Why the desire to pull the troops out of Iraq in the first place?

*posted first on Friday Feb. 10, here*

In the Australian today:

NO sooner did President Barack Obama welcome home American troops from Iraq and laud that country’s stability and democracy than an unprecedented wave of violence across Baghdad and elsewhere revealed the severity of Iraq’s political crisis.

Unfortunate, yet hardly surprising, even to the most casual of observers.

And whilst I can understand (yet not agree with) the Left’s position not to send troops into Iraq in the first place – an argument, largely moot, for another day – what I don’t understand is their fervish desire to pull the troops out.

It always smacked of idealism, ideology, rather than hard-nosed practicality.

After all, what was so bad with having a US troop presence there to help maintain Iraq’s fragile democratic stability?

One could argue that I am biased because a) I am centre-right politically and b) because I live in South Korea, a nation that has had a US troop presence – some 37,000  28,000 or so currently – since the armistice between North and South Korea and have seen what a permanent US troop presence looks like.

I am happy to accept those labels and can gladly tell you that such a presence ain’t that bad.

By and large,  US bases in Korea – and Japan for that matter – haven’t been a problem.

Sure, issues pop up from time to time, but if one looks at the big picture, then a strong US presence here can only be seen as a good thing, a safe option, a pretty darn good insurance policy against North Korea trying anything major on.

Almost 60 years we’ve had US troops over here without any major problems. In fact, many major problems (a full-scale Nork attack comes to mind) have arguably been averted thanks to this presence.

So, why the rush to leave Iraq essentially free of any US military  before even a decade is up and before, as is clear now, the job is done?

OK, so perhaps it’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges. US troops in Korea, aside from those stationed at the DMZ, aren’t on active duty as they were in Iraq.

However, it’s not a completely dissimilar situation. Perhaps a good analogy would be to compare mandarins and oranges.

US troops not only provided safety and stability in the fledgling democracy that is Iraq – a country still steeped with sectarian and tribal rivalries – but surely they also provided a deterrence to anybody or any groups who want to destabilise the nation.

What takes years to build can take mere seconds to destroy, and I fear a lot of hard work is being undone on the whim of a flawed, feel-good, ideology.

So why?

The only practical reason that I can see for Obama pulling his troops out of Iraq is that with an Iranian confrontation looming which includes action needed in Syria, Iraq frankly isn’t important enough any more or at best, an impractical option for a potentially over-stretched military.

Of course, Obama – a man of the progressive Left – can’t actually come out and say that but it is reasonably well-known to those who don’t just get their news from the MSM that Obama is actually more of a war-time president than Bush was, having committed more troops to both Iraq and Afghanistan, and for a longer period of time.

So whilst the MSM might play along with the “bringing the troops home” narrative, the evidence indicates this simply isn’t the case.

Some 20,000 marines, seamen and air crews from half a dozen countries, a US nuclear aircraft carrier strike group and three US Marine gunship carriers are practicing an attack on a fictitious mechanized enemy division which has invaded its neighbor. It is the largest amphibian exercise seen in the West for a decade, staged to simulate a potential Iranian invasion of an allied Persian Gulf country and a marine landing on the Iranian coast. Based largely on US personnel and hardware, French, British, Italian, Dutch, Australian* and New Zealand military elements are integrated in the drill.
Bold Alligator went into its operational phase Monday, Feb. 6, the same day as a large-scale exercise began in southern Iran opposite the Strait of Hormuz. This simultaneity attests to the preparations for a US-Iranian showdown involving Israel behind the words on Feb. 5 of US President Barack Obama (“I don’t think Israel has decided whether to attack Iran”) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 3 (“The war itself will be ten times as detrimental to the US.”).

(*BTW, I don’t recall Aussie PM Gillard highlighting that one.)

And this:

As the US and Israel carried on bickering over the right time to strike Iran’s nuclear sites, their war preparations continued apace. debkafile’s military sources report that flight after flight of US warplanes and transports were to be seen this week cutting eastward through the skies of Sinai on their way to Gulf destinations, presumably Saudi Arabia, at a frequency not seen in the Middle East for many years.

