Armed with stun guns and really, really large nets, officials will be out on the streets of the Indian capital in their hundreds this week as the capital gets tough in its mission to eradicate stray cattle.
Here cow, he-r-r-e-e cow ...
The problem of New Delhi's rampaging cow population has become so severe that the High Court has issued city authorities with a one-week ultimatum to clear the streets of illegally roaming animals. The crackdown is likely to end in violence as the owners of the city's 3,500 illegal street dairies fiercely resist all attempts to round up the beasts.
Although tourists are charmed by the sight of traffic brought to a standstill by cows grazing on the city's highways, Delhi's residents are increasingly disgusted by the disruption and danger that cattle pose. Almost every week new stories of their savagery hit the front pages. Last February, a retired railway official and a maid were gored to death by a wild bull, and in March a Hindu priest was attacked and killed by a cow.
Obviously the Hindu reverence for cows isn't mutual.
Despite a two-year clean-up campaign, officials estimate 32,000 cows remain. Failure to solve the problem led to this week's court ultimatum. Officials' reluctance stems not from respect for the cow as a holy Hindu animal, but from fear of reprisals.
At the heart of the problem are the city's illegal dairies whose owners allow the cattle to graze untended during the day before rounding them up for milking in the evenings. These small businesses are often protected by powerful local interests, and have responded with gang violence to attempts to confiscate their animals. 'Our officials are beaten up whenever they go to catch stray cattle,' a lawyer for the municipal council told the court.
"Sic 'em, Bessie!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/01/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Heck with the guns and nets, all they need is some steel buckets and some 16% dairy feed-- they'll come a runnin'. I own cattle, So I know what I'm talking about.
The only problem is what to do with them after they're collected and corraled. I understand the local holy rollers would object to them winding up in the local packing house.
Posted by: N Guard ||
05/01/2005 4:38 Comments ||
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How to deal with cows is succintly presented on this site.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/01/2005 14:52 Comments ||
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Thanks, Frank!
Hadn't seen that in a while. I still think it's hysterical. :-D
(sorry, tt)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/01/2005 15:04 Comments ||
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#11
The theme song on Muck4doo's blog is "Cows With Guns". By the way, go over there and readf Muck's review of "The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy". I rerad it this morning and I'm still laughing. his blog is Freepers and hipies and trolls, oh my. (meatismurder)
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/01/2005 15:49 Comments ||
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thisn my revyoo im posterd at epinions. they ban me from public viewin so imaposterin it here:
bringer towl
Apr 30 '05
Pros
their is no nudity or foul langwage in thes moviee
Cons
their is no nudity or foul langwage in thes moviee
The Bottom Line
ima saw thisn at teh movee theatre. why is it ask me dvd or vhs? goddamit! thisn as bad as papar or plastic!
Full Review
Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie''s plot.
today ima went an watcherd em moovie hichhikers guyde to em galaxee. itn purdy funy with lotta speshel afects and whitey one liners. itn base on em book by dug atoms and that book is haf the same name. itn purdy funy to but not hafa spechel afects. unlessn your think numberd pajes is speshal. this moovee is start with auther dent and him sidekik ford from space. athur is play by em whinee french guy and ford is play by em black guy. thisn movee has sumthin no othern movee is dare do befour. itn have singin an dancin dolfins! now itn sad that dolfins are go extinc ofn teh planet but dont wory bout them as they are flipper em way offn space. ima smeller the start of em space peta. thisn ladee sitin neer me was all sad when em dolfin went away but ifn she reeder goddam book once in em wile she is know they gonna be akoy! sheeesh! goddam hippies.
#13
Thank you, half. Mucky is a true modern poet. I'm so glad he found us, and stayed long enough to get over his prejudices and share his true, wiser self.
#15
Dear Lord, no! Not Vogon (Yes, I do believe you spellt that right, CF). Mucky is more along the lines of eecummings or Elizabeth Barret Browning -- utter nonsense until you tilt into his particular stream of consciousness (and learn to decode his unique spelling) ;-) And no, not at all like Rantburg's special correspondent JosephMendiola.
A Chinese shopkeeper was murdered in a "horrific and frenzied" attack by more than 20 armed teenagers, police have said.
Mi Gao Huangchen was battered to death with a spade, tree branch and metal pipes by the gang in Wigan.
