This is pretty cool: water on Mars!

The Iranian regime doesn't need rewards to halt its nuclear ambitions. It needs to be removed from power. This op ed in the New York Times first states the obvious, that Iran is a threat, but then asserts that there's "no military solution" and that we need to offer "a clear offer of full diplomatic relations and security guarantees should Iran agree to verifiably contain its nuclear ambitions."

Is this guy channeling Jimmy Carter?

Celebrity Alert: A nice piece from Dennis Miller. Although, since he only does political stuff nowadays, for the most part, I'm not sure if it's appropriate to include him in a Report. Nevertheless, decent stuff.

Fighting proxy wars against the Soviets was one thing. The alternative was, perhaps, total destruction, on both sides. But fighting a proxy war with Iran?

This is getting embarassing. I blame the Left, of course, in part, but Bush and the Republican party are just as culpable.

If we finished things with Iran and Syria, the problem in Iraq would go away. And both the Democrats and the Republicans know this. Hell, they can't not know it. Not if they're at all competent. Either way, a curse on both of them.

As usual, Cox and Forkum are right on the money. This time, it's about Jimmy Carter and his ludicrous assertions (and his subsequent backpedaling is embarrassing).

If you're interested in smart, timely discussions on a variety of technology (and other) topics, visit Jerry Pournelle's site. A long-time contributor at Byte (both in print and on-line), a prolific science fiction writer, and someone long involved in the aerospace industries, he provides a unique and interesting perspective. I don't always agree with him, but he's truly well-informed and intelligent, and that counts for something.

Give a visit. I doubt that you'll be disappointed.

Digg Report: Today's #1 Digg, at 7384 Diggs: it's back! Yes, the same story about the cancer cure that "Big Pharma" won't touch is again highly Digged. Same comments, too.

Normally I find REALTECHNEWS.com to be a largely uncontroversial site for general technology news. Or, at least, I've never noticed them being particularly so. But, this piece bothered me, in two ways. First, I'm not sure af the story's point; is it in favor of MySpace giving up the sex offender information (not sure how one can be against it), ambivalent about it, or is it saying that such an attempt is merely worthless?

Ultimately, what left me with a bad taste was the "hehe" at the end. Really, I don't find the issue of sex offenders and their access to ever minors a laughing matter.

As I write this, I'm enjoying a freshly brewed cup of French Roast, made in my Keurig coffemaker. It's relatively expensive (compared to regular coffee, but not to Starbucks), but it's tasty and convenient.

I bought my maker at Costco, my favorite store. As usual, they have a great price on the unit I bought, which includes a good supply of coffee (thus making their price even more impressive). Note that Costco changes their inventory quite often, and so that link might not work forever.

All in all, highly recommended.*

*In case anyone's wondering, I don't work for and am not compensated by either company. But, if they want to sponsor this site, I'll be happy to put up some ads. I'll never take money to lie about a product, but if it's something I like, I'm game.

This corroberates my earlier post about Fair Use. Thanks to Ars Technica.