TOKYO — Japanese car manufacturers aim to counter the twin challenges of climate change and spiralling oil prices with a range of affordable hybrid cars, which run on both petrol and electricity. Although Toyota has sold over one million of its groundbreaking Prius hybrid, the car remains a high-tech niche model: Now Japan’s second-largest maker Honda, plans to market an entry-level hybrid model of its own with the roll-out planned for next year. Engineers agreed that petrol-electrics are a stopgap until more sophisticated technology comes on stream. In the long term, manufacturers want to offer cars propelled entirely by electricity or on board fuel-cells but the hybrid does have its place in the scheme of things. Hybrid automotive engineering is currently the ‘most practical and efficient’ technology available to reduce potentially climate-damaging carbon dioxide emissions, said Honda boss Tajeo Fukei, announcing a compact, five-door hybrid-powered car capable of carrying five people in comfort. The lightweight Honda car is scheduled to go on sale in Europe, North America and Japan from early 2009. Work will continue meanwhile on ultra-clean systems such as fuel cells, which use hydrogen to produce electricity with only water vapour as a […]
In an interview with the Washington Post last week, CIA Director Michael Hayden claimed we’re beating al-Qaeda. As Hayden put it: ‘Near strategic defeat of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Near strategic defeat of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia.’ I’ll defer to Hayden on Saudi Arabia, but when it comes to Iraq, Hayden betrayed his belief in the neo-con lie that Iraq was one of al-Qaeda’s bases before the 2003 invasion and still is today. Can no one drive a stake into a lie that suckered us into a war we didn’t need? Probably not. A friend of mine at the White House complained to me the other day that the Bush administration and the Pentagon until this day believe we are fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq. They ‘stand up’ al-Qaeda as the enemy in Iraq, he said, even behind closed doors. In the teeth of the facts, they ignore that the enemy we’re fighting in Iraq is a half a dozen homegrown insurgencies, an incipient civil war, and criminal gangs. They ignore the fact that although a handful of Osama bin Laden’s followers showed up in Iraq after the invasion, in a futile attempt to hijack the Sunni resistance, al-Qaeda is […]
LONDON — Disinfectant wipes routinely used in hospitals may actually spread drug-resistant bacteria rather than kill the dangerous infections, British researchers said on Tuesday. While the wipes killed some bacteria, a study of two hospitals showed they did not get them all and could transfer the so-called superbugs to other surfaces, Gareth Williams, a microbiologist at Cardiff University, said. The findings presented at the American Society of Microbiology’s General Meeting in Boston focused on bacteria that included methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. ‘What we have found is there is a high risk,’ Williams, who led the study, said by telephone. ‘We need to give guidance to the staff on how to use the wipes because we found there is a possibility of cross transfer.’ MRSA infections can range from boils to more severe infections of the bloodstream, lungs and surgical sites. Most cases are associated with hospitals, nursing homes or other health care facilities. The superbug can cause life-threatening and disfiguring infections and can often only be treated with expensive, intravenous antibiotics. Experts have been saying for years that poor hospital practices spread dangerous bacteria, and yet many studies have shown that health care […]
WASHINGTON — Passengers travelling to the United States from countries whose citizens do not need visas must register online with the US government at least 72 hours before departure, in the latest measure to strengthen American security. Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security secretary, on Tuesday announced the new rule, which the Financial Times first reported on Monday. ‘Rather than relying on paper-based procedures, this system will leverage 21st century electronic means to obtain basic information about who is travelling to the US without a visa,’ said Mr Chertoff. ‘Getting this information in advance enables our frontline personnel to determine whether a visa-free traveller presents a threat, before boarding an aircraft or arriving on our shores. It is a relatively simple and effective way to strengthen our security, and that of international travellers, while helping to preserve an important programme for key allies.’ European companies last year expressed concern after the Homeland Security department floated the idea of requiring passengers to register 48 hours in advance, believing it could complicate last-minute business travel. Although the new rule requires 72 hours advance registration, it will be valid for multiple entries over a two-year period. The rule will […]
Wealthy countries will be pressed to reverse two decades of declining farm aid to poor nations at the biggest meeting of world leaders to address surging food costs. The World Food Security summit starting today in Rome attracted about 35 government leaders, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who are seeking to ensure that the highest commodity prices in three decades don’t swell further the ranks of the world’s 860 million hungry people. A 60 percent increase in food prices since the beginning of 2007 has sparked riots in more than 30 countries — including Cameroon and Egypt — that depend on imported food. The wealthiest nations pledged $6.3 billion in emergency aid last year, yet critics say that will do little unless accompanied by policies that promote greater output. ‘The main message from the meeting in Rome will be that there has to be a new policy for stimulating agricultural development in developing countries and there has to be money to back it,” said Brian Gardner, director of U.K.-based Food Policy International. “But the big question is whether there will be money to back it.” United Nations Secretary-General […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
