Going Solar

(Appeared in the Iranian Jewish Chronicle)

"Going Green" isn't just good for the planet – it's good for the pocketbook, too

We've been hearing a lot lately about "saving the earth". But the Jewish concept is much older. We call it "Tikkun Olam," and halachically, it's the idea that G-d didn't finish creation, but put each of us here to do our small part to complete the work.

One form of saving that's come into prominence this year is solar power. It saves energy, it saves money, and it's a growing part of the work to save the planet.

Technology has been moving forward, but the biggest change in the solar environment comes from the political side: at both the state and federal level, governments are encouraging people and businesses to go solar.

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Putting money where their mouth is

"California has shown some incredible leadership," says Isaac Hamadan, of Solar Energy Exchange. "The California Solar Initiative makes direct grants that cover 23 percent of your costs."

On top of that, the Federal Government provides direct tax credits for 30 percent of the total bill for homes and businesses (although home use is capped at $2000 right now). Plus, you can depreciate it over five years. And of course, it provides electric power, cutting your power bill by 80 percent or more depending your configuration.

"The cost of electricity is going up every year," says Abe Moradian of Beverly Hills, "so I think I'll get my investment back sooner than they think. Living here, my bills are particularly high. I've had months where my bill is $300, and months when I'm heating my pool where it goes as high as $600."

As president of AMC International, a trade consulting company, Moradian knows how to figure a balance sheet. But, he says, making this decision was about more than the bottom line.

"It's clean energy. And it's good for energy independence, and that's good for everybody."

Moradian is a pretty typical solar customer: he's doing an installation on a pre-existing home, with panels built on to the roof, plus he's getting a passive solar heating system built around his pool.

Pool systems run around $5,000, and can pay for themselves in just three years. Full-house systems run from $20,000 to $40,000, and can pay for themselves in 10 years or less. Plus, Hamadan notes, you can finance them with a home equity line of credit, they add value to your home, and they're property-tax-exempt.

Doing good and looking good

For those who don't relish the though of industrial-looking black panels overlooking their front yard – the past couple of years have seen some amazing new products hit the market.

"I now have solar panels that are terracotta colored, so they don't stand out like big black panels," says Rick White, or California Solar. "We specialize in photovoltaic panels that are integrated into roofing tiles. They match the roof, and they're built right in, totally integrated with the other roofing tiles."

Likewise, for those with shingle roofs, there are now solar panels that match those. The solar becomes just one component to a standard roof. Plus they last longer than standard shingles or terracotta – and unlike standard roofing which bakes in the sun on hot days, these panels take the sun's energy and turn them into power – making a significant dent in air conditioning bills, as well.

"The system panels I install are warranteed for 25 years," says Hamadan. "That's confidence. How long will they actually last? We think 30 years or more."

Becoming part of the system

One of the most exciting things happening now is what's called "Grid-tied" systems. With this setup, your solar system is linked in with the power grid. During the hot mid-day hours when you're generating lots of power, the excess flows into the power grid, actually running your meter backwards! You're credited for the power during the day; after the sun goes down, you pull the power you were credited back in from the grid.

You can also get a system with full battery-backups, so you can store the power yourself. Or, you can combine the two.

"The other cool thing," says White, "it'll manage your energy. Some people, especially businesses, are on time- of-usage charges – buying electricity during peak periods will charge you more than at 3 a.m. when demand is low. This system fills up the batteries in the middle of the night when energy is cheap, and then you use it during the day when energy is expensive."

Becoming part of the solution

It's nice when you can combine doing the right thing with doing the smart thing. Most forms of Tikun Olam are like that, when you look at them closely.

"I believe it's the future," says Hamadan. "It's the only way we can really survive – we can't move forward with all this usage of crude oil. Electrical demand keeps rising – we can meet that with solar, instead of building more plants that burn coal and oil and gas, and pollute the air our children have to breath.

"This is much better for the earth, and for us."

Going to Scotland for the Waters

(Published in Luxury Life & Style Magazine)

“Go ahead, try it.”

“Really?” I ask.

“Sure.”

The speaker is our tour guide at the Lagavulin distillery on the isle of Islay, off Scotland’s craggy west coast. He holds a long, snake-like hose that drops down from a pipe in the ceiling of this plain concrete room. Tapping the valve, he spurts a shot of clear liquid into a large copper ewer.

He ladles a little into my cupped hands. I bring it to my mouth. It is harsh, vibrant, crystalline, and redolent of the smoky-oily aroma of peat.

This is whisky, the raw stuff fresh from the still. The water of life, pure and unadulterated.

There are bars that have amazing selections on their top shelf; there are restaurants with cellars full of the most exquisite vintages. But you’re not going to get this anywhere else.



Nobody is sure if it was the alchemists or the monks who first started calling the amazing liquid they distilled from wine “aqua vitae,” or “water of life.” It was clear to them that it has some sort of animating spirit, though. When touched with a candle it burned with an angelic light, and when imbibed – oh, my! – it made men feel like little less than angels.

