July 13, 2010
Microsoft, Fujitsu team up for global cloud computing services
The companies, which have for years been in partnership in corporate computer systems development and personal computer business, aim to establish a platform for the new business soon.
I don't know how the average Japanese windblows user feels but over here we trust Microsoft with our data as much as we trust the government to tell the truth.
Good luck.
July 03, 2010
Pioneer One
Just finished watching Pioneer One, a new TV series that is internet only. Free to download and watch, give it a shot. You might like it.
Basically it is a sci-fi drama that is very low budget, but surprisingly good.
It would be better if they had more props but I have to say it's good for the little money they made it with.
June 01, 2010
Divorce pains the planet
Divorce pains the planet | Green Tech - CNET News
LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
Wow...
How about morons who fly jets around the world preaching their false religion
of global warming? Do they contribute to your fairy tale?
May 08, 2010
School District: Flag Clothing Incident "Extremely Unfortunate"
The students wore T-shirts depicting the flag to school on Wednesday. Administrators told the boys the clothes could be "incendiary" and asked them turn the shirts inside-out or face suspension. The boys refused so they were sent home.
It's amazing how everything logical is getting flipped around.
Once we took pride in our flag, said the pledge at the beginning of the school day, even sang our national anthem.
Now you get sent home for having pride in your country.
April 28, 2010
Supreme Court thinks clearly, barely
The Supreme Court gave its approval Wednesday to displaying a cross on public land to honor fallen soldiers, saying the Constitution "does not require the eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm."
Speaking for a divided court, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said the 1st Amendment called for a middle-ground "policy of accommodation" toward religious displays on public land, not a strict separation of church and state.
Kennedy disagreed with judges in California who said U.S. National Park Service officials must remove a small Latin cross from the Mojave National Preserve that had stood since 1934 to honor soldiers who died in World War I. The judges said the display of the cross on public land amounted to a government endorsement of religion.
It's refreshing to see something sane come from the beltway, however the fact it was a split decision is unsettling. I agree totaly with one of the commentators on the article.
"The Mojave Cross was there long before this became a national preserve. It was erected by WWI vets to commemorate their friends who did not return home. It has historical and memorial value, and the ACLU was ridiculous for pursuing its removal. At no time did this cross represent any kind of official endorsement of a religion by the government."
Well said.
January 23, 2010
Poor website
My poor site has been neglected for a couple years now :(
Curse you World of Warcraft, Anime, Work and Family for sucking up all my time.
Ok, I also eat and sleep, guess that takes a few minutes a day.
March 19, 2009
NFL concerned about player safety, switching to flag football
Ok, Ok not really.
However if you ask any of the players from the beginning of pro football up till the 80's I think all would say it's not a mans game anymore. Used to be all players were fair game for hitting, it's part of the sport. Now you have to file a petition, go before a judge to view the rules on hitting, then if all the stars in heaven line up you could tap the guy on the shoulder. Let the game be played NFL... geezz.
More @ Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Dreamworks grabs Tax Payer Bank Bailout Money
Oh yay!
We get to bailout hollywood studios now as well, is there no end to the Osama administrations fleecing of the American taxpayer??
Read up on it at Deadline Hollywood Daily
December 11, 2008
CURSE YOU GLOBAL WARMING!!
NEW ORLEANS - A rare snowfall blanketed south Louisiana and parts of Mississippi Thursday, closing schools, government offices and bridges, triggering crashes on major highways and leaving thousands of people without power.
Parts of Louisiana were expected to get up to four inches of snow. Snow also covered a broad swath of Mississippi, including the Jackson area, and closed schools in more than a dozen districts. The National Weather Service in Jackson said up to 8 inches was possible in the southern and eastern parts of the state.
A heavy band of snow coated windshields and grassy areas in New Orleans, where the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28179147/
November 28, 2008
Wal-Mart Worker Dies After Shoppers Knock Him Down
NEW YORK (AP) — A Wal-Mart worker died after being trampled by a throng of unruly shoppers shortly after the Long Island store opened Friday, police said.
Nassau County police said the 34-year-old worker was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., an hour after the store opened. The cause of death was not immediately known.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/
2008-11-28-walmart-death_N.htm?csp=34
**Happy Holidays everyone. I'm sure his family will have a wonderful holiday - after they bury their loved one, that is.:-/**
November 06, 2008
BBC SHUNNED ME FOR DENYING CLIMATE CHANGE
FOR YEARS David Bellamy was one of the best known faces on TV.
A respected botanist and the author of 35 books, he had presented around 400 programmes over the years and was appreciated by audiences for his boundless enthusiasm.
Yet for more than 10 years he has been out of the limelight, shunned by bosses at the BBC where he made his name, as well as fellow scientists and environmentalists.
His crime? Bellamy says he doesn’t believe in man-made global warming.
Here he reveals why – and the price he has paid for not toeing the orthodox line on climate change.
Surprised? No.
September 30, 2008
U.S. turmoil fails to carry through to Europe
"We are now in the golden age of thieves. And where I come from we put thieves in jail, we don't bail them out." — Rep. Pete Visclosky, Democrat.
LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks were at near three-year lows on Tuesday but fears of a major market meltdown failed to carry through from Wall Street to Europe as confidence in bank rescue packages persisted.
The U.S. Congress's rejection of a bank rescue plan tore nearly 9 percent off the broad S&P 500 on Monday but European shares and many Asian stock markets clawed back from early losses on hopes the U.S. plan would eventually go through.
U.S. stock index futures also pointed to a higher opening, suggesting belief that Monday's selloff was over-done.
"It's certainly my working assumption that there (will be) some sort of agreement reached in the U.S. and based on that I would expect the market to recover quite strongly from yesterday's sell-off," said Darren Winder, equity strategist at Cazenove.
Parts of the private sector becomes corrupt and fails, good. It's long over due for a cleansing.
I found the bill all 110 pages, HR3997 is vague and uses broad general language, which is what we do NOT need. Download Here
September 01, 2008
Some turn violent in march to GOP convention
That one sentence sums up the famous double standard of the far left. Do as we say, not as we do, it's disgusting.
It's no different than if the story was "PETA marches in the streets slitting the throats of homeless pets to protest pet violence."
Just as stupid.
August 13, 2008
Prince Charles warns GM crops risk causing the biggest-ever environmental disaster
In his most outspoken intervention on the issue of GM food, the Prince said that multi-national companies were conducting an experiment with nature which had gone "seriously wrong".
The Prince, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Telegraph, also expressed the fear that food would run out because of the damage being wreaked on the earth's soil by scientists' research.
He accused firms of conducting a "gigantic experiment I think with nature and the whole of humanity which has gone seriously wrong".
"Why else are we facing all these challenges, climate change and everything?".
Brilliant Prince, Good show ol' chap. (it really is worth reading it all, I had no idea the man was this smart)
August 01, 2008
Obama pines for the good old days of Red Communism
Details are in this six-page policy paper.
The first part of Obama’s plan is an emergency energy rebate ($500 to individual workers, $1,000 to families) as soon as this fall.
“This rebate will be enough to offset the increased cost of gas for a working family over the next four months,” Obama said. “Or, if you live in a state where it gets very cold in the winter, it will be enough to cover the entire increase in your heating bills. Or you could use the rebate for any of your other bills or even to pay down debt
Holy Crap Batman!
Obama is the second coming of old school Soviet Union style socialism/communism.
I'm at a total loss for words how the media and his minions refuse to open their minds up and see what is really going on... just blows me away.
God have mercy on us all if this lunatic gets into office.
lol and we thought W. was bad, this guy is going to make him look like Mr. Rogers.
July 24, 2008
Obama cancels troop visit
Republicans are, smartly, seizing upon this report from Der Spiegel (which has become a must-read this week):
SPIEGEL ONLINE has learned that Obama has cancelled a planned short visit to the Rammstein and Landstuhl US military bases in the southwest German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The visits were planned for Friday. "Barack Obama will not be coming to us," a spokesperson for the US military hospital in Landstuhl announced. "I don't know why." Shortly before the same spokeswoman had announced a planned visit by Obama.
The optics here are not good: Obama has time to get in a workout and give a speech to a crowd mostly comprised of Europeans, but can't be bothered to visit American troops wounded in action recovering at a military hospital.
Obama's explanation strikes at much of the criticism he's gotten from McCain and the GOP.
"The senator decided out of respect for these servicemen and women that it would be inappropriate to make a stop to visit troops at a U.S. military facility as part of a trip funded by the campaign," explains spokesman Robert Gibbs.
This is a sticky wicket for Obama.
Uh, nice.
At least we know where he stands, not with our troops.
June 25, 2008
Court rejects death penalty for raping children
In a 5-4 vote, the court said the Louisiana law allowing the death penalty to be imposed in such cases violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
"The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion. His four liberal colleagues joined him, while the four more conservative justices dissented.
There has not been an execution in the United States for a crime that did not also involve the death of the victim in 44 years.
Patrick Kennedy, 43, was sentenced to death for the rape of his 8-year-old stepdaughter in Louisiana. He is one of two people in the United States, both in Louisiana, who have been condemned to death for a rape that was not also accompanied by a killing.
The Supreme Court banned executions for rape in 1977 in a case in which the victim was an adult woman.
So we are back to the supreme court making laws, how refreshing to know that all phases of our government have completely run a muck with America haters trying to destroy this great nation.
Hey supreme court, how about your do YOUR job, and let congress make the laws.
June 17, 2008
45 New "Super-Earth" Exoplanets Discovered
A team of European scientists have discovered 45 new exoplanets using the HARPS instrument on the 3.4-m telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. The planets are all less then 30 times the mass of Earth and all orbit very close to their stars (it is easier to detect small planets if they orbit very close to their star, so these are the ones found first).
It was only in 2005 that the first earth-sized exoplanet was discovered and only in April 2007 that the first Earth-sized exoplanet was discovered in the habitable zone (distance from star that allows for liquid water to be stable).
Now the team has found one sun-like star that has three super Earths orbiting it-- the smallest of which is only 4 times the mass of Earth. The host star, HD 40307, is located 42 light-years away towards the southern Doradus and Pictor constellations. "We have made very precise measurements of the velocity of the star HD 40307 over the last five years, which clearly reveal the presence of three planets," says planet hunter Michel Mayor of the Geneva Observatory.
Oh, tease us some more. Like we can jump in the Enterprise to go check it out once we find them. =P
June 16, 2008
AMD graphics card breaks teraflop barrier
The chip maker is slated to introduce a new single-chip graphics card — the ATI Radeon HD 4850 — based on the new chip on June 25. Then, in August, AMD is expected to release a graphics card, code-named R700, that will include two of the new chips.
"We're [at] a turning point in the way we design our graphics chips," said Matt Skinner, a spokesman for AMD. "As they get bigger and bigger, they use more power, and we're coming up on power constraints as well as how many transistors you can fit on a certain dye size.
Really, such a Duh! moment.
I read this and thought, why the hell didn't they do this before? We have SLI cards and mobo's why not slap two or even four chips on a card to begin with, it's quite a simple solution.
However, I have to say given ATI's long and proud history of having the worst drivers in the game will still take me back to Nvidia for a while to come.
June 14, 2008
Global Warming and the Price of a Gallon of Gas
You may want to give credit where credit is due to Al Gore and his global warming campaign the next time you fill your car with gasoline, because there is a direct connection between Global Warming and four dollar a gallon gas. It is shocking, but true, to learn that the entire Global Warming frenzy is based on the environmentalist’s attack on fossil fuels, particularly gasoline. All this big time science, international meetings, thick research papers, dire threats for the future; all of it, comes down to their claim that the carbon dioxide in the exhaust from your car and in the smoke stacks from our power plants is destroying the climate of planet Earth. What an amazing fraud; what a scam.
The future of our civilization lies in the balance.
That’s the battle cry of the High Priest of Global Warming Al Gore and his fellow, agenda driven disciples as they predict a calamitous outcome from anthropogenic global warming. According to Mr. Gore the polar ice caps will collapse and melt and sea levels will rise 20 feet inundating the coastal cities making 100 million of us refugees. Vice President Gore tells us numerous Pacific islands will be totally submerged and uninhabitable. He tells us global warming will disrupt the circulation of the ocean waters, dramatically changing climates, throwing the world food supply into chaos. He tells us global warming will turn hurricanes into super storms, produce droughts, wipe out the polar bears and result in bleaching of coral reefs. He tells us tropical diseases will spread to mid latitudes and heat waves will kill tens of thousands. He preaches to us that we must change our lives and eliminate fossil fuels or face the dire consequences. The future of our civilization is in the balance.
Of course the Church of Gore and it's disciples will stamp out this glimmer of sanity like they have done to others.
June 03, 2008
Unisured Taxpayers In Massachusetts Are Fined....
Five percent of taxpayers failed to obtain health coverage last year, and more than half of those — about 97,000 — were forced to forfeit their personal exemption — worth $219 — after it was determined they could have afforded health care.
Two percent of taxpayers — about 62,000 — were found not to earn enough for health care, avoiding fines. Under the landmark law, taxpayers must show they are insured or face penalties. The numbers were based on a review of 86 percent of expected tax filers for 2007.
The state's first-in-the-nation universal health insurance law required everyone in the state to be insured by July 2007, except for those who secured a waiver proving they couldn't afford insurance.
Gov. Deval Patrick said the fact that 95 percent of filers were insured shows the 2006 law is making progress.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080603/ap_on_re_us/
massachusetts_health_care
** *Sniff, sniff* - Is that the stinch of socialism I smell? Why yes, yes it is! Welcome to America one and all where socialism continues to pop up, rearing it's disgustingly, ugly head. Sneaking it's way into our society through the means of brainless, corupt lawmakers who have "forgotten" (they don't care actually) that our founding fathers set up a REPUBLIC government for us - NOT a socialist one (and no - NOT a democracy either)! No one should be forced to have health insurance (or anything else) - even when they CAN afford it. That's a personal choice that every person has a right to make with OUT the government coming in and forcing them to do otherwise.
Why hasn't this law been challenged by the people! Then again, maybe it has. If so, then why hasn't the suppreme court ordered the this law to be abolished!**
May 15, 2008
Alienware: Game PCs need more than faster chips
Parent company Dell vowed on Tuesday to pour more resources into the game PC unit and invest in "product development, design, and engineering."
Alienware's Marc Diana believes optimizing systems for the 64-bit world would allow game PCs to make big strides in performance. In effect, today's 32-bit environments are putting a crimp on PC-based gaming.
"So many people are caught up in this hardware race. Dual-core, quad-core this and that," said Diana, who is Alienware's product marketing manager for desktops. "If these companies--Intel, Microsoft, Nvidia, ATI, and AMD--if they'd just sit down and realize the performance benefit of optimizing their drivers and software for 64-bit."
Finally a voice of reason who gets it.
Obama Cries when the obvious is pointed out
Obama Takes Issue With Bush Foreign Policy Speech
ABC News' Ed O'Keefe Reports: The Obama campaign is taking issue with a comment President Bush made while speaking to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel's statehood.
"Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along," the President said to the country's legislative body, "We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is –- the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."
I think "Dave C" nailed it in the comments:
All who believe in 100% diplomacy are like Neville Chamberlain in 1938 who tried to appease Hitler.
May 07, 2008
Ex-Gitmo Prisoner Carries Out Suicide Attack....
A spokesman for U.S. military's Central Command told The Associated Press that Abdallah Salih al-Ajmi took part in an attack in Mosul.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24504862/
**NOOO! Not an ex-Gitmo prisoner! Gee - I wouldn't have seen that one coming! Seeing as how they're all SUCH innocent people who have been locked up under petty suspision! Right....**
April 03, 2008
Comcast offers super-fast Internet speeds
Being a heavy gamer myself I found this funny, what gamer has the need for 50mb connection? Let alone afford it?
Now the "movie download" person, you can put money on is getting his bits and bytes from other users, and not by paying a online movie rental/seller.
February 04, 2008
Clinton Health Plan: Garnish Wages to force Universal Health Care
The New York senator has criticized presidential rival Barack Obama for pushing a health plan that would not require universal coverage. Clinton has not always specified the enforcement measures she would embrace, but when pressed on ABC's "This Week," she said: "I think there are a number of mechanisms" that are possible, including "going after people's wages, automatic enrollment."
Clinton said such measures would apply only to workers who can afford health coverage but refuse to buy it, which puts undue pressure on hospitals and emergency rooms. With her proposals for subsidies, she said, "it will be affordable for everyone."
Clinton also suggested that Obama would be more susceptible to Republican attack ads in a general election because he has not been scrutinized for years as she has.
One word.
Frightening
In other words, this crazy ***** scares the **** out of me!
December 21, 2007
Oldest U.S. WWI Vet Dies In Ohio At 109....
TOLEDO, Ohio - J. Russell Coffey, the oldest known surviving U.S. veteran of World War I, has died. The retired teacher, one of only three U.S. veterans from the "war to end all wars," was 109.
Coffey died Thursday at the Briar Hill Health Campus in North Baltimore, where he had lived for the past four or five years, said Gaye Boggs, nursing director at the nursing home. No cause of death has been determined, she said Friday. His health began failing in October.
"We're sure going to miss him," Boggs said. "He was our most famous resident, that's for sure."
More than 4.7 million Americans joined the military from 1917-1918. Coffey never saw combat because he was still in basic training when the war ended.
The two remaining U.S. veterans are Frank Buckles, 106, of Charles Town, W.Va.; and Harry Richard Landis, 108, of Sun City Center, Fla., according to the Veterans Affairs Department. In addition, John Babcock, 107, of Spokane, Wash., served in the Canadian army and is the last known Canadian veteran of the war.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071221/ap_on_re_us/obit_coffey
**First off - thanks to all these men listed for their service. Especially J. Russell Coffey....may you rest in peace.
Secondly - and I don't mean this to sound disrespectful but where it says "No cause of death has been determined"....now, I'm no expert on these matters but I think it's pretty safe to assume that the fact that he was 109 years of age was most likely a contributing factor to his demise. But hey, that's just my thought. God bless 'em.**
December 07, 2007
Pearl Harbor Memories: Billings Man Had Full View Of Infamous Day....
Ed Chlapowski can still see the white smoke rise into the sky right before the USS Arizona exploded.
On that infamous day of Dec. 7, 1941, Chlapowski realized his best friend, Brutus West, was on that ship.
"It hurt terrifically when it happened. You never recover from it," he said.
As the years grow longer and the number of survivors of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor becomes smaller, there's urgency to preserve those memories.
For Chlapowski, 85, the chronology of that Sunday morning 66 years ago may sometimes get the better of him, but the events have never left him.
"Brutus West is still on the Arizona as far as I'm concerned," he said.
As a 19-year-old radioman, Chlapowski had a year of Navy life behind him when the Japanese launched their surprise air attack on the naval base in Hawaii.
He had been stationed at Pearl Harbor for just more than two months under the command of Adm. Husband E. Kimmel, commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet. But Chlapowski had been stationed on the Arizona before that, a fact that makes the loss of the ship even more powerful to him.
The morning of the attack, Chlapowski had been on watch from 4 to 7 a.m., when he took his breakfast break in the submarine base cafeteria.
"I saw the roof blow off at Hickam (Field), and I saw the planes flying in," Chlapowski said. "The plane turned, and I saw the 'meatballs' on the wings and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. It still does. I knew it was the Japs."
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/12/07/news/local/
18-pearlharbor_v.txt
**I realize I just posted two stories on Pearl Harbor but I did that because I really love putting a face (or two) onto history. Besides, I couldn't decide between the two.**
Pearl Harbor Lives In Hearts Of Its Vets....
After 66 years, some survivors wonder if they are the last reminders of the attack that led the U.S. into war.
Their ranks thinned by age, Pearl Harbor veterans today are commemorating the 66th anniversary of the Japanese attack and wondering whether Americans will remember one of the most defining moments in history after they die.
"When we're gone, we're gone," said 87-year-old Jack Ray Hammett. "We're already just a paragraph in the history books. Will even that disappear when the last one of us dies?"
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a speech to Congress, immortalized the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and other military installations on Oahu, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941, as a "date which will live in infamy." Today, those words are remembered mostly by the generation that lived through World War II.
It is a generation in steady decline. About 16 million Americans served in uniform during the war. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates 2.7 million are living, but they are dying at the rate of about 1,000 per day.
The exact number of Pearl Harbor survivors, though unknown, is smaller, and they are older than the average WWII veteran. Hammett, a former Costa Mesa mayor, said he liked to think of his buddies as "walking, living history."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pearl7dec07,0,4471368.story?
coll=la-home-local
December 01, 2007
CBS Seeking 'Irreverent,' 'Hip' Journalist for Eco-Beat (No Knowledge Required)
The network has posted an ad seeking a reporter to cover the “eco beat” – with some interesting requirements.
“CBS is expanding its coverage of the environment,” the ad reads. “We seek a talented reporter/host for Internet video broadcast. We are looking for smart, creative, hard working up and comers, who can bring great energy, creativity and a dash of humor to our coverage. A deep interest in the environment and sustainability issues will serve you well.”
So you would think such a job would require a science background or years of covering environmental news? Not exactly.
lol
November 30, 2007
Overnight shift to be classified as 'probable' cancer cause
Next month, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer arm of the World Health Organization, will add overnight shift work as a probable carcinogen.
I can see night sift making even more money now, shift diff + hazard pay.
November 26, 2007
Rolling in cash
All Linda Katz had to do was step outside of her house to make thousands on the Internet. Now the Midwestern entrepreneur is building a business selling a piece of the old west online: tumbleweeds.
By KEVIN SITES
Linda started her online business, the Prairie Tumbleweed Farm, as a joke. It was 1994 and she wanted to teach herself how to design a website. Since she lived on the prairie in southwest Kansas, where rolling tumbleweeds are sometimes the only dynamic feature of an endless flat horizon, she invented a farm that sold tumbleweeds, listing prices at $15 for a small one, $20 for a medium and $25 for large.
http://potw.news.yahoo.com/
**This was too funny NOT to post. Kuddos to her! It's amazing how a joke can turn into some pretty decent cash! Be sure to check out her website at the prairietumbleweedfarm. Unfortunately my computer won't connect to it right now (Gee, there's news) but I'm going to try again later. I've got to see this website.:-)**
November 07, 2007
Cancer Patient Denied ‘Wonder Drug’
A man given 12 months to live is at the centre of Oxfordshire's latest health postcode lottery' case after being denied drugs which could prolong his life.
Kidney cancer sufferer Stephen Dallison, of Iffley Road, East Oxford, has been told that more clinical evidence is needed to support his case, before he can receive Sunitinib, which costs £2,500 a month.
The 33-year-old said: "I've been given approximately a year to live and this drug has been shown to extend life.
"It's not a cure, but it can prolong your life by months, even years, and you can have a much better quality of life while using it."
http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/
display.var.1780901.0.cancer_patient_denied_wonder_drug.php
**My sister sent me this link yesterday. This is simply appalling! Yes, I understand that according to this article, this drug may only give him a few extra months. BUT it could also give him extra YEARS! By THAT time (a few months OR years) - no telling WHAT other treatments may be on the market to help him better. As a Christian, I value ALL life. Born and the unborn - man and animal alike....but come on! We treat DOGS better than we're treating this man and others like him. This is not the first time someone has basically got down on their hands and knees *begging* their government for medication/medical help so that they may live and unfortunatley, it won't be the last. Please pray for this man and others like him so they may recieve the help they need to just live. Btw....I believe (though not sure) that his appeal has been denied so if you're in England please contact whoever you can (if you can) to help further this man's fight.**
October 31, 2007
Army tests James Bond style tank that is 'invisible'
In secret trials last week, the Army said it had made a vehicle completely disappear and predicted that an invisible tank would be ready for service by 2012.
The new technology uses cameras and projectors to beam images of the surrounding landscape onto a tank.
Hrmm... Interesting.
October 25, 2007
California Fires May Be At Turning Point....
SAN DIEGO - A massive aerial assault and a break in harsh winds helped firefighters make their first major progress against Southern California's firestorm, raising evacuees' hopes of returning home for good. But flames were still drawing perilously toward thousands of homes.
The hot, dry Santa Ana winds that have whipped the blazes into a destructive, indiscriminate fury since the weekend were expected to all but disappear Thursday.
"That will certainly aid in firefighting efforts," National Weather Service meteorologist Jamie Meier said.
The record high temperatures of recent days began succumbing to cooling sea breezes, and two fires that burned 21 homes in northern Los Angeles County were fully contained.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071025/ap_on_re_us/
california_wildfires_292
**The updated news is that these fires have claimed two more lives. Let's pray that ALL of the fires are put out soon and that if there truely was any criminal act behind the start of them that the person(s) will be found and brought to justice. In the mean time, I hope Mooseboy and Keven (I was under the impression that both are from California though I have no idea from what area) are ok and that their homes are still intact.**
October 23, 2007
Sharp Drop Seen in US Deaths in Iraq
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch points to what the military calls "Concerned Citizens" — both Shiites and Sunnis who have joined the American fight. He says he's signed up 20,000 of them in the past four months.
"I've never been more optimistic than I am right now with the progress we've made in Iraq. The only people who are going to win this counterinsurgency project are the people of Iraq. We've said that all along. And now they're coming forward in masses," Lynch said in a recent interview at a U.S. base deep in hostile territory south of Baghdad. Outgoing artillery thundered as he spoke.
Good News indeed, I only wish Bush had thought about listening to the Generals before and finished this long ago.
Catholic Condom Ban Helping AIDS Spread In Latin America: U.N.
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The rapid spread in Latin America of the virus that causes AIDS is made worse by the Roman Catholic Church's stand against using condoms, a U.N. official said on Monday.
Some 1.7 million people across Latin America are infected with the HIV virus or full-blown AIDS, and the epidemic is spreading swiftly with up to 410,000 new cases in 2006, up from as many as 320,000 new cases in 2004, according the UN AIDS program, UNAIDS.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071023/hl_nm/honduras_aids_dc
**It pains me ANY day when I have to agree with ANYONE from the UN (I think I may need to lie down). The thing that *totally* pisses me off though is this: I don't care WHAT denomination you come from. Whether it's the catholic, methodist, baptist, nazarene - *whatever*! WHY would you and why ARE you listening AND following with*out* question to what the church and/or any MAN tells you to do?
You know....why don't we believers and followers of Christ try walking on "the wild side of life" for a change. Why don't we READ the Bible for OURSELVES, pray and ask God how HE wants us to live our lives as well as asking Him how HE wants us to interpret His word for our own spiritual lives. So if AFTER you read the word and seek God's answers, if you feel God is telling you through His word that premarital sex, and the use of any and all contraceptives are wrong - EVEN inside of marriage – fine. Then once we find ourselves in church listening to the pastor, preacher - or whatever name you give to your clergy - Why don't we try comparing what THEY say to scripture and continue to ask GOD (NOT man) if it's the road HE wants us to travel. I'm telling you....it sounds crazy BUT it just might work!**
End of rant
October 12, 2007
Shortage of Intelligence in general public creates knee jerk drug recall
Novartis (NOVN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) and Prestige Brands Holdings (PBH.N: Quote, Profile, Research) are recalling their oral infant cough and cold medicines, as well, because data show that when the medicines are misused, it can lead to overdose, especially in children under 2 years old.
At least three chain stores said they are pulling over-the counter infant cold and cough medicines from their shelves: CVS Pharmacy, the retail unit of CVS Caremark Corp (CVS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Stop & Shop Supermarket Co LLC and Giant Food LLC.
I'm really hoping there is something evil about these drugs and it was discovered, and they are using this lame excuse to pull the drugs... really hoping.
Democratic staffers to get vaccinated for hepatitis for NASCAR Visit
GOP: NASCAR is contagious, but its fans are not
WASHINGTON — Being around NASCAR fans requires no inoculation.
That was the word Thursday from Republican officials after they learned that a congressional committee's Democratic staffers had advised aides to get vaccinated for hepatitis and other diseases before visiting NASCAR events in Concord, N.C., and Talladega, Ala.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said his committee aides were visiting health-care centers, detention facilities and other operations where they could be exposed to communicable diseases. He said the immunizations were routine for health-care workers.
I don't care who you are, this is funny. =P
October 10, 2007
Microsoft Scrambling to Explain Ballmer Comment on Red Hat Linux
But one spokesperson acknowledged late this afternoon that multiple sources have yet to come to an agreement over what the company should say.
People use Red Hat, at least with respect to our intellectual property in a sense have an obligation to eventually to compensate us. [emphasis ours]
October 05, 2007
Beef: It's what is poisioning you for dinner
Burger Maker Topps Closes After Big Recall
The second-largest beef recall in U.S. history caused Topps Meat Co. LLC to close Friday.
"This is tragic for all concerned," said Chief Operating Officer Anthony D'Urso. "In one week we have gone from the largest U.S. manufacturer of frozen hamburgers to a company that cannot overcome the economic reality of a recall this large."
Topps on Saturday expanded its recall of frozen hamburger patties because of possible E. coli bacteria contamination that sickened more than a dozen people in eight states to 21.7 million pounds from 332,000.
It's a great time to go vegetarian! (or just stop eating beef)
October 01, 2007
Illegal Alien Welfare Costs Exceed $35 Million
“Illegal immigration continues to have a devastating impact on Los Angeles County taxpayers,”said Antonovich. “In addition to $220 million for public safety and $400 million for healthcare, the $440 million in welfare allocations bring the total cost to County taxpayers that exceeds $1 billion a year -- this does not include the skyrocketing cost of education.”
Hrmm...
I'm sure those bleeding hearts in D.C. see nothing wrong with this, after all they are the kings of pork.
September 22, 2007
Columbia University to be added to sponsor of terrorism watch list
Or it should be...
It seems they are welcoming with open arms the Highlord of hate and intollerance President Mahmoud AhImANeedAJob.
Perhaps the government should look into ways of cutting any funding and support it gives them.
Just a thought.
August 20, 2007
Russia orders long-range bomber patrols
Putin reviewed the first Russian-Chinese joint exercise on Russian soil before announcing that 20 strategic bombers had been sent far over the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans; showing off Moscow's muscular new posture and its growing military ties with Beijing.
"Starting today, such tours of duty will be conducted regularly and on the strategic scale," Putin said. "Our pilots have been grounded for too long. They are happy to start a new life."
Putin said halting long-range bombers after the Soviet collapse had hurt Russia's security because other nations, an oblique reference to the United States, had continued such missions.
"I have made a decision to resume regular flights of Russian strategic aviation," Putin said in nationally televised remarks. "We proceed from the assumption that our partners will view the resumption of flights of Russia's strategic aviation with understanding."
One big cup of crazy for Mr. Putin, with a side order of world domination. (hold the mayo)
Anyone else think the Russian people gave up on a democratic society too soon?
Scientists hail ‘frozen smoke’ as material that will change world
Aerogel, one of the world’s lightest solids, can withstand a direct blast of 1kg of dynamite and protect against heat from a blowtorch at more than 1,300C.
Scientists are working to discover new applications for the substance, ranging from the next generation of tennis rackets to super-insulated space suits for a manned mission to Mars.
It is expected to rank alongside wonder products from previous generations such as Bakelite in the 1930s, carbon fibre in the 1980s and silicone in the 1990s. Mercouri Kanatzidis, a chemistry professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, said: “It is an amazing material. It has the lowest density of any product known to man, yet at the same time it can do so much. I can see aerogel being used for everything from filtering polluted water to insulating against extreme temperatures and even for jewellery.”
Aerogel is nicknamed “frozen smoke” and is made by extracting water from a silica gel, then replacing it with gas such as carbon dioxide. The result is a substance that is capable of insulating against extreme temperatures and of absorbing pollutants such as crude oil.
I found this utterly fascinating myself.
Finally a wonder product NOT made from crude oil. :)
August 08, 2007
Indonesia's West Java hit by strong earthquake
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A powerful undersea earthquake has hit Indonesia's West Java island, a telephone text message from the country's Meteorological agency said on Thursday.
The agency did not give a tsunami warning and there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but the quake caused panic in parts of the densely inhabited Java island.
Let's all pray the coffee crops are ok. (said the coffee addict)
July 05, 2007
New Chinese Ballistic Missile Submarine Spotted
The new submarine was photographed by the commercial Quickbird satellite in late 2006 and the image is freely available on the Google Earth web site
Can we stop with the nuclear build out already?
Need the CIA to arrange an accident aboard all of these in the middle of the ocean.
Oh, side note .. nice work Google ;)
I actually agree with Castro, how strange
For once I agree with Fidel Castro.
Food based biofuels may not be the answer, but another problem.
