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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
March 30, 2005
/ 19 Adar II, 5765
The fear Crichton's latest questions makes scare-peddlers frightened
By
John Stossel
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Michael Crichton's scary movies, like "Jurassic Park," have made
billions. He has sold 100 million copies of his scary books. And now he's
telling us: Don't be scared.
He almost didn't write his latest book, "State of Fear." (Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.)
"I'm 62 years old," he told me. "I've had a good life. I'm happy. I'm enjoying
myself. I don't need any of the flak that would come from doing a book like
this."
Flak is coming because the fear Crichton is questioning is fear
of global warming. And as Crichton told me, "people's feelings about the
environment are very close to religion."
Global warming, of course, is not a faith that brings comfort.
We interviewed people who seemed almost hysterical about it. One said,
"Greenland is melting!" Another warned that "places like Los Angeles and New
York will be underwater!" One person went even further off should I say
it? the deep end: "I'm thinking it's like the end of the world."
It's natural for people to worry because there's been so much
media hype. A U.S. News & World Report cover story claimed that within 50
years, the ocean "could" be checking in at the glamorous hotels of South
Beach, Fla., while Vermonters "could" get malaria and Nebraska farms "could"
be abandoned because of drought.
Crichton himself used to worry about global warming. But then he
spent three years researching it. He concluded it's just another foolish
media-hyped scare. Many climate scientists agree with him, saying the effect
of man and greenhouse gases is minor.
Many people believe the weather is already getting worse that
the earth is experiencing bigger storms than ever before. That U.S. News &
World Report cover screamed "Scary Weather." But it's not true that there
are more storms today or that weather is "scarier" than it used to be. As
Crichton says, "It's something that almost nobody actually goes and checks."
Sadly, he's right. When "scare stories" fit reporters'
preconceptions, we rarely check with the skeptics. On the subject of global
warming, reporters often listen to alarmists and don't take the trouble to
survey the scientists who really know. And even if they do, it's a mere fig
leaf of fairness. U.S. News, for example, buried its one skeptical voice
under a shrieking headline, after paragraphs predicting disaster, and
between two quotes from alarmists astoundingly presented as voices of
reason dismissing dissenters.
Crichton got his medical training at Harvard, where he paid his
way through college by writing thrillers. When he wrote "The Andromeda
Strain," the story of an organism from outer space that threatens to wipe
out mankind, Hollywood called, and his medical career was over. He's gone on
to write book after book that anticipated the future. "Jurassic Park"
introduced cloning before others really talked about it. "Disclosure," about
a man who's sexually harassed by a female boss, also raised issues that were
ahead of their time. "State of Fear" may be his biggest risk, because he's
taken on environmental groups that some Americans revere with religious
fervor. Crichton says, "Environmental organizations are fomenting false
fears in order to promote agendas and raise money." He points out that the
even the scientists who study global warming have an incentive to exaggerate
the problem. If you say, "there isn't a big problem," you're less likely to
get grant money.
"State of Fear" is already being attacked, he says, by activists
who didn't even read his book. "We seem to be very ready to think it's all
coming to an end," Crichton says. And there are consequences to that kind of
thinking. It can be quite difficult to oppose new laws, however much freedom
and money they will take away from you, when you believe they are the only
thing that can stop major cities from being lost to a sea swollen by melting
icecaps. But we're not on the way to disaster, except in the form of more
laws. "State of Fear" will give you new perspective on "global warming."
Then, when someone tells you "it's like the end of the world!" you can say:
"Give Me a Break."
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
STOSSEL'S LATEST
Give Me a Break
Stossel explains how ambitious bureaucrats, intellectually lazy reporters, and greedy lawyers make your life worse even as they claim to protect your interests. Taking on such sacred cows as the FDA, the War on Drugs, and scaremongering environmental activists -- and backing up his trademark irreverence with careful reasoning and research -- he shows how the problems that government tries and fails to fix can be solved better by the extraordinary power of the free market. Sales help fund JWR.
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JWR contributor John Stossel is co-anchor of ABC News' "20/20." To comment, please click here.
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© 2005, by JFS Productions, Inc.
Distributed by Creators Syndicate, Inc.
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