Sunday, April 06, 2003

What Could of Happened Robert Kuttner writes: Before the war started, Clare Short was working with international religious leaders, many of them American, to try to enlist Blair to support an alternative. ... The plan promoted a six-part alternative third way "between war and inaction." The plan would: 1) Indict Saddam Hussein before an international war-crimes tribunal. 2) Pursue "coersive disarmament" using a multilateral UN armed force that would back up a greatly enhanced team of inspectors. 3) Foster a democratic, post-Hussein Iraq with a UN occupation force rather than a U.S. occupying army. 4) Spend billions on humanitarian aid for the Iraqi people rather than tens of billions on war. 5) Expedite the "road map" to an Israeli-Palestinian settlement. 6) Revive international cooperation in the war against terrorism.  (04/06/03) Here Come the Robots BBC Science -- Honda's Asimo was the star at Japan's largest robot exhibition Robodex 2003 in Yokohama. (04/06/03) Fly Me to the Moon BBC Science -- Anyone who has seen the remarkable footage of the historic Apollo landings will have no doubt about the fascination the Moon holds for us.  ... A "new science" of the Moon is starting to unfold, according to Professor Grande, with the launch this summer of the first European mission carrying the first UK experiments. The spacecraft, Smart 1, is currently going through final tests at Esa's research centre in the Netherlands (Estec). ... "Smart 1 is one of the precursor missions of a renewed lunar exploration programme. We are looking at what could follow, perhaps a lander and rovers," he told BBC News Online.  "It could lead to a robotic village with contributions from different countries - robots which can work with each other and are very intelligent. They could deploy large infrastructures for astronomy and also conduct some life science experiments on the Moon." (04/06/03) Interesting Numbers Vinay Menon writes: There are many reasons to be skeptical about what is happening right now. But, sometimes, numbers say more than words. Here are a few that have caught my attention. (04/06/03) Oops! Chemical Spill in Brazil BBC Science -- The spillage occurred at a wood pulping factory at Cataguazes in Minas Gerais state, and much of the toxic waste is running into next-door Rio de Janeiro state. About 1.5 billion litres (396 million gallons) of caustic soda flowed into the Paraiba do Sul and Pomba rivers, according to the Rio de Janeiro state government website - although other reports have estimated the spill at 20 million litres (5.28 million gallons). People living near the rivers have been warned not to drink or bathe in river water, amid reports that 100 animals on the river banks have already died, along with hundreds of fish. One Brazilian newspaper warned the environment could take 10 years to recover. (04/06/03) No More Mr. Nice Guy The Sunday Herald -- The killings were carried out after the party headquarters in Basra was bombed last week, said some Iraqi women, one of whom's niece had been killed. Families believed to have been aiding coalition forces were targeted. ... Last night allegations of the torture and murder of dozens of children by Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party also came to light, with bodies discovered hanging from street lighting. ... (another find) The coffins are laid out in neat rows in an abandoned warehouse. In each lies a crumpled bag of bones, old and dusty but still recognisably human. Out of the open end of one sack, a skull can be seen buried in the fragments of skeleton. Its eye sockets are empty. Its teeth are smashed. Two ribs point out like accusing fingers. Something terrible happened here. Something murderous. Something evil. The proof lies in a cargo container nearby. Its metal door hangs open and inside are pages and pages of files. Each sheaf of notes contains a picture of a man or woman. Each and every one has been shot in the head. Their wounds are mangled and gaping. Many of them barely look human any more as the anonymous photographer chronicled their dead faces. It is a horror almost beyond words. It is hard not to look at the black-and-white photographs -- two for each victim -- and wince. Yet each was a brother, a father or a son; or a mother, a daughter or a sister. Each had a past and hopes for a future, yet each ended here, in this dry and dusty hall of the dead. There must be at least 200 of them in the plywood coffins, roughly hammered together by a hurried carpenter. All of them are in bags, jumbled together in sad piles of remains. (04/06/03) American & British War Dead Washington Post -- The names of troop casualties, provided by relatives or military officials. The military totals include casualties whose names may not yet be available. U.S.: 73 dead, eight missing and seven captured. In some cases, families have released names before the military. On Friday, the Pentagon said 75 American servicemembers died, eight were missing and seven had been captured. British: 27 dead, according to the British government. The names and home towns follow. . . .   (04/05/03) 5:57:36 PM

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