May 16, 2002
Steal a truck for a joy ride? I thought you said "Steal a truck full of cyanide."
In Mexico yesterday, a group of armed men stole a truck transporting 96 barrels of cyanide. The truck was recovered pretty quickly, but most of the cargo was missing. Actually, I found different accounts about how much, if any, of the cargo was missing, but the consensus is that a lot was gone. It's pretty sad when major media outlets report the same story with different facts. Anyway, the moral of the story is that a group of Mexican banditos now have their hands on a big-ass load of cyanide. Given the current climate of terrorism and hatred toward the U.S., I'd guess that these guys didn't steal this stuff to sell to gold miners. (cyanide is used in processing gold and silver)
Consider the following scary facts:
1. Cyanide is lethal in solid, liquid or gaseous form.
2. The only antidote for cyanide poisoning is itself a poison (Kelocyanor) and is somewhat useless since death from cyanide exposure can occur in seconds or even minutes.
3. A bunch of freaking Mexican now have an ample supply of the stuff.
4. Mexico borders the United States to the south.
5. The US Border Patrol is in charge of keeping illegal Mexicans out of the states.
Posted by Christopher at 08:28 PM | Comments (5)
May 14, 2002
All kids are equal, some are just more equal than others
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, in Fairfax County, Virginia has a very interesting problem. This high school turns out more National Merit scholars than any other school in the nation, so it's safe to say it's one of the best we have to offer. A look at their news page will give you some idea of the quality of the educational experience offered at this school.
The admission standards are, understandably, very stringent. The competitive selection process detailed on their freshman admissions page includes admission exam scores, records of prior academic achievement (7th and 8th grade report cards), teacher recommendations, and essays administered at the time of the admissions exam. The average SAT score at the school is 1470. The site also specifically states that no student will be discriminated against on the basis of race.
Therein lies the problem. Whites and Asians make up 94% of the school's student population, whereas the surrounding school districts are over 25% black and Latino.
I found a very interesting, in-depth article on this very topic at Education Week. If you're at all interested in such issues, by all means check out this article. Pay close attention to the overall attitude of "We need more blacks in the school", not "We need more resources to better prepare black students in middle school so they can compete equally with whites and Asians."
Posted by Christopher at 09:22 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 13, 2002
Home Field Advantage
There were news reports today that 25 Islamic extremists have entered the US as stowaways on cargo ships via Miami, Savannah and Long Beach, CA. There was also news that a truck was stopped near a naval base in Washington state and found to contain traces of TNT and plastic explosives. The drivers were both Israeli nationals.
Anyone want to guess how long before we have our first suicide bombing of a Starbucks or Pizza Hut?
Maybe we should start keeping score. So far it is:
Turban-Wearing Extremists 0
Little Jewish Hat-Wearing Extremists 0
Posted by Christopher at 11:47 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack