With the recent earthquake destroying so much of Haitia’s infrastructure,
communication between military units remains vital to supporting the relief
effort…
Blog
-
Puerto Rico Guard uses chat room as communication tool for Haiti operations
-
ARNG installations to receive environmental awards
Three Army National Guard installations will receive Secretary of the Army awards
for their environmental and sustainability program achievements during fiscal year
2009, the Army announced Jan. 15… -
Entergy Announces Purchase of 100000 Tons of CO2 Emission Offsets – PR Newswire (press release)
Entergy Announces Purchase of 100000 Tons of CO2 Emission Offsets
PR Newswire (press release)
Originally certified by the Voluntary Carbon Standard, which is known for its high-quality offset criteria, and listed on the Markit Environmental Registry, …
and more »
-
The Medicalization Of Maleness
Reading the funny articles about Tiger Woods’ romp through a battalion of trashy, deluded babes who thought they would be the next Mrs. Woods, I noticed a theme emerge.
David Smallwood, who has treated a host of celebrities at north London’s Priory clinic, said: “He displays a number of the pointers such as seeking highs from outdoor sex and having many mistresses.
“I would implore him to get help. But I see him as ill, not bad.”
***
“People who have affairs typically do so because something is lacking,” says psychotherapist Stacy Kaiser. “You can be the world’s best golfer, role model and endorsement spokesman and still not feel good inside.”
When that happens, she says, a man tends to “fill that hole with women as a distraction and an escape.”
The opinion of the experts and sexperts is in: If you are a man who is able to satisfy his natural sexual inclination for a variety of women, you have a problem. A big problem, my friend, and you should seek therapy right away to cure yourself of your affliction.
As a valiant avatar of the ugly truths, I’m here to tell the collected wisdom of the armies of psychotherapists swinging their degrees like battle axes: Tiger Woods does not have a problem. What he has is a male sex drive, and a willingness to fulfull it. In so doing, he makes you confront your worst fears about the base instincts of humanity unleashed in glorious wanton hedonism. You shirk not because of what Tiger does, but because you tremble before your fear of what most men would do given the opportunities available to a man with Woods’ high social and material status.
Tiger Woods may not be a model citizen, but neither does he have an emotional or psychological problem. He’s just a man with a strong sex drive who got bored with the same old pussy day in and day out and decided to spice it up with a willing brigade of slutty concubines all too ready to dismiss their own feelings of complicity in the sordid arrangements that will now cost Woods hundreds of millions of dollars. If Woods has a problem, it’s that he got married. Big mistake, chief.
How many typical married men would act like Woods if suddenly blessed with his fame and fortune? Imbue 100 Joe Sixpacks with Woods’ high status, and 99 would run roughshod on their marital vows. Over and over. Gleefully. Guiltlessly. Until they got caught.
I would ask the experts in the human condition: Do Woods’ mistresses have a problem that must be addressed by months of therapy? If not, why not? Aren’t they just as happily and guiltlessly following their own biomechanical directive in hypergamously hooking up with a wealthy uber alpha who happens to be married? How many typical housewives would act like Woods’ skank parade if suddenly blessed with Woods’ attention and desire? Impart 100 Jill Saddlebags with Woods’ sexual flirtations, and 99 would run roughshod on their marital vows. Over and over. Guiltlessly. Orgasmically. And even after they got caught, because they know in the event of divorce they are not going to be the ones coming up short.
We live in a culture where today the natural male sex drive is demonized and the natural female sex drive is glorified. It is an interesting shift of the paradigm, and one I suspect is unsustainable for a modern, first world economy that rests on certain implicit assumptions about how its citizens are to comport themselves if the good of the whole is to thrive. (Nevermind my antics; While good for me, I’m not one to bow before the concept of the good of the whole. I’ll just freeride until I wind up in the same place as all those properly behaved subjects of the industrial kingdom.)
