Monday, April 02, 2007
States sue Feds. We lose big time!
The Volokh Conspiracy - -: "The marquee case was Massachusetts v. EPA, in which the Court held, 5-4, that (a) states have standing to sue the EPA alleging injuries from climate change, (b) the EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gases as 'pollutants' under the Clean Air Act, and (c) the EPA did not adequately justify its decision not to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles under the Act. On remand, the EPA must ground its decision whether to regulate greenhouse gas emissions on the nature and magnitude of the risk posed by climate change, as the CAA requires."
Teachers drop the Holocaust to avoid offending Muslims | the Daily Mail
the Daily Mail: "Schools are dropping the Holocaust from history lessons to avoid offending Muslim pupils, a Governmentbacked study has revealed.
It found some teachers are reluctant to cover the atrocity for fear of upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial. "
It found some teachers are reluctant to cover the atrocity for fear of upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial. "
I spent £20,000 on a new face to find a husband | the Daily Mail
the Daily Mail: "Shahnaz, is now 41 and not only is she still single, she is also still a virgin."
Police send four police officers to tackle boy, 11, who called schoolmate 'gay' | the Daily Mail
the Daily Mail: "They said primary school pupil, George, was being investigated for a 'very serious' homophobic crime after using the comment in an e-mail to a 10-year-old classmate. "
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Duh!
HillaryClinton.com - Media Release: "Sports legend and social activist Billie Jean King announced her endorsement of Hillary Clinton today."
PETA Power
New York Times: In what animal-welfare advocates are describing as a "historic advance," Burger King, the world's second-largest hamburger chain, said yesterday that it would begin buying eggs and pork from suppliers that don't confine their animals in cages and crates.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Airdisaster.Com Forums - View Single Post - Sucked In / Hacked Up? Do Tell
Airdisaster.Com Forums - View Single Post - Sucked In / Hacked Up? Do Tell: "THE NEDELIN DISASTER copyright Crashman 2006
Hell on Tyuratam Pad 41 "
Hell on Tyuratam Pad 41 "
Masturbating trespasser booted from frat - Crime
Masturbating trespasser booted from frat - Crime: "'Obviously, she was very disturbed,' Nye said. 'It was not how a normal person would respond to people.'
The woman told fraternity members that her name was Melissa and she was a student at Eastern Michigan University, according to the police report.
Fraternity members said they will throw out two couches in the living room because of the incident, Nye said.'Obviously, she was very disturbed,' Nye said. 'It was not how a normal person would respond to people.'
The woman told fraternity members that her name was Melissa and she was a student at Eastern Michigan University, according to the police report.
Fraternity members said they will throw out two couches in the living room because of the incident, Nye said."
The woman told fraternity members that her name was Melissa and she was a student at Eastern Michigan University, according to the police report.
Fraternity members said they will throw out two couches in the living room because of the incident, Nye said.'Obviously, she was very disturbed,' Nye said. 'It was not how a normal person would respond to people.'
The woman told fraternity members that her name was Melissa and she was a student at Eastern Michigan University, according to the police report.
Fraternity members said they will throw out two couches in the living room because of the incident, Nye said."
Why Bad Beliefs Don't Die (Skeptical Inquirer November 2000)
Why Bad Beliefs Don't Die (Skeptical Inquirer November 2000): "it is often confusing and irritating to scientists and skeptics that so many people's beliefs do not change in the face of disconfirming evidence. How, we wonder, are people able to hold beliefs that contradict the data?"
Monday, March 26, 2007
Fife's best selling weekly newspaper ::
Best selling newspaper? No wonder with such important reportage!
:: Dunfermline Press >> Fife's best selling weekly newspaper ::: "A PUB regular has been barred from his favourite Dunfermline boozer – for indiscriminate wind breaking.A PUB regular has been barred from his favourite Dunfermline boozer – for indiscriminate wind breaking."
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Not good
British Airways Flight 9 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "'Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress.' "
Saturday, March 24, 2007
FOX News 72%
We don't trust quite as much, poll finds: "Alabama voters, according to this month's poll, also have some or a great deal of confidence in the Red Cross and other voluntary organizations (83 percent), Fox TV news (72 percent), federal programs such as Social Security (67 percent), the presidency (63 percent) and CNN cable TV news (62 percent). "
Amazing this is news.......
The Idaho Statesman - Always Idaho: "A bill to make English Idaho's official language passed the House on Monday.
The bill dictates that all official government business should be done in English, with certain exceptions for such things as education, public health and public safety.
