Water Issues Again (Still)

Time is running out (or maybe has already) for the decision makers to decide to come down on the side of the environment and save the world for our grandkids. I heard some jerk this morning say “I’ll vote for anybody who will take out the EPA”. Smart. Real Smart. This same moron probably would scream “SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!!!” if his favorite fishing hole dried up, or his favorite hunting place burned to the ground or his favorite grouper sandwich costs 50 bucks.
Fresh water is not in short supply. It is just not falling where it used to fall. Wonder why? I don’t. Sure, it will rain again in the drought areas, and dry up in the flood areas, but the trend line is bad news. And for you conservative types that put national security at the top of the pile, check out this from U.S. Intel Head James Clapper as he gives this assessment to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence:
“On Drinking Water Resources: Shortages, Floods Will Hurt U.S. National Security
During the next 10 years, water problems will contribute to instability in states important to U.S. national security interests.
Water shortages, poor water quality, and floods are unlikely to result in state failure. However, water problems combined with poverty, social tensions, environmental degradation, ineffectual leadership, and weak political institutions contribute to social disruptions that can result in state failure.
Now and for the foreseeable future, water shortages and pollution probably will negatively affect the economic performance of important U.S. trading partners.”
Oh my. Not only floods and droughts, but terrorism too. All because 10 or so years ago somebody listened to the Koch brothers instead of Al Gore. Tisk, Tisk.
Image: Lake Sidney Lanier in Atlanta Georgia. http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/08/16/us/DROUGHT3_600.jpg

Open Minded? Not always a good thing

Thanks to an NPR (1) discussion this weekend I started to brood over the idea of being open-minded. When you are on a jury, you shouldn’t be open-minded about the accused: he or she IS INNOCENT until proven guilty. An open mind about the accused subverts the system. What would you think if someone seriously told you they were open-minded about the possibility of sunrise? Would the word “nutter” or “moron” spring to mind? The sun rising is settled. It rises. Likewise many other things in the world. The science of climate change has been settled for years. The climate is changing rapidly. The activity of humans is the proximal cause. So why doesn’t the word “nutter” or “moron” spring to mind when you hear someone say they have an open mind about climate change?
Simple: for years industrial interests have paid people to be deniers and paid people to publish rubbish denying the settled facts. And they have sufficiently muddied the discussions to the point where many are still thinking there is some level of doubt. Pure greed producing pure propaganda. The really sad thing here is that their grandchildren will suffer along with the rest for their greed.
It is OK to be open- minded about some things where the evidence is either not in or can be reasonably disputed. Keep an open mind about the cause of a plane crash until the investigation is concluded, or who killed your next door neighbor until the perp had been found and correctly convicted. Keep an open mind about which candidate might be the right one for you. But for heaven’s sake, close it when the evidence shows the issue is settled. Galileo was right; Darwin was right; Carl Sagan was right; Pasteur was right; embryonic stem cells have great potential to help humans get well. No place for open minds in any of these.
Science doesn’t have all the answers to every question. Some questions cannot even be addressed by science. But where evidence can be amassed and analyzed, where hypotheses can be tested and falsified, where conclusions stand the test of public scrutiny and debate, consider having a closed mind. Save your energy to deny the existence of a supreme being, not the cause of the common cold.
Image: http://www.inhisgrace.us/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/open_mind.jpg
1. http://www.npr.org/2012/01/24/145732719/op-ed-the-verdict-is-in-on-climate-change

You Can’t Be Serious? Seeing GOD?

So now we know the basis of “Seeing God” when on drugs. And just maybe why some humans believe in a god of some kind: Reduced blood flow to the brain. So, when your brain gets a reduction of blood, BINGO!!! God pops up!
Don’t you love SCIENCE???
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337850/title/Turn_off%2C_tune_in%2C_drop_out
Image: http://www.dumb.com/god/images/god.jpg

Zadarum* (1) Again, or, (thank you Janet G.) I hear the Fat Lady clearing her throat.

