Make a Difference

Day: April 9, 2009

Two Posts on Climate Change from Watts Up With That?

First, despite the ceaseless bleating about ice melting and shelves collapsing and sea levels rising, Antarctic sea ice has been growing at a rate of about 5% per decade for the last thirty years, and set a new maximum last year. There is so much extra ice above historic averages that you could fit New South Wales and Victoria on it. Of course this means those ever so cutesy Emperor Penguins are having a harder time because they have longer to walk from the nesting grounds to the water. Someone, somewhere, will claim this is our fault and demand we do something about it.

Second, an interesting graph of sea level changes matched against sunspot activity, showing that solar cycles drive changes in Earth’s temperature. As would surely be obvious to any normal person.

This comment sums up very cleverly the way alarmists think:

Amazing. The obvious interpretation is that the rate of sea level rise is driving the strength of the Solar Cycle. And as we all know that man made emissions of CO2 are driving an acceleration of rises in sea level, it follows (of necessity)… That therefore as man made emissions of CO2 increase, the sea level rise will accelerate, and the Solar cycle will strengthen over this century. Such logic is irrefutable – I know this because I thought it. I’m astounded that people have not realised before now that man made emissions of CO2 directly impact on the Sun.

Obama Bows to King Abdullah

While Queen Elizabeth gets a nod. This is all over the internet, I know. Perhaps because it seems to say something important.

I wasn’t going to comment, but this YouTube video makes it clear just how different Barack Obama’s behaviour to each of the two monarchs was.

Behaviour sends a message. You can’t act with such obsequiousness to someone like Abdullah and with so little apparent respect for Queen Elizabeth, and not expect people to notice and to comment and ask questions about the difference.

Maybe Obama in all honesty thought that a nod was what was expected in England, while a deep bow was expected in Saudi Arabia. But in that case, why not just say so? Instead the White House is denying Obama bowed at all, saying it was just that he is taller than King Abdullah, and bent down to be at his level. There are only two problems with this. First, it isn’t true – Obama did bow to Abdullah. And second, Queen Elizabeth is shorter than Abdullah, so if difference in height was the issue, she should have got an even deeper bow.

If you think you’ve done the right thing, you don’t need to lie about it.

$43 Billion and No Business Plan

Kevin Rudd admitted today that the Federal Government had no business plan to confirm the new broadband plan’s viability or cost effectiveness compared with other options.

Malcolm Turnbull said: “This is the most reckless statement about a financial matter I’ve seen from an Australian government. This makes the Whitlam era look modest and unassuming.”

What the heck does Rudd’s government they think they are doing? I don’t spend $50 in business unless I think spending $50 will earn me more back. That’s just common sense. The more I plan to spend the more care I take in thinking about options and the cost effectiveness and efficiency of each.

Malcolm Turnbull is right to complain about this – it’s a turkey with a captital T. And apart from that it is the job of the opposition to probe, question, and oppose. He’s doing his job. Why aren’t the state libs? Why would they agree with Labor on such a pointless and expensive proposal?

Because they are spineless nitwits. I don’t know why, but the state Libs either have no idea at all of Liberal values, or no idea how to explain and sell them. And because they have lost their moorings, they’ve got nothing to offer except picking up popular causes. So they seem not to stand for anything, and no one votes for them.

A bit like the Anglican Church really.

Somali Pirates and Abu Sayyaf – Paying Bad Guys Doesn’t Work

Having made millions from ransoms in recent years, Somali pirate gangs are using increasingly sophisticated boats and radar equipments to spot, chase and capture other vessels. On average a ship is attacked every day. About one attack in seven in successful. That’s a ship seized every week. Payment of ransoms has changed a few ratbags in fishing boats to highly trained and well equipped mega-ratbags.

Good luck to this US crew who recaptured their vessel. Their captain is still being held, and US and other warships are on their way to try make sure he is returned safely.

Money paid in ransoms to Abu Sayyaf in the Southern Phillipines has helped them build up arms. Even more importantly it has helped them build support. They are able to give food, medicines, etc to villagers and make themselves look like the good guys. They are not the good guys.

The two remaining Red Cross hostages are still being held. The Red Cross has refused to consider a $5 million ransom demand – a terribly hard choice, but the right choice – and the military is refusing to pull back further, saying to do so will enable the kidnappers to escape or to obtain reinforcements or supplies.

It’s a dangerous time for the hostages, and a sad and worrying time for their friends and families. If no ransoms had ever been paid to Abu Sayyaf, it might also never have happened.

Three Interesting Lists

The top 100 films (listed by genre) – a Guinness list. I have seen all of them except a couple of the silent films. Plenty of room for debate in this list. I might have put John Carpenter’s The Thing in horror instead of The Shining. Although I like Kubrick, that film always seemed to me to lack substance somehow. Return of the King deserves a place in fantasy too.

The top ten famous movie quotes – another Guinness list. I didn’t get 5, 7 or 10.

Ten mysteries recently solved by science (not necessarily mysteries in science). 

Courtney Love Ripped Off for Over $700 Million

That’s about $45 million in cash and $700 million in real estate. She didn’t notice the money was going until there wasn’t any left.

This is the estate left by Curt Cobain to Courtney Love and their daughter Frances Bean Cobain.

I am baffled for two reasons. First, how do you just ‘lose’ $700 million without even noticing? Didn’t she have accountants? What were they doing? What was she doing?

And secondly, Curt Cobain and Nirvana were only around for about five years. They produced some great songs, and Curt Cobain was a capable and intelligent singer and songwriter. But an estate worth $700 million? That is just mind boggling. I think I want to be a pop star.

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