My heart pains for Microsoft on two counts. Firefox released its 1.0 version of its browser - much sturdier on the side of security apart from other things. IE just released its spate of security flaws. Linux just released a much stronger set of Standards (2.0) aimed at making applications cross-function across different implementations more reliably. Solaris released version 10 and is now open source. Solaris now packs a great file system (ZFS) with its latest release. Microsoft, on the other hand delays release of LongHorn. Secondly, MS is not releasing its much touted WinFS file system planned at going in in LongHorn. This file system was originally planned to be released in Cairo way back around 94, later delayed to 96. It is still being delayed!
I am already pained beyond expression. After all, we are neighbours!
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Amazon.com launches its new search engine
Amazon.com joined the search engine bandwagon on Tuesday evening. Amazon.com released a version of its search engine, www.a9.com. My opinions are definitely biased after using Google for a fairly long time. Its been two days I have been flirting around with a9. Definitely not love at first sight. And the fact that its Web and image search is based on results by Google surely takes the charm of a new search engine away. To me, it simply means that dont expect to find anything startling different on a9 from that on Google if its just search that you are looking for. And yes, if you are used to Google, the search results are a bit slower. Obviously! However, until a9 gets out of Beta, I would try and steer clear from making any judgements on its performance.
On the other hand, if you are doing a study or a research on some topic, a9 could prove pretty resourceful. For a search item, a9 comes with options to enable the search results for various categories in addition to the Web and image search. You can enable search results for your keywords in related books, movie databases and encyclopaedic reference alongside the Web and image search. For someone really keen on taking notes in context of the search query, a9 offers a feature called Diary. However, to create new entries in your Diary you have to have the a9 search toolbar enabled! Thats kinda drag.
My initial feedback to a9 - Dont confuse search with research!
On the other hand, if you are doing a study or a research on some topic, a9 could prove pretty resourceful. For a search item, a9 comes with options to enable the search results for various categories in addition to the Web and image search. You can enable search results for your keywords in related books, movie databases and encyclopaedic reference alongside the Web and image search. For someone really keen on taking notes in context of the search query, a9 offers a feature called Diary. However, to create new entries in your Diary you have to have the a9 search toolbar enabled! Thats kinda drag.
My initial feedback to a9 - Dont confuse search with research!
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
America's High Tech Bust - A report
I was driving back home yesterday evening listening to the news on the radio. Apart from the election campaign updates and developments in Iraq, I heard about a research study released yesterday presenting the state of US IT jobs. It startled me. By the time the news segment completed I had already set a reminder for the next day.
Before I dive into more details, let me present some context data. We are talking about the effect of the recent US recession on the US IT job market dating the start of recession through April 2004. Officially, the recession started in March, 2001 and ended in November, 2001. However, the picture of the high tech job market, beyond these dates, has been a lot different. Excerpted from the study, below are the numbers of people employed across the US in the High tech industry at different times between March, 2001 (start of the recession) and April, 2004. If you expect the number of high-tech jobs to be on the rise, even marginal, from the time the recession officially ended, you are wrong!
This research study takes into account 6 key metropolitan areas across the US. They are Boston, Chicago, Dallas, San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle and Washinton DC. Please note that the research has not been restricted to only these cities. It accounts for the metropolitan area. As an example, Seattle takes into account the Seattle, Bellevue, Everett area which ofcourse involves Redmond, home to Microsoft and At&t Wireless. The Washington DC metropoliton areas takes into its fold the MD, VA and WV states as well. Some interesting numbers. (Note: PMSA stands for Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area).
From the study:
Before I dive into more details, let me present some context data. We are talking about the effect of the recent US recession on the US IT job market dating the start of recession through April 2004. Officially, the recession started in March, 2001 and ended in November, 2001. However, the picture of the high tech job market, beyond these dates, has been a lot different. Excerpted from the study, below are the numbers of people employed across the US in the High tech industry at different times between March, 2001 (start of the recession) and April, 2004. If you expect the number of high-tech jobs to be on the rise, even marginal, from the time the recession officially ended, you are wrong!
Nation
=====
March 2001: 2,146,800
November 2001: 1,949,800
March 2002: 1,876,700
March 2003: 1,763,700
March 2004: 1,744,000
April 2004: 1,743,500
This research study takes into account 6 key metropolitan areas across the US. They are Boston, Chicago, Dallas, San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle and Washinton DC. Please note that the research has not been restricted to only these cities. It accounts for the metropolitan area. As an example, Seattle takes into account the Seattle, Bellevue, Everett area which ofcourse involves Redmond, home to Microsoft and At&t Wireless. The Washington DC metropoliton areas takes into its fold the MD, VA and WV states as well. Some interesting numbers. (Note: PMSA stands for Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area).
