Coltan

One of the best articles I've read on Coltan. Basically, Coltan is the new blood diamond. It is a metal mined in places like Canada, Australia, and the Congo for tantalum. Tantalum is used in hi-rel capacitors because of it's great thermal properties. It is used in cell phones and laptops. Demand has forced the US gov to keep reserves. Price has gone way up and so has the fight for profits. Congo has been victim to internal and external profiteers, resulting in bloodshed, humanitarian and environmental crises, and little attention from the international community. Many companies including vodaphone and nokia have spoken to their supply chain to stop using the metal in their capacitors, and US-based Kemet is swearing that all coltan is from the non-Congo region. 

The Clinton Jinnah Tale

I've been looking at the pictures in this article for nearly 2 weeks now, and even have a few collectables of my own. Among the many incidents that Jinnah has been accused of, he made the FBI's list for his "scheme to funnel money" to the Clintons. As sneaky as he seemed, I wonder if he just really loved to give money to and take pictures with Bill and Hillary.

Martyr Saddam

The whole Saddam case was as botched as the case for war. First his trial took too long and did not seem orderly. Then his future trials are canceled. Then his year-end execution is rushed in like someone trying to beat tax day at the post office.

But I was shocked flying through O’Hare yesterday to see the broadcast and rebroadcast of Saddam’s execution on some grainy hidden camera. Sure he was an awful person, but give him some respect in his final moments instead of rubbing it in. It’s this type of insensitivity that ruins our image outside and captivates/satisfies the mainstream within our borders.

Should we be proud as Americans to execute Saddam? I don’t feel that way.

This following article paints a very human picture of the man post-Iraq. Some parts funny, some sad. I only clicked the link because Google-News told me Gore Vidal wrote it, but I'm not so sure about that now.

Web Link

election 2008

Now that rudy's in the race, things will get interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election

Here's the preliminary list ...

Democratic Party:

Barack Obama
Bill Richardson
Christopher Dodd
Evan Bayh
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Joe Biden
John Edwards
John Kerry
Mike Gravel
Tom Daschle
Tom Vilsack
Wesley Clark

Republican Party:

Bill Frist
Chuck Hagel
Duncan Hunter
George Allen
George Pataki
John H. Cox
John McCain
Michael Charles Smith
Mike Huckabee
Mitt Romney
Newt Gingrich
Rudy Giuliani
Sam Brownback
Tommy Thompson

Third Party:

Bob W. Hargis
Charles T. Maxham
Christine Smith
Daniel Imperato
David Koch / Ken Goldstein
Don Cordell
Doug Stanhope
Gene Amondson
George Phillies
James Gilchrist
Jon A Greenspon
Kat Swift
Lance Brown
Nan Garrett
Rebecca Rotzler
Rich Whitney
Steve Adams
Steve Kubby

I've been a fan of McCain vs Clinton for a while. There are a lot of assorted candidates on both sides which will be shaken out depending on Iraq and the economy. Gore doesn't seem up for loosing again, poor guy. Obama is just too staged for my book. From 2004 repeated, Clark has the best chance out of Edwards, Kerry, and Clark. Pataki versus Rudy, I mean come on that's like Bloomberg vs Rudy, the 9-11 icon in a heartbeat will carry home the votes. Biden and Newt and Daschel are a little too partisan. No one else really has game. But hell, that's what people thought of the democrats in '04 and that turned into odd little group-think primary. This time there are some real page-turners. (and it's interesting that wikipedia has democrats before republicans.)