New Island...

...forming.

Keep Going Egypt

Egyptian court designates Hamas as a terror organization, state media says


Who knows what the Middle East will look like when it's all over?

Kids

Overdue

U.S. general: Let's make Obama resign

When? Faster, please.

It's About Time

Australia’s Leader Strikes Massive Blow Against Muslims on Welfare

Muslims Busted in Mass Welfare Fraud Against US Taxpayers

These 12 States Are Going To Kick Welfare Abusing Degenerates Off The Public Dole

Hope it spreads to Canada.




Read more at http://patriotnewswire.com/2015/02/these-12-states-are-going-to-kick-welfare-abusing-degenerates-off-the-public-dole/

Oh Great!!!

Bus beheader Vince Li awarded unsupervised trips to Winnipeg

Back In Iraq

Retaking key Iraqi city will be no easy task

"For months, Kurdish peshmerga fighters have been taking up positions around Mosul, Iraq's second city and a stronghold for Islamic State extremists.

The city is now surrounded on three sides and in some cases the front lines are just kilometres away, says a spokesman for the peshmerga. But while the world increasingly expects them to take Mosul soon, Kurds don't: they're settling in for a long and bloody siege.

Mosul is strategically important to Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, as its one million-plus inhabitants make up as much as one sixth of the population living in the extremists' selfdeclared caliphate. Wining Mosul back would mark a turning point in the war against IS.

Last week, a U.S. Central Command official said in Baghdad the assault to retake the city would likely be launched in April or May. The attack would involve 20,000 to 25,000 soldiers from eight Iraqi army brigades, three peshmerga brigades and a police force trained in irregular warfare."

"I Told You...

...I'd end the war in Afghanistan, and I did:

Afghanistan’s new leader will attend talks at Camp David next month

"President Obama will host Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Washington next month, the White House said on Friday, as U.S. officials consider making changes to the administration plan for ending the military mission in Afghanistan.

Ashraf Ghani, making his first visit to the United States as Afghan leader, will be joined by Abdullah Abdullah, his former rival who is now the government’s chief executive officer. During the March 22-25 visit, Ghani and other Afghan officials will take part in a “strategic dialogue” with U.S. officials, hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry at Camp David, the presidential retreat, the White House said in a statement.

At the core of discussions during Ghani’s visit will be the future U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, which is due to end by Dec. 31, 2016, as part of Obama’s plan for ending the long war in Afghanistan. But Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter and other officials have said they are now considering a military proposal to slow the troop reduction, and retain some extra troops in order to better support Afghan forces."

Good Grief!

Russia opposition politician Boris Nemtsov shot dead

"A leading Russian opposition politician, former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, has been shot dead in Moscow, Russian officials say.

An unidentified attacker in a car shot Mr Nemtsov four times in the back as he crossed a bridge in view of the Kremlin, police say.

He died hours after appealing for support for a march on Sunday in Moscow against the war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned the murder, the Kremlin says.

In a recent interview, Mr Nemtsov had said he feared Mr Putin would have him killed because of his opposition to the war in Ukraine."

Boris Nemtsov, Russian opposition leader, shot dead in Moscow

"Boris Nemtsov, a Russian opposition leader and sharp critic of President Vladimir Putin, was gunned down Saturday near the Kremlin, officials said. Nemtsov was killed just a day before a protest planned against Putin's rule.

The death of Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, ignited a fury among opposition figures who assailed the Kremlin for creating an atmosphere of intolerance of any dissent. Putin quickly offered his condolences and called the murder a provocation.

Putin ordered Russia's law enforcement chiefs to oversee the probe. "Putin noted that this cruel murder has all the makings of a contract hit and is extremely provocative," presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies."

Yah. We believe you Vlad.

Vlad's biography: Putin's Long Shadow

Remember How Global Warming, or...

...whatever it's called at 2:52 CST on February 27, 2015, was going to produce droughts everywhere. Well, thanks to fossil fuels it ain't happening:

How To Solve The Water Crisis: Use More Fossil Fuels

"...thanks in part to increasing fossil fuel use, we are bringing about a world where our bodies and our crops have more of the water they need, not less."

[---]

"Droughts are historically the most common form of climate-related death; a lack of rainfall can affect the supply of the two most basic essentials of life, food and water. Drought is also supposed to be one of the most devastating consequences of CO2 emissions, so let’s see how they match up."

[---]

"Clearly, CO2 emissions have not had a significant effect on droughts, but expanded human ability to fight drought, powered by fossil fuels, has: from better agriculture (more crops for more people), to rapid transportation to drought-affected areas, to modern irrigation that makes farmers less dependent on rainfall. Shouldn’t fossil fuel energy get some credit here?

To give you one particularly astonishing data point, the International Disaster Database reports that the United States has had zero deaths from drought in the last eight years. This doesn’t mean there are actually zero, as the database only covers incidents involving ten or more deaths, but it means pretty near zero. Historically, drought is the number-one climate-related cause of death. Worldwide it has gone down by 99.98% in the last eighty years, for many energy-related reasons: oil-powered drought-relief convoys, more food in general because of more prolific, fossil fuel-based agriculture, and irrigation systems. And yet we constantly hear reports that fossil fuels are making droughts worse. These reports give credibility to climate-prediction models that can’t predict climate, but no credibility to the plain facts about how important more energy is to countering drought."

[---]

"Most of Earth’s surface is covered with water—but not nearly enough of it is usable for our high standards and purposes.

Most of the water is saltwater in the oceans. Most of the fresh water is trapped in massive ice sheets in places like Antarctica or Greenland. Some is part of a large water cycle of clouds and precipitation. Some portion is naturally “poisoned” brackish water of low quality in soil layers deep below the surface, containing too much salt and too many metals and other chemicals to be of any use without energy-intensive treatment. Nature does not deliberately or consistently produce “drinking water” able to meet a rigorous set of human health specifications."

Deniers At Full...

...throttle: Cold weather doesn't mean climate change isn't happening

"Much of Canada may be in a deep freeze, but other parts of the world are baking"

It's the CBC, of course. You'll notice it's not so "global" any more.

The Star-Phoenix gets into the act:

Fossil fuels threaten our future

And from the epi-centre of 1960's radicalism:

Science documents firmer evidence on climate change. Will lawmakers act?

Too Bad,...

...So sad:

As a child, Prince William dreamed of being an astronaut — or a fire breather

"When he was a child, Prince William dreamed about becoming an astronaut or a policeman.

But as he grew into adulthood, he realized he would have to settle for becoming King of England instead."

I'd Never Heard Of This

It's hilarious:

Bomb Threat...

...at the West Edmonton Mall.

My grand daughter, who lives close to Edmonton, was about to go on a class trip to the WEM. It was cancelled because of this threat.

This is getting really, really scary.

Good!!

Supreme Court won’t hear oath to Queen challenge

Luv It

Study: Global warming skeptics know more about climate science

"Are global warming skeptics simply ignorant about climate science?

Not so, says a forthcoming paper in the journal Advances in Political Psychology by Yale Professor Dan Kahan. He finds that skeptics score about the same (in fact slightly better) on climate science questions.

The study asked 2,000 respondents nine questions about where they thought scientists stand on climate science.

On average, skeptics got about 4.5 questions correct, whereas manmade warming believers got about 4 questions right."

Related:

'Dark Money' Funds To Promote Global Warming Alarmism Dwarf Warming 'Denier' Research

Bill Nye Tells MSNBC To Say Climate Change, Not Global Warming, When It’s Cold Out

Awesomeness

Spectacular show during rare alignment of Mars, Venus

Moon, Venus, Mars Perform Rare Cosmic Show In Night Sky

Just When I...