The Scotts who set up shop as distillers became particularly skilled. And the spirit they created – they translated “water of life” into gaelic and called it “uisge beatha”, shortened to ‘uisge’ and thence ‘whisky’ – has been particularly prized all over the world.

Paying a visit to Scotland is a perfect way to both refine that appreciation for those already delighted by whisky, or to instill it in those just learning. And a visit to Islay (pronounced “eye-luh”) is ground zero. There are three main Whisky-producing regions, each with its own character: Speyside, the main region along the river Spey with dozens of distilleries; Highland, scattered across the Scottish hill country; and Islay. On this tiny, heather-covered granite rock in the ocean, there are 4,000 inhabitants and eight distinctly world-class distilleries.


I start my pilgrimage on the south side of the island, with three distilleries that put out some of the most intensely flavorful whiskies in the world: Lagavulin, Ardbeg and Laphroaig.

There are five elements that determine a whisky’s flavor, and must be carefully controlled by the master distiller. The first step is selecting the finest locally-grown barley, and malting it. This involves sprouting the grain to convert the starches to sugars, making it sweet and intensely flavorful. Next, the malted grains are dried over a slow fire of peat, which adds the first level of smoky peatiness to the blend.

Peat is ubiquitous in Scotland, and particularly on Islay – this moss cousin grows thick on the ground in the damp atmosphere, building up over the years into a deep cushion, springy in some places and squelchy in others. In a land with few trees, peat has been harvested as fuel for centuries – cut with a spade into brick-sized blocks, dried, and then burned.

Peat also adds its distinctive smoky-rich flavor to the second element: the water. Here on the southern part the island the distilleries get their water from the lochs and streams (or “burns”, in the local parlance) that pick up the warm, rich aroma of the peat as they flow through it. The water is added to the malted barley to dissolve off the sugars, then transferred to great oaken or steel vessels called tuns, where it ferments over several days.

The fermenting rooms reek like... a brewery, the kind of smell you get at a frat house after a long weekend when too much beer has been spilled into the carpet. It will take a few steps to arrive at something more pleasant, since the fermenting only takes you to about 8 percent alcohol.

Next it’s time for distillation, a process that was probably first developed by the Greeks of classical times, perfected by Moslem experimenters in the middle ages, and then spread through Europe by alchemists and monks. On the European continent the monks kept the secrets to themselves, but in Scotland and Ireland the monasteries were busted up by Henry VIII, and the monks who were skilled distillers set up shop on their own.

The stills at each establishment are completely unique, the result of two or three centuries of experimentation, trial and error, and careful attention to the tiniest detail. The masters tell us that even such prosaic details as dents and dings in the smooth copper sheathing of the still have an effect on the flavor, and are carefully reproduced when individual copper plates have to be replaced. It’s hard to believe, but then, it’s also hard to argue with the results they get.

The fermented liquid, called “The Wash”, is fed into the base of the pot still and heated. The vapors of the alcohol rise up into the neck, where most of them are pulled off to condense via water cooling. Then the distilled spirit is run through a second still in a complex process – the first stage spirit (“the Foreshot”) is too harsh, and is fed back into the still, while the late-stage spirit is too weak. It’s only the stuff from the middle phase of the process that is suitable, and part of the job of the master distiller is to monitor that closely and know exactly which should be re-distilled and which is ready to be fed into that pipe that leads out into the filling room.

The fourth element is the casks. By law, all whisky must be aged a minimum of three years in oak casks - generally used barrels from Kentucky bourbon, although some use sherry or port casks for additional flavor. It is the slow process of aging that imparts to the whiskey its distinctive golden color, as well as mellow flavors from the barrels.

The final element is location - Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg are all right on the sea (for ease of transport back in the early days), and it does seem that some of the salty, iodine character of the sea air is absorbed by the whisky.

Laphroaig also has a special program, called Friends of Laphroaig. If you’re a true fan, they will endow you with lifetime ownership of a square foot of Islay; when you arrive for a visit you’re treated not just as a customer or guest, but as part-owner. And your rent will be paid promptly, with a dram of their finest spirit. (Not to worry, the other establishments will let you sample their wares as well, although not with quite the same flare.)


The distilleries on the north end of the island – Bruichladdich, Bowmore, Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain – use spring water rather than the highly-peated waters of the south, to produce a gentler spirit. But even so, the flavor is distinctive, and to many palates more intense than the whiskies produced on the mainland. And Bruichladdich, which was recently resurrected by a small group of private investors, is doing some experimentation, including offering a highly-peated variety that out-smokes any other brand on the market, and a fully-organic whisky made from some of the finest barley grown anywhere.

All that sea air and traipsing over the moors is bound to bring on an appetite, and the good news is: the Scotts have much more to offer on the culinary side than haggis. The Port Charlotte Hotel is the finest spot on the island for both room and board; nearly all accommodations look out over the ocean, and the dining room offers a delightful assortment of beef and lamb from local farms and locally-caught seafood. Try the venison, the big Loch Gruinart oysters with lemon and lime or the Loch Etive mussels. (and make sure to reserve your table, as it fills early). And after dinner, you can sample more whisky – the bar carries more than 100 varieties – and enjoy some local music by the log fire.

