Rubin: NSA Error Rate Nothing To Be Troubled Over

By William Teach August 19, 2013 – 9:00 am

Many of you know that Jennifer Rubin is the Washington Post’s token “Conservative”, and I put Conservative in quotation marks because she is really representing the Establishment, inside-the-beltline, squishy Republican school of thought that anything approaching Reagan type Conservatism. On Friday we learned about the NSA violated privacy rights 2,776 times at their D.C. area data centers erroneously. This was a report that only discussed errors, and, again, doesn’t encompass all the data centers they operate. It doesn’t touch on the intentional privacy rights violations. But, hey, the program is near perfection!

NSA scandal or near-perfection?

………

This is extraordinary. If there are 20 million inquiries each month over a year span that works out to 240,000,000. That equates to an error rate of .00001156666. If the NSA figures are accurate this is the most airtight surveillance program in history. The error rate isn’t simply “extremely low”; it is virtually nonexistent. (snip)

So about 800 Americans were the subject of some sort of error. Over a full year. Involving 240,000,000 inquiries.

I am having trouble mounting outrage over this. Moreover, it is not clear what an error really involved. The NSA hasn’t been forthcoming as to whether, for example, 800 Americans had an e-mail read or if, for example, only an individual’s identity for an e-mail was obtained. We still don’t know if the information derived from the errors was isolated and purged from the system. (snip)

If the NSA wasn’t hiding the ball and there were no instances of intentional misconduct in 240,000,000 inquiries then NSA should be given a gold star. Perhaps the NSA report isn’t accurate or we don’t have a complete picture, but right now it seems that the reaction to the report is hugely disproportionate to the problem.

There’s no doubt that the error rate is tiny. I think we can agree with that. But what of the error rate at other facilities, which would come into play for the overall number? More importantly, while this may seem like no big deal, it is part of the pattern of problems with the NSA and the way they gather data on Americans (note: I do not care if they gather data on foreigners, since that’s what they’re supposed to do). If this was a stand-alone report it would be no big deal. But it doesn’t stand-alone: it follows on report after report after report as to just how intrusive the NSA programs are.

Of course, how do we really know what all the mistakes are when it is the NSA self-reporting them?

Furthermore, we do not know what those inquiries targeted. How many targeted Americans, and saw some unintentional errors where the wrong Americans were targeted? Rubin is pushing the Establishment Republican mentality, which seems to be “we need this, and if you’ve done nothing wrong, don’t worry”, versus the true Conservative/Libertarian version, which is “hey, we have a Constitution, there should be no blanket warrants, this is intrusive and a violation of citizen’s privacy”. This is how we end up with Peter King facing off against Rand Paul.

Just to be clear, there is a debate going on between Democrats, too, we just don’t hear about it much.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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AGW Today: Social Justice, Wood Pellets, And Hotspots

By William Teach August 18, 2013 – 4:20 pm

Two of the three come via Junk Science, which actually all deserve their own longer post, but, hey, Sunday. The first is about the urban heat island effect making globull warming worse for the poor

(Toronto Star) Mitigating the Urban Heat Island effect — which can be as easy as switching roof colours — is a matter of social justice, many experts say. And as climate change continues to amplify weather extremes, that task is increasingly urgent.

Wait, I thought cities were the best thing for Everyone? No? But the big point is about social justice, another far left notion, at least in the way they push it, which highlights that the “climate change” movement is really about far left beliefs.

(News and Observer) The European Union and Great Britain have adopted aggressive targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. They have created incentives for electric utilities to cut back on their use of coal and will require renewable sources to provide 20 percent of all energy by 2020. Wind and solar power are expected to meet only a small share of that demand.

Power companies are looking to close the gap with biomass – primarily with imported wood pellets. Biomass use in Great Britain, 3 million tons last year, is expected to grow tenfold over the next five years.

Britain’s biggest carbon emitter is the Drax Group, a Yorkshire utility that operates the largest power plant in western Europe. Drax is converting half its plant from coal to wood pellets. Coal is one-third the price of pellets, but Drax CEO Dorothy Thompson said her company is responding to renewable-energy credits and a British carbon tax, introduced this year at $7 a ton, that will grow by 2020 to more than $60 a ton.

