Sometimes we’re just hopelessly optimistic Ecologically invasive lionfish from the Indo-Pacific Ocean and Red Sea now inhabit the Caribbean and have made it up the eastern United States coast to North Carolina. Their ancestors were probably released by aquarium owners. As a control measure, Florida Keys authorities have encouraged “derbies” to hunt them with spears [...]
Categories: Environment
Tagged: Erik Olsen, Florida Keys Declare Open Season on the Invasive Lionfish
“Bad omen,” as Broder says? David Broder today explained that the Democrats’ lost control in the House of Representatives should have resulted in the lowest ranking of its four majority leaders losing his position. That’s Representative Jim Clyburn, currently Democratic “whip.” By inventing a minority spot for him, against House rules, Broder claimed that: Normally, [...]
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: David Broder, The bad omen in Democrats' reorganization of House leadership
“Those Americans, always barking up the wrong tree” Ordinarily, even the most totalitarian of nations would be reluctant to pretend that a genuinely infamous arms dealer (known as the “merchant of death”) was one of their innocents. Yet, Russia claimed exactly that in its attempt to prevent the extradition of Viktor Bout from Thailand to [...]
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Alleged arms dealer Viktor Bout whisked to America, Colombia, FARC, Fred Weir, Jackson Diehl, Why Russia defends a 'merchant of death'
Only money explains how dishonor and lying beat honor and truth-telling every time in Congress Dana Milbank, Charlie Rangel and the farce known as congressional ethics, Washington Post (16 November 2010)
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Charlie Rangel and the farce known as congressional ethics, Dana Milbank
Paul Krugman’s irritation with the dominant American political paradigm sometimes fosters intelligent phrases that concisely go to the heart of an issue The man is gifted. No matter what one’s political perception might be. Writing in regard to proposals to raise the retirement age to relieve deficit pressure on the Social Security system, Krugman noted [...]
Categories: Economy
Tagged: Paul Krugman, retirement age, Social Security, Unserious People
TechNewsDaily reported on a study by Forrester Research, Inc. Stuart Fox, writing for TechNewsDaily, reported today that electronic book sales will pass $1 billion this year, according to a study by Forrester Research. Although only 7 percent of book readers buy e-books, that 7 percent happens to be the demographic that is most likely to [...]
Categories: Culture
Tagged: eBook Sales to Pass $1 Billion By Year's End, electronic books, Stuart Fox, TechNewsDaily
The stress of this long-term gamble would keep most anyone awake at night Lee Billings, writing in this week’s Nature, tells the story of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the building of which almost egregiously risks at least $5 billion and has diverted money from other less risky projects: The JWST’s 6.5-metre primary mirror, nearly [...]
Categories: Science
Tagged: Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, JWST, Lee Billings, NASA, Space science the telescope that ate astronomy
Rinderpest hopefully joins smallpox in a history without a future Rinderpest, caused by a Morbillivirus, used to be a scourge of cattle. The United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) announced on 14 October 2010 that its 16-year vaccination-based eradication program has been successful. The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) still has to certify [...]
Categories: Agriculture,Science
Tagged: Dennis Normile, FAO, Jeffrey Mariner, Morbillivirus, OIE, Rinderpest deadly for cattle joins smallpox as a vanquished disease, scourge, Susan MacMillan, United Nations, vaccination, Why technical breakthroughs matter they helped drive a cattle plague to extinction
The President’s political instinct turned out to be wrong David Broder’s Washington Post post-election column today about President Obama was balanced and probably insightful. Entering the presidency, and faced with serious national problems not of his making: He turned to his outsize Democratic majorities in Congress and said essentially, “folks, I need you to fix [...]
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: David Broder, Election results and President Obama's mistakes