Syria Strike

Unfortunately, a Syria strike probably became inevitable when someone opened their mouth a year ago about not using chemical warfare.

The puppet masters in Russia and Iran immediately spotted the opportunity: If someone did nothing, it would weaken him around the world; if he did something, it would further alienate him from the Arab world. So they perpetrated an incident. When it got mealy mouthed, the second, larger incident on the anniversary of the red-line statement couldn't be ignored.

We will probably hit some targets with cruise missiles to no great avail, and it will be over in a matter of hours. The bad guys will seek revenge by taking Americans hostage and/or other terrorist acts.

It's the price of an OJT president up against Darwinian-survivors of their climb to the top. The President has bad advisers or didn't listen to them before speaking. He is now in a no-win situation, unnecessarily.

What scientific evidence of warming?

What scientific evidence of warming? Warmistas immediately go to "consensus" or "authority says," after denigrating anyone who wants to discuss the subject.

Here is scientific evidence. Global warming is the small rise coming out of the Little Ice Age. Note it is still a degree cooler than the Medieval Warming, two degrees cooler than the Roman Warming, and almost three degrees cooler than the Minoan Warming. The graph also shows the thousands of years of warmer climate at the beginning of the Holocene Interglacial.

What scientific evidence of warming?
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Some detail of the Medieval Warming, see Global Warming--Much To Do About Not Much.

Perspective of climate model performance and solar alternative: The Cold Experiment.

A look at CO2 as the cause of warming and prevention of cooling: Time for the Cold?

 

The Illusions of Democracy

Democracy has been defined as two wolves and a lamb voting on what is for lunch. The classic story of this is the death of Socrates. The democratically elected city fathers voted to kill Socrates, reputedly in hopes that he would leave Athens. He did not, instead accepting the judgement and drinking the hemlock.

Today, we are not short of examples. Condi Rice insisted the Gaza Strip hold democratic elections and they replaced the PLO with Hamas. Egypt replaced one dictator with the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, who immediately replaced the Egyptian constitution with a theocratic power document and the democratically elected president assumed all powers unto himself. All persons not fundamentalist Muslim came under attack, often fatal. The previously secular society had its economy implode, so the Egyptian army stepped in. It appears they may well have a civil war to decide the outcome.

We have various senators now calling on the Egyptian military to quickly return to democratic rule, even though a new election would re-elect the Muslim Brotherhood with the same consequences. In the meantime, these senators demand the military should not suppress the riots--which are burning Coptic Christian churches and killing Christians.

Our illustrious senators also call for an immediate cessation of the $1.3-billion in military aid. Considering the other Arab countries, opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood, are already supplying $12-billion in aid, cutting off the US aid would have little effect other than removing the US from any future influence. If the Muslim Brotherhood wins, we will have no influence; if the Egyptian army wins, the secular society will be to their benefit and the reason they strive--not our 10% contribution to their aid.

This is an Arab argument about who they want to be--and inserting our two-cents worth will be resented.  The Muslim Brotherhood has telegraphed they will not give up, so the Egyptian army will have to destroy them--and they know it. That is why they are receiving the $12-billion from other Arab states.

This potentially dark side of democracy is also why revising the vote in the US Senate to a simple majority is not the best idea. If an idea cannot accumulate a few votes from the minority party, it probably shouldn't become law. This seeming inefficiency is a major check for minority rights.

As Mr. Franklin so adroitly put it, "We have a Republic, if we can keep it."

Evolution Continues

The four major inventions of history are thought to be the wheel, the plow, the printing press and the internet. I would argue the digital computer belongs on the list whether in addition to or in place of the internet. I favor in addition to.

In fact, the computer may well be the invention that replaces us. By simple projections of Moore's Law, a computer with the capacity of the human brain is within ten years, and in another ten years, will cost less then $1000. Where will your job be then?

By 2068, the computer will be able to think all the thoughts in the history of man in less than a second; by 2088, it will measure only a cubic centimeter and cost less than $1000. Where will you be then?

The projected computer makes a natural space explorer since it can exist in space and draw energy naturally. These will be the real explorers and, indeed, inhabitants of space. This, I suspect, answers Fermi's Paradox.

The Singularity Is Near 

Water shortage?

I am amused.

"Global Water Shortages Grow Worse But Nations Have Few Answers"

70% of the earth's surface is water, but we are short?

97% is salty and another percent or so is locked up in Antarctic ice, but Nature evaporates billions of gallons per day and transports it inland. We let it run back into the sea, but we're short?

Polluted water can be cleaned with dollar filters, which are now being distributed to the undeveloped world to prevent the deaths of millions each year--but that is being done with mostly private funding--not the hundreds of millions supposedly spent by governments.

Millions of gallons per day are evaporated in cooling power plants, but that just goes into the atmosphere rather than being recaptured for fresh water supply.

On the grocery store shelves, I see water from Tahiti and Kiwi water, imported from around the world for the most fickle taste.

So, I conclude "water shortage" is lack of imagination, topped by lack of political competence, but most likely topped by a desire for an increase in the $700-million per year spent on the problem. "Spent on the problem" does not mean "spent on the solution."