The Flashlight, September 8-15, 2006
THE FLASHLIGHT, September 8 – 15, 2006
WORLD NEWS
Global Warming. A special issue of The Economist , 9-9, contained an
excellent article on global warming, pp. 23-30. It summarized the dangers of global warming thus: 1) a shutdown of the Gulf Stream, which would chill much of Europe. 2) a rise in the sea level, which would flood coastal cities and densely inhabited lowlands. 3) an increase in the intensity of hurricanes.
Climatologists warn against government subsidy of property insurance in Florida and elsewhere, because it encourages building too near the coast with the risk of loss from hurricanes. Without government subsidy, the cost of insurance to homeowners in threatened areas would rise steeply, discouraging building and repairs in those areas.
Some US evangelical leaders have spoken out about the dangers of global warming, but many of their followers are unresponsive. This is because of the widespread belief among them that hurricanes are deliberate acts of God. Some 33% of evangelicals hold this belief, 13% of non-evangelical Protestants, 15% of Catholics, and 17% of the unreligious.
The Economist article identified two priorities in the limitation of global warming: 1) stop burning coal, which causes 24.5% of the problem and 2) stop deforestation, which causes 18% of the problem.
World Religions. The NYTimes 9-16. On 9-12 in a speech in Regensberg, Germany Pope Benedict XVI offended many Muslims by quoting the following passage from the writing of a Byzantine (Christian) Emperor Manuel II Paleologus in 1391:
“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
The Pope did not agree or disagree with the quote but he said that “violence in the name of religion is contrary to God’s nature and reason.”
He suggested reason as the basis of dialog between cultures and religions.
The Middle East
PBS 9-8. Afghanistan.—There has been a upsurge of violence here, with the introduction of suicide bombing. This may be related to the fact that there was a bumper crop of opium this year. Afghanistan produces more than 90% of the world’s opium. [The consequent rise in opium income enables the Taliban to rearm and enlist more followers. ] NAT0 forces in the southeast are calling for reinforcements.
Haaretz 9-9. Iran. On a tour of the US former Iranian President Muhammad Khatami condemned the September 11 attacks on the US as an atrocity. He said suicide bombers did Islam an injustice and that they would not go to Heaven. He said that the killing of civilians was a crime and contrary to Islam. He regretted the taking of American diplomats hostage in Iran. He affirmed the existence of the Holocaust as a historical fact. These views are opposed to those of the current President of Iran.
The Economist 9-9. In Palestine, visitor Gerry Adams, MP said that suicide bombing had no “legitimacy” and that the Palestinians should use non-violence.
The Guardian 9-11. The two leading Palestinian parties (PLO and Hamas) have agreed on a unity government. Hamas has still not recognized the State of Israel, but it may do so de facto without backing down openly.
Washington Post 9-11. Iraq. The chief of Marine intelligence in Anbar Province said that the province could not be secured without reinforcements. The American military cannot extend the perimeters of their bases there.
Post 9-13. The Battle for Baghdad is very bloody, with over a hundred mutilated corpses found in a day. It has top priority both for the US and al-Qaida.
PBS 9-13. The Iraq War is costing US taxpayers one billion dollars a week.
PBS 9-15. David Brooks commented that many Republican politicians are saying in private that the Iraq War is now irreparably lost.
US News
NYTimes 9-9. The report of the Senate Intelligence Committee found that the CIA had found no Iink between Saddam Hussein and the late Musa al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida leader in Iraq.
US Health. CBS 9-10. Of the first responders to the disasters on 9-11, two-thirds now have lung and cancer damage from the toxic dust.
PBS 9-12. A study of US citizens ages 18-64 found that the principal limitations on life expectancy were chronic diseases caused by unhealthy behavior: smoking, drinking, and obesity. These behaviors also have lethal side effects like drunk driving. Asian females live on average 21 years longer than urban black males.
. US Politics. CBS 9-10. Senator John Rockefeller of West Virginia suggested that Iraq might have been better off if Saddam Hussein had remained in power.
