The urban chaos that has plagued Paris for the last two weeks is now starting to spread to other French cities such as Toulouse and Rennes. The President is vowing to put a stop to the violence and re-establish order, as the 'burnt car count' went over 1,300 last night.
In the second such story I've heard in the past month, Bush is promising to end agricultural subsidies to US farmers in exchange for movement in trade negotiations.
How big is cocaine in London right now? Big enough that you can now find trace amounts of it in the Thames. Scientists extrapolate from these latest findings that as many as 150,000 lines of cocaine are being done in the city every day.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
2400 and counting baby!
Well, I just checked, and I just went over the 2400 hit mark since I started this blog up. Now, I know that some blogs get this in an hour, but I'm still pretty happy about it.
Thanks to Mr./Ms. Maritime Life (who also has an Eastlink account, and apparently an old computer running Windows 98) for putting me over the top by searching Google for "Marni Halifax Roommate." Certainly not the most common way to get here, but hey, to each his own.
Thanks to Mr./Ms. Maritime Life (who also has an Eastlink account, and apparently an old computer running Windows 98) for putting me over the top by searching Google for "Marni Halifax Roommate." Certainly not the most common way to get here, but hey, to each his own.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Cheap Energy for Everyone!
If this Guardian report is correct, a medic at Harvard University, Randall Mills, has discovered a brand new source of power - one that's clean, has exceptionally cheap inputs, and produces piles of energy. I wouldn't hold your breath yet though, since he's also claiming that his new discovery also disproves quantum mechanics, which puts him closer to quack territory. Cold fusion, anyone?
Paris riots, day 9. Last night an amazing 900 cars were set ablaze. Time weighs in with their explanation of the violence, which involves France's homogenization of citizenry and systemic unemployment problems.
Finally, an interesting public art project involving the projection of images from a subway train.
Paris riots, day 9. Last night an amazing 900 cars were set ablaze. Time weighs in with their explanation of the violence, which involves France's homogenization of citizenry and systemic unemployment problems.
Finally, an interesting public art project involving the projection of images from a subway train.
Friday, November 04, 2005
I'm sure if you're like me, the riots in France have been somewhat of a wtf? moment. I mean, we all know that relations between the French government and the Muslim population weren't exactly pristine, but a week of riots and car burning? Luckily, the Christian Science Monitor comes to the rescue with a background to the situation.
So you can make it go up and down, maybe even 'walk the dog.' The real question is whether you can do something like this with your yo-yo.
Firefox has now passed the 10% mark for global browser share.
Finally, in astronomy, scientists have found what they believe to be the first stars in the universe, formed only 200 million years after the big bang, or 14 billion years ago, give or take a couple. I already thought that this was a theory on the books, but another study cites evidence for the existence of a supermassive black hole in the centre of our galaxy by monitoring radio waves coming from that area. Finally, if you're interested in astronomy you should all download Celestia, because it's an excellent program both as a planetarium type application and one that actually lets you fly around in your own 'space-ship' in real time.
So you can make it go up and down, maybe even 'walk the dog.' The real question is whether you can do something like this with your yo-yo.
Firefox has now passed the 10% mark for global browser share.
Finally, in astronomy, scientists have found what they believe to be the first stars in the universe, formed only 200 million years after the big bang, or 14 billion years ago, give or take a couple. I already thought that this was a theory on the books, but another study cites evidence for the existence of a supermassive black hole in the centre of our galaxy by monitoring radio waves coming from that area. Finally, if you're interested in astronomy you should all download Celestia, because it's an excellent program both as a planetarium type application and one that actually lets you fly around in your own 'space-ship' in real time.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
I'm still alive!
Hey, I know it's been forever and a day since I've posted, but I'm currently at the University of Edinburgh doing a MSc in Nationalism Studies, and, well, it's quite a bit of work.
However, I am committed to updating this from time to time. Needless to say, until I finish up this degree it won't quite have the length that it normally does, but I still do come across interesting things that I'd like to share.
However, I am committed to updating this from time to time. Needless to say, until I finish up this degree it won't quite have the length that it normally does, but I still do come across interesting things that I'd like to share.
Friday, June 24, 2005
The Hard-Liner vs. the 'Moderate', Round 2
The second round of the Iranian Presidential election is slated for tomorrow, and both candidates are out in force attempting to win favour with the electorate. Former President and moderate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is playing the economic card by promising hard cash for the privatization of government industry and promising that his reign will ease tensions with the outside world. The Islamist candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is campaigning on a greater redistribution of wealth to the poor and a greater fight against corruption. Campaigning through ads in various media is taking on a new importance as the candidates attempt to shape their political images.
The debate over flag-burning is once again alive in the United States, as the House of Representatives passed a constitutional amendment, for the fourth time in its history, that prohibits the burning of the American flag. The difference now is that there is a decent chance that the Senate will also pass it with the required 2/3 majority, leaving it up to the President (and you know where he stands) and 38 states to make it the 28th amendment. Other bloggers are already scrambling to figure out ways to get around the proposed law.
Zimbabwe's Operation Restore Order, Operation Murambatsvina, or Operation "Drive Out The Trash," which consists of the systematic destruction of all urban shelters for the poor, has come under increased scrutiny as 2 children have been killed in the demolition process. The Christian Science Monitor has taken out an editorial against the 'systematic cleansing' of the poor, an act that has forced over 100,000 people out of the urban areas.
Well, I may have spoken too soon about the solar sail. First they thought it was lost, but there was still a slim chance that they could find it again. But no, scientists working on the project have stated that the mission was a failure.
Also:
- IBM's Blue Gene tops the supercomputer list even though it is only partially built and expects a final speed of double its current.
- Wired asks, should we be afraid of Google?
- Doctors are educating their patients going under that the anaesthetics can produce intense sexual dreams.
- A cannabis-like substance naturally produced by the brain has an important function in easing pain.
- Sugar subsidies to European farmers are being cut by 40%, in a move that will no doubt hurt European farmers but benefit developing countries like Brazil.
- Farming of the future, done vertically.
- How many times can you fold a paper in half? Apparently 12 times.
- Russia's population is plummeting, with the overall loss of 100 people every hour.
- The Supreme Court of the United States has just ruled that cities can reclaim private property to make way for private development.
- The Onion circa mid-21st century.
- Expiration dates for those food items/household products that do not usually carry them.
- The global image of America is up slightly, but they still rank lower than China. People also almost uniformly hate President Bush, which should come as no surprise.
- The 50 most shoplifted items. (pdf)
- The British were developing an aircraft carrier made out of ice in WWII. Seriously.
- Showing your faith through your sandals.
- If that's not your type of fashion-statement, maybe you'd like a new Japanese trend called 'decorer.'
The debate over flag-burning is once again alive in the United States, as the House of Representatives passed a constitutional amendment, for the fourth time in its history, that prohibits the burning of the American flag. The difference now is that there is a decent chance that the Senate will also pass it with the required 2/3 majority, leaving it up to the President (and you know where he stands) and 38 states to make it the 28th amendment. Other bloggers are already scrambling to figure out ways to get around the proposed law.
Zimbabwe's Operation Restore Order, Operation Murambatsvina, or Operation "Drive Out The Trash," which consists of the systematic destruction of all urban shelters for the poor, has come under increased scrutiny as 2 children have been killed in the demolition process. The Christian Science Monitor has taken out an editorial against the 'systematic cleansing' of the poor, an act that has forced over 100,000 people out of the urban areas.
Well, I may have spoken too soon about the solar sail. First they thought it was lost, but there was still a slim chance that they could find it again. But no, scientists working on the project have stated that the mission was a failure.
Also:
- IBM's Blue Gene tops the supercomputer list even though it is only partially built and expects a final speed of double its current.
- Wired asks, should we be afraid of Google?
- Doctors are educating their patients going under that the anaesthetics can produce intense sexual dreams.
- A cannabis-like substance naturally produced by the brain has an important function in easing pain.
- Sugar subsidies to European farmers are being cut by 40%, in a move that will no doubt hurt European farmers but benefit developing countries like Brazil.
- Farming of the future, done vertically.
- How many times can you fold a paper in half? Apparently 12 times.
- Russia's population is plummeting, with the overall loss of 100 people every hour.
- The Supreme Court of the United States has just ruled that cities can reclaim private property to make way for private development.
- The Onion circa mid-21st century.
- Expiration dates for those food items/household products that do not usually carry them.
- The global image of America is up slightly, but they still rank lower than China. People also almost uniformly hate President Bush, which should come as no surprise.
- The 50 most shoplifted items. (pdf)
- The British were developing an aircraft carrier made out of ice in WWII. Seriously.
- Showing your faith through your sandals.
- If that's not your type of fashion-statement, maybe you'd like a new Japanese trend called 'decorer.'
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Iranian repeat of Chirac/Le Pen?
The results from the first round of elections in Iran are in, resulting in the need for a second round for the first time ever, as no candidate won majority support. This round will have the front-runner and former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani face off against hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad on June 24th. The Christian Science Monitor profiles both men. Electoral authorities in Iran have claimed that the voting was not fraudulent despite the closing of several newspapers and allegations of voter intimidation by reform candidates, and have asked President Bush for an apology over negative remarks he made on the process. The Guardian Council permitted three days in which any reports of fraud could be brought before them. Der Spiegel points out that even the moderate candidate, if elected, will face the same problems that plagued his predecessor, Mohammed Khatami, as most of the political power still resides in the Guardian Council. Here's the Wikipedia article on the Government of Iran to show how the structures relate.
Leaders from African countries are asking Western nations to cancel current African debt to allow for their countries to develop successfully in the run-up to the G8 meeting. Even the new head of the World Bank and former Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz is calling on the United States to increase the amount of aid given to poor African countries as he made the rounds praising several of these countries for lowering their corruption levels. It's not all about money though -- the impact of climate change on Africa must also be taken into consideration in development models, as a good deal of African agriculture could be destroyed with rising global temperatures.
Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi turned 60 this weekend, though she still remains under the house arrest imposed by the Burmese military dictatorship in 2003. The CSM has published a story on a child's perspective of the civil war that plagues that country, especially the use of child soldiers in the conflict.
Today begins the age of the solar sail, as the experimental spacecraft Cosmos-1 blasted into space. There is some concern that the solar sail did not separate from its booster rocket, which will take up to a day to confirm.
Also:
- Advances in quantum theory have explained how time-travel paradoxes can not occur.
- Scientists are experimenting with new technology that could create a 3-D replica of a person in another location, sort of like in Star Wars, I assume.
- Female orgasms are found to shut down parts of the brain associated with fear and anxiety, and other observations from a new study.