Police have arrested 17 teenagers on suspicion of assault and violent disorder, including a girl of 14.
Mr Huangchen, who ran Superb Hut takeaway in the Scholes area of Wigan, was attacked last Saturday night.
He suffered massive head injuries and was left in a coma.
He died in Hope Hospital, Salford, on Thursday without regaining consciousness.
His girlfriend is believed to have seen the attack as he was set upon by more than 20 youngsters.
Detective Chief Inspector Steve Crimmins said: "It is quite frightening really, it was a frenzied attack. It was horrific and sickening.
"There have been ongoing problems in the area.
"There's been general nuisance that you associate with large groups of youths, in essence rowdiness and criminal damage.
"For some reason it has escalated out of all proportion and a man has lost his life."
Police are appealing for witnesses and further information.
President Roh Moo-hyun's ruling Uri Party suffered a crushing defeat in by-elections, failing to win a single parliamentary seat and losing a race even in Roh's hometown, final results showed Sunday.
South Korea's main opposition Grand National Party, or GNP, swept five out of six parliamentary seats up for grabs in Saturday's polls, and increased its seats to 125 in the 299-member National Assembly. An independent lawmaker won the final seat.
The ruling Uri Party, which currently holds 146 seats, had hoped to restore its majority in the parliament. The party lost its parliamentary majority earlier this year after five of its lawmakers lost their seats for election law violations.
The GNP's victories marked a rebound for the party, which lost a parliamentary majority in last year's polls to the Uri Party. GNP candidate Kim Chung-kwon won in Gimhae in Kyongsan Province, Roh's hometown.
The Uri Party said it will "modestly accept the painful outcome," as Uri Party Chairman Moon Hee-sang told reporters "severe self-reflection" was necessary.
Posted by: ed ||
05/01/2005 11:21:49 AM ||
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The GNP is the sane party of SKor. They have come out and said NKor is SK's primary enemy vs Roh and his Uri party slipping Kimmie the old tongue $500 million dollars. Think of the analogue of Germany where Schroeder lost all 6 by elections (5 to CDU, 1 Indep.). It would be big news, only the situation in the Korean peninsula will determine if we, and much of Asia, will go to war, while Germany is now irrelevant to us.
Posted by: ed ||
05/01/2005 20:05 Comments ||
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Acting Immigration Minister Peter McGauran says an Australian woman who was deported by mistake four years ago is missing overseas. The woman's case is one of a number Mr McGauran has referred to the inquiry investigating the detention of Cornelia Rau, who was kept in immigration detention for 10 months even though she is an Australian resident. Mr McGauran says a search is under way for the woman and says there might be other cases of the same severity.
He says the woman's family notified the Immigration Department about her situation and the case has been referred to the inquiry being headed by former Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Palmer. "The individual is still overseas and we're attempting to locate the individual and we're liaising with the family," Mr McGauran said. "But in the meantime Mr Palmer will inquire into all circumstances surrounding this particularly disturbing case."
Mr McGauran says he cannot identify the woman for privacy reasons. He says a review of the system in the wake of revelations about Ms Rau's detention detected the other cases. "People who've been in detention are then released because they have a lawful right to stay in Australia," he said. "Given all of the questions surrounding the Cornelia Rau matter, we've reviewed our system, located a number of matters that we have now referred to Mr Palmer for his consideration and possible investigation."
The Federal Opposition has demanded the Government reveal more information about new cases of wrongful detention in Australian immigration detention centres, including one in which an Australian citizen was deported. The Opposition's immigration spokesman, Laurie Ferguson, says the Palmer inquiry is inadequate for dealing with such serious matters. "The reality is that its powers are limited, its authority is limited, it is not in the public domain in a real sense," Mr Ferguson said. "We've said that from day one that the Rau matter is so serious, it's indicative of other problems in the detention process, it should be absolutely judicially dominated and should be open to the Australian public."
Mr Ferguson says a public judicial inquiry with more authority is needed and says it highlights issues within the Department of Immigration. "Now we have an Australian citizen deported out of the country because of some misunderstanding, incompetence, who knows what with the department,' he said. "It really calls into question whether this current inquiry has enough powers to get to the bottom of it."
The Democrats have welcomed the decision to expand the inquiry. Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett says it highlights the need for the inquiry to be public, with proper legal powers. "It is a real problem not to have legal protection for the evidence and not to have the powers to demand that evidence be given," he said.
