SPEAKING OF LISTS

I know, it's that tedious time of year when news media shower us with lists of past-year events, and we ourselves create mostly-useless lists of things to change or accomplish in our lives. here, however, is one such that's actually interesting -- 50 things we know now that we didn't know this time last year. Among many, I find #26 of more than passing interest.

And as a bonus today, I finally found an exotic video featuring Bobby McFerrin singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" -- something I've not found on YouTube. Love this song.

Peace out.

SEVEN WONDERS

Check out this Wikipedia listing of the wonders of the world -- divided into ancient, medieval, and modern, with entries for everything from architecture, the natural world, and much more. Have fun browsing !!! [Above -- the Great Wall of China. Below -- the ancient Inca city Machu Picchu, in the Peruvian Andes. Click on image to enlarge.]

I WANT ONE !!!

A French company called Parrot has created a scale-model quadricopter, a helicopter with four rotors which you can control via your iPhone. The chopper comes with two cameras, so that the user navigates using the iPhone screen -- and can be operated indoors or out, by remote control. The possibilities for play, work applications, or surveillance are limitless. Unlike other remote control aircraft, this vehicle can hover in place, and lift off and land without the need for a smooth runway. Check out the video here, as well as at Parrot's website, and let your imagination run wild.

WHALING WARS

As reported in the NYTimes by Andrew C. Revkin --

This video shows the collision between a Japanese security vessel and the $1.5 speedboat (shown above at dockside) deployed by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society this year to dog the Japanese whaling fleet. The video was provided by the Japanese Institute for Whaling Research.

Sea Shepherd's leader, Paul Watson, has labeled the incident a deliberate attack by Japan, but Japan's whaling institute, which claims the whale hunt is scientific research, blamed the conservation group for what it called "illegal harassment and terrorism."

Some activists say that such an incident was inevitable, given Sea Shepherd's confrontational tactics. At the same time, the media cannot afford to deploy boats to chronicle whale hunts (photo below shows a whale being drawn up the stern ramp of a factory ship), and governments opposed to whale kills in the commons of the Southern Ocean aren't doing much to track or resist such activities.

If a whale is hit by an exploding harpoon near Antartica and the world doesn't have a way to witness that, does it make a sound?

(Please note -- when I view the video, it appears that it is the Japanese "security vessel" which is maneuvering aggressively, aiming water cannon and changing its course to ram the Sea Shepherd vessel. See what you think.)

PRAGUE SPRING

Beginning on this day in 1968, reformist Slovak Alexander Dubcek came to power, and introduced sweeping political liberalization in the Soviet republic of Czechoslovakia, including loosening restrictions on the media, speech and travel, and partial decentralization of the economy. Dubcek's reforms, popularly called the Prague Spring, met with national and worldwide approval, and were seen as a new hope for the emergence of a more humane variant of Communism.

Alas, reactions within the Communist bloc (the USSR and its satellites) was less welcoming. After initial political pressure failed to halt reform, Warsaw Pact armies invaded Czechoslovakia in August of that year, crushing all resistance and removing Dubcek from office. It wasn't until the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, that the emergent Czech Republic and its sister nation Slovakia were able to freely pursue democratic governments.

This anniversary has special meaning for me. My mother's family immigrated to this country from Prague, in the Bohemian region of what was once Czechoslovakia. I also have a good friend who lives in Slovakia. One day I dearly hope to visit Europe, with this region as a special destination.

THE WORLD'S TALLEST BUILDING

(NOTE: as always, click on any image to enlarge.)












Burj Khalifa, the newest tallest building on the planet, officially opened today. Located in Dubai, UAE, it stands a monumental 2717 feet tall -- over half a mile. From its summit, one can see for sixty miles in any direction. (As part of the opening festivities, skydivers leaped from the top, with no reports of unopened parachutes or parasails.)

