Who does Al Gore sue?

TORONTO - A volcano has erupted on a tiny island off the coast of Yemen, spewing
lava and ash hundreds of feet into the air, a Canadian naval vessel near the
island in the Red Sea reported Sunday. There were no immediate reports of
deaths, but at least eight people were missing.

So starts the AP story. Now with a volcano spewing out tons of sulfur dioxide and other nasty stuff into the air, who do we sue for the release of greenhouse gasses and other pollutants?

Al Gore call your office we need you to tell us who is going to pay for this blatant pollution problem.

Ummm, doesn't this mean war?

Iran shelling targets deeper inside northern Iraq

So goes the headline on an wire service story. Iran is now shelling places 10 1/2 miles into Iraq. If Germany started to shell France or Mexico started to shell the US, war would be declared and if not full scale operations took place, at least the batteries doing the shelling would be silenced by counter battery or an air strike.

While Iran is saying it is shelling camps that support rebels operating in Iran and therefore the camps are legitimate targets, Iraq and the US can say Iran is supporting the insurgents in Iraq and therefore the Republican Guards and the Iranian leadership are fair game for US retaliation.

What is going on??

News roundup

Lot of news to share today and so without further ado . . .

In Austria, a gorilla still isn't considered a person. The lawsuit has now been thrown out of three courts but the group says they will appeal. I'm glad Austria is still showing common sense, a gorilla isn't a person, but its scary that they only need one judge to change the basic definition of what a person is.

British Airways is buying a lot of airplanes and decided to split the order between the Boeing 787 and Airbus 380. Personally I think BA will quietly cancel or sideline the 380s when their true operating costs are known.

Now we can see if yanks care where things are made. Toy stores are starting to set up areas in their stores where all toys are made in the US or Europe so shoppers can avoid toys made in China. Be interesting to see how long that will last.

Israel, Syria, the US and the rest of the Middle East are still not talking about the Israeli air attack on Syria last week. Here are some suggestions on why that may be.

John McCain is a smart man, but in a serious article on energy independence he makes a stupid premise. We need to become oil independent so lets increase the use of nuclear power for generating electricity. Ok, first, increasing the use of nuclear power is not a bad idea. But we DO NOT use much oil to make electricity. We use natural gas and coal for the majority of our electrical generation. Oil accounts for less then 5% of our electricity generation needs. We use oil for TRANSPORTATION. So building a lot of nuclear plants won't solve our oil use unless you think we will all drive electric cars.

And speaking of cars, here is an interesting article on the future transportation modes.

The new Iraqi Army and why it has taken so much time to get them up to speed.

The sub-prime bailout and costs to landlords and the tax nightmare being envisioned.

Have a good day.

Global Warming: Excuse for Taxes

Democrat wants to increase taxes around the board in order to reduce greenhouse gases. There would be a 50 cent tax increase per gallon of gas, a tax on carbon emissions as well as the elimination of the interest deduction on housing loans for houses over >3000 sq ft. Just how would you enforce that? Wouldn't some smart cookie figure out that if you split your house into a lot of smaller houses that there would be ways around this? Would I count stairs into that 3000 sq ft? What about the garage? Great, more legislation, more opportunities for loopholes.

What you don't understand is how the money is proposed to be spent. The tax gains will be applied to

...highway construction, mass transit, paying for Social Security and health programs and to help the poor pay energy bills.

Last I checked, Social Security, health programs (national insurance??), and welfare weren't contributing to global warming. So why the need to funnel the money there? Because global warming has just become a handy excuse to tax you and me to pay for somebody else's programs.

Beagles and Balrogs

Beagles and Balrogs
Originally uploaded by kawfeadikt

Just in case you thought it was necessary to armor your dog prior to venturing out into the world. Check out http://www.organicarmor.com.

Are the scammers THIS stupid???

I received an email claiming to be from Bank of America saying someone had tried to access my account and now I needed to click on the link and verify my account information.