- Teratomas, the new way to produce stem cells needed for regenerative medicine without having to kill embryos. Very creepy.
- A critique of Dr. Laura Schlessinger's book on raising children as a throwback to the attitudes of the 1950s.
- A story from the New Yorker about Patrick Henry College, a breeding ground for socially conservative activists. You should check out their honour code which includes "I will resolve personal conflicts biblically." Does this mean you can stone people?
- Other essays on the social differences between men and women.
- A new theory on Alpine glacier melt that is not completely connected to global warming.
- Oil approaches $60/barrel over unrest in Nigeria and high oil demand.
- The heavy impact on churches of the government of Zimbabwe's casting-out of the poor from urban areas .
- The US House of Representatives have voted to limit certain powers in the Patriot Act, despite the threat of a veto from President Bush.
- Both President Bush and Congress are declining in the polls, with Bush receiving an approval rating of 42%.
- Despite having lost the Terri Schiavo thing both in terms of her death and their allegations that she could have been rehabilitated, Republicans in Florida including Gov. Jeb Bush are still trying to keep her alive in the media.
- Canadian political parties who received less than 2% of the vote want their $1.75 per voter from the government.
- Saddam Hussein apparently has many quirks, including a fondness for former President Ronald Regan.
- Traffic calming, or ways to slow down the pace of traffic on busy streets.
- Ways to celebrate the summer solstice now includes partying at Stonehenge or partying in Antarctica.
- The Research Channel, streaming video of scientific talks, lectures and discoveries.
- In one of the most silly lobbying attempts I've heard of, potato farmers have lobbied the British government to have the phrase 'couch potato' dropped from the Oxford dictionary, seeing it as harmful to the vegetable’s reputation.
Leaders from African countries are asking Western nations to cancel current African debt to allow for their countries to develop successfully in the run-up to the G8 meeting. Even the new head of the World Bank and former Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz is calling on the United States to increase the amount of aid given to poor African countries as he made the rounds praising several of these countries for lowering their corruption levels. It's not all about money though -- the impact of climate change on Africa must also be taken into consideration in development models, as a good deal of African agriculture could be destroyed with rising global temperatures.
Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi turned 60 this weekend, though she still remains under the house arrest imposed by the Burmese military dictatorship in 2003. The CSM has published a story on a child's perspective of the civil war that plagues that country, especially the use of child soldiers in the conflict.
Today begins the age of the solar sail, as the experimental spacecraft Cosmos-1 blasted into space. There is some concern that the solar sail did not separate from its booster rocket, which will take up to a day to confirm.
Also:
- Advances in quantum theory have explained how time-travel paradoxes can not occur.
- Scientists are experimenting with new technology that could create a 3-D replica of a person in another location, sort of like in Star Wars, I assume.
- Female orgasms are found to shut down parts of the brain associated with fear and anxiety, and other observations from a new study.
- Teratomas, the new way to produce stem cells needed for regenerative medicine without having to kill embryos. Very creepy.
- A critique of Dr. Laura Schlessinger's book on raising children as a throwback to the attitudes of the 1950s.
- A story from the New Yorker about Patrick Henry College, a breeding ground for socially conservative activists. You should check out their honour code which includes "I will resolve personal conflicts biblically." Does this mean you can stone people?
- Other essays on the social differences between men and women.
- A new theory on Alpine glacier melt that is not completely connected to global warming.
- Oil approaches $60/barrel over unrest in Nigeria and high oil demand.
- The heavy impact on churches of the government of Zimbabwe's casting-out of the poor from urban areas .
- The US House of Representatives have voted to limit certain powers in the Patriot Act, despite the threat of a veto from President Bush.
- Both President Bush and Congress are declining in the polls, with Bush receiving an approval rating of 42%.
- Despite having lost the Terri Schiavo thing both in terms of her death and their allegations that she could have been rehabilitated, Republicans in Florida including Gov. Jeb Bush are still trying to keep her alive in the media.
- Canadian political parties who received less than 2% of the vote want their $1.75 per voter from the government.
- Saddam Hussein apparently has many quirks, including a fondness for former President Ronald Regan.
- Traffic calming, or ways to slow down the pace of traffic on busy streets.
- Ways to celebrate the summer solstice now includes partying at Stonehenge or partying in Antarctica.
- The Research Channel, streaming video of scientific talks, lectures and discoveries.
- In one of the most silly lobbying attempts I've heard of, potato farmers have lobbied the British government to have the phrase 'couch potato' dropped from the Oxford dictionary, seeing it as harmful to the vegetable’s reputation.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Debt Relief for Developing Countries, Finally.
18 developed countries have announced a deal that would erase $55 billion of African debt from the books. This will have a large impact on the budgets of many African countries who are currently facing large, unsolvable crises. President Bush has added to the dialogue the need for additional governmental reform and free trade, parroting the line that got most of these countries in this mess in the first place. Name me one underdeveloped country that achieved development through free trade and not protectionism and I'll buy you a beer. The Bush administration is also under fire for the paltry amount they plan to personally write off for poor African countries, only a little more than half a billion dollars, most of which won't be in the form of new spending, but will come from existing budgets. The Christian Science Monitor has a pretty good overview of the deal, what it means and the various ideologies surrounding the decision.
A large battle is taking place in Australia over a Chinese diplomat, Chen Yonglin, who is attempting to defect over China's treatment of the religious group Falun Gong and pro-democracy advocates. Chen has already stated that he would rather die than return to China, given what would likely happen to him if he was returned. China has come out denying his claims of repression, saying that he would be treated fairly if returned. All evidence though shows that this is likely not the case. To quote the introduction of Amnesty International's latest report on China:
"Despite a few positive steps, no attempt was made to introduce the fundamental legal and institutional reforms necessary to bring an end to serious human rights violations. Tens of thousands of people continued to be detained or imprisoned in violation of their rights to freedom of expression and association, and were at serious risk of torture or ill-treatment ... Restrictions increased on the cultural and religious rights of the mainly Muslim Uighur community in Xinjiang, where thousands of people have been detained or imprisoned for so-called “separatist” or “terrorist” offences. In Tibet and other ethnic Tibetan areas, freedom of expression and religion continued to be severely restricted. China continued to use the international “war against terrorism” as a pretext for cracking down on peaceful dissent." (italics mine)
Pro-democracy advocates have rallied in Australia in support of the defection of Chen Yonglin and another diplomat, but after appealing to both Australia and the United States, it is unlikely that they will be granted asylum. All of this comes as China has issued an additional clampdown on expression on the internet, setting up a program that will monitor all internet activity for voices of political dissent against the government. They have also set up a host of pro-government sites and commentators to combat any non-sanctioned expression. In addition, Microsoft has agreed to censor any reference to democracy or freedom from their Chinese website. Oh, and I almost forgot, the two also reported that the government of China has over 1000 spies in Canada.
With the widest range of candidates since the Islamic Revolution, The Presidential election in Iran has turned violent, as some candidates, including the leading reformist Behzad Nabavi, have been physically assaulted. Nabavi was quoted as saying that he hasn't "been beaten like this since the days of SAVAK." In addition to physical assaults, Iranian candidates also have to deal with a number of bomb attacks that have killed at least 10 people. Hundreds of women protested in Tehran, the largest public display of women since the revolution, over the discrimination they face in their day-to-day lives. Despite all of these events and what will likely be a tight race, the largest problem that election officials will likely face on election day is the apathy of the electorate.
Life for the political opposition in Ethiopia is getting tougher, with many now subject to house arrest. The government is defending its crackdown, one that resulted in the deaths of dozens protesters. As if that wasn't enough, the government then went about arresting over 3000 people and beating journalists.
A couple of human sexuality reports have come out this week. The first shows that men engaged in watching mixed-gender pornography produce more sperm, possibly because the presence of other males engaged in sexual activity boosts the competitive side of male sexual physiology. The second is about females, specifically that there is a genetic component to whether or not they can achieve orgasm. Traditionally, social or psychological problems have been associated with female sexual problems of this nature.
Also:
- A group of astronomers have found a rocky planet orbiting a star 15 light years away that has 7 1/2 times the mass of earth, the smallest discovered to date.
- A view from the inside of a tornado, caught for the first time ever.
- Global Warming only exists if you let it exist; the Bush administration is caught editing scientific documents to downplay the link between fossil fuels and climate change. Oh, and while your at it, you can then quit your job and get one with ExxonMobil.
- Global military spending is approaching Cold War highs, with the USA accounting for 47% of it.
- New buzzword of the moment: "terabyte-lifestyle."
- The latest version of OS X might show that using folders to organize a computer system is a thing of the past.
- StatsCanada released a report showing that having less than a high-school education is very detrimental to your chances of getting married.
- Having good friends will help you live longer.
- Stem cell treatment for brain disorders has made another major advance.
- There is a very good chance that the UN Security Council will be reformed to include 10 extra members.
- CNN shocks the world by airing a program in the United States that reports actual news.
- An autopsy done on Terri Shiavo is putting Republican tactics on the issue into question.
- South Africa reinvents the chastity belt with its latest efforts to catch rapists.
- The enormous impact of Robert Mugabe's decision to evict all urban poor from Zimbabwean cities.
- The Christian Science Monitor asks an important question: How can the conflict in the Congo which kills 1000 people a day not be a news story?
- An overview of the new way pro-choice groups plan to sell abortion to the general public.
- Wal-Mart is banned from preventing employees from having relationships in Germany.
- Professional wrestling and British football are growing closer together -- both now feature fans shouting "USA! USA!" The latter though, use it as an insult.
- How to cook salmon in your dishwasher. Not for the cooking neophyte.
- A collection of insulting and prejudiced quotes from the American right.
- Taking DDR to the next level.
- An article on why learning Arabic is harder than you might think.
- A new Japanese-built robot shows the impact of the uncanny valley effect.
- A collection of works by black and white photographer Ansel Adams.
- A video of Tom Lehrer on mathematics.
- What colour eyes will your children have?
- 4-dimentional objects visualized in 3-D.
- A link to the site of Dave Devries, and artist who takes pictures of monsters drawn by children and then redraws them artistically.
