Farouk Hosny is Egypt's candidate to lead UNESCO (the UN's cultural arm). He once pledged to burn Israeli books that were part of Egyptian libraries, but that was way back in May of 2008. Now that he wants to head UNESCO, he is publicly apologizing for his anti-Israeli remarks. How convenient. See the full story at BBC News.
Why did George W. Bush invade Iraq? Clive Hamilton confirms one of my suspicions at Alternet:
In 2003 while lobbying leaders to put together the Coalition of the Willing, President Bush spoke to France's President Jacques Chirac. Bush wove a story about how the Biblical creatures Gog and Magog were at work in the Middle East and how they must be defeated. . . President Bush's reason for launching the war in Iraq was, for him, fundamentally religious. He was driven by his belief that the attack on Saddam's Iraq was the fulfilment of a Biblical prophesy in which he had been chosen to serve as the instrument of the Lord.
What can we do to slow global warming? Steven Chu suggests that one way would be to paint our roofs white:
Professor Steven Chu, the US Energy Secretary, said the unusual proposal would mean homes in hot countries would save energy and money on air conditioning by deflecting the sun's rays.
Over at Daylight Atheism, Ebonmuse is busy pointing out more hypocrisy of the Catholic Church. While senior clergy continue to rant about the dangers of atheism, the Church can't even seem to acknowledge recent revelations in Ireland that Church leaders had been quite busy, for decades, raping and beating thousands of children.
I was checking MSNBC tonight when I saw a link to the "Worlds Most Amazing Bridges." OK, fair enough, I thought. It turned out to be an awesome collection of bridges, selected for a variety of qualities. One of the bridges stood out for its raw dimensions, however: The Millau Viaduct near Millau France (southern France, near Spain).
Check out the dimensions:
This breathtaking cable-stayed bridge, completed in 2004, is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world. It spans the valley of the Tarn River near Millau in France, with a total length of 8,071 feet. Its maximum height soars to 1,130 feet. This colossus was engineered by Michel Virlogeux and designed by Norman Foster. At 890 feet, its road bridge deck is the highest in the world; drivers have said it feels like sailing through a cloud.
To put this incredible bridge in perspective, we have a spectacular monument in St. Louis. Our 630 foot tall Gateway Arch is often described as even "soaring." See insert. Now consider that the road deck of the Millau Viaduct is 260 feet taller than the Gateway Arch and that it runs for more than 1 1/2 miles. Consider, too, that the tallest towers of the bridge (1,130 feet) are taller than the Eiffel Tower (986 ft) and almost as tall as the Empire State Building (1250 feet).
For more spectacular views, check out the website of the architechts, Foster + Partners, where you'll learn that the
For more spectacular views, check out the website of the architechts, Foster + Partners, where you'll learn that the Millau Viaduct "connects the motorway networks of France and Spain, opening up a direct route from Paris to Barcelona. The bridge crosses the River Tarn, which runs through a spectacular gorge between two high plateaux."