Looks like GM (of all companies) may have the first working, commercially available, electric vehicle on the market.  Dubbed the “Volt” . . .  expect the name to change before it is released.  The new EV is expected to have a 40 mile battery only range, with a small fuel powered engine that exists solely to charge the battery . . . that’s right, this car has no direct drive linkage to the fuel powered motor making it an EV rather than a hybrid!  The EV batteries are expected to be fully charged by the fuel motor within 30 minutes . . . even as the car cruises at 70MPH!

Concept and marketing photos of the Volt are available at AutoBlogGreen.
It appears that the new EV will have a modular architecture that allows for different charging motor technologies to be installed based on local markets for alternate fuels . . . such as E85, E100, Hydrogen and Biodiesel.

I want one . . . with my current driving commute of less than 3 miles a day . . . I’ve already been looking at a long available EV . . . the Segway to fully eliminate all fossil fuel burning from my commute . . . after all, I can’t force BART to use solar, hydro or wind power for the trains . . . at least not yet
This could actually be considered for my next car.  I refuse to buy another gasoline driven vehicle.  Yes, this even means a hybrid is out of the question.  World events and true national security requirements dictates that we remove ourselves from the global oil economy sooner rather than latter.  I don’t think that the current generation of cars being sold today will have a useful life span beyond 5-7 years due to the expected high price (in dollars and lives) or crude oil.  Those in the oil business in the US better get in gear and figure out what their business continuity plans are post Oil . . . or they go the way of the dinosaurs.  Come to think of it . . . maybe they will be THE next energy source, quite literally

ev, alternative energy, crude oil, energy independence, hybrid, oil, real national security, electric vehicle

Sounds to me like some idiotic lawmaker is trying to use state law to make up for his inadequacies after finding his wife in bed with his battery operated replacement

Via: The Huffington PostÂ

dumb lawmakers, dumb laws, sex, south carolina

At lunch I saw a caravan of 4 small import cars blaring their horns and driving around downtown Oakland with American, Mexican and Nicaraguan flags flying . . . the unfortunate part was that the largest of the flags had been taped to the trunk and bumper of the cars. In case you didn’t know, this is a clearly disrespectful way to display the American flag. Rather than translating the National Anthem into spanish, maybe they should start with this website . . .

a day without an immigrant, american flag, politics

Maybe we should have a “day without a computer admin”; we could all shut down our networks and march in the streets to protest big brother’s attempt to put us Internet users down.

Just to drive the point home, the CNet Article point out:

Critics of DeGette’s proposal have said that, while the justification for Internet surveillance might be protecting children, the data would be accessible to any local or state law enforcement official investigating anything from drug possession to tax evasion. In addition, the one-year retention is a minimum; the FCC would receive the authority to require Internet companies to keep records “for not less than one year after a subscriber ceases to subscribe to such services.”

Scary, every site you visit would be logged and the data would be accessible to law enforcement at a moments notice. I guess the terrorist boogey man is played out . . . now they are playing the child porn card.

But seriously, ISPs don’t regularly log, let alone store the kind of data that these guys are trying to mandate . . . the volume of data is huge!

I’m turning off my logs right now in protest. Now were did I put that TOR install file . . .

freedom, politics, privacy, rant, george bush

The ruling did not address surfing porn at work . . .

The article is located over at MSNBC

new york, web surfing

Mr Gonzales also said that he is also investigating ways to ensure that ISPs retain records of a user’s web activities to track down offenders.

“The investigation and prosecution of child predators depends critically on the availability of evidence that is often in the hands of internet service providers,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the failure of some internet service providers to keep records has hampered our ability to conduct investigations in this area.”

I guess the terrorism excuse is not playing well anymore, so they needed a new ‘boogey man’ that tests well with the focus groups.

No one can deny that child pornography is sick and disgusting, but to use it to justify a blatant power grab and a gross invasion of privacy of all Internet users is equally disgusting.

You cannot shortcut a good investigation by law enforcement. The basic premise of law in the US does not mandate that private industry maintain a paper trail on every citizen to be produced upon request of the government. The burden of proof is on the prosecution for a reason . . . we shouldn’t make their job any easier.

If this law passes, ISPs would be required to maintain records of your online activities in the event that you are suspected of participating in the trade and distribution of child pornography.

Now in the age of the Bush regime, where a court order is no longer ‘required’ to procure data under the guise of national security, there are no safeguards to protect ordinary citizens from spying by the government.