A large battle is taking place in Australia over a Chinese diplomat, Chen Yonglin, who is attempting to defect over China's treatment of the religious group Falun Gong and pro-democracy advocates. Chen has already stated that he would rather die than return to China, given what would likely happen to him if he was returned. China has come out denying his claims of repression, saying that he would be treated fairly if returned. All evidence though shows that this is likely not the case. To quote the introduction of Amnesty International's latest report on China:
"Despite a few positive steps, no attempt was made to introduce the fundamental legal and institutional reforms necessary to bring an end to serious human rights violations. Tens of thousands of people continued to be detained or imprisoned in violation of their rights to freedom of expression and association, and were at serious risk of torture or ill-treatment ... Restrictions increased on the cultural and religious rights of the mainly Muslim Uighur community in Xinjiang, where thousands of people have been detained or imprisoned for so-called “separatist” or “terrorist” offences. In Tibet and other ethnic Tibetan areas, freedom of expression and religion continued to be severely restricted. China continued to use the international “war against terrorism” as a pretext for cracking down on peaceful dissent." (italics mine)
Pro-democracy advocates have rallied in Australia in support of the defection of Chen Yonglin and another diplomat, but after appealing to both Australia and the United States, it is unlikely that they will be granted asylum. All of this comes as China has issued an additional clampdown on expression on the internet, setting up a program that will monitor all internet activity for voices of political dissent against the government. They have also set up a host of pro-government sites and commentators to combat any non-sanctioned expression. In addition, Microsoft has agreed to censor any reference to democracy or freedom from their Chinese website. Oh, and I almost forgot, the two also reported that the government of China has over 1000 spies in Canada.
With the widest range of candidates since the Islamic Revolution, The Presidential election in Iran has turned violent, as some candidates, including the leading reformist Behzad Nabavi, have been physically assaulted. Nabavi was quoted as saying that he hasn't "been beaten like this since the days of SAVAK." In addition to physical assaults, Iranian candidates also have to deal with a number of bomb attacks that have killed at least 10 people. Hundreds of women protested in Tehran, the largest public display of women since the revolution, over the discrimination they face in their day-to-day lives. Despite all of these events and what will likely be a tight race, the largest problem that election officials will likely face on election day is the apathy of the electorate.
Life for the political opposition in Ethiopia is getting tougher, with many now subject to house arrest. The government is defending its crackdown, one that resulted in the deaths of dozens protesters. As if that wasn't enough, the government then went about arresting over 3000 people and beating journalists.
A couple of human sexuality reports have come out this week. The first shows that men engaged in watching mixed-gender pornography produce more sperm, possibly because the presence of other males engaged in sexual activity boosts the competitive side of male sexual physiology. The second is about females, specifically that there is a genetic component to whether or not they can achieve orgasm. Traditionally, social or psychological problems have been associated with female sexual problems of this nature.
Also:
- A group of astronomers have found a rocky planet orbiting a star 15 light years away that has 7 1/2 times the mass of earth, the smallest discovered to date.
- A view from the inside of a tornado, caught for the first time ever.
- Global Warming only exists if you let it exist; the Bush administration is caught editing scientific documents to downplay the link between fossil fuels and climate change. Oh, and while your at it, you can then quit your job and get one with ExxonMobil.
- Global military spending is approaching Cold War highs, with the USA accounting for 47% of it.
- New buzzword of the moment: "terabyte-lifestyle."
- The latest version of OS X might show that using folders to organize a computer system is a thing of the past.
- StatsCanada released a report showing that having less than a high-school education is very detrimental to your chances of getting married.
- Having good friends will help you live longer.
- Stem cell treatment for brain disorders has made another major advance.
- There is a very good chance that the UN Security Council will be reformed to include 10 extra members.
- CNN shocks the world by airing a program in the United States that reports actual news.
- An autopsy done on Terri Shiavo is putting Republican tactics on the issue into question.
- South Africa reinvents the chastity belt with its latest efforts to catch rapists.
- The enormous impact of Robert Mugabe's decision to evict all urban poor from Zimbabwean cities.
- The Christian Science Monitor asks an important question: How can the conflict in the Congo which kills 1000 people a day not be a news story?
- An overview of the new way pro-choice groups plan to sell abortion to the general public.
- Wal-Mart is banned from preventing employees from having relationships in Germany.
- Professional wrestling and British football are growing closer together -- both now feature fans shouting "USA! USA!" The latter though, use it as an insult.
- How to cook salmon in your dishwasher. Not for the cooking neophyte.
- A collection of insulting and prejudiced quotes from the American right.
- Taking DDR to the next level.
- An article on why learning Arabic is harder than you might think.
- A new Japanese-built robot shows the impact of the uncanny valley effect.
- A collection of works by black and white photographer Ansel Adams.
- A video of Tom Lehrer on mathematics.
- What colour eyes will your children have?
- 4-dimentional objects visualized in 3-D.
- A link to the site of Dave Devries, and artist who takes pictures of monsters drawn by children and then redraws them artistically.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Beethoven Symphonies!
The first Beethoven symphonies available for free download in mp3 format are currently up on BBC 3's website. Only Symphony No. 1 and No. 3 (Eroica) are available right now, but more will be coming as the week progresses.
Britian opts out of EU vote for now
The continuing integration of Europe took yet another blow today, with Britain signalling that it will not even hold a vote on the EU constitution given the events of the past week. Most commentary is focusing on how there needs to be a period of reflection through which the ideas that can continue to move integration forward acceptably can rise to the top of public discussion.
The International Criminal Court has announced that it will hold an inquiry into possible war crimes charges in the Darfur conflict in the Sudan. Zimbabwe is looking more and more like it might be the next country to face this type of scrutiny, especially after the police have warned protestors in a general strike scheduled on Thursday that they will take tough action against those who take part.
The Supreme Court of the United States upheld a law against medical-marijuana, effectively invalidating laws that 11 states passed that allow for the use of marijuana in controlled circumstances. It's ironic that a Supreme Court known for its state-power first mantra conveniently flips sides when the results go against their other conservative views, or, as in 2000, when they needed to elect a Republican president.
The United States is facing some more bad press in South America, as the Columbian Congress is reviewing a treaty that shields American troops from any prosecution if they commit crimes while fighting the 'war against drugs.' This is important since in the last 3 months, 7 soldiers have been charged with drug and weapons smuggling. They could take some advice from Russia, who knowing that they have an imagine problem have launched a new English-language TV station to sell the country.
Also:
- When scientists aren't simulating galaxies (see previous post), they're simulating the human brain.
- A picture of what's left in one of the main Saudi oil fields.
- 10 patients suffering from heart failure who have recieved injections of foetal stem cells have all been rapidly recovering from their condition three months post-treatment.
- How increases in longevity might hamper progress.
- Top 100 tech products of 2005, according to PC World magazine.
- The United States and North Korea are now in talks about the latter's nuclear programme at the United Nations.
- Gilles Duceppe, current leader of the federal Bloc Québécois, is hinting that he might run for the provincial leadership of the Parti Québécois since Bernard Landry gave his resignation notice.
- The American Dream of upwards mobility is increasingly untrue for the majority of citizens.
- A judge has ruled that the claims made in the M3Power razor ads are unsubstantiated and inaccurate.
The International Criminal Court has announced that it will hold an inquiry into possible war crimes charges in the Darfur conflict in the Sudan. Zimbabwe is looking more and more like it might be the next country to face this type of scrutiny, especially after the police have warned protestors in a general strike scheduled on Thursday that they will take tough action against those who take part.
The Supreme Court of the United States upheld a law against medical-marijuana, effectively invalidating laws that 11 states passed that allow for the use of marijuana in controlled circumstances. It's ironic that a Supreme Court known for its state-power first mantra conveniently flips sides when the results go against their other conservative views, or, as in 2000, when they needed to elect a Republican president.
The United States is facing some more bad press in South America, as the Columbian Congress is reviewing a treaty that shields American troops from any prosecution if they commit crimes while fighting the 'war against drugs.' This is important since in the last 3 months, 7 soldiers have been charged with drug and weapons smuggling. They could take some advice from Russia, who knowing that they have an imagine problem have launched a new English-language TV station to sell the country.
Also:
- When scientists aren't simulating galaxies (see previous post), they're simulating the human brain.
- A picture of what's left in one of the main Saudi oil fields.
- 10 patients suffering from heart failure who have recieved injections of foetal stem cells have all been rapidly recovering from their condition three months post-treatment.
- How increases in longevity might hamper progress.
- Top 100 tech products of 2005, according to PC World magazine.
- The United States and North Korea are now in talks about the latter's nuclear programme at the United Nations.
- Gilles Duceppe, current leader of the federal Bloc Québécois, is hinting that he might run for the provincial leadership of the Parti Québécois since Bernard Landry gave his resignation notice.
- The American Dream of upwards mobility is increasingly untrue for the majority of citizens.
- A judge has ruled that the claims made in the M3Power razor ads are unsubstantiated and inaccurate.
Monday, June 06, 2005
T-plus 16, with little progress
It's the 16th anniversary since the massacre of hundreds, if not over a thousand students by the Chinese military in Tiananmen Square after six weeks of peaceful protests. A vigil was held in Hong Kong to commemorate the event. A reporter who obtained a copy of a manuscript in which a then-Chinese premier at the time that indicated support for the democracy movement in the government has been charged with spying by the Chinese government and imprisoned. Amnesty International used the anniversary to call for the release of the students who are still imprisoned from the demonstration and that an independent inquiry be conducted bringing those responsible for the orders to justice. The Chinese government has simply ignored these requests. To think this is the country that will host the 2008 Olympics - they might as well have chosen Iran.
In the United States, the Amnesty International report continues to make news. Think Progress notes that although the Bush administration has attempted to discredit the authority of AI when they are being criticized, they were all too quick to use AI reports when providing examples of the crimes of Saddam Hussein. The report has caused some problems for the administration as the war over how to define the detention centres consumes political capital. The bad press has some senators calling for the shut down of Guantanamo Bay. Amnesty has recently added fuel to the fire, by stating that the United States was running an archipelago of secret detention centres around the world where they can interrogate prisoners without external observation.
The United Nations has declared that the forced evictions of people from shantytowns by the government of Zimbabwe is a gross violation of human rights. This comes as the regime of Robert Mugabe increasingly clings on to control of the government, implementing a scorched-earth policy against anyone it sees as opposing it.
A story on how bird flu could likely be the next world pandemic, and by that, we're talking millions worldwide. A bigger problem is that it's likely to originate in China, where the government has a history of covering up outbreaks instead of alerting the international community so other countries can prepare for a rapidly spreading disease. On the upside though, other scientists believe that they have found a vaccine for Ebola, another fear-inducing illness in Africa.
In the continuing saga of religious conservatives in America, a story about how the new company to boycott is Ford. Among the many claims on their site justifying the boycott, one of my personal favourites is "Ford was given a 100% score on this year's Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index." Because you clearly can't support a company that scores so high in their enforcement of human rights standards. When they're not boycotting random companies, and now that they have put some pressure on what universities teach, 'Christian' conservatives are now going after secondary institutions. Now, any case where people are not free to practice their religion or offer their opinion is clearly reprehensible, but worrying about that a World History class will indoctrinate students with Islam is a little loony.
