Question Insanity: What to Ask Progressives
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/question-insanity-what-to-ask-progressives/?singlepage=true
An ex-Soviet immigrant goes Socratic on his liberal American critics.
December 27, 2010 - by Oleg Atbashian Share
The two women who showed up early for my book signing at a small bookstore in Houston, TX, never even bothered to open my book. Wearing knowing smiles, they engaged me in a bizarre discussion that wound up leaping all around the known and unknown universe. They hadn’t the slightest curiosity about my ideas as an ex-Soviet immigrant in America, or what I had to say about my experience working inside the two ideologically opposed systems. As it turned out, they had spotted my flyer in the store window the day before, and the book’s title — Shakedown Socialism — had enraged them so much that they decided to return the following day and give me a piece of their collective mind.
Their act almost made me feel as if I were back in the USSR, where the harassment of people with my opinions was the norm. The shorter, pudgier woman was the soloist bully, while her skinnier, older comrade provided backup vocals and noise effects. The duo’s repertoire was an eclectic collection of unoriginal talking points, each branded with an almost legible label: NPR, Air America, MSNBC, and so on. Not only were those mental fragments mismatched in key and rhythm; the very existence of harmony seemed an unfamiliar concept to them. But compared to the hard-core screaming I used to hear from card-carrying Soviet bullies, this was almost elevator music. If I had survived the original cast, I could certainly handle a watered-down remake.
Framed on their terms, the debate zigzagged from the evils of unbridled capitalism to global warming to Bush’s wars for oil to Sarah Palin’s stupidity. Since my opponents wouldn’t give me a chance to respond, I soon became bored and tried to entertain myself by redirecting the flow of mental detritus against itself in a way that would cause its own annihilation. I did that by asking questions.
I remembered an old trick invented in the fifth century B.C. by Socrates. Instead of telling people what he thought was true, Socrates asked seemingly simple questions that put his opponents on the path of finding the truth for themselves. Seeking genuine knowledge rather than mere victory in an argument, Socrates used his questions to cross-examine the hypotheses, assumptions, and axioms that subconsciously shaped the opinions of his opponents, drawing out the contradictions and inconsistencies they relied on.
As the two women faced my questions, their knowing smiles turned to scowls. Sometimes they would backtrack and correct their previous statements; sometimes, they would angrily storm out of the room in the manner of Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg on The View with Bill O’Reilly. After a while they would return with more talking points, and then they had to answer another logical question. My friends who witnessed the scene told me later they saw the shorter bully beginning to foam at the mouth.
Some heads contain an enormous number of facts that never bind with one another to form a fertile soil from which original ideas will grow. Each piece of information exists independently from the others, all of them continuously shifting and rolling around like grains of sand, forming ephemeral dunes in the lifeless deserts of their minds. The “open-minded” owners of such heads like to open their minds in the company of peers and admire each other’s fanciful sandy mindscapes. Every new whiff of wind or shaking of the head tosses the sand in more quirky patterns, forming new whimsical outlines. As previously covered facts are exposed and facts once exposed are concealed, a semblance of new ideas will emerge without any true change in content.
A similar effect is achieved when the content of such minds is raked by “intellectual” authors, filmmakers, and politicians — a practice they immensely enjoy, calling it a “spiritual” experience. They think of themselves as “intellectuals” while denying this title to anyone with a consistent, original mind. To have structured values is an unpardonable faux pas in their circles. Those who challenge them get sand thrown in their eyes — the punishment I was being subjected to at the Houston bookstore.
In return, I reminded my opponents about the existence of the scientific method of discovery — a logical device that had made Western civilization so successful in the past, but had now been abandoned by “progressive” thinkers. The resulting cognitive dissonance made them disoriented. In due course, they panicked and walked out, never to come back.
A few weeks later I told this story to Maggie Roddin, a radio talk show host in Philadelphia. (Click through my Website to hear this interview.) Maggie asked me to recall some of the questions, but I could only remember a few. She insisted that I write them down to share with her audience. As I did so, more questions began to pop up. Some were new, while others I had been asking for years while trying to make sense of my American experience. The resulting list may not exactly fit the definition of Socratic questioning. But in my defense, even Socrates couldn’t possibly envision the scale of absurdity a political argument could reach in the 21st century.
Dear Americans, these are some questions I have collected in 16 years of living in your country. Please see if you can answer them for me:
After the jump His questions Plus many other questions and thoughts from the comments sections.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Biblical Justice
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=5473160936763325359&postID=5216038761721394986
Biblical justice, on the other hand, never seeks to dismantle class structures. Evil actions are condemned, but this isn’t specific to a particular social strata. Consider the words of Leviticus 19:15. “You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. But in righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.”
Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson helps put things into perspective.
The Bible doesn’t condemn economic inequality. You can’t read Proverbs without seeing that some people are poor due to their own vices. There is nothing unjust about people reaping what they sow, whether wealth or poverty.
Jesus himself didn’t condemn economic inequality. Yes, he repeatedly warned about the snares of material wealth; he exploded the comfortable conventionality of the Pharisaical tendency to regard prosperity as a badge of honor and superiority; he commanded compassion toward the poor and suffering. But he also told his disciples, ‘ya have the poor always with you’ (Matthew 26:11), and in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:24-30) he condemned the failure to productively use one’s God-given talents – whether many or few, exceptional or ordinary – by having a lord take money from the one who had the least and give it to him who had the most, thereby increasing economic inequality.
The Lord’s mission was to redeem us from sin, not to redistribute our property or impose an economic equality on us. In fact, Jesus explicitly declined to undermine property rights or preach economic equality when he told the man who wanted Jesus to tell his brother to share an inheritance with him, ‘Man, who made me a judge or divider over you’ (Luke 12:14).”[33]
I must confess that it’s easy to fall into the social justice way of thinking. My childhood rant over what I perceived to be injustices showed me, in retrospect, the power of an emotional ideal. Yet if by some twist I had followed up on my self-righteous outburst, and had become a social justice advocate in the true sense of the phrase, a sad irony would have occurred: In the name of “justice,” I would have promoted socially-sanctioned theft.
Dear Christians, let us act with compassion, be charitable, and pursue true justice; Let us be wise in our actions, clear in our language, and honest in our motives. FC
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/forcing-change/010/10-social-justice.htm
Biblical justice, on the other hand, never seeks to dismantle class structures. Evil actions are condemned, but this isn’t specific to a particular social strata. Consider the words of Leviticus 19:15. “You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. But in righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.”
Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson helps put things into perspective.
“[Biblical] Justice not only means that nobody is to be picked on because he is poor or favored because he is rich, but that (contrary to the doctrine of ‘social justice’) nobody is to be picked on because he is rich or favored because he is poor.”[32]Dr. Hendrickson further elaborates,
“The fundamental error of today’s ‘social justice’ practitioners is their hostility to economic inequality, per se. Social justice theory fails to distinguish between economic disparities that result from unjust deeds and those that are part of the natural order of things. All Christians oppose unjust deeds… [But] it isn’t necessarily unjust for some people to be richer than others.God made us different from each other. We are unequal in aptitude, talent, skill, work ethic, priorities, etc. Inevitably, these differences result in some individuals producing and earning far more wealth than others. To the extent that those in the ‘social justice’ crowd obsess about eliminating economic inequality, they are at war with the nature of the Creator’s creation.
The Bible doesn’t condemn economic inequality. You can’t read Proverbs without seeing that some people are poor due to their own vices. There is nothing unjust about people reaping what they sow, whether wealth or poverty.
Jesus himself didn’t condemn economic inequality. Yes, he repeatedly warned about the snares of material wealth; he exploded the comfortable conventionality of the Pharisaical tendency to regard prosperity as a badge of honor and superiority; he commanded compassion toward the poor and suffering. But he also told his disciples, ‘ya have the poor always with you’ (Matthew 26:11), and in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:24-30) he condemned the failure to productively use one’s God-given talents – whether many or few, exceptional or ordinary – by having a lord take money from the one who had the least and give it to him who had the most, thereby increasing economic inequality.
The Lord’s mission was to redeem us from sin, not to redistribute our property or impose an economic equality on us. In fact, Jesus explicitly declined to undermine property rights or preach economic equality when he told the man who wanted Jesus to tell his brother to share an inheritance with him, ‘Man, who made me a judge or divider over you’ (Luke 12:14).”[33]
I must confess that it’s easy to fall into the social justice way of thinking. My childhood rant over what I perceived to be injustices showed me, in retrospect, the power of an emotional ideal. Yet if by some twist I had followed up on my self-righteous outburst, and had become a social justice advocate in the true sense of the phrase, a sad irony would have occurred: In the name of “justice,” I would have promoted socially-sanctioned theft.
Dear Christians, let us act with compassion, be charitable, and pursue true justice; Let us be wise in our actions, clear in our language, and honest in our motives. FC
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/forcing-change/010/10-social-justice.htm
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Kiwi-gate NIWA's lying adjusted facts and figures
Kiwi-gate, the final chapter
http://dailybayonet.com/?p=7602
New Zealand’s Climate Science Coalition has issued a press release detailing the end of the Kiwi-gate affair.
The outcome is that data published in 2009 by New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) entitled ‘Are we feeling warmer yet’ has been abandoned and replaced with real, unadjusted data that shows a picture that warmists don’t want you to see:
The dishonesty behind the original data was in the adjustments, of course:
When the Climate Science Coalition announced its intention to sue, the green establishment rushed to NIWA’s defence:
That NIWA was forced to correct their temperature records to reveal no warming when the initial report was crafted to support the warmist narrative is significant. The Climategate affair was damning in its revelations of peer-review process corruption and bullying but the establishment whitewashed the truth with ‘investigations’ to give Phil Jones et al cover. Not so with Kiwigate, where NIWA admitted it could not support its own data in a statement of defence.
The correction of the record is a good win for the Climate Science Coalition and for science in general.
By dailybayonet | December 20th, 2010
http://dailybayonet.com/?p=7602
New Zealand’s Climate Science Coalition has issued a press release detailing the end of the Kiwi-gate affair.
The outcome is that data published in 2009 by New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) entitled ‘Are we feeling warmer yet’ has been abandoned and replaced with real, unadjusted data that shows a picture that warmists don’t want you to see:
NIWA makes the huge admission that New Zealand has experienced hardly any warming during the last half-century. For all their talk about warming, for all their rushed invention of the “Eleven-Station Series” to prove warming, this new series shows that no warming has occurred here since about 1960. Almost all the warming took place from 1940-60, when the IPCC says that the effect of CO2 concentrations was trivial. Indeed, global temperatures were falling during that period.
The dishonesty behind the original data was in the adjustments, of course:
Almost all of the 34 adjustments made by Dr Jim Salinger to the 7SS have been abandoned, along with his version of the comparative station methodology.
When the Climate Science Coalition announced its intention to sue, the green establishment rushed to NIWA’s defence:
University of Otago pro-vice chancellor of sciences Keith Hunter has also backed Niwa, saying taking court action against it was “stupid,” while the Environmental Defence Society (EDS) said it may join court action in support of Niwa. “On the face of it, it’s hard to see how the issue can properly be brought before the court,” said EDS chairman Gary Taylor. “We have no doubts that the science behind global warming predictions is robust and reliable and would wish to support the institute in any way that we can.”How do you prefer your crow Mr. Taylor?
That NIWA was forced to correct their temperature records to reveal no warming when the initial report was crafted to support the warmist narrative is significant. The Climategate affair was damning in its revelations of peer-review process corruption and bullying but the establishment whitewashed the truth with ‘investigations’ to give Phil Jones et al cover. Not so with Kiwigate, where NIWA admitted it could not support its own data in a statement of defence.
The correction of the record is a good win for the Climate Science Coalition and for science in general.
By dailybayonet | December 20th, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
There's a mini ice age coming,
There's a mini ice age coming, says man who beats weather experts December 21, 2010 - 4:41PM
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/theres-a-mini-ice-age-coming-says-man-who-beats-weather-experts-20101221-1945a.html
.Piers Corbyn not only predicted the current weather, but he believes things are going to get much worse, says Boris Johnson, London's mayor
The man who repeatedly beats the Met Office at its own game
Well, folks, it's tea-time on Sunday and for anyone involved in keeping people moving it has been a hell of a weekend. Thousands have had their journeys wrecked, tens of thousands have been delayed getting away for Christmas; and for those Londoners who feel aggrieved by the performance of any part of our transport services, I can only say that we are doing our level best.
Almost the entire Tube system was running on Sunday and we would have done even better if it had not been for a suicide on the Northern Line, and the temporary stoppage that these tragedies entail. Of London's 700 bus services, only 50 were on diversion, mainly in the hillier areas. On Saturday, we managed to keep the West End plentifully supplied with customers, and retailers reported excellent takings on what is one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
We have kept the Transport for London road network open throughout all this. We have about 90,000 tons of grit in stock, and the gritters were out all night to deal with this morning's rush. And yet we have to face the reality of the position across the country.
It is no use my saying that London Underground and bus networks are performing relatively well - touch wood - when Heathrow, our major international airport, is still effectively closed two days after the last heavy snowfall; when substantial parts of our national rail network are still struggling; when there are abandoned cars to be seen on hard shoulders all over the country; and when yet more snow is expected today, especially in the north.
In a few brief hours, we are told, the snowy superfortresses will be above us again, bomb bays bulging with blizzard. It may be that in the next hours and days we have to step up our de-icing, our gritting and our shovelling. So let me seize this brief gap in the aerial bombardment to pose a question that is bugging me. Why did the Met Office forecast a "mild winter"?
Do you remember? They said it would be mild and damp, and between one degree and one and a half degrees warmer than average. Well, I am now 46 and that means I have seen more winters than most people on this planet, and I can tell you that this one is a corker.
Never mind the record low attained in Northern Ireland this weekend. I can't remember a time when so much snow has lain so thickly on the ground, and we haven't even reached Christmas. And this is the third tough winter in a row. Is it really true that no one saw this coming?
Actually, they did. Allow me to introduce readers to Piers Corbyn, meteorologist and brother of my old chum, bearded leftie MP Jeremy. Piers Corbyn works in an undistinguished office in Borough High Street. He has no telescope or supercomputer. Armed only with a laptop, huge quantities of publicly available data and a first-class degree in astrophysics, he gets it right again and again.
Back in November, when the Met Office was still doing its "mild winter" schtick, Corbyn said it would be the coldest for 100 years. Indeed, it was back in May that he first predicted a snowy December, and he put his own money on a white Christmas about a month before the Met Office made any such forecast. He said that the Met Office would be wrong about last year's mythical "barbecue summer", and he was vindicated. He was closer to the truth about last winter, too.
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/theres-a-mini-ice-age-coming-says-man-who-beats-weather-experts-20101221-1945a.html
.Piers Corbyn not only predicted the current weather, but he believes things are going to get much worse, says Boris Johnson, London's mayor
The man who repeatedly beats the Met Office at its own game
Well, folks, it's tea-time on Sunday and for anyone involved in keeping people moving it has been a hell of a weekend. Thousands have had their journeys wrecked, tens of thousands have been delayed getting away for Christmas; and for those Londoners who feel aggrieved by the performance of any part of our transport services, I can only say that we are doing our level best.
Almost the entire Tube system was running on Sunday and we would have done even better if it had not been for a suicide on the Northern Line, and the temporary stoppage that these tragedies entail. Of London's 700 bus services, only 50 were on diversion, mainly in the hillier areas. On Saturday, we managed to keep the West End plentifully supplied with customers, and retailers reported excellent takings on what is one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
We have kept the Transport for London road network open throughout all this. We have about 90,000 tons of grit in stock, and the gritters were out all night to deal with this morning's rush. And yet we have to face the reality of the position across the country.
It is no use my saying that London Underground and bus networks are performing relatively well - touch wood - when Heathrow, our major international airport, is still effectively closed two days after the last heavy snowfall; when substantial parts of our national rail network are still struggling; when there are abandoned cars to be seen on hard shoulders all over the country; and when yet more snow is expected today, especially in the north.
In a few brief hours, we are told, the snowy superfortresses will be above us again, bomb bays bulging with blizzard. It may be that in the next hours and days we have to step up our de-icing, our gritting and our shovelling. So let me seize this brief gap in the aerial bombardment to pose a question that is bugging me. Why did the Met Office forecast a "mild winter"?
Do you remember? They said it would be mild and damp, and between one degree and one and a half degrees warmer than average. Well, I am now 46 and that means I have seen more winters than most people on this planet, and I can tell you that this one is a corker.
Never mind the record low attained in Northern Ireland this weekend. I can't remember a time when so much snow has lain so thickly on the ground, and we haven't even reached Christmas. And this is the third tough winter in a row. Is it really true that no one saw this coming?
Actually, they did. Allow me to introduce readers to Piers Corbyn, meteorologist and brother of my old chum, bearded leftie MP Jeremy. Piers Corbyn works in an undistinguished office in Borough High Street. He has no telescope or supercomputer. Armed only with a laptop, huge quantities of publicly available data and a first-class degree in astrophysics, he gets it right again and again.
Back in November, when the Met Office was still doing its "mild winter" schtick, Corbyn said it would be the coldest for 100 years. Indeed, it was back in May that he first predicted a snowy December, and he put his own money on a white Christmas about a month before the Met Office made any such forecast. He said that the Met Office would be wrong about last year's mythical "barbecue summer", and he was vindicated. He was closer to the truth about last winter, too.
Muslims and Westerners: The Psychological Differences Sennels
http://www.australianislamistmonitor.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3934:muslims-and-westerners-the-psychological-differences&catid=180&Itemid=60
Muslims and Westerners: The Psychological Differences
Thursday, 09 December 2010 17:51 Nicolai Sennels
February 27th 2008.
