China will tighten controls on Internet blogs and webcasts in a response to new technologies that have allowed cyber citizens to avoid government censorship efforts, state press reported Tuesday. Following a call from President Hu Jintao in January to ‘purify’ the Internet, the ruling Communist Party will introduce new regulations targeting blogs and webcasts, one of the nation’s chief censors was cited as saying. ‘Advanced network technologies such as blogging and webcasting have been mounting new challenges to the government’s ability to supervise the Internet,’ Press and Publication Administration head Long Xinmin said, according to Xinhua news agency. Long said the government was in the middle of drafting the new regulations. No specific details of the new rules were reported, but Long said they would lead to ‘a more healthy and active Internet environment,’ according to Xinhua. The Chinese government, which has long maintained strict controls over traditional media, have this year ramped up a campaign to combat the rising influence of the Internet. ‘Whether we can cope with the Internet is a matter that affects the development of socialist culture, the security of information and the stability of the state,’ Hu said in […]
It was the television programme that set out to show that most of the world’s climate scientists are misleading us when they say humanity is heating up the Earth by emitting carbon dioxide. And The Great Global Warming Swindle, screened by Channel 4 on Thursday night, convinced many viewers that it is indeed untrue that the gas is to blame for global warming. But now the programme – and the channel – is facing a serious challenge to its own credibility after one of the most distinguished scientists that it featured said his views had been ‘grossly distorted’ by the film, and made it clear that he believed human pollution did warm the climate. Professor Carl Wunsch, professor of physical oceanography at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said he had been ‘completely misrepresented’ by the programme, and ‘totally misled’ on its content. He added that he is considering making a formal complaint. A Channel 4 spokesman said: ‘The film was a polemic that drew together the well-documented views of a number of respected scientists to reach the same conclusions. This is a controversial film but we feel that it is important that all sides of the debate […]
Halliburton’s decision to move much of its operation and focus from Texas to Dubai ‘is another sign of shifting alignments in the global oil order,’ says the Wall Street Journal. The first question my wife asked when she read the news was, ‘Does this mean Halliburton won’t be paying taxes anymore?’ Time’s national political correspondent, Karen Tumulty, raises the same question — and more. Is this about tax breaks? she asks in a Time blog entitled ‘Swampland’. Getting beyond the reach of congressional subpoenas? And what about all that sensitive information that Halliburton has had access to? At a minimum, reincorporating in Dubai would mean that Halliburton will be paying less taxes to the U.S. Treasury, even as it collects billions from government contracts. Investors ‘appeared mostly unfazed,’ according to the Houston Chronincle, but congressional overseers are none too happy with Hallburton’s announcement. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., called it ‘an example of corporate greed at its worst.’ ‘This is an insult to the U.S. soldiers and taxpayers who paid the tab for their no-bid contracts and endured their overcharges for all these years … At the same time they’ll be avoiding U.S. taxes, I’m […]
WASHINGTON — The White House was deeply involved in the decision late last year to dismiss federal prosecutors, including some who had been criticized by Republican lawmakers, administration officials said Monday. Last October, President Bush spoke with Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to pass along concerns by Republicans that some prosecutors were not aggressively addressing voter fraud, the White House said Monday. Senator Pete V. Domenici, Republican of New Mexico, was among the politicians who complained directly to the president, according to an administration official. The president did not call for the removal of any specific United States Attorneys, said Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman. She said she had ‘no indication’ that the president was aware that a process was already under way to identify prosecutors who would be fired. But a few weeks later, the Justice Department forced out seven prosecutors. White House officials consulted with the Justice Department in preparing the list of United States attorneys who would be removed, Ms Perino disclosed. The idea of dismissing federal prosecutors originated in the White House more than a year earlier, White House and Justice officials said Monday. In early 2005, Harriet Miers, then […]
My feelings about Hillary Clinton are complex. Except for Iraq, where she made a political misjudgment that, I am sure, she now regrets, I like many of her positions. Whether one agrees with her or not, even critics acknowledge she has been an excellent examplar of what a good senator does representing their constituency. However, the Founders were very mindful of dynasties. They didn’t like them. Period. And their views were forged in a world where most governance was dynastic. Its effects, and the reactions they produced were part of their own experience, and a major aspect of their family saga. The Adams situation caused a lot of stress, because this was true. I don’t think human nature changes that much, the success of the series Rome is grounded in this truth, and I think it is important to remember this. If you are 40 or under you have never voted in a national election that did not have a Bush or a Clinton on the ticket. This is not good for democracy. How can it be that we have 300 million people in this country and the best we can do […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