CNN 9-14. Torture and Fair Trials. The Senate Armed Forces Committee considered a bill proposed by the White House that would allow CIA interrogators to use “alternate” methods of interrogation not permitted by the Geneva Convention, Art. 3. Senators McCain, Warner, and Graham – all Republicans, with the support of retired Gen. Colin Powell, proposed an alternative bill that would requires all Americans, including CIA interrogators, to obey Art. 3, which forbids “all outrages to human dignity.” Further, it would require that persons accused of terrorism would have access to all evidence against them. The alternative bill was strongly supported by the Military. It passed the committee 15-9, defeating the White House version. Democrats are expected to support the McCain group.
CNN 9-14. Gays in the Military. More than 60% of Americans now favor the open participation of gays in the military, ending the “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule.
PBS 9-15. Cutbacks at Ford Motor Company. Ford lost 1.44 billion dollars in the first half of 2006, and the new management is cutting back costs. By 2008 sixteen plants will be closed. Early retirement buyouts will be offered to 75,000 employees, and 10,000 salaried employees will be laid off. Michigan, especially in Detroit and the southeast, has the highest unemployment rate in the US. Other automobile jobs are available in the US, but they are non-union and have lower pay.
SCIENCE
The Economist, 9-9. New hope for the overweight: A human hormone, peptide YY, can reduce appetite. It is stimulated by high protein intake, which explains the success of the Atkins Diet. But high protein intake involves risks of heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes. Now drug companies are working on the production of peptide YY by other means.
PBS 9-15. A new mechanism for preventing vehicle rollovers is now being installed in new cars. It is called electronic stability control. It is hoped that this will do more than airbags to prevent vehicle fatalities, especially of SUVs
Obituary. Ann Richards, humorous former Governor of Texas, died at 73 of esophageal cancer.
The best introductory sentence of the week, from The Economist, 9-9, p. 52, from the article “Lake Baikal – Still Blue.”
“Lake Baikal,” explains the six-fingered shaman, sitting beneath a statue of Lenin in the center of Irkutsk, “contains many gods.”
.
WORLD NEWS
Global Warming. A special issue of The Economist , 9-9, contained an
excellent article on global warming, pp. 23-30. It summarized the dangers of global warming thus: 1) a shutdown of the Gulf Stream, which would chill much of Europe. 2) a rise in the sea level, which would flood coastal cities and densely inhabited lowlands. 3) an increase in the intensity of hurricanes.
Climatologists warn against government subsidy of property insurance in Florida and elsewhere, because it encourages building too near the coast with the risk of loss from hurricanes. Without government subsidy, the cost of insurance to homeowners in threatened areas would rise steeply, discouraging building and repairs in those areas.
Some US evangelical leaders have spoken out about the dangers of global warming, but many of their followers are unresponsive. This is because of the widespread belief among them that hurricanes are deliberate acts of God. Some 33% of evangelicals hold this belief, 13% of non-evangelical Protestants, 15% of Catholics, and 17% of the unreligious.
The Economist article identified two priorities in the limitation of global warming: 1) stop burning coal, which causes 24.5% of the problem and 2) stop deforestation, which causes 18% of the problem.
World Religions. The NYTimes 9-16. On 9-12 in a speech in Regensberg, Germany Pope Benedict XVI offended many Muslims by quoting the following passage from the writing of a Byzantine (Christian) Emperor Manuel II Paleologus in 1391:
“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
The Pope did not agree or disagree with the quote but he said that “violence in the name of religion is contrary to God’s nature and reason.”
He suggested reason as the basis of dialog between cultures and religions.
The Middle East
PBS 9-8. Afghanistan.—There has been a upsurge of violence here, with the introduction of suicide bombing. This may be related to the fact that there was a bumper crop of opium this year. Afghanistan produces more than 90% of the world’s opium. [The consequent rise in opium income enables the Taliban to rearm and enlist more followers. ] NAT0 forces in the southeast are calling for reinforcements.
