I feel like such a sucker for reporting this, as though it must the excellent work of The Onion’s jokers, but here it is anyway, from the Guardian’s Baghdad reporter:

Picture, if you will, a tree-lined plaza in Baghdad’s International Village, flanked by fashion boutiques, swanky cafes, and shiny glass office towers. Nearby a golf course nestles agreeably, where a chip over the water to the final green is but a prelude to cocktails in the club house and a soothing massage in a luxury hotel, which would not look out of place in Sydney harbour. Then, as twilight falls, a pre-prandial stroll, perhaps, amid the cool of the Tigris Riverfront Park, where the peace is broken only by the soulful cries of egrets fishing.

Improbable though it all may seem, this is how some imaginative types in the US military are envisaging the future of Baghdad’s Green Zone, the much-pummelled redoubt of the Iraqi capital where a bunker shot has until now had very different connotations.

A $5bn (£2.5bn) tourism and development scheme for the Green Zone being hatched by the Pentagon and an international investment consortium would give the heavily fortified area on the banks of the Tigris a “dream” makeover that will become a magnet for Iraqis, tourists, business people and investors. About half of the area is now occupied by coalition forces, the US state department or private foreign companies.

The article ends with a statement by a native:

For many Baghdad residents, the Green Zone has been a no-go area for years, first under Saddam and now under the occupation. “What do I care?” shrugged one, Ahmed Hussein. “I don’t have electricity, I don’t have fresh water and I don’t have a job.”

Massachusetts Institute of Technology and low-tech don’t go together in mind (other than the Car Talk boys), but here’s an instructor who wants students to imagine low-tech inventions to assist third-world nations:

Unlike most of MIT, Smith’s workshop is far from cutting-edge. There are no next-gen computers, no vials of polysyllabic chemicals, no fancy equipment. The space is decidedly low-tech – and that’s the point. D-Lab students pinpoint practical problems in the developing countries and then brainstorm and build solutions. Because the people they are trying to help are below the poverty line, the class’s inventions must be simple, effective, and most important, inexpensive.

“What people need is usually completely different from what we imagine sitting here in America,” says Jodie Wu, a mechanical engineering junior, whose group went on a school-sponsored trip to Tanzania over winter break. The idea for her current project – a mobile, pedal-powered corn sheller – came from a conversation with a Tanzanian bike mechanic.

This is really good stuff.

More disturbing news about those who claim to “support our troops:

More than 43,000 U.S. troops listed as medically unfit for combat in the weeks before their scheduled deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003 were sent anyway, Pentagon records show.

This reliance on troops found medically “non-deployable” is another sign of stress placed on a military that has sent 1.6 million servicemembers to the war zones, soldier advocacy groups say.

There are plenty of Ron Paul fans out there and they aren’t giving up. He’s still pulling in the votes at primary elections. Here’s the latest news from his fans:

At last, some cheering news for downhearted fans of Ron Paul, the libertarian Republican now certain to fail, by some distance, to secure his party’s presidential nomination. This month has seen the first meeting of the shareholders in a fledgling community development planned in rural Texas, to be comprised exclusively of Paul’s supporters. It is to be called Paulville.

The gated settlement will house freedom-loving folk, living unbound by the shackles of planning regulations. Its founders hope that when complete, it will inspire further Paulvilles around America and, in their own words, “literally change the world, one community at a time”.

Here’s a collection of excellent photos from National Geographic.

This belongs in the wish-I’d-thought-of-that department. Ralphie Boy comes up with odd stuff and this is a good one. People with Photoshop skills and too much time on their hands. I’ve spent a lot of time doing this very thing. You should see Keith and Lorene Whitehouse’s annual Christmas card in the proofing stage. Many a year the two have switched heads.

There are many more ManBabies to be viewed at, where else but ManBabies.com.

…visit this unique bakery. Here’s the tale of its evolution and here’s a taste of how it’s run:

When Bergen and his partners first started discussing the concept of the City Café Bakery, Bergen was more interested in how things would be done at the business, as opposed to exactly what would be made. For that reason, things are run a little differently at the bakery. Case in point: City Café doesn’t have Interac or accept credit cards. Neither will you see a cash register in the bakery. Instead, customers add up how much they owe themselves and drop their money into a fare box from an old bus.

Read the rest of this entry »

A New York Times article says farmers are cutting back on corn somewhat in favor of soybeans:

Strong worldwide food demand, and the accompanying higher prices, are beginning to influence American farmers.

A government report released Monday indicated that farmers intended to make significant cuts in corn acreage in favor of soybeans. That could help ease shortages of cooking oil, which have hit poor countries hard.

The shift also signaled at least a temporary decline in the appeal in farm country of the renewable fuels boom, much of which is based on corn. High corn prices and low ethanol prices have turned ethanol production into a difficult business.

Food for fuel is getting hit pretty hard these days, but who eats switchgrass?

Oklahoma has secured 1,100 acres of land for the world’s largest stand of switchgrass devoted to cellulosic ethanol production. Planting will take place within the next 45 days.

Or, as one reader suggests, “Missouri City Produces as Much Electricity from Wind as Residents Consume.”

Quite a story, if you have the funding. At a cost of $9 million for only 1,395 residents, the system was built at a cost of almost $6,500 a person. I wonder if they had to build their own or rent an existing distribution system to all the homes.

They must have an excellent and steady wind source, too. It will be interesting to see how it works out for them. Maybe some backup power from the local power company? It just seems a little early to claim 100% before it’s been tried out for lengthy period.

Mike Huckabee grabbed 12% of the GOP votes in North Carolina yesterday. Impressive for a non-candidate. Ron Paul finished with 7% and no preference took an impressive 4%.

This is the week to go out spotting redbuds. I noticed some spectacular specimens in Adrian front lawns yesterday and I saw quite a few more this morning in Fayette. Before long, they’ll be somewhat nondescript until the seedpods are hanging after the leaves fall.

The photo here is from along the creek behind the cemetery. Redbuds - that’s why it was named Bean Creek.

Have you had enough of Tyree Guyton’s name in the Observer? If so, relax. This is the last week. We have one final report of his visit last Thursday. Anyone driving down Main Street Thursday afternoon would have noticed the parade of shoes on the sidewalk leading to the library door. I think it was one of the many ideas my wife and I came up with while walking around the track one afternoon. We never got to most of them.

Also in this week’s print edition:

OK, there’s your sample of what’s inside the print edition. Of course there’s a lot more.

From the LISD’s election roundup:

Carrie Dillon* 271
Gary Ries* 263

Refinance bond that was approved in ’02 Yes 271 No 51
Operating Millage Renewal Yes 281 No 36

And I was worried that it might not pass.

A decorated vet caught by Indiana’s voter ID law:

Russell Baughman, 61, has fought in three conflicts as a part of the United States Army…

His military discharge papers feature a paragraph’s worth of honors and awards…

So when Baughman arrived at his polling place at precinct 52 in Lawrence March 11 for the special election, he wasn’t expecting to have a problem voting in the country he had defended.

But since Indiana passed its new Voter ID law, which requires every voter to have a valid, government-issued photo ID, Baughman’s identification was no longer good enough.

He had with him his expired driver’s license (he rides a bicycle), his Department of Veterans Affairs card (featuring his purple heart endorsement) and, of all things, his voter’s registration card.

But Baughman was told that neither of his photo IDs were valid. His driver’s license didn’t count because it was expired and his Veterans Affairs card didn’t count because it didn’t feature any expiration date at all.

I know, I know, he should have known better.