Jul 142009
Jul 142009
In the late 50’s/early 60’s, the major aerospace companies in the US cranked out volumes of speculative and sometimes jsut plain nutty artwork showing what our future in space was going to look like. The Martin Corporation was no exception. The Glenn L. Martin Aviation Museum has copies of a number of these pieces. It’s not known if the designs shown were based on detailed engineering studies, very preliminary engineering studies, notional engineering ideas, or just the artists imagination. A whole lot of the latter can probably be safely assumed, however.
This painting was done by N. Stanilla, and was featured on the August 1959 cover of “Space Age” magazine.
Jul 122009
Ireland has regressed and passed an anti-blasphemy law:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0710/1224250387384.html
THE DEFAMATION Bill was passed by a single vote after the Government nearly suffered a defeat on an amendment by Fine Gael’s Eugene Regan which would have deleted the offence of blasphemy from the Bill.
Section 36
(1) A person who publishes or utters blasphemous matter shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €100,000. [Amended to €25,000]
(2) For the purposes of this section, a person publishes or utters blasphemous matter if (a) he or she publishes or utters matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion, and (b) he or she intends, by the publication or utterance of the matter concerned, to cause such outrage.
Oh, for Hel’s sake. Blasphemy laws are a holdover from a darker time, and they should *not* be a part of any modern society. Any person who is so fragile in their faith that they need laws to protect them from hearing a contrary view needs to wonder if maybe that faith just ain’t for them.
The odd thing is that this law is coming from Europe. For decades Europe has been becoming more and more secular; I’m forever seeing European speakers and posters yammer on about how stupid/backwards/ignorant/whatever Americans are because we have, on the whole, substantially deeper and wider religious belief. So why is Ireland leading the charge into the past? After years of secularism, what growing subset of the population could this sort of law possibly be meant to placate? Hmmmm…. gosh, nothing comes to mind….
Odin laughs at your dumbass blasphemy laws and your cowardly faith.
Jul 112009
Yet another Hiller painting, this time showing a Boeing airliner concept done up in NASA markings. Similar to the previous design shown, but with the aft-fan turboprops mounted at the ends of sizable tailplanes, and with a simpler wing planform. No further data.
Jul 112009
As a followup to the “I’m from the government” posts, here’s a link to H. L. Mencken’s 1924 essay on how to deal with jobholders (government employees) who are doing their jobs poorly. Some highlights:
I announce without further ado that such a system, after due prayer, I have devised. It is simple, it is unhackneyed, and I believe that it would work. It is divided into two halves. The first half takes the detection and punishment of the crimes of jobholders away from courts of impeachment, congressional smelling committees, and all the other existing agencies-i.e., away from other jobholders-and vests it in the whole body of free citizens, male and female. The second half provides that any member of that body, having looked into the acts of a jobholder and found him delinquent, may punish him instantly and on the spot, and in any manner that seems appropriate and convenient-and that, in case this punishment involves physical damage to the jobholder, the ensuing inquiry by a grand jury or coroner shall confine itself strictly to the question of whether the jobholder deserved what he got. In other words, I propose that it shall be no longer malum in se for a citizen to pummel, cowhide, kick, gouge, cut, wound, bruise, maim, burn, club, bastinado, flay, or even lynch a jobholder, and that it shall be malum prohibitum only to the extent that the punishment exceeds the jobholder’s deserts. The amount of this excess, if any, may be determined very conveniently by a petit jury, as other questions of guilt are now determined. The flogged judge, or Congressman, or other jobholder, on being discharged from hospital-or his chief heir, in case he has perished-goes before a grand jury and makes a complaint, and, if a true bill is found, a petit jury is empaneled and all the evidence is put before it. If it decides that the jobholder deserves the punishment inflicted upon him, the citizen who inflicted it is acquitted with honor. If, on the contrary, it decides that this punishment was excessive, then the citizen is adjudged guilty of assault, mayhem, murder, or whatever it is, in a degree apportioned to the difference between what the jobholder deserved and what he got, and punishment for that excess follows in the usual course.
Jul 112009
Yikes. Another example of why government types should be pondered with skepticism… especially in relation to children.
Children: Father didn’t abuse us: Ex-Vancouver police officer spent nearly 20 years in prison
The two adult children of former Vancouver police officer Clyde Ray Spencer, who spent nearly 20 years in prison after being convicted of molesting them, testified in court Friday the abuse never happened.
A 33-year-old son recalled how, at age 9, he was repeatedly questioned, alone, by now-retired Detective Sharon Krause of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. He said after months of questioning, he said he was abused to get Krause to leave him alone.
…
He hired Seattle attorney Peter Camiel in the mid-1990s. Camiel and a private investigator uncovered several disturbing facts about the investigation — including that prosecutors withheld medical exams that showed no evidence of abuse, despite Krause’s claims that the children had been violently, repeatedly raped — and those discoveries led Gov. Gary Locke to commute Spencer’s sentence in 2004.