Ian Rintaul from the Refugee Action Coalition agrees a more public inquiry with more teeth is required. "We're shocked and outraged that such a thing could take place but not really surprised," Mr Rintaul said. He says the revelations show up serious flaws inside the Immigration Department. "They claim to be sort of impeccable in this regard and have continued to insist on that in spite of the instances over and over again, that refugee advocates have raised - they can't keep maintaining the cover-up," he said.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
05/01/2005 12:27:30 AM ||
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Proverbial storm in a very small teacup. Rau a seriously deranged woman claimed to be an illegal resident and absent any evidence to the contrary was locked up - the norm here in Oz for illegals. We know nothing about the other case but it sounds like a run of the mill goverment screw up. Mr Rintaul appears to be your basic Lefty skyisfalling pathological liar. Where are the 'over and over again' instances? Nothing of interest here. Move along.
Ever the masters of punctilious regulation, the European Union's 25 Commissioner have outdone themselves with a code of conduct for their new and beautifully-appointed Brussels sauna.
A 10-point code sent to Peter Mandelson and his colleagues advises them on etiquette in the mixed facility, which opened last week. Nudity is de rigueur, according to the commission's infrastructure office, but bravado is not.
"Reckless competition about who stands heat best is out of the question. Leave your clothes in the dressing room - nakedness is natural," the code tells its 18 male and seven female commissioners. "Sweating makes swimsuits uncomfortable." The list of dos and don'ts is comprehensive. Commissioners in the sauna, installed in the EU's recently renovated Berlaymont headquarters in Brussels, are advised to take their time, allowing "at least an hour and a half" for each session.
Showers are required beforehand "to moisten the skin and remove any possible body or fragrant odours" and they are reminded to dry themselves with a towel afterwards.
"You can also lie down and even close your eyes for a while if you feel like it," the code suggests. The "ritual is meant to be relaxing" so "hurry and noise" are frowned upon.
Use of the "whisk" - a bunch of birch twigs, bound together and used to beat the skin and enhance circulation - comes in for attention.
It is not recommended on the first sauna as "the skin has not yet softened adequately". Commissioners are advised to cool off with a "refreshing drink and a salty snack to your personal taste".
The VIP sauna, which operates five days a week and at weekends on special request, is only for commissioners, heads of cabinet and special guests. A separate sauna for the rest of the commission's staff will offer all-male and all-female sessions, with mixed session on Fridays.
Francoise le Bail, a spokesman for the commission, denied that politicians were over-indulged. She said that saunas were installed in the commission's temporary head office in 1995 after Sweden and Finland joined the bloc, to make staff feel at home.
Should newcomers to Brussels such as Mr Mandelson - who joined six months ago - need more advice, they can call on their Swedish colleague, Margot Wallstrom. The commissioner with the tricky job of "selling" the controversial EU constitution, Ms Wallstrom was said to be among the more assiduous sauna-users during her previous stint as commissioner for the environment.
The saunas, with taxpayer-funded showers and whisks, have their critics. "It would seem that the commission needs instructions in even the simplest things in life," said Christopher Heaton-Harris, a Conservative MEP.
"Not many offices have saunas for their top executives even in the companies that perform well. The commissioners are just pampering themselves."
The commission moved back into the star-shaped building last year after being forced to leave in 1991 while asbestos was removed from the structure. The renovation overran by many years, and went tens of millions of euros over budget.
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/01/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Wander in around 10,at noon head off to a 3-4 hour "working lunch"(per Margot's blog),then head to the sauna to relieve stress for an hour and a half(we have no choice,that's how long we are required to use it!),it's now about 5,and another successful day of hard work making Europe work is over. Where do I sign up?
Posted by: Stephen ||
05/01/2005 1:59 Comments ||
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#2
Sweet. Maybe it's time for a change of scenery.
#4
You would think the pending French vote would be enough to make them sweat.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/01/2005 10:58 Comments ||
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#5
I've got a salty snack for ya...
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/01/2005 11:09 Comments ||
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#6
Wouldn't it be fun if about 500 of the sods were having their sauna when the door became latched and the temperature went up to about 250 F? They could thereafter be referred to as "The Lobstermen from Marseilles".
What's next - instructions on where and how to breathe? :-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/01/2005 12:54 Comments ||
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They're working on it, Barbara.
