfidy principle. For example, using an ambulance to transport fighters or weapons or disguising oneself as a doctor in a hospital, or using a UN logo or flag, are war crimes."
  • The fourth violation, "of which little has been made, is the prohibition in the Fourth Geneva Convention and international jurisprudence against the direct and public incitement to genocide. The Hamas covenant itself is a standing incitement to genocide. [Similarly,] just before this fighting started, I saw Hamas leaders on television referring to Israel and Jews as the sons of apes and pigs."
  • The fifth crime relates to the scope of the attack on civilians, which upgrades the violation to a crime against humanity. According to Cotler, "when you deliberately hit civilians not infrequently but in a systematic, widespread attack, that's defined in the treaty of the International Criminal Court and international humanitarian law as a crime against humanity."
  • The final war crime for which Hamas is responsible is the recruitment of children into armed conflict.”

People around the world can lay the blame for the Gaza war on Israel or on Hamas, depending on who they support, but I would argue that the population of Gaza is culpable in this conflict, and legitimate targets. The Gazan’s elected a terrorist organization as their government, knowing their fanatical agenda, and they were well aware that electing Hamas would limit international aide. They were aware that Israel would close the Gaza crossings if they continued to smuggle weapons across the border, and shooting rockets into Israel. And they were certainly aware that Israel would attack in response to the barrage of rockets fired at Israel after the Cease Fire expired.

It is easy for a bunch of armchair pacifists to talk about proportional response, and about charging soldiers at war with crimes against humanity; but if there is a crime to be prosecuted, it is that the world, and especially the Arab World, has allowed Palestinians to live in refugee camps for two generations.


Gråulf

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Obama’s Energy Czar, by Gråulf

Obama has been anointed the new messiah by all the major news services, the same media who protected him, and fawned over him throughout the campaign. Little has been said about the 46% of American who didn’t vote for him; that he was able to outspend his opponent by a factor of 3 to 1 during the campaign, and lied when he promised to accept federal campaign financing; that he is one of the most inexperienced candidates to ever be elected President; that no one knows for sure where he stands on most issues, except that he has promised to outspend any previous administration; that he was able to ride the culmination of the Civil Rights Movement to victory, although the campaign was not suppose to be about race; that his election leaves Pelosi and her fellow travelers in complete control of congress. Be that as it may, I promised not to criticize Obama until he became president and screwed up, but he is sure making that a difficult promise to keep with his choice of Carol Browner as his new energy czar.

Carol Browner is another rabid ideologue, who served as Al Gore’s senior legislative aide before being appointed to head the Environmental Protection Agency under Clinton from 1993 until 2000. Before she left the agency she ordered the destruction of the agency computer files in defiance of a federal court order requiring the agency to preserve its records. She later claimed she didn’t know about the court injunction signed by U.S. District Judge Royce Lambert. Yet, two days before she had all the agency records purged, the EPA had filed a motion opposing the federal court injunction protecting those government documents. Judge Lambert finally held the EPA in contempt of court after a two-year legal battle. The systematic destruction of records was a criminal act that should have sent Carol Browner to prison, but she somehow shifted the blame to the agency and weaseled out of any serious consequences to herself.

This is the person who will control the $150 billion dollars Obama has promised to spend on developing alternative energy sources, while taxing the coal industry out of existence with the Cap and Trade scheme. The scheme is a giant international swindle that will result in an exponential increase in the cost of energy, with devastating consequences to the economy. And there are no viable alternative energy sources on the horizon.

Coal has gotten a bad reputation, but modern coal fired energy plants are equipped to remove all visible particulate matter from their exhaust. They do emit CO2, which is an invisible, odorless, and harmless trace gas occurring naturally in the atmosphere, and there are no credible scientific studies to the contrary. The main claim that man’s release of greenhouse gases is the cause of climate warming is based almost entirely upon climate models of questionable validity. Now cooling weather is doing more to raise questions about the scam of manmade global warming than all the appeals to scientific reason. Even people who don’t understand the science recognize the illogic of arguing that colder temperatures are due to global warming, and many scientists are now searching for ways to quietly back out of the manmade global warming stance, without ruining their professional careers. This is causing advocates of human caused global warming to make ever more strident calls for immediate action, before the tipping point is reached and the climate (or their careers) spirals out of control. That is the stark assessment of NASA scientist and leading climate expert Jim Hansen, who has warned Obama that he has only four years to save the world from CO2.

I don’t know a lot about economic systems, so I can’t tell if Obama’s plan to beggar future generations by spending trillions of dollars on a giant bailout scheme is justified, but I do know that he is choosing ideologues for important science positions in his government. People who have made human caused global warming their life mission, and who will never change their minds.

Gråulf.

President Barack Obama - By Moses

It's finally materialized for the record books. The first African-American President of the U.S.A. Is Obama well spoken? I think so. Is Barack Obama qualified? I think so. Does the Nation of America accept him as their leader? I think so.
Here are some issues that we may want to give some leeway to. Since 2007 the European Dollar has dropped 20% to the Chinese Yuan (likewise a 10% drop in U.S currency). Could it be that this is a Chinese excercise in trying to throw their weight around. Heaven knows the Chinese aren't terrorists. No problems in China eh? Considering that Obama spent a number of years in Southeast Asia, the chances are that he's well equipped to come to terms with the Customs within the Pacific Rim. Obama also Governed one of the most tricky states, in Illinois, and his ethnic diversity in the real world will probably pay huge dividends among suffering minorities having to stomach a possible lasting recession. In a time of change, people have to make sacrifices, and the American Public seem ready to accept the decisions that will be made by Barack Obama.
In all honesty I think we'll be looking at roughly a 20% cut in White Collar wages. Sorry people but I just don't feel sorry for the guy making $2,000,000/year having a new and improved $1.6 Million/year Gross. Here's the Democrat perspective. 30,000,000 people with an income of $2 million+/year taking a 20% wage cut, brings in $12 Trillion Dollars. Hell, Obama doesn't even have to cut anything from the space program at that rate. Is it feasable? Ask Robin Hood. He was a Democrat too.
During his speech, Obama talked of the fortitude of Country. Putting goals into a common domain. This reminded me of what my folks used to say about J.F.K. Whether or not the American people will stay united as they were today is unknown. As a Leader, Barack Obama will stand. As a Country the U.S.A and their people should be proud as they have a tremendous opportunity to harness negative American press that we see Worldwide.
Today is a proud day.

