Meteor falls in Russia – Hundreds Injured

Posted by & filed under .

Amazing footage coming out of Russia this morning of a meteor scorching it’s way through the atmosphere. Hundreds are reported to have been injured by flying glass – the result of a powerful shockwave generated by the meteor.

From the BBC: Meteor strike injures hundreds in central Russia

(Ugh – I’m not happy with the video on the BBC site.  They have edited the audio – dubbing the sonic boom from one clip over top of other clips. – The raw footage shown elsewhere reveals the BBC’s editing.  Good grief.  As if the other shots weren’t exciting enough…)

Russia Today has raw footage on youtube.com:

Anyway, I’ve posted about this kind of threat before:

Impacts on Jupiter, New Comets, and Dangers to Earth

More junk falling from space

There is still a lot of junk up there we don’t know about, that we haven’t detected, that could cause serious damage and loss of life.  Improved early detection and development of systems to deflect these threats are needed now.

This meteor came down on on the same day another large asteroid is to make a close flyby - DA14.  That one is not supposed to hit, but it’s a bit too close for comfort as it will fly within the orbit of some of our satellites.

We spotted DA14 in advance, but the one that came down in Russia was apparently undetected.

Prediction: Argentina’s Price Controls Will Fail

Posted by & filed under .

Argentina, in a misguided attempt to curb inflation, has decided to implement price controls on supermarkets for two months.

See – Argentina Freezes Prices to Break Inflation Spiral

My prediction is as follows:

This policy will cause demand to spike while simultaneously reducing supply.  Store shelves will be bare.  Some stores and their suppliers will close forever.  It will not slow inflation.  It will discourage investment.  It will encourage economic flight from the country.  Things will be worse than before.

 

Election Results and Predicitons

Posted by & filed under .

Well, President Obama won re-election.  Not much positive to say about that.

Things I now expect in our future:

The economy will continue to just sputter along or suffer some additional setbacks.  – The press will talk up the ”new normal” angle.  They will treat 7% to 8% unemployment as doing well as more people slip into poverty.

As ObamaCare goes into effect, more doctors will choose to leave the profession while fewer young people choose to become doctors.  Just as other nations have done, we will import a larger and larger number of doctors from overseas in an attempt fill the gap.  Will they be just as good?

Health care costs will increase and the Dems/Legacy Media will blame ”greedy” insurance companies and doctors, not their own regulations.  Their solution will be to demand even greater government intrusion into the health care market.  Repeat until dead.

Wait times will increase.

Fewer new medical devices.

Fewer new medicines.

Overall quality of care will decrease.

Costs will go up.

It saddens me to think of all those around the world that will suffer and die needlessly because new drugs and treatments that could have saved them will not exist.

Update – Additional prediction:

Iran will obtain nuclear weapons unless stopped by Israel. The current sanctions hurt Iran, but the Iranian leaders have concluded that they will gain far more from the possession of nuclear arms than they will lose via those sanctions.  I don’t think the Obama administration, nor any of the European powers, will go beyond sanctions to stop Iran.  At this point, Israel may be the only nation with the determination to stop them, but it might lack the ability to do so, short of some large-scale attack.  Possibly an EMP strike.  The consequences of which are terrible to contemplate for both the Iranian people and for Israel.

Iran is already a serious problem.  A nuclear Iran would be a nightmare.  – Iran might attack Israel at first opportunity, or it might use the nukes to serve as a shield for other aggressive action in the region.  If the latter happens, expect a rapid arms race in the middle east to counter the Iranian nuclear threat.

Last debate before Election Day!

Posted by & filed under .

I have zero faith Bob Schieffer will play fair in tonight’s debate.  He’s solid left and I expect him to favor, if not try to actively help, President Obama.

Will they give Obama more time to speak again? lol  I think they likely will.  lol

Update – I couldn’t bring myself to watch it. heh heh But, it sounds like Bob Schieffer actually did a decent job.  Color me pleasantly surprised.  As for the candidates themselves, based upon what I’ve read so far, it doesn’t sound like the event will move the needle much in either direction.  (I will try to actually watch it later today, but I make no promises.)

Italian scientists convicted on manslaughter charges

Posted by & filed under .

From the BBC:

Six Italian scientists and an ex-government official have been sentenced to six years in prison over the 2009 deadly earthquake in L’Aquila.

They have been convicted of failing to accurately predict a major earthquake.  This is madness considering our current ability to predict earthquakes.

1.  This will discourage future scientists from entering a badly needed field of study.

2.  This will encourage current scientists to exaggerate threats in order to protect themselves from future prosecution.  Exaggeration was already a problem, this will only make things worse.

Candy Crowley & Presidential Debate

Posted by & filed under .

Some folks think Crowley is in the tank for the Dems, but I’m going to reserve my judgement until after the debate.  I’ve heard her on Hugh Hewitt’s program several times and she stuck me as fairly even handed, so I’m hoping she will continue that even handedness though tonight’s debate.

I’m generally not a fan of these “town hall” style debates as they can lend a false sense of authenticity to the event. The guests and their questions can easily be stacked against a particular candidate, but are presented as though they are merely questions from the public.

 Update – Ah-ha!  This is what I was talking about!  – By 2-1 margin, liberals questions favored at town hall debates

 ht: Instapundit

Update – The morning after the debate - I’m disappointed in Candy’s performance, but I suppose I shouldn’t have expect any better from a Legacy Media type.  She has attempted to walk back her actions a bit by saying Romney was right, but he simply used the wrong word…  Sorry, but it’s too late for it to restore my opinion of her.  At this point she has become just another Legacy Media goober in my eyes.

As for who won?  Eh, I didn’t seem all that definitive one way or the other..  I’m obviously sympathetic to Romney and his arguments, but I don’t expect this debate shifted many undecided/uninformed voters.

Yet another update – Crowley backtracks on her backtrack

Ah screw it.  Candy, thy name is Mud.