Rush Declares Fred Thompson The Republicans True Conservative

Based on last nights debate, Rush has declared Fred Thompson the Republicans True Conservitive Presidential Candidate, and here is why, from Fred's Blog, Rush Limbaugh: Fred is the True Conservative:

Rush Limbaugh said something to the effect that there was only one true conservative at last night’s debate, and that was Fred Thompson. Here’s a report from RedState:

On today’s Rush Limbaugh program, Rush made a very interesting observation. Rush stated that of the top 5 Republicans running for the presidency, only one was a true conservative. Rush then stated that the conservative was Fred Thompson. He pointed out that Huckabee, Romney, and Guiliani all had answers which showed they were moderates. Rush did not even state McCain was a moderate, because anyone who listens to Rush knows his opinion on McCain, and that he does not believe McCain is conservative. Rush does not make an endorsement in any primary, but if Rush is saying Fred Thompson is the only conservative in the race, that is good enough for me.

That’s great news. Rush sees what Americans across the country have seen. Fred possesses the consistent conservative philosophy and ideas that will win the White House next year. On immigration, tax relief, and Social Security reform Fred is leading with bold ideas. He’s not as slick or funny as some of the other candidates, but he’s solid. He says what he’s going to do and he does it.

In order to spread Fred’s consistent conservative message he needs your help. Please contribute so ads can continue to run in the early states. Write letters to the editor talking about Fred’s ideas. And use Phone for Fred to call voters in early states. With your help we can win.

UPDATE: Rush posted the transcript on his website (emphasis mine):

RUSH: It was fascinating to me, as I said, to watch this because it hit me upside the head — even though, as I say, I instinctively knew this — that all of the top-tier candidates, because of these questions… See, there’s always a silver lining in everything. There’s always an upside. Some of you might not think of this as an upside or a silver lining, but the genuine moderate as opposed to conservative aspects of three of the top-tier, four of the top-tier candidates were on full-fledged display last night. There was one candidate who did not display any moderateness or liberalism or have any of his past forays into those areas displayed, and that candidate was Fred Thompson. Now, this is not an endorsement. You know, I don’t endorse during primaries. I just point out: These are things I noticed, and I’ve told you during the course of this one campaign year that one of the things that’s bothering me, is I’m a Reagan conservative, and I believe in conservatism. It’s in my soul and it’s in my heart, and I know it is the best way for us to manage our affairs to ensure the most prosperity for the most, to continue our freedom, to protect our country.

Conservatism sees people and sees potential. Liberalism looks at people and sees victims. Liberalism looks at people and sees incompetence, and, “We gotta help ‘em out and keep ‘em forever dependent so we’ll always have power.” Conservatives don’t want to use the government to empower themselves. They want to get government out of the way to empower other people. So, to me it matters, and we have a campaign now where most of the candidates are not genuine conservatives. They may be saying they are, but in their past they have done some things that are not conservative in any way, shape, manner, or form — and I think a lot of those things are being overlooked even by friends of mine in the conservative media because the obsession is Hillary. “Well, we gotta have somebody who can beat Hillary, and we can’t have the perfect candidate,” and so we gotta make the choice here based on who’s best equipped to win and beat Hillary. I understand that, and whoever the nominee is, I’m going to support them. So don’t misunderstand here. But I don’t like seeing “conservatism” being watered down as the way it’s defined. I don’t want people who are not conservative being said to be representatives of the “new conservatism.” There is no “new” conservatism. There is conservatism, and you either are or you aren’t.

You can be 80%, but it depends on what the other 20% are, and I’m just telling you that last night, it was Huckabee and Rudy and Mitt Romney, because of these questions, who were all faced with the reality — and everybody watching saw it — that they’ve got some governance in their pasts that is not conservative, and this is something that just hit me. While everybody is talking about Fred Thompson, “He’s too lazy. He’s too lackadaisical. He doesn’t seem to have whole lot of energy.” Fine and dandy. I’m not going to argue with people about your perceptions of attitudes and so forth. I will say this. I don’t think anybody would get into this mess running for the presidency, the media and all of these things. You can’t imagine what these people go through. You wouldn’t want to go through it, and I can’t imagine somebody put themselves through it if they really don’t want it.

You know, one of the arguments about Fred Thompson is, “Well, I can’t see the fire in his belly.” Well, he’s got a different personality than the others. We’ll just have to see how all this shakes out. But those are the high points that I took.

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Democracy lives even in Chavez's Venezuela

Democracy lives in Venezuela, as hundred of thousands of every day people take to the streets in Venezuela to protest Chavez's Socialist power grab. I felt if they can take to the streets in the face of Chavez's armed thugs the least I can do spread the word, I hope you read this and spread it on as well.

Since we are not about to prove Chavez correct by intervening in there affairs, no matter how many, including me, wish that we would.

Read this THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS: "Venezuelans cram streets to protest Chavez's referendum to establish socialism":

THE VENEZUELANS SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING AND THEY DON'T LIKE IT:

IHT/AP: Venezuelans cram streets to protest Chavez's referendum to establish socialism

More than 100,000 people flooded the streets of the capital Thursday to oppose a referendum that would eliminate term limits for President Hugo Chavez and help him establish a socialist state in Venezuela.

Blowing whistles, waving placards and shouting "Not like this!" the marchers carried Venezuelan flags and dressed in blue — the chosen color of the opposition — as they streamed along Bolivar Avenue.

No official crowd estimates were available, but opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez said about 160,000 protesters filled the avenue, and thousands more spilled over onto surrounding roads. The rally was among the largest by the opposition in recent years.

"This is a movement by those of us who oppose a change to this country's way of life, because what (the referendum) aims to do is impose totalitarianism," said former lawmaker Elias Matta. "There can't be a communist Venezuela, and that's why our society is reacting this way."

The rally marked the close of the opposition's campaign against the proposed constitutional changes, which will be submitted to a vote Sunday. Chavez plans to lead rallies in favor of the reforms Friday.

• HUGO'S COMRADES - HILLARY, OBAMA AND EDWARDS - WOULD DO THE SAME AS HUGO, GIVEN THE CHANCE.

• THOUGH SINCE HILLARY'S DEBACLE WITH SOCIALIZED HEALTHCARE THEY WOULD DO IT STEALTHILY AND INCREMENTALLY.

DON'T FALL FOR IT. IT'S ONLY A STYLE DIFFERENCE. THE SUBSTANCE IS THE SAME: SOCIALISM.

I wish the Venezuelans Godspeed in the efforts to maintain there democracy, they certainly deserve it.

Update: Chavez Loses Constitutional Vote, Miracles are Real!

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FOXNews.com - Russian Workers Told Where, How to Vote - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

A lot of attention had been played to our "friend" to the South, Senor Chavez, but I definitely feel Russian President Vladimir Putin is much more dangerous, and I don't care what officials may say within the Bush Administration, Putin is not a friend of the American People, or the Russian People for that matter.

Now he is accusing the United States of trying to poison the minds of European Leaders against his efforts to maintain control of the Russian elections, beyond what the Russian Constitution allows.

Check out what the BBC has to say about Putins latest statements concerning Western observers boycotting Russian elections, Putin says US behind poll boycott:

Putin says US behind poll boycott

President Vladimir Putin said the US was trying to discredit the poll

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of pushing Western observers into boycotting Russian elections.

Mr Putin said the goal was to discredit the parliamentary election to be held on 2 December.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has categorically rejected the allegations.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has expressed concern at the treatment of the opposition in Russia.

'Nonsense'

The OSCE's election monitoring unit announced earlier this month that it would not attend Russia's election, saying Moscow had refused to provide visas to its staff.