The bill has already passed the Senate and awaits only the approval of Gov. Butch Otter, who has said he will sign it. All Treasure Valley Democrats and Caldwell Republican Bob Ring voted against the bill. "
The bill dictates that all official government business should be done in English, with certain exceptions for such things as education, public health and public safety.
The bill has already passed the Senate and awaits only the approval of Gov. Butch Otter, who has said he will sign it. All Treasure Valley Democrats and Caldwell Republican Bob Ring voted against the bill. "
Thursday, March 22, 2007
State Spending Spree - WSJ.com
State Spending Spree - WSJ.com: "Jennifer Granholm, the Democratic governor of another declining Midwestern industrial state, is also seeking a $1 billion-plus tax business tax increase to fund what she's calling her 'invest in Michigan' budget. The state, with more last jobs than any except Hurricane-ravaged Louisiana, hopes to reward businesses that invest more funds and create more jobs in Motor City by socking them with a higher tax bill."
Water on the brain | Herald Sun
Water on the brain Herald Sun: "Premier Steve Bracks has a watering can in the sink to catch the water from the hot tap while he waits for it to run warm, and Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu declares: 'When I swim I take particular care not to splash.' "
Deliberately clueless on intelligence
Deliberately clueless on intelligence: "SALT LAKE City Mayor Rocky Anderson wants to impeach President Bush. In arguing that point, he asked Fox News' Bill O'Reilly Tuesday, 'Have you seen the National Intelligence Estimate that was provided in October of 2002, in which the intelligence agency under the State Department said that Iraq was not building up a nuclear capability, that this whole story about the aluminum tubes (reportedly sought by Saddam Hussein in Niger) was completely off base?'
I decided to re-read the NIE excerpts that the administration released. What does the report say? 'Baghdad has chemical and biological weapons as well as missiles with ranges in excess of U.N. restrictions; if left unchecked, it probably will have a nuclear weapon during this decade.' "
I decided to re-read the NIE excerpts that the administration released. What does the report say? 'Baghdad has chemical and biological weapons as well as missiles with ranges in excess of U.N. restrictions; if left unchecked, it probably will have a nuclear weapon during this decade.' "
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Roy Spencer Oral Testimony for 19 March 2007
Roy Spencer Oral Testimony for 19 March 2007: "University of Alabama Climatologist Roy Spencer's Oral Testimony
March, 19 2007
I would like to thank the Chairman and members of the Committee for the opportunity to provide my perspective on the subject of political interference in government-funded science.
I have been performing NASA-sponsored research for the last twenty-two years.
Prior to my current position as a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, I was Senior Scientist for Climate Studies at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, and was an employee of NASA from 1987 to 2001."
During the period of my government employment, NASA had a rule that ANY interaction between its scientists and the press was to be coordinated through NASA management and public affairs. Understandably, NASA managers do not appreciate first learning of their scientists' findings and opinions in the morning newspapers.
It was no secret within NASA that I was skeptical of the size of the human influence on global climate. My views were diametrically opposed to those of Vice President Gore, and I believe that they were considered to be a possible hindrance to NASA getting full congressional funding for Mission to Planet Earth.
So, while Dr. Hansen was freely sounding the alarm over what HE believed to be dangerous levels of human influence on the climate, I tried to follow the rules. On many occasions I avoided answering questions from the media on the subject, and instead directed reporters to John Christy, my co-worker and a university employee.
Through the management chain, I was politely told what I was allowed to say in congressional testimony. In fact, my dodging of committee questions regarding my personal opinions on the subject of global warming was considered to be quite humorous by one committee, an exchange which is now part of the congressional record.
I want to make it very clear that I am not complaining -- I am only relating these things because I was asked to. I was, and still am, totally supportive of NASA's Earth satellite missions…but I understood that my position as a NASA employee was a privilege, not a right, and that there were rules I was expected to abide by.
Partly because of those limits on what I could and couldn't say to the press and congress, I voluntarily resigned from NASA in the fall of 2001. Even though my research responsibilities to NASA have NOT changed since resigning, being a university employee gives me much more freedom than government employees have to express opinions.
So, while you might think that the political influence on our climate research program started with the Bush Administration, that simply isn't true. It has ALWAYS existed. You just never heard about it because NASA's climate science program was aligned with Vice President Gore's desire to get rid of fossil fuels.
The bias started when the U.S. climate research program was first initiated. The emphasis on studying the PROBLEM of global warming, of course, presumes that a problem exists. As a result, the funding has ALWAYS favored the finding of evidence for climate CATASTROPHE rather than for climate STABILITY.
This biased approach to the funding of science serves several goals which favor a specific political ideology:
1) It grows government science, environmental, and policy programs, which depend upon global warming remaining as much a threat as possible.