In other words, there’s no one guarding the hen house . . . and the chicken hawks are circling outside.

george bush, child pornography, freedom, politics, privacy, rant, abuse of power

I particularly like the example of a person wearing a ‘WWJD’ bracelet advocating torture of ‘Terrorists’.

That’s so very, well . . . 1095.

christian extremeism, religious fundamentalism

I just can’t put it better than Bruce Schneier did.

george bush, illegal wiretaps, nsa, wiretaps, bruce schneier

“A group founded by evangelist Pat Robertson is suing to stop Illinois from requiring pharmacies to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception, saying the rule violates a druggist’s right to refuse on religious and moral grounds.”

“The lawsuit represents five pharmacists indefinitely suspended by Walgreen Co. for refusing on religious or moral grounds to dispense the drugs, as well as two pharmacists worried they may face similar disciplinary action. Walgreen has said it had no choice but to follow the law.”

In what seems to be a concerted push to enforce religious dogma on the American population at large, this action was applauded by Conservative Christian groups.

To get an idea of just how pervasive the issue of pharmacists refusing to fill legitimate and legal prescriptions has become, a national research company recently surveyed more than 800 pharmacists with surprising results. They found that:

• Nearly 70 percent of the surveyed pharmacists indicated that they should have the authority to refuse filling prescriptions for emergency contraception
• Nearly 40 percent believe state laws should not require them to fill certain prescriptions
• Only 23 percent feel that a patient’s rights should prevail over their objections.

In fact, several examples below show just how out of control these self-appointed religious and moral ‘watchdogs’ have become:

“In Texas, … a Dallas pharmacist refused to fill a mother’s prescription for her son’s Ritalin, a common medication prescribed for children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).”

“…More disturbing than some pharmacists’ refusal to fill certain prescriptions is the fact that some (pharmacists) are confiscating those prescriptions so that the patients can’t have them filled elsewhere.”

What’s next on this slippery slope? With this dangerous argument in play, it’s conceivable that a Catholic convenience store clerk could refuse to sell you Condoms, or a Jewish butcher could refuse to sell you bacon? Forget the fact that you are unlikely to subscribe to either religion if you are attempting to make such purchases.

We suddenly find ourselves in the segregated communities of our darker days as a nation. What keeps us from slipping past the point where we have ‘Christian Only’ restaurants, or ‘Catholic Only’ gas stations?

If you work for a store (or pharmacy for that matter), you don’t have any right based on your religious beliefs, to refuse sell an item that is available within your place of employment. In fact, if you refuse to complete the basic requirements of your job based on religious objections, you shouldn’t be allowed to function in that capacity . . . hell, you should not have taken the job in the first place.

If you are a health care professional (yes this includes pharmacists) and you refuse to provide legal and requested treatment to a patient, you should be held responsible for your actions . . . up to, and including termination and criminal charges. You have no right to impose your own religious beliefs on those around you. In health care, you are in the business to dispense medicine, regardless of your own beliefs. If dogma is what you peddle, you really should be working in a church, not a pharmacy.

Maybe it’s time for these ‘Medical Professionals’ to find another line of work . . . one that will not subject them to ‘moral’ issues that they find so distasteful.

For all of the ‘Religious Right’ mouthpieces bitching about the war on religion, look inward to find the reason for this blow-back. The rebellion against religion in society, is directly attributed to the constant push by Religious Conservatives to include religion in all aspects of the American landscape. From the 10-commandments on display in a court of law, to the constant barrage from some ‘Religious Conservative’ Group pushing to include creationism* in public high school science classrooms, it’s out of hand and the majority of Americans are fed up! In the end, you will loose. Now you won’t loose your right to religion (because I will always support your right to subscribe to any religion that you feel, as long as it does no harm), but you will loose your fight to turn back the clocks on science . . . on education . . . on public policy.

You will loose, because in the end, most Americans understand that religion belongs in one’s heart, not in one’s government.

————

*I know, the term we use now is Intelligent Design . . . but if we really wanted to press the issue, we should call it ‘Unintelligent Design’. While the human body is a marvel of bio-mechanical machinery, it’s fraught with errors, the likes of which would make Microsoft look god-like in comparison. The human body is not a product of intelligent design, it’s evolution – so evolve already!

dogma, evolution, freedom, intelligent design, personal responsibility, prescription drugs, rant, religious conservative, responsibility, right wing, unintelligent design, christian extremism