The adamantium foundation of core values that buttresses all other values is the sexual market. The constant flux of sexual energy between men and women is the force multiplier that breathes life into cultures, and infuses societies with everything from salsa to skyscrapers. When you fuck with the workings of that origin value you fuck with everything resting on top of it, ten times over. This is why late 20th century feminism has been such a boon for the haters of beauty and a weapon for the bringers of doom. Given the inherent lag effect in any large scale human value shift, I expect the fruit of our current culture of lies to ripen fully within our lifetimes.
As I see it, a culture can grapple with the reality of the sexual market and its consequences in one of four ways:
I. Shame/demonize/medicalize the male sex drive. Condone/laud/glorify the female sex drive.
II. Shame the male sex drive. Shame the female sex drive.
III. Glorify the male sex drive. Shame the female sex drive.
IV. Glorify the male sex drive. Glorify the female sex drive.
2010 America is currently knee deep in paradigm number I. 1950s America, according to our best sources (the ones who lived through it) was operating under cultural condition number II, with nods and winks toward number III. Speaking of number III, this seems to be the arrangement most prevalent in the Arab cultures. Number IV is the historically rarest configuration, and is seen most often in pagan cultures like Scandinavia and underdeveloped tribal nations like the swath across much of subsaharan Africa. Number IV is emergent in either highly anarchic societies or in highly homogenized societies of small, manageable population sizes.
America has chosen number I, which is probably the worst option to choose for a mature economic powerhouse rapidly morphing into a trifurcated multicultural and multiethnic population of immense size. This is the option that will send most men into either withdrawal or violence, and most women into hypergamous overdrive. No modern economy, built as they almost invariably all are on the sweat of men with an eye toward saving and investing in the future, can survive a long bout with a value system resting squarely in number I and constantly propped up by the likes of elite opinion makers and Oprah.
Personally, I live by construct number IV, as it is the value system that most pleases me, and is likeliest to persuade women to shed their inhibitions in my company. A master seducer at the height of his game will be living his life by the precepts of number IV, whether or not he argues for the abolition on a wider scale of the paradigm that so suits him in his personal quests.
My prediction for the future is that number I eventually will yield, softly or cataclysmically, to number II, with a short temporary stint in number IV. Number IV is really the wildcard here. While number I works its magic slowly and insidiously, number IV has the explosive power to radically alter the cultural landscape in a very short period of time, especially in a culture historically insulated from the hedonistic ravages of number IV.
I think it would be funny if our culture were one where male gigolos are forgiven and invited onto talk shows and cheating wives are forced to cough up half their assets and income, lose custody of their children, and be shamed from polite society. Sounds punitive, doesn’t it? Well, that’s what we have today. Just reverse the genders.
Posted in Biomechanics is God, Culture, Goodbye America, Misandry
-
This Is Me With A Smile On My Face
So a Republican won Dead Ted’s royal Democrat Senate seat in Massachusetts. More blessed magical karmic justice there could not be.
(Sung to the tune of ‘Singing in the Rain’)
I’m piiiiiissing on Ted’s grave
just piiiiissing on Ted’s grave
What a glorious feelin’
I’m defiling his nameLet the DNC chase
everyone from the grave
Come on with the pee
I’m urinating freelyaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh…………….
Posted in Current Events, Hope and Change
-
Mod arkadaşlar bu konuya bakarsa sevinirim
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1050589Mod arkadaşlar bu konuyla ilgilenirseniz sevinirim
-
Dow Now Off Over 200
It gets worse. The Dow is now off over 200 points.
Financials are bombing.
Join the conversation about this story »
See Also:
-
Museum of Quackery and Medical Frauds
Saint Paul, Minnesota | Museums and Collections
While technically this museum closed in 2002, thanks to the intrepid efforts of the Science Museum of Minnesota and curator and collector Bob McCoy, the collection lives on as the “Questionable Medical Device” collection in the Science Museum of Minnesota.
This collection of dubious medical devices reminds us that sometimes, medicine is best left to the doctors. Exhibits on display include a phrenological machine that gauges personality by measuring the size of bumps on the head, a foot-powered breast enlarger, and glasses and soap products designed for weight-loss.
