It made for one of the worst movies of all time, but the plot of Armageddon is now the operational plans for the European Space Agency. The ESA plans to fire a satellite at an asteroid in 2015 to see if it can destroy (or change the course) of an asteroid. Since Armageddon almost destroyed the career of Bruce Willis, there is hope for ESA.
Continue reading “Will a Bad Movie Make For Good Science? Europeans Plan Mission To Destroy Asteroid”
One of my lifelong commitments is to go to my grave without having seen a single episode of Jersey Shore, a show that from all accounts represents the de-evolution of our species. In a reverse of the booming business of ad placement in television shows, retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has reportedly offered a “substantial payment” to the cast if they would stop wearing their brand clothing on air. The store fears that the obnoxious characters are dragging down their brand.
While some on our blog (including many regulars who I respect) disagree, I have never hidden my respect for Ron Paul. I have occasional lunches with Paul who is one of the brightest and most engaging minds in Congress. This segment by John Stewart does a great job in addressing the concerted effort to ignore Paul despite his almost winning the recent Iowa straw poll. Even “XXX” got more attention by Associated Press.
Continue reading “Is The Media Actively Erasing Ron Paul From Election Coverage?”
Sarah Palin had Thomas Muthee and John McCain had John Hagee and Rod Parsely and Barack Obama had Jeremiah Wright. For Rick Perry, his bizarre religious ally may be John Benefiel, the head of the Heartland Apostolic Reformation Network. Benefiel was one of the official organizers of Perry’s controversial The Response prayer rally. In this YouTube clip, Benefiel calls the Statue of Liberty a “demonic idol.”
Texas Governor Rick Perry has revealed one of the main distinctions that he sees between himself and Barack Obama. He insists that American needs a president who is “in love” with America. As someone who previously indicated that he was contemplating secession of his state from the United States, this appears to be a case of “separation secession making the heart grow fonder.”
The British government has formally asked China, Vietnam and other Asian countries to tell their citizens that rhino horn has no medicinal value to try to save the rhino from extinction. The belief that the horn holds medicinal value is deeply grained within Asian culture, as I discovered years ago in Taiwan.
Continue reading “Britain Calls On Asian Governments To Move Against Sale of Rhino Horn”
In Norwich, England, police are used to folks talking on cellphones while driving. However, they were not prepared for David Secker, 34, who allegedly was steering with his knees while talking on one cellphone and texting on a second cellphone.
Continue reading “Man Arrested After Driving While Using Two Cellphones”
And I cannot even figure out all of the standard options on my IPhone . . .
Continue reading “Meet Marco Tempest: IPod Magician”
This morning, I was stuck in traffic on 395 as police rounded up horses that had gotten loose. Upon arriving at the work, I found this story which is irresistible as part of the spontaneous cowboy theme this morning. The discovery of a book manuscript has led some to suggest that Butch Cassidy did not die with Robert Redford in Bolivia (Ok, with The Sundance Kid). To the contrary, it is claimed, Butch Cassidy died in 1937 as William T. Phillips, a machinist who in Spokane. Somehow dying in your bed after a second career as a machinist does not work quite as well as the shootout with Bolivian cavalry in 1908. I believe Cassidy is shown here sitting with the mustache and bowler on the far right next to the flowers.
Continue reading “Did Butch Cassidy Survive The Bolivan Shootout?”
The children of Rising Western Albemarle High School in Albemarle County, Virginia are finally safe this week after parents found a lurking danger in their school: a copy of the Sherlock Holmes story, A Study In Scarlet. Parent Brette Stevenson first brought the Victorian-era book to the attention of the school board as inappropriate for children. The book contains a harsh and erroneous view of the Mormon religion.
Continue reading “Sherlock Holmes Work Removed From School Library in Virginia”
Blogger Asma Mahfuz has been arrested by Egypt’s military for defaming the military council on the Internet. It is a part of an expanding trend of governments cracking down on first speech by using defamation and blasphemy laws.
Continue reading “Blogger Detained in Egypt For Defamation Of Military”
The United States continues to pour foreign military aid and other funds into Pakistan by the billions despite years of knowledge that the Pakistani intelligence service was protecting terrorist suspects. Now, a report has surfaced that our erstwhile allies arranged to have the Chinese inspect the wreckage of the secret Stealth helicopter used in the operation — even as the U.S. was trying to recover the wreckage from Osama Bin Laden’s compound.
While Congress is rolling back on scientific and environmental programs, it is continuing to spend $200 million in subsidies to pay for people to fly in nearly empty planes from remote airfields under the Essential Air Service program. Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi are planning to kill the 200-year-old page system to save $5 million, but they supported this continuing program costing almost a quarter of a billion dollars. In some cases, a coach ticket cost the taxpayers over $4000 in subsidies.
Continue reading “Air America: Federal Government Spending $200 Million in Subsidies For “Essential Air Service””
By Mike Appleton (Guest Blogger)
When Byron York asked Michelle Bachmann last week whether, if elected President, she would be “submissive” to her husband, the audience reacted with a collective gasp, followed by scattered boos. After a brief pause, Rep. Bachmann calmly replied that her relationship with her husband is one of mutual love and respect. Continue reading “Michele Bachman, Christian Reconstructionism and the Law”
We have a couple of good friends who live in Paris, including Eric Tenin who is the founder of parisdailyphoto — a wonderful site featuring his pictures from the City of Light. I was so taken by Eric’s photos (and I so love Paris) that I invited him to send me a picture a week to feature on our blog — our own window into Paris each week. This is the first picture, but more pics can be seen each day on his site.
Continue reading “Paris Picture of the Week”