In the last few days there has been a lot of attention here on the state of the Arctic ice cap and climate change.  The recent diary Reality Check: "The Arctic ice cap has collapsed."  went to the top of the rec list and garnered a lot of comments speculating on what this means and what's to come.  It seems that everybody has an opinion and a prediction. Is this the end of winter as we know it, or just a fluke? Are we doomed?

It turns out that anyone can put their money where their mouth is without investing in Arctic oil leases.  For a mere 2$ you can back up your speculation without enriching Exxon, and if you're right you can have a little more cash for that 'End of the World' party or to donate to your favorite charity or campain.

Let me introduce some of you to "The Nenana Ice Classic".

There's nothing like a bit of bad reporting, to create fear and confusion.  I don't know where the first spark was struck. Maybe some decidedly non-pulitzer effort from the Seattle PI or local AP reporters fanned that spark to life in the 'dry tinder' of the public fears regarding terrorist threats.  Or maybe it's a case of spontaneous cumbustion in a box of "oily rags".

The local and national media yesterday seemed to go out of their way to prove the adage that first reports on any situation are frequently wrong.  To give credit where due at least the the local TV stations had things mostly cleared up by the late afternoon and 11 pm broadcasts.

So in the spirit of 'Ask a Kossak' I'll try to help those who may be confused about what happened in Seattle yesterday by confusing them further and sharing what little I know. Don't get your hopes up.  It ain't much.  

Did I see what I think I saw?

I know there are a lot of Countdown fans around here so I must not be the only one, unless I've finally lost it completely.

Oddball tonight featured clips from a Japanese game show where contestants were, for reasons I'm a bit unclear about, (wrong answers, lying, repeating talking points?) subjected to a swift kick in the nuts by a mechanical foot.  This might top the bit from a while back with the little girls with the pork chops on their heads and the lizards.  Purveyors of weirdness for conoisseurs these Japanese game show producers.

They had a plan.  They bragged it up in this article in the Jan.2005 issue of Geointelligence Magazine as a model for the nation on how to coordinate communications between state, local, and federal agencies in the response to terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

  Recently I posted a diary regarding the repeal of PUHCA - The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, which is included in the Bushco Energy Bill as it was passed out of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.  After a little research on the subject I had some questions on what effect this repeal would have on water and power issues of particular interest here in the Northwest where water and energy are uniquely intertwined, and wrote to Sen. Cantwell's office with my concerns.

  I have recieved a response from Sen. Cantwell's office.  It does not address any of my specific questions regarding PUHCA repeal but appears to be a standard response on the Energy Bill from her office and I thought it might be of interest in that regard, and I include it below the fold.

  Also Rep. Jay Inslee has introduced H.R. 2828, a Democratic alternative to the Bushco plan.  The Cantwell letter is rather long.  Sorry.  Skip it if you like, the more important news is the introduction of H.R. 2828.    

In light of the fact that the Patriot Act is working its way through the Senate, consider this disturbing editorial from Scientific American.  SA Perspectives May 2005.

The article describes how last January The Brittan Elementary School in Sutter CA decided to require students in the seventh and eigth grades to wear ID badges that contained radio tags that could be read automatically.  

Through grace or coincidence, this article, His Brain, Her Brain by Larry Cahill is in the May 2005 issue of Scientific American and is also posted on the open side of sciam.com so we can all read the entire piece.  I highly recommend it to your collective attention.  It is directly relevent to what is going on here at dkos.

Guess what?  Men and women are different.  Well duuhh!, and hallelujah!!  And not just on the outside but they percieve their environment, process information, and create memories in diferent ways, especially under stress.

Please follow if you can stomach any more.  This is my attempt to shed some light on the heat, including my own.  

On this Memorial Day I am inspired to write this as a response to this diary by Outlandish Josh, as a neutral, yet cautionary reply, and as a bit of possibly unwanted advice to some of the younger Kossacks.

It amazes me just how much the reactionaries against the social and cultural revolutions of the '60s and early '70s are now in conrol of society.  Unfortunately too many of our generation have become the 'born again' and some of the most insufferable and revisionist prudes.  To be honest drug use was a significant factor in the 'counter culture', and most of us who experimented widely with various psychoactive substances had positive experiences, to a greater or lesser degree.

It is my firm belief that the 'War on Drugs' has done far more damage to our society than drugs ever have.  However, the use and misuse of both legal and illegal drugs is dangerous and the tragedies that result to individuals, their families and loved ones cannot and must not be understated.

In this diary Environmentalist mentions that the Energy Bill has been reported out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and includes a provision that repeals the Public Utilities Holding Company Act of 1935.  Like most poeple with lives my first thought was 'WTF is this?', but as someone who has had previous interest in the confluence of Energy, Water and Fisheries policy in the Northwest, alarm bells started ringing in my addled brain.

For those interested in the 'What', here is a brief explanation of PUHCA from Public Citizen

For those interested in the 'Why am I worried'?  Please continue.