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11. oktober 2005
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The terror alert that led to massive security on New York City subways appears to have been a hoax.
On Monday, law enforcement officials said they could not corroborate any of the informant's claims. That prompted the New York Police Department to scale back the increased security measures put in place on the city's subways last week.
Government sources said the three men arrested in Iraq with suspected links to the possible plot had been interviewed and underwent lie detector tests showing they knew nothing about such a plan.
Lie detector tests, eh? There are conflicting opinions on how reliable polygraphs really are.
9:33:49 PM 
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Bjørn Stærk isn't posting very often these days, but the occasion is always worth the wait. The conspiracy smell test discusses brilliantly how we can reasonably guard against being suckered in by conspiracy theories, considering we can't possibly be able to digest enough information to actually debunk every wacky idea out there. Most probably, we have all fallen victim to some wacky idea sometime in the past, and more probable than not, still believe quite a few things that are nonsense.
I, for example, actually believe in the good in humanity.
Bjørn posits a very useful smell test: Bad ideas are greedy.
- Small, greedy ideas that force you to reinterpret a large body of knowledge. Think of the optical illusion where you can choose to see a cube from one side or the other. Or Escher's Relativity, where the building looks different depending on which staircase we choose to take as point of reference. Worldviews are a bit like that, except instead of one cube or three staircases we have millions of facts and ideas that can take on a differenct appearance depending on what our point of reference is. The small and greedy ideas I'm thinking of are like one staircase that forces you reorient ten - there might be good reason to, but as a rule of thumb there isn't.
Sure, a few times each century or so a very good idea comes along that is actually 'greedy' by explaining a hell of a lot. But, be honest, what is the chance that the badly formatted web-page that tells everything about JFK, Bush, Osama and flying saucers is one of those very few?
PS: There is always the online bullshit detection kit.
7:01:15 PM
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Meg wonders if she is one of those writers who can type out encyclopedic amounts of blog postings, but just doesn't have an actual novel in her.
Judging by her brief introduction to the Next Great Canadian Novel, the answer may be yes or no. [you can relate? --ed.] Ah, well, yes and no.
4:34:57 PM
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The United Nations has been an anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli organisation for decades, but there are now signs that the UN is improving, according to the NYT's Warren Hoge. Recently, Ariel Sharon received a surprisingly warm reception when he spoke to the UN, normally a platform for hateful anti-Israeli rhetoric from Arab states and their allies. Israel also has proposed its first resolution, and is a candidate for Security Council membership in 2018-20.
"These are steps that could not have happened even two years ago," said Dan Gillerman, Israel's ambassador, referring to the new efforts to gain acceptance. "It would have been unthinkable, suicidal, for us even to try them."
The steps represent Israel's effort to capitalize on moves by Secretary General Kofi Annan in the last 18 months to reduce the country's marginalization at the United Nations.
The first was a United Nations seminar on anti-Semitism in June 2004, where Mr. Annan said, "Let us acknowledge that the United Nations' record on anti-Semitism has at times fallen short of our ideals."
Last November, a condemnation of anti-Semitism was included for the first time in the annual resolution against religious intolerance. It got 177 approving votes. In January, the General Assembly held a special session to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps and installed an exhibit on Auschwitz in the headquarters lobby.
In March, Mr. Annan attended the opening of the new wing of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem and was the only foreign dignitary among the visiting heads of state to speak there.
In June, Mr. Gillerman was selected as a vice president of the General Assembly, and on Sept. 20 he became the first Israeli to preside over the Assembly in 52 years. He introduced the foreign minister, Silvan Shalom.
Mr. Shalom told the delegates that "Israel's relations with the U.N. are better today than they have ever been," though he quickly added, "Nevertheless, they are still far from what they should be."
It is useful to have a Secretary General who is weakened by criticism over the oil-for-food scandal (UNSCAM) and other incidents.
4:19:43 PM
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© Copyright 2005 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.11.2005; 20:33:56.
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