NANOTECHNOLOGY UPDATE: Study: Nanodiamond Coatings Safe For Implants. “Nanodiamonds designed to toughen artificial joints also might prevent the inflammation caused when hardworking metal joints shed debris into the body, according to an early study published this week in the journal Acta Biomaterialia.”
Archive for 2012
February 6, 2012
WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: The War For Oil . . . And Squid?
Sending Prince William and a few top-of-the-line ships to the islands have been passed off as routine, but nonetheless these events, coupled with Prime Minister David Cameron’s Iron Lady-like statements of resolve with respect to the Falklands, suggest Britain is standing firm. The Argentinean government, on the other hand, has long used the “Malvinas” (as they call these cold and barren islands in the stormy South Atlantic) either as a distraction from other more pressing issues—like a slowing economy—or as a way to rally citizens and force neighboring countries to join in—Brazil, most importantly. Both reasons are at play here, and so too is the prospect of oil in the waters surrounding the Falklands.
Read the whole thing.
ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS of the PJ Media Nostradamus contest.
CREDENTIALISM: “Our last president had a Harvard MBA. Our current one has a Harvard JD. If Romney is our next president, he will bring to office—both.” And, of course, Bill Clinton had a Yale JD, an even more superior degree.
WHAT TEA PARTIERS ARE DOING: Operation Counteract and Counterweight.
UNTRUSTWORTHY: WaPo/ABC ends sample transparency in national polling.
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Are You “Them?”
Until the appearance of Barack Obama on the national scene, I knew of “them” only from an old sci-fi movie in which huge ants (“Them!”) ate people.
But there are new monsters in America, and I am starting to wonder whether I am to be considered among them: those of the uninvolved and uninformed lives, the bar-raisers, the downright mean ones, the never deserving of respect ones, the Vegas junketeers, the Super Bowl jet setters, the tuition stealers, the faux-Christians who do not pay higher taxes, the too much income makers, the tormenters of autistic children, the polluters, the enemies deserving of punishment, the targets to bring a gun against, the faces to get in front of, the limb-loppers, the tonsil pullers, the fat cats, the corporate jet owners, the one-percenters, the stupidly acting, the not paying their fair sharers, the discriminators on the “way you look”, the alligator raisers and moat builders, the vote deniers, the clingers, the typical something persons, the hunters of kids at ice cream parlors, the stereotypers and profilers, the cowards, the lazy and soft, the non-spreaders of money, the not my people people, the Tea party racists, the not been perfect and mistake makers, the disengaged and the dictating, the not the time to profiteers, the ones who did not know when to quit making money, and on and on.
My God, man, how did Barack Obama & Co. conjure up so many demons?
Because they don’t stand a chance in November if people think about what they’ve actually done.
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Richard Vedder on the Failings of Higher Education. “The big problem is that higher education consumes a huge amount of resources and provides inadequate value.” Indeed.
AT AMAZON, 20% or more off select MP3 players.
Also, today only: Panasonic Vortex Arc 4 Multi-Flex Wet/Dry Nanotech Electric Shaver, $159.99.
HOMELAND SECURITY LEXICON: Love the Constitution? Hate government regulations? New DHS “lexicon” brands you a “militia extremist.”
STACY MCCAIN: Newt’s Narcissism Problem (And Ours). “Let’s pause, my friends, to recognize that what I write on this blog, and what you reply in the comments, will never change anything about the Republican presidential primary campaign. And we would be guilty of exaggerating our own influence if we thought otherwise.”
In a nutshell, that’s why I haven’t seemed very interested — as various emailers have noted from time to time — in the Republican primary process. Nobody really excites me, but I’ll be quite happy to vote for the nominee, whether it’s Romney, Paul, Santorum, Gingrich, or Zeeba, over Barack Obama. Nor do I think the race is likely to turn on what gets written here.
THINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WEEKEND:
Takers vs. Makers: My Sunday Washington Examiner Column. Drawing on Charles Sykes’ A Nation of Moochers.
Lamar “SOPA” Smith (R-Hollywood) Has A Primary Opponent.
Friday Night Document Dump: White House Turns Over More Solyndra Emails.
Cecil Adams on the light bulb ban.
Sex Smears And The Rule Of Law At Yale. More of the former than the latter.
“Shop” Is Not A Four-Letter Word.
The surprising benefits of post-breakup sex.
Harry Reid: Budget? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Budget!
Nanny-stater Mike Bloomberg and his nest of felons.
Obama Goes “Christianist” on Tax Policy.
Ross Douthat on the media’s abortion blinders.
Is there anything it can’t do? Stopping Nosebleeds With Bacon.
WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Coming soon: Individual mandate to buy Chevy Volts. Well, that’s what it’ll take to make it a success.
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT AS CORPORATE TOOL: US threatens Sweden with trade sanctions unless The Pirate Bay is prosecuted.
THE NATURAL RESULT OF THE BLUE MODEL: Cory Doctorow: On The Horrors of Getting Approval For An Ice Cream Parlor In San Francisco. Yet the lesson from this continues to elude.
THE HILL POLL: Voters willing to see US attack Iran over nuclear weapons.
ALWAYS GLAD TO HELP: Reader T.J. Buttrick writes: “After having dropped from a lifetime high of 173 lbs to 163 and then hitting a wall for a few months, I happened across your link to the Eades’ The 6 Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle and decided to give it a shot. Started Dec 11 at 162.8 lbs and today weighed in at 146.2 Thanks for making me aware of this plan!”
WHY HAS THE COLLAPSE OF COMMUNISM HAD SO LITTLE IMPACT ON POLITICAL DISCOURSE IN THE LEFT? Because the lessons to be learned about the role of government would not favor the dominant narrative.