Virtuous Circles

people need to be more aware of the positive benefits of greening their lifestyle; for instance

• the reduced use of cars with a switch to walking and cycling would have considerable physical
  benefits in terms of physical fitness, reduced levels of obesity, and reduced pollution levels, which can be expected to reduce incidence of episodes of asthma and myocardial infarction
• and mental health benefits: exercise is and anti-depressant.
• Fitter people feel less cold, so can turn down the heating.
• eating local, in season, fresh produce would reduce CO2 emissions and improve health.
• organic food is more healthy. There is evidence for this; better levels of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
• the enterprise of responding as a nation to the threat of global heating (instead of viewing ourselves as passive victims of the process) may increase a sense of social cohesion which can be expected to carry benefits in overall health.cf the sense of social solidarity reported during WW11.

This Cannot be True

On July 8, 1947, witnesses claimed that an unidentified object with
five aliens aboard crashed onto a sheep and cattle ranch just outside
Roswell, New Mexico.

Many claim this well-known incident has long been covered up by the
U.S. Air Force and government. But why?

Well, what you may NOT know is that, exactly 9 months after that
historic day, in March 1948, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald
Rumsfeld, Rush Limbaugh, Condolezza Rice, and Dan Quayle were born.

This originally started as a joke against Democrats, in 2006, and was later adapted. It is corrected here: Urban Legends Reference Pages: Alien Nation .

Unless the Urban Legends pages are run by GWB's crew to rebut inconvenient truths...

UK Goverment strangles renewables shock

To the Editor

The Guardian

Good news indeed to read that the "Renewable revolution is here" (28th June, p28) with £35 billion injected worldwide into renewable energy in 2006. Less good to know that our Government, leading the 5th largest economy in the world, injected a mere £35 million into the Photovoltaic (PV) industry over the last five years. An official at the DTI told me "We believe this to be a considerable amount of Government money". Regular people might believe it to be less than one percent of our fair share, equivalent to 1 weeks' spending on the Trident WMD fleet. This paltry figure is now to be slashed in half now that PV funding is to be capped at £2,500 per house. Please excuse me while I hold my head and moan quietly.

Arms spending - Britain's shame

The list below shows the amount that each country spent on weapons in 2005 US dollars and the share of world arms expenditures.

1. United States, $528.7 billion, 46 per cent
2. Britain, $59.2 billion, 5 per cent
3. France, $53.1 billion, 5 per cent
4. China, $49.5 billion, 4 per cent
5. Japan, $43.7 billion, 4 per cent
6. Germany, $37.0 billion, 3 per cent
7. Russia, $34.7 billion, 3 per cent
8. Italy, $29.9 billion, 3 per cent
9. Saudi Arabia, $29.0 billion, 3 per cent
10. India, $23.9 billion, 2 per cent

This amounts to 78% of total world's spending. The total figure is about $1.7 trillion.

We can save the world from global warming, or we can have militarism. We cannot have both.

One good thing aboout music...

Just returned from Riverdance. Great energy, great music, great story. It does us good to see healthy fit young people turning their energies to music and dance, after we have been sitting down all day listening and watching other young people trying to kill each other. “One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain”.

Blair knew US had no post-war plan for Iraq | UK News | The Observer

Blair knew US had no post-war plan for Iraq - The Observer

It must be true, because the Observer bought Blair's lies hook, line and sinker. Unlike some.

Blair knew US had no post-war plan for Iraq | UK News | The Observer

Blair knew US had no post-war plan for Iraq | UK News | The Observer