September 02, 2005
Thoughts on Katrina's devastation
I have to admit, when I originally heard about hurricane Katrina, I really had no idea how devastating it was. It was just this morning that I got a real appreciation for the destruction. I was very happy to see that the company I work for donated $1 Million to the American Red Cross in suppport of the disaster relief efforts, and they are matching all employee's contributions as well. That kind of outreach makes me proud to work for this company.
I'm also happy to see that other countries are considering useful ways to help out the U.S.: Schroeder Says IEA May Release Reserves and B.C. Urban Rescue Team Headed to Louisiana.
If you have the ability to help with relief efforts but don't know where to start, try Katrina Relief Info Available on the Web.
Some before and after comparison satellite shots, which really bring home the level of devastation: New Orleans Imagery.
Posted by Michael at 10:04 PM | Comments (0) | World
August 24, 2005
Flooding in Germany
Wow!! Pretty heavy flooding in southern Germany and other parts of Europe!
BBC NEWS | Floods cause havoc across Europe
Posted by Michael at 12:32 PM | Comments (0) | World
May 10, 2005
What I've suspected since 2002
Chicago Tribune | British memo: U.S. data manipulated for Iraq war
This story seems to indicate that I (and many others) were right to suspect that we were being lied to by our own government. Now we are paying for those lies with our money and our lives, while those that lied to us are getting rich.
Text of the story (for entertainment purposes only)...
British memo: U.S. data manipulated for Iraq war By Warren P. Strobel and John Walcott
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Published May 8, 2005
WASHINGTON -- A Michigan congressman is seeking more information from President Bush about a classified British memo, leaked during Britain's recent election campaign, that claims the president decided by summer 2002 to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and was determined to ensure that U.S. intelligence data supported his policy.The memo, in which British foreign policy aide Matthew Rycroft summarized a July 23, 2002, meeting of Prime Minister Tony Blair with top security advisers, reports on a U.S. visit by Richard Dearlove, then head of Britain's MI-6 intelligence service.
The memo does not specify which Bush administration officials met with Dearlove.
The visit took place while the Bush administration was saying publicly that no decision had been made to go to war.
Rep. John Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is circulating a letter asking Bush for an explanation, an aide said.
The MI-6 chief's account of his U.S. visit was paraphrased by the memo: "There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and [weapons of mass destruction]. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. ... There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action."
No weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion.
The White House repeatedly has denied accusations that intelligence estimates were manipulated.
The memo, first disclosed in full by the Sunday Times of London, hasn't been disavowed by the British government.
A White House official said the administration wouldn't comment on the document.
Posted by Michael at 07:00 PM | Comments (0) | World
April 26, 2005
Waste of Lives Confirmed
BBC NEWS | US closes book on Iraq WMD hunt
After all this time, after all those lives, all that property destroyed, we now hav confirmation of what we knew before the war even started: Iraq does not have, and never did have, Weapons of Mass Destruction. It was a lie, an excuse to invade a defenseless country...
Posted by Michael at 12:32 PM | Comments (0) | World
April 13, 2005
A sad tongue-in-cheek article...
An article in the Guardian Unlimited talks about how the number of malnourished children in Iraq has doubled since the invasion... The writer uses humor to get the point across, but the underlying issue is very sad...
Let them eat bombs
Posted by Michael at 03:01 PM | Comments (0) | World
March 03, 2005
Do we have the right to complain about Human Rights?
The US Department of State anually publishes a "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices", pointing out those countries that have poor Human Rights practices and/or environments. See the 2004 report here. Interestingly, the report does not include the United States as one the countries being reported. I wonder why that is, expecially considering that the US Department of State "also included reports on several countries that do not fall into the categories established by these statutes and that thus are not covered by the congressional requirement;" so they obviously have the freedom to choose any country they like. As we ought to be setting the example for the world, our own performance should be measured by the same yardstick as the US Department of State uses for the rest of the world.
Since they are not willing to do that, the effort naturally falls upon another country. China has taken up the challenge for the past six years, and the picture they paint of our Human Rights performance is not very good. This year, using information available to anyone from various news and government sources, the China State Council assembled "The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2004." There is a news story summarizing the findings here, and the full text of the China State Council's report is here.
I've always considered it rude to point out someone else's faults when I have the very same faults; if I wanted respect, it would be necessary to admit my own faults first and then lead by example. Obviously, chivalry is dead when it comes to Human Rights.
Posted by Michael at 12:53 PM | Comments (0) | World
February 05, 2005
What I Heard About Iraq
I have relayed to my friends and family many the things I have heard about Iraq, spoken by our leaders and others, which frighten, sadden, or just plain disgust me. Eliot Weinberger does a fine job of putting together things that he has heard, that I have heard, that all of us have heard at What I Heard about Iraq. Sadly, there are a great deal of my fellow country men and women that seem to be turning a deaf ear to those things they should be concerned about most...
Posted by Michael at 12:37 AM | Comments (0) | World
January 19, 2005
Intel reorganizes... again
Intel has reorganized itself yet again; see Intel overhauls business product lines.... Some are taking a "wait and see" attitude before agreeing that this is a good move; see Intel's Next Contortionist Act. Personally, I'm envious; I've never been organized enough to "reorganize".
One thing I noticed that may cause a problem. Intel is big into TLAs (three letter acronyms) so all the business group names distill into easy to handle triplets. For example, prior to this latest reorganization, the Desktop Products Group was known simply as DPG, and the Mobile Products Group was MPG. In the new structure, I noticed that there is a Digital Home Group and a Digital Health Group. So if one employee is telling another that he (or she) is working in the DHG group, the other employee will have to ask for clarification; "Is that the Healthy group or the Homey one?" 8^)
Posted by Michael at 09:09 PM | Comments (0) | World
January 14, 2005
Relief efforts
It pains me to hear of, and see images of, the devastation caused by the tsunamis, particularly since I have friends through work in Malaysia. Fortunately, everyone I know is OK. We've provided a donation for the relief efforts through the American Red Cross and we encourage everyone else to help in any way they can. If you work for a company that matches donations, be sure to take advantage of it. Intel has raised nearly $3 million in relief donations.
Intel active in providing tsunami relief - Hillsboro Argus
Intel steps up for tsunami relief - The Business Journal of Portland
Posted by Michael at 11:36 PM | Comments (0) | World
