Presidential ambush of Australian Parliament
James Grubel may not be the most high-profile member of the Canberra press gallery, but he's certainly one of the most influential. As chief political correspondent for Australian Associated Press, the national wire service, Grubel's labours are seen and often published by every newspaper in the land. A friendly and diligent journalist, Grubel isn't much prone to hyperbole. But his summary of last week's whirlwind presidential visit is tinged with anger.
"George W. Bush's 21 hours in Australia was more like an American invasion than a visit, particularly as far as the media was concerned," says Grubel.
Several press gallery reporters complained of being disciplined by officials when they struck up conversations with US journalists.
"They tried to keep us apart behind these silly lines, and when an AAP reporter started chatting with an American an official came over and separated them," according to Fleur Anderson from the News Limited bureau. "It was very strange. They were asking, what are you doing? Are you trying to interview the Americans? That's not allowed?"
Thursday, October 30, 2003
CASHLESS SOCIETY
Smart card a dumb idea, Aboriginal leader says
Smartcards are part of a proposal by acting ATSIC Chairman Lionel Quartermaine, who wants to see tighter restrictions placed on how welfare payments are spent. But the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission's western New South Wales commissioner Steve Gordon says it is "self- determination", not "smart cards" that helps Indigenous people take control of their future.
"I believe it's going against human rights," he said. "How would you like to have a card and you can only go and buy clothes or get meals.
Smartcards are part of a proposal by acting ATSIC Chairman Lionel Quartermaine, who wants to see tighter restrictions placed on how welfare payments are spent. But the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission's western New South Wales commissioner Steve Gordon says it is "self- determination", not "smart cards" that helps Indigenous people take control of their future.
"I believe it's going against human rights," he said. "How would you like to have a card and you can only go and buy clothes or get meals.
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
Solar flare hits Earth; light show in Perth
A shockwave from the Sun has hit the Earth, causing a rare phenomenon in the southern skies near Perth, Australia. Perth Observatory director James Biggs says he observed an aurora, seen as whitish milky light in the sky.
"From about 2:30 to about 3:40 there was a bit of a glow towards the south in the sky, reasonably high up," he said.
"Until about 3:30 there was definitely a glow with some dark stripes in it. That was the aurora."
Dr Biggs says the aurora is very rare.
Dr Fred Watson from the Anglo-Australian Observatory at Coonabarabran in north-west New South Wales says auroras may be visible elsewhere over Australia over the next few nights. [Recent news.]
A shockwave from the Sun has hit the Earth, causing a rare phenomenon in the southern skies near Perth, Australia. Perth Observatory director James Biggs says he observed an aurora, seen as whitish milky light in the sky.
"From about 2:30 to about 3:40 there was a bit of a glow towards the south in the sky, reasonably high up," he said.
"Until about 3:30 there was definitely a glow with some dark stripes in it. That was the aurora."
Dr Biggs says the aurora is very rare.
Dr Fred Watson from the Anglo-Australian Observatory at Coonabarabran in north-west New South Wales says auroras may be visible elsewhere over Australia over the next few nights. [Recent news.]
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
RIGHTS TRASHED
Activists ask City of Orlando to oppose Patriot Act
A group of political activists has asked Orlando to join a growing list of cities that oppose the Patriot Act. The post-September 11th law was passed to help put terrorists behind bars, but Monday the Orlando City Council heard from people who say America is losing too many rights.
They planned to propose a proclamation in opposition to the Patriot Act. But the activists realized they didn't have enough support for their cause. So instead, they tried to sell the council on an education campaign they say would show good Americans that the Patriot Act is bad for America.
"By dismantling the Bill of Rights, the Patriot Act and its authors have opened up a Pandora's box of possible abuses," comments activist Cinde Roberts.
"This is supposed to be the land of the free, home of the brave, not land of the scared, home of the jailed," says activist Michelle Power.
But the pleas seemingly fell on deaf ears. After the meeting, even personal pleas didn't work. The mayor says the city is not getting into this kind of debate.
A group of political activists has asked Orlando to join a growing list of cities that oppose the Patriot Act. The post-September 11th law was passed to help put terrorists behind bars, but Monday the Orlando City Council heard from people who say America is losing too many rights.
They planned to propose a proclamation in opposition to the Patriot Act. But the activists realized they didn't have enough support for their cause. So instead, they tried to sell the council on an education campaign they say would show good Americans that the Patriot Act is bad for America.
"By dismantling the Bill of Rights, the Patriot Act and its authors have opened up a Pandora's box of possible abuses," comments activist Cinde Roberts.
"This is supposed to be the land of the free, home of the brave, not land of the scared, home of the jailed," says activist Michelle Power.
But the pleas seemingly fell on deaf ears. After the meeting, even personal pleas didn't work. The mayor says the city is not getting into this kind of debate.
BIG PHARMA
Doctors continue antidepressant prescriptions despite suicide warning
Health Canada warned in July that antidepressants Paxil and Effexor should not be prescribed to anyone under 18 years of age because they may increase the risk of suicidal thoughts.
But sales of the drugs have dropped only slightly since then, which suggests that doctors haven't changed how they prescribe the drugs.
The new research suggests teens are at higher risk of thinking about suicide only when they first start taking the drugs.
Dr. David Healy, a world-renowned expert on antidepressants, says doctors need more extensive research on the effects of antidepressants on teens. But Healy says he's doubtful drug companies will conduct those studies because they may show increased risk of suicidal thoughts and may affect sales to adults as well.
Healy's expert testimony in last year's civil trial involving Paxil was one of the deciding factors in the plaintiff's jury victory in that case. Wyoming resident Donald Schell, 60, killed his wife, daughter and granddaughter and then himself with a gun in 1998 after only two days on Paxil.
The decisive factor in the case was the company's own internal data demonstrating that they knew Paxil could cause agitation and suicidal ideation in research subjects.
Two weeks after the verdict in the Paxil trial, Houston area mother and convicted murderer Andrea Yates drowned her five children while she was on not one, but two antidepressant "camisoles chimique".
What could have been an opportunity for the mass media to educate the public about the dangers of antidepressant drugs, instead has been a non-stop awareness campaign for the mental health industry about the need for more psychiatric "treatment".
Health Canada warned in July that antidepressants Paxil and Effexor should not be prescribed to anyone under 18 years of age because they may increase the risk of suicidal thoughts.
But sales of the drugs have dropped only slightly since then, which suggests that doctors haven't changed how they prescribe the drugs.
The new research suggests teens are at higher risk of thinking about suicide only when they first start taking the drugs.
Dr. David Healy, a world-renowned expert on antidepressants, says doctors need more extensive research on the effects of antidepressants on teens. But Healy says he's doubtful drug companies will conduct those studies because they may show increased risk of suicidal thoughts and may affect sales to adults as well.
Healy's expert testimony in last year's civil trial involving Paxil was one of the deciding factors in the plaintiff's jury victory in that case. Wyoming resident Donald Schell, 60, killed his wife, daughter and granddaughter and then himself with a gun in 1998 after only two days on Paxil.
The decisive factor in the case was the company's own internal data demonstrating that they knew Paxil could cause agitation and suicidal ideation in research subjects.
Two weeks after the verdict in the Paxil trial, Houston area mother and convicted murderer Andrea Yates drowned her five children while she was on not one, but two antidepressant "camisoles chimique".
What could have been an opportunity for the mass media to educate the public about the dangers of antidepressant drugs, instead has been a non-stop awareness campaign for the mental health industry about the need for more psychiatric "treatment".
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
New military mortuary to accommodate bugeoning body-bag business
A new $20 million dollar mortuary will open today at US's Dover Air Force Base.
The base has the largest military mortuary in the country, and the new facility will be twice as big as the old one. It will offer a state-of-the-art first stop for the remains of casualties of war and civilian incidents abroad.
[The Bush Reich has not released an official tally of US casualties in Iraq (for non-official lists read this and this.) and they just opened a huge, new military mortuary ... do the math.]
A new $20 million dollar mortuary will open today at US's Dover Air Force Base.
The base has the largest military mortuary in the country, and the new facility will be twice as big as the old one. It will offer a state-of-the-art first stop for the remains of casualties of war and civilian incidents abroad.
[The Bush Reich has not released an official tally of US casualties in Iraq (for non-official lists read this and this.) and they just opened a huge, new military mortuary ... do the math.]
OIL WAR
The axis of oil: how a plan for the world's biggest pipeline threatens to wreak havoc
The United States - with the help of the oil giant BP and British taxpayers - plans to establish a hegemony across an area stretching from the Russian borders to the Mediterranean Sea.
Inevitably, the need for oil is at the heart of the story. Two former Soviet states, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, between them have oil reserves three times the size of America's.
The US has been pushing for a new pipeline since Bill Clinton was in office. At first, companies were reluctant, but the rising price of oil, allied to threats in the Persian Gulf and the likelihood of huge reserves of oil and gas worth as much as $4 trillion under the Caspian, has made them increasingly bullish. The US Environment Department estimates that by 2010, the Caspian region could produce 3.7 million barrels per day. This could fill a large hole in world supplies as world oil demand is expected to grow from 76 million a day, in 2000, to 118.9 million by 2020.
The United States - with the help of the oil giant BP and British taxpayers - plans to establish a hegemony across an area stretching from the Russian borders to the Mediterranean Sea.
Inevitably, the need for oil is at the heart of the story. Two former Soviet states, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, between them have oil reserves three times the size of America's.
The US has been pushing for a new pipeline since Bill Clinton was in office. At first, companies were reluctant, but the rising price of oil, allied to threats in the Persian Gulf and the likelihood of huge reserves of oil and gas worth as much as $4 trillion under the Caspian, has made them increasingly bullish. The US Environment Department estimates that by 2010, the Caspian region could produce 3.7 million barrels per day. This could fill a large hole in world supplies as world oil demand is expected to grow from 76 million a day, in 2000, to 118.9 million by 2020.
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
Ex-POWs fight for right to torture payments
The Bush administration is quietly piling up victories in a legal battle to block payments to 17 U.S. combat veterans who were captured and tortured in the first Persian Gulf War and won a lawsuit against Iraq for nearly a billion dollars.
