Government kidnaps citizen, nobody cares
The newspapers and television reported the following matter with no anger or effort to do anything other than serve as stenographers for the government.
More than four months ago, in Columbus, Ohio, the FBI arrested an American citizen they say is Iyman Faris. There wasn't a word uttered. He vanished.
No lawyer was notified. He made no phone calls and wrote no postcards or letters. He was a U.S. citizen who disappeared without a trace into a secret metal world.
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
Thursday, July 03, 2003
Hunt for the God particle heats up
The Higgs boson -- so hard to find that it has been ironically dubbed "the God particle" -- is one of the greatest prizes in modern physics.
The confirmation or otherwise of the theoretical sub-atomic particle called the Higgs boson -- is back up for grabs.
In a friendly but intense rivalry, European and US scientists have been going head-to-head to find the particle that will either confirm or wreck our concept of the physical universe.
The elusive particle (if it actually exists) was named after a Scottish physicist, Peter Higgs. He puzzled over the so-called Standard Model of physics, a century-old bestiary headed by the atom and which reaches down to progressively tinier and more exotically named sub-particles such as muons, quarks and stranges.
The Higgs boson -- so hard to find that it has been ironically dubbed "the God particle" -- is one of the greatest prizes in modern physics.
The confirmation or otherwise of the theoretical sub-atomic particle called the Higgs boson -- is back up for grabs.
In a friendly but intense rivalry, European and US scientists have been going head-to-head to find the particle that will either confirm or wreck our concept of the physical universe.
The elusive particle (if it actually exists) was named after a Scottish physicist, Peter Higgs. He puzzled over the so-called Standard Model of physics, a century-old bestiary headed by the atom and which reaches down to progressively tinier and more exotically named sub-particles such as muons, quarks and stranges.
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
Berkeley Lab Physicist Challenges Speed of Gravity Claim
Kopeikin's calculations appeared to show that the speed at which gravity was being propagated from Jupiter matched the speed of light to within 20 percent. The scientists announced their findings in January at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
Samuel argues that Kopeikin erred when he based his calculations on Jupiter's position at the time the quasar's radio waves reached Earth rather than the position of Jupiter when the radio waves passed by that planet.
"The original idea behind the experiment was to use the effects of Jupiter's motion on quasar-signal time-delays to measure the propagation of gravity," he says.
"If gravity acts instantly, then the gravitational force would be determined by the position of Jupiter at the time when the quasar's signal passed by the planet. If, on the other hand, the speed of gravity were finite, then the strength of gravity would be determined by the position of Jupiter at a slightly earlier time so as to allow for the propagation of gravitational effects."
Kopeikin's calculations appeared to show that the speed at which gravity was being propagated from Jupiter matched the speed of light to within 20 percent. The scientists announced their findings in January at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
Samuel argues that Kopeikin erred when he based his calculations on Jupiter's position at the time the quasar's radio waves reached Earth rather than the position of Jupiter when the radio waves passed by that planet.
"The original idea behind the experiment was to use the effects of Jupiter's motion on quasar-signal time-delays to measure the propagation of gravity," he says.
"If gravity acts instantly, then the gravitational force would be determined by the position of Jupiter at the time when the quasar's signal passed by the planet. If, on the other hand, the speed of gravity were finite, then the strength of gravity would be determined by the position of Jupiter at a slightly earlier time so as to allow for the propagation of gravitational effects."
Monday, June 23, 2003
Cosmological Gamma-Ray Bursts and Hypernovae Conclusively Linked
A very bright burst of gamma-rays -- observed on March 29, 2003 by NASA's High Energy Transient Explorer, in a sky region within the constellation Leo -- show the gradual and clear emergence of a supernova spectrum of the most energetic class known, a "hypernova".
Hypernovae are caused by the explosion of a very heavy star - presumably over 25 times heavier than the Sun.
The measured expansion velocity (in excess of 30,000 km/sec) and the total energy released was exceptionally high, even within the elect hypernova class.
A very bright burst of gamma-rays -- observed on March 29, 2003 by NASA's High Energy Transient Explorer, in a sky region within the constellation Leo -- show the gradual and clear emergence of a supernova spectrum of the most energetic class known, a "hypernova".
Hypernovae are caused by the explosion of a very heavy star - presumably over 25 times heavier than the Sun.
The measured expansion velocity (in excess of 30,000 km/sec) and the total energy released was exceptionally high, even within the elect hypernova class.
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
US clouds Iraqi civilian deaths
Whenever reporters asked about civilian deaths in the invasion of Iraq, US military officials reflexively plunged into a numbing prattle about the precision of our weaponry, precaution to avoid needless carnage, and promises to investigate possible mistakes.
At the time Brigadier General Vincent Brooks, the deputy director of operations for Central Command, said: ''There is an ongoing investigation..."
Two and a half months after the prattle, we now have the terrible truth. There never was an investigation. That fact was embedded (pun intended) in an Associated Press report this week that it has so far counted 3,240 Iraqi civilians killed in the invasion, including nearly 1,900 in Baghdad.
The AP quoted Central Command spokesman John Morgan confirming the nonexistence of an investigation.
Whenever reporters asked about civilian deaths in the invasion of Iraq, US military officials reflexively plunged into a numbing prattle about the precision of our weaponry, precaution to avoid needless carnage, and promises to investigate possible mistakes.
At the time Brigadier General Vincent Brooks, the deputy director of operations for Central Command, said: ''There is an ongoing investigation..."
Two and a half months after the prattle, we now have the terrible truth. There never was an investigation. That fact was embedded (pun intended) in an Associated Press report this week that it has so far counted 3,240 Iraqi civilians killed in the invasion, including nearly 1,900 in Baghdad.
The AP quoted Central Command spokesman John Morgan confirming the nonexistence of an investigation.
Poll discovers many believe WMDs found in Iraq: "an experience of cognitive dissonance"
A third of the American public believes U.S. forces have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, according to a recent poll. Twenty-two percent said Iraq actually used chemical or biological weapons. Such weapons have not been found in Iraq and were not used.
"It's a striking finding," said Steve Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, which asked the weapons questions during a May 14-18 poll of 1,256 respondents.
"Given the intensive news coverage and high levels of public attention, this level of misinformation suggests some Americans may be avoiding having an experience of cognitive dissonance."
A third of the American public believes U.S. forces have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, according to a recent poll. Twenty-two percent said Iraq actually used chemical or biological weapons. Such weapons have not been found in Iraq and were not used.
"It's a striking finding," said Steve Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, which asked the weapons questions during a May 14-18 poll of 1,256 respondents.
"Given the intensive news coverage and high levels of public attention, this level of misinformation suggests some Americans may be avoiding having an experience of cognitive dissonance."
Monday, June 16, 2003
Likud and Islamicists make strange bedfellows
Hamas is considered one of Israel's greatest threats, but the Islamic terrorist organization found its beginnings in the misguided Israeli effort to encourage the rise of a religious alternative that would undermine the popularity of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Yasir Arafat.
The strategy resulted in the birth of Hamas which rose from these Islamic roots. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was a member of the government when the policy was developed in the late 1970s.
Although Sharon and his Likud (formerly Herut Party) government colleagues could not anticipate that the Islamic leaders they backed would eventually evolve into Hamas and suicde bombings, the two have benefited from each other's extremism over the years.
Hamas is considered one of Israel's greatest threats, but the Islamic terrorist organization found its beginnings in the misguided Israeli effort to encourage the rise of a religious alternative that would undermine the popularity of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Yasir Arafat.
The strategy resulted in the birth of Hamas which rose from these Islamic roots. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was a member of the government when the policy was developed in the late 1970s.
Although Sharon and his Likud (formerly Herut Party) government colleagues could not anticipate that the Islamic leaders they backed would eventually evolve into Hamas and suicde bombings, the two have benefited from each other's extremism over the years.
Thursday, June 12, 2003
Oldest human fossils discovered
DISCOVERED IN ETHIOPIA'S fossil-rich Afar region, the skulls have clearly modern features -- a prominent forehead, flattened face and reduced brow -- that contrast with older humans' projecting, heavy-browed skulls.
They're not quite completely modern, but they're well on their way. They're close enough to call Homo sapiens,' said Tim White, a University of California, Berkeley paleontologist who was co-leader of the international team that excavated and analyzed the skulls.
Previously, the earliest fossils of Homo sapiens found in Africa had been dated to about 130,000 to 100,000 years, although they were less complete and sometimes poorly dated, White said.
DISCOVERED IN ETHIOPIA'S fossil-rich Afar region, the skulls have clearly modern features -- a prominent forehead, flattened face and reduced brow -- that contrast with older humans' projecting, heavy-browed skulls.
They're not quite completely modern, but they're well on their way. They're close enough to call Homo sapiens,' said Tim White, a University of California, Berkeley paleontologist who was co-leader of the international team that excavated and analyzed the skulls.
Previously, the earliest fossils of Homo sapiens found in Africa had been dated to about 130,000 to 100,000 years, although they were less complete and sometimes poorly dated, White said.
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
Tiny ID chips track almost anything
The global infrastructure that MIT envisions is an Internet tool "that will make it possible for computers to identify any object anywhere in the world instantly. This network will not just provide the means to feed reliable, accurate, real-time information into existing business applications; it will usher in a whole new era of innovation and opportunity."
The global infrastructure that MIT envisions is an Internet tool "that will make it possible for computers to identify any object anywhere in the world instantly. This network will not just provide the means to feed reliable, accurate, real-time information into existing business applications; it will usher in a whole new era of innovation and opportunity."
Thursday, June 05, 2003
It's life Jim, but not as we know it
James Ferris at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, has performed experiments showing that RNA sequences of up to 50 nucleotides in length can be formed using a type of clay known as montmorillonite (a hydrated aluminosilicate) as both a template and catalyst for linking the nucleotides together. This is not the first time that clay has played a role in origin of life theories.
The idea was first popularised by the British chemist Graham Cairns-Smith, who suggested that clay may have been the first genetic system. His theory was that irregularities in clay sheets could have acted as catalytic surfaces, as well as providing a template on which new clay could be added. The clay would 'reproduce' by splitting in two, with the new sheet retaining many of the old sheet's irregularities.
At some stage, however, carbon compounds would have become involved, and eventually RNA strands capable of self-catalysis would have been produced, as James Ferris is currently showing experimentally.
James Ferris at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, has performed experiments showing that RNA sequences of up to 50 nucleotides in length can be formed using a type of clay known as montmorillonite (a hydrated aluminosilicate) as both a template and catalyst for linking the nucleotides together. This is not the first time that clay has played a role in origin of life theories.
The idea was first popularised by the British chemist Graham Cairns-Smith, who suggested that clay may have been the first genetic system. His theory was that irregularities in clay sheets could have acted as catalytic surfaces, as well as providing a template on which new clay could be added. The clay would 'reproduce' by splitting in two, with the new sheet retaining many of the old sheet's irregularities.
At some stage, however, carbon compounds would have become involved, and eventually RNA strands capable of self-catalysis would have been produced, as James Ferris is currently showing experimentally.
We Used To Impeach Liars
Once upon a time, we impeached a sitting President for lying under oath about sexual trysts. No one died, no one had their legs or arms or face or genitals blown off because of the lies of a President who had been caught with his pants down. Today in America, we endure a sitting President who lied for months about the threat posed by a sovereign nation. That nation was invaded and attacked, and thousands died because of it. The aftereffects of this action will be felt for generations to come. The very democracy which gives us meaning as a country has been put in peril by these deeds. When the smoke cleared, every reason for that war was proven to be a lie.
Once upon a time, we impeached a sitting President for lying under oath about sexual trysts. No one died, no one had their legs or arms or face or genitals blown off because of the lies of a President who had been caught with his pants down. Today in America, we endure a sitting President who lied for months about the threat posed by a sovereign nation. That nation was invaded and attacked, and thousands died because of it. The aftereffects of this action will be felt for generations to come. The very democracy which gives us meaning as a country has been put in peril by these deeds. When the smoke cleared, every reason for that war was proven to be a lie.
A threadbare emperor tours the world
As Bush makes his triumphal procession from the favorite state of his "new Europe", Poland, to Russia's imperial capital, St Petersburg, to the Group of Eight (G8) meeting in Evian, France, and then to the Middle East to impart some momentum to a "roadmap" for peace between Arabs and Israelis, his entourage may yet hear mutterings of the Ides of March.
After all, the notion that the new world order most closely resembles Caesar's Pax Romana has become commonplace. History, so its advocates argue, is now witnessing a Pax Americana.
As Bush makes his triumphal procession from the favorite state of his "new Europe", Poland, to Russia's imperial capital, St Petersburg, to the Group of Eight (G8) meeting in Evian, France, and then to the Middle East to impart some momentum to a "roadmap" for peace between Arabs and Israelis, his entourage may yet hear mutterings of the Ides of March.
After all, the notion that the new world order most closely resembles Caesar's Pax Romana has become commonplace. History, so its advocates argue, is now witnessing a Pax Americana.
The truth, the whole truth and nothing but ...
When all three major US newsweeklies - Time, Newsweek and US News & World Report - run major features on the same day on possible government lying, you can bet you have the makings of a major scandal.
And when the two most important outlets of neo-conservative opinion - The Weekly Standard and The Wall Street Journal - come out on the same days with lead editorials spluttering outrage about suggestions of government lying, you can bet that things are going to get very hot as summer approaches in Washington.
When all three major US newsweeklies - Time, Newsweek and US News & World Report - run major features on the same day on possible government lying, you can bet you have the makings of a major scandal.
