Water, the real climate challenge, much bigger than CO2.

The safe, clean water essential to all life is rapidly running out in much of the world. Yet the politicians are concentrating on air pollution in the form of CO2 and methane as if a catastrophe is about to hit us. The world has gotten colder the last 11 years, and the future trend is down, unless the sun does something quite unexpected. In the meantime much of the world’s safe water supply is disappearing. The western US, much of the 10-40 corridor, Australia and western South America are using up its safe water much faster than it is replenished. In addition, what is left is getting polluted.Let me give you an anecdotal example.

A few years ago I was part of a team that made wet processing equipment for making  computer chip wafers. It involved cleaning and etching using isopropyl alcohol, hydrocloric, sulphuric, and hydrofluoric acid as well as Ozone, all potent stuff. To collect the used chemicals we had designed a 5-way output port, so the chemicals could be collected separately. The equipment was made and shipped off to South Korea. It was assembled in a brand new, state of the art positive air pressure clean room facility. The processing equipment was installed, and under the 5-way port was a large funnel, going  to the drain and directly out in the sewer.

A couple of years before, in the US we had a leaking valve, so a small amount of hydrofluoric acid got discharged into the sewage. This poisoned the sewage processing plant, and a large fine was levied. No such worry in Asia. The sewage goes directly out in the ocean to be diluted.

In China many of these facilities are inland, so large water aquifers get poisoned for centuries to come. These are the people we entrust with our future production of just about everything, since we will have to cut down on our energy use thanks to an administration  hostile to energy development, while China is exempt, building dirty coal-fired plants as fast as they can.They install scrubbers, but scrubbers cost money to run, so they are frequently out of service ( being “serviced”). This results in a large brown upper atmosphere smog extending from China to Pakistan acting as a giant heat sink.

The evolution of evolution from my childhood to now. Science is not settled.

The evolution of evolution from my childhood to now. Science is not settled.

In my early childhood in Sweden we lived is a small community where grades 3-6 were taught together in one class. This meant that the teacher did allow a lot of freedom to explore on my own books in the school library. They had not thrown away any old books the last forty years, so I had quite a selection of old textbooks to choose from.

One in particular caught my eye. It was about anthropology and classification of races by skull index. It was originally based on the works of the Swede Anders Retzius (1796-1860). His research was to classify old bone fragments, but his findings were now extrapolated to explain the evolution of man. There were pictures of people of all kinds of races, with the Nordic, blond and blue-eyed being the most evolved, and the black race, with some exceptions much closer evolutionary to the apes. Not only that, but since men have 40% larger brain volume than women, men are further evolved than women. Being 9 years old I believed everything, since it was in a book. I especially liked being superior to girls.

The next time evolution was taught it was the standard stuff with the horse’s hoof being a nail; fishes grew legs instead of fins and so on. We also had a lot of rudimentary organs, not only the appendix, but tonsils and tailbones too. And this time dogs can look quite different, but people are all equal, and girls are as smart as boys (especially the blond Lithuanian girl who emigrated to Canada. I had to admit she was both cute and smart).

The third time around we tackled some of the hard stuff, mutations being a necessary ingredient for evolution. I read up on radiation gardens, where we can grow superior plants, since we know that at least 10% of mutations are beneficial, just weed out the bad ones and superior plants will emerge.

The radioactive gardens are now but a memory, since it was discovered that nobody could find any positive mutations that way. The closer you got to the source, the worse it got. It turns out that positive mutations are rare indeed. The ones most commonly found are in viruses, but they are positive only from the virus’s point of view.

Survival of the fittest tends to weed out bad mutations, but does nothing to explain the mechanism for speciation creep; it tends to reinforce the speciation boundaries. The genetic code that allows adaption in species is already there, so when the changed environment occurs, we are changed accordingly. None of the mechanisms we have used to explain evolution holds up to examination. The mathematics is just not there. And a system this complicated and beautiful, where so many parts of it are at a mathematic optimum is not possible to bootstrap.

We are left with the humbling fact that we do not know the mechanisms. Yet the textbooks still explain discredited mechanisms as evolutionary facts to yet another generation of kids, thus depriving them of the wonder that there is something beyond themselves, which they can try to grasp, but realizing that there is always one more level of understanding that is beyond them.

Obama’s State of the Union. A Limerick.

I  listened to the State of the Union message and found the president unusually lightweight and repetitive.

Obama as leader: We will end up last

Over his head – his rule must not last.

We all start to feel

He is but a heel

Shoemaker, stay at your last.

80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050? Is that even possible?