Haaretz 9-9. Iran. On a tour of the US former Iranian President Muhammad Khatami condemned the September 11 attacks on the US as an atrocity. He said suicide bombers did Islam an injustice and that they would not go to Heaven. He said that the killing of civilians was a crime and contrary to Islam. He regretted the taking of American diplomats hostage in Iran. He affirmed the existence of the Holocaust as a historical fact. These views are opposed to those of the current President of Iran.
The Economist 9-9. In Palestine, visitor Gerry Adams, MP said that suicide bombing had no “legitimacy” and that the Palestinians should use non-violence.
The Guardian 9-11. The two leading Palestinian parties (PLO and Hamas) have agreed on a unity government. Hamas has still not recognized the State of Israel, but it may do so de facto without backing down openly.
Washington Post 9-11. Iraq. The chief of Marine intelligence in Anbar Province said that the province could not be secured without reinforcements. The American military cannot extend the perimeters of their bases there.
Post 9-13. The Battle for Baghdad is very bloody, with over a hundred mutilated corpses found in a day. It has top priority both for the US and al-Qaida.
PBS 9-13. The Iraq War is costing US taxpayers one billion dollars a week.
PBS 9-15. David Brooks commented that many Republican politicians are saying in private that the Iraq War is now irreparably lost.
US News
NYTimes 9-9. The report of the Senate Intelligence Committee found that the CIA had found no Iink between Saddam Hussein and the late Musa al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida leader in Iraq.
US Health. CBS 9-10. Of the first responders to the disasters on 9-11, two-thirds now have lung and cancer damage from the toxic dust.
PBS 9-12. A study of US citizens ages 18-64 found that the principal limitations on life expectancy were chronic diseases caused by unhealthy behavior: smoking, drinking, and obesity. These behaviors also have lethal side effects like drunk driving. Asian females live on average 21 years longer than urban black males.
. US Politics. CBS 9-10. Senator John Rockefeller of West Virginia suggested that Iraq might have been better off if Saddam Hussein had remained in power.
CNN 9-14. Torture and Fair Trials. The Senate Armed Forces Committee considered a bill proposed by the White House that would allow CIA interrogators to use “alternate” methods of interrogation not permitted by the Geneva Convention, Art. 3. Senators McCain, Warner, and Graham – all Republicans, with the support of retired Gen. Colin Powell, proposed an alternative bill that would requires all Americans, including CIA interrogators, to obey Art. 3, which forbids “all outrages to human dignity.” Further, it would require that persons accused of terrorism would have access to all evidence against them. The alternative bill was strongly supported by the Military. It passed the committee 15-9, defeating the White House version. Democrats are expected to support the McCain group.
CNN 9-14. Gays in the Military. More than 60% of Americans now favor the open participation of gays in the military, ending the “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule.
PBS 9-15. Cutbacks at Ford Motor Company. Ford lost 1.44 billion dollars in the first half of 2006, and the new management is cutting back costs. By 2008 sixteen plants will be closed. Early retirement buyouts will be offered to 75,000 employees, and 10,000 salaried employees will be laid off. Michigan, especially in Detroit and the southeast, has the highest unemployment rate in the US. Other automobile jobs are available in the US, but they are non-union and have lower pay.
SCIENCE
The Economist, 9-9. New hope for the overweight: A human hormone, peptide YY, can reduce appetite. It is stimulated by high protein intake, which explains the success of the Atkins Diet. But high protein intake involves risks of heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes. Now drug companies are working on the production of peptide YY by other means.
PBS 9-15. A new mechanism for preventing vehicle rollovers is now being installed in new cars. It is called electronic stability control. It is hoped that this will do more than airbags to prevent vehicle fatalities, especially of SUVs
Obituary. Ann Richards, humorous former Governor of Texas, died at 73 of esophageal cancer.
The best introductory sentence of the week, from The Economist, 9-9, p. 52, from the article “Lake Baikal – Still Blue.”
“Lake Baikal,” explains the six-fingered shaman, sitting beneath a statue of Lenin in the center of Irkutsk, “contains many gods.”
.
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