Tuesday December 21, 2004 
Tuesday December 21, 2004
An article on alternet.org by Daniel Alarcon on the Mall of America:
57 types of hammers
... after an hour or two of wandering, it is with some amazement that I stand to gather my breath in front of the display of hammers at Sears. Shoes, hats, clothes, perfumes, gadgets, jewelry are available in hedonistic excess at the Mall – but hammers? They seem out of place, a wrinkle in the climate-controlled fantasy, a blip in the Mall's matrix of eternal leisure: hammers imply work, imply effort and sweat and all those things that do not exist at the Mall, at least not for the shopper. And yet, there they are: fifty-seven different types of hammers. I count. Fifty-seven varieties of this Stone Age tool, with ergonomic handles and rubber grips, in every size and weight and color scheme. So much commercial esoterica, and perhaps what is most out of place here is a tool ...
The whole world wants in
... the Mall banishes all worldly problems, man-made or natural. It is no wonder that so many people come, not only to the Mall, but to the United States: to be near so much power, so much money is to believe in the possibility of earthly tranquility. Is it too simple to say that the whole world wants in?
- Well, if the whole world wants in, all we'll need is maybe another 4 or 5 more Planet Earth's for that ...
See also :
1. Ecological Footprint Quiz (1.8 planets! what about you?)
(2004-12-21 17:48:34 SGT)
[Musings]
Permalink
"Star Wars" missile fails - again
It should surprise no one that the first test in two years of the "Star Wars" missile defense system fizzled Wednesday when a "kill vehicle" never left its silo in the Marshall Islands. The startling thing would have been if the $85-million test had succeeded.
Ever since President Reagan called for this ill-conceived system in March 1983, his conservative acolytes - including President Bush - have been determined to make it a reality despite widespread evidence of its impracticality. Two decades later, it has still gone nowhere despite Bush's rash promise that he would have a limited system in place by the end of 2004.
The government has spent about $130 billion on the program and is slated to invest $50 billion more over the next five years. Yet the only tests that have succeeded were rigged; the missiles being intercepted were equipped with homing devices, something a real attacker probably wouldn't be considerate enough to include. The most recent test before Wednesday's, on Dec. 11, 2002, failed when a warhead didn't detach from its booster rocket ...
(2004-12-21 11:01:22 SGT)
[Tech]
Permalink
Airlines need $36/bbl oil to break even
The world's airline industry is set to rack up losses of almost $5bn (?2.6bn, 3.6bn euros) this year, global airline body IATA [International Air Transport Association] has forecast. It also warned that the industry would only climb back into profit next year if oil prices fell. If oil prices remain around the $40 a barrel level, industry losses will rise to $5.3bn in 2005, the IATA added.
The price of a barrel of oil needs to drop to $36 for airlines to break even, while a fall to $30 a barrel would see profits soar to $5bn, Mr Pearce [IATA chief economist] said.
(2004-12-21 10:40:11 SGT)
[Energy]
Permalink
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