The <keyword id="20681418" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="European-Space-Agency" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="European Space Agency" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="European Space Agency">European Space Agency</keyword> (ESA) has released a captivating image captured by its <keyword id="22162859" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Copernicus-Sentinel-2-satellite" source="keywords">Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite</keyword>, offering a new perspective on the legendary <keyword id="20271968" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ram-Setu" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Ram Setu" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Ram Setu">Ram Setu</keyword>, also known as <keyword id="22162860" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adams-Bridge" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Adam's Bridge" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Adam's Bridge">Adam's Bridge</keyword>. This chain of limestone shoals, stretching 48 kilometers between Rameswaram Island in India and Mannar Island in Sri Lanka, has long been a subject of fascination. The ESA image provides stunning detail of the bridge's structure, sparking renewed interest in its geological history and cultural significance. ESA’s image reveals a stark contrast between the deep blue waters of the Indian Ocean and the lighter hues marking the shallow regions around the Ram Setu. Here, the seabed dips to a depth of only 1 to 10 meters, suggesting a submerged landmass slowly revealing its secrets. Exposed sandbanks further bolster this theory. The picture also highlights the bridge's ecological importance. Mannar Island on the Sri Lankan side boasts thriving ecosystems protected within a national park. The island itself is connected to mainland Sri Lanka by modern bridges. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Myth and science collide" comment="subhead" text="Myth and science collide">Myth and science collide </cmsannotation>Legends surrounding the Ram Setu claim it was built by Lord Rama, a revered Hindu deity, with the help of his monkey army. However, scientific evidence suggests a more natural origin story. Geologists believe the shoals are remnants of a landmass that once connected the Indian subcontinent to Sri Lanka. Historical records seem to support this theory, indicating that the bridge was indeed a traversable land route until the 15th century, when powerful storms gradually submerged portions of the path. On the Indian side, Rameswaram Island, also known as Pamban Island, beckons with its historic temples and vibrant culture. The 2-kilometer-long <keyword id="20698539" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pamban-Bridge" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Pamban Bridge" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Pamban Bridge">Pamban Bridge</keyword>, a marvel of engineering, connects the island to the mainland. The ESA's image offers a valuable tool for scientists and historians alike. By studying the intricate details of the Ram Setu, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of the region's geological history and the impact of environmental changes over time. The bridge also serves as a reminder of the rich cultural heritage shared by <keyword id="82358" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-and-Sri-Lanka" source="Orion">India and Sri Lanka</keyword>.

ESA satellite attempts to unveil secrets of Ram Setu — the mysterious bridge between India and Sri Lanka

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Orcas just want to have fun.</li><li>Orcas have been ramming boats off Spain, Portugal, and Morocco since 2020.</li></ul>Orcas have been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/portugal-orcas-sink-a-sailboat-and-ram-another-in-atlantic-2022-8">causing mayhem</a> off the coasts of Spain, Portugal, and Morocco for the past several years, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-people-are-trying-to-prevent-orca-attacks-boats-2023-11">driving local sailors nuts</a> by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/orcas-sink-another-yacht-off-gibraltar-2024-5">ramming and bumping their boats</a>.But scientists now believe the orcas actually <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stop-calling-killer-whale-encounters-with-boats-attacks-2023-6">don't have malicious intent</a> — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-killer-whales-orcas-attack-sink-boats-2023-6">they're just being silly</a>.A group of over a dozen scientists and orca experts who've been studying the region's orcas for years <a target="_blank" href="https://archive.iwc.int/pages/download.php?direct=1&amp;noattach=true&amp;ref=22172&amp;ext=pdf&amp;k=">explained their findings in a report</a> from the International Whaling Commission published Friday.The Portuguese and Spanish governments commissioned the report in response to a spate of incidents of a small group of orcas around the Iberian Peninsula ramming into — and sometimes sinking — at least 673 boats since 2020.Despite the damage the orcas have done, scientists believe the orcas are not trying to be aggressive or destructive. Really, they're just