Outnumbered

The Chinese have just had their eyes opened about the Animal Uprising™. There may be around one billion Chinese, but they're badly outnumbered by the enemy. In fact, just in one relatively small area, there are two billion of them running amok.

Two billion mice.

BEIJING - People living in communities surrounding a large shallow lake have been overrun by field mice after floodwaters drove the rodents out of islands on the lake, state media reported Monday.

The mouse invasion began on June 23 when the Yangtze River flooded, raising the water level in central China's Dongting Lake and submerging mouse holes on lake islands, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Now, an estimated 2 billion mice are ravaging crops in 22 counties around the lake, and authorities were rushing to construct walls and ditches to keep the rodents out. Residents have killed more than 2.3 million field mice — or 90 tons of the rodents, Xinhua said.

In Hunan province's Yiyang County, a ditch along the lakeshore was filled with mice. Residents were using clubs and shovels to beat them to death, while others scooped the furry animals out using fishing nets.

That has got to be wall-to-wall rodents. It's not even the year of the rat yet, either.

Battlefield

Tulsa, Oklahoma, more than 500 miles from the Mexican border, is an unlikely spot to be one of the real battlegrounds over illegal immigration. But citizens there are fed up with what they are seeing as a hostile takeover by people making a silent invasion of the United States.

Tulsa is on the leading edge of local and state efforts to crack down on illegal immigration following passage by the Oklahoma Legislature of what is arguably the toughest anti-illegal immigration measure in the nation. The Tulsa City Council also embraced the get-tough approach by adopting a resolution calling on police officers to check the immigration status of  “all suspected illegal aliens.”

Those actions have sparked a fierce political battle, spread fear among Hispanics — both legal residents and those in the country illegally — and triggered an angry public face-off between demonstrators on either side of the great divide.

Among the longtime residents shaken by the changes engulfing his city is Gary Rutledge, an MSNBC.com reader who said the demographic shift took his family and friends by surprise.

“It’s happened so quickly and our neighborhoods have changed so rapidly,” said Rutledge, a political science professor at nearby Rogers State University.

In East Tulsa, just across the main thoroughfare from his comfortable brick home, the broad avenues are now peppered with signs in Spanish and malls catering to Latino shoppers — offering everything from soccer wear and piñatas to check cashing services and Latin pop music.

“That whole part of the city has become a miniature Juarez or Tijuana or whatever you want to call it,” said Rutledge.

Like many longtime residents, Rutledge is quick to say that he is not opposed to immigration by legal means. But he says he objects to being unwillingly taken over by another culture as the result of unchecked illegal immigration.

“I’m very concerned that this last wave (of immigrants) has no interest in becoming Americanized,” he said.

It is quite a long article. What triggered Rutledge into action was an automobile accident. Hit from behind by what police at the scene believed was an illegal immigrant who spoke no English, had no driver's license and was uninsured, Rutledge was told there was nothing that could be done about the situation. Well, something has to be done about the situation and localities are having to do it themselves since the Federal government has been asleep at the switch for many years now.

Rutledge began comparing notes with friends and family and found that many had a similar story with a similar outcome. That got him thinking about the bigger picture.

“I think that when someone comes in this country illegally, it starts a tradition or culture,” he said. “You come in illegally; everything you do from that point on is illegal. And so it's almost impossible to get a driver’s license or insurance so you just start breaking one law after another. I think it’s seductive. I think after a while … you don't pay too much attention to rule of law that this country was established on.”

Tulsa's schools and medical services are under severe strain because of the flood of illegal immigrants. Expect the issue of control of the borders to become a major issue in 2008.

Leonardo Online

The European Union is funding a project that is putting the papers and sketches of Leonardo Da Vinci online. Over 3,000 pages have already been digitized and are available for viewing.

Until now the majority of the manuscripts have been seen only by scholars but the National Museum of Leonardo in his hometown of Vinci has promised to scan about 12,000 pages and create an archive.

The European Union is funding the website leonardodigitale.com, and 3,000 pages have been scanned so far.

The drawings, from the late 15th and early 16th century, demonstrate the artist's incredible range, touching on geometry, astronomy, botany, zoology, the art of warfare and the flight of birds.

All of the writing is in mirror-image. Leonardo chose to write in reverse because it prevented smudging. However, large sections are difficult to decipher because much of the writing is jumbled together, with shopping lists next to technical instructions.

"We are still at the beginning, and we hope to get hold of some of the other manuscripts, too," said Romano Nanni, the director of the Leonardo Library.

The artist's works are spread around Europe in 10 separate manuscripts. Although most of it was brought back to Italy after his death in 1519, the archives were subsequently broken up and eventually ended up largely in the hands of Napoleon.

The website is only available in Italian at the moment, but a version in English is due in about two months.

Much Ado About Not So Much

Really, this is a bit absurd. A Catholic school in Australia has reversed their initial reversal and will allow a boy to attend the school after all. After first offering him a place at the school, officials had withdrawn the offer because of the boy's parents insisted on using his last name.

Which happens to be Hell.

Officials said the boy had been offered a place at the St. Peter the Apostle school in the southern city of Melbourne after discussions between the principal, the parish priest and the family over his name.

