It is a cold winter morning in Beijing. As I prepare to write this blog about energy efficiency in China, I wonder how efficient my own day will be. I enjoyed a quick shower with warm water from the solar tank on our roof, and prepared our breakfast with appliances that carry energy performance labels. All our lighting fixtures are energy efficient, and none of the electronic equipment is on standby.
Our apartment is heated by a coal-fired plant in the neighborhood, which belches thick smoke into the sky. Our heating bill doesn't reflect the energy we use but the size of our apartment, so we have no financial incentive to save energy. As on most mornings, the concentration of particulates in Beijing's air is an unhealthy 300 micrograms per cubic meter - a level that US cities only reach during wildfires. Our situation is quite typical for a middle class family in Beijing, and reflects the progress and challenges of China's energy policy.
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March 13, 2010
Haiti Relief; Don’t Get Played
I don't know who was responsible for EarthQuake relief in Haiti but I do know where the relief came from: USA.
I like to complain about US foreign policy just as much as the next guy but, here's one case where the Red, White and Blue were right on time. I don't know who made the call. I don't know if it was Obama, Sec of State Clinton, or whoever, but it was the right call. Thank you. This isn't to say that other nations didn't pitch in immediately; Brazil was here, Mexico was here, Italy was here, France was here, the Dominican Republic was here, but some one had to take a leadership position and it was the United States. The US came in strong and on time. The US presence gave a sense of calm to the Haitian people.
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I like to complain about US foreign policy just as much as the next guy but, here's one case where the Red, White and Blue were right on time. I don't know who made the call. I don't know if it was Obama, Sec of State Clinton, or whoever, but it was the right call. Thank you. This isn't to say that other nations didn't pitch in immediately; Brazil was here, Mexico was here, Italy was here, France was here, the Dominican Republic was here, but some one had to take a leadership position and it was the United States. The US came in strong and on time. The US presence gave a sense of calm to the Haitian people.
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March 12, 2010
Is the Pope Toast?
This isn't getting much attention in the US, but it's a big one: The Pope's in trouble.
Trouble, trouble. Not-going-away trouble. Run-out-of-office trouble. It's a potentially transformative moment in matters of religion and of power, wherein even the infallible turns out to be vulnerable. Some of us live for such moments.
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Trouble, trouble. Not-going-away trouble. Run-out-of-office trouble. It's a potentially transformative moment in matters of religion and of power, wherein even the infallible turns out to be vulnerable. Some of us live for such moments.
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March 10, 2010
First Tiger, Now A Rod linked to tainted Canadian ‘Sports’ Doctor
The more I read about Dr. Anthony Galea and his ties to professional athletes the less I believe that this story will end well for all those even tangentially related to this physician. After his arrest on Oct. 15th, Dr. Galea has been under intense scrutiny by law enforcement for his involvement with performance enhancing drugs (PED).
Dr. Galea is a Canadian family-practice trained physician that has re-branded himself as a sports medicine guru. Dr. Galea openly discusses his personal use of human growth hormone and has been a physician for who's who list of professional and Olympic athletes that have gone on to fail performance enhancing drug tests. He has also admitted to traveling to the United States to perform medical procedures, which is illegal for a gentleman that is not licensed to practice medicine in the US.
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Dr. Galea is a Canadian family-practice trained physician that has re-branded himself as a sports medicine guru. Dr. Galea openly discusses his personal use of human growth hormone and has been a physician for who's who list of professional and Olympic athletes that have gone on to fail performance enhancing drug tests. He has also admitted to traveling to the United States to perform medical procedures, which is illegal for a gentleman that is not licensed to practice medicine in the US.
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March 9, 2010
Jesse Ventura: MSNBC Tried to Shut Me Up
We had Jesse Ventura on the show yesterday to talk about his new book, American Conspiracies. He had a lot of interesting theories, such as the possibility that John Lennon was killed by the CIA (to be fair that was by far his most speculative one, watch the whole interview here).
I'm not sure I believe all of those theories, but there is some underlying truth in many of them, especially in how corporate interests have worked with the US government and military to further their financial interests throughout our history.
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I'm not sure I believe all of those theories, but there is some underlying truth in many of them, especially in how corporate interests have worked with the US government and military to further their financial interests throughout our history.
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Immigration Reform Now: An Emotional Plea to Obama
Her words reduced us to tears, literally. Beatrice Vasques, a 15-year-old schoolgirl born in LA told her story on C-Span. Along with at least 100,000 children who have lost a parent due to stepped up deportation of immigrants in the US, she came home from school one day to find her mom arrested and deported by immigration officers.
In a press conference at the National Press Club, community organizations from around the country came to DC to appeal to President Obama to pass what he promised during his campaign, Comprehensive Immigration Reform, and to fix a broken system. They claim that he has not kept his promise. They say that during the first year of the Obama administration, more deportation has taken place than in the Bush years. 387,000 immigrants were deported last year, and many of these have native-born American children.
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In a press conference at the National Press Club, community organizations from around the country came to DC to appeal to President Obama to pass what he promised during his campaign, Comprehensive Immigration Reform, and to fix a broken system. They claim that he has not kept his promise. They say that during the first year of the Obama administration, more deportation has taken place than in the Bush years. 387,000 immigrants were deported last year, and many of these have native-born American children.
