FT on the rise and fall of the big three

In a book review of "Crash Course: The American Automobile Industry’s Road from Glory to Disaster", Financial Times has a good nutshell history of the big three.

 

"Detroit was not always a basket case. It was the Silicon Valley of the early 20th century, a crucible of US product innovation and flair. All good things, however, come to an end."

via Drudge.

UK - Terrorist threat level raised to 'severe'

"Britain's terrorist threat level was raised tonight from “substantial” to “severe” - meaning that counter-terrorism agencies believe an attack is “highly likely”.

The Times understands that the decision to raise the threat level is connected to the conference on Afghanistan taking place at Lancaster Gate, London, next Thursday."

Foreign businesses might be the real winners in SCOTUS ruling

Per Newsweek, anyway.  I tend to believe in unrestricted free speech.

Friday stuff

Will Vegetarian Humans One Day 'Emit' More Carbon Dioxide & Methane Than Cows?

 

Videos from jitterbug movies.

 

Punching holes in steel with EMPs.

 

Simpsons stained glass artworks.

 

The World's 10 Worst Invasive Species.  Vaguely related: Anaconda breeding ball.

 

Best use of Post-It notes for an video project ever: Deadline

 

Dark Roasted Blend: Female Androids' Shapes & Anatomy.

 

The midwest is turning into a zombie movie.

 

Ice formations on dead wood.

 

How to survive a nuclear attack.  Related.

 

Wine storage tips - don't use the microwave.

 

Sonic Cannon.

 

Low cost solar shingles.

 

Survey: Brits think bacon comes from sheep.

Great Quote

I came across this quote this morning, and it made me giggle. Hopefully, it will do the same for you. Not only do I appreciate the sentiment, but the oddly placed capital letters made me think of Winnie the Pooh. :)

"Politicians are merely Opportunists, looking for a big parade that's marching somewhere. As Opportunists, they can't pass up the chance to jump in front of a parade and declare themselves to be the leader. We need to build a parade so large that Political Opportunists 'lead us' to smaller government." - Jim Babka

Jonah Goldberg - Feeling the Heat, Obama Pours Kool-Aid

"The only way the White House communications shop could cram more Obama down our throats would be if it required, as part of the health-care bill, that we have Obama-message receivers installed in our fillings."

Heh

Frank J.: "The left seems to think the reason the American people didn't like getting kicked in the groin is that they were doing it wrong."

via IMAO on Twitter.

ACORN Filmmakers Giles, O’Keefe Sued in Philadelphia Federal Court

"The complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, claims that the Giles and O’Keefe “purportedly sought information regarding housing and mortgage opportunities in Philadelphia, but were in reality imposters who deliberately and surreptitiously created video and audio recordings in an attempt to discredit plaintiff Conway-Russell and ACORN Housing Corporation,” and that they subsequently “disseminated the illegally obtained recordings in a manner calculated to harm and injure” Katherine Conway-Russell."

via James O'Keefe.

Petition: Stop all federal funding for ACORN!

Stop all federal funding for ACORN!

via Conservative Outpost.

Brown’s Victory: The Declaration of Independents

So what do independents want?  Limited government. 

At Pajamas Media, by Paul Hsieh.  I'm a fan of his GeekPress and FIRM blogs.

Obama: Daddy of the United States of America

Interesting perspective.  via Kottke.

Hands Off Our Slush Fund!

"TARP's metamorphosis into all-purpose political slush fund, which started when the previous administration used it to bail out the automakers, continues unabated."

Revolutionary Holocaust - tomorrow on Fox

At Reason.com: "Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie will appear in a special, hour-long Glenn Beck Show documentary called "The Revolutionary Holocaust: Live Free...Or Die," which examines the historical atrocities of communist and socialist governments in the 20th century."

via The Corner.

Dr. Zero - The Context Of Middle-Class Frustration

"when all virtue resides in the State, those who oppose the growth of the State become villains by definition"

"It’s clear that the middle class is the great enemy of collectivism. Only they have the combination of voting power, money, and economic self-interest to see the growth of government as undesirable, and provide effective resistance. They generally view their interactions with government in a negative light – they’ve all spent time in the Department of Motor Vehicles mausoleum, spent hours wrestling with tax forms, or been slapped with a traffic citation they don’t think they deserved. They understand the inefficiency and emotional instability of government, and instinctively resent its intrusion into their lives"

Supreme Court rolls back campaign cash limits

By a 5-4 vote, the court on Thursday overturned a 20-year-old ruling that said corporations can be prohibited from using money from their general treasuries to pay for their own campaign ads. The decision, which almost certainly will also allow labor unions to participate more freely in campaigns, threatens similar limits imposed by 24 states. 

It leaves in place a prohibition on direct contributions to candidates from corporations and unions.

Where Scott Brown stands on the other issues — besides health care

Where Scott Brown stands on the other issues — besides health care.

Home Shopping Network for guns

GalleryofGuns.com looks to combine home shopping and firearms with the new Gallery of Guns TV.

On an unrelated matter, I like this.

Message from America

IMAO: "It’s like Massachusetts just abandoned Ted Kennedy in a car at the bottom of a river."

"So the clear message from America to Obama is, “You suck at everything you do. Please stop doing things. We’re sorry we ever met you. You are a weirdo.”

Hitler Finds Out Scott Brown Won Massachusetts Senate

Hitler Finds Out Scott Brown Won Massachusetts Senate.

via The Corner.

How the world was misled over Himalayan glacier meltdown

More detail than in previous articles:

Two years ago the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a benchmark report that was claimed to incorporate the latest and most detailed research into the impact of global warming. A central claim was the world's glaciers were melting so fast that those in the Himalayas could vanish by 2035.

In the past few days the scientists behind the warning have admitted that it was based on a news story in the New Scientist, a popular science journal, published eight years before the IPCC's 2007 report. 

It has also emerged that the New Scientist report was itself based on a short telephone interview with Syed Hasnain, a little-known Indian scientist then based at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi. 

Hasnain has since admitted that the claim was "speculation" and was not supported by any formal research.

via Daily Caller.

Dr. Zero - A Suggestion For The White House And Coakley Campaign

In addition to the uniformly excellent substance of his columns, relative newcomer Dr. Zero demonstrates a grasp of the art of the metaphor usually only seen in the writing of Steyn and Goldberg.  I really like this guy! 

"Conservatives, meanwhile, have passionately supported the generally moderate Brown, because he can kill the health-care bill before it escapes the bloody ruin of its birth in the mess hall, and finds a nice hiding place in the cargo bay, where it can grow into an unstoppable acid-blooded monster that could devour us all."

Great sentiment from MA today

Via the Bay State Report on NRO:

— “I attended the Scott Brown rally this morning in Quincy. I saw a great sign: "For the first time in my life, I am proud to be from Massachusetts.” I know the sentiment exactly.

I love it. :) Go Brown!!!

Political correctness and the 21st century battlefield

Interesting column at PowerLine.