What type of Philosopher are you?
A question I'm sure everyone out there has pondered at great length. Luckily, now you can find out! Here's now mine turned out:
Spinoza 100%
Aquinas 98%
Kant 94%
JS Mill 81%
...
Plato 42%
Hobbes 20%
Cynics 19%
Hume 13%
And if you thought that internet dating wasn't worth it, you should check out this story about a guy who got a little more than he bargained for.
It's been a big day for Tony Blair. First, he narrowly (316-311) wins a vote implementing increases in tuition to university, preventing a defeat that would have seriously embarrassed him and his government. Secondly, the Hutton Inquiry report came back today, clearing the Blair government and criticizing the BBC for its poor coverage of the WMD story. The BBC now famously called the government's WMD report 'sexed up,' causing the government to demand the identity of the BBC's informant, which eventually led to the informant committing suicide before being revealed.
The Christian Science Monitor has some pretty good stories today. The first one I read was one about how Christians and Muslims are trying to work out their differences in Sudan after a 20-year civil war between the two groups. Secondly a story about how the federal deficit is interfering with the Bush administration's plans. This problem will only be aggravated if the administration is successful in making the current tax cuts permanent. Finally, an article exploring the future of Iraq's Kurdish population.
Yasser Arafat and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher are getting together to talk about a cease-fire between the PLO and Israel. This however comes at the same time that the IDF has requested a change in the rules of engagement so that they are able to shoot live fire at stone-throwers. As if the IDF doesn't have enough PR problems as it is in the international community. The quote that most fully showed the problem of this request came from a supporter:
"We all know the story of David and Goliath and what killed him," Uli said. "They are kids. They throw stones and run away. I think that if they could get shot in the leg for this then they will stop."
Yeah, either that or you'll accidentally shoot them in the chest and kill them. Killing children who were throwing rocks always makes for good relations with the Palestinians, not to mention the rest of the world.
It seems that the EU has gotten over some of its fear when it comes to Genetically Modified Organisms, as the European Commission has approved the import of a GMO crop. Although its unclear whether or not GMO food is damaging to humans, you have to like this article just for the picture of the 'evil corn' put up by protesters.
Finally, the Martin government has announced that it will expand some questions concerning same sex marriage legislation that it send to the Supreme Court. This change adds a clear question as to whether a traditional definition of marriage violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The three original questions posed to the Court were:
1) Does Parliament have the exclusive legislative authority to change the legal definition of marriage?
2) Is extending the capacity to marry to persons of the same sex consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
3) Does the Charter protect religious officials "from being compelled to perform a marriage between two persons of the same sex that is contrary to their religious beliefs."
The ruling on the question was expected on April 16th, but will now be delayed until the fall with the addition -- perfect for Paul Martin who wanted to call an election in April but didn't want the issue to be on the table. Independent of that though, I'm sort of anxiously awaiting the Court's decision on this case.
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Let it snow
It took me half an hour to drive 3 miles to work today. If that's not fun times, I don't know what is. Luckily I don't live in Woodridge like a coworker of mine -- it took him over two hours. On the other hand, I did go to the Shedd Aquarium this weekend when it wasn't all snowy (although exceptionally cold), and despite the rather steep ($21) entry fee, it was very much worth it.
Starting off in science news, it appears that the Mars landers have collected evidence that some rocks and Mars might be sedimentary, meaning they might have been formed by water. Closer to home though, we have an article about a very talkative parrot. Not only does this parrot have a vocabulary of 950 words, but also creates new words/phrases when confronted with an experience that he hasn't come across. Finally, the new Canadian Minister of Transportation, Jim Karygiannis, has been toying with the idea of giving some kind of government rebate to people to purchase hybrid cars. Given that these cars are more expensive than their gasoline only powered counterparts, I believe that the government should step in and promote their use my making up part or all of the differential. Maybe the Canadian government can use the money they saved by not joining the 'coalition of the willing.'
There are two major stories about countries trying to improve relations today. First we have India and Pakistan, who will have three days of talks in Islamabad next month to discuss Kashmir and other issues. This is somewhat perfect timing for Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who just passed a resolution to dissolve Parliament for national elections.
The other two countries getting together are France and China, where Chinese President Hu Jintao is going to address the National Assembly marking 40 years of diplomatic relations. The purpose of the trip is both economic and political -- China and France are hoping to cooperate to counterbalance the power of the United States. France, unfortunately, is also pushing to have an EU embargo on selling arms to China lifted. This embargo was established after the human rights abuses surrounding the student protests in Tiananmen Square. Luckily there are other EU countries such as Sweden who believe (correctly, in my opinion) that the human rights situation in China has not improved to the point where it warrants ending the embargo. China isn't getting love from everyone in France, as some 15 French MPs are planning to boycott the Chinese President's address specifically because of human rights concerns. I think this whole situation turns out fairly well, since we have here both some constructive engagement with the Chinese government, but still have some reminders that China's human rights situation is far from perfect.
Finally, there were two other big human rights stories in the news today. First, the United States Supreme Court has announced that it will rule on whether people under the age of 18 can be given the death penalty. Secondly, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has received a guilty plea from former Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic for crimes against humanity after an extensive plea-bargaining session. After all of the crimes that went untried in previous conflicts, it's good to see that there is now some accountability during times of war for leaders. This is exactly what the International Criminal Court will achieve on a larger scale in the future.
It took me half an hour to drive 3 miles to work today. If that's not fun times, I don't know what is. Luckily I don't live in Woodridge like a coworker of mine -- it took him over two hours. On the other hand, I did go to the Shedd Aquarium this weekend when it wasn't all snowy (although exceptionally cold), and despite the rather steep ($21) entry fee, it was very much worth it.
Starting off in science news, it appears that the Mars landers have collected evidence that some rocks and Mars might be sedimentary, meaning they might have been formed by water. Closer to home though, we have an article about a very talkative parrot. Not only does this parrot have a vocabulary of 950 words, but also creates new words/phrases when confronted with an experience that he hasn't come across. Finally, the new Canadian Minister of Transportation, Jim Karygiannis, has been toying with the idea of giving some kind of government rebate to people to purchase hybrid cars. Given that these cars are more expensive than their gasoline only powered counterparts, I believe that the government should step in and promote their use my making up part or all of the differential. Maybe the Canadian government can use the money they saved by not joining the 'coalition of the willing.'
There are two major stories about countries trying to improve relations today. First we have India and Pakistan, who will have three days of talks in Islamabad next month to discuss Kashmir and other issues. This is somewhat perfect timing for Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who just passed a resolution to dissolve Parliament for national elections.
The other two countries getting together are France and China, where Chinese President Hu Jintao is going to address the National Assembly marking 40 years of diplomatic relations. The purpose of the trip is both economic and political -- China and France are hoping to cooperate to counterbalance the power of the United States. France, unfortunately, is also pushing to have an EU embargo on selling arms to China lifted. This embargo was established after the human rights abuses surrounding the student protests in Tiananmen Square. Luckily there are other EU countries such as Sweden who believe (correctly, in my opinion) that the human rights situation in China has not improved to the point where it warrants ending the embargo. China isn't getting love from everyone in France, as some 15 French MPs are planning to boycott the Chinese President's address specifically because of human rights concerns. I think this whole situation turns out fairly well, since we have here both some constructive engagement with the Chinese government, but still have some reminders that China's human rights situation is far from perfect.
Finally, there were two other big human rights stories in the news today. First, the United States Supreme Court has announced that it will rule on whether people under the age of 18 can be given the death penalty. Secondly, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has received a guilty plea from former Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic for crimes against humanity after an extensive plea-bargaining session. After all of the crimes that went untried in previous conflicts, it's good to see that there is now some accountability during times of war for leaders. This is exactly what the International Criminal Court will achieve on a larger scale in the future.
Time to upgrade the hard drive
According to NASA, the recent problems with the Spirit rover might have been caused by storing too many files that were accumulated when conducting experiments. Maybe they should defrag too since they're cleaning up the old files...
In a small but somewhat telling incident showing the problems of Islamic integration into European society, a teacher in England today was accused of assaulting a Muslim student, attempting to take of her headscarf and demeaning her religion. This unfortunate incident does speak to the larger issues faced by a European culture dealing with immigration from Islamic countries, epitomized by the ongoing debate in France over the proposed banning of religious paraphernalia from public schools.
A British Columbia cabinet minister has recently announced that he is the first person in his position to marry someone of the same sex after the BC supreme court made same sex marriage legal in July 2003. Note to some select people out there: the world is still spinning.
A recent Swedish study shows that there is no link between having an abortion and an increased chance of developing breast cancer. This has apparently been an argument used by pro-life organizations, but researchers in this study say that even though some studies have shown a slight relationship, the overall evidence is weak.
Human Rights Watch slammed the Bush administration for trying to retroactively justify the war as an effort to improve human rights. More interestingly, the report stated that although the Iraqi administration was particularly brutal, it did not conduct any mass actions against its people that would make necessary humanitarian intervention. It also warned that the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan was deteriorating over the year and that the war on terror has caused human rights violations in Chechnya to be ignored. I feel I need to quote from the report, as it makes very interesting points. Here is part of the preamble to their case for opposing the war. In addition, I would suggest checking out the whole thing.
"Because the Iraq war was not mainly about saving the Iraqi people from mass slaughter, and because no such slaughter was then ongoing or imminent, Human Rights Watch at the time took no position for or against the war. A humanitarian rationale was occasionally offered for the war, but it was so plainly subsidiary to other reasons that we felt no need to address it. Indeed, if Saddam Hussein had been overthrown and the issue of weapons of mass destruction reliably dealt with, there clearly would have been no war, even if the successor government were just as repressive. Some argued that Human Rights Watch should support a war launched on other grounds if it would arguably lead to significant human rights improvements. But the substantial risk that wars guided by non-humanitarian goals will endanger human rights keeps us from adopting that position.
Over time, the principal justifications originally given for the Iraq war lost much of their force. More than seven months after the declared end of major hostilities, weapons of mass destruction have not been found. No significant prewar link between Saddam Hussein and international terrorism has been discovered. The difficulty of establishing stable institutions in Iraq is making the country an increasingly unlikely staging ground for promoting democracy in the Middle East. As time elapses, the Bush administration's dominant remaining justification for the war is that Saddam Hussein was a tyrant who deserved to be overthrown an argument of humanitarian intervention. The administration is now citing this rationale not simply as a side benefit of the war but also as a prime justification for it. Other reasons are still regularly mentioned, but the humanitarian one has gained prominence.
