2008 Weblog Awards - My Picks

The Stubblejumper vs The Mighty Yanks! it's a win-win for the Canadian blogosphere. For those on the right, an opportunity to pull together and score one for Canada! For those on the left, an opportunity to pull together and stick it to the lousy Americans!

In the meanwhile, be sure to check out the other categories - here are some of my picks:

Best Blog - my favourite isn't nominated this year, so I'm going with Hot Air.

Best Individual Blogger - The Anchoress.

Best Humor - Mother May I Sleep With Treacher

Best Science Blog - an easy choice in Watts Up With That

Best Culture Blog - SondraK

And the category that's the most difficult - Best Canadian Blog, because there are so many good choices, including my co-defendants Ezra and Kathy Shaidle, our good friends at The Torch, and Darcey's Dust My Broom. And if you can't make up your mind, you can help Canadian Sentinel achieve his goal of beating "a couple of Leftists".

(I haven't been through all of the categories. If you spot any other Canadian blogs in competition, drop me a note.)

You are allowed to vote once every 24 hours until the polls close. No cheating, please - the Weblog admins have enough work as it is.

I like him already

Dr. Tooryalai Wesa, formerly an academic at UBC, is the new Governor of Kandahar province. And instead of telling his people what they want to hear, he's telling them what they need to hear.

Gold, Again

Canada wins fifth straight gold at world juniors

You Can't Solve Gang Problems

Without understanding the root causes...

Clinton Hack To Head CIA

What could possibly go wrong?

Scratch A Leftist Labour Union

You'll find an anti-Semite.

Ontario's largest university workers union is proposing a ban on Israeli academics teaching in the province's universities, in a move that echoes previous attempts to boycott goods and services from the Jewish state.

The resolution, proposed by CUPE's Ontario University Workers Coordinating Committee, is in protest of a Dec. 29 bombing that damaged the Islamic University in Gaza.

"In response to an appeal from the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees, we are ready to say Israeli academics should not be on our campuses unless they explicitly condemn the university bombing and the assault on Gaza in general," said Sid Ryan, president of CUPE Ontario.

Related - Sid Ryan's new anthem

Sounds Like A Sensible Solution To Me

"If sociologists ignore genes, will other academics — and the wider world — ignore sociology?"

Reader Tips

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SDA Late Nite Radio. Tonight, for your delectation and pursuant to our Monday night jazz show, here courtesy of mail from listener Exetaz is Mr. Frank Sinatra performing Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim's Wave (4:26).

Your Reader Tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.

2008 Weblog Awards - Polls Are Open!

It's the Stubblejumper vs The Mighty Yanks....

Click here to vote for SDA in the Best Conservative Blog category. I was out this afternoon, so we have some catching up to do!

Click this link to vote for Best Canadian blog, while the other categories can be accessed here.

Update - We're up two percentage points in 15 minutes 5 percentage points in 45 minutes !

Jan 6th Morning Update - holding our own and then some - currently in third place, nipping at the heels of Little Green Footbals and within 200 votes of Ace of Spades...

Y2Kyoto: The First Time In History That Cold Has Ever Frozen Water*

CTV.ca - Dec.15/08

When Bill Clinton took office in 1993, global warming was a slow-moving environmental problem that was easy to ignore. Now it is a ticking time bomb that President-elect Barack Obama can't avoid.

Daily Tech - Jan.1/09;

Thanks to a rapid rebound in recent months, global sea ice levels now equal those seen 29 years ago, when the year 1979 also drew to a close.

Ice levels had been tracking lower throughout much of 2008, but rapidly recovered in the last quarter. In fact, the rate of increase from September onward is the fastest rate of change on record, either upwards or downwards.

The data is being reported by the University of Illinois's Arctic Climate Research Center, and is derived from satellite observations of the Northern and Southern hemisphere polar regions

(By the way - who's the designated global warming mouthpiece at CTV these days? A few hundred forwards of the DailyTech link would be a wonderful service to Canadians.)

*

Using Every Tool Available, With The Exception Of Google

Dec. 3, 2008 - President-elect Barack Obama names New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson Commerce secretary calling him "a leading economic diplomat for America..."

Jan. 4, 2009 - Obama's press secretary Robert Gibbs on Richardson's withdrawal - "I think our vettors have done a good job".

Nov. 17, 2008; - Heath Haussamen, on New Mexico Politics

In addition, the FBI is probing dealings between the state and a California firm that was paid almost $1 million related to a $1.6 billion transportation program. Investigators are looking into at least two financial contributions totaling $100,000 that the company involved, CDR Financial Products, made to political committees formed by Richardson around the time it won the state contract related to Governor Richardson’s Investment Partnership (GRIP) in 2004.

The Sound Of Settled Science

"Solar cycle 24: where are you?"

Update - "Looking at the data to 1932, it was clear to me that what we are seeing today for levels doesn’t exist in the record."

