Bilderberg Group: date and location of this year's conference
Jim Tucker at American Free Press believes he has discovered the venue for this year's Bilderberg Conference to be in Versailles, Paris, France.
The Trianon Palace Hotel - May 15-18 2003. Kenneth Clarke, in a letter to a Scottish Bilderberg researcher, has confirmed the venue.
Also this from a hotel website: Special Conditions From November 24, 2002 to April 30, 2003 the steam room will be closed. From May 15 to May 18, 2003 the hotel will be closed."
Monday, March 31, 2003
Troops who won't fight sent home
A PAIR of British soldiers in the Gulf face up to two years' jail after refusing to fight.
The duo - believed to be a private and an air technician - told officers they would not take part in a war in which innocent civilians were killed.
The two men from 16 Air Assault Brigade - heavily involved in the battles in the south of Iraq - are believed to have been sent back to their barracks in Colchester, Essex.
A third serviceman faces court martial after refusing to travel to the Gulf.
Others are believed to have refused on religious grounds.
A PAIR of British soldiers in the Gulf face up to two years' jail after refusing to fight.
The duo - believed to be a private and an air technician - told officers they would not take part in a war in which innocent civilians were killed.
The two men from 16 Air Assault Brigade - heavily involved in the battles in the south of Iraq - are believed to have been sent back to their barracks in Colchester, Essex.
A third serviceman faces court martial after refusing to travel to the Gulf.
Others are believed to have refused on religious grounds.
US soldiers in Iraq asked to pray for Bush
They may be the ones facing danger on the battlefield, but US soldiers in Iraq are being asked to pray for President George W Bush.
Thousands of marines have been given a pamphlet called "A Christian's Duty," a mini prayer book which includes a tear-out section to be mailed to the White House pledging the soldier who sends it in has been praying for Bush.
"I have committed to pray for you, your family, your staff and our troops during this time of uncertainty and tumult. May God's peace be your guide," says the pledge, according to a journalist embedded with coalition forces.
They may be the ones facing danger on the battlefield, but US soldiers in Iraq are being asked to pray for President George W Bush.
Thousands of marines have been given a pamphlet called "A Christian's Duty," a mini prayer book which includes a tear-out section to be mailed to the White House pledging the soldier who sends it in has been praying for Bush.
"I have committed to pray for you, your family, your staff and our troops during this time of uncertainty and tumult. May God's peace be your guide," says the pledge, according to a journalist embedded with coalition forces.
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Nearby pulsating star cloud puzzles astronomers
A massive molecular cloud in our galatic neighbourhood is pulsating in a way that is puzzling U.S. astronomers, who said the phenomenon has never seen in molecular clouds before.
Dr Charles Lada of the Harvard Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Boston and colleagues studied the dark molecular cloud known as Barnard 68 and found the signatures of both in-falling and out-flowing material at different locations across the face of the cloud.
The team described the observations as pulsing, or beating like a heart, every 250,000 years.
A massive molecular cloud in our galatic neighbourhood is pulsating in a way that is puzzling U.S. astronomers, who said the phenomenon has never seen in molecular clouds before.
Dr Charles Lada of the Harvard Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Boston and colleagues studied the dark molecular cloud known as Barnard 68 and found the signatures of both in-falling and out-flowing material at different locations across the face of the cloud.
The team described the observations as pulsing, or beating like a heart, every 250,000 years.
Thursday, March 20, 2003
USA lied about Iraq's weapons
A US-based Norwegian weapons inspector accuses the USA and Secretary of State Colin Powell with providing the United Nations Security Council with incorrect and misleading information about Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), newspaper Dagbladet reports.
A US-based Norwegian weapons inspector accuses the USA and Secretary of State Colin Powell with providing the United Nations Security Council with incorrect and misleading information about Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), newspaper Dagbladet reports.
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
Aust Govt defends legal grounds to attack Iraq
Federal Attorney-General Daryl Williams says political motives are behind accusations the Government's decision to send troops to war against Iraq is illegal.
Both houses of Federal Parliament are debating the issue.
Mr Williams says the Government's advice that past United Nations resolutions on Iraq allow for military action is sound and independent. He questioned the motives of those who have offered a different opinion.
Federal Attorney-General Daryl Williams says political motives are behind accusations the Government's decision to send troops to war against Iraq is illegal.
Both houses of Federal Parliament are debating the issue.
Mr Williams says the Government's advice that past United Nations resolutions on Iraq allow for military action is sound and independent. He questioned the motives of those who have offered a different opinion.
Indonesia condemns Howard's war decision
The world's largest Muslim country, Indonesia, says it is unhappy with Australia's commitment to the looming Iraq war, which it says has no legitimacy.
The Foreign Ministry in Jakarta says diplomatic avenues remain and it is wrong even at this stage to portray war against Iraq as inevitable.
The world's largest Muslim country, Indonesia, says it is unhappy with Australia's commitment to the looming Iraq war, which it says has no legitimacy.
The Foreign Ministry in Jakarta says diplomatic avenues remain and it is wrong even at this stage to portray war against Iraq as inevitable.
World's 'first' brain prosthesis revealed
The world's first brain prosthesis - an artificial hippocampus - is about to be tested in California. Unlike devices like cochlear implants, which merely stimulate brain activity, this silicon chip implant will perform the same processes as the damaged part of the brain it is replacing.
The prosthesis will first be tested on tissue from rats' brains, and then on live animals. If all goes well, it will then be tested as a way to help people who have suffered brain damage due to stroke, epilepsy or Alzheimer's disease.
Any device that mimics the brain clearly raises ethical issues. The brain not only affects memory, but your mood, awareness and consciousness - parts of your fundamental identity, says ethicist Joel Anderson at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri.
The world's first brain prosthesis - an artificial hippocampus - is about to be tested in California. Unlike devices like cochlear implants, which merely stimulate brain activity, this silicon chip implant will perform the same processes as the damaged part of the brain it is replacing.
The prosthesis will first be tested on tissue from rats' brains, and then on live animals. If all goes well, it will then be tested as a way to help people who have suffered brain damage due to stroke, epilepsy or Alzheimer's disease.
Any device that mimics the brain clearly raises ethical issues. The brain not only affects memory, but your mood, awareness and consciousness - parts of your fundamental identity, says ethicist Joel Anderson at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri.
Israeli bulldozer driver murders American peace activist
Rachel Corrie lies on the ground fatally injured by the Israeli bulldozer.
In Rafah, occupied Gaza, 23-year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie from Olympia, Washington, was murdered by an Israeli bulldozer driver. Rachel was in Gaza opposing the bulldozing of a Palestinian home as a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement. Pictures show that the driver knowingly ran over her.
Rachel Corrie lies on the ground fatally injured by the Israeli bulldozer.
In Rafah, occupied Gaza, 23-year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie from Olympia, Washington, was murdered by an Israeli bulldozer driver. Rachel was in Gaza opposing the bulldozing of a Palestinian home as a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement. Pictures show that the driver knowingly ran over her.
Suitcase surprise: Rebuke written on inspection notice
Seth Goldberg says that when he opened his suitcase in San Diego after a flight from Seattle this month, the two 'No Iraq War' signs he'd picked up at the Pike Place Market were still nestled among his clothes.
Tucked in his luggage was a card from the Transportation Security Administration notifying him that his bags had been opened and inspected at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Handwritten on the side of the card was a note, "Don't appreciate your anti-American attitude!"
"I found it chilling and a little Orwellian to have received this message," said the 41 year old New Jersey resident.
Seth Goldberg says that when he opened his suitcase in San Diego after a flight from Seattle this month, the two 'No Iraq War' signs he'd picked up at the Pike Place Market were still nestled among his clothes.
Tucked in his luggage was a card from the Transportation Security Administration notifying him that his bags had been opened and inspected at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Handwritten on the side of the card was a note, "Don't appreciate your anti-American attitude!"
"I found it chilling and a little Orwellian to have received this message," said the 41 year old New Jersey resident.
International women's human rights organization asks UN to declare US a threat to peace
'Free societies do not intimidate by cruelty and conquest' And other great quotes from Bush's UN speech on Iraq ... like "Our principles and our security are challenged today by outlaw groups and regimes that accept no law of morality and have no limit to their violent ambitions".
'Free societies do not intimidate by cruelty and conquest' And other great quotes from Bush's UN speech on Iraq ... like "Our principles and our security are challenged today by outlaw groups and regimes that accept no law of morality and have no limit to their violent ambitions".
Thursday, March 13, 2003
Cheney still paid by Pentagon's Iraq cleanup contractor
Halliburton, the Texas company which has been awarded the Pentagon's contract to put out potential oil-field fires in Iraq and which is bidding for postwar construction contracts, is still making annual payments to its former chief executive, the vice-president Dick Cheney.
The payments, which appear on Mr Cheney's 2001 financial disclosure statement, are in the form of "deferred compensation" of up to $1m (600,000 pounds) a year.
Halliburton, the Texas company which has been awarded the Pentagon's contract to put out potential oil-field fires in Iraq and which is bidding for postwar construction contracts, is still making annual payments to its former chief executive, the vice-president Dick Cheney.
The payments, which appear on Mr Cheney's 2001 financial disclosure statement, are in the form of "deferred compensation" of up to $1m (600,000 pounds) a year.
Puzzling X-rays from Jupiter
Every 45 minutes a gigawatt pulse of x-rays courses through the solar system.
Astronomers are accustomed to such things. Distant pulsars and black holes often bathe the galaxy with blasts of x-radiation. But this time the source isn't exotic and far away. It's right here in our own solar system.
"The pulses are coming from the north pole of Jupiter," says Randy Gladstone, a scientist at the Southwest Research Institute and leader of the team that made the discovery using NASA's orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Every 45 minutes a gigawatt pulse of x-rays courses through the solar system.
Astronomers are accustomed to such things. Distant pulsars and black holes often bathe the galaxy with blasts of x-radiation. But this time the source isn't exotic and far away. It's right here in our own solar system.
"The pulses are coming from the north pole of Jupiter," says Randy Gladstone, a scientist at the Southwest Research Institute and leader of the team that made the discovery using NASA's orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Assassination Prompts Serbian Emergency
Snipers assassinated Serbia's prime minister as he walked into government headquarters at midday Wednesday, silencing a pro-Western leader who helped topple Slobodan Milosevic and declared war on organized crime.
The slaying of Zoran Djindjic in downtown Belgrade prompted the government to impose a nationwide state of emergency amid fears the Balkan nation could plunge into a violent power struggle. The Cabinet declared three days of mourning.
Snipers assassinated Serbia's prime minister as he walked into government headquarters at midday Wednesday, silencing a pro-Western leader who helped topple Slobodan Milosevic and declared war on organized crime.
The slaying of Zoran Djindjic in downtown Belgrade prompted the government to impose a nationwide state of emergency amid fears the Balkan nation could plunge into a violent power struggle. The Cabinet declared three days of mourning.
Iraqis: "Smoking gun" made with duct tape
A remotely piloted aircraft that the United States has warned could spread chemical weapons appears to be made of balsa wood and duct tape, with two small propellors attached to what look like the engines of a weed whacker.
Iraqi officials took journalists to the Ibn Firnas State Company just north of Baghdad on Wednesday, where the drone's project director accused Secretary of State Colin Powell of misleading the U.N. Security Council and the public.
"He's making a big mistake," said Brig. Imad Abdul Latif. "He knows very well that this aircraft is not used for what he said."
A remotely piloted aircraft that the United States has warned could spread chemical weapons appears to be made of balsa wood and duct tape, with two small propellors attached to what look like the engines of a weed whacker.
Iraqi officials took journalists to the Ibn Firnas State Company just north of Baghdad on Wednesday, where the drone's project director accused Secretary of State Colin Powell of misleading the U.N. Security Council and the public.
"He's making a big mistake," said Brig. Imad Abdul Latif. "He knows very well that this aircraft is not used for what he said."
The Great Dark Spot
"I was totally blown away when I saw it--a dark cloud twice as big as Earth swirling around Jupiter's north pole," says Bob West, a planetary scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
West first saw it in an ultraviolet picture of Jupiter taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1997. But it only appeared in one image out of many spanning a period of years.
