Radio Reg Few stories in computing history come close to matching the tale of Zelenograd – the Soviet Union’s attempt at creating something along the lines of Silicon Valley. Episode 15 of Semi-Coherent Computing recounts the tale of Zelenograd’s founding along with the stories of the two US-born Russian spies behind the city. No one Read more about How a pair of American spies created the Soviet Silicon Valley[…]
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) — A U.S.-based human rights group said China dramatically boosted small-arms sales to Sudan as violence escalated in Darfur. Beijing denied the group’s report on Friday. The report released Thursday by Human Rights First said China is the biggest supplier of small arms to Sudan. It provided 90 percent of all Read more about China Denies Gun Sales to Sudan[…]
“Since 1830, the House has met behind closed doors only three times,”according to the Congressional Research Service: “in 1979 to discussthe Panama Canal, in 1980 to discuss Central American assistance, andin 1983 to discuss U.S. support for paramilitary operations inNicaragua.” On March 13, the House went into secret session once more to considerclassified matters concerning Read more about Secret Session of House[…]
Thirty pages into a memorandum discussing the legal boundaries of military interrogations in 2003, senior Justice Department lawyer John C. Yoo tackled a question not often asked by American policymakers: Could the president, if he desired, have a prisoner’s eyes poked out? Washington Post Link
A £1,000 reward has been posted for the fingerprints of Prime Minster Gordon Brown and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, both of whom, claim perpetrators No2ID and Privacy International, are “wanted identity felons”. In a campaign Wanted Poster the campaign groups claim that their plan to “steal the fingerprints of the entire British population… will be Read more about Wanted: Gordon Brown’s fingerprints, £1,000 reward[…]
This is simply incredible to me: The Drudge Report knowingly goes and endanges British troops and a member of the royal family by reporting where he is in Afghanistan. Obviously the UK now has to pull him out before attacks increase in such scale that there is no defending anyone in that area. So not Read more about Harry in Afghanistan leaked by Drudge[…]
Which means parties such as the RIAA or Brein. An incredible win for freedom and privacy!
Yes, apart from telling Canada it thinks the bit Canada is claiming is Neutral Waters (even though the US aren’t signatories of the Sea Law treaties), they are now sending their very own Coast Guard cutter over there to map out the seabed and see if they can’t also imagine up an underwater ridge connecting Read more about The US now also in on the Pole Game[…]
Here goes the next claimant: Denmark, acting in the interests of Greenland is now claiming the North Pole oil reserves. You see, they, just like Russia have just discovered an arctic ridge linking their country to the Pole. Canada isn’t taking this lying down either of course. They’re now sending 900 rangers to the pole Read more about And Denmark runs for the North Pole[…]
And besides Putin dropping flags on the North Pole seabed and claiming the Pole is connected to Russia through an underwater ridge (see Putin on the Warpath), now Canada is running for it’s claim by putting an underwater ship base thing down, to the anger of the US who says it’s in “neutral waters”. People Read more about Canada makes a run for the Pole[…]
Russia’s Vladimir Putin has just stepped out of the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE), limiting the maximal amount of conventional weaponry that is allowed by both sides. This is his reaction to the US Anti-Ballistic Missile system (ABM) sheild as well as his petulance at NATO not ratifying some changes to the CFE. In Read more about Putin on the warpath[…]
Yes, this man was fabulous. Recently I’ve taken (parts of) two of his speeches to heart: We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the Read more about Winston Churchill[…]
Thankfully some people in high political positions are still able to see sense. The DPP is accusing the government of scare mongering and increasing control over the populace with no good reason. He says he fears the downfall of the rule of law, and that the ‘war on terror’ is a construct that doesn’t exist.
Documents have come to light showing how the then French PM, Guy Mollet, approached the then British PM, Sir Anthony Eden on 10/10/56 to ask if there was the possibility of a union between the UK and France. When this failed, he came back later to ask if France could become a member of the Read more about France under the British Queen[…]
The US is having a busy week! In Iraq they’ve stormed an Iranian consulalte They’re also sending in a ‘surge’ of troops – 21,500 – which is half the troops their generals think they need for the surge tactic to work. This will bring force levels to around 150,000. A reinforced squadron of F-117A’s (15-20 Read more about A busy week for US military adventurism[…]
Sealand is the worlds smallest country, interesting mainly because it’s defeated several British attempts at invasion and hosts truly safe and anonymous servers. It’s now for sale, let’s hope the new owner keeps it as a safe place for the colocated servers.
Weird one this – Saddam is now certain that he will be hung, so his prose is all martylike. Strangely enough Yahoo news is running 2 stories on this: BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Saddam Hussein, due to be hanged within 30 days, said his execution should be seen as a sacrifice for the nation and called Read more about Saddam goes to his death[…]
Jeremy Clarkson called a car ‘a bit gay’ and due to four complaints by a couple of poofters (four of them, no less), the Top Gear team has been told off by the BBC. Besides that calling things gay doesn’t automatically mean they are Derogatory references to homosexuality or even sexually oriented at all, even Read more about That’s sooooo GAY!!![…]
Well, lets face it – our choices all suck. There are several websites in the Netherlands that allow you to match your choices with a political party, of which none of the matches are larger than 50% and the questions are framed in such a way that you end up answering in a manner diametrically Read more about Dutch Elections[…]
Last year 5 US nationals claimed asylum in the UK. There’s a lot of frustration about how failed applicants remain in the country.
Frontline aired a programme about the Taliban, which is fully viewable online, about the return of the Taliban.
Well, given the way the vote was swung by national governments in the last referendum for the consitution, it’s starting to look like the people might have something of a say, but given it’s track record on eg. Patents, I’m still waiting and seeing. Now one million signatures have been collected to stop the EU Read more about EU: do the people have any say?[…]
Over 100 countries, mainly third world, but including some large first world ones such as Venezuela and Malaysia, make up the Non-Aligned Movement, who are neither pro the US or Russia. They have decided they don’t like the ‘Axis of Evil’ type sayings the US has been making, and that they see no problem with Read more about NAM critisices the US[…]
A presidential hopeful, Dennis McCauley has had a campaign stop in Second Life, to talk to the citizens there. Apparently there is room for improvement, but considering this is the first time it’s been done, I’d say it was a bold move. The political commentary is all about whether this is genius or suicide, which Read more about Campaigning MMOs[…]
Yup, Japan is talking pre-emptive strike. Remember, this is because N Korea is testing long and medium range missles that are fallling into the sea short of Japan itself – even though once in 1998 a missle was launched that flew over Japan itself. The threats are where you see them.