Lord Monckton at His Best

The bottom line is that most people that support Global Warming (aka Climate Change) have simply not done their homework. Climate Change is becoming a religion. They don't want us to look into the details because the facts do not stack up!

Copenhagen

I haven't had a great deal of free time to post lately but recent events in Global Warming just can't be ignored.

If you don’t know about your government signing you up for Copenhagen in a few days then you need to wake up and check it out. Copenhagen is the latest attempt to get global consensus on an action plan to save the world from Global Warming – now called Climate Change because the world is in a regular cooling cycle.

I don’t believe Global Warming, if it is even occurring, is man-made. I do, however, believe that humans have done a lot of damage to the earth and the environment needs to be protected for all our sakes. For example, water purity and supply, soil quality and control of genetically modified organisms are serious environmental issues. CO2 is a plant food and one of the building blocks of life including water, oxygen and the sun!

What we read on the news about the Copenhagen agreement is pretty much the “party line”: Global Warming is a serious issue which needs a serious response which Kyoto began and Copenhagen will lock in. It’s a GLOBAL issue and needs and GLOBAL solution.

Because I have a very low regard for the mainstream media I thought I would read the actual Copenhagen agreement rather than take their word for it – all 64 pages of it which can be found with a quick search on Google or here. It’s a very interesting document. Governments and the media don’t really want us reading the fine print because that means we get too much information and may not like it and may actually oppose it. Best to keep us listening to our iPods, reading entertainment magazines and watching really silly TV shows like Glee. We’re too stupid to understand it anyway they presume.

I have read it and it’s very enlightening.

Fact #1: “Industrialised nations” – that’s us – have to get to zero carbon emissions (ZCAPs) and non-industrialised nations don’t really have to (LCAPs). The reason they don’t have to is that we caused the problem in the first place so it’s our bloody fault so we need to do the most to fix it. And, the non-industrial countries need to industrialise to raise themselves from poverty etc (nothing wrong in that).

Likely effect: What is left of our manufacturing jobs will go to developing countries. We can all be Barristers (the coffee making type) or maybe environment cops but more likely flipping burgers. Our high value jobs will go to low wage high pollution jurisdictions just as has been happening for the last 30 years; a continuation of the fundamental re-adjustment of the relationship between capital and labour will continue unabated under the guise of "globalisation".

Fact #2: The cost for the first 5 years is US$160B per year, to be paid for by the industrialized countries because the others don’t have any money and it’s our fault anyway.

Likely effect: We will be taxed to buggery to pay for this.

Fact #3: One of the goals is stated in an early draft was as follows:

The outcome for industrialized countries’ plans would be the achievement of their QERCs on a short term and an economy-wide transformation required to address unsustainable patterns of consumption and production leading to a phase out of carbon emissions by mid-century.

An “economy-wide transformation” to address “unsustainable patterns of consumption” …wow; now that’s a big statement. It certainly means you can kiss your standard of living goodbye.

What about this pearler in the final draft:

No ....Programme shall be developed for any unsustainable technology, particularly and especially nuclear energy-related technology.

Why?

Fact #4: The goal is “global governance” – that means global government. There is no mention whatsoever of how we vote for this government or how it will be elected.

Fact #5: Once a country signs on to this agreement, there needs to be a unanimous vote by all others to allow you to leave the agreement. Therefore, the rich ones that will want to get out can’t because the poor ones are on the gravy train.

….and there is a great deal more very alarming statements in this offensive document so go read it. Basically this is a funding mechanism for global government packaged as saving the environment to make you feel good.

Climategate

And now we find out what we knew must have existed all along: the Church of Climatology has been busted falsifying climate data to cover up the cooling of the planet in the last 10 years. Check it out a good Climategate summary blog here. The local media in Australia has done its absolute best to suppress this story but it is raging in the UK and USA at the moment.

We always knew they were full of it and now we see concrete proof through leaked emails and computer programs which show among other things:

• Collusion to present false reports

• Falsification of source data

• Conspiracy to prevent of FOIA requests

• Political pressure to discredit scientists with alternative viewpoints

• manipulation of computer models

• political interference in the science

Don’t listen to anyone who tells you there is “consensus” on climate change or that “the science has been done” because there most certainly has not been consensus (I mean, even the commie George Monbiot agrees!). Check out here for some very qualified skeptics.

