Wednesday, February 12, 2003

Meanwhile,from the war on "waste" -- energy division A Glimpse of a Future in a New Kind of Light. The ubiquitous lightbulb is quietly on its way to being replaced by light-emitting microchips that work longer and use less power. By Barnaby J. Feder. [New York Times: Science] "We are not talking about replacing light bulbs," said Arpad Bergh, a former Bell Labs researcher who is president of an industry trade group working with the government to promote the new technology. "We are talking about a totally new lighting industry." The technologies we take for granted offer huge opportunities for savings -- of money as well as energy. Last time I checked, the US balance of payments deficit was about the size of our imported energy budget. An energy efficiency "Apollo Project" would have far more significant -- and longer lasting -- impact on the economy than a tax cut for the rich that even Alan Greenspan says is not necessary. 4:06:10 PM    comment []  trackback []

Lerner answers ANSWER in Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal: The Antiwar Anti-Semites: Peace protest organizers tolerate no dissent Excerpt: My sin was publicly criticizing the way that A.N.S.W.E.R., one of the four groups sponsoring the San Francisco demonstration, has used the antiwar demonstrations to put forward anti-Israel propaganda. An A.N.S.W.E.R. spokesperson, speaking on the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC, said that they didn't want a "pro-Israel" speaker at their rally.... The other groups have said that while they disagree with A.N.S.W.E.R., they will honor an agreement giving each group an effective veto on speakers. Yet it is inconceivable that these antiwar coalitions would let A.N.S.W.E.R. ban a speaker if he accused that group of racism, sexism or homophobia. Why should anti-Semitism be treated differently, as the acceptable -ism?... That's why we recently created a new national organization supporting a "progressive middle path" that is both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian. We call for an end to the occupation, the creation of a Palestinian state and reparations for Palestinian refugees. But we also call for reparations for Jews who fled Arab states, and for Israel's admission into NATO--or some other equally powerful military alliance--to give the Jewish state genuine security. Jim Sinkinson comments: WSJ Op-Ed: Michael Lerner finally gets the ANSWER Those of us deeply troubled by anti-Semitism on the left (usually cloaked thinly behind anti-Zionism) will take some bitter satisfaction in Rabbi Michael Lerner's comeuppance at the hands of ANSWER, one of the sponsors of recent anti-war rallies, including one this Sunday in San Francisco. Given the agenda of ANSWER, which Lerner certainly knows, it's hard to fathom his surprise. I urge you to review ANSWER's endorsers at http://www.internationalanswer.org/endorsers.html (some of the biggest names on the left plus steering committee member, the Free Palestine Alliance), as well as ANSWER's posture on Israel at http://www.internationalanswer.org/news/update/071802commission.html .) The people at ANSWER, like most Palestinians, simply do not support a state of Israel---and Lerner knows this well. Peace in the Middle East to these people means the Arabs take it over completely---which many of us have been trying to expose for some time. Is it only now that Lerner understands this to be anti-Semitism? We sympathize with you, Michael, but we told you so. And that's all on this thread for me, for now. 3:50:26 PM    comment []  trackback []

ANSWER answers Lerner ANSWER Coalition: In the last day, as anti-war forces around the country have been working together to build for this weekend's important mobilizations, we at A.N.S.W.E.R. have been taken by surprise by a campaign initiated by Michael Lerner and furthered by David Corn (a reporter for the Nation and Fox News) and others that has sought to deceive the anti-war movement and to misdirect its energies to instead focus on fraudulent claims of victimhood by Michael Lerner because he was not asked to speak at the San Francisco demonstration this Sunday. This attack has now been picked up by ultra-right, pro-war forces in an effort to defame the movement. Sorry, I do not know who's right on this one. Everybody does seem rather pissed, though... 10:32:31 AM    comment []  trackback []

And sometimes it is about foie gras Or at least about soybeans, corn and many other things. Consumers in Europe Resist Gene-Altered Foods. No matter what the outcome of U.S. efforts to sell genetically modified foods in Europe, public revulsion there runs deep. By Lizette Alvarez. [New York Times: Science] The official EU position, is in line with the US position: "GMO? No problem." The European public, apparently, isn't buying -- though the US public is. 7:45:28 AM    comment []  trackback []

It's not about foie gras US-Europe Iraq Standoff Throws UN, NATO and EU into Fatal Crisis For the moment, the cohesiveness of NATO and the EU hinges on the UN Security CouncilÕs ability to break the impasse and move forward. The destinies of all three bodies are bound up in the Iraq crisis and its resolution. International consensus is evaporating as fast as the American troop buildup advances. The United States and the anti-war camp are clearly determined to bring the standoff to a head. The test of wills is already exacting a heavy diplomatic price [<] and it is only just beginning. [Debka] 7:34:35 AM    comment []  trackback []