bored teenagers looking for a bit of fun."The sea is a very boring place for an animal," Renaud de Stephanis, president of marine life preservation organization CIRCE, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/05/24/killer-whales-attacking-sinking-boats-are-bored-scientists-say/73558157007/">told USA Today</a>. "Imagine if you're a dog or some other mammal, you can interact with objects around you. But in the sea there's not much for the orcas to interact with, so they play with the rudders."Scientists believe young juvenile orcas, who tend to be more curious and exploratory, started the trend, which then spread through the population, according to the report.And orcas, like humans, love following trends.The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/orca-killer-whales-are-giant-dolphins-2023-5">highly intelligent and social mammals</a> are known to experience <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/killer-whale-rams-yacht-assumed-first-orca-attack-north-sea-2023-6">fads among their pods</a>. For example, past orca populations have even gone around <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/orcas-hunting-killing-porpoises-not-eating-scientists-confused-2023-10">wearing dead salmon as hats</a>, for no other apparent reason than everyone else was doing it.This long series of boat-ramming incidents could be no different."The orcas don't know that the interactions with the boats causes problems to humans," IWC Scientific Committee Chair Alex Zerbini, who worked on the report, told Business Insider. "For them this is like a game.""The key message is that there is not evidence that this behavior is aggressive or that the whales are 'attacking' the boats," Zerbini added. "This appears to be a fad, which plays a role in the orcas cultural development."But why now? Scientists believe it's likely because the tuna population, the Iberian killer whales' primary food source, has dramatically increased in recent years, giving the orcas more time away from hunting, according to the report.And with all that free time, the apex predators have chosen to have a little fun. But don't worry. Even if an orca does ram and sink your ship, you're <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/orcas-dont-pose-threat-to-humans-boat-encounters-have-risks-2023-6">probably not in danger</a>. No one has been injured in any of the incidents so far.

Scientists explain why orcas keep ramming yachts 

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/512e6642eab8ea0d7e000002-620-465/ss2-3.jpg?maxX=400" border="0" alt="sea shepards whaling" width="400" /></div><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-26/whaling-war-intensifies/4541584">Australia Broadcasting Newtwork</a>On Monday anti-whaling protestors - known as Sea Shepherds - successfully clocked a Japanese whaling ship from refueling in Australian waters near Antarctica.</div>Clashes between Japanese whalers and with anti-whaling 'pirates' continued as Japan's new fisheries minister <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-minister-our-country-will-never-stop-hunting-whales-2013-2">told Agence France-Presse</a> the island country will never stop hunting and eating whales.
"I don't think there will be any kind of an end for whaling by Japan," Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. "We have never said everybody should eat whale, but we have a long tradition and culture of whaling."
Hayashi called anti-whaling protests "a cultural attack, a kind of prejudice against Japanese culture" as <a href="http://bostonherald.com/business/business_markets/2013/02/court_anti_whaling_protesters_are_pirates">The Associated Press reported</a> that America's largest federal court deemed the to be "pirates" because of the violent nature of their some of the tactics.
From the AP:
"You don't need a peg leg or an eye patch," Chief Judge Alex Kozinski wrote for the unanimous three-judge panel. "When you <a href="http://www.carbonated.tv/news/ship-collision-in">ram ships</a>; <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8511988.stm">hurl glass containers of acid</a>; drag metal-reinforced ropes in the water to damage propellers and rudders; <a href="http://www.carbonated.tv/viral/whalers-clash-with-activists-in-antarctica">launch smoke bombs and flares</a> with hooks; and point high-powered lasers at other ships, you are, without a doubt, a pirate, no matter how high-minded you believe your purpose to be."
<table class="image-container" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/512e6697eab8eafd01000000-620-310/sea-shepard-whaling-japan.jpg" border="0" alt="sea shepard whaling Japan" /></div><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-26/whaling-war-intensifies/4541584">Austrlian Broadcasting Network</a></td></tr></table>
For the last few years the <a href="http://www.seashepherd.org/who-we-are/">Sea Shepherd Conservation Society</a> — a Washington state-based nonprofit — has chased Japanese 'scientific whaling' fleet off Antarctica for several years to prevent the mammals being slaughtered.
AFP notes that unlike Norway and Iceland — which openly flout the International <a href="http://iwc.int/">1986 moratorium on commercial whaling</a> — Japan justifies its hunts through a loophole that allows for lethal scientific research.