From the study:
It is worth noting that these numbers may well be an undercount of the actual impact of IT job losses as employment numbers for discrete sub-sectors of the IT industry are not available for several regions in the dataset. For example, employment data for the software publishing industry are not available for the Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco PMSAs. Similarly, employment numbers are unavailable for the ISPs, web search portals and data processing industry for the Boston and Seattle PMSAs.
The employment situation is particularly bleak in the San Francisco PMSA, which witnessed a 49% job loss between March 2001 and April 2004 and a 25% job loss post-November 2001 (Table 2 - refer to the page 6/26 in the PDF file detailing the research study).
Table 2. Month-over-Month Change in IT Industry Employment (Percentage Decline)
Significant post-recession job losses also occurred in other regions with a large IT industry presence. San Jose and Boston lost 14,000 and 12,200 jobs, respectively between the official end of the recession in November 2001 and April 2004. Chicago and Dallas each lost about 10,000 jobs during this period, and Seattle has lost 6,300 IT industry jobs since the beginning of the recession and 1,700 jobs post-recession. Washington, D.C. is the only metropolitan area in the dataset, which despite losing 8,300 jobs during the recession, added 4,100 new jobs after the end of the recession.
The study is aptly named America’s High Tech Bust. While I am almost done, I wanted to take a moment to draw attention to a report on this study presented in the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
Researchers Snigdha Srivastava and Nik Theodore compiled the numbers using the Current Employment Statistics survey and the Current Population Survey. The report, funded by the Ford Foundation, was conducted for the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, a Seattle organization that wants to unionize workers at Microsoft Corp. and other technology companies. Marcus Courtney, head of the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, said the tight job market, combined with growing fears that existing jobs will be lost to outsourcing, has increased interest in unionizing from workers at companies including Sun Microsystems, Apple Computer Inc. and Microsoft.
"We are really starting to see the beginnings of a high-tech labor movement in this country," he said.
Now that, is concerning!
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
To bail or not!
Guys, this one is a pick from the TOI. To refer the complete article, click the link in the title.
A man charged in the Godhra train torching incident made a plea for bail so that he could go home to have sex with this wife. The court eventually denied the bail fearing that it would open floodgates of such requests from other prisoners!
The witty part of the report lies in the last line - "But the judge did order longer visiting hours."
A man charged in the Godhra train torching incident made a plea for bail so that he could go home to have sex with this wife. The court eventually denied the bail fearing that it would open floodgates of such requests from other prisoners!
The witty part of the report lies in the last line - "But the judge did order longer visiting hours."
Monday, September 13, 2004
Blogger needs a check-up
In the last fews days, I have come across quite a few instances when blogger.com has definitely not been at its best. I have this thing hung for a long time when I click to publish my post. And as I surf randomly through the blogs on blogger, it appears that its ailing. Are we thinking about the same thing - how do I backup my posts!!! Ideas welcome.
Genesis Update - Scientists Bouncing Back From Hard Landing
Folks, I am really happy for the Genesis mission team as they get optimistic about salvaging the science they were looking for following the unfortunate crash landing of the space capsule. The Genesis mission aimed at capturing samples of Solar wind -particles emitted from the Sun.
The Genesis spacecraft has spent 1125 days of space flight out of which 884 days have been devoted to the collection of the Solar wind samples. Guess what was the amount of material to be collected in this labor of love - approx. 0.4 milligrams!! Moreover, the scientists down here have been looking forward to quite a few years of work ahead researching these findings. No wonder!
As the Genesis mission webiste says:
Analysis of the solar wind plasma collected by the Genesis spacecraft will enable scientists to better understand the composition of the original solar nebula. It is thought that most of the composition of that nebula has been preserved in the outer layers of the sun, so the constituents in the solar wind, which flows from the sun's corona, are presumed to be very similar to the material from which our solar system was formed.
For a superb explanation on Solar wind and more, do follow this link to the Genesis mission's website.
The Genesis spacecraft has spent 1125 days of space flight out of which 884 days have been devoted to the collection of the Solar wind samples. Guess what was the amount of material to be collected in this labor of love - approx. 0.4 milligrams!! Moreover, the scientists down here have been looking forward to quite a few years of work ahead researching these findings. No wonder!