On a cold and windy Wednesday (for cyclists like myself), I took a deep breath, grabbed the microphone and did something that changed my life. In front of the Copenhagen Mayor’s Integration and Social Services Office there were gathered several journalists, a faithful Muslim musician from the famous MTV-band ‘Outlandish,’ dozens of Imams and Muslim spokesmen and a couple of hundred social workers with Muslim and Danish backgrounds. I began to say what everybody already knew, but, what nobody either wanted or dared to say: that those who are referred to as foreign criminals, religious extremists, or terrorists in the making and who are the cause of lawless parallel societies (what the conference "Diversity and Safety in the City" was about) are all Muslim. I argued that we should stop talking about "criminal foreigners" and start using the more precise term, "criminal Muslims." As a psychologist, having had more than a hundred Muslim clients, I told them that politicians and professional social workers need to understand the cultural and religious backgrounds of criminal foreigners. That is, if we want to come up with, at least, somewhat effective and targeted plans on how to reduce the social unrest, anti-democratic religious movements, the violent and anti-social forces among foreigners.
I was met with strong criticism from all sides and no support at all!
Just as most soldiers in the front lines die in the first attack, many of those who attacked political correctness have experienced negative professional or social consequences. I was no exception. The Mayor of Social Services was clear. I should either refrain from using stigmatizing expressions or find myself another job. Actually I was trying to stop the so-called stigmatization of all the non-Muslim immigrants by focusing on the one group that creates all the problems. But you can't fight City Hall. Our biggest national newspapers and radio news programs got hold of the story and the mayor was strongly criticized by the media experts on free speech and by the Danish blog-sphere. For about a month there was not a day when my name was not in one or more newspapers and the fighters for free speech took another round. I was no longer an anonymous psychologist. My name was known by everybody who read newspapers in Denmark and especially Islam-critical blogs on the internet put me in the spotlight.
Instead of keeping my mouth shut, I decided to write a book about my experiences with Muslims based on hundreds of therapy sessions. The whole circus that had happened concerning my case had already shown the necessity of breaking the taboos around criminal Muslims. Further, a serious discussion about the relationship between the Muslim culture and criminal, antisocial behavior is, indeed, very much needed. I managed to negotiate a deal that gave me four months severance pay. I am probably the first psychologist in Copenhagen who was offered $20,000 dollars for quitting his job voluntarily. I guess they just wanted to get rid of me, ASAP. I found a well-paying job as a Military psychologist doing psychological screening of soldiers returning from the war in Afghanistan. I also started writing my book, in which I describe a psychological profile of the Muslim culture. The title of the book is Among Criminal Muslims: A Psychologist's Experiences from the Copenhagen Municipality. (Free Press Society, 2009).Still to be translated to English
After having consulted with 150 young Muslim clients in therapy and 100 Danish clients (who, on average, shared the same age and social background as their Muslim inmates), my findings were that the Muslims’ cultural and religious experiences played a central role in their psychological development and criminal behavior. "Criminal foreigners" is not just a generalizing and imprecise term. It is unfair to non-Muslim foreigners and generally misleading.
Discussing psychological characteristics of the Muslim culture is important. Denmark has foreigners from all over the world and according to official statistics from Danmarks Statistik all non-Muslim groups of immigrants are less criminal than the ethnic Danes. Even after adjusting, according to educational and economic levels, all Muslim groups are more criminal than any other ethnic group. Seven out of 10, in the youth prison where I worked, were Muslim.
The book was reviewed in several magazines and newspapers and it kickstarted the Danish debate on the relationship between cultural background and criminal behavior. The Danish magazine for professional psychologists reviewed it:
The professional magazine for teachers of teenagers wrote:
Our biggest national news paper Jyllands-Posten, that printed the Mohammad cartoons, wrote:
This is a summary of some of the things that I discovered.
Anger
Muslim culture has a very different view of anger and in many ways opposite to what we experience here in the West.
Expressions of anger and threats are probably the quickest way to lose one's face in Western culture. In discussions, those who lose their temper have automatically lost, and I guess most people have observed the feeling of shame and loss of social status following expressions of aggression at one's work place or at home. In the Muslim culture, aggressive behavior, especially threats, are generally seen to be accepted, and even expected as a way of handling conflicts and social discrepancies. If a Muslim does not respond in a threatening way to insults or social irritation, he, not "she" (Muslim women are, mostly, expected to be humble and to not show power) is seen as weak, as someone who cannot be depended upon and loses face.
In the eyes of most Westerners it looks immature and childish when people try to use threatening behavior, to mark their dislikes. A Danish saying goes "…Only small dogs bark. Big dogs do not have to." That saying is deeply rooted in our cultural psychology as a guideline for civilized social behavior. To us, aggressive behavior is a clear sign of weakness. It is a sign of not being in control of oneself and lacking ability to handle a situation. We see peoples’ ability to remain calm as self confidence, allowing them to create a constructive dialogue. Their knowledge of facts, use of common sense and ability in producing valid arguments is seen as a sign of strength.
The terror-threatening and violent reaction of Muslims to the Danish Mohammed cartoons showing their prophet as a man willing to use violence to spread his message, is seen from our Western eyes as ironic.
The Islamic expression of "holy anger" is therefore completely contradictory to any Western understanding. Those two words in the same sentence sound contradictory to us. The terror-threatening and violent reaction of Muslims to the Danish Mohammed cartoons showing their prophet as a man willing to use violence to spread his message, is seen from our Western eyes as ironic. Muslims’ aggressive reaction to a picture showing their prophet as aggressive, completely confirms the truth of the statement made by Kurt Westergaard in his satiric drawing.
There are follow up comments and what I have gleaned as similiar comments from other blogs
Muslims and Westerners: The Psychological Differences
Thursday, 09 December 2010 17:51 Nicolai Sennels
February 27th 2008.
On a cold and windy Wednesday (for cyclists like myself), I took a deep breath, grabbed the microphone and did something that changed my life. In front of the Copenhagen Mayor’s Integration and Social Services Office there were gathered several journalists, a faithful Muslim musician from the famous MTV-band ‘Outlandish,’ dozens of Imams and Muslim spokesmen and a couple of hundred social workers with Muslim and Danish backgrounds. I began to say what everybody already knew, but, what nobody either wanted or dared to say: that those who are referred to as foreign criminals, religious extremists, or terrorists in the making and who are the cause of lawless parallel societies (what the conference "Diversity and Safety in the City" was about) are all Muslim. I argued that we should stop talking about "criminal foreigners" and start using the more precise term, "criminal Muslims." As a psychologist, having had more than a hundred Muslim clients, I told them that politicians and professional social workers need to understand the cultural and religious backgrounds of criminal foreigners. That is, if we want to come up with, at least, somewhat effective and targeted plans on how to reduce the social unrest, anti-democratic religious movements, the violent and anti-social forces among foreigners.
I was met with strong criticism from all sides and no support at all!
Just as most soldiers in the front lines die in the first attack, many of those who attacked political correctness have experienced negative professional or social consequences. I was no exception. The Mayor of Social Services was clear. I should either refrain from using stigmatizing expressions or find myself another job. Actually I was trying to stop the so-called stigmatization of all the non-Muslim immigrants by focusing on the one group that creates all the problems. But you can't fight City Hall. Our biggest national newspapers and radio news programs got hold of the story and the mayor was strongly criticized by the media experts on free speech and by the Danish blog-sphere. For about a month there was not a day when my name was not in one or more newspapers and the fighters for free speech took another round. I was no longer an anonymous psychologist. My name was known by everybody who read newspapers in Denmark and especially Islam-critical blogs on the internet put me in the spotlight.
Instead of keeping my mouth shut, I decided to write a book about my experiences with Muslims based on hundreds of therapy sessions. The whole circus that had happened concerning my case had already shown the necessity of breaking the taboos around criminal Muslims. Further, a serious discussion about the relationship between the Muslim culture and criminal, antisocial behavior is, indeed, very much needed. I managed to negotiate a deal that gave me four months severance pay. I am probably the first psychologist in Copenhagen who was offered $20,000 dollars for quitting his job voluntarily. I guess they just wanted to get rid of me, ASAP. I found a well-paying job as a Military psychologist doing psychological screening of soldiers returning from the war in Afghanistan. I also started writing my book, in which I describe a psychological profile of the Muslim culture. The title of the book is Among Criminal Muslims: A Psychologist's Experiences from the Copenhagen Municipality. (Free Press Society, 2009).Still to be translated to English
After having consulted with 150 young Muslim clients in therapy and 100 Danish clients (who, on average, shared the same age and social background as their Muslim inmates), my findings were that the Muslims’ cultural and religious experiences played a central role in their psychological development and criminal behavior. "Criminal foreigners" is not just a generalizing and imprecise term. It is unfair to non-Muslim foreigners and generally misleading.
Discussing psychological characteristics of the Muslim culture is important. Denmark has foreigners from all over the world and according to official statistics from Danmarks Statistik all non-Muslim groups of immigrants are less criminal than the ethnic Danes. Even after adjusting, according to educational and economic levels, all Muslim groups are more criminal than any other ethnic group. Seven out of 10, in the youth prison where I worked, were Muslim.
The book was reviewed in several magazines and newspapers and it kickstarted the Danish debate on the relationship between cultural background and criminal behavior. The Danish magazine for professional psychologists reviewed it:
….Among Criminal Muslims is a provocative eye opener, convincing and well founded with many concrete examples.
The professional magazine for teachers of teenagers wrote:
Sennels’ reflections and critical discussion concerning our efforts towards young criminals deserves to be widely known.
Our biggest national news paper Jyllands-Posten, that printed the Mohammad cartoons, wrote:
The book is an original piece of pioneer work by focusing on the responsibility of the individual and involving the impact of religion in the shaping of the young person’s identity.
This is a summary of some of the things that I discovered.
Anger
Muslim culture has a very different view of anger and in many ways opposite to what we experience here in the West.
Expressions of anger and threats are probably the quickest way to lose one's face in Western culture. In discussions, those who lose their temper have automatically lost, and I guess most people have observed the feeling of shame and loss of social status following expressions of aggression at one's work place or at home. In the Muslim culture, aggressive behavior, especially threats, are generally seen to be accepted, and even expected as a way of handling conflicts and social discrepancies. If a Muslim does not respond in a threatening way to insults or social irritation, he, not "she" (Muslim women are, mostly, expected to be humble and to not show power) is seen as weak, as someone who cannot be depended upon and loses face.
In the eyes of most Westerners it looks immature and childish when people try to use threatening behavior, to mark their dislikes. A Danish saying goes "…Only small dogs bark. Big dogs do not have to." That saying is deeply rooted in our cultural psychology as a guideline for civilized social behavior. To us, aggressive behavior is a clear sign of weakness. It is a sign of not being in control of oneself and lacking ability to handle a situation. We see peoples’ ability to remain calm as self confidence, allowing them to create a constructive dialogue. Their knowledge of facts, use of common sense and ability in producing valid arguments is seen as a sign of strength.
The terror-threatening and violent reaction of Muslims to the Danish Mohammed cartoons showing their prophet as a man willing to use violence to spread his message, is seen from our Western eyes as ironic.
The Islamic expression of "holy anger" is therefore completely contradictory to any Western understanding. Those two words in the same sentence sound contradictory to us. The terror-threatening and violent reaction of Muslims to the Danish Mohammed cartoons showing their prophet as a man willing to use violence to spread his message, is seen from our Western eyes as ironic. Muslims’ aggressive reaction to a picture showing their prophet as aggressive, completely confirms the truth of the statement made by Kurt Westergaard in his satiric drawing.
There are follow up comments and what I have gleaned as similiar comments from other blogs
Monday, December 20, 2010
Religious mores, moral and secularism
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/12/last-words-on-secular-dhimmitude.html#comments
Last Words on Secular Dhimmitude
My last column did its job. I was trying to highlight some of the reasons why conservative Christians are reluctant to join in the struggle against global jihad. And this is a problem, because--apart from Muslims, the only groups who are having children and passing along their beliefs almost undiluted to the next generation are conservative Christians and ultra-orthodox Jews (plus the Amish--who probably won't be relevant to this conflict). Witness what secular demographer Philip Longman has to say on this subject:
To be sure, in countries rich and poor, under all forms of government, birth rates are declining across the globe. But they are declining least among those adhering to strict religious codes and literal belief in the Bible, the Torah, or the Koran. Indeed, the pattern of human fertility now fits this pattern: the least likely to procreate are those who profess no believe in God; those who describe themselves as agnostic or simply spiritual are only somewhat slightly less likely to be childless. Moving up the spectrum, family size increases among practicing Unitarians, Reform Jews, mainline Protestants and "cafeteria" Catholics, but the birthrates found in these populations are still far below replacement levels. Only as we approach the realm of religious belief and practice marked by an intensity we might call, for lack of a better word, "fundamentalism," do we find pockets of high fertility and consequent rapid population growth.
Nor do all the many children of those true believers lapse into secularism, as previous generations did in the past:
When confronted with the fact that they are being outbred, secularists often respond that many if not most children born into highly religious families will grow up to reject the faith of their fathers -- such is the assumed allure of freedom and individuality. This thought comports with the life experience of the many members of the Baby Boom generation, who shook off the bonds of traditional authority in the 1960s and 1970s, and who cannot imagine why the rest of humanity will not eventually catch on and catch up. Arguing against this proposition, however, are some stubborn demographic facts. Among fundamentalist families, it turns out, the apple does not fall far from the tree. And the more demanding the faith, the more this rule applies.
Only five percent of children born to the most conservative Amish, for example, move on to other faiths or lifestyles. The defection rate is higher among New Order Amish, Mormons and other comparatively less demanding fundamentalist communities, yet they still hold on to the majority of their children. Moreover, what defections they may experience are more than offset by converts, with the net flow favoring conservative faiths, according to poll data gathered by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Thus we see 21 percent of converts leaving liberal and moderate denominations for more fundamentalist ones, and only 15 percent going the other way. There are many swirls and currents that affect us all as individuals, but between higher fertility and more successful indoctrination, the main demographic tide of history is clearly flowing in favor of fundamentalism.
Now, I reject the term "fundamentalism" as tendentious and pejorative. If you want to describe people who actually live according to the official tenets of their own religions, the word "orthodox" serves perfectly well. What Longman shows--and what Eric Kaufmann demonstrates at greater length in Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century--is simply this: Orthodoxy, fertility, and fidelity (from one generation to the next) are powerful weapons. Serbian émigré Milica Bookman, in an unjustly neglected study The Demographic Struggle for Power shows how these weapons can be decisive.
Indeed, the Muslim birthrate, and their resistance to modernization and secularization are very weapons they will use to dominate the cradle of Western civilization. The secular liberals of Europe are not having nearly enough children to replace themselves, nor are they passing along a vital, fighting faith (in anything at all) to those few they do produce.
Last Words on Secular Dhimmitude
My last column did its job. I was trying to highlight some of the reasons why conservative Christians are reluctant to join in the struggle against global jihad. And this is a problem, because--apart from Muslims, the only groups who are having children and passing along their beliefs almost undiluted to the next generation are conservative Christians and ultra-orthodox Jews (plus the Amish--who probably won't be relevant to this conflict). Witness what secular demographer Philip Longman has to say on this subject:
To be sure, in countries rich and poor, under all forms of government, birth rates are declining across the globe. But they are declining least among those adhering to strict religious codes and literal belief in the Bible, the Torah, or the Koran. Indeed, the pattern of human fertility now fits this pattern: the least likely to procreate are those who profess no believe in God; those who describe themselves as agnostic or simply spiritual are only somewhat slightly less likely to be childless. Moving up the spectrum, family size increases among practicing Unitarians, Reform Jews, mainline Protestants and "cafeteria" Catholics, but the birthrates found in these populations are still far below replacement levels. Only as we approach the realm of religious belief and practice marked by an intensity we might call, for lack of a better word, "fundamentalism," do we find pockets of high fertility and consequent rapid population growth.
Nor do all the many children of those true believers lapse into secularism, as previous generations did in the past:
When confronted with the fact that they are being outbred, secularists often respond that many if not most children born into highly religious families will grow up to reject the faith of their fathers -- such is the assumed allure of freedom and individuality. This thought comports with the life experience of the many members of the Baby Boom generation, who shook off the bonds of traditional authority in the 1960s and 1970s, and who cannot imagine why the rest of humanity will not eventually catch on and catch up. Arguing against this proposition, however, are some stubborn demographic facts. Among fundamentalist families, it turns out, the apple does not fall far from the tree. And the more demanding the faith, the more this rule applies.
Only five percent of children born to the most conservative Amish, for example, move on to other faiths or lifestyles. The defection rate is higher among New Order Amish, Mormons and other comparatively less demanding fundamentalist communities, yet they still hold on to the majority of their children. Moreover, what defections they may experience are more than offset by converts, with the net flow favoring conservative faiths, according to poll data gathered by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Thus we see 21 percent of converts leaving liberal and moderate denominations for more fundamentalist ones, and only 15 percent going the other way. There are many swirls and currents that affect us all as individuals, but between higher fertility and more successful indoctrination, the main demographic tide of history is clearly flowing in favor of fundamentalism.
Now, I reject the term "fundamentalism" as tendentious and pejorative. If you want to describe people who actually live according to the official tenets of their own religions, the word "orthodox" serves perfectly well. What Longman shows--and what Eric Kaufmann demonstrates at greater length in Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century--is simply this: Orthodoxy, fertility, and fidelity (from one generation to the next) are powerful weapons. Serbian émigré Milica Bookman, in an unjustly neglected study The Demographic Struggle for Power shows how these weapons can be decisive.
Indeed, the Muslim birthrate, and their resistance to modernization and secularization are very weapons they will use to dominate the cradle of Western civilization. The secular liberals of Europe are not having nearly enough children to replace themselves, nor are they passing along a vital, fighting faith (in anything at all) to those few they do produce.
