Via a reader tip, this American Thinker portrait of sex “researcher” Alfred Kinsey – and the long term societal consequences of his fraud.

While Kinsey made no effort to correct for incidentally skewed data, he purposely skewed data and made every effort to make it appear correct. Amazingly, outrageously, unbelievably, fourteen-hundred of Kinsey’s male subjects were prison inmates and sexual offenders whom he classified as normal. Why? Kinsey’s rationalization was that the only difference between these reprobates and average men was that the former got caught.

After that, it was only logical to consult prostitutes to obtain data on female sexuality.

As shameful as the scientific fraud is, it pales in comparison to Kinsey’s blatantly immoral and criminal behavior with respect to children. Kinsey conducted research that supposedly demonstrated that young boys – as young as two months of age – could experience multiple orgasms. He claimed that the maximum number observed in a twenty-four hour period was 26 climaxes . . . in a thirteen-year-old and a four-year-old. Now, to again quote the Intercollegiate Review, “So mesmerized were Americans by the authority of science, with a capital S, that it took forty years for anyone to wonder how data is collected on the sexual responses of children as young as five.”

There’s more.

Plus, lots of light for reading the sports section.

A magnetic screwdriver is an invaluable tool when draining carbs on your bike. It will prevent the necessity of using your fingers to dig about gasoline soaked surfaces in the gloom of an unlit garage in December, trying for the 4th time to find the tiny bolt that has again fallen into the bowels of your engine, while trying to replace it blind, from a virtually impossible angle.
Urgh.

In the basement laundry room of the family farm home is a refrigerator like the one pictured above. The International-Harvester deepfreeze is a few feet away, under the stairwell. A farm equipment company, IH began making refrigeration appliances in 1947, but only manufactured them for a few years before selling the division off. At $700 for a freezer, the price was out of reach for most households.
Both are at least 50 years old. My grandparents purchased the freezer used in the mid 1950’s and sold it to my dad in 1965. Its colourful history includes rescue from a house fire through timely intervention with a chainsaw through an exterior wall. Both appliances continue to function as well as the day they were built.

It is nearly impossible for a woman of my size to move an IH refrigerator by herself. The new Sears Kenmore I bought a couple of years ago (to replace the leaky harvest gold 70’s model that came with the house) weighs about as much as a styrofoam box. Then again – nobody ever had to move an International freezer because it quit working. Five decades of hard-won technological advances have cut the weight, energy consumption and functioning lifespan of kitchen appliances like these by two-thirds.

I don’t know that this is progress.

Via Jeremy Brown, who’s filling in for Michael Totten – Ali at Iraq The Model, discovers he doesn’t know as much about his country’s history as he thought.

[Juan Cole] also provide a link to another article by a professor of Arab studies in the university of Colombia and use it as a reference to back up his theory. What Dr. Cole was trying to tell us, as you can see in his article, is that Fallujah is celebrated in Iraq’s history as a symbol for the large rebellion/revolution against the British back in 1920.
[…]
After reading the two honored professors’ articles I scratched my head vigorously (I’m sure I looked stupid because I felt so!) trying to remember my country’s history as I read it in school. Well, my memory is not that strong to help me remember all those poets and decorated writings about our ancestor’s bravery that I read in the fifth grade, but I sure do remember the only Iraqi movie that was produced about that rebellion. The director of the movie used a huge budget (Iraqi standards) and hired some British actors including Oliver Reed. He (the director) was rewarded generously By Saddam for showing the truth about that historical event.
[…]
Anyway, I don’t know which is worse; that the two experts in Arab world didn’t know about Dr. Al Wardi and his writings or that they knew but chose Sadam’s version of Iraq’s history!?

I suspect there’s more of this than we know.

Hey Mike – just a heads up, you know.

Senator Norm Coleman’s letter to Kofi Annan on behalf of the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations;

As you know, there are allegations of misconduct and mismanagement by the U.N. and/or its agents, including allegations of bribery, conflict of interest and fraud. The recently published report by Charles Duelfer…revealed additional evidence that Benon Sevan, Executive Director of the U.N. Office of the Iraq program, may have received oil allocations from the government of Iraq. Accordingly, these allegations have raised serious questions concerning the management of the U.N. OFF program and the U.N.’s capacity to enforce a similar sanctions regime in the future.
In light of those concerns, we requested your consent to interview key U.N. personnel and review related documents…. In your response of September 29th, you declined to produce the requested documents and U.N. personnel.
We are troubled by your response for a number of reasons…

Related:

Via Powerline.

