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My own culture is vastly different to the culture of my first immigrant relatives 160 years ago – and their cultures changed dramatically after they arrived here. My culture is distinctly different to the culture of my parents and the culture of my childhood, and it’s change a lot since I was a young adult.
Some parts of Kiwi culture I’d rather see the end of – our culture of violence, our culture of getting too pissed, our culture of getting too fat, our culture of exaggerating differences, and more.
A Kiwi culture I’d like to see more of is being able to “do our own thing” alongside each other.
One part of our culture I’d love to see the back of is prissy people going on about how we have a culture of drinking too much and a culture of getting too fat.
“But, more to the point, it is worth asking what the “New Zealand way of life” is: whether it is fixed in a white, Christian past”
There it is- The inevitible dig at “White Christians”….
Personally one aspect of Kiwi Culture I’d like to see change is the current school of thought that anything of ‘White-European’ origin is bad and that the proverbial sun shines out of every other culture/religion. I am sick of having it drummed into me by publications like the Herald that as a New Zealander of European descent I am an evil bigoted redneck and I must be punished.
Andrei, people drinking too much (and resulting behaviours) is a hell of a lot more detrimental to our society than varying degrees of belief and non belief in gods.
I could counter with criticism of a minority culture of exuding the smugness of belief that unless everyone believes exactly the same as them we are doomed.
“the current school of thought that anything of ‘White-European’ origin is bad”
Where do you see that? Apart from such a huge generalisation being virtually meaningless I don’t think you can back this claim with any substantial evidence.
“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly – it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over”
One part of our culture I’d love to see the back of is prissy people going on about how we have a culture of drinking too much and a culture of getting too fat.
Some people need to get a life
…………………..
What about when people get drunk and disturb others?
NZ First has to change its focus to a lifestyle party. Many UK people come here to avoid the long commutes, traffic and over development and I assume this would apply to a proportion on Chinese. It might come down to property industry versus people.
“Oligopoly pays.” That’s the chief lesson emerging from Alice Poon’s excellent survey of Hong Kong’s real estate and infrastructure economies. Although Hong Kong is often characterized as one of the world’s freest economies, it is in fact controlled by a handful of wealthy individuals and companies who stifle—rather than encourage—competition.
That brings us to another ‘taboo’ subject, immigration.
The main attraction of New Zealand is that it is not overpopulated.
How many more people do we want to import.
We now have a population of 4.5 million.
How much is enough?
5 million, 10 million?
Texas police on Thursday detained an AWOL U.S. soldier, who told investigators after his arrest that he planned to attack soldiers at the Fort Hood military base.
Police also discovered bomb-making materials, shotgun shells, and ammunition in the man’s apartment, a federal law enforcement official told CNN. The soldier, Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo, 21, was arrested at a Killeen, Texas traffic stop.
Abdo raised suspicions after making roughly $250 worth of purchases at a local gun store called “Guns Galore.” According to a clerk in the store, Abdo seemed unfamiliar with the pistol and ammunition he was buying. The clerk, Greg Ebert, told the Associated Press that after watching Abdo, he “felt uncomfortable with his overall demeanor and the fact he didn’t know what the hell he was buying.” Ebert added, “I thought it prudent to contact the local authorities, which I did.”
The arrest comes almost two years after a shooting spree at Fort Hood killed 13 people and wounded 29 others. Nidal Malik Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, has been charged with the killings.
Even before his arrest, Abdo had a troubled record with the military. In 2009, he refused to deploy for Afghanistan and applied to be discharged as a conscientious objector, arguing that his Islamic faith prohibited him from fighting in the war. Abdo received approval for the request from the Army, but on May 13, he was charged with possession of child pornography. He was awaiting a possible court-martial went he went AWOL from Fort Cambell in Kentucky on July 4.
But the media dare not report it – it might offend Muslims. The White House still won’t even admit that the original terror attack at Fort Hood had anything to do with Islam.
“For a nation whose cultural values were more or less destroyed by the Cultural Revolution, greed and corruption have become the name of the game in China. Manipulation of others to achieve one’s goals is not viewed as morally unacceptable, nor does morality have a place in the nation’s scramble for economic success.
Look no farther for proof of this than the Chinese leaders’ relentless, yet unsuccessful, efforts to stamp out government corruption. Society’s obsession with money, luxury brands, idols and celebrities reflects the spiritual and moral desert the society has become.
For a nation whose cultural values were more or less destroyed by the Cultural Revolution, greed and corruption have become the name of the game in China. Manipulation of others to achieve one’s goals is not viewed as morally unacceptable, nor does morality have a place in the nation’s scramble for economic success.
Look no farther for proof of this than the Chinese leaders’ relentless, yet unsuccessful, efforts to stamp out government corruption. Society’s obsession with money, luxury brands, idols and celebrities reflects the spiritual and moral desert the society has become. ” http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=474&Itemid=35
Peters told the Sunday Star-Times he will tackle the issue of silence in abusive families by cutting the benefits of family members who withhold information on child abuse.
“If you think that while picking up a benefit you can go on withholding information from the state, you are going to be seriously mistaken.
“I want to know – not just [from] the nearest person to that child but the whole family and the wider family related to that child – I want to know that we have got admission and ownership and not silence.
“The state is entitled to an answer. We are charged with the care and security of every child and everything to make that happen is going to be pursued.”
Political commentator Chris Trotter said the policy was in line with Peters’ past strategies to target touch-point topics.
“New Zealand First has never been constrained by democratic niceties when it comes to serious issues. They have always advocated a strong cut-through approach. This has certainly stood the party in good stead.”
He said Peters was a master at perceiving frustration felt by voters and providing clear, and often severe, solutions.
Just how would Peters apply this to, for example, the Kahui family?
Who would he have starved into talking? And how long would it take? Would he surround the house with police to prevent them accessing food elsewhere. Just what would Winston do?
Another NZ First policy that sounds good until you ask what exactly does it mean.
Winston is just full of krap
You’ve nailed it. The ceaseless, insidious nagging from the liberal wankers is designed to tip us over the edge of sanity.
Blogs, newspapers, TV, every form of communication is full of the crap. Everything is ‘whiteys’ fault requiring still more barrow loads of money to atone for the sins of our forebears. Every overseas shithole would be paradise on earth if some colonial power, three hundred years past, hadn’t shifted a border or introduced trade.
We have become a country where according to the liberal wankers, Caucasians should alter their standards, beliefs & way of life to accommodate primitives who want to drag their stone age carcasses to our shores so we can look after them & their ever increasing offspring.
It’s time to put down the Koolaid, relocate our backbones & tell the immigrants to shape up & adapt or stay home.
If Minto is so passionate about causes, why doesn’t he protest against bosses who cheat IRD by not paying money they’ve deducted from their staff. And he could start with his own boss; Matt McCarten!
Peters told the Sunday Star-Times he will tackle the issue of silence in abusive families by cutting the benefits of family members who withhold information on child abuse.
“If you think that while picking up a benefit you can go on withholding information from the state, you are going to be seriously mistaken.
………
Just how would Peters apply this to, for example, the Kahui family?
Who would he have starved into talking? And how long would it take? Would he surround the house with police to prevent them accessing food elsewhere. Just what would Winston do?
==============
it would probably take until about tea time when someone decided it was time for fish and chips.
Repeating “everything is ‘whiteys’ fault” suggests you are already tipped over the edge of sanity. It’s a symptom of over exaggeration of the “poor us” syndrome.
a lifestyle based party may be able to appeal to a percentage of Asian immigrants. New Zealanders concerned about lifestyle have similar interests to Asians with a Confucian Core Value. Old Brown caused a stir by asking “will they fit in?” Answer: a percentage yes-
US presidential candidate Barack Obama has tried to warn the American people of a general “empathy deficit.” Strangely enough, his guiding principle in politics, symbolized by his famous line, “How would that make you feel?” curiously resonates with a Confucian core value: “Do not do unto others what you do not want done unto yourself”.
In China, the empathy deficit is not only at a worrying level but seems to be further compounded by what intellectuals call a “values vacuum.” In one of his blog posts, Financial Times Chinese web columnist Xu Zhi-yuan said, “The ideals of the past are no longer effective. Yet worship of money can only be a temporary substitute. We cannot possibly transplant Christianity onto Chinese soil, nor can we simply revive our ancients’ values.”
It may not be mere coincidence that there has been recent talk of the revival of Confucianism and even Taoism in China Beijing has just endorsed Hong Kong’s decision to make Confucius’s birthday a public holiday. Yu Dan, a Beijing Normal University media professor, recently published a book called “Thoughts on the Analects of Confucius” that has sold 2 million copies.
Moral values as depicted by Confucius had always been an integral part of Chinese culture. With “harmonious society” the present slogan of the Chinese leaders, it dovetails nicely with what Confucius thought was an important social value; the revival of Confucian values may at least be convenient politically.
Got a 3rd phone call from “MICROSOFT” last night, 2 mins latter my sister gets a call from the same people.
The must be going through the white pages person after person.
Attention political parties, tell me your solution and I might consider voting for you this election.
Pete @ 10:34am – Of course, trueblue has apologists like viking2.
He said to me in the GD yesterday “Problem is that you refuse to think about what he says in any depth because it doesn’t suit your comfortable existence and by the time you do it will be to late they will have come to take you away” (sic)
Notice how the Bedwetter dances around calling Breviek a psychopath and mentally ill coward but never quite calls him a terrorist and all while asserting that he and his ilk are the true victims.
PG @ 8:52 ” “the current school of thought that anything of ‘White-European’ origin is bad”
“Where do you see that? Apart from such a huge generalisation being virtually meaningless I don’t think you can back this claim with any substantial evidence.”
I’m right with Longknives. PG is taking his cultivated veneer of “reasonableness” to new extremes today, not only blinding himself to the widespread denigration (in some quarters) of everything in this country derived from European culture, but also chiding us all for a “culture of violence” (rubbish, PG, that’s nothing to do with 90% of NZ’s population, as you’re well aware), our drinking, our eating, and our “exaggerating differences”.
And he has the imperious impudence to accuse Longknives of “a huge generalisation being virtually meaningless”.
………….to Fletch @9.23
You ‘reveal’ something that “you won’t see in the news”
Are you kidding !!!!
That story is all over the news. You will see it anywhere you look.
And where did you get it. Actually it was ‘the news’
Enough of the conspiracy theories. Just stop it.
The State Administration of Taxation announced that starting Feb. 1 it intends to collect unpaid but due land appreciation taxes from developers. The tax was actually introduced in 1994, but neither the tax bureau nor local governments, which usually have snug relationships with developers and turn a blind eye to unpaid tax balances, have ever bothered to collect it.. Developers were mostly required to pay only 0.5 to 2 percent of estimated sales revenue as a tax prepayment at the start of pre-sales, with the remaining tax balance hanging in mid-air.
