Rationally Speaking

Rationally Speaking is a web site devoted to rational discourse on science, philosophy, social and political issues. This blog is a companion to the web site and is maintained by Massimo Pigliucci with the editorial help of Phil Pollack. Announcements concerning Rationally Speaking can be obtained by subscribing to the RS Google Group. While you are at it, you may want to check out Massimo's science site, his philosophy site, or his books. The full collection of the original Rationally Speaking columns that preceded this blog is available for download.

The central idea of this blog is that a public intellectual, in the words of Enlightenment philosopher Marquis de Condorcet, should devote him or herself to “the tracking down of prejudices in the hiding places where priests, the schools, the government and all long-established institutions had gathered and protected them.”


"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Cracking the Code

How do you keep a secret? One way is esczfrs ncjaezrclasj.* If you understood that, you already may know a little about cryptography.

For more than 3,000 years, people have encrypted messages to keep their communications secret. And encryption is still used today, though it’s much more sophisticated from the simple encryption from our past.

To make a successful cipher, you need a few things: an algorithm and a key to encrypt the information and an identical key and algorithm to decrypt the information. The key is known only by the message’s originator and recipient, and must be kept secret. read more

"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Tech heavyweights join OpenID Foundation board

IBM, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and VeriSign have joined the board of the OpenID Foundation, which puts consumers a little closer to being able to use a single sign-on when they surf the Web. read more


"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

C.I.A. Chief Doubts Tactic to Interrogate Is Still Legal

By SCOTT SHANE
Published: February 8, 2008

WASHINGTON — Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, told a Congressional committee on Thursday that waterboarding may be illegal under current law, despite assertions this week from the director of national intelligence and the White House that the harsh interrogation method may be used in the future. read more


"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

'An Intolerable Fraud'

Money-grubbing veterans charities need better oversight.

Sunday, December 16, 2007; Page B06

ORGANIZATIONS that cynically exploit America's best impulses to help its wounded veterans give a perverse new meaning to the notion that charity begins at home.

Troubling activities by some of the nation's largest veterans charities were revealed by a watchdog group and were spotlighted Thursday in a congressional hearing. The American Institute of Philanthropy studied 29 groups and found 20 guilty of such shoddy practices as high overhead costs, high-priced solicitations and big salaries to leaders. Even well-established groups such as the Disabled Veterans Association, AMVETS National Service Foundation and the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation got F's on the institute's report card. Help Hospitalized Veterans, The Post's Philip Rucker reported, paid its founder and wife a combined $540,000 in compensation and benefits. That some groups spend as much as 91 cents of every dollar raised on fundraising is, as Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) said, "an intolerable fraud." read more


"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Wounded warrior gets a bionic hand

Juan Arredondo is one of the first recipients of the i-Limb, a bionic hand with independently moving joints that flex and bend like natural fingers.

According to the caption, each finger has an individual motor that allows the recipient to engage in activities such as shaking hands and gripping rounded objects like door knobs.

"To have this movement, it's -- it's amazing," Arredondo tells reporters. "It just gets me more excited about now, about the future."

Arredondo, now a retired U.S. Army sergeant, lost his hand and lower arm two years ago when his patrol hit an IED in Iraq.

"As the soldiers raced to get out of the vehicle for fear of additional explosions, Sgt. Arredondo grabbed his severed hand, which was still grasping the steering wheel, and put it in his pocket while he fought to stay conscious," the company that manufactured his bionic hand says on its website. "Soon after arriving at a MASH station in Ramadi, it became clear his life would be saved and his legs healed, but that his hand was too damaged to be reattached."

The 27-year-old now works with the Wounded Warrior Project.

"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Stephen Hawking experiences weightlessness

Apr 26, 2007, 23:44 GMT


Washington - Renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking left behind his wheelchair for a zero-gravity experience Thursday.


Hawking, 65, who has been confined to his wheelchair for about four decades with a motor neurone disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), did better than expected on the commercial flight, representatives from Zero Gravity Corporation said. The tourism company organizes flights in a specially adapted passenger jet put into a steep dive to simulate zero gravity. Read More




"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

25 Days in Iraq - Blog:

I am proud of Bob Woodruff for what he has done. I am happy for his recovery, and his new found awareness for the suffering that war brings, whether it be physical or mental. In my show 25 Days in Iraq, I say “you cannot shake what sticks to you in war.These soldiers are coming home and they are bringing it home with them”. I am just saddened that it took a celebrity journalist to get his pineapple blasted to begin to think of our soldiers. Was the four and a half years of these wars not enough suffering to warrant a hour long special to this topic? Was Britney’s rehab finally pushed to the back burner for a story of REAL human interest? Did Anna Nichole’s DNA test not interest you today?

read more




"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

The Hoax that Hurts - Blue Mountain Arts Virus Hoax

A small, family-owned publishing company called Blue Mountain Arts is still reeling this week after finding itself the victim of a malicious Net hoax.

Publisher of a variety of note cards and poetry books, Blue Mountain has operated a popular Website offering free electronic cards for all occasions since 1996. Though it's now a highly-trafficked commercial site, it was originally launched as a public service in accordance with the ideals of its hippie-era founders, Susan and Stephen Schutz.

The company achieved a sudden and unwanted notoriety during the week of February 22 when the following message began being passed around on America Online:

Subject: Fwd: BLUE MOUNTAIN CARDS VIRUS ALERT!!!!!
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 01:02:07
Just received a call from family. A friend of theirs opened a card from Blue Mountain Cards and system crashed.

Do not open Blue Mountain Cards until further notice.

Virus has infiltrated their system..pass it on

As virus warnings generally do, this one caught on quickly, spreading beyond the confines of AOL to the Internet at large. What began as a trickle of inquiries to Blue Mountain's Webmaster address on February 25 had escalated to a flood by the following week. People all over the world were not only forwarding the alert to everyone they knew, they were posting it to newsgroups and listservs and spreading it in personal messages. Not one word of it was true.
Read More



"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Two Charlotte police officers shot, killed; one man charged

By Kytja Weir, Greg Lacour and Cleve R. Wootson Jr.

McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Charlotte-Mecklenburg police charged a man Sunday night in the slayings of two police officers who were gunned down while responding to a call at an east Charlotte apartment complex.

Officers Sean Clark, 34, and Jeff Shelton, 35, died at Carolinas Medical Center early Sunday. They were the first Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers slain in the line of duty in more than a decade.

Police charged Demetrius Antonio Montgomery, 25, with two counts of first-degree murder. They did not discuss a motive but are still investigating.

He has been found guilty of assaulting a government official or resisting a public officer five times since 1998, N.C. court records show.

The news of the officers' slayings circulated quickly among police Sunday, with even many of those out of town for spring break having already learned the news by midday.

Officers who were working Sunday wore black elastic bands around their badges. Many said they felt too numb to talk about their fallen comrades, nerves raw from what they know could happen to any of them.

"They're not only in a state of shock," said Chief Darrel Stephens. "They're in a state of wanting to know what you want to know, what we all want to know: What happened."

News of the slayings also reached beyond Charlotte, with people from as far as Kentucky, Michigan and Massachusetts filling more than 18 pages of an online memorial.

The two North Tryon division officers were handling a reported disturbance at 10:26 p.m. at the Timber Ridge Apartments on Barrington Drive near Milton Road and East W.T. Harris Boulevard, police said. The complex used to be called Barrington Oaks.

They were shot around 11:15 p.m., police said, while struggling with the suspect outside an apartment building. No one else was injured. Neither officer fired his weapon, police said.

Police have not yet said whether Clark and Shelton were wearing bulletproof vests, but they said it wouldn't have made a difference even if they were. Witnesses said they were each shot in the head.

Police interviewed scores of people in the neighborhood, Stephens said. Although they initially said they were looking for two men, they said they had interviewed only Montgomery as a suspect and were not looking for anyone else Sunday.

