• ...every electric need we have is generated by the sun, with absolutely no impact on the environment.
• Water is our scarcest resource. We collect rains from the roofs. We recycle all gray waters, with special filters imported from Europe. An anaerobic reaction assures the purity of water at the exit of the system. Water is then used in ponds for the wildlife.
• The use of specially imported ecological soaps assures perfect chemical purity of the water.
• We use special low energy dish washers and washing machine, to save on water consumption.
• Food is cooked with an eco-friendly charcoal, made from coffee husks, on a United Nations Environment Project recommendation. [emphasis added]
• Staff is trained to assure minimization of garbage production.
• All organic wastes are transformed in compost. The rest of the wastes are selected and send to the city council pit and the recyclable wastes (glasses and other container) sent to Nairobi.
• We run an organic vegetable garden, and we have few chickens and few cows, for an organic production of eggs and milk.

To round out the description of this one-of-a-kind vacation destination, some photos:

                   

                    

1. Fly St. Louis to Chicago-O'Hare (Jet)
2. Chicago to Brussels (Jet)
3. Brussels to Entebbe (Jet)
4. Entebbe to Nairobi (Jet)
5. Nairobi to Campi ya Kanzi airstrip (Prop)

1. Campi ya Kanzi to Nairobi (Prop)
2. Nairobi to London (Jet)
3. London to Chicago (Jet)
4. Chicago to St. Louis (Jet)

What an amazing global village we live in! Needless to say, plans are in motion to whisk the wife and me away to the perfect environmentally proper and UN-sanctioned get-away. Solidarity tourism has never been easier or more ethically grounded!

Chavez: I'd Welcome Russian Troops in Venezuela

(Newser) – Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is on a two-day trip to Moscow seeking closer military and economic ties —and raising the possibility that Russian troops may be stationed in Venezuela. Chavez and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev have already agreed to extend an energy partnership and are negotiating an arms deal and military co-operation, reports the BBC.

"If Russia's armed forces want to be present in Venezuela, they will be given a warm welcome," Chavez told a news conference after the meeting. Venezuela will continue to pursue closer military ties with Russia "because the North American empire has plans to invade Venezuela, to disarm Venezuela," he said.

DUBAI (Reuters) - A top cardiologist has warned television viewers in the United Arab Emirates to try to stay calm during the Olympics because they were particularly vulnerable to suffering heart attacks while watching sports.

 

Klaus Kallmayer, head of cardiology at City Hospital in Dubai and the German Heart Centre in Bremen, said cardiovascular incidents increase during sporting events as spectators get caught up in the moment.

 

"Watching a stressful sports game involving the national team can more than double the risk of an acute cardiovascular event. And the UAE's poor cardiovascular record means spectators here can be even more at risk," Kallmayer said in a statement.

 

"Sports enthusiasts who prefer watching the proceedings from the sofa rather than engaging in physical activity themselves should be aware that statistically the comfort of their living room is no safer than actually competing," he said.

 

Kallmayer said he did not wish to scare people away from watching the Games but cautioned them to avoid exceptional stress levels.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Homing pigeons and kites are the latest victims of Beijing's drive to hold a trouble-free Olympics after authorities announced they will be banned in parts of the city.

 

Elaborate kites in the shape of dragons and other creatures are a common sight in the skies above Beijing parks, where enthusiasts fly them to giddy heights.

 

Raising homing pigeons is also a hobby popular among longtime residents, especially old people, who sometimes attach whistles to birds' feet so they whir through the air.

Kite-maker Liu Xuejin, 61, who flies the swallow-shaped kites his store specializes in every night, said the rule was puzzling.

 

"There's not much potential danger in flying kites, so long as you don't play along the roads where there are high electricity wires," said Liu, who has crafted kites out of silk and bamboo for decades. "They must be joking."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Kids' meals at popular fast-food restaurants deliver more than a quick lunch or dinner -- 90 percent of them have far more than a meal's worth of calories and many are loaded with fat and salt too, according to a report released on Monday.