You can still have your phrenology read by the fully functional machine today, and as the machine outlines the bumps on your skull, the phrenology reader “maps” intelligence, morality, and much more. Machines such as these were all the rage at State Fairs of the early 1900s, as were other questionable medical devices. The infomercials of their time, these snake oils and pseudoscience gadgets could cure impotence, tell how smart you were, and make you live forever.
Unfortunately these contraptions were also often dangerous to the public that was tricked into using them. A depilatory machine removed unwanted hair with x-rays, and ultimately caused cancer in the thousands of women who paid for the treatment. Another apparatus, used in shoe stores, allowed you to see your feet in your new shoes with an x-ray machine. How else could you tell if the shoes fit? The machine was declared unsafe by the FDA in 1970.
The museum’s roots lie in a modern day “phrenology parlor” started by Bob McCoy in the early 80s. Bob and his friend acquired a dozen or so phrenology machines and opened up shop in a waterfront mall in downtown Minneapolis. Demonstrating the machinery for a few bucks a pop, word soon spread about McCoy and his vintage devices. McCoy continued to acquire additional pieces from garage sales and other collectors, and the exhibit now also holds exhibits on loan from The American Medical Association, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, The St. Louis Science Center, The Bakken Library, and The National Council Against Health Fraud. When McCoy retired, he donated his collection of more than 325 exhibits to the Science Museum of Minnesota.
The museum is currently the world’s largest display of “what the human mind has devised to cure itself without the benefit of either scientific method or common sense.”
-
Cereal your way
Courtesy Custom Choice Cereal
Are you the kind of person who wishes your Honey Bunches of Oats contained pumpkin seeds and dried strawberries rather than almonds and raisins? I only ask because I am. In fact, I have a huge appetite for dried fruits and nuts. I eat them with yogurt in the morning, keep them in my desk drawer for snacking and toss them into salads at nights. My children suspect I am part squirrel.That’s why I have become interested in the sudden proliferation of online custom cereal blenders. These companies, such as Moja Mix and Me and Goji allow you pick a base, such as granola or corn flakes, and then add the dried fruits and nuts that you like.
I am particularly interested in a company out of North Carolina called Custom Choice Cereal, which offers plenty of healthy options and mixed them all in a gluten-free facility. You can start with a base of corn flakes enriched with flax and quinoa, then add such diverse garnishes as goji berries, dried pears, … -
Downgrades galore for Inmet
Analysts are slashing their ratings on Inmet Mining Corp. after a disappointing production report and outlook.
Toronto-based Inmet continues to be plagued by start-up problems at Las Cruces, it's oft-delayed copper project in Spain. It was supposed to reach commercial production in late 2009, but now it has been pushed back to May of this year as the company faced a number of operational and equipment problems (and heavy rainfall didn't help, either).
UBS Securities analyst Onno Rutten noted that Las Cruces' production in the fourth quarter (3,300 tonnes of copper cathode) missed the company's expectations by 60%, and missed his own more cautious outlook by 40%.
"Strong performances at Cayeli and Ok Tedi [mines] were entirely offset by exceedingly weak results at Las Cruces," he wrote in a note to clients.
Analysts Fraser Phillips at RBC Capital Markets and Greg Barnes of TD Newcrest both suggested that the problems at Las Cruces could continue to be a drag on Inmet's share price until the company demonstrates some improvement in the operation. And that could take some time.
"Inmet has retained a team of third-party consultants to help determine whether operational issues could further delay the ramp-up — which suggests to us that management is not fully confident that it fully understands the problems at the operation," Mr. Barnes wrote.
All three analysts downgraded the stock to "hold" from "buy" (or their equivalents). Mr. Rutten has a price target of $75.00 share, Mr. Phillips' target is $65.00 a share, and Mr. Barnes' target is $70.00 a share.