Take the declining number of farms in America and the explosion of people in third world countries and toss in the food based biofuel industry, now we have something to be concerned with.
I see food based biofuels as cheap bandage for the wound that is the worlds oil consumption.
The real alternative would be something like hydrogen or a water based design.
You can read more from the article below and the rest via the link at the bottom.
The head of the U.N. Environment Program said on Wednesday Cuban leader Fidel Castro and others are justified in raising concern about the potential for ethanol production to threaten food supplies for the poor.
But UNEP director Achim Steiner said the jury is still out on whether risks outweigh the benefits when using food crops to produce ethanol as an alternative fuel.
Castro, who has taken to writing articles since he was sidelined from power last year by intestinal surgery, has attacked U.S. plans to increase biofuels output using crops such as corn, saying this will increase food prices and global hunger.
"What President Castro points to is something the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has also raised recently: That there is significant potential and risk for competition between food production and production for a global biofuels market," Steiner told Reuters during a environmental meeting in Havana.
June 25, 2007
Iwo Jima flag raiser Lindberg dies at 86
RICHFIELD, Minn. - Charles W. Lindberg, one of the U.S. Marines who raised the first American flag over Iwo Jima during World War II, has died. He was 86.
Lindberg died Sunday at Fairview Southdale hospital in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina, said John Pose, director of the Morris Nilsen Funeral Home in Richfield, which is handling Lindberg's funeral.
Lindberg spent decades explaining that it was his patrol, not the one captured in the famous Associated Press photograph by Joe Rosenthal, that raised the first flag as U.S. forces fought to take the Japanese island.
In the late morning of Feb. 23, 1945, Lindberg fired his flame-thrower into enemy pillboxes at the base of Mount Suribachi and then joined five other Marines fighting their way to the top. He was awarded the Silver Star for bravery.
"Two of our men found this big, long pipe there," he said in an interview with The Associated Press in 2003. "We tied the flag to it, took it to the highest spot we could find and we raised it.
"Down below, the troops started to cheer, the ship's whistles went off, it was just something that you would never forget," he said. "It didn't last too long, because the enemy started coming out of the caves."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070625/ap_on_re_us/obit_lindberg
June 14, 2007
Baby monitor picks up video from NASA....
Strange but apparently true according to the news article found here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070614/ap_on_fe_st/baby_monitor_space
PALATINE, Ill. - A mother of two in this suburb of Chicago doesn't have to turn on the news for an update on
NASA's space mission. She just flips on her baby monitor. Since Sunday, Natalie Meilinger's baby monitor has been picking up black-and-white video from inside the space shuttle Atlantis.
"Whoever has a baby monitor knows what you'll usually see," said the elementary school science teacher. "No one would ever expect this."
**I couldn't pass this up. I think it's totally hysterical (though logical once you think about it)! However I must say I feel completely cheated. Muddy and I bought a speaker monitor for our last kid some years ago. We *barely* used it and we NEVER got anything like this. Some people have all the luck.:-)**
June 06, 2007
D-Day Soldier's Dog Tag Found in Sand
HUNTINGDON, Tenn. -- The family of Pvt. William Bernice Clark never had a funeral for him, never got to say goodbye and never really accepted his fate among the fallen during the Normandy D-Day landings in World War II. That was until his dog tag was discovered in the sands of Omaha Beach.
On Wednesday -- exactly 63 years after that tragic day -- the aged tag was returned to his native Tennessee.
Click here to find out more!
"This feels like an ending," said the soldier's first cousin, 79-year-old Lota Park, who along with another cousin accepted the dog tag at a ceremony in the small town of Huntingdon, about 90 miles west of Nashville.
The tag has blackened with age, but his name, identification number, religion (Protestant) and blood type (Type O) are all clearly visible.
It remained out of sight for more than five decades until a collector from England found it five years ago on the beach, likely near the very spot where the 20-year-old Clark was killed. The collector gave the dog tag to a World War II buff from New Jersey, who turned it over to the National D-Day Memorial.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/
ats-ap_us17jun06,0,3167950.story?coll=ny-leadnationalnews-headlines
June 05, 2007
Iran Happy to start WWIII
“God willing, in the near future we will witness the destruction of the corrupt occupier regime,” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said to a number of foreign guests at a ceremony marking the 18th death anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution leader, Ayatollah Khomeini.
Citing last year’s Lebanon war, he said, “With God’s help, the countdown button for the destruction of the Zionist regime has been pushed by the hands of the children of Lebanon and Palestine.”
Ahmadinejad went on to note that “If you make a mistake and create another war against the oppressed Lebanese nation, this time the angry ocean of the nations of the region will remove your rotten roots from the region.”
First let's get this straight, President Imaneedajob does not give a hoot about the Lebanese people.
He only cares about power, if he can use them to gain power in the middle east, then so be it.
He is, highly motivated, intelligent and flat out crazy.
This is the same man who wants to bring about WWIII so he can dispose of all those who do not believe as he does.
The same man who took a union leader in Iran who was putting together a protest and took him out in the center of town and slowly cut his tounge out so he would shut up, and silence any others wanting to protest his government.
Sounds to me like it's time to start putting a dent in his plans. (or his head)
June 03, 2007
They call this a consensus?
Here is yet another article that debates the so called concensus on global warming.
Here is a cherry picked excerp;
Does any remember the global cooling warning in the 70's? I do and I wonder how many of the scientists then are the same scientists today? I wonder what will be the 'end of the world' doomsday scenario that they will be trying to sell us in another 30 years.
That is if we make it that long! LOL. Not that I dont think that it is good to be much less wasteful and take care of our planet (not to mention getting off our depency on fossil fules) just dont tell me that we are all going to die if we dont.
If the left was smart about it, they would be telling the right that their 401k will be in jepordy if we dont go green. Then something would be done about it. Just dont say 'were all going to die' because everyone is sceptical about those scenario's, yes even the scientific community.
This whole global warming thing has backfired. Now instead of going green because its the right thing to do, everyone is trying to figure out if the myth is true and doing nothing. Again the should have just told everyone that their retirement money would be gone.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_cooling
June 02, 2007
FDA Says Avoid Toothpaste Made In China....
WASHINGTON - The government warned consumers on Friday to avoid using toothpaste made in China because it may contain a poisonous chemical used in antifreeze. Out of caution, the
Food and Drug Administration said, people should throw away toothpaste with labeling that says it was made in China. The FDA is concerned that these products may contain diethylene glycol.
The agency is not aware of any poisoning from toothpaste in the United States, but it did find the antifreeze ingredient in a shipment at the U.S. border and at two retail stores: a Dollar Plus store in Miami and a Todo A Peso store in Puerto Rico.
Officials said they are primarily concerned about toothpaste sold at bargain retail outlets. The ingredient in question, called DEG, is used as a lower-cost sweetener and thickening agent. The highest concentration of the chemical found in toothpaste so far was between 3 percent and 4 percent of the product's overall weight.
"It does not belong in toothpaste even in small concentrations," said the FDA's Deborah M. Autor.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070601/ap_on_he_me/chinese_toothpaste
****....and some people have considered me "goofy" in the past because I have gone out of my way - for years now (not always to the degree of success that I'd like) - to avoid buying anything "made in China". Maybe those same people wouldn't consider me "goofy" now.****
May 16, 2007
Microsoft running scared from Linux
This is not the first time that Linux has been under attack for alleged patent infringements.
"We've heard all this before with the SCO (Unix) case," says Steven D'Aprano, operations manager for Windows-Linux integration consultant Cybersource. "We know that Microsoft had been funding SCO, tossing them a few million here and there to keep the case alive.
"SCO did their best to show that there was supposed patent and copyright violations in the Linux kernel. While the case hasn't completely finished yet, it has lost steam because SCO has got no evidence to support their claims.
"Until Microsoft start to actually point at particular bits that they claim are in patent violation then talk is cheap."
According to D'Aprano, an open source advocate, if Microsoft actually does put on the gloves against Linux, it will have a tough time deciding who to go after.
May 10, 2007
Disney condemns Hamas Mickey Mouse
Diane Disney Miller said she was disgusted that a copy of the famous cartoon character was being used on a new Hamas TV show to encourage Palestinian children to fight against Israel and America.
Ms Miller, 73, claimed it went "against the grain of humanity", before saying: "Of course I feel personal about Mickey Mouse, but it could be Barney as well.
"It's not just Mickey, it's indoctrinating children like this, teaching them to be evil. The world loves children and this is just going against the grain of humanity."
Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV station began to show the children's series, Tomorrow's Pioneers, last month. It features a life-size lookalike of Mickey Mouse called Farfur, who sings about children arming themselves with AK-47s and aspiring for world domination "under Islamic leadership".
Ms Miller said: "What we're dealing with here is pure evil and you can't ignore that."
After CNN's Glenn Beck blew the whistle on this new tactic by Islamic Extremists to indoctrinate children to kill Americans and Israelis, the media are finally covering it.
Now they are claiming to be taking it off the air, why do I not believe it will change very much?
CNN article here
May 06, 2007
Royal's Defeat leaves socialists searching for scapegoats
It is the party’s third consecutive presidential defeat. The Socialists now face the question of whether they can ever regain power without ditching their anti-capitalist rhetoric, as the mainstream left has done across almost all of Europe.
Ms Royal can argue that she did better than Lionel Jospin, who in 2002 led the Socialists to a humiliating third place behind Jacques Chirac and far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. But France’s main opposition party still faces a wrenching crisis.
”The left is not credible on so many issues, from the 35-hour working week to immigration and law and order,” says Dominique Reynié, professor at Sciences Po university.
From the little I know of this campaign and the content in this article I'd say I have hope for the people of France yet. Here's hoping that Sarkozy can bring the country together and make positive long term change.
May 02, 2007
Home invasion gone wrong for illegal aliens
It seems the two crooks never learned two things, they were in Montana and Patricia had been a clay shooting champion since she was nine. Patricia was in her upstairs room when the two men broke through the front door of the house. She quickly ran to her father's room and grabbed his 12 gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun.
Resindez was the first to get up to the second floor only to be the first to catch a near point blank blast of buck shot from the 11 year olds knee crouch aim. He suffered fatal wounds to his abdomen and genitals. When Garza ran to the foot of the stairs, he took a blast to the left shoulder and staggered out into the street where he bled to death before medical help could arrive.
It was found out later that Resindez was armed with a stolen 45 caliber handgun he took from another home invasion robbery. The victim, 50 year old David Burien, was not so lucky as he died from stab wounds to the chest.
Three words,
You Go Girl!
:-)
*edit*
I have been trying to confirm this but I'm not able to so for now it's a news story with the emphasis on story until I can confirm it.
March 24, 2007
Illegal immigrants allowed at least five strikes
A heavily redacted Department of Justice memo from late 2005 disclosed the prosecution guidelines for immigration offenses, numbers the federal government tries to keep classified. DOJ officials would not say Thursday whether it has adjusted the number since the memo was written, citing "law enforcement reasons."
The prosecution guidelines have been a source of frustration for years among the ranks of U.S. Border Patrol agents, said T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council. Smugglers can figure out the criteria by trial and error, he said, and can exploit it to avoid prosecution.
"It's devastating on morale," Bonner said. "Our agents are risking their lives out there, and then they're told, 'Sorry, that doesn't meet the criteria.' "
I know there are people that want Bush's head because of Iraq. However I think there is something more sinister happening here. The complete and total lack of protection our boarder has. Bush and his buddies are planning the total destruction of America for one thing, m-o-n-e-y.
March 15, 2007
Food safety scrutiny is forcing changes on Ohio Amish bakers
State regulators are stopping by for another reason.
The country kitchen and other home bakers in an Amish enclave in northwest Ohio have come under scrutiny for selling meats and cheeses without a license and cream pies and pumpkin rolls without the refrigeration required to thwart foodborne stomach illnesses.
I'm curious if the fools in the government have ever had Amish food?
We're talking about real food made with whole ingredients normally organic and massively better for you than the processed crap the regulators are probably eating.
If I'm going to an Amish store and buying goods it's assumed they don't have a fridge or any electric, you'd be a moron to expect to see rows of freezers and refrigeration units.
Of course it's well known you have to give up common sense and good judgment to be in government. :-P
February 26, 2007
Al Gore’s Personal Energy Use Is His Own “Inconvenient Truth”
Read More @ Tennessee Center for Policy Research
Nice.
I'm sitting in the dark typing this by candle with the heat off wrapped in blankets and he's sucking up the power.
February 24, 2007
Mexican anger over US 'trespass'
Legislators say workers and equipment building a section of the barrier have gone 10 metres (yards) into Mexico.
The alleged border violation comes ahead of a high-level meeting in the Canadian capital Ottawa.
US, Mexican and Canadian foreign ministers are to discuss border security and trade issues.
Mexican legislators said they had photographs and video, taken on Monday, of the workers and heavy-duty construction equipment that showed them about 10 metres inside Mexico near the border city of Agua Prieta and the town of Douglas, Arizona.
I almost soiled myself laughing when I read this.
February 07, 2007
Harvard: In-Opinion & Feelings & Out-Facts & Understanding
The curriculum at the oldest U.S. university has been criticized as focusing too narrowly on academic topics instead of real-life issues, or for being antagonistic to organized religion. Efforts to revise it have been in the works for three years.
One of the eight new required subject areas -- "societies of the world" -- aims to help students overcome U.S. "parochialism" by "acquainting them with the values, customs and institutions that differ from their own," said a 34-page Harvard report on the changes.
I'm not sure who these parents are that are sending their kids to this establishment, but they need their pulse checked.
As a parent myself I really, really don't get the appeal of sending your kids off to be taught everything wrong, and pay out the nose for it.
January 30, 2007
Intel builds 80-core prototype
The prototype was built so that the chip giant's researchers could investigate the best way to make such a large number of processing cores communicate with each other. This was in addition to researching new architectural techniques and core designs.
The chip, dubbed the Tera-Scale Teraflop Prototype, is just for research purposes and lacks a lot of necessary functionality at the moment. However, R&D Technology Strategist Manny Vara said that the company will be able to produce 80-core chips en masse in five to eight years.
Holy multiprocessors batman!
With an 80 Core processor you could render games with lifelike quality.
Sweeettttt.
January 29, 2007
Global Warming = Ice Falling from Sky
But it happened on Hilldrop Court in Town 'n Country around 9:30 Sunday morning.
Neighbors woke up to something they never thought they’d see.
“Came out to find a large piece of ice sitting on the car, and ice all over the place,” said neighbor John Young.
The damaged car, a Ford Mustang, belongs to Carlos Javage’s son.
I sure wish the weather would cooperate with the nut job scientists that now have to change their story, it's going to be global cooling and "the coming ice age" in a few years. Then it will be global warming again, I sure hope they figure out it's all part of the Earth's natural cycle.
*sigh*
January 24, 2007
'Fossil' Shark appears off coast of Japan
A species of shark rarely seen alive because its natural habitat is 600 metres or more under the sea was captured on film by staff at a Japanese marine park this week.
The Awashima Marine Park in Shizuoka, south of Tokyo, was alerted by a fisherman at a nearby port on Sunday that he had spotted an odd-looking eel-like creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth.
Marine park staff caught the 1.6-metre-long creature, which they identified as a female frilled shark, sometimes referred to as a "living fossil" because it is a primitive species that has changed little since prehistoric times.
The shark appeared to be in poor condition when park staff moved it to a seawater pool where they filmed it swimming and opening its jaws.
Looks fierce.
Is it possible that since it lives 2000 feet down normally that it being close enough for man to see and caputre it, could it's sickness be the bends?
Just thinking.
Oh, you can also see some video here
January 19, 2007
Why China's Missile Test Is Troubling
Protests and expressions of concern were lodged over the test by the U.S., Japan, Canada, South Korea and Australia, but Beijing has so far refused to comment on the issue or even confirm the test took place. "The brazenness of this is a bit frightening," says Mike Green, former senior Bush Administration Asia adviser. "It shows that the Peoples Liberation Army has considerable leeway — a great deal of influence if not autonomy — to increase their capacity even at considerable diplomatic cost."
The reason for all the fuss is simple: the test potentially marks a major step forward in China's ability to nullify the huge technological advantage of the U.S. in any clash over Taiwan. While Western intelligence agencies have long been aware that the People's Liberation Army was attempting to develop an anti-satellite system, the successful targeting of a single satellite in high orbit marks a significant milestone. When the Pentagon issued its annual report to Congress on China's Military Power last summer it stated that "China can currently destroy or disable satellites only by launching a ballistic missile or space-launch vehicle armed with a nuclear weapon." All that has now changed.
Yikes, anyone think China lets North Korea do their crazy act to keep our attention elsewhere?
December 31, 2006
Swiss Pioneer flys like a bird
And even after the dream was realised, first with hot-air balloons and later with heavier-than-air aeroplanes, the dream remained unfulfilled.
Because being truly at one with the air, able to swoop and soar like a falcon or an albatross, remained an impossibility. And in legends where the dream became real, as in the myth of the Ancient Greek birdman Icarus, the price was a heavy one; an ignominious crashing to Earth.
But for one brave Swiss pioneer, a former military pilot called Yves Rossy, the dream has become reality.
If anyone is looking to get me a late Christmas present, this would be nice.
December 22, 2006
'Truthiness' is the word of the year
The word -- if one can call it that -- best summed up 2006, according to an online survey by dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster.
"Truthiness" was credited to Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert, who defined it as "truth that comes from the gut, not books."
Stephen is so proud, one man can make a difference. :-)
December 10, 2006
The Arrogance of Man
Scientists apparently can't figure out why the "Bird Flu" virus which had most of the world bracing for a pandemic a few months ago, has mostly disappeared. It may come back of course, disease typically does. For instance, malaria, once on the verge of being irradicated, made a comeback. Smallpox has begun to appear in some third world countries. But for the time being, it is gone.
This is more evidence of the arrogance we display when we attempt to predict the course of nature. Whether it be the hunting patterns of wolves in yellow stone, temperature or disease, we simply are not omniscient. We can, at best, make reasonable assumptions or guesses. But in the end, we only know the present. History isn't even a certainty in this day and age of revisionist historians and scientists using "evidence" to support a predetermined conclusions.
Read more at Yahoo!/AP
December 08, 2006
4 -year-old Accused of Improperly Touching Teacher
Damarcus Blackwell's four-year-old son was lining-up to get on the bus after school last month, when he was accused of rubbing his face in the chest of a female employee.
The prinicipal of La Vega Primary School sent a letter to the Blackwells that said the pre-kindergartener demonstrated "inappropriate physical behavior interpreted as sexual contact and/or sexual harassment."
Blackwell says it's ridiculous that the aide would misread a hug from a four-year-old. Blackwell wrote to administrators demanding that the whole incident be expunged from his son's academic file because his son is too young to know what it means to act sexually.
*scratches head*
Just wondering what kind of hate monger teachers aid freak they have working at that school??
Who gave her the job interview?? They should be fired along with the wack job aid.
Sheessshh!
December 07, 2006
Pearl Harbor survivors meet for last time
This will be their last visit to this watery grave to share stories, exchange smiles, find peace and salute their fallen friends. This, they say, will be their final farewell.
"This will be one to remember," said Mal Middlesworth, president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. "It's going to be something that we'll cherish forever."
Hero Mother of the day
The boy was charged with petty larceny, but because he is a juvenile, he did not have to spend time in jail.
Good news today, there are still good parents in America. When your kid is on the brink of becoming a life long resident of the pen you do what you must to save them. I applaud this mother for loving her son enough to do what it takes to set him on the right path.
November 30, 2006
AP: CENTCOM to Call Out Fake "Burned Alive" Source Tomorrow
Via Pajamas Media, LGF has word that CENTCOM and Iraqis are planning to address the Capt. Jamil Hussein matter tomorrow:
Sir:
I have just learned from Mr. Costlow, mentioned below, that Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, the official Ministry of Interior spokesmen, will begin his regularly scheduled press conference at noon tomorrow with a statement that Capt. Jamil Hussein, is not a Baghdad police officer or an MOI employee.
See Dub points out that the AP, in its rewritten "burned alive" story, implied that the blog storm set off by questions about Hussein might have been, umm, encouraged by a P.R. company paid to represent the American military.
The dispute comes at a time when the military is taking a more active role in dealing with the media.
The AP reported on Sept. 26 that a Washington-based firm, the Lincoln Group, had won a two-year contract to monitor reporting on the Iraq conflict in English-language and Arabic media outlets.
That contract succeeded one held by another Washington firm, The Rendon Group. Controversy had arisen around the Lincoln Group in 2005 when it was disclosed that it was part of a U.S. military operation to pay Iraqi newspapers to run positive stories about U.S. military activities.
Interesting, fake anti-U.S. news in the media?
Hrmmm...
November 14, 2006
Oil, Terror & Environmental Pipedreams
(AXcess News) S. Orange, NJ - In late October I attended a luncheon briefing in New York sponsored by the Middle East Forum. The speaker was R. James Woolsey, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and currently a vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton. The room was filled with men who represent a class of citizenry known as "influential." Woolsey's topic was "Energy Alternatives and the War on Terror."
Normally, I give men like Woolsey a lot of respect because they've earned it. However, it didn't take long before I began to hear views that made me begin to question, not just the wisdom of what Woolsey was saying, but why he was saying it.
"The way strategically over the long run to weaken the enemies of Israel, such as Ahmadinejad, is to weaken the role of oil," said Woolsey. "Oil makes it harder to avoid genocide in Darfur because the Sudanese have a deal with China, and it makes it harder to deal with Iran, because China and Iran have an oil deal."
Say what? Weaken the role of oil? Genocide in Darfur has something to do with China? Iran will not pursue its lunatic Islamic apocalypse because it has an oil deal with China?
Found this interesting read, sad you don't read much truth in the media today, nice to find some sensibility from Mr. Caruba.
November 10, 2006
Yacht crew happens upon island birth
View Pics @ Fredrik and Crew on Maiken
Wow, this is intense.
Also there is an interesting bit on it Here
November 09, 2006
Is Microsoft really giving Linux its blessing?
Absolutely not! The deal that Microsoft's chief executive Steve Ballmer has announced with Novell will involve Microsoft handing out thousands of vouchers for what he called "Novell's version of Linux" running on Windows servers. But as Ballmer said in San Francisco: "We're still competitors," and: "The right answer is Windows, Windows, Windows."
For the past four years, Microsoft has been trying to resolve its conflicts with other companies. It has already done deals with Sun, AOL and Real Networks, and the Novell agreement is another step forward, though it doesn't end the anti-trust suit that Novell filed in 2004 alleging anticompetitive practices that hurt its WordPerfect Office business.
Well it seems to me Microsoft is still doing what it can to destroy Linux, only this time It's the old if you can't beat em', buy em', line of thinking.
Yes, I realize nobody can 'buy' Linux, however creating deals like this with all the major players will put their dirty little mitts into more slices of the pie, so to speak.
If these companies really want virtual, they should just use vmware, that is where the smart money is, imho.
October 04, 2006
Welcome Back DDT!
DDT is back. 30 years after a baseless book and rich white enviromentalists managed to achieve a ban, not to mention millions of deaths in th 3rd world, DDT is back.
Read John Stossel's Column
October 02, 2006
Good Job U.S. Government
Way to protect us from ourselves, kill jobs and a portion of the economy. Afterall, only the scum of the earth would ever gamble on the internet.
Read the story at Yahoo!/Reuters
September 06, 2006
Birth of your child or Steelers??
Beth Gardner’s neighbors helped deliver her baby on the Parkway West.
State police got a call around 9:30 p.m. last night that a woman was in labor near the Green Tree exit.
Gardner’s neighbors were driving her to the hospital because her husband was watching the Steelers game last night.(
Considering my beautiful daughter made me miss my beloved Steelers in Super Bowl XXX when Neil O'Dufus was paid off to throw the ball to the defense and loose the game for us, I think this guy needs help.
I mean, he missed his kids birth for a meaningless preseason game! 80% of the players in that game were cut less than a week later.
One word, LOSER.
Micro$oft Vista takes price to new levels
The Redmond-based company also confirmed again its commitment to releasing the OS in January, after distributing it to business customers in November.
The upgrade price for those with older versions of Windows is set at between $100 to $259, depending on which version required. The most expensive will be the “ultimate” edition, designed for business users.
The standalone products will cost from $199 to $399.
*** NEWS FLASH ***
Linux is still 100x more secure & stable.
Linux is also still FREE!.
(Vista buyers = suckers) *snicker*
September 04, 2006
Irwin 'never feared death'
But he said although Mr Irwin got into plenty of “close shaves” with his antics involving various dangerous animals over the years, his star charge never feared death.
The larger than life Mr Irwin was killed today by a stingray barb off Port Douglas in far north Queensland while filming for his daughter Bindi's TV series.
Mr Stainton admitted he “always” feared that this day would come during their 20-year association.
“You think about all the documentaries we've made and all the dangerous situations that we have been in, you always think 'Is this it, is this a day that maybe is his demise?',” he said in Cairns today.
“We've been in some pretty close shaves.
“(But) nothing would ever scare Steve or would worry him. He didn't have a fear of death at all.”
September 01, 2006
Mexico Govt. Sets up border crossing training camp
Gunshots pierced the night air. Sirens wailed. Then came a voice, sounding like the U.S. Border Patrol. "Don't cross the river!" someone yelled in a heavy accent. "Go back to Mexico where you belong!"
Welcome to one of Mexico's strangest tourist attractions: A park where visitors pay the equivalent of $16 to hike across fields and through treacherous ravines, a gruelling experience aimed at simulating an illegal journey across the U.S.-Mexico border.
"We want this to be an exercise in awareness," said Alfonso Martinez, who acts as the chief smuggler at EcoAlberto park in central Mexico. "It's in honour of all the people who have gone in search of the American Dream."
The park, funded in part by the Mexican government, compares crossing the border to an "extreme sport" and tells participants that they, too, can "trick the migra," slang for the Border Patrol.
Considering the comic book they already produced, this is not a shock.
August 25, 2006
Ray, think before you speak, please
Ray sits in his office, the phone line is quiet, the staff have gone home.
He needs 'Chocolate Town' to be in the news again, but what can he do?
Katrina?
No he has played that to death.
Racism?
No, that also is losing it's charm.
Absurd, moronic and outlandish statements?
Bingo! That always draws attention.
'You guys in New York can't get a hole in the ground fixed'
NEW YORK (AP) -- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin criticized efforts to redevelop the World Trade Center site when confronted in a television interview about delays in rebuilding his city after Hurricane Katrina.
During the CBS "60 minutes" interview, a correspondent pointed out flood-damaged cars still on the streets of New Orleans' devastated Ninth Ward. Nagin replied, "You guys in New York can't get a hole in the ground fixed, and it's five years later. So let's be fair," according to CBS.
The program is scheduled to air Sunday night. Text and a video clip from the Nagin piece were posted on CBS' Web site Thursday.
Ray, can I speak freely here?
How about you stop pushing blame around, stand up say "I screwed up and now it's time to fix this mess".
Can you do that Ray, can you?
Your citizens deserve you, the morons who voted for you in N.O. and who keep voting for you and living 'under water' deserve whatever you come up with next.
Shuttle Astronauts Arrive To Prepare For Sunday Launch
"We have a saying back in Texas, 'It's time to walk the walk,"' said Brent Jett, Atlantis' commander, after arriving from Houston by training jet. "We are ready for the challenge ... All we need is a little good weather on Sunday and we'll be out of here."
This mission is the start of a renewed effort to finish building the international space station before the cargo-carrying shuttles are retired in 2010.
I wonder how much this is costing us? How many kevlar vests, humvee armor upgrades and such could we have bought instead?
August 23, 2006
U.S. Stop Screwing With our Food!
The U.S. agriculture secretary Mike Johanns had notified the European Commission last week that trace elements of an unauthorized, genetically modified rice were detected in long grain rice samples that were meant for commercial use. While the U.S. authorities have assured Brussels there is no environmental or human health risk by using the rice by humans or animals, the commission is seeking information, which may be indicative of its indication in imposing curbs on imports.
A commission spokesperson, Antonia Mochan, told a news conference that the commission is seeking information that it needs to make a decision from the U.S. authorities as well as Bayer.
As a staunch supporter or organic farming and fair trade food this sickens me. Why we feel the need to screw with the perfect things God made and man has been happily using for thousands of years is beyond me. Rice, so simple so perfect, so let's jack with it so we can make it hold up under the shower of dangerous chemicals we want to spray on it.
Are the buffoons at Bayer AG retarded??
I think I'm starting my own country, organistan. :-P
Dutch F-16's Escort Airliner back to Amsterdam
A Dutch air traffic control spokeswoman said the plane was in German airspace when it turned back. A spokeswoman for Schiphol said the pilot had taken the decision to turn back but could give no further details.
Security has been increased at airports worldwide after British police said on Aug. 10 they had foiled a plot to blow up planes in the mid-Atlantic using liquid explosives disguised as drinks.
Dutch news agency ANP quoted police as saying a number of people had been taken off the Northwest plane and were being questioned.
Ah, Islamic extremists. During an election year there is one group we can take everything they say they will do as a promise. Unlike our politicians who make loads of claims, threats and 'campaign promises' that we know they will never keep.
August 22, 2006
Pilotless F-35 breaks cover
"Two to three years ago we started looking at what could be done with the F-35," says Frank Mauro, deputy director unmanned aeronautical systems. The Skunk Works has taken both the optionally piloted and dedicated unmanned JSFs through concept design, he says, and is waiting until all three manned variants have flown before pursuing the idea.
It makes you wonder, if they are making this public, what technology beyond this is still being hidden. :-)
I still think the XF-23 beat the pants off the F-22 in it's head to head testing where it lost in the end. If we're spending hundreds of millions on one plane shouldn't we demand the best?
Just my two cents.
August 15, 2006
Terrorism charges dropped in cell-phone case
Washington County Prosecutor James Schneider said yesterday that he didn't have enough evidence to present the felony terrorism charges to a grand jury. He said in a news release that he needs more information to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
"At this time we didn't see a link that we could prove," Schneider said in a phone interview, adding he was referring to both terrorism in general and any specific group.
They are still being charged with a misdemeanor for lying to police. I'm not sure if that involves a fine for what. It's a double edged sword of sorts, you arrest two suspicious men who begin their relationship with police by lying. Then after a few days let them go and now you have angered the already angry muslim community in America. Typical catch twenty two.
August 14, 2006
Cyclops Baby Born in India
The report, from Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for Women and Children in Chennai, cites two potential causes for the birth defect: Either it was the result of an undetected chromosomal disorder or the mother was exposed to Cyclopamine, a drug that is being researched by a number of U.S. pharmaceutical companies as a potential cancer treatment.
There is no reference in the report on how Cyclopamine became listed as a possible cause.
Wow, if you need any evidence that we should be testing on animals THIS is it.
Screw the monkeys, test away i say.
Whoever the pharmaceutical company is that did this needs to fund this girls medical expenses for the rest of her (likely short) life.
August 13, 2006
Dearborn, MI: Battlefront America
NPR has a two part series concerning Dearborn, MI. It's a surprisinglys straight look at the growing war brewing right here in America.
Bazzi left Lebanon in 1976; his parents stayed behind. Last week, Bazzi lost his elderly mother, Amina, in the southern Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil. She was too old to leave when fighting broke out.
From NPR
Honestly I'm shocked NPR would play the audio from the protests, how will they survive the outrage from the kook fringe that wants America to be the evil in every news report.
Only time will tell.
August 07, 2006
US Senate Ratifies Cybercrime Treaty
The U.S. Senate today ratified the Convention on Cybercrime Treaty.
The purpose is to allow greater cooperation between the U.S. and Europe dealing with cybercrimes, however it's very, very broad language could lead to some questionable applications.
Article 1 section C is an example.
i any public or private entity that provides to users of its service the ability to communicate by means of a computer system, and
According to this definition, it does not even have to be the internet. Just providing a null modem cable to direct connect two computers together, or a cat5 crossover cable. Seems to broad to me, I'm all for fighting cybercrime, but let's be logical about this.
Oh crap, I said logical when speaking about government, there goes any credibility I had.
:-/
Full Story @ Yahoo!
August 02, 2006
Marine Names Murtha in Defamation Suit
Attorneys for Frank D. Wuterich, 26, argue in court papers that Murtha tarnished the Marine's reputation by telling news organizations in May that the Marine unit cracked after a roadside bomb killed one of its members and that the troops "killed innocent civilians in cold blood." Murtha also said repeatedly that the incident was covered up.
