If only Harper had half the spine of JFK

"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. "

I've never been a big Kennedy fan, he was spoiled, groomed, funded by his families bootlegging money and his father was a Hitler appeaser who willing had a daughter lobotomized. That said he did have spine, gumption, and the ability to convince people to make the hard choices such as staring down Russia and taking great leaps of faith such as the moon missions.

His quote shown here could just as easily said "We choose to solve global warming in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too"

But of course Harper is not JFK, just a small, sad, foolish, insecure wimp.

I love this picture, you can use it again and again!Recommend this Post

Why it is pointless commenting on Garth Turner's Blog

Today Garth had his umpteenth post on why we must cut interest rates and join the U.S. currency death spiral. I totally disagree with his view but mostly I find it ridiculous that he will respond to petty snipes but refuses to defend his iffy economics and answer my repeated questions with real substantive answers, hell any answers.

Then again, this is the guy who recommended Nortel at over $100.

less gas guzzling, pollution spewing, oil leaking recreational vehicles, so what?

If the dollar did not kill this company the price of fuel or coming recession/depression will. This is just one of things that will be in the history books a sign of our over consumption and decadence. If this company survives more than ten years it will be making small, modest sail craft, the era of the energy pig water craft will soon be over.

Garth, you occasionally join various posters sniping but rarely do you ever actually argue or answer statements about lying gov stats, the role of monetary inflation and the destruction of purchasing power, the cons of lowering interest rates rather than just pros of creating jobs.

What is your ideal value for the Can dollar?

There is a strong belief in the markets the the U.S. dollar is heading significantly weaker, UPI had an article claiming it would drop 90% in coming years. The Head of the U.S.A General accounting office, David Walker says the U.S. will likely go bankrupt.

Taking the above premise at least possible, How far down would you be willing to follow the U.S. dollar towards it’s eventual default?

Is it not a role of government, and the BoC to provide sound currency and protect the purchasing power of savings at least as much(if not more) than it’s role to manage jobs.

If not, Why?

If Harper follows the U.S. lead on global warming and Afghanistan he’s evil(which he is). If Liberals want to devalue the dollar and follow Bush to monetary disaster that’s good.
Why’s that?

I’d like to see some answers and real discussion by you rather than just automatic naysaying of the Con position and constant one sided harping on lowering interest rates.

Garths answer, as usual SFA.

Actually I find it relatively common that bloggers don't defend economic views, they spout off and ignore comments.Recommend this Post

Peak oil vs. Global Warming which issue will survive?

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to a web radio investment talk show which questioned whether we should be fixating on Global Warming or Peak Oil as the major concern of our times. It was no surprise that they decided that the later was more pressing and in some aspects I can see their point.

Peak has already passed and producing countries are increasingly hostile to the west and because of rising incomes and high discounts, the rate of growth of domestic energy use in producing countries is immense, as is growth in China and India.

Energy costs are rising stiffly NOW, pumping up inflation for energy, food costs.

It’s predictable that real shortages will hit North American within a few years. Mexico’s oil and gas fields are depleting at an increasing rate, Canadian conventional oil peaked some time ago as did the U.S. production. World natural Gas peak is only a few years out.

Oil/Gas inventories are being drawn down.
Refineries are old and worn out leading to accidents, fires, breakdowns.
Refineries were designed for sweet crude not the crappier heavy high sulphur sour crude or even the heavy tar sands oil.
Refineries are wearing out at an increasingly fast rate due to the higher temperatures required to create low sulphur gas.

The impact of Global warming on the other hand was discounted as being way down the road. This observation is also correct to a point. While we are already being impacted by global warming, (storms, droughts, melting glaciers) the catastrophic conclusion can be seen as well down the road allowing people to ignore it for a more impending energy crisis. Now they did not deal with the idea of a warming tipping point, in fact they did not really did deal with the validity of global warming at all (on the up side the did nor refute it) but they did make this important observation.

To summarize

Peak oil will create hardship, shortages and will capture the attention of the public and the politicos in a real way, very soon! Global warming less so.

If the Global Warming activists cannot rebrand themselves as energy policy advocates that deal with energy shortages in a rational way they will not be able to make any headway on green house gases.

