Nostalgia For the Middle Ages

Here Danial Hannan describes the opponents of fracking:

When I spoke in the European Parliament in support of fracking, most of the negative comments I received did not focus on specific safety concerns. Rather, they complained in general terms that fracking would 'poison the planet' or 'bleed Mother Earth' for no higher cause than 'greed'. What is meant here by 'greed' is the desire for material improvement that has driven every advance since the old stone age. 'Greed', in this sense, is why we still have teeth after the age of 30, why women no longer expect to die in childbirth, why we have coffee and computers and cathedrals. 'Greed' is why we have time to listen to Beethoven and go for country walks and play with our children. Cheaper energy, on any measure, improves our quality of life. But this is precisely what at least some Greens object to.

What they want, as they frankly admit, is decarbonisation, deindustrialisation and depopulation. They regard the various advances we've made since the old stone age - the coffee, the computers, the cathedrals - with regret. What society needs, they tell us, is not green consumerism, but less consumerism. Which is, of course, precisely what most Western countries have had since 2008. The crash brought about all the things that eco-warriors had been demanding: lower GDP, less consumption, a decline in international trade. Yet, oddly, when it happened, they didn't seem at all satisfied.

Actually what most of the Greens would like to see is a return to a Middle Ages lifestyle except with more recycling and public transportation (for other people of course since they alone can handle technology responsibly). And this idealization of a simple, unspoiled, non-technological way of life is nothing new - it goes all the way back to the Arcadianism of the 18th and 19th century.  But somehow the less pleasant aspects of Arcadia such as a hand-to-mouth existence and dying by age 45 plus seeing a third of your children die never quite made it into artists' depictions.

Remembering The Pax Romana

Pax Romana (Latin for "Roman peace" ) was the long period of relative peace and minimal expansion by military force experienced by the Roman Empire in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Since it was established by Caesar Augustus it is sometimes called Pax Augusta. Its span was about 207 years (27 BC to 180 AD).

The Roman legal system, which forms the basis of many Western court systems today, unified the administration of justice in the courts throughout the provinces. The Legions patrolled the borders with success, and though there were still many foreign wars, the internal empire was free from major invasion, piracy, or social disorder on any grand scale. The empire, wracked with civil war for the last century of the Republic and for years following the Pax Romana, was largely free of large-scale power disputes.

...Romans regarded peace not as an absence of war, but the rare situation that existed when all opponents had been beaten down and lost the ability to resist. Augustus' challenge was to persuade Romans that the prosperity they could achieve in the absence of warfare was better for the Empire than the potential wealth and honor acquired when fighting a risky war. Augustus succeeded by means of skillful propaganda. Subsequent emperors followed his lead, sometimes producing lavish ceremonies to close the Gates of Janus, issuing coins with Pax on the reverse, and patronizing literature extolling the benefits of the Pax Romana.

Never forget that peace (much less 'Roman peace') has always been the rare exception.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 06:01 PM | Comments (651)
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The herbivores of Japan may be migrating our way.

Japan's latest generation of men appears lacking the fierce ambition that drove their fathers, much less their grandfathers. The term commonly used for this new generation of Japanese is "herbivores"....

Growing up in a period of tepid economic growth, a declining labor market and a loss of overall competitiveness, Japan's "herbivores" are more interested in comics, computer games and socializing through the Internet than building a career or even seeking out the opposite sex. Among males ages 16-19, 36 percent in one survey expressed no interest in sex, and some even despised it.

Not that women are waiting breathlessly for male stirrings: Disinterest is even higher – 59 percent – for females in the same age category...

One indication of this breakdown in family ties has been a gradual loss of interest in marriage, among men but at least as much so among women. By 2010, a third of Japanese women entering their 30s were single, as were roughly one in five of those entering their 40s. That's roughly eight times the percentage in 1960, and twice that in 2000. By 2030, according to sociologist Toyota, almost one in three Japanese males may be unmarried by age 50.

....

Could the same process occur here? Are young American males following the path to herbivore pastures? There are some disturbing parallel trends. The onset of the Great Recession has slowed fertility in the United States, the one large high-income country with fertility rates historically above replacement levels, down to the lowest levels in a quarter century. Despite a rise in population of 27 million Americans, there were actually fewer births in 2010 than there were 10 years earlier.

I don't know how you'd measure this completely made-up attribute, but America does seem to have lost most of its vigor and, for lack of a better word, animal spirit. We seem to like the leash.

Posted by: Ace at 03:28 PM | Comments (698)
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Basically he's issued a worldwide FaceBook status update: "Stateless." Purportedly this is from Snowden; I guess he hasn't confirmed it yet.

I don't know what to say to this. He seems surprised that the US would cancel his passport even as he sells secrets to the Russians and Chinese.

On Thursday, President Obama declared before the world that he would not permit any diplomatic "wheeling and dealing" over my case. Yet now it is being reported that after promising not to do so, the President ordered his Vice President to pressure the leaders of nations from which I have requested protection to deny my asylum petitions.