...think I should leave this global warming/cooling thing alone, along comes news like this:

Weather statement issued for Halifax, extreme-cold warnings in effect for parts of Nova Scotia

Toronto sees record low temperature

Texas, Louisiana brace for ice as bitter winter drags on

Canadian Coast Guard Works To Free Ship

"The Canadian Coast Guard is working to break free the motor vessel Arthur M Anderson, which is beset in ice near Conneaut Harbour. The Griffon, stationed in Prescott, is a 234-foot, multi-mission, medium icebreaker.

The Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay, a 140-foot, ice-breaking tug, home-ported in Detroit, had previously attempted to assist the vessel, but encountered ice too thick for it to break." (Emphasis mine)

Canadian ship frees freighter from icy Lake Erie off NE Ohio

Shipping freighter stuck in frozen Lake Erie freed after five days


Coldest Night of the Year raises awareness of homeless in Edmonton, across Canada
91 locations across Canada hosting Coldest Night of the Year Walks

Windchill offsets warmer temps today

Under Thick Coating, an Icebreaking Ship Uncovers the Hudson

Canadian Coast Guard coming in to help free stuck freighter

Canadian Coast Guard called in to help free trapped ship

"The Anderson was en route to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, when it was beset. It's not clear how long the Anderson has been trapped, but the Bristol Bay has been battling the ice for so long, it ran out of food. 45 kg of food was airdropped to the cutter on Thursday night.

The Arthur M. Anderson has a Canadian connection: It was the last ship to make contact with the Edmund Fitzgerald, before it was lost on Lake Superior in 1975.

It's not the only trapped ship. The Windsor Star reports the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Samuel Risley is working to free a ship stuck in the St. Clair River.

That ice isn't getting any thinner. At 96 per cent, Lake Erie is currently the most iced-over of the Great Lakes, and has more ice cover now than it did at the same time last year."

Yup. That'll...

...hurt:

Losing to Leafs... man, that hurts

Um, No Thanks

Canada Should Try Again For UN Security Council Seat After 2010 Loss: French Envoy

Uuh, no. We should get rid of the damned thing.

Indeed!!

Who is judging the judges?

"But the court? Doesn’t it simply interpret the law? Would that such were true. Lately it has turned to the making of law, a task to which it is neither mandated nor suited."

Brrrrrrr!!!

What happened to that global warming?

D.C. breaks 120-year cold record; Great Lakes may get most ice ever

Deep freeze covers most of Great Lakes with ice for 2nd year

Lake Erie is almost completely frozen over

Most of Great Lakes surface frozen for 2nd straight year

Eastern US shivers as brutal winter weather freezes Great Lakes

Record amount of ice covers Great Lakes, creates municipal headaches

Is that enough for ya, leftards?

Assholes

...anti-vacsers, that is:

10th measles case confirmed in Toronto

New case of measles confirmed in Toronto

Lamestream Media Does It Again

Another day, another attack on the integrity of the Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist Dr. Willie Soon, this time in the New York Times.

"You might be wondering what Soon and Baliunas had done to incur the wrath of the climate alarmist establishment. Well, they’d just published a meta-analysis of all the papers which had been written on the Medieval Warm Period (MWP). What their paper showed is that contrary to claims by one Michael Mann (the name may be familiar), the MWP was not a small, localised event but global, big and widespread.

So the memo went out from the Hockey Team (the uber-vindictive Mann and his lickspittle posse) to get Soon, and they’ve been going at him ever since: not by criticising the quality of his science — that would be too difficult because his science is impeccable — but simply by trying to make his life miserable, deny him tenure, and to smear him as compromised and corrupt."

Islam, Barack Obama And The Crusades

Rex Murphy hits it out of the park:

In Obama’s impulse to absolve Islam, he offers a rebuke to Christianity

"The President of the United States is an interesting theologian. He has taken to declaring that Islamic terrorists, who by their own emphatic insistence are Islamic, and who conduct their merciless operations in Nigeria, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq and fitfully in many countries around the world explicitly and defiantly under the banner of Islam, are not what or whom they say they are.

His purpose can been seen as vaguely worthy — making the point that not all Muslims subscribe to the violent actions and tenets of the numerous radical factions, but saying “not all” does not erase a worryingly large “some.” Some, in these dreadful cases, is very, very many. But who really blames, or has been blaming, “all Muslims” ever? Western world leaders to a person have been insisting it is not all Muslims since the morning of the 9/11 attacks. This is a tired, and by now needless, rhetorical gambit."

[---]

"My first qualification here would be to point the obvious, that in those times of the Crusades, Muslims were committing terrible deeds in the name of Allah. This was not a one-sided clash of blades and bludgeons. This is hardly a trivial point."

Well I'll Be...

...darned: A close eye on security makes Canadians safer

A bunch of former PMs speak in support of Stephen Harper: Chretien, Clark, Martin and Turner. Three of those four are Liberals.

Looks Like Any Old Street...

...in Canada, but this is Jerusalem:



The way those branches are bending, it looks like heavy, wet snow, too. Yuk.

It's Back To Iraq

Battle of Mosul could begin in April

"In a rare public disclosure of future battle plans, a U.S. Central Command official outlined the operational planning for reporters in a briefing Thursday.

Current planning envisions that five Iraqi army brigades of "fighting forces," backed by three Kurdish peshmerga brigades, will "contain from the north," the CENTCOM official said."

[---]

Centcom Details Plan for Retaking Mosul[---]Operation to retake Mosul from ISIL 'to begin in April' Nothing like telling your enemy what your plans are. Could be a ruse, I suppose.

I Wonder How...

...long this will take to get to the courts:

Texas Leaders ‘Confident’ Executive Amnesty Ruling Will Survive Appeal

For the life of me, I don't know why they haven't impeached that man yet.

Must Be That Global Warming

Niagara Falls has frozen over as extreme winter weather continues across the East Coast - and it is going to get even colder

Open The Taps...

...and let the greenbacks flow:

Canada: To Cross-Border Trade -- And Beyond

"This week, I will send letters to the governors of all 50 U.S. states urging them to visit Canada to explore new opportunities for expanding what is already the world’s largest and most comprehensive bilateral trade and investment relationship. In 2013, we traded $735-billion in goods and services -- the highest total on record. That works out to more than $2-billion in bilateral trade per day! And the 2014 total will be even higher.

Given the size and scope of this vast relationship, the investments in time and effort we make today to grow the U.S.-Canada economic relationship will pay huge dividends in the future as we build on this unprecedented level of shared prosperity.

That’s why my focus as U.S. ambassador to Canada is to continue to expand and strengthen this tremendous relationship. Every day, our two governments, along with business and institutional partners, create new opportunities for growth and expand existing trade and investment flows."

Another Tsunami On The Way?

Strong quake jolts northern Japan, no tsunami warning

"Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater."

It must suck to be Japanese.

Twenty Good Reasons...

...not to worry about polar bears and climate change:

"...with a global estimate almost certainly greater than 25,000, we can say for sure that there are more polar bears now than there were 40 years ago."

[---]
"The most recent status assessment for polar bears, published by Environment Canada in May 2014, shows only two subpopulations are “likely in decline,” down from four listed by the PBSG as declining in 2013 and seven in 2010."
[---]

"Baffin Bay earns its ‘likely decline’ status due to suspicions of over-harvesting (so far not confirmed), not sea ice decline. And the recent assessment of Southern Beaufort bears, which was based on a newly-formulated (i.e. untested) population estimate model that used a truncated data set, recorded a decline acknowledged to have been caused by thick ice conditions in spring, not summer ice declines."

