The Battle of the Bulge in photos
The Battle of the Bulge, in photos.
The Battle of the Bulge, in photos.
Category: Points of Information
Very brief descriptions, with appropriate links, of current or recent news items.
The Battle of the Bulge in photos
Europe to test fly a suborbital space plane in 2014
Virgin Galactic isn’t the only one building a suborbital spaceplane: Europe plans to test fly its own suborbital spaceship in 2014.
Virgin Galactic isn’t the only one building a suborbital spaceplane: Europe plans to test fly its own suborbital spaceship in 2014.
Boy disciplined after waving gun-shaped pizza slice
Modern education: A elementary school has disciplined a boy for waving gun-shaped pizza slice at students.
Modern education: A elementary school has disciplined a boy for waving gun-shaped pizza slice at students.
“We Didn’t Know What The Hell Was Going On”
A Democrat explains the reasoning behind the Obama stimulus package: “We didn’t know what the hell was going on.” With video.
A Democrat explains the reasoning behind the Obama stimulus package: “We didn’t know what the hell was going on.” With video.
A slap on the wrist for the Wisconsin doctors who handed out fake sick notes.
Why am I not surprised? A slap on the wrist for the Wisconsin doctors who handed out fake sick notes during the protests last year.
Why am I not surprised? A slap on the wrist for the Wisconsin doctors who handed out fake sick notes during the protests last year.
Richard Branson talks to the Wall Street Journal
Richard Branson talks to the Wall Street Journal about space.
Mr. Branson is still radiating enthusiasm. “We’ve got just short of 500 people now signed up to go, which is actually more people than have been up to space in the history of space travel, and we hope to put those up in our first year of operation,” he says, predicting the first commercial flight by “about next Christmas,” although he acknowledges that there have been many delays.
Richard Branson talks to the Wall Street Journal about space.
Mr. Branson is still radiating enthusiasm. “We’ve got just short of 500 people now signed up to go, which is actually more people than have been up to space in the history of space travel, and we hope to put those up in our first year of operation,” he says, predicting the first commercial flight by “about next Christmas,” although he acknowledges that there have been many delays.
Russian rocket completes its second launch from French Guiana
A Russian Soyuz rocket has completed its second launch from French Guiana, carrying six military satellites into orbit.
A Russian Soyuz rocket has completed its second launch from French Guiana, carrying six military satellites into orbit.
Comet Lovejoy lost its tail in skimming through the Sun’s atmosphere
Comet Lovejoy lost its tail in skimming through the Sun’s atmosphere Thursday.
Comet Lovejoy lost its tail in skimming through the Sun’s atmosphere Thursday.
Solar scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center up their prediction for the next solar maximum
The solar scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center have upped their prediction for the next solar maximum, calling for a sunspot number of 99 in February 2013. Their previous prediction called for a maximum sunspot number of 89 in March 2013.
The solar scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center have upped their prediction for the next solar maximum, calling for a sunspot number of 99 in February 2013. Their previous prediction called for a maximum sunspot number of 89 in March 2013.
Hey, they still let us drive
Frank Fleming: “Hey, they still let us drive.”
Driving is basically a grandfathered freedom from back when people cared less about pollution and danger and valued progress and liberty over safety. They had different equations related to human life then: We could lose 10,000 men in a single battle in a war and call it a victory.
We’re talking foolhardy people who eventually sent men to the moon strapped to a giant rocket that had less computational power than it takes to calculate the trajectory of an Angry Bird. Their kids dangled from jungle gyms over pavement. [emphasis in original]
Frank Fleming: “Hey, they still let us drive.”
Driving is basically a grandfathered freedom from back when people cared less about pollution and danger and valued progress and liberty over safety. They had different equations related to human life then: We could lose 10,000 men in a single battle in a war and call it a victory.
We’re talking foolhardy people who eventually sent men to the moon strapped to a giant rocket that had less computational power than it takes to calculate the trajectory of an Angry Bird. Their kids dangled from jungle gyms over pavement. [emphasis in original]
Russia announces it supports Canada’s decision to pull out of the Kyoto accords
More bad news for the global warming crowd: Russia has announced it fully supports Canada’s decision to pull out of the Kyoto accords.