Earlier this month <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9093407/Dolphins-should-be-recognised-as-non-human-persons.html">an international team of researchers presented evidence</a> suggesting that <keyword id="63324" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="dolphins">dolphins</keyword> and whales are so intelligent they should be recognised as "<a href="http://www.takepart.com/photos/declaration-rights-cetaceans">non-human persons</a>."
Recent research shows that both <a href="http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/20/17031496-dolphins-call-each-other-by-name?lite">dolphins</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/beluga-whale-noc-speaks-like-a-human-2012-10">whales</a> communicate with each other in a similar way to humans. Previous scientific studies have shown that <a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/06/whalepeople/">dolphins and whales</a> are earth's <a href="http://www.globalanimal.org/2011/02/22/dolphins-smarter-than-your-three-year-old/30854/">smartest animals</a> behind humans and <a href="http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2010/01/06/Dolphins-smarter-than-chimps/UPI-15591262806966/">ahead of chimpanzees</a>.

'Pirates' Face Off Against Whalers As Japan Vows To Keep Hunting

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/546e56b2ecad046946e25bb8-1200-858/105158 snowvember aerial#73.jpg" border="0" alt="buffalo snow"><a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/">Derek Gee/Buffalo News</a>Buffalo, NY is being crushed with snow.</img></div></div></div>The past couple weeks have given climate change skeptics plenty of events that <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2014/01/blizzards-dont-refute-global-warming" target="_blank">seem like reasons</a> to dispute global warming.
An <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/polar-vortex-week-of-nov-10-2014-11">inundation of wintry weather</a> across the country carried snowstorms and freezing temperatures <a href="http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/arctic-cold-outbreak-november-locked-20141110?cmpid=newscred">everywhere from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeast</a>.
Most recently, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/buffalo-snow-kills-4-2014-11">snowstorms in Buffalo, NY</a> have made travel impossible, caused roofs to buckle, and left at least a dozen people dead.
If it's so cold and there's a dangerous amount of snow, then how could the Earth possibly be warming?
Part of the confusion comes down to our understanding of weather and climate. People question the scientific reality of global warming because they don't know the difference between the two.
Weather is what we see day-to-day. It explains changes in the atmosphere over short periods of time and is highly unpredictable. A sudden thunderstorm or blizzard is what we refer to as weather.
Climate, on the other hand, describes the behavior of the atmosphere over long periods of time.
Using weather (i.e a few very cold days) as evidence against global warming (i.e a decade of hotter summers) is kind of like using one man's early death to disprove the fact that, on average, life expectancies are increasing.
There will continue to be hot and cold extremes, but when the weather is averaged over time, a clear warming trend emerges. The <a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate/2009.php">2009 State of the Climate Report</a>, compiled by hundreds of scientists around the world, revealed that the first decade of this century was the <a href="http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100728_stateoftheclimate.html">hottest since scientists started recording data in the 1880s</a>.
The current decade is shaping up to be a record breaker, as well. Data just released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) show that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/7-months-of-hottest-records-october-2014-11">this October was the hottest one on record</a> - and April, May, June, August, and September all broke their own records this year, too.
<a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/temp-and-precip/global-maps.php?imgs%5B%5D=map-land-sfc-mntp&amp;imgs%5B%5D=map-blended-mntp&amp;imgs%5B%5D=map-prcp&amp;imgs%5B%5D=map-percentile-mntp&amp;imgs%5B%5D=map-percentile-prcp&amp;imgs%5B%5D=map-prcp-percent&amp;year=2014&amp;month=10#maps">NOAA's map</a> below shows how this October's temperatures stack up to average temperatures for this time of year. Red areas are warmer than average and blue areas are colder than average. Overall, there is a general warming pattern across the map - and that's true not just of this month, but of the entire year. In fact, 2014 is currently on track to become the hottest year on record.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/546e38e4ecad048842e25bba-990-765/noaa_october_temps.png" border="0" alt="NOAA_October_Temps">NOAA</img></div></div></div>
But climate contrarians will still protest: "Our climate has gone through huge transitions before!" That's true.
