Just How Gay Is the Right? - New York Times
Provocative and thoughtful article. I remember the films to which the OP-Ed piece refers and they were very good and very scary and certainly worth watching again. But can anyone explain gay-bashing by gays? The political right is full of people in denial of reality it would seem What is your view? Do you believe that a lot of the bru-ha-ha over the judiciary is really about homophobia?
And speaking of the battle over the confirmation of "activist" judges with a homophobic, anti-abortion, religious right fringe orientation - check out this little video ad. It comes with the release of the latest Star Wars episode and uses that theme!
Comments, anyone?
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Thursday, May 19, 2005
EWG Action Fund Issues || Asbestos
EWG Action Fund Issues || Asbestos
Actually, the government has known about the asbestos danger since the 1920s, but thought financial concerns over-rode any human concerns. Asbestos related lung disease is often referred to as Brown Lung disease.
Is your community on this list? If so, you should be aware you may have been exposed!
Actually, the government has known about the asbestos danger since the 1920s, but thought financial concerns over-rode any human concerns. Asbestos related lung disease is often referred to as Brown Lung disease.
Is your community on this list? If so, you should be aware you may have been exposed!
Volcanoes
As the 25th Anniversary of the last eruption of Mt. St. Helens arrived, we were all reminded again of the awsome power within the Earth. When I saw before and after photos of the area that had been the beautiful cone-shaped mountain, I wept. I wept because I was so overwhelmed by the magnitude of the destruction. I wept because so many good people lost their lives. I wept for the loss of forest and beauty that had been. Now the sleeping giant is awakening again. Tourists flock to the area to see the start of something BIG. I wouldn't get within 50 miles of the site!! Here in Costa Rica, we have a number of active volcanoes such as Volcan Arenal, in the northern part of the country. Tourists seem to think this is a must see" on their list. Many Ticos (Costa Ricans) enjoy the Tabacon Hot Springs nearby. From my house I have a great view of Volcan Baru in Panama. San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica, and the area surrounding it (known as the "Area Metropolitana") lies in a high plateau surrounded by beautiful mountains and, you guessed it, volcanoes.
Many vulcanologists have warned that this area, containing most of Costa Rica's population, WILL experience a very large volcanic eruption that will put that huge population and the center of the country's infrastructure and government at grave risk. When? No one knows.
For more information on Volcanism and US volcanoes check out a publication by the United States Geological Service.
Plans are now in place in the U.S. to more carefully monitor potentially dangerous volcanic sites.
There seems to be an interest in the possibility of an enormous eruption in Yellowstone Nat'l. Park on the part of the public. From everything I've read a supervolcano does not appear to be in the making there any time in the near future. Still, with our knowledge of geology still somewhat limited, monitoring this site along with others is a very good idea.
The problem comes with the "what if" scenario. What if there is a supervolcanic eruption in the next few years? How will this affect global climate, agriculture, human and animal populations, etc.? Does anyone really know? There are many theories - most of them very scary.
But, HEY! Take the looong view. The Earth won't survive the expansion phase of the dying sun in just a few billion years, so we can all relax and just enjoy whatever time we have left. Knowing that humans (as we know them) won't last forever is both good and bad. Nobody likes to face the possibility of a final "never after." But it is just possible that in the time remaining we may yet evolve into something worthy of survival. Then we may find a way to transfer life to another star system. OR it may be that there are already planets inhabited by living things and that they are far superior to us or will be when they have evolved, so there won't be much of a loss after all. I mean, in the BIG scheme of things, what's so important about us? Or maybe there IS a heaven, Virginia. (But if W and his cronies go there, I don't want to join them!)
Which is another whole subject to discuss another time!
Many vulcanologists have warned that this area, containing most of Costa Rica's population, WILL experience a very large volcanic eruption that will put that huge population and the center of the country's infrastructure and government at grave risk. When? No one knows.
For more information on Volcanism and US volcanoes check out a publication by the United States Geological Service.
Plans are now in place in the U.S. to more carefully monitor potentially dangerous volcanic sites.
There seems to be an interest in the possibility of an enormous eruption in Yellowstone Nat'l. Park on the part of the public. From everything I've read a supervolcano does not appear to be in the making there any time in the near future. Still, with our knowledge of geology still somewhat limited, monitoring this site along with others is a very good idea.
The problem comes with the "what if" scenario. What if there is a supervolcanic eruption in the next few years? How will this affect global climate, agriculture, human and animal populations, etc.? Does anyone really know? There are many theories - most of them very scary.
