RollingStone.com: The Long Emergency
The few Americans who are even aware that there is a gathering global-energy predicament usually misunderstand the core of the argument. That argument states that we don’t have to run out of oil to start having severe problems with industrial civilization and its dependent systems. We only have to slip over the all-time production peak and begin a slide down the arc of steady depletion.
– via Slacktavist
The Christian Institute has published an analysis of the policies [PDF] of the main British political parties in the light of the issues that they consider to be the essential moral teaching of the Bible. They also have an online tool for querying the voting record of each sitting MP on these issues.
The Christian Institute is a (theologically) conservative think-tank promoting Christian moral and ethical values in political discourse. It seems to me that they rather neglect issues of social justice, such as defending the rights of the needy [Prov 31:8-9], protecting the vunerable [Isaiah 10:1-2] and welcoming immigrants and those needing asylum [Exodus 22:21]. Having said that, the issues they do tackle are not only important, but have largely been pushed out of British political debate by the view that these are somehow “personal” matters — which they cannot be if God is truly sovereign.
Mark Daniels endorses a NY Times article by Tom Friedman:
In a country where it was unpopular to support the war, Blair has been Mr. Steadfast. Blair’s reward has been that irrespective of their feelings about Iraq, Britons still seem to back Blair and his Labour Party. … Blair took what he saw as a principled stand on foreign policy and is apparently on the brink of reaping electoral rewards for it.
The difference in perception between the US (in which Mark’s viewpoint seems to be fairly typical) and the UK is amazing. If Labour lose the election, it will be in no small part a legacy of the Iraq war, not so much because people have strong feelings about the war itself but because Blair is simply no longer trusted, for having taken Britain to war on a false prospectus (not the only issue that has contributed to the climate of distrust, but an important one). Fairly or unfairly, the idea that Blair is a paragon of principle would be laughed at by just about everyone I know. The Conservatives abandoned their jibe “vote Blair, get Brown” when it became clear that most Labour supporters thought this was a rather good plan.
according to a study by King’s College, London University commissioned by the IT firm Hewlett Packard.
Doziness, lethargy and an increasing inability to focus reached “startling” levels in the trials by 1,100 people, who also demonstrated that emails in particular have an addictive, drug-like grip.
The average IQ loss was more than double that found in studies of cannabis users.
Can your family go a week without computers? August 1st to the 7th is PC-Turnoff Week: Once per year, PC-TOO encourages families to turn off their family computer for a week in the summer. Instead of using the computer, use the time for healthy activities such as reading, exercise, play, or family time.
Every week in the world a million new people move to cities. In 2007 50% of our 6.5 billion population will live in cities. In 1800 it was 3% of the total population then. In 1900 it was 14%. In 2030 it’s expected to be 61%. This is a tipping point. We’re becoming a city planet.
Stewart Brand argues that this is a Good Thing.
He has more such Environmental Heresies.
Google Maps now covers the United Kingdom:
http://maps.google.co.uk/?q=chip+shops+in+Hitchin
Just too clever by half.
Joel Webber has found out how it works — it’s mostly done with client-side Javascript, xmlHTTP and XSLT.
Adam Penenberg says Google is like Walmart.