Also:
- Scientists now agree that Voyager 1 has officially left the solar system, crossing the terminal shock. A website out of the University of Iowa allows you to hear what this sounded like, in addition to other astronomical phenomena.
- A consortium of physicists have simulated a universe measuring 2 billion light years on each side starting from the big bang in order to see the evolution of galaxies over billions of years.
- NASA is currently planning its next mission to Mars, just as it managed to free the current rover from a sand trap.
- Scientists have sequenced the DNA of a species of cave bear that went extinct 40,000 years ago.
- The United Nations has released a series of photographs showing the amount of environmental change that has occurred from when satellites first were launched until now.
- In an interesting plan to curb traffic problems, the UK is proposing using satellites and other technology to track motorists on routinely busy routes and charge them up to £1.30/mile.
- Hold on to your hats if you live on the Atlantic. Scientists are expecting a busy hurricane season.
- Laugh for 10-15 minutes a day, and you burn enough calories to eat an extra piece of chocolate.
- Israel released almost 400 Palestinian prisoners as part of a deal with the Palestinian Authority.
- The Christian Science Monitor points out that where radical Islam has faced electoral competition, they have generally become more moderate.
- Russia lets its concerns be known about the possible American weaponization of space.
- Apparently Greece is more hard-core religious than I knew, as an artist has been charged with insulting public decency and the Church.
- Swiss voters recently voted 55% in favour of closer European integration and 58% in favour for entrenched rights for same-sex couples.
- Next up on the Bush administration's pro-life crusade, embryo adoption for all those left over from IVF attempts.
- A group of Wal-Mart investors is coming down hard on the recent problems facing the company image.
- An article about how the rate of human innovation might be on the decline.
- Pornography might be getting its own domain name, .xxx.
- Quake 4 has a website where you can check out the flash trailer for the game.
- Perhaps taking a line from Super Size Me, a blog about attempting to verify the extent to which Guiness is a beer that drinks like a meal.
- BBC Radio 3 is having an all-Beethoven week, featuring free mp3 downloads of all 9 symphonies.
- More free mp3s, this time old recordings from 78s.
- Some pretty friggin' cool chalk drawings on the street.
In the United States, the Amnesty International report continues to make news. Think Progress notes that although the Bush administration has attempted to discredit the authority of AI when they are being criticized, they were all too quick to use AI reports when providing examples of the crimes of Saddam Hussein. The report has caused some problems for the administration as the war over how to define the detention centres consumes political capital. The bad press has some senators calling for the shut down of Guantanamo Bay. Amnesty has recently added fuel to the fire, by stating that the United States was running an archipelago of secret detention centres around the world where they can interrogate prisoners without external observation.
The United Nations has declared that the forced evictions of people from shantytowns by the government of Zimbabwe is a gross violation of human rights. This comes as the regime of Robert Mugabe increasingly clings on to control of the government, implementing a scorched-earth policy against anyone it sees as opposing it.
A story on how bird flu could likely be the next world pandemic, and by that, we're talking millions worldwide. A bigger problem is that it's likely to originate in China, where the government has a history of covering up outbreaks instead of alerting the international community so other countries can prepare for a rapidly spreading disease. On the upside though, other scientists believe that they have found a vaccine for Ebola, another fear-inducing illness in Africa.
In the continuing saga of religious conservatives in America, a story about how the new company to boycott is Ford. Among the many claims on their site justifying the boycott, one of my personal favourites is "Ford was given a 100% score on this year's Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index." Because you clearly can't support a company that scores so high in their enforcement of human rights standards. When they're not boycotting random companies, and now that they have put some pressure on what universities teach, 'Christian' conservatives are now going after secondary institutions. Now, any case where people are not free to practice their religion or offer their opinion is clearly reprehensible, but worrying about that a World History class will indoctrinate students with Islam is a little loony.
Also:
- Scientists now agree that Voyager 1 has officially left the solar system, crossing the terminal shock. A website out of the University of Iowa allows you to hear what this sounded like, in addition to other astronomical phenomena.
- A consortium of physicists have simulated a universe measuring 2 billion light years on each side starting from the big bang in order to see the evolution of galaxies over billions of years.
- NASA is currently planning its next mission to Mars, just as it managed to free the current rover from a sand trap.
- Scientists have sequenced the DNA of a species of cave bear that went extinct 40,000 years ago.
- The United Nations has released a series of photographs showing the amount of environmental change that has occurred from when satellites first were launched until now.
- In an interesting plan to curb traffic problems, the UK is proposing using satellites and other technology to track motorists on routinely busy routes and charge them up to £1.30/mile.
- Hold on to your hats if you live on the Atlantic. Scientists are expecting a busy hurricane season.
- Laugh for 10-15 minutes a day, and you burn enough calories to eat an extra piece of chocolate.
- Israel released almost 400 Palestinian prisoners as part of a deal with the Palestinian Authority.
- The Christian Science Monitor points out that where radical Islam has faced electoral competition, they have generally become more moderate.
- Russia lets its concerns be known about the possible American weaponization of space.
- Apparently Greece is more hard-core religious than I knew, as an artist has been charged with insulting public decency and the Church.
- Swiss voters recently voted 55% in favour of closer European integration and 58% in favour for entrenched rights for same-sex couples.
- Next up on the Bush administration's pro-life crusade, embryo adoption for all those left over from IVF attempts.
- A group of Wal-Mart investors is coming down hard on the recent problems facing the company image.
- An article about how the rate of human innovation might be on the decline.
- Pornography might be getting its own domain name, .xxx.
- Quake 4 has a website where you can check out the flash trailer for the game.
- Perhaps taking a line from Super Size Me, a blog about attempting to verify the extent to which Guiness is a beer that drinks like a meal.
- BBC Radio 3 is having an all-Beethoven week, featuring free mp3 downloads of all 9 symphonies.
- More free mp3s, this time old recordings from 78s.
- Some pretty friggin' cool chalk drawings on the street.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Facing the Music
Well, Amnesty International's 2005 Report has stirred up some controversy. In addition to going after countries that everyone expected to be there like Afghanistan, they also slammed the United States, Australia and Israel for their human rights record in the last year, using words like 'torture' for the former and 'war crimes' for the latter. Especially bad for the United States was a passage calling the facility at Guantanamo Bay a modern-day gulag. The Republicans quickly countered, with General Myers declaring it irresponsible and President Bush calling it absurd. Of course Amnesty spokespeople shot back by saying, "What is 'absurd' is President Bush's attempt to deny the deliberate policies of his administration."
In American politics, the Bush administration is moving beyond the traditional 'defensive use' idea of nuclear weapons, issuing a directive that will see them used in conflicts when they are strategically needed. 'Coincidentally,' the administration is looking into bunker-busting nuclear weapons that would destroy an underground facility and, according to the New Scientist, also potentially kill a whole pile of people if used in an urban area where a majority of these bunkers are. Republicans continue to get upset about things inconsequential to everyday Americans, with an Alabama congressman getting all heated up over the fact that Bill Maher said something about low-lying fruit, calling it possible treason and demanding that the show get cancelled. His leader, Tom DeLay, got upset at another show, this time Law and Order, over a reference to him during an investigation of the death of a federal judge, specifically joking that they were looking for someone with a Tom DeLay t-shirt. Of course, when you're quoted as saying, "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behaviour," when talking about these same federal judges, I don't think there is much defence to being brought up in an off-hand way. All of this nonsense might be coming to an end, as 53% of Americans recently polled said that they were very or somewhat likely to vote for Hillary Clinton as the next President.
Well, first it was France that said no, in what can be said to be a fairly decisive way. Then there was piles of speculation over what it all meant, what it would mean for the economy, whether 'the West' still has a meaning as a term, what's up with President Chirac, etc. Then the Dutch did the same thing, Chirac got replaced, and there's going to have to be a pile of negotiation to get further EU integration happening. Was it a real vote against the proposed constitution, or just people getting back at their elites?
Charles Mugabe is still lurching from one domestic mistake to another. Now that his 'land reform' programme has dumped experienced white farmers off their land in favour of his political cronies, causing a massive drop in production, the new plan is apparently to nationalize all farmland. It's Soviet Russia all over again in the heart of Africa, and I guess it's a good thing that he recently decided to accept additional food aid, because this change is unlikely to improve the agricultural production problem.
A Conservative website, Human Events Online, just published the ten most harmful books of the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition to the usual Communist/Fascist works, they interestingly also selected the Kinsey report, Democracy and Education by John Dewey, The Feminine Mystique, and Keynes' General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. Other 'honourable mentions' include The Origin of the Species, The Second Sex and Silent Spring. I suggest you read them all if you haven't already.
Also:
- There might be new hope for the Hubble telescope if they can get a ship up there to attach two new cameras to explore the beginnings of the universe and search for non-luminous matter.
- The Spitzer telescope, in the meantime, has captured the birth of stars from interstellar gas.
- The Andromeda Galaxy is about 3 times bigger than previously thought.
- The Man on the Moon that we are all familiar with was caused by the formation of Jupiter and Saturn flinging large amounts of debris into the inner solar system.
- How x-ray telescopes are letting astronomers understand black holes.
- Peter Lynds, present-day Einstein?
- Scientists have located the part of the brain responsible for understanding sarcasm.
- The dead-zone in the Gulf of Mexico, caused primarily by drainoff from agricultural fertilizers, is apparently the size of New Jersey.
- Another article about the crunch in global oil.
- Big-ass article in the New Yorker about what Intelligent Design isn't.
- The Columbia Journalism Review examines the 'follow the leader' journalism in describing the situation in Iraq.
- The opposition in Lebanon has claimed electoral victory in the first election in 30 years without the presence of Syrian troops.
- Though it might be late for Chancellor Schroeder, recent reports show the German unemployment rate falling and Germany having the cleanest ground water ever measured.
- 83% of Egyptians voted in favour of changing the constitution to allow for multiple candidates in the Presidential election.
- Some African leaders want to present a more optimistic outlook for their continent.
- In case you missed it, and I don't know how you could have, Deep Throat is former FBI #2 W. Mark Felt.
- Here is a list of the 'low points' of the Michael Jackson trial summarized, so you can take part in such discussions without having to waste much time.
- 11 steps to a better brain, at least according to the New Scientist.
- The newest way to increase the numbers going into the priesthood -- beermats.
- A British couple have made it all the way to their 80th wedding anniversary.
- Playing around with the Half-Life 2 physics engine, or setting up dominos to squash a guy.
- Or, you can add Half-Life 2 characters to your own photographs.
- A very scary looking alien puppet sings poorly about Jesus' love. (QuickTime)
- Another video in WMV about fainting goats -- it's seriously funny.