As the Genesis mission webiste says:
Analysis of the solar wind plasma collected by the Genesis spacecraft will enable scientists to better understand the composition of the original solar nebula. It is thought that most of the composition of that nebula has been preserved in the outer layers of the sun, so the constituents in the solar wind, which flows from the sun's corona, are presumed to be very similar to the material from which our solar system was formed.
For a superb explanation on Solar wind and more, do follow this link to the Genesis mission's website.
Lots in the past week...
This year's elections. I dont follow politics ardently, but I definitely like to draw similarities between this developed country of United states and my developing country, India. When it comes to politics, there sure are a few overlaps. Same blame game & mud-slinging. It only looks polished from the outside thanks to the designer suits that American politicians wear and mostly thanks to my bias for the Gora suit boot attitude. I am hopeful that the subsequent generation will be able to shrug the burden of the 200 years of British influence that still has its remnants on me.
Well, coming to the point, 2 things - the current cycle this year of the campaign has been the most expensive in the history of American political campaigns. We have about the same cribs back home. Secondly, we just found that as of 2003, 12.5% of Americans are below the poverty line. In India, the number is 25 and hopefully coming down. Ofcourse, the parameters forming the criterion defining the poverty line would definitely differ between the two countries. Mind you, these comparisons are not meant to ridicule either of the countries. As for me, it is quite natural to succumb to the temptations to compare and relate. The picture I had created about the United States, before I landed in the US was largely driven by media and the Indians who were settled in the US and then, visited India. Needless to say, there was a lot of fallacy in it. It is hence that I subconsciouly tend to draw comparisons.
On Saturday, I had been to ASHA Seattle's Bollywood musical nite - All.Go.Rhythms. It was simply entertaining and very relaxing. Utsav, Gauri and I danced to the tune of the Bollywood favorites along with all the desis who just cant help keeping to their seats when they hear the drums beating. And again, the majestic edifice of the University of Washington where the event was hosted. I have never made it big in academics, for that matter, I even couldnt make it small. But somehow, standing amidst those walls of an educational institution has its own power. It sets you aspiring.
Russia's Beslan school massacre has been on my mind. If one goes through the news in details, its hard not to turn pessimistic. And the school massacre was the worst. I have my son in a school. To dream of such a day is horrific. What kind of purpose would these people have. And how do they justify killing the innocent to achieve their purpose. What do kids have to do with it. And these are not stray examples. Inhumanity is being displayed in profound proportions almost everywhere. In every corner of the earth, there is something or the other happening which is just not normal. Russia, Sudan, Israel-Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, India (Kashmir, Assam, ...), Sri Lanka, Syria-Lebanon, North Korea, Indonesia, Columbia ... Readers are invited to fill in the gaps.
And then a quick read of a recent report published in DataQuest, India (thanks, Ritesh) had my eyes rolling. A lot, and I know that is an understatement, seems to have changed in the 4 years I have been in the US and denied the "luxury" to visit home.
It is simply not possible to miss thinking about the fate that lies in store for people in Jamaica, an apprehensive Florida and now, Cuba - the victims of Ivan. For Florida it has bee one heck of the last 3-4 weeks starting with Charley, followed by the Frances and now, Ivan. On a side note, ever since I watched the movie, 'The Day after tomorrow', which is a fabulous depiction of a mini Ice age ("mini" not in intensity, but in the length of its duration) based a theory of global cooling touted by many scientists world-wide, I have started feeling that there is something really screwy about the weather dynamics thanks to the Atlantic ocean. As I think more, I am also reminded of the mysterious Bermuda triangle, again, a guest to the Atlantic ocean. By the way, the mini Ice-age of the movie, was a result of weather conditions developing in the Atlantic ocean. And again, the theory does have grounds. I had like to point you to an article re-published in the Discover magazine substantiating what the movie articulated.
Science and nature continue to amaze me even though I form an active member of the most ignorant group on this subject. One of the highlights of the past week was an article I read which questioned the continously depleting resources of Oil. Another one is a lovely discussion on Tsunamis featured in the Astrobiology magazine.
I came across a book referred on slashdot.org that seems pretty interesting. I shall post more on it once I start reading it. It is titled "The Underground history of American Education" authored by John Taylor Gotto. The full text is available on the author's website. From a quick surf through some of the chapters, it definitely doesnt appear to be leisure reading. However, the details provided in there, if authentic, reveal a lot about things we take so much for granted.
