Finally, Obama addresses the nation about America’s Kinetic Military Action in Libya

And via the magic of Twitter, his entire 7-page single-spaced speech can be distilled down into fewer than 140 characters:

“I authorized this war that is not a war, which is narrowly focused but broad in scope, so we could lead. As helpers.”

And this critique:

“Eerily like a Bush speech, but without the conviction.”

Hey, here’s a word cloud!

If you’d like a little more detail, see PJTV‘s account of the speech.  If you’d like the time-limited, vermouth-limited overserved kinetic martini-action version, see VodkaPundit’s drunkblog account.

And if you’d like to see how this speech SHOULD have been done, see Reagan.

UPDATE: More on Obama’s War from James Board, and a great post at RedState which includes some of the top Twitter reactions.

 

via twitterers @MelissaTweets, @EWErickson, @KamaainaInOC, @GayPatriot, @instapundit, @CalebHowe & @VodkaPundit.

Human Achievement Hour 2011 [Open Thread]

Enlightenment or endarkenment? Earth Hour or Hour of Power?  South Korea or North Korea (go ask James Board aka bingbing about how that’s working out)…?

Consider this an #EarthHour #HourOfPower #HumanAchievementHour open thread.  Feel free to add any links, pics or videos in comments, and other Tizona peeps with editing privileges should fee free to add them to this post.  Let’s recognise and celebrate the incredible accomplishments of the human race, and offer our cheers to those who keep the lights on and produce the energy that makes human achievement possible!

UPDATE 1:   Earth Hour enthusiast Ben Cubby asks:  Where will you be when lights go out? Your answers go here.

UPDATE 2:  West Australian folk-rock group The Waifs – Lighthouse

UPDATE 3:  Western Australia – Even Our Warmies Are Smarter… “The Chairman of Western Australia’s largest sustainability program says Earth Hour is tokenistic and a waste of time.”

UPDATE 4:  Nice essay by Julie Kirsten Novak at CatallaxyFiles on Human Achievement Hour & the Neo-Primitives (H/T Bolta)

UPDATE 5:  Ben-Peter Terpstra (@WKNDLibertarian):  Turn on your lights and celebrate ‘Human Achievement Hour’ [American Thinker]

UPDATE 6:   Tim Blair rounds up some Earth Hour winners & losers.

UPDATE 7:  More ideas on how to celebrate Human Achievement Hour

Off to Canberra

I’m off to the lovely hole of Canberra for a couple of days.. Any creative suggestions on what I should say to Julia and her mates if I spot them?

Ones that won’t get me arrested?

“No Carbon Tax” Rally — Some Twitter Highlights

"Alene Composta was unavailable for comment"

…but there is more “No Carbon Tax” Rally Twitter-snark below the fold, for your reading enjoyment!

Truth in advertising.

This little ad was run in our local paper today. Check the name of the missing moggy.

Love it!

Dog, bed; dog, bed.

Ain’t it always the way.

via @GavAtkins

Moo-Dog

That is all.

via the wonderful @LATunleashed. CLICK

As Obama’s War Begins in Libya, Peace Activists Hold Rally at White House…

…Against the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.

.

“You know it makes sense!”

h/t @WeaselZippers

UPDATE:

BUT BUT BUT!!!!! HE’S NOT BUSH!!!!!! heh. #ChimpyMcObamaHitlerHalliburton

Sunday Morning…

Well I woke up Sunday morning, with no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt;
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad, so I had one more for dessert…

What the Man says.

Tweet of the Day

O, Canada!

Lies and Calumny! Or, ‘No, I Am Not J.F. Beck’

Hi Alene,

I’m Jeremy Sear’s Fiancee’. I noticed that the usual suspects like J F Beck and Tim Blair have been attacking you (no doubt partly because you showed public support for Jeremy). I just wanted to let you know that I thought the post you wrote in response was very brave, and the only reason I’m not posting this on your blog is because I’m conscious that would make things worse.

Also, I’m fairly sure that “Spot the Dog”, one of your followers, is J F Beck. I’d suggest you block him if you can. I know you can’t stop him from reading, but if he knows that you’re on to him, it might give him pause. I can’t prove that it’s him, but we’re fairly sure it is.