In summary, it’s all too much for me to bear………………………thanks goodness a few skeptics in the Liberal Party are balancing the Rudd governments headlong rush into the brainless emissions trading scheme. The best thing for Australia to do right now is NOTHING until we can all figure out what’s really happening and what, if anything, needs to be done.

PS: Oh and Polar Bear numbers are at record levels.

Sometimes it’s Just Better to Stay in Bed

I used to get up in the middle of the night to watch Sid Going, Grant Batty and Andy Haden play the poms in the 70’s. They were great spectacles. I drank coffee to stay awake. Sometimes, being just a young fella, I would start to drift off, but then I would force myself to stay awake and see the whole game. The thought of missing any of it was tantamount to treason. You see, this was before Foxtel IQ, PVRs and replays. We’d only just got a colour telly a year or so earlier as I recall. But in those days these tests were worth getting up for, worth capturing the moment in the memory banks for all time.

Sunday morning I got up - as always - but this was one night I should have just stayed in bed. As I get older I realise my time is more valuable. Getting up in the middle of the night means I lose the morning the next day as I catch up on lost sleep. My weekends are a short time to enjoy life before its back to the daily grind of working for the man. So why did I waste my time getting up on Sunday morning? Why indeed did I waste my time staying for the second half? Hope? Blind faith? Loyalty? Idiocy? All of the above.

I do not think I have ever seen such an inept performance in 35 years of watching the All Blacks live. It was embarrassing. It was a disgrace. It was positively un-All Black.

I watched an interview with Andy Haden yesterday and he pretty much summed up my issues with the players and the coaches. Now, everyone knows I am not a fan of Henry, but I did warn you! How long ago did they re-sign Henry? Just a few weeks ago. I said at the time to put that contract in the bottom drawer until the end of the year to see whether Henry can change and adapt. The reality is that Henry is not learning anything and the players are in dire need of a good clean out (perhaps a spanking is in order now, that the referendum will allow it). That sort of performance simply must not go unpunished.

The Boks were good but not that good. Hell, their game is based on kick and chase and forcing errors which Steyn kicks for 3 points a pop. It’s really simple and highly predictable. It’s not like they had to think long and hard to figure out what he Boks would do? So Henry decided to play attacking running rugby and it failed. Henry, you were wrong. Listen really carefully…you were WRONG. Ah but the headmaster simply can’t be wrong even if he is wrong as I recall having been in front of the headmaster quite a few times as a lad.

The players need to take 50% of the blame too for the outrageous error rate and the brain explosions. Clearly “Jumping” Joe Rokocoko has been watching too much league because he thinks he had to run the ball out of his in-goal area to avoid a line drop out. Joe, mate, in Rugby you restart from the 22 line when the opposition sends it into your goal – there is no “line drop out”. Learn the rules numb nuts or go play league. I don’t think we have to worry about Joe because if Henry keeps him in the team for Sydney I think there will be riots in the streets in NZ.

Which brings me to the topic of Dan “the man” Carter. I do not want Dan back just yet for two reasons. 1) Achilles injuries take a long while to heal and the incidence of re-injury is high. 2) Dan might just save this team and these coaches. We need to clear the decks if only to shake the entire All Black machine up and get these blokes back hungry enough to be in the black jersey and earning the spectacular incomes so that they play BASIC rugby without so many dumb errors.

The Wallybees will have a good chance at beating the South Africans too if only because they can hold on to the ball better and might have a chance at beating the kick and chase game. They also have a functioning lineout. The Wallybees should be able to beat them.

And as for Sydney, I can tell you that the criminals are salivating at the thought of having another crack at the All Blacks especially given their superb record at ANZ Stadium. I just hope that we turn up for the game.

US Stock Market Defies Belief

How can the US stock market be back at 9000+?

