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Thursday, November 8, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Truth-ish
There is a bit of a scrap between members of the UK government concerning some attempts to show Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth to UK students. Thankfully there are those in the British Government willing to at least point out the political nature of the film and its inaccuracies and exaggerations. Listed below are said inaccuracies:
The decision by the government to distribute Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth has been the subject of a legal action by New Party member Stewart Dimmock. The Court found that the film was misleading in nine respects and that the Guidance Notes drafted by the Education Secretary’s advisors served only to exacerbate the political propaganda in the film.
In order for the film to be shown, the Government must first amend their Guidance Notes to Teachers to make clear that 1.) The Film is a political work and promotes only one side of the argument. 2.) If teachers present the Film without making this plain they may be in breach of section 406 of the Education Act 1996 and guilty of political indoctrination. 3.) Nine inaccuracies have to be specifically drawn to the attention of school children.
The inaccuracies are:
The film claims that melting snows on Mount Kilimanjaro evidence global warming. The Government’s expert was forced to concede that this is not correct.
The film suggests that evidence from ice cores proves that rising CO2 causes temperature increases over 650,000 years. The Court found that the film was misleading: over that period the rises in CO2 lagged behind the temperature rises by 800-2000 years.
The film uses emotive images of Hurricane Katrina and suggests that this has been caused by global warming. The Government’s expert had to accept that it was “not possible” to attribute one-off events to global warming.
The film shows the drying up of Lake Chad and claims that this was caused by global warming. The Government’s expert had to accept that this was not the case.
The film claims that a study showed that polar bears had drowned due to disappearing arctic ice. It turned out that Mr Gore had misread the study: in fact four polar bears drowned and this was because of a particularly violent storm.
The film threatens that global warming could stop the Gulf Stream throwing Europe into an ice age: the Claimant’s evidence was that this was a scientific impossibility.
The film blames global warming for species losses including coral reef bleaching. The Government could not find any evidence to support this claim.
The film suggests that sea levels could rise by 7m causing the displacement of millions of people. In fact the evidence is that sea levels are expected to rise by about 40cm over the next hundred years and that there is no such threat of massive migration.
The film claims that rising sea levels has caused the evacuation of certain Pacific islands to New Zealand. The Government are unable to substantiate this and the Court observed that this appears to be a false claim.
This comes at the same time that Gore wins the Nobel Peace Prize illustrating how the prize is more a political platform than an actual award for progress towards peace. The fact of the matter is that there are plenty of reasons to re assess our energy policy the least being Global Warming. That some constantly exaggerate and distort the truth about global warming only confuses the true issues and what can be done to fix them.
The decision by the government to distribute Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth has been the subject of a legal action by New Party member Stewart Dimmock. The Court found that the film was misleading in nine respects and that the Guidance Notes drafted by the Education Secretary’s advisors served only to exacerbate the political propaganda in the film.
In order for the film to be shown, the Government must first amend their Guidance Notes to Teachers to make clear that 1.) The Film is a political work and promotes only one side of the argument. 2.) If teachers present the Film without making this plain they may be in breach of section 406 of the Education Act 1996 and guilty of political indoctrination. 3.) Nine inaccuracies have to be specifically drawn to the attention of school children.
The inaccuracies are:
The film claims that melting snows on Mount Kilimanjaro evidence global warming. The Government’s expert was forced to concede that this is not correct.
The film suggests that evidence from ice cores proves that rising CO2 causes temperature increases over 650,000 years. The Court found that the film was misleading: over that period the rises in CO2 lagged behind the temperature rises by 800-2000 years.
The film uses emotive images of Hurricane Katrina and suggests that this has been caused by global warming. The Government’s expert had to accept that it was “not possible” to attribute one-off events to global warming.
The film shows the drying up of Lake Chad and claims that this was caused by global warming. The Government’s expert had to accept that this was not the case.
The film claims that a study showed that polar bears had drowned due to disappearing arctic ice. It turned out that Mr Gore had misread the study: in fact four polar bears drowned and this was because of a particularly violent storm.
The film threatens that global warming could stop the Gulf Stream throwing Europe into an ice age: the Claimant’s evidence was that this was a scientific impossibility.
The film blames global warming for species losses including coral reef bleaching. The Government could not find any evidence to support this claim.
