Clean coal skepticism

Time to bury the 'clean coal' myth | Environment | guardian.co.uk

There's not much detail in the polemic, but I share the skepticism that clean coal has any realistic prospect (at reasonable cost and within an appropriate time frame) of making a difference to greenhouse gas.

Bye bye Doctor

Tennant to quit Doctor Who | Media | guardian.co.uk

Shrimp don't care for CO2

Long-term effects of predicted future seawater CO2 conditions on the survival and growth of the marine shrimp Palaemon pacificus

Another day, another report of an experiment in which a marine creature is shown to be adversely affected by high levels of CO2 in the atmosphere:

The present results demonstrate for the first time that the predicted future seawater CO2 conditions would potentially reduce shrimp, and possibly other crustacean, populations through negatively affecting mortality, growth, and reproduction. This could threaten entire marine ecosystem through disrupting marine food web.

News will be greeted by the sounds of crickets chirping in the audience.

Half of America will find it funny

'I Would Make A Bad President,' Obama Says In Huge Campaign Blunder

Can't trust Catholics

The end of the Catholic vote - Los Angeles Times

A majority of Catholics are going for Obama, according to this article, despite lots of guidance from US bishops that abortion is a crucial issue this election.

George W could holiday there

On war's outer edge in Kurdish Iraq - International Herald Tribune

Iraqi Kurdistan is trying to attract tourists:

Not without reason do guidebooks charitably call Iraqi Kurdistan the "Switzerland of the Middle East."

Apparently, ads have already been shown on American TV. Visiting there sounds like a very mixed experience:

While Erbil is a far cry from Baghdad, signs of the war are impossible to avoid. Hotels are fenced off by concertina wire, vehicles are inspected by Kalashnikov-toting guards, and checkpoints are abundant. On a lesser note, tourists accustomed to high-end comforts may also find Kurdistan frustrating. Electricity is spotty, few locals speak English and latrines, even in some hotels, consist of a hole in the floor.

But the friendliness, and pro-American sentiment, of many Kurds might make up for the poor infrastructure. Mention in a restaurant that you are from the United States and your meal may be gratis. And it is not uncommon for Kurds to invite Westerners to share home-cooked meals, even in inhospitable places.

UQ research on acidification and reefs

Rising CO2 'will hit reefs harder'

As usual with the issue of ocean acidification, this will probably just get 'spotty' media coverage:

In a large experiment on Heron Island, the team simulated CO2 and temperature conditions predicted for the middle and end of this century, based on current forecasts of the world's likely emission levels and warming by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The results of their analyses of the bleaching, growth and survival of a number of organisms including corals indicates that a number of very important reef builders may be completely lost in near future.

“We found that coralline algae, which glue the reef together and help coral larvae settle successfully, were highly sensitive to increased CO2. These may die on reefs such as those in the southern Great Barrier Reef before year 2050,” says Dr Anthony.

Thanks, Janet

Janet Albrechtsen today supplies some details to confirm that (as I said yesterday) Europe has no reason to feel smug about the current financial crisis.

Mystery man

Confessions from the Obama campaign trail - Los Angeles Times

Interesting "confession" here by a reporter who has been on the campaign trail with Obama, and feels he still doesn't know who he is. His Messianic qualities seem to be somewhat lacking in the back of the campaign plane:

One of the striking ironies is that a man who draws tens of thousands of people to his rallies, whose charisma is likened to that of John F. Kennedy, can be sort of a bore.

The overall image painted is of a man who is overly cautious about controlling his image, and/or just a tad on the emotionally cold side.

PS: I still wonder which personality type it is best to have his or her finger on the nuclear button: someone who has been known to be have strong outbursts of temper, and had more than his fair share of adultery (indicating at least, I suppose, someone well acquainted with emotions, but not necessarily in a good way); or someone who appears to have his emotions tightly bottled up and has spent an inordinate amount of time in calculating his own advancement.

