December 13, 2011

NTSB recommends ban on driver cell phone use

WASHINGTON — States should ban all driver use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices, except in emergencies, the National Transportation Board said Tuesday.

The recommendation, unanimously agreed to by the five-member board, applies to both hands-free and hand-held phones and significantly exceeds any existing state laws restricting texting and cellphone use behind the wheel.

The board made the recommendation in connection with a deadly highway pileup in Missouri last year. The board said the initial collision in the accident near Gray Summit, Mo., was caused by the inattention of a 19 year-old-pickup driver who sent or received 11 texts in the 11 minutes immediately before the crash.

The pickup, traveling at 55 mph, collided into the back of a tractor truck that had slowed for highway construction. The pickup was rear-ended by a school bus that overrode the smaller vehicle. A second school bus rammed into the back of the first bus. .......................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20111212/US.Drivers.Texting/

December 13, 2011

The bugs that ate Monsanto

from Grist:



The bugs that ate Monsanto

by Tom Laskawy
13 Dec 2011 1:28 PM





Now that 94 percent of the soy and 70 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. are genetically modified, Monsanto -- one of the companies that dominates the GMO seed market -- might look to some like it's winning. But if we look a little closer, I'd say they're holding on by a thread.

Their current success is due in large part to brilliant marketing. The company's approach was both compelling -- their products were sold as the key to making large-scale farming far simpler and more predictable -- and aggressive: Monsanto made it virtually impossible for most farmers to find conventional seeds for sale in most parts of the country.

Despite promises of improved productivity, enhanced nutritional content, or extreme weather tolerance -- none of which has ever come to market -- Monsanto has only ever produced seeds with two genetically modified traits, either herbicide tolerance or pesticide production. And even those traits never lived up to the marketing hype.

But it now appears that the core traits themselves are failing. Over the last several years, so-called "superweeds" have grown resistant to the herbicide RoundUp, the companion product that's made Monsanto's herbicide-tolerant (aka RoundUp-Ready) corn, soy, and alfalfa so popular. Those crops were supposed to be the only plants that could withstand being sprayed by the chemical. Oops. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.grist.org/industrial-agriculture/2011-12-13-the-bugs-that-ate-monsanto

December 13, 2011

2 students shot, wounded at Texas middle school

EDINBURG, Texas (AP) — Authorities suspect hunters may have shot two South Texas middle school students who were wounded by gunfire Monday afternoon while trying out for a basketball team.

Two boys — ages 13 and 14 — were shot, said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino. Classes were not in session at Harwell Middle School when the shooting happened around 4:45 p.m., but the school complex was immediately placed on lockdown. Edinburg school district spokesman Gilbert Tagle said a number of after-school activities were going on besides the basketball tryouts, including a concert and a faculty meeting. He estimated as many as 200 children could have been on campus.

One of the wounded boys was in critical condition Monday night with a bullet embedded in an organ. The other was stable and awaiting X-rays, Trevino said.

At the time of the shooting, one of the boys was going for a layup. The other was waiting his turn to try out, Trevino said. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/2-students-shot-wounded-texas-middle-school-005252364.html

December 13, 2011

Best Mass Transit Systems

I've never been to Asia (or S. America) and experienced legendary systems such as the Tokyo Subway, so this is based purely on my experiences in N. America and Europe. Please add yours.


1. Paris - because the Metro covers the city like a snug coat & the RER gets you to anywhere else in Ile de France.


2. Berlin - great U-Bahn/S-Bahn coverage of a sprawling city.


3. Madrid - a FANTASTIC metro.


4. London - The Tube is sometimes balky and the commuter trains don't always run on shed-yoo-uhl, but it's a massive system and the double deckers rock.


5. New York - because the subway system is so massive.


6. Toronto - for the seamless connections between subway, bus, streetcar and LRT


7. Barcelona - Another excellent metro, with extensive bus and regional train service.


8. Amsterdam - Trams, a metro and an incredible regional rail network.


9. Washington DC - One of the nicest metros to ride, but weird metro-to-bus transfer rules.


10. Brussels - Another European city with a great transit system. Film at 11.

December 13, 2011

Is it possible to customize one's journal yet?

I didn't see a tool for said function anywhere.....I really liked that feature on the last version of DU.

December 13, 2011

Oh (No!) Canada

brought to you by Stephen Bonaparte Bush Harper


from the BBC:



Canada will formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, the minister of the environment has said.

Peter Kent said the protocol "does not represent a way forward for Canada" and the country would face crippling fines for failing to meet its targets.

The move, which is legal and was expected, makes it the first nation to pull out of the global treaty.

The protocol, initially adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, is aimed at fighting global warming. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16151310

December 13, 2011

Paul B. Farrell: Our decade from hell will get worse in 2012

Our decade from hell will get worse in 2012
Commentary: Market crash, political gridlock, revolution, new class wars

By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch


SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — Fasten your seat belts: 2011 was far worse than expected. Our earlier predictions for America’s Worst Decade just got worse.

As financial historian Niall Ferguson writes in Newsweek: “Double-Dip Depression … We forget that the Great Depression was like a soccer match, there were two halves.” The 1929 crash kicked off the first half. But what “made the depression truly ‘great’ …began with the European banking crisis of 1931.” Sound familiar?