Posted by: too true ||
05/01/2005 13:18 Comments ||
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tt - I'm sure it will involve fact-finding missions to the world's toniest resorts (first class, of course), committies to study whether they should study whether to appoint a committee, etc.
Ad nauseum.
And the rule, when it is finally promulgated, will be 17 pages long. In each language.
Forget about the jihadis in their midst - the Euros will regulate themselves out of existence.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/01/2005 14:46 Comments ||
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For the first time opinion polls in France show the 'yes' vote in favour of the European constitution ahead of the 'no'. Two polls, for Le Monde and Journal du Dimanche, found 52 per cent of people for the draft constitution and 48 against. But a large number said they might still change their minds ahead of the 29 May referendum. The turnaround comes after 'yes' campaigners last week used the test flight over Toulouse of the giant Airbus A380 to rally high-profile women to the cause and claim EU enlargement had boosted foreign trade. But today's May Day marches will be an opportunity for a comeback by 'no' campaigners , including weirdos communists, fools nationalists, rubes Greens and simple-minded rustics the anti-globalisation movement.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/01/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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I would guess that the opinion polls are being manipulated to try to convince the French people that the majority of their citizens believe a YES vote is in the best interests of France, a typical response by the elites to a recalcitrant populace. They may even employ some propaganda consultants from George Soros and friends.
#4
Stealing of the vote was a conclusion I came to weeks ago. Chirac and his cronies have not found a level to low to stoop yet.
When I told my wife that she should be encouraging the learning of French as a national security need She agreed. One must know the language of your foe.
MOSCOW - World leaders convene May 9 in Moscow to commemorate the 60th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany and the end of the bloodiest conflict in history in which 40 to 60 million people were slain in warfare or exterminated in genocide.
For Russia, pride in the major part in the World War II victory played by the armed forces of the Soviet Union will be balanced by memories of the losses, civilian and military, widely put at 22-25 million. It will also be an occasion for Russians to to look back at one of the finest moments in their history.
Nobody can ever doubt the bravery of the common Ivan.
Their contribution included resistance at the savage sieges of Leningrad and Stalingrad in conditions of ferocious cold and hunger, and the 50-day battle of Kursk, the greatest clash between tanks ever seen.
President George W. Bush of the United States, a wartime ally, will be among the leaders present. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of Germany, which surrendered unconditionally in May 1945 and became the focus of the Cold War between the former allies, will also be there. Ceremonies will include a military parade in Red Square, with copies of military trucks used during the war.
And President Vladimir Putin is expected to use a reception for the visiting dignitaries to burnish Russia's image, tarnished in recent times by such events as the war in Chechnya and the Yukos oil affair. "Every regime likes to show foreign leaders its greatness, and if there isn't any present-day greatness, at least the greatness of yesteryear," Nikolai Petrov, an analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center, said.
For the Russians the ceremonies will evoke mixed feelings: pride, certainly, in their country's major role in the defeat of Nazi Germany, but also memories of the dictatorship of Josef Stalin and a ruthless totalitarianism that took millions of lives.
Clear skies are expected in Moscow, thanks to the mobilisation of aircraft to disperse any intrusive clouds, using technology inherited from the Soviet Union. The diplomatic weather, though, may be less sunny. For Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania May 9, 1945 was the date of their forcible integration into the USSR. All three are now members of the EU and NATO and want to give their version of history, even if that means honouring citizens who fought with the Germans against Russia in the belief they were defending their homelands.
For Russians raised to revere the memory of the "Great Patriotic War" such an attitude is hard to swallow: so it is perhaps as well that only Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga will make the short journey to Moscow.
Moscow will be largely closed down for the commemoration and ordinary people will have little or no access to leaders and events. "That will irritate them as they consider the day as an occasion for everyone,"said Levada.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/01/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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In Gaza and the West Bank there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
This zip file is 1.8 meg. It contains 147 Word files that total 7 meg when unzipped. For some reason, the Navy doesn't make these reports available online, instead requiring that the profiles of specific countries be requested from them. Utilizing the Freedom of Information Act, frequent Memory Hole contributor Michael Ravnitzky requested all of them. He received 147 (the Navy's VECTRAP page says that they cover "over two hundred countries").
The profiles are in the zip file above. They include Afghanistan, Cuba, France, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kenya, Libya, Rwanda, the UK, the former Soviet Union, and 136 others.