- Funny in a different way, but not for the light of heart, a video set to music of all those cool stunts that didn't work out.
In American politics, the Bush administration is moving beyond the traditional 'defensive use' idea of nuclear weapons, issuing a directive that will see them used in conflicts when they are strategically needed. 'Coincidentally,' the administration is looking into bunker-busting nuclear weapons that would destroy an underground facility and, according to the New Scientist, also potentially kill a whole pile of people if used in an urban area where a majority of these bunkers are. Republicans continue to get upset about things inconsequential to everyday Americans, with an Alabama congressman getting all heated up over the fact that Bill Maher said something about low-lying fruit, calling it possible treason and demanding that the show get cancelled. His leader, Tom DeLay, got upset at another show, this time Law and Order, over a reference to him during an investigation of the death of a federal judge, specifically joking that they were looking for someone with a Tom DeLay t-shirt. Of course, when you're quoted as saying, "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behaviour," when talking about these same federal judges, I don't think there is much defence to being brought up in an off-hand way. All of this nonsense might be coming to an end, as 53% of Americans recently polled said that they were very or somewhat likely to vote for Hillary Clinton as the next President.
Well, first it was France that said no, in what can be said to be a fairly decisive way. Then there was piles of speculation over what it all meant, what it would mean for the economy, whether 'the West' still has a meaning as a term, what's up with President Chirac, etc. Then the Dutch did the same thing, Chirac got replaced, and there's going to have to be a pile of negotiation to get further EU integration happening. Was it a real vote against the proposed constitution, or just people getting back at their elites?
Charles Mugabe is still lurching from one domestic mistake to another. Now that his 'land reform' programme has dumped experienced white farmers off their land in favour of his political cronies, causing a massive drop in production, the new plan is apparently to nationalize all farmland. It's Soviet Russia all over again in the heart of Africa, and I guess it's a good thing that he recently decided to accept additional food aid, because this change is unlikely to improve the agricultural production problem.
A Conservative website, Human Events Online, just published the ten most harmful books of the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition to the usual Communist/Fascist works, they interestingly also selected the Kinsey report, Democracy and Education by John Dewey, The Feminine Mystique, and Keynes' General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. Other 'honourable mentions' include The Origin of the Species, The Second Sex and Silent Spring. I suggest you read them all if you haven't already.
Also:
- There might be new hope for the Hubble telescope if they can get a ship up there to attach two new cameras to explore the beginnings of the universe and search for non-luminous matter.
- The Spitzer telescope, in the meantime, has captured the birth of stars from interstellar gas.
- The Andromeda Galaxy is about 3 times bigger than previously thought.
- The Man on the Moon that we are all familiar with was caused by the formation of Jupiter and Saturn flinging large amounts of debris into the inner solar system.
- How x-ray telescopes are letting astronomers understand black holes.
- Peter Lynds, present-day Einstein?
- Scientists have located the part of the brain responsible for understanding sarcasm.
- The dead-zone in the Gulf of Mexico, caused primarily by drainoff from agricultural fertilizers, is apparently the size of New Jersey.
- Another article about the crunch in global oil.
- Big-ass article in the New Yorker about what Intelligent Design isn't.
- The Columbia Journalism Review examines the 'follow the leader' journalism in describing the situation in Iraq.
- The opposition in Lebanon has claimed electoral victory in the first election in 30 years without the presence of Syrian troops.
- Though it might be late for Chancellor Schroeder, recent reports show the German unemployment rate falling and Germany having the cleanest ground water ever measured.
- 83% of Egyptians voted in favour of changing the constitution to allow for multiple candidates in the Presidential election.
- Some African leaders want to present a more optimistic outlook for their continent.
- In case you missed it, and I don't know how you could have, Deep Throat is former FBI #2 W. Mark Felt.
- Here is a list of the 'low points' of the Michael Jackson trial summarized, so you can take part in such discussions without having to waste much time.
- 11 steps to a better brain, at least according to the New Scientist.
- The newest way to increase the numbers going into the priesthood -- beermats.
- A British couple have made it all the way to their 80th wedding anniversary.
- Playing around with the Half-Life 2 physics engine, or setting up dominos to squash a guy.
- Or, you can add Half-Life 2 characters to your own photographs.
- A very scary looking alien puppet sings poorly about Jesus' love. (QuickTime)
- Another video in WMV about fainting goats -- it's seriously funny.
- Funny in a different way, but not for the light of heart, a video set to music of all those cool stunts that didn't work out.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Scheiden Sie für die Rotgrünkoalition
German Chancellor Schroeder's decision to force a confidence vote is getting some German constitutional experts upset, as it is unclear whether the article that will dissolve the government is being legitimately used. One thing is for sure, it looks like the red-green coalition is over, as the SPD and the Greens will be running separate campaigns this time around, with the Chancellor expected to run a very personal campaign focusing on his leadership abilities over those of the CDU candidate Angela Merkel. This split has caused many analysts to question the political future of the German Greens.
The Guardian Council in Iran has officially reinstated two additional reformist presidential candidates at the request of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after moderates threatened to boycott the election. The election is making life more difficult for Europeans negotiating with Iran over their nuclear weapons programme, since it is unlikely that Iran will concede much before a new President is chosen. One candidate, Ali Akhbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, is reinventing himself as a moderate reformer after being a key player in the Islamic Revolution.
In the human rights arena, Amnesty International has released its 2005 Annual Report, criticising many of the tactics taken by governments fighting the 'war on terror' as being harmful to the global advancement of rights. The United States was targeted for allowing the torture of prisoners without proper investigation. Canada was not immune from scrutiny either.
The fight for political rights continues in Syria, where several reformers were arrested after trying to capitalize on the attention given to the country over its involvement in Lebanon. Back in Uzbekistan, Human Rights Watch is calling for the release of a human rights activist who was detained for attempting to explain to the rest of the world what was happening during the armed crackdown on protesters. The Uzbek leader, attempting to rally some international support, is now visiting a country also not concerned about killing unarmed protestors, China.
The debate over stem cell research has just been turned up a notch with the House of Representatives passing a bill that would allow federal funds to cover the research. Though this line of research is expected to generate a large number of medical advances that would help people suffering from various diseases, President Bush has repeatedly threatened to veto the bill under pressure from hard-core pro-life activists.
Speaking of the way that conservative Christians control the Republican party, the Washington Post ran a story about how big business, the other traditional pillar of the party, is getting upset over the focus on social issues over economic issues. It's a toss-up for me - would I rather want the government to focus on how everyone can be forced to pray in school or how to cut school funding in favour of tax cuts for the upper class so they can buy their third Lexus? At least some Republicans reform -- Walter Jones, a Republican congressman made 'famous' by his bill to change all references of french fries to freedom fries, has recently apologized for the bill, in addition to acknowledging that there was no justification for the Iraq war.
Also:
- Voyager 1, the farthest manmade object from the Earth, is just about to reach the end of the solar system.
- It's not a conspiracy by the moon men, but some people think that the gravitational force of Earth's satellite might trigger earthquakes.
- Energy for all our needs and much, much more awaits at the bottom of the ocean.
- A recent publication sees anti-social behaviour has having a strong inherited tendency.
- Life in 2050, according to a British futurologist.
- Australia and Japan are getting into it over commercial whaling.
- Book publishers are going after Google's for its attempt to make rare books available on the web.
- The Pat Tillman story has gone international, making the BBC News.
- An interesting piece that updates work by Amartya Sen on the relative lack of females in Asia.
- Want to stop the Christian Right from boycotting you? Apparently you just have to buy them out by making a C.S. Lewis film.
- The Donald isn't doing as well as he used to be doing.
- Most interesting CBC headline I've seen: No Lineup For Free Heroin.
- Why pouring gas in fluorescent light tubes and setting it on fire is a bad idea, even if you are trying to make a 'light sabre.'
- Pics of some cool cloud formations.
- Quake is coming back on the new Xbox 360.
- A site that lets you play with a Mandelbrot set, plus an explanation of what it is.
- I'm not sure I'd use the washroom with this sign posted to it.
The Guardian Council in Iran has officially reinstated two additional reformist presidential candidates at the request of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after moderates threatened to boycott the election. The election is making life more difficult for Europeans negotiating with Iran over their nuclear weapons programme, since it is unlikely that Iran will concede much before a new President is chosen. One candidate, Ali Akhbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, is reinventing himself as a moderate reformer after being a key player in the Islamic Revolution.
In the human rights arena, Amnesty International has released its 2005 Annual Report, criticising many of the tactics taken by governments fighting the 'war on terror' as being harmful to the global advancement of rights. The United States was targeted for allowing the torture of prisoners without proper investigation. Canada was not immune from scrutiny either.
The fight for political rights continues in Syria, where several reformers were arrested after trying to capitalize on the attention given to the country over its involvement in Lebanon. Back in Uzbekistan, Human Rights Watch is calling for the release of a human rights activist who was detained for attempting to explain to the rest of the world what was happening during the armed crackdown on protesters. The Uzbek leader, attempting to rally some international support, is now visiting a country also not concerned about killing unarmed protestors, China.
The debate over stem cell research has just been turned up a notch with the House of Representatives passing a bill that would allow federal funds to cover the research. Though this line of research is expected to generate a large number of medical advances that would help people suffering from various diseases, President Bush has repeatedly threatened to veto the bill under pressure from hard-core pro-life activists.
Speaking of the way that conservative Christians control the Republican party, the Washington Post ran a story about how big business, the other traditional pillar of the party, is getting upset over the focus on social issues over economic issues. It's a toss-up for me - would I rather want the government to focus on how everyone can be forced to pray in school or how to cut school funding in favour of tax cuts for the upper class so they can buy their third Lexus? At least some Republicans reform -- Walter Jones, a Republican congressman made 'famous' by his bill to change all references of french fries to freedom fries, has recently apologized for the bill, in addition to acknowledging that there was no justification for the Iraq war.
Also:
- Voyager 1, the farthest manmade object from the Earth, is just about to reach the end of the solar system.
- It's not a conspiracy by the moon men, but some people think that the gravitational force of Earth's satellite might trigger earthquakes.
- Energy for all our needs and much, much more awaits at the bottom of the ocean.
- A recent publication sees anti-social behaviour has having a strong inherited tendency.
- Life in 2050, according to a British futurologist.
- Australia and Japan are getting into it over commercial whaling.
- Book publishers are going after Google's for its attempt to make rare books available on the web.
- The Pat Tillman story has gone international, making the BBC News.
- An interesting piece that updates work by Amartya Sen on the relative lack of females in Asia.
- Want to stop the Christian Right from boycotting you? Apparently you just have to buy them out by making a C.S. Lewis film.
