Obama: A Candidate, His Minister and the Search for Faith

A Good read...

A Candidate, His Minister and the Search for Faith - New York Times [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Climate change hits Mars

Climate change hits Mars-News-UK-TimesOnline

Scientists from Nasa say that Mars has warmed by about 0.5C since the 1970s. This is similar to the warming experienced on Earth over approximately the same period.

The mechanism at work on Mars appears, however, to be different from that on Earth.

Of course it's different!!, EARTH's must be "Man-Made" (right?) and MARS is just natural. It goes without saying that the changes on Mars cannot be man-made, and they want you to think that it goes without saying that the changes on Earth cannot be natural. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Video Server Maker Prevails in DVD Ripping Case

CE Pro § Kaleidescape Prevails in DVD Ripping Case

It still isn't legal for me to rip my own DVDs and put them on a laptop, but at least companies can now legally make Video servers that copy the DVD to a harddive and plays them later.

One more small step for Fair Use rights..... [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Is the RIAA Pulling a Scam on the Music Industry?

Daily Kos: State of the Nation

This sounds bad enough to get some (bad) attention for the RIAA. The RIAA is showing it's true colors. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Florida House OKs bill requiring waiting time, ultrasound before abortions

House OKs bill requiring waiting time, ultrasound before abortions | Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun | Gainesville, Fla.

Dang... I never knew this was even being considered. I knew there was a reason I still vote Republican. Albeit a small one... [This Post Continues after the jump...]

"Internet Radio Equality Act" Could Save Internet Radio

broadband help » News » Bill Could Save Internet Radio - From new royalty rate deadline and extinction
"Internet Radio Equality Act,"
Would treat internet radio just like satellite radio and set royalty rates at 7.5% of revenues.

Contact your congress-person here

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

Global warming debate 'irrational'

Global warming debate 'irrational': scientists

"They continually say we only have 10 years left, and they've been saying it for 20 years, and it's ridiculous,"

The problem may not be climate change, but the problem is still [air] pollution.

I personally am very concerned with general AIR POLLUTION, but CO2 is not a pollution...

Patterson explained CO2 is not a pollutant, but an essential plant food.

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

Real ID misunderstood ?

Real ID creator: Law's been misunderstood | CNET News.com

There's a lot of fuss over encrypting the 2D barcode on the Real-ID. But I think that would be easily cracked by criminals.

But that's not the point. What matters is that more and more businesses will start scanning your ID every time they look at it. cashing a check, entering a bar, renting a stroller at the mall, etc. They will get and start tracking much more information than they need. This seem to be a very real concern, but it could also be address without encryption by saying that private companies cannot scan the bar code. Or that goods and services can not be dependent, or even appear to be dependent, on you allowing them to scan your card.

So Encryption is not needed in my opinion, but the data needs to be protected by law. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Emilio Gonzales - Fight over baby's life support divides ethicists

Fight over baby's life support divides ethicists - CNN.com

Emilio is 17 months old and has a rare genetic disorder that's ravaging his central nervous system. He cannot see, speak, or eat. A ventilator breathes for him in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Austin Children's Hospital, where he's been since December. Without the ventilator, Emilio would die within hours.

The hospital contends that keeping Emilio alive on a ventilator is painful for the toddler and useless against his illness -- Leigh's disease, a rare degenerative disorder that has no cure.

Emilio's mother, Catarina Gonzales, on the other hand, is fighting to keep her son on the ventilator, allowing him to die "naturally, the way God intended."

Update: More at the Washington Post

I'm going to have to think about this one some more, and maybe read some more, from both sides.

The medical decision lies with the boys parents....

But the doctors and hospitals have the right to refuse to follow the parents (or anyone's) wishes if they think it harms the child and/or is futile.

Then there's the cost issue. Doctors and hospital have gone to heroic and expensive efforts to save people even when there is only a slim chance of it working, and even when no one can pay for it. But in this case it sounds like they are not doing any actual "TREATMENT" for this child, they are just keeping him alive.

