Friday, January 03, 2014
Frozen Out: 98% of Stories Ignore That Ice-bound Ship Was On Global Warming Mission
They mostly lie by omission.
Frozen Out: 98% of Stories Ignore That Ice-bound Ship Was On Global Warming Mission | NewsBusters
The Russian ship, Akademic Shokalskiy, was stranded in the ice while on a climate change research expedition, yet nearly 98 percent of network news reports about the stranded researchers failed to mention their mission at all.
Forty out of 41 stories (97.5 percent) on the network morning and evening news shows since Dec. 25 failed to mention climate change had anything to do with the expedition.
Frozen Out: 98% of Stories Ignore That Ice-bound Ship Was On Global Warming Mission | NewsBusters
A group of climate change scientists were rescued by helicopter Jan. 2, after being stranded in the ice since Christmas morning. But the majority of the broadcast networks’ reports about the ice-locked climate researchers never mentioned climate change.
Forty out of 41 stories (97.5 percent) on the network morning and evening news shows since Dec. 25 failed to mention climate change had anything to do with the expedition.
In fact, rather than point out the mission was to find evidence of climate change, the networks often referred to the stranded people as “passengers,” “trackers” and even “tourists,” without a word about climate change or global warming.
Chris Turney, the expedition’s leader, is a professor of climate change at the University of South Wales.
According to Turney’s personal website, the purpose of the expedition is to “discover and communicate the environmental changes taking place in the south.”
The Five Biggest Myths About Income Inequality
The Five Biggest Myths About Income Inequality - Forbes
Myth No. 2: People at the bottom of the income ladder are there through no fault of their own.
In a study for the National Center for Policy Analysis, David Henderson found that there is a big difference between families in the top 20 percent and bottom 20 percent of the income distribution:
Families at the top tend to be married and both partners work.
Families at the bottom often have only one adult in the household and that person either works part-time or not at all:
Families at the top tend to be married and both partners work.
Families at the bottom often have only one adult in the household and that person either works part-time or not at all:
- In 2006, a whopping 81.4 percent of families in the top income quintile had two or more people working, and only 2.2 percent had no one working.
- By contrast, only 12.6 percent of families in the bottom quintile had two or more people working; 39.2 percent had no one working.
The average number of earners per family for the top group was 2.16, almost three times the 0.76 average for the bottom.
Henderson concludes:
“…average families in the top group have many more weeks of work than those in the bottom and, in the late 1970s, the 12-to-1 total income ratio shrunk to only 2-to-1 per week of work, according to one analysis.”
Having children without a husband tends to make you poor.
Not working makes you even poorer.
And there is nothing new about that.
These are age old truths.
They were true 50 years ago, a hundred years ago and even 1,000 year ago. Lifestyle choices have always mattered.
Not working makes you even poorer.
And there is nothing new about that.
These are age old truths.
They were true 50 years ago, a hundred years ago and even 1,000 year ago. Lifestyle choices have always mattered.
The other Christmas "miracle". The miracle of capitalism----Christmas shopping 1958 vs. 2012 illustrates the ‘miracle of the marketplace’ which delivers better and cheaper goods
Christmas shopping 1958 vs. 2012 illustrates the ‘miracle of the marketplace’ which delivers better and cheaper goods | AEIdeas
Christmas shopping 1958 vs. 2012 illustrates the ‘miracle of the marketplace’ which delivers better and cheaper goods
One way to illustrate your good fortune of being a holiday shopper today is to measure the cost of consumer goods by the number of hours it takes working at the average hourly wage to earn enough income to purchase typical consumer products at their retail prices, and then compare the “time cost” of goods from the past to today’s “time cost” for similar items. (Don Boudreaux has been featuring some similar comparisons in a series on Café Hayek titled “Cataloging Our Progress,” which inspired this post.)
