Damsel, whom I love with the greatest of admiration and passion, never fails to find nuggets of wonder in the “outer blogosphere.” “James Earl Jones IS Darth Vader” might have escaped my attention on Garfield Ridge had she not called me over to have a look. Very funny.
July 2006
A Win for Kim
As I predicted in a previous article, the UN resolution passed today to censure North Korea had no teeth in it and in “record time” (according to US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton), was rejected by the North Korean delegate. Nothing — NOTHING — will get the attention of Kim Jong Il short of vaporizing his missiles and the launch and engineering facilities — nothing short of that.
Once again the UN proves itself to be completely useless.
Truth in Aerial Advertising
After today’s most ridiculous performance by Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame at the National Press Club, there can only be one thing to say about their message:
For more on this story visit Blackfive – One Last Photo OP . . .
Update: Captain’s Quarters posts about the judge assigned the case in “Talk about a bad draw.”
Update 7/25/2006: GOP Bloggers: Once Again, Joe Wilson Lied. Christopher Hitchens presents a case for Wilson lying about the yellowcake uranium issue brought by British intelligence. The unmitigated gall of the Wilsons is totally unbelieveable yet alone their lies!
Cactus Flower Bonanza
The yard is virtually erupting with these this week. I estimate there could be over 50 of them getting ready to bloom.
Iraqi Milestone
Breaking news from CENTCOM
BAGHDAD — Iraq witnessed a historic event today with the transfer of security responsibility in Muthanna Province from the Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF-I) to the Provincial Governor and civilian-controlled Iraqi Security Forces. The handover represents a milestone in the successful development of Iraq’s capability to govern and protect itself as a sovereign and democratic nation. Muthanna is the first of Iraq’s 18 provinces to be designated for such a transition.
CENTCOM Photo: Iraqi Soldiers Assume Authority
One Province down, 17 to go . . . Don’t forget the President’s Exit Strategy.
Drought, Forest Fires and Global Warming
World Climate Report takes a deliberate and sensible look at the relationship between rising global temperature and frequency of forest fires in the west. Warning to Greenbats — The WCR post contains actual science which may offend and confuse you, and we wouldn’t want your little green brains exploding.
The Fire This Time: More Perspective Needed
Some prominent scientists are becoming increasingly restive about the shrill portrayal of global warming science in popular media. The latest round concerned a paper by A. L. Westerling (Scripps Institute of Oceanography) relating an dramatic increase in western forest fires to regional warming and changes in the onset of snowmelt.
Colorado University’s Roger Pielke Jr., one of the nation’s preeminent scholars about how science and society interact, called it “a useful paper that adds to our knowledge and hopefully will stimulate further research on the integrated effects of climate-society-policy.†But then, he warned that “At the same time I can envisage the paper being used simply as a caricature in the global warming debate—Global Warming Causes Forest Fires!—but that would be a shame because fire policy is more complex than that.â€
Well, of course, what he feared would happen, did happen. And the resultant headlines are another sad commentary on how cursory reporting on global warming has become, and how little attention is paid to the facts as they stand. Nowhere, for example, did we read Westerling’s words: “Whether the changes observed in western hydro-climate and wildfire are the result of greenhouse gas-induced global warming or only an unusual natural fluctuation, is presently unclear.â€
Why so unclear? In large part, because the science isn’t straightforward, and three decades is a very short period of climate time.
The article concludes by comparing temperature anomaly with the drought index. Using a “scatter plot” which reveals any correlation between temperature and drought. The plot found nothing to indicate correlation between the two. Nothing to see here, just a random scattering of dots — no lines, no circles, no wavy curves and no correlation.
Of course, Enviroloons and Greenbats will undoubtedly come up with a way to connect the dots.