[…]

Keri

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—
Almost, at times, the Fool.

…And no, I am not J.F. Beck.
They’re lying to you, Alene – I was your Number One fan!  If you block me, Alene, I don’t know what I shall do.

I don’t know that I’ll be accountable for my actions.

Not sayin’.  Just sayin’.

spot xx

😉

 

UPDATE:  Because too many conspiracy theories are never enough!  Transcendental vegetation practitioner and qualified past-life regression therapist @DerekSapphire: “Could it be that poor Ms Composta was murdered by right-wingers, who have now resurrected her identity online with the intention of using her as a tool to mock progressives?”

A wild Composta appears!

Ive sighted the rare and elusive Composta in its natural habitat, a Sarah hanson-Young opinion piece in the age!

First comment off the rack is Alenes’

“I have had some turmoil in my private life lately, but when I think of the great strides we are about to make with Julia and Bob’s carbon mitigation scheme all my troubles fade and I realise that, with our planet’s future on the line, there is reason for hope – and, just for once, pride in being Australian.

The fact that Australia, a rich country, is about to lead the world in restricting the use of carbon pollution sources is fair and just. We have the wealth to afford a pay a little extra for petrol, food, electricity and cooking gas. The cost is insignificant in comparison with the what it will cost if we DON’T do something.

One area where Sarah and Bob and Julia can go further, however, is the threat posed by carbonated drinks. Every time we open a bottle of soft drink, drink a beer or pop the cork on champagne, we release another jolt of invisible CO2 poison into the ecosphere. In addition to the proposed measures, this threat needs to be addressed in a responsible and appropriate way.

As for Abbott, he needs to get with the program. Don’t forget, Mr Speedos, that I vote and there are millions like me.

Alene Composta | Seddon – March 15, 2011, 7:39AM “

 

Looks like Alene has suckered in a number of people both for and against a carbon tax, heres an Alene groupie in action.

So there you have it the elusive Composta spotted again. I wonder if Mr Green has invited her back yet?

@au contraire
“… Alena Composta – what a thought-provoking name – last week told us that all these earthquakes were as a result of the extra pressure on the sea bed from the rising sea levels caused by (cue scary music) Global Warming.”

Well, I didn’t read Alena Composta’s post, so I don’t know if she really said this, or if you are misrepresenting her argument.

However, there is a theory that the frequency of geological events is being affected, not by “extra pressure on the sea bed from the rising sea levels”, but by lessening pressure over ice-bound areas as the ice load decreases.

Before you go into ridicule mode, do some research – using credible, scientific sources, not anti-AGW lobby sites.

Michael Hewitt | Berrima – March 15, 2011, 9:32AM

I dont know who it is doing the Composta, but it appears you need to keep an eye on the Age for her wisdom.. I suspect Bunyip myself.

Theres also a “Animals Australia”  who am I page for Ms Composta as well, her favourite meal?

Lentil Casserole….

Hey Lefties – Got Yer #NewTone Right Here!

From the tolerant open-minded Left who keep lecturing us on the importance of striving for a more civil tone:

UPDATE: To preempt any complaints that I shouldn’t be giving these bile-spewing haters any more oxygen, for the most part I agree.  But in this case, this particular tweet was just the last straw.  Coming up with the most demeaning insult against Miranda Devine seems to be the new sport on Twitter, and there comes a point when these people need exposing.

#WINNING: Paco for President!

PACO 2012

“You know it makes sense!”

.

Dear Bob Brown

Knock yourself out, mate.

Waiting for Mr Brown to Beclown himself.

While we wait for Bob Brown to beclown himself over the Japanese earthquake crisis, his favourite organisation has beaten him to beclownment.

“How many more warnings do people need to get before they understand that nuclear reactors are inherently hazardous?” asked Beranek.

“We are told by the nuclear industry that things like this cannot happen with modern reactors, yet today Japan is in the middle of a nuclear crisis with potentially devastating consequences.”

“While the immediate focus is on minimising radiation release and keeping local people safe, this is yet another reminder of the inherent risks of nuclear power, which will always be vulnerable to a potentially deadly combination of human error, design failure and natural disaster.”