From Washington Post
Nice to see someone making politicians be accountable for the trash they spew. I have no idea if SSGT Wuterich is guilty or not. However that is not the point.
July 28, 2006
Top Shi'ite backs anti-militia calls
Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri), commanded a mass rally of his followers "to support the government to solve the issue of militias, and to spread the implementation of law and order."
Sciri is allied with the Badr Organization, one of the most feared militias in Iraq, but is also a key member of the two-month-old government of national unity, led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
From tvnz.co.nz
While it would be foolish to deny Iraq is full of violence and problems, this is a very positive event.
July 27, 2006
Gaza groups ready to deal on cease-fire, release of Shalit
Ibrahim Al-Naja said the factions were ready to stop the Qassam rocket fire if Israel's ceased all military moves against the Palestinian factions in Gaza. They are also ready to release Shalit in exchange for guaranteeing the future release of Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas leaders did not confirm this report on Monday, but if it is true, then this is the first time that Hamas has indicated its acceptance of the Egyptian proposal to solve the crisis.
Is this a Trojan horse or real? Interesting, we'll take the old wait and see approach on this one.
Execution of a teenage girl
A television documentary team has pieced together details surrounding the case of a 16-year-old girl, executed two years ago in Iran.
Her death sentence was imposed for "crimes against chastity".
The state-run newspaper accused her of adultery and described her as 22 years old.
But she was not married - and she was just 16.
From BBC NEWS
This is only one example, this sounds to me like these dirt bags are going to be great negotiating partners, loads of reasons to believe a single word they say.
Hezbollah to launch "rain of terror"
"The nose cones will contain spent nuclear rods from Iran's nuclear programme. The rods are wrapped with conventional explosives. The dirty bombs are primarily intended to create increased panic across an already nervous population in northern Israel," claimed a senior intelligence officer in London.
Meantime, Mossad undercover agents are desperately trying to locate where the "dirty bomb" arsenal is located. It is believed to be in the Bekaa Valley.
The Israeli intelligence service has also told MI6 that it believes Hezbollah now has "up to a thousand" other rockets poised for launch.
From G2 Bulletin
Keep an eye on this one kids, it will be interesting to see how much press this gets once it starts happening.
July 26, 2006
All is not lost: Logic still can win in America
Eminent domain abused
Ohio Supreme Court overrules Norwood home-taking
In holding parts of Ohio’s eminent domain law unconstitutional, the state’s highest court set a different course than the U.S. Supreme Court did in its landmark Kelo v. New London decision last year.
There, the Supreme Court ruled that a Connecticut city’s taking of property for economic development was constitutional – but made clear that state constitutions could set different standards for property rights.
The Norwood case is expected to be closely watched around the country. It was the first major eminent domain case to reach a state Supreme Court since Kelo.
The case was brought by property owners Joseph Horney, Carl and Joy Gamble and Matthew F. Burton, who argued that the city should not be able to take their properties and deed them over to Rookwood Partners for a $125 million shopping and office complex.
From The Enquirer
I'm shocked to see this kind of logical ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court, maybe my state has hope after all. ;-P
July 19, 2006
US government helped sink The Pirate Bay; goes after other sites
Justice Minister Thomas Bodstrom denied allegations in a Swedish television report that the government ordered the crackdown on a U.S. request. "I have never acted individually or spoken about how the police and prosecutors should act, nor will I do it," Bodstrom was quoted as saying by Sweden news agency TT. Sweden's constitution bars ministers from directing police investigations.
It turns out that the minister was choosing his words carefully. While he may not have personally ordered the raid, a new report in the Washington Post claims that US authorities were involved in alerting their Swedish counterparts to the existence of The Pirate Bay. At an April meeting, the US delegation expressed its displeasure at the site.
From Ars Technica
Got to love the RIAA and MPAA's deep pockets, wish I could buy my own politicians so I could force other countries to do my bidding. Bastards.
July 17, 2006
Advertising invading your egg tray
IN September, CBS plans to start using a new place to advertise its fall television lineup: your breakfast.
The network plans to announce today that it will place laser imprints of its trademark eye insignia, as well as logos for some of its shows, on eggs — 35 million of them in September and October. CBS’s copywriters are referring to the medium as “egg-vertising,” hinting at the wordplay they have in store. Some of their planned slogans: “CSI” (“Crack the Case on CBS”); “The Amazing Race” (“Scramble to Win on CBS”); and “Shark” (“Hard-Boiled Drama.”). Variations on the ad for its Monday night lineup of comedy shows include “Shelling Out Laughs,” “Funny Side Up” and “Leave the Yolks to Us.”
George Schweitzer, president of the CBS marketing group, said he was hoping to generate some laughter in American kitchens. “We’ve gone through every possible sad takeoff on shelling and scrambling and frying,” he said, adding, “It’s a great way to reach people in an unexpected form.”
Newspapers, magazines and Web sites are so crowded with ads for entertainment programming that CBS was ready to try something different, Mr. Schweitzer said. The best thing about the egg concept was its intrusiveness.
Full Story @ New York Times
This is going to be a massive failure, most Americans will get pissed off and leave the eggs that have 'ads' on them on the shelf in favor of eggs without ads. -Ed
July 14, 2006
Talk about your "slanted" point of view
Just a quick note, this is more propaganda imho, than it is news.
Each point in the timeline is "look how evil Israel is and how innocent Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran are." Oh give me a freakin' break.
Aljazeera.Net - Timeline: Israel and Lebanon
BBC: Israel Evil, Terrorists Good
Watching the BBC News this morning you would think that Israel was pure evil and that the terrorists (including Syria) were gentle angels. With exception of the short interview with Sami Khiyami the Syrian Ambassador to England when they asked him why they are supporting Hezbollah, to which he replied "we need to support freedom fighters", huh?
Later (much) they talked to Benjamin Netanyahu (very briefly) and he said what sensible people are saying. "We made an agreement with the Lebanese government that they would dismantle Hezbollah and police their own territory and we would pull out giving them full control, we held up our end of the agreement, they have not."
Thus, anyone bitching about Israel and NOT about Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria should check their facts.
(note, never did I say Israel were without fault ever, I'm only speaking of this current battle)
I love this line: "But some experts warn that the Bush administration's diplomatic options may be stretched too thin to mediate effectively and prevent major bloodletting." from the sfgate.com
They just don't get it, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran DO NOT GIVE A FLYING CRAP about talking!!, their goal is to kill Americans, Israelis and everyone else who is NOT their version of a muslim. Wake up stupid people of the world. You cannot negotiate with terrorists, it, does, not, work. (ever)
Sensible people who are willing to negotiate don't become terrorists (or Muslim extremists), sensible people also do not abandon their own people and then use them as pawns to create hate, anger and war (cough, cough, Syria).
OK, I'm done ranting.
Need to go to work now. :-)
July 11, 2006
U.S. Hackers Unite!
The State Department is recovering from large-scale computer break-ins worldwide over the past several weeks that appeared to target its headquarters and offices dealing with China and North Korea, The Associated Press has learned.
Investigators believe hackers stole sensitive U.S. information and passwords and implanted backdoors in unclassified government computers to allow them to return at will, said U.S. officials familiar with the hacking. These people spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the widespread intrusions and the resulting investigation.
The break-ins and the State Department's emergency response severely limited Internet access at many locations, including some headquarters offices in Washington, these officials said. Internet connections have been restored across nearly all the department since the break-ins were recognized in mid-June.
"The department did detect anomalies in network traffic, and we thought it prudent to ensure out system's integrity," department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said. Asked what information was stolen by the hackers, Cooper said, "Because the investigation is continuing, I don't think we even know."
Full Story @ BREITBART.COM
U.S. hackers strike back -Ed
July 10, 2006
Japan Considers Strike Against N. Korea
TOKYO (AP) - Japan said Monday it was considering whether a pre-emptive strike on the North's missile bases would violate its constitution, signaling a hardening stance ahead of a possible U.N. Security Council vote on Tokyo's proposal for sanctions against the regime.
Japan was badly rattled by North Korea's missile tests last week and several government officials openly discussed whether the country ought to take steps to better defend itself, including setting up the legal framework to allow Tokyo to launch a pre-emptive strike against Northern missile sites.
"If we accept that there is no other option to prevent an attack ... there is the view that attacking the launch base of the guided missiles is within the constitutional right of self-defense. We need to deepen discussion," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said.
Full Story @ My Way News
June 26, 2006
Palestinian terrorists still holding Shalit
For the families of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, the abduction on Sunday of IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit is good news because of the possibility that it could result in a prisoner swap with Israel.
On Monday, many families and groups appealed to the Hamas kidnappers not to release the soldier unless Israel agreed to set free a large number of prisoners.
In Ramallah and Gaza City, the relatives of some of the prisoners held press conferences during which they urged the kidnapers to resist efforts to release Shalit without security the release of their sons. The families also staged sit-in protests outside the offices of the International Committee for the Red Cross to demand the release of their sons.
Full Story @ Jerusalem Post
Hrmm.. troops massing on the boarder and your making demands. Seems like someone is feeling really lucky today. :-P
June 09, 2006
Record meteorite hit Norway
As Wednesday morning dawned, northern Norway was hit with an impact comparable to the atomic bomb used on Hiroshima.
At around 2:05 a.m. on Wednesday, residents of the northern part of Troms and the western areas of Finnmark could clearly see a ball of fire taking several seconds to travel across the sky.
A few minutes later an impact could be heard and geophysics and seismology research foundation NORSAR registered a powerful sound and seismic disturbances at 02:13.25 a.m. at their station in Karasjok.
Farmer Peter Bruvold was out on his farm in Lyngseidet with a camera because his mare Virika was about to foal for the first time.
Full Story @ Aftenposten.no
June 08, 2006
Iraqi leader: Al-Zarqawi is eliminated
The Iraqi prime minister has announced the killing of al-Qaeda chief in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Nuri al-Maliki announced the killing of Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of an organisation known as al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia, at a news conference in Baghdad broadcast live by Iraqi state and international media organisations on Thursday.
He said al-Zarqawi was killed along with seven aides on Wednesday evening in a house 50km northeast of Baghdad, in the province of Diyala, just east of the provincial capital, Baquba.
"Today, al-Zarqawi was eliminated," al-Maliki told a news conference, drawing applause from reporters in the hall where he made the announcement, flanked by Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador, and US General George Casey, the top US commander in Iraq.
Full Story @ Aljazeera.Net
Good work Iraq.
June 07, 2006
Experts say report of badges for Jews in Iran is untrue
Several experts are casting doubt on reports that Iran had passed a law requiring the country’s Jews and other religious minorities to wear coloured badges identifying them as non-Muslims.
The Iranian embassy in Otttawa also denied the Iranian government had passed such a law.
A news story and column by Iranian-born analyst Amir Taheri in yesterday’s National Post reported that the Iranian parliament had passed a sweeping new law this week outlining proper dress for Iran’s majority Muslims, including an order for Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians to wear special strips of cloth.
According to the reports, Jews were to wear yellow cloth strips, called zonnar, while Christians were to wear red and Zoroastrians blue.
Full Story @ canada.com network
Ok DF, I posted a story that was found to be untrue, the strange part is when liberal rags post stories that turn out to be untrue, how many of them post that??
June 04, 2006
Web users to 'patrol' US border
A US state is to enlist web users in its fight against illegal immigration by offering live surveillance footage of the Mexican border on the internet.
The plan will allow web users worldwide to watch Texas' border with Mexico and phone the authorities if they spot any apparently illegal crossings.
Texas Governor Rick Perry said the cameras would focus on "hot-spots and common routes" used to enter the US.
US lawmakers have been debating a divisive new illegal immigration bill.
Full Story @ BBC NEWS
The idea is half right, what we need are remote control sniper rifles (with night vision) to match the cameras. You would not have to kill to many to send the message that coming here legally is much better than being dead. -Ed
May 30, 2006
Cloaking Breakthrough
New materials are on the U.S. Department of Defense's radar.
Ever since H. G. Wells published The Invisible Man more than a century ago, the prospect of invisibility -- or cloaking -- has been a mainstay of science fiction. But now physicists say they have finally figured out how to make objects invisible, and what's more, they are just months away from putting this theory into practice.
The trick is to find a way to guide light and other types of electromagnetic radiation around an object so that it casts no shadow and produces no reflection. Normally, this kind of manipulation would be a tall order, says John Pendry of Imperial College London, England. But, he adds, the recent development of a new class of materials called "metamaterials" makes it tantalizingly feasible.
Metamaterials are engineered materials whose properties are determined by their physical structure rather than their chemistry, says Pendry. Such properties include the ability to bend light, he says.
Full Text @ Technology Review
May 23, 2006
GORE BURNS 439,500 LBS OF FUEL TO ATTEND SUMMIT
"The most vulnerable part of the Earth's environment is the very thin layer
of air clinging near to the surface of the planet, that we are now so
carelessly filling with gaseous wastes that we are actually altering the
relationship between the Earth and the Sun - by trapping more solar
radiation under this growing blanket of pollution that envelops the entire
world," Vice President Gore told the U.N. Global Warming conference of 159
nations this morning in Koyto, Japan.
In what was one the most dramatic speeches in recent memory, Gore announced
to world leaders: "Whether we recognize it or not, we are now engaged in an
epic battle to right the balance of our Earth, and the tide of this battle
will turn on when the majority of people in the world become sufficiently
aroused by shared sense of urgent danger to join an all-out effort."
Applause filed the halls of the Kyoto International Conference Center. "We
must achieve a safe overall concentration level for greenhouse gases in the
Earth's atmosphere."
and then ...
Gore's plane, a Boeing 707 gas guzzler burns on average 4.1 gallons a mile.
The complete Washington to Florida to Washington to Alaska to Japan and
return to Washington trip calculated from commercial air mileage tables is
just over 16,000 miles total. Gas gallons needed for AIR FORCE II to go
16,000 miles: 65,600. Applying the average price of $2.01 per gallon of
Jet A to the 16,000 mile r/t -- the fuel cost alone passes $131,000.00.
There are 6.7 pounds per gallon of jet fuel. Total pounds of fuel burned on
Gore's Global Warming Express -- 439,500.
Unprecedented Leadership.
Full Report @ DrudgeReportArchives.com
Too funny -Ed
May 19, 2006
WWIII anyone?
Iran eyes badges for Jews
Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.
"This is reminiscent of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. "Iran is moving closer and closer to the ideology of the Nazis."
Iranian expatriates living in Canada yesterday confirmed reports that the Iranian parliament, called the Islamic Majlis, passed a law this week setting a dress code for all Iranians, requiring them to wear almost identical "standard Islamic garments."
The law, which must still be approved by Iran's "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenehi before being put into effect, also establishes special insignia to be worn by non-Muslims.
Full Story @ canada.com network
Someone please hit Iran's WMD buildings, bunkers and whatever else they have with tactical nukes and end this now. -Ed
May 14, 2006
Virginity pledges have little staying power, research finds
Virginity pledges, in which young people vow to abstain from sex until marriage, have little staying power among those who take them, a Harvard University study has found.
In fact, more than half the adolescents who make such signed, public promises give up on their pledges within a year, according to the study released last week.
The findings have raised the ire of Concerned Women for America, a conservative organization that endorses adolescent sexual abstinence.
"The Harvard report is wrong," said Janice Crouse, a fellow at a Concerned Women for America think-tank.
Full Story @ Chicago Tribune
I got in a very small discussion the other day with someone who posted this same article on another site. I thought it would be interesting for a little discussion here.
This one guy on the other site stated how these abstinence pledges "really push kids to marry young, even though that sets them up for divorce, usually not too far down the road.". He went on to say that, "The single strongest indicator that a marriage will end in divorce is young age of the couple marrying. And (some) churches provide little support for members who divorce.".
(Just as a side note - I'm happy to say the church muddy and I attend does have a divorce support group that meets weekly)
Quite frankly, I couldn't agree with him more. I think this *does* push young people into marriage at such an age when the majority of them are absolutely NOT ready for it. My thought is this:
If someone WANTS to take that virginity pledge - GREAT! I hope they can pull it off. I think it's a wonderful goal. Virginity is nothing to be ashamed of and everything to be proud of BUT what we these groups need to understand is true reality. It is completely unrealistic to think that the majority of teens and young people will save themselves for marriage. Christian or not. I've said this for quite a while now. There's obviously nothing wrong with encouraging kids to wait for marriage but at the same time, let's also teach them (Christians and non) about birth control, condoms and other forms of protection. -Ed
April 04, 2006
All I Can do is laugh
Indian director hopes to cast Paris Hilton as Mother Teresa
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (AFP) - An Indian movie director said he hopes to persuade
Paris Hilton to play the role of Nobel laureate and prospective Catholic Saint, Mother Teresa, in an upcoming film.
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"Her features resemble Mother Teresa," director T. Rajeevnath told AFP from the southwestern coastal state of Kerala.
The filmmaker said Hilton is on his shortlist after a computer-generated image showed a close facial match between the hotel heiress and the Albanian-born nun.
Full Article @ Yahoo! News
April 01, 2006
Bush preps historic Third Term - memo
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the office of the White House Counsel are preparing a draft document laying out the President's wartime authority to remain in office past 2008, The Register has learned.
The scheme is described as an emergency "continuity presidency," made necessary by the extraordinary circumstances and unique challenges of protecting the United States from the threat of international terrorism.
"The world changed on 9/11," a confidential DoJ memo obtained by The Register explains, "and no Administration is US history is better suited to adapt productively to those changes than this one.
Full Article @ The Register
What the!?!? ... -Ed
March 29, 2006
Marchers say gringos, not illegals, have to go
WASHINGTON – While debates about guest-worker programs for illegal aliens take place in the corridors of power, in the streets of America's big cities no amnesty is being offered by activists calling for the expulsion of most U.S. citizens from their own country.
While politicians debate the fate of some 12 million people residing in the U.S. illegally, the Mexica Movement, one of the organizers of the mass protest in Los Angeles this week, has already decided it is the "non-indigenous," white, English-speaking U.S. citizens of European descent who have to leave what they call "our continent."
Full Article @ WorldNetDaily
Again I say, deport everyone who is not here legally, Everyone. Then we can take that 60+ BILLION we spend every year on supporting them here to putting up a wall, more security or other means and still have cash left over to pay down our national debt. Which btw the freakin' republicans are like crack whores they way they are spending. Can we curb some of that anytime soon?? -Ed
March 27, 2006
Uncommon Valor, Unsung Heroes
God Bless the US Marines
War News
Monday, March 27, 2006
Jack Kinsella - Omega Letter Editor
The New York Daily news reported a war protest concert called "Bring 'Em Home Now" headlined by a bunch of musicians I never heard of, noting that Cindy Sheehan was an invited guest and that Jeanne Garafalo plans to broadcast her TV program from the concert.
Interestingly, I ran a Google news search of the concert and got four hits. One was a music site in the UK, two were local New York-area papers, and the fourth was a website called 'alArab Online'. Ordinarily, Western music concerts don't make headlines in the Arab world. But it's great propaganda for their side.
The Dixie Chicks are making their way back up the country music charts with a new anti-war album recanting their tearful apology for making anti-war statements while on tour in London.
The new album, "Not Ready To Make Nice" slams the administration and the war anew, noted al Jazeera.
George Clooney got an Oscar for 'Syriana' -- an antiwar film in which America was the heavy and the terrorists were the heroes.
A Kansas-based protest group regularly pickets military funerals, carrying signs like "Thank God for IEDs" and Thank God for Dead Soldiers".
Public support for the war in Iraq in waning, as is public support for the war on terror. The Bush administration's job-approval rating dropped to 36% -- an all-time low.
Full Article @ Omega Letter
This is a must read article. Especially if you are a Marine. OHRAAA! -Ed
TABC now entering bars to arrest drunks
The message the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is trying to get across with its latest campaign likely comes as news to many people. Simply put, it's that bars are not a place where people are supposed to be drunk.
Agents are now entering bars to arrest intoxicated patrons in what they call a pre-emptive strike, but others say the campaign is borderline harassment.
The program has proved controversial and state lawmakers are planning to review the program after criticism following recent arrests at 30 Dallas-area bars this month.
Full Article @ wacotrib.com
Ok, here's the thing. If you *choose* to go to a bar you *choose* how much you want to drink. You have every right to choose if you want to drink a little or a lot. You *should* even make a choice as to how you can safely get home *before* you even leave to go to the bar.
Now, I could understand if there were cops in the parking lots arresting people if they chose to drive home intoxicated (I actually think that's a good idea for everywhere in the country.) But, I think this is going just a bit too far. -Ed
March 14, 2006
Where is the outrage?
Authorities called it one of the worst rape cases they could recall.
Seven gang members and three female associates were charged Monday with raping a woman as the mother of one suspect allegedly watched and encouraged the assault, authorities said.
The 23-year-old victim was targeted because her boyfriend had angered members of the Anaheim gang, authorities said.
She was lured into a hotel room by a female gang associate at a Feb. 23 party then sexually assaulted over a seven-hour period, Anaheim police Chief John Welter said.
He called it "one of the worst rapes I've seen in my 35 years experience."
Authorities identified the 38-year-old "gang mother" as Connie Herrera Retana and her son as 18-year-old Martin Carlos Delgado. Police said the victim was lured into the room and beaten by 23-year-old Jolean Disbrow.
"It makes you shake your head that mothers could be participating," said Orange County Assistant District Attorney Susan Kang Schroeder. "It shows how a group mentality can breed disgusting behavior."
Full Story @ sfgate.com
Ok, so your only shock is that the mother "watched" her sons and company rape a woman for seven long hours!?!?!?!
Are you kidding me??
How about that someone was raped to begin with?
How about it was for seven hours, a fifteen year old involved and your only distressed that the mother was there watching? This country (or more specifically California) is going down the crapper. Maybe we should dump our liberal ways where the innocent are persecuted and the guilty are protected. I say we bring back public hangings, if you rape or kill, bring your ass out into the public square and string you up. -Ed
March 09, 2006
Dubai threat to hit back
Dubai is threatening retaliation against American strategic and commercial interests if Washington blocks its $6.8 billion takeover of operations at several U.S. ports.
As the House Appropriations Committee yesterday marked up legislation to kill Dubai Ports World’s acquisition of Britain’s Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation (P&O), the emirate let it be known that it is preparing to hit back hard if necessary.
A source close to the deal said members of Dubai’s royal family are furious at the hostility both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have shown toward the deal.
“They’re saying, ‘All we’ve done for you guys, all our purchases, we’ll stop it, we’ll just yank it,’” the source said.
Full Story @ TheHill
I guess nobody told them you get more flies with honey than with threats. Personally I don't want any outsiders running any part of our country, including the Indianapolis airport, and sea ports that China runs in California. However that being said speaking just economics, it "seems" like a win/win for everyone. -Ed
March 08, 2006
Red rain from another planet?
On July 25, 2001, blood-red rain fell over Kerala. The unusual phenomenon continued for two months, raining crimson, turning clothes pink, burning leaves on trees. In some places, the rain fell in scarlet sheets.
Scientists were shocked, and the government ordered an investigation. Scientists concluded that the rain was red because winds had swept up dust from Arabia and dumped it on Kerala. But Dr Godfrey Louis, a Reader in Physics at the School of Pure and Applied Physics at the Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam, Kerala, was not convinced.
He diligently gathered rain samples and, after months of painstaking research, concluded: 'The red particles, which caused the red rain of Kerala, are of extraterrestrial origin.'
His colleagues -- other scientists and physicists -- frowned at the conclusion. But Dr Louis stuck to his theory. His scientific conclusions have now received international support. Dr Milton Wainwright of the micro-biology Department at Sheffield University in Britain has been examining some of the particles of the red rain samples that hit Kerala. And he has come out in support of Dr Louis' theory that the rains could belong to an alien life form.
Full Story @ redriff.com
March 06, 2006
Some Gitmo Prisoners Don't Want to Go Home
Fearing militants or even their own governments, some prisoners at Guantanamo Bay from China, Saudi Arabia and other nations do not want to go home, according to transcripts of hearings at the U.S. prison in Cuba.
Uzbekistan, Yemen, Algeria and Syria are also among the countries to which detainees do not want to return. The inmates have told military tribunals that they or their families could be tortured or killed if they are sent back.
Full Story @ BREITBART.COM
Yea, we are such barbarians here that our freakin' prisoners don't want to leave! Holy cow Gitmo must be hell on earth. -Ed
March 04, 2006
R.I.P. Dan Compton
Fellow Yellow Jacket, Dan Compton, was found dead in his vehicle on the side of a rural road in Lamar County, Georgia this afternoon, about 1 hour from the school. His family and friends with the school (Georgia Tech) and Equisearch had planned an all weekend search throughout the area.
He had been missing since February 17th, when he was last known to be leaving a Buckhead bar in his Silver 1998 Honda Civic with Texas plates, which had also been missing. His family began to worry when they could not contact him at home or on his cell phone.
Foul play is not suspected but the official cause of death is under investigation. Parents had previously said that he may have been depressed over a break up with his girlfriend, a month prior.
RIP Dan Compton, 1984-2006.
Editor's Note - I did not know him, but I still find it sad that a member of my school's community has passed. Sadly, when I heard he was missing, his ATM card and cell phone had not been used and possible depression, this is what I feared.
February 27, 2006
You to can profit from terrorism, Just do it the Hamas way
BBC reported today that the European Commission is preparing to pay 120 million Euro to Hamas for what the commission calls "meeting the basic needs of Palestinians". How about letting the terrorists they elected fund the people. After all the people have been funding the terrorists for decades.
The following from fas.org:
HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement)
Description
The HAMAS (in Arabic, an acronym for "Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamia" -- Islamic Resistance Movement -- and a word meaning courage and bravery) is a radical Islamic fundamentalist organization which became active in the early stages of the intifada, operating primarily in the Gaza District but also in Judea and Samaria. Formed in late 1987 as an outgrowth of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Various HAMAS elements have used both political and violent means, including terrorism, to pursue the goal of establishing an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel. Loosely structured, with some elements working clandestinely and others working openly through mosques and social service institutions to recruit members, raise money, organize activities, and distribute propaganda. HAMAS’s strength is concentrated in the Gaza Strip and a few areas of the West Bank. Also has engaged in political activity, such as running candidates in West Bank Chamber of Commerce elections.
Activities
HAMAS activists, especially those in the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, have conducted many attacks—including large-scale suicide bombings—against Israeli civilian and military targets. In the early 1990s, they also targeted suspected Palestinian collaborators and Fatah rivals. HAMAS increased its operational activity during 2002-2003 claiming numerous attacks against Israeli interests. The group has not targeted US interests—although some US citizens have been killed in HAMAS operations—and continues to confine its attacks to Israelis inside Israel and the territories.
Strength
Unknown number of official members; tens of thousands of supporters and sympathizers.
Location/Area of Operation
HAMAS currently limits its terrorist operations to Israeli military and civilian targets in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Israel. The group’s leadership is dispersed throughout the Gaza Strip and West Bank, with a few senior leaders residing in Syria, Lebanon, and the Gulf States.
External Aid
Receives some funding from Iran but primarily relies on donations from Palestinian expatriates around the world and private benefactors in moderate Arab states. Some fundraising and propaganda activity take place in Western Europe and North America.
Interesting now that Europe wants to join Iran and other Arab states in funding terrorism.
Also for the blind fools thinking that Hamas is now peaceful, think again.
From cfrterrorism.org :
What does Hamas believe and what are its goals?
Hamas combines Palestinian nationalism with Islamic fundamentalism. Its founding charter commits the group to the destruction of Israel, the replacement of the PA with an Islamist state on the West Bank and Gaza, and to raise “the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine.” Its leaders have called suicide attacks the “F-16” of the Palestinian people. Hamas believes “peace talks will do no good,” Rantisi said in April 2004. “We do not believe we can live with the enemy.”
Only two years ago they plainly stated their primary goal is to kill all Jews and wipe out Israel.
Nice move Europe.
*Note: For the bleeding hearts among you who will undoubtedly claim that Hamas does social work and blah, blah, blah whatever else. It makes zero difference if your goal is to wipe out a people and take their land.
February 22, 2006
Maybe Saddam was right
Mosque Attack Pushes Iraq Toward Civil War
Insurgents posing as police destroyed the golden dome of one of Iraq's holiest Shiite shrines Wednesday, setting off an unprecendented spasm of sectarian violence. Angry crowds thronged the streets, militiamen attacked Sunni mosques, and at least 19 people were killed.
With the gleaming dome of the 1,200-year-old Askariya shrine reduced to rubble, some Shiites lashed out at the United States as partly to blame.
Full Story @ BREITBART.COM
I cannot believe that I'm even considering that maybe Saddam was right all along. You need a vicious dictator to keep these people in line. Other wise they would wipe each other out.
I understand all they know is violence, and for decades all they have had is violence, however would that not PUSH You to be peaceful?
Is this just another example that the Muslim religion is not peaceful but full of intolerance and hatred?? Unfortunately, I have no answers at this time. Only questions.
(afterthought)
Perhaps it's mearly the cycle of violence morphing into this. -Ed
February 21, 2006
A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism
During recent decades, new scientific evidence from many scientific disciplines such as cosmology, physics, biology, "artificial intelligence" research, and others have caused scientists to begin questioning Darwinism's central tenet of natural selection and studying the evidence supporting it in greater detail.
Yet public TV programs, educational policy statements, and science textbooks have asserted that Darwin's theory of evolution fully explains the complexity of living things. The public has been assured that all known evidence supports Darwinism and that virtually every scientist in the world believes the theory to be true.
The scientists on this list dispute the first claim and stand as living testimony in contradiction to the second. Since Discovery Institute launched this list in 2001 over 500 scientists have courageously stepped forward to sign their names. The list is growing and includes scientists from the US National Academy of Sciences, Russian, Polish and Czech National Academies, as well as from universities such as Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and others.
Read More @ CSC - Center for Science and Culture
Interesting, could it be darwinism is not fact but but really is, [gasp] a theory?? -Ed
February 20, 2006
"The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves"
Commentary on the News
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Jack Kinsella - Omega Letter Editor
This past season, NBC aired a short-lived TV series called "The Book of Daniel" as one of its prime-time offerings. The series revolved around an drug-addicted Episcopal priest with an alcoholic wife, a gay son, and a drug-dealing teenaged daughter.
At the office, the priest's lesbian secretary is sleeping with his sister-in-law. The priest, Daniel Webster, (hence the clever title) would have periodic discussions with 'Jesus', who when asked to do something for Daniel in one scene, replied, "Who do you think I am? God?"
NBC defended its offering as a 'serious drama about Christian people and the Christian faith'. It wrapped the series in the 1st Amendment and aired the series over the objections of the many network affiliates who refused to carry it.
After airing only three episodes, NBC unceremoniously dumped the show. The media started screaming 'censorship' by the religious right. The fact is, by the third airing, all the program's sponsors had pulled out. Not because of threats or violence. Because of economics. The show was awful and nobody watched it.
Read the entire commentary here
cwilli note: Another outstanding article from Jack Kinsella. He points out the obvious truth that the media continues to disrepect Christianity while clearing respecting Islam. They are only upstaged by the ACLU who is determined to stamp our Christianity but defends the rights of Muslims....
February 19, 2006
U.S.-Funded Power Plant on Line in Iraq
BASRA, Iraq - Glistening in
Iraq's barren southern salt plains, a natural gas-driven power station has come on line, generating sorely needed electricity for war-weary Iraqis and demonstrating that much-maligned U.S.-led reconstruction efforts are beginning to bear fruit.
U.S. officials said Sunday that increasing Iraq's electricity generating capacity through facilities such as the 250 megawatt electricity plant near the southern city of Basra is crucial to American efforts to encourage Iraqis to turn their backs on the insurgency.
It's nice to hear some GOOD news from the front. I'm proud of them. Not only will this obviously be benificial to the Iraqi people BUT it will also help to create some more jobs. Enough said.
Full Story @ Yahoo!
Cheney Media Blitz to Continue, Iran Elated
AAAHHHHH!! Quick, someone duck tape my head because it's going to explode this week!
How in the world can real news be pushed back into oblivion while a fricking hunting accident gets ALL the time??
Oh crap, yea, that's right. The mainstream media has been given charge by the liberal elite to bash our bumbling president into next year.
So begins yet another week of the mindless drivel we endured last week.
yea
Full Story @ DRUDGE REPORT
February 13, 2006
Hollywood 'resists gay US actors'
Sir Ian McKellen has said openly gay US actors are prevented from having successful Hollywood careers.
"It is very, very, very difficult for an American actor who wants a film career to be open about his sexuality," the gay British actor said.
