July 31, 2003

Ceasefire is at risk, Sharon


Ceasefire is at risk, Sharon told Guardian Unlimited: World: "The Palestinian government said yesterday that Ariel Sharon had jeopardised last month's ceasefire by rejecting President Bush's plea to stop building his security fence through the West Bank."

Now we pay the warlords


Now we pay the warlords to tyrannise the Afghan people Guardian Unlimited: World: "Comment: The Taliban fell but - thanks to coalition policy - things did not get better, writes Isabel Hilton."

July 30, 2003

'Crack' Nicotine In Cigarettes Varies


'Crack' Nicotine In Cigarettes Varies Widely Disinformation: "Some cigarettes have a "kick" containing 35 times more "freebase" nicotine - the most addictive form - than others, researchers have found. The findings could help rate the addictiveness of different brands, they say."
""The study shows that the modern cigarette does to nicotine what crack does to cocaine," says addiction expert Jack Henningfield, at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. ""
So, I was right all along calling smokers smelly crackheads :)

July 29, 2003

If you ever want to


If you ever want to see your family again... MetaFilter: "Kidnapping women and children is a justifiable action, says Col. David Hogg, commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division when his troops picked up the wife and daughter of an Iraqi lieutenant general. They left a note: "If you want your family released, turn yourself in." A quick glance at the Geneva Conventions and Protocols would suggest that this is illegal. "The ends justifies the means" seems to be the current Conservative meme, but how well will these tactics serve us in the long run?"

BlackHawk Up Guardian Unlimited: World:


BlackHawk Up Guardian Unlimited: World: "Rage triggered by US raid."

July 26, 2003

Do run RPC


Yahoo! News - Best Network Port Scanners for Linux
Gartner Research takes a new approach to security - just suck it in!

July 23, 2003

It's not censorship if it


It's not censorship if it doesn't work MetaFilter: "GOP Warns TV Stations Not to Air Ad Alleging Bush Mislead the Nation Over Iraq They claim that the ad itself is dishonest, and cite the obligation of broadcast outlets to be free of misleading information. Such obligations must be taken seriously. This letter puts you on notice that the information contained in the above-cited advertisement is false and misleading; therefore, you are obligated to refrain from airing this advertisement. Despite the implicit threats, only one station has refused to run the ad, a Fox station. "

July 22, 2003

Lego promotes toys on BBC


Lego promotes toys on BBC kids' show MediaGuardian: "8.30am: A popular BBC children's programme devised by Lego is being used as the launch pad for a range of toys, writes Claire Cozens."
Bad LEGO(tm) bad. now, to go buy more bricks ...

July 20, 2003

Blair rejects Kelly resignation calls


Blair rejects Kelly resignation calls BBC: Europe: "Tony Blair says he retains his appetite for the job in the wake of the "awful" death of Iraq weapons expert Dr David Kelly."

Palestinians 'reduced to begging' Guardian


Palestinians 'reduced to begging' Guardian Unlimited: World: "Israel is breaching international law by failing to provide much-needed aid, UN expert says."

Brussels Stories: Smoking eurocrats suffer;


Brussels Stories: Smoking eurocrats suffer; surreal cows take a walk Independent: Europe News: "Counsellors have been booked and special courses arranged. Doctors are on standby and a website is being constructed. On 1 May next year, the European Commission undertakes one of the most traumatic steps in its history: it will ban smoking on its premises."
ohh poor druggie eurocrats. and hint indepedent - bob marley may have done a whole range of hard drugs, but when it came to smoking my guess is he made his choices

July 18, 2003

Payback? | MetaFilter


Payback? MetaFilter: "Payback? How did Bush officials get back at Ambassador Joseph Wilson for talking publicly two weeks ago about his trip to Niger to investigate claims of an Iraqi uranium deal? By outing his wife as an undercover CIA operative . As David Corn of The Nation says, "...the Bush administration has screwed one of its own top-secret operatives in order to punish Wilson or to send a message to others who might challenge it..... a pair of top Bush officials told a reporter the name of a CIA operative who apparently has worked under what's known as 'nonofficial cover' and who has had the dicey and difficult mission of tracking parties trying to buy or sell weapons of mass destruction or WMD material. If Wilson's wife is such a person--and the CIA is unlikely to have many employees like her--her career has been destroyed by the Bush administration." The exposure of an undercover CIA agent is in fact a federal crime."

