The Great White North

Android

2011-07-20T17:43:00.001-05:00

Have blogger for android installed now. Will i post more now? Who can say in this topsy turvy world of ours?

Roads to drive

2011-05-17T12:23:00.002-05:00

This link has a very nice write up of great driving roads, with an accessible section on the northeast.

http://motoringconbrio.com/great-driving-roads/

Link to site which produced the gmap roads

2011-05-16T12:03:00.000-05:00

http://www.northernontario.travel/motorcycletouring/vacation-ideas/35-general/174-great-ontario-bike-roads-the-big-map

Roads map as Google Map

2011-05-16T12:01:00.000-05:00

Link

View Muskoka and Ontario's South in a larger map

Love of Driving

2011-05-15T15:15:00.001-05:00

A weekend drive, twisty roads, and poutine

2011-05-14T12:16:00.002-05:00

The plan: To drive out past Orillia, and drive up the entertaining Southwood Rd to the town of Bala.

The town of Bala provides a good place to stop and rest.

View Larger Map

Where they have a well reviewed poutine:
Menu: http://www.balabayinn.com/menus.php

I am happy.

2010-04-30T20:56:00.000-05:00

That is all.

US Federal Spending

2010-02-28T12:37:00.002-05:00

View out the window of the new Tranquility module on the ISS

2010-02-27T16:27:00.002-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAQj78odXxk

How does the fall of Rome apply to Today?

2010-02-14T01:02:00.001-05:00

http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/why-did-rome-fall%E2%80%94and-does-it-matter/

The good news mixed into the changes to NASA's plans

2010-02-10T16:57:00.005-05:00

Also on the agenda is development of the technology for in-space fuel depots, a concept raised by the Augustine panel as a way to stretch launch capacity for travel beyond LEO.

With the constellation program dead, there won't be any people on the moon any time soon, but long term, in-orbit refueling is the key to economic intra-system space travel. This is good news.

Read about all the other changes here.

Internet Download Speed

2010-01-26T21:50:00.003-05:00

Rogers Extreme Plus

Oh no! Is this the start of the end of skimpy female clothing?

2010-01-22T13:56:00.000-05:00

http://gizmodo.com/5454662/fabric-dipped-in-carbon-nanotubes-could-be-turned-into-wearable-batteries

Is being leftist a psychiatric condition?

2010-01-15T23:08:00.003-05:00

"The notion that his own society is evil and unjust is the bedrock of the leftist’s vision. Wicked capitalists trample on the poor, the oppressed, and the downtrodden; the leftist appoints himself to rescue these victims. He is a self-styled social redeemer, leading a movement to liberate the masses, even if it results in the destruction of his own society. This political mission provides him with immense moral indignation and, therefore, moral superiority, dispositions from which, in turn, he derives emotional self-gratification. His whole belief system provides him with a sense of belonging; he joins other social redeemers, as well as the victims, real or imagined, who wait for him to break their chains.
Thus, the leftist’s political disposition is a faith that reinforces his personal identity and sense of belonging."

I think the real question is, is it curable?

Very good article about Global Warming

2010-01-10T21:56:00.002-05:00

If you don't know what an MDO is you need to read this article.

Luck and the atomic bomb

2010-01-07T11:50:00.002-05:00

How unlucky do you have to be to get two nuclear bombs dropped on you? And then how lucky do you have to be to survive until 2010?

Link http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/world/asia/07yamaguchi.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

What goes around, comes around

2009-12-07T17:57:00.001-05:00

Reading this was music to my ears.

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/735096--geist-record-industry-faces-liability-over-infringement

Have you ever heard of a top-site?

2009-11-29T19:05:00.001-05:00

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.01/topsite.html?pg=1&topic=topsite&topic_set=

Macleans Commentary on Fort Hood

2009-11-29T01:34:00.001-05:00

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/11/26/major-nidal-hasan-had-an-enabler/

All your 'o' are belong to us

2009-11-25T02:18:00.000-05:00

http://spacefellowship.com/2009/09/07/google-ufo-doodle-explained/

Diverging Diamond' Traffic Flow

2009-11-25T02:14:00.001-05:00

Just have cars drive on the wrong side of the street. No really. I like it.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120403340

The difference between Europe and America

2009-03-22T11:05:00.001-05:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/20/AR2009032001779.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Huh

2009-01-12T22:55:00.002-05:00

What are they teaching in Women's Studies these days?

And now from that wacky land of Japan...

2009-01-02T11:24:00.002-05:00

Ice Racing in Ontario

2008-12-31T22:23:00.002-05:00

http://www.wheels.ca/article/173236

It seem appropriate that this is my 100th post

2008-12-23T17:27:00.002-05:00

Global Warming - Politics or Science?

2008-11-15T21:50:00.000-05:00

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/11/16/do1610.xml

A good political comentary

2008-09-07T14:48:00.000-05:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/07/uselections2008.republicans2008

Russian / Georgian war

2008-08-26T16:08:00.002-05:00

If you want to know what is actually happening in Georgia regarding the war there, you should read this article:

http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2008/08/the-truth-about-1.php

Wheel of time movie

2008-08-17T10:35:00.002-05:00

http://movies.ign.com/articles/898/898487p1.html

Seems like the wheel of time series is about to be turned into movies by Universal Pictures. On the one hand they'll probably butcher the story. On the other hand, Lord of the rings was done fairly well...

At least it will be interesting following the casting news as it dribbles out..

Whale Watching near Pleasant Bay Cape Bretton

2008-08-16T23:34:00.001-05:00

IPE - Day six

2008-07-21T09:24:00.002-05:00

Otherwise known as PEI in English, we headed off to it on Sunday, vowing to go nowhere near any Anne of Green Gables stuff.

We stopped at a couple places to view the Flink, we saw Charlottetown, then ended up at Rossignol winery for the evening.

A bit pressed for time so see pictures here.

Day five

2008-07-21T09:06:00.003-05:00

It rained off and on Saturday, so we decided to rest and relax. Over lunch at the Cinder place I'd downloaded the Daily Show, so I watched that. We also went out to the little town of Pugwash for lunch. And I read through a chunk of The Lies of Locke Lamora (good book). Oh, and we drove into Amherst to see The Dark Knight, which I thought while good, had the wrong feel for a batman movie, and the pacing wasn't quite right.

