I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing
to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should
be taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree
that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they
can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them.
I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent
Design.

Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design.
I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe
was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that
we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific
evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence,
put in place by Him.

OMG! Brilliant! Brilliant I say!

Open Letter to Kansas Schools

The U.N. nuclear watchdog expressed "serious concern" Thursday over
Iran's resumption of activities that could lead to an atomic bomb, and diplomats said Tehran has a Sept. 3 deadline to stop or face another possible referral to the Security Council.

Oh no, I'm sure they're just shaking over this. Not because the UN in impotent (the UN dropping Iraq level economic sanctions on Iran would do very bad things to them) but because they know two things. One, military action is not going to happen. The UN, more specifically, the US, doesn't have anyone to send. Two, they won't be looking at Iraq level sanctions because they didn't invade any of their neighbors.

Having watched the reports on this, the decision about restarting their nuclear program was made before the new administration went in, the new guys are perfectly happy to stay that course, so blaming this on the new group is misleading at best.

The Iranians are going to go through with this. Why? Because they are looking at their oil reserves dwindle, and want a long term option. They're not making a good choice in going with the nuclear option, that's a secondary point, but the options that have been presented to them by us and the EU are ones that would make them dependent on someone else for their energy. They're not going to do that. They also see that North Korea was able to join the nuclear club with opposition, but no military action and think they can do they same.

What can we actually get? We can probably get them to accept IAEA paid watchdogs to keep an eye on their uranium stocks to try to make sure that they aren't using it to build bombs, and try to prevent MUF's, but that's about it. They're going to do it and the only way to stop it is invade. Well, we already shot our wad in Iraq.

By my count this makes the US, Russia (and maybe Ukraine and Georgia as well out of the former USSR), Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea all nuclear capable right now, with Germany, Japan, and soon Iran, all able, but probably without bombs. I'm still curious about South Africa, I haven't seen any reports on what happened with their capability, but they were suspected to have the ability 20 years ago. Where that sits now I have no idea.

Here's another question, how will the Israeli's react to Iran, which has been supporting Hamas and Hizbollah all these years, moving into a position to counter Israel's nuclear trump? When Iraq was moving that direction in the 80's, they bombed their reactor. That doesn't seem to be an option here because of logistics.

Envoys: Iran Faces Sept. Deadline on Nukes

In a recent paper [1] and letter [2], Rusty Schweickart made some recommendations on dealing with the threat of a possible impact in 2036, and he called on further analysis to be done. This is my input to that analysis. Comments are welcome.

The most important thing that I propose is that deflection by the impact of a spacecraft is practical in this case. Such a mission could be done fairly quickly at a reasonable cost.

The asteroid under discussion, with the provisional designation 2004 MN4, has now been assigned the number 99942 and the name Apophis. (Apophis was the Greek name of the Egyptian god Apep, "the destroyer.") Therefore, I use this name below.

Something fun to do with this, enter the data at http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/impacteffects/ (previously linked here) and it'll give you an idea of what would happen if it does hit. It's pretty interesting.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT ASTEROID APOPHIS (2004 MN4)?

This title will be released on November 8, 2005. You may order it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives.

It's finally coming!

A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 4)

A dirndl is a traditional costume worn by women in Bavaria and Austria. It is characterised by a generally rather revealing décolleté and consists of a dress and apron with a tight, low-cut top whose figure enhancing effect is accentuated by a short white blouse. Bavarian barmaids typically dress in dirndls. However, under the European Union’s Optical Radiation Directive, which is to be voted in the European Parliament next month, employers face heavy fines if they fail to protect their employees against the risk of sunburn.

Say it ain't so! Although I guess compliance would be pretty easy, a bottle of SPF30 should take care of that, but then you run into the guys who are worried about making sure that their employees have proper coverage and insist on making sure their staff has properly used that lotion... I smell a sexual harassment lawsuit, or some bad porn being written, about this.

Brussels Ban on Bavarian Bosoms | The Brussels Journal

A South Korean man who played computer games for 50 hours almost non-stop died of heart failure minutes after finishing his mammoth session in an Internet cafe

Moral: Go outside, get some exercise and get some sleep.

S. Korean man dies after 50 hours of computer games

"Weapons clearly, unambiguously from Iran have been found in Iraq," he told a Pentagon briefing. "It's a big border. It's notably unhelpful for the Iranians to allow weapons of those types to cross the border." He did not provide further specifics.

Rummy, it's hit the point where you've cried "Wolf!" so many times I don't know whether you're telling the truth or not, and it doesn't matter because I'm not listening anymore. Find someone reputable that says it too.

Rumsfeld: Some Iraq Arms Come From Iran

Now THIS is a useful site!

My Life Is Beer!: Beers From United States

When Jordan visited the remote server, he was shocked to find that it was being used to distribute sensitive personal information from millions of PC users infected by the spyware application.

"We found the keylogger transcript files that are being uploaded to the servers. We're talking real spyware stuff…chat sessions, usernames, passwords, bank account information, full names, addresses," said Sunbelt president Alex Eckelberry.

ick.

Spyware Researchers Discover ID Theft Ring

That game turned truly dangerous on March 21, 1996, when Richard Sacchi Jr. killed an Eastchester cop, then took his own grandmother hostage in a twelve-hour armed standoff with police. As hostage negotiators tried to coax Sacchi from the family home, Pirro appeared on the evening news, saying she would consider seeking the death penalty against him. "She got up there for a few moments of news time," says the former assistant U.S. Attorney, "risking that this guy might hear it and kill his grandmother and go out in a blaze of glory." Sacchi, it turned out, had killed his grandmother and himself long before her remarks, but Pirro didn't know that.

I generally don't like anecdotal examples too much, but the rest of the article makes clear this is not isolated. She's the one that's getting set up to snipe at Hillary in '06.

Pirro Mania