December 16, 2006
Imagine if There Were No Nukes…
…it’s easy if you try
(Sung to the tune of John Lennon’s “Imagine”)
How would the world have developed over the last 60 years if nuclear weapons had never been developed? Conventional wisdom, of course, is that we all would have been much better off… But is that really true?
Nuclear weapons have raised the cost of war such that nuclear powers are absolutely fearful of fighting each other. The Cold War only remained cold, IMHO, because of the concept of MAD. While nukes are certainly horrendous weapons, they create a deterrent power that is unparalleled (one of the main reasons we want to make sure nobody like Iran has them).
What do you think? Would the world be more or less stable without nukes?
What If Diaries linked with What If There Were No Nuclear Weapons ?
Below The Beltway linked with What If There Were No Nuclear Weapons ?
December 14, 2006
Video Game Violence Punishable By Jail Time?
German gamers face jail for acts of virtual violence
Players and creators of video games could face imprisonment for acts of virtual violence under draft legislation being drawn up by two of Germany’s state governments.
Politicians in Bavaria and Lower Saxony have proposed a new offence that will punish “cruel violence on humans or human-looking characters” inside games. Early drafts suggest that infringers should face fines or up to 12 months’ jail for promoting or enacting in-game violence.
Great. I’ll bet the next thing I have to look forward to is getting taxed on money my character in The Sims earns at work.
Hat Tip: Mike at The Liberty Papers
December 13, 2006
Has Unrepentant Individual Jumped The Shark?
Gartner: Blogging to peak in 2007
Could blogging be near the peak of its popularity? The technology gurus at Gartner Inc. believe so. One of the research company’s top 10 predictions for 2007 is that the number of bloggers will level off in the first half of next year at roughly 100 million worldwide.
The reason: Most people who would ever dabble with Web journals already have. Those who love it are committed to keeping it up, while others have gotten bored and moved on, said Daryl Plummer, chief Gartner fellow.
“A lot of people have been in and out of this thing,” Plummer said. “Everyone thinks they have something to say, until they’re put on stage and asked to say it.”
Finding things to say has never been a problem for me. My biggest problem has been finding people who will listen.
Some Drano For The Internets
I know I’m late to this one, but I was just reading the Top Ten Funny Political Quotes of 2006 (HT: Jason Pye).
And this is what Ted Stevens thinks of the internets:
Ten movies streaming across that, that Internet, and what happens to your own personal Internet? I just the other day got… an Internet was sent by my staff at 10 o’clock in the morning on Friday, I got it yesterday. Why? [...] They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the Internet. And again, the Internet is not something you just dump something on. It’s not a big truck. It’s a series of tubes. And if you don’t understand those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and it’s going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.
I hate it when my coworkers send me an Internet and it gets delayed!
Now, I knew there were people less knowledgeable about computers and the internet than my father. I just didn’t know they were in the Senate.
Jon Stewart, always usually funnier than I am, really gave it a more complete treatment. Responding to Stevens’ question of why the “Internet” was delivered late:
“Maybe it’s because you don’t seem to know jack shit about computers or the Internet — but that’s okay — you’re just the guy in charge of regulating it.“
Watch below for as hilarity ensues.
December 12, 2006
Butt Painter In Trouble
Teacher in crack over butt art
To hear the students tell it, Stephen Murmer is a fun, popular art teacher who is always quick to crack a joke. But there is another side to Murmer. A side that has agitated school officials and resulted in his suspension. A side that focuses, almost entirely, on the crack in his backside.
Outside of class and under an alter ego, the self-proclaimed “butt-printing artist” creates floral and abstract art by plastering his posterior and genitals with paint and pressing them against canvas. His cheeky creations sell for hundreds of dollars.
This has not gone over well with Chesterfield County school officials, who placed Murmer on administrative leave from his job at Monacan High School.
I’ve often said that when I have kids, I’m going to give them a bunch of paint and a canvas, take the result to a gallery and tell them I made it, and see how much money I can make. That’s how much I typically value “abstract art”.
But I’m all for people to make whatever art their heart desires, and if people want to pay them hundreds of dollars for it, more power to them. Of course, when you’re a public school teacher, you might have to keep a lower profile, but this teacher was doing that, acting under a different name and always in disguise when being interviewed/photographed with his art. And his subject matter is completely tame, even if his methods are a little unconventional.
So why did they discipline him?