The film suggests that sea levels could rise by 7m causing the displacement of millions of people. In fact the evidence is that sea levels are expected to rise by about 40cm over the next hundred years and that there is no such threat of massive migration.
The film claims that rising sea levels has caused the evacuation of certain Pacific islands to New Zealand. The Government are unable to substantiate this and the Court observed that this appears to be a false claim.
This comes at the same time that Gore wins the Nobel Peace Prize illustrating how the prize is more a political platform than an actual award for progress towards peace. The fact of the matter is that there are plenty of reasons to re assess our energy policy the least being Global Warming. That some constantly exaggerate and distort the truth about global warming only confuses the true issues and what can be done to fix them.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Demetri Martin in Business
Demetri Martin has been given his own show on Comedy Central. If you haven't seen him you are missing out. He is definitely one of the hottest up and coming comedians out there. His use of plays on words and logic are very refreshing compared to most of the comics today, he really is unique in his style. It looks as though the show will be a mix of stand-up and skits and will be produced by Jon Stewart.
Friday, September 28, 2007
NFL TV Map
Here is link to a NFL TV map for the country. Why we dont get two games on both CBS and FOX is beyond me. While I am at it, I wish there was a way to just suscribe to watch every game for a college and/or NFL team. Then I could watch the Jackets and Falcons instead of Maryland and the Ravens/Redskins every weekend.
**Update: Make sure you hit refresh after clicking on the link to get the updated schedule.
**Update: Make sure you hit refresh after clicking on the link to get the updated schedule.
"Hope for change and puppies"
Ok enough TV blogging and onto some red meat. I was reading James Joyner's blog OTB and came across a post about Obama's little digs at Hillary. Besides the fact that I love Alex Knapp's line of You can’t credibly go around attacking people while simultaneously promoting “hope for change and puppies". the post got me thinking of the presidential race. A friend of mine actually said to me when discussing the post, "who are we going to vote for". Yes, who indeed. To say that this elections frontrunners were lackluster would be an over generous compliment. Being of a libertarian slant I find myself often voting republican because it is the better choice of the two but c'mon, the candidates this year are terrible. The glimmer of hope for the Replublican party is a Law and Order actor!! On the other side we have Hillary and Obama. Both Democrat celebrities in their own right but neither really lighting my fire. If we look at the issues facing our next president, the first obvious thing that comes to mind is the war in Iraq. The thing is, regardless of who becomes president I seriously doubt we will be out of Iraq before the end of their term. If a Democrat does win you can count on all the bluster and rhetoric dying down because its one thing to makes calls for change when your not holding the bag and quite another to actually enforce those changes without negative consequences. The things I am most concerned about are domestic issues. The democrats are looking to pile on to an already overburdened Medicare system and we have yet to even seriously discuss our Social Security situation. Unfortunately the Republicans are barely even addressing these issues, instead pandering to what they think the base wants: tough talk on Iraq and Iran. So where does that leave us hoping for, change and puppies?
Thursday, September 27, 2007
New Fall Lineup
Its the first real week of season premiers this week and I have to say I like what I have seen so far.
Monday
Monday is looking to be a lock for NBC with the shows Chuck, Heroes, and Journeyman. Chuck is a plucky action show with the right touch of humor and action scenes. Also its prime timeslot with NBC putting it before Heroes gives it a leg up. As far as Heroes, it goes without saying, great show, solid line up anchor. I gotta say though, I am worried about Journeyman, I think its a great concept along the lines of quantum leap but I am not sure if people will hang around to give it a chance. I personally really enjoyed the pilot and the initial coming to terms with this new "power" that the main character has thrust upon him. Did everyone else though? I read some fairly negative reviews of the actor portraying the lead role(Kevin McKidd) but I think he does a great job from what little we know about the character. I may have a bias, however, since I really liked him in Rome. All in all NBC has done a great job with Mondays and I am def gonna have a tough time watching Monday Night Football with a line up like that. Thank god for DVR.
Tuesday
The Tuesday line up is basically a TV wasteland. There was one show that caught my eye however, Reaper. Reaper is basically a show about a 20-something whose soul has been sold to the devil by his parents before he was born. Featuring some not so well known actors the cast pull off their roles pretty well. Although it is just another fish out of water type series its very entertaining and it has two elements I really like, the fat friend and a hot love interest.
