29 August 2010

IN DENIAL / THE X PRIZE




IN DENIAL. Timothy Egan's NYTimes article Building a Nation of Know-Nothings expresses clearly, and with examples, the fatal flaws inherent in right-wing rhetoric, particularly the racist rhetoric directed at President Obama. Conservatives undermine their own credibility when, with ignorance bordering on stupidity, they continue to disingenuously (and hypocritically) claim that Obama is a Muslim, that he is a terrorist, that he may not even be a citizen. Do we not have enough real, critical issues with which to deal, without having to refute such baseless slander? Perpetuating ignorance by telling a lie repeatedly is nothing new -- Mussolini had it down, and proudly. For the record, here is documentation of the President's birth certificate.

THE X PRIZE. Like many, I was familiar with the X Prize as it relates to suborbital space flight, and to robotic land vehicles. I was surprised and pleased to discover that the foundation behind the prize supports technological development in many fields, with the stipulation that the development benefit humankind. Case in point -- the PBS News Hour recently devoted a segment to the R&D of an ultra light car which will travel 100 miles per gallon of fuel. The builders are still refining the vehicle, but they say that combining existing energy technology with aerodynamic design and the crash protection found in race cars can produce an affordable and safe revolutionary alternative which surpasses even the most fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles of today. Check out Judy Woodruff's interview with Oliver Kuttner to see what this vehcile looks like, and how it performs.










Lastly, a heart-stopping video showing a dog in Chile rescuing another dog which had been struck by freeway traffic. It would be anthropomorphic to call this act heroism -- but it would surely be interesting to know if the two dogs were related or lived in the same home, to understand this death-defying act of apparent altruism.

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