[gweekly] PT1 Weekly Project Gutenberg Newsletter
Michael Hart
hart at pglaf.org
Wed Jan 19 09:54:40 PST 2005
GWeekly_January_19.txt
The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, January 19, 2005 PT1
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
[Search for "*eBook" or "*Intro". . .to jump to that section, etc.]
*eBook Milestones
*Introduction
*Hot Requests New Sites and Announcements
*Continuing Requests and Announcements
*Progress Report
*Distributed Proofreaders Collection Report
*Project Gutenberg Consortia Center Report
*Permanent Requests For Assistance:
*Donation Information
*Access To The Project Gutenberg Collections
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*Instant Access To Our Latest eBooks
*Have We Given Away A Trillion Yet?
*Flashback
*Weekly eBook update:
This is now in PT2 of the Weekly Newsletter
Also collected in the Monthly Newsletter
Corrections in separate section
59 New Public Domain eBooks Under US Copyright
*Headline News from NewsScan and Edupage
*Information About the Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists
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*eBook Milestones
15,094 eBooks As Of Today!!!
12,021 New eBooks Since The Start Of 2001 <<<
We Have Produced 138 eBooks in 2005
We Are ~51% of the Way from 10,000 to 20,000
We Are ~02% of the Way from 15,000 to 20,000
4,906 to go to 20,000!!!
We have now averaged ~449 eBooks per year since July 4th, 1971!!!
We Are Averaging About 299 eBooks Per Month This Year
69 Per Week in 2005
It took ~32 years, from 1971 to 2003 to do our 1st 10,000 eBooks
It took ~32 months, from 2001 to 2004 for our last 10,000 eBooks
It took ~10 years from 1993 to 2003 to grow from 100 eBooks to 10,100
It took ~1.25 years from Oct. 2003 to Jan. 2005 from 10,000 to 15,000
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***Introduction
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***Progress Report, including Distributed Proofreaders
In the first 00.50 months of this year, we produced 138 new eBooks.
It took us from July 1971 to July 1994 to produce our first 138 eBooks!
That's 2 WEEKS as Compared to ~23 Years!
59 New eBooks This Week
79 New eBooks Last Week
138 New eBooks This Month [Jan]
299 Average Per Month in 2005
336 Average Per Month in 2004
355 Average Per Month in 2003
203 Average Per Month in 2002
103 Average Per Month in 2001
138 New eBooks in 2005
4049 New eBooks in 2004
4164 New eBooks in 2003
2441 New eBooks in 2002
1240 New eBooks in 2001
====
12032 New eBooks Since Start Of 2001
That's Only 48.50 Months!
15,094 Total Project Gutenberg eBooks
11,044 eBooks This Week Last Year
====
4,050 New eBooks In Last 12 Months
406 eBooks From Project Gutenberg of Australia
*Distributed Proofreaders Collection Report
Since completing its first eBook (#3320) on Mar 13th, 2001, the
Distributed Proofreaders team has now produced its 6,281st eBook (#14729)
Of that total there are 5,895 unique, brand-new titles.
Projects completed during the past year:
Feb 2004 - 421
Mar 2004 - 365
Apr 2004 - 276
May 2004 - 235
Jun 2004 - 232
Jul 2004 - 231
Aug 2004 - 220
Sep 2004 - 182
Oct 2004 - 263
Nov 2004 - 280
Dec 2004 - 287
Jan 2005 - 150 (as of 19 Jan)
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*Project Gutenberg Consortia Center Report
Please note the addition of the Internet Archive
marked with <<< below.