Jihad - By Moses

In Radical Islam Jihad is defined as a 'Holy War'.
To an academic, Jihad is defined as 'the Lords Wrath'
'Holy War' is essentially the legalization of murder and is what we see in the form of suicide bombers and the hunting of Jews and Americans. A person should not, at any level, be fighting G-ds battles as we are not Gods. It is Saudi Arabia that is currently funneling money to the families of the suicide bombers that is encouraging this practice. Why isn't the money coming from Saudi Arabia before these murderous actions? In Isaiah it states 'No Nation shall bear arms upon another Nation'. Likewise from Old and New Testament it states 'Honour thy neighbour'.
Israel's reply to 4584 mortars, bombs, and missiles being fired from Gaza into Israel between 2007 to the present is simple; There is absolutely, unequivically, no chance for a Peace Process with Hammas. Once Gaza has a responsible democratic Party in power Gaza will be rebuilt, as Jericho and the West Bank were from 1993 to the present.
To understand the Ghetto of Gaza is a statement of Hammas trying to put images into Worldwide media convicting the State of Israel as an evil animal-like entity. This is not to minimize the suffering of the Palestinian people in this city. When we look at the flourishing settlements of Jericho and the West Bank it becomes obvious that this is not a Zionist plot to exterminate Palestinians in Gaza. It is rather a Terrorist faction playing dirty with the Palestinian people of Gaza and using them as Martyrs of their cause with absolutely no regard for the same people they say they are trying to liberate. By the way, has anyone ever wondered why the Constitution of Israel accepts Palestine while the Hammas Constitution is calling for the extermination of Jews?

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Legacy of the Vikings, by Gråulf

History has not been kind to the Vikings, and most historians discount them as barbarian terrorists, who brought paganism and ignorance with them. That is what happens when your enemies get to write the history. The motives of the Vikings are presumed to have been greed, and their lust for plunders and murder. They are accused of having all the moral attributes of a pack of wolves. And yet, they brought a new concept of society with them that emphasized individual liberty and rights, the basic principles of what would eventually become English Law.

By the ninth century the Viking raids developed into organized invasions. Christianity was by no means firmly established in all of England by then, and the pagan Vikings found both encouragement and help there. The Danes focused their conquests there, and had conquered a great part of England by 886, when the English king, Alfred the Great, made a pact with Gurhrum, leader of the Danes, recognizing their rule over their conquest, the Danelaw.

The Vikings became settlers because conditions were changing at home, where petty chieftains were converting to Christianity for political reasons. They then proceeded to preach the gospel to their neighbors with fire and sword. By the reign of Valdemar the Great there were no more independent chieftains in Denmark. Harold the Fairhaired did the same in Norway, and got his name because he made a vow not to cut his hair until he had killed, or driven out every pagan in Norway. The Northmen had a tradition of democracy leading back a thousand years, to the beginning of the Iron Age. At that time the emerging Celtic Empire flourished and cut the trade routes from Scandinavia into Southern Europe. The success of the Celts was due to their discovery of Iron. The Northmen adapted this new metal for their own use, as it was readily available throughout the North in the form of bog-iron, and was vastly superior to bronze for tools and weapons. This change was the beginning of the end for the upper class in the north. Their power and wealth had been based on having control of the trade of copper and tin, essential in the manufacturing of bronze. A shift in ocean currents at this time caused the climate to become much colder and wetter, and it became harder to survive in the north. Consequently the hungry and impoverished upper class had to become farmers to survive, and the distinction between classes began to blur. By the Viking Age a tradition of equality permeated Nordic society. Chieftains were called kings, but were chosen by their people at the annual Alting, a representative body of all free men, were laws were made and acted upon. Kings were chosen for their ability and strength in battle and were followed only so long as they proved themselves worthy. The ancient Danish saga Beowulf, recorded and preserved by English monks, speaks of this ideal. It talks of a King who "Heaped troubles on his unhappy people's heads." He had become so swelled with his own wealth and power that "He deserved to suffer and die."

The Viking settlers of Danelaw were not inclined to repeat the conditions that had forced them to leave their homeland in search of freedom. They brought their traditions of individual rights and privileges with them, and even strengthened and reinforced these traditions in their new homeland. Consequently there was never a king of Danelaw. Danish law and custom dovetailed neatly into almost forgotten Anglo-Saxon traditions because they were the same people removed by four hundred years. Their language and culture was similar, although continental notions of feudalism had influenced the English to some extent. Also, the Danes brought prosperity. They were accomplished traders and merchants as well as warrior farmers. They opened England to Continental trade, especially with the Baltic, as well as founding the first English fortified towns and cities along their borders.

The Danes became deeply embedded in their adopted country, where their intense love of the land they had won by the sword is reflected to this day in English property and land laws. In England a free man could go from one lord to another and transfer his land with him. The essence of continental feudalism, on the other hand, was that the land remained under the lord, whatever the man might do. As time passed the Viking settlers forgot the sea, and thought only off the land. They also gradually became Christians, though their distrust of the church was so deeply embedded in their culture that the English church never again regained the power it had before the coming of the Danes.

Danish law and custom became the practice of all England between 1017 and 1042 when England was part of the Danish empire. Under king Canute the government of England was individual to the background and philosophy of the people. Canute ruled according to the laws of the land, and he made it known that these were to be administered in austere detachment from his executive authority. He made a point of submitting himself to the laws whereby he ruled, and even in his military capacity submitted himself to the regulations of his household troops. It is clear that this notion of the king being subject to the law survived the Norman conquest of England, and that it predates the Magna Carta. When the line of Canute died out in 1042, with the death of Harthacanute the English, Anglo-Saxons and Danes together, turned back to the line of Alfred, and chose Edward, later called the Confessor, as their king. That set in motion events leading to the invasion of England by the Norman's in 1066.

