As befits a good editor, MommaBear does her research and verification; in this case, she has to make an exception, relying on the good bona fides of Paul Harvey, an American radio commentator, whose sources of tidbits have been proven reliable.
Somewhere in the UK, there is a Town Council, or some such other governmental unit, that proves once again that the miserable sub-species of H. Sapiens(?) called 'governmental-ignorames' is hard at work. They saw fit to commission a sign depicting all the governmental units in and about their area, captioned in Braille for the use of the visually impaired as well as sighted individuals. If the only parameter for judging governmental units is the intent, so far, so good.
Here is the bad news: they had it posted 8' in the air.
The things you have to believe to be in favour of the Kyoto Protocol:
1. That something called global warming is happening.
2. That it is a bad thing.
3. That it is caused by human activity (actually this isn't essential, I just thought I'd sling it in anyway)
4. That there is something that we can do about it.
5. That the benefits of that "something" outweigh the costs.
If any one of these points falls then the whole case for Kyoto (and its ilk) falls.
:: Patrick Crozier 5/24/2002 09:12:00 PM [+] ::
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Over at i330 poor (almost literally) Joshua bemoans how much he has to pay in tax to the US Government. He mentions "titheing", which amuses me. In my book Statism Sucks! 2.0 I call for a new tax system based on the system of tithes. It would cut the link between the individual and the federal government and mean that taxes were collected at the lowest level possible exclusively. It is also a flat (ie fair) rate of tax. Just think of my plan (which is all costed thanks to my accountant/mater) as the IRS unemployment program.
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/24/2002 04:18:00 PM [+] ::
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Yours truly has written an extended piece on the link between sex, drugs, rock & roll, and libertarianism. I plan to copy Joe's multi-part format and publish it over 3 days. I hope you will enjoy it; it is a tad more humorous than some of my normal pieces, but is meant in all sincerity.
A hint: if you see the "youth" of the day listening to navel-gazing whining music produced by heroin-addicted musicians then buy bonds immediately!
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/24/2002 03:37:00 PM [+] ::
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The editor of the infamous left-wing rag Tribune has written a scathing article taking Labour to task for their volte-face on the Euro and the EU. He tells of a new anti-Euro Labour parliamentary pressure group called L.A.T.E. (Labour Against The Euro). It will be very interesting to see what kind of ruckus this lot can kick up on Tony's back-benches. All power to them; I wish them the best of luck.
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/24/2002 01:40:00 PM [+] ::
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Well, Thank You ALL very much!
Dodgeblog hit that 10k last night, and we appreciate all the sets of eyes who come here to read our musings.
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/24/2002 01:32:00 PM [+] ::
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In the Daily Telegraph today, an EU report condemns the BBC for calling bin Laden an "Islamic fundamentalist" and "Islamic terrorist" on the grounds that his actions were "un-Islamic". While most Muslims in the free world were horrified by bin Laden's attacks, I'm quite sure 9 out of 10 Wahhabi clerics approve of what he did, or at the very least, a sizeable and influential amount. Anyway, by the EU's reckoning, the Crusades were not perpetrated by Christians, and how to explain the pedophilia scandal in the US?
Update (from Andrew): Emmanuel Goldstein has taken on this issue and has some good points. In the text is a link to the PDF of the EU report. No doubt its contents will be rage-enducing, so a glass of wine or beer might be needed to calm the nerves.
:: Charles 5/24/2002 08:37:00 AM [+] ::
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:: 5/23/2002 ::
Check this out and then tell me that Western civilisation is not under threat from militant Islam. The extended post on masturbation is tad amusing, however. And you thought the ole "hairy palms" myth was a daft scare tactic!
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/23/2002 12:49:00 PM [+] ::
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Iain Dale has a tale of bias in a recent Newsnight poll. You don't say, Iain, bias at the Beeb? Now there is a total shock!
I agree with Iain this sort of bias needs to exposed.
Update: The Spectator has an interesting article on the BBC prejudice against Israel and Jews by someone from the Jerusalem Post.
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/23/2002 12:20:00 PM [+] ::
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As you can see below I am back doing some serious blogging. Mater has gone back to Maine, and my ISP problems seem to have been solved. You can also thank (or curse?) Classic Rock Magazine for including a brilliant 17 track cover disc with their latest issue, a great soundtrack to any writing.
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/23/2002 11:32:00 AM [+] ::
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David Cameron MP has written a well thought-out piece on a possible solution to drug-related crime. While it is not the full legalisation that some hard-core libertarians, including me, want, it does seem to be something the public and MPs could handle. He also calls for heroin and crack "safe rooms" where addicts could go so they would leave the rest of us alone.