PGCC's current eBook and eDocument Collections listings
of 18 collections. . .with this week's listing as:
Alex-Wire Tap Collection, 2,036 HTML eBook Files
Black Mask Collection, 12,000 HTML eBook Files
The Coradella Bookshelf Collection, 141 eBook Files
DjVu Collection, 272 PDF and DJVU eBook Files
eBooks at Adelaide Collection, 27,709 eBook Files
Himalayan Academy, 3,400 HTML eBook Files
Internet Archive ~30,000 eBook Files [In Progress] <<<
Literal Systems Collection, 68 MP3 eBook Files
Logos Group Collection, ~34,000 TXT eBook Files
Poet's Corner Poetry Collection, 6,700 Poetry Files
Professor Mao's Chinese eBooks 300 eBook files
Project Gutenberg Collection, 15,035 eBook Files
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Swami Center Collection, 78 HTML eBook Files
Tony Kline Collection, 223 HTML eBook Files
Widger Library, 2,600 HTML eBook Files
CIA's Electronic Reading Room, 2,019 Reference Files
=======Grand Total Files=========~137,142 Total Files=====
Average Size of the Collections 8,067.18 Total Files
These eBooks are catalogued as per the instructions of
their donors: some are one file per book; some have a
file for each chapter; and some even have a file for a
single page or poem. . .or are overcounted for reasons
I have not mentioned. . .each of which could cause the
overcounting or duplication of numbers.
If we presume 2 out of 3 of these files are overcounts,
that leaves a unique book total of
~45,714 Unique eBooks
If we presume 3 out of 4 of these files are overcounts,
that leaves a unique book total of
~34,286 Unique eBooks
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Today Is Day #14 of 2005
This Completes Week #2 and Month #00.50
350 Days/51 Weeks To Go [We get 52 Wednesdays this year]
4,985 Books To Go To #20,000
[Our production year begins/ends
1st Wednesday of the month/year]
79 Weekly Average in 2005
78 Weekly Average in 2004
79 Weekly Average in 2003
47 Weekly Average in 2002
24 Weekly Average in 2001
41 Only 41 Numbers Left On Our Reserved Numbers list
[Used to be well over 100]
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Statistical Review
In the 2 weeks of this year, we have produced 138 new eBooks.
It took us from 1971 to 1993 to produce our FIRST 138 eBooks!!!
That's 2 WEEKS as Compared to ~23 YEARS!!!
FLASHBACK!
Here's a sample of what books we were doing around eBook #138
Mon Year Title and Author [filename.ext] ###
A "C" Following The eText # Indicates That This eText Is Under Copyright
Jul 1994 The Republic by Plato, Jowett, Wiretap [repubxxx.xxx] 150
Jul 1994 The Lost Continent, by Edgar Rice Burroughs[ERB#2][lcontxxx.xxx] 149
Jul 1994 The Autobiography of Ben Franklin [bfautxxx.xxx] 148
Jul 1994 Common Sense, by Thomas Paine [Paine #1] [comsnxxx.xxx] 147
Jul 1994 A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett[#3] [lprssxxx.xxx] 146
Jul 1994 Middlemarch, by George Eliot[#1] [per PBS series] [mdmarxxx.xxx] 145
Jul 1994 The Voyage Out, by Virginia Woolf [vooutxxx.xxx] 144
Jun 1994 The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy [Hardy4][mayrcxxx.xxx] 143
Jun 1994 The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)142
Jun 1994 Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen [Austen #3] [mansfxxx.xxx] 141
Jun 1994 The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair [junglxxx.xxx] 140
Jun 1994 The Lost World/Arthur Conan Doyle [Challenger #2] [lostwxxx.xxx] 139
Jun 1994 Biography of George Sand, by Rene Doumic [sandbxxx.xxx] 138
Jun 1994 Sara Crewe by Frances Hodgson Burnett [Burnett#2] [saracxxx.xxx] 137
Jun 1994 A Child's Garden of Verses, R. L. Stevenson [#3][childxxx.xxx] 136
May 1994 Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo [In English] [lesmsxxx.xxx] 135
May 1994 Maria or the Wrongs of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft [mariaxxx.xxx] 134
May 1994 The Damnation of Theron Ware by Harold Frederic #1[dwarexxx.xxx] 133
May 1994 The Art of War, by Sun Tzu [Tr. by Lionel Giles] 132
Have We Given Away A Trillion Books/Dollars Yet???
