new look

I have been toying with the idea of a new look for the site. I installed a new theme, Barthelme. I plan to tweak it a bit more. Any opinions re the new look?
Update: Barthelme looked terrible on Windows. Current theme is called Vengeance. All the sidebar stuff is now at the bottom. Tweaks still [...]

reducing your carbon footprint

If you can’t afford to buy carbon indulgences offsets, here’s another way to reduce your carbon footprint.
Speaking of carbon offsets, even the Economist agrees that they do not work.
The carbon offsets, on the other hand, sound like a very reasonable plan. That is, they did until I began thinking about them.
Most [...]

power to the people

Looks like Hugo decided to take some windfall profits. Maybe he’ll invest them in alternative energy research.
CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez ordered by decree on Monday the takeover of oil projects run by foreign oil companies in Venezuela’s Orinoco River region.
Chavez had previously announced the government’s intention to take a majority stake by May [...]

you gotta know when to fold them

HYDERABAD (Reuters) - A teenage girl in southern Pakistan, whose late father lost her in a poker game when she was 2 years old, has asked authorities to save her from being handed over to a middle-aged relative.
Rasheeda, 17, said she has filed applications with the police and a local councillor asking them to prevent [...]

The old blockade just ain’t what it used to be.

Via Eux.tv:
Washington and Brussels cut what is estimated to be hundreds of millions of dollars in direct aid to the Palestinian government after Hamas’ parliamentary victory.
Both have said they will not resume monetary support of the Palestinian government until Hamas recognizes Israel, renounces violence and fulfills past promises.

After meeting with [Hamas politburo leader] Mashaal Tuesday [...]

Give peace a chance

The NY Times:
PATTANI, Thailand, Feb. 22 — Some are already calling it war, a brutal Muslim separatist insurgency in southern Thailand that has taken as many as 2,000 lives in three years with almost daily bombings, drive-by shootings, arson and beheadings.
An insurgency is dividing the villages around Pattani by religion.
It is a conflict the government [...]