There’s more to Islay than food and drink, of course. The ubiquitous sheep yield a fine wool that the locals weave into beautiful blankets and, of course, kilts; there’s a fine golf course, if that’s your speed. And there are several ruined castles, from the day when the head of Clan MacDonald was known as the Lord of Isles and ruled all of western Scotland from his seat at Finlaggen.


Islay boasts the most intense whiskies, but there are hundreds of other distilleries, many worthy of a visit. Dalwhinnie is both the finest and highest of the Highland group, perched in a mountain pass on the confluence of old cattle trails. The two most popular whiskies in the world, Glenfiddich and Glenlivet, each offer tours and tastings. And Highland Park is a unique, wild, isolated outpost on the far-north Orkney Islands.

One advantage to a Scotland visit: the country is tiny! So you can, if you want, stay in the heart of Edinburgh at the luxurious Balmoral Hotel, do the distilleries as a series of day trips, and be back in time for afternoon tea at the Palm Court or a session at the Balmoral Spa. The Speyside distilleries are easily reached by car (just a couple of hours north), and Islay or the Orkneys are an even shorter “puddle-jumper” flight; you can also arrange for tours through the hotel.

Or you can take your time in the grand old peripatetic style. The Minmore Hotel is conveniently located right on the Glenlivet Estate, and was named “The Most Spirited Restaurant” in Saveur magazine’s top 100 list this year. They’re renowned for such intensely Scottish dishes as red venison topped with duck liver foie gras and red wine sauce with chocolate.

And the countryside is dotted with castles, many of which have been transformed into first-class hostelries. Inverlochy Castle was voted Best Hotel in Europe by Travel + Leisure magazine last year; the Loch Torridon Hotel was once a grand shooting lodge for the first Earl of Lovelace. If you choose to stay at the Kinnaird Estate – set within 7,000 acres acres on the banks of the Tay in Pershire, offering salmon fishing, partridge shoots, and a full restaurant and spa, you may not want to leave and go anywhere else!

That is, in fact, the hardest part of a Scottish vacation – leaving! But at least you can take a couple of bottles of the country’s signature spirit home with you, to sip by your own fire and relive the memories.

The Mobile Hybrid Experience

Sometimes we wonder how much what we do here ripples out into the wider world.

I was down at the Fiesta Hermosa this past weekend - you'd think that in the chi chi beach cities of LA you'd see greening everywhere, but of approximately 200 craft vendors, I only spotted a paltry two doing anything remotely sustainable; food was of the American Standard burgers and beer variety; and they didn't even have recycling bins for folks to chuck their diet soda cans into.

But just when I was feeling disheartened I laid eyes on a very cool visual - a 53-foot trailer emblazoned with the words "Mobile Hybrid Experience". Inside, a bookish blond in a blue Toyota t-shirt explained that this is part of the company's "Highway to the Future" project, and we're welcome to explore the interactive activities and games.

And as incentive, she handed each of us a little packet of organic basil seeds - there's a bar-code on each packet, and bar-code readers at each of the stations, so you receive 50 to 100 'miles' for each activity you do. Learn about the different energy contributions of hydrogen, gasoline, biodiesel, natural gas and electric vehicles, and you get enough points for a pencil. Hit a couple more stations, and learn about hybrids - how the lithium ion battery works, or how the breaking system pumps electricity back into the battery - and you've got enough points to have a tree planted by the Arbor Day Foundation. Play the driving game - okay, it's not really a game, more of a demo, but you're seated, there are foot pedals and a steering wheel, and a big video-game screen - and you have enough for the coolest prize, a self-generating flashlight that Ed Begley Jr. has made famous (shake it... it charges... it lights up!).

The prize system is brilliant, since most people coming through are motivated to get the flashlight and actually read through all the info, took the quizzes, played the games.

"Our average is 22 minutes spent, which is huge for event marketing," notes Mark Ulbrich, the West Coast road producer. "And we're getting 800 to 1,000 people a day to step back and look at how they're relying on finite resources, to look at other solutions."

And with the scanner system, Toyota is getting a huge amount of invaluable data - on what average people are interested in and what kinds of marketing pushes are effective in reaching them. Logically, they are taking the show on the road. Follow the link to find out how you can get your own Mobile Hybrid Experience.

Tikit to Ride

(Crossposted at EcoFabulous)

Honoring Friday seems like a pretty excellent thing to do and since we haven't talked about transportation in a while, I hope this rolls you into a great weekend. Biking to work is great for the planet and a great workout... but what do you do with the bike all day? Many commuters have problems with parking, storage and theft. So wouldn't it be great if you could just pedal to the office, fold up your ride and stash it under your desk? Now you can.

