Friday, October 28, 2005
Is US becoming hostile to science?
In the past five years, the scientific community has often seemed at odds with the Bush administration over issues as diverse as global warming, stem cell research and environmental protection. Prominent scientists have also charged the administration with politicizing science by seeking to shape data to its own needs while ignoring other research.
Evangelical and fundamentalist Christians have built a powerful position within the Republican Party and no Republican, including Bush, can afford to ignore their views.
This was dramatically illustrated in the case of
Terri Schiavo earlier this year, in which Republicans in Congress passed a law to keep a woman in a persistent vegetative state alive against her husband's wishes, and Bush himself spoke out in favor of "the culture of life."
The issue of whether intelligent design should be taught, or at least mentioned, in high school biology classes is being played out in a Pennsylvania court room and in numerous school districts across the country.
Evangelical and fundamentalist Christians have built a powerful position within the Republican Party and no Republican, including Bush, can afford to ignore their views.
This was dramatically illustrated in the case of
Terri Schiavo earlier this year, in which Republicans in Congress passed a law to keep a woman in a persistent vegetative state alive against her husband's wishes, and Bush himself spoke out in favor of "the culture of life."
The issue of whether intelligent design should be taught, or at least mentioned, in high school biology classes is being played out in a Pennsylvania court room and in numerous school districts across the country.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Remote Control for Humans Being Tested
The technology is called galvanic vestibular stimulation — essentially, electricity messes with the delicate nerves inside the ear that help maintain balance
I felt a mysterious, irresistible urge to start walking to the right whenever the researcher turned the switch to the right. I was convinced — mistakenly — that this was the only way to maintain my balance.
The phenomenon is painless but dramatic. Your feet start to move before you know it. I could even remote-control myself by taking the switch into my own hands.
There's no proven-beyond-a-doubt explanation yet as to why people start veering when electricity hits their ear. But NTT researchers say they were able to make a person walk along a route in the shape of a giant pretzel using this technique.
It's a mesmerizing sensation similar to being drunk or melting into sleep under the influence of anesthesia. But it's more definitive, as though an invisible hand were reaching inside your brain.
NTT says the feature may be used in video games and amusement park rides, although there are no plans so far for a commercial product.
I felt a mysterious, irresistible urge to start walking to the right whenever the researcher turned the switch to the right. I was convinced — mistakenly — that this was the only way to maintain my balance.
The phenomenon is painless but dramatic. Your feet start to move before you know it. I could even remote-control myself by taking the switch into my own hands.
There's no proven-beyond-a-doubt explanation yet as to why people start veering when electricity hits their ear. But NTT researchers say they were able to make a person walk along a route in the shape of a giant pretzel using this technique.
It's a mesmerizing sensation similar to being drunk or melting into sleep under the influence of anesthesia. But it's more definitive, as though an invisible hand were reaching inside your brain.
NTT says the feature may be used in video games and amusement park rides, although there are no plans so far for a commercial product.
UN Baffled by Lack of Aid to Quake Victims
"When the money runs out, the choppers stay on the ground and that's what's going to start happening in the next couple of days," Robert Smith told a Geneva news conference a day after a major conference failed to produce significant cash.
The United Nations aimed to raise $550 million at Wednesday's conference. It got a meager $16 million.
Some aid agencies were already out of money and others desperately juggling budgets to try to cope, aid officials said.
The United Nations aimed to raise $550 million at Wednesday's conference. It got a meager $16 million.
Some aid agencies were already out of money and others desperately juggling budgets to try to cope, aid officials said.
Exxon Mobil profit booms on oil prices
Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, on Thursday said quarterly profit surged 75 percent to nearly $10 billion, raking in a bonanza from record oil prices.
The profit was the highest in the company's history, surpassing the record it set in the 2004 fourth quarter. Revenue jumped 32 percent to just over $100 billion.
The profit was the highest in the company's history, surpassing the record it set in the 2004 fourth quarter. Revenue jumped 32 percent to just over $100 billion.
Italy's La Repubblica: Berlusconi Behind Fake Yellowcake Dossier
The military intervention in Iraq was justified by two revelations: Saddam Hussein attempted to acquire unprocessed uranium (yellowcake) in Niger (1) for enrichment with centrifuges built with aluminum tubes imported from Europe(2). The fabricators of the twin hoaxes (there was never any trace in Iraq of unprocessed uranium or centrifuges) were the Italian government and Italian military intelligence. La Repubblica has attempted to reconstruct the who, where and why of the manufacture and transfer to British and American intelligence of the dodgy dossier for war.