"And even more difficult for a woman if she's lesbian. It's very distressing to me that that should be the case."
The Lord of the Rings star added: "The film industry is very old fashioned in California."
He was speaking at the Berlin Film Festival, where he received a lifetime achievement award.
Wow, I don't normally post B.S. about Hollywood, however this is too bizarre not to. I'm still just starring at the page, no idea how he can possibly call the Capitol of "tolerance" anti-gay. -Ed
Germany denies being lazy, strikes over increasing work week by 1.5 hours
FEB. 13 5:40 A.M. ET German public workers expanded their week-old strike to much of the country on Monday in a deepening dispute over plans to make them work longer hours.
Public workers in nine of Germany's 16 states were stopped work on Monday, compared to only two last week, making it the biggest stoppage in public services for 14 years.
The ver.di labor union, the country's biggest, is protesting plans to make some public employees work 40 hours a week compared to the current 38.5 hours.
Now to be fair it does not say if they are being paid hourly or salary. If it's hourly, then who cares if you work an extra hour or so. Your being paid. However if your salary, then you should be paid for the extra 1.5 hours of work. That's just common sense. (Still, tis a silly headline) -Ed.
February 10, 2006
Video surveillance outfit chips workers
A Cincinnati video surveillance company CityWatcher.com now requires employees to use Verichip human implantable microchips to enter a secure data centre. Until now, the employees entered the data centre with a VeriChip housed in a heart-shaped plastic casing that hangs from their keychain.
The VeriChip is a glass encapsulated RFID tag that is injected into the triceps area of the arm to uniquely identify individuals. The tag can be read by radio waves from a few inches away.
That is simple to solve, everyone quits and they can't hire people, thus they stop the practice. (yea I know it's not irl that simple) -Ed
February 06, 2006
One For the Thumb!
Fast Willie Parker set a new Super Bowl record for the longest touchdown run during the Steelers ugly victory over the hapless Seachickens.
Steelers 21 vs. Seahawks 10
January 31, 2006
Patients Suffer Deja Vu ... Over and Over
Imagine suffering from chronic déjà vu. You don't even go to the doctor because you feel like you've already been there.
"We had a peculiar referral from a man who said there was no point visiting the clinic because he'd already been there, although this would have been impossible," said psychologist Chris Moulin, who runs a memory clinic at the University of Leeds in the UK.
So Moulin has started the first known study of the condition.
Full Story @ Yahoo! News
I would add my own comment about this story....but I'd SWEAR I've already done that before.... -Ed
January 30, 2006
We're not gouging (cough, cough)
Exxon profit tops $10 billion, capping record year
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest publicly traded oil company, on Monday reported a quarterly profit of $10.7 billion, capping a year of record earnings dominated by surging oil and gas prices.
The results pushed up Exxon's profit for the year to a staggering $36.13 billion -- bigger than the economies of 125 of the 184 countries ranked by the World Bank. Profit rose 42 percent from 2004.
The company and its peers have come under fire for posting billions in profit while consumers struggle with high gasoline prices. Exxon was quick to emphasize that such results would help it make long-term investments to meet energy demand.
The Irving, Texas company's fourth-quarter net income rose 27 percent, to $10.71 billion, or $1.71 a share, from $8.42 billion, or $1.30 a share, a year earlier. Revenue was just shy of $100 billion.
Full Story @ Reuters.com
January 29, 2006
Washington, Pennsylvania, is Now Steeler, Pennsylvania
Washington, Pennsylvania (AHN) - About 15-thousand residents of one southwestern Pennsylvania city really do live in Steeler Country. That's because the mayor and council voted unanimously Friday night to change the city's name from Washington to Steeler.
The change is in effect until after Super Bowl 40, where the Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Seattle Seahawks.
Full Story @ All Headline News
Awwwwww Yeeeaaaaa!!! Here we go Steelers, Here we Go!! -Ed
Dealing with the enemy
THE Israeli cabinet faces its first test of the Hamas era this week when it decides whether to continue with a regular transfer of $US60 million ($80 million) in taxes to a Palestinian Authority that soon will be ruled by its arch-enemy.
The defence and security establishment favours the payment going ahead, but some senior ministers believe dealing with Hamas, even on an administrative level, sets a dangerous precedent.
Five days after its stunning landslide win in the Palestinian elections, Hamas has continued with a conciliatory line, offering a long-term truce with Israel, but at the same time insisting it will never recognise the right of the Jewish state to exist.
Full Story @ The Australian
January 23, 2006
New super-gun to be tested in Feb
Next month a new high-explosive munition will be fired in Singapore and then tested again by the U.S. Army, heralding what may be a sea change in weaponry: a gun that can fire 240,000 rounds per minute.
That's compared to 60 rounds per minute in a standard military machine gun.
Metal Storm Inc., a munitions company headquartered in Virginia but with its roots in Australia, has been developing a gun that can shoot at blistering speeds, albeit in short bursts as each barrel is reloaded.
A Metal Storm gun of any size -- from a 9 mm hand-gun up to a machine gun size or a grenade launcher -- has no moving parts other than the bullets or munition inside the barrel. Rather than chambering a single slug for each shot - very quickly in the case of machine guns -- the bullets come pre-stacked inside the barrel and can be shot all at once, or one at a time, as the shooter decides through the electronic controls.
Because there are no moving parts, the weapon is less likely to jam, and will presumably need less maintenance.
Lashing many barrels together increases the number of rounds per second. Once fired, however, each spent barrel has to be reloaded.
Full Story @ United Press International
January 19, 2006
Feds after Google data
The Bush administration on Wednesday asked a federal judge to order Google to turn over a broad range of material from its closely guarded databases.
The move is part of a government effort to revive an Internet child protection law struck down two years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court. The law was meant to punish online pornography sites that make their content accessible to minors. The government contends it needs the Google data to determine how often pornography shows up in online searches.
In court papers filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Justice Department lawyers revealed that Google has refused to comply with a subpoena issued last year for the records, which include a request for 1 million random Web addresses and records of all Google searches from any one-week period.
The Mountain View-based search and advertising giant opposes releasing the information on a variety of grounds, saying it would violate the privacy rights of its users and reveal company trade secrets, according to court documents.
Nicole Wong, an associate general counsel for Google, said the company will fight the government's effort ``vigorously.''
``Google is not a party to this lawsuit, and the demand for the information is overreaching,'' Wong said.
Full Story @ MercuryNews.com
Feds after Google data
January 12, 2006
Anyone for playing God??
Taiwan breeds green-glowing pigs
Scientists in Taiwan say they have bred three pigs that glow in the dark.
The pigs are transgenic, created by adding genetic material from jellyfish into a normal pig embryo.
The researchers hope the pigs will boost the island's stem cell research, as well as helping with the study of human disease.
The researchers, from National Taiwan University's Department of Animal Science and Technology, say that although the pigs glow, they are otherwise no different from any others.
Taiwan is not claiming a world first. Others have bred partially fluorescent pigs before. But the researchers insist the three pigs they have produced are better.
Full Story @ BBC NEWS
December 29, 2005
Forums Update
It's fixed.
Those looking to get into the tracker, pm me on the forums. Thanks.
December 22, 2005
Congress to push Taxation without Representation
This may be the last holiday season to enjoy tax-free Internet shopping, thanks to new legislation in the U.S. Congress.
Two bills introduced Wednesday propose sweeping changes to how Americans are taxed for online and mail order purchases. Businesses initially would be required to collect sales taxes on purchases shipped to roughly half of the country, and that percentage is expected to rapidly increase.
"Main Street retailers collect sales taxes, while many online and catalog retailers are exempt from collecting the same taxes," said a statement published by Sen. Mike Enzi, a Wyoming Republican. "This is costing states and localities billions in lost revenue." (A related bill has been introduced by Sen. Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, who is a former state tax commissioner.)
At the moment, if you order something from a company that's located entirely out of state, you're typically not charged sales tax. Seattle-based Amazon.com, for instance, does not collect sales taxes when shipping to California.
Full Story @ CNET News.com
Once again, the asshats in Washington D.C. have taken it upon themselves to further push us to a second civil war. Except this time it won't be the Boston Tea Part it'll be the Internet Everything Party. It's time to send a message to those mindless drones who suckle on the breast of evil that we will not stand for this. Write your congressman or woman today! Put an end to this tyranny or they will continue to ignore the constitution and oppress us into oblivion. -Ed
December 21, 2005
The Truth On the Ground
When I told people that I was getting ready to head back to Iraq for my third tour, the usual response was a frown, a somber head shake and even the occasional "I'm sorry." When I told them that I was glad to be going back, the response was awkward disbelief, a fake smile and a change of subject. The common wisdom seems to be that Iraq is an unwinnable war and a quagmire and that the only thing left to decide is how quickly we withdraw. Depending on which poll you believe, about 60 percent of Americans think it's time to pull out of Iraq.
How is it, then, that 64 percent of U.S. military officers think we will succeed if we are allowed to continue our work? Why is there such a dramatic divergence between American public opinion and the upbeat assessment of the men and women doing the fighting?
Full Story @ The Washington Post
"Thanks to Chachi over at "The Spanktuary" for sharing this story so that I may now ....pass it on. It's a good story and....enough SAID!!! -Ed
Freeman Criticizes Black History Month
NEW YORK -
Morgan Freeman says the concept of a month dedicated to black history is "ridiculous."
"You're going to relegate my history to a month?" the 68-year-old actor says in an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" to air Sunday (7 p.m. EST). "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history."
Full Story @ Yahoo! News
I don't normally (actually I don't remember EVER) posting an article on celebrities but, I found this one very interresting - especially considering it's comming from a *black* man. I happen to also agree with him. -Ed
December 19, 2005
Anyone else sick of the liberal war on Christmas?
Christmas advisory!
The battle against Christmas
December 2, 2005
Guy Adams
RenewAmerica analyst
Christmas has become a treasured and beloved American icon. At this time of the year, how many of you fondly think back to your childhood and recall many precious memories of those times? I know I do. I still look forward to it: the true meaning of Christmas, the decorations, the aroma of Christmas cookies, the presents, the delicious feast, and the getting together with family--some of whom we may have argued with in the past, but at this time of the year, we seem to put it all behind us. We even become friendlier with strangers, don't we? It's a wondrous time of year.
Not for some. For a handful, like the ACLU (arguably the Against Christmas Liberties Union), it's positively the most offensive time of the year. It is a battle against Christmas. They're trying to take "Christ" out of Christmas. I believe it is a battle against you and your children.
cwilli note: If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times; the ACLU is an evil organization with a clear cut goal to wipe out Christianity in our Country. This is just another example of this.
Buy your Christmas gifts from a small business and not a chain store. Keep the money here in America. Let a small business owner give his kids a good Christmas instead of going to someone who is already a millionair off the hard work of a someone else like you or me.
December 17, 2005
Dems taking a stand for nothing
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said yesterday that Democrats should not seek a unified position on an exit strategy in Iraq, calling the war a matter of individual conscience and saying differing positions within the caucus are a source of strength for the party.
Pelosi said Democrats will produce an issue agenda for the 2006 elections but it will not include a position on Iraq. There is consensus within the party that President Bush has mismanaged the war and that a new course is needed, but House Democrats should be free to take individual positions, she sad.
Full Story @ WashingtonPost.com
There you have it folks, the Dems will stand for nothing!, and will continue to blame everyone else for standing for something.
On a side note it's interesting to see the post calling Pelosi a sad person, maybe they are coming around? -Ed
December 15, 2005
US-Mexico border wall would be 'disgraceful': Fox (so we should do it)
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Vicente Fox denounced as "disgraceful and shameful" on Wednesday a proposal to build a high-tech wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to stop illegal immigrants. (if you did not print comics showing your people how to invade our country maybe it would not come to this)
Concerned about the huge numbers of illegal immigrants streaming across the border and worried it could be an entry point for terrorists, a U.S. lawmaker has proposed building two parallel steel and wire fences running from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Coast. (yea!)
But Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has said a wall running the length of a border would cost too much. (Name one thing the Gov does that does NOT cost too much??)
Mexico has expressed indignation at the idea. (Again, if you were not pushing your poor out the door into our house we would not have to do this.)2
Fox, speaking in Tamaulipas state across the border from Texas, said such extreme security measures would violate immigrants' rights.(lmao! complete and absolute lie)
"The disgraceful and shameful construction of walls,(that would not be needed if you, again, were not pushing your poor and unwanted on us) the increasing enforcement of security systems (lmao, love this one, shame on us for "enforcing" our laws, haha) and increasing violation of human rights and labor rights (what he is again saying here, "those we determine are scum and are pushing our the door cannot illegally go and work in the U.S.") will not protect the economy of the United States," he said.
The only way to stop illegal immigration is to declare war on Mexico and post troops on the boarders to put an end to this. As far as I can tell anyway, if anyone else has a valid idea let us discuss.
Full Story @ Reuters.com
December 03, 2005
Alzheimer's Could Be Diabetes-like Illness, Study Suggests
Could Alzheimer's be a form of diabetes?
That's the tantalizing suggestion from a new study that finds insulin production in the brain declines as
Alzheimer's disease advances.
"Insulin disappears early and dramatically in Alzheimer's disease," senior researcher Suzanne M. de la Monte, a neuropathologist at Rhode Island Hospital and a professor of pathology at Brown University Medical School, said in a prepared statement.
Full Story @ Yahoo! News
The Iraq story: how troops see it
BROOK PARK, OHIO – Cpl. Stan Mayer has seen the worst of war. In the leaves of his photo album, there are casual memorials to the cost of the Iraq conflict - candid portraits of friends who never came home and graphic pictures of how insurgent bombs have shredded steel and bone.
Yet the Iraq of Corporal Mayer's memory is not solely a place of death and loss. It is also a place of hope. It is the hope of the town of Hit, which he saw transform from an insurgent stronghold to a place where kids played on Marine trucks. It is the hope of villagers who whispered where roadside bombs were hidden. But most of all, it is the hope he saw in a young Iraqi girl who loved pens and Oreo cookies.
Full Story @ csmonitor.com
November 28, 2005
UK May resort to lopping off heads
A GOVERNMENT agency is launching an inquiry into doctors’ reports that up to 50 babies a year are born alive after botched National Health Service abortions.
The investigation, by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH), comes amid growing unease among clinicians over a legal ambiguity that could see them being charged with infanticide.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which regulates methods of abortion, has also mounted its own investigation.
Its guidelines say that babies aborted after more than 21 weeks and six days of gestation should have their hearts stopped by an injection of potassium chloride before being delivered. In practice, few doctors are willing or able to perform the delicate procedure.
This is just ****** sickening. "Doctors are increasingly uneasy about aborting babies who could be born alive." How can they want to murder in the first place?, it's like saying I took a gun and shot my 10 year old but the 9 year old was just too young for me to kill like that. No different.
I really would like to see the suicide statistics for abortion doctors and staff. I really can't fathom how one could do such things and live life like everthing's ok. -Ed
Microsoft: Linux is anti-commercial
References to free software and Linux were removed from a UN document after Microsoft claimed that such software aims to 'make it impossible to make any income on software as a commercial product'
Microsoft asked for references to free software to be removed from a document presented at last week's UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) conference, the software giant admitted on Friday.
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is unhappy that the document was changed and claims that even though it was on the panel discussing the document, it was not made aware of Microsoft's changes.
The document, known as the Vienna Conclusions, discusses issues around IT and creativity. The original draft of the document discussed how the free software model is changing the way people do business.
Full Story @
ZDNet UK News
The best part was the info I found on FSFE's website which put a spotlight on M$'s trick. -Ed
if (Windows Rules) then (Linux fails)
Part of the problem with the documentation and identification issues I talked about last week - and will talk about more later - is that it is very hard to separate information from disinformation.
Disinformation comes in three major forms:
1. innocent mistakes;
2. intentional disinformation (aka FUD); and,
3. (self) delusion.
Delusions are easily the most dangerous of these. In the IT context the most common delusion is simply that what we know is right in general or applicable to some specific issue when, in reality, it isn't. We know, and we act accordingly - with frequently catastrophic results.
FUD, taken as the art of spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt, is at its most dangerous when it plays on existing certainties to reinforce delusion.
A recent report by Security Innovation comparing Windows and Linux seems to fall squarely into that category.
Full Story @ ZDNet.com
It's funny how windows folks spin studies, surveys and other data driven reporting.
This takes a in depth look at one such report and the problems with it. Being a "nix geek myself I found it sad and funny, enjoy. -Ed
October 24, 2005
France set to clear key hurdle to EDF flotation
PARIS, Oct 23 (Reuters) - France is set to clear a key obstacle to the partial privatisation of EDF [EDF.UL] on Monday with the signing of a deal guaranteeing the provision of public services by the energy giant.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and his finance and industry ministers will sign the deal with EDF chief Pierre Gadonneix, Villepin's office said on Sunday.
The conservative government has been pushing for assurances from EDF that it will protect the country's cherished public service ideals in a bid to overcome heated trade union opposition to the flotation.
Monday's deal is expected to contain tariff guarantees. High fuel prices and the approach of winter have made energy costs a sensitive topic, with unions saying a market-oriented EDF could raise electricity bills purely for gain.
The rate of investments is another potential stumbling block to the flotation. EDF has set out plans to invest 26 billion euros ($31.15 billion) over three years but Villepin wants that figure raised to 30 billion to favour French production.
Full Story @ Reuters.com
While not a fan of the French government, I have to say this on the surface appears to be a positive step. Besides, if the unions and socialists are against it, it must be good. :-) -Ed
October 20, 2005
Hypocrites to come out of woodwork
The following news story is a good laugh. If you want to see the unashamed bias against anything positive the U.S. is doing, read on. When the contractors were killed in Iraq sometime ago (mind you non-combative contractors helping to RE-BUILD Iraq, a good thing) they were beaten, broken and dragged through the streets, hung from and bridge and basically put on display. Not ONE of the scum who now cry fowl stood up to raise a voice against it. Now we'll see who the hypocrites are, won't we?
In other news I could not give a rats butt about the burning of two terrorists bodies.
It's almost funny how socialist anti-everything American news rags love to bring in the Geneva Convention when speaking about us and how we choose to deal with terrorists. Last time I reviewed the Geneva Convention I don't remember it mentioning terrorists at all. Then again, I see this for what it is, a ratings boost to help SBS considering they have tanked lately.
The US Defence Department said reports that US troops burned the bodies of two suspected Taliban fighters and used the charred corpses in a propaganda campaign in Afghanistan, in footage aired on SBS television, are being "aggressively investigated".
The allegations are being probed by the Army Criminal Division, according to a statement from the coalition force based at the Bagram Airfield, north of Kabul.
"This command takes all allegations of misconduct or inappropriate behaviour seriously and has directed an investigation into circumstances surrounding this allegation," said Major General Jason Kamiya.
He said corrective action will be taken if the allegations are found to be true.
SBS
Secret tracking codes in laser printers cracked
The pages that are printed by your colour laser printer may include tiny dots, almost invisible to the naked eye. The dots form a code that can be read by the US Secret Service, ostensibly to track down counterfeiters. Now, for the first time, the code has been cracked.
The Secret Service has admitted before that the tracking information is part of a deal struck with selected colour laser printer manufacturers – including Xerox, Canon and many others. If a colour laser printer is used to forge a document and agents get sight of the document, the codes can be read. However, the full nature of the private information encoded in each document was not previously known.
"We've found that the dots from at least one line of printers encode the date and time your document was printed, as well as the serial number of the printer," said EFF Staff Technologist Seth David Schoen.
You can see the dots on colour prints from machines made by Xerox, Canon, and other manufacturers. The dots are yellow, less than one millimetre in diameter, and are typically repeated over each page of a document. In order to see the pattern, you need a blue light, a magnifying glass or a microscope. But once you've cracked the pattern, you may be able to trace the owner of a printer that produced a suspicious document.
Full Story @ The Register
Huh. I guess all those conspiracy theorists have a point after all. -Ed
October 06, 2005
U.S. Senate - Land of Yellowbellies
US senators have voted overwhelmingly to outlaw cruel or degrading treatment of detainees held in US custody abroad.
The Senate voted 90-9 in favour of the motion, which senators said would lay down rules for troops and officials carrying out interrogations.
Prisoner abuse scandals at Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq and concern over the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay have dogged the US since 2001.
The motion was opposed by the White House, which views it as unnecessary.
Bush administration officials say the move would be restrictive, and limit its fight against terrorism.
Full Story @ BBC NEWS
Last I checked you did not extract info from terrorists by putting them in comfy chairs and prodding them with fluffy pillows. (circa 1970 Monty Python Sketch - The Spanish Inquisition) -Ed
September 27, 2005
School Expels Girl for Having Gay Parents
ONTARIO, Calif. - A 14-year-old student was expelled from a Christian school because her parents are lesbians, the school's superintendent said in a letter.
Shay Clark was expelled from Ontario Christian School on Thursday.
"Your family does not meet the policies of admission," Superintendent Leonard Stob wrote to Tina Clark, the girl's biological mother.
Full Story @ Yahoo! News
All I can say is that this "Christian" school's administration is full of a bunch of jerks! And THAT'S putting it very nicely. I read a similar story about a year ago where a girl was expelled because her mother was a stripper!
Who cares!!! What place does *any* school have to say that someone's family does not meet their judgmental requirements! Jesus accepts all and loves all so who are they to make exceptions.
Look...it's no secret to anyone who frequents "muddysmind" that we don't agree with the homosexual lifestyle but we also know it's not our business (nor do we care) what two people do in the privacy of their homes (as long as it's consensual and no children are involved). Besides, that's not even the point. No matter what that schools position is on homosexuality (or any other lifestyle choice), it's just wrong, vicious, and bullying to make an innocent child pay for it. Shame on you 'Ontario "Christian" School' and others like you. You make me vomit!!!! -Ed
Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy
BATON ROUGE, La. — Maj. Ed Bush recalled how he stood in the bed of a pickup truck in the days after Hurricane Katrina, struggling to help the crowd outside the Louisiana Superdome separate fact from fiction. Armed only with a megaphone and scant information, he might have been shouting into, well, a hurricane.
The National Guard spokesman's accounts about rescue efforts, water supplies and first aid all but disappeared amid the roar of a 24-hour rumor mill at New Orleans' main evacuation shelter. Then a frenzied media recycled and amplified many of the unverified reports.
"It just morphed into this mythical place where the most unthinkable deeds were being done," Bush said Monday of the Superdome.
Full Story @ Los Angeles Times
[sarcasm]Huh, imagine that. The news was "inaccurate" on it's reporting. How out of place is that? -Ed[/sarcasm] -Ed
September 25, 2005
FDA official quits over morning-after decision
WASHINGTON - The highly regarded women’s health chief at the Food and Drug Administration resigned Wednesday in protest of her agency’s refusal to allow over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception.
Assistant Commissioner Susan Wood charged that FDA’s leader overruled his own scientists’ determination that the morning-after pill could safely be sold without a prescription, and stunned his employees last week by instead postponing indefinitely a decision on whether to let that happen.
“There’s fairly widespread concern about FDA’s credibility” among agency veterans as a result, Wood told The Associated Press hours after submitting her resignation Wednesday.
“I have spent the last 15 years working to ensure that science informs good health-policy decisions,” Wood, director of FDA’s Office of Women’s Health, wrote in an e-mail about her departure to agency colleagues. “I can no longer serve as staff when scientific and clinical evidence, fully evaluated and recommended by the professional staff here, has been overruled.”
Full Story @ MSNBC.com
Ok...here's what I don't get.
1) Regular birth control pills consist of the same hormones that are found in this morning after pill. The difference? Regular birth control pills have a period of 21 days in which the hormones are spaced out AND you DO need a prescription to buy them. This morning after pill comes in the form of two (2) pills that have to be taken 12 hrs. apart from one another AND they have not *only* the same hormones that regular birth control pills have BUT they have these hormones in a much HIGHER dosage. AND they want to make it to where you can buy these pills *without* a prescription? Am I the only one who thinks this doesn't make sense?
2) With that in mind, I think this is a potentially very dangerous situation for some women (as these pills have similar warnings found in regular birth control pills such as women who have severe liver disease should not take this product) to be taking these morning after pills without a prescription. What if they *do* have certain diseases (liver, porphyria) that have not been detected yet. This is one of the reasons why when women get put on regular birth control, doctors like to do follow ups every few months to a year (depending on your history) so they can do little things like - taking your blood pressure, your temperature and asking questions about your body's adjustments and reactions to the pill to make sure your body is accepting it well. Which brings me to my 3rd point....
3) Some of these women may NOT be on regular birth control and may not seek follow up treatment with their family doctor. I think this is more likely to happen to girls under 18 as their family doctor would have to notify their parents, therefore if this morning after pill would become available to these girls, and they *did* start to experience certain unusual symptoms, they would probably be even less likely to do a follow up with their doctor for the fear that their parents would definitely find out.
But, ok...go ahead, some of you - tell me how I'm over reacting and that the "morning after" pill has no need for a prescription. Come on....I know you want to.... so let 'er rip....
-Ed
September 24, 2005
Evolution Pundits afraid of competition
A landmark legal trial begins on Monday that could determine how the theory of evolution - one of the basic tenets of modern science - is taught in US schools.
In the town of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 11 parents of children who already attend the nearby Dover High school or who will in future, together with the American Civil Liberties Union, are suing the Dover Area School District for voting in new rules that will encourage children to consider alternatives to evolution such as “intelligent design” (ID).
Full Story @New Scientist?
I don't know how a "theory" can be taught as being the only option. Seems like the U.S. is not as free and open a society as we like to make believe. -Ed
September 19, 2005
'UK IS NEXT US'
U.K. leaders are now saying that they are heading for the kind of poverty and racial divide that they were seeing brought to light after hurricane Katrina hit the U.S.
Full Story @Sky News
-Ed
Harriet, government can't fix this problem, only God can, and, only if the people want it changed.
So give up now before you waste more government money.
September 13, 2005
Anti-rape condom aims to stop attacks
KLEINMOND, South Africa (Reuters) - A South African inventor unveiled a new anti-rape female condom on Wednesday that hooks onto an attacker's penis and aims to cut one of the highest rates of sexual assault in the world.
"Nothing has ever been done to help a woman so that she does not get raped and I thought it was high time," Sonette Ehlers, 57, said of the "rapex," a device worn like a tampon that has sparked controversy in a country used to daily reports of violent crime.
**I bookmarked this page about 2 weeks ago (as you can tell from the date of the artilce) and just forgot to post it. All I can say to the inventor of this product is..."YOU GO GIRL!!!!"
Full Story @Excite News
September 08, 2005
Speicher Investigatin Efforts Continue
WASHINGTON - The Navy has been unable to determine whether Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher, the fighter pilot shot down over Iraq in January 1991, is dead or alive, but it decided to keep his official status "missing/captured" and intensify investigative efforts.
Read the story at Yahoo!/AP
*Editor's Note*
I don't know what Capt. Speicher is still alive. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if his body is among the thousands in mass graves. However, I also have zero doubt that he survived that missile strike and subsequent ejection. Many former Iraqi prisoners claim to have seen many American POWs in Iraqi prisons in post Gulf War I Iraq. More than one has mentioned him by name without prompting. It is believed he was even held at the now notorious Abu Ghraib. With all that said, Americans in general, but his family in particular deserves to know his fate, whatever it may have been, or may yet be.
September 02, 2005
Mayor to feds: 'Get off your asses'
(CNN) -- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin blasted the slow pace of federal and state relief efforts in an expletive-laced interview with local radio station WWL-AM.
The following is a transcript of WWL correspondent Garland Robinette's interview with Nagin on Thursday night. Robinette asked the mayor about his conversation with President Bush:
NAGIN: I told him we had an incredible crisis here and that his flying over in Air Force One does not do it justice. And that I have been all around this city, and I am very frustrated because we are not able to marshal resources and we're outmanned in just about every respect.
You know the reason why the looters got out of control? Because we had most of our resources saving people, thousands of people that were stuck in attics, man, old ladies. ... You pull off the doggone ventilator vent and you look down there and they're standing in there in water up to their freaking necks.
And they don't have a clue what's going on down here. They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamn -- excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed.
Full Story @ CNN
You Want How Much a Gallon?
CHICAGO, Sept. 1 - At a downtown Marathon gasoline station here, gas prices did something strange in the wake of the deadly Hurricane Katrina - they fell 25 cents a gallon, to $3.45, for regular unleaded fuel.
The dealer, Jim Klun, dropped his prices Thursday after Marathon Petroleum, the company that supplies his gasoline, admitted through a distributor Wednesday that it had increased prices too much in the confusion that has gripped gasoline suppliers and retailers all over the country since Monday's storm.
Far from the devastation that caused flooding in New Orleans and other cities along the Gulf Coast, Mr. Klun is one of many dealers caught between oil companies and angry consumers.
Full Story @ New York Times
August 30, 2005
These Articles Speak For Themselves
I will only say that at least one of these articles is a column which makes it more of an opinion piece. However, after reading all three, I think all of them are less than neutral one way or another. That being said they present certain facts well. Argue away.
August 23, 2005
Shaddup Pat!
When your trying to spread the good news of Jesus and his love for us.
You might not want to publicly announce we need to wack a nation's leader.
Maybe Chavez is a danger, however I believe Pat you just exposed yourself as a man of Religion and not a man of God.
Two different things buddy.
Pat go back to begging for money on T.V. and leave world politics to the rest of us.
Full Story @ CNN.com
August 08, 2005
PROTESTING SOLDIER MOM CHANGED STORY ON BUSH
The mother of a fallen U.S. soldier who is holding a roadside peace vigil near President Bush's ranch -- has dramatically changed her account about what happened when she met the commander-in-chief last summer!
Cindy Sheehan, 48, of Vacaville, Calif., who last year praised Bush for bringing her family the "gift of happiness," took to the nation's TV outlets this weekend to declare how Bush "killed an indispensable part of our family and humanity."
http://www.drudgereport.com/flash4.htm
cwilli note: I realize that this lady is greaving the loss of her son. But If I would have died in battle (not to mention; as a volunteer) and my mother did what this lady has, I would feel disgraced.
August 02, 2005
News Flash - London
Reports coming in now that Gray's Inn Road is closed by King's Cross due to a smoking bus and a suspicious package. Also the bomb squad has been called in.
developing...
*Update*
False alarm, seems a bus engine caught fire and when the fireman arrived they found a suspicious package on the bus. Turned out to be harmless.
Good news.
July 30, 2005
A good reason to be a virgin...
KAMPALA (Reuters) - A Ugandan member of parliament has pledged to reward girls for their chastity by paying their university fees if they are virgins when they leave school, a local newspaper said Wednesday.
Bbaale County MP Sulaiman Madada said any girl in his district who wanted to take part in the scheme aimed at promoting girls' education would be given a gynecological examination by health workers to check they were virgins.
Full Story @Excite News
**I guess this is one way to try to cut down on the spread of diseases even though there are flaws with it from the start. However, I wonder how many girls from Kayunga will actually get to go to the university. Better yet, I wonder how many poor girls have been forced to give up their innocence already.***
July 26, 2005
Feds Warn Of Suspicious Activity At Hospitals
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a special bulletin that warns of an increase in suspicious activity at hospitals.
DHS warns that impostors entering hospitals may be terrorists, and "U.S. hospitals offer easy public access and would be recognized by terrorist planners as easy, accessible targets. Known targeting of such facilities would instill great panic and fear in the general public."
The DHS bulletin outlines these incidents:
* In October 2004, two hospitals in the Phoenix metropolitan area reported suspicious activity, including photography, requests of building layout, inquiries regarding the location of the pharmacy, and computer fraud.
* Three men inquired as to the location of the pharmacy at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix. These men previously had visited hospitals in Texas and Indiana. All three hospitals are distribution points for the antidote medicines for biological attacks.
* On Feb. 7, 2005, at approximately 10 a.m., two individuals who identified themselves as special agents representing the Department of Defense and the CIA entered the emergency department at Middletown Regional Hospital, NY. The subjects requested to see the charge nurse and presented identification badges. They asked the nurse a series of questions concerning capacity for cardiac care, trauma care, heliport, and private rooms. As the hospital staff's suspicion of the subjects increased, they left the building. The hospital staff did collect a business card from one of the subjects, and it appeared to be fraudulent.
Full Story @ RNweb
July 14, 2005
Ebbers weeps as sentence handed down
Bernie Ebbers wept in court as he was told he faced 25 years in chokey for orchestrating the world's biggest securities fraud at WorldCom.
The man behind the $11bn (£5.8bn) con that helped make WorldCom "become synonymous with fraud" was visibly shaken when the sentence was handed down yesterday, according to those in court.
