Saturday, February 12. 2011
Friday, February 11. 2011
Over the transom:
The Washington Post
"The Arctic ocean is warming up, icebergs are growing scarcer and in some places the seals are finding the water too hot, according to a report to the Commerce Department yesterday from Consulafft, at Bergen, Norway. Reports from fishermen, seal hunters and explorers all point to a radical change in climate conditions and hitherto unheard-of temperatures in the Arctic zone. Exploration expeditions report that scarcely any ice has been met as far north as 81 degrees 29 minutes. Soundings to a depth of 3,100 meters showed the gulf stream still very warm. Great masses of ice have been replaced by moraines of earth and stones, the report continued, while at many points well known glaciers have entirely disappeared.
"Very few seals and no white fish are found in the eastern Arctic, while vast shoals of herring and smelt which have never before ventured so far north, are being encountered in the old seal fishing grounds. Within a few years it is predicted that due to the ice melt the sea will rise and make most coastal cities uninhabitable."
I apologize, I neglected to mention that this report was from November 2, 1922. As reported by the AP and published in The Washington Post……… 88 years ago!
Thursday, February 10. 2011
Ah, those wacky third-world countries!
Romanian Witches May Face Prison If Predictions Don't Come True
"There's more bad news in the cards for Romania's beleaguered witches."
Family Set For Exorcism
"A South African family who are plagued by mysterious fires will be celebrating this Friday with an exorcism."
Malaysia To Ban Heavy Metal Music In Order To Quell Rise In Satanism
"Malaysia is considering banning heavy metal music to crack down on an allegedly satanic youth organisation."
Yep, if it weren't for the goofy stuff coming out of those third-world countries, we wouldn't have anything to laugh about at all.
And look, here we go again!
Headless Ghost Forces Theme Park to Move Ride
Pretty amazing, eh? A huge theme park has to relocate a ride because of a... ghost?
Bosses at a theme park were forced to move a new ride after workers reported seeing what appeared to be a headless monk.
A paranormal detection agency called in by park bosses to carry out tests found that an ancient burial ground or settlement could have been disturbed.
Paranormal expert Jim Arnold, who carried out tests at the site, said that "results were picked up immediately, with orbs, ghostly images in photography and Ouija reaction results being strongest around the site where they were proposing to build Storm Surge. The results were so strong we felt the only explanation could be that an ancient burial ground or settlement was being disturbed, prompting the extra paranormal activity."
Wouldn't you just love to know what an Ouija reaction result is? The person holding the board hiccuped and the pointer moved?
And I like the term "extra" paranormal activity — as referred to the normal amount of paranormal activity found at construction sites.
Oh, and the name of this backwater third-world country caving to medieval superstition?
Well, just click on the link and find out for yourself.
I'd hate to spoil the fun.
 Dylan to share Grammy stage with Mumford, Avett Brothers
Does an academic dare come out of the (political) closet?
They shouldn't hide their real identities. But if they are all weenies, they could always play the victim card and scream "McCarthyism."
Am Thinker: Why Can't My Health Insurance Be Like My Car Insurance?
The Weather Isn't Getting Weirder - The latest research belies the idea that storms are getting more extreme.
It's just getting reported more hysterically. Weather sells soap.
Homeowners face 'new normal' in housing bust
If you bought before the bubble, you're doing just fine. Nationally, housing prices are now pretty much back to the historic trend line - thanks to a full inventory.
Malanga: Rhode Island: A Fiscal Mess Few Care About
Between chronic Dem control, unions, the Mob, and corruption, rational Rhode Island governance seems like a lost cause
Four Reasons Why Big Government Is Bad Government (h/t Linkiest)
Wednesday, February 9. 2011
Just when I thought it couldn’t get more inane, Brooklyn College is exposed for gross negligence in its hiring and supervision of a self-professed pro-Palestinian activist – a grad student himself -- to teach the Politics of the Middle East to other grad students.
As a reporter cites, Kristofer Petersen “makes no secret of his aggressively pro-Palestinian, anti-Zionist views.” The report, titled “Drawing Lessons From The Brooklyn College Uproar,” by quoting those directly involved in the hire, makes it evident from the horses' mouths that this hire is a horse’s ass, irresponsible, ignorant and unprofessional.
