September 30, 2005
The future of food
The movie is being shown locally. On the danger of genetically engineered foods. The Monsanto lawsuits have struck me as particularly crazy. Patent infringement if the seeds blow onto your land? Strange stuff.
Bizarre web advertising
The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel. With an archive at this blog entry. Pretty funny though, in an Adbuster's sort of way.
Today's scare story
Though the risk is very real, it's not clear what reaction the "150M possible deaths from bird flu" should or will elicit. Fear that converts into positive action? Blind fear of an additional threat in the world? (Lock up the cat, pull the shades, and hide under the SUV.) Or just a dismissive glance? (If the Club of Rome got their predictions wrong...)
September 29, 2005
Again, bad studies
Okay, so the study on religion and societies ills (my entry here) is hardly to most outstanding item of scholarship. I hear you, Jill.
Instead, let's look at it this way...
- The US leads the industrialized world in teen pregnancy, child mortality, inequality of income, foolishness of our elected leaders, and violence.
- The US also leads the industrialized world in religiousness, in the fraction of people who claim to lead a religiously ethical life, and the fraction who claim to make their lives a "shining example" of such choices.
- There is a disconnect between these facts.
- There might be some correlation between them, that is, perhaps, religion is not a useful/positive trait at some point in a society or culture's development. Or what people think is "religion" is something perverted to serve the upper-class, or similar.
- There might not be a correlation between them, that is, the two are either wholly independent, or are caused by some further underlying cause. Let's look at those possibilities:
- Independent...hmmm...okay, I suppose that leaves us with the null result. The US is highly religious and highly messed up, but they're not connected at all. Could be true, but looking at what the "religious right" wants, or how tightly the religious impulses of the US tie to policy (just think of teen pregnancy, religious groups push "just say no" which certainly could have a different effect than "just say safe sex"), it doesn't feel reasonable.
- Underlying cause. Okay, there's a lot of theory can go into here. Those in power use religion to hold onto power. People aren't genuinely religious, but are hooked instead to the power dynamic. Or a Marxist take. The ruling class still has more power in the US, therefore they keep the population drugged with theology. Or any number of other theories.
- Independent...hmmm...okay, I suppose that leaves us with the null result. The US is highly religious and highly messed up, but they're not connected at all. Could be true, but looking at what the "religious right" wants, or how tightly the religious impulses of the US tie to policy (just think of teen pregnancy, religious groups push "just say no" which certainly could have a different effect than "just say safe sex"), it doesn't feel reasonable.
- This study/paper implies a strong connection between religion and social ills. Though the methodology isn't so hot, can we rule out the conclusion? I'm not sure. We might be able to, perhaps even by a statistical arguement. The US is an extreme outrider on ALL of the distributions. Maybe there's evidence for an additional variable?
September 28, 2005
Mr. Johnny Cash
The Ring of Fire musical...coming to Broadway! Fortunately, they do not plan on putting Mr. Cash on stage. He's dead.
Arctic ice...going...going...
Less Arctic ice again this year. The graph speaks for itself. On the plus side, the Arctic ice is mostly floating ice so it won't affect sea levels. Bangladeshis worry about the south polar regions rather than the north.
September 27, 2005
Continuing on religion...
Though perhaps not with the best thought-through correlation-causation standards ever seen...a study shows the correlation higher religious rates with increased rates of homicide, child pregnancy, abortion, and STD infection rates. The author discusses the results online. "By dysfunctional the author means that the 'prosperous democracy' is unable to convert its wealth into raising the living standard for the populace." By that standard, the US is shocking inept at converting historically unprecidented wealth into the betterment of its citizens.
"And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerve in the brain of Jupiter. But may we hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this most venerated reformer of human errors." - Thomas Jefferson
Russian admiral named patron saint of nuclear bombers
In further evidence that religious leaders are insane. Saint some admiral from the Russo-Turk wars of the late 1700s? And then make him in charge of nuclear bombers? Wasn't the whole Christianity thing supposed to be about loving fellow humans? Or something like that?
September 26, 2005
Serge Lang, RIP
What did you use as your Algebra text? Though he was more famous for his files and politics than for the books except within the math community.
Project Censored
Always one of the most important links of the year. The end of open government, the civilian deaths in Iraq, the Diebolding of the election, 1984 cameras, and the purpose of "Homeland Security." Makes you feel proud to be an American.
Superdome carnage? Myth.
Murder and rape of children? Myth. I think we can pretty easily understand the reason for the fake stories, but it remains critically important for us to read the truth and mentally cross-off the stories intended to produce hatred of the poor.
