Due to Groping, Mexico City Starts Women-Only Buses
The Iran We Know Not
Valentine’s Day, Even Red Items, Banned in Saudi Arabia
Round the World with Biodiesel Fuel
America’s Most Depressed Cities
DUE TO GROPING, MEXICO CITY STARTS WOMEN-ONLY BUSES – Associated Press
Mexico City has created “ladies-only” buses, which have pink signs in the windshields to wave off men. Twenty-two million passengers pack themselves onto subways and buses each day in Mexico City, and groping and verbal harassment is a common reality for women. The treatment has been so bad that the subway system has long had ladies-only cars for rush hour, and police segregate the sexes on platforms. The new women-only buses run three busy routes each day, but the city plans on adding them to 15 other routes by April.
Link: Associated Press
THE IRAN WE KNOW NOT - The New York Times
In attempt to transform its image, a government official has announced a worldwide campaign to increase tourism to the Iranian city of Esfahan, with plans of opening tourist offices in 20 countries. Esfahan, a city of 1.3 million people about 200 miles south of Tehran, often is referred to as “half the world,” which means it contains half of the earth’s wonders. In the 17th century, French traveler Jean Chardin, wrote that Esfahan “was expressly made for the delights of love,” and in the 1930s, the British travel writer Robert Byron said it is “among those rarer places, like Athens or Rome, which are the common refreshment of humanity.” Most Americans, however, know it as the developer of nuclear technology and part of the Axis of Evil.
Link: The New York Times
RED ITEMS AND VALENTINE’S DAY BANNED IN SAUDI ARABIA – Boing Boing
Since Valentine’s Day is an “un-Islamic” holiday, Saudi Arabia’s religious police are prohibiting shop owners to sell red-colored items. The extreme conservatism practiced in Saudi also leaves no room for romantic affairs, as relations outside of wedlock are punished. According to one florist, “Sometimes we deliver the bouquets in the middle of the night or early morning, to avoid suspicion.” In anticipation of the Valentine’s Day ban, some people place flower orders days or weeks before.
Link: Boing Boing
ROUND THE WORLD WITH BIODIESEL FUEL - The Canadian Press
Last October, Douglas Rodante, a U.S. pilot, and his team from the Green Flight successfully completed the first jet flight fuelled by biodiesel, which usually is made from vegetable oil. Now, Rodante wants to fly a Bombardier business jet fuelled with biodiesel fuel—around the world. Green Flight plans to launch an eight-stop flight across the United States. “It’s a personal goal of mine to implement biofuels into mainstream aviation and mainstream transportation,” Rodante said. Green Flight uses used canola oil as fuel, and some scientists believe even algae could be used for mass production.
Link: Canadian Press
AMERICA’S MOST DEPRESSED CITIES – Forbes
If you think your rinky-dink town is a downer, check out Forbes’ inaugural list of America’s Most Miserable Cities. The survey defines misery as a state of great unhappiness or emotional distress, and inflation, commute times, weather, crime and that toxic waste dumps, unemployment, and violent crime are some of the factors. New York was the fourth most miserable city, and Los Angeles was the sixth. Detroit hits the top of the list, and internationally, France ranks the highest.
Link: Forbes
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