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January 27, 2007
news junkie
i've been paying a lot more attention to the news. i think it might have to do with the fading of republican control on capitol hill. anyway.
two things read recently that I find disturbing:
'Hate Crime' of Beatings Divides a Campus
I went to Guilford. It's a Quaker school. During my brief tenure there, as part of certain required courses that all freshman take, I listened to South African refugees speak about their experiences of being brought to America by the Quakers, and had tea with a Montenyard family whom the Quakers had helped get out of Vietnam. A part of school orientation was to visit an underground railroad stop in Greensboro.
Most Guilford students come to the school seeking an education that includes content about human rights, justice, and activisim. Why else go to what is, frankly, a small liberal arts hippie school?
Apparently the student body isn't as self-selected as I thought. This incident makes me very sad. I am sure many professors at Guilford are doing some soul-searching right now. That's just because of the violence. If this actually turns out to be a hate crime? This will shake the college to its core.
Coal-To-Liquid Diesel Fuel: A Bipartisan Issue That Unites Environmentalists With Farmers
I know very little about liquid coal fuel, and I'd like to get a more balanced view, but it does not sound like such a hot idea. While I'm glad there are legislators putting forth specific legislation to increase domestic alternative fuel output, this stuff sounds like a bad idea. I know so little about coal, however, so I could be swayed.
I hope that Obama isn't involved in this because of pressure from coal interests in his state.
Posted by lisa at January 27, 2007 10:59 AM
Comments
Being from a WV coal family, my dad is a big fan of coal gasification. It works, but the C02 output from the process is very high, which strikes me as a big negative in the whole greenhouse gases analysis.
It's an old technology, germany did it during WWII.
Posted by: Britt on January 29, 2007 12:41 PM
ok, so a) your comment won't post right away because i have to approve it first and b) you might get a server error but your comment probably posted anyway and c) previewing doesn't work so i've removed the preview button.