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Jatropha for Biodiesel Figures - Biomass

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 02:08:32 -0700

Basic information on the use of jatropha plant for biodiesel production.

Additional information from Wikipedia and in a recent NY-Times article.

Chaos in Darfur Rises as Arabs Fight With Arabs - NYTimes.com

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 11:16:14 -0700

Good articlem, giving an update on how much the situation in Darfur is out of control. I've got no idea how this nightmare of this AK47 fueled machismo can be stopped...

http://www.parisgreeter.org/indexen.html

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 23:30:46 -0700

"If you are about to visit Paris and want to try a new experience, a Paris Greeter will help you enjoy Paris as Parisians do.
The Paris Greeters are local Parisians who volunteer their time to share with visitors the districts of Paris they know and love so well. They will introduce places and insights into Parisian life that are not always found in the published tourist guides.

All our volunteer Greeters have a love of Paris and willingness to share with visitors it's art, tradition and culture. We want visitors to feel they have not only seen Paris but have been given a true taste of Parisian life.
Our Greeters are not professional tour guides but enthusiastic, friendly individuals with knowledge of Paris who will accompany you on a visit of the city, without charge, as a friend would."

There's been an article in today#s Le Monde about this non-profit association of volunteer tourist guides ( http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0 ,1-0@2-3238,36-948436@51-940768,0.html ) .

PAKISTAN • 1947-2007 : soixante années perdues | Courrier international

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 10:22:24 -0700

From the page: "Une nation-Etat construite sur la base d'une identit� religieuse - qui, par d�finition, s�me l'exclusion, la division et l'intol�rance parce qu'elle introduit une diff�rence entre "nous" et "eux" - est plus encline � des crises de violence qu'un Etat-nation d�mocratique, la�c et pluraliste.
Au Pakistan, la question de la nation-Etat et de l'Etat-nation est rendue plus difficile par une grande contradiction contenue dans l'identit� religieuse du pays. L'islam transcende l'Etat-nation, car il exige d'�tre loyal � une communaut� transnationale de croyants, ce qui mine le sentiment de loyaut� envers un Etat national d�limit� par des fronti�res g�ographiques et dot� d'une souverainet� politique restreinte. La tentative du Pakistan pour se forger un "nationalisme islamique" est donc un contresens."

China Enacting a High-Tech Plan to Track People - New York Times

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 13:44:43 -0700

From the page: "SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 9: "At least 20,000 police surveillance cameras are being installed along streets here in southern China and will soon be guided by sophisticated computer software from an American-financed company to recognize automatically the faces of police suspects and detect unusual activity."

American companies help China build a surveillance system that comes very close to what George Orwell envisioned.

Prostitutes face jail under tougher law | UK news | The Observer

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 13:26:55 -0700

From the page: "The government was last night accused of turning the clock back 25 years by introducing a law that will allow courts to imprison prostitutes who are arrested for soliciting. The move has provoked the fury of women's support groups, who say the move will do nothing to address the root causes of the illicit trade in sex."

I don't think that UK is just 25 years behind... In Sweden the customers would be prosecuted.

Un estudio se�ala que el canibalismo era habitual en Europa durante el Neol�tico � ELPA&S.com

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 06:32:05 -0700

From the page: "Desde finales del 3.000 al 2.500 antes de Cristo, el canibalismo era com�n en toda la cuenca mediterr�nea europea y en Finlandia, y la carne de los fallecidos se tomaba tras hervirla unas tres o cuatro horas, "tal vez para asimilar sus caracter�sticas", ha explicado el director del Laboratorio de Antropolog�a F�sica de la Universidad de Granada, Miguel Botella, quien dirige esta investigaci�n en colaboraci�n con expertos de la Universidad Aut�noma de M�xico y el Instituto de Antropolog�a mexicano."

In another age you'd be considered food.

The forgotten refugees who wait for justice after 60 years | World news | The Observer

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 02:05:38 -0700

From the page: "'We first came here as refugees in 1947,' says Kajal Roy, his eyes watering from the smoke that fills his bamboo and mud home. 'We used cow dung for fuel then, as we do now. Nothing has really changed for us. When we fled from East Bengal to West Bengal 60 years ago, our land in the camp was marked out by a few pebbles: 20 square feet a head. The pebbles are still there, dug into the ground.'"

Report Finds Dire Humanitarian Crisis in Iraq - New York Times

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 09:54:31 -0700

From the page: "The report states that as many as four million Iraqis are in dire need of help getting food, many of them children; 70 percent of the country now lacks access to adequate water supplies, up from 50 percent in 2003, and 90 percent of the country's hospitals lack basic medical and surgical supplies."

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2007/07/27/uk_rainfall_july07.pdf

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:14:33 -0700

Jet stream shift, rainfall in the UK and climate change