Double Standards

OK - so an activist finds PBDE's in farmed salmon in the Pacific Northwest, and the recommendation is to stop eating farmed salmon.

But when an activist group in the Pacific Northwest finds PBDE's (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) in human breast milk, how come no one is telling people to avoid breast feeding?

I'm left with the conclusion that when an activist group releases information to the media, there always has to be a villain. It doesn't matter that the villain is consistent - there just has to be one.

All the News that's fit to Print????

The 'Liberal Media' has really taken a hit lately. First there's the CBS controversy over Dan Rather and the fake National Guard papers.

Now, the New York Times - the same media outlet which had Jayson Blair make up all his stories, and has long been accused of harboring a left-wing bias - is accused of tipping off Islamic Terrorists of an upcoming FBI Raid.

This is not the smart way to endear yourself to the American public, I would think...

Mr. Rifkin's Pipe Dream

Mark this one as classic: "Professional worrier Jeremy Rifkin's pronouncements always remind me of the characterization by one-time Speaker of the House of Representatives Thomas B. Reed of his political opponents, 'They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge.' "

Tech Central Station is definitely classifying Jeremy Rifkin where he belongs - in the same category as nutbars and lunatics.

Which is nice, considering Rifkin has just published a new book entitled "The European Dream."

There is some great stuff here...

"it is useful to consider briefly Rifkin's previously published views on other subjects. In "Beyond Beef," he asserts that "the statistics linking domestic violence and quarrels over beef are both revealing and compelling." He believes that men use meat as "a means of conditioning women to accept a subservient status in society." The evidence? He quotes a woman battered by her husband: "It would start off with him being angry over a trivial thing like cheese instead of meat on a sandwich." Oh.

A sticky situation...

Now, the next time says you're slower than swimming through molasses, you can toss this little bit of junk-science debunking back at them - according to researchers at the University of Minnesota, water isn't any faster to swim through.

I can see the new training regimen for Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe now... swimming through fluid that "looked like snot. I don't know how to describe it any more poetically..."

Now, here's a disturbing thought...

Recent reports in the media have revealed Iran is working on a Nuclear Weapons Program.

Call me a cynic, but somehow, I'm not filled with warm fuzzies when I think about Iran and nuclear security.

What kept us all alive throughout the cold war was the realization that MAD - Mutual Assured Destruction - was just that, mad. After all, who wanted to commit suicide for the sake of beating up the other guy?

Unfortunately, we may now have an answer - especially when there is a culture promoting suicide bombings. There are many extremists who would be happy to commit the ultimate sacrifice, if it meant eradicating the earth from "the great Satan."

In an era where nuclear payloads are smaller, missiles ranges are longer, and where even North Korea is capable of launching warheads from a submarine, these thoughts still don't provide those warm, fuzzy feelings.

Dissecting the Activist Groups.

The State of Virginia just passed legislation which allows students to opt out of dissecting fetal pigs, frogs, earthworms and the like if it's something they're 'uncomfortable' with.

Not suprisingly, the legislation was supported and sponsored by PETA and the Humane Society for the United States. In fact, in the Associated Press article (link above) about this initiative, the Humane Society is quoted rather extensively as an authoritative post on the cruelties animals face before they are euthanized and dissected.

Here's the part which is truly sad and ironic - guess how many shelters the Humane Society of the United States operates?

None. Not a single one. The HSUS relies on mistaken name recognition for donations and public recognition. It's the difference between an animal 'welfare' organization (the good guys actually HELPING animals) and an animal 'rights' organization (the people who have over $84 million in assets.)