More bad news for the global warming crowd: Russia has announced it fully supports Canada’s decision to pull out of the Kyoto accords.
NASA Faces Further Cuts in Last-minute Spending Package
NASA faces a $325 million additional cut in the last-minute spending deal now before Congress.
These cuts will bring NASA’s budget back to what it had in 2008, hardly a disaster for space exploration.
NASA faces a $325 million additional cut in the last-minute spending deal now before Congress.
These cuts will bring NASA’s budget back to what it had in 2008, hardly a disaster for space exploration.
Tea Party Patriots leader arrested at airport for checking in lawful pistol.
He should have told them he was a Mexican druglord: The Tea Party Patriots leader was arrested yesterday at a New York airport for following TSA rules and checking in a lawful pistol.
He should have told them he was a Mexican druglord: The Tea Party Patriots leader was arrested yesterday at a New York airport for following TSA rules and checking in a lawful pistol.
Obama’s Watergate
Operation Fast and Furious was run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and overseen by the Justice Department. It started under the leadership of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. Fast and Furious enabled straw gun purchases from licensed dealers in Arizona, in which more than 2,000 weapons were smuggled to Mexican drug kingpins. ATF claims it was seeking to track the weapons as part of a larger crackdown on the growing violence in the Southwest. Instead, ATF effectively has armed murderous gangs. About 300 Mexicans have been killed by Fast and Furious weapons. More than 1,400 guns remain lost.
Operation Fast and Furious was run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and overseen by the Justice Department. It started under the leadership of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. Fast and Furious enabled straw gun purchases from licensed dealers in Arizona, in which more than 2,000 weapons were smuggled to Mexican drug kingpins. ATF claims it was seeking to track the weapons as part of a larger crackdown on the growing violence in the Southwest. Instead, ATF effectively has armed murderous gangs. About 300 Mexicans have been killed by Fast and Furious weapons. More than 1,400 guns remain lost.
A voter’s guide to Republicans
From Bill Wittle: “EVERYBODY knows that Republicans are EVIL! What kind of Evil? Greedy, Fascist, Racist evil — the worst kind!”
From Bill Wittle: “EVERYBODY knows that Republicans are EVIL! What kind of Evil? Greedy, Fascist, Racist evil — the worst kind!”
An elementary school program which includes the singing of “Silent Night” will go on after Alabama school officials decided to ignore a complaint filed by a group that called the song “unconstitutional.”
Pushback: An elementary school program which includes the singing of “Silent Night” will go on after Alabama school officials decided to ignore a complaint filed by an anti-religion group that called the song “unconstitutional.”
Pushback: An elementary school program which includes the singing of “Silent Night” will go on after Alabama school officials decided to ignore a complaint filed by an anti-religion group that called the song “unconstitutional.”
Climategate: Did the Department of Energy help Phil Jones hide climate data?
Climategate 2: Did the Department of Energy help Phil Jones hide climate data? Inquiring minds want to know.
Climategate 2: Did the Department of Energy help Phil Jones hide climate data? Inquiring minds want to know.
Russia’s space agency has banned its employees from any foreign travel
The return of xenophobia: Russia’s space agency has banned its employees from any foreign travel.
The return of xenophobia: Russia’s space agency has banned its employees from any foreign travel.
Budget deal cuts EPA by three percent
Another science budget update from Nature states that the budget deal will cut EPA by three percent.
This cut reduces EPA’s budget from its 2011 numbers by about $400 million. However, the agency’s total 2012 budget of $8.4 billion is still $1 billion more than it got in 2008, hardly what I’d call a draconian cut.
Once again, the inability of Congress to seriously face the deficit issue threatens to eventually destroy the U.S.’s ability to do any science. A bankrupt nation can’t do much but feed itself, as the scientists in the Soviet Union learned back in the 1990s.
Another science budget update from Nature states that the budget deal will cut EPA by three percent.
This cut reduces EPA’s budget from its 2011 numbers by about $400 million. However, the agency’s total 2012 budget of $8.4 billion is still $1 billion more than it got in 2008, hardly what I’d call a draconian cut.