Well, coming to the point, 2 things - the current cycle this year of the campaign has been the most expensive in the history of American political campaigns. We have about the same cribs back home. Secondly, we just found that as of 2003, 12.5% of Americans are below the poverty line. In India, the number is 25 and hopefully coming down. Ofcourse, the parameters forming the criterion defining the poverty line would definitely differ between the two countries. Mind you, these comparisons are not meant to ridicule either of the countries. As for me, it is quite natural to succumb to the temptations to compare and relate. The picture I had created about the United States, before I landed in the US was largely driven by media and the Indians who were settled in the US and then, visited India. Needless to say, there was a lot of fallacy in it. It is hence that I subconsciouly tend to draw comparisons.
On Saturday, I had been to ASHA Seattle's Bollywood musical nite - All.Go.Rhythms. It was simply entertaining and very relaxing. Utsav, Gauri and I danced to the tune of the Bollywood favorites along with all the desis who just cant help keeping to their seats when they hear the drums beating. And again, the majestic edifice of the University of Washington where the event was hosted. I have never made it big in academics, for that matter, I even couldnt make it small. But somehow, standing amidst those walls of an educational institution has its own power. It sets you aspiring.
Russia's Beslan school massacre has been on my mind. If one goes through the news in details, its hard not to turn pessimistic. And the school massacre was the worst. I have my son in a school. To dream of such a day is horrific. What kind of purpose would these people have. And how do they justify killing the innocent to achieve their purpose. What do kids have to do with it. And these are not stray examples. Inhumanity is being displayed in profound proportions almost everywhere. In every corner of the earth, there is something or the other happening which is just not normal. Russia, Sudan, Israel-Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, India (Kashmir, Assam, ...), Sri Lanka, Syria-Lebanon, North Korea, Indonesia, Columbia ... Readers are invited to fill in the gaps.
And then a quick read of a recent report published in DataQuest, India (thanks, Ritesh) had my eyes rolling. A lot, and I know that is an understatement, seems to have changed in the 4 years I have been in the US and denied the "luxury" to visit home.
It is simply not possible to miss thinking about the fate that lies in store for people in Jamaica, an apprehensive Florida and now, Cuba - the victims of Ivan. For Florida it has bee one heck of the last 3-4 weeks starting with Charley, followed by the Frances and now, Ivan. On a side note, ever since I watched the movie, 'The Day after tomorrow', which is a fabulous depiction of a mini Ice age ("mini" not in intensity, but in the length of its duration) based a theory of global cooling touted by many scientists world-wide, I have started feeling that there is something really screwy about the weather dynamics thanks to the Atlantic ocean. As I think more, I am also reminded of the mysterious Bermuda triangle, again, a guest to the Atlantic ocean. By the way, the mini Ice-age of the movie, was a result of weather conditions developing in the Atlantic ocean. And again, the theory does have grounds. I had like to point you to an article re-published in the Discover magazine substantiating what the movie articulated.
Science and nature continue to amaze me even though I form an active member of the most ignorant group on this subject. One of the highlights of the past week was an article I read which questioned the continously depleting resources of Oil. Another one is a lovely discussion on Tsunamis featured in the Astrobiology magazine.
I came across a book referred on slashdot.org that seems pretty interesting. I shall post more on it once I start reading it. It is titled "The Underground history of American Education" authored by John Taylor Gotto. The full text is available on the author's website. From a quick surf through some of the chapters, it definitely doesnt appear to be leisure reading. However, the details provided in there, if authentic, reveal a lot about things we take so much for granted.
Friday, September 10, 2004
AMD & Intel
An interesting commentary by BusinessWeek on how AMD is getting ready to strike back at someone it has been overshadowed for all these years - Intel. Also, a glimpse of the Goliath as it stands today up against AMD. Some excerpts:
The triumph:
The triumph:
Wave goodbye to the great imitator. In what may prove to be an historic reversal of fortune, AMD Chief Executive Hector de Jesus Ruiz has grabbed the momentum from his giant rival in recent months and left Intel scrambling to catch up. The perennial underdog was first to market by more than a year with a new class of microprocessors that's proving extremely popular with corporate clients. It has smoothly launched new manufacturing techniques, while Intel has been plagued with an uncharacteristic string of delays, glitches, and recalls. And it pushed forward so aggressively with a new "multiple core" chip design, which squeezes several processors on one chip, that Intel was forced to speed up its own transition on some chips by as much as two years. In a humbling moment, Intel executives announced the acceleration at the Intel Developer Forum on Sept. 7, a week after AMD showed off a working version of its own multiple core processors. "We've had some fumbles," says Intel President Paul S. Otellini.