The (no doubt unfair!) images I get is of McCain's aides wrestling him to the ground to stop him giving the "fire all missiles" order, while in an alternative universe Obama intellectualises his way (and convinces his minders) to making a limited nuclear attack in circumstances that will later be regretted.

All silly speculation, I know, but hey it's my blog.

Nuns on the line

Vatican switchboard sees a human touch as the answer

For some reason, the LA Times has a rather charming article on the nuns who answer the phone at the Vatican featured prominently on its website.

Talk about slow to suspect

Teacher Amanda Thompson has lesbian sex with student, court told | The Daily Telegraph

This report of the prosecutor's summary of a teacher/ underage student lesbian affair makes the other adults in the situation sound rather dim:

Mr Fuller [the prosecutor] said Thompson would regularly spend the night at her student's home, where they performed sex acts on each other.

The court heard Thompson was so trusted by the girl's parents that she became "part of the family", attending birthday celebrations, accompanying the family on holidays, and even spending Christmas day at their home.

When the girl's parents discovered the couple in bed, they asked that the bedroom door be left open.

Well, yeah I guess that'll teach to teacher to stay out of their daughter's bed during her regular visits.

As for the teacher's husband:

The court was told Thompson's then-husband became concerned about his wife's relationship with the student when he frequently found them lying in closed rooms or under a blanket upon arriving home from work.

I suppose his wife going over to stay at the girl's house wasn't enough of a sign?

Of course, it may be either the report, or the prosecutor's summary, which makes this case sound stranger than it is. But it does sound very odd.

Oh sure

Nuclear-powered passenger aircraft 'to transport millions' says expert - Times Online

Hey, I like nuclear power as much as the next right wing, technophile blogger, but even I draw the line at nuclear powered aircraft making much sense.

Apparently, the good professor suggests the reactor could be jettisoned and land safely by parachute if the plane is about to crash. One suspects, however, there are still quite a few accidents that happen with insufficient "its time to jettison the reactor" lead time.

More economics

Emerging markets and the financial storm | Into the storm | The Economist

The Economist's summary of a few days back about what's going on and how things are likely to pan out gives some guarded grounds for optimism. But one point that is surprising is this:

Some experts think that China needs growth of 7% a year to contain social unrest.

The magazine thinks China has enough reserves to be able to spend its way to maintaining 8% growth. Just lucky then.

(Of course, what could really throw another level of complexity in the equation would be an Israeli attack on Iran. I think we can safely assume that the economy alone is reason the US would be already telling Israel not to think about it at the moment.)

UPDATE: Paul Krugman remains pessimistic.

No good news today

In hard times, some flirt with survivalism - Economy in Turmoil- msnbc.com

I've just spent a hour trying to find good news to post about today. It's official, there is none.

So, let's dwell on how bad things can get. That's fun, sort of.

Yes, the survivalists (who used to thrive more when nuclear war and/or Russian invasion seemed more on the cards) have a new reason to feel justified:

Seattle survivalist Hagmahani sees such commodity hoarding as just a partial measure for weathering a financial crisis.

On his blog, mutuallyassuredsurvival.com, he advises people to prepare for a “major paradigm shift” that will, in a decade, leave the U.S. with a Third World economy.

The $700 billion government financial bailout, in his view, only ensures a crisis that cannot be avoided after unbridled lending and spending.

“One of the most frightening possibilities is the banking system freezing up,” he said. “... Our remittance system is almost entirely through the banking system. … Without ATMs, you can’t get groceries, you can’t get paid… Is that a possibility? Yes.”

Another survivalist recommends stuffing your sofa, not with money, but with food:

Wilson, who also has an online radio show called the Armchair Survivalist, said one of his new clients is a New York interior designer who specializes in outfitting cramped Manhattan apartments with hidden food storage units that double as tasteful furnishings.

Maybe I'll just buy a few packets of seeds and finally get around to getting some chooks for the yard.

Stick to playing music

Cityfile: Rock the Vote Rocked by Incompetence

Hope you didn't register to vote using one of the forms provided by Rock the Vote: Every single one of the 173,000 New York State voter applications downloaded from the group's site was printed with the wrong address, which means thousands of newly-registered voters can expect to be turned away at the polls if the mess isn't sorted out before then.

