2019-10-27

WIRED: American Roads Are Getting Safer—Unless You're Walking


American Roads Are Getting Safer—Unless You're Walking
A government report finds that vehicle-related deaths fell 2.4% last year. But pedestrian deaths are up 50% in the past decade, and no one knows why.

Read in WIRED: https://apple.news/AAma1P3-yQF65Tj9YmWaQJg



2019-10-13

Christopher Columbus

Columbus's legacy continues to be debated. He was widely venerated in the centuries after his death, but public perceptions have changed as recent scholars have given attention to negative aspects of his life, such as his role in the extinction of the Taíno people, his promotion of slavery, and allegations of tyranny 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus

From what I can tell, Columbus was a cruel person, engaging in torture and disfigurement to enslave a large number of people. 

Best wishes,

John Coffey

2019-10-12

Life Between Now and 2030

Quotation of the day

In this age of political hysteria, we must all educate ourselves on the facts – the actual science. Unfortunately, there seems to be a total lack of awareness about important issues that scientists like myself – who aren't paid by research grants – are concerned about.

Instead, climate science is being used as a political weapon, and the voices of scientists like me are being ignored or even vilified. I was under the impression that in the United States, all voices and arguments should be heard. Climate science is not settled science. If it was, why would there be a continuous flow of money to research it? For example, is AOC aware that in the fossil fuel era, in spite of a four-fold increase in population, deaths have plummeted?

….

Perhaps we should pause and consider why none of the global warming models from two decades ago have come to fruition. Perhaps we should slow down and think about the consequences of allowing our adversaries to supply the world with cheap energy, because one thing is for sure – wind farms and solar panels won't get the job done.

The objective reader should examine all sides of the climate debate and should ask himself: Are the consequences of acting hastily worse than not acting at all? I think many are skeptical of rushing forward. We must rein in the political hysteria and fear-mongering that is driving the climate change agenda.

The Rich Really Do Pay Higher Taxes Than You - Bloomberg

It’s time to be scientific about global warming, says climatologist Judith Curry. | City Journal

In 2005, I had a conversation with Rajendra Pachauri, an Indian railway engineer, who remade himself into a climatologist and became director of the IPCC, which received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize under his tenure. Pachauri told me, without embarrassment, that, at the UN, he recruited only climatologists convinced of the carbon-dioxide warming explanation, excluding all others. 

Ross McKitrick: Hold the panic: Canada just warmed 1.7 degrees and … thrived | Financial Post

The warming we have had over the last 100 years is so small that if we didn't have meteorologists and climatologists to measure it we wouldn't have noticed it at all

Climatologist Lennart Bengtsson

2019-10-11

Aging world population

In 2018, for the first time in history, those aged 65 or older outnumbered children younger than five globally. And the number of people aged 80 years or older is projected to triple, from 143 million in 2019 to 426 million in 2050

The population aged 65 and older is growing faster than all other age groups, especially as the global birth rate has been plummeting since the second half of the 20th Century. According to the World Health Organization, fertility rates in every region except Africa are near or below what's considered the 'replacement rate' – the level needed to keep a population stable. In most high-income countries this hovers around 2.1 children per woman.




2019-10-01

The Greatest Mass Murderer of the 20th Century

https://youtu.be/gBF3xSsahT8

WATCH: Antifa Harasses Elderly Lady With Walking Frame

The Magic of Chess

Transcript: Trump's Ukraine Call Released By White House : NPR

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/25/764052120/read-transcript-of-president-trumps-call-with-ukraine-s-leader

I don't see a reason to dislike this president. The transcript makes the call look like the president is doing his job to fight the corruption of those who tried to get him impeached. If Biden were corrupt is the president suppose to ignore it? Even if he were looking for dirt, it would be far less than what his opponents did to him, and it is nothing out of the ordinary. It is business as usual. I'm proud of the way Trump handled this call. The political left takes absolutely everything and spins it in the worst possible way for their political advantage.

Best wishes,

John Coffey