Add into this mix reports that China will reportedly help Saudi Arabia build a nuclear bomb, and that both China and India have started paying Iran for its oil in gold thus helping thwart current US/UN sanctions (more of which were recently thwarted by Russia and China), then we see a stage set for a showdown and we see the reality that rhetoric aside, Obama won’t be bringing many troops home at all.

To someone who doesn’t know any better, it’s as if Russia, India, and China – all wannabe first chickens to the trough – are ganging up on America.**

PS Who wouldn’t love to be a fly on the wall listening in to what the US is really saying about China? Their ever-expanding use of soft power is in many ways, stuffing it all up for America. China must surely be becoming an ever-increasing pain in the neck.

This leaves Australia in an interesting position. Our main export partner is China. Our main ally is the US. We send China our goodies to help them get rich and rival America. We practice shooting our guns with America to help keep America on top.

And yet China and America are also so deep in each other’s pockets. America buys China’s goods. China buys America’s debt.

Fun times.

** I highly recommend reading The Lucifer Principle by Howard Bloom. Part of the book talks about the pecking order of nations.

Where’s Big Counterjihad When You Need It?

Over at Gov and Vlad Tepes a call has gone out for assistance. The remarkable Fjordman is in somewhat straightened circumstances, so a few of us are helping put the word out for him. He hasn’t had a blog of his own for years, although that has not stopped his productivity. What did slow him down, however, was the Norwegian gunman Breivik naming him (among others) as being a bit of an inspiration*. I personally think that Breivik’s ‘manifesto’ is a load of tripe. Breivik talks of christianity, say’s he’s not one, and yet gets wheeled out as being a fundamentalist christian. As someone who is into Extreme Popery, I call bullshite. In the meantime, and along with everything else, Fjordman has now pretty much lost everything – job, home, country. I’ve got a cat he could have, but that’s no use when there’s nowhere to keep it. He does have a few (for him) words over at Vlad’swhich I’ll paste here:

Hello from Peder Jensen alias Fjordman. I will continue writing under one name or the other and hope to publish several books in the next year and a half, but after the Breivik case in Norway, which I got mixed up in against my will, I no longer have a job and I am also moving out of my old flat in Oslo, which I already left weeks ago. There are always some costs involved in moving to a different location and creating a new life somewhere else. If you have enjoyed some of my essays in the past I would be grateful if you donated a few bucks this time. Think of it as a Fjordman Relocation Fund. Just mark the donations as being for me and I will get it via Vlad’s fine website. Thank you, and thank you for all the support and kind words I get from long-time readers. Peder

This is not quite a twilight bark – more a twilight blog. *very interesting review of Breivik’s ‘manifesto’ by someone of the left-persuasion. I’m not sure she’s read the Reliance, or the hadiths or the Hedaya, but that’s only to be expected. A few weeks with HuT might help her with a few things. Like the fact that muslims believe that sharia law is Allah’s Law for all men for all time, so whether she agrees with it or not is irrelevant. That’s not conspiracy theory, neither is it conspiracy that a man has been hounded out of his home for writing some hard-hitting essays that focus on the Decline and Fall of Western Civilisation. We’re just not supposed to mention the islamists because we’re not allowed to hurt feelings. Please check out the post over at VladTepes, and if you can donate money to assist Fjordman, please do. If you can’t, then linklove and prayers are most welcome also.

crossposted at rightwingdeathbogan.

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)

New anti-pedophile kit, Kiddarettes

Hot off the new products aisle at PACO corp (all products of a guaranteed quality*)comes the hottest new thing in child safety.

New PACO Molest-Me-Nots kiddarrettes.

More below the fold, borderline NSFW…

US Citizen? Sign the petition against cap n’ trade

If you’re a man-made global warming sceptic, or if you think the science perhaps isn’t settled, or if you are worried about a potential communist world government, or if you are worried about giant non-sovereign world taxes being imposed on all of us, or if you think the governments of this world already have too much power, or even if you’re not convinced yet either way, and don’t want a road paved that there’s no turning back on in just two short weeks, then sign this petition.

SIGN HERE

People literally right now are speaking at Copenhagen presenting the other side to this man-made CO2-driven man-made climate change/global warming argument. They will also be speaking tomorrow. Time is of the essence.

