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Speaking in Japan, the Dalai Lama said his drive for autonomy in Tibet has failed. He described the situation there as one of martial law, and said Tibet’s culture and people “are being handed down a death sentence.”Photo: Jan Michael Ihl
A panel of international petroleum geologists decided exploratory drilling at a nearby gas well triggered the eruption of a mud volcano in Indonesia. The vote could provide major financial compensation to many of the almost 40,000 Indonesians displaced by the eruption, reports The Guardian. The volcano, called Lusi, erupted nearly two years ago and has been spewing massive amounts of boiling mud ever since. The cause of the eruption was debated at an international conference in Cape Town, South Africa, attended by 74 distinguished petroleum scientists. Geologists representing the oil and gas company Lapindo Brantas claimed an earthquake two days before the eruption is to blame, but only three of the petroleum scientists voted for this explanation.
The Vatican has issued new guidelines recommending psychological screening for men interested in joining the Catholic priesthood. Catholic seminaries have been urged to screen the candidates for certain psychological traits — including “deep-seated homosexual tendencies” — that could later compromise their roles, the Irish Times reports. The Congregation for Catholic Education, the supervising body for Catholic seminaries worldwide, published the guidelines. Sex-abuse cases have scandalized the Catholic Church in recent years, costing them hundreds of million dollars in settlements. Psychological testing will not be obligatory, but could be helpful when church officials are suspicious about candidate that may possess “homosexual tendencies, unclear sexual identity, difficulty with the celibate life, excessive rigidity of character and lack of freedom in relations.”
The Dalai Lama has acknowledged that his drive for genuine autonomy in Tibet has failed. Agence France-Presse reports that even though representatives for the Tibetan government are in China for the eighth round of Chinese-Tibetan dialogue, the Dalai Lama said his “faith and trust in the Chinese government is thinning” and the situation in Tibet is worsening. The Dalai Lama has advocated a “Middle Way” approach of compromise and dialogue with the communist Chinese since their occupation of Tibet began in 1949. “I have to accept failure,” he said. He described the situation in Tibet as one of martial law and said Tibetan culture and the people “are being handed down a death sentence.”
Two German experts predict sea levels will rise three feet this century, higher than the seven inches to two feet previously estimated in other studies. Deutsche-Presse Agentur and Expatica.com report that scientists with the Potsdam Institute for Research on Global Warming Effects came to their results using new data that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change did not have access to. Among the new findings: Arctic ice loss has doubled or tripled since 2005. One of the scientists, Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the institute and an adviser to German chancellor Angela Merkel, said that it is “just barely possible” that global governments, if they drastically reduce carbon emissions, will be able to limit climate change. He also told Bloomburg News last month that there was a 50 percent chance of capping global warming to just 3.6 degrees by 2100, which, according to his findings, would avoid the brunt of the ecological damage.
By Bernice Yeung, Newsdesk.org/The Public Press
Although development is a perennially hot-button topic in San Francisco due to concerns about gentrification, Proposition D, which would facilitate Pier 70 revitalization, is a seemingly controversy-free measure that has garnered wide support from neighborhood groups, environmentalists, city officials and developers. Pier 70 is a 65-acre site along the Central Waterfront, just south of Mission Bay. According to the Port of San Francisco’s proposed master plan — which will be finalized by early 2009 and then released to the public for comment before going to the Board of Supervisors for approval — the redeveloped port would feature retail sites, restaurants, public parks, cultural venues, parking and continued maritime industry (Pier 70 is the oldest continuously operating shipyard on the West Coast for boat building and repair). In fact, many anti-gentrification activists are supporting D because they see it as a way to not only save the historic buildings, but also to insist on more green space and less dense retail-type development. No Opposition?
The San Francisco 2008 Election Truthiness Report is co-produced by Newsdesk.org and The Public Press, and funded through small donations using the Spot.Us “crowdfunding” Web site. • Staff & Credits
• SF Election Ad Annotations: Mouse over these scanned ads for pop-up text boxes that reveal the truthiness of it all! November 3, 2008
“Prop D: Eyeing a Revitalized Pier 70”
By Bernice Yeung
Although development is a perennially hot-button topic in San Francisco due to concerns about gentrification, Proposition D, which would facilitate Pier 70 revitalization, is a seemingly controversy-free measure that has garnered wide support from neighborhood groups, environmentalists, city officials and developers. October 31, 2008
“Proposition V and JROTC: Lessons in How Not to Listen”
By Tim Kingston
The spat over JROTC is really more about a case of two alternate worldviews. On the one hand there is the moderate/conservative “leave politics out of schoolyard” view, which is focused on saving a local program that teaches leadership skills to youth.
The San Francisco Election Truthiness Report fact-checks the ads and arguments around local voter propositions — Junior ROTC, affordable housing, property and business taxes, clean energy, hospital rebuilding, ballot-book spin doctoring, and more.Photo: BTobin
By Matthew Hirsch, Newsdesk.org/The Public Press
The Truthiness Report: No. 10 in a series on election advertising. The proponents of Proposition A want voters to believe that the Nov. 4 election is a matter of life or death for San Francisco’s main public hospital. The measure has an enormous list of supporters, including elected officials, newspapers, community groups, and the local Democratic, Republican and Green parties.
By Tim Kingston, Newsdesk.org/The Public Press
The Truthiness Report: No. 9 in a series on election advertising. Rancorous is always a good way to describe tenant-landlord relations in San Francisco, and the debate over Proposition M — an anti-harassment initiative put on the ballot by tenants’ rights activists — is no exception. The inelegantly dubbed Changing the Residential Rent Ordinance to Prohibit Specific Acts of Harassment of Tenants by Landlords attempts to do just that — at great length, and has spurred an exchange of pro and con arguments around free speech and the role of lawyers. Proposition M replaces a simple one-paragraph definition — “any act or omission …