kiltboy

True but the Manhattan project was also back when Nuclear technology was in it's infancy so not many folks would have bee in the know then. I'd hazard a guess that experts in the field now could easily spot something familiar that would indicate a plants use. I would further suggest that dual use facilities could be possible for chemical and biological weapon use. I believe that some of the UK intelligence stated that a plant did make phosgene as part of another legitimate chemical process. David

True, it's the simple things that work best. I'm seeing the attention going toward too many gadgets and toys instead of a cold professional saying, "Oh no there are better ways of doing that." Cheaper, easier and a damn site scarier. Some with historical references. David

You could at least have went on a candy run. My god man spend a couple of bucks..... David

Really? I cashed in a life insurance policy. I figured it was more practical to have it on my back than in the bank. I couldn't spend it after I'd gone anyway. David

Very true statement and I do the same. Here's the thing though if you are crying out for the UN to take a bigger role in sharing the burden of costs and sending troops etc. Why aren't you handing over the role of Paul Bremer to an international panel like the UN? Why not have said panel look at bids for the future construction work? That way the Iraqi's get the best deal there is. Keeping it a closed shop for buddies of the President is really damaging efforts to get broader international support. David

Always nice to see sanctions lifted. The BBC has a little more detail on the vote. http://news.bbc.co.uk David

Yeah not good. It's hard to find fault here given the circumstances I doubt I'd have listened to someone in an unmarked pick up truck, with mounted machine gun, yelling they were police. Time for some basic radio net and procedures to try and alert folks on the ground as to who is chasing who? David

Yeah I saw that. The debate prior to the invasion/assault was spirited and two members of the cabinet resigned over the government position. However in the interest of fairness Tony was making a choice to remove what he perceived to be a future threat. It may not have been sexed up but it was certainly written with a goal in mind. David

Thanks for that. I've been getting qoute happy lately. David

Hey all the UK Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) have released the report into how the UK intelligence assesments were used to argue for the Iraq invasion. I've not read the report itself but I know folks here like to read sourced material so I figured I'd share. First the BBC report The actual report David

That's never worked for me as I always got shafted when I went into Asia (that green bit above Australia for the geographically challenged in the Forum note that is not Russia). David

I'm having leftover pasta and a yoghurt. You? David

Damn Normans and their pesky invasion. I would say that given the history of Europe that there's a mix of many languages in English but certainly German and English have a common route. The use of French derived words came from the Nobles speaking French in the time period that you state. As for the geography debate. Did nobody here play Risk? David

I think they will be better off in 5 years and I don't believe anyone can realistically argue against that. I've read about the standard of policing there prior to the coalition going in with cops that were illiterate and couldn't take statements. There is progress being made but simple things for a cop such as putting a kid in the back of a Rover to take him in for a statement are met with terror simply because previously that same person may not have returned. There is a significant legacy of the old regime that will take time to oevrcome. It will be interesting to see what the US/UK involvement will be in Iraq in 5 years time. David

Ah but he shipped himself. Remember the list covered carry on items so I think there could be an argument that he was checked baggage. David

Depending on the sharks I think I'd do that one last. David

Interesting argument that you have going here and while I think that a government has to defend its population against terrorists there are a few screw ups that could be looked into. Two examples that directly effect my dropzone. 1 Some idiot ( i forget his name) wanted to ban aircraft flying over the Quabbin reservoir in MA incase terrorists dropped something to contaminate the water. A quick bit of arithmetic would have concluded that the volume of water is such that several tanker trucks would have been required to have the remotest chance of success. Not to mention the water treatment plants etc. But we would have to have changed flights jump run etc. had he got his way 2. They are building a fence to stop people getting to the parked aircraft now this costs a bit of money. Heaven forbid they are teaching people how to cut fences at terrorist training camp. Not that it matters as you can walk around the fence anyway as it doesn't have to enclose the entire ramp area. Look at the list of things the TSA wouldn't allow on a plane. I don't know that there is calm realistic leadership as all I see is paranoid people covering their own arse should something else occur. David

There was always the possibility of bood borne infection via transplant and heamophilia treatment. Also there was a recent case in Australia were a 16 year old virgin was infected by sharing a razor blade with her sister. I'll agree that sex was the major mode of transfer but not the only one. David

Thanks. I did a quick search in the meantime and found the answer. I still think that there are other carcinogens that can cause cancer and there are carcinogens in marijuana smoke that cause throat cancer. J Clin Pharmacol. 2002 Nov;42(11 Suppl):103S-107S. Related Articles, Links Marijuana smoking and head and neck cancer. Hashibe M, Ford DE, Zhang ZF. Department of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, 90095-1772, USA. A recent epidemiological study showed that marijuana smoking was associated with an increased risk of head and neck cancer. Among high school students and young adults, the prevalence of marijuana use was on the rise in the 1990s, with a simultaneous decline in the perception that marijuana use is harmful. It will be a major public health challenge to make people aware of the harmful effects of marijuana smoking, when some people view it as the illicit drug with the least risk. The carcinogenicity of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is not clear, but according to laboratory studies, it appears to have antitumor properties such as apoptosis as well as tumor-promoting properties such as limiting immune function and increasing reactive oxygen species. Marijuana tar contains similar carcinogens to tar from tobacco cigarettes, but each marijuana cigarette maybe more harmful than a tobacco cigarette since more tar is inhaled and retained when smoking marijuana. More molecular alterations have been observed in bronchial mucosa specimens of marijuana smokers compared to nonsmokers. Field cancerization may be occurring on the bronchial epithelium due to marijuana smoking exposure. Several case studies were suggestive of an association of marijuana smoking with head and neck cancers and oral lesions. However, in a cohort study with 8 years of follow-up, marijuana use was not associated with increased risks of all cancers or smoking-related cancers. Further epidemiological studies are necessary to confirm the association of marijuana smoking with head and neck cancers and to examine marijuana smoking as a risk factor for lung cancer. It will also be of interest to examine potential field cancerization of the upper aerodigestive tract by marijuana and to explore marijuana as a risk factor for oral premalignant lesions.

I was making the link between fertilizer and the radioactivity. I didn't intend to make a generalization. David

I did a quick search and found that myself. I also found other data that was stating that there are throat cancers caused by marijuana. Looks like the different smokes effect different parts of the throat and lungs. David

No I did a quick search and it comes down to phytoremediation of the tobacco. Looks like the tobacco farmers use fertilizer with trace radioactive elements in it that are uptaken by the tobacco. Apparently the dope heads that grow marijuana don't use the same fertilizer. David

I'm confused about the radioactive part of your argument and I'd love to see a source. I'm curious as to what radioactive elements and their respective natural abundance that would be present in tobacco but not marijuana. I would believe that the discrepency in cancer could be a result of a carcinogen present in the tobacco and not the marijuana. David

Did you mention revisionist historians? I thought that was Iraq? I understand what you're saying and I agree with it but my understanding of the modern catholic curch is that the Pope has a pretty big say in what is thought true. It's been a while since I split from Catholicism so maybe times have changed and ideas are discussed more than when I was in Catholic school. David

I always thought that was the Pope. I may be a little hazy on how he reaches the decision and what advisors help but I pretty much thought he was the last word on the matter. David