Our decision did not have the aim to influence the election Urdur Gunnarsdottir, OSCE spokeswoman

The OSCE later said it would send a delegation of European MPs - rather than a full OSCE team - to monitor the vote.

Mr Putin said the boycott decision "was taken on the recommendation of the American state department".

"The aim is to discredit the elections, but they won't achieve their goal," he said.

"We will certainly take this into account with our bilateral ties with this state," he added, referring to the US.

But a spokeswoman for the OSCE in Warsaw, Urdur Gunnarsdottir, called Mr Putin's allegations "nonsense".

"The decision was not made in consultation with any government. It was made on operational, not political grounds," Ms Gunnarsdottir told the BBC.

"Our decision did not have the aim to influence the election."

The OSCE unites 56 member countries from Europe, Central Asia, the US and Canada.

The organisation will be represented by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which, together with the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, is sending about 100 MPs from member countries to Russia to observe the 2 December parliamentary poll.

EU worries

The head of the European Union's executive arm, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, has expressed worries about a weekend crackdown by Russian police on protests by opponents of President Vladimir Putin.

"I was very concerned to see reports of police harassment and arrests of politicians and peaceful demonstrators in Russia in the last two days," Mr Barroso said in a statement.

"The right to free speech and assembly are basic fundamental human rights and I very much regret that the authorities found it necessary to take such heavy-handed action."

Police broke up an opposition rally on Sunday, arresting 150 people in St Petersburg, including opposition leader Boris Nemtsov - who was later freed.

Another opposition figure, former chess champion Garry Kasparov, was arrested at a rally in Moscow on Saturday.

And lo and behold a report of election abuse from within Russia, Tomorrow, I expect to here that President Putin is accusing the U.S. of planting spies to discredit his well planned elections. Check out what Fox News is reporting, FOXNews.com - Russian Workers Told Where, How to Vote:

With the Kremlin determined to see a high turnout in Sunday's election, many Russians say they are being pressured to vote at work under the watchful eyes of their bosses or risk losing their jobs.

They say they also are being told to provide lists of relatives and friends who will vote for United Russia, the party of President Vladimir Putin.

United Russia is expected to win handily. But Putin has turned the parliamentary elections into a plebiscite on his rule, and the Kremlin appears to be pushing for nothing short of a landslide.

The constitution requires Putin to step down as president in May, but with the support of the majority of Russians he could claim a popular mandate to retain power.

"The plebiscite will become a mockery if only slightly more than half of the people vote and if only 60 percent of those vote for United Russia," as the latest opinion polls predict, political analyst Alexei Makarkin said.

In the push to get out the vote, the absentee ballot has become a popular new tool.

A teacher in St. Petersburg said the school administration told staff members to get absentee ballots from their neighborhood polling stations ahead of the election. They are to vote together Sunday at a polling station at the school.

"They didn't tell us necessarily to vote for United Russia, but you can read between the lines," said the teacher, who was willing to give only her first name, Yelena, out of fear of being fired.

Similar accounts have been given by teachers, doctors, factory workers and others around the country. Some have said they were warned they would lose their jobs if they did not comply.

Hundreds of people have called an election hot line to complain about the use of absentee ballots, the Central Elections Commission said in a summary of the complaints posted on its Web site.

Some complaints came from hospital patients, who said they had been threatened with early discharge if they did not produce absentee ballots.

The commission's head, Vladimir Churov, said Tuesday that every effort would be made to prevent voting violations through the use of absentee ballots, but election officials have not discouraged voters from using them.

Non-governmental organizations and opposition political parties also have reported receiving many complaints.

"It is unbelievable. The use of bureaucracy is on an unprecedented scale," said Marina Dashenkova of Golos, an election-monitoring group. "People are complaining that their bosses are forcing them to take absentee ballots and vote for whom they say."

The use of absentee ballots in this way is new, she said, and kills two birds with one stone for the Kremlin: By getting absentee ballots, people are registered as voting even if the votes are never cast, boosting turnout; and when they vote under the supervision of bosses they are likely to vote "correctly."

People also have complained of being required to round up a certain number of votes for United Russia. Yelena, the St. Petersburg teacher, said she was told to compile a list of five relatives or friends.

Vladimir Ryzhkov, a parliament member whose liberal party was barred from the election, said he has received reports from his home district in Siberia that government agencies have been told to make sure all employees and their family members vote.

"They want to be legitimate in the public eye and that's why they are pressuring everyone to vote," Ryzhkov said on Ekho Moskvy radio. "Even if people come and vote for parties that are opposed to the ruling party, their votes will still raise the legitimacy of the elections."

Much of the pressure appears to be on teachers, doctors and others on the government payroll. But some company owners also have shown an eagerness to get out the vote.

A 23-year-old manager at the Moscow grocery store chain Sedmoi Kontinent said her company was putting strong pressure on her and colleagues to get absentee ballots and vote at company headquarters.

"It's pure pressure. They are saying, 'We are not forcing you, we are asking you, but if not, you will show your disloyalty to your company,'" said the woman, Anna, who declined to disclose her last name out of fear of being fired.

The pressure to get out the vote starts with Russia's more than 80 governors, most of whom are United Russia members. The orders, whether explicit or just implied, are then passed to government agencies, companies, hospitals and schools.

"For them to ensure a decent turnout and the necessary percentage of the right vote is not a referendum for or against the president but a question of either signing their own prison sentence or being able to continue to live peacefully and remain governor," the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta wrote.

A lot has been written about George Washington, and his decision to leave the office of President for the good of the country, Looks like President Putin is no George Washington, he has fallen for the temptation that George Washington thankfully resisted, at a similar time in the history of our country.

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Hillary Versus Oprah, let the blood letting begin...

Redstate has a very entertaining post that would be funny if it wasn't so true. I bet he is right about the hit piece on Oprah, let the blood letting begin....

Check out Redstate - NY Times to Mind-numbed Housewives: Pay No Attention to the Judas Oprah. Solidarity Sisters!:

Does anyone know if Oprah woke up today with a horse head in her bed? It's been 24 hours and it's already getting ugly.

Patrick Healy of the New York Times, no doubt first forced to watch the Vagina Monologues to get in touch with his inner female before writing this, has fired the first shot at The Oprah on behalf of The Clintons.

Message: women are still alive who didn't have the right to vote. You must stick with the woman so that these old women can finally see one of their own in the White House.

“I told her that my grandmother was the first person in town to vote, and my mother was the second,” said Mrs. Smith, who was born three months before the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920. “And I told her I was born before women could vote, and I want to live long enough to see a woman in the White House.”

Since then Mrs. Smith’s story has become a grace note in Mrs. Clinton’s stump speech. At the same time, the many other elderly women who turn out for Clinton campaign events have become welcome set pieces, visibly demonstrating the candidate’s effort to highlight her sex and her overtures to female voters, whom the campaign is counting on to propel her to the Democratic presidential nomination.

I wish I could insert barf noises into this post.

Read on . . .

Seriously, this is the Clinton message against The Oprah -- it's more important that we get a woman elected than a black man because, well, there are still women alive who lived before women's suffrage. Solidarity sisters! Housewives unite! Pay no attention to the suffrage of African-Americans. Now is *our* turn.

That's really rather pathetic.

Lest you think this is an objective piece, Mr. Healy pulls out the trademarked practice of presenting the negative to show the positive in an effort to appear fair and balanced. After spending 755 words explaining to American housewives the world over that they must vote for Mrs. Bill Clinton despite what The Oprah tells them, he throws in 124 words of "not all women will vote for her just because she's a woman" and then ends with 48 more words on how all respectable housewives will ignore The Oprah and vote for Mrs. Bill Clinton:

Mrs. Smith, the senator’s touchstone in Iowa, said she heard doubts about Mrs. Clinton from some of her Republican friends but did not care much.