The mayor, City Council members and police officials discussed the news of his arrest in a police conference room Sunday night next to a hallway lined with the framed portraits of 23 other fallen officers.

"In addition to two families, Charlotte is in mourning," Mayor Pat McCrory said. "It was a brutal and senseless act and I don't think it was just against these two heroes and our police department. It's an act that impacts the heart and soul of our city. It's unacceptable."

Clark and Shelton had worked together in the same division for just over two months, working as a team when two officers were needed on one call.

On Saturday night, they were both called to answer the disturbance report, as is standard for such calls. They drove in separate squad cars to the complex off Milton Road near East W.T. Harris Boulevard.

It was the police work they both loved.

Clark had always wanted to be a police officer. The 1991 graduate of West Mecklenburg High joined the Air Force and worked a few other jobs. But he kept trying and trying to get into the police academy. He finally was hired just over a year ago.

He lived in Lincoln County's Iron Station community with his wife. He has a 2-year-old son, and his wife is expecting another child in June.

Shelton was also married and lived in the small Stanly County town of Locust.

He had been with the force for more than six years. The former Marine had worked in various divisions of the Police Department, most recently moving from the midnight shift along the South Boulevard corridor to the same shift in the neighborhoods of east Charlotte's North Tryon division.

Capt. Mike Adams called Shelton a hard-working officer. He was dedicated, said Capt. Chuck Adkins, focusing on his family and his job.

It's not clear what went wrong Saturday night. Police spokeswoman Julie Hill said Montgomery did not appear to be involved in the initial disturbance call that the officers were answering at the complex.

Two women saw the officers' cars in the parking lot as the women smoked and talked just outside their building.

Then, one said, she saw a man about 5 feet 6 inches tall, wearing a white shirt, walk across the lot. Neither recognized him.

After a few minutes, the other woman said, one of the officers stepped outside, followed by his partner. The two officers talked with the man in the white shirt for 10 to 15 minutes, one of the women said.

"It seemed like they were just having a conversation. They were just standing there talking," said E. Tejada, who asked the Observer not to use her full name because she is scared. "It was so weird, how it happened."

She said she turned her head to speak to a friend. Seconds later, she heard shots.

"Bam, bam, bam. Five times," another neighbor said.

Tejada rushed inside her apartment, put her five children in the bathroom and told them to stay close to the floor.

Then, she said, she grabbed her house keys, her cell phone and ran outside, calling 911 as she went. Her cell phone shows the call lasted 27 seconds.

The officers lay in the grass just to the right of a building's entrance. Police said their weapons remained holstered to their bodies.

Tejada told the dispatcher that two officers were shot. One officer was on his back, not breathing, with his eyes closed. The other was on his side, lying partially on top of his partner, still breathing and trying to speak.

"It was like mumbling," she said.

Tejada said she couldn't understand what he was saying. But she said she noticed both men appeared to have been shot in the backs of their heads_one in the middle, the other behind his right ear.

Other residents were beginning to crowd around the officers, she said, and police showed up within two or three minutes.

"It was chaos all night after that," she said, with police evacuating the five buildings around the lot.

The officers were rushed to Carolinas Medical Center's main hospital, a line of police cars escorting them. Clark died just after midnight. Shelton was pronounced dead at 4:06 a.m., police said.

The last time an officer from the department was fatally shot in the line of duty was in 1993, when the city was smaller but had a record year of violence with 129 homicides.

The past two years the district has had about 80 homicides, highs for the past decade but nothing matching the violence of the early 90s.

Yet Saturday's shooting came a day after police arrested 15 members of the Hidden Valley Kings, a gang based in a nearby neighborhood in northeast Charlotte. Stephens said investigators do not believe the officers' slaying was connected to the gang crackdown.

By afternoon the complex of two-story apartments with red bricks, beige siding and iron railings looked quiet. Signs of the deadly violence weren't apparent except for a handful of azalea blossoms left on the grassy lawn where the officer's bodies fell.



"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Man Charged in Slaying of 2 Charlotte Police Officers

Charlotte — A suspect was charged with murder Sunday, less than 24 hours after two Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers were fatally shot during a domestic disturbance call at an apartment complex.

Demetrius Antonio Montgomery, 25, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, said police spokesman Officer Bob Fey.

"This is an ongoing investigation," the spokesman said when asked if there were other suspects.

The two officer were shot late Saturday during a struggle outside an apartment complex and died early Sunday.

Sean Clark, 34, and Jeffrey Shelton, 35, were the first officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg department fatally shot in the line of duty in more than a decade.

"It's a real tragedy for us, the officers, for the families, for the communities, that we've lost two in one incident," said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Darrel Stephens.

Stephens said the two officers were responding to a disturbance call around 10:30 p.m. Saturday night at the apartment complex in east Charlotte. They were shot around 11:15 p.m. in the parking lot during a struggle. Neither fired their weapon, Stephens said.

Clark and Shelton were taken to Carolinas Medical Center, where they later died. Clark had been with the police department for a year, and Shelton had worked there since 2001.

Police blocked a road near the apartment complex for several hours overnight. Police used patrols, a helicopter, K-9 units and a SWAT team during the search.

"We have an enormous number of questions in our minds about what happened, and how it happened, that we don't have the answers to right now," said Stephens, adding later, "We don't have suspects at this point."

Both officers were married. Clark, a 1991 graduate of West Mecklenburg High School who had worked for the department for a little more than a year, and his wife were expecting a child. Shelton was a six year veteran of the force.

A Charlotte officer was last shot and killed on duty in 1993, when officers John Burnette and Andy Nobles died while chasing Alden Harden through a wooded section of southwest Charlotte, The Charlotte Observer reported on its Web site. Harden was convicted a year later and is one of 166 inmates on North Carolina's death row.

Last year, Officer Kayvan Hazrati survived when he was shot in the head while trying to serve a rape warrant in north Charlotte. He has yet to return to work.







"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Wounded Warriors and the America Way

"The new organization will allow us to give a personal touch to former Marines," says Col. Gregory A.D. Boyle, the regimental commander. "I want these Marines to feel . . . that they're the center of the universe and that we care about them and we're concerned about them."

When Boyle and other Marine Corps leaders describe the advantages of the new Regiment, one also gets a glimpse of what has been deficient in previous programs. Troops will be helped through loneliness, frustration and depression; troops and their families won't get substandard or unsanitary treatment, won't get lost in the system or fall through the "seams" or the "cracks" of inattention and perfunctory care, troops will get "personal" care and a built-in and focused support network, transportation to appointments and therapy, an advocate, an ombudsman, legal counsel, religious and spiritual support; troops will have assistance in cutting through Marine Corps, Navy, Defense Department, Department of Veterans Affairs, Social Security and federal government red tape and in navigating the voluminous paperwork and bureaucratic tangle, and in dealing with military and government boards and commissions, Congressional offices, disability claims, military contracts, insurance policies, discharge papers, as well as external charities and veterans groups; troops will have help in the transition back to units for duty, to the Veterans Administration, or in making their way to civilian life and follow-up family, charitable or government outpatient care, services, and benefits.

Read More


"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Sailing

# Learn to Sail Manual

# The Physics of Sailing

# How Sails Really Work Arvel Gentry was largely responsible for delineating the modern theory of Sails. Quoted extensively by Marchaj and others this is his website. Includes articles on how sails really work and the implications for design and trim.

# Sailing and the Tech Dinghy -- MIT's dinghy sailing instruction booklet

# Sailing Simulator from National Geographic

# International Sailing Federation



"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Veterans

Before I begin I want to state that the following comments are not directed at any one organization or agency, but rather to the American people as a whole.

Sadly to say the scandal at Walter Reed Hospital did not surprise me in the least. Be honest, it did not really take anybody by surprise.