Journalism: Questions Global Warming
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/newspapers-should-lead-the-country/story-e6frg6zo-1225972936639
Newspapers should lead the country
Joanne Nova From: The Australian December 18, 2010 12:00AM
A REPLY to a critic of The Australian's coverage of the debate about climate change.
DAVID McKnight's criticism of The Australian over climate change ("Sceptical writers skipped inconvenient truths", Inquirer, December 11) makes for a good case study of Australian universities' intellectual collapse.
Here's a University of NSW senior research fellow in journalism who contradicts himself, fails by his own reasoning, does little research, breaks at least three laws of logic, and rests his entire argument on an assumption for which he provides no evidence.
Most disturbingly - like a crack through the facade of Western intellectual vigour - he asserts that the role of a national newspaper is to "give leadership".
Bask for a moment in the inanity of this declaration that newspapers "are our leaders". Last time I looked at our ballot papers, none of the people running to lead our nation had a name such as The Sydney Morning Herald. Didn't he notice we live in a country that chooses its leaders through elections? The role of a newspaper is to report all the substantiated arguments and filter out the poorly reasoned ones, so readers can make up their own minds.
The point of a free press is surely for the press to be free to ask the most searching questions on any topic. Yet here is an authority on journalism attacking The Australian for printing views of scientists who have degrees of doubt about global warming and/or any human component in it.
And these scientists that McKnight wants to silence are not just the odd rare heretic.
The swelling ranks of sceptical scientists is now the largest whistle-blowing cohort in science ever seen. It includes some of the brightest: two with Nobel prizes in physics, four NASA astronauts, 9000 PhDs in science, and another 20,000 science graduates to cap it off. A recent US Senate minority report contained 1000 names of eminent scientists who are sceptical, and the term professor pops up more than 500 times in that list. These, McKnight, an arts PhD, calls deniers.
Just because thousands of scientists support the sceptical view doesn't prove they're right, but it proves their opinions are nothing like the tobacco sceptics campaign that McKnight compares them with in a transparent attempt to smear commentators with whom he disagrees.
Newspapers should lead the country
Joanne Nova From: The Australian December 18, 2010 12:00AM
A REPLY to a critic of The Australian's coverage of the debate about climate change.
DAVID McKnight's criticism of The Australian over climate change ("Sceptical writers skipped inconvenient truths", Inquirer, December 11) makes for a good case study of Australian universities' intellectual collapse.
Here's a University of NSW senior research fellow in journalism who contradicts himself, fails by his own reasoning, does little research, breaks at least three laws of logic, and rests his entire argument on an assumption for which he provides no evidence.
Most disturbingly - like a crack through the facade of Western intellectual vigour - he asserts that the role of a national newspaper is to "give leadership".
Bask for a moment in the inanity of this declaration that newspapers "are our leaders". Last time I looked at our ballot papers, none of the people running to lead our nation had a name such as The Sydney Morning Herald. Didn't he notice we live in a country that chooses its leaders through elections? The role of a newspaper is to report all the substantiated arguments and filter out the poorly reasoned ones, so readers can make up their own minds.
The point of a free press is surely for the press to be free to ask the most searching questions on any topic. Yet here is an authority on journalism attacking The Australian for printing views of scientists who have degrees of doubt about global warming and/or any human component in it.
And these scientists that McKnight wants to silence are not just the odd rare heretic.
The swelling ranks of sceptical scientists is now the largest whistle-blowing cohort in science ever seen. It includes some of the brightest: two with Nobel prizes in physics, four NASA astronauts, 9000 PhDs in science, and another 20,000 science graduates to cap it off. A recent US Senate minority report contained 1000 names of eminent scientists who are sceptical, and the term professor pops up more than 500 times in that list. These, McKnight, an arts PhD, calls deniers.
Just because thousands of scientists support the sceptical view doesn't prove they're right, but it proves their opinions are nothing like the tobacco sceptics campaign that McKnight compares them with in a transparent attempt to smear commentators with whom he disagrees.
No more snow falls as the earth will be too warm !!
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/snowfalls-are-now-just-a-thing-of-the-past-724017.html
Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past
By Charles Onians
Monday, 20 March 2000
Britain's winter ends tomorrow with further indications of a striking environmental change: snow is starting to disappear from our lives.
Britain's winter ends tomorrow with further indications of a striking environmental change: snow is starting to disappear from our lives.
Sledges, snowmen, snowballs and the excitement of waking to find that the stuff has settled outside are all a rapidly diminishing part of Britain's culture, as warmer winters - which scientists are attributing to global climate change - produce not only fewer white Christmases, but fewer white Januaries and Februaries.
The first two months of 2000 were virtually free of significant snowfall in much of lowland Britain, and December brought only moderate snowfall in the South-east. It is the continuation of a trend that has been increasingly visible in the past 15 years: in the south of England, for instance, from 1970 to 1995 snow and sleet fell for an average of 3.7 days, while from 1988 to 1995 the average was 0.7 days. London's last substantial snowfall was in February 1991.
Global warming, the heating of the atmosphere by increased amounts of industrial gases, is now accepted as a reality by the international community. Average temperatures in Britain were nearly 0.6°C higher in the Nineties than in 1960-90, and it is estimated that they will increase by 0.2C every decade over the coming century. Eight of the 10 hottest years on record occurred in the Nineties.
However, the warming is so far manifesting itself more in winters which are less cold than in much hotter summers. According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia,within a few years winter snowfall will become "a very rare and exciting event".
plus an article on this by James Delingpole
Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past
By Charles Onians
Monday, 20 March 2000
Britain's winter ends tomorrow with further indications of a striking environmental change: snow is starting to disappear from our lives.
Britain's winter ends tomorrow with further indications of a striking environmental change: snow is starting to disappear from our lives.
Sledges, snowmen, snowballs and the excitement of waking to find that the stuff has settled outside are all a rapidly diminishing part of Britain's culture, as warmer winters - which scientists are attributing to global climate change - produce not only fewer white Christmases, but fewer white Januaries and Februaries.
The first two months of 2000 were virtually free of significant snowfall in much of lowland Britain, and December brought only moderate snowfall in the South-east. It is the continuation of a trend that has been increasingly visible in the past 15 years: in the south of England, for instance, from 1970 to 1995 snow and sleet fell for an average of 3.7 days, while from 1988 to 1995 the average was 0.7 days. London's last substantial snowfall was in February 1991.
Global warming, the heating of the atmosphere by increased amounts of industrial gases, is now accepted as a reality by the international community. Average temperatures in Britain were nearly 0.6°C higher in the Nineties than in 1960-90, and it is estimated that they will increase by 0.2C every decade over the coming century. Eight of the 10 hottest years on record occurred in the Nineties.
However, the warming is so far manifesting itself more in winters which are less cold than in much hotter summers. According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia,within a few years winter snowfall will become "a very rare and exciting event".
plus an article on this by James Delingpole
Not Delusional about Islamic intergration
http://www.australianislamistmonitor.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3874:travelling-with-islam&catid=180&Itemid=60
Denmark:
In 2002, problems erupted when Muslim imams called for girls to be circumcised and told followers Islamic law (which fully endorses removal of the clitoris or under shafii law makes it obligatory) was more important than Danish law. Information programs for over a decade have failed to reduce the number of girls ‘circumcised’ (Isherwood 2002). Other problems include Muslims making up 5% of the population but taking 40% of the welfare; Muslims making up the majority of convicted rapists (of usually non-Muslim females!!); Muslims having a higher representation in other crimes; failure to mix with the indigenous population and segregation and failure to assimilate; marriage partners from overseas and often young Danish Muslim girls are promised to Muslim men from overseas; the demand for sharia; the rising hatred of Jews;.....
We all know the list because it’s the SAME throughout the western world irrelevant of where the Muslim immigrants come from, or which western country they enter!
Fortunately the Danes have woken up and started to strictly limit immigration and citizenship. Mosques cannot be built in Copenhagen. (see Oh DENMARK! Thursday, 07 October 2010 18:59 Geoff Dickson this site).
The Danish government PAYS Muslims to LEAVE (Struening 2010).
Nikolai Sennels
The work of Nikolai Sennels has helped the Danes get a perspective on the largely insoluble problem of trying to assimilate Muslims -
Others should not be stigmatised when the problem is Muslims. His research showed that the Muslims’ cultural and religious experiences played a central role in their psychological development and criminal behaviour.
Denmark:
In 2002, problems erupted when Muslim imams called for girls to be circumcised and told followers Islamic law (which fully endorses removal of the clitoris or under shafii law makes it obligatory) was more important than Danish law. Information programs for over a decade have failed to reduce the number of girls ‘circumcised’ (Isherwood 2002). Other problems include Muslims making up 5% of the population but taking 40% of the welfare; Muslims making up the majority of convicted rapists (of usually non-Muslim females!!); Muslims having a higher representation in other crimes; failure to mix with the indigenous population and segregation and failure to assimilate; marriage partners from overseas and often young Danish Muslim girls are promised to Muslim men from overseas; the demand for sharia; the rising hatred of Jews;.....
We all know the list because it’s the SAME throughout the western world irrelevant of where the Muslim immigrants come from, or which western country they enter!
Fortunately the Danes have woken up and started to strictly limit immigration and citizenship. Mosques cannot be built in Copenhagen. (see Oh DENMARK! Thursday, 07 October 2010 18:59 Geoff Dickson this site).
The Danish government PAYS Muslims to LEAVE (Struening 2010).
Nikolai Sennels
The work of Nikolai Sennels has helped the Danes get a perspective on the largely insoluble problem of trying to assimilate Muslims -
I began to say what everybody already knew, but, what nobody either wanted or dared to say: that those who are referred to as foreign criminals, religious extremists, or terrorists in the making and who are the cause of lawless parallel societies (what the conference "Diversity and Safety in the City" was about) are all Muslim.
Others should not be stigmatised when the problem is Muslims. His research showed that the Muslims’ cultural and religious experiences played a central role in their psychological development and criminal behaviour.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
The kind Police
The Police should not be allowed to startle drivers with flashing blue and red lights. After all it is well known that certain patterns of flashing lights could quite possibly cause epilepsy in certain prone people. Definetly becomes confusing to me when I check that flicker in all 3 of my mirrors. How would the police know who is at risk, to having a sudden seizure, either a “grand mal” or “petit mal” with potential fatal results.
The startling sound of the siren is another thing that could cause heart failure or trigger an irrythmic heart beat, may even set it off to heart racing speeds, as I know it can make my heart to race, and so to risk life threatening filbrilation.
Another factor is the stress that is caused by some just seeing a police vehicle or police person, particularly if they seem to be waving at you. I am sure their blood pressure goes up as does mine, and so at risk of heart problems, as already mentioned, or strokes, that may cause perverse effects on the brain.
All these things naturally makes the body out of control and tremoulous, often with bad side effects on the right leg as the spasms force the toe of the foot down and so unfortunately on the accelerator with dire consequences. So far my foot has not been afflicted, yet.
We are so lucky the police recognize this problem and are endeavouring to overcome this, like in the past with having stop over points for the car driving public where they are invited to stop and have a well earned break, cup of tea/coffee and a bite to eat (dough nuts any one? what about the cholesterol levels or obesity level you may well ask). It is obvious that we simply need more police around to serve coffee and biscuits and sort all these things out.
There there, the helpful police will solve all our problems, crime, robbery, burglary, violence, child abuse, etc., like spanking will become a thing of the past.
The startling sound of the siren is another thing that could cause heart failure or trigger an irrythmic heart beat, may even set it off to heart racing speeds, as I know it can make my heart to race, and so to risk life threatening filbrilation.
Another factor is the stress that is caused by some just seeing a police vehicle or police person, particularly if they seem to be waving at you. I am sure their blood pressure goes up as does mine, and so at risk of heart problems, as already mentioned, or strokes, that may cause perverse effects on the brain.
All these things naturally makes the body out of control and tremoulous, often with bad side effects on the right leg as the spasms force the toe of the foot down and so unfortunately on the accelerator with dire consequences. So far my foot has not been afflicted, yet.
We are so lucky the police recognize this problem and are endeavouring to overcome this, like in the past with having stop over points for the car driving public where they are invited to stop and have a well earned break, cup of tea/coffee and a bite to eat (dough nuts any one? what about the cholesterol levels or obesity level you may well ask). It is obvious that we simply need more police around to serve coffee and biscuits and sort all these things out.
There there, the helpful police will solve all our problems, crime, robbery, burglary, violence, child abuse, etc., like spanking will become a thing of the past.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Womens and Mens Taxes and Pensions
Why is it that a single man, particularly thru the last century, that as supposedly on average was paid a higher wage and so paid more in tax than a single working woman. Yet the man on average life expectancy collected far less pension. !
Why is it that when a woman took time out of the work force to have and rear children, (and I surely wished was happily and responsibley provided for by her husband), and again the government did not collect taxes, (ok it was called unpaid work) but now if an employer provides a house or car or meals or any other beneficial perk, the IRD always works out its value and then taxes it and this simply does not happen ! Why not?
Accident Compensation Corporation, ACC Levies, which has been making $billions of losses in the last few years. For sure has issues regarding sports injuries, who pays to cover those? How does it go when it has to cover house help? who are predominately woman?
Also bearing in mind that some fortunate woman never even went back into the work force, and even if they did, not many found high paying jobs so that they could pay the high taxes, and yet again they collect the full pension for quite a few years. I do realize many women are the motivation and stabilizing influence for many men and family. Often she survives the husband by quite a few years and collected the whole pension at the single rate, if she did not remarry.
I have never seen this aspect weighed up. Sure it can easily be dismissed, but first why as this not been worked out?. Instead it seems to moved sideways to that government (all tax payers) should pay for the home/house keeper/wife /partner.
It just seems to me that it is a one way street and every follows the "experts considerations"
Sure often men leave things a bit late for health considerations, but until recent years there has always been a drive for womans health. Would be interesting know what health costs per man and then per woman. Again I am Ok with that but it does seem to me that overall that this push for femism and equality, should have the a base start that could be quite revealing, not just the one way street with all the hyperbole meme pushed onto everyone
Why is it that when a woman took time out of the work force to have and rear children, (and I surely wished was happily and responsibley provided for by her husband), and again the government did not collect taxes, (ok it was called unpaid work) but now if an employer provides a house or car or meals or any other beneficial perk, the IRD always works out its value and then taxes it and this simply does not happen ! Why not?
Accident Compensation Corporation, ACC Levies, which has been making $billions of losses in the last few years. For sure has issues regarding sports injuries, who pays to cover those? How does it go when it has to cover house help? who are predominately woman?
Also bearing in mind that some fortunate woman never even went back into the work force, and even if they did, not many found high paying jobs so that they could pay the high taxes, and yet again they collect the full pension for quite a few years. I do realize many women are the motivation and stabilizing influence for many men and family. Often she survives the husband by quite a few years and collected the whole pension at the single rate, if she did not remarry.
I have never seen this aspect weighed up. Sure it can easily be dismissed, but first why as this not been worked out?. Instead it seems to moved sideways to that government (all tax payers) should pay for the home/house keeper/wife /partner.
It just seems to me that it is a one way street and every follows the "experts considerations"
Sure often men leave things a bit late for health considerations, but until recent years there has always been a drive for womans health. Would be interesting know what health costs per man and then per woman. Again I am Ok with that but it does seem to me that overall that this push for femism and equality, should have the a base start that could be quite revealing, not just the one way street with all the hyperbole meme pushed onto everyone
Where are the Golf balls?
My wife said to me — George, it is about time that you learned golf -you know, golf — that’s the game where you chase a ball all over the country when you are too old to chase women.
So I went to see Jones and asked him if he would teach me how to play. He said, “Sure, you’ve got balls, haven’t you?” “Yes,” I said, “Sometimes on cold mornings they’re kinda hard to find.” “Bring them to the clubhouse tomorrow,” he said, “And we have to tee off in front of the clubhouse.” “Not for me,” I said, “You can tee off there if you want to but I’ll tee off behind the barn somewhere.”
“No, no,” he said, “A tee is a little thing about the size of your little finger.” “Yeah, I got one of those.” “Well,” he said, “You stick it in the ground and put your ball on top of it.” I asked, “Do you play golf sitting down? I always thought that you stood up and walked around.” “You do,” he said, “You’re standing up when you put your ball on the tee.”
Well, folks, I thought that was stretching things a little too far, and I said so. He said, “You’ve got a bag, haven’t you?” Sure, I said. He said, your balls are in it, aren’t they? Of course, I told him. Well, he said, can’t you open the bag and take one out? I said, I suppose I could, but damned if I was. He asked if I didn’t have a zipper on my bag, but I told him no, I’m the old fashioned type. Then he asked me if I knew how to hold my club. Well, after fifty years, I should have some sort of an idea, and I told him so. He said, “You take your club in both hands,” — “Folks, I knew right then he didn’t
know what he was talking about.” Then he said, “You sling it over your left shoulder.” “No, no, that’s not me, that’s my brother you are thinking about.” He asked me, “How do you hold your club?” And before I thought I said, “In two fingers”. He said that wasn’t right and got behind me and put both arms around me and told me to bend over and he would show me how. He couldn’t catch me there, because I didn’t put four years in the Navy for nothing. He said, “You hit the ball with your club and it will soar and soar.” I said I could well imagine. Then he said, “And when you’re on the green” — “What’s the green?” I asked. “That’s where the hole is,” he said. “Sure you
are not color blind,” I asked. “No, no. Then you take your putter” — “What’s the putter”, I asked.
“That’s the smallest club made,” he said. “That’s what I’ve got, a putter.”