“A lot of them believe a woman’s place is by the cookstove,” Mrs. Smith said. “But I think Hillary’s a very capable girl.”

I say within two weeks there'll be a hit piece on Oprah in the New York Times.

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Finally Something I Believe From Tehran

After worrying for the last couple of days about tiny robots using me for food. I think I found something might help, a nice long dose of Beethoven's third might just be what the doctor ordered. Studies have been saying this for years, so it must be true, check out the PsyBlog - Depression Lifted by Beethoven Piano Sonatas:

The gigantic annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience is currently drawing to a close in San Diego, California with a reported 30,000+ neuroscientists in attendance. One study catching the eye of Scientific American reporters is from researchers at Alzahra University in Tehran:

...a group of researchers, noting that music therapy has already been shown to reduce pain, improve sleep quality, and improve mood in cancer patients undergoing therapy and multiple sclerosis patients, wondered if music might alleviate depression as well. It does. They took 56 depressed subjects, had them listen to Beethoven's 3d and 5th piano sonatas for 15 minutes twice a week in a clean, otherwise quiet room -- and saw their depression scores on the standard Beck Depression Scale go up significantly. [I'm sure he means down - otherwise their depression is worsening!]

By all accounts depression is not the only condition Iranian researchers have been targeting with the healing power of music. They have also been investigating its use in substance abuse, Alzheimer's, anxiety and strokes.

Finally something I actually believe coming out of Tehran, I knew there had to be something.

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Three Polls, Two Days, Two Totally Different Results. Is Hillary Ahead? Behind?

How can three different polls released by reputable posters over a two day span come up with two totally different results???

First Yesterdays poll from Zogby, finds Hillary trailing all five top Republicans. Check it out, Yahoo! News - New poll shows Clinton trails top 2008 Republicans:

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton trails five top Republican presidential contenders in general election match-ups, a drop in support from this summer, according to a poll released on Monday.

Clinton's top Democratic rivals, Barack Obama and John Edwards, still lead Republicans in hypothetical match-ups ahead of the November 4, 2008, presidential election, the survey by Zogby Interactive showed.

Clinton, a New York senator who has been at the top of the Democratic pack in national polls in the 2008 race, trails Republican candidates Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, John McCain and Mike Huckabee by three to five percentage points in the direct matches.

In July, Clinton narrowly led McCain, an Arizona senator, and held a five-point lead over former New York Mayor Giuliani, a six-point lead over former Tennessee Sen. Thompson and a 10-point lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Romney.

She was not matched against the fast-rising Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, in the July poll.

The results come as other national polls show the race for the Democratic nomination tightening five weeks before the first contest in Iowa, which kicks off the state-by-state nomination battles in each party.

Some Democrats have expressed concerns about the former first lady's electability in a race against Republicans. The survey showed Clinton not performing as well as Obama and Edwards among independents and younger voters, pollster John Zogby said.

"The questions about her electability have always been there, but as we get close this suggests that is a problem," Zogby said.

Obama, an Illinois senator, and Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, both hold narrow leads over the Republican contenders in the hypothetical 2008 match-ups.

"It all points to a very competitive general election at a time when many people think the Democrats are going to win the White House," Zogby said.

The poll of 9,355 people had a margin of error of plus or minus one percentage point. The interactive poll surveys individuals who have registered to take part in online polls.

Now today two polls from Gallup and Opinion Research show Hillary beating the same repbublican yesterday's poll say she was losing to. From FOXNews.com - Gallup Poll Shows Clinton Leading All GOP Candidates, Obama Holding Competitive Edge:

A recent Gallup poll testing hypothetical general election match-ups showed Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama edging out most of their potential Republican rivals in 2008.

The poll, conducted of 897 registered voters from Nov. 11-14, gave Hillary Clinton, who is leading the Democrats in most national polls, an advantage over everyone in the GOP field.

The hypothetical race was closest between Clinton and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Clinton and Arizona Sen. John McCain. The poll gave Clinton a 5-point edge in a match-up with Giuliani, 49 percent to 44 percent. In a race with McCain, Clinton received 50 percent, McCain received 44 percent.

Click here to see the Gallup poll.

The New York senator held a much stronger lead over former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. She held a 53-40 point edge over Thompson in the poll and a 54-38 point lead over Romney.

The results were similar to those in a FOX News-Opinion Dynamics poll taken at nearly the same time, Nov. 13-14, of 900 registered voters. Head-to-head match-ups in the general election showed Clinton with a 47-43 lead over Giuliani, a 49-40 lead over Thompson and a 50-37 lead over Romney. However the poll showed McCain, with 45 percent, nipping at Clinton's heels, trailing her by just one point.

In the Gallup survey, Clinton's predominance over the GOP candidates remained about the same as it was in a similar poll conducted in June and July. But her lead over Thompson bloomed from 3 to 13 points in the latest poll.

Obama, too, held a lead over most Republican candidates. The poll showed him in a 45-45 point tie with Giuliani. But in a match-up with McCain, the Illinois senator got 47 percent to McCain's 44 percent.

Like Clinton, Obama held stronger advantages against Romney and Thompson, 52-35 and 51-38 respectively.

Though the Democratic frontrunners appear to at least be competitive with Giuliani and McCain — GOP candidates considered to have broad appeal across party lines — their leads still fall within the poll's 4-point margin of error.

Either one, two, or all three of the pollsters don't know what they are doing or if they do someone is presenting false information to the American public in hopes of effecting the election.

There is definitely some truth to the sayings "Figures Lie and Liars Figure" and "The Only Poll that Counts is the Final Poll".

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Risks of Nanotechnology, It's closer than you think!

Nothing gets me going more that the thought of someone putting together a self replicating machine that is capable of using me for parts. And if you think I'm solidly in some science fiction dreamland then you haven't been keeping up with what these guys have achieved in the last few years here are a couple of articles that will help catch you up.

UPI. com - Nanotech safety worries scientists:

A U.S. survey suggested that human health and environmental impacts of nanotechnology are a bigger worry for scientists than for the public.

Conducted by Professor Dietram Scheufele of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Elizabeth Corley of Arizona State University, the telephone survey of U.S. households and a sampling of 363 leading U.S. nanotechnology scientists and engineers revealed those with the most insight into nanotechnology are unsure what health and environmental problems might be posed by the technology.

"Scientists aren't saying there are problems," said Scheufele. "They're saying, 'We don't know.'"

He said the findings are in contrast to past controversies involving new technologies, such as nuclear power and genetically modified foods, which scientists perceived as having lower risks than did the public.

At the root of the information disconnect, said Scheufele, is that nanotechnology is only now starting to emerge on the nation's policy agenda. Amplifying the problem is that the news media have paid little attention to nanotechnology and its implications.

"In the long run, this information disconnect could undermine public support for federal funding in certain areas of nanotechnology research," said Corley.

The report appears in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Responsible Nanotechnology: Risk Perception:

Commenting on a recent study of nanotechnology risk perception, our friend Michael Berger at Nanowerk writes:

The benefits of new technologies, whether they are new medical treatments, an innovative approach to farming or new ways of generating energy, almost always come with some new risks as well. In the emerging stages of a new technology, experts and the public generally differ in their perceptions of risk.

While this might be due to social and demographic factors, it is generally assumed by scientists who conduct risk research that experts' risk assessments are based more strongly on actual or perceived knowledge about a technology than lay people's risk assessments. Nevertheless, whether the risks are real or not, the public perception of an emerging technology will have a major influence on the acceptance of this technology and its commercial success. If the public perception turns negative, potentially beneficial technologies will be severely constrained as is the case for instance with gene technology.