One of its fundamental design principles fascinates me -- in cross section the building is composed of three lobes, in essence a triangle rather than the usual square cross section of other super-skyscrapers (including the twin towers of the former World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City). As any geometry student knows, a triangle is the simplest and strongest structure which one can create with straight lines. This is why everything from buildings to bridges has diagonal beams connecting the opposite corners of otherwise square or rectangular components, inducing the reinforcing strength of the triangle.

A perverse but nonetheless fascinating question occurs to me -- what would world reaction be if, as happened to the WTC, the new Dubai tower were attacked by a hijacked aircraft? It is entirely conceivable, given the sectarian differences within Islam. If a copycat attack might be directed at the Burj Khalifa, would the design structure be more resistant to collapse, and would (as happened initially until the Bush administration blew it) the countries of the world express universal sympathy with the victim nation, and universal condemnation of the perpetrators? Just wondering, I have no answer.

I confess to a lingering affection for the long-since eclipsed edifice which was, when I was a child, the world's tallest -- the Empire State Building. At a mere 1454 feet in height, it is now dwarfed by other, newer skyscrapers. Yet it retains its charm. Several movie versions of King Kong have scaled its vertical sides. It has been named one of the seven architectural wonders of the modern world. I've never had the pleasure of standing on its observation deck, as I have several times atop the WTC before its demise -- but I hope someday to do so. On the other hand, next time I happen to be in the Middle East .......

NEWS 3 PLUS COMMENTARY 2

NEWS

1. How to train the aging brain -- question assumptions, learn new physical and mental skills -- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03adult-t.html?em


2. The link between Restless Leg Syndrome and Erectile Dysfunction in older men -- http://www.sciencecodex.com/study_links_restless_leg_syndrome_with_erectile_dysfunction_in_older_men


3. Conspicuous consumption as a marker in status seeking, social signaling and sexual solicitation -- surprising ways in which men and women differ -- http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427392.700-sex-and-shopping--its-a-guy-thing.html



COMMENTARY

1, A Wee Bit o' Revolution. Comic and talk show host Craig Ferguson is a native Scot who is also a proud citizen of the U.S. In this video he describes his fascination with the ideals behind American democracy, combining razor-sharp caustic wit with the thoughtful challenge to step outside our customary beliefs and to think, really think, about what freedom means. His perspective is a breath of fresh air in the predictable polemics of public discourse. Freedom of speech includes freedom from speech. Freedom of religion includes freedom from religion. Of all the freedoms spelled out in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, the most fundamental (and the most compelling responsibility for every citizen) is freedom of thought. The founders were revolutionary not just politically or militarily, but in their deep and original thoughts. It is incumbant upon each of us to emulate that example, to engage in our own wee bit o' revolution every day.

2. From The Outermost House, by Henry Beston, 1928:

We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals.
Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice,
man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge
and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion.
We patronize them for their incompleteness,
for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves.
And therein we err, and greatly err.
For the animal shall not be measured by man.
In a world far older and more complex than ours they move finished and complete,
gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained,
living by voices we shall never hear.
They are not brethren,
they are not underlings;
they are other nations,
caught with ourselves in the net of life and time,
fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.

(Note: This writer does not seek to mystify nature. I do seek, however, to encourage a sense of respect, caring and wonder for the diversity of life on our shared planet. Like it or not, as an intelligent, self-aware species, we inherit the mantle of steward for all other creatures and for this garden planet we call Earth, on behalf of this and future generations.)

36 HOURS IN TUCSON, ARIZONA

At last, the NYTimes online travel section offers a juicy sampling of things to see and do, in and around Tucson. The choices offered barely skim the surface of restaurants, museums, theater, music, or the natural world of the Sonoran Desert and the "islands in the sky" ranges of mountains surrounding the city. Tucson, a.k.a. the Old Pueblo, is a fascinating blend of cultures, a liberal enclave in a conservative state, and the home of my alma mater, the University of Arizona.

A hearty "Right On!!!" from this former resident. [Images: Top -- view looking northeast toward downtown, the UA, and the Santa Catalina Mountains. Center -- the Sonoran Desert in winter. Below -- the mall at the UA. Click on images to enlarge.]

