First Point to Kerry

The first Presidential debate happened on Thursday night, and I have to admit that after much apprehension through the first 15 minutes, I eventually was quite pleased with John Kerry's performance. The media seemed to think that Kerry won the first debate as well, and this is reinforced by polling results. Deutsche Welle reports that Kerry's plan of improving relations with the world is very popular in Europe where Kerry is vastly more popular than President Bush, which leads to some hope to internationalize the Iraq situation if Kerry wins the election.

All of this is no real cause for celebration for the Democrats though, as the road is still long to November. However, they will be getting some help from people like Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, REM, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and Keb' Mo who are currently touring free through swing states in an attempt to garner support for Kerry. Zogby has published and article explaining exactly what debates mean in modern political campaigns, and Wonkette has put together an interesting debate drinking (and not so drinking) game. Fox News has gotten rapped on the hands for publishing quotes attributed to Kerry that were completely fabricated. Also, the new Florida ballot is out for pre-election inspecting, if you want to check it out.

The Bush administration is supporting legislation, introduced by Illinois Republican Dennis Hastert, that would allow US authorities to deport foreigners to countries where they are likely to be tortured or abused, an act that runs contrary to international laws against torture. A report out by a private security firm working for the US government shows that attacks in Iraq have spread to areas that were formerly peaceful, with an average of 70 attacks occurring per day now compared with 40 to 50 in late June. Of course, the Republicans have turned the issue around, with Bush stating that the increased violence just shows how they are on the right track. As the article points out, it's exactly how Bush stated we needed tax breaks when the economy was good before the election for a series of reasons, but when the economy turned bad after he was elected we still needed tax cuts for a whole different set of reasons.

On a related note, the latest set of cuts has made Bush one of the greatest tax-cutting presidents of all time. It's too bad that it's mostly going to the rich who won't spend it to get the economy going, and is financed by huge government deficits that the American people are going to have to pay back someday. Back to Iraq though, the Christian Science Monitor has published an interesting article about the psychological trauma and coping that some soldiers face after they have killed someone. They have also put together a report showing the differences between Bush and Kerry when it comes to environmental policy.

Also:
- Astronomers believe that Jupiter used to be much closer to the sun than it currently is, and could have played a role in the formation of the Earth.
- Earth scientists are trying to understand why and how the Earth's magnetic field flips periodically.
- Astronomers are trying to figure out why there aren't as many galaxies in the universe as theories predict that there should be.
- Britian is looking to take a lead role in the European space programme's mission to Mars, which is scheduled for 2033.
- Scientists have found ways to make buckyballs less toxic for humans and animals.
- A story on how certain plants can clean up toxic sites.
- Diatoms, single-celled organisms that live in the ocean, are being genetically mapped as they convert as much carbon dioxide to carbon as all of the rainforests in the world.
- Mount St. Helens is getting all feisty.
- A book on new materials available for construction today. (pdf)
- In good environmental news, Russia has agreed to accept the Kyoto treaty, finally bringing the law into effect. The decision was hailed by the EU and environmental groups, but the Bush administration continues to voice its opposition to America's signing.
- Harpers has published a story on current issues in public health.
- A new optical method for storing information might lead to DVD-sized disks that hold terabytes of data.
- IBM's Blue Gene supercomputer has surpassed NEC's Earth Simulator to become the fastest supercomputer in the world, clocking 36.01 trillion calculations per second.
- The IG awards, celebrating the strangest scientific research, has wrapped up the 2004 edition.
- Despite the booming economy, certain sectors in China face worker discontent as the economic gains fail to reach the workers.
- Debt forgiveness for developing countries is coming closer to becoming a reality.
- The Washington Post has published an article detailing a first-person account of how the Darfur crisis is impacting a family who's village was attacked by the Arab militias.
- What it's like to be gay in the Bible belt.
- A new book examines the fallacies behind modern portfolio theory, suggesting that fractals might help us understand markets better.
- Spain has approved same-sex marriages, despite opposition from the Catholic Church that threatens to divide the traditionally Catholic nation. In Canada, similar federal legislation has been stalled until fall 2005.
- An overview of the new session of the Supreme Court.
- Jay Leno has announced his retirement from the Tonight Show - in 2009.
- The Village Voice examines why George Bush isn't as much of a cowboy as he claims that he is.
- After Bill O'Reilly called Daily Show viewers 'a bunch of stoned slackers,' a study of viewers of the Daily Show vs. Fox News' the O'Reilly Factor show that Daily Show watchers are more likely to have a university degree than viewers of the O'Reilly Factor.
- An Italian taken hostage in Iraq has been freed, only to come out publicly in support of the Iraqi resistance.
- Richard Avedon, a photographer famous for his black and white photos, has died on Friday.