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March 6, 2010

Politics: Another Broken Promise

Candidate Obama promised American Armenians that he would support a bill labeling Turkish WWI atrocities against their native countrymen as genocide. More than twenty countries have recognized the systematic slaying of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Turkish hands as exactly that. In fact, Ankara acknowledges the atrocities but characterizes them as run-of-the-mill war casualties and strenuously objects to the “genocide” designation.

Now that President Obama has the chance to make good on his promise, he’s decided to renege. His administration is killing a bill that would fulfill his campaign pledge. Apparently, as President, the Turks are much better allies than the Armenians were on the campaign trail. Or, it could simply be that Candidate Obama had no idea what he was talking about. Or, possibly, he said whatever it took at the moment to please a crowd, slap some backs and collect a few votes. Any way you look at it, it doesn’t look good for Obama.

Check our sources: BBC

Economy: A Deficit-Ridden Future

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reported Friday that the long-term fiscal ills of the Country are much worse than the Obama Administration’s predictions. According to the CBO, Obama’s budget plan would flood the United States in red ink totaling $9.8 trillion by the end of the decade. That’s $1.2 trillion, or 12.24%, more than Obama’s forecast just last month. The primary difference in the calculations is the CBO’s more conservative, and accurate, estimate of tax revenues over the next ten years.

What does a deficit of this magnitude mean? According to economists, it is unsustainable. It means an increase in interest rates, the end of private investment in the economy and the erosion of our standard of living. Our debt to China would increase to $20.3 trillion by 2020, more than quadrupling the interest payments we are now making. Meanwhile, Obama is fiddling with ramming a massive, and unaffordable, healthcare entitlement package through Congress rather than addressing our burning economy. In fact, ObamaCare is a large part of the slow fiscal death we will suffer over the next several years. Can nothing stop this madness?

Check our sources: CBO, Fox News

Science: Women & Children First? Not Always

According to a new study, social norms, like women and children first, take time to rise to the surface when disaster strikes. How much time? Somewhere between 18 minutes and 2 hours 40 minutes. Researchers based this time gap on two maritime disasters, the Titanic and the Lusitania. On the Titanic, which took 2 hours 40 minutes to sink, men gallantly placed the women and children in the lifeboats. As the lifeboats pulled away, the men remained on board to go down with the ship.

Three years later, when the Lusitania sank in a mere 18 minutes, lifeboat occupants were strong young men. The women and children did not fare as well as their counterparts on the Titanic. Why? When time is short, the “every man for himself” instinct, which apparently takes hold first, controls decision-making. But, when more time is available, socialized behavior bobs to the top.

Check our sources: Science News

Health: The Flu Season That Wasn't

This winter was all dressed up for the flu season but ended up with no place to go. The much ballyhooed swine flu epidemic, many even predicting pandemic, did not materialize. What was advertized as a torrent of illness turned into barely a trickle. Even the plain old ordinary seasonal flu has made very few appearances. Why? Health experts don’t have a clue.

Not that we’re complaining. But, when experts warn repeatedly, in increasingly ominous tones, that many will die in the coming winter, and it doesn’t happen, something else does. We start conjuring up the image of the little boy who cried wolf when scientists speak. That’s not the visual we want when listening to our top-notch public health officials.

Check our sources: Wall Street Journal

Life: 50 Years Of Ugly

Just think of the number of different car models that have rolled off the assembly line since Henry Ford’s first. To their designers, they were all lovely, just like a newborn infant is to her parents. But, to the rest of us, maybe not so much. In fact, going back just 50 years, we can find some of the worst eyesores ever driven on our streets.

Some are such huge design goofs that, thankfully, we’ll probably never see their like again, not even in the wildest retro craze. Take the CitiCar, for example, or as Business Week calls it, the rolling tent, with zip up windows and a steeply slanted hood. A ‘70s creation, it was an electric car, widely deployed but as a fashion statement. And there are many, many more, like the Bond Bug, the Citroen Ami, the Corbin Sparrow and this year’s entry, the Toyota Scion IQ. Too bad for Toyota, safety isn’t its only problem this year.

Check our sources: Business Week

Animals: The Mind Of A Dolphin

Dolphins are now declared by some to be “non-human persons” due to the degree of their intelligence. In fact, dolphins, especially the bottlenose species, are now rated as brighter than chimpanzees. Why? In terms of the proportionate size of brains to bodies, the dolphin brain mass is second only to humans. Not that big brains always mean big thoughts, but the dolphin neuroanatomy reveals many key features associated with an elevated level of intelligence.

What can dolphins do that people find so smart? A lot of it is mimicking human behavior. Like recognizing themselves in mirrors and even using the reflective glass to inspect their body parts. Or quickly learning complex tasks in captivity, like tail walking, and then, when released, teaching the skill to dolphins in the wild. Or, placing sponges on their noses for protection from spiny fish on the ocean floor. Or, co-operating with each other by using military-like precision to catch shoals of fish. Some scientists argue that the intelligence of dolphins should earn them special consideration, and protection from human harm.

Check our sources: London Times

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