UPDATE

This post differs from the original. It came from watching the latest Monckton videos (the end of Part 4 of which part 1 was posted by 1.6 below), about a GLOBAL problem – but unfortunately only US citizens can sign that petition. Hence, first update removed, replaced with this.

The offical car of the Copenhagen global warming meeting…

This picture is taken from the Copenhagen 2009 website. It shows a “climate friendly city car” parked outside the Bella centre, one of the main buildings used in the conference.

FFS its a clown car, quite suitable really...

How much of the Bella centres business relies on the green industries??In 1997, 8,000 people participated in The 20th World Gas Conference.In 2001, European Wind Energy brought together 4,000 participants for The International Congress and Exhibition on Wind Energy.
 
In 2005, the Copenhagen Offshore Wind Conference and Exhibition saw 1,000 people participating in the world’s biggest conference for the offshore wind industry.In 2009, we are hosting several large environment-related events, among them the World Business Summit on Climate Change in May and the UN’s major climate conference (COP15) in December. There is also the chance of a wonderful bit of “culture jamming” which wont require a lot of effort.According to their blurb the Bella centre is Bella Center “is placed on the island of Amager which is connected by a bridge to Sweden so participating in events at the Bella Center it is possible to stay in a hotel in Copenhagen as well as the city of Malmö in Sweden”Be a pity if a pigs head was placed on a dummy called Mo and set alight ….Now for those who do a bit or reading on the decline of EUrabia know, Malmo is a place fairly famous for its riots on the flimsiest of pretences by local “youths” Wouldnt it be a shame if something were to provoke the youths while the conference was on….?Now the building itself is largely glass fronted, and I havent been able to find an energy rating for the structure, a funny omission for a “green” building. Its almost like it may not be 5 star rated eh?

Lots of uninsulated glass frontage....

But heres a challenge for them, they have placed one of their holy symbols in front of the centre to show how “green” it is. How about they power their conference just using that as an example to the world of how efficient it is?

One big turbine out the front.,..well that proves it, the y are green eh?

The whole AGW thing is a massive crock of crap.

 

Have a Very National Socialist Christmas!

Did you know that before The Grinch Stole Christmas the Nazis Stole Christmas? True. Take a look at these vintage Nazi Christmas tree ornaments on swastika wrapping paper!

Odin’s Cross and Nazi wrapping paper really gets one into the holiday spirit, no?

“Nazi Germany celebrated Christmas without Christ with the help of swastika tree baubles, ‘Germanic’ cookies and a host of manufactured traditions, a new exhibition has shown.

The way the celebration was gradually taken over and exploited for propaganda purposes by Hitler’s Nazis is detailed in a new exhibition.

Rita Breuer has spent years scouring flea markets for old German Christmas ornaments.
She and her daughter Judith developed a fascination with the way Christmas was used by the atheist Nazis, who tried to turn it into a pagan winter solstice celebration.”

This is funny and ironic, because Christmas started out as a pagan celebration.

“A winter festival was the most popular festival of the year in many cultures. Reasons included the fact that less agricultural work needs to be done during the winter, as well as an expectation of better weather as spring approached.[17] Modern Christmas customs include: gift-giving and merrymaking from Roman Saturnalia; greenery, lights, and charity from the Roman New Year; and Yule logs and various foods from Germanic feasts.[18] Pagan Scandinavia celebrated a winter festival called Yule, held in the late December to early January period. As Northern Europe was the last part to Christianize, its pagan traditions had a major influence on Christmas. Scandinavians still call Christmas Jul. In English, the word Yule is synonymous with Christmas,[19] a usage first recorded in 900.”

In any event, the Nazis failed.

“Happily, t5he [sic – beef] German people mostly ignored the clumsy propaganda efforts and continued with the same traditions as before.”

And no wonder.

Swastika shaped cookies could never top a gingerbread man.

Its possible liberalism has been taken a touch to far in Denmark..

Words fail me on this one… its possible that there may be some lines which shouldnt be crossed.

Animal bordellos draw Norwegians

 

Yes you read that right, and no its not for frustrated canines either…

The last know picture of Ed the bear banger before his untimely demise..

On the Internet Danish animal owners advertise openly that they offer sex with animals, without intervention from police or other authorities, Danish newspaper 24timer reports.

