CHO ATTENDED SAME HIGH SCHOOL AS ANOTHER “LONE NUT” SHOOTER
April 22nd, 2007Shootings occurred within one year of each other.
See Update 3 on the main Virginia Tech post.
Edible Forest Gardens
April 22nd, 2007I don’t own these books, but they look VERY good, possibly strategic in nature. I thought that many of you would find them interesting as well. Based on my experience so far, edible forest gardens should be the ultimate goal for those of us who are striving to produce our own food while creating self sustaining biological systems.
Rows of annuals are just a part of the story; a very useful and very hard work part of the story. Becky and I do not plan on expanding our row gardens any further: A) because of the amount work they require; and B) because we have already achieved a high level of output from them. We want more biodiversity with less work. We want edible forest gardens.
Edible Forest Gardens (2 volume set) by Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier:
Edible Forest Gardens is a groundbreaking two-volume work that spells out and explores the key concepts of forest ecology and applies them to the needs of natural gardeners in temperate climates. Volume I lays out the vision of the forest garden and explains the basic ecological principles that make it work. In Volume II, Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier move on to practical considerations:concrete ways to design, establish, and maintain your own forest garden. Along the way they present case studies and examples, as well as tables, illustrations, and a uniquely valuable “plant matrix” that lists hundreds of the best edible and useful species. Taken together, the two volumes of Edible ForestGardens offer an advanced course in ecological gardening-one that will forever change the way you look at plants and your environment. What is an edible forest garden?: An edible forest garden is a perennial polyculture of multipurpose plants. Most plants regrow every year without replanting: perennials. Many species grow together: a polyculture. Each plant contributes to the success of the whole by fulfilling many functions: multipurpose. In other words, a forest garden is an edible ecosystem, a consciously designed community of mutually beneficial plants and animals intended for human food production. Edible forest gardens provide more than just a variety of foods. The seven F’s apply here: food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizer, and “farmaceuticals,” as well as fun. A beautiful, lush environment can be a conscious focus of your garden design, or a side benefit you enjoy.
KUCINICH DRAFTS LEGISLATION TO BAN THE PURCHASE, SALE, TRANSFER OR POSSESSION OF HANDGUNS BY CIVILIANS
April 21st, 2007Well, that didn’t take long.
Via: kucinich.house.gov:
Kucinich is currently drafting legislation that would ban the purchase, sale, transfer, or possession of handguns by civilians. A gun buy-back provision will be included in the bill.
“America is being engulfed in violence every day. Let’s show them we have the wisdom and the courage to come from our hearts to meet this challenge,†Kucinich said.
More: Hypocrite Kucinich Drafts Legislation To Ban Guns
Related: Gun Control — The KEY to GENOCIDE
‘Devastating’ Moyers Probe of Press and Iraq
April 21st, 2007File this one in the You’ve-Known-It-Since-2002 folder…
Via: E & P:
NEW YORK (Commentary) The most powerful indictment of the news media for falling down in its duties in the run-up to the war in Iraq will appear next Wednesday, a 90-minute PBS broadcast called “Buying the War,” which marks the return of “Bill Moyers Journal.” E&P was sent a preview DVD and a draft transcript for the program this week.
While much of the evidence of the media’s role as cheerleaders for the war presented here is not new, it is skillfully assembled, with many fresh quotes from interviews (with the likes of Tim Russert and Walter Pincus) along with numerous embarrassing examples of past statements by journalists and pundits that proved grossly misleading or wrong. Several prominent media figures, prodded by Moyers, admit the media failed miserably, though few take personal responsibility.
The war continues today, now in its fifth year, with the death toll for Americans and Iraqis rising again — yet Moyers points out, “the press has yet to come to terms with its role in enabling the Bush Administration to go to war on false pretenses.”
Cryptogon Readers Contribute $20, $10 and $25
April 21st, 2007Many thanks to the following Cryptogon contributors:
MW $20
VH $10
KL of livinggreenfarm.org $25 (They just got their bees! Check ’em out.)
