A Third Way

Monday, August 1, 2011

American Tax Regime

I wanted to get a fix on these numbers.

P.S. And Anon, the truth is that the wealthy in America pay a staggering amount of tax, far more than their fair share. In the US, the top 7 percent of those filing returns pay 51 percent of total income taxes—over half. The top 3 percent of filers pay 40 percent of the taxes; the top four-fifths of 1 percent pay 26 percent; the top one-twentieth of 1 percent paid 10 percent of the taxes. Since many of the wealthier Americans also own interests in companies, they pay corporate tax on top of that.

So I’m afraid the socialist fable of the downtrodden proletariat paying for the lifestyles of the rich and famous is just that—a fable. The truth is that it is overwhelmingly the rich who pay for social services used overwhelmingly by the non-rich. And what do they get in return? Hissing, spitting, unfounded accusations, and a thousand flavours of nastiness and ingratitude. Oh yes, the politics of envy is the beating heart of contemporary liberal philosophy.

Friday, July 29, 2011

An inuit elder gives prospective to AGW and its impact on polar bears.

Sarah Nangmalik

To Roland Doucet...I read your email up further about the CBC report of a polar bear that swam for 9 days and you also attached a website to it. Let me tell you from an Inuit point of knowledge here. I was born in a snow house on the land w...here polar bears roam in great population...To make it short I would like to tell you that there are two types of polar bears in the arctic. As you said earlier a polar bear swam for 9 days out in the ocean. These type of polar bears are called "Tulaajuittut" by Inuit. "Tulaajuittut" means polar bears that never ever set foot on land and has lived out in the sea all their lives and they are much larger than those polar bears that go on land. Tulaajuittut are born on sea ice and live all their lives in places called "ikiq" or "ikirasak" which means open sea water beween the sounds especially in the high arctic, to give you a better view of a map of an "ikiq - ikirasak" you would normally see on map is "Aqqusiriaq" Lancaster Sound, Davis Straight, Baffin Bay and all the large bodies of sea water in the north have "Tulaajuittut" polar bears. In the summer they will swim for many days out in the open sea and same for the polar bears that go on land as well. In Nunavut and Nunavik today, people are constantly in fear of polar bears that regularly arrive into the communities and into the camping grounds daily. I do believe our Inuit elders speaking one after the other throughout Nunavut and Nunavik on CBC North radio why polar bears are coming into towns is because the southern scientists with lack of knowledge of the land and animals in the north are harrassing them by helicopters, injecting them to put them to sleep to take samples and many times their needles will break and leave them in the polar bear because they think nobody sees them BUT when they roam into communities sometimes they have to be shot to protect the people and you know what? so many times we see and hear on the radio that the polar bear was infected with an injection broken needle in their legs or some areas in their body. When we have southern scientists that come up north for very short periods of time usually only during warm spring and summer months just to write a scientific article that is often not true or correct observation and often they do not consult with local elders and hunters but they sure move the people around the world as if they are the only ones with all the knowledge. We've been taught by our parents and elders all our lives how to observe polar bears as each and every one of them have their own personality and when we have southern scientists that come up to take pictures they have absolutely NO CLUE how to observe and respect animals of the arctic especially polar bears and because they label and express themselves with great southern knowledge they often leave without learning anything at all from the local people which is sad when they could have at least learn something that they never learned from Universities down south.

Monday, July 25, 2011

News Gathering techniques get tweeked.

I understand there will be opportunists who will use this to their advantage. The elephant in the room in my opinion, is how widely spread this practice might be among all the media. I think about wiki-leaks, it pried confidential information, both public and private and disseminated it to the world. Many point out that was a positive expression of the free press. So this news paper pried confidential information as well, but in fact the only way it differs form Wikileaks is in its scope. You think the people compromised, whose very lives were so imperiled don't feel as violated as a cell-phone user in England? This doesn't make either right. It makes both scenarios wrong. However, since when has the media been as white as the driven snow in how it extracts confidential information to publish as it sees fit?

The Hound of Heaven

THE HOUND OF HEAVEN
Francis Thompson

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace...

