Politics

I don't know where else to post this but here so, I am taking a history class because I need more social science credits to graduate. My professor was talking about the death toll and said that most of the internet data you find puts it at 55 million for WW2 and 10 million for China. He then went on to say that the actual death toll was more like 75 million with 20 million for China, and asked if we could find this data and if not why? I have been searching all day and have found a few sites that say this but no numbers other than "75 million". Does anybody know where I can look, or do you have any info on the results he claims?

Over 3,500 confirmed dead as of this point. USGS Earthquake Hazards site: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2004/usslav/ Drudge report: http://www.drudgereport.com/ A/P wire: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBVC24673E.html http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INDONESIA_EARTHQUAKE?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Sky news: http://www.sky.com/skynews/home Update: Over 120,000 reported dead.

I'm suprised this hasn't actually been posted here yet. Google's new scholarly search engine I tried it out, and was delighted; I immediately found several papers I'd been after. It's still in beta, and doesn't give full-text access to all articles (but does for a fair few), but it's still awesome! Try it out! Mokele

The martian explorer "Opportunity" has had its solar panels cleared overnight by some unknown mechanism. The panels are pumping out 900 watt-hours per day, near their maximum output. The other rover, "Spirit", has dropped its power output to 400 watt-hours per day. http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=7152563

We've kinda beat around this bush a couple of times in other threads, so I thought it might be interesting to have it in its own thread. Just to kick it off, this was the news today, based on a new survey which says that the overweight and obesity percentages in China have been steadily climbing since the onset of modern capitalism. http://english.people.com.cn/200410/13/eng20041013_160102.html While the percentages may be lower in the US, there are so MANY people in China that they end up having almost as many overweight/obese people as the US has in its population! Often we've heard it said that the Chinese have as many people in their middle class…

London to NY before you can finish a beer.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5499725.html?tag=nl.e589 This worm does not seem to effect the end user. "The Santy worm uses a flaw in the widely used community forum software known as the PHP Bulletin Board (phpBB) to spread." "The worm sends Google a specific search request, essentially asking for a list of vulnerable sites. Armed with the list, the worm then attempts to spread to those sites using a PHP request designed to exploit the phpBB bulletin board software." "After it has taken over a site, the worm deletes all HTML, PHP, active server pages (ASP), Java server pages (JSP), and secure HTML pages, and replaces them with the text, "This…

i had posted a challenge in the challenges forum that was titled, women should not have the final say. i didnt get any takers on the challenge so im probably going to back out. I also had thought about it and I don’t think that I actually challenged anyone to what I had intended. ill post my thoughts here in hope of exchanging dialogue on the matter. here goes here's the scenario: a male and female adult engage in consentual intercourse. both agree on the precautions that they will take to prevent a pregnancy. neither partner wants a pregnancy to result from the exchange. both are responsible, law-abiding citizens. the female becomes pregnant as a result of the in…

Popular Science has published an article outling the worst jobs in science. Some of these are very disgusting, and no doubt there are those among us here who have had to endure jobs like this while working in labs, and alot of us can also look forward to these experiences as we climb the ranks of the scientific ladder. http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/article/0,12543,484153-1,00.html

government officials use many tricks when they are searching for or spying on an individual (criminal or not). they have alot of resources at their disposal. many of these resources are considered an infringement of ones right to privacy. but is it really an infringement of ones right to privacy if they deem it is in the best interest of society that they keep surveillance on an individual? is not privacy more of a privilege more than anything else? can not the government dictate what rights we have and to what extent we can excersise them? the government can already track all of your electronic monetary transactions. this is a big resource since most alot of people …

does anyone think that capital (is it capitol or capital?) punishment is wrong because of the possibility that the court can convict an innocent man? obviously, executing an innocent man is wrong, no matter how you paint it right? i would obviously hate to be the one to get executed for not doing anything but is that alone enough to do away with capital punishment? is there any significance in saying that the few sometimes have to suffer for the good of society? sure, there are many more reasons that one could argue that there shouldnt be capital punishment but what about this one.

The following article is from the Sydney Morning Herald today: http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Countries-that-refuse-US-immunity-face-aid-cuts/2004/12/10/1102625502044.html What do people think? Personally I think this policy is absolutely dispicable. Why shouldn't the US be subject to the same rules as the rest of the civilised world in terms of war crimes?

I heard on the news last night, that 1 in 4 people in the U.K. have a broadband cable internet connection. A poll was conducted concerning why people had broadband cable, the answer was.......... (1) To download music (2) to download porn. What do you people on this scientific forum think....if anything??

