h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I found the whole "Islam (as *I* want it to be) is perfect" thing troubling.

http://www.tcd.ie/Community_Health/Skrabanek/Petr%20Skrabanek's%20Publications.html

Free books. Well, sort of. The PDF Version that is.
Not part of the whole war on terror and lying politicians thing, but the 'Follies and Fallacies in Medicine ' seem to be quite interesting in what it has to say about various non evidence based medicine and treatment. Chapters on placebo treatment and so forth.

Thought you (or others) may enjoy. There's two other books linked there as well, but haven't tried them yet.

I liked the following quote from Richard Armitage (former US deputy secretary of state) on diplomacy:

"My personal belief is that diplomacy is the art of sitting down with someone and letting them have your way"

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/225CBBA9-9AB7-46ED-BBE0-DE20FE29ABFA.htm

darnnit. Just checked the quote and it seems to be attributed to someone called Daniele Vare. I guess it is too much to expect a politician to be original in this day and age.

Here's one that should be spread around:

'The largest Muslim organization in North America has elected a Canadian-born professor as its first female president — a result the group says signals support for women as leaders throughout their community.'

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/08/28/muslim-group.html

Particularly interesting as it is around the same time as this:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7C1B63D5-7633-4809-8811-623B67C97653.htm

"Religious leaders in Saudi Arabia want to impose restrictions on women praying in the Grand Mosque in Makka, one of the few places where male and female worshippers intermingle."
And given this quote, things do need to change a bit!
"Osama al-Bar, head of the Institute for Haj Research, said: "The area is very small and so crowded. So we decided to get women out of the sahn [Kaaba area] to a better place where they can see the Kaaba and have more space.

"Some women thought it wasn't good, but from our point of view it will be better for them ... We can sit with them and explain to them what the decision is.""

on a different note, came across this recently, not sure if you've seen it.

http://www.torturecare.org.uk/about_us/write_to_life_project

"Refugees arrive at their destination countries with their stories locked inside them. The Medical Foundation works to process these stories through many forms of therapy, from medicine to gardening to writing. Clients come to Write to Life for many reasons: Some of them write to let the world know what is happening in their country, others to tell their own story, to get some distance by expelling the ghosts out of their heads and on to the page. Still others write because they are natural writers, in poetry, prose or short story form"

Okay. So Bush has bought a huge ranch in Paraguay. Right next to Reverend Moon's South American ranch.

http://www.wonkette.com/politics/george-w.-bush/we-hate-to-bring-up-the-nazis-but-they-fled-to-south-america-too-208549.php

2006 press freedom ratings from Reporters without Borders is out:
http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=639

sorry if you've already seen it!

I'd not seen it yet. Thanks.

Ministry of Truth?

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D76F8E5D-3FC2-4225-A95A-EE4B18B3255E.htm

"The US defence department is setting up a special unit aimed at influencing 24-hour news outlets and websites around the world to counter what it considers derogatory publicity"
"In a memo obtained by The Associated Press, Dorrance Smith, assistant secretary of defence for public affairs, said news teams of people will "develop messages" for the 24-hour news cycle and "correct the record"."

It's not really a big surprise as so much of recent U.S. political history has followed the pattern of past fascist rises. Now they have an official arm directing propoganda at their own people.

Of course, before long they'll contract it out to one of Cheney's companies.

Aye although this is aimed globally.
I wonder if the US will use it to try and influence foreign media through their governments by insisting on having one of these bods interviewed. Not that that will work too well.

I wonder if they'll hit the same problem they did a few years back where they ended up trying to counteract their own 'black ops' disinformation to foreign countries!

'the administration and its Congressional allies published directions for the development of nuclear weapons, said directions including "charts, diagrams, equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that nuclear experts who have viewed them say go beyond what is available elsewhere on the Internet and in other public forums." They did this to try to manufacture some political cover, period. Much of the published material is in Arabic. All that is required to put these directions to practical use is the fissionable material, a great deal of which is sitting unsecured all across Russia ... and the administration has slashed the budgets aimed at nailing this stuff down.'

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110306R.shtml




How have they been allowed to continue in office?

Perhaps this sort of mentality is why they've been allowed to continue in office:

http://www.glumbert.com/media/bookban

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E8F80F7F-E1A8-49A5-8424-EAA471228126.htm

"Iran has called for the UN Security Council to compel Israel to give up its nuclear weapons."
"He said the council should "compel it [Israel] to abandon nuclear weapons, urge it to accede to the NPT [nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty] without delay and demand this regime to place promptly all its nuclear facilities under IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] full-scope safeguards"."

Interesting. Especially as I don;t see it on many other web news sources yet.
Thing is, they do have the moral high ground on this one. And they know there is no way the US or even UK will allow Israel to be disarmed. Then Iran has the excuse to go it alone and even produce nukes should it so wish.

I do get the feeling that there's a fair few chickens coming home to roost.

One that may become a useful/interesting link:
http://www.wikileaks.org/index.html

Basically, it is being set up as an annonymous WIKI where people can leak documents that were never meant to be seen. It's not fully operational yet, but should be live in a month or two.

Somewhat ironically, the URL for it was itself leaked via a blog before it was meant to go live.

http://www.komotv.com/home/video/5001856.html?video=YHI&t=a


(have to be patient through the ad at the beginning)

couple of atheism related links I've come across.

http://atheism.about.com/b/a/258728.htm

Some very silly nonsense and very bigotted attitudes. It's a youtube transcript but does link to the video if you want to sit through it.

Also found this:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-evolution_14tex.ART.State.Edition1.298e1cb.html

""Indisputable evidence – long hidden but now available to everyone – demonstrates conclusively that so-called 'secular evolution science' is the Big Bang, 15-billion-year, alternate 'creation scenario' of the Pharisee Religion," writes Mr. Bridges, a Republican from Cleveland, Ga. He has argued against teaching of evolution in Georgia schools for several years. "

Well, it's a new argument to me!

I watched the CNN stuff the other day. Depressing.

As for the other bit. . .