The Guardian reports on post-invasion Downing Street Leaks.
SpinDentist reports on an amusing minor league hockey promotion.
Susie wonders what the New York Times thinks it is doing? You know? With its Russ coverage.
Will Bunch gets all snarky on DogBoy Santorum.
And, finally, Daniel Pipes tells us that the nicest, kindest, most intellectually gifted Muslims are exactly the ones we have to be on guard against.
Booman,
Is this serving as today’s News Bucket, or should I post one on the side?
we can use this if you want.
I’m sorry I didn’t put one up, Knox…but I have deadlines today.
No problem – I would have put it up, but Boo had this up by the time I got here today.
Good luck with the project on deadline. 🙂
Sorry to be a little late, but work intervened… And my cart o’news is overflowing today; I have to keep stopping to put things back in that have fallen off…
If you want your children to grow up to actively care about the environment, give them plenty of time to play in the “wild” before they’re 11 years old, suggests a new Cornell University study. “Although domesticated nature activities — caring for plants and gardens — also have a positive relationship to adult environment attitudes, their effects aren’t as strong as participating in such wild nature activities as camping, playing in the woods, hiking, walking, fishing and hunting,” said environmental psychologist Nancy Wells, assistant professor of design and environmental analysis in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell.
Astronomy Department
Scientists said Monday analyses of the first round of dust-particle samples returned to Earth by NASA’s Stardust spacecraft, which collected particles from Comet Wild and returned them to Earth, tell a tale that could revolutionize theories about the evolution of the solar system. Some particles from the comet appear to have formed at high temperatures, not the frigid ones expected at the edge of the solar system, leading scientists to theorize the comet formed near the sun – or perhaps a different star – and was later expelled to the fringe of the solar system.
Astronomers have discovered yet another planet circling a distant star (the count is up over 100 in the last 10 years or so). This one is a Neptune-sized planet circling a star about half as big as our Sun, positioned some 9,000 light-years away. At -201C, it is one of the coldest extra-solar planets to be discovered. They suspect it is a bare, icy, rocky world, much colder than the Earth and 13 times its mass, and typical of a class of planets believed to be common in the galaxy – 35% of all stars are suspected of having such planets.
Hydrogeology News
Man-made ponds in the U.S. have dramatically changed drainage patterns, collecting up to quarter of all run-off sedimentation that would have otherwise been deposited in river valleys and deltas, according to a newly published study. These small ponds, typically 1-2 acres in size, capture the runoff from about 20% of the land area of the US, primarily in the Southeast and Midwest, where natural lakes are relatively rare.
…Meanwhile, India is turning to rainwater harvesting ponds to address a shortage of fresh water and depleted aquifers caused by the “green revolution” that has kept famine from the nation for a generation or more. With aquifers rapidly depleting, new sources of water must be found to prevent declines in crop production and resulting food shortages.
Medical Research
Nanotechnology has restored sight to blind hamsters in a new study. Peptide nanoparticles served as a framework for their damaged optic nerves to repair themselves, then were broken down and harmlessly excreted. The work is not ready for human application without additional research, however.
Elderly patients taking certain drugs (beta-blockers and potassium-sparing diuretics) to lower their blood pressure appear to have a markedly reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers report. Results from their short-term study suggest that some of these medications could slash this risk by up to 70%. Scientists are not sure why and how this works, however, and so are not ready to prescribe the drugs for prevention of Alzheimer’s disease yet.
The BBC reports there is mounting evidence of a link between antibiotic use in infancy and asthma in children, studies suggest.
Climate Change Update du Jour
US climate scientists have recorded a significant rise in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, pushing it to a new record level. The latest data shows CO2 levels now stand at 381 parts per million (ppm) – 100ppm above the pre-industrial average. The research indicates that 2005 saw one of the largest increases on record – a rise of 2.6ppm.
Physical changes — including rising air and seawater temperatures and decreasing seasonal ice cover — appear to be the cause of a series of biological changes in the northern Bering Sea ecosystem that could have long-range and irreversible effects on the animals and people that live there. “What we are seeing,” a researcher said, “is a change in the boundary between the sub-Arctic and the Arctic ecosystem. The potential is real for an ecosystem shift that will be felt father north.”
…And the Independent (London) reports that sea ice in the Arctic has failed to re-form for the second consecutive winter, raising fears that global warming may have tipped the polar regions in to irreversible climate change far sooner than predicted. Scientists are now convinced that Arctic sea ice is showing signs of both a winter and a summer decline that could indicate a major acceleration in its long-term rate of disappearance.
…Finally in this vein, Environment Canada has reported the warmest winter ever in Canada.
And Now For Something Completely Different: The Bee
Let me ask everyone…Do you think the government should be able to conduct surveillance on suspected terrorists?
Though polls on surveillance are mixed, Republicans say the public generally backs the idea of eavesdropping on people suspected of being in contact with terror suspects.
