An Irishman in Venice

Odds and Ends of my life in Venice Province :)

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Utente: irishinvenice
I'm an Irishman living in Venice with my Italian wife

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luglio 2007

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venerdì, 20 luglio 2007
Poor Guy ;)

Vandals attack man's Hummer, leave note


Wed Jul 18, 11:03 PM ET

WASHINGTON - When Gareth Groves brought home his massive new Hummer, he knew his environmentally friendly neighbors disapproved. But he didn't expect what happened next. The sport utility vehicle was parked for five days on the street before two masked men smashed the windows, slashed the tires and scratched into the body: "FOR THE ENVIRON."

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"The thought of somebody vandalizing it never crossed my mind," said Gareth Groves, who lives near American University in Northwest Washington. "I've kind of been in shock."

Police said they see small acts of vandalism in the area from time to time, but they have not seen anything so severe, or with such a clear political message, in recent years.

"This seems to be an isolated event," Cmdr. Andy Solberg said.

Investigators said they are searching for the vandals but don't have many leads. Witnesses said they saw two men smash up the seven-foot-tall SUV early Monday and then run off.

Now, as Groves contemplates what to do with the remains of his $38,000 Hummer, he has had to deal with a number of people who have driven by the crime scene and glared at him in smug satisfaction.

"I'd say one in five people who come by have that 'you-got-what-you-deserve' look," said his friend Andy Sexton.

Neighbor Lucille Liem, who owns a Prius hybrid, said that a common sentiment in the neighborhood is that large vehicles such as the Hummer are impractical and a strain on the Earth.

"The neighborhood in general is very concerned with the environment," said Liem, whose Prius gets about 48 miles a gallon compared with the Hummer's 14 miles a gallon. "It's more liberal leaning. It's ridiculous to be driving a Hummer."

Liem quickly added that she does not condone violence.

Postato da: irishinvenice a 20:36 | link | commenti
reap what you sow

giovedì, 19 luglio 2007
Not a silver bullet, but a great step forward

http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/2007/story04-24-07.php



This could be a great solution in the fight against climate change, if we could reduce our
CO2 levels to before the industrial times it would be fantastic.  Let us all hope this idea gets put
into practice.

Postato da: irishinvenice a 19:21 | link | commenti
climate device

giovedì, 12 luglio 2007
Ban the Blub!!!!!!!!

Look at this great demo of how Global Warming happens:

news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/sci_nat/04/climate_change/html/greenhouse.stm




Join Greenpeace 7 Step Climate Campaign


I am very pissed off at the moment, I wish the local government of Veneto would follow suit like Italian regions like Trentino and subsidize solar panels up to 70%

I beg anyone reading this to change the light bulbs in their home to Energy Saving ones, as they safe you money and help reduced energy which lead to the build up of green house gases. Join Greenpeace 7 Step Climate Campaign

Postato da: irishinvenice a 22:05 | link | commenti (50)

Iraqi Report out, but not all is good



Well yesterday the first report on the state of affairs in Iraq was released by the White House.  It had said that many of the US Military benchmarks had been met but few of the Iraqi ones had. 

The Surge

I was against this war from the beginning but when in January Bush announced that there was going to be a surge in the number of troops to help calm the situation, I thought; finally!  The US can fill Iraq with troops who can be used to protect different towns and drive out the insurgents.  No, a mere 30,000 were sent.  Let us put this into prospective.  There are about the same about (30-40,000) in Kosovo, and they have done a pretty good job in establishing a peaceful state there, but you only have two main fighting factions.  Iraqi has a multitude of sectarian groups, nationalist, fundamentalist etc. who have all different plans for the place.  If the surge was right I would estimate a troop build up of 300,000 thousand at least.

The Future?
Well US Congress wants to get the troops out of Iraq.  How much I disagree with Bush, taking the troops out will only make the situation worse, but it is a case of trying to put the genie back in the bottle.  The Bush administration made a complete mess after the victory over Saddam, and lost the hearts and minds of the Iraqis.  I think the Iraqi government can eventually come to a peaceful situation, but I could take another 5 years before that happens.  Look at another country in the world where there has been civil war and then see how long it takes to recover.  I fear that the Iraqis won't deliver on the next report in September, this will force Bush to start pulling out troops, the situation will get worse, and the blood shed will increase, but it will take the Iraqis themselves to sit down together after all the mess and work with each other to form a peace, this has been the situation in many other countries.


'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it' by George Santayana

Postato da: irishinvenice a 21:33 | link | commenti
iraq

mercoledì, 11 luglio 2007
I love Prius

Well, I don't own one, but there is a lot of buzz at the moment in the USA about the Prius+, I plug-in hybrid.  Basically it is a Hybrid that has been converted (bigger battery, wall socket inlet etc) by a bunch of guys who love the idea of a (as close as possible to) electric car.

I can't understand why anyone would want another car than this.  Frankly when I see people driving around in Ferraris or other sports cars I don't like it, they are just spewing hydrocarbons in to the air for the rest of us to breathe.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_hybrid


Originally from en.wikipedia; description page is (was) here

Postato da: irishinvenice a 22:42 | link | commenti (1)
prius

domenica, 08 luglio 2007
My first post

From here I will share my book projects and hopefully get some feedback.  Also I will comment on what it is like to live (next to) one of the greatest cities in the World!

Postato da: irishinvenice a 19:18 | link | commenti (1)
start