| Friday, June 27, 2003 |  |
| Perspective | 1 comment |
 27 Jun 2003 @ 22:43Just to keep things in perspective. More > |
| The Coalition for World Peace presents... | 0 comments |
| 27 Jun 2003 @ 22:34 SUNDAY, June 29: "Axis of Culture" at Arts in Action The Coalition for World Peace presents AXIS OF CULTURE Sunday June 29 , 2003 6 - 10 pm at ARTS IN ACTION 1919 W. 7th St., 4th Fl. , Los Angeles, CA Music, Poetry, Dance and Information To experience cultures of the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and beyond. Enjoy the mesmerizing sounds of the Hebrew, Sufi and Arabic music of Yuval Ron and his musicians, together with enchanting Belly Dancer Maya. Be stirred by the poetry of Emma Rosenthal, Saleem Azuka, Dima and others. Kublai Kwan brings Korean Rap elements to the mix. Palestinian and Syrian speakers will help us understand the Middle East more deeply. KPFK's own Sonali Kolhatkar will present songs and information about Afghanistan not available on Fox news! Other surprise guests will add to an entertaining and informative evening. Come and be inspired by our variety program and savor delicious foods from far away places. Donation $5 at the door For further information call the Coalition for World Peace 323.653.3292 Coalition for World Peace [link] |
| Tecnnology News Tidbits | 0 comments |
 27 Jun 2003 @ 16:25Afghans launch new mobile network Afghanistan will get its second telecoms network within a matter of weeks. Online gambling sparks trade war The US is asked to justify its laws on internet gambling after the Caribbean country of Antigua complains to the global trade umpire. Wi-fi will be 'next dot.com crash' Hopes of a profit bonanza from setting up wireless broadband networks will be dashed, a technology consultancy warns. Polynesians get free wireless web The tiny South Pacific island of Niue is the first nation to get free wireless internet services. Judges hand it to asymmetry A book about the uneven Universe wins the prestigious Aventis Prize for the best popular science publication in 2003. EverQuest exposes cost of sexism Online fantasy games are not free of the realities of sexism a study finds Vatican unveils virtual tour The Vatican offers a virtual tour of the famous Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo as part of upgrades to its website. Student designs diabetic 'watch' A Nottingham student hopes to help diabetics with a painless method of testing blood sugar levels. Strato-plane looks skyward British engineers prepare to send a solar-powered propeller-driven vehicle to an altitude of 132,000 feet (40 kilometres). |
| Online N. American Bird Song Guide | 0 comments |
 27 Jun 2003 @ 16:16Guide to North American Bird Songs and Sounds Remarkable in that it allows you to search by how the bird song sounds -- single note, double note, or complex song -- and then listen to the audio files. This guide will help you identify songs and sounds of North American birds. As you step through the guide, you will be asked whether the sound was simple or complex, musical or harsh, etc, a set of choices of sound attributes. For each choice, a list of birds whose sounds conform to this description is given. If you select one of these and click the "Go" button, you will see a pointer to a sound file of that bird, a text description of the sound you will hear, and a sonogram of the sound. |
| Europe Takes Bite At Bush | 0 comments |
 27 Jun 2003 @ 15:44Europe Takes Bite At Bush BRUSSELS, June 24, 2003 The European Union on Tuesday rejected a complaint from President Bush that the EU's restrictions on genetically modified crops are hurting poor African farmers. "It is false we are anti-biotechnology or anti-developing countries," said EU spokesman Gerassimos Thomas. "These things said by the United States are simply not true." On Monday, Mr. Bush criticized European restrictions on bio-engineered food, saying they were based on unfounded, unscientific health fears. "Because of these artificial obstacles, many African nations avoid investing in biotechnology, worried that their products will be shut out of important European markets," Mr. Bush told a meeting of the Biotechnology Industry Association in Washington. "For the sake of a continent threatened by famine, I urge the European governments to end their opposition to biotechnology," he added. U.S. farmers estimate EU biotech restrictions have cost them nearly $300 million a year in lost corn exports alone. The issue has soured the world's biggest trading relationship and will loom large at an EU-U.S. summit Wednesday in Washington. Thomas claimed the EU spends seven times more on development aid to Africa than the United States. He said the EU focuses its spending on longer term improvements to help African farmers improve their yields. U.S. officials have previously blamed the EU restrictions for decisions by African nations to reject American food aid because it contains genetically modified grain. European Union authorities imposed a moratorium on the import of genetically modified food products in 1998, responding to mounting fears of European consumers about possible health risks from the products. Talks between the two sides broke off last week at the World Trade Organization in Geneva and the United States said it would seek a WTO ruling to end the EU moratorium on grounds that it is an unfair trade barrier. Genetically modified crops are engineered by scientists to be heartier, yield more food or require