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Thursday, May 31, 2007

Junior Championship 2007

The 11th World Championships for Juniors will be held in Suwa, about 2 1/2 hrs drive west of Tokyo, on July 13, 14 & 15.

A little recap of the previous editions shows that it is a very international affair where a changing variety of countries makes it to the top 3.

2001 - Lons-le-Saunier - France
(1) Belgium (2) Sweden (3) Spain

2003 - Brno - Czech Republic
(1) Madagascar (2) Algeria (3) Spain

2005 - Longueuil - Canada
(1) France (2) Spain (3) Estonia / Tunisia (shared)



This time four youngsters from VOMP in Sonoma will represent the USA: Hallie & brother Brendan, Patrick and Wolfgang. They're training hard.

Read more on the FPUSA Blog.

Yesterday Sonoma's The Press dedicated a very nice article to the team.


And here's a report (souvenirs!) we made about the 2001 Championship.

Junior Championship 2007

The 11th World Championships for Juniors will be held in Suwa, about 2 1/2 hrs drive west of Tokyo, on July 13, 14 & 15.

A little recap of the previous editions shows that it is a very international affair where a changing variety of countries makes it to the top 3.

2001 - Lons-le-Saunier - France
(1) Belgium (2) Sweden (3) Spain

2003 - Brno - Czech Republic
(1) Madagascar (2) Algeria (3) Spain

2005 - Longueuil - Canada
(1) France (2) Spain (3) Estonia / Tunisia (shared)



This time four youngsters from VOMP in Sonoma will represent the USA: Hallie & brother Brendan, Patrick and Wolfgang. They're training hard.

Read more on the FPUSA Blog.

Yesterday Sonoma's The Press dedicated a very nice article to the team.


And here's a report (souvenirs!) we made about the 2001 Championship.

Alex Stein on ‘Nakba Day’

... I understand where the Palestinians were coming from, and I understand the logic behind their strategy. But if I had chosen such a path [of going to war rather than accepting the UN partition plan], I would like to think I would have paused to consider what might happen in the case of failure. Absolute rejectionism leaves no room for error. A morality that is unrealistic quickly becomes immoral. If Nakba commemorations do not acknowledge the role played by Palestinian rejectionism in creating the Arab-Israeli conflict, the mistakes of the past are doomed to be repeated.

We learn from Isaiah Berlin that there can be no neat reconciliation of conflicting values. Israel/Palestine represents a case in point. ... The only hope is for an uneasy compromise – a compromise that was embodied in the original UN partition plan.

Today, as Uri Avnery has demonstrated in a major debate with Ilan Pappe, division of the land remains the only feasible solution. To achieve this, there has to be a change in mentality. ... Even though I simultaneously understand and disagree with the Palestinian reasons for opposing Jewish statehood, the point is that they failed. On Nakba day, amidst the mourning, this must be acknowledged. You can read Stein’s entire piece online.

America, is gas too expensive to drive?



Only when it hits $4.38 a gallon says respondents to a recent Wahington Post poll.

But last year they said $4.16 a gallon was the breaking point.

Do we hear $8.00 a gallon?

F.F. Bruce on the Origins of the New Testament

The following article is now available in PDF:

F.F. Bruce, "New Light on the Origin of the New Testament," Faith and Thought 101.2 (1974): 158-162.

This is a brief summary of this article, which I am unlikely to get permission to reproduce:

F.F. Bruce, "New Light on the Origins of the New Testament Canon," Richard N. Longenecker & Merrill C. Tenney, eds., New Dimensions in New Testament Study. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1974. pp.3-18.

Blogging backfire

We all know that blogging is becoming an increasingly important aspect of the modern court case. But have you ever heard of a defendant blogging, without his lawyers even knowing?

It's enough to make you want to "flea" the courthouse in disgust:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/05/31/blogger_unmasked_court_case_upended/

Also check out a pretty good WSJ Law Blog post on the same topic: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/05/31/a-law-blog-first-defendant-blogs-his-own-trial/

(good to be back).

Jim

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Should transit be free?

Some cities are giving it a try.

USA Today

Bus Rapid Transit in Nashville?

The Mayor thinks it's a good idea.

Review of DAA in the New Haven Review of Books, June 2007

HOW BAD IS IT?

In 1984 Ronald Reagan announced, with characteristic indifference to fact, that it was "morning in America." A quarter-century later, the twilight, then already perceptible, has deepened. The international financial position of the United States is ruinous. Globally, attitudes toward American policy range from misgiving to loathing. The foreseeable consequences of climate change and environmental pollution range from painful to catastrophic. For most Americans (especially the tens of millions without health insurance), medical care is the worst in any advanced industrial society. Economic insecurity is epidemic; overwork and high stress are the rule rather than the exception; inequality is at an all-time high; trust in government is at an all-time low (though perhaps not low enough, in the present circumstances). The (until recently) governing party openly aspires to permanent one-party rule and a Caesarist executive. Civic virtue, lately renamed "social capital," is waning; neighborliness has dwindled to the point of near-anomie. Functional illiteracy is rampant: in most non-affluent school districts, the public schools are not merely ineffectual but often unsafe as well. Nearly half of all Americans believe that the earth is 10,000 years old or less and that angels and other supernatural beings regularly intervene in terrestrial affairs. The average American’s day includes six minutes playing sports, five minutes reading books, one minute making music, thirty seconds attending a play or concert, twenty-five seconds making or viewing art, and four hours watching television. And even Americans who don’t watch television are perfused by a stream of commercial messages so intense and ubiquitous as to constitute a culture (in the biological as well as social sense) of consumption. Compared with the imagined noonday brilliance of that vibrant idyll, Walt Whitman’s Democratic Vistas, the prospects for contemporary American civilization are heartbreakingly bleak.

