Pig

From a Yahoo! News story: “WASHINGTON – No matter what you call it, leading experts say the virus that is scaring the world is pretty much all pig. So while the U.S. government and now the World Health Organization are taking the swine out of "swine flu," the experts who track the genetic heritage of the virus say this: If it is genetically mostly porcine and its parents are pig viruses, it smells like swine flu to them. Six of the eight genetic segments of this virus strain are purely swine flu and the other two segments are bird and human, but have lived in swine for the past decade, says Dr. Raul Rabadan, a professor of computational biology at Columbia University. A preliminary analysis shows that the closest genetic parents are swine flu strains from North America and Eurasia, Rabadan wrote in a scientific posting in a European surveillance network. "Scientifically this is a swine virus," said top virologist Dr. Richard Webby, a researcher at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. Webby is director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza Viruses in Lower Animals and Birds. He documented the spread a decade ago of one of the parent viruses of this strain in scientific papers.” I must say that the pig lobby must be pretty powerful if they can get the curly tail to wag the pig. The man at left does not care either way. As for me, I'll call it swine flu as much as I want - it's still a free speech country, no?

Extreme measures

As you can see, some people are being ingenious when it comes to creating a protection against the swine flu. The story is that retailers have run out of masks so one solution would be this. I would not have thought of it myself. Then again, I'm not afraid of the swine flu - I have a natural immunity. In case you don't know, the media is playing this up for all it's worth because they need to sell papers and magazines and internet ads. Please.

Swine

From a Yahoo! News story: "JERUSALEM – The outbreak of swine flu should be renamed "Mexican" influenza in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork, said an Israeli health official Monday. Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman said the reference to pigs is offensive to both religions and "we should call this Mexican flu and not swine flu," he told a news conference at a hospital in central Israel. Both Judaism and Islam consider pigs unclean and forbid the eating of pork products." If this suggestion is not dumb I don't know what is. Is mad cow disease to be renamed because Hindus consider cows to be sacred and they might be offended by the term? The swine flu is so named because it is carried by pigs. Stay away from pigs. And stay away from mad cows. Please. Anyway, I don't think Mrs Clinton cares one way or the other.

Embarrassment

From a Yahoo! News story: “HAVANA – Fidel Castro says President Barack Obama "misinterpreted" his brother Raul's remarks regarding the United States and bristled at the suggestion that Cuba should free political prisoners or cut taxes on dollars people send to the island. That appeared to enrage Fidel Castro, 82, who wrote in an essay published Wednesday that Obama "without a doubt misinterpreted Raul's declarations." U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had a different perspective on Fidel Castro's essay while speaking about Cuba policy with the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday. She said that while Fidel Castro had "contradicted" his brother's previous statements about Cuba's willingness to discuss a whole range of issues with the U.S., it shows "there is beginning to be a debate" inside Cuba about how to move forward with U.S. relations.”

This is actually more embarrassing for the Castros than for anyone else. Of course, there is a risk that Fidel Castro might never die – then what? The lady at left does not care – she’s not even Cuban.

Civilization first

From a Yahoo! News story: “GENEVA – The United Nations opens its first global racism conference in eight years on Monday with the U.S. and at least five other countries boycotting the event out of concern that Islamic countries will demand that it denounce Israel and ban criticism of Islam. The administration of President Barack Obama, America's first black head of state, announced Saturday that it would boycott "with regret" the weeklong meeting in Geneva, which already is experiencing much of the bickering and political infighting that marred the 2001 conference in Durban, South Africa. The Netherlands declared its boycott Sunday, while Australia, Canada, Israel and Italy already have said they would not attend. "I would love to be involved in a useful conference that addressed continuing issues of racism and discrimination around the globe," Obama said in Trinidad on Sunday after attending the Summit of the Americas. But he said the language of the U.N.'s draft declaration risked a reprise of Durban, during which "folks expressed antagonism toward Israel in ways that were often times completely hypocritical and counterproductive. We expressed in the run-up to this conference our concerns that if you adopted all of the language from 2001, that's not something we can sign up for," Obama said.” Almost everyone knows by now that there’s nothing more that U.N. diplomats love than a good long conference in a nice civilized city somewhere. The whole exercise is dumb, meaningless, and hypocritical.