The former POWs — whipped, beaten, burned, electrically shocked and starved by their Iraqi captors in 1991 — say they are baffled by the administration's refusal to let them collect any of the Iraqi assets now under U.S. control, and by the Justice Department's efforts to overturn a federal-court decision upholding their claims to compensation.
"I don't understand why they want to see this case go away," said Lt. Col. Dale Storr of Spokane, who today is an airline pilot and serves in the Air National Guard.
"My country can be mistaken," Storr said, "but I'll still serve it and love it. I'm proud to wear the uniform, no matter what comes."
The Bush administration is quietly piling up victories in a legal battle to block payments to 17 U.S. combat veterans who were captured and tortured in the first Persian Gulf War and won a lawsuit against Iraq for nearly a billion dollars.
The former POWs — whipped, beaten, burned, electrically shocked and starved by their Iraqi captors in 1991 — say they are baffled by the administration's refusal to let them collect any of the Iraqi assets now under U.S. control, and by the Justice Department's efforts to overturn a federal-court decision upholding their claims to compensation.
"I don't understand why they want to see this case go away," said Lt. Col. Dale Storr of Spokane, who today is an airline pilot and serves in the Air National Guard.
"My country can be mistaken," Storr said, "but I'll still serve it and love it. I'm proud to wear the uniform, no matter what comes."
UNCLEAN, UNCLEAN
Rabbis look to 'unclean' pigs to sniff out enemy, weapons
Rabbis in Israel have been asked to approve plans to train pigs to guard West Bank settlements in a bid to thwart would-be Palestinian attackers from gaining 'martyrdom', the Ma'ariv daily said.
Directors of the Gdud Haivri, an organisation which supplies guard dogs to settlements in the West Bank, believe that pigs' more developed sense of smell would enable them to sniff out militants who hide before launching attacks.
According to the Muslim faith, a terrorist martyr who had touched a pig is not eligible for the reward of 70 virgins in heaven," he said.
Rabbi Daniel Shilo, chairman of the rabbinical committee of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) said that, while the raising of pigs - banned under Jewish dietary laws - had traditionally been forbidden, the move should be approved in exceptional circumstances.
Rabbis in Israel have been asked to approve plans to train pigs to guard West Bank settlements in a bid to thwart would-be Palestinian attackers from gaining 'martyrdom', the Ma'ariv daily said.
Directors of the Gdud Haivri, an organisation which supplies guard dogs to settlements in the West Bank, believe that pigs' more developed sense of smell would enable them to sniff out militants who hide before launching attacks.
According to the Muslim faith, a terrorist martyr who had touched a pig is not eligible for the reward of 70 virgins in heaven," he said.
Rabbi Daniel Shilo, chairman of the rabbinical committee of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) said that, while the raising of pigs - banned under Jewish dietary laws - had traditionally been forbidden, the move should be approved in exceptional circumstances.
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
Coronal Mass Ejection of 10 billion tons of matter creates a "snowstorm" on SOHO satellite images. The vast cloud of gas -- which with a temperature of 1.8 million degrees fahrenheit is more powerful than a billion hydrogen bombs -- will hit our planet's atmosphere today. The giant fireball hurtling towards Earth threatens to bring chaos to mobile phone networks, power grids and aircraft communications.
Massive solar flare may wreak havoc here
An X 17.2 flare, the second largest flare observed by SOHO, was setting off a strong high energy proton event and a fast-moving Coronal Mass Ejection.
The "snow" in EIT and LASCO images is not just making it difficult to spot new CMEs, it is also making the satellite's on-board compression algorithm less efficient, their observations lag behind the schedule because images take longer to downlink, and their buffer fills up.
A solar flare is an explosion on the Sun that happens when energy stored in twisted magnetic fields (usually above sunspots) is suddenly released. Flares produce a burst of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to x-rays and gamma-rays. Scientists classify solar flares according to their x-ray brightness in the wavelength range 1 to 8 Angstroms. There are 3 categories: X-class flares are the biggest; major events that can trigger planet-wide radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms. Read about the classification of X-ray Solar Flares here. Also read: Seeing double: astronomers amazed at two huge sunspots. And Sun fireball causing mobile chaos.
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
FILTHY LUCRE
Protests as Australia ships nuclear waste to France
Amid protests and under cover of darkness, Australia dispatched a load of used nuclear fuel to France in the first overseas shipment of Australian radioactive waste in two years.
A convoy of five trucks carrying 344 spent nuclear fuel rods crossed suburban Sydney under heavy police guard before dawn and loaded the waste aboard the French ship Fret Moselle, which quickly departed, officials said.
The convoy was protected by police and emergency vehicles, motorcycles and helicopters in a major security operation "probably bigger than anything Sydney's ever seen," Greenpeace spokesman Danny Kennedy said.
French firm Cogema's contract is to extract and retain enriched uranium and send intermediate-level radioactive waste back to Australia for long-term storage at a site yet to be determined -- likely to be Aboriginal homelands in South Australia.
Amid protests and under cover of darkness, Australia dispatched a load of used nuclear fuel to France in the first overseas shipment of Australian radioactive waste in two years.
A convoy of five trucks carrying 344 spent nuclear fuel rods crossed suburban Sydney under heavy police guard before dawn and loaded the waste aboard the French ship Fret Moselle, which quickly departed, officials said.
The convoy was protected by police and emergency vehicles, motorcycles and helicopters in a major security operation "probably bigger than anything Sydney's ever seen," Greenpeace spokesman Danny Kennedy said.
French firm Cogema's contract is to extract and retain enriched uranium and send intermediate-level radioactive waste back to Australia for long-term storage at a site yet to be determined -- likely to be Aboriginal homelands in South Australia.
BIG BROTHER
Boy's Internet research snags him in FBI web
A 12-year-old kid at Boys' Latin researches a paper on the Bay Bridge, and suddenly the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force shows up in the headmaster's office.
You could laugh if you didn't know the jangled nerves that set off such a reaction.
This fall, Dorsey Boyle, a middle-school teacher at Boys' Latin, the venerable Lake Avenue private school, assigned his classes a series of research papers. Seventh-grader John McLean picked a famous structure. McLean picked the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
The Boys' Latin middle school headmaster, Rick Brocato, had an unexpected visitor: Jim Drotar of the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force. "We're very sensitive about bridges and tunnels," he said.
A 12-year-old kid at Boys' Latin researches a paper on the Bay Bridge, and suddenly the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force shows up in the headmaster's office.
You could laugh if you didn't know the jangled nerves that set off such a reaction.
This fall, Dorsey Boyle, a middle-school teacher at Boys' Latin, the venerable Lake Avenue private school, assigned his classes a series of research papers. Seventh-grader John McLean picked a famous structure. McLean picked the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
The Boys' Latin middle school headmaster, Rick Brocato, had an unexpected visitor: Jim Drotar of the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force. "We're very sensitive about bridges and tunnels," he said.
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
[Slight, hazel-eyed, with high cheekbones and dirty blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, Rachel Corrie carried a megaphone in one hand and an orange fluorescent jacket in the other.]
The death of Rachel Corrie
Placing herself in the path of an Israeli bulldozer that she believed was about to flatten Nasrallah's house, Rachel Corrie was crushed to death -- her skull fractured, her ribs shattered, her lungs punctured. But the bitter accusations and violent recriminations that followed obscured almost everything else about the incident. Palestinians hailed her as a martyr of the Intifada. Several eyewitnesses charged that the bulldozer operator ran her down deliberately and called her killing 'a war crime.' The Israeli government, which rarely acknowledges the deaths of Palestinian civilians killed during its military operations, went into damage-control mode.
[Alienation News log of an originating story here. And a recent story about another peace activist shot by Israelis.]
TRUST IN GOD
Bigots like Boykin aid the enemy
Is this how the Bush White House hopes to win hearts and minds in the Islamic world? By supporting a small-minded general with a schoolboy's view that his God can beat up their God?
Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin, a high-ranking Pentagon official has ridiculed Islam as "Satan" and dismissed Muslims as idol worshippers.
"Well, you know what?" Boykin continued. "I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."
On other occasions, Boykin has described the war on terror as a "spiritual battle. Satan wants to destroy this nation, he wants to destroy us as a nation, and he wants to destroy us as a Christian army.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Boykin told the church, "this is your enemy. It is the principalities of darkness. ... It is a demonic presence in that city that God revealed to me as the enemy."
Is this how the Bush White House hopes to win hearts and minds in the Islamic world? By supporting a small-minded general with a schoolboy's view that his God can beat up their God?
Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin, a high-ranking Pentagon official has ridiculed Islam as "Satan" and dismissed Muslims as idol worshippers.
"Well, you know what?" Boykin continued. "I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."
On other occasions, Boykin has described the war on terror as a "spiritual battle. Satan wants to destroy this nation, he wants to destroy us as a nation, and he wants to destroy us as a Christian army.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Boykin told the church, "this is your enemy. It is the principalities of darkness. ... It is a demonic presence in that city that God revealed to me as the enemy."
Monday, October 27, 2003
WAR IS PEACE
Fake terrorism: the road to dictatorship
It's the oldest trick in the book, dating back to Roman times; creating the enemies you need.
An illuminating article from the UK. Also read about an alleged meeting between Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie. Alleged to have taken place on July 25, 1990 (eight days before the August 2, 1990 Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait).
OUR ALIEN MASTERS
Mahathir denies Bush rebuke
"If you can tell a lie about the existence of weapons of mass destruction and go to war because of it I'm not surprised if he is prepared to lie about what he said to me.
"It was the biggest lie. If he'd rebuked me I'm quite sure I would have rebuked him also."
Dr Mahathir Mohamad accused US President George W Bush of lying when Bush said he told reporters he had rebuked the Malaysian leader for remarks concerning Jews.
With just six days until he retires, the Malaysian leader insists president Bush had apologised for speaking out against him, after which they were "walking practically hand in hand".
"If you can tell a lie about the existence of weapons of mass destruction and go to war because of it I'm not surprised if he is prepared to lie about what he said to me.
"It was the biggest lie. If he'd rebuked me I'm quite sure I would have rebuked him also."
Dr Mahathir Mohamad accused US President George W Bush of lying when Bush said he told reporters he had rebuked the Malaysian leader for remarks concerning Jews.
With just six days until he retires, the Malaysian leader insists president Bush had apologised for speaking out against him, after which they were "walking practically hand in hand".
Thursday, October 23, 2003
LIFE AND DEATH
Russian roulette stunt has player 'terrified'
Derren Brown has told how his televised game of Russian roulette could go horribly wrong, and admits he feels terrified.
Brown - who will be seen pointing a gun at his head on Channel 4 on Sunday - said his mother had pleaded with him to call off the stunt. The station says it is going ahead with the show despite a warning by a senior policeman that it could encourage people to copy the stunt.
"There's a limit to what I can do. There's no 100 per cent guarantee," said Brown. Around 12,000 people volunteered to load a single bullet in one of the six numbered chambers of the Smith and Wesson handgun. Brown will then use his skills to predict which chamber by simply getting his assistant to count from one to six.
Derren Brown has told how his televised game of Russian roulette could go horribly wrong, and admits he feels terrified.
Brown - who will be seen pointing a gun at his head on Channel 4 on Sunday - said his mother had pleaded with him to call off the stunt. The station says it is going ahead with the show despite a warning by a senior policeman that it could encourage people to copy the stunt.
"There's a limit to what I can do. There's no 100 per cent guarantee," said Brown. Around 12,000 people volunteered to load a single bullet in one of the six numbered chambers of the Smith and Wesson handgun. Brown will then use his skills to predict which chamber by simply getting his assistant to count from one to six.
DUMB AND DUMBER
Man 'tried to use murderer's passport to flee Russia'
A man who bought a false passport to flee Russia got more than he bargained for after finding the paperwork belonged to a wanted murderer.
The 36-year-old man, named only as Arkadiy V for legal reasons, was arrested on suspicion of murder as he tried to cross the border into Latvia.
[A good rule of thumb for an identity thief is not to steal the name of someone whose reputation is worse than yours -- such as a sex offender.]
A man who bought a false passport to flee Russia got more than he bargained for after finding the paperwork belonged to a wanted murderer.
The 36-year-old man, named only as Arkadiy V for legal reasons, was arrested on suspicion of murder as he tried to cross the border into Latvia.
[A good rule of thumb for an identity thief is not to steal the name of someone whose reputation is worse than yours -- such as a sex offender.]
LAW IS AN ASS
Boy, 10, facing court over water pistol incident
A 10-year-old boy has been summonsed to appear in court over an allegation of assault with a water pistol. The boy has received the summons in relation to an allegation that he fired a water pistol at a passer-by in Westbury, Sherborne, Dorset, on April 13.
The boy, who is at the youngest age that a person can be prosecuted, is due to appear at Weymouth Youth Court on Friday, according to a spokeswoman for Weymouth Magistrates' Court.
A 10-year-old boy has been summonsed to appear in court over an allegation of assault with a water pistol. The boy has received the summons in relation to an allegation that he fired a water pistol at a passer-by in Westbury, Sherborne, Dorset, on April 13.
The boy, who is at the youngest age that a person can be prosecuted, is due to appear at Weymouth Youth Court on Friday, according to a spokeswoman for Weymouth Magistrates' Court.
OIL WAR
Ecuadoreans sue US oil firm over Amazon pollution
Ecuadorean Indians wearing feathered headdresses and red face-paint marched outside a jungle courthouse on Tuesday at the start of a case accusing U.S. oil giant ChevronTexaco of polluting the Amazon.
'Before Texaco, we were free. We drank from the river, bathed in the river and everything was peaceful because it wasn't polluted,' 67-year-old Secoya Indian Esteban Lusitande said in broken Spanish.
'Now there's nothing. We can't even swim.'
Ecuadorean Indians wearing feathered headdresses and red face-paint marched outside a jungle courthouse on Tuesday at the start of a case accusing U.S. oil giant ChevronTexaco of polluting the Amazon.
'Before Texaco, we were free. We drank from the river, bathed in the river and everything was peaceful because it wasn't polluted,' 67-year-old Secoya Indian Esteban Lusitande said in broken Spanish.
'Now there's nothing. We can't even swim.'
SKY IS FALLING
Mystery among asteroid scientists, Hermes, thought to have a partner
Astronomers have apparently discovered an interesting twist to one of the greatest asteroid mysteries of all time. Hermes -- discovered in 1937 by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth and lost to science for 66 years -- could actually be a pair of orbiting asteroids. And a strange pair, indeed.
The latest look at Hermes, also named 1937 UB, comes from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Initial radar observations show a "strongly bifurcated" appearance with two separate components of roughly equal sizes, consistent with an orbiting binary pair.
"We certainly did not expect to find a binary with roughly equal-sized components," Jean-Luc Margot, a University of California, Los Angeles researcher who led the work, said.
Astronomers have apparently discovered an interesting twist to one of the greatest asteroid mysteries of all time. Hermes -- discovered in 1937 by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth and lost to science for 66 years -- could actually be a pair of orbiting asteroids. And a strange pair, indeed.
The latest look at Hermes, also named 1937 UB, comes from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Initial radar observations show a "strongly bifurcated" appearance with two separate components of roughly equal sizes, consistent with an orbiting binary pair.
"We certainly did not expect to find a binary with roughly equal-sized components," Jean-Luc Margot, a University of California, Los Angeles researcher who led the work, said.
SKY IS FALLING
Six report UFO in Florida skies
It flashed across the sky like a shooting star, trailing a tail of green streaks.
But what Durham police Lt. Morris Taylor saw Monday night on Erwin Road was different from any shooting star he had ever seen before.
'It was pretty wild looking,' Taylor said of the unidentified flying object. 'It looked comparable to the size of the moon in the sky.'
Durham police dispatchers began receiving calls about an unidentified flying object at around 8:45 p.m. Monday, and one resident even flagged down a passing police cruiser to report the object. According to a dispatcher, about six reports were received in all.
It flashed across the sky like a shooting star, trailing a tail of green streaks.
But what Durham police Lt. Morris Taylor saw Monday night on Erwin Road was different from any shooting star he had ever seen before.
'It was pretty wild looking,' Taylor said of the unidentified flying object. 'It looked comparable to the size of the moon in the sky.'
Durham police dispatchers began receiving calls about an unidentified flying object at around 8:45 p.m. Monday, and one resident even flagged down a passing police cruiser to report the object. According to a dispatcher, about six reports were received in all.
NEW WORLD ORDER
Liberty groups attack plan for EU health ID card
The European Union took its first step yesterday towards the creation of an EU-wide health identity card able to store a range of biometric and personal data on a microchip by 2008.
But civil liberties groups say the European Health Insurance Card was the start of a scheme for a harmonised data chip that would quickly evolve into an EU 'identity card' containing intrusive information off all kinds that could be read by a computer.
The European Union took its first step yesterday towards the creation of an EU-wide health identity card able to store a range of biometric and personal data on a microchip by 2008.
But civil liberties groups say the European Health Insurance Card was the start of a scheme for a harmonised data chip that would quickly evolve into an EU 'identity card' containing intrusive information off all kinds that could be read by a computer.
RIGHTS TRASHED
Students fight electronic voteing machine maker Diebold
A group of students at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania has launched an 'electronic civil disobedience' campaign against voting machine maker Diebold Election Systems.
The students are protesting efforts by Diebold to prevent them and other website owners from linking to some 15,000 internal company memos that reveal the company was aware of security flaws in its e-voting software for years but sold the faulty systems to states anyway. The memos were leaked to voting activists and journalists by a hacker who broke into an insecure Diebold FTP server in March.
[Flash animation.]
A group of students at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania has launched an 'electronic civil disobedience' campaign against voting machine maker Diebold Election Systems.
The students are protesting efforts by Diebold to prevent them and other website owners from linking to some 15,000 internal company memos that reveal the company was aware of security flaws in its e-voting software for years but sold the faulty systems to states anyway. The memos were leaked to voting activists and journalists by a hacker who broke into an insecure Diebold FTP server in March.
[Flash animation.]
NEW WORLD ORDER
Sleeping with the enemy
Why don't President Bush and Osama bin Laden just get a room? Judging from events over the weekend, they need each other as much as they despise each other. The latest crackly tape issued by bin Laden (if it's him) confirms that al-Qaeda has no independent programme or war aims, but merely feeds off Western fears. And Bush's response - 'the bin Laden tape [shows] this is still a dangerous world' - suggests that his administration will leap on any squeak from the man on the mountain to justify the war on terror. B&B are more and more like a parasitical double act.
Why don't President Bush and Osama bin Laden just get a room? Judging from events over the weekend, they need each other as much as they despise each other. The latest crackly tape issued by bin Laden (if it's him) confirms that al-Qaeda has no independent programme or war aims, but merely feeds off Western fears. And Bush's response - 'the bin Laden tape [shows] this is still a dangerous world' - suggests that his administration will leap on any squeak from the man on the mountain to justify the war on terror. B&B are more and more like a parasitical double act.
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
Curtains Ordered for Media Coverage of Returning Coffins
Since the end of the Vietnam War, presidents have worried that their military actions would lose support once the public glimpsed the remains of U.S. soldiers arriving at air bases in flag-draped caskets.
To this problem, the Bush administration has found a simple solution: It has ended the public dissemination of such images by banning news coverage and photography of dead soldiers' homecomings on all military bases.
Since the end of the Vietnam War, presidents have worried that their military actions would lose support once the public glimpsed the remains of U.S. soldiers arriving at air bases in flag-draped caskets.
To this problem, the Bush administration has found a simple solution: It has ended the public dissemination of such images by banning news coverage and photography of dead soldiers' homecomings on all military bases.
VIRTUAL LIFE
The decline and fall of literacy ... or just a different sort
A 13-year-old schoolgirl from the UK surprised her teacher when she submitted a short composition about her summer holidayswritten in the sms text language.
The girl wrote: 'My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 : kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc.'
