Ouch! “Distaste for America runs so deep that, for example, at the recent World Cup in Germany the American team was the only one asked not to display its national flag on the team bus. In South Korea, traditionally a U.S. ally, two-thirds of people under 30 said in a recent poll that if there were war between North Korea and the United States, they would side with North Korea.” Again, ouch! And note in the article that the rapid decline of America’s image is “a trend that has accelerated sharply under President George W. Bush, many of whose foreign policy decisions have been criticized as unilateralist and arrogant.” He’s a miracle worker, but not in a good way.
Go watch this video of a bizarre creature. Before you ask, no, it’s not an alien, although it’s easy to see why one would think so. It’s actually a puss caterpillar (Megalopyge opercularis). That’s the larval stage of a flannel moth, and touching it is a very bad idea. But yes, it’s a real insect despite appearances. Cool, huh? [via PZ]
Once again, you have to see Day by Day cartoon. Flawless!
Live and learn: “New research shows that a chemical compound found in many air fresheners, toilet bowl cleaners, mothballs and other deodorizing products, may be harmful to the lungs.”
And we keep on learning: “A new group of mini-volcanoes, dubbed ‘petit spot’ because of their size, cannot be accounted for by any conventional theories of volcanism.”
More cool insect photos. Be sure to check out the one entitled “Bumblebee & parasitic wasp?” It would be interesting to know precisely what’s happening in that picture… [via RPM at evolgen]
Remember “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”? It doesn’t really work that way. They asked. He didn’t tell. They got rid of him anyway. Oh, and he’s one of the very few Arabic linguists in the military. Those are the same specialists our government is always — including currently — clamoring to find. They “fired” him anyway, and all because of an anonymous e-mail campaign. It’s wonderful to see we disregard our own policy on this issue, we believe anonymous sources over enlisted and identifiable soldiers, and we readily dispose of critical resources our own government is desperate to have (namely, those who fluently speak Arabic). Huh. So that’s how we win the War on Terror™? What tremendous ignorance and intolerance.
How’s your American spirit? According to this poll, not very good. To wit:
65 percent [of Americans] say they feel less confident that life for their children’s generation will be better than it was for them. In December 2001, the last time this question was asked, respondents — by a 49-42 percent margin — said they were confident life would be better for their children.
In addition, only 27 percent think the country is headed in the right direction, while 58 percent say they are less confident the Iraq war will come to a successful conclusion.
And among those who believe that the nation is headed on the wrong track, a whopping 81 percent believe it’s part of a longer-term decline and that things won’t get better for some time. Just 12 percent think the problems are short-term blips.
[…]
For the eighth straight survey since October 2005, President Bush’s job approval rating sits below 40 percent; for the fourth straight time since March, just a third approve of his handling of Iraq; and also for a fourth straight time since March, only a quarter believe the nation is headed in the right direction.
Sounds ’bout right. Hey, I voted for Kerry and get to point the finger at the mindless idiots who voted this abomination into office for a second term.