Climategate: Beyond Inquiry Panels | Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar | Cato Institute: Commentary

Climategate: Beyond Inquiry Panels | Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar | Cato Institute: Commentary: "t the end of it all, two things are clear. First, it is fantasy for crusaders to claim that catastrophic global warming is established science: the emails reveal doubts and caveats even among true believers in CRU. Second, the International Panel on Climate Change must disavow its claim made first in 2001 — based on the 'hockey stick' graph of Michael Mann using historical tree-ring data — that the world is warmer today than ever before.

Tree-ring data after 1961 indicate cooling, but actual temperatures show warming. So, Jones resorted to the 'trick' of splicing tree-ring data up to 1961 with actual temperatures after 1961, thus manufacturing a steadily-rising temperature trend in the 20th century. The splicing was dishonest and an insult to science. Yet, the independent inquiry did not condemn it, showing how easily crusader-inquirers forgive transgressions that promote their private agenda.

The IPCC needs to revert to the earlier scientific consensus — maintained from its first report in 1990 to 2001 — that the medieval warm period of 800-1,300 AD — well before fossil fuels were extracted — was warmer than it is today."

FOXNews.com - WHO criticizes Amnesty International report describing North Korea's health system in shambles

FOXNews.com - WHO criticizes Amnesty International report describing North Korea's health system in shambles: "The World Health Organization found itself Friday in the strange position of defending North Korea's health care system from an Amnesty International report, three months after WHO's director described medicine in the totalitarian state as the envy of the developing world."

"Amnesty's report on Thursday described North Korea's health care system in shambles, with doctors sometimes performing amputations without anesthesia and working by candlelight in hospitals lacking essential medicine, heat and power. It also raised questions about whether coverage is universal as it — and WHO — claimed, noting most interviewees said they or a family member had given doctors cigarettes, alcohol or money to receive medical care. And those without any of these reported that they could get no health assistance at all."

"Asked Friday what countries were envious of North Korea's health, Chaib said she couldn't name any. But she highlighted the importance of maintaining the health body's presence in the country, where officials do their best to save lives despite 'persisting challenges.'"

"North Korea spends $1 per person per year on health care, the lowest level in the world"

WHO doesn't sound very credible.

FOXNews.com - Report: Carpenters Union Pays Minimum Wage to Hire Protestors

FOXNews.com - Report: Carpenters Union Pays Minimum Wage to Hire Protestors: "The Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters is paying unemployed non-union workers to protest outside Washington, D.C., office buildings, telling the Wall Street Journal that it's sometimes too difficult to get its own people to come downtown to demonstrate.

WSJ reports that the carpenters union has been hiring people -- many of whom have no ideology on an issue -- to to walk picket lines, chant and generally sound off each day at around 150 picket lines in the District of Columbia and Baltimore.

'For a lot of our members, it's really difficult to have them come out, either because of parking or something else,' Vincente Garcia, a union representative supervising the picketing, told the newspaper."

LOL!

FOXNews.com - Scientists Reveal the Perfect Handshake

FOXNews.com - Scientists Reveal the Perfect Handshake: "The formula:�

PH = √ (e2 + ve2)(d2) + (cg + dr)2 + π{(42)(4

2)}2 + (vi + t + te)2 + {(42 )(42)}2

(e) is eye contact (1=none; 5=direct) 5; (ve) is verbal greeting (1=totally inappropriate; 5=totally appropriate) 5; (d) is Duchenne smile - smiling in eyes and mouth, plus symmetry on both sides of face, and slower offset (1=totally non-Duchenne smile (false smile); 5=totally Duchenne) 5; (cg) completeness of grip (1=very incomplete; 5=full) 5; (dr) is dryness of hand (1=damp; 5=dry) 4; (s) is strength (1= weak; 5=strong) 3; (p) is position of hand (1=back towards own body; 5=other person's bodily zone) 3; (vi) is vigour (1=too low/too high; 5=mid) 3; (t) is temperature of hands (1=too cold/too hot; 5=mid) 3; (te) is texture of hands (5=mid; 1=too rough/too smooth) 3; (c) is control (1=low; 5=high) 3; (du) is duration (1= brief; 5=long) 3."

Was Thomas Jefferson a Great President? - H.A. Scott Trask - Mises Daily

Was Thomas Jefferson a Great President? - H.A. Scott Trask - Mises Daily: "Thus the first example was given of both the will and desire to violate the Constitution, if the popular feeling would sustain the executive and legislature in so doing; and in this fact lies the pernicious and crying evil of the Louisiana Purchase. It was the first lesson that taught Americans that numerical majority was superior to the Constitution and was a safe protection against it when violated, and that when policy approved the necessity of change, it was easier to break than to legally and regularly amend the provisions of our charter."

"Jefferson failed to understand that the Constitution was written to protect the people from themselves and that to rely on those very people to correct defects in the Constitution, only when those defects had been already exploited for ulterior purposes, was foolish indeed."

FOXNews.com - House approves overhaul for program providing insurance to those in flood-prone areas

FOXNews.com - House approves overhaul for program providing insurance to those in flood-prone areas: "Among those opposing the bill were Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., who said her state 'feels like the ATM machine for this flood program.' Miller, who said Congress should create a national catastrophic fund, said Michigan residents have paid out $200 million in premiums since 1978 while receiving only $44 million in claims."

Would it have been better for Michigan to have more floods? :-/

Killer Drones: Where's the Accountability? | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary

Killer Drones: Where's the Accountability? | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary: "'To eavesdrop on the terrorism suspect, intelligence agencies would have to get a court warrant. But designating him for death ... required no judicial review.' (New York Times, May 13)"

Politicians Are the Problem for Higher Ed | Neal McCluskey | Cato Institute: Commentary

Politicians Are the Problem for Higher Ed | Neal McCluskey | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Adding those subsidies to government student aid reveals total taxpayer burdens, and suddenly for-profits don't look so singularly terrible. The annual burden per undergraduate at a four-year public school is around $15,794 vs. just $10,272 at a for-profit. For a two-year program, the for-profit is just somewhat costlier: $10,960 vs. $8,489."

Time to Fire America's Management | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Time to Fire America's Management | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "'Higher effective corporate income taxes are also associated with lower investment in manufacturing but not in services, a larger unofficial economy, and greater reliance on debt as opposed to equity finance. In these new data, corporate taxes matter a lot, and in ways consistent with basic economic theory.' (If you tax something, you get less of it.)

Many of the members of Congress who consistently wail about the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs are the same ones who, time and time again, vote to crush U.S. companies with more taxes and regulations."

Defending the Litterer - Walter Block - Mises Daily

Defending the Litterer - Walter Block - Mises Daily: "When large crowds leave a ballpark, movie, theater, concert, or circus, what remains among the seats and aisles is not and cannot be litter. It is garbage, dirt, or waste, but not litter."

"in the market, the decision of whether and how much litter to allow is based ultimately on the wishes and desires of the consumers! The question is not treated simplistically and there is no general outcry to 'get rid of litterbugs.'

There is rather a careful weighing of the costs and benefits of allowing waste materials to accumulate."

"If litter were a violation of rights and a refusal to consider the comfort of others, what of the 'litter' in restaurants, ballparks, factories, etc.? Litter comes about in the private market precisely as a means of satisfying the desires of consumers for comfort. One no more violates the restaurant owner's rights by littering than by eating, since both are paid for."