More Global Warming Lies and Fears
The Guardian has article claiming global warming is the cause of starvation in southern African nations. The article is pure speculation and partial facts, used to promote a lie. They ignore the political situations in the countries mentioned. For example, Zimbabwe, they have had declining crops for the past five years, since Mugabe instituted his land reforms. That has nothing to do with global warming. An example of putting forth skewed info: "The 20-year average clearly shows a dramatic increase of desertification and drought," said a leading agricultural economist, Professor Giovanni Quaranta, of the University of Basilicata in southern Italy." A 20 year average! No respectable scientist would make such a dire statement based on only 20 years of data. Regarding the climate 20 years can not show much, unless looked at in greater context.

They ignore the scientific data that shows deserts retreating in other parts of Africa. Notice also, no historical context is given. Is this the driest ever? driest in one hundred years? Is this part of a cycle? Who cares, just promote global warming, and attach it to every weather event. Facts are not important on this issue.

More Evidence on "Global Warming"
New studies contradict other studies, concerning if Antarctica is shrinking (or not). It is a THEORY, not a fact. Notice the use of computer models, and the scientists saying they hope to use REAL data in the future. The one thing we know for sure, is that we don't know how the climate operates, especially over long periods of time.

"Most people have heard of climate change and how rising air temperatures are melting glaciers and sea ice in the Arctic," said Dylan Powell of the University of Maryland Baltimore County. "However, findings from our simulations suggest a counterintuitive phenomenon. Some of the melt in the Arctic may be balanced by increases in sea ice volume in the Antarctic."

Powell, a doctoral student, is lead author of a paper describing the results in this month's Journal of Geophysical Research (Oceans).

For Antarctica, the new study concludes, the extra precipitation will mean deeper snow, which will suppress sea ice below, making it thicker over time.

The idea runs counter to a study earlier this year that found glaciers in part of Antarctica are melting rapidly.

"We used computer-generated simulations to get this research result," Powell cautioned. "I hope that in the future we'll be able to verify this result with real data through a long-term ice thickness measurement campaign."

State of Fear: Michael Crichton Takes on Global Warming
I have just completed reading the novel "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton. The basic premise of the book is that popular beliefs, that are not backed by scientific facts is dangerous. The context he uses is the present argument regarding global warming. He states fact sand gives citations throughout the book, all with the intention of shedding light on the reality of global warming: that it does not exist. It has not been tested or verified, and many of the ideas that are commonly held are misleading partial truths or complete lies. He is not kind to Hollywood stars who promote these ideas, nor the groups that claim to be environmental organizations. Those groups have become powerful and are now part of the establishment. Man is incapable of preserving any environment, he can only hope to attempt managing it. There is no such thing as pure nature, nothing remains the same for any long periods of time.
For example:
1. Sea levels are not rising, there is no consistent numbers showing any rise in the sea level over the last 20 years;
2. Carbon dioxide levels have increased from 1940-1970, while the global temperature actually went down;
3. The Antarctic is not shrinking, it is actually getting thicker;
the US temperature has risen only a third of a degree in the past 120 years.
4. The Antarctic is getting colder not warmer, from 1986 - 2000 the central Antarctic valleys cooled .7 degrees Celsius.
5. The Kyoto treaty if fully implemented would have only reduced the warming by .02 degrees Celsius.

The book documents how, even if there is warming it most likely would be beneficial for most people. He specifically states the fact that a desert in Africa has been receding, giving way to plant growth.

My biggest problems with global warming have always been:
1. It always struck me as defying common sense. If we cannot predict the weather two weeks from now, what makes us so capable of predicting the weather 100 years from now.
2. It is elitist and playing God. It is the industrialized world saying that we like things how they are, and don't want them to change.
3. The very idea that humans can somehow control the climate is laughable.

One day we will look back on the global warming craze, and wander how anybody ever believed it. It will take its place next to other false scares like the population explosion; nuclear winter and eugenics.

"Obliterating a provision of the Consitution, of course, guarantees that it will not be misapplied."

Kelo et al. v. City of New London et al.
The Supreme Court hands a defeat to private property, and gives more power to government and corporate interests. The government will seek the cheapest land avaliable to TAKE, his will effect low income areas with greater impact. This is one more example of ignoring the plain meaning of the Constitution and promoting the idea of "the common good" over the rights of individuals.

