Happy New Year – Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010…

As usual, it looks like Sydney, Australia has the worlds best fireworks display of the day. I think it will be a quieter one than that for myself and mine however, with a short trip out to a very local social party, with little drink. 

It’s been a funny mixed year for me personally, and not entirely very happy over all, so here’s to a more pleasant and productive 2010, may it be the year of happier, healthier and more productive times…

Quote of the day has to be from Australian Police minister Michael Daley warned those attending to avoid excessive drinking -  "If you’re one of these fools that can’t handle their grog and likes to go out and ruin other people’s nights, make yourself a new year’s resolution to grow up and behave yourself and start practising that on New Year’s Eve," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/8436016.stm

“Meaningful deal’ reached at Copenhagen climate summit” but disappointment from observers.

Key states, including the US and China, have reached a "meaningful agreement" at Copenhagen, a US official says. No country was "entirely satisfied" with the deal, but it was a "historic step forward," the official added. The deal was not enough to tackle dangerous climate change but was an important first step, he said.

“Responding to the news, Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven expressed disappointment. It seems there are too few politicians in this world capable of looking beyond the horizon of their own narrow self-interest, let alone caring much for the millions of people who are facing down the threat of climate change," he said. "It is now evident that beating global warming will require a radically different model of politics than the one on display here in Copenhagen."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/8421880.stm

Iraq insurgents ‘hack into video feeds from US drones – !!

“Insurgents in Iraq have hacked into live video feeds from unmanned American drone aircraft, US media reports say.Shia fighters are said to have used off-the-shelf software programs such as SkyGrabber to capture the footage.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8419147.stm

Iran denies Times newspaper ‘nuclear trigger’ report

Iran has denied a report in the Times newspaper that it has been working on a key component of a nuclear bomb.

A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Ramin Mehmanparast, said the report had political aims and was part of a psychological war.

The paper reported that it had obtained documents referring to a neutron source – uranium deuteride – that experts say can only relate to weapons research.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8414373.stm

Blue Whale Song Mystery Baffles Scientists

The largest animals on Earth are singing in ever-deeper voices every year. Among the suggested explanations are ocean noise pollution, changing population dynamics and new mating strategies. But none of them is entirely convincing.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/blue-whale-song-mystery/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29

Why Afghanistan’s politics are stranger than fiction – BBC From Our Own Correspondent

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8371037.stm

the British soldier who smuggled himself into Auschwitz

the British soldier who smuggled himself into Auschwitz – incredible story –

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8382457.stm

Does Iran Have a Secret Nuke Weapons Network?

“After inspectors paid a visit to a once-secret Iranian nuclear facility near Qom, the Islamic Republic stuck to its guns: Hey, it’s just part of our peaceful atomic energy program!    

But after taking a close look at the technical specs on Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, two arms-control experts arrived at a different conclusion.”

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/11/does-iran-have-a-secret-nuke-weapons-network-experts-think-so/

del.icio.us Tags: iran,nuclear weapons

Afghanistan – “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” – George Santayana

 

“Few American officials know the Soviets’ bitter Afghan predicament better than Mr. Gates. In the 1980s, he was the deputy director of the CIA, overseeing a massive U.S. effort to fund, train and equip the Islamic insurgents, called mujahedeen, who fought the Soviet army to a standstill.”

Full Article

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125831141804049337.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Policy

Protests grow over digital bill

“The Digital Economy bill has sparked a wave of protest among consumers and rights groups.

Soon after the bill began its journey through Parliament on 19 November, many expressed worries about parts of it.

The bill suggests the use of technical measures to tackle illegal file-sharing that could involve suspending the accounts of persistent pirates.

Critics fear this and other powers the bill reserves could damage the UK’s growing digital economy. “

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8374732.stm