First of the new GPS satellites launched
The big news for civilian users is the second frequency for non-military use. It'll help resolve ionospheric propagation errors and improve accuracy as a result.
Katrina and US Navy dolphins?
I'm not completely (or even half) convinced of this story...but anyway...there's a claim that the US navy may have lost (in the misplaced sense) up to 36 armed dolphins during Katrina. If you see a dolphin with a harpoon gun, run away!
September 23, 2005
Bruce Springsteen and Garrison Keillor?
Wow! It's a strange world, isn't it?
Glory Days! read by Garrison Keillor. Sounds pretty different, doesn't it.
Nightmare before marriage?
Corpse Bride review from the City Pages. Is there a reference in the movie to Kill Bill? There really should be I think.
Slate spotting bogus stories in the national media
Trend story from the NYT. On top (female) college graduates wanting a momma degree.
Also check out earlier exposes of bogus stories, such as the increase in child prostitution story. Or the EPA budget "cuts" article.
UNESCO cultural heritage sites
There's a good discussion going on. How many have you visited? Or will visit?
September 22, 2005
U2's first visit to Minneapolis
With little mention of how awful they are today. I think we all have some nostalgia for Boy, and October, and War, and wonder just how it all went wrong from there.
The FBI's top priority!
"I guess this means we've won the war on terror," said one exasperated FBI agent, speaking on the condition of anonymity because poking fun at headquarters is not regarded as career-enhancing. "We must not need any more resources for espionage."
When FBI supervisors in Miami met with new interim U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta last month, they wondered what the top enforcement priority for Acosta and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales would be.
Would it be terrorism? Organized crime? Narcotics trafficking? Immigration? Or maybe public corruption?
The agents were stunned to learn that a top prosecutorial priority of Acosta and the Department of Justice was none of the above. Instead, Acosta told them, it's obscenity. Not pornography involving children, but pornographic material featuring consenting adults.
Acosta's stated goal of prosecuting distributors of adult porn has angered federal and local law enforcement officials, as well as prosecutors in his own office. They say there are far more important issues in a high-crime area like South Florida, which is an international hub at risk for terrorism, money laundering and other dangerous activities.
His own prosecutors have warned Acosta that prioritizing adult porn would reduce resources for prosecuting other crimes, including porn involving children. According to high-level sources who did not want to be identified, Acosta has assigned prosecutors porn cases over their objections.
September 21, 2005
Dutch talk show host will take heroin on air
Obviously it's created quite a bit on controversy. I haven't been able to find anything of substance on the show, just the controversy. Hard to tell the goals from that.
True urban legends?
That is, urban legends which sounds as though they are false, but turn out to actually, honest, be true. Even if they did happen to a friend of a friend...
- Sending in a photograph of money after being caught by a photo-radar unit.
- Person who has personalized license plate "No Plate" gets lots of parking citations.
- Anti-seat belt advocate killed in car crash.
- A lightbulb has remained lit since 1901.
- A deer tongue up the wazoo?
- A Byrd's album was accidentally released without a title. And the similar tale of how ELO's first album didn't get a US title.
- Map Point has some weird directions in it.
- TV personality Soupy Sales (yep, it was another era) asked for kids to send him cash from their parents' wallets.
- Lyrics to the Star Trek theme.
How the practice of bringing commercial drugs to market has failed
Who would have guessed? A profit motive? The only motive?
Latest homosexual recruiting technique
Starbucks cups! Now banned from Baylor University. Yup, a quote from Armistead Maupin. Evil, evil, evil!
Of course, since this is on the web, and irony is largely lost. I was being ironic above. What is funny is the silliness of Baylor University. That is what I'm saying. Thank you for your attention during this irony-definition moment.
Old technology fighting new technology
Some authors try to block google's digitalization efforts. Has the Author's Guild never heard of fair use? The whole content is blocked unless the author allows for it to appear.
September 19, 2005
September 18, 2005
September 17, 2005
September 16, 2005
Three plagued mice, come on everybody sing along... Three plagued mice...
They've escaped from the lab with a strain of plague. Yup, the plague.
And women's rights in Pakistan
Musharraf calls rape a scheme for women to make money and get visas. Out of touch? You think?
September 15, 2005
Chernobyl revisited
This woman rides her motorcycle through the death zone around the Chernobyl reactor. She has a radiation meter and understands what she is doing.
She claims that about 3500 people have moved back into the death zone, but that only about 400 of those folks are still alive. (A much higher death toll, right there, than my earlier mention.) Other sources say that no more than 1200 people moved in, most of those people moved back out. (By the way, there are claims that Elena Filatova's story, the motorcycle in the death zone, is at least partly fake. Or even more than partially faked.)
