Rental Goats Clear Brush Better, Beat Cosmonauts in Space Race | GOOD
Look at the picture, too.  I'd love to use goats for clearing brush, if I had any to clear. 

Israel: Photos show Iran link to arms - Mideast/N. Africa - msnbc.com
There are photos proving the arms shipped to Hezbollah came from Iran.  Big surprise.

Report: Blackwater OK’d plan to bribe Iraqis - Conflict in Iraq- msnbc.com
Remember when they killed some people randomly?  They tried to bribe their problems away. 

Is Saying Sorry Better than Prison? | GOOD

Instead of sending kids who commit assault, theft, or “motoring offences” to a prison, the government sends them to a meeting. There, the young troublemaker is asked to give an account of the offense, and the victim, who is usually present, is invited to ask questions and describe the effects of the crime. Then they decide, together, with the help of a professional coordinator, on a “plan” to make things right. This usually means doing unpaid restorative work and giving a face-to-face apology.

More than 5,500 meetings between victims and offenders have taken place in Northern Ireland since 2003…. Some 38% of 10 to 17 year olds participating in the scheme in Northern Ireland in 2006 re-offended within a year, compared to 71% of those given custodial terms. The percentage of those re-offending where restorative justice was used instead of a prosecution was 28%.

In a report, the PRT said many victims were found to prefer the experience of participating in a restorative justice meeting to attending court.

It's cheaper than jail, establishes justice, the criminals are less likely to re-offend (and they also have to see the effects of their crime), and victims like it better.  Is there a better system than this?  And if not, what are we using?


Gas Loss | GOOD
According to this, cars only use about 15% of the gas for moving the car and running systems like AC.  The rest is mostly wasted. 

‘Slow money’ gains momentum - Giving- msnbc.com
This sort of thing usually irks me, but investing money in your own community, and knowing who you've invested in, personally, and being able to walk in and check on them, and help them out if need be - that sounds like a pretty good thing to me. 

10-day China package from $888 - Deals- msnbc.com
This is a ridiculous deal.  Airfare and lodging is included. 

The Truth About 2012 Doomsday Hype | LiveScience
I'll bet they will say nothing particularly surprising to most of you.  Such as: the Mayans have no idea what you're scared of, and this whole thing is new to them.

Penn Museum - Penn Museum's Year 2012 Prediction
If you don't entirely trust Livescience (not a bad idea), here's an expert in ancient Mayan writing.

"The Maya made calculations spanning millions of years and the 5,200-year cycle that ends in 2012 is a rather short one. The date itself is mentioned only once in all the many thousands of Maya inscriptions, where it is used as an arbitrary anchor date for the matters under discussion and not associated with any particular prophesy. We know that the Maya believed in a world after 2012 since they mention events set well beyond this, with an inscription at Palenque, Mexico, describing one in the year 4772."

Imagine that.  Their calendar has arbitrary dates. 

The Year 1000 - Hachette Book Group
I would like to read this book.

As the Shadow of the Millennium Descended Across England and Christendom, it Seemed as if the World was About to End. Actually, it was Only the Beginning... Welcome to the Year 1000. This is What Life was Like. How clothes were fastened in a world without buttons, p.10 The rudiments of medieval brain surgery, p.124 The first millennium's Bill Gates, p.192 How dolphins forecasted weather, p.140 The recipe for a medieval form of Viagra, p.126 Body parts a married woman had to forfeit if she committed adultery, p.

Smart.fm
It's a site where you can learn a lot of different things, with built-in review sessions at intervals.  It has a lot of language stuff.  Want to learn Japanese?  There's plenty there.  Chinese has a fair showing, too.  Lots of others. 

Roadside Geology Series - Geology Underfoot - GEOLOGY.com
I remember my dad having the one for Arizona.  I liked that book, though I doubt I learned much from it.  heheh.

Hideous Rodent May Provide Cure For Cancer | Popular Science
Trust nothing from Popular Science.  If I told them I'd found a toothpaste that mostly prevents cavities, they'd lead their article with something like, "Keep Your Teeth Until 300?"
All the same, I didn't know naked mole rats were immune to cancer, or that they obeyed their queen.  I should probably look somewhere more reputable before I trust those "facts". 


How debit cards fleece consumers - MSN Money
They aren't treated the same as credit cards, because it's just your money, not theirs.  There are also plenty of fees.  Yay.

Banks punish perfect customers- Top Stocks - MSN Money
How surprising.  The rich oppress the poor so that they may become even richer.  This by no means is the worst of their examples, and if you're fortunate to be a good customer you're probably not that poor.  "Those filthy poor people barely deserve to have a bank account at all - they have so much trouble holding onto money, that we should do them a favor by taking as much of it as we can in fees and incomprehensible loans, an dputting it to a better use...on ourselves," would perhaps describe the attitude of the banks.  I am reminded of this:

They sell the righteous for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
They trample on the heads of the poor
as upon the dust of the ground
and deny justice to the oppressed. 
(Amos 2:6-7)
Do you think that God does not see, or that He will not judge?