About me
I am a graduate of Grinnell College with a degree in Biological Chemistry. The name of this blog is derived from the name I use in Chinese, 孟柏民 (Mèng Bómín).
I can be reached by email at:
-
Monthly Archives: December 2008
Coal sludge pours into the Tennessee River
Via Pharyngula Contra PZ, there was an article on the MSNBC site, but he is right that this has gotten less coverage than I would think it to merit. Now, this underlines the fact that coal is a dirty fuel … Continue reading
Posted in Current events, Politics
3 Comments
Hubble Advent Calendar
If you want to see some very nice pictures, check out the Hubble Advent Calendar at The Boston Globe’s The Big Picture. Today’s image is the one above, though it’s rotated 90 degrees and is cropped to get the highest … Continue reading
Posted in Astronomy, Fun, Science
Leave a comment
Just to pile on
Apparently, Jennifer Palmieri (acting CEO of the Center for American Progress Fund) thought that she could make an editorial comment on Matt Yglesias’ blog. It was not received well by his readers or the readers of other blogs that linked … Continue reading
Posted in Media, Politics
Leave a comment
Looks like there’s a real bigot to deal with
And it’s the pope. Pope Benedict said on Monday that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behavior was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction. Whenever the Vatican makes it into the news, it tends to relate to … Continue reading
I surely hope not
The current top story on Al Jazeera English is that: Pakistan media is reporting that the country’s military is on high alert over a possible strike by India’s forces. Meanwhile, other media outlets, such as the BBC and Voice of … Continue reading
Posted in Current events, Politics
Leave a comment
"very rational-sounding sort of bigot"
This is kind of ridiculous. Rick Warren may occasionally sound more open-minded than Jerry Falwell, another plump Evangelical who once played a prominent role in U.S. politics. But he’s not. Gays and lesbians are angry that Barack Obama has honored … Continue reading
Posted in Current events, Opinions, Politics
Leave a comment
Happy Winter Solstice!
Since I will most likely be asleep during the actual winter solstice at 12:05 UTC (6:05 Central Time for those who live at similar latitudes to me), the actual reason for the season, in both senses of the word. In … Continue reading
Executives refuse to cede power
So apparently, the corrupt ruling heads of both the states of Zimbabwe and Illinois have publicly announced that they would not be stepping down from power, blamed outside groups for their dire straits. For Blagojevich, they’re other political players in … Continue reading
Posted in Current events, Politics
Leave a comment
Newspapers
One of the interesting paradoxes of journalism is that journalists often have the some of the least accurate perspective on that which they are most familiar with. I already poked holes in the excessively poorly written op-ed by Richard Cohen … Continue reading
Posted in Current events, Media, Opinions, Politics
Leave a comment
On Rick Warren
Mass behavior is a very interesting phenomenon and one interesting manifestation of it was the liberal reaction to the announcement that Rick Warren would be on the program for Barack Obama’s inaugeration. For a sample, here is an arbitrary list … Continue reading
Posted in Current events, Opinions, Politics, Religion
2 Comments
Meng Bomin 