Go, UK, Go!

Tiny Great Britain, in many respects the father of the modern world, has shown sufficient self-confidence to reassert its sovereignty in the Brexit vote. My earnest hope is that Britain and the other anglosphere countries -- Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and, possibly, India -- will see their mutual self-interests and realign into a blockbuster trading block.

Conrad Black's article from May "If Britain leaves the EU, where will it turn?" is well worth a read if you haven't read it (and a re-read if you have).

Meanwhile, go, UK, go!

The American Student Loan Crisis: It helps if Bob's your uncle!

Thoughtful Forbes article on the American student loan "crisis".

Student Debt Crisis: The Recession Started It; Colleges Sustain It; And Politicians Make It Worse

As expected, government gets involved and makes things worse.

Bernie's solution is to get others to pay your debt. Bob's your uncle! It frees students to pursue their colonial/feminist/queer studies without having to worry about whether there's a payoff at the end. In effect, it makes others your slave, because you are free to pursue whatever you want, while they are now required to work for you.

For some reason, this is wildly popular among students.

Scientists: Save Australia's Great Barrier Reef (or, at the very least, our funding)

The Great Barrier Reef -- is it dying/dead as some media outlets have suggested? Is man/climate change the cause? Is urgent, expensive action required immediately?

In short, no, no, and... no.

As these two articles show, alarmism drives science funding -- the greater the alarm, the more publishable it is.

The Great Barrier Reef Wars by Kip Hansen. Extract:

The latest round of El Niño coral bleaching events brought headlines:

Coral bleaching hits 93% of Great Barrier Reef: scientists by Madeleine Coorey — April 20, 2016 – Yahoo News online  

“Sydney (AFP) – Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is suffering its worst coral bleaching in recorded history with 93 percent of the World Heritage site affected, scientists said Wednesday, as they revealed the phenomenon is also hitting the other side of the country.

After extensive aerial and underwater surveys, researchers at James Cook University said only seven percent of the huge reef had escaped the whitening triggered by warmer water temperatures.2016″ 

 Is this the end of the Great Barrier Reef? — April 8, 2016  by  Tom Arup — Environment editor, The Age 

Study: Over 90% of Great Barrier Reef suffering from coral bleaching by Euan McKirdy, CNN Wed April 20, 2016
“At some reefs, the final death toll is likely to exceed 90%. When bleaching is this severe, it affects almost all coral species, including old, slow-growing corals that once lost will take decades or longer to return.” 

 Only 7% of the Great Barrier Reef has avoided coral bleaching.  Media Release  — 20 April 2016 —  issued by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University
“The final results of extensive aerial and underwater surveys reveal that 93% of the reef has been affected. …. “We’ve never seen anything like this scale of bleaching before. In the northern Great Barrier Reef, it’s like 10 cyclones have come ashore all at once,” says Professor Terry Hughes”

The Reef’s Self-Serving Saviours by Walter Starck. Extract:

Coral reefs are highly diverse dynamic environments frequently subject to large natural perturbations.  Environmentalism primes us to believe in a “fragile balance of nature”, with any significant fluctuation as evidence of some unnatural “impact” caused by humans. Researchers soon discovered that investigation of environmental threats assured generous funding and the result is now  a whole generation of researchers whose entire training and experience of the reef has been in the context of  investigating such threats. They see every fluctuation as a threat and while they proclaim deep concern for the reef, their true commitment is more to the threats. This becomes apparent if any suggestion is made that a purported threat may not be as great as they claim to fear.  The reaction is never hopeful interest. Always, it is angry rejection.

As the second article makes clear, reef scientists -- and their funding -- are wed not to dispassionate discovery, but to environmentalism. And they live not to save the reef, but to save their funding.

h/t WUWT

Orlando Shooter's Radical Imam Released By Clinton Appointee in 2015

Fox News is reporting that the Orlando shooter was a follower of a controversial imam released from prison last year.

Prosecutors tried to tack another 10 years on to the imam's sentence, but a Clinton-appointed judge ixnayed that.

Some relevant links here, here, here, and here.

