Category Archives: Current Events

Irony 101: Chinese Made 'Free Tibet' flags

Now days everything is made in China – included anti-China 'Free Tibet' flags.  

The BBC reported today that a factory in Guangdong (ie. somewhere in Asia) received an order for several thousand of the flags for an oversea company. The factory management and worker thought they were just a 'colorful flag' – given that the 'Free Tibet' flag is banned in China, it's not surprising that the workers didn't recognize them.

The house of cards came down when some of the workers saw the flags used to protest the Olympic torch.  They, in turn, told the state police – who confiscated all the remaining flags.

This begs the question: did the company who placed the order do so on purpose as some kind of practical joke?  Or where they just that stupid?  I guess we've never know…..

Oh – and who get's to foot the bill for materials and work done?  Unfortunately, I'm visioning some poor factory workers getting the shaft…

Dogs for Rent

You love dogs – but you live in a small apartment or are never home more then a hour or two…. What do you do?  Live a live alone or get a dog who will degrade into a life of boredom and little love?

If neither choice sounds good, try renting a dog.

Flexpetz is a shared dog company that allows you to rent a dog for a few hours or days. This way you can enjoy the companionship of a four-legged creature why you run through the parks or mountains with out having to worry about what your friend is doing all day while you're in the office.  

Granted you have to live in New York City, Los Angeles or London…

 


The BBC recently ran an article about Flexpetz as it opened it's first rent-a-pet location in London. The comments to this story was interesting… running from horror to straight-hate mail.  It seems that no one liked the idea of renting a dog – apart from the folks quoted in the article.

I don't really have a view right now, beyond thinking that it would have to be a certain type of dog to handle all those 'owners'.  I don't know…. I have mixed feelings. What say you?

Why I Left Greenpeace

The Wall Street Journal just published one of the best articles on the dangers of the environmental movement I've ever read. It was written by Patrick Moore, co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace, who is currently chairman and chief scientist of Greenspirit Strategies.

In the article, Mr. Moore shares how Greenpeace, and the environmental movement as a whole, started from a science background (Mr. Moore holds a Ph.D. in ecology). They opposed nuclear testing and championed the protection of whales based on their "scientific knowledge of nuclear physics and marine biology."

Then things went south.

The directors of Greenpeace no longer had any science background. Instead they were "political activists or environmental entrepreneurs".  Greenpeace "evolved into an organization of extremism and politically motivated agendas."

The tipping point for Mr. Moore was Greenpeace's decision to support a ban on chlorine. In his words:[@more@]

Science shows that adding chlorine to drinking water was the biggest advance in the history of public health, virtually eradicating water-borne diseases such as cholera. And the majority of our pharmaceuticals are based on chlorine chemistry. Simply put, chlorine is essential for our health.

My former colleagues ignored science and supported the ban, forcing my departure. Despite science concluding no known health risks – and ample benefits – from chlorine in drinking water, Greenpeace and other environmental groups have opposed its use for more than 20 years.

This total dis-regard for science highlights the danger of the modern environmental movement. As someone who has become involved in the movement, abet from a Christian perspective, it has been tough to separate the junk-science from the real deal.

There are tons of people out there trying to scare people with semi-factual information – all with a political or personal agenda. Mr. Moore says it best at the end of his article:

We all have a responsibility to be environmental stewards. But that stewardship requires that science, not political agendas, drive our public policy.

I would add that we must also allow the Lord to direct our path and policies. It is His planet after all…

Sub-Prime Worries?

Ever heard of the Glass-Steagall Act? Neither had I until recently – and then it was with an air of ‘ooooo’ * spoken with a tinge of despair *

Here’s why:

The Glass-Steagall Act was past in 1933 following the 1929 stock market crash. The Act split investment and commercial banking into two separate sub-industries. The reason being that one of the main factors behind Black Tuesday was “overzealous commercial bank involvement in stock market investment” (investopedia.com).  

