PBS Frontline Documentary The House of Saud recounts the creation of Saudi Arabia and the subsequent history of that country into recent times. The story of the Saudi Royal Family is entwined with the story of Israel, OPEC and the Geo-politics of the middle east that continues today.
This film is 2 hours long but well worth the time. Relax, make some popcorn and imagine if we had a true public broadcaster like PBS. The CBC has endless hours dedicated to truther theories and alarmist eco-blather but would never show us relevant information if it counters their agenda. Knowledge is Power. Seize that power Citizen and wield it for good.
Canada has displaced Saudi Arabia as the largest single supplier of oil to the US. Its important to note the seriousness with which the United States views its oil supply, however, there is no chance of an oil embargo imposed by Canada on our closest ally.
While its true that our Ethical Oil will not limit Saudi Arabia's oil production in any way, our larger role in the oil requirements of the US will further diminish OPEC influence. The United States will be free to support Israel, even in times of war, with a smaller degree of economic fallout.
Ethical Oil doesn't carry the hypocrisy that is inherent in doing business with a regime that has no human rights whatsoever and funds terrorism and Islamism. In the dangerous game of Middle Eastern brinksmanship Ethical Oil may just turn out to be an enabling factor in Israel's survival.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
My 9/11
This post has been banging around inside my head for years. I don't mean it to be compared to the stories of luck and selfless heroism on that dark day. I mean it as a simple point of reflection a decade on.
I was in school at that time. My classmates were a multicultural mix from every corner of the world. I walked through the school doors and a friend of mine, a Baptist, told me that planes had crashed into the World Trade Center.
Perhaps I didn't hear him or perhaps I did and mentally corrected his words because I said: "The pilot is an idiot! How stupid do you have to be to crash into the biggest building on Manhattan?"
"It wasn't an accident," he said.
"What do you mean? How is it not an accident?" I asked in a flurry of similar questions. I was still not allowing myself to comprehend.
"Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center. One in each Tower," he clarified.
-Two planes. -Not an accident.
I was still digesting this as I entered the crowded lunch room. On an old style CRT hanging in one corner CNN was showing the burning buildings. The two ill fated jets disintegrated on screen again and again. I watched in silence. I was stunned.
Some Muslims in the room were cursing America and Israel.
Before long we heard about the Pentagon crash.
Its an all out attack, I thought. Nobody knew how many more planes were being hijacked. Sky scrapers were being evacuated and commercial jets were being grounded.
When the buildings fell, all of our hearts sank, Muslim christian and atheist. The anti-American mumblings and curses that were so common pre 9/11 stopped then too.
"This means war," I declared to myself aloud. There was fear in the eyes of the anti-American Muslim men who were also just school mates. They knew it was true.
Another crash was reported and several flights were still missing. My friends and I got tired of the TV. CNN was in broken record mode and there was nothing new to learn. We searched the Internet for more news. For the first and only time in my memory it was mostly down. Error 404. Only FOX News was up. This was my first impression of them. They grossly overestimated the number of hijacked planes saying there were something like 36 possible airplanes that are in the air and aren't responding. 36 more flying bombs! The events of that day were so unbelievable that 36 more hijacked planes no longer seemed impossible.
We finally went to class and nobody could talk about anything else. I remember the professor saying "if the father went into Iraq, do you think the son won't?" He was talking about G. W. Bush and he nailed it. I didn't believe it but in hindsight I wasn't nearly cynical enough. Lesson learned.
Classes were cancelled early and I and the rest of the world went home to watch TV. It was the first day of the rest of my life as a news junkie and fierce conservative.
Its not so poignant and meaningful as some of the stories out there. I remember as if I lived it yesterday. I remember little things like the nasty aggressive drivers I faced getting to school that day as I drove obliviously listening to music on CD.
I remember being unable to sleep in our spare room that night. The conjunction of the Crescent Moon and Jupiter beat down on me like a hammer. It was the symbol of Islam, only false. Look up the night sky on September 11th 2001 in Vaughn. You will see what I saw. 10 years later and with Bin Ladin dead I think its ok to share it.
I only screened the movie Flight 93 a few days ago in fact. I couldn't bring myself to watch it before. Thinking about 9/11 used to make me seriously angry. The kind of angry that would probably be a crime to talk about. Enough time has passed now. I let myself watch it and it wasn't so bad. Only a few tears.
It was important to kill Bin Laden. It was true justice. The kind of justice that can never be found in a courtroom. Justice for Bin Laden, and the two wars fought as a result of the evil events of 9/11 allow me to sleep peacefully these days. I mourn the victims of 9/11 even though I never met them. I mourn the troops of many countries that have fought and died for our security, peace and justice. The mourning is less painful when we are victorious at the end.
I was in school at that time. My classmates were a multicultural mix from every corner of the world. I walked through the school doors and a friend of mine, a Baptist, told me that planes had crashed into the World Trade Center.
Perhaps I didn't hear him or perhaps I did and mentally corrected his words because I said: "The pilot is an idiot! How stupid do you have to be to crash into the biggest building on Manhattan?"