Subpoenas Over Katrina Euthanasia
US prosecutors have called dozens of hospital staff to give evidence over claims of a euthanasia policy in dealing with Hurricane Katrina victims.
A total of 73 staff at New Orleans' Memorial Hospital were issued with the subpoenas, a spokeswoman for Louisiana's attorney general said.
A total of 73 staff at New Orleans' Memorial Hospital were issued with the subpoenas, a spokeswoman for Louisiana's attorney general said.
Noe indicted for laundering money to Bush campaign
A federal grand jury has indicted Tom Noe — the former Toledo-area coin dealer at the center of a state investment scandal — on three counts for allegedly laundering money into President Bush’s re-election campaign.
The three-count indictment says that beginning in October 2003, Mr. Noe contributed to President Bush’s election campaign “over and above the limits established by the Federal Election Campaign Act."
“He did so, according to the indictment, in order to fulfill his pledge to raise $50,000 for a Bush-Cheney fund-raiser held in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 30, 2003,” Gregory White, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced at an afternoon news conference
The two other counts were for conspiracy and filing false statements.
The three-count indictment says that beginning in October 2003, Mr. Noe contributed to President Bush’s election campaign “over and above the limits established by the Federal Election Campaign Act."
“He did so, according to the indictment, in order to fulfill his pledge to raise $50,000 for a Bush-Cheney fund-raiser held in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 30, 2003,” Gregory White, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced at an afternoon news conference
The two other counts were for conspiracy and filing false statements.
Cheney, Libby Blocked Papers To Senate Intelligence Panel
Vice President Cheney and his chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, overruling advice from some White House political staffers and lawyers, decided to withhold crucial documents from the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2004 when the panel was investigating the use of pre-war intelligence that erroneously concluded Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, according to Bush administration and congressional sources.
Among the White House materials withheld from the committee were Libby-authored passages in drafts of a speech that then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell delivered to the United Nations in February 2003 to argue the Bush administration's case for war with Iraq, according to congressional and administration sources. The withheld documents also included intelligence data that Cheney's office -- and Libby in particular -- pushed to be included in Powell's speech, the sources said.
Among the White House materials withheld from the committee were Libby-authored passages in drafts of a speech that then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell delivered to the United Nations in February 2003 to argue the Bush administration's case for war with Iraq, according to congressional and administration sources. The withheld documents also included intelligence data that Cheney's office -- and Libby in particular -- pushed to be included in Powell's speech, the sources said.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Poll shows 45% of Iraqis back attacks on UK, US forces, 82% opposed to occupation
Forty-five percent of Iraqis believe attacks on U.S. and British troops are justified, according to a secret poll said to have been commissioned by British defense leaders and cited by The Sunday Telegraph.
Less than 1 percent of those polled believed that the forces were responsible for any improvement in security, according to poll figures.
Eighty-two percent of those polled said they were "strongly opposed" to the presence of the troops.
Less than 1 percent of those polled believed that the forces were responsible for any improvement in security, according to poll figures.
Eighty-two percent of those polled said they were "strongly opposed" to the presence of the troops.
Defame, Distract, Divert on Plame Case
From PRWatch.org:
(1) They'll say Fitzgerald is a leftwing partisan. Bullpucky.
(2) They'll say the crimes are technicalities. Bullpucky.
(3) They'll say it's all a leftwing plot started by Joe Wilson, a leftwing crazy. Bullpucky. And more bullpucky.
"With indictments" in the Plame leak case possibly looming, "Republicans are preparing a public relations blitz aimed at shoring up public support for the Bush administration," writes the Boston Globe. "The outlines ... emerged on the Sunday talk shows," when guests like Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said perjury charges would be technicalities, "just to show that their two years of investigation was not a waste." Other Republican angles, the Wall Street Journal reports" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal reports, include "complaining about prosecutorial overreach" and questioning the credibility of retired diplomat Joseph Wilson. The Republican National Committee circulated a document titled, "Joe Wilson's Top Ten Worst Inaccuracies and Misstatements." A top Democratic talking point is that the case "is about how the Bush administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to bolster its case for war in Iraq." Democrats are also urging "a thorough housecleaning" and throwing "Mr. Bush's oft-repeated claims of integrity back at him."