And when the two most important outlets of neo-conservative opinion - The Weekly Standard and The Wall Street Journal - come out on the same days with lead editorials spluttering outrage about suggestions of government lying, you can bet that things are going to get very hot as summer approaches in Washington.
Why Saddam was doomed, WMDs or not
While the hawks in the Bush administration attempt to justify the logic behind a preemptive strike against Iraq as the likelihood of finding the country's alleged weapons of mass destruction grows increasingly remote, the truth behind the war is finally coming to light.
In his State of the Union address in January, President George W Bush said intelligence reports from the CIA and the FBI indicated that Saddam Hussein 'had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent', which put the United States in imminent danger of possibly being attacked sometime in the future.
While the hawks in the Bush administration attempt to justify the logic behind a preemptive strike against Iraq as the likelihood of finding the country's alleged weapons of mass destruction grows increasingly remote, the truth behind the war is finally coming to light.
In his State of the Union address in January, President George W Bush said intelligence reports from the CIA and the FBI indicated that Saddam Hussein 'had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent', which put the United States in imminent danger of possibly being attacked sometime in the future.
Tuesday, June 03, 2003
Twins, 114, live and die together
Twin sisters born in Nagda village of Madhya Pradesh 114 years ago died together on Thursday. They have now been cremated side by side.
In a miracle of sorts, the women not only came into the world together. They also married on the same day in the same village, turned widows simultaneously and breathed their last on the same night at almost the same time.
Twin sisters born in Nagda village of Madhya Pradesh 114 years ago died together on Thursday. They have now been cremated side by side.
In a miracle of sorts, the women not only came into the world together. They also married on the same day in the same village, turned widows simultaneously and breathed their last on the same night at almost the same time.
US 'is an empire in denial'
The United States is a "danger to the world" because of its denial that it is a military and economic empire, according to Niall Ferguson, historian and new-found darling of the American right.
Prof Ferguson is author of Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World, the book whose tie-in TV series controversially concentrated on the liberalising latter days of the British empire. He said that America's refusal to admit to "what it was" meant it risked never learning the lessons of British expansionism.
The United States is a "danger to the world" because of its denial that it is a military and economic empire, according to Niall Ferguson, historian and new-found darling of the American right.
Prof Ferguson is author of Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World, the book whose tie-in TV series controversially concentrated on the liberalising latter days of the British empire. He said that America's refusal to admit to "what it was" meant it risked never learning the lessons of British expansionism.
Cities crack down on rising homeless population
"If they catch you sleeping, they tell you you could go to jail," Whatley, 46, said in a decayed section of downtown best described as a makeshift urban-refugee camp where an estimated 4,000 people live in tents and boxes.
"If they catch you sleeping, they tell you you could go to jail," Whatley, 46, said in a decayed section of downtown best described as a makeshift urban-refugee camp where an estimated 4,000 people live in tents and boxes.
Monday, June 02, 2003
World's tallest tree is cooked alive
Dominating the lush Tasmanian rainforest, the tree known as El Grande, the largest hardwood plant on earth, was revered by environmentalists and tourists alike. Many came to gape in awe; it stood four times higher than Gateshead's Angel of the North.
Not any more. The 79-metre (260ft) tree has been accidentally 'cooked to death' after a fire started to provide woodchips raged out of control. 'This is akin to blasting at a Sydney demolition site and saying "Whoops, we got the Opera House as well",' said Bob Brown, a senator for Tasmania's Green party.
Dominating the lush Tasmanian rainforest, the tree known as El Grande, the largest hardwood plant on earth, was revered by environmentalists and tourists alike. Many came to gape in awe; it stood four times higher than Gateshead's Angel of the North.
Not any more. The 79-metre (260ft) tree has been accidentally 'cooked to death' after a fire started to provide woodchips raged out of control. 'This is akin to blasting at a Sydney demolition site and saying "Whoops, we got the Opera House as well",' said Bob Brown, a senator for Tasmania's Green party.
Tales of orgies and murder rock France
The claims involve white slavery, sado-masochism, rapes, sex with minors, drug dealing and appalling brutality - all in the heart of the government of one of France's most historic and most civilised cities. The southern city of Toulouse, known as la ville rose because of its sun-drenched Spanish-style buildings, has been scandalised by allegations that public officials protected a barbaric serial killer charged with murdering prostitutes recruited for orgies in the city's courthouse.
Though the accusations are unproved, Justice Minister Dominique Perben sacked Toulouse's prosecutor-general, Jean Volff, last week for covering up links between senior officials and the exploitation of vulnerable girls. Volff has denied any wrongdoing.
The allegations focus on the activities of Patrice Al?gre, a convicted murderer awaiting trial for five other killings. Two former prostitutes have claimed his activities were covered up. A former mayor and three judges have come forward to give their version of events. In a TV appearance, the right-wing former mayor of Toulouse, Dominique Baudis, now head of a broadcasting watchdog, claimed he was being framed by pro-pornography lobbies who wanted to smear him for opposing the showing of X-rated material on national TV.
The three judges have also denied any involvement. They will be questioned about 'acts of torture and barbaric acts, pimping and rapes of under-age girls'.
The claims involve white slavery, sado-masochism, rapes, sex with minors, drug dealing and appalling brutality - all in the heart of the government of one of France's most historic and most civilised cities. The southern city of Toulouse, known as la ville rose because of its sun-drenched Spanish-style buildings, has been scandalised by allegations that public officials protected a barbaric serial killer charged with murdering prostitutes recruited for orgies in the city's courthouse.
Though the accusations are unproved, Justice Minister Dominique Perben sacked Toulouse's prosecutor-general, Jean Volff, last week for covering up links between senior officials and the exploitation of vulnerable girls. Volff has denied any wrongdoing.
The allegations focus on the activities of Patrice Al?gre, a convicted murderer awaiting trial for five other killings. Two former prostitutes have claimed his activities were covered up. A former mayor and three judges have come forward to give their version of events. In a TV appearance, the right-wing former mayor of Toulouse, Dominique Baudis, now head of a broadcasting watchdog, claimed he was being framed by pro-pornography lobbies who wanted to smear him for opposing the showing of X-rated material on national TV.
The three judges have also denied any involvement. They will be questioned about 'acts of torture and barbaric acts, pimping and rapes of under-age girls'.
Rumsfeld trying to make foreign policy
President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and other top officials are spending hours coping with frequent, unsolicited attempts by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to make foreign policy, according to senior administration officials who are directly involved.
The officials said Bush himself had to quash a Rumsfeld proposal last month to send Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz to South Korea to announce that the United States was pulling American troops off the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea.
The announcement, involving no prior consultation with allies, would have come on the eve of new South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun's first official visit to Washington.
From his first days in office, Rumsfeld has inundated Washington with a blizzard of memos regarding foreign policy, not usually the responsibility of a defense secretary.
Said one frequent recipient of Rumsfeld's foreign policy ideas and advice: "The theme is control. He wants everyone to have to play on his field."
President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and other top officials are spending hours coping with frequent, unsolicited attempts by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to make foreign policy, according to senior administration officials who are directly involved.
The officials said Bush himself had to quash a Rumsfeld proposal last month to send Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz to South Korea to announce that the United States was pulling American troops off the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea.
The announcement, involving no prior consultation with allies, would have come on the eve of new South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun's first official visit to Washington.
From his first days in office, Rumsfeld has inundated Washington with a blizzard of memos regarding foreign policy, not usually the responsibility of a defense secretary.
Said one frequent recipient of Rumsfeld's foreign policy ideas and advice: "The theme is control. He wants everyone to have to play on his field."
Halliburton agrees to settle accounting suits
Halliburton Co. said Friday it has agreed to pay $6 million to settle 20 shareholder lawsuits that accused it of using deceptive accounting practices while Vice President Dick Cheney led the company.
The lawsuits challenged the way that the oilfield-services company counted revenue from cost overruns and change orders on long-term fixed-price construction projects.
Halliburton Co. said Friday it has agreed to pay $6 million to settle 20 shareholder lawsuits that accused it of using deceptive accounting practices while Vice President Dick Cheney led the company.
The lawsuits challenged the way that the oilfield-services company counted revenue from cost overruns and change orders on long-term fixed-price construction projects.
War on Iran has sequel potential
The May ratings sweeps are over, summer is almost here and more than half the programming on network TV is a rerun.
Because reruns don't pull in the eyeballs they used to, last week the U.S. networks announced some 20 new reality series. As previous summer hits, from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire to American Idol, taught the network lemmings, it's an excellent season for fake truth.
Believe it or not, this has everything to do with the upcoming Operation Ayatollah They Had It Coming, or whatever the White House sloganeers will dub their war on Iran.
The next war is already getting heavy advance promotion.
CNN has a graphic going "Inside Iran,'' and Wolf Blitzer has been braying about how Iran may have weapons of mass destruction, could be supporting Hezbollah terrorists and, of course, has connections to ever-elusive Al Qaeda. Friday afternoon, he allowed one of the usual suspects from the Heritage Foundation — don't you love how these right-wing think tanks are named? — to call Iran the "poster child for
The May ratings sweeps are over, summer is almost here and more than half the programming on network TV is a rerun.
Because reruns don't pull in the eyeballs they used to, last week the U.S. networks announced some 20 new reality series. As previous summer hits, from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire to American Idol, taught the network lemmings, it's an excellent season for fake truth.
Believe it or not, this has everything to do with the upcoming Operation Ayatollah They Had It Coming, or whatever the White House sloganeers will dub their war on Iran.
The next war is already getting heavy advance promotion.
CNN has a graphic going "Inside Iran,'' and Wolf Blitzer has been braying about how Iran may have weapons of mass destruction, could be supporting Hezbollah terrorists and, of course, has connections to ever-elusive Al Qaeda. Friday afternoon, he allowed one of the usual suspects from the Heritage Foundation — don't you love how these right-wing think tanks are named? — to call Iran the "poster child for
Thursday, May 29, 2003
Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:
Doctor takes US to court for creating AIDS
An AIDS activist who is convinced the U.S. government is behind the spread of the virus is finally getting his day in court.
Dr. Boyd Graves is suing the government for creating AIDS and will finally present his case before a San Diego judge on June 27.
He claims he has hundreds of government documents proving AIDS was designed as biological terrorism against African-Americans.
Government lawyers have told Graves they can't find the information he claims he found in public documents. Still, he's not worried, claiming he has one last piece of evidence he's convinced will force the judge to rule in his favor.
If that happens, Graves says the government will be forced to release all sorts of previously-classified research which he says proves the real origins of AIDS.
An AIDS activist who is convinced the U.S. government is behind the spread of the virus is finally getting his day in court.
Dr. Boyd Graves is suing the government for creating AIDS and will finally present his case before a San Diego judge on June 27.
He claims he has hundreds of government documents proving AIDS was designed as biological terrorism against African-Americans.
Government lawyers have told Graves they can't find the information he claims he found in public documents. Still, he's not worried, claiming he has one last piece of evidence he's convinced will force the judge to rule in his favor.
If that happens, Graves says the government will be forced to release all sorts of previously-classified research which he says proves the real origins of AIDS.
American Account of Killing of 2 Journalists Is Disputed
There is no evidence that American forces were fired on from the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad before they shelled the building, killing two of nearly 100 journalists staying there, a journalist advocacy group said today.
There is no evidence that American forces were fired on from the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad before they shelled the building, killing two of nearly 100 journalists staying there, a journalist advocacy group said today.
Soldier found disobedient for refusing anthrax shot
A military panel on Wednesday found an Army reservist guilty of disobeying an order for refusing to take the anthrax vaccine. The panel of eight officers took only 40 minutes before returning a guilty verdict against Pvt. Kamila Iwanowska.
Iwanowska, 26, admitted in a court "stipulation of fact" that she refused to follow the verbal and written orders of her commanding officers. Army prosecutors read a statement to the panel and rested their case without calling any witnesses.
"Good order and discipline and following orders is essential in the United States Army," Capt. Wesley Rowley said in a brief opening statement. Rowley said Iwanowska's signed statement was all the proof the panel needed for a conviction.
A military panel on Wednesday found an Army reservist guilty of disobeying an order for refusing to take the anthrax vaccine. The panel of eight officers took only 40 minutes before returning a guilty verdict against Pvt. Kamila Iwanowska.
Iwanowska, 26, admitted in a court "stipulation of fact" that she refused to follow the verbal and written orders of her commanding officers. Army prosecutors read a statement to the panel and rested their case without calling any witnesses.
"Good order and discipline and following orders is essential in the United States Army," Capt. Wesley Rowley said in a brief opening statement. Rowley said Iwanowska's signed statement was all the proof the panel needed for a conviction.
Way Out There in Arp 299, a Factory for Supernovas
Penetrating thick dust where two galaxies are colliding, radio telescopes have observed the fireworks and afterglows of stars exploding at such an extraordinary rate that astronomers are calling the turbulent region a "supernova factory.
Penetrating thick dust where two galaxies are colliding, radio telescopes have observed the fireworks and afterglows of stars exploding at such an extraordinary rate that astronomers are calling the turbulent region a "supernova factory.
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
Gulf War Syndrome 'does not exist'
There is no such thing as Gulf War Syndrome, an official scientific study has concluded.
The Medical Research Council (MRC) said there was "little evidence" the illnesses of campaign veterans were caused by the multiple vaccinations they received.
The government-funded body also said there was no evidence of a link between veterans' symptoms and the use of depleted uranium shells or nerve agents.
But the study was dismissed by the Gulf Veterans and Families Association, which said: "How can the MRC say that Gulf War Syndrome does not exist when it appears in the Royal College of Medicine encyclopaedia?"
