Monday News Bucket

12 Comments

1. 

   Knoxville Progressive on July 17, 2006 at 9:15 am

   Record oil prices and a shrinking (ahem) problem from pesky glaciers has Greenland looking to development of its oil resources to financially allow it to sever remaining ties with Denmark.

   Scientists are getting their best understanding yet of the makeup of comets – not only of the materials inside these planetary building blocks, but also of the way they could have formed around the Sun in the solar system’s earliest years.

   Scientists have discovered that parasites are surprisingly important in food webs and their findings appear in a report published this week in the Early Edition of the on-line version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

   Volcano Roundup:  The low of lava from Mayon volcano has increased, a sign of greater unrest inside the volcano southeast of the Philippine capital, officials warned on Sunday. The increase in the flow of lava has been accompanied by a rise in the amount of sulfur dioxide emissions.  And Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano spewed ash, gases and molten rocks on Friday, forcing authorities to evacuate four nearby villages after the crater registered its most volatile activity since a 1999 eruption.  Meanwhile, French President Jacques Chirac warned on Sunday that mankind “is dancing on the edge of a volcano” by not taking climate change seriously, in a rebuke to fellow Group of Eight leaders.

   A Montana lake contaminated by mining waste and with a pH of 2.5 (so acidic almost nothing can grow in it) turns out to be home for exotic bacteria and fungi that produce compounds that are medically useful – drugs isolated so far include one for treating migraines, and another for treating ovarian cancer.

   Why does God hate Norway?  A large meteorite struck in northern Norway last month, landing with an impact an astronomer compared to the atomic bomb used at Hiroshima.  And this weekend, a second meteor impacted – fortunately it was smaller, and no injuries resulted, even though it landed in a backyard.

   A new study by University of Georgia researchers shows that the common practice of killing wild animals to control disease outbreaks can actually make matters worse.

   Dry cleaners operating in residential buildings will have to begin phasing out their use of a suspected cancer-causing chemical.  The EPA said Friday it was tightening rules for the nation’s 28,000 dry-cleaning businesses that use perchloroethylene, or perc. The solvent has a sharp, sweet odor that most people can easily smell — and affects the central nervous system.  Officials said the rule is an attempt to eliminate the preventable risk, though small, that people could get sick from smelling perc used at a dry cleaning business located in a building where people live.

   Tips of the day:  Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy is an on-line open environmental journal you might find interesting.  The table of contents of the current issue is available here.  And if you’re more a practical-solutions kind of person, you might enjoy the Renewable Energy Access website.

2. 

   Shalimar on July 17, 2006 at 10:29 am

   Bush has further embarrassed his country by using profanity into a mike that he didn’t realize was open.  He’s frustrated that everyone in the world won’t do what he tells them to do.

   What I find more amazing about the video of this incident is that Bush talks to other world leaders at dinner with his mouth full of food.  Our President has the manners of an 8-year old.  Why am I not surprised?

3. 

   ask on July 17, 2006 at 11:10 am

   Fury as Karzai plans return of Taliban’s religious police

   The Afghan government has alarmed human rights groups by approving a plan to reintroduce a Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the body which the Taliban used to enforce its extreme religious doctrine.

   The proposal, which came from the country’s Ulema council of clerics, has been passed by the cabinet of President Hamid Karzai and will now go before the Afghan parliament.

   “Our concern is that the Vice and Virtue Department doesn’t turn into an instrument for politically oppressing critical voices and vulnerable groups under the guise of protecting poorly defined virtues,” Sam Zia Zarifi of Human Rights Watch said. “This is specially in the case of women, because infringements on their rights tend to be justified by claims of morality.”

   • 

     Kamakhya on July 17, 2006 at 11:25 am

     I’m so glad Freedom is on the march.  not.

4. 

   ask on July 17, 2006 at 11:41 am

   900,000 march to demand recount in Mexican presidential race

   MEXICO CITY — Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Sunday to demand a manual recount in the disputed presidential election, led by a leftist candidate who says fraud cost him the presidency.

   As a precaution, the Roman Catholic Church cancelled Mass at the city’s downtown cathedral as supporters of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador began to overwhelm the central plaza to the sound of firecrackers and bands. Police officials in the pro-Lopez Obrador city government estimated the crowd at 900,000.

   Conservative candidate Felipe Calderon, of President Vicente Fox’s National Action Party, won by about 244,000 votes in the official count after the July 2 election.

5. 

   CabinGirl on July 17, 2006 at 11:48 am

   and reveals (yet again) that he has the emotional and intellectual maturity of a 4-year-old:  AP/Yahoo

   Bush also spoke to other leaders, and his unscripted comments ranged from the serious topic of escalating violence in the Mideast to light banter about his preference for Diet Coke and a gift he received from another leader.

   Blair, whose remarks were not as clearly heard, appeared to be pressing Bush about the importance of getting international peacekeepers into the region.

