Matthew Rothschild of The Progressive on The New McCarthyism: Secret Service visits, booksellers being required to disclose purchase records while under a gag order, columnists fired and professors harrassed for unpopular statements.
Yvonne Ridley: Intelligence services wanted me killed. The journalist who had been held by the Taliban claims her rooms in Pakistan and Soho had been searched while she was in captivity and that material from them had been given to the Taliban. She has a book, In the Hands of the Taliban, due out tomorrow.
Air pollution, specifically carbon particles, may be interfering with the Earth's hydrological cycle and suppressing rainfall over affected areas. This is the conclusion of a report by Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists using data from the Terra satellite and the Indian Ocean Experiment. [via dangerousmeta]
Islam is not the Source of Terrorism, But its Solution: instead, according to the author of Islam Denounces Terrorism, the cause lies in atheism, Darwinism, and materialism. [via NoParking]
Scientists say palm-reading is true guide to intelligence: research on dermatoglyphics at Barcelona University shows that "abnormal" creases on the palm point to lower intelligence.
The Times has started to require free registration to get at their articles. It's also painfully slow today.
Also found in wandering through some of these Somalian sites: a collection of music in RealAudio from the region.
Xawaala: A Challenge to the Western Media: In an attempt to balance reports in Western media, M. M. Afrah discusses the benign uses that the trust-based money transfer system Hawaala is put to, in particular for transferring small amounts from Somalian workers abroad back home where there is no formal banking system.
The Somali Republic is a terrorist haven: an article on Hiiraan Online describes how 10 years of warlord rule has opened the country to terrorism and illegal trade. Others in the area believe this isn't the case and blame U.S. interest in Somalian terrorist links on Ethiopian propaganda.
Pat Robertson steps down from Christian Colation to enjoy private life of intolerance.
