Consult Mr Hans

2008-09-19T19:42:00.001+08:00

Blog terminated

Freelancerhans.wordpress.com has moved to blogger!

2008-09-17T19:22:00.001+08:00

This is my new blog! All old articles have been uploaded and i will start blogging soon once i settle some minor problems. Wall Street's dramatic crash... AIG's bailout by the Feds...implications Mccain/Obama there's a lot to talk about.

I moved from Wordpress.com as it provided no capacity to open up the funding that this project needs. Thanks for supporting the previous blog and allowing it to enjoy up to 700 hits/day in merely a week. Do continue to provide the support for this blog as well. Thanks.

-Mr Hans

Chavez Tells United States To Go To #$@%* Hell, Sht Yankes

2008-09-17T19:18:00.004+08:00

While everyone has been dissecting whether Obama called Palin a pig, or whether Palin insulted Obama's community organizing, we've missed some rather massive mud-flinging in the United States' backyard.

Last night, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez told the United States to "Go to hell a hundred times." In front of an applauding crowd, he yelled "We have had enough of so much s**t from you, s**t Yankees!" as he expelled the U.S. ambassador, giving him just 72 hours to leave. Watch him here:

[ TRANSCRIPT: HUGO CHAVEZ, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA SAYING (SPANISH):

"The has seventy two hours to leave Venezuelan territory. Immediately, Mr. Chancellor Maduro, immediately, send for our ambassador before they throw him out of there. Our ambassador, the great companero Bernardo Alvarez should return to his country. When there is a new government in the United States we will send our ambassador, a government that respects the people of Latin America and Simon Bolivar's America. Go to hell, shit Yankees, we are a dignified people, go to hell 100 times." ]

I know: Chávez has always been something of a loose cannon (he enjoys calling President George W. Bush a donkey, the devil, and other colorful names). But to think this is nothing more than his usual Yankee-bashing would be a mistake. Minor crisis would be a better interpretation.

The Venezuelan strongman's outburst comes after his neighbor and left-wing soulmate Evo Morales expelled the U.S. ambassador earlier this week, accusing him of backing conservative opposition movements now protesting in the streets. The United States in turn kicked out Bolivia's ambassador.

Bolivia is in far more trouble than just having a few picketers on the street. Morales has proposed drastic energy and government reforms, to be voted upon in December, that would consolidate his power and allow him to redistribute agricultural land. Protesters, demanding a greater autonomy from the government in the natural gas industry, have shut down much of the country and dozens have been killed in street fighting. Perhaps emboldened by joint exercises with Russia, Chávez promised to militarily intervene if his buddy Morales is lifted from power.

But the U.S. government is in no mood for such funny business. Not only has the State Department sent the Venezuelan ambassador packing, but the Treasury Department today called out Venezuelan officials for helping the cocaine-trafficking rebel group FARC in neighboring Colombia.

"Today's designation exposes two senior Venezuelan government officials and one former official who armed, abetted, and funded the FARC, even as it terrorized and kidnapped innocents," said Adam J. Szubin, director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, in a toughly worded press release. Interpol accusations that Venezuela -- and even Chávez himself -- aided the FARC first surfaced this summer after Colombia got its hands on a FARC laptop, but this is the first time the U.S. government has formally charged any Venezuelan officials.

No doubt Chávez has a response up his sleeve.

(Source: Foreign Policy)
More information from The Huffington Post

Will not be writing my own articles for a few days due to work.

Sarah Palin’s Hot Photos (& Interview)

2008-09-17T19:16:00.005+08:00

By BILL TANCER
Time Magazine
Tuesday, Sep. 02, 2008

I doubt that any of us have ever considered any of our past vice-presidential candidates a sex symbol. But if recent Internet searches are any measure of the average American's current interest in politics, that may be changing.

On the Richter scale of Internet search energy, Republican presidential candidate John McCain's announcement on Friday that he had chosen Sarah Palin, the current governor of Alaska, as his running mate measured a magnitude 10. If you compare the number of searches for "John McCain," "Barack Obama" or "Joe Biden" with those for "Sarah Palin," there's no contest. In just two days, the number of U.S. Internet searches for "Sarah Palin" reached a peak greater than any other political personality in the past three years. In the week ending Aug. 30, 2008, searches for Governor Palin were almost four times as popular as Obama searches, eight times as popular as McCain searches and over 10 times more popular than searches for Biden.

So, what exactly are Palin searchers seeking?

Of the 1,323 unique search queries containing "Sarah Palin" over the past four weeks, there were many that you'd normally expect to see regarding a newly named vice-presidential candidate: queries about Palin's biography, for example, her voting record and her stance on abortion. The No. 1 search was simply "Sarah Palin." The next nine most popular search terms that appeared in conjunction with "Sarah Palin" were:

2. Vogue Magazine
3. Photos
4. Beauty Pageant
5. Bio
6. Biography
7. Pictures
8. Scandal
9. Alaska Governor
10. Hot

And if you look more carefully at the 1,300 searches Hitwise tracked, one of the most commonly entered search topics surrounding Palin was "hot photos." (Hitwise search data updates weekly on Mondays, so information on searches related to the news of Palin's pregnant teen daughter, Bristol, were not yet available.) Other queries common to the American public: "Sarah Palin Bikini Photos," "Sarah Palin Naked," "Sarah Palin Nude." People also searched frequently for Palin's physical stats - particularly her age and height - as they did with the other candidates and running mates. Internet searchers also appear to be fascinated by and confused about her religious orientation, with several queries such as "Sarah Palin Religious Beliefs," "Sarah Palin Christian," "Sarah Palin Catholic," "Sarah Palin Mormon" and "Sarah Palin Jewish."

Examining which of their search results Internet users click on provides additional clues on searchers' intent. Of those searching for information on the Republican Veep candidate, 28.5% continued on to reference websites such as Wikipedia, indicating that a large portion of searchers were either interested in finding out general information or simply answering last weekend's common question: Who is Sarah Palin?

Given that the most popular searches surrounding the candidates include queries about Meghan McCain's lunch with Heidi Montag, Web videos of Obama Girl and slogans like "Alaska: Coldest State, Hottest Governor," it's getting harder and harder to distinguish news about the 2008 presidential race from the latest chatter from celebrity gossip magazines.

Found this gem on TIME's website. But remember: No matter who you might be supporting, always focus on the issues, not the distractions, not the petty arguements, and not the personal attacks. Who has the better plan to lead?

More on Sarah Palin:

Palin's first extended interview with the media. Charles Gibson of CBS as interviewer.

TIME: How did Palin Do On Her Interview?

Consider a few questions:

Was Palin dodging questions?
Did she reveal her lack of knowledge over world affairs (eg. Her explanation why the 9/11 attacks occured) and domestic policies (eg. Bush Doctrine) to the world?
Did Obama, on the other hand, answer much tougher questions from O'Reilly with much better answers?
Does she have any idea how extreme the Bush Doctrine (pre-emptive invasion) is?

You decide.

Oh, and Sarah Palin also gave a few wrong facts in the interview. Go to Factcheck.org for details.

Similar Article (US Politics): 10/09/2008 - Are Mccain & Palin Mavericks? Or Is It Merely "Lipstick On A Pig?"

Are Mccain & Palin Mavericks? Or Is It Merely 'Lipstick On A Pig'?

2008-09-17T19:14:00.002+08:00

Obama recently criticized the Mccain-Palin duo a few days back, pointing out that the change rhetoric Mccain was attempting to pull was, in fact, nothing more than a cheap bluff. Ironically, what in the end became more controversial were the words 'lipstick on a pig' which resonated throughout the entire campaign trail, leaving some Republicans fuming while sparking off widespread debates.

Now to be honest, Mccain should have seen this coming ever since he stole his opponent's catch-phrase during the RNC last week. After all, Obama certainly wasn't going to sit around idling after his opponents had adopted his slogan of change as their own.

