"SANAA, Yemen — Jaber Elbaneh is one of the world’s most-wanted terrorism suspects. In 2003, the U.S. government indicted him, posted a $5 million reward for his capture and distributed posters bearing photos of him around the globe. !– var rn = ( Math.round( Math.random()*10000000000 ) ); document.write(”) ; // –> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/16/AR2008051603921_StoryJs.js?8679010439 None of itContinue reading “Lede of the Week”
Author Archives: Kit Stolz
Bush Links Obama to Appeasement: What Obama Should Have Said
What Bush said, what Obama said in response (here). Obama concludes: George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the President’s extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel. This is okay, but seems a little mildContinue reading “Bush Links Obama to Appeasement: What Obama Should Have Said”
Graph of the Week
From a just-published study in Nature that divides the globe into cells, and studies the cells for evidence of warming vs. cooling. Surprise, surprise, they find far more warming than cooling. I know this will change the minds of the delayers. It’s another $32 study, but this one looks like a doozy: may have toContinue reading “Graph of the Week”
Critical Habitat for Polar Bears Disappearing, WSJ Shows
A tough story from Wall Street Journal tries to strike a balance in discussing the listing of the polar bear as a threatened species. The first two graphs: Visitors to some of the oil fields that fringe Alaska’s Beaufort Sea get this rather disturbing warning before venturing out into the Arctic cold: Look carefully underContinue reading “Critical Habitat for Polar Bears Disappearing, WSJ Shows”
You Don’t Know What You’re Talking About: Chris Matthews Nails Right-Wing Radio Host
It’s long but fascinating: a right-wing radio host named Kevin James is ever so patiently broken down on the air and revealed to know nothing.
A Mote of Dust, Suspended in a Sunbeam
Carl Sagan’s great piece on the "pale blue dot" where we have lived and will live; yesterday, today, and tomorrow. (h/t: Dot Earth)
Enjoying the May Grey
Forecasts say it won’t last much longer this week, with interior valley temps in SoCal expected to climb into the 80’s and even the 90’s by Wednesday. (Some uncertainty remains in the forecast, but a high is expected to build that will end the onshore flow, I regret to report.) Enjoy it while it lasts,Continue reading “Enjoying the May Grey”
Deserts Far Better Carbon Sink Than Expected
Some actual good news today, from a research team at one of this countries premier climate research centers, the Desert Research Institute, which reports that unspectacular desert plants may be far better at taking CO2 out of the atmosphere than previously thought. The annual removal of the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere was upwards ofContinue reading “Deserts Far Better Carbon Sink Than Expected”
The Black Swan vs. Power Law
Much talk this year about Nicholas Taleb’s Black Swan. (For short and long — but remarkably lucid — discussions of the concept, from a completely non-mathematical perspective, take a look at this excellent introduction from Grumpy Old Bookman.) Most of the coverage of the concept has been laudatory, so it’s useful to hear a discouragingContinue reading “The Black Swan vs. Power Law”
Democrats Poised for November Landslipe, Economic Model Predicts
Krugman runs the numbers and concludes: Right now, GDP is flat (falling in the monthly estimates); Bush has a negative net approval of 30 percent or more; and people are tired of Republicans. So it ought to be a smashing Democratic victory. When I plug current numbers into the Abramowitz model (making a guess aboutContinue reading “Democrats Poised for November Landslipe, Economic Model Predicts”
Kit Stolz 