Plastic Micro Wind Turbines Available for Sale
April 21st, 2007Excellent option for low wind areas. Man, the price is right! 20 micro turbines with generator rated 170W for 10m/s of wind: US$250!?
Via: PESN:
Two of the biggest hurdles for using wind power have been cost and the need for strong winds. A Hong Kong businessman/inventor has found a way to overcome those problems with plastic, bringing the generation cost down to around 1 cent per kilowatt-hour.
“Motorwind power generation starts with 2 m/s wind speed but it starts to be economically viable for winds of at least 4m/s if you are concerned by pay back time.” It can be installable anywhere due to the modularity. The size of Motorwind can be adapted to the available space and the energy required. The design simplicity and components used make the installation and maintenance very easy for anyone. The simplicity allows very low manufacturing costs and therefore very low retail price.”
UK: Lenders Withdraw Fixed Rate Mortgages
April 20th, 2007Via: Guardian:
Borrowers seeking protection against a potential interest rate rise next month are seeing the choice of fixed-rate mortgages dwindle as lenders pull some of the best-buy deals.
Tuesday’s shock rise in inflation has prompted a number of lenders to withdraw or review their range of fixed deals, while others have increased the cost of those on offer.
The loss of many of the cheapest deals will hit first-time buyers particularly badly, many of who rely on the security of a fixed deal as they borrow increasing amounts to get on to the property ladder.
Draft
April 19th, 2007Mission accomplished.
Via: Marine Corps Times:
The Senate Armed Services Committee heard testimony Tuesday that increasing the size of the Army and Marine Corps may not resolve severe and growing personnel problems. There was even talk of returning to the draft to fill the ranks.
“It is better to take a smaller force than to lower your standards,†said Lawrence Korb, a former senior Pentagon personnel official now affiliated with the Center for Defense Information and the Center for American Progress.
“The current use of ground forces in Iraq represents a complete misuse of the all-volunteer military,†he said.
The all-volunteer force was never designed for a protracted ground war, but that is exactly what it faces, he said.
“If the United States is going to have a significant component of its ground forces in Iraq over the next five, 10, 15 or 30 years, then the responsible course is for the president and those supporting this open-ended and escalated presence in Iraq to call for reinstating the draft.â€
Chinese Make First Artificial Snowfall
April 19th, 2007Via: Telegraph:
China claimed yesterday to have caused a snowfall for the first time as part of its increasingly ambitious attempts to control the weather.
Officials in the meteorological bureau in Tibet said they had used “rain-seeding” techniques to trigger a snowfall over the city of Nagqu last week.
…
China is the world’s largest practitioner of rain-seeding, a controversial procedure that involves releasing silver iodide as a catalyst into clouds either by aircraft or by firing cannon shells into them. It employs 37,000 people on the programme, which it uses to trigger rainfall principally to maximise water supply in the drought-prone north of the country, although in Beijing it is often said to be part of attempts to ensure a blue sky for major events.
CALIFORNIA FORCLOSURES INCREASE 800%
April 18th, 2007Via: Los Angeles Times:
Nearly 900 Californians a week are losing their homes because they can’t afford to pay the mortgage — up from about 100 a week a year ago — providing fresh evidence that the housing market’s troubles are nowhere near over.
The surge is raising concerns that home prices will soon suffer as a result. The 11,033 foreclosures in the first three months of the year represent an 800% increase over the same period a year earlier.
In addition, 46,760 homeowners were sent default notices in the first quarter, DataQuick Information Systems reported Monday. A default notice is a warning from a lender to catch up on payments immediately or face eviction.
Foreclosures and default warnings are at their highest points in nearly a decade, the La Jolla-based real estate data tracker said.
So far, the effect on home values has been muted. But as the number of move-outs, evictions and forced sales continue to increase, some economists say they will soon start to push prices down.
First to fall will be the low-income communities where marginal loans proliferated, they say. The trend will spread like a virus to more affluent neighborhoods.
