Chewing the Facts is a round up of recent news for Moxy readers to chew on and chat about at their after-work cocktails or during mid-day coffee breaks. Published twice a month, this brain candy is meant to create an open conversation about the things happening in our world today.
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NASA Searches for Loot That Traveled From Space to Another Void
The memorabilia collection of former President Bill Clinton. A retired dentist’s basement in West Virginia. The black market in Miami. Just three examples of places where missing “moon rocks” have been discovered in recent years.
Unfortunately, the number of such lost objects recovered by NASA is far less than that of moon rocks and other space samples that are still unaccounted for.
According to NASA’s inspector general, Paul K. Martin, there are at least 517 moon rocks and other specimens from space, lent or gifted to various dignitaries between 1970 and 2010, that remain lost. Though this represents less than .01% of all of NASA’s 163,000 such samples, NASA spokesperson William P. Jeffs stated that all “such losses at any time are regrettable.” Read the full story at The New York Times.
Gabrielle Giffords to resign from US Congress to work on recovery
Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D) announced this week that she will be stepping down from her Congressional seat, a year after sustaining a near-fatal gunshot wound to the head during a meet and greet in her home district in January of 2011.
In a video message taped for constituents and well-wishers Giffords said:
“Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for Arizona I will step down this week. I’m getting better every day. My spirit is high. I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country.”
Giffords had until May to file for re-election, and both local and national Democratic Party officials had speculated she may have been recovered enough to do so. $800,000 dollars had already been raised for the potential campaign. Read the full story at the Guardian.
Guatemalans climb volcano in protest against violence
An extinct volcano in Antigua, Guatemala is the scene of a demonstration against the soaring levels of domestic violence in that country. Last year, records indicate that over 600 women were murdered, while only 4% of the crimes were successfully prosecuted.
The group of about 12,000 people (which include both the newly-elected president of Guatemala, Otto Perez Molina, and the country’s Ambassador from the United Kingdom, Julie Chappell) hopes to form the world’s longest human chain, as a sign of solidarity against the high rate of domestic crime in Guatemala. Read the full story at the BBC.
A Second Here a Second There May Just Be a Waste of Time
Have you got a second? Though you probably don’t realize it, every few years you have one more added onto your day—though if some have their way, that may no longer be the case in the near future.
The concept of the “leap second” is similar to the quadrennial February 29th. It is added to keep ultra-accurate time keeping devices, such as the world’s various atomic clocks, more closely synchronized with the earth’s slightly irregular rotation. But 70 nations have sent a total of 700 delegates to a meeting of a United Nations telecommunications agency to explore whether the benefits of engaging in the rather complex mechanical calibration outweigh the ever so miniscule inaccuracy that might result from discontinuing the practice.
Both sides of the issue have strong proponents from all over the world. Read the full story at The New York Times.
Evicted 101-year-old Detroit woman can’t go home
In September, 101 year old Detroit Resident Texana Hollis was evicted from her Detroit home of 60 years, due to foreclosure. Two days later the government authorities told her she would be allowed to stay there after all. And this week they reversed themselves again.
Citing safety and health issues with the house, civil authorities told Hollis that she would in fact not be allowed to return to the place she had lived, prior to her eviction, since the early 1950′s.
“Here I am, 100 years old and don’t have a home,” she said. “Oh Lord, help me.”
“We can’t allow someone to live in that atmosphere now that we are essentially the owners of the property,” said Brian Sullivan, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Read the full story at Yahoo! News (via the AP).
Article written by Ty Unglebower with help from Erik Friberg for Moxy Magazine, January 2001.
