Egypt, Revisited

Its been more than 6 months since the uprising and protests first started in Egypt and it seems like little progress has been made.  In the aftermath of the revolution, there have been some tumultuous times as is expected whenever a country radically changes direction, but when will it end?  In the late spring, there were some clashes between Muslims and Coptic Christians and just over the last few days, there was some heated interactions between the general public and the police.  The root cause of the latest clash is debatable with each group claiming a different cause.  It seems that in general, the public is frustrated that nothing is happening.  Everything has been pretty much simmering since Mubarak was ousted and seemingly little progress has been made in formulating a new government for the people.  From the public's point of view, it is the military that is now the obstacle.  In the wake of Mubarak, the military stepped in to run the country and control things, but months later, the public is ready to move forward when the military is apparently ready to stay put.  Emergency law is still in place and while there is much more freedom to be had, jobs and money are still scarce and the economy is severely stagnating.  So how does a country that has been stifled for 30 years re-create itself?  Not easily. 

Many of the underlying problems still abound; corruption for one is still present, and there is still great distrust simmering in the shadows.  After 30 years of dealing with an overtly controlling government, old habits die hard and it will still take some time to move forward and institute reforms and meaningful agendas to lift the country out of its current doldrums.  The first move in my mind that needs to be made is to remove the military from its current position of running the government and in essence the country.  The people will not be satisfied until they have a civilian in power with the military there only to offer security against foreign threats.  In order to get a civilian into power however, there needs to be greater communication amongst all to formulate a plan to institute elections and create a common list of goals that will be recognized by the newly elected official.  Currently it seems as if the list of grievances that needs to be addressed is staggering and is one of the biggest obstacles to moving forward.  What needs to happen is to whittle down that list to the underlying issues and start with those realizing that in conquering the biggest problems, the little ones will be taken care of along the way.  So what are the biggest issues?   From what I can garner from the media and reports, the biggest issues are unemployment, corruption, the decimated economy, and the current vacuum of power that is filled by the military. 

So how should these concerns be addressed?  Well, in my mind, the logical thing to do would be to set a date for elections and come up with candidates that the public can vote on.  That date should be set for 2-3 months down the road so that the country doesn't sink farther into despair.   Whoever is elected should have an initial limit of time that they can be in power, I would say 2 years is best to begin with.  With a 2 year limit, it gives the public security in knowing that if they do not like how things are going, they can elect someone different sooner rather than later.  After the initial 2 year limit, I would raise it to four or whatever the people deem is responsible and necessary.   Once that person steps into office, the first and most important issue that needs to be addressed is the corruption that is still rampant.  Without addressing corruption, any effort to boost the economy and thus job growth will be in vain.  I personally do not know what steps should be taken to address the corruption, I only know that if things are going to improve, it is a major obstacle that needs to be removed somehow.  Finally, after Egypt has a civilian in power and corruption under control, work can start to happen on re-invigorating the economy and formulating an official plan for the future. 

Any transition in power, especially at the country level, is going to be hard and take time.   It will take courage and the effort of everyone to change mindsets and adapt to a new way of life.  The 30 year stranglehold on Egyptian society is over, but the psychological remnants remain and will for some time.  You can't just take 30 years of life and flip it like a dime.  I am confident that the people of Egypt will formulate a plan to move forward and see it through.   All that they need to realize is that they need to do it themselves.  For 30 years, they were told what to do and how to do it, now it is time for them to step out on their own and do it for themselves, a very hard thing to do when everything used to be done for you.  If you look at the timeline, though, its only been 6 months, albeit a long 6 months, but in the overall scheme of things it is a drop in the bucket.  For Egyptians, it is time to get down to work and step into the public arena and work for what they want to see happen. 

Persistence Pays Off

Have you ever started a project only to get half way through and give up on it?  Or have you ever dreamed of changing careers, researched everything, and then decided not to?  We all have dreams of things we want to do, ideas for inventions, new careers that might make us happier or fulfill us more, but how many of us actually get up, make a change, or change directions to bring our dreams to reality?  There is a little article I found this morning that proves that if we follow our dreams and persistently strive to fulfill them, we will eventually be rewarded.   The article is about an 84 year old man who worked as a paper hanger into his 70's and loved to tinker with things in his basement.  He was always working to bring one of his ideas to life, creating a new gadget, game, or tool that could make life easier or more fun.  He was an inventor, yet with over 80 inventions under his belt, none had made it big time till recently when his idea caught the attention of a small company.  His invention that made it, Dabble, is a word game that is simple, catchy, and fun to play.   It wasn't that his other ideas weren't good enough, it was a matter of getting his foot in the door to get a company to recognize his efforts and look at his ideas.   But in the end, his persistence paid off because now his word game is being sold across the country and the company that is marketing his idea is also going to be creating a Dabble app for smart phones. 

What would have happened if this man, George Weiss, had stopped tinkering when he turned 80?  What if he had just gotten frustrated that none of his other inventions made the big time and shut down his basement tinkering shop?  He didn't stop, he didn't give up, he simply did what he loved to do; attempt to bring his ideas to life in his basement.   We could all learn from this man in his 80's who never gave up what he loved and followed his passion to fruition.  Most likely, just because he invented a game that made it big, he will not stop tinkering in his basement.  I am sure that in part, his tinkering is what is keeping him going and allowing him to keep his wits about him.  Imagine if we all just followed our passions, put our energy behind them and followed through.  For one, I can imagine there being a lot more happy people out there than there are right now.  There are many people who feel stuck where they are, not moving forward in life, just existing.  What is keeping those people from following their passions?   I think a big part of it is life in general.  We all get caught up in making ends meet, providing for our families, and just waiting for the weekend to come when we can relax and not do anything.  Life is a big obstacle, especially when we have so many responsibilities we need to attend to, yet we can't forget our passions or what drives us.  We need to take time for ourselves to do what we love.  If what we love to do is work, then so be it, but for many people, what they love to do is so much more than just work. 

The other big obstacle to any passion we may decide to follow is change.  Often times, when we have an idea or direction we want to pursue, it requires making a change in our daily lives to accommodate our idea.  When we get into a routine, it is especially hard to break from it and change directions, yet sometimes this is what we need to do.  Change is usually hard, yet in the end, extremely rewarding if we are capable of embracing that change and rolling with the punches.  So many people are afraid of change simply because they don't know what it will do to their lives.   However, if people can overcome their fears, embrace change, and move forward in a new direction, the possibilites are endless and change alone will teach us how to be more accepting of the small changes that take place in our lives.  I guess in the end what this all boils down to is doing what you love.  If we all just entertained a small part of our passion, then we could open doors that might previously would have seemed closed and locked.  Embrace today for tomorrow may not be there.  We all must live life to the fullest, take hold of what we have and run with it.  Today, take some time to examine where you are going in life, what you are doing, and what your passions are.  Don't be afraid of making changes, it will only improve your life in the long run. 

McNuggets, So Much More Than Just Chicken

Fast food is America's great invention and ultimately our downfall when it comes to nutrition.  There may have been a time, decades ago when fast food became what it is, that the products they used actually had some nutritional value.  But those days are long gone and you will never be able to find a beef patty, or a piece of chicken that has only beef or chicken in it.  These days, every product is "enhanced" with extra flavoring and packed full of preservatives to maintain its freshness and to keep it looking juicy.  These additives are not by any means healthy and are often times actually detrimental to our health.  There have been movies made about the industry, where the meat comes from, what kind of ingredients go into them, and what it actually does to your body.  If anyone were to actually eat only fast food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, that person would be slowly eating themselves into a grave.   As good as the food may smell, it is not good for us.  I came across an article yesterday that will keep me even farther away from any fast food joint than I have been.  This article, from Natural News, is about the famous Chicken McNugget.   It appears that if you look at the ingredient list of all the food that McDonalds serves (linked on the Natural News website), you will only be able to pronounce about half of the ingredients.  The other half are chemicals and preservatives with long drawn out names that don't mean much to most of us.  There is an interesting one that is at the bottom of the ingredient list of the McNugget though.  It is anti-foaming agent, TBHQ, that is used in the oil that cooks the McNugget.  Essentially, if it is used in the cooking of the chicken, then it is inherently ingested by the consumer.   In addition to TBHQ, there is also a type of silicone that can be found in the McNugget, similar to ones found in popular caulks and also breast implants (although it is being replaced in the implants due to safety issues). 

