Joseph Butson

I listened to NPR a couple of days back and a very upset Howard Ruby, photographer and billionaire, bemoaned the effect Climate Change will have on the polar bear population.

Fast forward to a piece at cbc.ca where the Inuit elders are very concerned about the Nunuavut Environment Minister and Canadian Wildlife Services attempts to conserve a so-called declining polar bear population and are proposing moratorium on hunting.

The Inuit prize the polar bear as a valuable resource and deem it necessary for their survival. From the elders:

“But Johnny Karetak, an Inuit elder from southern Nunavut, told the hearing panel that Inuit don’t agree the bear population is decreasing, and he doesn’t want to see anyone get killed because there are more bears than people may think.

Many elders at the meeting gave examples of frightening encounters with the bears — encounters they say are happening more often.

Other elders voiced concern that the wildlife board is only considering scientific information such as the Canadian Wildlife Service’s data, and overlooking Inuit traditional knowledge.”

So who should we believe? And why are the scientists and government at odds with the natives who know the polar bear best?

Update: 5/7/07 SDA is reporting on the polar bear overpopulation too; picked up from Captain Capitalism!

I guess I just don’t get it either.

I recently featured a ridiculous program at U of C Santa Cruz, actually, it isn’t that uncommon to see the “women/womyn studies” programs, however, in defense of Horowitz’s thesis, the so-called “career path” was the eye catcher. It was so blatantly biased and unreal. I caught the following at Cal State - Long Beach “Gender Violence and Exclusionary Urbanism.”
But I read of something at the University of Iowa that makes the Feminism Major seem like engineering.

The Institute of Inequality Studies is my current leader in the pursuit of a Major in Irrelevance. A recent conference on Migrant Labor featuring a Columbia Professor in “Migrant Labor” was hosted on campus in Iowa City a few weeks ago. Sorry I missed that! I guess the way to combat inequality, like that which the Illegal Immigrant population suffers, is to declare national borders “inequal” or barriers to migrant manifest destiny.

ht: State 29

So my new found ambition is to track these sorts of things and collect them to support the fallacy of the superiority within the activist academics [ aka “tenured hacks”] at public and private universities in North America.

I’ll be heading to sunny California next week to “research” the topic, while catching an Anaheim vs. Vancouver tilt and enjoying the beaches and whatnot.

An internal blogger at the CBC rationalized the “kyotoshopped” photo from last Thursday’s report on cbc.ca was “a mistake.”

SDA has featured the piece again and linked to the mildly appologetic blogger and the debate has begun anew.

I believe the CBC is attempting to minimize the damage but its methods are questionable. It needs to protect its reputation and move on. But this will require a more public retraction and full explanation.

I tipped Kate in the first place because the photo, and story, were problematic. It showed obvious bias and it was a cheap shot at the Environment Minister’s policy announcement.

I knew her blog had the reach inside and outside of Canada to hold the CBC accountable. I expect this controversial action by the broadcaster will not just fade away. At least I hope not!

Update: The CBC executives have offered up thin gruel. They plead a mistake was made but no attempt to mislead [screen shot below!]

Kate @ SDA has rebuked them oh so well!

I would add that this is the strategy of the “big lie.” The CBC needs to think their is nothing to doctoring photos and slanting coverage to criticize a government that is actually doing something concrete for the environment.

Just as Christina Lawand was caught by the blogosphere in selectively editing the Prime Ministers remarks last summer , the CBC fails, once again, to supervise its news organization sufficiently.

I don’t expect a change in the pattern, but I am hopeful it doesn’t go unnoticed by the ever watchful PMO.

A curious example of partisanship is the career of David Horowitz. A former Marxist and Left wing actor of some repute, he is an author and pundit often featured on television and radio as an advocate for academic reform.

He has recently written a book claiming academic activism is destroying diversity of thought on campus. Most university and college administrations posture in just the opposite fashion as they try to portray themselves progressive and diverse especiallyethnic and gender identity.