What Poverty???

From a New York Times article: “Poor people have I.Q.s significantly lower than those of rich people, and the awkward conventional wisdom has been that this is in large part a function of genetics. After all, a series of studies seemed to indicate that I.Q. is largely inherited. Identical twins raised apart, for example, have I.Q.s that are remarkably similar. They are even closer on average than those of fraternal twins who grow up together. If intelligence were deeply encoded in our genes, that would lead to the depressing conclusion that neither schooling nor antipoverty programs can accomplish much. Yet while this view of I.Q. as overwhelmingly inherited has been widely held, the evidence is growing that it is, at a practical level, profoundly wrong. Richard Nisbett, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, has just demolished this view in a superb new book, “Intelligence and How to Get It,” which also offers terrific advice for addressing poverty and inequality in America.” How dumb can anybody get? I.Q. is only part of the poverty issue. There are lots and lots of poor people who are very intelligent. There are also lots and lots of rich people who are very dumb. A person can marry money and can also inherit money. They can also win the lottery. Poverty is concentrated among nations whose people are generally (1) inactive; (2) don’t have a cohesive society, (3) do not enjoy good health, and (4) unimaginative. (1) If you stay put all day (if you are inert) you will find that money will not fall down on you from the sky. (2) If you live in a society where people are adversaries and do not work as a family group, where there is no sense of community and belonging, then achievement and progress become almost impossible. (3) If you live in a society where people die young, you will find people struggling simply to stay alive and a life that could be productive for 70 years is simply productive for 30 or 40. (4) If people work hard and live long and work well together but have no imagination, they will also not prosper as much. Education is part of the solution but certainly not all of it. This article in the New York Times is just an effort to sell more books.

Cuba and China

From a Yahoo News story: “PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – The head of the Organization of American States said Friday that he will ask its members to readmit Cuba 47 years after they ousted the communist nation. And in another step toward improving relations, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Cuban President Raul Castro's latest comments a "very welcome gesture." After a series of overtures by U.S. President Barack Obama, Castro said Thursday that he is ready to talk with the U.S. and put "everything" on the table, even questions of human rights and political prisoners. That prompted a warm response from Clinton: "We welcome his comments, the overture they represent and we are taking a very serious look at how we intend to respond."

I knew this had to happen sooner or later. The U.S. cannot remain estranged forever from such a close neighbor. When China has been afforded recognition for so long now, why not little Cuba? It will benefit everyone I’m sure. What do I know? Nothing.

Another Wal-Mart

From a Yahoo! News story: “FRANKFURT (AFP) – Sales women paid five Euros (6.6 dollars) an hour, Asian subcontractors with dubious practices, and counters in the shape of swastikas -- in Germany the success of textile discounter Kik has kicked up a storm. In all, 3,500 Kik workers in Germany, of a total 15,000 worldwide, are paid five Euros per hour and receive the strict minimum in state health and pension benefits according to the services trade union Verdi. "Our workers might have to do more than others, but in exchange they have a secure job," the co-founder of Kik, Stefan Heinig, told German media. In nearly 15 years of activity, Kik, which is majority owned by the German distributor Tengelmann, has steadily gained market share and posted sales of 1.4 billion Euros last year. In Germany or in Eastern Europe, where the company is expanding, the group targets families with kids, "thrifty people and socially weak people," according to its Internet site. According to testimony provided by Verdi member Henrike Greven, staff are watched closely, their bags and even their cars are regularly inspected. At suppliers, such as in Bangladesh, clothing sewers must sometimes work seven days a week at jobs that do not pay a living wage and that have been slammed by the "Campaign for clean clothes." Some are said to employ children. Heinig has acknowledged that could not be ruled out. Kik rejects charges by antifascist Internet sites which call it "a Nazi store." In 2007, clients were shocked to find counters were shaped like swastikas, a symbol used by Nazis and which could be seen in Frankfurt. "It is a completely normal presentation in retail," a spokeswoman said. She said the chain has never been condemned by a court and stressed Kik's commitment "against racism."
Well, well – like they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. I had never heard of this Kik thing until today. People, as usual, will always have their priorities in this order: Commerce, Country, and finally, Church. Who cares if the products are sewn by little children? They are cheap and – to the customer - that’s all that matters. Like Clinton said, we’re not about to let a matter like human rights get in the way of our trade negotiations with the Chinese.