For Ebbers, 63, the jail term means he could spend the rest of his life behind bars, reports the BBC.
He is due to start his prison sentence on October 12 at a federal jail in Yazoo City, Mississippi, which is near his home.
Handing down the sentence Judge Barbara Jones told the court: "A sentence of anything less would not reflect the seriousness of the crime."
In March, Bernard J Ebbers, the former chief exec of WorldCom (now renamed MCI), was found guilty of orchestrating the $11bn (£5.8bn) accounting fraud that led to the collapse of the US telecoms giant, the loss of 20,000 jobs and wiped out more than $100bn in stock value.
Full Story @ The Register
July 10, 2005
Set Phasers to Stun
ARLINGTON, Va. - For years, the U.S. military has explored a new kind of firepower that is instantaneous, precise and virtually inexhaustible: beams of electromagnetic energy. "Directed-energy" pulses can be throttled up or down depending on the situation, much like the phasers on "Star Trek" could be set to kill or merely stun.
Such weapons are now nearing fruition. But logistical issues have delayed their battlefield debut - even as soldiers in Iraq encounter tense urban situations in which the nonlethal capabilities of directed energy could be put to the test.
"It's a great technology with enormous potential, but I think the environment's not strong for it," said James Jay Carafano, a senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation who blames the military and Congress for not spending enough on getting directed energy to the front. "The tragedy is that I think it's exactly the right time for this."
Full Story @ Miami Herald
July 07, 2005
London rocked by terror attacks
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was "reasonably clear" there had been a series of terrorist attacks.
He said it was "particularly barbaric" that it was timed to coincide with the G8 summit. He is returning to London.
An Islamist website has posted a statement - purportedly from al-Qaeda - claiming it was behind the attacks.
Full Story @ BBC NEWS | UK
Our prayers and thoughts with our brothers and sisters in London this tragic morning.
July 01, 2005
Elite military unit missing Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S. forces desperately scoured rugged Afghan mountains Friday for an elite American military team missing after fierce fighting that included the shooting down of an Army Special Forces helicopter with 16 soldiers aboard earlier this week, U.S. officials said.
A purported Taliban spokesman claimed to have captured one of the soldiers.
The developments further worsen the already stinging blow the U.S. military suffered from the deaths of the 16 on the MH-47 Chinook chopper, and comes as it scrambles to deal with an insurgency that threatens three years of progress toward peace.
Full Story @ MSNBC.com
Keep praying for our valiant and courageous military.
PBS B.S.
The House of Representatives restored the proposed budget cuts that PBS’ defenders claimed would “destroy” it. So PBS has been saved. Who can contain their excitement?
Of course, the debate over PBS was enormously silly, but let’s leave up the party streamers anyway.
Now, I must disclose a bit here. I worked in the backalleys of PBS for about a half-dozen years. I produced a weekly television show and several documentaries, and I was involved on the business side of things quite a bit. I’ve attended annual meetings and conferences. In short, I know a little bit about public television.
And … it’s liberal. It just is. To say it isn’t is just plain batty. The shows we associate most with PBS are run by liberals — some of them great journalists and some of them miserable partisan hacks — and they tend to tackle questions from a liberal perspective. The people who run PBS are liberals. The decision-makers are liberals, and — contrary to funhouse logic of PBS’s left-wing critics — the fact that these executives sometimes opt to put conservatives on the air doesn’t change that fact. It might mean, as some leftist critics claim, that PBS execs don’t have the courage of their convictions. Or it might just mean that they’re trying to make the network more balanced and respond to a perceived need.
Full Story @ National Review Online
Thais catch 646-pound catfish in Mekong
BANGKOK, Thailand — This big one did not get away. Thai fishermen netted a 646-pound catfish believed to have been the world's largest freshwater fish ever caught in Thailand, a researcher said Thursday.
The nearly 9-foot-long Mekong giant catfish was landed May 1 by villagers in Chiang Khong, a remote district in northern Thailand, and weighed by Thai fisheries department officials, said Zeb Hogan, who leads an international project to locate and study the world's largest freshwater fish species.
Full Story & Picture @ ESPN Outdoors
Wow! (that is not what I really said but sums it up)
June 25, 2005
Atlanta City Council Accused Of Bigotry
ATLANTA - A proposed ordinance to bar panhandlers from accosting people in Atlanta's tourist section has run headlong into the politics of race in this city of the New South that likes to portray itself as having moved beyond black and white.
Hoping to boost convention business and tidy up downtown, the City Council is considering a measure to prevent visitors from being hit up for money by homeless people around Olympic Centennial park, CNN Center and some of the South's finest restaurants.
Read the story at Yahoo!/AP
June 23, 2005
Dick's Non-Apologizing Apology *sick*
Dick goes to the floor the United States Senate with a scripted speech and says our troops are essentially Nazi's and that Guantanamo Bay is along the lines of the German Ovens that killed Millions of Jews.... oh.. how about you resign and profusely apologize to every Jew, American and each and every one of our fine men and women in the military, Dick.
Here is the planned, calculated and spoken words of Dick.
"If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what
Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have
been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime -- Pol Pot or others -- that had no
concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the
treatment of their prisoners."
Huh??
He is describing the horrible, in-human conditions like, "the temperature unbearably hot", "extremely loud rap music was being played", "the temperature was so cold in the room" and "The detainee was almost unconscious on the
floor, with a pile of hair next to him".
*blink*
Dick, you are either the most brain dead person in Washington or someone looking to get the liberal base set on fire to fatten your wallet for the coming mid-term elections.
My guess since you ARE a senator you have some brains and therefore this was PURE POLITICS and you could give a rats ass about the poor terrorists in Guantanamo.
Mind you there are only three types of prisoners there, let me enlighten you.
1. People killing, shooting or attempting to kill American troops.
2. People transporting and/or physically assisting those in number one.
3. People behind the folks in one and two supporting them by moving money and/or raising money.
Full Text @ Chicago Tribune news
For those who don't know what Dick said here it is.
Mr. President, there has been a lot of discussion in recent days about whether to close the
detention center at Guantanamo Bay. This debate misses the point. It is not a question of
whether detainees are held at Guantanamo Bay or some other location. The question is how we
should treat those who have been detained there. Whether we treat them according to the law or
not does not depend on their address. It depends on our policy as a nation.
How should we treat them? This is not a new question. We are not writing on a blank
slate. We have entered into treaties over the years, saying this is how we will treat wartime
detainees. The United States has ratified these treaties. They are the law of the land as much as
any statute we passed. They have served our country well in past wars. We have held ourselves
to be a civilized country, willing to play by the rules, even in time of war.
Unfortunately, without even consulting Congress, the Bush administration unilaterally
decided to set aside these treaties and create their own rules about the treatment of prisoners.
Frankly, this Congress has failed to hold the administration accountable for its failure to
follow the law of the land when it comes to the torture and mistreatment of prisoners and
detainees.
I am a member of the Judiciary Committee. For two years, I have asked for hearings on
this issue. I am glad Chairman Specter will hold a hearing on wartime detention policies
tomorrow. I thank him for taking this step. I wish other members of his party would be willing
to hold this administration accountable as well.
It is worth reflecting for a moment about how we have reached this point. Many people
who read history remember, as World War II began with the attack on Pearl Harbor, a country in
fear after being attacked decided one way to protect America was to gather together Japanese
Americans and literally imprison them, put them in internment camps for fear they would be
traitors and turn on the United States. We did that. Thousands of lives were changed.
Thousands of businesses destroyed. Thousands of people, good American citizens, who
happened to be of Japanese ancestry, were treated like common criminals.
It took almost 40 years for us to acknowledge that we were wrong, to admit that these
people should never have been imprisoned. It was a shameful period in American history and
one that very few, if any, try to defend today.
I believe the torture techniques that have been used at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and
other places fall into that same category. I am confident, sadly confident, as I stand here, that
decades from now people will look back and say: What were they thinking? America, this great,
kind leader of a nation, treated people who were detained and imprisoned, interrogated people in
the crudest way? I am afraid this is going to be one of the bitter legacies of the invasion of Iraq.
We were attacked on September 11, 2001. We were clearly at war.
We have held prisoners in every armed conflict in which we have engaged. The law was
clear, but some of the President's top advisers questioned whether we should follow it or whether
we should write new standards.
Alberto Gonzales, then-White House chief counsel, recommended to the President the
Geneva Convention should not apply to the war on terrorism.
Colin Powell, who was then Secretary of State, objected strenuously to Alberto Gonzales'
conclusions. I give him credit. Colin Powell argued that we could effectively fight the war on
terrorism and still follow the law, still comply with the Geneva Conventions. In a memo to
Alberto Gonzales, Secretary Powell pointed out the Geneva Conventions would not limit our
ability to question the detainees or hold them even indefinitely. He pointed out that under
Geneva Conventions, members of al-Qaida and other terrorists would not be considered
prisoners of war.
There is a lot of confusion about that so let me repeat it. The Geneva Conventions do not
give POW status to terrorists.
In his memo to Gonzales, Secretary Powell went on to say setting aside the Geneva
Conventions “will reverse over a century of U.S. policy and practice... and undermine the
protections of the law of war for our own troops... It will undermine public support among
critical allies, making military cooperation more difficult to sustain.”
When you look at the negative publicity about Guantanamo, Secretary Colin Powell was
prophetic.
Unfortunately, the President rejected Secretary Powell's wise counsel, and instead
accepted Alberto Gonzales' recommendation, issuing a memo setting aside the Geneva
Conventions and concluding that we needed “new thinking in the law of war.”
After the President decided to ignore Geneva Conventions, the administration unilaterally
created a new detention policy. They claim the right to seize anyone, including even American
citizens, anywhere in the world, including in the United States, and hold them until the end of the
war on terrorism, whenever that may be.
For example, they have even argued in court they have the right to indefinitely detain an
elderly lady from Switzerland who writes checks to what she thinks is a charity that helps
orphans but actually is a front that finances terrorism.
They claim a person detained in the war on terrorism has no legal rights -- no right to a
lawyer, no right to see the evidence against them, no right to challenge their detention. In fact, the
Government has claimed detainees have no right to challenge their detention, even if they claim
they were being tortured or executed.
This violates the Geneva Conventions, which protect everyone captured during wartime.
The official commentary on the convention states: “Nobody in enemy hands can fall outside the
law.”
That is clear as it can be. But it was clearly rejected by the Bush administration when
Alberto Gonzales as White House counsel recommended otherwise.
U.S. military lawyers called this detention system “a legal black hole.” The Red Cross
concluded, “U.S. authorities have placed the internees in Guantanamo beyond the law.”
Using their new detention policy, the administration has detained thousands of individuals
in secret detention centers all around the world, some of them unknown to Members of Congress.
While it is the most well-known, Guantanamo Bay is only one of them. Most have been captured
in Afghanistan and Iraq, but some people who never raised arms against us have been taken
prisoner far from the battlefield.
Who are the Guantanamo detainees? Back in 2002, Secretary Rumsfeld described them as
“the hardest of the hard core.” However, the administration has since released many of them, and
it has now become clear that Secretary Rumsfeld's assertion was not completely true.
Military sources, according to the media, indicate that many detainees have no connection
to al-Qaida or the Taliban and were sent to Guantanamo over the objections of intelligence
personnel who recommended their release. One military officer said: “We're basically
condemning these guys to a long-term imprisonment. If they weren't terrorists before, they
certainly could be now.”
Last year, in two landmark decisions, the Supreme Court rejected the administration's
detention policy. The Court held that the detainees' claims that they were detained for over two
years without charge and without access to counsel “unquestionably describe custody in violation
of the Constitution, or laws or treaties of the United States.”
The Court also held that an American citizen held as an enemy combatant must be told the
basis for his detention and have a fair opportunity to challenge the Government's claims. Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor wrote for the majority: “A state of war is not a blank check for the
President when it comes to the rights of the Nation's citizens.”
You would think that would be obvious, wouldn't you? But yet, this administration, in this
war, has viewed it much differently.
I had hoped the Supreme Court decision would change the administration policy.
Unfortunately, the administration has resisted complying with the Supreme Court's decision.
The administration acknowledges detainees can challenge their detention in court, but it
still claims that once they get to court, they have no legal rights. In other words, the
administration believes a detainee can get to the courthouse door but cannot come inside.
A Federal court has already held the administration has failed to comply with the Supreme
Court's rulings. The court concluded that the detainees do have legal rights, and the
administration's policies “deprive the detainees of sufficient notice of the factual bases for their
detention and deny them a fair opportunity to challenge their incarceration.”
The administration also established a new interrogation policy that allows cruel and
inhuman interrogation techniques.
Remember what Secretary of State Colin Powell said? It is not a matter of following the
law because we said we would, it is a matter of how our troops will be treated in the future. That
is something often overlooked here. If we want standards of civilized conduct to be applied to
Americans captured in a warlike situation, we have to extend the same manner and type of
treatment to those whom we detain, our prisoners.
Secretary Rumsfeld approved numerous abusive interrogation tactics against prisoners in
Guantanamo. The Red Cross concluded that the use of those methods was "a form of torture."
The United States, which each year issues a human rights report, holding the world
accountable for outrageous conduct, is engaged in the same outrageous conduct when it comes to
these prisoners.
Numerous FBI agents who observed interrogations at Guantanamo Bay complained to
their supervisors. In one e-mail that has been made public, an FBI agent complained that
interrogators were using “torture techniques.”
That phrase did not come from a reporter or politician. It came from an FBI agent
describing what Americans were doing to these prisoners.
With no input from Congress, the administration set aside our treaty obligations and
secretly created new rules for detention and interrogation. They claim the courts have no right to
review these rules. But under our Constitution, it is Congress's job to make the laws, and the
court's job to judge whether they are constitutional.
This administration wants all the power: legislator, executive, and judge. Our founding
father were warned us about the dangers of the Executive Branch violating the separation of
powers during wartime. James Madison wrote: “The accumulation of all powers, legislative,
executive, and judiciary, in the same hands may justly be pronounced the very definition of
tyranny.”
Other Presidents have overreached during times of war, claiming legislative powers, but
the courts have reined them back in. During the Korean war, President Truman, faced with a steel
strike, issued an Executive order to seize and operate the Nation's steel mills. The Supreme Court
found that the seizure was an unconstitutional infringement on the Congress’s lawmaking power.
Justice Hugo Black, writing for the majority, said: “The Constitution is neither silent nor
equivocal about who shall make the laws which the President is to execute ... The Founders of this
Nation entrusted the lawmaking power to the Congress alone in both good times and bad.”
To win the war on terrorism, we must remain true to the principles upon which our
country was founded. This Administration’s detention and interrogation policies are placing our
troops at risk and making it harder to combat terrorism.
Former Congressman Pete Peterson of Florida, a man I call a good friend and a man I
served with in the House of Representatives, is a unique individual. He is one of the most
cheerful people you would ever want to meet. You would never know, when you meet him, he
was an Air Force pilot taken prisoner of war in Vietnam and spent 6 1/2 years in a Vietnamese
prison. Here is what he said about this issue in a letter that he sent to me. Pete Peterson wrote:
From my 6 1/2 years of captivity in Vietnam, I know what life in a foreign prison is like.
To a large degree, I credit the Geneva Conventions for my survival....This is one reason
the United States has led the world in upholding treaties governing the status and care of
enemy prisoners: because these standards also protect us....We need absolute clarity that
America will continue to set the gold standard in the treatment of prisoners in wartime.
Abusive detention and interrogation policies make it much more difficult to win the
support of people around the world, particularly those in the Muslim world. The war on terrorism
is not a popularity contest, but anti-American sentiment breeds sympathy for anti-American
terrorist organizations and makes it far easier for them to recruit young terrorists.
Polls show that Muslims have positive attitudes toward the American people and our
values. However, overall, favorable ratings toward the United States and its Government are very
low. This is driven largely by the negative attitudes toward the policies of this administration.
Muslims respect our values, but we must convince them that our actions reflect these
values. That’s why the 9/11 Commission recommended: “We should offer an example of moral
leadership in the world, committed to treat people humanely, abide by the rule of law, and be
generous and caring to our neighbors.”
What should we do? Imagine if the President had followed Colin Powell's advice and
respected our treaty obligations. How would things have been different?
We still would have the ability to hold detainees and to interrogate them aggressively.
Members of al-Qaida would not be prisoners of war. We would be able to do everything we need
to do to keep our country safe. The difference is, we would not have damaged our reputation in
the international community in the process.
When you read some of the graphic descriptions of what has occurred here -- I almost
hesitate to put them in the record, and yet they have to be added to this debate. Let me read to you
what one FBI agent saw. And I quote from his report:
On a couple of occasions, I entered interview rooms to find a detainee chained hand and
foot in a fetal position to the floor, with no chair, food or water. Most times they urinated
or defecated on themselves, and had been left there for 18-24 hours or more. On one
occasion, the air conditioning had been turned down so far and the temperature was so
cold in the room, that the barefooted detainee was shaking with cold....On another
occasion, the [air conditioner] had been turned off, making the temperature in the
unventilated room well over 100 degrees. The detainee was almost unconscious on the
floor, with a pile of hair next to him. He had apparently been literally pulling his hair out
throughout the night. On another occasion, not only was the temperature unbearably hot,
but extremely loud rap music was being played in the room, and had been since the day
before, with the detainee chained hand and foot in the fetal position on the tile floor.
If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what
Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have
been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime -- Pol Pot or others -- that had no
concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the
treatment of their prisoners.
It is not too late. I hope we will learn from history. I hope we will change course.
The President could declare the United States will apply the Geneva Conventions to the
war on terrorism. He could declare, as he should, that the United States will not, under any
circumstances, subject any detainee to torture, or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The
administration could give all detainees a meaningful opportunity to challenge their detention
before a neutral decisionmaker.
Such a change of course would dramatically improve our image and it would make us
safer. I hope this administration will choose that course. If they do not, Congress must step in.
The issue debated in the press today misses the point. The issue is not about closing
Guantanamo Bay. It is not a question of the address of these prisoners. It is a question of how we
treat these prisoners. To close down Guantanamo and ship these prisoners off to undisclosed
locations in other countries, beyond the reach of publicity, beyond the reach of any surveillance, is
to give up on the most basic and fundamental commitment to justice and fairness, a commitment
we made when we signed the Geneva Convention and said the United States accepts it as the law
of the land, a commitment which we have made over and over again when it comes to the issue of
torture. To criticize the rest of the world for using torture and to turn a blind eye to what we are
doing in this war is wrong, and it is not American.
During the Civil War, President Lincoln, one of our greatest presidents, suspended habeas
corpus, which gives prisoners the right to challenge their detention. The Supreme Court stood up
to the President and said prisoners have the right to judicial review even during war.
Let me read what that Court said:
The Constitution of the United States is a law for rulers and people, equally in war and in
peace, and covers with the shield of its protection all classes of men, at all times, and
under all circumstances. No doctrine, involving more pernicious consequences, was ever
invented by the wit of man than that any of its provisions could be suspended during any
of the great exigencies of government. Such a doctrine leads directly to anarchy or
despotism.
Mr. President, those words still ring true today. The Constitution is a law for this
administration, equally in war and in peace. If the Constitution could withstand the Civil War,
when our nation was literally divided against itself, surely it will withstand the war on terrorism.
I yield the floor.
June 22, 2005
U.S. Trained Mexican Commandos on U.S. Killing Spree
The feds have been alerted through a memo to law enforcement throughout the southwest, telling them that Mexican commandos are now working for drug cartels.
You'll be shocked to learn where the commandos were trained.
The memo from the Justice Department warns that Mexican commandos were trained by U.S. forces, but switched sides. They are now using their deadly skills to work for the drug cartels.
They were elite forces trained by the U.S. Army at Fort Benning, \Georgia to battle against the powerful drug cartels.
They're known as "los zetas," but a memo from the Justice Department to police agencies in the southwest warns that some of those commandos changed sides and are now working with drug smugglers.
Sheriff Tony Estrada says, "Things like that are a concern to us, especially trained here on the U.S. side. They've gotten pretty special training in reguards to areas they were supposed to specialize. Now, they are working with drug traffickers on the Mexican side."
Using the commando training, Los Zetas are known to be extremely violent and have been blamed for an outbreak of violence along the Mexican border.
Full Story @ KVOA
June 21, 2005
Teens give adults mediocre grades, survey finds
WASHINGTON - School is out across much of the country, and so is the seventh annual Uhlich Report Card, a survey that gives teenagers a chance to grade adults on how well they're solving problems teens and the rest of the nation face.
They didn't give adults a report card that most kids would be proud to take home, however. Adults' overall grade came out to a C; they scored 10 B's, 13 C's, one D and no A's when their grades in 24 categories were averaged.
**I just thought this was an interresting article. Out of the mouth of babes.**
Full Story @ Yahoo! News
June 20, 2005
Schiavo Was Beyond Saving, Autopsy Finds
MIAMI — During
Terri Schiavo's final days, when her fervent supporters said she was alert, responsive and trying to speak, she was massively and irreversibly brain-damaged, blind and oblivious to what surrounded her, a medical examiner's findings revealed Wednesday.
Schiavo died March 31 at a Pinellas Park, Fla., hospice after the plastic tube through which she had received food and water for 15 years was removed by a Florida judge's order, sought by her husband, who contended that she was in a persistent vegetative state.
Full Story @ Yahoo! News
June 19, 2005
Oil shale activity may lag in Wyo
LANDER -- The Rocky Mountain West has up to 1 trillion barrels of oil bound in 1,000-foot-thick oil shale formations in northwestern Colorado, southwestern Wyoming and eastern Utah.
Don't expect much development of this resource any time soon in the Cowboy State.
"The quality of the oil shale deposits in Wyoming just isn't as good as those in Colorado," said Cindy Wertz, spokeswoman for the Wyoming office of the Bureau of Land Management.
Full Story @ casperstartribune.net
June 18, 2005
NIMBY is no solution for child molesters
For sex offenders who prey on children, out of sight isn't out of mind. That is just one reason the "pedophile-free zones" that the Hamilton Township Council created on Tuesday night won't work.
Though the goal is admirable, forbidding convicted pedophiles from living within 2,500 feet of schools, parks and playgrounds is largely a symbolic gesture.
The vast majority of sex crimes against children are committed not by strangers lurking in the bushes but by people those children know and trust - in other words, by people literally in the children's back yards.
Full Story @ North Jersey Media Group
June 17, 2005
Security Breach Could Expose 40M to Fraud
NEW YORK (AP) - A security breach of customer information at a credit card transaction company could expose to fraud up to 40 million cardholders of multiple brands, MasterCard International Inc. said Friday.
The credit card giant said its security division detected multiple instances of fraud that tracked back to CardSystems Solutions Inc., which processes credit card and other payments for banks and merchants.
The compromised data included names, banks and account numbers - not addresses or Social Security numbers, said MasterCard spokeswoman Sharon Gamsin. Such data could be used to steal funds but not identities.
It was the latest in a series of security breaches affecting valuable consumer data at major financial institutions and data brokers in an increasingly database-driven world.
The breach appears to be the largest yet involving financial data, said David Sobel, general counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
"The steady stream of these disclosures shows the pressing need for regulation of the industry both in terms of limitation in the amount of personal information that companies collect and also liability when these kinds of disclosures occur," Sobel said.
Full Story @ Excite News
June 09, 2005
Dean: The mouth that won't stop roaring
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, unapologetic in the face of recent criticism that he has been too tough on his political opposition, said in San Francisco this week that Republicans "all behave the same, and they all look the same. ... It's pretty much a white Christian party."
Full Story @ SFGate
"We're more welcoming to different folks, because that's the kind of people we are,'' Dean said Monday, responding to a question about diversity during a forum with minority leaders and journalists. "But that's not enough. We do have to deliver on things: jobs and housing and business opportunities and college opportunities.''
Dean's remarks are an example of why the former Vermont governor, who remains popular with the party's grass roots, has been a lightning rod for criticism since being elected to head the Democratic National Committee in February. His comments last week that Republicans "never made an honest living in their lives," which he later clarified to say Republican "leaders," were disavowed by such leading Democrats as Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
June 06, 2005
Supreme Court Rules In Medical Marajauna Case
WASHINGTON - People who smoke marijuana because their doctors recommend it to ease pain can be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, overriding medical marijuana statutes in 10 states.
ADVERTISEMENT
The court's 6-3 decision was filled with sympathy for two seriously ill California women who brought the case, but the majority agreed that federal agents may arrest even sick people who use the drug as well as the people who grow pot for them.
Read the story at Yahoo! News/AP
June 02, 2005
UN Thinks Stopping AIDS Is Unrealistic.
I'm not going to reprint any of the article. I let you all read it, but essentially the UN's AIDS chief said that the goal of halting the worldwide AIDS spread by 2015 is not a realistic goal. He later said it was however possible. How he reconciles the 2 statements, I'll never know.
This is a particularly sore spot with me. Let me be the first to say the following:
It is very much realistic to stop the spread by 2006 and this lack of faith in humanity is both sickening and further reasoning for the abolishment of the UN.
The problem of AIDS is a lack of education. Most people know little to nothing about the disease. This problem is only compounded in Africa where civil wars have ravaged many nations preventing any sort of education about things as simple as disease.
We can not prevent idiots from continueing to put themselves at risk. But we can educate people as to how to prevent the disease.
May 30, 2005
A time to remember the sacrifice
May God richly bless you all and keep you safe.
And for our hard charging devil dog Skywalker, Semper Fi!
Also a salute to my online bud Joe who's somewhere under the ocean making sure his boat pings like non other.
Mrs. Muddy's cousin who is making sure N.A.S.A. looks good in pictures.
May 29, 2005
France says "Poo Poo on you EU"
French Voters Soundly Reject European Union Constitution
PARIS, May 29 - Turning its back on half a century of European history, France decisively rejected a constitution for Europe on Sunday, plunging the country into political disarray and jeopardizing the cause of European unity.
The victory for the no vote - 55 percent to 45 percent - came in a nationwide referendum on the European Union constitution after a bruising campaign that divided France and alarmed Europe.
Foreshadowed in recent polls, the no vote could doom the 448-article treaty because all 25 members of the European Union must ratify it before it can take effect.
Full Story @ New York Times
It's funny how france seemed so "one world government" yet wants to remain independent.
May 26, 2005
CIA Overseeing 3-Day War Game on Internet
WASHINGTON - The CIA is conducting a war game this week to simulate an unprecedented, Sept. 11-like electronic assault against the United States. The three-day exercise, known as "Silent Horizon," is meant to test the ability of government and industry to respond to escalating Internet disruptions over many months, according to participants.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because the CIA asked them not to disclose details of the sensitive exercise taking place in Charlottesville, Va., about two hours southwest of Washington.
The simulated attacks were carried out five years in the future by a fictional new alliance of anti-American organizations that included anti-globalization hackers. The most serious damage was expected to be inflicted in the closing hours of the war game Thursday.
Full Story @ My Way News
I wish the network companies would be involved in this, since it's their networks this kind of thing would happen on. They can deal with it faster an better than the CIA could.
May 23, 2005
New XBOX 360 powerd by Apple?
Microsucks new highly touted Xbox 360 was so good that they decided to use Apple G5's for the display kiosks.
Hrmmm..
As Bennyhill pointed out they did not even bother using a WINDOWS based pc for the demo but Apple!
What does that say about their product? They can't even use something windows based to run their demo on? This makes one wonder what the heck is powering their Xbox!?! Linux???
Bwaahahahahaha.
Losers.
Click the below link for all the pics.
Full Story @ AnandTech
May 18, 2005
Danger Will Robinson, Danger!
GOP Aides Say New Patriot Act Obliges Bush
WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is working on a bill that would renew the Patriot Act and expand government powers in the name of fighting terrorism, letting the
FBI subpoena records without permission from a judge or grand jury.
Much of the debate in Congress has concerned possibly limiting some of the powers in the anti-terrorism law passed 45 days after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
But the measure being written by Sen. Pat Roberts (news, bio, voting record), R-Kan., would give the FBI new power to issue administrative subpoenas, which are not reviewed by a judge or grand jury, for quickly obtaining records, electronic data or other evidence in terrorism investigations, according to aides for the GOP majority on the committee who briefed reporters Wednesday.
Full Story @ Yahoo! News
America, sits as he slowly ever so gently slips the chains around her feet, her arms and her neck.
Hey fat lazy America let us all sit in front of the TV while our "elected" government strips away our freedoms bit by bit.
What sickens me even more is the so called liberals will cry and scream over us freeing an enslaved people yet won't lift a finger when their own freedom gets whacked. Sick.
May 17, 2005
Trump calls Freedom Tower 'disgusting' and a 'pile of junk'
"I'd rather have nothing than what they're building," says the real estate mogul in a Hardball interview
In an interview scheduled to air on "Hardball with Chris Matthews" Thursday, Donald Trump tells Chris Matthews that the proposed Freedom Tower was designed by "an egghead architect" who "really doesn't have a lot of experience designing something like this."
Following is a transcript of interview.
CHRIS MATTHEWS, 'HARDBALL' HOST: Donald Trump, thank you for joining us in amidst of this controversy over the World Trade Towers.
Speaking into now the counter, every time I fly over Manhattan I see basically an amputated Battery area. The bottom of the island looks amputated. I see the missing towers. Is that a better monument than the Freedom Towers, just not having anything? Or would you rather have the World Trade Towers back?
DONALD TRUMP: I'd rather have nothing than what they're building, Chris. It's a terrible design. It was designed by an egghead architect who really doesn't have a lot of experience of designing something like this. And it's just a terrible design.
May 16, 2005
New Survey Finds Huge Gap Between Press and Public on Many Issues
NEW YORK A new survey to be released Monday reveals a wide gap on many media issues between a group of journalists and the general public. In one finding, 43% of the public say they believe the press has too much freedom, while only 3% of journalists agree. Just 14% of the public can name “freedom of the press” as a guarantee in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, in the major poll conducted by the University of Connecticut Department of Public Policy.
Six in ten among the public feel the media show bias in reporting the news, and 22% say the government should be allowed to censor the press. More than 7 in 10 journalists believe the media does a good or excellent job on accuracy--but only 4 in 10 among the public feel that way. And a solid 53% of the public think stories with unnamed sources should not be published at all.
Full Story @Editor & Publisher
I do not think this will shock anyone, except the media. ;-)
May 11, 2005
Linux taking over the world! (sorta)
Customer Survey Shows 75% of Computer Shoppers Interested in Linux-Based Operating Systems
SAN DIEGO and HILLIARD, Ohio, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Linspire, Inc. and Micro Center today announced that the two companies have formed a broad-based partnership to meet the rising demand for desktop Linux among mainstream computer users. Beginning today, all 20 Micro Center stores nationwide will sell Linspire's Linux-based operating system in both the boxed version and pre-installed on desktop and laptop personal computers.
The partnership follows recent market research reports that predict revenues from desktop Linux PCs will grow to $10 billion by 2008. In addition, internal surveys by Micro Center reveal that more than 75 percent of its customers have an interest in running a Linux-based operating system.
Full Story @ Yahoo! Finance
April 13, 2005
Druggists refuse to give out pill
For a year, Julee Lacey stopped in a CVS pharmacy near her home in a Fort Worth suburb to get refills of her birth-control pills. Then one day last March, the pharmacist refused to fill Lacey's prescription because she did not believe in birth control.
"I was shocked," says Lacey, 33, who was not able to get her prescription until the next day and missed taking one of her pills. "Their job is not to regulate what people take or do. It's just to fill the prescription that was ordered by my physician."
USATODAY.com - Druggists refuse to give out pill
***Personally, I can understand and excuse a pharmacist if they have certain moral issues when it comes to filling certain prescriptions. However, it *is* their obligation to refer/transfer the prescription to another pharmacist or pharmacy so the patient can get the proper medication they've been prescribed. As for those pharmacists who refuse to even *return* the prescriptions to the patient - they display a conduct that not only disgraces their professional conduct but violates a moral code of ethics.***
April 10, 2005
New, cheap battery outshines alkalines
Panasonic will introduce AA and AAA disposable batteries in June that the company calls the "most significant developments in primary battery technology in 40 years."
According to Panasonic, these Oxyride batteries last up to twice as long as premium alkaline batteries like Duracell Ultra ($5 for four), yet cost the same as regular alkalines ($4 for four).
Astounded yet? Then get this: Oxyride batteries are also supposed to deliver more power. The result, the company says, is that battery-operated toothbrushes spin faster, flashlights shine brighter, camera flashes are quicker to recharge and music players produce richer sound.