It is not surprising that a new study found that, in general, nanoscientists are more optimistic than the public about the potential benefits of nanotechnology. What is surprising though, is that, for some issues related to the environmental and long-term health impacts of nanotechnology, nanoscientists seem to be significantly more concerned than the public.

The following chart (from the University of Wisconsin-Madison) illustrates the different levels of risk perceived by nanotech scientists versus the general public:

What I think this shows is that scientists and the public are talking about two different kinds of nanotechnology. Health-related risks and pollution issues are both more typically associated with current and near-future nanoscale technologies, while concerns about privacy erosion, economic disruption, and a new arms race are more often connected with longer-term advanced nanotechnology, i.e. molecular manufacturing.

So, the differing responses are not really a surprise at all, if it's understood that each group is considering risks related to technology levels that are vastly different in terms of power and potential.

I'm not reassured! And I don't quite know what to do about it.

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Energy Victory (Over OPEC) Makes A Lot Of Sense

One of the U.S.'s top aerospace engineers and technical writers has written a book about how to solve our energy crisis. And it is no wonder he is a engineer and writer and not a politician because his solution would do one thing before anything else, namely anger nearly everyone who currently has anything to with the energy industry.

But the biggest problem with what he has written is that he is probably more right that he his wrong. He is none other than Robert Zubrin and his new book, Energy Victory makes the case that OPEC oil cartel, including the Saudi's are not our friends and through production quotas they keep the price of oil far higher than its fair market value and even farther away from the actual cost of production. This funnels vast sums of money to governments and organization bent on our destruction, and this of course requires us to fight, die and spend money to counter these same illicit governments and organizations.

Sounds about right to me, then he suggests we make cutting OPEC off a national priority not anyway possible, but preferably in a socially responsible way, which doesn't include using food crops to make alcohol.

I think he strays from the reservation here, I say do it however it can be done cheapest, after all we are a capitalist country. Coal, solar, geothermal, nuclear, wind, or biofuel, I don't care how it is done just make sure it is the most efficient way to do it.

But all in all the book looks to be a good read even if you don't agree with all its conclusions, for a more in depth review check out The Register - Top US engineer in piss-off-everybody car fuel solution for a more in depth review of Robert Zubrin new book, Energy Victory.

True is we do need to be energy independent in the worst way, and we are feeding our own destruction. We have to have the foresight to elect politicians that are smart enough to get us to energy independence and who will make it the absolute top national priority.

All lot of the other problems we face as a nation, such as terrorism, foreign policy, trade deficit, falling dollar values would all go away if we weren't dependent on OPEC.

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Nuclear Revival in Europe, Is the U.S Next?

I wrote a post a couple of months ago predicting a possible Nuclear Power Revival in the U.S. now a well respected scientific blogger reports on the Nuclear Revival in Europe, not that they needed one, the majority of electric power generated in France in particular is Nuclear, and they are not alone.

Nuclear power is the cheapest alternative to coal based power generation. So if the mandate is to lower CO2 emissions then Nuclear power generation is the way to go.

Here is the post from Responsible Nanotechnology: Nuclear Revival in Europe:

It seems inevitable.

Citizens and leaders all over the world are wrestling with the dual challenges of: 1) a strong demand for cost-effective energy; and 2) a desire to switch away from fossil fuels. One possible solution is nuclear energy. Although it's been out of fashion in the Europe and the United States for a number of years, that could change:

Recent news reports from Europe suggest that a nuclear revival in the European Union is increasingly likely. Soaring hydrocarbon prices and lasting uncertainties regarding hydrogen-based solutions are making the combination between civil atomic power and alternative energy a promising prospect for governments in the European Union.

That's from the Power and Interest News Report, an indispensable source for useful information and opinions on international issues. Here's more:

The bottom line is that as environmental concerns rise in the European Union, and since European states have made ecology a top priority, the above mentioned dynamics are getting stronger: the more that CO2 emissions and global warming become urgent issues, the more atomic energy will be viewed through a new light.

In fact, because China, India, Brazil, and other countries are rapidly emerging as new economic giants in the world, hundreds of millions of people will soon need electricity. As a consequence, great powers will need to decide whether new energy will be provided by hydrocarbons or by other methods, such as nuclear energy.

While the European Union is known to have had difficulties in formulating a unitary energy policy, it is likely that it will soon be called to take a decision on nuclear energy at a continental level. It is also almost certain, in light of recent surveys, that more and more European citizens will be ready to accept a return to nuclear power.

What do you think? Will the the U.S. follow Europe's lead and reconsider their refusal to build more nuclear power plants? Should they?

While the Green lobby in Europe is larger and better organized than the Greenies here abouts, Our Greenies are far more rabid against Nuclear Power than those in Europe. Further the European Greenie lobby has do contend with a well established, nuclear power industry with a great safety record.

Until proven wrong, I'm still betting that the Greenies in the U.S. will take a cleaned up coal fired plant over a Nuclear one.

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Miracles Can Happen, Poll Show Chavez's Constitutional "Reforms" Losing!

In a remarkable turn of events, Reuters, is reporting that Chavez's Constitutional "Reforms" are currently losing. I have to admit that any such pole has seen the light of day in Chavez's Venezuela. Perhaps Chavez's armed thugs are taking the weekend off ahead of next weekends election, Sunday Dec 2.

But as they say the only pole that matters is the final one, a week from tomorrow at the poles, and you can bet that Chavez's thugs will make their presence known. If the today's poll holds up, then I well declare a major victory for freedom and democracy, and America will have to respect the courage of the Venezuelan people, and their thirst for freedom.

Reuters - Poll says Chavez Loses Venezuela Referendum Lead:

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has lost his lead eight days before a referendum on ending his term limit, an independent pollster said on Saturday, in a swing in voter sentiment against the Cuba ally.

Forty-nine percent of likely voters oppose Chavez's proposed raft of constitutional changes to expand his powers, compared with 39 percent in favor, a survey by respected pollster Datanalisis showed.

Just weeks ago, Chavez had a 10-point lead for his proposed changes in the OPEC nation that must be approved in a referendum, the polling company said.

Despite the swing, company head Luis Vicente Leon said he did not rule out a comeback by the popular president.

Chavez has trounced the opposition at the polls on average once a year and can deploy a huge state-backed machinery to get out the vote, Leon said.

Still, the survey was the latest blow to Chavez. He has suffered a series of defections over his plan, including an ex-defense minister who had restored him to power after a brief 2002 putsch but who called Chavez's reforms a new "coup."

"The debate over voting 'yes' or 'no' has burst into the very heart of Chavez's support base," Leon said in an interview. "We can see moderate Chavez backers ready to vote 'no' even though they like him."

Saturday's poll was the first Datanalisis survey in the campaign to project Chavez could lose. It also contrasted with the general trend of most other surveys taken earlier this month that have shown Chavez winning amid low turnout and despite widespread skepticism of his proposal.

MORE EXPECTED TO VOTE

Leon said the number of Venezuelans who say they will not vote has shrunk from a majority of voters to around 40 percent -- a change expected to boost the turnout of the opposition.

Chavez's plans also include establishing the No. 4 U.S. oil supplier as a socialist state and could allow him to pick favorites over regional elected officials, control currency reserves and censure the media if he declares an emergency.

The anti-U.S. leader stresses moves such as reducing the work day and expanding a pension system to street vendors.

Datanalisis is one of the most prestigious pollsters in Venezuela because of its record of predicting results of national votes. It conducts surveys on public opinion for businesses and government, and opposition-aligned groups.

The survey of 1,854 people, first published in the El Universal newspaper, was taken November 24-20 and had a margin of error of 2.3 percentage points.