And with it, he said, you put your ball in the hole. I corrected, you mean the putter. He said, the ball, the hole isn’t big enough for the ball and the putter too. Well — I’ve seen holes big enough for a horse and wagon. Then, he said, after you make the first hole, you go on to the next seventeen.
He wasn’t talking to me. After two holes, I’m shot to hell. You know, he said, you can’t make eighteen holes in one day? Hell no, it takes me eighteen days to make one hole, besides, how do I know when I’m in the eighteenth hole? He said, the flag will go up.
That would be just my luck!
So I went to see Jones and asked him if he would teach me how to play. He said, “Sure, you’ve got balls, haven’t you?” “Yes,” I said, “Sometimes on cold mornings they’re kinda hard to find.” “Bring them to the clubhouse tomorrow,” he said, “And we have to tee off in front of the clubhouse.” “Not for me,” I said, “You can tee off there if you want to but I’ll tee off behind the barn somewhere.”
“No, no,” he said, “A tee is a little thing about the size of your little finger.” “Yeah, I got one of those.” “Well,” he said, “You stick it in the ground and put your ball on top of it.” I asked, “Do you play golf sitting down? I always thought that you stood up and walked around.” “You do,” he said, “You’re standing up when you put your ball on the tee.”
Well, folks, I thought that was stretching things a little too far, and I said so. He said, “You’ve got a bag, haven’t you?” Sure, I said. He said, your balls are in it, aren’t they? Of course, I told him. Well, he said, can’t you open the bag and take one out? I said, I suppose I could, but damned if I was. He asked if I didn’t have a zipper on my bag, but I told him no, I’m the old fashioned type. Then he asked me if I knew how to hold my club. Well, after fifty years, I should have some sort of an idea, and I told him so. He said, “You take your club in both hands,” — “Folks, I knew right then he didn’t
know what he was talking about.” Then he said, “You sling it over your left shoulder.” “No, no, that’s not me, that’s my brother you are thinking about.” He asked me, “How do you hold your club?” And before I thought I said, “In two fingers”. He said that wasn’t right and got behind me and put both arms around me and told me to bend over and he would show me how. He couldn’t catch me there, because I didn’t put four years in the Navy for nothing. He said, “You hit the ball with your club and it will soar and soar.” I said I could well imagine. Then he said, “And when you’re on the green” — “What’s the green?” I asked. “That’s where the hole is,” he said. “Sure you
are not color blind,” I asked. “No, no. Then you take your putter” — “What’s the putter”, I asked.
“That’s the smallest club made,” he said. “That’s what I’ve got, a putter.”
And with it, he said, you put your ball in the hole. I corrected, you mean the putter. He said, the ball, the hole isn’t big enough for the ball and the putter too. Well — I’ve seen holes big enough for a horse and wagon. Then, he said, after you make the first hole, you go on to the next seventeen.
He wasn’t talking to me. After two holes, I’m shot to hell. You know, he said, you can’t make eighteen holes in one day? Hell no, it takes me eighteen days to make one hole, besides, how do I know when I’m in the eighteenth hole? He said, the flag will go up.
That would be just my luck!
Littlewood, the true original version of the treaty
If this link does not work then google the Littlewood Treaty.
http://www.treatyofwaitangi.net.nz/index.html
I actually thought that Don Brash in one of his speeches said “”He Iwi Tahi Tatou” – We are now one people”
In a way I thought he had knowledge of the Littlewood Treaty, the original English draft of the Treaty of Waitangi and carried the original intentions as written by James Busby. It makes perfect sense with the Littlewood Treaty . It is not a version, it is the intent of the Queen Victoria and Governor Hobson that was drafted by James Busby then translated by Rev Henry Williams into Maori and fully and openly discussed and debated so they knew what they were signing.
*
It is not strange that when this copy came to light that it has not been refuted by historians such as Claudia Orange, and government paid Dr Donald Loveridge but just inferred against and side lined as the bureacracy gravy train had just left the station and so many with vested interests in the 1869 translations and now seeming to be locked into NZ law.
It is just not being exposed and our media is does little in learning about this version and importantly what are the differences and what it means.
This what has to be opened up and becomes the English Language version of the Treaty ! !, particularly if this constitutional ideas go ahead.
Their forum there is now closed, either lack of funds? or just too many obnoxious comments from absolutely rattled objectionists which I noticed a few years ago and then became plague like.
Too me it would be a win/win, as another front opens up and it is the truth, then the old “tow” would and should not be a part of the constitution, or if it is as per “Littlewood version”, then those imortal words, “He Iwi Tahi Tatou”"We are now one people” would have real meaning as said by Hobson referring to the English final draft treaty written by Busby if it is part of the constitution.
I also am reluctant to see a constitution written by any of our bureacracy, and led by the current media, but where we can hold out such as the raising the profile of the Littlewood version may cause much more disquiet to the ones with vested interests when they see a real can of worms and a loss, and give them reason to stop this constitutional idea, and if not well we can concede with the Littlewood version which amounts to
http://www.treatyofwaitangi.net.nz/index.html
I actually thought that Don Brash in one of his speeches said “”He Iwi Tahi Tatou” – We are now one people”
In a way I thought he had knowledge of the Littlewood Treaty, the original English draft of the Treaty of Waitangi and carried the original intentions as written by James Busby. It makes perfect sense with the Littlewood Treaty . It is not a version, it is the intent of the Queen Victoria and Governor Hobson that was drafted by James Busby then translated by Rev Henry Williams into Maori and fully and openly discussed and debated so they knew what they were signing.
*
It is not strange that when this copy came to light that it has not been refuted by historians such as Claudia Orange, and government paid Dr Donald Loveridge but just inferred against and side lined as the bureacracy gravy train had just left the station and so many with vested interests in the 1869 translations and now seeming to be locked into NZ law.
It is just not being exposed and our media is does little in learning about this version and importantly what are the differences and what it means.
This what has to be opened up and becomes the English Language version of the Treaty ! !, particularly if this constitutional ideas go ahead.
Please read and consider your “original draft documents” of the Treaty with tremendous care, as you’ll find that the English version being used in all of our legislation is the wrong text. The true Treaty Of Waitangi, in both English and Maori, clearly states that the “customary rights” referred to in Article II are for “all the people of New Zealand” collectively and not for any singular ethnicity.
Their forum there is now closed, either lack of funds? or just too many obnoxious comments from absolutely rattled objectionists which I noticed a few years ago and then became plague like.
Too me it would be a win/win, as another front opens up and it is the truth, then the old “tow” would and should not be a part of the constitution, or if it is as per “Littlewood version”, then those imortal words, “He Iwi Tahi Tatou”"We are now one people” would have real meaning as said by Hobson referring to the English final draft treaty written by Busby if it is part of the constitution.
I also am reluctant to see a constitution written by any of our bureacracy, and led by the current media, but where we can hold out such as the raising the profile of the Littlewood version may cause much more disquiet to the ones with vested interests when they see a real can of worms and a loss, and give them reason to stop this constitutional idea, and if not well we can concede with the Littlewood version which amounts to
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Global Tax with all Justices
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/556625/201012131837/The-US-Should-Halt-All-Funding-For-UNs-Global-Warming-Scam.htm
Following is some paragraphs from the article
This 16th annual conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), called COP 16 (Conference of the Parties 16), attracted some 20,000 delegates from 194 countries. It had little to do with any science about climate change and everything to do with trying to get the United States and other industrialized nations to redistribute their wealth to the poorer nations under the supervision of eager United Nations bureaucrats.
Like previous climate change conferences, COP 16 deliberately pitted the poor countries against the rich countries, encouraging the poor countries to demand what the rich countries have without earning or paying for it. This is the internationalist version of the basic Marxist tactic called the class war.
COP 16 participants decided it’s time to call for a global tax. They want it to be unlimited in scope and unlinked to national treasuries so that tax receipts can flow without the nuisance of having to be approved by the rich countries’ legislatures.
The U.N. Secretary General’s High Level Advisory Group confirmed that the goal is to impose taxes on international shipping, aviation and financial transactions involving stocks, bonds and foreign exchanges, as well as a carbon tax. Those taxes could raise at least $100 billion annually, and the International Maritime Organization is ready to be the assessor-collector.
COP 16 agitators consider all these payments compensatory for damages caused by the rich nations. The World Wildlife Foundation estimates that the amounts needed to protect against climate change will run to $160 billion to $200 billion yearly by 2020.
COP 16′s bag of tricks also includes plans for global governance. The new UNFCCC executive secretary, Christiana Figueres, said that COP 16 “is a litmus test for global governance capacity” and that “Cancun will be successful if governments compromise” by launching “a new era.”
The poor nations at COP 16 presented a document called “Declaration From the South-South Summit on Climate Justice and Finance.” It claimed that climate change is “an economic and social crisis, a political crisis, a food and energy crisis, and an ecological crisis.” This diatribe called for "climate justice, ecological justice, economic justice, gender justice and historical justice"(Oh yeah that is right, we already doing social justice). Its presenters concluded by chanting, “Let’s globalize the struggle!”
Full article here.http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/556625/201012131837/The-US-Should-Halt-All-Funding-For-UNs-Global-Warming-Scam.htm
Following is some paragraphs from the article
This 16th annual conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), called COP 16 (Conference of the Parties 16), attracted some 20,000 delegates from 194 countries. It had little to do with any science about climate change and everything to do with trying to get the United States and other industrialized nations to redistribute their wealth to the poorer nations under the supervision of eager United Nations bureaucrats.
Like previous climate change conferences, COP 16 deliberately pitted the poor countries against the rich countries, encouraging the poor countries to demand what the rich countries have without earning or paying for it. This is the internationalist version of the basic Marxist tactic called the class war.
COP 16 participants decided it’s time to call for a global tax. They want it to be unlimited in scope and unlinked to national treasuries so that tax receipts can flow without the nuisance of having to be approved by the rich countries’ legislatures.
The U.N. Secretary General’s High Level Advisory Group confirmed that the goal is to impose taxes on international shipping, aviation and financial transactions involving stocks, bonds and foreign exchanges, as well as a carbon tax. Those taxes could raise at least $100 billion annually, and the International Maritime Organization is ready to be the assessor-collector.
COP 16 agitators consider all these payments compensatory for damages caused by the rich nations. The World Wildlife Foundation estimates that the amounts needed to protect against climate change will run to $160 billion to $200 billion yearly by 2020.
COP 16′s bag of tricks also includes plans for global governance. The new UNFCCC executive secretary, Christiana Figueres, said that COP 16 “is a litmus test for global governance capacity” and that “Cancun will be successful if governments compromise” by launching “a new era.”
The poor nations at COP 16 presented a document called “Declaration From the South-South Summit on Climate Justice and Finance.” It claimed that climate change is “an economic and social crisis, a political crisis, a food and energy crisis, and an ecological crisis.” This diatribe called for "climate justice, ecological justice, economic justice, gender justice and historical justice"(Oh yeah that is right, we already doing social justice). Its presenters concluded by chanting, “Let’s globalize the struggle!”
Full article here.http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/556625/201012131837/The-US-Should-Halt-All-Funding-For-UNs-Global-Warming-Scam.htm
Did things change for the Better?
http://financialsense.com/contributors/jr-nyquist/the-implacable-enemy
The Implacable Enemy
Submitted by JR Nyquist on Fri, 10 Dec 2010
We don't want to believe in enemies, and if we grudgingly allow that they exist, we certainly will not admit they are implacable. It is odd, perhaps, but we live at a time in history when people believe in solutions to everything. In fact, men have solved so many problems in the last 200 years that we imagine all problems have solutions. Unfortunately, this is an error we must guard against. It is, in fact, an all-pervasive error which has serious consequences for our time.
Related to this subject, the Jerusalem Post recently published a column titled Editor's Notes: The Bleak Logic of Bennie Begin. The piece includes an interview with an Israeli politician who is unwilling to delude himself about Israel's present situation. The peace process is not going to work, Begin says. It does not take proper account of the Palestinian leadership. These sorry folk want to eradicate Israel, and the peace process is merely a cynical ploy on the part of a cynical foe. Grasping these fundamental points, Begin is a man of logic, a man of simple truth. He is not an ideologue, because ideology properly belongs to those who believe in dangerous fairy tales.
A few structural points stand out in Begin's discourse. First, people don't usually change, and that includes enemies; second, a peaceful solution is not always workable; and third, the aim of an implacable enemy is to eliminate you, and this is not merely a "problem" open to endless discussion. War is a reality, and you simply have to fight. In this situation talking to your enemy is always an exercise in self-deception. This last point has come to be universally rejected by Western politicians. They do not see how discussions of this kind effectively hypnotize the masses, and fill people's heads with false expectations. In reality, the only solution is the military solution. But those who dream of peace see military conflict as the problem.
It is no wonder that Begin was against the Oslo peace process, saying that the PLO leadership "will never change." In fact, they never have. The Palestinian leaders are implacable enemies of Israel. This is not so difficult to see, though it is difficult to admit for those who believe in peace. It is sad to say, but there cannot be a successful peace process with such an enemy. For such an enemy, peace is merely an interlude of talking, useful for setting up a future attack. And what makes the PLO implacable? The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded in 1964 by a body of Palestinian representatives handpicked by the Soviet KGB. The first PLO chairman, Ahmad Shukeiri, was a KGB agent. The Soviet Bloc trained the PLO cadre, providing them with weapons and strategic guidance. The current head of the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas, received his Ph.D. from Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow.
The Implacable Enemy
Submitted by JR Nyquist on Fri, 10 Dec 2010
We don't want to believe in enemies, and if we grudgingly allow that they exist, we certainly will not admit they are implacable. It is odd, perhaps, but we live at a time in history when people believe in solutions to everything. In fact, men have solved so many problems in the last 200 years that we imagine all problems have solutions. Unfortunately, this is an error we must guard against. It is, in fact, an all-pervasive error which has serious consequences for our time.
Related to this subject, the Jerusalem Post recently published a column titled Editor's Notes: The Bleak Logic of Bennie Begin. The piece includes an interview with an Israeli politician who is unwilling to delude himself about Israel's present situation. The peace process is not going to work, Begin says. It does not take proper account of the Palestinian leadership. These sorry folk want to eradicate Israel, and the peace process is merely a cynical ploy on the part of a cynical foe. Grasping these fundamental points, Begin is a man of logic, a man of simple truth. He is not an ideologue, because ideology properly belongs to those who believe in dangerous fairy tales.
A few structural points stand out in Begin's discourse. First, people don't usually change, and that includes enemies; second, a peaceful solution is not always workable; and third, the aim of an implacable enemy is to eliminate you, and this is not merely a "problem" open to endless discussion. War is a reality, and you simply have to fight. In this situation talking to your enemy is always an exercise in self-deception. This last point has come to be universally rejected by Western politicians. They do not see how discussions of this kind effectively hypnotize the masses, and fill people's heads with false expectations. In reality, the only solution is the military solution. But those who dream of peace see military conflict as the problem.
It is no wonder that Begin was against the Oslo peace process, saying that the PLO leadership "will never change." In fact, they never have. The Palestinian leaders are implacable enemies of Israel. This is not so difficult to see, though it is difficult to admit for those who believe in peace. It is sad to say, but there cannot be a successful peace process with such an enemy. For such an enemy, peace is merely an interlude of talking, useful for setting up a future attack. And what makes the PLO implacable? The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded in 1964 by a body of Palestinian representatives handpicked by the Soviet KGB. The first PLO chairman, Ahmad Shukeiri, was a KGB agent. The Soviet Bloc trained the PLO cadre, providing them with weapons and strategic guidance. The current head of the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas, received his Ph.D. from Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
New WORLD ORDER
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/30957
It is democracy, that will perish from the Earth unless this burgeoning nonsense is stopped.
Abdication of the West at COP16 Cancun, Mexico
By Lord Christopher Monckton Friday, December 10, 2010
I usually add some gentle humor when I report. Not today. Read this and weep. Notwithstanding the carefully-orchestrated propaganda to the effect that nothing much will be decided at the UN climate conference here in Cancun, the decisions to be made here this week signal nothing less than the abdication of the West. The governing class in what was once proudly known as the Free World is silently, casually letting go of liberty, prosperity, and even democracy itself. No one in the mainstream media will tell you this, not so much because they do not see as because they do not bl**dy care.
The 33-page Note (FCCC/AWGLCA/2010/CRP.2) by the Chairman of the “Ad-Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Co-operative Action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change”, entitled Possible elements of the outcome, reveals all. Or, rather, it reveals nothing, unless one understands what the complex, obscure jargon means. All UNFCCC documents at the Cancun conference, specifically including Possible elements of the outcome, are drafted with what is called “transparent impenetrability”. The intention is that the documents should not be understood, but that later we shall be told they were in the public domain all the time, so what are we complaining about?
Since the Chairman’s note is very long, I shall summarize the main points:
Finance:
Western countries will jointly provide $100 billion a year by 2020 to an unnamed new UN Fund. To keep this sum up with GDP growth, the West may commit itself to pay 1.5% of GDP to the UN each year. That is more than twice the 0.7% of GDP that the UN has recommended the West to pay in foreign aid for the past half century. Several hundred of the provisions in the Chairman’s note will impose huge financial costs on the nations of the West.....---continued The world-government Secretariat: .......Bureacracy: .......The world government's powers: .......continous expansion: .......Intellectual property in inventions: ......Insurance: .......The free market: .......Knowledge is power: .......Propaganda: .......Damage caused by The Process: .......Damage to world trade: .......The Canute provision: .......Omissions: ....... ........ ....... ........
It is democracy, that will perish from the Earth unless this burgeoning nonsense is stopped.