Morris Berman’s Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire (Norton) was one of the most important books published in 2006, though little noted thanks to a peevish and uncomprehending review by Michiko Kakutani in the New York Times. It is a sequel to Berman’s The Twilight of American Culture (2000), a shorter, more impressionistic book that persuasively evoked contemporary parallels to the collapse of Roman imperial civilization and suggested that, like the Greco-Roman heritage, Enlightenment ideals may survive the coming era of globalized barbarism underground, in quasi-monastic networks and communities.

Although the play of "twilight" and "dark" in the two books’ titles implies forward (or backward) motion, Dark Ages America does not try to go beyond The Twilight of American Culture so much as underneath it. The earlier book was primarily descriptive; the new one is diagnostic as well. Berman is a distinguished historian of medieval and early modern culture, and he imports from his study of alchemy the maxim: as above, so below. That is, the macrocosm and the microcosm – the visible dynamics of global political economy and the subtleties of culture and social psychology; grand strategy and the grain of everyday life – reflect and determine each other.

Thus, for example, the unrestricted movement of capital, the ultima ratio of American foreign and domestic policy, requires weak or corrupt – in any case, acquiescent – governments, since otherwise they might try to improve their bargaining position by combining with other governments and encouraging labor organization. Ineffectual governments and labor unions in turn require a weakening of impulses toward cooperation, solidarity, and citizen initiative. Very helpful toward that end is the redefinition of the good life as a life of continuous and increasing individual consumption – which, since it is a false definition, necessitates unremitting indoctrination by means of advertising. Expanding consumption in turn requires technological innovation, mass production, a population willing to put up with insecure, regimented, and frequently stupefying work (the effects of which are assuaged by entertainments only a little more refined and wholesome than Roman circuses), and the exploitation of resources on a vast scale. And these requirements of expanding consumption in turn promote the concentration and mobility of capital. In Berman’s apt formulation: "Global process, local fallout."

Whether or not the elites who profit by the degradation of culture and character intend these consequences, or even perceive them, is beside the point. Whatever anyone may intend, forms of life produce individuals adapted to them, just as physical environments do. "Civilizations are a package deal," Berman observes. Much of the value of Dark Ages America lies in tracing the adaptations and interdependencies implicit in the civilization we have evolved.

The ethos of American individualism is Berman’s particular preoccupation. It has frontier roots but is also an effect (as well as a contributing cause) of the victory of automobiles and suburbanization over mass transit and European-style city planning. "The relentless American habit of choosing the individual solution over the collective one," Berman writes, underlies "the design of our cities, including the rise of a car culture, the growth of the suburbs, and the nature of our architecture, [which] has had an overwhelming impact on the life of the nation as a whole, reflecting back on all the issues discussed [in this book]: work, children, media, community, economy, technology, globalization, and, especially, US foreign policy. The physical arrangements of our lives mirror the spiritual ones."

American foreign policy all too clearly expresses this preference for "individual solutions over collective ones." The basic principle of world order – willingness to accept limits on national sovereignty in deference to international law and public opinion – has always been unpopular here. As a result, American international behavior has been so high-handed that, even among normally sympathetic foreign elites, the US is widely regarded as a rogue nation and the chief threat to global peace and welfare. And individualism affects the substance as well as the style of US foreign policy. The culture of cars, suburbs, and shopping is resource-intensive, and in particular, energy-intensive. Control of global energy resources has therefore been the linchpin of US policy since World War II, as Berman shows.

From macrocosm to microcosm: the texture of daily life and the contours of individual psychology within a civilization are intimately related to its science and technology. In the first chapter of Dark Ages America, Berman elaborates a concept borrowed from the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman: "liquid modernity." This names a society "characterized by speed, fluidity, and transience … a permanent state of contingency." It’s true that this acceleration has been underway since the Industrial Revolution and that Marx discoursed brilliantly on it in the Communist Manifesto. But the pace of social change has increased exponentially in the last few decades, thanks to both computer technology and the demise of the Bretton Woods international economic order, which freed capital to move around the world instantaneously. Along with all the blessings of electronic technology have come enormous, unprecedented stresses on our psyches and metabolisms. "Everything in contemporary society discourages inwardness," the literary critic Sven Birkerts has written. Berman illustrates copiously.

Dark Ages America is a synthesis. All the elements of Berman’s critique have been made before, though they are assembled here with rare skill and comprehensiveness. What is perhaps most original is Berman’s frank admission that he sees no way out. Indignation is usually followed by exhortation, but not in this book or its predecessor. It’s not that Berman sees nothing valuable in contemporary American society and no one struggling against the trends he has identified. He simply doesn’t hold out much hope for them. He regrets John Kerry’s defeat and no doubt welcomed the Democratic congressional victories in November 2006; but he also points out that "in the process of decline a civilization may, from time to time, rally for a while; but it is the overall trajectory, the structural properties of the situation, that ultimately determine the outcome."