What we have going on here is that loggers are turning more and more of the logging waste into wood pellets, and making some good cash on the deal, because Europe is desperate for consistent, affordable power creation, what with all those restrictions on coal. Wind and solar cannot provide stable and affordable power at this time, and with 4 out of the past 5 winters being bitingly cold, and there having been no real spring or summer, all the “carbon credits” have been used up. Hey, anyone think this might hurt the poor?

(Climate Progress….which has been completely subsumed, BTW, under the Think Progress banner, without even it’s own URL anymore) We can confidently say that the risk of drought and heat waves has gone up and the odds of a hot spot somewhere on the planet have increased but the hotspot moves around and the location is not very predictable. This year perhaps it is East Asia: China, or earlier Siberia? It has been much wetter and cooler in the US (except for SW), whereas last year the hot spot was the US. Earlier this year it was Australia (Tasmania etc) in January (southern summer). We can name spots for all summers going back quite a few years: Australia in 2009, the Russian heat wave in 2010, Texas in 2011, etc.

Similarly with risk of high rains and floods: They are occurring but the location moves.

That’s Warmist Kevin Trenberth attempting to explain why Warmist hypotheses are failing spectacularly. Essentially, he’s just pulling crap out of his ass, like most Warmists do.

Read: AGW Today: Social Justice, Wood Pellets, And Hotspots »

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If All You See…

By William Teach August 18, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is an awesome alternative mode of transportation that Everyone Else should be forced to take, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Director Blue, with a post noting that Obamacare will help 3 people, per the CBO (I may or may not write my own post on this, but I wanted the info out there)

Read: If All You See… »

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Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach August 18, 2013 – 10:30 am

Patriotic Pinup Fiona Stephenson

Happy Sunday! Another gorgeous day in the once and future nation of America. This pinup is by Fiona Stephenson with a wee bit of help.

BTW, someone asked what the headline that I use for these posts every Sunday means. Well, it goes back to the mid-2000’s, where many in the blogosphere decided that Sunday should be the BlogSabbath, and blogs should take a small break, and at most have a post or two, or even none. Many of those who ran in the Blog Circle have given up their blogs (I’ve been doing this since 2004, and have seen many come and go), but you can still see this at The Jawa Report, where owner Rusty Shackleford was one of the big proponents of the BlogSabbath. You rarely see a post there on Sundays.

Double BTW, I get most of the below links from my feedreader, and I see many blogs dying. If you want on, send me your info. Or send me blogs which should be on my feedreader.

Anyhow, what is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Powerline notes that Dems are rallying their hater base for 2014
  2. Glenn Reynolds highlights that the feds are threatening Lavabit founder for shutting down his service
  3. The Jawa Report points out that Oprah says you’re a racist no matter what
  4. The Last Tradition features the Obama Rodeo Clown was in L.A.
  5. The People’s Cube is worried about blindness in Germany
  6. White House Dossier notes that Obama thinks health insurance is a “right”
  7. Wake Up America points out that Bloomberg is not happy about cameras on his cops
  8. This ain’t Hell… has the feel good story of the day
  9. The Daley Gator notes that a CDC study contradicts Dear Leader’s anti-gun narrative
  10. Scared Monkeys covers illegals wanting in-state tuition in my North Carolina
  11. Rhymes With Right clowns around
  12. Maggie’s Notebook covers the army of Obamacare navigators
  13. Legal Insurrection wonders what happens with a #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen hashtag
  14. Jammie Wearing Fools notes it was a slow night in Chicago
  15. And last, but not least, Hot Air Pundit has a feel good story from El Al Airlines
  16. And one to grow on: Don Surber returns to the Blogosphere (a little bit) with his Daily Scoreboard

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page. While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your “Pinups for Vets” calendar yet? And don’t forget to check outwhat I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts

Anyone else have a link or hotty-fest going on? Let me know so I can add you to the list. (BTW, since someone asked, the reason I leave links for the previous week up (or you might see a *) is because they are place holders for later in the day or for next weeks. Easier than rewriting all the time. Also, the listing order has to do with how they are added over time, not how good a post is. I just copy and paste from the previous week, then edit. If you see one of the *’s, go ahead and check out the blog anyhow, see if there is an update. I cannot update with my Android during the day.

The posts do take a long time, so, if you want to send me your links for Rule 5 babeage or links, use ye olde email in the header bar (remove the NOSPAM part). Preferably, create the html link so I can copy and paste how you want it to read.