Bike Friday has been specializing in high-end folding bikes for almost twenty years, guaranteeing staying power. This winter they launched the Tikit, an ultra-compact two wheeler (though ultra compact is still lightly subjective).

Check out the video of it folding and unfolding on YouTube. Not only does it collapse into a nice, tight bundle, but the process takes less than three seconds! Even short-attention-spanners will love this.

Now, before you start making reservations for some extreme adventure, keep in mind that you are not going to be dirtbiking the Tikit up a mountain, or cruising to victory in the Tour de France. The wheels are smallish (they have to be), and because of the frame joints, you don't want to be doing any kind of high-impact riding. But that's not the Tikit's calling. The Tikit loves the supermarket, coffeehouses and bus trips. No need to worry about bike racks, roof racks, or having it stolen off the front porch.

The company is still owned and operated by the Sholz family - Alan and Hanz set up their Wright Brothers-like shop in the '90s, initially building folding bikes with the world traveler in mind. But they realized that they could have an impact on fossil fuels by encouraging folks to switch their commute from "hydrocarbons to carbs", as they say. And pretty chic to boot, minus the elephant-sized sack.

Twisted Sitter

(Cross-posted at EcoFabulous)
"This ain't yo momma's wicker," says designer/architect Bannavis Andrew Sribyatta of PIE (Project Import Export), and it’s so true. The forms of his singular seating are truly organic, from the Tonecoon, a peanut-form based on Thai flower buds, to the Sushi double-loveseat that looks like a thumb-impressed mound of sushi rice, to the womb-like Spacehog.

The materials are all natural and sustainable, including rattan, liana, bamboo and water hyacinth (the latter being an invasive and destructive weed that clogs Florida waterways – how great to find a creative use for that!). There’s an art-out-of-chaos element to his material patterns, and in addition to the standard fabric-like weaves, there’s a frantic fractal irregular interweave that is not only cool to look at, admittedly, to my surprise it is very comfy to sit in!

Doie as I Do

Indie design has been pushing boundaries... and the world has been playing catch-up.

Take Sara Kirsner, a California girl (Marin) who was drawn to New York by the Parsons School. She's worked with Marc Jacobs and Ann Taylor, but was inspired to do her own Asian-influenced line, Doie, while traveling in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Cotton lounge-wear was her thing, but she was moved to start using alternative fabrics when she learned about some of the not-so-friendly effects that conventional cotton has on the environment. When she discovered she could get jersey (a light, breathable fabric) made from bamboo fiber, she was totally blown away.

Why bamboo? It's incredibly soft, it's unbelievably strong, it has naturally anti-microbial properties (it's not so much sweat that gets you stinky, but the bacteria that feed on your perspiration - bamboo blocks that) and it's eco-friendly.

Cotton requires massive amount of water, tons of pesticides and a ridiculous amount of petroleum-based fertilizer. In contrast, Bamboo grows fast and sustainably without artificial assistance, doesn't require pesticides, and provides income to otherwise impoverished folks in the developing world without the kind of nasty monoculture impact that crops like coffee can have.

Oh - and it's cold-water washable.

Kirstner's new line, the Harusame Collection, adds some versatile Asian-inspired dresses to the already-successful loungeware, melding simple black with splashes of accent color; it's available at an assortment of online stores as well as bricks & mortars such as Fred Segal and Whole Foods. Makes me want to slip into something more comfortable.

Spring Into Equinox

(Crossposted at EcoFabulous)
It's doubtful that you would consider the Chevy Equinox a luxury vehicle (it is more of a tough little SUV)... but what they're doing with it is pretty ambitious and potentially appealing. Starting next fall, the folks at Chevrolet are doing a test-market of an all-electric vehicle powered by hydrogen fuel cells. This is the same power system as the definitively cool Chevy Sequel concept car. It is capable of 750 pounds of passenger/cargo payload, can travel 200 miles between recharges, and cruise at speeds of 100 mph (note to Mel Gibson: don't try this in Malibu). Unlike hybrids, no gasoline is involved - hydrogen unites with oxygen in the cells to make H2O. Power goes to the wheels, and the tailpipe spews out nice, clean water vapor. Of course, the hydrogen has to be generated at a plant somewhere and there are lots of questions about that, so this anything but a perfect system; but it sure could help improve the air quality in U.S. cities.

And speaking of cities... if you live in metropolitan NYC, DC or Southern California, you're eligible for this fall's test-market. Register on the website, and you could be one of the lucky Top Guns to put these cutting-edge vehicles through their paces on your daily commute. Hopefully this is not just another distraction by major vehicle manufacturers.

On a lighter note....

Brilliant.

He who knows and knows that he knows is a Teacher. Learn from him.
He who knows not and knows that he knows not is a student. Teach him.
He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a menace. Avoid him.
He who knows and knows not that he knows is our Attorney General. Impeach him.