I for one have been screaming at the top of my lungs to anybody that will listen for a few years now. I have begged for assistance in caring for our warriors. Wounded or not every veteran in this country needs to be cared for better.

Not to pick apart one of my associates, but when he agreed with me that every citizen in the united states is responsible for the neglect our veterans have suffered after all wars, whether they be "Domestic or Foreign" "Past or Present" they deserve much more. When he added "if one facility gets more than another, people will complain they get more help than we do." I had to cut him off. I replied that would be just plain childish. This whole scandal is absurd.

We are the people, all of us must bear the burden of what our warriors have had to endure since the creation of this Country. To stand back and point fingers at our Government just does not
compute to me.

We are all to blame. Some more than others. If a person cannot spare one hour out of their busy week to help a Veteran, then they do not get to complain about how our veterans are treated.
Enough said.


"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

6 indicted in Arizona foreclosure scam that targeted home owners in financial trouble

Posted on Friday, March 9, 2007 at 12:53PM by Registered CommenterThe Editor - Ian Shuter in Indictments, Loan Officers, Flipping, Arizona | CommentsPost a Comment | PrintPrint
In the following press release from Phoenix, AZ United States Attorney Daniel G. Knauss and HUD Inspector General Kenneth M. Donohue announced that six individuals have been indicted for conspiracy and separate counts of mail and wire fraud violations in connection with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) "Pre-Foreclosure" sale program.

The charged defendants are:
Trudy M. Peters, 43, of Peoria, Az, formerly an Escrow Officer for Ticor Title Agency, Phoenix, Az.
John M. Soto, 35, of Moreno Valley, Ca., formerly a Service Representative for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Larry M. Smith, 28, of Rancho Cucamonga, Ca, formerly a Service Representative, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Maria A. Felix, 47, of Glendale, Az, formerly a Housing Counselor for Acorn Housing, Phoenix.
Tony S. Vasquez, 54, of Tolleson, Az, formerly a Housing Counselor for Chicanos Por La Causa, Phoenix, Az.

Also listed in the indictment as an un-indicted co-conspirator is Edward Carrillo, Jr., currently serving a five year prison sentence arising from a state conviction for Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices. He ran a company called Sahara Investments.
According to the charging documents filed in the District of Arizona, the defendants conspired with Carrillo, doing business as Sahara Investments, Scottsdale, Az, to purchase and sell 65 properties in the Phoenix area using the HUD . Pre-Foreclosure. sale program. The program was designed to reduce foreclosures cost to the government by allowing homeowners to sell their homes for less than what they owed on the mortgage, often referred to as a "short sale." The "Pre-Foreclosure" sale program had strict guidelines among which required that property owners receive homeowner counseling, and that an independent appraisal had to establish the market value of the home.


"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Two Plead Guilty In Florida $10 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme - Operation Whose House

Friday, March 16, 2007

Megan McGuire, Miramar, Florida, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and/or wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for her involvement in Operation Whose House. On Tuesday, March 13, 2007 Christine A. Brown also pled guilty to one court of aggravated identity theft for her involvement in Operation Whose House.

McGuire and Brown are both scheduled to be sentenced in May, 2007 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. At sentencing, McGuire faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to five years’ imprisonment and Brown faces mandatory sentence of two years’ imprisonment. They are the …

Read More...

"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

In-ear Headsets In-ear Headsets

Motorola Miniblue H9
Meet Miniblue, the revolutionary new Motorola Bluetooth headset specially designed around the way your body works. Measuring in at only 30 x 23 millimeters this barely-there headset fits perfectly inside your ear. Its advanced design creates a seal to reduce ambient noise, so the person you’re talking with will hear you (not the surrounding sounds) and their voice will sound clear.

Coming Soon

"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

The Official Bluetooth® Wireless Info Site:

What is Bluetooth wireless technology?

Bluetooth technology is how mobile phones, computers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs), not to mention a broad selection of other devices, can be easily interconnected using a short-range wireless connection. Using this technology, users can have all mobile and fixed computer devices be totally coordinated.



"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

ThinkGeek :: LED Binary Clock:

Yes, It's A Clock. No, Your Mom Can't Read It*

New Feature - Now Displays Time In True Binary As Well As Powers Of Two Binary Mode! Woohoo!

It's easy for any self-respecting geek to figure out how to read this clock in a few minutes. Check out the image below for the details. Still don't get it? Then you probably shouldn't buy one, should you? Sure you could wing it and 'approximate' the time based on the position of the sun and act like you can read this clock, but you should probably go get one of these instead

Computers use on/off switches to tell the time, now you can too! Get one of these puppies and you are on your way to truly becoming one with the binary...

Each LED binary clock has these features/specs:

* Default mode displays time in 'Powers of Two' binary system
* Dim button on rear allows user to step down LED light output
* Startup option allows user to display time in 'True' binary mode (using the binary coding of 32/16/8/4/2/1)
* Autosensing of AC line frequency for worldwide ease of use.
* Size: 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 2"
* Packaged Weight: 10 oz

Your Choice of RED LED (120V) with a semi-translucent red face or BLUE LED (120V) with a silver face. Also available is an international version (230V) with BLUE LEDs and a silver face.


*OK, some moms can read it. The kind with degrees in computer science. Our bad.

"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

FBI Director Robert Mueller traveled to Los Angeles Thursday

FBI Director Robert Mueller traveled to Los Angeles Thursday to talk about what we're doing to help big cities and small communities battle the growing wave of gang violence. "Gang crime may be part of our reality today," he said. "But law enforcement can change that reality tomorrow." Read More

"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

IAVA - Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America - IAVA Blog:

Our War Tapes campaign is off to a great start. We sent out the first email last week, and we had an excellent response. Supporters are hosting parties across the country, and it's not too late to sign up.

You can search for a party in your area - just enter your zip code at the bottom of this page. If there are no parties planned nearby, you can also sign up to host your own. Hosting is easy - just be sure to get your hands on a copy of The War Tapes in time for the 27th.

At the House Parties, IAVA supporters are going to:

• Watch The War Tapes, the first documentary filmed by the soldiers on the ground in Iraq. You can watch the trailer here.
• Take part in a free conference call with IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff and Iraq Veteran Steve Pink, star of The War Tapes.
• Put their signatures on a petition to Jim Nicholson, Secretary of the VA, calling for increased mental health staffing at VA hospitals.

From the New York Times:

On an October night in 2003, mortar shells fell on a base camp near Baquba, Iraq, where Specialist Abbie Pickett, then 21, was serving as a combat lifesaver, caring for the wounded.

At first, she did not notice that one of the medics who was working with her was bleeding heavily and near death; then, frantically, she treated his wounds and moved him to a medical station, not knowing if he would survive.

He did survive, Specialist Pickett later learned. But the horror of that night is still vivid, and the memory stalks her even now, more than a year after she returned home.

"I would say that on a weekly basis I wish I would have died during that attack," said Specialist Pickett, who served with the Wisconsin Army National Guard. "You never want family to hear that."

This is Abbie's story, but she isn't alone. A new study suggests that US soldiers who have been deployed to Iraq are suffering from major depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Vet Centers, which were established after the Vietnam War, are the primary source of care for veterans facing these issues. Join us in calling for better funding for these vital centers.

I hope you can join us on the 27th. To those of you who have already signed up to host or attend - thank you. Your efforts to bring the people who care about these issues together make a huge difference for veterans like me.

