The Recession is Good for the Environment
It turns out that the recession is good for the environment, as long as Obama has his way. Under a new ten year plan, the president-elect plans to pour $150 billion into projects aimed at improving the energy-efficiency and weatherizing government buildings in order to save big on electricity. By extension, the plan will cut [...]
Fifa ‘to allow GB football team’
The BBC has suggested that FIFA, the international body of football (soccer, for those American readers), is close to granting Great Britain permission to play as Great Britain in the 2012 Olympics (to be hosted in the UK).
In the past, British teams have not been allowed to compete in the Olympics because under FIFA rules [...]
Guantanamo Bay
The Americans are getting closer to the closure of the often criticized Guantanamo Bay detention centre. Portugal has agreed to grant asylum to some of the former prisoners as the Americans seek places to relocate them, as many cannot return to their homes. Some of them were rebels in their former countries and to return them places [...]
Legislating Good Behaviour
The city of Preston (35 miles or so north of Manchester) on December 9, 2008 launched their “Respect our City” campaign aimed at preventing people from such anti-social behaviour as swearing, vomiting on the sidewalk, and peeing in alleys. The goal is to promote good citizenship by empowering the police to hand out fines of [...]
The eBay of Pigs
Remember those junky flea markets that used to pop up in small towns on Saturdays, selling everything from sports cards to handmade clothes? There was that toothless old lady with a table of home-made treats; don’t worry, there isn’t any danger of food poisoning here. Remember the guy with the van of electronics? If he [...]
Rioting in Greece: Popular will or hooliganism?
The recent riots in Greece have made me wonder about expressions of popular will. In a democracy, the expression of popular will is seen as the central component of the entire system. Governments, constitutional techicalities aside, are expected to rule for the people at their behest. In Greece, the popular will of the people seem [...]
Gas Prices Linked to Temperature
Once again the cold air snaps at our windows; I can’t see the sunlight for all the frost. I wait until now to fill up my furnace’s oil tank because I know that despite all of the hype, despite the mythical speculative buyers, and despite my own sense, fuel costs go down as the temperature [...]
Somali Pirates
Somali pirates have been in the news alot recent, and it seems like the Danish have stepped in to do something about it. Danish special forces captured a Somali pirate vessel and sunk it, in response to the more frequent attacks on ships in the region.
Somalia has been a dangerous region for a long time [...]
Why China Can’t Meet Expectations
The Kyoto protocol is coming to the end of its life in 2012 and the world has come far behind in meeting its ambitious emission targets. Not unexpectedly, the United States and China are the worst offenders on record ignoring the fact that they are both large landmasses with huge populations. China got by an [...]
Latvia’s economic boom turns sour
It seems that Latvia is having a tough time. The former Soviet country had been leading European countries in its growth the last few years, but has been badly hit by the economic fears and now has a rapidly shrinking GDP. Apparently, the government refuses to float the Latvians currency but instead pegs [...]