Well given its not illegal in any way its hard to see how the authorities would get involved, unless animal health became an issue.

As long as basics like shelter, feed and care are in place, and injury or suffering to the animal can not be documented, there are no other ways to attack an animal bordello under existing Norwegian law.

A farmer who sells animal sex said he is extremely surprised that foreigners are ready to travel so far for it.

“But the clients tell us that it is much simpler to buy animal sex in Denmark than in their own country,” a horse owner from Nord-Jylland told the newspaper.

A HORSE owner… oh dear its Mr Hands  all over again…

 

Slightly NSFW but funny vid.

Paying Unassimilated Muslim Immigrants to Leave

The tide has shifted. Even many liberal-left Democrats are beginning to tire of government enforced, “cultural diversity” when the subjects in question are Muslim immigrants who refuse to assimilate, and do nothing but breed on the dole and threaten their hosts with violence… and often enough, act out on those threats.

Sweden, a country I love – OK, I really love the women – and have lived in, is paying the return trip for asylum seekers who have been turned down. Note that the countries listed are all Muslim countries, that a higher percentage are now being refused, and that applications are also dropping as the people back home get word that the public teat is running dry.

Denmark is going that one better, as they are paying unassimilated Muslim residents about $20K US to… ahem… get the fuck out. The something that is rotten in Denmark is the unassimilated Muslims, and the natives want them gone.

Expect this to spread. Peace-loving citizens of western nations – who will readily self-identify as libertarians if the terms are properly defined for them – are fed up with this malignant ideology parading as a religion, and they bloody well want their countries back.

Here in the US, the solo terror attack by Nidal Hasan is being called a terror attack in newspapers that were formerly allergic to the word. Deniers are being shouted down, and even their hearts aren’t into their arguments anymore.

Not only that, but there are now calls for the abjectly ridiculous Clinton-era gun ban for military bases and posts to be rescinded. This is major big progress. I grew up a military brat on Air Force bases in the 60’s and 70’s: My dad carried a .357 revolver around with him whenever he was flying, and nobody ever gave it a second thought. It’s a military base for fuck’s sake! Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines are supposed to be fucking goddamned ARMED! Expect this to change, and soon. Even lilly-livered generals don’t like to be caught with their pants around their ankles while their unarmed soldiers are mowed down by lunatics.

There will also be an end to this kind of malfeasant shit. Hasan’s superiors wondered if he was a bleeding psychotic nut-case, but nobody wanted to take the heat for accusing a Muslim of being a danger. A hearty fuck that to that noise. That’s gone soon as well, and three cheers.

Westerners are long-suffering because we’re civilized, and we’d like more of the world to share in our prosperity and standard of living, but if you invite a dog into your house and he refuses to stop shitting on the carpet, well, you’ll rid yourself of the cur sooner or later, no matter how much you wish he’d shape up.

That’s what’s happening now: Muslims have been shitting on the carpets of western countries too long, and the owners of those carpets are tired of cleaning up after them. We’d like to walk on those carpets barefoot without worrying about stepping in a pile of Muslim shit.

Perhaps in another few centuries Muslims will be ready for civilization, but they aren’t now.

Send them back to their bat-shit filled caves and their flea-infested sand dunes. That’s where they belong.

Let the Muslims shit on their own carpets.

Canada and US Dollar Approach Parity: Good News for John!

Not sure about those of us south of the 48th Parallel (and in North America), though.

“<a href="By Matt Townsend

Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) — The Canadian dollar rallied for a third straight week, touching a 14-month high and moving closer to parity with its U.S. counterpart as signs of economic recovery pushed commodities and stocks higher.

Canada’s currency gained as crude oil, the nation’s largest export, surged 10 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed 10,000 for the first time in a year.”

How are you Ozzies doing?

Not far behind Canada, actually.

I’d much rather Obama try to achieve parity with the GB Pound Sterling. LOL!

The Incredible Lightness of Being Obama [updated]

Our president is a flyweight boxing with heavyweights. He’s totally outgunned and outclassed.

Not to mention, Obama is a fucking moron with a sub-basement level IQ.

“The Obama administration will scrap the controversial missile defense shield program in Eastern Europe, a senior administration official confirmed to CNN Thursday.

