WAR POWERS ACT carried away in Rapture. They told me if I voted Republican we’d be waging illegal wars. And they were right!
Archive for 2011
May 20, 2011
GERMANY BLASTS GREECE: At least this time it’s only figurative.
FROM THE ANCHORESS, IT’S A RAPTURE ROUNDUP. Meanwhile, Brian Dunn says that this is bad news for the troubled housing market.
More seriously, Freeman Hunt, on Facebook, is unhappy about all the hoopla: “Does anyone actually believe in this Rapture Saturday thing? I keep seeing references to Christians believing it, but I am a Christian, and I know a whole lot of Christians, and yet, I have not encountered a single person who believes this. I’m guessing there’s a small, nutty group somewhere that came up with this, and now it’s being used as a cudgel against regular Christians.” Or, as in my case, an excuse to procrastinate on grading. Plus, if you expect to be raptured away tomorrow, how about hitting my PayPal button today? You can’t take it with you!
But I’m predicting a Leon Festinger moment.
SPRING IS HERE, AND SO ARE THE AIRSHIPS? Airships have been on the verge of a comeback for as long as I can remember, but maybe they’ll make it.
PATCHING DAMAGED HEARTS WITH NANOTECHNOLOGY: “The scientists turned to nanotechnology. In a lab, they built a scaffold-looking structure consisting of carbon nanofibers and a government-approved polymer. Tests showed the synthetic nanopatch regenerated natural heart tissue cells – called cardiomyocytes – as well as neurons. In short, the tests showed that a dead region of the heart can be brought back to life.”
UNEMPLOYMENT AND INCOMPETENT ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT WILL DO THAT TO YOU: Recent college grads souring on Obama.
SHOCKING STUDY: Most motorists go green to save money, not the environment.
DRINK MORE COFFEE, prevent prostate cancer. I’m in.
JOHN TIERNEY: Is Happiness Overrated? “So what should be measured instead? The best gauge so far of flourishing, Dr. Seligman says, comes from a study of 23 European countries by Felicia Huppert and Timothy So of the University of Cambridge. Besides asking respondents about their moods, the researchers asked about their relationships with others and their sense that they were accomplishing something worthwhile.”
TRANSPARENCY: Obama: “I’m working on gun control under the radar.”
IN THE MAIL: The Changing Body: Health, Nutrition, and Human Development in the Western World since 1700. 
SUMMER RAINS BRING CEREAL DISEASE FEARS:
Also: New Resistant Strains of Disease Could Wipe Out Global Wheat Fields. “At a meeting of the International Wheat Stripe Rust Symposium last week in Aleppo Syria, scientists said unless serious and urgent measures were taken to combat the rust, it would adversely reduce wheat production in the world.”
On the other hand, there’s this: Kenyan Rust Disease-Resistant Wheat to Boost Production, Institute Says. While people worry about wars and scandals, this kind of thing makes a bigger difference in terms of lives saved.
UPDATE: A gloomy email from farmer-reader Bart Hall:
Glenn, as a now-grey-haired agronomist, I can tell you, this is serious $#!+. As with maize (corn) in 1970, gene pools have become far too narrow and field production far too dependent upon non-resistant pathogens. As the world enters a prolonged, as in 25 years (if we’re fortunate) period of cooling — google Pacific Decadal Oscillation — the interaction of effective pathogens is likely to be devastating.
If we are re-entering a Maunder Minimum type event — and with my first two degrees in geology I believe we are — the scenario worsens considerably. Look at any of the Brueghel paintings (elder or younger), or go read the sonnet Vivaldi wrote, in Venice on the Adriatic, to accompany his ‘Winter’ in the ‘Four Seasons.’
Islam became militant in the 14th century — cooling climate and sharply reduced food resources — far more than in the Seventh. Things are getting rather messy.
Well, we’ll see. I don’t think there’s enough data to predict what will happen, but there’s enough to be concerned, and to make preparations. If governments, etc., are doing enough, though, I’m not seeing it. Meanwhile, here’s more on wheat rust and food politics.
BARACK OBAMA, NEOCON? “Obama finds himself announcing principles that are indistinguishable from those advanced by President Bush in 2003. Obama even credited Iraq as an exemplar of Middle Eastern democracy.”
RETIREMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY: Just Keep Working Until You Drop. “Almost four in 10 workers said they’ll work long past the normal retirement age, if they even retire at all, and a growing number of people said the recession will force them to work longer in life, a new survey finds.” But it’s okay: “Continuing to work is ‘a very important opportunity to bridge their savings shortfall,’ said Catherine Collinson, president of the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.”
This isn’t precisely what I had in mind with that longevity dividend talk.
AAA SURVEY: High Gas Prices Mean Fewer Memorial Day Car Trips.
UPDATE: Reader Cindy McNew writes: “It cannot be pointed out too often that Obama considers fewer car trips, anywhere, any time, as a feature, not a bug.” Well, I just paid $4.02/gallon to fill my tank, so he should be happy.