Chavez won a landslide re-election against a fragmented opposition a year ago. He won with overwhelming support among poor Venezuelans who benefit from his free spending of record oil income on schools, clinics and subsidized food.

But he now faces an different political landscape.

A student movement has emerged to lead the anti-Chavez campaign, amplifying the condemnation from traditional opposition parties, the Roman Catholic church, rights groups and the defectors who say the reforms are authoritarian.

Chavez, who refuses to scrap term limits for other officials, would have to leave office in 2013 without the law change.

He urged Venezuelans to see vote as a referendum on him.

"It's black and white -- a vote against the reform is a vote against Chavez," he said in a state television interview.

But this year, Chavez has hurt his standing by shutting an opposition TV station and failing to end some food shortages.

Amanda Aguilar, 17, was in line at 5:30 a.m. waiting for a food store to open to buy her single, rationed carton of milk.

The student from Chavez's home-state of Barinas hopes the referendum will force him to change or force him out of office.

"All this lining up ends come December 2," she said.

Venezuela News and Views also urges patriots to get out and vote:

I do not know whether this serves to convince people to go to vote or not, but it seems to me that it makes a case that by going to vote NO, no matter how much cheating Chavez is already doing, we have a better chance to make our point that the new constitution is inviable. In fact we even have a chance to stop it! If we stay home we know that even with a 20% of Venezuelans Chavez will try to impose it anyway if he has enough spread, which he is sure to get if we stay home.

Besides, if you stay home you relinquish any right you have to say that your vote was stolen. It is that simple.

PrairiePundit: Poll shows Chavez "reforms " losing:

The poll may be an outliers since it is so different from the others. But even if it is a valid snapshot of the voters, I don't think Chavez will allow a vote count that shows him actually losing. He is too invested in his constitutional coup to permit failure. If he can not win honestly, I expect him to use other means to make it look like he won. He is a blustering bully who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants.

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Another Clinton Foreign Donor Scandal, this time its the Indians.

Yet another Clinton Donor Scandal, and take in their entirety, I'm starting to see a pattern, the first Donor Scandal of this round of Clinton donor election scandals involved the Chinese businessmen, this one involves Indian businessmen. What is in it for them? What do they want in return for their support?

In Bill's era, it turned out the Chinese wanted and got technological help in aiming there missiles, prior the getting Bill's assistance, while they could build intercontinental missiles, their aim was so bad that they had no hope of actually hitting what they aimed at.

Fast forward to present time and the Chinese have gotten so good a aiming their missiles that not only can they put satellites into orbit exactly where they want, they can know shoot down satellites in orbit.

A talent that earned them a visit from Sec. Of Defense Gates last week to discuss this new found talent, but from all reports the Chinese were not interested in discussing it, so what they intend to do with their new found capability is left to our imaginations.

Now in Hillary's era, I doubt that they are needing any more help with their missiles thanks to Bill. So what do they want. I'm betting that since both China and India are major players in our governments H-1B lottery, they are betting that Hillary's election would mean a major expansion in their share of the H-1B jackpot. Oh, one more point in support of my contention, Vinod Gupta's firm InfoUSA is already one of the nations largest users of H-1B applications.

Check out Indian Firms Present an American Face:

"The U.S.-India Political Action Committee has defended outsourcing vendors, most of whose employees are in India, although the group represents Indian-Americans. A profile of Mrs. Clinton on the group's Web site notes that "even though she was against outsourcing at the beginning of her political career, she has since changed her position." In an internal memo leaked in June, staff members from the Obama campaign contended that Mrs. Clinton's ties to wealthy Indian businesspeople had made her favor outsourcing. The memo cited the Clintons' ties to Vinod Gupta, an Indian entrepreneur who founded InfoUSA, one of the United States' largest brokers of information on consumers. Mr. Gupta, a major fund-raiser and benefactor for the Clintons who was nominated for ambassadorships by President Bill Clinton, was detailed in the Obama memo because his company outsources to India and he has vocally supported the practice." (NOTE) Hillary Clinton is the co-chair of the "Friends of India" Caucus in the U.S.Senate. Download complete article in PDF format.

More...

Take a look at Gateway Pundit: Surprise! Another Clinton Donor Scandal... This Time With Links to CNN (Big Update!!)

This family picture was taken before Vinod Gupta's firm InfoUSA bought Opinion Research
Corporation a marketing firm which conducts polling for CNN. (Theodore's World)

A lawsuit filed by shareholders of InfoUSA last year claims that Clinton supporter Vinod Gupta abused company assets and resources which he spent lavishly on Bill and Hillary Clinton.

This news that there will be an SEC investigation into InfoUSA was announced yesterday.
The Washington Post reported on the SEC investigation:

The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an investigation into InfoUSA, a Nebraska company that used corporate funds to fly Hillary Rodham Clinton around the country, and one of only two companies to put Bill Clinton on its payroll after he left the White House.

The firm, a major provider of database-processing services, disclosed little about the nature of the probe in a filing to shareholders released yesterday.

The two-sentence filing said only that InfoUSA received a letter last week "informing the Company that the SEC is conducting an informal investigation . . . and is requesting the voluntary production of documents relating to related party transactions, expense reimbursement, other corporate expenditures and certain trading in the Company's securities."

Two sources familiar with the company's troubles suggested that investigators would focus their attention on executives' use of company money to feather their own nests. Gupta has been a major financial supporter of the Clintons since he met the president in the mid-1990s. Gupta and his company donated $1 million to help underwrite a lavish year 2000 New Year's Eve celebration at the White House and on the Mall.

He paid the former president $200,000 to deliver a speech to InfoUSA executives in Papillion, Neb., and signed the former president to a $3.3 million consulting deal. For the past four years, both Clintons have used Gupta's corporate plane, flying to Switzerland, Hawaii, Jamaica and Mexico -- about $900,000 worth of travel, The Post reported in May.

That's not all...
The Clinton's were taking funds from a company that makes a profit off of bilking senior citizens:

The company has come under scrutiny not only for Gupta's spending habits. The Times reported last week that customer data sold by the company had been used by thieves to bilk older people. The company said it would take steps to assure such a sale would not occur again.

Dick Morris had much more on the Clinton's ties to the scandal-plagued firm.

Prairie Pundit has more on this latest Clinton donor scandal.

UPDATE: Sorry to slime your Thanksgiving but check this out on the latest Clinton shenanigans...
The Blotter reported earlier this week that the Clinton's were selling the Clinton library donor list to their good pals at InfoUSA:

Three years after the William J. Clinton Presidential Library opened its doors, the list of donors who helped the former president build his $165 million complex remains a secret from the public.

Yet the Blotter on ABCNews.com has learned that the Clinton Foundation sold portions of the list through a data company headed by a longtime friend and donor.

"The fact that they've sold the list and then turned around and said that these names must be kept anonymous completely undercuts their argument," said Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington, D.C.-based government watchdog group that tracks the influence of money in politics.

An employee of Walter Karl, a subsidiary of the data company InfoUSA, told ABCNews.com that the company made a list of more than 38,000 donors to the Clinton presidential library available for sale to foundations and other nonprofit groups from June 2006 to May 2007. A spokesman for the company would not say how the profits from the sale of the partial list were distributed.

It is interesting... The Clinton's won't release information on Hillary's years in the White House but sold library donor information through a shady marketing firm - for a hefty profit.

