With all the talk among Paleontologists that dinosaurs may have evolved from birds, now there is photographic evidence of their importance in the development of Sharks. Thanks to Shark Researcher Adam Brown for this rare finding.
Month: January 2009
Subprime Mortgage Fraud Classic
Marvene Halterman of Avondale, Ariz. At age 61, after 13 years of uninterrupted unemployment and at least as many years of living on welfare, she got a mortgage.
She got that mortgage less than two years ago. She got it even though at one time she had 23 people living in the house (576 square feet, one bath) and some ramshackle outbuildings. She got it for $103,000, an amount that far exceeded the value of the house. The place has since been condemned. (Click on link below for the story)
rtgage Fraud.
Be Glad You’re Not an Ant – No Sex
To the long list of reasons you should be glad you’re not an ant, add this: You’d have to forget about having sex. You’d also have to forget about even trying. Sneak off for a little insectile assignation and the other members of the colony would know immediately — and attack you for it. Entomologists have long known this was the practice in the ant world, but what they didn’t know is the forensic science that allows the community to uncover the crime. Now, thanks to a study in the current issue of Cell Biology, they do.
U.S. military report warns Mexico may fail
The U.S. Joint Forces Command’s “Joint Operating Environment (JOE 2008)” report, which contains projections of global threats and potential next wars, puts Pakistan on the same level as Mexico. “In terms of worse-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico.
“The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and press by criminal gangs and drug cartels. How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state. Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone.”
via U.S. military report warns ‘sudden collapse’ of Mexico is possible – El Paso Times.
British Historian Defends Bush’s Legacy
In the avalanche of abuse and ridicule that we are witnessing in the media assessments of President Bush’s legacy, there are factors that need to be borne in mind if we are to come to a judgment that is not warped by the kind of partisan hysteria that has characterised this issue on both sides of the Atlantic.
via History will show that George W Bush was right – Telegraph.
Would You Surf These Spots?
Remember the surfing scene from Apocalypse Now? Robert Duvall storming a heavily fortified beach while blasting “Ride of the Valkyries” so his men could catch a wave? Francis Ford Coppola was arguing that war is crazy. The given was that surfing is crazy. And Coppola was right. Surfers will go anywhere for a decent wave.
via Sweet Ride: Surfing in Liberia – TIME. Continue reading “Would You Surf These Spots?”
Earth on the Brink of an Ice Age – Pravda.Ru
Earth on the Brink of an Ice Age – Pravda.Ru.
About 325,000 years ago, at the peak of a warm interglacial, global temperature and CO2 levels were higher than they are today. Today we are again at the peak, and near to the end, of a warm interglacial, and the earth is now due to enter the next Ice Age. If we are lucky, we may have a few years to prepare for it. The Ice Age will return, as it always has, in its regular and natural cycle, with or without any influence from the effects of AGW.
The AGW theory is based on data that is drawn from a ridiculously narrow span of time and it demonstrates a wanton disregard for the ‘big picture’ of long-term climate change. The data from paleoclimatology, including ice cores, sea sediments, geology, paleobotany and zoology, indicate that we are on the verge of entering another Ice Age, and the data also shows that severe and lasting climate change can occur within only a few years. While concern over the dubious threat of Anthropogenic Global Warming continues to distract the attention of people throughout the world, the very real threat of the approaching and inevitable Ice Age, which will render large parts of the Northern Hemisphere uninhabitable, is being foolishly ignored. Continue reading “Earth on the Brink of an Ice Age – Pravda.Ru”
Obama’s Nuclear Crisis
The former Clinton administration defense secretary, William Perry, held out hope that more vigorous U.S. and international diplomacy could reverse North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. But he was less confident about stopping Iran’s ambitions.
“President Obama will almost certainly face a serious crisis with Iran,” Perry said. “Indeed, I believe the crisis point will be reached in his first year in office. So on the nuclear front, President Obama will face a daunting set of problems, none of which can be solved unilaterally.”
“If North Korea and Iran cannot be contained, we face the real danger of a cascade of proliferation” of nuclear armed-states, he said. “Indeed, I believe that today we are clearly at the tipping point of nuclear proliferation. And if the world does tip, it will be irreversible and dangerous beyond the imagination of most people.”
via Former Pentagon chief predicts Iran crisis soon | Newsweek Politics | Newsweek.com.
CUTE THINGS FALLING ASLEEP
Rated for cuteness on a scale of 1-5. (5 being the cutest)
Rated for sleepiness on a scale of 1-5. (5 being the sleepiest)
Mr. Sandman- Rob Holman
On the East Coast, “the big waves come in from the northeast, and they drive the littoral drift predominantly from north to south,” Dr. Holman said, referring to the longshore movement of sand.
By the time a grain of sand washes up on a beach in Florida, it has been battered by waves for a long time. “The physical action of being continually beaten causes the grains to break down, the angular corners to break off,” he said. “They become more rounded.”
And relatively dense mineral grains, like garnet, have settled out. The result is a row of samples shifting from the relatively dark, coarse grains of the Northeast to the fine white beach sand of the Southeast. Thanks Natalia Collier.