A few days ago, the Wall Street Journal published an anti-climate change op-ed signed by 16 scientists. None of the authors are climate scientists, nor do peer review research in the field.
No matter, it got published anyway. And shortly after the piece was published, real climate scientists came out off the woodwork to condemn the WSJ and the so-called scientists that wrote it. Andrew Revkin of the NYTimes has been tracking the pushback, here.
I’m happy to say that the WSJ published a rebuttal from real climate scientists and researchers, and it is epic. A taste:
Check With Climate Scientists for Views on Climate
Do you consult your dentist about your heart condition? In science, as in any area, reputations are based on knowledge and expertise in a field and on published, peer-reviewed work. If you need surgery, you want a highly experienced expert in the field who has done a large number of the proposed operations.
You published “No Need to Panic About Global Warming” (op-ed, Jan. 27) on climate change by the climate-science equivalent of dentists practicing cardiology. While accomplished in their own fields, most of these authors have no expertise in climate science. The few authors who have such expertise are known to have extreme views that are out of step with nearly every other climate expert. This happens in nearly every field of science. For example, there is a retrovirus expert who does not accept that HIV causes AIDS. And it is instructive to recall that a few scientists continued to state that smoking did not cause cancer, long after that was settled science.
Climate experts know that the long-term warming trend has not abated in the past decade. In fact, it was the warmest decade on record. Observations show unequivocally that our planet is getting hotter.
Via Revkin
"
An investigation by Pfizer found that some blister packs may contain an inexact count of inert or active ingredient tablets and that the tablets may be out of sequence. As a result of this packaging error, the daily regimen for these oral contraceptives may be incorrect and could leave women without adequate contraception, and at risk for unintended pregnancy.
The affected packets have expiration dates ranging between July 31, 2013, and March 31, 2014. Lot numbers are available at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm289770.htm
"
That Aryan race thing
I don’t know if anyone else is bothering with Tumblr anymore but I found this interesting re: the Arayns and why the Nazi’s used the same word
http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/12/15/the-aryan-race-time-to-forget-about-it/?iid=gs-article-mostpop1
And Overall… : )
What started from a simple landmark in while exploring in New Orleans has led to so much more: Ireland and Puerto Rico, Spain, Cuba, and the rich cultures inherent in those places; I have also honed my research abilities, from genealogical annals, searching for historical documents and information, to the incredible cross-referencing on Wikipedia.
It was so interesting to learn more about Puerto Rico so unexpectedly, and I knew I would enjoy browsing information about Ireland. It was also nice to tie it to our country’s own history in the mid-to-late 1700’s. However, what caught my attention right at the end was, ironically, O’Reilly’s end.
Back in Spain after October 1770, the Conde de O’Reilly was charged to organize six new regiments to be trained near Cádiz, ready for transportation to the Caribbean should a new war between Spain and Great Britain break out. He went on to campaign in South Africa after this.
Byron’s poem Don Juan:
“Was it for this that General Count O Reilly, who took Algiers, declared I used him vilely? General Count O Reilly did not take Algiers,” writes Lord Byron, “Algiers very nearly took him.”
His failure to capture Algiers in 1775 had been a great humiliation, but did not tarnish his reputation of competence. His rule was even thought to be enlightened and liberal!
Count O’Reilly died in the city of Cádiz in 1794, aged 72, just after the beheading of Louis XVI. He was on his way to take command of an army in the Eastern Pyrenees (a mountain range that creates a natural border between Spain and France) that were ordered to oppose invading French revolutionary forces.
This is what I found about his death- and it ties into history I learned in Spanish class, too! (It also took a LOT of searching for!)
“In 1782, just months after the American colonists defeated Britain in their War of Independence, eleven-year-old John was dispatched to Madrid in Spain to stay with Count Alejandro O’Reilly, his mother’s cousin.[i] The Count was one of the most successful of Ireland’s ‘Wild Geese’. Having left Ireland for Europe in his youth, the Count became Inspector-General of Infantry for the Spanish Empire. He also served two years as Governor of Louisiana when it was a Spanish colony.
In Spain, John became Juan and, under Count O’Reilly’s patronage, began his studies at Barcelona’s Royal School of Mathematics. From 1785 to 1791, he studied military engineering at the city’s Royal Military Academy. During this time, the young Monaghan man was appointed a cadet in the ‘Regiment Irlanda’ of the Irish Brigade in the Spanish army. He saw his first action defending the ancient Mediterranean city of Ceuta against the Moors.
In 1794, Lieutenant Juan McKenna advanced into the Pyrenees with the Royal Regiment of Engineers. This was part of a massive army dispatched by the Spanish king under the 72-year-old Count O’Reilly, now a Field Marshall, to defend the border against a French attack. However, while the Count dropped dead en route, his young cousin showed his mettle on the Catalonian battlefields and was promoted captain. He also befriended José de San Martín, the future liberator of Argentina, with whom he would later serve. [ii]
[i] Juan McKenna’s mother was Eleanora O’Reilly. She was the daughter of Philip O’Reilly and Margaret Browne. (Burke, John, and John Bernard Burke. A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, London: Henry Colburn, Vol. II, 1847. pp. 968-973; and National Archives of Ireland, Dublin. Wills T9962(19), Philip O’Reilly, 18/04/1771.)
Alexander (Count Alejandro O’Reilly) was the son of Thomas O’Reilly and Rosa Mac Dowell (Kearney Walsh, Micheline. “Spanish Knights of Irish Origin,” Vol. IV pp. 016-019). A close connection between Eleanor and Alexander has yet to be established; they were certainly 12th cousins 3 times removed but a closer kinship is strongly suspected.
