BrothersJudd Blog

PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:43:43 -0500

Climategate: Stunning Deception and Misconduct at UK Warming Research Center Revealed (Jason Mick, November 20, 2009, Daily Tech)

Some of the emails seem merely cruel, but do not indicate misconduct. For example CRU director Phil Jones cheers the death of leading climate skeptic John Daly stating, "In an odd way this is cheering news." In another email he fantasizes about physically assaulting a climate skeptic, stating, "Next time I see Pat Michaels at a scientific meeting, I’ll be tempted to beat the crap out of him. Very tempted."

Other emails are far more damning. Writes Phil Jones:

I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps
to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd from
1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline. Mike’s series got the annual
land and marine values while the other two got April-Sept for NH land
N of 20N. The latter two are real for 1999, while the estimate for 1999
for NH combined is +0.44C wrt 61-90. The Global estimate for 1999 with
data through Oct is +0.35C cf. 0.57 for 1998.

The email reads like a flat out confession of academic misconduct and deception. Obviously hiding data and doctoring values is the kind of thing that gets you expelled from graduate school, but here these seasoned researchers seemed to have engaged in such practices and gleefully got published.

The emails also contain passages concerning the center's attempts to hide the Medieval Warm Period (MWP). Writes a colleague of Mr. Jones:

……Phil and I have recently submitted a paper using about a dozen NH records that fit this category, and many of which are available nearly 2K back–I think that trying to adopt a timeframe of 2K, rather than the usual 1K, addresses a good earlier point that Peck made w/ regard to the memo, that it would be nice to try to “contain” the putative “MWP”, even if we don’t yet have a hemispheric mean reconstruction available that far back….

Still other emails reveal that the Phil Jones and others at the center engaged in campaigns of trying to silence skeptics, removing them from the journal peer-review process. Not all of the researchers at the center seemed to be onboard with the deceit, though. Some expressed doubts about the theory of anthropogenic (manmade) global warming and refused to support some of the center's actions, putting their own careers in jeopardy.

IS IT OUR JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OR AL QAEDA'S?:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:38:06 -0500

EDITORIAL EXCLUSIVE: On terrorists, Justice recused (THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 11/20/09)

The Obama Justice Department is having problems prosecuting terrorist cases because top department attorneys have conflicts of interest. [...]

Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, made waves Nov. 18 when he demanded that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. provide a list of all the suspected-terrorist detainee cases from which current Justice Department political appointees have had to recuse themselves. The extent of the conflicts at the department is still unclear. [...]

This is an important topic. Even if each official who did prior work on detainee cases has indeed properly recused himself from those cases while at the Justice Department, there could be such a large number of affected officials that the department's prevailing ethos could be tilted strongly in the detainees' favor. Mr. Grassley's inquiry is pressing because it could ferret out any instance in which a department official should have been recused but wasn't.

When the senator publicly requested information from Mr. Holder, the attorney general merely promised to "consider" the request. After some hemming and hawing and dodging, Mr. Holder eventually said he needed to make sure there was no "attorney-client privilege" involved before disclosing the list of recusals. This is absurd. Attorney-client privilege may extend to the substance of lawyers' discussions with detainees, but not to the mere question of whether the lawyers are doing such work.

So the UR's Justice Department is too closely tied to the enemy to try them?

MAKES YOU PITY ALL THE COUNTRIES WITH NO THANKS TO GIVE:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:30:52 -0500

BACON-WRAPPED ROASTED TURKEY WITH PAN GRAVY (AP, 11/20/09)

1 12- to 14-pound turkey

2 large yellow onions, cut into wedges

1 ½ pounds sliced bacon

1/2 cup white wine

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

¼ cup water

Heat oven to 325 F. Place the turkey on a roasting rack set in a large roasting pan. Fill the pan with the onions.

Carefully separate the turkey's skin from the flesh, trying to avoid breaking the skin. Work strips of bacon under the skin, running them along the tops of the breasts. Three to 4 slices should fit on each breast. Pat the skin back into place over the bacon.

