American officials say they are uncertain why General Musharraf is now moving against the scientists. They suggested in recent interviews that the evidence has become so overwhelming that he has begun to fear the reimposition of sanctions by Congress. But they also suggest that he may be trying to reassert his power, demonstrating that he will not be intimidated by critics who say he has warmed up too much to the United States, both in the hunt for Al Qaeda terrorists and in Washington's demands to clamp down on proliferation.

More revealing details about the motivations behind the deal with Libya. We get irrefutable proof of Pakistani complicity, which then forces Musharraf to take action against those responsible. This incites the hardliners, and Musharraf is forced to engage them. Which leads us to bin Laden.

There are links, and then there are links.

Pakistan Chief Says It Appears Scientists Sold Nuclear Data

But each year, frankly, I feel increasingly compelled to look beyond my syllabuses and to devote myself more to teaching "wakeful" political literacy: the skills needed to interrogate all cultural messages. Students need to be able to mine the implications, for example, of a "Family Time Flexibility Act" which, while claiming to help women balance home and family, might have actually decreased overtime pay. They need to look critically at a presidential address that divides the world into opposing halves labeled "with us" and "with the terrorists."

Career Girls

Europe's Mars orbiter has detected evidence of water on the planet.

Scientists Say They Have Discovered Ice on Mars

... Until the president is willing to employ carrots as well as sticks, he will make little headway in changing Iranian or Syrian behavior. The president's lack of initiative on this point is especially disappointing.

... and now you know the rest of the story.

Why Libya Gave Up on the Bomb

In attempting to play down the critique of the system, Mr. Flood of the Defense Department called it a "minority report."

Ha! Oh, the irony ...

Report Says Internet Voting System Is Too Insecure to Use

This report is a review and critique of computer and communication security issues in the SERVE voting system (Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment), an Internet-based voting system being built for the US Department of Defense's FVAP (Federal Voting Assistance Program).

Here is the report by Avi Rubin, Barara Simons, David Wagner, and David Jefferson.

SERVE Analysis

There is every reason to believe that if federal elections can be tampered with, they will be. Until the vulnerabilities they identified are eliminated, the risks are too great.

"Just Say No to SERVE," says the New York Times.

The Perils of Online Voting

"Google bombs hit (the pages of The) New York (Times)"

Unlike Web politicking by other means, like hacking into sites to deface or alter their message, Google bombing is a group sport, taking advantage of the Web-indexing innovation that led Google to search-engine supremacy.

... When as the president's biography went to No. 1 for "miserable failure," some conservatives were convinced that so-called liberal control of the media had now been extended to search engines.

... Clearly, anyone who goes through life trying to manipulate search engine results would have to be called a miserable failure.

Engineering Google Results to Make a Point

... They may not know yet what its problem is, or if it is correctable, but they said they were sure that the rover was still alive.

Tonight will be another long (Martian) day for our friends at JPL.

A press release at the official web site adds, on a hopeful note, that Spirit did successfully respond, via Global Surveyor, to a 'ping' sent from Earth. However, engineers have still not determined why Spirit is seemingly unable to transmit mission data to Earth.

Mars Rover Falls Silent, Fraying Nerves at NASA

The subtitle of The Fog of War is "Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara." These lessons give structure to the film.

They are now on my bulletin board alongside my selections from Powell's Rules and Rumsfeld's Rules.

1. Empathize with your enemy.

2. Rationality will not save us.

3. There's something beyond one's self.

4. Maximize efficiency.

5. Proportionality should be a guideline in war.

6. Get the data.

7. Belief and seeing are both often wrong.

8. Be prepared to reexamine your reasoning.

9. In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil.

10. Never say never.

11. You can't change human nature.