World War III ... didn't he get the memo from Podhoretz. World War III is so 1980's.

Mrs McGrath - an old Irish song, recently covered by Springsteen.

Like Janet, my first impulse was to answer "cell phones" and (also like Janet) I then realized that it wasn't the phones but the idiots who use them (loudly) in public or when they should be concentrating on something else (driving, child care, listening to people ...). RPM's answer - nuclear weapons - is good, but an argument could possibly be made that they have stopped conflicts (I don't necessarily agree, but that was at least Leo Szillard's original impetus). I though of television (that sucker of souls) and, frankly, the internet (I think it's killed the ability of many of the young 'uns to read, critically analyze, and express themselves, and has resulted in tendencies to instant gratification). Below the fold, you will find my final answer - one word, no justification required.

Steven Colbert claims the current administration is "soaring, not sinking. They are re-arranging the deck chairs - on the Hindenburg". Today, Porter Goss resigned as Director of the CIA. And today, in 1937, the Hindenburg was destroyed in Lakehurst, New Jersey. Apt.

Eddie Henderson has an interesting history. Born in NY, at the age of nine he was getting lessons from Louis Armstrong. In the fifties, Miles Davis was a patient of Henderson's stepfather, and took the sixteen-year old Henderson to a Black Hawk Jazz Club gig in San Francisco. Last night Henderson recounted learning "On Green Dolphin Street" by ear during that time. He subsequently served in the air force, became the first African-American to compete for the National Figure Skating Championship, earned a BS in Zoology, and finally the MD, specializing in psychiatry. In the 70's played with the Herbie Hancock Sextet (aka "the Mwandishi Band") and Art Blakeys band. In the 80's he largely concentrated in psychiatry, only to return to jazz the following decade.

In response, David Starr Jordon [sic] - Stanford first president, a renowned scientist in his own right, and a frequent sparring partner of Agassiz's on the Darwin/evolution question said, "I always knew he was very fine in the abstract, but he's no good in the concrete."

Unfortunately, David Starr Jordan did not say this. It was a certain "Dr Argyll" who expressed a preference for Agassiz in the abstract over the concrete; see Gould, S.J. (1995) "The Celestial Mechanic and the Earthly Naturalist", pp. 24 - 37 in Dinosaur in a Haystack. New York: Harmony.

I've written on Agassiz's anti-evolutionism in the past. Here (PDF, 128k) is the introduction I wrote to a reprint of Agassiz's Essay On Classification, the last great work of American scientific anti-evolutionism. The full reference for my essay is, "Introduction" in Agassiz on Evolution, Volume 1: Essay on Classification, edited and introduced by JM Lynch. Bristol: Thoemmes Press.

This little beauty is Vespa mandarinia, up to two inches long with a three inch wingspan, and a quarter inch stinger. The latter injects venom so strong that it can dissolve human tissue, but they normally feed on honeybees; "Just one of these hornets can kill 40 European honeybees a minute; a handful of the creatures can slaughter 30,000 European honeybees within hours, leaving a trail of severed insect heads and limbs." More here and here. There's another pic below the fold.

(Hat tip to Ocellated)

Teaching Biology without Evolution... ...is like teaching English without verbs. What is left are nouns and adjectives. DNA, enzyme, long bone, ductus arteriosus, pretty bird. Rote memorization. The reason why my (adult education) students are afraid of and bored with science to begin with.

I am starting my biology lectures tomorrow. I have no control over the syllabus. The pages and chapters on evolution were removed from the syllabus. Sorry, but I am starting with evolution tomorrow night. I cannot speak English without verbs.

And I agree. Having had the same experience about rote memorization, I couldn't agree more.

I'm willing to get along with and even support the religious, as long as they don't threaten to suborn secular institutions to privilege religious belief.

And I agree.

As of today, 2,401 US soldiers dead; over 2,150 since "major combat operations" were declared to be finished.

Over 34,000 civilian deaths.

Glad it's working out so well for everyone.

Edit: I'll note that Scott McClellan, when asked today whether the mission has been accomplished, replied "We are on the way to accomplishing the mission and achieving victory."

A new study of side-blotched lizards [Uta stansburiana] in California has revealed the genetic underpinnings of altruistic behavior in this common lizard species, providing new insights into the long-standing puzzle of how cooperation and altruism can evolve. The study, led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, offers the first evidence in vertebrates of an important theoretical concept in evolutionary biology known as "greenbeard" altruism. (source)

Seems that Stephen Colbert made things a little uncomfortable for Shrub at the White House Correspondent Dinner on Saturday night. He and Laura Bush were unsmiling at the end of Colbert's wonderful takedown. You can read more here, there is a transcript here, and a torrent of the video here.

As Colbert walked from the podium, when it was over, the president and First Lady gave him quick nods, unsmiling. The president shook his hand and tapped his elbow, and left immediately.

Those seated near Bush told [Editor & Publisher]'s Joe Strupp, who was elsewhere in the room, that Bush had quickly turned from an amused guest to an obviously offended target as Colbert's comments brought up his low approval ratings and problems in Iraq. ... Another noted that Bush quickly turned unhappy, and left the dais shortly after while most seated near him, including Colbert and Snow, glad-handed the crowd. "You could see he stopped smiling about halfway through Colbert," he reported.