Abdication of the West at COP16 Cancun, Mexico
By Lord Christopher Monckton Friday, December 10, 2010
I usually add some gentle humor when I report. Not today. Read this and weep. Notwithstanding the carefully-orchestrated propaganda to the effect that nothing much will be decided at the UN climate conference here in Cancun, the decisions to be made here this week signal nothing less than the abdication of the West. The governing class in what was once proudly known as the Free World is silently, casually letting go of liberty, prosperity, and even democracy itself. No one in the mainstream media will tell you this, not so much because they do not see as because they do not bl**dy care.
The 33-page Note (FCCC/AWGLCA/2010/CRP.2) by the Chairman of the “Ad-Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Co-operative Action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change”, entitled Possible elements of the outcome, reveals all. Or, rather, it reveals nothing, unless one understands what the complex, obscure jargon means. All UNFCCC documents at the Cancun conference, specifically including Possible elements of the outcome, are drafted with what is called “transparent impenetrability”. The intention is that the documents should not be understood, but that later we shall be told they were in the public domain all the time, so what are we complaining about?
Since the Chairman’s note is very long, I shall summarize the main points:
Finance:
Western countries will jointly provide $100 billion a year by 2020 to an unnamed new UN Fund. To keep this sum up with GDP growth, the West may commit itself to pay 1.5% of GDP to the UN each year. That is more than twice the 0.7% of GDP that the UN has recommended the West to pay in foreign aid for the past half century. Several hundred of the provisions in the Chairman’s note will impose huge financial costs on the nations of the West.....---continued The world-government Secretariat: .......Bureacracy: .......The world government's powers: .......continous expansion: .......Intellectual property in inventions: ......Insurance: .......The free market: .......Knowledge is power: .......Propaganda: .......Damage caused by The Process: .......Damage to world trade: .......The Canute provision: .......Omissions: ....... ........ ....... ........
Testing Teachers
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/testing_teachers/index.html
the site links go to transcipts
Testing Teachers
Teachers matter. A lot. Studies show that students with the best teachers learn three times as much as students with the worst teachers. Researchers say the achievement gap between poor children and their higher-income peers could disappear if poor kids got better teachers.
Politicians and education reformers are calling for big changes in how teachers are trained and evaluated – and in the way teachers are hired and fired too.
Students who get the best teachers learn more. Students who get the worst teachers fall behind.
Researchers don't know exactly what it is that makes effective teachers so good at what they do.
Some people say American schools need to hire better teachers. Others say teachers need better training and support.
Schools increasingly use test scores to sort teachers. Some experts challenge this approach.
Research suggests that poor schools need top-notch teachers the most.
What made your best teachers great, and what do you think should be done about teachers who are not good?
You can download the radio program, listen online, or read the transcript.
Share this documentary:
Support for Testing Teachers comes from The Spencer Foundation and The Lumina Foundation for Education
the site links go to transcipts
Testing Teachers
Teachers matter. A lot. Studies show that students with the best teachers learn three times as much as students with the worst teachers. Researchers say the achievement gap between poor children and their higher-income peers could disappear if poor kids got better teachers.
Politicians and education reformers are calling for big changes in how teachers are trained and evaluated – and in the way teachers are hired and fired too.
Students who get the best teachers learn more. Students who get the worst teachers fall behind.
Researchers don't know exactly what it is that makes effective teachers so good at what they do.
Some people say American schools need to hire better teachers. Others say teachers need better training and support.
Schools increasingly use test scores to sort teachers. Some experts challenge this approach.
Research suggests that poor schools need top-notch teachers the most.
What made your best teachers great, and what do you think should be done about teachers who are not good?
You can download the radio program, listen online, or read the transcript.
Share this documentary:
Support for Testing Teachers comes from The Spencer Foundation and The Lumina Foundation for Education
Secular Humanism
http://nzconservative.blogspot.com/2010/12/story-of-attack-on-baghdad-church.html
The 19th comment out of 24
I.M Fletcher said...
Here's what author Brian Schwertley says about Secular Humanism Part I-
Do you believe that murder is wrong? Do you believe that child molestation and bestiality are wrong? Most people do. The question that must be answered, then, is "Why?" The secular-humanistic worldview presupposes that nothing can exist above and beyond the universe. The idea of an infinite, personal God who is transcendent, who reveals ethical absolutes to man (e.g., "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not steal," etc.) is anathema to an atheistic naturalist. With no higher power, the secular humanist must derive an ethical system from this world alone.
But what is the modern view of the universe, of reality? The universe is evolving. It is a product of chance. It is impersonal. It is in a state of flux. Man himself is a product of chance and is in a state of flux. Thus, the secular humanist teaches that ethics are evolving, arbitrary, subjective, relative and changing. There is no "out-thereness" to ethics; there is no absolute right or wrong.
For the secular humanist, the source of ethics, morality and law is not God but man. The secular humanist says that ethics are whatever man happens to say they are at a given point in time. In such a system moral law is merely opinion, custom, "community standards," what the state says (or the supreme court, or an intellectual elite like hospital ethics boards). Man determines what is right and wrong
for himself, and if man changes his mind, then what used to be wrong is now permissible—even virtuous.
The secular humanist who seeks to establish ethical norms apart from the triune God of the Bible actually perverts and destroys moral imperatives. Ethics cannot exist and operate in a void. If the universe is a product of chance and impersonal, then people have no real reason not to lie, cheat, murder and steal, other than the coercive power of the state (e.g., the police, prisons, etc.).
Young people are not stupid. Do you really think that young people are going to be honest, chaste and moral because their parents or some celebrity or the state says it’s a good idea? All talk of virtue is utter nonsense. To the Nazi, exterminating Jews was virtuous. Stalin and the communists murdered 20 million farmers for humanity. To the radical feminist, murdering unborn babies is a virtue. To the gang member, torturing and murdering one’s opponent are virtuous. If morality is constantly changing, evolving, and if it is only what man happens to believe at any given moment, then the modern ethical maxim is, "Do whatever you want—just don’t get caught. And if you do get caught, blame it on someone else."
1:35 PM, December 12, 2010
I.M Fletcher said...
Part II
There was a time when children were told not to lie, cheat, swear, fornicate and steal because such things were against God’s moral law (the Ten Commandments). People were told that such activities offended a holy, righteous God. They were told that good was good because God said so in His Word, and likewise bad was bad because God said so. People were warned that a day was coming in which God would judge all men according to their deeds.
Ethical absolutes are transcendent; they come from outside the universe and are revealed to man by an unchanging, all-powerful God. These ethical commands are objective and unchanging; they are backed up by a morally perfect God who will punish every wicked act committed by man. In a personalistic universe where an absolute, infinite, perfect, moral God (who is the creator of meaning, the revealer and enforcer of ethical absolutes and the judge of wickedness) stands behind all created reality, people have a very real reason for self-government and personal responsibility.
In the area of ethics (as in the area of meaning itself) the Christian worldview is coherent, rational and self-consistent, while the supposedly "scientific" secular-humanistic worldview is irrational, arbitrary and absurd. When the secular humanist speaks of compassion, humility, virtue, helping the poor, the evil of murder, and so on, he is stealing concepts from the Christian worldview. It is one thing to assert that murder is wrong and quite another to explain why it is wrong. Anyone can assert that something is good or evil, but only the Christian can consistently say why. In the secular-humanistic worldview, chance not God is ultimate; therefore "it is meaningless to speak of imposing the formalizing activity of the universal mind of man, itself a product of chance, on a bottomless and shoreless ocean of chance. The only possible foundation for science and philosophy as well as for theology is the presupposition that God as all-controlling and Christ as actually redeeming does actually exist and is actually known by man. But to hold this position requires us to give up the idea that man himself is the source of unity in human experience. In seeking such unity as only God can have, apostate man cuts himself loose from the possibility of having any unity in experience at all."
The secular humanist, if honest and consistent, would simply assert that "in the end we’re all dead"; the injustice and evils of life are never resolved. Hitler, Stalin and Mother Teresa all turn to dust. The universe expands to an icy death. In such a system your life and supposed good deeds have no real meaning or lasting significance at all. "What advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink, for to morrow we die!" (1 Cor. 15:32).
1:36 PM, December 12, 2010
The 19th comment out of 24
I.M Fletcher said...
Here's what author Brian Schwertley says about Secular Humanism Part I-
Do you believe that murder is wrong? Do you believe that child molestation and bestiality are wrong? Most people do. The question that must be answered, then, is "Why?" The secular-humanistic worldview presupposes that nothing can exist above and beyond the universe. The idea of an infinite, personal God who is transcendent, who reveals ethical absolutes to man (e.g., "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not steal," etc.) is anathema to an atheistic naturalist. With no higher power, the secular humanist must derive an ethical system from this world alone.
But what is the modern view of the universe, of reality? The universe is evolving. It is a product of chance. It is impersonal. It is in a state of flux. Man himself is a product of chance and is in a state of flux. Thus, the secular humanist teaches that ethics are evolving, arbitrary, subjective, relative and changing. There is no "out-thereness" to ethics; there is no absolute right or wrong.
For the secular humanist, the source of ethics, morality and law is not God but man. The secular humanist says that ethics are whatever man happens to say they are at a given point in time. In such a system moral law is merely opinion, custom, "community standards," what the state says (or the supreme court, or an intellectual elite like hospital ethics boards). Man determines what is right and wrong
for himself, and if man changes his mind, then what used to be wrong is now permissible—even virtuous.
The secular humanist who seeks to establish ethical norms apart from the triune God of the Bible actually perverts and destroys moral imperatives. Ethics cannot exist and operate in a void. If the universe is a product of chance and impersonal, then people have no real reason not to lie, cheat, murder and steal, other than the coercive power of the state (e.g., the police, prisons, etc.).
Young people are not stupid. Do you really think that young people are going to be honest, chaste and moral because their parents or some celebrity or the state says it’s a good idea? All talk of virtue is utter nonsense. To the Nazi, exterminating Jews was virtuous. Stalin and the communists murdered 20 million farmers for humanity. To the radical feminist, murdering unborn babies is a virtue. To the gang member, torturing and murdering one’s opponent are virtuous. If morality is constantly changing, evolving, and if it is only what man happens to believe at any given moment, then the modern ethical maxim is, "Do whatever you want—just don’t get caught. And if you do get caught, blame it on someone else."
1:35 PM, December 12, 2010
I.M Fletcher said...
Part II
There was a time when children were told not to lie, cheat, swear, fornicate and steal because such things were against God’s moral law (the Ten Commandments). People were told that such activities offended a holy, righteous God. They were told that good was good because God said so in His Word, and likewise bad was bad because God said so. People were warned that a day was coming in which God would judge all men according to their deeds.
Ethical absolutes are transcendent; they come from outside the universe and are revealed to man by an unchanging, all-powerful God. These ethical commands are objective and unchanging; they are backed up by a morally perfect God who will punish every wicked act committed by man. In a personalistic universe where an absolute, infinite, perfect, moral God (who is the creator of meaning, the revealer and enforcer of ethical absolutes and the judge of wickedness) stands behind all created reality, people have a very real reason for self-government and personal responsibility.
In the area of ethics (as in the area of meaning itself) the Christian worldview is coherent, rational and self-consistent, while the supposedly "scientific" secular-humanistic worldview is irrational, arbitrary and absurd. When the secular humanist speaks of compassion, humility, virtue, helping the poor, the evil of murder, and so on, he is stealing concepts from the Christian worldview. It is one thing to assert that murder is wrong and quite another to explain why it is wrong. Anyone can assert that something is good or evil, but only the Christian can consistently say why. In the secular-humanistic worldview, chance not God is ultimate; therefore "it is meaningless to speak of imposing the formalizing activity of the universal mind of man, itself a product of chance, on a bottomless and shoreless ocean of chance. The only possible foundation for science and philosophy as well as for theology is the presupposition that God as all-controlling and Christ as actually redeeming does actually exist and is actually known by man. But to hold this position requires us to give up the idea that man himself is the source of unity in human experience. In seeking such unity as only God can have, apostate man cuts himself loose from the possibility of having any unity in experience at all."
The secular humanist, if honest and consistent, would simply assert that "in the end we’re all dead"; the injustice and evils of life are never resolved. Hitler, Stalin and Mother Teresa all turn to dust. The universe expands to an icy death. In such a system your life and supposed good deeds have no real meaning or lasting significance at all. "What advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink, for to morrow we die!" (1 Cor. 15:32).
1:36 PM, December 12, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
"Climate Change" illegimatizes Maths. WTF ? ? ? ! !
http://claesjohnson.blogspot.com/2010/12/kth-gate-climate-mathematics-stopped.html
lördagen den 4:e december 2010
KTH-Gate: (Climate) Mathematics "Stopped"
During the week Swedish media have been reporting that my new ebook BodyandSoul: Mathematical Simulation Technology (can also be downloaded from my home page), parts of which are being used as course material in the 2nd year course Numerical Methods II within the engineering physics program at the Royal Institute of Technology KTH, has been "stopped" by the President of KTH, because the book contains a mathematical analysis of some models related to climate simulation (which by the way is not included in the numerics course).
A coordinated action by KTH has stimulated students and climate alarmists to supply media with statements such as:
Dagens Nyheter: Greenhouse Effect a Myth According to KTH-book:
We (students) got very upset when we saw the book. There are statements in the book that climate change does not exist.
After student protests, pages in the book have been deleted...
Lennart Bengtsson, meteorologist, member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences: unphysical, completely wrong, nonsense, miserable quality, bullshit ("rappakalja" in Finnish-Swedish).
Metro-Teknik: KTH-book Denying Climate Crisis Stirs Up Trouble:
Student protests force KTH to "remove" the book.
To pass exam we have to deny climate change, a student says.
President KTH Peter Gudmundson: After student protests responsible persons at KTH have "replaced" the book.
Ny Teknik: Censorship at KTH:
Leif Kari (in charge of the engineering physics program): We don't want to have anything to do with the book. It is extremely unusal to "stop a book". This is very serious.
Lennart Bengtsson again: Deplorable piece of work.
(Lennart Bengtsson is the main author of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Statement on Climate Change in support of IPCC).
As of now the book has formally been "stopped" by KTH, yet it continues to be used as course material in the numerics course, which now enters into its final 7th week (by the way without covering anything about climate simulation). This is a contradiction which somehow must be resolved. Mathematics does not tolerate contradictions.
There are many interesting (or alarming) aspects of this story:
How can the book continue to be used if it has been "replaced"?
Is it possible to "delete pages" or "remove" a book without any further ado?
A student "confesses" that the "stop" has nothing to do with climate, but is intended to "stop" the new simulation technology presented in the book from being taught at KTH. Climate is being used only as a pretext, because it is so "easy to sell" to Swedish public and media.
Is it possible to "stop" mathematics? Is it possible to "stop" someone from that saying 2 + 2 = 4, at KTH?
Why is mathematical analysis of climate models so explosive?
Why is mathematical simulation technology so explosive?
When was a math book last "removed"?
You can decide yourself if there is reason to "remove" the book, by downloading and browsing through the 2100 pages.
We see two streams meeting at the same point causing ignition: climate alarmism and mathematical simulation technology. Why does the combination explode? Because climate simulation is mathematics. Because mathematics can be powerful. Because 2 + 2 = 4 can be devastating. World media are awakening, stay tuned...
The ban of my work by KTH has not caused any attention whatsoever in Swedish academia. Simply business as usual according to the usual Royal Standards: It is fully natural that a spokesman for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences can flood media with invectives directed to eliminate my work from this planet, or at least from the Royal Kingdom, without any discussion. It is fully natural that the Royal Academy in this endeavor is assisted by the President of the Royal Institute of Technology, who refuses any form of contact with me.
And if I try to counter by referring to the fact that I am one of the very few in Sweden on the ICI Highly Cited list of the Worlds most cited scientists, or among the awardees of the Humboldt Research Prize, I get the response: Who cares about such lists and prizes, when it is the role of Swedish science to give out Nobel Prizes, from the hands of the King? Next week, including a wonderful banquet and dancing through the night.
lördagen den 4:e december 2010
KTH-Gate: (Climate) Mathematics "Stopped"
During the week Swedish media have been reporting that my new ebook BodyandSoul: Mathematical Simulation Technology (can also be downloaded from my home page), parts of which are being used as course material in the 2nd year course Numerical Methods II within the engineering physics program at the Royal Institute of Technology KTH, has been "stopped" by the President of KTH, because the book contains a mathematical analysis of some models related to climate simulation (which by the way is not included in the numerics course).
A coordinated action by KTH has stimulated students and climate alarmists to supply media with statements such as:
Dagens Nyheter: Greenhouse Effect a Myth According to KTH-book:
We (students) got very upset when we saw the book. There are statements in the book that climate change does not exist.
After student protests, pages in the book have been deleted...
Lennart Bengtsson, meteorologist, member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences: unphysical, completely wrong, nonsense, miserable quality, bullshit ("rappakalja" in Finnish-Swedish).
Metro-Teknik: KTH-book Denying Climate Crisis Stirs Up Trouble:
Student protests force KTH to "remove" the book.
To pass exam we have to deny climate change, a student says.
President KTH Peter Gudmundson: After student protests responsible persons at KTH have "replaced" the book.
Ny Teknik: Censorship at KTH:
Leif Kari (in charge of the engineering physics program): We don't want to have anything to do with the book. It is extremely unusal to "stop a book". This is very serious.
Lennart Bengtsson again: Deplorable piece of work.
(Lennart Bengtsson is the main author of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Statement on Climate Change in support of IPCC).
As of now the book has formally been "stopped" by KTH, yet it continues to be used as course material in the numerics course, which now enters into its final 7th week (by the way without covering anything about climate simulation). This is a contradiction which somehow must be resolved. Mathematics does not tolerate contradictions.
There are many interesting (or alarming) aspects of this story:
How can the book continue to be used if it has been "replaced"?