With the central government appearing newly resolute in correcting excesses in the real estate market and corralling local government corruption, the announcement his property stocks hard. The 20 percent profit margin is far below what most property developers believe is reasonable. Although figures are hard to come by in China, at one point before the Asian financial crisis shattered Hong Kong’s property boom in 1997, some developers were running 400 percent margins. By one estimate, the land appreciation tax would cut
developers’ margins by 30 to 60 percent. http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=357&Itemid=32
“Nanfang Daily columnist Xue Cong points out that the return rate of an individual entity’s economic actions should be close to that of the whole society. If the former exceeds the latter by a wide margin, it means that the society is overpaying the individual or entity. When this happens, hatred for the wealthy will surface. While market forces should be allowed to solve housing shortage problems for the low- to middle-income class, a government should attempt to maintain an orderly market via tax policies, Xue adds. ” http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=357&Itemid=32
Corruption thrives where bureaucrats have control over vast areas of people’s lives. Hence corruption is endemic in all Communist countries.
By slashing the size of the state ACT would also be slashing those countless opportunities for graft, leaving ordinary citizens free to go about their business without having to make pay-offs to parasites.
Luc Hansen (2,950) Says:
July 30th, 2011 at 11:50 pm
V2
Ah ha.
No refutation of the actual science, then?
Pity.
There’s a Nobel Prize waiting.
No need another andy did it for me which you so glibly ignored.
Other_Andy (227) Says:
July 30th, 2011 at 11:28 pm
New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism
In short, the central premise of alarmist global warming theory is that carbon dioxide emissions should be directly and indirectly trapping a certain amount of heat in the earth’s atmosphere and preventing it from escaping into space. Real-world measurements, however, show far less heat is being trapped in the earth’s atmosphere than the alarmist computer models predict, and far more heat is escaping into space than the alarmist computer models predict. http://blogs.forbes.com/jamestaylor/2011/07/27/new-nasa-data-blow-gaping-hold-in-global-warming-alarmism/
Besides I was so bored repeating myself to you I fell asleep at the keyboard.
This ‘other’ John Key is a hypocrite. He is a far lefty and wants to tax high earners at 55% and put tariffs on imports yet has set up a business IMPORTING electronic cigarettes. Buy NZ made eh! Why don’t you make your own electronic ciggies, OJK! I hope your business makes lots of money ‘other John Key’ then you may wake up from your lefty slumber. Idiot!!
Changing the subject for a moment, there was a lovely line during the live commentary of the Canterbury/Manawatu game yesterday. A decsion went against Manawatu and without missing a beat the commentator said that the player had a face like Phil Goff on polling day. The analogy might find its way into everday speech. Like, as useless as tits on a bull!
He described it as a ’2 hour video on the forces behind communism: who they were and who they are now’.
When I watched the first 15 minutes, it seemed to be pretty bog standard jewish/freemasonry/illumintai conspiracy stuff. reid disagreed and recommended I watch it all.
Boy, am I glad I did. Check out the happy Jews in German camps ‘where things were different’ from the evil Soviet regime. It’s at 1.40 on the video.
Viking2, I saw Luc’s comment last night (but was a little too wobbly to type at the time) and was reminded of a comment he made recently to the effect that none of us are even qualified to judge the science and we should just believe the IPCC.
Luc has himself said that most estimates of climate sensitivity to a doubling of CO2 are clustered around 1.2degC. This isn’t scary by any means, as it would be about 2100 before we reach 580ppm CO2 (from ‘pre-industrial’ 290ppm). Given we’ve had half the increase in temp already, that means from CO2 directly we can expect another 0.6deg C by 2100. I can’t think of many places in the world where that wouldn’t be welcomed, and the benefits would vastly outweigh the downsides (increased food crops and less deaths from cold for example).
No doubt Luc would want to rebut this with a claim that the direct increase from CO2 plays only a part, and that feedbacks would amplify this warming to a more dangerous level. The empirical observations negate that argument however.
Why would anyone buy the NZ Herald? The rantings of a thieving Communist and bunch of ignorant crap spouted by someone whose name just happens to be the same as the Prime Minister’s? They’d have to pay me.
cha (1,028) Says:
July 31st, 2011 at 10:48 am
Notice how the Bedwetter dances around calling Breviek a psychopath and mentally ill coward but never quite calls him a terrorist and all while asserting that he and his ilk are the true victims.
Why the hell would anyone read, let alone consider, anything that bedwetter has to say?
Notice how the Bedwetter dances around calling Breviek a psychopath and mentally ill coward but never quite calls him a terrorist and all while asserting that he and his ilk are the true victims.
Points to remember.
1. No one has yet established or pronounced said gunman was either of those things.
2. Labeling him a Terrorist is also false labeling at this point in time.
No doubt all the labels will be rolled out and even glorified to explain him.
Red at least called him a complete coward for killing 76 people without just cause.
No one else here has made any clear distinctions like that.
Stick with the facts and the stats. Its always clear then.
This piece has so many twists, trying to desperately disconnect his ‘faith’ from his actions. This in contrast with the story about Breivik who was called a Christian extreme right winger as soon as they found out it wasn’t an attack by muslim extremists.
This is what AP wrote Abdo had said about his so called reasons for objecting to serve in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“whether going to war was the right thing to do Islamically.”
“I began to understand and believe that only God can give legitimacy to war and not humankind,” he wrote. “That’s when I realized my conscience would not allow me to deploy.”
Sounds great doesn’t it?
Conscientious objector
Islam, religion of Peace, blah blah…
Then you start to wonder.
The war in Afghanistan and Iraq were already going for two years when he enlisted.
He enlisted as a soldier in the army, what did he think he was going to do once his training was finished?
It all becomes clear when you check the interview he did with Al Jazeera, which AP deliberately ignores because it doesn’t fit the narrative.
“I don’t believe I can involve myself in an army that wages war against Muslims. I don’t believe I could sleep at night if I take part, in any way, in the killing of a Muslim.”
So, killing is fine, as long as they are not muslims because that is against Islam.
Fletch
Just same old , same old..The TV presenters were very quick to label Anders a Christian fundamentalist. This inspite the fact that there were reports that Christian and conservative were added to his facebook page after he was arrested. In other writings , he said that he wasn’t really interested in religion. And what is the big bad BANNED word on the TV news? You guessed it ISLAMIC..None of their terrorists are ever islamic terrorists , they are always ”militants.”
Muslims have a ”Norway” everyday of the year but if you are ever going to read about these murderous outbreaks , there will be a very small piece near the back of the paper and of course , you will never read the words muslim or islamic. Insurgents , rebels , militants etc but NEVER muslim , islam or islamic.
People are being deliberately decieved. What is that saying about mushrooms?
V2, No thanks. I’d rather dangle my scrotum in the jaws of an open gin trap and trigger it.
You cannot call this Norwegian fellow a terrorist (although wanna-be terrorist may apply) simply because he has not used terror to force or disrupt anything.
Only a nutter would do what he did (He probably would read Bedwetter’s crap).
JP1983- McCarten is either fucking deluded or a lying piece of crap- “The left is genuinely non-violent. They have restricted themselves to peaceful protest over the years and in my experience any physical violence tends to be the result of an inexperienced cop getting carried away.”
What a steaming pile of horse shite this man talks. Urewera training camps anyone?
It may be premature to label the Norwegian mass-murderer a nutter, psychopath etc. It is quite possible he is a sane, rational human. It’s sometimes comforting to medicalise things we can’t understand, to treat people with radically different thought processes as sick or deluded. To the murderer, deciding to kill a large number of people was quite rational: they deserved to die (for being left-wingers) and it would publicise his cause. His thought processes may not be too different from many other terrorists, or from anyone willing to die for a cause.
Haven’t seen any comment from the ‘warmists’ recently about the fact that the writer of the ‘polar bear’ article has been totally discredited. Something about him ‘lacking integrity’ ….
“Haven’t seen any comment from the ‘warmists’ recently about the fact that the writer of the ‘polar bear’ article has been totally discredited. Something about him ‘lacking integrity’ …. ”
Nah, accoding to my better half it is a plot of ‘Big Oil’ so they can drill in Alaska.
“JP1983- McCarten is either fucking deluded or a lying piece of crap- “The left is genuinely non-violent. They have restricted themselves to peaceful protest over the years and in my experience any physical violence tends to be the result of an inexperienced cop getting carried away.”
What a steaming pile of horse shite this man talks. Urewera training camps anyone?”
Don’t you dare to smear “Honest Matt”.
And the following is all extremist, white-surpremacist, right-wing (Christian) propaganda (Did I cover them all?); http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_terrorism
Other_Andy, I’ve been on that AGW scam case for a few years now. The alarmists are less vocal with each passing month, as their outrageous exaggerations melt in the face of empirical evidence
called a Christian extreme right winger as soon as they found out it wasn’t an attack by muslim extremists.
A 1500+ page manifesto emblazoned with crosses, the 2083 power point video with continual references to holy crusades and tributes to past Knights to go with Breivik’s references to himself as a Christian. The UDF, IRA and ETA, all Christian and all labelled as terrorist organisations.
Oh, that’s right, only if Muslims go on murderous rampages and terrorise people can you refer to their religion.
“Christendom is gradually being deconstructed. It is time that the Pope and his cardinals begin to resist the deliberate deconstruction of European Christendom. The process would, however, be quite challenging, but worth the effort as all Justiciar Knights who dies for their faith will be a great source of inspiration for generations to come. They will be role models. Certain, exceptionally brave and selfless, Justiciar Knights in the coming decades should even be considered as candidates for official veneration.”
You cannot call this Norwegian fellow a terrorist (although wanna-be terrorist may apply) simply because he has not used terror to force or disrupt anything.
If the meticulous construction of a bomb and detonating it in the middle of a city and then calmly carrying out a plan to kill his fellow Norwegians isn’t the act of a terrorist then wtf is?.
Oh, that’s right, only Muslims can be terrorists.
Whatever you may think of Mr Breviek and the revolting act that he has committed the simple fact remains that he has got people thinking about immigration into western democracies.
Of those people who already had a view on immigration, the socialists will be even more convinced that multiculturalism is the answer to the Breviek’s of this world, while the right wingers will point out that this tragedy would not have happened if there had been no wide scale immigration. However it is the majority of people, the ‘don’t knows’ who will be affected the most because by having to face this act they will need to come to terms with their own feelings and I think that this is where Mr Breviek’s actions will produce the result that he was looking for.
Regardless of the relentless pushing of multiculturalism over the years I believe that the majority of people in western society love their country and are inherently conservative about making wholesale changes to the population mix, also they are fundamentally unhappy with changes being made without their agreement or input.
What Mr Breviek has done is forced the ‘don’t knows’ living in all western democracies to examine their views on immigration into their country and my feeling is that this will result in a less liberal and more restrictive immigration policy for most if not all western democracies. Not only that I think that we will see a definite swing to the right as people look to end these seemingly endless waves of immigration that have they will perceive as being forced upon them by socialist type policies.
calendar girl at 1:37 pm PG@10.55: Please don’t change my words to craft a different meaning from the one you didn’t like.