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They Just Cannot Do It! Arabs Leaders Freak Over Israeli Female Minister Handshake

Looks like know matter how high up they rise in the Arab States Politics, their Arab Leaders still can't get over their early education, that is Jews and Women are Dirty. So when presented with having to shake hands with an Israeli Female Minister the Arab League Ministers are freaking out. The Gateway Pundit has the story in Gateway Pundit: Arabs Freak Out Over Handshake With Israeli Female Minister:

Arabs Freak Out Over Handshake With Israeli Female Minister

The MP's in Bahrain say Ms. Tzipi Livni is "dirty".

The Bahrain Parliament erupted into a shouting match this week after a MP lashed out at Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa for shaking hands with a Jew in New York City.

The following day parliamentarians demanded an apology for the "blood on hands" verbal attack by the foreign minister.
The Gulf Daily reported:

MPs demanded an apology yesterday after Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa accused them of having Palestinian blood on their hands.

An MP, who urged the minister to wash his hands after meeting Israel Foreign Minister Tzipora "Tzipi" Livni, later backtracked saying he was only suggesting that Ms Livni was "dirty".

"I meant Tzipi is dirty and Shaikh Khalid, who is clean, should purify his hands," said MP Nasser Al Fadhala in a statement.

"What he threw at us in his anger, us cleaning our hands of the Palestinian blood, shocked us because our hands are not like the hands of those he has shaken."

Bahrain, of course, is a moderate Arab nation.

More head-shaking handshaking news...
The Saudis agreed to attend the Annapolis Summit next week, but like the Bahrainis, they do not expect to shake hands with the Jews while they are there.

I really have to wonder how they would react to having to shake hands with a Female President, I hope we will never have to find our.

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PrairiePundit: Democrats' denail leaves them desperate for defeat

The PrairiePundit has pointed out and column by the renowned Charles Krauthammer that points out just how wacky the Democrats have gotten when it comes to the war in Iraq.

Isn't it obvious that after being out of power in Congress for more than a decade, and following a election where they regained power by gaining support from change agents from both ends of the table. They feel that they have to effect change even if they know it is the wrong thing to do, they can't allow the Republicans to get credit for freeing 50 million Iraqis and Afghans. They have to deny reality, and hope that the media will deny it as well, not a real good state to be in.

Next years election will be something to behold...

Here is PrairiePundit: Democrats' denail leaves them desperate for defeat:

Charles Krauthammer:

It does not have the drama of the Inchon landing or the sweep of the Union comeback in the summer of 1864. But the turnabout of American fortunes in Iraq over the past several months is of equal moment -- a war seemingly lost, now winnable. The violence in Iraq has been dramatically reduced. Political allegiances have been radically reversed. The revival of ordinary life in many cities is palpable. Something important is happening.

And what is the reaction of the war critics? Nancy Pelosi stoutly maintains her state of denial, saying this about the war just two weeks ago: "This is not working. . . . We must reverse it." A euphemism for "abandon the field," which is what every Democratic presidential candidate is promising, with variations only in how precipitous to make the retreat.

How do they avoid acknowledging the realities on the ground? By asserting that we have not achieved political benchmarks -- mostly legislative actions by the Baghdad government -- that were set months ago. And that these benchmarks are paramount. And that all the current progress is ultimately vitiated by the absence of centrally legislated national reconciliation.

I can understand Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq, saying that the central government needs to seize the window provided by the surge to achieve political reconciliation. We would all love to have the leaders of the various factions -- Kurd, Shiite and Sunni -- sign nice pieces of paper tying up all the knotty questions of federalism, de-Baathification and oil revenue.

What commander would not want such a silver bullet that would obviate the need for any further ground action? But it is not going to happen for the same reason it has not already happened: The Maliki government is too sectarian and paralyzed to be able to end the war in a stroke of reconciliation.

But does the absence of this deus ex machina invalidate our hard-won gains? Why does this mean that we cannot achieve success by other means?

Sure, there is no oil law. But the central government is nonetheless distributing oil revenue to the provinces, where the funds are being used for reconstruction.

Sure, the de-Baathification law has not been modified. But the whole purpose of modification was to entice Sunni insurgents to give up the insurgency and join the new order. This is already happening on a widening scale all over the country in the absence of a relaxed de-Baathification law.

...

The Democrats are arguing over de jure elements of reconciliation and ignoring the de facto elements that are obvious to anyone who is not willfully ignorant. As Krauthammer points out the oil distribution is happening. Anyone paying attention would also know there is a strong reconciliation effort taking place on a grass roots basis all over the country. The Shia and their tribal leaders are petitioning the Iranians to mind their own business and quit meddling in Iraq. The Sunni and Shia Sheiks have been working with each other on security matters as well as redevelopment matters. If the Iraqi government does not catch up with this new reality, it will be voted out in the next election assuming we stick with the Iraqis long enough to get there.

Victory should not be such a bitter pill to swallow, but by ignoring success, Democrats are making what should be a happy reality all the more difficult for them and their followers to accept. Much of this comes from an ignorance of warfare and the ebbs and flows of battle and from a mindset which rejects the use of force even when it is in our interest.

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Finally, A Movement From The Luney Left I Support

Finally, a Movement from the Loony Left I Support. Toni Vernelli, (shown left) feels the best thing she can do for the planet, is not to have any kids.

Her parents, grand parents, and great grand parents, resource depleting, air polluting, and earth destroying ways end with her, she has done the ultimate carbon reduction, she has undergone sterilization.

And she is not alone, sterilization is a growing movement among the environmental lobby on the far left.

They believe that humans are a disease that has infected the earth which need to be cured, and to a point I have to agree. They, the far left, are disease that has infected the earth and if they want to cure the world by sterilizing themselves I'm all for it.

I've read recently that in Florida fruit fly populations are controlled by releasing so many sterile fruit flies into the wild that mating amongst all the fruit flies proves in effective. Wouldn't it be wonderful if enough of these "sterile lefties" where released into the environment that the left would in fact breed (or not breed) themselves into extinction over next generation, or two ...

In 50 or 60 years, no little Nancy Pelosis and no little Harry Reids, no little Al Gores or no little Barbra Boxers. Only Republicans in Congress and in the White House because Democrats can never muster more than 30% of the vote, and that percentage drops every election all because today's environmental Moonbats decided that the way to save the earth was to have themselves sterilized. Way to go Toni Vernelli and all like you, just say away from us right winged breeders!

Seriously, this really is a movement among the environmental Moonbats, read more about it in The Daily Mail's: Meet the women who won't have babies - because they're not eco friendly.

And THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS: STERILISED UK ENVIRONMENTALIST: BABIES ARE 'SINISTER THREAT TO THE PLANET'

And PrairiePundit: The self sterilization of liberals

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Jackson County Deputy Sheriff Has Close Call With Jacomo Deer

Deer over population is not only bad for the deer, it is dangerous for us humans as well. This week all of the network news outlets covered this amazing video clip from a Jackson County Deputy Sheriff dash cam. What you might not know is that is was taken on Lake Jacomo's West Park Road, just after the Deputy Sheriff turned north on it from Colbern Road, or scarcely a mile from my front door.

Deer Dodges Cop Car

Here is a Google Map of where the video was shot ...

I don't know if it this is the critter that chased my 18 year old daughter and her friend back into our house a few weeks ago, but it could have been.

Fleming Park and Lake Jacomo in particular have suffered from a vast overpopulation of deer for years but because of its location between Lee's Summit and Blue Springs it has been determined to be to dangerous to open to hunters. On any evening, year round, if you take a drive around Lake Jacomo you have at least an even chance of seeing deer, they don't often try to hurdle your car like this one did but you most likely will see deer.