Let me see if I get this right. The Cap and trade legislation has as a goal to meet an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050, but China is exempt. China just passed us in total CO2 emissions. As of March 2009 China had 19.66% of the world population while the US had 4.53%. If we assume a population growth in the US of 26% between now and 2050  we are promising to cut our CO2 emissions to less than 69% per capita of what China emits today. And they can continue to emit as much as their production demands. Looks like a cold and dark future for us.

The Pomperipossa effect.

The marginal tax rate above 100% which is dubbed the ‘Pomperipossa effect’  happens whenever the government subsidizes some taxpayers below a certain income level, then abruptly removes that subsidy above that level.

In Sweden, beginning with the 1960s income transfer became all the rage. Certain people groups were to be raised to equality with the wealthier classes. I just have one small example from my own life. My father was an elementary school teacher, and covered under the non-academic teachers union. His salary was at the very peak of the class that was favored by the government. He was begged to take the job of librarian for the school, a job that would give him less than a hundred dollars a year. He said he could only afford to take the job if it was unpaid, for if he earned any more money that year some benefits would be cut. But it was against the law to work without pay. So the position was left unfilled. I still remember the story, because his refusal to do the library gave me free food coupons for two years as I entered University.

In the USA this could never happen, right? In Pennsylvania, families below a certain income level pay no State tax. Above that level the tax is gradually phased in. Lets see an example.

For a family with 8 children they pay no state tax if their income is 89000 or less (2008 numbers). If their income is 90251 they pay the full amount. The state tax is 3.07%.

So for the last 1251 dollars you pay 2770 in taxes. This is a marginal tax rate of  222%.

This is a harbinger of things to come if income transfers will become normative.

Is Obama a Christian? A Limerick.

Shahada, professing Obama’s belief

That makes him a Muslim, much to our grief

He keeps saying this:

A Christian he is.

Unless he is baptized, he lies like a thief.

In Feb 2008 Obama said: “Here are the simple facts. I am a Christian. I am a devout Christian. I have been a member of the same church for 20 years. I pray to Jesus every night.” We’ve all heard by now that Obama became a Christian mostly to expedite his political career and that the Trinity United Church of Christ he joined, presided over by Reverend Jonathan Wright, was not exactly mainstream. We’ve heard about Wright’s damning of America and we know that the church was — and might still be — a hot bed of black nationalism. But what is not as well-known is that no baptism is required, nor must Muslims renounce Islam to be accepted as full members in that church. Obama mentioned his two children were baptized by Rev. Wright. He has as of today made no reference to his own baptism, nor does the media seem to be the least interested if he is or not. On February 27th 2007, speaking to Kristof of The New York Times, Barack Hussein Obama said the Muslim call to prayer is “one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.”

In an interview with Nicholas Kristof, published in The New York Times, Obama recited the Muslim call to prayer, the Adhan, “with a first-class [Arabic] accent.” The opening lines of the Adhan (Azaan) is the Shahada:

“Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme! I witness that there is no god but Allah I witness that there is no god but Allah I witness that Muhammad is his prophet? ”

According to Islamic scholars, reciting the Shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith, makes one a Muslim. This simple yet profound statement expresses a Muslim’s complete acceptance of, and total commitment to, the message of Islam. Obama chanted it with pride and finesse. Here is a call to prayer at sunset:

Do you think it is one of the prettiest sounds on earth? So which Jesus does Obama pray to every night? Is it the Christian Jesus Christ as stated in the Apostles Creed? I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Or is it: I believe in Jesus the Muslim, a great Prophet, who was conceived by a decree from Allah, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was not crucified, did not die , and was never buried; he descended not to the dead. On the third day he did not rise again; but ascended immediately into heaven, Allah raised him up unto Himself, and he will come again  and deny he ever claimed divinity, he will defeat the anti-Christ, give witness that Muhammad is the supreme last and final Prophet, that all the world must convert to Islam or perish, and after that peace will come?

Sarah Palin mocks Obama’s 57 states, then gets cut off. A Limerick.

Obama: Our two score and seventeen states 

A Freudian slip, that’s what the left hates.

U.S.A., OIC*

Not the same, not to me,

 But Sarah pokes fun when Obama misstates.

*The Organisation of Islamic States, an organization with 57 member nations.

Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad joined in prayer, where?

President Obama gave a rousing speech in Cairo which was dubbed by some as Wilsonian in its lofty rhetoric, historic in scope and generally inspiring to all of mankind. I however was left puzzled. When did Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad ever appear together, and for what purpose?   First let us take a look at the quote.

Obama said: Too many tears have been shed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of the three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra — (applause) — as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, peace be upon them, joined in prayer. (Applause.)