Sincerely,

Rob Timmins
IAVA Field Director
Iraq Veteran

"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Defence Events

Network Centric Warfare 2007

January 22 - 25, 2007 :: Washington, DC

Image Fusion 2007
January 23 - 24, 2007 :: Alexandria, VA

Tactical Power Source 2007
January 29 - 31, 2007 :: Washington, DC

Total Asset Visibility For Defense
January 30 - 31, 2007 :: Arlington, VA

5th Annual Software Radio Summit
February 21 - 22, 2007 :: Vienna, VA

CBRNE Defense
February 26 - 28, 2007 :: Arlington, VA

UAV Summit 2007
February 27 - 28, 2007 :: Alexandria, VA

Maritime Homeland Security
March 19 - 21, 2007 :: Baltimore, MD

5th Annual Battlefield Healthcare
March 21 - 23, 2007 :: Alexandria, VA

Next Generation Materials for Defense
March 28 - 29, 2007 :: Arlington, VA

View all Defence events worldwide

NCW is no longer theory - Discover how you can increase operational effectiveness at Network Centric Warfare 2007. More...

---

Don't forget IQPC's events are available on CD-Rom.

If you would like to place an order please visit:
IQPC Knowledge Bank.

"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Bush gives ground on domestic eavesdropping program

KOMO

By Dan Eggen and Peter Baker. WASHINGTON - The Bush administration said Wednesday it has agreed to disband a controversial warrantless surveillance program run by the National Security Agency, replacing it with a new effort to be overseen by a secret ...
Bush Changes Warrantless Surveillance Policy Donklephant
Court to monitor Bush eavesdropping program San Jose Mercury News
New York Times - ABC News - DetNews.com - Boston Globe
all 474 news articles »"

Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Flash Player 9 for Linux arrives, looks great

Flash Player 9 for Linux arrives, looks great
Desktop Linux - Adobe Systems Inc. on Jan. 17 finally released the long-awaited Adobe Flash Player 9 for Linux. Although a binary-only ...READ MORE


"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Learn from other Google Docs & Spreadsheets users

Find answers, ask questions, and share your expertise with others in the Google Docs & Spreadsheets Help Group.

"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

The New BAH rates are available at Military.com

Here's the website for the new BAH rates. It's not time sensitive, so forward when you can.

Thanks!

The New BAH rates are available at Military.com

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning. Forwarded for your information.. Happy New Year!

Very Respectfully,
Capt Mellon

 

"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Blackwater Tactical Weekly: The Next Jihadists: Iraq's Lost Children

Ammar will tell you he's proud to be carrying a gun. His father was a brigadier in Saddam Hussein's Army, a man who saw combat in his country's several wars, and from an early age Ammar had accompanied him to the shooting range. "I got used to the sound of guns then," Ammar says. So he was ready, last fall, when the imam in his Baghdad neighborhood urged residents to take up arms against the invader-who in this case happened to be members of a Shiite militia trying to push into the predominantly Sunni area. Ammar joined the neighborhood watch, a ragtag bunch of men who stand guard nightly at improvised roadblocks and rooftop observation posts. In mid-October Ammar fought his first big battle against soldiers from the Mahdi Army-"the garbage collectors and robbers," as he contemptuously refers to the Shiite militia. He says he put his Kalashnikov assault rifle to good use: "I think I injured or even killed two of them. Our group killed more than six of them that night."

Full Story

Gary Jackson
President
Blackwater

"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Tactical Power Sources Summit

Dear Colleague,

This is your last chance to register for IDGA's Tactical Power Sources Summit. This must-attend event for government/military agencies and leading contractors at the fore-front of evolving programs, emerging policies and technologies for portable power sources is coming up in a few weeks.

If you are considering attending this event visit our website and register yourself and a team today.

This event will allow you to:

Access a comprehensive update on the roles that different types of batteries play in theatre

Analyze strategies to make batteries more reliable and more effective

Evaluate the promise of fuel cell technology to optimize soldier performance

Comprehensively assess new and alternative power sources

Hear case studies of "Power in Action" in the military

Develop an action plan to implement what you have learned into your own program

If you have any questions, please phone Customer Service at 1-800-882-8684. I look forward to meeting you at the event.

Cordially,

Page Robinson
Program Director, Tactical Power Sources 2007
IDGA

P.S. Also, don't forget to join us on the day before for the outstanding pre-conference Mobile Power Sources Development Day featuring 3 interactive seminars: Designing Low-cost, Durable Fuel Cells for Military Applications , Designing and Manufacturing High Power Density Motor Systems and Future Technologies of Man Portable Battery Systems.

This email was sent to: wooran@ec.rr.com

This email was sent by: IDGA
535 Fifth Av, 8th Fl New York, NY, 10017, USA

"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Help us take care of our veterans who worked so hard to protect and serve their country!

We are beginning to work with a military-affiliated association that is assisting our wounded warriors when they return from the battlefield. Many of these men and women are permanently disabled and want to purchase a home together by combining their income. What programs would you be able to offer these veterans? Any information that you can offer me would be greatly appreciated. We will be presenting this proposal to the general on the local base here.

Some of these veterans are discharged and waiting placement for permanent residence and some are still active-duty military status. Insofar as credit scores are concerned, I'm sure that we will have a mixed box of scores.

Help us take care of our veterans who worked so hard to protect and serve their country!

Jamie Sharpe/Loan Officer


910-478-8810 cell

Ray Thomas, commander of VFW Post 10386

Ray Thomas, commander of VFW Post 10386 in Kingman, sat in on the discussion Wednesday with Coker. Coker said the only other person to whom he has put forth his idea is the commander of VFW Post 2555 in Golden Valley.

Update on the Coker Project:

He needs help to get it operational. I think foundation involvement/support with this project is a definite possibility.

N.C. State Commander, Jim Goins has a friend who needs our help also. The materials and land have already been donated for a homeless veterans house. Now we need to get the house built. I was thinking about the Barn raisings that occurred years ago with the granges.

Those were a shining example of Americans looking out for each other and a good format to use now.

Argent Mortgage, Account Executive

From: ALHarmon@argentmortgage.com



Subject: Help Our Military Veterans!

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 15:06:38 -0800

Hi,

With these borrowers, we would consider disability as fixed income. Their

income can be grossed up 123%. All of these fixed income borrowers would

have to go full doc and the LTV would vary from credit score to credit
score.


Hopefully this will help you out, but let me know if you
have further questions!!

Thanks!!

Angie Harmon

Argent Mortgage, Account Executive

phone: 910-431-0129

email: alharmon@argentmortgage.com

National Legislative Service

The mission of the VFW National Legislative Service is to represent the VFW position on various issues before the United States Congress.

This is accomplished through testifying at congressional committee hearings as well as interacting directly with members of Congress and their staffs, and the staffs of Committees having jurisdiction over veterans legislation.

The NLS not only works for the advancement of legislation beneficial to veterans but, also, has the responsibility to bring about defeat of legislation detrimental to our Nation's veterans.

National Legislative Service

Dennis Cullinan,

Director

200 Maryland Ave, NE

Washington, DC 20002

Phone: (202) 543-2239

Fax: 202-543-0961 vfwac@vfwdc.org

Thanx Robo

I was referring to several projects.

1st N.C. State Commander, Jim Goins's friend needs our help now. The materials and land have already been donated for a homeless veterans house to be located here in N.C. We need to get that house built. He will be in Jacksonville next week. I will post more details as I receive them.

2nd The Commandant has promised to create two Wounded Warriors Regiments. Maxwell said they will be breaking ground next month. They both will need help, just not as much.

3rd Evan Coker has no computer in his home. He has contacted several organizations for assistance. I will be faxing him some info later today. Until I can get out to Arizona I need a contact there to get info to him. Faxes are fine, but they can get costly. The cost of paper and ink is the problem. Every penny we save, is that much more for our wounded warriors, PAST AND PRESENT.

4th Evan and I both have the same dream, we hope to get all states working together to assist our wounded. How they do this is totally up to them. My job is to get the right people connected. Ray Thomas, commander of VFW Post 10386 in Kingman has expressed an interest in this project.

Wooran's Wounded Warriors was created to serve all Veterans.

Where does the VFW comes into play?

