Hot Air & Wind

Thursday, Dec. 14, 2006 - 1:45 a.m.

First, a history lesson. Can you tell me the historical significance of this web domain name, http://www.symbolics.com?

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This story appeared on the BBC news site, and I'm infuriated that such a thing became necessary in the first place.

What's the matter with people?

US Scientists Reject Interference

Some 10,000 US researchers have signed a statement protesting about political interference in the scientific process.

The statement, which includes the backing of 52 Nobel Laureates, demands a restoration of scientific integrity in government policy.

According to the American Union of Concerned Scientists, data is being misrepresented for political reasons.

It claims scientists working for federal agencies have been asked to change data to fit policy initiatives.

The Union has released an "A to Z" guide that it says documents dozens of recent allegations involving censorship and political interference in federal science, covering issues ranging from global warming to sex education.

Campaigners say that in recent years the White House has been able to censor the work of agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration because a Republican congress has been loath to stand up for scientific integrity.

"It's very difficult to make good public policy without good science, and it's even harder to make good public policy with bad science," said Dr Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security.

"In the last several years, we've seen an increase in both the misuse of science and I would say an increase of bad science in a number of very important issues; for example, in global climate change, international peace and security, and water resources."

The statement was released at the American Geophysical Union's Fall Meeting. It is an annual gathering of Earth scientists.

Last year, it triggered a major row when a discussion here resulted in the renowned US space agency climate scientist Dr James Hansen later claiming he had come under pressure not to talk to the media on global warming issues.

Michael Halpern from the UCS said the statement of objection to political interference had been supported by researchers regardless of their political views.

"This science statement that has now been signed by the 10,000 scientists is signed by science advisers to both Republican and Democratic administrations dating back to President Eisenhower, stating that this is not business as usual and calling for this practice to stop," he told BBC News.

The Union said is was hopeful that the new Congress taking office in January would show a greater commitment to protecting the integrity of the scientific process.

What? The new Congress butting out of people's lives?

Um. Yeah. That's really gonna happen. ... I hope.

Ever since Joycelyn Elders got drummed out of office for her very sensible stance on masturbation, I've known that the government doesn't give two farts and a martini about our nation's sexual health -- and in fact, probably not our health in general if people are not told the truth about what's going on around them, health and envionmentwise.

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Yesterday afternoon, John came home from work, with a little raincloud over his head, and I asked him what was wrong. "My umbrella broke," he said, "and I don't think it's fixable this time."

Sure enough, his faithful bumbershoot companion had bitten the dust for the last time. It was a Totes, which is really among the best kind of umbrella to own, as far as durability and convenience goes, and we'd even managed to repair it the few times there had been a malfunction.

But all good things end, and there was his dead Totes, looking like a blackbird with a mangled wing.

John was very devoted to his Totes. After dinner, he headed out into the malestrom of holiday shoppers and procured another pair of Totes, one for each of us.

He took them out of the shopping bag, and, closed, they each were the diameter of a rolled up newspaper. "The label says 'Golf Size', but they were on sale!"

Then he took the netting off of the new umbrellas and deployed one of them to see what Golf Size means in the umbrella universe.

All of the other pushbutton umbrellas I have owned go 'whunk click' and it's open.

This new umbrella goes 'Fweee Whirrrrr Skedunk Click Clunk' and takes up about a third of the living room once it is completely deployed.

I've never seen anything this big that wasn't hovering over Tiger Woods or attached to a patio table.

I LOVE IT!!!! These are fucking AWESOME.

Now, the only thing left to do is make sure John has his cell phone's GPS function switched on before he steps outside and opens it on a really windy day.

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There ya go. Have a Thursday!

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