   Bush expresses amazement that it will take some leaders as many as eight hours to fly home — about the same time it will take Air Force One with Bush aboard to return to Washington.

   “You eight hours? Me, too. Russia’s a big country and you’re a big country,” Bush said, at one point telling a waiter he wanted Diet Coke. “Takes him eight hours to fly home. Russia’s big and so is China. Yeah Blair, what’re you doing? Are you leaving.”…

   …Bush also remarked that some speakers at the meeting talk too long.

   Yep.  The middle east is in chaos, and Bush is worried that world leaders might get together and talk too long.  Of course, with what he’s adding to the conversation, maybe he should’ve just stayed home.

6. 

   ask on July 17, 2006 at 12:05 pm

   Sudan: Cash-strapped African troops unable to stem violence in Darfur – aid agencies

   NAIROBI, 17 July (IRIN) – Violence is rampant in the strife-torn region of Darfur in western Sudan despite the signing of a peace agreement between the government and rebels in May, aid workers said on Monday. Insecurity was preventing humanitarian agencies from assisting civilians affected by the conflict, they added.

   The African Union’s (AU) 7,000-strong peacekeeping force deployed in Darfur to protect civilians lacked the resources to enable it to provide adequate security to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and aid agency staff in the region, they said.

   “The agreement has not brought security to civilians, or any improvements on the ground. The humanitarian need in Darfur remains as great as ever,” said Alun McDonald, Oxfam’s communications officer in Sudan. “Civilians in Darfur continue to face the daily threat of violence and are in desperate need of protection,” he said.

   The African Union’s Mission in Sudan (AMIS) urgently needed strengthening to enable it to provide better protection to the people of Darfur, McDonald said. “The insecurity is threatening the ability of aid organisations to reach the people in need. Oxfam is having to access many of our programmes by helicopter because the roads are simply too dangerous. Hijacking of humanitarian vehicles has become almost routine,” he said.

7. 

   Arcturus on July 17, 2006 at 12:11 pm

   Nations gather to protect sacred site

   STURGIS, S.D. – Hundreds of people, both American Indian and non-Indian supporters, gathered recently at the Bear Butte to seek guidance and pray for answers to help stop the growth of entertainment venues that cater to bikers by the thousands who drink alcohol in an atmosphere of loud music and louder drag pipes.

   Bear Butte is sacred as a location to pray and seek visions; a sacred mountain where more than 30 American Indian nations have considered a place to communicate with the Creator.

   On July 4, people from many nations gathered and set up tents, campers and tipis with the intent to stay at the base of the mountain until Aug 4. While there, the leaders expect to work out their strategy to stop the growth of biker bars, campgrounds, entertainment venues and in general bring a halt to the increased activity within the earshot and sight of those who pray on the Mato Paha, the Lakota word for Bear Butte. The Cheyenne call the mountain Noahvose.

   Nearly surrounding Bear Butte, located in the northern Black Hills of South Dakota – which are also considered sacred – are campgrounds that also provide beer and a place to party, concert venues and drag racing parks. Within the shadow of the mountain is The Full Throttle Saloon, which is billed as the world’s largest biker bar.

   To the north of Bear Butte, construction is now under way on what may become the world’s largest biker bar, The County Line. Owner Jay Allen, who also owns the Broken Spoke Saloon just to the west of the new campground, boasts that future development will create a 30,000-seat amphitheater for world-class entertainment.   more

8. 

   Arcturus on July 17, 2006 at 12:26 pm

   NA & British papers are reporting that 900,000 people demonstrated in Mexico City to have their votes counted. Guess ONE MILLION PEOPLE IN THE STREETS is just too much to print.

   Civil Resistance Looms in Mexico

   Mexico, Jul 17 (Prensa Latina) The beginning of civil resistance actions summoned by opposition candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, in reply to alleged electoral fraud, is centering attention in Mexico Monday.

   A so called People´s Committee will be in charge of defining when and how actions will be carried out, Lopez Obrador explained to the over one million citizens gathered at this city´s main square yesterday.

   Obrador called to prop up the camps that followers of his “Por el bien de todos” coalition have set up outside the 300 constituencies nationwide, where the packages of voting papers are kept.

   The first peaceful resistance will begin this week, he announced, adding that the third informative rally on the electoral process will be held July 30.       link

   Hail of Mexico Opposition Criticism

   Mexico, Jul 16 (Prensa Latina) The Mexican electoral authority is facing a new barrage of denunciations Sunday by the opposition “Por el bien de todos” coalition, this time for having allegedly opened packages of ballot papers.

   The Electoral Federal Institute (IFE) illegally authorized the opening of 40 percent of voting papers, thus corroborating electoral fraud, the presidential runner of the mentioned coalition, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, affirmed.

   Ricardo Monreal, member of Obrador´s electoral campaign team, recalled that, according to the IFE, the packages had been opened following the orders of the Electoral Court of the Federation´s Judicial Power (TEPJF) which, according to him, is absolutely false.