“In the school system, personnel regulations state that teachers are expected to set an example for students through their personal conduct,” Marlow said. “Additionally, the Supreme Court has stated that schools must teach by example and that teachers, like parents, are role models.”
Hmm… So he made a successful business out of marketing a quirky style, doing absolutely nothing that would be considered really immoral, and creating art that actually is pretty cool, not in the slightest bit obscene. I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t be a role model. Maybe it’s that he just doesn’t fit into the cookie-cutter mold that our schools are trying to create, that of a mindless drone willing to follow employer and government into the breach. After all, judging by the cost of his art, he’s probably making more money painting with his ass than teaching at the school. Schools these days, unfortunately, don’t really understand anything but the lowest common denominator, and this artist is anything but. The fact that it has come to disciplinary action shows just how hollow our government educational system has become.
But They Have Seeing Eye Dogs!
Wait, you mean blind people weren’t allowed to hunt before?
Lawmaker aims to allow the blind to hunt
A Texas lawmaker is aiming to allow the blind to hunt. Texas State Representative Edmund Kuempel has introduced a measure that would allow blind people to hunt any game that sighted people can currently pursue.
…
“A blind person can shoot a rifle by mounting an offset pistol scope on the side of the rifle instead of on top,” said Terry Erwin, the Austin-based Hunter Education Coordinator with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
“This allows their companion behind them to peer over their shoulder and help them sight it, but the blind person can pull the trigger,” he told Reuters.
Honestly, though, I never realized it was illegal for blind people to hunt. It seems almost like such a preposterous idea that there simply wouldn’t be any laws written covering the situation. Perhaps, of course, hunting requires licenses and the law simply allows blind people to be granted a license.
This reminds me of my childhood, though. My older sister is a smart girl, but occasionally didn’t think much before she spoke. We were talking one day about blind people, and she was surprised that blind people weren’t allowed to drive, and exclaimed “But they have seeing eye dogs!” Yes, yes they do.
TSA Saves Another Passenger…
…from a potential terrorist carrying the Heisman Trophy.
Airport security nixes Heisman Trophy
Troy Smith’s Heisman Trophy was shipped home because airport security would not allow the Ohio State quarterback to take it on the plane Tuesday.
Smith wore a black leather jacket with the Heisman insignia on back when he arrived at the airport from New York, where he was presented college football’s most coveted trophy.
Eddie George, the last Buckeye to win the Heisman in 1995, had his trophy get stuck in an airport X-ray machine, losing the tip of its right index finger and bending the middle finger.
“We decided to have it shipped. That’s much easier. How times have changed. Eddie carried it on the plane and put it in the seat next to him,” sports information director Steve Snapp said.
Smith said he didn’t mind.
“No, because Eddie’s finger got bent,” Smith said. “I don’t want that to happen to mine.”
I feel safer. Don’t you?
UPDATE: According to Doug & the Columbus Dispatch, this may not be accurate. It appears he had planned to ship the statue all along, so it was not damaged in the process. That’s what I get for trusting an unreliable blogger AP Sports Writer. Do some fact-checking next time, AP!
Below The Beltway linked with Homeland Security Insanity
December 11, 2006
Merry Christmas!
Just about zero of my readers have made it onto the Warbiany Christmas card list. Not that I wouldn’t send you a card, but I’m lazy and my wife isn’t about to track down my loyal readers. So here it is, a virtual card. Merry Christmas, everybody!
PS – We might be adding to this little menagerie shortly… 
“We Need” Doesn’t Obligate The Government
Over on my War On Christmas Blog post, I’ve gotten some interesting comments and trackbacks. One trackback came from a Help Save Christmas, a blog that I’m still unsure whether it’s satirical or not. Another was from a definitely-satirical War On Christmas blog. My suggestion to start one was not entirely original, it seems.
But one comment just arrived that I thought needed a response:
I agree with that – We need a national mid-winter, Non-Secular Holiday.
Below is my annual holiday rant – Happy Holidays
Consider this – After Rome took over Christianity it was natural that one of the most important Roman feast days would evolve into the most important Christian holiday – December 25th.
Just four day before is the Winter Solstice, Dec 21st. In the northern hemisphere the shortest day and longest night of the year. This is an occasion that has been celebrated since prehistoric times. It is a marker on the Celestial Calendar that is shared by all of us on this Earth.