Inside the cottage

View of the Northumberland straight from the cottage porch / dining room window

Joggins - Day four

2008-07-20T22:41:00.005-05:00

Joggins fossil beach is a UNESCO world heritage site. Its got one of the greatest concentrations of fossils in the world. You can walk down the beach, and find them every few paces. Its also on the Bay of Fundy. The water level rises and falls 30 feet between low and high tide. We arrived as the tide was going out, and by the time we left at low tide there was far more beach visible.

Cottage on the bluffs.

Shortly after we arrived, the tide still fairly high.

You can see the different high tide marks. The loose rock just below the bluffs was the best place to look for fossil rocks.

Later in the day, the tide nearly at low, there was far more beach.

Like someone took a giant cleaver to the rock.

Can you spot the fossilized tree trunk in the rock?

Maritime Trip Day 3

2008-07-18T13:52:00.003-05:00

No pictures from this day on my camera since I lost them to corrupted data. I walked the quarter mile of cottage property from the building down to the beach. The walk itself was miserable. The scenery was beautiful, but the mosquitos, black flies, deer flies and other flying insects that dive bombed my head were maddening. Apparently this is a really bad year here for mosquitos and other flies. Something to do with a lot of rain in June. Its not as bad once it gets hot out, and when there's a breeze. Later we went into Amherst to get those hats with mosquito netting.

Once I climbed down the short slope to the beach, I left most of the insects behind. I was there at high tide, which out here makes a _big_ difference. I'll have some high / low tide comparison pictures posted in the next few days. Later back at the cottage, we all saw a fox outside.

Anyhow, the next trip down to the beach armed with the netting and at a better hour was much nicer. The tide was low and we were able to walk out to the water past stranded jelly fish to see a bunch of small hermit crabs trying to steal food from each other in shallow water. Otherwise this was a day of rest after all the driving of the previous days. Next update may be more interesting.

In the meantime here are a few pictures of the non cookie-cutter houses in Amherst.

More photo's here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Joseph.Slonimsky/AmherstNovaScotia

Maritime Trip Day 2

2008-07-18T13:34:00.003-05:00

Having got into Edmunston late, we started late as well, checking out of the hotel at 1pm. We asked Amy for direction to the nearest Subway sandwich place. What Amy failed to mention was that it was in a hospital near our hotel. Asking Amy for further directions to another Subway, we followed them only to run across a third Subway on our way to the second one.

Conveniently for us New Brunswick seems to have built a new 4 lane highway that sped us along towards our destination. We arrived at the cottage after dark. (follow the trip route to see where the cottage is).

View Larger Map

Maritime Trip Day 1

2008-07-16T10:20:00.005-05:00

Started a bit late (cough David cough). I took a picture shortly after we got going.

I brought my new GPS unit with us

We stopped in Ontario for a couple rest breaks, but we didn't stop in Quebec until we reached the most northerly part of our trip at riviere-du-loup

View Larger Map
There was a cute waitress at the Boston pizza, who spoke more English than we did French. (which isn't much) Making use of all the French I know, I wanted to say 'voulez vouz parle on anglais avec mois ce souis?

After dinner, it now being midnight, we pressed on (getting lost in Riviere-du-loup) through the hills of south east Quebec until we finally had to stop just across the border in New Brunswick.

Total first day kilometers: Just over 1100.

What I think of Astrology

2008-07-10T21:53:00.001-05:00

2008-07-10T20:55:00.001-05:00

A link to my photo gallery, recently updated.

Worlds worst roads

2008-07-05T21:44:00.002-05:00

Its arguably the worlds worst road. A city of over 200,000 depends on it for their only road link to the rest of civilization. And it looks like this after it rains:

Then there's the worlds most unsafe road. Not surprisingly known as the Hwy of Death. Among other things its one lane wide and has two way traffic. It looks like this:

Lastly there's the worlds worst hiking trail. It leads to this vantage point:

Unfortunately, to get up there you have to get by this:

But this isn't the worst part of the trail. There's an even scarier section by the look of it.

To see it, go to this site. http://www.ssqq.com/ARCHIVE/vinlin27.htm

Peak Oil

2008-06-15T08:54:00.002-05:00

Peak Oil is the point where oil production reaches its maximum as mature oil fields stop producing, and fewer and fewer new ones come online.

Russia which is almost tied with Saudi Arabia as the worlds largest oil producer recently claimed they had reached peak oil output.

Coupled with the vast numbers of people in India and China who are entering the middle class, acquiring cars, and using energy, its not surprising that the price of gas is skyrocketing.

But the price of gas won't keep going up, becuase the above formula doesn't take into account producing your own oil from scratch. For example, one company is genetically designing bugs to eat waste and excrete oil. Yes, this is actually possible. read more here.

Doors Open Toronto

2008-05-29T19:02:00.001-05:00

Pictures can be found here

Dell's warranty service

2008-05-14T21:26:00.003-05:00

My Inspiron 6400 laptop's power supply became wonky the last few weeks, sometimes not being recognized at all by the laptop. I called Dell, and except for the frustrations of actually reaching the right call center within the Dell empire, I think I'm fairly happy with the service. The day after the call my new power supply was already at my door, with a box and prepaid shipping label to send the bad part back.

After my previous frustrations with Dell, this means I might have to consider un-boycotting them for future purchases.

Contemplating a Northern Ontario Road Trip

2008-05-13T23:33:00.004-05:00

http://www.urbantoronto.ca/showthread.php?t=7004
http://www.urbantoronto.ca/showthread.php?p=128519
http://www.urbantoronto.ca/showthread.php?t=7081
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Current_Swing_Bridge

Manufacturing on Demand

2008-05-02T10:12:00.001-05:00

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-04/bz_instapreneur

If you read this article..

2008-04-28T00:57:00.002-05:00

.. do you think freedom of speech and multiculturalism are clashing?

http://www.city-journal.org/2008/18_2_cultural_jihadists.html

My website

2008-04-21T17:31:00.002-05:00

http://www.gizmoz.ca

Amazing what one person with no particular knowledge of programming can do nowadays. Apart from being handed a template, I've done everything else myself.

Yes, I know there are several issues with the site, but its still in beta and doesn't have a crack team of programmers standing by!

Rally driving on snow through forest

2008-04-17T22:00:00.000-05:00

Another Rally Clip from the cockpit

2008-04-17T21:35:00.001-05:00

What happens when a telemarketer calls a prank caller..

