Iran moves missle launchers to Iraq border

Report: Iranian Authorities Move Missile Launch Platforms To Shatt Al-Arab Estuary

Ahwazi (Iranian Arab) sources report that Iranian authorities declared a state of grave emergency in the Shalamjah region in Khozestan province, on the Iran-Iraq border, and have transferred missile launch platforms to the region bordering on the Shatt Al-Arab estuary.

Source: Al-Siyassah, Kuwait, July 7, 2008

     

My Police Scanner Choice; and the Winner is:

PRO-97 1000-Channel Triple-Trunking Handheld Scanner

High-powered handheld.
High-performance, extended-coverage scanner has the ability to scan both trunked and conventional channels at the same time. Program up to 100 frequencies in banks of 10 for easier access. Triple-trunking lets you follow a signal in virtually any market that uses an analog trunking system. Signal Stalker™ circuitry searches for nearby frequency transmissions and lets you hear a nearby radio without knowing its frequency. Skywarn lets you hear local severe-weather observers and get warnings before they are broadcast on local radio or TV. The SAME feature provides weather and other emergency alerts for the areas you program into your unit. For a list of codes, click here.

* Alpha-numeric display for ID tagging allows frequencies to be identified by the name you assign
* Lighted keypad and backlit LCD display for use in low light
* Digital weather alert keeps you informed of emergencies; 7 NOAA weather stations preprogrammed
* Easy programming: download frequencies from computer to scanner (software and cable optional)


What's in the box

* Radio scanner
* Belt clip
* 6" flexible rubber antenna
* Two battery cases
* Owner's guide
* Quick start guide
* Preprogrammed frequency addendum [...]

At last we have a police scanner. After a lot of research, I picked a Radio Shack Pro-97. It's normally $200, I got it on sale for $169.

I could have got a decent cheaper model, if I had only wanted to scan police, fire and EMS frequencies. But I went with this more expensive model because it also scans a lot of HAM radio frequencies too, as well as Marine, Aviation and CB channels. It's also capable of handling trunked radio systems. I don't think any of the agencies in my area are using trunking presently, but if they ever move to it, I'll still be able to scan them.

I picked this particular model because it's been out for a few years now, and it has 300 customer reviews, most of which give it high marks. It has the most reviews of any scanner on the Radio Shack website.

There was an upgraded model, the PRO-164 1000-Channel Handheld Scanner, which looks exactly like the Pro-97. It's normally $219.99, but was also on sale for $169. It has extra features, such as a bar graph signal-strength meter, tone ID of priority tagged frequencies, and the ability to scan the 700 MHz range, which will become available next year when commercial TV goes digital. I could kinda kick myself that I didn't get the Pro-164, but I chose to stick with the Pro-97, because it has a proven track record. The Pro-164 only has 23 reviews, and some of those say the sound quality is not as good as the Pro-97, and I just didn't want to be a guinea pig for a new product.

So back to the Pro-97. It's portable, I can use rechargable batteries and recharge them without removing them from the scanner. Programing the scanner isn't what I would call easy, it reminds me of what programing VCR's used to be like when they first came out; semi-rocket science.

Many of the user reviews had said it's worth buying the cable and software to program it with, so I did. I'm using the Win97 program from Starsoft, which works fine with Windows XP on my PC. It's enabled me to download the frequencies for our local police, county sheriff, State police, EMS, and Fire departments. There are other codes for other things, such as Forrest service, Transportation department, etc. but the above is all I've done so far. The results have been very satisfying.

I am going to have really sit down with the manual though, and read it thoroughly to comprehend all the features, and to block things I'm not interested in, make backups of the frequencies I want to keep, etc. Some people complain that the manual is difficult to follow. If you find it so, there is help. There is a re-written version of the manual that's been posted on-line, that many have found useful:

Easier to Read Pro-97/2055 Scanner Manual

The salesman at Radio Shack recommended that I buy an external antenna, since I live a considerable distance outside of town. He said a good antenna can make all the difference, so I went with his recommendation:

Outdoor VHF-Hi/UHF Scanner Antenna

At home, when I use the scanner with just the antenna it came with, it does pick up radio traffic from town. But when I use the external antenna, it seems to pick up a lot more traffic, including areas farther away, so I think it's worth every penny. I bought a 50ft cable to go with it. If you buy it, be sure and get the BNC connector to attach the scanner to the cable. I forgot mine, and had to go back days later to get it.

I won't be able to do an in-depth review until I work with the scanner more extensively and learn to utilize all of it's features, but thus far I am impressed with it's performance, and happy with my purchase.