From the Rachel Maddow Show:
The right-wing spin on RO-VAK-GATE. Gird yourself for these three rightwing responses:From the Rachel Maddow Show:
(1) They'll say Fitzgerald is a leftwing partisan. Bullpucky.
(2) They'll say the crimes are technicalities. Bullpucky.
(3) They'll say it's all a leftwing plot started by Joe Wilson, a leftwing crazy. Bullpucky. And more bullpucky.
GAO questions progress on e-voting standards
With lingering concerns about the security of e-voting systems, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) needs to define security policies and set up a machine-certification program to help state and local election officials use e-voting equipment, according to a report issued Friday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
"Until these efforts are completed, there is a risk that many state and local jurisdictions will rely on voting systems that were not developed, acquired, tested, operated or managed in accordance with rigorous security and reliability standards -- potentially affecting the reliability of future elections and voter confidence in the accuracy of the vote count," the GAO report said.
The EAC, established with the Help America Vote Act passed by Congress in 2002, is working on several initiatives to help state and local governments improve their management of e-voting systems, the GAO said. The EAC is working on security and reliability standards and on programs to certify voting machines and accredit independent laboratories to test e-voting systems, the GAO said. But those efforts aren't finished and are "unlikely to have a significant effect in the 2006 federal election cycle," the report said.
"Until these efforts are completed, there is a risk that many state and local jurisdictions will rely on voting systems that were not developed, acquired, tested, operated or managed in accordance with rigorous security and reliability standards -- potentially affecting the reliability of future elections and voter confidence in the accuracy of the vote count," the GAO report said.
The EAC, established with the Help America Vote Act passed by Congress in 2002, is working on several initiatives to help state and local governments improve their management of e-voting systems, the GAO said. The EAC is working on security and reliability standards and on programs to certify voting machines and accredit independent laboratories to test e-voting systems, the GAO said. But those efforts aren't finished and are "unlikely to have a significant effect in the 2006 federal election cycle," the report said.
U.S. Gives Florida a Sweeping Right to Curb Medicaid
The Bush administration approved a sweeping Medicaid plan for Florida on Wednesday that limits spending for many of the 2.2 million beneficiaries there and gives private health plans new freedom to limit benefits.
The Florida program, likely to be a model for many other states, shifts from the traditional Medicaid "defined benefit" plan to a "defined contribution" plan, under which the state sets a ceiling on spending for each recipient.
Children under the age of 21 and pregnant women will be exempt from the limits.
The Florida plan says, "The state will set aside a specific amount of money for each person enrolled in Medicaid," based on the person's medical condition and historic use of health care.
...Joan C. Alker, a senior researcher at the Health Policy Institute of Georgetown University, said: "Florida's proposal is one of the most far-reaching and radical proposals we've seen to restructure Medicaid. The federal government and the states now decide which benefits people get. Under the Florida plan, many of those decisions will be made by private health plans, out of public view."
The Florida program, likely to be a model for many other states, shifts from the traditional Medicaid "defined benefit" plan to a "defined contribution" plan, under which the state sets a ceiling on spending for each recipient.
Children under the age of 21 and pregnant women will be exempt from the limits.
The Florida plan says, "The state will set aside a specific amount of money for each person enrolled in Medicaid," based on the person's medical condition and historic use of health care.
...Joan C. Alker, a senior researcher at the Health Policy Institute of Georgetown University, said: "Florida's proposal is one of the most far-reaching and radical proposals we've seen to restructure Medicaid. The federal government and the states now decide which benefits people get. Under the Florida plan, many of those decisions will be made by private health plans, out of public view."
State Department: America Seen as "Dangerous Force"
"For what can be heard around the world, in the wake of the invasion of Iraq, the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib, and the controversy over the handling of detainees at Bagram and Guantanamo Bay, is that America is less a beacon of hope than a dangerous force to be countered."
So says a report by a nine-member State Department ad hoc advisory committee, based on travels to the Persian Gulf region, Egypt and Britain.
"This assertion, repeated in newspaper columns, on radio and television broadcasts, and via the Internet, diminishes our ability to champion freedom, democracy and individual dignity," says the report released this week by the Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy.
So says a report by a nine-member State Department ad hoc advisory committee, based on travels to the Persian Gulf region, Egypt and Britain.
