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Oct. 16th, 2005
About writing Congress...
Oct. 16th, 2005 01:51 pmEven mining associations think this law needs to be updated. Often it's used to get hold of prime property and not mine it, but re-sell it for $$$$$ for development. Many of the ski resorts were purchased this way.
Colorado Residents Challenge Mining Laws
"The ruddy slopes of 12,392-foot Mount Emmons loom over this town, drawing hikers, backcountry skiers and snowshoers. But to residents such as Jim Starr, they also stand for what is wrong with the nation's antiquated mining laws.
Those laws allowed the Bush administration to sell 155 acres of public land on the "Red Lady" to a mining company for less than $900. The land has deposits of molybdenum, a gray metal used to make steel, alloys and lubricants.
"It's a huge threat. If anyone did put a mine in there, it's hard to imagine that it would not destroy this area," said Starr, a lawyer and Democratic chairman of Gunnison County's board of commissioners.
The sale was made possible by an 1872 mining law that lets the government sell, for just $2.50 or $5 an acre, public lands that contain minerals. This land sale, known as a patent, gives companies absolute title to the property."
Colorado Residents Challenge Mining Laws
"The ruddy slopes of 12,392-foot Mount Emmons loom over this town, drawing hikers, backcountry skiers and snowshoers. But to residents such as Jim Starr, they also stand for what is wrong with the nation's antiquated mining laws.
Those laws allowed the Bush administration to sell 155 acres of public land on the "Red Lady" to a mining company for less than $900. The land has deposits of molybdenum, a gray metal used to make steel, alloys and lubricants.
"It's a huge threat. If anyone did put a mine in there, it's hard to imagine that it would not destroy this area," said Starr, a lawyer and Democratic chairman of Gunnison County's board of commissioners.
The sale was made possible by an 1872 mining law that lets the government sell, for just $2.50 or $5 an acre, public lands that contain minerals. This land sale, known as a patent, gives companies absolute title to the property."
Biggest Wi-Fi Cloud Is in Rural Oregon
Oct. 16th, 2005 02:02 pmWhy does this exist? Because the big boys didn't think they could make any money at it, so a smaller business made a proposal. (And it was an Austin, TX company!)
"While cities around the country are battling over plans to offer free or cheap Internet access, this lonely terrain is served by what is billed as the world's largest hotspot, a wireless cloud that stretches over 700 square miles of landscape so dry and desolate it could have been lifted from a cowboy tune."
"While cities around the country are battling over plans to offer free or cheap Internet access, this lonely terrain is served by what is billed as the world's largest hotspot, a wireless cloud that stretches over 700 square miles of landscape so dry and desolate it could have been lifted from a cowboy tune."
Our Diplomats' Arabic Handicap
Oct. 16th, 2005 10:30 pmForeign languages are not my strong suit, one of the few things I would change in the blink of an eye, if the Powers That Be asked me if I thought they'd forgotten to give me anything important for this trip around the solar system. But if I had any talent at language at all, I'd be in Spanish first (the classes always filled first, and I was pressured to take French, the "collegiate language") followed by Chinese, Arabic and Japanese.
Unfortunately, we provide NO incentives to our Foreign Service people to try and become level 4, or near-fluent, in any language. We don't even teach level 4.
Here's a suggestion or two from a person who has observed this on both sides of the aisle, civilian and FS:
"At a time when the U.S. government has an urgent need both to understand what's being said in the Arab world and to express our own views clearly, surely every U.S. embassy in the Mideast is staffed with at least several American diplomats who speak Arabic, right? Well, no. Four years after 9/11, we're still a very long way from achieving this fundamental goal, as the State Department's internal performance reviews and interviews with human resource and language training staff make clear. Policy is not the problem: State Department planning documents call for increased Arabic language capabilities in the Foreign Service. The problem is that the way we're going about meeting this goal guarantees failure."
Unfortunately, we provide NO incentives to our Foreign Service people to try and become level 4, or near-fluent, in any language. We don't even teach level 4.
Here's a suggestion or two from a person who has observed this on both sides of the aisle, civilian and FS:
"At a time when the U.S. government has an urgent need both to understand what's being said in the Arab world and to express our own views clearly, surely every U.S. embassy in the Mideast is staffed with at least several American diplomats who speak Arabic, right? Well, no. Four years after 9/11, we're still a very long way from achieving this fundamental goal, as the State Department's internal performance reviews and interviews with human resource and language training staff make clear. Policy is not the problem: State Department planning documents call for increased Arabic language capabilities in the Foreign Service. The problem is that the way we're going about meeting this goal guarantees failure."
Virtual Postcards....
Oct. 16th, 2005 11:07 pmIf someone here sent me a virtual postcard, you'll have to identify yourself. (It came through as anonymous, and as an .exe.) Otherwise, I'll delete it.
I like flying so low, I don't even show up on radar... .
I like flying so low, I don't even show up on radar... .