[ii] Field Marshall O’Reilly is buried in the parish church in Bonete, Spain. A street in Cádiz still honors his name.”
http://www.turtlebunbury.com/history/history_irish/history_irish_chile.htm
The note in [ii] brings me here: while O’Reilly was buried in the parish church in Bonete, Spain, a street in Cádiz still bears his name, where he had been governor. (He was also a governor in Madrid!)
Cádiz:
Cadiz is the most ancient city still standing in Western Europe. Traditionally, its founding is dated to 1104 BC although no archaeological strata on the site can be dated earlier than the 9th century BC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A1diz
A fragile little strip of land that has never boasted more than 143k in population, Cadiz cannot be redeveloped for economic and structural reasons. It is also one of the most aged cities in Spain; a city that is a living historical landmark is bound to bore young people.
Amazing what a small world it is! I love seeing my college education intertwine so seamlessly, too!
Small Favor?
I’m not normally one to do this, but I personally really despise this practice, and it’s already starting to have an affect on other retailers ;) (and look how BoA backed down!). I’ve spent too many holidays away from my loved ones because of having to work on the holidays, or my husband having to work and not be home with family, that having a way to stand up against the ridiculousness of it feels good. Everything’s all about the profit now… instead of the spirit of the holiday. So I wanted to share and maybe help this grow. <3 Thanks!
http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-target-to-save-thanksgiving?utm_medium=email&utm_source=action_alert&alert_id=sFvBZvlfEK_icXbZbCseD
http://www.change.org/petitions/1push-back-the-opening-of-best-buy-retail-stores-on-black-friday-to-5am
“Wild Geese” (a broader term from “The Flight of the Wild Geese”) is often used in Irish history to refer to the immigration of Irish able-bodied men going into the services of foreign, Catholic armies; mainly, the Irish soldiers who left to serve in continental European armies, in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Alejandro O’Reilly was one of the many in his generation to be a part of the so-called “Wild Geese.” The Irish were conscripted very often, sometimes to escape situations in Ireland, sometimes not. An example of “not,” is shown in a letter from Diego Brochero de Anaya tothe Spanish King Philip III in 1598. Anaya wrote: “that every year Your Highness should order to recruit in Ireland some Irish soldiers, who are people tough and strong, and nor the cold weather or bad food could kill them easily as they would with the Spanish, as in their island, which is much colder than this one, they are almost naked, they sleep on the floor and eat oats bread, meat and water, without drinking any wine.” Tough, sturdy, and able. Though it makes you wonder about the common theory of Irish drinking, no?
In a letter to (then dean of St. Patrick’s, Dublin) Jonathan Swift, in 1732, a Sir Charles Wogan indicated that 120,000 Irishmen had been killed and wounded in foreign service “within these forty years.” Dr. Swift later replied: “I cannot but highly esteem those gentlemen of Ireland who, with all the disadvantages of being exiles and strangers, have been able to distinguish themselves by their valour and conduct in so many parts of Europe, I think, above all other nations.” In 1745, Irish recruitment for continental armies was made illegal, thereby ending “The Flight of the Wild Geese.”
(By the way: A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church. –Wikipedia. And yes, that is the Gulliver’s Travels author Jonathan Swift. ;))
O’Reilly, in his career, joined the forces fighting Italy and later became colonel in the Austrian army. After the Spanish invasion of Portugal, he swore allegiance to Spain; he eventually attained the position of brigadier general. Later, he was promoted to Field Marshal (traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army), prior to his restructuring in Puerto Rico. He was then made Captain-General in Louisiana, and received the honor of being named a count thereafter.
Alejandro O’Reilly was a tactical genius. Before his exploits in Louisiana in 1769, or the overhauling and his work with Puerto Rico’s militia in 1765, he initiated the fortification of a fortress in Havana, Cuba. This was after receiving Cuba back from the British forces that had besieged and occupied it at the end of the Seven Years’ War. Using his analysis of what had gone wrong during the British invasion and siege in 1762, he initiated reforms in training, practices, and troop organization. All of his measures, quickly approved by the Spanish Crown, the work on La Cabaña’s strategic fortress was begun with Silvestre de la Abarca, a military engineer of the Royal Army. This was termed the “Restoration of Havana” in 1763: the return from Havana to Spain, according to the Treaty of Paris, in exchange for the peninsula of Florida, after the taking of Havana by the English.
Because of his efforts there, there is still a street in Old Havana named for O’Reilly. It marks the location of his coming ashore while the English were departing.
His genius was also evident throughout his military career. He trained units of troops, in preparation of war, and even failures, like the attack on Algiers, South Africa, in 1770, did not tarnish his reputation.
As a side note, he also married into a prominent Cuban family; this was by marrying the sister of Luis de Las Casas (who served as Governor of Cuba), Doña Rosa de Las Casas. From what I’ve been able to find, he did have children, but I don’t believe he has any surviving descendants today.
Other banks even followed suit ^-^
Dear Rachel,
Yesterday, Jess Kutch sent you an update on the amazing progress in Molly Katchpole’s campaign against Bank of America. Today, we have even bigger news:The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Bank of America has canceled all plans to charge any of its customers a fee for using a debit card!
This is an amazing victory, and it only happened because 22-year-old Molly Katchpole decided to start a Change.org petition to take on Bank of America and you (and 300,000 other people) joined her.
This is proof than anyone can start a movement, and that together we’re mightier than even the biggest corporations.
Click here to start your own Change.org petition, and see what you can change.
Congratulations, and thanks for being a change-maker.
- Patrick and the Change.org team