In the lead up to, and wake of, the US Presidential election, Canadians have had no shortage of opinions about the state of affairs of our southern neighbors. Judging by the comments to phone-in shows from local talk radio to the CBC’s nationally broadcast Cross Country Checkup yesterday, many are rather smug.
The assumption that our economy is stronger is based on some valid arguments – running consecutive surpluses at the federal level is one of them, the “strengthening” Canadian dollar is another. However, Canadians seem blissfully unaware of what the falling US dollar means for our trade based economy. Many seem to believe that the most important consequence is less costly vacations in the US.
In reality, the huge competitive advantage a 65 cent dollar gave exporters is beginning to change. Canadians are going to have to become more productive and efficient to make up the difference. We’re already about 25% less productive than the average American – with a 25% lower standard of living to show for it. Unless you’re one of those vacationing civil servants, you’re probably going to feel the effects.
The most common misconception is that the USA is suffering from high unemployment and a crushing national debt. It’s not really our fault – this been the steady mantra of ill-informed news media too lazy or unmotivated to do a little fact checking. In fact, unemployment rates in the US today are around the same level as during the Clinton years. It helps to place US data up against our own.

(Figures from gov’t sources, Stats Can, etc.)
Most industrialized countries have debts hovering around the 100% of GDP mark. Historically, the US federal debt was at an alltime high during WWII when it reached 125% of GDP.
Is the current deficit and military spending high? Yes and no. There is cause for concern in any deficit spending, but then again – the US is at war and we’re not. And as military spending goes, the US is currently a far cry from their peak (1945), when they spent 38.5% of GNP on the military. Today, the US spends 3.6% of GDP on the military, lower than the average of 5.7% spent during the post-war years of 1940- 2000. *

I originally heard about this case from friends who helped in grooming the dogs from the Trinidad, CO seizure. Read it all, but park your stomach at the door.
Some advice to follow up:
If you have to surrender a pet for adoption, be extremely careful about where you are sending it. Many of the animals seized in these disasters were “saved” by hoarders who offer “private rescue”. Legitimate private and club rescue organizations exist, and in most cases, they are highly preferable to even government-supported humane societies and dog pounds – but they will be recognized and endorsed by a national breed club or local kennel club. Spend an extra few days and check them out, before you surrender your animal to them. With the availability of information on the internet, there are plenty of resources out there.
Some hoarders breed the animals (or more accurately, collect the puppies that are accidentally produced and lucky enough to survive) to support their compulsion. If you are purchasing any purebred or “designer mix” puppy, you should be able to visit and see the conditions that all the dogs live in. Don’t buy the excuse that kennels are off limits for fear of introducing disease. Large breeders bring dogs in and out all the time – this is where disease risk is high, and it certainly doesn’t stop them from buying or attending auctions. (Though home visits are not always a guarantee – some puppymills actually meet buyers at a different “home” location, where a few clean and cared for animals serve as surrogates for the factory breeders in the barn down the road. )
Finally, it helps reduce the risk of buying a puppy or dog from such conditions if you ensure that rescuers or breeders are members of a national or local breed club. A disclaimer, though – clubs can be large and members scattered, meeting only on occassion at dog shows. Or they may have lost control with age and formerly good conditions and policies degenerate without the knowledge of those who know them. Many hoarders are quite competent in their “real life” – and do a very good job of creating a false impression to their peers.
Bottom line – do your homework, trust your instincts, and be prepared to say “no”.

