American Public Transit Needs Overhaul to Meet 21st Century Challenges

As the 21st century presents us with many new challenges, our current public transit system does not measure up. America has more cars per capita than any other country in the world, has doubled the number of miles driven compared to the last quarter-century, and "our" insistence on driving large automobiles only contributes to the problems we need to address.

Global warming, public security, rising fuel cost, an over abundance of traffic, makes it critical we revamp our public transportation system. By reducing our dependence on the automobile we can reverse the current trend of two out of every three barrels of oil in the United States fueling our transportation system. For every dollar we invest in public transit, America saves nearly two dollars in cost from relying on the old method of transportation, not to mention the benefits to our global environment.

U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), who takes on powerful interests on behalf of the American public, reported why rail, rapid buses and other forms of public transit must play a more prominent role in America’s future transportation system.

Existing public transportation already plays a key role in addressing key problems faced by America:

-In 2006, transit saved an estimated 3.4 billion gallons of gasoline in the United States—enough to fuel 5.8 million cars for a year. In monetary terms, transit saved more than $9 billion that would otherwise have been spent on gasoline.

-In 2005, transit prevented 540.8 million hours of traffic delay, according to the Texas Transportation Institute, equivalent to more than 61,700 people sitting in traffic for an entire year. The monetary value of those savings was $10.2 billion.

-Transit reduced global warming emissions by nearly 26 million metric tons in 2006. In New York state alone, transit avoided 11.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution—more than was produced by the entire economies of Rhode Island, Vermont or the District of Columbia.

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Saudi Arabia hangs and then publicly crucifies four expats

Saudi Arabia hanged and then crucified four Sri Lankan expats convicted of robbery and put their mutilated bodies in public display, according to the Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry.

Human Rights groups have condemned the action by Saudi Authorities for executing without prior notification the men who were originally only sentenced to imprisonment.

“The execution of these four migrants, who had been badly beaten and locked up for years without access to lawyers, is a travesty of justice,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “International law only allows states to use the death penalty for the most serious crimes and in the most stringent of circumstances – and neither condition was met in this case.”

The Sri Lankan embassy identified the men as Victor Corea, Ranjith Silva, Sanath Pushpakumara and Shamila Sangeeth Kumara.

The men were convicted for armed robbery by the General Court in Riyadh according to a judgment delivered in October 2004, but Amnesty International alleged that the trial did not meet minimum international standards of justice.

The Sri Lanka Embassy in Riyadh, responsible for around 350,000 Sri Lankan migrants are estimated to be working in Saudi Arabia, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo had been closely following up this case and the Government presented two appeals for clemency first by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and subsequently by President Mahinda Rajapakse to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

The latter appeal was delivered by hand by the President’s Special Envoy Minister Hon. A H M Fowzie, Minister of Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development to Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz in Riyadh on 29th May 2006.

Amnesty International reported that Saudi Arabia has executed 17 persons already in 2007.

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