Does that claim hold up to scrutiny? The question is not simply whether Saddam Hussein was a ruthless leader; he most certainly was. Rather, the question is whether the conditions were present that would justify humanitarian intervention conditions that look at more than the level of repression. If so, honesty would require conceding as much, despite the war's global unpopularity. If not, it is important to say so as well, since allowing the arguments of humanitarian intervention to serve as a pretext for war fought mainly on other grounds risks tainting a principle whose viability might be essential to save countless lives.
In examining whether the invasion of Iraq could properly be understood as a humanitarian intervention, our purpose is not to say whether the U.S.-led coalition should have gone to war for other reasons. That, as noted, involves judgments beyond our mandate. Rather, now that the war's proponents are relying so significantly on a humanitarian rationale for the war, the need to assess this claim has grown in importance. We conclude that, despite the horrors of Saddam Hussein's rule, the invasion of Iraq cannot be justified as a humanitarian intervention."
Finally, in breaking news, a Canadian soldier has been killed and three injured in Kabul after a suicide bomb attack. This represents the first casualties for Canada in Afghanistan since October, when two Canadian soldiers were killed in a landmine explosion. May all of our prayers go out to their families in this difficult moment.
According to NASA, the recent problems with the Spirit rover might have been caused by storing too many files that were accumulated when conducting experiments. Maybe they should defrag too since they're cleaning up the old files...
In a small but somewhat telling incident showing the problems of Islamic integration into European society, a teacher in England today was accused of assaulting a Muslim student, attempting to take of her headscarf and demeaning her religion. This unfortunate incident does speak to the larger issues faced by a European culture dealing with immigration from Islamic countries, epitomized by the ongoing debate in France over the proposed banning of religious paraphernalia from public schools.
A British Columbia cabinet minister has recently announced that he is the first person in his position to marry someone of the same sex after the BC supreme court made same sex marriage legal in July 2003. Note to some select people out there: the world is still spinning.
A recent Swedish study shows that there is no link between having an abortion and an increased chance of developing breast cancer. This has apparently been an argument used by pro-life organizations, but researchers in this study say that even though some studies have shown a slight relationship, the overall evidence is weak.
Human Rights Watch slammed the Bush administration for trying to retroactively justify the war as an effort to improve human rights. More interestingly, the report stated that although the Iraqi administration was particularly brutal, it did not conduct any mass actions against its people that would make necessary humanitarian intervention. It also warned that the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan was deteriorating over the year and that the war on terror has caused human rights violations in Chechnya to be ignored. I feel I need to quote from the report, as it makes very interesting points. Here is part of the preamble to their case for opposing the war. In addition, I would suggest checking out the whole thing.
"Because the Iraq war was not mainly about saving the Iraqi people from mass slaughter, and because no such slaughter was then ongoing or imminent, Human Rights Watch at the time took no position for or against the war. A humanitarian rationale was occasionally offered for the war, but it was so plainly subsidiary to other reasons that we felt no need to address it. Indeed, if Saddam Hussein had been overthrown and the issue of weapons of mass destruction reliably dealt with, there clearly would have been no war, even if the successor government were just as repressive. Some argued that Human Rights Watch should support a war launched on other grounds if it would arguably lead to significant human rights improvements. But the substantial risk that wars guided by non-humanitarian goals will endanger human rights keeps us from adopting that position.
Over time, the principal justifications originally given for the Iraq war lost much of their force. More than seven months after the declared end of major hostilities, weapons of mass destruction have not been found. No significant prewar link between Saddam Hussein and international terrorism has been discovered. The difficulty of establishing stable institutions in Iraq is making the country an increasingly unlikely staging ground for promoting democracy in the Middle East. As time elapses, the Bush administration's dominant remaining justification for the war is that Saddam Hussein was a tyrant who deserved to be overthrown an argument of humanitarian intervention. The administration is now citing this rationale not simply as a side benefit of the war but also as a prime justification for it. Other reasons are still regularly mentioned, but the humanitarian one has gained prominence.
Does that claim hold up to scrutiny? The question is not simply whether Saddam Hussein was a ruthless leader; he most certainly was. Rather, the question is whether the conditions were present that would justify humanitarian intervention conditions that look at more than the level of repression. If so, honesty would require conceding as much, despite the war's global unpopularity. If not, it is important to say so as well, since allowing the arguments of humanitarian intervention to serve as a pretext for war fought mainly on other grounds risks tainting a principle whose viability might be essential to save countless lives.
In examining whether the invasion of Iraq could properly be understood as a humanitarian intervention, our purpose is not to say whether the U.S.-led coalition should have gone to war for other reasons. That, as noted, involves judgments beyond our mandate. Rather, now that the war's proponents are relying so significantly on a humanitarian rationale for the war, the need to assess this claim has grown in importance. We conclude that, despite the horrors of Saddam Hussein's rule, the invasion of Iraq cannot be justified as a humanitarian intervention."
Finally, in breaking news, a Canadian soldier has been killed and three injured in Kabul after a suicide bomb attack. This represents the first casualties for Canada in Afghanistan since October, when two Canadian soldiers were killed in a landmine explosion. May all of our prayers go out to their families in this difficult moment.
New feature!
I have now added an XML feed to the blog. You will need an RSS reader to use it, but it should (assuming that everything works correctly) allow you to catch up with new articles at your leisure.
I have now added an XML feed to the blog. You will need an RSS reader to use it, but it should (assuming that everything works correctly) allow you to catch up with new articles at your leisure.
Monday, January 26, 2004
Just a quick one...
I don't have a lot of time today, so I'll just summarize a few interesting things I came across:
- The UN warns Israel over the demolition of Palestinian housing.
- Hamid Karzai signs the new Afghan constitution, paving the way for elections.
- In what seems to be a space exploration in other countries series, the New York Times has an article about India's space program.
- Iran will put al-Qaida suspects on trial.
- The Iranian parliament approved changes to electoral law preventing the Guardian Council from disqualifying sitting MPs unless they had been convicted of a criminal offence. Unfortunately, the Guardian Council vetoed the bill.
- NASA has taken some more cool Mars pictures.
- The Guardian wonders if water necessarily equals life.
- A German company announces that it will build the world's largest solar power plant.
- Scientists rebuff the argument that recent climate change is caused by variations in cosmic rays as opposed to human activities.
- An Economist article on the problems Canada faces with a high value currency.
- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called on India to join forces with his country to change the way in which global trade is conducted.
I don't have a lot of time today, so I'll just summarize a few interesting things I came across:
- The UN warns Israel over the demolition of Palestinian housing.
- Hamid Karzai signs the new Afghan constitution, paving the way for elections.
- In what seems to be a space exploration in other countries series, the New York Times has an article about India's space program.
- Iran will put al-Qaida suspects on trial.
- The Iranian parliament approved changes to electoral law preventing the Guardian Council from disqualifying sitting MPs unless they had been convicted of a criminal offence. Unfortunately, the Guardian Council vetoed the bill.
- NASA has taken some more cool Mars pictures.
- The Guardian wonders if water necessarily equals life.
- A German company announces that it will build the world's largest solar power plant.
- Scientists rebuff the argument that recent climate change is caused by variations in cosmic rays as opposed to human activities.
- An Economist article on the problems Canada faces with a high value currency.
- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called on India to join forces with his country to change the way in which global trade is conducted.
Friday, January 23, 2004
Water water everywhere?
In new pictures by the European Space Agency's probe Mars Express, currently circling the Red Planet, details of what seem to be channels cut by water appear clearly. More importantly, they have discovered the presence of water in the atmosphere and in the southern polar cap's soil. This is just the beginning though. Outfitted with many instruments, the orbiter has plans to map the mineral composition of the surface, map the composition of the atmosphere and its circulation, and determine the interaction of the atmosphere with the solar winds, just to name a few tasks that it will perform in the coming months.
China has gotten some press for their push towards the Moon, but the New York Times today wrote a detailed piece about another country's attempts to develop their own space program: Brazil. The story illustrates the technical difficulties developing countries have in pursuing their goals on slim budgets, a fact which was partly to blame for the explosion of a Brazilian rocket last August that killed 21 of the country's top scientists and technicians working on the program.
Paul Martin seems to be busy these days. Canada agreed to cancel the $750 million dollars in debt owed by Iraq to aid in the development of the country. In addition, he scheduled his first First Minister's Conference where he will discuss heath care and Canada-U.S. relations with the Premiers. Finally, and as promised, he delivered his speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos on the topic of global poverty.
Global poverty and economic development received a good deal of attention today, as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also spoke to the WEF in Davos on this issue, asking business leaders to commit to a larger role in alleviating the problem and reminding Western nations that the focus on security after 9/11 did not abdicate them from their responsibilities to poorer nations. Germany announced this week that they had increased international development investment to developing countries by 9% in 2003. This announcement comes in the middle of a four-country tour of Africa made by German councilor Gerhard Schröder in an attempt to show that there are many opportunities available for investment in economic, political and social capital.
Not all is happy with Canada though, especially when it comes to one of its citizens, Maher Arar. Mr. Arar, a Syrian-born resident of Canada who holds dual citizenship, reported today that he is suing John Ashcroft, Tom Ridge and Robert Muller after he was forcefully deported from the United States to Syria instead of Canada after passing through JFK airport on his way home from vacation in Tunisia. He was then held and tortured by Syrian authorities for 10 months. He claims that the United States government deported him to Syria because they knew that torture was inevitable, as the State Department has regarded Syria for many years as a country where violations of human rights, including torture, were common. He has not asked for a specific amount of money in the suit, claiming that it is more important to him that he clears his name as a suspected terrorist.
In a broader and important legal issue issue, the Supreme Court is preparing to take up the cases of 'enemy combatants' who are being held indefinitely in Guantanamo Bay and military brigs on the mainland. They plan to examine whether President Bush has the constitutional authority to enforce these detentions. This case is especially important in the cases of Yaser Hamdi and Jose Padilla, both of whom are U.S. citizens and theoretically should be have the full protection of the American legal system.
In updates from previous stories:
- Despite the reports of corruption and his refusal to speak about his relationship to his now convicted briber, Ariel Sharon maintains that he will continue to hold the Prime Ministerial post until his term ends in 2007. Israel's Attorney General Edna Arbel, on the other hand, has stated that she intends to pursue further questioning of the Prime Minister over the next few days.
