One by one, President Obama’s health-care promises are being exposed by the details of the actual legislation: Costs will explode, not fall; taxes will have to soar to pay for it; and now we are learning that you won’t be able to “keep your health-care plan” either. The reality is that the House health bill, [...]
Archive for July, 2009
Repealing Erisa
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Health on July 21, 2009 | Comments Off
Let’s Face It: Obama Is No Post-Partisan
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Politics on July 21, 2009 | Comments Off
Only last summer we were told that Barack Obama’s political appeal rested on his vision for a “post-partisan future.” The post-partisan future was one of the press corps’ favorite phrases. It served as shorthand for the candidate’s repeated references to “unity of purpose,” looking beyond a red or blue America, and so on. Six months [...]
It’s a safe bet that 100 years from now most half-way educated people will know about Neil Armstrong. It’s also a safe bet that in a century the name Michael Jackson will be familiar only to five or six cultural anthropologists and, possibly, a medical historian. So what does it say about the United States [...]
Is the Sun Missing Its Spots?
Posted in Physical sciences on July 21, 2009 | Comments Off
These photos show sunspots near solar maximum on July 19, 2000, and near solar minimum on March 18, 2009. Some global warming skeptics speculate that the Sun may be on the verge of an extended slumber. The Sun is still blank (mostly). Ever since Samuel Heinrich Schwabe, a German astronomer, first noted in 1843 that [...]
How Poles cracked Nazi Enigma secret
Posted in Conflicts and wars, History on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
The secluded mansion north of London had 10-12,000 staff in WWII A silk scarf bearing the image of a horse race was a suitably cryptic gift for a Polish mathematician to receive from a British code-breaker. The Poles had got there first – that seemed to be the message. Dillwyn “Dilly” Knox was delighted with [...]
Happy ending for love letter pair
Posted in Living on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
The newly-weds first met 17 years ago when Carmen visited Devon A Devon man has married an old flame after a love letter he wrote 10 years ago which went astray was discovered behind a fireplace by workmen in Spain. Steve Smith, of Paignton, met Spaniard Carmen Ruiz-Perez 17 years ago when she was an [...]
Today in History – July 20
Posted in This day in history, tagged July 20 on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
Today is Monday, July 20, the 201st day of 2009. There are 164 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon after landing their lunar module. As he set foot on the [...]
The Middle Kingdom
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Politics on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
Macau’s political fetters should be a warning to Hong Kong, says legislator Antonio Ng Kuok Cheong. “Macau is a middle position between mainland China and Hong Kong. Compared with mainland China, we have a lot of political liberty. . . But compared with Hong Kong, we have very [little].” So says Antonio Ng Kuok Cheong, [...]
The Squandered Stimulus
Posted in Economy and business, Editorials and opinion on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
It’s not surprising that the much-ballyhooed “economic stimulus” hasn’t done much stimulating. President Obama and his aides argue that it’s too early to expect startling results. They have a point. A $14 trillion economy won’t revive in a nanosecond. But the defects of the $787 billion package go deeper and won’t be cured by time. [...]
Why We Must Ration Health Care
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Health on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
You have advanced kidney cancer. It will kill you, probably in the next year or two. A drug called Sutent slows the spread of the cancer and may give you an extra six months, but at a cost of $54,000. Is a few more months worth that much? If you can afford it, you probably [...]
Lowered Expectations
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Living on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
Mysterious are the ways of human happiness, as anyone who has surveyed the perplexing, often contradictory research findings can attest. But one nugget in particular truly boggles: Denmark is the happiest nation in the world. More than two-thirds of Danes report being “very satisfied with their lives,” according to the Eurobarometer Survey, a figure that [...]
Lost in the Cloud
Posted in Computers, Editorials and opinion on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
EARLIER this month Google announced a new operating system called Chrome. It’s meant to transform personal computers and handheld devices into single-purpose windows to the Web. This is part of a larger trend: Chrome moves us further away from running code and storing our information on our own PCs toward doing everything online — also [...]
Today’s papers – July 20, 2009
Posted in Today's Papers, tagged July 20 2009 on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
Governors Fear Medicaid Costs in Health Plan The New York Times leads with governors across the country worrying that health care reform will ultimately cost states too much in Medicaid obligations at a time when many are facing budget crises. The bipartisan worries became the focal point at the summer meeting of the National Governors [...]
The Birds of America
Posted in Birds of America, tagged 97, 98, 99 on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
Otus asio Petit-duc maculé, autre nom : Scops d’Amérique / Eastern Screech-Owl The smallest owl with aigrettes in eastern Canada, the Eastern Screech-Owl is a raptor that can be seen in the daytime but is active mainly by night. Sedentary in south-western Quebec, it will leave its territory only if it comes to lack food. [...]
Germany’s Spies Refuted the 2007 NIE Report
Posted in Conflicts and wars, Editorials and opinion, tagged Iran on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
‘Work on nuclear weapons can be observed in Iran even after 2003′ President Obama has committed to trying diplomacy to stop the Iranian bomb. Time, though, is on the mullahs’ side, not least because so much of it was wasted after the 2007 U.S. National Intelligence Estimate made the improbable case that Iran had suspended [...]