Law enforcement officers from two northern California counties were found liable Thursday for using excessive force by swabbing pepper spray in the eyes of logging protesters in 1997. A jury awarded eight plaintiffs $1 each.
It was the third trial in the case; the first two ended in deadlocked juries in 1998 and 2004.
The plaintiffs laughed and hugged outside the courtroom - and applauded when jurors left their chambers.
"They did the right thing," said Terri Slanetz, a 42-year-old naturalist from Oakland. "We've been trying all along to get a statement that this was illegal. It's a positive step toward people treating each other decently."
The protesters claim their civil rights were violated when Humboldt County sheriff's deputies and Eureka police officers swabbed pepper spray directly in their eyes during the 1997 protest.
The protesters argued the pepper spray was used to illegally punish and intimidate them for chaining themselves together and making it difficult for authorities to arrest them.
Attorneys said the verdict would prevent the use of pepper spray on nonviolent protesters.
"The plaintiffs were never in it for the money. They were in it for the principle," attorney Tony Serra said.
The defendants in the case were Humboldt County, the city of Eureka, retired county Sheriff Dennis Lewis and current Sheriff Gary Philp, who was chief deputy sheriff at the time of the protest.
"It's nice to have someone come in with some kind of resolution of the case," Philp said. "The nominal damages show that the jury thought no one got hurt."
The protests took place at the Eureka office of then-Rep. Frank Riggs, and at the Scotia headquarters of the Pacific Lumber Co. Now they can join with the Taliban in claiming a "moral victory".
That's eight hundred times what I'd have awarded: I'd have given them a penny and told them to share it.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
05/01/2005 13:48 Comments ||
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IIRC - they were awarded damages only because the pepper spray was swabbed directly into their eyes, not sprayed as per instructions. I'd call it a loss, but then, I'm not a 42 yr old "naturalist" from Oakland. I have a job. Next time I'd take a cutting torch to those steel tubes, let the f*&kers feel some consequences
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/01/2005 14:00 Comments ||
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One of my favorite scenes in all of science fiction is "the massacre of the Comet Wardens" in Niven and Pournelle's Lucifer's Hammer.
Lucifer's Hammer, 1977
time: late 70s
place: mostly Southern California
An amateur astronomer named Tim Hamner discovers a new comet on a course that will take it very close to the Earth. The comet nucleus will rain mountain size chunks all over the Earth if it happens to hit, causing tsunamis, drastic weather change, and effects akin go nuclear winter.
In the weeks and months after Hamner's discovery, the chances of a collision grow from one in a million to one in a hundred to one in ten. A new religious cult, the Comet Wardens, forms in Southern California. Playing on the discoverer's name, their leader declares that the comet is the "hammer of God" sent to punish humanity for its wickedness. The Wardens dress in white robes and oppose all efforts to prepare for a possible collision, insisting that only prayer and repentance will save humanity.
By the morning the comet is due, millions have already fled the LA basin for the hills and deserts. With a collision deemed ever more likely, the last hold-outs run for the hills, jamming the freeways.
In a final spectacular demonstration, the white robed Comet Wardens chain themselves across a major traffic artery, snarling traffic for miles and trapping the panic stricken hordes in the city.
The comet actually hits, dropping a huge asteroid into the ocean just off LA. It is clearly visible from the city, God's own tsunami is headed their way and thousands cannot escape.
The Comet Wardens have thrown away the keys to their chains, there is no time or equipment to cut the chains and open the highway, and the police have fled.
Thousands of would-be refugees realize that they are doomed and that they could have gotten away if not for the Comet Wardens, now helpless in their long chains as the vengeful mob pounces. They have about half an hour before the tsunami hits.
#4
they were awarded damages only because the pepper spray was swabbed directly into their eyes, not sprayed as per instructions.
Yep, that was my only beef; they should've just blasted the bastards with the spray straight out of the dispenser. Either that or fill the whole room with tear gas.
I posted this late last night expecting it to be included in the midnight rollover and it was posted yesterday at a late hour that meant few would read it. Its an important topic and significant news so I beg the editor's indulgence with a repost.
Reg required so posted in full. It contains the startling admission from Science (the journal) that they don't publish information widely disseminated on the internet. Scientific and public interest are apparently not relevant criteria. I could go further and suggest that this reeks of the scientific equivalent of the MSM's fear that it is losing control of the agenda.