There is no such thing as Gulf War Syndrome, an official scientific study has concluded.
The Medical Research Council (MRC) said there was "little evidence" the illnesses of campaign veterans were caused by the multiple vaccinations they received.
The government-funded body also said there was no evidence of a link between veterans' symptoms and the use of depleted uranium shells or nerve agents.
But the study was dismissed by the Gulf Veterans and Families Association, which said: "How can the MRC say that Gulf War Syndrome does not exist when it appears in the Royal College of Medicine encyclopaedia?"
Oil wars Pentagon's policy since 1999
A top-level United States policy document has emerged that explicitly confirms the Defence Department's readiness to fight an oil war.
According to the report, Strategic Assessment 1999, prepared for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defence, "energy and resource issues will continue to shape international security".
Oil conflicts over production facilities and transport routes, particularly in the Persian Gulf and Caspian regions, are specifically envisaged.
Although the policy does not forecast imminent US military conflict, it vividly highlights how the highest levels of the US Defence community accepted the waging of an oil war as a legitimate military option.
Strategic Assessment also forecasts that if an oil "problem" arises, "US forces might be used to ensure adequate supplies".
A top-level United States policy document has emerged that explicitly confirms the Defence Department's readiness to fight an oil war.
According to the report, Strategic Assessment 1999, prepared for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defence, "energy and resource issues will continue to shape international security".
Oil conflicts over production facilities and transport routes, particularly in the Persian Gulf and Caspian regions, are specifically envisaged.
Although the policy does not forecast imminent US military conflict, it vividly highlights how the highest levels of the US Defence community accepted the waging of an oil war as a legitimate military option.
Strategic Assessment also forecasts that if an oil "problem" arises, "US forces might be used to ensure adequate supplies".
CIA Bribe Neutralized Baghdad
You may remember a bit of mixed news regarding the taking of Baghdad Airport: the US insisted it was in the process of being taken. Non-embeded journalists said it was all quiet on the day. Perhaps the following explains the inconsistency:
One of Saddam Hussein's cousins, Special Republican Guard chief Maher Sufian Al-Tikriti, betrayed the deposed Iraqi leader by ordering his elite forces not to defend Baghdad after making a deal with the United States, the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche reported yesterday.
Citing an Iraqi source close to Saddam's former regime, the newspaper said that the general, responsible for defending the Iraqi capital, left Baghdad aboard a US military transport plane, bound for a US base outside Iraq.
His departure, along with that of a 20-strong entourage, came on April 8 - the day before US forces swept into Baghdad, and after US Marines announced that the general had been killed, the paper reported.
Sufian does not appear on the US military's list of most wanted Iraqis, which names Barzan Al-Ghafur Sulayman Majid as commander of the Special Republican Guard.
Being cautious, those who accepted the deal only agreed to defect once the American soldiers were in sight. The signal was to be the taking of the airport in Baghdad, the diplomat added.
You may remember a bit of mixed news regarding the taking of Baghdad Airport: the US insisted it was in the process of being taken. Non-embeded journalists said it was all quiet on the day. Perhaps the following explains the inconsistency:
One of Saddam Hussein's cousins, Special Republican Guard chief Maher Sufian Al-Tikriti, betrayed the deposed Iraqi leader by ordering his elite forces not to defend Baghdad after making a deal with the United States, the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche reported yesterday.
Citing an Iraqi source close to Saddam's former regime, the newspaper said that the general, responsible for defending the Iraqi capital, left Baghdad aboard a US military transport plane, bound for a US base outside Iraq.
His departure, along with that of a 20-strong entourage, came on April 8 - the day before US forces swept into Baghdad, and after US Marines announced that the general had been killed, the paper reported.
Sufian does not appear on the US military's list of most wanted Iraqis, which names Barzan Al-Ghafur Sulayman Majid as commander of the Special Republican Guard.
Being cautious, those who accepted the deal only agreed to defect once the American soldiers were in sight. The signal was to be the taking of the airport in Baghdad, the diplomat added.
Alchemy with light shocks physicists
Researchers have documented new control over light: a way to shift the frequency of light beams to any desired colour, with near 100 per cent efficiency. "The degree of control over light really is quite shocking," comments photonics expert Eli Yablonovitch at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Claims by photonics crystal pioneer John Joannopoulos and his group at MIT, are soon to be published in Physical Review Letters.
Researchers have documented new control over light: a way to shift the frequency of light beams to any desired colour, with near 100 per cent efficiency. "The degree of control over light really is quite shocking," comments photonics expert Eli Yablonovitch at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Claims by photonics crystal pioneer John Joannopoulos and his group at MIT, are soon to be published in Physical Review Letters.
Thursday, May 22, 2003
Innovative Wing Design Could Soar in Martian Skies
A team of undergraduate engineering students from the University of Kentucky scored a partial success in a recent test of a prototype Mars exploration aircraft whose wings would inflate to take on their aerodynamic shape once within the thin martian atmosphere.
Inflatable wings are seen as a promising solution for a vexing problem facing NASA engineers: building an aircraft that can be successfully unfurled or unfolded into its flight configuration after being stowed within the tight confines of a space capsule for the long journey to the red planet. The problem has twice abruptly halted NASA efforts to develop a glider or powered aircraft to explore Mars.
A team of undergraduate engineering students from the University of Kentucky scored a partial success in a recent test of a prototype Mars exploration aircraft whose wings would inflate to take on their aerodynamic shape once within the thin martian atmosphere.
Inflatable wings are seen as a promising solution for a vexing problem facing NASA engineers: building an aircraft that can be successfully unfurled or unfolded into its flight configuration after being stowed within the tight confines of a space capsule for the long journey to the red planet. The problem has twice abruptly halted NASA efforts to develop a glider or powered aircraft to explore Mars.
Recovered Meteor Reveals Solar Secrets
The extraordinary find of a meteorite that was photographed as it plummeted to Earth has helped resolve some of the mysteries about the solar system's rocky wanderers, but also created new ones.
The shooting star was photographed on April 6, 2002, by a time-lapse camera set up in southern Germany by the European Fireball Network, a group of astronomers.
The picture revealed a 91-kilometer (57-mile) trail as the rock entered the Earth's atmosphere after a journey through space that lasted millions of years.
The astronomers traced the trajectory of the path they saw and on July 14 they found a 1.75-kilo (3.85-pound) chunk of the debris near the turreted castle of Neuschwanstein, in Bavaria.
The extraordinary find of a meteorite that was photographed as it plummeted to Earth has helped resolve some of the mysteries about the solar system's rocky wanderers, but also created new ones.
The shooting star was photographed on April 6, 2002, by a time-lapse camera set up in southern Germany by the European Fireball Network, a group of astronomers.
The picture revealed a 91-kilometer (57-mile) trail as the rock entered the Earth's atmosphere after a journey through space that lasted millions of years.
The astronomers traced the trajectory of the path they saw and on July 14 they found a 1.75-kilo (3.85-pound) chunk of the debris near the turreted castle of Neuschwanstein, in Bavaria.
Troops 'vandalise' ancient city of Ur
In the grand tradition of military types visiting foreign lands and wrecking them comes this:
One of the greatest wonders of civilisation, and probably the world's most ancient structure - the Sumerian city of Ur in southern Iraq - has been vandalised by American soldiers and airmen, according to aid workers in the area.
They claim that US forces have spray-painted the remains with graffiti and stolen kiln-baked bricks made millennia ago. As a result, the US military has put the archaeological treasure, which dates back 6000 years, off-limits to its own troops. Any violations will be punishable in military courts.
Ur is believed by many to be the birthplace of the biblical patrirch Abraham. It was the religious seat of the civilisation of Sumer at the dawn of the line of dynasties which ruled Mesopotamia starting about 4000 BC. Long before the rise of the Egyptian, Greek or Roman empires, it was here that the wheel was invented and the first mathematical system developed. Here, the first poetry was written, notably the epic Gilganesh, a classic of ancient literature.
The most prominent monument is the best preserved ziggurat - stepped pyramid - in the Arab world, initially built by the Sumerians around 4000 BC and restored by Nebuchadnezzar II in the sixth century BC.
In the grand tradition of military types visiting foreign lands and wrecking them comes this:
One of the greatest wonders of civilisation, and probably the world's most ancient structure - the Sumerian city of Ur in southern Iraq - has been vandalised by American soldiers and airmen, according to aid workers in the area.
They claim that US forces have spray-painted the remains with graffiti and stolen kiln-baked bricks made millennia ago. As a result, the US military has put the archaeological treasure, which dates back 6000 years, off-limits to its own troops. Any violations will be punishable in military courts.
Ur is believed by many to be the birthplace of the biblical patrirch Abraham. It was the religious seat of the civilisation of Sumer at the dawn of the line of dynasties which ruled Mesopotamia starting about 4000 BC. Long before the rise of the Egyptian, Greek or Roman empires, it was here that the wheel was invented and the first mathematical system developed. Here, the first poetry was written, notably the epic Gilganesh, a classic of ancient literature.
The most prominent monument is the best preserved ziggurat - stepped pyramid - in the Arab world, initially built by the Sumerians around 4000 BC and restored by Nebuchadnezzar II in the sixth century BC.
Six French journalists detained on arrival at Los Angeles, sent back to France
Reporters Without Borders today protested against the detention of six French journalists on arrival a week ago at Los Angeles international airport to cover a video games trade show and their forcible repatriation after being held at the airport for more than 24 hours.
"These journalists were treated like criminals - subjected to several body searches, handcuffed, locked up and fingerprinted," Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert M?nard complained in a letter to the US ambassador to Paris, Howard Leach.
Reporters Without Borders today protested against the detention of six French journalists on arrival a week ago at Los Angeles international airport to cover a video games trade show and their forcible repatriation after being held at the airport for more than 24 hours.
"These journalists were treated like criminals - subjected to several body searches, handcuffed, locked up and fingerprinted," Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert M?nard complained in a letter to the US ambassador to Paris, Howard Leach.
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
US conceives a morning-after-the-blast-before pill
Military officials in the United States are expressing enthusiasm about an experimental drug that they say could help protect troops, police officers and emergency medical personnel against nuclear weapons or "dirty bombs."
The drug appears to offer significant protection from radiation sickness.
"We want it on the fast track," said Navy Admiral James Zimble, a top military health official who is president of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. "We've been very encouraged by the very positive results" of tests on animals.
Radiation specialists said tests of the drug on mice, dogs and monkeys suggest that it will work in people and won't prove toxic.
Since the 1950s, military researchers have scrutinised thousands of compounds in a search for something that could protect troops in a nuclear war.
Military officials in the United States are expressing enthusiasm about an experimental drug that they say could help protect troops, police officers and emergency medical personnel against nuclear weapons or "dirty bombs."
The drug appears to offer significant protection from radiation sickness.
"We want it on the fast track," said Navy Admiral James Zimble, a top military health official who is president of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. "We've been very encouraged by the very positive results" of tests on animals.
Radiation specialists said tests of the drug on mice, dogs and monkeys suggest that it will work in people and won't prove toxic.
Since the 1950s, military researchers have scrutinised thousands of compounds in a search for something that could protect troops in a nuclear war.
'Spooky stuff' puts US on orange alert
Undersecretary of Homeland Security Asa Hutchinson said intelligence indicates "terrorists continue to plan attacks against targets in the US, and for this reason, the alert level has been raised. "There is increased specificity in what we hear, but not necessarily in terms of the target," Hutchinson said.
Senior US officials said the chatter suggests a significant attack inside the United States might be in the works. It is "reasonably spooky stuff," a knowledgeable official said.
Undersecretary of Homeland Security Asa Hutchinson said intelligence indicates "terrorists continue to plan attacks against targets in the US, and for this reason, the alert level has been raised. "There is increased specificity in what we hear, but not necessarily in terms of the target," Hutchinson said.
Senior US officials said the chatter suggests a significant attack inside the United States might be in the works. It is "reasonably spooky stuff," a knowledgeable official said.
Tuesday, May 20, 2003
Strange creature terrifies Nigeria
Women in Maru, headquarters of Maru Local Government area of Zamfara have been forced to remain indoors in the evenings for fear of a strange creature which chases them. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the mysterious creature, said to be half human, half horse, usually appear in the early hours of the morning and in the evenings.
The appearance of the strange creature has crippled the socio-economic activities in the town, especially at night as people prefer to stay at home from 4 pm till morning. The creature believed to have surfaced in different locations of the town is causing so much anxiety and fear among residents, particularly women.
When contacted to comment on the issue, one of the sons of Emir of Maru, Alhaji Isa Maru said the rumour was strong and "we are still trying to get to the root of it."
Women in Maru, headquarters of Maru Local Government area of Zamfara have been forced to remain indoors in the evenings for fear of a strange creature which chases them. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the mysterious creature, said to be half human, half horse, usually appear in the early hours of the morning and in the evenings.
The appearance of the strange creature has crippled the socio-economic activities in the town, especially at night as people prefer to stay at home from 4 pm till morning. The creature believed to have surfaced in different locations of the town is causing so much anxiety and fear among residents, particularly women.
When contacted to comment on the issue, one of the sons of Emir of Maru, Alhaji Isa Maru said the rumour was strong and "we are still trying to get to the root of it."
Bombings may spur antiterror unity
Get thee behind me (and follow)...
The Moroccan bombings may bring more of the world together in trying to quell terrorism. To the extent that such attacks continue and include non-American targets, they reinforce the notion temporarily lost during the animosity over the Iraq war that much of the world is vulnerable to terrorist violence and that strong international cooperation is needed curb it.
Get thee behind me (and follow)...
