Technical Difficulties

There haven't been any updates or new posts recently on my blogs, due to techical difficulties. Namely, I can't fully access the internet through my phone because the screen is messed up and I can't see what I'm doing. The reason I'm not using a computer is because I don't have one. My cell phone is my computer, and a crappy one at that too...

I do most of my blogging from my phone, only using a computer to do finishing touches to the posts, whenever I can. Thanks to Opera Mini and RSS feeds, I'm able to follow the news all the time, yet recently it's been difficult to do so as my phone is slowly but surely breathing it's last breaths.

Things will change soon, as I'm finally getting a new phone, the Nokia N95, sometime next week. Hopefully. Well, according to Nokia, it's not a cell phone. It's a multimedia computer. Which is just fine with me, because for me my phone is my computer. And this phone has it all.

So, my blogging will continue at the beginning of May. Stay tuned...

"Warning: Flying Causes Climate Change"

Health warning labels, much like those on cigarette packs in various countries around the world, may eventually be attached to advertisements for flights or holidays that include air travel, to remind passengers of the global warming crisis.

A leading British think-tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), suggested over the Easter holidays that such warnings would make people think twice about the impact their holiday has on the environment.

According to the IPPR, "the evidence that aviation damages the atmosphere is just as clear as the evidence that smoking kills...we know that smokers notice health warnings on cigarettes, and we have to tackle our addiction to flying in the same way."

True, smokers notice the warning labels, initially finding them annoying, then getting accustomed to them. They really have little effect on a smoker. Sure, it 'might' deter a few people from starting to smoke in the first place, but for people who have smoked for some time, they have little effect. (Some cigarette packs in Finland state "Smoking is addictive. Don't start", which is a bit too late for the majority of smokers who see the warning. In addition, some of the duty-free cigarette cartons on sale around Europe are contradicting. At a duty-free shop on a cruise ship from Finland to Sweden, I say two different makes of cigarettes, next to each other, one saying "Smoking Can Kill", while the other said "Smoking Kills".)

The warning labels on holiday ads will have a similar, yet profoundly lesser of an effect on flyers. With smoking, you have a choice of smoking or not smoking. With flying, there are instances when you have really have little choice.

Smoking is (usually) a personal choice, whereas flying is at times a necessity, or atleast an cheaper and easier alternative to expensive and slower means of travel, such as cars, buses and boats.

While it's well known that smoking has ill effects on a smoker's health, and health warning labels may be in the right place on cigarette packs, slapping a warning label on ads for holidays seems to be slight overkill.

If the only reason for these warnings is merely to raise public consciousness about the correlation between flying and global warning, a little sticker on a large poster of bikini-clad girls on a beach in Tahiti will not be noticed by most people.

It seems that this whole issue of warning labels on ads for holidays is just a continuation of the global warning awareness craze that seems to be gripping the western world right now. (Now we just need people to get with the program and actually start doing something about the issue, more than just banning incandescent light bulbs and plastic grocery bags...)

If this health-conscious and global warming-scared society really wants to get real on the health warning labels, why not slap those things on everything that actually is bad for humans and the environment. How's about these ideas?:

CARS: "Driving fast might cause you to wrap your car around a tree." (Placed on the inside of the front windshield.)

GUNS: "Guns don't kill people, people kill people. With guns. And bullets. So guns are bad."

KNIVES: "Caution: Inserting the sharp end in another human being might be fatal."

ALCOHOL: "Drinking alcohol may cause you do something stupidly fatal." (Actually, a law requiring health warning labels on all alcoholic beverages will come into effect in Finland by January 2008. Check out this blog post for more info on the issue)

RAZOR BLADES: "Shaving too close to the jugular is not suggested. Also, do not digest."

PLAYING CARDS: "Gambling May Damage Your Bank Account."

DONKEYS: "More people are killed annually by donkeys than die in airplane crashes."

The point here is that slapping a sticker/label on something detrimental to one's health is not always the best way to go about saving humanity. Are we just waiting for a warning ticket to show up plastered on the side of the 747 you were supposed to fly to Tahiti with? Slapping a sticker on harmful items doesn't save the world...

Source:

UK policy body wants health warnings on flights - Yahoo! News

Hurricane Katrina v.2.0 Could Be On It's Way This Summer

The U.S. Gulf Coast could be facing Katrina-esque Hurricanes this coming Hurricane Season, which lasts from June to November.

Although the 2006 season was distinctly milder than previously predicted, the coming 2007 season could threaten the Gulf with several high intensity storms.

Even a single high intensity storm hitting the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, which is still rebuilding after almost two years Katrina, could have devastating effects, reaching beyond the damage brought on by the 2005 storm season.

Although this year's predictions suggest fewer storms than during the active 2005 season, the forecast for the region will pack a punch. In other words, fewer storms but stronger in intensity.

