tingilinde

hummer sold

maybe there will be a coal fired version of the classic

sukie on cheney the visible

From Sukie:

In my 58 years I have never before seen a situation in which the media, in this case especially television news, pays as much attention to an ex vice president as to the sitting president.

Could this indicate that despite words to the contrary, some of the media is having real trouble truly listening to a leader who is not a White Male?

Would the same lack of respect have occurred if the elected individual were female, Oriental, Native American, Polynesian, gay, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Animist, or even as close to being an atheist as a number of the Founding Fathers were?  I fear that it may also have occurred then, even though it definitely should not be happening at any time to anyone.

In private people are so appalled by this situation that it comes up often in conversation.  Why is too much of the media perpetuating this behavior instead of paying attention to the real story:  why some parts of the Fourth Estate are not having their actions match their words?

two fascinating links

noted by Greg - a rather amazing persistent illusion.

and Bjarne found an article on idled cargo ships.  A great image.  I never thought about the drag from the stuff that grows on the hulls.

dumber than mud

It is amazing how illiterate some congress critters are... 

rachel maddow on the bush/cheney torture program

excellent ...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

anti ferret legislation

Sukie notes that HR 669 survived a committee hearing - it deeply impacts many non-indigenous animals including companion animals who have been here for many decades.

For those of you who worry about animals   Here are some of her notes and a letter she wrote:

HR 669 SURVIVED THE COMMITTEE HEARING according to the blog below!  Bad news.

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/04/hr_669_the_hearing_has_conclud.php

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/04/will_hr_669_transform_your_exo.php

The text of HR 669:

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h669ih.txt.pdf

Love your critters?  Contact your representative in the House:

<https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml>

and her letter:

When has draconian legislation that should have been based upon
science but was not based upon science not backfired? Can't think
of an instance? Neither can I.

With HR 669 you could once again be set up for further back-pedaling
that would require later corrective Bills if the wording encompasses as
many species as it currently does. Nor does there seem to be logical,
scientific reasoning behind the choices of which animals to consider
potentially invasive species vs. which to not label as such.

I will illustrate this with the domestic ferret, a cousin of the
playful otter, and an animal which is actually safer than its more
distant cousins in Order Carnivora, the domestic cat and domestic dog.

Domestic ferrets have been domesticated since perhaps as early as the
ancient Greeks, and certainly as early as the Ancient Romans. Julius
Caesar had them taken to Malta to help hunt rabbits when that Island
was invaded by European rabbits which live in communal warrens. Unlike
domestic cats and domestic dogs, the domestic ferret is actually a
pretty poor hunter. In fact, their wild cousin which is native to the
U.S., the Black Footed Ferret, is also a poor enough hunter that it
requires large colonies of prairie dogs to feed itself. So, how did the
Maltese tackle their rabbit problem? They did not turn the ferrets
loose as they would have done with cats or dogs. Instead, they used the
ferrets in the same way they still are used: to scare the rabbits from
the borrows. Then the rabbits are either caught in nets or dogs are
used to chase them down. You can find excellent illustrations from
hundreds of years ago in
http://www.doctorbeer.com/joyce/ferrets/frhistpg.htm
which will also show you some pet ferrets from the time.
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=496
will also prove useful.

Would you like to know of a situation right here in the United States
in which people tried to control imported European rabbits that had
formed warrens by turning loose ferrets which failed? Just look at
San Juan Island, Washington. The ferrets survived only a short while,
decades ago. The rabbits are still there. In fact, the National Parks
Service wanted to use extreme measures to rid national land there of
the rabbits but the locals on the island managed to stop them because
native predators, especially eagles, owls, and foxes, have discovered
that the rabbits make for fine meals.
http://www.nps.gov/sajh/naturescience/prairie-restoration-project.htm
Nor is that the sole place that people tried to establish domestic
ferrets in the U.S. In past centuries several attempts in Ohio failed,
per historical references I have encountered but sadly could not find
for this document.

Domestic ferrets have been helping Americans since the days when we
were all colonies, which is why they are the mascot of the
Massachusetts Colonial Navy. Our seamen used them in conjunction with
cats to tackle the rats that infested ships. The cats could not go into
the borrows, but the ferrets could.
<http://books.google.com/books?id=CSFN5H8RSaEC&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=ferrets+%2BMassachusetts+Colonial+Navy&source=bl&ots=Mb6XrOMMW4&sig=0SpdsQm_Eselkth3K_7g5BMAlp4&hl=en&ei=GorvSfjFLZDMMKbLEQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3>

Ferrets were often used by ratters in this country right up to the time
when poisoning took over as the prevalent mode of rodent control. The
ferrets chased the rats from burrows and then traps or terriers were
used to collect them. Terriers also have a long history of being
specially bred to serve as one leg of rodent and rabbit control. Think
of the ferrets like the beaters who scare quail for others to shoot.
The terriers are the marksmen.

