The European Union is showing monolithic, big government type tendencies usually reserved for the United States. News came out today that air passengers will be charged up to £40 extra for a return ticket within Europe to pay for the so-called "environmental impact" of their trips. I've flown intra-european flights before (albeit pre 9/11/01), and they were notably inexpensive. Looks like those days are over.
As is typical of these types of fees, there are no specifics (at least in the London Times article I read) concerning where the money will go beyond the "purchasing of C02 permits." The permits are supposed to go to the fight against global warming. There are some who link CO2 to global warming, but there is no hard evidence that links the two which I have seen, and this sort of thing appears to be the work of enviromental groups. But when there's money to be extracted from the masses, opinion can quickly be twisted into fact. As always, when in doubt, follow the money.
Here's a bizarre piece of video that I went back-and-forth on whether to include on here. Your best bet is to skip to the 1:45 mark to see what happens when a large rubber band ball collides with a Toyota Camry. My thought is that you won't be seeing this in any Toyota commercials... ever.
Tonight I watched the movie Sin City on DVD. I'm not sure how it would hold up on multiple viewings, but it was a very, very entertaining movie. It's non-stop action with no lulls, and while it takes place in a slightly "over-the-top" world (to use a phrase I found that described it well), it exists in that world without error. It's highly recommended.
One more note: I have signed up to participate in a
Blogger Only poker tournament. Should be fun...