OUTSOURCING GONE WRONG

The NYTimes online reports that Iraqis are understandably confounded and outraged that criminal charges have been dropped against Blackwater Worldwide security guards (read mercenaries) who fired indiscriminantly upon unarmed civilians, during an incident which occurred in 2007. It has become common practice, starting in the Reagan years, for the military to hire private contractors (at considerable profit for the contractor) to provide services ranging from construction and preparing meals to providing armed security. Blackwater is only the most famous and notorious of such "security" providers.

In this observer's eyes, the incident is a microcosm of conservative ideology carried to its logical and flawed conclusion. We hire and train a professional military for such duties. Why, other than blatant cronyism and greed, is it necessary to farm out surveillance, security and other military ops to a bunch of heavily-armed cowboys with little oversight and few scruples? The answer is, there is no justification. Yet we wonder why so many in the third world hold us in contempt.

NEW YEARS EVE 2009-2010

It's all psychological. Yet any arbitrary event which seems to carry the promise of a new beginning is alluring. There's something transcendent and powerful about being able to cast aside old worries, fears and other emotional junk, and be able to start fresh. Deep sigh of personal satisfaction. A birthday, an anniversary, New Year's Eve, a personal or social rite of passage -- any of these can give us reason to pause, consider, and redirect our lives. It is a distinctly human and touching ritual.

It's all arbitrary, of course. I could randomly choose a date, or a given hour each day, on which to rededicate myself to my personal goals, or even change those goals. That does not detract from the importance of the act.

So Happy New Year, one and all -- just for fun, here is Wikipedia's article on how New Year's Eve is celebrated around the world. May the new year bring to each uf us our heart's desire.

WORD ASSOCIATIONS

Here is a link to a fascinating website, sent to me by my old (as in both ancient, and long-established) friend Bill in Chicago. Do a search on a word, and you will be presented with a display resembling the brain's neural net, showing your word's etymology, synonyms, and other associations. Simply place your cursor on any of these "nodes", and a further explanation appears. To anyone who (like me) loves language, or to anyone who is simply curious about a particular word, this is a valuable resource, an adjunct to your dictionary and thesaurus.

CARPE DIEM

Latin for "seize the day". An article in today's NYTimes online reports that in the context of pursuing personal pleasure, recent studies reveal most people to be self-defeating. The Latin motto is usually associated with professional or personal achievement. But when it comes to being good to ourselves, we are often pathologically procratinators. I know I am. When I think of all the beautiful natural areas and historic places within a few hours' drive of where I live, it is embarassing to say that I've never been, never seen.

It was not always thus. In my youth, I was more spontaneous. Living in Tucson, I was often astonished to meet native Arizonans who had never been to that grandest of spectacles, guarantees to take your breath away, the Grand Canyon. It's true no matter where you live. A Philadelphia native might think, "The Franklin Institute? the Museum of Art? Hawk Mountain? Cape May? They'll always be there, I'll go next year, or .... sometime." How many Alaskans have never seen Mt. Denali, the tallest mountain in North America? How many Floridians have never ventured down to Key West? Or Massachussetts residents to Provincetown?

Destinations aside, think of more accessible sources of joy -- a book reading club, an adult class in birding (or insert your preferred avocation), a fine bottle of wine, an extravagent meal out, learning to kayak or play chess, getting involved in local theater. As adults, we are so-o-o-o responsible, often to the point of self-neglect. We all deserve kindness and loving attention, most especially from ourselves, every single day of our lives.

THIRTY-SIX YEARS AGO

On this day in 1973, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was signed into law by then-President Richard Nixon. From an environmental standpoint, this legislation was one of the three most significant laws passed in the latter half of the twentieth century, along with the Clean Air Act of 1970, and the Clean Water Act of 1972.

