“We only have two or three years before we get into a very ugly debt-crisis austerity mode.”
The day of reckoning looms: “We only have two or three years before we get into a very ugly debt-crisis austerity mode.”
Year: 2012
The eviction and theft by Muslims of Christian homes in Egypt.
Islamic justice: The eviction and theft by Muslims of Christian homes in Egypt.
The Solimans [a Christian family] have been in hiding with a Muslim family which saved them from their burning homes, and is presently giving them protection. Muslims threatened that if eight Coptic families were not evicted by February 3rd, all remaining 54 Coptic families in the village would be subjected to violence after Friday prayers. They called it “Friday of Eviction” and “Friday of Clean-up.”
On Wednesday February 1, a hastily organized reconciliation meeting was arranged by security authorities, and was attended by Ebeskharion Soliman and one of his sons. The terms of the agreement which resulted were:
- eviction of eight Coptic families, namely three of the Mourad families, in addition to five Soliman families.
- selling of the assets of the wealthy Abeskhayron Soliman family within three months by a committee, under the supervision of Salafi shaikh Sherif el Hawary. Soliman has no right to get involved in the sale or even accompany a prospective buyer.
- the Committee is to collect any money accrued from the sale of his land, properties, businesses as well as collect promissory notes pending from business transactions by the Soliman-owned chain of stores.
- in case of non-implementation of this Agreement, all Copts in the Kobry-el-Sharbat village will be attacked, their homes and property completely torched.
Abeskhayron Soliman signed the agreement, which most Copts viewed as “humiliating.” Father Boktor, who attended the meeting, described the reconciliation agreement as “utter injustice.”
I find the last item in this so-called “agreement” most enlightening.
The boycott of science journal publisher Elsevier has grown now to almost 5,000 scientists.
The boycott of science journal publisher Elsevier has now grown to almost 5,000 scientists.
According to scientists, Obama’s proposed budget — to be announced on Monday — will cut the planetary program severely.
According to scientists, Obama’s proposed budget — to be announced on Monday — will severely cut NASA’s planetary program.
We will find out if this is true on Monday. However, I suspect it is, as all the rumors have pointed that way for months.
Meanwhile, Congress is forcing NASA to spend $3 billion on the Space Launch System (SLS), a rocket that will never get finished. As I have written previously, this is a very bad use of the taxpayer’s money. Better to get rid of SLS, put half the savings into the science program (which would almost certainly increase its overall budget) and pocket the rest as budget savings.
Two Christian leaders said today that they’d go to jail rather than comply with the new Obamacare regulations.
The correct response: Two Christian leaders said today that they’d go to jail rather than comply with the new Obamacare regulations.
“I feel duped.”
The man duped is Fritz Vahrenholt, a former global warming advocate and leftwing environmentalist in Germany. The words were spoken in a long and detailed interview in Der Spiegel. Read it all, as it demonstrates without question that Vahrenholt has done his research about the complexities of climate research as well as the flaws and dishonesty contained within the IPCC reports. However, he gets to the nub of the matter when he is asked why he has taken on the role of a climate skeptic with such passion.
» Read more
The Martian meteorite that was recovered in Morocco in July is now thought to contain pockets of trapped Martian atmosphere.
The Martian meteorite that was recovered in Morocco in July is now thought to contain pockets of trapped Martian atmosphere.
Or at least, the geology says the meteorite should have these pockets. The actual analysis has not yet happened.
Bryson Andres busking – Soul Sister
An evening pause: Street performer Bryson Andres performs a cover of Train’s “Soul Sister” in Spokane.
The Sun goes bust
It is that time of the month again. Today NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center today released its monthly update of the ongoing solar cycle sunspot activity, covering January 2012. I have posted the graph below the fold.
For the second month in a row the Sun’s sunspot activity plunged. The drop in activity has been so steep that it has cancelled out almost two thirds of the activity rise that occurred during the last half of 2010. In fact, the drop brings the Sun’s sunspot count back to numbers comparable with March of last year, hardly a sign of a fast ramp up to solar maximum, which is what solar scientists have come to expect the Sun to do. Instead, the Sun’s activity during this ramp up has fluctuated wildly, going up strongly for several months and then dropping precipitously for another few months. These wild swings have now repeated themselves four times since the fall of 2010.
» Read more
An Islamic mob destroyed Buddhist statues yesterday in the national museum of the Maldives.
The tolerance of Islam: An Islamic mob destroyed Buddhist statues yesterday in the national museum of the Maldives.
The Himalayas and nearby peaks have lost no ice in past 10 years, study shows
The uncertainty of science: New satellite data shows that the glaciers in the Himalayas have lost no ice in past 10 years.
The scientists are careful to point out that lower-altitude glaciers in the Asian mountain ranges – sometimes dubbed the “third pole” – are definitely melting. Satellite images and reports confirm this. But over the study period from 2003-10 enough ice was added to the peaks to compensate.
Is this further confirmation that global warming stopped ten years ago? Not really. As the report notes, the time period is too short to establish a clear trend. Moreover, this study only deals with the Asian glaciers, which is also too small a sample for any firm conclusions.
Nonetheless, the data does illustrate once again how complex and uncertain the study of the Earth’s climate is. Anyone who claims we know what is really happening is either refusing to look at all the data or is simply lying.