2008-04-14T10:01:00.001-05:00

How the Space Shuttle is Assembled

2008-04-04T09:36:00.000-05:00

http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB11&Number=1016238&page=0&fpart=all

HRC

2008-03-28T11:58:00.003-05:00

Canada's Human Rights Commission: Freedom of Speech not Canadian.

WTF?

This is what happens when a bureaucracy of left-leaning people is left alone, unsupervised by adults. See story here.

Worlds Oceans Cooling?

2008-03-25T11:18:00.002-05:00

Thousands of Buoys float across the worlds oceans sampling temperature.

They are reporting a slight cooling of the worlds oceans over the last five years or so. All the climate models that global warming is based off of must have seen this coming... No? Oh, thats odd, seeing as how those models rely on ocean temperature rising for 80-90% of atmospheric global warming.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=394939

Do Not Reply

2008-03-24T16:45:00.002-05:00

Ever gotten an email with anything@donotreply.com? well, most of us are smart enough to well... not reply. Others aren't so bright.

Where you may ask, do those emails go?

They all end up in Chet Faliszek's email Inbox.

... and then he posts some of the best online.

Traffic Jams

2008-03-21T11:55:00.001-05:00

We've all been in highway traffic that inexplicably stops and goes. Now its been modeled in a controlled environment for the first time.

Global Cooling?

2008-02-27T10:42:00.004-05:00

A compiled list of all the sources can be seen here. The total amount of cooling ranges from 0.65C up to 0.75C -- a value large enough to wipe out nearly all the warming recorded over the past 100 years. All in one year's time. For all four sources, it's the single fastest temperature change ever recorded, either up or down.

Original Article here

Glimpse of the future

2008-02-24T11:27:00.002-05:00

Contact lenses with a circuit and light emitting diodes allowing a super-imposed image on the world like a heads up display. See article here.

Broken Windows

2008-02-19T18:25:00.002-05:00

I read this article in City Journal a few months ago, and I've wanted to reference it a few times since then. I'd thought of posting it to my blog then, but didn't. It's long and isn't very easy to summarize.

I first heard about the broken windows theory in a story about New York. The idea is that perception matters. Someone living in an area where there are broken windows, graffiti, etc, will be more likely to feel that they can act lawlessly than someone living in a nice orderly neighborhood.

The article I'm linking to has an overview of the worst neighborhood in Los Angeles and the societal and political forces trying to help it. The article stands out becuase of how complete a picture it paints of these forces.

Deal or No Deal

2008-02-17T01:27:00.004-05:00

You know you've made the dictator major leagues when you can offer deals like these..

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Amid a discussion of trade in 1973, Chinese leader Mao Zedong made what U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger called a novel proposition: sending tens of thousands, even 10 million, Chinese women to the United States.

Chinese leader Mao Zedong, here depicted in an Andy Warhol painting, offered women to the U.S.

"You know, China is a very poor country," Mao said, according to a document released by the State Department's historian office.
"We don't have much. What we have in excess is women. So if you want them we can give a few of those to you, some tens of thousands."
A few minutes later, Mao circled back to the offer. "Do you want our Chinese women?" he asked. "We can give you 10 million."
After Kissinger noted Mao was "improving his offer," the chairman said, "We have too many women. ... They give birth to children and our children are too many."
"It is such a novel proposition," Kissinger replied in his discussion with Mao in Beijing. "We will have to study it."

You can find the original news report here. (CNN)

Hero or Criminal?

2008-02-15T11:22:00.002-05:00

Here's a story of an 80 year old American answering the door at his home, only to find two robbers who attempted to beat him up. He fought back, and put one of his attackers in the hospital. He's being hailed as hero by the police and his neighbors. But the same thing happening in Great Britain would probably lead to his being charged with a crime. (can't use deadly force to protect yourself from a home invasion there). So who's right?

Volvo S60 2.5T AWD

2008-02-15T00:18:00.005-05:00

I've had the '03 Volvo S60 2.5 turbo All Wheel Drive for three-quarters of a year now, and so far I'm very happy with it.

I think the style of the car has just the right touch of sport, class and luxury.

The shade of black with maybe a touch of blue is perfect for this car.

Handling is good. I really like the suspension setup, which thankfully sits more to the sport rather than the luxury end of the spectrum. Coupled with a rigid chassis and an anti-roll bar, there's fairly little lean-in for turns.

Throwing the car through the twisties of route 129 on the Tennessee / North Carolina border otherwise known as the tail of the dragon was amazingly fun.

(click on the map to get a full-size view)

I drove it twice in my Volvo S60. I think I did fairly well for the most part, but seeing how there's either rock, steep drop off or trees at the side of the road I really wasn't trying to push the car to 9/10th of what it can do. The one time I misjudged a turn and came in way too quickly for my comfort, I was blown away by how I was simply able to pull the steering wheel around more sharply and the car just turned with no oversteer or understeer, not even tire noise.

To see what I mean about route 129 being one of the best driving roads in North America, watch this youtube clip of someone following a Ferrari through the twisties.

Then there's the All Wheel Drive. While the All Wheel Drive system is biased towards the front wheels, up to 70% of power can be sent to the rear wheels when the front wheels slip by as little as 1/15 of a rotation. This means its really easy to have fun in this car when there's snow on the ground. Not to mention being able to get out of snow filled parking spots downtown.

Do you let tourists handle your guns?

2008-02-14T23:41:00.007-05:00

I'll assume that most people who read my blog don't have guns or host tourists. And neither did the International Space Station until they began to let tourists paying $25 million apiece visit. Well apparently they also have at least one gun up there, which they let their tourists handle. And before you jump to the conclusion that the Americans are at fault, they're not. The Russians are the ones who brought it to the station. Apparently everyone up there knows about it, but word wasn't supposed to get out into the general population. I guess they forgot to tell the tourist, who blogged about it.

Anyway we all know how balanced and professional astronauts are..
Except for maybe the completely crazy-insane ones.
You can find the article here

A guy walks into a bar... ...'ouch'.

2008-02-14T14:09:00.001-05:00

A Scotsman, an Englishman, and an Irishman meet in a bar while traveling.

"Y'know" said the Scotsman, "I still prefer the pubs back home. In Glasgow, there's a wonderful little bar called McTavish's. The landlord there goes out of his way for the locals, so much that when you buy 4 drinks he'll buy the 5th drink for you."