In fact, the illinois senator already started ruffling feathers on Tuesday when he begun using the word lie in his critisisms of the Mccain campaign. But this move has also drawn flak: A lie indicates a delibrately untrue statement made with malicious intent, leading some to claim that it is too strong a word to use.

[Obama] "I mean, you can't just make stuff up. You can't just re-create yourself. You can't just reinvent yourself. The American people aren't stupid."

..."I don't care what they say about me, but I love this country too much to let them take over another election with lies and phony outrage and swift boat politics. Enough is enough."

Video segment of Obama's speech on YouTube:

[ TRANSCRIPT: Obama: "John Mccain says he's about change too. And so I guess his whole angle is: Watch out, George Bush. Except for economic policy, healthcare policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove styled politics, we're really gonna shake things up in Washington! That's not change. That's just calling the same thing something different. You know you can put lipstick on a pig.. [but] it's still a pig." ]

First of all, forget the accusations of sexism. Lipstick on a pig is a commonly used phrase throughout the world - even John Mccain have said it once. And it also makes no sense to dismiss all of Palin's criticisms by simply labeling them sexist - that's just using disctractions to detract the debate from the actual issues.

So was Obama's accusation justified? Actually, probably yes.

Why? Because most importantly, Mccain isn't even the maverick that the mainstream media propagates he is. There is overwhelming evidence and statistics which suggest things about John Mccain that's in stark contrast of the image he's trying to project. Consider once again the statistics that he voted with Bush 95% of the time in 2007, more than any other senator, and 100% of the time in 2008. Or take a look at this arguement:

Myth #1: John McCain is a maverick.

...The truth is that McCain's breaks from the Republican Party line are few and far between. According to Congressional Quarterly's "party unity" ratings, since he came to the Senate in 1989, there have been only three years in which McCain voted with his party less than 80 percent of the time. When he has gone against the party line -- such as on campaign finance reform, global warming, or tobacco regulations -- McCain has taken a position that was overwhelmingly popular with the public, meaning that when he takes a "maverick" stance, he's gaining support with the public -- and hardly taking a political risk.

Just as important, McCain's acts of independence aren't so much on high-profile issues as they are on issues that the press makes high-profile, precisely because of McCain's involvement. In all these cases, something important happens in the media when McCain opposes his party. When an ordinary senator crosses party lines, he or she will join members of the other party and perhaps have occasional opportunities to be quoted or interviewed on the issue in question. When McCain crosses party lines, on the other hand, the story the news media write undergoes a shift: It then becomes a story not about a conflict between Democrats and Republicans, but a story about John McCain and his rebellion. This is why McCain is perceived to be much more of a maverick than Republicans such as Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins, who actually break with the GOP far more often. Yet journalists continue over and over to call McCain a "maverick," seldom questioning whether there might be more to the story.

(Source: MediaMatters)
Watch The Video

More information:
NYTimes: The Real John Mccain
Video: Why is the Media giving John Mccain a free ride?
Blizzard of Lies: Stop Focusing On Distractions and Lies. Start Worrying About The Real Issues
The GOP Loves the Heartland to Death

And these substantiations are merely the tip of the iceberg. In actual fact, John Mccain is only a maverick simply because the mainstream media claims he is one. There is simply no other way to gather adequate support after eight devastating years of failed Republican rule.

But if he isn't the maverick he claims to be, why is Mccain even championing change? In fact, even if he was sincerely championing change, why does he support so many of the failed policies made by the previous administration? Wouldn't the people know better? Wouldn't he be eventually exposed? The answer is simple: Because, at least in America's case, using lipstick on a pig really does work. -Mr Hans

Obama's reply to the senseless controversy:

(Even if you disagree with everything, do watch it. He makes a strong point)

Just in case you're wondering, here is the definition of the phrase 'Lipstick on a Pig'

Don't get too excited. LHC will probably take a year to warm up.

2008-09-17T19:12:00.002+08:00

News about the Large Hadron Collider was certainly ubiquitous today, hitting the front pages of the mainstream media all over the world. It was only after reading some of the featured articles, however, when I realized (to my horror) that it would probably take about one full year for the LHC to warm up before the actual experiment occurs.

New to the LHC?
Check out the previous articles first to understand what it's all about:
09/09/2008: Will The World End Tomorrow?
01/09/2008: The LHC: Of Black Holes and God Particles

Some excerpts:

"In the coming months, the collider is expected to begin smashing particles into each other by sending two beams of protons around the tunnel in opposite directions."

"The collider will operate at higher energies and intensities in the next year, potentially generating enough data to make a discovery by 2009, experts say." (Source: CNN)

"Gillies told the AP that the most dangerous thing that could happen would be if a beam at full power were to go out of control, and that would only damage the accelerator itself and burrow into the rock around the tunnel deep below the Swiss-French border.

And full power is probably a year away.

''On Wednesday we start small,'' said Gillies. ''What we're putting in to start with is one single low intensity bunch at low energy and we thread that around. We get experience with low energy things and then we ramp up as we get to know the machine better.''

He said a good result for Wednesday would be to have one beam going all the way around the tunnel in a counterclockwise direction. If that works, the scientists will then try to send a beam in the other direction.

''A really good result would be to have the other beam going around, too, because once you've got a beam around once in both directions you know that there is no show stopper,'' Gillies said. ''It's going to work.''

However, if there is some blockage in the machine, experts will have to go in and fix the problem, and that could take time.

The LHC, as the collider is known, will take scientists to within a split second of a laboratory recreation of the big bang, which they theorize was the massive explosion that created the universe." (Source: NYTimes)

"During winter, the LHC will be shut down, allowing equipment to be fine-tuned for collisions at full energy." (Source: BBC)

Sorry folks, but it looks like the reckless predictions of a global calamity happening today are all horribly wrong. Even if the LHC could produce something dangerous, light-speed proton to proton collision is likely to be at least a year away - along with all the possibilities of planet-swallowing black holes. Talk about a letdown.

Once again, the live webcast of the LHC's startup is available here. It might not be working as CERN is limiting the webcast to only a set number of viewers due to the overwhelming response. Video recordings of the live feed, however, will definitely find their way to YouTube.

LIVE WEBCAST FEED:

#1: There seems to be some technical issues right now with the LHC. The first beam went through fine, but the next beam fired at the anti-clockwise direction has encountered a problem at point6 along the LHC. It certainly seems like the LHC still needs a lot of tweaking and further tests before it's ready to solve some of humanity's greatest secrets.

#2: The problem was found to be due to optics issues and have been corrected and reached point5. What the scientists basically are doing is shooting a beam and artificially stopping it at certain set points in order to check if it traveled off its projected trajectory. It's a tough and tedious process. Fine-tuning the beam and the related calibrations are precisely what makes my point in this article: It's going to take a long time before the LHC actually discovers anything or produce a (microscopic) black hole.

#3: The anti-clockwise ajustment is halfway done. Once it's done, the intensity of the proton beams will be increased and tried again. Beam has reached point 3. They are solving errors and making faster and more incredible progress than anything have ever expected. In a very short time, they'll complete the circuit and finish the first step. Intensity is the next.

CERN's report here.

Hurricane Ike Devastates Cuba, Texas Next

2008-09-17T19:11:00.002+08:00

More updates on Hurricane Ike. I know people near the Gulf of Mexico are worried.

Similar Article:
Hurricane Ike Smashes Through Carribean Towards Florida Keys

Please DONATE and help people to rebuild their lives after Ike's destruction.

Hurricane Kills at Least 4 in Cuba (HEADING TOWARDS TEXAS)

By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
The New York Times
Published: September 9, 2008

Hurricane Ike continued its rampage across Cuba on Tuesday, killing four people, prompting more than a million others to flee and sending jitters through those living along the already battered shoreline of the Gulf Coast.