Reader Tips

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SDA Late Nite Radio. Tonight, for your delectation and pursuant to our Sunday night classical music show, here courtesy of mail from listener David are Pinchas Zukerman (currently of Ottawa) and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra performing Max Christian Friedrich Bruch's Violin Concerto #1 in G Minor, Op. 26 (8:18), Part 2 (9:15), and Part 3 (7:49), in Tel Aviv in 2007.

Your Reader Tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.

We Don't Need No Stinking Giant Fans

Chris, who sent along this photo of Saskatoon's QE power plant on a -40 day writes;

I guess we're terrible people for not harnessing the power of a 7km/h wind and 8 hours of sun....

Y2Kyoto: "Where thermometers go to die"

The Decline Of The Breeder-Veterinarian Relationship

The people who were once partners in animal husbandry are rapidly being converted into animal rights activists with stethoscopes;

In the new way of thinking, it is OK to do surgical sterilization of an animal with all the far reaching impact this may have due to the change in hormones this causes, but its not OK to snip off a length of tail before a pup can feel that surgery, or take off excess ear so that the ear can stand as is normal in dogs (a drop ear is a mutation seen only in tame canines). It is considered reasonable to mention only the positive effects of alter surgery but not to mention the negatives. Now how can it be OK to ‘sexually mutilate’ a dog without its agreement, but not be OK to prevent tail injury or fix an ear or remove a dewclaw? Do the vets not realize that if they alter the last animals they will be out of work?

Related: The Humane Society Of The United States - a “humane society” in name only.

Fidel Castro

Not dead enough.

(Update - try this link if the other gives you problems.)

When Hamas Absolutely, Positively Has To Get There

Comes fully equipped with seating for eight, weapons storage, flashing lights, sirens, and stylish UN decal package. Unfortunately not IAF proof, but does come with a small dead body for AP/Reuters photo ops when hit.

Civilians Die As Military Invades Extremist Enclave

Western leftists take to the streets.

*

(Related).

Also related - Axis of Idiots (h/t Nancy)

Faster, Please

When Fatah shows up to protest Hamas, you're supposed to pray for an air strike, not pick a favourite;

The Hamas official said that his security forces had launched a massive "preemptive" campaign aimed at thwarting Fatah's attempts to "spread anarchy and chaos." He confirmed that many Fatah operatives had been shot in the legs over the past few days by Hamas "to make sure that they don't help Israel."

January 3, Yonge/Dundas Square, Toronto

When the concept of multiculturalism was introduced to Canadians, most assumed it meant "more pavilions at Folkfest"...

Courtesy Right Girl

(A well-known publisher of swastika imagery taking photographs at the scene denied he was acting in any official capacity for the Liberal party.)

Reader Tips

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SDA Late Nite Radio. Tonight, for your delectation and pursuant to the last chance we'll have here in the SDA LNR studios to post a two-hour video under the guise of the free time some of us have been fortunate enough to enjoy during this holiday season, here is geneticist and anthropologist Spencer Wells presenting his Journey of Man documentary (1:53:21).

Your Reader Tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.

"Granted, the KKK hoods had a better point"

"... but the effect is the same"

What Would We Do Without Crisis?

NYT: April 1, 2008 - "Rice crisis fuels tensions - Shortages, rising prices for staple sparks fears of civil unrest..."

CTV: January 3, 2009 - Rice crisis to persist as stock rises, prices fall

I Think She Just Might

"Would I lie to you?
Would I lie to you honey?
Now would I say something that wasnt true?
Im asking you sugar
Would I lie to you?"

The Eurythmics - Would I Lie To You

Y2Kyoto: The Weather Outside Is Frightful

Click the image to start animation.

(Snow Water Equivalent)

More where that one came from at National Snow Analysis - "The ultimate source for snow information."

h/t Todd B.

The Liberals Look Forward: Brand New Year, Brand New Leader

And brand new assprints for the backs of their parliamentary voting hands.

Via Blue Like You

The Lucky-X-Chromosome Senator For New York

In a fit of pique that bordered on the bizarre, she shaved off one eyebrow. "My face," she offered by way of explanation, "is too symmetrical."

Not Waiting For The Asteroid

Los Angeles Dog Trainer Year In Review

Reader Tips

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SDA Late Nite Radio. Tonight, for your delectation and pursuant to our Friday night old-time radio show, here is Mr. Benny Goodman with his Instrumental Trio & Guests hosting the Camel Caravan Swing School (1937, 5.6 MB, MP3, 24:30), including one of the earliest available complete recordings of Mr. Goodman's Sing, Sing, Sing, with Mr. Gene Krupa on drums (starting at 18:30).

Your Reader Tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.

Tony Blair's Britain

Where the foxes caper unmolested, the government packs your school lunch and would the last plate of fish and chips to leave Britain please turn off the lights?