If you are thinking of buying a scanner and you are only interested in scanning Police/Fire/EMT services, you would probably be happy with a cheaper scanner. But you need to find out if any of your local services are using trunked systems. If not, you can get a good scanner for as low as $79. Talk to the folks at your local Radio Shack, they probably know what's being used in your area. My store also gave me a sheet with the local frequencies to program the scanner with, but you can also find that information on-line by googling it.


Related Links:

Learning Ham Radio; start with a Police Scanner?

Police Scanners part II; back to the $100 models

Radio Communications in a Changing World

Resource Links: Radio Codes & Signals
     

Sunday Funny: Californian Geography

Happy Independence Day!

Let Freedom Ring



Even a cracked bell can still be useful. :-)

Here are some good July 4th posts from Pat:

From Vindicators of the Declaration

From America's Days Aren't Numbered

The rights to life, liberty AND the pursuit of happiness

THE APOTHEOSIS OF LIBERTY
     

Drilling in ANWR... some important details

Here is an email I got recently:

FIRST. do you know what ANWR is?

ANWR = Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

..

Now. A comparison



And some perspective.



NOTE WHERE THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AREA IS.
(it's in the "ANWR Coastal Plain")



THIS IS WHAT THE DEMOCRATS, LIBERALS AND "GREENS" SHOW YOU WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT ANWR and they are right. these ARE photographs of ANWR







ISN'T ANWR BEAUTIFUL? WHY SHOULD WE DRILL HERE (AND DESTROY) THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE?
.
.

WELL. THAT'S NOT EXACTLY THE TRUTH


Do you remember the map?

The map showed that the proposed drilling area is in the ANWR Coastal Plain

Do those photographs look like a coastal plain to you?


WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?
.
..
...
...
...
...
...
..
.


THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE.

THAT IS NOT WHERE THEY ARE WANTING TO DRILL!

THIS IS WHAT THE PROPOSED EXPLORATION AREA ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE IN THE WINTER



AND THIS IS WHAT IT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE IN THE SUMMER







HERE ARE A COUPLE SCREEN SHOTS FROM GOOGLE EARTH





AS YOU CAN SEE, THE AREA WHERE THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT DRILLING IS A BARREN WASTELAND.

OH. AND THEY SAY THAT THEY ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE EFFECT ON THE LOCAL WILDLIFE.

HERE IS A PHOTO (SHOT DURING THE SUMMER) OF THE "DEPLETED WILDLIFE" SITUATION CREATED BY DRILLING AROUND PRUDHOE BAY*.

DON'T YOU THINK THAT THE CARIBOU REALLY HATE THAT DRILLING?



HERE'S THAT SAME SPOT DURING THE WINTER.



HEY, THIS BEAR SEEMS TO REALLY HATE THE PIPELINE NEAR PRUDHOE BAY*.


*The Prudhoe bay area accounts for 17% of U.S. domestic oil production


NOW, WHY DO YOU THINK THAT THE DEMOCRATS ARE LYING ABOUT ANWR?

REMEMBER WHEN AL GORE SAID THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD WORK TO ARTIFICIALLY RAISE GAS PRICES TO $5.00 A GALLON?

WELL.
AL GORE AND HIS FELLOW DEMOCRATS HAVE ALMOST REACHED THEIR GOAL!


NOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT THE DEMOCRATS HAVE BEEN LYING,
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?


YOU CAN START BY FORWARDING THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.
SO THAT THEY WILL KNOW THE TRUTH.

[END]

Is it true? There is a page about it at Snopes.com: The Truth About ANWR, but at this time, they list the status of the accuracy of the email as being "undetermined". Presumably they are researching it.

It would be nice to have the maps and the photos verified. But I don't doubt the basic premise, because I've heard this before from other sources. The area they want to drill in is the size of a football field. It's a frozen plain in the winter, and a muddy mosquito mess in the summer.

I'm tired of hearing that "we can't drill our way out of this". The only thing stopping us from drilling is the Democrats, who have many reasons for wanting gas prices to rise.

It's true that starting drilling now won't have an immediate effect on the availability of oil; but that's all the more reason to start NOW. Doing so may also end some of the market speculation that some claim is driving prices up. Drilling isn't a short term answer, or a long term answer, but it is a medium term answer. We are going to need more oil, until we can develop alternatives. Right now we are too dependent on foreign sources, and we have the means to do something about it.

Drilling alone won't solve our energy problems, but drilling plus nuclear and other alternative energy sources, seriously applied, along with building more refineries and energy conservation too, will make an enormous difference in moving us to energy independence and ultimately away from oil. When are we going to get serious about it, and stop shooting ourselves in the foot?

     

Will Sarkozy force Ireland to vote again?