"Well," said the Englishman, "at my local, the Red Lion, the barman there will buy your 3rd drink after you buy the first 2."

"Ahhhhh, that's nothing, laddies," said the Irishman.

"Back home in me own Dublin, there's Ryan's Bar. Now, the moment you set foot in the place they'll buy you a drink, then another, all the drinks you like. Then, when, when you've had enough drinks, they'll take you upstairs and see that you get laid All on the house."

The Englishman and Scotsman immediately scorn the Irishman's claims. But he swears every word is true.

"Well," said the Englishman, "did this actually happen to you?"

"Not to me meself, personally, no," said the Irishman... "but it did happen to me sister."

Faster please..

2008-02-13T16:09:00.006-05:00

Imad Mughniyah dead in a mysterious blast in Damascus.

Human Rights Commission Freedom of Speech Issue

2008-02-02T17:39:00.001-05:00

The magazine Macleans was referred to a Human Rights Commission by a complainant for an article written by Mark Steyn. The human rights commissions are quasi-judicial bodies, which had been designed to adjudicate disputes in housing and the workplace where discrimination might have played a role. How did they come to judge what is permissible for a journalist to write and a magazine to publish?

Liberal member of parliament Keith Martin has introduced a private members bill to strip section 13(1) from the Human Rights commissions code under which section they are prosecuting Macleans.

To me it seems clear that freedom of speech inherently includes the right to offend others.

This point is illustrated by another guy who has been referred to a Human Rights Commission for publishing the 'Mohammed' cartoons. They were published in the Western Standard, by the publisher Ezra Levant.

you can read about his experience here

That looks like one content cat...

2008-02-02T16:48:00.000-05:00

Photoshopping Angelina Jolie.

2008-02-02T16:10:00.000-05:00

I admire the skill, but still find it a tad creepy.

2008-01-31T13:47:00.000-05:00

An interesting history of the way war films have been changing.

Ahmed the Dead Terrorist

2008-01-30T13:16:00.001-05:00

Continuation of the Presidential Candidate Series: Ron Paul

2008-01-10T12:47:00.000-05:00

I've long thought Ron Paul was the republican crazy, just like the UFO believer Kucinich is for the Democrats.

Things like going back to the gold standard seem a bit out there, but if economic kookiness isn't enough, try racist, anti-semite, and conspiracy nut. Just imagine how well that would work. The guy that actually runs the world thinking that some 'trilateral commision' or whatever actually secretly runs the world. Yep, that has disaster written all over it.

This new republic article has all the details on his craziness.

Charlie Wilson's War

2007-12-27T01:31:00.000-05:00

Saw it & loved it. Great Movie.

As for the politics:
see here

The cost of christmas. Wow.

2007-11-26T11:17:00.000-05:00

Follow the link

Those Bastards!

2007-11-23T13:05:00.000-05:00

Follow the Link

Road Trip Review

2007-11-02T14:46:00.000-05:00

Road Trip from October 19 to October 29.

More pictures can be found here

October 19: Trip began around 9:00pm, drove straight to Toledo, Ohio. At the border crossing which happened around midnight, the customs guy actually took a look into the cooler, but otherwise didn't bother us.

October 20: Mostly a driving day. They have Tim Horton's in Toledo, Ohio! Felt at home, except that our medium size drinks, were their small, and our large, their medium, and so on. Drove all the way to Knoxville, TN this day stopping at the US Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio. Ate at P. F. Chang's.

October 21: Drove the tail of the dragon. Twice. And then David drove it, and then route 28, and then the blue ridge parkway scenic route up to the 6000+ ft high peak. The sun set there and we realized we were pretty far from our booked hotel on the Florida/Georgia Border. Solution: Speeding like crazy. I think I drove almost to Georgia, averaging 140 km/h. And while these were now interstate highways, they still wove through some fairly significant hills and mountains.

October 22: Drove from Georgia to Titusville, just outside the Kennedy Space Center. Went into the Kennedy Visitor Center, an almost theme-park sized facility.

October 23: Saw the shuttle launch in the morning, drove into Disneylando (disney + orlando). Got lost in disneylando (3 or 4 times I think). Walked around downtown disney, then went to eat at P F Chang's.

October 24: Went back to Kennedy Space Center to do the tour which we hadn't had time to do before. Drove up to St. Augustine.

October 25: Had breakfast/lunch at the Conch house, then rented a boat, then got my car stuck on the beach.

October 26: Went swimming in the Atlantic Ocean in the morning, then left St. Augustine and drove 1100 km to Richmond Va. Speeding 20 miles an hour over the limit in Virginia is actually a crime, which they can apparently drag you off to jail for or at least a fine of over $2000 and as I'd rather gotten used to speeding over 20 miles an hour, it really sucked.

October 27: Drove into Washington and walked the national mall. White House, Capitol, Memorials and so on. Drove back into Virginia to get a hotel near Dulles International Airport. Ate at PF Chang's.

October 28: Went to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum at Dulles International Airport. Drove to Pittsburgh.

October 29: Drove to Buffalo. Just before crossing from Pennsylvania into New York, stopped to get Fireworks, which I had to sign a release form for. Had to show ID just to get into the building. Anyway then shopped for clothing at the Walden Galleria, then drove home to Toronto. Waved through customs, wait was only 10-15 minutes.

Random Photos from Road Trip

2007-10-27T19:37:00.000-05:00

Follow the Link

Road Trip - Day 1

2007-10-20T08:29:00.000-05:00

Drove from Toronto to Toledo Ohio. Michigan has some of the most poorly maintained highways I'v seen, and Ohio rubs it in by having perfect highway the second the interstate passes the border.

A debate

2007-10-12T10:35:00.001-05:00

It can be found here

Watch the whole thing

2007-10-09T21:53:00.000-05:00

This is incredible. I'll be passing through this area for my Florida trip.

Skill or Luck?

2007-09-13T10:55:00.001-05:00

Presidential Candidate Series - John McCain

2007-09-07T13:09:00.001-05:00

At a recent town hall style meeting someone asked McCain whether he was too old and if he was worried he might die in office. McCain appropriately enough responded, "Thanks for the question you little jerk." Which brings me to his chances of getting the nomination and getting elected president.

That he needs a miracle is actually a bit sad. His breadth of personal experience and strength of character is far and away above any of the other candidates. As a prisoner of war in Vietnam he was tortured brutally, (including having both his shoulders dislocated). Yet when his father became the Commander of American forces in the pacific, and McCain was given a chance at early release he refused, rather than face the dishonor of abandoning his fellow prisoners.