Knowing how much Bob abhors the exploitation of a disaster as an opportunity for scoring cheap political points Im sure hes draughting his letter calling for greenpeace to sack Greenpeace International head of nuclear campaign Jan Beranek immediately.

Otherwise, in light of his earlier calling for a journalist to be sacked he might look a little…hypocritical??

“..Andrew Bolt’s call, while bodies were still in the ocean, for Julia Gillard’s resignation (but the Labor Party opposed the war in Iraq) lacked human decency. He should resign.

Senator Bob Brown”…

Theres a whole town of 10,000 people largely unaccounted for Bob.

Hanson-Young has twittered about Bob being on Sky news, Im unable to access either twitter or the Sky “agenda” show. I wonder if Bob has jumped on the bones of the dead yet?

Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste: Earthquake? Tsunami? Global Warming!!!

We all knew this was going to happen – it was just a matter of “when”.  As it turns out, it didn’t take very long at all.

Hours after a massive earthquake rattled Japan, environmental advocates connected the natural disaster to global warming.  The president of the European Economic and Social Committee, Staffan Nilsson, issued a statement calling for solidarity in tackling the global warming problem.

“Some islands affected by climate change have been hit,” said Nilsson. “Has not the time come to demonstrate on solidarity – not least solidarity in combating and adapting to climate change and global warming?”

“Mother Nature has again given us a sign that that is what we need to do,” he added.

Lee Doren of the Competitive Enterprise Institute has been collecting some of the highlights – er, lowlights – via Twitter.  See them here at The Daily Caller.

UPDATE:  “Global warming alarmists are to natural disasters what the Westboro Baptist Church is to military funerals.” Just so.

UPDATE 2:  Tim Blair on Anthropogenic Tectonic Warming®.  You know it makes sense!

h/t @LDoren, @JTlol, @DailyCaller

How a carbon tax works.

Ive been doing some thinking and Im pretty sure Ive worked out how the carbon tax will save the planet.

Lets see if Ive got this right.

There needs to be a carbon tax to reduce CO2 emissions.

The tax works by making everything more expensive, therefore reducing consumption.

The government will use the money raised to compensate people and increase their spending power.

Which will enable them to consume just as much as before.

+ ???

= Saving the world by reducing emissions of CO2.

 

We are governed by the underpants gnomes….

A Return to the Dark Ages

In 1939 people knew the value of electricty

 

The headline : “Era of constant electricity at home is ending, says power chief”

Steve Holliday, chief executive of the National Grid, said “We are going to change our behaviour and consume it when it is available and available cheaply”

Another bright idea (I think it stinks)

Whodunnit?

Remember, vote early and vote often.

 

Background…

Trunk Monkey

I would skip the 18 seconds intro

via Paco

The real life practical problems include care, feeding and cleaning up poo and this is why we need more research into mutant atomic-powered trunk monkeys.

Ode to Alene (apols. White Stripes) [Update: ABC moosed] [More Updates: #POPCORN!]

Alene Alene Alene Ale-eeene

I’m begging of you, please don’t leave your fans
Alene Alene Alene Ale-eeene
please don’t leave us just because you can
your snarkage is beyond compare
with flaming gobs of overshare
with shell-thin skin
and eyes of bilious green
your blog is such a poisonous thing
of your moose knuckles we do sing
Tim Blair cannot compete with you Alene
Bolt talks about you in his sleep
and there is nothing they can do to keep
from crying when we call your name, Alene
Alene Alene Alene Ale-eeene
I’m begging of you please don’t leave your fans
Alene Alene Alene Ale-eeene
please don’t leave us even though you can
well we can’t easily understand
how you can easily leave your fans
you do not know what you mean to us Alene
well you could have your choice of friends
but we could never laugh again
you’re the only one for us Alene
and I had to had to have this talk with you
my happiness depends on you
and whatever you decide to do Alene
Alene Alene Alene Ale-eeene
We’re begging of you please don’t leave your fans
please don’t leave us
even though you can
~dissolves into anguished sobs~

Show your support for Alene – vote here:

.