"I didn't know what to make of it," he recalls. "The Great Dark Spot and the Great Red Spot are entirely different". The Great Red Spot is deep. "It's a high-pressure storm system rooted in Jupiter's troposphere far below the cloudtops. The Great Dark Spot is apparently shallow and confined to Jupiter's high stratosphere."
"I was totally blown away when I saw it--a dark cloud twice as big as Earth swirling around Jupiter's north pole," says Bob West, a planetary scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
West first saw it in an ultraviolet picture of Jupiter taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1997. But it only appeared in one image out of many spanning a period of years.
"I didn't know what to make of it," he recalls. "The Great Dark Spot and the Great Red Spot are entirely different". The Great Red Spot is deep. "It's a high-pressure storm system rooted in Jupiter's troposphere far below the cloudtops. The Great Dark Spot is apparently shallow and confined to Jupiter's high stratosphere."
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
Why France Is America's True Friend
Outrageous dereliction of duty over Korea, obsessive warmongering against Iraq, crude, aggressive behaviour worthy of Leonid Brezhnev's Soviet Union, threats against the UN, a $400-billion deficit that will infect the world with inflation, and damage to America's reputation - such are Bush's 'accomplishments' to date.
Far from being an enemy, France has been doing what a true good friend should do: telling Washington its policy is wrong and dangerous, unlike the handkissing leaders of Britain, Spain and Italy, who crave Bush's political support, or the East European coalition of the shilling, ex-communist politicians pandering to Washington for cash. Seventy percent of British, and 90% of Italians and Spaniards oppose Bush's crusade.
Outrageous dereliction of duty over Korea, obsessive warmongering against Iraq, crude, aggressive behaviour worthy of Leonid Brezhnev's Soviet Union, threats against the UN, a $400-billion deficit that will infect the world with inflation, and damage to America's reputation - such are Bush's 'accomplishments' to date.
Far from being an enemy, France has been doing what a true good friend should do: telling Washington its policy is wrong and dangerous, unlike the handkissing leaders of Britain, Spain and Italy, who crave Bush's political support, or the East European coalition of the shilling, ex-communist politicians pandering to Washington for cash. Seventy percent of British, and 90% of Italians and Spaniards oppose Bush's crusade.
Birds of a feather aren’t the only ones to flock together
A new book argues that the universe is an orderly place marked by harmony and cooperation. In an era of war, terror and chaos, his viewpoint sounds a bit curious. But if 'Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order' is, well, out of sync with global news, it's certainly in tune with the scientific world.
Human affairs may be disorderly, but the rest of nature is humming along just fine, thanks to intrinsic properties that emphasize teamwork and synchrony from the atomic level up.
A new book argues that the universe is an orderly place marked by harmony and cooperation. In an era of war, terror and chaos, his viewpoint sounds a bit curious. But if 'Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order' is, well, out of sync with global news, it's certainly in tune with the scientific world.
Human affairs may be disorderly, but the rest of nature is humming along just fine, thanks to intrinsic properties that emphasize teamwork and synchrony from the atomic level up.
When gravity falls
Boeing this month told the press it is now using the work of "mad" Russian scientist Yevgeny Podkletnov - the world’s scientific community regards the Doc with grave misgivings, as they (including NASA) have been unable to reproduce any of his results.
In short, Podkletnov claims to have created a machine that can screen objects from the Earth's gravitational pull.
Boeing, a corporation not known for its flights of fancy, has engaged the services of Yevgeny’s team for its maximum security Phantom Works in Seattle, the semi-secret arm of the company which handles Boeing's most sensitive defence work. The program has been code-named Project Grasp (Gravity Suspension Propulsion).
George Muellner, the controller of the Phantom Works, confirmed with no less than the Jane's Defence Weekly (alias the bible of the wicked military industrial complex) that Boeing had seen enough in their own controlled environment, to convince them to pursue this avenue of research.
Boeing this month told the press it is now using the work of "mad" Russian scientist Yevgeny Podkletnov - the world’s scientific community regards the Doc with grave misgivings, as they (including NASA) have been unable to reproduce any of his results.
In short, Podkletnov claims to have created a machine that can screen objects from the Earth's gravitational pull.
Boeing, a corporation not known for its flights of fancy, has engaged the services of Yevgeny’s team for its maximum security Phantom Works in Seattle, the semi-secret arm of the company which handles Boeing's most sensitive defence work. The program has been code-named Project Grasp (Gravity Suspension Propulsion).
George Muellner, the controller of the Phantom Works, confirmed with no less than the Jane's Defence Weekly (alias the bible of the wicked military industrial complex) that Boeing had seen enough in their own controlled environment, to convince them to pursue this avenue of research.
Ancient village raises Australian Aboriginal nomad questions
We're told that Australia's aborigines were nomads, yet the Gunditjmara people of Western Victoria claim their ancestors lived in a village. They had eel farms, and even an eel industry, which exported produce across the country. If this is true, it would challenge our current understanding of aboriginal history.
Archaeologist Dr Heather Builth set out to investigate the Gunditjmara's claims. Remarkably, she found a great deal of evidence to support them. The remains of hundreds of huts, more than 75 square kilometres of artificial channels and ponds for farming eels, and smoking trees for preserving the eels for export to other parts of Australia.
We're told that Australia's aborigines were nomads, yet the Gunditjmara people of Western Victoria claim their ancestors lived in a village. They had eel farms, and even an eel industry, which exported produce across the country. If this is true, it would challenge our current understanding of aboriginal history.
Archaeologist Dr Heather Builth set out to investigate the Gunditjmara's claims. Remarkably, she found a great deal of evidence to support them. The remains of hundreds of huts, more than 75 square kilometres of artificial channels and ponds for farming eels, and smoking trees for preserving the eels for export to other parts of Australia.
Pakistan Accused of Staging Bin Laden Aide Arrest
A grainy video purporting to show the arrest of two al Qaeda leaders has done little to deflect accusations that Pakistan may have staged this month's raid to give it leeway to abstain in a UN vote on an Iraq war.
On Monday, the powerful military Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) held an unprecedented news conference to show foreign journalists what it said were images of a March 1 raid in Rawalpindi that netted al Qaeda kingpin Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
A grainy video purporting to show the arrest of two al Qaeda leaders has done little to deflect accusations that Pakistan may have staged this month's raid to give it leeway to abstain in a UN vote on an Iraq war.
On Monday, the powerful military Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) held an unprecedented news conference to show foreign journalists what it said were images of a March 1 raid in Rawalpindi that netted al Qaeda kingpin Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Media Misquote and Excise Bush Comment About 'Scripted' Press Conference
When Bush gave his second prime-time press conference in two years (on 6 March 2003), in a flustered moment, he admitted that the production was "scripted." But in transcripts of the event, all media outlets, except one, have changed or removed that embarassing moment.
It happened when Bush was looking down at his notes to see which reporter he was supposed to call upon. The following excerpt is from the official transcript at the White House's Website:
The risk of doing nothing, the risk of hoping that Saddam Hussein changes his mind and becomes a gentle soul, the risk that somehow -- that inaction will make the world safer, is a risk I'm not willing to take for the American people.
We'll be there in a minute. King, John King. This is a scripted -- (laughter.)
Q Thank you, Mr. President. How would -- sir, how would you answer your critics who say that they think this is somehow personal?
You can confirm this for yourself by going to the transcript. The exchange is not quite halfway down the page. Also, you can listen to an MP3 of the exchange here.
When Bush gave his second prime-time press conference in two years (on 6 March 2003), in a flustered moment, he admitted that the production was "scripted." But in transcripts of the event, all media outlets, except one, have changed or removed that embarassing moment.
It happened when Bush was looking down at his notes to see which reporter he was supposed to call upon. The following excerpt is from the official transcript at the White House's Website:
The risk of doing nothing, the risk of hoping that Saddam Hussein changes his mind and becomes a gentle soul, the risk that somehow -- that inaction will make the world safer, is a risk I'm not willing to take for the American people.
We'll be there in a minute. King, John King. This is a scripted -- (laughter.)
Q Thank you, Mr. President. How would -- sir, how would you answer your critics who say that they think this is somehow personal?
You can confirm this for yourself by going to the transcript. The exchange is not quite halfway down the page. Also, you can listen to an MP3 of the exchange here.
Thursday, March 06, 2003
Woman Offers Bush Crucifixion-For-Peace Deal
A New Zealand woman said on Wednesday she was willing to be crucified by President Bush if he pledges not to attack Iraq.
Mary Grierson said she had emailed the challenge to the White House and as an open letter to leading U.S. newspapers.
"Send your troops home and take me instead, on behalf of everyone in the world who does not want war and oppression," she wrote.
A New Zealand woman said on Wednesday she was willing to be crucified by President Bush if he pledges not to attack Iraq.
Mary Grierson said she had emailed the challenge to the White House and as an open letter to leading U.S. newspapers.
"Send your troops home and take me instead, on behalf of everyone in the world who does not want war and oppression," she wrote.
Photographic History of the Bush Administration Putting Its Mouth Where Its Money Isn't
The Bush Credibility Gap: Real Life Examples. A chronology of Bush saying one thing then doing another
The Bush Credibility Gap: Real Life Examples. A chronology of Bush saying one thing then doing another
Wednesday, March 05, 2003
War against Iraq is immoral: Hawke
The former Australian Labor prime minister, Bob Hawke, says the prospective war against Iraq is immoral and stupid. Mr Hawke is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his election to office today.
He has told Lateline, there should be United Nation forces in Iraq.
"If they were there he would not be able to use weapons of mass destruction more so you'd be able to track them down do the job of isolating them, stopping them being made available to terrorists," he said.
"So if you can achieve those objectives other than by going to war it's immoral to go to war."
The former Australian Labor prime minister, Bob Hawke, says the prospective war against Iraq is immoral and stupid. Mr Hawke is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his election to office today.
He has told Lateline, there should be United Nation forces in Iraq.
"If they were there he would not be able to use weapons of mass destruction more so you'd be able to track them down do the job of isolating them, stopping them being made available to terrorists," he said.
"So if you can achieve those objectives other than by going to war it's immoral to go to war."
Tuesday, March 04, 2003
I'm losing patience with my neighbours, Mr Bush
I'm really excited by George Bush's latest reason for bombing Iraq: he's running out of patience. And so am I!
For some time now I've been really pissed off with Mr Johnson, who lives a couple of doors down the street. Well, him and Mr Patel, who runs the health food shop. They both give me queer looks, and I'm sure Mr Johnson is planning something nasty for me, but so far I haven't been able to discover what. I've been round to his place a few times to see what he's up to, but he's got everything well hidden. That's how devious he is.
I'm really excited by George Bush's latest reason for bombing Iraq: he's running out of patience. And so am I!
For some time now I've been really pissed off with Mr Johnson, who lives a couple of doors down the street. Well, him and Mr Patel, who runs the health food shop. They both give me queer looks, and I'm sure Mr Johnson is planning something nasty for me, but so far I haven't been able to discover what. I've been round to his place a few times to see what he's up to, but he's got everything well hidden. That's how devious he is.
Monday, March 03, 2003
Welcome to the New American Century (read 'New World Order')
The Project for the New American Century intends, through issue briefs, research papers, advocacy journalism, conferences, and seminars, to explain what American world leadership entails. It will also strive to rally support for a vigorous and principled policy of American international involvement and to stimulate useful public debate on foreign and defense policy and America's role in the world.
PNAC is a think-tank founded in 1997 by the people who are now closest to President Bush - Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Jeb Bush and so on. What PNAC thinks is likely what George W. Bush thinks. PNAC represents the thinking of the men now in power in the US.
The Project for the New American Century intends, through issue briefs, research papers, advocacy journalism, conferences, and seminars, to explain what American world leadership entails. It will also strive to rally support for a vigorous and principled policy of American international involvement and to stimulate useful public debate on foreign and defense policy and America's role in the world.
PNAC is a think-tank founded in 1997 by the people who are now closest to President Bush - Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Jeb Bush and so on. What PNAC thinks is likely what George W. Bush thinks. PNAC represents the thinking of the men now in power in the US.
Pakistan's intelligence chief has terrorist links
Top sources confirmed here on Tuesday, that the former ISI director-general Lt-Gen Mahmud Ahmad lost his job because of the "evidence" India produced to show his links to one of the suicide bombers that wrecked the World Trade Centre.