This is what you said:
not only blinding himself to the widespread denigration (in some quarters) of everything in this country derived from European culture
That sounds like a huge generalisation to me. Explain something different?
but also chiding us all for a “culture of violence” (rubbish, PG, that’s nothing to do with 90% of NZ’s population, as you’re well aware), our drinking, our eating, and our “exaggerating differences”.
I’m not aware of 90% of the population not being a part of the culture of violence. Where do you get that statistic from?
In any case 400,000 violent minded people is a large culture in a country this size.
PG also tried to spread his hate and contempt early yesterday over on CR – I gave him the short sharp shift to the spam bin where he belongs. Traitorous and cowardly Marxist enablers like PG will have a lot of explaining to do when they stand before their Maker.
I wonder how Kris will explain to his “Maker” comments like this:
Kris K:
Rather than the pot slowing coming to the boil, and all the ‘frogs’ simply thinking they’re in a nice warm spa, by turning up the heat from luke-warm instantaneously to 100°C perhaps some of the ‘frogs’ will jump out, realising they’re being cooked alive, and will scream blue-bloody-murder to all the other dumbass ‘frogs’ about their common predicament, some of whom may consequently turn on those applying the heat.
There appears to be definite method to his [Breivik] “sanity” …
Kris K:
Spot on, Keith – and perhaps suitable motivation for someone who was aware of the above truths to take radical actions like we’ve just seen occur in Norway.
“Kris” is probably the most hypocritical person I’ve seen posting who claims they are Christian.
NASA satellite data from the years 2000 through 2011 show the Earth’s atmosphere is allowing far more heat to be released into space than alarmist computer models have predicted, reports a new study in the peer-reviewed science journal Remote Sensing.
Thankfully we got rid of this trougher from his job in Tauranga.
New administration fees kick in tomorrow
Sunday, 31, Jul, 2011 8:41AM
New administration fees for the Northern Gateway Toll Road north of Auckland kick in tomorrow.
There’ll be a charge of 40 cents per transaction when toll road users pay at a roadside kiosk.
Payments made over the phone will attract a charge of $3.70, but there’s no fee for online payments or prepaid accounts.
Stephen Town of the Transport Agency says recovering some administration costs is part of a broader effort to reduce the cost of processing toll payments.
The road’s base tolls of $2 a trip for light vehicles, and $4 for heavy vehicles, remain unchange
Unfortunatley that was after paying him $500k a year to waste the ratepayers money.
Could be viking but will it be reported as that here?
Meanwhile in the US they are attacking a Black man who is being accused of being a bigot.
yep you’ve got it, he’s a conservative! http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/
I had a look at the Forbes link you posted. It doesn’t strike me as a balanced piece of journalism, judging by the use of the word ‘alarmist’ in the headline, and this sentence a few lines in:
“reports that real-world data from NASA’s Terra satellite contradict multiple assumptions fed into alarmist computer models”
As you’ve stated before, you draw your conclusions from the data, not the spin. On the other hand, you may find this ‘scientific’ review, by a member of the Heartland Institute, fits in well with what you want to believe, and so, quite palatable.
I am also suspicious of the use of the NASA brand, as if this will impart added veracity to the study.
Anyone who works in IT infrastructure should be aware of this as a watching brief. Could be nothing might not even be accurately reported but just be aware.
I had a look at the Forbes link you posted. It doesn’t strike me as a balanced piece of journalism, judging by the use of the word ‘alarmist’ in the headline….”
OK, here we go.
Hope this is to your liking.
“Climatophobes attack the Church of Mother Gaia again”
Worshippers question scientific data and motives. One of the spokesmen explains that scientific data will not sway him. “Just because we can’t prove it is real doesn’t mean it isn’t”.
There have now been several attacks questioning the faithful.
Will the UN introduce ‘hate speech’ laws to protect Mother Gaia worshippers from more ridicule and constant attacks? Other commentators around the world have denounced the attacks on the Gaia worshippers and have called for the racist attacks to stop.
@reid @ 5:41pm – No. When starboard asked me if I was (to use his words) “a sodomiser”, I replied that I wasn’t and he would have to look elsewhere for a boyfriend
I quite like “alarmist” OA, it’s like “denier” except it’s our perception management meme, not theirs, so I like it a lot and plan on saying it all the time whenever this topic comes up, so as to propagate the meme as widely as possible.
But seriously, that satellite data blows alarmists completely out of the water. It directly attacks their central hypothesis…
In short, the central premise of alarmist global warming theory is that carbon dioxide emissions should be directly and indirectly trapping a certain amount of heat in the earth’s atmosphere and preventing it from escaping into space. Real-world measurements, however, show far less heat is being trapped in the earth’s atmosphere than the alarmist computer models predict, and far more heat is escaping into space than the alarmist computer models predict.
When objective NASA satellite data, reported in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, show a “huge discrepancy” between alarmist climate models and real-world facts, climate scientists, the media and our elected officials would be wise to take notice. Whether or not they do so will tell us a great deal about how honest the purveyors of global warming alarmism truly are.
Roger Rodders, thanks for the clarification. In some ways it’s a shame though, for I could see the potential for some sort of soap-opera contrabilulation developing like OCC but never mind, it didn’t happen…
Here’s some additional info. The article is written by James M. Taylor, a senior fellow for environment policy at The Heartland Institute and managing editor of Environment & Climate News.
The Heartland Institute questions the scientific consensus on climate change, arguing that global warming is not occurring and, further, that warming would be beneficial if it did occur.
The Institute was founded in 1984 and conducts research and advocacy work on issues including government spending, taxation, healthcare, tobacco policy, global warming, information technology and free-market environmentalism.
FWIW, NASA have been, until quite recently, promoters of AGW. IIRC one of their sins involved using data from faulty satellite temperature sensors when they knew they were over reporting. That they are now starting to publish data the doesn’t sing from the AGW hymn book is good news for truth
SC, the alternative to free market environmentalism is state or global government mandated environmentalism. Based on the manipulation we’ve witnessed in respect of the AGW scam I prefer not to trust anything other than elective, personal environmental initiatives.
A Baptist preacher and his wife decided to get a new dog.
Ever mindful of the congregation, they knew the dog must
also be a Baptist.
They visited kennel after kennel and explained their needs.
Finally, they found a kennel whose owner assured them he
had just the dog they wanted. The owner brought the dog
to meet the pastor and his wife.
“Fetch the Bible,” he commanded. The dog bounded to the
bookshelf, scrutinized the books, located the Bible, and
brought it to the owner.
“Now find Psalm 23,” he commanded.
The dog dropped the Bible to the floor, and showing marvelous
dexterity with his paws, leafed through and finding the correct
passage, pointed to it with his paw.
The pastor and his wife were very impressed and purchased
the dog.
That evening, a group of church members came to visit. The
pastor and his wife began to show off the dog, having him
locate several Bible verses. The visitors were very
impressed.
One man asked, “Can he do regular dog tricks, too?”
“I haven’t tried yet,” the pastor replied.
He pointed his finger at the dog. “Heel!” the pastor
commanded.
The dog immediately jumped on a chair, placed one paw
on the pastor’s forehead and began to howl.
The pastor looked at his wife in shock and said,
“Good Lord! He’s Pentecostal!”
Here are more of those nutters who question the accuracy of IPCC climate projections and that Global warming is primarily caused by natural processes.
Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Garth Paltridge,Visiting Fellow ANU and retired Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research and retired Director of the Institute of the Antarctic Cooperative Research Centre.
Hendrik Tennekes, retired Director of Research, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.
Antonino Zichichi,emeritus professor of nuclear physics at the University of Bologna and president of the World Federation of Scientists.
Khabibullo Abdusamatov, mathematician and astronomer at Pulkovo Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Sallie Baliunas, astronomer, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Ian Clark,Pubs hydrogeologist, professor, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa.
David Douglass, Pubssolid-state physicist, professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester.
Chris de Freitas,Associate Professor, School of Geography, Geology and Environmental Science, University of Auckland.
Don Easterbrook,Pubs emeritus professor of geology, Western Washington University.
William M. Gray, Professor Emeritus and head of The Tropical Meteorology Project, Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University.
And lots more…….
The heritics, how dare they.
Tie them at the stake and burn them
NASA produce the data. that’s all. How it is interpreted is the issue. There are probably peer-reviewed studies using the same NASA data claiming to confirm the current mainstream climate model predictions, but to associate those hypothetical studies with NASA would be misleading and mischievous.
Regarding free market environmentalism: AGW aside, it doesn’t seem to have worked thus far…. The environment will always be regarded as a free resource, unless it is regulated.
A blond man showed up at work one day with a black eye. When his co-workers saw him they asked him what happened. He told them it had happened at church. They insisted that you couldn’t get a black eye at church, and wanted to know what really happened.
So, he told them, “I went to the church—I got on my knees and prayed—I stood up to sing the hymns—there in front of me was the biggest woman I had ever seen, and when she had stood up, her dress had got stuck in her arse-crack, so being the gentleman I am, I reached over and pulled it out for her and she did not like that so she hit me.” The guys laughed and ribbed him about it all day.
The next week he showed up to work and his face was beat bad! Again the guys asked him what had happened and he told them he’d got beaten up at church. Again they didn’t believe him, so he explained, “I went to the church—I got on my knees and prayed—I stood up to sing the hymns—and there in front of me was that same big woman with her dress again stuck up her arse-crack.”
At this point the other men interrupted and said “Please tell us you didn’t pull her dress out of there again?”
“No, the guy standing beside me did, and I knew she didn’t like that—so I shoved it back in.”
Apple announced today that it has developed a breast implant that can store and play music. The i-Tit will cost $499 or $599 depending on cup size. This has been hailed as a major breakthrough because women are always complaining about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them.
What’s this about James Taylor of the Heartland Institute? The linked journal article (http://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/3/8/1603/pdf) doesn’t have that name on the byline…?
Thomas was late for the station. He was very cross with the new tilting trains, which had held him up because they could not tilt properly, and now he was running along the track, trying to make up for lost time. “Oh come along! We’re rather late. Oh, come along! We’re rather late,” he sang to Annie and Clarabel, his two coaches. But Thomas could not seem to go faster than 100 miles per hour, no matter how hard he puffed.
“Why am I unable to exceed these silly speed restrictions? ” whistled Thomas impatiently. Annie and Clarabel laughed, because the high-speed line had recently been upgraded to include Automatic Train Protection (ATP), which intervenes automatically to ensure naughty engines comply with set speed limits. “Bother! Something must be wrong with my firebox,” said Thomas. By the time he got to the station, the Slim Controller was already waiting for him.