Is it possible to "delete pages" or "remove" a book without any further ado?
A student "confesses" that the "stop" has nothing to do with climate, but is intended to "stop" the new simulation technology presented in the book from being taught at KTH. Climate is being used only as a pretext, because it is so "easy to sell" to Swedish public and media.
Is it possible to "stop" mathematics? Is it possible to "stop" someone from that saying 2 + 2 = 4, at KTH?
Why is mathematical analysis of climate models so explosive?
Why is mathematical simulation technology so explosive?
When was a math book last "removed"?
You can decide yourself if there is reason to "remove" the book, by downloading and browsing through the 2100 pages.
We see two streams meeting at the same point causing ignition: climate alarmism and mathematical simulation technology. Why does the combination explode? Because climate simulation is mathematics. Because mathematics can be powerful. Because 2 + 2 = 4 can be devastating. World media are awakening, stay tuned...
The ban of my work by KTH has not caused any attention whatsoever in Swedish academia. Simply business as usual according to the usual Royal Standards: It is fully natural that a spokesman for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences can flood media with invectives directed to eliminate my work from this planet, or at least from the Royal Kingdom, without any discussion. It is fully natural that the Royal Academy in this endeavor is assisted by the President of the Royal Institute of Technology, who refuses any form of contact with me.
And if I try to counter by referring to the fact that I am one of the very few in Sweden on the ICI Highly Cited list of the Worlds most cited scientists, or among the awardees of the Humboldt Research Prize, I get the response: Who cares about such lists and prizes, when it is the role of Swedish science to give out Nobel Prizes, from the hands of the King? Next week, including a wonderful banquet and dancing through the night.
Australia digging its hole
http://australianconservative.com/2010/12/cold-comfort-for-pensioners/
Cold comfort for pensioners
Senator Barnaby Joyce.
Certain things paint an indelible image in your mind. One happened to me lately when my mother-in-law told me that whilst doing meals on wheels in winter there was always a place you could find pensioners, in bed. This was not because of an infirmity but because they could not afford the price of the power to stay warm outside bed. How completely self indulgent and pathetic we have become that in our zealous desire to single-handedly cool the planet we have pandered to those who can afford the power bill over those less fortunate to avoid privation. How pathetic we are that South Korea, using our coal, can provide power cheaper to their citizens after an 8,300 km sea voyage than we can with power stations in our own coal fields.
Oh yes, aren’t the solar panels doing a great a job. In Canberra last week it was revealed that they would add $225 to the average electricity bill, and that the Government’s proposed carbon tax would raise them by a further 24%.
It is just that the poverty creep is making its way up the social strata, though I doubt it will reach the most affluent group The Greens. Bitterness on my part I suppose but I represent a party that represents the poorest electorates. Now what other lunacy are we considering, none other than shutting down the Murray Darling Basin so you can have a diet that suits the misery of the winter nights temperature in the unheated house..
Yes we have become so oblivious to the obvious because the loudest voices are not necessarily the neediest. We spend, sorry borrow, for school halls that do not make students more competitive in competency. No school hall taught a student a second language or a higher level maths. We borrowed for ceiling insulation and burnt down 190 houses and 4 installers died.
Cold comfort for pensioners
Senator Barnaby Joyce.
Certain things paint an indelible image in your mind. One happened to me lately when my mother-in-law told me that whilst doing meals on wheels in winter there was always a place you could find pensioners, in bed. This was not because of an infirmity but because they could not afford the price of the power to stay warm outside bed. How completely self indulgent and pathetic we have become that in our zealous desire to single-handedly cool the planet we have pandered to those who can afford the power bill over those less fortunate to avoid privation. How pathetic we are that South Korea, using our coal, can provide power cheaper to their citizens after an 8,300 km sea voyage than we can with power stations in our own coal fields.
Oh yes, aren’t the solar panels doing a great a job. In Canberra last week it was revealed that they would add $225 to the average electricity bill, and that the Government’s proposed carbon tax would raise them by a further 24%.
It is just that the poverty creep is making its way up the social strata, though I doubt it will reach the most affluent group The Greens. Bitterness on my part I suppose but I represent a party that represents the poorest electorates. Now what other lunacy are we considering, none other than shutting down the Murray Darling Basin so you can have a diet that suits the misery of the winter nights temperature in the unheated house..
Yes we have become so oblivious to the obvious because the loudest voices are not necessarily the neediest. We spend, sorry borrow, for school halls that do not make students more competitive in competency. No school hall taught a student a second language or a higher level maths. We borrowed for ceiling insulation and burnt down 190 houses and 4 installers died.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Multiculturalism Hits the Wall and in YOUR Life
http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/12/multiculturalism_hits_the_wall.html
December 05, 2010
Multiculturalism Hits The Wall
By J.R. Dunn
As year ten of the long war looms, the "multicultural" paradigm for defense against terrorism has slammed into a brick wall.
Recent developments reveal a policy in terminal disarray. The public revolt against the TSA, the ridiculous and humiliating Ghailani verdict, the still-simmering Financial District victory mosque controversy, and even the unmasking of the false Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour in Afghanistan have highlighted the absurdity of attempting to meld the "multicultural" worldview with any serious effort against jihadi terrorism. And yet, government officials directly responsible for the defense of the country, from Obama, Holder, and Napolitano on down, insist on maintaining the "multicultural" paradigm despite undeniable evidence of its failure.
Multiculturalism has effectively controlled American security policy as regards terrorism from the very beginning. Islam, we were assured by no less a figure than George W. Bush, was "a religion of peace." Critical resources were invested in curtailing any "backlash" against American Muslims by the evil-minded white Christian majority. Organizations of dubious provenance, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), were appointed official representatives of American Muslims.
What did these attempts to bend over backward under the prompting of an abstract academic intellectual construct accomplish? Absolutely nothing. Bush was excoriated both here and overseas by the very people he was working to protect. The great anti-Muslim backlash never happened (as Jonathan Tobin reminds us). The advocacy groups have all been revealed as fronts for Hamas. Few policies, official or unofficial, have such a pristine record of failure. Few have hung on more tenaciously.
December 05, 2010
Multiculturalism Hits The Wall
By J.R. Dunn
As year ten of the long war looms, the "multicultural" paradigm for defense against terrorism has slammed into a brick wall.
Recent developments reveal a policy in terminal disarray. The public revolt against the TSA, the ridiculous and humiliating Ghailani verdict, the still-simmering Financial District victory mosque controversy, and even the unmasking of the false Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour in Afghanistan have highlighted the absurdity of attempting to meld the "multicultural" worldview with any serious effort against jihadi terrorism. And yet, government officials directly responsible for the defense of the country, from Obama, Holder, and Napolitano on down, insist on maintaining the "multicultural" paradigm despite undeniable evidence of its failure.
Multiculturalism has effectively controlled American security policy as regards terrorism from the very beginning. Islam, we were assured by no less a figure than George W. Bush, was "a religion of peace." Critical resources were invested in curtailing any "backlash" against American Muslims by the evil-minded white Christian majority. Organizations of dubious provenance, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), were appointed official representatives of American Muslims.
What did these attempts to bend over backward under the prompting of an abstract academic intellectual construct accomplish? Absolutely nothing. Bush was excoriated both here and overseas by the very people he was working to protect. The great anti-Muslim backlash never happened (as Jonathan Tobin reminds us). The advocacy groups have all been revealed as fronts for Hamas. Few policies, official or unofficial, have such a pristine record of failure. Few have hung on more tenaciously.
Immoral Progressivism Failing Miserably
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=40314
Immoral Progressivism Failing Miserably
by Arnold Ahlert
In England, youths are rioting. In Portugal, labor unions staged a national strike last Wednesday. A little over a month ago, France and Greece were subjected to large, violent demonstrations and riots. A common thread? In each of these countries, the unrest was engendered by economic austerity measures proposed and/or enacted by government. A far more salient common thread? The morally corruptive nature of the progressivist ideology.
As the four recent examples, along with others occurring all over the world illustrate, a group of like-minded "thinkers" is emerging. It is a group composed in equal parts of economic illiteracy and pathological self-entitlement. Only an utter fool—or a dedicated progressive—would riot or strike because someone else can no longer afford to underwrite your lifestyle.
What part of "running out of other people's money" don't the complainers understand?
Such a complete disconnect from reality doesn't happen on its own.
It is where moral relativism, the cornerstone of progressive thinking, inevitably leads. Decades of teaching people that the state is their bottomless benefactor hasn't just ruined economies around the globe. It has ruined the people themselves. Economies eventually recover.
Can people recover their dignity and character?
Mankind has always been corrupt. We are, by nature, fallen creatures for whom doing the right thing will always be more difficult than taking the path of least resistance. Yet such difficulty is exponentially compounded by a progressive ideology that constantly encourages people to abandon character for comfort and worry about the moral ramifications after the fact. It is compounded by the siren song of perpetual victimhood that relieves the individual of personal responsibility and personal ambition. It is compounded by playing one group of people off another, without regard to individual achievement—or a lack thereof. It is not hard for people to be seduced by "we will take care of you," or maybe even more accurately, "we will do your thinking for you," once the moral component of the seduction has been calculatingly obscured.
Bottom line: A predominantly moral populace has little need for expansive government—and progressives know it. That is precisely why one of their principal targets is religion and their ongoing determination to remove it from the public square whenever and wherever possible. The codified morality religion represents is the ultimate distraction away from the progressive agenda—which is why it must also be belittled as well.
Just as importantly, people must understand that progressives'
seeming respect for Islam has nothing to do with respecting religion per se. The same people calling Americans bigots for not wanting a mosque built near Ground Zero are the ones routinely bashing Christianity at every turn.
Immoral Progressivism Failing Miserably
by Arnold Ahlert
In England, youths are rioting. In Portugal, labor unions staged a national strike last Wednesday. A little over a month ago, France and Greece were subjected to large, violent demonstrations and riots. A common thread? In each of these countries, the unrest was engendered by economic austerity measures proposed and/or enacted by government. A far more salient common thread? The morally corruptive nature of the progressivist ideology.
As the four recent examples, along with others occurring all over the world illustrate, a group of like-minded "thinkers" is emerging. It is a group composed in equal parts of economic illiteracy and pathological self-entitlement. Only an utter fool—or a dedicated progressive—would riot or strike because someone else can no longer afford to underwrite your lifestyle.
What part of "running out of other people's money" don't the complainers understand?
Such a complete disconnect from reality doesn't happen on its own.
It is where moral relativism, the cornerstone of progressive thinking, inevitably leads. Decades of teaching people that the state is their bottomless benefactor hasn't just ruined economies around the globe. It has ruined the people themselves. Economies eventually recover.
Can people recover their dignity and character?
Mankind has always been corrupt. We are, by nature, fallen creatures for whom doing the right thing will always be more difficult than taking the path of least resistance. Yet such difficulty is exponentially compounded by a progressive ideology that constantly encourages people to abandon character for comfort and worry about the moral ramifications after the fact. It is compounded by the siren song of perpetual victimhood that relieves the individual of personal responsibility and personal ambition. It is compounded by playing one group of people off another, without regard to individual achievement—or a lack thereof. It is not hard for people to be seduced by "we will take care of you," or maybe even more accurately, "we will do your thinking for you," once the moral component of the seduction has been calculatingly obscured.
Bottom line: A predominantly moral populace has little need for expansive government—and progressives know it. That is precisely why one of their principal targets is religion and their ongoing determination to remove it from the public square whenever and wherever possible. The codified morality religion represents is the ultimate distraction away from the progressive agenda—which is why it must also be belittled as well.
Just as importantly, people must understand that progressives'
seeming respect for Islam has nothing to do with respecting religion per se. The same people calling Americans bigots for not wanting a mosque built near Ground Zero are the ones routinely bashing Christianity at every turn.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Austrian MP Ewald Stadler
http://tundratabloids.com/2010/12/austrian-mp-ewald-stadler-addresses-the-turkish-ambassador-in-parliament.html
from the comment section. Also at end I have found the video so link also at the end with the English translation, sort of fast pace but good when you have already read the background to it
Austrian MP Ewald Stadler's powerful address to the Turkish Ambassador. Finally ...... an eviscerating response
KGS says:
02/12/2010 at 17:03
Paul, I will check on that.
Here ya go: The English translation
Now Ewald Stadler from BZÖ
Thats the reason! – I have been waiting for this.
from the comment section. Also at end I have found the video so link also at the end with the English translation, sort of fast pace but good when you have already read the background to it
Austrian MP Ewald Stadler's powerful address to the Turkish Ambassador. Finally ...... an eviscerating response
KGS says:
02/12/2010 at 17:03
Paul, I will check on that.
Here ya go: The English translation
Now Ewald Stadler from BZÖ
Mr federal minister, I want to make a request – and knowing that
this debate will be followed closely at the Turkish embassy
I will give it in the exact wording:
The federal minister for European and International Affairs is requested to
declare the Turkish ambassador Kadri Ecvet Tezcan ‚persona non grata’ and
demand his immediate dismissal
Gentlemen,of the turkish embassy –
I am not gonna be as polite as my colleague van der Bellen falling on my knees speaking of your “excellency”.
No, “gentlemen” of the turkish embassy – there are no ladies there…
„Gentlemen“ of the Turkish embassy, members of parliament,
let me begin with a murdercase. 3rd June 2010- not that long ago, federal minister in the city of Iskenderun, Archbishop Luigi Padovese was stabbed 8 times into the heart, by a 26-year-old muslim Murat Altun, screaming
“allahu akhbar" “Allah is the greatest!”
The archbishop ran from his garden onto the streets calling for help – in vain. Here the perpetrator cut off his head, leaving it to hang from the body on a piece of skin.
Many priests have been murdered in Turkey since 2008, one in the year 2008…….These are your friends! You should be ashamed, thats why you don’t like it!
- What did you say? “What’s with the drama?”
I know that you do not care for this drama.
Thats the reason! – I have been waiting for this.
Your devotion to freedom of religion is nothing but pure hypocrisy!after the jump are further comments and richness of translation, and some other posts giving good background. Bruce Thornton's post gives interesting context of what was taking place during Stadler's speech.
When a catholic archbishop’s head is cut off, there is no reaction !
And now let me address the gentlemen of the Turkish embassy
I can’t even imagine the uproar if somebody touched a muslim imam or some other religiously esteemed muslim
- It doesn’t makes sense to call them “spiritual” leaders anyway-
never has a representative of your religion been assaulted,
but this happens every year in your country.
Take note of that ambassador, Foreign minister, we did not ask you to send us all the illiterates of Anatolia. Turkey sent them here
We haven’t asked you to send up your stone-age islamists from Anatolia either
People who bury their 16 year-old daughters alive, for having “extramarital relationships” as it happened 2 years ago.
We did not ask you to do that
Ms. Muhltonnen do you have any compassion for this 16-year old, whom was buried alive?
She wasn’t a catholic, so you ARE allowed to feel sorry for her
We did not tell you to send them here!
The Turks sent them up here
And then he (the ambassador) complains that they are not integrated,
while at the same time telling them not to integrate.
All the while Erbakan travels around European countries declaring
integration and assimilation “a crime against turkishness”!
Thats how it is
Ladies and gentlemen from the governing coalition,
With your romantics of tolerance and “devotion” to human rights
Do you know there is a law in Turkey – §301 in the Turkish lawbook
which means that if someone had said the things the ambassador said,
only directed towards Turkey.
he would be convicted as a criminal.
§301 criminalizes “belittlement of the Turkish nation, state, republic, institutions”
Which will lead to between 6 months and 2 years imprisonement
This is the Turkey, now telling us what to do
Mr. Ambassador enter the Orient Express and go back to Istanbul, your wonderland!
I am telling you…
I am telling you, this country is not exclusively made up of tolerance romantics
there are also people sick and tired of the oneway-street tolerance babble
Which you feed on, Mr. Ambassador
You are exploiting it, not?
And I have to tell you, a few people in politics will not accept this
And the voters outside, do not accept it at all, I can tell you that for sure
Shariah; the threat to America (to the world
http://www.rightsidenews.com/2010091611637/us/islam-in-america/shariah-the-threat-to-america.html
Latter I must try to find a copy of this and perhaps put in more excerpts, when I have more time....
but below are some excerpts from the introduction:
The Contemporary Threat
Today, the United States faces what is, if anything, an even more insidious ideological threat: the totalitarian socio-political doctrine that Islam calls shariah. Translated as “the path,” shariah is a comprehensive legal and political framework. Though it certainly has spiritual elements, it would be a mistake to think of shariah as a “religious” code in the Western sense because it seeks to regulate all manner of behavior in the secular sphere — economic, social, military, legal and political.
Shariah is the crucial fault line of Islam’s internecine struggle. On one side of the divide are Muslim reformers and authentic moderates — figures like Abdurrahman Wahid, the late president of Indonesia and leader of the world’s largest libertarian Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama — whose members embrace the Enlightenment’s veneration of reason and, in particular, its separation of the spiritual and secular realms. On this side of the divide, shariah is a reference point for a Muslim’s personal conduct, not a corpus to be imposed on the life of a pluralistic society.
By contrast, the other side of the divide is dominated by Muslim supremacists, often called Islamists. Like erstwhile proponents of Communism and Nazism, these supremacists — some terrorists, others employing stealthier means — seek to impose a totalitarian regime: a global totalitarian system cloaked as an Islamic state and called a caliphate. On that side of the divide, which is the focus of the present study, shariah is an immutable, compulsory system that Muslims are obliged to install and the world required to adopt, the failure to do so being deemed a damnable offence against Allah. For these ideologues, shariah is not a private matter. Adherents see the West as an obstacle to be overcome, not a culture and civilization to be embraced, or at least tolerated. It is impossible, they maintain, for alternative legal systems and forms of governments peacefully to coexist with the end-state they seek.
