GOOD NEWS – arms makers going GREEN

On March 19, 2007 By Rick McIn bad news, economics, government, health & fitnessLeave a comment

You, me, every politician.

Why not the arms industry?

I want to THANK bomb makers for THINKING OF THE CHILDREN.

British arms manufacturer BAE Systems is designing “environmentally friendly” weapons, including “reduced lead” bullets, “reduced smoke” grenades and rockets with fewer toxins, The Sunday Times said.

Other initiatives include developing armoured vehicles with lower carbon emissions, safer and more sustainable artillery and even recycling or composting waste explosives, the newspaper added.

“Weapons are going to be used and when they are, we try to make them as safe for the user as possible, to limit the collateral damage and to impact as little as possible on the environment,” Debbie Allen, BAE Systems’ director of corporate social responsibility, was quoted as saying.

‘Green’ arms the new killing trend « Terryorisms

Arms Industry – Wikipedia

Oilers trade Ryan Smyth

On March 1, 2007 By Rick McIn bad news, sport - proLeave a comment

The worst thing about professional sports?

Trading away the most loved local athlete?

Kevin Lowe may have some grand strategy. Maybe Smyth will be back. But — to me — this looks a huge, terrible mistake.

Ryan Smyth was, for much of his 12-year run in Edmonton, the face of the franchise, the heart and soul of the Edmonton Oilers. And now he’s gone, traded to the New York Islanders …

The loss of Smyth is not only losing the best player on the team and Captain Canada, he was a player who represented their work ethic and values.

edmontonsun.com – Oilers – It took incredible guts to trade Ryan Smyth

smokers – weak or stupid?

On February 24, 2007October 1, 2009 By Rick McIn anti-smoking, bad news, health & fitness, travel4 Comments

Right.

Trick question.

Smokers are both weak and stupid.

If I had to choose just one cause to crusade, it would not be global warming or AIDS. It would be anti-smoking. There is no upside to smoking.

It’s expensive, dirty and — most importantly — offensive to ME.

Tasmania is great. But young people on that island below an island still think smoking is cool. Backward, or what?

A high rate of smoking, to me, is a sign of an uncultured society.

Australia killed 2433 tourists in 7 years

On February 19, 2007 By Rick McIn bad news, travel, traveloguesLeave a comment

Of the many places I have traveled, seems Australia is one of the most deadly.

But I was told those 2m long black-as-death Tiger snakes I kept stepping over on the Overland Track hadn’t actually killed a hiker since 1966.

Statistics have revealed the hidden toll Australia’s harsh environment takes on tourists with drowning the third most common cause of death.

Lifesavers said many tourists failed to see rips and wildlife experts said even a koala could “carve up” an inquisitive foreigner who invaded its space.

Between 2003 and 2005, 28 tourists drowned while 65 were killed in car crashes and another 276 died of natural causes.

Heat stroke claimed the lives of three tourists, seven died scuba diving or snorkeling, two died hiking, one died parachuting and another died after being bitten by an animal.

CDNN :: How Australia Killed 2433 Tourists in 7 Years

(via Two-Heel Drive)

Next travelogue on this trip >> photos – Hobart, Tasmania

Tour de France dead to me

On January 27, 2007 By Rick McIn bad news, cycling, dead to me, product complaints, sport - amateur, sport - proLeave a comment

I want to thank Bjarne Riis. Good on you for coming clean.

What shred of credibility remained about elite pro cycling has disappeared as 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis of Denmark on Friday became the first Tour winner to admit he used banned performance-enhancing drugs.

… Riis said in a news conference Friday he had taken the blood booster erythropoietin (EPO) from 1993 through 1998, including during his Tour victory. He also confessed to using human growth hormone and cortisone.

“The time has come to put the cards on the table,” Riis said. “I have done things I now regret and I wouldn’t do again. I have doped. I have taken EPO. For awhile it was part of my life.”

Riis, currently manager of the Danish CSC cycling team, expected to be stripped of his Tour de France title.

“My yellow jersey is in a box at home. You can come and collect it,” Riis said of the jersey worn by the Tour de France leader.

A sport caught in a cycle of cheating on ChicagoSports.com

I’ll never watch race cycling again.

source

Americans travelling less to Canada

On December 24, 2006 By Rick McIn bad news, travelLeave a comment

Even though travellers entering the States by land won’t need a passport until March 2009, Lawley said the perception that one is already required has driven away many tourists.

And that will only get worse once passports are required to get into the country, since an estimated 75 per cent of Americans don’t have a passport, Lawley said.

“That has a very chilling effect on cross-border travel,” Lawley said. “That means up to 75 per cent of U.S. business is at risk.”

Osprey Media. – The Sarnia Observer

video – National Geographic – Sudan (Darfur)

On December 23, 2006 By Rick McIn bad news, government, IslamLeave a comment

For a quick overview of what’s happening in Darfur, Sudan, check the National Geographic online video series.

Sudan Video Series, Part 1: Country in Crisis

what causes war?

On December 18, 2006 By Rick McIn bad news, economics, government, IslamLeave a comment

I did the 4 minute Wikipedia research.

Factors leading to war:

* Historical theories
* Psychological theories
* Anthropological theories
* Sociological theories
* Demographic theories
* Evolutionary psychology theories
* Rationalist theories
* Economic theories
* Marxist theories
* Political science theories

Causes of war:

* Extortionate
* Aggressive
* Colonial
* National liberation
* Religious
* Dynastic
* Trade
* Revolutionary
* Guerrilla

Religious differences are significant, but not one of the major causes of warfare.

Significant exceptions were the massacres of Indian Independence (1947, Hindu vs. Muslim) which I’ve studied. Sheer stupidity. Hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved if the British handled the withdrawal better. (Are you listening USA?)

Wars, Massacres and Exterminations Due to Religious Intolerance – rateitall.com

Ebola killing gorillas

On December 11, 2006 By Rick McIn bad news, health & fitnessLeave a comment

Personally I am more worried about Ebola than global warming.

The Ebola virus is marching steadily across western and central Africa, wiping out more than 90 percent of the gorillas in its path and threatening the species with extinction, a new study says. …

The virus is named after the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, near where the first known outbreak occurred in 1976.

Ebola is moving at a rate of around 31 miles (50 kilometers) per year in western and central Africa, experts say. Most of the area’s remaining gorillas live within about 124 miles (200 kilometers) of the current outbreak.

“[Ebola] has already swept through two of the largest gorilla reserves and three or four of the smaller ones,” said study team member Peter Walsh of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.

“The outlook is pretty bleak.”

Ebola Killing Thousands of Gorillas, Study Says