¸´ÔÓÐÔÎÄÕª NO£º2003.34
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Complexity Digest 2003.41 Archive: http://www.comdig.org,
European Mirror:
http://www.comdig.de
Asian Mirror: http://www.phil.pku.edu.cn/resguide/comdig/
(Chinese GB-Code)
"I think the next
century will be the century of complexity." Stephen Hawking
_________________________________________________________________
Content:
01. Two Professors, Collaborators in Econometrics, Win the Nobel, NYTimes
01.01. Super-Cool Theories Secure Physics Prize, Nature Science Update
01.02. Channel Champions Win Chemistry Nobel, Nature Science Update
01.03. Magnetic Imaging Scoops Medical Nobel, Nature Science Update
02. Harvard Heralds Fresh Take On Systems Biology, Nature
02.01. Developmental Biology: Twisting The Body Into Shape, Nature
02.02. Developmental Biology: Partners United, Nature
03. Playable Games As Metaphors For Complex Biosystems: Team Connect Four,
Complexity
04. Buddhism And Neuroscience: Studying the Well-Trained Mind, Science
04.01. Brain Scan Shows Rejection Pain, BBC News
04.02. Neurobiology: Backchat At The Synapse, Nature
05. Do You Know Who Your Experts Are?, McKinsey Quarterly
06. Spam Fighters Turn to Identifying Legitimate E-Mail, NYTimes
07. Scaling, Correlations, And Cascades In Finance And Turbulence, Physica A
07.01. Do Stock Price Indices Respond Asymmetrically? Evidence From China,
Japan, And South Korea,
J. Asian Econ.
08. Cognitive And Institutional Perspectives Of Eco-Efficiency, Ecol. Econ.
09. Evolution Of Complex Life Cycles In Helminth Parasites
10. Involving The Motor System In Decision Making, Alphagalileo & Biol. Lett.
10.01. Speed Vs. Accuracy In Collective Decision Making, Alphagalileo &
Proc. Biol. Sc.
11. Bacterial Insecticides, The Scientist
12. Nonlinear Modeling And Adaptive Monitoring In Biological Wastewater
Treatment Plants, J.
Biotech.
13. Lasers Operate Inside Single Cells, NYTimes
14. Cell Biology: The Hippo Hypothesis, Nature
15. Photosynthesis Puzzle Solved, BBC News
16. How to Assemble a Molecular Junction, Science
16.01. Self-Assembly of Proteins into Designed Networks, Science
17. Magnetic Logic Devices Move Closer, Physics Web
18. TV Review:'Truth, War And Consequences', Selective Intelligence on Road
to Baghdad, NYTimes
18.01. Truth, War and Consequences, PBS
19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
19.01. The Real Patriot Act, NYTimes
19.02. U.S. Surplus Sales Include Biological Weapons Gear, Reuters
19.03. Whistling In The Dark, TomPaine.com
19.04. Red Cross Criticizes Indefinite Detention in Guantamo Bay,
NYTimes
19.05. A Sense of Betrayal, abcNEWS.com
20. Links & Snippets
20.01. Other Publications
20.02. Webcast Announcements
20.03. Conference & Call for Papers Announcements
20.04. ComDig Announcement: New ComDig Archive in Beta Test
20.05. Special Announcement: Artists Explore Complex Systems, Federal
Reserve Board
_________________________________________________________________
01. Two Professors, Collaborators in Econometrics, Win the Nobel , NYTimes
Excerpts: (? Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science for developing
statistical methods that
allow researchers, policy makers and Wall Street traders to better analyze
stock prices and other
long-running series of data. (?
Their research has enabled others to study the relationship between
variables, like personal wealth
and consumer spending, in ways not possible before. A more sophisticated
understanding of those
relationships ?what is cause and what is effect, for instance ?has led to a
richer understanding
of how the economy works and better forecasts, economists said.
* Two Professors, Collaborators in Econometrics, Win the Nobel, David
Leonhardt , 03/10/09, NYTimes
_________________________________________________________________
01.01. Super-Cool Theories Secure Physics Prize , Nature Science Update
Excerpts: Three physicists who have wrestled with the explanations behind
intriguing quantum
phenomena share this year's Nobel Prize in Physics.