How can the earnings of most major corporations be in the toilet, yet the stock market has continued to creep back up towards the point at which they were all making record profits (as reflected in the indexes)? How can the US finance industry, which makes up a large part of the US market, be in such dire straits yet the market rallies? It defies belief of course unless investors are forgetting the past, (assuming ~7000 was the bottom of the DOW) and pricing shares for the future upside only.

I note the DOW is moving within a small band of larger ups and small downs. I think there is a lot of market manipulation going on by the PPT. See here how insiders are selling their shares at a furious pace while this dead cat bounce is happening.

The US dollar is a basket case and its decline has started again as the printing presses start cranking and the “flight to safety” feeling from the intitial stages of the GFC dissipates.

I’m waiting for the correction. It got to be coming soon.

All Blacks Not Getting into the Power Band

I liken the All Blacks on Saturday night, and in the Wallybee game, as being like a high powered 500CC GP motorbike going in and out of its power band. Sometimes the All Blacks look like they can destroy anything for periods of up to 20 minutes, then they seem to cough and splutter (make errors) and slow down to a more leisurely pace.

The All Blacks did not deserve to win against the Yarpies but they are also not that far off the Yarpies by any means. The game was error filled although to be fair the penalties helped to prevent tries in the first half which would have made the score a lot harder to reign in during the second half. Ruan Peinar’s dodgy boot definitely helped but would the All Blacks have continued to give away penalties if his boot was on target – I doubt it.

Several people I spoke to late last week agreed with the All Black selection except for Leonard replacing Cowan, especially when Cowan had such a good game against the Wallybees. I couldn’t understand it either. I noted one commentator saying it was to keep Leonard in the side and keen. If that is the coaching staff’s motivation then they have learnt absolutely nothing from the failure of strength and reconditioning. However, I really hope that Henry’s actual strategy was to rest him for this Durban test because Henry probably thought “we only need to win one away” so saving Cowan fit for the more winnable one in Durban may end up being a good move. We shall see.

The mess at the end with Piri Weepu farting about behind the ruck so that the Yarpies could re-organise their defensive line made me wonder which South African bookie got to him. Then Eaton running ahead of the pass (or was it Weepu poor passing) just makes you wonder if it is worth putting green subs on with 5 minutes to go in a tight and winnable test match.

What do you say about Tialata doing a drop kick? What that heck was inside his head when he made that decision? Fat blokes do not do drop kicks.

The Boks played pretty well and put a lot of pressure on the All Blacks in the first half which produced a lot of penalties but I thought we defended well and responded to a massive 40 minutes.

We have to get our lineout sorted. Why do we not contest the lineout? I presume this is so that we can be ready to defend the maul drive but clearly we are not able to do that. Perhaps an alternative is to disrupt Matfield receiving the ball in the hope that it may also disrupt the formation of the maul by causing Matfield to have to flick it to the half back.

The All Blacks need to practice swinging the maul around and attacking the tail. Some form of releasing the opposing pressure at the same time as driving the front of the maul towards the touchline which should swing the tail out forcing the ball carrier to have to chase to keep with his mauling buddies may allows our scavengers to pick off the tail. We have to do something to stop their effective mauls. And I do not think Ross pulled down that maul – he was clearly tripped and fell under their feet :-)

All in all not that great of a game to watch if you are not a Yarpie. The All Blacks are just a slight adjustment of the mixture away from achieving a full throttle performance in the power band for 80 minutes. But I have been saying that for a while I guess!

These are the Real Bad Guys in the Global Financial Crises

Watch this video: Government by Goldman Sachs

Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is “an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously”. We avoid the anxiety caused by dissonance using rationalisation.

Cell Phones Do Not Crash Planes

Yesterday I flew home from Melbourne and was sitting next to a businessman of around 50 years of age. I was listening to my iPhone/iPod and enjoying some sounds when the flight attendant asked me to turn it off because we were landing “and all electronic gadgets need to be turned off because they may interfere with the planes sensitive equipment.” Now I know this to be a load of rot, not only because I know a 767 engineer who told me so, but because I have tested this theory many times by turning on my phone during landings to send and receive text messages. I know for a fact that mobile phones operate sporadically at about 2000-3000 feet and pretty much work perfectly at less than 1000 feet. At no time has the plane spontaneously exploded and at no time have we had to ditch into Botany Bay because I had my iPhone on.