“It they succeed in reframing the global warming issue in terms of energy policy rather than oil then there’s a chance they’ll keep going, if not they’ll throw it(the issue) off the side of the ship”

This is a valid observation, how will we concern people about long term considerations like rising sea levels when the lights are going off, your car won’t go and jobs are being lost?


How would you expect the herd to act?

Do we need to rebrand the global warming issue into a unified energy policy that deals with shortages as well as green house gas emissions?

In many ways the issues are linked and complementary in solution but are we playing it wrong?

Comments.Recommend this Post

Pentagon rat bastards blink

Once in a while a little media pressure actually pays off!
It seems that U.S. soldiers injured on duty and no longer fit to serve will NOT have to pay back signing bonuses after all.

Jordan Fox, 21, was injured in a road side bomb taking back damage and losing sight in one eye. After getting his release from the army and going home, Fox received a notice that he owed the army $2,800 of the original $7,500 bonus because he did not fulfilling his 3 year enlistment. Fox's complaints brought this issue to light but nobody knows how many other soldiers received pay up dead beat letters from the army. Maybe this has something to do with the high suicide rates in returning vets.

I really hope that the idiot(s) who decided to penalize soldiers for getting shot doing their job end up on the next plane to Karbala. I don't care it was Cheney, top Generals or some pencil neck bean counter, give them a rifle, an unarmoured vehicle and a banner saying Honk if you Love Israel!!!Recommend this Post

U.S. Draft , sooner than later?

Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska told high school students that in order to meet the long term commitments to Afganistan and Iraq that the U.S. may have to consider "some kind of Draft"

"I'm just stating the obvious. At some point we're going to have to make a decision on how to attract a quality force,"


Full Article Omaha World Harold

Finally someone had the balls to say it. The U.S. needs to realize it has two choices; mind their own damn business, get out of the global policeman uniform or bring back the draft. The sooner this basic understanding is accepted the sooner the U.S. taste for foreign conflict will fade. They also need to realize they can't have guns and butter but that's a whole different issue.

Of course with Harper in charge and a draft reinstated ,our border would be closed to young U.S. men. Hell he won't protect Canadians from execution he sure won't shield draft dodgers.Recommend this Post

A “HOLY CRAP BATMAN!!!!” kind of week

My first “Holy Crap” for the week came when I checked my Amazon account and found that somebody actually bought a couple of books through my site. I joined Amazon Associates on a lark thinking I might just sell enough books to subsidies my own reading habits, I was mistaken. I have sold 20 or so books but until this week it had all been myself or family making the purchases so I was rather surprised to find some kind soul bought HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD IN YOUR SPARE TIME, as well as a book on Zen Tarot? Thanks whoever , keep it up.

My second “Holy Crap” has been the Canadian dollar rise as well as the massive appreciation of Gold and silver in the few days. I follow commodities and forex markets and my predictions of 1.10 Canadian dollar,$100 oil and $900 gold/$16.00 silver are all looking a hell of a lot more rational then they were when I first made them. I took much ridicule and scorn at the time, "Ha" I say, "ha"! About a year and a half ago I had also told my various confidants and readers at my other Blog that I expected a total meltdown of the U.S. including a currency crisis.

Most people still refuse to admit I was on to something, waffling on technicalities like what a “meltdown”, “currency crisis” meant, I can tell you the drop in the U.S dollar and subsequent loss of U.S. purchasing power in the last year is was that crisis and I expect more to come. I declare this prediction met and I renew it for another year stating the U.S. dollar will weaken a further 15% minimum in the next year vs. the U.S. dollar index, (a measure of the dollar vs. a basket of currency representing it biggest trading partners.) Recession will be admitted and the possibility of Depression will be talked about other places than Contrarian Websites.

My third “Holy Crap” came when a very obtuse, brainwashed Liberal know-it-all, I work with told me today I was absolutely right about my above predictions. Let me tell you, this guy has had a running battle with me over every single belief that I hold;

I said global warming, he said myth. (Until Dion told him what to believe, then he claimed he was always an environmentalist)

I said peak oil; he makes claims about magic pixie dust technologies that someone will suddenly pull out of their ass just in time to save us.

I said… well never mind, you get the point..


It’s Wednesday, the 6/49 is 35 million so I think I should hold out for 1 more “Holy Crap” moment.

I know, don’t push my luck :)Recommend this Post

We've hurt China's Feelings

It seems our ambassador in China got sent to the principals office to explain our "disgusting" behaviour in showing the Dalai Lama a little respect.