I’ll start by answering ‘yes’.
what is their definition of a terror suspect? If it’s a Quaker then fuck no……if it’s Osama’s cousin I’m still not sure unless you have been supportive of him in the past and tend to hold with the same beliefs that he does. I mean come on, if I’m the third cousin of Timothy James McVeigh and never even met the guy and you talk to me on the internet, welcome the to surveillance list! With something so wide flippin open as people suspected of being in contact with terror suspects……..that two suspects in the same sentence! So we pulled bullshit out of our ass and then grabbed a little paranoia in the wind and came up with your name? They could legitimately have every single one of us on the suspected of being in contact with terror suspects list. No fucking thanks!
I would say that the average American feels the same way you do but nobody is making those distinctions in the MSM. That’s the issue the dem leaders to jump on and clarify.
Most people have no idea how extensive and intrusive the surveillance is and the democrats should be using this open window that Sen Feingold created.
The MSM is so integral to this scam by the government that the impact of their destructiveness is every bit as great as is that of the Bush regime itself.
That’s exactly why the high profile Democrats need to hit those newsertainment shows and seize this opportunity.
And, because of their own political cowardice, (fearing being tarred unfavorably by the Repubs and their allies in the media), this is exactly why the prominent Dems will not make a showing along the lines you desribe in the media circus.
They don’t see this as an opportunity; they see it as a trap best avoided. Anytime they stand up for principle they risk being tarnished not only by the right but by ambitious equivocators in their own party. Just ask John Murtha or Russ Feingold.
Yes, if there’s reasonable suspicion. The problem that exists now is that there’s no 3rd party veto power over who might be reasonably suspicious or not.
Many years ago in Boston, my dear friend’s car was blown up in front of her apartment as a warning to her activism in Food Not Bombs.
OK? It’s not a yes or no here. It’s always about intention.
Absolutely. We need honesty, integrity, oversight, accountability and common sense. Either do it the right way or don’t do it at all. I agree with you and Tracy and I’ve been hammering at those same points for a while now. I just wanted to bring attention to the HUGE problem of misinformation that’s indirectly approved by leading dems.
Wish that I could trust these guys to use the surveillance they want to help people like her, but I do not think that the people likely to blow her up are people that they consider terror suspects. She’s likely to be the terror suspect by their definition.
At least the FBI didn’t try to charge your friend with trying to blow themselves up like they did to Earth First activist Judi Bari when a bomb exploded under her driver’s seat in Oakland.
As to rumi’s poll, the terms are too ill-defined to provide any meanigful input.
As to rumi’s poll, the terms are too ill-defined to provide any meanigful input.
That’s exactly right but it’s also what’s happening in the MSM with the discussions of wiretap, etc…
We need to change that somehow.
suspected of opposing or resisting US policies?
That could be you, rumi 🙂
That is Rumi!
I’ve noticed how you try to point that out at every opportunity. I’ll be back right after I go change my registration to Republican, just to be safe.
Well, there are two issues here. How do you define “suspected terrorist” and how do you define “surveillance?”
Is someone a suspected terrorist before an act of terrorism has been committed? And if so, then where do you draw the line between a “potential terrorist” and someone with more mouth than brain? If someone is not a part of a conspiracy to commit a crime, then it seems you get onto that slippery slope that ends up with all of us under suspicion for writing a letter to the paper, for going to a protest, for joining the ACLU… Acts that are (were?) legal, last time the Bill of Rights was dusted off and checked.
And if “surveillance” means following someone in public, watching them, maybe even filming them in public, then that is fair game. Hiding in the third stall in a restaurant men’s room, or putting a bug in there, to overhear a criminal conversation is fair game. The courts have ruled (I believe; correct me if I’m wrong, please) that an emanation from your house is fair game without a warrant, such as the heat from the grow lamps on a pot crop being picked up by infrared sensors. The line, for me at least, would be using computer-interfaced sensors to measure the tiny vibrations of a windowpane to recreate the conversation within. I think that would need a warrant, as a person in a house has a reasonable assumption of a right to privacy. But I’m not sure how the courts have handled that one, if at all.
Joe Sixpack, if you ask him how a cellphone works, will tell you that it has “a radio transmitter” in it, and so a cellphone conversation, being broadcast into the public airwaves, is fair game. A land line over a wire needs a warrant, as there is more presumption of privacy. Computers on wireless networks would be the gray area. I’d prefer that a warrant be required before someone hacks into my wireless network, but I can see arguments either way, as it’s again “transmitting over the public airwaves.”
“Eavesdropping” in a public place is OK; in private (or where there is a “reasonable expectation of privacy” like a confessional or psychiatrists’s office) requires a warrant. Period.
Traditionally, and correctly in my opinion, there has been an assumption that public library borrowing records, medical records, and records of commercial transactions are private unless one has a warrant. If they’re going to be searchable without warrants or any other checks, then that needs to be widely publicized so people can revert to methods that do not leave footprints (cash-only purchases, barter), if they value privacy in what they’re reading, purchasing, or in their medical records. That would kill the internet economy, except that I expect most people will willingly forego much of their privacy in that regard.