More on Christianizing the military

Navy vet: Chaplains tried converting me

By William Petroski - The Des Moines Register
Posted : Monday May 14, 2007 12:35:14 EDT

Navy veteran David Miller said that when he checked into the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Iowa City, he didn’t realize he would get a hard sell for Christian fundamentalism along with treatment for his kidney stones.

Miller, 46, an Orthodox Jew, said he was repeatedly proselytized by hospital chaplains and staff in attempts to convert him to Christianity during three hospitalizations over the past two years.
(More below the fold...)

He said he went hungry each time because the hospital wouldn’t serve him kosher food, and the staff refused to contact his rabbi, who could have brought him something to eat.

Miller, an Iowa City resident and former petty officer third class who spent four years in the Navy, outlined his complaints at a news conference in Des Moines on Thursday. The event was sponsored by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an activist group based in Albuquerque, N.M.

He described the Iowa City facility as an institution permeated by government sponsorship of fundamentalist Christianity and unconstitutional discrimination against Jews.

Got yer peanuts....

The ultimate American snack food has gotten a bad rap. From tasteless bags at ballparks to being banned at pre-schools nationwide, beloved peanuts have become the black sheep of the nut family.

But remember how much you loved that roasted aroma at one time? David Wolfe of Sunfood has taken that atavistic experience to a whole new level. He has recently started bringing in the most amazing Amazonian Wild Jungle Peanuts - quite likely the original ancestors to all the commercial nuts grown today - cultivated by the Shuar tribe of the Ecuadorian rainforest.

These little guys are beautiful to look at; long and lean, with deep chocolate-colored stripes! And the flavor? Subtle yet rich, aromatic and earthy - intense. If you've ever compared the complexity of a wild strawberry to the blandness of big, styrofoamy commercial strawberries you'll have an inkling of the difference.

Not only are they prettier and tastier, but they're a nutritional revelation - containing 26 percent protein (more than hemp or flax seeds!), including all 8 essential aminos plus methionine, plus a whopping helping of the beautifying oleic acid. And best of all - unlike nearly all commercial peanuts, there's absolutely no aflatoxin, so you can pack a sack for the kiddies without the worry.

Additionally, you can soak these nuts to encourage them to quicken (germinating nuts have more nutrients, and less enzyme inhibitors); toss them in the blender with coconut milk, lime juice and Thai basil to make a peanut sauce that is simply divine! Oh, and the added environmental/social benefit I relish - the Shuar people are fighting off oil development, meaning that every bag purchased helps them protect the land, too.

(Note: You can now get them directly from Wolf's source, ELFWholesale.)

Congealed Electricity

(Cross-posted at EcoFabulous)

"Congealed electricity"?

It sounds very technical but it's actually the nickname they gave aluminum back in the '50s, since it's so incredibly energy-intensive to create. You'll actually find most aluminum smelters near hydroelectric dams (like those in Washington State).

The good news is that we have become such good recyclers that the volume of aluminum cans going into landfills is actually dropping! About half of the reclaimed metal goes straight back into cans; as for the rest, it goes into some very cool products, like this "Louis the Umpteenth side table" from Johnston-Ready, available at fab new online eco-shop greenwithglamour.com.

In place of the usual rococo gilding, the aluminum finish makes for a chic modern twist to Hollywood's most glam, without sacrificing the essential ornateness of the period.

You can also clean up with Eleek's sleek line of aluminum sinks, from the mod waterbox to the useful waterfalling with its built-in strainer (all available with artist patinas and powdercoats).

Holocaust Jokes at the Air Force Academy.

This is scary. But I'm glad somebody is trying to do something about it.

Because I love America: Reagan's Assistant General Counsel Speaks Out

Mikey Weinstein served as Assistant General Counsel for Ronald Reagan. He founded the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to ensure the continued separation of Church and State, as essential principle of America's Constitution.

When I began asking questions about what I saw going on at Colorado Springs in 2004 I never expected that the inquiry would lead me to the horrifying conclusion that our country had been taken over by people who have used our own freedoms to enslave us. But that is what happened. When I began I, like most people, was focused on the personal. I believed that what was happening at the United States Air Force Academy, the harassment of cadets and staff with unwanted evangelism, was limited in scope. As the months passed, however, I found myself forced to constantly reassess my basic assumptions

(More below the fold...)

"What you do when you have a 3 star general that's ordering his staff to put together a Powerpoint presentation showing the direct parallel between the Book Of Revelation and all of our movements in the AOR ? ( for you civilians - area of responsibility, Iraq and Afghanistan )

What do you do when have a four star general who favors the distribution of a pamphlet in his commander's bulding, his palace, advertising in all faiths and why "Jesus vs. Mohammed, An Examination of The Life of Both Prophets and Why Jesus is Superior To All" ?

Why was the most popular joke here at the Air Force Academy in 2004 "Why do Jews make the best magicians?" Anyone know ? Show of hands ? We make the best magicians, apparently because we have the magical ability to walk into a red brick building and come out the smokestacks in a puff of smoke."