July 17, 2003

More of the same


Crude Niger forgeries surface in Italian paper MediaGuardian: "Forged documents on which the British and US governments allegedly based their case that Iraq was seeking uranium from Niger have surfaced in Italy's left of centre daily La Repubblica. By Sophie Arie."
'It could be worse than Watergate' Guardian Unlimited: World: "US press review: Domestic criticism mounts over intelligence used to justify war."

July 16, 2003

Salon.com News | Rumsfeld's personal spy ring


Salon.com News | Rumsfeld's personal spy ring"The defense secretary couldn't count on the CIA or the State Department to provide a pretext for war in Iraq. So he created a new agency that would tell him what he wanted to hear."

July 15, 2003

Do we need more reasons to not use security tech from you know where ?


First, some media spin The Register, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - High-Tech.
Then, the excutive sumary DID YOU HEAR? . . . (washingtonpost.com).
Finally, what is really going down Blackboard Transaction System Cease and Desist FAQ

Bliar's NWO


Telegraph | News | Blair's new world order blocked"Tony Blair's plans for a new world order in which advanced nations would take armed action to remove brutal or failed regimes [...]"
no comment.

UK gives up fight for Guantanamo captives


UK gives up fight for Guantanamo captives Guardian Unlimited: World: "Ministers believe legal barriers rule out trial in British courts for Guantanamo prisoners."
Coallition of the Yelding

July 14, 2003

German tobacco firm 'faces legal action'


German tobacco firm 'faces legal action' In BBC: Europe"German tobacco company Reemstma is being sued over the effects of smoking, a report has said."

Troops, Expats 2004 Vote Online


Troops, Expats 2004 Vote Online Wired News: "Military personnel and Americans living abroad will have the option to vote over the Internet in the 2004 election instead of sending absentee ballots by snail mail. Security watchers say the experiment is destined to screw up and it's ripe for voter fraud."
"Voters using SERVE can register to vote and cast their ballots from any Microsoft Windows-based computer with Internet access." Aren't Corporate Republics chockfull with democracy ?

Ministers had 'duty' to spin Iraq intelligence


Telegraph | News | Ministers had 'duty' to spin Iraq intelligenceIt was the Government's "duty" to "spin" intelligence information on Iraq, a former minister has insisted.
"It is the govts duty to lie"

Pressure grows on Israel over death of cameraman


Pressure grows on Israel over death of cameraman MediaGuardian: "10am: The mother of James Miller, the award-winning journalist killed in Israel, has urged Tony Blair to press for a formal investigation into his death when he meets Ariel Sharon today. By Claire Cozens."

July 13, 2003

Revisionist Historians at Work MetaFilter:


Revisionist Historians at Work MetaFilter: "Pay No Attention tothemenbehindthe Curtain. You maybe read about PNAC here , wherein numerous members of the current administration wrote down their grand plans for an American-led NWO. Pretty heady stuff, with Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz writing to Clinton in 1998 that "the only acceptable strategy is one that eliminates the possibility that Iraq will be able to use or threaten to use weapons of mass destruction." Umm, that is... move along, citizen. Nothing to see here (thank goodness for Google's cache )."
Didn't I mention this already ?

125 College sorority sisters find themselves exposed on the Internet


125 College sorority sisters find themselves exposed on the Internet Security News Portal: "If this story didn't involve 125 twenty-something Delta Gamma sorority sisters at the Texas Christian University than I probably would have ignored this. But once again we have personal and private ..."
Ah the joys of users of operating systems "so easy a chimp could use it" meeting the Internet.

Apple attempts to patent fast user switching


Apple attempts to patent fast user switching Geek News Central: "I personally don't know how Apple is going to do this, but they are trying to patent the technique as..."
You mean, like running multiple X/xdm on the same desktop ? Or *gasp* using the menu item that's been on every distro for years that says "Run login in Xnest" I wonder when apple is going to try to patent one-click-menu.

July 11, 2003

US steel tariffs 'break WTO


US steel tariffs 'break WTO rules' In BBC: Europe"The stage is set for a transatlantic trade war after the World Trade Organisation (WTO) found emergency United States steel tariffs were against its rules."
GO GLOBALIZATION!

Outsourcing Hurts Indians, Too Wired


Outsourcing Hurts Indians, Too Wired News: "The lives of American and European tech workers are not the only ones harmed by those outsourced tech jobs. The late hours are straining the health and relationships of young Indian workers. Manu Joseph reports from Mumbai."
"Hello Punjabi Telecom support how can I zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

July 10, 2003

Global illegal CD market swells


Global illegal CD market swells BBC: Technology: "The number of illegal CDs produced globally in a year hits the one billion mark for the first time."
Nevertheless, p2p is the boggyman.