The Fifth Amendment provides: "nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process, of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

The dissent was written by O'Connor, and a second dissent was written by Thomas.

Justice O'Connor

Under the banner of economic development, all private property is now vulnerable to being taken and transferred to another private owner, so long as it might be upgraded--i.e., given to an owner who will use it in a way that the legislature deems more beneficial to the public--in the process. To reason, as the Court does, that the incidental public benefits resulting from the subsequent ordinary use of private property render economic development takings "for public use" is to wash out any distinction between private and public use of property--and thereby effectively to delete the words "for public use" from the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Accordingly I respectfully dissent.

If such "economic development" takings are for a "public use," any taking is, and the Court has erased the Public Use Clause from our Constitution, as Justice O'Connor powerfully argues in dissent. I do not believe that this Court can eliminate liberties expressly enumerated in the Constitution and therefore join her dissenting opinion. Regrettably, however, the Court's error runs deeper than this. Today's decision is simply the latest in a string of our cases construing the Public Use Clause to be a virtual nullity, without the slightest nod to its original meaning. In my view, the Public Use Clause, originally understood, is a meaningful limit on the government's eminent domain power. Our cases have strayed from the Clause's original meaning, and I would reconsider them.

When Will Democrats Stop Lying About the 2004 Election?
A washington post article states that Democrats have put out a report that claims "More than a quarter of voters, and more than half of black voters, experienced problems at Ohio polling places during the 2004 presidential vote"
Although they admit that the problems were not enough to change the outcome of the election.
I have a hard time believing this. I am from Ohio, most of my family and friends voted in OHIO and had NO problems at all. NONE. One person had some problems, but they were legitimate problems (they forgot to change their address when they moved)- and they were allowed to vote with the minimum amount of problems.
Just like in Florida, these comments are from outsiders with a political agenda. Just like with Florida it will end up hurting the Dems the most.

BTW- Talk about hypocrisy. Now Dems want to eleminate touch screen voting machines. Republicans were the ones saying we shouldn't rush into touch screen machines. The Rep. Sec. of State in Ohio was attacked for not rushing more touch screen machines to the polls. NOW Democrats suddenly dont want to use them! LOL.

It's Time to Set a Withdrawal Timetable, and Begin Bringing Troops Home
I have been a complete supporter of the war in Iraq. I have come to the conclusion that it is time to set a timetable, and bring the troops home.

I have heard the argument that this will only encourage the insurgents to hide and wait for the US to leave. My response, so what? If they hide and wait, that will create a period where the chaos will settle down, that will also give Iraqi troops time to train and be prepared?
While the insurgents wait, their purpose for the attacks will either leave or they will have to come up with a new one. I believe they will come up with a new one, which will only alienate them more from the majority of Iraqis.

The US should first move most of our troops to the borders, to seal them. While doing this, set a timetable of 18-24 months for full withdrawal. The first troops should begin withdrawing by the end of 2005, or right after the Iraqi elections. We can still train Iraqi forces while withdrawing, and sealing the border will at prevent new insurgents from entering, and lock those in Iraq within the borders. We will continue air support, and equipment and supplies. The US military will mostly protect aid workers, and training facilities. The US will then go back to the UN and call the bluff of the French and others, by asking them to replace the US troops with UN peacekeepers, or allow Iraq to fall into chaos. We have done our job, now it is time for others to support the Iraqi people. The US should send a strong message that we will leave regardless. I also think that Iraqi forces will feel the urgency of the US leaving. They will know that soon they can no longer run, or depend on the US for actual combat support.

The beginning of the troop withdrawal will also send a message to the Middle East, US citizens and the world, that we have no desire to occupy Iraq. With the moving of our troops to the Iraqi border, it will also send a strong message to Iran and Syria. That we are watching them, and free to move militarily against them, if we need to.

In case of an emergency, we can always slow down the withdrawal. Remember Clinton promised we would not be in Bosnia-Kosovo for more than two years, yet we are still there. This will also change the domestic argument and completely deflate the looney left's arguments about the war. Bush will then be able to move forward with his domestic agenda, and the country will mentally move forward.

