Monthly Archives: February 2010

Attacks on Climate Science Now “Completely Out of Hand” | The Intersection

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This is one of the main stories here at the AAAS meeting in San Diego:

SAN DIEGO—A symposium organized here at the last minute by two of the world’s most prominent scientific organizations addressed recent attacks on an increasingly beleaguered climate science community. The panel met in the uncertain aftermath of the release of e-mails stolen from prominent climate scientists and critiques of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The panel of academics was convened by National Academy of Science President Ralph Cicerone, in conjunction with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (which publishes ScienceNOW), which is holding its annual meeting here. At a time when the biggest headlines on science have been over the flaws or legitimacy of climate science, said Cicerone, recent skirmishes over climate research “have really shaken the confidence of the public in the conduct of science [overall].” He cited a number of recent polls, which show a “degradation” in the respect of the public for science in general.

Climate researchers have taken the biggest hit. They are feeling the brunt of what IPCC author Chris Field has described as a “feeding frenzy” since the November e-mail release. “The situation is completely out of hand,” said Texas A&M climate scientist Gerald North. “One guy e-mailed me to say I’m a ‘whore for the global warming crowd.’ ” His PowerPoint presentation included a slide quoting conservative talk show host Glenn Beck: “If the IPCC had been done by Japanese scientists, there’s not enough knives on planet Earth for hara-kiri that should have occurred.”

I get the sense that scientists and their institutions are so concerned over what has occurred in the past few months that there are going to be very real changes made, so as to ensure that better defenses of science are mounted in the future. It will be very interesting to watch what develops on this front…


Rom Houben: Not communicating through facilitated communication

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The news is finally filtering out to the rest of the world.

As Steve Novella and my good buddy pointed out a few days ago (and as Steve pointed out in an interview on NPR), Dr. Steven Laureys admitted that Rom Houben, the unfortunate victim of a car crash that left him in what had been diagnosed as a persistent vegetative state, was in fact not able to communicate through the woo known as facilitated communication. This came as no surprise to anyone who has followed FC over the years. In fact, what had come as a surprise is that Dr. Laureys could have been so easily taken in by pseudoscience that had been so thoroughly debunked in the 1990s. To his credit, though, after a period of initially stubbornly defending FC, he relented and allowed objective testing, and the result was predictable. It took a few days, but the English language world is learning of the failure of FC in Houben’s case:

The sceptics said it was impossible – and it was. The story of Rom Houben of Belgium, which made headlines worldwide last November when he was shown to be “talking”, was today revealed to have been nothing of the sort.

Dr Steven Laureys, one of the doctors treating him, acknowledged that his patient could not make himself understood after all. Facilitated communication, the technique said to have made Houben’s apparent contact with the outside world possible, did not work, Laureys declared.

“We did not have all the facts before,” he said. “To me, it’s enough to say that this method doesn’t work.” Just three months ago the doctor was proclaiming that Houben had been trapped in his own body, the victim of a horrendous misdiagnosis, and only rescued from his terrible plight thanks to medical advances.

What was not reported is that skeptics were involved in the testing of Rom Houben. I recently received a statement from the Belgian Skeptics (SKEPP):

At the request of the medical institution where Mr Houben is cared for, on February 4 2010 SKEPP was present as advisor for a planned test of this controversial method of communication, and we also conducted our own tests. From the staff of the institute we learned that during two years all attempts to establish any form of communication with the patient by detecting and coding minute movements of the eyes or any other body part had failed. With FC he now seemed to produce correct words and elaborate sentences. Indeed, his answers to our simple test questions were intelligible and sometimes elaborate, but when the facilitator did not know the questions, his answers were all completely wrong. Most of the time he typed with his eyes closed, but as soon as the keyboard was shielded from the facilitator’s view the typing produced gibberish and halted. There clearly was no communication with the patient, only with the facilitator. We wonder what world-shaking news there would have been to communicate if it hadn’t been for the spectacular answers the facilitator produced.

Our intent was to not to test Mr Houben, but to test FC, and once more we demonstrated that the method is a sham. This is not to deny that Mr Houben may have some limited consciousness. If so, how frustrating must it be for him to hear all the bogus messages being produced in his name, without any possibility to protest ? After our test we had a long conversation with Dr. Laureys. He insisted that we test more facilitators before drawing conclusions. We declined and advised him to clearly distance himself from the FC scam, which he has done today. Out of respect and to allow them time to discuss the results with the family and the dedicated staff, we agreed on a 2 weeks embargo before making the results of our test public. Of course, not everyone is convinced yet. In a phone conversation today Mr Houben’s mother told us that she still believes in FC, because “sometimes it had produced answers that only her son could have known”. She is convinced that Dr. Laureys will ultimately find a method to communicate with her son. His team is experimenting with other methods. Let’s hope her wish comes true.

