People should not fear their governments; governments should fear their people.
2nd Space Tourist Soars Into Orbit. The world’s second space tourist soared into orbit Thursday on a Russian rocket, overcoming last-minute jitters as he embarked on a $20 million ride to the International Space Station. [AP World News]
I’m glad to see this is getting more coverage. Besides being the first African in space, this guy paid $5 million less than Dennis Tito. I hope the price continues to drop.
Chirac rejects Le Pen debate. President Jacques Chirac refuses to take on his far-right rival
Jean-Marie Le Pen in a TV debate, a tradition of the French
presidential campaign. [BBC News: world]
bq. Despite some pressure to take on Mr Le Pen and his extremist views, Mr Chirac declared that such “intolerance and hatred” made a debate impossible.
I wonder how many people in France see the irony of this statement? Libertarian Samizdata had this to say about one of the candidates, Alain Madelin of the Liberal Democracy Party: “Advocates Anglo-Saxon style free market reforms. Very unpopular. Doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of even getting past the first round.”
According to the chart at the bottom of the BBC story, he got 3.91% of the vote. So, perhaps 3.91% of the French voters see the irony.
Argentine economy chief quits. Jorge Remes Lenicov resigns as economy minister after less than four
months in the post, as protests swell at the country’s crisis. [BBC News: world]
Since Lenicov’s “reform” efforts were really just more of the same things that causes the problem in the first place, I would say good riddance. As if it wasn’t bad enough that he tried to put Argentina even further in debt to the IMF, he also wanted to steal 60% of the bank deposits in the country and replace them with worthless government bonds.
Neanderthals ‘used violence’. Evidence gleaned from the study of a skeleton found in French caves
suggests the Neanderthals were war-mongerers. [BBC News: sci/tech]
The second paragraph more accurately sums up the article: “The early hunter-gatherers got into fights and used weapons, according to the results of a study of a skeleton uncovered in French caves.”
Of course, this isn’t the interesting thing from my point of view. What I find surprising is that a bunch of scientists are acting like this is surprising and new information! Apparently they’re all a bunch of Europeans–maybe they’re even more clueless than American social scientists?
Given the French election results, I thought it would be interesting to revisit a list of candidates published on the 13th by Libertarian Samizdata. According to the list, there was another Nazi candidate besides Le Pen. Do they actually call themselves “National Socialists” openly?
I haven’t seen coverage mentioning how many votes the candidates below the top three got, but since they’re almost all some variant on “Communist,” the conventional wisdom is probably right about Le Pen not standing a chance. But then, they laughed at Hitler too–until it was too late.
Anti-gun Rep. Waxman Tries to Boot TV Cameraman From House Hearing. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., tried unsuccessfully Thursday to have an accredited TV news photographer thrown out of a House subcommittee hearing.
The hearing focused on whether to limit liability lawsuits against gun makers. Waxman, who favors gun control, insisted the cameraman was videotaping on behalf of the National Rifle Association.
The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection was hearing testimony on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (H.R. 2037), a bill designed to stop lawsuits against the gun industry for actions taken by criminals using their products, when Waxman challenged the presence of the television camera. [FirearmNews.com]
It’s unclear what gave Waxman (or the other two Democrats who complained) the idea that the cameraman worked for the NRA. Nor is it clear why it matters who he worked for. Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), the ranking Democratic member of the subcommittee, made an interesting comment:
bq. “The identification in his pocket shows that he’s accredited press and, I think, as such that he’s entitled to record,” Stearns ruled.
But Towns and Waxman continued their challenge.
“No. I have a driver’s license that says ‘New York State’ in my pocket, but I’m not here representing New York State. I’m here as a member of the United States Congress,” Towns continued. “So, the fact that he can pull something out of his pocket doesn’t satisfy me.
It’s not often you catch a member of Congress openly admitting he’s not there to represent his constituents!
Is It Apple Or Quality? [MacSlash: A daily dose of Macintosh News and Discussion]
bq. If another computer company was to come along and do what Apple does (whatever that may or may not be), only better would we be willing to make the switch or is it that we just like Apple and our elitist status???”
I’d switch in a heartbeat. I don’t think it’s going to happen, though. Just because Apple has abandoned the Newton and is in the process of abandoning the Mac, doesn’t mean they will allow anyone else to take over those technologies.
French urged to stop Le Pen. Mainstream parties call on voters to support Jacques Chirac against
the far-right National Front in the second round of the presidential
poll. [BBC News: world]
This isn’t really surprising to me. The news has had plenty of stories recently about anti-semitism in France, and a friend who travels there fairly often has told me about how non-white people are routinely hassled by gangs of French cops with submachine guns. What’s more, anyone who’s been paying attention to recent European history knows that it’s not unknown for a socialist country to get taken over by a charismatic national socialist politician. For anyone who needs a reminder, I recommend The Road to Serfdom, by F.A. Hayek.
Egg backs digital payments. Sending an e-mail payment could signal the death knell for the
traditional cheque book, hopes internet bank Egg. [BBC News: sci/tech]
bq. To use Egg Pay customers send an e-mail stating which account they wish the money to come from, providing the recipient’s e-mail address and a choice of two security questions.
The idea of emailing money has been around for a while in the form of various “digital cash” systems. This particular version sounds really insecure, though. They should at least require a PGP signature!
FBI puts banks on terror alert. The FBI warns banks in the north east of the USA that terrorists are
planning attacks. [BBC News: world]
I think someone needs to tell the FBI the story about the boy who cried wolf.