- The Guardian Council in Iran has reinstated another 100 candidates for the upcoming election, though still leaving thousands of candidates unable to participate.
Finally, in a case of either taking an argument too far or just a classic case of foot-in-mouth, British MP Jenny Tonge stated that she will not be seeing re-election in her London constituency of Richmond Park after stating that if she were a Palestinian woman, she would consider becoming a suicide bomber. Although her resignation has been controversial, with some advocating that it draws attention to the root causes of terrorism, I'm in agreement with Liberal Democrat party leader Charles Kennedy in asking for her resignation. There is no doubt that the Palestinian people face massive issues of poverty and hopelessness in their situation, but advocating an action that causes the deaths of more innocent civilians is clearly reprehensible and illustrates a lack of understanding of the impact suicide bombers have on Israeli families who have to cope with the loss of loved ones.
In new pictures by the European Space Agency's probe Mars Express, currently circling the Red Planet, details of what seem to be channels cut by water appear clearly. More importantly, they have discovered the presence of water in the atmosphere and in the southern polar cap's soil. This is just the beginning though. Outfitted with many instruments, the orbiter has plans to map the mineral composition of the surface, map the composition of the atmosphere and its circulation, and determine the interaction of the atmosphere with the solar winds, just to name a few tasks that it will perform in the coming months.
China has gotten some press for their push towards the Moon, but the New York Times today wrote a detailed piece about another country's attempts to develop their own space program: Brazil. The story illustrates the technical difficulties developing countries have in pursuing their goals on slim budgets, a fact which was partly to blame for the explosion of a Brazilian rocket last August that killed 21 of the country's top scientists and technicians working on the program.
Paul Martin seems to be busy these days. Canada agreed to cancel the $750 million dollars in debt owed by Iraq to aid in the development of the country. In addition, he scheduled his first First Minister's Conference where he will discuss heath care and Canada-U.S. relations with the Premiers. Finally, and as promised, he delivered his speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos on the topic of global poverty.
Global poverty and economic development received a good deal of attention today, as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also spoke to the WEF in Davos on this issue, asking business leaders to commit to a larger role in alleviating the problem and reminding Western nations that the focus on security after 9/11 did not abdicate them from their responsibilities to poorer nations. Germany announced this week that they had increased international development investment to developing countries by 9% in 2003. This announcement comes in the middle of a four-country tour of Africa made by German councilor Gerhard Schröder in an attempt to show that there are many opportunities available for investment in economic, political and social capital.
Not all is happy with Canada though, especially when it comes to one of its citizens, Maher Arar. Mr. Arar, a Syrian-born resident of Canada who holds dual citizenship, reported today that he is suing John Ashcroft, Tom Ridge and Robert Muller after he was forcefully deported from the United States to Syria instead of Canada after passing through JFK airport on his way home from vacation in Tunisia. He was then held and tortured by Syrian authorities for 10 months. He claims that the United States government deported him to Syria because they knew that torture was inevitable, as the State Department has regarded Syria for many years as a country where violations of human rights, including torture, were common. He has not asked for a specific amount of money in the suit, claiming that it is more important to him that he clears his name as a suspected terrorist.
In a broader and important legal issue issue, the Supreme Court is preparing to take up the cases of 'enemy combatants' who are being held indefinitely in Guantanamo Bay and military brigs on the mainland. They plan to examine whether President Bush has the constitutional authority to enforce these detentions. This case is especially important in the cases of Yaser Hamdi and Jose Padilla, both of whom are U.S. citizens and theoretically should be have the full protection of the American legal system.
In updates from previous stories:
- Despite the reports of corruption and his refusal to speak about his relationship to his now convicted briber, Ariel Sharon maintains that he will continue to hold the Prime Ministerial post until his term ends in 2007. Israel's Attorney General Edna Arbel, on the other hand, has stated that she intends to pursue further questioning of the Prime Minister over the next few days.
- The Guardian Council in Iran has reinstated another 100 candidates for the upcoming election, though still leaving thousands of candidates unable to participate.
Finally, in a case of either taking an argument too far or just a classic case of foot-in-mouth, British MP Jenny Tonge stated that she will not be seeing re-election in her London constituency of Richmond Park after stating that if she were a Palestinian woman, she would consider becoming a suicide bomber. Although her resignation has been controversial, with some advocating that it draws attention to the root causes of terrorism, I'm in agreement with Liberal Democrat party leader Charles Kennedy in asking for her resignation. There is no doubt that the Palestinian people face massive issues of poverty and hopelessness in their situation, but advocating an action that causes the deaths of more innocent civilians is clearly reprehensible and illustrates a lack of understanding of the impact suicide bombers have on Israeli families who have to cope with the loss of loved ones.
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Just when you thought the Troubles were over
Little bit of a disturbing piece in the New York Times today about the rise of race-based attacks in working-class Protestant enclaves in Northern Ireland. Apparently the Good Friday Agreement has issued in a period of relative piece which has caused an uptick in immigration and thus some social instability as a country that is 99% Caucasian reacts to this growing trend.
A Council of Europe report criticizes the Russian government for systematically ignoring thousands of reports of human rights abuses in the Chechen republic. About 70 000 civilians have been killed since 1994 when the republic claimed independence, only to be put down by the Russian military.
I guess Sharon's bribery scandal is bigger than I thought, since he made headlines in most news organizations. According to a poll conducted by the newspaper Maariv, 53% of Israelis believe that he was involved in some type of misconduct. This might account for the lack of support he has been receiving from his own party, since no Likud MKs have yet to speak publicly in support of his innocence.
Looks like Bush II is trying to avoid the fate of Bush I, dropping the talk of going to Mars and focusing rather on economic issues. Unfortunately his plans seem a little bit skimpy, partially to do with the large budget deficit that he is already running. The other proposals he discussed run the gambit of everything I disagree with but are very popular with the Christian right: drug testing in schools, a constitutional amendment barring gay marriage, abstinence education, etc.
In what could create a future breakthrough for the economically ravaged state of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe has agreed to enter formal negotiations with opposition politicians with the help of South African Prime Minister Thabo Mbeki. However, the road is going to be long in this case, as farm land appropriated from white settlers will have to be put back into good use after it was divided up among the Mugabe's supporters.
It looks like Conservative candidate Belinda Stronach is turning out to be more superficial than I thought. The Globe reports that even her own supporters were very unimpressed with her performance in a recent radio interview -- and this was after they had specifically chosen an interviewer with little experience in covering national politics. On the other side of the house, Paul Martin is planning on bringing a message of international development and private investment in developing countries to the Davos forum this week.
In updates:
- The New York Times seems to agree with my prior assessment (not that it was overly profound) that part of the purpose of the Mars announcement was to respond to China's recent statements about putting a man on the moon.
- Pressure from Supreme Leader Ayat Allah Ali Khamenei has led to the reinstatement of 300 previously banned candidates, though on 10% of the amount banned. Current Iranian MPs continue their threat to boycott the election if more reinstatements are not issued.
- An American journalist has made the (obvious) statement that if Vajpayee and Musharraf manage to put together a permanent peace plan for India and Pakistan, they deserve the Nobel prize.
Finally, in the strangest story I've read today, a radio station has been shut down for 30 days in Hungary after the host of a Christmas Eve program suggested that all Christians should be exterminated. What makes this unusual is the use of legislation that was originally designed to protect minority groups in Hungary such as Jews and Gypsies -- in a country where the majority is Roman Catholic.
Little bit of a disturbing piece in the New York Times today about the rise of race-based attacks in working-class Protestant enclaves in Northern Ireland. Apparently the Good Friday Agreement has issued in a period of relative piece which has caused an uptick in immigration and thus some social instability as a country that is 99% Caucasian reacts to this growing trend.
A Council of Europe report criticizes the Russian government for systematically ignoring thousands of reports of human rights abuses in the Chechen republic. About 70 000 civilians have been killed since 1994 when the republic claimed independence, only to be put down by the Russian military.
I guess Sharon's bribery scandal is bigger than I thought, since he made headlines in most news organizations. According to a poll conducted by the newspaper Maariv, 53% of Israelis believe that he was involved in some type of misconduct. This might account for the lack of support he has been receiving from his own party, since no Likud MKs have yet to speak publicly in support of his innocence.
Looks like Bush II is trying to avoid the fate of Bush I, dropping the talk of going to Mars and focusing rather on economic issues. Unfortunately his plans seem a little bit skimpy, partially to do with the large budget deficit that he is already running. The other proposals he discussed run the gambit of everything I disagree with but are very popular with the Christian right: drug testing in schools, a constitutional amendment barring gay marriage, abstinence education, etc.
In what could create a future breakthrough for the economically ravaged state of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe has agreed to enter formal negotiations with opposition politicians with the help of South African Prime Minister Thabo Mbeki. However, the road is going to be long in this case, as farm land appropriated from white settlers will have to be put back into good use after it was divided up among the Mugabe's supporters.
It looks like Conservative candidate Belinda Stronach is turning out to be more superficial than I thought. The Globe reports that even her own supporters were very unimpressed with her performance in a recent radio interview -- and this was after they had specifically chosen an interviewer with little experience in covering national politics. On the other side of the house, Paul Martin is planning on bringing a message of international development and private investment in developing countries to the Davos forum this week.
In updates:
- The New York Times seems to agree with my prior assessment (not that it was overly profound) that part of the purpose of the Mars announcement was to respond to China's recent statements about putting a man on the moon.
- Pressure from Supreme Leader Ayat Allah Ali Khamenei has led to the reinstatement of 300 previously banned candidates, though on 10% of the amount banned. Current Iranian MPs continue their threat to boycott the election if more reinstatements are not issued.
- An American journalist has made the (obvious) statement that if Vajpayee and Musharraf manage to put together a permanent peace plan for India and Pakistan, they deserve the Nobel prize.
Finally, in the strangest story I've read today, a radio station has been shut down for 30 days in Hungary after the host of a Christmas Eve program suggested that all Christians should be exterminated. What makes this unusual is the use of legislation that was originally designed to protect minority groups in Hungary such as Jews and Gypsies -- in a country where the majority is Roman Catholic.