With 15,094 eBooks online as of January 19, 2005 it now takes an average
of ~1% of the world gaining a nominal value of $1.04 from each book.
1% of the world population is 64,112,028 x 15,094 x $1.04 = $1+ trillion
With 15,094 eBooks online as of January 19, 2005 it now takes an average
of 100,000,000 readers gaining a nominal value of $0.66 from each book,
This "cost" is down from about $.91 when we had 11,044 eBooks a year ago.
100 million readers is only ~1.5% of the world's population!
Can you imagine ~15,094 books each costing ~$.25 less a year later???
Or. . .would this say it better?
Can you imagine ~15,094 books each costing 1/3 less a year later???
At 15,094 eBooks in 33 Years and 06.50 Months We Averaged
450 Per Year [We do about 3/4 that much per month these days!]
37.5 Per Month
1.23 Per Day
At 138 eBooks Done In The 14 Days Of 2005 We Averaged
11 Per Day
69 Per Week
299 Per Month
The production statistics are calculated based on full weeks'
production; each production-week starts/ends Wednesday noon,
starts with the first Wednesday of January. January 5th was
the first Wednesday of 2005, and thus ended PG's production
year of 2004 and began the production year of 2005 at noon.
This year there will be 52 Wednesdays, thus no extra week.
***
*Headline News from NewsScan and Edupage
[PG Editor's Comments In Brackets]
FBI AXES CARNIVORE, EATS INVESTMENT
The FBI has abandoned its custom-built Internet surveillance
technology, dubbed Carnivore, and is now using commercial software to
eavesdrop on computer network traffic during investigations of suspected
criminals, terrorists and spies. In addition, it's asking Internet service
providers to conducting wiretaps on targeted customers, when necessary.
Carnivore initially was developed because commercial tools available in
2000 were inadequate, but FBI spokesman Paul Bresson says the Bureau moved
a while ago to using popular commercial wiretap software because it's less
expensive and has improved in its ability to copy e-mails to and from a
specific Internet account without affecting other subscribers. "We see the
value in the commercially available software; we're using it more now and
we're asking the Internet service providers that have the capabilities to
collect data in compliance with court orders," says Bresson. The FBI didn't
disclose how much it had spent on Carnivore, but outside experts estimate
expenditures at somewhere between $6 million and $15 million.
(AP 18 Jan 2005)
<http://apnews.excite.com/article/20050119/D87MS3CO0.html>
GPS EVERYWHERE
The rules about the use of GPS devices are widely varied: whereas a
federal judge in New York has ruled that police have a right to place
tracking devices on vehicles without a warrant (since the drivers should
have no expectation of privacy on public roads), California has restricted
car rental companies' use of GPS to track customers (a law adopted after a
company fined customers $3,000 because their GPS system indicated the cars
had crossed the state line into Nevada in violation of the rental
agreement). But the fact is that GPS is here to stay: David Gilmore, the
court-appointed transportation administrator for D.C. Public Schools, says
of the use of GPS to monitor school bus drivers in that jurisdiction:
"As uncomfortable as this might make them, they are now being watched
by satellite every minute of their workday, like it or not."
(Washington Post 14 Jan 2005)
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10788-2005Jan14.html>
WILD WEB JUSTICE
Ohio trial court judge James L. Kimbler has set up a personal Sony
digital camcorder in his courtroom and using it to post online video of
people being sentenced for robbery, rape and other crimes. Kimbler says,
"It's all public record anyway. If the general public and law students know
what we do it increases their understanding." Lloyd Snyder, a professor of
legal ethics, predicts: "This is coming. With 'Court TV' available, people
are getting used to having things like this out there, and it's also
entertainment. It is the right of the defendant to be tried in the open.
There is no correlative right for a defendant to have a private trial."