What is McDonalds doing to us?  TBHQ is a petroleum based product that is also used as a stabilizer in perfumes, resins, varnishes, and oil field chemicals.  Sounds tasty doesn't it?  Most of the other ingredients aren't much better.  One of them, a preservative, contains aluminum, which has been shown to accelerate the onset of Alzheimer's disease.  So what are the options here?  In my mind, they are pretty simple; either eat this crap and put your lives in the hands of the fast food chains, or avoid them completely and live a longer life (this last statement has not been verified or approved by the FDA).   It is amazing that we are so concerned with what products go into making children's toys, yet when it comes to fast food, as long as it resembles food and smells like it, we will eat it.   Did you know that TBHQ, over long periods of time, increases the risk of stomach cancer?  Fascinating.  I realize that we are all dealing with this recession and less money, but to simply resign ourselves to fast food because it is cheap is the absolute wrong way to go.  If you drive by any McDonalds, or any other fast food chain, there are always people there.  There never seems to be a moment when the "restaurant" is empty.   It is sad in ways that we have resorted to this type of eating.  Our country is currently dealing with an obesity epidemic yet most of us can't figure out what is going wrong.  It is really quite simple, eat healthy home cooked meals and get plenty of exercise. 

I myself have not eaten at a McDonalds in close to a decade.   The only thing I will get from there is a soda and even then, I would rather get the soda elsewhere.  I can't even remember the last time I walked into one.   We will never get rid of fast food; it is cheap, convenient, and there are plenty of people who are addicted to it (mostly due to the sugar that is added to everything).  I feel that as long as people know what they are eating, then they are free to eat it.  It just so happens that most people, I feel, don't know what they are actually eating and would be surprised to find out what they are putting into their bodies.  I know on a daily basis what I put into my body and there are very few preservatives involved in my food.  For this blog, I only wanted to touch on the scariest of ingredients found in one product at McDonalds, but just for fun, check out their ingredient list and see what else makes it into their food that on a normal day, you would never think of putting into your body.  General health starts with taking control of what you do, how you eat, and what you eat.  If we let others tell us what is good for us and tell us it is perfectly OK to eat everything, then of course our health will suffer.  But enough about fast food, I am getting sick just writing about it.  If you do eat fast food, try going a day or two without it, maybe even a week.  See how you feel after a week of no fast food and see if you can take it.   Lets all make an effort to be a little more conscientious of what we are eating and putting into our bodies.  It is only for our own good that we do these things. 

Israel, Gaza, and the Impending Flotilla

This week a flotilla of about 10 vessels is due to set sail to protest Israel's naval blockade of Gaza's aquatic borders.  According to them, the main purpose for this blockade is to prevent rockets and any other sort of arms from reaching the small region run by the militant group Hamas.   But while preventing any arms or ammunition from reaching Gaza, they are also preventing anything else from reaching them including humanitarian aid and other necessary supplies.   Luckily for Gaza, with the overturning of Egypt's government this past winter, at least part of the border has been opened up as Egypt's old government was participating with Israel in essentially imprisoning Gaza.  But lets get back to the flotilla that is due to set sail this week.  In addition to warning the flotilla not to approach the naval blockade, Israel has also sent out a communique to all press offices warning that any foreign reporter found on the flotilla will be banned from entering Israel for 10 years.   What is Israel so concerned about that they need to threaten reporters and journalists into staying away from the flotilla?  Perhaps it is because when the last flotilla set sail and approached the blockade 13 months ago, Israel boarded one of the vessels and ended up killing 9 people on board.  They probably don't want reporters and journalists to see first hand the brutality that they envision taking place again when they board a vessel belonging to the flotilla. 

This isn't the first time that Israel has battled with the press.  A few years back, they tried to ban reporters from entering Gaza when they invaded to prevent militants from firing rockets at Israeli communities.  Eventually, they did let reporters in, but only during the last few days of the campaign after officers deemed it "safe".  Really?  No war or invasion is ever safe yet reporters and journalists risk their lives every day to get as close as they can to the action to get the best story and pictures.  What is Israel trying to hide from the world?  Is it their overt brutality?  Or maybe it is their indiscriminate killing of individuals?   Whatever the case may be, it seems like Israel is following the lead of other surrounding dictatorships and trying to control everything in and around their country.   If their naval blockade was effective at preventing anything from reaching Gaza by sea, then there would be no need for the use of force or from banning reporters and journalists from being on board the vessels of the flotilla.   The way things are going right now, it almost seems as if Israel is already planning on using force against the flotilla before it even reaches them.  It seems to be the only way that Israel operates, if threatened in any way, retaliate with more and greater violence.  Just a month ago, or around that time, Israel was using force against foreigners that were protesting Israel's borders.  It is a never ending cycle in that region.  Violence, violence, violence. 

Does Israel really expect to get anywhere if they keep up their current policy of reacting violently whenever they feel threatened?  It has been that way ever since the country was created back in the 1940's.   But when you look at the overall situation, what do you expect.  Israel constantly tries to expand its borders in some areas to get more and more land.  How do they do this?  Slowly build more and more settlements on land that isn't theirs.  And when they do that, they are retaliated against by one group or another which leads to violence on their part, then more violence against them.  It is a sickening cycle that looks like will never end.   What can we do about it?  Well, for one thing, the United States can stop supporting Israel and their policies.  We have tried again and again to be the mediators in some sort of treaty or peace deal in Israel to no avail.  If we really want to force a peace treaty or some sort of deal then the most effective way is to cut our ties and walk away leaving them to deal with their own issues.   But that will never happen.  So I guess that the best we can hope for is for a decline in the violence and for a realization on all sides that violence in the end will not solve anyone's problems.  For the current issue, let us hope that Israel does not use force against the flotilla for whatever reason.  If Israel wants to prove that they can be civil and dignified, then they will let the flotilla protest their presence and simply block them from getting to Gaza.  If they are doing their job, blocking the flotilla shouldn't be that hard.  Peace is the answer, not violence, and the sooner people around the world can realize that, the sooner we can all start working together to resolve world problems and not just regional conflicts. 

Carbon Free Energy (Hopefully) Coming Soon

The world is currently dealing with an energy crisis.  Oil prices are continuously fluctuating, inching up, down, and then up some more.  Coal, for what its worth, is still a dirty source of energy, and traditional nuclear energy comes with massive risks and waste that lasts for centuries.   So what is the world to do when our population is growing at an ever increasing rate, pollution is at an all time high, and there doesn't seem to be enough renewable energy sources to feed the needs of our billions.   Well, there is a project currently being worked on that could, if all goes well, solve our energy needs with very little waste.  This project is essentially a non-traditional type of nuclear energy.   As opposed to fission where atoms are split to release energy to power turbines, this type is fusion where atoms are "fused" together, creating a different molecule and releasing enormous amounts of heat and energy in the process.   There have been many hurdles in the process of creating a properly functioning fusion system.  To start with, the whole process requires that 192 lasers be aimed perfectly at specific point the size of a BB, not an easy feat to begin with.  Then there is the issue of providing enough energy to start the whole process, 120 megajoules or an amount of energy roughly equivalent to 50 pounds of TNT.    But perhaps the most pressing issue currently is containing the radioactive material before and after the process. 

