NOT YOUR FATHER’S LIBRARY
We have an awesome public library here in my town, especially given that our population only numbers about 14,000. I’ve been in towns several times larger which had much crappier libraries. The people of this area are certainly blessed to have such a wonderful institution, which happens to be the heart of our downtown. Still though, it’s interesting to notice how things change over time.

When I was a kid (mid-80s), the children’s room at the library added a few computers. This was way back when only schools, scientists and intelligent but socially challenged teenagers had computers. They were Apple II’s which were pretty nice at that time. By the time, I got back from Guinea (’97), the main area had also added a number of computers (PC’s) with word processor programs and internet access. It was a bit noisy at first, until the librarians figured out to limit the usage to two people per computer at time, instead of having gaggles of 11 year old girls crammed around a screen talking about god knows what in a chat room.

What was really weird, though, was a few months ago when the library added a soda machine. Apparently, the board of trustees felt this would be a nice way to raise revenue. This doesn’t bother me in the least since I’m a soda addict. Still, it was a bit odd, as “no drinking in the library” is one of those things that’s just always been considered a truism. To have the library actually selling soda was strange. Stranger still is that they haven’t yet modified the chart of rules which continues to command “no drinking in the library.” :-)

But the most striking thing hit me on Monday, when I stopped by to drop off a book. On the main door of the library, there are numerous signs. Library hours. Location of the book drop. Time of the next book sale. But recently added was a credit card sign. The library now accepts Visa, MasterCard and possibly, though I can’t remember for sure, American Express. So the next time I owe 75 cents for a late fee, should I whip out my plastic? A brave new world indeed.

---

THE G-8 VS THE O-190+
The leaders of the G-8 (world’s seven richest countries plus Russia) held a recent summit in Evian, France. There was a large exclusion zone around Evian, forcing protesters to hold court in nearby Geneva, Switzerland. As is the case with most of these summits, nothing much productive happened. In Geneva, progressive protesters protested diverses causes; idiotic anarchists (aka: self-indulgent twits) went around smashing windows of anything they felt like. The leaders themselves met in their fortress smiling and holding photo ops. The story that most interested the news media was the meeting between Presidents Bush and Chirac, their first since their spat over the Iraq conquest. The two held a photo op session where each mouthed noble platitudes while the other held a smile that was about as natural as the meat in a Subway sandwich.

On to issues that actually affect people’s lives. Invited African leaders said they wanted not more aid, but for the west to slash or end agricultural subsidies thus instituting actual free and fair trade between the two for the first time in centuries. European leaders said they were willing to do this but that the Americans weren’t. Pres. Bush said he was willing to do this but Europe wasn’t. The result, shockingly, was that nothing happened. Commerce (and capital) between the west and Africa remains mostly a one way street.

But I guess the most flabbergasting fact is that the G8 countries (USA, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Britain, Japan and Russia) represent HALF of the world’s wealth. That means that half of the entire world’s wealth is held by only 8 countries. And the other half of that wealth is split among the other 190-something countries (call them the O-190+). Whether you think that’s injust or whether you think it’s “too bad but the way things are”, it’s absolutely astonishing to contemplate.