The US authorities sought his removal after confirming the fact that $100,000 was wired to WTC hijacker Mohammed Atta from Pakistan by Ahmad Umar Sheikh at the instance of Gen Mahumd.
Top sources confirmed here on Tuesday, that the former ISI director-general Lt-Gen Mahmud Ahmad lost his job because of the "evidence" India produced to show his links to one of the suicide bombers that wrecked the World Trade Centre.
The US authorities sought his removal after confirming the fact that $100,000 was wired to WTC hijacker Mohammed Atta from Pakistan by Ahmad Umar Sheikh at the instance of Gen Mahumd.
Saturday's Al Qaeda arrest may have happened several months ago
Some analysts questioned whether Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had actually been arrested on Saturday and speculated he may have been held for some time.
"I think he was arrested several months ago in the shootout in Karachi," one expert on Pakistan who declined to be identified said, referring to a gunbattle in September in the southern port city that netted another Al Qaeda figure, Ahmed Omar Abdel Rahman, known as Binalshibh.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was reported to have narrowly evaded capture in that battle, when Karachi police identified him as a man hit by a police sniper.
But a suspected militant later denied this.
Another terror expert said several weeks ago he believed Mohammed had been arrested and that he expected the news would be only be made public when it was in the interests of the United States and Pakistan.
Some analysts questioned whether Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had actually been arrested on Saturday and speculated he may have been held for some time.
"I think he was arrested several months ago in the shootout in Karachi," one expert on Pakistan who declined to be identified said, referring to a gunbattle in September in the southern port city that netted another Al Qaeda figure, Ahmed Omar Abdel Rahman, known as Binalshibh.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was reported to have narrowly evaded capture in that battle, when Karachi police identified him as a man hit by a police sniper.
But a suspected militant later denied this.
Another terror expert said several weeks ago he believed Mohammed had been arrested and that he expected the news would be only be made public when it was in the interests of the United States and Pakistan.
US concentration camps in the making
Photos taken close to Nellis Air Force Base (next to Union Pacific Railroad Tracks & I-15).
Photos taken close to Nellis Air Force Base (next to Union Pacific Railroad Tracks & I-15).
Gulf War vet admits setting Kuwait oil well fires under UN command
During the past six years, the American Gulf War Veterans Association has received numerous reports from veterans stating that US forces were responsible for the setting of the oil well fires at the end of the Gulf War.
One veteran has now stepped forward and given a detailed account of how he and others in special teams, moved forward of the front, behind enemy lines ahead of US forces, set explosive and incendiary charges on the well heads, and remained hidden until after the charges were remotely detonated and US forces advanced beyond their position.
Transcript
During the past six years, the American Gulf War Veterans Association has received numerous reports from veterans stating that US forces were responsible for the setting of the oil well fires at the end of the Gulf War.
One veteran has now stepped forward and given a detailed account of how he and others in special teams, moved forward of the front, behind enemy lines ahead of US forces, set explosive and incendiary charges on the well heads, and remained hidden until after the charges were remotely detonated and US forces advanced beyond their position.
Transcript
Thursday, February 27, 2003
Hitting the g-spot
A Gucci advertisement featuring a woman with her pubic hair cropped in the shape of a letter "G" got the go-ahead from Britain's tough advertising watchdog on Wednesday.
Sixteen outraged members of the public had complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the Italian fashion house's advert was indecent.
But the ASA, which has a reputation for taking a harder line than its counterparts in other European countries, judged the advertisement was targeted at sophisticated, adult fashion magazine readers who would not be offended.
"The image was intimate rather than aggressive and... although it was likely to be considered tasteless by some readers, it was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence," the ASA said in a statement.
The advert, which is running in British fashion magazines, shows a woman wearing an open silk kimono and underwear which she has pulled part-way down to reveal the letter "G." A man kneels in front, staring at her pubic hair.
The advertisers aimed to provoke and viewed the image as "the ultimate ironic pun for a sexy brand in a logo-led age," the ASA said. Gucci believed "the image addressed today's reality that men and women's sexual roles were changing," the statement added. (Reuters)
A Gucci advertisement featuring a woman with her pubic hair cropped in the shape of a letter "G" got the go-ahead from Britain's tough advertising watchdog on Wednesday.
Sixteen outraged members of the public had complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the Italian fashion house's advert was indecent.
But the ASA, which has a reputation for taking a harder line than its counterparts in other European countries, judged the advertisement was targeted at sophisticated, adult fashion magazine readers who would not be offended.
"The image was intimate rather than aggressive and... although it was likely to be considered tasteless by some readers, it was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence," the ASA said in a statement.
The advert, which is running in British fashion magazines, shows a woman wearing an open silk kimono and underwear which she has pulled part-way down to reveal the letter "G." A man kneels in front, staring at her pubic hair.
The advertisers aimed to provoke and viewed the image as "the ultimate ironic pun for a sexy brand in a logo-led age," the ASA said. Gucci believed "the image addressed today's reality that men and women's sexual roles were changing," the statement added. (Reuters)
Coalition of the willing (read 'war crims')
The United States has proposed a doctrine of "pre-emptive self-defence" (doesn'tall the NewSpeak make you shudder?) to use force against another country it suspects may attack it at some stage.
However, a pre-emptive strike on Iraq would constitute a crime against humanity, write 43 experts on international law and human rights.
The initiation of a war against Iraq by the self-styled "coalition of the willing" would be a fundamental violation of international law.
The United States has proposed a doctrine of "pre-emptive self-defence" (doesn'tall the NewSpeak make you shudder?) to use force against another country it suspects may attack it at some stage.
However, a pre-emptive strike on Iraq would constitute a crime against humanity, write 43 experts on international law and human rights.
The initiation of a war against Iraq by the self-styled "coalition of the willing" would be a fundamental violation of international law.
Ari laughed out of White House briefing room
Ari Fleischer drew himself up with imperious indignation and said to a reporter, "you're implying that the President is buying the votes of other nations, and that's just not a consideration".
The whole press corps, normally docile, broke out into derisive laughter, and kept on laughing as Ari turned on his heels and strode out of White House briefing room.
Follow the above link and go down to White House Press Briefing (Feb 25, 2003) and click on the video. After it buffers, play from about 28 minutes forward for context, 30 minutes forward to watch the press laugh at Ari's bullshit.
Visit C-Spanor The video
Ari Fleischer drew himself up with imperious indignation and said to a reporter, "you're implying that the President is buying the votes of other nations, and that's just not a consideration".
The whole press corps, normally docile, broke out into derisive laughter, and kept on laughing as Ari turned on his heels and strode out of White House briefing room.
Follow the above link and go down to White House Press Briefing (Feb 25, 2003) and click on the video. After it buffers, play from about 28 minutes forward for context, 30 minutes forward to watch the press laugh at Ari's bullshit.
Visit C-Spanor The video
Concentration Camps in Okanagon County?
Okanogan County Commissioner Dave Schulz says he's convinced his county is a designated home for a ``concentration camp'' in case of civil unrest. Schulz says he has copies of documents, although he hasn't been able to confirm the rumor.
Federal officials say they have no idea where the commissioner got the notion of civilian detention camps.
A Federal Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman says it sounds like an urban legend and a Pentagon spokesman says he's not aware of any planned camps in Okanogan County or elsewhere.
Rumors of planned U.S. detention facilities appear on dozens of Web sites. Schulz says he thinks the plan has been written in the event of a national emergency where martial law is necessary, and hopes it never becomes necessary.
Okanogan County Commissioner Dave Schulz says he's convinced his county is a designated home for a ``concentration camp'' in case of civil unrest. Schulz says he has copies of documents, although he hasn't been able to confirm the rumor.
Federal officials say they have no idea where the commissioner got the notion of civilian detention camps.
A Federal Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman says it sounds like an urban legend and a Pentagon spokesman says he's not aware of any planned camps in Okanogan County or elsewhere.
Rumors of planned U.S. detention facilities appear on dozens of Web sites. Schulz says he thinks the plan has been written in the event of a national emergency where martial law is necessary, and hopes it never becomes necessary.
Rockefeller: Bush decided 'long time ago' to go to war
America will declare war against Iraq regardless of how the United Nations Security Council votes, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said Tuesday.
Rockefeller, who returned to the country Saturday following a week-long visit to Pakistan, Kuwait and Afghanistan, said based on private conversations he's had with President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and others in the administration, he believes war with Iraq is inevitable.
"I think the president has made up his mind, and whether we get the votes or don't get the votes, I think we're going to go to war," the senator said, adding Bush "made up his mind a long time ago ..."
America will declare war against Iraq regardless of how the United Nations Security Council votes, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said Tuesday.
Rockefeller, who returned to the country Saturday following a week-long visit to Pakistan, Kuwait and Afghanistan, said based on private conversations he's had with President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and others in the administration, he believes war with Iraq is inevitable.
"I think the president has made up his mind, and whether we get the votes or don't get the votes, I think we're going to go to war," the senator said, adding Bush "made up his mind a long time ago ..."
Monday, February 24, 2003
Pulitzer-winning reporter Seymour Hersh: Rumsfeld authorized evac of al Qaeda
Seymour Hersh relays the story of how an evacuation of Al Qaeda out of Afghanistan into Pakistan was authorized by Rumsfeld as a favor to Pakistan. "Gee, really?" said Rumsfeld. "News to me."
Q: How high up was that evacuation authorized?
HERSH: I am here to tell you it was authorised ... at the White House. ... certainly at the Secretary of Defense level.
Seymour Hersh relays the story of how an evacuation of Al Qaeda out of Afghanistan into Pakistan was authorized by Rumsfeld as a favor to Pakistan. "Gee, really?" said Rumsfeld. "News to me."
Q: How high up was that evacuation authorized?
HERSH: I am here to tell you it was authorised ... at the White House. ... certainly at the Secretary of Defense level.
If you think the world is a violent place now, just wait
"A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it, is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated."
Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course. Human activities inflict harsh and often irreversible damage on the environment and on critical resources. If not checked, many of our current practices put at serious risk the future that we wish for human society and the plant and animal kingdoms, and may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know. Fundamental changes are urgent if we are to avoid the collision our present course will bring about.
"A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it, is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated."
Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course. Human activities inflict harsh and often irreversible damage on the environment and on critical resources. If not checked, many of our current practices put at serious risk the future that we wish for human society and the plant and animal kingdoms, and may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know. Fundamental changes are urgent if we are to avoid the collision our present course will bring about.
Adding insult to 9-11 injuries
A notorious liar, Kissinger has lied repeatedly to Congress, the press and the public; he is a toady to power and a lackey of the Establishment and for many years now the hireling of despotic regimes around the world. Old Cover-Up Kissinger, the man who double-crossed the Iraqi Kurds -- just the man to lead an independent inquiry into 9-11.
The cynicism of this insult to the families of those who died on 9-11 is just flabbergasting. We knew that the Bush administration opposed the whole idea of an independent inquiry, but this adds supreme insult to injury.
A notorious liar, Kissinger has lied repeatedly to Congress, the press and the public; he is a toady to power and a lackey of the Establishment and for many years now the hireling of despotic regimes around the world. Old Cover-Up Kissinger, the man who double-crossed the Iraqi Kurds -- just the man to lead an independent inquiry into 9-11.
The cynicism of this insult to the families of those who died on 9-11 is just flabbergasting. We knew that the Bush administration opposed the whole idea of an independent inquiry, but this adds supreme insult to injury.
A few words from Bush
As The New Yorker recently noted, if Bill Gates walked into a soup kitchen serving 60 bums, the average worth of the people in that room would be $1 billion each. But it would still be Bill Gates and 60 bums.
In his State of the Union address Bush claimed tax relief was for everyone who pays income taxes. … "Ninety-two million Americans will keep this year an average of almost $1,100 of their own money".
Molly Ivins points out however that a third of all Americans will never see a dime of that tax cut. Half of all taxpayers will get less than $100 from the Bush tax cut. Those who make more than $1 million a year will get an average cut of $92,000, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. That may average out to $1,100, but it ain't going to the average family.
As The New Yorker recently noted, if Bill Gates walked into a soup kitchen serving 60 bums, the average worth of the people in that room would be $1 billion each. But it would still be Bill Gates and 60 bums.