Over the past million of years the Earth has shifted between <a href="http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/gladasked/gladice_ages.htm" target="_blank">warm "interglacial" periods and cool "glacial" periods</a>. These changes, however, occurred over long stretches of time and were caused by natural variation in the Earth's system. The changes in climate that scientists are observing today are man-made, caused by an increasing level of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the planet. As a result, the warming of our planet is happening on a much shorter time-scale than ever before.
In fact, the whirlpool of frigid air, known as the "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-polar-vortex-2014-1">polar vortex</a>" - which was blamed for last winter's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/national-weather-service-calls-arctic-blast-eye-popping-omg-type-cold-2014-1">"eye-popping" cold weather</a> and has been held responsible for some of this month's frigid conditions - may actually be tied to warming temperatures in the Arctic.
During the winter, these winds normally remain locked up over the Arctic. Last winter, the polar vortex made headlines when it became notably unstable (a pattern that was also observed in 2009-2010), <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/features/02_monitoring/warmarctic.html" target="_blank">possibly because of melting ice and warmer polar winters</a>. The weakened vortex allows streams of the cold Arctic air to break free, flowing into other parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
Earlier this month, polar winds were disrupted by a weather event known as a "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bomb-cyclone-crazy-weather-november-2014-11">bomb cyclone</a>," which rammed into the polar jetstream and sent a flurry of unseasonably cold weather south through North America. According to the <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/index.shtml">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a>, warming temperatures are likely to cause an increase in extreme weather events around the globe, including the kind of cyclone mentioned above.
So while this wintry weather may seem like a sign of hope for the earth, it's important to note that climate change is capable of producing all kinds of effects. And paying attention to longterm patterns rather than short-term weather events is the best way to find out the truth about what's happening on the planet.

Why Cold Weather Doesn't Mean Global Warming Isn't Real

<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/524eae4eecad04155aa223e3-524-393/asia-cook.jpeg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="asia cook " width="480" />Wang Zhao/AFPA cook prepares a dish of animal penis in the kitchen of a hotpot restaurant in Beijing, on September 12, 2013.</div></div>Holding aloft a half-metre long horse penis, chef Xiao Shan confidently declares it "the most delicious" of the ingredients in a Chinese hotpot of male genitalia, one of many supposed Asian remedies to boost the libido.
Penises and testicles from donkey, goat, dog, bull and deer, the other contributors to the $200 feast, are laid out on a kitchen table, like a sorry-looking row of odd-sized sausages and veiny, oval vegetables, all waiting to be sliced up by his looming, intimidating cleaver.
"The (horse) texture and the flavour are both very good. It is also good for one's health," said Xiao, who has been preparing male organs since he was 13, using skills handed down in his family for several generations.
Sourced from some of Asia's wildest and most rugged terrains, the organs are chopped up before being arranged on a bed of lettuce around an elaborate glass stand, more akin to something that might display fairy cakes or scones in a high-class cake shop.
The unique dishes at Guolizhuang, China's only penis speciality restaurant chain, are popular among business parties and government officials, Li Yanzhi, manager of the Chaoyang branch, told AFP.
The vast majority of customers are male, she added, many of them searching for increased potency and sexual prowess at the restaurant, which also serves organs from ram, yak, seal and snake -- which have two penises each.
"Chinese people believe we can replenish different parts of our bodies by using the same ingredients, which means whatever you eat is nutritious for that part of your body," said Li.
"Eating penises and testicles can make a man stronger and enjoy a wonderful sex life."
<h3>'Potent in bed'</h3>
There is no orthodox scientific evidence for such claims, but across Asia there are various versions that come with similar boasts.
In Pakistan's business capital Lahore, Takatak -- a dish whose name is derived from the sound of the clanging knives used to make it -- consists of chopped goat and sheep hearts, brains, kidneys and testes.
"Basically men eat it so that they can be potent in bed," said Faher Hayat, a chef whose roadside restaurant serves the specialty with onions, tomatoes, ginger, pepper and coriander.
"The brains give energy to the head, while the testicles have a power of their own."
On the side of traffic-clogged roads in Jakarta's old town, men looking to improve their sexual performance flock to stalls to drink snake blood.