After the storm pummeled Haiti, killing at least 58 people, Ike made landfall in Cuba late Sunday night with Category 3 winds of 111 miles an hour and greater. The storm weakened slightly as it traveled east across the island, but moved so quickly that it claimed its first lives before the government could evacuate about 1.2 million people in its path.

One woman died when her home collapsed, a man was killed by a tree, and two others died while removing equipment from a roof, The Associated Press reported, citing state television. Ike has battered some of the same areas that were walloped in late August by a Hurricane Gustav, which was more powerful. But no one in Cuba was killed by Gustav because hundreds of thousands of people had been safely evacuated.

As of 11 a.m. eastern time on Tuesday, Ike was about 55 miles away from Cuba's capitol, Havana, the largest city in the Caribbean, and dropping as many as 20 inches of rain in some areas while spreading rip tides and hurricane winds over a distance of 35 miles. With Ike flooding streets, downing trees, and flattening several hundred frail, stone buildings - many of them homes - in rural areas, millions fled Havana for government shelters and safer structures. The capital came to a near standstill as schools, businesses and offices closed, and many people across the island were left without power.

According to forecasters at the National Hurricane Center, Ike was generating large swells at sea that have created massive waves and life-threatening conditions in the Florida Keys. They said isolated tornadoes and waterspouts could crop up over the Keys and other parts of south Florida throughout the day.

After heading west over the island at roughly 13 miles per hour throughout the day on Tuesday, Ike was expected to follow a path that could take it straight into the Gulf of Mexico, where it would likely gain strength before battering Texas over the weekend, forecasters said. The Gulf's shallow waters and warm temperatures are notorious for feeding and generating powerful hurricanes capable of causing widespread death and devastation, as happened in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina killed about 1,500 people along the coast.

Gov. Rick Perry of Texas issued a disaster declaration on Monday in preparation for Ike's arrival.

Concern that the hurricane might wreak havoc in the Gulf prompted the evacuation of offshore oil platforms that handle a quarter of the nation's petroleum production. But oil prices continued to fall, in part because of expectations that OPEC would keep production stable ahead of an upcoming meeting in Vienna.

Ike first made landfall on Saturday in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos islands as a monstrous category four hurricane, with winds between 131 and 155 miles an hour. The storm then swept through Haiti, where more than 600 people have been killed by storms this year.

Flooding and rain wiped out homes and inundated cities and agricultural areas. Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, is particularly vulnerable to storm-related disasters because much of its forests have been used for fuel, leaving the country with little protection from mudslides and flooding.

Texans get ready as Hurricane Ike heads their way

(CNN)
Residents along part of the Texas Gulf Coast have been told to leave Wednesday morning after Hurricane Ike left Cuba and began to gain strength in the warm Gulf of Mexico.

Officials in the Galveston area's Brazoria County ordered mandatory evacuation for one ZIP code and for people with special needs, beginning at 10 a.m. CT (11 a.m. ET), CNN affiliate KTRK-TV in Houston reported.

Perhaps more important to many in Texas, dozens of high school football games in cities and towns along the coast were rescheduled from Friday to Thursday night to avoid playing in the storm, CNN affiliate KGBT-TV reported.

The National Hurricane Center indicated Ike likely would come ashore along the Texas coast between Galveston and Brownsville as a major hurricane. But forecasters stressed the unpredictability of the storm, which could change course at the last minute.

"It's very frustrating for all of us," said Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas. "We're on alert, and we will continue to monitor this storm. I wish we could be clearer about where it's going."

Ike's center left western Cuba on Tuesday afternoon, having hit it with 75-mph winds, high surf and torrential rains in its second Cuban landfall in three days, the hurricane center said.

At 8 a.m. ET Wednesday, Ike, with 85-mph winds, was in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico about 145 miles north of the western tip of Cuba and 435 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, according to the center. The wind speed of the storm increased by 10 mph overnight.

Forecasters said Ike is likely to make landfall around Port O'Connor, Texas, late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 3 hurricane, with winds of 111 mph to 130 mph.

Tropical storm-force winds extended to the Florida Keys, though a storm warning for Key West was dropped Wednesday morning. iReport.com: Big waves hit Florida Keys

Thomas warned residents to stock up on nonperishable items, including pet food and diapers, and to prepare for going without electricity. Track the storm

Galveston City Manager Steve LeBlanc issued a warning to residents of the city's West End, citing forecasters' estimates that the area could get tides of 6 feet above normal if the storm arrives there. The West End is the area of Galveston most susceptible to flooding, LeBlanc said.

Thomas said she could call for voluntary evacuations of the West End by Wednesday morning, depending on forecasts.

By Tuesday night, officials in Corpus Christi, Texas, had called for the evacuations of special-needs residents beginning Wednesday morning. They also called for the relocation of high-profile vehicles -- including vans, motor homes, travel trailers and hitched boats -- that could hinder traffic if expanded evacuations become necessary.

The Texas Department of Transportation said it expected to open a shoulder of northbound Interstate 37 to traffic -- from coastal Corpus Christi to U.S. 281 roughly 80 miles inland -- on Wednesday morning to help people trying to leave the city.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry put 7,500 National Guard members on standby Tuesday, his office said. Watch where Ike may be headed along the U.S. coast »

In Cuba, evacuations appeared to have saved lives. Four deaths were reported from the storm, according to the Cuban government. The Cuban Civil Defense brought buses or trucks to take people to shelters. See the damage from the storm »

Cuban state television reported that two people were killed when they tried to remove an antenna, The Associated Press said. One man died when a tree crashed into his home, and a woman died when her home's roof collapsed, according to the AP.

The storm shredded hundreds of homes and caused some dilapidated buildings in Havana's older areas to collapse, the AP reported.

Teresa Tejeda, who is in her 70s, told the AP she joined several hundred other elderly people at a government shelter because she was too scared to stay in her old apartment building.

"My house has really bad walls, and I feel much more secure here," Tejeda said. Watch as winds and waves pound Cuba »

The United States, which provided $100,000 in emergency aid to communist-run Cuba through private aid agencies after Hurricane Gustav hit the island August 30, said Tuesday that it was considering additional emergency aid for Cuba because of Ike.

Also, the United States said it will lift restrictions on cash and humanitarian assistance sent to Cuba for the next 90 days. That will allow nongovernmental organizations to provide assistance and cash donations. Watch what Ike did to Cuba »

Flooding and rains from Ike's outer bands have been blamed for 70 deaths in Haiti, bringing that country's death toll from four recent major storms -- including Fay, Gustav and Hanna -- to 341, said Abel Nazaire, deputy head of Haiti's Civil Protection Service.

If you are in Texas now, stop reading this and leave immediately. If you need help or advice, there are more detailed contact information linked through the comments below.

Some additional information:

10/09/2008: Evacuations begin in Texas
Similar article
Video #1 (CNN)
Video #2 (The Guardian)

Similar Article:
Hurricane Ike Smashes Through Carribean Towards Florida Keys

Will The World End Tomorrow?

2008-09-17T19:08:00.002+08:00

Fourteen years, countless debates, and ten billion dollars later, CERN's gargantuan LHC is finally ready to go and set to fire it's first beam tomorrow on 10th September 2008. Through it, scientists hold modest goals of recreating the conditions of the universe just moments after the Big Bang in order to unravel fundamental secrets of nature that has thus far eluded mankind. It's admittedly ambitious, but with a particle accelerator this big, few - if any - are doubting they will succeed.

