WHAT'S NEW Friday, October 22, 2004

WHAT'S NEW  Robert L. Park   Friday, 22 Oct 04  Washington, DC

1. PRIVACY: HAS "TOTAL INFORMATION AWARENESS" BEEN OUTSOURCED?
Remember the Pentagon program to create a data base of personal
information?  It would record our movements, purchases, who we
talk to, what we read.  It was the nightmare of the computer age
http://www.aps.org/WN/WN02/wn122002.cfm .  It still is.  Killed
by Congress http://www.aps.org/WN/WN03/wn012403.cfm , or so we
thought, but it was too bad an idea to be allowed to die.  It was
privatized and moved offshore, out of reach of U.S. regulators.   
Bahamas-based Global Information Group Ltd. offers such products
as the "Terrorist Risk Identity Assessment."  But is it accurate?
Hey, war is not pretty; there are always civilian casualties. 

2. MISSILE DEFENSE: UNTESTED SYSTEM MEETS NON-EXISTENT THREAT.  
A full-color, full-page ad by Boeing in the Washington Post
showed an interceptor missile being lowered into a silo in Fort
Greely, Alaska.  "Countering today's ballistic missile threat..."
the ad begins.  The policy of "peremptory strikes" to deal with
weapons of mass destruction apparently applies only to countries
that don't have any.  A New York Times editorial today says that
Iran and North Korea "have been emboldened by the sorry plight of
the US and its coalition partners in Iraq."  North Korea, despite
its ambitions, has neither a long range missile nor a warhead at
this time.  "Boeing is committed to this vital program and the
promise of a safer America," the ad concludes.  WN assures
readers that with missiles in the Ft. Greely silos we are safe
from a North Korean nuclear missile attack. 

3. THE EXCALIBUR PRIZE: DISTINGUISHED SELECTION PANEL IS NAMED. 
Ranging from a hand-held worm-hole projector that zaps opponents
to the other side of the galaxy, to an exotic payload delivery
system, about which little is known except a mysterious acronym
ups.  nominations for a weapon based on the most speculative
physics have been pouring in since last week's announcement,  The
deadline for nominations is Thursday, Oct 28.  A diverse group of
experts, familiar to regular readers of What's New, has agreed to
assist in the final selection:
     Puff Panegyric,          Pentagon News Office
     General Persiflage       Missile Defense Agency
     Elie Mosinari            Congressional Budget Expert
     Professor Basilisk       Renowned Ornithologist 
     Ann Thropojinic          Veteran Astronaut
     Hi Rodomontade           NASA Scheduler

4. POLITICAL SCIENCE: SCIENTISTS ARE MORE PARTISAN THIS TIME. 
The New York Times wrote about it Tuesday, so I guess it's fair
game.  I got an e-mail this week from a journalist in the UK, who
begged me to give him the name of a Bush-Republican scientist he
could interview.  I did, but it wasn't easy.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.  
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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