For example, the retail price of an automatic Kenmore two-slice toaster advertised in the 1958 Sears Christmas Catalog (available here online, and pictured below on the left) was $12.95, or 6.54 hours of work at the average hourly manufacturing wage of $1.98 in 1958 (wage datahere). Today you can buy a comparable Kenmore two-slice toaster for $25.99, and the “time cost” would be only 1.35 hours of work at the current average hourly wage of $19.19, for a reduction of almost 80 percent since 1958 in the amount of work hours required to earn the income necessary to purchase a standard toaster. Additionally, the Sears website todayfeatures more than 100 different toasters, compared to the Sears catalog in 1958, which only featured a few different models.
OMG! The NYT discovers price elasticity-----Access to Health Care May Increase ER Visits, Study Suggests
Access to Health Care May Increase ER Visits, Study Suggests - NYTimes.com:
Supporters of President Obama’s health care law had predicted that expanding insurance coverage for the poor would reduce costly emergency room visits as people sought care from primary care doctors.
But a rigorous new study conducted in Oregon has flipped that assumption on its head, finding that the newly insured actually went to the emergency room more often.
The study, published in the journal Science, compared thousands of low-income people in the Portland area who were randomly selected in a 2008 lottery to get Medicaid coverage with people who entered the lottery but remained uninsured.
Those who gained coverage made 40 percent more visits to the emergency room than their uninsured counterparts.
Even Though Legalizing Marijuana Is Inevitable, It’s A Bad Idea
Even Though Legalizing Marijuana Is Inevitable, It’s A Bad Idea - Investors.com:"As the American Medical Association concluded in recommending against legalization last November, "Cannabis is a dangerous drug and as such is a public health concern."
The association added: "It is the most common illicit drug involved in drugged driving, particularly in drivers under the age of 21.
Early cannabis use is related to later substance use disorders."
And this point, for me, is the most convincing:
"Heavy cannabis use in adolescence causes persistent impairments in neurocognitive performance and IQ, and use is associated with increased rates of anxiety, mood, and psychotic thought disorders.""
They're still pretending the outrage will simply go away----TaxProf Blog: The IRS Scandal, Day 237
TaxProf Blog: The IRS Scandal, Day 237:"9. The IRS Overreaches
When a report surfaced in May that the IRS was targeting nonprofits with words like “Tea Party” in their name for increased scrutiny, it looked, momentarily, like President Obama was facing a major political scandal.
Within days, the IRS’ acting commissioner resigned and Republicans were calling for Obama’s impeachment. But things didn’t unfold as expected.
Obama maintained he had no knowledge of the policy, and it soon became clear that the IRS also targeted liberal groups seeking nonprofit status.
Instead, the revelations served as a reminder of the bureaucracy’s potential to overstep its bounds and spurred an internal review that found ongoing malpractice within the agency."
History for January 3 - Birthdays, Sorta Butter, First Slurp, How'd that work out, Great move, Great Dame, Don't Mess with Georgie
History for January 3 - On-This-Day.com:
1871 - Henry W. Bradley patented oleomargarine.
1888 - The drinking straw was patented by Marvin C. Stone.
1925 - In Italy, Mussolini announced that he would take dictatorial powers.
1959 - In the U.S., Alaska became the 49th state.
1988 - Margaret Thatcher became the longest-serving British Prime Minister in the 20th century.
1990 - Ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican's diplomatic mission.
Happy Birthday! Dabney Coleman, Mel Gibson, Bobby Hull, Robert Loggia, Eli Manning, Danica McKellar, Victoria Principal, Stephen Stills
1871 - Henry W. Bradley patented oleomargarine.
1888 - The drinking straw was patented by Marvin C. Stone.
1925 - In Italy, Mussolini announced that he would take dictatorial powers.
1959 - In the U.S., Alaska became the 49th state.
1988 - Margaret Thatcher became the longest-serving British Prime Minister in the 20th century.
1990 - Ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican's diplomatic mission.