However, the gentlemen next to me was quite beside himself and upset that I was “putting [his] life in danger” with a few choice swear words intermingled for effect. He threatened to tattle tale on me to the flight attendant which amused me, and of course I encouraged him to do so. This poor man honestly believed that my iPhone was going to crash the plane yet how many times in any given day do people leave their phones on (because they forget) or leave their phone in their luggage etc without any catastrophes? I even had it in Flight Mode for goodness sakes. His face was contorted with the pain of cognitive dissonance when I explained the lack of actual evidence that the problem is real.

The Swine Flu Will Not Kill You

Ah yes this is one of my favourites! People are experiencing cognitive dissonance here too. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared it is a PANDEMIC. Everyone I speak to about swine flu agrees that it appears to be hype. Many know that the Tamiflu stock pile was about to pass its use by date and this conveniently meant a new batch would be ordered by a compliant government. Even less know that Tamiflu is NOT a vaccine but rather a drug you take to minimise the symptoms. But even normally pragmatic people listen to the hype and follow the government’s orders even when they know it's tripe! They have to because if they don’t go along with it they will experience cognitive dissonance - it will raise a whole lot of questions about our institutions, the media, WHO and their integrity – very uncomfortable indeed.

The WHO has raised the “threat level” to 6 – the highest. Why? Why level 6 when it’s a pretty normal flu seasons with a pretty normal number of deaths (actually a bit lower than normal)? The media focuses on what level 6 is:

Phase 6: Pandemic phase. Community level outbreaks in at least two countries in different WHO regions, on top of level 5. A global pandemic is now under way, and probably has been for some time already.

But let’s have a look at what Level 6 allows them to do:

· Use experimental vaccines on humans (awesome if you are a pharmaceutical company)

· Shortened duration test programs (awesome if you are a pharmaceutical company)

· Smaller scope test programs (awesome if you are a pharmaceutical company)

· Forced vaccinations (awesome if you are a pharmaceutical company)

· Lock people up if they don’t take their shots

Level 6 should only be used in real pandemics. This ain’t one.

Global Warming aka Climate Change is a Hoax

My other equal -favourite topic! Here is perhaps the biggest and most pervasive hoax of all time which causes some of the smartest people I know to do a lot of mental gymnastics to rationalise what they believe – that Global Warming is real, with the facts - sunspots have stopped which is causing the world to cool, sea levels are dropping and the ice on the poles is bigger than it has been for a long time and CO2 was four times higher during the medieval warm period and life was just dandy then. But wait! We’ve just had Al Gore in Australia telling us that CO2 – plant food – is going to kill us all if we don’t cap-and-trade CO2 (using his carbon exchange of course).

Look, they had to pick CO2. Any other gas and they would not have been able to tax the buggery out of us. For example, a few years ago CFC’s were destroying the ozone layer. They declared them a danger and in about 10 years we mostly got rid of CFC use. Well done, end of problem, thank you very much, carry on. But, if the goal is really about taxing and population control (as against protecting the planet from a “global warming catastrophe”), then you need to select a gas that is an absolute necessity for life, that way their tax revenue and ability to control is maintained over time. …CO2, we exhale the stuff….perfect.

The Wallabies Aren’t That Good

Perhaps the most serious of all cases of cognitive dissonance at work is in your average Wallybee supporter. This specimen has been listening to the hype on TV and reading the media and jizzing in their pants about “Aussie Robbie Deans’” new team. James O’Conner, Stirling Mortlock, Berrick Barnes…..oh they hype….Australians are the world’s best at hyping themselves up and, up until last Saturday, they believed it.

I watched a number of their faces last week and honestly felt sorry for the pain they were feeling (for several nanoseconds at least) when their belief did not match the reality of what they were seeing. You see their belief was that this was a match they would win and should have won especially given that “the All Blacks are so bad”. To be so resoundingly beaten by a more committed and better team on the day was hard to stomach.