Lessons in International Diplomacy
It certainly hasn't been a good diplomatic day for Israel. First they threaten Jordan over its petition to the International Court of Justice to examine the role of the security fence that Israel is erecting between itself and the occupied territories. Then a report surfaces showing that Ariel Sharon's government spied on the Norwegian ambassador while hosting a meeting between opposition leader Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei. After the poor behavior of an Israeli ambassador during an art show in Sweden, I wouldn't think that Israel would be all that quick to piss off another Scandinavian country.
In an effort to strengthen ties between two historical rivals, Pakistan has asked India to help it become reinstated into the Commonwealth since being suspended after the military coup of Pervez Musharraf in 1999. Since the cooperation of these two nuclear powers prevents them from blowing each other up and possibly creating a regional nuclear war, I'm very pleased that this step is being taken.
In an additional demonstration on how the Bush administration's Iran policy is off-kilter, President Mohammad Khatami, part of the 'axis of evil,' as we must remember, gave a keynote speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Let me quote from his speech:
"Military might may perhaps bring transient security, but the gap between this type of security is the difference between a security based on armed peace and peace based on compassion and friendship toward humanity."
What an evil guy, eh? Especially given how he's working to ensure that the upcoming Iranian election will be free and competitive. It's probably easier to oversimplify and lump the country in with North Korea and Iraq. Then you don't need to think as much.
It certainly hasn't been a good diplomatic day for Israel. First they threaten Jordan over its petition to the International Court of Justice to examine the role of the security fence that Israel is erecting between itself and the occupied territories. Then a report surfaces showing that Ariel Sharon's government spied on the Norwegian ambassador while hosting a meeting between opposition leader Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei. After the poor behavior of an Israeli ambassador during an art show in Sweden, I wouldn't think that Israel would be all that quick to piss off another Scandinavian country.
In an effort to strengthen ties between two historical rivals, Pakistan has asked India to help it become reinstated into the Commonwealth since being suspended after the military coup of Pervez Musharraf in 1999. Since the cooperation of these two nuclear powers prevents them from blowing each other up and possibly creating a regional nuclear war, I'm very pleased that this step is being taken.
In an additional demonstration on how the Bush administration's Iran policy is off-kilter, President Mohammad Khatami, part of the 'axis of evil,' as we must remember, gave a keynote speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Let me quote from his speech:
"Military might may perhaps bring transient security, but the gap between this type of security is the difference between a security based on armed peace and peace based on compassion and friendship toward humanity."
What an evil guy, eh? Especially given how he's working to ensure that the upcoming Iranian election will be free and competitive. It's probably easier to oversimplify and lump the country in with North Korea and Iraq. Then you don't need to think as much.
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Happy New Year!
The second half of the back-to-back political extravaganza that is the Iowa caucuses and the State of the Union address (and the Democratic reaction) is the major news item today. I actually haven't seen the whole thing yet since I was out at a bar last night and despite attempts to watch it on TV, it was mostly drowned out by the music. Therefore I leave it up to others to do the analysis in the meantime.
Given that we're talking about the State of the Union address though, one of the 'axis of evil' countries, in this case Iran, is still in the middle of a political crises over whether the Guardian Council will disapprove reformist candidates in the upcoming elections. The latest chapter in this story features the en masse resignation of Iranian MPs in protest of this decision. I think this story really shows the problem of the Bush administration's dumbing down of foreign policy. Here we have a country that is definitely not a totalitarian state, having a functioning parliament and a politicized civil society going through the growing pains of demanding more and more freedom from the ruling clerics. Despite all of this going on, the Bush administration decides not to aid in the growth of what could be a fledgling democracy by increasing their ties, but unilaterally rejects the country as a whole by putting them in the axis of evil. The problem is that every other country knows the complexity of the situation and is therefore even more put-off by this brand of foreign policy. This can make for problems, especially when the Bush administration then needs help from the global community to pursue its goals.
This is definitely not Ariel Sharon's week. Admist allegations of using the intelligence service to spy on the Labor party, another scandal has broken concerning bribery. Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is also having problems with the opposition parties after sending Japanese troops to Iraq. There apparently are many concerns that the troops could take part in aggressive operations that are forbidden by the Japanese constitution, which only allows troops to be used in self-defense.
Since I had mentioned it before in passing, I thought I'd add this piece by the Christian Science Monitor that reports on the heavy toll that civilians have been forced to take in the Iraq war. In another interesting story, they detail how Chicago has been using alternative methods to deal with youth crime.
In Canadian news, it seems like firing and suing your former CEO is the way to go for companies, as Hollinger Inc.'s stock price climbed a whopping 97% on Monday. Ed Broadbent easily won the NDP nomination in Ottawa Centre last night. Brad was in attendance, and he said that Mr. Broadbent's speech reminded him of why he was a member of the party in the first place. However, in a move that shows that huge government scandals that put half of your cabinet in jail and cause your party to dissolve itself are irrelevant after enough time has passed, former Saskatchewan premier Grant Devine has indicated that he will seek a federal seat for the new Conservative Party.
In France we have continuing anarchy over the new law prohibiting religious symbols in schools, with the Minister of Education, Luc Ferry, mentioning that both beards and bandannas will be under consideration for the ban. At what point does this whole thing just get silly? Oh yeah, that happened weeks ago.
Finally with the theme of interference in civil liberties we have Saudi Arabia, where a prominent businesswoman attended a conference without a burka or veil, thereby angering Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Aziz al-Sheikh, the highest religious authority in the country. It's understandable that this is where France is coming from when they try to ban religious symbols from schools, but it's unfortunate that they do it at the expense of sacrificing other civil liberties.
The second half of the back-to-back political extravaganza that is the Iowa caucuses and the State of the Union address (and the Democratic reaction) is the major news item today. I actually haven't seen the whole thing yet since I was out at a bar last night and despite attempts to watch it on TV, it was mostly drowned out by the music. Therefore I leave it up to others to do the analysis in the meantime.
Given that we're talking about the State of the Union address though, one of the 'axis of evil' countries, in this case Iran, is still in the middle of a political crises over whether the Guardian Council will disapprove reformist candidates in the upcoming elections. The latest chapter in this story features the en masse resignation of Iranian MPs in protest of this decision. I think this story really shows the problem of the Bush administration's dumbing down of foreign policy. Here we have a country that is definitely not a totalitarian state, having a functioning parliament and a politicized civil society going through the growing pains of demanding more and more freedom from the ruling clerics. Despite all of this going on, the Bush administration decides not to aid in the growth of what could be a fledgling democracy by increasing their ties, but unilaterally rejects the country as a whole by putting them in the axis of evil. The problem is that every other country knows the complexity of the situation and is therefore even more put-off by this brand of foreign policy. This can make for problems, especially when the Bush administration then needs help from the global community to pursue its goals.
This is definitely not Ariel Sharon's week. Admist allegations of using the intelligence service to spy on the Labor party, another scandal has broken concerning bribery. Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is also having problems with the opposition parties after sending Japanese troops to Iraq. There apparently are many concerns that the troops could take part in aggressive operations that are forbidden by the Japanese constitution, which only allows troops to be used in self-defense.
Since I had mentioned it before in passing, I thought I'd add this piece by the Christian Science Monitor that reports on the heavy toll that civilians have been forced to take in the Iraq war. In another interesting story, they detail how Chicago has been using alternative methods to deal with youth crime.
In Canadian news, it seems like firing and suing your former CEO is the way to go for companies, as Hollinger Inc.'s stock price climbed a whopping 97% on Monday. Ed Broadbent easily won the NDP nomination in Ottawa Centre last night. Brad was in attendance, and he said that Mr. Broadbent's speech reminded him of why he was a member of the party in the first place. However, in a move that shows that huge government scandals that put half of your cabinet in jail and cause your party to dissolve itself are irrelevant after enough time has passed, former Saskatchewan premier Grant Devine has indicated that he will seek a federal seat for the new Conservative Party.
In France we have continuing anarchy over the new law prohibiting religious symbols in schools, with the Minister of Education, Luc Ferry, mentioning that both beards and bandannas will be under consideration for the ban. At what point does this whole thing just get silly? Oh yeah, that happened weeks ago.
Finally with the theme of interference in civil liberties we have Saudi Arabia, where a prominent businesswoman attended a conference without a burka or veil, thereby angering Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Aziz al-Sheikh, the highest religious authority in the country. It's understandable that this is where France is coming from when they try to ban religious symbols from schools, but it's unfortunate that they do it at the expense of sacrificing other civil liberties.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Rethinking the veil law
In somewhat good news for the freedom of expression, French members of Parliament have begun questioning whether the proposed law to prevent religious clothing in public schools is a good idea. Having been against this bill from its inception, it's good to see that there is some acknowledgement of the social problems and unrest its passing could cause.
In somewhat good news for the freedom of expression, French members of Parliament have begun questioning whether the proposed law to prevent religious clothing in public schools is a good idea. Having been against this bill from its inception, it's good to see that there is some acknowledgement of the social problems and unrest its passing could cause.
Very interesting...
Well, the results are in, and it looks like John Kerry takes the first round after a mad dash to the finish. I believe, however that the real winner was John Edwards, who only weeks ago was practically written off but came from nowhere after what looked to be a big shift in campaign tactics from 'son of a millworker' to the 'straight-talker.' The latter, I must say, suited him much better and probably led in part to the results that we see today.
Howard Dean? Well, he needs a new message. People are concerned about his electability and he obviously didn't provide enough evidence going the other way. I can't blame his campaign completely though -- having 'frontrunner' status he endured weekly attacks on his campaign from both the other candidates and the media far out of proportion to what everyone else received. This is probably a good thing for the party though -- just like his presence forced people like John Kerry and John Edwards to pony-up and start saying some things that were real, this defeat is going to be a turning point in the Dean campaign. Either they rise to meet the challenge presented to them or they will get creamed in future primaries in a similar manner.
You have to feel bad for Dick Gephardt a little though. I never would have supported him, but there was no doubt that he was a good guy fighting for principles that he believed in. It's just too bad that he had to suffer what has to be a humiliating defeat in a state he carried last time he ran for president.
On to New Hampshire...
Well, the results are in, and it looks like John Kerry takes the first round after a mad dash to the finish. I believe, however that the real winner was John Edwards, who only weeks ago was practically written off but came from nowhere after what looked to be a big shift in campaign tactics from 'son of a millworker' to the 'straight-talker.' The latter, I must say, suited him much better and probably led in part to the results that we see today.