Why not shake out this holiday into two days – Separate the religious from the Secular – The 25th will be the religious day of observance, Christians would celebrate it as they like, free from the diluting influences us infidels – and, of course, it would continue to be called Christmas.
December 21st could be the day of celebration for everyone. This has always been known as Yule or Yuletide – it is an ancient name for the season.
…
We need is a National Holiday for all of us at this time of the year.
You know what, I’ve got absolutely nothing against celebrating Yuletide. But why do we need a National Holiday? If you’re going to wait around for our Congressmen to do something likely to piss off the 85% Christian population, you’re going to be worm food by the time it happens.
Why not just start celebrating it yourself, with your friends. Maybe start an online movement to celebrate Yuletide. Get this thing off the ground yourself. Don’t wait for the government to “create” a holiday that you say has been celebrated since prehistoric times. Don’t act as if you can’t celebrate Yuletide unless the government makes it a holiday, just start doing it.
Christmas didn’t become a Federal Holiday in America until 1870. You may have an uphill battle to get Yuletide declared a holiday by the government, BUT THAT DOESN’T STOP YOU FROM CELEBRATING IT.
December 9, 2006
All Is Well In The World
It was well-earned.
Second place, surprisingly, went to Arkansas RB Darren McFadden, with Brady Quinn in 3rd. Steve Slaton and Mike Hart, neither invited to the final ceremony, finished in 4th and 5th place, respectively.
December 8, 2006
Cell Phones Don’t Cause Cancer
Phew!
Study disputes cell phone-cancer link
A huge study from Denmark offers the latest reassurance that cell phones don’t trigger cancer. Scientists tracked 420,000 Danish cell phone users, including 52,000 who had gabbed on the gadgets for 10 years or more, and some who started using them 21 years ago.
They matched phone records to the famed Danish Cancer Registry that records every citizen who gets the disease — and reported Tuesday that cell-phone callers are no more likely than anyone else to suffer a range of cancer types.
The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, is the largest yet to find no bad news about the safety of cell phones and the radiofrequency energy they emit.
But even the lead researcher doubts it will end the debate.
“There’s really no biological basis for you to be concerned about radio waves,” said John Boice, a Vanderbilt University professor and scientific director of the International Epidemiology Institute in Rockville, Md. “Nonetheless, people are.”
I think I know why everyone is concerned about radio waves. You can’t see them. You can’t touch them. And they magically carry voices and sound around inside them. Isn’t that just a bit creepy?
Cell phones may not cause cancer… But being afraid of radio waves definitely causes crazy.
Below The Beltway linked with What We Know Ain’t Always So
I Don’t Know Art, But I Know What I Like!
Stripping is art, Norway decides
A Norwegian appeals court has ruled that striptease is an art form and should therefore be exempt from value-added tax (VAT).
The owners of the Diamond Go Go Bar in Oslo had refused to pay VAT of 25% on entry fees as tax authorities demanded.
The local authority had taken the club to court over its refusal to pay tax.
Lawyers for the club’s owners argued that striptease dancers were stage artists just like sword-swallowers and comedians and deserved the same status.
“Striptease, in the way it is practised in this case, is a form of dance combined with acting,” the judges ruled, according to AFP news agency.
Hey, plenty of Renaissance artists painted nudes, so I’ll buy that it’s an art form.
Funny, though, we used to refer to it in college as going to either the “library” or the “ballet”. I guess going to the “art gallery” makes just as much sense 
Hat Tip: Below The Beltway
December 7, 2006
A Lesson In Subjective Value
Alternate Title: How cynicism ruins something sweet.
My wife got an email from her sister (with an admonition to “get on it”) the other day. She made me sit through the sappy forward, and afterwards, I had her forward it to me to teach a little lesson.
The lesson is subjective value. How much does it cost to have kids? From the below email (no clue where their number comes from), it’s about $160K. But the email goes on to tell about all the wonderful things you get for that money… All the experiences you have, that you won’t have without kids.
But there’s an implicit assumption in this email that you value those things more than money. Or, the more sinister reading is that you should value those things more than money, and if you don’t, you’re cold and heartless. But that’s the thing about value. We all value different things. My wife values european cars, even if they’re overpriced and prone to require repair. I don’t care so much about the badge, but I value economy and functionality, so I’ve got a nondescript truck with a manual transmission and without cruise control. And we’re both happy.