Related: Bad news for warmists: Sun has entered 'weakest solar cycle in a century'

"The conceit that human production of carbon dioxide is capable of driving the earth’s climate is running smack into the sun. CO2 accounts for a mere 0.039% of the atmosphere, while the sun accounts for 99.86% of all of the mass in our entire solar system. And Ol’ Sol is not taking the insult lightly. Vencore Weather reports:

For the past 5 days, solar activity has been very low and one measure of solar activity – its X-ray output – has basically flatlined in recent days. Not since cycle 14 peaked in February 1906 has there been a solar cycle with fewer sunspots."

The Green Thing

You gotta read this.

Does ISIS...

...believe they'll win?

If He Wasn't So Jittery...

...he could make a great snow angel.

Why Am I Not Surprised?

Conservative Professors Warned: Keep Your Mouth Shut

Oh, But Their Health Care System Is Soooo Much Better Than Ours

12 million Americans misdiagnosed each year

Butt Out, Nader!!

It's none of your business:

"What’s Happening to Canada?" by Ralph Nader.

You're just a washed-up old has been, and we don't care what you think. (Did I say "think"? Poor choice of words, that.)

Moon Gazing

Tonight the moon is supposed to look really, really big. Expect cloud cover.

Why Does The Moon Look So Big Tonight?



Commence howling.

Kinda Scary, If You Ask Me

Hunting for Germs in an Ancient Graveyard

Researchers scour Italian cemetery for DNA of ancient strains of cholera

"An Italian church graveyard could preserve more than bodies: Researchers are searching the cemetery for the DNA of ancient strains of cholera.

Cholera is a deadly diarrheal disease caused by a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae. In the 1850s, an epidemic swept the world. In 1854, during this epidemic, London doctor John Snow famously traced one outbreak to a contaminated water pump in the Soho district of the city. The case is still cited today as a triumph of epidemiology.

Cholera still kills today. According to the World Health Organization, there were more than 100,000 cases in 2013, and periodic epidemics send that number soaring. In 2011, for example, there were nearly 600,000 cholera cases worldwide, driven largely by an outbreak that occurred after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti."

And in other "science" news:

Evolution theory confirmed: Big is better, Stanford researchers say

Will Wonders Ever Cease

Norwegian Muslims plan 'ring of peace' around synagogue


Norwegian Muslims plan 'ring of peace' in solidarity with Jews
Norwegian Muslims show solidarity with Jewish shooting victims

Another Inneresting One

Where Did Ancestor Of Indo-European Languages Originate?

Hindi, Greek among other Indo-European languages first emerged 6500 yrs ago

‘Indo-European’ languages first emerged 6,500 years ago

I've always had an interest in how related languages evolved and how linguists know they are related. I presume when language first arose, humans must have been a single unit, probably still in Africa and there would have been only one language, which subsequently evolved into the multitude of languages spoken by homo sapiens. I guess I should have taken that linguistics class back in the day.

Awesome

Fireball! Meteor Going 45,000 Mph Lights Up Pennsylvania Sky

Watch a 500-pound meteor light up the Pittsburgh sky

Watch a hot, speeding space alien explode all over Earth's Beaver

Yup. It's The Seventh Century

Saudi Cleric Rejects That Earth Revolves Around The Sun, Claims NASA's Lunar Excursion Is Hollywood Fabrication

Saudi cleric rejects theory Earth rotates around the Sun

Saudi cleric denies Earth’s rotation

Go Ahead, Dear

I wasn't going to vote for you anyway:

Tom Mulcair says NDP will oppose anti-terrorism bill C-51

Why Can't I...

...ever find anything like this:

Divers discover huge hoard of gold coins off Israeli coast

Sunken treasure? Divers stumble upon priceless ancient gold.


Scuba divers stumble onto largest treasure of (sic) gold coins ever found of Israel's coast

Debunking The...

...."occupation":

Watch Dershowitz Dispel Myth that Settlements Are Main Barrier to Peace

Round Up

Alan Dershowitz: Obama may become Chamberlain on Iran

"May" become??? Where have you been?

Case in point:

Religion a dirty word at White House Summit Countering Violent Extremism

‘The Yanquis are coming’ and Cuba may never be the same for Canadians

Or for those beaches. They'll be crowded and no longer pristine.

"More than one third of the tourists that Cuba welcomes every year are from Canada. This is especially true in the posh resorts of Varadero, where Canadians crowd the swimming pools and the white sand beaches."

You Go Francois!

François Legault says all mosques should be investigated prior to opening

And if it works there, lets adopt the same across the entire country.

Putin Antics

Hungarians protest against Vladimir Putin's visit to Budapest

Moscow Promises Canada's 'Clumsy' Sanctions Won't Go Unanswered (He must still be pissed off at Harper's rebuff at the Brisbane G8 meeting.)

Yet Another Fist-Fight In A Parliament

Previously.

This time it's in Turkey.

"Turkish parliamentarians threw punches and two were taken to hospital late on Tuesday after a debate over a bill aimed at cracking down on violent demonstrations descended into a brawl, local media reported.

Five people were injured in the evening session debate, Dogan news agency reported. It said Ertugrul Kurkcu of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) suffered a head wound and a photo showed him with a dressing on his head.

Four Republican People's Party (CHP) deputies were hurt, and two of them were taken to hospital, after clashing with members of the ruling AK Party, Dogan added.

"This is the first time I've seen a stretcher brought into parliament. Water glasses were flying through the air, people were rolling on the ground, someone was wielding a gavel," CHP deputy Melda Onur told Hayat TV."

And this part is hilarious: "...after a debate over a bill aimed at cracking down on violent demonstrations..."

ROTFLMAO

ISIS Gets Hammered

Warplanes blast ISIS positions in Kirkuk, Mekhmour

UAE says renewed air strikes hit IS oil refineries

About Those WDM In Iraq...

...that supposedly were never found:

Oh yes they were.

This, taken together with the stockpile of yellowcake that was sold to Canada, pretty much vindicates George Bush.

More.

Oh, Those Crazy Scots

The slipped disc, heart attack, hernia producing Cabre Toss. They're nuts.

Best Headline Ever

Egypt Bombs the Cr*p out of the Islamic State in Response to the Beheadings of Coptic Christians

Oooooh...

...that's a good one.

Ya Think?

Radio-Canada employees hate conservative values, Harper tells Quebec station

Related: "Stephen Harper's Radio-Canada Remark Called 'Petty' By NDP MP"

In my ever so humble opinion he's right on.

This Man Should Be...

...the next president: 2 VIRAL VIDEOS of Rudy Giuliani destroying Obama, Islam and Iran

Going Metric

Why isn't the U.S. on the metric system?

Countries That Haven't Adopted the Metric System

For Years, Ken Butcher Was the Sole Employee of the U.S. Metric Program

Why Americans still use Fahrenheit long after everyone else switched to Celsius

Honor Diaries -

Mini-docs

Like He Said...

...

Related: Egypt security forces discover longest Gaza tunnel

This Is Rich...

...Khamenei: 'American Sniper' encourages harassment of Muslims

Why, it was only a few years ago the Mad Mullahs were killing Muslims on the streets of Tehran for not being Muslim enough.

