Ripping yarns: how they 'saved' Private Lynch - War on Iraq
"In 2001, the man behind Black Hawk Down, Jerry Bruckheimer, had visited the Pentagon to pitch an idea. Bruckheimer and fellow producer Bertram van Munster, who masterminded the reality show Cops, suggested Profiles from the Front Line, a primetime television series following US forces in Afghanistan. They were after human stories told through the eyes of the soldiers. Van Munster's aim was to get close and personal.

It was perfect reality TV, made with the co-operation of Donald Rumsfeld and aired just before the Iraqi war. The Pentagon liked what it saw. "What Profiles does is give another, in-depth, look at what forces are doing from the ground," says Whitman. That approach was developed in Iraq."


Science confirms -- politicians lie
"LONDON (Reuters) - It's official -- after intensive research, scientists have concluded that politicians lie.
In a study described in the Observer newspaper, Glen Newey, a political scientist at the University of Strathclyde, concluded that lying is an important part of politics in the modern democracy."

It's official. Wilson's Blogmanac will continue to bring you great moments in stupid science whenever we see them. How much are these researchers paid?


US Senate Approves (unrealistic and moralistic) AIDS Bill
"... a provision, inserted by House conservatives, that requires a third of the money for prevention to go to programs that promote abstinence until marriage.

"'The president will get to pat himself on the back for this bill at the G-8 summit in two weeks in Evian,' said Sharonann Lynch, an official of Health GAP, a nonprofit advocacy group. 'But good P.R. won't win a war on global AIDS'."