Of course the email was sent by pp-verify@yahoo.com.

I started to write a nasty reply asking how STUPID these folks were and even gave them the curse of the 4th grader "may the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits", but decided in the end to hit the spam button and mock them here.

Ok, feel better now.

Politics, bias and the world

Where to start today. . . . .

This cartoon says it all about the wisdom and irony of the UAW strike.

An article supposedly about how small donors are changing the political landscape (which Pres Bush demonstrated back in 2000 and 2004) turns out to be a puff piece on Obama. Go figure.

NPR, the folks who are supported by us the taxpayers didn't want to give Pres Bush an interview, so Fox got it. And people wonder why Fox is doing better then other news networks. Can we PLEASE make NPR truly private so they can do what they want ON THEIR OWN DIME.

And finally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, is requesting US help in securing the release of hostages from FARC (rebel group in Columbia). The comments at Lucianne are worth reading.

Have a good day in this strange place we call home.

Whoops

Man loses house on the freeway, and there it sits, near the Cahuenga Pass.

Oil and Unions

Turning Oil into Salt: R. James Woolsey & Anne Korin write we need to not just become imported oil dependent but make oil like salt. An important commodity, but not something countries go to war over. The authors solution is plug in hybrid and ethanol from bio mass. Basically a pipe dream. Unless there is a major breakthrough in battery storage technology and or ethanol manufacturing we won't be replacing oil or making oil as common as salt.

More on the UAW, GM and the effects on the State of Michigan.

George Soros a threat to democracy? Don't know I would go that far. . . .

Steve Laffey and his new book and his future plans.

New Jersey, most people think Democrats corrupt in State but will vote for them anyway. Why?

"...they lost."

Lt. Col. Mike Silverman, commander of the 3rd ID in Anbar Province was asked by Michael Totten, "What’s the most important thing Americans need to know about Iraq that they don’t currently know?” His answer is this (emphasis mine)

“That we’re fighting Al Qaeda,” he said without hesitation. “[Abu Musab al] Zarqawi invented Al Qaeda in Iraq. The top leadership outside Iraq squawked and thought it was a bad idea. Then he blew up the Samarra mosque, triggered a civil war, and got the whole world’s attention. Then the Al Qaeda leadership outside dumped huge amounts of money and people and arms into Anbar Province. They poured everything they had into this place. The battle against Americans in Anbar became their most important fight in the world. And they lost.”

Totten and Silverman have a great interview that discusses the outcome of Anbar, insights into the conflict there, and how it became a victory. Baghdad may not be brimming with great news, but this is a good sign of what can be if the US plays smart and remains committed to success.

O Columbia, Where Art Thou?

Apparently hiding behind a black backdrop. Speaks volumes to me.

Biofuel, famine, unrest, war

Hope you all had a good weekend. Spouse had a friend down and they went to the UCLA-Wash game on Sat. Friend is a Huskey alum. So it turned out to be a pretty good weekend for all. UCLA beat Wash Yeah, USC beat Wash State, well that was a boo and a yeah. UCLA wants USC to lose to everyone (and vice versa) while Friend was glad Wash St lost. Ok, that's not quite true. Folks from Wash rarely think of Wash St, ignoring them is better then getting angry at them. But fun was had by all.

UAW is striking GM. Does this make any sense? The Union says they want better job security. But the company is losing money, going BK is looking more likely which will void all contracts and the union is demanding more job security? How about helping the company getting profitable again with a profit sharing provision so you will enjoy the fruits of your labor? And remember UAW, if GM goes bk, all your retirees pensions and health care are either gone or at best reduced 50 to 70%. I don't know if retirees still vote in UAW elections but I wouldn't want to explain to them the Unions actions cost them their pension.

Iran has confirmed its shelling Kurdish positions in Iraq. Uhhhh, isn't that an act of war? Just asking.