Since Muhammad is mentioned, we must look at the Holy Quran (Obama’s word) for clues. The first clue is found in:

Sura – 17 The Children of Israel (Bani Israel)

[17:0] In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

[17:1] KHALIFA: Most glorified is the One who summoned His servant (Muhammad) during the night, from the Sacred Masjid (of Mecca) to the farthest place of prostration, whose surroundings we have blessed, in order to show him some of our signs. He is the Hearer, the Seer. YUSUFALI: Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things). PICKTHAL: Glorified be He Who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of Worship to the Far distant place of worship the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! Lo! He, only He, is the Hearer, the Seer. SHAKIR: Glory be to Him Who made His servant to go on a night from the Sacred Mosque to the remote mosque of which We have blessed the precincts, so that We may show to him some of Our signs; surely He is the Hearing, the Seeing.

[17:2] KHALIFA: Similarly, we gave Moses the scripture, and rendered it a beacon for the Children of Israel that: “You shall not set up any idol as a lord and master beside Me.” YUSUFALI: We gave Moses the Book, and made it a Guide to the Children of Israel, (commanding): “Take not other than Me as Disposer of (your) affairs.” PICKTHAL: We gave unto Moses the Scripture, and We appointed it a guidance for the children of Israel, saying: Choose no guardian beside Me. SHAKIR: And We gave Musa the Book and made it a guidance to the children of Israel, saying: Do not take a protector besides Me;

Trying to find more clues I read the whole Sura 17 to see if there were more clues. It dealt to a large extent of the importance of the contact prayers. Let us take the one at noon (or is it after the sun’s zenith?) It turns out that it is illegal to start the midday prayer before the sun starts to decline, so there are helpful aids on the internet for more than six million locations all around the world to give you the exact local time to start your prayers. If you start them too early you nullify the whole idea of submission. At night you can pray as long as you want for extra credit.

17:78] KHALIFA: You shall observe the Contact Prayer (Salat) when the sun declines from its highest point at noon, as it moves towards sunset. You shall also observe (the recitation of) the Quran at dawn. (Reciting) the Quran at dawn is witnessed. YUSUFALI: Establish regular prayers – at the sun’s decline till the darkness of the night, and the morning prayer and reading: for the prayer and reading in the morning carry their testimony. PICKTHAL: Establish worship at the going down of the sun until the dark of night, and (the recital of) the Qur’an at dawn. Lo! (the recital of) the Qur’an at dawn is ever witnessed. SHAKIR: Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night and the morning recitation; surely the morning recitation is witnessed.

[17:79] KHALIFA: During the night, you shall meditate for extra credit, that your Lord may raise you to an honorable rank. YUSUFALI: And pray in the small watches of the morning: (it would be) an additional prayer (or spiritual profit) for thee: soon will thy Lord raise thee to a Station of Praise and Glory! PICKTHAL: And some part of the night awake for it, a largess for thee. It may be that thy Lord will raise thee to a praised estate. SHAKIR: And during a part of the night, pray Tahajjud beyond what is incumbent on you; maybe your Lord will raise you to a position of great glory.

Moving right along I find another startling statement:

[17:101] KHALIFA: We supported Moses with nine profound miracles – ask the Children of Israel. When he went to them, Pharaoh said to him, “I think that you, Moses, are bewitched.” YUSUFALI: To Moses We did give Nine Clear Signs: As the Children of Israel: when he came to them, Pharaoh said to him: “O Moses! I consider thee, indeed, to have been worked upon by sorcery! PICKTHAL: And verily We gave unto Moses nine tokens, clear proofs (of Allah’s Sovereignty). Do but ask the Children of Israel how he came unto them, then Pharaoh said unto him: Lo! I deem thee one bewitched, O Moses. SHAKIR: And certainly We gave Musa nine clear signs; so ask the children of Israel. When he came to them, Firon said to him: Most surely I deem you, O Musa, to be a man deprived of reason. [17:102 ] KHALIFA:  He said, “You know full well that no one can manifest these except, obviously, the Lord of the heavens and the earth. I think that you, Pharaoh, are doomed.” YUSUFALI: Moses said, “Thou knowest well that these things have been sent down by none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth as eye-opening evidence: and I consider thee indeed, O Pharaoh, to be one doomed to destruction!” PICKTHAL: He said: In truth thou knowest that none sent down these (portents) save the Lord of the heavens and the earth as proofs, and lo! (for my part) I deem thee lost, O Pharaoh. SHAKIR: He said: Truly you know that none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth has sent down these as clear proof and most surely I believe you, O Firon, to be given over to perdition. The Torah clearly states there are ten miracles (maybe one of them was not profound). The one omitted is the death of the firstborn, leading Pharaoh to finally let the children of Israel go. The death of the firstborn is the key event in the time of Egyptian captivity. It is still memorized as Passover, and for us Christians Jesus was the Passover lamb.