"June 12 is the fifth anniversary of the birth of Iran's democratic Green Movement. Though the open resistance of this popular movement has been suppressed, it has been morally vindicated in the intervening years and remains as a constituency imbedded in Iran's body politic, ready to emerge once again when the opportunity arises.

And the opportunity will surely arise. The Islamic Republic of Iran is not your usual authoritarian state. As a hybrid of religious dictatorship and competitive elections, the regime generates its own opposition, see-sawing back and forth between conservatives and reformists. One day, the balance of power will shift decisively toward democracy and against the Ayatollahs.

It is precisely because competitive elections within a religious dictatorship are so meaningful that the election five years ago in 2009 was so passionately contested.

On that day in 2009 Iran's 10th presidential elections were held. Over 39 million people, representing about 85 percent of the eligible voters, cast their votes. According to the government's claims, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received 62.6 percent of the votes, while his main opponent, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi received 33.75 percent. The disbelief that these results were accurate ignited the widespread protests of the Green Movement."

So Much For Global Warming

I've been checking Environment Canada's website for the temperature in the town where I live. The website not only gives the high and low expected for each day, but it also gives "seasonal norms" (ie. averages over several years) for the town. Consistently this winter, the temps have been colder than normal. I was so hoping....

The Year Of Acknowleging Mistakes

France's mistake shows taxing wealth doesn't work

"Three years on, President Hollande is shame-facedly scrapping the 75 percent rate, having forcibly re-learned an ancient truth: Wealth taxes don’t redistribute wealth; they redistribute people. Thousands of well-off Frenchmen made the easy journey north, including the country’s richest man, Bernard Arnault."

I'm tempted to say "Duh!". I mean, who would say "Duh" about something so obvious? "Duh!"

"Hollande’s tax, levied on incomes above one million euros, has been a miserable failure. Over its lifespan, it raised around $500 million, a tiny fraction of the original projections. Why? Well, the Paris bureaucrats who made those projections overlooked something rather important. Rich people don’t sit around waiting to be taxed."

[---]

"Parts of Kensington, an expensive district of West London, are now largely Francophone. London is, on some measures, the sixth-largest French city in the world. It pullulates with French financiers and French footballers and French management consultants and French pastry chefs. They have just two things in common. First, all had the get-up-and-go needed to start a career in a new language and a new country. Second, all are paying their taxes to the British Exchequer instead of the French treasury. Merci, mes amis.

Not since the expulsion of France’s Protestants in 1685 has there been such an exodus of entrepreneurs to the Anglosphere; and this wave, like that one, has been a transfusion of talent, leaving the English-speaking world more energetic and France more anemic. Nicolas Sarkozy, well understanding where the relatively small free-market-minded section of his population could be found, launched his presidential election campaign in London."

President Of France Was First To Visit U.S. After 9/11

Poor, Poor ISIS

Their only words were, 'Jesus help me': Pope condemns ISIS execution of 21 Christians for their faith and says 'martyrs' blood confesses Christ'

ISIS suffers heavy casualties in air strikes NOW stealing ‘blood of captured women and children for wounded fighters’.

Retaliating For Killings, Egypt Launches Airstrikes Against ISIS In Libya

Pope Francis Denounces ISIS Slaughter: ‘Their Blood Confesses Christ'

Libya and Egypt launch air strikes against Isis after militants post beheadings video

Islamic State Video Shows Beheadings of Egyptian Christians in Libya

Egypt bombs Islamic State targets in Libya after 21 Egyptians beheaded

A Classic...

...example of why I don't have a cable subscription:

CNN’s War Against Truth

"In the wake of daily jihad attacks (thwarted or deadly), CNN clearly is losing control of its narrative that Islam is a religion of peace and Islamic jihad is not Islamic. From the very beginning of its propaganda piece “The War Within Islam,” which aired Monday night, CNN’s agenda was clear.

The show was full of dissembling, dishonesty, and dissimulation from beginning to end. The title itself, “The War Within Islam,” is a lie. Where do we see evidence of a war within Islam? We don’t see millions of Muslims marching against jihad and Sharia. On the contrary, hundreds of thousands of Muslims marched in Chechnya against the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. In Iran, mobs chanted, “Death to France.” In Pakistan, over 10,000 marched and attacked police, and in Niger anti-cartoon mobs torched forty-five churches. They are marching for jihad and for sharia."

Inneresting

Islam’s Self-Destructive Seed

"Within the DNA of Islam is a self-destructive element: a prophecy by Mohammed in which he said that Islam will eventually be rejected by the world and would return back to where it came from. Ask your local imam, and he’ll tell you: Mohammed doesn’t lie.

Incredibly, Mohammed himself was not optimistic about his own message and the future of Islam and Muslims:

"[T]he Messenger of Allah (Mohammed) observed: Verily Islam started as something strange and it would again revert (to its old position) of being strange just as it started, and it would recede between the two mosques just as the serpent crawls back into its hole.” [Sahih Muslim, Book 001, Number 0270.]"

"Mohammed’s predictions of Islam crawling back like a snake to where it came from were repeated extensively in several other hadiths:

“Belief returns and goes back to Medina like a snake.” (Sahih Bukhari, 3.30.100.)

“Muslims will be the scum and the rubbish even though their numbers may increase; the enemy will not fear Muslims anymore. This will be because the Muslims will love the world and dislike death…
(Sunaan Abu Dawud, 37.4284.)

“Muhammad’s contemporaries were the best Muslims; after three generations, the Muslims will be mainly treacherous and untrustworthy.” (Sahih Bukhari, 5.57.2, 3.)

“There will be much killing during the last days of the Muslim.”
(Sahih Bukhari, 9.88.183.)

“Verily, Belief returns and goes back to Medina as a snake returns and goes back to its hole (when in danger).”
(Volume 3, Book 30, Number 100: Narrated Abu Huraira.)

Mohammed also predicted a large movement of apostasy out of Islam:

“Muslims will diminish in number and they will go back to where they started [before Islam]” (Sunaan Abu Dawud, 2.19.3029.)

“There will be no trace of Islam in some believers…” (Sahih Bukhari, 9.84.65.)"

You Can Bet on It...

....the latest victims of global warming are - wait for it - are you ready? GRIZZLY BEARS!!!! They're waking up too early.

Grizzly Bears Are Waking Up Early This Year, and Climate Change Could Make That a Bad Habit

The Sun Rises...

...here.

http://truenorthreport.ca/today

Good luck folks!! We need your voice.

Glow-Bullshit Warming

'Global warming the greatest scam in history' claims founder of Weather Channel

Shame on Me...

...Not.

When I first learned about the rampage in Copenhagen, I immediately thought it must have been Muslims. I wonder why? /sarc

Copenhagen shooting suspect shot dead after attacks on free speech event and synagogue

Denmark sees possible 'Charlie Hebdo' motive behind Copenhagen attacks

Danish PM vows to protect Jews, says Islam not West's enemy

A little too much appeasement/cowardliness in that headline, me thinks. Time to call a spade a spade and put down your political correctness.

And good for those mayors in Quebec:

Muslim school graduation ceremony cancelled over radical speakers

"A graduation ceremony for a private Muslim school was cancelled Saturday due to the radical views of two guest speakers, the mayor said."

[---]

""As soon as we received this information, we felt it was essential to cancel the booking," said Outremont Mayor Marie Cinq-Mars in a statement.

Shahin has garnered headlines for declarations that Muslims need to place priority on sharia law over western law."

[---]

"In a tweet, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said that the decision to cancel the event was reached due to a report on Alsawy and Shahin on QMI's sister TV station LCN."

