New Hampshire Health News Digest

New Scientist Breaking News - Parasites brainwash grasshoppers into death dive : "A parasitic worm that makes the grasshopper it invades jump into water and commit suicide does so by chemically influencing its brain, a study of the insects’ proteins reveal. The parasitic Nematomorph hairworm (Spinochordodes tellinii) develops inside land-dwelling grasshoppers and crickets until the time comes for the worm to transform into an aquatic adult. Somehow mature hairworms brainwash their hosts into behaving in way they never usually would – causing them to seek out and plunge into water. Once in the water the mature hairworms – which are three to four times longer that their hosts when extended – emerge and swim away to find a mate, leaving their host dead or dying in the water. David Biron, one of the study team at IRD in Montpellier, France, notes that other parasites can also manipulate their hosts’ behaviour: “’Enslaver’ fungi make their insect hosts die perched in a positi...

Most scientific papers are probably wrong Most published scientific research papers are wrong, according to a new analysis. Assuming that the new paper is itself correct, problems with experimental and statistical methods mean that there is less than a 50% chance that the results of any randomly chosen scientific paper are true. John Ioannidis, an epidemiologist at the University of Ioannina School of Medicine in Greece, says that small sample sizes, poor study design, researcher bias, and selective reporting and other problems combine to make most research findings false. But even large, well-designed studies are not always right, meaning that scientists and the public have to be wary of reported findings. "We should accept that most research findings will be refuted. Some will be replicated and validated. The replication process is more important than the first discovery," Ioannidis says. In the paper, Ioannidis does not show that any particular findings are...

A War to Be Proud Of : The only speech by any statesman that can bear reprinting from that low, dishonest decade came from Tony Blair when he spoke in Chicago in 1999. Welcoming the defeat and overthrow of Milosevic after the Kosovo intervention, he warned against any self-satisfaction and drew attention to an inescapable confrontation that was coming with Saddam Hussein. So far from being an American "poodle," as his taunting and ignorant foes like to sneer, Blair had in fact leaned on Clinton over Kosovo and was insisting on the importance of Iraq while George Bush was still an isolationist governor of Texas. Notwithstanding this prescience and principle on his part, one still cannot read the journals of the 2000/2001 millennium without the feeling that one is revisiting a hopelessly somnambulist relative in a neglected home. I am one of those who believe, uncynically, that Osama bin Laden did us all a service (and holy war a great disservice) by his mad decision t...

RADIO FREE EUROPE/ RADIO LIBERTY : "Iran: Analysts Say Democratic Changes In Iraq May Inspire Similar Trends In Its Neighbor By Golnaz Esfandiari Iraq held its first multiparty elections in 50 years on 30 January. The elections are considered a first step toward the establishment of a democratic government in the country after decades of rule by Saddam Hussein. While observers agree that many hurdles remain before Iraq's transition toward democracy can be considered a success, some say even the small changes so far may inspire the beginning of similar trends in neighboring Iran. Prague, 11 February 2005 (RFE/RL) -- The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in the spring of 2003 sparked many concerns about neighboring Iran -- in particular about Iranian interference in Iraqi internal affairs. But some Iranians pushing for more freedom and openness in their country hope that democratic changes in Iraq will gradually flow across the border. Mohsen Sazgara is an Iranian activ...

Britain's elite get pills to survive bird flu - Sunday Times - Times Online : Britain's elite get pills to survive bird flu Sarah-Kate Templeton and Jonathan Calvert MEMBERS of Britain’s elite have been selected as priority cases to receive scarce pills and vaccinations at the taxpayers’ expense if the country is hit by a deadly bird flu outbreak. Workers at the BBC and prominent politicians — such as cabinet ministers — would be offered protection from the virus. Ken Livingstone, the London mayor, has already spent �1m to make sure his personal office and employees have their own emergency supplies of 100,000 antiviral tablets. If there is an avian flu pandemic in the coming months there would be enough drugs to protect less than 2% of the British population for a week. The Department of Health has drawn up a priority list of those who would be first to receive lifesaving drugs. Top of the list are health workers followed by those in key public sector jobs....

