Why do so many terrorists have engineering degrees?

Why do so many terrorists have engineering degrees? - By Benjamin Popper - Slate Magazine: "Engineering is not a profession most people associate with religion. The concrete trade of buildings and bridges seems grounded in the secular principles of science. But the failed attack this Christmas by mechanical engineer Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a reminder that the combination has a long history of producing violent radicals."

Is Food the New Sex?

Hoover Institution - Policy Review - Is Food the New Sex?: "One more critical link between the appetites for sex and food is this: Both, if pursued without regard to consequence, can prove ruinous not only to oneself, but also to other people, and even to society itself. No doubt for that reason, both appetites have historically been subject in all civilizations to rules both formal and informal. Thus the potentially destructive forces of sex — disease, disorder, sexual aggression, sexual jealousy, and what used to be called “home-wrecking” — have been ameliorated in every recorded society by legal, social, and religious conventions, primarily stigma and punishment. Similarly, all societies have developed rules and rituals governing food in part to avoid the destructiveness of free-for-alls over scarce necessities. And while food rules may not always have been as stringent as sex rules, they have nevertheless been stringent as needed. Such is the meaning, for example, of being hanged for stealing a loaf of bread in the marketplace, or keel-hauled for plundering rations on a ship."

EPA Regulations Cause Drought in California

EPA Regulations Cause Drought in California - WSJ.com: "The result has already been devastating for the state's farm economy. In the inland areas affected by the court-ordered water restrictions, the jobless rate has hit 14.3%, with some farming towns like Mendota seeing unemployment numbers near 40%. Statewide, the rate reached 11.6% in July, higher than it has been in 30 years. In August, 50 mayors from the San Joaquin Valley signed a letter asking President Obama to observe the impact of the draconian water rules firsthand."

What % Of 7-Footers Play Basketball?

VDARE.com: Blog Articles - What % Of 7-Footers Play Basketball?: "Presumably, by “best chess player” in the world, Cowen means the most naturally talented. That raises the question of whether “overwhelming passion for the game” should be considered a talent or not. If somebody has the natural ability to be the best but lacks the urge to practice, they won’t be a top chess player.

Generally speaking, the people who claw their way to the top of something are fanatics about it. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were crazy about swinging golf clubs before their second birthdays."

Why are modern scientists so dull?

Medical Hypotheses: Why are modern scientists so dull?

The "blueprints" of Monsieur Eiffel

The "blueprints" of Monsieur Eiffel

EDITORIAL: Biased reporting on Climategate

EDITORIAL: Biased reporting on Climategate - Washington Times: "There's a big difference between saying that there isn't sufficient evidence to determine if falsification of data occurred - and that there should be an investigation - and saying, as AP did: 'Science not faked.'"

John Mackey and Whole Foods

John Mackey and Whole Foods : The New Yorker: "A year ago, Mackey came across a book called “The Engine 2 Diet,” by an Austin, Texas, firefighter and former professional triathlete named Rip Esselstyn. Basically, you eat plants: you are a rabbit with a skillet. Mackey had been a vegetarian for more than thirty years, and a vegan for five, but the Engine 2 book, among others, helped get him to give up vegetable oils, sugar, and pretty much anything processed. He lost fifteen pounds."

Awkward Timing for a Book by Woods

Awkward Timing for a Book by Woods - NYTimes.com: "In the audio book, Mr. Woods shares the “psychological practices he uses daily to keep his game in top shape and help him transcend all the ups and downs of golf,” according to a description in Hachette Audio’s spring-summer 2010 catalog, which was mailed recently to bookstores and journalists."

The Canucks in Canuckville

small dead animals: The Canucks In Canuckville: "We’ll make them join unions; we’ll meddle with wages,
We’ll subsidize books with Canadian pages
We’ll give them a Charter with rights no one knows,
With rulings from judges that no voter chose."

Conservatism Is Dead

Conservatism Is Dead | The New Republic: "Today, the situation is much bleaker. After George W. Bush's two terms, conservatives must reckon with the consequences of a presidency that failed, in large part, because of its fervent commitment to movement ideology: the aggressively unilateralist foreign policy; the blind faith in a deregulated, Wall Street-centric market; the harshly punitive 'culture war' waged against liberal 'elites.' That these precepts should have found their final, hapless defender in John McCain, who had resisted them for most of his long career, only confirms that movement doctrine retains an inflexible and suffocating grip on the GOP."