This morning after Sally went off to work I read an article (2) that basically concludes that the Amazon basin is about to lose the ancient role of sucking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This is called carbon sequestration. The loss of millions of acres of rain forest due to mindless tree harvesting and clear cutting for farming will turn the area into a net emitter of CO2. Bad news for the planet. Add to that some morons expressing the “climate change is a fraud” on radio yesterday and the crap being thrown around by the Republican “debaters”, the population growing still, and it is a wonder all people of rational mind don’t self-destruct.
With the world on a collision course with disaster (no, not the Mayan calendar fiasco) like trains on the same track the big picture is very ugly. (Muslim extremists killing hundreds on an almost daily schedule with suicide bombs in Nigeria) Where is the good news or hope for the future? I don’t see it. (Bush meat including chimps and gorilla parts sold in fancy restaurants around the world to satisfy demands of patrons)
So, what we have to do is let go of the worry and angst for the more distant future and follow the WWWD philosophy of live for the day. There was a time (it seems so very long ago now) when my philosophy was a mirror of the “If I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would plant a tree today” school. No more. Now I use the tree to make some kick-ass barbecue. Plan for the next few years when the world will still be amiable, in some places, for viewing and enjoying, and drink the good wine (or really any wine or descent beer). The future is too horrible to seriously contemplate. I know, you think I am being over-the-top pessimistic. So do I. But I can’t see any other scenario.
Eat, drink, enjoy the sunset with a loving partner and do the things you always wanted to do. That is not only "What Would Woody Do", but is" What Woody Is Doing". And having some fun along the way.
*Ukranian folk expression for “What the F**k is the use?” said with a shake of the head, a shrug of the shoulders and a depressed acceptance that nothing you do will make a difference.
1. http://searchesworld.blogspot.com/2010/10/zadarum.html
2. http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337827/title/Amazon_may_become_greenhouse_gas_emitter
Image: http://www.seos-project.eu/modules/world-of-images/images/deforestation_lacanja.jpg

Mixed Emotions?

Mixed emotions: you see something and think “that is really awful” and “good, the bastard deserved it”.
Taliban dead and Marines alive: The bastards deserved being dead; Nobody deserves being pissed on when dead. See? Mixed emotions.
I have never been in a firefight, a sniper group or killed an enemy. I don’t know how the howling terror of war feels, and I don’t want to know. I don’t want anyone to know, but somewhere sometime it always seems to happen. In Africa, children have limbs cut off; women have breasts cut off; men have their genitals cut off. In other countries, torture is common and accepted; beheadings (slow and terrifying) are applauded by onlookers; women are stoned to death. All terrible things and for some of them I would kill the perps myself. I would piss on them first and then kill them.
They deserve being pissed on. But alive, not dead.
And for a Marine to piss on a dead enemy? More shameful than almost anything else. Many more people, innoncents, will die because they were stupid and thoughtless enough to do it, and even stupider to video it.
Image: http://static.lifeislocal.com.au/multimedia/images/full/1646205.jpg

The sun sets in Florence, Finally.,

"The transaction has been effected with success. Dear User,We comunicate that the transaction had a positiv outcome.Your position had been settled. Thank you and we send best regards"(sic the whole thing)

And so ends the saga of the traffic fine in Florence. The whole thing pissed me off for reasons already raved, but there is no doubt I did the crime, unintentional as it might have been. At least now we can go back to Italy without being arrested at the airport for “criminal avoidance of obligation” or some such charge. I have logged thousands of miles overseas, and this is the first fine. I figure it works out to something like a penny a mile. I can live with that.
You know the “Don’t drive like my brother” line? Well mine is “Don’t drive in Florence” (or like MY brother either for that matter). And another thing is this. I have not had a traffic ticket since 1960. That’s 55 years y’all. I cannot plead never having broken a law, just never got ticketed. Can’t say that anymore. Crap. Maybe Italy doesn’t count. I’ll make up a new rule: Countries where they don’t speak English don’t count in the ticket department because you can’t understand the rules of the road.
Whew!. I still have “recordo intacto”. Easy when you can make up the rules.

Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/0065_-_Firenze_-_Tramonto_sull'Arno_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall'Orto,_28-Oct-2007.jpg

“Arrivederci Firenze” is My Advice to You

What a great way to start off the New Year. Today in the mail a notice from the Comune di Firenze (Florence) that in December, 2010, I drove the wrong way into a cul-de-sac, (you see the logic here?) temporarily closed due to the proximity of the US consulate building, and was photographed by a traffic camera. The direction of traffic on this road changes with the time of day when it is open and not closed to through traffic and that information is posted on a small sign in Italian.
The roads and traffic patterns in Firenze are a nightmare at best, and incomprehensible on a good day. We were looking for our hotel, made a few wrong (obviously) turns, and finally found it. Catch the date? December 2010. A year ago.
The fine is 117 euros, exchange rate today equals $151. Imagine if I had been doing something really stupid like driving on the wrong side of the road, or speeding. I did have fun on an earlier trip with the Carabinieri (http://searchesworld.blogspot.com/2011/01/tales-of-firenze-getting-in.html) , and could have gotten into some trouble, but didn’t.
Not so this time. So “Arrivederci Firenze” is all I have to say. Next time we go to rural Calabria or maybe Abruzzo. There you only have to deal with the Mafia. I must say, though, despite these petty annoyances, Sally and I do love to drive around Italy. Great people, places, food and wine. Just stay out of Firenze.
Image: http://cbswpbz.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/traffic-chaos.jpg?w=600

The Year: Thumbs Up or Down?