The experiment is being carried out at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where construction of the National Ignition Facility (the stadium sized facility where the fusion experiment is housed) has been in the process for over a decade now.   At the facility, they are using two types of hydrogen to fuse together to make helium.  The two types of hydrogen are deuterium and tritium, the latter of which is radioactive.  Due to the incredibly small origin of tritium, it is harder to contain than previously thought and the filters that are installed to prevent its release are getting clogged with atoms that are larger than tritium, forcing them to be replaced after almost every experiment.   In addition, during the process of fusion in which helium is created, a neutron is released which currently can not be contained.  The neutrons can seep out of the building, rise into the atmosphere, and then fall back to earth.   If these current issues can be resolved, then perhaps we will be able to achieve energy freedom.  But as with any new technology, all the bugs must be worked out of the system before it goes mainstream, if it ever reaches that point.   The issues with the radiation vary from those experienced with normal fission, mostly because of the density and weight of the particles.  Tritium dissolves in water and can therefore affect the body much differently than other forms of radiation.   As with any problem, leave it to a scientist to figure it out and I am sure there will soon be a solution. 

As it stands right now, the scientists working on this experiment are confident that they will see ignition occur next year.  They have already had low-level ignition tests to ensure that the lasers are all configured properly and can be fired almost simultaneously.  All that it seems is needed now is more energy and a few solutions to radiation issues.  There are a number of skeptics out there who think that this will never work primarily because what the scientists at the facility are trying to do is create a small star on earth.  Skeptics still question if the amount of energy created in the process is possible to be harnessed effectively and safely.   Hopefully it can.  As with any experiment, there are bound to be failures before success is eventually reached.  Failures are part of the learning process where the scientists find out where improvements need to be made and how they can streamline the entire procedure.   As with the failures, any experiment will also have its critics and skeptics, mostly because they are incapable of looking past the failures and impediments to the bigger picture and what the possibilities could be.  I for one hope that this process can be made safer and more efficient so that we can diminish our reliance on fossil fuels that are warming are planet.  I guess for now that we will have to wait and see what happens.  Lets all look to the future, energy freedom, and a greener planet.   Perhaps fusion will get us there, perhaps not, but we can still remain hopeful. 

Old Age Cure for Childhood Malnutrition

I am sure that most of us have seen the ads on TV that show malnutritioned children living in squalid conditions, a sad look on their face, begging for someone to support them monetarily so they can make something of themselves.  Well, before we even get to see them as young children, they have to make it through infancy and early childhood.  Often times, the feat of surviving through the first few years of life for these children is extremely difficult.  There is very little food to go around, conditions are usually hot and unbearable, and good nutrition is hard to come by.   Yet, according to a number of different world wide agencies, the W.H.O. and the Helen Keller Foundation among them, there is plenty of nutrition to go around for these infants should their mothers give it to them.  This nutrition comes in the form of breast milk, the best nutrition a baby can receive for the first six months of its life.   If you were to compare two babies, one who is given nothing but breast milk for the first six months of its life and another who receives no breast milk at all, the baby who is not breast fed will be 14.4 times as likely to die as the other who was fed breast milk.   It has been found that even if the mother who is breast feeding is suffering from malnutrition, she will often times produce enough breast milk for the baby to survive.  

Part of the whole problem stems from mothers believing that especially on a hot day, in desert like conditions, a baby needs water as well as milk.  Well, unfortunately, the water that is often times accessible in these countries is polluted or contaminated in some way and is unhealthy for the baby.  The baby will have a better chance of surviving if it receives just breast milk, even in hot conditions.  All that is needed it seems is a little more education for these women to show them the benefits of breast feeding and how it can help their babies survive the first six months of life and also have a better chance at surviving later on.   In many countries in Africa, the amount of babies that are exclusively breast fed averages at just around 10%.   This is very low considering that mothers are provided with the best nutrition for the babies for free.  For comparison, you can look at the United States where the average number of babies that are exclusively breast fed is at around 13%.   The big difference in the United States, however, is that we have access to formula to make up the difference and better health care to provide us with the answers.   It seems that we have gone awry somewhere in history where we have driven women away from breast feeding.  Is there a possible correlation between the amount of babies exclusively breast fed in the United States versus poorer countries, Africa for example?  Possibly, but nothing has been scientifically proven.   There needs to be an effort to re-educate women, world-wide on the benefits of breast milk and what it can do for a baby. 

Formula is not the answer, especially in Africa.  Why spend millions of dollars in attempting to provide what is essentially a synthetic breast milk to poor women in another country when all they need is to turn to their own bodies?  Formula is generic.  Not one formula is tailored to the specific needs of a baby.  The only person who can provide the proper nutrition is the mother and her breast milk.   In regards to formula and breast feeding, if formula is too expensive for mothers in Africa (or simply unavailable), why wouldn't struggling mothers in the United States turn to the cheaper alternative, breast feeding.  It would seem to me that, especially in this recession with everyone trying to save money, more women would be turning to breast feeding as a natural, cheaper alternative.  Instead of buying cookie cutter formula in the store packed full of hormones and often times more nutrition than a baby can handle, just breast feed.  But enough about the U.S., there is a solution for childhood malnutrition worldwide.  All we need to do is look to the past and see what women did before.  Even for that matter look to any animal in general.  Almost all mammals breast feed their young, why should we as humans be any exception?  As I mentioned before, all that is needed to help cure childhood malnutrition is better education in poor countries or those that are developing a don't have access to the type of information that we have.  In any case, consider the options, natural and best for the baby, or synthetic and just ok for the baby.  I personally would push for the natural choice, not just because I believe in living as naturally as possible, but because it is proven to be the best source of nutrition for a baby.

How Long Does a President Work

There is a great op-ed piece in the NYTimes by Thomas L. Friedman talking about the amount of time we actually have a functioning, effective government in this country.   Since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt when he was able to get into office and turn our country around within his first 100 days, every president since has been held up to that standard or at least there have been reports on how a given president did in his first 100 days.  Well, since that time, our political system has slowed to a crawl echoing now our lagging economy.   Friedman suggests, and I wholeheartedly agree with him, that any current president really only works for the first 100 days of his term.   This is when the biggest changes get made, the most deals worked on between both parties, and any longer term projects set up to be undertaken (such as health care reform).  After that first 100 days however, things slow to a crawl.  It seems that all of a sudden, ratings start to make a difference, judging the president and showing him how the country perceives his efforts and the changes being made.  Soon after, the midterm elections pop up and the president has to brace himself for its effects.  After the midterms, its clean up time, and then its prep time for the next presidential race.  Lets even give the president a little leeway here and say that he works for more than 100 days out of his term.  If he does, the amount of time never stretches past 2 years because as soon as he is halfway through his presidency (unless its his second term), he has to start thinking about re-election and consequently start putting his campaign together despite what the country may need from him in terms of leadership and decision making. 

If we move past the president, we end up looking at a stagnant GOP and Senate.  The brunt of what they do is argue over trivial issues and never actually agree on any big changes that need to be made in order to kick start this country again.  For the most part, our elected officials are interested in doing just enough to make it seem like they are working, yet not enough to actually make a difference or piss off any of their constituents.  So what are we electing them for, Democrats, Republicans; they are all for the most part worthless.  What we need in this country, and I echo Friedman here, is a third party to get into office and shake things up.  There was an effort with the Tea Party, but that morphed into a conservative Republican wing and did not actually stand for the necessary changes that need to be made in this country.  For more on those changes, what they are, and how they should be implemented, check out the piece by Friedman.   To be perfectly honest, we need more than just a third party in our government.  What we need is a cap on the terms of elected officials in the GOP and Senate.  Currently, elected members can run as often as they want and remain in office as long as they get re-elected.   To me, this is a boon to our system.   By allowing them to remain in office as long as they want, we are essentially creating members whose sole objective, outside of tinkering with policies, is to make sure that they get re-elected.  Some elected officials have been in D.C. for decades.   Now let me ask you, how are they supposed to remain in touch with their constituents' concerns if they are in their 70's or 80's.  Granted, some can do so, changing with the times, but I feel that for the most part, many officials who have been in D.C. for over 2 decades just don't have it anymore.  By instituting caps on the amount of terms they are able to serve in either the House or Senate, we would be ensuring that there is constantly fresh blood working for us. 