Secret agents may have had to spend hours deciphering the message, although it seems to be absolutely readable for any modern teenager.
For the uninitiated the composition translates as: 'My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York. It's a great place.'
A 13-year-old schoolgirl from the UK surprised her teacher when she submitted a short composition about her summer holidayswritten in the sms text language.
The girl wrote: 'My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 : kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc.'
Secret agents may have had to spend hours deciphering the message, although it seems to be absolutely readable for any modern teenager.
For the uninitiated the composition translates as: 'My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York. It's a great place.'
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
RULE OF LAW
Please don't say that, SA MPs told
South Australian parliamentarians have been ordered not to say 'please' when asking questions during question time.
The state's bewigged speaker, Peter Lewis, says it is a form of begging and it has been banned for 300 years.
During question time, National MP Karlene Maywald thought she was being polite asking a question about water restrictions: 'Can the Minister please advise the House when he will make public the framework?' she said.
Speaker Peter Lewis took exception to her language. 'The word 'please' is to beg, no honourable member in this place needs to beg any minister for anything, least of all an answer,' he said.
Ms Maywald sought a further clarification. 'I spend most of my time outside this House insisting that my daughter use the word please when asking a question,' she said. 'And I wonder whether or not is it against standing orders to use the word please?'
'Explicitly,' Mr Lewis replied. He said that had been the case for 300 years of parliamentary practice.
[300 years? Didn't Australia recently celebrate its second century as a nation?]
South Australian parliamentarians have been ordered not to say 'please' when asking questions during question time.
The state's bewigged speaker, Peter Lewis, says it is a form of begging and it has been banned for 300 years.
During question time, National MP Karlene Maywald thought she was being polite asking a question about water restrictions: 'Can the Minister please advise the House when he will make public the framework?' she said.
Speaker Peter Lewis took exception to her language. 'The word 'please' is to beg, no honourable member in this place needs to beg any minister for anything, least of all an answer,' he said.
Ms Maywald sought a further clarification. 'I spend most of my time outside this House insisting that my daughter use the word please when asking a question,' she said. 'And I wonder whether or not is it against standing orders to use the word please?'
'Explicitly,' Mr Lewis replied. He said that had been the case for 300 years of parliamentary practice.
[300 years? Didn't Australia recently celebrate its second century as a nation?]
BRAVE NEW WORLD
Human body network gets fast
Researchers in Japan have demonstrated a 10-megabits-per-second indoor network that uses human bodies as portable ethernet cables.
The network, dubbed ElectAura-Net, is wireless, but instead of using radio waves, infrared light, or microwaves to transmit information it uses a combination of the electric field that emanates from humans and a similar field emanating from special floor tiles.
The researchers' transceiver transmits data by oscillating the electric field surrounding the device. When the electric field that naturally emanates from a person intersects the electric field of the nearest tile transceiver, oscillations in one field are transmitted to the other.
Researchers in Japan have demonstrated a 10-megabits-per-second indoor network that uses human bodies as portable ethernet cables.
The network, dubbed ElectAura-Net, is wireless, but instead of using radio waves, infrared light, or microwaves to transmit information it uses a combination of the electric field that emanates from humans and a similar field emanating from special floor tiles.
The researchers' transceiver transmits data by oscillating the electric field surrounding the device. When the electric field that naturally emanates from a person intersects the electric field of the nearest tile transceiver, oscillations in one field are transmitted to the other.
WATCH THE SKIES
Cable channel suing NASA over UFO documents
Sci Fi, a U.S. cable channel that airs fictional programming such as Battlestar Galactica, as well as documentaries that explore the line between fact and science fiction, is part of a group pressuring the federal government to de-classify UFO information.
Last year Sci Fi joined forces with an investigative journalist, a Washington, DC law firm, and former President Clinton (news - web sites) chief of staff John Podesta, to gain release of documents relating to an incident it calls 'the new Roswell,' a UFO sighting in Kecksburg, Pennsylvania in 1965.
Sci Fi, a U.S. cable channel that airs fictional programming such as Battlestar Galactica, as well as documentaries that explore the line between fact and science fiction, is part of a group pressuring the federal government to de-classify UFO information.
Last year Sci Fi joined forces with an investigative journalist, a Washington, DC law firm, and former President Clinton (news - web sites) chief of staff John Podesta, to gain release of documents relating to an incident it calls 'the new Roswell,' a UFO sighting in Kecksburg, Pennsylvania in 1965.
EARTH CHANGES
Pollution: ex-commisioner warns of looming disaster
Former Commissioner in Nigeria's defunct Bendel State, Dr. Idodo Umeh said that 'government must come out to tell the oil companies that they must obey the rules of the environment. Do you know that these oil companies obey the rules in their countries but they abuse environment here? The environment does not need you to live but you need the environment to live', he said.
Dr. Umeh, says that a major health disaster looms in the Niger Delta if something urgent is not done by government about the pollution of the environment by the oil companies operating in the region.
Dr. Umeh said "the results of my study is not friendly, the environment is contaminated, it is abused, the water is not fit for human consumption. All the fishes in the rivers are contaminated with heavy metals such as iron, zinc, lead, cobalt and so on and this is contrary to the standard of the World Health Organization (WHO)."
He said that those metals were toxic to human beings and "when you drink water containing them, they would accumulate in your body they can cause cancer, high-blood pressure, heart disease, heart failure, heart damage, liver damage, kidney damage because they accumulate and do not leave your body. There is saline disease now in the Niger Delta and this is the result of polluted water. It reduces the life span of the people and of course, even the crude oil is very toxic. It should not be allowed in our drinking water, it is very poisonous."
Former Commissioner in Nigeria's defunct Bendel State, Dr. Idodo Umeh said that 'government must come out to tell the oil companies that they must obey the rules of the environment. Do you know that these oil companies obey the rules in their countries but they abuse environment here? The environment does not need you to live but you need the environment to live', he said.
Dr. Umeh, says that a major health disaster looms in the Niger Delta if something urgent is not done by government about the pollution of the environment by the oil companies operating in the region.
Dr. Umeh said "the results of my study is not friendly, the environment is contaminated, it is abused, the water is not fit for human consumption. All the fishes in the rivers are contaminated with heavy metals such as iron, zinc, lead, cobalt and so on and this is contrary to the standard of the World Health Organization (WHO)."
He said that those metals were toxic to human beings and "when you drink water containing them, they would accumulate in your body they can cause cancer, high-blood pressure, heart disease, heart failure, heart damage, liver damage, kidney damage because they accumulate and do not leave your body. There is saline disease now in the Niger Delta and this is the result of polluted water. It reduces the life span of the people and of course, even the crude oil is very toxic. It should not be allowed in our drinking water, it is very poisonous."
SUFFER THE CHILDREN
Deadly days continue in nation's schools
Young people are dying at the hands of classmates, strangers and even parents in big cities and small towns. There have been shootings in and around high schools and middle schools in Chicago and Cold Spring, Minn., gang feuds in Tucson, stabbings and fistfights in Fort Worth and Green Cove Springs, Fla., and apparent murder-suicides in San Diego and Hopkinsville, Ky. Police have wounded armed students in standoffs in Spokane and Sacramento.
Since mid-August, when most US students returned to class, the nation's public schools have seen 18 violent deaths, more than in either of the previous two years. And that does not include about 50 non-fatal incidents.
Young people are dying at the hands of classmates, strangers and even parents in big cities and small towns. There have been shootings in and around high schools and middle schools in Chicago and Cold Spring, Minn., gang feuds in Tucson, stabbings and fistfights in Fort Worth and Green Cove Springs, Fla., and apparent murder-suicides in San Diego and Hopkinsville, Ky. Police have wounded armed students in standoffs in Spokane and Sacramento.
Since mid-August, when most US students returned to class, the nation's public schools have seen 18 violent deaths, more than in either of the previous two years. And that does not include about 50 non-fatal incidents.
NEW WORLD ORDER
Washington sniper faces anti-terror laws
As the opening statements in alleged Washington sniper Mr. Muhammad’s trial begin today in Virginia Beach, the move to charge him under the terrorism law -- even though he is not alleged to be affiliated with any terrorist organization or motivated by political goals -- stands as a reminder of how anti-terrorism can bleed into traditional criminal enforcement. It is a lesson worth remembering the next time legislatures are tempted to give authorities broad new powers in moments of crisis.
[Perhaps being named Muhammad is reason enough to cop a terrorism charge. Past stories on this case:
Master and servant or partners in crime?
Escape 'The Matrix,' kill your landlord, parents, or someone
Washington sniper's spree ends with trigger phrase
Sniper sold alleged murder weapon in 2000
Sniper claims to work for a secret Special Forces group
'Gun shop employee' says FBI doesn't have sniper rifle
'Washington sniper is not a professional'
DC Killings Done By A Government Sniper Team
Partial plate checked in sniper case
Rumsfeld OKs military assist in sniper hunt]
As the opening statements in alleged Washington sniper Mr. Muhammad’s trial begin today in Virginia Beach, the move to charge him under the terrorism law -- even though he is not alleged to be affiliated with any terrorist organization or motivated by political goals -- stands as a reminder of how anti-terrorism can bleed into traditional criminal enforcement. It is a lesson worth remembering the next time legislatures are tempted to give authorities broad new powers in moments of crisis.
[Perhaps being named Muhammad is reason enough to cop a terrorism charge. Past stories on this case:
Master and servant or partners in crime?
Escape 'The Matrix,' kill your landlord, parents, or someone
Washington sniper's spree ends with trigger phrase
Sniper sold alleged murder weapon in 2000
Sniper claims to work for a secret Special Forces group
'Gun shop employee' says FBI doesn't have sniper rifle
'Washington sniper is not a professional'
DC Killings Done By A Government Sniper Team
Partial plate checked in sniper case
Rumsfeld OKs military assist in sniper hunt]
RIGHTS TRASHED
Guantanamo inmates concern rights groups
The Pentagon (news - web sites) won't say how many prisoners it holds at the U.S. jail for terrorism suspects in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The State Department won't estimate the prospects that other nations will take inmates home and deal with them themselves.