“Thomas, you are 47 minutes late, well within our performance targets for this month,” said the Slim Controller, who was looking very young and fit for a man his age. “Congratulations. ”
“Thank you, Sir,” said Thomas. He noticed that the platform was crowded with schoolchildren, many of whom were shaking and crying.
“These children need to go to the seaside for the day,” said the Slim Controller, “but they are afraid to ride on a train, because they think it might crash. I need you to show them how safe rail travel can be.”
Suddenly, much to Thomas’s surprise, competent rail workers in high-visibility clothing began to uncouple Annie and Clarabel.
“Help, Thomas! Help!” shouted Clarabel. “Where are we going?” cried Annie.
“I’m afraid that Annie and Clarabel are Mark I rolling stock,” said the Slim Controller, “creaky old slam-door coaches from the 1960s. We’ll be replacing them with newer stock immediately.”
Thomas was sad to see Annie and Clarabel being towed away, but he was soon smiling again when he saw his two shiny new carriages, Helga and Sophie.
“We come from Sweden,” they sang in lovely soft voices. As the frightened children were forced on to Thomas’s two new coaches, he got a very naughty idea.
“I’ll show them just how much FUN trains can be!” he peeped.
“Be a good little engine, Thomas,” said the Slim Controller. “Remember that my pay incentives are directly linked to your performance. ” As he pulled out of the station, Thomas soon forgot the Slim Controller’s warning. Instead of going directly to the seaside, Thomas headed for a main line which he knew had yet to be upgraded with ATP. Thank goodness the government had reneged on its safety commitments! Then, just as he approached the junction his brakes squealed, and poor Thomas found
himself standing still on the line. “Whatever now?” he moaned. “You passed a signal, Thomas!” sang Helga. “You passed a signal at danger!”
“Those signals are only for lazy trains who need a rest,” said Thomas. “My driver passes them all the time.”
“It’s not up to your driver, any more, Thomas,” said Sophie. “The new Automatic Warning System applies your brakes whenever you pass a signal at danger, unless your driver cancels the warning within two seconds.”
“Well why didn’t he, then?” demanded Thomas. “There’s no one here but us!” “Sorry,” said Thomas’s driver. “I’m really stoned.” Slowly the train began to reverse up the tracks.
“Not to worry mate,” peeped Thomas with a cheeky wink, “your secret’s safe with me.”
“Nothing personal,” said the driver, “but it really freaks me out when you talk.”
Now Thomas and Helga and Sophie were heading for the seaside once again. However Thomas was planning more tricks to frighten his passengers. Perhaps he would derail into a field with an angry bull in it! That would teach those children not to ride on trains! Thomas looked for some faulty points, or a nice pile of wet leaves, but there were none to be found. He hoped he might spot some vandals amaging the track, but all along the way on both sides appropriate fencing had been installed to inhibit access. “It is estimated that 55% of all train incidents are due to vandalism!” sang Sophie.
“Huh,” said the driver.
At the next station some policemen came and escorted Thomas’s driver off the train. “We are taking you for drug testing,” said one of them. “Allegations have been made under the new Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis System – the whistleblower’ s charter, if you like.”
“The system is open to all Railway Group members, as well as other participating companies,” sang Helga and Sophie.
“Bye-bye! Good luck. Bye-bye! Good luck,” puffed Thomas.
“Does anyone hear them besides me?” asked the driver.
Eventually a new driver was found for Thomas, one who had tested negative for cannabis and positive for literacy. Soon he and Helga and Sophie were under way again. Now the children were smiling as Thomas adhered strictly to prevailing speed restrictions all the way to the seaside. In the village he met Bertie Bus driving down the stretch of road which runs alongside the railway.
“Hullo, Thomas!” said Bertie. “Care to race?”
“I can’t,” moaned Thomas. “The track won’t let me! It’s called safety.”
“Why, rail travel is already much safer than going by bus,” said Bertie, slamming into a bridge abutment, killing four.
“Really? said Thomas. He began to think that safety wasn’t so bad after all. When he finally pulled into the station, the Slim Controller was there waiting for him.
“How did you get here so fast?” asked Thomas.
“I flew on EasyJet,” said the Slim Controller. “It’s very convenient, and I wanted to be here in order to give you this award for Effective Risk Management. Thomas, you really are a safe little engine.” The
children cheered as they disembarked.
“Thank you,” said Thomas proudly. “It remains my number-one priority.”
Yes. The article, not the journal author. So James Taylor has taken this………:
On the Misdiagnosis of Surface Temperature Feedbacks from
Variations in Earth’s Radiant Energy Balance
Abstract: The sensitivity of the climate system to an imposed radiative imbalance remains
the largest source of uncertainty in projections of future anthropogenic climate change.
Here we present further evidence that this uncertainty from an observational perspective is
largely due to the masking of the radiative feedback signal by internal radiative forcing,
probably due to natural cloud variations. That these internal radiative forcings exist and
likely corrupt feedback diagnosis is demonstrated with lag regression analysis of satellite
and coupled climate model data, interpreted with a simple forcing-feedback model. While
the satellite-based metrics for the period 2000–2010 depart substantially in the direction of
lower climate sensitivity from those similarly computed from coupled climate models, we
find that, with traditional methods, it is not possible to accurately quantify this discrepancy
in terms of the feedbacks which determine climate sensitivity. It is concluded that
atmospheric feedback diagnosis of the climate system remains an unsolved problem, due
primarily to the inability to distinguish between radiative forcing and radiative feedback in
satellite radiative budget observations.
……and come up with this conclusion:
New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism
PG @ @2.49: “I’m not aware of 90% of the population not being a part of the culture of violence. Where do you get that statistic from?”
You were the one who claimed that NZ had a “culture of violence” @8.21am. (You even referred later to *the* culture of violence.) I simply called you on it, as it’s patently clear that the great majority of New Zealanders are not inclined to or involved in violence. I don’t need a tailored media “poll” to provide a neat statistic that would satisfy people like you who won’t confront realities.
I also indicated that I don’t care much for you (or any self-nominated custodian of morality) berating New Zealanders in general with allegations of violence, drunkenness, gluttony and “exaggerating differences”. Because those traits are part of Kiwi “culture” – in your view – we’re all somehow deemed to share the attached blame. You, no doubt, will offer to lead us down the path that – in you view – we need to travel. Don’t count me in on that, Pete.
As the Vicar was greeting the congregation as they exited the church after hs service an very attractive young lady wearing an extremely low cut and revealing dress caught his his eye and he said to her;
Excuse me miss that is a very revealing dress and I don’t think it is appropriate for wearing to church.
She responded – but my boyfriend likes it and he says that when I am wearing this dress and he puts his head on my chest he can hear music.
That is facinating says the Vicar – do you mind if I try.
Go ahead says the young lady
So the Vicar puts his head on her chest and listens for a while
Then he stands up and says – I can’t hear a thing
No she replies – you are not plugged in!!!
The vicar sees a young lady leaving his church in a very low cut and revealing dress.
He says to her – excuse me miss that dress is not suitable for wearing in my church.
She replied – but I have a divine right.
His responds – you have a divine left too but I still don’t want you wearing that dress in my church!!
cg- I’m not berating New Zealanders in general, I pointed out that amongst the cultures here we have are cultures of violence and drinking in particular that contribute to some awful statistics. I’m not suggesting anyone share “attached blame”. It’s a fact that these cultures are a problem here, that’s all.
PG: At most, those two examples are minority “sub-cultures”, albeit realities that are very serious problems within our society. To call them “parts of Kiwi culture”, however, is to employ all-enveloping language that draws all members of NZ society into a sense of having caused or contributed to the problems, and thereby into a share of the blame. (I reject the latter notion absolutely.) It can then serve as justification for greater government control over more aspects of our already over-regulated lives.
July 31st, 2011 at 8:07 am
More from the conspiracy theory meister
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10742012
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 8:21 am
The Herald looks at Kiwi culture in Editorial: Laying down law to Muslims
There’s a minority culture in New Zealand of intolerance to people who are “different”.
“What is Kiwi culture?”
Some parts of Kiwi culture I’d rather see the end of – our culture of violence, our culture of getting too pissed, our culture of getting too fat, our culture of exaggerating differences, and more.
A Kiwi culture I’d like to see more of is being able to “do our own thing” alongside each other.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 8:32 am
One part of our culture I’d love to see the back of is prissy people going on about how we have a culture of drinking too much and a culture of getting too fat.
Some people need to get a life
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 8:47 am
“But, more to the point, it is worth asking what the “New Zealand way of life” is: whether it is fixed in a white, Christian past”
There it is- The inevitible dig at “White Christians”….
Vote:Personally one aspect of Kiwi Culture I’d like to see change is the current school of thought that anything of ‘White-European’ origin is bad and that the proverbial sun shines out of every other culture/religion. I am sick of having it drummed into me by publications like the Herald that as a New Zealander of European descent I am an evil bigoted redneck and I must be punished.
July 31st, 2011 at 8:47 am
Andrei, people drinking too much (and resulting behaviours) is a hell of a lot more detrimental to our society than varying degrees of belief and non belief in gods.
I could counter with criticism of a minority culture of exuding the smugness of belief that unless everyone believes exactly the same as them we are doomed.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 8:52 am
“the current school of thought that anything of ‘White-European’ origin is bad”
Where do you see that? Apart from such a huge generalisation being virtually meaningless I don’t think you can back this claim with any substantial evidence.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 8:54 am
@Longknives
Get with the programme…!
“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly – it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over”
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 8:57 am
Pete you obviously don’t read Tapu Misa’s weekly pontifications in the Herald…..
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 8:59 am
I don’t think Misa missives have much substance. Certainly not “the current school of thought”.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 9:01 am
One part of our culture I’d love to see the back of is prissy people going on about how we have a culture of drinking too much and a culture of getting too fat.
Some people need to get a life
Vote:…………………..
What about when people get drunk and disturb others?
July 31st, 2011 at 9:10 am
NZ First has to change its focus to a lifestyle party. Many UK people come here to avoid the long commutes, traffic and over development and I assume this would apply to a proportion on Chinese. It might come down to property industry versus people.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 9:15 am
“Oligopoly pays.” That’s the chief lesson emerging from Alice Poon’s excellent survey of Hong Kong’s real estate and infrastructure economies. Although Hong Kong is often characterized as one of the world’s freest economies, it is in fact controlled by a handful of wealthy individuals and companies who stifle—rather than encourage—competition.
http://alicewaihanpoon.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 9:15 am
That bloody DPF!!!
I read in the paper this morning that he is providing Winnie with National polling results.
The things Winnie does to get in the paper!!
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 9:18 am
@hj
That brings us to another ‘taboo’ subject, immigration.
Vote:The main attraction of New Zealand is that it is not overpopulated.
How many more people do we want to import.
We now have a population of 4.5 million.
How much is enough?
5 million, 10 million?
