Manufacturing Percent

Pierre Bourque has as one of his headlines today that "Three Quarters Believe Global Warming A 'Natural Occurence.'" Wow. I guess that lots of people don't believe we are causing global warming. But wait, what happens if I click through to the story? Well I read the third paragraph which tells me that:

"The online study [emphasis mine] which polled nearly 4000 votes found that a staggering 71 percent of people think that the rise in air temperature happens naturally."

So this valuable information was the result of an online poll?! Have these people ever heard of freeping? The resulting impression though created in the article and the headline probably falls in one of two categories (neither of which have any indication of being accurate):

• The average person is ignorant,

OR

• The theory that global warming is not man-made is gaining acceptance.

Neither of these is supported by the article and its "online study."

Et tu, Hugo?

There's something about Hugo Chavez that makes him a guilty pleasure. His speech at the UN that got all those Bushie noses out of joint? Classic. I like that he's serious about sharing Venezuela's oil wealth around a bit. That's something that I highly doubt his opponents would do. The alternative to him is very likely another Latin America oligarchy.

That said, I was more than a little concerned about Chavez's latest shut down of opposition media outlets. Larry Gambone posts a rebuttal on the topic in Sisyphus' comments section. I understand where Larry is coming from but I'm still leery of this new authoritarian lurch from Chavez.

Cho Seung-hui: Media Sensation

Or at least it looks that way given the air time he's gotten. They are broadcasting his rants and his photos after he sent them into NBC. Why? It's exploitation, it's really that simple. I can't imagine what might be gleamed from such displays in mass media. Wow. What a surprise, he photographed himself with guns, he wrote a manifesto with a list of supposed enemies.

It's kind of sad though, rereading the above, that the school shooter is now fairly easily profiled. That says something.