To this day the abilities of ferrets to go down tunnels have served
other functions. Even the federal government has benefited. The
Harrisons used them in the White House in conjunction with dogs and
cats to rid the building of a severe rodent infestation. The Air Force
and some federal building construction crews used them for carrying
wiring trailing from harnesses in order to lay wiring in tight spaces
for reduced cost and faster service. The National Labs used a ferret
in Fermi Lab to clean a collider tube before use. She trailed brushes
from a harness.
<http://www.firstladies.org/curriculum/educational-biography.aspx?biography=24>
http://www.af.mil/news/airman/1199/y2ksb.htm
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_19991002/ai_n9961723/
<http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,799464,00.html?promoid=googlep>
http://history.fnal.gov/wildlife.html#tiny
http://history.fnal.gov/felicia.html
See the playfulness: Ê
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28qew8QfTn0

Now you will ask about their wild relatives, the polecats, and about
the New Zealand situation in which fur farmers let polecats and
polecat-ferret crosses free. Yes, they have proven to be predators for
the most defenseless of the ground nesting birds. Yet, you will
remember that our birds here -- including ground nesters -- have not
had this same problem. Why? Because the ones on New Zealand did not
already have predators to which they had adapted. Ours have already
adapted to better predators. In fact, in New Zealand, depending on the
location, a range of other introduced animals have been worse predators
than ferrets or even polecats (which they tend to lump together in
reports). In some places dogs are the biggest problem, in others rats
are, in still others hedgehogs, cats, or stoats are the main culprits.
The most recent study on this regard can be found described here:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2355285/Prickly-problem-uncovered

The humble hedgehog has been outed as public conservation enemy No 1
near the Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. More than half of the 5029
predators caught over four years, across 20,000 hectares of the Tasman
riverbed, were hedgehogs. "They're very underrated," said Twizel
biodiversity programme manager Dean Nelson, of the Department of
Conservation. ... The surprisingly adaptable creatures, introduced to
New Zealand in the late 19th century, were found as high as 1000 metres
above sea-level. Nelson said the prickly creatures ate birds eggs but
it was not known whether they carried off young birds. They also ate
weta, beetles, grasshoppers and even lizards. ... A two-and-a-half
year study by Landcare Research, published in 2003, bemoaned the fact
that stoats, ferrets and possums got all the attention as predators.
"They are like the bad guys in balaclavas during a bank heist,"
Landcare Research scientist Dr Chris Jones said at the time.
"Meanwhile, hedgehogs are the guys in the background, quietly opening
the safe." ... About 1100 traps were laid from Whale Stream up to, and
including, part of the national park. Hedgehogs and stoats were 75 per
cent of the trapped predators. Wild cats featured more prominently than
possums or ferrets.

How are ferrets' wild cousins, the European Polecats, doing as
predators in their own native areas? Well, actually, in much of their
range they have been having problems because of a native U.S. predator,
the American Mink. American Minks turn out to be far better hunters, so
in Britain, France, Spain, etc. there are currently efforts to try to
rid themselves of mink that were released from fur farms. Perhaps that
is yet another reason that unlike domestic cats and domestic dogs,
domestic ferrets have never established wild populations in our nation
despite being here for hundreds of years, for ratting, for pets, and
for fitch fur. We simply already have native predators who are far
better hunters. The Vincent Wildlife Trust may be the fastest way to
get that information. You can begin with
http://www.vwt.org.uk/species/polecat.php and their contact data.

So, why does it make sense to federally permit domestic cats and
domestic dogs which do form feral populations but to treat domestic
ferrets -- which have not formed feral populations in hundred of years
here -- as if they could do that when they have repeatedly failed to
do so?