...As a Republican and an Academy graduate I find myself in head-on conflict with my own oath to protect the Constitution. As a Jew I confronted a situation through ears that still hear the cries of my people walking silently into the brick buildings that would reduce them to ash. I cannot stand still and let that happen to my country.

There's an indepth analysis of this at DailyKos.

And you might want to support the Military Religious Freedom Foundation

Wolfowitz & World Bank: It's all about Iraq

It shouldn't come as a huge surprise, but the current scandal that might sink Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank is actually a sideshow to the real issue. His sweetheart, big-bucks deal for his girlfriend is just the "Al Capone/Tax Evasion" gambit.

And people have questioned why all this is coming out now - after all, these personel decisions were made a couple of years ago, right?

The real story is, as always, Iraq.

(More...)

The New York Times is reporting this morning (based on a Vanity Fair report from last week), that this isn't the first time that Riza has been involved in controversy (despite an earlier puff piece that pictured her as a good career bureaucrat who specialized in women's issues).

The Defense Department directed a private contractor in 2003 to hire Shaha Ali Riza, a World Bank employee and the companion of Paul D. Wolfowitz, then the deputy secretary of defense, to spend a month studying issues related to setting up a new government in Iraq, the contractor said Monday.
The contractor, Science Applications International Corporation, or SAIC, said that it had been directed to hire Ms. Riza by the office of the under secretary for policy. The head of that office at the time was Douglas J. Feith, who reported to Mr. Wolfowitz.
...Ms. Riza’s trip raised concerns among some bank officials, who said they did not know under whose auspices she had traveled to Iraq at a time when it was against bank policy for its officials to go there.
Bank officials said, however, that after the ouster of Mr. Hussein, the Bush administration tried to get the bank to help assist in the redevelopment of Iraq and that it was trying to involve the United Nations in the occupation to provide a rationale for the bank’s assistance.

That first attempt to involve the WB in Iraqi reconstruction came to an end in the bombing that killed the UN envoy, along with a WB employee.

But then Wolfowitz arrived at the WB as President - with no development experience, no banking experience, but plenty of (theoretical, at least) Iraq experience.

Let's let Bea Edwards at Whistleblower.org take up the story:

Only three months after Wolfowitz’ arrival, the Bank’s Board tried to restrain his management of World Bank operations in Iraq explicitly, issuing an unprecedented directive to his office to “[K]eep the Board regularly updated on developments in the country (Iraq) and implementation of the ISN” (Interim Strategy Note, September 2005, see GAP Web site). One year later, 30-year veteran Christiaan Poortman, vice-president for the Middle East, resigned from the World Bank rather than comply with Wolfowitz’s directives to prepare to increase lending and add staff in Iraq.

“In fact, the Bank is prohibited from operating in a conflict like this... In the simplest financial terms, there is no functioning banking system, the government does not control its territory and it cannot guarantee loan repayment. Any emergency or social funding in Iraq should come from donors’ grants, not loans.”

To engage in Iraq, the World Bank must justify reconstruction spending on economic grounds. If the conflict is ongoing, and the government is unstable, this cannot be done. Even assuming that the conflict ends soon, which no one is predicting, Bank Procedure 2.30 (“Development Cooperation and Conflict”) stipulates that, to operate in a country emerging from a conflict, the Bank must prepare a “watching brief,” develop a transitional support strategy, begin transitional reconstruction, then begin post-conflict reconstruction, and finally return to normal lending.

World Bank management under Wolfowitz has not taken these steps.

Although the Board did approve a limited loan program for Iraq of U.S. $500 million in September 2005, funds were not approved for disbursal, as of December 31, 2006. Disbursement was contingent on “critical progress in several areas important to IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) creditworthiness, including security and external debt-relief,” according to an internal memo from December 2006 (See GAP’s Web site). The required progress has not occurred. Currently, regular staff travel to Iraq is prohibited, meaning that lending operations cannot be properly monitored.

So that means the World Bank isn't moving into Iraq, right?
Wrong.

WASHINGTON, Feb 22 (IPS) - World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz may appoint a new resident director for Iraq soon, a move that sources inside the Bank say could contradict the institution's policies on engagement in conflict-stricken areas and put his role in the 2003 U.S. invasion back into the limelight.
The move by Wolfowitz, the former number two official at the Pentagon and a main architect of the U.S.-led war, likely means the Bank would release new loans to the occupied Arab nation, despite the deteriorating security situation and recent disclosures of massive corruption in reconstruction efforts.

That's the story. The Busheviks are trying to extend hundreds of millions of additional dollars to their good buddies, courtesy of the World Bank. And the honest folks at the bank are appalled, and fighting back the only way they can.

Expect to see more reports like this in the next few days, from Bloomberg:

Wolfowitz, 62, ``has placed considerably more trust in a small group of outsiders from the Republican Party than in the seasoned experts in the bank,'' said Alison Cave, head of the World Bank staff association, which represents more than 13,000 employees.

Wolfowitz, in a written statement from his press office, said plans for a ``modest, incremental upgrading'' of Iraq operations came in response to donor nations and were approved by the Mideast department.

