Tuesday, October 02, 2018
Saudi Arabia Puts World's Biggest Solar Power Project On Hold - Slashdot
Saudi Arabia Puts World's Biggest Solar Power Project On Hold - Slashdot
"An anonymous reader quotes a report from Deutsche Welle:
Citing Saudi government officials, the U.S. business daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Monday that Saudi plans to build the world's largest solar power generation facility had been shelved, as the desert kingdom was working on a "broader, more practical strategy to boost renewable energy." The solar project was expected to generate about 200 gigawatts of energy by 2030 -- more than three times the country's daily requirement. "It is easy to sway or grab one's attention, but difficult to do any execution," WSJ quoted a senior adviser to the Saudi government as saying. Now, no one was actively working on the project, the source added.
[T]he country's entry into the solar market is being hampered by high costs and logistical issues. The project's first phase alone was expected to gobble up $1 billion, and was due to be funded by the Vision Fund this year. According to the Saudi officials cited by WSJ, Riyadh hadn't yet made any decisions on the project's details, including land acquisition, the structure of development or whether it would receive subsidies from the state. "Everyone is just hoping this whole idea would just die," a Saudi energy official familiar with the matter was quoted as saying. Instead, Saudi officials said the government was now devising a broader renewable energies strategy to be announced in late October, which would help clarify renewable energy goals."
"An anonymous reader quotes a report from Deutsche Welle:
[T]he country's entry into the solar market is being hampered by high costs and logistical issues. The project's first phase alone was expected to gobble up $1 billion, and was due to be funded by the Vision Fund this year. According to the Saudi officials cited by WSJ, Riyadh hadn't yet made any decisions on the project's details, including land acquisition, the structure of development or whether it would receive subsidies from the state. "Everyone is just hoping this whole idea would just die," a Saudi energy official familiar with the matter was quoted as saying. Instead, Saudi officials said the government was now devising a broader renewable energies strategy to be announced in late October, which would help clarify renewable energy goals."
How a 1965 Supreme Court Ruling Explains the Partisan Battle Over Kavanaugh's Confirmation - Reason.com
How a 1965 Supreme Court Ruling Explains the Partisan Battle Over Kavanaugh's Confirmation - Reason.com
"Opposition to Kavanaugh stems from a case that was decided the year Kavanaugh was born and was argued by professors from the law school from which he graduated.
One way to look at the situation of Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee awaiting a Senate vote, is as only the latest episode in the long story of Griswold v. Connecticut.
In other words, it's a story about Yale Law School.
Griswold is the 1965 case in which the Supreme Court struck down a Connecticut law that had outlawed the use of contraception.
The court's opinion, by William Douglas, found a "right of privacy," reasoning in part that "specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights have penumbras, formed by emanations from those guarantees that help give them life and substance."
Griswold was the basis for Roe v. Wade, the abortion rights case decided by the Supreme Court in 1973.
It was the basis for Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 case in which the Supreme Court struck down a Texas anti-sodomy law.
It was the basis for Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case in which the Supreme Court found a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
In all three cases—Roe, Lawrence, Obergefell—the court's opinions cited Griswold extensively and relied on it.
Griswold was a Yale Law School project from beginning to end.
...People have different views on the wisdom of Griswold.
The number of those people, the intensity of their views, and their political power partly explain why the Yalies and their successor chose the legal route rather than relying on the state legislatures..."
Read all!
"Opposition to Kavanaugh stems from a case that was decided the year Kavanaugh was born and was argued by professors from the law school from which he graduated.
One way to look at the situation of Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee awaiting a Senate vote, is as only the latest episode in the long story of Griswold v. Connecticut.
In other words, it's a story about Yale Law School.
Griswold is the 1965 case in which the Supreme Court struck down a Connecticut law that had outlawed the use of contraception.
The court's opinion, by William Douglas, found a "right of privacy," reasoning in part that "specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights have penumbras, formed by emanations from those guarantees that help give them life and substance."
It was the basis for Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 case in which the Supreme Court struck down a Texas anti-sodomy law.
It was the basis for Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case in which the Supreme Court found a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
In all three cases—Roe, Lawrence, Obergefell—the court's opinions cited Griswold extensively and relied on it.