The feudal system, which the Norman’s brought to England, was in direct contrast to the ideals of liberty that the Danes in England expressed. There was no feudal system in England until after the Norman Conquest, and when William the Conqueror took the throne of England he had to moderate his notion of kingship to what his new subjects would accept. In England the king was expected to stand between the barons and the people, protecting the common man. The English people gave William the power to control his barons, and with the barons unified under a strong king, William was powerful enough to keep peace in the land.

The Norman kings were careful to respect the laws already in effect. They left the English system of county courts in place, but put men loyal to them in the positions of Judge and Sheriff. Henry II, in an attempt to increase his power, created a new system of courts, which were responsible to him and based on the Danish concept of the King's Peace. However, even these courts were careful to respect existing laws. In order to entice people into his courts, Henry introduced they Jury. This guaranteed the adherence to the ancient laws as the members of the Juries were committed to these laws. In this way the "law flowed from the people," as it had in Denmark. The concept of the Jury was unlike anything previously seen on the mainland and Henry II is often given credit for this new and important development. However, the Laws of Ethelred, which were recorded in 997, describe the jury system, saying "a gemot be held in every wapentake, and the twelve senior thegns go out, and the reeve with them, and swear on the relic that they will accuse no innocent man, nor accuse no guilty man." It is clear that this was a custom in the Danish section of England because of the use of the word "wapentake," the Danish word for hundred. The twelve jurors are also proof that the Jury is a Danish custom. Unlike the Roman, who organized their numbers in tens, the Danes had a duodecimal system that counted by twelve's.

The Vikings made the Baltic their own, and laid the foundation for the kingdom of Russia; they were held in high regard by the Byzantine emperors whose Veringian guard was made up entirely of Vikings; they thumbed their nose at Charlemagne in the Mediterranean; they laid siege to Paris, and settled a large part of France that became known as Normandy; they conquered England and made it a Danish Kingdom; they founded Dublin and colonized much of Ireland; they settled the Hebrides and the Orkneys; they discovered Iceland and Greenland and established the worlds first representative democracies that were enlightened enough to abolished slavery a thousand years ago; they discovered America, and established several temporary colonies there; they developed a ship so advanced that they became the first people to navigate the Atlantic. A discriminating reader must recognize that there was more to the Vikings than was reported by their enemies. There were never enough of them to hold what they conquered, but their customs and beliefs endured, and became their legacy. They were not barbarians, and their greatest contribution to humanity is their ideals of individual liberty and rights that became the principle of English Law, and the foundation of our legal system and governments.

Gråulf.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

World Issues and Sensibilities- by Moses

Notables,

1) Definition of Zionist Movement - A belief that there should be a Homeland for Jews (direct descendants of Israel/Jacob in Old Testament).

2) Constitutional Law

a) Constitution of Israel - Does not prohibit Muslim, Christian, Armenian, or Palestinian
people from living in Israel.
b) Sabra - Someone that is born in Israel
c) Rights of the Bedoin (Direct Descendants of Ishmael) - Every Bedoin man is given money for each of their children by the State of Israel. Every Bedoin man is allowed to have as many wives as they wish. These are privelages entiltled to a Bedoin Man because of his covenant of circumcision alongside his father Abrahm/Abraham.
d) The Constitution of Canada (innate Freedoms) versus Crime and Punishment (a.k.a. The Criminal Code) - In the Canadian Constitution a person from Somalia has the same rights as someone from the Czech Republic even though they have two completely different customs. Wheras a person from the Czech Republic may have been imprisoned for saying 'Lady Diana was murdered by Queen Elizabeth.', in Canada a person is not. We're protected by the Freedom of Speech.

3) A Fight

a) A fight between Armies is a War.
b) Should my Seven year old son be pushed by another seven year old boy in the playground, I would tell my boy to push back. This is not a war. This is self-defence. Fighting back does not make you a bully.
c) You DO NOT put guns into a ten year olds' hands.

4) Monotheism

a) Began the moment Abrahm circumsized Ishmael and himself at Mount Moriah (now known as the Dome on the Rock).
b) Advisors - Consigliori - Pharoah's in its' purst form as, should the advisor know in no other certain terms, he/she would be the Creator of the Universe.

5) Terrorist Factions

a) Hezbollah - Faction based in Iran and Syria
b) Islamic Jihad - Faction based in Egypt
c) Hammas - Faction based in Palestine

All three factions deem three common sentiments

1) The Killing of all Jews
2) The Killing of all Americans
3) The end of Democracy

Monday, January 12, 2009

Survival, by Gråulf

A few years ago I participated in a problem solving design shop in Los Angeles. The group was discussing how to respond to a major earthquake. One participant pointed out that a major earthquake would collapse all bridges and overpasses in the area, which would make it virtually impossible to bring food and emergency supplies into Los Angeles. The speaker stated that no American city has food for more than four days, and after that people would begin to die from starvation. I licked my chops, and told them that I would not go hungry as long as there were so many plump people around. The group responded with some nervous laughter, and went back to discussing the horror of starvation. There were no survivors in that group.