Two Russians, Alexei Abrikosov of the Argonne National Laboratory in
Illinois and Vitaly Ginzburg,
the retired head of the theory group at the P. N. Lebedev Physical
Institute in Moscow, are
rewarded for their theoretical explanation of a form of superconductivity.
Anthony Leggett of the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is recognized for his work on a
type of superfluid.
* Super-Cool Theories Secure Physics Prize, Sarah Tomlin , 03/10/08, Nature
Science Update
_________________________________________________________________
01.02. Channel Champions Win Chemistry Nobel , Nature Science Update
Excerpts: When he went on to describe how such channels open, close and
prevent other ions from
entering, many colleagues felt that MacKinnon had earned a Nobel. (?
Biologists from the 1800s onwards knew that cells must have some way of
absorbing water and
flushing it out.
In 1988, Agre identified a protein that he suspected of doing the job2. A
few years later he showed
that the molecule, now called aquaporin-1, forms a pore in the membrane
that lets through water,
but not other substances.
* Channel Champions Win Chemistry Nobel, Jim GileS , 03/10/09, Nature
Science Update
_________________________________________________________________
01.03. Magnetic Imaging Scoops Medical Nobel , Nature Science Update
Excerpts: (? Lauterbur came up with the idea of using a graded magnetic
field that increased in
strength from one side of an object to the other to create a
two-dimensional image of the object's
internal structure. This is based on the idea that nuclei absorb and emit
radio waves at different
frequencies, depending on the strength of the magnetic field in which they
are held.
In a seminal paper, Lauterbur produced crude images of two glass
capillaries filled with water.
* Magnetic Imaging Scoops Medical Nobel, Helen Pearson , 03/10/07, Nature
Science Update
_________________________________________________________________
02. Harvard Heralds Fresh Take On Systems Biology , Nature
Excerpts: The new department says it will cooperate closely with Harvard's
Bauer Center for
Genomics Research, set up just last year with its own mission of bringing
expertise from
mathematics and the physical sciences to bear on biological problems.
Other systems-biology researchers say the challenge for the department will
be to create career
incentives for people who will be working without the boundaries of
traditional disciplines. The
systems-biology approach involves large teams of people, and it will be
difficult to determine how
best to make decisions (?.
* Harvard Heralds Fresh Take On Systems Biology, Erika Check , 02 October
2003, DOI:
10.1038/425439a, Nature 425, 439
_________________________________________________________________
02.01. Developmental Biology: Twisting The Body Into Shape , Nature
Excerpts: Molecular signals are not the only forces that pattern and shape
the developing embryo.
Mechanical stresses sensed by cells also seem to be involved in creating
the body plan.
Embryogenesis ?? ?is one of nature's wonders. As cells increase in number,
they engage in a
series of complex movements that substantially alter their relative
positions in the embryo.
Patterning information that specifies anterior-posterior (head to tail) and
dorsal-ventral (back to
front) orientation is superimposed on this cellular framework, leading to
the development of the
early body plan.
* Developmental Biology: Twisting The Body Into Shape, Ian C. Scott, Didier
Y. R. Stainier , 02
October 2003, DOI: 10.1038/425461a, Nature 425, 461 - 463
_________________________________________________________________
02.02. Developmental Biology: Partners United , Nature
Excerpts: (? experiments that unite a pair of hitherto enigmatic signalling
proteins ?a secreted
protein, Jeb, and a cell-surface-located receptor, Alk. By showing that Jeb
binds to and activates
Alk, these papers provide new insight into development, and also illustrate
the relationship
between development and cancer: developmental signals are potent regulators
of cell behaviour, and
so can have disastrous effects if uncontrolled.
(? unregulated activity of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (Alk) protein was
discovered to be the
cause of a cancer known as anaplastic large-cell lymphoma.
* Developmental Biology: Partners United, Matthew Freeman, 02 October 2003,
DOI: 10.1038/425468a,
Nature 425, 468 - 469
_________________________________________________________________
03. Playable Games As Metaphors For Complex Biosystems: Team Connect Four ,
Complexity
Abstract: In an effort to better understand complex biological systems, the
game Connect Four is
generalized to be a stochastic contest between two teams. Members of each
team typically possess
sensors that provide some information on the nearby deployment of the
pieces. Sensing something
interesting increases the probability that a given team member will move.
