US grandmother set to be executed

Teresa Lewis is the first woman to be executed in nearly a century for killing her husband and her stepson. There are other women in the nation waiting for their sentence and Lewis' death can influence the decisions. There are 60 women who are condemned and 18 of them are in California.

NAACP leaders reach out to gay rights groups

This article from the Washington Post, shows an interesting new partnership. Gay rights issue is probably one of the most boiling topic in the nation. Now, the NAACP, one of the largest ethnicity organization in the world stepped in to support the gay rights.

The outreach has been steered by former chairman Julian Bond and the group's president, Benjamin Jealous. Both men are supporters of same-sex marriage rights, though the NAACP's national board has taken no stance on the issue. 

Jealous, who is helping to lead a march for jobs and justice in Washington next month, will be in New York on Wednesday night to encourage members of the city's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center to attend the rally. 

"The NAACP is opposed to discrimination in all its forms," Jealous said in an e-mail, adding, "We recognize that many of our members are also members of the LGBT community, and just as the LGBT community counts on us to stand with it for basic civil rights protections, so we count on the LGBT community to stand with us in our unified struggle for the broader civil rights agenda."

 NAACP's support is a great benefit for the gay community and NAACP themselves. They are both promoting opposition to discrimination and their partnership will help both of them as organizations. Different group, same goal. The gay community is earning more and more support as time goes. NAACP's support also shows how far the gay community has come so far fighting for their rights.

Obama's closest advisers, likely to leave in White House shuffle

Today, America is facing a time where decision making is critical. Especially, the president's decisions. President Obama has been relying on his advisers almost for two years now. However, that will change soon as White House Staffs are being shuffled soon and Obama will be surrounded by new people.

 

As one of his advisers bluntly put it, the president "doesn't like new people."

Like it or not, he will soon be surrounded by them as an expected staff shuffle will

deprive Obama of two of his closest aides and an influx of replacements will take their places within the West Wing. 

Obama will soon lose other top advisers. His chief economic adviser, Lawrence H. Summers, announced that he will return to Harvard, where he is a professor; Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina is expected to join Axelrod in Chicago; and national security adviser James L. Jones is said to want out by the end of the year. 

 According to this article, Obama is known to dislike "new people." As his reliable source changes, his decision can be influenced differently. Not only that, the fact that he is losing his economic adviser, during this recession, is a big change. However, the article also mentions that it seems Obama has already chosen his new advisers. Will the advisers help the president differently? What will happen to Obama's next move? All we can do is watch.

Visiting Ground Zero, Asking Allah for Comfort

 

In the book, Hot, Flat and Crowed, the author Thomas Friedman criticizes ignorance of modern Americans. The most hot issue around this year is the nation's relationship to the Muslim community and awareness of terrorism. This article shows a good example of why people need to distinguish the religion and the violence.

“I like to go down there and pray and see the place and remember,” said Mrs. Traoré, a native of Ivory Coast who came to the United States in 1997. “When I go there, I feel closer to him. And him to me. I pray for him, too.”

When she prays, she calls God Allah. Mrs. Traoré, 40, says praying in the pit feels entirely natural, even if some of those standing with her — widows and widowers, parents and children — blame her religion for the destruction of that day. “That’s not fair,” she said. “It’s not because of Allah that these buildings fell.”

Islam is a highly misunderstood religion today. The terrorism created fear and many people are blinded with ignorance. That makes the war with the terrorists more challenging. We must know our enemy before we fight them. They are not the religion. It is true that the towers collapsed by the terrorists under the name of Allah but that can not be a fair reason to generalize all the Muslims out there. That is like generalizing that all the priests are pedophiles.

Pastor Cancels Koran Burning After Defense Secretary Calls

In the book, Hot, Flat and Crowed, the author Thomas Friedman points out the reality of "where the birds don't fly" referring to the American society. This article from the New York Times shows how close we got to putting ourselves in danger.

 

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who set the world on edge with plans to burn copies of the Koran on Sept. 11, said Thursday that he had canceled his demonstration.

But the global controversy he started — drawing pointed criticism from President Obama and an array of leaders, officials and celebrities in the United States and abroad — stirred new questions and concerns even as he announced its end (which he later in the day threatened to retract.)