You will probably say that such bigotry makes sense because there are
so many cats and dogs. Well, 5 years ago Ken Wells of the Wall Street
Journal pointed out on the Leonard Lopate show on WNYC that U.S.
commerce involving ferrets added up to at least two billion (yes, with
a "b") dollars ($2,000,000,000.) of the then thirty-two billion spent
on pets and their products. Furthermore, the American Ferret
Association estimates that the current number of pet domestic ferrets
has increased since then to between 8 to 10 million animals (10,000,000
ferret pets). There are quite a few jobs tied up in this, and a huge
number of families.

Why do people enjoy ferrets as pets? They are smart, loving, and
playful. Downsides? They and their care are expensive, and they do
tend to require a lot of maintenance.

In fact, my own life was saved by one of our current ferrets, Hilbert,
when our furnace malfunctioned. Although I was half passed out he
managed to gently rouse me so that i could turn off the furnace and air
our home. I guess that is not a surprise when you recall that they are
members of Carnivora like dogs and cats, and are pretty close cousins
of otters.

I've also known people who used ferrets to let them know in time to
take medications and lie down when they were about to have seizures,
known others whose ferrets have been used for nursing home and school
interaction animals, known parents who used ferrets to open the world
for their autistic children, and others for whom ferrets provided other
essential services, as well as having read of at least 5 cases in which
family ferrets alerted people in time to escape fires.
http://www.extremeweezils.com/ewfriends.html#cerino
<http://www.smallanimalchannel.com/media/critter-news/legal-news/ferrets-cause-eviction.aspx.pdf>
http://www.modernferret.com/pressreleases/sean.html
<http://en.allexperts.com/q/Ask-Veterinarian-700/Ferrets-continuing-care-facilities.htm>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/1913455.stm

Now, you will ask about health issues such as rabies, zoonotic diseases
and bite rates.

Last first. Their serious bite rates were studied by Dr. Freddie
Hoffman, a pediatrician, and they have a serious bite rate that is
similar to pet rabbits, a rate that is about 1/200th that of dogs
***PER CAPITA PET***. "Ferrets  -  Pet of Nineties?" can be found
in "FDA Veterinarian", May/June 1991, Vol. VI, Number III.

Nor is rabies a problem. Although domestic ferrets can contract
rabies if exposed their chances of exposure as indoor pets are low.
Furthermore, they have had an effective rabies vaccine which was
sufficiently proven by studies and met federal approval for use in
ferrets before 1990. Then, later after multiple careful research
studies in conjunction with the Rabies Division of the CDC it was
established over ten years ago that ferrets are so safe that they can
have the same quarantine time after incidents as cats and dogs can
have. That comprehensive work led to the the National Association of
State Public Health Veterinarians altering the Compendium for Rabies
Control and Prevention to treat ferrets as the reasonably safe animals
they are. I suggest such experts as Dr. Charles Rupprecht, head of the
CDC Rabies Division, and the rabies experts of the NASPHV as resources
or witnesses.
http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/
http://www.nasphv.org/Documents/RabiesCompendium.pdf
Did you know that despite their thousands of years as companion animals
there is not one recorded instance of anyone ever contracting rabies
from a ferret? Try saying that about dogs or cats. For that matter,
even try saying that about horse, cattle, or sheep.

Now, zoonotics. Zoonotics are diseases that animals share with humans.
Primates and rodents can have quite a number of the same diseases as we
human do. Other species have fewer, though there are some, for example,
poultry, pigs, and ferrets are among the types of animals that can also
get influenza. Luckily, ferrets share very few illnesses that humans
get, and usually with the ones they do, such as influenza the situation
is one of humans infecting ferrets rather than vice versa. Did you know
that there are more zoonotics that dogs and cats get than ones that
ferrets get, and that at least most, perhaps all, of the serious ones
ferrets get are also gotten by dogs and cats?
Page with a note on ferrets is 428:
http://www.nasphv.org/Documents/VeterinaryPrecautions.pdf
Scroll to the charts:
<http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/rabies/pdf/qvra-rabies.pdf>
http://www.anapsid.org/chomel.html
from a veterinarian:
http://exoticpets.about.com/od/healthandsafetyissues/f/zoonosis.htm
This resource is not primarily of zoonotics but does give an overview
of diseases by species:
http://focosi.altervista.org/veterinarymedicine_carnivora.html

Are ferrets right for every person or every locale? No, certainly not.
Do ferrets pose a risk for our nation? Again, no, certainly not. Why
list them as if they did? It makes no sense and is incredibly unfair
to a great many citizens.

Pets are good for human health, both mental and physical. My husband is
allergic to cats and horses, while I am allergic to dogs and less so to
cats. Ferrets give us a wonderful option.