The comment followed similar statements from officials in Poland and the Czech Republic — where key elements of the system were to be located — but was the first confirmation from an American official.

Vice President Joe Biden earlier refused to confirm to CNN that the George W. Bush-era plan was being shelved.

But he did explain the logic of doing so, saying Iran — a key concern for the United States — was not a threat.”

And as for Biden, my turds have more brains than that pathetic imbecile does.

I’m sorry Poland, I’m sorry Czech Republic, I apologize to all of eastern Europe: I didn’t vote for the guys.

Here’s Obama’s new plan to defend eastern Europe from Russia and Iran.

Awesome display of presidential “gravitas” no? Contrast and compare.

Obama-Biden haven’t got a chance against this guy because they haven’t got a pair of balls between them. Having the greatest military in the history of human civilization means nothing with garbage like these guys in power.

Well, the leftards have a few million south-east asians’ blood on their hands after Vietnam and the ensuing Pol Pot, so what are a couple of million more eastern Europeans?

On, and don’t get me started about how far out in the cold Israel is now.

I would be a better president than Obama, and trust me, that is one shit-suckingly sad state of affairs.

I could fucking vomit.

UPDATE – bing

For in depth analysis of the Obama photo, look no further.

Life Imitates Python.

Oh dear. I guess I don’t need to worry about Gen Y any more.

Pensioners torture financial adviser
Yahoo!7 June 24, 2009, 4:40 pm

A financial adviser has barely escaped with his life after being beaten and held hostage for four days by a gang of old-age pensioners.

American James Amburn was beaten until his ribs broke, burnt with cigarettes and hit with a Zimmer frame by the gang of five pensioners furious that he’d lost their £2 million ($4.1 million) savings.

Living in Germany, Mr Amburn was ambushed as he left a cafe and driven in the boot of an Audi to a house, where he was dumped in a cellar.

“I was jumped from the rear and struck,” he told UK tabloid The Sun.

“Then they bound me like a mummy with masking tape. It took them quite a while because they ran out of breath.”

In four days, the pensioners fed him just two bowls of soup, burned him with cigarettes and threatened to kill him “again and again”, angry that he had invested their money in a failed Florida property scheme.

He escaped once but was recaptured and beaten until his ribs broke.

Mr Amburn was eventually rescued after convincing his captors to let him fax a Swiss bank in an attempt to get their money.

He left a note for police at the bottom of the fax and armed cops stormed the house in Bavaria on Saturday.

The “Furious Five” as they have been dubbed, face 15-year sentences for hostage-taking and torture.

Brown’s Downfall

I’m sorry, but these subtitled Downfall YouTube videos just never get old for me. Major NSFW language (printed in the subtitles, of course).

Via Trasatlantic Politics.

Caption Contest: Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni

So, what’s going through Michelle’s head here, as she looks at French First Lady Carla Bruni?

Snagged this funny pic from Drudge.

UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds notes that Ann Althouse is also running a caption contest with this photo and says it reminds him of this oldie of Sofia Loren and Jayne Mansfield:

As Glenn would say, “Heh. Indeed. I think that’s right.” LOL!

UPDATE 2: I see that those filthy little Sand People also ran a cap contest w/this pic. Does that make Michelle’s blatant envy-driven hatred viral?

Steyn ponders liberty in the technological era

For those of you who don’t read Tim Blair, here’s Mark Steyn on the radio.

LINK

Fat chance

“The United States is ready to do its part, and we hope that Europe will join us…”

Yeah, sure. And how much has Europe lifted it’s game since OB got in? European troops are just swarming into Talibandland.

Meanwhile, an earnest “questioner” from the first link hopes the Guantanamo Gang will be accommodated in hotels… Holder joked, probably hoping the stupid leftist funk crew doesn’t realize yet Prez. Change, if he goes ahead with it, will probably have them holed up somewhere like this.

This is where we’re at, folks. Oprah will find a diet that sticks before the MSM scrutinizes the Obama Crew properly… let alone how they “scrutinized” the other guy.

Meanwhile, lest there be any more cause for concern, good ol’ New Socialism is at work!

