OOPS:

A 13-year-old German schoolboy corrected NASA’s estimates on the chances of an asteroid colliding with Earth, a German newspaper reported Tuesday, after spotting the boffins had miscalculated.

Nico Marquardt used telescopic findings from the Institute of Astrophysics in Potsdam (AIP) to calculate that there was a 1 in 450 chance that the Apophis asteroid will collide with Earth, the Potsdamer Neuerster Nachrichten reported.

NASA had previously estimated the chances at only 1 in 45,000 but told its sister organisation, the European Space Agency (ESA), that the young whizzkid had got it right.

What’s a few decimal places among friends?

UPDATE: According to this report, however, the boy’s math is wrong. Well, that’s not much of a story: NASA better at math than 13-year-old! But, you know, sometimes dogs really do bite men . . . .

STOP THE PRESSES: Poll shows erosion of trust in Clinton.

A MODERATE BLACK NATIONALIST?

BOB KRUMM, EN ROUTE TO THE WAR, reports from Fort Benning.

I’ve observed one thing about this group which may surprise some. During the entire week I heard not one complaint. In our seventh year of war, after multiple separations from family, even in wake of the recent Sadr uprisings, no one ever said “woe is me.” Just five out of every ten-thousand Americans are now serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. Out of every thousand soldiers deployed there, about four of them will die during the year. This is a war with a better than 99.5% chance of survival. Still, it’s a different kind of war, one where there are no “safe” jobs. Yet not once did I hear that fear voiced. I couldn’t help but to contrast the lack of complaint from those actually willing to sacrifice in this war with what I’ve heard from so many of whom nothing is asked.

Actually, I have heard several people complain about one thing: the food in the mess hall. Even with new Soldiers some things never change.

Glad to hear that — I was starting to worry.

PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW WHAT I THINK ABOUT BEN STEIN’S EXPELLED: I haven’t seen it, but I expect it will be like a Michael Moore film, and at least as funny, and at least as honest. And yes, that’s faint praise. Anyway, if I did go see it, I might be . . . expelled. It wouldn’t be the first time.

LIFE IN BASRA IMPROVED BY MALIKI CRACKDOWN. Ed Morrissey observes: “Once again, the American media got caught with its pants down and their, er, aspirations showing. They wanted the military operation to represent a breakdown of the government so badly that they reported it as a defeat even as the Iraqi Army adapted and prevailed against the militia members. They still have yet to acknowledge that the Basra and Umm Qasr operations have largely met their goals, and have driven Moqtada al-Sadr even further outside the political arena.”

JAMES KIRCHICK: Who has Obama’s ear? I dunno, but it’s a lot of real estate.

MORE ON THE NEW MEXICO “HUMAN RIGHTS” COMMISSION, from Eugene Volokh.

How come “human rights” are suddenly trumping Constitutional rights?

USA TODAY: Obama’s claim of independence questioned.

SEAN HACKBARTH: The Spirit of Fred Thompson Lives On in John McCain: “Last fall, Fred Thompson issued a tax plan that included an optional flat tax with two tax rates and a generous standard deduction. Another element of the Thompson plan was reducing corporate tax rates. I don’t know if Thompson and McCain have spent any time together since McCain became the GOP nominee. Like I wrote above McCain for some time has been talking about cutting the corporate tax rate. The optional alternative tax came out of the blue. I wonder how much influence Thompson had?”

LEFTY BLOGGERS pile on Hillary.

DAVE BARRY: How your taxes turn into manure.

DUI ENFORCEMENT IN OUR TIME: “Police arrested, cuffed, and hauled her away in front of her kid–all because a man in a restaurant mistook the glasses of water she was drinking for wine, then called the police. . . . The reporter finds another case in which a woman was charged with DUI after blowing .03 on a breath test, because the cops were convinced she was on drugs. When lab tests proved them wrong, prosecutors pushed ahead with the charges anyway.” In my area, the prosecutors seem to be under considerable pressure to generate court costs, even when they don’t have a strong case. Those who criticize the city or county government also seem to face DUI charges at a statistically questionable rate.

RECIPEGATE!

See, she should have stuck with the Insta-Chicken and the Lamb and Guinness Stew.

UPDATE: Here’s my leg of lamb recipe. And here’s one for Pasta with Tomato, Basil and Chevre sauce.

TAKING THE FIGHT TO APPLE with a new lineup of Microsoft Stores? The Ned Flanders angle is genius . . . .

MICHAEL YON’S BOOK is now up to #29 #17 #15 #13 #12 #11 #10 #8 on Amazon. And if you missed it last night, be sure to check out our podcast interview with him. (Bumped). (And bumped again!)

UPDATE: Michael Yon emails: “That’s just wild. Folks really did want that book after all. I was wondering how many people even cared. It’s great to know that people want to really know what’s going on.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Robert Mayer: “I don’t know if this has been said, but given Michael Yon’s volcanic rise through the book rankings, I think it is significant that such a bold book is being published when it is. As the Democratic politicians have already been ignoring Iraq for months, Michael’s book — hopefully becoming as widely read as possible — could be the last nail in the coffin of this dead mantra that we are losing in Iraq. Let’s hope so. Whoever the Democratic nominee is, s/he’ll have a hard time pushing for immediate withdrawal not only as victory comes within this nation’s clutches, but also as people come to understand this fact.”

If you listen to the podcast, you’ll see that Michael Yon doesn’t think the war in Iraq is over. But he does think we’re winning, and have a good prospect at winning big if we don’t drop the ball.

MORE: Breaking the top 10 on Amazon is pretty cool, but now they’re out of stock for the moment. You can still buy through his site, though.

OUCH: “Canada may no longer believe in old-fashioned human rights like free speech and the presumption of innocence, but it’s discovering exciting new ‘human rights’ every day. Hard on the heels of the human right to a labiaplasty comes the human right of restaurant employees not to wash their hands.”

MY DEEPEST SECRETS, revealed.

ROSS DOUTHAT: “Voting on issues like ‘God, guns and gays’ is an artifact of (relative) prosperity, not immiseration.”

FUNNY NUMBERS IN THE SENATE: If you’re gonna stage those photo-ops, you need to agree on the math.

THE END OF China’s surreptitious rise?

OUT OF TOUCH, according to Tom Maguire.

HMM: Associated Press Documents Gun Control’s Irrelevance.

“PEAK OIL” IS TRUE: At least, in Russia. “Russian oil production has peaked and may never return to current levels, one of the country’s top energy executives has warned, fuelling concerns that the world’s biggest oil producers cannot keep up with rampant Asian demand.” Or they’re just playing games with the markets.

B.E.T. FOUNDER BOB JOHNSON: Ferraro was right. “Geraldine Ferraro said it right. The problem is, Geraldine Ferraro is white. This campaign has such a hair-trigger on anything racial … it is almost impossible for anybody to say anything.” Which makes an Obama presidency something to look forward to . . . .