Let's put a freeze on global warming hype

"Exactly 31 years ago tomorrow Newsweek carried a story that predicted a rapidly cooling world that would result in a "drastic decline in food production -- with serious political implications for just about every nation on Earth."
Hmmmm? It's the same doom and gloom scenario we hear today except turned on its ear -- now, however, it's not about devastation caused by cooling but rather by global warming. "

Here is a bit of truth for the global warming discussion.

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Corbella_Licia/2006/04/27/1552464.html

It's hard out there for a pump

Continuing on the previous thread, here is an article from Ann Coulter :
"I would be more interested in what the Democrats had to say about high gas prices if these were not the same people who refused to let us drill for oil in Alaska, imposed massive restrictions on building new refineries, and who shut down the development of nuclear power in this country decades ago.
But it's too much having to watch Democrats wail about the awful calamity to poor working families of having to pay high gas prices.
Imposing punitive taxation on gasoline to force people to ride bicycles has been one of the left's main policy goals for years."

Wow! That's telling it like it is.

http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/anncoulter/2006/04/26/195264.html

Gasoline Cynicism

"If you thought the Dubai port deal marked a record high in Washington cynicism, think again. Nothing can match the spectacle of politicians scrambling for cover during a spike in gasoline prices. And this time, the panderfest has gone all the way to the Oval Office. President Bush has joined the braying congressional hordes by ordering the Energy and Justice Departments and the FTC to launch an investigation into possible gasoline price-fixing.

What a disgrace. "

So says Dr. Charles Krauthammer in an article describing the wrong-headed approach to rising oil prices by our elected representatives, including our president. The idea that oil responds to market forces seems to be completely missed by these people. While oil companies make for easy targets, it is important to remember that they make a bit less than 9 cents a gallon. Taxes account for somewhere around 46 cents per gallon. Maybe, just maybe, we are looking at the wrong place to cut the cost of gas.

http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/charleskrauthammer/2006/04/28/195434.html

US Army greeted as liberators in Iraq

Here is a story that got little play in the Main Stream Media. It is a story of the cheering crowds that met the American soldiers as Saddam was being overthrown. It is hard to remember this is all of the stories in the media about how we are "invaders" who are "occupying" Iraq. Anyway, here is a good article that tells a different side to the story:

http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/larryelder/2006/04/27/195271.html

Minimum wage, maximum folly

Here is an excellent article that discusses the myth of the working poor, toiling at the minimum wage, raising a family and trying to make ends meet at a level that is held artificially low by mean and greedy corporate interests. As usual, the truth is far from the myth. Economist Walter Williams takes a turn at clearing up some misconceptions, including some carried on a recent Oprah show.

http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/walterwilliams/2006/04/26/194892.html

How does Mexico treat its own illegal aliens?

The answer, provided by the always excellent Larry Elder, may surprise you. This is especially interesting since the latest movement is not just to provide unlimited amnesty for illegals in the country, but to provide an "open path" for future limitless immigration. Let's see just how they treat the same problem on their soil:

http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/larryelder/2006/04/06/192651.html

Disney Redux

Now I love Disney, but I have to admit I find this fascinating. Apparently Disney animators copy each others' work. Here is a cool site that shows some interesting comparisons. Although it is in Russian, it is easy to get the idea.



http://www.prodisney.ru/clones.php

Waiter Rant

This is an interesting blog from a waiter. Tells you a lot about how other people act in public. It's not always pretty, as you can imagine.

http://www.waiterrant.net/

Pro-Test

Started by a high school dropout, Pro-test is a British organization that is dedicated to fighting the animal rights groups that have gone too far. While no one likes the idea of animal testing, only extremists will ignore the value that such testing brings to medical science.

I think it is high time for a similar organization right here in the USA.

http://www.pro-test.org.uk/index.html

Global Warming Nonsense, Part 9

Two U.S. explorers plan to start a four-month summer expedition to the North Pole next month to gather information on the habitat of an animal they believe could be the first victim of global warming--the polar bear," Reuters reports from Los Angeles.

"Project Thin Ice 2006" will be the first such expedition since 2004. Reuters explains that the explorers had to call off the mission they planned last year because of--we kid you not--"unusually heavy snow and ice."

Seems like they can never get their stories straight!!

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2006-04-13T232204Z_01_N13348303_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENVIRONMENT-POLARBEAR.xml

Cliff Clavin Says:

In the immortal words of Cliff Clavin:

Well ya see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.

In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers.

Cylinder Recordings

Cylinder recordings, the first commercially produced sound recordings, are a snapshot of musical and popular culture in the decades around the turn of the 20th century. They have long held the fascination of collectors and have presented challenges for playback and preservation by archives and collectors alike.
With funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the UCSB Libraries have created a digital collection of over 6,000 cylinder recordings held by the Department of Special Collections. In an effort to bring these recordings to a wider audience, they can be freely downloaded or streamed online.
On this site you will have the opportunity to find out more about the cylinder format, listen to thousands of musical and spoken selections from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and discover a little-known era of recorded sound.

http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/index.php

Report on the Giant Tobacco Settlement

Remember the Big Tobacco Settlement? In 1998, several large tobacco companies and the Attorneys-General of many states crafted a settlement. Americans have been led to believe that the settlement punished tobacco companies for decades of dishonest business practices, such as lying to the public about the health risks of smoking. But the truth is that the settlement that was negotiated behind closed doors created a new cartel arrangement between state governments and big tobacco companies.

http://www.controlabuseofpower.org/government_tobacco_cartel/index.asp

Good News on AIDS?

