Culture

Officials Praise Cabbie's Plan for China's Water

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Chinese officials say a Beijing cab driver’s proposal on how to increase natural rainfall in north China is on the right track. Environmental officials solicited public proposals on what went wrong with China’s once-abundant water supply. Liu Zhenxiang’s theory, which Chinadialogue.net says is borne out by science, is that a lack of groundwater means not enough water evaporates to bring rain. China’s reservoirs are a recipe for disaster, he argues, because they trap water rather than letting it flow naturally in rivers. Not only have residents over-exploited their groundwater, Liu said, but planners have been controlling it with destructive artificial river canals and wetlands have been lost to development.

Culture

Pentagon Delayed Bomb-Proof Cars

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Roadside bombs are the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops in Iraq, but the No. 1 security solution — obtaining a fleet of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, or MRAPs, to protect against such explosives — was pushed aside by Pentagon officials until early this year, reports USA Today. The Marines requested the first 27 MRAPs in December 2003, followed by commanders and the Pentagon’s own staff. But military brass repeatedly shelved the appeals for the larger and heavier vehicles, preferring to add armor to Humvees at a lesser cost.

Culture

Iraqi Politicians Fear U.S. Pullout

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While Congress debates (or refuses to debate) a withdrawal timeline for Iraq, most Sunni and Shia Arab parties in the Iraqi parliament are getting nervous at the prospect of losing the protective presence of U.S. troops. A Sunni-led group called the Iraqi Accord Front has reversed its earlier position, which was for an immediate U.S. withdrawal. Leaving now, the group says, would shift power to “outlaws” and send Iraq “back to the middle ages.” [The Associated Press reported today that the “Accordance Front” has since announced its withdrawal from the Iraqi government over failure to disband militias and other security measures.]
Only parliament members allied with Muqtada al-Sadr still advocate for an immediate pull-out, which some analysts attribute to the fact that Sadr’s allies have enough power to overwhelm the weak Iraqi Army and take over. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki seems to disagree with officials in parliament, saying last month that U.S. troops could leave “any time.”

Featured

Green Hopes Pale as Energy Appetites Grow

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As humanity’s energy needs only grow, world powers are plumbing the depths of the Arctic Ocean for fossil fuels and making plans to give countless acres of land over to “green” power production — even as the citizens of energy-rich developing nations rely on firewood and struggle with the labor abuses of emerging biofuel markets. Russia sent a submarine carrying two legislators 14,000 feet below the Arctic ice to plant a flag on an underwater ridge they say connects the mainland to vast fossil fuel reserves there. The move, which according to the BBC anticipates greater future access to the Arctic seascape thanks to global warming and melting ice, is opposed by the United States and others. Concern for climate change caused by fossil fuels is driving a boom in renewable and “green” energy projects around the world. This includes wind farms and biomass, which are touted as free of carbon emissions blamed for rising temperatures.

Culture

Mommy, I Got the Safe-Sex Merit Badge!

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The U.K.-based Girl Guides are raising a few eyebrows, and acknowledging the realities of modern life, by initiating a new program of sex education, debt management, and such basics of today’s home life as “flat-pack” furniture assembly. The decision follows a survey of Girl Guides in the United Kingdom to determine the priorities of a century-old organization that once caused a scandal by encouraging young women to go camping and join sports teams.

Source:
“Guides keen to be prepared — for safe sex and living with debt”
The Times (U.K.), July 25, 2007

Culture

Copyright Expires on British Invasion

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The United Kingdom has denied efforts by Paul McCartney and other figures from music history to extend the copyright from 50 to 70 years on their early hits. This includes the Beatles classic “Please Please Me,” among others. In contrast, the estates of U.K. novelists enjoy copyright protection for 70 years beyond the author’s death. In the United States, performers retain copyright on their work for 95 years past the original release of a recording. Source:
“U.K. won’t extend copyright on rockers’ old hits”
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, July 24, 2007

Culture

A Farewell to Arms

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Gun sales and stockpiles may be booming worldwide, but in Colombia an unusual ceremony saw the destruction of 13,778 handguns, machine guns, rifles and mortars. The weapons were melted down as part of International Gun Destruction Day, and will be used to make school chairs and a memorial for victims of gun violence there. According to Inter Press Service, Colombia has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, and 70 percent of those murders were committed with mostly illegal firearms in 2005. Most of the guns destroyed were taken from gangsters and militias, officials said — while the rest were legally owned, and turned in voluntarily by their owners. In addition to Colombia, International Gun Destruction Day was also observed by Ukraine, Sri Lanka and Albania.

Culture

Democratic Congress: A High Pork Diet

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A report from the Center for Investigative Reporting exposes the hypocrisy of Democratic claims that the $463.5-billion spending bill they passed in February was “earmark-free,” or free of any specific pork-barrel project money for their home states. But within days of the bill passing, Democrats deluged federal agencies to fund their pet projects directly, according to the report. In fact, documents show that agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Commerce received 122 spending requests from 52 senators and 205 representatives in January through April — exactly when Democrats were reaping the publicity benefits of their “earmark-free” appropriations policy. Congressmen say these requests differ from earmarks because agencies can “just say no,” but experts say the agencies, already dependent on Congress to fund their budgets, are likely to feel pressure to accede to them. Source:
“Lawmakers try to save their earmarks”
Los Angeles Times, July 10, 2007

Featured

Abu Ghraib: The Tip of the Iceberg?

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An exhaustive series of interviews with 50 Iraq war veterans by two reporters with the liberal weekly The Nation reveals that attacks on innocent civilians are much more common than the U.S. media suggests. According to the accounts of these soldiers, who served all over Iraq between 2003 and 2005, Abu Ghraib was the tip of the iceberg. They tell stories of living in constant fear of IEDs, and devolving view of Iraqi civilians who are increasingly treated as “less human than us.” The result has been indiscriminate killings that are never investigated — and justified by planting weapons on unarmed corpses — torture, debasement, and worse. Veterans described opening fire on Iraqi civilians every time an IED goes off, running over Iraqi children who didn’t get out of the way of their convoys fast enough.

Featured

Bottled Water Revolt Gathers Steam

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Green-minded cities are working to encourage residents to trade in their bottled water for tap water, which is often the same thing (most bottled water is purified tap water). The City Council of Ann Arbor, Michigan, passed a resolution banning the use of bottled water at any city-affiliated event, noting that local tap water has received awards for quality. Ann Arbor officials say that in general, few plastic bottles are ever recycled, and they take 450 years to break down in a landfill. Michigan House Democrats, worried that water bottlers are staging a run on already-depleted Great Lakes aquifers, also recently passed a series of new environmental regulations. In Britain, the Green Party wants people to think twice before ordering bottled water at a restaurant, even if it makes them look cheap.