(video by Brooklyn Lee)
Today’s Rocket Launch
Today’s launch of a huge Delta IV Heavy lifted an NRO reconnaissance satellite into orbit. (Mission NRO-49). This was probably the largest rocket ever to launch from California so far. Here’s a picture I took from my window:
Plume of Delta IV Heavy as seen from my window. Photo: Reinhard Kargl
Calling For Eddie Eagle
In a most tragic incident in the Los Angeles area, a 15-year old girl was shot in the head by an accidental gun discharge on Tuesday. She remains in critical condition and will be marred for life. The same bullet also wounded another student in the neck. It appears that the gun had been brought to school by a classmate, and gone off inside the student’s backpack.
Whenever we have a horrible event like this, it is fashionable to blame the schools, the “easy access to guns”, and to bash gun owner advocates — especially the National Rifle Association (NRA) — for allowing this to happen.
But what I hardly see mentioned is that the NRA is running a superb program warning kids of the dangers of guns. Continue reading
Why We Must Hire Robots, Not Minimum Wage Workers
I encourage you to watch the following video entirely before allowing me to present my point of view:
As you can see, almost the entire manufacturing process in this film is handled by sophisticated machinery: robots.
I have long argued that instead of exploiting cheap Third World labor and lenient environmental regulations abroad, and instead of importing low wage workers en masse, the European Union and North America should focus on developing robotic manufacturing techniques for all consumer goods. Japan, unwilling to open its borders to foreign workers, is making great strides in this direction and will probably dominate the robotics industry, which it expects to see huge growth over the next few decades.
Robots could free mankind from the burden of most cumbersome, dangerous and boring toils. This would permit a restructuring of society to grant each individual more time for intellectual pursuits and pleasure. This in turn will fuel the education, media, travel and entertainment sectors of our economy, all of which are extremely difficult to outsource to cheap-labor countries.
The Eisenhower Farewell Address
50 years ago today, Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose name is often mentioned among the greatest generals and U.S. presidents, gave a stern warning as part of his farewell address to the nation. I am amazed how astute Eisenhower’s observations were, and how they hold true five decades later.
Here is an excerpt from Eisenhower’s speech, delivered from the Oval Office of the White House:
[…] A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.
Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.
Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.
This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. […]
From: Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell speech to the nation, January 17, 1961.
The complete transcript and audio file of the address are archived here, another transcript is here.
Gene Krupa
My favorite jazz drummer, Gene Krupa would have been 101 years old today. In the following clip from the 1941 comedy Ball of Fire, he is performing one of my favorite tunes of the era. (The script was written by Billy Wilder & Charles Brackett; the film, also known as The Professor and the Burlesque Queen, starred Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. Stanwyck appears in this scene, but her singing voice belongs to Martha Tilton).
And below, Krupa is seen in a 1958 performance with Lionel Hampton and Chico Hamilton. (Note how smooth the transitions are. None of them even misses a beat at the handovers!)
Even more impressive: Lionel Hampton wasn’t only an expert on the drums, but also on the piano and vibraphone.
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Inciting Violence – Who’s Talking?
After the horrendous shooting in Tucson, we now see great hand wringing and tear shedding on Capitol Hill and in the media. All quarters are lamenting the “loss of political civility” and the “culture of violent rhetoric”, which may have a tendency to “incite violence”. No kidding!
Well, folks, here is a selection of quotes from the last month or so. To my knowledge, nobody got fired (or even in trouble) for making these comments:
“Headline: Assassinate Assange? Body: Julian Assange poses a clear and present danger to American national security … The administration must take care of the problem – effectively and permanently.”
