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The Archive
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Ariane 5 Ready To Launch Climate Monitoring Hub
Thursday, February 28, 2002
ESA's Envisat climate satellite ready for launch tonight.
Envisat home page
NASA's Aqua Earth observer shipped to launch site
Judge Says Bush Admin. Is Stalling
Thursday, February 28, 2002
A federal judge criticized the Bush administration Thursday for its tactics on behalf of Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force as it tries to keep secret the names of industry executives and lobbyists who helped formulate the White House energy plan.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said "I assume the government is stalling" in seeking more time to erect legal defenses to block requests for the information.
Is that the whirring of paper shredders I hear?
Energy Dept. Ordered To Release Documents
Winks, Nods & Corporate Cash
Trade war with Japan over whaling?
Thursday, February 28, 2002
Japan said Thursday it would increase its minke whale catch by 50 and add 50 sei whales, the latter considered an endangered species by the World Wildlife Fund. In the past Japan has hunted 100 minke whales in North Pacific waters.
Japan’s move comes two months before the IWC meets to vote on continuing the worldwide moratorium.
The moratorium allows hunting for scientific purposes, and Japan has used that clause each year since 1987, with whale meat ending up in Tokyo fish markets and restaurants.
The "scientific research" loophole must be closed.
Japan plans to expand whaling
Tattletales for an Open Society
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
I was recently severely bummed about the lack of response to the Defend Academic Freedom website.
Here's an article with some personal responses to the ACTA.
Though not written by an academic, ghost rocket weblog welcomes any investigation by the ACTA or any other organization hellbent on the suppression of free speech and the civilized exchange of ideas with great delight and massive pride.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
First Amendment, United States Constitution
Thanks, Liberal Arts Mafia :)
Social Fear and the Commodification of Terrorism
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
A spot on and rather depressing article:
Fear is the marketing device for goods and services, and then at a social level, for the nation-product. The greatest fear and best marketing device is an assault on the American collectivity itself.
Much of modern consumerism is based on fear. Terrorism is just the most recent marketing scheme. How else can corporations sell us grossly overpriced and useless items such as designer labed clothing, SUVs, gated housing developments, leaf blowers and vanity drugs such as Minoxidil and Viagra, to name just a few?
Thanks, wood s lot :)
Home Anthrax Sellers Settle Suit
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Soon after the mail-borne cases of anthrax were detected, Vital Living said it would sell the first over-the-counter anthrax test kit. It was described as an accurate and effective home test for detecting spores in air, water and on surfaces. By early November, the Matthews, N.C.-based company said it had received more than $150,000 worth of orders.
In a second case, the agency said [Kris] Pletschke, the operator of the Raw Health Web site, has agreed to stop making unproven claims that his colloidal silver product can treat or cure 650 different diseases, including anthrax, Ebola and flesh-eating bacteria.
These people should be imprisoned, not just fined.
Ghost Towns In Canada
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Stanislaw Lem on the Web.
Big Australian Landmarks!
Three from perennial fave weblog Plep.
(AKA Fruitlog, AKA Nutlog) :)
European corals hit hard by fishing
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
European countries are constantly pleading with developing nations to protect coral reefs in tropical countries. But it turns out that their own fishing boats are trashing equally important reefs in their own waters.
That's the final straw for me. I'm off seafood. I like a good tuna roll as much as the next guy, but I'm not willing to doom species to extinction because of oceanic strip mining.
Complete collapse of North Atlantic fishing predicted
Lots of popular seafood species, like the Orange Roughy, Monkfish, Red Snapper, Chilean Sea Bass, and most especially, Bluefin Tuna are going the way of the American Bison. The greatest problem is, as I've pointed out before, fish don't have the "cute baby mammal" factor working for them.
Foolish celebrity chefs like Emeril Legasse continue to pimp threatened fish. Shame on them. They should have more common sense.
Seafood Watch Program
I consider this link so important, I've put it on my must read list.
Pentagon Closes Short-Lived Information Office
Tuesday, February 26, 2002
Rumsfeld said the U.S. military had never lied and would never lie about its actions.
Come on Rumsfeld! Don't treat us like complete idiots.
The Gulf War? Vietnam? Nah, the military never lied then.