[ Don't understand the hype or what this is all about? More information of the Large Hadron Collider and the debate surrounding it is available in this earlier article ]

Doomsday theories, on the other hand, have also become ubiquitous through all forms of media, with the scenario of the LHC creating a black hole being the most popular. In fact, the entire controversy has even spawned a new viral video that garnered a million hits simply through the animation of a Black Hole swallowing Earth. Check it out:

So will the world really end tomorrow? Actually, no. The possibility of a Microscopic Black Hole being created certainly is there - but even if one was accidentally made, it would still be far too small and too unstable to produce any effect before collapsing and disappearing within seconds. In fact, CERN has been so swamped by public concerns that they decided to directly provide the information regarding the safety issues on their website. And don't dismiss the report as one-sided propaganda either: these are solid facts which have been verified on multiple occasions by neutral watchdog communities.

Full Safety Report

An excerpt from CERN's website:

CERN: What Will Happen Tomorrow

A media centre will be established in the Globe of science and innovation. Since it is not possible for us to take everyone to the CERN Control Centre, from where the LHC is run, we will install part of the control centre infrastructure in the media centre. At all times during the day, a member of the operations team on shift will be in the Globe and on hand to explain what is happening.

The Globe is equipped with a large screen that will show the activity in the control centre, and there will be regular press conferences via video-conference link with the control centre through the day.

Through the day, visits for TV media will be arranged to the control centre. There are two vantage points from which the control centre can be observed.

Visits to the control rooms of the LHC's experiments will also be available for all media.
Requests for any of these visits should be made via this form, after accreditation process. Experts will be on hand at all locations throughout the day. No underground visits will be possible.

The first injection of a beam is scheduled for 9:30 CET, and will be preceded by a planning meeting that will be relayed to the Globe from 9:00. You are strongly encouraged to arrive at CERN before 8:30. The objective for the day is to have beam circulating in the LHC, the precise sequence of events will evolve through the day.

Watch The Live LHC Webcast Here (Video starts 10/09/2008, 07:00-17:00 GMT)

And just in case i'm wrong, it's been fun blogging for you all.

Hurricane Ike Smashes Through Caribbean Towards Florida Keys

2008-09-17T19:07:00.002+08:00

Related Article: Hurricane Ike Devastates Cuba, Texas In Danger Zone

Please DONATE and help people to rebuild their lives after Ike's destruction.

MAJOR NEWS UPDATE: HURRICANE IKE TURNS AWAY FROM FLORIDA KEYS

Some headline news about Hurricane Ike:

Hurricane Ike Smashes West Through Caribbean

By MARC LACEY
The New York Times
Published: September 8, 2008

MIAMI - Hurricane Ike barreled west across central Cuba Monday after raising the death toll and destruction across the already beleaguered islands of the waterlogged Caribbean.

In Haiti, where the fourth-largest city, Gonaïves, remained underwater from Hurricane Gustav, rain fell Sunday and at least 10 more people died of drowning, according to reports from news services. By early Monday the number of people reported killed in Haiti just from the effects of Hurricane Ike reached at least 61, according to news services. The total of those killed in Haiti in the recent storms was in the hundreds.

In Cuba, where relief efforts from Hurricane Gustav were under way in the west, the government evacuated vulnerable communities as the new hurricane bore down on the island with heavy winds and rain that could total 10 inches.

In the Florida Keys, the authorities also ordered residents and tourists to leave as the outer reaches of the storm could be felt and on Monday a tropical storm warning was issued.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami reported Monday morning that Hurricane Ike, which had already weakened from a Category 4 storm to Category 3 Sunday after it hit Cuba, had weakened further to Category 2. But it was still considered a major hurricane with tremendous destructive force and it could still regain intensity.

Winds were gusting at around 105 miles per hour as it passed over central Cuba heading west toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Cuba's state-run television showed scenes from the city of Baracoa on the eastern tip of Cuba, where waves slammed into the sea wall and surged as high as nearby five-story apartment buildings before flooding the streets, Reuters reported.

Early Sunday, the hurricane had slammed into the southernmost islands of the Bahamas, where Janice McKinney, who ran a disaster shelter, told The Associated Press, "Oh my God, I can't describe it."

With winds up to 135 miles per hour, the storm also struck the Turks and Caicos Islands, where rain came in horizontally, according to witnesses, and more than 80 percent of the homes in some areas were reported damaged.

"They got hit really, really bad," The Associated Press quoted Michael Misick, the chief minister of the islands, as saying. "A lot of people have lost their houses, and we will have to see what we can do to accommodate them."

The effect of any rain at all on Haiti worried relief workers, who were struggling to reach hungry people cut off by floodwaters from a string of earlier storms. Officials opened an overflowing dam, further inundating residential and agricultural areas.

Meanwhile, a bridge collapsed, adding to the isolation of the suffering people of Gonaïves.

"What I saw in this city today is close to hell on earth," Hédi Annabi, the United Nations special representative to Haiti, said on Saturday in Gonaïves, where children were chasing trucks carrying food and shouting, "Hungry! Hungry!"

The airport in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, was closed for part of Sunday, and flights from Miami were canceled.

Some travelers who were lined up at the Miami airport toted huge duffel bags that they said contained supplies for ailing relatives.

Exactly which path Hurricane Ike would take next remained unclear as night fell Sunday, causing alarm in island after island.

The National Hurricane Center said Ike was expected to continue on a path that would turn toward the west-northwest on Monday, heading toward the Gulf Coast possibly by Wednesday.

The hurricane center said the storm was generating large swells at sea that could generate life-threatening rip currents along portions of coast in the southeastern United States, still recovering from Gustav, which made landfall on Louisiana and Mississippi on Monday, and Tropical Storm Hanna, which hit the Carolinas on Saturday and by late Sunday was dumping rain on Canada.

Tourists, residents ordered out of Keys as Ike strengthens

MIAMI, Florida
CNN
Published: September 8, 2008

Visitors to the Florida Keys were told to pack up and leave Saturday because of the threat from Hurricane Ike, swirling in the Caribbean.

"We're sorry to interrupt their vacations, but we need visitors to leave the Keys to ensure their safety," said Keys Mayor Mario Di Gennaro, who also chairs the islands' Tourism Council. "We do hope they will return and understand our concerns for their well-being."

A couple of hours after the orders were announced, Ike strengthened to an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm with winds near 135 mph, said the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.

At 11 p.m. ET Saturday, Ike's center was near the Turks and Caicos Islands, moving west-southwest at 15 mph.

Florida emergency management officials began evacuating visitors from Key West and the rest of the Keys on Saturday and planned to help residents leave Sunday.

The British government arranged extra flights to move visitors to Turks and Caicos, a British crown colony, out of harm's way before the Providenciales airport was forced to close about noon. Video Watch a webcam report from Turks and Caicos »

"The flights look impossible at the moment," Bahamian Patrick Munroe told The Associated Press at the Providenciales airport.

"As I watched the weather forecast, it looks really, really serious, and I think it's going to be devastating," he told AP.

"I don't remember ever seeing a mass exodus like this," Providenciales resident Tracy Paradis told AP. She intended to fly to Seattle, Washington, with her 19-month-old twins and return after the hurricane.

Cubans were being warned that Ike was a "true danger," and government officials began emergency preparations.

On Saturday, Cuban officials asked the U.S. to loosen the "ruthless and cruel" decades-old trade embargo on the Communist-ruled island in the wake of deadly flooding caused by powerful storms. Cuba was also hit hard by Hurricane Gustav.

"If the government of the United States is really willing to cooperate with the Cuban people in face of the tragedy of the hurricane, it is requested to allow the sale to Cuba of those materials considered indispensable and to suspend the restrictions that prevent U.S. companies from offering private commercial credits to our country for the purchase of food in the United States," said the statement from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"In all truth, the only correct and ethical action ... would be to eliminate totally and permanently the ruthless and cruel economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed against our Motherland for almost half a century," the statement said.

The U.S. State Department issued a statement Friday, after government officials had offered to help Cuban flood victims.

"We do not believe that at this time it is necessary to loosen the restrictions on remittances and travel to Cuba to accomplish the objective of aiding the hurricane victims," the statement said.