   According to Monreal, the electoral arbitrator has been extremely irresponsible, which is even more serious by involving the TEPJF.

   In the meantime, the ruling PAN (National Action Party), whose candidate Felipe Calderon is already defining the transition team, asked the TEPJF not to give in to what it called “blackmails and personal caprices” of Lopez Obrador.   link

9. 

   Arcturus on July 17, 2006 at 1:32 pm

   A collection of Orientalist imagery reflecting an American fantasy of the exotic and the erotic is about to debut as an on-line data base.

   The imagery has long been appropriated for use in American film posters, cigarette packs, pulp fiction and popular music: scantily clad harem girls, tyrannical despots and turbaned mystics have personified an imagined Middle East in the popular culture.   [snip]

   Objects included comic books from the 1930s, pulp fiction book covers with titles such as “Desert Madness” and “Spicy Adventures,” video games such as “The Prince of Persia,” vintage sheet music for songs including “The Sheik of Araby” and “Rebecca Came Back from Mecca,” photos of topless women on the covers of CDs, fierce warriors on the covers of DVDs, “Turkish” tobacco products, Egyptomania films, and various and sundry consumer items such as Palmolive beauty products, Ben Hur flour, Sheik condoms – and a couple of Shriner fezzes.

   The graphics and objects reflected the many images – some lurid, some diabolically savage, and others strikingly beautiful – that the mysterious East has provided for the imaginations of advertising artists and commercial and packagers, all to hawk the wares of popular culture.

   But they are all manifestations of the Orientalist image of the “mysterious East” that runs through American popular culture, notes Jonathan Friedlander, assistant director of the Center for Near Eastern Studies, with the distortions and negative stereotyping that continue to manifest their dangerous ramifications in American political posture today.

   “What is the appeal of this iconography in the United States? The answer is complex,” Friedlander told Al Jadid. “Back in the 1920s, the mysterious Middle East represented freedom from the rigid morality of the preceding era, and so it was a popular icon on sheet music for fox trots and waltzes.” Sheet music was a popular medium at the time. Americans bought new songs up with the same enthusiasm that today’s music fans snap up CDs.    [snip]

   “The Middle East has been a gold mine for industries and businesses that used the iconography to promote their services and products,” Friedlander said, “including liquor, coffee, tobacco, all popular vices in early 20th century America.”   [snip]

   “American Orientalism is undoubtedly our own creation and as such it deserves critical study leading to self reflection,” Friedlander said. With the co-option of the images of the East into so many areas of the popular culture, the impact has never been more chilling. “While academia has debunked Orientalism it is still a profoundly influential force, affecting consumer culture and American foreign policy alike.”  link reprinted from  al jadid

   • 

     Knoxville Progressive on July 17, 2006 at 3:35 pm

     How could they forget to include this icon of the American experience in the Middle East: this, or this, or this?

10. 

    Oui on July 17, 2006 at 5:50 pm

    .

    Hezbollah missile sea strikes: UAV or ground based?

    Reuters reports “A military source said a C802 radar-guided missile with a range of 60 miles (100 km) had been fired at the ship as it sat off the coast.” The C802 is also known as the “Noor,” according to NTI. The C802 is the Iranian version of the the Chinese Jing YJ-82, and “Following the 1991 Gulf War Iran imported the C-802 antiship cruise missile from China.” Wikipedia claims Iran purchased up to 60 C802 missiles. The C802 antiship missile can be launched from aircraft. In April of 2006, Iran claimed the the C802 (or Noor) can be fired from aircraft:

    “Today we have successfully tested a new air-to-sea-and-ground missile capable of being fired from planes and helicopters, which can evade anti-missile missiles,” war games spokesman Rear Admiral Mohammad Ebrahim Dehqani said. “The missile, which is labelled Noor, has a tremendous destructive ability and has an antenna in its warhead which gets activated near the target,” he added. Dehqani said like the other missiles, which have been test-fired during the manoeuvres, it was built by Iranians.

    Ying-Ji-802 :: Hit Probability 98%

    
    Yingji-82 (C-802), CSS-N-8 Saccade

    The Ying-Ji-802 land attack and anti-ship cruise missile, is an improved version of the C-801 which employs a small turbojet engine in place of the original solid rocket engine. The weight of the subsonic (0.9 Mach) Yingji-802 is reduced from 815 kilograms to 715 kilograms, but its range is increased from 42 kilometers to 120 kilometers. The 165 kg. (363 lb.) warhead is just as powerful as the earlier version. Since the missile has a small radar reflectivity and is only about five to seven meters above the sea surface when it attacks the target, and since its guidance equipment has strong anti-jamming capability, target ships have a very low success rate in intercepting the missile. The hit probability of the Yingji-802 is estimated to be as high as 98 percent. The Yingji-802 can be launched from airplanes, ships, submarines and land-based vehicles, and is considered along with the US “Harpoon” as among the best anti-ship missiles of the present-day world.

    "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

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