U.S. Planting False Stories Common Cold War Tactic
Chuck Jones, at The Acme of His Art
Monday, February 25, 2002
In another sad piece of news, Chuck Jones passed away last Friday. Who among us didn't get our first childhood lesson in applied physics from Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner?
Thanks, tvtattle :)
Grover Krantz, foremost Bigfoot expert, dies at 70
Monday, February 25, 2002
There are no academicians more brave than those who choose to study subjects that are considered taboo by scientific dogma. It has always been a thorn in my side that mainstream science can be just as shortsighted and backwards looking as organized religion. Professors merely seeking tenure won't touch controversial topics. Isn't the exploration of the unknown, not closemindedness, what science is supposed to be about?
My point is not that we should accept every word that comes out a PhD's mouth, but that the scientific community should not reject or ridicule unpopular research out of hand.
Godspeed, Dr. Krantz. You will be missed.
E-mails detail Indiana Guard 'ghosts'
Sunday, February 24, 2002
Evidence continues to grow that National Guard units across the country are undermanned and have faked their troop level reports to Washington for years in order to protect their flow of federal money and to hide their inability to retain troops.
This should be a tremendous national scandal, but will likely be ignored by most of the press.
We're at "war", remember?
Thanks, Follow Me Here :)
In other National Guard news:
Guard Troops to Be Assigned to Mexican Border
Shoppers urged to shun endangered fish
Sunday, February 24, 2002
Massive destruction of fish stocks is a worldwide problem.
Marine Conservation Society - Good Fish Guide
A fragile land is ruined in the name of energy
Sunday, February 24, 2002
The trucks moved forward, heading straight for a spring where 100-year-old cottonwood trees provided a rare canopy of shade.
We ran ahead, not believing the trucks would force a road into this fragile desert oasis, but they did, gunning the gas, breaking down stands of squawbush and willows and ripping right on through the cottonwood shoots. There was nothing we could do but watch. This was America's new energy plan, translated into action.
Meanwhile back at the White House:
On Saturday, Bush called Alaska "a place of tremendous natural beauty and important energy resources," and argued that "modern technology allows us to bring oil to the surface cleanly and safely, while protecting our environment and wildlife."
Can you say "lying bastard"?
Thanks, Unknown News :)
Study Finds Utah Leads Nation in Antidepressant Use
Thursday, February 21, 2002
Antidepressant drugs are prescribed in Utah more often than in any other state, at a rate nearly twice the national average.
Is faux happiness the problem?
Spy Games
Thursday, February 21, 2002
Amid Japan's rising divorce rate and spurred on by a popular TV drama about a relationship break-up specialist, a retaliation movement, with the help of these private-eye angels, is becoming a mainstream force in the investigative industry. An increasing number of detective agencies are utilizing female investigators as bait for infidelity cases: entrapment of the unsuspecting or prospective spouse. The good old days of men getting away with infidelity is vanishing quickly.
This is old hat here in the U.S., but a new phenomenon in Japan. It's partly due to the weak economy and partly due to changing mores.
Shikencho Weblog
Thursday, February 21, 2002
You know what I love about this site?
The shear joyous weirdness of it.
Tearing Apart Bush's Drug Plan
Wednesday, February 20, 2002
It's a smokescreen.
Sheltering Straphangers from ... Controversy?
Indeed, many Bostonians say there's a more profound cultural reality at play: A deep-seeded Puritan morality and the strong political influence of the Roman Catholic Church that form a conservative alterego to the region's otherwise liberal public face.
One of the two new cases is a federal lawsuit - tried earlier this month and awaiting the judge's verdict - that was brought by a drug-policy reform group, Change the Climate. The Massachusetts group encourages debate about the fairness of marijuana laws. The MBTA argues that the group's ads tacitly encourage illegal activity.
Free public debate? Isn't that a good thing?
Don't Hemp Me In
Frozen waffles are the latest targets of the War on Drugs. This news may come as a surprise to consumers, unless of course they've read pages 51,539 through 51,544 in the Federal Register.
The Drug Enforcement Agency now views a variety of hemp food products containing trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinols--or THC--as Schedule I narcotics: in other words the same as heroin, under the Controlled Substances Act.
This is a better article on DEA hemp silliness than I was able to find earlier this month.
