Thursday, January 8, 2009

HOT5 Daily 1/8/2009

1. "Obama Stimulus Package - paving the wrong road?" Probably.  A good look at the proposed stimulus.

Representative Sample: In reality, as Professor Douglas Houston points out, government stimulus packages are more politically driven than economically driven

2. "Science and Science Fiction: What the scientists say: Do you like SF?" If you like science fiction, like I do, you should find this interesting.

Representative Sample: We asked a bunch of science fiction writers and scientists (and a number of people who are both) several questions about their thoughts on science in SF.

3. "Scientists dismiss 'detox myth'" There's no scientific basis for the common claim that products will detoxify you -- something seen in ads all the time.

Representative Sample: Sense About Science reviewed 15 products, from bottled water to face scrub, and found many detox claims were "meaningless"

4. "Légion d'honneur - thank you but no thank you"  Two journalists actually turn down France's highest award because they feel they don't deserve it.  Amazing.

Representative Sample:  It doesn't happen that often, and when it does, it tends to go rather unnoticed.

5. "Gazan Arabs Basking in Pity: Black Africa Remains Forgotten" How the carnage in Africa compares with the Gaza situation.

Representative Sample:  In ten years, the Congo death toll has exceeded the Israel death toll for sixty years by over forty to one.


To submit a blog post for HOT5 Daily, please e-mail me at unrright@NOSPAMgmail.com. Put HOT5 in the subject.

5 comments:

  1. Two things. First, on-topic, I said the very same thing about Congo vs. Gaza about a year ago. A radically pro-Palestinian commenter concurred, saying he wouldn't mind at all if Israel were treated the same way as Kabila's Congo.

    Second, off-topic, here's a reason why I don't trust right-wing media: it's getting Joe the Plumber as a war correspondent in Israel (link), sending him to Israel for 10 days.

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  2. "he wouldn't mind at all if Israel were treated the same way as Kabila's Congo."

    No doubt. But a more apt comparison would be if the Congolese rebels received the same level of worldwide sympathy and support as do the Palestinians.

    "here's a reason why I don't trust right-wing media: it's getting Joe the Plumber as a war correspondent"

    Why is that a reason not to trust the right-wing media? With Joe you know exactly what you are getting -- the observations of some guy that probably doesn't know anything about the situation and has a pro-Israel viewpoint.

    With mainstream journalism you often get slanted coverage against Israel/for the Palestinians, that maserquerades as objective news reporting.

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  3. No doubt. But a more apt comparison would be if the Congolese rebels received the same level of worldwide sympathy and support as do the Palestinians.

    Worldwide sympathy doesn't matter much compared to getting $3 billion a year from the US and free nuclear submarines from Germany, neither with any strings attached.

    With mainstream journalism you often get slanted coverage against Israel/for the Palestinians, that maserquerades as objective news reporting.

    Really? How many pro-Palestinian commentators are there in the MSM, to balance out Krauthammer and all the guys you keep quoting?

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  4. "Worldwide sympathy doesn't matter much compared to getting $3 billion a year from the US and free nuclear submarines from Germany, neither with any strings attached."

    For an ally of their power in the region, a measly 3 billion a year is a bargain for the U.S. Egypt gets about 2 billion from U.S.

    The German subs are not nuclear, they are advanced diesel-electric boats. And according to what I've seen, Israel bought two for 1.27 billion. So I'm not sure how they qualify as a donation.

    "How many pro-Palestinian commentators are there in the MSM, to balance out Krauthammer and all the guys you keep quoting?"

    Almost all of them, aside from obvious conservatives. And that's particularly true of most foreign media.

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  5. The $3 billion consists of 1.5% of Israel's GDP. That's the equivalent of other countries doling out $210 billion to the US every year.

    As for commentators, can you name some in the US who are pro-Palestinian? Europe doesn't count; if the US is allowed to choose to ally itself with Israel, Europe is allowed to choose to ally itself with the Palestinians.

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