Two years after a U.S.-led coalition began capturing suspects in the war on terror, international impatience is growing over the pace of progress at Guantanamo.
"The word that occurs to me is stalled. It has stalled," Amnesty International's Alistair Hodgett said.
The Pentagon (news - web sites) won't say how many prisoners it holds at the U.S. jail for terrorism suspects in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The State Department won't estimate the prospects that other nations will take inmates home and deal with them themselves.
Two years after a U.S.-led coalition began capturing suspects in the war on terror, international impatience is growing over the pace of progress at Guantanamo.
"The word that occurs to me is stalled. It has stalled," Amnesty International's Alistair Hodgett said.
WELCOME BURGLER
Police hunt 'strange and clean burglar'
Police in Louisiana are looking for a suspect they describe as one of the strangest and cleanest burglars.
The man, who broke into a house in Mandeville, took in a batch of strawberries someone had left on the doorstep and put them on the kitchen table.
He then took a shower and changed his clothes, which he left in the house.
He left $50 behind, but no identification, reports The Advocate.
A police spokesman said: "The intruder is among the strangest and cleanest burglars to visit Mandeville. The oddity of the crime notwithstanding, it's still a crime."
He added officers are eager to apprehend the man before he "intrudes, bathes, and drops money again."
Police in Louisiana are looking for a suspect they describe as one of the strangest and cleanest burglars.
The man, who broke into a house in Mandeville, took in a batch of strawberries someone had left on the doorstep and put them on the kitchen table.
He then took a shower and changed his clothes, which he left in the house.
He left $50 behind, but no identification, reports The Advocate.
A police spokesman said: "The intruder is among the strangest and cleanest burglars to visit Mandeville. The oddity of the crime notwithstanding, it's still a crime."
He added officers are eager to apprehend the man before he "intrudes, bathes, and drops money again."
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
PEER PRESSURE
Science journal challenges establishment
A new online journal aims to radically alter scientific publishing, breaking the stranglehold that expensive private journals have on the details of most discoveries by making vital research freely available on the Internet.
The San Francisco-based Public Library of Science, though backed by leading academics including Nobel laureates, was dismissed as idealistic and unfeasible by many in the scientific and publishing communities when announced over the summer.
Those critics are now thinking twice. In its first issue this week, the peer-reviewed publication featured a stunning study that forced the world to take notice.
A new online journal aims to radically alter scientific publishing, breaking the stranglehold that expensive private journals have on the details of most discoveries by making vital research freely available on the Internet.
The San Francisco-based Public Library of Science, though backed by leading academics including Nobel laureates, was dismissed as idealistic and unfeasible by many in the scientific and publishing communities when announced over the summer.
Those critics are now thinking twice. In its first issue this week, the peer-reviewed publication featured a stunning study that forced the world to take notice.
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
Warfare at the speed of light
No longer are laser guns the stuff of Hollywood and Strategic Defense Initiative fantasy. Instead of laser-guiding bullets and 'smart' bombs, the Pentagon inside of a decade could be armed with a beam weapon that is near-instantaneous, gravity-free and truly surgical, focusing to such hair-splitting accuracy that it could avoid civilians while predetonating munitions miles away.
A laser arms race already is under way, chiefly in California. The prize is billions of dollars. Three families of high-energy beams -- powered by combusting chemicals, electron accelerators and crystals, such as Yamamoto's -- are vying for the Pentagon's eye.
Defense contractors are sniping at each other's designs, and corporate alliances are shifting. But no one seems to doubt that battle lasers -- perhaps mounted on Humvees, jet fighters and unmanned aircraft -- could knock down previously untouchable targets such as artillery shells, mortars, surface-to-air missiles and even cruise missiles at ranges of up to dozens of miles in good weather. In clear air above the clouds, a high-powered laser could lance out 500 miles to destroy rising ballistic missiles.
No longer are laser guns the stuff of Hollywood and Strategic Defense Initiative fantasy. Instead of laser-guiding bullets and 'smart' bombs, the Pentagon inside of a decade could be armed with a beam weapon that is near-instantaneous, gravity-free and truly surgical, focusing to such hair-splitting accuracy that it could avoid civilians while predetonating munitions miles away.
A laser arms race already is under way, chiefly in California. The prize is billions of dollars. Three families of high-energy beams -- powered by combusting chemicals, electron accelerators and crystals, such as Yamamoto's -- are vying for the Pentagon's eye.
Defense contractors are sniping at each other's designs, and corporate alliances are shifting. But no one seems to doubt that battle lasers -- perhaps mounted on Humvees, jet fighters and unmanned aircraft -- could knock down previously untouchable targets such as artillery shells, mortars, surface-to-air missiles and even cruise missiles at ranges of up to dozens of miles in good weather. In clear air above the clouds, a high-powered laser could lance out 500 miles to destroy rising ballistic missiles.
DODI AND DI
Diana predicted car crash, butler says
A London tabloid newspaper claims Diana, the Princess of Wales, had written about being killed in a car crash 10 months before her death.
The newspaper has published a note in which it says Princess Diana had recorded her fears that someone was planning to injure her.
The conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Diana and boyfriend Dodi Fayed have never really subsided, but this note in Diana's handwriting has reignited calls for an inquest into her death.
The note, given in a sealed envelope to her butler Paul Burrell, said that someone - the name is blacked out in the newspaper report - was planning an accident in her car, brake failure and serious head injury in order to make the path clear for Charles to marry.
A London tabloid newspaper claims Diana, the Princess of Wales, had written about being killed in a car crash 10 months before her death.
The newspaper has published a note in which it says Princess Diana had recorded her fears that someone was planning to injure her.
The conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Diana and boyfriend Dodi Fayed have never really subsided, but this note in Diana's handwriting has reignited calls for an inquest into her death.
The note, given in a sealed envelope to her butler Paul Burrell, said that someone - the name is blacked out in the newspaper report - was planning an accident in her car, brake failure and serious head injury in order to make the path clear for Charles to marry.
FAMILY VALUES
The child sex ring that reached Bush/Reagan Whitehouse
Former republican Senator John Decamp was involved in the production a documentary called 'Conspiracy of Silence' it was to air May 3, 1994 on the Discovery Channel. This documentary exposed a network of religious leaders and Washington politicians who flew children to Washington D.C. for sex orgies. At the last minute before airing, unknown congressmen threatened the TV Cable industry with restrictive legislation if this documentary was aired.
Almost immediately, the rights to the documentary were purchased by unknown persons who had ordered all copies destroyed. A copy of this videotape was furnished anonymously to former Nebraska state senator and attorney John De Camp who made it available to retired F.B.I. chief, Ted L. Gunderson. While the video quality is not top grade, this tape is a blockbuster in what is revealed by the participants involved. You can purchase a VHS copy here. Or you can view an online copy at this page. Franklin Cover up video page.
Boy prostitutes 15 years old (and younger) were taking midnight tours of the Whitehouse. There are 19 more Washington Times articles in full text about this case available here.
Former republican Senator John Decamp was involved in the production a documentary called 'Conspiracy of Silence' it was to air May 3, 1994 on the Discovery Channel. This documentary exposed a network of religious leaders and Washington politicians who flew children to Washington D.C. for sex orgies. At the last minute before airing, unknown congressmen threatened the TV Cable industry with restrictive legislation if this documentary was aired.
Almost immediately, the rights to the documentary were purchased by unknown persons who had ordered all copies destroyed. A copy of this videotape was furnished anonymously to former Nebraska state senator and attorney John De Camp who made it available to retired F.B.I. chief, Ted L. Gunderson. While the video quality is not top grade, this tape is a blockbuster in what is revealed by the participants involved. You can purchase a VHS copy here. Or you can view an online copy at this page. Franklin Cover up video page.
Boy prostitutes 15 years old (and younger) were taking midnight tours of the Whitehouse. There are 19 more Washington Times articles in full text about this case available here.
LIVING DEAD
Indian farmers declared deceased by unscrupulous relatives
The eastern fringes of India's Uttar Pradesh state are known as the badlands, a place where hired killers can be bought for as little as $10 and peasant farmers eke out a living on plots as small as a basketball court. Combine these two ingredients--crime and a shortage of agricultural land--throw in a large chunk of greed, mix in some family rivalry and you come up with an ingenious scam. Just head for the nearest Land Registry Office, bribe an official, declare the owner dead and transfer the land to your name.
The eastern fringes of India's Uttar Pradesh state are known as the badlands, a place where hired killers can be bought for as little as $10 and peasant farmers eke out a living on plots as small as a basketball court. Combine these two ingredients--crime and a shortage of agricultural land--throw in a large chunk of greed, mix in some family rivalry and you come up with an ingenious scam. Just head for the nearest Land Registry Office, bribe an official, declare the owner dead and transfer the land to your name.
ALT ENERGY
Researchers develop way to create electricity from water
A University of Alberta research team has discovered an entirely new way of generating electricity by simply directing water at a solid surface. The power created is pollution-free and could one day power small devices such as Palm Pilots or calculators with water batteries, instead of using polluting conventional batteries.
It's the first time someone has been able to discover a new way to generate electricity since1839, when solar power was first harnessed and the first fuel cells were created.
Edmonton-based mechanical engineering professors Daniel Kwok and Larry Kostiuk say they were able to light a small bulb by squeezing a syringe of ordinary tap water through a glass "filter" with microscopic-sized holes.
[See also: Let water power your mobile phone and the abstract of a research paper in the Journal of Micromechanics.]
A University of Alberta research team has discovered an entirely new way of generating electricity by simply directing water at a solid surface. The power created is pollution-free and could one day power small devices such as Palm Pilots or calculators with water batteries, instead of using polluting conventional batteries.
It's the first time someone has been able to discover a new way to generate electricity since1839, when solar power was first harnessed and the first fuel cells were created.
Edmonton-based mechanical engineering professors Daniel Kwok and Larry Kostiuk say they were able to light a small bulb by squeezing a syringe of ordinary tap water through a glass "filter" with microscopic-sized holes.
[See also: Let water power your mobile phone and the abstract of a research paper in the Journal of Micromechanics.]
