That claimed my attention today.  The first is the NYT article about the captured FARC computers, that indicates they contain evidence of Chavez’s collusion with the terrorists, and their close ties with Ecuador’s lefty pres, Rafael Correa.  The computers have been forwarded to Interpol, who will document the veracity of the files.  Meanwhile, Chavez does what comes naturally to him, foaming at the mouth while claiming that it’s a set up.
This next one would be funny were it not so tragic.  The Luddite do-gooders’ crusade against GM crops has worked so beautifully in Africa that, despite their dire need for pest and drought-resistant strains of grain, and despite the fact that such modifications can obviate the need for the indiscriminate spraying of pesticides, they’re concerned about being poisoned.  Of course, given how AIDs was developed in a US military lab, one can understand their paranoia. ÂÂ
And that naturally seques into this article on the biofuels boondoggle, which has become so self-evident that even Time recognizes it for what it is. Not that it’s that easy to pry ADM out of Congress’s pockets.
Better dead than genetically modified.
They’re just brown people. It’s not like they vote or anything.
I wonder how many people realize that the whole “Frankenfoods” campaign is a tactic in the continuing European political tussle over farm subsidies? One of the disadvantages of having a reasonably serious commitment to free speech is that we’ve begun to be the place where other people fight their wars.
Ethanol, hanh. As I’ve said from the beginning, promoting grain-derived ethanol is saying that you hate Exxon — so you want to replace it with ADM. That’s as good an existential definition of “insanity” as could be presented.
Regards,
Ric
That’s a great article, Dan.
Not often do you see Soros and evOil mentioned in the same sentence. MoveOn heads dot asplode, now, probably.
Zazen…
Heh.
DDT and GM could could help Africa out of it’s agricultural funk. Not holding my breath though. With all of those assets, they manage to disappoint. Farms without farmers seems like.
These are not feel-good articles I don’t think. This tragic braindead biofuels groupthink a lot foreshadows a whole lot of disastrous policy made in the name of a changey climate. McCain is a global warming pansy as much as the rest of them, to hear him tell it. But I really really hope he’s just kidding. What a sad thing it would be to pine all your life for the presidency and then have some skeezey anti-human global warming legacy be the most significant thing to come of it. It could happen.
I hate to tell the organo-green freaks, but all that crap you’re eating is “modified,” admittedly not by gene splicing but my millenia of selective breeding and manipulation by less sophisticated techniques.
Some of them, like corn, can’t even survive in the wild. Practically none of our crops resemble their ancestors of even 3,000 years ago. Imagine tiny, bitter apples the size of cherries. Imagine harvesting an acre of grains to make a hard pancake.
If any of you have ever had nonsense like spelt pasta or kamut bread foisted upon you, you have half an idea what things used to be like.
Now imagine starving to death in Africa because an American hippy lawyer in a 3500 s.f. house on a hill with two pantries is skeered of progress.
Irony, it’s what’s for dinner. No side dishes for Africans, sorry, the hippy said so.
What’s weird to me is that as far as I can tell, no one even tries to market a non-organic non-gm soymilk. And I feel really stupid cause buying it is buying into that, far as the hippies what make it can tell, but I really like the stuff, specially in summer.
#8 Merovign
I had that very same argument with a hippy at Petsmart the other day. The conversation was never anything less than friendly and polite, but I knew I had her when her final response on the subject was. “well, I just don’t trust what the government says”.
Of course, the hippies who fantasize about a subsistence agriculture economy don’t realize that the ignorant rednecks they despise are the ones who control all the farmland and actually know how to grow food. They also have a lot more guns and military experience, as a rule.
Personally, I’m happy we don’t have feudal barons and serfdom any more, no matter how appealing the thought of Sean Penn working in the fields 14 hours a day might be.
On a related note, I’m considering purchasing a set of Will and Ariel Durant’s Story of Civilization. Worth reading or not? There are some gaps in my knowledge of history that I really should fill up.
I’ve got some screamin’ greenies in my neighborhood. I’d be more than happy to take a dump on their lawns or plant beds to help them out. People tell me to shut up when I try to offer that service, but without an invitation, I think it’d be illegal.
I’m not very green, but my heirloom plants don’t need a lot of coddling or pesticide.
I think they have heirloom bugs in Africa.
Merovign –
“No side dishes for Africans, sorry, the hippy said so.”
That should be a bumper sticker. Fair warning that I’ll use the phrase, with attribution, sir.
On a completely unrelated note, one of the participants at my wife’s SCCA race today wore a black teeshirt emblazoned with “EARTH FIRST” over crossed monkey wrenches. I believe that the Beamer he was driving was this year’s model… Tall, good looking young man, clear of eye, seemed to be having fun.
