Slumdog - go see it

We saw Slumdog Millionaire last night. Wow! What a movie!
It is not for the faint of heart - there are some pretty brutal scenes about the main character's childhood, growing up an orphan, living on his wits in the slums of Bombay/Mumbai. Jamil goes on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and because he does do well he's accused of cheating. After all, how could a tea boy from the slums know anything?

I've been to India twice, but this certainly was not the India that I experienced being whisked from one fancy hotel to another by a private driver.

Not sure he gets it (on religion)

One blind spot Obama seems to have is in his choice of religious leaders, from hanging out with Rev. Wright to now picking Rick Warren for the Inauguration prayer. Why would you pick a guy who compares same-sex marriage to pedophilia and incest?!

He gets it (on energy & climate)

I'm delighted to see that Obama has created a special office for climate change, along with not putting oil and politics at the forefront for the Dept. of Energy and the EPA. Here's a nice summary:

Dominated by lobbyists for the oil industry, the task force Vice President Dick Cheney convened early in the Bush presidency laid the groundwork for the administration's dangerously antiquated approach to meeting the nation's energy needs.

Its core recommendation -- to open more federal land to oil, coal and natural-gas development -- largely led officials for the next eight years to ignore conservation efforts and the need to develop clean, alternative energy....

Finally, though, the winds are changing. This week, President-elect Barack Obama named his top energy and environmental team. And fortunately, its members signaled their intention to reshape the nation's energy market so it can kick its dependence on unstable, U.S.-hating, oil-rich countries. They spoke of the urgency to invest in green technology and infrastructure projects to help rejuvenate the economy. And they promised that science -- not political expediency -- will drive their efforts.

Belize - The Blue Hole

We just returned from a week in Belize. As a tourist destination it's known primarily as a diving destination. Belize has the longest stretch of the Mesoamerican Reef, which is shares with Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. This is the 2nd largest reef in the world, after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.


The most famous dive site in Belize, explored by Jacques Cousteau, is the Blue Hole. The fish life there isn't actually the main attraction. Cousteau discovered that it is a collapsed cave. The bottom is at about 400 feet of depth, which is far too deep for recreational divers. We went to about 130 feet down (plenty deep) where there is an overhang of the original cave ceiling. There you swim among 30 foot long stalactites. It is positively otherworldly.

"Staggering... even by Illinois standards..."

Wow! That's right, Blago was trying to sell Obama's Senate seat. In a state where we half expect our governor's to end up in the Big House, this takes the cake. From a press release by the US Attorney's Office:

Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges alleging that they and others are engaging in ongoing criminal activity: conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits for Blagojevich by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a United States Senator; threatening to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical of Blagojevich; and to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for official actions – both historically and now in a push before a new state ethics law takes effect January 1, 2009.

Right, definitely want to do this before any new pesky ethics laws come into effect.

At various times, in exchange for the Senate appointment, Blagojevich discussed obtaining:

• a substantial salary for himself at a either a non-profit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions;
• placing his wife on paid corporate boards where he speculated she might garner as much as $150,000 a year;
• promises of campaign funds – including cash up front; and
• a cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself.

Can you really blame him for trying to line up his next job when he gets booted from the Governor's mansion? It's a tough job market out there.

Slough cuts climate change emissions

The town of Slough cuts climate change emissions. Should TV's The Office be concerned?: Scientific American Blog

OK, this angle on this article isn't terribly serious, but I'm amazed that Slough (the Scranton of the UK, or perhaps the Schaumburg) has emissions targets for itself, even if they are making them less ambitious. Does Scranton? Does Schaumburg? Will non-major towns in the US keep up?

Guano?

Here's some great commentary on the current suit questioning Obama's status as a natural-born citizen from Huffington Post:

WILLIAMS: The question is what is a natural-born citizen? That's never been legally defined.

Yes! That's because the founders didn't envision the totally batshit citizens we have now!

Clean Coal Ad

This ad is from Al Gore's Reality Coalition. Do you think it's effective? I'm not so sure. It asserts there's no such thing as clean coal, without giving evidence. I just saw it while I was watching This Week. I may not disagree, but I feel like the ad and the accompanying website talk down to the reader/viewer, not trusting we can handle actual information.

Knowing a bit about coal-fired generation, building new coal plants that would allow older ones to be shut down would help the environment. Given that a full one half of US electricity is produced through coal and that we have a lot of coal in the ground, what is Gore's suggestion as an alternative? The US needs a short term solution to its power issue, which can not be satisfied only through alternatives.

20,000 troops on our streets

This makes me uncomfortable. This makes me think also of the on-going issue in Iraq on the different roles for the military and the police.

The U.S. military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials.

There are critics of the change, in the military and among civil liberties groups and libertarians who express concern that the new homeland emphasis threatens to strain the military and possibly undermine the Posse Comitatus Act, a 130-year-old federal law restricting the military's role in domestic law enforcement.

Thoughts? Wade? Ron?

Floods in Venice

George and I were in Venice for our honeymoon about a month and a half ago. Now, it's having near-record-breaking floods - more than 1.5 meters of water (that's 4.5 feet.) Here are some pictures.

UNESCO has been warning for some time that due to rising water levels and subsidence of the land, Venice could be subject to daily floods in the future.

There is always talk of a major project in the lagoon which would consist of barriers that would rise out of the water to keep the flood waters out. It is very controversial and I'm not sure if it is moving forward or not.