"A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying... that he is wiser today than yesterday." -- Jonathan Swift

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Me First

Owen Abrey: Canada first? I live with a disability. I am very thankful for Canada's help getting my family through this. Sure I have raised the family (4 kids) on wages/income below the poverty line. I have raised my kids to put a bit of water in the stew, if a stranger was hungry. They are all grown up, 2 in college, 2 fully employed, enjoying Canada's life and freedom. But it is not merely poverty we are thinking about here--it is starvation. Very very few Canadians--if any, are suffering starvation. So again, we who have so much just don't know what is really going on in the world. There are ways to change it. Go there; educate yourself; look out for the poor you speak of that live here in Canada. The resolution of the matter, for many posting, I really hope you find good jobs; but if you can't give out of your poverty you will not out of your wealth either. It has been brutal the last few years, but it is starting to get better. I know it sure feels good to have a job so that instead of complaining , we can do something about it. **Or am I being too idealistic?**

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pmharper

Friday, July 22, 2011

No more Bank Hikes!

Raising rates is bad for Canada. Inflation has been as tepid as the recovery. If it weren't for Canadian commodities, the big banks would have a big hole in their bottom line. Lets face it, they are doing well stroking the stock market for each other, not lending, or paying much interest... unless they lend to their credit card companies and get to make unprecedented spreads: 18% spread? If there would have been a whiff of this 30 years ago when credit cards were allowed to enter the market, there would be no way politicians or banks could get away with it.

The BOC rate is eclipsed by these real drags on the economy. But increasing them makes everything worse, higher mortgage rates, notice how long they have been higher in anticipation of the next rate height? Ridiculous. I was ranting when the rates went to 1%, it was proved to be hard on the economy then, and future rates will be hard later. The dollar is high enough thank you.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Actually, a lot of "church types" will have no hang up at all. A lot of church types accepts the Earth may be 4 billion years old or so. And are cool with understandings of genetic drift.

There is this enigmatic passage, where by the "sons of God" took wives from the daughters of men. One long standing theory has been perhaps the "sons of Adam" took wives from the daughters of pre-anthropomorphic forms, like the Neanderthals.

A famous Christian apologist once said a miracle doesn't take from the natural world, or the natural order of things, but rather adds something to it, rather like the theory of "punctuated equilibrium".

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Low Energy Nuclear Reactions: 2.5 Million Watt-hours from a Nickel? | tblakeslee

Low Energy Nuclear Reactions: 2.5 Million Watt-hours from a Nickel? | tblakeslee

Cambridge Posts:

http://sms.cam.ac.uk/media/1150242

Debate over Iran and the West

Alethia 5 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

The west is weary of war. Iran should be thankful to allah. The hand of Iran is behind Islamic terrorist acts around the world. It has the blood of innocents on its hands, its time for destruction has not come. We should not rush it. When Gahdafi is gone, we should probably take a rest from war, and sadly prepare for the next one. But let it always be on the side of the oppressed, the innocent, whose governments kill and murder the people they are supposed to serve, and let us hold them accountable.
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Emile Zola 4 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

You must be a tea partier or are an ignoramus of history. I don't recall Iran invading other countries for oil under false pretenses and yes, your ignoring the 800 LBS in the room, gives you zero credibility. For starters, it was America through its Criminals In Action, CIA, that overthrew their dutyful elected government to put in its place aa American puppet and just as criminal, just as arrogant and just as criminal. I'm sure that Iran hasn't forgotten that and I guess the embassy hostage take was just pay-back for them. I hope you should know that for every action, there is a re-action. We, au contraire, have more countries than even the Nazis, ergo, calling the Iranians terrorists is like the pot calling the kettle black, but with a super sized hypocrisy. As for them killing their citizens for trying to overthrow their government, are you crazy or stupid. What do you think would happened to you if you dare to protest. Well, I think that is was on these same pages that Nazi like tactics were used to people protesting during the republican convention and those thugs behaved like the worst of the Nazis. Also, don't forget those killed at Kent State university. I want you7 to go to a mirror and say: Woe is me, or better yet: Woe is us. We are the worst terrorist in the world today, bar none.
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Alethia 3 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

These are common false assumptions. I am not an American, so I can't be that "neo-con" nor the Tea Party person. However, it seems I understand the US far better than you. The world saw what Iran did to its own people when they rightfully protested fraud perpetrated on them by their own people. People who were supposed to be holy men. A pathetic joke that shows the world that either their "allah" is evil, or there are evil people purporting to speak for him, saying to the world he is EVIL.