July 31st, 2011 at 9:23 am
Won’t you won’t see on the news –
Another US soldier (a Muslim) was planning to attack Fort Hood.
But the media dare not report it – it might offend Muslims. The White House still won’t even admit that the original terror attack at Fort Hood had anything to do with Islam.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 9:24 am
it sounds like Act would do well in China:
“For a nation whose cultural values were more or less destroyed by the Cultural Revolution, greed and corruption have become the name of the game in China. Manipulation of others to achieve one’s goals is not viewed as morally unacceptable, nor does morality have a place in the nation’s scramble for economic success.
Look no farther for proof of this than the Chinese leaders’ relentless, yet unsuccessful, efforts to stamp out government corruption. Society’s obsession with money, luxury brands, idols and celebrities reflects the spiritual and moral desert the society has become.
For a nation whose cultural values were more or less destroyed by the Cultural Revolution, greed and corruption have become the name of the game in China. Manipulation of others to achieve one’s goals is not viewed as morally unacceptable, nor does morality have a place in the nation’s scramble for economic success.
Look no farther for proof of this than the Chinese leaders’ relentless, yet unsuccessful, efforts to stamp out government corruption. Society’s obsession with money, luxury brands, idols and celebrities reflects the spiritual and moral desert the society has become. ”
Vote:http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=474&Itemid=35
July 31st, 2011 at 9:25 am
Money is the universal language and every man has a price.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 9:27 am
Peters told the Sunday Star-Times he will tackle the issue of silence in abusive families by cutting the benefits of family members who withhold information on child abuse.
“If you think that while picking up a benefit you can go on withholding information from the state, you are going to be seriously mistaken.
“I want to know – not just [from] the nearest person to that child but the whole family and the wider family related to that child – I want to know that we have got admission and ownership and not silence.
“The state is entitled to an answer. We are charged with the care and security of every child and everything to make that happen is going to be pursued.”
Political commentator Chris Trotter said the policy was in line with Peters’ past strategies to target touch-point topics.
“New Zealand First has never been constrained by democratic niceties when it comes to serious issues. They have always advocated a strong cut-through approach. This has certainly stood the party in good stead.”
He said Peters was a master at perceiving frustration felt by voters and providing clear, and often severe, solutions.
– http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5365867/Peters-hits-out-at-child-abuse-silence
Just how would Peters apply this to, for example, the Kahui family?
Who would he have starved into talking? And how long would it take? Would he surround the house with police to prevent them accessing food elsewhere. Just what would Winston do?
Another NZ First policy that sounds good until you ask what exactly does it mean.
Vote:Winston is just full of krap
July 31st, 2011 at 9:27 am
Longknives @ 8.47am
You’ve nailed it. The ceaseless, insidious nagging from the liberal wankers is designed to tip us over the edge of sanity.
Blogs, newspapers, TV, every form of communication is full of the crap. Everything is ‘whiteys’ fault requiring still more barrow loads of money to atone for the sins of our forebears. Every overseas shithole would be paradise on earth if some colonial power, three hundred years past, hadn’t shifted a border or introduced trade.
We have become a country where according to the liberal wankers, Caucasians should alter their standards, beliefs & way of life to accommodate primitives who want to drag their stone age carcasses to our shores so we can look after them & their ever increasing offspring.
It’s time to put down the Koolaid, relocate our backbones & tell the immigrants to shape up & adapt or stay home.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 9:32 am
John Banks when Minister of Tourism assured us there were no commissions being paid in the tourism industry. He’s the man to stamp out corruption.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 9:32 am
Big ups to Kerre Woodham! She gave John Minto a right serve on Facebook last night:
http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/2011/07/kerre-woodham-writes.html
If Minto is so passionate about causes, why doesn’t he protest against bosses who cheat IRD by not paying money they’ve deducted from their staff. And he could start with his own boss; Matt McCarten!
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 9:36 am
@Nasska
Ingsoc paddling prolefeed.
Vote:Who would have thought?
Fiction becoming reality.
July 31st, 2011 at 9:39 am
Peters told the Sunday Star-Times he will tackle the issue of silence in abusive families by cutting the benefits of family members who withhold information on child abuse.
“If you think that while picking up a benefit you can go on withholding information from the state, you are going to be seriously mistaken.
Vote:………
Just how would Peters apply this to, for example, the Kahui family?
Who would he have starved into talking? And how long would it take? Would he surround the house with police to prevent them accessing food elsewhere. Just what would Winston do?
==============
it would probably take until about tea time when someone decided it was time for fish and chips.
July 31st, 2011 at 9:39 am
Repeating “everything is ‘whiteys’ fault” suggests you are already tipped over the edge of sanity. It’s a symptom of over exaggeration of the “poor us” syndrome.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 9:50 am
a lifestyle based party may be able to appeal to a percentage of Asian immigrants. New Zealanders concerned about lifestyle have similar interests to Asians with a Confucian Core Value. Old Brown caused a stir by asking “will they fit in?” Answer: a percentage yes-
US presidential candidate Barack Obama has tried to warn the American people of a general “empathy deficit.” Strangely enough, his guiding principle in politics, symbolized by his famous line, “How would that make you feel?” curiously resonates with a Confucian core value: “Do not do unto others what you do not want done unto yourself”.
In China, the empathy deficit is not only at a worrying level but seems to be further compounded by what intellectuals call a “values vacuum.” In one of his blog posts, Financial Times Chinese web columnist Xu Zhi-yuan said, “The ideals of the past are no longer effective. Yet worship of money can only be a temporary substitute. We cannot possibly transplant Christianity onto Chinese soil, nor can we simply revive our ancients’ values.”
It may not be mere coincidence that there has been recent talk of the revival of Confucianism and even Taoism in China Beijing has just endorsed Hong Kong’s decision to make Confucius’s birthday a public holiday. Yu Dan, a Beijing Normal University media professor, recently published a book called “Thoughts on the Analects of Confucius” that has sold 2 million copies.
Moral values as depicted by Confucius had always been an integral part of Chinese culture. With “harmonious society” the present slogan of the Chinese leaders, it dovetails nicely with what Confucius thought was an important social value; the revival of Confucian values may at least be convenient politically.
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=474&Itemid=35
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 10:34 am
Redbaiter is back on Trueblue. I posted there agreeing with something he said:
But true to form:
I guess he felt uneasy about calling someone a coward amongst people like himself who have frequently proposed killing unarmed defenceless people.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 10:36 am
Got a 3rd phone call from “MICROSOFT” last night, 2 mins latter my sister gets a call from the same people.
The must be going through the white pages person after person.
Attention political parties, tell me your solution and I might consider voting for you this election.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 10:45 am
Pete @ 10:34am – Of course, trueblue has apologists like viking2.
Vote:He said to me in the GD yesterday “Problem is that you refuse to think about what he says in any depth because it doesn’t suit your comfortable existence and by the time you do it will be to late they will have come to take you away” (sic)
July 31st, 2011 at 10:48 am
Notice how the Bedwetter dances around calling Breviek a psychopath and mentally ill coward but never quite calls him a terrorist and all while asserting that he and his ilk are the true victims.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 10:51 am
PG @ 8:52 ” “the current school of thought that anything of ‘White-European’ origin is bad”
“Where do you see that? Apart from such a huge generalisation being virtually meaningless I don’t think you can back this claim with any substantial evidence.”
I’m right with Longknives. PG is taking his cultivated veneer of “reasonableness” to new extremes today, not only blinding himself to the widespread denigration (in some quarters) of everything in this country derived from European culture, but also chiding us all for a “culture of violence” (rubbish, PG, that’s nothing to do with 90% of NZ’s population, as you’re well aware), our drinking, our eating, and our “exaggerating differences”.
And he has the imperious impudence to accuse Longknives of “a huge generalisation being virtually meaningless”.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 10:54 am
………….to Fletch @9.23
You ‘reveal’ something that “you won’t see in the news”
Are you kidding !!!!
Vote:That story is all over the news. You will see it anywhere you look.
And where did you get it. Actually it was ‘the news’
Enough of the conspiracy theories. Just stop it.
July 31st, 2011 at 10:55 am
the widespread denigration (in some quarters) of everything in this country derived from European culture
“Widespread” denigration in tiny quarters? Of “everything”?
And she has the imperious impudence to accuse me of “a huge generalisation being virtually meaningless”.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 11:06 am
Capital gains Tax applied to HK:
The State Administration of Taxation announced that starting Feb. 1 it intends to collect unpaid but due land appreciation taxes from developers. The tax was actually introduced in 1994, but neither the tax bureau nor local governments, which usually have snug relationships with developers and turn a blind eye to unpaid tax balances, have ever bothered to collect it.. Developers were mostly required to pay only 0.5 to 2 percent of estimated sales revenue as a tax prepayment at the start of pre-sales, with the remaining tax balance hanging in mid-air.
With the central government appearing newly resolute in correcting excesses in the real estate market and corralling local government corruption, the announcement his property stocks hard. The 20 percent profit margin is far below what most property developers believe is reasonable. Although figures are hard to come by in China, at one point before the Asian financial crisis shattered Hong Kong’s property boom in 1997, some developers were running 400 percent margins. By one estimate, the land appreciation tax would cut
Vote:developers’ margins by 30 to 60 percent.
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=357&Itemid=32
July 31st, 2011 at 11:09 am
“Nanfang Daily columnist Xue Cong points out that the return rate of an individual entity’s economic actions should be close to that of the whole society. If the former exceeds the latter by a wide margin, it means that the society is overpaying the individual or entity. When this happens, hatred for the wealthy will surface. While market forces should be allowed to solve housing shortage problems for the low- to middle-income class, a government should attempt to maintain an orderly market via tax policies, Xue adds. ”
Vote:http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=357&Itemid=32
July 31st, 2011 at 11:21 am
Thanks hj,
I agree, ACT would be great for China.
Corruption thrives where bureaucrats have control over vast areas of people’s lives. Hence corruption is endemic in all Communist countries.
By slashing the size of the state ACT would also be slashing those countless opportunities for graft, leaving ordinary citizens free to go about their business without having to make pay-offs to parasites.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 11:22 am
Luc Hansen (2,950) Says:
July 30th, 2011 at 11:50 pm
V2
Ah ha.
No refutation of the actual science, then?
Pity.
There’s a Nobel Prize waiting.
No need another andy did it for me which you so glibly ignored.