UPDATE:   Has Our ABC been moose’d ?  See comment below, then updates at Bolt’s, and this by Beck.

UPDATE 2:   So, whodunnit?  Your guesses here.

UPDATE 3:   MOOSE TRAP [Tim Blair]

UPDATE 4:  Bolt – “This is unbelievable. Insane anti-Liberal hatred is now so mainstream that not only is the most florid facsimile of it by a parodist published, no questions asked, by the ABC, but the Sydney Morning Herald still treats it as genuine even after the ABC very belatedly smells a rat.” CLICK

UPDATE 5:  Tim Blair responds to ABC online editor Jonathan “It was plausible!” Green – “I know this, son: if someone came to me with a story about moose and genitals and a female Labor premier, it’d have to pass some serious tests prior to publication.”  Click for more.

UPDATE 6:  She’s baaaaack! #WINNING

UPDATE 7:   Unjustly accused! Oh, c’mon guys.  Lies and calumny!

UPDATE 8:  Alene Composta {hearts} Jonathan Holmes! And Bolt has a look at Alene’s email to Jonathan Green.

UPDATE 9:  Oh, my.  Andrew Bolt’s column pinging Jonathan Green and “our” ABC; Tim Blair has the Compleat Composta Timeline; and yes: it is just like a “Car Crash In Slow Motion”.

UPDATE 10:  For any newcomers, I suggest you start with Tim Blair’s timeline of L’Affaire Composta which takes you from the beginning to today (19 March) and work your way back.

.

Tim Blair PWND!!

On Friday, March 4th, so-called “journalist” Tim Blair made fun of a man for having the wisdom and foresight to grow his tomatoes in his basement, behind barred windows.

The very next day, we read of this.

I know. It’s Adelaide.  And if something freaky is gonna happen it’s gonna happen in freaking Adelaide.

But still.

I call PWND.

Ive “Bee”n busy

 

A bag of Julias carbon credits to anyone who can Identify what Ive been up to by looking at that piccie.

Moreunder the fold.

A Quick Comparison of the ABC to the ABC

A quick comparison of the ABC’s coverage : Gillard compared to Gaddafi vs. Howard compared to Hitler

The ABC headlines :
Swan appalled by Gillard-Gaddafi comparison
versus
Hockey fires back over Keating’s Hitler jibe and Keating in Hitler attack on Howard

note that neither Howard/Hitler headline calls it a comparison although the article does. It is a “Hitler attack” and a mere “Hitler jibe”

Word count (excluding headlines) :
Gillard/Gaddafi : 508 words
Howard/Hitler : 144 + 174 = 318 words

Quotes :
Gillard/Gaddafi contains the exact controversial quote : “If Ms Gillard believes Australians want to pay higher electricity and higher petrol prices, she is as deluded as Colonel ‘my people love me’ Gaddafi”

Howard/Hitler in both articles the controversy is largely paraphrased : “Mr Keating said both the Nazi leader and Mr Howard were nationalists rather than patriots, saying they both stressed populism and suspicion of other cultures.”

It does contain this passage :

However the former Labor leader said it would be “unreasonable and absurd” to align the Prime Minister in any way with Hitler

but it doesn’t note if this was said at the time of the controversial statements or after it became a controversy.  Update : It was part of his speech. But Keating does compare Hitler and Howard and their supposed shared nationalism and says “John Howard is a nationalist and not a patriot for all the reasons I have also referred to. This is not to say John Howard does not have, what we might call, patriotic instincts; of course he does, but they all come from his larger carpetbag of nationalism”, “nationalism is arguably more exclusionary than racism” and “Nationalism is, I believe, a dangerous and divisive tendency”. None of these other quotes appear in the ABC articles.

Civility :
Gillard/Gaddafi : Comparing Gillard’s assumption of support on a carbon tax to Gaddafi’s assumption of popular support calls for more than half the article to be a discussion of civility because “radio hosts and politicians are feeding anger in the community that could lead to a tragedy similar to the recent shooting of a US congresswoman” (which the article doesn’t mention was committed by an apolitical crazy guy).

Howard/Hitler : Way back then comparing someone to Hitler was merely a jibe.