Driving v. Starvation

This is an interesting dilemma; given that biofuels reduce our reliance on traditional fuel but at the same time spurs hunger worldwide by inflating the cost of food, what will we decide is more important to address? (Perhaps the answer is both.)

It reminds me of a Walrus feature about how our obsession with outlawing trans fats means that we're killing elephants in other parts of the world...or something like that. Wookiee'll know. (update 01.05.08 - here is the Walrus article I referred to; we are killing wild elephants in Borneo.)

Anyway, the part of the article that I need to comment on is this:

"Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association, said: "World agriculture can both feed and fuel the globe.""

Obviously this guy is motivated by his job to say this, so I have to ask; when did we have enough agriculture to "feed and fuel the globe"? For as long as I can remember there have been pleas for help to feed impoverished people around the world. Hasn't Hartwig ever seen those television ads showing the emaciated families covered in flies? This is not a new problem and to say that today, with less grain, corn, or soybeans available than a few years ago that there is plenty to go around? It's just not credible, and I can't let it pass.

Year 3

Today is the third anniversary of my first post and much has evolved since then.


Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis
(All things change, and we change with them)

-Alexander Pope

Satire v. Boobies

On a Venezuelan TV channel, the 11 a.m. time slot used to belong to The Simpsons. But they have decided that the show is inappropriate for children. So what will they replace it with? Baywatch Hawaii. Of course.

"The regulatory agency didn't say which elements of the program were deemed offensive, but said showing the animated cartoon series at that hour could violate national regulations prohibiting "messages that go against the whole education of boys, girls and adolescents.""

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure that given the choice between a show that focusses primarily on social commentary and another about running on beaches in bathing suits, that it's the latter that would "go against the whole education of boys, girls and adolescents." Besides, The Simpsons makes a mockery of America, how can we not promote that around the globe?

Maybe that's just me.

Epic Paper Airplane Flight

I've been out of touch lately; been travelling for work, prepping for interviews, getting slammed with workload volume at the office, catching yet another feverish cold, etc. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and the news bored me today: more of the same drama from China/Tibet, Iran, Mugabe, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

So, enjoy a video of serenity instead! (I was having issues with this earlier, so if the embedded vid doesn't work, the link is in the next paragraph.)

Somewhere in NYC, a paper plane soars beautifully against a backdrop of city and Brooklyn Bridge before landing gently on the street.