AMD is making the most of its newfound edge. The Sunnyvale (Calif.) company has grabbed 7% of the low-end server market, up from almost nothing two years ago. It passed 50% of the U.S. retail store sales for desktop PCs in recent weeks. And the company is using new manufacturing techniques in the memory-chip market to outgun rivals both on cost and technology, analysts say. When Intel shocked Wall Street on Sept. 3 by slashing its forecast for third-quarter sales and profit margins, the chip giant cited "lower than expected worldwide demand." But AMD says it's seeing no indication of a broad slowdown, and analysts say that Intel's troubles have been exacerbated by its pesky rival. "It's clear they don't have the products that customers want today," says Ruiz. "That's just the way it is."
However:
Can Ruiz keep going toe to toe with Intel? It would be a small miracle. Intel has so much more heft, money, engineering talent, and other resources that, with a determined effort, it should be able to turn back AMD in short order. Intel is almost seven times as large, with expected revenues of $34 billion this year. Its projected 2004 profits of $7.35 billion mean that Intel earns in 11 days what AMD will make all year. And Intel is sitting on $14 billion in cash, compared with $1.1 billion for AMD, giving Intel a vast edge in funding research and development and in constructing cutting-edge manufacturing facilities.
Thursday, September 9, 2004
The night at Chernobyl
Here is a moving account of an engineer on duty at Chernobyl's reactor number 4 the night it exploded on 26 April, 1986. The link on the Title displays his interview with Discovery Channel for a documentary on Chernobyl, published in New Scientist.
"That was when I realised that Khodemchuk was definitely dead. The place where I was told he'd been standing was in ruins. The huge turbines were still standing, but everything around them was rubble. He must have been buried under that. From where I stood I could see a huge beam of projected light flooding up into infinity from the reactor. It was like a laser light, caused by the ionisation of the air. It was light-bluish, and it was very beautiful. I watched it for several seconds. If I'd stood there for just a few minutes I would probably have died on the spot because of gamma rays and neutrons and everything else that was spewing out. But Tregub yanked me around the corner to get me out the way. He was older and more experienced."
"That was when I realised that Khodemchuk was definitely dead. The place where I was told he'd been standing was in ruins. The huge turbines were still standing, but everything around them was rubble. He must have been buried under that. From where I stood I could see a huge beam of projected light flooding up into infinity from the reactor. It was like a laser light, caused by the ionisation of the air. It was light-bluish, and it was very beautiful. I watched it for several seconds. If I'd stood there for just a few minutes I would probably have died on the spot because of gamma rays and neutrons and everything else that was spewing out. But Tregub yanked me around the corner to get me out the way. He was older and more experienced."
This is courtesy a blog I randomly came across on blogspot.
Wednesday, September 8, 2004
US death toll in Iraq reaches 1000. What is the number for Iraqis?
While we mourn the 1000 US deaths in Iraq, should we take a moment to contemplate the conservative estimate of (atleast) 10000 Iraqis who lay dead? Isn't it shamelessly ironical that while you can count every head lost in your camp, you fail to gather even a rough estimate of how many have been decimated by you?
An excerpt from an article on MSNBC.com:
The U.S. military has not reported overall Iraqi deaths. The Iraqi Health Ministry started counting the dead only in April, when heavy fighting broke out in Fallujah and Najaf. However, conservative estimates by private groups place the Iraqi toll at at least 10,000.
“It is difficult to establish the right number of casualties,” said Nicole Choueiry, Middle East spokeswoman for Amnesty International, the human rights watchdog group. “It was the job of the occupation power to keep track of the numbers, but the Americans failed to do so.”
Here is a detailed article from AP dealing with the Iraqi numbers.
An excerpt from an article on MSNBC.com:
The U.S. military has not reported overall Iraqi deaths. The Iraqi Health Ministry started counting the dead only in April, when heavy fighting broke out in Fallujah and Najaf. However, conservative estimates by private groups place the Iraqi toll at at least 10,000.
