Thursday, May 13, 2004

Posted here Thursday, May 13, 2004 at 5:10:02 PM     Increasing the range here. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-05/10/content_1460726.htm ********

Posted here Thursday, May 13, 2004 at 5:09:02 PM     Bell-weather important, a new Gandhi http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/05/14/dl1401.xml&;sSheet=/opinion/2004/05/14/ixopinion.html India Shining" shed its rays only on that sector of the population that was epitomised for the West by software outsourcing and call centres in states such as Karnataka and Andra Pradesh. For the nearly two thirds of Indians who live off the land, among whom Mrs Gandhi campaigned vigorously, little had changed under BJP rule. Their prime requirements are running water, electricity and jobs. Lacking those, they used their votes to remind New Delhi and the wider world that development in their country, as in that other Asian giant, China, is very uneven. A foretaste of what was to come when the general election results were announced yesterday came on Tuesday in the defeat of Chandrababu Naidu, a BJP ally, in a state poll. As a chief minister of Andhra Pradesh who attracted substantial foreign investment in information technology, he was the very essence of "India Shining". But at the same time his state stood out for its high level of farmer suicides. ********

Posted here Thursday, May 13, 2004 at 5:01:34 PM     On technology and vulnerability New flaw takes Wi-Fi off the air By Patrick Gray, Security Focus (drew.cullen@theregister.co.uk) Published Thursday 13th May 2004 21:29 GMT <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/13/wifi_security_flaw/> A newly-discovered vulnerability in the 802.11 wireless standard allows attackers to jam wireless networks within a radius of one kilometre using off-the-shelf equipment. Affecting various hardware implementations of the IEEE 802.11 wireless networking standard - including widely used 802.11b devices - the flaw was found in the collision avoidance routines used to prevent multiple devices from transmitting at the same moment."When under attack, the device behaves as if the channel is always busy, preventing the transmission of any data over the wireless network," a security advisory (http://www.auscert.org.au/render.html?it=4091) released by AusCERT reads. The weakness allows miscreants to take down networks within five seconds, according to researchers at Australia's Queensland University of Technology's Information Security Research Centre (ISRC), which discovered the vulnerability. ********

Posted here Thursday, May 13, 2004 at 3:55:21 PM     Why, if mutations got us here, are they a bad thing? Study says mutations from pollution transmit across generations (of course, this implication of the theory rarely drawn). So the question, why worry? Doesn't selection work? The obvious answer is that in modern society, we deal with bad genes by speciial medical and educational sustainers. So evolution can't work? What more? ********

Posted here Thursday, May 13, 2004 at 12:51:31 PM     Another must read.. Friedman in the NYT shifts.. http://nytimes.com/2004/05/13/opinion/13FRIE.html Why, in the face of the Abu Ghraib travesty, wouldn't the administration make some uniquely American gesture? Because these folks have no clue how to export hope. They would never think of saying, "Let's close this prison immediately and reopen it in a month as the Abu Ghraib Technical College for Computer Training — with all the equipment donated by Dell, H.P. and Microsoft." Why didn't the administration ever use 9/11 as a spur to launch a Manhattan project for energy independence and conservation, so we could break out of our addiction to crude oil, slowly disengage from this region and speak truth to fundamentalist regimes, such as Saudi Arabia? (Addicts never tell the truth to their pushers.) Because that might have required a gas tax or a confrontation with the administration's oil moneymen. Why did the administration always — rightly — bash Yasir Arafat, but never lift a finger or utter a word to stop Ariel Sharon's massive building of illegal settlements in the West Bank? Because while that might have earned America credibility in the Middle East, it might have cost the Bush campaign Jewish votes in Florida. And, of course, why did the president praise Mr. Rumsfeld rather than fire him? Because Karl Rove says to hold the conservative base, you must always appear to be strong, decisive and loyal. It is more important that the president appear to be true to his team than that America appear to be true to its principles. (Here's the new Rummy Defense: "I am accountable. But the little guys were responsible. I was just giving orders.") Add it all up, and you see how we got so off track in Iraq, why we are dancing alone in the world — and why our president, who has a strong moral vision, has no moral influence.   ********

Posted here Thursday, May 13, 2004 at 12:19:47 PM     A humane voice from the past still alive and sane. Please read it all. Tears and laughter. Cold Turkey by Kurt Vonnegut http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0512-13.htm   Many years ago, I was so innocent I still considered it possible that we could become the humane and reasonable America so many members of my generation used to dream of. We dreamed of such an America during the Great Depression, when there were no jobs. And then we fought and often died for that dream during the Second World War, when there was no peace. But I know now that there is not a chance in hell of America’s becoming humane and reasonable. Because power corrupts us, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Human beings are chimpanzees who get crazy drunk on power. By saying that our leaders are power-drunk chimpanzees, am I in danger of wrecking the morale of our soldiers fighting and dying in the Middle East? Their morale, like so many bodies, is already shot to pieces. They are being treated, as I never was, like toys a rich kid got for Christmas. ... Can I tell you the truth? I mean this isn’t like TV news, is it? Here’s what I think the truth is: We are all addicts of fossil fuels in a state of denial, about to face cold turkey. And like so many addicts about to face cold turkey, our leaders are now committing violent crimes to get what little is left of what we’re hooked on. ********

Posted here Thursday, May 13, 2004 at 12:14:33 PM     Signs of the next decade's times CHINA BRIEF http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=395&;issue_id=2935&article_id=236610 Volume 4 Issue 8 (Apr 15, 2004) CHINA'S REACTION TO AMERICA'S IRAQ IMBROGLIO Download PDF Version By Willy Lam The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership has been at pains not to appear to be gloating over the American quagmire in Iraq. Yet in terms of geopolitical calculus, there is little doubt Beijing sees America's worsening problems in Iraq as beneficial to China's global standing, diplomatically and militarily. Capitalizing on fissures in the international community over Iraq and America's war on terror, China has strengthened ties with key members of the European Union and the United Nations in an effort to counterbalance U.S. hegemony. Meanwhile, Chinese experts' scrutiny of the exploits as well as challenges of American and Allied Forces in Iraq will have a big impact on the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) ambitious modernization drive. ********

Posted here Thursday, May 13, 2004 at 11:16:59 AM     Could Kerry make a major point - around the flip flop issue - by saying "Sometimes it is important to change one's mind. Changing our mind about Iraq is the responsible thing to do. It requires a president who reads the newspapers and follows the details, looks at options, discusses the issues with his cabinet and many others,  and makes the best choice possible. I pledge as president to do that, and I pledge that, when circumstances shift and we are building our brings to the wrong future, I'll change my mind, and tell you my thinking, and implement those changes after a vital public discussion."   ********

Posted here Thursday, May 13, 2004 at 11:06:43 AM     On jobs. Where the Jobs Are http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/13/opinion/13COXX.html Over the past decade the biggest employment gains came in occupations that rely on people skills and emotional intelligence — like nurse and lawyer — and among jobs that require imagination and creativity: designer, architect and photographer. But not all of the new jobs require advanced degrees or exceptional artistic talent; note the rise of employment for hair stylists and cosmetologists. Trying to preserve existing jobs will prove futile — trade and technology will transform the economy whether we like it not. Americans will be better off if they strive to move up the hierarchy of human talents. That's where our future lies. The problem is, most of the more humane jobs pay less, always have. Can that be reversed? Can being a teacher, mother, architect doctor, lead to a reasonable salary without the support of regulation that creates distorting careers - such as for layers and docs? It would be a good direction to go, but our education is still trying to produce technocrats and regimentable inarticulate workers. ********