 

The Center for Science in the Public Interest -- the group that took the fun out of movie popcorn and Chinese takeout by revealing the fat and calorie content of such treats -- said it is difficult to find anything remotely healthful for a child to eat at several restaurant chains.

"People may not get a heart attack until their 50s or 60s, but arteries begin to clog in childhood," said CSPI nutrition policy director Margo Wootan. "Most of these kids' meals appear to be designed to put America's children on the fast track to obesity, disability, heart attack or diabetes."

PHOENIX (Reuters) - The United States began a pilot program on Tuesday that allows some illegal immigrants to come forward and schedule their own deportation, after criticism that stepped-up raids cause traumatic family splits.

Immigration -- principally what to do with some 12 million mostly Hispanic illegal immigrants living and working in the shadows -- is a hot issue in the United States, especially in the midst of an election year and an economic downturn.

 

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency's Scheduled Departure program is set to run through August 22 in five cities. It offers fugitive illegal immigrants with no criminal history up to 90 days to leave the United States, during when they can stay out of jail.

 

An ICE fugitive is an illegal immigrant who has failed to leave after a final order of removal, deportation or exclusion from an immigration judge.

Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the world? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law?

                                                                        -- Barack Obama, Berlin July 24, 2008

On Friday we were given a glimpse inside the imprisonment of Salim Hamdan. According to most press reports, Mr. Hamdan was once upon a time Osama bin Laden’s driver. Unlike many hired drivers, however, Hamdan was captured on a battlefield driving a car (SUV?) equipped with two surface-to-air missiles.  Because his chauffeur’s license did not have the required ‘SAM’ stamp, Hamdan was arrested by US military personnel and eventually transferred to the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The US military, in contravention of long standing international traditions regarding prisoners detained during wartime, has decided to place Hamdan on trial for alleged crimes committed against the United States. The military has also instituted the unheard of policy of allowing Hamdan representation by American attorneys who may cross-examine witnesses and review evidence. He faces the possibility of release if found not guilty.

The trial began this past week. On Friday, Reuters reported on the kind of treatment Hamdan has experienced during his confinement, based on actual testimony and evidence from the trial. The news story begins by providing a description, albeit limited in scope, of Hamdan’s prison diet:

"Mr. Hamdan commented that he liked McDonald's fries and we brought fries in," FBI special agent George Crouch told Hamdan's terrorism war crimes trial before a U.S. military commission. "Mr. Hamdan even appreciated that McDonald's fries are not good cold."

Don’t we all. Agent Crouch, typical of the devious nature of interrogators, at times “intervened” with the military on Hamdan’s “behalf”:

Hamdan's mood lifted when he was allowed to call and tell his wife that he was alive seven months after his capture in November 2001.

"Mr. Hamdan cried quite a bit," Crouch said. "He was very grateful for the opportunity to speak to his wife. A burden had been lifted from him. At least his wife knew he was alive."

Defense attorneys introduced a document indicating that Hamdan was interrogated in the middle of the night by someone whose identity is classified, between two days of questioning by FBI agent Daniel William.

"He was woken up in his sleep," defense attorney Joseph McMillan said in court. William said had not known about this, but did not think it affected his own interview and Hamdan did not appear tired.

If you’re like me, a parent of young children, your first reaction to this news was to wonder whether you could hire Code Pink to protest outside your kids’ bedroom. (“What do we want?”… “Sleep!”… “When do we want it?”… “For a continuous 7 to 8 hour period!”) I’m kidding, of course. But it’s hard not to see the common humanity we all share when a man’s dreams are interrupted.

And finally, Reuters addresses the all important issue of detainee health:

Military authorities disclosed on Friday that Hamdan had been taken to a hospital briefly on Thursday afternoon. Berrigan said Hamdan had had a fever and felt better on Friday, when he appeared in court.

Joint Task Force spokeswoman Cdr. Pauline Storum said medical staff had examined Hamdan and found him to be "in good health with no acute medical conditions."

A couple of things stand out here. First is the phrase, “…Hamdan had had a fever…” I’m left wondering if this is code for torture. Traditional medicine has two standard treatment protocols for a common fever. As opposed to feeding a cold, one starves a fever. The other method involves administering plenty of fluids. I think we all know the frightful implications the latter carries in this case.