According to the Kansas City infoZine News looks like the Missouri Department of Natural Resources is going to do something about the Deer overpopulation of our parks, they plan on temporary closing State parks so that they can be opened for hunting to help cull out some of the excess deer. For more information about the park closings check out their story, Eight Missouri Parks Will Close Temporarily for Deer Hunts - USA:

Jefferson City, MO - infoZine - By law, state parks are established as wildlife refuges, and hunting is not permitted except under special circumstances. However, these special hunts are being used as a resource management tool because it has been determined that the deer population is too large for the environment of the park and that resources in the park are being damaged.

Special hunts will be conducted at the following parks on the following weekends:

• Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park near Wildwood on Dec. 8-9;
• Crowder State Park near Trenton on Dec. 8-9;
• Cuivre River State Park near Troy on Dec. 8-9;
• Knob Noster State Park near Knob Noster on Dec. 15-16;
• Pershing State Park near Laclede on Dec. 1-2;
• St. Joe State Park in Park Hills on Dec. 8-9;
• Watkins Woolen Mill State Park and State Historic Site near Lawson on Dec. 8-9;
• Weston Bend State Park near Weston on Dec. 8-9.

The hunts will be conducted following guidelines established by the Missouri Department of Conservation, which regulates hunting in the state. Hunters who will be participating submitted special applications this summer for the Department of Conservation's special managed hunts, which are held annually. Hunters were selected through a random computer drawing. Only those hunters who already have a special permit will be allowed to participate in the hunts.

The Department of Natural Resources administers state parks and historic sites throughout Missouri. All other state parks and historic sites, other than the eight mentioned, will not be affected by the hunts.

Lake Jacomo isn't on the list, it's a County Park not a State park, so when driving, especially at this time of year, be careful and watch out for the deer.

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Brain Backup, Where Were You When I Needed You!

Another Grade School dream looks like it's about to become reality. Where was this when I was trying to figure out Calculus...

Fox News has the story in Don't Forget to Back Up Your Brain:

Perfect surrogate memory would be supplemental to, but ultimately as good as, your original memory.

As any Baby Boomer will tell you, Americans have more information to cram into their memories than ever. Yet, as we age, our capacity for recall grows weaker.

But what if you could capture every waking moment of your entire life, store it on your computer and then recall digital snapshots of everything you've seen and heard with just a quick search?

Renowned computer scientist Gordon Bell, head of Microsoft's Media Presence Research Group and founder of the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley, thinks he might be able to do just that.

He calls it a "surrogate memory," and what he considers an early version of it even has an official name — MyLifeBits.

"The goal is to live as much of life as possible versus spending time maintaining our memory system," Bell explains.

It could let you listen to every conversation you had when you were 21 or find that photograph of the obscure date you had on summer vacation.

As Bell says, it would "supplement (and sometimes supplant) other information-processing systems, including people."

MyLifeBits isn't quite there yet, but Bell's nevertheless "gone paperless" for the past decade as part of the project, keeping a detailed, digitized diary that documents his life with photographs, letters and voice recordings.

So that he doesn't miss out on important daily events, Bell wears a SenseCam, developed by Microsoft Research, that takes pictures whenever it detects he may want a photograph.

The camera's infrared sensor picks up on body heat and takes snapshots of anyone else in the room, adjusting itself as available light changes.

Not only does MyLifeBits record your life's digital information, but the software, developed by Bell's researchers Jim Gemmell and Roger Lueder, also can help you retrieve it.

"MyLifeBits is a system aimed at capturing cyber-content in the course of daily life with the goal of being able to utilize it in various ways at work, in our personal life — e.g. finances, family, health and for our future memory," Bell says.

Simply enter a keyword such as "pet," for example, and the search engine will find all available information on your childhood puppy.

It also can run more intricate searches, allowing you to cross-reference all associations linked to certain people or places.

If you're having difficulty remembering where you were and who you were with on a certain day, MyLifeBits would remind you.

And just how much data is needed on a day-to-day basis?

"All the bits that we can that will likely have value for our memory in the near and long-term future, a few bits just for the hell of it," Bell says. "We end up with more bits because we need them for relationships."

Still, is recalling every single detail of an entire lifetime too much? How can anyone guess what's going to be important 20 years from now?

"It is impossible to know what will be required in the future," says Bell. "Furthermore, recording everything allows one item to be used to find another item that may have been created at the same time."

Bell says MyLifeBits could have another important benefit: It may actually improve your real memory.

According to Bell, being reminded of someone in a photograph or screensaver strengthens our recollections.

We constantly are reminded of other events when we delve into our past to find snippets for which we are looking. This reinforces a whole host of links to other memories we otherwise may have forgotten.

But since all this is digitally recorded, what if hackers find it? Couldn't MyLifeBits be a threat to privacy and a boon to identity thieves?

Bell doesn't seem overly concerned.

"MLB introduces no new problems that aren't present in modern computer systems," he said, "except that we present a larger cross-section that makes all the content potentially more valuable."

Additional passwords are being built into the most sensitive documents, he explains.

An even bigger hurdle for the project is cost-efficiency.

The Microsoft team predicts that by 2010, a 1-terabyte (1,000-gigabyte) hard drive will cost less than $300.

That could easily hold all text documents, voice files and photographs of a person's complete life experience — but if it came to video, it would be only enough for four hours per day for an entire year.

On a somewhat smaller level, Sunil Vemuri, co-founder and chief product officer of Hyderabad, India-based QTech, Inc., has been working to develop a "memory prosthesis" that can help people with common, day-to-day memory problems.

QTech's "reQall" service provides a toll-free number that allows clients to use any phone to record reminders of events, appointments or thoughts as and when needed.

It then saves and organizes the recordings and sends daily reminders as needed.

"ReQall is meant for anyone who forgets, for anyone with a day-to-day memory problem," Vemuri says. "The aim of reQall is to provide a long-term service that is available to everyone right now."

Vemuri sees great growth potential for reQall. He wants his team to refine the service to suit users' individual memory needs, whether that involves helping patients remember doctors' appointments, friends remember birthdays or even journalists remember specific quotes.

More ambitious is Vemuri's "What Was I Thinking," a project he worked on while a graduate student at MIT.

That centered around software running on a Compaq iPaq personal digital assistant, similar to a Palm Pilot, which then synced to PCs running Mac OS X, Windows or Linux. It was capable of recording data and using a number of search tools to help the user find forgotten memories, using a range of built-in triggers.

"Many things can serve as good memory triggers: the smell or taste of homemade cooking, the smile on a child's face, a good joke, the roar of the crowd when your sports team scores, etc," Vemuri explained on his MIT Web page.

"In our case, the device records audio from conversations and happenings, analyzes and indexes the audio in an attempt to identify the best memory triggers, and provides a suite of retrieval tools to help the wearer access memories when a forgetting incident occurs."

The device's retrieval tools included an analysis of audio recordings to determine if conversations were heated, calm or humorous and a transcription of audio files to text files by means of a speech-recognition program.

In this way, the text files could be searched for specific words or speech patterns that can trigger those elusive memories.

In the future, some variation on these memory prostheses could change our lives on many levels, from settling a squabble over last week's football scores to assisting an elderly patient remember if she has taken her medication.

We rely on our hard drives for saving our music, photographs, e-mails and videos — so perhaps life-logging software and memory prosthetics are simply the next stage in the evolution of our relationship to the computer.

OK, it's not the capability to download my Calculus textbook I dreamed of, but it is a step in that direction, Life blogging as I have heard this called definitely would be an aid in studying for that Calculus final. What they need to do is incorporate it into a neat visor or a pair of cool shades, instead a pair of goofy looking necklaces.

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Speaker Pelosi Proves Republicans and Some Democrats aren't Iraq Crazy

Looks like Speaker Pelosi should have left Iraq alone, not only did she prove she is as crazy as her base but she showed her base not all of her fellow party members are as crazy as they are....