In Monroe County, Florida, which includes the Keys, officials prepared for the storm by closing or planning to close schools and state, officials said in a written statement.

There will be no commercial flights to Key West starting Sunday night, and the airport won't be reopened until the storm passes, Key West Airport Director Peter Horton said. The suspension of flights also applies to the airport at Marathon Key, an hour's drive from Key West, he said.

General aviation flights, including private and charter planes, will be allowed until noon Sunday, he said.

Ike is expected to start turning toward the northwest Monday, a path that would take the storm over the Keys and into the southeast Gulf of Mexico.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist acknowledged that storm tracks are unpredictable, but he said Ike could be a serious threat by Tuesday. Video Watch Crist warn about 'a dangerous storm'

"We continue to watch with much concern the track of Hurricane Ike," Crist said Saturday. "Ike has grown rapidly into a dangerous storm that continues to move ... toward Florida."

Crist declared a state of emergency Friday, allowing officials to get supplies in place, such as drinking water and ready-to-eat meals, near vulnerable areas.

Fran Chipley of Key West, Florida, said she planned to stay put. She manages the front desk at historic Chelsea House, a bed and breakfast on the waterfront.

"Our plans today are business as usual ... then we're going to see what happens tomorrow," she said. "I know there's a mandatory evacuation today, but we are allowing our guests to stay if they choose to, which I think I know they're going to do, because it's beautiful."

Ike "looks like it's going south, and we're hoping for that," Chipley added.

She said she lives in a home that is on higher ground and survived Hurricane Wilma in October 2005. Wilma hit southeast Florida, did extensive damage on the East Coast and killed nearly 20 people in Florida, Mexico and Haiti.

The Caribbean took a beating from Tropical Storm Hanna, and Ike promised to add to the misery.

"What we saw [with Hanna] was pretty bad," Turks and Caicos vacationer Jonathan Cohen, of Queens, New York, told AP. "So for it to be two, three times worse, well, it's time to get out of here."

Forecasters predicted storm-surge flooding of 9 to 12 feet above normal tides and large and dangerous waves when Ike hits. These can be expected near and north of Ike's center.

UPDATE:

Did some searching through the web to find websites that are tracking Hurricane Ike. Hope it helps.
http://www.stormpulse.com/
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

Related Article: Hurricane Ike Devastates Cuba, Texas In Danger Zone

Bush and Mccain Compared. Funny & Brilliant Clip!

2008-09-17T19:06:00.002+08:00

Video says it all. A 2 minute clip that really gets the message through.
[VIDEO LINK FIXED.. again]

Clip taken from The Daily Show by Jon Stewart.

Does Mccain = Bush? Perhaps not exactly, but close enough for me.

More detailed political articles are available on this blog.

Pakistan's New President: Will Things Change? Don't Bet on It

2008-09-17T19:03:00.002+08:00

It's official: Asif Ali Zardari, widower of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto and co-chairman of his party the PPP, has won a landslide victory for the Pakistani presidency. In fact, the margin of victory was so great that he actually begun celebrations before the election results were even out. Read The NY Times Report Here.

But don't be too optimistic for change just yet: behind the superficial smiles and festivity lies very serious issues with the country that Zardari will soon be forced to face. From local residents to hostile neighbour India - even distant Washington - a lot of questions are being asked: Will Pakistan improve economically? Will it continue to play a two-faced game in the war on terror? Or will it sink into the depths of corruption once again? It's all hard to say.

What is certain, however, is that the election was considered a great success for democracy and signified the dawn of a new age in Pakistan. In fact, waves of optimism are currently skyrocketing with hope over the possibility of increased stability within the Middle East and the lowering of regional tensions. Nevertheless, two main issues still need to be addressed:

Terrorism

One of the primary concerns, especially for the United States, would be Pakistan's allegiance regarding the war on terror. Washington has long been fed up with Musharraf's two-faced balancing game and has threatened on multiple occasions to cut off the billions of US dollars flowing into Pakistan as aid.

The problem is this: Neither the US nor Pakistan has ever officially admitted it, but it is an established policy that the US uses unmanned aircraft and missile strikes to eliminate terrorist targets in Pakistan. And while it may be true that up till now Pakistan have yet to object and has even helped in covering it up, the recent change in power makes the situation much more murky - Will Pakistan still tolerate continued violation of it's national sovereignty? If the billions of US dollars stop flowing in, probably not.

And while Zardari might had made promises to fight domestic terrorists, that certainly doesn't mean he has to do it Washington's way. It true: Pakistan still definitely wants the US as an ally for the economical benefits - but that also doesn't mean it's willing to risk regional hostility towards itself as well. It's a difficult game to play. Inevitably, Zardari might be eventually forced to carefully tread down the same "double-agent" path Musharaff did.

For a greater understanding of Pakistan and it's two-faced stance on terrorism, visit PBS Frontline.

Leadership

There are also a few distinct problems with Zardari's leadership. First of all, although Zardari appears to have no problems when gathering support, he has little to no experience on the actual governing itself. Secondly, Zardari has also yet to shake off the allegations of corruption and win over the full faith of the people. But while it's undeniable that Zardari, on paper, might not be the ideal leader Pakistan is looking for, that's also an issue thats no longer important: The man is already elected.

The real cause for concern is the big question if he will start handing down much of the substantial presidental powers that ex-president Musharaff has gathered over the years. Now Zardari has made the verbal agreements and subtle suggestions that he would do so, but it ultimately still remains to be seen if his actions will follow. If he does so, however, much of the power is likely to be transferred down to the Prime Minister.

When interviewed by a CNN correspondent about such concerns, Zardari replied this: "Challenges are manys. But those are mostly for the Prime Minister and the Government ... I intend to [hand over power] ... I will hand over as much power as the government desires."

Either way, the Pakistani voters have already made their choice. But what will be Zardari's next move? The world is watching.

RNC: Republicans Promise Change. Is the party in power running as if it wasn't?

2008-09-17T19:02:00.002+08:00

The Republican National Convention recently ended last thursday in Saint Paul, Minnesota, finishing off grandly with a powerful declaration of "Country First" and a clarion call for change. Wait... wasn't that Barack Obama's signature line?

Yes, surprisingly enough, change was one of the main topics during the recent RNC. There, to deafening applause, the Republican Party promised to 'clean up Washington' and 'drain that swamp' in order to achieve 'change, the goal we share'. And while the event sounded like just another political convention, this time the party in question was actually promising change from itself. Personally, I don't know whether to be intrigued or confused: If the party in power seeks change.. why isn't it doing so right now?

Jon Stewarts perhaps said it best when he put forth this question to Republican Mike Huckabee: "I've been hearing so much about change [from the republicans]... do they realize who've been in charge for the most part over the last eight years?". (Watch the video here).

Are the Republicans attempting to use confusion in their favor, or do they simply sincerely believe that they are the best candidates to get the United States out of the same mess that they brought it into? It's hard to say.

Peter Baker from The New York Times also wrote an interesting article about the event two days back. Check it out.