Customers pick out a snake, which go for 70,000 rupiah ($6) each, before a vendor carefully hauls out the selected serpent, hacks off the head with a meat cleaver and grips the snake's headless body vertically to allow its blood to drip into a teacup or glass.
A spoonful of honey is added to sweeten the bitter mixture, seen not only as a virility booster but also as a remedy for diabetes, high blood pressure and other ailments.
At the Beijing penis restaurant, customer Wei Jingsheng, 47, is a devoted believer.
"It does work very well," said the 47-year-old construction businessman. "After I took it, my hair stopped falling out, and now I feel very energetic the whole day. Before, I needed to sleep at noon to not get tired, now I don't need to. Every aspect of my life has become fantastic."
<h3>Embarrassing questions</h3>
The restaurant's nutritionist says that its most popular dish is deer, seen as particularly effective due to each breeding male having scores of sexual partners.
"One deer penis has the same potency as three bull penises," said Du Yuemei, who goes to each table to enlighten guests on the supposed health benefits of the dishes and regale them with tales of the animal's vigour in the wild.
With a hint of a smile, she admits to being asked embarrassing questions by some customers, but is immune to attempts to make her feel uncomfortable.
"I know my job is kind of unusual, but it makes me feel good though, that I am involved in dietary therapy for men. It's very unique," she adds, before curtseying and leaving the room, a signal for the waitress to begin placing the ingredients into the boiling soup, made up of deer heart, duck stock and Chinese medicine.
The first to emerge -- steaming hot and the slices slightly shrivelled compared to their earlier appearance -- are the goat and bull penises.
The bull, having curled into a squid-like ring from the heat, had a familiarly beefy flavour, but with a firm texture not easy to swallow.
The goat was tendon-like, rubbery and slightly stringy, like a flavourless, flaccid stick of liquorice.
Both donkey and horse penis were presented in bacon-like strips, but the neutrally flavoured donkey was dark, while the intense, meaty horse was easily the most distinctive ingredient of the meal.
In contrast, the testicles had lighter textures, varying from flaky to somewhere between tofu and pate, and often delicate tastes.
The deer penis was slightly frayed and another rubbery offering, while the wild Russian dog had a spicy, almost zesty flavour, despite looking like slices of undercooked pig-skin.
It was the only imported dish on the menu and the only animal to have a penis bone, ceremonially presented in a red gift box at the end of the meal for good fortune -- albeit not the original owner's.
<div class="nc_footer">
Copyright (2013) AFP. All rights reserved.
</div>
<img class="nc_pixel" src="http://pixel.newscred.com/px.gif?key=YXJ0aWNsZT0zYjM4NWQ3ZDJkNGI2MGNhNWUwMjYwM2ZlMDVhMGU0OSZvd25lcj0xYjhjMzM1YzkwMmFjNGFiMTI4ZWU4ZWQ3NzNiZWUwNCZub25jZT1hMGE0Y2Q5OC1mZjhlLTQwYmYtYjBhNi1mNTVjNGFmM2FhMWYmcHVibGlzaGVyPThjMDBmYmVlNjFkNWJjZjBjNjA5MmQ4YjkyZWJiY2Ex" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" />

Here's What Men in Asia Eat To Boost Their Libidos

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5443c5d6ecad04211c673a0c-1002-247/screenshot 2014-10-19 10.07.43.png" border="0" alt="Screenshot 2014 10 19 10.07.43">The Economist</img></div></div></div>MOST polls suggest that Republicans will capture a narrow majority in the Senate in November's mid-term elections, while holding on to the House of Representatives. So America faces two more years of divided government, but with a shift in the balance of power.
Until now, Barack Obama has always had a Democratic Senate to block proposals passed by the House. If that buffer disappears, he will have to sign or veto every bill that a Republican Congress sends him. The result may be political paralysis, accelerating the greying of the president's hair and alarming allies worldwide. Or it may be that the two sides find common ground and pass some sensible measures.
Pessimists sigh that the parties are too polarised to agree on anything. Plenty of Republicans think Mr Obama is a menace whom patriots must thwart and resist. Many Democrats believe there is no point in trying to cut deals with Republicans.