Simulations show the
relative strengths of various sensor weightings and thereby cast some light
on the use of sensors
in more general complex autonomous systems.
* Collective Stochastic Versions Of Playable Games As Metaphors For Complex
Biosystems: Team
Connect Four, I. Safro, L. Segel, Online 2003/09/24
* Contributed by Atin Das
_________________________________________________________________
04. Buddhism And Neuroscience: Studying the Well-Trained Mind , Science
Excerpts: Davidson and his colleagues have demonstrated repeatedly that
activity in the frontal
region of the brain reflects a person's emotional state. A high ratio of
activity in the left
versus the right frontal areas marks either a fleeting positive mood or
what Davidson calls a
positive "affective style," which is the quality of mood that persists
over
time. (?
Their first subject, while not meditating, showed a left-right brain
activity ratio higher than
that of any of the 150 non-Buddhist subjects the team had previously tested.
* Buddhism And Neuroscience: Studying the Well-Trained Mind, Marcia Barinaga
, Science Oct 3 2003: 44-46
_________________________________________________________________
04.01. Brain Scan Shows Rejection Pain , BBC News
Excerpts: Being snubbed socially provokes exactly the same brain response
as being physically hurt,
say US researchers. Dr Jaak Panksepp, from the Centre for Neuroscience,
Mind and Behavior at
Bowling Green State University in Ohio, said that feelings of social
exclusion were powerful
instincts in animals and humans. He said: "The feelings induced by
experimental games in the
laboratory, are a pale shadow of the real-life feelings that humans and
other animals experience in
response to the sudden loss of social support. "Psychological pain in
humans, especially grief and
intense loneliness, may share some of the same neural pathways that
elaborate physical pain. "Given
the dependence of mammalian young on their caregivers, it is hard not to
comprehend the strong
survival value conferred by common neural pathways that elaborate both
social attachment and the
affective qualities of physical pain."
* Brain Scan Shows Rejection Pain, 2003-10-10, BBC News
* Contributed by Nadia Gershenson
_________________________________________________________________
04.02. Neurobiology: Backchat At The Synapse , Nature
Excerpts: Studies of how muscles in turn influence neurotransmitter release
hint at how synapses
adapt to changes in use.
Synapses ?(??are dynamic structures that can grow, shrink and change their
properties according
to their firing history. Crosstalk between the 'presynaptic' neuron (which
releases
neurotransmitter molecules when stimulated) and its 'postsynaptic' target
(which responds to the
neurotransmitters) is crucial for the formation, maturation and refinement
of synapses. (? Here, a
well-known class of signalling proteins carries information backwards ?from
the postsynaptic to
the presynaptic cell.
* Neurobiology: Backchat At The Synapse, Patricia C. Salinas , 02 October
2003, DOI:
10.1038/425464a, Nature 425, 464 - 467
_________________________________________________________________
05. Do You Know Who Your Experts Are? , McKinsey Quarterly
Excerpts: Expertise can be surprisingly difficult to find, even in
companies that have spent
millions of dollars to attract and retain it. Traditional methods, such as
document repositories
and static directories, are inadequate because expertise, unlike other
assets, depends on the
context-making it difficult to describe and classify.
By mining the details of the current and past work experience of
employees-what projects they have
participated in, what papers they have written, what they studied in
school-new expertise-location
systems can often solve the context problem and help companies find the
talent they already have
within their ranks.
* Do You Know Who Your Experts Are?, 03/10, McKinsey Quarterly
_________________________________________________________________
06. Spam Fighters Turn to Identifying Legitimate E-Mail , NYTimes
Excerpts: Put simply, these efforts are trying to develop the Internet
equivalent of caller ID, a
technology that will let the receiver of an e-mail message verify the
identity of the sender. As
with caller ID for telephones, senders will be able to choose whether to
remain anonymous. But also
like caller ID, recipients may presume that those who do not identify
themselves are sending junk.
(...) banks, travel companies and online stores that are finding that much
of their e-mail is
getting caught in spam filters.