Here's a 2015 money quote from a CAIR spokesman:

Hassan Shibly, an attorney with the Council on American-Islamic Relations who had advocated on behalf of Robertson and met with him in prison, cited the judge’s ruling as a rare positive legal precedent in post-9/11 terrorism prosecutions. “This is a huge blow to the FBI’s attempts to criminalize first amendment protected activity and maliciously entrap and prosecute American Muslims,” Shibly said. “We repeatedly warned the U.S. Attorney’s office that their charges were baseless and would be thrown out by any fair judge. We were proven right, and they should frankly be ashamed of themselves today.”

If the Fox News-reported links between the terrorist, the imam, and the Clinton-appointed judge prove true, this is going to be a bombshell.

Islamophobia: It Ain't What It Used To Be

UK Equalities Chief Who Popularised The Term ‘Islamophobia’ Admits: ‘I Thought Muslims Would Blend into Britain… I Should Have Known Better’

As the great Mark Steyn put it:

When it comes to querying the benefits to the west of semi-Islamization, Trevor Phillips packs more of a punch than most of us. First, he's black, which shouldn't matter but does. Second, he's the former head of Britain's Equality and Human Rights Commission, one of those identity-group grievance bodies which made such considerations matter (as did the Commission for Racial Equality, which Mr Phillips previously chaired). Third, he's the guy who introduced the word "Islamophobia" into the English language, in a celebrated report on "discrimination" two decades ago.

Now, in a new Channel 4 documentary with an accompanying poll of British Muslim attitudes, he has issued a mea sorta culpa:

For a long time, I too thought that Europe's Muslims would become like previous waves of migrants, gradually abandoning their ancestral ways, wearing their religious and cultural baggage lightly, and gradually blending into Britain's diverse identity landscape. I should have known better.

"Islamophobic", like other pejorative labels tossed around by the left, is used not to facilitate debate, but to end it. We are rational, discriminating creatures; the left uses language to get around this. There is a difference between, say, the Muslim faith and the Amish. These differences should be brought out into the open.

Sustainability’s War on Doubt by Peter Wood

Sustainability’s War on Doubt

by  Peter Wood

June 12th, 2015

"Sustainability encompasses not only a particularly aggressive form of environmentalism, but also a strong attack on market capitalism and a progressive vision of social justice."

Money quote:

We have spent a year scouring the nation for a college campus willing to hold a public debate on the premises of the sustainability movement. In a few cases, we gained a tentative acceptance only to have it cancelled, usually without explanation. When an explanation has been offered, it has turned out that no one could be found willing to represent the pro-sustainability position because to agree to debate it implied the existence of contrary arguments and evidence worthy of consideration.

 Worth a read.

And that's the way the Ball Bounces.

via  a reader @ WUWT

The Khairuldeen Makhzoomi Poll Results: Islamophobia or Security?

Arabic-speaking Khairuldeen Makhzoomi was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight for questioning. He was innocent of any wrong-doing. He accused his interviewers of "Islamophobia". It seemed obvious to me that his questioning had more to do with the threat of plane hijackings and murders of innocent passengers by Islamic extremists than some irrational, fact-free prejudice against Muslims. But, the media blared and the blogosphere howled "Islamophobia".

Hence the poll.

Forty-six of you voted Security, two  Islamophobia, and two "a bit of both". That's 92% for Security and 4% each for Islamophobia or "a bit of both".

Makhzoomi's self-described "ordeal" and moment in the sun was pushed off the front pages by Canadian John Ridsdel, who underwent an ordeal of his own: beheading by Muslim extremists. Perhaps I should have a poll on whose ordeal was greater or whether we should be grateful for security steps to keep us safe.

Thanks for voting. If you haven't read it, there's a more detailed post below.

Peace on earth, good-will towards men.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Last Day to Vote in the Khairuldeen Makhzoomi Poll: Islamophobia or Security?

Last day to vote! Please read the article below then vote in the poll on the left. Thank you.

Vote in the Khairuldeen Makhzoomi Poll: Islamophobia or Security?