Additionally, we need elected officials who are willing to compromise to meet the needs of our country.  Too few now are willing to take the steps necessary to pass reform bills that would assist our economy and re-structure how things are done.  Most of our officials are solely concerned with their job and getting re-elected.  While they should still maintain loyalty to their constituents, they must be willing to step beyond, maybe upset a few, and change things for the better of this country.  One thing is for sure, if we do not change how things are done in Washington, our government and country will stagnate, more so than it already is.  Where has all our innovation gone, where have all our jobs gone?  What is being done in the government to make sure that our country does not fade away but gets re-invigorated for the future?   If changes aren't made now, sweeping ones at that, I fear the United States will fade away.  But in order to make those changes, we need to inspire people in this country to get involved and vote to make the changes.   If we can't get people involved in politics and government and voting to make the changes necessary, then our government will continue on its snail paced route to oblivion and it will drag the rest of us with it.  Let us all get a little more involved, if not for us, for the future of our children and the future of this country. 

Be Very Scared of the Sun

Every year when summer rolls around there seems to be an increased push to stay out of the direct sun, apply sunscreen every couple of hours, make sure your covered properly, and pretty much stay inside in the middle of the day.  Yet, at the same time, especially in the United States, there is also an enormous push for children to "get out and play" simply meaning that our youth need to get more exercise instead of sitting in front of the TV playing video games.  So what should children, and for that fact, the rest of us do in the summer?  Should we all get covered head to toe in clothing before going outside in the heat to play, or maybe lather ourselves up with sunscreen, some of which contain chemicals that can cause birth defects in pregnant women and others which may actually cause skin cancer in addition to the UV rays bombarding us.   The choices don't seem that appealing.   In addition, according to some research, the amount of sunscreen that the average person applies, regardless of the rated SPF, is far less than recommended and equates to an effectiveness of around SPF 2.5-7.5.   Despite wrinkling and melanoma, the sun, for everyone under it, is perhaps the best source of Vitamin D available.  Vitamin D is vital in maintaining our health and keeping illness at bay.  Ever wonder why there are more sicknesses during the winter?  It is mostly because of our lack of vitamin D.  If we had a steady source of Vitamin D throughout the year, the rate at which we caught the common cold would greatly decrease. 

So how is the public supposed to make sense of all of this?  We are told we need vitamin D to stay healthy, yet we also need to protect our skin with sunscreen (which blocks Vitamin D) and we also need to get more exercise outside in the sun.   What about natural supplements?   Everyone is different, but most of the time, we get a sunburn because of nutritional deficiencies.   There has been some research done that says an increase in Vitamin B will actually help the body tan instead of burn.  There are other natural supplements in the form of amino acids that will help your body tan instead of burn.  Both of these will help in the production of Vitamin D and in addition to providing us with a nice tan, will help stave off skin cancer and the "ugly" side effects of the sun.   So what is the logical thing to do?  I would say, start by eating healthier foods that provide all the necessary nutrients that your body needs.  Even by starting to eat healthier, you can start to put off the effects of the sun.  Many of us will still need supplements to fully protect ourselves from the sun, but it is much more worth it to take a few supplements that to lather ourselves completely up with chemicals that are questionable in their efficacy.   One of the inactive ingredients most often found in sunscreens, retinyl palmitate once absorbed into the skin, actually converts into a compound that can cause birth defects in babies. 

So, despite the amount of criticism I may receive for my actions, I am going to do my best to go sunscreens free this summer and see if I can't find some natural supplements to aid in the tanning process which will consequently provide me with more vitamin D to keep me healthy.   I do not currently know what supplements I will need to take, but research time it is, and when I figure it out, I will let you know.    The message we receive about the outdoors is so convoluted that it is impossible to make heads or tails of it.   It seems to me the ultimate goal is to stay as healthy as possible, meaning more exercise, more sun exposure, and healthier eating styles.   Many people have a long way to go, but it is not impossible and the rewards are immense including perhaps the best reward, living a longer life.  We, as humans, were not meant to be stuck indoors, hidden out of the sun.  Nor were we meant to be completely covered from head to toe in the middle of summer outside, it just does not make sense.   Before lathering yourself with sunscreen from head to toe, at least check out the ingredients in what your putting on yourself, you will probably be amazed at what is in there.  Sunscreens are not the only culprits of chemical infusion into our lives.  Chemicals surround us in almost everything we use and can have an effect on us regardless of how careful we are.   We should all do our best to limit the amount of chemicals in our lives, it will only help us out in the long run.  Today, think twice about sunscreen, think about the chemicals they contain and how much extra harm they can do versus the actual sun. 

"Road Trains" Are Coming

It seems that everywhere you drive, regardless of the country, traffic is getting worse and worse on the freeways.  With every new driver and car on the road, traffic slows a little more and it takes longer to get to your destination.  Some people leave earlier to try and beat the traffic, others carpool.   Still others with the possibility of taking mass transit take trains and buses, the best option at this point to actually not have to drive to your destination.   At this point, I am sure that more and more people are envisioning the day when we will have driverless cars to ferry us around from destination to destination without the headache of driving in traffic and having to pay attention.  We could get much needed work done during the drive or simply relax and watch a movie.  Well, completely driverless cars are still a ways off.  Google is working on one, but it would be a massive jump from where we are now to where they want us to be.   Well, don't worry, there is company in Sweden that is experimenting with "road trains" or "road platoons" as they like to call them that seems to strike a happy medium for now between the two options; driving and driverless.   This company is none other than Volvo, which is already experimenting with its new technology on closed circuit driving courses.  So what is this new technology? 

Simply put, the new technology allows an unspecified amount of cars to follow one lead car that is actually driven by a professional driver.  The cars following the lead car would be driven by the computer on board the car, not the actual driver.   According to Volvo, a person driving on the highway could search for one of these "road platoons" through their car's computer and upon finding one, pull up to the rear and let the car take over.  (Trust me on this, for a better explanation, follow the link to the article above.)   Overall, this is projected to reduce congestion on the highways and also improve gas mileage in any given car.   Cars would get improved gas mileage due to the fact that they would be following really close to the car in front of them and wind resistance would be reduced.  So far, this has been tested with the lead car and only one car following.  The next step is to add cars to the "platoon" and eventually do actual road testing on the highways.  This technology would not require any changes to be made to current roadways and would be much easier to implement than a fully driverless car right now.  There are still many bugs to work through to ensure profer function and safety.  One possible issue is the computer itself.   There needs to be safety measures in place to ensure that in case of a computer crash that the car does not automoatically fly off the road.  Other possible issues are exiting the train, other drivers maneuvering around the train and how it would affect its efficacy. 

All in all, this would be a huge step in moving towards driverless cars.  If you think about it, a lot of higher end cars already have technology that allow the car to parallel park itself, automatically brake when it gets too close to the car in front, and sensors all around the car that can detect when someone is getting to close.  If all of these can be packaged together as Volvo is doing, it would hopefully take a little of the hastle of driving on long trips out of the picture and also increase safety on the roadways.  Of course, there is the whole matter of making sure that the lead car is driven by someone responsible and trained properly to have "x" number of cars following it.  Regardless of the issues that need to be worked through, I am excited.  I am sure the first time that anyone pulls up to the rear of this train and is asked to relinquish control of the vehicle, there will be much trepidation at even the thought of it.   Who in their right mind would let go of the wheel of a car and take their feet away from the petals while traveling 65 on the highway; and then on top of that take their eyes off the road and let the car do its thing.  I think that as great as this is, it will take a little getting used to by everyone.  Regardless, by reducing congestion and improving gas mileage, we are moving in the right direction with this new technology.   It is going to be a crazy new world out there in a few decades and it has already started.  Some will rebel against it, others will embrace it with open arms.  I myself will approach each new invention with neutrality until it proves itself either good or bad.  I guess only time will tell. 