A total death toll of tens of thousands are claimed by the motorcyclist and by the Chernobyl.info site. The cleanup workers, the liquidators, would have been the largest group of potentially harmed people. This group numbered about 650,000 in some estimates. Far fewer in others.
Body count? The UN says 56 as of 2005, 47 workers and 9 children who died due to thyroid cancer. (See wikipedia for example, or the previous link in my blog.) Greenpeace and others contest those numbers. The truth? No idea right now.
Cosmetics made from executed Chinese prisoners?!?
It would make a great horror film. Trouble is, it's real instead.
The White Giraffe
It is said to not be an albino, but rather a lighter color than the typical giraffe.
Nepal and women's rights
One major advance for menstrating women in Nepal.
You can also read about the Nepali prosecution of the "crime" of abortion.
September 14, 2005
March of the penguins
Okay, those conservatives (including Michael Medved) who are using March of the penguins as a stirring celebration of monogamy (and intelligent design!) need to remember that those penguins are monogamous for one season. Next year, next Mr. and Mrs. Penguin. See this NYT mention of the crazed right-wing lunies, though no mention of serial monogamy.
Added 9/22...there's a plastic.com discussion of this.
Miracle babies=Child Trafficking
In a surprise to no one, the religious group which claims to "make babies by prayer" is actually a child abduction and trafficking ring. Where else would the kids come from?
September 13, 2005
Farthest GRB discovered
At a z=6.29 detected by Swift and then followed up by ground-based telescopes.
No links to the eleven kids found locked in cages
In other news, money is pouring into animal rescue organizations to help the pets of New Orleans. And donkey sanctuaries in the UK routinely receive more money than battered women shelters.
September 12, 2005
Tunes of late
What has Mike been listening to lately? What music has he been enjoying? Well, in a fit of U2 bashing, I listened to Negativland and their take on I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (see also, the Letter U and the Numeral 2) along with U2's Boy and War. Putting those old cassettes on the stereo reminded me of how low-fi cassettes are/were and also that U2 didn't suck initially. They may never have been good musicians, but the band that put out War and Boy was a quality act.
Swell Maps, what should I say about Swell Maps? Been listening to Jane in Occupied Europe all morning today. (Discography of Swell Maps, from Nikki Sudden's webpages.) Good quality stuff. The CDs are back in print...
The Clash and Duran Duran in the same magazine...
If you missed some of the great post-punk acts, there are two indepensible resources for you. (Well, there are probably more than that, but who is counting?) Trouser Press zine and their published guides, which are now available online, and Rip it Up and Start Again (Guardian review, PR from the publisher, order it from amazon.co.uk (find your own link), or wait for the US edition which is rumored to have sections deleted from it) which is an amazing piece of journalism.
Should I praise the Mila Vocal Ensemble again? They'll be back on Praire Home Companion pretty soon and appeared on stage with Garrison at the St. Paul Labor Day Picnic. Will post an update when the PHC appearance is confirmed.
I should also put in a pitch for CD Baby. It's a resource for distributing independent CDs inexpensively. Good stuff, good folks, deserving of our business. They have audio samples for most tracks.
Also visit Rogaria, home of the Orkerstar Bez Ime.
Schoenberg Concerto for Cello has been sort of an intriguing classical highlight recently. It's very different from the serialism you would expect from him. Catchy somehow.
And the Cassandra Complex...In Search of Penny Century... Satan, Bugs Bunny, and Me. Other than the discography there isn't much info out there on the web. I suspect that there may not be all that many fans of Moscow, Idaho.
- Interview from 1996.
- And an entry in an Italian history of rock music...
- A random review.
- Metropolis Records bio listing.
- Rodney Orpheus has a web page as well.
Science as presented in the news
The Guardian has a good article on the good, bad, and ugly of science presented in the press. They have generally been doing a good job on their webpages detailing some of the bad science they see each week.
New US nuclear policy?
To use nuclear weapons preemptively against nations and/or terrorist entities. Though it was embarassing enough for the Pentagon to pull the original documents from their website.
No rule of sharia in Ontario
Yup, another attempt at being inclusive fails when it's realized that it's actually divisive. Now the future of sharia in Iraq...that's a bigger question mark.
September 10, 2005
Colin Powell regrets the mess in Iraq
And calls his UN speech a "blot on his record." We all knew that already, but it's nice to see that he didn't take as long as McNamera to understand his collusion with evil.
