Irregular Times Diaries: Unfit Discussion
In a time of the spring, old paths are obscured and new growth begins.
Irregular Times Diaries: Unfit DiscussionIn a time of the spring, old paths are obscured and new growth begins.
Okay, folks, this is the mantis shrimp information that you’ve all been waiting for without knowing that you’ve been waiting for it. Prepare to run for the hills with your arms waving.
Mantis shrimp are the strongest animals on Earth. No kidding. Okay, a mantis shrimp is not able to exert as much energy as, say, an elephant. No way could a mantis shrimp knock down a tree… as fast as an elephant could.
So what? The elephant is big. Big is easy. Strong is not so easy.
The biggest mantis shrimp is as long as your forearm. However, a mantis shrimp can break through aquarium glass with one blow. How? It’s got a special pair of front legs that are spring loaded with such devastating power that they are as fast as a bullet fired by a small handgun.
A lot of people read that without considering the implications. The bullet fired by a small handgun is fired into the air, a relatively thin material. The mantis shrimp’s claws, on the other hand, have to move through water.
The mantis shrimp unleashes so much force on the objects it smashes that the hammer in its front leg produces a flash of light. You can see this effect in a small video of a stomatopod strike provided by the University of California at Berkeley. The video looks slow, but that’s because it’s displayed at 900 times slower than actual speed. That’s the only way you can actually see what a mantis shrimp attack looks like.
These animals frequent the Chesapeake Bay, among other places, and fishermen call them “thumb busters” because their blow is actually capable of shattering the bone in a human thumb. Dr. Roy Caldwell, the world’s top stomatopod researcher, says that he has seen a mantis shrimp knock the heads off of another mantis shrimp in one brutal blow.
Not all mantis shrimps are like this, of course. Others are slashers. Slasher mantis shrimps have sharp barbs on their front legs, that rip the target to shreds with almost as much power as the smashing blow.
For more on the science behind these attacks, read an excellent article from USA Today on mantis shrimps.
(114 votes, average: 2.99 out of 5)
I was reading through a local account of an antiwar protest this afternoon when I came across a statement by one of the protesters that made my head wag at the stupidity. It seems that five people went into the public office of Republican Congressman Randy Kuhl in Bath, New York, and refused to leave until they were arrested. Their idea was that this sort of thing would convince Randy Kuhl to change his position on Iraq.
One of the people, justified his activism as follows:“Pope Benedict said the Iraq War is unjust and I was acting on that - that’s the message from this action.”
What? The message from this protest is that United States Congressmen should bow down and obey the Roman Catholic Church? The message from this protest is that member whatever the Pope says to do, members of the United States Congress should just obey and do it?
If the message from this protest is that ordinary people should engage in protests because of what Pope Benedict says, then should people conduct protests against blue hats if Pope Benedict declares that blue hats are unjust? Should people protest against Thai food restaurants if Pope Benedict says that they are unjust? Should people boycott the word “also” if Pope Benedict says that it is an unjust word?
I’ve been against the war in Iraq from the start. I’ve protested plenty, and I continue to do my part to try to bring the Iraq mess to an end. However, I do so because of the information that I come upon myself, and the thinking that I do for myself. I don’t oppose the war just because some authority tells me to.
If I opposed the the war in Iraq on the say so of some authority figure, I would be doing nothing more than choosing sides in a conflict. I wouldn’t really have a reason for my action, other than blind obedience.
Blind obedience to political and religious leaders is part of what gets us into war. It isn’t a good path to peace.
Catholic Worker activists who preach at others that we all need to oppose this or that war because Pope Benedict says so aren’t making a strong argument for their cause, and they aren’t doing the antiwar movement any favors either.
(113 votes, average: 3.12 out of 5)
Why be in denial? People who believe in a cause believe in it, act on that belief and the belief can be inferred from their actions.
It should be obvious to everyone, after today, as it has been obvious to many of us since the initial vote on the war, nearly five years ago now, that the Democrats always have favored the war, and there has never been any fundamental change in their attitude.
The vote in February to fund the war, and the current vote, speak louder than words.
Senate approves $150B in war funding
By ANNE FLAHERTY
Thwarted in efforts to bring troops home from Iraq, Senate Democrats on Monday helped pass a defense policy bill authorizing another $150 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
RED DAVE
(119 votes, average: 3.06 out of 5)
October 2, 2007 - Tuesday
1648 days into the war
U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3807
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 28009
IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 74431
(MAXIMUM): 81119
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000
COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $456,478,000,000
Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.
RED DAVE
(111 votes, average: 2.95 out of 5)
I referred to the amazing power of the front legs of the mantis shrimp a couple of days ago. Today, I’m bringing you something of an explanation of how it all works. It’s a video of Sheila Patek from UC Berkeley, giving a lecture on the mechanics of the stomatopod’s striking arms.
