America's North Shore Journal » Archive
Weird Science: Gravity
Dammit, I knew it. There was gravity all over the floor of my garage this morning. Space.com Scientists may not have to go over to the dark side to explain the fate of the universe. The theory that the accelerated expansion of the universe is caused by mysterious “dark energy” is being challenged by New York University physicist Georgi Dvali. He thinks there’s just a gravity leak. I just spread a little kitty litter around and swept it up. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Hard Science, Original writing, Satire, Science
Musings: From the News
The Queen won’t be coming the Charles and Camilla’s wedding. Shit, she didn’t come to mine either. Didn’t even send a present. See if I visit the next time I’m across the pond. There is no right to abortion in the Constitution. The Supreme Court found that nothing in the Constitution restricts a woman’s medical right of privacy. There is a difference. The Pope made a surprise appearance in a window at the Vatican today. He did not dangle a small child over the rail, however. Michael Jackson still has the franchise on that. Local radio personality Bob Lonsberry is running for the village board in Mt. Morris. He is not an ape of any kind. BTW, Bob Lonsberry has my endorsement for the post. I’m just saying… Ambulance duty is very boring when the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Original writing
Blogging: Explanation
For those of my regular readers who have been wondering, the long explanation that has been at the top of my blog is there because of this: I was featured in a column in the Democrat and Chronicle, in today’s paper [print and on-line]. The article is titled Bloggers give media a healthy tweaking. The post was there as an introduction for any visitors from the paper. New posting will proceed apace shortly. … Read entire article »
China: Reunification on the Table?
I told you so! The Standard Taiwan’s President Chen Shui-bian said he would not shut the door on eventual unification with China if Beijing expressed goodwill. Chen – long viewed as rejecting the possibility of unification – on Thursday clarified his position at a meeting with opposition People First Party leader James Soong. They signed a joint declaration afterward. The two have held widely diverging views on handling the mainland, which claims the self-ruled, democratic island is part of its territory and threatens war if Taipei declares formal independence. Unification is a passionate top priority for mainland leaders, who have routinely berated Chen as a traitor. In Taiwan, Soong has accused Chen of lacking a consistent China policy and of provoking Beijing. The president has criticized the opposition as too accommodating towards the mainland. … Read entire article »
Filed under: China
China: Russian Far East, China’s Land of Plenty
In the bad, old days of the Cold War, the Soviet Far East was an armed camp. It was the closest to the United States, and heavily fortified. Now, it’s primarily South Los Angeles, only with Chinese, not Mexicans. [LINK] Russia’s latest census has produced a bombshell result: over the past decade, the Chinese have emerged as the fastest growing ethnic minority in Russia. While official data of the October 2002 census will be published only next month, preliminary figures leaked to the press show that Russia’s Chinese population has grown from just over 5,000 in the late 1980s to 3.26 million today. This makes the Chinese the fourth biggest ethnic group in this country after Russians (104.1 million), Tatars (7.2 million) and Ukrainians (5.1million) – all indigenous inhabitants of Russia. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Analysis, China, China's Economy, Original writing
Asia: Not Dumping Dollars
Contrary to the glee expressed in a lefty blog or two, the Asian Central Banks are not dumping dollars. Why would they? The dollar still buys everything in the world. FT.com The Bank of Korea said that while it was planning to diversify more of its reserves into higher yielding non-government bonds, it was not planning to sell existing dollar holdings. US officials also sought to calm fears. Travelling with George W. Bush in Germany, Stephen Hadley, national security adviser, said: ‘There’s no news about making adjustments in holdings; banks do that.’ Japan, which has the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves $841bn as of the end of January reiterated it does not intend to sell dollars. And Taiwan, with $243bn of reserves, said it had not been selling dollars. … Read entire article »
Filed under: American Economy
Iraq: Good Election News
Via Blackfive, e-mailed information from Iraq about the success in Fallujah. Blackfive Election day. RCT-7 is assisting the Iraqi Security Forces and IECI at two polling sites located within 10 kilometers of the city of Fallujah. Much work and preparation has gone into this day—a strong effort to ensure that those Iraqis who chose to vote can vote in safety. Polls open at 0700. At 0915 I am at the easternmost polling site in my AO. And not a single voter has come to the polls. At 0930, a man, two women, and two children walk up to the security gate, into the polling station, and then depart. As they are leaving the man walks up to the Iraqi Army Colonel standing with me and tells us that there is a group … Read entire article »
Filed under: Iraq, Military, Rebuilding, War on Terror
Paris Hilton: Advice for Living
This isn’t advice from her. But it may apply to her. Daily News It’s a bad idea to use a cell phone cam to take nudie pictures. Use a real digital camera. The results are much better. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Mocking, Paris Hilton
Medicine: Bird Flu
BULLSHIT ALERT!BULLSHIT ALERT!Official: Bird Flu Pandemic Is Imminent 45 people died last year, in a region with over 2 billion people. Big freakin’ deal! More later. UPDATE: this the exact same crap they pulled with SARS. You remember SARS? It killed millions world wide. Oh, wait, it didn’t. They just thought it would. The evolutionary goal of any germ is to reproduce. The best way to do that is to make the host mildly sick and contagious. Killing the host is a bad thing for a germ. Germs tend to mutate to milder forms because of that. Nearly everyone who has caught the bird flu handles birds for a living. They also live in areas where medical care may not be all that good or they may not be able to afford medical care. … Read entire article »
Coming Soon: Future Posts
- Declaration of War 1812 (in 135 days)
- USS President vs HMS Belvidera (in 140 days)
- General Hull Invades Canada (in 159 days)
- First Battle of Sacketts Harbor (in 166 days)
On Y!CN
- Radioactive Gravel from Japanese Nuke Disaster Used in Buildings
- Fuel Supplies Reach Nome
- Fuel Convoy Reaches Nome
- Russians Sail to Rescue of Ice Bound Alaska Community
- Pope Embraces Anglicans in U.S. with New Ordinariate
- Nebraska Nuke Plant Placed on Special Inspection Status
- Radioactive Water Leaks at Japanese Nuke Site
- Japan Damaged Nuke Plants Still Not Under Control
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