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Global Notebook 9-7-05

Super User September 7, 2005 Super User

FEMA failed to follow disaster plan

WASHINGTON, DC – More than a year before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, local, state and federal officials held a simulated hurricane drill that Ronald Castleman, then regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) called "a very good exercise." More than 1 million residents were "evacuated" in a table-top scenario as 120 mph winds and 20 inches of rain caused widespread flooding that supposedly trapped 300,000 people in the city. read more

Movement Control: Navigating the Checkpoints of Palestine

Mneesha Gellman September 7, 2005 Mneesha Gellman

Crossing between Jerusalem and Ramallah, West Bank

The desert sun slants down, filtering through the dust and car exhaust. We shift our weight from one foot to the next, babies from hips to shoulders. Packages are set on the ground in resignation. Women in brightly embroidered thobes, traditional Palestinian dress, discreetly loosen their headscarves to allow a little air to pass over their throats. We are trying to get from one place to the next, and have been bottlenecked into a checkpoint. There are more than fifty-seven checkpoints in Palestine's West Bank, each one with a series of metal detectors and narrow cattle-shoot passages that one must pass through to reach the Israeli soldiers who staff them. Leaning against their sandbags, guns and ammo hanging from their chests, the soldiers lazily flip through each person's passport or ID card and then make the decision; to be let through, to be questioned further, or to be pulled to the side for a full investigation. It is a wild card every time.

Powering Alaska After The Oil Runs Out

Brian Yanity September 6, 2005 Brian Yanity

Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline

Someday Alaska's oil and gas reserves will run out. It is not a question of if, but when. Eventually, these commodities can no longer be the mainstay of the state's economy. This probably won't be the case for a couple of decades, but reality has a way of catching up with those who try to cheat the laws of physics. It is often claimed in Alaska that the "jobs versus environmental protection" dichotomy is an unbridgeable chasm. This may be historically true, based on past and present modes of economic production. However, Alaska can use new modes of energy production that are both economically and environmentally sustainable. The only way to protect resource-based jobs in the long run is through a sustainable working relationship with the land. Development of renewable energy sources, not just in Alaska but worldwide, is absolutely essential for a sustainable economy that preserves both jobs and the environment. The sooner Alaska starts developing innovative renewable energy resources, the more diverse Alaska's economy will be.

The Wholesale Looting of the Gulf Coast

Brian Dominick September 5, 2005 Brian Dominick

If you are more interested in and disgusted by rumors of civilian "troublemakers" on the streets of New Orleans and other Gulf Coastal communities than in the massive failings of the United States government before, during and since this tragedy began, consider a career in journalism.

The real criminals are sitting in positions of authority: the president, the director of FEMA, and the hundreds of congresspersons cutting their excessive vacations short to pat one another on the back as they pass emergency funding provisions for the hardly-operative relief efforts centered in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Women Lead the Way

Robin Lloyd September 1, 2005 Robin Lloyd

Raging Grannies sing out against torture.

Women are leading the anti-war movement right now. The grief and rage of Cindy Sheehan is spreading across America. Thousands of letters have flooded in to the Crawford Texas, Post Office, demanding that President Bush meet with Cindy. Over 1,600 candlelight vigils took place on Wednesday, August 17, and communities are setting up their own Camp Caseys, named after Cindy's son who died in Baghdad last year. Has the 'tipping point' finally arrived?

Global Notebook 8-31-05

Super User August 31, 2005 Super User

U.S. proposals could derail UN summit

NEW YORK – John Bolton, the controversial new U.S. ambassador to the UN, has demanded no fewer than 750 amendments to an agreement designed to strengthen the world body and fight poverty, the intended highlight of its 60th anniversary summit this month. He also seeks to roll back proposed UN commitments to combat global warming and push nuclear disarmament.

The amendments are included in a 32-page U.S. version, obtained by the Washington Post and the UK Independent. The changes eliminate all reference to the so-called Millennium Development Goals, accepted by all countries at the last major UN summit in 2000, as well as the Kyoto treaty and the International Criminal Court. Instead, the U.S. wants passages on fighting terrorism and spreading democracy. read more