White House 'lied about Saddam'


White House 'lied about Saddam' Guardian Unlimited: World: "A former US intelligence official has accused the White House of lying about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein."

July 09, 2003

Tampering with democracy


Tampering with democracy MetaFilter: "Are our elections fixed? Diebold Election Systems makes electronic voting machines being installed throughout the US. The problem? The systems contain serious security flaws that could possibly have been the reason for major swings in vote counts and discrepancies with exit polling. Also, a step-by-step guide to manipulating Diebold results -- and covering your tracks."

Berlusconi's boundless empire


Berlusconi's boundless empire MediaGuardian: "The Italian senate yesterday began debating a controversially amended bill that critics say would enable Silvio Berlusconi to extend his already formidable influence over the country's media. By John Hooper."
Where, exactly, are you heading EU ?

Iraqi TV was 'stuff of dreams'


Iraqi TV was 'stuff of dreams' MediaGuardian: "An expert who helped set up a post-war Iraqi media network has revealed the high level of political control exerted by the US and British over broadcasts. By Ciar Byrne."

July 08, 2003

Keyboards: definitly a feature


Toshiba launches lightweight laptops | CNET News.com
ability to create an extremely small and lightweight notebook that still offers features, such as a keyboard [...]
*wow* it even has a keyboard!

AlterNet: Ten Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq


AlterNet: Ten Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq
Yes, more Iraq stories.

Security unease as government buys software


Security unease as government buys software | CNET News.com
The moral is clear. "Europe, don't buy Microsoft"

Microsoft faces new probe


Microsoft faces new probe BBC: Technology: "US state Massachusetts will investigate whether the software giant has violated its anti-trust settlement."
Balls'r'Us

July 06, 2003

Rotating presidency of EU to be scrapped after Nazi smear


Rotating presidency of EU to be scrapped after Nazi smear Independent: Europe News: "Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's Prime Minister, has put the final nail in the coffin of the EU's system of six-month rotating presidencies, as his Nazi jibe left Italy's term at Europe's helm in turmoil."
very interesting. it might just be a plot after all.

July 05, 2003

Samsung bans cameraphones | Gizmodo


Samsung bans cameraphones Gizmodo: "What goes around comes around: Worried about corporate espionage, Samsung, one the biggest makers of cameraphones, is banning cameraphones from all its factories. So they're basically banning phones from the same factories where they're built. Read..."

'I won't apologise for my Nazi joke'


'I won't apologise for my Nazi joke' Guardian Unlimited: World: "Italian PM insists that others misinterpreted his remarks."

Concern as Britons face US tribunal


Concern as Britons face US tribunal Guardian Unlimited: World: "The UK expresses serious concern about Washington's decision to put two Britons held as suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay before a military tribunal with the power to order executions."
Coalition of the Wheeling

July 03, 2003

What to love about the United States.


Dinesh D'Souza on United States on National Review Online
*chukle* you know, if it actually had acurate facts it wouldn't be funny

EU Approves Biotech Food Label


EU Approves Biotech Food Label Wired News: "The European Parliament votes to require labels on genetically modified foods, paving the way for it to rescind its five-year moratorium on new biotech crops and products. U.S. officials, who have long fought the ban, complain that labeling is too much hassle."
Cause you know, genetically modifying super complex organisms is EASY but working a label into a wrapper is like, HARD.

July 02, 2003

Berlusconi commits 'Europe's fastest political suicide'


Berlusconi commits 'Europe's fastest political suicide' Independent: Europe News: "Silvio Berlusconi is renowned for being unpredictable, outspoken and gaffe-prone, but even his worst enemies did not expect him to wreak such havoc on the second day of Italy's EU presidency."
A couple of days ago the news were "EU member look glomly at next 6 monts". ....

July 01, 2003

U.S.: Military Aid Suspended To More than 30 Countries Over ICC Immunity


U.S.: Military Aid Suspended To More than 30 Countries Over ICC Immunity Radio Free Europe: "Washington, 1 July 2003 (RFE/RL) -- The United States has suspended military assistance to more than 30 nations which have failed thus far or have refused to sign agreements with the U.S. giving Americans immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The deadline for signing the immunity agreements with the U.S. expired today. Under U.S. law, NATO members as well as U.S.-designated "major non-NATO allies" are exempted from the sanctions. U.S. President George W."