I am reading but still don't understand what and where things will be done. I understand Jamie is working as loan officer, that Coker has a 5 year requested use of land donated to a tribe and a theme park in mind. To me this is confusing and in rivalry with what the Wounded Warrior program is with the Maxwell and Conway group. It appears that Wooran Wounded Warrior program is something apart from the original program. Where the VFW comes in is still another confusing avenue. Then comes the issue of who and how many warriors will be in said homes or complexes. You did say Maxwell was setting up east and west coast locations. As an opener think along the following:

1. DETAILED MISSION of intent.

1.1 LEGAL ASPECTS

2. INFRASTRUCTURE: Who

2.1 NEEDED POSITIONS OF MANAGEMENT

3. FINANCIAL

3.1 FUNDS AVAILABLE and DISTRIBUTIONS

3.2 GUIDANCE TO PLAN

4. LOCATION

5. METHODS OF OPERATIONS


Give the above some serious thought. R

BODY RITUAL AMONG THE NACIREMA

Most cultures exhibit a particular configuration or style. A single value or pat-
tern of perceiving the world often leaves its stamp on several institutions in the
society. Examples are "machismo" in Spanish-influenced cultures, "face" in
Japanese culture, and "pollution by females" in some highland New Guinea
cultures. Here Horace Miner demonstrates that "attitudes about the body"
have a pervasive influence on many institutions in Nacireman society. Read More

NO SUCH THING as objective reporting

Back in my heyday (sp?), otherwise known as when I was 20, I was a part-time copy editor for a city newspaper with about 25,000 daily subscribers. Every once in a while, I got to pick stories from the Associated Press to be put in the paper. Other times, I had to cut 1,000-word stories by more than half to fit the space allotted.

What I learned:

1. There is NO SUCH THING as objective reporting.

2. Decisions on what to report is largely based on what the business believes the viewers/readers/listeners are interested in.

3. As such, newspapers with a largely caucasian/Republican base are less likely to report on a Mexican family's struggle for citizenship or a black man proven innocent after years behind bars.

4. The subjectivity doesn't end there. Even when stories are run, reporters decide what angle to take . Notice how many newspapers have a "Business" section versus how many have a "Labor" section. The little guy isn't focused on for two reasons. One, he doesn't pay the newspaper's bills, and two, she is still dreaming of when she's no longer poor and thus wants to know about stock markets and insider trading.

5. Then there's what information to share about the story that's been decided on. Say, for instance, a newspaper is going to write about a high school track coach who's been convicted of pedophilia. The story could include the following information: how to talk to your children about pedeophilia; how many cases the coach was convicted of; two students' accounts of what a good teacher the coach was; one team member's account of walking in on the coach with a fellow teammate; how many people are convicted of pedophilia each year; what the school's going to do for the high school students; what background checks and other measures the school uses when hiring. Now, the newspaper only has room for half of the information I just listed. Someone has to choose.

6. And how does that information get chosen? By people. Who are ALWAYS subjective. Say we have three reporters who can report the story. One is the mom of a child on the junior high football team. One is a sports fanatic. The third downloads porn during spare time. Think you're likely to get three different stories? Oh, yeah, baby. Now, the stories will almost always be accurate, truthful, and unbiased in the telling. But the telling of the story is only what we see. So much more goes on behind the wizard's curtain.

:)Kim Edwards

http://wooran.com

An argumentum ad populum

The mainstream media likes to keep us confused. I need no help in that department. It scares me when people blindly follow the herd. Many times the facts are never revealed to the public. More people need to challenge the information that is presented to them.

An argumentum ad populum (Latin: "appeal to the people"), in logic, is a fallacious argument that concludes a proposition to be true because many or all people believe it; it alleges that "If many believe so, it is so." In ethics this argument is stated, "if many find it acceptable, it is acceptable."

Some things never change. I may be married to a marine, but I can't for the life of me see the logic in blowing things and people up. This just does not compute.

http://wooran.com

9/11/2006 RELIGIOUS TERRORIST ATTACK

The mainstream media may not have alerted you to the fact that there was another bomb attack on American soil on 9/11/2006, on the fifth anniversary of the first 9/11 attack.

If it seems strange that such an event wasn't picked up by the right wing conservative media echo chamber to fan the flames of fear in the U.S. and rally more Americans to the cause of fighting a global war on terror, the reason for this lapse is simple:

The religious terrorist, in this case, was a Christian extremist who bombed an abortion clinic.

Martín Rizzi said:

I think that most religiously motivated terrorists would agree with this goal, in fact, many of them are actively working toward the goal of having only a single religion-- theirs.

Personally, I think valuing diversity would be a better goal. I think people should not argue about things that can't be proven to exist. Carl Sagan spoke for me (you might go to my "Pale Blue Dot" thread if interested).

I dont really know about this "religiously motivated terrorists" stuff;

supposedly in Iraq these religiously motivated terrorists blow up mosques;

i dont buy it; i think that religiously motivated terrorists is just a meme.

Marcus B.

http://wooran.com

What the public believes to be true

I really don't know what to believe about Iraq having Weapons of Mass Destruction. At times I feel we will never know the truth.

What the public believes to be true

U.S. adults believe that the following are true about the war in Iraq:

* Seventy-two percent believe that the Iraqis are better off now than they were under Saddam Hussein (slightly down from February 2005 when 76 percent said this was true).

* Just over half (55%) think history will give the U.S. credit for bringing freedom and democracy to Iraq (down substantially from 64% in February 2005).

* Sixty-four percent say it is true that Saddam Hussein had strong links to Al Qaeda (the same as 64% in February 2005).

http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=684

chaos and violence

We all get ripped off everyday when people cause chaos and violence. What makes them use these methods of expressing themselves?

http://wooran.com

Thanks Harry

I always say things the wrong way. I do not think terrorism or any crime can be attributed to poverty.

"The poor person is the victim of, NOT the perpetrator of, terrorism."

I disagree.

http://wooran.com

Chemical may stop alcohol craving

Scientists say they have found a way to stop an alcoholic's craving for drink.

A team from Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute discovered blocking the action of the brain's orexin system can also prevent someone relapsing.

Team members say their work could lead to the development of drugs which could act as orexin blockers.

Orexin-producing cells are also thought to play a part in regulating feeding, so the researchers believe they could also help treat eating disorders. Read More

Saddam Hussein

I really don't know what to believe about Iraq having Weapons of Mass Destruction. At times I feel we will never know the truth.

What the public believes to be true

U.S. adults believe that the following are true about the war in Iraq:

* Seventy-two percent believe that the Iraqis are better off now than they were under Saddam Hussein (slightly down from February 2005 when 76 percent said this was true).

* Just over half (55%) think history will give the U.S. credit for bringing freedom and democracy to Iraq (down substantially from 64% in February 2005).

* Sixty-four percent say it is true that Saddam Hussein had strong links to Al Qaeda (the same as 64% in February 2005).



http://wooran.com

Casualties have now exceeded 25,000

Three years and nine
months after the U.S.-led Coalition
began its war against Saddam Hussein, researchers have quietly recorded
another grim milestone in the cost of the conflict. American military
casualties have now exceeded 25,000.

Native Americans

Stephanie O'Keefe said:

Could what was done to the Native Americans be considered terrorism?

Marc Roth said: YES

Professional Soldier

I see from your profile Stephanie you are the wife of a marine

As a professional soldier your man is exposed to great danger.

thus it is with some sensitivity i address you in this thread.

It is apparent you are a good person with a mind and a heart.

Your natural empathy for the man you love makes you want to

channel your human warmth and passion into a rehabilitation facility

for injured war veterans so these persons get have their life again;

maybe not all of their life, but at least a part of the life they had.

When someone is a soldier he has no right to anything but obey.

The issue of wounded Eurasia War veterans is a very serious one.

Both the physically wounded and also the emotionally wounded ones.

Martín Rizzi

TERRORISM - Can it be eliminated? If so, how? What is your plan?