Yes, huge warnings: But America’s deaf. In denial. When we predicted the 2011-2020 “decade from hell” we didn’t see the big macro events dead ahead: Arab Spring virus that’s now Occupy Wall Street, promising to explode into an even more powerful force in 2012 … war on the middle class … widening inequality gap. … Washington gridlock … the Super Rich’s blind resistance to all new taxes.

As Ferguson puts it: “To understand what has been happening in our own borderline depression, you need to know this history. But hardly anyone does.” Get it? America’s already in a “borderline depression,” and virtually nobody gets it. American leaders are dummies about history. Worse, nobody may be able to stop our depression from turning “great.” .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/our-decade-from-hell-will-get-worse-in-2012-2011-12-13?link=home_carousel

December 13, 2011

Der Spiegel: The Durban Climate Agreement 'Is Almost Useless'

The climate talks in Durban ended with an agreement to agree on a new agreement on emissions cuts in coming years. The outcome was hailed as historic by the organizers, but German commentators say the pledges remain too vague and the progress too slow -- while global warming is accelerating.

Countries from around the globe agreed on Sunday to forge a new deal forcing all the biggest polluters for the first time to limit greenhouse gas emissions. A package of accords agreed after two weeks of United Nations talks in Durban, South Africa, extended the 1997 Kyoto Protocol -- the only global pact enforcing carbon cuts -- allowing five more years to finalize a wider pact.

Delegates agreed in the early hours of Sunday to start work next year on a new, legally binding accord to cut greenhouse gases, to be decided by 2015 and to come into force by 2020. The process for doing so, called the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, would "develop a new protocol, another legal instrument or agreed outcome with legal force." The phrasing was vague enough for all parties to claim victory.

.....(snip).....

Left-wing Frankfurter Rundschau writes:

"The Kyoto Protocol is saved. After a hard diplomatic battle, the summit meeting agreed to a continuation of the historic climate agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions that would otherwise have expired in 2012. That makes for good reading. As does the fact that the US, China and the other emerging markets want to take part in a new global agreement from 2020. The only problem is that it's almost useless. The UN summit wasn't a debacle like the Copenhagen conference two years ago, but it only narrowly avoided complete failure -- like most of the 16 summits before it." ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,803158,00.html

December 13, 2011

Detroit Free Press: Lowe's faces increasing backlash for pulling ads from 'All-American Muslim'

A decision by the retail chain Lowe's to pull its ads from a TV show based on Dearborn's Muslim community has sparked an intense outcry from Muslim-Americans and their supporters.

The unfolding controversy has gained attention worldwide, as media news outlets including NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, the BBC, and Time magazine, reported on it today.

Over the past few days, Muslims have launched an online campaign against the home improvement store, urging it to apologize and start running ads again on TLC’s “All-American Muslim,” a reality TV series that showcases the lives of five Lebanese-American Shia Muslim families.

Lowe's stopped running commercials during "All-American Muslim" after a conservative group known as the Florida Family Association e-mailed companies to ask them to stop advertising on the show. The group said the program is "propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values." ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.freep.com/article/20111212/NEWS02/111212022/Lowe-s-faces-increasing-backlash-pulling-ads-from-All-American-Muslim-retailer-apologizes?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

December 12, 2011

Facing Funding Shortfalls and Protest, Better Rail for Boston Region is Delayed

from the Transport Politic blog:



Facing Funding Shortfalls and Protest, Better Rail for Boston Region is Delayed
December 11th, 2011


Just northwest of Boston, Cambridge and Somerville are some of the nation’s exemplar cities when it comes to promoting transportation alternatives. In Somerville, 48% of the population rides transit, walks, or bikes to work; in Cambridge, 57% do. The explanation likely comes down to a strong commitment to livable streets in both cities, a large student population, high residential densities, community activism against limited-access highways, and big concentrations of jobs both in the traditional office center of Downtown Boston but also in the walkable Kendall Square-MIT and Harvard Square areas, both along the Red Line rapid transit corridor.

Yet, with the exception of the Red Line — extended north of Harvard Square in the early 1980s — reliable transit access in the two cities is limited. Buses crisscross the area, but they are stuck in traffic at all periods of the day due to the lack of reserved lanes. Commuter rail lines that extend through the area only stop once, at the Porter Square Red Line station. These limitations have strained the Red Line, which now suffers from overcrowding at peak hours, and limited the potential for growth. In addition, partially because of the penury of transit stations around which to build up, the Boston region is one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets.

For years, plans for transit access improvements, clearly merited considering the area’s demographics and potential, have been under development by the Boston-area transit agency, MBTA. A circumferential bus rapid transit line, the Urban Ring, would have allowed commuters from Cambridge and Somerville to get to Boston’s jobs-heavy Longwood Medical Area or Logan Airport without passing through congested downtown — but it was put on indefinite hold last year due to a funding shortfall. Now, an extension of the Green Line light rail line into Somerville is threatened by similar concerns. And the reactivation of the Grand Junction commuter rail corridor through Cambridge has been put off by community resistance.

The Green Line extension is one of the most promising transit projects in the country. It is expected to carry about 45,000 daily riders along its four-mile, two-pronged route, with termini in Somerville’s active Union Square neighborhood and Tufts University, just across the Somerville city line in Medford (see map below of the green dotted line), following two existing commuter rail corridors in a fully separated right-of-way. The state has previously said it plans to begin construction at the end of next year, with the opening of the first stations planned for 2016. The program is expensive — about $1 billion for its completion. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2011/12/11/facing-funding-shortfalls-and-protest-better-rail-for-boston-region-is-delayed/