Category Archives: Current Events

Costa Rican Distrust of U.S. Foreign Policy

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We were vacationing in Costa Rica when a tour guide on our bus surprised us by announcing that President Obama had refused to help Costa Rica after Nicaragua had moved large numbers of soldiers into Costa Rica for the purpose of “building a new canal.” The guide said Costa Rica has no military and had asked President Obama for help. He then said Mr. Obama’s reaction was to continue his policy of bowing to every belligerent. He emphasized the point by making a series of stiff bows in several directions.  The guide said the people of Costa Rica continue to appreciate Ronald Regan and his support for the Contras who fought against the Communist Sandinistas. The guide explained that Daniel Ortega, the Communist ruler of Nicaragua, continues to have designs on Costa Rica, and that the U.S. refused to help. “The Canadians helped and the Nicaraguans withdrew.”

I was fascinated with the story, and began searching the Internet to educate myself. President Obama visited Costa Rica for two days in May 2013. The descriptions of his visit were mostly about the extreme security measures taken for his protection. There were a few hundred people allowed to view his limousine trip through the capital city. A few dozen gathered in the city park to protest the visit. Most complied with the order to stay home and watch television coverage. This is in contrast to John F. Kennedy visiting and wading into adoring crowds. Kennedy is called the “most beloved U.S. President” based on the memories of his visit and the Peace Corp. Continue reading →

David and Goliath

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Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
By Malcolm Gladwell

david and goliathThis book uses David and Goliath as a metaphor, but it’s not the metaphor you might expect.  Gladwell spends some time explaining the story and its setting in the ancient world, with notes on the surprising amount of scholarly research devoted to it. We modern Americans misunderstand the story’s intent and have the original message wrong.

 

David_and_Goliath public domain

Public Domain in the US: copyright expired

We think of David as a hopeless underdog facing an unbeatable foe, saved only by divine intervention.  “No one in ancient times would have doubted David’s tactical advantage once it was known he was an expert in slinging.”  Gladwell writes that soldiers trained to use sling shots were as formidable as archers.  Goliath was a heavily armored infantry warrior and there was no way he could chase down and engage David; he was a sitting duck. (He may have also had acromegaly: speculation on the diseases of historical figures is always intriguing, even if they are seldom provable.)  I found this part of the book surprisingly interesting and fun; much better than the “favorite Bible stories for children” sort of idea I had before. Continue reading →

Cosmos – A Spacetime Odyssey

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Cosmos courtesy Fox

Tyson confronts the Big Bang in the new Fox series Cosmos – A Spacetime Odyssey

Are you watching Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s remake of Carl Sagan’s iconic mini-series Cosmos?  The theme of the first episode was that space-time is really, really big.  The episode has received excellent reviews and I agree: the special effects and cinematography were stunning (“faster, brighter, and more explosive” as Wired says), though the use of cartoon animation to present a historical story struck me as less compelling than live action would have been.  There seem to be high hopes that the new Cosmos will rekindle America’s love affair with science, as anecdotes (if not rigorous studies) suggest the original Cosmos did.  I’m not sure what impact Cosmos had;  Star Trek inspired kids, too. Continue reading →

Rocky Flats News

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The Rocky Flats Plant where plutonium and other parts for nuclear weapons were once manufactured  (the Plant closed in 2005) is back prominently in the news. The title of one article by Electa Draper explains that workers who have one or more of twenty two listed cancers “…no longer have to reconstruct their own personal histories of radiation exposure in order to receive medical compensation.” Instead of being celebrated as a victory, the announcement seems to have angered people who are sick and worked at the Plant. One disturbing article by the same author shows pictures of some workers who are angry and has the bold print quote, “They just want us to die and go away.”

I do not intend to try to convince anyone who worked at Rocky Flats that their illnesses were not caused by exposures during that work, but I do want to present some pertinent facts. Chapter 22 of my book, “An Insider’s View of Rocky Flats, Urban Myths Debunked” discusses cancer and other diseases.The largest study of cancer rates among Rocky Flats workers that I’m aware of was completed over 20 years ago. The report concluded, “When compared with U.S. death rates, fewer deaths than expected were found for all causes of death, all cancers, and lung cancer. No bone cancer was observed. An excess of brain tumors was found.” The last observation was the result of comparing all malignant and non-malignant tumors found in Rocky Flats workers to only malignant tumors in the general population.  Some have speculated that the lower rate of cancers may be due to the prohibition on smoking in  many areas of the Plant. Continue reading →

Global Warming Commentary by Guest

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Ponderer and I have posted “dueling” commentaries on global warming. A reader sent a paper to join the discussion. It is longer than commentaries usually posted on this site, but it has so much information that deserves consideration that I’ve decided to post it in its entirety with a few minor edits.

The so-called ‘greenhouse effect’ comes about by short wave radiation impinging on the earth from the sun.  Some fraction of this short wave radiation is reflected back into space with little effect.  Another fraction is absorbed by the earth.  Essentially blackbody long wave radiation is emitted from the earth’s surface as a result.  Carbon dioxide (and a few other gases that we will get to) absorbs and reemits this longer wave radiation.  It emits the longer wave radiation in all directions, so some fraction comes back to be reabsorbed by the earth’s surface (either soil or water).  On balance under these conditions there is more heat (in the form of both long and short wave radiation) entering the system than leaving it, so overall heating occurs. Continue reading →

The Evils of the Permanent Political Class

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ExtortionExtortion , by Peter Schweizer, presents a depressing thesis: while special interests “are influencing and distorting our government in the search for favorable policies… a deeper, more sinister problem [exists]: politics is corrupting money.”

Members of what Schweizer calls the Permanent Political Class use their power to extort money from businesses.  Both parties, and the executive branch as well as the legislative branch engage in Mafia-like practices.  “Campaign money and lobbying contracts are ‘protection money’… donors feel victimized.”

This is not a new problem. Schweizer traces this problem back to the late 1800s, and also notes that Dante placed corrupt politicians in the eighth circle of hell.  But the book concentrates on recent and current events. Continue reading →