Thursday, January 02, 2014
NFL should be alarmed that three of four playoff games, including Green Bay's home game, still not sold out
NFL should be alarmed that three of four playoff games, including Green Bay's home game, still not sold out | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo Sports:
"It would be a tremendous embarrassment to the league to have three of four playoff games blacked out locally, and likely, the tickets will get sold somehow to avoid that scenario.
But there's a bigger issue here. Is this the most stark example that NFL fans aren't too excited to go to games anymore?
A quick glance at Ticketmaster on Wednesday afternoon showed the face-value prices for the Packers playoff game ranged from $313 and $102, not counting Ticketmaster fees.
If you've attended a NFL game, you know that the cost doesn't end with tickets.
Parking is outrageously and insultingly high at most NFL games.
Concessions aren't cheap either. NFL teams have gouged and gouged and gouged, and maybe there's a breaking point."
"It would be a tremendous embarrassment to the league to have three of four playoff games blacked out locally, and likely, the tickets will get sold somehow to avoid that scenario.
A quick glance at Ticketmaster on Wednesday afternoon showed the face-value prices for the Packers playoff game ranged from $313 and $102, not counting Ticketmaster fees.
If you've attended a NFL game, you know that the cost doesn't end with tickets.
Parking is outrageously and insultingly high at most NFL games.
Concessions aren't cheap either. NFL teams have gouged and gouged and gouged, and maybe there's a breaking point."
The Global Warming Tipping Point is Near
Blog: The Global Warming Tipping Point is Near:"In 2004, NASA's chief scientist James Hansen authoritatively announced that there is only a ten-year window to act on AGW (presumably by transferring mass quantities of taxpayer funds to global warmist causes) before climate Armageddon destroys humanity.
Well, that window has now shut tight, and AGW is AWOL.
Al Gore, the high priest of AGW theory, has closed all of his Alliance for Climate Protection field offices, and laid off 90% of his staff.
Contributions have all but dried up since 2008."
After Pageantry, Tough Stop and Timely Passes Lift Spartans in Rose Bowl
After Pageantry, Tough Stop and Timely Passes Lift Spartans in Rose Bowl - NYTimes.com:"Cook threw another interception that was voided by a defensive penalty.
He had at least two other interceptions dropped.
One hit a Stanford cornerback in the stomach.
After the touchdown return, Dantonio found Cook on the sideline.
“You good?” the coach asked his quarterback.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” the quarterback responded.
They bumped fists, and Cook hustled back onto the field."
Pork market prices are expected to rise in 2014
AgriNews: Pork market prices are expected to rise in 2014: "DANVILLE, Ind. —Steve Meyer, the founder and president of Paragon Economics, said in a recent interview that producers can expect to see some changes in pork figures next quarter as a result of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, which hit first in June and July.
Due to this, he noted, that there will be a reduction in slaughter numbers from where they would have been had the animals not been sick.
The first and second quarters of the new year probably will be down between 2 percent and 4 percent in slaughter production, Meyer said.
The good news for pork producers is that hog prices will be positive.
“Reduce supplies, prices go up,” Meyer said, adding that producers whose hogs were infected with PEDV most likely lost three to four weeks of production."
Plutocracy---The Trillion-Plus Heist
And this is only the Federal government.
Lot's more theft from our state, county and local rulers.
Articles: The Trillion-Plus Heist:
"Recap:
Executive -- 6,546,673 employees; salaries ..... $ 549,126,870,330.
Legislative -- 12,835 employees; salaries ....... 5,250,599,780.
Judicial -- 1,324 employees; salaries ....... 199,418,700.
Agencies -- 5,298,867 employees; salaries ....... 569,886,700,000.
Total = 11,859,699 employees; salaries .... $ 1,124,463,588,810.
The consequences of these stupefyingly large numbers are far more devastating than can be seen directly.
To grasp the extent of that destruction, consider the level of prosperity that employers and employees achieve today despite regulations, taxes, permits, fines, and wasted time on government paperwork.
Because of government confiscation of producers' time and money, gone are the businesses that would have been started with that income.
Never to be recouped is the time that would have been spent on innovations, inventions, discoveries and products that would have been made.
