If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.
Alex Noble
Category: Mind Space
Sustainable Cities in China
China has started a pilot project for sustainable cities in Liaoning Province named the Cradle to Cradle Village.
“The design of the village aspires to draw power from the sun, to maintain materials in closed-loop systems of technical and biological nutrition, and to create an intergenerational community of people productively engaged in restorative commerce. Its goal is to provide a higher quality of life for the villagers and to exemplify a more hopeful future for the children.”
For more information the BBC has a good article looking into sustainability in cities.
Documents on 9/11 Released
More than 12,000 pages relating to the Spet. 11, 2001 terrorist attack were released by American authorities today. The FDNY released hours of transcribed audio recordings from the day.
The releasing of the recordings (on paper) will allow people to gain a better idea of what happend on 9/11. Some people argue that firefighters in the north tower ignored evacuation warnings.
Pedagogical Idol
TVO has an interesting new twist on the “Idol” format reality show: they’re trying to find the best teacher in the post-secondary education system. Contestants/professors from various Ontario universities will compete by lecturing on their specialty. They will then be judged on their passion, knowledge and ability to teach in an engaging and effective way.
Could a little good actually come from reality TV?
The Bomb and the Future
Today is the 60th anniversary of the Enola Gay gayly dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It seems to me that on many front pages of newspapers today this anniversary is mentioned. I think that looking at this (arguably useless) bomb-dropping is a good thing for people to confront.
We all know that war will result in death of both soldiers and civilians. Some people justify the “collateral damage” as acceptable because winning the war is more important than some lost lives on the side. 
By looking at the dropping of the atomic bomb we are forced to question if that stance is appropriate or even morally correct. In this regard it is a good thing that we look at the past in order to question what is happening today.
Iran is fighting for its right to make nuclear weapons, the current diplomatic channels have failed. It must be acknowledged that the people of Iran want the bomb. So what better time than now to remind people of the incredible damage that can be unleashed by such powerful weapons. On the other hand, talks with North Korea about their nuclear weapons program are continuing.
People who witnessed the first atomic bomb drop are hoping that no one else has to experience such devastation. Today, all over the world, people are demanding a safer human civilization, including Londoners.
War is never a good thing. Hopefully by looking at the mistakes of the past we can look at the mistakes we’ve made (or making) now and realize the connection. We all know that an eye for an eye makes us both blind; the picture of the binoculars can be found at a photo gallery on Hiroshima.