Place several strips of bacon inside the cavity of the bird, unless you plan to stuff it. Wrap several strips of bacon around each leg, interlacing them to keep them in place. Lay strips across the top of the whole bird, weaving them, if desired.

Roast for 3-to 3-1/2 hours, or until the breast registers 160 F and the thickest part of the thigh reaches 170 F. Allow the turkey to rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer the turkey to a serving platter and let it rest another 10 minutes.

Add the white wine to the roasting pan and place over medium heat on the stovetop. Heat, using a silicone spatula to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom. Strain the mixture into a small saucepan. Season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, mix the flour and water.

Bring the drippings in the saucepan to a boil over medium-high. Slowly pour in half the flour mixture, whisking constantly. Return to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Adjust the thickness of the gravy with more of the flour mixture or water until you get the desired consistency. Be sure to simmer for several minutes after each addition of flour.

WENT TO A SOCCER GAME AND A WAR BROKE OUT:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:44:30 -0500

Egypt-Algeria in football spat (Aljazeera, 11/20/09)

Egypt has recalled its ambassador to Algeria after World Cup qualifying football matches between the two countries resulted in a number of outbreaks of violence.

Cairo called the ambassador back home on Thursday for "consultations" after earlier summoning the Algerian ambassador to express "extreme displeasure" at attacks on Egyptian fans.

BUT THERE'S GOOD MONEY IN USELESS PROCEDURES:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:41 -0500

CT Scans May Not Lower Lung Cancer Death Rate (HealthDay News, 3/06/07)

CT scans for lung cancer may increase the rate of diagnosis and treatment of the disease, but they may not help lower the numbers of patients with advanced lung malignancies or related deaths.

So concludes a new study in the March 7 Journal of the American Medical Association. [...]

[T]he prior studies looked at survival -- how long people lived after their lung cancer diagnosis -- whereas this trial compared the actual number of deaths.

"We believe, as do most experts in cancer prevention, that in order to assess properly a screening intervention, you have to measure the number of deaths from cancer in relation to all of the people who were screened," Begg said. "That is the mortality rate. And when we do that and benchmark it against the expected death rate in people of this age and smoking history, we find there's no difference."

"This is important, because it comes from an institution that's been promoting this stuff," Edelman said. "But they said that when they look at mortality, they can't show a positive effect."

The new results call into question the advisability of operating on these early cancers, if most of them are unlikely to progress rapidly. Surgery on its own can carry significant risks, Begg noted.

"Our study, although preliminary, provides no evidence whatsoever that screening is reducing mortality," he said.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FIGHT...:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:51:17 -0500

Free books used as tools to fight evolution (Marjorie Kehe, 11.20.09, CS Monitor)

Hundreds of college students were surprised on Wednesday when they were handed free copies of Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” as they walked across campus. But they were perhaps even more surprised when they opened the book and discovered that it contained a 50-page forward by a Christian minister who questions the validity of Darwin’s theories. [...]

The book, advertised as a new edition of the 150th anniversary of the 1859 publication of Darwin’s book, was put together by Ray Comfort, a Christian evangelical minister who espouses creationism and argues that Americans need to be made to understand that evolution is only a theory. The massive giveaway of Comfort’s edition of Darwin’s book is part of his “Origin into Schools” project.

...is that Creationists think you should read what Darwin actually said but Darwinists are furious you might read the critiques.

LIBERTY LABELLE:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:54:08 -0500

Kenny Gamble Honors Veterans With 'I Am an American' (Dan Reilly, 11/10/09, Spinner)

Shocked to learn how many veterans end up homeless, Gamble decided to spread awareness by recording 'I Am an American,' a song originally written "in the '30s or '40s" by a member of the International Peace Mission charitable movement named Happy Victoria Love. "It says that we all should be very proud of our country because America has shown tremendous growth and it's still a baby, it's still developing compared to other countries," Gamble says. "There's no better time for us as citizens to be more patriotic and pay attention to the greatest of Americans: the veterans, those who risk their lives and some who give their lives so that others might be able to enjoy the freedoms we have here."