2) It favors climate researchers, who quite naturally have vested interests in careers, pet theories, and personal incomes.
3) And, it provides justification for environmental lobbying groups, whose very existence depends upon sustaining public fears of environmental disaster.
I'm NOT claiming that a global warming science program isn't needed -- It IS. We DO need to find out how much of our current warmth is human-induced, and how much we might expect in the future. I'm just pointing out that the political interference flows both ways -- but not everyone has felt compelled to complain about it.
(This concludes my oral testimony).
March, 19 2007
I would like to thank the Chairman and members of the Committee for the opportunity to provide my perspective on the subject of political interference in government-funded science.
I have been performing NASA-sponsored research for the last twenty-two years.
Prior to my current position as a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, I was Senior Scientist for Climate Studies at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, and was an employee of NASA from 1987 to 2001."
During the period of my government employment, NASA had a rule that ANY interaction between its scientists and the press was to be coordinated through NASA management and public affairs. Understandably, NASA managers do not appreciate first learning of their scientists' findings and opinions in the morning newspapers.
It was no secret within NASA that I was skeptical of the size of the human influence on global climate. My views were diametrically opposed to those of Vice President Gore, and I believe that they were considered to be a possible hindrance to NASA getting full congressional funding for Mission to Planet Earth.
So, while Dr. Hansen was freely sounding the alarm over what HE believed to be dangerous levels of human influence on the climate, I tried to follow the rules. On many occasions I avoided answering questions from the media on the subject, and instead directed reporters to John Christy, my co-worker and a university employee.
Through the management chain, I was politely told what I was allowed to say in congressional testimony. In fact, my dodging of committee questions regarding my personal opinions on the subject of global warming was considered to be quite humorous by one committee, an exchange which is now part of the congressional record.
I want to make it very clear that I am not complaining -- I am only relating these things because I was asked to. I was, and still am, totally supportive of NASA's Earth satellite missions…but I understood that my position as a NASA employee was a privilege, not a right, and that there were rules I was expected to abide by.
Partly because of those limits on what I could and couldn't say to the press and congress, I voluntarily resigned from NASA in the fall of 2001. Even though my research responsibilities to NASA have NOT changed since resigning, being a university employee gives me much more freedom than government employees have to express opinions.
So, while you might think that the political influence on our climate research program started with the Bush Administration, that simply isn't true. It has ALWAYS existed. You just never heard about it because NASA's climate science program was aligned with Vice President Gore's desire to get rid of fossil fuels.
The bias started when the U.S. climate research program was first initiated. The emphasis on studying the PROBLEM of global warming, of course, presumes that a problem exists. As a result, the funding has ALWAYS favored the finding of evidence for climate CATASTROPHE rather than for climate STABILITY.
This biased approach to the funding of science serves several goals which favor a specific political ideology:
1) It grows government science, environmental, and policy programs, which depend upon global warming remaining as much a threat as possible.
2) It favors climate researchers, who quite naturally have vested interests in careers, pet theories, and personal incomes.
3) And, it provides justification for environmental lobbying groups, whose very existence depends upon sustaining public fears of environmental disaster.
I'm NOT claiming that a global warming science program isn't needed -- It IS. We DO need to find out how much of our current warmth is human-induced, and how much we might expect in the future. I'm just pointing out that the political interference flows both ways -- but not everyone has felt compelled to complain about it.
(This concludes my oral testimony).
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Power Line: An Enemy So Evil...
Power Line: An Enemy So Evil...: "Insurgents in Iraq detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle with two children in the back seat after US soldiers let it through a Baghdad checkpoint over the weekend, a senior US military official said Tuesday. "
Hooters doesn't fit the image of the Big Beaver corridor?
Hooters: It's last chance to settle Troy: "Hooters has sought a liquor license transfer for its new location on Big Beaver and Rochester roads. The council voted against the transfer in June, saying the restaurant doesn't fit the image of the Big Beaver corridor."
I thought water levels were supposed to go up!
Is this what AlGore ment when he said "everything that is supposed to be up is down. And everything that's supposed to be down is up"?
Great Lakes levels plunge in February: "One other possible factor: A 1960s dredging project in the St. Clair River has eroded the river bottom to twice the depth originally intended. Federal officials have estimated the project, which essentially opened a bigger drain hole in a river that lets out water from Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, has lowered water levels in those two lakes by a foot or more."
Would the liberal media lie to us?
That would NEVER happen....would it....?
