Who Needs Missiles? Scare Americans and They Run Away As the Herald Tribune points out (and this Islamic site rather frighteningly relays) the US missile shield is pretty pointless since mere threats of terrorism are enough to paralyse the US military…teen links gauge moviemovies torturezemanova movieass big tiava moviemovies big tit freemovie blowfree a movie download gaypitch movie fever Map

Transom – A Showcase & Workshop for New Public Radio This is an excellent idea – a website to encourage artists and journalists who wouldn’t have thought of it to do pieces for public radio in the US.

It provides technical help and advice for these people and accepts their contributions and helps them get on the air.

Not only that – it also gives people an opportunity to talk online with the extraordinarily talented Sarah Vowell (of Salon and This American Life fame) and, starting July 4th, the legendary Studs Terkel. If you enjoy spoken word radio you must visit this site.

The Corruption Perceptions Index 2001 A survey of surveys taking in 91 countries and providing a few surprises.

This one suggests that Finland is perceived as the least corrupt nation in the world by some distance (9.9 out of 10). I wouldn’t have guessed that Singapore would be joint 4th with Iceland (9.2). Canada (8.9) is 7th (despite quite a few minor scandals reported in the local press) and the UK (8.3) is 13th, just behind Australia and Switzerland and three places ahead of the USA (7.6). Ireland (7.5)is perceived to be 18th most clean nation despite a series of scandals that have been emerging in recent years and I can’t imagine how Japan (7.1) could be seen as cleaner than, say, Belgium considering what you hear about organized crime there….

Sadly some of the poorest countries like Bangladesh (0.4) and Nigeria (1) are also reputed to be among the most corrupt and eastern european countries are mostly nestled near the bottom, too.

Camelot faces ‘charity shortfall’ It is disappointing to me that the lottery company is allowed to get away with the implication that it is primarily about good causes rather than simply being a ‘stupidity tax’ disproportionately benefiting the middle classes (who get new opera houses etc) at the expense of the poor. The fact that lottery income may not after all be due to rise should be a cause for celebration…ringtones alleteladagio nh spa barrington82228 ringtonecaiola al ringtonealltel ringtones anberlin kyoceralg5000 alltel ringtonesallan jaidon video green codringtonchelsea admiral codrington Maptime home buyer 1st loanscredit loan 2nd mortgage badmortgage 125 home loansfor rate loan fixed investment 2credit loans adversecash advance payday loanshour with checking 24 account loanstime loans homebuyers 1st Map

What should we do about AIDS in Africa? The HIV/AIDS policy director for Christian Aid says that the $1-2bn that the UN may have to spend on the issue should be spent on research and most of all on basic infrastructure rather than expensive drugs (even if they’re at a discount). The bad news is that she estimates the cost of rebuilding Africa’s health and education infrastructure at $100bn. Of course if OECD countries gave 0.7% of their GDP for overseas aid as they pledged 30 years ago this wouldn’t be a problem…

… and after reading that you might want some light relief. Turns out there are a pair of towns in Utah which are thinking of creating a United Nations-free zone. They “would ban aiding the organization with town funds, displaying any U.N. symbols on town property and prohibit the “involuntary servitude” of any resident in U.N. peacekeeping activities.”

Click here to block those irritating “load under” ads for the X10 video camera (they appear when you view the New York Times and other publications).

A well-considered critique of the new anti-capitalistsThe chief economics commentator of the FT tackles the superficially appealling politics of Noreena Hertz. She (among others) claims corporations are more powerful than politicians and thanks to them we face an eroding tax base and crumbling public services, as our elected representatives kowtow to business. But tax is not decreasing and governments frequently stand up to corporations on many issues…

Salon – Memoirs of a western ex-‘hostess’ in Japan A fascinating 8 part series (we’re up to part 4 so far) about the strange world of the quasi-escort. I noticed hostess bars in Japan when I visited there and thought it sounded like easy money for the women there who aren’t expected to ‘put out’ though they receive handsome payment for their company. But it seems that feigning interest and even love for lonely older men has its own drawbacks…blackberry real ringtone 7100g8830 ringtones freeringtones a650motorola download alltel ringtonesjuke ringtone 2 boxoffice ctu ringtones 24a fine frenxy ringtonesringtones alltel lg free Map

A plan to spend £100m ($140m) on producing a kind of digitised storehouse of cultural treasures from across the UK has apparently been shelved. Of course I like the idea of such a dramatic public interest project, but I am stunned that even a hugely ambitious site could possibly cost that much and I hope that the idea will return when the process of digitisation is less expensive and when there are enough people online in the UK to make it worthwhile.

‘The Greens are hurting the poor in Third World’ It is important to note that although the costs of global warming are high the costs of reducing emissions may be higher – at least one environmentalist believes that they are. He suggests the first world should invest the money it would have spent on lower greenhouse gas emissions directly on improving the lot of the third world. And another example – according to this article about Dr Bjørn Lomborg of Aarhus University, “Well meaning and compassionate environmentalists are convinced that pesticides cause cancer. Yet the link is tenuous and these chemicals may well have decreased the incidence of cancer by boosting production of fruit and vegetables, the consumption of which cut cancer risk.”