Censor this!

VP Dick Cheney used the "F" word in the Senate when talking to- make that shouting at -Democratic Senator Leahy during a photo-op in the Senate earlier this week.( The senator, like many Americans have been questioning the VP's link with Halliburton, the firm that has profited handsomely in the wake of Iraqi war). It gets better. Today's Post reports that Cheney defended saying f*** the senator! Apparently the VP thinks that Senator Leahy deserved it. This coming from an administration that made all the brouhaha after Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super bowl halftime performance. Can you imagine their reaction if Janet Jackson had said "Yeah! it was part of the act .. The American public deserved it!" or something along those lines...

I watched the Michael Moore movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, last night. Of course, it does not even pretend to present an unbiased view of the administration. So I don't know why some people are taking potshots at the movie and not thinking about the charges the movie makes - charges based on facts. For instance, after the President was informed that the two towers were struck by planes and that the nation was under attack, he continued to sit there in the Florida classroom reading "My goat" (or whatever) to the elementary school kids. Shouldn't he have bolted out of there and I don't know talked to somebody to know what was happening?

After all the planes in US airspace were grounded, including those of former President Bush and Ricky Martin, why were more than a dozen Saudi jets allowed to ferry the bin Ladens out of the country? Yes, Osama's relatives were right here in this country. Now I agree that shots showing Wolfowitz using his saliva to tame a stray strand of hair etc. were merely titillating. But what about the Bush-Saudi-binLaden oil money connection? I could go on but I might get in trouble for saying such things - I don't want the FBI to come knocking on my door! Am I being paranoid? I don't know but the PATRIOT act sure gives me a pause.

Bill Clinton's book "My Life" is making big news. He's a smart guy and everything but when he says "after the cold war, the right-wing needed a new target" and that he replaced communism in the eyes of the right - I couldn't help rolling my eyes. I mean, Come on!!

Beauty in math

Huffman is a name that's familiar to all Electrical/Electronics/Computer engineers. (If not, looks like you pulled off a perfect Rip Van Winkle through 4 years in college!). Of course, he's familiar for the codes that are named after him and is used in many places - including this page. The jpeg pictures you see around - they are coded using Huffman codes (among other things). Bet you didn't know that Professor Huffman was also into paper folding! The New York Times has a must-read piece on it. I'm sure my mother will be intrigued by this.

If only the algorithms that we cook up and the equations we write were half as elegant and beautiful as Huffman's work!

Craigslist

This is how it should be. Free. Controlled by the people who use it. Uncensored. That is not how it always is, of course. The internet is slowly becoming more chained - maybe it was inevitable all along. Craigslist.org, however, has remained unchained. People control what they want to see - that doesn't mean you'll see formulas to make explosives -no. That's just reductio ad adsurdum. I came across craigslist a couple of years ago when I was bargain-hunting for some furniture. And I never quite realized its humble beginnings until I read about it in today's LA times.

Bend the truth till it breaks

Truth is like light - truth, like light, bends. It bends near important people. It gets distorted to suit the needs, whims and fancies of powerful people. And, over time, truth gets distorted. If at time 't', one linearly projects the current perception of truth backwards in time, then one reaches a state that is quite different from the state of affairs that actually existed at time t=0. The exulting eulogies of Mr. Reagan notwithstanding, some say the characterizations are at least in some cases, wildly off the mark. Today's Washington Post, scrutinizing Reagan's legacy, points out that not everything people are giving Mr. Reagan credit for, is completely accurate. A lot of people didn't like the President's policies. As Barbara Streisand put it in an address to an AIDS Project Los Angeles fundraiser in 1992: "I will never forgive my fellow actor Ronald Reagan for his genocidal denial of the illness' existence, for his refusal to even utter the word AIDS for seven years, and for blocking adequate funding for research and education which could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives." In the CNN, Professor Dorf writes about Reagan and the courts. Of course, one doesn't speak ill of the departed.

Bombs and cells

Its been an eventful weekend - some for the right reasons, but mostly for the wrong reasons. After fighting Alzheimer's for about a decade, former President Reagan passed away in his California home. Just a few days ago, Ms. Nancy Reagan had spoken out in favor of stem-cell research that should significantly improve the quality of life of people suffering from Parkinson's, Alzheimer's etc. It remains to be seen if the Bush administration will make the right decision sooner, rather than later.

George Tenet's resignation from the CIA has understandably led to a lot of speculation. Mr. Tenet who apparently likes basketball ("Iraqi WMD ... slam dunk case"), will probably have time to practice shooting hoops now. Err.. wait a minute. May be the CIA was doing just that when Al Qaeda was busy planning the attacks! But something doesn't jell well here. About a week ago, Attorney General Ashcroft issues a dire warning saying that another Al Qaeda attack is imminent. Within 24 hours, Secretary Tom Ridge says the threat is no bigger than what he has seen in the past few months, apparently unaware of Ashcroft's statement. And now, the intelligence chief steps down at a time when, according to Ashcroft, something big is brewing in the Al Qaeda cauldron. If the administration is going to continue with its policy of selective honesty, the least they can do is speak in one word, albeit true or false!

Forever yours

It takes immense generosity and a sense of equanimity to decide to donate one's body to scientific research, after death. A decision that cannot be easy for either the person himself or his family. Michael Palmore took that step, as the article in today's LA times describes. In his case, organ donation was not an option since cancer had spread to several places. He and his wife had assumed that his mortal remains would be studied to further cancer research - a selfless act indeed. However, much to her dismay, Mrs. Palmore finds out that fate and ScienceCare Anatomical Inc. had different designs for her husband's body.

Give us this day, our daily oil

Gas prices are still climbing much to the consternation of many. This elderly couple in Colorado are considering cutting back on their volunteering while most airlines are biting their knuckles to keep from screaming. British airways and Lufthansa have already added a surcharge on some routes. Although it is too soon to conclude either way, there are indications that SUV sales have decreased in the past month. The question is, how will this affect the long-term policies of the US government? Unlike Europe, attempts to reduce the dependence on oil has been half-hearted at best. Instead, the policy seems to be - find the next source of oil - be it offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico or Alaska or Iraq.

The logical conclusion: the next major source of oil is going to be Libya. Billions of dollars greasing the palms of Colonel Gadaffi must have been a sufficient motivating factor to come out to the world (read US) about his country's nuclear program. You can bet that they'll wait long enough to render the public memory incapable of making the correlation and lift the sanctions that were imposed after the Lockerbie bombing. After that, hallelujah! Oil flows!

I hope I am wrong. I hope there is some pre-emptive scientific breakthrough in alternate fuel production. Another Manhattan Project, perhaps?