Ming the Mechanic
The NewsLog of Flemming Funch

Wednesday, January 14, 2004day link 

 Mars
picture The pictures from Mars are pretty damn cool. Particularly the 360 degree QTVR version. Just like being there, I suppose. Seems to be lots of things to explore. As far as red rocks go. One of the ones lying just in front of the lander looks almost artificially angled to me. Would be fun if they had landed on top of an old ruin.

I'm a bit skeptical about Mars. Meaning, I'm not sure I believe this is the most advanced space program. Maybe the most advanced that NASA is carrying out, and hats off to this success for them. But my guess is that there are more hidden groups with considerably more advanced technology, and that they've already been there. And quite possibly made sure that the public program only lands in a place where there's nothing embarrassingly strange within sight.
[ | 2004-01-14 03:00 | 3 comments | PermaLink ]  More >

 National Debt
More on the U.S. national debt, from Al Martin Raw, the article "Scoreboard 2003". Seems to be in the member area, but somebody sent me an e-mail copy.
The total national debt of the United States on a fully realized basis, inclusive of federal, state, county and local debt stood at a record $20.613 trillion (83.73% of said debt having been created from 1981-92 and from 2001 to present.) The total public and private indebtedness of the United States ended the year 2003 at $39.384 trillion. The total public and private assets of the United States ended the year 2003 at $26.134 trillion. Thus, the United States by the end of 2003 has a negative net worth of approximately $13 trillion. The total debt service of the United States ended the year 2003 at 309.4% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product). These are numbers never before seen. This is a higher debt to gross domestic product ratio than any other country on earth, which still services its debt.
Doesn't sound good. I'd like to see some other sources on that, of course. The periods he's mentioning, 81-92 and 2001 to the present, where 83.73% of the debt were generated is when Reagan and the two Bushes have been presidents.
[ | 2004-01-14 03:20 | 3 comments | PermaLink ]  More >

 Humiliation and Terrorism
picture Via Metafilter, an article, "Terrorism's new Mecca" by Jessica Stern. It examines the causes of terrorism.
Several possible root causes have been identified, including, among others, poverty, lack of education, abrogation of human rights, the perception that the enemy is weak-willed. I've been interviewing terrorists around the world over the past five years. Those I interviewed cite many reasons for choosing a life of holy war, and I came to despair of identifying a single root cause of terrorism. But the variable that came up most frequently was not poverty or human-rights abuses, but perceived humiliation. Humiliation emerged at every level of the terrorist groups I studied — leaders and followers.

The "New World Order" is a source of humiliation for Muslims. And for the youth of Islam, it is better to carry arms and defend their religion with pride and dignity than to submit to this humiliation. Part of the mission of jihad is to restore Muslims' pride in the face of humiliation. Violence, in other words, restores the dignity of humiliated youth. Its target audience is not necessarily the victims and their sympathizers, but the perpetrators and their sympathizers. Violence is a way to strengthen support for the organization and the movement it represents.
It rings true more than anything else. No, it is not people who "hate freedom". It is people who's family, who's culture, who's religion, who's countries, who's leaders have been humiliated. And it is people who's pride and dignity are more important to them than their lives. It shouldn't be that hard to understand. Stop carrying out programs of organized humiliation. Better yet, help these folks having something to be proud of.
[ | 2004-01-14 03:42 | 11 comments | PermaLink ]  More >

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