Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Biofuels seriously gone wrong...

There are not a lot of things in this world that actually keep me awake at night but I find this issue really worrying. I wasn't aware of this until recently - until the report released by ECDF has given international attention to the issue.

The Burmese "government" had mandated the growing of Jatropha curcas to feed in to the international biofuel industry.

A report on the issue is here.

JUST RELEASED
1 MAY 2008

Biofuel by Decree, a new report by the Ethnic Community Development Forum, unmasks Burma’s bio-energy fiasco. The report details how the military’s nation-wide campaign to plant eight million acres of the toxic tree Jatropha curcas for biodiesel production is resulting in forced labor, land confiscation, loss of income and food insecurity.


Expanded post.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Hilarious!

Here is a BBC sketch called "Facebook in real life" and it is absolutely hilarious.

Thanks for this link Michaela.

Facebook In Real Life
The British haven't discovered the Internet yet, but that doesn't mean they can't enjoy Facebook. In today's video we get to see British people, in their natural habitat, enjoying their own real-life adaption of the popular Web site.


Expanded post.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Crazy cat update.

So... I finally got him to go back on his old bedding last night - after hours of scratching and biting. I assume he slept on his old pillow last night as there was no scratching at our door or generally unsettled behaviour.

The new bed on the other hand... Max will walk the full width of the house to avoid going near the new bed. I have no idea why. Maybe the stripes? It is certainly not the smell as I completely cleaned all animal bedding throughout the house and aired it.

I rang the manufacturer of the pet bed and they were awesome. They have their own Dr Harry on staff to assist in the design of toys and bedding. Sarah, the animal behaviourist (Dr Harry), is also sending up some aromatherapy spray to use as a calming tool for him. So once we receive that I think I will bath him in it!

Mark thinks I am taking this all a little to seriously. Yes, yes... I know! I hate seeing Max upset and not knowing why. But what I hate even more is spending good money on a bed that my snobby little bugger of a cat won't go near!


Expanded post.