http://www.isil.org/channels A project of the International Society for Individual Liberty Fri, 09 May 2008 17:50:36 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en “Investigations continue into the cause of a mysterious illness that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of bats since March 2008. At more than 25 caves and mines in the northeastern U.S, bats exhibiting a condition now referred to as ‘white-nosed syndrome’ have been dying. The U.S. Geological Survey ... http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/14567 “Administration officials have dashed hopes among farm-state lawmakers from both parties that President Bush will sign a nearly $300 billion farm bill that they finished Thursday. The veto warning sets up an effort by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, joined by many farm-state Republicans, to override a veto and defend government ... http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/14566 “Americans rank last in a new National Geographic-sponsored survey released Wednesday that compares environmental-consumption habits in 14 countries. Americans were least likely to choose the greener option in three out of four categories — housing, transportation and consumer goods, according to the assessment. In the fourth category, food, Americans ranked ... http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/14565 “When he was laid up recovering from knee surgery, farmer Ralph Dull picked up a notebook dropped off by a friend that detailed how wind generators produce electricity. ‘I had plenty of time to read it,’ Mr. Dull recalls. ‘And I said, ‘That’s something we could do.” Dull has since ... http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/14564 “The United States has signed off on a European plan that would offer increased incentives for Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment program, senior State Department officials said Thursday. Leaders from Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany are expected to join European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana — the ... http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/14563 “Many people can only believe in humanity as Robert Heinlein did for so long, and eventually must either cling with Joe Klein to ‘the perfectibility of human nature,’ or give up altogether. (The same process can be seen among progressives when it comes to patriotism. Faced with an unlovable country, ... http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/14562 “Imagine this. You’ve built the better mousetrap. (Because lasers and pneumatic tubes are cool, let’s imagine it uses them.) You’ve persevered through years of trial and error in your garage, enduring sleepless nights, the mockery of friends, the eye-rolling of family, and the non-lethal laser wounds to the family cat. ... http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/14561 “Since 2005, when the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service to list the polar bear as a threatened species, a broad coalition of industry and conservative groups have watched, with increasing dread, as the petition slowly worked its way through the Interior Department, helped along ... http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/14560 “The war against global warming is producing collateral damage to family life. One American city may even ban the hearth — San Francisco is contemplating a prohibition on private fireplaces to reduce air pollution. But this is nothing compared to the family sacrifice of the future: babies. A new trend ... http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/14559 “Perhaps the starkest measure of the car culture’s energy appetite is the fact that the state of Iowa, the nation’s leading corn producer, will soon be importing corn. If a meteorite were to land randomly in Iowa, there’s a 35 percent chance it would land in a cornfield; Iowa’s corn ... http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/14558