"It wasn't an accident," he said.
"What do you mean? How is it not an accident?" I asked in a flurry of similar questions. I was still not allowing myself to comprehend.
"Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center. One in each Tower," he clarified.
-Two planes. -Not an accident.
I was still digesting this as I entered the crowded lunch room. On an old style CRT hanging in one corner CNN was showing the burning buildings. The two ill fated jets disintegrated on screen again and again. I watched in silence. I was stunned.
Some Muslims in the room were cursing America and Israel.
Before long we heard about the Pentagon crash.
Its an all out attack, I thought. Nobody knew how many more planes were being hijacked. Sky scrapers were being evacuated and commercial jets were being grounded.
When the buildings fell, all of our hearts sank, Muslim christian and atheist. The anti-American mumblings and curses that were so common pre 9/11 stopped then too.
"This means war," I declared to myself aloud. There was fear in the eyes of the anti-American Muslim men who were also just school mates. They knew it was true.
Another crash was reported and several flights were still missing. My friends and I got tired of the TV. CNN was in broken record mode and there was nothing new to learn. We searched the Internet for more news. For the first and only time in my memory it was mostly down. Error 404. Only FOX News was up. This was my first impression of them. They grossly overestimated the number of hijacked planes saying there were something like 36 possible airplanes that are in the air and aren't responding. 36 more flying bombs! The events of that day were so unbelievable that 36 more hijacked planes no longer seemed impossible.
We finally went to class and nobody could talk about anything else. I remember the professor saying "if the father went into Iraq, do you think the son won't?" He was talking about G. W. Bush and he nailed it. I didn't believe it but in hindsight I wasn't nearly cynical enough. Lesson learned.
Classes were cancelled early and I and the rest of the world went home to watch TV. It was the first day of the rest of my life as a news junkie and fierce conservative.
Its not so poignant and meaningful as some of the stories out there. I remember as if I lived it yesterday. I remember little things like the nasty aggressive drivers I faced getting to school that day as I drove obliviously listening to music on CD.
I remember being unable to sleep in our spare room that night. The conjunction of the Crescent Moon and Jupiter beat down on me like a hammer. It was the symbol of Islam, only false. Look up the night sky on September 11th 2001 in Vaughn. You will see what I saw. 10 years later and with Bin Ladin dead I think its ok to share it.
I only screened the movie Flight 93 a few days ago in fact. I couldn't bring myself to watch it before. Thinking about 9/11 used to make me seriously angry. The kind of angry that would probably be a crime to talk about. Enough time has passed now. I let myself watch it and it wasn't so bad. Only a few tears.
It was important to kill Bin Laden. It was true justice. The kind of justice that can never be found in a courtroom. Justice for Bin Laden, and the two wars fought as a result of the evil events of 9/11 allow me to sleep peacefully these days. I mourn the victims of 9/11 even though I never met them. I mourn the troops of many countries that have fought and died for our security, peace and justice. The mourning is less painful when we are victorious at the end.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Republican Nominees take a stand on Global Warming
The GOP debate touched on Global Warming. Three presidential nominees spoke about Global Warming but only two of them were brave enough to be skeptical of it. They happen to be the two front runner candidates Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry. There is a very good chance that the 2012 US presidential election will include the question of Global Warming.
Here is Rick Perry on Global Warming
Not bad. I would suggest that politicians speak about policy on Global Warming. It's enough to say that you are skeptical of Global Warming and then drop a few names and/or experiments that are contrary to the warmist assertions. Warmists have made a convenient blacklist for us to draw from. Just direct the public to people like Richard Lindzen, and let scientists argue the science. Not more than one sentence should be wasted on settling the science of climate change in a political debate.
Rick Perry did well to mention his environmental record in Texas. Conservatives routinely outdo socialists in fighting real pollution and promoting conservation.
The question unasked and unanswered is what would Rick Perry do when the eco-lobby pushes for cap and trade, carbon taxes or the ideological shutdown of specific projects. Will he roll back carbon centered policy and regulations that are already in place? If he doesn't believe in Global Warming then its important to stop government practices that are based on environmental superstitions.
Now watch Michele Bachmann. The MSNBC hosts changed the subject from Global Warming to drilling in the Everglades, but she changes it back.
She does a lot better than Rick Perry. She goes after specific bad environmental policy occurring under the current administration. She points out that Obama is the ideological enemy of the coal industry (among others). This administration actively spends time destroying and blocking jobs when the US needs them more than ever.
There are many reasons to strip power from Obama in the next election. His record on the environment ties in with his terrible spending practices in general. Chasing green job dreams with borrowed money, punishing businesses for consuming energy, and blocking the expansion and exploration of existing cheap sources of domestic energy is central to the analysis of Obama's failure as a president.
The Governor of Utah came out with the usual progressive warmist line about the myth of the 98% consensus. We may live in democracies but reality is not a democracy. You cannot vote the earth into being flat any more than you can prove global warming with a simple show of hands. That consensus myth has been debunked repeatedly yet it's the one line any warmist can always remember. I've heard enough that from our own Stephen Harper in minority mode and I see no need to replay it here. Utah's warmist has no hope of being president so you aren't really missing anything.
