BluegrassBulletin.com

Nye vs. Ham: Two Views Of Reality

I watched the entire Bill Nye vs. Ken Ham debate last night.  It was two and a half hours long.  Today I was confronted about my Facebook comments by an old friend and a professor of Mathematics and Physics at Thomas More College.  Rather than write a long post, let me share our exchange.

I Know It's Infowars, But.......

My sources for news are quite eclectic.  And though I do read a number of rather incendiary stories from time to time, I try not to repeat them unless I also find the same info verified on a second source.  I couldn't do that for this story but, considering that the links are pretty much confirmation, here we go.

Alex Jones at Infowars.com is reporting that the U.S. "Department of Health and Human Services has ordered 14 million doses of potassium iodide, the compound that protects the body from radioactive poisoning in the aftermath of severe nuclear accidents, to be delivered before the beginning of February."

According to a solicitation posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website, the DHHS asks contractors to supply, “potassium iodide tablet, 65mg, unit dose package of 20s; 700,000 packages (of 20s),” a total of 14 million tablets. The packages must be delivered on or before February 1, 2014.

A search of the FedBizOpps website returns no other results regarding the purchase of potassium iodide from any government agency, suggesting that the DHHS bulk buy of the tablets is unprecedented in recent times.

The ongoing crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant has prompted concerns that the purchase is connected to the threat posed by radioactive debris washing up on the shores of the west coast or the potential for another natural disaster occurring in Japan which could impact the U.S.

Last month it was revealed that 71 U.S. sailors who helped during the initial Fukushima relief efforts are suing the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) after they returned with thyroid cancer, Leukemia, and brain tumors as a result of being exposed to radiation at 300 times the safe level.

Serious Arctic Blast Could Spell Large Scale Damage

A significant blast of very cold air coming in behind a warm and rainy weather pattern could produce a heavy accumulation of ice tonight causing widespread power outages repairs of which could be hampered by more freezing weather and snow which will fall on top of the ice on Friday, according to the weather service.

Areas to be affected are identified on the maps below.  Those of us in the Ohio Valley will not be spared the ice and sleet but may only get a couple inches of snow. [Weather.com]

Amazing Video Shows How Man Drew Picture Of Morgan Freeman

Do you recognize this as Morgan Freeman?  Does it look like a photo to you?  Well, it's not.  It was created on an I-pad with one finger, drawing the picture using an APP called "Procreate".

Here's the video of how he did it.

 

The Truth About Green Energy Is Very Ugly, But There's Hope

From the Australians we get this:

Federal cabinet has ruled that Australia will not sign up to any new contributions, taxes or charges at this week’s global summit on climate change, in a significant toughening of its stance as it plans to move within days to repeal the carbon tax.

Cabinet ministers have decided to reject any measures of “socialism masquerading as environmentalism” after meeting last week to consider a submission on the position the government would take to the Warsaw conference. …

And around the world the ugly side of the "Green Energy" hoax is being unveiled:

The reality is that, as Britain flaunts its environmental credentials by speckling its coastlines and unspoiled moors and mountains with thousands of wind turbines, it is contributing to a vast man-made lake of poison in northern China. This is the deadly and sinister side of the massively profitable rare-earths industry that the ‘green’ companies profiting from the demand for wind turbines would prefer you knew nothing about.

Rusting pipelines meander for miles from factories processing rare earths in Baotou out to the man-made lake where, mixed with water, the foul-smelling radioactive waste from this industrial process is pumped day after day. No signposts and no paved roads lead here, and as we approach security guards shoo us away and tail us. When we finally break through the cordon and climb sand dunes to reach its brim, an apocalyptic sight greets us: a giant, secret toxic dump, made bigger by every wind turbine we build. [Daily Mail]

Clearly the next great invention which the world would celebrate and which would bring greater prosperity to people everywhere would be a sustainable, clean source of energy.  But so far the 'green' stuff isn't all that green.

However, there is one new and emerging technology which has some real potential.

Laser Power Systems (LPS) from Connecticut, USA, is developing a new method of automotive propulsion with one of the most dense materials known in nature: thorium. Because thorium is so dense it has the potential to produce tremendous amounts of heat. The company has been experimenting with small bits of thorium, creating a laser that heats water, produces steam and powers a mini turbine.