Europe Thumps U.S., Again
Posted in Economy and business, Editorials and opinion on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
First lower taxes, now freer trade. On present trends, most of Europe will soon have lower income tax rates than most of America. And now the European Union is stealing another competitive march on Washington, this time on a free trade deal with the world’s 13th largest economy, fast-growing South Korea. Last week Brussels and [...]
The U.S. Steers Left on Honduras
Posted in Conflicts and wars, Editorials and opinion, tagged Honduras on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
Why would Hugo Chavez expect Obama to help him? When Hugo Chávez makes a personal appeal to Washington for help, as he did 11 days ago, it raises serious questions about the signals that President Barack Obama is sending to the hemisphere’s most dangerous dictator. Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya (left) with Costa Rican President [...]
Icons Aren’t What They Used to Be
Posted in Language on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
Journalists find another word to abuse. Right after Roger Federer won his 15th Grand Slam at Wimbledon this month, Pete Sampras declared, “The guy is a legend; now he’s an icon.” In his eyes, this was a status upgrade. Shortly after that, In Touch magazine referred to both Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett as felled [...]
The Obama Agenda Bogs Down
Posted in Economy and business, Editorials and opinion, Energy and Environment, Health, Politics on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
Democrats got what they wanted in the stimulus bill. The public knows it. It usually doesn’t happen this quickly in Washington. But President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are finding that the old maxim that what goes around, comes around applies to them, too. Less than six months into his term, Mr. Obama’s top initiatives [...]
Let’s hope the U.S. ‘mendicant’s bowl’ strategy saves us all
Posted in Economy and business, Editorials and opinion, Politics on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
The government of the world’s largest economy must beg for constant infusions of cash from abroad Shortly after becoming U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton left for China. She had a variety of objectives, including reassuring the understandably nervous Chinese about the long-term strength of the U.S. economy, the stability of the U.S. dollar and [...]
Compromise the French disconnection? Jamais, s’il-vous plaît!
Posted in Living on July 20, 2009 | Comments Off
French legislature votes to allow stores in major cities and tourist areas to open on Sundays. – News item A while back on a trip to the Aquitaine region of France, a member of our group asked a wine expert in Bordeaux about the value of those gadgets designed to seal an unfinished bottle of [...]
Shakespeare’s Storm
Posted in Literature on July 19, 2009 | Comments Off
The fierce storm that leaves a small band of travelers stranded on a magical island in Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” — the last of his great plays, probably written in 1610-11 — was considerably more than a product of the playwright’s fertile imagination. Though scholars have squabbled over its exact source, there is general agreement that [...]
Today in History – July 19
Posted in This day in history, tagged July 19 on July 19, 2009 | Comments Off
Today is Sunday, July 19, the 200th day of 2009. There are 165 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History On July 19, 1989, 111 people were killed when a United Air Lines DC-10 crashed while making an emergency landing at Sioux City, Iowa; 185 other people survived. On this date: In 711, [...]
Animal life
Posted in Animals, Photo galleries on July 19, 2009 | Comments Off
Three lion cubs feed on the milk of a dog after their mother abandoned them after birth, at the Safari Park in Hefei, China. A young elk rescued from a flooding river by a farmer in Inje, Gangwon Province, South Korea. It was adopted by a female dog that breastfeeds and guards him. A rare [...]
Uncommon knowledge
Posted in Uncommon knowledge, tagged July 19 2009 on July 19, 2009 | Comments Off
The shape that strikes fear It looks like “V” is for vendetta. Researchers asked people to count simple shapes while having their brain scanned. Upon viewing triangles that pointed down (vs. upward-pointing triangles, or circles), people’s brains became more activated in regions involved in processing threats. Building on previous research showing that a normal “V” [...]
Falling short
Posted in The Word, tagged July 19 2009 on July 19, 2009 | Comments Off
The ambiguity of ‘needs to be’ Last week’s confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor were as bland as the pundits had predicted. But one news report did offer a bit of linguistic titillation. NPR’s Ari Shapiro, commenting on Sotomayer’s opening remarks, said, “I don’t think she went out on a limb. The statement [...]
Was Cronkite Really the First “Anchorman”?
Posted in Language on July 19, 2009 | Comments Off
How we came to use the term. In the news reports on Walter Cronkite’s death, you often hear that he was the original “anchorman.” The Baltimore Sun‘s obituary states, “The Missouri native was so fundamental to the concept of TV news that the word ‘anchorman’ was coined to describe his role at the 1952 national [...]
Sued by the forest
Posted in Energy and Environment, Law on July 19, 2009 | Comments Off
Should nature be able to take you to court? Last February, the town of Shapleigh, Maine, population 2,326, passed an unusual ordinance. Like nearby towns, Shapleigh sought to protect its aquifers from the Nestle Corporation, which draws heavily on the region for its Poland Spring bottled water. Some Maine towns had acquiesced, others had protested, [...]
The crisis where?
Posted in Conflicts and wars, Media, Politics on July 19, 2009 | Comments Off
Why some world trouble spots get all the attention Over the past two weeks, deadly clashes in the Xinjiang province of western China have hit the headlines, highlighting the deep tension between the Uighurs – the Muslim, ethnic Turkic people native to the province – and the ethnic Chinese inhabitants who have settled there more [...]