The second point concerns Hamdan’s clean bill of health, according to US officials. More useful would be a comparison of his current health status with that prior to his arrest. Certainly some enterprising reporter can contact the al Qaeda Surgeon General’s office for Hamdan’s medical file. Only then could we obtain a complete picture of the physical impact his confinement has had. Of course gaining insight to changes in his mental health would prove more difficult and open to subjective interpretation.

I come to Berlin as so many of my countrymen have come before, although tonight I speak to you not as a candidate for president, but as a citizen, a proud citizen of the United States and a fellow citizen of the world.

I know that I don’t look like the Americans who’ve previously spoken in this great city.

...in the darkest hours, the people of Berlin kept the flame of hope burning. The people of Berlin refused to give up.

Think about it. The terrorists of September 11th plotted in Hamburg and trained in Kandahar and Karachi before killing thousands from all over the globe on American soil.

This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children to a world where the oceans rise, and famine spreads, and terrible storms devastate our lands.

But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. With an eye towards the future, with resolve in our heart, let us remember this history, and answer our destiny, and remake the world once again.

Condoms are easier than changing diapers

George Michael -- internationally famous entertainer, political philosopher and expert on human sexuality -- has announced his preference for the US presidential election. What's more, Mr. Michael offers sage advice for his hopeful winner:

George Michael's tip for Obama -- run with Clinton

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - British pop star George Michael has a tip for U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama -- team up with former rival Hillary Clinton.

Michael, 45, touring North America for the first time in 17 years, told fans during a concert at New York City's Madison Square Garden that "I know you guys all need a change."

He admitted he doesn't know what kind of change Obama would bring if elected, saying that after "months of watching CNN" he still does not know what Obama or Clinton stand for. But he went on to say that the Illinois and New York senators would make "the strongest team" for the Democratic ticket.

In Greece, the courts strike a blow for tolerance and understanding:

Greek court rules lesbians are not just from Lesbos

ATHENS (Reuters) - A Greek court has dismissed a request by residents of the Aegean island of Lesbos to ban the use of the word lesbian to describe gay women, according to a court ruling made public on Tuesday.

Three residents of Lesbos, the birthplace of the ancient Greek poetess Sappho whose love poems inspired the term lesbian, brought a case last month arguing the use of the term in reference to gay women insulted their identity.

In a July 18 decision, the Athens court said the word did not define the identity of the residents of the island, and so it could be validly used by gay groups in Greece and abroad.

Iran provides its assessment of the 6-way nuclear talks and luncheon held in recently in Geneva:

Iran says nuclear talks a step forward

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's president described talks with world powers on its disputed nuclear program as a step forward on Sunday, official media said, even though the meeting in Geneva failed to produce any breakthrough in the standoff.

Let’s take a closer look at that final clause: “…even though the meeting…failed to produce any breakthrough…” I suppose it never occurred to the Reuters reporter that each passing day in which that statement holds true is indeed a mark of progress for Iran.

President Ahmadinejad was also quoted in the story as saying:

"Any negotiation that takes place is a step forward".

In entertainment news, a Muslim song stylist finds vindication in the courts of a decadent Western crusader imperialist (or is that imperialist crusader?) nation:

Yusuf Islam wins damages for "veiled women" slur

LONDON (Reuters) - British folk singer Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, accepted libel damages and an apology on Friday from a news agency that reported he had refused to talk to women at an awards ceremony who were not wearing a veil.

The artist, who changed his name after becoming a Muslim in the late 1970s, will donate the "substantial" payout to Small Kindness, a U.N.-linked charity he chairs.

Adam Tudor, the singer's attorney, told London's High Court that the story behind the legal action was published by World Entertainment News Network and was used on Contactmusic.com, a website said to have 2.2 million page views a month.

[…]

Tudor said the article had embarrassed the singer, creating a false impression of his attitude to women and also casting serious aspersions on his religious faith.

Oddly, the story makes no mention of the damages a fellow artist and British subject, Salman Rushdie, received after Mr. Yusef made these statements in 1989:

"He [Rushdie] must be killed. The Qur'an makes it clear - if someone defames the prophet, then he must die."