The Moroccan bombings may bring more of the world together in trying to quell terrorism. To the extent that such attacks continue and include non-American targets, they reinforce the notion temporarily lost during the animosity over the Iraq war that much of the world is vulnerable to terrorist violence and that strong international cooperation is needed curb it.
Remains of toxic bullets litter Iraq
Picture shows effect of depleted-uranium bullets from Iraq's first confrontation with US forces.
At a roadside produce stand on the outskirts of Baghdad, business is brisk for Latifa Khalaf Hamid. Iraqi drivers pull up and snap up fresh bunches of parsley, mint leaves, dill, and onion stalks.
But Ms. Hamid's stand is just four paces away from a burnt-out Iraqi tank, destroyed by - and contaminated with - controversial American depleted-uranium (DU) bullets. Local children play "throughout the day" on the tank, Hamid says, and on another one across the road.
No one has warned the vendor in the faded, threadbare black gown to keep the toxic and radioactive dust off her produce. The children haven't been told not to play with the radioactive debris. They gather around as a Geiger counter carried by a visiting reporter starts singing when it nears a DU bullet fragment no bigger than a pencil eraser.
Picture shows effect of depleted-uranium bullets from Iraq's first confrontation with US forces.
At a roadside produce stand on the outskirts of Baghdad, business is brisk for Latifa Khalaf Hamid. Iraqi drivers pull up and snap up fresh bunches of parsley, mint leaves, dill, and onion stalks.
But Ms. Hamid's stand is just four paces away from a burnt-out Iraqi tank, destroyed by - and contaminated with - controversial American depleted-uranium (DU) bullets. Local children play "throughout the day" on the tank, Hamid says, and on another one across the road.
No one has warned the vendor in the faded, threadbare black gown to keep the toxic and radioactive dust off her produce. The children haven't been told not to play with the radioactive debris. They gather around as a Geiger counter carried by a visiting reporter starts singing when it nears a DU bullet fragment no bigger than a pencil eraser.
A Terror Tracking System By Any Other Name
The Total Information Awareness program headed by controversial ex-Navy Admiral John Poindexter is slated to be re-named with the more narrowly-focused moniker Terrorist Information Awareness, sources in and outside the Pentagon tell TIME. Pentagon spokespeople declined comment on the plan or on what, if any, substantive changes might accompany a possible name-change.
In a recent congressional hearing, Tony Tether, head of the Pentagon agency that houses the program, said TIA would be operated with the expectation that "the American public and their elected officials must have confidence that their liberties will not be violated before they would accept this kind of technology."
The Total Information Awareness program headed by controversial ex-Navy Admiral John Poindexter is slated to be re-named with the more narrowly-focused moniker Terrorist Information Awareness, sources in and outside the Pentagon tell TIME. Pentagon spokespeople declined comment on the plan or on what, if any, substantive changes might accompany a possible name-change.
In a recent congressional hearing, Tony Tether, head of the Pentagon agency that houses the program, said TIA would be operated with the expectation that "the American public and their elected officials must have confidence that their liberties will not be violated before they would accept this kind of technology."
Monday, May 19, 2003
9/11: icing on the "Let's create an enemy" cake
Opposed by everyone in the world who was not bought off, the illegal invasion of Iraq was undertaken for many reasons -- the imminent replacement of the dollar by the euro as the world's primary currency, the tempting lure of untapped oil reserves, the desire to consolidate U.S./Israeli military hegemony over a strategically vital region -- but the most important reason was to further obscure questions about the awesome deception staged by the American government that has come to be known as 9/11.
Opposed by everyone in the world who was not bought off, the illegal invasion of Iraq was undertaken for many reasons -- the imminent replacement of the dollar by the euro as the world's primary currency, the tempting lure of untapped oil reserves, the desire to consolidate U.S./Israeli military hegemony over a strategically vital region -- but the most important reason was to further obscure questions about the awesome deception staged by the American government that has come to be known as 9/11.
Escape 'The Matrix,' kill your landlord, parents, or someone
Ninteen year old Josh Cooke's fascination with The Matrix is shared by others who also have been charged with murder. Some high-profile crimes since the movie's 1999 release have allegedly been committed without any obvious motive other than attempts to escape The Matrix.
The cases in which the movie has emerged as a central theme span the country. Even last fall's sniper shootings in the Washington region have overtones from the popular science-fiction film, which posits that computers have taken over the world.
"Free yourself of the matrix," sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo, 18, wrote in his jail cell. "You are a slave to the matrix 'control.' "
Just this week, in Ohio, a woman who told police that she lived in The Matrix and that "they commit a lot of crimes in The Matrix" was found not guilty by reason of insanity to charges of killing her landlord.
And in San Francisco, a man who believes he was sucked into The Matrix also was found not guilty by reason of insanity on charges that he killed his landlord.
Ninteen year old Josh Cooke's fascination with The Matrix is shared by others who also have been charged with murder. Some high-profile crimes since the movie's 1999 release have allegedly been committed without any obvious motive other than attempts to escape The Matrix.
The cases in which the movie has emerged as a central theme span the country. Even last fall's sniper shootings in the Washington region have overtones from the popular science-fiction film, which posits that computers have taken over the world.
"Free yourself of the matrix," sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo, 18, wrote in his jail cell. "You are a slave to the matrix 'control.' "
Just this week, in Ohio, a woman who told police that she lived in The Matrix and that "they commit a lot of crimes in The Matrix" was found not guilty by reason of insanity to charges of killing her landlord.
And in San Francisco, a man who believes he was sucked into The Matrix also was found not guilty by reason of insanity on charges that he killed his landlord.
From The Wilderness subscriber pays for full page ad in The Washington Post
From The Wilderness today ran a full-page ad in the front section of The Washington Post intended to educate the American people, support heroic leaders and promote a number of independent media outlets which have made important contributions since 9/11. The ad was the direct result of a donation from a subscriber who had recently viewed FTW Publisher Mike Ruppert's video "The Truth and Lies of 9-11". ?The ad that ran today was actually a second version, the text of which had to be changed after the first version apparently caused some nervousness in Washington.
From The Wilderness today ran a full-page ad in the front section of The Washington Post intended to educate the American people, support heroic leaders and promote a number of independent media outlets which have made important contributions since 9/11. The ad was the direct result of a donation from a subscriber who had recently viewed FTW Publisher Mike Ruppert's video "The Truth and Lies of 9-11". ?The ad that ran today was actually a second version, the text of which had to be changed after the first version apparently caused some nervousness in Washington.
Sunday, May 18, 2003
Five Suicide Bombings Kill 41 in Morocco
Just days after U.S. officials warned of possible worldwide attacks by Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s al-Qaida network, a quick succession of five suicide bombings in Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco, killed 31 bystanders and 10 terrorists Friday night, officials said Saturday.
Just days after U.S. officials warned of possible worldwide attacks by Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s al-Qaida network, a quick succession of five suicide bombings in Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco, killed 31 bystanders and 10 terrorists Friday night, officials said Saturday.
Comet Could Brighten Night Skies Next Spring
Most comets would be completely invisible at great distance, even to the telescopes that found them, so the implication is that the recently discovered Comet NEAT C/2001 Q4 may be an unusually large and active object.
On Aug. 28, 2001, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced the discovery of a new comet spotted by Near Earth Asteroid Tracking team at Palomar Observatory in southern California. Like several other comets, this one has come to be called NEAT, the acronym for the discovery program.
The comet was nearly a billion miles (1.6 billion kilometers) from the Sun when it was discovered. At that time it was shining at magnitude 20, or more than 398,000 times dimmer than the faintest star visible to the unaided eye.
On Oct. 29, 2002, The IAU announced the discovery by the LINEAR survey of a comet that may also become a bright naked-eye object in May 2004.
Most comets would be completely invisible at great distance, even to the telescopes that found them, so the implication is that the recently discovered Comet NEAT C/2001 Q4 may be an unusually large and active object.
On Aug. 28, 2001, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced the discovery of a new comet spotted by Near Earth Asteroid Tracking team at Palomar Observatory in southern California. Like several other comets, this one has come to be called NEAT, the acronym for the discovery program.
The comet was nearly a billion miles (1.6 billion kilometers) from the Sun when it was discovered. At that time it was shining at magnitude 20, or more than 398,000 times dimmer than the faintest star visible to the unaided eye.
On Oct. 29, 2002, The IAU announced the discovery by the LINEAR survey of a comet that may also become a bright naked-eye object in May 2004.
Friday, May 16, 2003
Planet X takes Iraqi village by surprise
The US military says a pre-dawn raid called Operation: Planet X in northern Iraq Thursday netted more than 260 prisoners. Heavily armed US Army troops stormed a village near Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.
Reported to be among those rounded up was a general from Saddam Hussein's security forces who had disguised himself as a shepherd.
The US military says a pre-dawn raid called Operation: Planet X in northern Iraq Thursday netted more than 260 prisoners. Heavily armed US Army troops stormed a village near Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.
Reported to be among those rounded up was a general from Saddam Hussein's security forces who had disguised himself as a shepherd.
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
Pardon me but your slip is showing
For reasons best known to the incorruptible watchdogs of the Washington press corps, Bush senior's self-interested mercy upon Caspar Weinberger instigated no searching examination of the other pardons granted by the departing president.
Indeed, the final dozen pardons given by Bush -- including the unexplained release of a Pakistani heroin trafficker, a Watergate felon and a a Cuban exile terrorist -- received virtually no coverage at all.
For reasons best known to the incorruptible watchdogs of the Washington press corps, Bush senior's self-interested mercy upon Caspar Weinberger instigated no searching examination of the other pardons granted by the departing president.
Indeed, the final dozen pardons given by Bush -- including the unexplained release of a Pakistani heroin trafficker, a Watergate felon and a a Cuban exile terrorist -- received virtually no coverage at all.
Eye-catching celestial helix images unveiled
Astronomers have unveiled images of one of the nearest planetary nebulae to Earth one of the largest and most detailed celestial images ever. The images show a fine web of filamentary 'bicycle-spoke' features embedded in colourful red and blue gas ring.
Hubble astronomers took several exposures then combined the views with a wider photo taken by Kitt Peak's Mosaic Camera.
The result is a breathtaking look down a tunnel of glowing gases that is a million million kilometres long. The fluorescing tube is pointed nearly directly at Earth, so it looks more like a bubble than a cylinder. Thousands of comet-like filaments embedded along the inner rim of the nebula point back toward the central star, which is a small but superhot white dwarf. These tentacles formed when a hot stellar 'wind' of gas ploughed into colder shells of dust and gas previously ejected by the doomed star. Astronomers have known about these comet-like filaments from ground-based telescopes for decades but have never before seen them in so much detail. The filaments may lie in a disc around the hot star, like a collar.
Astronomers have unveiled images of one of the nearest planetary nebulae to Earth one of the largest and most detailed celestial images ever. The images show a fine web of filamentary 'bicycle-spoke' features embedded in colourful red and blue gas ring.
Hubble astronomers took several exposures then combined the views with a wider photo taken by Kitt Peak's Mosaic Camera.
The result is a breathtaking look down a tunnel of glowing gases that is a million million kilometres long. The fluorescing tube is pointed nearly directly at Earth, so it looks more like a bubble than a cylinder. Thousands of comet-like filaments embedded along the inner rim of the nebula point back toward the central star, which is a small but superhot white dwarf. These tentacles formed when a hot stellar 'wind' of gas ploughed into colder shells of dust and gas previously ejected by the doomed star. Astronomers have known about these comet-like filaments from ground-based telescopes for decades but have never before seen them in so much detail. The filaments may lie in a disc around the hot star, like a collar.
Math discovery may aid resource management
'One of the basic concepts of ecology for generations had been that the complexity of the natural world is a big part of what makes it persistent, that the many interrelationships, interactions and food webs among different species evolved into stable systems that worked well together,' said Hiram Li, an OSU professor of fisheries and wildlife.
'But Robert May came along with a mathematical theory that suggested that increased complexity in a natural system should actually make it less stable,' Li said. 'The math seemed to work perfectly, but our observations of the real world ran contrary to this.'
For 30 years researchers have debated this paradox between the way the world appeared to work ' a 'tangled web' of thriving organisms, as Charles Darwin described it ' with May's mathematical description of the way it should work. Since the mathematical theory had not been reconciled with real-world observations, many field ecologists dismissed its importance. Applied mathematics are being used to manage fishing, hunting and control of pests, Li said, in situations that only relate to one or two species ' but they have not been applied to ecosystems or communities.
'What we came to realize, however, is that May's mathematical analysis was not really wrong, it just didn't go far enough, as even May conceded,' Rossignol said. 'So what we've tried to do is shine some light into this black box, by identifying more degrees of stability and using more variables, allowing the math to consider complexity and eventually arrive at different conclusions.'
'One of the basic concepts of ecology for generations had been that the complexity of the natural world is a big part of what makes it persistent, that the many interrelationships, interactions and food webs among different species evolved into stable systems that worked well together,' said Hiram Li, an OSU professor of fisheries and wildlife.
'But Robert May came along with a mathematical theory that suggested that increased complexity in a natural system should actually make it less stable,' Li said. 'The math seemed to work perfectly, but our observations of the real world ran contrary to this.'
For 30 years researchers have debated this paradox between the way the world appeared to work ' a 'tangled web' of thriving organisms, as Charles Darwin described it ' with May's mathematical description of the way it should work. Since the mathematical theory had not been reconciled with real-world observations, many field ecologists dismissed its importance. Applied mathematics are being used to manage fishing, hunting and control of pests, Li said, in situations that only relate to one or two species ' but they have not been applied to ecosystems or communities.