Was The Khairuldeen Makhzoomi Incident Islamophobic? Or was it America's security apparatus working to keep innocents -- Khairuldeen Makhzoomi included -- safe?

Please read the article below and then vote in the BallBounces poll to the left.

Was The Khairuldeen Makhzoomi Incident Islamophobic?

 *** PLEASE READ THE POST THEN VOTE IN THE BALLBOUNCES POLL TO THE LEFT ***

Arabic-speaking Khairuldeen Makhzoomi was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight for questioning. After questioning, he was freed to go and caught a later flight home on another airline. He was completely innocent and subjected to an undoubtedly unpleasant interrogation. He claimed Islamophobia.

The media jumped on the story and played it to the hilt. Typical headline: "Muslim Student Kicked Off Southwest Airlines Flight for Speaking Arabic". They cast the event into a broader narrative: "... the latest Muslim customer to be kicked off a U.S. plane."

The blogosphere went nuts. Bad, Americans, bad.... Morons!

Let's take a closer look.

* First, he wasn't "kicked off a flight". A drunk is "kicked off a flight".  He was removed for questioning. There's a difference. Hundreds of media headlines perpetuated this inflammatory, factually inaccurate statement.

* Second, evidence indicates he was not removed from the plane for "speaking Arabic" as the  headlines blared. Here is Southwest Airline's statement [my bold]:

Statement Regarding Customer Situation on Flight 4620

Flight 4620 from Los Angeles (LAX) to Oakland (OAK) on April 6:

A passenger onboard flight 4620 requested that our Crew investigate what were perceived to be threatening comments made by another passenger onboard. Both passengers involved in the situation spoke a shared language, Arabic. Our Crew responded by following protocol, as required by federal law, to investigate and report to law enforcement agencies any potential threat to civil aviation. It was the content of the passenger's conversation, not the language used, that prompted the report leading to our investigation.... 

This contradicts both the media narrative and a statement by Makhzoomi. A recent NPR article accepts the SWA account as factual.

* Third, during the interrogation Makhzoomi played the Islamophobia card. But, was it "Islamophobia", i.e., a warrantless, irrational prejudice or fear towards Islam? Or was it America's post 9/11 security apparatus functioning as it should based on facts and reason?

Let's start with two obvious points.

// First, not everyone who is removed from a plane for questioning is going to end up being found guilty. Only Canadian Human Rights courts operate like that. Innocents are caught in security nets all the time. That's why there is a filtering process. So, the fact that Makhzoomi was innocent of wrong-doing is not in itself evidence of security staff wrong-doing.

// Second, security in the post-9/11 era is largely concerned with protecting citizens from Muslims who seek to do them harm. That's a fact, and there's no point denying it. For better or worse, terrorism and Islam are closely connected. It is therefore entirely rational in higher-risk contexts to look at Muslims more closely. Given that most if not all of the 9/11 attackers were from the Middle East and spoke Arabic, as have other terrorists, it is also rational to take a closer look at Arabic speakers. That is fact-based and rational, not Islamophobic.

When Makhzoomi said to his interrogators, concerning his interrogation, "This is what Islamophobia got this country into" he was accusing them of wrong-doing. Probably not a good move on his part.  Not likely to endear himself to them, and it may have precipitated a hardened response on their part.

Makhzoomi escaped the oppression of Iraq -- an Islamic nation that murdered his father. America welcomed him. Unlike what he might have expected in Iraq, he was not beaten, imprisoned, tortured, or beheaded. If Makhzoomi is looking for a culprit for his "ordeal", I suggest he save his anger for Muslim extremists and terrorists who have ruined a lot of things for everybody, and done much worse than inconveniencing the occasional innocent traveler. American and Western security forces, acting in the light of 9/11 and ongoing threats and atrocities, are trying to ensure the safety of all innocent passengers, Khairuldeen Makhzoom included.

For that, we should be grateful.

As for the blogosphere's knee-jerk  howl of Islamophobia, this kind of clamouring leads to a fear of being labelled Islamophobic. Its effect is to silence those who see or hear something. It has already gotten people killed at Fort Hood and San Bernardino.

