In the US, Republican contender John McCain has suggested that the US lift the moratorium on off-shore oil production to ease the current fuel 'crisis' and current President and lover of oil companies George W has jumped on the bandwagon. Both of them contend that opening local oil production is the only feasible solution, one that the Democrats constantly block in Congress. Hmm... sounds like the start of a new, engineered crisis for the Republicans to use to make the Democrats look bad and win the election to me. Last time it was the 'War on Terror' (TM), this time it will be 'The Worsening Fuel Crisis' (TM).

Of course the Democrats will always face an uphill struggle in oil addicted America, in their efforts to convine normal folk that cutting back on gas consumption is a good thing. Do we really think that someone who buys a Hummer would believe converting it to run on fuel cells or vegetable oil is a good idea? Unlikely. Maybe the real question is in whether or not the current administration has been using their connections in the oil industry to slow down oil production and engineer this crisis themselves, while lining their pockets with additional dollars in the process. A nice little bonus on your way out of the White House, certainly more lucrative than writing an autobiography.

Labels: america, Environment, Politics

Get bitten by a shark and survive. Every news program around the world will report on you, most likely before peace erupting in the Middle East*.

*Unless the Middle East negotiators have also been bitten by sharks.

Labels: Nature, Politics

Today has an interesting cross-section of news coming up, all from BBC News as I have a bias {;).

First up, Fidel Castro is stepping down as Cuba's leader. Obviously this will lead to some upheaval in Cuba, and everyone is hoping that a new democratic leader will come in - but life is never that simple. The US will likely secretly fund a candidate they like, because that's what they do, and Guantanamo will go on abusing human rights 'outside' of US soil in the name of freedom. Fingers crossed that isn't the case, and a new, democratically elected leader pushes for the removal of that abyss of moral corruption from their country. Either way, we can only hope that Cuba's people benefit from increased freedom, prosperity and other good things.

Secondly, what is up with Dubai? Recently they jailed a man for cannabis they found on the sole of his shoe, they arrested a London man for having melatonin (a US legal sleep/jet lag aid) and now they've jailed the BBC DJ Grooverider for four years, their minimum sentence, for having a small amount of cannabis in his bag! Now in all fairness it would seem that Grooverider is the only person though who might actually be guilty, as the drugs were found in a trouser pocket in his bag that he had forgotten about - but then how easy is it for anyone travelling around, especially an international DJ, to be in Amsterdam one day then Dubai the next? A risky combination.

According to statistics Dubai's draconian drug laws have led to 59 Brits being charged last year alone. This is nothing new, with the UAE having more apparently nonsensical drug arrests than anywhere else. Still want to go to Dubai? Well the sensible thing it would seem is to not carry any drugs, in fact don't take anything - and make sure you brush off everything you wear carefully, otherwise you could end up like the Swiss man arrested for having poppy seeds on his clothes after eating a poppy roll at Heathrow Airport. In fact just buy new clothes at the airport - and just before you get off the plane change and throw away your old clothes - having put plastic bags down over the seat just in case. A sane solution for a sane world.

Labels: Politics, World

Just saw Michael Moore's latest expose on the American health system - Sicko. A great film from Mr Moore, incisive, emotional and as usual he manages to bring up 9/11 as often as a Republican Presidential candidate, hopefully to more positive ends. The subject of the film is America's singularly unique approach to healthcare - privatization to an extreme degree. Every US citizen has to pay for their healthcare in monthly payments to private organisations, although more normally this is through their employer. Should the inevitable happen and they need to go to the doctor, their HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) has to pre-approve any charges raised, from the consultation, ambulance trips, x-rays and everything. This all sounds a great win for private industry and free choice (the positive view on HMOs) until it goes wrong and the company's bottom line becomes more important than saving lives - the situation Moore says now exists.

I've had to go through US medical treatment a few times now, with varying levels of medical cover. The first time was due to an icey slip into a puddle which resulted in a sprained tendon that took an age to heal but no major operation thankfully. The slip also resulted in about $5,000 in medical bills from a few hours of emergency room checkups (that weren't even that quick). Luckily this was all covered, but it would have been an unwelcome cost should my HMO have decided not to pay out. In Moore's movie the many ways that HMO's avoid payouts and the impact on peoples' lives is gone into in detail, often heart wrenching detail as death is regularly involved. Unsurprisingly the government's link with big business is singled out as a driving factor by Moore, and his old pal George W comes in for the usual treatment.

Having revealed the warts of the US system, Moore then proceeds to wax lyrical about overseas systems based on 'socialist' practices - ie, taxes pay for everyone's health cover however poor, all are equal. Canada, Britain, France and Cuba are examined and Moore acts out his country's amazement on how well these systems work. As a Brit I know the British system isn't as wonderful as Moore makes out, but I'm glad we have that rather than the US system. Equal healthcare for all is a wonderful thing, as none of us know who will be unlucky in the good health lottery.

Sicko is a great film, more emotionally wrenching than his previous offerings and a lot more human while staying political as only Moore can. Generally the US doesn't get much sympathy these days due to its oil driven global policies, but this film reminds us that the citizens of the US are often the ones who suffer. Hopefully this movie will help drive positive change for all.

Disclaimer: Many years ago I did some work for Humana, one of the HMO's mentioned in the film. In fact when you watch the film and see the ridiculously huge and be-marbled Humana offices in Louisville, look at the small brick building to the right - that's where we were working.