In his State of the Union address Bush claimed tax relief was for everyone who pays income taxes. … "Ninety-two million Americans will keep this year an average of almost $1,100 of their own money".
Molly Ivins points out however that a third of all Americans will never see a dime of that tax cut. Half of all taxpayers will get less than $100 from the Bush tax cut. Those who make more than $1 million a year will get an average cut of $92,000, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. That may average out to $1,100, but it ain't going to the average family.
Let's ease up on the machismo
The president did an unfortunate disservice to the cause of reasonable debate when he said of the worldwide demonstration against the impending war: "Some in the world don't view Saddam Hussein as a risk to peace. I respectfully disagree."
Painting the anti-war movement as pro-Saddam gets us nowhere. What the Europeans are trying to say is not that they think Saddam is harmless. We've got near-universal agreement -- including, as near as one can tell, from most Iraqis -- that the man is a miserable SOB. The difference is over how to handle him, and the United States has put itself in the unfortunate position of looking as though we'd rather go to war, unprovoked, than work at a way to defang him peacefully.
The president did an unfortunate disservice to the cause of reasonable debate when he said of the worldwide demonstration against the impending war: "Some in the world don't view Saddam Hussein as a risk to peace. I respectfully disagree."
Painting the anti-war movement as pro-Saddam gets us nowhere. What the Europeans are trying to say is not that they think Saddam is harmless. We've got near-universal agreement -- including, as near as one can tell, from most Iraqis -- that the man is a miserable SOB. The difference is over how to handle him, and the United States has put itself in the unfortunate position of looking as though we'd rather go to war, unprovoked, than work at a way to defang him peacefully.
A wee bit crazy? Science now has a name for you
I have good news. If you dress funny, talk funny, have no friends, believe in ghosts and communicate with UFOs, science finally has a name for you. You're a schizotypal.
The difference between a schizophrenic and a schizotypal is that the former has delusions while the latter has beliefs. A schizotypal realises his ideas might border on the bizarre, but feels that makes him smarter and better than everyone else because he bops along a mental road less travelled.
I have good news. If you dress funny, talk funny, have no friends, believe in ghosts and communicate with UFOs, science finally has a name for you. You're a schizotypal.
The difference between a schizophrenic and a schizotypal is that the former has delusions while the latter has beliefs. A schizotypal realises his ideas might border on the bizarre, but feels that makes him smarter and better than everyone else because he bops along a mental road less travelled.
Sunday, February 23, 2003
Professor in terror indictments was a Bush supporter
Sami Amin al-Arian, the University of South Florida professor charged with being the US leader of a Mideast terrorist group, was an influential figure in Tampa's small Muslim community whose political activism landed him in a photograph with President Bush during the 2000 campaign.
''He was a Bush supporter,'' said Robert McKee, an attorney who is representing Arian in a legal dispute with the university. ''As close as the election in Florida was, Sami may have put him over the top. He got out the vote in the Muslim community in Florida, and now Bush's attorney general is going after him.''
Sami Amin al-Arian, the University of South Florida professor charged with being the US leader of a Mideast terrorist group, was an influential figure in Tampa's small Muslim community whose political activism landed him in a photograph with President Bush during the 2000 campaign.
''He was a Bush supporter,'' said Robert McKee, an attorney who is representing Arian in a legal dispute with the university. ''As close as the election in Florida was, Sami may have put him over the top. He got out the vote in the Muslim community in Florida, and now Bush's attorney general is going after him.''
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
We Are Not The Enemy! - The Battle of Portland
Mr. Bush is protested wherever he goes these days, and the crowds which attend them are growing. These are not black-clad anarchists kicking in windows, however. The woman who was attacked by the police looked as ordinary as any small-town librarian, and anarchists are smart enough to leave their children at home if there is a riot in the offing. The streets of Portland were filled on August 22nd by average American citizens seeking to inform the President of their disfavor regarding the manner in which he is governing their country. They were rewarded with the business end of a billy club, a face-full of pepper spray, and the jarring impact of a rubber bullet.
Mr. Bush is protested wherever he goes these days, and the crowds which attend them are growing. These are not black-clad anarchists kicking in windows, however. The woman who was attacked by the police looked as ordinary as any small-town librarian, and anarchists are smart enough to leave their children at home if there is a riot in the offing. The streets of Portland were filled on August 22nd by average American citizens seeking to inform the President of their disfavor regarding the manner in which he is governing their country. They were rewarded with the business end of a billy club, a face-full of pepper spray, and the jarring impact of a rubber bullet.
CNN leaves 750 telling words out of Blix transcript.
US intelligence's de facto news organ CNN, offered what purported to be a full transcript of Hans Blix' address to the UN Security Council. But it left out nearly 750 words - the ones where Blix refutes Colin Powell's 'smoking gun' presentation.
CNN transcript
and BBC transcript.
US intelligence's de facto news organ CNN, offered what purported to be a full transcript of Hans Blix' address to the UN Security Council. But it left out nearly 750 words - the ones where Blix refutes Colin Powell's 'smoking gun' presentation.
CNN transcript
and BBC transcript.
Saturday, February 15, 2003
Armageddon asteroids 'best kept secret'
A scientific adviser to the US government has suggested that secrecy might be the best option if scientists were ever to discover that a giant asteroid was on course to collide with Earth.
"If an extinction-type impact is inevitable, then ignorance for the populace is bliss. As a matter of common sense, if you can't intercept it and you can't move people out of the way in time, there's nothing you can do in terms of reducing the costs of the potential impact," said Geoffrey Sommer, of the Rand Corporation in Santa Monica, California.
A scientific adviser to the US government has suggested that secrecy might be the best option if scientists were ever to discover that a giant asteroid was on course to collide with Earth.
"If an extinction-type impact is inevitable, then ignorance for the populace is bliss. As a matter of common sense, if you can't intercept it and you can't move people out of the way in time, there's nothing you can do in terms of reducing the costs of the potential impact," said Geoffrey Sommer, of the Rand Corporation in Santa Monica, California.
Friday, February 14, 2003
Arms and legs sticking out of Gulf's past
'What I saw was a bunch of filled-in trenches with people's arms and legs sticking out of them. For all I know, we could have killed thousands'
Patrick J Sloyan on how, for 20 years, the mass slaughter of a group of Iraqis has gone unreported, Friday February 14, 2003,
'What I saw was a bunch of filled-in trenches with people's arms and legs sticking out of them. For all I know, we could have killed thousands'
Patrick J Sloyan on how, for 20 years, the mass slaughter of a group of Iraqis has gone unreported, Friday February 14, 2003,
President Salutes Sailors at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville
[When Bush got laughter and applause, a sinister little smile appeared on his face.]
The terrorists brought this war to us -- and now we're taking it back to them. (Applause.) We're on their trail, we're smoking them out, we've got them on the run. We're hunting them down one by one, all across the world. With our allies, we've arrested or otherwise dealt with -- (laughter) -- many of the key commanders of al Qaeda. And that includes the terrorist who planned the bombing of the USS Cole. (Applause.)
So far, more than 3,000 suspected terrorists have been arrested in many countries. Just about that number met a different kind of fate. They're not a problem anymore. (Applause.)
[When Bush got laughter and applause, a sinister little smile appeared on his face.]
The terrorists brought this war to us -- and now we're taking it back to them. (Applause.) We're on their trail, we're smoking them out, we've got them on the run. We're hunting them down one by one, all across the world. With our allies, we've arrested or otherwise dealt with -- (laughter) -- many of the key commanders of al Qaeda. And that includes the terrorist who planned the bombing of the USS Cole. (Applause.)
So far, more than 3,000 suspected terrorists have been arrested in many countries. Just about that number met a different kind of fate. They're not a problem anymore. (Applause.)
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
CIA chief warns of possible al Qaeda attack in U.S.
[ Leni Reifenstahl meets Fellini, with a dash of Monty Python]
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he reviewed a transcript of the message, which he said was to air on the Al-Jazeera Arab news satellite television channel, which operates out of Qatar. "(Bin Laden) speaks to the people of Iraq and talks about their struggle and how he is in partnership with Iraq," Powell said.
Asked for reaction to Powell's claim, Al-Jazeera denied it had such a message from bin Laden, saying news of it was a rumor that has been circulating for several weeks.
[ Leni Reifenstahl meets Fellini, with a dash of Monty Python]
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he reviewed a transcript of the message, which he said was to air on the Al-Jazeera Arab news satellite television channel, which operates out of Qatar. "(Bin Laden) speaks to the people of Iraq and talks about their struggle and how he is in partnership with Iraq," Powell said.
Asked for reaction to Powell's claim, Al-Jazeera denied it had such a message from bin Laden, saying news of it was a rumor that has been circulating for several weeks.
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
Stifling the voice of reason and dissent (don't bother clicking this, the site has closed)
The campaign to stifle dissent and censor any questioning of current U.S. policies vis a vis the Middle East in general, and Iraq in particular, has reached new levels.
Websites which host alternative views, and/or views that contradict U.S. foreign policy are no longer tolerated on the Internet and are systematically coming under hacker attack and political pressures to "relocate."
The well known alternative news site YellowTimes.org was shut down by its hosting company. Such is the nature of "Free Speech" in America.
The campaign to stifle dissent and censor any questioning of current U.S. policies vis a vis the Middle East in general, and Iraq in particular, has reached new levels.
Websites which host alternative views, and/or views that contradict U.S. foreign policy are no longer tolerated on the Internet and are systematically coming under hacker attack and political pressures to "relocate."
The well known alternative news site YellowTimes.org was shut down by its hosting company. Such is the nature of "Free Speech" in America.
The New York Sun says war protest is act of treason
Since Sept. 11, 2001, we have documented many instances in which pundits and politicians have tried to demonize dissent, suggesting that it is unpatriotic and even that it aids the enemy. But none has gone so far as to suggest an actual prosecution for treason simply for voicing one's political views - until now.
The New York Sun editorial leader for February 6, 2003 objected to the organisation of an anti-war march saying, "the New York City police could do worse than to allow the protest and send two witnesses along for each participant, with an eye toward preserving at least the possibility of an eventual treason prosecution."
This was a reference to Article III of the constitution: ".No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.”
Since Sept. 11, 2001, we have documented many instances in which pundits and politicians have tried to demonize dissent, suggesting that it is unpatriotic and even that it aids the enemy. But none has gone so far as to suggest an actual prosecution for treason simply for voicing one's political views - until now.
The New York Sun editorial leader for February 6, 2003 objected to the organisation of an anti-war march saying, "the New York City police could do worse than to allow the protest and send two witnesses along for each participant, with an eye toward preserving at least the possibility of an eventual treason prosecution."
This was a reference to Article III of the constitution: ".No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.”
Women bare all in Australian anti-war protest
More than 700 women posed nude on Saturday to protest against Australia's likely involvement in a potential war against Iraq.
Lying naked end to end on a grassy knoll in the Australian beach town of Byron Bay, they formed a heart around the words "No War" for an aerial photograph.
Ananova has a story with picture at http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_748598.html?menu=
More than 700 women posed nude on Saturday to protest against Australia's likely involvement in a potential war against Iraq.
Lying naked end to end on a grassy knoll in the Australian beach town of Byron Bay, they formed a heart around the words "No War" for an aerial photograph.
Ananova has a story with picture at http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_748598.html?menu=
Monday, February 10, 2003
The UK Iraq dossier and its use of open sources, namely Jane's
The dossier on Iraq's concealment infrastructure published on 3 February 2002 used open sources to make much of its case. These sources included articles from Jane's Intelligence Review dating from 1997 and November 2002, as well as an article by Ibrahim al-Marashi published in the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA).
That open sources should be used to compile such a report is not in itself surprising - indeed, the use of open sources was acknowledged in the introduction to the document. However, the direct copying of entire paragraphs casts some doubt on the processes used to create dossiers of this type.
The dossier on Iraq's concealment infrastructure published on 3 February 2002 used open sources to make much of its case. These sources included articles from Jane's Intelligence Review dating from 1997 and November 2002, as well as an article by Ibrahim al-Marashi published in the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA).
That open sources should be used to compile such a report is not in itself surprising - indeed, the use of open sources was acknowledged in the introduction to the document. However, the direct copying of entire paragraphs casts some doubt on the processes used to create dossiers of this type.
