Thursday, January 3, 2013

SAR #13003

The world doesn't end, it becomes something else.

Stripes: The Republicans have once again demonstrated their absolute contempt for those who might need a helping hand, refusing to even consider federal aid to the victims of Superstorm Sandy as they turned their back on the idea of proving food and shelter for those who are hit by a natural disaster, and rushed home after getting tax breaks for those making $250,000 - $450,000.

Keeping Score: So far, as far as we know, Obama has had only three US citizens assassinated. So far. As far as we know.

Hide & Seek: If you see "high fructose corn syrup" on the label, perhaps you should put the item back and save yourself a few extra pounds, diabetes and an early death. Seems that fructose doesn't let your brain know when you've had enough, so you keep on eating. But if you are religious about counting your calories and know when to stop, there shouldn't be a problem - it's the calories that count. Or just phoo-phoo the science, don't read the labels, and by all means, don't count the calories..

Wants and Needs: In order to meet its budget for job creation and social welfare, Oman needs oil prices to average $104 a barrel in 2013. You should budget accordingly, too.

Just So:Climate scientists examining the 2012 record-setting Arctic sea ice melt have concluded that global warming is proceeding much faster than previously thought, through processes they had not included in their calculations.

Naturally Occurring: 'Flowback' waters from fracking operations have been found to contain high concentrations of salts, including radium and barium in concentrations greater than found in injected fluids and in compositions of water dating from the Paleozoic era, which calls the 'totally harmless' label into question. At the least it creates a disposal problem.

In Transition: In Alaska's interior forests, at least 25% of the aspen, white spruce and birch trees are dead.

Fact Checking: The claim is that "total petroleum production in the United States will jump ahead of Russia and come close to dethroning Saudi Arabia as the world leader." Grains of salt: Note the “total petroleum production”, so they are not talking about ordinary crude oil, but including lots of “other liquids”. Saudi Arabia pumped 9.7 million barrels a day in 2012. Russia produced 10.4 mbd. The US produced 6.4 mbd of crude oil - the real McCoy - this year.

The Parting Shot:

130103

3 comments:

Demetrius said...

Fructose. This one has been up and running a little while now in a quiet way and does not surprise me. What we do not realise is that mass very cheap concentrated sweetness is quite recent. As a kid sugar and sweets etc. were around but more costly and going back it is easy to see the rapid progression since the mid 19th Century. The other matter is that because it is now very cheap it is packed into all sorts of foods both as a filler and a quarantee of defined reliable taste. Getting us all off the hook will not be easy.

Charles Kingsley Michaelson, III said...

"Getting us all off the hook..." I don't know - after reading the hfcs stuff I went through the pantry and only found a couple of items with The Poison. But then we mostly eat at home things we have cooked outselves, mostly from fresh produce. Divorcing oneself from convenience foods, fast-foods and the snack culture is a Good Idea. Easy? No, but doable. .ckm

mistah charley, ph.d. said...

see Mintz's Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History

various rankings at Amazon

#2 in Books > History > Historical Study > History of Ideas

#21 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences

#24 in Books > History > Historical Study > Social History