Yet knowing personally the complete depth of the horrors of war, his position on Iran is hawkish. I don't think any of the other candidates were as clear as McCain, when he sang "bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran."

Understanding John McCain

2007-08-26T19:27:00.000-05:00

Actually its more broadly understanding the warrior ethos perhaps.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200708u/kaplan-vietnam

Alligators Aren't Green

2007-08-13T22:44:00.000-05:00

This is actually a post about Iraq from the reader-financed blogger thats been embedded over there on and off for three years now. If you want to know how it ties in with Alligators, you'll have to follow the link.

Presidential Candidates

2007-08-04T09:56:00.001-05:00

I'm going to be doing a series of blog posts on the American Presidential candidates. First up is Rudy Giuliani with his hatred of ferrets. Thats right, he hates ferrets. In fact he tried to have them banned in New York, and here is a quote from a call in show during that time:

"I think you have totally and absolutely misinterpreted the law, because there's something deranged about you. The excessive concern that you have for ferrets is something you should examine with a therapist. Not with me. I'm not insulting you. I'm being honest with you. Maybe no one in your life has ever been honest with you. This conversation is over, David. Thank you. There is something really, really, very sad about you. You need help. You need somebody to help you. I know you feel insulted by that, but I'm being honest with you.
"This excessive concern with little weasels is a sickness. I'm sorry. That's my opinion. You don't have to accept it. There are probably very few people who would be as honest with you about that. But you should go consult a psychologist or a psychiatrist, and have him help you with this excessive concern, how you are devoting your life to weasels."

Flushing books down toilets. Crime or not?

2007-07-31T11:52:00.000-05:00

Christopher Hitchens:

Before me is a recent report that a student at Pace University in New York City has been arrested for a hate crime in consequence of an alleged dumping of the Quran. Nothing repels me more than the burning or desecration of books, and if, for example, this was a volume from a public or university library, I would hope that its mistreatment would constitute a misdemeanor at the very least. But if I choose to spit on a copy of the writings of Ayn Rand or Karl Marx or James Joyce, that is entirely my business. When I check into a hotel room and send my free and unsolicited copy of the Gideon Bible or the Book of Mormon spinning out of the window, I infringe no law, except perhaps the one concerning litter. Why do we not make this distinction in the case of the Quran? We do so simply out of fear, and because the fanatical believers in that particular holy book have proved time and again that they mean business when it comes to intimidation. Surely that should be to their discredit rather than their credit. Should not the “moderate” imams of On Faith have been asked in direct terms whether they are, or are not, negotiating with a gun on the table?
The Pace University incident becomes even more ludicrous and sinister when it is recalled that Islamists are the current leaders in the global book-burning competition. After the rumor of a Quran down the toilet in Guantanamo was irresponsibly spread, a mob in Afghanistan burned down an ancient library that (as President Hamid Karzai pointed out dryly) contained several ancient copies of the same book. Not content with igniting copies of The Satanic Verses, Islamist lynch parties demanded the burning of its author as well. Many distinguished authors, Muslim and non-Muslim, are dead or in hiding because of the words they have put on pages concerning the unbelievable claims of Islam. And it is to appease such a spirit of persecution and intolerance that a student in New York City has been arrested for an expression, however vulgar, of an opinion.

This has to stop, and it has to stop right now. There can be no concession to sharia in the United States. When will we see someone detained, or even cautioned, for advocating the burning of books in the name of God? If the police are honestly interested in this sort of “hate crime,” I can help them identify those who spent much of last year uttering physical threats against the republication in this country of some Danish cartoons. In default of impartial prosecution, we have to insist that Muslims take their chance of being upset, just as we who do not subscribe to their arrogant certainties are revolted every day by the hideous behavior of the parties of God.

It is often said that resistance to jihadism only increases the recruitment to it. For all I know, this commonplace observation could be true. But, if so, it must cut both ways. How about reminding the Islamists that, by their mad policy in Kashmir and elsewhere, they have made deadly enemies of a billion Indian Hindus? Is there no danger that the massacre of Iraqi and Lebanese Christians, or the threatened murder of all Jews, will cause an equal and opposite response? Most important of all, what will be said and done by those of us who take no side in filthy religious wars? The enemies of intolerance cannot be tolerant, or neutral, without inviting their own suicide. And the advocates and apologists of bigotry and censorship and suicide-assassination cannot be permitted to take shelter any longer under the umbrella of a pluralism that they openly seek to destroy.

The new Harry Potter Book Launch

2007-07-22T20:10:00.000-05:00

Crazy harry potter launch party on Friday night. A whole section of Bay street got closed off outside the Indigo/Chapters, and they had a DJ playing tunes inside the store, with the occasional chants of "go harry, go harry". Jacquie and I went down, and met up with Debs. Oh, and its not Hermony or Hermione but Hermini.

Something my friends will appreciate

2007-07-21T14:44:00.000-05:00

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/07/21/maybe-google-news-needs-a-little-tweaking/

1997 Mazda Millenia S Review

2007-07-20T16:30:00.000-05:00

I owned a Mazda Millenia S 1997 from 160,000 km to almost 240,000 km. The Mazda Millenia S is a mid-luxury supercharged compact 'sports sedan'. The Millenia S engine (when working properly) was its best feature. Acceleration from 0-60 was about 7 seconds, but you could really feel the raw power of the supercharger when it kicked in. On the downside, inexplicably on some days it seemed to have more kick than on other days. Also, the air conditioning sapped way too much power from the engine, changing the entire driving dynamics. Also a 4 speed auto transmission with no tiptronic was a disappointment. In some situations it was difficult to get the car to kick down a gear.

The comfort of the car was also excellent. Good quality leather seats (if a bit worn by the time the car got to me), and the car did a decent job over rough pavement with its way too soft suspension.

Handling on the other hand was horrible. Go around a corner, and the car tilted like a boat. This was a sports sedan in name only. The brakes, while decent were not terrific for spirited driving. The suspension was tuned for comfort and was too squishy.

Reliability was atrocious. The car broke down routinely with the oddest problems, I especially remember the TCS light blinking, which put the transmission into safe mode, and the supercharger (probably) problems near the end, plus tons of other stuff.

