The environmental cost of spam

Tree-hugger or not, here's some news from the BBC we can all take an interest in:

Spam produces 17m tons of CO2

Ireland's worst driver

The mystery of Ireland's worst driver has finally been solved. Prawo Jazdy had been wanted all across Ireland for racking up speeding tickets and parking fines. Authorities knew he was Polish, and he carried a Polish driver's license. However, every time he was stopped, he managed to elude capture by giving a different address.

Finally, some bright boy in the Garda figured out that "Prawo Jazdy" is Polish for ... "Driver's License".

Turns out there were nearly 50 entries in their database for Mr. Jazdy. A notice has gone out to all officers to examine Polish licenses a little more closely in the future. I suspect that authorities all over Europe are doing a quick (and quiet) scrub of their databases, too.

Read the BBC story here!


PS: I just noticed that my previous post was number 100. Hmmm.

Antibiotic resistance increasing

Comes now this worrying piece of news from the BBC.

We are already to the point where anyone who uses antibacterial soap (outside of a clinical setting) is committing a crime against humanity. These soaps need to be outlawed for general public use as soon as possible.

The next step is that anyone who is prescribed an antibiotic will have to report to a clinic or pharmacy every day to be given that day's dose. Failure to appear should result in an automatic arrest warrant.

Perhaps before we get to that point, we need to criminalize the overprescribing of antibiotics. Doctors who prescribe antibiotics for known viral infections must be stopped.

Forget global warning. The real danger to humanity is bacterial, and we're working for their side!

The UK's view of our elections

I love to read the BBC News ... and other foreign news outlets. They have such an interesting view of us.

Today's take on last night's speech by Hillary Clinton at the Democrats' convention is a lot of fun to read. Here are some relevant quotes:

After all, the winds of change should be blowing against the Republicans and their president. But, everywhere you look in Denver, you find nail-biting delegates, nervous surrogates, defensive campaign staffers.

The rest of the world thinks that Mr Obama will be America's 44th president but, at home, the Democrats are the worried party.

To some extent, this is their traditional role. Like Woody Allen in one of his earlier movies, the Democrats excel at fretting, agonising, navel gazing and over-analysing.

The opinion polls, which have Mr Obama and his Republican rival John McCain neck-and-neck, prove that they have reason to worry.

The senator from Illinois has had an arid summer. He needs to have a bountiful harvest season.

But the other reason for anxiety is the Lady who broods in the wings. Of late, Hillary and Bill Clinton have not uttered a single public word of apostasy. They are toeing the line, gritting their teeth and swallowing their pride.

They are also economical with their enthusiasm. I am told that senior Clinton people aren't even sticking around for Obama's big stadium speech on Thursday. This is damning with faint praise.

And what has to be my favorite quote:

If Barack Obama wins the 2008 election, this will be remembered as a gracious salute from a defeated rival; if he loses and Republican John McCain gets the White House, then we might just see it as the first speech of Campaign 2012.

Read the article here.

More views on the US election

The BBC's Matt Frei always provides an interesting perspective on our political system, written to those who don't understand it. His latest post is here.

A couple of posts back he took a look at NASCAR and the election, so adding another American phenomenon that his readers don't understand well. It's here. Good reading, as always.

A motto for the UK?

Gordon Brown reportedly wants to come up with a motto for the UK. The ever-helpful BBC has asked readers to send in suggestions. My personal choice, "The UK - At least it's not France" is the first one listed.

Some of my other favorites:

Britain - All it needs is a coat of paint.
Si non confectus, reficiat (If it's not broke, fix it anyway)
UK: Obesité, Apathé, Hostilité
Bothering foreigners since 1066
It'll brighten up later
May contain nuts

Read the rest here.

The US minnows

An interesting take on the US Presidential campaign from the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6725393.stm