No word yet from Barack Obama, that I'm aware of, in any case. Other world leaders have spoken out including: "British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper", and, of course, Netanyahu.

I Never Did...

...think much of the "Big Bang" theory, but this new one isn't any better:

Big Bang Didn't Happen? New theory suggests universe has no beginning, No End

Maybe There's Hope for...

...them thar Leafs after all:Maple Leafs show they still have a pulse

Energized Leafs fall to Canadiens in shootout

That would have been good to watch. That old rivalry used to be what defined hockey in Canada.

Yet Another...

...oil carrying train derails:

CN train carrying crude oil derails, catches fire in Northern Ontario

The Greatest Murder Machine...

...in history:

"When one thinks of mass murder, Hitler comes to mind. If not Hitler, then Tojo, Stalin, or Mao. Credit is given to the 20th-century totalitarians as the worst species of tyranny to have ever arisen. However, the alarming truth is that Islam has killed more than any of these, and may surpass all of them combined in numbers and cruelty.

The enormity of the slaughters of the "religion of peace" are so far beyond comprehension that even honest historians overlook the scale. When one looks beyond our myopic focus, Islam is the greatest killing machine in the history of mankind, bar none."

Europe's Backbone...

...is back in the news again:

UNPRECEDENTED RISE OF PEGIDA – The ‘anti-Islamization’ movement quickly spreading throughout Europe

"Even Britain’s Prince Charles, who rarely speaks on political matters, is worried about the radicalization of Muslim youths within his future kingdom."

When you've lost Prince Chucky-Pooh, you know it's bad

Hamilton...

...about to get a blast of global warming:

Extreme cold warning in effect for Hamilton area

They're Out There...

...do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do:

UK Scientists: Aliens May Have Sent Space Seeds To Create Life On Earth

Plan to broadcast messages to alien worlds leaves cosmologists worrying

Obama adviser John Podesta's biggest regret: Keeping America in dark about UFOs

Listening to This...

...,there is hope for SNN yet.

Ezra Levant on Fox News North

He hints that online is where they need to be (at about the 1:50 minute mark).

This Morning Is Just...

...full of laughs:

They sought paradise in a Scottish field — and found hunger, boredom and mosquitoes

"Fair play to Evans: by the time he came to write this book he realised he was delusional. Though he had no difficulty recruiting like-minded eccentrics to join him in his ‘experimental community’ (a former Royal Marine who had ambitions to be a cobbler; a computer-programmer ‘passionate about vegetables’; a teacher who’d once met an Inuit; a graffiti artist from Belfast; a Cambridge student keen on the recorder), Evans admits that his utopia was doomed to failure. It attracted only idealists and disaffected romantics when what was needed were people with practical skills, like plumbers, carpenters and engineers. Soon the militant vegetarians were squabbling with the meat-eaters, and the small group began to disintegrate. One member even started to invent his own religion, building a shrine with ‘carefully arranged’ bits of driftwood and old coins."

Another BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

If Fifty Shades Of Grey Was Written By A Man

What She Says

You Know Me...

...I like history:

Kings and Queens of England - Episode 1: Normans to Magna Carta (History Documentary)


Kings and Queens of England - Episode 2: Middle Ages (History Documentary)

Kings and Queens of England - Episode 3: The Tudors (History Documentary)

Kings and Queens of England - Episode 4: The Stuarts (History Documentary)

Kings and Queens of England - Episode 5: The Hanoverians (History Documentary)

Kings and Queens of England - Episode 6: The Moderns (History Documentary)

Medieval Lives - Episode 7: The Outlaw (History Documentary)

Medieval Lives Episode 8/8: The King

When in Rome...

...do as the Romans do, but when in the USA do as Islamists would have you to do: The State Of Texas Accepts Sharia Law, And Will Have The First Sharia Court In The United States

or maybe not: This Montana Lawmaker Has Just Taken A Bold Step To Protect American Justice

We All Know About...

...yellow snow, but blue? Orange? Pink?

Oh, those Ruskies! (PS: I always thought Vodka was colourless. /sarc)

Coalition of the Willing: Part II

Jordan and other Middle East Muslim nations eager to begin GROUND INVASION of ISIS controlled region

Jordan vows 'relentless' war against ISIS after pilot burnt alive

Blowback...

...big time.

Meet The Doctors Who Are Rejecting Unvaccinated Patients

"Facing the biggest measles outbreak since 2000, pediatricians are speaking out with a sharp message for their unvaccinated patients: Do not enter.

They say this zero-tolerance policy will protect vulnerable patients in their waiting rooms — such as infants and those with weak immune systems — from exposure to a virus their bodies are not equipped to fight."

So...

...Sun News has shut down. Pity that. They were a good antidote to the CBC, but I always thought this was a crazy time to start a new television network. TV is yesterday's technology. Time to bury it. (My own television is in storage. I'll take it out someday to haul it to the recycling place, where they can rip it apart and sell the components. That's about all it's good for.)

Things Obama Doesn't Want You to Know

U.S. Is Escalating a Secretive War in Afghanistan

"As an October chill fell on the mountain passes that separate the militant havens in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a small team of Afghan intelligence commandos and American Special Operations forces descended on a village where they believed a leader of Al Qaeda was hiding.

That night the Afghans and Americans got their man, Abu Bara al-Kuwaiti. They also came away with what officials from both countries say was an even bigger prize: a laptop computer and files detailing Qaeda operations on both sides of the border.

American military officials said the intelligence seized in the raid was possibly as significant as the information found in the computer and documents of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, after members of the Navy SEALs killed him in 2011.

In the months since, the trove of intelligence has helped fuel a significant increase in night raids by American Special Operations forces and Afghan intelligence commandos, Afghan and American officials said.

The spike in raids is at odds with policy declarations in Washington, where the Obama administration has deemed the American role in the war essentially over. But the increase reflects the reality in Afghanistan, where fierce fighting in the past year killed record numbers of Afghan soldiers, police officers and civilians.

American and Afghan officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were discussing operations that are largely classified, said that American forces were playing direct combat roles in many of the raids and were not simply going along as advisers."

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Is Brian Williams forgetful or just a really bad liar? (22 Photos)

I'm Starting to Like...

...this guy even more:

Interview with Egyptian President Sisi: 'Extremists Offend the Image of God'

I hope I'm right.

"Sisi: I decided that I was ready to assume this position when I discovered that the chance to save the country was very meager. I was prepared to sacrifice myself for this country and its 90 million people. They want food, fuel and electricity and yearn for a decent life. Any president who does not pay attention to such details or is unable to provide the minimum level of stability should leave office."

[---]

"Sisi: Even if only a million people demonstrate in the streets against a ruler, he should step down. But in our region, that hasn't yet registered in the consciousness of rulers."

[---]

"Sisi: I am not ashamed to admit that there is a civilizational gap between us and you. The police and people in Germany are civilized and have a sense of responsibility. German police are equipped with the latest capabilities and get the best training. And in your country, protesters would not use weapons in the middle of the demonstrations to target police."

[---]

"SPIEGEL: Human rights groups complain that the oppression during your time in office has been worse than it was under Mubarak.

Sisi: One cannot define human rights as narrowly as you do. If the Muslim Brothers manipulate people's awareness or distort their beliefs, then that is also a violation of human rights. If you are unable to receive good or even adequate education and shelter and cannot find a job and have no hope for the future, that is also a violation of your human rights. Human rights should not be reduced to freedom of expression. Even if this were the case, though, people in our country are free to say whatever they like."

