You've got to be kidding me.. there is actually a notable difference in accidents when you add alcohol to the mix? Wow, whouldathunkit.

Excerpt: "The researchers will now focus on nighttime flying in different weather conditions and develop test programs to improve aviation safety, such as routine spot checks, or checking on drinking behavior during pilots' biannual physical exams, that might help reduce alcohol-related crashes in the future."

Sheesh. -Pk

Most alcohol-related plane crashes occur at night and in worsening weather conditions

This is quite interesting IMO. Select an individual country to see the trend. Note that key allies of the USA like Australia and Canada are liberalizing rather rapidly for large economies. Lets shoot for 1.79 at least! Cheers, -Pk

2005 index of economic freedom

Excerpt: "And what of the people born on dates that no longer exists in the new calendar, such as 31 January, or during Newton Week? Henry suggests they celebrate on either 30 January or "consider themselves to be born on the fourth of July" (which falls on a Wednesday)."

An it doesn't stop there: "And he is not stopping with dates - Henry says the entire world should operate on Greenwich Mean Time. People in the eastern US, for example, would have to get used to eating their midday meals when the clocks read 1700. "People are adaptable if benefits are there," says Henry."

That'd be a confusing set of changes for a while. -Pk

Novel calendar system creates regular dates

Written in response to a Washington Post article in early December '04.

Excerpt: "China is already Iran's top advanced weapon supplier, including cutting edge missile technology and weaponization of nuclear, chemical and biological materials."

Cheers, -Pk

Ahwazi: the Controversial Iranian-Chinese Oil Deal!

I would hope for more raw data and a longer list. I've got stocks to monitor you see. ;-)

Seriously though, I'd rather have a longer list with more data and a seperate column on the politics of it. Cheers, -Pk

The Center for Corporate Policy's Top Ten War Profiteers of 2004

Some people believe that PY2005 (Political Year 2005) will be the year of Social Security in the States. Edward H. Crane of CATO (Libertarian "think tank") consolidates a lot of pro-privatization views in this piece.

Excerpt: "Individual accounts should be as large as feasible, ideally at least half of payroll taxes. There are several proposals in Congress now, including one by Rep. Sam Johnson, Texas Republican, based on work by the Cato Institute, that show how this can be done in a fiscally responsible way."

Cheers, -Pk

Social Security Reform Now

Excerpt: "The battle against the Iraqi terror is not being reported accurately. One reason is that the American military cannot release information then have about the enemy, as that would let the terrorists know what is known about them. This is a war of information. The terrorists depend on secrecy for protection. They must remain invisible to survive."

We've all read tens of these types of analysis. This one can be considered a pre-primer to some of the recent pro-war/invasion books. Although it doesn't discuss the regional political implications at all (dissapointing miss in ~any~ war article). Cheers, -Pk

The War in Iraq That Isn't Reported

The illustration alone is worth posting this article. I won't comment as I might be a bit too lengthy. Draw your own conclusions. Cheers, -Pk

Capitalism and its Role in American Society’s Plunge into the Abyss.

Excerpt: "To summarise: After World War II, opinion was socialist while practice was free market; currently, opinion is free market while practice is heavily socialist. We have largely won the battle of ideas; we have succeeded in stalling the progress of socialism, but we have not succeeded in reversing its course. We are still far from bringing practice into conformity with opinion. That is the overriding non-defence task for the second Bush term. It will not be an easy task, particularly with Iraq threatening to consume Bush's political capital."

There is a sad comedy to all this. We won! We won! Lets start doing what they were doing during their decline! Yay! Cheers, -Pk

Scrapbook: Battle for free-market agenda is only half won

Excerpt: "The rising popularity of shark cartilage extract as an anti-cancer treatment is a triumph of marketing and pseudoscience over reason, with a tragic fallout for both sharks and humans, according to a Johns Hopkins biologist writing in the Dec. 1 issue of Cancer Research."

I remember a family friend nearly fifteen years ago pumping his young daughter full of shark cartilage pills. The list of snake-oil products grows everyday and sometimes with tragic consequences.

I don't particularly like the researchers stance on electronic media but the point remains.

I'm tired so I'm going to go put on my magnetic bracelet and drink my micro-clustered/ionized water while listening to my earth resonance CD. All while eating myself to death anyway. Cheers, -Pk

Shark Cartilage Cancer 'Cure' Shows Danger Of Pseudoscience