"This assertion, repeated in newspaper columns, on radio and television broadcasts, and via the Internet, diminishes our ability to champion freedom, democracy and individual dignity," says the report released this week by the Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy.
US diplomat points to neocon ideology behind actions in Iraq
"What one needs to understand is that these decisions were ideologically based," the diplomat argued. "They were not based on an analytical, historical understanding. They were based on ideology. You dont counter ideology with logic or experience or analysis very effectively."
She said political pressure on professional foreign service officers was "huge" and "pervasive."
"The ideology was what has come to be called neoconservatism and the whole belief that this would be an easy war, that we would be welcomed with open arms," Raphel pointed out.
She insisted this view was cultivated by expatriate Iraqis, who had their own agenda, which they tried to impose on US officials.
Raphel said it became quickly obvious to her that the United States could not run a country that Americans did not understand.
"We were a bunch of amateurs largely except for the engineers, and even they didnt have a professional means to interface with the Iraqis, so they were missing," she said. "There was very much the sense that we were getting in way over our heads within weeks."
She said political pressure on professional foreign service officers was "huge" and "pervasive."
"The ideology was what has come to be called neoconservatism and the whole belief that this would be an easy war, that we would be welcomed with open arms," Raphel pointed out.
She insisted this view was cultivated by expatriate Iraqis, who had their own agenda, which they tried to impose on US officials.
Raphel said it became quickly obvious to her that the United States could not run a country that Americans did not understand.
"We were a bunch of amateurs largely except for the engineers, and even they didnt have a professional means to interface with the Iraqis, so they were missing," she said. "There was very much the sense that we were getting in way over our heads within weeks."
Mother Jones: A doctor who defends corporations from "inconvenient" science has a secret of his own
When American corporations come up against inconvenient science, say, a study showing that mercury in fish can damage a developing fetus, or that a blockbuster drug has nasty side effects, they call in the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH). Industry-funded ACSH is the most aggressive debunker of pesky research reports emanating from government and academia. Its medical/executive director's calm, soothing voice can be heard on television and radio, quelling public fears about the latest bad news about health and the environment.
That man is Dr. Gilbert Ross. It was Ross who defended the Wood Preservative Science Council, saying that, contrary to reams of scientific evidence, the arsenic in pressure-treated wood poses "no risk to human health"; Ross who wrote on behalf of the farmed-salmon industry that the PCBs in fish "are not a cause of any health risk, including cancer"; and Ross whose organization once asserted that the jury's still out on whether environmental cigarette smoke really is hazardous to your health. Much of his time is spent tarnishing noncorporate-sponsored work as junk science of questionable motive.
But Ross may not be ACSH's most prudent choice to question the credibility of other doctors, scientists, and researchers. Although the biography posted on the organization's website doesn't mention it, Ross actually had to abandon medicine on July 24, 1995, when his license to practice as a physician in New York was revoked by the unanimous vote of a state administrative review board for professional misconduct.
That man is Dr. Gilbert Ross. It was Ross who defended the Wood Preservative Science Council, saying that, contrary to reams of scientific evidence, the arsenic in pressure-treated wood poses "no risk to human health"; Ross who wrote on behalf of the farmed-salmon industry that the PCBs in fish "are not a cause of any health risk, including cancer"; and Ross whose organization once asserted that the jury's still out on whether environmental cigarette smoke really is hazardous to your health. Much of his time is spent tarnishing noncorporate-sponsored work as junk science of questionable motive.
But Ross may not be ACSH's most prudent choice to question the credibility of other doctors, scientists, and researchers. Although the biography posted on the organization's website doesn't mention it, Ross actually had to abandon medicine on July 24, 1995, when his license to practice as a physician in New York was revoked by the unanimous vote of a state administrative review board for professional misconduct.
Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election & Why They'll Steal the Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them) by Mark Crispin Miller
Miller has done his homework, and his sources are numerous and scrupulously footnoted. He comes close to convincing an open-minded reader that the 2004 election was a gigantic fraud. His exhortation to Democrats "not to milk it for partisan advantage but to use it to promote, and realize, electoral reform" is the book's stated purpose, and Miller does make a strong case for reform.
Among other things, he recommends doing away with electronic voting, which he says "can never be entirely secure," and using standard paper ballots instead. He also would federalize the electoral system so as to replace "local bigots or politicos" with trained civil servants at the polls.