Although Petersen says of several dozen demonstrators who turned out to support him “he was disappointed that some of his defenders turned their speeches into diatribes against Israel,” Petersen nonetheless addressed them rather than leave. A Commenter to the report lists the virulent hate groups Petersen attracts.
Petersen says he modeled his heavily slanted syllabus on that of a professor of Mideast studies at CUNY’s Graduate Center, who recommended Petersen for the position. That professor, however, told the reporter, “the Israeli-Palestinian portion of his former student’s syllabus is different from his own and that Petersen-Overton includes some scholars he would never use in his own class.” He cites Edward Said, “not a Mideast scholar…much more political advocacy than scholarship”; Noam Chomsky, “a linguist, not an expert on the Mideast”; Ilan Pappe “sees himself as an advocate” not an objective historian. That professor says, “many of them should be balanced with others”. But they aren’t. This professor advised Petersen to keep his own views to himself, “but [the reporter sums up] this former student takes the opposite approach.” The recommending professor knew better but didn't act upon it.
Although the PoliSci professor who hired Petersen argued that he should be rehired after he was terminated, that professor says the “Israeli-Palestinian conflict [is] a subject with which Ungar isn’t familiar.” So, where was his competence to hire Petersen?
Another senior professor at the college says “academic freedom for adjuncts should begin once they distribute their syllabus – but not beforehand. ‘The department has influence, if not control, over the structure of the course, including readings and the topics to be covered.’ “ Instead, the PoliSci department abdicated its responsibility.
The report ends with this choice double-talk by Petersen of his slanted course: “Asked whether he sees himself as a scholar or an activist, the professor said he regards himself ‘as a scholar in my scholarly work and as an activist in my activist work. The answer would be both.' ”
Petersen, also, has a Brooklyn Bridge to sell. This gross negligence at Brooklyn College is a disgrace. If there’s a lesson to be learned, Brooklyn College must exercise proper vetting and supervision in its classrooms. Anything less would be another Brooklyn Bridge for sale on campus. Academic negligence, and slant, cannot be hidden behind or excused by chanting academic freedom.
Tuesday, February 8. 2011
That's the title of an opus by Vanderleun. (Bosch's image from his post which I am pleased to add to my image library.) He says:
These days it would seem that the 7 deadly sins are now the 7 cardinal virtues of the progressive left.
I had been having similar thoughts lately, especially regarding government avarice. It's a topsy-turvy world we live in, with Wonderland twists of language and meaning. Glad he wrote the piece.
At Liberty Pundits:
Here’s the quote: “If we’re fighting to reform the tax code and increase exports, the benefits cannot just translate into greater profits and bonuses for those at the top. They have to be shared by American workers, who need to know that opening markets will lift their standard of living as well as your bottom line,” President Obama told the Chamber of Commerce on Monday morning.
Really, Barry? And what if the company fails, do they share in the loss?
If an employee wishes to share in the risk of profits and losses, he can buy shares like anybody else.
Prof B explains it in legal detail: Obama Preaches the False Religion of Corporate Social Responsibility
Maine Family Robinson: 10 Luxuries We Don't Do Without
NYT: Social Scientist Sees Bias Within:
Anywhere in the world that social psychologists see women or minorities underrepresented by a factor of two or three, our minds jump to discrimination as the explanation,” said Dr. Haidt, who called himself a longtime liberal turned centrist. “But when we find out that conservatives are underrepresented among us by a factor of more than 100, suddenly everyone finds it quite easy to generate alternate explanations.”
Egypt Exposes Media Hypocrisy
The Apostate - Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology. (h/t, Lucianne)
Rape flourishes in rubble of Haitian earthquake.
No functioning government, no functioning police force, no sanitation, crime rampant, no jobs, Baby Doc back and Aristide returning. What could go wrong?
Repubs: Are We Cutting Enough?