It seems that some in the EU want to force the Irish to vote again on the Lisbon treaty, because they didn't come up with the "correct" outcome the first time. From Michael Huntsman at the Brussels Journal:

Sarko Wants to Give Dublin the Mugabe Treatment

Would Nicholas Sarkozy be hot-footing it to Dublin in the dog days of summer if Ireland had voted 'Yes' in its Referendum on the EU Constitution? Of course he wouldn't. He is only going because even he can smell the raspberry the Irish blew at the EU last month. Having spoilt France's grandiose plans for jobs for the boys, expect a whole lot of angry finger-wagging.

As his own spokesman Axel Poniatowski has made clear on his behalf, there is no other choice for the Irish but to hold a second referendum and, regardless of EU and French protestations to the contrary and regardless of whatever emollient nonsense Sarkozy utters in public, behind the scenes Brian Cowen will indeed have to put up with some serious pressure from this angry voyou from Paris to get it right in a second vote and to hold that vote sooner rather than later. Fortunately others are doing their democratic bit. [...]

(bold emphasis mine) The president of Poland is now refusing to put his signature on the Lisbon Treaty, because the Irish voted "no" on it. Both Ireland and Poland know from experience about being dictated to and dominated by an empire, and they clearly see the danger.

The article rightly points out the irony of the EU condemning Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, while simultaneously pressuring the Irish to vote again. The only difference is Mugabe uses violence to get what he wants, whereas the EU will deploy threats via "diplomacy" to try and bully the Irish.

Disrespecting the vote of the Irish makes a sham out of European democracy; it renders the act of voting meaningless. And I expect that it is always a mistake to bully the Irish. They like to be "charmed". If you try to force them or punish them, they're likely to dig their heels in and fight.


Related Link:

Ireland votes "no" on EU superstate
     

Two excellent videos by Newt Gingrich

While I'm not a big fan of his, he is occasionally right on the mark with some of his observations. And that is the case with these two videos.


Newt Gingrich: 3 Ways to Lower Gas Prices



This video is 3 minutes and 41 seconds. He makes it clear that the problem we are facing does have viable, workable solutions. The real problem is the people who are blocking us from proceeding with the solutions that are in our control to implement.


Newt Gingrich on the War on Terror



This video is 5 minutes and 24 seconds. He's very blunt about spelling out the reality we are facing. Is he right about what it's going to take for us to wake up to what we are dealing with, and act accordingly? I'm afraid if it is, that by the time we are ready to face reality, it will be too late to act. 9-11 wasn't enough. What's it gonna take?

Avast anti-virus software program for home PC

I was using AVG anti-virus software up until recently, when they did a major upgrade. Their new software slowed down my computer considerably, and it seemed to be causing browser crashes. This lead to a search for an alternative free-for-personal-use anti-virus program. The one I settled on is called "Avast". I believe I read it has 50 million users world-wide. I've been using it for the past month or so, and have found it to be problem-free. Here's a review from C-Net, where it got high marks from both reviewers and users:

Avast Home Edition 4.8.1201.80611

Avast Home Edition is a complete ICSA & Checkmark certified antivirus, Checkmark certified anti-spyware & anti-rootkit package. Avast includes the following components: On demand scanner with skinnable simple interface, just select what do you want to scan in which way and press the Play button; On access scanner, special providers to protect the most of available e-mail clients; Instant messaging--ICQ, Miranda; Network traffic--intrusion detection, lightweight firewall; P2P protection for Kazaa, BitTorrent; Web shield--monitors and filter all HTTP traffic; NNTP scanner--scans all Usenet Newsgroup traffic and all operations with files on PC; Boot time scanner--scans disks in the same way and in the same time as Windows CHKDSK does.

Version 4.8.1201.80611 contains improvements in spyware and rootkit detection.

Follow the link for user comments and download link. Here's another review from Softpedia:

avast! 4 Home Edition 4.8.1201

Here is the link for the download page on the Avast Website is here:

avast! 4 Home Edition - FREE antivirus software - Download.

The software is free to use for non-commercial use by home users. There is a 60 day trial period before you have to register it. Registration is free, and easy to do. You have to re-register it once a year. I have it set to scan once a day, and it does updates automatically. So far, I'm quite happy with it.
     

Roberta McCain: a charming and feisty lady

Pat recently did an interesting post about Cindy McCain. This morning I read an interesting piece about John's mother, Roberta McCain, by James Rainey at the LA Times:

Roberta McCain steals reporter's heart, strikes fear in handlers'

A formal interview with John McCain's mother proves elusive to arrange. But she picks up the phone on the first ring.

[...]