Ye gods. For the life of me I have no idea why the testimony of children is *ever* taken seriously. Their grasp on reality is really tenuous, and they are easily manipulated… especially, it seems, by overzealous prosecutors. When forensic evidence is at hand – as was the case here – that should take precedence over the stories of kids. When forensic evidence is withheld – as was the case here – the prosecutor needs to be put up on charges. I can only hope that if Spencer succeeds in clearing his name, he sues the bejeesus out of not only the courts, but Krause. Twenty years of back pay plus interest.
Jul 112009
Jul 112009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huUJ19l73VI
Perhaps his greatest moment of stupidity comes between 1:30 and 2:00, where he says (paraphrasing) that if we simply reworked all of civilization to be more efficient, we would not need to build new powerplants. While this may be true on a simplistic mathematical level, it fails to take into account that fact that even with greatly increased efficencies, the *need* for power is going to continue for the foreseeable future. The nearly three billion people of China and India are working hard to increase their standard of living; this means, among other things, a greatly increased need for power and transport. I don’t care how efficient your systems are, you simply can’t turn a water buffalo into a car, a TV, a PC or a jetliner.
What the world needs is not “global governance” imposing “efficiency” standards that limit dreams and possibilities and liberty; what the world needs is a few hundred terawatts of new, latest-generation nuclear powerplants, preferably of the breeder reactor variety.
Jul 112009
Can there possibly be a more frightening phrase than that? I have doubts. Especially after reading this:
They were just a normal, happy family, it seems, until the RSPCA, backed up by 18 police officers, arrived at their house early one April morning in 2007, following a tip-off that dogs were being mistreated, and that there might be guns in the house.
No guns were ever found. No criminal charges were brought, nor does Richard have a criminal record.
…
This week, after 74 separate court hearings over two harrowing years, the family finally lost their fight to have Jenny returned to them.
The Court of Appeal in London ruled that their daughter must be given up for adoption. If and when she is, they may never see her again.
Jenny was five when she was taken away, and seven now.
“Social Services,” both in Britain and America, seem to be at the leading edge of stampeding fascism. There are tales of woe from both sides of the Atlantic where brain-dead bureaucrats have decided – based on minimal or even misleading evidence – to break up familes. And being government bureaucrats, they are accountable, it seems, to nobody.
One is left to wonder… if these parents could somehow grab their daughter and spirit her across the Atlantic, could they seek political asylum? On the one hand, US government bureaucrats would surely come down in favor of their Brit counterparts… but on the other hand, we regularly accept people based on the notion that if they return home, their familes will be torn apart.
Another interesting fact: the article does not show a photo of the child. The parents were threatened with jail because *they* put up a poster with a photo of their child. It is apparently illegal in Britain to identify children in such circumstances. Even by the kids parents.
A general suggestion: whenever you hear a politician or a government official or bureaucrat suggest doing *anything* that increases the scope and power of the government, be concerned. But if, when explaining why they want that new power, they say “for the children,” be afraid. It’s time to start seriously considering that the use of the phrase “for the children” by government employees is grounds for immediate job termination and a permanent ban on ever drawing another penny in government salary or pension.
Jul 102009
Now this is friggen’ AWESOME.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/663812
Usually a vibrant neighbourhood gathering place, Merrill Bridge Road Park near Woodbine and Danforth Aves. sat empty as city work crews sat on picket lines.
So MacLean called her neighbours and organized a grass-cutting evening earlier this week. Eight lawn mowers tackled the grass, which had grown to nearly knee height. Suddenly, the park was alive again. The dog-walkers returned within minutes.
“The city belongs to everybody, not just the striking workers. It belongs to the taxpayers,” said MacLean, a resident of the Beach. “We have to stop relying on the city to provide everything. The community has to take some kind of ownership and that’s what we’re doing.”
Damned skippy, Ms. MacLean!
But of course, there’s always another side to any story:
But the striking Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 416 is warning citizens who take maintenance into their own hands.
“You could use the word `scab,’ ” said local president Mark Ferguson. “Whenever we see people performing bargaining unit work during a labour disruption, it’s certainly not helpful. Those actions only lead to prolonging the disruption.”
Ah, Union thugs making veiled threats against people who just want to have a nice park again. And there are some people who wonder why I’m down on unions.
An interesting economic experiment could follow. As a result of the strike, the citizens have decided to take care of their park themselves. If they are willing to do this *now,* perhaps they’ll be willing to *keep* doing this. Which means the city won’t need to hire union workers to do this. Which means the strike can be ended by simply pointing out to the union that when the strike is over, there will be fewer of them on the payroll. And the longer the strike goes on, the more the citizens will do for themselves… and the fewer workers still will be needed. Hurray for strikes! Keep it up long enough and you’ll ALL be out of a job.