Instead, they want Mr Obama to spend his last two years in office ignoring Congress and using executive orders and federal regulations to pursue progressive goals, such as curbing greenhouse-gas emissions, shielding illegal migrants from deportation (and even closing the Guantánamo Bay prison for terrorist suspects, if press reports are true: see "Lexington: The <keyword id="6358883" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Politics">politics</keyword> of Guantánamo"). Under this scenario, no significant laws will be passed until after the presidential election in 2016.
Optimists retort that once Republicans control both arms of Congress, they cannot just snarl from the sidelines. Unless they show they have a positive agenda, they risk a drubbing in 2016. And if Mr Obama wants a legacy, he will have to work with them. Some of the bigwigs interviewed for this article believe that several constructive, growth-friendly policies already enjoy enough bipartisan support to pass in the Senate.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5443c5d6ecad047b1c673a11-916-311/screenshot 2014-10-19 10.07.29.png" border="0" alt="Screenshot 2014 10 19 10.07.29">The Economist</img></div></div></div>
The current roadblock to such ideas, Republicans say, is Harry Reid, the Democratic leader of the Senate. In their telling, he stops many Republican amendments from coming to the floor for a vote precisely because he fears they would pass. Pragmatic, pro-business Republicans make a similar point about the House of Representatives, noting that moderate Republican ideas need Democratic votes to pass, since the GOP's "Hell No" wing reflexively opposes almost anything Mr Obama might sign.
Senator Bob Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, makes a striking claim. In private meetings with the president, he has told Mr Obama that he will find it easier to address America's long-term fiscal woes if Democrats lose in November. "I have told the president that he is better off if the Republicans are in the majority," Mr Corker reports, explaining that both sides would then be under pressure to act responsibly.
If Republicans win the Senate, Mr Corker hopes to see progress on long-stalled areas of policy such as free trade, corporate-tax reform, deficit reduction, federal highway funding, and revising the legal basis for the war in Iraq and Syria.
Other moderate Republicans agree. The most durable reforms are those that enjoy bipartisan backing, from the Civil Rights Act to the Clinton-era welfare reforms. Laws rammed through by one party enjoy less legitimacy (Republicans cite Obamacare; Democrats cite the George W. Bush tax cuts). The shortest-lived reforms rest on executive orders, of the sort being urged on Mr Obama by the Left.
Republicans have what ought to be compelling reasons to seek compromise. Next year Congress must fund the government by extending existing spending plans and, ideally, by drawing up a formal budget. It must also raise the debt ceiling (a limit on federal borrowing) or force a catastrophic national default. Pragmatic Republicans believe that the last time their party played chicken with the budget, it disgraced itself in the eyes not just of economists but also of voters. (In October 2013 House Republicans forced a government shutdown by insisting that any new spending bill must include provisions to delay or defund bits of Obamacare.)
<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/50351788ecad04a641000009-400-300/paul-ryan-9.jpg" border="0" alt="Paul Ryan Mitt Romney" width="480">Getty</img></div></div>Some prominent Republicans, such as Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Budget Committee and Mitt Romney's running-mate in 2012, suggest a two-pronged strategy that combines governing with point-scoring. A Republican Congress could pass a few modest, incremental bills which Mr Obama might actually sign, but also send him several popular ones which he might veto.
For example, they would surely ask him to approve the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline to carry oil from Canada's tar sands to American refineries. Environmentalists hate the idea, but if Mr Obama vetoes it, Republicans will accuse him of killing jobs.
Not all conservatives share the optimists' vision. Hardliners have essentially given up on working with Mr Obama--unless he surrenders completely and lets them dismantle Obamacare. Some urge their party to ignore its own pragmatic wing and channel the voters' rage instead.
Michael Needham, the chief executive of Heritage Action, a conservative campaign outfit, denies that the 2013 shutdown hurt Republicans, insisting that it sparked a valuable debate about Obamacare. Heritage Action would like to see Republicans provide a "bold contrast" to Mr Obama, and show they care about ordinary Americans and their stagnating incomes, rather than "the lobbying class in Washington, and the Chamber of Commerce".