This kind of deception from a world leader is not justice, and neither is the extralegal penalty of exile. These are the old, bad tools of political aggression. Their purpose is to frighten, not me, but those who would come after me.

...

The Obama administration has now adopted the strategy of using citizenship as a weapon. Although I am convicted of nothing, it has unilaterally revoked my passport, leaving me a stateless person. Without any judicial order, the administration now seeks to stop me exercising a basic right. A right that belongs to everybody. The right to seek asylum.

In the end the Obama administration is not afraid of whistleblowers like me, Bradley Manning or Thomas Drake. We are stateless, imprisoned, or powerless. No, the Obama administration is afraid of you. It is afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised — and it should be.

Earlier he announced that he would continue leaking as he pleased, and furthermore insisted upon an end to "illegal aggressions" against him.

"I remain free and able to publish information that serves the public interest," Snowden said in an undated Spanish-language letter sent to President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, seen by Reuters.

...

"While the public has cried out support of my shining a light on this secret system of injustice, the Government of the United States of America responded with an extrajudicial man-hunt costing me my family, my freedom to travel, and my right to live peacefully without fear of illegal aggression," he wrote.

Posted by: Ace at 02:24 PM | Comments (262)
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I had this bear in a previous video, but I'm 95% sure this video is new. I think the last one featured him dancing or something.

There was some speculation that it was fake (including by me), but I don't think it was, because why fake something you can probably get a bear to actually do? They train bears to ride little tricycles in circuses, after all.

Well, this new bear footage is going to spark even more controversy and conspiracy theories, because now he's playing a trumpet.

Actually there is some controversy about it, as animal-rights people are angry about the bear being in captivity and being forced to learn tricks. The trainer says he only uses treats to teach the bear, but.... Well, let's say I think it's mostly treats. I don't believe an animal tamer will spare the whip. They're not sentimental about these things.

more...

Posted by: Ace at 12:58 PM | Comments (148)
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It's the deadliest calamity for firefighters since 9/11.

The fast-moving wildfire that killed 19 firefighters here Sunday is now more than quadruple in size, as crews battle triple-digit heat and erratic winds in an effort to contain the blaze.

Eratic winds and dry grasses fed the blaze as it tore through the communities of Yarnell and Glen Isla, about 85 miles northwest of Phoenix. An estimated 200 homes and many businesses had been destroyed as the lightning-sparked fire spread to nearly 8,400 acres from 2,000 acres overnight.

More than 400 firefighters were trying to contain the fire on three flanks, but officials said there was "zero containment" early Monday afternoon. "This is a nightmare scenario for firefighting: thunderstorms producing little rainfall, unpredictable, shifting winds, and, of course, lightning strikes," says Weather Channel meteorologist Jon Erdman.

The firefighters, trapped by the hellish blaze, sought refuge in their fire shelters, which are portable individual tents which can reflect away some amount of heat and keep some cool air inside. But the shelters failed, possibly because wind batted them around.

Posted by: Ace at 01:26 PM | Comments (174)
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In Austin, Texas, a "19-year-old has been in prison since March for the crime of sarcasm."

After a Facebook friend with whom he played video games described him as “crazy” and “messed up in the head,” Carter replied — sarcastically, one imagines — “Oh yeah, I’m real messed up in the head, I’m going to go shoot up a school full of kids and eat their still, beating hearts.” He added “lol” and “jk” for good measure. For this he was arrested, charged with making a “terroristic threat,” and thrown into prison. He may languish there until the start of the next decade.

Carter’s joke was witless and flippant — typical, in other words, of late-teenaged men. By no means was it criminal. Nevertheless, a woman in Canada, who inexactly described herself as a “concerned citizen,” saw from afar what Carter had written and shopped him to Texas police. Police acquiesced to her request, searching the family’s house in the process — and finding nothing. “They really want my son to go away to jail for a sarcastic comment that he made,” Jack Carter, the boy’s father, said. Apparently so: He’s been incarcerated since March without trial.

Cooke (an Englishman) goes on to explain America to Americans. Yes, it's come to that. He needs to explain to our fellow countrymen that one has the right to say all sorts of foolish, wrong, and even hateful things in America, without being arrested by the Inquisition hunting for practitioners of speechcraft.

Posted by: Ace at 11:37 AM | Comments (277)
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Why do they continue to maintain this ludicrous lie?

A Good Morning America newsreader actually addressed the question of bias without noting that he himself, and his colleagues, are actually responsible for that bias. He acted as if it were something just floating in the air he had nothing to do with:

On Saturday and Sunday, Good Morning America noticed a double standard and allowed another four minutes and 41 seconds. On Monday, News reader Josh Elliott wondered, "Do you see, now, a double standard? Because Hollywood has been noticeably silent with regard to Alec Baldwin." With no self-awareness, he added, "I find the silence, though, to be deafening."

Hollywood has been silent? Yes of course they have; they're not reporters and they all have a stake in the proposition that Hollywood misbehavior should not be widely reported.

What about the alleged news media?