Full Story @ CNET News.com
It's about time, *sigh* My kids toys will make those annoying noises longer and louder now,... yea.
April 07, 2005
Shuttle Discovery Moves Toward Florida Launch Pad
MIAMI (Reuters) - The space shuttle Discovery began its crawl to a launch pad on Wednesday, after a crack in insulating foam briefly delayed the significant step in NASA's two-year quest to return the shuttle fleet to flight.
The roll-out, taking place at barely 1 mile per hour and expected to last six hours, was delayed by more than an hour after a technician spotted a hairline crack in the foam on the shuttle's external fuel tank.
Falling foam ripped a hole in Shuttle Columbia's wing in 2003, condemning its seven-man crew to death when the spacecraft disintegrated on re-entry, in the second fatal disaster to hit the shuttle program.
NASA consulted experts from the tank-manufacturing facility in New Orleans to determine if repairs were needed to Discovery, then continued the shuttle's transfer on its giant platform to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Full Story @ Reuters.com
uh.. your foam is cracked so you call the manufacturer and they say "eh! fughgetaboutit.." and you do.
Sounds like NASA has NOT learned it's lesson to me.
April 06, 2005
Crew Spank Galaxy 3 Nil
Edson Buddle and Ante Razov teamed up to make quick work of the L.A. Galaxy. Watching the game now (yea I know it's a few days late) and it's good to see the Crew get aggressive.
It was not a good night for soccer the field looked a bit slow and the high winds played havoc on the Galaxy it seemed.
I think the Galaxy need to work on conditioning myself, they looked quite winded in the second half, and sloppy shooting to boot.
on a side note ..
Since my B-Day is coming up soon it would be kewl if someone would hook me up with the Crew's home kit. Buy Muddy the Crew kit here
March 26, 2005
Many Germans Want Berlin Wall Back, Study Finds
BERLIN (Reuters) - Nearly a quarter of western Germans and 12 percent of easterners want the Berlin Wall back -- more than 15 years after the fall of the barrier that split Germany during the Cold War, according to a new survey.
The results of the poll, published Saturday, reflected die-hard animosities over high reunification costs lowering western standards of living and economic turmoil in the east.
Full Story @ My Way News
March 18, 2005
Dutchman in Iraq genocide charges
Prosecutors in the Netherlands have formally charged a Dutch businessman with complicity in genocide for selling chemicals to Iraq's former regime.
Frans van Anraat, 62, is accused of selling US and Japanese chemicals which were used to produce poison gas.
The gases are said to have been used to kill more than 5,000 in a 1988 attack on the Kurdish Iraqi town of Halabja.
Mr van Anraat earlier admitted selling chemicals but told Dutch TV he had not known what they would be used for.
The full trial of the businessman - the first Dutch national to be prosecuted for genocide - is not due to begin for several months.
Evidence being used by prosecutors includes information obtained from the former head of Iraq's chemical weapons programme, Ali Hassan al-Majid, otherwise known as Chemical Ali.
He has been charged in Iraq of masterminding the mustard gas attack on Halabja for which Saddam Hussein also faces charges.
Full Story @ BBC NEWS
How the American Press has missed this HUGE Story is amazing. If we'd quit spending so much freakin' time on Celebrity asshats and their crap we would be more aware of the important things happening in our world.
March 15, 2005
Yea France!
Dateline Now : It seems France has found a pair. Arresteing and convicting six slime balls who had plotted to blow up the U.S. embassy in Paris.
The very interesting part is the one who ratted on the others was tortured?, "But during the trial, Beghal retracted those statements, saying they had been made under torture.", this we know to be false.
As the outstanding world citizen France would NEVER use such a horrible thing as torture, this guy was obviously lying. ;-)
The 1-10 year sentences seems a little light imho but hey, they did something.. and for that I applaud them.
Full Story @ VOA News
March 04, 2005
Cows bear grudges: official
We at Vulture Central were growing increasingly concerned that funding bodies may have a taken the axe to the kind of cutting-edge research which proved that cows enjoy a bit of girl-on-girl, and that sheep like happy, smiley people and pine for absent friends.
We needn't have worried. A team at Bristol University has proved what bovine aficionados knew all along: that cows have a "complex mental life in which they bear grudges, nurture friendships and become excited by intellectual challenges", news.com.au reports.
What's more, cows are reportedly "capable of strong emotions such as pain, fear and even anxiety about the future" - as are pigs, goats and chickens. Accordingly, Christine Nicol, professor of animal welfare at Britain's Bristol University, warns that "even chickens might have to be treated as individuals with needs and problems". Yes indeed. Needs: chickenfeed. Problems: Chicken Tikka Masala. Enough said.
How, though, can the team demonstrate that cows bear grudges? According to the report, the cattle-worriers "have documented how cows within a herd form friendship groups of between two and four animals with whom they spend most of their time, often grooming and licking each other. They will also dislike other cows, and can bear grudges for months or years".
Full Story @ The Register
Seems funding of mindless research is not just a U.S. problem.
March 02, 2005
Movie 'pirate' dead in jail cell
p2pnet.net News:- Russell Sprague, the man who acquired more than 130 screeners of Hollywood features including "The Last Samurai" and "Mystic River" and then posted them on the p2p networks, was found dead in a Los Angeles prison cell.
He got the movies from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences member Carmine Caridi, 70, was recently ordered to pay Warner Bros $300,000 for providing Sprague with the copies.
Sprague, 52, was facing three years in jail after pleading guilty to one count of copyright infringement. He was to have been sentenced March 21.
Full Story @ p2pnet.net
Seems the MPAA and RIAA have far reaching power. If I didn't know better I would of said this guy had angered the mafia. Could it be the MPAA and RIAA are more like the mafia than we realize?
February 22, 2005
Artificial eyes by 2010, says EC
European scientists have joined the race to produce an artificial retina with research that could help restore the sight of thousands of people suffering from retinal disease.
Belgian Professor Claude Veraart says that a prototype device has been implanted in two patients so far, according to a Reuters report. He said that 15 teams of researchers are working on the problem, but that the Belgian trials had produced the best results so far. The Belgian team co-ordinates a pan-European research effort, involving scientists in France and Germany.
As with similar work in the United States, the prosthetic retina works by passing artificially stimulating the optic nerve, in line with signals from a tiny digital camera mounted on a pair of glasses.
Full Story @ The Register
Seems I may be able to cure my colorblindness one day after all :-)
Nokia dumps IE for Firefox: 55,000 times
REPORTS ON TWO Scandinavian web sites said that Nokia is pushing Microsoft Internet Explorer off its desktop PCs in favour of the Firefox browser.
Full Story @The Inquirer
Nokia dumps IE for Firefox: 55,000 times
February 21, 2005
Avidemux 2.0.38rc1 released
Avidemux 2.0.38rc1 was release yesterday. Looks like a good update, but I'll stick to 2.0.36 for the moment. I have also been working (for a good 30 minutes, haha) on an Avidemux desktop icon. I'll make it available once Mean gives the ok.
February 09, 2005
WorldCom chief 'made me inflate revenues'
SCOTT SULLIVAN, the former chief financial officer at WorldCom, the bankrupt US telecoms group, told a New York court yesterday that Bernie Ebbers, the group’s former chief executive, had put pressure on him to inflate revenues so that the group met Wall Street estimates.
In his second day on the witness stand, Mr Sullivan said: “The source of the pressure was Bernie and the source of the pressure was also the marketplace.”
Mr Sullivan described how his former boss denied his pleas to lower earnings projections as the company’s finances deteriorated in 2000. Mr Sullivan testified that as earnings reports came due “there was one thing that he said each time, ‘We have to hit our numbers’ ”.
Mr Sullivan told the court that, under pressure from his boss, he adjusted revenue figures, such as credits for overbilling, in order to match Wall Street analysts’ growth expectations.
Full Story @ Times Online
I can confirm the following from the article "Mr Sullivan described how his boss was obsessed with costs, accusing employees of stealing coffee. Mr Sullivan paraphrased his former boss: “There’s more coffee filters than coffee bags. That means employees are taking coffee home, and we need to cut out the service.”
We lost our coffee and were told that it was to cust expenses... then it came out that Ebbers thought we were stealing coffee. Nobody bothered to consider we used 2x packs of coffee for each pot because it was weak, poor quality coffee to begin with. :-/
February 07, 2005
U.S. Drops Criminal Inquiry of CIA Anti-Drug Incident
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors have dropped a three-year investigation into whether at least four CIA officers lied to lawmakers and agency superiors about a secret anti-drug operation in Peru that ended in 2001, a Justice Department spokesman said on Saturday.
"The Justice Department has declined a criminal prosecution," spokesman Bryan Sierra said in a statement.
The United States halted anti-drug surveillance flights that first began in 1994 after the fatal downing of a small missionary plane in Peru in April 2001.
How does the CIA gun down an American missionary and her baby and nobody is held accountable? I say Bush either steps up the plate and fires the asshats responsible for this (at the very least) or gives up and admits he is everything the liberals claim he is.
13 Year Old Gang Member: DRT
Feb 7, 2005 2:24 pm US/Pacific
LOS ANGELES (CBS) Authorities were investigating a Los Angeles police shooting that left an unarmed 13-year-old suspect dead early Sunday in South Los Angeles....
Read the story at KCAL 9
*Editors note* I wonder How many lives were saved because this kid was killed? Other articles mentioned he was a gang member, hence the reference to him as a gang member.
February 06, 2005
French demonstrate to keep 35-hour work week
PARIS (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of French people took part in demonstrations across the country to protest against government plans to reform the 35-hour work week.....
Read the story at Yahoo!
*Editor's Note* What whiny bitches.
February 03, 2005
MP3.com is Reborn
SAN DIEGO, February 2, 2005 - Michael Robertson, the founder and former CEO of MP3.com, will announce next week that he is starting a new digital music company called MP3tunes. The company will focus on music products and services with an emphasis on the MP3 format to maximize interoperability and consumer choice. Over the coming months, MP3tunes will make several new products available online including a hardware device, software products and an online music store. Robertson will officially announce the new company at the Desktop Summit, February 9-11 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego (www.desktopsummit.com).
"When I started MP3.com, the term 'MP3' was an obscure acronym recognizable only by geeks," Robertson said. "Back then, we had to battle for the legality of MP3 players. But because of those early efforts, consumers now have a spectacular array of portable players to choose from.
Visit MP3tunes.com
January 31, 2005
Terrorism Alert in France
TERRORISM ALERT IN FRANCE -- (AP, UPI) Yesterday, the French Government
announced that it has raised its terror alert level from RUN to HIDE.
The only two higher levels of their terror alert are SURRENDER and
COLLABORATE. The heightened alert was precipitated by the recent fire
which destroyed the French White Flag factory, effectively disabling their military.
(Thanks to nfkiller on fark.com for the above satire)
January 29, 2005
France Mad Cow.. or is it "Irritated Cow" Disease
Mad Cow Disease Detected In Goat For First Time
"If it's in a goat.. should it not be called mad goat disease?"
A goat in France that was slaughtered in 2002 had mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the European Union confirmed.
The positive test results were announced Friday by the EU more than two years after testing the remains of the French goat. Scientists initially believed the goat was infected with scrapie, a disease in the BSE family.
Consuming contaminated products from animals infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), has been scientificly linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans.
Full Story @ Healthtalk
January 19, 2005
U.N. funds terror
The former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations says the global body, through several of its agencies, is funding terrorist organizations.
Citing documents captured by Israeli Defense Force personnel, Ambassador Dore Gold says funds flowed from the United Nations Development Program, or UNDP, to two leading Hamas front organizations.
In a column slated to be published today in the Wall Street Journal, Gold said donations of between $4,000 and $10,000 went to the Tulkarm Charity Committee and the Jenin District Committee for Charitable Funds.
"Receipts and even copies of thank you notes to UNDP were discovered," he writes.
Full Story @ WorldNetDaily
January 10, 2005
Torture? Not if cheerleaders do it, lawyer claims
Muddy's Note: While many seem to think this was torture, it was not.
1 a : anguish of body or mind : AGONY b : something that causes agony or pain
2 : the infliction of intense pain (as from burning, crushing, or wounding) to punish, coerce, or afford sadistic pleasure
Now wearing panties on your head or lying naked in a pile is down right embarrassing, but not torture.
These are terrorists, not the good hard working people of Iraq we're talking about here. Would you object to this kind of "treatment" for lets say a gang of thugs who rapes and murders your family ??
I think not.
Oh on a side not this attorney is a complete dumb*** for thinking this argument will do anything but get him disbarred.
Forcing naked Iraqi prisoners to pile themselves in human pyramids was not torture, because American cheerleaders do it every year, a court was told today.
A lawyer defending Specialist Charles Graner, who is accused of being a ringleader in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, argued that piling naked prisoners in pyramids was a valid form of prisoner control.
"Don’t cheerleaders all over America form pyramids six to eight times a year. Is that torture?" said Guy Womack, Sergeant Graner’s lawyer, in opening arguments to the ten-member military jury at the reservist’s court martial.
Full Story @Times Online - World
January 06, 2005
America's Charity
This is a nice article for certain people who like to cry about how we spend more of our GDP on our military than on foreign aid (every though in hard dollars we give more than any other country on earth.)
December 22, 2004
Teens sack Santa for sweets in southern France
It seems the U.S. is not the only thing France hates. :-P
ALES, France, Dec 21 (AFP) - A sweets-giving exercise by a Santa Claus in southern France turned sour when a group of greedy teenagers kicked him to the ground and beat him up for not handing over his sack of sweets, police said Tuesday.
The man, dressed up as Father Christmas to hand out the sweets to children in the centre of the town of Ales on the weekend, was set upon when he refused to give more confectionery to one of the youths.
The teenager and his friends, all aged around 15, kicked and pummeled the man until they were scared off by passers-by.
Officers said Father Christmas suffered multiple bruising and had lodged a criminal complaint.
Story @ Expatica
December 19, 2004
Sad story raises interesting question.
December 19, 2004
Johnnie Carl, 57, the conductor of the Crystal Cathedral Orchestra committed suicide Friday at the landmark glass and steel church after a nine-hour standoff that began just before congregants prepared for a Christmas pageant.
Carl reportedly had an argument with an employee Thursday evening. He then returned to his office, fired four shots and barricaded himself in a bathroom. Police attempted to talk to him, however, Carl shot himself to death.
According to authorities, Carl had grappled with depression and was hospitalized for depression weeks before taking his life. Carl's wife Linda said her husband stopped taking a drug that helped him control manic depression because he was concerned about the possibility it might harm his kidneys.
Three weeks ago Carl was admitted to the University of California, Irvine, Medical Center when his condition worsened. He was at the medical center for about 5 days. But his wife said she didn't think he was entirely stabilized.
Full Story @ Health Talk
Muddy's Notes: I was always taught growing up that if you kill yourself you will not go to heaven. Even if someone had accepted what Jesus did for them and asked God into their life. This article got me thinking. I can only assume that this man had asked Jesus into his life and was a believer. So in turn how could God refuse someone who was mentally unstable and committed suicide? I don't know the answer myself however human logic would suggest their salvation would remain intact. I did find some interesting reading on the subject of suicide that still did not give a clear yes/no answer however seemed to debunk the theory I was raised on. (this is not a go ahead to those of you out there who read this and are unstable to go ahead and kill yourself, just thought I'd clear that up now)
France Launches Spy Satellite, U.S. Prepares Star Wars Test
By Laurent Marot
KOUROU, French Guiana (Reuters) - A European Ariane rocket launched a military surveillance satellite on Saturday, the third in a French-led drive for a European "spy in the sky" independent of the United States.
The Ariane-5 rocket blasted off at 1:26 p.m. (1126 EST) from the European Space Agency (ESA) launch site in French Guiana on the northeast coast of South America.
An hour after lift-off, space officials said the Helios 2A satellite separated from the rocket. An additional six microsatellites were also released by the rocket
Full Story @ Reuters.com
December 12, 2004
Telemarketers Begin Mobile Assault
A plan by a powerful telecommunications group to make a directory of wireless phone numbers is riling many who fear that their cell phone numbers will become prey for telemarketers.
Even though it is illegal under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 for telemarketers to call mobile phones without permission, it is also illegal under the federal CAN SPAM Act of 2003 to send much of the junk mail that, legal or not, still floods our e-mail inboxes.
The move to compile a directory of cell phone numbers comes from the Communications, Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), a trade group for the wireless industry.
It's designed to be voluntary. Before your number appears, you have to agree to it.
The CTIA argues that the directory is needed because more than 8 million Americans use only wireless phones.
Full Story @ Detroit Free Press
December 07, 2004
Drug Lords Develop Genetically Modified Cocaine Tree
LONDON (Reuters) - Colombian drug lords have developed a genetically modified "cocaine tree" that contains higher drug levels and is resistant to herbicides, the Financial Times newspaper said on Tuesday.
Full Story @ Excite News
Hunter shot in rump during toilet break
Hehe... oh the many french jokes I could make..
IT was a case of the hunter being hunted when a 70-year-old French man stopped to relieve himself against a tree Friday and was shot in the backside by his own rifle.
Firefighters in southern France recounting the incident said the unidentified man leant his gun against a car and was shot when it fell to the ground and discharged.
Firemen said the bullet merely grazed his rump, adding that he had escaped serious injury by a centimetre or so.
November 27, 2004
Star Trek not so silly anymore
Demo Advances Quantum Networking
Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have transferred information stored in the properties of a cloud of rubidium atoms to the properties of a single photon.
The ability to transfer information from atoms to photons is needed for quantum computers, which use the properties of particles like atoms and photons to compute. Quantum computer designs generally use atoms as memory that can store information long enough to perform computations on it, and photons to transfer information.
Full Story @ Technology Review
Seems we're edging closer and closer to having the processing power to get us into space and moving at light speeds. However I think we're long overdue to replace those aging IBM Thinkpad 760XD laptops on the space station. Sad when you think about the International Space Station is run by something you can buy on ebay for about forty dollars. :-(
November 24, 2004
Declaration of Independence Banned at Calif School
A California teacher has been barred by his school from giving students documents from American history that refer to God -- including the Declaration of Independence.
Steven Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at Stevens Creek School in the San Francisco Bay area suburb of Cupertino, sued for discrimination on Monday, claiming he had been singled out for censorship by principal Patricia Vidmar because he is a Christian.
"It's a fact of American history that our founders were religious men, and to hide this fact from young fifth-graders in the name of political correctness is outrageous and shameful," said Williams' attorney, Terry Thompson.
"Williams wants to teach his students the true history of our country," he said. "There is nothing in the Establishment Clause (of the U.S. Constitution) that prohibits a teacher from showing students the Declaration of Independence."
Full Story @Reuters News
November 06, 2004
France Dispatches More Troops to Ivory Coast
PARIS (Reuters) - France has ordered more troops to Ivory Coast to protect French citizens after nine French soldiers and a U.S. aid worker were killed in a government bombing raid and Ivory Coast troops fired on French forces.
French President Jacques Chirac ordered the Ivory Coast planes involved in the Saturday airstrike destroyed and a defense source said French forces would also destroy five Ivorian military helicopters, leaving the country with only one helicopter.
Mobs of machete-wielding pro-government supporters rampaged through Abidjan, furious at the French destruction of the planes. Plumes of smoke rose from the plush Cocody suburb.
The French embassy said a French school in Cocody had been set ablaze, four French policemen were evacuated from a building by helicopter before it too was burned down and that there was a loud explosion near the embassy.
The escalating tension between the East African country and its former colonial ruler followed three days of a government air offensive to retake the rebel-held north of the country.
Full Story @ Reuters.com
November 04, 2004
It Was All Over When Michael Moore Showed Up
He Was For Nader...Before He Was Against Him
I sensed it was all over for John Kerry in Florida upon learning that Roseanne Barr and Michael Moore would be at the Tallahasee/Leon County Civic Center election eve to rally the faithful to depose Prince W come on E-Day. After all, Leon County is a safe haven for Democratic presidential candidates such as Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton and Gore.
As the final returns from Florida starkly prove, the Michael and Roseanne road show would have done better to work the I-4 corridor circuit where the election was actually decided.
It was Moore's second appearance in Tallahassee in a month. In October he spoke to a full house at Ruby Diamond auditorium on the FSU campus. Moore started his entertaining October anti-Bush harangue by bellowing out, "It's great to back! The scene of the crime." Moore, of course, was referring to the infamous 2000 election.
Full Story @ counterpunch
November 03, 2004
County by County Breakdown: Bigger Blowout than 2000
I just found the USA Today county-by-county break down of the election. What a blowout. In 2000, we had the biggest county to county blowout since Reagan blew Mondale out of the water in '84. This time was bigger. I just wish I had the actually figures from '84 to compare, but either way it's huge. Shows where Democratic support really is though: the inner-city. That doesn't immediately suggest anything (you can interpret it a number of ways) but that is how it is.
October 27, 2004
Amnesty International: Deaf, Dumb and Blind
You know, it's bold stupidity like this that makes me loose all hope in this world.
By Kate Kelland
LONDON (Reuters) - The United States has failed to guard against torture and inhuman behavior since launching its "war on terror" after Sept. 11, 2001, Amnesty International said Wednesday in a report just days before the U.S. election.
The rights group called on President Bush and his Democratic challenger John Kerry to promise to take prompt action to address the issue head on if elected on Nov. 2.
It condemned Bush's response to the 2001 attacks on U.S. cities, saying it had resulted in an "iconography of torture, cruelty and degradation."
Full Story @ Reuters.com
October 25, 2004
Soldier says Iraq is turning around
Like a lot of people who work in big cities, Lance Varney puts in long hours, goes to a lot of meetings and spends a lot of time stuck in traffic. Unlike most people, Varney does his work in a war zone.
A major in the 1st Cavalry Division, Varney spends his days navigating the streets of Baghdad as part of the U.S. military's efforts to rebuild the city. And while Varney, the son of Florence residents Ben and Linda Stovall, doesn't make light of the dangers, he says Iraq isn't the scene of unrelenting chaos and destruction people might think from news reports.
Full Story @ freerepublic.com
October 21, 2004
Laura Bush Has Never Held A "Real Job"
Yes, Teresa can't keep her mouth shut.
First she wanted the children who lost their homes to the recent rash of hurricanes to run naked for a while. Now she, of ALL people accuses the first lady of never having a "real job". I suppose marrying one of the richest men in the world and getting all his cash was a job? I bet it was a snow job since I'm sure Kerry did the same thing to her.
Ah the hard knock life of being filthy rich... I'm sure it's lonely up there. :-P
The more I hear from her the more I get the impression that she thinks shes soooo much better than the rest of us.
Full Story @ BostonHerald.com
October 17, 2004
Annan: Iraq War Hasn't Made World Safer
"I cannot say the world is safer when you consider the violence around us, when you look around you and see the terrorist attacks around the world and you see what is going on in Iraq," Annan told the ITV network.
"We have a lot of work to do as an international community to try and make the world safer," he said.
Read the entire story here
cwilli note: What the story didnt tell you is that at the time he made these statements, Kofi Annan had just came back from checking is account balance at the ATM. With no more money coming in from the food for oil program, Annan is starting to feel the pinch. All those promises he made to the French, Germans, Russians and Chinese has left Kofi with a little egg on his face. Meanwhile he goes home to his multimillion dollar mansion paid for by the bodies lying the mass graves. Yea, the inspectors just needed more time. More time for inspectors equals more millions for Kofi.
Get the US out of the UN.
October 14, 2004
Men save signs for Bush in stakeout
According to two Mercer Island men, signs supporting President Bush are an endangered species. Within days of going up in the affluent neighborhood, the signs disappear.
So there the men were this week, camped in the dark woods with lawn chairs and a video camera, waiting for the thieves to strike.
It only took three hours. At about 10 p.m. Tuesday, a 25-year-old Mercer Island man walked to a grassy area along the 6700 block of Island Crest Way and began to pull up Bush signs installed by the two men, police said.
Full Story @The Seattle Times
It's not really this story but the continuous stream of stories like this of the rage and hatred that liberals display over and over again. The "peace" people who claim to hate war and such are the first ones to fight, scream and become enraged. Funny how that works.
October 07, 2004
Kerry Shows Tender Side
John Kerry apologized to the group upon realizing his egregious mistake.
However the damage was done. President Bush took a 3 point lead in the most recent Akron polls as a result. A Kerry spokeswoman later gave a statement in which the Presidential hopeful again apologized and promised if elected that the dreaded Cartwheel Disease would be cured.
Foreign monitors to observe U.S. elections
NEW YORK — A 55-nation body charged with overseeing fair elections and human rights in its member states expects to send as many as 100 monitors to observe the U.S. elections on Nov. 2, saying numerous "weaknesses and vulnerabilities" might delay the outcome or even compromise the results.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) explained its decision to send teams of professional foreign observers to the United States to watch the voting, saying irregularities with voting machines and procedures could jeopardize public confidence.
I don't remember asking for help... how about we give them da' boot?
Saddam paid off French leaders
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Saddam Hussein used a U.N. humanitarian program to pay $1.78 billion to French government officials, businessmen and journalists in a bid to have sanctions removed and U.S. policies opposed, according to a CIA report made public yesterday.
The cash was part of $10.9 billion secretly skimmed from the U.N. oil-for-food program, which was used by Iraq to buy military goods, according to a 1,000-page report by the CIA-led Iraqi Survey Group.
According to a section of the report on Iraqi weapons procurement, the survey group identified long-standing ties between Saddam and the French government. One 1992 Iraqi intelligence service report revealed that Iraq's ambassador to France paid $1 million to the French Socialist Party in 1988.
Read the entire article here
cwilli note: You mean the French were in Saddams back pocket? You think maybe this could be why the French were against every policy the US made? No. This simply cannot be.....
October 06, 2004
Stupid Muslims Ruining Good Name of Honest Hard Working Muslims
So the Muslim community is going out and registering voters after the deadline has passed to register voters... ???
According to rockthevote.com the deadline passed last week.
In addition the following line is just the most uninformed, prejudiced and backwards thing I've heard in a while. (from someone not from the kerry or bush campaign)
< --- begin clip ---- >
"The community is scared and depressed," said Joy Shaffea, as she emerged from a prayer service at the Bridgeview Mosque Foundation here.
"We want to feel like we used to. We want to live in comfort, not fear."
More than anything else, Shaffea hopes that a new administration would change the tone in the national debate about the war on terror and Islam.
"I hope Kerry gets in there and appoints people who start talking intelligently," she said. "They need to quit generalising, calling all Arabs evil-doers and all those other stupid names Bush uses."
< ---- end clip ---- >
Joy for your information ALL Americans live in some Fear where have you been since 9/11 ?
Who is generalizing? When did Bush say all Muslims are evil or whatever fantasy you dreamed up?
The truth is Arab born Extremists who use terror as their tactic dreamed up, planned and carried out the 9/11 attacks. Would it not make sense then that someone of Middle Eastern decent would carry out the next attack?
Heck maybe it'll be midgets next time, Yea.. I can it now.. they will sneak on in carry on luggage and pop out with guns blazing.
Get real.
Full Story @ Yahoo!
October 04, 2004
Most songs on iPods 'stolen' - Microsoft CEO
It's official. All iPod users are music thieves - according to Microsoft CEO Steve 'Monkey Boy' Ballmer.
"The most common format of music on an iPod is 'stolen'," he told reporters in London today, according to a Silicon.com report.
Ballmer conveniently ignores not only that there are many non-Apple music players out there, on which there are probably as many, if not more "stolen" songs.
He singles out the Mac maker for attention because - wait for it - "we've had DRM in Windows for years". The implication is that DRM hasn't been in the Mac OS for a similar duration, and that's what's allowed all those stolen tracks to seep through onto the web.
Windows has, of course, also had Napster, Grokster, Streamcast, Aimster, Kazaa full and lite, et al for years, but - again - none of that Windows-only music theft apparatus has registered on Mr Ballmer's radar screen, it seems.
Full Story @ The Register
October 01, 2004
Officials: Man Dead For 20 Years Registers To Vote
AKRON, Ohio -- The state of Ohio is stepping in to investigate possible voter fraud in Summit County. And the Lake County prosecutor is also looking into fraud there.
More than 800 voter registration cards in Summit County are under investigation, NewsChannel5 reported.
Full story @ NewsNet5.com
September 30, 2004
Connie Rice: Top 10 Secrets They Don't Want You to Know About the Debates
Thanks to divine for the link to this.
The Tavis Smiley Show, September 29, 2004 · After weeks of political wrangling, Sen. John Kerry and President Bush will square off for the first of three key presidential debates. Both camps have agreed to an elaborate, 32-page contract that spells out everything from the size of the dressing rooms to permitted camera angles.
But the controversy over the debates threatens to overshadow the events themselves. Some citizen groups complain that the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) isn't as non-partisan as it should be, and that Kerry and Bush won't be pressed on urban issues. Commentator Connie Rice says that's just the tip of the iceberg, and she's got another Top 10 list -- this time: Top 10 Secrets They Don't Want You to Know About the Debates.
Read Full Story @ NPR
September 29, 2004
Wild ride to space... and back
Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Microsoft to Release Third Open-Source Project
Published on: Wednesday, 29 September 2004, 09:53 GMT
MicrosoftWatch: The Redmond software firm is set to make available more of its code under an open-source license on Tuesday.
Microsoft is preparing to release a third piece of code under an open-source license via the SourceForge code repository on Tuesday.
Both Microsoft and SourceForge have been hinting for some time that they plan to release more code this way. Earlier this year, Microsoft made its Windows Installer XML and Windows Template Library technologies available under the Common Public License (CPL), a bona fide open-source license.
SpaceShipOne set to begin bid for X Prize
SpaceShipOne, the creation of Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen and aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan, will be lifted off an airstrip in Mojave, Calif., at 6 a.m. PT with the help of a carrier plane. The vehicle, capable of traveling three times the speed of sound, will then fire its rocket and head toward zero gravity — about 62 miles above the Earth.
"We're all very confident," Rutan said Tuesday, quickly adding, "Anything can happen, though. ... The fact that this has gone so well — I pinch myself. I wouldn't have believed we'd be here today."
X Prize rules say that a team must send an occupied, reusable craft into space twice in two weeks. SpaceShipOne is scheduled for another flight on Monday, five days after the first launch. Rutan declined to disclose the pilot's name.
A non-profit group called the X Prize Foundation is offering the $10 million prize to encourage the development of a commercial space industry. The prize has gone unclaimed for eight years, but SpaceShipOne is considered the most serious contender yet.
Full Story @ USATODAY.com
September 28, 2004
'Grandpa' seeking family gets adopted
Finally, some feel good news. For once.
A lonely pensioner who turned to Italy's classified pages to find someone willing to "adopt" him as a grandfather is finally heading to his new home and family in northern Italy this weekend.
Giorgio Angelozzi, 80, has lived alone outside Rome with seven cats since his wife died in 1992, but he took the unprecedented step of putting himself up for adoption last month via the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Full Story @ CNN.com
September 24, 2004
Bush: No backing down
In news conference with Iraqi leader, he says U.S. withdrawal would free 'terrorists' for attacks elsewhere
WASHINGTON - Denying he has painted too rosy a picture of Iraq, President George W. Bush said yesterday that terrorists could "plot and plan attacks elsewhere, in America and other free nations," if U.S. forces were withdrawn. He said he would consider sending more troops if asked, but Iraq's interim leader said firmly that they weren't needed.
Bush and Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, standing in the Rose Garden under a bright sun, agreed that Iraq is making steady progress despite bombings, beheadings and violence that has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 Americans and many more Iraqis.
"On television sets around the world we see acts of violence; yet in most of Iraq, children are about to go back to school, parents are going back to work and new businesses are being opened," Bush said.
Allawi said 14 or 15 of Iraq's 18 provinces "are completely safe."
Full Story @ Newsday.com
September 23, 2004
New web browser?
Posted by Harry McCracken
Thursday, September 23, 2004, 08:23 AM (PST)
Word on the Web is that Google may be thinking of releasing a Web browser--possibly one based on the open-source Mozilla code. The company now owns www.gbrowser.com, a URL that would certainly make a logical companion to GMail's home at www.gmail.com.
cwilli note: I just recently got an invite for Gmail. I must say I love it! I get 1 GIG of storage for email for FREE!!!! The sad part is my non-techie wife was the one who invited me. How in the world did she get an account before I did?
With the introduction of GMail, the recent purchase of photo software company Picasa, and other moves, Google is clearly branching out from its traditional role as the Greatest Search Engine on Earth; there's also been talk of it releasing a hard-disk searching utility of some sort, which would pit it more directly against Microsoft in the world of systems software.