Immediately after the loss they set about rationalising it with a huge serve for the referee. One of the other comments I heard was “both teams scored one try each” as if that somehow meant the match was a draw. The papers splashed similarly titled nonsense about referees and “we woz robbed”. Basically they believed their own hype and got a dust up in the process.

I enjoyed the match immensely of course albeit surrounded by Wallybee supporters. You see Mel and I and Mel’s mother and friend had been skiing on Saturday at Perisher Blue. It was a magic day on the snow with good cover and sunshine. I didn’t want to leave but by 3pm I was starting to twitch with concern about being settled in a suitable environment for the season opener. We bailed from Perisher at 3:10pm and started the drive home. By the time we got to Jindabyne a fiery debate had broken out in the Land Cruiser about whether to risk it and drive to Canberra (where we were staying) or stop in Cooma to be sure. Eventually, I had to make an executive decision and erred on the side of caution so we stopped in Cooma at an old pub and got settled in for the game. I surveyed the scene with my All Black jersey proudly on display but could not find any kindred spirits. Plenty of Wallybee supporters were around and as the game got closer more of them came out from their hidey holes.

Predictably the All Blacks came out firing and the Wallybees certainly came for a game too. I liked the initial rucks and the intensity. Some early turnovers had that Richie feeling about them; I was starting to feel confident. They got out to a bit of a lead but nothing too worrying. Then Berrick Barnes bombed a bottler, the bozo. Later I was told that “if he’d passed” they would have won the game. Now how any Wallybee supporter can maintain that if they scored an extra 5 points at the 30 minute mark that, somehow, the game would have stayed the same for the next 50 minutes is beyond me, but I digress.

We basically smashed them up front and kept the possession. The kicking was pretty good which kept the Wallybees out of our half. Towards the end it was turnover-at-will time. Only after we scored our try did a shout of joy come up from the crowd and I was able to ID the only other AB supporter in the room. His lack of appropriate attire was not something I want to dwell on but nevertheless he did cheer appropriately. I dared not look in Mel’s direction.

This was a difficult game for the Wallybees to win being at Eden Park and with the NZ public expecting a much improved performance from our beloved MABs. The amazing thing is that the Wallybee supporters believed they really were going to win this and by a big margin! Beggars belief.

I have the match saved on the Foxtel IQ box but Melsy will not allow me to watch it with her around so I am still trying to find a time to watch it and enjoy the feeling once more.

All Blacks vs. Meat Eaters Prediction

My prediction for tomorrow night’s game is that, like the Wallybees, the Yarpies have underestimated this AB team and so it is going to be a close win to the All Blacks – no mean feat considering the location! Late Mail from the meat eating country is that they are going to thrash us…..bring it on.

SPECIAL NOTE TO ALL BLACK OUTER BACKS: When Habana stands at 45 degrees to our backline and has his arms stretched outwards and he does that little jumping up and down on the spot action, it means he’s getting ready to intercept.

WHAT NOT TO DO: Pass it to him

WHAT TO DO: Sell a huge dummy; take the tackle, pass back on the inside…do anything but do not pass to your winger! If you do, Habana will get yet another one of his trade mark intercepts.

Swine Flu - View this Before Taking Your Shot

I note the government is releasing propaganda to stir up the mass immunisation debate so that we are nice and prepared for when they want to vaccinate us all for swine flu (pigs might fly when I'll take that shot!).

Check out this video from 1976. This has all been done before, how soon we forget!

Rugby Scoreboard used at Sydney Junior Championships

This weekend the U16 and U15 Sydney Junior Rugby Championship was played at TG Milner - Eastwood Rugby Club. The Rugby Scoreboard was used for the top field for all three days. Here's the photos - unfortunately the camera I am using isn't doing it justice. The scoreboard stopped all the time and score questions which the SJRU officials were very happy about.



Another thing I noticed is that people seem to trust the electronic scoreboard without question. Very interesting indeed and lucky I haven't found any significant bugs!

A Weekend of Poor Performance

There were three important games this weekend each showing plenty of poor performance for the tri-nations hopefuls. Test matches are won on the back of two or three mistakes and one or two key turnovers. We saw lots of both in all three games.