I concede, with only a tinge of embarrassment, that I've been captivated by that world traveler, grandmother, freeway speedster and potential First Mother of the United States, Roberta McCain.

But after months waiting in vain for a formal interview, I'm beginning to believe that her son's presidential campaign really isn't interested in getting Roberta McCain and me together for, as the man likes to call it, a little "straight talk."

"They've got me muzzled," Mrs. McCain, 96, said when I phoned the other day. She added with a chuckle: "Now don't you print that. . . . I really don't like to be interviewed." [...]

I learned some things I didn't know. She has a twin sister, Rowena, and she has traveled a lot and had a very interesting life. When asked about people saying that John is too old to be president, she said:

[...] I mentioned that some thought her son, at 71, was too old to be president.

"I don't think that has anything to do with it," Mrs. McCain responded firmly. "My father was taking care of his business in his 90s and walking five miles a day until the day he died.

"I don't think there is any question that he has the experience and the wisdom and the accomplishments. That's something. I don't think the others can compare, do you?" [...]

The article is based on a series of phone calls the reporter had with her, not a formal interview. It's a bit of a puff piece, as he's probably fishing for permission for a more formal meeting. But he does ask her about John's temper, and she is quite adamant in her reply. Read the whole thing.
     

Linux to Microsoft: THANKS! And so long...

Is Microsoft making some huge mistakes? It's not hard to see why some people think so. From PCWorld.com:

Dear Microsoft: Thanks for the Help, Linux

You gotta love it. Microsoft has decided that it will go ahead and kill off easy access to XP on June 30th. On behalf of desktop Linux users everywhere, and our first cousins, the Mac fans, thanks. You've given us the best shot we'll ever have of taking the desktop.

But it gets even better! Microsoft has also announced that it will be releasing Windows 7 on January 2010. They'll blow that ship date. Microsoft has never set a shipping date it could meet. But, who in their right mind would now buy Vista?

I mean, come on, I don't think anyone with their wits about them would buy Vista anyway. Vista is to operating systems what the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers are to the National Football League, the worse of all time. Vista was trash; Vista is trash; and now Microsoft, as expected, is throwing Vista on the trash dump.

It also helps that Microsoft has decided to go ahead and dump XP, the operating system its customers want, no matter how loudly they say they want to keep buying XP. Now that's showing your customers how much you really care about what they want.

Desktop Linux is poised to make the most of this opportunity to convince Windows users that there is a better way. [...]

The article has lots of embeded links, and goes on to explain in detail why this is going to be so favorable to Linux. I won't cry for Microsoft, but it sure seems like they are shooting themselves in the foot... at best.

     

Is Great Britian becoming a Nation of Hooligans?

I keep reading stories about gangs of "youths" in Britain, this story is typical:

Former soldier arrested for kidnap after his citizen's arrest on yob who pelted his home with eggs

[...] The trouble started on the evening of February 17 when Mr McCourt and his wife Maria heard a bang on the window of their £170,000 semi-detached home in Crawley, West Sussex.

Mr McCourt went outside to find two boys 'of about 11' throwing stones, mud and eggs at houses. He reprimanded them and told them not to come back.

But when he returned from work the next day, he found his wife in tears.

He said: 'She was absolutely terrified. She told me a gang of kids had been throwing things at the house all afternoon, and shouting all the names under the sun at her.'

When they came back later, Mr McCourt called the police on their anti-social behaviour hotline but couldn't get an answer despite holding for three-quarters of an hour.

He went out to look for a community support officer but couldn't find one.

At his wit's end, Mr McCourt grabbed one of the louts, led him into his house and demanded to know the boy's name, his mother's name and her phone number.

While he was trying to call the boy's mother, she turned up banging on the door, shouting and swearing.

He said: 'She said she didn't want me manhandling her son. I said if she'd brought him up properly, I wouldn't have to.'

Mr McCourt let the child go but minutes later police arrived and arrested him on suspicion of kidnapping. [...]

Is it any wonder that people are emigrating out of Britain in droves? What is wrong with British youths? Youth gangs are also responsible for a growing number of murders, including random, lethal attacks against Goths.

Is this the result of being taught to hate their own country? By a culture that tells them everything is meaningless, and there is nothing worth striving for? That is exactly what some people are saying.


Related Link:

An interview with Theodore Dalrymple
     

Farm Report: Another Chick Flick...

Ok, I'm sure you're tired of seeing chicks. But these 3 three-day old chicks are the last of the season, and they are so tiny I couldn't resist. Hopefully they really are the last of the season; they were hatched outside from a secret renegade nest.

I got some really good closeup shots:


The chick is a Bantam chick, about the size of my thumb, so the close-up really is close.