'What we came to realize, however, is that May's mathematical analysis was not really wrong, it just didn't go far enough, as even May conceded,' Rossignol said. 'So what we've tried to do is shine some light into this black box, by identifying more degrees of stability and using more variables, allowing the math to consider complexity and eventually arrive at different conclusions.'
Bush quick to finger al-Qaeda on Saudi suicide bombings
Bush says he "wouldn't be surprised" if al-Qaeda,was behind this weeks four Saudi attacks.
Powell also pointed his finger at al-Qaeda, saying,"I believe al-Qaeda has been weakened, but it has not been destroyed."
A counterintelligence official in Washington said intelligence from the past two weeks indicated al-Qaeda was close to launching a strike in Saudi Arabia.
The incident follows an alert this month from the U.S. State Department warning Americans not to travel to Saudi Arabia because of concerns over terrorism.
Recently, Saudi officials said al-Qaeda was planning attacks in the oil-rich kingdom, which is the birthplace of Osama bin Laden and home to 15 of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks.
Bush says he "wouldn't be surprised" if al-Qaeda,was behind this weeks four Saudi attacks.
Powell also pointed his finger at al-Qaeda, saying,"I believe al-Qaeda has been weakened, but it has not been destroyed."
A counterintelligence official in Washington said intelligence from the past two weeks indicated al-Qaeda was close to launching a strike in Saudi Arabia.
The incident follows an alert this month from the U.S. State Department warning Americans not to travel to Saudi Arabia because of concerns over terrorism.
Recently, Saudi officials said al-Qaeda was planning attacks in the oil-rich kingdom, which is the birthplace of Osama bin Laden and home to 15 of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks.
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
Workers miss pay so Bush can announce tax cuts
Incredible, but true. George W. Bush's visit to a nonunionized plastics factory in Omaha to pitch his $550 billion tax cut plan as helping workers will cost those workers up to $130 each in lost wages, because the plant will be closed for Bush's speech.
Airlite Plastics CEO Brad Crosby is giving the workers a choice of being docked for the time the plant is closed, work next Saturday to make up the time, take an unpaid day off or use a paid vacation day. In any event, the workers lose while Bush promotes his additional tax cuts for the rich as helping average folks.
Incredible, but true. George W. Bush's visit to a nonunionized plastics factory in Omaha to pitch his $550 billion tax cut plan as helping workers will cost those workers up to $130 each in lost wages, because the plant will be closed for Bush's speech.
Airlite Plastics CEO Brad Crosby is giving the workers a choice of being docked for the time the plant is closed, work next Saturday to make up the time, take an unpaid day off or use a paid vacation day. In any event, the workers lose while Bush promotes his additional tax cuts for the rich as helping average folks.
Aliens in their own land
The United States of America that we thought we knew is gone, finished, kaput and we only have ourselves to blame.
Most of our fellow citizens, who continue to mouth platitudes to freedom and democracy, have not yet been bitten by the police state that grows more powerful by the day with the blessings of Republicans and Democrats alike.
We no longer have a country that operates on the consent of the governed, if, indeed, we ever did. But we did have the illusion, perhaps foolishly so in the face of the reality that has come to pass. We the people are now superfluous to the decisions made by the ruling elite in Washington, the state houses and city hall.
The United States of America that we thought we knew is gone, finished, kaput and we only have ourselves to blame.
Most of our fellow citizens, who continue to mouth platitudes to freedom and democracy, have not yet been bitten by the police state that grows more powerful by the day with the blessings of Republicans and Democrats alike.
We no longer have a country that operates on the consent of the governed, if, indeed, we ever did. But we did have the illusion, perhaps foolishly so in the face of the reality that has come to pass. We the people are now superfluous to the decisions made by the ruling elite in Washington, the state houses and city hall.
Bush administration expands the infrastructure of a police state
While claiming democracy and freedom as the goal of its invasion and occupation of Iraq, the Bush administration is moving step by step to restrict freedom and undermine democracy at home, building up the infrastructure of a police state with essentially unlimited powers to spy on, interrogate and arrest American citizens.
These measures have repeatedly received enthusiastic support from the Democratic and Republican politicians in Congress and from the federal courts: all three branches of the government joining in a concerted assault on the democratic rights of the American people.
The latest action was taken by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which voted unanimously May 1 to approve a huge increase in funding for spying activities by the US government, including authorization for the creation of a government-wide ?watch list? of suspected ?terrorists,? defined so broadly that virtually any immigrant from the Middle East or a predominantly Islamic country, and virtually any left-wing political opponent of American imperialism, could fall under suspicion.
While claiming democracy and freedom as the goal of its invasion and occupation of Iraq, the Bush administration is moving step by step to restrict freedom and undermine democracy at home, building up the infrastructure of a police state with essentially unlimited powers to spy on, interrogate and arrest American citizens.
These measures have repeatedly received enthusiastic support from the Democratic and Republican politicians in Congress and from the federal courts: all three branches of the government joining in a concerted assault on the democratic rights of the American people.
The latest action was taken by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which voted unanimously May 1 to approve a huge increase in funding for spying activities by the US government, including authorization for the creation of a government-wide ?watch list? of suspected ?terrorists,? defined so broadly that virtually any immigrant from the Middle East or a predominantly Islamic country, and virtually any left-wing political opponent of American imperialism, could fall under suspicion.
Monday, May 12, 2003
Lightning strikes again
An Etobicoke man who survived a lightning strike in 1998 was taken to hospital in critical condition last night after being struck a second time.
The 39-year-old was dubbed the Miracle Man in The Toronto Sun when he survived a bolt from the blue on June 30, 1998.
An Etobicoke man who survived a lightning strike in 1998 was taken to hospital in critical condition last night after being struck a second time.
The 39-year-old was dubbed the Miracle Man in The Toronto Sun when he survived a bolt from the blue on June 30, 1998.
Searchers baffled by report of ditched plane
Police and Tauranga Volunteer Coastguard remained baffled over the fate of a plane reported crashed into the sea about 15km off Pukehina Beach near Te Puke.
Three holidaymakers having breakfast on their deck about 9.30am called police after watching what they believed was a low-flying plane level out and splashing into the sea.
Their call sparked a major search but after three hours of scouring the sea for signs of survivors or wreckage, nothing which could have come from a plane or microlight was found.
Mr Murray said the matter had to be treated seriously because it was such a credible sighting of the aircraft which appeared to be heading in the direction of Whakatane.
Flight plans had been checked, all airports and private airstrips in Bay of Plenty contacted by police but no aircraft was overdue or had been reported missing.
Police and Tauranga Volunteer Coastguard remained baffled over the fate of a plane reported crashed into the sea about 15km off Pukehina Beach near Te Puke.
Three holidaymakers having breakfast on their deck about 9.30am called police after watching what they believed was a low-flying plane level out and splashing into the sea.
Their call sparked a major search but after three hours of scouring the sea for signs of survivors or wreckage, nothing which could have come from a plane or microlight was found.
Mr Murray said the matter had to be treated seriously because it was such a credible sighting of the aircraft which appeared to be heading in the direction of Whakatane.
Flight plans had been checked, all airports and private airstrips in Bay of Plenty contacted by police but no aircraft was overdue or had been reported missing.
Mercury makes rare appearanceMercury makes rare appearance
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The planet Mercury will pass between Earth and the sun today in a rare astronomic event that occurs only a dozen times in a century.
Observers in Asia, Africa and Europe will have the best view, but those in North America will only see the last 20 or 30 minutes of Mercury's five-hour-long trip across the sun, known to astronomers as a transit.
Mercury is too small -- about 1/160th the size of the Sun's diameter -- to be seen with unaided eyes, and direct telescope viewing of the transit is not recommended, because special precautions are needed to prevent permanent eye damage.
"People will see a small, perfectly round, black dot slowly moving across the solar disk," NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak said in a statement from Goddard Space Flight Centre outside Washington.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The planet Mercury will pass between Earth and the sun today in a rare astronomic event that occurs only a dozen times in a century.
Observers in Asia, Africa and Europe will have the best view, but those in North America will only see the last 20 or 30 minutes of Mercury's five-hour-long trip across the sun, known to astronomers as a transit.
Mercury is too small -- about 1/160th the size of the Sun's diameter -- to be seen with unaided eyes, and direct telescope viewing of the transit is not recommended, because special precautions are needed to prevent permanent eye damage.
"People will see a small, perfectly round, black dot slowly moving across the solar disk," NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak said in a statement from Goddard Space Flight Centre outside Washington.
Skeptics Say Shuttle Worn Out, Obsolete
As NASA picks up the pieces from the Columbia disaster and works on returning the three remaining space shuttles to flight, a growing chorus of skeptics is saying the 20-year-old space plane may have become unacceptably worn out and obsolete.
As NASA picks up the pieces from the Columbia disaster and works on returning the three remaining space shuttles to flight, a growing chorus of skeptics is saying the 20-year-old space plane may have become unacceptably worn out and obsolete.
Sunday, May 11, 2003
The two faces of Rumsfeld
2000: director of a company which wins $200m contract to sell nuclear reactors to North Korea
2002: declares North Korea a terrorist state, part of the axis of evil and a target for regime change
2000: director of a company which wins $200m contract to sell nuclear reactors to North Korea
2002: declares North Korea a terrorist state, part of the axis of evil and a target for regime change
Video of Bush being told of second airplane attack
By now you have all heard the strange story of how George Bush claimed to have seen the first plane hit the World Trade Tower on TV before going into a school room to read to some children. This is a strange story because there was no video of the first impact until a day later, when a video shot by a documentary film crew that captured the first impact surfaced.
Still stranger was Bush's reaction on being told of the second impact by Andy Card. There was none. Bush simply went on visiting with the school children and reading a story to them. For twenty minutes.
By now you have all heard the strange story of how George Bush claimed to have seen the first plane hit the World Trade Tower on TV before going into a school room to read to some children. This is a strange story because there was no video of the first impact until a day later, when a video shot by a documentary film crew that captured the first impact surfaced.
Still stranger was Bush's reaction on being told of the second impact by Andy Card. There was none. Bush simply went on visiting with the school children and reading a story to them. For twenty minutes.
An Interesting Day: President Bush's Movements and Actions on 9/11
Why, at 9:03am -- 15 minutes after it was clear the US was under terrorist attack -- did President Bush sit down with a classroom of second-graders and begin a 20-minute pre-planned photo op? No one knows the answer to that question. In fact, no one has even asked Bush about it.
Bush's actions on September 11 have been the subject of lively debate, mostly on the internet. Details reported that day and in the week after the attacks - both the media reports and accounts given by Bush himself - have changed radically over the past 18 months. Culling hundreds of reports from newspapers, magazines, and the internet has only made finding the "truth" of what happened and when it happened more confusing. In the changed political climate after 9/11, few have dared raise challenging questions about Bush's actions. A journalist who said Bush was "flying around the country like a scared child, seeking refuge in his mother's bed after having a nightmare" and another who said Bush "skedaddled" were fired. [Washington Post, 9/29/01 (B)] We should have a concise record of where President Bush was throughout the day the US was attacked, but we do not.
Why, at 9:03am -- 15 minutes after it was clear the US was under terrorist attack -- did President Bush sit down with a classroom of second-graders and begin a 20-minute pre-planned photo op? No one knows the answer to that question. In fact, no one has even asked Bush about it.
Bush's actions on September 11 have been the subject of lively debate, mostly on the internet. Details reported that day and in the week after the attacks - both the media reports and accounts given by Bush himself - have changed radically over the past 18 months. Culling hundreds of reports from newspapers, magazines, and the internet has only made finding the "truth" of what happened and when it happened more confusing. In the changed political climate after 9/11, few have dared raise challenging questions about Bush's actions. A journalist who said Bush was "flying around the country like a scared child, seeking refuge in his mother's bed after having a nightmare" and another who said Bush "skedaddled" were fired. [Washington Post, 9/29/01 (B)] We should have a concise record of where President Bush was throughout the day the US was attacked, but we do not.
Big Dicks up to no good: Cheney firm paid millions in bribes, Perle on the scam again
Richard Perle, an influential Pentagon adviser, was accused of a new conflict of interests after it was revealed that he had briefed investors on how to profit from a potential war with Iraq or North Korea after attending a classified intelligence meeting on the two countries.
Mr Perle, who declined to comment yesterday, resigned as chairman of the board in March after bad publicity concerning his links with the failed telecoms firm Global Crossing, which was seeking a favourable ruling from the Pentagon; his directorship of the UK intelligence firm Autonomy; and his meeting with Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi arms dealer, and another businessman who wanted to influence Washington's Iraq policies.
Richard Perle, an influential Pentagon adviser, was accused of a new conflict of interests after it was revealed that he had briefed investors on how to profit from a potential war with Iraq or North Korea after attending a classified intelligence meeting on the two countries.
Mr Perle, who declined to comment yesterday, resigned as chairman of the board in March after bad publicity concerning his links with the failed telecoms firm Global Crossing, which was seeking a favourable ruling from the Pentagon; his directorship of the UK intelligence firm Autonomy; and his meeting with Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi arms dealer, and another businessman who wanted to influence Washington's Iraq policies.
Friday, May 09, 2003
Asteroid Will Miss By A Whisker
An asteroid is heading in Earth's direction and is expected to come within spitting distance - in space terms.
Known as 2003 JD11, it measures 45 to 95 metres in diameter, and is travelling at nearly 15 kilometres a second.
Auckland's Stardome Observatory says while technically the asteroid's voyage is considered an astronomical near-miss, it will, in fact, be about three million kilometres away.
Spokesman Warren Hurley says a close watch is being kept on the space visitor, but it will be nine times further away than the moon, so there is no chance of being hit by it.
