Polarization

\Po'lar*i*az"tion\, n. [Cf. F. polarisation][1913 Webster] 1. The act of polarizing; the state of being polarized, or of having polarity.

Selections from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward:

Polarization: anteposition, confrontation, disparity, division, hostility, mutual repulsion.

(Thanks to the Hypertext Webster Gateway at http://www.bennetyee.org/)

- - -

I think the Thesaurus' words were more what I was thinking of. Angles of reflection of light aren't really what this post is all about.

Rather, it has to do with the (mostly) childish attitudes that come from the various camps when it comes to the issues of the day. It can range from "Nuke 'em 'til they glow" to "Can't we all just get along?" to what it means to have single-tiered health care in Canada to what exactly is going on with our environment.

Children with asthma are now commonplace. It wasn't like that when I was a kid. We seem to bump into people with life-threatening nut allergies on a more regular basis. It wasn't like that when I was a kid either. So tell me, are we just getting better at diagnosing these ailments, or is there really an increase? If there is, have we brought it upon ourselves?

Quite frankly, I don't know.

The reason I don't know is because you can't get a bloody straight answer out of anyone.

Environmentalists would have us believe that the cause is and has been our presence on this fragile planet. Anti-environmentalists (is there a better word?) would counter that we have more trees today than in any time in history.

Good God - are trees toxic after all?

Nobody seems willing to come forward and say things like "it's not such a good idea to dump raw sewage in the river, but on the other hand, spraying for bugs ain't such a bad idea".

And that's what's missing. Middle-ground.

I'm not talking about feel-good crap like "carbon credits" either (quite easily the biggest scam since $60/bbl oil).

No, I'm talking about the rational discourse that is and will be required in order to solve any of the environmental problems we might have. This discourse does not involve one side or the other jumping up and down screeching "I told you so!" each time another (possibly pseudo-) scientific report hits the stands.

2005 was one of the worst Atlantic hurricane seasons on record. Lives lost - billions in repairs. But uh-oh, here comes 2006. The "experts" get trotted out claiming *this* season will be the worst ever. Um, nope. It was one of the lightest. Looks like '07 is going to be closer to '06 than '05 too. No worries. Let's stage a putzch at the weather service. Can't have contradictory ideas, can we?

But why is it different? Why is it we can experience such a dramatic lessening of the environmental conditions that cause hurricanes from one year to the next? Why that quickly? Isn't weather supposed to be long-term? What happened?

Well, the truth is - are you ready for it? - the truth is WE DON'T KNOW.

There. I said it. An admission of meteorological ignorance from a lay person. About as rare as hen's teeth, if you ask me, but an admission anyway. Funny part, it wasn't that hard to say (type).

We live in a world where weather pontification rules. It's either "yer fer us, or you're agin us".

And it's crap.

Anybody and his dog can use one-sided trumped-up statistics to support his claim, and they do. And they're trotted out on the evening news for their 60 seconds of fame and, assuming they can get in a word edgewise with the politically-motivated show host, a five-second sound bite.

This problem isn't about sound bites. It's about a) Is there really a problem?, b) If so, how big is it?, and c) If it's threatening us, what do we do about it?

I'm going to admit ignorance again, and say I don't have the answers to "a", "b", or "c". I do, however, know what the answer *isn't*:

• Threatening/censuring those that don't believe in man-made global climate change, including those at the scientific and academic levels
• Planting trees to "offset" smog-belching machines instead of making those machines more fuel-efficient
• Partisan support of flawed "treaties" that punish developed nations and enrich third-world dictatorships or regimes
• Pretending there's nothing to talk about

Polarization: opposite ends. Just what you need for rational discourse.

Ask me "weather" I'm dreaming. (Or having a nightmare, for those that might have seen the holographic Al Gore).

Back again

Wow, it's been a long time between posts, hasn't it? I offer no other excuse than I've been astonishingly busy - too busy to sift through the unadulterated crap that presents itself as "news" in the MSM, and too busy to offer a daily comment on the latest obscenity foisted by the "Religion of Perpetual Outrage" upon the rest of humanity.

All that not withstanding, I'll try to get my $0.02 posted here without letting another six months slip by.

Today, whilst perusing one of my favourite sites (http://www.littlegreenfootballs.com/), I came across the following gem. It was a response - now known there as "Nekama's Troll Hammer" - to an absolutely off-the-wall comment on the legitimacy of Palestinians throwing rocks.

I'm not sure who "Nekama" is or was, but this is right up there with the fabulous "what to say to an idiotic moonbat" essays you can find on http://www.ejectejecteject.com/ . So rather than provide a link to it, here's "Nekama's Troll Hammer" in its entirety:

Congratulations. You are the first to receive the memo:

MEMO

This is an automated reply from the Bullshit Detector at Little Green Footballs.

Your recent post contained troll-like characteristics which resembles the type of message sent by spoiled ISM members on summer holiday, college students who have recently inhaled Noam Chomsky’s foul rantings, Adam Shapiro wannabes, Nazi sympathizers, or genuine Koranimals.

In order to prevent another thread being hijacked, and to send your message to the appropriate department for response (FOAD, GAZE, Go Away Gordon, or The Bus To Rachel Corrie’s Tomb Is Leaving - Be Sure You’re Under It), kindly reply to the following questions:

1. Are you aware that the Disputed Territories never belonged to the “Palestinians” and only came into Israeli possession as a result of the 1967 six day war in which Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon all massed forces at Israel’s border in order to “push the Jews into the sea”. The Arabs lost and Israel took control of the land. Do you agree that if the Koranimals don’t want to lose territory to Israel, then they shouldn’t start wars? Do you agree that there is justice that Israel, who as far back as 1948 has always sought peace with her far larger neighbors, should live in prosperity - making the desert bloom - while the residents of 19 adjacent Arab countries who are blessed with far more land as well as oil wealth live in their own feces?

