Happy Thanksgiving to all today!
My life is so blessed and darn right lucky that pretty much every day is Thanksgiving…but today there’s all the food too! Take care.
Archive for November, 2009
Let’s see now,
You’ve heard of the hacked emails.
Back in September those emails were forwarded to the BBC…who ignored them.
Any chance you all remember that back in September the data that proved global warming was said to be lost? This same group in the news today, CRU, had been asked repeatedly for their original data. For years people were told they couldn’t have it for reasons x,y,z. Then they said it no longer existed:
Roger Pielke Jr., an esteemed professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado, then requested the raw data from Jones. Jones responded:
Since the 1980s, we have merged the data we have received into existing series or begun new ones, so it is impossible to say if all stations within a particular country or if all of an individual record should be freely available. Data storage availability in the 1980s meant that we were not able to keep the multiple sources for some sites, only the station series after adjustment for homogeneity issues. We, therefore, do not hold the original raw data but only the value-added (i.e., quality controlled and homogenized) data.
The statement about “data storage” is balderdash. They got the records from somewhere. The files went onto a computer. All of the original data could easily fit on the 9-inch tape drives common in the mid-1980s. I had all of the world’s surface barometric pressure data on one such tape in 1979.
Tangent: In my hometown of Longmont, Colorado, the old city council had a lawsuit filed against them by the newspaper because they wouldn’t release the tape of a closed door meeting that the newspaper thought should have been public. The lawsuit went forward…..the judge went to listen to the tape and there is not tape! The judge said the whole scenario is “entirely mystifying”.
And I would add…similar to, yet far, far, smaller than the latest global warming thing.
“The city had three opportunities to state that there was no audio recording,” she wrote. “Instead, it caused the expenditure of public funds for an extensive answer and brief prepared by special outside counsel and caused the expenditure of attorney fees by (the Times-Call) who were seeking something that does not exist.”
Today, Ace finds a link in New Zealand or rather more “adjusted” data in New Zealand that has been revealed to be …. not so true.
It just goes on and on…Michael Crichton should be a top selling Christmas gift this year.
On the one side you have – Navy Seals. Or as I prefer to call them..Supermen. I met a retired Seal this past summer. My one question for him was –
“How on earth do you deal with us humans? You have every skill in the book. You’re smarter, stronger, cleverer, nicer, and better looking…how do you function amongst the rest of us without being a snob and treating us like you are the superior?”
On the other side you have – Al-Qaeda. This is the same al-Qaeda who’s handbook says, “You must claim you are tortured”.
Sadly you apparently have our government (either the justice dept or the military – I don’t care) immediately suggesting that a bloodied effing lip of a murdering sack of shit is enough “evidence” to charge 3 Navy Seals with assault.
Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.
The three, all members of the Navy’s elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral’s mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.
Did you notice that highlighted bit?…
These men are so superior to the rest of us that they refuse to take the easy street and get this over with by just “going along” with the lying sack and are instead going to force the military to give them their rightful trial. Moral people do that. People in the right do that.
Uncle Jimbo shares his thoughts
UPDATE:
Keith (commenting at Three Sources) notes:
The unspoken rule in the field is quickly going to become “stop taking prisoners.”
These are Seals – so I doubt that. They understand the value of a live target for questioning, and frankly, they are too good for petty behavior. But I sure understand the sentiment!
Navy SEAL Photos In New Book, “SEAL: The Unspoken Sacrifice”
Much of the evidence obtained from KSM and his ilk comes from Germany.
Germany does not have a death penalty.
Germany does not feel comfortable sharing their evidence to those who do have a death penalty.
According to the current mutual legal assistance agreement between the two countries, should the information furnished by German investigators be used to impose the death penalty, Germany can insist that this evidence be considered inadmissible in court. This would not be the first time that the Germans have demanded such assurances for criminal proceedings.
Other evidence inadmissible will be anything received through coercion.
Read the link at Der Spiegel. It’s a whol new twist.
I am not currently happy with our democracy, but I sure don’t understand the need to mutilate/kill members of another party as they go to sign up for elections.
In the Philippines:
The convoy was heading to a local elections office to file Mandundadatu’s candidacy for governorship of the predominantly Muslim Maguindanao province in the autonomous Mindanao region when they were abducted.
The convoy was of 21 people.
An actually hilarious clip that had me laugh out loud concerning Obama and how his fantastic way of speaking seems to work.