Mr. Jones said he called off the burning in return for a promise to move a proposed mosque in New York City to a new location far from ground zero.

That supposed deal, announced here on the lawn of Mr. Jones’s church, does not appear to exist.

This cancellation of Koran burning just saved numerous lives of innocent people. A media showing the world a white American man burning the most sacred book of Muslim? Would trigger more anger from the Muslim people all over the world and this can be the b

est tool for the terrorists to recruit more terrorists. This is a global relief.

On Clean Energy, China Skirts Rules

In the book Hot, Flat & Crowded, one of the author Tom Friedman's focus is on China and green energy.  This is a great approach to what many people including Friedman wants: the greener world and industries.

CHANGSHA, China — Until very recently, Hunan Province was known mainly for lip-searing spicy food, smoggy cities and destitute pig farmers. Mao was born in a village on the outskirts of Changsha, the provincial capital here in south-central China. 

Now, Changsha and two adjacent cities are emerging as a center of clean energy manufacturing. They are churning out solar panels for the American and European markets, developing new equipment to manufacture the panels and branching into turbines that generate electricity from wind. By contrast, clean energy companies in the United States and Europe are struggling. Some have started cutting jobs and moving operations to China in ventures with local partners. 

According to the article, Changsha used to have a "smoggy" stratosphere. Now Changsha, or China is changing. The big red country of manufacturing and monster factories are slowly becoming more friendly with the whole earth. At this rate, China might catch up with U.S. and out run the green energy race. I am eager to see China reforming their cities to be more green. Because it is China, that would be a great, big step to the greener earth and world economy.

Germany Extends Nuclear Plants’ Life

In the book "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" by Thomas L. Friedman, Friedman demands the alternative, and greener energy in order for better life on earth, and to reduce our "addiction" of gasoline or "fuel from hell."

  

BERLIN — The German government has decided to extend the life spans of the country’s 17 nuclear plants while alternative energy sources are developed, a move that is also likely to create windfalls for both power companies and strained government coffers. 

The decision comes at a time when several European countries, including Italy and Sweden, are reconsidering long-held policies against nuclear power, not only to develop new sources of energy but also to combat climate change.

The greener energy, eco-friendly culture is not only the common people's pop culture but it is the newest international solution to many problems we are facing today and we will face tomorrow. In Europe, this new culture seems to flourish, and the government is very cooperative. One of the new green energy with many potentials is the nuclear power. It is the energy that was once rejected by the U.S. government. As the nuclear power spreads more, there is a possibility that the U.S. government will think twice about this type of energy. Although, Italy and Sweden are considering a long held policies against the nuclear power, the nuclear power has no carbon amission. It is something definitely better than gasoline yet it is something that should be strictly controlled. 

Chinese Officials Call for Less Friction With U.S.

In the book Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman, the author signifies China's relationship with America and their changing world.

Two White House officials — Lawrence H. Summers, the director of the National Economic Council, and Thomas E. Donilon, the deputy national security adviser — held meetings in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday that were aimed not at fashioning new pacts, but at maintaining a dialogue that had been strained at times in recent months.
“Strategic trust is the basis of China-U.S. cooperation,” said Dai Bingguo, a Chinese state councilor who met with them, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Prime Minister Wen Jiabao told the two Americans that China and the United States should not view themselves as rivals, according to the Chinese state news media.
American and Chinese officials have been trying to lay the groundwork for a state visit to the United States this winter by President Hu Jintao, and for the resumption of contacts between the two countries’ militaries. China suspended military contacts last winter to protest a White House decision to proceed with arms sales to Taiwan. Beijing officials regard Taiwan as a renegade province.

I have not really payed attention to the news or China until this assignment. Now that I pay attention to the news, I see that China is taking a big roll in this fast-transforming world. As a considered world super power, (or is it now?) America needs to be careful with their relationship with China. This is a surprising approach from China considering that the world expects some sort of economy war between China and America. (Although, I believe it is going on right now.) If the Chinese officials are trying to make a friendship instead of a rivalry between U.S., it is clear that they are also expecting a soft approach from the U.S.
This also shows that China is also being careful of this relationship. Many people thinks of China as a reckless country, but China is a strong country with a big brain. They have factors that we, as a country lack.