Strategic Defense Initiative scopes Columbia before disintegration
A telescope at the Starfire Optical Range at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque photographed the space shuttle Columbia in its last minutes using missile defense technology to capture stunningly acute images.
"For security reasons, we don't want people to know exactly how good we can do this," said Rich Garcia, a spokesman for Starfire, which is operated by the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Mr. Garcia said he could not say whether Starfire had been asked to monitor the Columbia or whether its equipment just happened to catch a glimpse of the shuttle before its breakup. The installation, based on technology developed as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative, is used for astronomical observation and tracking satellites.
A telescope at the Starfire Optical Range at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque photographed the space shuttle Columbia in its last minutes using missile defense technology to capture stunningly acute images.
"For security reasons, we don't want people to know exactly how good we can do this," said Rich Garcia, a spokesman for Starfire, which is operated by the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Mr. Garcia said he could not say whether Starfire had been asked to monitor the Columbia or whether its equipment just happened to catch a glimpse of the shuttle before its breakup. The installation, based on technology developed as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative, is used for astronomical observation and tracking satellites.
Friday, February 07, 2003
Astronauts had '90 seconds of hell' as shuttle broke up
Investigators were focusing more closely on the desperate effort of Columbia's automatic control system to hold the speed of the spacecraft stable despite an increasing amount of wind resistance from the left wing.
Teams were intensifying efforts to recover the final data from the spacecraft. Pieces of debris have been found in Arizona and California, indicating that disintegration began before the shuttle reached east Texas, where most of the wreckage fell.
Investigators were focusing more closely on the desperate effort of Columbia's automatic control system to hold the speed of the spacecraft stable despite an increasing amount of wind resistance from the left wing.
Teams were intensifying efforts to recover the final data from the spacecraft. Pieces of debris have been found in Arizona and California, indicating that disintegration began before the shuttle reached east Texas, where most of the wreckage fell.
NASA Reportedly Hacked Hours After Columbia Was Lost
A hacker group attacked and struck down servers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory just hours after the Columbia space shuttle was lost, according to a London-based security company. The attack, allegedly pulled off by a group calling itself the Trippin Smurfs, temporarily staggered nine servers running on the Sun Solaris operating system, according to a report issued by mi2g, a security firm based in England. The attack was fired off as a protest against the U.S.'s position on Iraq. The attack lasted for about an hour and a half, approximately seven hours after the Columbia exploded just 16 minutes before its scheduled landing. All seven crew members were killed. The hacker group defaced the organization's Web servers with political messages, according to mi2g. The report also points out that this is the third time the Trippin Smurfs have successfully compromised servers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. They attacked two servers on Jan. 18 of this year and another three on Jan. 25. This last incident, mi2g reports, is the first time the group has uploaded politically charged content.
A hacker group attacked and struck down servers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory just hours after the Columbia space shuttle was lost, according to a London-based security company. The attack, allegedly pulled off by a group calling itself the Trippin Smurfs, temporarily staggered nine servers running on the Sun Solaris operating system, according to a report issued by mi2g, a security firm based in England. The attack was fired off as a protest against the U.S.'s position on Iraq. The attack lasted for about an hour and a half, approximately seven hours after the Columbia exploded just 16 minutes before its scheduled landing. All seven crew members were killed. The hacker group defaced the organization's Web servers with political messages, according to mi2g. The report also points out that this is the third time the Trippin Smurfs have successfully compromised servers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. They attacked two servers on Jan. 18 of this year and another three on Jan. 25. This last incident, mi2g reports, is the first time the group has uploaded politically charged content.
NASA explores whether space debris at fault as launch debris fades as culprit
The possibility That Columbia Was Fatally Wounded by space debris is growing.
"There have been many, many impacts," said Donald H. Emero, a former NASA shuttle manager who served on a National Academy of Sciences panel that examined the danger of "orbital debris" for NASA in 1997.
Although the impacts force NASA to regularly replace pitted window panes and repair or replace damaged ceramic tiles that provide insulation from the heat of reentry, a shuttle had never suffered serious damage from debris.
The Pentagon's Space Control Center in Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado tracks more than 8,500 manmade objects and has warned NASA 12 times to move the shuttle out of the way of a potential collision. The space station has moved six times after a military warning.
The possibility That Columbia Was Fatally Wounded by space debris is growing.
"There have been many, many impacts," said Donald H. Emero, a former NASA shuttle manager who served on a National Academy of Sciences panel that examined the danger of "orbital debris" for NASA in 1997.
Although the impacts force NASA to regularly replace pitted window panes and repair or replace damaged ceramic tiles that provide insulation from the heat of reentry, a shuttle had never suffered serious damage from debris.
The Pentagon's Space Control Center in Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado tracks more than 8,500 manmade objects and has warned NASA 12 times to move the shuttle out of the way of a potential collision. The space station has moved six times after a military warning.
Thursday, February 06, 2003
Shuttle hit caught on video?
An amateur astronomer who watched the space shuttle cross the sky outside his Sparks home early Saturday picked up on videotape what might be signs of trouble for the doomed flight.
Jay Lawson, a volunteer at the Fleischmann Planetarium at the University of Nevada, Reno, said he didn?t see any apparent problems while watching the shuttle in the predawn sky a little before 6 a.m. But Lawson said he saw something unexpected while watching his tape a few minutes later.
An amateur astronomer who watched the space shuttle cross the sky outside his Sparks home early Saturday picked up on videotape what might be signs of trouble for the doomed flight.
Jay Lawson, a volunteer at the Fleischmann Planetarium at the University of Nevada, Reno, said he didn?t see any apparent problems while watching the shuttle in the predawn sky a little before 6 a.m. But Lawson said he saw something unexpected while watching his tape a few minutes later.
Wednesday, February 05, 2003
Researchers translate DNA code as music
Imagine the human genome as music. Unravel DNA's double helix, picture its components lined up like piano keys and assign a note to each. Run your finger along the keys.
Spanish scientists did that just for fun and recorded what they call an audio version of the blueprint for life.
Imagine the human genome as music. Unravel DNA's double helix, picture its components lined up like piano keys and assign a note to each. Run your finger along the keys.
Spanish scientists did that just for fun and recorded what they call an audio version of the blueprint for life.
Pentagon adviser: France 'no longer ally'
France is no longer an ally of the United States and the NATO alliance "must develop a strategy to contain our erstwhile ally or we will not be talking about a NATO alliance" the head of the Pentagon's top advisory board said in Washington Tuesday.
Richard Perle, a former assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration and now chairman of the Pentagon's Policy Advisory Board, condemned French and German policy on Iraq in the strongest terms at a public seminar organized by a New York-based PR firm and attended by Iraqi exiles and American Middle East and security officials.
But while dismissing Germany's refusal to support military action against Iraq as an aberration by "a discredited chancellor," Perle warned that France's attitude was both more dangerous and more serious.
France is no longer an ally of the United States and the NATO alliance "must develop a strategy to contain our erstwhile ally or we will not be talking about a NATO alliance" the head of the Pentagon's top advisory board said in Washington Tuesday.
Richard Perle, a former assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration and now chairman of the Pentagon's Policy Advisory Board, condemned French and German policy on Iraq in the strongest terms at a public seminar organized by a New York-based PR firm and attended by Iraqi exiles and American Middle East and security officials.
But while dismissing Germany's refusal to support military action against Iraq as an aberration by "a discredited chancellor," Perle warned that France's attitude was both more dangerous and more serious.
Tuesday, February 04, 2003
2/1/03 -- Hide your books, the principal is coming
"To Ms. Ehrenfeld: This morning I observed that during the morning news program, you and your students were engaged in activities other than watching television."
So began the official letter of reprimand placed in my personnel folder by the principal at the elementary school in Maryland where I was teaching 3rd grade at the time. Odd as the accusation was, it was made even odder by the fact that my students were reading when the principal caught them not watching television. She had walked in, and there they were, sitting as silently as a group of 3rd graders can, every one of them absorbed in a book. What they were supposed to be doing was watching our school's morning news show, an exercise in terminal boredom.
"To Ms. Ehrenfeld: This morning I observed that during the morning news program, you and your students were engaged in activities other than watching television."
So began the official letter of reprimand placed in my personnel folder by the principal at the elementary school in Maryland where I was teaching 3rd grade at the time. Odd as the accusation was, it was made even odder by the fact that my students were reading when the principal caught them not watching television. She had walked in, and there they were, sitting as silently as a group of 3rd graders can, every one of them absorbed in a book. What they were supposed to be doing was watching our school's morning news show, an exercise in terminal boredom.
Monday, February 03, 2003
Nasa chiefs 'repeatedly ignored' safety warnings
Fears of a catastrophic shuttle accident were raised last summer with the White House by a former Nasa engineer who pleaded for a presidential order to halt all further shuttle flights until safety issues had been addressed.
In a letter to the White House, Don Nelson, who served with Nasa for 36 years until he retired in 1999, wrote to President George W. Bush warning that his 'intervention' was necessary to 'prevent another catastrophic space shuttle accident'.
During his last 11 years at Nasa, Nelson served as a mission operations evaluator for proposed advanced space transportation projects. He was on the initial design team for the space shuttle. He participated in every shuttle upgrade until his retirement.
Fears of a catastrophic shuttle accident were raised last summer with the White House by a former Nasa engineer who pleaded for a presidential order to halt all further shuttle flights until safety issues had been addressed.
In a letter to the White House, Don Nelson, who served with Nasa for 36 years until he retired in 1999, wrote to President George W. Bush warning that his 'intervention' was necessary to 'prevent another catastrophic space shuttle accident'.
During his last 11 years at Nasa, Nelson served as a mission operations evaluator for proposed advanced space transportation projects. He was on the initial design team for the space shuttle. He participated in every shuttle upgrade until his retirement.
Shuttle: costly, outmoded, impractical and deadly
The core problem that lay at the heart of the Challenger tragedy applies to the Columbia tragedy as well. That core problem is the space shuttle itself. For 20 years, the American space program has been wedded to a space-shuttle system that is too expensive, too risky, too big for most of the ways it is used, with budgets that suck up funds that could be invested in a modern system that would make space flight cheaper and safer. The space shuttle is impressive in technical terms, but in financial terms and safety terms no project has done more harm to space exploration. With hundreds of launches to date, the American and Russian manned space programs have suffered just three fatal losses in flight?and two were space-shuttle calamities. This simply must be the end of the program.
The core problem that lay at the heart of the Challenger tragedy applies to the Columbia tragedy as well. That core problem is the space shuttle itself. For 20 years, the American space program has been wedded to a space-shuttle system that is too expensive, too risky, too big for most of the ways it is used, with budgets that suck up funds that could be invested in a modern system that would make space flight cheaper and safer. The space shuttle is impressive in technical terms, but in financial terms and safety terms no project has done more harm to space exploration. With hundreds of launches to date, the American and Russian manned space programs have suffered just three fatal losses in flight?and two were space-shuttle calamities. This simply must be the end of the program.
Engineering Detectives Start Piecing Together Evidence From Doomed Space Shuttle Columbia
The focus for now is whether insulation that broke loose from a fuel tank during the shuttle Columbia's ascent on Jan. 16 damaged heat-protecting tiles, ultimately dooming the shuttle's return to earth 16 days later.
The manufacturer of the fuel tank disclosed Sunday that NASA used an older version of the tank, which the space agency began phasing out in 2000.
NASA's preflight press information stated the shuttle was using one of the newer super-lightweight fuel tanks.
Harry Wadsworth, a spokesman for Lockheed, the tank maker, said most shuttle launches use the "super-lightweight" tank and the older version is no longer made. Wadsworth said he did not know if there was a difference in how insulation was installed on the two types of tanks.
The focus for now is whether insulation that broke loose from a fuel tank during the shuttle Columbia's ascent on Jan. 16 damaged heat-protecting tiles, ultimately dooming the shuttle's return to earth 16 days later.
The manufacturer of the fuel tank disclosed Sunday that NASA used an older version of the tank, which the space agency began phasing out in 2000.
NASA's preflight press information stated the shuttle was using one of the newer super-lightweight fuel tanks.