Survival is as much about attitude as ability, and a survival situation does not necessarily involve getting caught in an earthquake. On one hunting trip I trekked further into the mountains than normal. I had learned the hard way not to hunt further back in the mountains than I am prepared to carry an animal out, but this afternoon was glorious, and I was in new and unfamiliar country, so I slung my Rugar #1, and kept going for the sheer joy of hiking through the fall mountains. Shortly after I turned back towards camp it clouded over, and a snowstorm blew in over the continental divide. That was of no particular concern, and I trampled through the snow with a big grin on my face, and icicles freezing in my beard. Then it was getting dark, and the snow was coming down so fast that visibility was about 10 feet, and I realized that to all intents and purposes I was lost. The snow was 2 feet deep by then, so what I could see of the landscape looked vastly different than on the way into the mountains, and even if I could keep a fairly accurate compass heading I was unlikely to find my camp unless I tripped on it. Since I carry a tomahawk when I hunt for elk it only took about half an hour to build a lean-to, and cover the floor with a thick layer of evergreen branches. Gathering enough firewood, and building a reflector, took another half hour. That was not the most comfortable night I ever spent, but it sure was not my least comfortable night either.

That was not much of a survival story, and that is the point I want to make. I was never in any danger because I knew enough not to stumble around in a snowstorm until I got wet and cold and possibly died from hypothermia, and I carried the means to make a shelter and a fire in my daypack.

The community of Ward, up Left-Hand Canyon from Boulder, used to be a survivalist community, and probably still is. The inhabitants had a pact to stock at least a year’s supply of food for each person in the community, and to help each other survive if the situation arose. One of my friends had a sister who lived in Ward, and she invited her brother to bring up a stockpile of food so he could join the community if our society collapsed. My friend asked his sister if they would take him in without a stockpile of food, and she told him that if he came without the food they would have to shoot him.

If society collapsed, for whatever reason, the cities would turn to chaos overnight, and armed gangs will loot, kill, and steal whatever they can find until there is nothing left in the cities to eat. Then they will migrate into the countryside to rob those who have the means to survive. At that point survival will depend on vigilance and firepower. I doubt many small survivalist group can expect to exist for long, even out here in the West where there is lots of space to hide. That is a terrible condemnation of the human race, but it is one based on observing what happens in urban areas when law enforcement breaks down, even for a short period of time. The roving bands of looters will probably survive for a year or so, until they are killed off, or they die because there is nothing left to scavenge. Then those with the will and the skills to survive can get on with creating a new society.

Gråulf.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Obama’s Intellectuals, by Gråulf

I spent New Years Eve with several intellectuals, who are devout Obama disciples. They were talking about all the brainpower Obama is assembling for his administration, and about how wonderful it will be to have intellectuals running the country, instead of the morons in charge now. Then they began commiserating about nasty anti-intellectuals, who were criticizing Obama’s choices. I told them that if I needed to split atoms I would ask an intellectual for advice, but I would not take advice about how to live from people who couldn’t change a flat tire. I was being facetious, but all the intellectuals exchanged meaningful looks (I have known these people for years, and know for a fact that none of them are capable of changing a flat). Then I got up to get myself another drink, because I have found it a waste of time to discuss politics with Liberals.

The point is that many of Obama’s choices for Cabinet Posts have impeccable academic credentials, but none of them have actual experience for the jobs they have been chosen to do. Obama’s choice for energy secretary is Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize winning experimental physicist known for his works in laser cooling. He is also deeply engaged in Al Gore’s Global Warming scheme and a leader in the world wide effort to move a leftist agenda forward that is intended to scare the public into third world lifestyles under threat of man-made climate change. Along with Steve Chu, Obama chose John Holden as one of his Science Advisors. Holden is another Manmade Global Warming enthusiast, known for his vicious attacks on those who disagree with his point of view.

One of the scientist’s who experienced the wrath of these two people is Bjørn Lomborg, a Danish scientist, and author of The Skeptical Environmentalist. While Lomborg does not deny global warming, or even that it may be manmade, he is unsparing in his critique of activists and others who promoted unfounded fears of ecological catastrophe. This was not a message the mainstream environmental activist community wanted to hear, so Steven Chu and John Holden were in the forefront of those who tried to get the Danish scientist fired and discredited for plagiarism, and for promoting unsound science.

Obama explained his choices for these high profile posts, and stated, “Promoting science isn’t just about providing resources – it’s about protecting free and open inquiry.” In his administration, he pledged, science would not be obscured by “politics or ideology.” If that is actually his intent, his choices are most peculiar. Both of these people are locked into a particular point of view, and have no interest whatsoever in discourse or discovery.

Gråulf.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Genocide and the UN, by Gråulf

During WW II Franklin Roosevelt called for the unconditional surrender of Germany. The allies did not care about civilian casualties. In fact, the allies thought the Nazi regime and the German people who supported genocide didn’t especially deserve “humane” or “proportional” treatment. Today these same allies condemn the Israelis for defending themselves against those who attack them, despite the fact that Hamas, who rules Gaza, is a self-proclaimed genocidal organization.

The UN claims to be concerned about genocide, and it is engaged in prosecuting genocide in places like Rwanda, but the United Nations has failed to condemned the PLO, Hezbollah, and Hamas, all of which are terrorist organizations, and all of which have the destruction of Israel as their primary focus. I am also curious about the UN’s failure to comment on a new law passed by the Hamas in Gaza during the Christmas holidays. The law makes crucifixion the appropriate punishment for Defamation of Islam.

I spent last night reading the Hamas charter (Hamas is an acronym for “Islamic Resistance Movement” in Arabic). It is a long rambling document, similar to the charter of Hezbollah. It states unequivocally the Hamas reason for existing is the liberation of Palestine from the impurity of the Jews. According to its charter, Palestine was Gods gift to the Muslims until the Day of Resurrection, and it is their duty to hunt down and kill all Jews, no matter where they hide. The charter also states that no part of Palestine may be abandoned or renounced, for “renouncing any part of Palestine means renouncing [our] religion”. The existence of Israel is therefore, in the words of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, "an affront to Islam" and Hamas's campaign against Israelis is "an expression of the Divine Will".