* Spam Fighters Turn to Identifying Legitimate E-Mail, Saul Hansell ,
03/10/0, NYTimes
_________________________________________________________________
07. Scaling, Correlations, And Cascades In Finance And Turbulence , Physica A
Abstract: The question of information cascades in finance appears in the
literature. We use the
dynamics of Kolmogorov's (...). As an alternative to the derivations given
by Kolmogorov, Onsager,
and Heisenberg, we also show how to derive (...) model from `time'
reversible dynamics. We then
discuss and compare five different analyses of finance data by
econophysicists, including one where
the information cascade was suggested. We explain why there is as yet no
compelling evidence for an
information cascade in finance. We observe that errors are incurred for
large returns by using
price differences instead of the logarithmic return, which is a
dimensionless, additive variable.
* Scaling, Correlations, And Cascades In Finance And Turbulence, J. L.
McCauley, online 2003/07/11,
DOI: 10.1016/S0378-4371(03)00590-9
* Contributed by Atin Das
_________________________________________________________________
07.01. Do Stock Price Indices Respond Asymmetrically? Evidence From China,
Japan, And South Korea ,
J. Asian Econ.
Abstract: This study investigates whether asymmetric responses exist among
the stock price indices
of China, Japan, and South Korea. (...) this paper empirically tests for
the existence of both
magnitude and pattern asymmetries among these indices. The main results are
as follows: first,
magnitude asymmetry exists between the indices of Japan and South Korea.
Second, (...) pattern
asymmetry was found to exist in the responses of all three indices. When
the possibility of the US
influence was included in the analysis, the US effect was found to exist on
the index returns of
Japan and South Korea, but not on that of China.
* Do Stock Price Indices Respond Asymmetrically? Evidence From China,
Japan, And South Korea, J. S.
Bahng & S. Shin, online 2003/09/17, DOI: 10.1016/S1049-0078(03)00094-0
* Contributed by Pritha Das
_________________________________________________________________
08. Cognitive And Institutional Perspectives Of Eco-Efficiency , Ecol. Econ.
Abstract: The paper sketches out a theoretical framework for analysing the
interplay between
eco-efficiency, cognition and institutions. It derives from analytical
shortfalls of the prevailing
literature, (...) by using insights from New Institutional Economics, from
Cognitive Science and,
partly, from Evolutionary Economics. It emphasises the role cognition and
institutions play in the
adoption of `green' technologies by firms. The framework allows for an
analysis why overall
adoption of eco-efficiency still can be considered relatively slow and why
some markets and firms
are far ahead. As a brief case study the article reflects upon German waste
law's ability to
enhance eco-efficiency.
* Cognitive And Institutional Perspectives Of Eco-Efficiency, R.
Bleischwitz, online 2003/09/05,
DOI: 10.1016/S0378-4371(03)00549-1
* Contributed by Pritha Das
_________________________________________________________________
09. Evolution Of Complex Life Cycles In Helminth Parasites
The fundamental question of how complex life cycles-where there is
typically more than one
host-evolve in host-parasite systems remains largely unexplored. We suggest
that complex cycles in
helminths without penetrative infective stages evolve by two essentially
different processes, (? .
In 'upward incorporation', a new definitive host, typically higher up a
food web and which preys on
the original definitive host, is added. Advantages to the parasite are
avoidance of mortality due
to the predator, greater body size at maturity and higher fecundity.
* Evolution Of Complex Life Cycles In Helminth Parasites, Geoff A. Parker,
Jimmy C. Chubb, Michael
A. Ball, Guy N. Roberts , 02 October 2003, DOI: 10.1038/nature02012, Nature
425, 480 - 484
_________________________________________________________________
10. Involving The Motor System In Decision Making , Alphagalileo & Biol.
Lett.
Abstract: The control of behaviour is usually understood in terms of three
distinct components:
sensory processing, decision making and movement control. This view has
been questioned on the
basis of physiological and behavioural data, blurring the distinction
between these stages. We
investigate to what extent the motor system itself contributes to the
interpretation of behavioural
situations. Using a robot based neuronal model of sensory motor integration
we show that the
population response of the motor system provides a substrate for the
categorisation of behavioural
situations. In this context, the motor cortex can be considered as part of
a high-level perceptual
system.
* Involving The Motor System In Decision Making, R. Wyss, P. Konig & P. F.