Thursday, October 16, 2003
OIL WAR
US soldiers to America: bring us home, we're dying for oil
Many of the service men hate being in Iraq and want nothing to do with rebuilding and policing the devastated nation. Many soldiers never wanted to go over to Iraq and fight, and the ones who had were now convinced of the awful crime that had been committed against Iraq and our own troops. Few soldiers now believe in staying in Iraq, or want to stay in the country and serve any more days.
In this interview an officer said, ““Let me tell you about the cluster bomb raid we saw wipe out a whole bunch of little kids. It looked like they had already lost their parents and were trying to salvage food from a destroyed Iraqi convoy by the side of the road we were on. The kids were way off to the side about half a mile away by then when we got the word that the Iraqi column was going to be hit with cluster bombs and we had to clear the area. We got on the radio and tried to get the air strike stopped but we were told it was too late to get it stopped.
“We could see the body parts flying up into the air after the bombs hit. It was terrible and we could not do a damn thing but watch it happen and scream into the radio at the dumb sh.t pilot that was dropping the bombs. After the strike was over we went to see if there were any survivors and all we found was bits and pieces of little kids and here and there an arm or leg you could still identify.”
Many of the service men hate being in Iraq and want nothing to do with rebuilding and policing the devastated nation. Many soldiers never wanted to go over to Iraq and fight, and the ones who had were now convinced of the awful crime that had been committed against Iraq and our own troops. Few soldiers now believe in staying in Iraq, or want to stay in the country and serve any more days.
In this interview an officer said, ““Let me tell you about the cluster bomb raid we saw wipe out a whole bunch of little kids. It looked like they had already lost their parents and were trying to salvage food from a destroyed Iraqi convoy by the side of the road we were on. The kids were way off to the side about half a mile away by then when we got the word that the Iraqi column was going to be hit with cluster bombs and we had to clear the area. We got on the radio and tried to get the air strike stopped but we were told it was too late to get it stopped.
“We could see the body parts flying up into the air after the bombs hit. It was terrible and we could not do a damn thing but watch it happen and scream into the radio at the dumb sh.t pilot that was dropping the bombs. After the strike was over we went to see if there were any survivors and all we found was bits and pieces of little kids and here and there an arm or leg you could still identify.”
FEAR AND LOATHING
Terror attacks feared on rigs
OIL and gas platforms in the Timor Sea are vulnerable to attack by terrorists, and Australia's naval and air patrols are failing to protect the area.
This warning is contained in a damning navy think-tank report, which says oil and gas installations in the Joint Petroleum Development Area (500km north of Darwin, which is jointly administered by Australia and East Timor) 'are vulnerable to attack'.
The report, by the Defence Department's Matthew Flint, says taxpayers can expect to reap as much as $2 billion from the ConocoPhillips Bayu-Undan gasfield, expected to come on line in a fortnight. Woodside's yet-to-be-developed Greater Sunrise field is expected to yield a further $4 billion. Just outside the area is Australia's biggest oil-producing field, the BHP-owned Laminaria Corallina.
The report warns that the importance of the petroleum industry has been recognised by al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups in Southeast Asia.
An attack on the oil tanker MV Limburg near Aden in October last year represented the 'beginning of maritime terrorism against the petroleum industry', with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden declaring terrorists had hit the 'umbilical cord and lifeline of the crusader community'. "
OIL and gas platforms in the Timor Sea are vulnerable to attack by terrorists, and Australia's naval and air patrols are failing to protect the area.
This warning is contained in a damning navy think-tank report, which says oil and gas installations in the Joint Petroleum Development Area (500km north of Darwin, which is jointly administered by Australia and East Timor) 'are vulnerable to attack'.
The report, by the Defence Department's Matthew Flint, says taxpayers can expect to reap as much as $2 billion from the ConocoPhillips Bayu-Undan gasfield, expected to come on line in a fortnight. Woodside's yet-to-be-developed Greater Sunrise field is expected to yield a further $4 billion. Just outside the area is Australia's biggest oil-producing field, the BHP-owned Laminaria Corallina.
The report warns that the importance of the petroleum industry has been recognised by al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups in Southeast Asia.
An attack on the oil tanker MV Limburg near Aden in October last year represented the 'beginning of maritime terrorism against the petroleum industry', with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden declaring terrorists had hit the 'umbilical cord and lifeline of the crusader community'. "
TAKEAWAY TAKEOVER
McDonald's poised for Iraq invasion
THIS time next year the familiar logo of McDonald's could be popping up on the streets of Baghdad, well-placed commercial and banking sources say.
Among the leading contenders for a franchise of the US hamburger chain is the al-Bunnia family, one of Iraq's wealthiest merchant clans. A source close the al-Bunnias said a deal could be struck in a matter of months.
'McDonald's wants to make a decision but they have yet to visit the country,' he said on the sidelines of a a high-level conference on Iraqi reconstruction being held in London.
McDonald's, which has 34 "restaurants" in neighbouring Kuwait, recently released the 'McArabia' (two grilled chicken patties wrapped in flat bread) -- possibly for a short time only.
THIS time next year the familiar logo of McDonald's could be popping up on the streets of Baghdad, well-placed commercial and banking sources say.
Among the leading contenders for a franchise of the US hamburger chain is the al-Bunnia family, one of Iraq's wealthiest merchant clans. A source close the al-Bunnias said a deal could be struck in a matter of months.
'McDonald's wants to make a decision but they have yet to visit the country,' he said on the sidelines of a a high-level conference on Iraqi reconstruction being held in London.
McDonald's, which has 34 "restaurants" in neighbouring Kuwait, recently released the 'McArabia' (two grilled chicken patties wrapped in flat bread) -- possibly for a short time only.
CRYPTOZOOLOGY
NZ homes shat on from a great height
Two more Hawke's Bay properties have been struck by sewage from above - with one victim saying 'no way' a duck could have dropped what she reckoned only flying emus could have delivered.
The second victim, who had water-blasted the roof of his Taradale home only a few days earlier, agreed that ducks were unlikely to have been the culprits.
'I've lived here 36 years, been duckshooting many times and know a bit about them - but I have never heard of this happening before,' he said.
Another householder said "It came thundering down on the roof ... it did sound like thunder, it was that loud." She described the strong smell as "like human faeces" and said it had rained down in a line. It was scattered over an area about two to three metres wide and about nine metres long."
Two more Hawke's Bay properties have been struck by sewage from above - with one victim saying 'no way' a duck could have dropped what she reckoned only flying emus could have delivered.
The second victim, who had water-blasted the roof of his Taradale home only a few days earlier, agreed that ducks were unlikely to have been the culprits.
'I've lived here 36 years, been duckshooting many times and know a bit about them - but I have never heard of this happening before,' he said.
Another householder said "It came thundering down on the roof ... it did sound like thunder, it was that loud." She described the strong smell as "like human faeces" and said it had rained down in a line. It was scattered over an area about two to three metres wide and about nine metres long."
UNDERGROUND BASS
What's that thumping in west Seattle?
What on earth - or more accurately, what 'under' the earth - was causing a strange thumping sound in west Seattle on Saturday night?
The noise was loud enough and had the ground vibrating enough to have people concerned and saying, what is that?
A number of departments - the water department, Seattle city engineers, Puget Sound Energy - tried to figure out what the noise was and where it was coming from. None would go on camera to offer any kind of an explanation. One theory was that the noise was coming from a rented sewer running under the city.
[From www.cassiopaea.org, Oct 22 1994:
Q: (L) We would like to have comments on the thumping noises reportedly heard off the coast of California? A: Expansion of base.
Q: (L) What kind of base? A: It's a transfer center...
Q: (L) And what was the thumping? A: They are expanding it.
Q: (L) Is it construction work? A: Yes except that they are using sound waves to disintegrate rock in the crust under the ocean. This disintegration causes the atomic structure of the particles being disintegrated to completely disappear which has something to do with why those sounds are heard in that particular rhythm. ]
What on earth - or more accurately, what 'under' the earth - was causing a strange thumping sound in west Seattle on Saturday night?
The noise was loud enough and had the ground vibrating enough to have people concerned and saying, what is that?
A number of departments - the water department, Seattle city engineers, Puget Sound Energy - tried to figure out what the noise was and where it was coming from. None would go on camera to offer any kind of an explanation. One theory was that the noise was coming from a rented sewer running under the city.
[From www.cassiopaea.org, Oct 22 1994:
Q: (L) We would like to have comments on the thumping noises reportedly heard off the coast of California? A: Expansion of base.
Q: (L) What kind of base? A: It's a transfer center...
Q: (L) And what was the thumping? A: They are expanding it.
Q: (L) Is it construction work? A: Yes except that they are using sound waves to disintegrate rock in the crust under the ocean. This disintegration causes the atomic structure of the particles being disintegrated to completely disappear which has something to do with why those sounds are heard in that particular rhythm. ]
BIG SURPRISE
Iraq war 'swells al Qaeda ranks'
War in Iraq has swollen the ranks of al Qaeda and galvanized the Islamic militant group's will, the International Institute for Strategic Studies says in its annual report.
The 2003-04 edition of the British-based think tank's annual bible for defense analysts, 'The Military Balance,' said Washington's assertions after the Iraq conflict that it had turned the corner in the war on terror were 'over-confident.'
War in Iraq has swollen the ranks of al Qaeda and galvanized the Islamic militant group's will, the International Institute for Strategic Studies says in its annual report.
The 2003-04 edition of the British-based think tank's annual bible for defense analysts, 'The Military Balance,' said Washington's assertions after the Iraq conflict that it had turned the corner in the war on terror were 'over-confident.'
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
Peace activist shot by Israelis is 'brain dead'
Six months after Tom Hurndall, 22, was shot while trying to protect Palestinian children on the Gaza strip, his family are still waiting to hear whether an Israeli military police investigation will take place. They are considering taking legal action should an investigation not proceed.
The Manchester Metropolitan University student, a photo-journalism student, had been in Rafah for a week when he was shot on April 11. Other activists said he was wearing a fluorescent jacket as he went to help three children but was shot from a watchtower.