Most people believe the PLO removed language calling for the destruction of Israel from its charter back in 1993, when on a sunny September day in l993, Arafat and the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitshak Rabin made a promise of peace between their people and sealed the deal by awkwardly clasping hands to shouts and applause from thousands gathered on the White House lawn. In fact, the language calling for the destruction of Israel has not been removed from the PLO charter, and is still there despite repeated US pressure to remove it. When Arafat returned to the Middle East he explained to his followers that he had acknowledged that Israel did in fact exist, so he admitted to that, but he would newer admit that Israel has a right to exist. The Palestinians are masters of duplicity, and the Bush administration eventually realized that it was a waste of time to negotiate with them. The conflict in the Middle East is not about land, as much as it is a religious conflict, and as such it is immune to any rational resolution.

The question is, what irrational resolution might work, other than the use of force to exterminate one side or the other?

Gråulf.

Bathurst and Dundas - By Moses

Hey,

Anybody ever wonder why Bathurst and Dundas is in an awkward curvature? I'll tell you why.
See, it was 1941 and my Great Grandfather Harry Gula - a recognizable Hebrew - owned the largest Jewish Bakery in all of Canada (Gula Matzot). The municipality of Toronto (funded Federally), decided to build a main Northern through-way called Dundas Street. The City of York paid off businesses for the purpose of building a Street parallel to Queen Street. My Great Grandfather was making a lot of money in those days and asked the City for more money (Oliver). The City essentially decided in their infinite wisdom to bar him from inclusion and this resulted in Dundas Street West being an eyesore for anyone traveling the crooked street. Anti-Semitism was very prevalent in those days (we took our share) and to this day the story passed down from generation to generation in our family is that the City of Toronto (funded Federally) wouldn't pay a Jew $5,000 more for his property, but rather spend $100,000 (funded Federally) to build a crooked street.
My question is this; In 1941 did anyone working for the City of Toronto, or Federal Cabinets ever consider Jews to be crooked, as Hitler was proclaiming at the time while the Allied Forces were fighting a battle in Normandy? and, would you sell your business at rock bottom when you're making a tonne of money?

Henry Aaron - By Moses

Henry Aaron
By Moses

Henry Aaron may very well have been the greatest batsman to have played the game.
Aaron posted fifteen seasons of 30+Homeruns/Year. He also batted .300+ fourteen times in his career.
Aaron finished his career with the most lifetime home-runs with 755 and had 3771 lifetime hits, with a .305 lifetime batting average.
What made Aaron so special was that he was truly consistent over the years he played. From 1957–1973 he failed to hit 30+ home-runs only twice.
Hank Aaron started his career with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro-Leagues and fared well as a prospective shortstop. He was signed by the Milwaukee Braves on this premise. While in the Braves chain Aaron was moved to his post in right field which he served for 23 years. In his minor league days, starting in 1952, Aaron played alongside Wes Covington whom he claimed was a ‘Negro’ too colourful for the Braves organization. Aaron always considered Covington to be a better player than himself and although Covington was called up to play with the Braves, he never reached the status that Aaron thought he deserved.
Aaron's’ professional career actually started in 1947 with the Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro Leagues. He was a standout Shortstop. Had the Major Leagues truly integrated African American Teams and players into the game, Worldwide Media would have integrated African American Ownership in North American sport. In truth, while the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba are top Leagues in the World, the U.S.A market for Baseball has far too much bigotry when it comes to changing economic times.
When Aaron reached the Majors in 1954, he joined a great team. With Spahn, Sain, and Lou Burdette in the rotation, and Joe Adcock and Eddie Mathews in the lineup, the Braves were peaking when Aaron joined them. It all came together in 1957, with Aaron leading the way. Aaron won the MVP that year and led Milwaukee to their first World Series Title, the organization’s first since their days in Boston. They looked poised to win more but were defeated the next year against the New York Yankees in their rematch of the ’57 Series. They never won another World Series Title in Milwaukee (to this day).
The team re-located to Atlanta in 1966, but didn’t win a Series in the remainder of Aaron’s' career.
Aaron did however have another goal in mind (although I’m sure he’d have taken another World Series Title instead), he was inching close to Ruth’s career home-run record of 714.
When Aaron started to get close in 1973 he received hate letters and death threats in large numbers. To understand this hatred is of ignorance. Aaron passed Babe Ruth early in the season of 1974, and then went back to Milwaukee to finish his career with the expansion Milwaukee Brewers.
Henry Aaron is now the only African-American President of Operations and has held this position with the Atlanta Braves since 1988. It would stand to reason that America’s pastime would promote African American ownership at three levels;

The MLBPA (Major League Baseball Players Association)
Ownership of specific franchises
Major League Executive positions

It was 1936, in Berlin,Germany, when Jesse Owens defeated Nazi-ism by winning four Gold Medals. In 1947 Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier in MLB. In 2008 there are zero African American Owners in Major League Baseball. There has never been an African American named Commissioner.
This was why the British and the Americans fought WW11?

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

A Pax on SUV’s, by Gråulf

I was bundled up against the cold, on my way back to the office after donating blood at the Bonfils bloodsucker mobile, when a young lady carrying a clipboard confronted me. She asked me to help save the earth from global warming by signing a petition to place an additional tax on those who drive SUVs. Her prepared speech informed me that SUV’s put tons of CO2 into the air, which was causing the earths temperature to spin out of control, and raising the world’s sea level. Normally I just shake my head and push past such people, but this young lady exuded an aura of condescension that irritated me, so I stopped to see if she knew what she was talking about. It turned out that she didn’t have a clue, and judging from her response to my lecture, she didn’t care either.

Here are some of the facts, just in case someone out there is interested….

The earths atmosphere consist primarily of 78.084 percent Nitrogen, 20.947 percent Oxygen, 0.934 percent Argon, and 0.035 percent Carbon Dioxide. It is estimated that the portion of CO2 in the atmosphere that is man-made is 3.22 percent of the total, and that man-made CO2 contribute 0.117 percent to the global warming that has happened since the end of the Little Ice Age. 95.0 percent of the “Greenhouse Effect” is caused by water vapor, and we are lucky to have the “Greenhouse Effect, because the earth would be as cold as the surface of the moon without it.