-
Preventing birth defects starts before you are pregnant
January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month, and the week of Jan. 4-10 is Folic Acid Awareness Week. As you may know, there is a relationship between folic acid and birth defects.
Many birth defects of the brain and spine, called neural tube defects, occur in the first few weeks of pregnancy, often before a woman knows she is pregnant. The good news is that 70 percent of neural tube defects are preventable by taking folic acid, a B vitamin, every day before a woman becomes pregnant.
Even if you are not planning to get pregnant in the near future, we know that at least 50 percent of pregnancies are not planned. For teens and women in their early 20s, the rate increases to about 80 percent. That is why it is so crucial that all women of childbearing age get 400 micrograms of folic acid daily.
Most multiple vitamins contain the recommended amount of folic acid, as well as many other vitamins that protect women’s and infants’ health such as vitamins A, C, and E and minerals such as calcium. Read more…
-
No Surprises as Human Rights are continually trampled on African soil
Nairobi – African leaders have sent their people an alarming message by siding with Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir over his victims, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its annual report on Wednesday.The 600-page review of human rights in the world criticised African governments for blocking justice mechanisms and warned that rights activists were increasingly threatened.
The New York based watchdog hailed the March 2009 International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Beshir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s strife-wracked Darfur region as "a major development".
But in an introduction entitled "The Abusers’ Reaction: Intensifying Attacks on Human Rights Defenders, Organisations, and Institutions", it also deplored the African Union’s decision to stand by Beshir.
"One would have wanted African leaders to applaud the move. After all, the world had dithered for more than five years as the people of Darfur faced mass murder and forced displacement," the report said.
"Unfortunately, some African leaders seemed less troubled by the slaughter of ordinary African people than by the audacious prospect that a sitting African leader might actually be brought to justice for these horrendous crimes," it said.
"The nadir came during the African Union summit held in July 2009 in Sirte, Libya," HRW said. "The AU, led by some of the continent’s worst autocrats, began accusing the court of unfairly targeting Africans. In reality, these leaders were cynically trying to protect one of their own."
Misuse of justice
Human Rights Watch, which reviewed the status of human rights in around 20 sub-Saharan countries, also highlighted government obstruction or misuse of justice mechanisms at national level.
The report, dedicated to Alison Des Forges – a former HRW Africa senior adviser and leading expert on Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, who died in a US plane crash last year – took a swipe at Rwanda over its local gacaca courts.
Rwanda has "employed its informal gacaca courts – a form of popular justice devoid of many fair trial guarantees – to falsely accuse government critics of complicity in the 1994 genocide," HRW said.
"Ironically, these steps, taken in the name of national reconciliation, have undermined the formation of independent civil society groups that could bridge ethnic divides and ease ethnic tensions," it added.
Human Rights Watch also slammed Kenya, a key Western ally in Africa which has failed to introduce reforms demanded by the international community following deadly post-election violence in 2008.
The report said "incidents of extrajudicial killings and excessive use of force by police and military continued unchecked in 2009."
"There were also renewed reports of systematic torture and mistreatment of civilians during disarmament operations," it added.
The report also singled out Ethiopia, which it said was "on a deteriorating human rights trajectory as parliamentary elections approach in 2010."
Abuses by the military, lengthy pre-charge detention and legal provisions restricting political freedom go unpunished and unnoticed by foreign donors keen not to jeopardise security co-operation, it said.
The watchdog deplored yet another year of violence against civilians by all belligerents in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a situation in Somalia, which it said was "so dangerous that open human rights monitoring is virtually impossible."
– AFP
-
Beyoncé to be involved in Haiti charity single?
Simon Cowell is putting together a charity single to raise money for earthquake hit Haiti. It’s claimed Prime Minister Gordon Brown personally asked the X Factor judge to put together a track. Cowell told The Sun: “We are going to do a single. We only made the decision today. I have got to get it together in 24 hours.” Now it’s claimed massive stars like Beyoncé, Lady GaGa and Robbie Williams could record parts for the song. This Friday acts including Beyoncé, Coldplay, Jay-Z, Christina Aguilera and U2 will perform at the Hope For Haiti Now telethon – which has been organised by MTV and George Clooney. Jay and U2 have also recorded a song to raise cash for the cause.