The Bustling Metropolis of New York, Circa 1664

This is pretty cool:

“AMSTERDAM – To see some of the most important documents in the early history of New York, you need to go to Amsterdam.
The Rijksmuseum, the Netherland’s national museum, put those documents on display Friday, including early maps and the only report of the purchase of Manhattan by Europeans…

A detailed 1665 painting by Johannes Vingboons is also on display, portraying the early city like a small Dutch village of the period. A windmill stands out in the background, and the town’s gallows are prominently on the coast in plain view of arriving ships.”

Yes, the gallows were on the waterfront to warn sailors to behave themselves while in port. I’s built for four, so it must have seen quite a bit of action.

Here’s the full rez version at Wikipedia.

Europe: give us money, give us more soldiers

Hey Strasbougians!

…

What? No good?

Hey, climate change! We care about that. We love you Europe!

Europe! Please help!

Bush couldn’t sell it, but you love me, right? Guantanamo? Torture? Aww shucks. I knew you’d come on board!

Right???

Lessons of the past? Naww, mistakes!

Young ignoram1, come to Obama!

PS I know half of you couldn’t understand me, but shucks I’m handsome… just ask the Korean girls!

Early Link (apparently he mentioned something about nukes in there somewhere)

Video will come when available – was just live on CNN

UPDATE

Good or bad, he HAS gone without the teleprompter in the Q & A section of this townhall meeting.

UPDATE

He finishes it up by again calling on the Europeans to step up to the plate with regards to Islamic terrorism.

Overall, I have to give him the thumbs up. Look, at the end of the day, he just might succeed on getting the Europeans on board finally with regards to Al Quaida.

Hey, he DID plead for cash re the economic crisis but his crunch definitely was terrorism. He’s selling it well.

Ooops, he’s one more point…

When that video’s up, it’ll be up here.

UPDATE

Gotta go out. Hopefully the vid will be up when I get back. In the meantime, enjoy the soothing sounds of Air Force One’s approach into Strasbourg.

Russia Backs Return to Gold Standard

It’s sort of a modified, limited hang-out, but Russia is promoting at least a partial return to the gold standard for international currencies.

“Arkady Dvorkevich, the Kremlin’s chief economic adviser, said Russia would favour the inclusion of gold bullion in the basket-weighting of a new world currency based on Special Drawing Rights issued by the International Monetary Fund.

Chinese and Russian leaders both plan to open debate on an SDR-based reserve currency as an alternative to the US dollar at the G20 summit in London this week, although the world may not yet be ready for such a radical proposal.”

Too funny: Having money backed by real value is “radical.” No, it isn’t, it’s moral… but you can be sure the Russians and Chinese are not proposing this for positive moral ends, rather they have designs on taking advantage of the US mountain of debt that Obi-One has buried us under to weaken us economically. Still, I’m glad they brought this up, because it will strike fear into a lot of arrogant hearts, or it ought to.

If some countries return to the gold standard, international financiers and financial institutions will flock to those currencies and the US dollar and other unbacked fiat currencies will plummet into worthlessness. If that doesn’t worry you, it should. The US, GB, Australia and other western nations are in no position to return to the gold standard: Too much money in circulation and nowhere near enough gold to hitch to it.

Still, at some point this is going to happen, even if it takes a total global financial meltdown to achieve it… and it just might.

The choices will come down to this…

…or this.

European Carbon Markets Collapse, Making it Cheap to Pollute

I’m filled with malevolent joy! Schadenfreude!!! Europe’s carbon markets have collapsed, making dirty old coal cheap to pollute with again!

“Roll up for the great pollution fire sale, the ultimate chance to wreck the climate on the cheap. You sir, over there, from the power company – look at this lovely tonne of freshly made, sulphur-rich carbon dioxide. Last summer it cost an eyewatering €31 to throw up your smokestack, but in our give-away global recession sale, that’s been slashed to a crazy €8.20. Dump plans for the wind turbine! Compare our offer with costly solar energy! At this low, low price you can’t afford not to burn coal!” …

That there exists something called carbon trading is about all that most people know. A few know, too, that Europe has created carbon exchanges, and traders who buy and sell. Few but the professionals, however, know that this market is now failing in its purpose: to edge up the cost of emitting CO2.