But Alex Hell said he would rather send 5-year-old Max elsewhere because the school balked at taking the boy over his family name.

"We are the victims of our name," Hell said Monday.

Hell said he and his wife approached St. Peter the Apostle school about enrolling Max because the boy was being bullied at his current school because of his name, the Herald Sun newspaper reported on its Web site.

The Catholic school supported a plan to enroll Max using his mother's maiden name, Wembridge, but then withdrew its invitation when the parents changed their minds about the name, Hell said. The school backed down and offered Max a place only when Hell took the issue to the media, he said.

"The school has turned around and said Max can go there, but why would you want to go there after being victimized?" Hell said.

Maybe the school is worried that the boy will continue to be the victim of bullying because of his name. The parent here is being a bit foolish and is very quick to claim victimhood. Look, kids are vicious to one another, that is kind of what kids do. Why not use the maiden name for the kid's sake? All the publicity seeking will actually probably make it worse for the poor boy.

Taking Environmentalism Too Far

Ok, this is just too much. Respect for the environment is one thing, but dressing up as a tree to rob a bank is a step too far,

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Leaf it to New Hampshire, where a bank branch was held up by a man disguised as a tree.

Just as the Citizen Bank branch opened Saturday morning, a man walked in with leafy boughs duct-taped to his head and torso, and robbed the place.

"He really went out on a limb," police Sgt. Ernie Goodno said Sunday.

Police said the leafy man didn't saying anything about having a weapon, just demanded cash, and was given an undisclosed amount.

In spite of the foliage, the man was recognized and subsequently arrested. One wonders if he had a wooden expression when they took him into custody.

Spare Him

I read this Washington Post (via Memeorandum) op-ed by Mary-Jo Cooney, which is supposed to be, according to her, about her son who is a marine due to deploy in Iraq at the end of the month. Only it isn't about her son at all, really.

Can I expect my son to return unchanged by this experience? If the media reports are any indication, that is doubtful. Will his mind be seriously disturbed by what he sees, or will his body bear wounds that will not heal? Will we, as a nation, do all that we can, as Abraham Lincoln put it, " to care for him who shall hath borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan"?

Or will we continue to make veterans prove that they are entitled to compensation for the injuries they have suffered since we cannot make them whole?

Will it take a universal draft for President Bush and the rest of the country to understand the price that this war is exacting?

She says she'll try to make his leave enjoyable.

I have seen my son go to Iraq twice. I have stayed here, worried for him, twice. I stood in for him at the funeral of the only soldier in his unit to have died while in Iraq. These are things that are part of having a child who chose to enlist. Those who wait at home also serve. But please, do not project your feelings, your politics onto your son, who chose service to his country. Spare him the emotional conflict and the distractions of projecting your attitudes onto him. Support him and the choice he willingly made.

He is a marine, my son is a soldier. They both chose their paths. It is our jobs as parents to be proud of them and to support them in their choices in life. Yes, many people in this country do not understand the sacrifices involved, but we who wait at home must do our part and give our children, grown now into adulthood, our love and support. Never let them feel you waver in that support, he needs it. And you need to give it, as much for yourself as for him.

Bored By Gore

After all the screeching, after all the media hype, after all the posturing by everyone involved in the Live Earth goregasm, the vast majority of Americans not only did not watch the events, most think Al Gore is no expert. So says Rasmussen Reports.

The Live Earth concert promoted by former Vice President Al Gore received plenty of media coverage and hype, but most Americans tuned out. Just 22% said they followed news stories about the concert Somewhat or Very Closely. Seventy-five percent (75%) did not follow coverage of the event.

By way of comparison, eight-in-ten voters routinely said they were following news coverage of the recent Senate debate over immigration. Fifty-four percent (54%) said they followed news coverage of the President’s decision to commute Scooter Libby’s sentence.

Skepticism about the participants may have been a factor in creating this low level of interest. Most Americans (52%) believe the performers take part in such events because it is good for their image. Only 24% say the celebrities really believe in the cause while another 24% are not sure. One rock star who apparently shared that view is Matt Bellamy of the band Muse. Earlier in the week, he jokingly referred to Live Earth as "private jets for climate change."

Only 34% believe that events like Live Earth actually help the cause they are intended to serve. Forty-one percent (41%) disagree. Those figures include 10% who believe the events are Very Helpful and 20% who say they are Not at All Helfpul. Adding to the skepticism, an earlier survey found that just 24% of Americans consider Al Gore an expert on Global Warming.

Too funny. Jammie Wearing Fool has the scoop on the poor turnout in Johannesburg: Too cold. Climate change screech the true believers. Gee, but isn't that in the wrong direction? Over at Heading Right, it is considered the political end of Al Gore - the issue is not going to carry Americans to draft or vote for him.

Politically, though, this tends to refute certain assumptions about the viability of this issue in the US. Many thought that climate change would create momentum for a Draft Gore movement in the Democratic primaries. Although the topic gets plenty of play in the left-leaning punditocracy and blogosphere, it looks as though the resonance ends there. Rasmussen notes that even among self-described liberals, global warming only gets 16% support as the top issue facing Americans, and 12% of the overall electorate.

I said - a long time ago - that Gore would end up hurting the cause of the true believers.