Traveling Man

2007-11-26 - 12:05 p.m.

Well, the Black Weekend is over.

I actually ventured into a store Saturday afternoon, only to find that the DVD I wanted had been sold out the previous day. That's fine, I'm in no big rush.

As for my own Christmas shopping, I have a grand total of three gifts to buy. And it will take me a grand total of thirty minutes in each location to get them.

I'm in no hurry. Trust me.

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A British teacher in Sudan faces the possibility of forty lashes from a Sharia court over a teddy bear that's been named Mohammed. She's even getting mobs chanting death threats! All this over a teddy bear!

And the teacher isn't even the one who NAMED the bear! It was one of the STUDENTS!

And in Iraq, suspected al-Qaeda militants beheaded their own uncle and his wife - in front of the couple's children.

No, that's not a misstatement - they MADE THE CHILDREN WATCH.

The man's crime? Apparently "because he did not pray and wore western-style trousers".

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Looking for the "political party of diversity"? Mark Steyn says it's the Republicans - problem is, it's diversity of CANDIDATES.

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Maybe Brin and/or Bob could comment on this:

In San Francisco, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is discussing whether home fireplaces should be banned because of the pollutants emitted. According to an article in the SF Chronicle, "government studies" show that 33% of all "particulate matter" in the air comes from fireplaces. So with all the cars and power plants and industry and all the other things that put "particular matter" into the atposphere in San Francisco...33% comes from fireplaces?

Brin and Bob, you guys live there - maybe you can give me some insight.

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And speaking of pollution and global warming...

A bill is being introduced in the UK that would mandate a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050.

The cost? Neglible:
The implications are that the five-yearly goals outlined in the Bill would cost the UK up to $24 billion a year for the next 42 years and ensure that future governments are held legally responsible for what the current administration has embarked upon.

Sure, pass the responsibility on to the future generations, so YOU won't have to deal with it. That's what government is all about!

It gets better, gang:

The UK Government is not just interested in using global warming to raise new green taxes and to further hike fuel costs, but it is also contemplating allocating “personal carbon allowances.” The way these work is that you will be granted a fixed amount of carbon to use each year. Each time you travel in a plane, buy petrol, go shopping or eat out would be recorded on a plastic card. The more frugal could sell spare carbon allowances to those who want to “indulge” themselves. But if you were to run out of your carbon allowance, you could be barred from flying or driving.

The government will thus be able to prevent its citizens from traveling both inside and outside the United Kingdom under the guise of managing carbon allowances.

Can you picture that? "No, sir - you cannot drive to work, because you've used up your carbon allowance. You must walk or take the Tube."

Soon there'll be another set of folks begging on the streets. "Spare some carbon credits, guv?"

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Well, I have lunch to stalk and kill. And then, work.

Onward.

Be seeing you.

Brin - 2007-11-26 15:13:33 -
When Mount Pinatubo exploded and sent its particulate matter into the upper atmosphere, it resulted in cooler temperatures worldwide. Either particulate matter causes a cooldown, or it does not. The scientists can't make up their minds!

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Bob - 2007-11-27 08:53:59 - http://shadowgm.diaryland.com
I'm afraid the 'fireplace ban' is the usual superstitious mumbo-jumbo, a proposed fix without looking at the actual cause or impact. Now, I'm concerned about the environment as much as the next person, but please - some common sense. Are we even talking about actual wood, or fake logs like Duraflame and pressed wood chips?

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