Half of the bank's 29 highest-level executives have departed since Wolfowitz, the former U.S. deputy Defense secretary and an architect of President George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq, took office in June 2005. Among them is Christiaan Poortman, vice president for the Middle East and a 30-year World Bank veteran, who left in September after resisting pressure to speed up the pace of lending and adding staff in Iraq.

(Note Worlfie's cute parsing - moving from no Iraq office and personell at all to a full in-country operation is a "modest, incremental upgrading"; and the typical Abu Gonzales parsing in which he puts responsibility for the decision on the "donor nations" making the request, and approval by the Mideast department.)

And you can bet you'll be seeing
a lot more like this, from the Nelson Report (via Agonist):

Recall the early days of 2001, when “job lists” were the name of the game here in Washington, you would find Wolfowitz on everyone’s short list for the CIA, not for DOD. Something happened which knocked Wolfowitz off the intelligence side of the equation. What you might have forgotten (if you ever knew) is why:

A certain Ms. Riza was even then Wolfowitz’s true love. The problem for the CIA wasn’t just that she was a foreign national, although that was and is today an issue for anyone interested in CIA employment. The problem was that Wolfowitz was married to someone else, and that someone was really angry about it, and she found a way to bring her complaint directly to the President.

So when we, with our characteristic innocence, put Wolfowitz on our short-list for CIA, we were instantly told, by a very, very, very senior Republican foreign policy operative, “I don’t think so”. It was then gently explained why, purely on background, of course.

"Bright" as in "Smart"

(Cross-posted at EcoFabulous.)

Think about light bulbs.

Millions of light bulbs. In scoreboards and moving displays. Think of the trash as they burn out and are replaced.

Now, think of LEDs. Millions of tiny little near-immortal LEDs. All computer-controlled with a degree of precision and sharpness you could never get from light bulbs, and all using 95% less power.

Element Labs is doing it in spectacular fashion, from concerts to sports arenas to homes – check out the 45,000 square foot display that covered the length of the stadium for the Asian Games in Doha. They’ve become a staple of concert tours and music videos, and now they’re moving into high-end restaurants and very high-end homes.

The possibilities are endless: imagine a wall in your living room that’s a non-stop moving art installation… or a display that can give you sunshine on a cloudy day. But beware when you tell your friends and neighbors - they will certainly all want to come over and share the spot light(s)!!

Why can't Dems do this?

Wow. An actual piece of journalism, in which the WaPo's Dan Eggan draws in background info and compares Whitehouse cant with self-contradictory statements they have been making!

A half-dozen sitting U.S. attorneys also serve as aides to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales or are assigned other Washington postings, performing tasks that take them away from regular duties in their districts for months or even years at a time, according to officials and department records.

Acting Associate Attorney General William W. Mercer, for example, has been effectively absent from his job as U.S. attorney in Montana for nearly two years -- prompting the chief federal judge in Billings to demand his removal and call Mercer's office "a mess."

My first thought when I read the opener was, "But that's just what they accused Iglesias of doing...". Ignominiously, of course, since he was "absent for weeks at a time" because of his role in the NATIONAL GUARD.

(More...)

I was prepared for the admin's statements to go unchallenged as always, but Eggan lays it all out, Boom-boom-boom:

"Having U.S. attorneys serve at the department ensures that a local perspective is brought to policy-making decisions," Roehrkasse said in a statement. ". . . U.S. Attorneys assigned to the Department's headquarters also gain a national perspective and can bring this perspective and national focus to their districts."

But [Dennis Boyd, executive director of the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys,] said the prolonged absence of a chief prosecutor can lead to a lack of direction and leadership in U.S. attorneys' offices. The Justice Department made a similar argument in defending the firing of Iglesias, alleging that he had entrusted too much responsibility to his first assistant.

"Quite frankly, U.S. attorneys are hired to run the office, not their first assistants," William E. Moschella, the principal associate deputy attorney general, told the House Judiciary Committee last month.

Iglesias filed a complaint with federal investigators last week, alleging that his dismissal amounted to discrimination based on his status as an officer in the Navy Reserve, which took him away from the job for 40 to 45 days a year. Alleged absenteeism has been the Justice Department's main public criticism of Iglesias, although officials have more recently added concerns about his handling of voter fraud and immigration cases to their arguments about him.

Read the whole piece... it's apparent that something different is starting to happen.

Why? I hate to say it, but... there isn't a Democrat quoted in the story. The good news is, we've got Republicans like Boyd making the hard-hitting points that the Dems just have not been getting in.

Let's face it - we've been playing nicey-nice. Look at the Pelosi issue - Holbrook made some hard-hitting comments, but as Greg Sargent noted, "I haven't seen any Democratic elected officials or direct Pelosi allies denouncing this story in such stark terms as Holbrooke did."

We still go out there acting as if it's not our job to hand the MSM the story on a plate. Well, guess what? The Repubs have been doing that for years, and it works, and we've been getting our asses handed to us.

