"al Qaim on the Iraqi-Syrian border. Still a place of mystery, this region’s deep canyons has been intensively explored by American, Australian and British commandos, but US intelligence believes that undiscovered corners still hold secrets."

WMD in Lebanons Beqaa Valley? Saddam in Syria, Minsk (Belarus) or Lybia?

1085 Also posted to: warBlog . At: 11:34:15 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: Where is Saddam?

"European businesses will be worse off as a result because US companies hold the majority of the patents and the patent know-how."

Software is different from drug patents. It's built on prior art and to have to spend £300,000 fighting one's case is a non starter for any small company.

1084 Also posted to: cyberSaps . At: 11:27:15 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: Patents to kill small and open source software?

"The ultimate goal would be a reusable hypersonic cruise vehicle (HCV) ... capable of taking off from a conventional military runway and striking targets 9,000 nautical miles distant in less than two hours. The unmanned HCV would carry a payload of up to 12,000 lbs and could ultimately fly at speeds of up to 10 times the speed of sound."

Saddam's gone, but there still are WMD in the world, and new ones coming soon. Well, 7-22 years.

1083 Also posted to: warBlog . At: 11:22:25 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: America to build super weapons

"US Presidents have been waging politically motivated wars almost since the country was founded"

I wonder. Iraq's a very big place, and Saddam, ruthless. Could his WMD yet be found? Were there any. Are there any?

1082 Also posted to: warBlog . At: 11:16:53 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: Are We Feeling Duped Yet?

Paolo Valdemarin: "Putting ads on your blog would suddenly make the monetary terms important as well. Will this influence the relationship between bloggers?"

Though I have a degree in graphics and advertising I've always been against advertising. Just my socialist background finds them distasteful. It's whoever can spend enough money fooling people that their can of beans is best, not that that can is best for the person. Trickery, slight of hand, bending the truth, that's what ads are for. Though the text ads on Google are quite handy. I don't really mind the ads on metaFilter they seem fairly harmless.

If ads start to plague blogs, the near-utopian world we have right now may disappear. The point of blogging is not to make money from eye-balls, not IMO. It maybe to make money from thought and intellect or reputation sure, nothing wrong with making money. But CPMs are eye-ball traffic, lowest common denominator.

Jeff Barr of Syndic8 rejected adult text ads. His site wouldn't suit such ads, for sure. But if he became desperate, if he was offered a deal he couldn't refuse... Say that to the common or garden blogger and soon, I see the day that blogs will become like so many tawdry sites trying to capture as much small change from ads as possible. That's not why I blog. Or, why I mainly surf around blogs.

I don't think I'd link to sites with ads. Or, I'd think twice about it. Anyway, what if I'm reading a blog through it's RSS feed? I'd never see ads, or would I? Ooooo! That would piss me off! Unless I wanted RSS ads.

1081 Also posted to: cyberSaps . At: 5:00:15 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: Weblog advertising