Stupid White Men

"...and other sorry excuses for the state of the nation". I recently finished reading this book. Overall, I enjoyed it a lot. It's a very biting satire of things American that you can smirk along with and empathize with Michael Moore's anger. I found the first two chapters the most interesting ("A Very American Coup" and "Dear George"). He describes how George Bush and his cronies stole the US election, their corporate connections and questions their actions in office. The remaining chapters are all interesting too and highlight all kinds of anomalies such as how a seventeen year old American isn't old enough to sign a contract but is old enough to be executed. This is why the US isn't signed up to the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. The only other country that hasn't signed is Somalia. Even China (by far the most execution happy country - 4000 odd in 2001) doesn't execute anyone under eighteen.

To be fair, there has been some critique that his research is flawed while others praise it. Still, I would recommend reading it.

Participate in Climate Prediction

Remember the SETI screensaver that allowed you to participate in the search for extra terrestrial life? Now you can do something for our planet instead. Download this application or service and help crunch a climate prediction model. You need a decent machine and you have to let it run a lot (6 weeks for a P4 1.6).

State Of The World

Just discovered that you can download the State Of The World 2002 PDF for free from the WorldWatch Institute. Good reading. You can also download earlier editions and numerous high quality articles and papers as well. Great resource. Also check out the Matters Of Scale pages for some great comparisons like this one on Factory Fish Farming.

The Little Food Book

I picked up this book at the book shop in the Eden Project and read it while on holiday. It's an excellent little book subtitled "an explosive account of the food we eat today". (Warning: reading about the food you eat can make you feel sick!) It's consists of 46 very short chapters covering a wide range of topics written from a UK perspective. As you can imagine, it's disconcerting stuff and it's inspired us to join the Soil Association (which has a great website) and review where we buy our food and what we eat. Highly recommended.

Jenny's Parents Arrive

Jenny's parents arrived safe and sound last night after a 14 hour flight from KL. Jenny's mom has lost no time in sorting out our kitchen cupboards (too much food!) while her dad is revising Jenny's design for a new front yard. They're not the kind of inlaws that sit around the house...

Four Ice Creams Please

Over our holidays in Cornwall, K* had a bit of a breakthrough. He can now eat ice cream! As you might know as a baby K* had allergies to nuts, dairy and wheat resulting in very bad excema. The wheat allergy disappeared some years ago and his skin has been relatively good since then. Over the last few months, he's been eating cheese (pizza!) and chocolate and other things made with milk without ill effects. So over the holidays he even had ice cream and now loves hot chocolate too. We limit how much dairy he has but it's great that he can enjoy these things and it makes it easier when we're travelling and eating out. The only thing we're left with is a paranoia about nuts.

One Nation under Goods: Malls and the Seductions of American Shopping

You can download this book for free from the Microsoft Reader site. Sounds interesting but I haven't read any of it yet. It promises "a revealing examination of shopping, consumerism, and mall design in America." Certainly overconsumerism is a major problem on the planet. I read somewhere it takes 24 acres to support 1 American. You can also download a copy of Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut at the same place.

BBC: GM trade treaty takes effect

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety took effect last week and supports countries baring imports of GMO's. Here's the list of countries agreeing to it. Glad to see so many signed up to it especially Canada and the UK (not ratified though). Of course the US doesn't support it and they're the most likely exporter.

BBC: Mixed feelings over Cancun collapse

No surprise that the WTO talks in Cancun failed. The EU gives farmers $86.8 billion a year. The US Farm Bill 2002 will spend $180 billion over the next 10 years. So agricultural trade is incredibly distorted and Cancun failed because there's no political will in the rich countries to do the right thing and change their domestic policies to give developing countries a level playing field. We're not talking a major domestic fallout either. The largest 2% of Europe's farms receive 24% of all direct payments while the smallest 60% receive only 10%. We're paying big farms to (inefficiently) over produce and depress the market for developing nations. Developing nations can't even process their own raw produce and export an added value produce because of the import tariffs they would be subject to. So much for free trade. It's a double standard.

IT 4 Communities

"IT 4 Communities is an initiative to encourage companies, employees and individuals with professional IT skills to volunteer these skills for the benefit of local charities and community groups."  Nice site. First one I've ran across that has more interesting projects than just helping people learn Microsoft Office.

First Day Of School

Today was R*'s first day at a new school starting Year Three. She was a bit nervous but held up really well. She's a very adaptable kid and, fingers-crossed, she'll settle in soon enough. Unfortunately, school starts at eight o'clock and it takes me twenty minutes to drive her there. Early mornings ugghh!!

BBC: Nike settles 'free speech' court case

Nike settles out of court for $1.5 million over false advertising about worker conditions in Asia. It's unfortunate it didn't go to court and set a precedent. Both Nike and Adidas has been criticised by Oxfam. Read the FAQ on nikewages.org and think twice before buying that swoosh.

Guardian: Farmer who got a hearing by paying the ultimate price

Sad story of the Korean farmer that committed suicide at the WTO talks in Cancun. I've been following the talks and have been completely disgusted by how the EU-US lavish agricultural subsidies and subsequent dumping practices have been destroying the lives of farmers in the developing world. This article quotes an article written by the Korean farmer.

I'm Back, Again!

Just a quick entry to let you know we're back from Cornwall. It was a good trip and we now know why so many British folk go down to Cornwall every year for their holiday. I wouldn't mind going again. I'll try and get a travelogue written up over the next week. Meanwhile, the next month looks like it's going to be pretty busy. R* starts a new school. My inlaws are visiting. I've got to finish my PADI certification. Jenny has a birthday. We've got two more trips planned.