Can we please put together a boot camp weekend for Democratic officeholders that teaches them how to do this? How to go into inverviews with background info, talking points, snappy one-liners - whatever it takes!

Until we master this, we're going to be doing nothing but playing defense.

Follow-up:

I cross-posted at Dailykos, and got a very interesting discussion going...

Someone - buy me dinner with Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame!

Oooh, I like this...

The Robert Kennedy Foundation is holding its celebrity auction, with bidding to close on April 6th.

Plamegate junkie that I am, my favorite would have to be dinner with Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame. Any generous souls out there feel like buying it for me - or Marcy Wheeler? As of this writing, the bid is at $2,650.

There's a bunch of fun stuff up, all to raise money for the Foundation's charitable activities....

You could have a walk-on role in the next Farrely Bros. movie; current bidding there is $4,250. That would be cool....

Or how about a set visit to Boston Legal and a cigar with Legal eagle William Shatner? Boldly puff for just $5,500...

The one I just don't get: breakfast or tea with Alan Greenspan and Andrea Mitchell. Even if the dude was head of the Fed all those years... chilling with him might be worth $45,000, but not if you have to put up with HER as well...

Hail, Sigg!

Plastic water bottles.

Before you know it they build up under the back seat of the car, they hide in the corners of the kitchen, they sneak under the couch.

But where do you stow 30 million plastic water bottles? That’s how many bottles Americans are adding to landfills every single day. It’s not just the landfilling – all of those bottles were manufactured (using lots of power and 63 million gallons of oil per year), packed into cardboard boxes (millions and millions of trees – often rainforest trees - cut down), then trucked around the country (more petroleum).

Plus, NRDC discovered that a “third of the tested [bottled water] brands were found to contain contaminants such as arsenic and carcinogenic compounds in at least some samples at levels exceeding state or industry standards.” So, kick the plastic habit - it's amazing how easy it is once you re-train your brain!

You can’t beat Swiss design – Sigg has just added some seriously stylish patterns to their classic line of vibrantly-colored brushed-aluminum water bottles. They’ve even got a tres cute kids line.

Sigg bottles are seamlessly extruded from a single piece of aluminum (no seams=no leaks); a proprietary interior coating is baked on to ensure the bottle won’t interact with anything you choose to swig from it, from apple juice to CO2 drinks to alcohol (think of it as a modern flask); a powder coating is baked on the exterior to attain those cool colors and designs; the tops are guaranteed leak free and are available in several styles. Using a plastic bottle will seem tasteless before you even know it!

And strong? Backpacker magazine fired a cannon at water bottles to test them – Sigg was the only one to emerge unscathed. Even Beckham can’t bend it! (He’s a Sigg fan, too.)

With health concerns about Lexan bottles, it’s nice to know there’s a product out there that looks chic, lasts for years, and won’t harm either you or the environment. (Sigg is also part of One Percent for the Planet) You can get them online from Sigg; they ship straight to you....

Ca-Boom, Baby

Cross-posted at ecofabulous

The West Coast Independent Design Show, AKA Ca Boom 4, takes flight today in the Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport. No, you won't find a biodiesel Learjet (sorry, John Travolta) but this is the bleeding edge for making the stationary parts of your life eco-conscious.

There's light power: the incredibly cool built-in LED applications of Element labs. There's solar power: the warm power of the sun from California Solar. And there's star power (if only by association): Willard Ford (Harrison's son) gathers ultramodern sustainable teak furnishings from around the globe. And you'll find much more – including companies and products so fresh they don't even have websites yet!

Ca Boom 4 runs Friday, March 30 through Sunday, April 1, 2007, at the Santa Monica Airport's Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, CA. For more information visit caboomshow.com.

David Honigsberg, 1958-2007

Wow.
David is dead. Massive heart attack at 48.
I'm reminded of Neil Gaiman's comment, so sad but so true, "You get what everyone gets. You get a lifetime."
Before he was a Rabbi, he was a Science Fiction writer. And musician. And lover of great scotch whisky. I remember being on a panel with, David, Alex, and Sue York at Albacon, right around his birthday ten years ago... the panel started at 11 pm, so I brought along a bottle of Laphroaig to toast the birthday boy, and it got sillier from there. Some were outraged (They were drunk! On a panel!), while many more told us it was the most fun they'd ever had at a con panel.
He was a mensch, and he will be missed.

Ray of hope

I've been seriously thinking of moving back to Canada. Or fleeing further.... like Thailand.
On the other hand... go see the movie "Ray", about the life of Ray Charles. It puts things in perspective a little bit... on the bright side, 40 years ago black men in the south were called "boy" and unless you were a white male you were utterly screwed in American society. So things are better than they were.
On the down side, the assholes who brought us 100 years of misogyny and racism are now in charge of the Republican party.
But I walked out of "Ray" thinking that no matter how shitty it is at the moment, they're fighting against the tide of history, and in four years we'll take it all back.