Other_Andy (227) Says:
July 30th, 2011 at 11:28 pm
New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism
In short, the central premise of alarmist global warming theory is that carbon dioxide emissions should be directly and indirectly trapping a certain amount of heat in the earth’s atmosphere and preventing it from escaping into space. Real-world measurements, however, show far less heat is being trapped in the earth’s atmosphere than the alarmist computer models predict, and far more heat is escaping into space than the alarmist computer models predict.
http://blogs.forbes.com/jamestaylor/2011/07/27/new-nasa-data-blow-gaping-hold-in-global-warming-alarmism/
Besides I was so bored repeating myself to you I fell asleep at the keyboard.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 11:30 am
New NASA Data Blow another Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 11:36 am
Who does the headlines in the Herald, this one is beyond the pale:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10741917
This ‘other’ John Key is a hypocrite. He is a far lefty and wants to tax high earners at 55% and put tariffs on imports yet has set up a business IMPORTING electronic cigarettes. Buy NZ made eh! Why don’t you make your own electronic ciggies, OJK! I hope your business makes lots of money ‘other John Key’ then you may wake up from your lefty slumber. Idiot!!
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 11:37 am
C’mon DPF, stop pushing the official National Party warmist line!
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 11:37 am
Changing the subject for a moment, there was a lovely line during the live commentary of the Canterbury/Manawatu game yesterday. A decsion went against Manawatu and without missing a beat the commentator said that the player had a face like Phil Goff on polling day. The analogy might find its way into everday speech. Like, as useless as tits on a bull!
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 11:48 am
In the general debate yesterday, reid posted a link to this video: – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmindJnEDvo
He described it as a ’2 hour video on the forces behind communism: who they were and who they are now’.
When I watched the first 15 minutes, it seemed to be pretty bog standard jewish/freemasonry/illumintai conspiracy stuff. reid disagreed and recommended I watch it all.
Boy, am I glad I did. Check out the happy Jews in German camps ‘where things were different’ from the evil Soviet regime. It’s at 1.40 on the video.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 11:55 am
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10741924
Comrade McCarten rantings today.
Targeting vulnerable has no place here
“Even our hard right-wingers seem to be content ranting on kiwiblog and other similar outlets.”
Hmmm The left never seem to ever do anything wrong.
By the way has he paid his tax bill yet?
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 11:56 am
Viking2, I saw Luc’s comment last night (but was a little too wobbly to type at the time) and was reminded of a comment he made recently to the effect that none of us are even qualified to judge the science and we should just believe the IPCC.
Luc has himself said that most estimates of climate sensitivity to a doubling of CO2 are clustered around 1.2degC. This isn’t scary by any means, as it would be about 2100 before we reach 580ppm CO2 (from ‘pre-industrial’ 290ppm). Given we’ve had half the increase in temp already, that means from CO2 directly we can expect another 0.6deg C by 2100. I can’t think of many places in the world where that wouldn’t be welcomed, and the benefits would vastly outweigh the downsides (increased food crops and less deaths from cold for example).
No doubt Luc would want to rebut this with a claim that the direct increase from CO2 plays only a part, and that feedbacks would amplify this warming to a more dangerous level. The empirical observations negate that argument however.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 12:09 pm
KH, really?
Vote:Maybe I’m not watching the right news. I hadn’t seen it anywhere…
July 31st, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Why would anyone buy the NZ Herald? The rantings of a thieving Communist and bunch of ignorant crap spouted by someone whose name just happens to be the same as the Prime Minister’s? They’d have to pay me.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 12:18 pm
cha (1,028) Says:
July 31st, 2011 at 10:48 am
Notice how the Bedwetter dances around calling Breviek a psychopath and mentally ill coward but never quite calls him a terrorist and all while asserting that he and his ilk are the true victims.
Why the hell would anyone read, let alone consider, anything that bedwetter has to say?
PG, serves you right for going there.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Tin man go read what he says.
Notice how the Bedwetter dances around calling Breviek a psychopath and mentally ill coward but never quite calls him a terrorist and all while asserting that he and his ilk are the true victims.
Points to remember.
1. No one has yet established or pronounced said gunman was either of those things.
2. Labeling him a Terrorist is also false labeling at this point in time.
No doubt all the labels will be rolled out and even glorified to explain him.
Red at least called him a complete coward for killing 76 people without just cause.
No one else here has made any clear distinctions like that.
Vote:Stick with the facts and the stats. Its always clear then.
July 31st, 2011 at 12:58 pm
@Fletch
It was in the paper
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10741596
This piece has so many twists, trying to desperately disconnect his ‘faith’ from his actions. This in contrast with the story about Breivik who was called a Christian extreme right winger as soon as they found out it wasn’t an attack by muslim extremists.
This is what AP wrote Abdo had said about his so called reasons for objecting to serve in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“whether going to war was the right thing to do Islamically.”
“I began to understand and believe that only God can give legitimacy to war and not humankind,” he wrote. “That’s when I realized my conscience would not allow me to deploy.”
Sounds great doesn’t it?
Conscientious objector
Islam, religion of Peace, blah blah…
Then you start to wonder.
The war in Afghanistan and Iraq were already going for two years when he enlisted.
He enlisted as a soldier in the army, what did he think he was going to do once his training was finished?
It all becomes clear when you check the interview he did with Al Jazeera, which AP deliberately ignores because it doesn’t fit the narrative.
“I don’t believe I can involve myself in an army that wages war against Muslims. I don’t believe I could sleep at night if I take part, in any way, in the killing of a Muslim.”
So, killing is fine, as long as they are not muslims because that is against Islam.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Fletch
Vote:Just same old , same old..The TV presenters were very quick to label Anders a Christian fundamentalist. This inspite the fact that there were reports that Christian and conservative were added to his facebook page after he was arrested. In other writings , he said that he wasn’t really interested in religion. And what is the big bad BANNED word on the TV news? You guessed it ISLAMIC..None of their terrorists are ever islamic terrorists , they are always ”militants.”
Muslims have a ”Norway” everyday of the year but if you are ever going to read about these murderous outbreaks , there will be a very small piece near the back of the paper and of course , you will never read the words muslim or islamic. Insurgents , rebels , militants etc but NEVER muslim , islam or islamic.
People are being deliberately decieved. What is that saying about mushrooms?
July 31st, 2011 at 1:19 pm
V2, No thanks. I’d rather dangle my scrotum in the jaws of an open gin trap and trigger it.
You cannot call this Norwegian fellow a terrorist (although wanna-be terrorist may apply) simply because he has not used terror to force or disrupt anything.
Only a nutter would do what he did (He probably would read Bedwetter’s crap).
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 1:20 pm
JP1983- McCarten is either fucking deluded or a lying piece of crap- “The left is genuinely non-violent. They have restricted themselves to peaceful protest over the years and in my experience any physical violence tends to be the result of an inexperienced cop getting carried away.”
What a steaming pile of horse shite this man talks. Urewera training camps anyone?
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 1:27 pm
It may be premature to label the Norwegian mass-murderer a nutter, psychopath etc. It is quite possible he is a sane, rational human. It’s sometimes comforting to medicalise things we can’t understand, to treat people with radically different thought processes as sick or deluded. To the murderer, deciding to kill a large number of people was quite rational: they deserved to die (for being left-wingers) and it would publicise his cause. His thought processes may not be too different from many other terrorists, or from anyone willing to die for a cause.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Haven’t seen any comment from the ‘warmists’ recently about the fact that the writer of the ‘polar bear’ article has been totally discredited. Something about him ‘lacking integrity’ ….
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10741748
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 1:37 pm
PG@10.55: Please don’t change my words to craft a different meaning from the one you didn’t like.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Elaycee (796) Says:
“Haven’t seen any comment from the ‘warmists’ recently about the fact that the writer of the ‘polar bear’ article has been totally discredited. Something about him ‘lacking integrity’ …. ”
Nah, accoding to my better half it is a plot of ‘Big Oil’ so they can drill in Alaska.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 1:53 pm
@Longknives
“JP1983- McCarten is either fucking deluded or a lying piece of crap- “The left is genuinely non-violent. They have restricted themselves to peaceful protest over the years and in my experience any physical violence tends to be the result of an inexperienced cop getting carried away.”
What a steaming pile of horse shite this man talks. Urewera training camps anyone?”
Don’t you dare to smear “Honest Matt”.
Vote:And the following is all extremist, white-surpremacist, right-wing (Christian) propaganda (Did I cover them all?);
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_terrorism
July 31st, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Standard modus operandi I’m afraid calendar girl. You plea will fall on deaf ears
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Other_Andy, I’ve been on that AGW scam case for a few years now. The alarmists are less vocal with each passing month, as their outrageous exaggerations melt in the face of empirical evidence
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 2:34 pm
A 1500+ page manifesto emblazoned with crosses, the 2083 power point video with continual references to holy crusades and tributes to past Knights to go with Breivik’s references to himself as a Christian. The UDF, IRA and ETA, all Christian and all labelled as terrorist organisations.
Oh, that’s right, only if Muslims go on murderous rampages and terrorise people can you refer to their religion.
“Christendom is gradually being deconstructed. It is time that the Pope and his cardinals begin to resist the deliberate deconstruction of European Christendom. The process would, however, be quite challenging, but worth the effort as all Justiciar Knights who dies for their faith will be a great source of inspiration for generations to come. They will be role models. Certain, exceptionally brave and selfless, Justiciar Knights in the coming decades should even be considered as candidates for official veneration.”
If the meticulous construction of a bomb and detonating it in the middle of a city and then calmly carrying out a plan to kill his fellow Norwegians isn’t the act of a terrorist then wtf is?.
Oh, that’s right, only Muslims can be terrorists.
Anders Behring Breivik is a terrorist.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 2:34 pm
Whatever you may think of Mr Breviek and the revolting act that he has committed the simple fact remains that he has got people thinking about immigration into western democracies.
Of those people who already had a view on immigration, the socialists will be even more convinced that multiculturalism is the answer to the Breviek’s of this world, while the right wingers will point out that this tragedy would not have happened if there had been no wide scale immigration. However it is the majority of people, the ‘don’t knows’ who will be affected the most because by having to face this act they will need to come to terms with their own feelings and I think that this is where Mr Breviek’s actions will produce the result that he was looking for.
Regardless of the relentless pushing of multiculturalism over the years I believe that the majority of people in western society love their country and are inherently conservative about making wholesale changes to the population mix, also they are fundamentally unhappy with changes being made without their agreement or input.
What Mr Breviek has done is forced the ‘don’t knows’ living in all western democracies to examine their views on immigration into their country and my feeling is that this will result in a less liberal and more restrictive immigration policy for most if not all western democracies. Not only that I think that we will see a definite swing to the right as people look to end these seemingly endless waves of immigration that have they will perceive as being forced upon them by socialist type policies.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 2:39 pm
cha (1,029) Says:
“Anders Behring Breivik is a terrorist.”
Don’t pop a vein.
Vote:Did I say he wasn’t?
July 31st, 2011 at 2:49 pm
calendar girl at 1:37 pm
PG@10.55: Please don’t change my words to craft a different meaning from the one you didn’t like.
This is what you said:
That sounds like a huge generalisation to me. Explain something different?
I’m not aware of 90% of the population not being a part of the culture of violence. Where do you get that statistic from?