Wednesday
Another day of mediocrity, Wednesday has two shows with alot of buzz in the 8pm time slot, Kid Nation and Pushing Daisies. Unfortunately I was only able to watch Kid Nation so far. Despite its attempt at a Lord of the Flies setting it is pretty much your standard reality fare. Next up at 9, Bionic Woman. Ok, here is where I have a problem, everyone likes a good superhero tale but when you blend it with women's issues I feel like you get a show thats trying too hard to do too much. This show is like a poor man's attempt at Alias, unfortunately the Actress portraying the main character has none of Jennifer Gardner's charm. At 10pm I watched Life, a show about a framed cop who has his named cleared after 12 yrs in the slammer and gets a comfy settlement out of the debacle. I like the actor playing the main role and his partner on the show is pretty hot but I gotta say I am not sure if its good enough to survive the season. Since it was only the first episode I'll give this one another shot and see if it impresses me.
Thursday
Monday
Monday is looking to be a lock for NBC with the shows Chuck, Heroes, and Journeyman. Chuck is a plucky action show with the right touch of humor and action scenes. Also its prime timeslot with NBC putting it before Heroes gives it a leg up. As far as Heroes, it goes without saying, great show, solid line up anchor. I gotta say though, I am worried about Journeyman, I think its a great concept along the lines of quantum leap but I am not sure if people will hang around to give it a chance. I personally really enjoyed the pilot and the initial coming to terms with this new "power" that the main character has thrust upon him. Did everyone else though? I read some fairly negative reviews of the actor portraying the lead role(Kevin McKidd) but I think he does a great job from what little we know about the character. I may have a bias, however, since I really liked him in Rome. All in all NBC has done a great job with Mondays and I am def gonna have a tough time watching Monday Night Football with a line up like that. Thank god for DVR.
Tuesday
The Tuesday line up is basically a TV wasteland. There was one show that caught my eye however, Reaper. Reaper is basically a show about a 20-something whose soul has been sold to the devil by his parents before he was born. Featuring some not so well known actors the cast pull off their roles pretty well. Although it is just another fish out of water type series its very entertaining and it has two elements I really like, the fat friend and a hot love interest.
Wednesday
Another day of mediocrity, Wednesday has two shows with alot of buzz in the 8pm time slot, Kid Nation and Pushing Daisies. Unfortunately I was only able to watch Kid Nation so far. Despite its attempt at a Lord of the Flies setting it is pretty much your standard reality fare. Next up at 9, Bionic Woman. Ok, here is where I have a problem, everyone likes a good superhero tale but when you blend it with women's issues I feel like you get a show thats trying too hard to do too much. This show is like a poor man's attempt at Alias, unfortunately the Actress portraying the main character has none of Jennifer Gardner's charm. At 10pm I watched Life, a show about a framed cop who has his named cleared after 12 yrs in the slammer and gets a comfy settlement out of the debacle. I like the actor playing the main role and his partner on the show is pretty hot but I gotta say I am not sure if its good enough to survive the season. Since it was only the first episode I'll give this one another shot and see if it impresses me.
Thursday
Quite easily my favorite night on television, Thursday is another NBC night. With The Office, Scrubs, 30 Rock, and My Name is Earl all on the same night I am pretty much in front of the TV from 8-10. Last night was hour-long Earl and Office and I thought they were both good kickoffs to the season. They are both great shows so I wont delve into them at length but I am wondering how Earl in Jail will continue on the show without getting stale as well as what they are going to do on the Office now that Jim and Pam are together. My theory for that one is a battle for Angela's love between Dwight and Andy is coming and should be hilarious. At 10pm we have another classic in the making in Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This show is a raunchy comedy set with a brother and sister running a bar with their friends and estranged dad. The show has a way of using current isues as a background but in the most absurd way possible. For example, last nights episode had the bar duking it out with a Korean (North Korean presumably) restaurant complete with a Mr. Kim and secret enrichment (of beer). This show is great and kind of a sleeper. Luckily its on FX and they seem to be on the right track with their shows right now.
My first crack at it...
This is my first crack at anything like this so bear with me. I basically created this for an outlet of the interesting things I think of or find. I am not sure of the direction I will take this blog but I do know that the topics will probably include a mix of politics, sports, and random pop culture.
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