When is "a major health problem" good news?
When it's not as bad as a national catastrophe. Tyler Cowen links to a Washington Post story by Craig Timberg on how AIDS infection rates in most of Africa have been wildly overestimated


http://www.danieldrezner.com/archives/002671.html

Top Ten Junk Science Stories of the Past Decade

JunkScience.com celebrated its 10th anniversary on April 1, 2006. To mark the event, this column spotlights 10 big junk science stories of the last 10 years.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,189706,00.html

Meet the Man Who Saved the World

Well, I've been away for a little while. I took in a nice conference down in Hollywood, FL. Now I'm back, looking through the web to bring you the best in news and sites.

Here is an entry for the Unsung Heroes file:

As late as 1983, the world was posed on the very edge of nuclear annihilation. Meet a man who worked on his own to pull us back from the brink.

http://officersclub.blogspot.com/2006/02/man-who-saved-world.html

Who is funding all this Spyware?

Look, we all know that spyware is a nasty, terrible curse on computer users all over the internet. So why doesn't it just go away? Maybe it is because some major companies are funding it by buying ad space on pop-ups placed by these merchants of sleaze. Read more about just who the biggest offenders are. Maybe a well placed e-mail blitz to these companies' complaint departments (if they even have them) might make a difference.

http://weblog.infoworld.com/foster/2006/04/04_a383.html#a383?source=NLC-GRIPE2006-04-04

Portable Apps Suite

What is a portable app?
portable - carried or moved with ease
app - a computer program like a web browser or word processor

A portable app is a computer program that you can carry around with you on a portable device and use on any Windows computer. When your USB thumbdrive, portable hard drive, iPod or other portable device is plugged in, you have access to your software and personal data just as you would on your own PC. And when you unplug the device, none of your personal data is left behind.
No Special Hardware - Use any USB thumbdrive, portable hard drive, iPod/MP3 player, etc
No Additional Software - Just download the portable app, unzip and go
No Kidding - It's that easy

http://www.theinfobox.com/index.php/Portable_USB_Apps

http://portableapps.com/suite

Global Warming, Part 8

Commenting on the misuse of science to support political agendas, Harvard's Dr. Malcolm Ross concludes of such folly, "Freeze or fry, the problem is always industrial capitalism, and the solution is always international socialism."

Here is an excellent article from last year describing the origins of "Earth Day" and the hysteria over the new religion of Environmentalism. Here's another quote:

"Today marks the 35th anniversary of the founding of "Earth Day" by former Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson. It's also V.I. Lenin's birthday -- which is no coincidence. Nelson modeled his anti-capitalist protests after anti-Vietnam War demonstrations of that era. Today, the so-called "environmental movement" he helped spawn has devolved from a gaggle of unwashed adolescent peaceniks into a slick cadre of leftists, lobbyists and lawyers. The result of this devolution has been an enormous hidden tax on American products and services -- more than a trillion dollars last year -- in the form of runaway environmental regulation".

http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/markalexander/2005/04/22/15206.html

Political Correctness and the Moral Development of Children

Here is an interesting article about the moral vacuum that today's policy of political correctness provides as a teaching mechanism.

At schools today, kids are taught about feelings. It hurts people’s feelings if you say mean things to them or about them. It hurts people’s feelings if you steal. It hurts the teacher’s feelings if you’re not respectful. While it’s not at all a bad thing to take other people’s feelings into consideration when you’re planning your own conduct, feelings do not equal an external moral standard that apply in most circumstances

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=5373

What are the French Fighting about now?

Would you believe that the French are fighting to keep a system that basically guarantees them employment, health care, a generous pension, and 7 - 8 weeks of vacation each year? Oh, I forgot the 35 hour work week. All regulated by the government. On the downside, just how many of you would want to stay in your first job out of school for your entire life? How many would want such rigid restrictions on our careers and occupations? Most of us have more ambition than that. Not so with the French. Those with jobs are fighting to keep the system as it is. Those without jobs are trying to break the system.

http://www.rogerlsimon.com/mt-archives/2006/03/the_latest_fren.php

Progressive Rock

Progressive Rock is rock, usually written and played by musicians with some element of classical training.

ProgRock is a cool site that profiles the best of progressive rock bands from the 70's on up. It's a great place to while away an hour looking at some very interesting musicians. I found out that there are concert DVD's available for Gentle Giant, one of my personal favorites. I loved them in concert. Now I will be able to enjoy them on DVD.


http://www.progrock.homestead.com/Main.html