Crazy Weather

This spring, especially in the United States, has been one of the most tumultuous in terms of extreme weather.  There were excessive rains on top of excessive amounts of melting snow, increased flooding, droughts, wildfires, and we can't forget the number of tornadoes that swept our country.   The amount of damage caused just by this spring's extreme weather has already exceeded $32 billion.   So where is all this extreme weather coming from and what is causing it.  Well, scientists generally agree that the earth is warming.  Every year, the temperature creeps upwards, albeit at a slow pace, but up it goes.   There is also a lot more carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere which is helping to boost the world wide temperature.  Some scientists are hesitant to put the entire blame on humans, others are ready to point the finger.  Personally, I will agree with those that are pointing the finger.  While we are not entirely to blame, we have had a major impact on the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  As the world population grows and becomes increasingly modernized, there has been a sharp increase in factories and cars that pump that lovely CO2 into the air, thus assisting in warming the planet little by little.  As the planet warms, more water evaporates from the surface of the earth, adding to the moisture content of the air and while creating deadly, longer lasting droughts in some regions, the increased water in the atmosphere adds to heavier rains elsewhere.  Its a tumultuous cycle that we are slowly becoming accustomed to.  (Post inspired by this article.)

While we can easily blame a warming atmosphere for this most recent increase in extreme weather, this is not the first time it has happened.   During the early 1900's there was a number of years during which extreme weather events increased.  Following however, were a few decades of relative quiet.  This being said, however, the average temperature during the early 1900's was a lot cooler than it is currently.   Are we in a current climate swing where we are experiencing extreme weather events for only a few years before we retreat to the quiet times again?  We can hope so, but I would not be so optimistic.  Personally, looking at the affect that the warming climate is having on weather and our inability to curb carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere, I fear that we could be in for the long hual in terms of extreme weather.  So what are our options now.  Well, to be perfectly honest, we must do what we have always done best; cope with the situation and try and fix our problems for the future.  Perhaps, through a concerted global effort we can level off our carbon dioxide emissions, slow the warming of the atmosphere, and keep steady the number of extreme weather events each year.   It can not just be our governments acting to make the changes, we must all dedicate ourselves to changing how we live, what we use, and how our actions affect the environment. 

Extreme weather events and our warming atmosphere have implications that spread beyond just the effects that the weather has on our daily lives.  These extreme weather events make it harder to grow food (as I have talked about before) and if food shortages increase, we can be sure that political turmoil will increase as well and we will see more unrest in countries as they struggle to feed their populations.   But lets also consider this, by focusing solely on the future, what are we gaining?  More stress in our lives, more depression?  While we need to consider how our actions will affect our future environment and climate, we must also focus on our efforts today.  If we consider the huge global picture, we will get depressed.  Even I don't like to look at the whole picture too often.  However, if we dedicate ourselves to making little changes in our daily lives, we can make a difference.  Some may say, "Yeah, but I am only person out of billions, how will that help?"  Well, if one person makes a change and gets two other people to make a change, it can spread.  Yes, I am being optimistic at the capabilities of humans to make the necessary changes and inspire others to make those changes as well, but I believe that we can.  What is more depressing than giving up on humanity?  Nothing much in my mind.  We all deal with craziness every day of our lives, yet there is always time to reflect, consider your actions, and see how they can be changed to make a difference in the long run.  Again, don't dwell on the future, simply be glad to be alive and focus on today.  What can you do today that will make a difference?  Start small and it will spread.  All wildfires start with a little spark.  The only thing we need is a spark under our butts to start off a wildfire of change that can help everyone out.

New Portable Internet for Dissidents

There are many countries, especially ones entrenched in protests and upheavals right now, that monitor and control the use of the internet in their countries.  For protesters and those that simply wish to share with the world what is going on in their country, there are new developments that will enable them to circumvent their countries formal internet.  There are a number of new projects currently being worked on ranging from new software that can be downloaded onto a phone or laptop that will enable wireless internet service without using the hardwired networks of a given country to an "internet in a suitcase" where a suitcase, innocent enough can be brought into a country and set up to provide immediate internet service to a given area.  With these new devices, countries will find it harder to monitor the activities and organizational efforts of protestors and even the general public.  This could eventually allow protests and efforts to remove officials from government to be more efficient and effective as governments will have less of an idea of when events are scheduled, where they will take place, and how many people will be involved.  The actual specifics of these current programs being worked on are way beyond my grasp, but to get a better idea of what is being built and how it will help, check out the article at the NYTimes.

These kind of efforts, where we are directly providing assistance to the populations of restive countries, are much more politically acceptable (at least to us) than sending in our military to support the populations of countries and assist in removing those in power.   When we send in our military, we often times end up complicating situations, stepping on the toes of one group or another, and more often than not, end up staying way too long.  By directly aiding the population with the technology and aid to more effectively counter their own government, we are taking a much safer stance.  We are directly assisting those considered dissidents in their country, freedom fighters in ours, which is what they want.  We are assisting them without direct intervention which provides them a much better sense of satisfaction when they are able to overcome their own government and effect change.   Just take a look at Egypt.  They were able to use the internet to organize themselves into a cohesive group to eventually force their president to step down and hand over the country to them.  Do they have a long road ahead in terms of forming a cohesive government based upon democratic ideals and freedom?  Absolutely, any transition between governments will take time and will not be easy.  If they ask for assistance in how best to form a democratic government, then we should give that advice and offer assistance, however we should not just step in and immediately tell them how to do things.   The United States is the champion of freedom, free speech, and the right to worship freely, however we should not be so bold as to immediately inject ourselves into every conflict that arises out of a lack of freedom.  Not to say that we do right now, only sometimes, but we should tread carefully in any future situation and make sure that we are recognized not as interventionists, but as a country that supports all those who desire freedom.

There are many changes that can be made as to how our country approaches different issues.  I know I have said before that especially in this current financial debacle that we are all dealing with, the US should focus more on itself and getting its economy back on its feet, but what distinguishes us from everyone else is our determination to help those in need and offer assistance to those that need it.  If we completely take away all the money that we give towards humanitarian aid, general foreign assistance, and the like, we would be taking a step away from who we are.   What I think we all need to do on a more personal level is help those around us in need.  If our country as a whole can support other countries and their poor, why can't we as individuals step up to the plate and help those who need it most, the poor and hungry in our own country.  There seems to be a distinctive lack of assistance to the poor and hungry in our own cities and towns.  There are many people with more money than they could ever know what to do with who don't help others worth a damn.  If everyone chipped in and tried to make a difference, a difference would be made and people's lives would be more on par with each other.  Today, help someone who needs it.  Whether it be helping someone picked up items they dropped, hold open a door for a lady, or give an extra dollar or two to the homeless.  

To Kill an American

I was emailed yesterday a piece that was written by an Australian dentist.   I checked it out and if you google it, you can find it on a number of different news sites.   I definitely missed the reward for any American's head in the news, but then again, there is so much news out there it is tough to spot everything that is going on in the world.   Read on and I will comment after the piece by the Australian.

"To Kill an American "
You probably missed this in the rush of news, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper, an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American. 

So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is. So they would know when they found one. (Good one, mate!!) 

'An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, Arab, Pakistani or Afghan. 

An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan . The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses. 

An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world.

The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God-given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return. 

When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country! 

As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan.

The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest- tossed. These in fact are the people who built America. 

Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001, earning a better life for their families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.

So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so, you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American. 

In the overall scheme of things, what has been the overall goal of the United States in regards to other countries?  In my mind, it has been to help those in need and to support freedom and democracy.  Have there be times when ulterior motives have driven our actions, absolutely.  There have been individuals who have pressed for foreign intervention based upon oil and other resources, but tied to that has also been a desire to assist people in living a life of freedom and safety.  If we look back to the founding of this country, there was no single country represented that had dominance to begin with.  The people who came and founded the United States of America did so to escape religious persecution and to find freedom to live and worship as they chose.  Has the road always been easy for the United States?  Not at all.  As with any country, we have had our civil wars, our internal disagreements, and our own issues at home.  Yet despite all the problems, people still come to the United States to seek a better life and to live the American dream.   Not everyone around the world desires that American dream, that freedom, that liberty.  Yet, as the Australian dentist said, the American spirit has become the universal spirit of living freely and pursuing happiness.   Even in this struggling economy that many in the world are dealing with, we still provide money and aid to those countries in dire need of it.  We constantly seek to promote democracy (not always through the right channels) and encourage those being subjugated to stand up for themselves and fight for their own freedom.   So to sum it all up, what does it mean to kill an American?  I think that the Australian dentist got it right.  With so many races, religions, and countries making up our culture, any person killed has the potential of being tied to America or as the dentists said, is an American.   Today, celebrate freedom and the pursuit of happiness.   If an Australian can see the value in the American dream and what it means to be an American, we must all see it and seek to embody the American ideal. 