Harry Wadsworth, a spokesman for Lockheed, the tank maker, said most shuttle launches use the "super-lightweight" tank and the older version is no longer made. Wadsworth said he did not know if there was a difference in how insulation was installed on the two types of tanks.
Operation Sphinx
At a time when virtually the entire international community has come to a consensus against Pakistan 'crossing the line' and becoming a nuclear state, an attack on Pakistan's nuclear facility cannot be entirely ruled out. After all the world has witnessed the June 7, 1981 Israeli attack and destruction of the Iraqi nuclear complex Temuze 70 (Osirak), just outside Baghdad when US made Israeli fighter bomber carried out Operation Sphinx. For non-proliferation 'crusaders' this Operation must have qualified as Israel's contribution to global non-proliferation. (from May 27, 2000)
At a time when virtually the entire international community has come to a consensus against Pakistan 'crossing the line' and becoming a nuclear state, an attack on Pakistan's nuclear facility cannot be entirely ruled out. After all the world has witnessed the June 7, 1981 Israeli attack and destruction of the Iraqi nuclear complex Temuze 70 (Osirak), just outside Baghdad when US made Israeli fighter bomber carried out Operation Sphinx. For non-proliferation 'crusaders' this Operation must have qualified as Israel's contribution to global non-proliferation. (from May 27, 2000)
Photos show odd images near shuttle
An amateur astronomer has captured five strange and provocative images of the shuttle Columbia just before it disintegrated while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere before dawn Saturday.
The pictures, taken with a Nikon 8 camera on a tripod, reveal what appear to be bright electrical phenomena flashing around the track of the shuttle's passage, but the photographer, who asked not to be identified, will not make them public immediately.
"They clearly record an electrical discharge like a lightning bolt flashing past, and I was snapping the pictures almost exactly . . . when the Columbia may have begun breaking up during re-entry," he said.
They show a bright scraggly flash of orange light, tinged with pale purple, and shaped somewhat like a deformed L. The flash appears to cross the Columbia's dim contrail, and at that precise point, the contrail abruptly brightens and appears thicker and somewhat twisted as if it were wobbling.
An amateur astronomer has captured five strange and provocative images of the shuttle Columbia just before it disintegrated while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere before dawn Saturday.
The pictures, taken with a Nikon 8 camera on a tripod, reveal what appear to be bright electrical phenomena flashing around the track of the shuttle's passage, but the photographer, who asked not to be identified, will not make them public immediately.
"They clearly record an electrical discharge like a lightning bolt flashing past, and I was snapping the pictures almost exactly . . . when the Columbia may have begun breaking up during re-entry," he said.
They show a bright scraggly flash of orange light, tinged with pale purple, and shaped somewhat like a deformed L. The flash appears to cross the Columbia's dim contrail, and at that precise point, the contrail abruptly brightens and appears thicker and somewhat twisted as if it were wobbling.
Sunday, February 02, 2003
Analog clocks are living fossils of the Sumerian base 60 counting
Musicians, following Plato, still project their tones into a circle that eliminates cyclic octave repetitions (Plato, in the Timaeus, insists that God makes only one model of anything). Thus today, using our modern, equal-tempered scale, we can identify any musical interval as some multiple of a standard semitone, to the envy of calendarmakers, who, having to deal with the irregularities of days, months, and years, are jealous of our perfect twelve-tone symmetry. But the nearest approximation of our twelve-tone, equal-tempered scale in small integers remains that provided by ancient base-60 arithmetic.
In ancient Mesopotamia, music, mathematics, art, science, religion, and poetic fantasy were fused. Around 3000 B.C., the Sumerians developed a base-60 number system. Their gods were assigned numbers that encoded the primary ratios of music, with the gods' functions corresponding to their numbers in acoustical theory. Thus the Sumerians created an extensive tonal/arithmetical model for the cosmos. In this far-reaching allegory, the physical world is known by analogy, and the gods give divinity not only to natural forces but also to a "supernatural," intuitive understanding of mathematical patterns and psychological forces.
Musicians, following Plato, still project their tones into a circle that eliminates cyclic octave repetitions (Plato, in the Timaeus, insists that God makes only one model of anything). Thus today, using our modern, equal-tempered scale, we can identify any musical interval as some multiple of a standard semitone, to the envy of calendarmakers, who, having to deal with the irregularities of days, months, and years, are jealous of our perfect twelve-tone symmetry. But the nearest approximation of our twelve-tone, equal-tempered scale in small integers remains that provided by ancient base-60 arithmetic.
In ancient Mesopotamia, music, mathematics, art, science, religion, and poetic fantasy were fused. Around 3000 B.C., the Sumerians developed a base-60 number system. Their gods were assigned numbers that encoded the primary ratios of music, with the gods' functions corresponding to their numbers in acoustical theory. Thus the Sumerians created an extensive tonal/arithmetical model for the cosmos. In this far-reaching allegory, the physical world is known by analogy, and the gods give divinity not only to natural forces but also to a "supernatural," intuitive understanding of mathematical patterns and psychological forces.
Friday, January 31, 2003
Will Bush Deliver Atomic Rocket for a Mars Program?
The aerospace industry, NASA-scientists, and a host of space science advocates will be listening to determine if the President will actually seek Congressional backing for the construction of a major new space propulsion system that may launch the nation's science and engineering community on a course to put humans on Mars and other solar system bodies over the next quarter-of-a-century.
During the past week reports have surfaced starting with a Los Angeles Times interview by NASA Administrator Sean O'Keef indicating that the President will formally announce Project Prometheus --- to build a new rocket launch system designed for space travel at three times the speed humans have gone before --- during the January 28, 9 PM State of the Union address.
The aerospace industry, NASA-scientists, and a host of space science advocates will be listening to determine if the President will actually seek Congressional backing for the construction of a major new space propulsion system that may launch the nation's science and engineering community on a course to put humans on Mars and other solar system bodies over the next quarter-of-a-century.
During the past week reports have surfaced starting with a Los Angeles Times interview by NASA Administrator Sean O'Keef indicating that the President will formally announce Project Prometheus --- to build a new rocket launch system designed for space travel at three times the speed humans have gone before --- during the January 28, 9 PM State of the Union address.
Keep February 22 free: war to begin
Middle East intelligence sources have revealed that a massive aerial assault on Iraq will begin in the early hours of February 22nd, give or take a day. Since September 2002, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has privately implored the U.S. not to launch an attack on Iraq before the Eid-al-Adha, one of Islam's greatest Feast holidays. The Greater Eid marks the end of Hajj, Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, on February 16th.
Middle East intelligence sources have revealed that a massive aerial assault on Iraq will begin in the early hours of February 22nd, give or take a day. Since September 2002, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has privately implored the U.S. not to launch an attack on Iraq before the Eid-al-Adha, one of Islam's greatest Feast holidays. The Greater Eid marks the end of Hajj, Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, on February 16th.
Thursday, January 30, 2003
Everest Melting? High Signs of Climate Change
A team sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme has found signs that the landscape of Mount Everest has changed significantly since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's visit in 1953. A primary cause is the warming global climate.
The team found that the glacier that once came close to Hillary and Norgay's first camp has retreated three miles (five kilometers). A series of ponds that used to be near Island Peak -- so-called because it was then an island in a sea of ice -- had merged into a long lake.
Tashi Janghu Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountain Association, "told us that he had seen quite rapid and significant changes over the past 20 years in the ice fields and that these changes appeared to be accelerating.
A team sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme has found signs that the landscape of Mount Everest has changed significantly since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's visit in 1953. A primary cause is the warming global climate.
The team found that the glacier that once came close to Hillary and Norgay's first camp has retreated three miles (five kilometers). A series of ponds that used to be near Island Peak -- so-called because it was then an island in a sea of ice -- had merged into a long lake.
Tashi Janghu Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountain Association, "told us that he had seen quite rapid and significant changes over the past 20 years in the ice fields and that these changes appeared to be accelerating.
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
An interview with George Orwell
When you take words out of the vocabulary, when you change the meanings of words, and make some words synonymous with others when those words are supposed to have two different meanings, it gets very difficult for people to think about things like Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Example: In the Cambridge International Dictionary of English, Capitalism is defined as an economic, political and social system based on private ownership of property, business and industry, and directed towards making the greatest possible profits for successful organizations and people. Whereas in the Cambridge Dictionary of American English, the Newspeak version, Capitalism is defined as an economic system based on private ownership of property and business, with the goal of making the greatest possible profits for the owners.
In the rest of the world, capitalism means private ownership where success is financially rewarded. Using America's Newspeak Dictionary, capitalism means private ownership where the OWNERS, and not the company or the employees are the ones entitled to capital, regardless of how badly the business does.
Success doesn't even come into play. In America, the owners are entitled to the greatest possible profits, period.
When you take words out of the vocabulary, when you change the meanings of words, and make some words synonymous with others when those words are supposed to have two different meanings, it gets very difficult for people to think about things like Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Example: In the Cambridge International Dictionary of English, Capitalism is defined as an economic, political and social system based on private ownership of property, business and industry, and directed towards making the greatest possible profits for successful organizations and people. Whereas in the Cambridge Dictionary of American English, the Newspeak version, Capitalism is defined as an economic system based on private ownership of property and business, with the goal of making the greatest possible profits for the owners.
In the rest of the world, capitalism means private ownership where success is financially rewarded. Using America's Newspeak Dictionary, capitalism means private ownership where the OWNERS, and not the company or the employees are the ones entitled to capital, regardless of how badly the business does.
Success doesn't even come into play. In America, the owners are entitled to the greatest possible profits, period.
Alleged Pedophiles at Helm of Britain's War Machine, Massive Cover-Up
A child-sex scandal that threatened to destroy Tony Blair's government last week has been mysteriously squashed and wiped off the front pages of British newspapers. Operation Ore, the United Kingdom's most thorough and comprehensive police investigation of crimes against children, seems to have uncovered more than is politically acceptable at the highest reaches of the British elite.
See also: Sunday Herald Child porn arrests 'too slow'
Sunday Herald How Cherie gained two houses ... but lost the plot
and
The Guardian New Age crankiness of Blair and Cherie
A child-sex scandal that threatened to destroy Tony Blair's government last week has been mysteriously squashed and wiped off the front pages of British newspapers. Operation Ore, the United Kingdom's most thorough and comprehensive police investigation of crimes against children, seems to have uncovered more than is politically acceptable at the highest reaches of the British elite.
See also: Sunday Herald Child porn arrests 'too slow'
Sunday Herald How Cherie gained two houses ... but lost the plot
and
The Guardian New Age crankiness of Blair and Cherie
Cell phone patents raise safety questions
Last year a study reported no ill effects from the radiation emitted by mobile cell phones, however even as major cell phone manufacturers argued that phones pose no health risks, the companies were filing patents for devices such as antenna shrouds designed to protect users from radiation emitted by the phones. Click here for CNN story.
Last year a study reported no ill effects from the radiation emitted by mobile cell phones, however even as major cell phone manufacturers argued that phones pose no health risks, the companies were filing patents for devices such as antenna shrouds designed to protect users from radiation emitted by the phones. Click here for CNN story.
US ally Pakistan in arms deals with 'Axis of Evil' Korea Since 1997, the C.I.A. said, Pakistan had been sharing sophisticated technology, warhead-design information, and weapons-testing data with the Pyongyang regime. Pakistan, one of the Bush Administration's important allies in the war against terrorism, was helping North Korea build the bomb.
Pakistan began paying for missile systems from North Korea in part by sharing its nuclear-weapons secrets. According to the report, Pakistan sent prototypes of high-speed centrifuge machines to North Korea. And sometime in 2001 North Korean scientists began to enrich uranium in significant quantities. Pakistan also provided data on how to build and test a uranium-triggered nuclear weapon, the C.I.A. report said.
Pakistan began paying for missile systems from North Korea in part by sharing its nuclear-weapons secrets. According to the report, Pakistan sent prototypes of high-speed centrifuge machines to North Korea. And sometime in 2001 North Korean scientists began to enrich uranium in significant quantities. Pakistan also provided data on how to build and test a uranium-triggered nuclear weapon, the C.I.A. report said.