Never to be retrieved is the prosperity that would have inevitably raised the standard of living, elevated the destitute and eventually wiped out poverty."
Lot's more theft from our state, county and local rulers.
Articles: The Trillion-Plus Heist:
"Recap:
Executive -- 6,546,673 employees; salaries ..... $ 549,126,870,330.
Legislative -- 12,835 employees; salaries ....... 5,250,599,780.
Judicial -- 1,324 employees; salaries ....... 199,418,700.
Agencies -- 5,298,867 employees; salaries ....... 569,886,700,000.
Total = 11,859,699 employees; salaries .... $ 1,124,463,588,810.
The consequences of these stupefyingly large numbers are far more devastating than can be seen directly.
To grasp the extent of that destruction, consider the level of prosperity that employers and employees achieve today despite regulations, taxes, permits, fines, and wasted time on government paperwork.
Because of government confiscation of producers' time and money, gone are the businesses that would have been started with that income.
Never to be recouped is the time that would have been spent on innovations, inventions, discoveries and products that would have been made.
Never to be retrieved is the prosperity that would have inevitably raised the standard of living, elevated the destitute and eventually wiped out poverty."
Concealed Carry Means Fewer Murders, Says New Study
Concealed Carry Means Fewer Murders, Says New Study - Hit & Run : Reason.com:"Using data for the period 1980 to 2009 and controlling for state and year fixed effects, the results of the present study suggest that states with restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons had higher gun-related murder rates than other states.
It was also found that assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level.
These results suggest that restrictive concealed weapons laws may cause an increase in gun-related murders at the state level.
The results of this study are consistent with some prior research in this area, most notably Lott and Mustard (1997)."
Chicken overtakes beef as the meat of choice on America's dinner tables
Chicken overtakes beef as the meat of choice on America's dinner tables | Mail Online:"While the per capita consumption of beef has dropped from a peak of 90lbs per capita in the 1970s to 50 lbs in 2012, chicken consumption has gone the other way rising from under 20 lbs in 1960 to about 55 lbs in 2012. "
The Problems of Women in Combat - From a Female Combat Vet
The Problems of Women in Combat - From a Female Combat Vet:"Men and women are different, but those pushing women into combat don’t want to admit that truth.
They huff and puff about how women can do whatever men can do, but it just ain’t so.
We’re built differently, and it doesn’t matter that one particular woman could best one particular man.
The best woman is still no match for the best man, and most of the men she’d be fireman-carrying off the battlefield will be at least 100 lbs heavier than her with their gear on."
Outrage at JFK as Customs men smash a musician’s instruments
Outrage at JFK as Customs men smash a musician’s instruments:
Outrage at JFK as Customs men smash a musician’s instruments
December 31, 2013 by 150 Comments
Industry, not environmentalists, killed traditional bulbs
Industry, not environmentalists, killed traditional bulbs | WashingtonExaminer.com
People often assume green regulations like this represent the triumph of environmental activists trying to save the plant.
That’s rarely the case, and it wasn't here.
Light bulb manufacturers whole-heartedly supported the efficiency standards. General Electric, Sylvania and Philips — the three companies that dominated the bulb industry — all backed the 2007 rule, while opposing proposals to explicitly outlaw incandescent technology (thus leaving the door open for high-efficiency incandescents).
This wasn't a case of an industry getting on board with an inevitable regulation in order to tweak it. The lighting industry was the main reason the legislation was moving.
As the New York Times reported in 2011, “Philips formed a coalition with environmental groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council to push for higher standards.”
Industry support for the regulations struck lawmakers and journalists as a ringing endorsement of the regulations. Republican Congressmen Fred Upton, who has since flip-flopped and attacked the regulations, cosponsored the light bulb provision in 2007. His excuse, according to conservatives I spoke to: It couldn't be that bad if the industry supported it.
Liberals used this very argument to ridicule Republicans' 2011 efforts to repeal the law. Democratic congressman Steny Hoyer defended the rule by saying, “The standards are supported by the lightbulb industry.”