Some excerpts:

PETER BAKER: Party in Power, Running as if it Weren't.
The nominee's friend described him as a "restless reformer who will clean up Washington." His defeated rival described him going to the capital to "drain that swamp." His running mate described their mission as "change, the goal we share." And that was at the incumbent party's convention.
After watching two political conclaves the last two weeks, it would be easy to be confused about which was really the gathering of the opposition. As Senator John McCain accepted the Republican nomination for president, he and his supporters sounded the call of insurgents seeking to topple the establishment, even though their party heads the establishment.
...
The effort to position Mr. McCain and the Republicans as the true agents of change benefited this week from his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate. Known for taking on her own state party over corruption and wasteful spending, Ms. Palin projects the image of the ultimate Washington outsider, literally from more than 2,800 miles outside the Capital Beltway. And she would be the first woman to serve as vice president.
But as a matter of history, it is easier to run as the opposition party if you actually are the opposition party.
"When the president of the United States is from your own party, to present yourself as a change agent is not the easiest thing to pull off," said Joe Trippi, a Democratic strategist. Referring to Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, Mr. Trippi added, "All Obama has to do is say, ‘Bush-McCain, Bush-McCain.' "
...
For "every candidate, regardless of whether they're an incumbent or a challenger," said Sara Taylor, a former White House political director under Mr. Bush, "one of the fundamental missions is how to set themselves up as the change agent, and John McCain is well equipped based on a long record as a maverick to do that."
By the time the convention here was about to get under way, Mr. McCain almost sounded like a speaker at an Obama rally. "I promise you, if you're sick and tired of the way Washington operates, you only need to be patient for a couple of more months," he told supporters in O'Fallon, Mo., on Sunday. "Change is coming! Change is coming! Change is coming!"
He continued the mantra Thursday. "Let me just offer an advance warning to the old big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second crowd," Mr. McCain said. "Change is coming."

Mr Hans is neither a US citizen, nor is he living there. He is, however, baffled by some of the ridiculous things US politicians try to do and even more intrigued that they usually work.

Just remember that Mccain has voted with Bush 95% of the time in 2007 and 100% of the time in 2008. How does that make him a maverick? Change won't come until you vote for it.

Or does he really have a "maverick's record"? I haven't found any real evidence, but if anyone can provide it I would be happy to fight for Mccain's case as well. Thanks!

Think Again: Obama's top 10 worst ideas.

2008-09-17T18:56:00.002+08:00

Foreign Policy's website recently released a web-exclusive article listing Barack Obama's top 10 worst ideas. Take a look.

For the uninformed, Foreign Policy is a bimonthly magazine which mainly focuses on global politics and economics. It is actually one of the more respected publications out there and has an enviable reputation in many countries. This time, however, like the characteristic title of one of their sections, they might really need to think again about their accusations.

Well, here is the list: (And my responses)

* * *

#2: Opposing the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
What he said: “And I’ll also oppose the Colombia Free Trade Agreement if President Bush insists on sending it to Congress because the violence against unions in Colombia would make a mockery of the very labor protections that we have insisted be included in these kinds of agreements.” —Speech to Philadelphia AFL-CIO, April 2, 2008
Why it’s a bad idea: Although Obama citied antilabor violence, the murder rate for union members in Colombia last year was 4 per 100,000, well below the rate for the general population. The deal carries little to no cost for the United States; economists actually predict modest increases in U.S. exports. The upshot for an important ally in the war on drugs, however, is high, and consolidating Colombia’s commitment to open trade with the United States is a worthy goal.

#2: Wrong . Murder rates are, at best, a very limited reflection of Colombia's violence against unions. Most violent acts are understandably non-lethal and focuses heavily on intimidation - it makes no sense to kill your own workers.

Obama's stand also isn't based on economics, so pointing out the economic justifications really proves nothing. The phrase Obama used was "...would make a mockery of the very labor protections that we have insisted..." - it's a moral standpoint. By allowing violence against unions despite specifically agreeing not to, Columbia is showing signs that it isn't going to abide by agreements made with the US. Turning a blind eye will only exacerbate the very real issues of abuse and may also weaken US influence.

#3: Talking Openly About Bombing Pakistan
What he said: “If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won’t act, we will.” —Speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, Washington, D.C., Aug. 1, 2007
Why it’s a bad idea: Engaging in military strikes in Pakistan happens to be established policy. But, as none other than Joe Biden pointed out last August, “It’s not something you talk about. … The last thing you want to do is telegraph to the folks in Pakistan that we are about to violate their sovereignty.”

#3: Arguable. It's an open secret that the US uses unmanned aircraft to bomb terrorist targets in Pakistan. However, by making the statement, Obama makes clear his stance on the War on Terror and silences critics who often accuse him of being soft on terrorists. While slightly ambitious, Obama is offering to Americans the ideal solution to terrorism: Bring home the troops, but continue shooting from afar.

#4: Sitting Down with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

What he said: Asked if he’d be “willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea,” Obama replied: “I would.”—Democratic primary debate, Charleston, S.C., July 23, 2007

Why it’s a bad idea: Engaging rogue states can be a savvy move, and even the Bush administration has negotiated with Pyongyang and sent envoys to meetings with Iran. But sitting down with heads of state without precondition? That’s another thing entirely, especially when it comes to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Carnegie Endowment expert Karim Sadjadpour told the Wall Street Journal, “Only two things can rehabilitate Ahmadinejad politically: bombing Iran or major efforts to engage.” No wonder Obama’s foreign-policy team has walked back its candidate’s off-the-cuff remarks.

#4: Can't blame the guy. Yes, it certainly is true: Meeting without precondition with the heads of rogue states would be misguided and it might even suggest that America condones their behavior. But Obama knows that too: At that time, he was only one out of eight potential candidates and agreement was the politically right thing to do. A refusal, on the other hand, would had only reflected inflexibility. Americans want to hear solutions, not an approach that guarantees poor relations with these dangerous states.

#5: Pushing the Patriot Employer Act
What he said: “When I am president … I’ll pass the Patriot Employer Act that I’ve been fighting for ever since I ran for the Senate—we will end the tax breaks for companies who ship our jobs overseas, and we will give those breaks to companies who create good jobs with decent wages right here in America.”—Speech in Janesville, Wis., Feb. 13, 2008
Why it’s a bad idea: British economists Willem Buiter and Anne Sibert slam the bill as, “reactionary, populist, xenophobic and just plain silly.” That’s a bit much. A little populist pandering is hardly a threat to the global economic order—the bill offers employers a small tax credit if they meet six conditions, including the probably unworkable provision that they keep their headquarters in the United States. It’s never smart economic policy to reward companies for placing limitations on their own profitable activities, but as The Economist put it, “Obama deserves a slap on the wrist” for this one, not a full-throated indictment.

#5: Wrong again. Once again, Obama's focus isn't on economics. And while economical protectionism might be flawed from an international viewpoint, by doing so Obama will keep domestic jobs available and temporarily surpress the unemployment rate. Significantly, by placing more restrictions on companies outsourcing jobs overseas, he ensures that the average middle-income family has a higher chance of surviving through the current recession. Xenophobic perhaps, but well-intentioned.

#7: Eliminating Income Taxes for Seniors
What he said: “I’ll make retirement more secure for America’s seniors by eliminating income taxes for any retiree making less than $50,000 per year.” —Speech on Nov. 7, 2007, in Bettendorf, Iowa
Why it’s a bad idea: Most seniors already pay no income taxes. That’s because they already get preferential treatment in the tax code. Plus, why are seniors more deserving of tax relief than struggling young families? The Tax Policy Center—run by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute—criticized the idea in a recent report, saying that because government spending on seniors is already set to balloon due to retiring baby boomers, “it seems inappropriate to target special income tax breaks to this group.”

#7: Don't twist the facts. It is precisely because of the growing number of retirees that this bill will be especially important. And while government spending will rise, it won't be unjustified either: Soaring inflation rates means that retirees living on savings or fixed pensions are going to experience very real drops in the value of their money. To further complicate the issue, seniors will also probably lack the capacity to find proper jobs again due to age or health problems. If anything, such a policy will only serve to protect yet another needy portion of society and further increase Obama's popularity.