The Kyoto Protocol calls for mandatory carbon dioxide reductions of 30% from developed countries like the U.S. Reducing man-made CO2 emissions this much would have an undetectable effect on climate while having a devastating effect on the U.S. economy. Can you drive your car 30% less, reduce your winter heating by 30%, pay 20-50% more for everything from automobiles to zippers? And that is just a down payment, with more sacrifices to come later. Such drastic measures, even if imposed equally on all countries around the world, would reduce total human greenhouse contributions from CO2 by about 0.035 percent. That is much less than the natural variability of Earth's climate system, and the level of CO2 varies more than that from summer to winter.

I also wanted to tell that young lady about a “Dust to Dust Energy Report” from CNW Marketing Research, Inc. They measured the total energy cost of new vehicles from concept to disposal, and found that a Toyota Prius contributes more CO2 to the atmosphere during its total lifetime than most American SUV’s and pickups. However, I could barely keep up with her by then, so I am sure she was not that interested. I didn’t really want to sign her petition anyway. I was frezing, and I live a mile above sea level so I am not that concerned about raising sea levels.

Gråulf

Monday, January 5, 2009

The Story of Eli Cohen - By Moses


The Story of Eli Cohen

Eli Cohen was an Egyptian born Jew. He lived near Cairo during peaceful times in the early 1950’s. Towards the end of the 50’s, the Egyptian Government turned on their Jewish citizens. Some were able to flee to Israel but most were imprisoned. Eli Cohen was one of the Heads of the Underground Movement freeing Jewish prisoners until he himself was imprisoned.
He escaped from Egypt in 1961 and made way to Bat Yam, Israel. When Eli started his new life in Israel he went to the Israeli Intelligence community, Mossad, and asked to be taken in, only to be refused. (In those days Mossad strictly recruited their agents).
It took three years and finally the Mossad recruited Cohen for duty and he accepted. This was 1964 and there was much turbulence between Israel and most Countries in the region (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, and Egypt).
The Mossad assessed Eli and found that his knowledge of the Arabic language (Aramaic) was excellent. They determined that he could not go back to Egypt and work in any covert missions there, as he was a known quantity. They decided that his accent was well suited to the Syrian Dialect of Arabic.
The Bait Shin placed Cohen in Western Europe for training, and to harness his language skills. He was then sent to Argentina, to a large Syrian Community and given instructions to make his name as a lost brother.
Eli Cohen made many friends in the Syrian Community in Argentina. Amongst them were the 1st cousin of the Minister of Defense, and the son of the Minister of Interior.
By 1965, Eli Cohen was sent back to Western Europe to be relocated, this time to Damascus, Syria.
During this time the Israeli Defense Minister, Yizchak Rabin, was in high alert as there were constant problems with their neighboring Countries.
Eli Cohen was considered Israeli’s highest ranking covert operation in Syria.
Cohen would have regular weekly parties with High Ranking officials and would serve his guests’ fine wine. He learned much about Syria’s military affairs, which he would transmit back to the Bait Shin nightly. Then, one day in early 1966, Cohen was invited to a military post in the Golan Heights (a part of Syria at that time).
The Minister of Syria’s Defense told him that Syria was about ready to go to war with Israel. Eli explained to the Syrian Intelligence Community this: Should troops be brought in to fight a war with Israel why not plant trees there to shade the troops. He radioed back to Jerusalem that night, of the news that trees would soon be in the Golan Heights (the highest point overlooking Israel), and that it would be followed by Syrian’s Army moving in preparing for an attack on Israel.
When Rabin saw that trees were being planted in the Golan, he paid close attention to Syria’s
military movement. In 1967, Syrian soldiers started arriving to the Golan and the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Air Force bombed the Golan to threads and populated that region.
When Egypt realized that the Syrian Army was defeated and sent back to Damascus, they panicked. They sent all their aircraft (fighters) towards Israel. The Bait Shin sent only 1/3rd of their fighters. As the Egyptian fighters went back to refuel, the Israeli fighters that had remained on the ground went up and bombed the sitting ducks.
With the two largest Arab Forces defeated, the Israeli Military took only six days in defeating all six aforementioned Countries.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Public versus Private Golf Courses - by Moses

Public vs Private Golf Courses

In 1937 the Golf Course of Oakdale was established as a Private Golf Club for Hebrews. Prior to Oakdale’s inception, no Hebrew, African-Canadian, or Native American was welcomed in any Golf Club (Public or Private) in the city of Toronto. To quantify, Oakdale was a Private Club for Hebrew Members only.
The debate today is whether this constitutes segregation. In other words, if I’m not allowed to Golf, and build my own Course for my use only, is this segregation? The answer is yes. The next logical question is what criteria had to be met to Golf at Oakdale? Considering that my Uncle is President, I would say that the criteria is simple – Were you invited by a member of the Club? There is no exclusion based on race, colour, or creed as there were in Public Golf Courses prior to 1964 in many places across the U.S and Canada. Prior to 1964, there were still Public Courses that had signs reading ‘No Coloured, Jews, or Indians allowed’. By the way, many people called my Grandfather a ‘Nigger’.
It was during the Summer of 1941 that my Papa (Grandfather) went to Golf at a Private Course with his friend. When my Papa went to pay for the round, his friend was shopping in the Pro-Club. The Golf Pro there approached my Papa’s friend and demanded to know who allowed him to be there. My Papa overheard the exchange and said to the Pro ‘That’s alright, we’ll leave.’ ‘No Mr. Goldman it’s alright for you to Golf here, it was my mistake.’ ‘No.’ My Papa replied, ‘we’ll Golf at our Club.’
Here is the dilemma. In establishing rights in 1937 we’ve now turned the corner. At this point, who decides whether a person is, or isn’t allowed to be a member at a Private Golf Club? When the criteria is based on race, colour, or creed the Club is promoting segregation, the exact same reason we established the Club in the first place. However, it is in our constitution that we have the Freedom of Assembly and the Freedom of Association, and this constitutes fair play.
In this writers’ opinion it is about time we turned the tables back and see multicultural golf-clubs that do not discriminate who can become a member based on race, colour and creed. Would a Native Golf course be a good thing? What would be wrong with standardizing the criteria as to who can be a member of a private Golf Club? In other words, let us ‘Niggers’, ‘Indians’, and ‘Jews’ be accepted as equals (Arab and Jew for that matter).