“It is difficult to establish the right number of casualties,” said Nicole Choueiry, Middle East spokeswoman for Amnesty International, the human rights watchdog group. “It was the job of the occupation power to keep track of the numbers, but the Americans failed to do so.”
Here is a detailed article from AP dealing with the Iraqi numbers.
Genesis crash lands
In a very unfortunate event that marked Genesis's return to the earth, the parachutes of the space capsule failed to open resulting in a crash landing into the Utah desert.
The capsule weighing 452 pounds (205 kg) crashed at the military Utah Test and Training Range. The capsule broke open on impact.
As MSNBC.com reports, the $260 million Genesis mission was bringing back to earth a set of fragile disks containing billions of atoms from the solar wind. NASA officials said that the disks would shatter even if the capsule hit the ground with a parachute.
It is also reported that the explosive meant to open the space capsule's parachute following its entry into earth's atmosphere is a live mortar, which may still be armed.
The capsule weighing 452 pounds (205 kg) crashed at the military Utah Test and Training Range. The capsule broke open on impact.
As MSNBC.com reports, the $260 million Genesis mission was bringing back to earth a set of fragile disks containing billions of atoms from the solar wind. NASA officials said that the disks would shatter even if the capsule hit the ground with a parachute.
It is also reported that the explosive meant to open the space capsule's parachute following its entry into earth's atmosphere is a live mortar, which may still be armed.
Tuesday, September 7, 2004
The War for terror
Was listening to a radio talk show today on my way to work. The question posed to the audience was that now with the number of marines killed in Iraq reaching to 1000, was this war justified. It was Bush's opinion that the scenario then, when the war started, was justified and he would stand by that. Kerry opines that the war was the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time.
I was wondering if they ever questioned how many Iraqis died because of the war. Life is so important when it comes to the US citizens. Do we ever put our feet in the shoes of the real victims, the people of Iraq who are not on the front and still bearing the brunt of the war? Here you have the Bush administration, who one fine day out of nowhere brings up Iraq as a serious threat. He makes people believe that they have the WMDs (none found till date), shows up this stupid multimedia presentation in the State of the Union address and tries to prove his point going for the Iraq war. So many people oppose it, within the US and outside. But the administration doesn't care. He asks UN intervention and asks for flying unmanned surveillance aircrafts over Iraq to look for WMDs. No findings. The UN visits Iraq's facilities. They dont find a damn thing. And still, having no rhyme or concrete reason, not taking Germany or France's opinion into account, you go to war. The Iraqis may be questioning if they feel liberated from Saddam or are crucified in the War and resistance that has come up. And damn it, who asked you to liberate Iraq. Did Iraqis come to you asking you to liberate them? And hey, lets step back a little. What was the primary motive behind the war? Putting aside speculations for Oil, did you wage war to liberate the Iraqis? No. You had this screwed up notion after your war with Taliban, that Iraq maybe the next one to avenge you. And so, you create this whole picture of WMDs + US security + Iraqi freedom and what not to wage a war. You blow up US tax money, make the lives of Iraqis even more miserable, create unrest in a country, bring the entire UN to their toes and dont even care to listen to their opinion. That is what people now think about UN even more strongly - a puppet in the hands of the US.
Orrite, now lets say I am from India or Pakistan, and I feel that my neighbour is a serious threat to me because of their nuclear capabilities, the recent Kargil war, the Kashmir instability etc. Would it be acceptable if one of this countries makes their case and starts a war? And hey, we actually had a stand-off sometime back with a million troops lined off on the border. Why weren't the countries, apart from the obviously true humanitarian reasons, allowed to go on war?
As Mr. Putin blasts out, why the hell did you provide an asylum to the Chechenyan "Foreign Minister" who are absolute terrorists in the eyes of Russia. During the post 9/11 war days, we already debated on the fact that one man's terrorist could be other man's freedom fighter. So why is Saddam Hussein a terror to you, while Chechenya is not. And if you have any reason to side Chechenya as a legitimate struggle, how would you classify these people who recently downed 2 Russian passenger planes killing all 89 people on board, a female suicide bomber killing the 9 people outside a subway station and as if that was not enough, holding a school hostage causing death to more than 300 people. To me, these are people of timid and feeble character who conceive they could build a free nation on the graves of innocent children.
Damn Mr. Bush, you keep meddling in everyone's affair when least needed or requested, screw up a region's peace and sit back and justify what you have done is right.