An bigger asteroid, due in July, will come a lot closer.
An asteroid is heading in Earth's direction and is expected to come within spitting distance - in space terms.
Known as 2003 JD11, it measures 45 to 95 metres in diameter, and is travelling at nearly 15 kilometres a second.
Auckland's Stardome Observatory says while technically the asteroid's voyage is considered an astronomical near-miss, it will, in fact, be about three million kilometres away.
Spokesman Warren Hurley says a close watch is being kept on the space visitor, but it will be nine times further away than the moon, so there is no chance of being hit by it.
An bigger asteroid, due in July, will come a lot closer.
Sunday, May 04, 2003
Possible media blackout on Russian UFO sighting
The entire Russian Baltic Fleet and a larg number or residents of Kaliningrad (formerly Koenigsburg), a city of over 3 million inhabitants, in the Russian Baltic enclave on the Baltic Sea, watched in awe as a "flying wing" shaped Unidentified Flying Object winged over rapidly and plunged into Kaliningrad Harbour at approximately 6:17 pm. Local Time. The event was caught on videotape by a local RTR Russian State Television news crew, which was present on the massive naval base, filming a documentary segment on the fleet for airing on Russian television. The Unidentified Flying Object, described as a "Flying Wing", with two enlongated, dome like protrusions on top, and three similar structures, underneath, was overflying the Baltic Fleet, which lay at anchor in Kaliningrad Harbour. According to a Russian Naval Commander, who wishes to remain annomyous, the craft was apparently caught, accidently, withing the sweep patterns of ship mounted search radars, which came on to track it?s progress, causing some sort of malfunction which resulted in the crash.
The entire Russian Baltic Fleet and a larg number or residents of Kaliningrad (formerly Koenigsburg), a city of over 3 million inhabitants, in the Russian Baltic enclave on the Baltic Sea, watched in awe as a "flying wing" shaped Unidentified Flying Object winged over rapidly and plunged into Kaliningrad Harbour at approximately 6:17 pm. Local Time. The event was caught on videotape by a local RTR Russian State Television news crew, which was present on the massive naval base, filming a documentary segment on the fleet for airing on Russian television. The Unidentified Flying Object, described as a "Flying Wing", with two enlongated, dome like protrusions on top, and three similar structures, underneath, was overflying the Baltic Fleet, which lay at anchor in Kaliningrad Harbour. According to a Russian Naval Commander, who wishes to remain annomyous, the craft was apparently caught, accidently, withing the sweep patterns of ship mounted search radars, which came on to track it?s progress, causing some sort of malfunction which resulted in the crash.
Parallel Universes and multiverses
Is there a copy of you reading this article? A person who is not you but who lives on a planet called Earth, with misty mountains, fertile fields and sprawling cities, in a solar system with eight other planets? The life of this person has been identical to yours in every respect. But perhaps he or she now decides to put down this article without finishing it, while you read on.
The idea of such an alter ego seems strange and implausible, but it looks as if we will just have to live with it, because it is supported by astronomical observations. The simplest and most popular cosmological model today predicts that you have a twin in a galaxy about 10 to the 1028 meters from here. This distance is so large that it is beyond astronomical, but that does not make your doppelg?nger any less real. The estimate is derived from elementary probability and does not even assume speculative modern physics, merely that space is infinite (or at least sufficiently large) in size and almost uniformly filled with matter, as observations indicate. In infinite space, even the most unlikely events must take place somewhere. There are infinitely many other inhabited planets, including not just one but infinitely many that have people with the same appearance, name and memories as you, who play out every possible permutation of your life choices.
Is there a copy of you reading this article? A person who is not you but who lives on a planet called Earth, with misty mountains, fertile fields and sprawling cities, in a solar system with eight other planets? The life of this person has been identical to yours in every respect. But perhaps he or she now decides to put down this article without finishing it, while you read on.
The idea of such an alter ego seems strange and implausible, but it looks as if we will just have to live with it, because it is supported by astronomical observations. The simplest and most popular cosmological model today predicts that you have a twin in a galaxy about 10 to the 1028 meters from here. This distance is so large that it is beyond astronomical, but that does not make your doppelg?nger any less real. The estimate is derived from elementary probability and does not even assume speculative modern physics, merely that space is infinite (or at least sufficiently large) in size and almost uniformly filled with matter, as observations indicate. In infinite space, even the most unlikely events must take place somewhere. There are infinitely many other inhabited planets, including not just one but infinitely many that have people with the same appearance, name and memories as you, who play out every possible permutation of your life choices.
Two killed in Iraq demo shooting
IT started when a young boy hurled a sandal at a US jeep - it ended with two Iraqis dead and 16 seriously injured.
I watched in horror as American troops opened fire on a crowd of 1,000 unarmed people here yesterday.
Many, including children, were cut down by a 20-second burst of automatic gunfire during a demonstration against the killing of 13 protesters at the Al-Kaahd school on Monday.
IT started when a young boy hurled a sandal at a US jeep - it ended with two Iraqis dead and 16 seriously injured.
I watched in horror as American troops opened fire on a crowd of 1,000 unarmed people here yesterday.
Many, including children, were cut down by a 20-second burst of automatic gunfire during a demonstration against the killing of 13 protesters at the Al-Kaahd school on Monday.
Key McVeigh Witness Testimony Questioned
Timothy McVeigh's Lawyers Never Learned of Questions Over Key Testimony in Okla. City Bomb Trial
Ten days before Timothy McVeigh was executed, lawyers for FBI lab employees sent an urgent letter to the attention of Attorney General John Ashcroft alleging that a key prosecution witness in the Oklahoma City bombing trial might have given false testimony about forensic evidence.
Timothy McVeigh's Lawyers Never Learned of Questions Over Key Testimony in Okla. City Bomb Trial
Ten days before Timothy McVeigh was executed, lawyers for FBI lab employees sent an urgent letter to the attention of Attorney General John Ashcroft alleging that a key prosecution witness in the Oklahoma City bombing trial might have given false testimony about forensic evidence.
Saturday, May 03, 2003
New sub-atomic particle confounds theory
A sub-atomic particle predicted to exist by physicists has been detected for the first time in a particle accelerator in California - but its properties do not fit with theory.
The particle, called Ds (2317), was discovered in the debris of collisions between other sub-atomic particles. But it has baffled and intrigued the 500 physicists working on the project.
They think the particle belongs to a family of eight particles known as the charm-strange mesons. Four of them have been found so far, all precisely fulfilling the theorists' predictions. But the mass of the newly found Ds particle is significantly smaller than expected, casting doubt on current theories of the nature of matter.
The discrepancy means physicists are confronted with a particle they predicted but cannot explain, says the University of Pisa's Marcello Giorgi, leader of the international BaBar project that made the discovery. "This has never happened before," he says. "It is very, very exciting".
A sub-atomic particle predicted to exist by physicists has been detected for the first time in a particle accelerator in California - but its properties do not fit with theory.
The particle, called Ds (2317), was discovered in the debris of collisions between other sub-atomic particles. But it has baffled and intrigued the 500 physicists working on the project.
They think the particle belongs to a family of eight particles known as the charm-strange mesons. Four of them have been found so far, all precisely fulfilling the theorists' predictions. But the mass of the newly found Ds particle is significantly smaller than expected, casting doubt on current theories of the nature of matter.
The discrepancy means physicists are confronted with a particle they predicted but cannot explain, says the University of Pisa's Marcello Giorgi, leader of the international BaBar project that made the discovery. "This has never happened before," he says. "It is very, very exciting".
Venice in the desert: Gilgamesh tomb believed found
Gilgamesh was believed to be two-thirds god, one-third human.
"We covered more than 100 hectares. We have found garden structures and field structures as described in the epic, and we found Babylonian houses."
But he said the most astonishing find was an incredibly sophisticated system of canals.
Gilgamesh was believed to be two-thirds god, one-third human.
"We covered more than 100 hectares. We have found garden structures and field structures as described in the epic, and we found Babylonian houses."
But he said the most astonishing find was an incredibly sophisticated system of canals.
Bush's 'Christian' Blood Cult
Bush mocked Tucker's appeal for clemency. In an interview with Talk magazine, Bush imitated Tucker's appeal for him to spare her life - pursing his lips, squinting his eyes, and in a squeaky voice saying, "Please don't kill me." That went too far for former GOP presidential candidate Gary Bauer, himself an evangelical Christian. "I think it is nothing short of unbelievable that the governor of a major state running for president thought it was acceptable to mock a woman he decided to put to death," said Bauer.
Bush mocked Tucker's appeal for clemency. In an interview with Talk magazine, Bush imitated Tucker's appeal for him to spare her life - pursing his lips, squinting his eyes, and in a squeaky voice saying, "Please don't kill me." That went too far for former GOP presidential candidate Gary Bauer, himself an evangelical Christian. "I think it is nothing short of unbelievable that the governor of a major state running for president thought it was acceptable to mock a woman he decided to put to death," said Bauer.
Thursday, April 24, 2003
The day the sky fell in
In the early fifth century, rampaging Goths swept through Italy. Inviolate for 1,100 years, Rome was sacked by the hordes in 410 AD. St Augustine's apologia, the City of God, set the tone for Christians for the next 16 centuries.
But the Rome of that era came close to suffering a far worse calamity. A small metallic asteroid descended from the sky, making a hypervelocity impact in an Apennine valley just 60 miles east of the city. This bus-sized lump of cosmic detritus vaporised as it hit the ground. In doing so, it released energy equivalent to around 200 kilotonnes of TNT: around 15 times the power of the atomic bomb that levelled Hiroshima in 1945.
In the early fifth century, rampaging Goths swept through Italy. Inviolate for 1,100 years, Rome was sacked by the hordes in 410 AD. St Augustine's apologia, the City of God, set the tone for Christians for the next 16 centuries.
But the Rome of that era came close to suffering a far worse calamity. A small metallic asteroid descended from the sky, making a hypervelocity impact in an Apennine valley just 60 miles east of the city. This bus-sized lump of cosmic detritus vaporised as it hit the ground. In doing so, it released energy equivalent to around 200 kilotonnes of TNT: around 15 times the power of the atomic bomb that levelled Hiroshima in 1945.
Bush election drive to tap September 11 memories
The Republican party has scheduled its 2004 party convention unusually late in the year so that the climactic moment when President Bush's re-election campaign begins will nearly coincide with the third anniversary of the September 11 attack, according to a report yesterday.
The New York convention, in late August and early September next year, will mark the formal launch of the re-election campaign, but unofficially it has already started. With the war in Iraq barely over, the president has already begun holding rallies in key swing states.
Its central theme has already become clear: the conflict between Mr Bush's popularity as a wartime leader and the national ambivalence towards his domestic policies, a political chasm which the Democrats will seek to exploit.
The Republican party has scheduled its 2004 party convention unusually late in the year so that the climactic moment when President Bush's re-election campaign begins will nearly coincide with the third anniversary of the September 11 attack, according to a report yesterday.
The New York convention, in late August and early September next year, will mark the formal launch of the re-election campaign, but unofficially it has already started. With the war in Iraq barely over, the president has already begun holding rallies in key swing states.
Its central theme has already become clear: the conflict between Mr Bush's popularity as a wartime leader and the national ambivalence towards his domestic policies, a political chasm which the Democrats will seek to exploit.
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
Weapons of mass distraction: Breast-feeding in a time of war
Deborah Wolfe, a Canadian citizen who was just breast-feeding her son and changing his diaper while en route between Houston and Vancouver, says her "subversive" actions led to her being threatened with detainment, RCMP involvement and legal charges for terrorist action against a U.S. citizen in international airspace while on an American flight during a time of war.
She says a man got out of his seat, walked over to hers and stood staring at her. She says she approached him afterward and twice asked if he had a problem with her feeding her son.
"He marched past me and to the very back of the cabin to talk to the flight attendant," she wrote. "He told her, 'This woman just assaulted me.' ... He then explained that the asking of two questions by a 'foreign national' in international airspace made him feel the victim of terror and as such he wanted to file an assault charge."
Deborah Wolfe, a Canadian citizen who was just breast-feeding her son and changing his diaper while en route between Houston and Vancouver, says her "subversive" actions led to her being threatened with detainment, RCMP involvement and legal charges for terrorist action against a U.S. citizen in international airspace while on an American flight during a time of war.
She says a man got out of his seat, walked over to hers and stood staring at her. She says she approached him afterward and twice asked if he had a problem with her feeding her son.
"He marched past me and to the very back of the cabin to talk to the flight attendant," she wrote. "He told her, 'This woman just assaulted me.' ... He then explained that the asking of two questions by a 'foreign national' in international airspace made him feel the victim of terror and as such he wanted to file an assault charge."
Police Investigate Cattle Mutilations
Mike Benes, a Valparaiso farmer, made an eerie discovery in his field 10 days ago. Benes lost three cows and one calf, at a financial cost of around $6,000. But, according to Benes, the money doesn't bother him.
Benes said he is more disturbed by how they were killed and mutilated. According to Benes, some of the cattle's sexual organs were missing.
"Both the hindquarters of the calf was taken, deboned, and they left the pelvis and hipbone intact," Benes said.
Benes also said that a part of one of the cow's udder was cut off.
Mike Benes, a Valparaiso farmer, made an eerie discovery in his field 10 days ago. Benes lost three cows and one calf, at a financial cost of around $6,000. But, according to Benes, the money doesn't bother him.
Benes said he is more disturbed by how they were killed and mutilated. According to Benes, some of the cattle's sexual organs were missing.