British forecasting group Tropical Storm Risk predicted up to four "intense" hurricanes during the 2007 season.

Hurricane Katrina killed about 1,500 people along the Gulf Coast in 2005, displaced tens of thousands more and caused billions of dollars in damage.

The issue that could strike every American, as well as the rest of the world, is that if the U.S. Gulf Coast is hit again by severe storms, they could once again disrupt oil and natural gas operations along the Gulf, driving up energy prices for consumers.

U.S. gasoline prices reached a record high of $3.057 per gallon after Katrina.

Aside from the Gulf Coast, AccuWeather also predicted that the U.S. Northeast would likely be a target for strong storms for the next 10 years.

With several months left before the start of this year's hurricane season, it's about time the Bush Administration listens to the warnings and gets to work preparing for the coming hurricanes.

The aftermath of (as well as the preparation for) Hurricane Katrina showed the inefficiency of the Bush Administration and FEMA to deal with impending natural disasters.

Truth of the matter is, the American people are at a greater risk from the forces of nature than from anything terrorists can throw at the United States.

New Orleans and other affected places are still in shatters, the population still spread around the States, with little incentive from the Government to return home and start their lives over. If any of Hurricane Katrina's relatives decide to visit New Orleans this summer, and the Bush Administration hasn't learnt it's lessons, heads will roll. And it won't only be some pencil pushers at FEMA this time, but rather in the White House. Time will tell...

I'll leave you with a quote from Joe Bastardi, chief hurricane forecaster for AccuWeather.com:
"We are living in a time of climatic hardship. We're in a cycle where weather extremes are more the norm and not the exception."

Sources:
Strong hurricanes to hit U.S. Gulf in 07: AccuWeather - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070327/ts_nm/usa_weather_forecast_accuweather_dc

Fighting Global Warming, One Cow At A Time

Global warming is beginning to be in the news everyday, but rarely do people attach the blame to anyone else other than human causes. Now, the Germans are focusing on cows.

According to scientific estimates, cows are responsible for 4% of greenhouse gas emissions with the methane gas they produce.

Because of the threat to the environment, German scientists have invented a pill to cut down on cow burping.

Their plan consists of a fist-sized plant-based pill, combined with a special diet and strict feeding times.

So cows are going to be medicated and put on a strict diet. Good for them!

The German scientists behind this plan have stated that "our aim is to increase the wellbeing of the cow, to reduce the greenhouse gases produced and to increase agricultural production all at once... It is an effective way of fighting global warming."

I'd love to use a saying that had something to do with cows flying, but I guess scientists haven't gotten that far yet...

Sources:
Pill stops cow burps and helps save the planet Climate change Guardian Unlimited Environment
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2040615,00.html

Walter Reed Not The Only Place With Problems

Last month I wrote about news coming about squalid conditions and ill-treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. [ http://hellbroadcast.blogspot.com/2007/03/bush-administration-is-beginning-to.html ] In that post I mentioned that VA Secretary Jim Nicholson had ordered full report of conditions from all 1,400 VA health clinics and hospitals.

The reports are now in, and apparently the problem of squalid conditions is not exclusive to Walter Reed, according to the reports.

Associated Press detailed the problems found at many other locations, stating that the report found that 90 percent of the 1,100 problems cited were routine wear and tear, such as worn-out carpets, peeling paint, mice sightings, and dead bugs.

The other 10 percent of problems were serious in nature.

Here's a quick run-down of some of the other problems:

<*>Mold spreading in patient case areas, serious enough to require immediate action in eight cases;

<*>Roof leaks thought a facility in White City, Oregon, requiring them to "continuously repair via leaks upon occurrence, clean up any mold presence if any exists, spray or remove ceiling tiles";

<*>Also at White City, large colonies of bats residing outside the facility, occasionally finding their way into the building;

<*>Secondhand smoke from an outside smoking shelter sometimes seeped into the building in Oklahoma City;

<*>Deteriorating walls and hallways in patient areas in Little Rock, Arkansas;

<*>Numerous "environmental conditions" as well as roof leaks and mold in New York's Hudson Valley, with the private landlord repeatedly refusing to fix problems;

<*>Roof leaks and mold in North Chicago, Illinois;

<*>Roof leaks and mold in Indianapolis, Indiana;

<*>Roof leaks and mold in Puget Sound, Washington;

<*>Roof leaks and mold in Portland, Oregon;

<*>Roof leaks and mold in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

In some cases the staff at the affected facilities are either constantly patching up the problems, or moving to new facilities.

Veteran's associations state that these problems are to be corrected immediately and should not be shelved due to insufficient funding, or lack of interest from the national media.

The disclosures from Walter Reed lead to three high-level Pentagon officials stepping down.

A separate review of the Veteran's Affairs system is underway to determine the previously stated problems of dealing with disability claims, in an attempt to cut through the bureaucratic delays, confusing paper work and the long appeals process.