- The Donald isn't doing as well as he used to be doing.
- Most interesting CBC headline I've seen: No Lineup For Free Heroin.
- Why pouring gas in fluorescent light tubes and setting it on fire is a bad idea, even if you are trying to make a 'light sabre.'
- Pics of some cool cloud formations.
- Quake is coming back on the new Xbox 360.
- A site that lets you play with a Mandelbrot set, plus an explanation of what it is.
- I'm not sure I'd use the washroom with this sign posted to it.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Change to Comments
I've decided to switch to native Blogger comments rather than Haloscan which I had previously been using for a number of 'ease of use' reasons. Unfortunately it means that previous comments are now blown away. My apologies to anyone whose posts were deleted, but think of it as a sacrifice in the name of progress... :)
- Vincent
- Vincent
The Beginning of the End for Gerhard Schroeder
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has called for an early federal election, planning to hold a confidence vote on July 1st after his Social Democrats lost another provincial election. His party has been in a poll freefall for the past couple of months over reforms made to the social system. News of the election has sent German stocks higher in trading, anticipating a conservative Christian-Democrat win, and created the possibility of a female German Chancellor.
The continuing violence in Iraq is seriously hampering rebuilding efforts, with many major civil construction jobs unfinished and almost 300 contractors killed since the official war ended. Talks between Sunni and Shiite leaders are scheduled in an attempt to stop some of the violence, a development made easier as Sunni leaders are beginning to come together to compete politically with the other groups instead of continuing to boycott the process. Spiegel also reports on al-Hurra, an American Arabic channel that is attempting to bridge the gap, or at least have Arabs buy into their propaganda. Another film about the war in Iraq, Kilometre Zero, has gotten some attention at Cannes, although this one primarily focuses on the brutality of Saddam Hussein.
As protestors in Uzbek towns continue their protests, as the world continues to piece together exactly what happened and to what extent militant Islam had anything to do with the original or current protests. Neighbouring Kyrgyzstan is planning on sending refugees from the violence back into the country, despite some claims that they could be victims of retaliation for their participation in anti-government demonstrations.
In the ongoing crazy Evolutionists saga, I found this article about how they plan to open a museum in Kentucky, called the Creation Museum, that will show, among other things, how the world is only 6000 years old, how the Grand Canyon was created in a matter of weeks, how man lived side-by-side with dinosaurs at some point and even how there were dinosaurs on Noah's Ark (since this was a real event, right?). Wow, that's a lot to support a literalist view of the Bible. If they would only look up the word allegory in the dictionary, it might help this whole situation out. And just in case any of my readers have been swayed by such arguments, I would like to point to an article where Scientific American took Evolutionists/ID people to task a couple of years ago titled 15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense.
The Guardian Council in Iran has rejected all but 6 out of over 1000 Presidential candidates, leaving four conservatives and barring all well-known progressives. However, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for a review of the selection process that would include two additional reformist candidates.
Remember how the Tillman story was fabricated to allow for good press for the military? It looks like his parents found out about it, and needless to say, they are less than impressed.
Also:
- Bittorrent is about to get a search engine.
- In an example of how the recent South Korean advance in stem cell research has positive benefit, a story on how it can be used to treat chronic liver disease.
- An article about a new map showing the potential wind power sources in the world, allowing for the production of energy far greater than what is currently needed.
- Slate reports about efforts of people whose habitat is endangered by global warming sueing private industry over their pollution.
- Sorry all you sci-fi fans out there, but wormholes that allow for fast space/time travel are unlikely to ever be created.
- Results from Ethiopia's elections are being summed, and it looks like a victory for the current government.
- Comments from OPEC hearken to higher future oil prices.
- Islamic fundamentalism still exists in Afghanistan, as a female TV personality is killed preportedly over her Western-style dress.
- Australia, one of America's allies in the War on Terror, is using its influence to keep the United States in the nuclear test ban treaty.
- The Swedish PM comes out against the use of sex, especially women, used to sell publications.
- An article about 'robust peacekeeping,' or how peacekeepers finally got some chutzpah.
- In a very underreported situation, Al-Jazeera looks at the lack of resolution in the Western Sahara conflict.
- An article called Leaving the Left, in which I identified with the author's frustration about some of the incoherence of 'activist' philosophies.
- Speaking of incoherent, the Columbia Journalism Review looks into an example of Bill O'Rielly's hypocrisy.
- The Protestant-crossover appeal of Mary.
- Star Wars is Satan's Tool.
- Norwegian peacekeepers make a pretty funny video (WMV) about their work, which then gets turned into a minor international incident.
The continuing violence in Iraq is seriously hampering rebuilding efforts, with many major civil construction jobs unfinished and almost 300 contractors killed since the official war ended. Talks between Sunni and Shiite leaders are scheduled in an attempt to stop some of the violence, a development made easier as Sunni leaders are beginning to come together to compete politically with the other groups instead of continuing to boycott the process. Spiegel also reports on al-Hurra, an American Arabic channel that is attempting to bridge the gap, or at least have Arabs buy into their propaganda. Another film about the war in Iraq, Kilometre Zero, has gotten some attention at Cannes, although this one primarily focuses on the brutality of Saddam Hussein.
As protestors in Uzbek towns continue their protests, as the world continues to piece together exactly what happened and to what extent militant Islam had anything to do with the original or current protests. Neighbouring Kyrgyzstan is planning on sending refugees from the violence back into the country, despite some claims that they could be victims of retaliation for their participation in anti-government demonstrations.
In the ongoing crazy Evolutionists saga, I found this article about how they plan to open a museum in Kentucky, called the Creation Museum, that will show, among other things, how the world is only 6000 years old, how the Grand Canyon was created in a matter of weeks, how man lived side-by-side with dinosaurs at some point and even how there were dinosaurs on Noah's Ark (since this was a real event, right?). Wow, that's a lot to support a literalist view of the Bible. If they would only look up the word allegory in the dictionary, it might help this whole situation out. And just in case any of my readers have been swayed by such arguments, I would like to point to an article where Scientific American took Evolutionists/ID people to task a couple of years ago titled 15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense.
The Guardian Council in Iran has rejected all but 6 out of over 1000 Presidential candidates, leaving four conservatives and barring all well-known progressives. However, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for a review of the selection process that would include two additional reformist candidates.
Remember how the Tillman story was fabricated to allow for good press for the military? It looks like his parents found out about it, and needless to say, they are less than impressed.
Also:
- Bittorrent is about to get a search engine.
- In an example of how the recent South Korean advance in stem cell research has positive benefit, a story on how it can be used to treat chronic liver disease.
- An article about a new map showing the potential wind power sources in the world, allowing for the production of energy far greater than what is currently needed.
- Slate reports about efforts of people whose habitat is endangered by global warming sueing private industry over their pollution.
- Sorry all you sci-fi fans out there, but wormholes that allow for fast space/time travel are unlikely to ever be created.
- Results from Ethiopia's elections are being summed, and it looks like a victory for the current government.
- Comments from OPEC hearken to higher future oil prices.
- Islamic fundamentalism still exists in Afghanistan, as a female TV personality is killed preportedly over her Western-style dress.
- Australia, one of America's allies in the War on Terror, is using its influence to keep the United States in the nuclear test ban treaty.
- The Swedish PM comes out against the use of sex, especially women, used to sell publications.
- An article about 'robust peacekeeping,' or how peacekeepers finally got some chutzpah.
- In a very underreported situation, Al-Jazeera looks at the lack of resolution in the Western Sahara conflict.
- An article called Leaving the Left, in which I identified with the author's frustration about some of the incoherence of 'activist' philosophies.
- Speaking of incoherent, the Columbia Journalism Review looks into an example of Bill O'Rielly's hypocrisy.
- The Protestant-crossover appeal of Mary.
- Star Wars is Satan's Tool.
- Norwegian peacekeepers make a pretty funny video (WMV) about their work, which then gets turned into a minor international incident.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Paul Martin Survivies Another Round
In case you missed, it, which is unlikely if you live in Canada, the Liberal government won it's non-confidence vote on Thursday, paving the way for at least another couple of months of government before the next challenge to the government's legitimacy. It all came down to independent member Chuck Cadman voting for both bills, the original budget and the NDP amendment that added more social spending. For the first time in Canadian history, a confidence vote was decided by the Speaker of the House, who broke the 152-152 tie in favour of the government. Stephen Harper tried to put the best spin on what was an obvious defeat for his party, calling it a pyrric victory for the Liberals.
The pressure for an inquiry into police action in Uzbekistan continues to increase, almost at the same rate as government refusal to hold any type of inquiry. Small demonstrations against the government continue in towns such as Korasuv seeking the release of a government detainee. Slate suggests that it might be time for the United States to reduce their relations with the authoritarian country.
The National Electoral Board in Ethiopia is probing allegations of fraud in last weekend's vote. Western donors are urging calm, and at least one opposition group is calling for a unity government.
New details surrounding American mistreatment of prisoners in Afghanistan have come out, leading to an official announcement of 'shock' by Afghani President Hamid Karzai. He has his own problems though, as a CIA document recently published criticizes him for his lack of effort in stemming the heroin trade.
A South Korean team has recently developed a method for cloning human embryos in order to extract stem cells from them, thus creating exactly genetic matches that could be grown into any part of the body. Despite what is seen as a large advance in medical science, Bush immediately stepped into the debate by announcing that he would veto any bill that allowed funding for research of this nature.
Also:
- You can now check your daily earthquake forecast in California online.
- The United Nations reported that almost half the world's population is now living in urban areas.
- Americans are finally buying fewer SUVs in favour of normal cars.
- Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe has somewhat reversed his position on seizing white farmer's property after the disastrous economic consequences of the policy crippled the country, calling for a return of white farmers to the country.
- Sweden has been accused of violating the international convention against torture when they deported a terrorist suspect to Egypt, who was later said to been tortured by authorities. The Washington Post wrote a good article on this subject.
- A reformist cleric in Iran is calling for democratic reforms of the government before the upcoming presidential election.
- Hundreds of Pakistani women have defied the ban against mixed-gender road racing in protest of the law.
- A CSM piece on the slavery issue in Niger.
- Another CSM piece on the possibility of independence for Kosovo.
- Putting weapons in orbit don't seem to bother the United States, but billboards -- that's going too far.
- Apparently comparing the Democrats filibustering to Nazis isn't going too far either.
- And speaking of the judicial fight in the Senate, it's impact is tainting both parties.
- An interesting piece in Slate about the impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Relations between the Vatican and China are on the mend.
- Those activists, they're so witty.
- New Half-Life 2 panoramas using QuickTime VR.