Two of the world's leading scientific journals have come under fire from researchers for refusing to publish papers which challenge fashionable wisdom over global warming.
A British authority on natural catastrophes who disputed whether climatologists really agree that the Earth is getting warmer because of human activity, says his work was rejected by the American publication, Science, on the flimsiest of grounds. A separate team of climate scientists, which was regularly used by Science and the journal Nature to review papers on the progress of global warming, said it was dropped after attempting to publish its own research which raised doubts over the issue.
The controversy follows the publication by Science in December of a paper which claimed to have demonstrated complete agreement among climate experts, not only that global warming is a genuine phenomenon, but also that mankind is to blame. The author of the research, Dr Naomi Oreskes, of the University of California, analysed almost 1,000 papers on the subject published since the early 1990s, and concluded that 75 per cent of them either explicitly or implicitly backed the consensus view, while none directly dissented from it. Dr Oreskes's study is now routinely cited by those demanding action on climate change, including the Royal Society and Prof Sir David King, the Government's chief scientific adviser. However, her unequivocal conclusions immediately raised suspicions among other academics, who knew of many papers that dissented from the pro-global warming line.
They included Dr Benny Peiser, a senior lecturer in the science faculty at Liverpool John Moores University, who decided to conduct his own analysis of the same set of 1,000 documents - and concluded that only one third backed the consensus view, while only one per cent did so explicitly.
Dr Peiser submitted his findings to Science in January, and was asked to edit his paper for publication - but has now been told that his results have been rejected on the grounds that the points he make had been "widely dispersed on the internet". Dr Peiser insists that he has kept his findings strictly confidential. "It is simply not true that they have appeared elsewhere already," he said.
A spokesman for Science said Dr Peiser's research had been rejected "for a variety of reasons", adding: "The information in the letter was not perceived to be novel." Dr Peiser rejected this: "As the results from my analysis refuted the original claims, I believe Science has a duty to publish them."
Dr Peiser is not the only academic to have had work turned down which criticises the findings of Dr Oreskes's study. Prof Dennis Bray, of the GKSS National Research Centre in Geesthacht, Germany, submitted results from an international study showing that fewer than one in 10 climate scientists believed that climate change is principally caused by human activity. As with Dr Peiser's study, Science refused to publish his rebuttal. Prof Bray told The Telegraph: "They said it didn't fit with what they were intending to publish."
Prof Roy Spencer, at the University of Alabama, a leading authority on satellite measurements of global temperatures, told The Telegraph: "It's pretty clear that the editorial board of Science is more interested in promoting papers that are pro-global warming. It's the news value that is most important." He said that after his own team produced research casting doubt on man-made global warming, they were no longer sent papers by Nature and Science for review - despite being acknowledged as world leaders in the field.
As a result, says Prof Spencer, flawed research is finding its way into the leading journals, while attempts to get rebuttals published fail. "Other scientists have had the same experience", he said. "The journals have a small set of reviewers who are pro-global warming." Concern about bias within climate research has spread to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, whose findings are widely cited by those calling for drastic action on global warming.
In January, Dr Chris Landsea, an expert on hurricanes with the United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, resigned from the IPCC, claiming that it was "motivated by pre-conceived agendas" and was "scientifically unsound". A spokesman for Science denied any bias against sceptics of man-made global warming. "You will find in our letters that there is a wide range of opinion," she said. "We certainly seek to cover dissenting views."
Dr Philip Campbell, the editor-in-chief of Nature, said that the journal was always happy to publish papers that go against perceived wisdom, as long as they are of acceptable scientific quality. "The idea that we would conspire to suppress science that undermines the idea of anthropogenic climate change is both false and utterly naive about what makes journals thrive," he said.
Dr Peiser said the stifling of dissent and preoccupation with doomsday scenarios is bringing climate research into disrepute. "There is a fear that any doubt will be used by politicians to avoid action," he said. "But if political considerations dictate what gets published, it's all over for science." Too true, my friend.
Posted by: phil_b ||
05/01/2005 5:54:24 AM ||
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I strongly suggest that this is the first salvo of what will turn into a purge among the publishers of scientific journals. If this becomes widely circulated in blogistan, I suspect we may start to see a "Ratherization" take place, where the grass roots belief in the credibility takes such a hit that soon scientists will stop submitting articles to the more political journals, for fear that their own credibility may suffer. If they lose credibility, they also lose money. Nobody wants to fund scientific fraud.