Just what form the new Dark Ages may take does not emerge from Berman’s account. Contrary to fashionable demurrers, the Dark Ages were indeed dark: a half-millennium-long, nearly complete eclipse of reason, which classical culture barely and fortuitously survived. It is bound to be different this time around. Then, the imagination was starved; now it will be smothered: by commercial images, by ersatz sensations, by media babble, by corporate and governmental doublespeak. Still, we have at least learned a lot about information storage and retrieval. Maybe those skills will also prove useful for imagination storage and retrieval.

It is not much easier to accept the death of one’s culture than one’s own death – harder, perhaps, if one has had a happy life and known intellectual or aesthetic pleasure. That is why Berman wrote this book, though convinced of its futility. Thankfully, he cites a few lines from the ending of Gore Vidal’s Julian that temper the pain a little:

"With Julian, the light went out, and now nothing remains but to let the darkness come, and hope for a new sun and another day, born of time’s mystery and man’s love of light."



--George Scialabba is a book critic and the author of Divided Mind (Arrowsmith Press).

European Journal of Theology - plans for an on-line listing

I am hoping to create a complete table of contents for the European Journal of Theology. Like so many journals it is currently impossible to find a complete listing on-line if you do not have access to a commercial bibliographic database. Does anyone currently have access to a set of these journals who would be prepared to assist with this project? (I'm beginning to wish I lived nearer to a good theological library!) Once I get the table of contents completed I plan to make some of the articles available, subject to the author's permission.

Google Apps for WordPress bloggers

First off, congratulations to the WordPress team for recently hitting the one meeeeellllion blog mark. This is a great achievement for WordPress and another milestone for the whole blogosphere.

We were also thrilled to see that WordPress now recommends Google Apps for custom-domain email accounts to bloggers who have their own internet domains. This means that bloggers who use WordPress can send and receive email for free with Google Apps on the same domain where they publish their WordPress blogs.

If you don't happen to be one of WordPress' million bloggers but want fully customized email accounts and much more, Google Apps will work for you too. You can use Google Apps on an existing domain, or register a new domain when you sign up.

Benvenisti sounds off

Meron Benvenisti – a former Labor deputy mayor of Jerusalem, a city planner, and a powerful writer – is understandably bitter about Israel’s ongoing settlement policies in the territories and its discriminatory land use policies within Green Line Israel. He is not apologetic for living as a Jew in the land of Israel/Palestine, and remembers being a boy in Jerusalem under siege in 1948 and playing soccer with youngsters a few years older who were soon all killed in an ambush attempting to defend the Etzion Bloc of kibbutzim that was captured by Arab forces in that war (his brief account in his book, “Sacred Landscapes,” is memorable). Yet my understanding is that he's given up on the two-state solution and therefore is no longer really in our camp.

Some of his pronouncements can be challenged in the article published in Haaretz, May 25. Perhaps Sharon once had a plan to leave the Palestinians in control of 11% of the original Mandate (one half of their 22% left over from the 1948 war), but none of us really know that he had such a plan when he became comatose. I am suspicious of Benvenisti's use of this figure with such precision.

Olmert has more than hinted for some time that his "plan" is/was for the Palestinians to possess about 20% of the original Palestinian Mandate (about 90% of the West Bank). Barak was offering more than 21% (up to 97% of the West Bank plus parts of Jerusalem). The UN partition plan of 1947 offered around 45% with slightly more going to the Jews and 5-10% remaining within an international zone that would have included Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The 1937 British partition plan (Peel Commission) offered the Jews about 15-20% and the Arabs as much as 80%. All of these options were accepted by the mainstream Zionist movement and violently rejected by the Arabs. This is something to think about when reading Benvenisti below:

Time for a new lexicon Ha’aretz – 25 May, 2007
By Meron Benvenisti

If you study the public discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, you will discover a fascinating phenomenon: The concepts that were coined during the 1970s continue to define a reality that has since changed beyond recognition. The old concepts that comprise the dictionary of the conflict have turned into code words that make any argument or clarification superfluous.

Concepts like "dividing the land," "settlements," "occupation," "separation" or "a Palestinian state" are perceived as self-evident and those who use them assume the listener attributes an identical meaning to them. The terms, which were meant to simplify reality, have become absolute concepts with qualitative values. When using these terms, a person defines himself as belonging to a particular political camp: "the West Bank" versus "Judea and Samaria," "partition" versus "giving up parts of the homeland," hityashvut versus hitnahalut (two Hebrew terms for "settlement" - the latter is generally used to refer to settlements located beyond the 1967 Green Line), and so on. Here are a few such concepts:

  • "Partitioning the land / Giving up parts of the homeland" - The concept of "partition" has always served as a gauge for peace and compromise, an absolute concept that does not need to be defined in quantitative terms. Thus, according to the original partition of 1947, the Palestinian territory was slated to encompass about half of Mandatory Palestine. The armistice lines reduced this to 22 percent and the Allon Plan left it 14 percent. The "Sharon plan" (dealing with the route of the separation fence, the settlement blocs and Jordan Valley) leaves 11 percent of the land of Mandatory Palestine in the hands of the Palestinians. The size of the "partitioned" land is ostensibly not important and many portrayed the latest "partition of the land" - presented as the "convergence" plan" - as a historic compromise. Those supporting it were considered "leftists" and the Palestinians who rejected it were labeled "rejectionists of peace." Right-wing circles, which once considered concession to be treason, are now prepared to "subtract" densely populated areas "in order to solve the demographic problem." What is left of the principle of partition?
  • "Hitnahalut / hityashvut" - The struggle for and against the establishment of Jewish settlements beyond the Green Line has defined the opposing ideological camps since the 1970s and continues to do so - even though in today's reality these settlements have lost their original significance. During the 1970s and '80s, the act of constructing a settlement in the territories played a decisive role in determining political facts. Sometime during the late 1980s, the settlements crossed a critical threshold and attained an ongoing demographic and urban development. A legal infrastructure was created that led to their de facto annexation to the State of Israel, and the number of settlements has since become "irrelevant" because of the sophisticated instruments of Israeli rule, which have completely blurred the distinction between "sovereign Israel" and "the territories." The separation wall and its entrance points - the "sterile" roads, the checkpoints - have taken on the role of the settlements. Ariel Sharon understood that the settlements no longer carried their old significance and therefore did not hesitate to dismantle them in the Gaza Strip. But the left and right continue to quarrel over every prefab dwelling.
  • "Occupation / liberation" - The use of the concept "occupation" is the supreme test of affiliation with the "enlightened" camp. From a legal term describing a situation of "belligerent occupation" of enemy territory by a foreign army, it became a definition of political ideology. Those who use the term "occupation" relate to the occupied territories as a "foreign region" that is different from "sovereign" Israel. But where is the border between the motherland and the occupied colony? No model of military conquest can accommodate the Bantustans that have been created in the West Bank and explain how half of the territory has been effectively annexed; only a strategy of annexation and permanent control can explain the enormous settlement enterprise. The "military" component is secondary to the civilian component, and the settlers have turned the army into a militia that serves them. The definition of the occupied territories, after 40 years, is an anachronism aimed at emphasizing the temporary nature of the situation that "must end" when peace comes. All this is designed to avoid making decisions on immediate dilemmas.
Reality has caught up with the lexicon of the conflict, leaving only anachronistic slogans. This contributes to blurring the situation, thus facilitating the continuation of the violent status quo. It would have been fitting if the 40th anniversary of the 1967 war had served as a catalyst for composing a new lexicon.
ICO upholds FOI decision by Estyn

ICO press release: 30 May 2007
"The Information Commissioner’s Office ruled that the public authority was right to neither confirm nor deny whether it holds information relating to alleged complaints made against two named officers of the public authority.

The public authority correctly cited an exemption for personal information. In this case the public authority did not have to confirm or deny the existence of the information as by doing so it would suggest that complaints had been received and this would breach people’s privacy."
OGC appeals to High Court

Appeal over ruling on ID cards review - FT

"The Office of Government Commerce is to appeal to the High Court over a ruling that requires it to disclose a review of the controversial ID cards project."

"The OGC said yesterday...that it would appeal as "we do not agree with the tribunal's findings on where the public interest lies in relation to what information should be disclosed and what it is appropriate to withhold.

"So far, the gateway process has helped achieve over £2.5bn in value for money savings [by improving projects]. In the government's view, disclosure would seriously undermine the effectiveness of the process, as confidentiality is essential to it.""

See also:

Brown should back open government
- FT Editorial

Chief constable attacks Maclean Bill
Brunstom attacks MPs on privacy - BBC
"North Wales Police chief constable Richard Brunstrom has criticised MPs for trying to keep their expenses secret. He described a bill to exempt MPs from the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act as an "almost bizarre" proposal."

"Writing on his blog, Mr Brunstrom described himself as a "passionate supporter of openness and transparency in public life". He said he was "delighted" when the Freedom of Information Act was adopted in 2000, although he called it a "watered-down" version of similar laws in countries like the USA, Canada and New Zealand. "We in the police accept it as the norm, and our democracy is much the better for it," he wrote."

"A private member's bill brought by Conservative MP David Maclean, which proposed exempting MPs from the FOI Act, was an "almost bizarre proposal", according to Mr Brunstrom. He said: "The stated rationale is to protect the confidentiality of MPs' correspondence - a perfectly fair point, were it not for the fact that the existing legislation does this perfectly adequately already."
Chief Constable's Blog.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

A hanging terrain in Chapel Hill

This looks like just another retaining wall in North Carolina, right?
Until you see the how & why!

Mac started playing pétanque in Wisconsin, and ordered his first set of boules from us in 1998. When he and Jenny recently moved here they felt that no home is complete without a pétanque terrain in the backyard.

But when your backyard looks more like a ski slope than a football field you have to be creative.

So the past winter they built this wall, curved around one and a quarter side of the house, filled it up and below you see the result. The right surface, steps away from the kitchen (and the fridge!), and shady. A little oasis of peace.
We tried it out together and had a great afternoon.
Gracious hosts too: they let my son and me win.

A hanging terrain in Chapel Hill

This looks like just another retaining wall in North Carolina, right?
Until you see the how & why!

Mac started playing pétanque in Wisconsin, and ordered his first set of boules from us in 1998. When he and Jenny recently moved here they felt that no home is complete without a pétanque terrain in the backyard.

