Month: October 2006

U.S. Supports Cessation of Destructive Fishing Practices

Conservation International – U.S. Supports Cessation of Destructive Fishing Practices
Oct. 4, 2006: Significant progress has been made in efforts to halt destructive fishing practices on the high seas, as the Bush administration announced October 3 the United States’ official support for their cessation. A moratorium is currently under consideration by the United Nations that will prohibit deep sea bottom trawling – the primary form of destructive fishing activity that is ravaging Earth’s rich and diverse marine ecosystems in the high seas.

The welcome shift in U.S. policy comes as the U.N. begins talks to negotiate protection for disappearing deep sea ecosystems. The talks will culminate in a general assembly vote between Nov. 17 and 22 on whether to implement an interim moratorium that will prohibit deep sea bottom trawling until effective high seas management and protection are in place.

Added pressure on the administration to strengthen its policy also came from Congress late last week when Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, introduced a Senate resolution supported by 21 of his peers stating that destructive fishing on the high seas should not be allowed.

Jalapeño-eating contest one hot time

Star-Telegram.com | 10/08/2006 | Jalapeño-eating contest one hot time
In the most impressive gastrointestinal display this side of Fear Factor, professional eater Rich “The Locust” LeFevre swallowed 247 peppers up to their stems in eight minutes to take the title. The 60-year-old retired Nevada accountant, who drives across the country entering eating contests, won $2,000. His wife accompanies him on his trips.

The pros knew a few tricks the amateurs didn’t. Erik “the Red” Denmark said he took Pepto Bismol beforehand to coat his stomach. All four pros took their own drinks — milk and juice — knowing that the water that was provided didn’t stand a chance against the acids and oils in the peppers.

Huang, meanwhile, went into the contest with a strategy he called “all heart, no talent.” He downed 53 jalapeños, although he was unable to talk about it for several minutes. He could manage only guttural groans.

When he regained the ability to form words, the first thing Huang said was, “I can’t feel my face.”

Pissed-off Jihadists

KnoxNews: Columnists
The jihadists seek to hijack predominately Muslim countries out of globalization, disconnecting them completely from “Westoxification.” President Bush, in response, laid a “big bang” on the Middle East by toppling its worst dictator in the hope that the subsequent tumult would trigger significant change, which it has – both good and bad.

In short, we endeavor to connect Islam to the globalizing world, while al-Qaida promises permanent civilizational apartheid.

Don’t pretend you don’t know which outcome brings lasting peace.

For that reason alone, simply toppling the much-hated Taliban wasn’t enough. Al-Qaida’s leadership is forced to hide in off-grid locations like the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, but its dream of totalitarian empire centers on the Middle East. By toppling Saddam, Bush brought this fight home where it belongs – the Persian Gulf.

If the U.S. had concentrated solely on isolated Afghanistan, both the central front, and the cause celebre would have simply been co-located in a state with no strategic significance to either side, playing into al-Qaida’s hands.

As for generating more jihadists thanks to Iraq, that’s a bit like walking into Franklin Roosevelt’s White House in 1944 and wondering out loud why there seem to be more Japanese and Germans fighting us than ever before, just because we had the temerity to fight back.

Applying police statistics (Why isn’t terrorism down if police activity is up?) to warfare can be deeply misguided. Continue reading “Pissed-off Jihadists”

Why NATO cannot win the Afghan war

Asia Times Online- Why NATO cannot win the Afghan war
M K Bhadrakumar served as a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service for more than 29 years, with postings including ambassador to Uzbekistan (1995-98) and to Turkey (1998-2001), so his regional sense of events is devestating, echoed by Sen. Bill Frist’s remarks this week to incorporate the Taliban…

When the US brought up Hamid Karzai’s name in Bonn, there was widespread opposition by Afghan groups. In the perceptions of the Afghan participants at the Bonn conference, Karzai simply didn’t have enough standing as a political leader in the Afghan scene, having sat in exile in the US for the past several years, and being at a serious disadvantage insofar as he did not belong to a major Pashtun tribe.

But the United States pressed ahead regardless with Karzai’s name, given his closeness to the US establishment and his total dependence on US support. The US brought immense pressure to bear on Afghan groups present at Bonn to accept Karzai’s leadership. It was with extreme reluctance that the Northern Alliance leader, president Burhanuddin Rabbani, finally handed over the levers of power to Karzai.

While abdicating from power in Kabul in early 2002, Rabbani said he hoped that it was the last time the proud Afghan people would be bullied by foreigners. Anyone familiar with Afghan ethos and character could foresee at that juncture that Karzai would find it next to impossible to consolidate his grip on power, let alone establish his authority over the entire country. Indeed, that is exactly what has happened over the past five years. Continue reading “Why NATO cannot win the Afghan war”

Iraqi version of Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.”

The Seattle Times: Iraqi comedy show pulls no punches
— The year is 2017, according to the opening credits of the fake news broadcast, and the last man alive in Iraq, whose name is Saaed, is sitting at a desk, working as a television news anchor. He sports an Afro, star-shaped sunglasses and a button-down shirt.

Saaed joyfully announces that the Americans are finally leaving Iraq. Referring to the U.S. secretary of defense, Saaed, sitting behind his news desk, says: “Rums bin Feld said the American forces are leaving on 1-1,” referring to Jan. 1.