The U.S. Congress passed the Glass-Steagall Act in 1933, which mandated a separation between commercial banks, which take deposits and extend loans, and investment banks, which underwrite, issue, and distribute stocks, bonds, and other securities. (wikipedia.org)

So far so good – the government is trying to do something right…

Then on November 12, 1999, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act was pasted by an Republican congress and signed by President Clinton. This Act officially repealed the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act and “allowed commercial banks to merge with investment banks” (consumerist.com).  The impact of such a decision:

Now, on the one side they could sell mortgages to homeowners, and then invent fancy investment structures which they sold on Wall Street. Because they were “covered” on both ends, banks felt free to sell increasingly dicey mortgages, just so long as another sucker was picking up the garbage. This sucker was picking it up because he had a plan to repackage it and sell it to another sucker, and so on. Eventually we end up with no-doc stated income interest-only option-ARM no money down mortgages being repackaged as “sound investments” being sold as “stable assets” for city pension plans to park their money in. (consumerist.com)

Interesting information, don’t you think?

[@more@]Now, I’m not blaming anyone or any one group for the economic problems we are in right now. Any system build on trillions of dollars of debt is bound to have problems sooner or later…

Personally (as this is my blog Tongue out), what struck me about the Glass-Steagall Act and 1999 repeal –

  • The wisdom of keeping investment and commercial banking industries separate
    • Let the commercial banks focus on personal lending and savings while allowing those in the investment sector to “play” the stock market. Why shouldn’t ordinary people be allowed to have a go on the stock market especially if they know a bit about things like cryptocurrencies? Whilst they may not know how to store cryptocurrencies (wie man Kryptowährungen aufbewahrt in German), they have just as much of a right to do so as any fancy investor.
  • The power of greed
    • It was greed that motivated the commercial banks to lobby the government to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act (ie. they wanted bigger profits)
    • It was greed that helped blind the eyes of some within the government (ie. they wanted re-election funds, kick-backs, or more tax-money from the companies)
  • Government Control
    • While I normal dislike Federal control, I’m beginning to see the value in some control…
    • In an over simplified way, I guess it comes down to whether we want major companies ruling or a large government.  Personally, neither one sounds that good… Undecided

On the upbeat side, I have a job, a house, an awesome family and mortgage rates are falling….  Not to mention, we have an AMAZING God who is in control of EVERYTHING!!!

Come Lord, Come.

The world's first cloned sniffer dogs have begun training in South Korea.

You read the title correctly – South Korea's customs service has paid an Canadian biotechnology company to clone some of it's best sniffer dogs.

Only about 30% of naturally-born sniffer dogs make the grade, but South Korean scientists believe that could rise to 90% using the cloning method.

Source: BBC 

 The cost:

$300,000

I don't know… but it seems to be that you could buy a lot of naturally-born sniffer dogs for that price – and still come out ahead. Undecided

Why did I post this? Besides being a cool story, it's nice to know that there's other governments out there making poor financial choices. Tongue out

This Weeks News #2

I enjoyed gather random news articles last week… so I thought I would do it again. Laughing

Summary:

A trash dump in Brazil is converting "methane produced by rotting trash" into carbon dioxide while selling carbon-credits to European companies.

Comments:

At first glance, it seems that the dump is doing more harm as it's releasing carbon dioxide into the air. However, it turns out that methane is 21 times more damaging then carbon dioxide….. hmmmm…. I guess we should all stop eating beans.

Summary:

472 silver coins were discovered “while excavating a Bronze Age tomb near Stockholm's Arlanda airport.”

Kenneth Jonsson, a professor of coin studies at the University of Stockholm, has independently dated the hoard to about A.D. 850. "That date is very early, because coin imports [by the Vikings] only start in about [A.D.] 800," Jonsson said. The discovery contains more coins than Sweden's only other known large Viking hoard from the period, which was discovered in 1827, Jonsson added.

Comments:

This reminds me of my Grandparents encouragement to save all fifty-cent pieces as well as other “cool” coins as metal never goes out of style. Of course, most (if not all) modern coins are make from nickel and copper with very little (read none) silver. Sigh[@more@]

Summary:

Vietnam has set up a new Bear Rescue Centre in Tam Dao National Park. Currently, officials are taking care of “four 50kg endangered Asiatic black cubs and two adults that were smuggled either from neighbouring Laos or from southern Vietnam in the past seven months, and confiscated by the authorities.”

Comments:

When I first read the headline, I was surprised – mainly because I don’t associate bears with Vietnam. When I think Vietnam, I think of jungle, snakes, war, jaguars, and other junglee creatures. Bears are reserved for high mountain forest and lakes… like the Rockies. Undecided

I guess I should re-think my bear terrain.

Summary:

EVERY country has moral cretins like John Deaves, who has had two children already by his daughter, Jenny. But it's how we react to such people that shows whether the rest of us are sick, too.