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NY Times: Hey, What Happened In Egypt Really Isn’t Obama’s Fault

By William Teach August 18, 2013 – 9:00 am

It must be the fault of Other People, you know

How American Hopes for a Deal in Egypt Were Undercut

For a moment, at least, American and European diplomats trying to defuse the volatile standoff in Egypt thought they had a breakthrough.

As thousands of Islamist supporters of the ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, braced for a crackdown by the military-imposed government, a senior European diplomat, Bernardino León, told the Islamists of “indications” from the leadership that within hours it would free two imprisoned opposition leaders. In turn, the Islamists had agreed to reduce the size of two protest camps by about half.

An hour passed, and nothing happened. Another hour passed, and still no one had been released.

The Americans heightened the pressure. Two senators visiting Cairo, John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, met with Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the officer who ousted Mr. Morsi and appointed the new government, and the interim prime minister, Hazem el-Beblawi, and pushed for the release of the two prisoners. But the Egyptians brushed them off.

“You could tell people were itching for a fight,” Mr. Graham recalled in an interview. “The prime minister was a disaster. He kept preaching to me: ‘You can’t negotiate with these people. They’ve got to get out of the streets and respect the rule of law.’ I said: ‘Mr. Prime Minister, it’s pretty hard for you to lecture anyone on the rule of law. How many votes did you get? Oh, yeah, you didn’t have an election.’ ” (snip)

The next morning, the government issued a statement declaring that diplomatic efforts had been exhausted and blaming the Islamists for any casualties from the coming crackdown. A week later, Egyptian forces opened a ferocious assault that so far has killed more than 1,000 protesters.

See? It’s the fault of McCain and Graham! And perhaps a few others. And what’s Bystander In Chief Obama supposed to do?

The violent crackdown has left Mr. Obama in a no-win position: risk a partnership that has been the bedrock of Middle East peace for 35 years, or stand by while longtime allies try to hold on to power by mowing down opponents. From one side, the Israelis, Saudis and other Arab allies have lobbied him to go easy on the generals in the interest of thwarting what they see as the larger and more insidious Islamist threat. From the other, an unusual mix of conservatives and liberals has urged him to stand more forcefully against the sort of autocracy that has been a staple of Egyptian life for decades.

Mr. Obama has found Egypt’s tumultuous political transition a headache for more than two years. Accused of sticking for too long by President Hosni Mubarak, the longtime ruler in Egypt who was ousted by a popular uprising in 2011, and then criticized when he later abandoned him, Mr. Obama gambled on Mr. Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood leader elected a year ago. He found Mr. Morsi a useful and pragmatic partner in handling issues like a violent flare-up in Gaza. But Mr. Obama became convinced that the Egyptian was not being inclusive enough at home to stabilize his own country.

In all seriousness, the full measure of Blame is on Egypt. But, Mr. Obama surely hasn’t helped, and has made the situation worse with his leading-from-behind whishy washyness. His vacation time-out comment on Egypt last week has been called tepid and timid by people on the left and right, and seemed to highlight his preference for the Muslim Brotherhood. We saw little else from Obama during the previous years that Egypt has been having issues. This is not to Blame Obama, but as an ally of Egypt’s, and a nation that is supposed to stand for liberty, this whole Smart Power schtick is a bloody failure.

One thing to note: we can’t fault Obama and his admin for condemning the violence. While they certainly do not seem to understand the threat from the Islamists in whole and the Muslim Brotherhood in particular (something Egyptians seem to understand), the US can’t be seen as supporting this type of crackdown. But, we should also note that Team Obama is failing to condemn that his buddies in the Muslim Brotherhood are burning Christian churches all over Egypt.

And, unsurprisingly, Egypt may be turning to Russia in the face of worthless measures by the Obama administration, which seems to practice “how to lose friends and alienate people.”

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: NY Times: Hey, What Happened In Egypt Really Isn’t Obama’s Fault »

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Warmists Wonder If Climate Agitprop Can Be Made More Conservative Friendly

By William Teach August 17, 2013 – 7:53 pm

Here’s one of my favorite Warmists, David Roberts

Can climate science be rendered conservative-friendly?

One common criticism of the way climate science has been communicated over the last decade or so is that scientists and advocates have led with a liberal perspective: Here’s a big problem that we need to solve with government regulations and mandates. It didn’t help that climate change came to prominence via Al Gore, a partisan liberal long loathed on the right. (snip)

But it is worth asking: Could climate hawks have made a pitch that appealed to conservatives? Is there such a pitch available today?