The pressure for an inquiry into police action in Uzbekistan continues to increase, almost at the same rate as government refusal to hold any type of inquiry. Small demonstrations against the government continue in towns such as Korasuv seeking the release of a government detainee. Slate suggests that it might be time for the United States to reduce their relations with the authoritarian country.
The National Electoral Board in Ethiopia is probing allegations of fraud in last weekend's vote. Western donors are urging calm, and at least one opposition group is calling for a unity government.
New details surrounding American mistreatment of prisoners in Afghanistan have come out, leading to an official announcement of 'shock' by Afghani President Hamid Karzai. He has his own problems though, as a CIA document recently published criticizes him for his lack of effort in stemming the heroin trade.
A South Korean team has recently developed a method for cloning human embryos in order to extract stem cells from them, thus creating exactly genetic matches that could be grown into any part of the body. Despite what is seen as a large advance in medical science, Bush immediately stepped into the debate by announcing that he would veto any bill that allowed funding for research of this nature.
Also:
- You can now check your daily earthquake forecast in California online.
- The United Nations reported that almost half the world's population is now living in urban areas.
- Americans are finally buying fewer SUVs in favour of normal cars.
- Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe has somewhat reversed his position on seizing white farmer's property after the disastrous economic consequences of the policy crippled the country, calling for a return of white farmers to the country.
- Sweden has been accused of violating the international convention against torture when they deported a terrorist suspect to Egypt, who was later said to been tortured by authorities. The Washington Post wrote a good article on this subject.
- A reformist cleric in Iran is calling for democratic reforms of the government before the upcoming presidential election.
- Hundreds of Pakistani women have defied the ban against mixed-gender road racing in protest of the law.
- A CSM piece on the slavery issue in Niger.
- Another CSM piece on the possibility of independence for Kosovo.
- Putting weapons in orbit don't seem to bother the United States, but billboards -- that's going too far.
- Apparently comparing the Democrats filibustering to Nazis isn't going too far either.
- And speaking of the judicial fight in the Senate, it's impact is tainting both parties.
- An interesting piece in Slate about the impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Relations between the Vatican and China are on the mend.
- Those activists, they're so witty.
- New Half-Life 2 panoramas using QuickTime VR.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
1 1/2 Hours to go!
Just a quick one today. In a couple of hours, the Canadian parliament will find out whether or not the Liberal budget will pass, and subsequently whether we'll be going into an election. You can watch it all live on CPAC (website, live English WMV stream) starting at 5:30 EDT. Political drama continues, with a budget-supporter reported sick earlier today, and a couple of allegations of vote-buying by the Liberal party.
The US Council of Foreign Relations has issued a report stating that the United States still has a chance to win the hearts of the Muslim world through listening to their concerns and emphasizing the aid money that they put into the area.. This comes with some more grim news from American Generals in Iraq, who are backtracking on their prior plans to remove a good number of American troops by the end of 2006.
In science, a British conference has recommended that all IVF embryos be checked for genetic defect before the pregnancy is allowed to occur, a decision likely to upset pro-life activists. Other British scientists have proven that the words used to describe a food contribute to its taste. Japanese scientists believe that they have created the world's most accurate clock, losing only 10E-18 seconds every day.
Also:
- Carrots, as it turns out, do not improve your eyesight.
- 2,000 people march in Niger to free two anti-slavery activists. As many as 43,000 people still live as de facto slaves, a practice that was finally outlawed in 2003.
- Offhand comments by Mexican President Vicente Fox about immigration spark a new discussion about racism in Mexico.
- On the politicization of the latest Star Wars film.
- Canada is getting a new $10 bill.
- The University of Minnesota's Human Rights Library.
The US Council of Foreign Relations has issued a report stating that the United States still has a chance to win the hearts of the Muslim world through listening to their concerns and emphasizing the aid money that they put into the area.. This comes with some more grim news from American Generals in Iraq, who are backtracking on their prior plans to remove a good number of American troops by the end of 2006.
In science, a British conference has recommended that all IVF embryos be checked for genetic defect before the pregnancy is allowed to occur, a decision likely to upset pro-life activists. Other British scientists have proven that the words used to describe a food contribute to its taste. Japanese scientists believe that they have created the world's most accurate clock, losing only 10E-18 seconds every day.
Also:
- Carrots, as it turns out, do not improve your eyesight.
- 2,000 people march in Niger to free two anti-slavery activists. As many as 43,000 people still live as de facto slaves, a practice that was finally outlawed in 2003.
- Offhand comments by Mexican President Vicente Fox about immigration spark a new discussion about racism in Mexico.
- On the politicization of the latest Star Wars film.
- Canada is getting a new $10 bill.
- The University of Minnesota's Human Rights Library.
The Big Vote Tomorrow!
Since Belinda Stronach's defection to the Liberals has made things close for the government, there has been no end to the stories about the confidence vote on Thursday. Even an MP with heartburn apparently qualifies as news these days, so long as it might keep them from voting on the budget. Perhaps I overstate, since at the time he was sent to hospital from the Parliament floor they didn't know what was wrong. Of course, you have to get the personal angle in, since Ms. Stronach happened to be dating high-profile Conservative MP Peter MacKay, who apparently wasn't aware that she was making this move. Of the two independent MPs, one of which needs to vote with the government in order for it to pass the budget, David Kilgor stated that he is leaning towards toppling Paul Martin's government. I guess that might leave it all up to Chuck Cadman, a former Conservative MP, who has been hinting lately that he will support the government.
The situation in Uzbekistan continues to receive coverage today. Louise Arbour, the United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner, has called for an inquiry to deal with allegations of human rights abuses by government forces. Foreign diplomats have been allowed to visit the sites of the conflict that killed hundreds of Uzbeki citizens for the first time today. The Uzbeki prosecutor-general has publicly stated that no citizens were killed in the violence, claiming that those killed were armed rebels. This is a sensitive issue for both Russia and the United States, as, harking back to the Cold War days, they are both supporting the dictatorial yet secular government to ensure that more extremist Islamists don't take control. If history repeats itself, the US should be going into Uzbekistan to free people from this tyranny in another 10-15 years or so, or whenever the leader becomes inconvenient for them.
New stories today about Iraq show the difficulties that the United States and allied countries still face in their attempt to create a stable society. For instance, there has been a recent tiff between the Shias and the Sunnis, with the latter claiming that the former of using militias to kill their clerics. The recent engagement of insurgent forces that has gotten so much media publicity seems to have been more of a general levelling of the territory. Recent reports from the ground have detailed the general destruction of villages, indepedent of whether insurgents or civilians were there. On top of it all, the Congressional Budget Office has tabled a report that puts the cost of the war at an almost unthinkable $600 billion by 2010, or about $5 billion a month.
Of course if this goes on for long enough, maybe they could just trash the whole place with the American Air Force's new proposal to weaponize space that they are sending to GW. A couple of metal rods dropped from orbit at 7200 mph on Iraq should quell things nicely, if not the other proposals outlined in this article.
Also:
- Wearing the colour red can give a real advantage to people playing sports.
- Recent studies seem to point to the apparent functionless nature of the female orgasm, at least from an evolutionary perspective.
- The PS3 has been unveiled, and it looks like it's going to be quite the gaming console.
- The United States is putting pressure on China to get rid of the constant exchange rate of the Yuan.
- The economic boom in China is expected to have serious environmental consequences if current trends continue unabated.
- Germany is moving forward with laws on the disclosure of CEO salaries and a ban on tobacco advertisements.
- The EU is planning on holding new talks with Iran over its nuclear programme.
- A story on Pakistan's first female fighter pilot.
- A personal commentary on why Wolfowitz might be good for the World Bank. Apparently he's a nice guy one-to-one, although I don't know if that's what qualifies you for the job.
- Consider yourself a food person? The Guardian lists the top 50 things that you have to experience in your lifetime.
- If you ever need to, how to fake your fingerprint.
- An article I ran across entitled "Ontology is Overrated." More interesting than the title might make it seem.
The situation in Uzbekistan continues to receive coverage today. Louise Arbour, the United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner, has called for an inquiry to deal with allegations of human rights abuses by government forces. Foreign diplomats have been allowed to visit the sites of the conflict that killed hundreds of Uzbeki citizens for the first time today. The Uzbeki prosecutor-general has publicly stated that no citizens were killed in the violence, claiming that those killed were armed rebels. This is a sensitive issue for both Russia and the United States, as, harking back to the Cold War days, they are both supporting the dictatorial yet secular government to ensure that more extremist Islamists don't take control. If history repeats itself, the US should be going into Uzbekistan to free people from this tyranny in another 10-15 years or so, or whenever the leader becomes inconvenient for them.
New stories today about Iraq show the difficulties that the United States and allied countries still face in their attempt to create a stable society. For instance, there has been a recent tiff between the Shias and the Sunnis, with the latter claiming that the former of using militias to kill their clerics. The recent engagement of insurgent forces that has gotten so much media publicity seems to have been more of a general levelling of the territory. Recent reports from the ground have detailed the general destruction of villages, indepedent of whether insurgents or civilians were there. On top of it all, the Congressional Budget Office has tabled a report that puts the cost of the war at an almost unthinkable $600 billion by 2010, or about $5 billion a month.
Of course if this goes on for long enough, maybe they could just trash the whole place with the American Air Force's new proposal to weaponize space that they are sending to GW. A couple of metal rods dropped from orbit at 7200 mph on Iraq should quell things nicely, if not the other proposals outlined in this article.
Also:
- Wearing the colour red can give a real advantage to people playing sports.
- Recent studies seem to point to the apparent functionless nature of the female orgasm, at least from an evolutionary perspective.
- The PS3 has been unveiled, and it looks like it's going to be quite the gaming console.
- The United States is putting pressure on China to get rid of the constant exchange rate of the Yuan.
- The economic boom in China is expected to have serious environmental consequences if current trends continue unabated.
- Germany is moving forward with laws on the disclosure of CEO salaries and a ban on tobacco advertisements.
- The EU is planning on holding new talks with Iran over its nuclear programme.
- A story on Pakistan's first female fighter pilot.
- A personal commentary on why Wolfowitz might be good for the World Bank. Apparently he's a nice guy one-to-one, although I don't know if that's what qualifies you for the job.
- Consider yourself a food person? The Guardian lists the top 50 things that you have to experience in your lifetime.
- If you ever need to, how to fake your fingerprint.
