Category: News

Kerry Pledges to Invest in Scientific Research. DENVER (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Monday criticized President Bush for relying on ideology rather than fact in the pursuit of science and repeated his pledge to overturn the ban on federal funding of research on new stem cell lines. By The Associated Press. [New… Continue reading Kerry Pledges to Invest in Scientific Research

Anonymous makes several….  Anonymous makes several arguments in Imperial Hubris for why we're losing the war on terrorism. Some are a matter of keeping score in the military ventures we've undertaken. He sees our intervention in Afghanistan as a disaster. While not as strident, a host of mostly liberal critics generally agree, arguing that the… Continue reading Anonymous makes several…

G.O.P. Offensive Puts Small Dent in Kerry's Image. The campaign, which lasted three months and cost $85 million, did not score as much damage as some Democrats had feared. By Adam Nagourney and Jim Rutenberg. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

Julian Borger has….  Julian Borger has a story in The Guardian that paints the anonymous intelligence professional who penned the forthcoming Imperial Hubris: How the West is Losing the War on Terror as animated in no small measure by “contempt for the Bush White House and its policies.” That's a bit wide of the mark.… Continue reading Julian Borger has…

CNET NEWS.COM By Declan McCullagh – Antipiracy bill targets technology. A forthcoming bill in the U.S. Senate would, if passed, dramatically reshape copyright law by prohibiting file-trading networks and some consumer electronics devices on the grounds that they could be used for unlawful purposes. The proposal, called the Induce Act, says “whoever intentionally induces any… Continue reading NEWS.COM

Another example of how our security establishment (including NASA) is riven by sweetheart backroom deals with companies run by former employees.  No security “transformation” is possible without ending this process.  Elon isn't the only person worried about this.  Someone who worries about this is Elon Musk, a co-founder of PayPal, a highly successful online-payments firm, who… Continue reading Another example

Wired.  DoD asks for domestic spying privileges.  The DoD is working hard on a building capabilities that replicate many of the functions of the FBI and CIA (without much of the oversight).   [John Robb's Weblog]

The Economist does the best job I have seen analyzing the Whitehouse thinking on presidential powers during wartime.  This comes near saying that the president is above the law when acting as commander-in-chief in wartime. No other president has made such a claim. [John Robb's Weblog]

Schizophrenic messages.  Powell urges American's to stay in Saudi Arabia: “If they leave, then the terrorists have won,” Powell said in the interview shortly after news of Johnson's death in Riyadh. While at the same time, the State Department strongly urges all Americans to leave immediately.  Another example of internal dissonance due to US psychological isolation.… Continue reading Powell

Baby Bells quash competition A landmark 1886 telecommunications bill mandated that local telephone companies would have a chance to offer long-distance service in return for offering low access rates to competitors like AT&T, Sprint, and MCI so those companies could compete on local calling. The local companies, the so-called Baby Bells (Verizon, SDC, Bell South,… Continue reading Baby Bells