The ESA has consistently aroused controversy, meeting considerable (and myopic) resistance from both private and corporate sources ranging from hunters to the fishing and logging industries, to name a few. How unfortunate that the short-range pursuit of profit and/or a trophy on the wall prevented, and continues to prevent, so many from seeing that we inherited a garden planet, as far as we know the only one of its kind in the universe. It is more important to assume the role of responsible stewards for our fellow creatures and their habitat, than it is to view them as resources to be harvested. We must disenthrall ourselves from the homeocentric view that humans are the masters of the planet, and embrace the view that we are co-residents along with all those animals, birds, fish, plants and microbes we take for granted.

Where it has been enforced with care and balance, the results have been spectacular. Our national bird, the bald eagle, has rebounded in numbers sufficiently to be removed from the list of endangered species. Humpback whales are beginning to rebound from their near extinction. Similarly, gray wolves have been reintroduced to portions of their former range in the Rocky Mountain West, and have thrived to such an extent that (prematurely) several states have issued licenses for renewed hunting seasons on wolves. This is a travesty, as their populations are still much too small to possess the genetic diversity needed for successful long-term survival.

If I were king of the world, my approach would come as no surprise to regular readers. Given that there are now roughly six billion humans on the planet, and given that (by my estimate) the earth can reasonably sustain only one-tenth that number if significant tracts of true wilderness are to be preserved, I would institute (at least) three requirements. The first would be the reintroduction of all top predators (e.g. wolves, mountain lions, tigers, sharks, et al.) and their representative prey species to all areas of the world, including urban areas. The second would be the outlawing of human technology which lends unfair advantage to the human hunter, including firearms. The third would prohibit human hunting in groups. Solo hunting only. You want to kill a wolf? Use your woodcraft skills and a knife. At least it would be a fair hunt.

Oh, lest we forget, we also need to brainstorm acceptable ways of rapidly decreasing human numbers. I do not advocate euthanasia, genocide, or anything of the sort. At the very least, there should be a limit of one child produced by any individual (regardless of how many serial partners he/she has). This practice would be followed until world human populations decreased to around 600 million. [If there should be any who wonder if I practice what I preach, I do. I fathered one son. Period.]

Radical problems sometimes call for radical solutions. And we are undeniably both the cause, and experiencing the effects, of a plethora of radical problems in the natural world and its enviroment.

For now, let us recall and celebrate victories like the ESA, and work locally, nationally and globally to strengthen and broaden their scope -- for the sake of all species, and for the sake of the world which our grandchildren will inherit.

Note: top photo, Siberian Tiber. Bottom photo, Northern Spotted Owl.

CHOOSING MY DEPARTURE

In his seminal memoir Desert Solitaire, environmental activist, writer and iconoclast Edward Abbey describes his seasonal employment as a park ranger at Arches National Monument in Utah. During one incident in the book, he joins a search and rescue party attempting to locate an overdue and presumably lost hiker in that magnificent redrock wilderness. Eventually they found the hiker, dead. He had apparently realized that in his dehydrated and disoriented state, there was little hope for survival in the desert heat -- so he found a tree perched at a natural overlook with a spectacular view, sat down leaning back against the tree, and there his spirit left this mortal coil.

I met Abbey a few times, and I share his sentiments on death -- if I knew I had a terminal illness or injury, with a finite time in which to live, I would not want to enrich the vulturine mortuary industry, nor impoverish my surviving family, with a conventional funeral. Rather, I would see that my possessions and financial assets (meager) went to the proper recipients as gifts, say farewell to those who love me, and set off into a secret wilderness. There I would find an inaccessible place of beauty where the components of my body could rejoin Mother Earth, to nourish her and complete my part of the cycle of life.

There are those who prolong their lives using extraordinary medical measures, at great financial and emotional expense to their families. Understandably so, for who would want to voluntarily leave the astonishing festival of life? Today's NYTimes online features an article on patients who carry that tenacity a step farther, living in a state of perpetual sedation. This I confess I don't comprehend. Where is the value of existing, if one is (in effect) in a drug-induced coma, unable to engage in life? Minimize pain, yes. Remove consciousness, never.