Wolfram discovers algorithmic music
Interesting, though self-agrandizing. As ringtones, they have merit, as music, much less so. IMHO.
September 09, 2005
Who agrees with FEMA's recovery efforts?
People on dry land wonder why they should leave.
Brown is now taken off duty. Guess he was transferring too much political heat to the Dubya.
Search and rescue efforts have formally ended. The body count might be lower than feared.
The second ammendment has been repealed in New Orleans. Except for the wealthy and their private security teams.
And as part of the continuing crisis, the Freedom March isn't free. Everyone marchingf must register to attend, the route and the Washington Mall will be fenced off to keep the "other" away, there will be a huge law enforcement overwatch, and thosenot registered will be arrested.
September 08, 2005
Remember, your chemotherapy or radiation treatment is less important than a Presidential photo-op
Read all about it. And in the end, he didn't even do the photo shoot!
How do delivery aid
Steal a press pass and drive a Hyundai. Pretty shocking that the organized folks couldn't do what these guys did.
A tour through New Orleans by boat
Best quote: "In the driveway lay a survivalist's arsenal: two transistor radios, a cell phone, a half-empty bottle of Napa Valley zinfandel, tobacco, a pipe and some blackberry soda." Survivalist blackberry soda, who'd have thunk it?
The Beeb in New Orleans
They found what appears to be the last open, 24 hour per day, bar in the city. From there you can click onto the rest of the BBC's coverage of the natural disaster and the disaster relief disaster.
September 07, 2005
A Katrina report from New Orleans on the evacuation
Interesting take on the evacuation...
"...Next morning, Katrina has blown up to a 5. Call for mandatory evacuation. Nagin pulls in every bus he can find, he signs an order allowing him to commandeer any vehicle or property he needs. They have buses running through the streets trying to pick people up. People are showing up at the superdome. This is 24 hours to landfall. Not much time at all, especially when this MONSTER HUGE storm will be affecting New Orleans by that evening and the bridges will have to shut when winds reach 40 mph..."
"Islam may not be incompatible with democracy, but Locke and Montesquieu take you there more directly."
A great comparison of Philly 1787 to Baghdad 2005. I'm sure you can think of your own additions to the list.
Dubya, Katrina, and all
Well, what to say about humor? Dubya's biography might seem funny at first. But it really isn't, is it? Nor are his reactions, real or imagined, to the problems in the south. Are these guys funny? Nope, not funny either.
How about reports that FEMA wasn't interested in hearing about what a storm like Katrina would do? "The scenario was dubbed Hurricane Pam: 120 mph winds, a massive storm surge, 20 feet of water in the city, 80 percent of buildings damaged, refugees on rooftops, possibly gun violence that would slow the rescue." The response that Americans don't live in tents could have been funny, but probably isn't.
Not funny at all is a look at the failures of the Department of Homeland Security.
Being fired
Read some exciting stories about being fired for eating pizza and other tales of woe. Or for a saving lives. Though that one might be too good to be true. Discussion is on plastic.com. A good job to have at the moment is as a funeral director as the estimate for the Katrina+FEMA death toll is now 40,000.
Apple's announcement?
We'll see what it is. Since my Treo 90 died (in a downpour), I have been thinking about a new PDA. Maybe PDA/phone. Maybe PDA/phone/iPod?
September 06, 2005
Minnesota State Fair!!!
Check out the City Pages "Day at..." article.
"Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far." Teddy Roosevelt at the Minnesota State Fair
"Mmmmm...deep fried and breaded Snickers Bar on a stick. It will make one sick." Me at the Minnesota State Fair
New Orleans ongoing...
Tragedies and utter incompetence still prevail. I meant in NOLA, rather than DC, the latter is obvious.
Bush, as successful in New Orleans as in Falluja.
Chernobyl
Far fewer deaths than expected. Important notes: no increased rate of leukemia, only 9 out of 2000 thyroid cancers have been fatal, total of 50 deaths (reactor workers and firefighters), and fatalism due to overestimating the medical effects may have been a much larger medical effect. Though I'm sure this will be latched onto by the nuclear industry, it remains a strong statement that the effects were terrible (18 mile exclusion zone and all) but not as bad as predicted by the experts whose quotes were shocking enough to get themselves press coverage.
Some of my friends have been commenting negatively on this report. Is it contradiction with information available right after the disaster? Some reports at that time indicated that a much larger number of people had died already at that point. Sometime when I have a chance to look more into this...
Correction/ammendment: see 9/15/05 entry
Election geeks rejoice!
Eight days with four big elections. I'm sure you can find some reasonable news stories, but the best hope for discussion appears to be at plastic.