Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Can Spring Be Far Behind a Groundhog's Behind?
When Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow on February 2nd, you can be sure that spring will arrive on March 20 this year. Truth is, even if he doesn’t see it, it will still occur on March 20. On some years, it occurs on March 21.
Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated in both the U.S. and Canada, thus ensuring the eternal bonds between our two, great nations. It well may be celebrated elsewhere, depending on whether a groundhog population exists along with the vicissitudes of winter. It is an import that began as a Pennsylvania German custom in the 18th century.
A nation in which generations have grown old without once stepping foot on a farm or gone hunting in the woods can be forgiven for wondering what the heck Groundhog Day is all about, let alone what a groundhog is.
It has to do with Candlemas, a holiday to celebrate the ritual purification of Mary, forty days after the birth of Jesus. It is one of the four “cross-quarters” of the year, occurring halfway between the first day of winter and the first day of spring.
The tradition was that, if Candlemas was sunny, the remaining six weeks of winter would be stormy. Thus, if the groundhog emerges from hibernation on February 2nd and looks behind himself to see his shadow, it must be sunny.
I have some serious doubts whether a member of the family Sciuridae, that of ground squirrels, can in fact actually look behind himself. My bet is that Marmota monax has to turn his fat little self around entirely for that.
In earlier times, the job of looking behind himself belonged to the badger, but was reassigned to groundhogs which, by the way, are also known as woodchucks.
At this point you’re saying, Alan, you are telling me far more about groundhogs than I ever even wanted to know. Hey, don’t blame me. Blame those Pennsylvania Germans of yesteryear who were, by the way, also called Pennsylvania Dutch.
Someone in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania clearly had an idea to put the little village on the map. A thriving trade in groundhog paraphernalia can be purchased there as well as via the Internet because Groundhog Day has its own website. Of course!
In a nation that is totally snowed and iced-in on Groundhog Day, any indication that winter will come to an end is a welcome one, so we shall all breathlessly wait to see if Phil sees his shadow. Or not.
The cliché is that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. My bet is that winter will linger beyond March 20th this year. Meteorologically speaking, we are all in for longer, harsher winters while Old Man Sun sleeps through the Maunder Minimum, a solar cycle in which there is far less solar radiation.
All the groundhogs in America and Canada will be sleeping in for a while.
© Alan Caruba, 2011
An Iraqi Army tanker with the 9th Armored Division drives an M1A1 Abrams tank under the instruction of soldiers with Company C, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division-Center Jan. 16 at Camp Taji, Iraq. The IA tankers are preparing for a 45-day new equipment operatorÂ’s course this spring at the Besmaya Combat Training Center, Iraq. Photo by Sgt. Chad Menegay
H/T Marc
News........
E15 Gas: A green disaster for your car
The Scarlet Letter "R" - Conservatives in Hollywood
The Muslim Brotherhood: The Enemy in its own Words
The Greatest Anti-Retirement Video of All Time
Egypt: Winning After the Fall
Report warns of Iran nuke disaster
South Africa's ANC deplores 'sushi on models' after scandal
Britain secretly advised Libya how to secure release of Lockerbie bomber
Barack Obama's health care reform 'unconstitutional'
Liam Fox: Iran could have nuclear weapons next year
Dozens of New York taxi drivers plead guilty to fare scam
North Korea prepares for annual flowery tribute to its 'Dear Leader'
Japan's space agency teams up with fishing net maker to collect space debris
and finally.......
7 items that will cause a man to never leave his home
10 Useless But Awesome Facts About Life
Comparisons..............from Rico
Anyone who lets rags like Time Magazine do their thinking for them has (a) no common sense, and (b) no ability for critical thought.
- In a word: morons.
The comparison of Jimmy Carter and Barry Soetoro must have been too challenging for Time (Carter 'lost' Iran; Soetoro "lost" Egypt...Hell, the entire Middle East, but what did you really expect from a guy who claims 'Hussein' as his middle name?).
But suggesting that our feckless Barry is today's equivalent of Reagan? This is a perfect example of why Time needs the "whang" from the flat of a shovel to the head! Let's compare them, shall we?
Ronnie: Fostered national pride in the military.
Barry: Fostered gay pride in the military.
Ronnie: We begin bombing in five minutes.
Barry: We begin golfing in five minutes.
Ronnie: Made big government a bad word.
Barry: Made big government a bad dream.
Ronnie: A shining city on a hill.
Barry: A home mortgage under water.
Ronnie: Stood up to the Soviets.
Barry: Bowed to the Saudis.
Back to a comparison with Jimmy Carter. I wondered what Barry's "killer rabbit" moment would be....until I remembered that he was married to Michelle, the First Wookie!
