Arts & Culture
Jewcy Zeitgeist: Prince Harry Comes to New York, Craigslist Replaces Erotic Services, and Palin Gets Book Deal
By Ashley Tedesco / May 13, 2009
Here are today’s top stories in no particular order:
- The Cannes Film Festival will be debuting a film co-scripted by recently freed Iraqi journalist Roxana Saberi. The film is a docudrama about underground music.
- After controversy surrounding the Craigslist killer and others, the company has decided to remove the classified section for "erotic services," in favor of an "adult services" section that will be more closely monitored by the staff.
- Coral reefs off the coast of Southeast Asia are on the brink of collapse due to climate change. More than 100 million people’s homes could be at risk if more drastic measures aren’t taken to protect the reef and surrounding areas.
- An official in the Defense Department has been charged with espionage after reportedly leaking classified information to China. James Fondren, Jr. had been leaking information for more than four years.
- Sarah Palin has signed a book deal with HarperCollins. Her memoir is due to be released sometime next year.
- Single ladies seeking royalty, brace yourselves: Prince Harry is heading to New York in his first engagements outside of Britain. His trip will include a visit to the World Trade Center site and the Harlem Children’s Zone, as well as a polo match, of course.
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Dear Lilit, many thanks you for that. I’ve just read it.
 I have no doubt of the president’s good intentions but the Maldives has an average elevation of only four feet. In the NY Times article it says that: "even a slight rise in global sea levels, which many scientists predict will occur by the end of this century, could submerge most of the Maldives." The presiden countered that: "what we need to do is nothing short of decarbonizing the entire global economy… I announce that the Maldives will become the first carbon-neutral country in the world."
Commendable but it really depends on what you believe as to the extent and rapacity of the changing climate. It is talked up by some as imminent and debunked by others, but President Mohamed Nasheed, whose valiant ideas are indeed praiseworthy needs the support of the rest of the world. Sadly, seriously tackling climate change seems to be on the back-burner for now while the world recovers from its financial crisis.
v9designbuild, if you want to know more about this story in the Maldives, there was a great article about it in last week’s New York Times Magazine. Their president has changed his mind somewhat about buying land in another country because he realizes how much Maldivians love their home. Now, he’s aiming to turn the Maldives into the world’s first carbon-neutral country. If I can find the link to the article I’ll post it here later. Definitely a good read.
In November last year, The Economist wrote: "Losing one’s home is a sadly common experience in these dark economic days, but it normally happens at an individual, rather than a national, level. The residents of the Maldives, however, face collective homelessness as a result of rising sea levels, which are expected eventually to engulf the 1,200-island nation, whose highest point is 2.3 metres above sea level. Faced with this alarming prospect, the country’s new president, Mohamed Nasheed, has come up with an equally dramatic solution: put aside some of the Maldives’ tourism revenues to buy another homeland."
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