Charlie Kiss

Being someone who fears being in a plane crash. I was particularly interested to read this in The Guardian today:

‘If it turns out to be true that this aircraft really did suffer an engine failure and fire, that alone does not explain why it crashed. Any modern aircraft has to be designed such that it can survive the total loss of an engine’s power at the most critical point in the takeoff run. This point, calculated for every flight and known as the decision speed (pilots call it V1), is the point during the takeoff run when there is no longer sufficient distance in which to stop the aircraft on the remaining runway, so takeoff has to continue. Modern aircraft, including this one, have to have the performance to continue the takeoff run and get airborne using the one remaining engine, fly a circuit of the airfield, and land again safely. 

Since the pilots were unable to abandon this takeoff in time, or to take off successfully and return to land, there must have been more than a simple failure of power, otherwise the pilots would not have lost control of the aircraft’

The Madrid Plane Crash- why did it happen?

Yet another article exposes the myth that you should drink a lot of water. So many people have been misled by the advertistments of bottled water manufacturers, its untrue.

Drinking too much water can be dangerous 

We have some of the cleanest water in the world- We shouldn’t need to buy bottled water anyway!

The India Resource Center has confirmed that the Coca-Cola company has shut down another bottling plant in India - in Sinhachawar in Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh.

A community-led campaign had demanded the closure of the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Sinhachawar because of indiscriminate pollution by the bottling plant as well as illegal occupation of land.
India Resource Center

Reading Madeline Buntings’ discussion of Nordic democratic socail traditions and a mini review of the book ‘Fishing in Utopia’ confirms my distrust of total egalitarianism. Too much levelling out breeds conformity.  

I of course am a supporter of the welfare state, I think it’s essential. Full stop.

But there are limits.

I’m looking forward to reading this book, however.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/15/denmark.norway

The sad thing is that Councils are being ripped off yet again as they have been tied in to  contracts lasting up to 30 years!

So they can’t re-negotiate the prices concerning their recycling. Plastic as this article in The Times today has increased rapidly!

 The Times
People need to be told they are throwing valuable items away, now all we need is cash to be paid to consumers and we’re on our way to reducing our rubbish!

The increase in oil price does bring some good news

It’s wonderful that a British woman has won a gold in Cycling at the Olympics. However I wonder sometimes if these types of events ought to be won in teams. For without the other two women in her team, Nicola wouldn’t have won.They, I think also deserve to get Gold medals.

This how the race was introduced on the Guardian website:
‘07.00am: Team GB Cycling - The women’s road race is coming up shortly. Nicola Cooke, Emma Pooley and Sharon Laws will take 3 and a half hours to complete the 72km route.

Now Emma Pooley and Sharon Laws should get more of a mention. Sue Barker alluded to this, when she asked Nicola about the team and how it works, ( that the other team members, as in the tour de france, sacrifice their individual goals for the overall team goal) but Nicola was having none of it.. she just brushed the question aside which I found disappointing. This would’ve been a chance to at least let the others share the win. and also explain the strategy behind the win.

However, I hope that this will encourage cycling in this country. It’s a wonderful thing to cycle and not enough people experience the sheer joy of it.

I recently went to see the dentist.
This was with a new dentist. What suprised me was that I was told that they wouldn’t do any x rays as this wasn’t necessary.( and gave unnecessary exposure to radiation)
So what’s changed? I’ve complained about this before with dentists and always been told it was compulsory. Am I just being cynical (did they use to charge the NHS for unnecessary X rays) or is this a very good dentist?

I don’t normally like to just recall news, but occasionally something really good happens:

On 11 June 2008, nine peace activists who broke into the  arms offices of Raytheon and destroyed computer systems were acquitted by a jury and found not guilty of causing criminal damage.

From CAAT: ‘After the boming of in Southern Lebanon 28 civilians  (half under 16) had been choked or crushed to death when a ‘precision- guided bunker buster’ missile ploughed down through three storeys to the basement where members of two families had huddled for safety- Raytheon was the main supplier of bunker-buster missiles to the Israeli Defence force’

The Raytheon 9 argued successfully that they has done the equivalent of ‘kicking a door down to stop a child being attacked’

 Raytheon 9

http://www.caat.org.uk/ 

on the issue of transport over the Thames!

The Green Party is proposing that instead of a six lane road bridge, a transport system using cable cars over the Thames would be a much better idea. The advantages are that they require little space, dont’ cause congestion and carry the same numbers as a bus.

This is becoming an issue that needs to be decided on soon as with the Olympics coming up, London needs to have a method of crossing the Thames at the Thames Gateway.

The Economist

Cable car Alternative 

Really the Imperial College, University of London , should’ve let him in. It’s a worrying sign that something bad happens in your life you could be stigmatised for ever!

Still at least he is now able to study (Manchester University have accepted him) and do something worthwhile with his life!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/aug/07/medicine.students