Followup: Sardinians Resent Naples’ Garbage

Followup to “Naples Stinks”–

Garbage Grates as Sardinians Clash with Police

Via Euronews.net

Police in Sardinia have clashed with islanders angered by the arrival of 500 tonnes of rubbish. A cargo vessel loaded with rancid garbage docked at the port of Cagliari, where protestors were out in force in an attempt to stop the ship unloading. The waste had been shipped from Naples on Italy’s mainland. Refuse collection in Napels ground to a halt before Christmas after tips in area were declared full.

In an attempt to ease the growing public health implications Prime Minister Romano Prodi called on Italy’s regional authorities to accept some of the 140.000 tonnes of rubbish. Sardinia was the first to answer the call.

However, some residents on the island have taken exception to governor Renatu Soro’s decision. Firefighters say they were called out 25 times to put out fires in 48 garbage containers. Critics believe the Campania region’s rubbish problem stems from years of corruption and political cowardice, with local government unable to end Mafia control of the waste industry.

Video: Naples’ Trash Crisis

Sacred Cow ‘Naan’ Hits the Shelves in India

Jeez – and I thought “New Age” was out of control in America. Suggestion: stick with the Nag Champa.

Now Guess What Comes In Packages – Cow Dung Cakes!

[Excerpts]

News Post India, Jan 9, 2008–Don’t be surprised to find packaged cow dung cakes sitting pretty with toiletries and groceries at retail stores here.

After cow urine or ‘gau mutra’, packaged cow dung cakes or ‘kanda’ have now hit the market and they are the brainchild of the city-based Gau Sena, which literally translated means ‘cow army’.

The Gau Sena, which has launched the product under the brand Gauvar in Jaipur, claims it has mixed many ingredients in the cow dung cake so that burning it could purify the environment. The cakes would also help keep diseases at bay, the organisation claims….

…Gupta said the product has cow dung, water of the holy Ganges river*, cow urine, rose water, cow milk, items of fire sacrifice – ‘hawan samagri’, rose petals, rice, clove, cardamom, the ayurvedic product guggal, camphor, butter, sawdust of the mango tree, ‘itra’ (essence), extract of tulsi, sandalwood powder and sand from the feet of sacred cows.

Read the complete article

*Holy the Ganges may be, but it is well known that the counts of fecal coliform bacteria in the river are 3000 times higher than is considered safe in developed countries. The Ganges is one of the most polluted waterways in the world.

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Addendum: Note resemblance between kanda (upper right) and Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies

Classifying Crap: The Bristol Stool Scale

No longer is “Number 2″ sufficient. Now we have poopie, types 1-7.

A play on words, “Shit-shape and Bristol-fashion” comes to mind.

From Wikipedia:

The Bristol Stool Form Scale or Bristol Stool Chart is a classification of the form, that is appearance in a toilet, of human feces into seven groups. It was developed by Dr. K. Hering at the University of Bristol and was first published in the British Medical Journal in 1990.The form of the stool depends on the time it spends in the colon.

Types 1 and 2 indicate constipation, types 3 and 4 are usually the most comfortable to pass, types 5-6 tend to be associated with urgency and type 7 is diarrhea. There have been several claimed sightings of the lord himself [?!] in type 3 but the accuracy of these claims should not be relied upon for educational purposes.

Well, that’s nice to know. Let’s eat.

Hell Smell Incarnate: The Stench of the Fiery Pit

Burning pit emits ‘sickening stench’; solution sought

Knoxville, Tennessee–State and local officials will meet today to determine how to attack a burning pit in West Knox County that emits “a sickening stench” and dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

The 30-40 foot deep pit at 9025 Tedford Drive has been a sore point for a while and about 3:30 a.m. Dec. 28 forced residents of six nearby homes to evacuate. The evacuation was mandated because of unsafe levels of carbon monoxide accumulating in the homes.

Bruce Wuethrich, director of Knox County public works and engineering, said the pit is filled with demolition wastes, such as brush and tree stumps. The material ignited after emitting enough heat during decomposition, he said….

Read the complete article

Naples Stinks

Stench of battle hangs over Naples as rubbish protests turn violent

Richard Owen, of the Times Online (UK), in Naples

[Excerpts]

It is the stench that you notice first. Then, as you get closer, you see and smell the mountains of rubbish: coloured plastic bags, black dustbin liners, cardboard boxes sodden with overnight rain, a carpet of broken glass. Yesterday Italian troops from units more used to service in Iraq and the Balkans were called in to start clearing the festering piles of rubbish from the streets of Naples….

…The crisis has engulfed the centre, after the city’s landfills, long over-stretched, finally reached capacity over Christmas. Amidst claims that the Naples Mafia is sabotaging attempts to open new landfills, more than 110,000 tonnes of waste has been left festering on the streets….

Read the complete article

A stinky song

Which you may listen to over at Fist of Blog

Not for the easily offended or the kiddies. Hilarious, but generally unwholesome.

Toxic Eau de Cow Arse?

A group of Nebraskans, concerned about “the byproducts of livestock operations intruding into their lives,” opposes the idea that hydrogen sulfide (fart gas) and ammonia (piss) emissions from stockyard operations be labeled “non-emergency” and made exempt from EPA reporting requirements. (read the article)

There’s no love lost between myself and the EPA, but I know the stench of fanatical activism (as opposed to activism) when I smell it. What these individuals are objecting to is the smell of the barnyard – something I grew up with, being raised in rural Washington state. What they are asking comes more clearly into focus when we take note of the two “offending” substances:

Toon