Bio-fuel is the current hot ticket. However, as more food is diverted to fuel, the safety stocks of food are getting smaller. If there is a crop failure in the US or other large food producing countries, urban poor in China, India, Mexico could see major food costs increase which could lead to unrest.

Anti-war movies don't seem to be doing well in the box office. Capitalism still works.

Is Disney bowing to political pressure in not releasing a show on DVD? I thought this was the US and not Russia.

Have a good day.

What was she thinking? What were they thinking?

MIT student walks into Logan airport with a circuit board on her sweatshirt looking much like a terrorist.

"She said that it was a piece of art and she wanted to stand out on career day," [State Police Maj. Scott] Pare said at a news conference. "She claims that it was just art, and that she was proud of the art and she wanted to display it."

The device had wires connected to a battery, allowing it to light up, he said. Simpson [the student]also had Play-Doh in her hands, he said.

Play-Doh?? Yeah, okay, this sounds a little stupid considering our current conflict. I'd have to ask what WAS she thinking? If at all. Is this a publicity stunt? Some sort of statement? Just a silly oversight? I'm looking forward to see how how this develops. (and why do college students feel the need to go out of their way to be controversial in the most stupidest of ways? Push the boundaries; don't jeopardize the public.)

On the other hand, if I were a terrorist, the last thing I would do would be to strap a bomb to my sweatshirt. I'd wonder what the cops are thinking at this point in time. Of course, in the heat of the situation, you can't analyze the situation--better to err on the side of caution. A little analysis would have helped defuse the situation, but you'd have to have somebody familiar with circuits (like an EOD tech). Perhaps police departments should be trained in electrical engineering.

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My Kingdom for a Broomstick!

Imagine being able to fire up your PSx, and hopping up on your broomstick controller. I thought it was kind of amusing, although I would feel like a complete tool playing a game on this thing.

Quidditch anybody?

No Academic Freedom for You!

The UC Regents declined to have dinner with President of Harvard, Lawrence H. Summers, under pressure from liberal professors. Summers apparently served a controversial term, but if Columbia University can provide a forum for those who deny the Holocaust and sponsor state run terrorism, certainly the Regents of the University of California could share a meal conversation with "a former treasury secretary, university administrator, and respected economist". As the Harvard Crimson pointed out:

...the unrestricted marketplace of ideas that must form the heart of any university worth the name is being poisoned by a perverse pressure to conform truth to political agenda and stifle any speaker who espouses uncomfortable or invonveneint (sic) opinions.

It would seem that academic freedom only extends to the political left.

(hat tip: Instapundit)

New Toys

For several years I had an MP3 player with a removable compact flash card for memory. However, the player couldn't take cards bigger then 1 gig and wanted more space for audio books.

My wife has had an ipod mini for several years and really enjoyed it so after Apple introduced the new iphone and ipod lines, started to look on ebay to see what an 80 gig ipod would go for. Was amazed that new ones were selling from $250 to $330, when Best Buy is selling them for $249. I actually bid on about 25 auctions and finally have my 80 gig. Its used but in great condition.

Of course I couldn't stop there, had to also get the FM tuner for my car since I don't have an MP3 plug in and a power cable and plug in cable for my wife's car so she can charge and listen to her ipod in the car.

Since we trade off cars twice a week, my Prius has car pool stickers so one person can use the HOV lanes in Cal, when she has to go downtown. The stickers save her about 20 min on her commute each way. So instead of transferring CDs from my car to hers, only have to plug in the ipod and can keep listening to the audio book. Also have music now at work which is nice so don't have to hear my co workers when they are on the phone. The joy of cubical life.

So with the new ipod, what about my old mp3 player? Well will salvage the CF card because our camera uses it but most likely will try to sell it on ebay as well with one of our smaller CF cards. Otherwise its off to the ewaste center.

Now I have my PDA, cell phone and ipod. The next thing is to see how to get all three into one package. NO the iphone is not the solution, my PDA is a Palm and I'm sticking with the OS. So can combine the PDA and cell phone (Treo) but they don't have the storage capacity for a music player. Will have to see what the companies come up with next.

