Wednesday-Night

More on the 2008 campaign and issues
Although the early days of the campaign were regrettably short on serious exploration of issues and the candidates’ positions, their websites supplied considerable information. Now that the Democrats have united (sort of) behind Barack Obama, we are moving away from following the issues in one post. There are now […]

See also Global Treaty on Climate Change
August 13
Elephant seals join fight against climate change
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Elephant seals swimming under Antarctic ice and fitted with special sensors are providing scientists with crucial data on ice formation, ocean currents and climate change, a study released on Tuesday said.
The seals swimming under winter sea ice have overcome […]

Enlarged map and notes
See also Arctic and Antarctic
(BBC) British scientists say they have drawn up the first detailed map to show areas in the Arctic that could become embroiled in future border disputes.
A team from Durham University compiled the outline of potential hotspots by basing the design on historical and ongoing arguments over ownership.
Russian […]

August 1, 2008
Please see Uncertainty and Climate change

(Op-Ed, NYT) Recently the Web site The Politico asked Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, why she was blocking attempts to tack offshore drilling amendments onto appropriations bills. “I’m trying to save the planet; I’m trying to save the planet,” she replied.
I’m glad […]

(Strategic Forecasting Inc.) Kosovo, Russia and the West
2007 saw the resurgence of a long-dormant issue: independence for Serbia’s breakaway province of Kosovo. The tiny region is a key pressure point on the fault line between Russia and the West.
The subject of independence for Kosovo is re-emerging as a serious issue. The West seems intent on […]

See also Rodrigue Tremblay on Wednesday-night.com
by Rodrigue Tremblay
I think the [US financial] system is basically sound, I truly do. George W. Bush, July 15, 2008
Since 1951, the budget of the Department of Defense each year exceeds the net profits of all U.S. corporations. So, in finance capital terms, that means that the management of that […]

Taxing the Poor
Edward Gresser (Foreign Affairs) … most imports arrive not under FTAs but through the permanent tariff system, which receives far less attention in Congress. Rather than raising money and protecting jobs, permanent tariffs tend to increase clothing and shoe prices at home while creating especially high trade barriers that deter goods from approximately […]

Nasa reaches 50 with pioneer spirit lost
By Clive Cookson
Media commentary on the 50th anniversary (dated either to July 29, when President Eisenhower signed the law setting up Nasa or October 1, when the agency formally started work) shows a widespread feeling that Nasa has been in decline for almost 40 years.
Nasa, the US space […]

See also:  U.S. Presidential Campaign Issues - Energy & Environment
“We’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that has to change.”
Nobel laureate and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore
Gore calls on nation to commit to renewable […]

Last Wednesday will go into the annals as one of the Great Wednesday Nights. Robin Griffiths and Maureen Farrow were a superb dog & pony show, knowledgeable, articulate and dare we say, entertaining… and so was everyone else. Although it was a hard-headed review of many aspects of the global […]