The theory sounded fine in the boom years, back when Nicholas Stern described climate change as “the biggest market failure in history” – a market failure to which carbon trading was meant to be a market solution. Instead, it’s bolstering the business case for fossil fuels.”

LULZ! EPIC FAIL!!!

If a green fails in the woods, does it make a sound?

LOL UPDATE: The question should have been, if a carbon-sniffing satellite falls in the ocean, does it make a sound?

“(CNN) — A NASA satellite crashed back to Earth about three minutes after launch early Tuesday, officials said…

“We could not make orbit,” NASA program manager John Brunschwyler said. “Initial indications are the vehicle did not have enough [force] to reach orbit and landed just short of Antarctica in the ocean.”

“Certainly for the science community, it’s a huge disappointment.”

The satellite, which would have monitored greenhouse gases to study how they affect the Earth’s climate, was launched on a rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 1:55 a.m. PT (4:55 a.m. ET)…

The $273 million satellite, called the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, would have collected “precise global measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth’s atmosphere” to help better forecast the changes in carbon dioxide “and the effect that these changes may have on the Earth’s climate.””

Well, the OCO is now the LOCA: Lost Oceanic Clam Attractor. It’s hard not to conclude that God hates climotards, as it is when one ponders all of the icy weather that accompanies Al Gore around the planet.

McCain’s Perfect Choice for a Running Mate: Governor Sarah Palin

While most of the pedantic, two-dimensional, inside-the-box-thinking, conservative political hacks are touting Tom Ridge for the slot (Not a bad guy, but…), David Freddoso notes a far superior choice has been proposed: The Republican Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.

I believe this is a truly inspired idea. Gov. Palin ran as an anti-corruption outsider, and handily defeated a corrupt and entrenched Republican political machine. Plus, at 44, she would almost totally wipe the “age issue” McCain has off the slate, and since Obama is only two years her senior, there is no way they could attack her for her youth and inexperience: She has much more executive experience than Senator Obama has.

Not to mention the fact that, she’s a gorgeous woman who exudes mass quantities of charisma…

and has a super-solid family life.

Dibs on the eldest daughter! LOL!

This inspired choice would allow McCain to actually capitalize on his “maverick” persona, as Gov. Palin shook Alaska politics to the core: She’s a charming, charismatic woman, but she can also play with the big boys and kick ass.

What say ye?

UPDATE: Things are looking optimistic!

UPDATE II: Welcome to all 4500 8000 40,000 in the past few hours (so far!) people visiting us from Google. We’re a fairly opinionated right-wing blog, and you might like to take a look at our “About” page. You might also be interested in our other coverage of Sarah Palin and whether she becomes a prospective Vice President of the United States. You can find this coverage here and here. Personally, I hope she does, but you can feel free to debate the idea in comments below. All first comments are moderated, but unless you either insult or use severe profanity (and I mean severe by my standards, which generally only means the C U Next Tuesday word or the implication that someone has had a rather enjoyable erotic experience with someone who has borne a child), however if you come up with a new one, I may simply delete your comment. I, and all other contributors to this blog are more than fair in what we permit.

UPDATE III: Nayr Drahcir, don’t bother even trying. You will not be published.

UPDATE IV: A lot of people must like Palin.

UPDATE V: More coverage of Governor Sarah Palin and a theme song here.

UPDATE VI: Funniest observation on the announcement yet: “Put Obama and Palin on a basketball court one on one. Winner takes all!”

UPDATE VII: [spot_the_dog] No, we do not have any pictures of “Sarah Palin + Naked,” nor do we have any of “Sarah Palin + Swimsuit.” In the past 24 hours, there have been 157 separate searches on this site for “Sarah Palin Swimsuit,” and 161 separate searches for “Sarah Palin Naked.” I repeat, we have no bathing suit, swim suit, bikini, or naked pictures of Sarah Palin. What kind of people do you think we are, anyway? 😉

UPDATE VIIa: [spot_the_dog] Ace has noticed a similar search phenomenon on his blog and has a theory…

UPDATE VIII: A well-rounded view of the selection of Sarah Palin for the Vice President Nomination can be found here.

UPDATE IX:  We got it!  YES!  Nude photo of Sarah Palin right here!  (C’mon.  You know you want to click.)