Microchip Implants, Mindcontrol, Cybernetics
Thirty years ago brain implants showed up in xrays the size of one centimeter. Subsequent implants shrunk to the size of a grain of rice. They were made of silicon, later still of gallium arsenide. Today they are small enough to be inserted into the neck or back, and also intravenously in different parts of the body during surgical operations, with or without the consent of the subject. It is now almost impossible to detect or remove them.
It is technically possible for every newborn to be injected with a
microchip, which could then function to identify the person for the rest of his or her life. Such plans are secretly being discussed in the U.S. without any public airing of the privacy issues involved. In Sweden, Prime Minister Olof Palme gave permission in 1973 to implant prisoners, and Data Inspection's ex-Director General Jan Freese revealed that nursing-home patients were implanted in the mid- 1980's. The technology
is revealed in the 1972:47 Swedish state report, STATENS OFFICIELLA UTRADNINGER (SOU).
Thirty years ago brain implants showed up in xrays the size of one centimeter. Subsequent implants shrunk to the size of a grain of rice. They were made of silicon, later still of gallium arsenide. Today they are small enough to be inserted into the neck or back, and also intravenously in different parts of the body during surgical operations, with or without the consent of the subject. It is now almost impossible to detect or remove them.
It is technically possible for every newborn to be injected with a
microchip, which could then function to identify the person for the rest of his or her life. Such plans are secretly being discussed in the U.S. without any public airing of the privacy issues involved. In Sweden, Prime Minister Olof Palme gave permission in 1973 to implant prisoners, and Data Inspection's ex-Director General Jan Freese revealed that nursing-home patients were implanted in the mid- 1980's. The technology
is revealed in the 1972:47 Swedish state report, STATENS OFFICIELLA UTRADNINGER (SOU).
Australian fire ruins Big Isle telescope plans
A forest and brush fire in Australia has destroyed an astronomical instrument under construction which would have put the Gemini North Telescope on Mauna Kea in the forefront of certain infrared astronomical studies.
The $3 million Near-infrared Integral-Field Spectrograph, under construction since 1999 at Australia's Mount Stromlo Observatory, was six months short of completion and installation on the Gemini North telescope, said Gemini spokesman Peter Michaud.
The instrument would have been used to study the area around black holes at the centers of galaxies and to study star formation elsewhere.
A forest and brush fire in Australia has destroyed an astronomical instrument under construction which would have put the Gemini North Telescope on Mauna Kea in the forefront of certain infrared astronomical studies.
The $3 million Near-infrared Integral-Field Spectrograph, under construction since 1999 at Australia's Mount Stromlo Observatory, was six months short of completion and installation on the Gemini North telescope, said Gemini spokesman Peter Michaud.
The instrument would have been used to study the area around black holes at the centers of galaxies and to study star formation elsewhere.
Monday, January 27, 2003
US may use nukes on Iraq
THE United States is considering using nuclear weapons in a possible future war against Iraq to destroy underground command posts and stop Iraqi forces from using weapons of mass destruction, a top US private military expert has warned.
Citing multiple sources, William Arkin said plans for using nuclear weapons against Iraq are being fleshed out at the US Strategic Command in Omaha, Nebraska; inside planning offices of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon and at an "undisclosed location" in Pennsylvania where US Vice-President Dick Cheney used to spend time during terrorism alerts.
THE United States is considering using nuclear weapons in a possible future war against Iraq to destroy underground command posts and stop Iraqi forces from using weapons of mass destruction, a top US private military expert has warned.
Citing multiple sources, William Arkin said plans for using nuclear weapons against Iraq are being fleshed out at the US Strategic Command in Omaha, Nebraska; inside planning offices of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon and at an "undisclosed location" in Pennsylvania where US Vice-President Dick Cheney used to spend time during terrorism alerts.
Western "human shields" head for Iraq
LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Proclaiming they were prepared to die if necessary to stop war in Iraq, the first convoy of Western "human shield" volunteers drove out of London on Saturday on double-decker buses bound for Baghdad.
The roughly 50 volunteers, ranging from a 19-year-old factory worker to a 60-year-old former diplomat, formed the vanguard of a series of caravans organisers say will take hundreds, possibly thousands, of anti-war activists to Iraq.
LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Proclaiming they were prepared to die if necessary to stop war in Iraq, the first convoy of Western "human shield" volunteers drove out of London on Saturday on double-decker buses bound for Baghdad.
The roughly 50 volunteers, ranging from a 19-year-old factory worker to a 60-year-old former diplomat, formed the vanguard of a series of caravans organisers say will take hundreds, possibly thousands, of anti-war activists to Iraq.
Research team uncovers new UFO evidence
The museum of the unexplained, located in Reeds Spring Missouri, has obtained new information concerning an object recovered by Bob White in the 80s. To present this new information to the press and to the public, a press conference has been scheduled for 10am on Wednesday, February 5, 2003 in Nevada. The press conference is by invitation only. On February 6, 2003, the object will on display to the general public and the experts will be available to take questions. It bears a striking similarity to an object recovered in Denmark 40 years earlier. To see the objects click here.
The museum of the unexplained, located in Reeds Spring Missouri, has obtained new information concerning an object recovered by Bob White in the 80s. To present this new information to the press and to the public, a press conference has been scheduled for 10am on Wednesday, February 5, 2003 in Nevada. The press conference is by invitation only. On February 6, 2003, the object will on display to the general public and the experts will be available to take questions. It bears a striking similarity to an object recovered in Denmark 40 years earlier. To see the objects click here.
We make up the rules as we go along, says Rumsfeld
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's briefings to the press are feisty affairs, in which the secretary sometimes debates the premise of reporter's questions. When reporters get frustrated or try to press him, Rumsfeld often breaks into laughter.
This gives his appearances a free-wheeling affair. As he said to reporters earlier this week, between chuckles, "Oh, we make up the rules as we go along. What the heck."
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's briefings to the press are feisty affairs, in which the secretary sometimes debates the premise of reporter's questions. When reporters get frustrated or try to press him, Rumsfeld often breaks into laughter.
This gives his appearances a free-wheeling affair. As he said to reporters earlier this week, between chuckles, "Oh, we make up the rules as we go along. What the heck."
Bush the Cowboy Leaves Europe Cold
"Terrorists are a hundred times more likely to obtain a weapon of mass destruction from Pakistan than from Iraq," one senior European official said, not permitting a reporter to identify even his nationality because tensions with Washington are so high. "North Korea is far more likely to sell whatever it's got. But can we say this in public? Can we have a real debate about priorities? Not with George Bush."
And while Vice President Dick Cheney has argued that a show of military might will begin to change the map of the Middle East, German and French officials say it will more likely lead to a radicalization of the Arab world, a fractured Iraq and a prolonged struggle with Washington over who will pick up the pieces.
"Terrorists are a hundred times more likely to obtain a weapon of mass destruction from Pakistan than from Iraq," one senior European official said, not permitting a reporter to identify even his nationality because tensions with Washington are so high. "North Korea is far more likely to sell whatever it's got. But can we say this in public? Can we have a real debate about priorities? Not with George Bush."
And while Vice President Dick Cheney has argued that a show of military might will begin to change the map of the Middle East, German and French officials say it will more likely lead to a radicalization of the Arab world, a fractured Iraq and a prolonged struggle with Washington over who will pick up the pieces.
Friday, January 24, 2003
France, Germany stand firm on Iraq
PARIS, France (CNN) -- French President Jacques Chirac said France and Germany have "the same point of view" on the Iraqi crisis.
Chirac said any decision on war in the end resides with the U.N. Security Council and that war should be avoided.
Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder held a news conference at the Elysee Palace on Wednesday after a joint Cabinet meeting to mark 40 years of reconciliation. During the briefing, they were asked about Iraq.
The French president said their mutual stance is based on two ideas: that any decision belongs to the Security Council alone.
A report on the status of inspections will be delivered to the Security Council on Monday.
"As far as we're concerned, war always means failure," Chirac said. "Everything must be done to avoid war.
PARIS, France (CNN) -- French President Jacques Chirac said France and Germany have "the same point of view" on the Iraqi crisis.
Chirac said any decision on war in the end resides with the U.N. Security Council and that war should be avoided.
Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder held a news conference at the Elysee Palace on Wednesday after a joint Cabinet meeting to mark 40 years of reconciliation. During the briefing, they were asked about Iraq.
The French president said their mutual stance is based on two ideas: that any decision belongs to the Security Council alone.
A report on the status of inspections will be delivered to the Security Council on Monday.
"As far as we're concerned, war always means failure," Chirac said. "Everything must be done to avoid war.
Rumsfeld: France, Germany are 'problems' in Iraqi conflict
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Wednesday dismissed French and German insistence that "everything must be done to avoid war" with Iraq, saying most European countries stand with the United States in its campaign to force Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to disarm.
"Germany has been a problem, and France has been a problem," said Rumsfeld, a former NATO ambassador. "But you look at vast numbers of other countries in Europe. They're not with France and Germany on this, they're with the United States."
Germany and France represent "old Europe," and NATO's expansion in recent years means "the center of gravity is shifting to the east," Rumsfeld said.
U.N. officials have stressed the report would be an update, not a conclusive determination about any Iraqi weapons programs.
Nevertheless, Secretary of State Colin Powell has told Security Council members that "difficult choices" would follow the report.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Wednesday dismissed French and German insistence that "everything must be done to avoid war" with Iraq, saying most European countries stand with the United States in its campaign to force Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to disarm.
"Germany has been a problem, and France has been a problem," said Rumsfeld, a former NATO ambassador. "But you look at vast numbers of other countries in Europe. They're not with France and Germany on this, they're with the United States."
Germany and France represent "old Europe," and NATO's expansion in recent years means "the center of gravity is shifting to the east," Rumsfeld said.
U.N. officials have stressed the report would be an update, not a conclusive determination about any Iraqi weapons programs.
Nevertheless, Secretary of State Colin Powell has told Security Council members that "difficult choices" would follow the report.
Wednesday, January 22, 2003
All eyes head towards Baghdad
Members of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment were allowed to wear their own hologram protective eyewear during exercises in Bergen-Hohne in Germany. The 40-pounds-slg reflective 3D goggles, which are designed for motorcyclists, have become a fashionable accessory, but they will not be seen on the battlefield. click here for the image
Members of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment were allowed to wear their own hologram protective eyewear during exercises in Bergen-Hohne in Germany. The 40-pounds-slg reflective 3D goggles, which are designed for motorcyclists, have become a fashionable accessory, but they will not be seen on the battlefield. click here for the image
'Oldest star chart' found
The oldest image of a star pattern, that of the famous constellation of Orion, has been recognised on an ivory tablet some 32,500 years old.
The tiny sliver of mammoth tusk contains a carving of a man-like figure with arms and legs outstretched in the same pose as the stars of Orion.
The claim is made by Dr Michael Rappenglueck, formerly of the University of Munich, who is already renowned for his pioneering work locating star charts painted on the walls of prehistoric caves.
The oldest image of a star pattern, that of the famous constellation of Orion, has been recognised on an ivory tablet some 32,500 years old.
The tiny sliver of mammoth tusk contains a carving of a man-like figure with arms and legs outstretched in the same pose as the stars of Orion.
The claim is made by Dr Michael Rappenglueck, formerly of the University of Munich, who is already renowned for his pioneering work locating star charts painted on the walls of prehistoric caves.
Monday, January 20, 2003
Human Peace Sign from Antarctica
On Sunday, January 19, 2003 people from McMurdo Station in Antarctica joined with the millions of others around the world in calling for peace not war.
With the Antarctic Mt Range in the background we laid on the ice in a symbolic call for peace.
Seven continents united. click here for pictures.
On Sunday, January 19, 2003 people from McMurdo Station in Antarctica joined with the millions of others around the world in calling for peace not war.
With the Antarctic Mt Range in the background we laid on the ice in a symbolic call for peace.
Seven continents united. click here for pictures.
War concoted 5 years ago as oily cover story
Back in 1997, in the years of the Clinton administration, Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and a bunch of other right-wing men – most involved in the oil business – created the Project for the New American Century, a lobby group demanding "regime change" in Iraq.
In a 1998 letter to President Clinton, they called for the removal of Saddam from power. In a letter to Newt Gingrich, who was then Speaker of the House, they wrote that "we should establish and maintain a strong US military presence in the region, and be prepared to use that force to protect our vital interests [sic] in the Gulf – and, if necessary, to help remove Saddam from power".
