The International Olympic Committee has banned Iraq from participating in the olympic games this summer in Beijing. Papers indicate government meddling with the committee assigned to Iraq despite protests from the Iraqi government on the matter. The IOC's decision will prevent Iraq's seven athletes from representing the country in 2008. Iraq has been banned from international athletic competition before, although the circumstances were dramatically different. For example, the Iraqi soccer team was not permitted to compete internationally when it was learned Saddam Hussein's sons would torture and kill the players for losing (from 'Voices of Iraq' video).

Wachovia, the United State's fourth largest bank, reported nearly a $9 billion loss in the second quarter of 2008, representing a $4.20 loss per share. Excluding a one-time, $6.1 billion charge related to "declining market valuations" (as is commonly done) reduces the loss to $1.27 per share, but this is still behind the $0.78 loss predicted by analysts. The first half of 2008 contained the first back-to-back quarter losses in 20 years for Wachovia, which may make it an attractive purchase for larger companies.

Wachovia's new CEO, former Treasury undersecretary Steel, has outlined two new measures to return to profitability:

• cut quarterly dividend to 5 cents per share from 37.5 cents
• leave the wholesale mortgage lending business by the end of the week

The latter of these steps will result in the loss of 6,350 jobs and is accompanied by a $5.6 billion addition to Wachovia's loan loss reserve. The bank expects home prices to fall another 14%.

Wachovia claims it is still adequately capitalized with a tier 1 ratio of 8%. Other large banks such as Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo also reported hefty losses or declines in profit, but were able to beat expectations.

I recently dealt with a large (50%) auto insurance premium increase as a result of an accident (which was my fault). I'm frustrated with making insurance payments for years and years without asking for a penny, and then when I actually need the insurance company to do what I pay them for, they penalize me. I understand the need to establish benefits for good drivers, but ~$1,000 in claims over four years must qualify me for the lowest risk category - unless they're including a $0 group, which would seem almost dishonest. (If there's a zero risk group, then they wouldn't need insurance.)

I try to be constructive, though. So, instead of just feeling used, I came up with how I think the system should be run - or at least an alternative. Rather than paying up front based on how the insurance company estimates the risk of insuring you, why not just borrow money when it's needed and then pay it back at a specified interest rate?

This would have to be contingent on the credit of the insured, of course - something probably reflected in the interest rate and maximum loan amount. Also, perhaps the program would only be available for those above a certain credit level. In any case, it would simplify so many things. Why worry about specifying the details of your coverage (e.g., rental car, deductible, etc.)? Why be burdened with providing evidence to be sure you get the coverage you need? Just specify how much you want to borrow and take care of things.

In fact, why involve an insurance company at all? If you can get pre-approved for a bank loan (based on your home equity or something else) that is large enough to meet the minimum coverage requirements (e.g., in Texas: $25,000 for bodily injury or death to one person per accident, $50,000 for bodily injury or death to two or more persons per accident, $25,000 for damage or destruction to other property in an accident) why couldn't that be enough to be considered self-insured?

At only two years old, the F-22 Raptor is said to be the most advanced fighter jet to ever take to the skies. The jet recently wowed audiences in the Farnborough airshow with acrobatics to include a tail stand and backflip maneuvers. Each F-22 Raptor costs a cool $140 million and more than half of the 183 ordered aircraft are already in service. The Air Force has requested an additional 198 F-22 Raptors, though that order is in jeopardy as Congress has not allotted any additional funding to the program. Normally, this would not be a problem as the weapons industry would sell their wares to overseas allies. However, the F-22 Raptor is such a superior aircraft that the United States has banned Lockheed Martin from selling them to any country. Prior sales were considered to allies such as Israel, Australia and Japan but none were ever authorized. With future orders in limbo and a restricted market, Lockheed Martin is actually faced with the prospect of shutting down the F-22 Raptor project altogether.

For the longest time, a near immediate withdrawal of military forces from the Middle East was one of the keystones to Barack Obama's bid for the presidency. In the past month, however, Obama has sought to win swing voters by moving away from the left and towards the center (as all candidates tend to do towards election time). Regardless, the issue is still one of Obama's key differentiating factors from McCain, which makes his recent fuzzy behavior questionable. Some tech savvy folks within McCain's campaign actually utilized a web spidering diff tool from Versionista to actually show how pages on Obama's website have changed - specifically any changes from stoutly declaring withdrawal to conceding the decision would need to be based on more information.

At the same time, the recent change in heart from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki calling for a timetable on foreign withdrawal is being welcomed as an opportunity by Obama's campaign. But is this an opportunity to safely return to the original troop withdrawal stance, or an opportunity to center himself and then withdraw troops as a statesmen?

Recent articles on CBC and Gizmodo about the best thing to ever come out of Denmark brings to mind a question -- call it an informal poll -- for O-Nerds: Did you play with Legos? If you did, what was your favorite set? Favorite original creation? Do you have any Lego memories you'd like to share?

If you didn't play with Legos, the question is: why the heck not?

Only days ago, the Columbian military staged a daring rescue that succeeded in freeing kidnapped victims from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Amongst those victims were three American contractors and a prominent Columbian political figurehead. The rescue itself was performed bloodlessly when some FARC rebels betrayed their cause and provided code phrases to the military. The use of the codes created the false pretense the hostages were to be moved, whereupon the rescue helicopter landed, nonchalantly loaded the victims and took off. In subsequent interviews, the three American captives and Columbian Ingrid Betancourt described the hellish conditions they were subjected to for more than five years.