less water or pesticide. Proponents say genetically modified foods offer developing countries a chance to make their farms more productive, which will not only feed their people but also allow their economies to diversify away from subsistence farming, increase education levels and reduce poverty. The Department of Agriculture convened a meeting this week of 100 farm ministers to discuss the promise of GM food. Protesters outside the talks spoke not of promise, but peril. Opponents say not enough is known about the safety of the food, or the effect of the "GM" plants on the environment. At least one GM food company does not allow farmers to save seeds from one crop to plant the next year's, a traditional practice. Some GM crops could spread to fields where non-GM crops are grown. Other critics say the problem for African farmers is the lack of access to Western markets, thanks to barriers like the EU's Common Agricultural Policy and U.S. farm subsidies. With world commodity prices falling, it's possible the problem isn't the size of the food supply but how it is distributed, some observers note. |
| Zionist Terroism | 0 comments |
 27 Jun 2003 @ 15:40To clarify, since there was some misunderstandings in the past, I am posting this article simply to represent diverse opinions on this subject. For me any death of a mother's child is a wrongful one. Opinion, June 2003, Al-Jazeerah.info Mark Franklin 6/13/03 Zionist Terrorism While Palestinians at large try to follow the Road Map to peace, Zionist terrorists continue down the Highway to Hell. During the course of the last several few weeks, noticeably evident in the last few days, we have seen little change with respect to the Mid-east's newfound plan for peace, commonly referred to as the "Road Map." This is largely because, while Palestinians at large are trying to follow it, the Israeli government has largely ignored it, continuing on its high-speed joyride down the highway to hell. In this respect, a long and noticeable trend continues. And it is time to put this in perspective, once and for all. Click on story title for complete article... |
| The FCC's Strange Non-Profit | 0 comments |
 27 Jun 2003 @ 15:31The FCC's Strange Non-Profit: This is starting to emerge as a gigantic kickback scheme. Here is what appears to be going on. Michael Powell, head of the FCC (and Colin Powell's son) sits on the board of directors for the Telecommunications Development Fund. The Telecommunications Development Fund gets its money from interest on deposits paid by large telecommunications companies that bid for licenses in spectrum auctions. The Telecommunications Development Fund spends as much of its money on executive salaries as it does to help telecom start-ups. The FCC's Strange Non-Profit FCC Chairman Michael Powell runs venture capital firm that claims it’s private By Bob Williams The Telecommunications Development Fund was created by Congress in 1996 to kick-start small communications firms in hopes of spurring innovation and competition. Instead, the six-year-old fund has paid more than $7 million in executive salaries and other expenses while investing only $9.4 million of seed money in start-ups. “It may be totally legal, but it smells to high heaven,” says Stuart Gilman, president of the Ethics Resource Center, a Washington group that advises businesses and non-profits on ethics issues. Gilman was a top official at the federal government’s Office of Government Ethics from 1988 to 2001. Compete Story... |
| Could You Have Passed the 8th Grade in 1895? | 0 comments |
 27 Jun 2003 @ 15:25Could You Have Passed the 8th Grade in 1895? Probably Not...Take a Look by Michael Hodges This is a sub section of the Grandfather Education Report, a chapter of the comprehensive Grandfather Economic Report series of mini-reports with dramatic pictures on critical subjects proving serious threats facing the economic future of our young, compared to prior generations. Poor education quality is a major threat to our nation, partly caused by unacceptable teaching methods, and dumbed-down textbooks and test standards. Questions: What percentage of this year's seniors and last year's high school graduates could pass the following 8th grade test required in 1895, even if the few outdated questions were modernized? How many college students could pass it? For that matter, what percentage of high school teachers could pass it? And - -what percentage of today's schools have standards for promotion from 8th grade equal to or tougher than those required in 1895? 8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, Kansas - 1895 This Is The Eighth-Grade Final Exam* From 1895 from Salina, Kansas. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas and reprinted by the Salina Journal. *Source - this exam information was sent to this author on February 12, 2001 by OkieVan@aol.com, a reader of this Grandfather Economic Report series. (other sites commenting on this exam are at http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.htm, which does not question the exam but questions validity of the test questions in today's' world, while also showing an exam in the 1870s - - and, http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/1895exam.htm, which appears to add proof of the existence of this exam while questioning if perhaps it was intended for other than 8th graders). The author would like to hear from others with useful information regarding this and other exams of that era. |