January 07, 2004
The Big Room
Iran will launch a homegrown satellite on a locally produced launchpad. The expertise and infrastructure required to pull that off, even should the first launch fail, is a big deal.
The Mars rover lands in weird stuff that looks like, but 'can't be' mud.
Schwarzenegger warns of economic chaos. I couldn't resist posting that, just because.
A South Asian Free Trade Area comes into being as major members India and Pakistan enter long awaited peace talks. There may even be a mutual extradition pact in the works.
The Indian Institute of Technology is actively promoting entrepreneurship.
The Parmalat explosion spreads messily across the world financial system and numerous companies.
In spite of having been at each other's throats only a few short years ago, Turkey and Syria appear to be moving closer. The two heads of state met for the first time, explicitly stating that they felt pressed to work together in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion. And perhaps, somewhat by US saber rattling at Syria. In geographically related news, Iran and Egypt are speaking again.
Salam Pax reports that you can finally get a cellphone in Iraq.
North Korea makes an offer, has some demands.
South Korea's government is cracking down on immigrants, targeting 150,000 people for forced deportation.
In the UK, a government funded institute declares war on public ownership. So far, they seem to be winning, with a little help from Britain's alleged liberals.
A European airline blacklist will not be made public, even after the tragic crash of a Flash airliner out of Egypt. It turns out that Flash airlines had been banned from Swiss airspace due to safety concerns, but this information was unknown to anyone outside the Swiss government or the EU department that tracks airline histories.
An anarchist declares that the revolution will not be cataclysmic. And what is an anarchist anyway? Some things in the article are described as anarchy that I never would have put in that category.
A Foreign Affairs article explores the divisions in the house of Saud
The Navy Times polled the military about their support for the Iraq war and got a number not much higher than that of the general US public, though political self-identification was skewed heavily right.
Government Executive: US defense contractors to vote on union representation. A two-year contract for rebuilding Iraq goes to Bechtel for $1.8 billion. Report notes that the Pentagon failed to consider privacy issues when looking into the now defunct Total Information Awareness program. FAA maintenance workers may not be given a chance to compete for their own jobs in the face of possible privatization.
Posted by natasha at January 7, 2004 03:33 AM | TrackBack