Growing up, I thought archaeology was just about the coolest science on earth. I remember reading a book about mummies and ancient Egypt, highly impressed at the way those science guys could dig up artifacts and conjure ancient times and ancient lives.
Only years later did I realize how archeologists often fought like cats and dogs to promote acceptance of their particular theories. Books fostered by the late William R. Corliss via his Sourcebook Project certainly left little doubt that one man's expert opinion is another man's nonsense, and before long one can't help but ask, does anybody know what they're talking about? When are scientific mysteries ignored? Embraced? Why? How? Is the hard, cold evidence always a factor, or enough to make a reasonable conclusion? What happens when science goes awry and nobody recognizes the dilemma?
Of course, such questions can easily be addressed to the UFO phenomenon and those who either investigate or deride it. My comedy analogy would involve a UFO "enthusiast" (love that word) claiming that a mere light observed in the sky by neighbors is an extraterrestrial spacecraft, while the amateur astronomer and debunker across the street impresses local TV cameras with instant denials based upon the examination of no evidence or witness interviews whatsoever. Looks like a pretty even match.
Anyway, while we wait for more members of the scientific community to take the UFO seriously, there's that troublesome climate change issue. A few days ago, a huge volume of e-mails again saw release by unknown hands, messages which apparently continue to indict scientists at their worst who have an agenda in presenting flawed -- very flawed -- data regarding global warming.
However, equally as intriguing are the views of Bill Gray, professor emeritus at Colorado State University. Professor Gray, long skeptical about the so-called consensus of international scientists terrifying us all about global warming, apparently emphasized his views in recent months as a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society that the AMS has been hijacked for years by a small percentage of, um, true believers, and he is not happy about the science -- or, rather, lack of science -- involved. To those who say the global warming debate is over, Gray vehemently disagrees.
If I understand correctly, he categorically discerns that computer-generated global warming "facts" and predictions have proven essentially worthless after years of trying to fit square meteorological pegs into round agenda-ridden holes. The climate changes, yes -- but not in the ways upon which entire international multi-billion dollar cottage industries greatly depend.
Gray's particular concern and warning to his associates is that most AMS members, indeed, do NOT accept the global warming assertions tossed out by that small conglomerate of -- shall I use the word again? -- enthusiasts, and Gray urges his colleagues to understand there's a political agenda in force with the issue, and science fact has little or nothing to do with it.
Professor Gray's views are freely available on the Internet. It's always refreshing to find science personnel who break from the herd and go public, sometimes at risk to their own reputations. Never for a moment think all the bullies reside in high school hallways. Sometimes they're adults who become testy when a colleague disturbs their well-crafted agendas. Strange as it sounds, global warming skeptics and UFO research proponents aren't necessarily cut from different cloths.
NORTH KOREA'S RUTHLESS DICTATOR DROPS DEAD: Good for him, it's just too bad the cockroach didn't starve to death the way he's forced millions of his "subjects" to exit. Now, it's just a matter of time before we (again) offer the country food that should rightly go to people in our own nation who can't afford a proper diet, and it won't be long before we (again) offer the "new" regime millions or billions of dollars we don't have, or multi dollars-worth of things we badly need in the USA, and then the N. Korean communists will do what they always do -- lie and return to whatever atrocities they were juggling before the Grim Reaper stopped by to say hi, feeding and enriching only their military and high-ranking official thugs as the obedient masses die. And those "mournful" howls from the actors, oops, I mean the people! I thought I was listening to sounds from a werewolf movie.
THE ARAB SPRING was hailed by the Obama Admin as the greatest thing on the planet. Well, as we predicted when Egypt was in its initial uprising mode a few months ago, things weren't loking so great. No, I'm nobody's national president, but even I could see what was ahead. If you think the Muslim Brotherhood and all the nasties coming along hand in hand with it will be great for the Middle east, good luck. Muslim women will continue to be indistinguishable from farm animals and the worst aspects of Sharia Law will engulf the people like a straitjacket. As always. I think Israel has a pretty good idea of where things are headed.
THE SEASON OF Christmas and Hanukkah (or Chanukah or ?, depending upon the source one consults for proper spelling) is here, and I'll take this opportunity to wish those who embrace either faith pleasant days ahead as 2012 unfolds.. In the spirit of everybody's season, no matter your beliefs, please contribute generously to your local animal shelters. Of all the crazy stuff going on in the world, animals aren't to blame for ruinous decisions the rest of us make every day of the year.
Depending upon the weather in the Northeast, and my ever-changing desires to simply hibernate until spring, the blog will be getting a rest for a bit. However, many of the sources noted in the link list never sleep, so do stay in touch with them.