In any case 400,000 violent minded people is a large culture in a country this size.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 2:55 pm
I wondered who was moderating on Crusader Rabbit:
I wonder how Kris will explain to his “Maker” comments like this:
“Kris” is probably the most hypocritical person I’ve seen posting who claims they are Christian.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 3:01 pm
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/dramatic-video-japan-tsunami-viral-video-20110417-074110-955.html
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 3:04 pm
More bigoted religious nutters about.
Govt should stop funding Family Planning
Sunday, 31, Jul, 2011 2:17PM
Lobby group Right to Life wants the government to stop funding the Family Planning Association.
It says the association received more than 11 million dollars in funding in 2009.
Spokesman Ken Orr says while he knows the organisation has a desire to help the community, his group does not agree with what it does.
He claims the association is the biggest abortion referral agency in New Zealand.
Ken Orr says the group plans to ask the Minister of Health Tony Ryall to review the association’s funding.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 3:04 pm
http://news.yahoo.com/nasa-data-blow-gaping-hold-global-warming-alarmism-192334971.html
Oh dear. Where’s Luc?
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 3:06 pm
Kumar charged with murder after case reopening
Sunday, 31, Jul, 2011 11:22AM
Police have reopened the file on a woman they thought had committed suicide two years ago.
Forty-two-year old Dipti Patel died in her New Plymouth garage in 2009.
Shanal Sajesh Kumar was originally accused of helping her commit suicide.
However, suspicious circumstances prompted police to begin an investigation, which has led to him being charged with murder.
The 28-year-old appeared in the North Shore District Court but has entered no plea.
He’s been remanded on bail and is due back in court on the 16th of August.
another religious murder eh?
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Thankfully we got rid of this trougher from his job in Tauranga.
New administration fees kick in tomorrow
Sunday, 31, Jul, 2011 8:41AM
New administration fees for the Northern Gateway Toll Road north of Auckland kick in tomorrow.
There’ll be a charge of 40 cents per transaction when toll road users pay at a roadside kiosk.
Payments made over the phone will attract a charge of $3.70, but there’s no fee for online payments or prepaid accounts.
Stephen Town of the Transport Agency says recovering some administration costs is part of a broader effort to reduce the cost of processing toll payments.
The road’s base tolls of $2 a trip for light vehicles, and $4 for heavy vehicles, remain unchange
Unfortunatley that was after paying him $500k a year to waste the ratepayers money.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Could be viking but will it be reported as that here?
Vote:Meanwhile in the US they are attacking a Black man who is being accused of being a bigot.
yep you’ve got it, he’s a conservative!
http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/
July 31st, 2011 at 4:24 pm
@Pete @ 2.55pm – Thanks for clarifying that Kris K shares Redbaiter’s padded cell. A match made in “Heaven”
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Evenin’ Rodders…how the erectile dysfunction…
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Reid
I had a look at the Forbes link you posted. It doesn’t strike me as a balanced piece of journalism, judging by the use of the word ‘alarmist’ in the headline, and this sentence a few lines in:
“reports that real-world data from NASA’s Terra satellite contradict multiple assumptions fed into alarmist computer models”
As you’ve stated before, you draw your conclusions from the data, not the spin. On the other hand, you may find this ‘scientific’ review, by a member of the Heartland Institute, fits in well with what you want to believe, and so, quite palatable.
I am also suspicious of the use of the NASA brand, as if this will impart added veracity to the study.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 5:05 pm
Anyone who works in IT infrastructure should be aware of this as a watching brief. Could be nothing might not even be accurately reported but just be aware.
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/article2296011.ece
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Evening starboard. No problems to report.
Vote:I trust that this morning’s plate of porridge was exactly as you prefer it, with plenty of lumps?
July 31st, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Evening starboard. No problems to report. I trust that this morning’s plate of porridge was exactly as you prefer it, with plenty of lumps?
Have you two hooked up and you didn’t even tell us you were going out together?
Not that you should have, was just curious, that’s all.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 5:48 pm
http://freethoughtnation.com/contributing-writers/63-acharya-s/566-earth-clock-measures-hours-months-solstics-and-equinoxes.html
We should build one in Wgtn. Sadly, Aucklanders just wouldn’t understand it…
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 5:56 pm
I had a look at the Forbes link you posted. It doesn’t strike me as a balanced piece of journalism, judging by the use of the word ‘alarmist’ in the headline….”
OK, here we go.
Hope this is to your liking.
“Climatophobes attack the Church of Mother Gaia again”
Vote:Worshippers question scientific data and motives. One of the spokesmen explains that scientific data will not sway him. “Just because we can’t prove it is real doesn’t mean it isn’t”.
There have now been several attacks questioning the faithful.
Will the UN introduce ‘hate speech’ laws to protect Mother Gaia worshippers from more ridicule and constant attacks? Other commentators around the world have denounced the attacks on the Gaia worshippers and have called for the racist attacks to stop.
July 31st, 2011 at 6:05 pm
Other_Andy
My point exactly.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 6:05 pm
@reid @ 5:41pm – No. When starboard asked me if I was (to use his words) “a sodomiser”, I replied that I wasn’t and he would have to look elsewhere for a boyfriend
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 6:07 pm
I quite like “alarmist” OA, it’s like “denier” except it’s our perception management meme, not theirs, so I like it a lot and plan on saying it all the time whenever this topic comes up, so as to propagate the meme as widely as possible.
But seriously, that satellite data blows alarmists completely out of the water. It directly attacks their central hypothesis…
http://news.yahoo.com/nasa-data-blow-gaping-hold-global-warming-alarmism-192334971.html
Roger Rodders, thanks for the clarification. In some ways it’s a shame though, for I could see the potential for some sort of soap-opera contrabilulation developing like OCC but never mind, it didn’t happen…
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 6:17 pm
Regarding http://news.yahoo.com/nasa-data-blow-gaping-hold-global-warming-alarmism-192334971.html
Here’s some additional info. The article is written by James M. Taylor, a senior fellow for environment policy at The Heartland Institute and managing editor of Environment & Climate News.
The Heartland Institute questions the scientific consensus on climate change, arguing that global warming is not occurring and, further, that warming would be beneficial if it did occur.
The Institute was founded in 1984 and conducts research and advocacy work on issues including government spending, taxation, healthcare, tobacco policy, global warming, information technology and free-market environmentalism.
Hmm….free-market environmentalism…. AAARRRGGGG!
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 6:25 pm
c’mon Rod..sweety..dont you want me to share with everybody how you keep farting in bed..whats for dinner?
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 6:34 pm
starboard, I prefer to focus more on breakfast, but I’ve never been so desperate for fibre to eat a brillo pad.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 6:35 pm
FWIW, NASA have been, until quite recently, promoters of AGW. IIRC one of their sins involved using data from faulty satellite temperature sensors when they knew they were over reporting. That they are now starting to publish data the doesn’t sing from the AGW hymn book is good news for truth
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Haha, the Heartland Institute.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 6:41 pm
SC, the alternative to free market environmentalism is state or global government mandated environmentalism. Based on the manipulation we’ve witnessed in respect of the AGW scam I prefer not to trust anything other than elective, personal environmental initiatives.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 6:43 pm
Heartland Institute – good one, aka policy for sale
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 6:52 pm
One for krazykiwi
A Baptist preacher and his wife decided to get a new dog.
Ever mindful of the congregation, they knew the dog must
also be a Baptist.
They visited kennel after kennel and explained their needs.
Finally, they found a kennel whose owner assured them he
had just the dog they wanted. The owner brought the dog
to meet the pastor and his wife.
“Fetch the Bible,” he commanded. The dog bounded to the
bookshelf, scrutinized the books, located the Bible, and
brought it to the owner.
“Now find Psalm 23,” he commanded.
The dog dropped the Bible to the floor, and showing marvelous
dexterity with his paws, leafed through and finding the correct
passage, pointed to it with his paw.
The pastor and his wife were very impressed and purchased
the dog.
That evening, a group of church members came to visit. The
pastor and his wife began to show off the dog, having him
locate several Bible verses. The visitors were very
impressed.
One man asked, “Can he do regular dog tricks, too?”
“I haven’t tried yet,” the pastor replied.
He pointed his finger at the dog. “Heel!” the pastor
commanded.
The dog immediately jumped on a chair, placed one paw
on the pastor’s forehead and began to howl.
The pastor looked at his wife in shock and said,
Vote:“Good Lord! He’s Pentecostal!”
July 31st, 2011 at 6:59 pm
@ PG & mm
Hahaha.
Here are more of those nutters who question the accuracy of IPCC climate projections and that Global warming is primarily caused by natural processes.
Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Garth Paltridge,Visiting Fellow ANU and retired Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research and retired Director of the Institute of the Antarctic Cooperative Research Centre.
Hendrik Tennekes, retired Director of Research, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.
Antonino Zichichi,emeritus professor of nuclear physics at the University of Bologna and president of the World Federation of Scientists.
Khabibullo Abdusamatov, mathematician and astronomer at Pulkovo Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Sallie Baliunas, astronomer, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Ian Clark,Pubs hydrogeologist, professor, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa.
David Douglass, Pubssolid-state physicist, professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester.
Chris de Freitas,Associate Professor, School of Geography, Geology and Environmental Science, University of Auckland.
Don Easterbrook,Pubs emeritus professor of geology, Western Washington University.
William M. Gray, Professor Emeritus and head of The Tropical Meteorology Project, Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University.
And lots more…….
The heritics, how dare they.
Vote:Tie them at the stake and burn them
July 31st, 2011 at 6:59 pm
nasska –
Love it..!
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 7:04 pm
What’s this about the Heartland Institute? Denying links between cigarettes and cancer again?
No, wait, they’re hired to lobby against some other link now. What was it, again?
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 7:05 pm
kk
NASA produce the data. that’s all. How it is interpreted is the issue. There are probably peer-reviewed studies using the same NASA data claiming to confirm the current mainstream climate model predictions, but to associate those hypothetical studies with NASA would be misleading and mischievous.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Roast Duck.
*1 Duck
*1 Onion
*1 cup Breadcrumbs
*100gm butter
*2 eggs
*1 cup popping corn
Mix ingredients and place inside the duck.
Bake in oven at 350 deg C, or gas mark 9.
Cooking is complete when the popcorn blows the arse out of the duck.
There’s gonna be a popcorn shortage in November
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 7:12 pm
kk
Regarding free market environmentalism: AGW aside, it doesn’t seem to have worked thus far…. The environment will always be regarded as a free resource, unless it is regulated.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 7:13 pm
Steve – Very Good
####
A blond man showed up at work one day with a black eye. When his co-workers saw him they asked him what happened. He told them it had happened at church. They insisted that you couldn’t get a black eye at church, and wanted to know what really happened.
Vote:So, he told them, “I went to the church—I got on my knees and prayed—I stood up to sing the hymns—there in front of me was the biggest woman I had ever seen, and when she had stood up, her dress had got stuck in her arse-crack, so being the gentleman I am, I reached over and pulled it out for her and she did not like that so she hit me.” The guys laughed and ribbed him about it all day.
