Mark at wood s lot tied this article describing The Invasion of the Body Snatchers' basis as a statement on McCarthyism to The New McCarthyism article I linked to yesterday (no, not the Donald Sutherland version).
Transforming Transdniestria: on the history and future of a tiny strip of land located between Moldova and Ukraine which is called both Trandniestria and the Dniester Moldovan Republic (DMR). It declared independence from Moldova more than ten years ago, has it's own currency and held its third presidential election yesterday. Igor Smirnov was elected for a third term. It has yet to be recognized by any country: almost an imagined state. Being completely landlocked and extremely poor, it's existence is probably largely due to free shipments of natural gas from Russia and the presence of around 15,000 Russian peacekeepers. The latter are due to leave in 2002, although past agreements on the reduction of those forces have not been honored. A long term resolution, either recognized statehood for Trandniestria or reunification with Moldova, seems unlikely to be reached anytime soon as no one seems to be in a hurry to push things one way or the other. Moldova though, has recently started playing the terrorism card.
Kofi Annan's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech today stressed the rights of the individual over those of the state:
In this new century, we must start from the understanding that peace belongs not only to states or peoples, but to each and every member of those communities. The sovereignty of States must no longer be used as a shield for gross violations of human rights. Peace must be made real and tangible in the daily existence of every individual in need. Peace must be sought, above all, because it is the condition for every member of the human family to live a life of dignity and security.
BattleSwarm: recent Rand reports look at how to transform the U.S. military so it is more effective "across the spectrum: from open warfare, to terrorism, crime, and even radical social activism." John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt's In Athena's Camp and Swarming and the Future of Conflict describe BattleSwarm doctrine, which relies on small groups of highly mobile soldiers directing air and missile strikes. Swarming on the Battlefield, by Sean J. A. Edwards, looks at how the tactic has been used throughout history.
Martin Creed's work Lights Going On and Off, which features two flashing lights in an empty room, won England's Turner Prize. The prize, which awards £20,000 is for British artists under 50, was presented by Madonna. The choice has resulted in some controversy, as has Madonna's choice of words during the presentation. Courtesy of Metafilter, here's an interview with Creed along with photos of the work in both it's on and off state.
Linda Godwin and Dan Tani start the only spacewalk of this flight at 12:24 Eastern today, which is scheduled to last 4 hours. Their main goal is to install insulation around some of the solar panel components.
A Compilation of Evidence and Comments on the Source of the Mailed Anthrax: "All the available evidence indicates that the source of the mailed anthrax, or the information and materials to make it, is a US government program." [via also not found in nature]