"Both the hindquarters of the calf was taken, deboned, and they left the pelvis and hipbone intact," Benes said.
Benes also said that a part of one of the cow's udder was cut off.
Thursday, April 17, 2003
Where are they now?
225 thousand republican guards (vanished)
176 thousand regular army personnel (vanished)
100 thousand saddam fedayeen (vanished)
14 thousands of mojahideen. (Suicidally brave fighters)
Normal police (vanished)
Firefighters (vanished)
Prisoners........ (vanished)
POW's .... (Kuwaitits and Americans )
150 Fixed wing jet fighters...
All in less than 24 hours
These forces were not vanquished in combat, nor their weapons destroyed and/or captured. The enemy suddenly vanished into thin air.
Our military is still not claiming total victory. What is the strategy that called for these forces to simply disappear? Until we can account for these units, we must remain vigiliant.
225 thousand republican guards (vanished)
176 thousand regular army personnel (vanished)
100 thousand saddam fedayeen (vanished)
14 thousands of mojahideen. (Suicidally brave fighters)
Normal police (vanished)
Firefighters (vanished)
Prisoners........ (vanished)
POW's .... (Kuwaitits and Americans )
150 Fixed wing jet fighters...
All in less than 24 hours
These forces were not vanquished in combat, nor their weapons destroyed and/or captured. The enemy suddenly vanished into thin air.
Our military is still not claiming total victory. What is the strategy that called for these forces to simply disappear? Until we can account for these units, we must remain vigiliant.
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
Hail destroys 18 000 homes in China
Hailstones the size of eggs crashed into an eastern Chinese province, destroying 18?000 homes and injuring more than 100 people, said state press and local officials on Monday.
The hailstorm hit on Saturday afternoon in Zhejiang province and lasted for 10 minutes, said an official with the surname of Chen from the rescue section of the bureau of civil affairs in Wenling city.
"Forty-two villages from two townships were stricken," he said. "The hailstones were the size of eggs, some up to 45mm big.
Hailstones the size of eggs crashed into an eastern Chinese province, destroying 18?000 homes and injuring more than 100 people, said state press and local officials on Monday.
The hailstorm hit on Saturday afternoon in Zhejiang province and lasted for 10 minutes, said an official with the surname of Chen from the rescue section of the bureau of civil affairs in Wenling city.
"Forty-two villages from two townships were stricken," he said. "The hailstones were the size of eggs, some up to 45mm big.
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
Gene mutation behind mysteries of human evolution
By 100,000 years ago, Homo sapiens had evolved on the continent of Africa. For 50,000 years, they were confined there, and they behaved just like H. neanderthalensis then inhabiting parts of Europe and H. erectus living in Asia. Then their behavior changed dramatically - and anthropologists aren't entirely certain what happened.
Richard Klein, a professor of anthropological sciences at Stanford, has an explanation, albeit a controversial one: ''I think there was a biological change - a genetic mutation of some kind that promoted the fully modern ability to create and innovate.'' Klein told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver.
By 100,000 years ago, Homo sapiens had evolved on the continent of Africa. For 50,000 years, they were confined there, and they behaved just like H. neanderthalensis then inhabiting parts of Europe and H. erectus living in Asia. Then their behavior changed dramatically - and anthropologists aren't entirely certain what happened.
Richard Klein, a professor of anthropological sciences at Stanford, has an explanation, albeit a controversial one: ''I think there was a biological change - a genetic mutation of some kind that promoted the fully modern ability to create and innovate.'' Klein told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver.
Researchers' discovery of electrostatic spin challenges century-old theory
In a discovery that is likely to impact fields as diverse as atomic physics, chemistry and nanotechnology, researchers have identified a new physical phenomenon, electrostatic rotation, that, in the absence of friction, leads to spin. Because the electric force is one of the fundamental forces of nature, this leap forward in understanding may help reveal how the smallest building blocks in nature react to form solids, liquids and gases that constitute the material world around us.
In a discovery that is likely to impact fields as diverse as atomic physics, chemistry and nanotechnology, researchers have identified a new physical phenomenon, electrostatic rotation, that, in the absence of friction, leads to spin. Because the electric force is one of the fundamental forces of nature, this leap forward in understanding may help reveal how the smallest building blocks in nature react to form solids, liquids and gases that constitute the material world around us.
50 years on: global consortium spells out the 3 billion letters of the genome
Fifty years after the discovery of the structure of DNA, scientists from six countries announce today another landmark: they have sequenced the entire genetic code of a human being, to an accuracy of 99.999%.
Almost three years ago an international consortium funded by charities and governments, and a US private venture, simultaneously announced the completion of the "first draft" of the human genome.
It was likened at the time to the landing on the moon, the sonnets of Shakespeare and the invention of the wheel, but there was a problem: they had raced through the 3bn chemical letters of the code of life, leaving bits incomplete and regions strewn with errors.
The challenge was then to complete the entire text of a representative human, with an error rate of less than one in 100,000 letters, before April 25, the 50th anniversary of the publication of the double helix structure of DNA.
Fifty years after the discovery of the structure of DNA, scientists from six countries announce today another landmark: they have sequenced the entire genetic code of a human being, to an accuracy of 99.999%.
Almost three years ago an international consortium funded by charities and governments, and a US private venture, simultaneously announced the completion of the "first draft" of the human genome.
It was likened at the time to the landing on the moon, the sonnets of Shakespeare and the invention of the wheel, but there was a problem: they had raced through the 3bn chemical letters of the code of life, leaving bits incomplete and regions strewn with errors.
The challenge was then to complete the entire text of a representative human, with an error rate of less than one in 100,000 letters, before April 25, the 50th anniversary of the publication of the double helix structure of DNA.
Possible michael moore dinner invite upsets white house officials
Fresh off his Bush-bashing speech at last month's Academy Awards, DirectorActivist Michael Moore may soon find his way in to the same room as President Bush -- at this year's White House Correspondents Dinner!
"We'd hope all invited guests remember it is a night to honor journalists covering the executive branch," a well-placed White House said.
Fresh off his Bush-bashing speech at last month's Academy Awards, DirectorActivist Michael Moore may soon find his way in to the same room as President Bush -- at this year's White House Correspondents Dinner!
"We'd hope all invited guests remember it is a night to honor journalists covering the executive branch," a well-placed White House said.
Monday, April 14, 2003
UNIVERSAL JOINT
A Brief History of the Multiverse
Imagine you can play God and fiddle with the settings of the great cosmic machine.
Turn this knob and make electrons a bit heavier; twiddle that one and make gravitation a trifle weaker. What would be the effect?
The universe would look very different - so different, in fact, that there wouldn't be anyone around to see the result, because the existence of life depends rather critically on the actual settings that Mother Nature selected. Scientists have long puzzled over this rather contrived state of affairs. Why is nature so ingeniously, one might even say suspiciously, friendly to life?
What do the laws of physics care about life and consciousness that they should conspire to make a hospitable universe? It's almost as if a Grand Designer had it all figured out.
The fashionable scientific response to this cosmic conundrum is to invoke the so-called multiverse theory. The idea here is that what we have hitherto been calling "the universe" is nothing of the sort. It is but a small component within a vast assemblage of other universes that together make up a "multiverse."
Imagine you can play God and fiddle with the settings of the great cosmic machine.
Turn this knob and make electrons a bit heavier; twiddle that one and make gravitation a trifle weaker. What would be the effect?
The universe would look very different - so different, in fact, that there wouldn't be anyone around to see the result, because the existence of life depends rather critically on the actual settings that Mother Nature selected. Scientists have long puzzled over this rather contrived state of affairs. Why is nature so ingeniously, one might even say suspiciously, friendly to life?
What do the laws of physics care about life and consciousness that they should conspire to make a hospitable universe? It's almost as if a Grand Designer had it all figured out.
The fashionable scientific response to this cosmic conundrum is to invoke the so-called multiverse theory. The idea here is that what we have hitherto been calling "the universe" is nothing of the sort. It is but a small component within a vast assemblage of other universes that together make up a "multiverse."
Thursday, April 10, 2003
Arab world dismayed at 'new colonialism'
The West may have watched the pictures of jubilant crowds in Baghdad with joy, but in the Arab world most people watched with dismay. Many turned their televisions off, unable to watch any more.
Many Arabs who opposed Saddam Hussein's regime saw in the television pictures not the toppling of a ruthless tyrant, but the conquest of Iraq by a foreign occupying army. The most telling moment came when American soldiers briefly draped a statue of President Saddam with a US flag. "This is a new colonialism," was one Palestinian's reaction.
It was a dichotomy that troubled Arabs across the Middle East. "The lesson should be clear for Arab regimes in other countries," one Palestinian journalist said. "There is a big distinction between the people and the regimes who control them with tyranny. The Iraqis understand that the Americans did not come as liberators but to take control of their oil."
The West may have watched the pictures of jubilant crowds in Baghdad with joy, but in the Arab world most people watched with dismay. Many turned their televisions off, unable to watch any more.
Many Arabs who opposed Saddam Hussein's regime saw in the television pictures not the toppling of a ruthless tyrant, but the conquest of Iraq by a foreign occupying army. The most telling moment came when American soldiers briefly draped a statue of President Saddam with a US flag. "This is a new colonialism," was one Palestinian's reaction.
It was a dichotomy that troubled Arabs across the Middle East. "The lesson should be clear for Arab regimes in other countries," one Palestinian journalist said. "There is a big distinction between the people and the regimes who control them with tyranny. The Iraqis understand that the Americans did not come as liberators but to take control of their oil."
Wednesday, April 09, 2003
Bush-Linked Company Handled Security for the WTC, Dulles and United
George W. Bush's brother was on the board of directors of a company providing electronic security for the World Trade Center, Dulles International Airport and United Airlines, according to public records. The company was backed by an investment firm, the Kuwait-American Corp., also linked for years to the Bush family.
The security company, formerly named Securacom and now named Stratesec, is in Sterling, Va.. Its CEO, Barry McDaniel, said the company had a ``completion contract" to handle some of the security at the World Trade Center ``up to the day the buildings fell down."
It also had a three-year contract to maintain electronic security systems at Dulles Airport, according to a Dulles contracting official. Securacom/Stratesec also handled some security for United Airlines in the 1990s, according to McDaniel, but it had been completed before his arriving on the board in 1998.
George W. Bush's brother was on the board of directors of a company providing electronic security for the World Trade Center, Dulles International Airport and United Airlines, according to public records. The company was backed by an investment firm, the Kuwait-American Corp., also linked for years to the Bush family.
The security company, formerly named Securacom and now named Stratesec, is in Sterling, Va.. Its CEO, Barry McDaniel, said the company had a ``completion contract" to handle some of the security at the World Trade Center ``up to the day the buildings fell down."
It also had a three-year contract to maintain electronic security systems at Dulles Airport, according to a Dulles contracting official. Securacom/Stratesec also handled some security for United Airlines in the 1990s, according to McDaniel, but it had been completed before his arriving on the board in 1998.
Tuesday, April 08, 2003
Get ready to receive the Mark of the Beast
Money won't be around anymore in just a few years, according to trend watchers. And the same globalist taxers that are already trying to confiscate your hard-earned money can't wait for the cashless era to begin.
The cashless society now envisioned goes beyond that. It would involve a digital system of currency where people can exchange credits and debits by computer "just as they would pass a $20 bill from one wallet to another,” explained an article June 20 in the Toronto Globe and Mail.
Money won't be around anymore in just a few years, according to trend watchers. And the same globalist taxers that are already trying to confiscate your hard-earned money can't wait for the cashless era to begin.
The cashless society now envisioned goes beyond that. It would involve a digital system of currency where people can exchange credits and debits by computer "just as they would pass a $20 bill from one wallet to another,” explained an article June 20 in the Toronto Globe and Mail.
CRG -- The CIA met Bin Laden while undergoing treatment at an American Hospital last July in Dubai
An article in the French daily Le Figaro confirms that Osama bin Laden underwent surgery in an American Hospital in Dubai in July.
During his stay in the hospital, he met with a CIA official. While on the World's "most wanted list", no attempt was made to arrest him during his two week stay in the hospital, shedding doubt on the Administration's resolve to track down Osama bin Laden.
An article in the French daily Le Figaro confirms that Osama bin Laden underwent surgery in an American Hospital in Dubai in July.
During his stay in the hospital, he met with a CIA official. While on the World's "most wanted list", no attempt was made to arrest him during his two week stay in the hospital, shedding doubt on the Administration's resolve to track down Osama bin Laden.
Citizen's rights trampled by FBI
Americans are taught that the Constitution protects them against arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, and that their freedom and these constitutional liberties are what they are fighting for in Iraq and elsewhere, yet one of their citizens can be taken from his home or office and held without charge for weeks or months.
Americans are taught that the Constitution protects them against arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, and that their freedom and these constitutional liberties are what they are fighting for in Iraq and elsewhere, yet one of their citizens can be taken from his home or office and held without charge for weeks or months.
Monday, April 07, 2003
Maths gets into shape with superformula
For centuries scientists have sought to express natural forms in mathematical terms. One simple equation can generate a vast diversity of natural shapes, a Belgian biologist has discovered. The Superformula, as its creator Johan Gielis has christened it, produces everything from simple triangles and pentagons, to stars, spirals and petals.
"When I found the formula, all these beautiful shapes came rolling out of my computer," says Gielis, at University of Nijmegen, Holland. "It seemed too good to be true - I spent two years thinking 'What did I do wrong?' and 'How come no one else has discovered it?'" Having spoken to mathematicians, he reckons that he's found something new.
The Superformula is a modified version of the equation for a circle.