Almost without thinking, one can quickly conclude this operation was perfect. Nobody from the FARC, the military or any of the rescued victims were hurt during the rescue. However, Columbian President Alvaro Uribe admits at least one member of the rescue party was wearing a symbol for the International Red Cross, which violates the Geneva Convention when used under false pretenses. Using the symbol may likely endanger future humanitarian workers within the program who will now be eyed with extra suspicion as to their true origin.

The question of the Geneva Convention's contemporary applicability was once the most hotly contested subject on OmniNerd. Considering the operation's amazing success and the ruthlessness with which the FARC held its captives, should this violation be forgiven or reprimanded?

A father of three was photographing his three children enjoying a slide was accused by nearby parents of being a pervert. When one mother in particular began to harass him about not taking pictures of her children, the man was flabbergasted. Even after showing the complaining parents the images on his camera were only of his children, he continued to be harassed. A nearby police officer sided with the father, indicating there was no improper behavior at play.

Even if the man had captured other children in the background of his photos, the legal precedent around public areas protects his activities. Has western society gone too far with privacy accusations or do such parents have a legitimate complaint?

The rapid growth in gas prices over the past several years has finally stimulated Americans to take a serious interest in fuel saving measures. One positive side effect is that increased gas prices have reduced the amount of driving such that automobile related deaths are down by 33%. But for those still on the road, drivers are unfortunately sinking money into useless gadgets like fuel atomizers, air intake "swirlers" and fuel additives because they have been led to believe miles per gallon increases are possible upwards of 20%. These folks are usually duped into believing these simple technologies have been suppressed by a global automobile industrial conspiracy aimed at maintaining a dependence on fossil fuels. Idiots.

OBD II stands for On Board Diagnostics Version 2 and serves to monitor the components of an internal combustion engine that have direct influence on your emissions. Within your exhaust there is a sensor called the O2 sensor which measures the presence of oxygen in the exhaust to inform the engine computer whether the fuel is burning rich or lean. A "closed loop" exists between the engine computer and the O2 sensors because the amount of fuel delivered by the fuel injectors is dynamically controlled based on the detected level of fuel burn in the exhaust. Basically, your O2 sensor spits out a voltage between 0V and 1V and a value of 0.45V (standard on most sensors) indicates the stoichiometric balance of the air/fuel ratio for optimal burn.

Within the engine computer, there are trim variables that represent long and short term percentage changes in the injector timing designed to compensate for changes in the system as parts wear down, etc. For example, it is safe to assume that your spark plugs aren't sparking as effectively after 29K miles and therefore a cylinder's burn is no longer as complete as it used to be. This is detected as a change in your emissions (fuel mixture appears rich) by the O2 sensor. Here, the trim variables start tweaking down the injector pulse width slightly until the O2 sensor begins to report .45V again. Thus, your engine is compensating to adaptive conditions. Replacing the plugs now shows up to the O2 sensor as a lean burn so the trim variable begins to increase the pulse width until the sensor again reports .45V again. When those trim variables exceed some threshold like +/-20% ... a CEL/MIL lights up.

The point of all this technical jargon is that the installation of fuel savings gadgets will have an effect of fuel efficiency in the short run. However, just as a change in fuel burn from worn spark plugs was detected by the O2 sensors, so is a change in fuel burn from improvement devices. Within the span of 500-1000 miles, the engine computer's long and short term trim variables will recalibrate and adjust the fuel injectors such that emissions are restored. Often times this means fuel consumption goes right back where it was and sometimes results in even worse fuel economy.

This is somewhat of a reminder that the OBD II system was not designed with increased fuel efficiency as a goal - it was designed to appease the atmospheric environmentalists of the 80's and 90's. We could always get better fuel efficiency by saying to hell with the atmosphere .... it just depends on which environmental/political movement is strongest at the time.

There are only a few real courses of action one can take to improve the fuel efficiency on a given vehicle. All of these measures are thoroughly documented in Improve MPG: The Factors Affecting Fuel Efficiency. The first is to change driving style! That means slowing down to a speed whereupon the vehicle's torque output in an overdrive gear is providing just enough power to force the vehicle through a given speed's air resistance. A national initiative for renewing the 55mph highway standard is once again on the table. For many cars, this will be a very effective measure but there are cars that perform better at slightly higher speeds. Aside from altering driving habits, motorists can replace or modify their vehicle's engine computer. This requires either having a custom programming uploaded into the computer or a "piggyback" computer altering the stock output signals. Of course, this is only effective if the modifications actually correspond to modifications actually installed on the vehicle. Such a programming can be achieved by professionals using a dynometer.

But if you do insist on wasting your money on the truly useless modifications, I will sell you a rock and some duct tape for $50 plus shipping and handling. I will include instructions on how to install this fuel saving device onto the backside of your throttle pedal to limit your ability to floor it and thereby save you significant amounts of gas. As an added bonus, I will even personally guarantee your rock will be artistically unique in shape but is also environmentally sound - made from 100% natural material.

Four years ago, the typical Microsoft Windows computer with a fresh installation lasted roughly 20-40 minutes before being hacked. Today, that estimate has dwindled to a mere four minutes based on research conducted by the SANS Internet Storm Center. On the other hand, based on the same data, a UNIX system seems to survive between 400 and 1200 minutes before hackers are able to compromise the machine. While both UNIX and Windows machines both share vulnerabilities "out-of-the-box," new releases of UNIX systems come more frequently than Windows thus reducing the time of exposure on-line while downloading the latest patches.