VBVW for February 9, 2007:
Taking Up Space

• The Very Best

Nearly forty years after liberally dousing the Vietnamese people with Agent Orange, the U.S. government has finally agreed to clean up areas where the toxin was stored. The U.S. still denies that dioxin was the cause of everything from soldier’s diseases to birth defects, but is beginning to realize that maybe, just maybe, it was responsible for some bad things that happened in Vietnam.

Machines designed to detect radiation and bomb ingredients are being tested at ports on New York City’s Staten Island, and plans are in place to set up radiation alarms within a 50-mile radius of the city. With the threat of nuclear terrorism looming, it’s good see the Department of Homeland Security do more than play with colored stickers.

The Norwegian government unveiled the design for a doomsday vault that will house more than 3 million seeds from all known varieties of food crops. The Svalbard International Seed Vault, designed to ensure that the world’s agriculture survives any future Apocalypse, will be built into a mountainside on a remote island near the North Pole. At least one country is thinking further ahead than the next election.

• The Very Worst

Astronaut Lisa Nowak, a woman with obvious mental problems, attacked a romantic rival after driving 900 miles while wearing a diaper. If she was a legal secretary or a dental hygienist, this story wouldn’t have even made it into the local papers. Instead, the media is running her on Page One every day, ensuring that her life will go down harder than the Challenger.

The perpetual train wreck that was Anna Nicole Smith finally came to a sudden stop.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, nearly one in four flights is now either delayed or cancelled. This is the worst airline performance since 2000, a mildly happier time when they actually fed travelers and when a $299 plane ticket bought a passenger some respect. Or at least the illusion of it.