Gotta love the Alaskans!

Just passing these on:

Sarah Palin blames Gulf oil spill on environmentalists (but in truth, she's not the only conservative Republican whackjob that's beating this particular drum)

Alaskan Rep. Don Young says Gulf oil spill is not a disaster, because there are natural oil seeps

My one-word reactions, starting with "A":

Aghast.

Astonished.

Appalled.

And extending the theme a few words:

Absolutely not surprised At All.

This isn't good news for energy-efficient cars: China moving to restrict rare earth trade

If you haven't heard of rare earths, that weird line of "-iums" in the Periodic Table (four of which were all named after Ytterby, Sweden), you will. That's because most of them are mined in China. And China, knowing this, is making it tougher to get them. Why is this critical? Because you need them to make high-efficiency batteries, like the ones in hybrid and fully-electric vehicles. And a lot of other things (see below) that we take for granted in this high-tech
era.

China tightens stranglehold on rare earth minerals

"The increased restrictions, reported by the state-run Xinhua news agency, are likely to deepen international concerns that China is unfairly hoarding its reserves of rare earth metals and other key raw materials at a time of rising global demand. [Unfairly? They do in fact mine them in their country!]

"The 17 elements from the middle of the Periodic Table are used in magnets, lasers, computer monitors, fibre-optic cables, cell phones, ceramics, stainless steel and are also essential for the on-going development of green technologies, such as low-energy light bulbs, wind turbines and batteries for hybrid and electric cars."

"China says that its restructuring of the rare earth mining industry is intended to conserve reserves and maintain prices after years of over-exploitation that has damaged the country’s environment."

OHH, so now they're concerned about the environment in China.

Why am I not believing that?

A brief tribute to Kelly Brook's backside

Kelly Brook is justifiably recognized for her forward endowments, but her backside is also quite peachy. She was very recently featured in a Reebok advertisement in which her ideally-conformed tush figured prominently.

Kelly Brook's Reebok ad

And there's actually more of that to be seen:

She's wearing nothin' in this B&W shot from overhead

In a short skirt on the street

Linked in a previous post -- on the beach in Mauritius

Multi-colored one piece, from behind

and from the side, same suit













She was a bit younger here (also wearing nothin') circa 2003

Probably from the same photoshoot

Updates:  April 2012
See-through black bikini bottom with thong

2003, with captain's hat

The LOVE cover (big and beautiful)

Tastefully wrapped

Very young, nude (nipply), plus the bottom

Fabulous beaded thong bikini, topless from the side 

Cheeky shower shot 


BREAKING: Kelly Brook to be nude in Playboy (for half a million bucks!)

I may have to buy that issue.

India's having a heatwave

I'm not sure how global temperatures are behaving last month -- yet -- , but there are some hotspots as we move toward Northern Hemisphere summer.

Death toll tops 250 as heatwave grips India (article dated May 26)

A record temperature of 46.3 degrees Celsius was recorded in part of the capital New Delhi on Tuesday. Doctors said hospitals in the city were receiving up to 20 per cent more heat-stroke patients compared to last year.

Cities such as Kota, Hissar and Ganganagar in the northern states of Haryana and Rajasthan all recorded 48 degrees on Tuesday.

On Monday, temperatures rose to a country-wide record of 49.2 degrees Celsius in Morena in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.

Hmmmm, yes, 45 degrees Celsius =

yowch

113 degrees Fahrenheit.

That'll leave a mark. Especially if you sit on a hot car seat.

Unbelievably perfect tornado

A tornado chaser got really close to a remarkably well-formed tornado in southeastern Colorado. I've never seen a tornado; it's not on my list of things to do before I die, but if the opportunity presented itself (and it wasn't something that would put me on a list of ways I could immediately get killed), I'd like to see one nearby.

Maybe not this close, though.

Video of the unbelievably perfect tornado, from the Weather Channel

Manhattanhenge

As somebody commented, this may happen in a lot of cities around the world, but it happens in New York a couple of weeks before the summer solstice. My question: was this event in "Vanilla Sky"? (Timely question, considering that the upcoming "Knight and Day" reunites Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.)

Here comes Hayabusa

They're making plans in the Australian outback for the re-entry of Hayabusa, the plucky Japanese satellite that bounced off an asteroid, might possibly have brought a piece of it back, and which survived a bunch of technical problems. The satellite controllers even had to re-route the satellite on a return path that took three years longer than planned.

But it's going to come down in Australia in just a few days -- June 13, they hope.

Asteroid probe returns to Australia

"Hayabusa will hot-foot its way toward terra firma at well over 26,000 mph (12 kilometers per second). As it plows into Earth's atmosphere and turns into an artificial fireball, that event will last all of a minute."

Ten days to go.