[---]

Sisi: "The Muslim Brotherhood had two options for dealing with us, and we had two alternatives for dealing with them. They could either rule us or kill us. And we could either kill them or bring them before the courts. We chose to put them on trial, which was the harder of the two options."

[---]

Sisi: "This religious discourse will take a lot of time. It must emanate from the recognition that we have a problem. We are talking here about the most precious thing for Arab and Muslim countries, because religion is engrained in the hearts and minds of the people.

SPIEGEL: Do you mean a reinterpretation of the Koran or of the Islamic legal and moral code known as Sharia?

Sisi: For 1,400 years, the Koran has represented the absolute truth. But interpretations differ. I propose removing wrong and distorted ideas from the religious discourse. Two days ago, I took part in a conference attended by not only Azhar's highest authorities but also the Coptic Pope, intellectuals and politicians. The subject was "freedom of choice" and the great gift that this freedom represents. The right to choose a particular faith, whether Christian, Jewish or Muslim, is an inherent part of our religion.

SPIEGEL: Does this mean Muslims should take action against those who falsely interpret their religion?

Sisi: Of course, because these extremists not only insult Islam, they also offend the image of God, the all-mighty. Their false beliefs lead many people to ask themselves: What kind of a religion is this Islam?"

[---]

SPIEGEL: "What is the greater threat: the Islamic State or the Muslim Brotherhood?

Sisi: They both share the same ideology. But the Muslim Brotherhood is the origin of all of it. All these other extremists emanated from them."

RTWT It's very interesting. I just hope Sisi is sincere and Egypt can pull it off.

Putting ISIS On The Run

President Barzani joining world leaders at key Munich conference

"German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger, the main organizer of the event, said that the meeting takes place as the world faces an “unprecedented upsurge in global crises” over the past year.

“We live in the age of the collapse of order,” he said, while he criticized the impotence of the United Nations to act.

“The UN Security Council should be resolving a crisis a week -- Iraq, Syria,” he said. “Instead, the council is blocked and so is any will to reform.”"

You don't say! /sarc

Kurdish leader on how to defeat ISIS

"Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said on Saturday that although Islamic State have not been eradicated, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters had succeeded in defeating the group's "myth."

"As you know we are in Kurdistan region since August last year in a very bloody and continuous war against this terrorist organization ISIS. And we can say that it has been a continuous war. We are very proud that the Peshmerga of Kurdistan and the people of Kurdistan managed to defeat the myth of ISIS. And now I can say that 15000 square kilometers have been liberated by Peshmergas from ISIS."

Here’s What It Will Take to Defeat ISIS

"Suicide bombings are a terror tactic frequently associated with the more militant strains of Islam. Might the Islamic State be committing suicide in a more literal sense?

ISIS unveiled perhaps its most gruesome video yet, the burning alive of a captured pilot locked helplessly in a cage. His tortured screams, flailing arms, and melting flesh leave an indelible mark on anyone who watches.

Yet it’s worth noting the victim is himself a Sunni Muslim, wearing the uniform of a country that is well over 90 percent Muslim, in service of a Muslim king who is now crying out for revenge against the Islamic State.

Thousands took to the streets of Jordan’s capital to denounce and protest against ISIS. The Jordanians released jihadi preacher Abu Mohammed al-Maqdesi, who denounced the pilot’s murder as “unacceptable in any religion.”"

[---]

"Pew’s Richard Wike notes, “Early in the last decade, Jordanians expressed relatively high levels of support for suicide bombing and confidence in Osama bin Laden, but this changed after the November 2005 suicide attacks on three hotels in Amman, Jordan’s capital.”

ISIS abandon dead in pre-dawn defeat

"ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - ISIS attackers were defeated by Peshmerga fighters early on Thursday in Mekhmour town, southeast of Mosul, with the militants abandoning 11 dead comrades.

Sirwan Barzani, top commander of the Gwer-Mekhmour front, said ISIS suffered heavy casualties in the thwarted attack.

ISIS also launched a multi-pronged assault on other Peshmerga bases early on Thursday, Barzani said, adding that the Peshmerga repelled the militant onslaughts in all areas."

Why Don't You Tell Us Some thing We Didn't know?

U.N. Official Reveals Real Reason Behind Warming Scare

"Economic Systems: The alarmists keep telling us their concern about global warming is all about man's stewardship of the environment. But we know that's not true. A United Nations official has now confirmed this.

At a news conference last week in Brussels, Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of U.N.'s Framework Convention on Climate Change, admitted that the goal of environmental activists is not to save the world from ecological calamity but to destroy capitalism."

Antisemitism on the rise...

...with a little help from the prez:

Administration Turns Obama Anti-Semitism Gaffe Into Epic Blunder

Obama’s Blind Spot About Anti-Semitism


Obama Calls Terror Attack on Paris Jews ‘Random’ Shooting

Obama Describes Paris Victims as ‘Folks in a Deli’ – Murders Were ‘Random’

Well, Well, Well...

...Do we have them on the run, or what?

More From The...

..."You can't make this shit up" file:

Lebanese TV Parody Mocks Suicide Bombers

The “Real” Reason ISIS Suicide Bombers Are Going On Strike!

"Muslim suicide bombers in Britain are set to begin a three-day strike on Monday in a dispute over the number of virgins they are entitled to in the afterlife. Emergency talks with Al Qaeda have so far failed to produce an agreement.

The unrest began last Tuesday when Al Qaeda announced that the number of virgins a suicide bomber would receive after his death would be cut by 25% this February from 72 to 54. A spokesman said increases in recent years in the number of suicide bombings has resulted in a shortage of Virgins in the afterlife.

The suicide bombers’ union, the British Organization of Occupational Martyrs ( B.O.O.M.) responded with a statement saying the move was unacceptable to its members and called for a strike vote. General Secretary Abdullah Amir told the press, “Our members are literally working themselves to death in the cause of Jihad. We don’t ask for much in return but to be treated like this is like a kick in the teeth”."

Related: Suicide bomb instructor blows up his students

Is ISIS running out of suicide bombers? Terror group suffers shortage of martyrs after dozens of fighters desert or defect to rival militias

An Update on the...

..."Bush lied, people died" meme:
The Dangerous Lie That ‘Bush Lied’

"In recent weeks, I have heard former Associated Press reporter Ron Fournier on Fox News twice asserting, quite offhandedly, that President George W. Bush “lied us into war in Iraq.”

I found this shocking. I took a leave of absence from the bench in 2004-05 to serve as co-chairman of the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction—a bipartisan body, sometimes referred to as the Robb-Silberman Commission. It was directed in 2004 to evaluate the intelligence community’s determination that Saddam Hussein possessed WMD—I am, therefore, keenly aware of both the intelligence provided to President Bush and his reliance on that intelligence as his primary casus belli. It is astonishing to see the “Bush lied” allegation evolve from antiwar slogan to journalistic fact.

The intelligence community’s 2002 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) stated, in a formal presentation to President Bush and to Congress, its view that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction—a belief in which the NIE said it held a 90% level of confidence. That is about as certain as the intelligence community gets on any subject.

Recall that the head of the intelligence community, Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet, famously told the president that the proposition that Iraq possessed WMD was “a slam dunk.” Our WMD commission carefully examined the interrelationships between the Bush administration and the intelligence community and found no indication that anyone in the administration sought to pressure the intelligence community into its findings. As our commission reported, presidential daily briefs from the CIA dating back to the Clinton administration were, if anything, more alarmist about Iraq’s WMD than the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate."