Its a bad idea to own one of these cars with high kilometers. They all die when the supercharger seals weaken and leak oil into the engine. This will eventually kill your catalytic (making passing emissions difficult) then dirty your spark plugs etc, then of course the supercharger itself might die.

Best News Headline EVER

2007-07-04T19:13:00.000-05:00

"I KICKED BURNING TERRORIST SO HARD IN BALLS THAT I TORE A TENDON"

Global Climate Change.

2007-06-20T20:18:00.000-05:00

Is this an inconvenient truth for the global warming crowd? Are people open minded enough to be swayed by science or has global warming become dogma?

Tug of war between Lions and a Crocodile

2007-06-12T12:33:00.000-05:00

Spooky Action at a Distance

2007-06-09T09:42:00.000-05:00

Quantum Computers when they are finally perfected in the next 20 years or so, will be able to crack todays commonly used cryptography, so for example everything you do on the internet would then be susceptible to someone intercepting and decrypting it.

Quantum cryptography, which could replace current cryptography, has distance limits, and is based on a property of quantum mechanics that Albert Einstein called "Spooky Action at a Distance".

New Record for Quantum Cryptography: Researchers take a big step toward their goal of spy-proof communications via satellites. Link

Space Exploration

2007-06-07T21:02:00.000-05:00

A list of the top 10 technologies that are needed to speed up space exploration.

LTC Doug Crissman arrests General Hamid in Iraq

2007-06-07T18:54:00.000-05:00

This one article about LTC Doug Crissman arresting General Hamid in Hit will tell you more about the dynamic of what is going on in Iraq then any number of news stories. It is by Michael Yon an independant blogger/reporter. He does not work for any news organization. He is exclusively funded and paid by bloggers like you or I who hit his tip jar. When you're done reading the story here you can read an email from LTC Doug Crissman on the aftermath here.

Segregation or Apartheid?

2007-06-06T11:57:00.000-05:00

LA Times writer Megan K. Stack in Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — THE hem of my heavy Islamic cloak trailed over floors that glistened like ice. I walked faster, my eyes fixed on a familiar, green icon. I hadn't seen a Starbucks in months, but there it was, tucked into a corner of a fancy shopping mall in the Saudi capital. After all those bitter little cups of sludgy Arabic coffee, here at last was an improbable snippet of home — caffeinated, comforting, American.

I wandered into the shop, filling my lungs with the rich wafts of coffee. The man behind the counter gave me a bemused look; his eyes flickered. I asked for a latte. He shrugged, the milk steamer whined, and he handed over the brimming paper cup. I turned my back on his uneasy face.

Crossing the cafe, I felt the hard stares of Saudi men. A few of them stopped talking as I walked by and watched me pass. Them, too, I ignored. Finally, coffee in hand, I sank into the sumptuous lap of an overstuffed armchair.

"Excuse me," hissed the voice in my ear. "You can't sit here." The man from the counter had appeared at my elbow. He was glaring.

"Excuse me?" I blinked a few times.

"Emmm," he drew his discomfort into a long syllable, his brows knitted. "You cannot stay here."

"What? Uh … why?"

Then he said it: "Men only."

He didn't tell me what I would learn later: Starbucks had another, unmarked door around back that led to a smaller espresso bar, and a handful of tables smothered by curtains. That was the "family" section. As a woman, that's where I belonged. I had no right to mix with male customers or sit in plain view of passing shoppers. Like the segregated South of a bygone United States, today's Saudi Arabia shunts half the population into separate, inferior and usually invisible spaces.

At that moment, there was only one thing to do. I stood up. From the depths of armchairs, men in their white robes and red-checked kaffiyehs stared impassively over their mugs. I felt blood rushing to my face. I dropped my eyes, and immediately wished I hadn't. Snatching up the skirts of my robe to keep from stumbling, I walked out of the store and into the clatter of the shopping mall.

Read the rest here.
Update: to read without registration use this link and follow the google news link to read the story.

Makes me wonder how politically correct or real the movie "The Kingdom" will be.

All facts on this blog are correct

2007-06-03T15:00:00.000-05:00

All information posted on this blog is factually correct. It goes through a rigorous screening process evaluating:

does this information look true?
do we care if it looks true?
do we care enough to edit wikipedia to make it true?

Greg asked me why Handguns should be legal.

2007-05-29T10:25:00.000-05:00

Right-to-Carry 2007

Only two states—Wisconsin and Illinois—prohibit carrying firearms for protection

• Nebraska is the most recent RTC state. In 2006, Nebraska’s RTC law was signed by Gov. Dave Heineman (R), Kansas’ Senate and House overrode Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ (D) veto of an RTC bill by votes of 30-10 and 91-33, respectively, and the Ohio Senate and House overrode then-Gov. Bob Taft’s (R) veto of a bill that improves the state’s 2004 RTC law, by votes of 21-12 and 71-21, respectively.

• Other recent RTC initiatives. In January 2006, Wisconsin’s Senate voted 23-10 to override Gov. Jim Doyle’s (D) veto of RTC; the Assembly fell two votes short, voting 64-34. In Jan. 2004, Ohio then-Gov. Bob Taft (R) signed RTC into law and New Mexico’s Supreme Court upheld a 2003 RTC law. Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri adopted RTC in 2003, the latter by overriding Gov. Bob Holden’s (D) veto.

• Types of RTC laws. There are 40 RTC states: 36 have “shall issue” laws, which require that carry permits be issued to applicants who meet uniform standards established by the state legislature. Alabama, Connecticut and Iowa have fairly-administered “discretionary-issue” carry permit systems. Vermont respects the right to carry without a permit. (Alaska, which has a shall-issue provision for purposes of permit-reciprocity with other states, adopted a no-permit-required law in 2003.) Of the 10 non-RTC states, eight have restrictively-administered discretionary-issue systems; two prohibit carrying altogether.

Click on map for larger graphic.

• The right to self-defense is a fundamental right. The U.S. constitution, the constitutions of 44 states, common law, and the laws of all 50 states recognize the right to use arms in self-defense. RTC laws respect the right to self-defense by allowing individual citizens to carry firearms for protection.

