irreality

Be energy independent?  Foolish Americans…

“I’d hope that the general public in the United States would be wiser than to be deceived into thinking that the U.S. can ever be energy independent”

So says Prince Turki al-Faisal, of … where else?  Saudi Arabia, of course, the worlds largest oil exporter, who has been one of our biggest suppliers of oil for entirely too long.

“You can’t get rid of oil. You can’t get rid of fossil fuels — gas and coal — unless you want to price yourself out of existence”

“If you are going to be paying for wind, electric and solar energy equivalents that cost five or 10 times more than it costs to use oil, you are going to price yourself out of the market. You are going to lose whatever competitiveness you have in your products.”

Sure sounds like someone’s worried that the endless stream of American dollars may eventually start to run dry.

From the “You’ve got to be kidding me” news desk:

The outbreak of swine flu should be renamed “Mexican” influenza in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork, an Israeli health official has said.

Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman said the reference to pigs is offensive to both religions and “we should call this Mexican flu and not swine flu,” he told a news conference at a hospital in central Israel.

Of course, if the world is stupid enough to start calling it “Mexican flu”, I’m sure we’ll see another stupid announcement like this from the Mexican government, or from some Hispanic civil rights organization.

Here’s a clue for you guys – it’s being called “swine flu” because that’s where it originated.  I’m really that sorry your religious sensibilities are offended, please excuse me while I go give a shit.

Japenese tuner garage Kids Heart unveiled their newest creation this weekend at the Nagoya Auto Trend show.  Yes, that really is an R35 Nissan GT-R front end…

(thanks to jalopnik.com for the story and pictures!)

… and it really is welded to the back two-thirds of an M35 Nissan Stagea.

Kid’s Heart calls it called the “StaGT-R”.

I call it absolutely brilliant.

We already knew this stuff might be bad for us, but now researchers from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minnesota are reporting that nearly half of the 20 samples they tested contained  mercury.  A total of nine samples contained trace amounts of mercury, with one sample having as much as 0.57 micrograms per gram.

The source of the metal appears to be caustic soda and hydrochloric acid, which manufacturers of corn syrup use to help convert corn kernels into the food additive.

…the average American consumes about 12 teaspoons of it (high-fructose corn syrup) daily, according to federal estimates

An FDA spokesman said he still was waiting for a response to the study. Industry representatives, meanwhile, said the study was outdated.

“It is important that Americans are provided accurate, science-based information,” Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, said in a statement. “They should know that high fructose corn syrup is safe.”

But you know?  I think I’ll pass just the same, Ms. Erickson -

In another statement, the Chlorine Institute said: “It is conceivable that measurable mercury content can be found in high fructose corn syrup regardless of how it is processed.”

Yikes.

Last Thursday, a new wind farm was brought online and was quietly mentioned in USA Today.  But it’s not here in the United States – it’s in Mexico.

Spanish energy company Acciona Energia says the 6,180-acre farm should generate 250 megawatts of electricity with 167 turbines, 25 of which are already operating. The rest should be on line by the end of the year, making the project the largest of its kind in Latin America.

It will produce enough energy to power a city of 500,000 people

“If we don’t do something about this problem of climate change it probably could become — I’m sure it already is — one of the biggest threats to humanity,” said President Felipe Calderon

While the Department of Energy has claimed that wind power could generate 20% of US electricity by 2030, we’ve a long way to go.  American wind farms only generated about 1% of the entire US electricity supply in 2008.

2030 is a long way off, and may be too long for us to wait.  It is my hope that part of the massive infrastructure rebuilding that President Obama is pushing for will help push this technology further, resulting in more farms and more efficient turbines.

The Daily Mail is reporting that giant energy-guzzling Plasma flat screens are expected to be banned under legislation due to be agreed by the EU this spring.

Plasma screens have been nicknamed the ‘4×4s’ of the living room because they use up to four times as much electricity and are responsible for up to four times as much carbon dioxide as traditional cathode ray tube sets.

The most energy intensive will be phased out under the new EU standards for minimum energy performance, which will follow the voluntary withdrawal of the traditional 100watt light bulb.

The moves are part of an effort to tackle climate change by stemming the spiralling electricity consumption in households. It involves phasing out wasteful devices and introducing low-energy alternatives.

Since LCD flat screens are much more energy efficient, they are unlikely to be banned.

It has been days since the cowardly terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and the bodies of the terrorists are due to be buried as per their religious followings require.

There’s one problem however.  Hanif Nalkhande and the Jama Masjid Trust, the keepers of the local 7.5-acre Muslim Badakabrastan graveyard, is refusing to bury the bodies.

“People who committed this heinous crime cannot be called Muslim,” said Hanif Nalkhande, a trustee. “Islam does not permit this sort of barbaric crime.”

Of course, there are other Muslim graveyards in Mumbai, but Jama Masjid has so much influence in the city that none of the graveyards are likely to accept the bodies either.

Hanif’s words will likely be burried under other stories and lost, and I’m sure will draw the ire of those who support terroristic acts like these.  Infact, local scholar Maulauna Zubair Ahmed is already speaking out against the decision.  But here’s to the hope that there are more Muslim men like Hanif, who are willing to speak out and call these acts what they really are – heinous, barbaric crimes, that go against the true will of Allah.

/sigh…

Nineteen year old Lidia Motylska was brutally strangled and stabbed in a British alleyway by Iraqi muslim scumbag Abobakir Jabari.  Her horrible crime?  Becoming romantically involved with Abobakir’s Kurdish roommate, Ajeen Jabaridia.

Lidia Motylska

Jabari was sentenced to life in jail with a minimum imprisonment 19 and a half years before being eligible for release.  This bastard arraigned to meet Lidia under the guise of friendship, and then strangled her to death with the cord from his track pants.

But that wasn’t enough.  He then stabbed her repeatedly in the chest and stomach, and after that, he slit her throat from ear to ear for good measure.

Prosecutor Simon Myerson QC said: “He disliked the fact that his Kurdish friend was going out with a Polish Catholic.
“He did not like Lidia to sleep at their flat. He disapproved of Lidia’s behaviour in public and thought it seemed sexually provocative.”
“He told her that Ajeen should not be seeing her because she was a Polish and Catholic girl.

While I applaud the British judge for confining this monster to prison for a measly nineteen years, it is not enough.

It is not even near enough. Jabari deserves to die a horrible death.  This young woman’s life, taken from her, her family, her friends, all because this muslim asshole didn’t approve of who she dated?  I don’t care what anyone says in defense of this murderer, he is scum and living in a cell with three meals a day is too good for him.

I am sure that the outcry against Jabari’s crime from the “muslim community” will be deafening.  I’m sure that the “muslim community” will reach out to Lidia’s family, offering comfort and sympathy, and will go on the record saying that Jabari was wrong.

… good thing I will not be holding my breath waiting for it.

Iraq has demanded a clear commitment from the US that its forces will have left its soil by the end of 2011.

So perhaps now we can work on getting out of there, and start applying money and resources to problems here in the United States.  Imagine if we put that money and effort into energy independence, or gee, I dunno, maybe actually finding terrorists?

Oh, I know, I know… we were to be welcomed as heroes and liberators, the people would be glad to have us around, and we can build a new Iraq, a democratic Iraq.

Well, what do you know – the people have spoken.

““The maximum duration is three years. It cannot be extended beyond the three years but it can be reduced,” an Iraqi source close to the matter said”"

(Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images)