You have to see the video though, to appreciate the little peeper and siblings in action. The video is also a good demo of the camcorder's auto focus at work, as I move the chick towards and away from the lens.

The video is about 1 minute and 37 seconds long. Toward the end, while I'm filming the chicks with their mommy, you can hear one of our guinea fowls screeching outside the window. I got a shot of it just as it was running away. And a brief shot of Herbie, our chihuahua-dachshund mix, disapproving of it all.


Related Link:

Naked black redneck chicks
More video, of Pat with the three chicks.

     

We must abandon the principle of free speech

WHAT!?! If we want to reconcile with Islam, that is what we must do, according to some Islamist "authorities". American writer Joshua Trevino at the Brussel's Journal has the details:

Too Good to Win. Is the West Losing the War?

[...] Last week, I returned from the Third International Conference on the Muslim World and the West in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The aim of the conference was to “bridge the gap,” as they put it, between the Muslim world and the West.

Now, this seems like a worthy thing. Surely we of the West ought to find our common ground with the Muslim world, and vice versa. Surely there is common ground to be found. Surely the problems between us are predominantly problems of understanding and comprehension… and surely they are solvable with a little goodwill.

I admit to having been a bit dismayed when, at a pre-conference interview, the chairman — a Columbia University alumnus named Imam Feisal Rauf — told me that Muslim violence was “predominantly” the fault of Westerners. Nonetheless, I soldiered on in the belief that we could — how to put it? — bridge the gap.

To say that the luminaries of the conference disappointed my hopes is to understate things. But to say that that were luminous is to be perfectly accurate. I’ll just name three of the most prominent and powerful:

• Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Ekmeleddin Ihsanouglu of Turkey.
• Former Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
• His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Faisal al Saud, former director of Saudi intelligence, and until recently the Saudi Ambassador to the United States.

These men are educated… well traveled… experienced… wealthy… and Westernized. And each of them told the conference that for the West and Islam to reconcile, the West must abandon the principle of free speech. [...]

(bold emphasis mine) Josh give the details of what they said, and it's shocking. It's bad enough that the whole conference was like that. But even worse, all the representatives from the West who were invited to speak agreed with them! Josh speculated about that:

[...] The deputy speaker of the French National Assembly was there, as was a Spanish ambassador, an Australian MP, and various other mostly European functionaries. Every single one of them accepted the demand for an end to free speech without complaint.

We might call this the mindset of the quisling. Or, to invoke the opposite side of that historical allusion, we might say that they merely adhere to Winston Churchill’s admonition that “it is better to jaw-jaw than to war-war.”

There is tremendous wisdom in Churchill’s statement — but to take it at face value is to ignore that the man himself would not “jaw-jaw” with simply anyone, on any terms. This, after all, is a man for whom Mohandas Gandhi was deemed a morally unfit interlocutor. (I believe Churchill was right on this, but that’s for another speech.) Churchill rightly understood that to talk with someone in the absence of conditions gives some measure of moral sanction to that person.

For Churchill, to sit down with Hitler on equal terms, conceding from the start the legitimacy of the Nazi’s desires, was to lose the battle before it began. [...]

Churchill wasn't a fool, and we would do well to follow his example. And lest you think this is merely a Muslim bashing article, it's not. Josh does not agree that these attitudes represent the whole of the Islamic world. He maintains that we must not accept the "logic" that our freedom is responsible for Islamic terror, and insists that we have an obligation, to ourselves and the Islamic world, to stand up and defend our freedom. He ends the article with an explanation of why he became a Republican at the tender age of nine. Way to go, I say.
     

Farm Report: Our Humming Bird Heaven

This video is about 1 minute and 45 seconds long. I was trying out my new Canon ZR-800 mini DV camcorder on our local hummingbirds. One of them seemed to be posing for me, and I was able to zoom in really close. It was hand-held, if I had a tripod I could have even zoomed in closer. Next time I'll set up the tripod.

I've tried uploading this video as a high quality DV file, size of about 100MB, but it would not upload, it would try for hours, then fail with an error. So I've uploaded this copy I made, using the .wmv format that's specifically recommended for internet video by my editing software, using the highest resolution setting it allowed. The copy was only 25MB, and it only took about 16 minutes to upload to blogger.

It's not bad, it's just that the original footage on my hard drive is sharper and better. I don't know if there is another web host that would let me upload higher quality video, I'll have to look into that. Here's a few still shots from the video:



We have several feeders on the front and back porches. They seem to really love it here. Hopefully I'll get some good footage of the swarms that happen sometimes.



I'm very happy with this camcorder. The image quality is outstanding. The biggest complaint about the camera by people who have purchased it has been that you can hear the motor of the camera in the recorded footage.