Religious Tolerance

Regardless of where you look in the world these days, you will find religious intolerance is increasing.  Whether it is due to the increased mobility of the world's population, increased growth in the world's population, or simply a growing number of people living in cities and their suburbs, almost any city and country will exhibit problems when it comes to tolerating a religion other than one's own.  Up until now, it was mostly left to the elders of churches and communities to foster a better sense of religious tolerance.  But that has proven to not be enough in this day and age.   Just looking at the United States, we have problems when permits are issued for religious buildings, religious clothing is worn in the workplace, and to a certain extent outright fear and disdain for certain religions amongst select invidividuals and communities.  The problems are much worse elsewhere in the world, the intolerance often times leading to violence and bitter clashes between different religions and also between the different sects of one religion.  One has only to look at the conflict in Israel as an example, or even the intolerance that is growing the new Egypt, or maybe even the sectarian violence in Iraq and other Muslim nations.  What is needed is youth involvement and that is exactly the initiative that one young man and actually the White House are taking up. 

The young man is Eboo Patel and he runs a non-profit organization called the Interfaith Youth Core which is solely dedicated to promoting religious tolerance amongst the youth, specifically on college campuses.   (To see details of this, check out this article at the NYTimes).   The main objective is to get students from different religions together not just to talk, but to work on community projects together.  These projects can range anywhere from feeding the hungry, to building houses, to general community service.  But it will take projects like these along with inter-faith discussions to bridge the gap of religious diversity and promote religious tolerance amongst the youth.  By focusing on the youth, a new generation can be created in which people from different religions are not discriminated against in a community but are increasingly welcomed into one.   Patel was also invited by the White House to work on a new initiative announced just this April.  The initiative, called the "Interfaith and Community Service Challenge" is a request for all college campuses to pledge to a year of dedicated interfaith community projects that focus on bringing students from different religions together to work in the community and improve it.  President Obama sent out a letter to 2000 college presidents and has so far heard back from 400 of them saying they will make the pledge. 

These are the kinds of initiatives and programs that are needed not just on college campuses in the United States, but on college campuses throughout the world.  If we can get the youth of the world to increase religious tolerance amongst themselves, perhaps we can eventually bring increased peace and stability to communities and regions that are currently divided because of religion.  These programs will not solve the world's problems immediately.  The violence that occurs because or religion across the world typically has deep roots that will take years to undo and repair.  Any change that will occur, must start out small and eventually build to encompass the youth of the world.   To encompass the youth of the world is an enormous undertaking.  If initiatives are started and followed through on in the United States, however, perhaps they will spread and ignite initiatives and programs in other countries, slowly spreading to the regions most affected by religious intolerance.   Following off of yesterday's post, if we were to reduce the military budget, bring more soldiers home and spend that money to increase discussion and interfaith cooperation and community service, perhaps we would not have the need for such a large military.   Most of the issues that we deal with in any foreign conflict usually have some ties to religious intolerance or misunderstanding.  These are all complicated issues, but by starting with the youth in college, fresh minds largely unaffected by world problems, we can foster a new era of peace and understanding.  Am I being overly optimistic, yes.  But I feel that if we do not put all our eggs into this basket of interfaith cooperation, we will be screwing ourselves in the long run.  Today, make the effort to reach out to someone from a different religion for whatever reason and just have a conversation.  Start there and let it spread. 

Killing Machines

There was an interesting article in the NYTimes magazine a few weeks ago that talked about the United States military and a few incidents in Afghanistan in which locals were essentially murdered.   The separate incidents were all set up to look like the local had attacked peaceful patrols and as a result were killed.  The three incidents discussed in the article were undertaken by a small group of men under questionable leadership.  There was one soldier who was a constant in all three killings, the mastermind if you will, who planned and recruited fellow soldiers to assist in the killings.  The five men who at one point or another took part in killings are now being tried for murder.  These are not the first "murders" reported in Afghanistan.  There are a slew of other incidents that went unreported, were not investigated, and thus slipped through the cracks.  The same holds true for the war in Iraq.   Parts of the article sickened me to read what our soldiers had done to local families completely unprovoked.   In case you don't read the whole article in the magazine, I will relate just one incident (abbreviated) so you can understand a little of where I am coming from. 

One of the incidents occurred during a peaceful patrol.  Some soldiers were meeting with elders from a village and the rest were sent out to set up a perimeter and ensure safety for those that were meeting.  The were all spread out and few were by a field being farmed by a local.  The "mastermind" behind all the killings called this man over, indicating he wanted to talk to him.  The man came, and when he got close, he was ordered to stand there.  In short, the soldier who called him over also called out to the closest soldier saying there might be an issue.  Before the other soldier got there, the one who called him over ducked behind a wall, prepped a grenade, and threw it at the feet of the farmer yelling out, "He's got a grenade, duck."  There were some shots fired, the grenade went off, and the farmer was murdered.  To ensure that the farmer was dead, he was shot in the head and the "mastermind" then cut off a finger as a trophy.   The farmer was never armed and exhibited no aggression towards the soldiers.   He just happened to be the closest available target for a planned, premeditated murder.  

There are a lot of questions raised when something like this happens.  Is it the fault of the leadership of the platoon?  Is it just one renegade brigade that is undertaking these acts?  How can this be allowed to happen.  Before I begin to lambaste the military, let me state that this is not an assault on all soldiers.   But lets look at the basics of the situation.  Soldiers are trained to kill people.  We put guns in there hands, powerful ones at that, and teach them how to kill people.  Most of the time, they kill the people they are supposed to, the ones attacking them, but there seems to be an increase in incidents where non-combatants are being murdered or killed for no reason.  Some claim that it is because the soldiers in question are not seeing enough "action" or because they are fighting an unconventional war and the enemy is not always visible, they feel the need to lash out at anyone near them.   Many soldiers now deal with the unexpected like IED's and other unconventional warfare techniques making their tours of duty more stressful and depressing.  Despite all of this, it should not give anyone the right to kill others just for the sake of seeing some action.  When people are trained to kill, they will seek to kill, period.  Most may be able to contain the urge and tame it, but it is still there.  How can we expect otherwise. 
 

When you hear stories like this one, you can understand why locals in countries our military is fighting in want us out of there.   Who in their right mind would want to have soldiers around whom they increasingly can not trust because of the few who abuse their power and murder locals because it is convenient or "necessary" in their minds?   A military in any country, as I have stated before, should be there for one reason and one reason only, to protect the country from invasions or attacks by other countries.   At no point should a military be used to invade other countries simply because they have oil we want or a dictator with anti-American policies.  When you look at the whole, any country with anti-American policies usually has a reason for them.  Usually, those policies date back to military actions overt or covert in the past that were directed either against those countries or against a culture.  If we go by our current actions in Iraq, then our military should also be invading Syria and Libya to "protect" the innocent and rid the world of the leaders who feel the need to kill protesters to keep order in their countries.  It is ludicrous and we have overstepped our bounds one to many times.  When we keep soldiers, especially in Afghanistan for 10 years with no real tangible effect, then frustration will build and people will be killed.  We need to confine our military to our country and let people figure out their own issues.   The families of the three men murdered lost a loved one due to reckless abandon by our military, a few "bad apples" who needed stories to tell when they got home.  You want to know how we compensated those families?  We gave them each a little over a $11,000 dollars.  As if that will make up for our transgressions in taking away their loved ones.  

