We're All Bullies

Thousands of teachers and students across the country donned pink t-shirts to take a stand against bullying today. No one likes a bully. Too bad we're all bullies.

A couple of years ago I volunteered to help with a self esteem workshop for young children. We led a small group of kids through a morning session and there was a 10 year old boy at my table who was very outspoken about how he was bullied at school. Naturally, I was sympathetic to the young guy and he hung out with me through various activities the whole morning. Part way through a new boy from his class joined our group. The first boy said, "You can't sit here fatso." I politely said that the new boy was welcome to join us and we moved on. Soon we had an activity sorting candy, again the first boy says, "this won't work. Fatty is going to eat them all!" Finally I pointed out to the first boy that he was being the bully, but he just couldn't comprehend that he could be a bully too.

I thought of this a few months back when some radio announcers convinced a nurse caring for Kate Middleton that they were part of the Royal Family she shared way to much information and the prank went viral. The nurse committed suicide shortly after the prank presumably because of her shame at the incident. The radio jockies lost their jobs and had to go into hiding because of all the threats that they received after the incident. Nobody looked good in this situation the radio hosts and hundreds like them make a living tormenting and ridiculing vulnerable and trusting people and they are enabled by their audiences. After the news of the nurses death, the pile on of criticism and the threats the djs received were their own form of bullying.

In fact the pink shirted crusaders are likely shaming non conforming students that are uncomfortable wearing pink - they are inadvertinely bullying the students in the name of anti-bullying. It's typical, some of the worst bullies are those who seek conformity in the name of diversity, in fact the National Review Online has an excellent interview about a new book, Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences America.

Let's stop bullying for good. Maybe the first step is to have the courage to wear blue next pink day.

A New Level of Crazy

I wouldn't be a *gasp* climate change skeptic if these so called scientists didn't makes such ridiculous claims. These excerpts from an article in The Telegraph show a series of unsubstantiated alarmist claims. Here are some gems:

Warming ocean waters are causing the largest movement of marine species seen on
Earth in more than two million years, according to scientists.

In the Arctic, melting sea ice during recent summers has allowed a passage to open up from the Pacific ocean into the North Atlantic, allowing plankton, fish and even
whales to into the Atlantic Ocean from the Pacific.

The discovery has sparked fears delicate marine food webs could be unbalanced and lead to some species becoming extinct as competition for food between the native species and the invaders stretches resources.

Rising ocean temperatures are also allowing species normally found in warmer sub-tropical regions to into the northeast Atlantic.

A venomous warm-water species Pelagia noctiluca has forced the closure of beaches and is now becoming increasingly common in the waters around Britain.

. . . Plankton sampling in the north Atlantic over the past 70 years have also shown that other species of plankton, normally only found in the Pacific ocean, have now become common in Atlantic waters.

. . . The scientists, who have been collaborating on the Climate Change and European Marine Ecosystems Research project, found the plankton species, called Neodenticula seminae, traveled into the Atlantic through a passage through the Arctic sea ice around that has opened up a number of times in the last decade from the Pacific Ocean.

Larger species including a grey whale have also been found to have made the journey through the passage, which winds it’s way from the Pacific coast of Alaska through the islands of northern Canada and down past Greenland into the Atlantic Ocean, when it opened first in 1998, and then again in 2007 and 2010.

Professor Chris Reid, from the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, said: “It seems for the first time in probably thousands of years a huge area of sea water opened up between Alaska and the west of Greenland, allowing a huge transfer of water and species between the two oceans.

. . . “The implications are huge. The last time there was an incursion of species from the Pacific into the Atlantic was around two to three million years ago."

My favourite part is it's the first time the Northwest Passage has been open in 'probably thousands of years' and therefore we will experience the largest transfer of water and species in 'two million years.' I though scientists were supposed to be good at math!

Some Stats Should Never be Collected

Yesterday Statistics Canada reported that 'hate crimes' in Canada are surging increasing in 42% in 2009 compared to 2008 after a 35% increase the previous year. Worst of all the statistics suggest that the southwestern Ontario cities of Kitchener-Waterloo and Guelph are the country's most heinous offenders:

In 2009, four census metropolitan areas accounted for most of the increase in police-reported hate crime, led by Ottawa, where the number of incidents increased by 83, Toronto (+79), Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo (+62) and Montréal (+61).

Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo reported the highest rate of police-reported hate crimes at just under 18 incidents for every 100,000 population. This city's rate was followed closely by Guelph, Peterborough and Ottawa.

I can see the education campaigns now as the diversity police drive an hour west on the 401 to make sure we all know what terrible people we are. But wait there were 1,437 incidents reported, barely 0.005% nationally and these are reported incidents not convictions. Stats Can notes:

The number of hate crimes in a given area can be influenced by the public's willingness to report incidents to police as well as local police service practices and awareness campaigns.

That's an understatement. The concept of 'hate crime' is so completely subjective meaningful statistics are simply not possible. Look at Kitchener-Waterloo and Guelph, both cities have big university populations that are no doubt primed to take offense at real or imagined infractions.

Polar Bear Panic

I still can't believe that one cheap animation in an Al Gore presentation has had so much effect on our culture. The imminent extinction of the polar bear has been well documented over the past 3 weeks. Mercifully, at least one Ottawa Citizen reader is doing his part to insert logic into the debate:

Since your newspaper is so deeply interested in current scientific opinion, you are undoubtedly aware that another polar bear specialist, Dr. Mitchell Taylor
(Department of Environment, Government of Nunavut) has declared that, "It is entirely appropriate to be concerned about climate change, but it is just silly to predict the demise of polar bears in 25 years, based on media-assisted hysteria ... Of the 13 populations of polar bears in Canada, 11 are stable or increasing in number. They are not going extinct, or even appear to be affected at present. I understand that people who do not live in the North generally have difficulty grasping the concept of too many polar bears in an area. People who live here have a pretty good grasp of what it's like to have too many polar bears around."

After two weeks of shovelling snow and feeling my nostrils freeze, I'm sure the Arctic ice will be just fine and the polar bears will have tasty seal for dinner soon. Wait, aren't we supposed to save all the baby seals? No I'm sorry that was last year's cause du jour.

Please Bishops Don't Let H1N1 Dampen Christmas Celebrations

The dust is finally settling after the massive H1N1 overreaction.

• Today the Chatham Kent Health Unit will stop reporting H1N1 cases
• The LA times reports 'swine flu may be mildest pandemic ever'
• Only 1/3 of Ontarians have received the flu shot despite widespread availability and promotion
• Many Flu shot clinics have been shut down as demand wanes.

Unfortunately not all of the effects are over. In my diocese (Hamilton) the Bishop's are still advising Catholics not to shake hands at Mass and I've heard stories from friends in Toronto that holy water has been removed from the entrance ways in churches.

I never liked this decision from the start, but now it's time for our worship to return to normal. It appears that everyone at a church service will have either received a flu shot or knowingly decided against it and accepted any associated risks.

Bishops, Please as Christmas approaches let us enjoy our worship to the fullest including by blessing ourselves, shaking hands, and receiving the sacraments in the method we're most comfortable.

Climate Shame

Can't believe I missed this story about leaked emails showing 'scientists' trying to spin and suppress data that contradicted the global warming thesis that has gotten politicians whipped up into a world wide frenzy. I always had a suspicion that we were being sold a faulty idea with the hype surrounding global warming, now I'm sure:

Hundreds of private e-mail messages and documents hacked from a computer server at a British university are causing a stir among global warming skeptics, who say they show that climate scientists conspired to overstate the case for a human influence on climate change.

The e-mail messages, attributed to prominent American and British climate researchers, include discussions of scientific data and whether it should be released, exchanges about how best to combat the arguments of skeptics, and casual comments — in some cases derisive — about specific people known for their skeptical views. Drafts of scientific papers and a photo collage that portrays climate skeptics on an ice floe were also among the hacked data, some of which dates back 13 years.

In one e-mail exchange, a scientist writes of using a statistical “trick” in a chart illustrating a recent sharp warming trend. In another, a scientist refers to climate skeptics as “idiots.”

Some skeptics asserted Friday that the correspondence revealed an effort to withhold scientific information. “This is not a smoking gun; this is a mushroom cloud,” said Patrick J. Michaels, a climatologist who has long faulted evidence pointing to human-driven warming and is criticized in the documents.

Some of the correspondence portrays the scientists as feeling under siege by the skeptics’ camp and worried that any stray comment or data glitch could be turned against them.

This is scary stuff. How many millions of dollars have been spent on fighting 'climate change'? How many people have been genuinely fearful of an imminent environmental disaster because of the one-sided coverage of climate data? Maybe the upcoming Copenhagen conference will finally provide an opportunity for an honest discussion about the data.