There are organizations in the U.S. that want to abolish the National Christmas tree in Washington D.C. and call it the National holiday tree. Is this a good idea??

does anyone think that there was a conspiracy to assasinate JFK? anyone think that there was more than one shooter? id like to hear people's thoughts on this. i did a little reading on this and found some startling stuff. did anyone laugh at the portrayal that oliver stone did on his movie, JFK?

I often bemoan the awareness of US political issues overseas. Then they go and prove me wrong. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11296126%255E25377,00.html This fellow seems to have an excellent grasp -- more so than a lot of Democrats, I must say. Democrats keep picking northern liberals, and they keep losing. You'd think they'd have learned that lesson with Clinton, but apparently they needed to learn it again. This author doesn't touch on the subject of early primaries, but that's the reason why, and if Democrats are smart they'll find a new way to pick their candidate in 2008. Anyway, the article above has some excellent ins…

First of all, here's some world figures. The following is a list of the top 10 oil producing countries: 1. Saudi Arabia 7.7 million barrels/day 2. Former Soviet Union 7.1 million barrels/day 3. USA 5.9 million barrels/day 4. Iran 3.6 million barrels/day 5. China 3.2 million barrels/day 6. Norway 3.0 million barrels/day 7. Mexico 3.0 million barrels/day 8. Venezuela 2.8 million barrels/day 9. United Kingdom 2.7 million barrels/day 10. Iraq 2.5 million barrels/day The following are the top 5 biggest oil fields in the world: 1. Ghawar, Saudi Arabia 75-83 billion barrels 2. Burgan, Kuwait 66-72 billion barrels 3. Bolivar Coastal, Venezuela 30-32 billion…

This was the most relevant forum I saw, and I couldn't find any related threads, so I thought I'd post my first. I consider myself an anarchist at heart. While the subject of anarchy is usually seen as idealistic, barbaric, childish, even (dare I say it) stupid, I can't help but think people are better off left to their own devices. Philosophy and free-thinking are at their best when even the most liberal or conservative thoughts aren't considered radical, and any restrictions, especially those applied by a system of government or political party, only hinder the progress of intellect. Laws are often ineffective and often do more harm than good. As Plato put it, "Good…

Yanukovych, Russias favorite and generally considered to be deeply corrupt, has been officialy declared the winner of the Ukrainian general election. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4045449.stm International observers state that the election was unfair and rigged. Large numbers of Ukrainians are refusing to accept these results and civil disorder appears to be breaking out. Colin Powell has made strong statements condemming the rigged election, while Russia wants Yanukovych to remain in power to form closer links with Russia. Any comments?

I found this article in the New Scientist from 2002. What do people think about it? http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992817 It confirms a belief that that I have held about the right side of politics for quite a while

This morning, just after 10.00 GMT, the Beeb posted an article entitled "US forces begin battering Falluja" [google record] The article that link points to has now changed to "US Forces Under Fire in Falluja" and has been de-indexed from the Beeb's Middle-East section. Replacing it are two newer articles, entitled "Iraqi Face on Falluja Operation" and "Iraqi PM orders Falluja Invasion". Updated information, or diplomatic fudging?

Ok, Im in a predicament- I need to see the actual text of the assault weapons ban. Not an overview, or someone's opinion about it, but the ACTUAL thing that passed. Thanks!

Buried in all the thousands of stories you're reading in the press today about how the non-partisan Duelfer report found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction is another finding by the same group: That individuals in France, Russia and China specifically benefitted, illegally, from the oil-for-food program. http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/184723-2300-010.html

Two orbits, with five people, at an altitude above 400kms, to be repeated within sixty days. The first flight can simply demonstrate the ability to take five people i.e. pilot, plus ballast. The second flight must carry at least five. http://www.space.com/spacenews/businessmonday_bigelow_041108.html It must be completed by Jan 10, 2010. Unlike the X-prize this is only open to US residents.

The French taxed and drove people into the mines to make the colony profitable for France? Despite the fact that Vietnam exported tons tons of rice, Vietnamese peasants starved / are starving? The U.S. supported France having colonies in Vietnam? The U.S. put in place a leader who was Catholic and from America, which would alienate him from the majority of the Vietnamese? Then they overthrew him to take charge of the war? There were millions of Vietnamese casualties? There were more explosives dropped on tiny Vietnam than in all of the theators of World War II put together? The U.S. used chemical warfare against the environment they claimed to be trying to save? T…