Bitch about Headline News on Health, Environment, Internet, Politics and other Issues
The Seattle Times reports here: "Exxon Mobil reported Monday it earned more money in 2005 than any company, any year, ever. But the Texas oil company isn’t bragging. Exxon took out advertisements in newspapers Monday to say its profit is relatively moderate — an unusual step for any company focused on keeping investors happy." Just think about it next time you fill up your car.
More here from Spiegel Online on the story already mentioned below, but I think its good to get reminded about this one as much as possible!: The consequences of climate change are possibly far more dramatic than had previously been assumed. That is the conclusion of a comprehensive collection of studies by British researchers. In the report’s foreword, British Prime Minister Tony Blair voices his concern.
Microsoft has begun e-mailing its corporate customers worldwide, letting them know that they may need to start using a different version of Office as a result of a recent legal setback. For more details see this article from News.com
BBC News writes here: "PC users have been urged to scan their computers before 3 February to avoid falling victim to a destructive virus. On that date the Nyxem virus is set to delete Word, Powerpoint, Excel and Acrobat files on infected machines." So dont forget to renew your virus software with the latest uddates today and run a full anti virus scan.
Spiegel Online reports here: Cafes offering dogs and cats for guests to stroke are proving a hit in densely populated Hong Kong where people don’t have enough room to keep their own pets and where the frenetic pace of everyday life leaves humans in dire need of creature comfort.
Rising concentrations of greenhouse gases may have more serious impacts than previously believed, a major scientific report has said. The report, published by the UK government, says there is only a small chance of greenhouse gas emissions being kept below "dangerous" levels.
It fears the Greenland ice sheet is likely to melt, leading sea levels to rise by seven metres over 1,000 years. The poorest countries will be most vulnerable to these effects, it adds.
In the report’s foreword, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair writes that "it is now plain that the emission of greenhouse gases… is causing global warming at a rate that is unsustainable."
Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett said the report’s conclusions would be a shock to many people. "The thing that is perhaps not so familiar to members of the public… is this notion that we could come to a tipping point where change could be irreversible," she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. For more please read this report from BBC News. See also this report at the Washington Post website: Debate on Climate Shifts to Issue of Irreparable Change.
Washington Post Staff Writer Juliet Eilperin reports here: "Now that most scientists agree human activity is causing Earth to warm, the central debate has shifted to whether climate change is progressing so rapidly that, within decades, humans may be helpless to slow or reverse the trend."
Dan Simmons reports on whether our newly found freedom to buy almost any song using the internet is being unduly fettered by the digital music police. For the complete story check out this article at the BBC News website.
The Washington Post writes today: IF A TYPICAL picture is worth a thousand words, a picture of President Bush with Jack Abramoff, we suppose, might be worth about 10,000. And so we understand the desire of our more visually inclined colleagues to obtain photos of the president and the criminal. But the focus on the photos distracts from a more important question that the president managed to duck in his news conference Thursday: Who in the White House and administration met with Mr. Abramoff, and what were those meetings about? For the rest of the story see this page at the WP website.