Griswold was a Yale Law School project from beginning to end.
...People have different views on the wisdom of Griswold.
- Those who think it unwise or cruel for a state to outlaw contraceptives, abortion, gay sex, or gay marriage will celebrate the outcomes the opinion allowed.
- Others may agree with the policy effects but have concerns nonetheless about the process by which unelected justices overturn democratically enacted laws, and do so not on the basis of the Constitution's text but rather on "penumbras, formed by emanations."
- Some people may dislike both the process and the outcome.
The number of those people, the intensity of their views, and their political power partly explain why the Yalies and their successor chose the legal route rather than relying on the state legislatures..."
Read all!
Watch -- Kanye West Rips Democrat Welfare State in Pro-Trump Speech on ‘SNL’: '90 Percent of News Are Liberal'
Watch -- Kanye West Rips Democrat Welfare State in Pro-Trump Speech on ‘SNL’: '90 Percent of News Are Liberal':
A Make America Great Again hat-wearing Kanye West ended the 44th season premiere of Saturday Night Live with an impassioned political speech that saw the Grammy-winning fashion icon defend President Donald Trump.
“The blacks weren’t always Democrats. You know it’s like the plan they did, to take the fathers out the home and put them on welfare. Does anybody know about that?
A Make America Great Again hat-wearing Kanye West ended the 44th season premiere of Saturday Night Live with an impassioned political speech that saw the Grammy-winning fashion icon defend President Donald Trump.
“The blacks weren’t always Democrats. You know it’s like the plan they did, to take the fathers out the home and put them on welfare. Does anybody know about that?
Muskegon Heights #4!-----50 Michigan communities with highest violent crime rate
Michigan Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - MLive.com:
"Benton Harbor was Michigan's most violent city in 2017, based on FBI statistics released Sept. 24.
The FBI reported violent crime rates for communities throughout the United States.
Below is a list of the 50 Michigan cities and townships with the highest violent crime rates, which is calculated based on reports of homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assault.
Rape is defined by the FBI as any sexual assault that involves penetration or attempted penetration. Incest and statutory rape is not included.
Aggravated assault is defined as an attack on a person intended to inflict severe bodily harm or death.
It usually involves a weapon.
In 2017, Michigan had 4.5 violent crimes reported per 1,000 residents, according to FBI calculations..."
Read all.
"Benton Harbor was Michigan's most violent city in 2017, based on FBI statistics released Sept. 24.
The FBI reported violent crime rates for communities throughout the United States.
Below is a list of the 50 Michigan cities and townships with the highest violent crime rates, which is calculated based on reports of homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assault.
Rape is defined by the FBI as any sexual assault that involves penetration or attempted penetration. Incest and statutory rape is not included.
Aggravated assault is defined as an attack on a person intended to inflict severe bodily harm or death. It usually involves a weapon.
In 2017, Michigan had 4.5 violent crimes reported per 1,000 residents, according to FBI calculations..."
Read all.
The new Mafia is wising up and keeping quiet
The new Mafia is wising up and keeping quiet
"Meet the new mob — same as the old mob.
Thirty-three years after John Gotti carried out his audacious hit on crime boss Paul Castellano, which flouted Mafia rules and brought a wave of devastating prosecutions under the Dapper Don’s brash reign, New York’s five crime families have reverted to their old-guard ways.
They’re keeping quiet.
No more press conferences or TV appearances.
No more weekly meetings with capos at favorite restaurants or social clubs.
No more shootouts between warring factions.
No more wire rooms for taking wagers.
Instead, gangsters try to keep their heads down and earn as they’ve done for decades, with drug dealing, loan-sharking, running strip clubs and protection rackets and skimming from union construction jobs, cops and prosecutors say.
Bookmaking is still a lively trade, but most of it is done online using offshore accounts, not at smoke-filled gambling dens.
...This more careful approach to La Cosa Nostra — this thing of ours — has the Mafia looking to bounce back.
...And the most infamous mob rat of all, Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, the homicidal underboss whose testimony put former best friend John Gotti in jail, is alive and well.
And free as a bird.
Even with all the changes in the Mafia, some things remain the same.
