http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=2005
As always, Alex Shrugged's opinions are his own. Other people's work are their own. I include them here for the sake of completeness and to provide a second method of access to the material for the TSP history segment.
* Israel Evicts Jewish Settlers from the Gaza Strip -- Contributed by Alex Shrugged
* Global Warming Madness -- Contributed by Alex Shrugged with reaction from Southpaw Ben
* Notable Births -- See below.
* This Year in Film -- See below.
* This Year in Music -- See below.
* In Other News -- See below.
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Israel Evicts Jewish Settlers from the Gaza Strip
Contributed by Alex ShruggedIt is called the Disengagement Plan. Jews must evacuate from the Gaza Strip in order to lessen tensions and to enhance security. Years ago the government encouraged settlement in the area. Many Jews settled into tight-knit communities. FYI, religious Jews tend to pray together, and they don't drive on the Sabbath, so they tend to live within walking distance of each other. But these Jewish settlements have become a problem for the Israeli government. Israeli soldiers are forced to defend these areas from Arab attacks. Israeli soldiers tend to draw more attacks. (Wash, Rinse. Repeat.) When Israel retaliates for these attacks, the world criticizes, so Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decides to evict the Jews from Gaza. The settlers will be well compensated. (It is not as good a deal as it sounds.) This also means that the dead must be disinterred, established businesses must be abandoned and religious Jews must give up their piece of biblical Israel. 40,000 soldiers arrive to force everyone out. Many tears are shed by soldiers and settlers alike. Some people must be pried from their homes. Others are scooped up in the midst of prayer. It is painful to watch. Many Israeli citizens say, "We can never do this again." But did it help with security? No. Not really. [1] [2][3] [4]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
It did not achieve its security goals, but was the compensation money adequate? It would have been if you were moving a few people, but when tens of thousands of people are suddenly dumped into a job and housing market like Israel, you have a lot of people homeless and out of a job. Then those same people start eating through their compensation money. Israel moved people into mobile homes temporarily, but after 10 years, most were still there. And the attacks on Jews continued unabated. So... when someone tells me that the settlers in the so-called West Bank should be evicted, I laugh. They saw what happened in Gaza. They are not going to let go of their land until you pry it from their cold, dead fingers. You might say, "Israel can let them defend themselves." Yes, but the settlers will still be there, defending their homes, and by "defend" I mean with guns. They are willing to live alongside the Arabs, but anyone who messes with them is going to get shot. Just so you know. [5]
It did not achieve its security goals, but was the compensation money adequate? It would have been if you were moving a few people, but when tens of thousands of people are suddenly dumped into a job and housing market like Israel, you have a lot of people homeless and out of a job. Then those same people start eating through their compensation money. Israel moved people into mobile homes temporarily, but after 10 years, most were still there. And the attacks on Jews continued unabated. So... when someone tells me that the settlers in the so-called West Bank should be evicted, I laugh. They saw what happened in Gaza. They are not going to let go of their land until you pry it from their cold, dead fingers. You might say, "Israel can let them defend themselves." Yes, but the settlers will still be there, defending their homes, and by "defend" I mean with guns. They are willing to live alongside the Arabs, but anyone who messes with them is going to get shot. Just so you know. [5]
Global Warming Madness
Contributed by Alex ShruggedThis is the year for hurricanes, so naturally the Global Warming evangelists are telling us that this violent weather is due to Global Warming and that your government must do something about it. After all, President Clinton had promised to stop all tornadoes, but now President Bush is President. To hear the media tell it, Bush refuses to save us from bad weather. The list of hurricane and tornado disasters for this year is formidable, but the worst are Hurricane Katrina which hits Louisiana and Mississippi, and Hurricane Rita which hits Texas. The whole media angle on Katrina is that President Bush doesn't care enough to have emergency aid ready for Louisiana. Of course, the fact that the Democrat governor doesn't want a Republican president to get the credit for saving the state has something to do with the delay. Then the New Orleans flood walls and levees fail due to engineering mistakes. (As a former soils inspector, I say that the mistake was in hiring someone's brother-in-law. I smell corruption. Rumors that President Bush blew up the levees are ridiculous.) Many people from Louisiana come to Houston, Texas to escape these bad weather events. Then comes Hurricane Rita. Houston is evacuated. People die simply trying to get out. Buses overturn. ATMs are emptied out. Austin is a primary evacuation center. It becomes inundated with people from Louisiana! Rita hits Galveston and Houston hard, but the aftermath seems to play out differently. There is no whining. Whatever FEMA money that is normally due is fine because when a state is along the Gulf coast, hurricanes happen. Preparing for the obvious is the state's job... not the federal government's. If your state is not prepared for the expected in your region, then your state representatives are idiots or on the take. (Say no more, Alex.) [6] [7] [8] [9]
Contributed by Southpaw Ben
On a related note, the Kyoto Protocol came into affect this year, which was a treaty signed in 1997 that declared that global warming exists and that man-made CO2 was the culprit behind it. It also forces the countries to set binding emission reduction goals. [10]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