#2
It contains the startling admission from Science (the journal) that they donât publish information widely disseminated on the internet.
Nothing startling there. One of the usual requirements for publishing a scientific paper in a major journal is that the paper not appear elsewhere.
Science is a process for learning about the world. The process has a lot of inertia built into it. You can can think of this as a damping force that keeps it from running off at wild tangents - unlike the mainstream media's trend of the moment and love of hysteria. Cold fusion, anyone?
#3
SteveS here is this so you cvan re-read it. His data was not on the internet.
"Dr Peiser submitted his findings to Science in January, and was asked to edit his paper for publication - but has now been told that his results have been rejected on the grounds that the points he make had been "widely dispersed on the internet". Dr Peiser insists that he has kept his findings strictly confidential. "It is simply not true that they have appeared elsewhere already," he said."
The problem is that this whole man is causing climate change meme is being represented as fact, and taught as fact, when it is only a popular concept with the MSM and a small number of of climate researchers. All people with "no apperent agenda." (which means there is one. It's plain as the nose on you face if you look.)
As far as a purge, I doubt it. Things will get worse before they get better.
What can't be allowed is for this meme to continue. Or for the falsity of this meme to be allowed to impede cleaning up of the local enviroment. Living in a less poluted enviroment is a worth while thing. Lying and being chicken shit about it just builds resistance to progress.
#4
We also can't allow the whole scientific process to be prostituted this way. I don't have a clue what the actual evidence suggests re: persisting global warming -- or the cause, if it exists. And that's because these studies aren't been debated openly.
Posted by: too true ||
05/01/2005 13:27 Comments ||
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#5
Nothing startling there. One of the usual requirements for publishing a scientific paper in a major journal is that the paper not appear elsewhere.
Yes, and no. In my field, it's common to put papers which have been accepted for publication on an archive where they can be downloaded and read before publication. All, as far as I know, of the major journals (again, in my field) allow this, but Science and Nature do not.
I get an emailed newsletter of abstracts of recent papers in my little specialty which have been accepted for publication. The editor makes an exception for papers in Science and Nature, allowing post-publication abstracts to be included, because those two journals will apparently not allow even the abstracts to be disseminated prior to publication.
I've often thought it would be cool to have a sort of work-in-progress science blog. For example, you do an experiment, do a little data analysis, and publish it in bits. You could say, "Gosh, I did this and got the strangest result. It seems to suggest that all the stars in the universe have disappeared. Anyone know what to make of it?" And then some more experienced researcher will comment, and note that you left the flippin' mirror cover closed, idiot, and so no light is getting to the telescope.
And that, of course, is why such a thing is not done.
#6
what good is a scientific journal that reports on one side of arguments? Grant-sucking academic parasites
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/01/2005 13:32 Comments ||
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#7
In biomedical research (and Science publishes a few articles on that every issue), pre-publication is not permitted in any way except for abstracts presented at meetings. Now if the work had appeared somewhere other than in abstract form, that would be sufficient grounds for Science to decline it, and I'd agree. Virtually every biomedical journal I know of has the same rule.
Angie references the fact that most journals now have an "articles in press" section on their website where you can download and read (usually in PDF format) manuscripts that have been accepted for publication but not yet published. This is done because the lag time between acceptance and publication is usually 4 to 8 months, and it's accepted nowadays that the science should get out to the people who want to see it. But that's not what the issue is here, since the manuscript is being distributed at the website of the journal.
For Angie: the NIH is in the process of overturning this established way of doing business, by "suggesting" (as only a government agency can) that all NIH-funded research, when accepted for publication at a journal, be deposited at an NIH website where anyone can read it. Now, virtually all journals have a copyright transfer agreement in place (you want your manuscript published, you transfer the copyright to them), and most journals forbid reproduction elsewhere for anywhere from 6 to 24 months (it varies). This is how they enforce their subscription policy and get libraries, etc., to pay. The new NIH mechanism threatens to subvert all that by putting all the manuscripts into the public domain for free. Their rationale is that the NIH paid for the work, so they should have some role in disseminating the results. I suspect, as do many scientists, that their real goal is to replace the scientific, biomedical journals. Whether that's a good thing or not depends on your point of view, I suppose.