Indeed.

I want to emphasize once again that those of us who blasted FC in the wake of this case said nothing about whether Mr. Houben is conscious or not. We merely pointed out that FC is a long-discredited sham and, from evidence of videos available on the Internet, clearly could not be a mechanism by which Houben communicated if he in fact has consciousness. I and others have also pointed out that it’s horrible enough to be conscious and trapped in a motionless, useless shell, but imagine how much more horrible it would be to be conscious, trapped in a motionless shell, and having the only hope for communication with the outside world coopted by a facilitator.

In any case, props to SKEPP. They done good. Real good. Now let’s hope that, if Houben is conscious, Dr. Laureys, chastened by this experience, will find a way to communicate with Houben that isn’t based on the ideomotor effect and wishful thinking.


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Ark of descent | Bad Astronomy

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Recently the UK paper The Guardian posted an article stating — without a shred of skepticism — that Noah’s Ark may have been round.

Sigh. OK, fine. But it gets better.

The Institute for Creation Research — given just their name, you might guess they haven’t found a scientific fact they couldn’t spin, fold, or mutilate… and you’d be right — claims the article is wrong.

Why?

Because a round ark makes no sense.

And…

BANG!

There goes my irony gland again. Luckily it grows back quickly, because in this line of work I seem to need it a lot.

[Update: Without any comment, I'll just add this link here. The connection should be obvious enough.]


A Robotic Band With a Wiimote-Wielding Frontman [Robots]

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In what may be a precursor to the hippie/robot showdown we've always hoped for, musician Patrick Flanagan has founded Jazari, a three-piece robotic drum circle with some impressive grooves. If that's not fun enough, it's all controlled by two Wiimotes.

Last week we looked at Marv, a robotic vibraphone that banged out an impressive rendition of "Flight of the Bumblebee." This week's robotunes come courtesy of an ensemble.

Flanagan wields two Wiimotes to control the rhythm, volume, and pitch of the three different drums. The D-pad determines which part of the drum is struck (and thus the sound it makes) while turning the Wiimote side to side controls the tempo of the notes and pointing it up and down controls their volume. Other buttons allow Flanagan to record loops on the fly and manipulate those patterns live.

Flanagan's software even allows the other drums to analyze the grooves he's creating and improvise their own patterns, though he doesn't spend too much time talking about this capability. I think, as frontmen often do, he likes the control. [PopSci]


Dutch Governing Coalition collapses: Libertarian Geert Wilders "delighted"

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Wilders the Frontrunner in some Polls

Jan Peter Balkenende, leader of the leading Dutch Party, the Christian Democrats, made the announcement that coalition partners failed to reach agreement on continuing presence of Dutch troops in Afghanistan. As a result, the coalition has disintegrated. Balekende has made a formal request to the Queen for new elections.

Polls show that the CDA will lose seats mainly to the Dutch libertarian party of Geert Wilders: PVV or Party for Freedom. Some recent polls even suggest Wilder's party could gain the largest number of seats in Parliament which would ascend him to the Dutch Presidency.

From Jakarta Globe:

anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders, whose PVV party is making strong gains in the polls, said he was "delighted" at the cabinet collapse.

"The worst cabinet ever did not deserve to govern for another day," he said.

From the UK Telegraph:

Elections are likely later this year, and the big winner could be the controversial Right-winger Geert Wilders.

Opinion polls predict that his anti-immigration (sic) Freedom Party could become the second-largest or even largest party, making him the likely power broker in Dutch politics.

The First libertarian Prime Minister of a European Nation ever

From the London Financial Times:

Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders... has consistently done well in polls, with the most recent surveys forecasting it could win 24 of the 150 parliamentary seats and become the second biggest parliamentary party after the Christian Democrats. Currently it has just nine seats.

If he exceeds expectations, Wilders could become the first libertarian Head of State ever to govern in a European country.

Note - Wilders is currently on trial in the Netherlands for making politically incorrect statements about Radical Islam, and for producing a film, "Fitna," critical of Muslim treatment of women.

He has received death threats worldwide, and has to travel with an entourage of body guards. (Wilder's predecessor Gay libertarian anti-Islamist Pym Fortuyn, who was running for election, was assasinated by a Muslim-sympathizing extremist in 2005 on the streets of Amsterdam.)

Photos of Wilders and his friend American libertarian Pamela Geller up top, and anti-Wilders demonstrators in Indonesia.

Public-private Partnership Honeymoon Coming?