Latter I must try to find a copy of this and perhaps put in more excerpts, when I have more time....
but below are some excerpts from the introduction:
The Contemporary Threat
Today, the United States faces what is, if anything, an even more insidious ideological threat: the totalitarian socio-political doctrine that Islam calls shariah. Translated as “the path,” shariah is a comprehensive legal and political framework. Though it certainly has spiritual elements, it would be a mistake to think of shariah as a “religious” code in the Western sense because it seeks to regulate all manner of behavior in the secular sphere — economic, social, military, legal and political.
Shariah is the crucial fault line of Islam’s internecine struggle. On one side of the divide are Muslim reformers and authentic moderates — figures like Abdurrahman Wahid, the late president of Indonesia and leader of the world’s largest libertarian Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama — whose members embrace the Enlightenment’s veneration of reason and, in particular, its separation of the spiritual and secular realms. On this side of the divide, shariah is a reference point for a Muslim’s personal conduct, not a corpus to be imposed on the life of a pluralistic society.
By contrast, the other side of the divide is dominated by Muslim supremacists, often called Islamists. Like erstwhile proponents of Communism and Nazism, these supremacists — some terrorists, others employing stealthier means — seek to impose a totalitarian regime: a global totalitarian system cloaked as an Islamic state and called a caliphate. On that side of the divide, which is the focus of the present study, shariah is an immutable, compulsory system that Muslims are obliged to install and the world required to adopt, the failure to do so being deemed a damnable offence against Allah. For these ideologues, shariah is not a private matter. Adherents see the West as an obstacle to be overcome, not a culture and civilization to be embraced, or at least tolerated. It is impossible, they maintain, for alternative legal systems and forms of governments peacefully to coexist with the end-state they seek.
Aid Costs to the recipient Countries
http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,363663,00.html
07/04/2005
SPIEGEL Interview with African Economics Expert
"For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!"
The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, 35, says that aid to Africa does more harm than good. The avid proponent of globalization spoke with SPIEGEL about the disastrous effects of Western development policy in Africa, corrupt rulers, and the tendency to overstate the AIDS problem.
SPIEGEL:
Mr. Shikwati, the G8 summit at Gleneagles is about to beef up the development aid for Africa...
Shikwati: ... for God's sake, please just stop.
SPIEGEL: Stop? The industrialized nations of the West want to eliminate hunger and poverty.
Shikwati: Such intentions have been damaging our continent for the past 40 years. If the industrial nations really want to help the Africans, they should finally terminate this awful aid. The countries that have collected the most development aid are also the ones that are in the worst shape. Despite the billions that have poured in to Africa, the continent remains poor.
07/04/2005
SPIEGEL Interview with African Economics Expert
"For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!"
The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, 35, says that aid to Africa does more harm than good. The avid proponent of globalization spoke with SPIEGEL about the disastrous effects of Western development policy in Africa, corrupt rulers, and the tendency to overstate the AIDS problem.
SPIEGEL:
Mr. Shikwati, the G8 summit at Gleneagles is about to beef up the development aid for Africa...
Shikwati: ... for God's sake, please just stop.
SPIEGEL: Stop? The industrialized nations of the West want to eliminate hunger and poverty.
Shikwati: Such intentions have been damaging our continent for the past 40 years. If the industrial nations really want to help the Africans, they should finally terminate this awful aid. The countries that have collected the most development aid are also the ones that are in the worst shape. Despite the billions that have poured in to Africa, the continent remains poor.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
A complete list of things caused by global warming
http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/warmlist.htm
Below are all links. You can click/copy paste the above url and get there. It is a pity I have not figured all these link throughs
A complete list of things caused by global warming
Apologies for a temporary delay in updating the dead link list
Acne, Afghan poppies destroyed, African holocaust, aged deaths, poppies more potent, Africa devastated, Africa in conflict, African aid threatened, aggressive weeds, Air France crash, air pockets, air pressure changes, airport farewells virtual, airport malaria, Agulhas current, Alaskan towns slowly destroyed, Al Qaeda and Taliban Being Helped, allergy increase, allergy season longer, alligators in the Thames, Alps melting, Amazon a desert, American dream end, amphibians breeding earlier (or not), anaphylactic reactions to bee stings, ancient forests dramatically changed, animals head for the hills, animals shrink, Antarctic grass flourishes, Antarctic ice grows, Antarctic ice shrinks, Antarctic sea life at risk, anxiety treatment, algal blooms, archaeological sites threatened, Arctic bogs melt, Arctic in bloom, Arctic ice free, Arctic ice melt faster, Arctic lakes disappear, Arctic tundra lost, Arctic warming (not), a rose by any other name smells of nothing, asteroid strike risk, asthma, Atlantic less salty, Atlantic more salty, atmospheric circulation modified, attack of the killer jellyfish, avalanches reduced, avalanches increased, Baghdad snow, Bahrain under water, bananas grow, barbarisation, bats decline, beer and bread prices to soar, beer better, beer worse, beetle infestation, bet for $10,000, big melt faster, billion dollar research projects, billion homeless, billions face risk, billions of deaths, bird loss accelerating, bird populations dying, bird strikes, bird visitors drop, birds confused, birds decline (Wales), birds driven north, birds face longer migrations, birds on long migrations threatened, birds return early, birds shrink(Aus), birds shrink (USA), bittern boom ends, blackbirds stop singing, blackbirds threatened, Black Hawk down, blizzards, blood contaminated, blue mussels return, borders redrawn, bluetongue, brains shrink, bridge collapse (Minneapolis), Britain one big city, Britain Siberian, Britain's bananas, British monsoon, brothels struggle, brown Ireland, bubonic plague, Buddhist temple threatened, building collapse, building season extension, bushfires, butterflies move north, butterflies reeling, butterfly saved, carbon crimes, caribou decline, camel deaths, cancer deaths in England, cannibalism, caterpillar biomass shift, cave paintings threatened, childhood insomnia, chocolate shortage, Cholera, circumcision in decline, cirrus disappearance, civil unrest, cloud increase, coast beauty spots lost, cockroach migration, cod go south, coffee threatened, coffee berry borer, coffee berry disease, cold climate creatures survive, cold spells, cold spells (Australia), cold wave (India), cold weather (world), cold winters, computer models, conferences, conflict, conflict with Russia, consumers foot the bill, coral bleaching, coral fish suffer, coral reefs dying, coral reefs grow, coral reefs shrink, coral reefs twilight, cost of trillions, cougar attacks, crabgrass menace, cradle of civilisation threatened, creatures move uphill, crime increase, crocodile sex, crocodiles driven from water, crops devastated, crop failures increase, crumbling roads, buildings and sewage systems, cryptococcal disease, curriculum change, cyclones (Australia), damselflies forced back to UK, danger to kid's health, Darfur, Dartford Warbler plague, daylight increase, deadly virus outbreaks, death rate increase (US), death rate drop, deaths to reach 6 million, decades of progress at risk, Dengue hemorrhagic fever, depression, desert advance, desert retreat, destruction of the environment, dig sites threatened, disasters, diseases move north, diving reefs closed, dog disease, dozen deadly diseases - or not, drought, ducks and geese decline, dust bowl in the corn belt, earlier pollen season, Earth axis tilt, Earth biodiversity crisis, Earth crumbling, Earth dying, Earth even hotter, Earth light dimming, Earth lopsided, Earth melting, Earth morbid fever, Earth on fast track, Earth past point of no return, Earth slowing down, Earth spins faster, Earth to explode, earth upside down, earthquakes, earthquakes redux, El Niño intensification, end of the world as we know it, erosion, emerging infections, encephalitis, English villages lost, equality threatened, Europe simultaneously baking and freezing, eutrophication, expansion of university climate groups, extinctions (apes, human, civilisation, koalas, lizards, logic, Inuit, smallest butterfly, cod, penguins, pikas, polar bears, possums, walrus, tigers, toads, turtles, pandas, penguins, plants, ladybirds, rhinoceros, salmon, trout, wild flowers, woodlice, a million species, half of all animal and plant species, mountain species, not polar bears, barrier reef, leaches, salamanders, tropical insects, flowers) experts muzzled, extreme changes to California, fading fall foliage, famine, farmers benefit, farmers go under, farm output boost, farming soil decline, fashion disaster, fever, figurehead sacked, fir cone bonanza, fires fanned in Nepal, fish bigger, fish catches drop, fish downsize, fish deaf, fish feminised, fish get lost, fish head north, fish shrinking, fish stocks at risk, fish stocks decline, five million illnesses, flesh eating disease, flies on Everest, flood patterns change, floods, floods of beaches and cities, flood of migrants, flood preparation for crisis, flora dispersed, Florida economic decline, flowers in peril, flowers wilt, flying squirrels move up, fog increase in San Francisco, fog decrease in San Francisco, food poisoning, food prices rise, food prices soar, food production increased, food security threat (SA), football team migration, forest decline, forest expansion, foundations threatened, foundations increase grants, frog with extra heads, frosts, frostbite, frost damage increased, fungi fruitful, fungi invasion, fungi rot the world, games change, Garden of Eden wilts, geese decline in Hampshire, genetic changes, genetic diversity decline, gene pools slashed, geysers imperiled, giant icebergs (Australia), giant icebergs (Arctic), giant oysters invade, giant pythons invade, giant squid migrate, gingerbread houses collapse, glacial earthquakes, glacial retreat, glacier grows (California), glaciers on Snowden, glacier wrapped, global cooling, glowing clouds, golf course to drown, golf Masters wrecked, grain output drop (China), grain output stagnating (India), grandstanding, grasslands wetter, gravity shift, Great Barrier Reef 95% dead, great tits cope, greening of the North, Grey whales lose weight, Gulf Stream failure, habitat loss, haggis threatened, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, harvest increase, harvest shrinkage, hay fever epidemic, health affected, health of children harmed, health risks, health risks (even more), heart deaths, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes (Australia), heat waves, hedgehogs bald, hibernation affected, hibernation ends too soon, hibernation ends too late, homeless 50 million, hornets, human development faces unprecedented reversal, human fertility reduced, human health risk, human race oblivion, human rights violations, hurricanes, hurricane reduction, hurricanes fewer, hurricanes more intense, hurricanes not, hydropower problems, hyperthermia deaths, hyphthermia deaths, ice age, ice sheet growth, ice sheet shrinkage, icebergs, icesheet tipping point, illness and death, inclement weather, India drowning, infrastructure failure (Canada), indigestion, industry threatened, infectious diseases, inflation in China, insect explosion, insect invasion, insurance premium rises, Inuit displacement, Inuit poisoned, Inuit suing, invasion of alien worms, invasion of Antarctic aliens, invasion of Asian carp, invasion of cane toads, invasion of caterpillars, invasion of cats, invasion of crabgrass, invasion of herons, invasion of jellyfish, invasion of king crabs, invasion of lampreys, invasion of midges, invasion of pine beetles, invasion of slugs, island disappears, islands sinking, Italy robbed of pasta, itchier poison ivy, Japan's cherry blossom threatened, jellyfish explosion, jets fall from sky, Kew Gardens taxed, kidney stones, killer cornflakes, killing us, kitten boom, koalas under threat, krill decline, lake empties, lake shrinking and growing, landslides, landslides of ice at 140 mph, large trees decline, lawsuits increase, lawsuit successful, lawyers' income increased (surprise surprise!), lawyers want more, legionnaires' surge, lives lost, lives saved, Loch Ness monster dead, locust plagues suppressed, low oxygen zones threaten sea life, lush growth in rain forests, Lyme disease, Major vegetation shifts, Malaria, malnutrition, mammoth dung melt, mammoth ivory bonanza, mango harvest fails, Maple production advanced, Maple syrup shortage, marmots fatter, marine diseases, marine food chain decimated, Meaching (end of the world), Meat eating to stop, Mediterranean rises, megacryometeors, Melanoma, Melanoma decline, mental health decline, mental illness, methane emissions from plants, methane burps, methane runaway, melting permafrost, Mexican climate migrant flood, Middle Kingdom convulses, migration, migratory birds huge losses, microbes to decompose soil carbon more rapidly, milk production lost, minorities hit, monkeys at risk, monkeys on the move, Mont Blanc grows, monuments imperiled, moose dying, more bad air days, more research needed, mortality increased, mosquitoes adapting, mountain (Everest) shrinking, mountaineers fears, mountains break up, mountains green and flowering, mountains taller, mortality lower, murder rate increase, musk ox decline, Myanmar cyclone, narwhals at risk, narwhals suffocate, National Parks damaged, National security implications, native wildlife overwhelmed, natural disasters quadruple, neurological diseases, new islands, next ice age, NFL threatened, Nile delta damaged, noctilucent clouds, no effect in India, Northwest Passage opened, nuclear plants bloom, oaks dying, oaks move north, oblivion, ocean acidification, ocean acidification faster, ocean dead spots, ocean dead zones unleashed, ocean deserts expand, ocean salt extremes, ocean oxygen crisis, ocean waves speed up, Olympic Games to end, opera house to be destroyed, outdoor hockey threatened, oxygen depletion zones, oyster herpes, ozone repair slowed, ozone rise, penguin chicks frozen, penguin chicks smaller, penguins in the dark, penguin populations devastated, penguins replaced by jellyfish, personal carbon rationing, pest outbreaks, pests increase, pets in danger, phenology shifts, pines decline, pirate population decrease, pirates run rampant, plankton blooms, plankton plummeting, plankton wiped out, plants lose protein, plants march north, plants move uphill, polar bears aggressive, polar bears cannibalistic, polar bears deaf, polar bears drowning, polar tours scrapped, pollination halved, porpoise astray, profits collapse, psychiatric illness, puffin decline, pushes poor women into prostitution, rabid bats, radars taken out, rail network threatened, railroad tracks deformed, rainfall increase, rainforest destruction, rape wave, refugees, reindeer endangered, reindeer larger, release of ancient frozen viruses, resorts disappear, rice production fall, rice threatened, rice yields crash, rift on Capitol Hill, rioting and nuclear war, river flow impacted, rivers raised, road accidents, roads wear out, robins rampant, rocky peaks crack apart, roof of the world a desert, rooftop bars, Ross river disease, ruins ruined, Russia under pressure, salinity reduction, salinity increase, Salmonella, salmon stronger, sardine run unpredictable, satellites accelerate, school closures, sea level rise, sea level rise faster, sea snot, seals mating more, seismic activity, sewer bills rise, severe thunderstorms, sex change, sexual disfunction, sexual promiscuity, shark attacks, sharks booming, sharks moving north, sheep change colour, sheep shrink, shop closures, short-nosed dogs endangered, shrimp sex problems, shrinking ponds, shrinking sheep, shrinking shrine, Sidney Opera House wiped out, ski resorts threatened, slavery, slow death, smaller brains, smog, snowfall decrease, snowfall increase, snowfall heavy, snow thicker, soaring food prices, societal collapse, soil change, songbirds change eating habits, sour grapes, soybean crop to drop, space junk increase, space problem, spectacular orchids, spiders getting bigger, spiders invade Scotland, squid aggressive giants, squid larger, squid population explosion, squid tamed, squirrels reproduce earlier, starfish sperm eaten by parasites, stingray invasion, storm damage costs rise, storms wetter, stratospheric cooling, street crime to increase, subsidence, suicide, sunset displaced, swordfish in the Baltic, Tabasco tragedy, taxes, tectonic plate movement, terrorists (India), thatched cottages at risk, threat to peace, ticks move northward (Sweden), tides rise, tigers eat people, tigers drown, tomatoes rot, tornado outbreak, tourism increase, toxic seaweed, trade barriers, trade winds weakened, traffic jams, transport snarl, transportation threatened, tree foliage increase (UK), tree growth slowed, tree growth faster, trees grow too fast, trees in trouble, trees less colourful, trees more colourful, trees lush, trees on Antarctica, treelines change, tropics expansion, tropopause raised, truffle shortage, truffles down, truffles increase, turtles crash, turtle feminised, turtles lay earlier, UFO sightings, UK coastal impact, UK Katrina, Venice flooded, volcanic eruptions, volcanoes awakened in Iceland, walrus pups orphaned, walrus stampede, walruses come ashore, wars over water, wars sparked, wars threaten billions, wasps, water bills double, water shortage to increase vegetarianism, wave of natural disasters, waves bigger, weather out of its mind, weather patterns awry, weather patterns last longer, Western aid cancelled out, West Nile fever, whale beachings, whales lose weight, whales move north, whales wiped out, wheat yields crushed in Australia, wild boars thrive, wildfires, wind shift, wind reduced, winds stronger, winds weaker, wine - Australian baked, wine - harm to Australian industry, wine industry damage (California), wine industry disaster (US), wine - more English, wine - England too hot, wine -German boon, wine - no more French , wine passé (Napa), wine - Scotland best, wine stronger, winters in Britain colder, winter in Britain dead, witchcraft executions, wolverine decline, wolves eat more moose, wolves eat less, women cheat on vacation, workers laid off, World at war, World War 4, World bankruptcy, World-famous places threatened, World in crisis, World in flames, Yellow fever, zebra mussel threat, zoonotic diseases.
and all on 0.006 deg C per year!
Advice of any omissions (with sources) or broken links is welcome at warmlist@numberwatch.co.uk
Note: All links were live at time of posting. Inevitably some will disappear, particularly from Yahoo News.