All Blacks

Another shocker! The Italians were actually quite good for a change. Gower made the difference and with Nick Mallet in charge they’ve learnt how to tackle almost as good as they can comb their hair. Their forward pack had more forward gears than reverse for a change. I liked their play and they were clearly stoked at having made the All Blacks look lacklustre.

The reactions in the box of Henry and his coaching team are quite telling. The body language says to me “hope”, that is, they are bereft of ideas and the only thing left is hope. The way Henry turns away and holds his heart when yet another blunder happens just tells me he’s a lost soul, nothing he is doing is working and the panic in Henry is obvious. Wayne Smith looks like frustration personified.

I liked Ross at #5 and paired with Brad Thorn we might have the second row we need for the tri-nations campaign. All the bluster about Slew Hand Luke is probably a bit tough. I mean we don’t have many #10’s and Luke is just out of form having not played much. Donald would give us a known quantity – ideal against the Boks for example. But McAlister has the pizzazz we need to attack which will be required against the Wallybees – if he can hold onto the ball, kick, pass and run….. I don't think we have anything to combat Giteau.

Wallabies

OK the reports are true, I did go to the Wallybee game wearing a Wallybee outfit because I was going with seven other Wallybee supports (Mel, the girls, Leanne and Paul). But don’t worry; I made sure I was wearing my All Black Centenary Celebration shirt and socks underneath. This way my skin was protected from Wallybee infections.

It was great fun to go to the stadium with the family but the game was like watching paint dry. Boring, boring and more boring. I watched it on TV later and it was still boring. I see the French claim the Wallybees were harder to play than All Blacks. They are just taunting us a second time! There is no way that test was harder than the one in Wellington. Tell'em they're dreaming.

The girls loved the night out as you can see from the photos. Peita got a photo with Josh Valentine the half back for Australia.

Springboks

They were the best of the three teams this weekend but that’s not saying much. Lions were good enough to make the Boks work for it and as usual Morne Steyn saved them with his awesome boot – after the bell. There was a big Lions crowd which nullified the boers so there wasn’t the usual advantage there. Some good runs from O’Gara. Victor Matfield looked strangely out of sorts. I see that Skulk Burger has been banned for 6 weeks for eye-gouging….really, are the meat eaters still doing that? I guess it took them a long time to come to terms with racial equality so perhaps it will take a long time for them to learn that’s not part of the modern game.

In summary, all three tri-nations teams are not showing great form and as far as I can see it is a toss-up as to which team is favourite going in. If I had to pick though I would put my money on the Yarpies and then maybe Australia. But my heart’s with the MIGHTY ALL BLACKS and they have shown they CAN put in a good performance if they get their head's right. This poor performance should put the All Blacks into the right frame of mind before the Wallybees on the 18th July but they will need a lot less mistakes to win.

What a Difference a Week Makes

OK, I admit I did my bun last week and had a decent grizzle. That’s what I am known for so there is nothing surprising in that. But I still feel I was entitled to grizzle at that disgusting performance and the normal reactions of Henry et al.

This week we saw only one essential change – passion and commitment at the breakdown. The All Blacks played northern hemisphere rugby by keeping it in the forwards and kicking judiciously; they played to the conditions. The multiple box kicks up the side line had the Frogs swinging their heads around in the air – it was the first time I saw Henry put out a game plan that surprised an opposition.

The French were dropping like flies at one stage which is usually an indication that the intensity of the opposition is too much.

Brad Thorn and Kevin Mealamu were outstanding and really showed how it should be done. Weepu should be starting the game. If Weepu keeps playing second fiddle to Cowan he’ll be targeted by the Leaguies because he’d make a superb playmaker in that code.

I can honestly say that I would have been happy to lose that match because they put in a sterling effort up front (unfortunately some of the backs sucked still). This French side is pretty good and it could have gone either way.

We are missing a number of the top All Blacks which, combined with this sort of passion, would make an unbeatable side.

The final score reflected the tight match and perhaps highlighted what we are missing without Dan the Man – an all conditions top-of-the-line goal kicker.

It felt good to be an AB supporter again.