Back in 1997, in the years of the Clinton administration, Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and a bunch of other right-wing men – most involved in the oil business – created the Project for the New American Century, a lobby group demanding "regime change" in Iraq.
In a 1998 letter to President Clinton, they called for the removal of Saddam from power. In a letter to Newt Gingrich, who was then Speaker of the House, they wrote that "we should establish and maintain a strong US military presence in the region, and be prepared to use that force to protect our vital interests [sic] in the Gulf – and, if necessary, to help remove Saddam from power".
TIME Magazine: America's Ultra-Secret Weapon
High-power microwaves are man-made lightning bolts crammed into cruise missiles. They could be key weapons for targeting Saddam Hussein's alleged stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons -- frying the sophisticated computers and electronic gear necessary to produce, protect, store and deliver such agents.
The powerful electromagnetic pulses can travel into deeply buried bunkers through ventilation shafts, plumbing and antennas.
High-power microwaves are man-made lightning bolts crammed into cruise missiles. They could be key weapons for targeting Saddam Hussein's alleged stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons -- frying the sophisticated computers and electronic gear necessary to produce, protect, store and deliver such agents.
The powerful electromagnetic pulses can travel into deeply buried bunkers through ventilation shafts, plumbing and antennas.
Friday, January 17, 2003
Pentagon database plan hits snag
A plan to link databases of credit card companies, health insurers and others--creating what critics call a "domestic surveillance apparatus"--raises concern on Capitol Hill.
If fully implemented, the Pentagon's proposed Total Information Awareness program would link databases from sources such as credit card companies, medical insurers and motor vehicle departments for police convenience in hopes of snaring terrorists. It's funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
A plan to link databases of credit card companies, health insurers and others--creating what critics call a "domestic surveillance apparatus"--raises concern on Capitol Hill.
If fully implemented, the Pentagon's proposed Total Information Awareness program would link databases from sources such as credit card companies, medical insurers and motor vehicle departments for police convenience in hopes of snaring terrorists. It's funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Wednesday, January 15, 2003
Fluoride, Teeth, and the Atomic Bomb
Some fifty years after the United States began adding fluoride to public water supplies to reduce cavities in children's teeth, declassified government documents are shedding new light on the roots of that still-controversial public health measure, revealing a surprising connection between fluoride and the dawning of the nuclear age.
Today, two thirds of U.S. public drinking water is fluoridated. Many municipalities still resist the practice, disbelieving the government's assurances of safety.
Since the days of World War II, when this nation prevailed by building the world's first atomic bomb, U.S. public health leaders have maintained that low doses of fluoride are safe for people, and good for children's teeth.
Fluoride is a powerful central nervous system (CNS) toxin, and might adversely affect human brain functioning, even at low doses. New epidemiological evidence from China adds support, showing a correlation between low-dose fluoride exposure and diminished I.Q. in children.
Some fifty years after the United States began adding fluoride to public water supplies to reduce cavities in children's teeth, declassified government documents are shedding new light on the roots of that still-controversial public health measure, revealing a surprising connection between fluoride and the dawning of the nuclear age.
Today, two thirds of U.S. public drinking water is fluoridated. Many municipalities still resist the practice, disbelieving the government's assurances of safety.
Since the days of World War II, when this nation prevailed by building the world's first atomic bomb, U.S. public health leaders have maintained that low doses of fluoride are safe for people, and good for children's teeth.
Fluoride is a powerful central nervous system (CNS) toxin, and might adversely affect human brain functioning, even at low doses. New epidemiological evidence from China adds support, showing a correlation between low-dose fluoride exposure and diminished I.Q. in children.
Not All White House Reporters are Pushovers
"At the earlier briefing, Ari, you said that the president deplored the taking of innocent lives," Helen Thomas began. "Does that apply to all innocent lives in the world?"
It was a simple question -- and, unfortunately, an extraordinary one. Few journalists at the White House move beyond the subtle but powerful ties that bind reporters and top officials in Washington. Routinely, shared assumptions are the unspoken name of the game.
In this case, Thomas wasn't playing -- and Fleischer's new year wasn't exactly off to a great start. His tongue moved, but he declined to answer the question. Instead, he parried: "I refer specifically to a horrible terrorist attack on Tel Aviv that killed scores and wounded hundreds."
"At the earlier briefing, Ari, you said that the president deplored the taking of innocent lives," Helen Thomas began. "Does that apply to all innocent lives in the world?"
It was a simple question -- and, unfortunately, an extraordinary one. Few journalists at the White House move beyond the subtle but powerful ties that bind reporters and top officials in Washington. Routinely, shared assumptions are the unspoken name of the game.
In this case, Thomas wasn't playing -- and Fleischer's new year wasn't exactly off to a great start. His tongue moved, but he declined to answer the question. Instead, he parried: "I refer specifically to a horrible terrorist attack on Tel Aviv that killed scores and wounded hundreds."
Tuesday, January 14, 2003
New theories take flight on speed of gravity, light
Ninety-eight years after Albert Einstein began to transform physics, scientists continue to question his ideas.
So far, he's survived every crucial challenge, including the latest: a challenge to his premise that light and gravity travel at the same speed. Last week in Seattle, scientists announced that in fact, gravity and light travel at the same speed, at least within a 20 per cent margin of error.
But 20 per cent, they admit, is a huge margin of error. To put it in perspective: Twenty per cent of the speed of light is more than more than four times the diameter of Earth per second.
Conceivably, so huge a margin of error might conceal a significant difference in gravity and light speeds. So Einstein's challengers still hope to find flaws in his general theory of relativity.
Ninety-eight years after Albert Einstein began to transform physics, scientists continue to question his ideas.
So far, he's survived every crucial challenge, including the latest: a challenge to his premise that light and gravity travel at the same speed. Last week in Seattle, scientists announced that in fact, gravity and light travel at the same speed, at least within a 20 per cent margin of error.
But 20 per cent, they admit, is a huge margin of error. To put it in perspective: Twenty per cent of the speed of light is more than more than four times the diameter of Earth per second.
Conceivably, so huge a margin of error might conceal a significant difference in gravity and light speeds. So Einstein's challengers still hope to find flaws in his general theory of relativity.
Bar Patrons Arrested for Being Drunk
Heidig, who was at the bar Champps with a group of his work colleagues, complied. After failing a breath test designed to test his sobriety, Heidig was loaded into a van and taken to jail on charges of public intoxication.
Civil libertarians are saying the police have gone too far, and restaurant and bar owners fear that the raids are scaring away their customers who are drinking responsibly.
When police came to the bar in mid-Decembe "it looked like a full-scale invasion, with seven squad cars pulling up and 12 officers walking in single-file".
Heidig, who was at the bar Champps with a group of his work colleagues, complied. After failing a breath test designed to test his sobriety, Heidig was loaded into a van and taken to jail on charges of public intoxication.
Civil libertarians are saying the police have gone too far, and restaurant and bar owners fear that the raids are scaring away their customers who are drinking responsibly.
When police came to the bar in mid-Decembe "it looked like a full-scale invasion, with seven squad cars pulling up and 12 officers walking in single-file".
US.mil launches Operation Desert Spam
Emailed propaganda messages, written in Arabic and targeted at senior officials and military, include a helpful guide on how to defect, along with an appeal to turn over any information on Iraq's supposed chemical and biological weapons programme to UN inspectors.
The messages, titled 'Important Information', also urge military personnel to disable weapons of mass destruction or refuse to use them in the event of war, which is starting to look increasingly likely.
Emailed propaganda messages, written in Arabic and targeted at senior officials and military, include a helpful guide on how to defect, along with an appeal to turn over any information on Iraq's supposed chemical and biological weapons programme to UN inspectors.
The messages, titled 'Important Information', also urge military personnel to disable weapons of mass destruction or refuse to use them in the event of war, which is starting to look increasingly likely.
Monsters, Inc., The Pentagon's Plan to Create Super-Warriors
Pentagon dark lord Donald Rumsfeld is shoveling billions of tax dollars into the research furnaces of federal laboratories and private universities across the land in the wide-ranging effort to spawn "super soldiers," fired by drugs and electromagnetic "brain zaps" to fight without ceasing for days on end. The work is being directed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)--yes, the same outfit now laboring under convicted terrorist-conspirator John Poindexter to build the "Total Information Awareness" network that will allow the government to monitor the electronic records and communications of every citizen.
Pentagon dark lord Donald Rumsfeld is shoveling billions of tax dollars into the research furnaces of federal laboratories and private universities across the land in the wide-ranging effort to spawn "super soldiers," fired by drugs and electromagnetic "brain zaps" to fight without ceasing for days on end. The work is being directed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)--yes, the same outfit now laboring under convicted terrorist-conspirator John Poindexter to build the "Total Information Awareness" network that will allow the government to monitor the electronic records and communications of every citizen.
Monday, January 13, 2003
Jesus 'healed using cannabis'
Jesus was almost certainly a cannabis user and an early proponent of the medicinal properties of the drug, according to a study of scriptural texts published this month. The study suggests that Jesus and his disciples used the drug to carry out miraculous healings.
The anointing oil used by Jesus and his disciples contained an ingredient called kaneh-bosem which has since been identified as cannabis extract, according to an article by Chris Bennett in the drugs magazine, High Times, entitled Was Jesus a Stoner? The incense used by Jesus in ceremonies also contained a cannabis extract, suggests Mr Bennett, who quotes scholars to back his claims.
Jesus was almost certainly a cannabis user and an early proponent of the medicinal properties of the drug, according to a study of scriptural texts published this month. The study suggests that Jesus and his disciples used the drug to carry out miraculous healings.
The anointing oil used by Jesus and his disciples contained an ingredient called kaneh-bosem which has since been identified as cannabis extract, according to an article by Chris Bennett in the drugs magazine, High Times, entitled Was Jesus a Stoner? The incense used by Jesus in ceremonies also contained a cannabis extract, suggests Mr Bennett, who quotes scholars to back his claims.
Fuzzy Strands Fill Skies Over Texas City
Galveston residents are still trying to figure out what caused the skies over their coastal city to literally be filled on Friday with floating strands of wads that looked like spider webs.
The webs were visible in the air for five hours, and poles were left wrapped with the sticky strands and fuzzy wads.
Galveston residents are still trying to figure out what caused the skies over their coastal city to literally be filled on Friday with floating strands of wads that looked like spider webs.
The webs were visible in the air for five hours, and poles were left wrapped with the sticky strands and fuzzy wads.
Sunday, January 12, 2003
Georgian skull's link to our past
In his hands he held the almost perfectly preserved skull of the most ancient human being ever found in Europe - 1.8 million years old.
More extraordinary still, it was about to throw into question all accepted theories about the migration of our ancestors out of Africa.
The remains of seven individuals have been found at Dmanisi - the most recent this summer - but what made this discovery so special was that it did not look like the skull of any human ever found outside Africa before.
Its brain cavity was far smaller - half the size of a modern human - and it had the huge canine teeth and thin brow of an ape.
In his hands he held the almost perfectly preserved skull of the most ancient human being ever found in Europe - 1.8 million years old.
More extraordinary still, it was about to throw into question all accepted theories about the migration of our ancestors out of Africa.
The remains of seven individuals have been found at Dmanisi - the most recent this summer - but what made this discovery so special was that it did not look like the skull of any human ever found outside Africa before.
Its brain cavity was far smaller - half the size of a modern human - and it had the huge canine teeth and thin brow of an ape.
Thursday, January 09, 2003
Large Star Undergoing Eruptions
"The star did an amazing thing," said Andrea Dupree, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. "We were exceptionally lucky to witness a stunning explosion."
Over a 200-day period, Rho Cassiopeia, a hypergiant with 20 to 40 times the mass of the sun, became brighter by 20 per cent, released a flare that made it one of the brightest stars in the universe, and then it dimmed, dropping in brightness by two magnitudes.
"The star did an amazing thing," said Andrea Dupree, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. "We were exceptionally lucky to witness a stunning explosion."
Over a 200-day period, Rho Cassiopeia, a hypergiant with 20 to 40 times the mass of the sun, became brighter by 20 per cent, released a flare that made it one of the brightest stars in the universe, and then it dimmed, dropping in brightness by two magnitudes.
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