Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Vicious and Brutal Animals

The are no words in the English language, or any other language that I've studied, that can express the utter contempt and hatred I hold for those vile creatures that pass for Homo sapiens in the Iraqi city of Falluja. Right now I would be very very happy if we just went in and levelled the place, though the logical part of my brain tells me that doing so would simply turn those Iraqis who support us against us. But something has to be done to see to it that those who did this inhuman act are made to pay, and dearly so. Unfortunately, it seems that there is no plan for sorting things out in this country which is nothing more than an area enclosed by some arbitrary lines drawn by the British and French when the Ottoman lands were carved up.

Clearly we can't simply cut and run, even though I am firmly convinced that there will never be a successful democracy (as we know the term) in Iraq. I do not believe that these people are capable of governing themselves and that sooner or later the whole place is going to erupt into a bloody civil war until some strongman comes in to fill the power vacuum. Whether it's a brutal secular dictator like Saddam Hussein or some fanatical Muslim cleric, I don't know. All I do know is that if we are in it for the long haul somebody had better come up with a plan. Otherwise more and more Americans will die until the people in this country lose their resolve, which will send exactly the wrong message to terrorists worldwide.

One thing that we'd better start seriously thinking about, especially with our "friends" the Saudis driving up the price of oil, is curing our addiction to the oil habit. Yeah baby, we'd better start seriously thinking about disengaging ourselves from our addiction to it and our "need" for Hummers that get 20 gallons to the mile. Of course, we've been talking about it for years, but no one is paying this idea anything but lip service on either side of the political aisle. Then we can leave these animals to their stinking rat holes.

Civilization started in Mesopotamia which roughly coincides with "modern" Iraq. Since then, that part of the world has experienced nothing but thousands of years of bloodshed, hatred and violence. I wonder if this is the place where the end of civilization is about to begin.

File under Current Events.


8:02:33 PM    Go ahead, make my day  []  trackback []  

The Truth Is Out There?

Apparently, the comments at the Mars Rover Blog have degenerated into the typical pseudo-science/conspiracy theory BS that seems to be much more popular than real science. Apparently, one reader of the blog has had enough, and I have to say that I agree with him:

What you have here is a few people with paranoid personality disorder wrecking this forum. Unfortunately, the topic of possible life on Mars is exactly the sort of thing that attracts them. Read about Paranoid Personality Disorder on this site for starters...

[link]

The posters meet all the criteria...

* They have secret information that only they can "see". They "see" fossils of impossible creatures or objects in every photo.

* They feel that NASA is "hiding" something. If only the world would listen to them. NASA deliberately "avoids" taking the pictures that would prove "their" theories right. The rovers are steered away... the photos are taken at too low a resolution on purpose...

* The other posters are "out to get them" and have "closed minds". Only they have the Secret Knowledge, and it is so clear to them. Even though they are only one person and they may not have any scientific background in this field at all, they know better than the worlds best experts and they are sure of it. If only the others would listen to Them.

* They are easily offended, quick to argue, and irrational in their beliefs. They see slight in every response to their postings. This is very typical of this disorder.

* Unfortunately, because of the nature of this disorder, people that have it don't generally seek the help that they need. Arguing with them will not help, and in cases like this it will just confirm their conspiracy theories.

I'm moving to another forum that has moderation, this one isn't worth visiting any more. It only takes a few people to wreck it for everyone.

As for myself, I've decided to remove the Mars Rover Blog from my blogroll. It's degenerated into just a waste of time.

One story which will no doubt be of interest to the lunatic fringe is the discovery of traces of methane gas in the Martian atmosphere:

Planetary scientists have discovered traces of methane gas in the atmosphere of Mars, but are guarded about whether this is evidence of life on the planet. Two separate surveys have detected traces of the gas in the atmosphere: one by European scientists using a spectrometer on the Mars Express spacecraft, and another by a NASA scientist using groundbased instruments. Because methane in the atmosphere is broken down by ultraviolet light over the span of just a few hundred years, the discovery implies that methane continues to be produced. One possible source of methane is emissions by microbes, possibly living beneath the Martian surface, but the methane could have a volcanic origin as well. Scientists said there is not enough information to determine which scenario is more likely to be correct.

No doubt, this was all caused by Martian cow farts.

File under Space, The Final Frontier.


1:52:55 AM    Go ahead, make my day  []  trackback []  

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