My God, show some perspective people, how many Chinese made AK-47s are in the hands of "freedom fighters" around the world and yet China has the nerve to complain over a short chat between the Dalai Lama and a moron who undoubtedly understood nothing such a man of peace could say.

Apparently the talk was a "gross interference in China's internal affairs". Personally I think telling us who we can or cannot talk to is a gross interference in our internal affairs.


This rates a giant "BITE ME, CHINA!"

Of course we don't expect rationality from china, just yesterday it was reported that a man was convicted of "inciting the separation of nationalities." for grabbing a microphone and screaming out "Long live the Dalai Lama" and calling for his return at an event in Tibet.

I have no doubt his sentence will either long and harsh or painful and deadly.Recommend this Post

Smuggled smokes plaguing highschools

It seems that a plague of smuggled (or unregulated production)cigarettes are impacting high school campuses in both Ontario and Quebec.

From the Star today

I remember in the late 80s when cheap cigarettes and those lovely 60oz bottles of cheap no name booze were coming out of Cornwall, it was quite the rage for awhile. Well it seems the smokes at least have made a come back, however unlike the 80s, they are now readily available to high school students!

A study of discarded cigarette butts around schools shows that illegal cigarettes are quite common and represent a large proportion of those smoked by students. The highest Ontario percentages of 50% and 47% were found in Newmarket and Aurora school yards(my home turf). While our area seems to be a hot spot for the problem it is prevalent in both Ontario and Quebec with provincial averages of 24% and 35%.

This is not only a taxation issue, these cigarettes have not been tested by the government to see what's in them. This seems like a kinda disingenuous complaint, if the Gov aren't that concerned about the toxins in legal ones how much worse can the illegal ones be, still it is a concern. There is also the issue that most students at high schools are not old enough to buy or smoke cigarettes in the first place and with the discount prices reported any kid can afford to start the habit.

The funny think about his study, it was funded by the Canadian convenience store association. Since they are not supposed to be selling to youth either why are their shorts all in a knot? Easy, they are losing out on their illegal sales to minors and want something done to about it. If the problem was not so serious it would make you laugh, "Oh big law enforcement people, please save our illegal death trade buy shutting down their illegal death trade" Someone needs a slap to the back of the head.

For any of my Newmarket Aurora readers, (both of you) you should put the squeeze on your children or even your friend's children and report what you find to York Region Police. If you say "so what it's only cigarettes" then consider, your kids are possibly in contact with criminals who don't mind selling illegal contraband; what else is in that car trunk?Recommend this Post

May Bitchslaps Baird over lies!

letter to the editor Halifax Chronicle Herald

Obfuscation 101

Environment Minister John Baird displays a casual disregard for the truth in his letter attacking Ralph Surette’s excellent Oct. 13 column. That Mr. Baird has the gall to accuse Ralph Surette of "distorting" the Harper government’s actions on Kyoto is a tribute to bluster over substance.

While Baird claims Canada ranks with "other Kyoto partners," this is patently false. Canada is the only nation of the 165 that signed and ratified Kyoto to have publicly repudiated its targets. Harper is the only head of a Kyoto-party national government to have put in place a plan to allow emissions to rise throughout the Kyoto first phase (2008-2012). With the election of the Harper government, Canada has become the only Kyoto nation in league with those that never ratified Kyoto (the U.S. and Australia) — pushing for fraudulent schemes while sabotaging real action.

Baird claims that his government’s target is 20 per cent reductions in greenhouse gases by 2020. He omitted to mention the all-important base year. The European Union is committed to 20 per cent reductions below 1990 levels by 2020. So far, the Harper government has committed to 20 per cent below 2006 levels (24 per cent higher than they were in 1990). Worse yet, every independent analysis of the Harper plan shows it will fail to reach even this dangerously high emission level by 2020.

These Orwellian distortions are designed to confuse the Canadian public. We are smarter than that. We need real reductions and a good faith effort to move heaven and earth to get as close as we can to our international legally binding obligations under Kyoto.

Elizabeth May, Leader,

Green Party of Canada

I find it rather annoying that Ms May has to fight these battles in the editorial pages, where the hell is the press to take her critisism and why is the press itself not calling Baird to task for his outrageous lies? Arggg,Recommend this Post