In Brief - January 21st, 2008
Today's presidential race would look a lot less colorful if it were not for Dr. Martin Luther King. Despite lingering racism and areas of inequality, his dream of equality and brotherhood changed the fabric of our society, enabling a great Democrat named Barack Obama to get within reach of our country's most powerful position. Whether Obama wins or loses this race, black children will look at their future differently, seeing that all options are open to them.
Dr. King's message of hope, peace and faith always inspires, but as we enter our sixth year of a bloody, expensive war in Iraq, and anther year of heated political discourse at home, it reminds us why Americans are gravitating towards Obama's identical message. It's a message that always resonates: Americans working together for freedom and justice.
We at at the Northwest Progressive Institute know that in a democracy there is and should be a multitude of viewpoints, but like King, we also know that we can solve our country's greatest problems by working together.
Much of our political disagreement is over trivial differences that frequently hide the common ground we all share.
And now for today's quick news digest:
In the Pacific Northwest
Dr. King's message of hope, peace and faith always inspires, but as we enter our sixth year of a bloody, expensive war in Iraq, and anther year of heated political discourse at home, it reminds us why Americans are gravitating towards Obama's identical message. It's a message that always resonates: Americans working together for freedom and justice.
We at at the Northwest Progressive Institute know that in a democracy there is and should be a multitude of viewpoints, but like King, we also know that we can solve our country's greatest problems by working together.
Much of our political disagreement is over trivial differences that frequently hide the common ground we all share.
And now for today's quick news digest:
In the Pacific Northwest
- An outdated Seattle school will soon get a new life by opening as the Northwest African American Museum on March 8. Over two decades in the making, the museum will feature interactive displays that introduce visitors to African Americans who have played a significant role in the history of the Pacific Northwest.
- A fake endorsement scheme by an overenthusiastic staffer has tainted the Senate campaign of Oregon Democrat Steve Novick. It's not an auspicious start for a new local chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America. Oregon looks forward to better things to come from that organization.
- There are nearly 1,600 farms in Snohomish county and most are family owned. Snohomish county is committed to holding onto this farmland and to that end has created the Agriculture Sustainability Project. Farmers and the government are working together to grow the agricultural economy and invite feedback from the public at upcoming public meetings. Can vegetables and subdivisions coexist?
- As if being pregnant isn't hard enough, now OBs will be restricting their patients' coffee intake, as today's study from the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology suggests that women increase their risk of miscarriage in their first trimester by ingesting ten or more ounces of coffee a day. Some doctors are skeptical about the methodology of this report.
- A Daily Kos diarist has a first hand report on Nevada caucus day shenanigans by the Clinton campaign. Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, is accusing the Clinton folks from the Atlantic of over 200 trouble incidents at the Nevada caucuses.
- An Idaho blogger muses over why the American press doesn't cover seemingly hot issues such as allegations by F.B.I. whistleblower, Sibel Edmonds, while British newspaper The Sunday Times makes up for deficiencies in our own free press by exposing Edmonds' story. The Times details an F.B.I. cover-up of collusion between high government officials and a network stealing nuclear secrets. It makes for eerie reading.
- A closer look at the ethnic killings taking place in Kenya uncovers signs that the violence was a result of premeditation and government planning. Kenya has a host of tensions involving land, economics and political power that simmer under its typically smooth surface and played a part in inciting the violence.
- Captive-bred carnivores don't fare as well as their wild born brethern states a new study from the University of Exeter. Researchers blame the captive animals' lack of hunting skills and loss of fear of humans for their low survival rate. Preserving wild populations looks like the better option for keeping Earth's diverse animal life.
- Humanitarian groups and Palestinian allies are urging Israel to lift the border blockade on the Gaza Strip. Gaza's only power plant - which supplies 32% of its energy - was shut down last night. U.N. aid shipments have also been stopped at the border. The stand-off could harm a possible peace deal this year.
# Posted by Kathleen : 6:10 AM
Comments:
> Can vegetables and subdivisions coexist?
Well, they'd better. I applaud Snohomish County for taking steps to preserve their farms, because the long term reality of the looming end of the oil age is that we just can't keep spending huge amounts of fuel energy to ship food all over the world.
You can export the production of all sorts of things to China and elsewhere, but in the long run I really believe that the global economy will have to stop short of the weird global food system we have now. The notion that we can have fresh Mexican strawberries in January or lamb from New Zealand is an artifact of the cheap availability of oil we've experienced for the past 50 years. It's not natural, and we're going to have to un-learn the expectation that we should expect to find such things in our stores.
Probably sooner than some of us would like, food production is going to have to return to its local roots, so to speak. There really won't be any other option.
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