Rebane's Ruminations

Is Ours a Defendable Culture?

George Rebane

Last Sunday the Swiss voted to ban the erection of additional minarets on the country’s mosques (here).  The vote was desperate, awkward, and overwhelming.  That small ever-neutral, obstinately independent country was seeking a way to say no to its colonization by Islam.  In every direction the Swiss have seen their neighbors with growing communities of unassimilated Moslems, and politically correct politicians competing in pants wetting competitions, powerless to slow the onslaught.  So the Swiss people went against their elected leaders and expressed their frustration in a vote that sends a clear but, most likely, an ineffective message.

The Swiss are saying we don’t want to become an Islamic country, we want to remain rooted in the western cultures that have sustained us for centuries.  Switzerland invented successful multi-culturalism that has demonstrated how people of German, French, and Italian descent, who retain their traditions and language, can live together under one system of governance.  Islam does not tolerate the peaceful co-existence of multiple cultures, especially if they don’t share a common sect of a common religion.  Islam has become a world-class pain in the ass from Indonesia to Canada, wherever it has set down its roots.

But what Islam has perfected is how to maintain and propagate its culture.  It does this by brooking no compromises in its ascent, and most certainly not in its ascendancy.  With this policy it has slowly, albeit with declared purpose, infiltrated Europe.  As most RR readers are aware, its colonization program is on track.  And the colonization will continue apace until a sufficient fraction of the countries are Muslim.  The next stage of takeover was again recently made plain by Omar Bakri, a British Islamic leader published in London’s daily Al-Hayat, who said, “Allah willing, we will transform the West into Dar Al-Islam by means of invasion from without.  If an Islamic state arises and invades, we will be its army and soldiers from within.”

Ruminations - 30nov2009 (updated 1dec2009)

George Rebane

- raw Earth temperature data destroyed intentionally
- another view of the White House security fiasco

The 29nov09 London Times now confirms (here) that the original (raw) temperature data that was collected from thousands of realworld sources has been permanently lost.  This invaluable data was processed to yield a modified dataset which in turn was processed with all kinds of corrections, adjustments, and normalizations to give the final temperature graph in the shape of the famous ‘hockey stick’.  It is this hockey stick graph which purports to show a recent calamitous rise in earth’s temperature history.

Then up popped ClimateGate – the revelation of the massive fraud from the CRU emails recently hacked and made public. This was reported here and over the rest of unblinded world.  The Climate Research Unit of Britain’s University of East Anglia is the mother temple of earth’s temperature history, and the basis for the UN’s IPCC reports that set off the political palpitations in the hearts of Team Gore and the global warmists.  Which palpitations, by the way, have yet to miss a beat on their way to the upcoming Copenhagen conference that will attempt another revival of the insane Kyoto greenhouse gas protocols, which no one ever implemented and/or lived up to.

But the bottom line of the Times article is that the ‘scientists’ destroyed the raw temperature data that started all this.  This is something you NEVER do in science; raw data is sacrosanct, because from it all subsequent datasets are generated.  The permanent archiving of such raw data allows follow-on investigators to confirm or not the correctness of the revised dataset(s)’ production pathway.  Now all such work is conveniently no longer possible.  Like Hillary’s law firm billing records of yore, they have disappeared, and the CRU admits that they were destroyed.  Now that would be an inconvenient truth.

[1dec09 update] Dr Richard Lindzen of MIT is one of the world's most respected meterologists and climate scientists.  He and many of his peers have spent the last ten years publishing research and reasoned articles in the world's press that point out the foibles, fantasies, and fiascos of the AGW hysteria mongers.  In today's WSJ (here) he has again summarized the science that counters the politicized arguments which form the basis of the upcoming Copenhagen conference where Obama will try to promote his cap and tax legislation, or worse.  The worse part is the Copenhagen treaty on global warming that has been kept under wraps and may surface there for a surprise signing.  The voluminous treaty portends a Marxist world government with teeth to enforce the destruction of economies, and the transfer of wealth from the richer to the poorer countries.  Lord Christopher Monckton gave a recent talk on the subject (video here) in which he warns Americans about the loss of our sovereignty.  The leftwing promoters of our socialist future simply ignore all this and bet that so will you. 

Ruminations – 27nov2009

George Rebane

Piracy on the high seas – another symptom of a dysfunctional society of nation-states.  Just heard SecState Clinton blather about working to develop “appropriate 21st century means of controlling piracy.”  Historically pirates were the original international terrorists – not criminals - and were summarily treated that way by every legitimate government.  Using Admiral Nelson’s tactic of “going straight at them”, civilized society showed them no quarter - when they were caught, they were executed.  With this response policy and advancing technology, piracy essentially disappeared in the 19th century from the world’s routes of commerce.  Now it’s back because politically correct nations are tying themselves in legal knots trying to figure out how to deal with pirates that is more … more what?  Another sign of coming totalitarianism or Mad Max anarchy – in both systems the law abiders are punished and the scum runs free.