The state of education

Over at American Civic Literacy, they have a 60 question quiz on US civics.

How well can you do?

I took the test and got 59 out of 60. The only question I missed was:

"The question of why democracy leads to well-ordered government in America when disorder prevails in Europe is central to: "

The test is here: http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/quiz.aspx

The sad part is how poorly many folks do.

Have you forgotten?

I should have had this up on the 11th, but no I haven't forgotten.

Have you?



Thanks to Barb (who doesn't know this blog exhists or that I copied her idea).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_-x9kMPauc

Smog Check

Civic Smog Check
Originally uploaded by kawfeadikt

Way back when, I had a Sonoma Red Pearl Honda Civic LX--the first car that I owned (aside from the family Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme). Today, I searched the California smog database and found this, a record of my trusty old Civic and its, presumably, last smog check.

As you can see, the last notation was from November of 2004 and I can only guess that the new owner, who robbed me of my stereo even though he promised he would take it out and return it, couldn't push it much beyond the 119,000 miles.

This makes me kind of sad.

TMQ on Football and...Fuel Economy

I like reading Gregg Easterbrook, aka TMQ. Where else can you see a guy riff on the woes of the NFL and then segue into EPA mileage and Election 2008? Interesting to see that President Bush and Barack Obama agree on mandating an increase of MPG standards of automobiles by one third. They agree. What is interesting is that, here, Detroit automakers and the Dems share a common goal: resistance to the mileage standard increase.

Sure, Detroit resists the need to improve their designs, but the Dems seem to have designs on improving their Election 2008 chances. By stonewalling now, they may be able attempting to claim the moral high ground come 2008 through pointing out how the Administration and Republicans did nothing to improve mileage. As Easterbrook says,

"Wouldn't it be nice if Detroit CEOs [and Democrats] acted as though they cared about national security!"

I agree.

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Half-Croc'd

James Lileks has the 411 on Crocs and I agree.

I’ve seen large sloppy men wearing Crocs, and they needed only twin tufts of orange hair and a red ball for a nose to complete the image. Crocs for adults say “I can’t even manage Velcro, and believe the world wants to look at your callused heels.

Thirty bucks for a couple of pieces of rubber is far too much, especially for something that looks like a post modern interpretation of Dutch clogs, or Alien-ized Dr. Scholl's.

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Fall is here

The days and evenings are getting cooler here, the heat of summer is going away.

Have a few things to share from the news:

The Media:

Journalists are supposed to be impartial and objective in their reporting in the US unless they are writing an op/ed. Well we like that fiction here, but it would be nice if the journalists would keep their end of the bargain. If not, lets go back to partisan papers.

Greenspan says Iraq war was for oil. That was the claim and headline. The truth is a little different. Greenspan says HE was for the war because it would help to stabilize oil prices and prevent Iraq from threatening oil supplies. That was why he supported the war. Journalists either didn't understand or didn't want to understand what Greenspan said.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner unsafe says fired engineer. That is the headline. The truth is a little different. Yes an engineer was fired from Boeing and he has claimed the 787 is unsafe. But look at why he was fired and his comments become suspect. The engineer filed an OSHA claim for retaliation termination for his whistle blowing. After OSHA investigated, they dismissed the engineer's claim as groundless.

10th Mountain Division Commander "Were Tired" says the headline. Yes he said that, but if one reads the article one comes away with a very different opinion of the shape of the force.

So three stories, three examples of journalists trying to get their spin on the tone of the story instead of letting the facts speak for themselves.

Three other stories to share:

What is the story about the Israeli raid in Syria a few days ago? No one knows or those who do know aren't talking. Lots of speculation and I don't have a clue.

Mark Steyn has some fun at Barry Manilow's expense after Manilow refused to appear on the View because Elisabeth Hasselbeck is one of the hosts and GASP is a conservative. Too funny and only makes Manilow weaker because he's afraid of a girl.