If the next election is going to be fought on Global Warming in part, candidates had better get their arguments together with facts and names. To argue convincingly will require the speaker to own the subject. Gaffes in this area will receive wide and public ridicule. The one complaint I have with Rick Perry's performance is that he came off unprepared; almost G.W. Bush like.
On the upside, winning this debate will dismantle a large chunk of useless and boundless big government bureaucracy. Removing planetary climate control from the US Government agenda will go a long way to raising prosperity of individual Americans and returning the world to sustainable growth. That is why this is so important, not just to Americans but to people all around the world and especially to Canada.
Note:
You can watch the entire debate here thanks to Ron Paul's team. Ron Paul is doing an excellent job and his social media campaign should be recognized for its excellence. I appreciate Ron Paul's ideological roots and I understand what he is saying. I only understand him because I have read widely of conservative principles. Watching the debate I couldn't help but think that Ron Paul sounded a little kooky. I know what Libertarians stand for and I agree with them in many ways. I don't know what limits Ron Paul sets on his ideology. How exactly will he transition the worlds largest economy into a Libertarian ideal? Hasn't everyone had enough of the hope and change stuff? Will he make ideological excuses if things turn out for the worse? Can the US even handle more severe and unproven changes? Its like getting a nose job after having a close call with flesh eating disease by a doctor who's never done a nose job. Risky. My intuition puts up a red flag when it comes to Ron Paul. I'll need to see a lot more from him and hear a lot more about what kind of president he would be before I could recommend him.
Here is Rick Perry on Global Warming
Not bad. I would suggest that politicians speak about policy on Global Warming. It's enough to say that you are skeptical of Global Warming and then drop a few names and/or experiments that are contrary to the warmist assertions. Warmists have made a convenient blacklist for us to draw from. Just direct the public to people like Richard Lindzen, and let scientists argue the science. Not more than one sentence should be wasted on settling the science of climate change in a political debate.
Rick Perry did well to mention his environmental record in Texas. Conservatives routinely outdo socialists in fighting real pollution and promoting conservation.
The question unasked and unanswered is what would Rick Perry do when the eco-lobby pushes for cap and trade, carbon taxes or the ideological shutdown of specific projects. Will he roll back carbon centered policy and regulations that are already in place? If he doesn't believe in Global Warming then its important to stop government practices that are based on environmental superstitions.
Now watch Michele Bachmann. The MSNBC hosts changed the subject from Global Warming to drilling in the Everglades, but she changes it back.
She does a lot better than Rick Perry. She goes after specific bad environmental policy occurring under the current administration. She points out that Obama is the ideological enemy of the coal industry (among others). This administration actively spends time destroying and blocking jobs when the US needs them more than ever.
There are many reasons to strip power from Obama in the next election. His record on the environment ties in with his terrible spending practices in general. Chasing green job dreams with borrowed money, punishing businesses for consuming energy, and blocking the expansion and exploration of existing cheap sources of domestic energy is central to the analysis of Obama's failure as a president.
The Governor of Utah came out with the usual progressive warmist line about the myth of the 98% consensus. We may live in democracies but reality is not a democracy. You cannot vote the earth into being flat any more than you can prove global warming with a simple show of hands. That consensus myth has been debunked repeatedly yet it's the one line any warmist can always remember. I've heard enough that from our own Stephen Harper in minority mode and I see no need to replay it here. Utah's warmist has no hope of being president so you aren't really missing anything.
If the next election is going to be fought on Global Warming in part, candidates had better get their arguments together with facts and names. To argue convincingly will require the speaker to own the subject. Gaffes in this area will receive wide and public ridicule. The one complaint I have with Rick Perry's performance is that he came off unprepared; almost G.W. Bush like.
On the upside, winning this debate will dismantle a large chunk of useless and boundless big government bureaucracy. Removing planetary climate control from the US Government agenda will go a long way to raising prosperity of individual Americans and returning the world to sustainable growth. That is why this is so important, not just to Americans but to people all around the world and especially to Canada.
Note:
You can watch the entire debate here thanks to Ron Paul's team. Ron Paul is doing an excellent job and his social media campaign should be recognized for its excellence. I appreciate Ron Paul's ideological roots and I understand what he is saying. I only understand him because I have read widely of conservative principles. Watching the debate I couldn't help but think that Ron Paul sounded a little kooky. I know what Libertarians stand for and I agree with them in many ways. I don't know what limits Ron Paul sets on his ideology. How exactly will he transition the worlds largest economy into a Libertarian ideal? Hasn't everyone had enough of the hope and change stuff? Will he make ideological excuses if things turn out for the worse? Can the US even handle more severe and unproven changes? Its like getting a nose job after having a close call with flesh eating disease by a doctor who's never done a nose job. Risky. My intuition puts up a red flag when it comes to Ron Paul. I'll need to see a lot more from him and hear a lot more about what kind of president he would be before I could recommend him.
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