Now while you are looking at this footage, if you listen closely, you can hear a high pitched whine. THAT is the sound of the motor, being picked up by the camcorders built-in microphone. Some people find it totally unacceptable, while others are not bothered by it at all.

Ideally it shouldn't have the motor noise, but it's not deafening. Listen and judge for yourself. But it's worth noting that this model has a jack for an external mic, which is highly unusual for a camcorder in this price range. Some reviewers say they solved the noise problem by using an external mic. I purchased an external condenser microphone for about $20, but I have not tried it out yet. I still have lots of experimenting to do!


Related Links:

Farm Report: two chicks in a screen test

Video Camcorders: Cheap or Pricey? A comparison of the Canon ZR800 and HV20
     

Ireland votes "no" on EU superstate

The European Union was unable to ratify a constitution uniting Europe, because France and the Netherlands rejected it. So then they tried to push it through as the "Lisbon Treaty", because that way they could avoid the voters - except for Ireland, which requires all treaties to be submitted to the voters for approval.

Now the Irish voters have spoken, and they've rejected it. From Soeren Kern at the Brussels Journal:

Why Irish Voters Rejected the Lisbon Treaty

Irish voters on June 12 said ‘No’ to the superpower ambitions of European political elites, who want all 27 member-states of the European Union to ratify the 269-page (about 3000 pages with annexes) Lisbon Treaty that would turn the EU into a bureaucratic superstate. Ireland was the only country to submit the “Reform Treaty” to a popular vote; all other member states of the EU intend to ratify the document through parliamentary procedures. Although by EU law the Irish vote (53.4 percent said ‘No’ and 46.6 percent said ‘Yes’) should kill the treaty (because it requires unanimous approval to come into effect), European politicians will almost certainly find a way to keep it alive.

[...]

As many observers of European politics know, democracy does not come easy on a continent where European elites view themselves as an aristocracy entitled to rule over the ignorant masses. Indeed, the entire European social welfare state has been built upon the unspoken quid pro quo of “bread and circuses” (ie, the cradle-to-grave nanny state) for the general populace, in exchange for their loyal submission to the political and intellectual classes.

[...]

What follows is a brief summary of comments made by select European leaders, both before and after the Irish referendum. It not only provides an explanation as to why Irish voters are turned off by the Lisbon Treaty, but it also sheds some light on the state of democracy in contemporary Europe. [...]

Read the whole thing, it's an education. And a good explanation of why the European way is not for us.

More from John Laughland at the Brussels Journal:

What Ireland’s No Means for the Future

[...] With the Lisbon treaty, the EU is precisely trying to find a foreign policy role for itself: the whole point of the treaty, just as of the now defunct constitution, is to give the EU a foreign minister in all but name. Never mind the fact that the EU states occasionally diverge on foreign policy priorities; the reasoning is presumably that, once EU foreign policy is institutionalised, it will come into being of its own accord in the same way as EU laws do once the institutions are created to draw them up.

The EU wants this foreign policy role because it wants a big project to justify its existence. [...]

Yep, the European Elites have got plans. They just need to get those damned voters out of the way once and for all, so they can get on with ruling the world. Read the whole thing for more details.
     

Firefox 3 is here, and better than ever

I've been using their last beta, and it fabulous. Now the final release is out, and you can download it here:

The Best Firefox Yet

They are boasting they've made more than 15,000 improvements. If you follow the link, on that page at the lower left hand corner, is a neat video that showcases many of the more dramatic improvements. It's worth a look-see.
     

A "Winnie the Pooh" Foreign Policy?

You can't make this stuff up. But you can make some fun photoshops about it. Here's a few of my favorites:







You can see more here: The Obama/Pooh Photoshop collection.

Couldn't they see it coming?
     

Save the Earth, Eat Insects

It's no joke:

Liberals Want You To Eat Bugs

Eeew.

     

McCain, offshore drilling, China and Cuba

So the latest thing that has people on the far left and far right screaming is that McCain wants to lift ban on offshore drilling. The Right says he needs to drill ANWAR too, the Left says it proves he's not serious about the environment or global warming.

To me, it proves he's very much a genuine centrist. A centrist is willing to compromise, which always infuriates the extremists who are unwilling to bend.

I've been maintaining that many of the environmentalists are really just leftists wanting to use environmental causes to fight capitalism. Here is a good example. They don't want to let us drill off our coastlines, but they say nothing about Cuba hiring China to drill for oil just outside of where our drilling rights end. From last Friday's Nealz Nuze:

SO ... IS CHINA REALLY DRILLING OFF CUBA?