But, HEY! Take the looong view. The Earth won't survive the expansion phase of the dying sun in just a few billion years, so we can all relax and just enjoy whatever time we have left. Knowing that humans (as we know them) won't last forever is both good and bad. Nobody likes to face the possibility of a final "never after." But it is just possible that in the time remaining we may yet evolve into something worthy of survival. Then we may find a way to transfer life to another star system. OR it may be that there are already planets inhabited by living things and that they are far superior to us or will be when they have evolved, so there won't be much of a loss after all. I mean, in the BIG scheme of things, what's so important about us? Or maybe there IS a heaven, Virginia. (But if W and his cronies go there, I don't want to join them!)
Which is another whole subject to discuss another time!
More Progress on Earthquake Forecasts
For those of us living in geologically active areas such as the Pacific rim, Utah, etc. it is good to have any new way of predicting earthquakes. We are still a long way from predicting when and where an earthquake will strike, but we're getting closer to predicting the percentage of probability of an aftershock. Californians can check out this site which also has links to other regions of the US.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
VoIP, Skype in Costa Rica = Jail Time?
Use Skype and go to jail? In one nation, it could happen by ZDNet's Russell Shaw -- The Central American nation of Costa Rica has long been seen as an oasis of democracy and freedom in a turbulent and sometimes repressive region.That's why it is absolutely puzzling to note that nation's monopoly phone service ICE Instituto Costarricense de Electricidadhas proposed a regulation for VoIP services that would - in at TechWeb's interpretation [...]
My daughter is using Skype and loves it. She wanted me to sign up, too, so that we could talk using the Internet buy actually hear each other's voices. Then I saw the above article in ZDNet.
There are those Costa Ricans who would like the Caribbean Free Trade Pack to go through so that their country would be forced to accept competition. It would mean changing the 1948 Constitution, though. That's a big move. And what would happen to all the government employees of ICE, RACSA, MOPT, and AyA? All of these government monopoly service providers would find it almost impossible to compete. Wouldn't it be better for Costa Rica to begin making the necessary improvements and slowly allowing in competition so that the people here would have a chance to adjust?
One of Costa Rica's biggest problems is that it doesn't have a really good tax structure and tax collection system. The first priority, I should think, would be to implement a modernization of the tax structure. An income tax if fairly applied is a progressive system compared to the sales and import taxes now used which are regressive systems. Everyone in the country already has a unique ID #. Everyone over 18 is issued a cedula or ID card. This is used for the Social Security system as well as for other forms of identification. The law requires everyone to carry their cedulas with them at all times. Tourists, of course, do not have cedulas. They must use their passports as ID's. All wages must now be reported by the employer to the Caja (Social Security Institute) on a monthly basis. Social Security taxes are paid by the employer monthly. The same system could be used to collect an income tax from individuals. The biggest problem would be taxing the owners of large companies and farms. They, as the employers, do not have to show their own income and this great gap would have to be closed. Since all the "politicos" are from wealthy "owner" families, there would certainly be a very large hurdle to overcome.
Another move the government could make in Costa Rica now is to start experimenting with alternative forms of energy. If Costa Rica could produce enough electricity, say, from wind, tidal, geothermal, and solar sources, it could then sell this electricity to other countries such as Panama and Nicaragua. Coffee farmers in Costa Rica are having a very hard time now because coffee prices have plummeted on the international market. The government could subsidize these farmers to switch over to production of another crop to be used in biomass fuel production with the government owning and operating the actual production facilities. Everyone would benefit.
Ah, well! Ramblings from a Gringa about what she'd like to see happen in her adopted country of Costa Rica will never get to the ears of anyone in power.
In any case, I don't see Costa Rica becoming a competitor in the world market place successfully in the near future. So, Heidi, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can use Skype just yet . . .
More of My Favorite Costa Rica Photos
Please look through these and comment. I've had some nice warm fuzzies from my other post. One can never get enough warm fuzzies or corrective comments, either.
Monday, May 16, 2005
Some of My Favorite Things
Today I decided to post come of my favorite photos. NOTE: all these photos are copyrighted 2005 Mary B Thorman. Each photo is shown as a separate post so that you can comment on each one separately.
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About Me
- Chi
- I live on the Pacific slopes of the Talamanca mountain range in southern Costa Rica. My adult children live in the United States. I have a Masters Degree in Gerontology but have worked as a migrant laborer, chicken egg collector, radio broadcaster, secretary, social worker, research director, bureaucrat, writer, editor, political organizer, publicist, telephone operator, and more. My hobby of photography has garnered some awards.
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