Miller makes it clear that there is much to dislike and distrust about a political movement -- evangelical conservatism -- that pretends to get its politics directly from God. Unfortunately, this is an unabashedly partisan book that is often as overwrought as its title. That tends to undermine Miller's credibility to a degree that can frustrate the reader.
Still, he provides considerable evidence to support his argument, and while it is mostly circumstantial, that kind of evidence isn't necessarily inferior, especially when there's a lot of it. And Miller doesn't scrimp.
Among other things, he recommends doing away with electronic voting, which he says "can never be entirely secure," and using standard paper ballots instead. He also would federalize the electoral system so as to replace "local bigots or politicos" with trained civil servants at the polls.
Miller makes it clear that there is much to dislike and distrust about a political movement -- evangelical conservatism -- that pretends to get its politics directly from God. Unfortunately, this is an unabashedly partisan book that is often as overwrought as its title. That tends to undermine Miller's credibility to a degree that can frustrate the reader.
Still, he provides considerable evidence to support his argument, and while it is mostly circumstantial, that kind of evidence isn't necessarily inferior, especially when there's a lot of it. And Miller doesn't scrimp.
Rape victim: 'Morning after' pill denied
After a sexual assault one recent weekend, a young Tucson woman spent three frantic days trying to obtain the drug to prevent a pregnancy, knowing that each passing day lowered the chance the drug would work.
While calling dozens of Tucson pharmacies trying to fill a prescription for emergency contraception, she found that most did not stock the drug.
When she finally did find a pharmacy with it, she said she was told the pharmacist on duty would not dispense it because of religious and moral objections.
While calling dozens of Tucson pharmacies trying to fill a prescription for emergency contraception, she found that most did not stock the drug.
When she finally did find a pharmacy with it, she said she was told the pharmacist on duty would not dispense it because of religious and moral objections.
Helen vs Scott: Why does the White House seem to support torture?
Q: Didn't you say that he would veto any part of that legislation of defense spending?
A: We did express our views on that legislation, but it is not the way you characterized it, because there are laws and treaty obligations that are on the books. We adhere to those laws and treaty obligations.
Q: No, you don't. You are supporting torture.
A: You are wrong. This is a -- the United States is a country that --
Q: Is the story in the paper today wrong?
A: -- believes in adhering to our laws and our values. And we do. And this President believes in abiding by our laws and our treaty obligations.
Q: Why do we keep reading about torture then?
A: We did express our views on that legislation, but it is not the way you characterized it, because there are laws and treaty obligations that are on the books. We adhere to those laws and treaty obligations.
Q: No, you don't. You are supporting torture.
A: You are wrong. This is a -- the United States is a country that --
Q: Is the story in the paper today wrong?
A: -- believes in adhering to our laws and our values. And we do. And this President believes in abiding by our laws and our treaty obligations.
Q: Why do we keep reading about torture then?
Secret Codes in Printers May Allow Government Tracking
Tiny dots produced by some laser printers are a secret code that can allow the government to track down counterfeiters, a new study concludes, raising the hackles of privacy advocates.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation said its researchers recently broke the code behind the tiny tracking dots and said the US Secret Service confirmed that the tracking is part of a deal struck with selected color laser printer manufacturers to identify counterfeiters.
"We've found that the dots from at least one line of printers encode the date and time your document was printed, as well as the serial number of the printer," said EFF researcher Seth Schoen.
EFF said the yellow dots are less than one millimeter in diameter and can be seen only with a blue light, magnifying glass or microscope.
Lorie Lewis, a spokeswoman at the Secret Service, declined to confirm the report directly but acknowledged that the agency "has worked together with other government agencies and industry on preventive technological countermeasures designed to discourage the illegal use of printers and copiers in the production of counterfeit currency."
The Electronic Frontier Foundation said its researchers recently broke the code behind the tiny tracking dots and said the US Secret Service confirmed that the tracking is part of a deal struck with selected color laser printer manufacturers to identify counterfeiters.
"We've found that the dots from at least one line of printers encode the date and time your document was printed, as well as the serial number of the printer," said EFF researcher Seth Schoen.
EFF said the yellow dots are less than one millimeter in diameter and can be seen only with a blue light, magnifying glass or microscope.
Lorie Lewis, a spokeswoman at the Secret Service, declined to confirm the report directly but acknowledged that the agency "has worked together with other government agencies and industry on preventive technological countermeasures designed to discourage the illegal use of printers and copiers in the production of counterfeit currency."
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