Hammas Constitution Article Seven - Interpretation of the U.N interpretation by Moses

According to the United Nations in 2006 the Hammas Constitution carried an Article Seven that stated. 'and the Jews will be sent into retreat by the Muslim forces, hiding behind stones and Jew trees, and will die by the hands of the Muslim people'.
It also states in Article Seven of the Hammas constitution that the Land of Palestine will rid the land of Jews AT ALL COSTS.
This stands to reason that there will never be a Peace process by the Party Hammas with Israel, and, that a good Jew is a dead Jew. Now keep in mind that these passages of Article Seven of the Hammas Constitution were interpreted and translated by the United Nations, a partison party empowered by most Worldwide nations (not of opinion, rather by documentation).
In the last six months we saw Hammas terrorist factions sending missiles and their suicide bombers into the hands of the Israeli people and Israeli Defense Forces. Wouldn't it stand to reason that The I.D.F would take a stand against not only Hammas Propaganda but also the actions of the Hammas terrorist actions?
In 1993, I was in Israel and saw first hand the Peace Treaty signed by Yitzchak Rabin, Yasser Arafat, and Bill Clinton. The premise of the Treaty as stated by all three Leaders was 'For the Children.' When I travelled to Jerusalem and walked into the Christian Quarter I saw many signs promoting the Anti-Fattah. In case you didn't know, this was signifying likewise current Muslim sentiment bred by the Hammas of the majority Christian Palestinian Liberation Organization. Also keep in mind that in Jerusalem's Old City there are Four Quarters; Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian (a Catholic Practice). It is widely stated in the Israeli Constitution that a person in the Land of Israel can practice any faith they want, and that roughly 1/5 of the population consider themselves to be Israeli Arabs. This sect considers the actions of Hammas to be abhorant. Also know that an Israeli Arab is one of Christian, Muslim, or Armenian.
It was in 1947 that the British Embassy (now the King David Hotel - where there have been Terrorist acts in the past Ten Years) was blown up by the underground Army of the Hagannah - the Palmach (this was essentially Israel, as the Land was referred to as Palestine by the British. A phonecall had been made by the Palmach to the British Embassy and wasn't taken seriously. This led to the British evacating the region later that year. The Palmach is still in existance and is still considered a terrorist faction by the British Military. It was the Palmach that fought for the Land of Israel in 1948 hours after the United Nations followed the British Mandate by separating the Land equally to Israel and Palestine. The Leader Golda Meir of Israel accepted this Proposal while the Palestinian People refuted, leading to the Palmach taking over the land, now - and then, deemed Israel to much of the Country's population.
Will there be a Peace Process between Israel and Palestine? Not by the hands of the Hammas.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

War in Gaza, by Gråulf

I predicted the Israeli ground attack on Gaza would begin last night. I was wrong. The ground assault began this morning, just as I was beginning to believe the Israeli’s had lost their nerve. There really was no choice, because the air attacks had failed to stop Hamas from firing rockets into Israel, and the long delay in launching a ground assault was giving the press too much time to stir up anti-Israel sentiment around the world. If the Israelis had stopped now, and agreed to a ceasefire, Hamas would have claimed that Israel is afraid of them, and they would have claimed it a victory. It remains to be seen how successful the Israeli’s invasion will be.

Over a year ago, Abu Hamza, the head of Islamic Jihad's rocket program, explained that the goal was to draw Israel into a ground conflict inside the Gaza Strip so that his men would have the chance to "kill as many Zionists as possible". Abu Bilal, commander of Islamic Jihad's forces in the Rafah Refugee Camp in southern Gaza admitted that his group's rocket attacks are mostly ineffectual against Israel, except psychologically, and that the group, which operates independently of the dominant Hamas movement, was literally praying for an invasion. "We can't do anything (to hurt the Israelis) but fire the rockets and hope they enter Gaza," he said. "We are praying for the tanks to come so we can show them new things. We have made many preparations for the coming battle and all of our fighters wait for the chance to kill them."

All the Muslim countries in the Middle East will now rust to the United Nations to get the UN to stop Israel, and they will use every means available to them to make Israel appear the aggressor. The UN has already signaled it is more than willing to be the pawn of the Muslims world, and CNN is reporting that an emergency meeting has been called for later this evening.

I am sure that most of the Hamas leaders have already left Gaza, and that Hamas fighters will be hiding behind the civilian population to maximize civilian casualties. I question the innocence of the civilian population. I also question the will of Israel’s current government to order the Israeli army to blow their way through civilians to destroy Hamas, although nothing less will do the job. If the Israeli leadership had the will, they would have invaded Gaza during day one of the conflict, before Hamaz could mobilize. My prediction is that the Israeli’s will limit the ground assaults to specific and limited targets to stop the rocket attacks, and then they will withdraw back across the border.

Gråulf.

Lies and Global Warming, by Gråulf

As mentioned in earlier posts, the man-made global warming crowd pays no attention to history, or to what is happening on the ground. Nothing points that out more clearly than an article I found in the Boulder Daily Camera. The article was from Earthweek, published nationally by Steve Newman. Here is the main portion of the article:

Arctic Meltdown

The Arctic polar ice cap melted at an unprecedented rate, opening up both the famed Norhwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route off northern Russia simultaneously for the first time on record. In a trend that began in the mid-1960s, 2008 was the second-warmest year in the Arctic, closely behind the record set in 2007, which produced the greatest Arctic meltdown ever observed.


The article is at best misleading when compared to a report from the National Snow and Ice Data Center:

Arctic Sees Massive Gain in Ice Coverage

Data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has indicated a dramatic increase in sea ice extent in the Arctic regions. The growth over the past year covers an area of 700,000 square kilometers: an amount twice the size the nation of Germany.