Equity Is Altering Spending Habits and View of Debt Mortgages used to be something people strove to pay off. Now they've become income tools, but risky ones, some financial analysts say. By David Streitfeld, Times Staff Writer As they happily watch their houses swell in value, Americans are changing their attitudes toward mortgage debt. Increasingly, a home is no longer a nest egg whose equity should never be touched, but a seemingly magical ATM enabling the owner to live it up or just live. Homeowners took $59 billion in cash out of their houses in the second quarter, double the amount in the 2004 quarter and 16 times the average rate of the mid-1990s, according to data released this month by mortgage giant Freddie Mac. People are cashing out so quickly that the term "homeowner" may soon be inaccurate. Fifty years ago, Americans owned, on average, three-quarters of their house and the lender owned the rest. These days, it's approaching an even split. ...

Guardian Unlimited : "Carbon strips could build elevator to space David Adam, science correspondent The Guardian Scientists have created the ultimate ribbon. A thousand times thinner than a human hair and a few centimetres wide, the carbon sheet is stronger than steel for its weight, and could open the door to everything from artificial muscles to a space elevator capable of sending astronauts and tourists into orbit. The team of nanotechnology experts from the University of Texas at Dallas and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia have developed a way to assemble a form of carbon called 'nanotubes' into flat sheets. Article continues The cylindrical version of carbon, which combines lightweight flexibility and incredible strength with the ability to conduct both heat and electricity, has had engineers salivating since it was discovered in 1991."

TCS: Tech Central Station - Space Program: Looking Up - By Glenn Harlan Reynolds : I've written here in the past about NASA's work on space elevators, and on the new leaner, meaner, prize-oriented approach favored by NASA Administrator Mike Griffin. Now there are some signs of real progress on a number of fronts. As I noted earlier, NASA was offering prizes for space elevator research. That's still going on, but there are some new studies suggesting that space elevators may be closer to practicality than previously thought. A cover story in the IEE Spectrum reports: 'A space elevator would be amazingly expensive or absurdly cheap -- depending on how you look at it. It would cost about $6 billion in today's dollars just to complete the structure itself, according to my study. Costs associated with legal, regulatory, and political aspects could easily add another $4 billion, but these expenses are much harder to estimate. Building such an enormous str...

Hunt perv caught in a flash Fone gives cops pic of subway suspect Image from cell phone camera belonging to subway rider Thao Nguyen captures shot of man (below) she says leered at her and exposed himself aboard R train last week. When a pervert exposed himself on a Manhattan subway last week, Thao Nguyen reached for her secret weapon - her camera phone. The quick-thinking 22-year-old snapped a shot of the smirking sicko, took it to cops and then posted it on the Internet. Word of her campaign to nail the flasher raced through cyberspace, and more than 45,000 people had viewed the photographic evidence by last night. 'I just hope they catch him,' Nguyen told the Daily News. 'Maybe someone will recognize him. Maybe it will stop other people from doing it,' she said. 'Maybe other women will use their camera phones to stop crime.'"

BREITBART.COM - Just The News People with friends or relatives serving in Iraq are more likely than others to have a positive view of a generally unpopular war, an AP- Ipsos poll found. Some of those surveyed said their relationships with troops helped them learn more about what’s going on in Iraq beyond the violence. Others said their opinions of the war were shaped by a sense of loyalty to those in harm’s way. A solid majority of those who did not know anyone in Iraq said they thought the war was a mistake, 61 percent, compared to 36 percent who thought it was the right decision. Those who had a relative or friend there were almost evenly split, 49 percent right decision, 47 percent mistake. After Ted Chittum of Bourbon, Ind., had a chance to talk at length with his cousin who served in Iraq, he said he got a different picture of what was going on in the country. “He talked about all the good things that are going on,” said Chittum, a school superin...

Don't worry about Taliban, India's here: PM to Afghanistan NEW DELHI: Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Kabul on Sunday, India on Friday offered full support to Afghanistan, including strengthening its security capabilities, to effectively deal with the ‘newly-emerging threat’ from Taliban operating from Pakistan. It would also undertake developmental projects worth 50 million dollars in the war-ravaged country. Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said that New Delhi was also keen to develop trade and expand reconstruction work in the country but these efforts were being hampered by denial of transit facility by Pakistan. “We want Afghanistan to emerge as a democratic, independent, sovereign country, in full mastery of its own destiny. It is in our interest to ensure that Afghanistan does not once again become a kind of a centre of extremism or terrorism. Anything that threatens Afghanistan’s stability is a matter of concern for us,” he said.