Howard Dean? Well, he needs a new message. People are concerned about his electability and he obviously didn't provide enough evidence going the other way. I can't blame his campaign completely though -- having 'frontrunner' status he endured weekly attacks on his campaign from both the other candidates and the media far out of proportion to what everyone else received. This is probably a good thing for the party though -- just like his presence forced people like John Kerry and John Edwards to pony-up and start saying some things that were real, this defeat is going to be a turning point in the Dean campaign. Either they rise to meet the challenge presented to them or they will get creamed in future primaries in a similar manner.
You have to feel bad for Dick Gephardt a little though. I never would have supported him, but there was no doubt that he was a good guy fighting for principles that he believed in. It's just too bad that he had to suffer what has to be a humiliating defeat in a state he carried last time he ran for president.
On to New Hampshire...
Monday, January 19, 2004
All Iowa, all the time
Yep, it's that time of the year again. Today being the Iowa primary, the news is chalk full of analysis and reports about what will happen when Iowa residents caucus tonight. If I've learned one thing through this whole experience, it's that caucus can be used as a verb as well as a noun. With a statistical dead-heat between four candidates and notoriously unreliable polls because of the strange way in which the Iowa caucuses function and the fact that 46% of Iowans polled said that they could change their minds once they got to their caucus, tonight should make for an interesting time if you're a political junkie like me and going to watch the coverage.
Despite losing some ground in the polls in the past two weeks, Slate has a great article on why Howard Dean's campaign isn't too worried about the polling data. They also feature how the campaign is using computers to optimize the job of pulling the vote. Another article in Slate arguing that low turnout is actually what Dean needs to win. The idea is that high turnout will yield more voters to those candidates who are seen as having momentum now -- Kerry and Edwards, whereas lower turnout will benefit the Gephardt and Dean campaign who are seen as much better organized and therefore better able to get their vote to the primary.
In Iraqi news, a suicide bomb exploded on Sunday at the US headquarters, killing 20 and injuring more than 100, illustrating further how the capture of Saddam Hussein hasn't really made things safer for the United States. As with most incidents in this war, it was the Iraqi citizens that paid the highest price in the number of lives lost. At the same time, about 100 000 protesters demonstrated in Baghdad in support of responsible government and prompt elections.
Finally the Atkins diet spokespersons come out with something I've thought for a while, that being, gorging on fatty foods like steak and cheese will not help you loose weight, and even if it does, it sets you up for some serious heart problems later on down the road.
In Canadian news, the entirety of the center and left establishment is having a collective moment of schadenfreude with the announcement that not only has Conrad Black been fired from Hollinger International, but is now being sued by his own company for $21 million dollars. It couldn't have happened to a better person.
There seems to be some slightly good developments in Israel lately, starting with the order to remove three more Jewish outposts from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. At the same time Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has made a rather bold statement acknowledging that Israel will have to withdraw from the Golan Heights in order to secure peace with Syria. However I personally believe that Sharon does not have the political support from his own party to accomplish this task, so therefore it was interested to note a possible scandal involving the use of intelligence data by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon against the Labor Party. If this drags down Sharon enough, we might see an election where Labor takes control of the Knesset again and the peace process can begin anew. On the other side of the fence (almost literally), Hamas has managed to show their misogynist tendencies by stating that female suicide bombers like the one last week can only be used if the woman has 'transgressed moral norms.' The suicide bombing is then seen as a sacrifice to atone for the sin of shaming their family.
The winner of the most interesting policy proposal of the moment comes from Germany, where the idea of having youth spend a mandatory year of public service is being floated by several premiers to combat some problems with the ending of the draft. Although an interesting proposal, and one that I would be more interested in delving into, there are immediate problems with the German constitution that forbids replacing the draft with some other type of mandatory service. This project would give some exposure to young people on not only the needs of society, but might give them some addition direction for what they want to do with their lives.
This problem is also being talked about on the other side of the world in Australia. The government has come out saying that young people shouldn't be 'culturally drilled' into attending university when there are other alternatives that might be more suitable. I've always believed that, at least in my experience, high schools tend to push too many people towards university both through direct advise by guidance councilors and perhaps unconsciously portraying that anything other than university is seen as less than desirable. This is also the case with the course of studies -- science is always seen as the route for 'smart kids,' whereas arts are viewed as the place for people not good enough to get into science programs.
In following up with a story that I previously posted, it looks like the political party of current Iranian Prime Minister Muhammad Khatami is threatening to boycott the upcoming elections on February 20th if reformist candidates aren't allowed back on the ballot. This follows the suggestion of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayat Allah Ali Khamenei for the Guardian Council to review the cases of those who have been disqualified from running.
Finally, a small expose in the New York Times on some of Walmart's employment practices. It appears that night workers are locked into the stores without any way of getting out. The story details the plight of one employee who crushed his ankle in an accident but couldn't receive medical help for well over an hour while a manager was called to unlock the doors. Apparently other workers have suffered heart attacks and had hurricane's hit the store without being able to escape. All in the name of lower costs for consumers...
Yep, it's that time of the year again. Today being the Iowa primary, the news is chalk full of analysis and reports about what will happen when Iowa residents caucus tonight. If I've learned one thing through this whole experience, it's that caucus can be used as a verb as well as a noun. With a statistical dead-heat between four candidates and notoriously unreliable polls because of the strange way in which the Iowa caucuses function and the fact that 46% of Iowans polled said that they could change their minds once they got to their caucus, tonight should make for an interesting time if you're a political junkie like me and going to watch the coverage.
Despite losing some ground in the polls in the past two weeks, Slate has a great article on why Howard Dean's campaign isn't too worried about the polling data. They also feature how the campaign is using computers to optimize the job of pulling the vote. Another article in Slate arguing that low turnout is actually what Dean needs to win. The idea is that high turnout will yield more voters to those candidates who are seen as having momentum now -- Kerry and Edwards, whereas lower turnout will benefit the Gephardt and Dean campaign who are seen as much better organized and therefore better able to get their vote to the primary.
In Iraqi news, a suicide bomb exploded on Sunday at the US headquarters, killing 20 and injuring more than 100, illustrating further how the capture of Saddam Hussein hasn't really made things safer for the United States. As with most incidents in this war, it was the Iraqi citizens that paid the highest price in the number of lives lost. At the same time, about 100 000 protesters demonstrated in Baghdad in support of responsible government and prompt elections.
Finally the Atkins diet spokespersons come out with something I've thought for a while, that being, gorging on fatty foods like steak and cheese will not help you loose weight, and even if it does, it sets you up for some serious heart problems later on down the road.
In Canadian news, the entirety of the center and left establishment is having a collective moment of schadenfreude with the announcement that not only has Conrad Black been fired from Hollinger International, but is now being sued by his own company for $21 million dollars. It couldn't have happened to a better person.
There seems to be some slightly good developments in Israel lately, starting with the order to remove three more Jewish outposts from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. At the same time Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has made a rather bold statement acknowledging that Israel will have to withdraw from the Golan Heights in order to secure peace with Syria. However I personally believe that Sharon does not have the political support from his own party to accomplish this task, so therefore it was interested to note a possible scandal involving the use of intelligence data by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon against the Labor Party. If this drags down Sharon enough, we might see an election where Labor takes control of the Knesset again and the peace process can begin anew. On the other side of the fence (almost literally), Hamas has managed to show their misogynist tendencies by stating that female suicide bombers like the one last week can only be used if the woman has 'transgressed moral norms.' The suicide bombing is then seen as a sacrifice to atone for the sin of shaming their family.
The winner of the most interesting policy proposal of the moment comes from Germany, where the idea of having youth spend a mandatory year of public service is being floated by several premiers to combat some problems with the ending of the draft. Although an interesting proposal, and one that I would be more interested in delving into, there are immediate problems with the German constitution that forbids replacing the draft with some other type of mandatory service. This project would give some exposure to young people on not only the needs of society, but might give them some addition direction for what they want to do with their lives.
This problem is also being talked about on the other side of the world in Australia. The government has come out saying that young people shouldn't be 'culturally drilled' into attending university when there are other alternatives that might be more suitable. I've always believed that, at least in my experience, high schools tend to push too many people towards university both through direct advise by guidance councilors and perhaps unconsciously portraying that anything other than university is seen as less than desirable. This is also the case with the course of studies -- science is always seen as the route for 'smart kids,' whereas arts are viewed as the place for people not good enough to get into science programs.
In following up with a story that I previously posted, it looks like the political party of current Iranian Prime Minister Muhammad Khatami is threatening to boycott the upcoming elections on February 20th if reformist candidates aren't allowed back on the ballot. This follows the suggestion of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayat Allah Ali Khamenei for the Guardian Council to review the cases of those who have been disqualified from running.
Finally, a small expose in the New York Times on some of Walmart's employment practices. It appears that night workers are locked into the stores without any way of getting out. The story details the plight of one employee who crushed his ankle in an accident but couldn't receive medical help for well over an hour while a manager was called to unlock the doors. Apparently other workers have suffered heart attacks and had hurricane's hit the store without being able to escape. All in the name of lower costs for consumers...
Saturday, January 17, 2004
An example of Matt Drudge readers
I'm sure most people are familiar with the Drudge Report, which recently posted some comments made by comedian Margaret Cho made at a MoveOn.org event recently. Apparently his readers decided to respond to her comments in the only way they knew how: through misogynist and racists comments. A few selected ones that were particularly astounding (edited for language):
"F$@# you you oriental c$%& . you are not even an american. You are soooo stupid. Go f$@# yourself and go back to Asia you slanted eye whore."
"which way does your p?$$y slant, baby? this is important, since you are certainly quite unfunny."
"Put the cheeseburger down, pull Clinton's d!ck out of your mouth, and wise up. Because the people who adore you have AIDS for a REASON."
Good to know that Drudge attracts the thinkers of America.
I'm sure most people are familiar with the Drudge Report, which recently posted some comments made by comedian Margaret Cho made at a MoveOn.org event recently. Apparently his readers decided to respond to her comments in the only way they knew how: through misogynist and racists comments. A few selected ones that were particularly astounding (edited for language):
"F$@# you you oriental c$%& . you are not even an american. You are soooo stupid. Go f$@# yourself and go back to Asia you slanted eye whore."
"which way does your p?$$y slant, baby? this is important, since you are certainly quite unfunny."