Ignore the annoying trailer at the front. From ants to architecture, and some amazing super slow motion video of the mantis shrimp’s attack, it’s all there:
(112 votes, average: 2.64 out of 5)
October 3, 2007 - Wednesday
1649 days into the war
U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3808
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 28009
IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 74432
(MAXIMUM): 81120
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000
COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $456,752,000,000
Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.
RED DAVE
(112 votes, average: 2.87 out of 5)
From Errand to Fatal Shot to Hail of Fire to 17 Deaths
By JAMES GLANZ and ALISSA J. RUBIN
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/03/world/middleeast/03firefight.html?_r=2&bl&ex=1191556800&en=2794af83a6d6c99c&ei=5087&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
BAGHDAD, Oct. 2 — It started out as a family errand: Ahmed Haithem Ahmed was driving his mother, Mohassin, to pick up his father from the hospital where he worked as a pathologist. As they approached Nisour Square at midday on Sept. 16, they did not know that a bomb had gone off nearby or that a convoy of four armored vehicles carrying Blackwater guards armed with automatic rifles was approaching.
RED DAVE
(114 votes, average: 3.03 out of 5)
I’ve made my choice for the 2008 presidential election. I’m voting for Barack Obama for President!
What tipped it for me was this section of a speech that Barack Obama made two days ago:
“Some seek to rewrite history. They argue that they weren’t really voting for war, they were voting for inspectors, or for diplomacy. But the Congress, the Administration, the media, and the American people all understood what we were debating in the fall of 2002. This was a vote about whether or not to go to war. That’s the truth as we all understood it then, and as we need to understand it now. And we need to ask those who voted for the war: how can you give the President a blank check and then act surprised when he cashes it?”
It’s really a plain and simple moral choice between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton did what Barack Obama describes above. She wrote a blank check for Bush to go to war, and now she’s acting all outraged that Bush actually used the powers she gave him.
Barack Obama stood up and opposed the Iraq War when it counted, starting back in 2002. Read Barack Obama’s 2002 antiwar speech. He closed that speech with the following challenge to George W. Bush:
“You want a fight, President Bush? Let’s fight to wean ourselves off Middle East oil, through an energy policy that doesn’t simply serve the interests of Exxon and Mobil. Those are the battles that we need to fight. Those are the battles that we willingly join. The battles against ignorance and intolerance. Corruption and greed. Poverty and despair. The consequences of war are dire, the sacrifices immeasurable. We may have occasion in our lifetime to once again rise up in defense of our freedom, and pay the wages of war. But we ought not — we will not — travel down that hellish path blindly. Nor should we allow those who would march off and pay the ultimate sacrifice, who would prove the full measure of devotion with their blood, to make such an awful sacrifice in vain.”
When has Hillary Clinton ever come close to taking this kind of principled stand? The answer is sadly clear. She hasn’t.
When America needed strong leaders, Barack Obama was strong. Hillary Clinton was weak, and made the easy choice instead of the choice that was right for America.
My choice for President is Barack Obama.
Now, it’s time for a new beginning for America. Read Barack Obama’s new speech from earlier this week.
(110 votes, average: 2.83 out of 5)
October 4, 2007 - Thursday
1650 days into the war
U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3808
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 28009
IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 74689
(MAXIMUM): 81391
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000
COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $457,034,000,000
Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.
RED DAVE
(102 votes, average: 2.87 out of 5)
A few mintues ago, J. Clifford reported on the link between Unity08 and Burson-Marsteller, the public relations firm that represented Blackwater USA, the company that sent mercenaries off to Iraq, where they have been caught shooting civilians without any provocation, not just once, but over and over and over and over again.
Well, here’s another political bombshell from this story - Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, Mark Penn is CEO of Burson-Marsteller. The guy who is telling Hillary Clinton how to win the Democratic presidential nomination is the same guy who heads the firm that told Blackwater how to successfully evade being accountable to Congress!
The Hillary Clinton campaign is linked to Blackwater. Will Hillary Clinton fire Mark Penn? Don’t bet on it.
Unlike Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama has no ties to Blackwater. In 2008, we deserve the real deal. Vote Obama for President!
(115 votes, average: 2.97 out of 5)
For a few years now I’ve had slight tinnitus. For those of you who have never heard of it, tinnitus is a ringing in the ear caused by exposure to unnatural loud noises and it can vary in intensity from just being perceptible in total silence to nearly or totally deafening. The mechanisms that cause this ringing are often torn fibers, called cochlear hair cells, in the eardrum. Its not a romanticized ailment like cancer or AIDS and is thus not well known but it is very prevalent to the point that about one in four people have reported a ringing of the ears. Its not a ringing that stops, and you can’t block it out because its not an external sound.
For years there has been no cure. For the better part of 30 or 40 years my dad has lived with it and has often said that in any given situation it is the loudest thing he can hear. When my ears started ringing after a concert about four or five years ago he told me there was nothing to be done and I’d just have to live with it. Back then I refused to believe there was nothing to be done because he hadn’t followed up on any medical advancements made since he was told about it.