Yesterday Florida Senator Mel Martinez said that China drilling off the coast of Cuba was merely an urban legend. So because we here at the Neal Boortz Show are so incredibly fair and balanced ... we have tried to get to the bottom of this mystery. Here's what we found.

All the way back in 2004, China's Petrochemical Corporation known as Sinopec signed a memorandum of understanding with Cuba's national oil company, known as Cupet to explore four oil blocks in Cuba. Keep in mind that both of these companies are owned by their communist governments. China's Sinopec conducted six months of geological studies of the four Cuban blocks. This was the first attempt by Sinopec, China's second largest oil and gas company, to enter oil and gas exploration and production in Cuba.

Then in 2005, China's Sinopec signed an agreement with the Cuban government to jointly produce oil in Cuba off the coast of Pinar del R�o. Ok so let's get this straight. The governments of China and Cuba enter into a production sharing agreement ... what exactly does that mean? This is when the Cuban government awards the execution of exploration and production activities to an international oil company like Sinopec. The contractor bears the mineral and financial risk of the initiative and, when successful, recovers capital expenditure and costs incurred in the year (cost oil) by means of a share of production.

So now, for your reading pleasure (and Mel Martinez's) is a timeline of China's oil exploration efforts in Cuba. This is from the World Security Institute ...

2005

January 31: Cuba and China signed a contract in Havana providing for the Asian giant's participation in extracting oil from a deposit off the island's north shore, the press reported. The deal is between Cubapetroleos and the Chinese oil company Sinopec, said the official daily newspapaer Granma. In December, Fidel Castro announced discovery of oil at a site offshore from Santa Cruz del Norte, some 55 kilometers (33 miles) east of Havana. The deposit is believed to hold some 100 million barrels of "light" crude, or the equivalent of 14 million tons. (EFE, Prensa Latina, 31/1/05)
February 8: China's oil giants began cultivating their virgin soil in Cuba. China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), as the first comer, has inked a contract with Cuba Oil Company (Cubapetroleo) to jointly exploit oil in the Caribbean country. Under the terms of their contract, the two sides will join forces to prospect and exploit a potential oil-producing region. Chinese experts believe it is a significant beginning of the cooperation between China and Cuba in the petroleum industry. (SinoCast, 8/2/05)
March 22: Chinese oil drilling equipment has begun arriving in Cuba as state-run Cubapetroleo (Cupet) and its foreign partners prepare to significantly increase drilling along the northwest coast, industry sources said. "Four service units and a small rig have arrived and we are waiting for more," said a Cuban oil service manager, asking his name not be used. There are currently five rigs operating along the northwest heavy oil belt, an 80-mile (128-km) stretch of coast in Havana and Matanzas provinces from whence come all of Cuba's 70,000 to 80,000 barrels per day of heavy crude at 8 API to 18 API and with a high sulfur content. The poor-quality oil is burned in modified power plants and factories. (Reuters, 22/3/05)

April 6: The operator of China's second-largest Shengli oilfield is stepping up overseas exploration, spending more on such ventures this year as the world's No. 2 oil user grapples with falling reserves, officials said. Shengli Oilfield Administration Bureau, a unit of state-run Sinopec Group, will spend about $40 million drilling for oil and gas in Cuba, Iran and central Asia in 2005, company officials said. "This will be the heaviest spending in a year and we expect the pace to continue in the next few years," a Shengli executive told the press. Shengli, which is among the first Chinese companies to venture abroad, will sink a total of eight wildcat and appraisal wells this year, four in Kazakhstan, two in Iran, and one each in Cuba and Kyrgyzstan. (Reuters, 6/4/05)

November 24: PetroChina Great Wall Drilling Co., Ltd. and Petroleum Company of Cuba held a ceremony for signing two drilling service contracts on November 3, 2005. It is the second-time cooperation between Great Wall Drilling Co., Ltd. and Petroleum Company of Cuba after the signing of a one-year petroleum service agreement on one 1500HP drilling rig and one 2000HP rig on April 8 this year. The contract signed this time includes three 2000HP drilling rigs. The contract has a period of one year and a value of over US$24 million. The project will be launched in January 2006. (China Chemical Reporter, 24/11/05)

December 22: Sinopec of China signed an agreement earlier this year to jointly produce heavy oil with Cupet in westernmost Pinar del R�o province, with drilling expected to begin in 2006. (The Oil Daily, 27/12/05)

Still not convinced Senator Martinez? Here are some more reports from 2005 from the Energy Intelligence Group and National Post's Financial Post & FP Investing in Canada.