Too much college, and no skills:
The shortage of skilled workers is the No. 1 or No. 2 hiring challenge in six of the 10 biggest economies, Manpower found in a recent survey of 35,000 employers. Skilled trades were the top area of shortage in 10 of 17 European countries…
Apple CEO Steve Jobs on why dropping out of college was one of the best decisions he ever made.
Monday, February 7. 2011
We had to destroy the village to save it. As SDA says, Affirmative Action meets Wild Kingdom. Hubris never ends well.
Chart below via Pethokoukis:
Am Thinker: classroom discipline
George Soros, Enemy of the State
AOL to buy Maggie's Farm HuffPo for $315 million
EPA to Regulate Dairy Milk Spills as per Oil Spills
Follow the (green) money: Gore Launches $500M 'Green' Asian Fund
BROTHERHOOD DUMPS EL BARADEI; EL BARADEI DUMPS PEACE TREATY WITH ISRAEL
Women in the Cairo Street Scenes: a Troubling Photo Essay
Progressive Scotland: Anger as serial offenders are only sent to prison after clocking up 40 crimes
Cool: A shooting range in the West Side of Manhattan
Krauthammer brings Godzilla into the discussion
Obama invokes religious themes as 2012 campaign nears
Uncontacted peoples in Peru
James May takes a ride in a U2
What school vouchers have bought for my family
Krugman blames Egypt on global warming
Good, at Insty:
MORE ON THE FAILURE OF STATE MULTICULTURALISM. Unfortunately, a lot of people who are basically unemployable in productive fields have chosen it as their rice bowl.
But Nick Cohen writes in The Guardian that appeasement may be over. “I am not sure the prime minister understands that he is taking on a sensibility as much as a political platform. Because Britain was never invaded by the Nazis, and never suffered from any of the other versions of 20th-century tyranny, there is an unforgivable frivolity about our dealings with totalitarianism. Dilettante bureaucrats, journalists and intellectuals play with extremists and their ideas with the insouciance of men and women who know that they will never have to suffer the consequences of coping with extremists in power. The best gift the British can give the world in this moment of crisis is to imitate the crowds in North Africa and say enough of all of that. It is time to break away from a shameful past.”
Drudge amusingly juxtaposes:
White House announces Super Bowl menu: 'Bratwurst, Kielbasa, Cheeseburgers, Deep Dish Pizza, Buffalo Wings, German Potato Salad, Twice Baked Potatoes, Potato ChipS, Pretzels, Chips and Dips, Salad, Ice Cream'...
RESTAURANT NUTRITION DRAWS FOCUS OF FIRST LADY...
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Saturday, February 5. 2011
Samuelson in The Wilson Quarterly: In embracing a victims-and-villains explanation of the recession, Americans are missing important lessons about the future of the U.S. economy.
He begins:
We Americans turn every major crisis into a morality tale in which the good guys and the bad guys are identified and praised or vilified accordingly. There’s a political, journalistic, and intellectual imperative to find out who caused the crisis, who can be blamed, and who can be indicted (either in legal courts or the court of public opinion) and, if found guilty, be jailed or publicly humbled. The great economic and financial crisis that began in 2007 has been no exception...
Friday, February 4. 2011
 SEIU fights healthcare repeal after obtaining waivers from law
Like Congress, they don't want it but they want you to have it whether you want it or not.
50 Best Blogs for Humanities Scholars (h/t, Marginal Rev)
Tiger: Light rail is stupider than ethanol.
I see light rail (subways, trolleys) and even commuter rail work very well in densely-populated areas. It should not be subsidized, though (and neither should highways, but we have enough of them now anyway).
Catron at American Spectator: Obamacare Unconstitutional? Roger That!
Q&0: Bubble-headed nonsense from the left about income inequality
Why work 15hrs/day if you only make the same as an 8 hour day?
Insty: SAY IT AIN’T SO: The ever-increasing cost of education is not sustainable.
Morris: Cornerstone of Obama Presidency is Collapsing
Barone: Obama's Antique Vision of Technological Progress
Where are the new ideas? My new-old idea: unleash the genius of the people and get government out of the way.
Video: Koch protests include calls to lynch Clarence Thomas
Obama issues global warming rules in January, gives GE an exemption in February
Yet another form of waivers for friends
Dalrymple: Paul Offit’s new book chronicles the destructive impact of the anti-vaccination movement.