A footnote: Edward Abbey passed away in March of 1989 at age 62 (my current age). He had left precise instructions on what to do with his remains, as recorded by David Quammem in "Outside" magazine. To wit: "He wanted his body transported in the bed of a pickup truck. He wanted to be buried as soon as possible. He wanted no undertakers. No embalming, for godsake! No coffin. Just an old sleeping bag. Disregard all state laws with regard to burial. 'I want my body to fertilize the growth of a cactus or cliff rose or sagebrush or tree.' As for his funeral, he wanted gunfire, and a little music. 'No formal speeches desired, though the deceased will not interfere if someone feels the urge. But keep it all simple and brief.' And then a big happy raucous wake. He wanted more music, gay and lively music. He wanted bagpipes. 'And a flood of beer and booze! Lots of singing, dancing hollering, talking, laughing and lovemaking."

Ed's close friend Doug Peacock (the probably model for Abbey's character George Hayduke in his rousing ecosabotage novel The Monkey Wrench Gang), and a small group of friends saw that his wishes were carried out. Abbey is buried at an obscure location in the Agua Prieta Desert (rumors vary between Arizona and Sonora), where "you'll never find it." A marker carved on a nearby stone reads:

EDWARD PAUL ABBEY

1927-1989

No Comment

While my own preferences might differ in some details from Abbey's, we absolutely share the wish for a spirit of celebration of life, unmarred by the trappings of "civilization". I value culture as I value wilderness, but if I had to choose one or the other to survive, wilderness would rule. Earth First!

LINKS

Just for fun, here is a brief sampling of links to informative websites and engaging blogs. Check'm out ...................

News and opinion ~

Amy Walter on politics -- http://www.nationaljournal.com/hotline/

The Angry Black Woman on social issues -- http://theangryblackwoman.com/

Amy Alkon on in-your-face relationship advice -- http://www.advicegoddess.com/ag-columns-blog/newindex.html

what's new online -- http://www.reddit.com/

Diane Rehm interviews (NPR) -- http://wamu.org/programs/dr/

Charlie Rose interviews (PBS) -- http://www.charlierose.com/

science updates -- http://www.350.org/about/science

Reference ~

distance calculator -- http://www.travelmath.com/driving/

Places Rated Almanac online -- http://placesrated.expertchoice.com/default.aspx

confirming/debunking urban legends and rumors -- http://www.snopes.com/

vocabulary (NYTimes) -- http://schott.blogs.nytimes.com/

interlanguage translation -- http://www.yourdictionary.com/languages.html

Entertainment ~

xkcd, a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math and language -- http://xkcd.com/

music animation (five stars) -- http://www.musanim.com/

free online chess -- http://www.freechess.org/

free online scrabble -- http://www.isc.ro/en/download.html

GENERAL AVIATION SERVES AMERICA

I'm a ten-year member of AOPA, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Both I (as an aspiring private pilot) and AOPA (which serves over 400,000 members) have a vested interest in hearing accurate news coverage of political and fiscal news which affect us. There are "news" organizations like Fox News and USA Today which are really editorial forums for right-wing fringe elements whose agenda is both transparent and twisted.

















Recently, in response to deceptive and distorted comments published in USA Today on congressional appropriations for smaller, general aviation (GA) airports, AOPA President and CEO Craig Fuller issued a clarifying statement. To assist in setting the record straight, I quote directly from his statement here --

"Surveys tell us people view general aviation as an important part of our national transportation system. But we also know GA is not well understood. It comprises all flying except scheduled airlines and the military. That means law enforcement, firefighting, air ambulance, search and rescue, traffic reporting, package delivery, and more fit under the "general aviation" banner. In short, GA provides services that millions of Americans and thousands of American businesses rely on every day.

"Just as highways crisscross the nation, serving small towns and big cities, so the nation's more than 5000 public-use airports link communities of all sizes. Commercial air carriers serve fewer than 150 of those airports -- that's like having a highway system that connects only the country's 150 largest cities.