"Put the cheeseburger down, pull Clinton's d!ck out of your mouth, and wise up. Because the people who adore you have AIDS for a REASON."
Good to know that Drudge attracts the thinkers of America.
September 12th
I'm not sure how this was off my radar screen, but it's something you definitely have to check out. It's a flash 'game' called September 12th. Basically you have a city with terrorists and civilians running around and you have a target by which you can fire missles at the terrorists. But things aren't always that simple...
I'm not sure how this was off my radar screen, but it's something you definitely have to check out. It's a flash 'game' called September 12th. Basically you have a city with terrorists and civilians running around and you have a target by which you can fire missles at the terrorists. But things aren't always that simple...
What the heck happened to Edwards?
I'm just adding this piece from Slate about the Iowa caucus because it highlights one thing I really noticed when watching the first Iowa debate: John Edwards is really heating things up. Up to this point Edwards has been off my list of people to support almost for one reason, because he kept referring to his 'roots' in such a way that really, really seemed like a pander. The whole 'son of a millworker' thing just didn't resonate with me at all, seeing it both as a sort of pathetic attempt for a trial lawyer to be something that he probably isn't and sort of a throwback to class politics.
But now he's dropped that and taken a new stance as a principled debater not attacking other candidates (which, I must say, isn't all that much of a deal since he's not in the position where negative attacks would work well), he's becoming quite impressive. Is it too little too late? Slate seems not to think so. It should make the primary contest in the next little while interesting though - I'd watch for a little bit of a breakthrough for him in Iowa, coming third behind Dean and Gephardt.
I'm just adding this piece from Slate about the Iowa caucus because it highlights one thing I really noticed when watching the first Iowa debate: John Edwards is really heating things up. Up to this point Edwards has been off my list of people to support almost for one reason, because he kept referring to his 'roots' in such a way that really, really seemed like a pander. The whole 'son of a millworker' thing just didn't resonate with me at all, seeing it both as a sort of pathetic attempt for a trial lawyer to be something that he probably isn't and sort of a throwback to class politics.
But now he's dropped that and taken a new stance as a principled debater not attacking other candidates (which, I must say, isn't all that much of a deal since he's not in the position where negative attacks would work well), he's becoming quite impressive. Is it too little too late? Slate seems not to think so. It should make the primary contest in the next little while interesting though - I'd watch for a little bit of a breakthrough for him in Iowa, coming third behind Dean and Gephardt.
Thursday, January 15, 2004
A new kind of empire?
This is the question the Christian Science Monitor asks in its new mini-series of stories about American military/economic/cultural power in the world. The navigation for the three articles is under the graphic on the right. An interesting read.
In good news, President Thabo Mbeki is meeting with the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to discuss ways in which South Africa can develop the mining industry after the war laid waste to much of the production. This in addition to agreements in security, human rights, and other subjects. I particularly like this idea since it features a non-colonial power helping out the development of this shattered country for more of a 'made-in-Africa' solution to their problems.
In more good news, at least for the Dean campaign, it looks like Carol Mosley Braun is going to drop out of the race and endorse Dean. This will be useful to the campaign, especially after the attempt by Al Sharpton to portray Dean as a racist in a recent debate, to which she had leapt to Dean's defense.
Speaking of the primary, it looks like for the first time in a while Iowans are having trouble picking out a candidate because they like them all as opposed to voting for the one that doesn't seem as bad as the rest. However Wesley Clark isn't running in Iowa, which might be good given that he's only now gotten on the bandwagon in declaring the there was no link between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein, even though he had said there was in a New York Times interview in 2002.
In Canadian politics, another member of the Conservative Alliance has jumped ship for the Liberals, making for a total of four Tories having left the new Conservative party. Given that Dr. Martin was always one of the cooler members of the Alliance, it's not too surprising that he wanted nothing to do with the new party. There are also rumours that former Liberal Heritage Minister Sheila Copps might run for the NDP in the next federal election. The Sheila Copps defection, if it happens, could work well for the NDP who have always had a strong presence in her Hamilton riding and would probably gain some of the Liberal vote with her crossing the floor.
In what seems to be the biggest science news of the day, a robot researcher has been developed that outperformed human scientists in a lab. Working with a 'hypothesis generator,' the computer generated results just as accurate as graduate students and did not need to perform as many experiments to come to the same conclusions. This could be a benefit to scientific research like genomics where there is too much data being generated for scientists to analyze.
Deutsche Welle wins the cake for the most number of interesting stories today however, with one exploring the limits of reality shows. Also, in a move I greatly approve of, the EU is considering banning smoking in bars and restaurants. Personally, there's nothing I hate more than knowing that spending a night out will result in everything you wear smelling like cigarette smoke, so I'm very pro-smoking bans. Finally, a great story on a German brewery making 'anti-aging beer.' Leave it to the Germans to figure out a way to make beer healthy. :)
This is the question the Christian Science Monitor asks in its new mini-series of stories about American military/economic/cultural power in the world. The navigation for the three articles is under the graphic on the right. An interesting read.
In good news, President Thabo Mbeki is meeting with the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to discuss ways in which South Africa can develop the mining industry after the war laid waste to much of the production. This in addition to agreements in security, human rights, and other subjects. I particularly like this idea since it features a non-colonial power helping out the development of this shattered country for more of a 'made-in-Africa' solution to their problems.
In more good news, at least for the Dean campaign, it looks like Carol Mosley Braun is going to drop out of the race and endorse Dean. This will be useful to the campaign, especially after the attempt by Al Sharpton to portray Dean as a racist in a recent debate, to which she had leapt to Dean's defense.
Speaking of the primary, it looks like for the first time in a while Iowans are having trouble picking out a candidate because they like them all as opposed to voting for the one that doesn't seem as bad as the rest. However Wesley Clark isn't running in Iowa, which might be good given that he's only now gotten on the bandwagon in declaring the there was no link between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein, even though he had said there was in a New York Times interview in 2002.
In Canadian politics, another member of the Conservative Alliance has jumped ship for the Liberals, making for a total of four Tories having left the new Conservative party. Given that Dr. Martin was always one of the cooler members of the Alliance, it's not too surprising that he wanted nothing to do with the new party. There are also rumours that former Liberal Heritage Minister Sheila Copps might run for the NDP in the next federal election. The Sheila Copps defection, if it happens, could work well for the NDP who have always had a strong presence in her Hamilton riding and would probably gain some of the Liberal vote with her crossing the floor.
In what seems to be the biggest science news of the day, a robot researcher has been developed that outperformed human scientists in a lab. Working with a 'hypothesis generator,' the computer generated results just as accurate as graduate students and did not need to perform as many experiments to come to the same conclusions. This could be a benefit to scientific research like genomics where there is too much data being generated for scientists to analyze.
Deutsche Welle wins the cake for the most number of interesting stories today however, with one exploring the limits of reality shows. Also, in a move I greatly approve of, the EU is considering banning smoking in bars and restaurants. Personally, there's nothing I hate more than knowing that spending a night out will result in everything you wear smelling like cigarette smoke, so I'm very pro-smoking bans. Finally, a great story on a German brewery making 'anti-aging beer.' Leave it to the Germans to figure out a way to make beer healthy. :)
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
More problems in the Holy Land
Unfortunately, a spat of violence has struck both Israel and Palestine in the past few days, with four Israelis killed during a suicide bombing at a check point between Israel and the Gaza Strip. An important difference between this attack and other previous is that the bomber was female. Up to this point Hamas has never used females in their terror campaigns so this this could signal a need to change security tactics for the Israelis. On the other side of the coin, a British peace activist that was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier back in April has died after being left in a vegetative state by the incident, bringing further attention to the problems of civilian casualties during IDF missions.
Israel itself is apparently having some issues with the relationship between the judicial and legislative branches of government, with both parties claiming that the other has infringed on their constitutional duties. Some Islamic countries are currently working through some judicial/constitutional problems too. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayat Allah Ali Khamenei asked recently for a review of candidates who have been banned from parliamentary elections and Afghanistan's Supreme Court complained about the state television station, which recently showed a woman singing during a program. Apparently the court believes that such footage violates Islamic principles, but this could serve as a test case to see if women can be accorded equal rights in a semi-secular Muslim country.
Finally, in the spirit of 'you did it, so we can too,' China has decided to impose tariffs on the import of steel from five East Asian countries, almost echoing the sentiments of the Bush administration when it imposed similar tariffs at the beginning of the presidential term. The Bush tariffs were repealed last month after they were found to be illegal by the WTO, but their existence highlighted some of the problems with free trade agreements between countries of unequal economic development.
Unfortunately, a spat of violence has struck both Israel and Palestine in the past few days, with four Israelis killed during a suicide bombing at a check point between Israel and the Gaza Strip. An important difference between this attack and other previous is that the bomber was female. Up to this point Hamas has never used females in their terror campaigns so this this could signal a need to change security tactics for the Israelis. On the other side of the coin, a British peace activist that was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier back in April has died after being left in a vegetative state by the incident, bringing further attention to the problems of civilian casualties during IDF missions.
Israel itself is apparently having some issues with the relationship between the judicial and legislative branches of government, with both parties claiming that the other has infringed on their constitutional duties. Some Islamic countries are currently working through some judicial/constitutional problems too. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayat Allah Ali Khamenei asked recently for a review of candidates who have been banned from parliamentary elections and Afghanistan's Supreme Court complained about the state television station, which recently showed a woman singing during a program. Apparently the court believes that such footage violates Islamic principles, but this could serve as a test case to see if women can be accorded equal rights in a semi-secular Muslim country.
Finally, in the spirit of 'you did it, so we can too,' China has decided to impose tariffs on the import of steel from five East Asian countries, almost echoing the sentiments of the Bush administration when it imposed similar tariffs at the beginning of the presidential term. The Bush tariffs were repealed last month after they were found to be illegal by the WTO, but their existence highlighted some of the problems with free trade agreements between countries of unequal economic development.
The Media vs. Howard Dean
Just found this great article in Salon Magazine entitled The media vs. Howard Dean, which gives an account of how the media, fueled by rival campaigns and Republicans, have created their own image of Howard Dean that doesn't really bare a true resemblance to the man. An interesting read worth checking out, even if it requires viewing a short ad to get the whole thing.