Another year comes to an end with mixed reviews, but the majority are not very satisfying. Political posturing resulted in little progress on the home front, and crises abroad brought the world closer to collapse. The war in Iraq ended today, that is a good thing, but the war in Afghanistan continues apace. The American economy is in shambles, as is the situation in most of the rest of the world, and the “American Dream” looks remote for many.
There were some highlights: (here I pause: just what are the good news items? Hmmm. Killing Osama? Killing someone shouldn’t be a highlight, should it? The Euro not collapsing? Damn, this is tough.) So, the highlights: (here I pause again.) Ok friends, help me out here. What do YOU think are the highlights? How about Tallahassee finally getting a brewpub.(Momo’s Pizza in Market Square.) I know: The Duggars had a miscarriage. One less mouth to feed in the world. No, you say, not a highlight.
I know: The population crossed the 7 billion mark. Lots of souls to sing “Hosanna”. Too bad so many of them are starving to death.
So friends, help me out here. I am looking for world class positives.

Image: http://geekdose.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/facebook-like-stamps.jpg
Momo’s: http://momospizza.com/market-street-brew-menu/

Santa and Christmas: Dangerous Frauds?

Ok, so you will think I am being a curmudgeon. Not so. Let’s get rid of Christmas first. The day and season specifically celebrated the birth of the Christian savior, Jesus. Nobody can convince me that it is or should be considered a secular holiday. It is pure and simple a religious festival. No doubt “merry merchants” around the world, Christian or not, are quite happy for the season. Many make a large portion of the year’s profit in the run-up to Christmas. For many people and cultures it has morphed into a gigantic sales pitch. Ooops. I have just crossed my own logic. So it really is a secular holiday primarily benefiting the “merry merchants” and banks, and putting many people deeper into debt. And for what? Did Jesus command “Go Out and Buy!!” or “Give Gifts in Memory of Me!”? If you find that in the Bible let me know. It is a bastardized mishmash of events and cultures. I say “Happy Holidays” and take the time off gladly.
On to Santa Claus. Santa is in the same category as the Tooth Fairy. Pure Fiction. An old dude in a sled with flying reindeer who carries all the gifts for the whole world made by elves at the North Pole? Give me a BREAK. This teaches kids that lying is not only ok, but can be fun. Pisses me off for a kid to be thankful to “Santa” for a bike, when her parents went without to buy the damn thing. Given the cachet of a Saint locks Santa into the religious angle of the season; putting him on a can of Coke makes him a shill. Making him a white man, though. What is that all about? Well, he started out as a white man, and as more politically correctness came on the scene people started asking for black Santas, and brown Santas and yellow Santas so children could more easily “relate”. Relate to a lie. Ahh, you ask. But what is the harm?
Listen to the Santa songs and you will quickly see the harm. The below lines are from “Hear Comes Santa Claus” written by Gene Autry:

He’s got a bag that’s filled with toys
For boys and girls again
He doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor
He loves you just the same.

Yeah, but what about the millions of poor kids that hear the song and get nothing from Santa? The drumbeat for Christmas starts in September and ends with a disappointed child, again. Now what about the song “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”?

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town - - -
He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake! O! You better watch out!- - -

Clearly Santa is spying on kids (is he a voyeur?) and making a judgment about what is nice and what isn’t. Big brother is watching you and you won’t get toys if you are bad. Never mind that no one knows exactly what “Bad” is. Just don’t be it. Santa is a kind of behavior Nazi. So in a sense we are teaching kids to be wary, secretive and distrustful. Don’t tell me we are teaching them to be nice. It doesn’t take a fat old man in a funny costume with booze on his breath to teach kids to be nice.
Kids soon figure out or get told that Santa is a lie, and most aren’t traumatized for life. These “innocent” lies just piss me off, that’s all. Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, and Sand Man. Sooner or later they all realize they have been lied to.
And what about Jews, Moslems, Wiccans, Jains and the other x-thousands of religions, major and minor? And atheists. Their kids get sucked into the Santa Scandal too. Santa, it’s time to retire and let the world alone. Oh, I forgot. To quote Tom Leher “Angels we have heard on high; Tell us to go out and - - BUY” and “God rest ye merry merchants may ye make the yuletide PAY” (1). It really is too late. We are in the black hole of Christmas and we know the “reason for the season”, don’t we. And it ain’t just a birthday any more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas (A good history and commentary on Christmas)
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtZR3lJobjw
Image: http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20061216104705/uncyclopedia/images/thumb/1/1d/BLACK_SANTA.JPG/250px-BLACK_SANTA.JPG

Santa Claus: Dangerous?

A new post coming soon on Santa Claus and the awfulness of the propaganda about Christmas. Not for believers in SC.
You might want to refresh your memory on some lyrics:
http://www.41051.com/xmaslyrics/herecomes.html
http://www.41051.com/xmaslyrics/isawmommy.html

http://www.tsrocks.com/t/tom_lehrer_texts/a_christmas_carol.html
Maybe you can see where this will be going?

Image: http://www.thetoque.com/images/mommy_kissing_santa.jpg