Tuesday, March 10

An Energy and Carbon Monetary Unit

"How much stranger that for money we’ve chosen an unmeasurable paper standard.  We measure anything and everything.  People have even tried to figure out if a human soul has weight, but for money, of all things, we’d rather pretend?  The one thing that we think we don’t need to measure is our savings versus our consumption--our stored capacity to use resources--our future on earth?"  Column by Les Lafave. 

The Unending Occupation of Iraq

Ashley Smith on the surge and “withdrawal.”

Pentagon's Nuclear Weapons Theory Bombs

Eric Margolis on Iran ’s nuclear weapon capability.

How to Stop the Drug Wars

“The United States alone spends some $40 billion each year on trying to eliminate the supply of drugs. It arrests 1.5m of its citizens each year for drug offences, locking up half a million of them; tougher drug laws are the main reason why one in five black American men spend some time behind bars. In the developing world blood is being shed at an astonishing rate. In Mexico more than 800 policemen and soldiers have been killed since December 2006 (and the annual overall death toll is running at over 6,000).”

Antiwar Radio: Noam Chomsky

Chomsky interviewed on the US empire and how the financial crisis might affect its power.

PA Liquor Board Wants Clerks to Be Bubbly, Polite

Let Those Banks Fail!

“Few things give a worse name to the free-enterprise system than offloading bank losses onto taxpayers. The way to solve this crisis is to let ‘zombie’ banks proceed to their beyond, allowing those banks that need restructuring to start doing just that while those in a position to fill the space left by failed institutions can jump in quickly.”

Movie Review: Consuming Kids - The Commercialization of Childhood

Bile reviews a documentary on advertising aimed at children.  The trailer is included on the page.

Drug Amnesty Bins Left Empty

“The bins were located at the entrance of the Rock-It festival in Joondalup, where people could dispose of drugs without being charged.”

U.S. Finishes a 'Strong Second' in Iraq War

Satire.

Americans Losing Their Religion?

“The survey substantiated several general trends already identified by sociologists: the slipping importance of denomination in America , the growing number of people who say they have 'no' religion and the increase in religious minorities including Muslims, Mormons and such movements as Wicca and paganism.”

Zoo Chimp Shows People Aren't the Only Planners

“According to a report in the journal Current Biology, the 31-year-old alpha male started building his weapons cache in the morning before the zoo opened, collecting rocks and knocking out disks from concrete boulders inside his enclosure. He waited until around midday before he unleashed a ‘hailstorm’ of rocks against visitors, the study said.”

Bionic Eye Gives Blind Man Sight

“Ron, who has not revealed his surname, told the BBC: ‘For 30 years I've seen absolutely nothing at all, it's all been black, but now light is coming through. Suddenly to be able to see light again is truly wonderful.’”

Do Optimists Live Longer?

Dutch Angle

A photo blog.