“They’re still part of the fabric of New York City,” said a law-enforcement source.
“They’re never going to go away.”
Read on.
"Meet the new mob — same as the old mob.
Thirty-three years after John Gotti carried out his audacious hit on crime boss Paul Castellano, which flouted Mafia rules and brought a wave of devastating prosecutions under the Dapper Don’s brash reign, New York’s five crime families have reverted to their old-guard ways.
No more press conferences or TV appearances.
No more weekly meetings with capos at favorite restaurants or social clubs.
No more shootouts between warring factions.
No more wire rooms for taking wagers.
Instead, gangsters try to keep their heads down and earn as they’ve done for decades, with drug dealing, loan-sharking, running strip clubs and protection rackets and skimming from union construction jobs, cops and prosecutors say.
Bookmaking is still a lively trade, but most of it is done online using offshore accounts, not at smoke-filled gambling dens.
...This more careful approach to La Cosa Nostra — this thing of ours — has the Mafia looking to bounce back.
...And the most infamous mob rat of all, Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, the homicidal underboss whose testimony put former best friend John Gotti in jail, is alive and well.
And free as a bird.
Even with all the changes in the Mafia, some things remain the same.
“They’re still part of the fabric of New York City,” said a law-enforcement source.
“They’re never going to go away.”
Read on.
Female Host Slams Idea Women Should Be Unconditionally Believed, Crowd Boos Her | Daily Wire
CRTV host Allie Beth Stuckey was booed during the 2018 Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas after she said that unconditionally believing all women is unjust while she defended Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
"I'm devastated to see a man's life almost in ruins based on uncorroborated and unsubstantiated allegations," Stuckey told the audience. "I'm devastated by the thought of a world in which people are guilty until proven innocent and the burden of proof is on the accused."
Brett Kavanaugh's hearings are a national disaster — and the worst is yet to come
Brett Kavanaugh's hearings are a national disaster — and the worst is yet to come
"...Witness how the confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh started as cheap theater and ended in bloodsport.
...Dems and their media handmaidens were quick to praise Flake for his “bipartisanship,” a term they reserve for when a Republican crosses over to pass liberal initiatives.
But the favor is rarely returned, and there is no Democrat equivalent to Flake or Susan Collins of Maine.
"...Witness how the confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh started as cheap theater and ended in bloodsport.
The process by which we elevate someone to the highest court in the land sunk to the lowest common denominator — and didn’t stop.
And now the national disaster will be aided by more time and a fresh supply of dynamite.
Friday’s agreement to give the FBI a week to supplement its background check by looking into existing misconduct allegations against Kavanaughguarantees the nightmare will continue, especially for him and his battered family.
You don’t have to be a cynic to assume the rabid left will come up with more outlandish accusations in an effort to make up in quantity what it lacks in quality....Dems and their media handmaidens were quick to praise Flake for his “bipartisanship,” a term they reserve for when a Republican crosses over to pass liberal initiatives.
Even when more centrist Dems vote with Republicans, they never supply the crucial votes, joining only as add-ons to a majority.
...The midterm elections will be the first referendum on President Trump since his shocking triumph in 2016.
He’s not on the ballot, but his personality and policies are very much at issue as voters decide who controls Congress.
The hunt for an edge will go right up to Election Day, and no trick will be too dirty, especially for Democrats..."
Read on.
Nature 90, Nurture 10
Nature 90, Nurture 10 | Trending
"Anyone with an ounce of common sense, two eyes, and a grasp of history understands instinctively that most genetic traits are inheritable.
Height, body type, skin color, even eye color run in genetically related families, and those families, bound together in local, tribal, ethnic, and national communities, reflect that.
There's nothing inherently conspiratorial, "racist" or "supremacist" about any of this.
And yet, for decades, ideologically driven scientists and cultural Marxist apologists have struggled with such a raw truth, and have endeavored to show that nurture, not nature, is the determining factor, especially when it comes to talents and intelligence.
After all, what do human sperm and eggs have to do with the making of the New Soviet Man omelet?
"Anyone with an ounce of common sense, two eyes, and a grasp of history understands instinctively that most genetic traits are inheritable.