The Washington Post says "some allege" a double standard, but apparently are not able to carry the ball any further:

Of course, some allege a double standard — that Baldwin is given a pass because of his liberal politics for the same kind of jerk behavior that nearly ruined conservative star Mel Gibson."

But then they quote Democratic activist Hillary Rosen:

We asked Hilary Rosen, the Washington media strategist who has been friends with Baldwin since college. "What he said was disgusting," she told us. "But I think he has a deeper reservoir of good will among folks because heÂ’s been a progressive ally and fighter for progressive causes for years, and thatÂ’s the genuine side of him."

Two points:

First: Why ask a Democratic activist about why there is bias in the media?

Second: They offer this explanation as if it disproves bias-- failing to notice that the explanation of Baldwin's reservoir of goodwill among progressives proves, rather than disproves, an obnoxiously blatant progressive bias in the media.

The Washington Post concludes that there is no double standard, it's just that Baldwin so frequently uses racist and homophobic slurs that people just accept this as part of the big lug.

Really? That's the explanation? That he's so consistently hateful that the supposedly super-tolerant media just gives him a pass?

Why not just admit the truth?

Hell, why not just sing it?

Last link via Instapundit.

Posted by: Ace at 12:22 PM | Comments (266)
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I think the headline here is that there's a movie called "The Forbidden Legend of Sex and Chopsticks."

You'll come for the sex, but you'll stay for the chopsticks.

He had plugged his own computer into the jumbotron to fix a problem, then settled in to watch some porn, not realizing it was now playing on the screen.

Passengers waiting for trains at Jilin Station in China were stunned when saucy scenes from X-rated film The Forbidden Legend of Sex and Chopsticks appeared on the huge screen, which is usually used to air adverts.

The movie played for ten minutes before the plug was pulled.

Ten minutes, huh? Sounds about right.

Posted by: Ace at 10:28 AM | Comments (131)
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Goddamn Girther conspiracists.

#smarttake as usual, MSNBC.

Meanwhile, CNN irresponsibly let George Zimmerman's social security number be broadcast on TV (it appeared at the trial and they failed to black out the image) and now the lynch mob is gleefully spreading it around the Internet.

This morning's testimony was about Zimmerman's police interviews after the shooting. It sounded to me like his answers were candid and that he hasn't changed his story at all since the beginning. The police officer interviewing him spoke (in the interview tape) of the large welt on the back of his head and said it felt "swollen."

Oh, and... Soledad O'Brien is like soo psyched to be Al Jazeera's new correspondent on How America Is Racist.

Remember, though, she was a neutral, objective reporter when she was at CNN.

Posted by: Ace at 09:45 AM | Comments (347)
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They're shocked, shocked to find espionage going on in an espionage organization.

I hope we ourselves don't hyperventilate over this. Of course we spy on our allies. Our allies are the easiest targets to spy on, as they give us a lot of access and won't hang our spies when they're caught. And we've been doing it forever, and they've been doing it for us.

There's always some shocked and stunned reactions from people when, say, it's discovered that Israel has recruited a spy in the US. Well, yeah. And we have our own spies in Israel.

These things are always embarrassing because people don't tend to know a lot of things they either should know or should have guessed. So governments have to overreact on their behalf, and pretend that they too are shocked to learn that the US intelligence agencies have among them some intelligence agents.

But that doesn't mean we can't laugh at the naivete and backwards, rustic provincialism of our Obama-loving European cousins.

You know, a month ago I was reading Le Figaro, a center-right newspaper generally thought to represent the more conservative (in French terms, which means "socialist lite") brand of upper middle class thinking. They were discussing the initial disclosures about the AP and James Rosen affairs and also the IRS scandal.

They claimed that obviously Obama doesn't have anything to do with these things because Obama is more of a "visionary" thinker who eschews the muck and mire of actual politics. They added that he was a "policy wonk" (or words to that effect) who enjoys tinkering with the tiny details of policy.

This is absurdly wrong, obviously. Obama only thinks about politics and campaigning, and has never dug into the details of a single bit of legislation. He subcontracted the center pieces of his agenda to the half-wits of the Democratic Caucus of Congress: Reid and Pelosi wrote the stimulus bill, Reid and his goons wrote ObamaCare.

And yet the accepted, uncontroversial French view is that Obama doesn't enjoy politics or partisanship and is up all night looking at subclause 114(c)3(iv) of his various boondoggles and attempting to more cleverly craft them. Because Obama wears the signifiers of the high-minded intellectual, they assume, stupidly, he must have the interests and abilities of a high-minded intellectual as well.

In a way, this is understandable: No one who doesn't live in a country can really understand the politics of it. That's why foreigners always sound so stupid when they weigh in on US politics (and why US citizens would sound dumb if they were to weigh in on internal European politics).

And yet there's this ridiculous belief of the European Typist Class that they've got a pretty good beat on what's going on in the US. Obama seems sort of European, therefore, he must be awesome, as to a European, all that is European is ipso facto awesome.

And now they're shocked that Johnny Dronestrike stoops to reading the emails of their diplomats.

Quelle surprise.

Posted by: Ace at 09:04 AM | Comments (179)
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