Government Hits One-Day Tax Revenue High
Well what do you know. Revenue from taxes have increased faster than expected, without any increases in taxes.

"After totaling it all up, the Treasury Department announced Thursday that it had collected $61 billion on Wednesday. That surpassed the old one-day record of $56 billion set on Dec. 15, 2000.

The government's coffers have been swelling this year as tax receipts from both individuals and corporations have been on the rise, reflecting an improving economy. Because of those increases, this year's federal deficit is expected to fall to around $350 billion, down from the $413 billion record in dollar terms set in 2004."

In Congo, 1,000 die per day: Why isn't it a media story?
The Sudan crises has finally made the news, but it is not the only humanitarian crises in Africa.

"What the world media are missing is one of the deadliest conflicts since World War II: 3.8 million people have died in the Congo since 1998, dwarfing not only the biggest of natural catastrophes, such as December's South Asia tsunami, but also other manmade horrors, such as Darfur."

Whose Asian Century?
This article argues a point I have been making for a few years now: India, not China will be the 21st Century economic powerhouse. He mentions the high level of literacy and the number of people in India who are fluent in English. Another demographic trend that favors India, is the age of their population. About half of the population is under 30, while China has a large and growing elderly population which it owes pensions to. India is also growing at a rate above replacement rate, while China's birthrate has actually fallen below the replacement rate.

The forces that will determine which nations will dominate the 21st century may yet favor India's emerging reach for global power status more than China's determined grasp for that prize.
Kamal Nath, India's energetic minister of commerce and industry, states the case with economy: "China may win the sprint, but India will win the marathon." In Nath's view, this will be the Asian Century -- but not in the ways many in the United States and Europe assume or fear.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns speaking to a U.S.-European group in Brussels on May 26, Burns observed: "The greatest change you will see in the next three or four years is a new American focus on South Asia, particularly in establishing a closer strategic partnership with India . . . If you look at all the trends -- population, economic growth, foreign policy trends -- there's no question that India is the rising power in the East. . . . I think you'll see this as a major focus of our president and our secretary of state, and it will be the area of greatest dynamic positive change in American foreign policy."

Michael Jackson:
Just a quick note to lend support to those who do believe MJ is innocent.
There was an astounding lack of any child porn found by the prosecution. This is extremely rare for any pedophile. Pedophiles almost always have child pornography. They had none on MJ's computer or any magazines, pictures.

MJ actually standing trial is also a sign of an innocent person. He had the means to leave the country and tell the system to shove it. Most of his money is made outside of the US.

FYI: Check out his website, interesting opening.

Media Mania Over Gitmo
The media, Time Magazine, is once again showing it's irresponsible ability to hype a story. Once again it is a story aimed at promoting a liberal agenda.
They seem to care more about the Gitmo prisoners than other Americans who are subjected to rape and other criminal activity in our prison system. But they want the prison system dealing with terrorists suspects to be perfect.
The argument that how we treat the detainees will effect how our troops are treated is completely false and disingenuous.
Go read the interrogation notes. I guess anything short of a country club or spa atmosphere, is considered torture. The acts listed are no worse than how we treat our own soldiers during training. Sorry, but the following is not torture:

"Interrogators began telling detainee how ungrateful and grumpy he was. In order to escalate the detainee's emotions, a mask was made from an MRE box with a smily face on it and placed on the detainee's head for a few moments. A latex glove was inflated and labeled the "sissy slap" glove. The glove was touched to the detainee's face periodically after explaining the terminology to him. The mask was placed back on the detainee's head. While wearing the mask, the team began dance instruction with the detainee. The detainee became agitated and began shouting. "

"Told detainee that a dog is held in higher esteem because dogs know right from wrong and know how to protect innocent people from bad people. Began teaching the detainee lessons such as stay, come, and bark to elevate his social status up to that of a dog."

"He was laid out on the floor so I straddled him without putting my weight on him. He would then attempt to move me off of him by bending his legs in order to lift me off but this failed because the MPs were holding his legs down with their hands."

Michael Jackson:
I was wrong. Not guilty on every charge!
Just like OJ, I am surprised by the emotional response I had to the verdict.

