The breadth of understanding for Islam among some of the powers that be in the United States is breathtaking. One gets the impression that, were the constitution not clear about the separation between church and state, the country might rapidly turn into a Christian theocracy. And Muslims would be the first to go.

Perhaps that is going a bit far, but the news coming out of the world's most powerful democracy these days is far from reassuring. A judge in Guilford County, North Carolina recently forbade a woman from swearing to tell the truth on a Koran rather than a Bible  before giving court testimony. In other words, swearing on a Bible makes her more likely to tell the truth. But still, the judge's decision isn't half as bad as the comments by Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado last Friday. Speaking on the WFLA radio station in Orlando, Florida, Tancredo said that, were Islamist terrorists ever to set off nuclear devices in the United States, it might be a good idea to "take out" Muslim holy sites.  Specifically, bombing Mecca. Is it any wonder that many Muslims are skeptical of the United States?

Happy Birthday to Mass-Scale Death and Destruction

It was an event that changed the world forever. Sixty years ago, the very first atomic bomb was exploded at Alamogordo  in New Mexico. At the time, it represented the pinnacle of scientific achievement and was the result of years of work from the world's leading scientists. But even though it was a cause for wonder, it was also a cause for horror. Just three weeks after the first test detonation, it was used in battle for the first time in Hiroshima, Japan -- with appalling results.

The Bomb was the result of the top-secret Manhattan Project  and was pushed to completion as rapidly as possible as a way to bring an end to the slaughter of World War II. Yet despite American arguments that the use of the bomb was necessary to avoid the massive casualties that would have resulted from an invasion of Japan, many of the scientists who worked on the project soon resigned. Project leader J. Robert Oppenheimer  even went so far as to say, "I feel we have blood on our hands."

Lips didn't remain sealed for long over the secret recipe for nuclear bomb-building. The Soviet Union soon manufactured a Bomb of its own and other countries quickly followed suit. 

Google Maps Muck-Ups

Larry Page, co-founder of Google, announced a vision in 2004 which was both audacious and faintly alarming. "Google's mission is to organize the world's information," Page said, speaking about a plan to digitally scan books from some of the world's most important libraries. This year saw yet another step towards Google omniscience with the launch of Google Maps . The maps are easily scrollable, which is a welcome relief to users tired of waiting for map images to continually reload. In addition, users are able to view satellite images to a high resolution and most importantly, it is possible to enter search terms for available maps. This means that if you enter search terms such as "kebab" and "London", markers appear on your map pointing to towards all the kebab shops in the city. Very useful if you are in urgent need of a couple of thousand kebabs.

Increasingly though, user-customisation is delivering the really exciting developments. Known as "Google Map Hacks" or "Mash-ups" , thousands of Web users have taken the interoperability feature of Google Maps to produce their own cartographical creations. Let's take a current example. Were you taking part in the running of the bulls  last week in Pamplona, Spain? Perhaps you wanted to find out on which streets most people get gored by the rampaging bulls? Well, some clever spod has created a Google Map Hack for just this. purpose.http://www.codesyntax.com/proiektuak/sanfermin_all.html Perhaps you drive long distances and are worried about being caught by a speed camera again. Well, another ingenious Mash-Up plots all the locations of speed traps in the UK  on a scrollable map. Controversially, one can even find maps of known sex-offenders  in your area, all with the click of a mouse.