American's Crazed Corn Habit

American's Crazed Corn Habit - Justin Rohrlich - Mises Institute: "According to a recent Congressional Budget Office report, the increased use of ethanol is responsible for a rise in food prices of approximately 10 to 15 percent.

Why?

We're turning corn into fuel — a highly inefficient one, at that — instead of food."

B.C. only province with rising greenhouse gases

CBC News - British Columbia - B.C. only province with rising greenhouse gases

U.S. cap and trade looks out of reach in 2010

U.S. cap and trade looks out of reach in 2010 | Green Tech - CNET News: "But the Copenhagen Accord did not include emissions targets. This will make it difficult for lawmakers to argue that the United States should have a cap while China, the world's top emitter of greenhouse gases, and other big polluters are not legally required to act on climate."

Questions over business deals of UN climate change guru Dr Rajendra Pachauri

Questions over business deals of UN climate change guru Dr Rajendra Pachauri - Telegraph: "Although Dr Pachauri is often presented as a scientist (he was even once described by the BBC as “the world’s top climate scientist”), as a former railway engineer with a PhD in economics he has no qualifications in climate science at all."

The Worst-Run Big City in the U.S.

San Francisco News - The Worst-Run Big City in the U.S. - page 1: "Despite its good intentions, San Francisco is not leading the country in gay marriage. Despite its good intentions, it is not stopping wars. Despite its spending more money per capita on homelessness than any comparable city, its homeless problem is worse than any comparable city's."

Green shoppers more likely to cheat

Green shoppers more likely to cheat: "If buying an organic apple instead of one caked in pesticides eases your conscience, there's a good chance that your next ethical decision might not be a good one.

According to the results of a University of Toronto study, participants who assigned more social value to 'green' shopping were more likely to cheat and steal in subsequent tests than those with less stringent shopping habits.

The study, to be published in the new year in the journal Psychological Science, is the latest in a growing field of research called 'moral licensing.'"

“We Don’t Know” is better than “Global Warming” “Global Cooling” or “They are Wrong”

“We Don’t Know” is better than “Global Warming” “Global Cooling” or “They are Wrong” - Symon Sez: "“Climatologists are pessimistic that political leaders will take any positive action to compensate for the climatic change, or even to allay its effects.”"

For your information…

For your information…: "That being said Ted..."

Comments in regards to how I see climate science right now.

Observations: Draft text of new "Copenhagen Accord"

Observations: Draft text of new "Copenhagen Accord": "12. We call for a review of this Accord and its implementation to be completed by 2016, including in light of the Convention’s ultimate objective. This review would include consideration of strengthening the long-tenn(sic) goal to limit the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 degrees."

Orchestra says no to being mimed at Games

Orchestra says no to being mimed at Games: "The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra refused an invitation to record music for the Vancouver 2010 opening ceremonies because the organizing committee, Vanoc, wanted other musicians to 'mime' the live performance."

Very dumb indeed.

Michael E. Mann - E-mail furor doesn't alter evidence for climate change

Michael E. Mann - E-mail furor doesn't alter evidence for climate change - washingtonpost.com

What Dr. Mann doesn't understand is that it's not the furor which changes things but the emails themselves. Funny how Sarah Palin's OpEd is his best defense.

When the mobs rule

When the mobs rule: "If the red greens were marching in support of the program, or making orderly objections on details, or if there was chaos in the streets because the conference had been cancelled, it would make some kind of sense. But rioting in their moment of triumph raises the crucial question: 'Why can't these people make their case without breaking the law?'"

A page out of Harper’s playbook

A page out of Harper’s playbook - Paul Wells - Macleans.ca: "Very little that has happened since could have been predicted. By autumn, Harper was, briefly, a sort of media darling, popping up on the stage of the National Arts Centre to serenade the audience while his Conservatives flirted with levels of public support that would, if sustained, ensure them a majority in the next election. Ignatieff’s Liberals sank as low as 22 per cent in internal tracking polls—comfortably lower than Stockwell Day’s Canadian Alliance scored in the 2000 general election. Ignatieff replaced just about all of his senior advisers. The Conservative lead has since shrunk, but only a little. The election that reared its head a couple of times during the year seems distant today."

Pressure drop causing wind turbine bat deaths, say Calgary researchers

CBC News - Technology & Science - Pressure drop causing wind turbine bat deaths, say Calgary researchers: "Hundreds of bats found dead each year around wind turbines have suffered internal trauma from a sudden drop in air pressure at the turbine blades, according to new research to be published this week."