Finally, Larry Kudlow gives reason why the economy is doing well. I do hope he is correct.

Health Care: Who's Going to Pay?

Who is going to pay for universal health care? According to Hillary, it would be the usual suspects: the wealthy and businesses.

Clinton will propose several specific measures to pay for her plan, including an end to some of the Bush-era tax cuts for people making more than $250,000 per year.

Now, granted, I'm sort of/kinda okay with taxing the rich, after all I'm a believer that "to whom much has been given, much is expected" in how it applies to everything--talent and wealth. I wouldn't go so far, however, as to attempt to equalize and redistribute wealth, those are socialist ideals that I do no subscribe to. If you work hard, you should be able to enjoy the fruits of your labors. I would caution that if we rely on the tax-the-rich scheme we begin to erode one of the motivations that made this country great--reward for hard work. I would also caution that tax-the-rich may not bring in the money that they think it will bring in. Really, it's about garnering support from the middle and lower classes; not forming a fiscally sound plan.

...businesses, in turn, would be required to offer insurance to employees, or contribute to a government-run pool that would help pay for those not covered. Clinton would also offer a tax subsidy to small businesses to help them afford the cost of providing coverage to their workers.

I'm not okay with placing an additional burden on business. Ultimately, it will impact the ability of small businesses to exist. A source of innovation one of the biggest means for the "little guy" to make it in this country will be taken away. As the barriers of entry get higher and higher in the form of increased costs (business tax, city tax, worker's comp, permits, fees), there are fewer opportunities for a small business to succeed and smaller margin for error. In the end, only big business will be able to survive because they will be able to afford the costs associated with doing business. We will pay in the form of reduced competition, meaning higher prices, and in the loss of local businesses that might have served us better than the big box stores. Hey, I'm all for the Target and Toys 'R Us types of the world, but I like to get my coffee at local (non-Starbucks) shops and I like those used book stores.

And who will pay for those "tax subsid[ies]" for small businesses? In the end, it's going to be you and me, the tax payer.

Let's face it, universal coverage will mean increased costs to everybody with extra burdens upon businesses and the wealthy. But, ultimately, it's going to cost you and me.

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Can We Stand Another OJ Trial?

So, Simpson is involved in yet another spat, this time involving sports memorabilia. To be fair, I think Simpson is claiming that the property that he is accused of taking belonged to him. Perhaps he is right. However, I wonder why the police have taken the step of arresting him, if they haven't already proven the provenance of the items in question.

If this means another protracted TV trial/event, I'll pass. Unless there's an appearance by the Dancing Itos.



Technorati Tags: OJ, dancing itos

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Title says it all

From the London Times: Israelis ‘blew apart Syrian nuclear cache’.

“I’ve been worried for some time about North Korea and Iran outsourcing their nuclear programmes,” Bolton said last week. Syria, he added, was a member of a “junior axis of evil”, with a well-established ambition to develop weapons of mass destruction.

How come this hasn't been all over the American media?

The more things change . . . . .

the more they stay the same.

At least it is appearing that way in the news stories today.

2007 is like 1969? Well there are some similarities, a war the media and liberals think is lost, a presidential election being held next year and . . . . . . . well maybe not so much.

2007 is like 1991? Well in the real estate market it appears to be a repeat or at least the beginning of a repeat of the early 1990s. Home builders are aggressively trying move their inventory with rebates and give aways before its too late.

Anti-Semitism of the 1930s is making a comeback in 2007. Very sad, but this time Israel exists as a nation, has one true friend (the US) and has nuclear weapons.

In other news:

Vermont and other States (including California) may not have new cars to buy in 2014. The auto makers have said if the rules passed by California and adopted by 11 other States is allowed to stand, they will pull out of those markets because they can't meet the rules. I hope they (the auto makers) do it so EVERY politician can be reminded that passing a law doesn't solve the problem and that the politician works for the voters, many who may be out of work if the auto makers pull out of these States.