For this we should be ashamed.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Cue the Punishment: ESPN Fires Curt Shilling over "Anti-Trans" Post

 ESPN Fires Curt Schilling Following Anti-Transgender Facebook Post

 I don't really know Curt Schilling, but I feel sorry for the guy.

Apparently, the right of a biological male to use a woman's restroom or change room is beyond discussion.

With homosexuality,  there was at least a debate until the slur of "homophobic" shut it down.

With transsexuals, it seems we've skipped the debate phase and gone straight to the punishment phase.

Let's hope this proves to be the high-water mark of intolerance and bullying in America.

Obama Jumps The Shark -- Again?

Obama: Climate summit a 'powerful rebuke' to ISIS

How many times can this president jump the shark?

"We Share Many Genes with Lettuce, but that Doesn't Make Us Part Salad"

"We Share Many Genes with Lettuce, but that Doesn't Make Us Part Salad"

But does it make vegetarians cannibals?

Is Obama the Darth Vader President?

Obama doesn't want America to give in to the "dark impulse" of prioritizing ME Christians as refugees. A nation's ability to accept refugees is finite. Given that, selectivity is perfectly rational.

When Christians are being targeted by Muslims for rape and crucifixion, when Christians, unlike Muslims, pose no threat, when the character of the host country is itself Christian, it is not a "dark impulse" to say we will bring them in.

Discrimination is not always bad. The wilful, blind failure to rationally differentiate is the dark impulse.

The Paris Massacres: The Worst of Both Worlds

The authorities probably hoped the attackers weren't home-grown, that they were foreigners who had snuck in. On the other hand, they probably equally hoped that the terrorists hadn't slipped in on the recent Get-Into-Europe-Free card wave of "migrants" -- conservatives had been warning of the dangers.

As it is, they got  -- the worst of both worlds - home-grown "Frenchmen", and foreign imports who had indeed slipped in during the open-borders wave of migrants.

Only One Mention of the Word "Muslim" in BBC Paris Report

By convention, the phrase "Muslim terrorists" is not used in mainstream reporting of Islamic acts of terrorism.

Last night, the BBC managed to report on the Paris carnage without using either the words "Muslim" or "Islam". Apparently, they figured readers had no interest in knowing who might be behind the mayhem. Or perhaps, in a backhanded compliment to Islamic terrorism, they assumed everybody already knew.

This morning the BBC are reporting that ISIS was responsible. Inevitably this story becomes at least a teeny bit about Islam. The BBC used the word Muslim only once:

Its controversial ban on the burka face veil for women has been interpreted by some Muslims as being anti-Islamic.

Did you catch the context? It's in one of those "the West is bad"/ "it's our fault" sentiments. When the BBC uses the term "Muslim" the context is not terrorism, it is Muslim victimhood and the west's anti-Islamic bigotries.

Unless we are willing to articulate who our enemy is, and take rational steps to minimize the threat, there is no hope things will get better. Terrorist acts will continue and will become an acceptable price of western wishful thinking and deadly political correctness.

Mark Steyn weighs in at SteynOnline. Please swing by and read what he has to say.

edited.

BallBounces Car Travel Tips

We just completed a four-day drive from Toronto to Phoenix with our two dogs. Here are some of my travel tips. What are yours?

* pack the car early and take the day before off. This will prevent you being overly tired on the first day of the trip

* treat the day before as the first day of the trip: get to bed early.

* get an early start each day-- an early start means everything in terms of meeting mileage objectives and driving during daylight

* use stops wisely: differentiate between full dog-walk stops and short human stretch time stops; try to go a set time or distance between stops, but take a stop if you really feel like one

* gas-up the car at the end of each day to avoid an unnecessary gas-stop the next day; gas-up on a comfort stop when tank is less than half full to avoid a stop for gas later

* each day's travel begins the night before: have the car filled with gas and get to bed early

* leverage west-headed time-zone changes to your advantage: go an extra hour on the day the time zone changes; get up the same absolute time as the day before -- you are up an hour earlier and on the road sooner

* don't tank up on caffeinated soda at lunch -- this will result in an afternoon energy crash. Rather, keep a stock of diet Pepsi in the car and sip away throughout the afternoon. This was a new discovery for me this trip.