"Just as every driver pays taxes that fund road maintenance and development, so every person who flies pays taxes to maintain the airport and air traffic control system. You may never drive to the tens of thousands of small communities served by our national highway system, and you may never visit thousands of small airports that make up our aviation system. But because these roads, and airports, serve the public good, we all pay a share for their maintenance.

"Many public-use airports, large and small, are eligible to receive federal funding for infrastructure maintenance and improvement. In FY 2007, GA airports that received federal funds got an average of $750,000 each. That same year, commercial air carrier airports that received funding got an average of $5.5 million each -- more than seven times the amount awarded to smaller fields.

"Small airports create jobs and development opportunities, attract businesses and allow them to grow. In fact, GA is responsible for creating some 1.2 million jobs and contributing $150 billion annually to America's economy.

"And general aviation airports relieve congestion and reduce delays at the big air carrier airports. Without them, thousands more flights would crowd into already overburdened airports each day, slowing traffic, increasing delays, and adding to security lines.

"A robust general aviation system is a valuable national asset and vital transportation link serving millions of Americans every day. Let's keep it that way."

AOPA sponsors a campaign called GA Serves America, to educate citizens and policy makers about the economic role general aviation serves in our communities and in our nation. If you would like to learn the truth about general aviation in america, please visit the website. If you are so inclined, you can contribute to our educational outreach.

ZOOMING FROM UNIVERSE TO ATOM

By now most people (hopefully) have seen the classic 1970s video Powers of Ten, which begins with an overhead view of a couple picnicking, zooms back (up). Every ten seconds the view is ten times farther away, and the field of view ten times wider, than the previous increment. This geometric progression from person to landscape to continent to planet to solar system to galaxy, culminates in what was then thought to be a view of the entire universe. Reversing the process, the virtual camera zooms back to the couple, and continues magnifying until reach the atomic level. The narration clarifies any ambiguity nicely.

Recently I discovered a variation on this video, The Known Universe, produced by the American Museum of Natural History. Computer animation is orders of magnitude more sophisticated, and no narration is needed, since visual labels appear at regular intervals. The zoom down to the cellular and atomic levels is not included.

Both videos are well worth watching, for a deeper understanding of the relativity of distance and the sheer vastness of space. I once read that if you were to place three grains of sand inside the largest cathedral on Earth, the ratio of matter to empty space would approximate that found in the universe, or in an atom. This was before the discovery of dark matter, but the analogy is still illuminating.

[FOOTNOTE, dated 21 Jan 2010: I actually scooped NASA in posting AMNH's The Known Universe video -- the APOD post appeared today.]

OXYMORON -- MILITARY INTELLIGENCE

No, I'm not taking cheap shots at individuals serving their country. Rather, I'm sickened and outraged by the decisions of commanders and civilian policy-makers, past and present. Let me explain.

ITEM ONE. Major General Tony Cucolo, the new U.S. military commander in northern Iraq, has created a furor by announcing stiff penalties for troops who commit infractions ranging from gambling and using drugs to stealing historic artifacts and selling weapons and .... becoming pregnant, or causing another soldier to become pregnant. The NYTimes reported that Cucolo wants his 22,000 troops to think before they act, and to understand that a pregnancy removes a soldier from the battlefield. He has proposed penalties including courts martial and being returned to the U.S. -- the latter for female soldiers only, not for the male soldiers who impregnate females. Say WHAT? Cucolo may be backing down from his earlier announcement of penalties to be imposed. Details are lacking.

It is not uncommon for a new commander to assert his/her authority by presenting a strict, by-the-book persona. On the other hand, we're in the 21st century, deploying a mixed-gender military whose members are only human, especially in inhuman circumstances like an unjustifiable war. So far seven soldiers (four women and three men) have fallen victim to the Cucolo's ruling. Speaking as one who has supervised mixed gender groups ranging from 10 to 60, I've always found that education and understanding are much more productive than a bludgeon, even in a military setting.

