Half The Want something close to the truth? Better check your sources NatHan LowtHER Tue Martcer (ONIVERSITY OF VICTORIA) VICTORIA (CUP) -- Critic- ally examining several sources sounds like something from an es- say outline. But outside the class- room, we must do this to get an informed idea of global politics. Arecent CNN broadcast on Iran’s nuclear. ambition is a good ex- ample of how mainstream media shows only part of the story. Early in January, a senior Iran- ian legislator announced-that Iran had begun to install 3,000 new centrifuges, devices used in en- riching uranium to produce nucle- ar power. That’s up from the 350 they’d been running since April last year. The claim was quickly denied by Iran’s Atomic Energy Organ- ization’s public relations depart- ment, but it still made headlines. Watching CNN, I saw the story told with the snazzy graphics they’re so (in)famous for. ' Using a nice bullet-point for- mat that would make any Power- Pointer proud, CNN informed their viewers that Iran could have the 3,000 centrifuges installed by March. The next line was short and to the point: “3,000 centri- fuges = segment ended with the report that Tehran had refused 38 Inter- national Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors. And that was it. The way the graphics read, Iran was ramp- ing up their enrichment program, booting out those pesky inspect- ors and preparing to finish their first nuclear bomb right around the time we students are finishing our final exams. But the report was seriously misleading. Of course, to be fair,’ it is possible CNN returned to the story later in the evening and brought more than flash cards. They may very well have broken down the whole scenario, giving in-depth, expert analysis to all the possible implications. But if they did, I missed it, and likely so did many other viewers. The problem I have with the CNN broadcast is the selective- 1 nuclear bomb.” The ~ ness of the information presented. It’s true that those 3,000 centri- fuges could result in a_ nuclear bomb. But, technically speaking, so could 350 -- it’s just a matter of how quickly. However, the only time reference given by CNN was that the centrifuges might be in- stalled by March and that “3,000 centrifuges = 1 nuclear bomb.” I had to search other news sources to find the rest of the story. A few clicks to Reuters.com and IISS.org lead me to facts left out of the broadcast. First, the booted-out inspect- ors, who Reuters identifies as cit- izens of France, Germany, Britain and Canada, are 38 of a pool of 200 and have been barred by Tehran in response-to those countries’ ac- ceptance of UN sanctions against Iran. A Vienna diplomat put it this way: “The IAEA has enough in- spectors in Iran -- 38 off the list does not affect ongoing verifica- tion. This is a political signal to respond to Western pressure.” Then there is the more import- ant question: How far away is Iran from having the capacity to build a nuclear weapon? So far, accord- ing to Reuters, Iran has only en- riched their uranium about three to five per cent. It requires over 80 per cent to be used in a weapon. The extra centrifuges will pot- entially allow Iran to reach that level much faster. According to London’s International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), 3,000 centrifuges operating with no IAEA safeguards could produce enough weapons-grade uranium for one bomb in 271 days. The IAEA head, Mohamed ElBaradei, told Reuters in mid- January that-he agrees with for- mer U.S, intelligence chief John Negroponte that Iran is four to tine years away from being able to make a bomb. “CNN cut the core facts for flashy news. That’s what sells. But having mainstream media sources that provoke knee-jerk emotional responses from their viewers does nothing to encourage rational and informed discourse. IS Brian BURLEIGH CONTRIBUTER Jeremy, While I agree with what your heart is saying, your mouth is expelling, in my opinion, FUD. I am an avid Mac OS X proponent (if you don’t have a Mac, go buy one...right now...), but I feel that your list of complaints against Vista really amount to nothing. EULAs have always had ridicu- lous rights restrictions, and while I don’t agree with their placement in an EULA (actually, most things ‘about EULAs bother me), they basically amount to nothing. Vista is not going to delete your music downloading software; it’s not going to stop you from installing your Half Life 2 no-CD crack. It’s going to stop users from having to deal with mal/spyware. “You forget that the average Windows user doesn’t even really understand what that means. They check their email, play games, maybe download some music/ yourself. OVER THE EDGE _ February 28, 2007 RE: Last Issue’s On The Digital ‘Front Comments On Windows Vista movies, and do some Office work. -They aren’t downloading mali- cious software that they would like to run even though there is clearly a trojan horse in it. Users that want some freedom in that respect will dig into the OS and find the setting that they need to change. The rest of the user base won’t care. : With regards to piracy, I’d like to point out that Windows XP also has a 30 day verification period (which, yes, was also cracked). This measure was put in place to stop users from simply copying their friend’s XP (or in this case Vista) CD (DVD) and simply in- stalling it with said friend’s serial number. Yes, if you really want to pirate Vista, you can, but for the lament, it requires a significant amount of work. People who pir- ate OSs will always do so, and to expect them to change is short- sighted, but Microsoft knows this. They aren’t targetting those people with their restrictions. On the issue of DRM (digital restrictions management), I feel that taking the rights to use your Vote now — vote often! media away from user’s is not good for anyone. My favourite part of the issue is that ‘most art- ists don’t even care about people copying their music, it’s simply the recording industry (1 hate using that term -- Sony, BGM, etc all use entities like the RIAA to do all their dirty work) being scared of the new information frontier. I admit to downloading music, but I also admit to spending 4-5 times more a year on CD’s since I started downloading music. FYI, if you buy music from the iTunes store you can only download it once. After that, it’s gone. There’s a lot to improve upon in all directions with that issue, and I’d rather not get into it. Finally, your little note about how user’s may not create work- around for Windows is kind of interesting, since all (most?) com- mercial software is like that. You are not legally able to install that no-CD crack for HL2 that I men- tioned earlier, but people still feel as if they have the right to (after all, they bought the software, right?). _GEOFFREY R. WELLER LIBRARY Help us celebrate a truly Canadian cultural event! Canada Reads is an annual “battle of the books” which takes place on CBC radio airing the week of February 26 ~ March 2, 2007. Five prominent advocates defend their choice for the book that they believe all of Canada should read. This year the Geoffrey R. Weller Library is holding our own campaign. Five prominent UNBC personalities have chosen a book that they believe all-of the UNBC community should read. Each reviewer has prepared an argument hoping to win you over to their chosen book. Read these persuasive reviews at http://www.library.unbe.ca/canadareads/unbcreads_main.asp and http://www. library.unbc.ca/canadareads/unbcreads_main.asp. A copy of each of these books has been placed on 1-week Reserve in the Library to give you an opportunity to read them for You will be able to vote for the book that you think all of Canada should read by visiting the library’s website, http://www.library.unbe.ca/canadareads/unbcreads_main.asp and http://www. library.unbc.ca/canadareads/unbcreads_main.asp, or dropping by the Circulation desk in the li- brary. Voting will take place throughout the rest of the semester and the UNBC winner will be announced on April 5th. Research @ your fingertips