Terror in Europe: Syrian Had Inside Knowledge of 9/11 and London Bombings - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News : "Syrian Had Inside Knowledge of 9/11 and London Bombings By Holger Stark Two weeks ago, Turkish police arrested an Islamist with ties to many upper tier al-Qaida members. The man not only tried to get asylum in Germany, but claims to have known about the London bombings beforehand and to have helped the 9/11 pilots. Luai Sakra likes wine, whiskey and explosives. He also says he helped the 9/11 pilots. The Turkish interrogators in Istanbul's high-security prison wanted to be polite; they wanted to show respect for Islam. They offered their prisoner, an Islamist named Luai Sakra, 31, a chance to pray during a pause in questioning. They'd done the same thing with earlier suspects. The move was supposed to establish trust. But this prisoner reacted a bit differently. 'I don't pray,' Sakra answered politely, 'and I like alcohol....

lgf: do not mention comment #17 : "Neo-Nazis Dig Mother Sheehan From one of the internet’s darkest holes: neo-Nazis are coming to Crawford, Texas, to show their appreciation and support for Cindy Sheehan: Stormfronters Rally In Crawford, TX On Sat. & Sun. Aug. 27-28. (Hat tip: Morgan.) I’m driving out to Crawford, Texas tomorrow, Friday August 26th to help put up a White Nationalist voice in the protest against Bush’s War for Israel that was started by Cindy Sheehan. We’ll be uploading digital photos, and maybe video, from Crawford so that Stormfront’s 58,000 Members (achieved today) and hundreds of thousands of Guests can follow the events in Crawford from a White patriot perspective. If you live anywhere within a driving distance that won’t put you out too much, would you please join us on Saturday and Sunday? That’s August 27th and 28th. The facilities at the Crawford Ranch Camp Casey are excellent: good food, shade, tents, water, toilets, par...

Telegraph | News | Sunnis set out to sabotage draft plan for Iraq Sunnis set out to sabotage draft plan for Iraq By Oliver Poole in Baghdad Iraq's Sunnis displayed a new found enthusiasm for politics yesterday as thousands who boycotted January's election queued to register to vote. Rather than democracy in action, this was a backlash against it, for the Sunnis were attempting to sabotage the draft constitution submitted to parliament on Monday night. Their religious, political and tribal leaders have already railed against the document, warning of the risk that it will "break up" the country. Like their bombing of Shiite mosques and killing innocent women and children isn't the biggest threat to "break up" the country? Or their historic persecution of their peaceful neighbors? With Shia and Kurdish delegates threatening to force the draft through parliament over Sunni protests, taking part in this October's constitutional referen...

Alcoholics More Likely to Have Personality Disorders Even More Prevalent in Drug Addicts The prevalence of personality disorders among patients with alcohol and drug use disorders is significant in the United States population, according to an article in the April 2004 issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Very little information is available on the co-occurrence of different personality disorders (PDs) and alcohol and drug use disorders in the U.S. population, according to background information in the article. Therefore, Bridget F. Grant, Ph.D., of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, Md., and colleagues investigated this issue. The researchers used data collected during interviews conducted as part of the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions . Respondents to the survey were 18 years and older, and lived in the United States. The prevalence rates of any alcohol ...

I recently ran across this blog, and Mr. Yon is a good writer with lots to say about Iraq. Here he blogs his visit to a Yezidi village in Iraq. The Yezidis have a fascinating religion, which combines their own ancient beliefs, with a mix of all the other religions that passed by over the years. Some have accused them of devil worship because they worship a fallen angel figuren named Melek Taus. I also include the link of the Wikipedia entry on the Yezidis. Wikipedia article Lost in Translation Yezdinar Village, Iraq Michael Yon Dohuk is a welcoming place. After walking or taking taxis inside and around the city for two days, I covered enough ground and talked with enough people to see that while the welcome is clear for American, British, and other visitors, troublemakers can expect an entirely different greeting. People in Dohuk say they have no intentions of going back, or of carrying useless boulders from the past as they move forward. After being in a war zone for nearly half a ye...