The irony; a terrorist driving a vehicle made possible only by the target of his hate. It was the enjoyment of the irony that kept me tactful. Mom’s event, not mine. It’s not like there’s any mansions out here to torch, nor animals to “free”.
Hanover tomatoes are ugly sinner tomatoes, but they are delicious.
My mom fell for “silent spring” hook line and sinker. I had a “DDT bugs me” sweatshirt when I was seven. I’m hoping it turns up in Mom’s attic. I was up there today and looked in a box and somthing beetled across the side of it, apparently panicked at the unexpected intrusion.
I also ran for my life. Mom worked at Oak ridge and dad had some dodgy rock collections and I could be spraying webs out my palms before you know it.
SBP – Story of Civilization stops with Napoleon. It’s too dry for me.
For histories of the Universe, I’m partial to James Burke PBS companion books, I like to see wild leaps through time on strings and webs shooting out of his hands.
The Day the Universe Changed and Connections are a couple of the works I credit with getting me to what little intellectual advancement I have achieved. Those and Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. And Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hoffstadter.
HIPPY SAYS – replace all your lightbulbs with buzzy creepy-glow cold ones that don’t light up right away. Which don’t actually save energy if you don’t leave them on for at least 15 minutes. Also they burn out fast if you turn them on only for short times. And are kind of toxic when broken.
You still use lightbulbs?!!?!? And people wonder why the Earth hates us.
OT – But Dan? This Scary Larry post just seemed ripe for you to do your magic.
I can’t decide if it’s a little like the Dem Intel Committee head Reyes not knowing what Shia or Sunnis are, or something like that. Anyway, don’t miss the first 2 comments.
I forgot where I had seen thisspecial ness…
This is a crazy person.
we could actually have a higher quality of life with a much lower environmental impact if our understanding of quality of life was less materialistic. So it’s about rethinking what we really mean by quality of life – and having more of it, not less.
tell that to the liberal progressive feminists in the nineties who insisted you were being oppressed or just ignorant if you forsake a career in lieu of being “stay at home” mom.
That’s just one example, I gotta million of em.
The thing is, that’s their fantasy. You know, the one where most of the human race dies?
For Gaia!
Yay?
And I don’t figure there are many members of the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement in those African countries–or in any other Third World countries–seeing as how they’re struggling to survive.
Killing Off the Human Race (Especially Those Brown People, though we’d probably rather not mention that) It’s What’s For Not Dinner!
What if genes want to be modified? Has anyone asked the genes if they are happy with a dead-end life of the same old same old.
And how do these freaks have such influence to keep Africa organic and in poverty without availing themselves of the technology to spread their words of insanity? INCONCEIVABLE!
We’re just giving evolution a helping hand, al.
RTO Trainer: The Day the Universe Changed
Haven’t read this one. Thanks!
Connections… Cat’s Cradle…Godel, Escher, Bach
Read all these.
SarahW:SBP – Story of Civilization stops with Napoleon. It’s too dry for me.
I can deal with dry (can’t be worse that some of the crap I read in grad school…heh). I’m mainly interested in political history at this point. I have a good handle on science and technology history. I’m also familiar with the major points of political history (e.g., The Crusades, the English Civil War, our own Civil War), but there are gaps. For instance, my knowledge of European history between the restoration of Charles II and the rise of Nappy is spotty, other than what I’ve read in fiction (e.g., The Baroque Cycle). Most of what I’ve read about that era was focused on the formation of the United States.
#8
Little known fact. the corn that goes into cans, ie; ‘nibblets’ is cloned. The machines that remove the kernals from the ears can only accomodate ears of a certain size.
I got that from a tour of A DelMonte canning plant when it was in DeKalb Illinois.
I think you’ll like this article. Nothing could be more amusing than seeing the Dems historic contest between a black man and a woman being won by a rich white guy.
I got that from a tour of A DelMonte canning plant when it was in DeKalb Illinois.
Goddamn Rusty! You roll Big Willie-style, don’t you?
We’re just giving evolution a helping hand, al.
Then I challenge all these Organazis to go out like they came in. Have them all strip naked as babies and turn them loose into the wild.
I would join them, but I burn easily. And grass longer than 18″ would cause me problems as well. It’s so itchy.
I think it all will balance out. Anti GM hysteria and biofuel cultivation will lead the to starvation of tens of millions of people, which will reduce the demand for both food and fuels, while freeing up formerly inhabited land for more cultivation. Our only hope–aside from, you know, drilling more oil–is to turn more land over to coca cultivation, as good blow can replace a large portion of a person’s dietary intake.
“Our only hope–aside from, you know, drilling more oil–is to turn more land over to coca cultivation, as good blow can replace a large portion of a person’s dietary intake.”