-
Demoras en la compra de material ferroviario de China
Crisis institucional / Consecuencias en las relaciones exterioresSe frenan negocios con China por casi US$ 3000 millones
La suspensión del viaje de la Presidenta a ese país impide la firma de acuerdos clave; fuertes críticas.
Lucas Colonna
LA NACIONLa sorpresiva decisión de Cristina Kirchner de suspender el viaje a China para evitar que Julio Cobos quedara a cargo del Poder Ejecutivo dejó al borde del fracaso un negocio bilateral por unos 3000 millones de dólares. La cifra representa casi la mitad del Fondo del Bicentenario con reservas del Banco Central (BCRA), cuya aún fallida constitución causó una profunda crisis institucional en el país.
Según supo LA NACION de altas fuentes oficiales, en la visita que tenía prevista la Presidenta iba a firmar con su par chino, Hu Jintao, una batería de compromisos bilaterales para la compra de infraestructura ferroviaria destinada a renovar el grueso del sistema argentino de trenes. Es un negocio millonario que requería, como tal, el respaldo de los dos presidentes para poder ser llevado adelante.
El hecho de que Cristina Kirchner no viajara obligó a dar marcha atrás con los convenios "hasta nuevo aviso", explicaron las fuentes del Gobierno vinculadas con los preparativos de la gira asiática. Lo llamativo del caso es que el presidente del Banco Central y protagonista del conflicto político que sacude al país por estos días, Martín Redrado, había suscripto apenas 10 meses atrás un millonario acuerdo con el Banco Popular de China para respaldar el intercambio comercial bilateral.
El convenio era un swap -convenio de intercambio recíproco- cambiario por 70.000 millones de yuanes -lo que representa unos 10.200 millones de dólares-, que serviría para facilitar y viabilizar operaciones como las que negociaban los dos gobiernos en torno de la infraestructura ferroviaria. […]
[…]En la Cancillería dijeron a LA NACION que el ministro Jorge Taiana viajará en representación de la Presidenta[…]Pero, en los hechos, el canciller no avanzará sobre el eje central del viaje: los convenios para la venta por parte de China de la infraestructura ferroviaria necesaria para la modernización del sistema argentino.
Altas fuentes de la administración kirchnerista confiaron a LA NACION que los dos gobiernos habían trabajado denodadamente en los entendimientos desde mediados de 2009. En diciembre de ese año, una comitiva de trabajo argentina, encabezada por el secretario de Transporte de la Nación, Juan Pablo Schiavi, y coordinada por el operador político de Julio De Vido, Roberto Baratta, desembarcó en Pekín para darles forma a los entendimientos que firmarían los presidentes este mes. Los bienes por adquirir (locomotoras, vagones y material ferroviario de industria china) iban a estar destinados a la reconversión del sistema argentino y a renovar la infraestructura del Belgrano Carga. […]
[…]"La Argentina se pierde una buena oportunidad económica si la Presidenta suspende su viaje a China"
SERGIO BERENSZTEIN
Analista político […] -
Smartphone Car Mount Made In Under 10 Minutes and For Less Than $2 [Phones]
Made in under 10 minutes for less than two bucks, this adjustable smartphone car mount was created by one very frustrated Scion XB driver, fed up of not being able to find a suitable cradle.Using some PVC parts picked up at a hardware store, plastic coated wire and adhesive-backed craft foam, Instructables user NiftyCurly constructed the cradle you can see above, which he describes as being a “rock solid, quick and dirty $2 mount.” [Instructables]
-
Baby crying again? Find out why with Cry Translator. If you want, no one’s forcing you or anything like that.
Crying baby? There’s an App for that! (Boo!) It’s called Cry Translator, and it takes the various shouts and screams of your baby and “translates” them to proper language.