M. J. Verschure,
2003/10/06
* Contributed by Atin Das
_________________________________________________________________
10.01. Speed Vs. Accuracy In Collective Decision Making , Alphagalileo &
Proc. Biol. Sc.
Abstract: Decision-making often involves a compromise between speed and
accuracy. An everyday
example is typing speed vs. error rate. Here we consider how house-hunting
ants balance speed and
accuracy. Ants need to find the best available nest site but this is time
consuming. In benign
conditions they employ quorum-sensing so that the independent evaluations
of many workers are
collated. In harsh conditions they make more individualistic snap
decisions. These are less
accurate but faster and reduce the time that the colony is homeless and at
risk. Thus ants can tune
their crisis management through a flexible compromise between speed and
accuracy.
* Speed Vs. Accuracy In Collective Decision Making, N. R. Franks, A.
Dornhaus, J. P. Fitzsimmons &
M. Stevens, 2003/10/06
* Contributed by Atin Das
_________________________________________________________________
11. Bacterial Insecticides , The Scientist
Excerpts: One means of controlling the spread of human pathogens and
parasites that are spread by
insect vectors-for example, malaria-is the use of insecticides. This
approach is frequently
compromised by the acquisition of resistance to the chemicals by the target
insects, and novel,
efficacious compounds are difficult to identify and expensive to develop.
(...) Pasteur report the
whole genome sequence of the bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens and
describe two protein-encoding
loci that are lethal to the mosquitoes (...).
(...) genetic engineering of the bacterium-nematode pair for use as
biological control agents.
* Bacterial Insecticides, Cathy Holding, The Scientist
_________________________________________________________________
12. Nonlinear Modeling And Adaptive Monitoring In Biological Wastewater
Treatment Plants , J.
Biotech.
Abstract: A new approach to nonlinear modeling and adaptive monitoring
using fuzzy principal
component regression is proposed and then applied to a real wastewater
treatment plant data set.
First, principal component analysis is used to reduce the dimensionality of
data (...). Then a new
adaptive discrimination monitoring method is proposed to distinguish
between a large process change
and a simple fault. The result shows that it has the ability to model the
nonlinear process and
multiple operating conditions and is able to identify various operating
regions and discriminate
between a sustained fault and a simple fault (or abnormalities) occurring
within the process data.
* Nonlinear Modeling And Adaptive Monitoring With Fuzzy And Multivariate
Statistical Methods In
Biological Wastewater Treatment Plants, C. K. Yoo, 2003/10/09, DOI:
10.1016/S0168-1656(03)00168-8
* Contributed by Atin Das
_________________________________________________________________
13. Lasers Operate Inside Single Cells , NYTimes
Excerpts: With pulses of intense laser light a millionth of a billionth of
a second long, US
researchers are vaporizing tiny structures inside living cells without
killing them. The technique
could help probe how cells work,
and perform super-precise surgery.
The laser works inside the cell without damaging the surface. The light is
focused extremely
tightly, using a microscope, into a space a few hundred millionths of a
millimetre across.
* Lasers Operate Inside Single Cells, John Whitfield , 03/10/06, NYTimes
_________________________________________________________________
14. Cell Biology: The Hippo Hypothesis , Nature
Excerpts: The perfection of a fly's eye and the chaotic nature of tumours
provide eloquent examples
of the need to coordinate cell death and proliferation. The intricacies of
the underlying mechanism
are now being uncovered. (?
Although many genes have been shown to regulate either proliferation or
apoptosis, little is known
about how the two are coupled. Recently, however, geneticists have begun to
uncover some of the
genes involved in this coordination, (? another such gene, hippo. (?
advance our understanding of
this fundamental problem in organ development and cancer biology.
* Cell Biology: The Hippo Hypothesis, Michael E. Rothenberg, Yuh-Nung Jan ,
02 October 2003, DOI:
10.1038/425469a, Nature 425, 469 - 470
_________________________________________________________________
15. Photosynthesis Puzzle Solved , BBC News
Excerpts: A complete molecular-scale picture of photosynthesis - how plants
convert sunlight to
chemical energy - has been obtained, offering new insights into animal
metabolism as well.
Cyanobacteria from a hot spring provided the key. Photosynthesis is the
most important chemical
reaction on Earth. It is responsible for virtually all energy available for
life in the biosphere.
