TresSugar

Naples Takes Out the Trash - By Setting It on Fire

CitizenSugar — Mon, 19 May 2008 07:40:14 -0700

Italy's garbage problem reached its flashpoint overnight as trashed-out residents set fire to piles of the the 3,500 tons of uncollected refuse.

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's newly reelected prime minister, may force local councils to accept new rubbish dumps, despite protests. He says, "I am no longer prepared to wait until everyone is in agreement, while the piles of rubbish become mountains of trash."

One city official said local authorities were managing to remove more than 1,000 tons of trash a day while waiting for the decision on where to put it all. He begged residents to be patient and not become vigilante trash removers by setting the rubbish on fire.

Thanks to the additional collections, we should be able to overcome this emergency in four or five days, but people must collaborate. They have to stop throwing bags of rubbish out on to the streets, and, above all, they mustn't burn them.

Would piles of trash for months on your streets inspire you to a firey protest? Is setting the stinky mess on fire just adding to the woes? Is the problem of where to put the trash a troubling sign for global garbage? Are we out of space?

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Who's More Trashy: Naples vs. San Francisco

LibertySugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 11:00:14 -0700

The European Commission (EC) has filed a suit against Italy in the European Court of Justice. The EC thinks a lawsuit will clean up Naples, Italy, which has been enveloped in piles of trash and a toxic stench, as seen in the pictures below. The EC hopes that potential harsh fines will prompt politicians to take more serious action to end the massive years-long garbage crisis, brought on by organized crime.

Meanwhile in San Francisco, residents recycle 70 percent of their waste. Recycling-obsessed Mayor Gavin Newsom wants to give city residents an incentive to take their recycling prowess to the next level - either they recycle, or they don't get their trash picked up.

Mayor Newsom is proposing legislation that would make it mandatory to recycle cans, bottles, paper, yard waste, and food scraps. So it looks like recycling may no longer be something you do to feel good about yourself - it will be the law. Newsom told the New York Times what's behind his plan:

It’s purposefulness that could otherwise be construed as ego. You want to be the greatest city. You want to be the leading city. You want to be on the cutting edge. I’m very intense about it.

Should recycling be mandatory? Will the Newsom's proposal make San Francisco the next Naples, if residents get lazy about recycling? Can a lawsuit clean up Naples, or is it just a waste of time?

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T. Hanks Says "Thanks"

GiggleSugar — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:30:00 -0700

Go ahead, trash Tom Hanks. He'll be forever grateful.

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Doggie-Cam Nabs Pooch

GiggleSugar — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 03:00:00 -0800

He sees it, sniffs a little, tries to resist the temptation, looks nervously around, and then goes for it. When the fam's away, the dog will play- or make a mad mess of trash on the kitchen floor. And there's no denying it later cuz the home security camera caught it all on tape. Poor Panda better prepare to put those puppy dog eyes to work.

The Return of the Phantom Pooper

GiggleSugar — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:30:00 -0800

If you have any deets on the whereabouts of this shit-and-run artist, please . . . spare us.

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Butt What's Your Point?

GiggleSugar — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:00:00 -0700

The roundabout way of saying, "No Littering Please."

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It's Trash Day!

GiggleSugar — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 07:00:00 -0700

We've all got this kind of "trash," so where's my buff, handsome sanitation engineer when I need him?

Why You Should Trash the Term White Trash

TresSugar — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Some people tire of more don'ts to add to the so-called politically correct list of things not to say. For me, I think it's important to be aware of what the language you use implies - what it means, who it might hurt, the power behind words. Political correctness (for lack of a better term) is just etiquette on a larger social scale.

Which brings me to the term "white trash." This has always bugged me, and many have weighed in on why it's an awful term.

On the most basic level, calling anyone trash is just plain cruel and dehumanizing. When you think of it from a racial perspective, there's the implication that it's such an unusual event for white people to be "trash" that there needs to be a special category. Political theorist bell hooks, in her book Black Looks, says that white trash is basically a code term meaning, "as low as black people." To hear more thoughts on the term white trash, read more.

Then there's the class discrimination involved. People considered white trash are almost always poor, or from poor backgrounds. I don't need to explain how messed up it is to trash people for being poor. That, I think, is classless.

White trash has become so casually tossed around, in spite of attempts by critics to call attention to it - even Heidi Klum and Seal had a white trash-themed wedding when they renewed their vows recently, and I bet they didn't intend it to be offensive.

Have you ever casually used the term white trash? Does it bother you when you hear it?

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Tons of Trash Piles up in Naples, Italy

LibertySugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:45:10 -0800

Naples, Italy is still in the midst of a garbage crisis. Thanks to mafia control of the waste-management system, mixed with government incompetence, 200,000 tons of piled waste sits in the southern Italian city.

Last December, garbage collectors stopped picking up trash, as there was nowhere to put it. Last week, outgoing Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said the trash will be gone by May as a result of new dumps and the creation of three incinerators. May! Naples reached an agreement with a German waste-management company and piles of garbage will be sent to Germany to be burned.

According to Greenpeace, incinerators will result in irreversible environmental damage. If fact, schools have been forced to close a few days, as the smell from festering trash made it unsafe for children to go outside.

Check out the video above of Vespas floating in a sea of trash, narrated in beautiful Italian. You're safe from the stench on this side of the camera. How do you say recycle in Italian?

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Kevin Nealon Trash Talks The View

GiggleSugar — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:00:00 -0800

Subliminally. Per Elisabeth Hasselbeck's request, Kevin Nealon busts out "Mr. Subliminal" on The View and doesn't hold back. He subliminally says all the shit we've been thinking and not saying for years about those ~~nauseating~~ delightful ~~hookers~~ co-hosts on the most ~~torturous~~ worthwhile ~~trash show~~ program on television today. ~~Thank you~~ Shame on you, Kevin!