cedar sprig's blog

Students at universities across the nation have spent a week in protest of a government move to change work laws. The new law would make hiring AND firing young workers much easier for businesses. The concern is that job security will vanish for anyone 26 years old or younger. No, not in the USA, but in France. They have been "on strike", blockading campus buildings and pressing passersby into their cause for a full week now.  Read More »

Maybe you're an avid recycler who sifts out every can from the communal dumpster, or maybe you just toss your newspapers into the right bin once in a while. Either way, what do you do with plastic bags? (Those flimsy rustling bags they hand out at almost every store these days) Don't toss them out!

Some facts from www.reusablebags.com:

Plastic bags are becoming a major source of pollution, but they seem so innocuous most people don't notice. Not many places recycle plastic bags either. But there's some small comfort: Wal-Mart (of all places) takes and recycles plastic bags! So do a number of grocery stores, though they don't generally advertise it. So, if you aren't into toting around a canvas bag for grocery shopping, at least save the plastic and take it in later.  

And I thought urban sprawl in the U.S. was causing problems in rural areas.

Even as China grows, the land where the cities are being built is giving rise to some major social injustice. Unlike the system of land ownership we're used to in the US, farmers do not generally own land in China. The land belongs to the village, which was fine as long as no one wanted it for much other than farming. The farmers 'leased' the land. Now that cities need places to build, the heads of villages are making a pretty penny by selling off that communal land and pocketing the profits. The people who lived there lose everything, and the society considers them 2nd class citizens already, which prevents them from making a place in the cities for themselves.  Read More »

Canada has long been known for its government's health care system. It's praised not only for trying to provide good health care to all its citizens, but for actually managing to do so. It's been held up as proof that such a thing is possible. No wonder that the United States and other countries are envious.  

However, Canada is beginning to run into problems, as reported in the Wall Street Journal today. Like the USA, Canada is beginning to face the specter of an aging population. Pressure on doctors and facilities started to choke things up last year. Even though the country has had very tight restrictions on providing private care, the Supreme Court decided the ban had to be relaxed; too many people were suffering from long waiting lists and crowded hospitals. Now a second-tier of health care is building up, a U.S. style of paid physicians. Restrictions are still tight...but they're loosening.  Read More »

In case sharks weren't spooky enough, the Pentagon is now contemplating their use as underwater surveillance. Neural implants in the sharks' brains would control their movements and decode their brain waves. It's the sort of project that ought to make the military happy: sharks already power themselves (as New Scientist observes in their latest issue).  Read More »

Does anyone decide to be evil? Do people ever realize when they're plotting, when they're starting to cackle instead of laugh? (obligatory reference to Pratchett's Discworld series)

The greatest crimes are committed in the glow of piety, from bloody revolutions to genocide to suicide bombers. These are almost understandable--it is the strength of belief that carries people into doing terrible things. But the "Good ol' boy" network that sits behind the upper echelons of business, in which old school friends and financial friends are eased past the meritocracy...is that build-up of little injustices comparable to plotting? If it is, do the perpetrators think of it as an injustice? Not even when someone does an expose on their calumny (okay, that's too strong a word...how about cozying?), I think, do they really think of it like that. It's only illegal if you get caught.  Read More »

With so much going on in Asia, Europe, and Africa these days, South America tends to fall off the media radar. So here's a rundown on some big news down south:

A pipeline to move gas from Venezuela to Brazil and Argentina is in the final stages of planning. A committee of economists and engineers are working out the details of putting the pipe through the Amazon, while energy ministers of the countries involved pound out the political balance. Venezuela stands to gain a lot from selling gas to the two biggest SA countries. Bolivia is annoyed at being left out in the cold, after trying to make a deal with Brazil too, and is now arguing that Venezuelan gas will be too expensive after the cost of building a 5,000 mile pipeline.  Read More »

Of course, you could argue it's always sunny up above the clouds, and likewise, there's always a crisis brewing somewhere. One of the joys of journalism is bringing that crisis out into the open (preferably before competing networks or papers get at it). What power! To move people with a few words, catch their attention, make them think.

The downside is that days without crises are booooring. No one wants to hear about day-to-day events or ongoing problems *coughDarfurcough* unless there's a new development. Old news is even worse. If people haven't heard it already, they probably aren't interested. Bashing politicians is an acceptable substitute, hence the media's myopic focus on presidents and royal families. Inspect anyone enough and you'll discover sufficient corruption for a newscast.  Read More »