(AP/USA Today 18 Jan 2005)
<http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-01-18-sentenced-online_x.htm>
APPLE SUES STUDENT FOR DIVULGING SECRETS
[Another article on this is below in the Edupage section]
Nicholas Ciarelli launched what has become one of the most influential
Apple-focused Web sites when he was 13 as a hangout for fellow
Mac enthusiasts, but his penchant for posting trade secrets has gotten the
now-19-year-old Harvard student, who publishes online under the name Nick
dePlume, in hot water. Apple filed a lawsuit Jan. 4 against ThinkSecret.com
and its unnamed tipsters, charging: "Apple is informed and believes that
Defendant Nick dePlume is an individual who uses the pseudonym 'Nick
dePlume' but whose true name and identity cannot be confirmed at this
time." Apple, known for its highly secretive culture, says it believes
ThinkSecret obtains its information by illegally soliciting information
about unreleased Apple products from individuals who violate their
confidentiality agreements. In fact, on Dec. 28 the site correctly
predicted Apple's debut of its $499 Mac Mini and a low-cost iPod. In
response to Apple's accusations, Ciarelli replies, "I didn't do anything
wrong. My reporting practices are the same that any journalists use. I talk
to sources, I confirm details, I follow up on tips and leads that I get."
It will be difficult for Apple to prove that Ciarelli's coverage has
violated its trade secrets, says an intellectual property attorney,
noting that trade secrets usually refer to the formula behind products,
not simply the details about their release.
(Wall Street Journal 14 Jan 2005)
<http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110566157500825906,00.html> (sub req'd)
[Here's the related announcement]
NEW MAC TARGETS LOW-END MARKET
Apple Computer's new, stripped-down Mac Mini is priced as low as $499,
reflecting Apple's strategy to position the Mac as an entertainment
and communication device designed for today's digital household, which
views the PC as simply another appliance. The move is fueled in part by the
company's success with its iPod digital music players, which has reached
mass market proportions with 10 million sold over the last three years. "I
wish I had a nickel for every time people have suggested that we do this,"
says Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "We want to price this Mac so that people who
are thinking of switching will have no excuse." Piper Jaffray analyst Gene
Munster says most consumers won't give up their Microsoft PCs, but may
consider buying a Mac as an additional computer for entertainment.
"It's not about switching but adding. People may still need a PC because
of work activities, but this is for doing multimedia activities and searching
the Internet." In addition to the low-cost Mac Mini, Apple also debuted a $99
iPod Shuffle, which comes without a screen and can hold about 120 songs,
compared with 5,000 on a standard iPod. (New York Times 12 Jan 2005)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/12/technology/12apple.html>
SQUEEZING MORE OUT OF JPEG
Allume Systems, based in California, says the new version of its
StuffIt compression technology can reduce JPEG files by an additional 28%
without loss of quality. The announcement met with some skepticism among
compression specialists, but researchers have previously suggested that
significant improvements -- perhaps as high as 30% -- were possible by
enhancing certain aspects of the JPEG technology. Data compression is
achieved by finding replicated patterns in data and encoding them so that
they can be represented by a smaller amount of data. Allume would like to
see its new StuffIt Image Format (SIF) replace JPEG as the dominant method
for storing files, noting that it could save significant storage space for
those with very large digital image collections. But some experts point to
the new, improved JPEG2000, which could provide comparable benefits. "It is
not only technically advanced, but is royalty and license-free as well,"
says Mike Reddy, a compression expert at the University of Glamorgan in
Wales. (New Scientist 12 Jan 2005)
<http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6876>
WIRELESS HOTMAIL IN INDIA
[India will be following in the steps of China, worth watching.
Of course, due to a less repressive government, in some areas
India will surpass China very quickly, but slower in others.]
Microsoft has inked a deal with two Indian wireless carriers to
deliver e-mail and instant messages via text messaging. BPL Mobile and
Airtel launched two new services on Thursday -- Mobile-mail and MSN
Messenger over SMS -- but have not released details on whether or how much
they plan to charge. Microsoft is not the first to offer Indian consumers
such services -- Yahoo already has similar arrangements with wireless
carriers serving India, including Orange, Hutch and Airtel.