I can see good reasons to pursue the legislation, but NOT as written.
The divisions of acceptable and unacceptable animals need to be based
upon the evidence rather than in the form that currently exists.
Obviously, including ferrets in the grouping that is listed as
potentially dangerous non-native animals lacks merit, and that may well
be the case for a range of other animals. On the other hand, preventing
private people who do not need primates to help with handicaps from
having monkeys, apes, or prosimians makes all the sense in the world.
There certainly are other animals also in that category. Meanwhile some
other animals may pose risks in certain locales but not in others, for
example, some types of tropical fish that can live in warm waters but
do not survive in the north, such as guppies. Of course, the states
already try to address those local issues on their own.

With thanks for your time and consideration; respectfully,

dry and crispy

Most of the climate models suggest the American Southwest is heading towards a much drier and warmer climate and some are wondering if Australia is providing a taste. 

A piece in the LA Times on Australia and some commentary at Climate Progress.

national organization for marriage

A well funded right wing hate group who are buying a lot of ad time and trying to promote their message through the time honored method of trying to instill fear. Last night Rachel Maddow commented on one of their new projects: 

three cheers for iowa

Sometimes there is great news!

turning cod into phds

Michael Lewis' Vanity Fair piece on the Icelandic collapse. 

well written - recommended

snip

Back in 2001, as the Internet boom turned into a bust, M.I.T.’s Quarterly Journal of Economics published an intriguing paper called “Boys Will Be Boys: Gender, Overconfidence, and Common Stock Investment.” The authors, Brad Barber and Terrance Odean, gained access to the trading activity in over 35,000 households, and used it to compare the habits of men and women. What they found, in a nutshell, is that men not only trade more often than women but do so from a false faith in their own financial judgment. Single men traded less sensibly than married men, and married men traded less sensibly than single women: the less the female presence, the less rational the approach to trading in the markets.

One of the distinctive traits about Iceland’s disaster, and Wall Street’s, is how little women had to do with it. Women worked in the banks, but not in the risktaking jobs. As far as I can tell, during Iceland’s boom, there was just one woman in a senior position inside an Icelandic bank. Her name is Kristin Petursdottir, and by 2005 she had risen to become deputy C.E.O. for Kaupthing in London. “The financial culture is very male-dominated,” she says. “The culture is quite extreme. It is a pool of sharks. Women just despise the culture.” Petursdottir still enjoyed finance. She just didn’t like the way Icelandic men did it, and so, in 2006, she quit her job. “People said I was crazy,” she says, but she wanted to create a financial-services business run entirely by women. To bring, as she puts it, “more feminine values to the world of finance.”

Today her firm is, among other things, one of the very few profitable financial businesses left in Iceland. After the stock exchange collapsed, the money flooded in. A few days before we met, for instance, she heard banging on the front door early one morning and opened it to discover a little old man. “I’m so fed up with this whole system,” he said. “I just want some women to take care of my money.”

It was with that in mind that I walked, on my last afternoon in Iceland, into the Saga Museum. Its goal is to glorify the Sagas, the great 12th- and 13th-century Icelandic prose epics, but the effect of its life-size dioramas is more like modern reality TV. Not statues carved from silicon but actual ancient Icelanders, or actors posing as ancient Icelanders, as shrieks and bloodcurdling screams issue from the P.A. system: a Catholic bishop named Jon Arason having his head chopped off; a heretic named Sister Katrin being burned at the stake; a battle scene in which a blood-drenched Viking plunges his sword toward the heart of a prone enemy. The goal was verisimilitude, and to achieve it no expense was spared. Passing one tableau of blood and guts and moving on to the next, I caught myself glancing over my shoulder to make sure some Viking wasn’t following me with a battle-ax. The effect was so disorienting that when I reached the end and found a Japanese woman immobile and reading on a bench, I had to poke her on the shoulder to make sure she was real. This is the past Icelanders supposedly cherish: a history of conflict and heroism. Of seeing who is willing to bump into whom with the most force. There are plenty of women, but this is a men’s history.

When you borrow a lot of money to create a false prosperity, you import the future into the present. It isn’t the actual future so much as some grotesque silicon version of it. Leverage buys you a glimpse of a prosperity you haven’t really earned. The striking thing about the future the Icelandic male briefly imported was how much it resembled the past that he celebrates. I’m betting now they’ve seen their false future the Icelandic female will have a great deal more to say about the actual one.