Labels: america, film reviews, movies, Politics

As Canada Day weekend kicks off across the provinces, the Canadian Natives have organised a day of protests to draw attention to issues such as unresolved land claims and poverty. This will involve marches in the major cities and blockades on major transport routes. One such blockade, on the 401 highway near Toronto, went into effect about 10pm last night - literally just after we drove past there as we headed over to Oakville for a wedding. It will certainly be interesting to see how this day plays out, with the police promising they will maintain peace and apprehend law breakers, and the natives promising they will 'meet force with force'. Sounds familiar.

Labels: Canada, Politics

Those of you who have spoken to me recently may have noted that I was going to see a filming of The Colbert Report tonight... well it's true, and very splendid it was too. The audience is pretty small, about 100 odd folk, and the studio is very intimate. Colbert is amazing to watch in action, practicing his lines to himself and, off camera, telling John Stewart he only has another five days left to finish his imminent book. The only downside of the whole night was that the guest was a country & western singer so probably about the most uninteresting guest I could ever hope to see. Ah well.

For those of you thinking of heading down to see The Colbert Report here's some background; you can sign up online for free tickets here - although they regularly stop taking requests so you have to keep an eye out. Also, once you've been given a date by email they need you to confirm your tickets a week or so before the date you're given - this is a bit strange, as you need to email them back but they don't confirm they got your mail. Alternatively you can just come down to the standby line outside the door (on W 54th St between 10th/11th Aves) before 5.15pm on the day of filming. They recommend you get down early, at least 1 1/2 hours before this, so I got down at 3pm at which point I was 32nd in the ticket line - there were about 10 people in the standby line and I think a lot of them got in.

The line itself is pretty comfortable - it's covered over which was very handy in today's intense sun. You're not allowed to take food or drinks into the actual studio, but you can take them into the waiting room so it's worth bringing some along. About 5.15pm they give you a number and you go through security into the waiting room, where you get to hang around a bit more until around 6pm. Once they're ready to let you in, you will go in in the order of the numbers you were given - so don't worry about being near the studio door.

When you go through the studio door you tell the crew member there how many people are in your party and they direct you to where you need to sit. Since it was only me in my group I got put in the second row to fill up some space in the section of audience opposite Colbert's desk. If you want to be in the audience near the interview area, which is generally more visible in shots, then you probably want to be further down the line but it's a bit of a crap shoot. Also note that if you're in the front row Colbert will high five you before the show - bless.

Once everyone's inside the warm-up comedian does his stuff, and the stage manager gives you some background. Then Stephen Colbert himself comes out - huzah! Today we got to sit in and watch the 'toss' between Jon Stewart at The Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Then Stephen went backstage again and the warmup guy carried on. Shortly Stephen came back out and took some questions from people in the audience - favourite moment; some guy asking Colbert about Jane Goodall... he actually meant Jane Fonda, referring to his infamous kiss & cuddle session, but the mistake was hilarious. I didn't get the nerve up to ask a question, although I thought of a good one when leaving the studio - guess that will wait for next time.

Questions over, Colbert takes the stage and rules the show. He ran through the show tonight with only one slight hiccup which was pretty amazing. One thing I noticed was how pale he looks in his TV friendly makeup, he also never really stops smiling and moving, often tapping & singing along to the indie rock songs that play between shooting to keep the energy up. 'Keeping the energy up' is a key part of being in the Colbert audience; you need to be ready to laugh and clap loudly, so my throat is pretty sore right now.

Have fun if you go, it's well worth the effort. Although in my case this meant flying down from Montreal so maybe that was a tad excessive.

Labels: celeb spot, comedy, Politics, tv

Apparently Google's satellite map imagery was used by the recently arrested alleged terrorists in planning their attack on New York's JFK. This is one example of where increased access to information can have a downside, but for the most part the stories coming out of Google's amazing map service are positive. Aid groups are using satellite imagery to watch attacks on villages in Darfur, an Italian programmer found archaeological remains based on a strange shaped shadow and Iraqis can use the service to draw up maps to escape from local militant groups - or 'liberating' troups.

Labels: google, Politics, Terrorism

Tony Blair has just announced his resignation as Prime Minister of Great Britain. It was just over ten years ago as we watched him get voted him and a new era in our history started. However you feel about Blair now, I feel that he's done well for our country over all that time and he reflects that in his leaving speech. One can only wish that Clinton or Gore had been in power on this side of the world instead of Bush, then I'm sure the whole world would be a more positive place now.

Hopefully the next Labour leader will do as well, whoever it is. Personally I hope that I still feel about them as I have with Blair, that it would be possible to sit down with them over a pint of beer and discuss the world openly without avoidance and hyperbole - something no American has believed for almost eight years.

Labels: england, Politics

More hate crimes... The American government is stressing the importance of not over-reacting with 'Arab Americans' on the one hand, and on the other it releases the list of "Most Wanted Terrorists" who are... yep, all Arabs. So does that mean the IRA people who plant bombs in London to kill innocent people must be Arabs too? I never realised that the Arab people were so evil..

Sigh. I keep alienating all my American friends by my comparisons of IRA terrorism to WTC terrorism (I don't say 'Arab' terrorism as at least with the IRA they claim responsibility whereas noone has for the WTC attack). Not really surprising - most Americans don't like to be reminded how many of them fund IRA terrorist activities due to Irish roots. Everyone in America claims Irish roots... say, maybe that's a simple solution for all Arab Americans... they can say they're Irish-Arab Americans, then everyone would love them again and the world would be a less violent place.

Labels: Politics, September 11th