But when your backyard looks more like a ski slope than a football field you have to be creative.

So the past winter they built this wall, curved around one and a quarter side of the house, filled it up and below you see the result. The right surface, steps away from the kitchen (and the fridge!), and shady. A little oasis of peace.
We tried it out together and had a great afternoon.
Gracious hosts too: they let my son and me win.

Laurent Lawrence Promotes Energy Reliability in New York

New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance (NYAREA) is probably the most important energy organization in New York. Mr. Laurent Lawrence is the Executive Director for New York AREA and manages the daily operations of the organization. In his capacity, Mr. Lawrence assists with New York AREA communications, member development, policy maker outreach, public relations and advertising.

AAEA has worked with NYAREA for years and we proudly serve as a member of the alliance. Their commitment to energy reliability is second to none and New York should be proud of these energy reliability champions. Mr. Lawrence recently presented testimony at a roundtable hearing titled "Environmental Justice and Nuclear Power" that we organized for The State of Environmental Justice 2007 Conference at the Howard University School of Law.

Laurent L. Lawrence began his career with New York AREA in January of 2005. An alumnus of Utica College of Syracuse University, Mr. Lawrence earned a dual degree in both Public Relations and Journalism. Along with the various scholastic leadership positions that he held while in college, Mr. Lawrence has studied and interned in London, England as well as written for various newsletters, newspapers, and magazines.

David F. Payne on the Purpose and Methods of the Chronicler

The following article is now available in PDF:

David F. Payne, "The Purpose and Methods of the Chronicler," Faith and Thought 93.2 (1963): 64-73.

Dr Payne makes a defence of the histocity of Chroncles and concludes:


These various considerations suggest that the Chronicler was a serious historian, who sought to give his readers a reliable account of certain aspects of the history of Judah and the dynasty of David. That there are certain difficulties in his account―though their number and importance should not be exaggerated―must be admitted; but an examination of the rest of the evidence, and an assessment of the Chronicler’s methods, render it most unlikely that he was prepared to invent material to suit some purpose of theological outlook or propa­ganda. We may therefore place confidence in the reliability of his information, even when it is unsupported by Samuel-Kings.
My thanks to Dr Payne for his kind permission to republish his article.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Our ‘Israel Lobby’

Leaders of Meretz USA joined with Judy Gelman, policy chair of Ameinu, to jointly lobby Congress on May 24, as it struggled to conclude business in time for the summer recess. Through the initiative of Meretz USA president Lawrence I. Lerner, the delegation visited the offices of New Jersey Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, plus NJ Representatives Donald Payne and Albio Sires; the group also met with the foreign policy specialist of New York Representative Jerrold Nadler. These were mostly meetings with staff, but the group also spoke to Sen. Lautenberg, who greeted his long-time acquaintances, Larry Lerner and Rabbi Israel (Sy) Dresner, with special warmth.

The staff persons were attentive but varied widely in terms of the knowledge they displayed on the Israeli scene. We referred them to news sources informed by our overall viewpoint favoring an active US role to facilitate a negotiated two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, and we left them with copies of ISRAEL HORIZONS. The delegation argued the point that Jewish opinion on Israel is not monolithic and not in lock-step with hardline views generally associated with AIPAC, and that this is true even for pro-Israel Jews like ourselves.

In terms of specific legislation, the only item on hand was a resolution congratulating Israel on the 40th anniversary of the victory in the 1967 Six Day War. We advised that such a resolution should not be offered in a triumphal spirit but rather as a reminder of the need to end the conflict through negotiations. We also would object to wording that applauds the reunification of Jerusalem as if it were an undisputed fact, a city that is one-third Palestinian Arab and remains disunited in important ways and whose ultimate status must be negotiated. (In this connection, I suggest reading M.J. Rosenberg’s fine piece, “Congressional Time Warp,” his latest weekly column, which he writes under the auspices of the Israel Policy Forum.)

In addition, we offered advice to Congresspersons intending to visit Israel, including the promise of contacts in Israel with dovish Members of Knesset and other prominent moderate and progressive Israelis and Palestinians. Meretz USA intends to follow up in cultivating relationships with members of Congress and to cooperate with like-minded organizations, including among moderate Palestinian Americans, with this purpose in mind.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Nude pétanque

Petanque is becoming one of the most popular activities in nudist resorts, and we have a lot of loyal clients at resorts all over the country.

The Nudist Gift Shop offers a wide range of clothing, stickers, mugs, ... with the "I Love Nude Pétanque" logo.

Have a look:
Nudist Gift Shop - Petanque


Nude pétanque

Petanque is becoming one of the most popular activities in nudist resorts, and we have a lot of loyal clients at resorts all over the country.

The Nudist Gift Shop offers a wide range of clothing, stickers, mugs, ... with the "I Love Nude Pétanque" logo.

Have a look:
Nudist Gift Shop - Petanque


La Boule Rose in the press

And La Boule Rose (Portland, OR) made it into the (of all places..) Lower Hudson Online.
Portland's odd ... and that's a good thing
(about 2/3 down the article)

La Boule Rose in the press

And La Boule Rose (Portland, OR) made it into the (of all places..) Lower Hudson Online.
Portland's odd ... and that's a good thing
(about 2/3 down the article)

Chicago Petanque in the news

Chicago Petanque Club made it in todays' Tribune again:

Higher profile for old boule game

Chicago Petanque in the news

Chicago Petanque Club made it in todays' Tribune again:

Higher profile for old boule game

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Thank You President Bush For Six Years of Safety

A Safe Environment Is Not Free


Lakeway Tournament

More from Texas!