Polar bears 'thriving as the Arctic warms up' International News News Telegraph: "However, Prof Derocher conceded that some polar bear-related evidence of the damaging effect of global warming was misplaced.
Contrary to concern over a celebrated photograph of a bear and its cub floating on a tiny iceberg, the animals often travel in that way, he said.
'Bears will often hang out on glacier ice or large pieces of multi-year ice,' he said."
Polar bears 'thriving as the Arctic warms up' International News News Telegraph: "However, Prof Derocher conceded that some polar bear-related evidence of the damaging effect of global warming was misplaced.
Contrary to concern over a celebrated photograph of a bear and its cub floating on a tiny iceberg, the animals often travel in that way, he said.
'Bears will often hang out on glacier ice or large pieces of multi-year ice,' he said."
Monday, March 19, 2007
First class journalistic laziness
Airline Moves Dead Body to 1st Class: "A first-class passenger on a flight from Delhi to London awoke find the corpse of a woman who had died in the economy cabin being placed in a seat next to him, British Airways said Monday.
The economy section of the flight was full, and the cabin crew needed to move the woman and her grieving family out of that compartment to give them some privacy, the airline said.
The first-class passenger, Paul Trinder, told the Sunday Times newspaper that he was sleeping during a February flight from India and woke up when the crew placed the dead woman in an empty seat near him. "
Well, what is it? Next to Mr Trinder or "near" him? Why not report "on his lap"?
At least Drudge titled the link "The Final Upgrade". Now, that's journalism!
The economy section of the flight was full, and the cabin crew needed to move the woman and her grieving family out of that compartment to give them some privacy, the airline said.
The first-class passenger, Paul Trinder, told the Sunday Times newspaper that he was sleeping during a February flight from India and woke up when the crew placed the dead woman in an empty seat near him. "
Well, what is it? Next to Mr Trinder or "near" him? Why not report "on his lap"?
At least Drudge titled the link "The Final Upgrade". Now, that's journalism!
What a surprise!
Throwing money at a problem doesn't fix the problem. The graph looks similar to the money vs educated kids in American public schools.
TCS Daily - An Easterly Aid Wind Blows Out of Canada: "Apparently, Canada's Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade has read the CGD and IMF reports and discovered an inconvenient truth. While the Committee knew with certitude the levels of ODA that have gone into Africa, it couldn't determine their effect on the intended beneficiaries—with the sole exception that they were worse off than before.
This must mean that these same funds have found a way Out of Africa. "
Thursday, March 15, 2007
So yer a crook, eh?
WendyMcElroy.com: The transaction costs of life are soaring: "Thus, one of the first phrases that came to mind when a friend recently vented to me over the phone was 'transaction cost.' He is/was used to crossing the Canadian-US border with ease and frequency in order to visit friends and family up here. However, in January new procedures came into force by which US police and court records on American citizens are being shared with Canadian customs agents, and vice versa. My friends problem: a DUI for which he was denied entry. It didn't matter how old the DUI was nor that it was a one-time offense. A DUI is now one of the minor infractions which can cause a de facto iron curtain to fall across the Canadian-US border; other infractions include possession of marijuana (perhaps in the '70s), possession of a medical marijuana card, shoplifting, an arrest for attending a peace rally or even an ill-conceived prank. "
Monday, March 12, 2007
From bite to "bite me"?
Greenandwhite.com: McCallie issues statement following husband's arrest: "McCallie also stated she has no comment on speculation that she is a candidate for the recently opened job at the University of Florida. McCallie said she does not comment on job openings."
IMAO: Frank Facts About Fred Thompson
IMAO: Frank Facts About Fred Thompson: "Actually, the more I find out about Fred Thompson, the more I think he needs to be President. And I mean he should be President right now, like Dick Cheney should resign, President Bush should then appoint Fred Thompson to be Vice-President, and then President Bush should resign."
Galactic warming?
My Way News - Theory: Saturn Moon's Heat From Decay: "Scientists believe heat from radioactive decay inside a tiny, icy Saturn moon shortly after it formed billions of years ago may explain why geysers are erupting from the surface today."
How can this be?
We just re-elected our lady democrat governor!
State homes no longer a profitable nest egg: "Michigan was the only state in the nation to see its home prices decline in value in 2006,"
State homes no longer a profitable nest egg: "Michigan was the only state in the nation to see its home prices decline in value in 2006,"
Imagine if Berger was a GOPer and Libby was a demo?
RealClearPolitics - Articles - Berger & Libby: A Tale of Two Crimes: "Did Bill Clinton ask him to destroy documents that would make him look bad in history? I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I ask that question. But this or something very much like it seems to be the only explanation that makes sense."
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