This whole thing seems to be merely a problem arising from too much bureaucracy in the system. It's doubtful that this issue will solve itself quickly, even as the number of injured soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan is rising and will continue to rise as the surge on Baghdad gains momentum.

Change in the system is slow. In the end, it's America's soldiers who will draw the short stick, yet again, if the problems aren't fixed soon, or if this issue gets stuck in the bureaucratic wishy-washy nature of government. A fraction of the money the United States spends daily fighting wars in far off lands could easily grease the machine and work miracles back in the States. It's ridiculous that so much money is being spent sending the soldiers into harms way, yet once they return from a tour in battle, they're practically on their own.

I refer you once again to a soldier inside Walter Reed: http://walterreed.blogspot.com

Sources:
AP: Mold, Leaky Roofs Beset VA Clinics - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070321/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/veterans_care

Victims Of Terrorism Hit The Road

New York City has found an inventive way to honor the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; by using their bones to fill potholes and pave city roads.

Court papers filed a few weeks ago stated that the city of New York hadn't done enough to search for remains at Ground Zero, denying victims a proper burial.

The lawsuit filed for proper burial states that the remains of about 40 percent of the victims were never recovered, and hundreds of bone fragments have been discovered in and around Ground Zero in the last six months.

Don't think it would be too difficult to find the remains of the victims, seeing as the crime scene was pretty well localized, but leave it to city bureaucracy to mess that up.

Construction employees at the Fresh Kills (love that name) landfill, where the rubble was taken to from Ground Zero, say that the process of sifting through the debris was rushed, and the debris (with a side dish of human bones) were subsequently moved onto tractors and trucks to use for road construction.

Some relatives of the 2,749 people who died in the attacks on the Twin Towers have opposed any effort to rebuild on Ground Zero, calling it "sacred ground" and that it would "disrespect those who perished there."

Sure, because a big gaping hole in the middle of Manhattan is the perfect memorial for people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, as they went about their lives.

Not to say that the world doesn't feel sorry for those who died there (I do, and I'm not an American), but wouldn't leaving Ground Zero as a heap of nothing be the best way to show those responsible for the attacks that they are winning.

One would think that moving on and showing them that they can't hurt America is the best way for the general population to go about supporting the War on Terrorism...

Leaving Ground Zero as it is today would send a message that the United States is permanently crippled by the attacks, possibly initiating more such attacks.

Instead of being the big tough guy at school who starts to cry once someone punches them in the face, America needs to be the the solid fortress that doesn't crumble as soon as the first crack appears in the wall.

Then again, maybe putting the bones of the victims of the attacks in to the city's roads maybe isn't the best way to go about honoring those who died...

Sources:
9/11 remains possibly used on roads: court papers - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070323/ts_nm/sept11_remains_dc

Terrorist School Bus Drivers

The FBI has issued an "informational bulletin" to state and local officials, warning them to watch out for terrorists trying to earn licences to drive school buses.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, "some school districts have reported an increased number of foreign nationals seeking school bus driver positions and a number of other unusual events."

"...a number of other unusual events."? That passage seems to indicate that foreign nationals seeking school bus licences in an "unusual event". In that phrase seems to lie an underlying assumption that whenever a foreign national seeks a job that brings them close to the American people, they are suspect in having evil deeds.

The FBI memo did suggest that "most attempts by foreign nationals in the United States to acquire school bus licences to drive them are legitimate." in addition, a FBI spokesman told FOXNews: "There is no plot. There is no threat. And parents and children can feel perfectly safe."

So, um, why the warning if there is "no threat"? Did the American people begin to seem like they felt safer, and the FBI just had to up the ante and give a bogus "warning"?

"Warning, your kids could be the next target of terrorists. We have no leads on the matter, and we're just making this up to give you a little scare. Don't worry, we're just incapable of making logical conclusions from random data. We just like to keep you on your toes at all times. Stay tuned for the next installment of Things To (Not) Worry About, courtesy of yours truly, the FBI. Now go back to your bomb shelters to wait for whatever we come up with next."

Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing went a bit further on the "threat" and suggested several other "threats" and how the American population should prepare for them. [link: http://www.boingboing.net/2007/03/19/fbi_terrorists_might.html ]It's quite an interesting read, not just for the entertainment, but it also gives a slightly frightening unspoken suggestion of how deeply the "terrorist scare" could scar the civil liberties and social framework of the United States. In the worst case scenario, of course.

Sources:
Boing Boing: FBI: terrorists might drive school-buses, but they probably won't
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/03/19/fbi_terrorists_might.html
Schneier on Security: Terrorist Bus Drivers
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/03/terrorist_bus_d.html
FOXNews.com - FBI Puts Local Officials on Notice About Extremists Trying to Sign Up to Be School Bus Drivers
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,259168,00.html