(CNet News.com 13 Jan 2005)
<http://news.com.com/Hotmail+goes+mobile+in+India/2100-1036_3-5535294.html>
PAINT ON A LITTLE WI-FI SECURITY
Tired of worrying whether your wireless hotspot is hosting "drive-by"
users? Force Field Wireless has developed a do-it-yourself DefendAir paint
"laced with copper and aluminum fibers that form an electromagnetic shield,
blocking most radio waves and protecting wireless networks." One coat of
the water-based paint "shields Wi-Fi, WiMax and Bluetooth networks
operating at frequencies from 100 megahertz to 2.4 gigahertz," while two or
three applications are "good for networks operating at up to five
gigahertz." Force Field Wireless warns that the paint must be applied
carefully -- too little, and the radio waves will "leak"; too much and you
risk hindering the performance of radios, televisions and cell phones. And
while the only color available is a dreary gray, DefendAir can also be used
as a primer so you can paint over it with your favorite hue.
(The Register 13 Jan 2005)
<http://www.theregister.com/2005/01/13/wi_fi_paint/>
SECURITY I: VANDALISM OF COLLEGE NETWORKS
[In other words, your computer has to be vulnerable to ours,
before we will let you in. . .what happens when one secure
system of this type tries to contact another one. . . ? ]
Early this month an intruder penetrated a central computer at George
Mason University and attempted to access GMU's 130 other servers -- which
hold such information as grades, financial aid, and payrolls. In the past
two years, similar attacks have occurred at the universities of Georgia,
Texas, Missouri, and California. To resist such attacks, some schools are
beginning to use software that scans individual computers before they are
allowed to connect to campus networks, and other institutions are setting up
multiple smaller networks that house sensitive data, keeping them separate
from the main networks. (Washington Post 12 Jan 2005)
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5188-2005Jan12.html>
SECURITY III: THE CRIMINAL CLASS
In an interview with journalist John Markoff of the New York Times,
security expert Bruce Schneier suggests that the problem of Web vandalism
has fundamentally changed in the last several years. Previously, hackers
were mainly kids, engaging in hacking as a kind of intellectual challenge or
a sport, but more recently hackers are coming mainly from criminals "in
Third World countries, from Africa, South America, Asia, and the former
Soviet Union" -- a development that makes life much harder for security
officials. Schneier, whose latest book is "Beyond Fear," is founder and
chief technology officer of Counterpane Internet Security.
(New York Times 13 Jan 2005)
<http://tech.nytimes.com/pages/technology/index.html>
SECURITY IV: NEW FBI SOFTWARE NOT USABLE
[Another article listed in the Edupage section below]
A new FBI computer system called Virtual Case File, designed to help
agents share information to ward off terrorist attacks, may have to be
discarded because it doesn't work as designed. The agency will be soliciting
proposals for new software from outside contractors for new software. Sen.
Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), chairman of the Senate appropriations subcommittee,
calls the development "a stunning reversal of progress" and adds: "If the
software has failed, that sets us back a long way. This has been a
fits-and-starts exercise, and a very expensive one for a very long time.
There are very serious questions about whether the FBI is able to keep up
with the expanding responsibility and the amount of new dollars that are
flowing into it. We have fully funded it at its requested levels." Science
Applications, the company that developed the system, says it "successfully
completed" delivery of the initial version of the Virtual Case File software
last month. (Los Angeles Times 13 Jan 2005) <http://www.latimes.com/
technology/la-na-fbi13jan13,1,2171776.story?coll=la-headlines-technology>
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*
>From Edupage
OPERA BROWSER FREE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
Opera Software said this week that its Opera browser will be freely
available to any university worldwide, in an effort to protect higher
education from flaws in "more vulnerable browsers." The company also
touted its browser's customization features, which would allow
colleges and universities to personalize the browser for their own
campus. Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner said his company's browser is
"fully standards-compliant and offers extensive administration
possibilities for network configuration." Institutions including
Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and
Oxford University have reportedly already taken Opera up on its offer.