Or we can release more hippies into the wild like al suggested.
“Or we can release more hippies into the wild like al suggested.”
Of course, that would require us to cull the heard from time to time.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go put some malt-based, low-ethanol fuel in the fridge for this afternoon. I’ve got a full day of releasing all my yard’s stored up carbon into the athmosphere.
The FARC stuff happened after Farr’s trip to Columbia. I doubt it was another President, probably a local spy liked by CIA. Maybe he’ll get to see a CIA agent like Plame running around with a laptop yelling we know all the spy shit!!!!
The resistant grain doesn’t grow as well. So, if you can you use the good seed with pesticide and water, if not you switch over to the garbage seed.
The bio fuel thing was how USAID farmed out money to corporations, farms, setting up new Moslem governments in places like Philippines.
The arctic is American. We need to mine as the water goes down. It’s all mapped with the subs.
My husband just informed me at brunch that Hippy says sit in the dark. The plan is for a future where all, for the love of Gaia, nibbling our breadless heirloom apple sandwiches during “Earth hours”, the three hours set aside for us to enjoy life as respecters of the planet. No bread because grains are for biofuels to power the large air-filled dirigibles (made of wattle, sticks and recycled feed sacks) coursing our orginally dark night skies.
I made an unforunate edit in there.
I really cannot stand those Allahdamn squiggly light bulbs. They take longer to warm up than the old gas lights at the Little League fields. Used to be you flipped a light switch and you got light. Now, you just have have to come back in 15 minutes.
While they are doing these GM foods, ya think they could make broccoli taste like a perfectly cooked medium rare bone-in ribeye?
Or, as the nishidiot would say, we should just let them starve and die from hideous diseases. Feeding them makes us responsible for them in perpetuity.
#30
Until today this laptop was pristine.
alpuccino should have to provide a liability waiver prior to reading his comments.
The bio fuel thing was how USAID farmed out money to corporations, farms, setting up new Moslem governments in places like Philippines.
GFD – Which new Moslem governments did the U.S. set up in the Philippines?
TSK9 – That Hip Hop Larry Johnson piece is hysterical. That dude is DOWN with what’s going on, picking up on recent, heh, 1991, Ice Cube lyrics to make whatever strained anti-Barack point he was trying to make. The high point for me though was the first sentence when Latty admitted he was a moron. Larry is usually not that honest.
Excellent article at Time! I’d only add that as we put more land under the plow we’re also destroying wildlife habitat and natural vegetation, hastening the extinction of many wild species. But don’t tell that to the guy who’s polishing the “E85” sticker on his new Beamer. Freakin’ morons.
The Time article notes that the grain it takes to produce a tankful of fuel for a car could feed a person for a year. Got to be some good bumpersticker wit in that. How’s this:
Or
Incidentally, you might also check out the other short articles on biofuels listed in the sidebar at Time. Very, very interesting.
Sarah W:
My mom fell for “silent spring†hook line and sinker. I had a “DDT bugs me†sweatshirt when I was seven.
We may be separated at birth. My t-shirt said “SAVE THE EARTH / IT’S THE ONLY ONE WE HAVE.”
She also painted giant yellow flowers on the side of our VW micro-bus. My childhood, it was cliche.
#45
Thus it has always been and thus it shall always be. The passenger pigeon was not hunted out of existance. It was lumbered out of existance. It wintered in the south and depended on mature chestnut and hickory trees. In the summer it nested in old growth pine forest. At the time of it’s decline both southern hardwoods and northern pine trees were being heavily harvested. Mostly to provide homes and furnishings for new Americans.
Better if people get to eat.
I’m proud to say my large V8 SUV won’t run on E85, I’m doing my part to save the rainforet.
Something is missing in this thread about the paranoid enviroleftists’ fear and ignorance in regards to scientific advancement.
Can’t put my finger on it, but something is missing.
I mean, you’re all theocons, and yet you don’t seem to fear this gene-splicing mumbo jumbo.
“I mean, you’re all theocons, and yet you don’t seem to fear this gene-splicing mumbo jumbo.”
That’s because I’m not a raving paranoid loon.
Besides, crossing a cat with a dog would be hilarious! It’d be trying to chase itself and that’s just darn funny.
That and, it would, er, clean its own litter box.
(ew)
About a week ago I picked up “The History of the Ancient World” by Susan Wise Bauer. It covers from the earliest records (10,000 BC or so) to the fall of Rome. I like it so far as it covers China and and India as well as Egypt and Mesopotamia. I’m only up to 1700 BC so far.
My school days never covered much World history except European and most of what I picked up at home was American history which my mother taught in school.
I have been looking for sites like this for a long time. Thank you!