Science

News Bits: Biden Warns Dems, License Plates, Maine Earthquake

Democrats Could Lose Senate, Biden Warns Party

Democrats are only four seats away from losing control of the Senate to Republicans in 2012, Vice President Biden warned supporters in a online appeal for donations Tuesday.

The Democratic Party deserves to lose the Senate given their bungling over the past few years, but especially due to their rampant arrogance and elitism of 2009-2010 that forced a socio-political agenda unwanted and unneeded by the American people while ignoring the more pressing concerns of the collapsed economy, job market, and housing markets. Instead, these Democrats chose to criticize, demean, impugn, mock and attack any and all who so much as dared question their question policies and insane ideological driven agenda. Such blatant disregard is what led to a crushing defeat of the Democratic Party in the House and made it possible for the GOP to better moderate the Senate agenda in the 2010 midterm elections. Such continuing disregard by both Senate Democrats and the GOP with respect to the economy, jobs, and housing combined with blatant pandering of special interest groups (primarily unions) and ethno-political agendas will likely result in the Democrats rightly losing the Senate as well.

I don’t trust the Republicans to do much better. The GOP has certainly been equally to blame for the budget mess but for the most part they at least seem to understand such novel concepts as cutting budgets, supporting American businesses, and respectfully listening to the wishes of their constituents. Whether they will actually act on what is important to the American people or not is another matter, but anything is better than the current crop of Senate Democrats and their party’s so called leadership.

I’m still very much of the notion that we, the people, need to throw the bums out in 2012, preferably with non-partisan or third party candidates who’ll get down to the brass tacks of what needs to be done without being concerned on being re-elected.

Sons Of Confederate Veterans Fighting For Confederate License Plates in Florida, Texas And Kentucky

The group, whose members trace their ancestors to the rebel cause, have rebelled against decisions in Florida, Texas and Kentucky that blocked their attempts to get Confederate imagery on vanity plates.

As they rightly should. Whites and blacks both served in the Confederacy and should be allowed to acknowledge that heritage without the modern political correctness and rewriting of history. We need to remind people of the entirety of our nation’s history, not just the jingoistic, politically motivated censorship that ignores the complex issues and motivations of the Antebellum Era that led up to the Civil War.

Personally, I’m of the opinion that no specialty plates should be allowed. Only three types of plates should exist: standard, handicapped, and government plates. The overuse of specialty plates has gotten ridiculous to the point of making it nearly impossible to determine what state a vehicle originates.

Maine Earthquake Swarm Caused By Ice Age (SEISMOGRAPHS)

It’s hard to imagine that we’re still feeling the effects of the last ice age.

No, it’s not hard to believe in the least. The planet is constantly changing, as is the climate. This is nothing new, despite what some so-called “scientists” would have people believe in the name of global warming or whatever agenda they’re pushing this decade.

Worldwide Animal Die-off

The recent unusal spate of  birds and fish dying in mass numbers around the planet is curious, particularly in discovering the reasons for the deaths. Is it simply media hyping up naturally occurring events or something else entirely? Religious nihilists are of course claiming its the sign of the end of days. But then some of these nihilist groups would have people believe that wearing plaid was a sign of the apocalypse so they’re not exactly thinking reasonably in the first place. Yes, I’m being snarky but I admit I have little tolerance to nihilists in general and none for religious nihilists.

U.S. scientists on the other hand are being less than convincing with their own vague explanations to an increasingly concerned public with inane statements like blunt force trauma being found on birds that fell to the ground. Duh! Slamming into the ground at a high velocity tends to inflict massive blunt force trauma. Personally I’m of the opinion a weather or geo-magnetic event confused or even killed the birds. As for the fish, I suspect the scientist are correct that a sudden cold snap may have got them.

Others have more believable explanations:

  • The dead crabs probably dying to the extremely cold weather in Britain.
  • The Talapia in Vietnam dead due to low oxygen levels in the water in their over crowded pens.
  • The dead penguins and birds on New Zealand due to low fish populations due to weather patterns.
  • The dead bats in Tucson, Arizona likely due to the unusually warm weather.

As an aside I know the weather is unusual this year in Arizona. I’ve recently seen hummingbirds and others in the Valley that should have gone south a couple of months ago, but they’re here due.

I suspect that many of these deaths are naturally occurring due to natural planetary events (weather, solar activity, gravitational shifts in the North Pole, et al.). Some may be tied to manmade events (e.g. chemical spills and poison). Even the USGS indicates there is an average of 163 die-offs a year reported, so the event is all that unusual. Either way, I think people are simply paying more attention to whats going on in the world but lack the perspective or knowledge to understand what is happening which is leading to some confusion and concern for many. But there is no ‘aflockalypse’ as far as I can see, just technology making people more aware of what is going on.