• More RTC, less crime. Violent crime rates in 2004-2005 were lower than anytime since 1976.¹ (Crime victim surveys indicate that violent crime is at a 31-year low.²) Since 1991, 23 states have adopted RTC, the number of privately-owned guns has risen by nearly 70 million,³ and violent crime is down 38%. In 2005 RTC states had lower violent crime rates, on average, compared to the rest of the country (total violent crime by 22%; murder, 30%; robbery, 46%; and aggravated assault, 12%) and included the seven states with the lowest total violent crime rates, and 11 of the 12 states with the lowest murder rates.⁴

• RTC and crime trends. Studying crime trends in every county in the U.S., John Lott and David Mustard found, “allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons deters violent crimes and it appears to produce no increase in accidental deaths. If those states which did not have Right to Carry concealed gun provisions had adopted them in 1992, approximately 1,570 murders; 4,177 rapes; and over 60,000 aggravated assaults would have been avoided yearly....[W]hen state concealed handgun laws went into effect in a county, murders fell by 8.5 percent, and rapes and aggravated assaults fell by 5 and 7 percent.”⁵

• False predictions. Dave Kopel has written, “Whenever a state legislature first considers a concealed carry bill, opponents typically warn of horrible consequences....But within a year of passage, the issue usually drops off the news media’s radar screen, while gun-control advocates in the legislature conclude that the law wasn’t so bad after all.”⁶ A article related to Michigan’s RTC law said, “Concerns that permit holders would lose their tempers in traffic accidents have been unfounded. Worries about risks to police officers have also proved unfounded....National surveys of police show they support concealed handgun laws by a 3-1 margin....There is also not a single academic study that claims Right to Carry laws have increased state crime rates. The debate among academics has been over how large the benefits have been.”⁷

• RTC permit-holders are more law-abiding than the rest of the public. For example, Florida, which has issued more carry permits than any state (due to its large population and having had an RTC law since 1987) has issued over 1.2 million permits, but revoked only 157 (0.01%) due to gun crimes by permit-holders.⁸

Background. Before 1987, there were 10 RTC states. Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Washington had “shall issue” permit laws. Alabama and Connecticut had fairly-administered discretionary-issue systems. Georgia’s “shall issue” law was interpreted as discretionary in some jurisdictions. Vermont allowed carrying without a permit. Other states had restrictively-administered discretionary-issue carry permit systems or prohibited carrying altogether. These laws remain in effect.

In 1987, Florida enacted a “shall issue” law that has since become the model for other states. Anti-gun groups, politicians and news media interests predicted vigilante justice and “Wild West” shootouts on every corner. The predictions proved false. Through 1992, Florida’s murder rate decreased 23%, while the U.S. rate rose 9%; thereafter, murder decreased both nationally and in Florida.⁹ Then-Florida Licensing Division Director, John Russi, noted that “Florida’s concealed weapon law has been very successful. All major law enforcement groups supported the original legislation....[S]ome of the opponents of concealed weapon legislation in 1987 now admit the program has not created the problems many predicted.”¹⁰ In a 1995 letter to state officials, Dept. of Law Enforcement Commissioner James T. Moore wrote, “From a law enforcement perspective, the licensing process has not resulted in problems.”

• 29 new RTC states since 1987. Of these, 21 previously prohibited carrying; nine (indicated with an asterisk, below) had restrictively-administered discretionary-issue systems. 1989: Oregon, Penna. (Phila. included in 1995), and West Virginia (in Georgia a judicial ruling enforced “shall issue” statewide); 1990: Idaho and Mississippi; 1991: Montana; 1994: Alaska, Arizona, Tennessee and Wyoming; 1995: Arkansas, Nevada*, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah* and Virginia*; 1996: Kentucky, Louisiana* and South Carolina*; 2001: Michigan*; 2003: Colorado*; Iowa* (by fairly administering its discretionary-issue system), New Mexico, Minnesota* and Missouri; 2004: Ohio; 2006: Kansas, Nebraska.

Click To Play Right to Carry, 2005

Citizens can defend themselves. Analyzing National Crime Victimization Survey data, criminologist Gary Kleck found, “robbery and assault victims who used a gun to resist were less likely to be attacked or to suffer an injury than those who used any other methods of self-protection or those who did not resist at all.”¹¹ In the 1990s, Kleck and Marc Gertz found that guns were used for self-protection about 2.5 million times annually.¹² The late Marvin E. Wolfgang, self-described as “as strong a gun-control advocate as can be found among the criminologists in this country,” who wanted to “eliminate all guns from the civilian population and maybe even from the police,” said, “The methodological soundness of the current Kleck and Gertz study is clear. I cannot further debate it. . . . I cannot fault their methodology.”¹³ A study for the Dept. of Justice found that 34% of felons had been “scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim,” and 40% of felons have not committed crimes, fearing potential victims were armed.¹⁴

The right to self-defense has been recognized for centuries. Cicero said 2,000 years ago, “If our lives are endangered by plots or violence or armed robbers or enemies, any and every method of protecting ourselves is morally right;” English jurist Sir William Blackstone observed that the English Bill of Rights recognized “the right of having and using arms for self-preservation and defense” as intended “to protect and maintain inviolate the three great and primary rights,” the first of which is “personal security.”¹⁵ Sir Michael Foster, judge of the Court of King’s Bench, wrote in the 18th century, “The right of self-defense. . . is founded in the law of nature, and is not, nor can be, superseded by any law of society.”¹⁶

The Supreme Court, in U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876), recognized that the right to arms is an individual right, stating that it “is not a right granted by the Constitution. Neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence.” In Beard v. U.S. (1895), the court approved the common-law rule that a person “may repel force by force” in self-defense, and concluded that when attacked a person “was entitled to stand his ground and meet any attack made upon him with a deadly weapon, in such a way and with such force” as needed to prevent “great bodily injury or death.” The laws of all states and the constitutions of 44 states recognize the right to armed self-defense. In the Gun Control Act (1968) and Firearms Owners’ Protection Act (1986), Congress stated that it did not intend to “place any undue or unnecessary Federal restrictions or burdens on law-abiding citizens with respect to the acquisition, possession, or use of firearms appropriate to . . . personal protection, or any other lawful activity.”

Police aren’t required to protect you. In Warren v. District of Columbia (1981), the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled, “official police personnel and the government employing them are not generally liable to victims of criminal acts for failure to provide adequate police protection. . . a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any particular citizen.” In Bowers v. DeVito (1982), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, “[T]here is no constitutional right to be protected by the state against being murdered by criminals or madmen.”