Saving Money

From a Yahoo! News story: “BEIJING – China's central bank said Saturday that its foreign exchange reserves rose 16 percent year-on-year to $1.9537 trillion by the end of March. China's reserves, already the world's largest, increased by $7.7 billion in the first quarter. In March, the reserves increased by $41.7 billion, it said, $6.7 billion more than the same period last year. Analysts believe China holds up to 70 percent of its foreign reserves in U.S. dollar-denominated assets, including Treasury securities. Beijing has taken steps to hold down the price of exports by cutting taxes on exporters and stopping the rise of China's tightly controlled currency, the yuan, against the U.S. dollar. Economists say both steps could strain relations with trading partners if China is seen to be competing unfairly.” It’s always easy to say that your competitor is unfair when he’s way ahead of you. The Chinese are good savers and prudent spenders. If they wanted to, they could ruin the U.S. by simply cashing in their poker chips.

Fairness and Kindness

From a Yahoo! News story: “STAR CITY, Russia – Russian and American astronauts on Friday downplayed suggestions of disputes on the international space station over access to food and equipment. On Friday, Fincke, Lonchakov and Simonyi said that if there were disputes, they were only on the ground, not in space — and not among the space travelers. "Please don't make a mistake. This is the best partnership that human beings have ever had. We're building the best space station that's ever been built. We're going to the stars together," Fincke told reporters at Russia's cosmonaut training center outside of Moscow. "So let's not let these little small things stop us from realizing this partnership we have together." "It's called an international space station because people from different nationalities work there," Lonchakov added. "In space there are no politics," he said. "What's decided on Earth is decided on Earth. What we are working in space is completely different, we work things out differently." Sure, of course. Humans behave well in space, no matter how they act down here. Sure. How dumb can anybody be? And, these guys are scientists. What a farce. If you wait long enough, someone will be the first victim of murder (or at least the first bloody nose) in space – probably over a low supply of oxygen. Who knows?

AN IDEA

From a Yahoo! News story: “WASHINGTON – Tinkering with Earth's climate to chill runaway global warming — a radical idea once dismissed out of hand — is being discussed by the White House as a potential emergency option, the president's new science adviser said Wednesday. That's because global warming is happening so rapidly, John Holdren told The Associated Press in his first interview since being confirmed last month. The concept of using technology to purposely cool the climate is called geoengineering. One option raised by Holdren and proposed by a Nobel Prize-winning scientist includes shooting pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun's rays.” Why not just use mirrors to shoot some rays back at the sun? Let me see, I’m sure we can come up with many other ways of cooling the climate down. How about manufacturing a giant refrigerated air unit and pointing it straight at the bad guy – the sun? Put the thing in Siberia where everything is colder. How about shooting ice cubes at the sun? How about wearing more layers of clothing so that your body heat stays with you and is not let off into the atmosphere? Is that feasible? Sure. How about capturing heat in small boxes during the day and closing the lids? Could someone invent a heat trap – like a mouse trap except for heat? Has anyone asked why it is we are trying to save the Earth anyway? Is it worth all the trouble? PLEASE.

Language

There was some NPR show which reported that language had an impact on how a culture thinks and perceives things. They were comparing Spanish to German expressions. The focus of the report was on masculine versus feminine forms of nouns. It was discussed as though it were some major discovery. I could have told them that - in fact, I have. There is no way one can understand a culture well without speaking its language. That's not an NPR announcer on the left - that's my grandpa. He was a farmer - he understood animals. Animals don't speak. Animals don't even think.

Global what?

From a Yahoo! News story: “PARIS – A massive ice shelf anchored to the Antarctic coast by a narrow and quickly deteriorating ice bridge could break away soon, the European Space Agency warned Friday. The Paris-based agency said satellite images show the bridge that connects the Wilkins Ice Shelf to Charcot and Latady Islands "looks set to collapse." "The beginning of what appears to be the demise of the ice bridge began this week when new rifts" appeared and a large block of ice broke away, it said.” I don’t worry about these things at all – I prefer tropical weather and I think the entire world should be tropical. The sooner the ice melts the better.