Author: Simon

I was checking out the home page of Neda Net and came across this interesting bit: I’m Eric S. Raymond. Some of you will know me from the open-source movement as “ESR”. Because of the real threat of terrorist action against us, most of NedaNet is keeping a low profile. I have volunteered to be…

An Iranian asks: “Dear Israeli Brothers and Sisters,” writes Iranian dissident Arash Irandoost, “Iran needs your help more than ever now. And we will be eternally grateful. Please help opposition television and radio stations which are blocked and being jammed by the Islamic Republic (Nokia and Siemens) resume broadcast to Iran. There is a total…

The Climate Bill passed the House 219 to 212. Which is a fairly slim margin since the minimum required for a House majority is 218 votes. Now the Senate has to go over it. It will be interesting to see how the Senators from Illinois (a coal state – I met my mate in Carbondale,…

An EPA Staffer, Alan Carlin, has dropped a bomb [pdf] not just on global warming (it is currently not happening) but also on the “concensus” hypothesis about how the climate system works. The document makes these points: The EPA report is based on the last IPCC report which is now 3 years out of date.…

The question of the day is: will Northern Lights replace Cabernet Sauvignon or Dos Equis? Mary is a 37-year-old, self-employed mother in Seattle who smokes pot several times a week. “It is relaxing, fun, and once in a while I self-medicate for cramps or headaches,” said Mary. She says she prefers smoking to drinking beer…

Some of you may remember my article Defeated by Pornography where I discussed how modern technology was liquefying Islamic society. We can start with this amazing statistic: Up to 70% of files exchanged between Saudi teenagers’ mobile phones contain pornography, according to a study in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom. Well the Saudis are at it…

Pam Geller of Atlas Shrugs is doing an excellent job of keeping up to date on events in Iran. She has a report from a medical student. I only want to speak about what I have witnessed. I am a medical student. There was chaos at the trauma section in one of our main hospitals.…

If you look at my sidebar at Power and Control you will see that the logo for Regime Change Iran has been banned. The message reads in part: This page/domain banned b/c porn, warez, or topsite. If you own this site and feel the ban is in error visit imageshack.us go to “Contact Image Shack”…

I was browsing Amazon and came across a book, Government Failure, which seems tailor made for current economic and political conditions. So, how about some reviews? This one gives the book 5 stars. The general thrust of the text is that, however well-intentioned, no government can sustain a vibrant and diverse welfare-state over the long-term.…

Power Magazine whose mission is to cover Business and Technology for the Global Generation Industry reports on what Green Energy is doing to Spain. It is pretty ugly. Gabriel Calzada Álvarez, PhD, an economics professor at King Juan Carlos University in Madrid, completed Spain’s first comprehensive review of the long-term effects of Spain’s renewable energy…

In an article discussing Mexico’s probable decriminalization of small amounts of drugs for personal use, the US Drug Enforcement Agency made its unhappiness known. Michele Leonhart, acting director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, however, said in April that legalization “would be a failed law enforcement strategy for both the U.S. and Mexico.” How true.…

Rumors that the Iranian elections had crooked election results in 150 or more Iranian cities is totally false. Nothing of the sort happened. According to Iranian government sources. Quoted by Press TV, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, the spokesman for the authoritative Guardian Council — a 12-member panel of clerics charged with certifying the vote — denied…

You don’t get that much around here. But when he does something right he should be encouraged. This is from the 16th of June so I’m a little late. WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it had contacted the social networking service Twitter to urge it to delay a planned upgrade…

The story of the Revolution is being written by the women. I don’t know where this uprising is leading. I do know some police units are wavering. That commander talking about his family was not alone. There were other policemen complaining about the unruly Basijis. Some security forces just stood and watched. “All together, all…

Woman Shot By Iranian Regime Gateway Pundit has the story. Gateway also has this picture gleaned from Facebook. The next few days will tell the story. Will there be enough blood in the streets to end the demonstrations? Or have things already gone beyond control? Update: 21 June 2009, 0152z The woman who died was…

Scientists are all the time trying to figure out how the world works (it is their job after all). So they think about things that interest them and imagine how they work. Then they develop a rule, called a hypothesis, to match their imaginings. Then they test the rule against the real world. Some times…

It seems that the Obama Government is loosing the support of its own members. WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration is unfair to the ethanol industry with its proposals on greenhouse gas reduction, the House Agriculture Committee chairman said on Wednesday, and he will not support any climate-change bills. “You’re going to kill off the…

The below video came from Raye Man Kojast? Where Is My Vote? There is a lot of excellent material there in English, French, and Farsi. Updated frequently. I SUPPORT DEMOCRACY IN IRAN Just as Cross Posted at Power and Control

The joke that is the ITER Fusion Project in France just got a lot funnier today. The EC said it welcomed the decision by the parties to adopt a “phased approach to the completion of ITER construction as a working basis for development of the project baseline.” In particular the EC said it welcomed a…

The BBC reports that tokamak fusion may be 100 years off. The Iter project was set up three years ago to build an experimental nuclear fusion reactor in the south of France. But construction costs alone have more than doubled and some scientists now argue that the development of fusion as a commercial power source…