After originally hearing the song in 1980 at a dinner held by the Peace Mission, it wasn't until the late '90s that Gamble started working on a modern arrangement with the Temple University Orchestra and Choir. "We recorded it live and when I listened to it, I said, 'Well, it really sounds great. It's sort of classical in a way, but it needs a little hot sauce to it.' So, I called my good friend Patti LaBelle and asked if she would sing it," Gamble, who's produced several of LaBelle's albums, says. "She came and put the little hot sauce on it. With the power of Patti's voice and her spirit on it, I think it really makes it a new song to uplift the spirit of Americans all over this country and around the world."

Just in time for Veterans Day, Gamble has released a CD/DVD combo called 'I Am an American: The Making of an Anthem,' which chronicles not only the making of the song but his work visiting veterans. "We've been working with the Veterans Administration and part of the proceeds from this will go to homeless veterans," Gamble says. "I think it comes at a great time because the morale of the country is a little low because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, health care and the economy. This song speaks about how America is every race, every creed, every color, every nationality. There's never been a country like America. We must support it in every way that we can as citizens."

Kenny Gamble's 'I Am An American' CD fights Veteran homelessness (April MacIntyre Nov 18, 2009, Monsters & Critics)

In honor and loving support of our nation’s veterans, legendary music pioneer and co-creator of “The Philadelphia Sound” Kenny Gamble is releasing a new DVD/CD commemorative package of his acclaimed new symphonic ode to patriotism, “I Am An Am American,” on November 10, 2009 to help raise funds and awareness for battling homelessness among veterans.

I Am An American: The Making of An Anthem, a documentary revealing the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s behind-the-scenes work to bring modern relevance to this traditional song through his lifelong friend Patti LaBelle and the Temple University Symphony & Choir, includes a CD featuring new edits of the recording project that has been a personal labor of love and commitment from Mr. Gamble.

His brother, Carl also served the country as a Vietnam War veteran.

A portion of proceeds from sales of I Am An American: The Making of An Anthem are being donated to the Veterans Administration, to help raise money for homeless veterans and awareness for this vital issue.

Even had he not written a great train song, Mr. Gamble's effort would be eminently worthwhile.

-WEBSITE: IAmAnAmerican.us

HOW CLICHES START:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:46:52 -0500

REVIEW: of
The Blind Side (Brandon Fibbs, 11/20/2009, Christianity Today)

I confess I was prepared to dislike The Blind Side—not only for its potential schmaltz, but also for its potential to seem like another White Man to the Rescue flick. (My friend Tim Gordon, former film critic for Black Entertainment Television, calls these "Mighty Whitey" films, where a white protagonist saves people of color without whose "superior intervention" they would surely have been lost.) While not necessarily exempt because of it, a film based on real events complicates this dynamic. But The Blind Side never falls into this trap because it respects its characters, including Michael, too much to become an unsavory cliché. The whiteness and blackness of the characters is traded instead for a look at those things that lie beneath the skin. Leigh Anne is not driven by liberal guilt or "white supremacy," but by a heart that is far softer than her exterior would suggest, one that breaks to see another person in pain. Period. (The real-life Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy are devout Christians.) Likewise, Michael is shown to be someone who is willing to sacrifice anything, including himself, to protect those he loves. In a truly colorblind society, these characters' race would be irrelevant and we would focus instead on one human being unconditionally loving another human being.

This stance benefits the film in another way. While The Blind Side is the sort of story that traditionally degrades into sentimentality, the film remains grounded, avoiding easy, emotional potshots. If it draws tears, it earns them. Much of this anti-maudlin mentality is a result of identifying with a mama bear too ornery to shed a tear for just anything. When Leigh Anne is told she is changing Michael's life and she replies, "No, he's changing mine," we don't laugh at the sappiness of the line because it is delivered with such utter earnestness.