In my opinion, the purpose of artificial life support is to keep a patient alive long enough to repair, or cure them or for them to heal after a treatment. If there is no chance for cure or healing, and the person is in pain (or unable to communicate), then the question of how long to keep them on life support becomes very important. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

China Will Pass U.S. As Polluter in 2007

2.5 years ahead of schedule!!

But hey, China DID sign Kyoto (so they're a "green" country), but so would have the US if we were exempt too!

They can put a man in space, they are hosting the Olympics in 2008, they have Veto ower at the UN, and they can shoot down spy satellites, but hey they're just a "Developing Nation" so give them a break, right?

Report: China Will Pass U.S. As Polluter [This Post Continues after the jump...]

PC Spyware Act (HR 964) Only Protects Vendors and Their DRM

Looks like congress needs to pay off some people in Hollywood..... H.R. 964 "The Spy Act"

InfoWorld GripeLine by Ed Foster | InfoWorld | Spy Act Only Protects Vendors and Their DRM | April 24, 2007 12:09 AM | By Ed Foster

Write Your Representative NOW...
http://www.house.gov/writerep/ [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Judge says RIAA "Disingenuous", Motives "Questionable"

Surprise Surprise....

Recording Industry vs The People [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Deltona, FL - off-limits to sexual offenders

This is wrong on so many levels. If these people are THAT dangerous, then keep them locked up. If they can safely be released, then they have to be able to live somewhere. Some restrictions are necessary, but this is ridiculous. Beside, just not living near a park doesn't mean they can't visit the park (or does this law bar that too? It would not surprise me if it did!)

Warning: Deltona off-limits [This Post Continues after the jump...]

U.S. Knew of China’s Missile Test, but Kept Silent

Well, this makes me feel a little better.... at least we knew ahead of time.

U.S. Knew of China’s Missile Test, but Kept Silent - New York Times [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Liberal democracies, not activists and international law, protect human rights.

Interesting read... (and YES, the U.S., even under BUSH, is a LIBERAL democracy...)

OpinionJournal - Featured Article: Liberal democracies, not activists and international law, protect human rights. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

50% Good News in Russia - Or Else!

The world is definitely getting more dangerous...
but according to Bill Moyers, our "free" press isn't work either

50% Good News Is the Bad News in Russian Radio - New York Times [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Taiwan may plan missiles to strike China

Taiwan shows model missiles to strike China | International News | Reuters.com

The world will be lucky if this China/Taiwan issues doesn't escalate into a full war. The world needs to recognize that Taiwan is separate and has been for decades [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Moyers' Probe looks to blame the Press for Iraq War

'Devastating' Moyers Probe of Press and Iraq Coming

Bill Moyers is looking for someone to blame for the mistake of going to War. In hind sight it was a mistake, but to think the press could have found something to stop us from going to war is silly.

more later.. gotta run... [This Post Continues after the jump...]

No More Limbo, says Pope

Pope Approves Report on Teaching Limbo - Orlando Sentinel : Nation/World Pope Approves Report on Teaching Limbo - Orlando Sentinel : Nation/World

Catholics seem to come up with names and concepts for just about everything and most of it is not from the Bible. This seems to be backing off that some and admitting that we simply do not know what happens to infants when they die.

I honestly have a lot of respect for Catholics. And sometimes I crave the spiritual authority structure they have. And the role of a "priest" as apposed to a "minister" is something I've been thinking a lot about recently.

My only real issue with Catholic belief is their heavy use of ceremonies and rituals as something real and meaningful in and of themselves. This seems to back off that just a little. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Iran Exonerates Six Who Killed in Islam’s Name

Iran Exonerates Six Who Killed in Islam’s Name - New York Times

How can we co-exist with a society like this? How can we "talk" with them as everyone says we should, when we are so different? We should do nothing that gives this government any form of legitimacy.