#8: Boosting Ethanol Subsidies
What he said: “[Ethanol] ultimately helps our national security, because right now we’re sending billions of dollars to some of the most hostile nations on earth.” —Statement at the opening of a VeraSun Energy ethanol processing plant in Charles City, Iowa, August 2007
Why it’s a bad idea: As economist Paul Krugman has written, corn-based ethanol is “bad for the economy, bad for consumers, bad for the planet—what’s not to love?” World Bank economist Daniel Mitchell blames biofuels, including ethanol, for a 75 percent increase in global food prices since 2002 that has led to economic distress and rioting in such countries as Haiti, Egypt, and Somalia. There’s also little evidence that they do much to prevent global warming. A recent study published in Sciencedemonstrated that the farmland needed to grow corn for ethanol results in deforestation on a massive scale, negating any benefit the reduction in carbon emissions might have. So why does the senator support such a wasteful and damaging subsidy, even voting for the recent farm bill’s billions in pork for ethanol producers? “[B]ecause Illinois … is a major corn producer,” he said in April. At least he’s honest.

#8: Too early to say. There certainly can be no denial that the growing trend of using ethanol as an alternative fuel has led to global food shortages and soaring prices. But while that may be true, it's presumptious to attempt blaming international conflicts on it: Gang violence in Haiti was already ubiquitous and Somalia is also certainly no stranger to ethnic cleansing.

On the issue of climate change, there actually IS scientific evidence that ethanol prevents global warming: Global warming is caused by CO2. Fossil fuels give off CO2. Ethanol... doesn't. Simple.

There is, however, no real statistical evidence of ethanol preventing global warming because it still barely makes up 10% of global fuels which, in this context, is far too negliable. And while deforestation is undeniably bad for the environment, it is also a one-time-off event which will ultimately pay off in the long run.

* * *

Was the Foreign Policy team grasping at straws when they wanted to make an Anti-Obama top 10 list? Perhaps. I have tried to point out the multiple flaws in the list, but in the end it's really up to you to decide in November who's right and who's wrong.

John Mccain's top 10 list is next week!

[Article] Online Degrees: Will it get you a job? How should one find the ideal course?

2008-09-17T18:55:00.001+08:00

I recently took on a project to write two brief articles on online education and the issues involved. As some might imagine, online universities still face many challenges when it actually comes down to their credibility and relevance in the real world. Regrettably, the person involved backed out in the end, so i thought i might share and publish them for free instead.

Can a online degree secure a job? How do one pick the best online course? I hope the information helps those who needs it. Enjoy. -Mr Hans

Online Degrees: Will they get you a job?

Will an online degree secure you a job?

Increasingly so, experts proclaim, though admitting as well that online degrees are still generally viewed as less credible than their traditional equivalents.

One major challenge that online universities face has constantly been to convince employers who are trained in traditional schools and hold traditional degrees to acknowledge their virtual counterparts. The process is tough, yet necessary. It is, after all, meaningless to complete an entire course spanning up to four years if the economic opportunities don't open up.

Students of skill-based courses, such as Law or Medicine, are also perhaps the ones who are bearing the highest costs of this prejudice. Employers cite the lack of face-to-face interaction and likely inadequate practice as prime fears, pointing out that it is impossible to do chemistry experiments or courtroom argumentation without the necessary facilities that virtual classrooms simply cannot provide.

Thankfully, things are looking up. Concord Law School become the first ever virtual law school to receive approval from the American Bar Association during 2007, taking online education one step further in terms of legitimacy. Additionally, more and more prestigious universities such as the University of Scranton or Saint Joseph's University are setting up online courses as well. If anything, current trends indicate the industry will continue to expand and gain more credence in time to come.

Diploma mills may also soon eventually prove to be little more than a temporary phenomenon. Vital information warning prospective students and employers about these fraudulent universities are now ubiquitous through all forms of media. Websites specializing in reviewing and rating online universities are sprouting all over the internet and bringing greater awareness to people. A simple and quick search through the web is now all that is required to check on the legitimacy of an online course.

So what does this mean for all of us? Simple: don't chuck your online diploma into the bin, even if your current employers aren't valuing it. It might just be your ticket to greater success much sooner than you can imagine.

Online Degrees: Beginner Tips in Finding That Ideal Course

Online universities and their courses has long since been the subject of much controversy and debate, with concerns over the issues of accreditation or reliability often being raised.

Skeptics, for example, are often quick point out the countless ‘diploma mills', fraudulent online universities with little more than legitimate sounding names and issuing degrees holding no real value or credibility. Others may then contend that traditional degrees are still held in much higher regard than their online counterparts.

These may all be, to some extent, undeniable truths. Nevertheless, we cannot collectively dismiss all online degrees simply due to a few black sheep; that would be little more than throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

How then should one find the ideal online course? First of all would obviously be finding a university that is actually legitimate. Thankfully, there are some distinct tell-tale signs of a fraudulent diploma mill: Heavy emphasis on "life experience", advertisements made through unsolicited e-mail, or the lack of any tangible teaching facilities are just some of the prime examples.

Additionally, take the time to find reviews from graduates to examine if the degree was actually useful or even recognized in the real world. Warren National University, for example, is notoriously rumored to have little more than bogus courses and has largely negative reviews while Columbia Southern University enjoy high ratings and accreditation by the DETC. A simple Google search can often save prospective students serious amounts of time and money from being potentially wasted.

Yet even with the right university, bridging the gap between online and traditional degrees can also often prove difficult. Thankfully, there have been industries which have been increasingly accepting towards online degrees. These inevitably tend to be primarily based around technology and the internet. Knowledge-based degrees are also commonly favored above their skill-based counterparts.

Pursuing an online education need not be as tricky or dangerous as some may imagine it might be. And should one manage to overcome the difficulties involved, the eventual benefits will definitely prove to be worth the effort in time to come.
-Mr Hans

Sarah Palin - Are the "double-standards" unjustified? Hardly So

2008-09-17T18:54:00.002+08:00

Barely days after she was announced as the Republican's running vice-president, Governor Sarah Palin is already hogging the headlines. Accusations of corruption have become ubiquitous. Her daughter Bristol is 17 years old and five months pregnant. And if all that isn't enough, claims of her being little more than a cheap political ploy to win over the "female vote" are fast becoming prevalent over all forms of media

From the way things are looking, it certainly does seems that the Senator Mccain might be starting to regret his hasty and arguably reckless choice of a running-mate.

Yet what about the current debate questioning if she will be able to juggle family matters along with national issues? Significantly, Sarah Palin is a mother of five children, three of which are below the age of 15 and with her most recent child diagnosed with Down syndrome.

She is undeniably going to have a lot of parental responsibility to live up to. Many have hence raised the question of which if she will be able to handle running the country at the same time, leading women all over the globe to cry foul and pointing out that male candidates had never been questioned so frivolously on such private issues.

Are double standards being placed on Governor Palin? Definitely so. But are they really unjustified and wrong? Probably not.

Forget the accusations of chauvinism or sexism. It is undeniable and scientifically proven that man and woman are profoundly different on both a biological and psychological level. More importantly, men and women have been playing significantly different gender roles since time immemorial and still do today. With economic liberalisation, it's often easy to forget how women are still the major caretakers of the household or how that they are the ones children instinctively turn to in times of need. Who can deny that the role of mothers, while extremely time consuming, are still today irreplaceable in raising children to grow up and for them to develop healthily? Motherhood is something that Sarah Palin cannot escape from.

Equal rights is one issue. Assuming that man and woman are equal on all levels is another. Each will ultimately have their own respective gender roles that they are obliged to fulfill - and that is a responsibility which both sexes must come to face.

[Article] The LHC: Of Black Holes and God Particles

2008-09-17T18:37:00.002+08:00

I'm sure most of us has already heard about the LHC, or the Large Hadron Collider.

Some quick background information for those who haven't: The LHC, built by CERN and spanning 27 kilometers, will be the largest particle collider ever built. It aims to accelerate two proton beams at (almost) light-speed in opposite directions, causing them to collide and - hopefully - produce some kind of result. Many theoretical particles which remain currently unproven are expected to surface, take for example the notorious Dark Matter or the "God-Particle" Higg's Boson.