Recently I found that there are things that can be done for it but I’ve also found that the next problem I’m facing is finding a doctor that even knows about tinnitus, even among audiologists. My dad has lived under the impression for so long that nothing can be done that he refuses to believe that nothing still can be done, even after finding a clinic in which they told him things can be done.
Now, a few hours ago I read an article that tells how stem cells can be used to stimulate the growth of cochlear hair cells in mice. With further research this could lead to a possible cure for things like tinnitus. This is an example of how Bush’s continued ban on stem cell research directly affects Americans. Not just a few, but one in four. People might ask me how a stem cell ban will affect me, and I can tell them that it deprives me of my right to silence.
(106 votes, average: 3.15 out of 5)
October 6, 2007 - Sunday
1652 days into the war
U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3812
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 28009
IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 74691
(MAXIMUM): 81404
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000
COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $457,609,021,911
Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.
RED DAVE
(101 votes, average: 3.11 out of 5)
Stomatopods are often described as vicious creatures - for doing the same sort of things that human beings do, smashing and stabbing. Is there a tender side to the mantis shrimp, as well?
Yes, as a matter of fact, mantis shrimp do have a tender spot, under their invertebrate exoskeletons. There are some species of mantis shrimps that practice monogamy.
That’s no small feat for a mantis shrimp, because they tend to be very territorial animals, even in dealing with members of the opposite sex in their own species. Researchers have found that stomatopods need to find a way to selectively turn off their territoriality in order to pursue a more stable strategy for the continuation of the species. Is there a lesson for humans, that family values are strongest when the instinct to establish security over territory is overcome? I’ll leave the final decision to the political scientists, but there is some benefit to consider, I’m tempted to say, in the role of peaceful coexistence for the survival of the species.
Lest we take the anthropomorphic path too far, and declare mantis shrimps to be models of monogamous family values in a progressive sense of open territoriality, it’s important to remember that there are more species of mantis shrimps that are non-monogamous than that are monogamous. Most stomatopods love them and leave them, the better not to get bashed the morning after.
(99 votes, average: 3 out of 5)
October , 2007 - Monday
1654 days into the war
U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3815
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 28093
IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 74691
(MAXIMUM): 81405
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000
COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $458,261,000,000
Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.
RED DAVE
(127 votes, average: 2.98 out of 5)
I want to send a wake-up call to Democrats who are supporting the campaign of Hillary Clinton for President: If you like Wal-Mart, you’ll love Hillary Clinton!
Who helped make Wal-Mart the gigantic, abusive economic and social force it is today? Hillary Clinton, did!
Hillary Clinton spent six years on the Board of Directors of Wal-Mart, promoting its policies of selling cheap products made in sweatshops in countries like China, with outsourced jobs that have been taken from American workers. Hillary Clinton was there at the top of Wal-Mart right when Wal-Mart was engaged in some of its most outrageous union-busting actions.
The Village Voice has called Hillary Clinton’s record on labor “considerably worse than wobbly”. The paper also wrote of Clinton’s connection to the biggest of the big boxes, “Was Hillary the voice of conscience on the board for American and foreign workers? Contemporary accounts make no mention of that. They do describe her as a “corporate litigator” in those days, and they mention, speaking of environmental matters, that she also served on the board of Lafarge, a company that, according to a press account, once burned hazardous fuels to run its cement plants.”
Wake up, Democratic voters! Hillary Clinton is not your friend. She’s the representative of big corporations like Wal-Mart that rip the heart out of the American economy so that a few corporate executives can make a huge amount of money for themselves.
Hillary Clinton’s record at Wal-Mart shows that she is exactly the wrong sort of Democrat for us to nominate in 2008.
Read the Village Voice article.
(114 votes, average: 2.99 out of 5)
October 9, 2007 - Tuesday
1655 days into the war
U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3817
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 28093
IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 74837
(MAXIMUM): 81556
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000
COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $458,434,000,000
Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.
RED DAVE
(113 votes, average: 3.12 out of 5)
A 14-year-old gunman opened fire at fellow students and teachers at a high school at Cleveland, Ohio, Wednesday, wounding four, and was then killed, the mayor of Cleveland said.
The shooting victims include two adult men, both teachers, 57 and 42 years old; and two teenage males, 17 and 14 years old, Mayor Frank Jackson told reporters.
RED DAVE
(98 votes, average: 2.93 out of 5)
October 10, 2007 - Wednesday
1656 days into the war
U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3818
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 28093
IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 74837
(MAXIMUM): 81556
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000
COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $458,705,000,000
Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.
RED DAVE
(104 votes, average: 2.93 out of 5)
October 13, 2007 - Saturday
1658 days into the war
U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3823
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 28171
IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 74983
(MAXIMUM): 81710
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000
COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $459,548,000,000
Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.
RED DAVE