Just found this great article in Salon Magazine entitled The media vs. Howard Dean, which gives an account of how the media, fueled by rival campaigns and Republicans, have created their own image of Howard Dean that doesn't really bare a true resemblance to the man. An interesting read worth checking out, even if it requires viewing a short ad to get the whole thing.
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Another good news day
Here we go: First off some more analysis of the situation in Iraq. Today, as reports of a 10-year-old Iraqi boy is shot by American soldiers, another helicopter is shot down and the US military is accused of roughing up journalists, another report just published, this time by the US Army War College, calls the invasion of Iraq "unnecessary" and criticizes the administration for squandering resources in the war that could otherwise go towards fighting al-Qaida. On top of all of this I found a story in the Toronto Star that reports Bush admitted to seeking regime change when he first came to power. The wonderful thing about this article is how it puts together the Bush scorecard for invading Iraq:
"The White House has not denied the central contention made by O'Neill: That the administration was already planning ways to invade Iraq and oust Saddam and the Sept. 11 attacks gave them that cover.
Bush has since conceded there was no link between Saddam and the Sept. 11 attacks and there has been no proven ties between the deposed Iraqi leader and the Al Qaeda terrorist network.
Two other claims the Bush administration used to justify the war, that Saddam was hiding weapons of mass destruction and posed an imminent threat to the United States, have also never been proven."
In other news, Paul Martin is meeting with Bush for the first time in Mexico. According to the Star he will be pushing for an economic development policy in underdeveloped nations that emphasizes both economic and social growth, as opposed to the American model which is concerned primarily with the former. For a long time I wished that Canada would play a more important role in global politics and this might be the beginning of something good.
As an example to why we need new fuel-emissions laws in the United States, a story reporting that Subaru has altered its Outback sedan so that it can be classified as a light truck instead of a car. Why, you ask? Because then it doesn't have to meet the 27 MPG target of cars, but the 21 MPG target of the light truck category. I don't really have an issue with Subaru for doing this since their goal is to maximize profit and presumably this helps them achieve that goal. My problem is with this current administration and congress for not improving the laws so that loopholes like this one can't be exploited to the detriment of the environment.
It looks like Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is going to be tried for corruption charges after all. The Italian Constitutional Court overturned the law he passed that would have given him immunity from prosecution as long as he remained Prime Minister. After making Italy into a laughingstock with his antics, I can only hope that justice is ultimately served.
Finally, it looks like a Belgian cardinal and possible papal successor has condoned the use of condoms between partners when one is HIV positive. Although he prefers that partners refrain from sexual intercourse, he states that there is a moral difference between using condoms to prevent conception and using them to prevent death. It should be interesting to see how this one plays out in the church.
Here we go: First off some more analysis of the situation in Iraq. Today, as reports of a 10-year-old Iraqi boy is shot by American soldiers, another helicopter is shot down and the US military is accused of roughing up journalists, another report just published, this time by the US Army War College, calls the invasion of Iraq "unnecessary" and criticizes the administration for squandering resources in the war that could otherwise go towards fighting al-Qaida. On top of all of this I found a story in the Toronto Star that reports Bush admitted to seeking regime change when he first came to power. The wonderful thing about this article is how it puts together the Bush scorecard for invading Iraq:
"The White House has not denied the central contention made by O'Neill: That the administration was already planning ways to invade Iraq and oust Saddam and the Sept. 11 attacks gave them that cover.
Bush has since conceded there was no link between Saddam and the Sept. 11 attacks and there has been no proven ties between the deposed Iraqi leader and the Al Qaeda terrorist network.
Two other claims the Bush administration used to justify the war, that Saddam was hiding weapons of mass destruction and posed an imminent threat to the United States, have also never been proven."
In other news, Paul Martin is meeting with Bush for the first time in Mexico. According to the Star he will be pushing for an economic development policy in underdeveloped nations that emphasizes both economic and social growth, as opposed to the American model which is concerned primarily with the former. For a long time I wished that Canada would play a more important role in global politics and this might be the beginning of something good.
As an example to why we need new fuel-emissions laws in the United States, a story reporting that Subaru has altered its Outback sedan so that it can be classified as a light truck instead of a car. Why, you ask? Because then it doesn't have to meet the 27 MPG target of cars, but the 21 MPG target of the light truck category. I don't really have an issue with Subaru for doing this since their goal is to maximize profit and presumably this helps them achieve that goal. My problem is with this current administration and congress for not improving the laws so that loopholes like this one can't be exploited to the detriment of the environment.
It looks like Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is going to be tried for corruption charges after all. The Italian Constitutional Court overturned the law he passed that would have given him immunity from prosecution as long as he remained Prime Minister. After making Italy into a laughingstock with his antics, I can only hope that justice is ultimately served.
Finally, it looks like a Belgian cardinal and possible papal successor has condoned the use of condoms between partners when one is HIV positive. Although he prefers that partners refrain from sexual intercourse, he states that there is a moral difference between using condoms to prevent conception and using them to prevent death. It should be interesting to see how this one plays out in the church.
More on WMD's, or the lack of them
According to a recent book by Paul O'Neill, the former Bush Treasury Secretary, the Bush administration had planned the attack on Iraq just after getting into office and that there was never any real evidence to show that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
In an update to a previous post, it looks like NASA's lander has discovered the existence of minerals that are generally created in the presence of water.
According to a recent book by Paul O'Neill, the former Bush Treasury Secretary, the Bush administration had planned the attack on Iraq just after getting into office and that there was never any real evidence to show that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
In an update to a previous post, it looks like NASA's lander has discovered the existence of minerals that are generally created in the presence of water.
Monday, January 12, 2004
Oodles of stuff
Today has been a very good news day. Starting out, we have a couple of pieces from the Guardian, which reports Tony Blair admitted that weapons of mass destruction might never be found in Iraq. Point for Tony, in my mind. Even though he was wrong about the reasons for going to war with Iraq, at least he's willing to admit that he might have messed up, unlike some other world leaders. Also, in what seems like an American primary special, there were two articles on Howard Dean today, the first involving a look at the people who get involved in political campaigns, featuring a Dean worker in the interview, and the second being a personal evaluation of Howard Dean by a fellow Vermonter, refuting many of the 'granola-lefty' remarks that have been made about Governor Dean.
Mars stories seem to be all over the place, most notably in an article by the Christian Science Monitor, which details how a manned mission to Mars is the next logical step after the Moon and how improvements in technology will help accomplish the mission without bankrupting the country. There is also a more science-oriented piece in the New York Times about the current lander's goal to find if Mars ever had water.
On the music scene, two articles about very different types of music. The first concerns a problem I had not thought about before despite being involved in music for a while: hearing loss in symphony players and some attempts to lower the sound levels they experience during performances to prevent this from happening. The second is about hip-hop's attempt to be less gangsta and more socially conscious, a move which I have both noticed in several artists recently and one which I generally applaud.
Today has been a very good news day. Starting out, we have a couple of pieces from the Guardian, which reports Tony Blair admitted that weapons of mass destruction might never be found in Iraq. Point for Tony, in my mind. Even though he was wrong about the reasons for going to war with Iraq, at least he's willing to admit that he might have messed up, unlike some other world leaders. Also, in what seems like an American primary special, there were two articles on Howard Dean today, the first involving a look at the people who get involved in political campaigns, featuring a Dean worker in the interview, and the second being a personal evaluation of Howard Dean by a fellow Vermonter, refuting many of the 'granola-lefty' remarks that have been made about Governor Dean.
Mars stories seem to be all over the place, most notably in an article by the Christian Science Monitor, which details how a manned mission to Mars is the next logical step after the Moon and how improvements in technology will help accomplish the mission without bankrupting the country. There is also a more science-oriented piece in the New York Times about the current lander's goal to find if Mars ever had water.
On the music scene, two articles about very different types of music. The first concerns a problem I had not thought about before despite being involved in music for a while: hearing loss in symphony players and some attempts to lower the sound levels they experience during performances to prevent this from happening. The second is about hip-hop's attempt to be less gangsta and more socially conscious, a move which I have both noticed in several artists recently and one which I generally applaud.
Friday, January 09, 2004
We're going where?
This is one that took me by surprise. The Bush administration is going to announce plans to found a moon base to eventually colonize Mars. Now, as cool as this all sounds, and it does sound very, very cool, there is a little bit of reality to get around here as the article from the New Scientist states. Will this have a negative effect on current exploration plans that don't involve astronauts? Can we afford a cost like this in the current fiscal environment? Although I support ideas like this in general, I think there's going to have to be a great deal more exploration into how this is all going to go down. Needless to say, I'm sure China is pleased now that the thunder of them going to the moon for the first time is going to be usurped by these possible plans. Although then again, maybe that's the point.
To remain somewhat 'fair and balanced,' at least up to Fox News' standards, Secretary of State Colin Powell has issued a release defending the WMD intelligence from the recent report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stating that there is much area still to be searched before coming to the conclusion that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. Now, while this is true in principle, it must be stated that the United States has had over half a year now to find these WMDs, and has come up with nothing. Given that the UN inspectors found some stocks even under the intense scrutiny of Iraqi officials, this lack of results does not bode well in the defense of his thesis.
Finally, an example of the way the news should be reported. The CBC released a report stating that Hong Kong heads a list of countries with the greatest 'economic freedom.' While this is a pretty routine story, what I like about it is that it clearly identifies both at the beginning and the end of the article the bias of the organization that released the report. Too often news reports are printed from organizations whose names don't give any clue as to their purpose or viewpoints. This is important since readers should know if there is a conflict of interest, or whether the organization is created only to produce exactly the results that are stated. Media should be more diligent in providing this information as it can help the public to better understand the meaning and relevance of the article.
This is one that took me by surprise. The Bush administration is going to announce plans to found a moon base to eventually colonize Mars. Now, as cool as this all sounds, and it does sound very, very cool, there is a little bit of reality to get around here as the article from the New Scientist states. Will this have a negative effect on current exploration plans that don't involve astronauts? Can we afford a cost like this in the current fiscal environment? Although I support ideas like this in general, I think there's going to have to be a great deal more exploration into how this is all going to go down. Needless to say, I'm sure China is pleased now that the thunder of them going to the moon for the first time is going to be usurped by these possible plans. Although then again, maybe that's the point.