Joe Romm at the Center for American Progress pinned repeal efforts on the “extremist Tea Party wing of the party, which opposes all government standards, even ones that the lightbulb industry itself wants.”
That “even” signifies that the industry’s support indicates consensus.
Instead, it signifies how consumers lose.
Instead, it signifies how consumers lose.
What Russian terrorists hope to accomplish ahead of Sochi Olympics
What Russian terrorists hope to accomplish ahead of Sochi Olympics | Fox News
Putin’s reaction has been muted thus far. He flew to the Russian Pacific Far East to celebrate the New Year with the victims of unprecedented floods there. He mentioned the attacks in his New Year address.
The tactics, the choice of targets, and the size of the bombs (more than 20 pounds of TNT) suggest multiple objectives: to kill as many Russians as possible, to destroy New Year’s cheer, and to disrupt President Vladimir Putin’s flagship project—the Sochi Olympics.
Putin’s reaction has been muted thus far. He flew to the Russian Pacific Far East to celebrate the New Year with the victims of unprecedented floods there. He mentioned the attacks in his New Year address.
He also ordered Russian law enforcement agencies to tighten security measures.
But he failed to address the nation on national TV immediately after the bombings, nor did he announce national days of mourning.
Volgograd has become a prime terrorist target in Russia. The bombings marked the sixth time Islamists have attacked the city.
A few years ago, female suicide bombers blew up two passenger planes flying from Moscow to Volgograd.
This past August, terrorists targeted police headquarters, but failed to execute the attack. On October 21, a female suicide bomber from Dagestan detonated her explosives in a passenger bus, killing five and injuring some 30 more.
Dagestan has become the epicenter of Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus. The Russians have been unable to fully identify and neutralize the armed Salafi underground there. The political and religious struggle between traditional Caucasus Sufi Islam and the Wahhabi extremism imported from the Middle East continues, and the local elites and their Russian bosses do not know what to do.
A major player there is the Caucasus Emirate, a Salafi-Wahhabi terrorist organization with connections to al Qaeda and the Taliban. It is headed by Doku Umarov’s, a man with a price on his head, courtesy of the UN and the U.S.
Earlier this year Umarov declared that his forces would do everything possible to derail the Sochi games. In July, he cancelled the moratorium on strikes on Russian civilian targets he introduced in winter 2012. Now he urges his followers to attack the Winter Olympics in Sochi, which lies close to the North Caucasus.
In the run up to the Olympics, Russian authorities tried to assure the public that their war against terrorism is succeeding. Yesterday’s attacks demonstrate that it is not. The separatists in the North Caucasus understand that they need to strike now, when the world's attention is riveted on Sochi.
The terrorists hope their attacks will serve multiple purposes. They aim to intimidate the Russians, gain support from fellow Moslems in the Caucasus, curry favor with Syrian extremists and their radical sponsors, and scare away tourists and foreign dignitaries.
Russia’s leaders see terrorism as an unavoidable evil. They are collecting saliva from women in North Caucasus, so that the security services can use DNA analysis to identify bombers. It is a tacit admission that future attacks are inevitable.
Meanwhile, the region’s security crisis and inter-religious and inter-ethnic conflict may have irreversibly shattered civic peace in Russia. Slavic and Christian Orthodox extremism has risen in response to expanding Salafi/Wahhabi influence and violence.
Increasingly in Russia, Muslims—especially Muslim youth—are seen and treated as aliens. The North Caucasus are viewed as a kind of “internal abroad.” Instead of integrating Muslims into Russian culture and trying to boost tolerance and acceptance of Muslims among ethnic Russians, Moscow has kept pushing Muslims away—and into the hands of terrorist recruiters.
Moscow has never developed, much less implemented a strategy to end the Caucasus insurgency. Instead, it has delegated responsibility for solving the problem to corrupt and authoritarian leaders like Chechnya President Ramzan Kadyrov.
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