I followed a link left by a commentor and came on his blog and this very useful information on oil production. Go read the whole thing. A great overview on production and cost breakdowns.
Country Rank & Production1999– Early 2002 Rank and Production

1. Saudi Arabia 7.7 million barrels/day– 3. 7.7 mb/d
2. Former Soviet Union 7.1 million barrels/day– 1. 8.6 mb/d
3. USA 5.9 million barrels/day– 2. 8.1 mb/d
4. Iran 3.6 million barrels/day– 4. 3.7 mb/d
5. China 3.2 million barrels/day– 7. 3.3 mb/d
6. Norway 3.0 million barrels/day– 6. 3.4 mb/d
7. Mexico 3.0 million barrels/day– 5. 3.6 mb/d
8. Venezuela 2.8 million barrels/day– 8. 2.8 mb/d
9. United Kingdom 2.7 million barrels/day– 10. 2.6 mb/d
10. Iraq 2.5 million barrels/day– 11. 2.4 mb/d

(Canadians who have been advocating a “turn off the oil tap” retaliation for BSE border closure, take note…)
The larger chart is here.
update – Roo has pointed out in the comments that he’s now put a piece on refinery facts.

Velociman assists his readers in interpreting the election maps;

For those of you who keep pointing me to red state/blue state maps and telling me Bush won Hawaii: the “big island” you keep directing me to is fucking Alaska! They just put it next to Hawaii for purposes of convenience! I will admit the Aleutian Islands did go Bush. “Look at the big red island” indeed.

Kevin Steel has provided a handy map, along with advice for disillusioned Democrats.

First of all, you’ll notice that you should probably best stay out of Western Canada, lots of red there. Ontario (just to the right of the red blob) is your best bet, though you certainly can check out the eastern seaboard, which is much like your northeastern seaboard. New Yorkers in particular should feel right at home in, say, Labrador. That’s what I would recommend.

To which I’ll add, Churchill may appeal to the yachting crowd.

EPA: Looking at Growth and Emissions
Each year EPA looks at emissions that impact the ambient concentrations of these pollutants. These annual emissions estimates are used as one indicator of the effectiveness of our programs. The graph below shows that between 1970 and 2003, gross domestic product increased 176 percent, vehicle miles traveled increased 155 percent, energy consumption increased 45 percent, and U.S. population grew by 39 percent. During the same time period, total emissions of the six principal air pollutants dropped by 51 percent.

Feel free to email this graph to David Suzuki and every Kyoto supporter you know…

A close associate hints: There’s a secret compartment in Kerry’s briefcase. He carries the black attach� everywhere. Asked about it on several occasions, Kerry brushed it aside. Finally, trapped in an interview, he exhaled and clicked open his case.
“Who told you?” he demanded as he reached inside. “My friends don’t know about this.” The leather was a little mildewy.
“My good luck sea monster skin,” Kerry said, happy to see it. “Given to me by a sanpan fishermen as we went in for a special mission in Cambodia.”

http://www.johnkerry.com source for all photos.
So if you don’t think it’s funny, tell them to get better material.

Heh.

Kerry Pushes Plan to Re-Import Canadian Bacon

“I have a plan to get every American hooked on Canadian bacon,” said Mr. Kerry during a campaign stop in Jacksonville, Oregon. “All we need to do is get American farmers to export their hogs to Canada, where the government could impose price controls, then we re-import the processed Canadian bacon to the United States at prices lower than those available here on ordinary bacon.”

Contraversy rages.

Julian Sanchez presents Bushy Rabbit.
Language warning. And if you didn’t see 8 Mile you’re not going to get this. But it’s priceless, if you have.
hat tip = Let It Bleed

Jaegar reveals the latest evidence of sinister operations by the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.
MWWWAAAHHHAAA!!!

Sydney Morning Herald [subscription required];

People have flocked to a small village on the outskirts of Cambodia’s capital after a man claimed that his ten-year-old pet dog has defied nature and the ancient tradition of her species reviling cats and given birth to a kitten.
Owner Te Huot told Deutsche Presse-Agentur that his dog, called Knou, gave birth to a grey tabby kitten after he was visited by a forest monk who claimed that the dog had mated with a tiger. He said it was only the second time in the dog’s life that she had given birth, and that the first time, five years earlier, she had produced normal canine puppies.
However, he claimed that last Tuesday, Knou went into labour at his Chhbar Ampou village home and produced a single kitten.
The phenomenon has brought crowds thronging to Te Huot’s home to burn incense and give donations towards the dog and its tiny kitten, which Te Huot says is a sign from the gods.

The region is also known for its invisible flying dogs.