Biologists have determined the structure of the cytochrome, a protein
complex that governs
photosynthesis in a blue-green bacterium. (...) The key to the discovery
was being able to
crystallise cytochrome molecules, so that they could have their structure
determined by an X-ray
probe. (...) cytochrome gives some indication of the complex motion of
electrons and protons across
the bacterium's cell membrane, the boundary between the cell and its
environment. (...) While
animals do not employ photosynthesis, their cells do make use of similar
proteins for respiration.
The similarities could lead to a better understanding of our own metabolic
processes.
* Photosynthesis Puzzle Solved, Dr David Whitehouse, 2003-10-08, BBC News
* Contributed by Nadia Gershenson
_________________________________________________________________
16. How to Assemble a Molecular Junction , Science
Excerpts: The authors used a STM tip to form two lines of Au atoms with a
separation of three to
six lattice constants. They then positioned a CuPc molecule between the two
lines of Au atoms. (?.
The CuPc molecule has a symmetric cross shape. It fits snuggly into the
five-lattice constant gap
between the two Au lines, with one of the axes of the CuPc bridging the
Au-Au junction. This final
assembly is a perfectly ordered metal-molecule-metal junction of known
atomic structure.
* How to Assemble a Molecular Junction, Andrew C. Kummel
, Science Oct 3 2003: 69-70
_________________________________________________________________
16.01. Self-Assembly of Proteins into Designed Networks , Science
Excerpts: The production of a designed arrangement of matter at the
molecular level is a central
goal of contemporary engineering endeavors . Besides micropositioning
strategies, the materials can
also be placed by spontaneous self-assembly processes. Efficient biological
self-assembly systems
are, for instance, myosin filaments, (?. Novel assemblies can be designed
and produced with the
use of engineered biological building blocks. (? Here, we report a
noncovalent planar network
consisting of two biologically unrelated proteins and show how the mesh can
be adjusted and also
made switchable by varying the Ca2+ concentration.
* Self-Assembly of Proteins into Designed Networks, Philippe Ringler, Georg
E. Schulz
, Science Oct 3 2003: 106-109.
_________________________________________________________________
17. Magnetic Logic Devices Move Closer , Physics Web
Excerpts: In most computers bits of data are stored in one place and
processed in another. Now
German physicists have proposed a new magnetic approach to computing in
which the same element can
store and process data. Andreas Ney and colleagues at the Paul Drude
Institute in Berlin say that
their "programmable logic element" could, in principle, operate as any
one
of four different logic
operations (...).
The new approach is based on magnetic random access memory (MRAM) elements
that contain two
magnetic layers separated by a spacer.
* Magnetic Logic Devices Move Closer, Belle Dum , 03/10/01, Physics Web
_________________________________________________________________
18. TV Review:'Truth, War And Consequences', Selective Intelligence on Road
to Baghdad , NYTimes
Excerpts: Greg Thielmann, who left his post as director of the strategic,
proliferation and
military affairs office in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence
and Research last
September, also describes in dispassionate tones how the State Department's
intelligence reports
were ignored or sanded down to suit the White House's case. Calling the
administration's approach
"faith-based intelligence," Mr. Thielmann says, "They were
cherry-picking
the information that we
provided to use whatever pieces of it fit their overall interpretation."
What the documentary does not point out is that every administration
routinely ignores its most
experienced in-house experts. The banks of the Potomac are littered with
the spent careers of
C.I.A. analysts and foreign service professionals who had discordant
assessments of El Salvador,
Bosnia and Iraq.
* TV Review:'Truth, War And Consequences', Selective Intelligence on Road
to Baghdad, Alessandra
Stanley , 03/10/09, NYTimes
_________________________________________________________________
18.01. Truth, War and Consequences , PBS
Excerpts: Did America rush into a war in Iraq for which it was unprepared?
Could the current
volatility in Iraq have been prevented? And was the White House's rationale
for war based on faulty
and exaggerated intelligence reports?
As the Bush administration faces continuing questions about its failure to
secure peace in Iraq,
FRONTLINE takes an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at what some government
officials say is the
underlying cause of America's current problems in Iraq: the prewar
political infighting (?.
