Culture and Coexistence into the Great Unknown
For the last 40 years, Detroiters have fled the once-majestic downtown core for the bucolic image of sprawling suburbia. Now an urban revival in the name of “Detroit Future City,” complete with forests, parks, farms and waterways, is planned to overcome the financial mismanagement and industrial blight that have plagued the city for far too long.
Almost two and a half years after the nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima, the head of Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) raised concern on August 5 about the continued flow of radioactive water from the plant going into the Pacific Ocean, telling Reuters, “Right now we have a state of emergency.” Hmm, yes, sounds about right.
A mystical fruit and a symbol of knowledge and immortality from antiquity, the apple, turned into apple cider vinegar, has a number of scientifically proven health remedies. According to John Summerly, it is a veritable acidic fountain of youth.
Lauren Steiner writes on California’s insufficient move to regulate fracking with SB 4, sponsored by State Representative Fran Pavley: “Worse than having no regulations, weak regulations provide political cover to legislators who could otherwise be pressured to vote for a moratorium on the practice.” Tell Fran Pavley to withdraw her bad regulatory bill and fight for a fracking ban instead!
International environmental and human rights campaigners condemn the 4th Latin American Palm Oil Conference to be held by the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in Honduras on 6th-8th August. The site of deadly conflicts over land rights with alarming impacts to ecosystems and communities, sustainably produced palm oil in this Central American country is impossible. The World Wildlife Fund among other sponsors, are charged with greenwashing and condoning human rights abuses.
Ellen Brown writes on how the Detroit bankruptcy seeks to sacrifice pensioners to pay off the big banks, appearing like the “bail-in” template pushed upon Cyprus which restructured their insolvent banks using depositors funds while sparing those from other banks and governments. Stephen Colbert sums up the situation with some levity as Detroit fights its way back to solvency.
Bicycle Thieves (Italian: Ladri di biciclette), also known as The Bicycle Thief, is director Vittorio De Sica’s 1948 story of a poor father searching post-World War II Rome for his stolen bicycle, without which he will lose the job which was to be the salvation of his young family.