Monday, 31 January 2011
How’s that Israel-is-the-cause-of-Mideast-instability myth working out for ya, Obama?......by Dan Friedman
Israel’s Antagonists Never Give Up
First came WikiLeak’s revelations that Arab leaders were way more worried about an Iranian H-bomb than they were about the “Palestinians.” Indeed, they implored the USA and/or Israel to attack Iran and blow the mullah’s nuclear weapons program to kingdom come.
Then followed Al Jazeera’s PaliLeaks which (if legitimate) show that Western peace processors hold Jerusalem, settlements, and the right of return more sacred than the Palestinian Arabs do.
Now comes the peoples’ revolution spreading like wildfire in the Middle East, and there isn’t a burning Israeli flag, or a raised Palestinian flag, in sight .
From the start, these were all flimsy fairy tales to begin with. They were fabricated by anti-Zionist (anti-Semitic?) elements in academia, the media, the chatterati, the Muslim world and State Dept. Ultimately, they were elevated to received wisdom by nothing other than constant repetition playing upon the base inclinations of too many people.
But now along comes History and these purpose-built myths (with weakening Israel as their purpose) are being erased, one by one dropping like flies overnight. All of which requires that Israel recalibrate its defense doctrines to fit a new reality that includes the Muslim Brotherhood dominating Egypt – an Israeli project already in the works. And nearly as important, Zionists inside and outside Israel need to seize this moment and rush to fill the current propaganda vacuum with the truth. Because as sure as hell, Israel’s antagonists in the West, Obama’s White House and Israel’s own post-Zionist lunatic fringe, will never give up their fight against the Jewish State. In fact, they’ve already been ordered back to the drawing boards, and computers, to create new fictions to replace the old.
News.........
Wood wind
While Cairo Burns, Obama Parties
Reclaiming the Constitution (Part 2)
As Egypt goes offline US gets internet 'kill switch' bill ready
Boehner: Obama has to cut credit cards, reduce spending
The Muslim Brotherhood is the Enemy
Why the Mullahs Cheer for the Brotherhood
Are Arab states going to collapse like Eastern European dictatorships in ’89?
Why Morning Sex is Good for You
Pakistan-made Toxic Waste lollies 'unsafe'
Tawdry details of Obamacare
Girl with girl cheating OK, half of boyfriends say
Could red wine treat diabetes?
Border Solution at Hand?
Was Bachmann’s SOTU Response Sabotaged?
How 600 die of thirst in care homes: Damning report exposes the rising number of elderly killed by neglect
Egypt and Tunisia usher in the new era of global food revolutions
Hermann Goering 'too heavy' for US plane transport after capture
After food protests, water riots are next
The Spanish village where no one is younger than 65
Muslim Brotherhood: Our Media Starts Koshering The Pig.........by Dan Friedman
They turned a terrorist named Arafat into a Nobel laureate and his PLO into a “peace partner” called the PA. Now they’re at it again, laying the groundwork for acceptance of the Muslim Brotherhood by putting lipstick on a pig.
Consensus. Common wisdom. WRONG!............from Rico
Consensus, common wisdom....well, it's usually wrong.
Despite the prevailing wisdom that the Great Depression started in 1929 because the stock market 'crashed' the real damage was actually done by a bond market collapse.
The bond market started to collapse with Austria in 1931, and it spread like a virus. There was panic as creditors started questioning the loans (bonds) made to ALL countries.
Great Britain, the global reserve currency of the time, had to choose between austerity and devaluation. It chose devaluation.
Today, Greece is Austria and the U.S. is Great Britain.
- And for good measure, this time we have our uber-creditor Red China playing Red China, and Soros playing the Devil incarnate.
Benyamin's famous helicopter isn't big enough.
We're screwed.
LIBYA............from Rico
Libya has so far been oddly silent.
Between Tunisia and Egypt, Libya has just imposed a 'state of emergency.'
Draw your own conclusions.
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Egypt Update: Mohammed ElBaradei to Form National Unity Government?
As promised, an update to my previous reporting. Can Egypt transition from dictatorship to democracy with Mohammed ElBaradei at the helm? He's got some whacked out views on the Muslim Brotherhood, but frankly, I don't see a better alternative at the moment: "Mohammed ElBaradei to Form Government of National Unity?"
Check back for breaking updates throughout the night.
Sunday, January 30th, Egypt Protests
Lots of commentary this morning.
See the photo roundup, "Egypt Protests: Sunday Morning, January 30th, Cairo":
Also, the big essay: "Picking Sides in Egypt? Choose Freedom — Resist the Red-Green Alliance of Anti-Israel Fanaticism."
And don't miss the explosive breaking coverage throughout the night.
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