Leigh Anne Tuohy is unique in a Hollywood film—a non-stereotypical Christian. Christians used to portrayals of themselves as close-minded bigots or spaced-out nut jobs will see instead someone who is humble, down to earth, and instantly relatable. If Leigh Anne adheres to certain clichés, particularly those at the intersection of faith and southern Republican politics, we must remind ourselves that certain stereotypes are, after all, based on truths. While the film never uses her faith as a bludgeon, it is not shy whatsoever with letting its audience know that it is because of her beliefs that Leigh Anne acts the way she does.

ONE OF THE FEW EXCEPTIONS TO THE TIMEZONE RULE:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:33:06 -0500

Electricity for Cars Costs Much Less than Fossil Fuels (Iceland Review, 11/20/09)

Ólafur Bjarnason, director of transport for the City of Reykjavík, stated at a meeting yesterday that if the half of the capital’s inhabitants would use electricity instead of fossil fuels to power their cars, up to ISK 5.4 billion (USD 43 million, EUR 29 million) would be saved each year.

Bjarnason explained that electricity only costs ten percent of what fossil fuels will cost, around ISK 600 million (USD 4.8 million, EUR 3.2 million) instead of ISK 6 billion (USD 48 million, EUR 32 million), Fréttabladid reports.

The government announced its plans for a new taxation system on Wednesday, which include an increase in the price of gasoline and diesel oil.

MAKING UP SCIENCE TO SUIT YOUR IDEOLOGY IS ALWAYS SENSITIVE:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:17:18 -0500

Hacked: Sensitive Documents Lifted from Hadley Climate Center (Keith Johnson, 11/20/09, WSJ)

Well, this should get interesting.

The Hadley Climate Research Unit in Britain was hacked yesterday, apparently by Russian black hats, and thousands of sensitive documents, including emails from climate scientists dating back a decade, were posted online. More here.

Officials at Hadley, a leading global-warming research center, have apparently confirmed to an Australian publication that the documents are genuine.

From: Phil Jones
To: ray bradley ,mann@xxxxx.xxx, mhughes@xxxx.xxx
Subject: Diagram for WMO Statement
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 13:31:15 +0000
Cc: k.briffa@xxx.xx.xx,t.osborn@xxxx.xxx

Dear Ray, Mike and Malcolm,
Once Tim’s got a diagram here we’ll send that either later today or
first thing tomorrow.
I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps
to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd from
1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline. Mike’s series got the annual
land and marine values while the other two got April-Sept for NH land
N of 20N. The latter two are real for 1999, while the estimate for 1999
for NH combined is +0.44C wrt 61-90. The Global estimate for 1999 with
data through Oct is +0.35C cf. 0.57 for 1998.
Thanks for the comments, Ray.

Cheers
Phil

Prof. Phil Jones
Climatic Research Unit Telephone +44 (0) xxxxx
School of Environmental Sciences Fax +44 (0) xxxx
University of East Anglia
Norwich Email p.jones@xxxx.xxx
NR4 7TJ
UK

IF YOU'RE GOING TO RIG THE GAMES COULDN'T YOU MAKE THEM MORE INTERESTING?:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:35:03 -0500

Europe rocked by fresh match-fixing scandal (Javno, November 20, 2009)

Around 200 football matches in nine European countries including at least three Champions League games are implicated in a new match-fixing scandal, German prosecutors said on Friday.

UEFA expert Peter Limacher told a press conference in Germany that the revelations represented "clearly" the worst ever match-fixing scandal in European football.

Between the fixes and the officiating it is a game in which one can have little confidence that better team will prevail.