* Truth, War and Consequences, 03/10/09
* VIDEO - Watch full program online
_________________________________________________________________
19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
_________________________________________________________________
19.01. The Real Patriot Act , NYTimes
Excerpts: (? talk now about how to finance the $87 billion price tag for
the reconstruction of
Iraq. I say, let's make OPEC pay indirectly. Let's have a $1 a gallon
gasoline tax and call it the
"Patriot Tax." We could use the revenue it would raise about $110
billion a
year to finance the
entire reconstruction of Iraq, with plenty left for other good works.
Here's the logic: The two
things OPEC hates most are falling oil prices and gasoline taxes and the
Patriot Tax would promote
both.
* The Real Patriot Act, Thomas L. Friedman , 03/10/05, NYTimes
_________________________________________________________________
19.02. U.S. Surplus Sales Include Biological Weapons Gear , Reuters
Excerpts: Undercover congressional investigators using the Internet were
able to buy thousands of
dollars of surplus laboratory equipment and protective gear from Defense
Department laboratories
that could be used to make biological and chemical weapons.
To show how easily and cheaply such items could be acquired, the General
Accounting Office told
Congress on Tuesday investigators spent $4,100 to buy Defense Department
equipment including a
biological safety cabinet, a bacteriological incubator, an evaporator and
protective clothing with
an original cost of $46,900.
* U.S. Surplus Sales Include Biological Weapons Gear, 03/10/07, Reuters
_________________________________________________________________
19.03. Whistling In The Dark , TomPaine.com
Excerpts: The November issue of Vanity Fair that hits the newsstands this
week features a
fascinating article about two whistleblowers from inside the nuclear
weapons complex. But as these
two step forward into the spotlight, the nation's number one defender of
the nuclear weapons
complex, Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), is actively seeking to undermine
legislation that would
strengthen protections for nuclear whistleblowers. And it's no wonder. (?
But the legislation in the Energy bill that would repair the nation's
broken system for protecting
nuclear whistleblowers is currently on the skids
* Whistling In The Dark, Danielle Brian , 03/10/09, TomPaine.com
_________________________________________________________________
19.04. Red Cross Criticizes Indefinite Detention in Guantamo Bay ,
NYTimes
Excerpts: A senior official of the International Committee of the Red Cross
said on Thursday that
the holding of more than 600 detainees here was unacceptable because they
were being held for
open-ended terms without proper legal process.
(? , he said that it was intolerable that the complex was used as "an
investigation center, not a
detention center."
He said the International Red Cross was making the unusual statements
because of a lack of action.
United States officials have said they have begun moving to sort the
detainees, (?.
* Red Cross Criticizes Indefinite Detention in Guantamo Bay, Neil
A. Lewis, NY Times
_________________________________________________________________
19.05. A Sense of Betrayal , abcNEWS.com
Excerpts: "Just a few months ago, this administration went out of its way
to tell us how important
human intelligence is," she said. "We cannot find Saddam Hussein
because we
have no human
intelligence. We cannot find Osama bin Laden because there is no human
intelligence. And here you
are, you have a case officer who is gathering human intelligence, who is
running agents, and here
you are exposing her and everyone that she came in contact with."
As an undercover agent, Mrs. Wilson's duties would have included recruiting
agents (?
* A Sense of Betrayal, abcNEWS.com, 03/10/06
_________________________________________________________________
20. Links & Snippets
_________________________________________________________________
20.01. Other Publications
_________________________________________________________________
20.02. Webcast Announcements
_________________________________________________________________
20.03. Conference & Call for Papers Announcements
_________________________________________________________________
20.04. ComDig Announcement: New ComDig Archive in Beta Test
We are in the process of upgrading the Complexity Digest archives to a
format with improved search
capabilities. Also, we will finally be able to adequately publish the
valuable feedback and
comments from our knowledgable readers. You are cordially invited to become
a beta tester of our
new ComDig2 archive.
_________________________________________________________________
20.05. Special Announcement: Artists Explore Complex Systems , Federal
Reserve Board
COMPLEXITY, the first major museum exhibition about
complex systems, is on display at the Federal Reserve Board
in Washington, DC, ongoing - 03/11/28. The Washington
exhibition is being co-sponsored by the Washington Center for
Complexity and Public Policy and the Fine Arts Program of the
Federal
Reserve Board.
Contributed by Irene
Sanders
*
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