JAMA -- Abstract: Contradicted and Initially Stronger Effects in Highly Cited Clinical Research, July 13, 2005, Ioannidis 294 (2): 218: "Of 49 highly cited original clinical research studies, 45 claimed that the intervention was effective. Of these, 7 (16%) were contradicted by subsequent studies, 7 others (16%) had found effects that were stronger than those of subsequent studies, 20 (44%) were replicated, and 11 (24%) remained largely unchallenged. Five of 6 highly-cited nonrandomized studies had been contradicted or had found stronger effects vs 9 of 39 randomized controlled trials (P = .008). Among randomized trials, studies with contradicted or stronger effects were smaller (P = .009) than replicated or unchallenged studies although there was no statistically significant difference in their early or overall citation impact. Matched control studies did not have a significantly different share of refuted results than highly cited studies, but they included more studies with 'negative' results. "

Abu Ghraib Tactics Were First Used at Guantanamo: "The report's findings are the strongest indication yet that the abusive practices seen in photographs at Abu Ghraib were not the invention of a small group of thrill-seeking military police officers. The report shows that they were used on Qahtani several months before the United States invaded Iraq."

FT.com / Home UK - Clinton slams Guantanamo: "In an interview with the Financial Times, the former president called for the camp, set up to hold suspected terrorists, to 'be closed down or cleaned up'.
Mr Clinton joined critics at home and abroad who have singled out the indefinite detention of prisoners without trial and widespread reports of human rights violations at Guant�namo.
He said: 'It is time that there are no more stories coming out of there about people being abused.'
Mr Clinton said the test for judging whether harsh treatment of terrorist suspects was justified was whether it challenged the 'fundamental nature' of American society. 'If the answer is Yes, you have already given the terrorists a profound victory.'"

hnk's blog: yes, I am blaming again: "Bad electricity service that we have here in Iraq couldn't give us more than 4 hours in the day. In lucky days, we have 7 hours of electricity at the most level.

That pushed my dad to buy us a light that works on battery, so we can continue our homework after the generators turn off. Every one in the family has his own torch."

Building Iraq's Army: Mission Improbable: "Young Iraqi soldiers, ill-equipped and drawn from a disenchanted Sunni Arab minority, say they are not even sure what they are fighting for. They complain bitterly that their American mentors don't respect them.
In fact, the Americans don't: Frustrated U.S. soldiers question the Iraqis' courage, discipline and dedication and wonder whether they will ever be able to fight on their own, much less reach the U.S. military's goal of operating independently by the fall."

Bush Aide Softened Greenhouse Gas Links to Global Warming - New York Times: "A White House official who once led the oil industry's fight against limits on greenhouse gases has repeatedly edited government climate reports in ways that play down links between such emissions and global warming, according to internal documents. "

Automotive Parts Information, Resources, Auto Parts And Car Care at Inner Auto Parts: "
Explore the marvel of the automobile."

How to build your own Linux distribution: "How to build your own Linux distribution"

Democratic Peace: The End of War?: "Global military spending is also in decline. Stated in current dollars, annual global military spending peaked in 1985, at $1.3 trillion, and has been falling since, to slightly over $1 trillion in 2004, according to the Center for Defense Information, a nonpartisan Washington research organization."

Democratic Peace: The End of War?: "the fact that we now see so many visuals of combat and conflict creates the impression that these problems are increasing: Actually, it is the reporting of the problems that is increasing, while the problems themselves are in decline. Television, especially, likes to emphasize war because pictures of fighting, soldiers, and military hardware are inherently more compelling to viewers than images of, say, water-purification projects. Reports of violence and destruction are rarely balanced with reports about the overwhelming majority of the Earth's population not being harmed. "

And this was in Date: 23 July 2002

The secret Downing Street memo - Sunday Times - Times Online: "The Defence Secretary said that the US had already begun 'spikes of activity' to put pressure on the regime."

This record is extremely sensitive. No further copies should be made. It should be shown only to those with a genuine need to know its contents.

The secret Downing Street memo - Sunday Times - Times Online: " Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

Friendly fire. || kuro5hin.org: "Writing in an army report, Brigadier General Gary Jones admits that the official cover-up even included 'the destruction of evidence'. Did the Army burn Tillman's Ranger uniform and body armor to hide the fact that he had died in a hail of American bullets? Why burn the body armor and clothes? A routine procedure in a combat zone?
It doesn't really matter, friendly-fire is a part of war. What matters is the government of the United States covered up the true events to score points with the public. A few more points, just like the winning field goal kick. In the game of propaganda, every point matters. We are the unsuspecting patrons of the propaganda game, paying our tickets with our taxes, allowing the government to wage an unpopular war. "

Excel add in ASAP Utilities free MS Excel tools. Add ins for Microsoft Excel 79, 2000, 2003. Numbering, decompiler, add time in excel, statistics, data analysis, statistical, hours excell add in. Excel addin erstellen. XP freeware 2000, : "ASAP Utilities contains over 300 useful and powerful utilities to fill the gaps in Excel, and automate frequently used tasks.
Guaranteed to save you many hours of time !"

PodcastAlley.com -- The place to find Podcasts: "Podcast Alley is the podcast lovers portal. Featuring the best Podcast Directory and the Top 10 podcasts (as voted on by the listeners). You will also find podcast software, the podcast forum and great podcasting info. "

Original web site that Adam Curry started to centralize information about podcasting. This site continues to be one of the central points to which new podcasters go to have their shows added to the primary directory others build from. The iPodder.org directory is maintained by podcasters, but is owned by Adam's commercial company; Adam assigns volunteers to specific categories to maintain the site listings, ensuring that links stay up-to-date and that new podcasts are categorized correctly. The number of people dedicated to maintaining the site is amazing.
iPodder.org :

WordCount™ is an artistic experiment in the way we use language. It presents the 86,800 most frequently used English words, ranked in order of commonness. Each word is scaled to reflect its frequency relative to the words that precede and follow it, giving a visual barometer of relevance. The larger the word, the more we use it. The smaller the word, the more uncommon it is.

WORDCOUNT / Tracking the Way We Use Language /

Bore Me Away

About the Center for Responsive Politics: "The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics, and its effect on elections and public policy. The Center conducts computer-based research on campaign finance issues for the news media, academics, activists, and the public at large. The Center's work is aimed at creating a more educated voter, an involved citizenry, and a more responsive government. "

WhoWhatWhen - Interactive Historical Timelines: "WhoWhatWhen is a database of people and events from 1000 A.D. to the present. Create graphic timelines of periods in history and of the lives of individuals."