With the Arctic melting season over for 2008, ice cover will continue to increase until melting begins anew next spring.

The data is for August 2008 and indicates a total sea ice area of six million square kilometers. Ice extent for the same month in 2007 covered 5.3 million square kilometers, a historic low. Earlier this year, media accounts were rife with predictions that this year would again see a new record. Instead, the Arctic has seen a gain of about thirteen percent.

William Chapman, a researcher with the Arctic Climate Research Center at the University of Illinois, tells DailyTech that this year the Arctic was "definitely colder" than 2007. Chapman also says part of the reason for the large ice loss in 2007 was strong winds from Siberia, which affect both ice formation and drift, forcing ice into warmer waters where it melts.

Earlier predictions were also wrong because researchers thought thinner ice would melt faster in subsequent years. Instead, according to the NSIDC, the new ice had less snow coverage to insulate it from the bitterly cold air, resulting in a faster rate of ice growth.

Most concern has focused on the Arctic regions, rather than Antarctica. Recent research has indicated Antarctica is on a long-term cooling trend, for reasons which remain unclear.


The Earthweek article about navigating the Arctic Ocean is not exact a lie, because of the wording used, but it is deliberately misleading. The Arctic Ocean has been sailed regularly for many years, as stated in an article from How Things Work:

Robert McClure traversed the Northwest Passage from west to east during 1850–54, but not entirely by water. His ship became icebound at Banks Island, and he and his crew walked the remaining distance to a rescue ship.

The passage was first successfully navigated by Roald Amundsen, aboard his vessel Gjöa. He entered the passage through Baffin Bay in 1903; passing by way of Franklin's route, south of Victoria Island, he completed the passage in 1906. The next successful trip was a 28-month journey made from west to east by Henry Larsen in his ship St. Roch , 1940–42; the return trip took 86 days. Afterward, many vessels, including United States submarines, navigated the Northwest Passage.

The discovery of oil in 1968 on Alaska's North Slope resulted the following year in the United States oil tanker Manhattan becoming the first commercial vessel to make the voyage through the passage. The trip was made to test the feasibility of shipping oil by that route. The possibility of using the passage for shipping touched off a dispute between the United States and Canada—the United States claiming the passage to be an international waterway, Canada claiming sovereignty over much of the route.


I find it very disturbing that man-made global warming has become a political issue, because the combination of politics and science is more toxic than air pollution. At this point the debate is being driven more by the quest for government funding than by logic and reason, and both sides are lying to the public. Personally I have an absolute adversity to being lied to, and that adversity becomes hatred when one side actively suppresses the views of the other side of the argument.

Gråulf.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

A War of Culture, by Gråulf

It is interesting to note how the news headlines are twisted to make it appear that Israel is the aggressor in the Gaza War, when Hamas began the conflict by firing rockets into Israel, and could end the war by not doing that. How would any western country respond to an unending rain of rockets? Israel floated the possibility of a temporary ceasefire, and Hamas countered that they would consider a ceasefire if Israel surrender, and the rockets continue to fall. So, this morning’s headlines are that Israel rejects a temporary ceasefire, followed by pictures of bleeding Palestinian babies.

This is not a war about the accuracy of Hamaz missiles, or the virtues of pinpoint bombing. It is a war about public opinion; a war of Islam against western culture, and Islam is winning because we believe the conflict will go away of we ignore it. Hamas places no value on human life, and are preventing wounded from being evacuated to waiting ambulances across the Egyptian border because lots of wounded make good news stories. They leave bleeding children and body parts in burning rubble until reporters arrive with video cameras. We know how these people operate, and that they place children in and around their headquarters, and ammunition catches, but it seems to make no difference to world opinion. The images are created, and any arguments to the contrary fall on deaf ears.

Meanwhile Iran sits in the background and waits, while using Hamas as a pawn in the front line of its war against western culture. Hamas is taunting the Israelis to invade Gaza, where they can fight them in the crooked alleys of their slums, and where Israeli tanks may get bogged down in traps and winter mud. Does the Israeli’s have the courage and the will to invade Gaza, and once and for all put an end to Hamas, or will this be a repeat of the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, where the Israeli’s withdrew without the hostages, and without achieving it’s objectives. Will the West comprehend that Israel is fighting as much for the future of western culture, as well as for their own?

Gråulf

A brief introduction into surviving the next 10 years or less.

There will be many challenges, life and death challenges in a post petrol world. Those with land, even a large yard, or access to a large garden will do much better than the average city dweller who will rely on his fellow city dwellers for help. I don't think we realize en mass how much we actually do rely on an easy access to petrol in some form or another. A fine book to wet your whistle is "The Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and cookbook" by Albert Bates. I think it is just meant to get you started. It's gotten mixed reviews. I like because it's reader friendly and does inspire one I would hope to investigate their own personal survival. Can you imagine the panic when the oil does run out? We are in a depression and it's going to get worse. Add a collapse of the petro-industry and you have a fine formula for hysteria. The first thing will be to not panic and give yourself time to think. The things most valuable for trade will be food, medicine and fire power. I have spend many years on subsistence living in northern Canada. I did okay, but also did work building snake fences for ranchers and some ranch work. Most of the food I got was from hunting and some trapping. I never wasted animals trapped and have eaten coyote and cougar. If you are stuck in a city and suffering, try to find a place in the country. It doesn't have to mean becoming a hermit. In fact joining a group is safer. Try to find others with similar religious leaning, like Asatruar and kind would be a good start. Pool all your resources. Try to find existing buildings unless you are skilled in log home, rammed earth, or frame dwellings, post and beam would be excellent. Put in a store of firewood. If you are lucky you can utilize wind or solar power. I could go on and on. I'd like to see feed back in what kind of outdoor survival skills you would like to learn. There are innumerable situations we could find ourselves in. So I look forward to some feedback. The best to you all.