On May 6 the Lakeway Pétanque Players held their 2nd Open Doubles Tournament.
Ten teams of a 5 different nationalities: France, Greece, Morocco, Tunisia, and USA! And their families.

Kudos to Geo & Arsène.

(nice trophies, by the way ;-)


Lakeway Tournament

More from Texas!

On May 6 the Lakeway Pétanque Players held their 2nd Open Doubles Tournament.
Ten teams of a 5 different nationalities: France, Greece, Morocco, Tunisia, and USA! And their families.

Kudos to Geo & Arsène.

(nice trophies, by the way ;-)


Help requested with back-issues of Themelios

Does anyone have access to the following issues of Themelios: 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3? I need the bibliographic details of the articles in order to complete my on-line index for this journal, i.e.
author, title, date, page numbers. Many thanks for your help!

Friday, May 25, 2007

Car Ownership is for Suckers: Wisconsin Edition

Madison's locally owned Community Car service is thriving. Started in October 2003 with 20 charter members and three vehicles, the service has ballooned to 575 members and now boasts 11 vehicles. The company is planning to bring two more cars to the University of Wisconsin campus in the fall, and by the end of the year the total fleet should reach 15.

Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Capitol Power Plant Not The Only Source of Carbon Dioxide

The Washington Post reported what we already know: the Capitol Power Plant uses coal but produces no electricity. It should be a cogenerator and should produce electricity. That would be the best carbon dioxide offset for the facility regardless of the fuel source. Of course, when we toured the facility about 15 years ago we were told it was cheaper to buy the electricity from PEPCO. Yet those Mirant-owned plants (sold by PEPCO) use coal too. Coal seems to be an important fuel source for powering the U.S. Capitol and the rest of America. Cogenerate. Use super critical boilers. It is ironic that the Capitol Power Plant began providing electricity in 1910; but today, it only provides steam for heating and chilled water for cooling buildings within the Capitol Complex.
Congress approved a huge expansion of the Capitol Power Plant (see our photos--new cooling section on the right in each picture) to accomodate the Capitol Visitor Center that is behind schedule and way over budget. Why is the House even talking about doing anything without agreement from the Senate and the Executive Branch? The article stated that the Senate used about 316,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in fiscal 2006 (equivalent to 57,455 cars) while the daily House operations generated 91,000 tons of greenhouse gases in 2006 (equal to 17,200 cars).

The 3 million vehicles in the Washington Metropolitan Area (WMA) should also be on Congress' radar screen if they are serious about reducing carbon dioxide in this region. About a million of those vehicles travel into the District every day. What about legislation to increase Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards? The WMA is still a Clean Air Act nonattainment area and it has been 35 years since that bill passed. And what about the homes. They spew carbon dioxide too. So coal and the Capitol Power Plant are not the global warming problem.

Maximum utilization of innovative technologies and techniques combined with a mix of energy sources can mitigate global warming without harming our economy. Switching from coal to natural gas would only save 50% on carbon dioxide and would cost much more. Congress should be positioning the U.S. to partner with India and China to utilize technology to mitigate global warming. A symbolic fuel switch will do nothing about the problem. But the Senate voted 95-0, including Senator Kerry, against even considering the Kyoto Protocol (a bad idea anyway). Either Congress should get serious about global warming or it should stop contributing to it by blowing more hot air.

Alistair Darling FOI letter

The Trade Secretary Alistair Darling has written to Lord Falconer expressing serious concern about the effects of FOI Act:
"I am concerned that the FOI Act, as it appears, prevents us from protecting robustly and across the board advice from officials to Ministers. Here again we should be able to guard more effectively against the incremental harm to the policy development process that must inevitably arise from the disclosure of individually innocuous submissions.
This is the type of information that, I believe, it was never the intention should be made public under an FOI Act. The problems seem to stem from the case by case approach that the Act requires us to take to FOI requests and a discernible trend within the Information Tribunal that decisions on the public interest test have not been falling in the government's favour in key cases. It is open to the government to appeal a decision to the High Court, but this must be on a point of law and is inevitably a costly and time consuming process. There have not yet been any circumstances where departments have felt able to take this approach and we appear to be faced for the future with either conceding to adverse decisions or exercising the Cabinet Minister veto to annul them."
The BBC has published the full letter.

See also:

Darling in call for FoI controls
- FT

Pointless requests must stop - Times

Meretz self-criticism

I don't see Meretz making strategic calculations in order to court votes but rather to advance a progressive agenda — uniquely without concern for achieving power in its own name. Change for the better is most likely to occur at this historical moment with a new prime minister selected by the Kadima party, without going to a general election that would most likely return Netanyahu to power. A very likely scenario is the imminent primary victory of a new leader of the Labor party (either Ami Ayalon or Ehud Barak) prompting an ultimatum to Kadima that either Olmert goes or Labor leaves the coalition forcing a new election; this should result in Olmert’s replacement by either Shimon Peres or Tzipi Livni — both more receptive than Olmert to making or addressing peace initiatives.

