Rich kids, we hear, have it all. Money. Connections. Top educations. Cars and clothes. For those who are part of what Warren Buffett calls “the Lucky Sperm Club,” life is supposedly one long shopping trip with an no-limits ATM card.But what if it’s not? The great thing about America is that your parents’ social status is no guarantee of success.
Category: Uncategorized
Socialist healthcare failing in Canada
NY Times:
Canada remains the only industrialized country that outlaws privately financed purchases of core medical services. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other politicians remain reluctant to openly propose sweeping changes even though costs for the national and provincial governments are exploding and some cancer patients are waiting months for diagnostic tests and treatment.But a Supreme Court ruling last June — it found that a Quebec provincial ban on private health insurance was unconstitutional when patients were suffering and even dying on waiting lists — appears to have become a turning point for the entire country.
“The prohibition on obtaining private health insurance is not constitutional where the public system fails to deliver reasonable services,” the court ruled.
'Sicko' pictures
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that non-elite native Cubans don’t exactly receive the same level of treatment as wealthy foreigners, but if your friends have been taken in by ‘Sicko,’ these photos might be a rude awakening. For more, read my One Minute Case Against Socialized Healthcare
"Human greed takes lion's share of solar energy"
You can’t make this stuff up: enviro-wackos are now attacking human civilization for using too much solar energy.
The human dominance of this natural resource is affecting other species, reducing the amount of energy available to them by almost 10 per cent, scientists report.
Researchers said the findings showed humans were using “a remarkable share” of the earth’s plant productivity “to meet the needs and wants of one species”.
They also warned that the increased use of biofuels – such as ethanol and canola – should be viewed cautiously, given the potential for further pressure on ecosystems.
“Here we are, just one species on the earth, and we’re grabbing a quarter of the renewable resources … we’re probably being a bit greedy.”
So what exactly is the right percentage for “just one species” to “grab?”
By the way, only 29.2% of the Earth’s surface is land, and 81.98% of that is not arable. Thanks to industry, humans are capable of productively using far more of the non-arable portion than any other species, as any visitor to Las Vegas should know.
Can you answer these six basic scientific questions?
Of the six prominent UK intellectuals, only the scientists had mostly-correct answers. If you find yourself having similar trouble, Bill Bryson’s book is a good place to start.
Did pedophilia hysteria cause a child's death?
On Nov. 28, 2002, 2-year-old Abigail Rae died by drowning in a village pond in England. Her death is currently stirring debate because the ongoing inquest revealed an explosive fact. A man passing by was afraid to guide the lost child to safety because he feared being labeled “a pervert.”
… Peachey’s fears have precedence on this side of the Atlantic. Last summer, an Illinois man lost an appeal on his conviction as a sex offender for grabbing the arm of a 14-year-old girl. She had stepped directly in front of his car, causing him to swerve in order to avoid hitting her.
Freedom, Not Climate, Is At Risk – President Vaclav Klaus, Czech Republic
“As someone who lived under communism for most of his life, I feel obliged to say that I see the biggest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity now in ambitious environmentalism, not in communism. This ideology wants to replace the free and spontaneous evolution of mankind by a sort of central (now global) planning.”
Digg: Forget Global Warming, is the world ready for Global Cooling?
The mud at the bottom of B.C. fjords reveals that solar output drives climate change – and that we should prepare now for dangerous global cooling
Jimmi Carter, new-age neo-Nazi
[Jimmi] Carter said Hamas, besides winning a fair and democratic mandate that should have entitled it to lead the Palestinian government, had proven itself to be far more organized in its political and military showdowns with the Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Far from encouraging Hamas’s move into parliamentary politics, Carter said the US and Israel, with European Union acquiescence, has sought to subvert the outcome by shunning Hamas and helping Abbas to keep the reins of political and military power.
“That action was criminal,” he said in a news conference after his speech.
The political philosophy behind Carter’s statement is that “democracy” is sacred, regardless of the ideology of those in power. I wonder, would Carter have called the Allies “criminals” if they had refused to deal with Hilter when he seized power? The similarities between the NSDAP and Hamas are eerie:
- Lack of economic development due by statism and totalitarianism was blamed on:
- An external political entity (Israel, the Allies)
- “Die Juden sind unser Unglück!”- the Jews
- “Arbeit macht frei”- A demand for total self-sacrifice to achieve “spiritual” freedom.
- “Sicher ist der Jude auch ein Mann, aber der Floh ist auch ein Tier..” – dehumanization of the enemy.
- “Heute Deutschland, morgen die Welt!” – aspirations of establishing a global dictatorship
- The major opposition parties (Hamas and Fatah; the NSDAP, SPD, and Communists) shared the same basic philosophy, with the victory belonging to the one which observed its principles most consistently.
- Electoral victory was quickly followed by brutal suppression of the opposition parties.
While Carter has obviously learned nothing from the mistakes of his predecessors, the Jews are not as defenseless this time around. The only culture the Palestinians are likely to annihilate this time around is their own.
Toddler's water-filled sippy cup leads TSA to humiliate mother
More evidence Lord Acton was right:
Monica Emmerson was detained for 45 minutes. She wasn’t questioned about possible ties to terrorists. Her carry-on items weren’t rigorously searched — or even searched again. Neither the police nor TSA took any action that indicated that they throught she might be a security risk. She was just detained, harassed and threatened with arrest. All because of a sippy cup with water in it. (Update: the TSA posted a video of the incident.)
Mom, Elisa Kelly, and her ex-husband, George Robinson, are paying the price for hosting Ryan’s 16th birthday party — more than two years in jail each. Ryan had asked his mother to buy his friends some beer and wine, as long as they all spent the night.
“No one left the party,” said Kelly, 42, who collected car keys that night almost five years ago to prevent anyone from leaving. “No one was hurt. No one drove anywhere. I really don’t think I deserve to go to jail for this long.”
19 high school students face 4 years in jail for placing alarm clocks in classroom as a senior prank: They wanted to participate in a fun, creative senior prank. They never intended to end up with police dogs searching their school, 19 students arrested on felony charges and dozens more slapped with community service requirements.