MENAFN - Middle East North Africa . Financial Network : "Syria grants first real estate investment license In the first such move, the Syrian government granted United Arab Emirates investors a real estate investment license to construct an international trade center in the Syrian capital, Damascus. The center is to be a 50-story tower that also has a restaurant, terraces, and a Damascus-style miniature village. This is in addition to other annexed towers for offices, apartments, furnished lots and more. The overall cost of the project is around USD 120 million and the plans include establishment and construction of a data center, a shopping mall, theaters and movie theaters. It is expected to provide 3600 jobs. Syria Investment Office Director Mustafa Al-Kafri stressed the magnitude and importance of this step as it would encourage Arab, foreign and Syrian investors abroad to enter and seek such ventures. A delegation of UAE businessmen and Syrians residing in ...

Publius Pundit - Blogging the democratic revolution : From the Publius Pundit blog: I’m going to make this short and sweet. Bill Roggio posts the latest excerpt from the Iraq constitution and believes that the threat of Islam being a main source of legislation, thus creating an Islamic state like Iran, is overstated by the media. Here is the excerpt: The political system is republican, parliamentary, democratic and federal. 1. Islam is a main source for legislation. * a. No law may contradict Islamic standards. * b. No law may contradict democratic standards. * c. No law may contradict the essential rights and freedoms mentioned in this constitution. Bill Roggio is absolutely correct in saying that this is being hyped. But why is that happening? I don’t know. Maybe because Iraq is the “wrong war” and Afghanistan isn’t. Oh! Speaking of Afghanistan! Why didn’t the media bitch endlessly about Afghanistan’s constitution when it was drafted (and...

THE REAL IRAQ NEWS WHAT was the big "Iraq" story in August? Which vital issue got the most air-time and ink? The camp-out of a sad, tormented woman who had lost her son, her marriage and her judgment. The media pounced on poor Cindy Sheehan in an anti-Bush, anti-war frenzy. The disappointment was obvious when she decided to go home. What should have made headlines? It would've been nice to see more attention devoted to the complexity and importance of drafting a new constitution for Iraq. But my nomination for the "Greatest Story Never Told" is a quieter one: Locked in a difficult war, the U.S. Army is exceeding its re-enlistment and first-time enlistment goals. Has anybody mentioned that to you? Remember last spring, when the Army's recruitment efforts fell short for a few months? The media's glee would have made you confuse the New York Times and Air America. When the Army attempted to explain that enlistments are cyclical and numbers d...

Herald.com | 08/21/2005 | Taliban shake Afghan stability with new tactics : "''Al Qaeda is channeling money and equipment,'' said Lt. George Hughbanks, a U.S. Army intelligence officer in Zabul province, one of the worst hit by the Taliban insurgency. The Taliban are now a disparate assemblage of radical groups estimated to number several thousand, far fewer than when they were in power before November 2001. The fighters operate in small cells that occasionally come together for specific missions. They are unable to hold territory or defeat coalition troops. They are linked by a loose command structure and an aim of driving out U.S.-led coalition and NATO troops, toppling U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai, and reimposing hard-line Islamic rule on Afghanistan, according to Afghan and Western officials and experts. The Taliban insurgents have adopted some of the terrorist tactics that their Iraqi counterparts have used to stoke popular anger at the Iraq...

Herald.com | 08/21/2005 | Taliban shake Afghan stability with new tactics : "''Al Qaeda is channeling money and equipment,'' said Lt. George Hughbanks, a U.S. Army intelligence officer in Zabul province, one of the worst hit by the Taliban insurgency. The Taliban are now a disparate assemblage of radical groups estimated to number several thousand, far fewer than when they were in power before November 2001. The fighters operate in small cells that occasionally come together for specific missions. They are unable to hold territory or defeat coalition troops. They are linked by a loose command structure and an aim of driving out U.S.-led coalition and NATO troops, toppling U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai, and reimposing hard-line Islamic rule on Afghanistan, according to Afghan and Western officials and experts. The Taliban insurgents have adopted some of the terrorist tactics that their Iraqi counterparts have used to stoke popular anger at the Iraq...

