Israeli Intrigue On The High Seas

It's a yarn worthy of Ian Fleming.

The Times of London reports that the Arctic Sea, the freighter that disappeared from the English Channel in late July and was then rounded up by a powerful Russian naval force weeks later, was carrying arms bound for Iran.

The ship was loaded not with lumber but with state of the art Russian anti-aircraft rockets that had been sold to Iran by the Russian underworld. The Israeli Mossad uncovered the plot in Kaliningrad, a port notorious for gun runners. They duped a known criminal gang into hijacking the ship. Then they told the Kremlin. The hijacking gave the Russians an excuse to seize the ship and save face from allowing their high-tech weapons to fall into the hands of international arms black marketeers.

Sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons would make it much more difficult for Israel to bomb Iran's nuclear installations.

The Russians have steadfastly denied the Arctic Sea was carrying Russian weapons.

Obama Falls To Earth

Charles Krauthammer:

For a man who only recently bred a cult, ordinariness is a great burden, and for his acolytes, a crushing disappointment. Obama has become a politician like others.

World Anti-Chavez Day

Correction to an earlier post (the march was yesterday, not today):

Thousands of opponents of Hugo Chavez marched against the Venezuelan president across Latin America on Friday, accusing him of everything from authoritarianism to international meddling.

The protests, coordinated through Twitter and Facebook, drew more than 5,000 people in Bogota, and thousands more in the capitals of Venezuela and Honduras. Smaller demonstrations were held in other Latin American capitals, as well as New York and Madrid.

More from Fausta's Blog.

Update: Tens of thousands of people marched through Venezuela's capital Caracas on Saturday to protest what they call growing authoritarianism by President Hugo Chávez.

Canadian Hockey Vs. US Protectionistas: Fight!

The National Post reports the US has banned Air Canada from flying Canadian hockey teams and entertainers from city to city within the US. It is supposedly a security issue, but it wrecks the NHL's upcoming season schedule and will likely provoke a retaliation from Canada.

Air Canada executive vice president Duncan Dee predicted the ruling will create "chaos" for teams shuttling across the border. "It's extremely messy for both American and Canadian teams," he said. It was a unilateral action imposed without consultation or Air Canada being able to defend itself. It's obvious the U.S. Department of Transportation doesn't watch hockey."

Canada's Transport Minister John Baird said the dispute "shows the power of anti-free-trade Democrats in the Congress" and cautioned his government will respond in kind.

Obama's Mistake In Honduras

The Obama administration has effectively turned Zelaya into a symbol of democracy. He is exactly the opposite.

Update: From Investor's Business Daily: The world is moving on and respecting Honduras' s right to enforce its own democratic constitution. This means Zelaya is history.

This is a big reversal from the days just after the ouster, when it was commonly thought the new government of Roberto Micheletti would cave in to global pressure and reseat Zelaya. At that time, sanctions came fast — as condemnations flowed from a hypocritical U.N., trade with neighbors was cut, ambassadors pulled and visas yanked.

But the Hondurans have stood fast and the rest of the world is giving them credit.

Except the US.

Now it's just the U.S., browbeaten by the rabid left for being too soft, that's toughening sanctions and prolonging the crisis.

In the end, it's quite likely that the U.S. will be the loser, since it's increasingly clear that this time, we're on the wrong side of history.

Settled Science Unsettled Is Unsettling Scientists V.

Global warming is going to happen. For sure. Everybody knows that. And humans are to blame. Ditto.

Right?

But wait, now it looks like there'll be some global cooling first. Science tells us that Mother Nature is to blame for that. But we believe the planet will warm again later, and that really, really will be human's fault this time.

But we're gonna get those computer models sorted out in time for Copenhagen and then, well... gee... do you find it chilly...?

I think I find a chill descending on the warmists. The same chill that overcomes anyone who comes to the honest realization that their dogma is defective.

And they thought they understood the mind of Gaia.

Parts I through IV of SSUIUS here.

Stunning Time Lapse Photography

From Brandon Riza, smoke billows from forest fires in the Angeles National Forest in California. This sequence was taken on August 30.

Update: Here are four more time lapses from other videographers (the fifth is the one by Brandon Riza mentioned above).

Using Global Warming To Sell Nuclear Power In America

Here's a really excellent analysis of the so-called “global warming” issue viewed in the context of politics and the economy of the world from Dr. Syun Akasofu of the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

Dr. Akasofu predicts the US under Obama will use "global warming" to convince Americans to embrace nuclear energy - almost exactly as Margaret Thatcher did in 1979. Lady Thatcher needed to crush the coal miner's union and Obama needs to secure America's industrial base, but other than that, the gambit's the same.

The global warmists will be played for useful idiots.

Again.