[and]

In Islam there is a line between let's say freedom and the line which is then transgressed into immorality and irresponsibility and I think as far as this writer is concerned, unfortunately, he has been irresponsible with his freedom of speech. Salman Rushdie or indeed any writer who abuses the prophet, or indeed any prophet, under Islamic law, the sentence for that is actually death. It's got to be seen as a deterrent, so that other people should not commit the same mistake again.

[Special note: Salman Rushie is not a Muslim.]

No added commentary here. Simply imagine Al Gore’s dreamy dreams upon reading this story. (Should that prove too frightening, please proceed to the next item.)

Emergency Beijing Olympic pollution scheme begins

BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijingers breathed easier on Sunday as traffic restrictions and factory closures came into effect in a last ditch attempt to turn the often smoggy Chinese capital into a pollution-free venue for next month's Olympics.

On a sunny but still slightly hazy day, the flow of cars was lighter than usual for a Sunday on the city's wide roads, as vehicles with odd license plates were banned from the streets for the day. Tomorrow even-numbered cars must stay in the garage.

"Its great -- today there are far fewer cars on the road and the air quality is so nice. This is good for the children," said 20-year old Wang Yanna, out for a weekend stroll with her toddler nephew near a busy intersection.

[…]

The city has warned that people who violate the rules will be caught by a high-tech surveillance network of over 10,000 "smart" devices, including cameras, ultrasonic and microwave scanners.

__________________________________________________

As you read this next entry, please do not think that “unnecessary” includes the travels of bishops living in remote countries who retired a dozen years ago, but nonetheless dash around the planet to accept awards and engage in other activities appropriate to being a crusader activist for justice and equality. I know you’ll want to, but just don’t. Got it?

Unnecessary flights killing the poor: Tutu

LONDON (Reuters) - Businessmen who take flights rather than use video conferencing are adding to global warming that is condemning millions of the world's poorest people to death, according to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.

The former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town said developed countries had caused global warming and must therefore take the lead in slashing emissions of climate changing carbon gases.

"It is the countries which are the least responsible for causing climate change that are paying the heaviest price," he said in a video message to a meeting of the World Development Movement lobby group on Thursday night.

"Do not fly in the face of the poor by allowing the emissions produced by endless and unnecessary business flights to keep growing."

[…]

Tutu, a Nobel Peace laureate and tireless campaigner for global justice and equality, said scientists predicted that up to 185 million Africans would die this century as a direct result of climate change.

"Climate change is for real. As I speak, famine is increasing, flooding is increasing, as is disease and insecurity globally because of water scarcity," he said.

"As an African I urgently call on ordinary people in rich countries to act as global citizens, not as isolated consumers. We must listen to our consciences, and not to governments who speak only about economic markets.

"These markets will cease to exist if climate change is allowed to develop to climate chaos," he added.

Tutu said the developed nations must pass laws forcing them to cut their carbon emissions by at least 80 percent.

One more thing…Please do not think that no matter what the climate, 185 million Africans will most likely die over the next 100 years anyway, as will 185 million North Americans, South Americans, Europeans and Asians; such is the fate of Man and you’d imagine a bishop would know that already. Thinking that way is simply rude when confronted with a global justice and equality activist on a roll.

A complete facility, East Bank Club truly offers all things for all people. East Bank Club's facilities include a ¼-mile indoor running track; eight indoor tennis courts; three racquetball courts; a squash court; a platform tennis court; a 20,000 square-foot cardiovascular room; a free weight room; five aerobics studios; a Pilates and GYROTONIC® studio; physical therapy; a 60-bike spinning studio; four swimming pools (two indoor, two outdoor); two regulation-size basketball courts; an indoor golf driving range; a pro shop; a dry cleaner; a full-service salon and spa; a children's activity center; a car wash; a casual grill; a gourmet deli; an elegant restaurant; catering facilities; a juice bar; a 60,000 square-foot sun deck; and much more.