Global Warming advocates are now saying we must do what they say to cut carbon dioxide emissions even if global warming is a hoax. It will make us a better society so we should do it anyway. If Al Gore and the rest would lead by example, I might be more convinced. Traveling in a private jet instead of flying commercial or living in a house that uses 20 times the energy of the average family per year (and Gore has 3 of them) demonstrates how much he believes in his cause, not much.

A day of remembrance

Do you remember where you were when you heard the twin towers were hit? There was a Country song popular in 02 or 03 with just that question, do you remember.

Do no only remember those who died but of equal or greater importance is why they died. The other side declared war on us that day in a way we could not ignore (World Trade Center 1993), rationalize (US Embassy's in East Africa 1998) or write off as a one off (USS Cole 1999 I think). We are at war and need to keep fighting until the other side surrenders or dies. They started it we should finish it and fight it on our terms and not on the terms imposed by those who are on the sideline or the other side who ignore all the rules and yet demand we follow the rules.

If you are so inclined, there is an online petition (yes another one), but this one is by Victory Caucus. The petition reads as follow:

We, the undersigned, call on our national leaders and fellow citizens to resist calls for a premature withdrawal from Iraq and to support America's troops under the new commander, Gen. David Petraeus, as they implement a bold new strategy designed to bring a successful completion to their mission.

I urge you to sign it, petitioning our government is one of the rights in our constitution, just hope a few will listen to us.

TGIF

Yes, I do give thanks to God that its Friday and I've been given another week of life. Not planning on dying anytime soon, but knowing how fragile life is and how quickly it can be taken away, I am thankful for every day, even when I have to go to work.

I haven't posted because there really isn't a lot going on. While my daily life may be of interest to my wife and myself, I don't pretend anyone else would be all that interested. Also, there hasn't been much in the news that has interested me. Fred Thompson has finally announced he is running for president. If this was December I might care, but at the moment, the 2008 election is of little interest to me.

Three items in the news for today:

In New York, there isn't going to be a memorial service on Sept 11 this year. Alicia Colon (New York Sun paper) thinks that is a good idea because we have only remembered those who died and NOT the event that caused their deaths. We are not remembering the horror of the day or the attack, only the victims and therefore we forget why we fight, we were attacked first.

There is a new conspiracy, the Irish this time. Worth reading, but PLEASE read the editors note at the end.

Exonerated Duke Lacrosse Players Seek $30 Million Settlement and if the city and university do not agree, the players will go to court and likely win a lot more.

Have a good weekend.

Day after the holiday

Hope you all had a good holiday yesterday. Unfortunately, I had to work for part of the day due to Tuesday deadlines. Others in my company had to work the full day so can't complain too much.

To Rob's post: You don't get a hand out because your a responsible adult when it comes to borrowing money. I don't get a hand out either. Although we saw a nice 5 bedroom house on Saturday for only $895K which we can't afford so if we took out a loan might qualify for help because we were foolish.

In the News:

UNICEF dug wells in Bangladesh so people would have clean drinking water. They didn't test the wells and it turned out hundreds of them had high levels of poisons (natural, not man made or deposited) and is killing the people there.

Iowa is looking to give prisoners email access on a restricted basis. What is this? Criminals are not known for obeying the rules so what will prevent the bad guys from finding the holes in the system to have unmonitored access to the outside? Also if the Iowa prison system has so much money, shouldn't they return it to the State for use elsewhere? Hat tip and good comments at Lucianne.

Jonah Goldberg looks at the Media's response to hurricane Katrina.

Myths and their effects on public policy.

And now some articles on or about Iraq

Britain retreats from Iraq as they abandon their last base at Basra. Comments and hat tip Lucianne.

This wars Gettysburg moment.

President Bush goes to Iraq, one papers perspective.

General Abrams and the Vietnam Iraq comparison.

Have a good day.