[editor's note, by ceebs]Heres the slightly reworked version. Any changes anyone wants to suggest before it gets thrown up to the big orange place? (oh and whats the best time to do that for the most impact)?

A variety of the mainstream media today are reporting on a confidential world bank report on the effect of Biofuels on food prices. The initial figures of a 75% increase appear large, but what do they actually mean? If we look into it we find that Biofuels are in effect concealing an increase in transportation costs inside the family shopping budget.

The Elders : Every Human Has Rights

2008 is the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights 60th anniversary.

It`s a time for a global conversation about human rights.
To consider the values that unite us as one human family, and one global village. But it can be more.

For the last 60 years it`s been governments that have been asked to sign the Universal Declaration.

We hope that 2008 can be the year that individuals, not just governments, sign the declaration.

We`re hoping for one billion signatures from across the world.
We want yours to be one of them.

We urge you to embrace the values and goals of the declaration.
To protect the rights of your fellow global villagers. And encourage others to do the same in your communities, workplaces and schools.

Please sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Make your personal pledge to live your life by its principles.

Every human has rights.

Diary rescue by Migeru

POLITICS-US: Cheney Tried to Stifle Dissent in Iran NIE

WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (IPS) - A National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran has been held up for more than a year in an effort to force the intelligence community to remove dissenting judgments on the Iranian nuclear programme, and thus make the document more supportive of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's militarily aggressive policy toward Iran, according to accounts of the process provided by participants to two former Central Intelligence Agency officers.

But this pressure on intelligence analysts, obviously instigated by Cheney himself, has not produced a draft estimate without those dissenting views, these sources say. The White House has now apparently decided to release the unsatisfactory draft NIE, but without making its key findings public...<snip>

Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi provided a similar account, based on his own sources in the intelligence community. He told IPS that intelligence analysts have had to review and rewrite their findings three times, because of pressure from the White House.

"The White House wants a document that it can use as evidence for its Iran policy," says Giraldi. Despite pressures on them to change their dissenting conclusions, however, Giraldi says some analysts have refused to go along with conclusions that they believe are not supported by the evidence.

So here we are once again with intelligence being (in the words of sir Richard Dearlove) "fixed around policy"

Sigh... — Promoted by Migeru

Reading Colmans elegant rant earlier today got me to finally writing the end of something I've been meaning to finish off from my half written pile for ages, so here it is. (and I finally have finished a diary so hopefully those of you who have been waiting for one won't injure yourselves with shock and surprise that I have finally finished one and posted it)

During the years following the industrial revolution a group of industrialists arose in the UK who ran highly successful businesses, but these businesses were not run entirely on an ethos of exploitation. the one thing they appear to have in common apart from a desire to treat their workers as human being s is their religion. they all appear to be quakers. Follow me below the fold to hear about them and to ask the interesting questions.

On ethical capitalism — promoted by Migeru

A couple of weeks ago I suggested a diary that asks the small questions. We spend much time discussing the large questions and often start off with a quite technical discussion on a subject. As an example take Migeru's current diary about M3 money supply. As a result of this we get quite a few lurkers or people who do not feel confident in joining the discussion as they feel they have nothing to add. I have been waiting for a Sunday when there was a diary since that appeared technical enough to start this regular series off (thanks Migeru) ;-)

So please ask any questions that you want for the community to answer. No question to insignificant, or simple. There will be no answers of Look it up on google.

A few days ago I was wandering the aisles of a local bookshop, looking for something to stimulate me, and keep my mind moving when I came across a fairly weighty tome full of diagrams and equations hoping to describe the state of physics. Thinking that there was probably a wealth of resource on here I asked for an opinion, and was pointed in another direction by the resident experts.

This got me thinking. In this community there are a variety of people with a variety of specialisations, they will have a selection of books that they think will serve as either a good introduction to their subjects, or will be a challenge to people who have started out on their subject and want something that will stretch them further.

So the question is, What are your recomendations for the polymaths library?