Couple Forecloses on Bank of America

By now we have all heard a story of a family dealing with a foreclosure on their house by their bank.  Due to economic conditions and the over extension of many people's credit, thousands of families lost their homes when they could not afford to pay for them anymore either due to rising interest rates, lost jobs, or some other reason.  Well, at least in one case in Florida, and I am hoping elsewhere, a couple was in essence able to foreclose on the mighty Bank of America who received a bail out from the American public when they almost tanked.  The couple bought a foreclosed house for cash in 2009 from Bank of America, no mortgage, no headaches, just a house they could retire in with no monetary burden.  At least that's what they thought until they were greeted by a bank employee a year later informing them that their home was being foreclosed on.  When they told the person that they didn't even have a mortgage and that the home was paid for in full, he told them to get a lawyer.  Well, a lawyer they got, went to court, and the issue was cleared up.  That is, until they went to collect the money from the bank to compensate them for their lawyer and other fees necessary to clear up the whole ordeal.  The court said the bank should pay, the couple tried to collect, but went months and months without receiving any response or any sort of payment. 

This past week, the couple had had enough and went with their lawyer, the media, the police, and a court order from the judge basically informing Bank of America that they were there either to get a check or they were going to leave with furniture, copiers, and whatever else was necessary to make up the cost of the money owed them.   Funny, after about an hour with police officers in the bank, they got a check.  Now, Bank of America tried to pass the buck to their defunct attorney who they claim is no longer in business, yet the couple had called, written, and spoken to employees of the bank to no avail.  My question is, why the hell did we bail out this bank when they feel they can go around and screw with people's livelihoods?   In addition, for them to claim they got it "wrong", is bull.  When was the last time any bank was late in sending out "legitimate" collection notices for overdraft fees or even a mortgage payment?   It seems that when it comes to bringing in the money to the bank, there are no errors or mistakes or for that matter delays.  Yet when it comes to paying a couple who had a legitimate collection concern with the bank, there are mistakes and delays.   The bank reportedly wrote a check for larger than the original amount to cover additional fees.  I only hope that it included interest on the five months it took them to pay the couple.  (Probably not however). 

How can we protect corporations such as Bank of America from bankruptcy when they can go around and still screw things up?  Personally, (although I know it is too late), that any bank that was on the verge of going bankrupt, should have gone bankrupt.   If they were not capable of running a corporation and were involved in shady mortgage deals, sucks for them.   Maybe we can learn from this for the future and prevent any unneeded bail outs of failing corporations.   Some may claim that they bail out was necessary to prevent an even worse recession that we are dealing with, but what about all the small businesses across the country that went under due to pressure from the banks or due to the recession itself.  I maintain that it would have been much more lucrative to shore up the small businesses that run this country than the few goliaths of banking that screwed things up.  If we had spread that bail out money (billions of it) across small businesses and given them a boost to keep their businesses running, maybe we wouldn't be facing such high unemployment numbers as we are now.   Also, maybe if these banks were allowed to fail, less people would have been foreclosed on because they wouldn't have to deal with a bank breathing down their necks.  (OK, so this last part may have produced a little more havoc, but still, it might have been better.)  

What everyone needs to do is be more fiscally responsible.  We are still recovering from a recession and money is still tight.  Now is the time to look at finances and get on a good track for the future.  If people could figure out how to spend less now, make do with less and still survive, then maybe when the economy recovers even more and people start making more money, they will be able to save more money for retirement and the future.  The future is in our own hands.  We can not rely solely on our government to sustain us in retirement through Social Security and other programs.  What the American public needs to do is plan for their own future, set money aside now, live within their means, and not just spend all their money away.  I know, this may sound like I am speaking to a stone wall seeing as many people still overextend themselves and have no future in mind whatsoever, but someone needs to say it and hopefully people will start realizing the reality of the situation.  In any case, its Friday, the start of the might weekend and few days of rest and reprieve from our hectic lives.  Lets all take some time, enjoy ourselves, and actually start planning for the future.  We all must seize the day and live each moment to its fullest, but if we have no financial plan for the future, how can we expect to seize the day later on?

Neverending Middle East Turmoil

It has been about half a year now since the uprising in Tunisia started a whirlwind of protests and uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East.  Two in particular have been going on for over three months and show little sign of ending any time soon.  These two are Yemen and Syria.  Yemen, filled with battling tribes has been relentlessly attempting to get rid of their president.  The closest they have come so far is to attack his compound, injuring him and forcing him to flee to Saudi Arabia for medical attention.  Even with him gone, however, the struggle continues to get him to officially step down and relinquish power.  He still has armed troops that are loyal to him who are defending his compound in Sana and he still has "associates" filling in the power vacuum temporarily.  And instead of offering any assistance in a transition of power or in the reform of the government currently in place, the United States is taking advantage of the power vacuum and has resumed covert air strikes against Al Qaeda operatives and renegade militants in the outlying regions of the country.   Our government had taken a break for almost a year in their covert war, but currently, they claim that they have discussed their military action with the opposition leaders in Yemen and have received their OK to continue.  These efforts are a main attempt to kill any Al Qaeda operatives in the region and prevent them from forming a solid group and eventually planning another attack against the United States.  Maybe if we assisted in the transition of power, helped mediate discussions with both the opposition leaders and the current president, then maybe we wouldn't need to conduct these covert wars because their government would be strong enough to eradicate Al Qaeda on their own.  But military force is what we know best, so that is the way we will continue to do things. 

In Syria, the government is involved in continuous violent crackdowns on protesters.  Every week there is a different city with reports of protesters being killed.   President Assad has shown no indication that he will relinquish power any time soon or for that matter institute any meaningful reforms.  His family, who has been in power for decades now has a history of violence and that is the only way they know to get what they want.  Assad's father was involved in extremely violent crackdowns on protests in which almost 10,000 people were killed.  Today, if things keep going the way they are, Syria's current president (if you can call him that, I prefer dirtbag) will exceed that number deaths or the protests will get tired of being killed and stop.  I for one hope that Assad comes to the realization that no matter how much he tries to rid his country of dissent, that unless change happens in the government, there will always be dissent either hidden or in the public eye.  At this point, people are increasingly heading for Turkey to escape the violence.  Some are camping out at the border to see if the Syrian military follows them, others are not taking any chances and crossing right over for refuge.   There are even signs in Damascus that the population of Sunni Muslims are now starting to take part, staging protests in upscale districts and joining the fight for reform.  The Sunni population is known to not get involved normally because they are better off and have the resources to weather the storm so to speak.  It seems at this point, though, that they are taking up the cause of their fellow countrymen being killed and protesting the violence and brutal rule of the Assad family. 

When will all this fighting end?  Your guess is as good as mine at this point.  Power is a mysterious entity.  I wouldn't want to be in a position of power at all.  There is great responsibility when one takes a position of power and often times, the person taking that position is ill-equipped to handle all of them.   Power is addictive and it makes sense that these entrenched rulers don't want to give up their positions of power.  They obviously come with some great perks; money, the ability to do what you want, and the ability to control people to a certain extent.  That being said, however, a position of power, especially when it comes to ruling a nation, should not be about the perks, it should be about the desire to create the best possible living conditions for that country's citizens.  It seems that with ruling families, however, it is more often about how to create the best possible living conditions for themselves and then after taking care of themselves, they turn to the population and give a little back.  As we see now, this current mode of ruling in the Middle East is doomed to failure.  Tunisia fell, Egypt fell, Libya is a crap shoot, Yemen is on the verge, Syria is struggling to hold on, and the ultimate power broker in the region, Saudi Arabia, is buying its populations favor.  It still has excess money from all the oil it sells and is using it to create a sense of happiness amongst its population.  There have been some demands for change, but when they decided to pump $130 billion into their country to boost morale and lower dissent, the demands for change quieted down some.   What we need to do instead of getting involved militarily is to lead by example.  Unfortunately, when these kingdoms are raking in billions of dollars, why would they want to give that up for a normal life?  I guess the only thing we can do at this point is wait and see what happens.  Today, take a look around you, the life you live, the government you have, and maybe realize that despite all the faults our government may have, it is still a damn better place to live than anywhere in the Middle East right now. 