Links
Published November 21, 2009 Economics , Economy , Global Warming , Guantanamo , MSM , Obama , Terrorism Leave a CommentGlobal Warming:
In this NYTimes article on the hacked emails of scientists concerning global warming data you get this quote:
In one e-mail exchange, a scientist writes of using a statistical “trick” in a chart illustrating a recent sharp warming trend. In another, a scientist refers to climate skeptics as “idiots.”
Some skeptics asserted Friday that the correspondence revealed an effort to withhold scientific information. “This is not a smoking gun; this is a mushroom cloud,” said Patrick J. Michaels, a climatologist who has long faulted evidence pointing to human-driven warming and is criticized in the documents.
Some of the correspondence portrays the scientists as feeling under siege by the skeptics’ camp and worried that any stray comment or data glitch could be turned against them.
The evidence pointing to a growing human contribution to global warming is so widely accepted that the hacked material is unlikely to erode the overall argument. However, the documents will undoubtedly raise questions about the quality of research on some specific questions and the actions of some scientists.
In several e-mail exchanges, Kevin Trenberth, a climatologist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and other scientists discuss gaps in understanding of recent variations in temperature. Skeptic Web sites pointed out one line in particular: “The fact is that we can’t account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we can’t,” Dr. Trenberth wrote.
That’s right, its so “widely accepted” – except that more people believe in haunted houses than in human caused global warming……Newspapers – telling you what to believe for years now.
………………………..
KSM
The DOJ does not have the right to tell the DOD to hand over KSM. Only Obama can do that so he’s going to have to step up to the plate…..unless he can convince Gates to go ahead and do the handover without his official stamp.
The attorney general has no constitutional or statutory authority to unilaterally order the Defense Department to hand over military detainees so they can stand trial in civilian court. He can no more order the military to transfer such prisoners than he can order the Air Force to bomb a particular target. (Similarly, the defense secretary has no authority to order the Justice Department to do anything.)………..
For this to be done legally, it can’t be Holder’s decision alone. Either Obama must step up to the plate and personally order the transfer of the detainees or Defense Secretary Robert Gates must jointly agree with Holder to transfer custody of the detainees.
……………………..Taxes
50% seems to be the cutoff for what people will put up with. Great Britain is losing their own rich with this attitude: From Will Hunton – Journalist and think tank member:“Nobody wants a 50p tax rate. We are having it only because the public finances are in a serious state and we need to restore balance. People may mock this, but I would say we are in it together and people who earn more than others should pay more into the pot.”
This from Sir Michael Cain:
“I will not pay the government more than I get. No way, ever. So they’ve reached their limit with me. That’s the lot.”
I‘ve mentioned Bush and Iraqi Marshes and the Marsh People before. 60 minutes apparently did a story on the the situation and failed to thank President Bush for this come back.
In the meantime someone has hacked into a global warming advocacy center, pulled emails and found efforts to hide/adjust the actual data that doesn’t correspond to their theories.
Outrageous.
That would be President Micheletti of Honduras.
He is going to step aside during the week of elections to make people more comfortable with voting and make it less about the current problems there, then about their future.
Yet – get this quote:
“If, lamentably, a general disruption to the order and security should occur that affects the peace of the nation and the tranquility of the Honduran people , don’t have any doubt that I will immediately re-assume my functions,” Micheletti reassured.
Not, “I will take charge”, or “I will be in full control” etc. But “I trust our institutions and I’m a part of them and if there is a big problem, I’ll do my part”.
Zelaya responds:
wah, wah…..electoral farce….wah, wah…
Half a lick of common sense is coming into play, but only half a lick.
1- (1st half) the US said that according to the accord, there was no date for Congress to determine whether or not Zelaya should be reinstated so December 2nd is ok by us.
2 – (2nd half) However – in spite of the agreement stating that Congress gets to determine the status of Zelaya the US is saying that Zelaya MUST be reinstated before the next president takes over.
?? How does that work?
So the election is November 29th. Let’s say that candidate X wins do we not congratulate him until and unless Zelaya gets to be back in office? And lets say that Zelaya does not get to come back. Do we treat the new president as a nothing for the next 4 years?
And how wrong is this conclusion:
The Honduran Congress and Supreme Court, business leaders and the military all backed Zelaya’s ouster after he pressed for a referendum to change the constitution, which they saw as a bid to stay in office.
REWRITE:
The Honduran Congress and Supreme Court ousted Zelaya hafter he pressed for a referendum to change the constitution which is in itself unconstitutional in Honduras.