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Moon Dreams - The Americans may still go to the moon before the Chinese, The Economist

"WHEN America's space agency, NASA, announced its spending plans in February, some people worried that its cancellation of the Constellation moon programme had ended any hopes of Americans returning to the Earth's rocky satellite. The next footprints on the lunar regolith were therefore thought likely to be Chinese. Now, though, the private sector is arguing that the new spending plan actually makes it more likely America will return to the moon."

W. Lincoln Hawkins: Prince of Plastics

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W. Lincoln Hawkins was a chemist who helped popularize telephone service by co-inventing an inexpensive plastic insulator for telephone cables. The holder of nearly 150 patents, Dr. Hawkins was also the first African-American scientist at AT&T Bell Labs. He was a recipient of the National

roboticarm

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hi my engr. fellowz plz tel me which kind of sensors should i use if i m using stepper motor and 8051 microcontroller for the purpose of pick n place.

HP V1020h Pocketcam Is Less Pricey Than Its Peers [Pocketcams]

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Yesterday HP announced the V1020h, a 720p-recording, SDHC card-reading pocketcam. It has a built-in USB plug and an HDMI port for sharing, but the real noteworthy tidbit here is the pricetag: $109.

There's not much more info on the V1020h's specs quite yet, but at $109 it's a good $30 cheaper than the least expensive pocketcams we tested in our most recent Battlemodo. It's purple and it's slated to hit shelves this summer. [Nexus404]


Number One event at C-PAC: Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer Panel on Islamic Jihad

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Even many Conservatives have gone Politically Correct on Islam

Ironically, the most popular event at the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend was not one of the official, from the main stage speeches, but rather an "unofficial" side panel discussion, featuring libertarian anti-Islamo-Fascist "rock star" Pamela Geller and Islamic Jihad expert Robert Spencer.

From reporter Kelley Beaucar Vlahos FoxNews.com:

The speakers participating in "Jihad: America's Third Rail," an "unofficial" panel at today's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) wanted their standing-room only audience to know that there's more to fear than jihad -- it's Islam itself that is the threat.

Sentiments like that are what has made this panel -- which just ended here at the Marriott Wardman Hotel in D.C -- one of the more controversial at the three-day conservative confab.

"Everyone knows Islam is a religion of peace that has been hijacked by a tiny minority," said Robert Spencer, sarcastically and to a great amount of applause and guffaws. Spencer, executive director of Jihad Watch and associate director of the Freedom Defense Initiative, which he recently founded with Atlas Shrugged blogger Pamela Geller, told his audience everyone believes that "like they believe in Santa Claus though no one has ever seen it."

He declared that "conservative media leaders even parrot this line" that Islam is a peaceful religion at its core.

But it was the female participants who stole the show. Continuing:

the group's message, that political correctness was preventing the American people -- elected officials and the government included -- from acknowledging -- in Geller's words -- that Islamists "have infiltrated at every level of society and all levels of government."

Wafa Sultan, author of A God Who Hates, argued that Islam is a tryannical religion and was roundly applauded when she was introduced as a "former Muslim."

Islam is "the very same teaching that drove 19 terrorists to fly planes into the World Trade Center," she said.

Even Politico reports:

An event devoted to opposing Islam drew an overflow crowd.

And over at The Other McCain, Smitty reports that Geller and Spencer launched their Freedom Defense Initiative to the crowd:

In the Rock Star Blogger pantheon, few exceed Pamela and Robert for lasting impact.

Will Wireless Kill Print Media?

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Since 2003 total daily newspaper circulation has fallen 30%; a decline of about $8 billion in revenues. The economic recession further cut advertising revenue and subscription rates, forcing many newspapers to go to three-times per week; magazines going from monthly to bi-monthly. Some found salvati

All Tweeted Out?

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Considering the numbers who joined online social networks like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, the phenomenon seems to be going well. But an article in USA Today tells of some who joined but now are dropping out — in many cases, to reclaim personal time and privacy. A related video tells how F

Robots on the Rebound?

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News abounds of economic growth in late 2009 and first quarter 2010. Will your company make a major automation purchase this year, or wait for more positive indicators?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Robotics Systems, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on in

Ron Paul, great on Fiscal policy, wrong-headed on Defense

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From Eric Dondero:

A debate will take place today in Katy, Texas for the four candidates running in the GOP primary for US Congress District 14. The debate is sponsored by the Katy Tea Party Patriots.

To his credit Ron Paul, the longtime incumbent Congressman will be participating along with his two top challengers Gerald Wall and Tim Graney.

Fox News reports that it's not so much fiscal policy that Tea Partiers are upset with Paul on, although there are grumblings about his propensity to go after specific "pork projects" for the district. Rather, Tea Partiers are uneasy with his isolationist/non-interventionist views on foreign policy, and his weak stance on defense.

