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Saturday's mess - 18 April 2009
Apr. 19th, 2009 01:42 amGreetings and welcome aboard. The future will change - perhaps these brands will no longer be in it. And perhaps people will humorously work to undo a popular social media platform.
But we learn from the past. After all, it’s not like we seriously believe Nintendo and Super Mario Brothers are going to ruin children's lives, right?
Or, perhaps we do not. Thus, the news. Israel stands ready to bomb Iran, so as to prevent them from having nuclear capabilities. I wonder what sort of storm in the Middle East that will set off, and how the United States will get dragged into it. They may enthusiastically join in after a female American journalist, after an unnaturally swift trial, was convicted of espionage for the Untied States in Iran and sentenced to eight years in prison.
Iraqi forces swept through Fallujah, an potentially encouraging sign for those wanting to see them stand up on their own.
Considering that it seems to be working, more French workers are holding their bosses hostage to make their demands heard.
Perhaps poving that a lot of what we say is just rhetoric, Mr. Chavez and Mr. Obama shook hands at an impromptu summit meeting today. Cue another round of “appeasement”, “socialism”, and “no moral grounding” attacks, especially considering the content of Mr. Obama's speeches.
Domestically, the torture memoranda that we now have took so long to get here because fo the protestations of no less than four former CIA directors objecting to their release on compromising intelligence and national security grounds. Speaking thereof, Mr. Mukasey, previous Attorney General, and General Hayden, former CIA director, attempt to convince us that the disclosure of these memos hamstrings national security, because people misunderstand that torture is an intelligence-gathering mechanism, not a confession-extraction one, disclosure means terrorists can train to harden themselves against what they know of as “permitted” interrogation techniques, because some people just need to be tortured to get the valuable information that they have, because nothing else works on them, and because now it means people asking for legal opinions might have those opinions opened up to public scrutiny afterward, shock and horror. One would think that we could stop the discussion at “torturing people, for any reason, is morally wrong and we do not support it.” and prosecute people who did it, gave cover to it, and deter anyone else from suggesting or implementing it, but that is not the case. The Jack Bauer mentality still prevails.
The Environmental Protection Agency has classified greehouse gas emissions as dangerous to public health, which sets the stage for them to be regulated, likely through the much-discussed carbon taxation “cap-and-trade” system, but with the possibility of utilizing the Clean Air Act to require reductions of emissions.
Faux News is probably salivating on this one - the White House apparently asked Georgetown University, Catholics, to cover religious symbols in the background when the President was speaking. The reasoning from the White House was that they wished to provide a uniform background setting for Presidential speech events. I can also see where the tradition of being a non-religious country, at least officially, would also suggset that where possible, religious symbols not be part of the Presidential backdrop, lest the President be accused fo favoring one religion over another.
In the opinions, a recommendation not to wait for the eggheads to design the lifeboat that saves the planet, because the rich people who believe the fire can be put out or the lifeboat built in time will delay the lifeboat as much as possible.
The American Thinker wants to lay the blame of Communist Cuba squarely at JFK's feet, for not providing the necessary support to the freedom fighters of Cuba over wondering how it would look to the U.N. and others, while making parallels that President Obama will do similar things when faced with his own need to support those who fight for freedom in other countries. Mr. Joffe points out that popularity does nto translate to power, and thus if President Obama wants to be liked, he misses out on effecting real change in the world, because he desn’t work with the interests of other countries, and being liked doesn't excuse the need to put tough pressure on countries, like Cuba, that jail dissidents or others.
Mr. Smick argues against both Krugmanites and Summerites, saying that neither nationalization nor rolling back the complexities will be good for banks and the country, because risk drives investment. What would be better, says he, is to retool so that startups get good interest rates, so they can innovate without worrying their debts will kill them before they get profitable. the WSj also advises against the federal government insuring municipal bonds, because the mere presence of insurance changes the way things get done, and anyone claiming that such insurance would not cost the taxpayers anything is engaging in wishful thinking.