... China is seeking oil everywhere and Cuba is no exception. Three large Chinese companies, SINOPEC, Petro China and CINOOC - China National Offshore Corporation, are involved in a large agreement, perhaps already underway, for coastal and deep-water explorations. Most significant to this topic, especially in light of other Chinese investment in Cuba, is the fact that Sinopec, China's second largest oil company, has stated a goal of helping boost Cuba's domestic oil production and producing 60% of its oil needs by 2006 ... Additional plans for exploration and development of other blocs of potential reserves were announced by two other Chinese oil companies, China National Petroleum Corp. and China National Offshore Oil Corp., after talks with CUPET, Cuba Petroleum. Some exploration will be in coastal regions but much, based on the better quality of the oil, will take place in off-shore deep waters.

Let's cut to the chase ... and pardon me if I scream here:

The point isn't that China is not presently drilling for oil within 90 miles of the U.S. The point is that they CAN! --- and, thanks to the Democrat congress --- we CAN'T.

Democrats would like us to wrangle over what IS happening. The issue is what CAN happen. They can drill. We can't. They're planning to. We aren't. Even government educated Democrat myrmidons can understand that.

So Cuba, with China's help (and the help of the Leftists in the USA), can drain the oil reserves WE don't ALLOW ourselves to drill, by drilling on the edge where our water rights end. The Commies win, we loose. Because we LET them.

John McCain, Global Warming, Cleaner Air, Silver Lined Clouds and Sweet Lemonade

I've been ranting a lot lately about supporting our candidate, even when you can't agree with him on many issues. It's clearly difficult when you don't agree with your party's potential leader. I've compared it to making lemonade out of lemons. Perhaps it's my turn to make the lemonade.

Anyone who's read my blog knows what I think about the global warming hoax. Anyone who sees the news knows that John McCain is actively playing up to it.

Yes, it bothers me. Many times in my life, I've embraced the philosophy of finding silver linings in clouds, or making lemonade out of lemons. And yes, I've applied it to this. I'll start with the cloud first. Yes, I found the silver lining. For me it is thus:

Pat recently used the word "Watermelons" to describe many of the people who dominate the environmental movement; they are green on the outside, red on the inside. Their concern for the environment is only skin deep, it's really just a cover for their leftist anti-capitalist agenda. Their main purpose is to use environmentalism to attack capitalism, the same way many leftists support gay rights, radical feminists and black separatists; they care nothing for these causes, they are just supported by leftists to be used as a means to an end.

I consider myself "green" in the genuine sense; things like recycling and conserving energy and using resources efficiently, and conserving our environment by developing renewable resources are, to me, wonderful conservative ideas. Authentic environmentalism doesn't bother me, but the watermelons like Al Gore and company do.

When president Bush first mentioned global warming in his state of the union address, I was quite annoyed with him. I suspect he was simply trying to address an issue that has many Americans concerned, because he is supposed to be president of all the people, and as such it's necessary to stretch yourself at times to address issues that may not be your own, or at least not your priority.

I expect the same with John McCain, but he has walked through the door George Bush opened, and taken this issue to the next level. What good could come out of this? I can honestly think of a few things:

1.) If he treats the issue moderately, he will be appreciated by moderates who want to see something done, while simultaneously taking some of the wind out of the sails of the loonies and the radical left who are egging them on.

2.) Many of the solutions that are desired by global warmist believers also mesh nicely with concerns of many Republicans like myself. Developing alternative energy sources, including nuclear power, reducing dependency on oil, conserving energy, less waste of resources... if we can agree on these things, even if it's for different reasons, then why shouldn't we?

3.) We end up with cleaner air. Is this a bad thing? We all need to breath, and so will future generations. The pollution we release into the air can't be called back, it just keeps building up. It builds up gradually and we don't notice. Then one day, it's too late. Nuclear waste can be contained, and 80 percent of it can now be recycled. Other alternate energy sources don't pollute. Placing caps on emissions would provide incentive to support and speed their development.

Ok, that's the silver lining. But there are dangers inherent here. No matter what McCain does, the radical left will scream that it's not enough, and push for more, to try and damage our economy as much a possible. But by treating their concerns seriously and attempting to do something about it, he's also entering a tug-of-war contest, that will bring him close to the edge of the hoax abyss. If he can maintain his position and balance, fine. If he gets pulled over the edge, it could be disastrous.

So then comes the question: can we make lemonade out of this? I'm willing to try, but it depends on how far left he gets dragged. If he's pulled too far, the lemons will be so sour that I doubt any amount of sugar could fix it. I'm hoping he can build enough moderate support in this cause, to anchor him and keep him away from the cliff's edge, where the extremists want to go. If he can maintain the necessary balance, I will support him in this... but cautiously.