And the last verse is also troubling: [17:111] KHALIFA:  And proclaim: “Praise be to GOD, who has never begotten a son, nor does He have a partner in His kingship, nor does He need any ally out of weakness,” and magnify Him constantly. YUSUFALI: Say: “Praise be to Allah, who begets no son, and has no partner in (His) dominion: Nor (needs) He any to protect Him from humiliation: yea, magnify Him for His greatness and glory!” PICKTHAL: And say: Praise be to Allah, Who hath not taken unto Himself a son, and Who hath no partner in the Sovereignty, nor hath He any protecting friend through dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence. SHAKIR: And say: (All) praise is due to Allah, Who has not taken a son and Who has not a partner in the kingdom, and Who has not a helper to save Him from disgrace; and proclaim His greatness magnifying (Him). This is obviously a dig to all Christians.

But there was no reference to joined prayer; This is to be found in the mythical story:

Laylat-ul Mi’raj

(The Night of Mi’raj)

In Islam, the Prophet Muhammad’s night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem prior to his famous trip to heaven is called Isra’.  As alluded to in the Qur’an (17:1), a journey was made by a servant of God, in a single night, from the “sacred place of worship” (al-masjid al-haram) to the “further place of worship” (al-masjid al-aqsa).

Traditionally, there was general agreement that the servant of God was Muhammad and that the “sacred place of worship” was Mecca.  Early commentators, however, interpreted the “further place of worship” as heaven, and the entire verse was considered a reference to the Prophet’s ascension into heaven (Mi’raj), an ascension which also originated in Mecca.  In the period of the Umayyad caliphate (661–750), the “further place of worship” was read as Jerusalem.  The two versions were eventually reconciled by regarding the Isra’ simply as the night journey and relocating the point of Muhammad’s ascension from Mecca to Jerusalem to avoid confusion.  Some commentators also suggested that the Isra’ was a vision sent to Muhammad in his sleep and not an actual journey at all; but orthodox sentiment has emphatically preserved the physical, thus miraculous, nature of the trip.

The Isra’ story, greatly elaborated by tradition, relates that Muhammad made the journey astride Buraq (q.v.), a mythical winged creature, in the company of the archangel Gabriel. Muhammad meets Abraham, Moses, and Jesus in Jerusalem; he then officiates as leader (imam) of the ritual prayer (salat) for all the prophets assembled and establishes his primacy among God’s messengers. For the full story go to: “http://www.geocities.com/khola_mon/myth/Miraj.html”

So, this was the story if Isra, which gave the rousing applause at Obama’s speech. There are quite a few things that bother me, as a Christian about this quotation. But one thing is cute The mythical creature has the name Buraq, meaning Lightning. Barack is a namesake of this winged horse. So I can imagine Obama as a young lad in Indonesia going to public school and hearing the story of Isra during the mandatory Quran classes (Obama was registered in the school as Muslim by his step father) hearing from the teacher he has a famous name, and then hearing the whole story and feeling blessed and important destined to do great things. (This is just my imagination running wild).

Whar really bothers me are these things:

  1. Moses, Jesus and Muhammad pray the contact prayer (salat). This means Jesus acknowledges Mohammed’s      superiority as the final prophet.
  2. The furthermost place of prostration has been changed from Heaven to Jerusalem  to satisfy Ymayyad’s claim to Jerusalem, and is not found in the Quran. This story is the main claim of the Muslims for supremacy of Jerusalem apart from the normal claim, people and territory once under Muslim control must remain under Muslim control forever. They still haven’t gotten over the loss of Spain.
  3. Obama says piously:  Peace be upon them, as if Jesus is just another dead prophet. Jesus is not dead, He is Risen.

The Islamic infiltration is pervasive. Another example happened last winter:

Invocation by Husham Al-Husainy, Imam of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center, a Shi’ite mosque in Dearborn, Michigan, at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting. Here’s a transcript:

… In the name of God the most merciful, the most compassionate. We thank you, God, to bless us among your creations. We thank you, God, to make us as a great nation. We thank you God, to send us your messages through our father Abraham and Moses and Jesus and Muhammad. Through you, God, we unite. So guide us to the right path. The path of the people you bless, not the path of the people you doom. Help us God to liberate and fill this earth with justice and peace and love and equality. And help us to stop the war and violence, and oppression and occupation. Ameen.

The inquiring mind wants to know: Who are “the people you doom”. These are anybody that stands in the way of final peace that will come only after Islam is practiced by everybody. So this means Jews, Christians, cult members, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Shintoists, Animists, Wiccan, Agnostics, Atheists, and anybody that considers himself free from  all or belonging to another religion.