Reaping The Wildfire

Could the LA wildfires have been lessened, if not prevented?

"The environmentalists have gone to the extreme to prevent controlled burns, and as a result we have this catastrophe today."

In Revolutionary Colour

Russian colour photographs taken 100 years ago look like they were taken yesterday.

A Lovely Cup Of Tea

Just what you'd want whilst performing 14 loop-the-loops in an aerobatic airplane. Don't spill it!

Settled Science Unsettled Is Unsettling Scientists IV

So Nature has reported that global wobbling and sunspots control Earth's climate. CO2 has actually nothing to do with it.

Jonah Goldberg asks:

What does it say that the modeling that guaranteed disastrous increases in global temperatures never predicted the halt in planetary warming since the late 1990s? (MIT's Richard Lindzen says that "there has been no warming since 1997 and no statistically significant warming since 1995.") What does it say that the modelers have only just now discovered how sunspots make the Earth warmer?

I don't know what it tells you, but it tells me that maybe we should study a bit more before we spend billions to "solve" a problem we don't understand so well.

Settled Science Unsettled Is Unsettling Scientists III
Settled Science Unsettled Is Unsettling Scientists II
Settled Science Unsettled Is Unsettling Scientists

The Jam Handy Group

The video I posted below called Around the Corner was produced by Jam Handy, a pioneer in industrial training films.

Jam Handy (that was his real name) was an Olympic swimmer and journalist who decided to make a living in early corporate film production. Because he lived in Detroit (not Hollywood) he produced hundreds of films for GM.

He also made a huge contribution to the war effort. For example, if you ever need to know how to fly a World War II P-47 fighter plane, Jam Handy filmed a whole training series.

I did not know the P-47 housed its turbocharger abaft the pilot. I guess turbo lag was not an issue for the 2,700 rpm, 18-cylinder radial in a P-47.

Much more about Jam Handy here.

A Vintage GM Training Film

Here's a pre-war General Motors training film called Around The Corner. It just goes to show you what creative film making was like in the days before CGI. Can you imagine anyone doing some of these motorcycle stunts today? Er, I guess the helmets would get in the way today.

At about 2 minutes in, the film makers finally get to the point - how an automotive differential works. Once you see the ingenious ways they demonstrate differential technology, you will be amazed.

And you will never forget why you need a differential and how it works. The film makers actually manage to make the subject interesting while imparting dry engineering info. The scene of those people running on the rollers attached to a car's drive wheels at the end is bizarre.



This post at kottke.org got me going on this thread.

A Victory For Free Speech

At The National Post, Ezra Levant celebrates a great victory for freedom of speech in Canada:

Yesterday, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal did something its never done in its 32-year history. It acquitted somebody of "hate speech" charges. Until now, the tribunal had a 100% conviction rate.

As of yesterday, it's no longer illegal to write politically incorrect things on the Internet. Now it's illegal to prosecute someone for it.

Who Needs TV?

Who needs TV when you've got Historic Films Inc with stock footage and newsreels back to the dawn of motion pictures.

Ed Wood would have gone out of his stock-footage-addled mind.

News From Minnesotans For Global Warming

Our friends at Minnesotans For Global Warming report on the Minnesota Free Market Institute Symposium on Climate Change that was held on August 19.

In case you haven't run across Minnesotans For Global Warming it is well worth you while to watch their global warming music videos If I Had Some Global Warming, and Three Below Honey. The musicality in these videos is outstanding, the production values are hilarious and original and the message is priceless. Watch for Al Gore on drums.

Wireless Solar Electricity From Orbit

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and industrial design company IHI Corp. are teaming up to spend $21 Billion to develop a new satellite that will beam wireless electricity back to Earth and produce one gigawatt of energy, or enough to power 294,000 homes.

The Dangerous Ten

From the Times: The ten fastest cars the 'equal opportunities loudmouth' has ever thrown around a track for our edification and enjoyment. That could only be Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson.

Bagpipes Over Tripoli

The Lockerbie bomber story just keeps getting weirder and weirder. The Daily Mail reports Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has imported a Scottish bagpipe band (er, from New Zealand) to play at celebrations of his 40th anniversary in Tripoli.

If that were nor surreal enough, now Scottish lawmakers have voted against letting Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi go free. A Tory Tory justice spokesman said:

‘Not only has this episode proved that the SNP are inexperienced and unable to cope on the international stage but it has also proved that they are small minded and petty into the bargain.‘I appreciate it was difficult decision to make, I just wish they had made that decision in a less cack-handed manner.’

Update: More from the Weekly Standard: Fair Is Foul In Scotland.

Monkeys Prefer Metal

If they have any preference at all, certain monkeys prefer Metallica to say, the human-calming strains of Mozart. The researchers don't say that heavy metal puts monkeys into a contemplative state, but it apparently does calm them down. And classical music seems to annoy them.