He’s giddy, raising his arms in the air. Then he realizes he’s made a mistake. The soldiers are leaving one by one, not on 1-1. He computes in his head what leaving one by one means and announces that the soldiers will be gone in 694 years. He starts to cry; Iraqis watching the show howl. Click to enlarge picture.
The Americans are still here, the government is still bumbling and the anchor wants his viewers to drink their tea slowly so they don’t burn themselves. “You cannot go to the hospital during the curfew,” he warns. For Iraqis, the remark is outrageously funny, if only because it’s so close to being true.

After a summer of the worst violence since U.S. troops toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime, tens of thousands of Iraqis are finding solace and amusement in a new television show whose dark satirical humor makes it an Iraqi version of Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.”

Get a Human on the Phone!

gethuman list of Company phone numbers & how to get a human
If your Compnay isn’t in this database then, once you have a phone number, here are some tips to try to get through the computer to get to a live human:

  1. Interrupt. Press 0 (or 0# or #0 or 0* or *0) repeatedly, sometimes quickly. Unfortunately the same keystroke does not always work for each company. Many IVRs will connect to a human after a few “invalid entries”, although some IVRs will hangup. 🙁
  2. Talk. Say “get human” (or “agent” or “representative”) or raise your voice, or just mumble. 🙂 The IVR might connect you to a human after one of these key or unknown phrases.
  3. Just hold, pretending you have only an old rotary phone.
  4. Connect to account collections or sales or account cancellation; they always seem to answer quickly. First ask them for their name and rep number (so they know you are writing it down, and thus so they are more likely to help you.) Then ask them to transfer you to the department you need. Sometimes they will put you ahead of the queue, although sometimes they will send you to the end (and thus in those cases this tip is useless).
  5. Toll call. For credit cards, if the expected wait time is too long, hangup and try to call back on their non-toll-free number, as they often have shorter queues.
  6. Selecting the option for Spanish will sometimes get you a bilingual human more quickly than if you just waited for an English-only operator.

When you do finally find a human, ask them how to connect directly the next time (in case your call gets disconnnected etc),

Smoking No Longer Très Chic in France

Smoking No Longer Très Chic in France – New York Times
President Jacques Chirac, who at one time smoked up to three packs a day, declared a “war on tobacco” in 2003 and imposed steep tax increases on cigarettes. Today, nearly 80 percent of the French support the idea of a smoking ban in public places.

Still, about 12 million of the French — about 20 percent of the population — are smokers, according to official government figures, and more than 70,000 people die in France every year from smoking-related illnesses and secondhand smoke.

Smoking remains particularly prevalent and acceptable among young people. French public high schools routinely allow students to smoke during breaks.

Italy’s ban on smoking in public places last January was met with fierce public resistance, including a campaign for a national referendum to overturn it and the publication by newspapers of lists of smoker-friendly restaurants. One movie theater showed a Mexican film called “Nicotina” and offered free admission for customers who showed up with a pack of cigarettes.

Migrating birds take hundreds of powernaps

Migrating birds take hundreds of powernaps – LiveScience – MSNBC.com
To help make up for sleep lost during marathon night flights, migratory birds take hundreds of powernaps during the day, each lasting only a few seconds, a new study suggests.

They found that during autumn and spring, when the birds are normally migrating, they reverse their typical sleep patterns, staying awake at night and resting during day.

But instead of sleeping for long stretches at a time, the birds took several naps a day, each one lasting only 9 seconds on average.

The thrushes also mixed up their shut-eye sessions with two other forms of sleep. In one, called unilateral eye closure, or UEC, the birds rested one eye and one half of their brains while their other eye and brain hemisphere remained open and active, keeping them semi-alert to danger.

The birds also occasionally slipped into another state, one that any college student who has ever been stuck in a boring lecture can relate to. Called drowsiness, this state is characterized by a partial shutting of both eyes that still allows for some visual processing.

Making Water From Thin Air

Wired News: Making Water From Thin Air
A company that developed technology capable of creating water out of thin air nearly anywhere in the world is now under contract to nourish U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq.

The cost to transport water by C-17 cargo planes, then truck it to the troops, runs $30 a gallon. The cost, including the machines from Aqua Sciences, will be reduced to 30 cents a gallon, Roy said.

Several systems on the market can create water through condensation, but the process requires a high level of humidity.

Aqua Sciences’ machines only require 14 percent humidity, Roy said. “That’s why this technology is superior and why they are getting the contracts.”

Muslims are waging civil war against us, claims police union

Telegraph | News | Muslims are waging civil war against us, claims police union
Radical Muslims in France’s housing estates are waging an undeclared “intifada” against the police, with violent clashes injuring an average of 14 officers each day.

Nicolas Sarkozy
Interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy was warned of an ‘intifada’

As the interior ministry said that nearly 2,500 officers had been wounded this year, a police union declared that its members were “in a state of civil war” with Muslims in the most depressed “banlieue” estates which are heavily populated by unemployed youths of north African origin.

“We are in a state of civil war, orchestrated by radical Islamists. This is not a question of urban violence any more, it is an intifada, with stones and Molotov cocktails. You no longer see two or three youths confronting police, you see whole tower blocks emptying into the streets to set their ‘comrades’ free when they are arrested.”

He added: “We need armoured vehicles and water cannon. They are the only things that can disperse crowds of hundreds of people who are trying to kill police and burn their vehicles.”