From Fox:

Tea Party 'Revolution' Targets Ron Paul in GOP Primary

Paul's son, Rand, is a Tea Party favorite in his race for Senate in Kentucky -- he was recently endorsed by Sarah Palin, who was the keynote speaker at the Tea Party Convention in Nashville earlier this month.

But Rand's dad appears to have fallen out of favor with some Tea Partiers. They say that while Ron Paul's fiscal conservative message is sound, he's a little too fond of pork-barrel projects and nowhere near tough enough on national security.

Both Graney (photo -right) and Wall (above left) have strong roots in the Texas Tea Party movement. Continuing:

Graney, a small-business owner who never ran for office before, said that while Paul has established himself as a national voice on his favored issues, he's not representing his district well.

He and Wall, who helped organize a local tax day Tea Party rally last April, said the claim that Paul inspired the Tea Party movement is false.

In actuality, Paul faces little threat from the three challengers, having raised $1.9 million for the race. Past Paul primary challengers (Cynthia Sinatra - Frank Sinatra's ex-wife in 2006, and Friendswood Councilman Chris Peden in 2008) maxed out at 30%. However, a slight possibility remains for a run-off if Paul doesn't win straight out 50%.

Clarification: It is generally viewed that the Tea Party was co-founded by Paul and the Libertarian Party, with a great assist by CNBC's correspondent Rick Santelli. Paul followers helped the Libertarian Party to organize three rallies very early on in Chicago, Seattle and Denver. But it is generally accepted that Eric Odom and the Illinois Libertarian Party originally took the lead and deserve the lion's share of the credit.

Conservatives versus Libertarians on Fiscal Imbalance

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Conservative commentary these days is fixated on U.S. fiscal imbalance and holds that we should address the imbalance with spending cuts, not tax increases.

Missing from most such commentary, however, is specifics about what expenditure to cut (see, e.g., Daniel Henninger's recent WSJ piece).

Conservatives recognize that addressing the debt in a serious way means cutting national defense, Social Security, and Medicare.  But conservatives support high spending on national defense, and they are unwilling, for reasons of political expendiency, to propose reductions in entitlements.

Libertarians also believe we must slash expenditure, but they are happy to name specific cuts.  Libertarians advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, which would save hundreds of billions of dollars per year, and they endorse major cuts or elimination of Social Security and  Medicare.

The public thus perceives the conservative position as disingenuous, the libertarian position as unelectable.  Take your pick.

The Bill Gates Equation for Zero Carbon

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This is a recording of a highly anticipated talk by Bill Gates, who has come up with an equation you see in this graphic. He presented this at the latest TED conference during a short talk on February 12th. This was followed by a short Q&A at TED and on livestream.com which is also in the podcast you can download below. Gates says he’s happy to get Twitter questions, so visit his website and fire off some questions to him. The download link for the talk is below, after the break.

Gates discussed energy, his “equation”, and his goal in life at the TED conference — getting us to zero carbon by 2050. He feels this is doable in a variety of ways. Mainly he feels that a new transformation of nuclear power that he explains in the talk is very promising. He is getting a large amount of criticism from some environmentalists for saying that we need an “energy miracle” and lots of tech development to solve the climate problem. As he defines “miracle”, and in his pursuit of the technology to do that, his ideas are good. It especially helps that he is investing his own money into the company developing the type of energy he talks about. (Read an article discussing this here.) The type of energy he is promoting is not just any nuclear power but specifically, a “traveling wave” type of nuclear power, which is being developed by a company called TerraPower.

Is Gates just another T. Boone Pickens trying to cash in? Nope, Gates actually does understand and believe in the importance of climate change and is really seeking zero carbon solutions, unlike Pickens.

Gates seems to genuinely care about getting us to zero-carbon energy. Check out another article from last Monday for more on what Gates is doing to promote zero carbon energy. “When we talk about zero climate emissions, we sound crazy. When Bill Gates does it, bankers pick up the phone,” from Alternet.

Download this speech here — it’s a short one — or subscribe on the podcast site at Climate Files radio.

Below is an interesting graphic I found of Bill Gates after he left Microsoft, click on more. I wanted to include it for the cover art for the podcast but it needed the equation on it to make sense.

And that translated to this with my help.

How close to reality is this new nuclear power technology? According to this presentation by Gilleland, “operation of a traveling wave reactor can be demonstrated in less than ten years, and commercial deployment can begin in less than fifteen years.” …that’s what Gates was talking about.

***I posted this on the 19th and my wonderful WordPress software ate it up and it disappeared. I had to recover it and repost so I re-dated it the 20th. In my opinion, the WordPress people should stop working on the software and trying [...]