Author: Adam Clare

New German Government: USA nukes to GTFO, Rich want to tax themselves

The new German government has begun a process of asking the American government to take their nukes out of Germany.

Time has the scoop

“We want the last nuclear weapons that are stationed in Germany to be taken away,” Westerwelle said at the conclusion of the coalition talks on Saturday. The U.S. doesn’t disclose the exact number of nuclear warheads it still keeps in Germany, a legacy of its Cold War policy that dates back to the 1950s, and which made western Germany the frontline of its Soviet containment strategy. But German sources estimate there could be as many as 20 nukes still in the country.

Germany has also changed some of its taxation policies to help get through the global economic hilarity, but the rich are arguing that their taxes should be raised.

The BBC knows what to say about this.

A group of rich Germans has launched a petition calling for the government to make wealthy people pay higher taxes.
The group say they have more money than they need, and the extra revenue could fund economic and social programmes to aid Germany’s economic recovery.
Germany could raise 100bn euros (£91bn) if the richest people paid a 5% wealth tax for two years, they say.

Old Jeans, New Insulation

Good news everybody! Your old pants could be worth more than you thought!

Students at University of Memphis have been collecting used denim for insulation in housing for Habitat for Humanity. So hang on to your old clothes so you can make somebody else’s house a little warmer.

Read more.

“It’s a project called ‘Cotton: From Blue to Green,’” explained Angie Dunlap, advisor for the student group. “The denim actually gets recycled into insulation that’s donated for housing for rebuilding communities.”

Many of those communities were hit by Hurricane Katrina, and many of the homes will be built by Habitat for Humanity, explained Brad Robb, vice president of communications for the Cotton Board.

“[The recycled cotton] is environmentally friendly,” said Robb, whose organization works with the program. “Not only is it just as good as regular insulation, you don’t have to use gloves. It’s not itchy, so that’s a plus.”

He said recycled cotton adds up to a lot of insulation.

“[It takes] roughly about 500 average size jeans for an average size house, around 1600 feet,” Robb explained.

Toronto Cyclists Thank Car Drivers

The Toronto Cyclist Union has started a new campaign to thank drivers who treat cyclists with respect. Watch their promo video below and you can read about it by clicking here.

The “Cyclists Paving the Way” campaign is meant to dial down some of the rhetoric being heard in the so-called “war on the car,” says Yvonne Bambrick, executive director of the Toronto Cyclists Union.

About 5,000 cards with the words “Thank You” have been printed for cyclists to give to deserving drivers, perhaps by tapping on the car window at a stop light, Bambrick said.

A motorist who looks over his or her shoulder before swinging open their door into the street – sparing an oncoming cyclist the chance of collision – would qualify for a card, Bambrick says.

It’s “a chance for cyclists to thank the drivers who do see them, and do treat them with respect and as fellow citizens,” she added.

“We’re trying to move away from the angry stuff that happened over the summer,” she told a group at this weekend’s BikeCamp T.O. event, which the union put on to discuss cycling issues.

Thanks Shea!

Yes Men Strike: Chamber of Commerce to Fight Climate Change

The Yes Men are great pranksters that try to make the people who cause problems in our world aware of what they do in creative ways. Yesterday they pretended to be from the USA’s Chamber of Commerce and staged a fake press conference talking about how the Chamber is going to tackle climate change.

The timing was great as both Nike and Apple have left the Chamber of Commerce in protest over the lack of action on climate change.

The Washington Post has an article on the Yes Men press conference.

Environmental activists held a hoax press conference Monday morning, pretending to be the business group — and pretending to announce that the chamber was dropping its opposition to climate-change legislation now in Congress.

The event, complete with fake handouts on chamber letterhead, at least a couple of fake reporters, and a podium adorned with the chamber logo, broke up when a spokesman from the real chamber burst in.

What followed was a spectacle not usually seen in the John Peter Zenger Room at the National Press Club: two men in business suits shouting at one another, each calling the other an impostor and demanding to see business cards.

Tokyo Film Festival Rolls Out Green Carpet

The Tokyo International Film Festival has rolled out a green carpet made of recycled plastic bottles to show their support for the environment. You can read about their Green Carpet Club here and the Globe and Mail has a short article on the festival, which is also showing The Cove (trailer below).

The theme of the nine-day festival, which started Saturday and will feature more than 100 movies, is ecology. Films include The Cove , a documentary that depicts an annual hunt of dolphins in Japan. Festival organizers added it at the last minute in part because of pressure from overseas.