Thanks to correspondents for additional entries; especially, as always, Our Man in Puerto Rico. Also, thanks to "Scraperguy" for the script to form the following:
The dead link collection
Africa hit hardest, African summer frost, agricultural land increase, Alaska reshaped, allergies increase, anxiety, Arctic tundra to burn, atmospheric defiance, bananas destroyed, beer shortage, bird distributions change, blizzards, boredom, brain eating amoebae, business opportunities, business risks, British gardens change, budget increases, cardiac arrest, cataracts, challenges and opportunities, cloud stripping, cremation to end, damages equivalent to $200 billion, dermatitis, desert life threatened, diarrhoea, disappearance of coastal cities, Dolomites collapse, drought in distant regions, drowning people, early marriages, early spring, Earth spinning out of control, Earth wobbling, evolution accelerating, extinctions (bats, pigmy possums, koalas, turtles, orang-utan, elephants, tigers, gorillas, whales, frogs,) fainting, fish catches rise, flames stoked, footpath erosion, glacial growth, global dimming, god melts, Gore omnipresence, Great Lakes drop, harmful algae, hazardous waste sites breached, high court debates, HIV epidemic, human health improvement, ice shelf collapse, jet stream drifts north, lake and stream productivity decline, lightning related insurance claims, little response in the atmosphere, Lyme disease, marine dead zone, Maple production advanced, mental illness (Alberta), migration difficult (birds), mountains melting, mudslides, oceans noisier, oyster diseases, ozone loss, Pacific dead zone, plankton destabilised, plankton loss, plant viruses, polar bears starve, psychosocial disturbances, popcorn rise, rainfall reduction, riches, rivers dry up, rockfalls, skin cancer, smelt down, snowfall reduction, stick insects, stormwater drains stressed, teenage drinking, terrorism, tree beetle attacks, trees could return to Antarctic, tree growth increased, tsunamis, tundra plant life boost, uprooted - 6 million, Vampire moths, violin decline, walrus displaced, war, war between US and Canada, water scarcity (20% of increase), water stress, water supply unreliability, weeds, white Christmas dream ends.
Suggestions for replacement links are welcome.
Total (dead and alive) 833
Last updated
Index
Below are all links. You can click/copy paste the above url and get there. It is a pity I have not figured all these link throughs
A complete list of things caused by global warming
Apologies for a temporary delay in updating the dead link list
Acne, Afghan poppies destroyed, African holocaust, aged deaths, poppies more potent, Africa devastated, Africa in conflict, African aid threatened, aggressive weeds, Air France crash, air pockets, air pressure changes, airport farewells virtual, airport malaria, Agulhas current, Alaskan towns slowly destroyed, Al Qaeda and Taliban Being Helped, allergy increase, allergy season longer, alligators in the Thames, Alps melting, Amazon a desert, American dream end, amphibians breeding earlier (or not), anaphylactic reactions to bee stings, ancient forests dramatically changed, animals head for the hills, animals shrink, Antarctic grass flourishes, Antarctic ice grows, Antarctic ice shrinks, Antarctic sea life at risk, anxiety treatment, algal blooms, archaeological sites threatened, Arctic bogs melt, Arctic in bloom, Arctic ice free, Arctic ice melt faster, Arctic lakes disappear, Arctic tundra lost, Arctic warming (not), a rose by any other name smells of nothing, asteroid strike risk, asthma, Atlantic less salty, Atlantic more salty, atmospheric circulation modified, attack of the killer jellyfish, avalanches reduced, avalanches increased, Baghdad snow, Bahrain under water, bananas grow, barbarisation, bats decline, beer and bread prices to soar, beer better, beer worse, beetle infestation, bet for $10,000, big melt faster, billion dollar research projects, billion homeless, billions face risk, billions of deaths, bird loss accelerating, bird populations dying, bird strikes, bird visitors drop, birds confused, birds decline (Wales), birds driven north, birds face longer migrations, birds on long migrations threatened, birds return early, birds shrink(Aus), birds shrink (USA), bittern boom ends, blackbirds stop singing, blackbirds threatened, Black Hawk down, blizzards, blood contaminated, blue mussels return, borders redrawn, bluetongue, brains shrink, bridge collapse (Minneapolis), Britain one big city, Britain Siberian, Britain's bananas, British monsoon, brothels struggle, brown Ireland, bubonic plague, Buddhist temple threatened, building collapse, building season extension, bushfires, butterflies move north, butterflies reeling, butterfly saved, carbon crimes, caribou decline, camel deaths, cancer deaths in England, cannibalism, caterpillar biomass shift, cave paintings threatened, childhood insomnia, chocolate shortage, Cholera, circumcision in decline, cirrus disappearance, civil unrest, cloud increase, coast beauty spots lost, cockroach migration, cod go south, coffee threatened, coffee berry borer, coffee berry disease, cold climate creatures survive, cold spells, cold spells (Australia), cold wave (India), cold weather (world), cold winters, computer models, conferences, conflict, conflict with Russia, consumers foot the bill, coral bleaching, coral fish suffer, coral reefs dying, coral reefs grow, coral reefs shrink, coral reefs twilight, cost of trillions, cougar attacks, crabgrass menace, cradle of civilisation threatened, creatures move uphill, crime increase, crocodile sex, crocodiles driven from water, crops devastated, crop failures increase, crumbling roads, buildings and sewage systems, cryptococcal disease, curriculum change, cyclones (Australia), damselflies forced back to UK, danger to kid's health, Darfur, Dartford Warbler plague, daylight increase, deadly virus outbreaks, death rate increase (US), death rate drop, deaths to reach 6 million, decades of progress at risk, Dengue hemorrhagic fever, depression, desert advance, desert retreat, destruction of the environment, dig sites threatened, disasters, diseases move north, diving reefs closed, dog disease, dozen deadly diseases - or not, drought, ducks and geese decline, dust bowl in the corn belt, earlier pollen season, Earth axis tilt, Earth biodiversity crisis, Earth crumbling, Earth dying, Earth even hotter, Earth light dimming, Earth lopsided, Earth melting, Earth morbid fever, Earth on fast track, Earth past point of no return, Earth slowing down, Earth spins faster, Earth to explode, earth upside down, earthquakes, earthquakes redux, El Niño intensification, end of the world as we know it, erosion, emerging infections, encephalitis, English villages lost, equality threatened, Europe simultaneously baking and freezing, eutrophication, expansion of university climate groups, extinctions (apes, human, civilisation, koalas, lizards, logic, Inuit, smallest butterfly, cod, penguins, pikas, polar bears, possums, walrus, tigers, toads, turtles, pandas, penguins, plants, ladybirds, rhinoceros, salmon, trout, wild flowers, woodlice, a million species, half of all animal and plant species, mountain species, not polar bears, barrier reef, leaches, salamanders, tropical insects, flowers) experts muzzled, extreme changes to California, fading fall foliage, famine, farmers benefit, farmers go under, farm output boost, farming soil decline, fashion disaster, fever, figurehead sacked, fir cone bonanza, fires fanned in Nepal, fish bigger, fish catches drop, fish downsize, fish deaf, fish feminised, fish get lost, fish head north, fish shrinking, fish stocks at risk, fish stocks decline, five million illnesses, flesh eating disease, flies on Everest, flood patterns change, floods, floods of beaches and cities, flood of migrants, flood preparation for crisis, flora dispersed, Florida economic decline, flowers in peril, flowers wilt, flying squirrels move up, fog increase in San Francisco, fog decrease in San Francisco, food poisoning, food prices rise, food prices soar, food production increased, food security threat (SA), football team migration, forest decline, forest expansion, foundations threatened, foundations increase grants, frog with extra heads, frosts, frostbite, frost damage increased, fungi fruitful, fungi invasion, fungi rot the world, games change, Garden of Eden wilts, geese decline in Hampshire, genetic changes, genetic diversity decline, gene pools slashed, geysers imperiled, giant icebergs (Australia), giant icebergs (Arctic), giant oysters invade, giant pythons invade, giant squid migrate, gingerbread houses collapse, glacial earthquakes, glacial retreat, glacier grows (California), glaciers on Snowden, glacier wrapped, global cooling, glowing clouds, golf course to drown, golf Masters wrecked, grain output drop (China), grain output stagnating (India), grandstanding, grasslands wetter, gravity shift, Great Barrier Reef 95% dead, great tits cope, greening of the North, Grey whales lose weight, Gulf Stream failure, habitat loss, haggis threatened, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, harvest increase, harvest shrinkage, hay fever epidemic, health affected, health of children harmed, health risks, health risks (even more), heart deaths, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes (Australia), heat waves, hedgehogs bald, hibernation affected, hibernation ends too soon, hibernation ends too late, homeless 50 million, hornets, human development faces unprecedented reversal, human fertility reduced, human health risk, human race oblivion, human rights violations, hurricanes, hurricane reduction, hurricanes fewer, hurricanes more intense, hurricanes not, hydropower problems, hyperthermia deaths, hyphthermia deaths, ice age, ice sheet growth, ice sheet shrinkage, icebergs, icesheet tipping point, illness and death, inclement weather, India drowning, infrastructure failure (Canada), indigestion, industry threatened, infectious diseases, inflation in China, insect explosion, insect invasion, insurance premium rises, Inuit displacement, Inuit poisoned, Inuit suing, invasion of alien worms, invasion of Antarctic aliens, invasion of Asian carp, invasion of cane toads, invasion of caterpillars, invasion of cats, invasion of crabgrass, invasion of herons, invasion of jellyfish, invasion of king crabs, invasion of lampreys, invasion of midges, invasion of pine beetles, invasion of slugs, island disappears, islands sinking, Italy robbed of pasta, itchier poison ivy, Japan's cherry blossom threatened, jellyfish explosion, jets fall from sky, Kew Gardens taxed, kidney stones, killer cornflakes, killing us, kitten boom, koalas under threat, krill decline, lake empties, lake shrinking and growing, landslides, landslides of ice at 140 mph, large trees decline, lawsuits increase, lawsuit successful, lawyers' income increased (surprise surprise!), lawyers want more, legionnaires' surge, lives lost, lives saved, Loch Ness monster dead, locust plagues suppressed, low oxygen zones threaten sea life, lush growth in rain forests, Lyme disease, Major vegetation shifts, Malaria, malnutrition, mammoth dung melt, mammoth ivory bonanza, mango harvest fails, Maple production advanced, Maple syrup shortage, marmots fatter, marine diseases, marine food chain decimated, Meaching (end of the world), Meat eating to stop, Mediterranean rises, megacryometeors, Melanoma, Melanoma decline, mental health decline, mental illness, methane emissions from plants, methane burps, methane runaway, melting permafrost, Mexican climate migrant flood, Middle Kingdom convulses, migration, migratory birds huge losses, microbes to decompose soil carbon more rapidly, milk production lost, minorities hit, monkeys at risk, monkeys on the move, Mont Blanc grows, monuments imperiled, moose dying, more bad air days, more research needed, mortality increased, mosquitoes adapting, mountain (Everest) shrinking, mountaineers fears, mountains break up, mountains green and flowering, mountains taller, mortality lower, murder rate increase, musk ox decline, Myanmar cyclone, narwhals at risk, narwhals suffocate, National Parks damaged, National security implications, native wildlife overwhelmed, natural disasters quadruple, neurological diseases, new islands, next ice age, NFL threatened, Nile delta damaged, noctilucent clouds, no effect in India, Northwest Passage opened, nuclear plants bloom, oaks dying, oaks move north, oblivion, ocean acidification, ocean acidification faster, ocean dead spots, ocean dead zones unleashed, ocean deserts expand, ocean salt extremes, ocean oxygen crisis, ocean waves speed up, Olympic Games to end, opera house to be destroyed, outdoor hockey threatened, oxygen depletion zones, oyster herpes, ozone repair slowed, ozone rise, penguin chicks frozen, penguin chicks smaller, penguins in the dark, penguin populations devastated, penguins replaced by jellyfish, personal carbon rationing, pest outbreaks, pests increase, pets in danger, phenology shifts, pines decline, pirate population decrease, pirates run rampant, plankton blooms, plankton plummeting, plankton wiped out, plants lose protein, plants march north, plants move uphill, polar bears aggressive, polar bears cannibalistic, polar bears deaf, polar bears drowning, polar tours scrapped, pollination halved, porpoise astray, profits collapse, psychiatric illness, puffin decline, pushes poor women into prostitution, rabid bats, radars taken out, rail network threatened, railroad tracks deformed, rainfall increase, rainforest destruction, rape wave, refugees, reindeer endangered, reindeer larger, release of ancient frozen viruses, resorts disappear, rice production fall, rice threatened, rice yields crash, rift on Capitol Hill, rioting and nuclear war, river flow impacted, rivers raised, road accidents, roads wear out, robins rampant, rocky peaks crack apart, roof of the world a desert, rooftop bars, Ross river disease, ruins ruined, Russia under pressure, salinity reduction, salinity increase, Salmonella, salmon stronger, sardine run unpredictable, satellites accelerate, school closures, sea level rise, sea level rise faster, sea snot, seals mating more, seismic activity, sewer bills rise, severe thunderstorms, sex change, sexual disfunction, sexual promiscuity, shark attacks, sharks booming, sharks moving north, sheep change colour, sheep shrink, shop closures, short-nosed dogs endangered, shrimp sex problems, shrinking ponds, shrinking sheep, shrinking shrine, Sidney Opera House wiped out, ski resorts threatened, slavery, slow death, smaller brains, smog, snowfall decrease, snowfall increase, snowfall heavy, snow thicker, soaring food prices, societal collapse, soil change, songbirds change eating habits, sour grapes, soybean crop to drop, space junk increase, space problem, spectacular orchids, spiders getting bigger, spiders invade Scotland, squid aggressive giants, squid larger, squid population explosion, squid tamed, squirrels reproduce earlier, starfish sperm eaten by parasites, stingray invasion, storm damage costs rise, storms wetter, stratospheric cooling, street crime to increase, subsidence, suicide, sunset displaced, swordfish in the Baltic, Tabasco tragedy, taxes, tectonic plate movement, terrorists (India), thatched cottages at risk, threat to peace, ticks move northward (Sweden), tides rise, tigers eat people, tigers drown, tomatoes rot, tornado outbreak, tourism increase, toxic seaweed, trade barriers, trade winds weakened, traffic jams, transport snarl, transportation threatened, tree foliage increase (UK), tree growth slowed, tree growth faster, trees grow too fast, trees in trouble, trees less colourful, trees more colourful, trees lush, trees on Antarctica, treelines change, tropics expansion, tropopause raised, truffle shortage, truffles down, truffles increase, turtles crash, turtle feminised, turtles lay earlier, UFO sightings, UK coastal impact, UK Katrina, Venice flooded, volcanic eruptions, volcanoes awakened in Iceland, walrus pups orphaned, walrus stampede, walruses come ashore, wars over water, wars sparked, wars threaten billions, wasps, water bills double, water shortage to increase vegetarianism, wave of natural disasters, waves bigger, weather out of its mind, weather patterns awry, weather patterns last longer, Western aid cancelled out, West Nile fever, whale beachings, whales lose weight, whales move north, whales wiped out, wheat yields crushed in Australia, wild boars thrive, wildfires, wind shift, wind reduced, winds stronger, winds weaker, wine - Australian baked, wine - harm to Australian industry, wine industry damage (California), wine industry disaster (US), wine - more English, wine - England too hot, wine -German boon, wine - no more French , wine passé (Napa), wine - Scotland best, wine stronger, winters in Britain colder, winter in Britain dead, witchcraft executions, wolverine decline, wolves eat more moose, wolves eat less, women cheat on vacation, workers laid off, World at war, World War 4, World bankruptcy, World-famous places threatened, World in crisis, World in flames, Yellow fever, zebra mussel threat, zoonotic diseases.
and all on 0.006 deg C per year!
Advice of any omissions (with sources) or broken links is welcome at warmlist@numberwatch.co.uk
Note: All links were live at time of posting. Inevitably some will disappear, particularly from Yahoo News.
Thanks to correspondents for additional entries; especially, as always, Our Man in Puerto Rico. Also, thanks to "Scraperguy" for the script to form the following:
The dead link collection
Africa hit hardest, African summer frost, agricultural land increase, Alaska reshaped, allergies increase, anxiety, Arctic tundra to burn, atmospheric defiance, bananas destroyed, beer shortage, bird distributions change, blizzards, boredom, brain eating amoebae, business opportunities, business risks, British gardens change, budget increases, cardiac arrest, cataracts, challenges and opportunities, cloud stripping, cremation to end, damages equivalent to $200 billion, dermatitis, desert life threatened, diarrhoea, disappearance of coastal cities, Dolomites collapse, drought in distant regions, drowning people, early marriages, early spring, Earth spinning out of control, Earth wobbling, evolution accelerating, extinctions (bats, pigmy possums, koalas, turtles, orang-utan, elephants, tigers, gorillas, whales, frogs,) fainting, fish catches rise, flames stoked, footpath erosion, glacial growth, global dimming, god melts, Gore omnipresence, Great Lakes drop, harmful algae, hazardous waste sites breached, high court debates, HIV epidemic, human health improvement, ice shelf collapse, jet stream drifts north, lake and stream productivity decline, lightning related insurance claims, little response in the atmosphere, Lyme disease, marine dead zone, Maple production advanced, mental illness (Alberta), migration difficult (birds), mountains melting, mudslides, oceans noisier, oyster diseases, ozone loss, Pacific dead zone, plankton destabilised, plankton loss, plant viruses, polar bears starve, psychosocial disturbances, popcorn rise, rainfall reduction, riches, rivers dry up, rockfalls, skin cancer, smelt down, snowfall reduction, stick insects, stormwater drains stressed, teenage drinking, terrorism, tree beetle attacks, trees could return to Antarctic, tree growth increased, tsunamis, tundra plant life boost, uprooted - 6 million, Vampire moths, violin decline, walrus displaced, war, war between US and Canada, water scarcity (20% of increase), water stress, water supply unreliability, weeds, white Christmas dream ends.
Suggestions for replacement links are welcome.
Total (dead and alive) 833
Last updated
Index
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