70 Years Ago Today

Saturn Gone From Canada

Via The Truth About Cars:

Fox News reports that GM has confirmed Roger Penske’s decision to pull Saturn from the Canadian market. Saturn’s 46 remaining Canadian dealers sold 18,726 vehicles last year. According to GM, “a business case could not be made” to keep Saturn operating in Canada.

This leaves the Canadian market wide open for Magna to roll in with Opel. If they ever manage to sort the mess out with GM.

Oddly enough there were a lot of Saturns sold here in Newfoundland. The "rust-proof" bodies were a big draw, but the insides and undersides rusted just as badly as any other GM models.

Google Street View In Newfoundland?

UPDATES below....

I was driving past Windsor Lake heading into St. John's today when I spotted a grimy black Chevrolet Cobalt or Cavalier with a mast mounted on the roof heading out of town.

On top of the mast was a black box containing several lenses.

I make it to be a Google Street View car fitted out like the one in the photo above. Without the palm trees.

The CBC reported Google Street View was photographing in PEI for inclusion in Google Earth earlier in August.

The latest version of Google Earth is 5.0x. It does not show any icons for Street View in Canada. Yet.

UPDATES: December 2 - Here and here.

Can't Believe It's Not Iron Age Butter

From the Discovery Channel:

Irish workers have discovered one of the earliest examples of packaged and preserved food. An oak barrel dating back to about 3,000 years ago has been found filled with exceptionally well-preserved butter.

What's Happening In Honduras - Update

The Wall Street Journal updates us on happenings in Honduras. According to WSJ, the United States is using everything it has to break the neck of the Honduran democracy.

To recap, the Honduran military in June executed a Supreme Court arrest warrant against Mr. Zelaya for trying to hold a referendum on whether he should be able to run for a second term. Article 239 of the Honduran constitution states that any president who tries for a second term automatically loses the privilege of his office. By insisting that Mr. Zelaya be returned to power, the U.S. is trying to force Honduras to violate its own constitution.

Obama's obtuse stance on Honduran democracy certainly helps Chavez. How it helps the Obama administration - or Honduras - is incomprehensible.

Calling All 9/11 Conspiracy Truthers

The National Geographic Channel will air a program in the US on Monday evening, August 31, at 9PM EDT that will debunk many of the conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11. Aptly named "9/11: Science and Conspiracy," the special aims to address some of the most common "alternative" theories about the collapse of the twin towers. Expect the program to be sober and scientific and convincing. And to change absolutely nothing in the minds of paranoid conspiracy nutters. The show airs in the US Monday night. Here in Canada we are waiting for a scheduling decision.

Airbrushing Mary Jo Kopechne

Mark Steyn writes about Ted Kennedy's - and the media's - long-standing disservice to Mary Joe Kopechne.

We are enjoined not to speak ill of the dead. But, when an entire nation — or, at any rate, its “mainstream” media culture — declines to speak the truth about the dead, we are certainly entitled to speak ill of such false eulogists.

It Was About The Oil

The Times of London reports:

The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom” to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for return to Libya, leaked ministerial letters reveal.

Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP (British Petroleum) over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards.

A Generous Gift, Well Kept

Californian Norm Grib's Dad was maybe one of the most generous Dads ever. When Norm turned 17, his father bought him a new car. But not just any new car. It was a jet black 1963 Ford Galaxie 500. Says Norm:

Frankly, I don't know what he was thinking when he let me get the 390 Police Special with the four-barrel carburetor and four-on-the-floor transmission.

I definitely had the coolest car in my high school, and it had all the chrome a '60s guy could want.

Norm is retired now, but he still has the car. He reminisces here.

More Privacy On Facebook

A couple of important advances in Facebook's handling of user privacy popped up this week.

First, Facebook agreed to the demands of the Canadian Privacy Commissioner: when you delete your profile, Facebook will actually delete it - not just store it.

Second, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California created a quiz application that demonstrates how Facebook shares with quiz developers not just your personal data but the data of all your Facebook friends whenever you take a Facebook Quiz.

To drive this point home, the ACLU's Quiz loads up information pulled from your friends' profiles and displays that data below the answer for your perusal. Here, information on your friends is shown including hometowns, favorite books, political views, networks, birthdays, number of wall posts and even personal photos."

A Breakthrough In Atomic Imaging

Pentacene Molecule

CNet News reports that scientists from IBM have used an atomic force microscope to reveal the chemical bonds within a molecule.

Scientists were able "to look through the electron cloud and see the atomic backbone of an individual molecule for the first time." This is roughly analogous to X-rays that pass through soft tissue to enable clear images of bones, IBM said.