We can't ignore this sort of behavior and hope it goes away just because it is on the other side of the world. Ideas are important, and their idea is that they can kill any of us and it not be a crime, but a duty. They do it to their own people, their own children, And they've done it to foreigners before and they will do it again unless we deal with them now. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

In China, Talk of Democracy Is Simply That

In China, Talk of Democracy Is Simply That - New York Times

The state-run news media’s newly prolific references to democracy to describe a range of prosaic political actions — like setting up an e-mail address so that the public can comment on pending legislation — so devalue the term that critics of the leadership suspect that Mr. Hu’s goal may be to strip democracy of meaning.

“They want democracy to belong to the party, not to belong to people who oppose the party,” said one retired party official who declined to be identified because top leaders sometimes punish people for discussing elite politics. “If the party can define what democracy is, then it will not be as dangerous.”

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

NASA Scientist: Warming not caused by humans

Scientist: Warming not caused by humans [This Post Continues after the jump...]

The Dilbert Blog: Copyright and the Infamous Underpants Analogy

Copyright violations are analogous to borrowing your neighbor’s underpants without asking, then laundering and returning them before he returns home.

Is Copyright Violation Stealing?

a follow up... The Dilbert Blog: The Infamous Underpants Analogy

a 3rd party review.... Pointy Haired Views on Copyright [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Supreme Court Upholds Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act

It's about time.....

FOXNews.com - Supreme Court Upholds Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Should We Be Afraid of President McCain ?

Reason Magazine - Be Afraid of President McCain

It's 3am and I'm trying to stay awake... reading this probably wasn't my best idea of the night.

If I'm understanding this right, it says that McCain takes "National Duty" over "personal freedoms" and that we should be afraid of this. I think there needs to be a balance between the two and McCain errors on the side of Duty over Freedom, but that's no worse than erroring on the side of Freedom, and few if any of us get it perfectly balanced all the time.

So, after reading this, I'm not really "afraid" of President McCain. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Solar Power - Close but still costs too much

Strangely, the "incentives" are increasing demand but not lowering the "per unit" price. The cost is still high because demand is higher than supplies. So would "more" incentives really help anything?

Incentives should be saved until there is a supply surplus.

Financially, Solar Power for the Home Is a Tough Sell - New York Times [This Post Continues after the jump...]

The "REAL" reason behind what happend to Imus - Pravda.Ru

American radio icon Don Imus disgraced, fired after threat to reveal 9/11 secrets - Pravda.Ru

This is HILARIOUS.. it reads like something on "the onion" or an "April fools joke" on the web. It's even worse than most tabloids in the US would print... (probably because it doesn't involve UFO's)

But I think it's serious!! [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Avoiding Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants

FOXNews.com - Avoiding Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants - Blog | Blogs | Popular Blogs | Video Blogs

I don't like Amnesty either, but sometimes you have to realize that a lot of water has already spilled over the damn so to speak. If we fix the damn (secure the boarder, etc) I for one don't want to spend millions and ruin a lot of lives by mopping up everyone that has entered illegally. Yes, the broke the law by entering illegally, but we have looked the other way and allowed it to happen, that coming down hard now just doesn't seem fair.

I don't know the details of the plan, but $3500 in fines would put a hurt on me, so I don't think its a slap on the wrist by any means.

I for one am DESPERATE to seal the boarder and would consider any plan that does so. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees and with them the Human Race?

Interesting situation.. I've heard other things about bees dying off, but this (if accurate) seems significant.

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees? - Independent Online Edition > Wildlife

Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".

UPDATE ---- Instapundit has some better info...

For instance, there was this claim: "Most of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees."

That's wrong. Corn, wheat, rice, rye, barley, and all the other grain crops do not rely on insects for pollination, and they make up the majority of the calories consumed by the human race.