One and a Half Earth's

The title of this post is in reference to the amount of land and water we currently need to produce the resources we consume as a global population and absorb the waste that results from us.   I figured since just yesterday I discussed looming food shortages, I would go into a general overview of where the earth is headed and what will happen as a result.  I am basing this blog off of a an op-ed piece in the NYTimes which in turn is based off of a book by an Australian environmentalist-entrepreneur.   In sum, as if we all couldn't figure this out from the general state of the world and yesterday's post, the rate at which our population is growing and the rate at which we consume and produce things is unsustainable.  We only have one planet to live on and something is going to have to give if we don't make changes soon.  The Earth is currently caught in two vicious loops that are intersecting and causing great environmental damage and world wide turmoil.  The first loop is as follows; population growth and global warming are together pushing up food prices, higher food prices increase turmoil in the Middle East, increased turmoil in the Middle East drives up oil prices, higher oil prices drives up the cost of food, which ultimately brings about more turmoil.  The second loop is as follows; increased productivity means fewer jobs so if we want more jobs, we need to build more factories and when we build more factories, we increase global warming.   Global warming is where the two loops meet, feed into each other, and compound the problem for all of us.  Whether or not you want to buy into the science of global warming, it is a reality that is occurring.  Our Earth is getting warmer and regardless of how it is getting there or how you want to believe it is getting there, we do have an impact on it. 

As it is right now, the way we live is unsustainable.  If we are currently exceeding the limits that our earth can sustain, then what happens in the future if we keep on at our current rate.  Something has to give.  We can not keep sucking our environment dry and destroying every bit of it.  There are many places on Earth that currently have been pretty much sucked dry.  Aquifers are being drained at an alarming rate to supply the water needed to produce the food we consume.  Especially in desert regions, areas will run out of water very soon.  One in particular is Sana, Yemen.  Within the decade, all the water needed to sustain people in that city will have to be brought in by tanker truck or through some pipeline that is not even built.   On a similar note, if we keep on producing more goods and pumping CO2 into the atmosphere, we will eventually warm the planet to the point where life will be snuffed out.  A grim future, yes, but one that can be avoided if we all start making changes now.   The basis of change needs to be our rate of consumption, not necessarily food because that is a necessity that we need to survive, but in the everday products that we feel our necessary to our way of life.  Almost all the products we use in our every day lives are made in a factory somewhere that regardless of how "environmentally friendly" they claim to be, produces at least some degree of pollution and waste that ends up in our environment.   Our consumer driven economy has already proven itself unsustainable.  If we look at the recession a lot of us are dealing with right now, it was in large part due to over extensions on our consumer habits.  We want so much and buy so much, that eventually we all suffer. 

The solution is to drastically change the way we think and act.  According to Paul Gilding, (the author of the book which the op-ed piece I linked to here is based on) we need to move from a consumer-driven growth model to a happiness-driven growth model.  The consumer-driven one is broken, we see it every day and it will eventually lead to unsustainability.  The happiness-driven growth model is one based upon people working less and owning less.  Lets be realistic here (and I will draw off of his comments), how many people at the end of their life will wished they had worked harder, more, or attained more goods.  I would wager that few of us would.  I believe that most of us, at the end of our lives, would rather have spent more time with our families, enjoyed more time reading books or working in the yard.  Maybe I am wrong, but to have a desire to just work is un-human.  But that is the way we all live currently and to change that will be extremely hard for almost all of us.  To change models will take a concerted effort on the part of everyone.  It can not just be one group of people that changes, but our entire society that needs to change.  Gilding thinks we can, I hope we can, but who knows.  What we all need to do is ask ourselves what we really need in our lives.  Do we need all the latest gadgets, trinkets, and toys to keep us happy.  According to our current social mentality, yes.   But in reality, do these things really contribute to our happiness or are they just a means to spend money that we work so hard to get to create the illusion of happiness.   I would suggest it is the latter.  All we really need to survive is a shelter, food, and family.   If we can re-learn to be happy with these and forego all the unnecessary baggage we create, then maybe we can move our society to a happiness-driven growth model.  I really hope we can, because if we keep eating away at our future, there will be no future and that by far is much worse than any change we might have to make to prevent it. 

World Food Issues

As if the global recession affecting many countries wasn't enough, there are other issues on the horizon which could compound the difficulties we are already facing.  Most of us know that the world population is continually growing, adding more people and more mouths to feed.  Also, in the most rapidly growing countries such as China and India, they are experiencing such rapid growth that they need to search abroad for farm land to supply the growing need for food.  It is not just that the populations are growing, but in developing countries with growing middle classes, appetites for better foods are increasing, thus increasing the demand.  While some countries are able to feed that growing middle class, the number of undernourished people is growing as well.  This is due to both the increased demands for grains worldwide, which has diminished reserves and increased prices and also to increasingly volatile weather which more often than not has been destroying crops in the countries most depended on to supply those grains.  In the past decade alone, the amount of undernourished people has jumped almost 100 million to almost 950 million people world wide.  There are a few different reasons one could look at to explain the difficulties we are facing now.  To start with, we have to jump back a few more decades to look at the Green Revolution and its immediate and long term effects.  To get an entirely in depth understanding, check out this article. 

Starting back in the 1950's and 1960's, there were great advances made in crop production, the staples of wheat, rice, soybeans, and corn.  Production of these crops was able to be doubled through engineering these plants according to the area they would be grown in.  Then in the 1970's, genetic engineering of these plants enable them to survive in areas previously unable to support crop production.  All this enabled food production to exceed population growth and resulted in large reserves available to sustain us all.  This production continued into the 1980's and 1990's where in association with the booming agriculture industry, funding for new research and technology in the area fell off because everything looked fantastic.  Also during
that period, as scientists were seeing a warming climate, they assumed that increased CO2 levels would actually boost grain production as CO2 is a vital component for any plant life.  Well, in reality, the rising CO2 levels don't make as much of a difference as they were expected to.  Scientists had originally assumed that production would essentially double with rising levels, but when tested in a controlled environment just recently, it was found that production levels experienced only a minor increase if at all.  So what does all this mean.  Essentially, unless countries start heavily investing money into agricultural research, especially in the areas of wheat, rice, soybean, and corn, there will be far greater food shorter in the future than we are experiencing now.   The unfortunate part is, even though we have seen food prices double in most cases since 2007, over the next ten years we can expect food prices to double or triple their current levels.  No matter how much investing countries do right now, it will take years for any new genetically engineered plant to make it into the field and start making a difference in food production. 

In addition to rising CO2 levels not making much of a difference, perhaps the biggest concern at this point is the volatile weather that we have been experiencing across the globe.  In the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in droughts, heat waves, flash floods, diminished water supplies, pests, and more.  The current plants that produce our food are unable for the most part the exist in under these circumstances.  Some research has shown that once the temperature rises to a certain level, 84 degrees for corn and 86 degrees for soybeans, yields of those crops drop severely.   There is some hope however, if and only if we invest more money into this industry.  The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has been an enormous investor in these area and has made a difference, but it will take more to make a world wide difference.  In one instance, a farmer in India had his crop of rice entirely submerged by a flood for a week.  A normal rice plant would have perished, but with his new genetically engineered rice plant, it was essentially able to go dormant till the waters subsided and it could once again get fresh air and sunlight.  The crops did not die, and he was still able to harvest his rice.  There is a difference that can be made and it must be made soon if we are to enable our growing population sustain itself and provide food for everyone.

The current world population of 7 billion is expected to reach 10 billion by the end of the century.  This means we need to find a way to double our production of the essential grains as we did last century.   While this will take massive investment on the part of countries, people can also make a little difference themselves.  All it takes is starting a little garden of your own to supply you and your family with at least part of what you eat.  Even if it just some vegetables for the summer, it will make a difference.  Even if you live in a city, there has been a growth in roof top gardens to help in growing fresh produce for those living nearby.  While this is only a small part and doesn't necessarily affect the production of the essential grains, it helps to alleviate the strain put on the market by supplying ourselves with some of the food we eat.  While it may not be easy to make a difference world wide in the production of food, we can urge our governments to invest more money into research of grain production.  It still won't be easy because we have yet to recover from the global recession and money is still short in many places.  However, something needs to be done and we need to start it now.  Just a few years ago, there were riots in over thirty different countries over food.  If we don't want that number to grow, our governments need to step it up a notch, get past their bickering, and find real solutions to our food supply issues.