There are a lot of couples who value $160K, vacations every year, and the freedom to sit quietly together in front of the fire, sharing a bottle of wine. Other couples value smelly, loud, demanding rugrats who litter toys all over a house and get deep into things they should stay out of. My wife, for example, loves stinky babies who sit there and do nothing but eat, sleep, cry, and poop. I can do without those first few years, and look forward to the day when I can be the teacher and guide to help my kids navigate life, filling their heads with all the quirks and beliefs that make me such a misfit.
But no matter how many sappy email forwards you send, you’re probably not going to get someone to change their values. At best, you can set up a system (like classical liberalism) where people are free to fulfill their own values, as long as those values don’t conflict with another person’s rights. Values are subjective, and email forwards like this are only sappy to those who share the values.
(sappy email below the fold)
Love is a Fallacy
I was talking with a buddy of mine from Chicago last night, nicknamed Sober John (only half of the name is accurate), and he pointed me to a little online story.
It’s a quick read, but if you actually enjoy reading what I write, you’ll probably enjoy this too.
Troy Smith Celebrates His Win Invited to Heisman Ceremony
Smith, Quinn, McFadden are Heisman finalists headed to New York
Troy Smith booked his trip to the Heisman Trophy ceremony before the invitations went out.
Why wait?
Smith, the heavy favorite to win college football’s most prestigious award, was selected as a Heisman finalist Wednesday, along with Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn and Arkansas running back Darren McFadden.
“First and foremost, I’m very, very anxious about it,” Smith said earlier this week. “This is my first time in New York, so I’m excited about that. I’m sure all the festivities that I will partake in are going to be overwhelming.”
The senior quarterback entered the season with plenty of Heisman hype and then backed it up with brilliant play for the unbeaten Buckeyes.
Smith is fourth in the nation in passer rating (167.9) with 2,507 yards, 30 touchdown passes and only five interceptions. He might be the biggest reason No. 1 Ohio State will play No. 2 Florida for the national title on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.
Quinn, a senior, was fourth in Heisman voting last season and has thrown 35 touchdown passes in 2006. McFadden, a sophomore, scored 16 touchdowns and led Arkansas to the Southeastern Conference title game.
If Troy Smith doesn’t win, I think the entire city of Columbus will erupt in riots. Of course, if Smith does win, Columbus may erupt in riots… It is C-bus, after all!
But Smith has proven with absolutely solid play all year long that he deserves this award. While my own Notre Dame hatred makes me unhappy to see Brady Quinn get invited, he’s a pretty good college QB. And Darren McFadden is likely to be back here in another year or two, since he’s a sophomore. He’s already amazing, and is likely to just get better.
But neither of them have the resume of Troy Smith. Troy Smith simply has no weakness. He’s a great runner, great passer, great leader, and great decision-maker. And he has one quality that seals the deal: he rises to the occasion. Troy Smith plays well even when he’s in the biggest game of his life and all the pressure is on. Last year against Notre Dame, he came up big. This year against Texas and Michigan, he came up big. Against Florida, he’s going to light it up.
Troy Smith might as well clear space on his mantle right now, because he’s going to have a new trophy on Saturday night.
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[...] Brad Warbiany wonders how the past 60 years might have been different if nuclear weapons had never been developed. [...]
Pingback by Below The Beltway » Blog Archive » What If There Were No Nuclear Weapons ? — December 16, 2006 @ 10:50 am
There would not have been as cold war and America would have saved quite a bit of money on defense. I think we would have fought the Soviets and won, that would have save us from fighting proxy wars and little coups and insurgencies in South America. In some situations we would have been on the right side of a foreign conflict instead of helping the anti-communist side. One instance would have been Cuba. We would still have the conflict in the middle east, because that scenario was not base on nuclear weapons. Quite possibly the problems in Africa, conflicts between Pakistan and India and China territorial disputes would still be occurring. I don’t think Chinese communism would have survived with a weak Soviet Union. Unfortunately the only way to have kept nuclear weapons from being made, would have been to destroy the Physics books and scientist.
Comment by VRB — December 16, 2006 @ 2:24 pm
We would have managed to kill at least half the worlds population with conventional and biological weapons.
No question about it.
Comment by Chris Byrne — December 17, 2006 @ 3:46 am
[...] Brad Warbiany wonders how the past 60 years might have been different if nuclear weapons had never been developed. Here’s a few scenarios that I think are quite likely: [...]
Pingback by What If Diaries » What If There Were No Nuclear Weapons ? — January 5, 2007 @ 3:04 pm