Iran is toast. Its noble people will strive for basic human rights and dignity, its government will be seen for the evil it is even moreso than it is now--if that is possible. The judgment against Iran is inevitable. It is coming. It will not be put off... although, if the people could overthrow their government, the west would relent. Look over the border and see Iraq, that great nation you were at war with a generation ago. The nation Iran could not defeat. Look on its desolation. That is your destiny, Iran.

The spawn of terrorists will be torn down. What is now Libya today is Iran tomorrow.
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Emile Zola 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

Are you for real or are you a planted CIA agent that gets to spew propaganda for an unknown reason. You make no sense. The U.S. have killed over a million plus innocent civilians and as far as I understand, Iran is not even in the thousands and the foreigners they put in jail, they come out smiling thinking in the books and money they are going to make trying to make Iran look worse than the U.S. when in reality they are, with their Mullahs and all, better in a moral sense. Our prisoners come out in pine boxes. Also, Iran didn't invade Iraq, it was the other way around and at that time, we were buddy, buddies with that guy named Saddam. You say you are not a tea bagger, but by your rhetoric you sound like one: All lies, propaganda and zero substance.
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Alethia 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

Is Amnesty International a bunch of liars? : http://www.amnesty.org/en/news...

Look at the details of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
You murder young girls.

Or how about this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Do you think the world couldn't look in her eyes while she died to know wihtout a doubt she was not "faking" it?

Of course you will not look, you are the propagandist, are you from Press TV? Or perhaps from the guards?

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Alethia 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

You can't be CIA if you aren't American. A person can make up any number they want, a million? Why not 10 million? How many million died in WWII?
War is hell. Innocents are killed. But there is a vast difference when one army fires on another one and there are civilian casualties, than some mujaheddin who blows himself up in a market place. The latter is nothing short of murder. You will notice I didn't criticize Iran for the death of innocents no matter how many boys they sent across minefields. The world has seen Iran murdering its own civilians. If it is bad that civilians die in war, how much moreso when a government murders its own people before the eyes of the world? Iran is a great evil, and its doom is coming. The blood of the innocents cry out.

Cold Fusion: LENR references I posted on a Face Book discussion...

Owen Abrey Yes, I will post some 2011 stuff. An Italian, Rossi has found an LENR technique that apparently works with Nickle and Hydrogen... He has indicated a commercial release in October/November 2011. Will link some current stuff.

9 hours ago ·
Owen Abrey ‎**http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/H-Ni_Fusion/message/296**

9 hours ago ·
Owen Abrey ‎**http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E3IFudAPAc&feature=related**
9 hours ago ·
- Owen Abrey ‎**http://www.journal-of-nuclear-physics.com/?p=488#more-488****
  
  9 hours ago ·
- Owen Abrey ‎**http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Andrea_A._Rossi_Cold_Fusion_Generator_%28E-Cat%29**
  
  9 hours ago ·
- Owen Abrey ‎**http://www.survive-and-prosper.com/be-prepared/rossi-cold-fusion-validated-by-swedish-skeptics-society**
  
  9 hours ago ·
- Owen Abrey ‎**http://pesn.com/2011/04/07/9501805_Rossi_Cold_Fusion_Validated_by_Swedish_Skeptics_Society/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freeenergynews%2Fnqih+%28Free+Energy+News+by+PESN%29**
  
  9 hours ago ·
- Owen Abrey
  All of this becomes true or untrue in November. The SPAWR stuff is very serious, and has more than 20 papers published in peer reviewed lit. Rossi, I have to doff my hat to him, has basically said to the scientific world which has been so... intransigent and unwilling to be even handed in its approach to this... Here is a 60 minutes piece that got my attention on this several years ago... **http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4955212n**See More
  
  9 hours ago ·
- Owen Abrey Here is info that includes recorded recommendations and opinion of the Swedish Skeptics society. **http://pesn.com/2011/04/07/9501805_Rossi_Cold_Fusion_Validated_by_Swedish_Skeptics_Society/**