Newsbits: Immigration Reform Plan, Raytheon, Moon Robots

Democrats unveil immigration reform plan | Reuters

Not going to believe it until I see genuine reform, not useless identification cards that’ll be forged faster than you can say illegal and more laws that Congress and the administration will de-fund or order they be ignored as has been done for decades. Congress and past Presidents sold out the American public long ago to the illegals rather than secure the border as is their duty and responsibility.

Avionics Magazine :: Raytheon Awarded Radar Contract

Japan sees moonwalking humanoids by 2015 | Crave – CNET

Just as the Obama administration ditches NASA plans to return to the moon, a group in Japan is vowing to send humanoid robots there by 2015. Call it a giant leap for droidkind.

Av, Sci & Tech News Bits

Scientists hide gold with 3D invisibility cloak | Reuters

The findings, published in the journal Science on Thursday, could in the future make it possible to make large objects invisible, but for now the researchers said they were not keen to speculate on possible applications.

Well it’s useless to speculate about the already acknowledged goal.

F-35 fighter makes first vertical landing | Reuters

.:: Aero-News Network: General Aviation Serves America’ Campaign Grows By Going Local ::.

Business & Technology | EADS may make bid for tanker contract | Seattle Times Newspaper

UN Climate Chief Resigns, Rutan on AGW

Head of United Nations Climate Change negotiations resigns

The Dutch-born Yvo de Boer announced his resignation Thursday, effective July 1, 2010.

At least another unscientific fear monger will soon be gone from the debate (at the U.N.). I won’t be surprised if he ends up at one of the organizations that is trying to reap massive profits via such fraudulent schemes as cap-and-trade at the expense of common people.

Burt Rutan on Climate Change and Burt Rutan calls Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) a Fraud An engineer’s perspective on climate change. Highlights some of the problems I personally have with the alleged science used by climatologists involved in the ongoing climate change debate.

Climate Change Controversy Continues

While I don’t condone hacking, having been a victim of it once, I have to admit sometimes it brings things that should be known to light and if nothing else can be used to hold people accountable. But then this is what the old school hackers are all about: searching for information others don’t want seen.

Hacked E-Mail Is New Fodder for Climate Dispute – NYTimes.com

At first, said Dr. Michaels, the climatologist who has faulted some of the science of the global warming consensus, his instinct was to ignore the correspondence as “just the way scientists talk.”

But on Friday, he said that after reading more deeply, he felt that some exchanges reflected an effort to block the release of data for independent review.

And this is part of the reason why I bo longer believe research done at institutes devoted to Climate Change. It’s too easy for the scientists to become so entwined and dependent on their research that they start to allow their personal interest (be it monetary, fame, career, etc) to drive results and conclusions rather than the facts and data in evidence. Another is the oh-so convenient financial enrichment of those pushing so called climate agendas at the expense of and, in some cases, detriment of ordinary people around the planet seeking to improve their economic, agricultural, social and industrial development.

The third reason I don’t really buy into man being the sole cause of global warming is given previous “scientific proclamations”: global cooling, adding to the ozone layer, destroying the ozone, holes in the ozone layer, which were used to push agendas and later discovered to be overstated by those seeking to profit off the alleged research.

And the final reason I don’t believe the climate researchers is the suppression of dissenting scientific conjecture and opinion, even when faced with data that does not conform to currently accepted conclusions. The fact that scientists rely on collectivist group think is in and of itself a hindrance to independent, objective scientific thought. A true objective scientist does not suppress or warp information, data, and facts to a certain conclusion. They allow the conclusion to flow naturally without subjective interference driven by ideology, politics, money, or other forms of self gratification.

I suspect we may never know the full truth about climate change nor admit how little is truly known about the planet’s climate life cycle given the scientific process itself has been corrupted by those who have a vested interest in coming to a preselected outcome. I, for one would, be interested in knowing all the facts, not one scientific faction’s opinion, before any action, if needed, be taken. What I’ve seen so far does not convince me.

If nothing else this incident highlights the need for complete and total transparency not only in data and methodology but any externally related items that may effect such work: sources of funding, political oversight committees, political affiliations, etc.

As an aside, it’s interesting to see the hardliners on both sides of the issue savaging each other, often resorting to unrelated issues and tactics that only further serve to alienate rather than pursuade individuals to their side.

Science and Space News Bits

‘Trash Can’ Nuclear Reactors Could Power Human Outpost On Moon Or Mars

New Aluminum-water Rocket Propellant Promising For Future Space Missions

Researchers are developing a new type of rocket propellant made of a frozen mixture of water and “nanoscale aluminum” powder that is more environmentally friendly than conventional propellants and could be manufactured on the moon, Mars and other water-bearing bodies.

.:: Boeing Sends Layoff Notices To 130 Employees ::.

Asteroid Is Actually A Protoplanet, Study Of First High-resolution Images Of Pallas Confirms