Ms. Strassel notes that the current language for alternative fuel inclusion tax credits generates problems all around, from trade complaints that the paper industry is ramping up production just ot cash in, to environmental complaints because to collect the subsidy, the paper industry has to burn some unnecessary diesel along with their waste byproduct, to the complaints about ehtanol not actually working and being a waste of money. So, no subsidies at all, clearly, is the solution.
Here’s F.U.D. for you on small, fuel-efficient cars - Mr. Kazman says small cars will kill you if they get in an accident, so you shouldn’t buy them. He can thank the laws of physics for that - a heavier object has creater momentum and force than a lighter one. So yes, in a collision between a Hummer and a Smart car, the Hummer wins. Thus, everyone should drive the completely safe, 10 mpg Hummers. Or... maybe not. The alternative unmentioned is that if the entirety of the vehicle fleet driven on the road becomes smaller and lighter, the safety of those smaller and lighter cars will likely improve, through not having to contend with Hummers in vehicle crashes. And everyone gets better fuel economy in the process. This is a pretty good example of lies, damned lies, and statistics.
And smiilar on government-run insrance and health care - Dr. Siegel suggests taht physicians won't take governemnt insurances, because they don’t pay enough, delay too long, and aren’t worth all the paperwork filing. So even if the country ahd a public option, they’d have trouble finding a doctor that took it. Which is nothing against the public option, but a recommendation that if the government goes forward with the public option, that they find a method that will make it worthwhile for physicians to be a part of it. Perhaps electronic medical records will help with this.
The WSJ endorses Mr. Coleman' continued fight against Mr. Franken, believing no uniform standard of what is a valid vote has yet been determined or enforced in the recounts, and so Mr. Coleman has legitimate grievances on how the votes ahve been handled so far.
In technology, body paint that will conduct electrical current, the United States government is looking to hire white hats to combat black hats and secure government networks, and laughter continues to be healthy for you.
Last for tonight, an interesting experiment, and a look into the idea that people will help, even if the thing they’re helping is a robot - Tweenbots, a robot with a destination in mind and only the ability to travel straight forward. To achieve its mission, it must rely on random strangers to orient it in the right direction.
But we learn from the past. After all, it’s not like we seriously believe Nintendo and Super Mario Brothers are going to ruin children's lives, right?
Or, perhaps we do not. Thus, the news. Israel stands ready to bomb Iran, so as to prevent them from having nuclear capabilities. I wonder what sort of storm in the Middle East that will set off, and how the United States will get dragged into it. They may enthusiastically join in after a female American journalist, after an unnaturally swift trial, was convicted of espionage for the Untied States in Iran and sentenced to eight years in prison.
Iraqi forces swept through Fallujah, an potentially encouraging sign for those wanting to see them stand up on their own.
Considering that it seems to be working, more French workers are holding their bosses hostage to make their demands heard.
Perhaps poving that a lot of what we say is just rhetoric, Mr. Chavez and Mr. Obama shook hands at an impromptu summit meeting today. Cue another round of “appeasement”, “socialism”, and “no moral grounding” attacks, especially considering the content of Mr. Obama's speeches.
Domestically, the torture memoranda that we now have took so long to get here because fo the protestations of no less than four former CIA directors objecting to their release on compromising intelligence and national security grounds. Speaking thereof, Mr. Mukasey, previous Attorney General, and General Hayden, former CIA director, attempt to convince us that the disclosure of these memos hamstrings national security, because people misunderstand that torture is an intelligence-gathering mechanism, not a confession-extraction one, disclosure means terrorists can train to harden themselves against what they know of as “permitted” interrogation techniques, because some people just need to be tortured to get the valuable information that they have, because nothing else works on them, and because now it means people asking for legal opinions might have those opinions opened up to public scrutiny afterward, shock and horror. One would think that we could stop the discussion at “torturing people, for any reason, is morally wrong and we do not support it.” and prosecute people who did it, gave cover to it, and deter anyone else from suggesting or implementing it, but that is not the case. The Jack Bauer mentality still prevails.
