López Obrador may get one–but not the sort he has in mind. The longer he contests the election that he apparently lost in early July, the more erstwhile supporters he is alienating. Millions of Mexico City residents–many of whom voted for him–have been angered by blockades of major thoroughfares in the capital he ordered in late July. Alejandro Encinas, López Obrador’s successor as mayor and a fellow member of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, has condemned the takeover of the streets, and even the left-wing newspaper La Jornada criticized the tactic in an editorial. An open letter signed by prominent intellectual and López Obrador supporter Carlos Monsiváis and three others joined the outcry in early August: “The blockade … is an act of profound callousness that hurts a cause belonging to many people.”
This week could provide the nail in López Obrador’s coffin. By Thursday, the electoral tribunal must certify or declare invalid the July 2 presidential election. If, as expected, the court upholds the election, it has until Sept. 6 to proclaim a president-elect–and barring a major surprise that man will sure-ly be the candidate who beat out López Obrador by 243,000 votes, Felipe Calderón of the National Action Party. López Obrador, meanwhile, could find himself a double loser: beaten by his enemies, abandoned by his friends.
It’s official: Russia is now the world’s largest oil producer, outstripping the production of longtime world leader Saudi Arabia for the first time since 1988. Last month Russia pumped 9.55 million barrels a day–41,000 more than the Saudis–as well as 1.7 billion cubic meters of gas, making it the biggest energy producer on earth. The shift is symbolically important. Russia’s rise as an energy exporter has been hailed as a crucial counterweight to global dependence on Middle Eastern oil.
On a practical level, though, Saudi Arabia remains in the catbird seat. Its reserves are up to six times larger than Russia’s. And its oil production is artificially restricted by OPEC quotas. If it so desired, Riyadh could increase production to 12 million barrels within weeks without breaking a sweat. Of course, that hasn’t stopped the Russians from celebrating what politicians are calling a geopolitical triumph. “There is no doubt that Russia is an energy superpower,” says Putin adviser Sergei Prikhodko. “The challenge is to handle our good fortune wisely.” Indeed, with crude trading at $70 a barrel, Russia’s production spurt has brought a windfall of wealth. And Kremlin critics like former Putin adviser Andrei Illarionov have warned against the evils of “oil dependency,” such as inflation, corruption and stunted development of the real economy.
The investigation into a plot to bomb flights from Britain to the United States took a strange twist last week when British authorities set free a supposedly key suspect, 22-year-old Tayib Rauf. Initially, British and U.S. officials suggested Rauf and his brother, Rashid, were significant participants in the plot. Last week, however, officials said that Tayib Rauf might have been merely a “van driver” and that they didn’t have enough evidence for a conviction. A family friend says Tayib and Abdul Rauf told him by phone that they were “totally innocent.” Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities have detained the Raufs’ father, Abdul, and U.K. authorities have frozen the funds of Crescent Relief, a British charity that he helped to found.
BY THE NUMBERS: China is a tricky place to do business. One way to grease the wheels: grease a few palms. Recent numbers help explain why paying one’s way is perhaps the quickest route to success.
Percentage of respondents in a new survey who say businesspeople often bribe officials
Percentage of Chinese businesspeople who admitted they would pay bribes to advance their interests
Millions of U.S. dollars estimated to have been spent on bribes so far this year
Israel has apparently purchased two “nuclear-capable” submarines from Germany. But while German officials reportedly say the subs are designed for conventional warfare, nonprofileration experts say they can carry nukes. So what makes a sub nukeworthy?
Size, apparently, does matter. The subs in question carry torpedo tubes in two diameters–533mm and 650mm–indicating that Israel might be planning to install long-range nuclear cruise missiles. These larger missiles would allow subs based in the Mediterranean to strike directly at Iran.
Food scientists are working on products that are more functional–and more fun–than they are at the moment. For example, sticky hands will be a thing of the past. By removing the water, researchers have created a solid honey wafer the size and weight of a quarter; it dissolves in 90 seconds when placed in hot liquid. Round salt won’t clump. By adding glycine, scientists in India have created nearly spherical crystals that flow more freely. Hort-Research, a New Zealand-based fruit-science company, is developing a red-fleshed apple. The color comes from an infusion of anthocyanin, an antioxidant. And researchers in Wisconsin are working on fun-flavored string cheese for kids, experimenting with flavors like watermelon and cotton candy.
If it rocks, duh! So says KISS’s “Army” of fans, who recently protested the costumed megagroup’s exclusion from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since becoming eligible in the late ’90s. With more than 70 million records sold, the band isn’t losing sleep. “I don’t need to hand out my résumé,” KISS cofounder Paul Stanley told NEWSWEEK. But were the face-painted rockers great or just gimmicky? With the hall’s nominating committee set to meet next month, fans, experts and the metal “gods” themselves weighed in.
COFOUNDER OF KISS
“I’m too rich to care. Eventually we’ll get in, and that’s when I’ll care. Our fans number in the millions, and we’ve survived the test of time. I support the fans because they feel robbed … That’s why the people should decide.”
ULTRAFAN WHO HELPED ORGANIZE THE PROTEST
“We could spend a week listing all the bands they’ve influenced. They went against all the written rules and did it their way, and they made it. We want an induction, not just a nomination.”
NEW YORK RADIO TALK-SHOW HOST FOR WFNY
“If I was gonna give KISS credit for being innovative, it would be for the stage show and the makeup, which, to me, is more of a gimmick than anything else … I don’t think they should be in.”
ROCK HISTORIAN AT INDIANA UNIVERSITY
“Along with P-Funk and Bowie and Alice Cooper, they were the guys that took rock theater to the extreme … [and] they were a good rock-and-roll band under all that … They have got to get in.”
Lefties have never been treated right. In Greek times, north-facing soothsayers equated the setting sun on their left with ill omens. The Roman word for left, sinistra, meant “evil.” Even the word “left” comes from the Old English “lyft”–“weak.” Just to add to the BAD NEWS: scientists have found that lefties have a greater chance of developing schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, dyslexia and stuttering problems.
But finally, there’s some GOOD NEWS: lefties bring in the bucks. A recent study by economists from Johns Hopkins University and Lafayette College reveals that on average, left-handers make as much as 15 percent more money than right-handers. Indeed, Bill Clinton is a lefty. And look at the historical evidence: Henry Ford and David Rockefeller were both lefties. So was John Dillinger, although the infamous American bank robber’s methods of raising income didn’t exactly sit right with the law.
Blame global warming for record-breaking heat waves, but air conditioning isn’t helping. AC uses oil- and coal-powered energy, which produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Cooling the average U.S. home produces 1,542kg of CO2 annually. In Canada, residential AC energy use doubled in 10 years. And 75 percent of new cars in Britain have AC. A climate-controlled bubble may make the heat more bearable, but it also fuels the fire.- From Slate.com