My buddy, Jim, now of blessed memory, used the 2005 hurricane outbreak as his "proof" that Global Warming or Global Climate Change is real. Yet, after six named hurricanes hitting the United States in 2005, the next year there were none... that is, ZERO in 2006. In 2007 there was 1, and 2008 there were 3. Where is the Global <fill-in-the-blank>? I suspect it is in someone's head if they are depending on hurricanes as an indicator. FYI, I think that the Earth is generally warming. This seems obvious. Man-made pollution must have some effect, but exactly how much I have no idea, and I don't trust scientists who depend on government grants. The government wants to tax me for Global Warming, so I don't trust scientists that tell the government they are right to do so. I also don't trust studies paid for by pharmaceutical companies about the virtues and safety of the drugs that they are selling. I'm not saying they are wrong. I'm saying trust, but verify through outside sources. I don't see that happening with Global Warming. [11]
My buddy, Jim, now of blessed memory, used the 2005 hurricane outbreak as his "proof" that Global Warming or Global Climate Change is real. Yet, after six named hurricanes hitting the United States in 2005, the next year there were none... that is, ZERO in 2006. In 2007 there was 1, and 2008 there were 3. Where is the Global <fill-in-the-blank>? I suspect it is in someone's head if they are depending on hurricanes as an indicator. FYI, I think that the Earth is generally warming. This seems obvious. Man-made pollution must have some effect, but exactly how much I have no idea, and I don't trust scientists who depend on government grants. The government wants to tax me for Global Warming, so I don't trust scientists that tell the government they are right to do so. I also don't trust studies paid for by pharmaceutical companies about the virtues and safety of the drugs that they are selling. I'm not saying they are wrong. I'm saying trust, but verify through outside sources. I don't see that happening with Global Warming. [11]
My Take by Southpaw Ben
Much like Alex and Jack, I tend to be skeptical about man-made global warming for the same reasons I tend to be skeptical of pharnaceutical studies, especially with what I learned in the Persuasion and Propoganda class I took last semester, which had the pharmaceutical industry as a case study. Needless to say, this opinion is not popular among many of my friends and college classmates. I'm also skeptical because the climate has always been a dynamic system, with long periods of stability being the exception rather than the rule. However, I also try to keep an open mind when examining this issue, because despite the governments incompetence, as the old saying goes, even a blind finds a nut occasionally, and some of their rebuttals to "Science deniers" questions about global warming do seem to make sense. So for me, the jury is still out, and I'll worry about more ground level problems, such as farm erosion problems and petroleum dependence, and if that ends up "saving the planet" from global warming, that's all the better.
Much like Alex and Jack, I tend to be skeptical about man-made global warming for the same reasons I tend to be skeptical of pharnaceutical studies, especially with what I learned in the Persuasion and Propoganda class I took last semester, which had the pharmaceutical industry as a case study. Needless to say, this opinion is not popular among many of my friends and college classmates. I'm also skeptical because the climate has always been a dynamic system, with long periods of stability being the exception rather than the rule. However, I also try to keep an open mind when examining this issue, because despite the governments incompetence, as the old saying goes, even a blind finds a nut occasionally, and some of their rebuttals to "Science deniers" questions about global warming do seem to make sense. So for me, the jury is still out, and I'll worry about more ground level problems, such as farm erosion problems and petroleum dependence, and if that ends up "saving the planet" from global warming, that's all the better.
Notable Births
Various princes and princesses, but no one I recognize.--alexshruggedNotable Deaths
- Pope John Paul II (age 84, septic shock after an infection): Last words, "Allow me to depart to the house of the Father". [12]
- Rosa Parks (age 92, natural causes): She refused to give up her seat on that bus. [12]
- William Rehnquist (age 80, unspecified): Supreme Court Chief Justice. [12]
- James Doohan (age 85, scarring of the lungs, probably due to chemicals breathed during WW2): Scotty in the original Star Trek series. [12]
- And...: Johnny Carson, Don Adams (Get Smart), and Bob Denver (Gilligan's Island). [12]
This Year in Film
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: (Rough stuff.--alexshrugged) [13]
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith: . [13]
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: (It did better in the box office, than I would have expected.--alexshrugged) [13]
- And...: War of the Worlds, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Hitch. [13]
This Year in TV
- American Dad!: Animated satire about a conservative, all-American crazy person. [14]
- Dr. Who is revived: The series died almost 10 years ago. (Good to see it back.--alexshrugged) [14]
- The Office: A sitcom mocking office politics. [14]
- And...: Grey's Anatomy, Deadliest Catch, and The Colbert Report. [14]
This Year in Music
- Redneck Woman: Gretchen Wilson. (A fun song.--alexshrugged) [15]
- Here We Go Again: Ray Charles and Norah Jones. (A duet reminiscent of Nat King Cole with his daughter, Natalie, after he died.--alexshrugged) [15]
This Year in Video Games
- 60 Minutes beats up on video games: (Apparently, 60 Minutes is promoting censorship. Strange.--alexshrugged) [16]
- Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Wii are unveiled: Xbox is released this year. The others will be released next year. [16]
- Madden NFL 06 is the top grossing console game: '06 was released in August of 2005 for some reason. [16]
- World of Warcraft is the top grossing PC game: A massively multiplayer online (fantasy) role-playing game. [16]
In Other News
- The Housing Bubble bursts: Home prices decline to below that still owed on the mortgages. [2]
- The Unemployment Rate falls below 5% and will remain so for 2 years: . [2]
Weather Madness (It's Global Warming!)
- Hurricane Dennis hits Florida, killing 42: It causes 4 billion in damages. [2]
- Hurricane Rita hits the Gulf Coast, killing 97: Houston is evacuated. It causes 12 billion in damages. [2]
- Hurricane Wilma hits Florida, killing 23: It causes 29.1 billion in damages. [2]
- Tornadoes form near Evansville, Indiana and kill 25: It causes 92 million in damages. [2]
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