Can he have a career?
Here is my take. Yes, But.
If he continues to attempt using the old model of record sales, then he will continue to have financial problems. Michael spends too much money to put a CD together. He needs to sell close to 5 million to break even.
Very few artists have taken advantage of the new paradigm that the internet has presented.
IF I was advising him:
Michael has made about 10 songs for every one that made the final cut of the CD. This is a valuable asset that is not generating income. His fans would love to hear those songs. He could create a special package for fans. They would get access to the mp3 of his unreleased songs, and some remixes. Every 4-6 months he could then choose about 10 songs to release to club members. He could charge a monthly or a large one time fee.
(example: Lets say 1,000,000 fans sign up for $15-$20 per year; or a one time fee of $100. That would generate $15-$20 million annually mainly from an asset that is presently not generating anything. Even if you use a more conservative estimate, and assume 100,000 fans sign up. That would still produce $1.5-$2million annually. From an asset that is presently unable to produce anything. This would be mostly profit, since the distribution is through the internet.
MJ can still tour, especially around the world. He could do like Prince did, include a CD in the price of the concert ticket. In the US he should consider smaller venues (smaller for him), like some of the basketball arenas , and special locations like Disney World. This will allow him to charge a premium price and have a full house of true fans.
I think he should consider the Las Vegas offer, but only as a limited thing. He could perform one week every other month. This would keep it rare, and the intimacy would allow a seriously premium price to be charged.
Another avenue, is MJ using his name and influence to promote new acts. This could be a restarting of his failed label. ( I am not sure why it failed, the group he had did fairly well.)
I would also suggest eh focus on slower songs, aim at the audience that remembers Thriller. A great thing would be to possibly do a CD of all Duets.
Just my suggestion fo how MJ and other artists can use the new medium of the internet to produce new revenue streams.

Kerry Is The Dumb One!
Kerry finally released more of his transcripts, and the media is shocked to discover that Kerry was not a very good student at Yale. George Bush had better grades than Kerry. This will not surprise Bush supporters, but Kerry supporters may need medical attention. Kerry got more D's in his first year than Bush got in his entire college career. What makes this worse is that Bush admits he didn't take college seriously, and by all reports Kerry took college more serious than others. In other words Bush wasn't even giving his best, and Kerry doing his best, still performed worse.

To sum it up: The Dem nominee was the one with lower grades, and was the richest one in the 2004 Presidential campaign. I just love how Dems attack Bush's wealth and lack of intelligence.
Let's see if the left apologizes for their name calling. Yeah, right!

Spurs Dominate: But Nobody Cares.
The Spurs are completely dominating the Pistons, which is making the games even less entertaining. ( I am sticking with my prediction of this being only a 5 game series, at most.)

The initial ratings for Game 1 of the finals showed just less than 9 percent of the homes in the nation's largest television markets watching the game. That's down by almost 25 percent from last year's L.A. Lakers-Pistons final.

The Downey Street Memo Conspiracy: Much Ado About Nothing
This is not just my opinion, but also Michael Kinsley's, finally a real liberal has decided to be honest about the supposedly "smoking gun" memo. The left, and many who claim to be centrist, have been ranting about the lack of media coverage of the memo.
Reality check. The personal hatred towards George Bush has reached such a level that anything is seen as bad or evil, regardless of the factual circumstances.
Here is what Kinsley says:

But even on its face, the memo is not proof that Bush had decided on war. It states that war is "now seen as inevitable" by "Washington." That is, people other than Bush had concluded, based on observation, that he was determined to go to war. There is no claim of even fourth-hand knowledge that he had actually declared this intention. Even if "Washington" meant administration decision-makers, rather than the usual freelance chatterboxes, C was only saying that these people believed that war was how events would play out.

Of course, if "intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy," rather than vice versa, that is pretty good evidence of Bush's intentions, as well as a scandal in its own right. And we know now that this was true. Fixing intelligence and facts to fit a desired policy is the Bush II governing style, especially concerning the Iraq war. But C offered no specifics, or none that made it into the memo. Nor does the memo assert that actual decision-makers told him they were fixing the facts. Although the prose is not exactly crystalline, it seems to be saying only that "Washington" had reached that conclusion.

