La Nina coming

NOAA says La Nina may come in the next couple months. This could increase the possibility of hurricanes in the Atlantic back to 2005 level.

60 minutes on US Financial Troubles

Link The story provides some food for thought. I've heard there are economists who say trade deficit isn't a problem. It just means were trading dollars for goods that we want. But this piece seems to take a different tack. It seems to say that we won't be able to afford social security and Medicare for the boomers because we will need to pay interest on all our debts. I guess that means interest on the treasury bills? I'm a little confused, but the other way is to devalue the dollar, meaning we could just print more money. But if we have runaway inflation we'll be in trouble, right? It could lead to stagflation or recession. I wonder if I should be buying Euros or something.

Warmer winters bring reduced maple syrup yields in US

Permalink Another global warming impact. Maple syrup production may entirely move to Canada.

Iraq Partition?

Permalink NYTimes piece on how physical and social interactions between Sunni and Shiite have become so dangerous they are entirely cut off in Baghdad. I can't help but wonder if the next likely step is one like Northern Ireland, a wall and partition.

NYTimes prints the anti-gay f-word slur from Coulter

Permalink Weird. Just a little while back, with the Isaiah Washington statement, NYTimes refused to actually print the word. Now when Ann Coulter says it about John Edwards, it's okay to print. Maybe it makes sense, but then I don't know what the rules are. Hopefully they can enlighten us.

Anyway, it's just incredible that Coulter decides to use the word.

But what was her reasoning behind using the word? She seemed to say she was intending to use it as in insult and not to say that he is actually gay. But that he is a weak, effeminate man. That is really the most offensive use of the word regardless of whether it is applied to a gay man or not.

More or less erudite reasoning on the matter here.

Hardaway a bigot, and likely feigns apology

AP story on NYTimes [Why didn't the Times do their own story? Lazy bums.]

Hardaway:
"Well, you know, I hate gay people. I let it be known, I don't like gay people. I don't like to be around gay people."

"I'm homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."

Amazing. I don't have a right to exist? As just about everyone has commented, the statement just validates the need for an equality movement. In an ironic way, thank you: Mr. Hardaway.

AP story on NBA's Amaechi Coming Out

Link AP rightly says that a soon to be retiring player outing himself or herself is old news. It's been done. How about an out active professional team sport player?

Washington State procreation and marriage initiatives

Link Towleroad reports on Washington state initiatives to link children and marriage and make children a requirement for marriage. A sarcastic move as a response to the WA supreme court ruling, but I wonder if anyone would get the point. Straights have a tendency to ignore the obvious -- which is why we got the ruling in the first place.

Snickers ad: homophobic

Towleroad reports on the Superbowl ad for snickers where two guys kiss and then are forced to "do something manly". I saw it and was pretty put off. I guess I'll not buy or eat another Snickers bar ever again. And I guess that extends to: M&M'S, Mars, Milky Way, and Twix from the parent company. Probably better for my health anyway. They've pulled the ad and the homophobic NFL teams' reactions and sort-of apologized. But it's not enough for me anyway. Hmmm, I should boycott the NFL too... Well, I never watched much football anyway.

Op-ed says Bush committed felonies and should be prosecuted

Permalink Bush authorized wiretaps without going through the FISA courts. If so, this is illegal even if he is the President. The author says Bush needs go to trial and face up to any punishment.

More people agree on evidence of global warming

Link I'm biased in favor of scientists, but I would say that even skeptical people might believe in global warming from human burning of fossil fuels based on the evidence presented.

-- updated 30 Jan

Permalink Scientists imagine impacts from global warming. One which surprised me: the Mediterranean will become unbearable in summer.

Miserable failure result disabled on Google

Permalink What a bummer! Google has decided not to allow the Google bombs succeed in making the result for "miserable failure" to lead to a first search result of George Bush at the white house website.

NYTimes Permalinks

Link I just realized that there is a way to get permanent links to NYTimes articles which will survive and not get archived and lost from view. I'll try to use those from now on.

Isaiah Washington, fighting for career, apologizes deeply for anti-gay slur

Link The New York Times doesn't even write the word, but you can guess what word it is that Washington allegedly said once on the set of Grey's Anatomy and definitely said once in public at the Golden Globes -- of all places. And it wasn't the short version, it was the long version used profusely on playgrounds in elementary and middle school while I was growing up.

I must say that I'm impressed that the country has come to a point where saying it in public is getting close to saying the slur against African Americans in public by a non-African American. Not sure why but African Americans themselves get a pass in using that slur.

I'm ashamed to say I've used the anti-gay word before, before I was out. Maybe out gay people get a pass for saying it, but now I wouldn't do it -- it still has too many hurtful associations.

Huge carnage in Baghdad marketplace

Link Terror pure and simple. Things aren't looking good for the surge. I mean I don't see any way it can stop things like this.

More US women out of marriage than in it

Link Census results show this shift. With some income gains, women are enjoying independence.

War in Iraq: $1.2 trillion

Link It's an enormous sum. Unfathomable and maddening considering my tax money is contributing to such a useless enterprise. 1.2 million, million dollars.

Bush desperate and delusional

Link After reading this article I was convinced that Bush is hoping beyond hope that his own crazy plan to salvage Iraq 'victory' will succeed. It's too bad he's putting a number of American soldiers in harms way with such a low chance of success.

Women in love with gay guys

Link I thought these were interesting but sad descriptions of love gone wrong.

Man rescued by stranger

Link A pretty amazing thing to do. With a subway train closing in, a man fell onto the tracks. A stranger traveling with his two small kids knew well enough that there is space to survive with train passing overhead and pushed the man and himself into that space saving the man.