Then again, maybe not.

Hey Panic Mongers - We Just Don't Care

The Canadian Press reports Canadians Don't see H1N1 as a Personal Threat.

In the story Dr. Michael Gardam observes, "It would be far easier to go down this road [encouraging vaccinations] if it was a more virulent virus."

No kidding this whole story has been overkill since day 1 and thankfully Canadians aren't buying it. Maybe now the media will move on and find another reason to try to create a global panic.

Here are some neat details from the poll:

The Canadian Press Harris-Decima poll suggests interest in the swine flu vaccine has declined in Canada, with only a third of people now saying they will get the shot, compared to 45 per cent in late August . . .

The poll, conducted from Oct. 1 to 5, suggests at this point people don't believe this virus will have much impact on their lives. Only 11 per cent of people described themselves as very concerned about H1N1, and 25 per cent said they were somewhat concerned. Nearly two-thirds of people said they either were not very concerned or weren't concerned at all about H1N1.

Three-quarters of Canadians surveyed felt they would be exposed to seasonal flu this winter, but only 45 per cent felt they would be exposed to the pandemic virus.

Only five per cent of respondents felt they were very likely to contract swine flu, and 72 per cent felt they were not that likely or not likely at all to get infected with the new virus. In contrast, 18 per cent felt they were very likely to get sick with seasonal flu. . .

The poll suggests half of people don't plan to get any flu shot at all this year. Of the 50 per cent who do, 27 per cent said they would get both seasonal and pandemic flu shots. In total, 33 per cent indicated they would get an H1N1 shot and 36 per cent said they'd get a seasonal flu shot.

Those numbers actually align pretty closely with the percentage of the population that rolls up its sleeve for flu shots in regular years - further proof, Gardam said, that suggests people don't see the pandemic virus as a greater-than-normal threat at this point.

Not the Great Depression

Since the beginning of this economic crisis last October, I had the impression that the general doom and gloom and the many comparisons with the great depression were somehow overdone. Finally I've seen the picture that says a thousand words on the topic.

The chart was created by Donald Marron, a one time director of the US Congressional Budget Office. I'd say that gives him some credibility. The picture is dramatic showing a 3.6% decline in real GDP from mid 2008 to the second quarter of 2009. That's a long way from the 29.3% drop seen during the great depression.

The dire economic news, including massive job losses and big declines in housing prices are certainly no fun. I'm ready for a turn around any time now, but whatever we're going through right now, it's certainly nothing like the great depression.

Putnman Pig Sings About H1N1

This is one talented pig puppet. Singing, dancing, air guitar.



Not sure I buy the government laboratory conspiracy that seems to be suggested, but Putnam's right that the flu that drove media bonkers for 2 weeks did not start in pigs.

One last tidbit. Urban dictionary makes it official, the correct pronunciation of H1N1 is 'hini'

We're All Going to Die!!!

I don't have a lot of time, I have to go hide under a rock because of the latest crisis that will certainly kill us all. The swine flu coverage is comical with pictures of people walking around with surgical masks everywhere. My personal favourite is the couple kissing with their masks on. I suppose it's not just the media's fault, when the US administration declared a public health emergency, and the President says "it's not a cause for alarm."

I'm reminded of my first day of media training starting a new job almost 10 years ago. The instructor said when you say, "don't panic" the message received is "PANIC!!!" Anyway if this isn't overblown, I don't know what is. First off there are only 40 reported cases of the disease and nobody has died in the US or Canada. Second, it's the flu let's put things in perspective for a second:

"In the U.S., you want to focus on the fact that no one has had serious illness from this," said Laurie Garrett, a Pulitzer Prize-winning infectious-disease expert with the Council on Foreign Relations.

In all known American cases thus far, "They got well, just as would be the case with the common garden-variety flu," said Garrett.

Thank you Laurie. I should also mention that you don't catch swine flu from eating pork. The US Centre for Disease Control states:

Q Can people catch swine flu from eating pork?

A There is no evidence to show that swine influenza can be transmitted through food. Eating properly handled and cooked pork and pork products is safe. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160°F kills bacteria and viruses.

So it looks like we'll survive another day. I think this might become a regular theme. I've created a new category, 'hype.' Something tells me there won't be any shortage of material.