CNET, 12 January 2005
http://news.com.com/2100-1032_3-5533666.html
IBM OFFERS PATENTS TO OPEN SOURCE PROJECTS
IBM will begin allowing the use of 500 technologies covered by patents
it holds by developers working on open source projects. While IBM will
not forfeit the patents, it will seek no licensing fees from groups
that use them on projects that meet a definition by the Open Source
Initiative. Despite past donations of intellectual property to open
source groups, the new program is seen as a fundamental shift in the
company's approach because unlike those donations, this one does not
hold the potential to harm IBM's competitors. The 500 patents that
will be available involve 14 categories of technology and do not target
any specific open source project. IBM said it hopes to create a "patent
commons," including the initial 500 as well as other patents, that
other companies could join. IBM's new approach to managing its
intellectual property, however, has not diminished its pursuit of new
patents. IBM, which is the world's largest patent holder, collected
3,248 new patents in 2004, 1,300 more than Matsushita Electric
Industrial, which had the second-highest tally for the year.
New York Times, 11 January 2005 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/technology/11soft.html
APPLE UNVEILS PRODUCTS FOR WIDER MARKETS
At the Macworld trade show in San Francisco, Apple Computer cofounder
and CEO Steve Jobs presented several new low-priced products targeted
at a broader group of consumers than current products. Notably, Apple
showed its Mac Mini, a very small computer with a starting price of
$499, and the iPod Shuffle, which will sell for as little as $99. The
iPod Shuffle, which is the shape of a pack of gum, has no screen and
uses flash memory, like that in digital cameras, rather than a hard
drive. Apple's entry into the digital music market has been a boon for
the company, with consumers buying 4.5 million of the current iPod
models during the 2004 holiday season. Some analysts believe Apple may
be able to capitalize on interest in its music products to appeal to
consumers who previously would not have been likely to consider
purchasing an Apple computer. Tim Bajarin, an analyst with Creative
Strategies, said it would be an "intriguing" goal for Apple to
"convince traditional PC users to make the Mac the center of their
creative, digital work."
Reuters, 12 January 2005
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=7300623
FBI'S NEW COMPUTER SYSTEM ALREADY OLD
A complete overhaul of the FBI's computer system following the
September 11 attacks may prove to have been wasted effort, according to
the agency. Criticism was leveled at intelligence agencies following
the attacks of September 11, with some arguing that, had information
been freely shared among the agencies, the attacks might have been
prevented. The FBI undertook to replace all of its systems at one time,
which agency officials said was the wrong approach. One official
compared the initiative to "changing wheels on a car that is going at
70 miles per hour." Such an overhaul, he said, should be done in
stages. Critics faulted the old system for being largely paper-based,
preventing agents in the field from accessing needed information or
from filing reports electronically. An application called Virtual Case
File was supposed to fix many of those problems, but after numerous delays,
the software that was finally delivered last month is largely unusable.
Reuters, 13 January 2005
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=7324403
APPLE SUES HARVARD STUDENT
Apple Computer has filed a lawsuit against the operator of a Web site
that revealed information about upcoming products before the company
publicly unveiled them. The ThinkSecret Web site posted rumors of a
sub-$500 Macintosh computer and an iPod that uses flash memory just
days before those products were announced at the Macworld show. Apple
has a reputation for being one of the most secretive high-tech
companies concerning new products, and it alleges that the information
posted by ThinkSecret was obtained illegally. The operator of the site,
however, which many industry analysts regard as one of the premier
rumor sites about Apple, turned out to be 19-year-old Nick Ciarelli, a
freshman at Harvard. Ciarelli, who started the site six years ago, said
he has done nothing wrong in collecting material to post. "My reporting
practices are the same that any journalists use," he said. "I talk to
sources, I confirm details, I follow up on tips and leads that I get."