I called for the return to opium dens (safe rooms in 19th century speak) in my treatment of the subject in Statism Sucks! Ver 2.0. The reason for the reluctance to this approach appears to be that some do-gooders seem to feel that this is an admission of failure of the drug war. They don't seem to think that high drug-related crime rate and the abundance of drug dealers & the natural effluence thereof in certain areas is a good enough sign of failure.
The press here is full of the drug debate yet again, as there is a Parliamentary Report on the subject recently published. The paternalistic ninnies at the Beeb outdid themselves last night. They managed to find a group of pathetic cretins no one in their right mind would have any sympathy for, whatsoever. It was almost funny to see two mothers of early teens heroin addicts whining about government inaction. I mean, perish the thought that these two adults might take some responsibility for their children and not leave it to the taxpayer.
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/23/2002 11:22:00 AM [+] ::
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Half a world away a war is brewing; bloggers and the serious papers seem to be pondering its potentials. The Telegraph seems to think there is a fair chance it would go nuclear. Their simple reasoning, you ask? Well, the Indian army would flatten the Pakistanis, as it has a much bigger army, more equipment, and better/bigger weapons. Their only saving grace is the fact that the countries and their capitals are so close together. It seems the concept of M.A.D. keeps the peace in the Indian sub-continent as well.
Joe Katzman, the current darling of the Blogosphere, has written to his idea that a nuclear war in unlikely. He does admit that a conventional one is more than likely.
Being the natural cynic, I tend to go with the pessimistic lot on this one, agreeing with analysis of the Kolkata Libertarian.
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/23/2002 11:04:00 AM [+] ::
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Everyone seems to be redoing his site; Rantburg has improved for the better! Great writing, great content, great site, go visit it!
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/23/2002 02:16:00 AM [+] ::
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Kolkata weighs in on the Indo-Pakistan borders tensions. Instapundit seems to think he is too pessimistic; I prefer to think he is erring on the side of caution. It could get very ugly very fast. A million men at arms and both sides talking war, not a good thing.
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/23/2002 02:07:00 AM [+] ::
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Kesher has a new url. His amazingly good blog is moving up and onwards.
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/23/2002 01:57:00 AM [+] ::
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Glenn's site has a new look and lots of links on the side. Guess who doesn't get a link? Nice to see he doesn't take criticism personally. Oh yeah, and Glenn, the Iain Dale row which you linked to originated with Dodgeblog. We were the ones who alerted several other blogs, including the excellent Joe Katzman, about Iain's noxious post on Israel.
NB: I find the new look Instapundit a great deal easier to read.
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/23/2002 01:28:00 AM [+] ::
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:: 5/22/2002 ::
The new improved (?) MCJ has an interesting link detailing attempts to wipe out any traces of Judiasm. This is a disturbing piece on the site of Moment Magazine regarding the Temple Mount. Thanks to Natalie Solent for sending me towards this article.
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/22/2002 06:24:00 PM [+] ::
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From The WebMistress........
Since it is a part of her myriad duties, the WebMistress has duly noted that the counter is working its way towards that 'magical' number of 10K. If any of the readership should happen to be prowling this site and notices that it reads 10,000 in the upper left corner, the denizens of this blog would appreciate it very much if a screenshot were taken and sent to the host for the Dodge(y)blog archives.
Well, World Cup fever is truly on top of us here in England. Me, I could not give a toss about it, since sport is a colossal waste of time and energy. However, it will help the country and might encourage a bit of national pride if the England side does win the whole shooting match. Today I witnessed a pub in the City packed at 11 am; they were watching the first friendly.
Barring terrorism or a world war, not much is going to happen in the UK for the next month or so. We have the World Cup and the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It will be interesting if anything distracts for those two things; I rather doubt it.
Your host seems to have fixed his ISP problems so expect to see more posts now. My distraction for the past few weeks, Mater, is leaving on Thursday. Oh, and I have written a few non-blog things as well. [ed.- posted for Andrew Ian Dodge, as Blogger and blogspot seem to be difficult, today]
Front Page has another fine selection of articles. The magazine continues its expose on the "Taliban John" court-case and all the machinations therein. It seems that his lawyers' attempts to portray him as a victim have backfired and he is in an increasingly desperate situation.
They also cover such things as the Arab "street's" desire to first wipe Israel off the map and then move on to the US. They have a great time laying into that dolt Jimmy Carter and his laughable trip to Cuba. Fortunately, it seems that the Republicans in the US have realised what an asset Cuban- Americans are to their cause. I rather doubt any of them (well except for Maine's two dolts) will fall under the spell of the "end the embargo" crowd.
:: Andrew Ian Dodge 5/20/2002 03:39:00 PM [+] ::
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