Saturday, December 26, 2009
Our best and brightest
Los Alamos National Laboratory Researchers Accidentally Blow up Building with a Cannon.
Friday, December 25, 2009
A bit of Christmas stuff
Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.
Hallelujah Chorus (silent monk version)
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Doctor Zero comes out, starts new site
His name is John Hayward, the site is doczero.org.
via Hot Air's Green Room.
via Hot Air's Green Room.
Dr. Zero - What Democracy Is Not
"Voting for a political hack who lies about everything he believes in, and has no position that lacks a price tag, is not an exercise in true democracy..."
"The American democracy was not created to dictate the destiny of its citizens. It has a duty to avoid interfering with our hopes and dreams, except where necessary to maintain order. The government should not be conscripting us into the service of its hopes and dreams, with thousand-page draft notices. A nation becomes great because of what its people achieve, not because of what they are required to do… or what they are forbidden to do."
Writing at Hot Air's Green Room, the doctor is spot on, as always.
"The American democracy was not created to dictate the destiny of its citizens. It has a duty to avoid interfering with our hopes and dreams, except where necessary to maintain order. The government should not be conscripting us into the service of its hopes and dreams, with thousand-page draft notices. A nation becomes great because of what its people achieve, not because of what they are required to do… or what they are forbidden to do."
Writing at Hot Air's Green Room, the doctor is spot on, as always.
Christmas Eve stuff
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - whatever's appropriate!
How NORAD's Santa tracker works.
Better late than never: Dave Barry's 2009 Holiday Gift Guide.
Gallery of original blueprints of the Eiffel Tower. Sort of related: Victorian Infographics.
Tea And Coffee Cut Type 2 Diabetes Risk.
The Morgan Freeman chain of command.
Everything you never wanted to know about duck sex. (possibly NSFW)
Is the Secret Service responsible for keeping the President from getting drunk?
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
VDH: Where Did These Guys Come From?
Writing at PJM:
"In short, equality of result doctrine ignores the role of markets, of skills, of tragedy itself that renders some of us ill, others in perfect health, some born gifted, others less so, some evil by nature, others good, and instead promises that the state can even us all out through its power of material redistribution."
...
"In short, we have a traditional statist bent on redistribution (Obama’s words, not mine), updated with the postmodern belief that race/class/gender oppressions require government affirmative reactions (which also abroad explains why we reach out to enemies and shun allies), all energized by an ends justify the means Chicago bare-knuckles apparat."
"In short, equality of result doctrine ignores the role of markets, of skills, of tragedy itself that renders some of us ill, others in perfect health, some born gifted, others less so, some evil by nature, others good, and instead promises that the state can even us all out through its power of material redistribution."
...
"In short, we have a traditional statist bent on redistribution (Obama’s words, not mine), updated with the postmodern belief that race/class/gender oppressions require government affirmative reactions (which also abroad explains why we reach out to enemies and shun allies), all energized by an ends justify the means Chicago bare-knuckles apparat."
The inevitable US/Israel breach
Caroline Glick:
The Obama administration remains stridently opposed to using military force to destroy Iran's nuclear installations. This was made clear during a high-level war game at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government earlier this month. At Harvard, former US undersecretary of state Nicholas Burns played Obama and former UN ambassador Dore Gold played Netanyahu. At the end of the game, the US had disavowed its strategic alliance withIsrael because Jerusalem refused to give Washington veto power over its right to attack Iran's nuclear installations. On the other hand, America had failed to get Russia and China to support sanctions and Iran was three months away from the bomb.
The Harvard game came just a few months after the real-world CIA Director Leon Panetta made what was supposed to be a secret visit to Israel and demanded that Israel not attack Iran without US permission.
All of this makes clear that Israel cannot depend on the US to defend it from Iran. Indeed, it makes clear that a breach of relations with the US is unavoidable.
The Obama administration remains stridently opposed to using military force to destroy Iran's nuclear installations. This was made clear during a high-level war game at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government earlier this month. At Harvard, former US undersecretary of state Nicholas Burns played Obama and former UN ambassador Dore Gold played Netanyahu. At the end of the game, the US had disavowed its strategic alliance withIsrael because Jerusalem refused to give Washington veto power over its right to attack Iran's nuclear installations. On the other hand, America had failed to get Russia and China to support sanctions and Iran was three months away from the bomb.
The Harvard game came just a few months after the real-world CIA Director Leon Panetta made what was supposed to be a secret visit to Israel and demanded that Israel not attack Iran without US permission.
All of this makes clear that Israel cannot depend on the US to defend it from Iran. Indeed, it makes clear that a breach of relations with the US is unavoidable.
via Powerline.
Monday, December 21, 2009
ACORN Qualifies for Funding in Senate Health Care Bill
Details at Weekly Standard.
Via Pam Geller, at Atlas.
Via Pam Geller, at Atlas.
Must-read at Belmont Club
Richard Fernandez writes:
"People have always believed that ‘they can’t do that; can’t foist this fraud on me; can’t take over 15% of the US economy just like that; can’t give my tax money to Hugo Chavez; can’t borrow money from China in my name and give to China.’ But if you realize one day that the answer to those questions is “Yes we can” — and there’s no point arguing, then you will have discovered the Day After Feeling. Our grandfathers knew it. We thought to be spared."
"People have always believed that ‘they can’t do that; can’t foist this fraud on me; can’t take over 15% of the US economy just like that; can’t give my tax money to Hugo Chavez; can’t borrow money from China in my name and give to China.’ But if you realize one day that the answer to those questions is “Yes we can” — and there’s no point arguing, then you will have discovered the Day After Feeling. Our grandfathers knew it. We thought to be spared."
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Hookers Deeply Offended By Comparisons to Politician
Members of the world’s oldest profession are infuriated by the relentless and invidious likening of their industry to the world’s second oldest profession. Word on the street, literally, is that hookers are prepared to exact an apology for the defiling of their good names.
Majority of U.S. Cocaine Supply Cut with Veterinary Deworming Drug
At Popular Science:
Cocaine's a hell of a drug, and even more so when laced with another drug that's commonly used to deworm opossums. Federal agents have found that 69 percent of cocaine shipments seized entering the United States contain levamisole, a veterinary drug linked to serious weakening of the immune system in humans. Here's the real funny part: no one knows why.
via Instapundit.
Cocaine's a hell of a drug, and even more so when laced with another drug that's commonly used to deworm opossums. Federal agents have found that 69 percent of cocaine shipments seized entering the United States contain levamisole, a veterinary drug linked to serious weakening of the immune system in humans. Here's the real funny part: no one knows why.
via Instapundit.