Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
It took long enough: Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore said support for corn-based ethanol in the United States was "not a good policy", weeks before tax credits are up for renewal. U.S. blending tax breaks for ethanol make it profitable for refiners to use the fuel even when it is more expensive than gasoline. The …
Continue reading "Now He Tells Us: Al Gore Admits Corn Ethanol Not Such a Good Idea"
David Cole at the New York Review of Books (along with many other on the left) would like to see some prosecutions: In the face of overwhelming evidence that numerous US detainees were tortured during the Bush years, President Barack Obama has famously said he wants to “look forward, not back.” He prohibited the use …
The Old Grey Lady catches up with a new reality in the U.S.: Traffic is going in circles. Armed with mounting data showing that roundabouts are safer, cheaper to maintain and friendlier to the environment, transportation experts around the country are persuading communities to replace traditional intersections with them. Appearances notwithstanding, roundabouts, such as the …
Continue reading "Roundabouts, the Next Redneck Personal Challenge"
The recent fracas over the strip searches (that's what they amount to, no matter how they're done) the TSA has instituted for the flying public in the U.S. reminded me of something I posted a long time ago. My family business celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1952 with a celebration in Chicago. One of my …
Continue reading "TSA Strip Searches: The Old "B&O" Is Looking Better Than Ever"
It sure doesn't look like it: Now that a new government has finally formed, it is time for Maliki to switch his focus from trying to remain prime minister to fulfilling his duty as head of state to protect the most vulnerable among his population. But let’s be honest—without enormous pressure from his backers in …
Continue reading "Does Hillary Clinton Care if the Christians in Iraq are Wiped Out?"
As if the flap over full body scans--physical and otherwise--wasn't enough, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) is about to have elections for union representation: The Federal Labor Relations Authority on Friday accepted a petition from the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union to hold an election to determine which group …
To some, it looks that way: Winston Churchill may have been right about democracy’s being the worst form of government except for all the others, but he probably wouldn’t have guessed that the bar would fall so low. In his sweeping review of contemporary moral and political life, Kenneth Minogue contends that, as currently practised, …
This, from (I think) south-western Virginia: Taken this day in 1987.
That is, we are becoming elderly drivers: Remember "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena"? Baby boomers who first danced to that 1964 pop hit about a granny burning up the road in her hot rod will begin turning 65 in January. Experts say keeping those drivers safe and mobile is a challenge with profound implications.... …
Continue reading "Wake Up, South Florida Boomers: We Are the People We Made Fun Of"
As the Telegraph reports, it's a surprise it got on the Beeb at all, but there it is: This was no such programme. Instead, it was a platform for every sinner that repenteth. Former hippy Greens, directors of Greenpeace, the chairmen of the Copenhagen Climate Council and the like, queued up to admit error. Their …
Continue reading "It's "Mea Culpa" Time on the BBC for the Environmental Movement"
Positive Infinity 