With that background in mind, what Science did (if the author's claim of not distributing the work on the internet is true) is both disturbing is not unusual in the least. Biomedical journals do this all the time. I myself have been gob-smacked by this (and no, I'm not going to detail exactly how here, as there's one or two people out there who might still have a "Steve White kewpie doll" and a supply of really sharp pins). But when you challenge the established order sufficiently, you can expect stuff like this to happen. Overlay the politics and the PC view, toss in the usual progressive liberal movement idiocy, and you get this sort of behavior.
Which makes me wonder whether the NIH might be on to something with a public manuscript repository.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/01/2005 14:02 Comments ||
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#8
Thanks for the explanation/clarification on internet distribution. I will say the dead tree thinking behind the journal's business model is clearly unsustainable with commercial interests apparently impeding improves to the process (of science) technology now allows.
Cold fusion, anyone? I should probably leave this alone but here goes. There was a widely reported and posted here report on desktop cold fusion that generated no controversy. The application was as a neutron generator. It hit me like a ton of bricks that cold fusion is controvertial only because it promises cheap unlimited energy. Were its applications restricted to obscure pieces of scientific equipment no one would care. The problem with cold fusion is the threat it represents to political interests and ideological positions (particularly the Left/Green theskyisfalling thinking).
#9
Angie references the fact that most journals now have an "articles in press" section on their website...
Yes, they do, but that wasn't what I was talking about. The arXiv I mentioned, hosted by LANL, is just a dumping ground for electronic versions of preprints. It's not associated with any journals.
The copyright agreement for my current paper stated that I could not publish the paper anywhere else, EXCEPT I could offer preprints at that archive (mentioned by name) and on my own web page.
That was why I mentioned it: Science and Nature do not make those exceptions. (I'm agreeing with your point about Science did, I'm just pedantically clarifying it.)
...cold fusion is controvertial only because it promises cheap unlimited energy.
Cold fusion is controversial because a) no one can explain how it [allegedly] works, and b) if I recall correctly, no one has been able to extract more energy than they put in, which is kind of the whole point. That was certainly the case of the recent report.
#10
Dr Peiser submitted his findings to Science in January, and was asked to edit his paper for publication - but has now been told that his results have been rejected on the grounds that the points he make had been "widely dispersed on the internet". Dr Peiser insists that he has kept his findings strictly confidential. "It is simply not true that they have appeared elsewhere already," he said.
Ah, the arrogance! What's really happening here is that the "points" Dr. Peiser made in his paper have been "widely dispersed on the Internet". It's not that Dr. Peiser's paper has been, but that the "points" have been. It's also a sly dig at the Internet, implying that nothing on the Internet can be trusted anyway. The people at Science need to do some glacial movement studies - in person, in the buff. Arrogant A$$wipes... This way they can effectively suppress the actual data without having to justify themselves for doing so. Such behavior is utterly unscientific, and the editors need to be dismissed with prejudice.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/01/2005 18:35 Comments ||
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#11
if I recall correctly, no one has been able to extract more energy than they put in, which is kind of the whole point. There are many reports of more energy output than input. Here is one that reports 3 times the energy input. If you mean commercially then neither has hot fusion despite billions spent. Otherwise there are a number of explanations of how it works, although no widely accepted explanation. In science there are two kinds of evidence. Results predicted by theory and results not predicted by theory. The latter are more significant since they show where current theories are deficient and new theories required.
Afghan authorities have arrested a mullah and five others for the killing of a woman accused of adultery, an official said on Saturday. The six, including the mullah, or Islamic preacher, were arrested last week after the Ministry of Interior dispatched investigators to the northwestern province of Badakhshan following reports - quickly denied - that the woman was stoned to death. "The mullah who authorized the father to kill her was not a judge," Interior Ministry spokesman Latfullah Mashal told The Associated Press. "The killing was against the law."
Islamic law permits the death penalty against women for adultery, though the punishment was more commonly reported under the former Taliban government. Mashal said the woman may have been beaten, but not stoned, before she was fatally shot with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. He said the mullah, the woman's father, her alleged lover and three others would go on trial soon in the capital on charges being prepared by the attorney-general. Officials say the victim, Amina, who was in her late 20s, was killed on April 21, a day after being caught in the home of a man called Mohammed Karim. Karim was beaten but escaped with his life, officials said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2005 00:00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