Greener Facebook?

In Thomas L. Friedman's writting, Hot, Flat and Crowded, He scolds pollution and demands better environment for our future generation. This is another unique approach to his wish.

Environmental activist organization Greenpeace just won’t get off Facebook’s case for planning to invest in a data center facility that happens to be powered by “dirty coal-fired electricity.” The latest development is that the Greenpeace Executive Director Kumi Naidoo has sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking him to reconsider its planned facility in Prineville, Oregon, which uses power from Pacific Power. As evidence that Facebook SHOULD be interested in this issue, Naidoo points to the Facebook: Unfriend Coal page, which actually has close to 600,000 followers right now. Greenpeace appears to be wanting to guilt Facebook into reconsidering its position by pointing to what other huge forces in cloud computing are doing right:

“Other cloud-based companies face similar choices and challenges as you do in building data centers, yet many are making smarter and cleaner investments. Google, for instance, entered into a long-term agreement with a large wind power producer earlier this month. It has demonstrated that it is not only possible to prioritize the purchase of clean energy, but prudent as well.”

Facebook is something that symbolizes our flat world. If you have a computer and internet connection, talking to anybody in the world is no problem. Facebookis one of the cloud-based companies, very popular, having more than 500 million users. Facebook using a dirty coal electricity is in fact shocking and unexpected since the main trend of the day is "eco-friendly". If Facebook goes by Greenpeace's suggestion, this would be a great advance, knowing that Facebook is a huge company.

China Growth Merely Moderating?

In Thomas L. Friedman's book, Hot, Flat and Crowded, He mentions China many times, the country growing its economy faster than anybody.

The mixed picture reflected the uncertainties haunting the global economy. U.S. unemployment and household debt remain high and the country’s property market is still fragile. At the same time, much of the Asia-Pacific region continues to stand out with buoyant, although moderating growth.

Growth in China, which this year leapfrogged Japan to become the second-largest economy in the world, behind the United States, has been supported by a giant government stimulus package and ample lending by state-controlled banks.

The pace of expansion in China has somewhat moderated in recent months, as the government has instructed banks to lend less and as various tools designed to curb speculative investments in the soaring property market have stalled excessive price increases in the sector.

But the manufacturing data on Wednesday, which gave the first insight into how the economy performed in August, showed that the modest slowdown of the past few months had not become a worrying decline.

This article shows how the world is observing China very carefully, and patiently. China is a country that interests and shocks people with their very fast growing and government controlled economy. When the world is facing a big recession, the attention rises even more, people curious of how China will react to challenges that a country can face during a world wide recession. All though this article have mention the decline was "not worrying", This is still something fascinating knowing the past economy rush of China. Something like this "little decline" can happen any time and it might not matter, but it is good to watch China and its unstoppable economy.

When Rare Earths Get Rarer

In the book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, by Tom Friedman, he encourages green technology, something that will free us from oil/gasoline dependency and for a better environment and future.

During the summer break, China’s commerce ministry cut export quotas for so-called rare earth elements by 72 percent for the second half of this year.
This has serious implications. Rare earth elements are playing a rapidly growing role in our drive toward a high-tech, low-carbon economy, in everything from batteries for hybrid and plug-in cars to catalysts in energy-efficient light bulbs.
The rare-earth element terbium, for example, can cut the electricity demand of lights by up to 80 percent, while fractions of dysprosium can significantly reduce the weight of magnets in electric motors. Rare earth elements also have found military applications.
China holds the largest reserves of rare earths and is responsible for over 95 percent of their current global production. Beijing is well aware of the importance of these strategic resources. In 1992, Deng Xiaoping noted that “the Middle East has its oil, China has rare earth.”

This is very interesting and exiting, knowing that China is a big, big manufacture in the world. If China succeeds at this green technology plan, because it is China, the the whole world can benefit greatly from it. This can expand our possibility of energy use and other researches of green technology. This is another stepping stone for low-carbon, high tech economy which the world desperately needs.