Height, body type, skin color, even eye color run in genetically related families, and those families, bound together in local, tribal, ethnic, and national communities, reflect that.
There's nothing inherently conspiratorial, "racist" or "supremacist" about any of this.
And yet, for decades, ideologically driven scientists and cultural Marxist apologists have struggled with such a raw truth, and have endeavored to show that nurture, not nature, is the determining factor, especially when it comes to talents and intelligence.
After all, what do human sperm and eggs have to do with the making of the New Soviet Man omelet?
There are few areas of science more fiercely contested than the issue of what makes us who we are. Are we products of our environments or the embodiment of our genes? Is nature the governing force behind our behaviour or is it nurture? While almost everyone agrees that it’s a mixture of both, there has been no end of disagreement about which is the dominant influence.Read on.
And it’s a disagreement that has been made yet more fraught by the political concerns that often underlie it. Traditionally, those on the left have tended to see the environment as the critical factor because it ties in with notions of egalitarianism. Thus inequalities, viewed from this perspective, are explained not by inherent differences but by social conditions.Similarly, those on the right have leaned towards a more Darwinian conception, in which different social outcomes are accounted for by differences of suitability to the environment. In turn, such an understanding has in the past led to the promotion of eugenics (both on the left and right) – through selective breeding, sterilisation and, in the case of the Nazis, wholesale murder..."
9-3-2018-How they "think"-----Trump Has Hurt American Workers, Charges AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka | HuffPost
Trump Has Hurt American Workers, Charges AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka | HuffPost"President Donald Trump has done more to hurt American workers than help them, the leader of the largest federation of unions in the nation declared on Sunday.
Union workers will likely support Democratic candidates in November, predicted AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka.
Trumka also said that Trump’s proposed replacement for the North America Free Trade Agreement won’t work without Canada..."
Trumka also said that Trump’s proposed replacement for the North America Free Trade Agreement won’t work without Canada..."
Read on.
Jeff Flake's Kavanaugh Delay | National Review
Good luck. There is no chance whatsoever that this process will satisfy the Democrats, or the press, or anyone else who has already decided that Judge Kavanaugh must be destroyed. The best argument we have heard in favor of an FBI investigation is that it will help to neutralize the attacks against Kavanaugh, and thereby legitimize his lifetime tenure on the Court. But the Democrats in the Senate showed their cards long, long ago.
Head Lice Epidemics Are Breaking Out in Schools Across the U.S. | Intellectual Takeout
Head Lice Epidemics Are Breaking Out in Schools Across the U.S. | Intellectual Takeout:"Head lice in children are rampant in schools throughout the country.
The CDC reports that an estimated six to 12 million young people get head lice each year, and there are indications that these itchy bugs are growing widely resistant to the insecticides commonly used to treat them.
A head lice outbreak earlier this month in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, school district was called “unprecedented,” as 100 children were found to have active lice infestations.
While head lice are nothing new and affect children regardless of socioeconomic status or geography, the recent uptick in lice outbreaks could be due in large part to new policy changes that encourage children to attend school with active head lice..."
Read on.
History for October 2
History for October 2 - On-This-Day.com
Mahatma Gandhi 1869, Groucho (Julius) Marx 1890 - "Marx Brothers" movies and his quiz show "You Bet Your Life", Bud Abbott 1895
Rex Reed 1938, Don McLean 1945, Sting (Police) 1951
1870 - Rome was made the capital of Italy.
1950 - "Peanuts," the comic strip created by Charles M. Schulz, was published for the first time in seven newspapers.
Monday, October 01, 2018
Julie Swetnick has extensive legal history - Washington Times
Julie Swetnick has extensive legal history - Washington Times:
Julie Swetnick, one of the women who has publicly accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, has an extensive history of involvement in legal disputes, including a lawsuit in which an ex-employer accused her of falsifying her college and work history on her job application.
Legal documents from Maryland, Oregon and Florida provide a partial picture of a woman who stepped into the media glare amid the battle over Kavanaugh’s nomination for the nation’s highest court.
Legal documents from Maryland, Oregon and Florida provide a partial picture of a woman who stepped into the media glare amid the battle over Kavanaugh’s nomination for the nation’s highest court.
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