Should they fail to appear however, the Standard Model and even the entire concept of quantum physics might have to be scrapped and taken back to the drawing board. And while that certainly might be good news for students, it definitely won't be for the rest of us.

Significantly, unlike other scientific research that mostly goes 'under the rader' of the media, the LHC has largely enjoyed extensive media coverage as well as it's fair share of criticism and controversy. CERN has even recently sent a speaker to TED in a bid to increase it's popularity and create a more politically positive image.

TED Talk about the LHC:

So what does all this mean for the rest of us? What are the possible implications of such a breakthrough? There are many issues that deserves mention.

The root of the controversy lies in the possibility of the LHC creating a black hole in the middle of France which, of course, means that the rest of us will be sucked in as well. There are also other variations of sorts, but all generally point to the end of humanity.

Some may then point out that the odds of a global disaster are really just one in fifty million - extremely small and almost negligible, but the statistics provide cold comfort when one takes a deeper look into the issue:

Due to diminishing returns, particle accelerators will only continue to get bigger and bigger. Consider the "Super LHC" already under construction. As science progresses onwards, society is inevitably going to see a lot of more drastic physics experiments that will undeniably continue to carry heavy risks. And for better or for worse, we are going to slowly and steadily experience the direct costs and implications of these scientific research. If something goes wrong, we're all going to experience the consequences.

Also, if a one in fifty million chance of a global disaster is deemed too small to justify restricting the use of the LHC, what about a one in forty million chance? Or a one in a ten million chance? Or one in a million? It's a slippery slope argument when justifying the LHC's use that way; the line needs to be clearly drawn before the odds becomes more and more dangerously high with each new experiment surpassing it's predecessor in size.

Interestingly enough, the LHC provides a unique dilemma that has not surfaced since the invention of Nuclear Energy: How should authorities manage risk when when the odds are exceedingly small but yet carries the catastrophic potential of widespread destruction, and in this case, global annihilation?

Regrettably, if the case of Nuclear Energy provides any indicator, the global community is collectively still not ready or united enough to tackle such challenges. Some form of real global leadership truly is needed, but with international organizations such as the UN largely ineffective and countries such as the United States or those in Western Europe not what they once were, the prospect of that is looking bleak indeed.

So are we all going to die? Maybe. Then again, probably not. Chances are things will proceed onwards in life as if nothing has ever changed. What is definitely certain, however, is that the LHC will leave it's footmark in history as a turning point in the realm of particle physics forever. So whatever you do, don't miss the events that will unfold in the upcoming months ahead - for they will hold much more meaning to the scientific world than any other event has ever came close to matching. -Mr Hans

Update: The LHC has started operations on 10th September 2008.

Learn more on the LHC:
09/09/2008: Will The World End Tomorrow?
10/09/2008: Don’t get too excited. LHC will probably take a year to warm up.

Feature Article

2007-09-17T18:04:00.000+08:00

We don’t need no education
We don’t need no thought control
All in all it’s just another brick in the wall
All in all you’re just another brick in the wall
-Pink Floyd

Why Our Educational Systems Are Failing

Education is, without doubt, a vital and sensitive component of governance for both the developing and developed world today. Yet despite its strong initial ideological goals, the subject has been proving to be a baffling and difficult topic even for many national leaders to handle. Regardless of cultural doctrine or politics, few countries can disagree with education’s importance, and even fewer will concur that education provides the ideal long-term solution to a multitude of problems ranging from the plague of long-term poverty to that of domestic violence. It’s education that’s meant to prepare the next generation for the future’s unpredictability that we ourselves can barely grasp. It’s also education that is touted to be the only practical and probable solution to vital issues such as climate change.

Yet the ever-recurring controversies over rote-learning, the constant stigmatization of mistakes and the ongoing process of academic inflation only seem to warn us that perhaps our current system is starting to show signs of failure. In fact, our current eductional programmes, built based on the demands of rapid industrialization over a hundred years ago, are fast becoming irrelevant in today’s new information age and urgently needs to be rethought before it perhaps becomes far too late.

Education guru Sir Ken Robinson made perhaps one of the strongest arguements against the usage of failure in the classroom, where he contended that current education systems squander human talent and educated people out of their creative capacities rather than into them. The constant stigmatization of mistakes and failure in national education systems, he pointed out, has created a situation where children eventually lose their capacity to be unafraid to take chances and make mistakes.

The impacts of this are severe, as while failure certainly does not equate to creativity, what perhaps is more important is that if people are not prepared to be wrong, they will never come up with anything original. Original and novel ideas are fast becoming a desperately important resource needed in the countless rapidly evolving industries today, and we simply cannot continue to ruthlessly squander away the creative capacities of entire generations if we still aspire to prepare them for the future that lies ahead of them. The skills of literacy and numeracy ultimately cannot be allowed to continue to take precedence over creativity - and supposing we truly recognize that, now might just be the time to put forth actions to support that stand.

Even then, creativity isn’t the only thing at stake. Thirty years on since Pink Floyd’s release of the song “we don’t need no education”, their lyrics are still regularly quoted for debates on educational philosophy - and for good reason. Rote-learning and the standardized hierarchy of subjects in education systems (where math and languages are always valued above the arts) have long been criticized for creating mass-produced graduates of limited quality. Proponents of this argument contend that such a system merely creates graduates based on the economy’s demands instead of their natural aptitudes, thus often squandering the gifts of these otherwise talented people when the things they were good at in school simply wasn’t valued or was actually stigmatized. Perhaps one powerful accusation to ponder about would be asking if the products of this system have inevitably become incapable of original thought - merely just mass-produced social clones made to be puppets and slaves to the economy.

The current trend of academic inflation is also a definite sign that the structure of our current education systems is failing and simply will not continue to service in the future. Despite more demanding syllabuses and increased scope of educational options available, degrees are constantly plunging in value. University graduates, once revered as the cream of the crop, are today increasingly being forced to stay at home and play video games.

We need to radically rethink our view of intelligence and the fundamental principles that we are educating our children on - or more and more of otherwise incredibly talented people will inevitably continue to go unappreciated and undiscovered, existing on simply as ‘just another brick on the wall.’ Human intelligence operates in many ways: kinesthetically, musically, spatially, and more. These aspects simply can no longer continue to remain as blatantly ignored as they have been in the past; just as how the richness and diversity of human intellect absolutely cannot go on remaining hidden and forgotten.

We all wish for our children and the next generation to have a great number of positive and powerful character traits; we want them not only to be logical and linguistic, but also to be creative, talented, brilliant, and expressive. Now might perhaps be finally the time to educate them for it. -Mr Hans

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About Me

2007-09-17T17:50:00.000+08:00

Forget the title of this page. This isn’t about me.

This is about you.

And yes, I know. That sounds incredibly corny. But it’s true.

The world today is changing a rapid rate on all levels: Economically, politically and socially. In the realm of science and technology or the world of big business. In the virtual engima of the Internet or the forgotton regions of the third world.

And it now no longer matters if you’re a student, a working adult or even retired. For moral or pragmatic reasons, keeping up with everyone else has become a prerequisite for success in a globalized world. Yes, it is difficult - but also necessary.

Yet many simply don’t have the time to skim through multiple news sites, watch the latest videos or explore alternative viewpoints on the many societal issues we are facing. That’s when I come in.

This web-blog hence hopes to provide the solution. I recently started it in order to post my opinions and knowledge on current affairs regarding politics, science, technology, and new media (among other topics). I will update regularly - even daily - on the the various important issues or news that people today need to know. This isn’t going to be a news site though. I might talk about some headline news, but generally i will be trying to provoke some thoughts and opinions on world issues through expressing my own.

Hopefully for me, this blog will eventually generate enough traffic to induce more freelance business as well.

Hans is available for comment or jobs here