In order to answer the question, I first need to define what terrorism is according to me. It is an act of violence intended to both inflict fear in a group of people and get a specific message heard. That being the case, the Boston Tea Party was just as much an act of terrorism as 9/11 was--the most important difference being the loss of innocent lives on 9/11.

What do we then do to stop terrorism from happening?

We stop the need for it. Terrorists don't use terrorism as a first response. At no point in time did someone read the newspaper, get mad about an issue he/she just learned about for the first time, and decide to nuke a city in response. Terrorism is a last resort, something people do when they can find no other way to be heard. Terrorism comes out of anguish, turmoil, and devestation.

To stop terrorism, then, ...

--We need to teach parents like those of the students who did the Columbine shootings to look for the signs of disturbed teens and to get them help.

--We need to acknowledge that the Israel/Palestine situation is horrible and that talking isn't enough. Reparations need to be made, counselling needs to be inacted, healing needs to be nurtured, and education about cultural differences and acceptance needs to happen.

--We need to wean our children away from the selfish, immediate-gratification, anti-social worlds of television and video games. We now have several generations of people who barely know how to communicate because communication has become unnecessary when all we need to do is push buttons to exist. Every person who is living such a life is a person who is not helping in terrorism, war, injustice, and strife.

--We need to stop pretending the American way is the only way and acknowledge that we're just as big of f-ups as the rest of the world. We're full of gluttony and greed, egocentricism and Nihilism, yet Americans are affronted when people in other countries act the same way.

--We need to learn to listen to people. Truly listen. We need to know why the IRA continues to fight and why the Una Bomber, well, bombed. We need to listen not to prove them wrong, but to find solutions for the problem and for their pain. We need to listen in order to know how to listen to the next person before he/she becomes a terrorist.

--We need to start within ourselves. How many people's ideas have you felt like annihilating today? None? Really? Don't you want cannibalism to end? Racism? Genocide? Remember, the people who commit acts of terrorism have an injustice that they want to end, too. I'm not saying terrorism is ever right, but I am saying that we need to understand it before we can, well, annihilate it.

Kim Edwards

Thank You

Stephanie, thank you; your words are helpful to understanding your POV, demonstrating you are a good person with a good mind.

Martín Rizzi

I don't even get the whole using Marines to blame Bush comment.

Who is using marines to blame Bush and for what?

Most of the people talking on here have a better grip on the chronology of this whole war than I do.

Can someone refresh my memory, how many days were we from a U.N. decision on how to approach Iraq's bluff on WMD?

Does anyone want to fess up if they believed that Iraq really had WMDs in the first place? I knew they didn't if you want to know why.

Marc Roth

Wounded Warriors

I agree. I am just very protective of our marines. I understand everything you say and my head tells me you are 100% right. My heart on the other hand breaks for my boys. The fact of the matter is, these wounded men and women are the kids that grew up next door to you and me. They need help and I am here to try and accomplish that by any means possible.

Welcome to O-net

Hi Stephanie. Welcome to O-net. I like what you're trying to do to create a home for our wounded warriors.

However, with all respect for your service, Saddam had no nuclear program. He had no weapons of mass destruction. He was fully cooperating with Inspectors at the time the U.S. decided to make war. The inspectors were forced to leave to avoid being bombed by the U.S. These are all indisputable, historical facts.

Bush lied to start the war for reasons we'll probably never know unless, of course, the motive was simply more profit for Haliburton and the oil companies. But I suspect it's more complex than that.

I'm not saying Saddam wasn't a brutal dictator. I would, however, say that the Iraqis were better off under Saddam than they are now. In fact, 600,000 Iraqis would be alive now, instead of dead, had the U.S. not gone to war with Iraq.

In my opinion, our wounded warriors are all victims of the neocons' lies and deceit, and the more fully it's understood how terribly and unconscionably these soldier's loyalty to our country was abused in the Iraq mission, the sooner they can help bring the criminal neocons to justice and, I would hope, further their healing process through that endeavor.

Marcus B.

"traditional American pride"

Traditional American Pride is dying of a sick cancer.

Unions that once brought cleanliness and safety to jobs out grew themselves and became greedy petri dishes for inflated pay rates, and laziness.

Banks are spoiling us using a backwards IQ test called a credit score, which is creating a jealous rage in our consumers such that we have to work to pay off our debt, because it’s growing so rapidly.

As a means to an end good ole American logic says take a few shortcuts here, cheat there, stab that guy in the back and get ahead.

Traditional American Pride - started with a good hard day’s work that is very hard to find today.

Marc Roth

"Support" needs to be real and tangible, not just declared

I think it's the lack of tangible support that is the problem. If the veterans had a nickel for every person who has a "Support Our Troops" magnetic ribbon on the back of their car, they'd be able to afford better treatment and healthier places to live and heal. (Okay, maybe more than a nickel, but you get the idea-- the "Support" needs to be real and tangible, not just declared).

The government is not currently funding care for veterans adequately, so I don't think it's enough for people to just be taxpayers to say they support the troops (just my opinion).

Marc Roth said:

In fact I think the sentiment carried across all party lines is that we support our troops even if we don't support the war. This may be a valuable lesson that has carried forward from Vietnam, but at any rate I don't see anyone hardening against our men and women in uniform.

Marcus B.

WOUNDED WARRIORS SUPPORT OMIDYAR GROUP PROPOSED

I'd like to follow up Stephanie's project with a new group here on Omidyar specifically for exploring creative way to help wounded warriors.

Please visit the New Groups section (Groups Tab, sub-tab: New Groups) and co-sponsor this new group to help get it started. It'll take five additional new group sponsors to get this going.

The issue of terrorism is too big to solve with one kind of activity-- I think we have to break it down into specifics and deal with those specifics in order to be more effective.

I think I get now where Stephanie was coming from about people using Marines to Bush-bash (paraphrased). If we harden our hearts against veterans because of the perception that they voluntary supported the illegal war in Iraq, then we are, in effect, punishing them for Bush's crimes, and that's cruel and unfair.

So, what can Omidyar.net do for/with veterans to make good things (or at least better things) happen?

Marcus B.

Al-Qaeda already here

Until about a year ago, IDF Intelligence estimated that "Israel was not being targeted by al-Qaeda". Since these estimates were made public, reality has hit Israeli intelligence in the face. The global arena vis-à-vis Israel turned out to be rife with activity and al-Qaeda recently announced that Israel is one of their primary targets.

http://www.ict.org.il/apage/3491.php

Bin Laden's Declaration of War

"By God's grace," bin Laden says on the tape, "we have formed with many other Islamic groups and organizations in the Islamic world a front called the International Islamic Front to do jihad against the crusaders and Jews."

"And by God's grace," he says at another point in the tape, "the men ... are going to have a successful result in killing Americans and getting rid of them."

CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen, who interviewed bin Laden a year earlier, believes the tape depicts a key moment for al Qaeda.

"They're going public," Bergen said. "They're saying, 'We're having this war against the United States.'"

CNN.com - Previously unseen tape shows bin Laden's declaration of war

Consequence of Poverty

I agree that terrorism is in no way a consequence of poverty. The individuals I was referring to are far from poor.

They feel they are justified in causing terror and destroying their neighborhoods. They blame this type of behavior on poverty.

Killing of Americans, both civilian and military

The following link has a statement from Osama bin Laden and his associates purports to be a religious ruling (fatwa) requiring the killing of Americans, both civilian and military. This document is part of the evidence that links the bin Laden network to the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm

The US had a task force of FBI agents dedicated to investigating Osama bin Laden

The US had a task force of FBI agents dedicated to investigating Osama bin Laden. For years they warned us he was going to attack America. Their reports were ignored.