JEFFREY KUHNER (Washington Times columnist) [Link]
“Julian Assange is not an American citizen and he has no constitutional rights. So, there’s no reason that the CIA can’t kill him. Moreover, ask yourself a simple question: If Julian Assange is shot in the head tomorrow or if his car is blown up when he turns the key, what message do you think that would send about releasing sensitive American data?” – JOHN HAWKINS (Blogger) [Link]
“Headline: The CIA Should Kill Julian Assange” – JOHN HAWKINS (Blogger) [Link]
“Julian Assange is a cyber terrorist in wartime, he’s guilty of sabotage, espionage, crimes against humanity — he should be killed, but we won’t do that.” – RALPH PETERS (U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and author) [Link]
“I do not believe in leaks. I would execute leakers. They’re betraying our country.” – RALPH PETERS (U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and author) [Link]
“Folks like Julian Assange should be targeted as terrorists. They should be captured and kept in Guantanamo Bay, or killed.” – STEVE GILL (radio host) [Link]
“Back in the old days when men were men and countries were countries, this guy would die of lead poisoning from a bullet in the brain.” – RUSH LIMBAUGH (radio talk show host) [Link]
“This guy Assange could have been stopped, come on, folks. People have been shot for far less than this.” – RUSH LIMBAUGH (radio talk show host) [Link]
“(laughing) Ah, folks, even Greg Palkot of Fox News interviewed Assange, which means that Roger Ailes knows where he is. Ailes knows where Assange is. Give Ailes the order and there is no Assange, I’ll guarantee you, and there will be no fingerprints on it.” – RUSH LIMBAUGH (talk show host) [Link]
“Why can’t we act forcefully against WikiLeaks? Why can’t we use our various assets to harass, snatch or neutralize Julian Assange and his collaborators, wherever they are?” – WILLIAM KRISTOL (Editor of the Weekly Standard) [Link]
“This fellow Anwar al-Awlaki – a joint U.S. citizen hiding out in Yemen – is on a ‘kill list’ [for inciting terrorism against the U.S.]. Mr. Assange should be put on the same list.” – G. GORDON LIDDY (Former White House Adviser, talk show host) [Link]
“If convicted, [Bradley Manning] should be placed against a wall and executed by firing squad. (If extradited here, Assange deserves the same sendoff.)” – DEROY MURDOCK (Columnist for National Review) [Link]
“I’d like to ask a simple question: Why isn’t Julian Assange dead? …Why wasn’t Assange garroted in his hotel room years ago? It’s a serious question.” – JOHAN GOLDBERG (Editor-at-large of National Review Online) [Link]
“I won’t think twice if Julian Assange meets the cold blade of an assassin, and apparently a significant number of others don’t care for the guy.” DONALD DOUGLAS (Blogger) [Link]
“Julian Assange should be targeted like the Taliban.” – SARAH PALIN (Former US Vice Presidential Candidate) [Link]
“A dead man can’t leak stuff…This guy’s a traitor, he’s treasonous, and he has broken every law of the United States. And I’m not for the death penalty, so…there’s only one way to do it: illegally shoot the son of a bitch.” – BOB BECKEL (FOX News commentator) [Link]
“[Assange] should be underground — six feet underground. … He should be put in jail or worse, hanged in a public forum.” – ERIC BOLLING (FOX News commentator) [Link]
“Assange is a terrorist, an enemy combatant, and needs to be traed as such.” TODD SCHNITT (Radio Host) [Link]
No Dialtone
Even though they were usually dirty and often defective and frustrating, I hate to see public phones go. Here is a picture I took in Westwood, a part of Los Angeles.
Photo: Reinhard Kargl, 2010. (Click to enlarge).
Kangeiko (Winter Training) 2011
Click to enlarge.
Courtesy of Walt Morton. Click to enlarge.
Journalists Toll Of 2010
57 journalists killed (25% fewer than in 2009)
51 journalists kidnapped
535 journalists arrested
1374 physically attacked or threatened
504 media censored
127 journalists fled their country
152 bloggers and netizens arrested
52 physically attacked
62 countries affected by Internet censorship
Source: Reporters Sans Frontières – Journalists Without Borders
See the entire report here.
A PDF of the report is posted for download here.
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