Yes over here on this side of the pond we are worried about global warming. Recent floods in the UK and on the Continent indicate that something is happening to our climate, and they are trying to do something about it. Canada has just ratified the Kyoto protocol, and when Russia passes it soon it will then become a full treaty. But what is the US doing? Well, nothing in particular, just turn on the air-conditioning and let those Europeans drown.
Month: December 2002
The Bushes that blunder
Is the now inevitable war in Iraq going to be detrimental to the US being liked in the world? I would have guessed it, and so would most people. Matthew Engel is one of them and he writes a good story on it. He argues that rather than combating al-Qaida, the Bush rhetoric on Iraq is actually reinforcing dissent against the US, and may well lead to yet more terrorist attacks.
What has Osama bin Laden’s problem been all along – if anyone actually listened to what he said – his problem is the presence of American troops on the Arabian peninsula, no-fly zones, and the sanctions that are killing a disputed number of people in Iraq. So obviously the solution is to invade Iraq and kill lots of Muslims? Hmm. Unfortunately I think we can expect more September 11-type events.
Sun Micro in H-1B visa scam?
A guy has decided to take Sun Microsystems to court because they sacked him, but kept on and even hired more immigrant visa workers. Not sure how this one will pan out, but looks like Sun may win it, I can see his point though in relation to undercutting wages.
Good news for white wine lovers
Yes those scientists are at it again, cooking up things to help make our lives healthier and lazier – and so we can drink more wine. Since red wine has more polyphenols it is thought that its anti-oxidant properties help reduce ageing by getting rid of those nasty free radicals, good for red wine drinkers like myself. So what have they done? Traditionally white wine had less polyphenols but now they have found a way to grow them with three times as much.
Head of Total Information Awareness is now totally aware
John Poindexter has been targeted this week by the lads over at Cryptome. He is head of a supposed anti-terrorist government agency in the US. And as his job involves something the privacy lobby and many online activists do not like, they have collected and posted a wide range of information about Mr. Poindexter, and even his neighbours in Washington DC.
NATO and EU join forces: Joe Fitchett
A writer for the IHT, Joe Fitchett, has an interesting story about some little known about goings on over at the EU summit in Copenhagen. Yet another step in the integration of NATO assets into an emerging European army. This follows on from previous stories I posted by Javier Solana (Dec 8) and Giles Merritt (Dec 11).
Preparing the US public for war (Gavins 4th warning lol)
An excellently written piece by Brian Whitaker on how the US media is playing its role in the build up to war with Iraq. One of the best articles I have read in recent weeks.
IDC predict 2003 to be year of Linux, WiFi and yes – lots more spam
In their annual report IDC have said that 2003 will see Internet commerce pass the $1.5 trillion mark, Linux will increase market share (good!), WiFi will see more growth and this will adversely affect 3G rollout. ZDnet has the story here, Onlineblog has it here and the IDC report is here. (But it costs an arm and a leg)
My 16x burner seems ancient now
They have done it now, just when I thought that 48x would be the fastest they would go, Asus have gone and brought out a 52x burner. That means burning a 700 MB CD in 2 minutes 30 seconds. God that’s awful fast, I am amazed the CD does not melt. HotHardware has the review.
DOW Chemical to use DMCA to take down parody site
Andres Orlowski writes an excellent article for el Reg. The DMCA is an amazing piece of legislation, and how it can be used seems not only unfair, but unjust. I will be posting more DMCA stories in the future. It is designed in favour of corporations, and not of the Internet. (The parody site mentioned also appears do be down).