The App, which costs
$17.99$29.99 (sorry, got Pounds and Dollars mixed up), is the brainchild of a Spanish doctor.Anyhow, this all works because researchers have pretty much figured out what a baby’s crying means. Turns out there’s five types of cries—and these cries are the same across all of humanity, from Texas to Japan, from Portugal to Indonesia—and they indicate whether or not the baby is hungry, tired, stressed, bored, or annoyed. I did not know that.
The App claims to be 96 percent accurate.
Anyone in the audience have a baby they can try this on?
via The Sun
Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors
-
Question of the Day: 2012 Ford Focus or 2011 Chevrolet Cruze?
Two of Detroit’s big three are preparing to heat up the compact segment within a year with two new additions. During the third quarter of 2010, General Motors will bring the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze to the market. The 2011 Cruze will be available in three trim levels including the LS, LT and LTZ. The LS and LT will be powered by a 1.8L 4-cylinder making 136-hp, while the LTZ will be powered by a 1.4L 4-cylinder turbo making 138-hp. The Cruze is estimated to get an EPA rating of 40 mpg on the highway. All Cruze models will come standard with a 6-speed manual with a 6-speed automatic available as an option
A couple months after the Cruze makes its market debut, the 2012 Ford Focus will arrive in early 2011. Trim-level details are being kept under the wraps for now but we do know that the 2012 Focus will carry a 2.0L DI Ti-VCT 4-cylinder making 155-hp and 145 lb-ft of torque. Ford expects fuel-economy gains of more than 10 percent. Transmission choices include a 6-speed manual as standard and a 6-speed automatic as an option.
So, with that in mind, and imagining that you’ll be in the market for a compact vehicle when both models hit dealerships, would you go for the 2012 Ford Focus or the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze?
Let us know your answer in the comments section below.
2011 Chevrolet Cruze:
2012 Ford Focus:
– By: Omar Rana
-
The Real Dangers of Texting While Driving
Accident Attorneys Urge Drivers to Take “No-Texting” Pledge
Our car accident attorneys have seen far too many preventable car accidents resulting from distracted drivers texting and talking on cell phones. Research shows that talking on a cell phone while driving can have the same effect on perception and reaction timing as driving with four drinks in your system, while texting can have the same effect as driving with eight drinks in your system.
Now I’d like to jump on the Oprah bandwagon after her show this week showed millions of Americans just how dangerous this is. Oprah cited a survey finding that 71 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 49 admit they text or talk on the phone while driving. Her show then put young drivers who felt they could text and drive safely, on a course, showing just how impaired driving becomes when texting. The results are eye-opening.
I’ve said this before and it bears repeating: Texting while driving is a thoughtless act. But it is also very dangerous and needlessly puts lives at risk. Our message is simple, you can wait until your car is at a stop to send that text or make that phone call.
I’m asking you to take Oprah’s pledge that you will not text and drive. To make it official, take Oprah’s “No Phone Zone” pledge. This means no cell phone use or texting whatsoever in your vehicle. I hope you will become part of preventing needless tragedies from occurring.
Victims of Distracted Driving: The Numbers Don’t Lie
In September 2008, I blogged about a Los Angeles commuter train that crashed into an oncoming freight engine. The accident killed two dozen people and injured 135 — and it was caused because the engineer was texting. After Oprah’s show on distracted driving, her web site had in in-depth article featuring the commuter crash atrocity.
This accident made national headlines, and is an extreme example that distracting driving is claiming lives and destroying families. Sadly, such carnage is a part of our jobs as car accident attorneys. We see people killed and severely injured like this in our own metro Detroit communities. For example, in one of my cases, a trucker was texting and caused a catastrophic truck accident that resulted in my client losing both his legs when his Saturn was literally split in half. The crash occurred in Harrison Township, in Macomb County.