Heh. Obama's vote will be down slightly in New York, then.

New rocket bad news

Is NASA's Ares doomed?

Incidentally, I can't see President Obama being a big supporter of the space program. With a world wide recession as well, it does not look encouraging for a return to the Moon any time soon.

How encouraging

UK finances may be bad but there are many other nations that owe a lot more - Times Online

More pessimism, this time looking at Britain and Europe.

As has been noted elsewhere, it's ironic that so many Europeans should be gloating about what they see as an American problem coming home to roost, when it actually appears that much of Europe is going to come out of this very badly indeed.

As for borrowing to pump prime the economy, the above article notes:

Meanwhile, some economists have expressed deep concern over how even bigger increases in government borrowing will eventually be paid for. At some point in the future hefty tax increases or spending cuts still look inevitable. But when things are this bad, anything is worth a try.

It's a mystery

The Associated Press: World markets slump as Nikkei hits 26-year low

I don't know about my average reader, but one of the most puzzling things I find about economics is understanding how currency markets are supposed to make any sense. For example: why is the Yen surging, and in the process causing the Nikkei to drop:

"Worries about the impact of the surging yen on Japanese export earnings have hit the Nikkei hard," said Julian Jessop, chief international economist at Capital Economics.

"This in turn has led to sharp falls in European markets even when, as on Friday, the U.S. had closed higher the day before," he added.

On the radio, it was said that if you invested in Japan 26 years ago, you would now just be "even". Puts our superannuation losses in perspective, one suspects.

Why is the Australian dollar taking such a battering?

Why are economists held in any esteem whatsoever?

UPDATE: here's some explanation of what's happening via Bloomsberg. It still doesn't make any sense to me. For example:

The Australian dollar plunged to a five-year low against the greenback, as concern over a global recession led investors to buy the U.S. dollar as a safe haven. New Zealand's currency gained.

Why is the US dollar a "safe haven"? And why did that powerhouse New Zealand have its currency go up? All very odd and counter-intuitive, if you ask me.

UPDATE 2: here's a better, more detailed explanation of what's going on with the Yen.

An extreme case of cold feet

Nervous groom held for blaze at wedding hotel | The Japan Times Online

Kawata, 39, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of setting fire Saturday to a hotel in Hokuto, northern Yamanashi Prefecture, where he and his fiancee were supposed to get married later in the day... Kawata allegedly started the fire around 2:20 a.m. after spreading a flammable liquid, possibly kerosene, in a corridor behind the hotel's concert hall, the police said.

Lion will sleep with lamb, etc

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan (October 26, 2008) - Goodbye To All That

Andrew Sullivan is feeling the love of President Messiah already, it seems:

Sometimes, when the world is changing rapidly, the greater risk is caution. Close-up in this election campaign, Obama is unlikely. From a distance, he is necessary. At a time when America’s estrangement from the world risks tipping into dangerous imbalance, when a country at war with lethal enemies is also increasingly at war with itself, when humankind’s spiritual yearnings veer between an excess of certainty and an inability to believe anything at all, and when sectarian and racial divides seem as intractable as ever, a man who is a bridge between these worlds may be indispensable.

My guess: Obama will be tested by an international crisis designed to take advantage of him, as Biden predicted, within 6 to 12 months. He'll either want to talk-talk, as he has said he will, and fail; or he might surprise us, throw some military might around, and end up doing pretty much what McCain (or Clinton) would have done anyway.

What I don't see happening is the entrenched enemies of the USA and Israel suddenly seeing the mistake of their ways and world peace ensuing.

Nor do I see any particular reason for an outbreak of sweetness and light in the culture wars within the States. Lefties will crow triumphant, as they did in Australia after John Howard's defeat, yet it will be quite on the cards that a new Republican candidate will look like a plausible alternative again by the next election (as appears is happening in Australia).

Just my guesses, anyway.