War in Iraq could have been avoided!

clipped from news.independent.co.uk A transcript of an eve-of-war conversation between President George Bush and former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has revealed a previously undisclosed initiative to avert war in Iraq by spiriting Saddam Hussein out of the country Yes, it’s possible,” Mr Bush told the Spanish leader. “The Egyptians are talking to Saddam Hussein … He seems to have indicated he would be open to exile if they would let him take one billion dollars and all the information he wants on weapons of mass destruction The conversation offers a unique insight into Mr Bush’s brusque interaction with one of the few foreign leaders he trusted Tony Blair and President Bush were officially open to a diplomatic resolution of the Iraq crisis – including a negotiated exile of Saddam – but the Spanish Ambassador’s notes reveal peace was never really an option Mr Bush does admit that averting war would be “the best solution for us” and “would also save us $50bn,” greatly underestimating the cost to the US treasury

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Best Science Pictures of 2007

<div style=”margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;”><div class=”CM_CTB_Content_Wrap” style=”margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;”><div style=”border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://www.clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;” ><a href=”http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/C7210CDA-24A8-49B7-8604-51AE60FF9863/” title=”go to this clipmark”><img src=”http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/ca95673a-4c5d-49f8-9201-5d52c4a3323b/C7210CDA-24A8-49B7-8604-51AE60FF9863/” alt=”" width=”19″ height=”19″ border=”0″ style=”vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;” /></a>clipped from <a title=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/index.html” href=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/index.html” style=”font-size: 11px;”>news.nationalgeographic.com</a></div><blockquote style=”text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;” cite=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/index.html”><div align=”center”><img src=”http://content5.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/news.nationalgeographic.com/img/79BECDE6-690B-4456-B663-51998869B98C” alt=”Best Science Images of 2007 Honored” /></div></blockquote><div style=”height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;”></div><blockquote style=”text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;” cite=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/index.html”><DIV>
<B>September 27, 2007—</B>A striking image of seaweed shows the complexity of even the simplest organisms.
</DIV></blockquote><div style=”height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;”></div><blockquote style=”text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;” cite=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/index.html”><DIV>
Seen here is Irish moss—<I>Chondrus crispus</I>—a common Atlantic red alga that is routinely harvested for its carrageenan. The chemical is used as a thickener in many processed foods.
</DIV></blockquote><div style=”border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://www.clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;” ><a href=”http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/C7210CDA-24A8-49B7-8604-51AE60FF9863/” title=”go to this clipmark”><img src=”http://content1.clipmarks.com/images/clip-icon.gif” alt=”" width=”19″ height=”19″ border=”0″ style=”vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;” /></a>clipped from <a title=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo2.html” href=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo2.html” style=”font-size: 11px;”>news.nationalgeographic.com</a></div><blockquote style=”text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;” cite=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo2.html”><div align=”center”><img src=”http://content2.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/news.nationalgeographic.com/img/809D7B74-C402-4BCC-9655-58D54A7A4325” alt=”Best Science Images of 2007 Honored” /></div></blockquote><div style=”height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;”></div><blockquote style=”text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;” cite=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo2.html”><DIV>
It may look like a strange insect , but this is actually a CT image revealing the delicate structures underlying the human nose.
</DIV></blockquote><div style=”border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://www.clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;” ><a href=”http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/C7210CDA-24A8-49B7-8604-51AE60FF9863/” title=”go to this clipmark”><img src=”http://content3.clipmarks.com/images/clip-icon.gif” alt=”" width=”19″ height=”19″ border=”0″ style=”vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;” /></a>clipped from <a title=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo3.html” href=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo3.html” style=”font-size: 11px;”>news.nationalgeographic.com</a></div><blockquote style=”text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;” cite=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo3.html”><div align=”center”><img src=”http://content4.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/news.nationalgeographic.com/img/FAE2ED27-D9D1-4F0F-8932-E1717EA133E3” alt=”Best Science Images of 2007 Honored” /></div></blockquote><div style=”height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;”></div><blockquote style=”text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;” cite=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo3.html”><DIV>
Metal with the consistency of ribbon garnered engineering graduate student Adam Siegel and chemist George M. Whitesides of Harvard University an honorable mention in the photography category of the 2007 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge.
</DIV></blockquote><div style=”border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://www.clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;” ><a href=”http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/C7210CDA-24A8-49B7-8604-51AE60FF9863/” title=”go to this clipmark”><img src=”http://content5.clipmarks.com/images/clip-icon.gif” alt=”" width=”19″ height=”19″ border=”0″ style=”vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;” /></a>clipped from <a title=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo4.html” href=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo4.html” style=”font-size: 11px;”>news.nationalgeographic.com</a></div><blockquote style=”text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;” cite=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo4.html”><div align=”center”><img src=”http://content1.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/news.nationalgeographic.com/img/368504AF-A9AF-4F2E-A84B-00FB1FE511B9” alt=”Best Science Images of 2007 Honored” /></div></blockquote><div style=”height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;”></div><blockquote style=”text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;” cite=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo4.html”><DIV>
A still image from a 3-D animation shows how nicotine stimulates nerve impulses to the pleasure center of the brain.
</DIV></blockquote><div style=”border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://www.clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;” ><a href=”http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/C7210CDA-24A8-49B7-8604-51AE60FF9863/” title=”go to this clipmark”><img src=”http://content2.clipmarks.com/images/clip-icon.gif” alt=”" width=”19″ height=”19″ border=”0″ style=”vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;” /></a>clipped from <a title=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo5.html” href=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo5.html” style=”font-size: 11px;”>news.nationalgeographic.com</a></div><blockquote style=”text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;” cite=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo5.html”><div align=”center”><img src=”http://content3.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/news.nationalgeographic.com/img/45DA49F7-D72B-4ACF-9291-F8027BEBE603” alt=”Best Science Images of 2007 Honored” /></div></blockquote><div style=”height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;”></div><blockquote style=”text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;” cite=”http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/science-pictures/photo5.html”><DIV>
Understanding even basic geometrical transformations can be difficult—unless you get a little perspective.
</DIV></blockquote></div><div style=”margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;”><table style=”font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;” cellpadding=”0″ cellspacing=”0″ width=”100%”><tr><td style=”background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;”>&nbsp;</td><td align=”right” style=”background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px” width=”107″><a href=”http://clipmarks.com/share/C7210CDA-24A8-49B7-8604-51AE60FF9863/blog/” title=”blog or email this clip”><img src=”http://content4.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png” border=”0″ alt=”blog it” width=”107″ height=”17″ style=”border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;” /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

Is There Any Easier Way Out for Melaka Paya Mengkuang Pig Farmers ?

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MetaCard – the new credit card from Singapore

clipped from www.techcrunch.com Singapore based FirstMeta has launched MetaCard, a credit card for Second Life that is claimed to be the world’s first virtual world credit card. The MetaCard works in the same way as a normal first life credit card works. Applicants are provided with a credit limit and present the card when purchasing goods at merchants who accept the card. Although the amount of credit offered by FirstMeta is (in real life terms) rather low, it will be interesting to see how services like these develop in online worlds given that in effect they are financial services that would likely be subject to real life laws. Whilst Second Life companies such as the World Stock Exchange clearly state that they are in effect pretend outfits (ie: games), and therefore are not subject to real world laws, FirstMeta is actually providing credit that is tied to a real world account; in effect by securing their credit services they have crossed the line into the real world.