Arianna Huffington’s Insulting Treatment of Minorities
Separate but equal?
Via Insty, is college a public good?
I say it is not. It's a private good, or perhaps not much good at all except for the 5% who really use it. Who ever said you need a school to learn stuff? I learn all I can, every day. Every night, too. As we always say here, knowledge comes from books and from The Teaching Company, and wisdom comes from engaging life to the fullest.
Thursday, February 3. 2011
Chait: Democrats are attacking House Republicans for slashing funds for research, education and science.
Wednesday, February 2. 2011
Headlines at Drudge:
AL GORE: THE SNOWSTORMS ARE CAUSED BY THE 'WARMING'...
FLASHBACK: Dem Sens say decreased snowfall caused by warming...
So which is it? I say all weather is caused by Bush, or Palin, Glenn Beck, or the Jews. Except for the nice weather.
Such claims are termed, in the language of logic, unfalsifiable. It is entertaining to read the news and the pundits and to hunt for the unfalsifiable claims. It's like an Easter egg hunt but you don't have to look as hard.
Tuesday, February 1. 2011
Al Gore's answer to Bill O'Reilly. My first reaction was that this really was an Al Gore satire site/
WSJ: Most of the universe is made up of dark energy and dark matter, neither of which is fully understood or explained by current models and theories. In "The 4% Universe," Richard Panek describes the investigations of scientists.
Are people bypassing the movie critics?
Mankiw: The Half-Full Glass of Economic Mobility
Prelutsky: Too Bad Obama Is Only Half-White
Who is Florida Judge Roger Vinson?
Powerline: Proof the Admin doesn't think much of Obamacare
Shrinkwrapped: Psychiatry and Organized Medicine in the Special Interest State
Rubin Report: Egypt's Revolt - The economic dimension
Navy Times: Disgraced CO Honors now firing back
Good Maggie's-type stuff at Am Thinker:
Personally, I'm sick of the government trying to keep me safe and do my thinking for me. I like a little danger and excitement every once in a while to let me know I'm still alive. I want to ignore the label warnings and use a product in a manner inconsistent with the directions. I want to rip the tag off my mattress and ride my bicycle without a helmet. These trifling brushes with danger are made exciting by the fact that the elitist power set have sucked all the fun out of life with their endless rules and regulations.
Down in the South, we're used to doing things considered dangerous by most without giving them much of a thought. People hunt alligators for a living in Louisiana -- not exactly a safe occupation, as you can see on the History Channel. We don't cotton much to outsiders lecturing us on our salt intake or telling us we have to be tolerant of Muslim terrorists. We have bugs and snakes that, far from being cute and cuddly, are dangerous and best killed when encountered. We can't afford useless feel-good pesticides. Louisiana has the best food in the country, so Michelle needs to stay out of New Orleans. We believe in enjoying life because it tends to be hard and too short. We prefer to decide for ourselves rather than have someone decide for us.
Brooklyn College President Karen Gould today announced the re-hire of Kristofer Petersen. His appointment to teach a graduate course on the Politics of the Middle East had been rescinded last week, after a furor over his avid pro-Gaza writings, activism and slanted syllabus was brought to light.
In her patently ridiculous statement, Pres. Gould mouths platitudes about academic freedom, and says of her decision:
Today, the Department of Political Science and its appointments committee voted unanimously to recommend Kristofer Petersen-Overton to teach a graduate course on the Middle East. Based on information that has come to light, they are confident he has sufficient depth of knowledge and the intellectual capacity to successfully lead a graduate seminar.
It was a professor in the Political Science who initially hired Petersen. I have his letter in which he recognizes Petersen’s troubling background but expresses confidence in his teaching anyway. That professor then issued a statement along with other PoliSci faculty bemoaning the choice to rescind the appointment. So, the decision to rescind the recission of the appointment was made by the same group that first made it. Well, that’s comforting, isn’t it? Only in an academic bizarro-world.
Continue reading "Brooklyn College Capitulates To Left-Palestinian Narrative"
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