Medary.com

Reporter Lawrence Solomon of Canada's Financial Post set out to document those "few" scientists who aren't on board with the common view on climate change.  He titled the series "The Deniers."  He thought he'd turn up a few wackos.  But then . . .

My series set out to profile the dissenters -- those who deny that the science is settled on climate change -- and to have their views heard. To demonstrate that dissent is credible, I chose high-ranking scientists at the world's premier scientific establishments. I considered stopping after writing six profiles, thinking I had made my point, but continued the series due to feedback from readers. I next planned to stop writing after 10 profiles, then 12, but the feedback increased. Now, after profiling more than 20 deniers, I do not know when I will stop -- the list of distinguished scientists who question the IPCC grows daily, as does the number of emails I receive, many from scientists who express gratitude for my series.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped believing that a scientific consensus exists on climate change. Certainly there is no consensus at the very top echelons of scientists -- the ranks from which I have been drawing my subjects -- and certainly there is no consensus among astrophysicists and other solar scientists, several of whom I have profiled. If anything, the majority view among these subsets of the scientific community may run in the opposite direction. Not only do most of my interviewees either discount or disparage the conventional wisdom as represented by the IPCC, many say their peers generally consider it to have little or no credibility. In one case, a top scientist told me that, to his knowledge, no respected scientist in his field accepts the IPCC position.

On the heels of our fabulous experience on the Regent Seven Seas Mariner on our Hawaii-Tahiti cruise last year, we eagerly anticipated our next voyage on the Mariner.  That tale is told here, in several parts, as we did for our previous cruise.

Knock on the door to begin your cruise, or do it the old-fashioned text hyperlink way.



Part One, 4/27/07-4/29/07

Part Two, 4/30/07

Part Three, 5/1/07-5/3/07

Part Four, 5/4/07-5/5/07

Part Five, 5/6/07-5/7/07

Part Six, 5/8/07-5/9/07

Part Seven, 5/10/07-5/12/07

Understanding orange cauliflower may lead to more nutritious crops:

While orange cauliflower may seem unappealing to some, it has distinct nutritional advantages. Now, Cornell researchers have identified the genetic mutation behind the unusual hue. The finding may lead to more nutritious staple crops, including maize, potato, rice, sorghum and wheat.

Fred's too sexy for his show, too sexy for his show, too sexy . . .

WASHINGTON - Republican Fred Thompson took the first formal step toward a widely expected bid for the presidency, establishing a preliminary campaign committee on Friday.

The "testing the waters" committee allows Thompson — a former Tennessee senator and actor best known for his film and television roles, including as a prosecutor on NBC's "Law & Order" — to raise money, hire staff and gauge support without officially committing to a White House bid and without having to publicly disclose donations or expenditures.

Too sexy.

(See, 'cause he's "on the right" and his name is Fred.  IT'S FUNNY!!!)

Hey, it worked well enough the first time (just ask Jimmy Carter), so the Iranians have started taking Americans hostage again:

Rarely have so many journalists, politicians and commentators so totally missed a headline. There are now five American hostages in Iran. Each case has been largely treated by itself, almost as if it were an oddity, something requiring a special explanation, instead of another piece in a luminously clear pattern whose meaning should be intuitively obvious to us all.

Of course, the first time around was an act of war rather than the current petty thuggery, but unfortunately we had history's worst American President in office at the time.

I've been worried, it's been almost a week since the last simian article of note.  But never fear, ScienceDaily comes through with:
Lessons From The Orangutans: Upright Walking May Have Begun In The Trees

Because these ancestors were probably fruit-eaters, as orangutans are, they would have needed a way to navigate the thin, flexible branches at the tree's periphery, where the fruit typically is. Moving on two legs and using their arms primarily for balance, or "hand-assisted bipedalism," may have helped them travel on these branches.The researchers analyzed nearly 3,000 examples of observed orangutan movement, and found that the orangutans were more likely to use hand-assisted bipedalism when they were on the thinnest branches. When bipedal, the animals also tended to grip multiple branches with their long toes.

Through the magic of story scheduling:

The National Moment of Remembrance, established by Congress, asks Americans wherever they are at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day to pause in an act of national unity (duration: one minute).The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday. The Moment does not replace traditional Memorial Day events; rather it is an act of national unity in which all Americans, alone or with family and friends, honor those who died for our freedom. It will help to reclaim Memorial Day as the sacred and noble holiday it was meant to be. In this shared remembrance, we connect as Americans.

By visiting an Greenland glacier. 

THIS is where your Speaker of the House thinks is the appropriate place to be on Memorial Day, 2007.

Yes, in fact, I do question her patriotism.

(modified, changing "Icelandic" to "Greenland."  Doesn't really matter though . . . )

Kansas City gets the 2008 Big 12 Football championship game, and the 2010 and 2011 men's and women's basketball championships:

“We’re ecstatic,” said Kevin Gray, president of the Kansas City Sports Commission. “It demonstrates that if you have the facilities, you can be competitive in these situations.”

Meanwhile, Sioux Falls and Tulsa are the finalists for hosting the Summit League (nee Mid-Continent Conference) men's and women's basketball championships:

The league, which is changing its name from the Mid-Continent Conference on June 1, will make a site visit to Sioux Falls next week for the 2009 and 2010 tourneys. Conference commissioner Tom Douple said Sioux Falls and Tulsa, Okla., are the only two in the running.

U.S. stops breeding chimps for research:

The NIH's National Center for Research Resources cited financial reasons for its decision this week to permanently cease breeding of government-owned chimpanzees for research. A breeding moratorium on NCRR-owned and supported chimpanzees had been in place since 1995.

I'm going to have to start a new category just for simians, aren't I?