Intellectual-property attorney Robert E. Camors said it will be
difficult for Apple to prove harm in the case because the information
revealed does not constitute trade secrets as traditionally defined and
because the information was not revealed sufficiently ahead of company
announcements for competitors to benefit from it.
Wall Street Journal, 14 January 2005 (sub. req'd)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110566157500825906,00.html
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***
*HEADLINE NEWS AVOIDED BY MOST OF THE MAJOR U.S. MEDIA
Tsunami death toll reaches ~200,000 [details below]
Official US aid to tsunami victims being scaled back,
often at the request of the local governments who are
defensive about having armed US troops on their soil.
Troops now requested to return to US ships at night,
and to leave permanently no later than March 31.
*
From: The New Yorker
"The Coming Wars: What the Pentagon Can Now Do in Secret"
US intelligence and military officials quoted as saying:
"The next strategic target was Iran."
Seymour Hersh's comments about the US having plans
to include Iran along with Iraq in efforts to clean
up the Middle East are receiving denials, even those
"non-denial denials" made famous by Nixon concering
the Republican financed break in of the Democratic
National Headquarters at Watergate.
All sides seem to be keeping an extremely low profile
on this issue, as both US and Iranian officials agree
there is little to be gained by saying very much.
Official US sources would not deny that they had such
plans for Iran, but rather focused on attacking the
article as being "riddled with errors," but not false
in its statement concerning their plans for Iran.
*
Spec/4 Charles Graner Jr. was the first US soldier
convicted of prisoner mistreatment [read torture]
in Iraq, yet what they don't report is that every
one of Graner's superiors refused to appear or to
give written testimony. . .no involvement at all.
In case you are not familiar with US Army ranks,
a Spec/4 is not quite the lowest rank, but close.
Lower are those a single stripe, or no stripe.
Thus you can safely presume that most of those
at Abu Ghraib prison were his superiors.
Graner said he was willing to serve his time,
even though he was obeyin orders, if they would
allow him to continue to serve. However, after
his sentence is concluded, he will receive a
dishonorable discharge, forfeit benefits, and
be unable to re-enlist in any service.
If you believe what the prosecution is saying,
the entire Abu Ghraib scenario was conceived,
planned, and carried out by the lowest ranking
personnel of the US Army, and no others even
had any idea it was going on.
*STRANGE QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"I'll bet our cumulative IQ
isn't as high as it was
fifty or one hundred years ago."
Andy Rooney, 60 Minutes, CBS 1/16/05
*PREDICTIONS OF THE WEEK
More than the 100 blocks officially announced will be
blocked off from "civilians" during Bush's inauguration.
People with anti-Bush signs and anti-war signs will not
be allowed within viewing distance. . .they won't see Bush,
he won't see them. I'm sure they won't be able to hear
each other either.
Various colored badges, all too reminiscent of the color
coded terrorist threat levels, are being issued to those
who are officially invited to attend, and apparently no
others will be allowed inside this 100 block radius,
in which no vehicles other than police will be allowed.
How is it that the United States is becoming more and more
like our enemies, and less and less like our friends?
By the way, I'll bet there is a decent likelihood that the
100 blocks will be augmented to even greater numbers at
the last minute, if protestors manage to figure out a way
for their opinions to be seen or heard by President Bush.
*ODD STATISTICS OF THE WEEK
1/4 of the new Iraqi Congress must be women.
In how many other countries is this true?
*
Why the dramatic new increase in the tsunami death toll?
The official death toll from the tsunami of December 26th
has now reached 200,000, after literally falling from the
news reports for a few days a week ago because the figures
were topping out as they passed 150,000.
However, Indonesia has finally admitted that the current
death toll from their own internal losses is officially
much greater than the previous listed total for all of
the affected countries. . .now listed at 166,000. Those
listed only as "missing" up until now, 3 1/2 weeks after
the disaster, have finally been listed as "missing and
presumed dead."
***
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