Once again, the inability of Congress to seriously face the deficit issue threatens to eventually destroy the U.S.’s ability to do any science. A bankrupt nation can’t do much but feed itself, as the scientists in the Soviet Union learned back in the 1990s.
The Fukushima nuclear reactor has reached the state of cold shutdown
Good news: The Fukushima nuclear reactor has reached the state of cold shutdown.
This means that the reactor core has cooled enough that there is no need to recirculate the water to keep the fuel cool. However, because the reactor continues to leak that water recirculation is still necessary, and will be for years.
As is typical of many modern journalists, the article above is also an unstated editorial both hostile to nuclear energy as well as private enterprise, best shown by the article’s concluding paragraph:
Meanwhile, the Japanese public and many of its politicians remained deeply mistrustful of the situation at Fukushima. In this week’s issue of Nature, two members of the Japanese parliament call for nationalization of the Fukushima Plant, to allow scientists and engineers to investigate exactly what happened inside the reactors, and to reassure the public that the decommissioning will be done with their interests at heart. Regardless of whether you agree with the authors, nationalization seems almost inevitable. The lengthy decommissioning process that will follow this cold shutdown, and the enormous cost involved, make it a job for a government, not a corporation. [emphasis mine]
First, he has no idea what the Japanese public thinks of this situation. Second, there is no evidence that the government could do this job better than the company that runs the reactor. Both conclusions are mere opinion, inserted inappropriately in a news article without any supporting proofs.
Good news: The Fukushima nuclear reactor has reached the state of cold shutdown.
This means that the reactor core has cooled enough that there is no need to recirculate the water to keep the fuel cool. However, because the reactor continues to leak that water recirculation is still necessary, and will be for years.
As is typical of many modern journalists, the article above is also an unstated editorial both hostile to nuclear energy as well as private enterprise, best shown by the article’s concluding paragraph:
Meanwhile, the Japanese public and many of its politicians remained deeply mistrustful of the situation at Fukushima. In this week’s issue of Nature, two members of the Japanese parliament call for nationalization of the Fukushima Plant, to allow scientists and engineers to investigate exactly what happened inside the reactors, and to reassure the public that the decommissioning will be done with their interests at heart. Regardless of whether you agree with the authors, nationalization seems almost inevitable. The lengthy decommissioning process that will follow this cold shutdown, and the enormous cost involved, make it a job for a government, not a corporation. [emphasis mine]
First, he has no idea what the Japanese public thinks of this situation. Second, there is no evidence that the government could do this job better than the company that runs the reactor. Both conclusions are mere opinion, inserted inappropriately in a news article without any supporting proofs.
Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011
NIH and DOE in the proposed budget deal
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the science office in the Department of Energy (DOE) appear to avoid serious cuts in the proposed budget deal.
Actually, NIH’s budget remains almost identical to what it got in 2012, $30.6 billion. However, this amount is $1.4 billion more than it got in 2008, and $1.7 billion more than it got in 2007. As for DOE’s Office of Science, the $4.889 billion for 2012 is still $700 million more than the office got in 2008.
In other words, considering the budget deficits the federal government faces, these 2012 budget numbers hardly seem to be a reasonable attack on the problem. Simply bringing those budget numbers back down to 2008 numbers would hardly damage the work these government agencies are doing, and it would surely do more to reduce the deficit.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the science office in the Department of Energy (DOE) appear to avoid serious cuts in the proposed budget deal.
Actually, NIH’s budget remains almost identical to what it got in 2012, $30.6 billion. However, this amount is $1.4 billion more than it got in 2008, and $1.7 billion more than it got in 2007. As for DOE’s Office of Science, the $4.889 billion for 2012 is still $700 million more than the office got in 2008.
In other words, considering the budget deficits the federal government faces, these 2012 budget numbers hardly seem to be a reasonable attack on the problem. Simply bringing those budget numbers back down to 2008 numbers would hardly damage the work these government agencies are doing, and it would surely do more to reduce the deficit.
Scientists have found microbes inside a lava tube that can thrive in the freezing cold and low oxygen environment of Mars.