We have taboos – like this one on incest – because we know people are too weak to work out and stick to sensible moral rules. Not without putting the fear of God into them.

If we turn a taboo on incest into a decide-for-yourself, as we do now with so much, we risk turning a lot more children than Jenny and Jackson into victims of their fathers.

No wonder, then, that many parents feel instinctively that 60 Minutes has itself transgressed by trying to prettify and normalise John and Jenny's incest, and rewarding them with clothes and offers of cash.

As I said, every society has its moral monsters. But it's only when a 60 Minutes treats them as normal – and disrespects our most fundamental taboos – that we know we have a problem worse than John Deaves.

Comments:

I would have to agree with the Andrew Bolt, the article author. A lot of immortal things have been billed as “normal” – speeding the decay of society.

Of course, there is that fine line of personal freedom…. sigh. Nothing is every cut and dry. Undecided

Wife Carrying: The Benjaminites Where Ahead of Their Times…

Need a new international sport to follow – try wife carrying. Yelp, the fine art of carrying your wife around on your back is an international sport.

The man carries a woman – preferably his wife – over a 250m obstacle course that includes hurdles, limbo bars, a water course and a sand trap. [news.com.au]

Now, before you go and sling your wife over your shoulders, there are a few things you need to know:

  • "Generally the best wife is the wife of one's own, all the more if she is harmonious, gentle and able to keep her balance while riding on the shoulders of her man."Wife Carrying World Championships website guidelines.
  • The "wife" must weigh at least 49kg (108lb) – if not, weights are added to bring the total weight up to par.
  • Recommend training routines include carrying your wife as part of "daily routines: in the bath, in the supermarket, in the playground or in the body building centre".

Then there is the carrying position – which would you choose?

The Shoulder Carry

[@more@]

The Fireman's Carry

 

The "Estonian"

 

Now you too can join the ranks of Wife Carriers worldwide!!! Go grab a wife (recommended that she's your own) and start training!!! Wife Carrying World Championship are on July 4-6 in Finland… Laughing

 

All pictures are from the Wife Carrying World Championships website

 

Ancient serpent shows its leg

Scientists discover a fossilized snake with two legs.

Researchers at the European Light Source (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, used intense X-rays to confirm that a creature imprinted on a rock, and with one visible leg, had another appendage buried just under the surface of the slab.

Full article here

Hmmm… I seem to remember something about snakes with legs in Genesis…

Well, kinda – it doesn’t say “snake for legs” as such, but it does seem to point that way. For example: Genesis 3:14 say,

So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,
         "Cursed are you above all the livestock
          and all the wild animals!
          You will crawl on your belly
          and you will eat dust
          all the days of your life.

[@more@]Now why would God curse the snake to “crawl on your belly” if it already did so? I’ve always heard that it was because it had legs… Undecided

 

Thoughts?

Robot Dinner?

Forget roller-skates or drive through windows. The Germans have created a restaurant with no servers – except gravity. Yelp. Gravity. They took old Newton's apple and created a suckling pig and carp dinner plate.

The tracks run all the way from the kitchen, high up in the roof, down to the tables, twisting and turning as they go. And down the tracks – in little pots with wheels fixed to the bottom – speeds food….One pot is spiralling down so fast, it looks like an Olympic bobsleigh (but it's only Bratwurst).

To further save cost and efficiently, customers at 's Baggers order using a flat screen monitor. Free email and text messaging allows while you wait…..

I guess it's all well in good – and kinda cool, as long as the bratwurst doesn't go airborne.. Undecided

In the end, I only have one question: will the restaurant doors carry this sign?[@more@] 

 

Partisanship Splits Americans' Views on the Environment

Hmm.. Yeah?! Did you really need a poll to tell you that?

Apparently they did as YouGov/Polimetrix just finished a nationally representative survey for the Economist. I thought some of the graphs where interesting, so I copied them for your viewing pleasure (or displeasure). Wink

What do you think is the most important environmental problem facing the world today?

Partisanship Splits Americans' Views on the Environment graphs

[@more@]

The partisan split was again clear in the perceived seriousness of global warming. How serious a problem do you think global warming is?

Partisanship Splits Americans' Views on the Environment graphs

My thoughts:

I think it's a shame to see such a partisans divide when it comes to the environment. It's almost like the political parties are dictating science to the people. Frown

Some times to be Biblical consistent, you have to be political inconsistent.