A view of Mount Everest from Kala Patthar in Nepal (Courtesy of Pavel Novak at en.wikipedia.org)

Mount Everest may be shrinking.  According to Nepal, on whose border it stands, it is 8,848 meters tall. According to China, which shares that border with the mountain, it is 8,844 meters tall.  To solve the controversy, Nepal plans to re-measure the world’s tallest peak.  The process will require GSM satellites and reference points on the mountain and take two years to complete.

Here’s my question: So what?  The mountain is what it is and probably doesn’t care what height we assign it.  Climbers still want to get to the summit, whether it is 12 feet taller or shorter than someone’s government says it is.   Keep reading »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:35 — 1.2MB)

Rais Bhuyian, the man Mark Stroman tried to kill (Credit: Reuters)

Mark Stroman has watched 208 people walk past him to be executed.  Today it’s his turn.  Unless the Texas governor issues a stay, he will be put to death by lethal injection at 6:00 tonight.  What makes his case unique is the fact that a man he tried to kill is working to stop his death.

Stroman’s sister died on September 11, 2001 in the World Trade Center, and Stroman was angry at all Muslims.  In the days after 9/11 he shot dead an Indian immigrant and a man from Pakistan.  He also shot Rais Bhuyian in the face as the Muslim worked behind a gas station cash register.  The Bangladeshi-born naturalized U.S. citizen played dead until Stroman left his store.  Several operations saved his life, but he lost the use of his right eye and still carries shotgun pellets in his face.   Keep reading »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:42 — 1.2MB)