Scientists have found microbes inside a lava tube that can thrive in the freezing cold and low oxygen environment of Mars.
In a laboratory setting at room temperature and with normal oxygen levels, the scientists demonstrated that the microbes can consume organic material (sugar). But when the researchers removed the organic material, reduced the temperature to near-freezing, and lowered the oxygen levels, the microbes began to use the iron within olivine – a common silicate material found in volcanic rocks on Earth and on Mars – as its energy source.
Scientists have found microbes inside a lava tube that can thrive in the freezing cold and low oxygen environment of Mars.
In a laboratory setting at room temperature and with normal oxygen levels, the scientists demonstrated that the microbes can consume organic material (sugar). But when the researchers removed the organic material, reduced the temperature to near-freezing, and lowered the oxygen levels, the microbes began to use the iron within olivine – a common silicate material found in volcanic rocks on Earth and on Mars – as its energy source.
Joe Simon, the creator of Captain America, has died at 98
R.I.P: Joe Simon, the co-creator of Captain America with Jack Kirby, has died at 98.
R.I.P: Joe Simon, the co-creator of Captain America with Jack Kirby, has died at 98.
Rider on the Storm
At approximately 6:00 pm, Lt Col Rankin concluded that his aircraft was unrecoverable and pulled hard on his eject handles. An explosive charge propelled him from the cockpit into the atmosphere with sufficient force to rip his left glove from his hand, scattering his canopy, pilot seat, and other plane-related debris into the sky. Bill Rankin had spent a fair amount of time skydiving in his career—both premeditated and otherwise—but this particular dive would be unlike any that he or any living person had experienced before.
Or since.
At approximately 6:00 pm, Lt Col Rankin concluded that his aircraft was unrecoverable and pulled hard on his eject handles. An explosive charge propelled him from the cockpit into the atmosphere with sufficient force to rip his left glove from his hand, scattering his canopy, pilot seat, and other plane-related debris into the sky. Bill Rankin had spent a fair amount of time skydiving in his career—both premeditated and otherwise—but this particular dive would be unlike any that he or any living person had experienced before.
Or since.
“He can’t run on his record. What’s he going to say – ’Vote for me because of the failed stimulus, all those deficits I piled up and a health care bill you hate?’”
Jon Corzine Was Served Papers from one of MF Global’s customers During His Hearing Recess
Jon Corzine was served papers from one of MF Global’s customers during a recess in his testimony today before Congress.
Watch the video. It is gives you a flavor of the kind of person Corzine really is.
Jon Corzine was served papers from one of MF Global’s customers during a recess in his testimony today before Congress.
Watch the video. It is gives you a flavor of the kind of person Corzine really is.
A Russian scientist has found large amounts of methane being released in the atmosphere in the Arctic
A Russian scientist has found large amounts of methane being released into the atmosphere in the Arctic, far more than previously predicted.
It is speculated that these releases are the result of the Earth’s warming climate during the past several hundred years. And because methane is a far more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, its release will feed into that warming.
A Russian scientist has found large amounts of methane being released into the atmosphere in the Arctic, far more than previously predicted.
It is speculated that these releases are the result of the Earth’s warming climate during the past several hundred years. And because methane is a far more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, its release will feed into that warming.
The first debris from the March 11 Japanese earthquake/tsunami has reached the shores of the northwest U.S.
The first debris from the March 11 Japanese earthquake/tsunami has reached the shores of the northwest U.S..
The first debris from the March 11 Japanese earthquake/tsunami has reached the shores of the northwest U.S..
The Obama Justice Department is going after climategate whistleblowers
Thugs: The Obama Justice Department has joined the UK government to go after the climategate whistleblowers.
This action once again shows how completely tone deaf the Obama administration is. Attacking the messenger here will do nothing to convince anyone that global warming is happening. Instead, it will help to convince everyone that the whole thing is a fraud, and should be shut down.
Thugs: The Obama Justice Department has joined the UK government to go after the climategate whistleblowers.
This action once again shows how completely tone deaf the Obama administration is. Attacking the messenger here will do nothing to convince anyone that global warming is happening. Instead, it will help to convince everyone that the whole thing is a fraud, and should be shut down.