The following is from Meretz activist Susie Becher, inspired by views of the anti-Olmert rally that this Weblog featured about two weeks ago. I’m actually partial to the “anything but Bibi” school of thought that Susie deplores, but I respect her opinion enough to include it below:

I think Meretz is too preoccupied with who will head other parties and who will head the next government. Our public statements about the virtues of Livni or Peres and of Kadima vs. Likud portray to the public a party that lacks confidence in itself and its beliefs. This is also the message conveyed to the public by the stands the party has taken (or, rather, not taken) since the disengagement, when it backed Sharon, through the election campaign, when it ran with a slogan that conceded to Kadima before the race had begun, and up to the current crisis, when it is running scared from elections. When potential Meretz voters hear our leadership talk about hooking up with Labor or extolling Peres as the best person to head Kadima, they are likely to conclude that they might as well give their vote directly to one of those parties.

I don't belong to the "anything but Bibi" school. The supposedly liberal-social government of Olmert and Peretz has:
(1) allowed the settlers to make pilgrimages to Homesh and establish new settlements, one right in the heart of Hebron
(2) lost two ministers (and may yet lose a prime minister) to corruption investigations and one to a sexual misconduct conviction
(3) taken a racist, extreme right-wing party in as a partner and handed it no less than the Iranian nuclear threat as its portfolio
(4) said "no" to negotiations with Syria
(5) killed hundreds in Gaza over the summer and is starving those who are left
(6) gone to war with Lebanon and lost... and the list goes on without my even having touched on the social-economic issues.
So what exactly is it that we're afraid that Bibi will do?

I believe we need to highlight the ways in which we differ from the center parties rather than try to show how well we can blend in with them. I think Meretz repeatedly makes the mistake of taking the public's pulse and acting accordingly. Some believe this is the way to win votes. I disagree. The public may like us better if we pussyfoot around, but the votes will go to those who have a clear message and who are not afraid to stand apart in order to deliver it.
Brown to kill off fees regulations proposals

From The Telegraph:
"Gordon Brown is poised to kill off moves by the Lord Chancellor to water down the Freedom of Information Act, it became clear last night.
...
The Lord Chancellor's proposals would mean the cost of inquiries included the time that officials took to decide whether to accede to a request, not just the time it took to track down the information. Sources said last night that Mr Brown felt Lord Falconer's plans were unsustainable.

However, while the Chancellor is prepared to block them when he moves into No 10, he believes that Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, needs to beef up his response to genuinely vexatious inquiries."

Full story here.
FOI good for people and good for government says Information
Commissioner

ICO press release 24 May 2007
"Freedom of Information is fast becoming a fixed feature of 21st century democracy and should not be seen as a battle ground between public bodies and the people, according to the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas. Speaking at the annual FOI Live conference in London on 24 May, the Information Commissioner will state that the transparency and accountability brought by Freedom of Information reinforce good government, and should not be seen as a threat. However, he will also stress that those using FOI must act responsibly.

In his keynote speech the Commissioner will remind public bodies that they serve the public and will urge them to recognise that FOI requires a positive approach to openness.

Richard Thomas says: “After nearly two and a half years Freedom of Information is delivering real benefits. It is now recognised as a key feature of our modern democracy which is changing public sector culture. There is a presumption of disclosure, unless there is a genuine reason to withhold information. This must trump any instinct of unnecessary secrecy which simply suggests a public authority has something to hide. Of course there are bound to be times when the Freedom of Information Act may be uncomfortable. But openness – even where it reveals uncertainties, disagreements or embarrassments – treats citizens as grown ups and reflects the realities of public life. People respect honesty, not cover up.

“Freedom of Information reinforces good government. Some people fear that FOI can have a ‘chilling effect’ and that nothing gets written down. On the contrary - the possibility of disclosure encourages a record of full, accurate and impartial advice from civil servants and supports the principle that officials advise and ministers decide. Greater openness will deter spin and informal decision making.”

Whilst Richard Thomas fully recognises the need for “private space” for policy- making in suitable cases, he will warn that public bodies must treat each case on its own merits. The Information Commissioner’s Office has made it clear that public interest arguments for non-disclosure must be convincing in each case.

...

However, he will also warn of the risks if FOI is seen as a battle ground between public bodies and individuals. He says: “Wresting information from government and other public bodies has the potential to damage trust between the state and the people. But, by the same measure, those making requests must act responsibly and with restraint.”

Read the full press release here.

The Commissioner was also interviewed on the Today Programme yesterday. You can listen to the interview here.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Running a Gas Station

Sucks

TV coverage of 2007 Bike to Work Day

The Prejudice Against Coal

Coal provides fuel to produce 50 percent of our electricity. Now that global warming is an acknowledged problem and carbon dioxide is the leading greenhouse gas, coal is being vilified. The hold harmless clause we give ourselves for driving our cars and buying every electrical device we can afford for our homes is part of the great American illusion. What illusion you ask? The illusion that we can make coal into a boogie man while we spew 21 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere for every gallon of gasoline we use. And that home furnace, whether fuel oil, electric, gas or wood, the old CO2 is spewing.