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Sarah Palin’s Canadian Health Care
Sarah Palin's recent statement that, presumably during her childhood, she and her family used to cross the border from Alaska to take advantage of Canada's health care system is not really a gaffe or a verbal slipup, but offers an interesting insight into Palin. It is not exactly surprising, or even"ironic," to use Palin's words, that somebody who has made a name, and a great deal of money, for herself by linking health care reform to some kind of socialist bogeyman, used to take advantage of socialized medicine.
Speaking to a Canadian audience and reminiscing about traveling to Canada for health care as a child is the kind of thing we might expect from a progressive supporter of health care seeking to stress the need for a better health care reform system in the US. Had, for example, Anthony Weiner made this comment while on the Canadian side of the border near New York, you can be sure that Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and, yes, Sarah Palin would be seeking to red bait him out of the congress. There will, of course, be no such consequence for Palin.
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Speaking to a Canadian audience and reminiscing about traveling to Canada for health care as a child is the kind of thing we might expect from a progressive supporter of health care seeking to stress the need for a better health care reform system in the US. Had, for example, Anthony Weiner made this comment while on the Canadian side of the border near New York, you can be sure that Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and, yes, Sarah Palin would be seeking to red bait him out of the congress. There will, of course, be no such consequence for Palin.
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March 8, 2010
Beware the Afghan Dependency Paradox
In Marjah, the "Government in a Box" is about to deploy. It will be the moment of truth for General McChrystal and Hamid Karzai's battle strategy for Operation Moshtarak. The stakes are higher than simply the success of ISAF's COIN strategy in Marjah, and after Marjah comes Kandahar.
This past week I was lucky enough to attend two events featuring US Special Representative. Richard Holbrooke. During the second of these, a public address at the Kennedy School of Government, Amb. Holbrooke spoke of his fear of the possibility of a "dependency trap" in Afghanistan. This is not the first time the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan has touched on this subject. In a 2009 appearance with USAID, Holbrooke noted that his greatest concern was
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This past week I was lucky enough to attend two events featuring US Special Representative. Richard Holbrooke. During the second of these, a public address at the Kennedy School of Government, Amb. Holbrooke spoke of his fear of the possibility of a "dependency trap" in Afghanistan. This is not the first time the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan has touched on this subject. In a 2009 appearance with USAID, Holbrooke noted that his greatest concern was
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March 6, 2010
The Real Threat to Israel’s National Security
It is time for the Israeli government to be realistic with the changing political conditions in the Middle East. The national security paranoia that has defined its policy toward the Arab world is dated, and no longer helps Israel in dealing with its regional threats: in fact, this paranoia is serving only to obstruct what is left of a lagging peace process. The current conditions on the ground are ripe for the establishment of a just and sustainable peace: The Arab League is endorsing renewed efforts by the United States to facilitate a peaceful two-state solution with normalization of relations with Israel through the Arab Peace Initiative, the Palestinian Authority's Salam Fayyad has begun implementing a non-violent plan to build successful state institutions in the West Bank, and the US and EU are both invested in a direct path toward a secure and viable two-state solution. These reasons, coupled with Israel's unquestioned military ability to defend itself in any future confrontation, make Israel's continued argument for national security less valid. Israel must sooner than later chose between either continued occupation, which is bound to explode time and again and paradoxically undermine Israel's national security interests or peace with security with the Arab states.
Whereas incessant Arab hostilities and violence from Palestinian militant groups has justified the occupation for many Israelis on the grounds of national security, the Arab states' position has dramatically changed in the past decade, a fact which is not reflected in current Israeli policy. Moreover, Israel has failed to demonstrate, especially since 2000, how the occupation has in any way enhanced its national security, when in fact it has promoted further enmity, instability and violence, not to mention the astronomical cost in treasure and blood. Despite the relative socio-economic and security improvements in the West Bank, recent low-level violent clashes between Israel and the Palestinians in East Jerusalem and Hebron are feared to constitute a forerunner of another major violent outbreak that could torpedo any prospect for a peaceful solution in the foreseeable future. For this reason, 43 years later, the international community recognizes no correlation between occupation and national security, and views Israel's continued occupation not only as a security liability for Israel but the single most serious impediment to peace and regional strife.
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Whereas incessant Arab hostilities and violence from Palestinian militant groups has justified the occupation for many Israelis on the grounds of national security, the Arab states' position has dramatically changed in the past decade, a fact which is not reflected in current Israeli policy. Moreover, Israel has failed to demonstrate, especially since 2000, how the occupation has in any way enhanced its national security, when in fact it has promoted further enmity, instability and violence, not to mention the astronomical cost in treasure and blood. Despite the relative socio-economic and security improvements in the West Bank, recent low-level violent clashes between Israel and the Palestinians in East Jerusalem and Hebron are feared to constitute a forerunner of another major violent outbreak that could torpedo any prospect for a peaceful solution in the foreseeable future. For this reason, 43 years later, the international community recognizes no correlation between occupation and national security, and views Israel's continued occupation not only as a security liability for Israel but the single most serious impediment to peace and regional strife.
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