Sunday smörgåsbord

With reports out today that ice is clogging that concrete dome over the Gulf oil leak, it's worth mentioning that one way the Soviets dealt with leaking marine oil wells was to detonate nuclear devices at the site. "The first happened in Uzbekistan, on September 30, 1966 with a blast 1.5 times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb and at a depth of 1.5 kilometers. KP also notes that subterranean nuclear blasts were used as much as 169 times in the Soviet Union to accomplish fairly mundane tasks like creating underground storage spaces for gas or building canals."

This week there was a major water main disruption in Boston which left many people without drinking water.  The governor and local authorities made an effort to prevent merchants from raising the price of bottled water.  Boston.com has an interesting column entitled "What's wrong with price gouging?"  I've heard this argument before (during Katrina, I think), and there is some valid logic behind it.

Many websites have picked up on the story of the high school students who were ejected from the school campus for wearing t-shirts with the American flag to school on Cinco de Mayo. 

Another deeply controversial topic: female genital mutilation.  The American Academy of Pediatrics has offered an alternative which involves a "nick" to the infant's genitals (equivalent to a pinprick, and much less traumatic than a male circumcision), suggesting that it would serve the "ritual" function and be biologically insignificant.  Very strong reactions to this recommendation from various sources.

Apparently the Department of the Interior exempted British Petroleum from Environmental Review for the well that is currently leaking.  "Rather than subject the plan to a detailed environmental review before approving it as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, the agency declared the plan to be “categorically excluded” from environmental analysis because it posed virtually no chance of harming the environment..."

This has not been a very happy smorgasbord so far.  I'll try to find some more lighthearted fare before the day is over...

Photo credit to The Spinning Plate.