And the surveillance issue goes beyond the government, to employers or political opponents checking on your health records and off-work habits (e.g. smoking, drinking, sexual practices, political views, church membership, etc.) Privacy of all sorts is on life support in America.
Those are fantastic questions and informations. I think it’s well past time for ALL of the public to be discussing these issues.
Dataveillance: Creating a reason to investigate you
Government spying with our permission
FISA, Wiretaps, Pretrial Execution and Impeachment
The Wiretaps Are Your Fault.
Can you hear me now? Hello, is this the NSA?
We Need the Truth About Terrorism
Was waiting for the bucket as well…
This was in my inbox this morning from a listserv. They want to make sure this information is passed around.
Based on this article (which I had not read until today btw — so not sure if it has been posted):
Secret rolls undermine N. Orleans vote
So many to care about, so many to keep track of. What’s worse? Our treatment of the refugees of New Orleans or the abuse of Iraq?
They have us off spinning in a million different circles of outrage and upset.
Ha Ha, this is hilarious, because it’s true of all of us who are “the nicest, kindest, most intellectually gifted” in our nation-states.
We, who think, who process and synthesize information, wer are the most dangerous; knife, bomb, keyboard, protest march, gossip. Has nothing to do with muslims.
I thought the Daniel Pipes comment on the lone islamic driver of a SUV who drove into a crowd of people and no one was seriously hurt….I don’t think anyone even went to a hospital….was revealing for the paranoia of these crazies who are running full blast an American Army over the Iraqi people and fighting a war on terrorism.
When was the last in the war on terrorism the US was attacked?
Oh…it was that guy in the SUV who sounds like he was going around 10 miles an hour.
There is no Al Queda. The attack in Spain has been investigated and the
conclusion was it had nothing to do with Al Queda.
Daniel Pipes invented Al Queda. HE IS AL QUEDA
I haven’t seen this discussed in any of the media coverage, so it may no longer be the case, but when I attended UNC (um, 23 years ago…) the quad where the driver drove his jeep to attack people (“the pit”) was the spot where “street corner preachers” used to literally get up on a milk crate or small box and loudly preach fire and brimstone to the lunchtime crowd.
I was wondering if we have any recent UNC grads, faculty, or visitors out there that could comment as to whether that practice still goes on in that spot?
If this is still going on and common knowledge in Chapel Hill (as it was then), it’s very interesting that no one mentioned it in the news coverage of the incident.
I’d like to cede 45 minutes of my diary posting time today to the starkravinglunatic. S/He seems to have a lot more fighting spirit than I today.
We need that kind of relentless spirit.
Thanks alice.
Now, I’m going to duck outta here, 15 minutes of “fame” in hand (i.e. about the amt of time it takes for all the diaries to sink).
My oh my would I not be pleased to find upon my return, that the whole friggin diary list was filled with action items, but i don’t expect it–and with real human beings’ commitments to doing something that does not involve emailing, faxing or phoning.
I personally am tired of talking and listening to everyone else talk, blog blather, I’ve HAD it.
So, hope to see ya on the Group W bench this weekend.
The “hot air” has just gotten the best of me–I need some FRESH air, and I intend to get it.
These blogs are bullshit if they don’t get people out on the streets.
70K users on Dkos? OK, let me see who they are. WHere are the 70K BODIES. Human beings.
I’m tired of screennames and fictitious cyberfigments.
Are there really 70K “people” posting on the biggest lying in the lameass lap of luxury blog in the hotairosphere?
Well, then WHERE ARE THEY?
Talk is cheap.
Email is cheaper.
Taking it to the streets means you risk being labeled ….. peace-loving hippy type, womens studies crowd type, starkravinglunaticradical.
I’d rather be a called a crazy motherfucker than have to lie to my children about what I was or was not doing “during the war.”
you need to delete all but two of your diaries stark. there is a two diary per day limit. Action items beyond two diaries should be placed in the World/Open thread.
It’s none of my business, but, I’m not posting any diaries today. Can stark have my quota of 2?
Thank you Rumi.
I hope we can solve this amicably.
I didn’t know there was a quota of 2 a day. You didn’t announce it.
Now we will have to start a quota bucket thread every day.
I’m sorry Stark – keeping my mouth shut is one of those things I haven’t learned yet. I was just admiring your lunatic passion, and thought everyone else would too. Oh, now look at what I started – damn! Can’t please everybody, huh?
repost from Was Milosevic Poisoned?
Jeremy Scahill can sometimes be heard on Democracy Now, has recently reported from Iraq & was the first to report on armed Blackwater guys in New Orleans. He also reported from the ground in Yugoslavia during the US led NATO bombing campaign “The night Milosevic was arrested in Belgrade, Scahill was beaten by the former president’s supporters outside Milosevic’s residence“). Clinton apologists won’t be pleased with his new print piece:
Rest Easy, Bill Clinton: Milosevic Can’t Talk Anymore
allied with al Qaeda to fight the good fight?
& here’s a hint of the war crimes Milosevic might have talked about:
Just because I never call or invite him to Functions.