: Its abject failure gave us only anarchy. The world needs order Richard Perle Friday March 21, 2003 The Guardian Saddam Hussein's reign of terror is about to end. He will go quickly, but not alone: in a parting irony, he will take the UN down with him. Well, not the whole UN. The 'good works' part will survive, the low-risk peacekeeping bureaucracies will remain, the chatterbox on the Hudson will continue to bleat. What will die is the fantasy of the UN as the foundation of a new world order. As we sift the debris, it will be important to preserve, the better to understand, the intellectual wreckage of the liberal conceit of safety through international law administered by international institutions. As free Iraqis document the quarter-century nightmare of Saddam's rule, let us not forget who held that the moral authority of the international community was enshrined in a plea for more time for inspectors, and who marched against 'regime change'. ...

Arab TVs fend off Israeli propaganda claims in Gaza coverage - Yahoo! News DUBAI (AFP) - Arab satellite news channels Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya have been forced to fend off accusations they served up Israeli propaganda with their coverage of the historic evacuation of the Gaza Strip settlements. “We understand when the international media fall into the trap of the Jewish settlers and run live coverage of the evacuation,” said Abdel Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of the London-based newspaper Al-Qods Al-Arabi. “But we do not understand that Arab channels should fall into the same trap and serve (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon’s objectives,” said Atwan, dubbing the evacuation “a grotesque media circus.” “Arab public opinion cannot be fooled by the crocodile tears shed by the settlers on houses built on stolen Palestinian territory in Gaza,” he said. The criticism stemmed mainly from footage of the Jewish settlers crying over their lost homes, scenes...

A Pentagon review has so far found no evidence that a secret intelligence operation identified Mohammad Atta as a member of a US-based Al-Qaeda cell before the September 11, 2001 attacks, a spokesman said. Representative Curt Weldon and Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Shaffer have charged that Atta and three other September 11 hijackers were identified as early as mid-2000 through a data-mining program codenamed "Able Danger." But Lawrence DiRita, a Pentagon spokesman, said a review of materials related to Able Danger has so far turned up no evidence that it identified Atta, the reputed leader of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.">Pentagon says it has found no evidence Atta identified before 2001 attacks : "Pentagon says it has found no evidence Atta identified before 2001 attacks A Pentagon review has so far found no evidence that a secret intelligence operation identified Mohammad Atta as a member of a US-based Al-Qaeda cell before the ...

Twaddle from the Axis of Neville - On Point Commentary by Austin Bay StrategyPage.com : " This month is the 20th anniversary of the Great Euromissile Crisis. Oh, the accusations! Reagan was stupid. Reagan was dangerous, a warmonger seeking the nuclear destruction of the USSR. Reagan was -- good heavens -- a unilateralist. Today, the mayor of London calls Bush 'the greatest threat to life on the planet.' Twaddle. The current crop of Axis of Neville (Chamberlain) leftish pundits and leaders are thus exposed, recycling 20-year-old insults. Here's the background: In the late 1970s, the Soviets began deploying SS-20 theater ballistic missiles in Eastern Europe. In response, NATO pursued a 'dual track' strategy, NATO would negotiate to remove the SS-20s but would deploy its own missiles if the Soviets refused. Germany's Socialist Chancellor Helmut Schmidt saw dual-track's flaws, the most dangerous being loss of will to follow through with deployment. Schmidt ...

MEMRI:Iraqi Confession TV Series Captured Iraqi Terrorist Ramzi Hashem Abed: Zarqawi Participated in the Plot to Assassinate Baqer Al-Hakim. : "Abed: 'I want to say one thing. Before the operation they would give us pills.' Interrogator: 'Capsules?' Abed: 'Not capsules. They would give us something like hashish and opium, and tell us we would not feel the operation we were carrying out.' Interrogator: 'Drugs?' Abed: 'Yes.' " This interview with a terrorist captured in Iraq is interesting- read the whole thing. The last line especially interested me, however. I've heard before about Jihadis being high on drugs during their crimes, and here's confirmation of this.

Democracy coming to Saudi Arabia? Saudi King Abdullah promised Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a series of reforms that could give the desert kingdom an elected government within 10 to 15 years, says a senior U.S. official who was present when the two met in June. “He professed to transform his country and talked about having a representative government within a decade or a decade and a half,” said the official, who asked not to be named. The 82-year-old king made the pledge during a June 20 visit by Miss Rice to the capital, Riyadh, when he was still crown prince and the kingdom’s de facto ruler. It is thought to be the first time a Saudi ruler has attached a timeline to moving toward a democratic process. The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to attempts to verify the U.S. official’s account. King Abdullah took over one of the world’s few remaining absolute monarchies after his brother, King Fahd, who suffered a debilitating stroke a decade ago, died on Aug. 1. ...