It's true that there are a very large number of crops which do rely on insects, but many of those do not rely on honey bees, or at least do not have to. In many areas, they use a different kind of bee that looks a lot like a honey bee but is much different in life cycle. These bees don't produce honey, and all the females are fertile, with each producing 5-10 grubs. They work collective laying sites with the grubs being placed in holes in wood.

Is this another case of MASS HYSTERIA that mankind is somehow going to kill the planet?

UPDATE #2
Besides, Einstein may never have said anything about BEES [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Human error and Bad Command doomed Mars Global Surveyor

Human error doomed Mars craft - Los Angeles Times: "Mars Global Surveyor" [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Police and firefighters in MARKED cars can get camera tickets also!

Red-light fines to go to police, firefighters | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas News:

"Many police officers are angry about the proposed policy. The prevailing belief among officers has been that they can run red lights as they see fit."

It's about time !! [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Steve Jobs, Apple, and EMI Get it

Steve Jobs, Apple, and EMI Get it

This reminds me of a Star Trek Quote from "Mirror Mirror"

Kirk and Spock readily agrees that the Empire is doomed; "The illogic of waste", Kirk tells him.

"One man cannot summon the future," Spock reminds the captain.

"In every revolution , there's one man with a vision," Kirk insists. "Be that one man!"

Maybe Jobs is that man for the coming music/entertainment revolution!! ....or maybe not... :-(

Quotes from http://scifi.about.com/blmirrormirror2.htm [This Post Continues after the jump...]

NYC Emits 1% of Greenhouse Gases

interesting...

NYC Emits 1% of Greenhouse Gases | TIME [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Woman loses final embryo appeal

BBC NEWS | Health | Woman loses final embryo appeal

At first I thought this was a good thing, that a father has equal rights in reproduction as the mother. But then I realized that the father has simple gained the right to have an abortion, a right I don't think anyone really has.

These embryos will be killed, yet their mother wants them to live. This is the same thing that happens when a woman has an abortion when the father of the child wants to raise the child.

So now, prior to implantation, fathers and mothers both have the equal right to kill their own children. It's a sad world, especially when the court that upheld this right is named a "Court of Human Rights" [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Conservatives, don't ignore McCain - Los Angeles Times

Conservatives, don't ignore McCain - Los Angeles Times

I don't think I've ever given significant money to a specific candidate (I have given token amounts to the general republican party, I think). But I think it's time I put some money on McCain. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

RIAA, MPAA want permission to lie ("pretext")

Recording, movie industries lobby for permission to deceive - Los Angeles Times

Now we see the ridiculous measures that are said to be needed to fight piracy. The RIAA and MPAA will become the new "big brother" if we let them. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Why cell phones are still grounded

I've heard this many times before, and believe it.
But this sort of foot dragging may be good.
It's very expansive to "prove a negative" as in prove that a given device will NOT interfere with any airplane equipment. It seems to me that the price of just about all gadgets would go up if they had to be tested this way.

Or we could say everything is usable until we proved a certain item DOES cause problems. But most people don't want to take this kind of risk, even though it is more logical.

Why cell phones are still grounded [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Blogger freed after record contempt stint - CNN.com

Well, it looks like he gave in a little. But the video he put on-line doesn't have the crime in it, and the part he sold did (I think), so this may not be over yet.

Blogger freed after record contempt stint - CNN.com

I just don't understand this, If I would be required to testify about something I saw on private time or even while at work, why shouldn't Joshua Wolf or any reporter? [This Post Continues after the jump...]

NEWSWEEK Poll: 90% Believe in God. 48% reject Evolution

NEWSWEEK Poll: 90% Believe in God - Newsweek Beliefs - MSNBC.com

Lots of good figures.. but I always question the way the choose to state these numbers. Why do they keep mixing percentages with ratios and number with word-numbers. Do they think this is supposed to be "good reading" or something? [This Post Continues after the jump...]

How To Choose CD/DVD Archival Media

How To Choose CD/DVD Archival Media » Ad Terras Per Aspera

Not my normal type of post.. but very practical [This Post Continues after the jump...]