Via the Weekly Standard, it appears that the long anticipated sale of the Associated Press to the publishers of Tiger Beat magazine is complete. A short dispatch from today...

Political Play of the Day: Obama becomes a gym rat

CHICAGO (AP) - Sometimes it's hard to tell if Barack Obama is running for president of the United States or Mr. Universe.

 

The Democratic presidential contender exercises regularly, but over a 24-hour span this week, he took it to a new extreme.

 

Twice on Wednesday and again Thursday morning, Obama traveled to a lakefront apartment building near his Chicago home to work out with a friend at his gym. On Wednesday night, Obama also spent an hour at the East Bank Club, a mammoth exercise facility just north of the city's famous business Loop where he is known to play basketball.

 

On the former occasions, reporters accompanying Obama saw him get in and out of an SUV wearing a baseball hat, white T-shirt and black sweat pants. On the visit to the East Bank Club, Obama was dressed casually as if going out to dinner, wearing slacks, a blue blazer and flip-flops.

 

A distinct lack of visible sweat on the Illinois senator triggered questions about whether he was actually exercising or using the gym visits as cover for conducting vice presidential vetting or interviews.

 

Obama spokesman Bill Burton e-mailed a succinct, two-word answer: "Working out."

 

That view held credence among some of the photographers who regularly accompany Obama. They said that even when he shot hoops earlier this year with members of the University of North Carolina varsity men's basketball team, they didn't see Obama sweat.

The Obama Campaign's Out of Control Spending

 

The $52 million figure may not be a disaster for the Obama campaign, but it is hardly a success. Not just because it's far below what the Obama campaign projected in June. It's a disappointment because it includes general election contributions from those who had previously maxed out. Remember also that unlike the money McCain is raising, which has to be spent by the time he receives $84 million in public financing, Obama's money needs to last all the way through the election.

 

With a burn rate of $42 million a month, Obama's campaign can just barely sustain its current levels of spending. And what's leftover may not be adequate to run the kind of campaign he needs to win. Just consider despite all the money he's raised, Obama has been outspent on television by 3 to 1 in the last two months. All the stagecraft and theatrics has come with a hefty cost.

That $42M per month feeds a campaign staff 5 times larger than what Bush fielded in 2004. Holy smokes. But can you see the connection here with the Tiger Beat AP story? One can only conclude that the Obama campaign has hired a staff of devoted followers to perform the candidate's essential bodily functions for him. Either that, or he really is The One. 

There's simply no denying it. Those Chicoms know their...uh...pooh pooh. From Reuters:

Beijing enlists army of toilet trained staff

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing has dispatched 8,000 toilet maintenance staff, each responsible for a specific public restroom in the city and trained in hygiene standards and techniques, Olympic knowledge and practical English expressions, Xinhua said on Friday.

 

There will be selective inspections every week and the results will be posted on the website of the Municipal Utilities Administration Commission, said the news agency.

The city was also struggling with which style of commode would be best, noting Westerners prefer seated toilets, which are more comfortable and convenient for the elderly or infirm.

The squat toilets widely used in Chinese public facilities are considered more hygienic as there is no direct contact with body, it said.

-   High fiber breakfast is better

 

-   The People are pleased with your success

 

-   Obama OK! (w/"thumbs up")

 

-   General Tso, is that you? (w/good natured laughter)

 

-   Tibet Chinese. Always Chinese.

Has the solution to eternal environmental bliss, including non-modulating ocean levels, pleasant temperatures and great skiing, at last been found? Many who care about such things believe it indeed has:

Petrol pricey? Japanese invent car that runs on water

 

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Tired of petrol prices rising daily at the pump? A Japanese company has invented an electric-powered, and environmentally friendly, car that it says runs solely on water.

Genepax unveiled the car in the western city of Osaka on Thursday, saying that a liter (2.1 pints) of any kind of water -- rain, river or sea -- was all you needed to get the engine going for about an hour at a speed of 80 km (50 miles).

"The car will continue to run as long as you have a bottle of water to top up from time to time," Genepax CEO Kiyoshi Hirasawa told local broadcaster TV Tokyo.

"It does not require you to build up an infrastructure to recharge your batteries, which is usually the case for most electric cars," he added.