Rachel Corrie, an American peace activist, was crushed to death by an Israeli armoured bulldozer weeks before Tom was shot.
Six months after Tom Hurndall, 22, was shot while trying to protect Palestinian children on the Gaza strip, his family are still waiting to hear whether an Israeli military police investigation will take place. They are considering taking legal action should an investigation not proceed.
The Manchester Metropolitan University student, a photo-journalism student, had been in Rafah for a week when he was shot on April 11. Other activists said he was wearing a fluorescent jacket as he went to help three children but was shot from a watchtower.
Rachel Corrie, an American peace activist, was crushed to death by an Israeli armoured bulldozer weeks before Tom was shot.
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
DYSLEXIA RULES K.O.
Thought for the day
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in
waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the
frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses
and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid
deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig
huh?
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in
waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the
frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses
and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid
deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig
huh?
Monday, October 13, 2003
HEARTS AND MINDS
Many soldiers, same letter to the editor
Letters from hometown soldiers describing their successes rebuilding Iraq have been appearing in newspapers across the country as U.S. public opinion on the mission sours.
And all the letters are the same.
A Gannett News Service search found identical letters from different soldiers with the 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, also known as 'The Rock,' in 11 newspapers, including Snohomish, Wash.
Letters from hometown soldiers describing their successes rebuilding Iraq have been appearing in newspapers across the country as U.S. public opinion on the mission sours.
And all the letters are the same.
A Gannett News Service search found identical letters from different soldiers with the 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, also known as 'The Rock,' in 11 newspapers, including Snohomish, Wash.
CLOAK AND DAGGER
Dead Australian cameraman not a CIA spy: family
Family and friends of an Australian cameraman killed in Iraq earlier this year have broken their silence to reject allegations he was a CIA spy.
Freelance cameraman Paul Moran, 39, died on March 22 when a car bomb exploded where he was filming for ABC television in northern Iraq.
The Adelaide Advertiser reported Mr Moran had spent more than 10 years assisting the CIA to destabilise the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq.
However Mr Moran's family have told the Australian Story (ABC TV tonight) his work for a Washington-based public relations company in the 1990s was misconstrued.
He had been hired by the Rendon Group to help Kurds and Iraqis opposed to Hussein establish a television station, and only later learned the client was the CIA, they said.
Family and friends of an Australian cameraman killed in Iraq earlier this year have broken their silence to reject allegations he was a CIA spy.
Freelance cameraman Paul Moran, 39, died on March 22 when a car bomb exploded where he was filming for ABC television in northern Iraq.
The Adelaide Advertiser reported Mr Moran had spent more than 10 years assisting the CIA to destabilise the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq.
However Mr Moran's family have told the Australian Story (ABC TV tonight) his work for a Washington-based public relations company in the 1990s was misconstrued.
He had been hired by the Rendon Group to help Kurds and Iraqis opposed to Hussein establish a television station, and only later learned the client was the CIA, they said.
NEW WORLD ORDER
Bill of Rights: all metal security edition
The First Ten Amendments to the constitution of the United States has been printed on sturdy, pocket-sized, pieces of metal for use by air travellers.
The next time you travel by air, says the advertising spiel, take the Security Edition of the Bill of Rights along with you. When asked to empty your pockets, proudly toss the Bill of Rights in the plastic bin.
You need to get used to offering up the bill of rights for inspection and government workers need to get used to deciding if you'll be allowed to keep the Bill of Rights with you when you travel.
The First Ten Amendments to the constitution of the United States has been printed on sturdy, pocket-sized, pieces of metal for use by air travellers.
The next time you travel by air, says the advertising spiel, take the Security Edition of the Bill of Rights along with you. When asked to empty your pockets, proudly toss the Bill of Rights in the plastic bin.
You need to get used to offering up the bill of rights for inspection and government workers need to get used to deciding if you'll be allowed to keep the Bill of Rights with you when you travel.
NEW WORLD ORDER
I was protecting you from a madman: Bush
'I acted because I was not about to leave the security of the American people in the hands of a madman,' Mr Bush told National Guardsmen and reservists in New Hampshire. 'I was not about to stand by and wait and trust in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein.'
In a sideswipe at his critics who have highlighted the failure to find weapons of mass destruction, he added: 'Who could possibly think that the world would be better off with Saddam Hussein still in power?'
'I acted because I was not about to leave the security of the American people in the hands of a madman,' Mr Bush told National Guardsmen and reservists in New Hampshire. 'I was not about to stand by and wait and trust in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein.'
In a sideswipe at his critics who have highlighted the failure to find weapons of mass destruction, he added: 'Who could possibly think that the world would be better off with Saddam Hussein still in power?'
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
US soldiers bulldoze farmers' crops
US soldiers driving bulldozers, with jazz blaring from loudspeakers, have uprooted ancient groves of date palms as well as orange and lemon trees in central Iraq as part of a new policy of collective punishment of farmers who do not give information about guerrillas attacking US troops.
The stumps of palm trees, some 70 years old, protrude from the brown earth scoured by the bulldozers beside the road at Dhuluaya, a small town 50 miles north of Baghdad. Local women were yesterday busily bundling together the branches of the uprooted orange and lemon trees and carrying then back to their homes for firewood.
Nusayef Jassim, one of 32 farmers who saw their fruit trees destroyed, said: 'They told us that the resistance fighters hide in our farms, but this is not true. They didn't capture anything. They didn't find any weapons.'
US soldiers driving bulldozers, with jazz blaring from loudspeakers, have uprooted ancient groves of date palms as well as orange and lemon trees in central Iraq as part of a new policy of collective punishment of farmers who do not give information about guerrillas attacking US troops.
The stumps of palm trees, some 70 years old, protrude from the brown earth scoured by the bulldozers beside the road at Dhuluaya, a small town 50 miles north of Baghdad. Local women were yesterday busily bundling together the branches of the uprooted orange and lemon trees and carrying then back to their homes for firewood.
Nusayef Jassim, one of 32 farmers who saw their fruit trees destroyed, said: 'They told us that the resistance fighters hide in our farms, but this is not true. They didn't capture anything. They didn't find any weapons.'
NEW WORLD ORDER
Guantanamo Bay: Justice delayed equals justice denied
That the land of the free has created a small, hidden outpost of tyranny is becoming ever clearer. A deeply critical report last week from the International Red Cross, which has in the past condemned the conditions under which the detainees are being held and forced some improvements, focused on the uncertainty that the prisoners face.
But clearly US laws apply to US personnel overseeing the suspects being held there. A US Army chaplain and two translators, all of them Muslim, have been charged with spying.
That the land of the free has created a small, hidden outpost of tyranny is becoming ever clearer. A deeply critical report last week from the International Red Cross, which has in the past condemned the conditions under which the detainees are being held and forced some improvements, focused on the uncertainty that the prisoners face.
But clearly US laws apply to US personnel overseeing the suspects being held there. A US Army chaplain and two translators, all of them Muslim, have been charged with spying.
MIND CONTROL
Washington snipers: Master and servant or partners in crime?
Perhaps the biggest mystery remaining before the trial begins Tuesday for sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad is the true nature of his relationship with his teenage companion, fellow suspect Lee Boyd Malvo. The men's relationship has become a key and complex element in each case, with all sides painting different portraits of the dynamic.
Malvo, 18, and Muhammad, 42, are charged with 13 shootings, including 10 deaths, in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. They are suspected or charged with shootings in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Arizona and Washington state.
Prosecutors will try to pull off a rare feat in Muhammad's trial: obtaining a death penalty in a shooting death for a defendant who didn't pull the trigger. Defence lawyers argue that Muhammad can only get the death penalty if he was a triggerman in the killings, while prosecutors say recent case law shows they need only prove Muhammad was the "instigator and moving spirit".
[For discussion on inconsistencies regarding the snipers' weapon read this]
Perhaps the biggest mystery remaining before the trial begins Tuesday for sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad is the true nature of his relationship with his teenage companion, fellow suspect Lee Boyd Malvo. The men's relationship has become a key and complex element in each case, with all sides painting different portraits of the dynamic.
Malvo, 18, and Muhammad, 42, are charged with 13 shootings, including 10 deaths, in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. They are suspected or charged with shootings in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Arizona and Washington state.
Prosecutors will try to pull off a rare feat in Muhammad's trial: obtaining a death penalty in a shooting death for a defendant who didn't pull the trigger. Defence lawyers argue that Muhammad can only get the death penalty if he was a triggerman in the killings, while prosecutors say recent case law shows they need only prove Muhammad was the "instigator and moving spirit".
[For discussion on inconsistencies regarding the snipers' weapon read this]
CLOAK AND DAGGER
Suspected engine part from alleged Boeing 757 that hit the Pentagon on 9/11: "There’s no way that’s an Auxiliary Power Unit wheel," an expert at Honeywell said.
Industry experts can’t explain photo evidence
If the government version that an American Airlines 757-200 hit the Pentagon is accurate, then the object in the photo would have to be from a Rolls Royce RB211-535 turbofan engine.
When AFP told Brown that it must be a piece of a Rolls Royce engine, Brown balked and asked who at Pratt & Whitney had provided the information.
If the disc in the photo can be matched with a Rolls Royce AE 3007H engine, some speculate that it would prove something like a Global Hawk hit the Pentagon.
The AE 3007 engines are used in small commuter jets such as the Cessna Citation; the AE 3007H is also used in the military’s unmanned aircraft, the Global Hawk. The Global Hawk is manufactured by Northrop Grumman’s subsidiary Ryan Aeronautical, which it acquired from Teledyne, Inc. in July 1999.
The photograph is one of many taken by Jocelyn Augustino, a FEMA photographer, at the Pentagon crash site on Sept. 13, 2001. In the FEMA on-line photo library, the best photos of the unidentified disc are numbered 4414 and 4415, archived here.
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
Pentagon's 'lax' lab gear sales
Investigators set up a shell company to find out how easy it is to buy laboratory equipment from the Pentagon.
Using a website that sells the surplus gear, they bought centrifuges, evaporators, bacteriological incubators and protective clothing - all of which could be used to make chemical or biological weapons.