10 years before 9/11 Bin made declaration of war against America and Saudi. He had been thrown out of Saudi. He took refuge in Sudan. He then hand picked Saudi's for 9/11. He wanted the Americans to think Saudi's had done it. He wanted us to go to war with Saudi. Killing two birds with one stone. It is about hate.

We knew he would attack us one day. We just did not know when or where.

UNDERSTANDING

Marcus B. said:

Hi Tom, many of are still waiting for a complete investigation of 9/11, which, as yet, has not been done in order to find out who, exactly, "they" are.

It is interesting that the Bush administration has done everything it could to resist, forestall, white-wash and minimize 9/11 investigation.

Since our freedoms are, essentially, derived from our constitution, I also find it interesting that the greatest threats to our freedoms are the PATRIOT act and the MILITARY COMMISSIONS act, in terms of eroding constitutionally guaranteed rights. We know exactly who pushed those acts through Congress.

What if Bush revealed the correct motivation for 9/11 (They hate our freedom), but misidentified the perpetraitors?

Tom Braddock said:

We need to start with UNDERSTANDING why they decided to to take this course of action. What is it that we are doing as a nation that has them so riled up against us?

Answering the question, "WHY do they hate us so much that they would take this course of action (9/11)?", would be the best thing we could do as a nation. We need to check OURSELVES, before we wreck ourselves.

Absolutely. The "They hate our freedoms" canard is total BS. If you want to know why they hate us, read their statements. I recently bought a translations of all of Bin Laden's public statements and have read some of them. He says absolutely not one word about "our freedoms". By contrast, he has one hell of a lot to say about our policies. I'm not saying we should retract every foreign policy we have, but we should consider how we can secure our country and our interests without totally pissing off the entire Muslim world.

Sheldon Greaves

Kennedy was absolutely excoriated by the press for not going to war

Jeff Mowatt said:

Last night here in England on the primary BBC channel, they screened '13 days' an account of the Cuba crisis starring Kevin Costner. How much resemblance it bore to actual events , I'm not in a position to judge, but it painted a terrifying picture of the Kennedys trying to hold back the hawks who were itching to escalate to a full scale conflict.

Seeding thought perhaps, that GW might be sitting in the place of JFK and could be found wanting when it came to the crunch?

Glad you brought this up. What isn't generally remembered is that following the crisis, Kennedy was absolutely excoriated by the press for not going to war over this. Now considering that most of our naval assets were at various times being tracked by a Soviet sub armed with a nuclear torpedo that could have taken out entire squadrons, plus the whole nuclear missile thing... whatever you think of Kennedy, he earned his pay during those two weeks.

Sheldon Greaves

Psychology of poor people

By Martín Rizzi


Other people are like you; they do not want to harm anybody.


Terrorism is synthetic violence; terrorism is focused fear


for the purpose of forcing people to change and to accept


conditions of globalization. I simply do not see evidence


that terrorism flows out from the psychology of poor people


thus IMO it were futile to address the scourge of terrorism


by speculation what motives or justifications poor people


might have to commit terrorism ?¿ IMO terror is NOT coming


from the poor people at all, it is authored by rich people,


police and intelligence agencies, mafias, and covert players


of dirty power games for the purposes of money, drugs, and power.


That terrorism is an exponent of a popular condition, i seriously doubt.

Accepting people's differences

Both of you make some very good points. I have never understood the whole concept of killing in the name of the lord.

I fear that if we all think and act exactly the same, life would become boring. I believe our differences are what make life interesting. Personally I have never wanted to harm anybody because of their POV. The only way I could hurt anybody would be in self defense.

Words have never hurt me, but people do.

Terrosism - Can it be eliminated? If so, how? What is your plan?

Munnu Morrish said:

Terrosism is human and terrorism on the globe is based on religious lines.I think lets have asingle religion and see what would be the outcome.

I agree; a single religion for humanity would be ideal.

Terror is, i believe, based on religious lines because

the British Empire's Great Game and War of Civilizations

Thee is certainly no natural contradiction between Islam

and Mosaic Christianity. The three are continuous, all

of these religious furthered the One God idea that Moses

got from the priest scientists at Egypt's Temple of Ammon.

To this, we get into what? Dictatorships? Tyrrany? Oppression? Annihilation of those who won't convert? Been there, done that. One time, we called it the Holocaust. Another time we called it the Inquisition.

And since a single religion is best, maybe we also need a single race, culture, economic status, and eduction level. Of course, we'll need to burn books and forcibly take people's money away from them, but it'll be for the greater good--like it was in Russia, right? That surely worked out for the best.

Forcing people to assimilate is not the answer. Accepting people's differences is.

Kim Edwards

Duke's Top Ten Questions

What is the cost of tuition at Duke? Is there a difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition?

Duke admits U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and a limited number of foreign students without regard to financial circumstance or aid eligibility and meets 100 percent of each admitted student's demonstrated need. There is no difference in tuition for in-state or out-of-state students, although students from North Carolina may qualify for certain merit scholarships that are specific to geographic regions of the state.

Estimated costs for 2006-2007 are:


Tuition & Fees: $34,202

Room: $4,950

Board: $4,390

Personal expenses/books: $2,508

Total Cost of Attendance: $46,050

Duke's Top Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions

http://wooran.com

Hynix Develops 800 MHz Memory Module

Hynix Semiconductor said Sunday it has developed the world's first 800 MHz memory module using 60-nano 1GB DDR2 DRAM.

The chipmaker received approval for its 60-nano DRAM chip from Intel in October and has now developed the 60-nano DDR2 memory module this time, passing Intel's Advanced Validation Lab (AVL) test. The final test result will be officially announced early next year. The new memory chip comes in two types: one with a speed of 800 MHz and the other with a speed of 667 MHz. It also helps hike productivity by a whopping 50 percent, the chipmaker says. In addition, such cutting edge technologies as a “three-dimensional” transistor and three-layered metal allocation boost storage capacity and processing speeds. Read More



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More Marines may be needed in terror war

The Marine Corps may need to increase in size to sustain deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan without sacrificing needed training or putting undue stress on the corps, the new Marine commandant said Wednesday.

At a breakfast meeting with reporters, Gen. James Conway also warned that it could take years to adequately train and equip the Iraqi security forces — longer, perhaps, "than the timeline that we probably feel ... our country will support."

"This is tough work, it doesn't happen overnight," and patience by the American people will be needed, he said. On the plus side, he said Marines he's talked to in recent days are encouraged by the progress they are seeing among Iraqi forces.

Conway said the current pace of Marine rotations to Iraq — seven months there and seven-to-nine months at home — is limiting other types of training that units can receive and could eventually prompt Marines to leave the service.

"There is stress on the individual Marines that is increasing, and there is stress on the institution to do what we are required to do, pretty much by law, for the nation," said Conway.

The goal, he said, is for units to spend twice the amount of time at home as is spent on deployment — for example seven months deployed and 14 months at home.

At the same time, Conway would not rule out extending the Iraq tours for some Marine units if needed for a short period of time. Several Army units have been extended for several months, but the Marines have done that only rarely and for weeks rather than months.

Conway, who took on the Marines' top job just eight days ago, said there are two ways to deal with the ongoing stress on the Marines: "One is reducing the requirement, the other is potentially growing the force for what we call the long war." Read More

Concerns to air over anti-sub range

MOREHEAD CITY - In 2004, Joe Shute noticed something funny happened with the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in Morehead City.

The weeklong fishing tournament coincided with an offshore Navy training exercise, said Shute, who owns a bait and tackle shop in Atlantic Beach and runs inshore and offshore charters.

Blue marlin were plentiful on the first day of fishing, Shute said.

"The second day they turned on their maneuvers, and we didn't catch any more fish until the end of the week until they quit," Shute said. Read More

Microsoft takes phisers to court

Microsoft is helping law enforcers hunt down criminals who try to steal bank account details on the internet and has initiated 129 lawsuits in Europe and the Middle East, the US software company said.