UPDATE X: Feel free to visit our main page and read the latest posts we’ve written.

“Here’s to Europe, may she go to hell in her own way”

Sometimes when I’m reading other blogs, I see a comment which just strikes an exceptional note and I think to myself, “that one’s goin’ straight to the pool room.”

This response on Tim Blair’s blog by Wm Lawrence, to yet another Lefty proclaiming how much better it would be if America would just be a little more progressive, a little more sophisticated, a little more Leftist, a little (okay, a lot) more like Europe, is one of them.

Consider it pool-roomed.

Josh,

Most of our ancestors voluntarily left Europe to escape its wars, famines, injustices and political arrangements. That some on this continent seem to yearn for a more european culture is only a testament to our political system, which has allowed them to become rich, lazy, complacent and effete.

They mistake european customs for sophistication when they are really just symptoms of the ennui of an old spent and dying civilization in the agonizingly slow process of committing suicide.

You comment that nearly all of the european political parties are of the left as if that were a net good. We don’t see it that way.

All the left is good at is stealing the wealth produced by individuals and using it to purchase political power for themselves. That power is then used to insulate the “ruling class” from the unpleasantness that their utopian dreams force upon the rest of us.

Our political system is based on the principle that the government is granted rights by the people and that it exists only to secure those rights. If that results in a system you consider to be extreme right so be it, but don’t expect an apology from me. Maybe you can arrange one from Barack, to go with all of them you got from Clinton, if we are so cursed.

The rest of the world sees individual rights as being granted by the government whose only duty is to protect itself at the expense of individual rights. I consider that Idea (with considerable evidence) to be dangerously left wing.

I suppose the illuminati of the left consider us “fascistic” or some other meaningless epithet, but let’s recall where all those ideas sprang from.

Benighted as we may be we are not the ones who are unable to utter a word which might offend a favored minority under threat of criminal action, who are unable to protect ourselves from criminals who invade our homes, or whose daughters are under threat of being assaulted in their own land for not being “modest’ enough to avoid attracting the attention of a group of “religious” thugs. At least not yet.

Here is to Europe, may she go to hell in her own way. I for one don’t think the europeans have much to teach us about how to govern ourselves and I consider those who would emulate their politics to be traitors to our constitution and unworthy to govern.

Wm Lawrence
Tue 07 Oct 08 (02:41pm)

Hear, hear.

Sounds Like a Fantastic Movie: Tell No One

I happen to love French movies that are subtitled in English. This goes back to when I nearly died laughing and pissed my pants watching La Cage aux Folles back in my college years (The later Robin Williams English version was sacrilege!), and was continued watching Gerard Depardieu in Les Fugitifs some years later (And others, to be sure). Well now, a fantastically twisted novel has been made into what, by all accounts, is one of the best mystery/suspense/crime movies in years:

Tell No One

Tell No One

I’ll need the DVD of this, for sure, as reviewers say the second time through it is even better!

You may recognize the babe. She’s Marie-Josee Croze, the female assassin from Munich, who was killed in one of the most disturbing scenes I’ve seen in years. She gets offed – or, does she? – in this one as well.

Opposing Anti-Americanism: “America in the World”

“America in the World” is a new website set up by Europeans to counter anti-Americanism.  From the site:

AmericaInTheWorld is a London-based international alliance opposed to anti-Americanism as well as American isolationism. Via our briefings, we aim to provide the number one factual resource for those who wish to hear the case against anti-Americanism. Our goal is to increase understanding of America, to debunk some of the leading myths about the United States, and to make a positive case for a continuing leading role for America in the world.

AmericaInTheWorld is launched and funded by supporters of America in London and around the world. AmericaInTheWorld receives no American government or corporate funding.

David Cameron, leader of the UK Conservative Party, will be guest of honour at the London launch of AITW in October 2008.

We plan a launch in Washington DC soon and in other major capital cities as more and more people sign our Declaration Against Anti-Americanism.

Everything you ever wanted to know…

Could this be the. best. link. ever?

Tons of info on AGW, climate change, energy reserves, Al Gore, polar bears and the like.

It’s not porn but it’s pretty darn good. I’m barred up.