[---]

"Our WMD commission ultimately determined that the intelligence community was “dead wrong” about Saddam’s weapons. But as I recall, no one in Washington political circles offered significant disagreement with the intelligence community before the invasion. The National Intelligence Estimate was persuasive—to the president, to Congress and to the media."

[---]

"It is worth noting, however, that when Saddam was captured and interrogated, he told his interrogators that he had intended to seek revenge on Kuwait for its cooperation with the U.S. by invading again at a propitious time. This leads me to speculate that if the Bush administration had not gone to war in 2003 and Saddam had remained in power, the U.S. might have felt compelled to do so once Iraq again invaded Kuwait."

RTWT

One More Time

The fiddling with temperature data is the biggest science scandal ever

‘Breathtaking’ adjustments to Arctic temperature record. Is there any ‘global warming’ we can trust?

‘In the business and trading world, people go to jail for such manipulations of data’

Oooookay

Pentagon spent $504,816 on Viagra last year

"The Department of Defense (DoD) spent more than a half a million dollars on the male enhancement drug Viagra last year, according to government contracts.

The Pentagon issued 60 contracts worth $504,816 for the drug in 2014. All 60 contracts were awarded to Cardinal Health Inc., a pharmaceutical distribution company based in Dublin, Ohio.

Last year DoD also ordered $3,505 worth of Levitra, and $14,540 of Cialis, other popular erectile dysfunction drugs.

The contracts were filed under "Troop Support.""

More:

Erectile dysfunction in military males is triple the norm

Egypt Under Al-Sisi

"At al-Azhar, President al-Sisi was saying it is not merely an extremist interpretation of Islam that is threatening the world with global jihad, but ideas that are at the core of the mainstream, orthodox understanding of the religion--and that this would require a "religious revolution" to change.

At the Coptic Cathedral, he urged Egyptians not to define themselves by their religion, be it Christian or Muslim, but by the fact that they are Egyptians--a rejection of Islamism, which defines national identity in purely religious terms.

To the world, he was saying that Islam as it is being taught and practiced by its leading religious scholars has given birth to a globally destructive ideology which is now threatening us all.

Moreover, he wants to launch a movement within Islam to save the religion from itself, that is, before it tears itself apart completely and the rest of the world destroys it in self-defense."

[---]

"Al-Sisi is still so popular, the public so widely disgusted with the unending social and political chaos since the 2011 revolution, and so alarmed by the terrorist insurgency waged by the Islamists, that probably a majority of news editors and perhaps also of reporters have decided to support him completely and to oppose his critics automatically. At this point it is hard to find any clear connection with al-Sisi himself to this consensus, enshrined in a declaration by several hundred key media figures a few months ago. However, certainly if he didn't like it he could well speak up against it--yet he hasn't so far."

Good luck with that. I'll believe it when I see it.

"...if al-Sisi truly has established such a doctrine for stability, it would consist of the following:

Anti-Islamism—i.e. a more limited role for Shariah (which is nonetheless still enshrined in the new constitution, yet no longer to be interpreted by the clerics at al-Azhar, but by the government, whose authority and much of its outlook is secular, not religious;
Electoral democracy though with somewhat limited civil liberties, to satisfy both the demand for popular sovereignty and for an end to the endless chaos--strikes and demonstrations (and skyrocketing crime) since the fall of Mubarak in 2011, and to limit the public role of the Islamists, who are at war with Egypt; and
An independent foreign policy—one that still seeks to maintain the traditional alliance with the U.S. and the West, but is not afraid to go elsewhere as needed."

[---]

"Unlike Morsi and the MB, who worked covertly with the terrorists in Sinai, al-Sisi wholeheartedly supports the peace with Israel. He has greatly increased security cooperation with the Jewish state—which had been endangered in the 2011-12 transition and during the Morsi era—to levels exceeding those under Mubarak. Again, even more than Mubarak, who loathed them too, al-Sisi sees the MB, Hamas and their Islamist allies as threats to Egypt as well as Israel. Likewise, he sees Iran—with whom Morsi sought a rapprochement—as Egypt's greatest strategic adversary in the region.

As a result, Egypt is now in an informal alliance with Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to confront Iran. That alliance is compromised, however, by recent moves from Egypt's Gulf partners to mend fences with Iran as a result of their feeling exposed by Washington's alarming pivot toward Tehran at the expense of its traditional Sunni clients."

Was It Putin?

Nuclear bomb detonated in Ukraine – nuclear blast detected

And we thought the Cold War was over.

Today's Belly-laugh

Maps show what major U.S. cities would look like if world's glaciers melted

Some of the place names are hilarious. I like these ones, especially:

Bronx Slough
Captain Hook
Drownsville
Drowntown
Ex-Lax
Flushwick
Humpback
New York Wets
Rowboaten
Shell Sea
Torch of Liberty
Upper West Tide
Upper East Tide
Vanished Harlem
Wet End
Whaletown
Wholesale Liquidation

How to Make Toast...

...No, really:

I'm Shocked, I Tell Ya', Shocked!!

The fiddling with temperature data is the biggest science scandal ever

"When future generations look back on the global-warming scare of the past 30 years, nothing will shock them more than the extent to which the official temperature records – on which the entire panic ultimately rested – were systematically “adjusted” to show the Earth as having warmed much more than the actual data justified.

Two weeks ago, under the headline “How we are being tricked by flawed data on global warming”, I wrote about Paul Homewood, who, on his Notalotofpeopleknowthat blog, had checked the published temperature graphs for three weather stations in Paraguay against the temperatures that had originally been recorded. In each instance, the actual trend of 60 years of data had been dramatically reversed, so that a cooling trend was changed to one that showed a marked warming."

(RTWT)

Who Needs Hitler Parodies?

How Moses Would Deal With Global Warming

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

LOL!!!

Yup

Europe is waking up:

Sweden Fed Up! Third Mosque in Two Weeks Burned to Ground in Stockholm!

Is this what they call fighting fire with fire?

I've Never Heard...

...of this guy before. Kudos to him:

Remembering Nazi Occupied Europe’s Only Open Protest of Jewish Persecution– Yes, From Greece

"Going largely unnoticed in Greece and beyond, an important anniversary passes annually and passed again, on March 23rd. The date in 1943 marks one of the most important moments in the history of World War II and the Holocaust, when the Archbishop of Greece, Damaskinos, openly defied Adolf Hitler’s Final Solution with a letter of protest— unique in the annals of occupied Europe.

According to the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, “It required virtue and courage to sign such a document in those dark times.”"

The images every Greek American should see on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

"On March 26, 1965, LIFE Magazine featured an iconic photo on its cover of Greek Orthodox Archbishop Iakovos marching with Dr. Martin Luther Jr.

Sixteen days earlier, the events that gave rise to that photo took place in Selma, Alabama. On March 11, 1965, white American Unitarian Universalist minister James Reed was brutally clubbed to death by segregationists while marching for civil rights. Days later, Archbishop Iakovos would travel to Selma and march arm in arm with King for equality. The photo on LIFE’s cover is of Archbishop Iakovos marching with King as King holds a wreath for Reed’s memorial service."

Thank You Brad Wall

Saskatchewan premier, cabinet take wage freeze

"Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says he and his cabinet ministers are taking a wage freeze to help address revenue challenges brought about by slumping oil prices.

Wall says the wage freeze also applies to senior government officials and other non-unionized executives, such as Crown corporation and health region employees.

He says the move is for one year and is expected to save $15 million."

Premier answers; ‘Where did all the money go?’

"“The answer’s clear,” Wall asserted by phone on Friday, pulling no punches in criticizing Broten’s assessment of his government’s performance.