In this putative economic recovery lots of economic indicator numbers are being published, analyzed, and interpreted by mostly innumerate journalists.  Their reports are almost all suspect because most of them can’t tell the difference between a number as an attribute attached to something, and a number being used in or derived through a mathematical computation of a realworld process that itself is being reported.  To them all numbers are simply ‘math’, and therefore excusably foreign.  So if such a reporter writes that ‘recent sales tax receipts are down’, that is not math.  But the equivalent sentence - ‘recent sales tax receipts are down 10%’ - is considered ‘math’.  And these people are supposed to be our window to the world?  

The Nevada County Library privatization dust-up is in full progress.  A RR reader who has been following this in The Union (here) emails a sentiment that, I suspect, many harbor but have yet to voice.  “I'd likely make this business decision in 5 minutes. But then government jobs are ‘above’ business.”  In any case, I invite readers to keep an eye on how all this develops through the (count them) three working committees now involved in resolving the issue.  For perspective, please refer to my workforce and public sector union columns here and here.

And finally, here is a typical leftwing discounting of the recent climate change email fiasco by fraudulent scientists (a summary here and a lot more on NC Media Watch).  As an educated reader, see how many dots don't connect in this pithy dismissal from the liberal website truthout.com. 

Global Fraud, Round Two

George Rebane

OK, by now most people not tied to the MSM mammary are aware of the global warming hockey stick hoax.  RR summarized the fraud issue here and offered links for those interested in more detail.  More detail has now started gushing on the thinking public, take a look at today’s (24no09) WSJ piece ‘Climate Science and Candor’ that serves up a collection of the hacked emails sent by the celebrated sleazebag scientists to each other.  And even the NYT and Washington Post (gasp!) have belatedly stuck their toe into this issue.

In its lead editorial today’s WSJ said –

Yet even a partial review of the emails is highly illuminating. In them, scientists appear to urge each other to present a "unified" view on the theory of man-made climate change while discussing the importance of the "common cause"; to advise each other on how to smooth over data so as not to compromise the favored hypothesis; to discuss ways to keep opposing views out of leading journals; and to give tips on how to "hide the decline" of temperature in certain inconvenient data. ...

Yet all of these nonresponses (from involved scientists) manage to underscore what may be the most revealing truth: That these scientists feel the public doesn't have a right to know the basis for their climate-change predictions, even as their governments prepare staggeringly expensive legislation in response to them.

But let’s take a step back and again see this fraud in terms of the politics of climate change and anthropogenic global warming (AGW), this is the part that will affect you, me, and all of us.  The True Believers are not yet daunted by this little fraud – no, no.  They argue that a few rogue scientists mangling the world’s historical temperature data and developing spectacular temperature curves is no big deal, and doesn’t affect the real conclusions about AGW and what must still be done.

Annotated Global Fraud

George Rebane

Britains’s Climate Research Unit hack, noted here and elsewhere on the blogs, is beginning to unravel the position of the True Believers more and more.  Anthony Watts (Watts Up With That) published the latest discoveries from the ‘global warming software’ that was made public against the years’ long efforts of the ‘scientists’ involved.  The short version is that they used their programs to generate crap.

There are three distinct groups involved here – 1) scumbag ‘scientists’, 2) True Believers, 3) sleazebag politicians.  Groups 2 and 3 are ignorant of earth’s climatology and climate modeling.  I grant that Group 2 probably consists of good-hearted, well-meaning people concerned about humanity, but they possess neither the knowledge nor the tools to understand how the AGW issue is framed, let alone proved.  They just listen to Groups 1 and 3, and then join the damaging background chorus.  Group 3 doesn’t really care about the science or humanity.  For them it is all about power and control, starting with maintaining and/or advancing their own political careers.  These pols are mostly composed of but not limited to progressives and collectivists.

And then there’s Group 1.  These guys have degrees, published papers, and positions that give cover to Groups 2 and 3.  They consist of technical types who don’t know what they don’t know and prattle on, and then the real scumbags are the ones who know what they don’t know and do ‘science’ with the intent to defraud – i.e. cook up pre-ordained results.

Ruminations - 21nov2009

George Rebane

Science meddled, not settled.  The big buzz on the climate change is the hacking of Britain’s Climate Research Unit (CRU).  If confirmed, it turns out that the much celebrated scientists behind the famous ‘hockey stick’ temperature curve committed fraud – they more than fiddled with the data, they substituted more politically favorable data to support the UN and Team Gore agendas.  For details, see Anthony Watts and my friend Russ Steele (NC Media Watch) who report regularly on the progress of the AGW fiasco (links on right sidebar).