National RTC reciprocity. H.R. 4547, by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), proposes a federal law stating that any person with a valid state-issued carry permit may carry in any other state, as follows: In a state that issues carry permits, its laws would apply. In a state that does not issue permits, a federal standard would permit carrying in places other than police stations; courthouses; public polling places; meetings of state, county, or municipal governing bodies; schools; passenger areas of airports; and certain other locations.

Nonsense from Brady Campaign (formerly Handgun Control, Inc.). Sarah Brady: “the only reason for guns in civilian hands is for sporting purposes;” former HCI Chair, the late Pete Shields: “[If attacked] put up no defense - give them what they want;” Brady Center’s Dennis Henigan: self-defense is “not a federally guaranteed constitutional right.”¹⁷ In Jan. 1999, HCI claimed that between 1992-1997 violent crime rates declined less in RTC states than in other states.¹⁸ (HCI previously claimed RTC caused crime to rise.) HCI erred in categorizing states as RTC states based upon their having RTC laws in 1997, since only 17 of those 31 states had RTC in 1992. HCI calculated crime trends from 1992 to underrepresent the impact of RTC laws; by 1992 many states had RTC for many years and already experienced decreases in crime. HCI misclassified Alabama and Connecticut as “restrictive” states, doing so presumably because both states had decreases in crime. HCI also credited restrictive laws for crime decreasing in some states. But states that have restrictive carry laws have had them for many years, and crime did not begin declining in those states until the 1990s, and did so due to factors unrelated to guns.

Nonsense from Violence Policy Center: In 1995, VPC claimed Florida’s RTC law “puts guns into the hands of criminals.”¹⁹ The claim was false, since the law permits a person to carry, not acquire, a firearm. VPC claimed “criminals do apply for concealed carry licenses,” without noting that such applications are rejected. Contradicting itself, VPC noted that criminals had requested that their rejected applications be reconsidered. “To set the record straight,” Florida Secy. of State, Sandra B. Mortham, said, “As of November 30, 1995, the Department had denied 723 applications due to criminal history. The fact that these 723 individuals did not receive a license clearly indicates that the process is working.” She added, “the majority of concealed weapon or firearm licensees are honest, law-abiding citizens exercising their right to be armed for the purpose of lawful self-defense.”²⁰ In 2001, VPC claimed there are more women murdered with handguns than criminals killed by in self-defense.²¹ The value of handguns for self-defense is not measured by how many criminals are killed, however. More important is how often people use handguns to prevent crimes and how often criminals do not attack for fear the potential victim is armed. Also, VPC undercounted the number of criminals killed in self-defense by counting only those noted in police reports, thus excluding defensive homicides later determined to have been appropriate.

McDowell math: In March 1995, anti-gun researcher David McDowell claimed that gun homicide rates increased in Miami, Jacksonville and Tampa after Florida’s 1987 RTC law.²²But homicide rates fell 10%, 18% and 20%, respectively, in those metro areas from 1987 until 1993, the most recent data at the time.²³ To show an increase, McDowell calculated Jacksonville and Tampa trends from the early 1970s, when rates were lower than in 1993, but calculated Miami’s from 1983, since rates before 1983 were higher and their inclusion would show that the rate had decreased. None of McDowell’s homicides was committed by a license holder, and he did not indicate which homicides had occurred in situations where a permit would have been required to carry a gun. McDowell has also claimed that D.C.’s murder rate decreased after its 1977 handgun ban. In fact, the rate tripled after the ban.²⁴

The 43:1 claim: Based upon a small study of King’s County (Seattle), Washington, gun control supporters claim a gun in the home is “43 times more likely” to be used to kill a family member than a criminal.²⁵ To reach that ratio, self-defense firearms uses are grossly undercounted by counting only cases in which criminals were killed. Most often, when guns are used to defend against criminals, the criminals are only scared off, captured or wounded. Kleck has called the 43:1 ratio and its variants “the most nonsensical statistic in the gun control debate.”²⁶

So why should people be allowed guns?

2007-05-27T01:00:00.000-05:00

This is a wild pig in the U.S.

Minority Report Technology

2007-05-26T10:29:00.000-05:00

From Fiction to Reality:

The Garden of Eden and Foreign Policy

2007-05-25T22:23:00.000-05:00

I read an interesting analysis once, that compared how the west perceives itself to the Garden of Eden myth. Nature is in balance, until Adam takes the forbidden fruit (insert Adam joke here) and then things get all screwed up. Well in Foreign Policy we tend to have an assumption that other cultures are natural and Imperialism and Colonialism screwed things up. In reality all these other cultures are products of practicing Imperialism or having it practiced on them (by Non-Westerners). For example Saudi Arabia has run one of the most successful Imperialism campaigns in recent history. Their Wahhabism strain of Islam which was confined to Saudi Arabia and considered radical and fringe fifty years ago, is now mainstream and dominant within Islam in most countries. They've done this through pure Imperialism, training Imams, building Mosques, setting up Institutes, giving scholarships etc. A campaign of Imperialism not for money or land but religious thought. Perhaps since many people in the west think they are the Imperialists (even though the West is the first in history to essentially bring an end to it) it goes against their narrative of history to recognize others as Imperialists.

Victim Politics and Foreign Policy

2007-05-25T21:46:00.000-05:00

If you're walking by a park, and you see two dogs fighting, are you concerned? A certain level of such fighting is probably expected, so probably not. Even if you're concerned you're probably not outraged. On the other hand, if you see a man kicking a dog, you're probably concerned and almost certainly outraged.

Unfortunately this analogy can be applied to how the West reacts to fighting in the non-Western world. Just substitute dogs for non-western people. For example each time Israel kills a Hamas operative and accidentally takes the life of a civilian, it draws massive media and human rights groups outrage. When Palestinian on Palestinian violence kills 200 in a single month, the same people and organization that routinely criticize Israel are largely silent. Thats just the most obvious example.

When Syria killed 20,000 of their own citizens, when Iran and Iraq spent 8 years at war with each other left somewhere around 500,000 dead, when North Korea killed 2,000,000 of their own people through a state-created famine, was Western outrage a 10th of what it is against Israel for its fighting with Arabs, or America for fighting in Iraq?

It might be understandable for Americans to be more concerned about what their country is involved in then what other countries are doing, but what excuse does Europe have? Do the lives of Arabs or North Koreans not matter when a westerner isn't doing the killing? Or do we expect such behavior from Non-Westerners? Or is it becuase the West is strong, that automatically makes any opponent a victim who its morally right to side with?