EU and Arab leaders in anti-terror agreement

European Union and Mediterranean leaders today agreed on an anti-terrorism code of conduct, but were unable to settle on a definition of what constitutes terrorism at a difficult summit in Barcelona.
After all-night talks on Sunday, foreign ministers from 35 countries, including Israel, finally agreed on the code, which denounces terrorism 'in all its forms and manifestations' and outlines plans to coordinate anti-terror operations.
However, the code's failure to define terrorism meant the two-day EuroMed conference disbanded in disarray.


Guardian Unlimited

Kenyans say no to new constitution- Guardian Unlimited

In a country where up to one third of the adult population is illiterate, ballot papers and political debate were simplified by representing the "yes" campaign with a banana and the "no" with an orange...

Electoral officials reported a largely clean vote from Kenya's 19,000 polling stations, despite reports of vote buying, registration problems and other electoral irregularities in some districts.
At least seven people were killed in often violent rallies and clashes leading up to yesterday's vote.
As tensions rose over the count yesterday, hundreds of people chased riot police from Nairobi's vast Kibera slum, a stronghold of a leading opponent of the constitution.
They also attacked a truck driver whom they suspected of planning to substitute ballot boxes stuffed with fraudulent votes for valid boxes.

-Guardian Unlimited

Interesting that one third of those voting are illiterate. It would be interesting to do a study where you surveyed a sample and switched oranges and bananas and figured out whether there was a coorelation between fruit shape and outcome. And how glad are we that there isn't any violence surrounding elections here? I wonder why it is that our elections are so uneventful.

Bombings of hotels in Amman, Jordan, begged the question: Why can't we capture Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born insurgent leader in Iraq suspected of carrying out the attacks-or Osama bin Laden for that matter? Al-Zarqawi moves beyond the borders of Iraq to become a regional threat while Vice President Dick Cheney, a veteran of multiple draft deferments, battles Sen. John McCain, a former POW, for pushing an amendment to the defense appropriations bill that puts the U.S. government on record opposing torture.
MSNBC

A war on terror isn't very convincing when it doesn't stop terror. And a platform based on that war isn't very convincing. Thank heavens.

Ratings

What does everyone think of the 'Rate this post' feature? Maybe people should start using it or maybe you are and I'm just dumb. Someone say something about it. On a side note I'm realizing that this post will probably get a score of like one star if you are being charitable so here's a pic of me that Michelle who used to work with me took:

Kansas school board redefines science - Nov 8, 2005

This is a sad day. We're becoming a laughingstock of not only the nation, but of the world, and I hate that," said board member Janet Waugh, a Kansas City Democrat...
In addition, the board rewrote the definition of science, so that it is no longer limited to the search for natural explanations of phenomena....
Supporters of the standards said they will promote academic freedom. "It gets rid of a lot of dogma that's being taught in the classroom today," said board member John Bacon, an Olathe Republican...
Many scientists and other critics contend creationists repackaged old ideas in scientific-sounding language to get around a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1987 that banned teaching the biblical story of creation in public schools....
CNN.com

This is why people shouldn't inject religion into public policy. People don't get it. In this case they just don't understand that evolution and creation are two different accounts of the same event. And so we end up with this ridiculous policy based on an erred understanding of the Bible's account of creation. We know the Bible's account is true. But what is it an account of? It's an account of why we were created. It never attempts to explain how we were created- it merely states that Heavenly Father was responsible for it. Additionally, it is not a literal story. Satan was not literally a talking snake who handed Eve the fruit (snakes neither talk nor have opposing thumbs with which to hand anyone anything). Heavenly Father created us not through disregard for natural laws but through a complete understanding of those laws. On the other hand evolution never broaches the subject of why we were created. They are two completely opposing aspects of the same natural phenomenon.

Too uncreative to write anything of my own

Sad Songs- Matt Nathanson

I'm waiting up for you to rescue me, To come around and cover everything, Relying on my best memories To breathe for me, breathe for me So much better than all of this, all of this I'm tired of singing all the sad songs in my head But I can find enough of anything to drown out what you said And sometimes I find I catch my self letting you back in And I'm so tired of singing all these sad songs in my head 'Cause I can still smell summer on your skin, And I can still remember giving in Wrapped all up in your hips, and in your sheets Felt great falling, great falling So much better than all of this, all of this I'm tired of singing all the sad songs in my head, But I can't find enough of anything to drown out what you said And sometimes I find I catch myself letting you back in And I'm so tired of singing all sad songs in my head I feel so faded, so far gone That nothing surprises me anymore I feel so faded, so far gone Nothing surpirses me anymore Not much better now, now I'm tired of singing all the sad songs in my head But I can't find enough of anything to drown out what you said And sometimes I find I catch myself letting you back in And I'm so tired of singing all the sad songs in my head The sad songs in my head I'm so tired

The Strokes

Are amazing. True story. I can't get over it. Their sound is just so....distinct. It sounds old but not like anything else. Like it just sounds like it should have been made twenty years ago but it's not like it sounds like the music of that era. It's so awesome. And it reminds me of Sujan and the Seven Sherpas. While that's a sad thought because they were an awesome band and it's tragic that they aren't together and making awesome music anymore. What with all their members getting married... it was kind of inevitable.

And I'm tired but I wanted to let everyone know about the Strokes. So if you aren't listening to them right now- you'd better get started. True story. Ok.