:: Event Horizon ::

:: Friday, July 12, 2002 ::

Doomsday Clock T-Shirts
As you contemplate the war on terrorism, the resumption of the Gulf War, unsolved anthrax attacks, and the possibility of a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan, you may want to be fashionably attired as you worry. But, what to wear for the end of the world? The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has the answer. Yes, the people who brought you the Doomsday Clock now offer the Doomsday T-shirt. Don't be caught dead without one.

:: Joel 1:24 PM [+] ::
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Leaders Launch New African Union
I applaud the effort to reform the governments in Africa. I lived in Ethiopia for a year and had a chance to see firsthand the extremes of poverty and corruption there. If they can really make progress on democratization, transparency, and the rule of law, then they may have a chance for a brighter future, though probably not the African Century that they are hoping for, not until Gaddafi and Mugabi and other tyrants fade from the scene. What really bothers me about so many countries in Africa is that they should be wealthy. Many of them are rich in oil and minerals and other natural resources but the thugs in power loot the wealth and let the people starve. I hope the "good government" movement takes hold and real reforms are put in place. The longsuffering people of Africa deserve it.

:: Joel 4:57 PM [+] ::
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Earth 'will expire by 2050'
The WWF (World Wildlife Fund, not the World Wrestling Federation) has issued an alarming report that, " the human race is plundering the planet at a pace that outstrips its capacity to support life." Ever since the famous Limits To Growth Club of Rome report in the 1970s the doomsayers have been saying the same thing and yet we always seem to avert catastrophe. No Soylent Green. I don't agree with their dire assessment, but I do agree with their recommendation to colonize space. Now that we have located water on Mars there's no excuse not to immediately launch an ambitious multinational space program for the 21st Century with the goal of colonizing Mars. If the WWF called me for a donation, well, the only way I would donate to them (either of them, actually) is if they are soliciting for a Mars program. Greens for Mars. Now there's a slogan.

:: Joel 10:46 PM [+] ::
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