Part of the Problem: According to the Beverage Marking Corporation, carbonated soft drinks account for one-third of total U.S. beverage consumption--more than bottled and tap water combined. A recent Boston University study (with 10 years of data collection) suggests that middle-aged individuals who drink one or more sodas per day were twice as likely to develop "metabolic syndrome"--a set of risk factors leading to heart disease and diabetes. (PDF link to Cleveland Clinic Magazine.)

Harry Shearer: 'The theft of US nuclear secrets, the diverting of them to Pakistan (and, according to Edmonds, Saudi Arabia), the involvement of Israel in the scheme -- all of these would justify as jaw-droppingly newsworthy in a rational journalistic universe. Clearly, that's not where we live.'

Aside from my concerns of claustrophobia, catching strange airborne diseases, sinking, questionable labor practices, food consumption logistics and freshness, and my complete failure to grasp the appeal of cruise ship vacations, there's another thing to worry about: sewage.

Norway is attempting to go "carbon neutral" by 2030 by reducing emissions at home and investing abroad in environmental projects that will give the country CO2 reduction credits.

'Like other impoverished urban neighborhoods, Clay/Arsenal was entirely devoid of good quality food stores, and their residents experienced hunger, obesity, and diabetes at rates that were two to three times the national average. This group was comprised exclusively of Hispanic and African American residents. ... the group expressed an immediate consensus that fresh, inexpensive food -- the food they generally preferred -- was unavailable in their neighborhood. Everyone agreed that traveling to a full-line supermarket was a hassle because it required one or two long bus rides or an expensive taxi fare.'

Jim Kunstler is a cynical poet: 'On the ground out in the heartland, in the anxiety-drenched, over-valued beige subdivisions of California and the ennui-saturated pastel McHousing tracts of Florida (not to mention the pathetic vinyl outlands of Cleveland and Detroit) a mighty keening welled forth as mortgage rates adjusted upward, and loans stopped "performing," and "for sale" signs failed to turn up buyers, and sheriff's deputies showed up with the rolls of yellow foreclosure tape, and actual ownership of the re-poed collateral entered a legal twilight zone somewhere north of the Florida State Teacher's Pension Fund and south of the Norwegian Municipal Councils' investment portfolios. What a mighty goddam mess was left out there by the boyz at the Wall Street genius desks, who engineered a magical system for eliminating risk from the capital markets -- only to see it leak back in from a million holes and seams and collapse the greatest bubble ever blown.'

'A new survey of U.S. adults who don't go to church, even on holidays, finds 72% say "God, a higher or supreme being, actually exists." But just as many (72%) also say the church is "full of hypocrites."'

Chinese farmers are launching aggressive protests against polluting factories.

A simple exhortation:

Don't we all love arbitrary milestones? Turns out the 'historic' event of a $100 per barrel oil price was caused by a single trader on a vanity mission.

Actual analysis of the differences in the policies - both proposals, and even outlook - between Obama and Clinton. Shocking! Actual analysis of candidates ideas!

Abstinence and gun safety: "We don't want them to actually KNOW how to use them. Someone might get hurt!"

Peace on Earth? Impossible.

It's the end of the year, what happens next year prediction time... or is it recap time?

Who pays for the government, and who benefits? Two posts from the exceptional economics blog Marginal Revolution tackle this.

Mathematicians have developed a model that explains traffic jams which occur with no apparent cause:

"The team developed a mathematical model to show the impact of unexpected events such as a lorry pulling out of its lane on a dual carriageway. Their model revealed that slowing down below a critical speed when reacting to such an event, a driver would force the car behind to slow down further and the next car back to reduce its speed further still.

The result of this is that several miles back, cars would finally grind to a halt, with drivers oblivious to the reason for their delay. The model predicts that this is a very typical scenario on a busy highway (above 15 vehicles per km). The jam moves backwards through the traffic creating a so-called ‘backward travelling wave’, which drivers may encounter many miles upstream, several minutes after it was triggered."

Bali Shag, Lumbee, Pinson, Arango Sportsman, Auld Kendal, Cockstrong, Penhooker, Ramback, Rimboche, TwoTimer, Kentucky's Best, Matinee, Checkers, Hi-Val, Double Happiness, Golden Deer, Peony, Dreams, Canadian Style Player's, Collector's Choice, English Ovals, Marshall McGrearty, Outdoor Freedom, Charles Fairmorn.

Cigarette brand names: Almost as funny as Engrish.

10 Things Christians and Atheists Can Agree On.

Yes/great/oh man.

Are you familiar with microcredit? Dr. Muhammad Yunus is the person who first made it a reality. In 2006, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. (Thanks, Tom.)

Scary contender quote of the day...

Clinton calls herself a "government junkie." She says, "There is no such thing as other people's children" and promises to work on "redefining who we are as human beings in the post-modern age."

Eee. That's the kind of quote we used to hear a lot from scary people.

Has anyone seen these? Truly amazing, detailed, surreal prints. They both are labeled 'Art Factory'. The top one contains the text: 'We and the earth, live together', and is attributed to graphic designer Takahisa Nakashima in a 2005 book on Japanese design.

UPS claims to have reduced its CO2 emissions by 31,000 metric tons last year...by helping its drivers avoid left-hand turns.

A frustrated group of Americans? Probably not.

Earlier this year, a secularist group offered $1,000 to the highest-ranking politician in the land who would publicly proclaim no belief in God. This turned out to be Peter Stark, a Democratic congressman from the San Francisco area. He is the only congressman, of 535, who professes no belief in the Almighty. ... Mr Stark suspects that many of his colleagues secretly agree with him. But they dare not do so publicly, even Democrats.

This article speaks to the notion that atheists have little to no representation in U.S. political culture. But the thing is, people with no religion often feel no need for special representation. First, they've no dogma or intrusive cultural practices to defend. Second, as long as they're left to believe (or not believe) what they want, they're happy.

Lagos--the world's fastest growing megalopolis? (via BoingBoing)

Christmas lights found with potentially unsafe levels of lead (biggest offender: Wal-Mart).

Dying for respect.

The Story of Stuff is a well-made online video highlighting the dubious nature of our consumer-driven economy. I particularly like the third part (distribution), which among other things discusses the externalization of costs & impacts of consumer products.

As much as I agree with the content of this video, however, I wish that it was less filled with rhetoric and instead contained more fact-based discussion. The website contains links to organizations that research many of the claims made in the video, but when a presentation is as one-sided as this it inevitably ends up being a sermon to the choir and failing the more ambitious goal of swaying the opinions of a larger audience.

Germany appears to be planning to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 36% (below 1990 levels) by 2020, at a cost of approximately $45.5 billion. As noted in the article, this is about what the U.S. spends on the Iraq war every 7 months.

You're home, you're doing nothing illegal, then the cops burst into your home and shoot your dog. It's actually a common occurrence. Now take a look at how common paramilitary raids by cops on the wrong houses are. Still more here... and a policy analysis here.