Interesting tidbits
Guantanamo detainee boycotts trial
The MacWorld Expo yesterady revealed that Intel chips in Macs will make them 3 to 5 times faster and a new laptop, the MacBook Pro will be realeased. Unfortunately, my dreams of a Mac Mini media center failed to materialize. Thinksecret summarizes the MacWorld Expo predictions (all false) and surprises (everything) here.
The body armor debate heats up
The Senate Armed Services Committee summoned defense officials to a closed briefing to explain a Pentagon report disclosed last week that said more complete body armor could have prevented or limited about 80 percent of the fatal torso wounds suffered by Marines killed in Iraq.
Congressional Democrats have pounced on the report, which was compiled by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology at the request of the Marine Corps, as evidence of the Bush administration's flawed conduct of the Iraq war.
The report, which was not intended for public release, examined the cases of Marines fatally wounded from the start of the war in March 2003 through June 2005, and found weaknesses in the torso protective gear.
Congressional Democrats have pounced on the report, which was compiled by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology at the request of the Marine Corps, as evidence of the Bush administration's flawed conduct of the Iraq war.
The report, which was not intended for public release, examined the cases of Marines fatally wounded from the start of the war in March 2003 through June 2005, and found weaknesses in the torso protective gear.
No body armor is perfect, so I'm not sure where I fall on the side of this one. I think it's a bit silly for the Dems to be yelling about this... While lack of good body armor might show mismanagement, it really doesn't seem like a slam dunk for them.
Then again, the Pentagon did a complete about-face sometime this evening and is now sending added armor to Iraq. So let's see, earlier in the day we had this: "U.S. troops in Iraq are using body armor that strikes a balance of protecting them while allowing movement to do their jobs and withstand hot temperatures, the Pentagon said on Wednesday." and now we have the Pentagon saying that they're going to send additional body armor. Fascinating.
And things that everone predicted for the Katrina aftermath (see rebuilding city using contractors and taking away the houses of poor people) appears to be coming to pass down in NOLA.
Angry homeowners screamed and city council members seethed Wednesday as this city's recovery commission recommended imposing a four-month building moratorium on most of New Orleans and creating a powerful new authority that could use eminent domain to seize homes in neighborhoods that will not be rebuilt.
ohn Beckham, a consultant who helped devise the plan, urged residents to "imagine the best city in the world."
Beckham -- who declined repeated requests Wednesday to identify the private foundation that hired him to draw up the plan for the commission -- told the audience that New Orleans could have "a park in every neighborhood," "a bustling downtown" and a city connected by bike paths and public transportation systems.
Beckham was introduced by the commission's urban planning chairman, Joseph C. Canizaro, a real estate developer and major fundraiser for Bush, who chuckled when he was booed by some in attendance. "This is just a beginning," Canizaro told the audience.
Mindful that Bush will have a tremendous influence on how much money finds it way to Louisiana, Beckham displayed some of the president's pledges on large screens. He reminded the crowd that Bush said Sept. 15 that "we will do what it takes" to rebuild New Orleans and of his promise in December to build levees that are better and stronger than ever before. Bush will make his first visit to the city in three months on Thursday.
ohn Beckham, a consultant who helped devise the plan, urged residents to "imagine the best city in the world."
Beckham -- who declined repeated requests Wednesday to identify the private foundation that hired him to draw up the plan for the commission -- told the audience that New Orleans could have "a park in every neighborhood," "a bustling downtown" and a city connected by bike paths and public transportation systems.
Beckham was introduced by the commission's urban planning chairman, Joseph C. Canizaro, a real estate developer and major fundraiser for Bush, who chuckled when he was booed by some in attendance. "This is just a beginning," Canizaro told the audience.
Mindful that Bush will have a tremendous influence on how much money finds it way to Louisiana, Beckham displayed some of the president's pledges on large screens. He reminded the crowd that Bush said Sept. 15 that "we will do what it takes" to rebuild New Orleans and of his promise in December to build levees that are better and stronger than ever before. Bush will make his first visit to the city in three months on Thursday.
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