Below are the most recent 3 friends' journal entries.

Saturday, July 19th, 2008
nickbarnes	12:52a	Hope "It's not the despair, Laura. I can take the despair. It's the hope I can't stand." (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, July 13th, 2008
bovlb	4:45p	Today is my son's second birthday. After the requisite videoconferencing, pancake eating and present opening, we went to see a model train exhibition. There was a touch-screen information screen there and my four-year-old was teaching my two-year-old how to operate it. "This is Wikipedia," she pronounces confidently. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, July 12th, 2008
manjushra	2:36p	Out of the mouths of.... the United Nations Environment Program "Absolumment le modèle de consommation et le modèle de production aujourd'hui sont à l'origine des problèmes auxquels le monde doit trouver solution. Les modèles de consommation dans les pays developpés, c'est de consommation effrénée, une production effrénée de dechets: il faut consommer, et consommer, toujours consommer, mais dites-vous bien qu'à force de consommer, cela signifie que vous utilisez, vous consommez énormement de ressources naturels, et que ces ressources naturels ne se renouvellent pas ... "Il n'y a pas de flexibilité a la matière,  il faut donc savoir gérer de façon parsimonieux ces ressources naturels, une vue d'une durabilité dans leur utilisation, ça veut dire qu'il est urgent de repenser nos modes de consommation, qu'il est urgent de repenser nos modes de production, et c'est de cela dans ce rapport qui demande aux gouvernements du monde entier, au population de ce monde d'écouter, réfléchissir un peu sur notre mode de faire, sur notre style de faire, sur notre mode de vie, ce mode de vie voie directement a notre propre destruction..." This article in Deutsche Welle Environment podcast followed one talking of the environmental disasters in Africa as its population grows and becomes increasingly urbanised. Countryside areas were also being deforested as the village and suburban poor chop trees for fuel and building materials. Africa like China is rushing to catch up with Western countries - or just to escape from poverty ? - and can't afford the luxury of maintaining the countryside. Hence this minister's intelligent panic as he raises the question not just for Africa but for the rest of the world: not only should the West not be slavishly imitated, it should be radically challenged in its entire way of life. United Nations Environment Program website Report on environmental issues in modern Africa  (english) They seem to have a number of vacancies for when I grow tired of England and secondary school teaching. (Comment on this)