* Drive during daylight from dawn to just before dusk

* If you are going to "push on" beyond your normal stop time, have a place to stay -- you don't want to be scrambling for a motel at the end of a tiring day

* Enjoy the trip!

Road Trip Toronto to Phoenix: Day Four - Albuquerque - Phoenix

Drury Inn Albuquerque Quick-Start breakfast then on the road early. Crossed into Arizona. On to Winslow, AZ and the Turquoise Room for 2nd breakfast. Arizona Green Chile Eggs and a pancake side. Possibly the best breakfast on the planet. Expensive, but worth every penny.

Took highway 87 down to Payson. Took a side trip in Payson looking for spruce trees and discovered Payson has some lovely neighborhoods with upscale homes. Then on down into Scottsdale Phoenix area.

Arrived at Anasazi Condo Village around 4pm. CenturyLink had promised to restore internet by 5pm. They didn't. Came on around 7pm.

Four hard days on the road, but we made it safely. The dogs are ecstatic, and so are the humans. A neighbor had stocked up our fridge.

We thank God for safe arrival. Hope you enjoyed the trip!

Road Trip Toronto to Phoenix: Day Three - Tulsa - Albuquerque

Early start out of Tulsa down to OKC and then west on I-40. Through Oklahoma and into Texas. Skipped Cattlemen's Steakhouse in OKC because it was too early; stopped at Red River Steakhouse in Amarillo. VG steak, delicious grilled mushrooms and fresh-cut french fries.

Temperature got up to 25 Celsius.

Out of Amarillo and into New Mexico. Past Tucumcari, Santa Rosa and into Albuquerque. Staying at the Drury Inn in Albuquerque. Arrived in time for Kick-Back.

Today: Oklahoma - Texas - New Mexico.

We plan to leave early tomorrow in order to arrive in time for breakfast at the Turquoise Room in Winslow, AZ. Then, down the back country route into Scottsdale/Phoenix for an easy fourth day.

That's the plan, Stan.

Road Trip Toronto to Phoenix: Day Two - Indianapolis - Tulsa

Early start out of Indianapolis after Drury QuickStart breakfast. Looped around Indianapolis and headed southwest. Through Terre Haute, IN into Illinois. The highway was much better in Illinois. Lots of recent and current construction. They have smoothed the route through Effingham, IL. Tip: I view current construction as an investment in future travel, and express gratitude that they are making the road better for us; we don't have to do anything, they do all the work -- this helps minimize frustration at any delays that may occur.

Down to East St. Louis, IL and then through and around St. Louis. Missouri has improved the loop through/around St. Louis -- it is no longer a terrifying as it was.

Other side of St. Louis, making good time so skipped planned IMO's pizza stop and survived on energy bars. Headed on southwest to Springfield, MO. Detoured down to Ozark MO and Lambert's Cafe -- Home of the Throwed Rolls. The Pulled Pork sandwich is amazing. There's no point having one anywhere else. Throw in all the fixin's they pass around, not to mention the throwed rolls -- what a place!

Back on the highway, over and down to Joplin, MO. Decided to push on into Oklahoma and Tulsa via the 75mph toll highway. Cell phone died so we could not vet hotels ahead of time. First one wanted an additional $20+$20 for our two small dogs; second one wanted $25+$25. Plus, the roads off of I-44 in Tulsa are insane, especially at dusk and after dark -- all one-way and back-tracking and merging and looping and just hair-pulling insane. Finally, a guy having a smoke outside one of the hotels suggested we try the Red Roof Inn two miles south. We did and that is where we stayed. Around $70 and no surcharge for the pets. Much appreciated. Basic room, but newly renovated and clean. It'll do for a night's sleep.

Today: Indiana - Illinois - Missouri - Oklahoma.

Tomorrow: We hope to get to Albuquerque, NM and make this a four day trip to Phoenix instead of five. Planned culinary stop: Red River Steakhouse, McLean TX.