[Health Minister Ben Bradshaw] promised that the Government would not shy away from bringing in new rules to force food companies to play a part in changing the country's eating habits. Limits could be imposed on the amount of fat and salt in certain products.

The Sound Of Settled Science

That big burning ball in the sky affects the earth in some way? How can that be?

...geographer Robert Baker of the University of New England, Armidale, in Australia, has linked solar magnetic activity to Earth's climate--at least regionally. Using sunspot counts and Australian meteorological data, as well as NASA satellite data for more recent years, he tracked sunspots and rainfall in Australia from 1876 to 2006. In this month's issue of Geographical Research, Baker reports that the amount of rainfall in most regions of the country tracked the 22-year magnetic cycle almost exactly. "It was unbelievable," Baker says. At the height of magnetic activity, rainfall across most of the country was plentiful. At the other end of the cycle, many of those same regions experienced severe droughts. The findings are particularly compelling, Baker says, because even though the lengths of the magnetic cycles are not precise and can vary by several years, the rainfall patterns followed them.

So what's behind the connection? Baker thinks it has to do with the amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation hitting Earth. When the reversing of polarity approaches, he explains, the sun's magnetic field weakens, allowing more UV energy to reach our planet. More UV radiation kills off some of the oceans' plankton, which produce dimethyl sulfide, one of the primary atmospheric chemicals involved in cloud formation, and fewer clouds mean less rainfall.

[...]

"This could be an important paper," says climatologist John Christy of the University of Alabama, Huntsville. He explains that current climate models don't give the solar effect much weight in general, because scientists think it is overwhelmed by the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. But if there's a mechanism by which the sun's variations are tied directly to weather patterns, such as the effect of UV radiation on cloud formation, he says, the sun may have a greater impact than the models are showing. As a result, the models might not be creating an accurate picture for the future.

"Palestinians are, if we were to believe their fancifully posed pictures"

"... the only people on earth whose immediate urge, when their friends and fellows are injured, is to grab them and try to twist them into cruel and dangerous positions. "

Y2Kyoto: The Problem With The Built-In Solution

Climate injustice hits the big time - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees wants "victims" of climate change to be designated "environmental refugees.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that there will be 150 million environmental refugees by 2050. The Institute for Environment and Human Security, affiliated with United Nations University, estimated the number of environmental refugees at 20 million in 2005 and predicted the number could be 50 million as early as 2010.

In spite of millions in danger of becoming refugees, at present there is no international law to protect their rights. UNHCR, the United Nations’ refugee agency, does not recognise climate or environment refugees as these categories are not included in the list of legal refugees under the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention. The Convention currently defines a legal refugee as a person who has fled his or her country due to persecution by the state for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.

Anthony Simms, head of the climate change programme at UK-based New Economic Foundation, and the author of a book titled “Environmental Refugees: The Case for Recognition” argues that environmental refugees should be given UN refugee status as environmental displacement of people amounts to “environmental persecution”. Simms argues that developed nations should take responsibility as climate change comes a result of their policies.

Otherwise, every human plucked from a submerged beach and deposited to higher, richer shores will simply move up a carbon footprint bracket and exacerbate the warming problem, no?

But hold on! Or should I say - Holden!

In a speech at Harvard last November, Harvard physicist John Holden, President-elect Obama's choice to be his science adviser as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology, presented a "top 10" list of warming solutions.

Topping the list was "limiting population".

Reader Tips

Your Reader Tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.

All quiet in France

France mobilized 35,000 police and 50,000 firefighters for the traditional new year's eve Car-B-Q. And the evening was "rather calm without major incident".

And about 1,147 cars were torched, which no longer qualifies as a major incident, apparently.

And They Say I'm Not Socially "Progressive"

Today's New Years dinner - "special needs" turkey

Uncle Jay Sings The News

h/t to a whole bunch of you.

Y2Kyoto: Consider This Your Global Warming Warning, Calgary

h/t Kathryn C.

Environment Canada

Western Media Swings En Masse To Cheer Hamas

The turning point.

Always Look At The Bright Side Of Life

Channel 4's Dorothy Byrne defends her network's choice of Christmas messenger;

"As the leader of one of the most powerful states in the Middle East, President Ahmadinejad's views are enormously influential. As we approach a critical time in international relations, we are offering our viewers an insight into an alternative world view."

Reader Tips

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SDA Late Nite Radio. Tonight, for your delectation and pursuant to our 2009 New Year Show, here are Andre Rieu, The Johann Strauss Orchestra, and The European Pipe Band performing Auld Lang Syne (3:40).

And here are the SDA Commenter Statistics for 2008.

Your Reader Tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.

Out With The Old

Thanks to each and every one of you - guest bloggers, commentors, tipsters, donors, linkers, and readers for helping make 2008 the best-ever year at SDA.

Everyone have a safe and happy New Year! I'll do my best, with your help, to keep up the pace in '09.

Times Square Earth Cam