Inside the Asylum

Peter Sissons, a major British newsreader, who retired from the BBC recently, unloads on the Beeb, saying, amongst other things

It is now 'effectively BBC policy' to stifle critics of the consensus view on global warming. He says: 'I believe I am one of a tiny number of BBC interviewers who have so much as raised the possibility that there is another side to the debate on climate change. 'The Corporation's most famous interrogators invariably begin by accepting that "the science is settled", when there are countless reputable scientists and climatologists producing work that says it isn't. But it is effectively BBC policy... that those views should not be heard.'

It's the same in both the media and in academia. There are plenty of people who are skeptical about Global Warming (and other things) but who dare not speak up for fear of the consequences.
(Via Tim Blair)

The Russians seem to have overplayed their hand when using their gas pipeline through Ukraine as a blunt instrument to show everyone who is boss. Now Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey are taking concrete steps to get out from their dangerous dependence on Moscow. It looks like the Nabucco pipeline project is finally going to get underway. Turkmenistan, Iraq, Egypt and Syria have all signed on as suppliers for the pipeline, and Azerbaijan and Qatar could also get involved. Matt Bryza, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said

“What is happening with Nabucco? Yes, it does elevate Turkey’s strategic importance to Europe. It does do that. We hope that very soon the energy chapter will open.”

Hmmm ... while in general I think Turkey is to be admired, and a model for many other Muslim countries, it might be a good idea to remember that the Turkish Ottoman Empire once dominated the entire Middle East and all of the Balkans up to Austria.

Yeah, I know that the Japanese government has just been forced to call a snap election after being humiliated in the Tokyo Municipal elections, and that it's even possible that the unthinkable could happen and the ruling party might actual lose power. Yeah, I know all that ... but I'm talking about really big news. Kirin and Suntory are negotiating a merger. So what? Well, here's so what: a merged Kirin and Suntory mega brewer would become not only the worlds largest beer maker (passing Anheuser-Busch), it would even have sales figures surpassing Coca-Cola. They're also reportedly looking to expand overseas. I can't say I'm unhappy about this. The Japanese make excellent beer, and I'd like to see it cheaper and more readily available in California.

I said it before: Obama is in trouble. Unlike far too many Americans, many Muslims are more than capable of telling the difference between Obama's words and deeds.

Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Hussain Fadlallah, who spoke earlier this year of the "sincerity" of US President Barack Obama's message to the Muslim world, criticised US policies across the Middle East and in Afghanistan and urged Arabs and Muslims to forget the US president's "foggy" words.

"Foggy words" ... I couldn't have said it better myself.

Two plots to attack shipping in the Suez Canal. It's certainly good news that the Egyptians have detected and foiled both attempts, but think of the consequences to global commerce if one should succeed. A blocked Suez Canal (for how long?) plus raised concerns about the security of one of the world's most important shipping routes ... It would be extremely damaging for a lot more countries than just Egypt. The most recent one was last week:

Egyptian authorities arrested 25 people on suspicion of plotting attacks on oil pipelines and ships in the Suez Canal, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The other one was just a few months earlier.

In April, Egypt announced it had disrupted a militant cell linked to Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah movement that also planned to target the Suez Canal.