Yes, except it would have required action, not “spreading awareness”. As I’ve note time and time and time again, Warmists could have practiced what they preach. They mostly don’t. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter what they say, because we can see that a) their so-called science is deeply flawed, to the point where their models consistently fail and they have to change data as well as simply make it up, and b) we understand that the end game is simply bigger and bigger government with more and more power taking more and more freedom and money away from citizens and private entities.

Roberts finds that there is no way for Conservatives to accept what he calls “climate science”, but, mostly because we are supposedly big meanies and flat earthers and stuff, which is funny, because Warmists mostly ignore 4.5 billion years of history, along with the way the climate has acted during the Holocene, and they mostly/solely ignore the effects the natural world has on climate. There are things we could work together on, such as real environmental issues, using alternative energy in a wise, worthwhile, economically sound manner, fixing the energy infrastructure, but, really, these same warmists who yammer on about these often refuse to allow implementation.

As a sidebar in the article, let’s look at

Read More »

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NY Times Notices That Navigators Are Super Necessary For Obamacare

By William Teach August 17, 2013 – 1:15 pm

Who would have possibly thought that a 2,000+ page bill with over 20,000 pages (so far) of regulations would be so difficult?

(NY Times) Navigators are seen as crucial to the success of the law. As the Jan. 1 deadline approaches when most Americans will be required to have health coverage or pay a fine,  navigators are supposed to explain away confusion and fear among the legions of uninsured, helping them understand how new health insurance markets will work and whether they will qualify for subsidies to help with the cost of coverage.

Wasn’t Obamacare supposed to make things easy? I wonder if the Navigators will be able to explain why people can’t keep their insurance and doctors?

But as the navigator effort gets under way across the country, it is clear that their impact will vary from state to state, with wide discrepancies in how much will be spent to hire and train navigators and how many people they will be able to reach. Many will be operating on shoestring budgets, with extremely tight time frames and hostile political climates.

That’s because of this

The federal government did not anticipate having to cover the cost of running the insurance markets in 34 states, which is why it has only $54 million — transferred from a fund for public health prevention programs — for navigators in those states. The health care law set aside much more money for states that built their own markets, assuming that most would do so.

Who would have thought that such an unpopular piece of legislation would cause States to say “nope, we aren’t creating our own exchanges”?

Anyhow, the Navigators will get super detailed training of about 20 hours in order to explain just how super awesome Obamacare is.

Read: NY Times Notices That Navigators Are Super Necessary For Obamacare »

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If All You See…

By William Teach August 17, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is a Gaia killing dog, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Real Science, with a post noting that the US Summer Maximum has plummeted since 1930.

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Obama Whines About GOP Trying To Confuse People About Obamacare

By William Teach August 17, 2013 – 8:54 am

We should not be surprised that (NMP) Obama is using the official resources of the White House for partisan attacks, should we? That’s all he does. Most presidents attempt to bring people together, or at least act like the President of the American People, not president of their Party

(WEEKLY ADDRESS: Working to Implement the Affordable Care Act)

Hi, everybody. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been visiting with Americans across the country to talk about what we need to do to secure a better bargain for the middle class.

We need to rebuild an economy that rewards hard work and responsibility; an economy built firmly on the cornerstones of middle-class life. Good jobs. A good education. A home of your own. A secure retirement. And quality, affordable health care that’s there when you need it.

Right now, we’re well on our way to fully implementing the Affordable Care Act. And in the next few months, we’ll reach a couple milestones with real meaning for millions of Americans.

Except for all those who’ve received waivers, including Congress, per Obama. Except for the employer mandate being shuffled off to 2015, conveniently after the 2014 mid-terms. Except for the problems with data security. Except for all the insurance companies saying “no thanks!” You’re welcome to add all the other issues with implementation.

And let’s not forget that they’re very unclear as to whether or not you can actually keep your insurance and doctor. As for the middle class, well, they are (mostly involuntarily) joining the part time work force, provided they can even get a job, thanks to the ACA.

Many Members of Congress, in both parties, are working hard to inform their constituents about these benefits, protections, and affordable plans. But there’s also a group of Republicans in Congress working hard to confuse people, and making empty promises that they’ll either shut down the health care law, or, if they don’t get their way, they’ll shut down the government.