Of course, you don't need a secret memo to know this. Just look at what was in the newspapers on July 23, 2002, and the day before. Left-wing Los Angeles Times columnist Robert Scheer casually referred to the coming war as "much planned for." The New York Times reported Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's response to a story that "reported preliminary planning on ways the United States might attack Iraq to topple President Saddam Hussein." Rumsfeld effectively confirmed the report by announcing an investigation of the leak.

A Wall Street Journal Op-Ed declared that "the drums of war beat louder." A dispatch from Turkey in the New York Times even used the same word, "inevitable," to describe the thinking in Ankara about the thinking in Washington about the decision "to topple President Saddam Hussein of Iraq by force."

NATO to Airlift African Peacekeeping Troops Into Darfur

"NATO has decided to airlift African peacekeeping troops into Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, the first mission for the Atlantic alliance in Africa, senior NATO and U.S. officials said today.

The African Union has nearly 2,300 peacekeeping troops in Darfur trying to maintain a fragile cease-fire. But the AU is hoping to add 5,000 troops, and in April asked NATO and the European Union for assistance flying peacekeepers into Darfur."

"The AU's request set of a turf battle over who should provide the assistance. The United States advocated a NATO mission, while other nations — notably France — argued that the mission should operate independently of the United States and be conducted under an EU flag.

Now, officials say the two organizations will run separate airlift operations but will coordinate with each other."

Sudan Update:
Saw on CNN that Rumsfeld is meeting with NATO to organize NATO troops going into Darfur. The US military will be responsible for getting the troops there, and involved in the NATO force.
(Looking for news links)

Poll: Religious Devotion High in U.S.
Contrary to what many portray as a right wing religious fanaticism, a majority of Americans have strong religious beliefs.

"In the United States, you have an abundance of religions trying to motivate Americans to greater involvement," said Roger Finke, a sociologist at Penn State University. "It's one thing that makes a tremendous difference here."

The polling was conducted in May in the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, South Korea and Spain.

Nearly all U.S. respondents said faith is important to them and only 2 percent said they do not believe in God. Almost 40 percent said religious leaders should try to sway policymakers, notably higher than in other countries.

"Our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian policies and religious leaders have an obligation to speak out on public policy, otherwise they're wimps," said David Black, a retiree from Osborne, Pa., who agreed to be interviewed after he was polled.

In contrast, 85 percent of French object to clergy activism Â? the strongest opposition of any nation surveyed. France has strict curbs on public religious expression and, according to the poll, 19 percent are atheists. South Korea is the only other nation with that high a percentage of nonbelievers."

Class Warfare: The Newspapers Flame The Fires.
A major newspaper once again shows their liberal bias, and their irresponsible reporting in one article. Their determination to portray the wealthy in a negative manner, or at least as people who unfairly benefit from economic growth.
The biggest problem with these type of articles, is that they NEVER consider the actual people in those classes. They just refer to the top 1%. Who are those people? Is it the same people in the top 1% today, that was also in the top 1% in 1980 or 1990. This is extremely important, if there is a high rate of turnover in this class, then to make comparisons across decades gives a false impression that those people have gained while others have lost.
This is typical irresponsible reporting, to prove a political agenda. Unfortunately most people do not use basic analytical skills to challenge what they read.

Nick Cannon's Pro-Life Music Video
I saw Nick Cannon's new video, for the song "Can I Live" and was shocked. He says he is not trying to judge or tell people what to do, but the message is clearly pro-life. I did not expect this strong of a message, especially from someone his age (25). It is basically the story of his mother going to an abortion clinic, and he is telling her that he wants to live. Check out some of the lyrics:

Depression and the Superwoman
"Celebrity publicist by day, Terrie Williams cried herself to sleep many nights. She wore her game face for years, until finally the pain of pretending became too much. Then the real healing began. In the June issue of ESSENCE, read how Williams learned to deal with her depression through talk therapy, medication, exercise and a closer relationship with God."

This topic is being dealt with more than it used to be dealt with. Most Blacks have problems with the idea of depression. The idea of using medication for depression is almost anathema. Because of these ideas, many of African-Americans are suffering daily, from a disease they don't have to suffer from.