The "no compromise" camp will grow louder as the next presidential race nears. Putative White House contenders such as Senator Ted Cruz of Texas will vie to come up with fresh attacks on Mr Obama. Some will assume that the best chance of a Republican victory in 2016 lies in proving that divided government does not work and in seeing Mr Obama hooted from office.
Many Democrats think compromise is unlikely, too. If Republican pragmatists in the Senate think a new era of bipartisanship is nigh, they "really need to talk to some of their House colleagues, because I see no evidence that they have changed," says Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, a senior House Democrat.
He does not accept that the Republicans will win the Senate, but if they do, he predicts that they will over-reach and create a "huge public backlash". The Ryan budget plan "absolutely devastates" spending on education, scientific research and infrastructure, while cutting the top rate of personal income tax, Mr Van Hollen charges. If Republicans want to pass Mr Ryan's plan, "Go for it," he urges.
Whatever happens in November, Mr Obama will remain in overall control of foreign policy and defence, and enjoy considerable discretion over how government agencies implement regulations. But a Republican Congress would hold the purse strings, and new federal appointees such as judges and central bankers would have to be approved by a Republican Senate.
If Republicans hold a narrow majority in the Senate, their ambitions will be limited by the need to reach a super-majority of 60 senators (to avoid a "filibuster", where a minority of 41 or more can block a bill). However, some policies attached to budget bills can be passed by a simple majority of 51, using a parliamentary wheeze known as reconciliation. This may sound arcane (and is), but could have hefty real-world consequences after November.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53f35100eab8ea0e3bd01607-1200-800/ap766988998485.jpg" border="0" alt="Barack Obama Harry Reid Mitch McConnell">APPresident Barack Obama meets with Congressional leaders to discuss foreign policy, Thursday, July 31, 2014, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington. From left are, Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., the president, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky.</img></div></div></div>
<h3>Strife via reconciliation</h3>
Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, has set out how a new majority might be used. In a speech to donors that was leaked, he said: "We own the budget." Republicans would use riders on spending bills to restrict the federal bureaucracy, he explained. "No money can be spent to do this or that. We're going to go after them on health care, on financial services, on the Environmental Protection Agency, across the board," he said.
Yet making such constraints bite will be complicated. It would take 60 votes to attach riders to run-of-the-mill spending bills, meaning that Democratic support would be needed. The game is to attach so many popular spending plans to a bill that some Democrats will back it, explains Judd Gregg, a former Republican senator.
However, reconciliation must follow strict rules (to simplify, it must be agreed that a policy's main impact is on the federal budget, and it must not increase the long-term deficit). "Reconciliation is a very difficult vehicle to work with," says Mr Gregg. It could perhaps be used to rein in environmental regulations. But it is a poor way to pursue tax reform, since tax cuts are usually assumed to increase the deficit.
Obamacare itself was partly passed via reconciliation, and in 2012 the team planning a Romney presidency researched how much of the health law could be unpicked in the same way, recalls Lanhee Chen of Stanford University, Mr Romney's chief policy adviser. Quite a lot, was the answer, but reconciliation is a lengthy process, and would probably end in a veto by Mr Obama, Mr Chen says.
Democrats in the Senate recently tweaked their rules to make it easier to confirm presidential appointments with just 51 votes, and Republicans will have to decide whether to preserve that rule change, which they denounced at the time. Either way, if Republicans win in November, Mr Obama will have to nominate judges, ambassadors and senior officials with bipartisan appeal if he wants them confirmed.
In most other areas, the goal for Republicans will be to find policies that might attract moderate Democrats, and thus 60 votes. That could include measures to boost energy production, promote trade and tweak the tax system.
On energy, Congress could press federal regulators to grant export licences for natural gas, and make it easier to drill for oil on federal lands or offshore. On trade, Congress could grant the president "fast-track" authority to negotiate with foreign governments, so that lawmakers cannot unpick deals after they have been agreed on. Mr Corker thinks this is possible; Mr Van Hollen suspects that some in Congress may insist on seeing details of proposed trade pacts before agreeing to fast-track.