I was wondering if they ever questioned how many Iraqis died because of the war. Life is so important when it comes to the US citizens. Do we ever put our feet in the shoes of the real victims, the people of Iraq who are not on the front and still bearing the brunt of the war? Here you have the Bush administration, who one fine day out of nowhere brings up Iraq as a serious threat. He makes people believe that they have the WMDs (none found till date), shows up this stupid multimedia presentation in the State of the Union address and tries to prove his point going for the Iraq war. So many people oppose it, within the US and outside. But the administration doesn't care. He asks UN intervention and asks for flying unmanned surveillance aircrafts over Iraq to look for WMDs. No findings. The UN visits Iraq's facilities. They dont find a damn thing. And still, having no rhyme or concrete reason, not taking Germany or France's opinion into account, you go to war. The Iraqis may be questioning if they feel liberated from Saddam or are crucified in the War and resistance that has come up. And damn it, who asked you to liberate Iraq. Did Iraqis come to you asking you to liberate them? And hey, lets step back a little. What was the primary motive behind the war? Putting aside speculations for Oil, did you wage war to liberate the Iraqis? No. You had this screwed up notion after your war with Taliban, that Iraq maybe the next one to avenge you. And so, you create this whole picture of WMDs + US security + Iraqi freedom and what not to wage a war. You blow up US tax money, make the lives of Iraqis even more miserable, create unrest in a country, bring the entire UN to their toes and dont even care to listen to their opinion. That is what people now think about UN even more strongly - a puppet in the hands of the US.
Orrite, now lets say I am from India or Pakistan, and I feel that my neighbour is a serious threat to me because of their nuclear capabilities, the recent Kargil war, the Kashmir instability etc. Would it be acceptable if one of this countries makes their case and starts a war? And hey, we actually had a stand-off sometime back with a million troops lined off on the border. Why weren't the countries, apart from the obviously true humanitarian reasons, allowed to go on war?
As Mr. Putin blasts out, why the hell did you provide an asylum to the Chechenyan "Foreign Minister" who are absolute terrorists in the eyes of Russia. During the post 9/11 war days, we already debated on the fact that one man's terrorist could be other man's freedom fighter. So why is Saddam Hussein a terror to you, while Chechenya is not. And if you have any reason to side Chechenya as a legitimate struggle, how would you classify these people who recently downed 2 Russian passenger planes killing all 89 people on board, a female suicide bomber killing the 9 people outside a subway station and as if that was not enough, holding a school hostage causing death to more than 300 people. To me, these are people of timid and feeble character who conceive they could build a free nation on the graves of innocent children.
Damn Mr. Bush, you keep meddling in everyone's affair when least needed or requested, screw up a region's peace and sit back and justify what you have done is right.
Genesis mission returns a sample of the Sun
A reminder on tomorrow's date. NASA's Genesis mission returns with samples of Solar wind to earth. Its September 8, 2004, 9:55 am MDT when the capsule carrying the samples enter the earth's atmosphere. This is NASA's first sample return since the final Apollo lunar mission in 1972 which brought back samples from the Moon. Also, this is the first material collected beyond the moon.
Guys, the capture of the capsule once in earth's atmosphere is even more dramatic. Following the entry into the earth's atmosphere, the capsule deploys a parachute bearing the sample in a canister. Awaiting the capture of this canister will be two helicopters in the air, receiving updates from a ground-based controller. One of these helicopters will be the lead and the second, a backup.The lead helicopter will deploy an 18-1/2 foot pole with a hook at its end. Yes, the lead helicopter with a crew of three, is actually going to hook the canister and bring it safely to its clean room destination. For some reason, if the lead helicopter fails, the backup, waiting 1000 feet below shall attempt to take charge.
For more details on this, check out NASA's press kit for Genesis's sample return.
Guys, the capture of the capsule once in earth's atmosphere is even more dramatic. Following the entry into the earth's atmosphere, the capsule deploys a parachute bearing the sample in a canister. Awaiting the capture of this canister will be two helicopters in the air, receiving updates from a ground-based controller. One of these helicopters will be the lead and the second, a backup.The lead helicopter will deploy an 18-1/2 foot pole with a hook at its end. Yes, the lead helicopter with a crew of three, is actually going to hook the canister and bring it safely to its clean room destination. For some reason, if the lead helicopter fails, the backup, waiting 1000 feet below shall attempt to take charge.
For more details on this, check out NASA's press kit for Genesis's sample return.
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