Why scientists sometimes do bad science is not hard to understand.  And the herd instinct applies here in spades.  In a recent email I explained it as follows –

There is a certain class of scientists who can only work in foundation/state-funded institutions – i.e. they cannot get a private sector job that maintains their quality of life.   It is these scientists who are most prone to sell their souls and their science in chasing the available funding.  I witnessed the process for over twenty-five years as a defense contractor.  The political money has been allocated worldwide to this ‘perfect storm’ ushering in the new global era.  Follow the money, the funded conclusions are guaranteed to be compliant. ... This CRU hack is a significant break, if it can be kept politically from being buried.

The Senate’s version of ObamaCare comes up for a “procedural vote” tonight.  Majority Leader Harry Reid is working hallways and offices twisting arms and drumming up the needed 60 votes to bring the bill to the Senate floor for debate.  The ruse is that it’s only debate on the bill that will happen next, but that’s for consumption by the unwashed.  In this Senate, what reaches the floor now will be the version that will be voted on.  The Republicans, with their minority, have no hope of modifying the bill or attaching any of their amendments.

Obama’s Nobel (updated 10oct2009)

George Rebane

A “surprised and deeply humbled” President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.  In his response he stated that he does not "view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments," going on to say, "I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures that have been honored by this prize,"  We can do naught but share his feelings, and join in his clear and accurate assessment of the award.  From his mouth to God’s ear.

[10oct09 update] I was awakened this morning by an NPR piece on Obama's award that reviewed the many other accomplished winners of this prize.  It ended with Obama intoning the above quote, and then concluded with words almost identical to mine.  There is a lot of controversy over this prize - but from NPR, whoda thought? 

Obama, Iran, and Game Theory

George Rebane

Our President’s series of foreign policy embarrassments have now come to a critical stand-off with Iran.  How Obama responds to Iran’s next betrayal of trust will determine to a great extent the future of the Middle East and the Levant (Near East).  Pajamas TV has a very interesting, accessible, and short presentation (here) of the problem facing the US that applies to and informs all international relations. 

Nations ultimately act in their self-interest.  Those actions are explained clearly through the application of one of the systems sciences called game theory.  The video dishes out just enough of the science so that an educated viewer will begin to see why always acting altruistically does not provide the best international and/or social orders.  In fact, such behavior is absent in nature.  For a more revealing and stimulating account of the whole affair of conducting relationships, read Robert Axelrod’s classic The Evolution of Cooperation (also referenced in the video). 

(For the careful reader.  In the video the described tactic ‘Tit for Tat’ is incomplete as introduced, and is implicitly corrected later.  TfT is the hands down winning tactic in the co-operation game known as the Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma.  The complete rule set for TfT is –

1. Never defect first;
2. When opponent defects, retaliate immediately;
3. In next round if opponent co-operates, forgive and co-operate.

Omitting immediate retaliation puts one into the ‘food chain’ of the defector, reinforcing future/continued defections in it and others who observe the exchange.)

Dollar Destruction Derby

George Rebane

Obama can’t be blamed for starting the destruction of the dollar, but he will get a lot of credit for hastening its downfall.  Major world powers have recently begun secret meetings to move oil (and other energy commodities) off the dollar bandwagon.  Why?  Because, as RR readers have been aware for some time, the US government has no choice but to inflate our fiat money out of existence.  We are broke and owe our creditors debts and our citizens huge entitlements denominated in dollars.  There is simply no other way to pay off the putative amounts - more than $120 trillion and counting - than to print or 'monetarily ease' the dollar into oblivion.

The Independent of Great Britain reports -

In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.
 
Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars.

The target date for the transition is reported to be 2018.  Stand by for the vehement denials that will confirm the report.

A Week on Obama’s Watch

George Rebane

The past week is now folded into the pages of history.  Iran pre-empted Obama’s revelation that it had another major facility for producing nuclear materials for “peaceful uses”.  In response, our National Naif assembled his counterparts from Britain and France to dutifully scribble yet one more line in the sand, while the imams in Teheran worry about getting double hernias from laughing their butts off.

Our progressives applauded this stroke of brilliant coalition building against Iran - an ability, they claim, evaded Bush2.  At the same time Israel is putting finishing touches on its plan take out as much of Iran’s WMD capability as it can with its F-15s and F-16s, while working feverishly to complete its Jericho3 long range missile that can reach all parts of Iran.  Meanwhile, the price of oil and gold yawned.  I feel safer already.