Investigators set up a shell company to find out how easy it is to buy laboratory equipment from the Pentagon.
Using a website that sells the surplus gear, they bought centrifuges, evaporators, bacteriological incubators and protective clothing - all of which could be used to make chemical or biological weapons.
NEW WORLD ORDER
Lawyer claims Hicks, Habib tortured at Guantanamo Bay
An Australian lawyer working on the cases of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba says he has no doubt Australians David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib have been tortured.
Richard Bourke has been working with detainees at Camp X-ray for almost two years.
'People sometimes argue about the definition of torture, what they are doing clearly comes within the definition of torture under the international convention, but they are engaging in what amounts to torture in the medieval sense of the phrase,' he said.
He says reports of torture have come from leaks from the American military and been backed up by former prisoners.
Among the reports he is investigating are claims of prisoners being tied to a post and having rubber bullets fired at them and that they were forced to kneel in the sun until they collapse.
An Australian lawyer working on the cases of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba says he has no doubt Australians David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib have been tortured.
Richard Bourke has been working with detainees at Camp X-ray for almost two years.
'People sometimes argue about the definition of torture, what they are doing clearly comes within the definition of torture under the international convention, but they are engaging in what amounts to torture in the medieval sense of the phrase,' he said.
He says reports of torture have come from leaks from the American military and been backed up by former prisoners.
Among the reports he is investigating are claims of prisoners being tied to a post and having rubber bullets fired at them and that they were forced to kneel in the sun until they collapse.
SKY IS FALLING
Meteor over Western Australia creates sonic boom
A SPECTACULAR meteor streaked across the skies of south-west Western Australia overnight, creating a sonic boom as it broke the sound barrier and startling many country residents.
The meteor vaporised near the Wheatbelt town of Dowerin, 157km north-east of Perth, about midnight (WST). It was seen by scores of people between Perth and Bunbury in the south to Geraldton in the north and Dowerin in the east.
Perth Observatory astronomer Peter Birch said the meteor was brighter than a full moon as it broke the sound barrier and woke Dowerin residents. It is rare for a meteor to create a sonic boom. One was heard over southern WA on May 1, 1995, and there had been one between then and last night, Mr Birch said.
A SPECTACULAR meteor streaked across the skies of south-west Western Australia overnight, creating a sonic boom as it broke the sound barrier and startling many country residents.
The meteor vaporised near the Wheatbelt town of Dowerin, 157km north-east of Perth, about midnight (WST). It was seen by scores of people between Perth and Bunbury in the south to Geraldton in the north and Dowerin in the east.
Perth Observatory astronomer Peter Birch said the meteor was brighter than a full moon as it broke the sound barrier and woke Dowerin residents. It is rare for a meteor to create a sonic boom. One was heard over southern WA on May 1, 1995, and there had been one between then and last night, Mr Birch said.
Thursday, October 02, 2003
SKY IS FALLING
Fireball photographed over South Wales
Jon Burnett, 15, from South Wales, UK, was photographing some friends skateboarding last week when the sky did something very strange. By diverting his camera, he was able to document this rare sky event and capture one of the more spectacular sky images yet recorded. Roughly one minute later, he took another picture of the dispersing trial. What is it? Experts disagree. The first guess was a sofa-sized rock that exploded as a daytime fireball, but perhaps a better hypothesis is an unusual airplane contrail reflecting the setting Sun. Bright fireballs occur over someplace on Earth nearly every day. A separate bolide, likely even more dramatic, struck India only a few days ago.
[NASA boffins who hailed a British lad’s photo as a dramatic snap of an exploding meteor were exposed as duffers a week later. Aircraft enthusiast Mike Stradling claims Burnett actually took a picture of supersonic Concorde and not a galactic space rock. NASA has admitted they were wrong.
Having cleared that up: millions of people routinely deny reality every day rather than endure the cognitive dissonance triggered by their actions. more]
WAR IS PEACE
US aims soft-sell propaganda at Muslims
It seemed like an auspicious debut: The new magazine Hi was just off the presses and it generated heavy buzz. It was glossy. It was young. It was fresh and hip and just a little bit sexy. The multimillion-dollar launch across 14 countries got headlines worldwide. And for the U.S. State Department that seemed to be good news, because Hi is a government publication issued to win hearts and minds in the Arab and Muslim world.
While produced by a private company, Hi is just one part of a U.S. campaign to convince citizens of Arab and Muslim countries to look a little more favorably on the United States. Critics have called it "soft-sell propaganda"; press reports from the Middle East have suggested that much of the young-adult target audience finds it laughable.
It seemed like an auspicious debut: The new magazine Hi was just off the presses and it generated heavy buzz. It was glossy. It was young. It was fresh and hip and just a little bit sexy. The multimillion-dollar launch across 14 countries got headlines worldwide. And for the U.S. State Department that seemed to be good news, because Hi is a government publication issued to win hearts and minds in the Arab and Muslim world.
While produced by a private company, Hi is just one part of a U.S. campaign to convince citizens of Arab and Muslim countries to look a little more favorably on the United States. Critics have called it "soft-sell propaganda"; press reports from the Middle East have suggested that much of the young-adult target audience finds it laughable.
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
HAPPY REUNIONS
Woman reunited with bike after 24 years
A Dutch woman was reunited on Tuesday with a bicycle stolen 24 years ago after police spotted a man trying to steal it again.
The woman reported the bike's theft from a hospital in the eastern Dutch city of Enschede in 1979, two weeks after she bought it, police said.
A Dutch woman was reunited on Tuesday with a bicycle stolen 24 years ago after police spotted a man trying to steal it again.
The woman reported the bike's theft from a hospital in the eastern Dutch city of Enschede in 1979, two weeks after she bought it, police said.
NEW WORLD ORDER
Feeding Frenzy: mission is accomplished: "
Now the mission is accomplished! George W. Bush's premature projaculation of victory last May notwithstanding, the real objective of the Potomac Empire's invasion of Iraq was finally achieved last weekend, when the sock puppets of the occupying powers put their rubber stamp to an American diktat opening up the entire nation to plunder by foreign bagmen.
At the signed order of Bushist viceroy Paul Bremer (emphasis on vice), almost every aspect of Iraqi life -- electricity, water, medicine, education, agriculture, transportation, communications and, above all, banking and finance -- was laid open to unfettered exploitation by the plutocrats and lootocrats of the 'civilized' world. The lone exception to this unprecedented fire sale of an entire nation is, of course, Iraq's oil wealth, which has already been put into the loving, no-bid, open-ended 'oversight' of Dick Cheney's Halliburton and associates.
Now the mission is accomplished! George W. Bush's premature projaculation of victory last May notwithstanding, the real objective of the Potomac Empire's invasion of Iraq was finally achieved last weekend, when the sock puppets of the occupying powers put their rubber stamp to an American diktat opening up the entire nation to plunder by foreign bagmen.
At the signed order of Bushist viceroy Paul Bremer (emphasis on vice), almost every aspect of Iraqi life -- electricity, water, medicine, education, agriculture, transportation, communications and, above all, banking and finance -- was laid open to unfettered exploitation by the plutocrats and lootocrats of the 'civilized' world. The lone exception to this unprecedented fire sale of an entire nation is, of course, Iraq's oil wealth, which has already been put into the loving, no-bid, open-ended 'oversight' of Dick Cheney's Halliburton and associates.
OIL WAR
Halliburton answers attack advertising
Halliburton has a contract to take care of our troops in Iraq because of what we know, not who we know. The attack advertising [Real Media] sponsored by American Family Voices is deceptive and apparently is designed to further a political agenda. Our employees in the Middle East are building housing, preparing meals, delivering the mail and providing many other vital services for our troops. Our Halliburton people are sharing the hardships and the risks. Three have lost their lives while working there.
The contract to do the work in Iraq, similar to work the company performed in both Bosnia and Kosovo, was competitively bid in 2001. Part of the deliverables of that contract was a contingency plan to fight oil well fires in case of war with Iraq. When the war began, Halliburton was asked to implement the plan. We were selected for this work because of our unique combination of business experience in defense contracting, engineering and construction and oilfield services.
[American Family Voices has launched its first ad which notes the sweetheart deals Halliburton is receiving from the US government while budgets for education, healthcare and even veteran's benefits are being slashed across the country. It is the first ad in a multimillion dollar ad campaign planned for the fall.]
Halliburton has a contract to take care of our troops in Iraq because of what we know, not who we know. The attack advertising [Real Media] sponsored by American Family Voices is deceptive and apparently is designed to further a political agenda. Our employees in the Middle East are building housing, preparing meals, delivering the mail and providing many other vital services for our troops. Our Halliburton people are sharing the hardships and the risks. Three have lost their lives while working there.
The contract to do the work in Iraq, similar to work the company performed in both Bosnia and Kosovo, was competitively bid in 2001. Part of the deliverables of that contract was a contingency plan to fight oil well fires in case of war with Iraq. When the war began, Halliburton was asked to implement the plan. We were selected for this work because of our unique combination of business experience in defense contracting, engineering and construction and oilfield services.
[American Family Voices has launched its first ad which notes the sweetheart deals Halliburton is receiving from the US government while budgets for education, healthcare and even veteran's benefits are being slashed across the country. It is the first ad in a multimillion dollar ad campaign planned for the fall.]
EARTH CHANGES
Ward Hunt Ice Shelf on the north coast of Ellesmere Island,
Nunavut territory, Canada. Ninety percent is now gone. Image courtesy NOAA.
Largest ice shelf in Arctic has broken up
Scientists at the University in Quebec City, Canada, and University of Alaska, Fairbanks, reported in the most recent Geophysical Research Letters that the Arctic's largest ice shelf - the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island in Canada's Nunavut territory - has broken up and all of its fresh water has poured out through the Disraeli Fjord. The region has been warming four-tenths of a degree centigrade every ten years since 1967. But the scientists are reluctant to say if it is the result of global warming or a regional climate anomaly. But it's a fact that a century ago, the northern border of Ellesmere Island was a solid ice shelf. Now, about 90% of that ice is gone.
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