You are currently browsing the daily archive for August 16th, 2007.
Mt. Everest, that bastian of adventure that draws thrill-seekers and wall street brokers with nothing else left to accomplish alike, is three times more likely to kill people over 60. No kidding. Actually this shouldn’t be as obvious as it seems to be, since apparently old people adjust to higher altitudes more quickly and have more experience. So why do they die? Who freakin knows. Thanks to Wired’s less-than-completely-informative-article, I’m in the dark. They hint at the proliferation of older people in these expeditions, but really shouldn’t that have been adjusted for in the statistics?
However, there is an up side. Fun facts:
- 1.5% of climbers under 60 die attempting Everest
- 5% of climbers over 60 die
- 31% of climbers under 60 make it to the top
- 13% of climbers over 60 make it to the top
Just something to consider if you’re old and seeking to conquer the world’s tallest mountain.
More sad news from the Endless War. The New York Times is reporting at least 250 dead in an attack on two Kurdish villages, Qahtaniya and Jazeera. As they always do, these numbers will surely rise. As of the time of the Times report, at least 40 obliterated homes had not been searched for casualties.
Reading these stories is enough to make you weep. They also report on a Kurdish woman stoned to death by her own people for dating a Sunni man. Sunnis then killed 26 Kurds in response. And then to hear the US Ambassador spin it: “This indiscriminate and heartless violence only strengthens our resolve to continue our mission against the terrorists who are plaguing the people of Iraq.” They are plaguing Iraq because we brought them there. As long as we are there, they will continue to plague Iraq.
It’s time to leave.
