Events

Back in the day, when computer pointing devices had little spheres that rolled around table tops to move the on-screen pointer, I used to joke about "dirty mouse balls" requiring a thorough and intimate cleaning of the afflicted device. Apparently mouse balls are much more important than I thought. Maybe I should re-think my switch to optical pointing devices...

This week's Science has a special collection of stories about climate change. The evidence is getting better for a 1–3°C (2–6°F) increase in global average temperatures, with concomitant sea-level rises and significant shifts in local climates: Recent research papers in Science and elsewhere are pointing to a major acceleration in the loss of mass from the world's great ice sheets. That means that the sensitivity of these giant storehouses of water to climate warming may be far greater than...

The Economist has a (surprisingly cliché-ridden) story of Tuesday's primary election (sub.req.) in Illinois: IT MAY be the Land of Lincoln, but it is a long time since Illinois had a leader of Honest Abe's reputation. Four of the state's governors have been indicted in the past half-century, and federal investigators are now looking into ties between fundraising by the current governor, Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, and the awarding of state contracts. Unfortunately for Mr Blagojevich's Republican...

First, the local story: Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich will face Judy Baar Topinka in the November election. Former Chicago alterman Edwin Eisendrath, for whom I voted, polled 32% to Blagojevich's 68%; Topinka got 38% of the Republican vote to dairy owner Jim Oberweis' 32%. No one appears surprised by the results, nor will anyone be surprised when Blagojevich is re-elected. Now, the international story: The Basque separatist group ETA has declared a permanent cease-fire, as the Irish Republican Army...

Anne has started her new blog, Vegan Fashion Scout: Veganism is commonly considered a dietary choice, but it goes far beyond that; vegans abstain (to the extent possible) from consuming animals in any respect, which affects every shopping choice from cosmetics to cars to carpets to clothing. We don't want to be able to answer the question "who are you wearing?", and that decision eliminates from wardrobe consideration not just fur and leather but also shearling, wool, silk, cashmere, angora, mohair...

The general who headed the effort to train the Iraqi military says Rumsfeld should resign: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is not competent to lead our armed forces. First, his failure to build coalitions with our allies from what he dismissively called "old Europe" has imposed far greater demands and risks on our soldiers in Iraq than necessary. Second, he alienated his allies in our own military, ignoring the advice of seasoned officers and denying subordinates any chance for input. In sum, he has...

Very funny, but possibly offensive 3rd Annual Nigerian Email Conference website.

Anne and I just completed the 18-hour drive from Chicago to Nashua, N.H.. I will resume my normal blog posting frequency tomorrow.

You've got to hand it to USMC Chief Warrant Officer James Averhart: he's doing his part in the war on terrorism by tracking down Vietnam-era deserters: A man was being held in a US military prison yesterday for deserting from the marines 38 years ago after being caught on the American-Canadian border amid a new drive to track down Vietnam-era deserters. Since he took over the marine corps Absentee Collection Centre in 2004, Averhart has reopened cold cases and claims to have tracked down 33 deserters....

The President's job approval is at 33% today, according to Pew. And Garrison Keillor has a scathing op-ed as well. Ouch.