To remain somewhat 'fair and balanced,' at least up to Fox News' standards, Secretary of State Colin Powell has issued a release defending the WMD intelligence from the recent report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stating that there is much area still to be searched before coming to the conclusion that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. Now, while this is true in principle, it must be stated that the United States has had over half a year now to find these WMDs, and has come up with nothing. Given that the UN inspectors found some stocks even under the intense scrutiny of Iraqi officials, this lack of results does not bode well in the defense of his thesis.
Finally, an example of the way the news should be reported. The CBC released a report stating that Hong Kong heads a list of countries with the greatest 'economic freedom.' While this is a pretty routine story, what I like about it is that it clearly identifies both at the beginning and the end of the article the bias of the organization that released the report. Too often news reports are printed from organizations whose names don't give any clue as to their purpose or viewpoints. This is important since readers should know if there is a conflict of interest, or whether the organization is created only to produce exactly the results that are stated. Media should be more diligent in providing this information as it can help the public to better understand the meaning and relevance of the article.
A lack of WMDs and one more science story
The New Scientist is reporting that there are two studies coming out both stating that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction at the time that war was declared. It states that, "An unprecedently intrusive and well-funded search by the US since the fall of Baghdad has found little more than UN inspectors did before the war. The Carnegie report says continued "coercive" UN inspections, a tactic it has long advocated, would have eventually verified this without war." I think this speaks for itself.
I apparently missed this story the first time through -- looks like scientists have now mapped possible hotbeds for life in our galaxy. Using a system that includes ensuring that there are enough dense minerals around and a relatively supernova-free area, researchers at the University of New South Wales have discovered about 20 billion star systems that could theoretically harbour life. Interesting stuff...
The New Scientist is reporting that there are two studies coming out both stating that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction at the time that war was declared. It states that, "An unprecedently intrusive and well-funded search by the US since the fall of Baghdad has found little more than UN inspectors did before the war. The Carnegie report says continued "coercive" UN inspections, a tactic it has long advocated, would have eventually verified this without war." I think this speaks for itself.
I apparently missed this story the first time through -- looks like scientists have now mapped possible hotbeds for life in our galaxy. Using a system that includes ensuring that there are enough dense minerals around and a relatively supernova-free area, researchers at the University of New South Wales have discovered about 20 billion star systems that could theoretically harbour life. Interesting stuff...
Thursday, January 08, 2004
Progress and lack of progress in science
Two major stories on the science front today. First, the Guardian's environment correspondent brings us an article about how global warming with cause 1 in 10 plants and animals to become extinct by 2050. This finding comes after a study looking at the changing habitat of these species and whether they are likely to find a substitute habitat to replace the loss of the one destroyed by rising temperatures. This problem is to a certain extent irreversible with the current amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but can be seen as a base case for what could be much worse if we don't start curbing our reliance on fossil fuels.
Secondly, and somewhat more positively, an overview of the large year ahead for the global space program. The Mars missions are just a beginning, as by the end of the year we should have a satellite orbiting Saturn and launching a probe into the atmosphere of Titan, one of the more interesting moons of the planet.
Two major stories on the science front today. First, the Guardian's environment correspondent brings us an article about how global warming with cause 1 in 10 plants and animals to become extinct by 2050. This finding comes after a study looking at the changing habitat of these species and whether they are likely to find a substitute habitat to replace the loss of the one destroyed by rising temperatures. This problem is to a certain extent irreversible with the current amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but can be seen as a base case for what could be much worse if we don't start curbing our reliance on fossil fuels.
Secondly, and somewhat more positively, an overview of the large year ahead for the global space program. The Mars missions are just a beginning, as by the end of the year we should have a satellite orbiting Saturn and launching a probe into the atmosphere of Titan, one of the more interesting moons of the planet.
The role of headscarves in Turkey
Deutsche Welle published an article today about how the social politics of headscarves play in Turkey. Turkey is one of the few Muslim countries that is openly secularist and already has a ban on wearing headscarves in state-controlled areas, which include schools and universities. This seems to contrast with the popularity of the clothing, since the article reports that "headscarves and "modest" ankle-length dresses are worn by the wives of almost every senior politician in the Turkish government." It provides an interesting read and both a different perspective and a little more depth into this issue.
Deutsche Welle published an article today about how the social politics of headscarves play in Turkey. Turkey is one of the few Muslim countries that is openly secularist and already has a ban on wearing headscarves in state-controlled areas, which include schools and universities. This seems to contrast with the popularity of the clothing, since the article reports that "headscarves and "modest" ankle-length dresses are worn by the wives of almost every senior politician in the Turkish government." It provides an interesting read and both a different perspective and a little more depth into this issue.
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Two stories
A good one and a bad one.
The bad one as reported by the BBC tells of a mentally ill man executed in Arkansas after being forcibly given enough drugs to combat his mental illness before being executed. I'm not particularly aware of the elements of this case but for the article, but I would think that there should be alternatives to execution for someone with obvious problems like this.
The good one, at least from my perspective, is that Bill Bradley has now endorsed Governor Howard Dean for the Democratic Presidential Nominee. With Al Gore, this means that all the candidates in the 2000 Democratic Primary are now endorsing Dean.
A good one and a bad one.
The bad one as reported by the BBC tells of a mentally ill man executed in Arkansas after being forcibly given enough drugs to combat his mental illness before being executed. I'm not particularly aware of the elements of this case but for the article, but I would think that there should be alternatives to execution for someone with obvious problems like this.
The good one, at least from my perspective, is that Bill Bradley has now endorsed Governor Howard Dean for the Democratic Presidential Nominee. With Al Gore, this means that all the candidates in the 2000 Democratic Primary are now endorsing Dean.
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Bush in 30 Seconds
The finalists are out on the website Bush in 30 Seconds and are available for viewing. My personal favourites include Child's Pay, In My Country, What Are We Teaching Our Children? and Wake Up America. Check it out.
The finalists are out on the website Bush in 30 Seconds and are available for viewing. My personal favourites include Child's Pay, In My Country, What Are We Teaching Our Children? and Wake Up America. Check it out.
Saturday, January 03, 2004
A little bit of relativism
This topic came out of a discussion I was having with my parents over dinner today. The question has to do with Iraq: has the war been worth doing given the costs? This can be examined in many ways, economically, fiscally, politically, etc., but in this case we were just talking specifically about the loss of life inflicted on Iraqi civilians. This conversation followed up a report I was made aware of when I first flew to Canada on vacation last month. It stated that the Iraqi Health Ministry had been asked to stop counting the number of civilians killed since the United States invaded Iraq. This came at the request of a high ranking official in the ministry, but also garnered the blessing of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority. This will make the true cost of civilian lives much more difficult to determine, although I'm sure there are few in the Bush administration who are disappointed with this turn of events. You wouldn't want 'unpatriotic' thoughts entering the minds of Americans who, up to this point, have backed the war effort.
According to this article, the Associated Press tallies the deaths of about 3,240 civilians between March and April 2003, referencing an exceptionally detailed report by Human Rights Watch. Since this represents a very limited time period, total number is expected to be significantly higher. The website Iraq Body Count, for instance, documents between 7,960 and 9,792 deaths caused by the occupation as of the time of writing this entry, a situation that has caused Amnesty International to issue a press release reminding the United States of its responsibilities as an occupying power to maintain security for the people of Iraq. Finally, independent of whether the administration declares the 'mission accomplished,' this war is far from over and we can only expect the number of casualties to increase.
The problem with these numbers is that after a while they fail to take on an appropriate meaning -- they become numerical abstractions reported on the news along with the Dow Jones Industrial Average. To gain the real meaning of these numbers it is useful to compare them to an event that everyone can relate to -- in this case I've chosen the World Trade Center attacks which began the War on Terror. According to a government website, the total number of dead in the World Trade Center attacks totaled about 2,800 persons. To put the Iraqi case in a better perspective then is to say that the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq has, to this date, caused the people of Iraq a loss of life equivalent to three World Trade Center disasters. This is not a judgment on the war effort overall, since that would require discussing all of the other ramifications of this policy, but at the very least it's a little bit of a sobering thought.
This topic came out of a discussion I was having with my parents over dinner today. The question has to do with Iraq: has the war been worth doing given the costs? This can be examined in many ways, economically, fiscally, politically, etc., but in this case we were just talking specifically about the loss of life inflicted on Iraqi civilians. This conversation followed up a report I was made aware of when I first flew to Canada on vacation last month. It stated that the Iraqi Health Ministry had been asked to stop counting the number of civilians killed since the United States invaded Iraq. This came at the request of a high ranking official in the ministry, but also garnered the blessing of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority. This will make the true cost of civilian lives much more difficult to determine, although I'm sure there are few in the Bush administration who are disappointed with this turn of events. You wouldn't want 'unpatriotic' thoughts entering the minds of Americans who, up to this point, have backed the war effort.
According to this article, the Associated Press tallies the deaths of about 3,240 civilians between March and April 2003, referencing an exceptionally detailed report by Human Rights Watch. Since this represents a very limited time period, total number is expected to be significantly higher. The website Iraq Body Count, for instance, documents between 7,960 and 9,792 deaths caused by the occupation as of the time of writing this entry, a situation that has caused Amnesty International to issue a press release reminding the United States of its responsibilities as an occupying power to maintain security for the people of Iraq. Finally, independent of whether the administration declares the 'mission accomplished,' this war is far from over and we can only expect the number of casualties to increase.
The problem with these numbers is that after a while they fail to take on an appropriate meaning -- they become numerical abstractions reported on the news along with the Dow Jones Industrial Average. To gain the real meaning of these numbers it is useful to compare them to an event that everyone can relate to -- in this case I've chosen the World Trade Center attacks which began the War on Terror. According to a government website, the total number of dead in the World Trade Center attacks totaled about 2,800 persons. To put the Iraqi case in a better perspective then is to say that the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq has, to this date, caused the people of Iraq a loss of life equivalent to three World Trade Center disasters. This is not a judgment on the war effort overall, since that would require discussing all of the other ramifications of this policy, but at the very least it's a little bit of a sobering thought.
Thursday, January 01, 2004
Happy New Year!
Hey all -- just wishing everyone out there a great new year. Just came back from a party that started out questionable but got good in the end. In the spirit of the new year, here's a list of things to do in 2004 from our friends at the Guardian.
Hey all -- just wishing everyone out there a great new year. Just came back from a party that started out questionable but got good in the end. In the spirit of the new year, here's a list of things to do in 2004 from our friends at the Guardian.
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