Hopefully, Kyoto II will be technology driven and will reflect an appreciation for the American way of life. We know the rest of the American public wants to consume as much electricity as possible and at reasonable prices. Note how the politicians get excited when electric utilities request price increases. Americans are consumers. In fact, we are the biggest consumers on the planet and brag about being a SUPER POWER. You don't get to be a super power by being shy about energy use. AAEA appreciates the electricity provided by coal and we will work to assure that 'clean coal' technologies will be aggressively pursued. America is the Saudi Arabia of coal and our counrtry will continue to use plenty of it. Let's just make sure it is as clean as is technologically feasible.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Petanque in McAllen, TX

Some time ago we got an order in from Jerry, a "winter Texan" in Mission, TX who'd just discovered pétanque and was looking for an adequate place to play. Unlike many RV parks, all the roads in his are completely asphalted. Great for skateboarding (which he doesn't), lousy for pétanque.

A week later Gerald, a more experienced player from McAllen, TX called with some technical questions about terrains. With Google maps it took just seconds, while on the phone, to realize that those two could get together, and here is the result.
They met on a jogging trail in one of McAllen's public parks. Excellent surface, some bystanders asking questions - even joining in - and, judging by the smiles, everyone having a good time.

Thanks to Gerald for sharing his game experience, and to Jerry (meanwhile back up North, still spreading the word) for the photos.

Petanque in McAllen, TX

Some time ago we got an order in from Jerry, a "winter Texan" in Mission, TX who'd just discovered pétanque and was looking for an adequate place to play. Unlike many RV parks, all the roads in his are completely asphalted. Great for skateboarding (which he doesn't), lousy for pétanque.

A week later Gerald, a more experienced player from McAllen, TX called with some technical questions about terrains. With Google maps it took just seconds, while on the phone, to realize that those two could get together, and here is the result.
They met on a jogging trail in one of McAllen's public parks. Excellent surface, some bystanders asking questions - even joining in - and, judging by the smiles, everyone having a good time.

Thanks to Gerald for sharing his game experience, and to Jerry (meanwhile back up North, still spreading the word) for the photos.

Petanque 100 events upcoming

Alliance Francaise Salutes Pétanque in America
Southbury, CT
The public is invited to participate in a pétanque tournament and to learn about the game on Sunday June 3rd, from noon to 4 pm. A maximum of 32 participants will play on two courts. Reserve a spot by May 27th.
Prizes to the winning team. Wear comfortable clothing and bring your set of boules if possible. To participate bring something to eat or drink and contribute $5 (members), $10 (non-members).
For details and directions contact Jean-Marie & Marda at autrans74@gmail.com or 203-262-1320 before May 27th.

Alliance Francaise First Tournament & Picnic
Grand Rapids, MI
Sunday June 10 from 3 to 6pm
Bring your own picnic lunch and beverage and blanket or chair. Deck seating and grill also on site. Two or three-person teams play for prizes. A traditional glass of pastis will be served to kick off the event and wine served during play.
$10 per member or guest.
This is at a private residence with enough room for two concurrent games.
Call Gary Morrison at 616-975-0864 for futher info and to reserve.

Petanque 100 events upcoming

Alliance Francaise Salutes Pétanque in America
Southbury, CT
The public is invited to participate in a pétanque tournament and to learn about the game on Sunday June 3rd, from noon to 4 pm. A maximum of 32 participants will play on two courts. Reserve a spot by May 27th.
Prizes to the winning team. Wear comfortable clothing and bring your set of boules if possible. To participate bring something to eat or drink and contribute $5 (members), $10 (non-members).
For details and directions contact Jean-Marie & Marda at autrans74@gmail.com or 203-262-1320 before May 27th.

Alliance Francaise First Tournament & Picnic
Grand Rapids, MI
Sunday June 10 from 3 to 6pm
Bring your own picnic lunch and beverage and blanket or chair. Deck seating and grill also on site. Two or three-person teams play for prizes. A traditional glass of pastis will be served to kick off the event and wine served during play.
$10 per member or guest.
This is at a private residence with enough room for two concurrent games.
Call Gary Morrison at 616-975-0864 for futher info and to reserve.

Time Machine: 1989 International Waste Trade Protest

We have occasionally taken it to the streets. We joined with Greenpeace back in the 1980s on many projects. On one particular day we participated in a protest rally and march against American Cyanimide's production and dumping of mercury waste in South Africa. The security force looked pretty fierce, but everything turned out okay. Peter Bahouth was president of Greenpeace, USA at the time. Try to stay with the video until the end because the action starts after the rally. We added the soundtrack.

Petanque 100 in Louisville, KY

A celebration in Louisville as well last weekend, where Mark & his friends of Pétanque Louisville got together with players of the Alliance Francaise.

Petanque 100 in Louisville, KY

A celebration in Louisville as well last weekend, where Mark & his friends of Pétanque Louisville got together with players of the Alliance Francaise.

Don't you forget about the Google Mini



The Journal's Dave Nagel just wrote that it's easy "deploy and forget" the Google Mini because of its easy setup and minimal administration requirements. Fortunately, Dave didn't forget to write his very complimentary review of the product.

The review does a thorough job providing background about the Mini and recapping some of the new features in our recent release, such as OneBox integration, secure search, and Google Analytics integration. If you need a search engine for your intranet or public website, make sure to check out the Mini.

Bummer for Car Owners



San Mateo, CA

This is a job for Bicycle Repair Man
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