Think about that. They’re actually having a debate between hurting Americans who will no longer be denied affordable care just because they’ve been sick – and harming the economy and millions of Americans in the process. And many Republicans are more concerned with how badly this debate will hurt them politically than they are with how badly it’ll hurt the country.

A lot of Republicans seem to believe that if they can gum up the works and make this law fail, they’ll somehow be sticking it to me. But they’d just be sticking it to you.

What he’s actually doing is not just denigrating Congressional Republicans, but the majority of Americans who do not like this law. This is the reason I personally say that he is Not My President. As for shutting down the health care law, well, if Obama can ignore what it says, then why can’t others?

People want this gummed up. They more they know about the ACA, the more they despise it. Sure, there are a few provisions that people like, but the majority is a travesty and is also killing our economy. Of course, Obama doesn’t care. He’s set for life. He doesn’t actually have to worry about things like health care rationing, long lines to see a doctor, nor having a tough time finding a job.

Read: Obama Whines About GOP Trying To Confuse People About Obamacare »

Posted in Barking Moonbats, Barry Obama, Healthcare | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

UN IPCC 95% Sure That All Warming Is Caused By Humans

By William Teach August 17, 2013 – 8:25 am

Unlike during the 99.9999999% of the history of the planet Earth

(Climate change: forecast for 2100 is floods and heat … and it’s man’s fault )

Climate scientists have concluded that temperatures could jump by up to 9F (5C) and sea levels could rise by up to 2ft 8ins (82cm) by the end of the century, according to a leaked draft of a United Nations report.

Interesting. Does this mean that the 17 year pause in statistically significant warming, which some data shows has actually been flatlined and even going down since 2000, is Mankind’s fault? Knowing Warmists, the answer would be “yes”. No matter what happens with the weather, they’ll jump in their fossil fueled vehicles to head to a rally to Blame Mankind.

I do enjoy their prognostications, though. There’s been an increase of about 1.74F since 1850. During the 20th Century, the IPCC itself states that the increase was only 1.33F (.76C). Yet now they expect up to 9F, after a 17 year pause? Sea level has been completely within the average of the last 7,000 years of 6-8 inches per century. Remember, we get averages by adding various numbers. There have been hot and cool periods flipping back and forth during the Holocene, so we should have seen more sea rise, and accelerated sea rise, during the 20th, and especially the late 20th. We haven’t.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also said there was a 95 per cent likelihood that global warming is caused by human activities. That was the highest assessment so far from the IPCC, which put the figure at 90 per cent in a previous report in 2007, 66 per cent in 2001, and just over 50 per cent in 1995.

Of course they have. And then they’ll jump in potentially hundreds of fossil fueled private jets to fly off to the COP19 in Warsaw this year to complain about Other People using fossil fuels. Anthony Watts is surprised they haven’t gone for “97%”. But, they have to keep the money train going, and need to attempt to keep “climate change” relevant, so they have to Blame Man in ever increasing percentages while ignoring what effects nature has.

It will also say evidence of rising sea levels is “unequivocal”. The report projects seas will rise by between 1ft and 2ft 8ins by the late 21st century. In 2007 the estimated rise was between 7ins and 23ins, but that did not fully account for changes in Antarctica and Greenland.

Antarctica has been cooling, except for one small area. The melt from Greenland has been very much overestimated. Furthermore, a warmer Greenland is nothing that hasn’t happened before, many times, during the Holocene.

The IPCC will try to explain why global temperatures, have risen more slowly since about 1998 even though greenhouse gas concentrations have hit record highs in that time. It could be due to a combination of ash from volcanoes dimming sunlight, a decline in heat from the sun during the solar cycle, and the possibility that the climate may be less sensitive than expected to carbon dioxide build-up.

Got that? When it’s not warming, they’ll blame it on nature. When it’s warming, it’s all Mankind. Expect, though, for the Warmists at the UN to find more and more, as well as creative, because they are fiction writers, ya know, ways to Blame Mankind. We should probably see more of the “the heat is doing a Where’s Waldo? in the deep oceans” meme.

And it will be based on computer models, which have failed spectacularly, and can’t even predict past warming, rather than empirical real world data.

Anyone want to guess what the Gore Effect will be on the day that they release the report?

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: UN IPCC 95% Sure That All Warming Is Caused By Humans »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming, UN | 3 Comments | Trackback URL
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