Friday, October 26, 2007
IT’S A SIGN
Virginia Trioli introduces a segment on last night’s Lateline:
Time is running out for the living planet according to a new report from the United Nations. It says the environment has reached crisis point where population growth and global warming imperilling the earth and to some experts, the fires currently devastating California are the latest sign of how climate change is affecting humanity.
And then she throws to Simon Palan, who reports:
Four people have been arrested on arson suspicion so far and $US150,000 reward is offered for any information leading to further arrests.
Those people are called “climate change”, apparently. Five are now under arrest for arson; the reward for information on these climate changers has been increased to $250,000.
UPDATE. An earlier report from Californian reader Saltydog.
COLUMN REDEEMED
The latest column is made acceptable by Dave Follett’s superb Revolver cover art parody.
UPDATE. “He spent his childhood in a car ...” Further Ruddles lyrics from Eeniemeenie.
AD PLACED
These people are hilarious:
Journalists at Fairfax’s The Sydney Morning Herald have protested over what they say is the newspaper’s use of the front page to promote Singapore Airlines.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
THE THREAD IS OPEN
Busy. More posts later. Here’s a song.
TOMATOES UNTHROWN
Seething hatebug Ted Rall doesn’t like soldiers:
It’s bad enough that a majority of soldiers voted for Bush in 2004. Over and over since the war began, American troops have been seen on television applauding Bush, Rumsfeld, Rice and others whose cynical recklessness have sent their buddies to their graves. Sailors cheered wildly when Bush staged his notorious “Mission Accomplished” photo op on an aircraft carrier. They swooned when he joined them for Thanksgiving dinner in Baghdad.
“The shocked and elated soldiers jumped to their feet, pumped their fists in the air, roared with delight, and grabbed their cameras to snap photographs,” reported CNN about Bush’s visit. A “standing ovation” followed. “It gave us a little extra oomph,” said a member of the 1st Armored Division. “It really boosted my morale,” said another. No one heckled or booed the imposter president. No one threw tomatoes. No one told him where he could stick his plastic turkey.
Again with the plastic turkey; it’s a litmus test for lumberheads. Still, there’s one way Rall could satisfy his craving to see soldiers heckle someone, throw tomatoes, and insert fictional polymer birds. He could turn up in Iraq himself and read his column to the troops.
(Via Murph)
*PLEDGE WEEK* It makes lefties cry.
STOP THE MELTING
Warmenologist Ken Caldeira considers a cooling plan:
Even if we could stop adding to greenhouse gases tomorrow, the earth would continue warming for decades — and remain hot for centuries. We would still face the threat of water from melting glaciers lapping at our doorsteps.
What can be done? One idea is to counteract warming by tossing …
a) Virgins into scalding tar pits?
b) Al Gore into deep space?
c) Salad?
Add your own tosser notions in comments.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
SLOW TRAIN, FAST SUV
Dylan drives a Cadillac: “They make you feel like a million bucks.”
*PLEDGE WEEK* Cooler than Ramadan!
WHEN HARRY MET STUPID
Interesting theory:
“One reason why we have the fires in California is global warming,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters Tuesday, stressing the need to pass the Democrats’ comprehensive energy package.
Moments later, when asked by a reporter if he really believed global warming caused the fires, he appeared to back away from his comments ...
Never mind. Australia’s dimwitted teachers are ready to help:
Concerned about climate change and want to make a difference? Walk Against Warming is Australia’s largest community day of action on climate change.
Warming walks are a proven means of dousing fire. To all readers in fire-assaulted zones: thoughts are with you.
UNAIRED IN AUSTIN
Air America is booted off the dial in liberal Austin, Texas, provoking bewilderment at democraticunderground.com:
This is a city that is overwhelmingly Democratic, but the right-wing talk radio stations in town consistently get much better ratings.
Even commies don’t want to listen to commies.
MR PICKFORD’S WISDOM
Canny good sense passed on from one Scot to another - the “another” being F1 triple champion Jackie Stewart, who as a teenager worked at his family’s garage:
One of our regular customers was a multi-millionaire called Mr Pickford - at least, we thought he was a multi-millionaire because he owned a Rolls Royce, and employed a chauffeur - and one day, after I had filled his car with petrol, he wound down the window and pressed a sixpence into my palm.
That was fine by me, but he seemed to sense some disappointment in my eyes because he looked straight at me and said, “That might not seem a lot to you, but it cost me a pound to give you that.”
It seemed a peculiar thing to say at the time, but I have never forgotten those words and, in years to come, when I was exposed to high rates of income tax myself, I understood exactly how Mr Pickford felt.
From Stewart’s very entertaining autobiography. Two Stewart facts:
• His dyslexia is so profound he cannot recite the alphabet beyond the letter “p”.
• He has only ever purchased one road car: an Austin A30, bought for £375 in 1956.
ORDERS FOLLOWED
Al Gore visits cold, cold Berlin to speak at a global warming conference:
Despite the high demand for tickets for last night’s slide show, not everyone in Berlin was happy.
People not happy? In Berlin?
Some climate campaigners said Gore’s speaker fee – rumoured to be $180,000 – was not sending the right message.
Yes. Gore deserves more.
Journalists moaned after finding that his meeting with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, was just a photo-op. No questions allowed.
Al is punishing reporters!
More seriously, the heavy-handed restrictions on reporting Gore’s words at the conference caused headaches. Scribblers and television cameras were allowed to document the first five minutes of his comments, but then had to put their pens away and turn off their cameras.
Ah, yes; the old five-minute law.
Journalists had to submit a written declaration that they would not break the rules ...
Shouldn’t be a problem. In Germany.
No one left doubting Gore’s message, but some grumbled that the Nobel Prize had gone to his head.
*PLEDGE WEEK* Give before Al Gore owns all the money on earth.
GOOD NEWS IS BAD NEWS
Rural Victoria is thriving:
Property values in the most sought-after towns had skyrocketed …
The median house price in 2001 in country Victoria was $121,000. By 2006, it was $220,375.
Naturally, the Age warns of “gloom”, “serious development pressures”, “a downside”, locals who “can’t afford to live there”, “risk”, and “spread[ing] the destruction”.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
MAYBE SHE THINKS “SEPTEMBER 11” REFERS TO THE NUMBER KILLED
What the hell is it with Nobel Prize winners?
DREAM TURNING TO NIGHTMARE
Rising seas threaten the Maldives:
It was the colors that struck us most, the deep blue of the Indian Ocean, the turquoise of the lagoons, the green of the low-lying islands fringed with beaches of white sand.
That’s the dream of tourists when they come to the Maldives, but they better hurry up, because the dream is turning into a nightmare. In less than 100 years, 80 percent of these islands could disappear under the rising seas.
Less than 100 years? Better book those tickets today. Meanwhile, another rise is underway, and the problem is rather more immediate:
A rise in Islamic militancy poses an unprecedented threat to the Maldives’ status as South Asia’s most upmarket holiday destination ...
*PLEDGE WEEK* Donate before PayPal is destroyed by global warming.
KEVIN 1947
Kevin Rudd is pro-US and against gay marriage; why, it’s almost as though he’s some kind of cultural conservative.