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Today’s issue of Pickings is filled with humor. First off we have the Daily Mail, UK with a story about the growth of the ice cap in the Arctic. Looks like the earth has a new cooling period that makes Al Gore look like the fool he is.
A chilly Arctic summer has left nearly a million more square miles of ocean covered with ice than at the same time last year – an increase of 60 per cent. …
… Some eminent scientists now believe the world is heading for a period of cooling that will not end until the middle of this century – a process that would expose computer forecasts of imminent catastrophic warming as dangerously misleading. …
… Only six years ago, the BBC reported that the Arctic would be ice-free in summer by 2013, citing a scientist in the US who claimed this was a ‘conservative’ forecast. Perhaps it was their confidence that led more than 20 yachts to try to sail the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific this summer. As of last week, all these vessels were stuck in the ice, some at the eastern end of the passage in Prince Regent Inlet, others further west at Cape Bathurst.
Shipping experts said the only way these vessels were likely to be freed was by the icebreakers of the Canadian coastguard. According to the official Canadian government website, the Northwest Passage has remained ice-bound and impassable all summer.
The BBC’s 2007 report quoted scientist Professor Wieslaw Maslowski, who based his views on super-computer models and the fact that ‘we use a high-resolution regional model for the Arctic Ocean and sea ice’.
He was confident his results were ‘much more realistic’ than other projections, which ‘underestimate the amount of heat delivered to the sea ice’. Also quoted was CambridgeUniversity expert
Professor Peter Wadhams. He backed Professor Maslowski, saying his model was ‘more efficient’ than others because it ‘takes account of processes that happen internally in the ice’.
He added: ‘This is not a cycle; not just a fluctuation. In the end, it will all just melt away quite suddenly.’ …
Dilbert’s Blog weighs in on Syria.
… As a citizen, I am forced to form an opinion using nothing but the questionable “facts” emerging in the news, plus my own guesses and suspicions. How does one form an opinion in that environment?
In a situation with so much at stake and so little reliable information, I default to the following rule: If you don’t know which choice is right, pick the one that costs the least to implement. So I don’t support bombing Syria; it sounds expensive.
I want to be clear that I’m not recommending a course of action for the United States. I don’t have access to the information that the decision-makers have. All I’m saying is that the government has a credibility problem where money is involved, and lots of money is riding on the Syria decision. The whole thing smells like bullshit to me.
P. J. O’Rourke provides decisive moments in the history of barack obama in “I Came, I Saw, I Skedaddled.”
Julius Barack Caesar Obama
Crosses the RubiconI am crossing the Rubicon. Brrr, the water’s chilly. Deep, too. I’m going for a walk along the riverbank to look for a bridge. And I will cross the Rubicon as soon as the weather warms up. The die has been cast. That is, the deck has been shuffled. Or the Wheel of Fortune has been spun. And I’ll buy a vowel.
Christopher Barack Columbus Obama
Many prominent experts, including Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, maintain that the earth is flat. This is a debate I would like to have. Meanwhile, I have discovered a new route to France. …
Andy Borowitz has another spoof.
Hopes for a positive G20 summit crumbled today as President Obama blurted to Russia’s Vladimir Putin at a joint press appearance, “Everyone here thinks you’re a jackass.”
The press corps appeared stunned by the uncharacteristic outburst from Mr. Obama, who then unleashed a ten-minute tirade at the stone-faced Russian President.
“Look, I’m not just talking about Snowden and Syria,” Mr. Obama said. “What about Pussy Riot? What about your anti-gay laws? Total jackass moves, my friend.”
As Mr. Putin narrowed his eyes in frosty silence, Mr. Obama seemed to warm to his topic. …
Andrew Malcolm with late night humor.
Leno: President Obama has canceled a California political fundraiser over Syria. Wow! When Obama cancels a fundraiser, you know this is serious. We’re in Code Red!
Leno: If President Obama really wants to hurt Syria’s Assad, instead of missiles he should send over Obama’s economic advisers.
Conan: Diana Nyad set a new record swimming from Cuba to Florida. The 64-year-old swimmer also set a record as the “youngest person to ever set foot in Florida.”
Letterman: Have you taken down your Labor Day decorations yet? Labor Day honors working people by having them spend all day grilling burgers so they can return to work the next day grilling burgers.