For centuries scientists have sought to express natural forms in mathematical terms. One simple equation can generate a vast diversity of natural shapes, a Belgian biologist has discovered. The Superformula, as its creator Johan Gielis has christened it, produces everything from simple triangles and pentagons, to stars, spirals and petals.
"When I found the formula, all these beautiful shapes came rolling out of my computer," says Gielis, at University of Nijmegen, Holland. "It seemed too good to be true - I spent two years thinking 'What did I do wrong?' and 'How come no one else has discovered it?'" Having spoken to mathematicians, he reckons that he's found something new.
The Superformula is a modified version of the equation for a circle.
Sunday, April 06, 2003
Controversial Proposal Would Boost Solar System's Planet Tally to 12
In the same week that the planetary community learned a mission to Pluto has been approved, a hot debate has re-ignited over whether the small world deserves planetary status at all.
This time the argument is fueled by a newly proposed definition for planets that would instantly boost the solar system's tally to 12 or more by including one large, round asteroid and at least two faraway and icy brethren of Pluto.
In the same week that the planetary community learned a mission to Pluto has been approved, a hot debate has re-ignited over whether the small world deserves planetary status at all.
This time the argument is fueled by a newly proposed definition for planets that would instantly boost the solar system's tally to 12 or more by including one large, round asteroid and at least two faraway and icy brethren of Pluto.
Jupiter's Moon Count Soars to 52 with Four New Discoveries
The tally of Jovian moons has soared to 52 with the discovery of four small moons added to eight that were previously revealed last week. The total may represent roughly half of all the giant planet's satellites larger than 0.62 miles (1 kilometer).
The tally of Jovian moons has soared to 52 with the discovery of four small moons added to eight that were previously revealed last week. The total may represent roughly half of all the giant planet's satellites larger than 0.62 miles (1 kilometer).
Twin prime number breakthrough
"It's a brand new technique that opens the door. A lot of the excitement is we don't know how far this thing is going to go. There are going to be a lot of applications, I think. It's an incredible breakthrough."
Dan Goldston's paper is called Small Gaps Between Primes, and co-authored with Cem Yildirim. It places mathematicians closer to the tantalizing goal of identifying the frequency and location of twin primes.
"It's a brand new technique that opens the door. A lot of the excitement is we don't know how far this thing is going to go. There are going to be a lot of applications, I think. It's an incredible breakthrough."
Dan Goldston's paper is called Small Gaps Between Primes, and co-authored with Cem Yildirim. It places mathematicians closer to the tantalizing goal of identifying the frequency and location of twin primes.
Saturday, April 05, 2003
Why of course the people don't want war ...
"Why of course the people don't want war ... But after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship ... Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All?you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger."
-- Hermann Goering, Nazi leader, at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II
"Why of course the people don't want war ... But after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship ... Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All?you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger."
-- Hermann Goering, Nazi leader, at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II
'I saw the heads of my two little girls come off'
An Iraqi mother in a van fired on by US soldiers says she saw her two young daughters decapitated in the incident that also killed her son and eight other members of her family.
The children's father, who was also in the van, said US soldiers fired on them as they fled towards a checkpoint because they thought a leaflet dropped by US helicopters told them to "be safe", and they believed that meant getting out of their village to Karbala.
Bakhat Hassan - who lost his daughters, aged two and five, his three-year-old son, his parents, two older brothers, their wives and two nieces aged 12 and 15, in the incident - said US soldiers at an earlier checkpoint had waved them through.
An Iraqi mother in a van fired on by US soldiers says she saw her two young daughters decapitated in the incident that also killed her son and eight other members of her family.
The children's father, who was also in the van, said US soldiers fired on them as they fled towards a checkpoint because they thought a leaflet dropped by US helicopters told them to "be safe", and they believed that meant getting out of their village to Karbala.
Bakhat Hassan - who lost his daughters, aged two and five, his three-year-old son, his parents, two older brothers, their wives and two nieces aged 12 and 15, in the incident - said US soldiers at an earlier checkpoint had waved them through.
Thursday, April 03, 2003
Bugger the ten commandments, let's read between the lines
When the admistration keeps saying that they have "credible intelligence" that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction...you really have to wonder exactly how they got that intelligence.
Among the hundreds of meetings and briefings that took place in the Pentagons bowels in the months leading up to Operation Iraqi Freedom, one earned the fleeting disdain of The New York Times, whose columnist, Bill Keller, sniffed that "several man-hours of valuable intelligence-crunching time" had been "consumed [by a writer] who claims -- I am not making this up -- that messages encoded in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament provide clues to the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden.
When the admistration keeps saying that they have "credible intelligence" that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction...you really have to wonder exactly how they got that intelligence.
Among the hundreds of meetings and briefings that took place in the Pentagons bowels in the months leading up to Operation Iraqi Freedom, one earned the fleeting disdain of The New York Times, whose columnist, Bill Keller, sniffed that "several man-hours of valuable intelligence-crunching time" had been "consumed [by a writer] who claims -- I am not making this up -- that messages encoded in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament provide clues to the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden.
Emperor George and his thoroughly un-American war
Until now. George Bush has cast off the restraint which held back America's 42 previous presidents - including his father. Now he is seeking, as an unashamed objective, to get into the empire business, aiming to rule a post-Saddam Iraq directly through an American governor-general, the retired soldier Jay Garner. As the Guardian reported yesterday, Washington's plan for Baghdad consists of 23 ministries - each one to be headed by an American. This is a form of foreign rule so direct we have not seen its like since the last days of the British empire. It represents a break with everything America has long believed in.
Until now. George Bush has cast off the restraint which held back America's 42 previous presidents - including his father. Now he is seeking, as an unashamed objective, to get into the empire business, aiming to rule a post-Saddam Iraq directly through an American governor-general, the retired soldier Jay Garner. As the Guardian reported yesterday, Washington's plan for Baghdad consists of 23 ministries - each one to be headed by an American. This is a form of foreign rule so direct we have not seen its like since the last days of the British empire. It represents a break with everything America has long believed in.
Wednesday, April 02, 2003
Verichip's ID technology described
Made by Applied Digital Solutions (ADS), the VeriChip stores six lines
of text and is slightly larger than a grain of rice. It emits a 125-kHz
radio frequency signal that can be picked up by a special scanner up to
four feet away.
The company initially plans to market the chip in the United States as a
medical device that would allow hospital workers to simply scan a
patient's body in an emergency situation to access their health record.
Made by Applied Digital Solutions (ADS), the VeriChip stores six lines
of text and is slightly larger than a grain of rice. It emits a 125-kHz
radio frequency signal that can be picked up by a special scanner up to
four feet away.
The company initially plans to market the chip in the United States as a
medical device that would allow hospital workers to simply scan a
patient's body in an emergency situation to access their health record.
ID chips in your clothes
A trend that could make you think twice before buying new clothes. Tiny specks capable of tracking virtually every single item are now being imbedded by manufacturers. This Orwellian technology, called RFID (radio frequency ID) will now be used by Italian clothing designer Benetton in the form of trackable chips woven into it's apparel. The chips, which function as itty bitty radio transmitters will be inserted when the clothes are made and will remain intact throughout the life of the garment. According to chip manufacturer Philips Electronics, the devices will be "imperceptible" to the wearer.
A trend that could make you think twice before buying new clothes. Tiny specks capable of tracking virtually every single item are now being imbedded by manufacturers. This Orwellian technology, called RFID (radio frequency ID) will now be used by Italian clothing designer Benetton in the form of trackable chips woven into it's apparel. The chips, which function as itty bitty radio transmitters will be inserted when the clothes are made and will remain intact throughout the life of the garment. According to chip manufacturer Philips Electronics, the devices will be "imperceptible" to the wearer.
You didn't fire a warning shot soon enough, says US captain
A journalist's account of the killing of a car full of Iraqi civilians by US soldiers differs widely from the official military version, says The Guardian's Brian Whitaker. The invasion forces suffered another self-inflicted disaster in the battle for hearts and minds yesterday when soldiers from the US 3rd infantry division shot dead Iraqi seven women and children.
A journalist's account of the killing of a car full of Iraqi civilians by US soldiers differs widely from the official military version, says The Guardian's Brian Whitaker. The invasion forces suffered another self-inflicted disaster in the battle for hearts and minds yesterday when soldiers from the US 3rd infantry division shot dead Iraqi seven women and children.
Volunteers stream into Iraq to help oust coalition
Despite American warnings, in the last few days Damascus has expedited the passage of volunteers wishing to join the Iraqis in their war against the Americans, Haaretz said Tuesday in an exclusive report, according to which thousands of volunteer, most of them Syrians, are thronging to the Mosul and Kirkuk regions in north Iraq.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has accused Damascus of transferring weapons to Iraq, but did not mention the volunteers. On Monday the United States warned Syria and Iran again not to cooperate with terrorism and with Saddam Hussein's regime.
Despite American warnings, in the last few days Damascus has expedited the passage of volunteers wishing to join the Iraqis in their war against the Americans, Haaretz said Tuesday in an exclusive report, according to which thousands of volunteer, most of them Syrians, are thronging to the Mosul and Kirkuk regions in north Iraq.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has accused Damascus of transferring weapons to Iraq, but did not mention the volunteers. On Monday the United States warned Syria and Iran again not to cooperate with terrorism and with Saddam Hussein's regime.
Monday, March 31, 2003
Epidemic kills scientist who helped discover it
Carlo Urbani, the scientist who discovered the first clue that a dangerous new microbe was beginning to spread around the globe, succumbed yesterday in a Bangkok hospital bed to the frightening disease he alerted the world to.
It was Urbani, an Italian epidemiologist at the World Health Organization's office in Hanoi, who first responded last month when anxious hospital officials phoned to report that a sick U.S. businessman was infecting doctors and nurses with a strange pneumonia. Within days, Urbani himself fell ill.
"Carlo was the one who very quickly saw that this was something very strange. When people became very concerned in the hospital, he was there every day," said Pascale Brudon, the WHO representative in Hanoi. "We are all devastated."
The disease is the first dangerous new infection that spreads directly from one person to another to emerge in decades.
By the time the sick Chinese American businessman, Johnny Cheng, made it to the French Hospital in Hanoi on Feb. 26, he was already deathly ill. It looked like pneumonia, but Cheng's high fever, cough and other symptoms worried doctors. Cheng had just flown in from Hong Kong, where a father and son had recently died from the "bird flu," a deadly bug that experts long feared might spark a pandemic rivaling the Spanish flu of 1918-19, which killed as many as 50 million people.
Urbani called his regional supervisor in Manila.
"He was reporting a probable case of bird flu," said WHO spokesman Dick Thompson, who happened to be where the phone rang on March 5. He was sitting at the desk of a colleague who had been dispatched to Beijing to persuade officials to be less secretive about a mysterious outbreak in Guangdong province in southern China. Since early February, WHO had been hearing reports that hundreds of people were getting sick with what sounded like a strange form of pneumonia. Officials worried that it, too, might be bird flu.
Unbeknownst to health authorities at the time, Cheng, 48, had traveled in Guangdong and is believed to have stayed at the Metropole Hotel in Hong Kong during the same time as a 64-year-old Chinese professor who had been treating patients in Guangdong. The professor, in Hong Kong for a wedding, had checked into Room 911.
Carlo Urbani, the scientist who discovered the first clue that a dangerous new microbe was beginning to spread around the globe, succumbed yesterday in a Bangkok hospital bed to the frightening disease he alerted the world to.
It was Urbani, an Italian epidemiologist at the World Health Organization's office in Hanoi, who first responded last month when anxious hospital officials phoned to report that a sick U.S. businessman was infecting doctors and nurses with a strange pneumonia. Within days, Urbani himself fell ill.
"Carlo was the one who very quickly saw that this was something very strange. When people became very concerned in the hospital, he was there every day," said Pascale Brudon, the WHO representative in Hanoi. "We are all devastated."
The disease is the first dangerous new infection that spreads directly from one person to another to emerge in decades.
By the time the sick Chinese American businessman, Johnny Cheng, made it to the French Hospital in Hanoi on Feb. 26, he was already deathly ill. It looked like pneumonia, but Cheng's high fever, cough and other symptoms worried doctors. Cheng had just flown in from Hong Kong, where a father and son had recently died from the "bird flu," a deadly bug that experts long feared might spark a pandemic rivaling the Spanish flu of 1918-19, which killed as many as 50 million people.
Urbani called his regional supervisor in Manila.
"He was reporting a probable case of bird flu," said WHO spokesman Dick Thompson, who happened to be where the phone rang on March 5. He was sitting at the desk of a colleague who had been dispatched to Beijing to persuade officials to be less secretive about a mysterious outbreak in Guangdong province in southern China. Since early February, WHO had been hearing reports that hundreds of people were getting sick with what sounded like a strange form of pneumonia. Officials worried that it, too, might be bird flu.
Unbeknownst to health authorities at the time, Cheng, 48, had traveled in Guangdong and is believed to have stayed at the Metropole Hotel in Hong Kong during the same time as a 64-year-old Chinese professor who had been treating patients in Guangdong. The professor, in Hong Kong for a wedding, had checked into Room 911.
War coverage could alter US media policy
Reporting may influence debate about ownership; More consolidation coming. FCC to decide soon on any rules changes.
News coverage of the war in Iraq, unprecedented in its frequency and immediacy, may influence something long after the war concludes: Who gets to own the media that provide the news?
Reporting may influence debate about ownership; More consolidation coming. FCC to decide soon on any rules changes.
News coverage of the war in Iraq, unprecedented in its frequency and immediacy, may influence something long after the war concludes: Who gets to own the media that provide the news?
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