The Environmental Protection Agency has classified greehouse gas emissions as dangerous to public health, which sets the stage for them to be regulated, likely through the much-discussed carbon taxation “cap-and-trade” system, but with the possibility of utilizing the Clean Air Act to require reductions of emissions.
Faux News is probably salivating on this one - the White House apparently asked Georgetown University, Catholics, to cover religious symbols in the background when the President was speaking. The reasoning from the White House was that they wished to provide a uniform background setting for Presidential speech events. I can also see where the tradition of being a non-religious country, at least officially, would also suggset that where possible, religious symbols not be part of the Presidential backdrop, lest the President be accused fo favoring one religion over another.
In the opinions, a recommendation not to wait for the eggheads to design the lifeboat that saves the planet, because the rich people who believe the fire can be put out or the lifeboat built in time will delay the lifeboat as much as possible.
The American Thinker wants to lay the blame of Communist Cuba squarely at JFK's feet, for not providing the necessary support to the freedom fighters of Cuba over wondering how it would look to the U.N. and others, while making parallels that President Obama will do similar things when faced with his own need to support those who fight for freedom in other countries. Mr. Joffe points out that popularity does nto translate to power, and thus if President Obama wants to be liked, he misses out on effecting real change in the world, because he desn’t work with the interests of other countries, and being liked doesn't excuse the need to put tough pressure on countries, like Cuba, that jail dissidents or others.
Mr. Smick argues against both Krugmanites and Summerites, saying that neither nationalization nor rolling back the complexities will be good for banks and the country, because risk drives investment. What would be better, says he, is to retool so that startups get good interest rates, so they can innovate without worrying their debts will kill them before they get profitable. the WSj also advises against the federal government insuring municipal bonds, because the mere presence of insurance changes the way things get done, and anyone claiming that such insurance would not cost the taxpayers anything is engaging in wishful thinking.
Ms. Strassel notes that the current language for alternative fuel inclusion tax credits generates problems all around, from trade complaints that the paper industry is ramping up production just ot cash in, to environmental complaints because to collect the subsidy, the paper industry has to burn some unnecessary diesel along with their waste byproduct, to the complaints about ehtanol not actually working and being a waste of money. So, no subsidies at all, clearly, is the solution.
Here’s F.U.D. for you on small, fuel-efficient cars - Mr. Kazman says small cars will kill you if they get in an accident, so you shouldn’t buy them. He can thank the laws of physics for that - a heavier object has creater momentum and force than a lighter one. So yes, in a collision between a Hummer and a Smart car, the Hummer wins. Thus, everyone should drive the completely safe, 10 mpg Hummers. Or... maybe not. The alternative unmentioned is that if the entirety of the vehicle fleet driven on the road becomes smaller and lighter, the safety of those smaller and lighter cars will likely improve, through not having to contend with Hummers in vehicle crashes. And everyone gets better fuel economy in the process. This is a pretty good example of lies, damned lies, and statistics.
And smiilar on government-run insrance and health care - Dr. Siegel suggests taht physicians won't take governemnt insurances, because they don’t pay enough, delay too long, and aren’t worth all the paperwork filing. So even if the country ahd a public option, they’d have trouble finding a doctor that took it. Which is nothing against the public option, but a recommendation that if the government goes forward with the public option, that they find a method that will make it worthwhile for physicians to be a part of it. Perhaps electronic medical records will help with this.
The WSJ endorses Mr. Coleman' continued fight against Mr. Franken, believing no uniform standard of what is a valid vote has yet been determined or enforced in the recounts, and so Mr. Coleman has legitimate grievances on how the votes ahve been handled so far.
In technology, body paint that will conduct electrical current, the United States government is looking to hire white hats to combat black hats and secure government networks, and laughter continues to be healthy for you.
Last for tonight, an interesting experiment, and a look into the idea that people will help, even if the thing they’re helping is a robot - Tweenbots, a robot with a destination in mind and only the ability to travel straight forward. To achieve its mission, it must rely on random strangers to orient it in the right direction.