Current models of the engine weigh 500 pounds, easily fitting into the engine area of a conventionally-designed vehicle. According to CEO Charles Stevens, just one gram of the substance yields more energy than 7,396 gallons (28,000 L) of gasoline and 8 grams would power the typical car for a century.

The idea of using thorium is not new. In 2009, Loren Kulesus designed the Cadillac World Thorium Fuel Concept Car. LPS is developing the technology so it can be mass-produced.

[Industry Tap]

You can read more about the safety and benefits of Thorium at Industry Tap.

Unintended Consequences Of "Big Oil"

Those bad old oil company meanies.  All they ever do is destroy the earth with their free market ideas and capitalistic profiteering.  Now look what they've gone and done to poor little Kenya.

Ultra High Resolution TV's Coming, Hilarious Video Below

Ultra high resolution televisions are hitting the market.  Thanks to the good folks at Gateway Pundit blog I've seen the hilarious video below demonstrating how realistic the screens must be.  Watch these people confuse the screen with a window.  Enjoy.

 

Well Isn't That Special: British Companies Sold Chem Weapon Components To Syria

The video below is a bit over generalized, but the information is essentially correct.  The British government did authorize various companies to sell chemical components of Sarin gas directly to Assad.  What components?  One was Sodium Flouride, you know, the stuff in your tap water.

Of course potassium flouride is not in toothpaste as far as I can tell and Britain did not authorize the sale of Sarin gas. In fact, Sarin gas is so unstable that it has a shelf life of only a few days. So the idea that flouride is a chemical weapon is silly, and so is the notion that tap water is a chemical weapon silly, but......that the British did in fact know that these chemicals were used in the production of chemical weapons and allowed the sale of the components to Syria AFTER the uprising, does at least offer one explanation why the British Parliament wouldn't give the Prime Minister permission to participate in bombing.

Data Collection: Fruit Of The Poisonous Tree

"1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:1-5

Every tweet since the beginning of Twitter is being collected and analyzed in order to capture the rhythm and movement of history.  Physical data is being studied in order that power companies can predict which powerlines are likely to be damaged in storms.  Medical data is being studied to predict future patterns of illness and everyday patterns of human life are being collected, cataloged, studied and used to predict, and perhaps, manipulate future behavior. [CSMonitor]

What is all this stuff being collected?  Knowledge of the good, and evil, that men and women experience.  What might it be used for?  To control the path down which people travel, making men like gods.  Wouldn't this be similar to what we, the faithful, consider to be God's exclusive reign over the universe?

And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Genesis 3: 8-17

Trade Offs: Cure For Down Syndrome On Horizon

To those who see Down Syndrome only at a distance it is a defect that inspires pity.  To those who know and love a person with Down Syndrome the world is a better place because of the unconditional love and happiness those with the extra chromosome teach us.  Now there is talk of a cure, and it is getting a mixed reaction.

In the 14 years since her daughter, Rachel, was born with Down syndrome, Jawanda Mast has always been clear that she’d change the condition if she could.

“I couldn’t love her more, but I would give almost anything to take away that extra chromosome,” the Olathe, Kansas, mom wrote on her blog. “While I may know she’s perfect, the world doesn’t.”

But when Massachusetts scientists announced recently that they’ve found a way to silence the chromosome that causes trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome, it rocked Mast – and the rest of the disability community.

“It’s so hard to imagine you could actually do that,” Mast told NBC News. “Yes, I would take away the challenges, I would take away the health risks. But now I also stop and say, ‘Oh my goodness, how would that impact the rest of her?’”

On one hand, almost everyone agrees there’s a need for treatments to help the 250,000 people in the U.S. living with Down syndrome, including the nearly 7,000 babies born with it each year.

On the other hand, it’s unclear what costs there may be to shutting down the mechanism that creates people who offer lessons in patience, kindness -- and what it means to be human.

"If Down syndrome were completely cured, the world would lose something from the absence of that culture," said Skotko, who has a sister with the condition. "There is something positive that people with Down syndrome contribute to the world." [NBC]