Joe Coleman: The Man of Sorrows
Wednesday, February 20, 2002
The paintings are a morality play, Look at Hieronymus Bosch or look at Brueghel. These are morality things, they're attempts at trying to come to terms with life. There's an injustice in life, and only someone who's sensitive to those things would have the need to paint them. Someone who didn't care who they tucked up or who was genuinely evil would never paint anything like that. They would more likely paint something like the Sistine Chapel. Like the Nazis did, they outlawed as degenerate Otto Dix and George Grosz.
Joe Coleman - Crazy Like A Saint
The majority of us ignore the nightmares that lurk around every corner. I learned of Coleman's work through one of H. R. Giger's books. It's a hallucinogenic and disturbing slice of modern existence that I appreciate.
You can find Coleman's home page here.
Defend Academic Freedom
Wednesday, February 20, 2002
I may disagree with your opinion, but I'll defend your right to speak it. Lynn Cheney, Joseph Lieberman and those of their ilk who have draped themselves in the flag while simultaneously condemning free speech are covered in the rotten stench of Maoist China and the Cultural Revolution.
I judge them to be the the real traitors to the democratic ideal of freedom of speach and I maintain that it its every true patriot's duty to fight the thought police.
Missile Fails in Test to Intercept Target
Monday, February 18, 2002
Missle defense fails yet again, but that won't keep Rumsfeld and the Bush administration from wasting billions of dollars of your tax money on it.
Thanks, Liberal Arts Mafia :)
Rumsfeld Pares Oversight of Missile Defense Agency
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has granted the agency that is overseeing development of a national missile defense system extraordinary freedom from normal Pentagon procedures for controlling and monitoring new weapons programs.
Under the special authority, the agency will be exempt from regulations that compel military commanders to specify requirements for new weapons. The agency also will not be subject to traditional reporting about program timelines and costs. And many of its testing efforts will be free from oversight by the Pentagon's test evaluation office.
Isn't that convenient for all of those aerospace firms that will benefit from this massive corporate welfare program?!?
Giger Snowboards & Skateboards
Monday, February 18, 2002
Sorry, only available in the EC and Switzerland.
Alien Alley - UFO/Alien-related art
Sunday, February 17, 2002
For a more historical view of UFO art, click here.
US planes rain dollars on Afghanistan
Friday, February 15, 2002
The American Way: throw money at the problem and pray that it will go away on it's own. How can I get the USAF to execute a c-note airdrop on my neighborhood?!?
Thanks, BookNotes via Dangerousmeta! :)
Norbert Kox: "Deep Waters: Glory and Shame"
Friday, February 15, 2002
An artist I can only describe as truly remarkable and visionary, like Hieronymus Bosch. Sometimes I have similar visions. I only wish I had the skills to transcribe them that Kox does.
The Apocalyptical Visual Parables of Norbert H. Kox
Some Catholics hate him, for reasons I don't understand.
Monsanto vs Schmeiser
Friday, February 15, 2002
I don't care if you are in favor of or against genetically engineered crops, you must admit that is the most egregious case of corporate abuse bullshit to come along in many a moon.
Bob Barr - Marijuana Paranoid!
Friday, February 15, 2002
Washington D.C.: Supposed center of democracy, freedom and liberty unless you're unfortunate enough to actually live there:
Furious that voters might condone marijuana use, even for sick or dying patients, Congressman Bob Barr sprang into action. A Republican from Georgia familiar to the TV-viewing public for his impassioned defense of the "rule of law" during the Clinton impeachment proceedings, Bob Barr displayed little concern for the rule of law in the nation's capital. In October 1998, he slipped into a massive omnibus appropriations bill-a document several feet thick that no individual claimed to have read-a tiny but powerful provision:
None of the funds contained in the [D.C. Budget Act] may be used to conduct any ballot initiative which seeks to legalize or otherwise reduce the penalties associated with the possession, use or distribution of any Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act of any tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) derivative.
Great Backyard Bird Count 2002
Friday, February 15, 2002
The fifth annual Great Backyard Bird Count runs from today through Monday (February 15-18). If you have any interest in birdwatching, this is an easy way for you to contribute to scientific research. It's easy to do. You don't have to be an ornithological expert either.
Step away from the computer and get outside for a little while. It's good for you!
A note to readers: I'm now rolling this page over twice a month to keep things neat and in case the pitas server ever starts choking again.
All the old entries are still in the archive.
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