- An article I ran across entitled "Ontology is Overrated." More interesting than the title might make it seem.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Belinda on the Move
The big news in Canada today is that Belinda Stronach, former Conservative leadership contender and MP, has crossed the floor to the Liberals, becoming the new Minister of Human Resources. This makes Paul Martin a very happy man, as it makes it much more likely that his government will withstand a confidence vote on the budget this Thursday. I think this is great, as it means a significantly reduced chance at an election, which I don't think anyone wants. I also like how Stephen Harper blamed her crossing the floor on 'ambition.' I would think that the Conservatives might want to come up with a line that doesn't make it sound like your party is going nowhere, if people with 'ambition' have to cross the floor.
As an aside, in listening to a panel interview on CBC Newsworld, the NDP speaker, Brad Lavigne, proved himself to be completely incoherent about the issue, mostly by attacking a government that I think he momentarily forgot his own party was supporting. I'm not sure what type of patronage got him that job, but I think someone in the central campaign might want to deep-six this guy before he does more damage.
Uzbekistan has seen protest and violent government reprisals in the past few days. 4000 protesters who stormed a jail to release prisoners charges with Islamic extremism were shot at by government forces, killing hundreds of protesters and 10 soldiers. The government eventually regained control of the city. The government blames Islamic radicals for the civil disturbance, stating the the soldiers were provoked by the protesters, causing them to open fire. Still, the United States and the world community have expressed concern over the actions taken, as recent reports tell of over 700 people killed. A large group of refugees now fears for their life if they return after crossing the border to escape the violence. The Christian Science Monitor, Der Spiegel and the New York Times all have good overviews of the situation.
Recent American war efforts might have prevented additional terrorist attacks, but they are leading to major defeats in the infamous 'war on drugs.' Afghanistan is plagued by money coming in from its opium fields, a force that "permeates every stratum of Afghanistan's society." Although a new oil pipeline going in will bring some revenue, the sheer lack of modes of economic production in the country will make alternatives to the quick and easy opium money difficult to come by. Iraq has also been named a key drug route for international trafficking, but given that the Americans just announced that they will be in the country for at least another two years, we can assume that they have some time to clean this up. Of course, they will have to deal with the continuing insurgency first, but with recent moves by Sunni leaders to come to a power compromise, this problem might begin to solve itself.
While there is some progress in human rights in the Middle East, a series of stories shows how much there is left to be done. In terms of access to jobs an equal pay for women, a recent survey had Jordon, Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt at the bottom of the list. Canada rolls in at number 7, the United States at 17 out of 58. The top of the list, as would be expected, were all the Nordic countries. Pakistan has been accused, once again, of police brutality after an attempt to break up a mixed-sex road race, enforcing a law banning women from taking part in such activities. Saudi Arabia has recently arrested reformers for collecting signatures for a petition. Iran has announced over one thousand candidates for President, at least before approval from the head clerics. The list includes 89 women, who have automatically been disqualified. The only good news comes from Kuwait, where women have been granted political rights for the first time ever.
Another story also came across my radar this week. It turns out that Pat Tillman, the NFL draftee who was reportedly killed in some sort of glorious action over in Afganistan, thus becoming the poster-boy for the military, actually died in a friendly fire incident. What's worse, is that the government apparently knew this, yet let the story continue unabated, basking in the glory of a dead soldier for their own PR purposes. Aren't the Republicans supposed to be the 'moral' ones?
In Ethiopia, the government arrested election observers before the election last Sunday. The government also outlawed any types of protest around the election time. Still, election day went forward, and as expected, the ruling party has declared itself the winner.
Also:
- NASA's Cassini spacecraft has taken new pictures of Saturn's moon, Titan.
- A Japanese team of scientists have created a fuel cell that runs on blood, representing a leap forward in the production of artificial organs.
- Recent studies in genetics have found that a group in Africa is responsible for modern humans.
- An increase in whales beaching themselves might be due to an increase in solar activity causing disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field.
- More on Republican plans to drill for oil on nature reserves in Alaska.
- The UN is meeting to organize the next environmental agreement after Kyoto.
- The world community is turning up the heat on Iran, as France, Great Britain and Germany all warn the country about the consequences of not suspending their nuclear research.
- The last rebel group in Burundi has reached a peace agreement with the government.
- The Spanish government has been given permission from parliament to engage in peace talks with the Basque separatist movement, ETA.
- Speaking of left-right, is Newt Gingrich talking up Clinton '08?
- Pope Benedict XVI has waved the five-year waiting period normally reserved for sainthood candidates after their death for the beautification of Pope John Paul II.
- Mexico's Interior Minister Santiago Creel has announced his bid for the Presidency under Vicente Fox's National Action Party.
- Perhaps in response to its President's comments about how women naturally do not excel in science, Harvard University is putting $50 million into developing female scientists.
- A recent study has shown that both black and white people show more fear when shown an expressionless black face versus a white face.
- Wal-Mart has had to apologize for running an ad comparing a law preventing it from expanding a store to Nazi book burning.
- Dispite all the trashing I give Wal-Mart, some studies have shown their presence to be a net benefit for the lower classes.
- Illegal immigration heats up as a 2008 campaign issue, especially for Democrats.
- A federal court has struck down Nebraska's anti-same-sex union law for banning any type of legal recognition of their relationships.
- Slate examines the move of pro-life activists to pre-life issues.
- George Lucas hopes that the latest Star Wars film will remind people of how easy democracies can change into dictatorships, especially in the United States.
- Another story about how nuts animal rights activists are.
- The Encyclopedia of Chicago.
- Wired reviews an apparently excellent Firefox extension.
- Remember the self-replicating robot story? Here's a video of the thing itself. (wmv)
- An index of Tibetan regional music in mp3 and wma format.
- A Pew Research project finds considerable rifts in the traditional left and right political spectrum. Now you can test yourself. Not surprisingly, I'm a "Liberal."
As an aside, in listening to a panel interview on CBC Newsworld, the NDP speaker, Brad Lavigne, proved himself to be completely incoherent about the issue, mostly by attacking a government that I think he momentarily forgot his own party was supporting. I'm not sure what type of patronage got him that job, but I think someone in the central campaign might want to deep-six this guy before he does more damage.
Uzbekistan has seen protest and violent government reprisals in the past few days. 4000 protesters who stormed a jail to release prisoners charges with Islamic extremism were shot at by government forces, killing hundreds of protesters and 10 soldiers. The government eventually regained control of the city. The government blames Islamic radicals for the civil disturbance, stating the the soldiers were provoked by the protesters, causing them to open fire. Still, the United States and the world community have expressed concern over the actions taken, as recent reports tell of over 700 people killed. A large group of refugees now fears for their life if they return after crossing the border to escape the violence. The Christian Science Monitor, Der Spiegel and the New York Times all have good overviews of the situation.
Recent American war efforts might have prevented additional terrorist attacks, but they are leading to major defeats in the infamous 'war on drugs.' Afghanistan is plagued by money coming in from its opium fields, a force that "permeates every stratum of Afghanistan's society." Although a new oil pipeline going in will bring some revenue, the sheer lack of modes of economic production in the country will make alternatives to the quick and easy opium money difficult to come by. Iraq has also been named a key drug route for international trafficking, but given that the Americans just announced that they will be in the country for at least another two years, we can assume that they have some time to clean this up. Of course, they will have to deal with the continuing insurgency first, but with recent moves by Sunni leaders to come to a power compromise, this problem might begin to solve itself.
While there is some progress in human rights in the Middle East, a series of stories shows how much there is left to be done. In terms of access to jobs an equal pay for women, a recent survey had Jordon, Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt at the bottom of the list. Canada rolls in at number 7, the United States at 17 out of 58. The top of the list, as would be expected, were all the Nordic countries. Pakistan has been accused, once again, of police brutality after an attempt to break up a mixed-sex road race, enforcing a law banning women from taking part in such activities. Saudi Arabia has recently arrested reformers for collecting signatures for a petition. Iran has announced over one thousand candidates for President, at least before approval from the head clerics. The list includes 89 women, who have automatically been disqualified. The only good news comes from Kuwait, where women have been granted political rights for the first time ever.
Another story also came across my radar this week. It turns out that Pat Tillman, the NFL draftee who was reportedly killed in some sort of glorious action over in Afganistan, thus becoming the poster-boy for the military, actually died in a friendly fire incident. What's worse, is that the government apparently knew this, yet let the story continue unabated, basking in the glory of a dead soldier for their own PR purposes. Aren't the Republicans supposed to be the 'moral' ones?
In Ethiopia, the government arrested election observers before the election last Sunday. The government also outlawed any types of protest around the election time. Still, election day went forward, and as expected, the ruling party has declared itself the winner.
Also:
- NASA's Cassini spacecraft has taken new pictures of Saturn's moon, Titan.
- A Japanese team of scientists have created a fuel cell that runs on blood, representing a leap forward in the production of artificial organs.
- Recent studies in genetics have found that a group in Africa is responsible for modern humans.
- An increase in whales beaching themselves might be due to an increase in solar activity causing disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field.
- More on Republican plans to drill for oil on nature reserves in Alaska.
- The UN is meeting to organize the next environmental agreement after Kyoto.
- The world community is turning up the heat on Iran, as France, Great Britain and Germany all warn the country about the consequences of not suspending their nuclear research.
- The last rebel group in Burundi has reached a peace agreement with the government.
- The Spanish government has been given permission from parliament to engage in peace talks with the Basque separatist movement, ETA.
- Speaking of left-right, is Newt Gingrich talking up Clinton '08?
- Pope Benedict XVI has waved the five-year waiting period normally reserved for sainthood candidates after their death for the beautification of Pope John Paul II.
- Mexico's Interior Minister Santiago Creel has announced his bid for the Presidency under Vicente Fox's National Action Party.
- Perhaps in response to its President's comments about how women naturally do not excel in science, Harvard University is putting $50 million into developing female scientists.
- A recent study has shown that both black and white people show more fear when shown an expressionless black face versus a white face.
- Wal-Mart has had to apologize for running an ad comparing a law preventing it from expanding a store to Nazi book burning.
- Dispite all the trashing I give Wal-Mart, some studies have shown their presence to be a net benefit for the lower classes.
- Illegal immigration heats up as a 2008 campaign issue, especially for Democrats.
- A federal court has struck down Nebraska's anti-same-sex union law for banning any type of legal recognition of their relationships.
- Slate examines the move of pro-life activists to pre-life issues.
- George Lucas hopes that the latest Star Wars film will remind people of how easy democracies can change into dictatorships, especially in the United States.
- Another story about how nuts animal rights activists are.
- The Encyclopedia of Chicago.
- Wired reviews an apparently excellent Firefox extension.
- Remember the self-replicating robot story? Here's a video of the thing itself. (wmv)
- An index of Tibetan regional music in mp3 and wma format.
- A Pew Research project finds considerable rifts in the traditional left and right political spectrum. Now you can test yourself. Not surprisingly, I'm a "Liberal."
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