ITEM TWO. I watched the movie Taxi to the Dark Side yesterday. The 2007 Academy Award-winning documentary examines how military interrogators illegally detained, tortured, extradited, imprisoned, and in some cases murdered hundreds of Afghan civilians over the past decade, under direct orders from the highest levels of government during the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld (BCR) administration. The film was graphic, raw, and disturbing on many levels -- but every person who is concerned about human rights, and every person who thinks of him/herself as a patriot, should see this movie. We think of ourselves as a civilized species and a civilized nation, yet we persist, when presented the opportunity, in indulging in barbarism in the name of freedom, madness in the name of security. Note: of all those arrested and tortured and dehumanized, not even 5% proved to have any connection with Al Qaeda or terrorist activities. During all that time, while the BCR triumvirate was stonewalling and pontificating, and oh yes by the way mentioning a few "bad apples", it was those very three who were formulating and approving behavior which violates every concept of human dignity, not to mention numerous U.S. and international laws governing the humane treatment of prisoners. Yet only low-ranking individuals were ever successfully prosecuted. Echoes of My Lai, only this time there was no Hugh Thompson to step forward and forcefully intervene.

War exacts a bizarre and violent toll on the human psyche. All the more reason for supreme caution before entering a state of war, and all the more reason for a meaningful system of oversight by both military and civilian leadership. Instead the skunks were running the henhouse -- skunks who, by the way, had never served on active duty in wartime themselves.

I was against both Iraq wars -- they were transparently about oil and vengeance, not about spreading the values of democracy and freedom. I'm also against the current, escalating deployments to Afghanistan. Did we learn nothing from Vietnam? The response to insurgency is counterinsurgency, not conventional masses of troops. Our successful use of Army Special Forces and Delta operatives in Afghanistan proved that. In fact, our own Revolutionary War proved that. Some people never learn, or simply don't want to.

In the context of prisoner interrogation, it is a long-established fact that torture does not work. Eventually the detainee will say whatever he thinks the interrogator wants to hear. Value of information obtained -- zero. It is of far greater value (though more time-consuming) to gain the subject's trust, to help him safeguard his family, to treat him with simple human dignity and respect. The FBI interrogators in Iraq and Afghanistan knew that, but they were supplanted by CIA and military interrogators with a different, more malicious, and far less useful mindset.

TUTULEMMA

If you took a photo of the sun at exactly the same time every day, from the same position on the ground, using the same composition with respect to the horizon and nearby objects, the resulting pattern of solar positions over the course of the year would describe a lopsided figure 8, called an analemma (see image above). The horizontal/vertical position of the figure 8 will be determined by the time of day you choose for recording solar position in the sky. By working backward, one can deduce with reasonable accuracy the time of year, from the sun's position at that assigned time.

Recently NASA's website APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) posted a most unusual analemma variation -- one which was timed to record a total solar eclipse. The resulting, very special figure is called a tutulemma -- a word coined by the photographers based on the Turkish word for eclipse (see image below). As always, click on an image to enlarge it.

WINTER SOLSTICE 2009

Today at 5:47 p.m. UTC will mark the moment of the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere -- the shortest day and the longest night of the season. Earth's seasons, the the transitions beteween them, the summer and winter solstices and the spring and autumnal equinoxes, are cause by the tilt of the earth's axis (currently 23 degrees 44 minutes) with respect the the plane of our orbit around the sun. In our case tonight, the north end of the axis is pointed farthest away from the sun, as seen in the image above. The axis tilt during an entire yearlong orbit may be seen below.

The axis tilt is more or less stationary in terms of human lifespans, though over geologic time it does undergo precession or wobble, with each cycle taking about 26,000 years. This is why our "north star" (the star toward which the north axis end appears to point) is currently Polaris, but in another thousand years will be Gamma Cephei.

Long story short, starting tonight the days will become longer, and the nights shorter. Small wonder that both ancient and modern cultures all over the globe celebrate the coming of light, and of hope for renewed life.