The next week he showed up to work and his face was beat bad! Again the guys asked him what had happened and he told them he’d got beaten up at church. Again they didn’t believe him, so he explained, “I went to the church—I got on my knees and prayed—I stood up to sing the hymns—and there in front of me was that same big woman with her dress again stuck up her arse-crack.”
At this point the other men interrupted and said “Please tell us you didn’t pull her dress out of there again?”
“No, the guy standing beside me did, and I knew she didn’t like that—so I shoved it back in.”
July 31st, 2011 at 7:14 pm
SC, I suggest you research Dr James Hansen, of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS).
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 7:18 pm
thanks nasska ….wine comes out nose
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 7:25 pm
The gravy train continues to roll on: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/5366331/Lawyers-cash-in-as-Treaty-of-Waitangi-process-rolls-on
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 7:29 pm
kk
I take your point re Dr James Hansen of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. I should have said,”the raw data that NASA produces etc”
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 7:48 pm
Apple announced today that it has developed a breast implant that can store and play music. The i-Tit will cost $499 or $599 depending on cup size. This has been hailed as a major breakthrough because women are always complaining about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 8:02 pm
What’s this about James Taylor of the Heartland Institute? The linked journal article (http://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/3/8/1603/pdf) doesn’t have that name on the byline…?
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 8:06 pm
Missed the EDIT window: I see it’s the Forbes article author, not the journal article author.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 8:07 pm
Thomas The Tank Engine
Thomas was late for the station. He was very cross with the new tilting trains, which had held him up because they could not tilt properly, and now he was running along the track, trying to make up for lost time. “Oh come along! We’re rather late. Oh, come along! We’re rather late,” he sang to Annie and Clarabel, his two coaches. But Thomas could not seem to go faster than 100 miles per hour, no matter how hard he puffed.
“Why am I unable to exceed these silly speed restrictions? ” whistled Thomas impatiently. Annie and Clarabel laughed, because the high-speed line had recently been upgraded to include Automatic Train Protection (ATP), which intervenes automatically to ensure naughty engines comply with set speed limits. “Bother! Something must be wrong with my firebox,” said Thomas. By the time he got to the station, the Slim Controller was already waiting for him.
“Thomas, you are 47 minutes late, well within our performance targets for this month,” said the Slim Controller, who was looking very young and fit for a man his age. “Congratulations. ”
“Thank you, Sir,” said Thomas. He noticed that the platform was crowded with schoolchildren, many of whom were shaking and crying.
“These children need to go to the seaside for the day,” said the Slim Controller, “but they are afraid to ride on a train, because they think it might crash. I need you to show them how safe rail travel can be.”
Suddenly, much to Thomas’s surprise, competent rail workers in high-visibility clothing began to uncouple Annie and Clarabel.
“Help, Thomas! Help!” shouted Clarabel. “Where are we going?” cried Annie.
“I’m afraid that Annie and Clarabel are Mark I rolling stock,” said the Slim Controller, “creaky old slam-door coaches from the 1960s. We’ll be replacing them with newer stock immediately.”
Thomas was sad to see Annie and Clarabel being towed away, but he was soon smiling again when he saw his two shiny new carriages, Helga and Sophie.
“We come from Sweden,” they sang in lovely soft voices. As the frightened children were forced on to Thomas’s two new coaches, he got a very naughty idea.
“I’ll show them just how much FUN trains can be!” he peeped.
“Be a good little engine, Thomas,” said the Slim Controller. “Remember that my pay incentives are directly linked to your performance. ” As he pulled out of the station, Thomas soon forgot the Slim Controller’s warning. Instead of going directly to the seaside, Thomas headed for a main line which he knew had yet to be upgraded with ATP. Thank goodness the government had reneged on its safety commitments! Then, just as he approached the junction his brakes squealed, and poor Thomas found
himself standing still on the line. “Whatever now?” he moaned. “You passed a signal, Thomas!” sang Helga. “You passed a signal at danger!”
“Those signals are only for lazy trains who need a rest,” said Thomas. “My driver passes them all the time.”
“It’s not up to your driver, any more, Thomas,” said Sophie. “The new Automatic Warning System applies your brakes whenever you pass a signal at danger, unless your driver cancels the warning within two seconds.”
“Well why didn’t he, then?” demanded Thomas. “There’s no one here but us!” “Sorry,” said Thomas’s driver. “I’m really stoned.” Slowly the train began to reverse up the tracks.
“Not to worry mate,” peeped Thomas with a cheeky wink, “your secret’s safe with me.”
“Nothing personal,” said the driver, “but it really freaks me out when you talk.”
Now Thomas and Helga and Sophie were heading for the seaside once again. However Thomas was planning more tricks to frighten his passengers. Perhaps he would derail into a field with an angry bull in it! That would teach those children not to ride on trains! Thomas looked for some faulty points, or a nice pile of wet leaves, but there were none to be found. He hoped he might spot some vandals amaging the track, but all along the way on both sides appropriate fencing had been installed to inhibit access. “It is estimated that 55% of all train incidents are due to vandalism!” sang Sophie.
“Huh,” said the driver.
At the next station some policemen came and escorted Thomas’s driver off the train. “We are taking you for drug testing,” said one of them. “Allegations have been made under the new Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis System – the whistleblower’ s charter, if you like.”
“The system is open to all Railway Group members, as well as other participating companies,” sang Helga and Sophie.
“Bye-bye! Good luck. Bye-bye! Good luck,” puffed Thomas.
“Does anyone hear them besides me?” asked the driver.
Eventually a new driver was found for Thomas, one who had tested negative for cannabis and positive for literacy. Soon he and Helga and Sophie were under way again. Now the children were smiling as Thomas adhered strictly to prevailing speed restrictions all the way to the seaside. In the village he met Bertie Bus driving down the stretch of road which runs alongside the railway.
“Hullo, Thomas!” said Bertie. “Care to race?”
“I can’t,” moaned Thomas. “The track won’t let me! It’s called safety.”
“Why, rail travel is already much safer than going by bus,” said Bertie, slamming into a bridge abutment, killing four.
“Really? said Thomas. He began to think that safety wasn’t so bad after all. When he finally pulled into the station, the Slim Controller was there waiting for him.
“How did you get here so fast?” asked Thomas.
“I flew on EasyJet,” said the Slim Controller. “It’s very convenient, and I wanted to be here in order to give you this award for Effective Risk Management. Thomas, you really are a safe little engine.” The
Vote:children cheered as they disembarked.
“Thank you,” said Thomas proudly. “It remains my number-one priority.”
July 31st, 2011 at 8:10 pm
Fans of Thomas the Tank Engine might enjoy this:
Vote:http://www.slate.com/id/2299653/
July 31st, 2011 at 8:17 pm
You will see your Doctor tommorow milkymilo?
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 8:23 pm
Beware of the ‘Socialist Controller” Mike
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 8:25 pm
I have enough trouble with the Tranz Metro controller.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 8:37 pm
Adze
Yes. The article, not the journal author. So James Taylor has taken this………:
On the Misdiagnosis of Surface Temperature Feedbacks from
Variations in Earth’s Radiant Energy Balance
Abstract: The sensitivity of the climate system to an imposed radiative imbalance remains
the largest source of uncertainty in projections of future anthropogenic climate change.
Here we present further evidence that this uncertainty from an observational perspective is
largely due to the masking of the radiative feedback signal by internal radiative forcing,
probably due to natural cloud variations. That these internal radiative forcings exist and
likely corrupt feedback diagnosis is demonstrated with lag regression analysis of satellite
and coupled climate model data, interpreted with a simple forcing-feedback model. While
the satellite-based metrics for the period 2000–2010 depart substantially in the direction of
lower climate sensitivity from those similarly computed from coupled climate models, we
find that, with traditional methods, it is not possible to accurately quantify this discrepancy
in terms of the feedbacks which determine climate sensitivity. It is concluded that
atmospheric feedback diagnosis of the climate system remains an unsolved problem, due
primarily to the inability to distinguish between radiative forcing and radiative feedback in
satellite radiative budget observations.
……and come up with this conclusion:
New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 8:40 pm
PG @ @2.49: “I’m not aware of 90% of the population not being a part of the culture of violence. Where do you get that statistic from?”
You were the one who claimed that NZ had a “culture of violence” @8.21am. (You even referred later to *the* culture of violence.) I simply called you on it, as it’s patently clear that the great majority of New Zealanders are not inclined to or involved in violence. I don’t need a tailored media “poll” to provide a neat statistic that would satisfy people like you who won’t confront realities.
I also indicated that I don’t care much for you (or any self-nominated custodian of morality) berating New Zealanders in general with allegations of violence, drunkenness, gluttony and “exaggerating differences”. Because those traits are part of Kiwi “culture” – in your view – we’re all somehow deemed to share the attached blame. You, no doubt, will offer to lead us down the path that – in you view – we need to travel. Don’t count me in on that, Pete.
Vote:July 31st, 2011 at 9:01 pm
As the Vicar was greeting the congregation as they exited the church after hs service an very attractive young lady wearing an extremely low cut and revealing dress caught his his eye and he said to her;
Vote:Excuse me miss that is a very revealing dress and I don’t think it is appropriate for wearing to church.
She responded – but my boyfriend likes it and he says that when I am wearing this dress and he puts his head on my chest he can hear music.
That is facinating says the Vicar – do you mind if I try.
Go ahead says the young lady
So the Vicar puts his head on her chest and listens for a while
Then he stands up and says – I can’t hear a thing
No she replies – you are not plugged in!!!
July 31st, 2011 at 9:09 pm
The vicar sees a young lady leaving his church in a very low cut and revealing dress.
Vote:He says to her – excuse me miss that dress is not suitable for wearing in my church.
She replied – but I have a divine right.
His responds – you have a divine left too but I still don’t want you wearing that dress in my church!!
July 31st, 2011 at 9:19 pm
cg- I’m not berating New Zealanders in general, I pointed out that amongst the cultures here we have are cultures of violence and drinking in particular that contribute to some awful statistics. I’m not suggesting anyone share “attached blame”. It’s a fact that these cultures are a problem here, that’s all.
Vote:August 1st, 2011 at 6:53 am
Another dead rat from a weak Cameron, now turned into a gullible warmist: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/british-pm-david-cameron-praises-julia-gillards-carbon-price-plan/story-fn3dxity-1226105221407
Vote:August 1st, 2011 at 8:57 am
PG: At most, those two examples are minority “sub-cultures”, albeit realities that are very serious problems within our society. To call them “parts of Kiwi culture”, however, is to employ all-enveloping language that draws all members of NZ society into a sense of having caused or contributed to the problems, and thereby into a share of the blame. (I reject the latter notion absolutely.) It can then serve as justification for greater government control over more aspects of our already over-regulated lives.
Vote: