Clipmarks | TripodGirl's clips

Honor Killing in Canada Leads to 1st Degree Murder Conviction (May 09)

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:03:49 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl
clipper's remarks: So distressing.

the struggle between education and ignorance,"

Hasibullah Sadiqi was angered by the fact his sister had decided to get engaged to Mangal without seeking the permission of her father, from who she was estranged.

Hasibullah Sadiqi, 23, said nothing after a jury of seven men and five women found him guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in the Sept. 19, 2006 gun slayings of his sister, Khatera Sadiqi, 20, and her fiance, Feroz Mangal, 23.

Khatera's mother, Nasima Fayaz

Our family appeals to anyone who may be caught up in such a situation as this. Think. Think hard and think again. The taking of another person's life is an act of utter finality. No power on earth can reopen the door just closed."

Tags: honor killing, traditional views, violence, feminism

Medical Marijuana in Canada Stymied by Unconstitutional Regs (May 09)

Sat, 30 May 2009 03:02:26 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl

Clip Source: www.canada.com

"Courts have found the government's medicinal marijuana regulations unconstitutional in five cases over the past five years

Each government-approved private grower has been limited in the number of plants they can grow as well as being limited to supplying the needs of no more than one approved user.

in February, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg concluded the regulations were unconstitutional and gave Ottawa one year to fix them

Tags: medical marijuana, illicit drugs, marijuana, canada

Drug Policies as Unrealistic as Sexual Abstinence Policies (May 09)

Fri, 29 May 2009 20:35:16 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl
clipper's remarks: The pressure for a shift in thinking appears to building.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Marijuana and cocaine for personal use should be decriminalised because the "war on drugs" has been a disaster, according to some of Latin America's most powerful politicians and writers.

The current system of prohibition encouraged corruption among police officers, politicians and even judges. "It poisons the whole system, it undermines democracy," Cardoso said.

ending the war on drugs would be not be a signal that drugs were acceptable but a recognition that current policies had failed.

The previous UN drugs policy that aimed to eliminate all drug use by this year was ill-conceived, he said. "You can never stop drugs use," he said, likening it to some of the failed policies in the past over HIV/Aids. "You can't have zero drugs any more than you can have a zero sex policy but you can have a safe sex policy."

Tags: illicit drugs, prohibition

Facebook Reunites Mother & Son After 25 Years (May 09)

Fri, 29 May 2009 20:26:35 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A mother who said her son was kidnapped by his Hungarian father more than a quarter of a century ago was reunited with him after he was located on Facebook.

Paros, 30, who has three children of his own, had been using the website to try and find his English family following the death of his father four years ago.

Tags: facebook, social networking

Russia to Outlaw Equating Stalin and Hitler (May 09)

Thu, 28 May 2009 16:09:01 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl
clipper's remarks: The more things change, the more they stay the same...

Clip Source: www.economist.com

The deep divide between Russia and its western neighbours is about history.

A draft law in the Duma would criminalise equating Stalin and Hitler, or denying that the Red Army “liberated” eastern Europe from fascism. Whether out of cynicism or nostalgia, Russia’s rulers have resurrected the Soviet view of history, itself a product of the Stalin era. For the countries of central and eastern Europe, this is not just obnoxious, but threatening.

no version of history is final and nothing should be taboo.

It is easy to paint the past in simple brushstrokes of evil black and brilliant white. But adding carefully chosen shades of grey creates a more informative picture.

Sadly, Russia is not looking for such nuances. Indeed, it is demanding that other countries abandon complexity and fit their history into the Soviet straitjacket.

Tags: russia, stalin, hitler, soviet era, history

Another Reason to be Wary of Global Warming Computer Models (May 09)

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:19:14 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl
clipper's remarks: The carbon cycle is extremely complex. The computer models that predict future climate disaster currently have too little info to be trusted.

Clip Source: www.economist.com

discovery throws into question the received wisdom about one important aspect of climate change, namely how much carbon from the atmosphere ends up at the bottom of the sea.

when they analysed thaliacean tissues they found that the creatures were one-third carbon by weight.

Because they gather by the billion in feeding swarms around the world (they eat single-celled algae), the amount of carbon thaliaceans are taking to the bottom of the sea is by no means trivial,

the lack of mixing between deep and shallow water in the ocean means that it is likely to stay down there for a long time—something that will have to be added to computer models of how the climate works.

The carbon cycle has thus acquired another epicycle, and become even more complicated to understand than it was.

Tags: global warming, climate change, carbon cycle

Fight Heat Waves with White Paint (Nov 07)

Tue, 26 May 2009 23:15:51 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Most of the world's urban areas have already experienced far more dramatic temperature hikes over the past few decades than the 2.6C increase expected from global warming over the next hundred years.

Beijing is roughly 10C hotter than the nearby countryside in the daytime and 5.5C warmer at night.

Despite dramatic increases over the past 50 or 100 years, these cities have not come tumbling down.

Even as temperatures have risen, heat-related deaths have decreased, owing to improved health care, access to medical facilities, and air-conditioning.

one of the best temperature-reducing approaches is very simple:

paint things white. Cities have a lot of black asphalt and dark, heat-absorbing structures. By increasing reflection and shade, a great deal of heat build-up can be avoided. Paint most of a city and you could lower the temperature by 10C.

Tags: global warming, climate change, heat waves

Ethanol Reduces Fuel Efficiency & Damages Motors (May 09)

Tue, 26 May 2009 15:41:56 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl
clipper's remarks: original title: The Great Ethanol Scam"

Clip Source: www.businessweek.com

Not only is ethanol proving to be a dud as a fuel substitute but there is increasing evidence that it is destroying engines in large numbers

For the fourth time in our history the ethanol industry has come undone and is quickly failing nationally

using ethanol actually creates more smog than using regular gas, and the EPA's own attorneys had to admit that fact in front of the justices presiding over the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in 1995

fuels laced with ethanol reduce the vehicle's fuel efficiency, and the E85 blend drops gas mileage between 30% and 40%,

Clip Source: www.businessweek.com

In layman's terms, ethanol causes pinpoint leaks in the fuel system; when leaking fuel catches your engine on fire,

Though the media is ignoring it, one can easily find many stories on BMW (BMWG.DE) blogs relating similar problems with fuel systems damaged by the use of ethanol.

Tags: biofules, ethanol

Biofuels Bad for the Environment (Feb 08)

Sun, 24 May 2009 18:36:37 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl
clipper's remarks: The last line is especially noteworthy: we know less than we think we do about these matters.

We therefore risk unintended consequences that could make things worse rather than better.

Clip Source: freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com

two newly-released studies reported that the net environmental effect of using biofuels may be even more harmful than burning the gasoline they were created to replace.

The first study

found that replacing fossil fuels with corn-based ethanol could actually double greenhouse gas emissions for the next thirty years.

The second study,

found that by switching to biofuels, we could essentially be worsening climate change for the next 93 years

So in a matter of days, biofuels go from a celebrated fossil fuels alternative to a rainforest-killing disaster, with scientists already calling for government reform on biofuel policies. If anything, this provides a window into how little we actually know about this issue, and the wide lengths left to go in reaching a viable solution.

Tags: global warming, climate change, biofuels

Iran Blocks Facebook Ahead of Election (May 09)

Sun, 24 May 2009 18:16:50 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Tehran blocks access to Facebook

Iran has blocked access to social networking site Facebook ahead of June's presidential elections, Iran's Ilna news agency and web users say.

the move is aimed at stopping supporters of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi from using the site for his campaign.

Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister, is seen as one of the leading challengers to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 12 June elections.

Tags: iran, censorship, politics, facebook

6th Grader Forbidden To Talk About Gay Activist Harvey Milk at School (May 09)

Sun, 24 May 2009 17:31:28 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl
clipper's remarks: After watching Milk, the Oscar-winning film, student wanted to do a class project.

Clip Source: www.advocate.com

A Ramona, Calif., sixth-grader was forbidden to give a presentation on Harvey Milk to her class

Natalie Jones said that she was inspired to learn more about Milk after watching the Oscar-winning film about his career in politics and activism,

The day before her planned presentation at Mt. Woodson Elementary School she was called into the principal's office. It was there that Jones was told she could not talk about Milk because it violated the school district's strict policy on "family life and sex education."

The school's policy stresses that parents will be notified if their children are being exposed to lessons about "human reproductive organs and their functions, processes, or sexually transmitted diseases" as well as "family life, human sexuality, AIDS, or sexually transmitted diseases."

"Schools that act as if any mention of the existence of gay people is something too controversial or 'sensitive' to discuss are doing a disservice to their students,"

Tags: education, gay rights, sex education

Safe Drinking Water Still a Dream for 2/3rds of the World (May 09)

Sat, 23 May 2009 18:43:30 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl
clipper's remarks: But tons of money is being thrown at reducing carbon emissions - even though their harmful effects are vigorously disputed & more long term.

Clip Source: www.miller-mccune.com

a new United Nations report has concluded it is still "business as usual" for 5 billion people — about two-thirds of the world population — who do not have access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation or enough food to eat.

the funds needed for water resources are miniscule compared to the funds already pledged and obtained to reduce carbon emissions and deal with the global financial crisis.

Most of the sewage in developing countries is discharged without treatment, and an estimated 5,000 children die every day from diarrhea, a disease that often can be prevented by washing one's hands with soap.

Investing in Venezuela - a Really Bad Idea (May 09)

Sat, 23 May 2009 15:28:39 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl
clipper's remarks: A country transitions from democracy to tyranny before our eyes.

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

Almost every sector in Venezuela is now under the state's expanding embrace, including power, telecommunications, and agro-industrial companies. The government also seized rice mills and pasta factories from U.S. food giant Cargill Inc.

Venezuela said it is also considering seizing the local operations of U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. for a period of time, in retaliation to the company's decision to close a plant located in the city of Valencia.

The oil industry, which had seen some of its largest projects taken over by the government, is also reeling after Mr. Chávez ordered the nationalization of service companies, including Tulsa-based Williams Cos., earlier this month.

Tags: chavez, venezuela

50 Million Preventable Malaria Deaths (May 09)

Sat, 23 May 2009 15:21:57 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl
clipper's remarks: ...but who's counting? And what did we learn?

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

"We must take a position based on the science and the data," said WHO's malaria chief, Arata Kochi, in 2006. "One of the best tools we have against malaria is indoor residual spraying. Of the dozen or so insecticides WHO has approved as safe for house spraying, the most effective is DDT."

In 2006, after 25 years and 50 million preventable deaths, the World Health Organization reversed course and endorsed widespread use of the insecticide DDT to combat malaria.

Earlier this month, the U.N. agency quietly reverted to promoting less effective methods for attacking the disease.

WHO's about-face has nothing to do with science or health and everything to do with bending to the will of well-placed environmentalists," says Roger Bate of Africa Fighting Malaria.

WHO is not saying that DDT shouldn't be used. But by revoking its stamp of approval, it sends a clear message to donors and afflicted countries that it prefers more politically correct interventions, even if they don't work as well.

Tags: united nations, ddt, africa, malaria

Blogger Says Media Misreported GPS Story (May 09)

Fri, 22 May 2009 21:03:13 GMT

clipped by: TripodGirl
clipper's remarks: "We need smarter, better-informed, & less gullible reporters." Amen to that.

Clip Source: www.cringely.com

The Government Accountability Office, a Federal watchdog agency, reported on May 7th that the Global Positioning System of satellites used for navigation

is in danger of becoming unusable because satellites are not being replaced quickly enough by the U.S. Air Force.

Only it isn’t true.

Right now on Google News you can find more than 400 stories all saying the same thing with varying degrees of alarm.

The chances of the GPS system going down are very remote — FAR lower than the 20 percent suggested by the GAO.

So what’s going on here? Why is this even a story?

Where is a professional and questioning press? It looks to me like 400+ media outlets rewrote the GAO press release and left it at that, giving-in to the fear-mongering that has become the way government policy is promoted these days.

We need smarter, better-informed, and less gullible reporters. THAT’s the story.

Tags: media