As part of a law firm specializing in auto accidents, I’m extremely pleased Oprah has taken on this important issue. With her following and clout, it can only help spread the word and hopefully resonate with people throughout the country. Trust me, my wife (a big Oprah fan) was waiting for me when I got home after Oprah’s texting show. Most likely, that was repeated hundreds of thousands of times throughout the country.
As Oprah said, “It is my prayer that this show, this day will be a seminal day in your life. Let it be the end, the end of you using a cell phone or sending a text message when you are behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. And until we as a nation decide we’re going to change that, those numbers are only going to go up.”
Sadly, the accident statistics are going up. Latest numbers from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (Summer 2009) prove the act of writing a text message while behind the wheel is one of the most dangerous things a driver can do. That “How R U?” can make a car crash 23 times more likely for truck drivers and six times more likely for most motorists.
Please re-think your actions while driving in Michigan. You could literally save lives, and save yourself.
– Steven M. Gursten is recognized as one of the nation’s top experts in serious car and truck accident injury cases and automobile insurance no-fault litigation. Michigan Auto Law has received the largest reported jury verdict for an automobile accident case in Michigan in seven of the past 10 years, including 2009, according to published year-end verdicts and settlements reports.
– Photo courtesy of Creative Commons, by nayrb7
Related information:
Tip for Car Accident Lawyers: Prove Texting Caused Accident
10 Foods to Avoid While Driving
Michigan Auto Law is the largest law firm exclusively handling car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state. We have offices in Southfield, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Sterling Heights to better serve you. Call (800) 777-0028 for a free consultation with an auto accident attorney. We are always here to help.
-
Putin Approves Waste Discharges into Lake Baikal
Environmentalists contend that pollution from the paper mill is the biggest threat to the lake’s biodiversity.
A decree signed last week by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will allow a paper mill on the shore of Lake Baikal to resume dumping sewage and waste water into the lake, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The decree removes waste discharges from the production of pulp and paper from a list of banned activities adopted in 2001.
The Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill stopped operations in October 2008 after environmental authorities ordered the mill to install a closed-loop water system, which would have eliminated wastewater discharges. The company decided the regulations made the mill unprofitable and shut it down in February 2009, causing massive unemployment in the mill town of Baikalsk, the WSJ reports.
The mill’s majority owner is Oleg Deripaska, the richest man in Russia until the global financial crisis began two years ago. Critics of the deal argue that Deripaska leveraged his influence with the Russian government to get pulp production removed from the list.
The prime minister’s press secretary denied that Putin was pressured by Deripaska’s interests, according to the WSJ.
“The only interests we can speak about protecting,” he said, “are the interests of the 16,000 people in Baikalsk, whose lives depend almost entirely on that mill.”
Though Lake Baikal, which holds one-fifth of the world’s unfrozen freshwater, is protected by the UNESCO World Heritage, the Worldwide Fund for Wildlife thinks the water body is still in jeopardy.
“Restart of the mill is being regarded as a necessity to preserve the jobs,” said Igor Chestin, WWF Russia Director, in a press release. “However, the resumption of its work will mean that Russia violates its obligations as one of the signatory party of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention.”
“The new resolution weakens the protection level of the World Natural Heritage site. It means that when a mission of the World Heritage committee could come to Russia and in the future Lake Baikal would be given a status of a World Heritage site under threat.”
Source: Wall Street Journal
Read more from UNESCO about Lake Baikal
-
Another $3M for QD Vision
Wade Roush wrote:
Little more than a month after announcing a $10 million round of venture financing, nanotech lighting startup QD Vision of Watertown, MA, said today that it has raised an additional $3 million from DTE Energy Ventures, a subsidiary of Detroit, MI-based power company Detroit Edison.“QD Vision’s Quantum Light platform will help lighting and display manufacturers reduce the carbon footprint of their products even as they continue delivering higher quality, better efficiency and lower costs for customers,” DTE Energy Ventures president Knut Simonsen said in a statement. QD Vision, a 2004 MIT spinoff also funded by North Bridge Venture Partners, Highland Capital Partners, and In-Q-Tel, has now raised $33 million altogether.