What Google does, it usually does not just competently but inventively--GMail proved, to my surprise, that you can still build a better browser-based e-mail client. But I do worry a little bit about cool companies that try to do everything; it's tough to do that and do everything well.
That's one of the lessons of the portal wars of the late 1990s, when search engines such as Yahoo, Lycos, and Excite reinvented themselves into one-stop megasites that were often hit-or-miss in terms of quality. When Google came along and did great Web searching, pure and simple, it quickly became the gold standard in its category. If GBrowser does come to be, it'll be interesting to see if it's simply a rebranded Mozilla with a few minor tweaks, or a truly innovative product. Stay tuned...
September 19, 2004
Dan Rather's forgery fit
Seems ol' Dan is being the strong captain, going down with a sinking ship. :-P
CBS News and anchorman Dan Rather have entered the journalistic equivalent of one of Dante's circles of Hell, forced to live forever with a scandal they created. With their Texas Air National Guard forgeries, they now live in a neighborhood of national media embarrassments. Faked Food Lion resumes. Staged GM pickup truck explosions. Janet Cooke's profile of Jimmy the 8-year-old coke addict. Jayson Blair's phony travelogues from "West Virginia."
Watergate was a scandal Mr. Rather thoroughly enjoyed since he built his career on ripping into Richard Nixon. Now, Rather is Nixon, a bitter, vengeful man who allowed his friends to use dirty tricks against his political opponents and, when caught, can only deny, deny, deny and bluster about the evil intentions of his enemies.
Full Story @ PittsburghLIVE.com
September 16, 2004
The always elegant Teresa
"let them go naked for a while"
I tell you what, it brings a tear to my eye every time she opens her mouth. We'd be blessed to have such a silk tongued first lady.
Such caring and compassion, to put it all out there. "Screw the little brats, at least they will have water, let em' all go naked!" she poetically said.
It really hit home how wonderful she would be for our country when calling local businesses for donations one asked her if she had donated any of her billions. she kindly said "it's not money I give but my love".
Real Story @ Yahoo! News
September 15, 2004
ABC slams CBS, NBC says Acronyms rule!
Casting Further Doubt
Document Analysts: CBS News Ignored Concerns About Disputed Bush Military Records
Sept. 14, 2004— Two of the document experts hired by CBS News say the network ignored concerns they raised prior to the broadcast of a report citing documents that questioned George W. Bush's service in the National Guard during the Vietnam War.
The authenticity of the documents in the report by CBS News' 60 Minutes II has been widely questioned. The documents were allegedly written by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, who died in 1984.
Emily Will, a veteran document examiner from North Carolina, told ABC News she saw problems right away with the one document CBS hired her to check the weekend before the broadcast.
"I found five significant differences in the questioned handwriting, and I found problems with the printing itself as to whether it could have been produced by a typewriter," she said.
Will says she sent the CBS producer an e-mail message about her concerns and strongly urged the network the night before the broadcast not to use the documents.
"I told them that all the questions I was asking them on Tuesday night, they were going to be asked by hundreds of other document examiners on Thursday if they ran that story," Will said.
But the documents became a key part of the 60 Minutes II broadcast questioning President Bush's National Guard service in 1972. CBS made no mention that any expert disputed the authenticity.
"I did not feel that they wanted to investigate it very deeply," Will told ABC News.
Full Story @ ABCNEWS.com
September 13, 2004
Teachers Back Away From Red Ink
Ok, I thought we were starting to move away from the touchy-feely garbage and were supposed to be getting back to the basics.
Now we can't grade papers in red because it's a non-positive color? What next? We stop having gym class because some fat ol' lazy TV watching kids might feel uncomfortable ?
Give me a break.
Article below :
An F is an F, but failure seems so much friendlier when it comes in purple.
A growing number of the nation’s educators are stocking up on purple pens for grading papers and passing on the traditional red, which they say can be intimidating and damaging to a student’s self-confidence.
"Teaching should always be a positive practice. Red seems to stand out in such a negative way," said Dorothy Porteus, school support specialist with the New York Charter Schools Association. “Little guys internalize the red and it doesn’t make them feel good.”
Full Story @ FOXNews.com
September 10, 2004
CNN Lists Tax Rankings
I'll just go ahead and bring you my favorite part of this article:
"Five states have no personal income tax, and at least two of them, Florida and Nevada, are among the fastest-growing in the nation."
By the way, those 2 states, along with Tennessee, Texas and Hawaii rely completely upon Sales and excise taxes, which, if done right do not hurt the poor as the article states. Explain to me how a poor person is going to be hurt by a 6% sales tax on a $500 TV? They're not, since they're poor and can't afford it! If they're truly poor, they simply can not afford the things that are ebing taxed. In mos tof these states, food is not taxed and clothing has a minimal tax.
Under the Fairtax plan, new cars would be taxed, used cars would not. Everyone would recieve a monthly refund for the estimated amount that a family of their size would need for food and clothing for the month. My family and I (middle class family, making combined 80-100k among 4 incomes mind you) have run the numbers, and we would go from having no disposable income whatsoever to having a respectable amount of it! As it stands now, our disposable income happened once a year when we get our tax returns.
To be competitive in the future, we simply are going to have to restructure the way we collect taxes.
No would someone explain to me how John Kerry's plan of raising taxes and the minimum wage is going to 'fix' our economy (which is already growing)?
Read the article at CNN Money
September 08, 2004
Your Tax Dollars at Work
I don't know what they are going to think up next. Capturing space dust and then when the satellite returns to earth catch it with a hook hanging off a helicopter... uh.. their board.
Someone give these people some work to do so they quit wasting our tax dollars, goofing off in space. Sheesh!
Full Story @ Reuters
September 03, 2004
Clinton to Undergo By-pass
I just would like to state that our thoughts and prayers are with Former President Bill Clinton and his family as he undergoes by-pass surgery for a "Significant blockage."
As someone who has gone through this with a family member it is a scary thing, but usually a very successful and uneventful surgery - though when I went through it was many years ago. I was much younger and the surgery was not as well-versed into doctors as it is now.
September 01, 2004
Hundreds Held Hostage at Russian School
Camouflage-clad special forces carrying assault rifles encircled Middle School No. 1 in the North Ossetian town of Beslan. Earlier, a little girl in a flowered dress fled the school holding a soldier's hand; officials said about a dozen other people managed to escape by hiding in a boiler room.
Full Story @ Yahoo! News
August 29, 2004
US soldier Claims Intelligence Encouraged Torture
I'll just come right out and say that him saying this to foreign reporters was highly inappropriate and reeks of "cover-my-ascot." I'll also say that what he did was not in anyway shape or form torture. Wrong? Yes. Abusive? Yes. Torture? Not in this lifetime. There is a stark difference between abuse and torture and this was simply not torture and anyone who thinks it is knows nothing about torture.
After saying this in the manner in which he did, any leniency he might have gotten for pleading guilty, could very well get thrown out the window. For one thing it strengthens the JAG office's case, it was also inappropriate and downright stupid.
I have friends who work in intelligence. One is overseas now. Maybe the Army does thing differently (any vets want to weigh in?) but Marine intelligence personel are trained not to do things like this. I highly doubt the Army is any different, so if this is true, then these were either very frustrated, or very undisciplined soldiers.
I also don't think humiliation is abuse. The Geneva Convention specifically states that humiliation is only wrong if it is done publicly. But the Geneva Convention also makes it so that these prisoners were all either not covered by the Geneva Convention, or eligible to be summarily executed.
Another issue is this guy says "Junior soldiers" had conflicting demands placed on them. First off, this guy is a staff non-comissioned officer in the United States Army. He is in no way a junior soldier. Second, as a soldier they should be trained to make quick and calculated descisions about how they do their jobs. If they were not, then their officer's and NCOs should all be held accountable for that.
This is without a doubt him trying to not take responsibility for his own actions. For that alone, I hope he is drummed out of the Army swiftly, and dishonorably.
Read the story at Yahoo!/AP
August 27, 2004
Greenspan Calling for Reduction in Social Security and Medicare
Today Alan Greenspan is confirming a prediction of mine: our shrinking workforce is about to create an odd problem.
Greenspan is saying that unless work is done quickly, social security and medicare is going to cause "abrupt and painful choices."
I agree.
Read the story atYahoo!/AP
As muddy can confirm, I predicted 3 weeks ago that the biggest economic problem facing my generation would be that we have to many jobs. Why? Because my generation is smaller than that of the baby-boomers. Which means less people working to support a growing economic burden of social security and medicare.
This is another reason I support the FairTax plan. First off, we'd pay taxes on imported goods, which we generally don't now - but we do on domestic goods as do other nations when importing our goods! Does this sound like a job creation mechanism to anyone else? The second thing is that our incomes would not dictate the government's budget. Also, tourists would be able to take up some of our budget by paying their share of our sales tax when they come here.
The other issue is we need to privatize both social security and medicare now! Let people invest their money. Put part of it in TSP. If you don't know what TSP is, it is a government employee/military investment plan and it ought to be what social security is going into as it yields anywhere from 3% to 15% annual interest through investments. Both cwilli and myself could problably answer a few questions about it (though probably me more than him) as he is retired military and I am current.
Simple fact is that we have a shrinking workforce which, thanks to government dependency is going to have to take on a larger economic burden.
If anyone would like to know why my generation is the first American generation to be smaller than the previous I can answer that too. Despite longer life expectency and less child hood disease my generation has had something no other generation before had: legalized abortion on demand. If you don't think that is why then you give me a better explanation.
LTCOL North Speaks
LTCOL Oliver North, USMC (Ret.) has written an open letter to John Kerry. It is a good read to understand why many veterans do not want this man to be the commander of our armed forces.
FairTax
For those of you reading who do not know, our country spent a hundred years without an income tax. It was first tried during the civil war to help finance the war. It ended thereafter and was subsequently declared unconstitutional by the supreme court. Hence today we have the 16th amendment and for the past 90 or so years we've had to live with it. The founding father did not want any tax where the governmen takes money directly from indviduals. They wanted as little government in our lives as possible.
Read on.
Well the move has been afoot for awhile now t return to that. John Linder, a Republican representative from Georgia, has a bill called the FairTax Bill. Now he has alot ofDemocrats and Republicans who have signed on to this plan. Essentially it works this way:
The 16th amendment gets repealed, the act does not go into effect without this. A national retail sales tax is implemented. It would be an inclusive, 25% (approximately) tax. So, IOW, when you go to the store and pick up a magazine, the price says 4.05, you pay 4.05 + whatever local sales tax, just like you do now. The 25% is already in the price. Although, it would probably be beneficial for state government to change their sales taxes to be inclusive for uniformity sake.
No you can probably already see what is happening here: everyone has to pay taxes. If you consume (and everyone does) then you have to pay.
Now you may be asking, how can this possibly work? I mean hey poor people will have to pay! Well, there is actually a solution to that problem. In essence: if it is clothing or food, then you don't pay taxes up to a certain amount. Kind of like the sales tax holidays here in Georgia and down in Florida (by the way, on Georgia's sales tax holiday, sales tax revenue soars.)
I'm not going to go into to many more details, but if this plan were implemented, and you work 40 hours in a week and get paid 10 dollars an hour, then you would get $400 dollars. There would be no FICA to take money away, no Socialist ponzi schemes, no medicare taxes. All of that would be covered by the sales tax. Government spending? Goes down. IRS? Virtually eliminated, and what's left would have only 2 functions: collect money and mail a monthly check to people to refund them for food and clothing.
Imagine the money government will save just by eliminating IRS paperwork! Imagine the money corporations will save not having to implement new tax rules. Prices go down (albeit, not right away.) Profits will be up (more consumption occurring.) And one other thing: No one will be able to say the rich aren't paying their fair share. The poor won't even be paying taxes unless they're buying stuff they should be able to afford if they are poor anyhow.
This is an idea thatI signed onto during high school. There are no doubt flaws, but flaws can be fixed. Very few people think that our tax system is good, and the ones that do are socialists. This is a system that encourages economic growth instead of punishing it. Under the socialist income tax, you are punished with higher taxes if you succeed. With this, you pay taxes only if you really want to pay them. You don't have to buy a new 50" LCD DTV afterall. But you want one so if you can pay the $5k, you'll be paying a 25% tax in that $5k.
Our current system is dependent uponpeople having jobs. Well, this system is dependent upon people spending money, something that continues despite depressions or recessions.
Our current system taxes corporations. This system ill remove those taxes. This increasing profits. Competitive pressures will force the prices of goods down.
Our current system has high costs to maintain. This system has very little cost and is already used in most states so it will not increase conformance costs for most business.
I encourage you to read the website. I was on this band wagon long before John Linder had a House seat and before this organization or the bill existed.
Vote for Kerry or We'll Crap on ya!
Wow! Can you think of a more effective campaign weapon? "Vote for John Kerry or we'll dump human waste on you!" Geezz what will the republicans do to top this? "Vote for Bush or we'll not only dump human waste on you but also make you watch all of Kevin Costner's movies back to back." AAAHHHH!!! The Horror! :-P
Full Story @MTV.com
August 23, 2004
Church Says Girl's Communion Not Valid
BRIELLE, N.J. - An 8-year-old girl who suffers from a rare digestive disorder and cannot eat wheat has had her first Holy Communion declared invalid because the wafer contained no wheat, violating Roman Catholic doctrine.
Yahoo! News - Church Says Girl's Communion Not Valid
***I actually read this article a few days ago and ever since then have tried to arrange the words just right in my mind of how to draw out on paper of how utterly *ridiculous* this situation is. Here you have this girl who is suffering from a disorder that can easily be made worse by the traditional communion "standards" of her Roman Catholic Church and they're (the Roman Catholic Church) are more concerned about their senseless rhetoric and dogma than the health and well being of their followers. Not allowing her to substitute a simple wheat waffer for a rice one (or grape juice for an alcoholic) because it is - in their eyes - "invalid", is like telling me (and thousands of other Christians)...."Hey, since you got baptised in a baptistry behind a pulpit and *not* in an actual river then, your baptism is just not valid!". Give me a freakin' break!!! It is NOT the kind of waffer you eat nor the wine (or grape juice, for *that* matter) that you drink that makes a communion "valid" nor is it what God cares about but only the attitude of the heart that speaks the truth to Christ and in the end, *that* is what truely draws your spirit to His....****
New Overtime Rules
Today new rules from the federal government on who can and who can't recieve overtime goes into effect. I'm completely against it! Wonder why? Read on!
The Bush administration just continues to irk me when it comes to domestic policy. This is just the tip of the ice berg. I mean really, what business is it of the government's who gets and does not get overtime? Unless you are talking about government employees, I don't even see where they have the authority under the constitution to do this.
It's not interstate commerce by any stretch of the imagination, and that's the closest to having constitutional authority that I can find.
This is another example of the government saying: you're not capable of running your own life, so we are going to do it for you. And why not? We only ask them to do it on ar egular basis.
An employer and employee should be able to come to an agreement on what they will be paid and the circumstances surrounding it and that goes for minimum wage also. Sorry, but I spent alot of time working the stereotypical "minimum wage" job and I never met anyone who actually made minimum wage there who was over the age of 17. My girlfriend and my little sister are in that boat now and they both make over minimum wage and my sister is 16. They get overtime when they work more than 40 hours. Period. What is so complex about that, that the government has to regulate it?!
Under these new rules, I have friends who were making $35k a year if they worked 5 hrs overtime a week minimum. They won't qualify for overtime now and they are their families' sole incomes.
It is time to tell the government to get out of our bedrooms, pocketbooks and workplaces. And neither Kerry nor Bush want to do that.
France thanks WWII Allies
President Jacques Chirac, hosting the function aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, expressed his country's "infinite gratitude" to the nations who took part in the August 15, 1944 assault.
Full Story @ Channelnewsasia.com
August 19, 2004
Blood, sweat and cheers: Let freedom ring
I almost got teary eyed reading this, of course Kerry and Bush will find some way to politicize this.
Finally someone is willing to stand up to the liberal media and share good news about Iraqi progress.
Whoopin' up on Portugal 4-2 the Iraqi soccer team shocked the soccer wold, even after scoring an own-goal.. doh! Well that just goes to show you the amazing spirit of sportsmanship the Iraqi's have. Winning a game without a fight was not good enough so they gave Portugal a point. ;-)
A MUST Read @ ESPN.com
August 18, 2004
It seems Lance was right
At the end of the Tour de France Lance told the inquiring minds that he would not be in the Olympics. Many were upset that he was not going to be there, his reason now seems very solid. After giving yourself to the Tour de France, your spent, no way was he going to be able to put forth a solid performance. So his fellow Americans have also learned.
Full Story @ ESPN.com
August 15, 2004
Reservists Deal Unsuccesfully With Civilian Employers
One of the unfortunate thngs about using reservists so heavily is that they have a hard time with employers once they return. This despite a law requiring they be returned to their old position or an equivelant one, and recieve retroactive raises and bonuses as if they had never left.
The article mainly deals with reservists who are coming back from war, but I can tell you that just being a reservist makes it difficult to get a position. After spending most of a year on active duty, I've found it very difficult to even get a call back despite my being qualified or in some cases, over qualified for positions I've applied for. I've beent old it is because it is well known locally that I'm in a deployed/deploying unit and I am high risk for deployment. Luckily for me, I'm a college student and need only a small part time job, so I just took something lower paying.
Read the article at Yahoo!/AP
Who is at fault? Well, employers for being jerks tops my list. The Bush administration for taking us to war (though I agreed with that decision.) Me for choosing this path. Finally, the terrorists whose actions lead us to this.
Not much can be done about it. There are already laws against it. To not hire me is discrimination. To not allow me to return to my job violates a specific law.
Am I angry? A little. Am I annoyed? A little. I just remind myself that part of freedom is that we some times get screwed by people. We could go live in countries where they point a gun to your head and tell the business they have to hire reservists, but that's not freedom is it?
August 13, 2004
IBM Adding New Jobs
As we know, the tech industry has really been hurting. Well, it looks like better days are on the horizon! IBM is adding 18,800 jobs world wide, and about a third of those are in the US (considering how many offices IBM has, that's huge!) This is also new jobs, not just replacements for people leaving the company.
This is also good news for corporate confidence which has been very low despite consumer confidence being at all-time highs, a reason which many economists beleive is slowing down job creation.
Full Story @ The Street
Moore Defends Fake Headline
Looks like Michael Moore's distortions are coming home to roost. Seems he faked a newpaper headline with a letter to the editor. Didn't even use the original date.
Read the story at Yahoo!/AP
August 11, 2004
Ireland Is Lost Island of Atlantis, Says Scientist
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Atlantis, the legendary island nation over whose existence controversy has raged for thousands of years, was actually Ireland, according to a new theory by a Swedish scientist.
Atlantis, the Greek philosopher Plato wrote in 360 BC, was an island in the Atlantic Ocean where an advanced civilization developed some 11,500 years ago until it was hit by a cataclysmic natural disaster and sank beneath the waves.
Full Story @ Yahoo! News
August 07, 2004
Halle Berry's Stunt Double is a ... Man
I don't normally post Hollywood crap here, however this was too funny to pass up. I can see all the men in the movie theater watching this drooling and all of a sudden... "was that a lump in her pants during that backflip???"
bwwwahahahaha...
So is it 'Catwoman' or 'Catman'?
IT'S HARD to imagine how a man could be mistaken for Halle Berry (even a hot man with great skin and breasts) but that seems to be the case in "Catwoman."
"I had a man as my stunt double in 'Catwoman,' " Berry told Tattle's Baird Jones at the movie's premiere party at chic NYC retailer Bendel's. "He wore the 'Catwoman' costume and he looks like me. You can't tell the difference the way they shot it."
That guy must have serious issues. So why was he needed?
"He had to climb up a wall and then do a backward flip. None of the girls could do it, so the director had to bring in a guy. His name was Nito. He was Hawaiian. He is 29 years old. Obviously they had to enhance certain areas of his body. They had to put in a little support, pad it up a little up here and there. We all gave him a really hard time, we just fell out. He had red lipstick on and all this makeup, it was hysterical. Then they had to shave his whole body.
"Nito kept saying, 'I am so glad I am not a woman,' because he got waxed. They pulled the hair right out. We women have to do that all the time but he had never done that and it really hurt. Nito had a lot more respect for us at the end of the day after getting waxed."
So Nito, did you go Brazilian?
August 06, 2004
“Iraqis Want Us There”
U.S. Army commander says unbalanced news threatens troop morale.
On the night of April 6, 2003, Lt. Col. Stephen M. Twitty called his subordinate commanders together a few miles south of Baghdad. "Guys, this is it," the black 39-year-old from Chesnee, South Carolina told his officers. "We're going to take the fight into Baghdad. Some of us in this room may die, and that's okay. Just know it's for a good cause." He then offered up a short prayer and dismissed his commanders.
The following morning, Twitty's unit, Task Force 3-15 (3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment) of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division began an epic eight-hour struggle to race up the primary highway into Baghdad, seize and hold three key intersections along the way, and then keep the road open for follow-on American forces.
Full Story @ National Rveiew Online
August 01, 2004
General Tommy Franks Interview
I found this piece and thought it was very interesting reading.
Here is a small sample.
* The biggest surprise for him was that they've found no weapons of mass
destruction (WMD), the "reason we went to war." He says multiple
Middle Eastern leaders, including Jordan's King Abdullah and Egypt's
Hosni Mubarak, told Franks that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
In January 2003, Mubarak said point blank to Franks, "Saddam has
WMD-biologicals, actually-and he will use them on your troops."
Story @ prnewswire.com
DEM'S MARINE MISFIRE
I'm shocked and outraged, John Kerry our most renowned war hero (according to him only) was in a Wendy's on Friday, he saw a small group of fellow military men and went to greet them and was not loved at all.
In fact, one Marine said he was 100% against him... how could that be?? I have been told time and time again that EVERYONE loves Kerry and he's going to win by a landslide. It must be a right wing lie that Kerry would not be loved by his brothers in the military.
I blame Bush (as all liberals do when things don't go their way) for all this mess. People not throwing themselves down at the feet of our saviour John "not bush" Kerry.
A man who is going to give everyone in America healthcare (socialism) and at the same time lower our healthcare costs (yet somehow I imagine the fat cat healthcare companies will get richer) how would he not be elected now and just get it over with.
Shocking really.
Story @ New York Post Online Edition
July 29, 2004
Americans' incomes fell for two years
The IRS reported that America's Income fell two years in a row, the first ever consecutive drop since WWII.
Now the Mrs. and I knew this after my layoff last year and the fact I had to take a job making much less than I was. Times are hard, very hard.
Story @ CNNMoney
July 28, 2004
Bin Laden Brother Disputes Moore Film
PARIS - A half-brother of Osama bin Laden says he enjoyed most of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," except for what he called "inaccuracies" about his family.
"It's a moving film," Yeslam Binladin, a Geneva-based tycoon and one of the al-Qaida leader's 54 siblings, said in an interview with the French magazine VSD.
Read the story at Yahoo!/AP
July 27, 2004
Mystery Animal Possibly Spotted Again In Maryland
This story is almost like guess how many jelly beans are in the jar. Maybe we should start a collection up and whoever guesses what this thing is wins half and I get half since I'm such a great guy.
Story @ TheWBALChannel.com
Nader to Crash Dems' Party?
It seems Ralph Nader will not be unheard, or at least unseen. Nader is planning to head into Boston to shock the Dems. This should be interesting as I really liked Nader until I found out he supports giving special rights to men who want to have sex with other men and women with other women. That alone made me look elsewhere for a candidate to support. Anyone know of a good candidate who supports all people without wanting to give special privileges to people based on their life choices let me know.
Story @ CBS News
MICHAEL MOORE/O'REILLY SHOWDOWN
For those who can't catch O'Reilly and Moore have it out tonight, Drudge was kind enough to post the transcript.
Full Text @ DRUDGE REPORT 2004®
Clinton to Urge U.S. to Back Kerry
BOSTON - Former President Clinton was to declare himself a "foot soldier" for John Kerry and the Democratic Party, and urge voters on Monday to rally against President Bush and a Republican Party that believes in an America "run by the right people — their people."
Story @ Yahoo!/AP
July 26, 2004
Teresa KErry Tells Report to 'Shove It'
BOSTON - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry doesn't have a problem with his wife telling an insistent journalist to "shove it" when urged to explain her plea for more civility in politics. Neither does Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Story @ Yahoo!/AP
July 25, 2004
Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
starwars.com is pleased to announce that Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith is the full title of the next Star Wars film, scheduled for release on May 19, 2005.
The Sith are masters of the dark side of the Force and the sworn enemies of the Jedi. They were all but exterminated by the Jedi a thousand years ago, but the evil order continued in secrecy. They operated quietly, behind the scenes, acting in pairs - a Master and an Apprentice - patiently biding their time before they could take over the galaxy. In Episode III, they'll finally exact their revenge on the Jedi.
Story @ Star Wars
LANCE WINS RECORD 6th TOUR!
Never in its 101-year history has the Tour had a winner like Armstrong -- who just eight years ago was given less than a 50 percent chance of overcoming testicular cancer that spread to his lungs and brain.
His streak of six straight crowns has helped reinvigorate the greatest race in cycling, steering it into the 21st century. And the Tour, as much a part of French summers as languid meals over chilled rose, molded Armstrong into a sporting superstar.
No. 6: The achievement was almost too much for even Armstrong to comprehend.
"It might take years. I don't know. It hasn't sunk in yet. But six, standing on the top step on the podium on the Champs-Elysees is really special," he said.
How did Lance get his 6th win? It's all due to this fantastic group of riders.
Without them, Lance would not have made it to six.
~ click to enlarge ~
July 20, 2004
FARSCAPE IS BACK!!!!
Can you tell I'm excited???
Farscape is back, Farscape is back, Farscape is back, Farscape is back, Farscape is back, Farscape is back, Farscape is back, Farscape is back, Farscape is back, Farscape is back, Farscape is back, Farscape is back!!!!! YEAAAAAAAAA!
"Farscape : The Peace Keeper Wars" will premiere on the SciFi Channel October the 17th in the U.S.
Be warned this is only a two part (four hour) mini-series, not a weekly show.
SO DON'T MISS IT, Set your mythtv boxes, tivo's and pvr's to record!
Also send Mr. Jay Leno an email asking him to have Ben on the show. Link Here
You'll have to pardon me, I have to go do my happy dance now. :-P
Visit the Farscape Homepage for more Details @SCIFI.COM | Farscape
July 19, 2004
Aladdin expels Ronstadt after political remarks
Linda, Linda, Linda... you poor misguided fool.
Well kids seems Linda decided her concert would be a good time to push the Socialist Bush Hating agenda of Mikey Moore, seems the crowd did not agree with her, hilarity ensues.
Story @ Las Vegas SUN
July 14, 2004
July 11, 2004
Saudi Terror: Some Killing, Some Lunch...
I've discovered a new writer, Gary Brecher. A war nerd by definition his writings intrigue me a military hardware geek. Being that he's writing from personal observations and not to get paid it's a whole lot more honest that you get in normal publications. Some of what he writes I don't agree with. That being said, overall the three pieces I have read today make sense.
Check out this line from the article I've linked at the bottom regarding the recent attacks in Saudi Arabia by the terrorists local 102. "According to the terrorists' account, they drive over to a resort called "Oasis," waltz right in and, believe it or leave it...they take a lunch break! "
I get the feeling he's been numbed like most of us by the constant bombardment of death and destruction to the point some of it is funny.
This particular story is quite interesting.
Full Story @ eXile
July 08, 2004
Seeing the World on Ten Coffees a Day
By 9:10 a.m., John "Winter" Smith—just Winter to those who know him—had already been up for three hours, visited four Starbucks, eaten one Starbucks doughnut, and downed a Starbucks DoubleShot espresso and 12 ounces of regular Starbucks coffee. He's jittery, but he's still on his game: Standing at the counter of Starbucks No. 5 for the day, an unremarkable strip mall location in Scottsdale, Winter realizes something is amiss. "These cards are different!" he says, staring at the store manager's business card, which he's grabbed from a stack at the register. "I haven't run into any other cards across the country that have this on the back." He analyzes the flip side, which uses an acrostic of the word "partner" to spell out why working at Starbucks is so rewarding. Holding the card up to the manager—who offers a confused smile—Winter continues, "And the card stock, it's thinner." He then asks for, and receives, a complimentary half-cup refill of a Starbucks cup he's brought with him, darts in and out of the bathroom, snaps a photo of the store, stows the camera in his car, and declares, "That's it here."
Full Story @ Fortune.com
July 03, 2004
Theater Owner Has A Pair
Seems Mr. Fridley who owns the Fridley Theaters is calling it like he sees it, and I applaud him.
Standing up to the Man and to Moore he has refused to show F911 the "movie". Citing that it is indeed propaganda and designed to further erode our countries moral he has opted out of showing it.
Full Story @ The Wichita Eagle
June 30, 2004
U.N. Got Blunt Oil-For-Food Bribery Letter
Apparently the UN (who it sems we should give our sovereignity up to) is hopelessly corrupt (not that most politicians aren't, but most are at least most get their bribes through campaign contributions, not overtly advertised bribes!)
Read the story at Fox News!
June 24, 2004
Microsoft Patents Human Body
as power transmitter, that is.
It seems there is NO end to Microsoft's madness. When will it end?
In addition how can you "patent" the Human Body, doesn't God own that one any ways? :-P
So Micro$oft wants to use the human body to transmit data and/or power to electronic devices... These guys can't even make freakin' software right! Who in their right mind would even consider letting those tools attach electrodes to them?
Full Story @ Tom's Hardware Guide
June 20, 2004
Al-Quaida Claims Saudi Assistance In Abductions
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The al-Qaida group responsible for beheading an American engineer said sympathizers in the Saudi security forces provided police uniforms and cars used during the victim's kidnapping, according to an Islamic extremist Web site Sunday.
Read the story at Yahoo!/AP
Private, Manned Spacecraft Set for Launch
SpaceShipOne will try to climb 62 miles up Monday morning, leaving Earth's atmosphere for a few minutes to become the first privately funded, non-governmental manned spacecraft.
The feat would set up SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan as the leader among worldwide contenders for the Ansari X-Prize, which aims to boost space tourism. The prize will award $10 million to the first privately funded, three-seat spaceship to reach 62 miles and repeat the flight within two weeks.
If the mission is successful, Rutan will then enter his rocket plane in the X-Prize competition, which includes more than 20 other teams from around the world.
Full Story @ Excite News
Private, Manned Spacecraft Set for Launch
June 18, 2004
UN Has been Finding Evidence of WMDS
UN weapons experts have found 20 engines used in Iraq's banned Al Samoud 2 missiles in a Jordanian scrap yard, along with other equipment that could be used to produce weapons of mass destruction.
Read the Story at The Courier Mail
The United Nations has determined that Saddam Hussein shipped weapons of mass destruction components as well as medium-range ballistic missiles before, during and after the U.S.-led war against Iraq in 2003.
Read the story at The World Tribune
*Edit* I fixed the second link, there was an error in the cut&paste.
*Editor's Note* Now, I'm going to tell you what they didn't explain so well. These were engines that could have been used to assemble new missiles, since missiles of this size and nature don't generally come assembled. Also, they had tags on them marking them as having been monitored sometime in the past, but obviously not recently. They were found in Jordan, along with some in a Dutch port after having been shipped out of the country with scrap metal!
*End of Note*
Putin says Iraq was Preparing Attacks on US
ASTANA, Kazakhstan - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday his government warned Washington that Saddam Hussein's regime was preparing attacks in the United States and its interests abroad — an assertion that appears to bolster President Bush's contention that Iraq was a threat.
Read the story at Yahoo!/AP
Less Teens Smoking Accoording to the CDC
In what the CDC says is due to money, teen smoking has decreased. This is a good thing if you look at it from the point of view (as I do) that smokers are stupid. It also means less adults will be smoking in the future. Why? Because how many people actually start smoking once they are old enough to legally purchase cigarettes? I've met one.
This however is a bad thing for teenage guys who are now having a harder time trying to identify which girls are "easy." Oh well, sorry for you pals!
On a similar note, while driving around today I saw a woman who judging by the obscenely beat up and old car, clothing and dumb founded look on her face and even more so, the cigarette in her hand, just had to have an IQ similar to her inseam. To make matters worse, she was sitting in a car with a girl who bore a vague resemblance to her, and might have been 13 - also smoking.