“We’ve paid off the debt by $3 billion, we’ve invested $6 billion in infrastructure since 2007 -- that is double what the NDP invested in their same period of time in office,” Wall noted.

“We have cut the income tax by historic levels -- the same with education property tax.”

Pausing from his list, Wall noted; “We’re looking forward to this debate, if Mr. Broten wants to ask the question.”

One of Broten’s go-to points in recent months has been his criticism that more front line service workers are required in the province’s health-care system.

Wall says it’s a confusing argument, given the Sask. Party has increased front line health-care workers by almost 2,600 since taking power in 2007."

These are Getting as...

...common as Hitler parodies:

A Bit of Canadian Trivia...

...that makes me laugh:

"On September 1, 1864, the meeting that led to Canadian Confederation convened in Prince Edward Island. PEI, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick had originally set the date to discuss the possibility of Maritime Union."

[---]

"The first circus to travel to Prince Edward Island in more than two decades also happened to be in town. The excitement created by the circus meant that few were on hand to celebrate the arrivals."

Awe. Poor Isis /sarc

Jordan vows to 'wipe Isis out completely' as it investigates claim US hostage killed in air strike

United Arab Emirates to Station F-16 Jets in Jordan to Help Fight ISIS

ISIS Claims Jordan Bombers Killed US Woman. Bulls**t.

Jordan army planes bomb IS targets for third day

Jordan Hits Islamic State With 3rd Day of Airstrikes

Jordan launches new airstrikes after vowing harsh war on ISIS

Prince Charles in Jordan at start of Middle East tour

Charles heads into the warzone: Prince of Wales arrives in Jordan at start of Middle East tour as country steps up strikes on ISIS

Prince of Wales in show of support for Jordan and Middle East Christians

Islamic State crisis: UAE sends F-16 squadron to Jordan

U.A.E. Orders Squadron of Fighter Aircraft to Jordan in Show of Support

UAE sends F-16s to Jordan to fight Islamic State

Obama administration denied Predator drone request for Jordan, rep urges reversal

Figures.

Jordan's royal couple: 5 things to know

What's Happening in Jordan Today Shows How the Arab World's Strengths Are Also Its Weaknesses

UAE orders stationing of F-16 squadron in Jordan

UAE sends F16s to Jordan to fight Daesh

It's a rare day when tyrants of the Middle East and nations of the West and on the same side. When this blows over, I wonder if things will go back to where they were, or if this will be one of those rare occasions when the world gets permanently yanked 90 degrees in the other direction?

Christian Persecution

The Dark Ages...

...weren't so dark:

The Earth Farts

Inconvenient study: Methane seepage from the Arctic seabed has been occurring for millions of years

Interesting Take On...

...addictions: The Likely Cause of Addiction Has Been Discovered, and It Is Not What You Think

"-addiction is an adaptation. It's not you. It's your cage."

Ukraine

Ukraine crisis: Pentagon 'chief' inclined to send weapons

Lawmakers to Obama: Arm Ukraine now

It’s Time for the West to Arm Ukraine

I am fully in support of this.

You Can Run...

...but you cannot hide - at least not in Uruguay:

Uruguay Expels Iranian Diplomat After Bomb Exploded Near Israeli Embassy

"Alberto Nisman, an Argentinian prosecutor, who has documented Iran’s extensive terror ties in South America, was found dead under suspicious circumstances nearly three weeks ago as he was preparing to present evidence that Argentina’s President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was conspired with Iran to cover up Iran’s role in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires."

[---]

"In recent years the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah has been implicated in targeting Jews or Israeli interests in Peru, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Nigeria and Thailand."

Another Step Down

Inconvenient Study: Seafloor volcano pulses may alter climate – models may be wrong

"Vast ranges of volcanoes hidden under the oceans are presumed by scientists to be the gentle giants of the planet, oozing lava at slow, steady rates along mid-ocean ridges."

[---]

"Scientists have already speculated that volcanic cycles on land emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide might influence climate; but up to now there was no evidence from submarine volcanoes. The findings suggest that models of earth’s natural climate dynamics, and by extension human-influenced climate change, may have to be adjusted."

(Emphasis in the original.)

"Volcanically active mid-ocean ridges crisscross earth’s seafloors like stitching on a baseball, stretching some 37,000 miles. They are the growing edges of giant tectonic plates; as lavas push out, they form new areas of seafloor, which comprise some 80 percent of the planet’s crust. Conventional wisdom holds that they erupt at a fairly constant rate–but Tolstoy finds that the ridges are actually now in a languid phase. Even at that, they produce maybe eight times more lava annually than land volcanoes."

[---]

"Some scientists think volcanoes may act in concert with Milankovitch cycles–repeating changes in the shape of earth’s solar orbit, and the tilt and direction of its axis–to produce suddenly seesawing hot and cold periods. The major one is a 100,000-year cycle in which the planet’s orbit around the sun changes from more or less an annual circle into an ellipse that annually brings it closer or farther from the sun. Recent ice ages seem to build up through most of the cycle; but then things suddenly warm back up near the orbit’s peak eccentricity. The causes are not clear."

[---]

"Enter volcanoes. Researchers have suggested that as icecaps build on land, pressure on underlying volcanoes also builds, and eruptions are suppressed. But when warming somehow starts and the ice begins melting, pressure lets up, and eruptions surge. They belch CO2 that produces more warming, which melts more ice, which creates a self-feeding effect that tips the planet suddenly into a warm period. A 2009 paper from Harvard University says that land volcanoes worldwide indeed surged six to eight times over background levels during the most recent deglaciation, 12,000 to 7,000 years ago. The corollary would be that undersea volcanoes do the opposite: as earth cools, sea levels may drop 100 meters, because so much water gets locked into ice. This relieves pressure on submarine volcanoes, and they erupt more. At some point, could the increased CO2 from undersea eruptions start the warming that melts the ice covering volcanoes on land?"

[---]

"The long-term eruption data, spread over more than 700,000 years, showed that during the coldest times, when sea levels are low, undersea volcanism surges, producing visible bands of hills. When things warm up and sea levels rise to levels similar to the present, lava erupts more slowly, creating bands of lower topography. Tolstoy attributes this not only to the varying sea level, but to closely related changes in earth’s orbit. When the orbit is more elliptical, Earth gets squeezed and unsqueezed by the sun’s gravitational pull at a rapidly varying rate as it spins daily–a process that she thinks tends to massage undersea magma upward, and help open the tectonic cracks that let it out. When the orbit is fairly (though not completely) circular, as it is now, the squeezing/unsqueezing effect is minimized, and there are fewer eruptions."

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"The idea that remote gravitational forces influence volcanism is mirrored by the short-term data, says Tolstoy. She says the seismic data suggest that today, undersea volcanoes pulse to life mainly during periods that come every two weeks. That is the schedule upon which combined gravity from the moon and sun cause ocean tides to reach their lowest points, thus subtly relieving pressure on volcanoes below. Seismic signals interpreted as eruptions followed fortnightly low tides at eight out of nine study sites. Furthermore, Tolstoy found that all known modern eruptions occur from January through June. January is the month when Earth is closest to the sun, July when it is farthest–a period similar to the squeezing/unsqueezing effect Tolstoy sees in longer-term cycles. “If you look at the present-day eruptions, volcanoes respond even to much smaller forces than the ones that might drive climate,” she said."

This is what settled science looks like.

Another:
Unseen volcanoes may play role in Earth’s long-term climate