Science of the Earth: Sea Ice Decline Accelerates

Scientists from the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the University of Washington reported on September 28th that four the 4th year in a row, Arctic Ice mass declined, and in an accelerating trend. See their Web Press Release.

Documentary: Paperclips (2004)

Paperclips (directed by Joe Fab and Elliot Berlin, Johnson/Ergo/Miramax) is a sweet film about a middle school in Tennessee, in a poor town mostly full of white protestant families, which has an after-school club to learn about the Holocaust. Following 3 staff members, a handful of 8th graders, and some reporters who learn about their project to collect 6 million paperclips, one for each Jewish victim murdered by the Nazi's, the 4-year window into this project which was is in the film contains many twists and turns, and shows what happens when adults and youth begin to confront the uglier side of history. Highly recommended.

Gulf Coast Hurricane Relief - Donating Beyond the American Red Cross

Despite the billions of dollars that the US Federal Government will distribute for mitigation of the suffering and destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, private moneys are needed throughout September and October. You can channel this through many organizations, especially the American Red Cross, or through these channels.

Mazon

In the Metro-NY area,
UJA-Federation Katrina Relief.

Cartoonists Imagine Republican Strategies for Disaster Assistance

Ted Rall's Bushist Disaster Relief is one of my favorites.

Jen Sorensen's Slowpoke cartoon "The Bush Administration Responds to Katrina" is also insightful. See Slowpoke Comics Cartoon Achives

Garrison Keillor on College Majors and Cultural Chatter, including Blogs

When I was in college, the smart people were going into engineering, which had solid long-term prospects, and only we dweezils majored in English, and look what happened: Engineers are being laid off, America is losing its capacity to manufacture things, but every day we out trillians of words about ourselves, bloggers blogging, floods of memoir, day-dreaming, carpet-chewing, and when the Chinese repo men eventually come to collect on our debt, they will find a nation of highly articulate self-aware people who can't change an oil filter but maintain wonderful websites. A nation of English majors.

(Garrison Keillor)

Reinhold Neiburh Quote: Saved by hope, faith, love, forgiveness

Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime,

Therefore, we are saved by hope.

Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;

Therefore, we are saved by faith.

Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone.

Therefore, we are saved by love.

No virtuous act is quite a virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own;

Therefore, we are saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.

                  Reinhold Niebuhr

How Lousiana spent its FEMA grant to plan for evacuation of New Orelans

From John Tierney's NY Times column "From FEMA to WEMA" of September 20th:

In 1997, Congress gave FEMA $500,000 and ordered it to develop a comprehensive plan to evacuate New Orleans. The agency passed on the money to Louisiana, which used it instead to study building a new bridge. As Rita Beamish of The Associated Press reported on Sunday, FEMA didn't bother making sure a plan was drawn up - an aide to James Lee Witt (FEMA director under President Clinton) said its job had just been to pass on the money.

Number of Category 4 and 5 Hurricanes Doubled In the Last 35 Years

Scientists at Georgia Tech and the National Center for Atmospheric Research reported in the journal Science that, while Sea temperatures rose between 1970-2004, the number of Category 4 and 5 Hurricanes Doubled In the Last 35 Years. Details are in a National Science Foundation Press Release.

Film: Innocent Voices by Luis Mandoki (2004, US Release 10/14/05, Europe Release Jan 06)

Innocent Voices realistically tells the true story of an eleven-year-old boy caught in the middle of the civil war in El Salvador in the 1980s. The bravery of this child and the valiant struggle of his mother to prevent him from being recruited into the Salvadoran Army is a testament to the courage of parents and children who are victims of armed conflicts globally.

        Very highly recommended!

The Hobart Shakespeareans - A Documentary by Mel Stuart (P.O.V.)

PBS's program P.O.V. (Point of View) is currently showing the fabulous documentary
The Hobart Shakespeareans. It follows one year in the life of a Los Angeles 4th grade class, taught by Master Teacher, and Shakespeare enthusiast, Rafe Esquith. The film showcases how one teacher's uncommon commitment and resourcefulness have opened up worlds of opportunity for his "disadvantaged" students — and perhaps have demonstrated a way forward for America's beleaguered public education system. Very highly recommended.

Double Super-Secret Background by Mark Fiore

Double Super-Secret Background is a 3-minute animated political cartoon. Unfortunately, it's true.

Paul Krugman in NYTimes: A Can't Do Government

New York Times op-ed page columnist Paul Krugman writes A Can't Do Government which reinforces what everyone knows... State and Federal Governments did not use all the resources they had immediately before and immediately after Hurricane Katrina. Some people (mostly poor, mostly African-American) will die because of this. There must be a political price to be paid for this by the Republican party....

Experts: New Orleans disaster was predicted (Reuters)

I highly recommend the Reuters report of September 2nd.

"Virtually everything that has happened in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina struck was predicted by experts and in computer models, so emergency management specialists wonder why authorities were so unprepared".

See News.com for the story.

Film: Campfire / Medurat Hashet by Joseph Cedar (Israel, 2004)

At the center of the film 'Campfire' is the Gerlik family of Jerusalem in 1981: mother Rachel, an attractive 42-year old widow, drawn to Religious Zionism; and her two daughters, rebellious 18-year-old Esti and innocent but awakening 15-year-old Tami who participates in the Bnai Akiva religious youth movement. The acting by Michaela Eshet (Rachel), Maya Maron (Esti) and Hani Furstenberg (Tami) is superb, and supported by Moshe Igvy (playing Yossi) and an ensemble of excellent actors, these are real characters who are all trying to grow while recovering from the death of their husband/father.






Very highly recommended.