TEUTONIC TONTINE:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:16:11 -0500

Deutsche Bank Life Insurance Fund in Hot Water (Anne Seith, 11/20/09, Der Spiegel)

Gerhard Strate, a well-respected lawyer based in Hamburg, has seen a lot of things over the years. But he still has a hard time believing the story of the Deutsche Bank funds db Kompass Life 1 and 2, calling it "unbelievable" and "absurd." The closed-end funds buy life insurance policies from Americans and assume responsibility for paying their future premiums. When the original policy-holder dies, the entire payout goes to the fund. It is like short-selling US life expectancy.

Deutsche Bank collected some €500,000 ($750,000) from customers for its macabre money-making scheme. But the fund quickly turned into a mega-flop. So far, not one investor has received even a single dividend payment and some may lose their entire principal.

You have to know better than to listen to Democrats describe the American health care system.

WHEN THOSE WHO DON'T BELIEVE TRY TO BE WASPs:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:58:07 -0500

The Death of the Cool: Cool was once associated with reticence, savoir-faire, and irony, none of which is much practiced or regarded these days. (Robert McHenry, November 20, 2009, American)

Who and what was cool? Cary Grant was cool, and of course Steve McQueen. Thelonious S. Monk (anybody remember when Time captioned a picture of him “Melodious Thunk”?) and Horace Silver, Fairfield Porter, E.E. Cummings (bear in mind that that “e.e.” business was the bright idea of his publisher), Bob Cousy, P.G. Wodehouse, Philip Marlowe, Gus Grissom … a list is pointless except to suggest the breadth of the concept. For contrast, here are some more or less parallel non-cool types: James Dean, Chet Baker, Andy Warhol, Allen Ginsberg, Kobe Bryant, Norman Mailer, Howard Roark, Frank Borman.

Cool is not dependent on achievement, or vice versa. Cool is how you get there. Cool is just doing the job; not-cool is making sure, while you’re at it, that everyone sees just how tough the job is and thus how cool you are to be doing it. Cool is self-direction, self-possession, self-sufficiency, capability, discretion, and a bit of wit. Not-cool is angst, conspicuous display, disdain, tropisms toward bright lights, crowds, and media—in short, all those adolescent traits that so many people fail to grow out of.

One need only consider the copious pathologies associated with these men to recognize that the cool was just a pose put on by guys utterly estranged from their true selves and from the morality of the culture. No one was ever less cool than "the cool."

LAFFERING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:54:37 -0500

Notions of 'fairness' should not dictate fiscal policy (JIM O'LEARY, 11/20/09, Irish Times)

[T]he first point to make is that the State’s solvency must be paramount: a bankrupt state is no use to anyone, not least those who rely on it for their incomes. When solvency is threatened, fairness (even assuming that it could be objectively assessed) becomes a matter of second-order importance.

Beyond that, notions of fairness must cede some ground, if not priority, to considerations of what works best.

On this question, analysis of the large reservoir of experience in dealing with fiscal crises, accumulated by governments worldwide over the past four decades, is unambiguous: adjustments based on spending cuts are more effective and more likely to boost economic activity than those based on tax increases.

The large corpus of research on this question has recently been added to and its main conclusions reiterated by Harvard economists Alberto Alesina and Silvia Ardagna (Large Changes in Fiscal Policy: Taxes Versus Spending (October 2009)).

One of their findings is that successful and expansionary fiscal adjustments are associated with cuts in transfer payments, whereas unsuccessful and contractionary adjustments are associated with increases in transfers.

IT'S BETTER THAN A REAL JOB:

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:43:09 -0500

Giuliani Leaning Toward Run for Senate, Advisers Say (SUZANNE SATALINE, 11/20/09, WSJ)

Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who has been widely rumored to be interested in running for governor, is weighing "a real possibility" of seeking a U.S. Senate seat next year, a former Giuliani campaign aide said.

Mr. Giuliani has made no final decision, this person said, but said that the Republican is "more interested in running for Senate." He would seek the New York seat currently held by Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who was appointed to the post last winter.

The interesting drama would be his judiciary votes once he got there.