And for those skeptics out there, here's the video proof:

Nifty stuff, huh? But before you burst into a chorus of "Glory be to Gaia!", I'm afraid there is a dark side to this story. It seems we are currently in the midst of a worldwide water crisis:

Is water becoming ‘the new oil’?

By Mark Clayton, The Christian Science Monitor / May 29, 2008

 

Public fountains are dry in Barcelona, Spain, a city so parched there’s a €9,000 ($13,000) fine if you’re caught watering your flowers. A tanker ship docked there this month carrying 5 million gallons of precious fresh water – and officials are scrambling to line up more such shipments to slake public thirst.

 

Barcelona is not alone. Cyprus will ferry water from Greece this summer. Australian cities are buying water from that nation’s farmers and building desalination plants. Thirsty China plans to divert Himalayan water. And 18 million southern Californians are bracing for their first water-rationing in years.

 

Water, Dow Chemical Chairman Andrew Liveris told the World Economic Forum in February, “is the oil of this century.” Developed nations have taken cheap, abundant fresh water largely for granted. Now global population growth, pollution, and climate change are shaping a new view of water as “blue gold.”

 

Water’s hot-commodity status has snared the attention of big equipment suppliers like General Electric as well as big private water companies that buy or manage municipal supplies – notably France-based Suez and Aqua America, the largest US-based private water company.

 

Global water markets, including drinking water distribution, management, waste treatment, and agriculture are a nearly $500 billion market and growing fast, says a 2007 global investment report.

 

But governments pushing to privatize costly to maintain public water systems are colliding with a global “water is a human right” movement. Because water is essential for human life, its distribution is best left to more publicly accountable government authorities to distribute at prices the poorest can afford, those water warriors say.

 

“We’re at a transition point where fundamental decisions need to be made by societies about how this basic human need – water – is going to be provided,” says Christopher Kilian, clean-water program director for the Boston-based Conservation Law Foundation. “The profit motive and basic human need [for water] are just inherently in conflict.”

This year’s WED theme is “Kick the CO2 habit!” Accordingly, world-wide events focus on carbon footprints and how we might knock our own down a few sizes, as it were. Originally, I had thought of including some helpful CO2 kicking tips such as using a non-electric toothbrush or cancelling return flights across the Atlantic (“equivalent to running a car for a year for each passenger”). Instead, I leave you with a stirring message from one of WED’s eminent sponsors. The text below the photo is a transcription of what’s in the box, which may be tool small to read.

My name is Mikhail Gorbachev, Founding President of Green Cross International. After more than 50 years in politics, I believe one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today is the need to viable and clean energy solutions. Failure to act will place the world at risk of serious crises. We can’t afford to wait! We all have a part to play to make energy a catalyst for peace and development.

Remember this. If I could win the Cold War by surrendering, you can do the same with global climate change. Simply start by telling yourself, “Yes I can.”

Reuters has an alarming story today reporting new allegations leveled at the Bush Administration over its treatment of war prisoners. If you thought Gitmo was bad, hold on to your hat:

British group alleges US used ships as prisons

 

LONDON - A British human rights organization claimed Monday that the United States had used military ships to secretly detain and interrogate terrorism suspects. U.S. officials denied using ship as prisons.

 

The group Reprieve alleged that high-profile detainees including American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh and Australian Taliban supporter David Hicks were imprisoned on the vessels. Reprieve claims that the United States has used ships stationed off the Somali coast and the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia to detain suspects.

 

"The U.S. administration chooses ships to try to keep their misconduct as far as possible from the prying eyes of the media and lawyers," Reprieve director Clive Stafford Smith said.

 

[...]

 

Reprieve said it had based its assessment on evidence from the U.S. military and the Council of Europe, and testimony from a former detainee at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Following his capture by Northern Alliance forces in November 2001, John Walker Lindh, the so called ‘American Taliban’, was transferred first to the USS Peleliu and then to USS Bataan. On board, he received medical treatment for dehydration, hypothermia and frostbite. In addition, the bullet wound he received two weeks previously was removed from his leg.