More people believe in global warming than in evolution

From the Associated Press, via @ShaunMcKinnon:

_ The public and scientists did not always see eye-to-eye. For example 87 percent of scientists believed that humans and other living things evolved naturally, compared with 32 percent of the general public. And while 84 percent of scientists say the Earth is getting warmer because of human activities, just 49 percent of the public agreed.

Scientists who study this sort of thing for a living and have expertise in the field believe in evolution and global warming by huge margins. But it is the people who are listening to the anti-science propaganda that had the loudest voice in the last eight years under the George W. Bush administration.

Wouldn't it be better policy to listen to people who are experts on that issue?

BCS official: Everything's fine with the system!

Harvey Perlman, chairman of the BCS oversight committee went onto Mike and Mike in the morning today to say that everything is fine with the BCS, no one should complain, especially not the Utahs and Boise States of the world (teams who went undefeated but never came close to the national championship).

His argument was that the schools from the smaller conferences "have more access" to the big bowls than they ever did before. He is correct, but this doesn't address the criticism.

Utah went undefeated last year, including beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Yet they didn't get to play in the national championship. There is nothing more that Utah could have possibly done, yet they didn't win the national championship.

Perlman said that it is better than it was in the past, but that is, again, missing the point. It shouldn't be said that the current system is better, but rather that the system in the past was even more flawed.

He even criticized college basketball, saying, "even when you're picking 64 teams, you have major controversies about who's numbers 65 through 68." This is different -- getting the NCAAs is the goal for the teams on the bubble. They don't expect to win the national championship.

When the problem is with the number three team, that's a different story.

South African World Cup stadium strike gets violent

Workers who are building the stadiums for the World Cup in South Africa next year have gone on strike. And now some of those on strike are "stoning cars and passers-by" as they ask for more money, the Associated Press reports:

There are fears that a prolonged strike could derail already tight schedules for construction projects supposed to be complete by mid-December. The monthlong 2010 World Cup, beginning in June, is the first on the continent. It is expected to attract up to half a million people and be seen by hundreds of millions worldwide.

South Africa's minimum wage is about $200 a month but the unions complain that some workers earn only about $1.50 an hour and others $5 a week.

If South Africa doesn't get the job done, the U.S. may step in and host -- the U.S. already has dozens of stadiums that can house the World Cup, even on short notice.