The Gateway Pundit: Ruh-Roh... Cut & Runners Cut & Run- Dems Lose Backers has the final numbers:


Democrat's Cut and Run vote on March 23, 2007: Yeahs-218 Nays-212

Click to Enlarge

Democrat's Cut and Run vote on July 12, 2007: Yeahs-223 Nays-201

Click to Enlarge

Democrat's Cut and Run vote on November 14, 2007: Yeahs-218 Nays-203

Click to Enlarge

She lost most of her Rebublican defectors as well as 5 of her Democratic Supporters, hah!

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Reid Joins Pelosi in Her Attempt to Snatch Defeat from the Jaws Of Victory In Iraq

According to Yahoo! News Senate Majority Leader is joining House Speaker Pelosi in her attempt to once again Snatch Defeat from the Jaws Of Victory...

On Tuesday, Reid said that Democrats will not approve addition funding for the war in Iraq unless President Bush agrees to start bringing troops home. In other news the Pentagon announced that some of the troops are coming home after succeeding in stabilizing Iraq.

But I seriously doubt that even if every insurgent in Iraq were to lay down their arms and walk to the nearest police station waving white flag, President Bush would agree to anything Reid and Pelosi demand concerning Iraq, it would not set a good example.

For more on Majority Leader Rieds ramblings check out Reid threatens funds for Iraq war - Yahoo! News:

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that Democrats won't approve more money for the Iraq war this year unless President Bush agrees to begin bringing troops home.

By the end of the week, the House and Senate planned to vote on a $50 billion measure for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill would require Bush to initiate troop withdrawals immediately with the goal of ending combat by December 2008.

If Bush vetoes the bill, "then the president won't get his $50 billion," Reid, D-Nev., told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., made a similar statement last week in a closed-door caucus meeting.

The tough rhetoric does not necessarily foretell another veto showdown with Bush on the war. Similar legislation has routinely fallen short of the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles in the Senate. It is possible the upcoming bill will sink, in which case Democrats would probably wait until next year to revisit the issue.

But their remarks reflect an emerging Democratic strategy on the war: Force congressional Republicans and Bush to accept a timetable for troop withdrawals, or turn Pentagon accounting processes into a bureaucratic nightmare.

If Democrats refuse to send Bush the $50 billion, the military would have to drain its annual budget to keep the wars afloat. Last week, Congress approved a $471 billion budget for the military that pays mostly for non-war related projects, such as depot maintenance and weapons development.

The tactic stops short of blocking money outright from being used on the war, an approach that has divided Democrats and fueled Republican criticism that Democrats are eager to abandon the troops. But forcing the Pentagon into a painful budget dance to pay for the wars spares Democrats from having to write a blank check on the unpopular war.

"We will and we must pay for whatever cost to protect the American people," said House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. "But tragically, unfortunately, incredibly, the war is not making us safer."

I think the motivation here is similar to what I said concerning Speaker Pelosi and her earlier declaration.

Truth is they (the Congressional Democrats), aren't insane, they know we are winning in Iraq, and that they can do nothing to stop it, but their supporters are (insane), and since they pay the bills the democrats in congress must appear to support their insane beliefs, less their supporters will stop paying the bills.

In other words they are playing to their base, even if their base is crazy...

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H1B Update: I.T. Companies Intent On Limiting Salaries

The Editorial Team over at SearchSAP.com is reporting that according to Information Week, the Congress Critters have eliminated the proposed increase in H1B application fee's from the proposed H1B bill that is working its way through joint committee. The increased H1B application fees were to be used to provide new scholarships for U.S. students up to $15,000 annually for qualified computer science students.

Information Technology Industry Groups have opposed the fee increases because they would make the H1B program not as effective.

By complaining that the increased fees would hurt the effectiveness of the program, they are admitting the purpose of the H1B program, instead of filling critical shortages in specific areas, is in fact the limitation of I.T. industry salaries.

If the purpose of the program was just to fill critical shortages, they would happily pay the increased fee's to get the help they so badly need, especially if the fees were used to increase the talent pool available to them in the future to fill future shortages.

Instead they just want to increase the number of H1B positions available, to artificially lower I.T. salaries by flooding the market with foreign workers, willing to work for below market wages in order to gain access to life in the U.S.

For far to long the Information Technology companies in this country have paid too much attention to their MBA'd managers, who are primarily concerned with keeping salaries artificially low so that they continue to reach falsely construed Wall Street expectations. These same companies, who are dependent on their I.T. Staffs to produce the actual product they market pay little or no attention to welfare of their I.T. workers.

I.T. workers across the country have seen their standard of living stagnate if not decrease over the life of the H1B program, because of the flood of foreign workers.

For more on this check out H1B visa update: No increased fees — SAP Watch:

H1B visas have remained a hot button topic for SAP professionals for some time, and we’ve covered it quite a bit over the years. Last we heard, there was legislation put into motion to more than triple the H1B application fee, from $1,500 to $5,000. The influx of money would be used to fund new scholarships for U.S. students to the tune of $15,000 annually for qualified computer science students.

Well, that probably won’t happen after all. InformationWeek just reported that the amendment is most likely about the get the boot, which comes as good news to Microsoft, Sun and others who have gone on the record to support easing and increasing H1B visas. They view the H1B visa program as a key component of staying competitive and adequately staffing projects with the best and brightest in the world.

It's time that we stand up tho these I.T. Industry MBA's and their fake shortage H1B scheme, they are not interested in filling shortages, they are interested in filling their pockets. H1B is little more that giving I.T. companies license to print money for their own use.

Call, phone, fax and email your congressional representation on this travesty of a bill, and tell them to vote no on the revised bill.

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New Method Uses Bacteria to Generate Hydrogen Gas

One step closer to Deloreans powered by our trash, Penn State University Researchers say they've developed a way to use bacteria to extract hydrogen from almost any biodegradable organic substance, from grass clippings to wastewater.

Published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the discovery holds great promise for advancing hydrogen as the the nations choice as a viable alternative fuel to our current thirst for crude oil.

The discovery uses off the shelf technology to improve the efficiency of bacterial digestion of cellulose.

"It's crossed the line from a science-fair project to feasible technology," said Bruce Logan, a professor of environmental engineering who led the research. "You can do it from any renewable organic matter."

Honda announced today that they plan on marketing a Hydrogen based car as soon as next year, but they are not alone, most major automakers are at least experimenting with hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

"You can take existing technology and make this switch," said Logan, who hopes to patent his discovery.

Logan and Cheng's method uses bacteria called exoelectrogens to break down acetic acid (vinegar) produced by fermenting cellulose, glucose or other biodegradable organic matter via a microbial electrolysis cell to create hydrogen.

When bacteria consume the acid, electrons are transferred to a graphite anode. The bacteria also release protons -- hydrogen atoms stripped of electrons -- that are held in solution. As electrons are transferred to a platinum cathode, they combine with the protons and generate 0.3 volts of electricity. Adding another 0.2 volts creates hydrogen gas.

Logan said these electrolysis cells are easy to make, and the bacteria needed for the process are plentiful. Although one could, in theory, build such a cell for home use, Logan said it would be far more practical on a commercial scale.

I'll go for the idea of a home use digester, I for one would love to extract every ounce of energy from the stuff I buy before letting someone take what's left of it away, and then use it to heat my home, or fuel my car.

So how does it compare to the ethanol conversion method that is all the rage on capital hill.

The researchers noted that their method produces up to 82 percent more energy than the electricity and biomass needed to produce it, while at best corn-based ethanol, produces 30 percent more energy than is required to produce it.

For more information on the process check out the report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Or Wired's New Method Uses Bacteria to Generate Hydrogen Gas.

Neat huh!

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