On taxes, Republican leaders think a bipartisan deal could address the problem of American firms hoarding profits overseas. Recent headlines about firms quitting the country for tax reasons mean that both sides understand the harm caused by Uncle Sam's insistence on taxing American firms' profits even if they are earned abroad, says Mr Corker. Some on the right could live with a "repatriation holiday" for profits. Congressional Democrats retort that an earlier amnesty, in 2004, just led to more hoarding of profits abroad.
<h3>Deal or no deal?</h3>
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53d901d16da811e5450cebda-1200-1500/ap100225127669.jpg" border="0" alt="AP100225127669">APHarry Reid and Mitch McConnell</img></div></div></div>A broader tax reform may be possible, but House Republicans have always resisted considering corporate taxes in isolation, says Mr Van Hollen. Democrats close to the White House sound a bit more optimistic. In a recent article, Gene Sperling, a former economic adviser to Mr Obama, insisted that the two parties' leaders are not far apart on corporate-tax reform, suggesting both sides could agree to cut headline rates while imposing a minimum tax on foreign earnings.
Alas, the prospects for a grand bargain on taxes and spending do not look good. Democrats suggest that Republican senators underestimate how allergic House Republicans are to anything that sounds like a tax increase.
Many Republicans will demand a show vote to repeal Obamacare, which Mr Obama would obviously veto. Smaller tweaks to the health law may pass, however. Some Democrats support Republican calls to repeal a tax on medical devices; others may agree to loosen the rules for when a firm is deemed large enough to be obliged to offer its staff health insurance.
Optimists hope that the near-insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund, which depends on federal fuel taxes, will force Congress and the White House to do a deal when the next stopgap funding plan expires in 2015. But flintier conservatives instead want the states to decide how to tax fuel and pay for roads, cutting out the federal government entirely.
Some Republicans think tweaks to immigration policy are possible, as long as the question of what to do with the estimated 11m illegal migrants now in America is shelved. Senator John Cornyn of Texas warns Democrats not to start by demanding an amnesty. He grumbled to a Texas newspaper that Democrats "want to eat dessert before they eat their vegetables on immigration".
Yet what Republicans want is for Democrats to swallow conservative red meat--such as yet more border security, new systems to catch visa-overstayers and unlawful job applicants and employer-friendly visa schemes. Only later might Republicans contemplate legalisation.
As it happens, a broad debate on immigration looms after November's elections, because Mr Obama is expected to announce an executive order to shield more migrants from deportation, building on an order of 2012 to stop deporting many youngsters brought to America as children (a group known as Dreamers). Hispanic activists want millions more to be covered. Mr Obama may compromise, perhaps with a rule protecting Dreamers' parents.
Mr Chen, the former Romney adviser, hopes that Republicans in Congress will put together a "reasonable" alternative to that presidential order and send it to Mr Obama, forcing him to choose between a modest immigration reform now, or progressive perfection some day. Mr Chen fears, however, that after the announcement of an Obama amnesty some on the right will simply "go nuts", drowning out serious debate with histrionics.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/526583ba6bb3f7c82634d4b0-1200-800/ap567401689186.jpg" border="0" alt="Barack Obama Mitt Romney debate">AP</img></div></div></div>
Many in Congress would like to draft a new authorisation for the use of force against Islamic State. The current authorisation dates back to 2001, is narrowly tied to the September 11th attacks and gives the president sweeping powers. Mr Obama used to say that that authorisation needed replacing; now he cites it as his authority for bombing Iraq and Syria. A Republican Congress would also demand that America maintain pressure on Iran's nuclear programme, predicts Mr Corker. However, Mr Obama would probably veto any bill that tightened sanctions against his wishes.
The battle between pragmatists and partisans in both parties is far from resolved. If Republicans control both halves of Congress, "They have to show they can govern or they will suffer huge losses in 2016," says Mr Gregg. But other Republicans would rather deny Mr Obama any successes in his final two years.
For one thing, they sincerely distrust him. For another, they want to hammer home the idea that Democrats are incompetent and big government always fails. For their part, lefty ideologues want to stir Republicans into such a fury that they repel voters in 2016. That is why some hope for the largest possible immigration amnesty (precisely to provoke the Right), and for a flurry of executive power-grabs.
Washington is rather empty now, since many politicians are back home campaigning. When they return, many will be carrying barbed wire and shovels for digging trenches.
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