Monday, July 11, 2011

In a way John, I am arguing in favor of your original concept of home grown, in that when you grow something yourself, you know what inputs you have put into the product. However, you don't know the chemical state of the soil in most insta...nces. This becomes problematic for example in Trail, famous for its high lead levels in the soil. I am not sure home grown is a good concept there, nor for example whether the debateable toxicity of various pesticides would even be on par with the devastating toxicity of lead. If your soil is native, and you understand the history of the property to know no one dumped PCBs there in the 1960s, then the "home grown" is obviously preferable. The word organic does not actually have anything to do with toxicity. The word has been borrowed and made to mean something different. It has been redefined to mean that no synthetic chemicals have been added. However, there could be dung with chemicals in it. Since that is considered a "natural" fertilizer, usually no one bothers to see if the cow had deposited prions due to its having "mad cow disease" (that is an extreme example) or a toxic form of e-coli contamination. In the previous 2 examples, you have organic toxicity from pretty much accepted organics of microbial form. Forgive me if I sound somewhat argumentative, but I have some big peeves against what is purported to be "environmental science" these days.See More

23 minutes ago ·
Owen Abrey ‎2 years ago, on a mineral claim, we had several hundred soil samples taken. Picture a nice old growth forest with trees girthing 6-7 feet in diameter. Vegitation is lush. To the point of being very hard to get through with only a machete in hand. Where we began sampling, everything was in nominal range. However, perhaps 200 metres from that spot, the lead and arsinic values were screaming. I can't help but think, what if this was in someone's back yard. They might have grown a garden here and never known the difference. They may die 20 years before they were supposed to, but no one would likely know it was the garden that killed them.

8 minutes ago ·
Owen Abrey In the mountains of BC, we have thousands and maybe millions of faults beneath the soil. Faults can give rise to exhalatives....that bring poisons to the surface. Arsenic is particularly mobile. But so is Uranium dioxide. It dissolves in water, can come down a mountain stream and deposit itself in soils in the river bank. Uranium dioxide is actually not considered poisonous. The form of radiation is a beta particle I think... however, it has a half-life that causes the original uranium to turn into radon gas... that is very toxic.

4 minutes ago ·
Owen Abrey Or thorium, also toxic. So, if you really want to be certain, a home-grower should do some basic soil samples, send them away and get a laboratory guaranteeing the soils constituence. An organic farmer should do the same, on his soils and on his inputs, and on his product if he wants to certify the safety of the food he is selling you. I don't know if any actually do that.
a few seconds ago ·
- Owen Abrey The killer in most science experiments is that you need to know your base-lines. So likewise, if you are going for extremely high quality foods that you grow yourself, you need to start with a soil test. Its about 20.00 a sample at ACME labs in Kamloops. For Eco nuts, who rave about organics like an ostrich with their head in the sand, who boast amazing knowlege of carcinogens, or pesticides or herbicides and call for all the highest standards of science, to rave on this and neglect to start with a soil sample they are crazy
  3 minutes ago ·
- Owen Abrey Its called scientific rigor.
  3 minutes ago ·
- Owen Abrey I am frustrated to assert our science, and especially that we teach our kids, is so flacid and lacking rigor, Louise Pasteur must be rolling over in his grave.
  2 minutes ago ·

Saturday, July 9, 2011

More rants over Afghanistan

Some things you know you know, like war is hell and people die. Some things you know you don't know, like who's gonna die, where the bombs are going to blow up. Then theret are the things you know that you don't know: Like whether this is going to make this world a better or worse place. But its the things you don't know you don't know that spell out ignorance. DiManno at least has been there. Admitting there are things you don't know is the opportunity for enlightenment. We brought a million men home from WWII, lost more men in an hour than we did in 10 years in Afghanistan. I think history is going to judge us for our pathetic support in stupidly not providing adequate numbers and equipment. Its like Nato is trying to do the least that it can thinking they can get away with while hiding the truth of it. Canada's forces have done so much with so little. Its a huge credit to their spirit. How huge? Well that is what we don't know we don't know, it seems... Thanks Ms DiManno

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1022315--dimanno-little-reason-to-ask-if-afghan-mission-is-worth-it#comments