News – Prizewinner Speaks on Research Restriction

About time someone did. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot with this war on terrorism hysteria.

US

Dr. Peter Agre of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, one of the two Americans who won this year’s Nobel Prize for Chemistry, has critisized the US government’s restrictions on research, another bit of spawn from the war on terrorism. Not only that, but he will use some of his prize money to back up his words, to to help defend academic freedoms.

Ren is pleased.

Lots of people rag on WalMart as a cause of various poor trends in the US economy and manufacturing. But it would seem more a symptom of these woes rather than a defacto cause. And, in the end, it is consumers who perpetuate the chain. We hold the cash and make the decisions.

Media duplicity on the announcing of election winners before all of the votes are in. They promised to cut it out after the Florida debacle. No surprise that they didn’t really mean it.

Are drug addicts covered under the ADA? They are and the Supreme Court is hearing a case that could have profound effect on company no tolerance policies toward former drug addicts.

The Gaffes of George W. Bush: Bush’s seemingly dyslexic way of speaking in which he mispronounces and says the most curious things. Bush as denied he’s dyslexic and, while amusing, the misspeaking is largely inconsequential.

Besides, there are plenty of more dire aspects to this man’s presidency.

Slate’s Fray muses an Arnold led California.

Iraq

Three new attacks reported in Iraq. The first two involving a suicide bomber who drove his car into a police station and a Spanish envoy being gunned down as he left his home. Three Iraqi police and five civilians reported dead in the first, Jose Antonio Bernal, a Spanish air force sergeant attached to the embassy in the second. The third a soldier, dead after his convoy was attacked by RPG fire in northeast Iraq. That makes 92 since major combat operations were declared over.

Over 2,000 Shia protestors blocked the entrance to the US HQ in Baghdad, calling for the release of Sheikh Moayed al-Khazraji, arrested Monday in a Shia Mosque.

Saddam’s shadow still hangs over Iraq. And the US authority is determined to wipe away any legacy he held. Including dismantling the food distribution system which gave free rations of flour, rice, cooking oil and other staples to every Iraqi.

Described by the UN as the world’s most efficient food network, the system still keeps Iraqis from going hungry. But the US civilian administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer, views it as a dangerous socialist anachronism. The coalition provisional authority (CPA) is planning to abolish it in January, despite warnings from its own technical experts that this could lead to hunger and riots.

I don’t think Bremer is thinking logically. But when has logic been a staple of the Bush Administration?

Afghanistan

At least 60 dead in the worst outbreak of fighting between pro-government factions since the Taliban fell.

Canada

35 bars and clubs in Vancouver will be going high tech on troublemakers over the next 6 months. Not only will they be required to produce ID, but their pic will be taken as they enter the bar.

General

Mercenary hackers teaming up with Spammers? Yup. And the first innovation generated by them are websites that are, for the most part, untraceable with traceroute results that modulate. But I’m not too worried. As the bad guys try to evade, so will the good guys make new tools to track ’em down. It’s a factor the inevitable cosmic struggle that never ends.

Some have purported that the spam situation must be handled differently. Rather than trying to weed out the bad mail, we should focus on taking in the good. In the manner of a caller ID for the inbox where you can verify the identity of the sender. You can still remain anonymous, but like with caller ID, the receiver can decide whether or not to trust the unidentified.

Explainer tells you how to tell a caiman apart from a crocodile.

Day to Day: Jewel’s razor commercial and Madonna’s new children’s book.

Today’s Papers musing of the 400 pound tiger found in a New York apartment last weekend, Rummy disgruntled and various Arnold tidbits among other notes of the day.

Amusements

Arnold got more votes for governor than watchers for Terminator 3. A wise career move for the buffed one?

The fourth democratic presidential debate is due tonight. Spice it up with Slate’s Democratic Debate Drinking Game!

About.com has a roster of some fringe candidates and how they did in the Recall election.

Rise of the Voting Machines – Flash

Love, Winks – Flash

Null Signal

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