An example he cites is the Feminist Studies Major offered at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The syllabus is slanted and so narrow, in terms of education, but perfect for career motivated students interested in Left wing politics. These educators are tenured hacks who debase the very idea of liberal arts in academia despite their best of intentions.

A quick search of Mr. Horowitz turns out to feature more rebuttals of his views and books. This leads me to conclude that he must be on to something!

On a related track, take a look at this trailer.

Evan Coyne Maloney has produced a great independent video and a site to reinforce the state of education in the nation.

The pollution “photo” on cbc.ca looks dubious. I am no expert but I do know Toronto. From Midtown Toronto, where there is no industry at all, the smoke across the top would need to come from a burning building.

It just looks fake.

Updated: 4/20/07 A great Debate at Small Dead Animals of my little scoop! Thanks for listening Kate. The cbc.ca has pulled the “fauxtograph.”

Update: 4/20/07 Hot Air is now featuring the Fauxtography! Congrats to Kate @ SDA for her investigation of cbc.ca staffs manipulation and their obvious bias.

I trust CBC will have the courage to at least explain themselves. I am expecting/hoping this will get picked up by LGF and then make it to the MSM: perhaps Fox News.

I dropped into my local Barnes and Noble last night and what did I see?

Every beautiful table of new books, featured books, recommended books etc. featuring Left and Centee Left points of view on the War on Terror, the Bush Administration and anything else concerning the red State Blue State stuff.

I strolled to the information kiosk to ask the staffer why every well displayed and featured books represented one side of the political spectrum? The bookish staffer asked, “Which perspective?” To which I remarked that’s not the point and please answer the question.

She answered that the “corporate office” controlled the choices displayed and the the merchandising and, er, they just feature the newest releases.

My response was that, no, they weren’t ALL the newest books released but a convenient selection of them and mentioned that I’d take it up with the B&N Corporate office.

So I will and post the response, as predictable as it might be. I’ve brought it to the attention of the incredible SDA blog and hope to see some “action.”

I plan to photograph the storefront later this morning and get it posted here.

If you read this post, please pay a visit to your local B&N or Borders and report accordingly!

Incredible!

In a truly telling manner, the BBC pulled their plans to broadcast the story of Johnson Beharry’s bravery in Iraq. Who like to wager that they just insured the modest private will gain even wider exposure as a result of the feckless executives at the BBC.
Check here for some background on the Victoria Cross.

Vimy Ridge

Thanks to Sigmund, Carl and Alfred for a stirring piece on an important day for freedom in the west.  

You are not going to read this in your daily newspaper, or hear it on NPR or see it this evenings newcast.

ht: Drudge

Update:4-8-07  Powerline analyzes the story mentioned above, rather slyly I’d add!

Essentially, I displayed the link as it was a subtle putdown by a nameless wire copywriter. Powerline de-constructs but links to the entire interview of a scientist’s rational critique of Al Gore’s alarmist tendancy.

Update: 4-10-07 An actual scientist reports of sun spot activity influencing climate at the BBC. Very solid stuff yet wisely reasoning that more is still unknown than known in order to postulate about Climate Change

I read an interesting post about Left to Center Left bloggers needing more support from the leading Left blogs.

I couldn’t agree more to the theme as I have received generous treatment from Right to Center Right bloggers after just a little contact. I place my views squarely in the Center but tend to feature more links and positive opinions to Right of Center bloggers; and thats my bias. But it isn’t unalterable or fixed at all.

I cover the bases of Main Stream Media daily and stop at several of the top Left of Center sites. Heck, I even subscribe to several including the New York Times, The Economist, Des Moines Register etc.

Try as I might to find an issue, aside from love for Ben Stein’s skewering of Capital Market apologists, I don’t feel compelled by the Center Left’s propensity to argue for the status quo in the face of the need [at least I think] reform. Think schools; trade; immigration, activist courts, mainstream media bias etc.

So for the future, I plan to link to and visit the blogs mentioned in the post to see for myself the excellent writing and reasoning of the lesser known bloggers.

Update: 4-6-07 Vermont to Secede from Union