2. Did you know that the “Palestinians” could have had their own country as far back as 1948 had they accepted the UN sponsored partition plan which gave Israel AND the Palestinians a countries of their own on land which Jews had lived on for thousands of years before Mohammed ever had a wet dream about virgins? The Arabs rejected the UN offer and went to war with the infant Israeli nation. The Arabs lost and have been whining about it ever since. Do you agree this is like a murderer who kills his parents and asks for special treatment since he is now an orphan?

3. Can you tell us ANY Arab country which offers Jews the right to be citizens, vote, own property, businesses, be a part of the government or have ANY of the rights which Israeli Arabs enjoy? Any Arab country which gives those rights to Christians? How about to other Arabs? Wouldn’t you just LOVE to be a citizen of Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iran, or Syria?

4. Since as many Jews (approximately 850,000) were kicked out of Arab countries as were Arabs who left present day Israel (despite being literally begged to stay), why should Arabs be permitted to return to Israel if Jews aren’t allowed to set foot in Arab countries? Can you explain why Arabs can worship freely in Israel but Jews would certainly be hung from street lamps after having their intestines devoured by an Arab mob if they so much as entered an Arab country?

5. Israel resettled and absorbed all of the Jews from Arab countries who wished to become Israelis. Why haven’t any Arab countries offered to resettle Arabs who were displaced from Israel, leaving them to rot for 60 years in squalid refugee camps? And why are those refugee camps still there? Could it be that the billions of dollars that the UNWRA has sent there goes to terrorist groups like Hamas, Islamic Jihad, El Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, or Hezbollah? How did Yassir Arafat achieve his $300 million in wealth? Why aren’t these funds distributed for humanitarian use?

6. Did you know that the Arabs in the disputed territories (conquered by Israel in the 1967 war which was started by Arabs) and who are not Israelis already have two countries right now? And that they are called Egypt and Jordan?

7. If your complaint is about the security fence which Israel is finally building in the Disputed Territories, are you aware that it is built solely to keep the “brave” Arab terrorists out so that they can no longer self detonate on busses, in dining halls or pizzerias and kill Jewish grandmothers and schoolchildren? Why are the Arabs so brave when they target unarmed civilians but even when they outnumber their opponents they get their sandy asses kicked all the way to Mecca when they are faced with Jewish soldiers? Why do Arab soldiers make the French look like super heroes?

8. Please explain why you are so concerned about Arabs, who possess 99% of the land in this region and are in control of the world’s greatest natural resource, which literally flows out of the ground? Can’t their brother muslims offer some of the surplus land and nature’s riches to the “Palestinians”? Or is it true that Arabs are willing to die right down to the last “Palestinian”?

9. Why do you not exhibit the same level of concern for say, people in Saudi Arabia who are beheaded, subject to amputation, stoning, honor killing etc.? What about women who are denied any semblance of basic civil rights, including the right not to be treated as property for the entertainment and abuse of her father, brothers, or husbands? What about the Muslims in Sudan and Egypt who are still enslaved, or the women there whose genitalia are barbarically cut off? How about the oppression of Shiites by Sunnis, the gassing of the Kurds by Iraq, or the massacre of “Palestinians” by Jordan (Black September)? Why doesn’t this concern you?

10. Did you ever stop to wonder how much better off everyone in the region would be if Arabs stopped trying to kill Jews and destroy Israel? What would happen if the Israelis gave up their weapons and disarmed? Would they live to see the next day? But what would happen if the Arabs completely disarmed? You know the answer: They would all be AT PEACE! And if there is no war to rile them up, the Arabs would be forced to look at their own repressive, pre-medieval societies. Why would they want to do that when there are Jews to kill?

11. Have you heard “People who define themselves primarily by what they hate, rather than who they love, are doomed to failure and misery”? Can you see the parallels to the Arabs, who are blessed with land and oil, but still gladly train their children to kill themselves in order to kill Jews? Have you heard Golda Meir’s words to the effect of “There will be peace when the Arabs love their children more than they hate ours”? Why do the Arabs hate so much?

Please state your answers to the questions listed above. If you need assistance or require additional study, then please refer to the following links:

History of the Middle East Conflict:
[Link: www.infoclick.org...]

Thousands of women killed for honor:
[Link: news.nationalgeographic.com...]

Muslims lament Israel’s existence:
[Link: www.iht.com...]

Disputed Territories – Forgotten Facts
[Link: www.mfa.gov.il...]

The size of Israel compared to neighboring countries in the region
[Link: www.iris.org.il...]

Jews expelled from Arab Countries
[Link: www.jpost.com...]

One Million Jews flee Arab countries – why no right of return for them?
[Link: www.forgottenexodus.com...]

Middle East Facts
[Link: yashiko.middleeastfacts.com...]

Middle East Truth
[Link: www.mideasttruth.com...]

Larry Miller on Hypocrisy
[Link: weeklystandard.com...]

Please respond to the items listed above. Based on your answers a thoughtful reply or instruction to FOAD will be provided.

Thank you for writing to Little Green Footballs.

Signed,

Troll Early Warning Detection Team