One court case in Turkey has already led to a two and a half year prison sentence for a so-called "phisher" in Turkey, and another four cases against teenagers have been settled out of court, Microsoft said on Wednesday, eight months after it announced the launch of a Global Phishing Enforcement Initiative in March. Read More

Man charged after Internet chats with 'girl'

An Oshawa man faces luring and prostitution charges following online conversations with a police officer posing as a 12-year-old girl.

The investigation began Oct. 17 when an undercover York police officer became engaged in sexually explicit conversations with a man online.

During the conversations, which continued over a period of four days, police say the man expressed a desire to meet with the "girl" for sex.

The man also suggested that he would pay the girl money when they met, investigators said.

A suspect was arrested on Nov. 21 after a meeting was set up in Mississauga.

Jeffrey Totman, 28, has been charged with two counts of luring and one count of juvenile prostitution.

Anyone with information is asked to contact York police at 905-453-2121 ext. 3490 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. Read More

Pentagon stays the course with laser weapon

The threat of cancellation no longer looms over the Pentagon's Airborne Laser effort, but senior program officials say they are taking nothing for granted as they prepare for a missile-intercept demonstration in 2008.

Several clear test milestones have been laid out for the Airborne Laser in 2006 so that senior Missile Defense Agency officials will be able to measure its progress, according to Air Force Col. John Daniels, the effort's program director.

The Airborne Laser, or ABL, is a Boeing 747 aircraft being equipped with a high-powered chemical laser to destroy ballistic missiles in their boost phase. Chicago-based Boeing Co. is the prime contactor on the effort.

Read More

Firefox has a password flaw

The Internet browser Firefox 2 has a problem with its "password manager" that could allow a hacker to obtain usernames and passwords from Firefox users, Newsfactor.com reports.

The Mozilla Foundation, which maintains Firefox's code, has acknowledged the problem. It has an extensive discussion going on here about what it calls "bug #360 493."

According to Newsfactor, the same problem could affect Internet Explorer as well.

Newsfactor also reports that "neither Mozilla nor Microsoft has released a patch for the problem, but users can avoid (the) attacks simply by disabling their browsers' autosave features for usernames and passwords. In Firefox, the feature is found in the 'Options' window under the 'Tools' menu. read more

Gabriel's Homecoming

  

Gabe's Homecoming

 
 
 
  

More trouble for Hubble

BALTIMORE, Maryland (AP) -- The main camera on the Hubble Space Telescope has shut down unexpectedly for the second time this year, the operators of the orbiting observatory announced Friday.

The Space Telescope Science Institute, which coordinates use of the telescope, said the camera shut down Saturday.

Program managers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt and at the institute were investigating the cause and what action to take.

In the meantime, observations on the Hubble were being rescheduled to use other instruments, the Baltimore-based institute said. more »

IBM to Build Supercomputer Powered by Video Game Chips

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 6 - The Department of Energy said Wednesday that it had awarded IBM a contract to build a supercomputer capable of 1,000 trillion calculations a second

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WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW?!

is a new type of film. It is part documentary, part story, and part elaborate and inspiring visual effects and animations. The protagonist, Amanda, played by Marlee Matlin, finds herself in a fantastic Alice in Wonderland experience when her daily, uninspired life literally begins to unravel, revealing the uncertain world of the quantum field hidden behind what we consider to be our normal, waking reality.

Pennsylvania town gets tough on immigration

Hazleton cracks down on illegal immigrants as Hispanic population soars

NBC VIDEO

• City to vote on immigration
July 13: The mayor of a Pennsylvania town on Thursday weighs a proposal to curb illegal immigration by ordering its undocumented residents to leave. NBC's Rehema Ellis reports......read more

A Wireless Chip the Size of Grain!

HP has announced the development of a miniature, wireless data chip that according to the company, is capable of providing broad access to digital content in the physical world.

"Memory Spot", a research team at HP Labs, has developed this memory device based on CMOS (a widely used, low-power integrated circuit design). The chip is just about the size of a grain of rice or smaller (2 mm to 4 mm square). These chips can be fixed on a sheet of paper or stuck to any surface, and the company says, will eventually be made available as a booklet with self-adhesive dots.

Some of the potential applications of this device include storage of medical records on a hospital patient's wristband; provision of audio-visual supplements for postcards and photos; help in the pharmaceutical industry's fight against counterfeit; beefing-up of identity card and passport security; and supply of additional information for printed documents.

Ed McDonnell, memory spot project manager, HP Labs, said, "The Memory Spot chip frees digital content from the electronic world of the PC and the Internet, and arranges it all around us in our physical world."

HP claims that the chip has a ten megabits-per-second data transfer rate, which is ten times faster than Bluetooth wireless technology, and comparable to Wi-Fi speeds, giving users instant retrieval of information in audio, video, photo, or document form.
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Microsoft shutters Windows private folders

Following an outcry from corporate customers, Microsoft is removing an add-on feature to Windows that allowed users to create password-protected folders.

The feature was introduced as a free download last week. Almost immediately, people raised questions over how businesses would grapple with the ability of individual workers to encrypt their data.

"Private Folder 1.0 was designed as a benefit for customers running genuine Windows," Microsoft said in a statement to CNET News.com on Friday. "However, we received feedback about concerns around manageability, data recovery and encryption, and based on that feedback, we are removing the application today. This change will take effect shortly." ...........read more

Wounded Warriors

Wounded Warriors was founded in March, 2003 to support the Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines who were evacuated from Afghanistan and Iraq to the Landstuhl (Germany) Regional Medical Center for treatment for injuries and wounds stemming from Operations “Enduring Freedom” and “Iraqi Freedom”.


Because of the financial support Wounded Warriors received, we were able to support other military hospitals in the States and Iraq by purchasing laptop computers and other morale items to be used by the staff and patients. »more

Military contractors make billions on the front line

Business is booming for those willing to tackle one of the most dangerous jobs on Earth. Lucrative U.S. government contracts go to firms called on to provide security for projects and personnel -- jobs that in previous conflicts have been done by the military. read more

The Complete, Unofficial TEMPEST Information Page

Across the darkened street, a windowless van is parked. Inside, an antenna is pointed out through a fiberglass panel. It's aimed at an office window on the third floor. As the CEO works on a word processing document, outlining his strategy for a hostile take-over of a competitor, he never knows what appears on his monitor is being captured, displayed, and recorded in the van below.

Firefox snaps at Microsoft's heels

Mitchell Baker does not look like a typical technology geek. The first thing that makes her stand out is the dyed red hair, draped in a style that is perhaps best described as more new romantic than new economy....Read More

Google has released a Linux

version of the popular Picasa image management application. Built with Wine, it doesn't perform as well as native applications.Read More

Firefox Victory

It's just one minor battle in a war it likely won't win, but Mozilla's Firefox has tasted victory--and it is little and orange....Read More

Ubuntu open source OS available on Sun Sparc servers

Ubuntu, one of the most popular desktop Linux distributions, will be available on Sun Microsystems Inc.'s UltraSparc T1 processor-based servers starting in June....Read More

Microsoft chatting about buying Ebay

THE New York Post has confirmed that Microsoft has been involved in top secret discussions to buy eBay. Apparently the Vole wants to merge eBay into its MSN portal as part of its war on Google. Talks have ... Read More

Forensic Felonies

A new law in Georgia on private investigators now extends to computer forensics and computer incident response, meaning that forensics experts who testify in court without a PI license may be committing a felony....Read More

Dell and Google team up in bid to break Windows

MICROSOFT'S dominance of the computer software market came under attack today after PC giant Dell and internet search engine Google reached a landmark deal....Read More

How A Criminal Might Infiltrate Your Network

One of the great mysteries in security management is the modus operandi of criminal hackers. If you don't know how they can attack you, how can you protect yourself from them? Prepare to be enlightened....Read More