Is Your Boss a Psychopath? : "One of the most provocative ideas about business in this decade so far surfaced in a most unlikely place. The forum wasn't the Harvard Business School or one of those $4,000-a-head conferences where Silicon Valley's venture capitalists search for the next big thing. It was a convention of Canadian cops in the far-flung province of Newfoundland. The speaker, a 71-year-old professor emeritus from the University of British Columbia, remains virtually unknown in the business realm. But he's renowned in his own field: criminal psychology. Robert Hare is the creator of the Psychopathy Checklist. The 20-item personality evaluation has exerted enormous influence in its quarter-century history. It's the standard tool for making clinical diagnoses of psychopaths -- the 1% of the general population that isn't burdened by conscience. Psychopaths have a profound lack of empathy. They use other people callously and remorselessly for their own en...

news @ nature.com-Nanotube sheets come of age Clear, conductive sheets produced at high speed. : They're soft, strong, and very, very long. Large, transparent sheets of carbon nanotubes can now be produced at lightning speed. The new technique should allow the nanotubes to be used in commercial devices from heated car windows to flexible television screens. 'Rarely is a processing advance so elegantly simple that rapid commercialization seems possible,' says Ray Baughman, a chemist from the University of Texas at Dallas, whose team unveils the ribbon in this week's Science1. Nanotubes are tiny cylinders of carbon atoms measuring just billionths of a metre across. They are light, strong, and conductive. But for years their promise has outweighed their utility, because the complicated processes involved in making devices from nanotubes were too slow and expensive to be used in large-scale manufacturing. But now, nanotubes have gone into warp drive. Baughman...

Belfast Telegraph : "Islamic cleric says Ireland is a 'legitimate target' A notorious British-based Islamic extremist has said Ireland is a 'legitimate' target for al-Qa'ida terror attacks. Anjem Choudary, who has close links to the infamous hate preacher, Omar Bakri Mohammed, said the use of Shannon Airport as a stop-off for US warplanes justifies Ireland being attacked. The solicitor (38) said: 'If your government wants to support the atrocities in Afghanistan they can expect some repercussions,' and added that Ireland had 'opened itself' to attacks from radical Muslims linked to al-Qa'ida. Choudary even said that terrorists have the right to kill indiscriminately since American bombers did not pick and choose military targets in Iraq."

Al-Qaeda to wage media war on U.S. morale Dubai - An al-Qaeda linked-group has launched what it calls a media jihad, or holy war, to 'terrorise' United States-led forces in Iraq and their families by bombarding them with e-mails and by posting gruesome photos online. The group, calling itself the 'Brigade of Media Jihad', called on its militants to 'post terrifying pictures on the internet in order to terrorise the enemy', said a statement on an Islamist website whose authenticity could not be verified. 'Our objective is to undermine the morale of our enemies, dash their hopes and dreams and reveal the truth of what is happening in Iraq. The media war is an integral part of the war on the ground,' said the statement. Breaking soldiers morale The group said it has launched its media offensive in several languages 'on hundreds of internet forums and through horrific e-mails sent to enemy soldiers and their families in order to terrorise...

Michael Ledeen on Iran on National Review Online Iranian President Ahmadi Nezhad has been busy putting together a cabinet for the Islamic republic, and while all real power remains firmly in the clammy hands of Supreme Leader Khamenei, it's worth taking a look at some of the new ministers, if only because it tells us two important things: (1) The face the regime wishes to show to the world at large, and (2) the policies the regime intends to unleash on the long-suffering Iranian people. Who's Who Let's start with the interior minister, Hojatoll-Islam Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi. He was formerly the number-two man in the ministry of intelligence and security — where he was directly in charge of the foreign section (and thus the sorts of foreign operations now running full bore in Iraq and Afghanistan) — and, even more significantly, the man in charge of those matters in the office of the supreme leader. Pour-Mohammadi comes from a sartorially celebrated family...