I'm serious, I have issues with smokers. You want to talk about pollution? Get people to quite smoking, and then we can talk about pollution! How about these jerks who dump their ash tray out in the parking lot! I once had one do it right in front of me after he watched me sweep up the other trash in the parking lot.
I'm not kidding. When I was managing 2 computer stores, I refused to hire anyone who smoked, regardless of qualifications. Why would I? The one time I did, he was on a break every 15 minutes smoking a cigarette! Yet, he wondered how I got so much more done than him in the busier of the 2 stores. He also proved to be incopetent, despite his being well versed as a technician on paper.
Oh well. One last thing. The stats still say 20% of smokers. Sorry, but that is far higher than it needs to be.
Read the story at Yahoo!/AP
Al-Quaeda Beheads US Hostage
DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda militants beheaded an American engineer they had held hostage since last week after the Saudi government failed to meet its demands to release jailed militants, an Islamist Web site said Friday.
Read the story at Yahoo!/Reuters
June 17, 2004
AP REports Southern Baptist convention Stagnating/Declining.
I'm no fan of the SBC. I have attended 2 SBC churches and was miserable at both. Why? Well for one thing, they are people who in general, really do want a theocracy. They are in denial when they say they don't. The church leadership was typically very judgemental of me, and my rather unorthodox (back then) manner of dressing and living. Ironically my ultimate split with the last one came when a youth minister treated me very poorly due to my being homeschooled. He also had very choice things to say about homeschoolers and overall I was less than pleased. On top of all this, I was already pretty much agains tthe idea of denominations anywaysdue to my reading the Bible and it saying things like "Be ye not divided amongst yourselves." Yes, the words of Paul ring pretty well through my head.
Even though, I still do not wish ill will towards these people, churches, or the denomination. And I think this quote in the article puts it best: "This is a denomination that has lost its focus." How right they are! They've forgotten what it is all about and have become ultra-political in trying to force other people to live their lives by the SBC doctrine, and many if not most of them do not. A perfect depiction of how many of these people act could be found in the recent movie "Saved!"
In reality (and Ironically), many of these people, particularly young people, are moving towards non-denominational and/or charismatic churches. I've attended many of these churches and found that they are more open to people of all walks of life. They won't lie to you about what they think of whatever you do that does not follow church doctrine, but they won't embarrass you about it or tell you not to come back about it.
If the SBC want's to revive themselves, they might start looking towards the very churches their pastors criticize on sunday morning.
Read the article at Yahoo!
June 14, 2004
Crowds Celebrate 13 Deaths in Iraq Blast
"Crowds Celebrate 13 Deaths in Iraq Blast, in other news a new test site has been found for testing low yield nuclear weapons.
Anyone up for toasting marshmallows? "
"In other, other news... Bill and Hillary slept together for the first time in many years on Friday during the Reagan funeral." (for those who didn't notice both had their eyes closed during the ceremony)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A car bomb shattered a convoy of Westerners in Baghdad Monday, killing at least 13 people, including three General Electric workers and two bodyguards. Crowds rejoiced over the attack, dancing around a charred body and shouting "Down with the USA!"
The blast, during the morning rush hour near busy Tahrir Square, was the second vehicle bombing in Baghdad in as many days amid an upsurge of bloodshed in the capital only two weeks before the formal end of the U.S.-led occupation.
Full Story @ New York Post Online Edition
June 05, 2004
Mourning in America: Ronald Reagan is Dead
Reagan, known as "The Great Communicator," was elected to office in a landslide victory over incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1980 and is credited with revitalizing the country's stagnant economy and forcing the end of the Cold War during his two terms in office from 1981 to 1989.
His charismatic personality and staunch conservatism led the nation in a Republican resurgence that kept the GOP in the White House for 12 years.
Reagan remained largely out of public view since announcing he had Alzheimer's disease in November 1994. He came to symbolize Alzheimer's, which has no cure, during the last decade of his life. Reagan turned the disclosure of his disease as an opportunity to make a final address to the nation, expressing in an open letter to the American people the same patriotic fervor that had catapulted him into the presidency.
"When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future," Reagan wrote at the time. "I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead."
May 30, 2004
Cosby Speaks Out, Recieves Backlash
Bill Cosby who has always been known as outspoken. Now the NAACP (who might want to read their founder's writings since they've forgotten them) is having a fit with him along with the rest of the black community. Personally I can't see why, he is only relating his experience which I've also experienced.
It reminds me of a situation at a restaurant I used to work at: a black customer asked whyw e didn't have any black people working. I informed him that we had 2 blacks working for us, 1 was a manager and she was off that day, the other came in later that day. He said he was going to talk to the NAACP about our lack of diversity. I told him that he might want to look at the diversity of our applicants first. You can blame white people for other races' problems for as long as you want, just like I can blame you for my problems as long as I want. But you won't get a solution until you try to do something about your own problems. Bill Cosby is trying to do that, why chastise him?
I have a black kid who lives down the street from me (I live in a predominantly black subdivision) and he gets called an Uncle Tom and is yelled at for "trying to be white" because he actually cares about his education and isn't out spending money he doesn't have on a ghetto car with rims that cost more than the car.
Blame that on white people why don't you?
Read the story at Yahoo!
May 28, 2004
What the Heck is Going on?!
A few years ago, the Minnesota state legislature, apparently passed an idiotic law, requiring that gas stations make a minimum profit.
Well, gas stations are currently selling gas for less than they are buying it in Minnesota. I'm presuming that they are making up for this loss with inside sales profit. Regardless, the state is cracking down in what is a hideous attack on personal freedom and the free market.
Someone, tell me what is wrong with a gas station taking a loss in one area and making extra profit in another in order to attract customers, and by God save people money? What is wrong with that? This is my problem with liberals. They love personal freedom, right up until it gets in their way. And in this case, personal freedom made for "unfair" competition in gas prices. Not that I see anything unfair about it. It's a risk for these gas stations, they could lose money in the long haul, but they're trying something to potentially make more money. To quote a high school student that I heard at a recent graduation: "There is no gain without risk, you will onlyregret the risks you didn't take." And by God we should encourage behavior such as this, not punish it.
If that is unfair, then I'm sorry but deal with it.
Read the story at Yahoo!
May 27, 2004
Fantasia Wins American Idol
LOS ANGELES - Summertime promises to be sweet indeed for Fantasia Barrino, the newly crowned "American Idol." Barrino, who wowed viewers with her rich, gospel-tinged performance of pop tunes, including the Gershwin standard "Summertime," claimed the victory Wednesday for her 2-year-old daughter, Zion.
Read the story at Yahoo!
*Comment*
I preferred Diana DeGarmo personally. I think, and I'm coming from the background of performing concerts in a band at various positions and having assisted friends in recording albums (not mentioning other credits I have in this area), Fantasia had a beautiful voice for singing with a group. Which makes sense given her background (Father is a preacher so she probably sang in the church choir.) DeGarmo has a great solo voice. Both lacked stage presence.
Both had great voices, but given that this is a solo competition DeGarmo should have won in my not so humble opinion.
Al-Sadr Offers to Remove Troops
NAJAF, Iraq - The U.S.-run coalition will "honor and respect" a deal to remove Shiite militiamen and American soldiers from Najaf, an Iraqi official said Thursday, even though fine points of the agreement fall short of previous U.S. demands to end weeks of fighting.
Read the story at Yahoo!
*Comment* This is a big mistake and a misunderstanding of Arab/Muslim military tactics. Al-Sadr is making this offer because he is weak and needs to regroup. What they should be doing is using this as an opportunity to increase our troops strength and mount a major offensive. But I guess that doesn't show an honorable, moral high ground does it?
Al Gore Does His Howard Dean Impression
NEW YORK — Reaching decibels usually reserved for ball games and boxing matches, former Vice President Al Gore (search) on Wednesday denounced the Bush administration policy in Iraq and called for the resignation of three central players in the War on Terror.
Delivering a fiery speech at New York University, Gore said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (search), CIA director George Tenet (search) and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice (search) should immediately step down.
Read the story at Fox News
*Comment*
He blames Bush for the actions of US Army Reservists. I'm here to tell you that those Reservists knew what they were doing was wrong. They, due to their jobs, had special training on matters of the geneva convention. Well, as a Marine, I was told at Parris Island the rights of POWs accoording to the Geneva convention and I have to tell you that theirs were violates. How the heck do you relieve them of responsibility of their actions and put them on another person?! Frankly, Rumsfield, Tenet and Rice have done their jobs exactly as directed, and all within the limits that previous administrations placed on them. (Can you say Church commission?) Why should they resign for doing their jobs correctly?
May 25, 2004
Iraq’s “Ignorant Men”
BASRA, IRAQ — Even though I know schwayya Arabic, I sensed the Iraqi truckers squatting in the shade of an 18-wheeler weren't happy. After all, seated on the sidewalk opposite them, a foreigner was chatting with a beautiful Iraqi woman whose beige scarf, worn with a maroon blouse and tan-colored slacks, indicated she was Muslim. As they waited to drive their vehicles through the British checkpoint, the truckers' stares burned holes through us. My friend, Nour Al-Khal, a 20-something press liaison for an American NGO, felt it too, but advised me to do what she did when confronted by what she called her country's "ignorant men" — ignore them. "Believe me, Steve," she said, stretching out her legs and crossing them at the ankles. "There's nothing you can do."
Full Story @ National Review Online
May 20, 2004
Hearts and Minds: We shouldn’t bother trying so hard.
You probably thought Nick Berg was slaughtered by Islamic militants, didn't you?
ust because, in an Arab country teeming with jihadists who target Americans every day, an American got butchered by hooded assassins who read a proclamation of grievances, laced with allusions to Islam, in Arabic, before hacking his head off while his shrieking agony was drowned out by that now-familiar soundtrack of atrocity, the Allahu akbar ("God is great!") chant, you probably rushed to judgment, right? Just because the barbarians recorded their handiwork and the tape, voila, instantly ended up on a website that reliably promotes militant Islam, which bragged that the decapitation was executed by none other than Abu Musab Zarqawi — whose extensive jihadist rap sheet defies accurate accounting in our limited space — you no doubt found yourself leaping to the rash conclusion that Berg's killing was carried out by Muslim extremists.
Full Story @ National Review
USAF in secret garage door jamming trials
The USAF has successfully deployed a two-way radio garage door jamming system at its Eglin Air Force base in Florida, according to the state's news-journalonline.
The $5.5m Motorola system is apparently keeping garage doors firmly shut in the surrounding Niceville, Valparaiso and the Crestview communities. Although technicians have said they will try and address the issue by running the system at "slightly different frequencies from those used by garage door openers to try to eliminate or reduce the interference when another test is conducted Friday through Monday", the Air force is unrepentant and insists it is in compliance with its licence.
Full Story @ The Register
May 18, 2004
Kosovo Good, Gulf War 2 Bad
I got this from Boortz today.
Why are the architects of Kosovo so down on Gulf War 2?
Read the story here.
May 16, 2004
Judge orders couple not to have children
ROCHESTER, New York (AP) -- A couple has been ordered not to conceive any more children until the ones they already have are no longer in foster care.
A civil liberties advocate said the court ruling unsealed Friday was "blatantly unconstitutional."
Monroe County Family Court Judge Marilyn O'Connor ruled March 31 that both parents "should not have yet another child which must be cared for at public expense."
Full Story @ CNN.com
May 13, 2004
Happy Birthday Muddy!
Well, some folks may not know but today is Muddy's 32nd birthday! Everyone wish him a happy brithday! Happy birthday big guy!
May 12, 2004
Mexican Air Force pilots film UFOs
A videotape made widely available to the news media on Tuesday shows the bright objects, some sharp points of light and others like large headlights, moving rapidly in what appears to be a late-evening sky.
The lights were filmed on March 5 by pilots using infrared equipment. They appeared to be flying at an altitude of about 3,500 meters (11,480 feet), and allegedly surrounded the Air Force jet as it conducted routine anti-drug trafficking vigilance in Campeche. Only three of the objects showed up on the plane's radar.
Full Story @ CNN.com
May 11, 2004
Graphic Abortion Dislay Takes to the Air and Highways
****Mrs. muddy's warning: If you decide you actually DO want to check out the rest of the 'The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform' website, I would HIGHLY advise that you do so withOUT children in the room. Really, that should go without saying but being a parent myself, I try *very* hard to cover ALL bases when it comes to the welfare of children. You have been warned.....*****
An anti-abortion group had an airplane fly over Southern California beaches towing a giant banner depicting what the group said were two photos of a 10-week-old aborted fetus. It is part of a national campaign that includes big rig trucks and billboards plastered with the same extremely graphic pictures.
Full Story @ CBR / Poynter Institute
May 04, 2004
Kerry 'Unfit to be Commander-in-Chief,' Say Former Military Colleagues
Hundreds of former commanders and military colleagues of presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry are set to declare in a signed letter that he is "unfit to be commander-in-chief." They will do so at a press conference in Washington on Tuesday.
"What is going to happen on Tuesday is an event that is really historical in dimension," John O'Neill, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Navy as a PCF (Patrol Craft Fast) boat commander, told CNSNews.com. The event, which is expected to draw about 25 of the letter-signers, is being organized by a newly formed group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
"We have 19 of 23 officers who served with [Kerry]. We have every commanding officer he ever had in Vietnam. They all signed a letter that says he is unfit to be commander-in-chief," O'Neill said.
Full Story @ Cybercast News Service
May 01, 2004
Porn-o Pete says Just say NO!
April 30 - Pete would prefer that parents pass on pornography. Pete is repulsed by porn, and he’s prepared to proselytize. But Pete’s not a person—Pete’s a puppet. Meet Pete the Porno Puppet, coming soon to a Public Service Announcement near you.
Part “Sesame Street,” part “Odd Couple,” Pete is the brainchild of two pastors and a pornographer. It may sound like the beginning of a bad joke, but to hear Craig Gross, Mike Foster and James DiGiorgio tell it, it could just be a match made in heaven. Gross, 28, and Foster, 32, are the founding ministers of Fireproof Ministries, a nonprofit Christian outreach group that has launched a crusade against the multi-billion dollar pornography industry. Not content to preach to the converted, the duo took a more unorthodox tack: they launched XXXchurch.com, a “Christian porn site” to educate Web surfers about the addictiveness of porn and the damage it can do to a person’s life. (Their first PSA ran on cable featuring a cast of dwarf actors, but the nonprofit organization Little People of America demanded Gross and Foster kill it because they found the tag line—“porn stunts your growth”—offensive.) They also host booths at adult film industry conventions in Las Vegas. “We debuted our site at a porn show,” says Gross. “We’re not yelling at people...We kept going back to these shows because they kept asking us back.”
Full Story @ MSNBC
April 29, 2004
Political Miscellany
First off, I have a website (Thanks Christy!) showing how great of an idea iti s to attack George W. Bush on his economic policies. You can view that here.
The other item I have for you today is my Senator, Senator Zell Miller (D) from Georgia (who happens to be my single favorite guy in the US Government for various reasons) propsoe yesterday, the repealing of the 17th amendment. For those of you who do't know, that is the amendment allowing for the direct election of Senators and one of the single worst things to ever happen tot his country.
The founding fathers intended for the Senate to represent the interests of the Staets, rather than the people. This was to serve as a check on the power of the federal government and it is fort his reason that the senate approves treaties and judges: to prevent a hijacking of states' rights.
A repeal of this amendment would rid the Senate of the mindset that they answer to the people and campaign contributors - they would answer to the state legislatures. This would check the federal government's power and could lead to a return to the founder's wishes of 90% of peacetime government being at the state and local levels. If it had never been in place, history would definitely be read differently.
As it stands now however, this has no chance of passing the House and Senate much less a popular vote unless you call your representative and senator.
April 27, 2004
Blog-Tracking May Gain Ground Among U.S. Intelligence Officials
People in black trench coats might soon be chasing blogs.
Blogs, short for Web logs, are personal online journals. Individuals post them on Web sites to report or comment on news especially, but also on their personal lives or most any subject.
Some blogs are whimsical and deal with "soft" subjects. Others, though, are cutting edge in delivering information and opinion.
As a result, some analysts say U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials might be starting to track blogs for important bits of information. This interest is a sign of how far Web media such as blogs have come in reshaping the data-collection habits of intelligence professionals and others, even with the knowledge that the accuracy of what's reported in some blogs is questionable.
Full Story @ Yahoo! News
Blog-Tracking May Gain Ground Among U.S. Intelligence Officials
Florida Legislature Attacks Property Rights *Updated*
The Florida State Legislature has decided to attack property rights. They have a house and senate bill that will eliminate eminent domain as we know it.
*Update* Bill passed the Senate on second try (after a meaningless amendment) 22-19. The bill has been withdrawn from the House however by the sponsor/author who has reconsidered her position on the matter.
Currently, if a developer want's land for a comercial purpose, they must give the owner whatever price he or she wants for that land. And why not? It is theirs, they own it.
These bills HB1513 and SB2548 would change that, basically making it so that a developer can give whatever price he wants for the land so long as he gives something for it. And the land owner has no choice in the matter. Technically this is done by government paying for the land and the developer then buying it. The government gets to determine whatever a "fair" price would be and resell to the developer at that price.
This is a blatant attack on property rights: you have no right to what you own essentially.
You can voice your opinion about this to the Florida Senate or the Florida House. Don't count on them caring if you are or are not a Florida resident as one senator's response to a constituent telling him that he will not vote for him again if he supports the bill, was to tell the constituent that he doesn't appreciate threats with votes.
Read the Florida Senate version here.
Read the Florida House version here.
April 25, 2004
North Korea Accuses US of Preparing Invasion
Sadly North Korea (which is basically closed off to outside news sources thus allowing their people to know only what they want them to know) has once again accused the US of preparing an invasion. This time they say we're at a final stage of the preparations. Their reasoning? We're reliquishing control of an outpost to the South Koreans and letting them guard their own country. Go figure.
Read the story at Yahoo!
This sounds like North Korea is again trying to beg the US for money, because God knows, we don't need to invade them, they're killing themselves! They have no money, no food. Their army is the best fed group in the entire country and they're surviving off insect infested rice and water! This country is worse off than the USSR was in its waning days, making me wonder how they have survived this long!
I'd say that North Korea was really the ones preparing for invasion and they were setting it up to look like the US invaded them if they lost, however, they have to now full well that in their present condition they haven't the resources to fight a battle with the South Korean military which is only half the size of North Korea's! (North Korea has the 5th largest standing army in the world by the way.)
If it wasn't so tragic it would be halarious. North Korea would be better off to just surrender their country to the south and save themselves the trouble of annihilation should a war actually come. But really, we don't need to invade them. We've already destroyed them economically. That's the beautiful thing about communism, it so easy to destroy a communist country through economics because theya re sucha closed society where invidiualism is discouraged, it is hard for someone to fulfill voids in the economy. In capitalism, voids are like a vacuum and someone is always fighting to fill it. If a capitalism society needed to, it could survive with little to no outside production.
April 24, 2004
Steelers grab Big Ben in 1st
I hope we find a great right tackle because Philly just picked up Andrews. Pitt's big fat hole at right tackle is going to kill us this season if we don't get a quality guy there.
April 23, 2004
Former NFL Player Pat Tillman KIA
In the offseason he was known to run marathons and triathlons tokeep himself busy. Upon reported for practice at Arizona State University he informed his coach that he would not redshirt, he would graduate in 4 years as he had things to do in life: he graduated in 3 and 1/2 years with a 3.84 GPA in Marketing.
This is a story I had no previously heard about, but it has renewed my faith in the American people. We are stilla people who realize that somethings are worth fighting for, regardless of whatever sacrifices we must make.
Tillman enlisted on the buddy program with his brother Kevin Tillman, a minor league baseball player. Both were engaged in a firefight in Afghanistan when Pat Tillman was killed.
This comes on the day the the Pentagon fires a photographer for releasing what I thought were very classy pictures showing the honor bestowed our war dead as they go home: Soldiers standing guard over the caskets.
April 21, 2004
World oil crisis looms
Other companies and even governments have hyped up the estimates of how much oil they have, which is a vital factor in measuring their economic health. If exaggeration proves to be widespread, it would have an immense impact on the Middle East, whose economic weight is almost totally dependent on oil and natural gas.
Geologists and analysts have been saying for some time that estimates of global oil reserves may be dangerously exaggerated. If you take oil prices currently at around US$37 a barrel, the highest for nearly 15 years, US petrol prices at record levels and you add terrorist attacks and diminishing supplies, you have a recipe for inflation and economic slowdown. The question of reserves becomes a much more important factor.
Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that internal documents and other data indicated that Shell had over estimated its proven oil reserves in Oman by as much as 40 per cent. But that seems to have been done because everyone hoped that the latest drilling techniques would reach more deposits than in the past and merit upgrading the estimates of reserves.
Full Story @ Janes Information Group
*Muddy's Update* If you want to run your car on water instead of gas check out this link
April 20, 2004
Euro partnership mocks 60th D-Day anniversary, says invasion veteran
click image to enlarge
"I think we should have stopped after 50 years," said Lt Col Terence Otway, who commanded the 9th Parachute Btn as it attacked a crucial German battery at Merville, near Caen, shortly after midnight on June 6, 1944.
"In 1994, we were celebrating the liberation of the French from the Germans. Now France and Germany are in each other's pockets. They are the closest partnership in Europe.
"It wasn't like that 10 years ago. This year, I believe [President Jacques] Chirac even invited German troops to take part in the march past.
"It seems all wrong to be marking the liberation in that way."
Lt Col Otway, who celebrates his 90th birthday nine days after the anniversary, was decorated with the DSO and was later appointed Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur by the French government for his command of the battalion on the eastern flank of the Normandy invasion.
He said he would not be attending memorial events in Normandy this June where the Queen, President George W Bush and Chancellor Gerhard Schroder of Germany will be joining President Chirac.
Full Story @ telegraph.co.uk
April 19, 2004
Spin Sisters
Spin Sisters: How the Women of the Media Sell Unhappiness — and Liberalism — to the Women of America
While male editors, writers, and readers might be tempted to dismiss the impact of a women's-media empire seemingly more concerned about weight control than weighty issues, the women's magazines — a $7 billion business — have enviable clout. Of the ten largest and most profitable magazines in America, five are edited specifically for women (the other five have large female audiences).
In addition to strollers, spas, and the latest shoes, these magazines promote an idea: modern feminism in all its fragile self-centeredness. With the conviction that "stress sells," the spin sisters wildly exaggerate the pressures of daily life owing to the unreasonable demands of work and family — and they hysterically warn of the dangers lurking in everything from manicures and mattresses to mold and mercury. Stress sells self-indulgence, which keeps the advertisers happy; and what the $470 million aromatherapy market can't fix is up to the government to handle.
Full Story @ National Review Online
Good News & Bad News from France
Villepin
Just three weeks later, Chirac announced that he was replacing foreign minister Dominique de Villepin with the relatively unknown, but pro-American, Michel Barnier.
Barnier
Prancing around the world like an over-wound ballet dancer to line up votes against America at the United Nations, Villepin never lost an opportunity to blast America's "hegemony" in world affairs.
His replacement at the Quai d'Orsay, Michel Barnier, hosted a nongovernmental conference on transatlantic relations last November in Paris that was attended by U.S. Ambassador Dan Freed, the National Security Council director for European affairs.
Two participants at that conference — one French, one American — tell me that Barnier displayed a "pragmatic approach" toward U.S.-French relations in marked contrast to his predecessor.
"Michel Barnier is much less arrogant than Villepin, and will have a very different approach" when differences between the United States and France come up, a French participant said.
Full Story @ National Review Online
April 15, 2004
We need to sleep 8 hours a day, maybe.
More Than 8 Hours Sleep Too Much of a Good Thing, No it isn't, yes it is, no it isn't, yes it is...
(Read on for the exciting conclusion to this storied tale)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although the dangers of too little sleep are widely known, new research suggests that people who sleep too much may also suffer the consequences.
Specifically, investigators at the University of California in San Diego found that people who clock up 9 or 10 hours each weeknight appear to have more trouble falling and staying asleep, as well as a host of other sleep problems, than people who sleep 8 hours a night.
People who slept only 7 hours each night also said they had more trouble falling asleep and feeling refreshed after a night's sleep than 8-hour sleepers.
These findings, reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, demonstrate that people who want to get a good night's rest may not need to set aside more than 8 hours a night, study author Dr. Daniel Kripke told Reuters Health.
He added that "it might be a good idea" for people who sleep more than 8 or 8 1/2 hours each night to consider reducing the amount of time they spend in bed, but cautioned that more research is needed to confirm this.
Full Story @ Reuters.com
April 14, 2004
Air America Pulled From 2 Stations
I'll go ahead and just make my comments:
You got pulled because you weren't making the stations money! I mean how bad must these guys be that they couldn't get a slot in America's liberal heartland "San Fransissie?! They have a show called "The Majority Report." I'm sure many American's love the implication that they do in fact speak for most of them.
I love their resposne to getting pulled by 2 statiosn in 2 weeks: law suit. Get over it, you weren't entertaining enough to make these stations money, so you got yanked. It happens to shows everyday.
Full Story @ Yahoo! News
April 13, 2004
Democratic club's ad suggests shooting Rumsfeld
The ad says of Rumsfeld, "We should put this S.O.B. up against a wall and say, 'This is one of our bad days,' and pull the trigger."
The ad was placed by the St. Petersburg Democratic Club in last week's issue of The Gabber, a weekly community newspaper based in Gulfport, next to St. Petersburg on Florida's Gulf Coast.
No one from the club could be reached for comment, but the ad was condemned by other Democrats, including the presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry.
"We are calling the Pinellas County Democratic Party chair about this ad and demand that it be retracted," Kerry campaign spokesman Stephanie Cutter told CNN. "John Kerry does not condone this type of advertising and believes that it is wrong."
Full Story @ CNN.com
April 11, 2004
Parents of 'Weird Al' Found Dead
FALLBROOK, Calif. — The elderly parents of Grammy-winning recording artist "Weird Al" Yankovic were found dead in their home, apparently victims of carbon monoxide poisoning, officials said.
Nick and Mary Yankovic were found dead Friday in their suburban San Diego home by relatives who were worried because they had not seen the couple in a while, said sheriff's Sgt. Conrad Grayson.
Paramedics found Nick Yankovic, 86, in a chair in the front living room. His 81-year-old wife was on the bathroom floor.
A wood fire had been set recently in the fireplace, Grayson said.
"The house was full of smoke when they opened the door," Grayson said, adding that the family members found the fluke closed.
Full Story @ FOXNews.com
April 09, 2004
Study Shows College Textbooks are $900 a Year - *Link Fixed*
PORTLAND, Ore. - College freshman Amy Connolly knows not to judge a book by its cover. Instead, she judges the newest Calculus 101 text by what's inside: a CD-ROM, flashy color photographs and a bubble-wrapped study manual. All those extras bring the price tag to $126, she says.
Read the full story at Yahoo!
April 06, 2004
When Pakistan starts to help, Insult them!
Khalilzad says if Pakistan doesn't wipe out 'terrorist' havens, the US 'will have to do it.'
The US envoy to Afghanistan has angered Pakistan by warning the country that it must eliminate "terrorist sanctuaries" near their common border or US forces will have to step in. In a speech Monday at a private Washington think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Zalmay Khalilzad said that if Islamabad doesn't solve the problem then "we [the US] will have to do it ourselves."
Pakistan says more than 60 suspects were killed and more than 160 captured in the large offensive it launched last month against suspected Islamic militants, and tribesmen aiding them, in the border region. Mr. Khalilzad says although the offensive was "positive and hopeful," the Taliban continues to be able "to base, train and operate from Pakistan."
Full Story @ csmonitor.com
Ilkin to share story of faith
"They were different. There was something about them that I had never seen in men before," he said. "They had a sense of humility, a sense of joy, and they had a love for each other. They lived a life that demanded an explanation."
When he got to know Jon Kolb, John Stallworth, Donnie Shell, Ted Peterson and Craig Wolfley, he discovered what it was.
"It was not the Super Bowl or Pro Bowls or money," Ilkin said. "The most important thing in their lives was that they had a relationship with Jesus Christ."
Full Story @ PittsburghLIVE.com
April 05, 2004
R. Lee Ermy visited HMLA-773
My unit today was graced with the presence of GySGT R. Lee Ermy, who most of you will know from movies such as Full Metal Jacket, Saving Silverman or The Boys from Company C. He is also the host of Mail Call on the History Channel. I managed to get him to sign the inside of my cover, and snap a photo with him (along with several photos of him promoting 7 new Lance Criminals (or, more correctly, Lance Corporals) and 1 new Sergeant, with our acting CO, LTCOL Parker.
![Derek with R[1]. Lee Ermey.jpg](http://www.muddysmind.com/archives/images/Derek with R[1]. Lee Ermey.jpg)
And if you were wondering what I'm wearing, those are coveralls. My job in the Marine Corps is that of a helicopter mechanic, and since I did something that could almost be called work today, I had to wear them.
April 03, 2004
Ga Tech in NCAA Finals!
I don't know how many of you are basketball fans, but my school (as in the place where I am currently being educated) just beat Oklahoma State University to make it to the NCAA Finals for the first time in school history (which goes back to 1885!)
I have a friend I grew up with on the team, and I know that our whole school is excited! Just thought I'd share!
Satellite to test Einstein theory
Nasa hopes Gravity Probe B will lift off from California on 17 April.
Since it was first proposed in 1959, the project has been aborted and delayed because of technical hiccups many times.
Now it is ready to test two of Einstein's theories about the nature of space and time, and how the Earth distorts them.
The unmanned satellite will orbit 640km (400 miles) above Earth, measuring any slight changes in gravity.
Full Story @ BBC NEWS
April 02, 2004
Cops: Audrey's Kidnap Story a Hoax
Audrey Seiler told police the man who abducted her used duct tape, rope, cold medicine and other items against her -- some of which were found in the marsh area where Seiler was discovered, Assistant Police Chief Noble Wray said at a press conference.
But police obtained store surveillance videotape showing Seiler purchasing the items during the time she was reported missing, Wray said.
"We do not believe there is a suspect at large, period," Wray said.
Full Story @ FOXNews.com
March 24, 2004
Al-Qaida No. 2: We Have Briefcase Nukes
"SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Osama bin Laden's terror network claims to have bought ready-made nuclear weapons on the black market in central Asia, the biographer of al-Qaida's No. 2 leader was quoted as telling an Australian television station.
In an interview scheduled to be televised on Monday, Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir said Ayman al-Zawahri claimed that "smart briefcase bombs" were available on the black market. It was not clear when the interview between Mir and al-Zawahri took place."
Read the entire article here
The Clinton Mind-Set
"The commissioners on the Sept. 11 panel asked the same question over and over: Why didn't the Clinton administration take stronger military action against al Qaeda's Taliban refuge in the 1990s, when the Sept. 11 plot was being hatched?"
Read the entire article here
cwilli note: This is an outstanding article that is a must read for anyone who actually wants to know the answer to "What could we have done to prevent 9/11".
March 23, 2004
Black Clergymen Come Out Against Gay Marriage
ATLANTA — More than two dozen black pastors added their voice to the critics of same-sex marriage, attempting to distance the civil rights struggle from the gay rights movement and defending marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
"When the homosexual compares himself to the black community, he doesn't know what suffering is," said the Rev. Clarence James, an African-American studies professor at Temple University.
WARNING - The following is NOT politically correct and/or may contain language that is adult in nature.
Jones and 29 pastors rallied late Monday with their supporters at an Atlanta-area church where they signed a declaration outlining their beliefs on marriage and religion.
The declaration is meant to pressure state representatives to approve a constitutional ban on gay marriages, which will be considered again by the Georgia House as soon as this week.
Full Story @ FOXNews.com
*Muddy's Note*
I was working on something in regards to this but I'll just add it to this one. Along the same lines just my view is a bit more raw. :-P
Day after day, the headlines, the news updates, the radio stories and news paper editorials rage. Gays fight for their special rights and they are alleging illegal discrimination because of sexual orientation. Now I challenge anyone, show me where in the constitution or the bill of rights or in any founding document of this country or even the states where it guarantees rights based on sexual preference. How in the hell can your rights be violated when you had NONE to begin with? You have rights based on your humanity, not your passion to pounce on another man's butt and ride it.
If humping the same sex is your thing then keep it in the bedroom, nobody wants to hear about it. You have no right to Demand any Privileges because of a choice you made.
This is such B.S. I'm amazed the American public has laid down and taken this for as long as it has.
For those that don't know it, here is the first amendment.
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
What's really humorous is this country was founded on Religious Freedom and freedom of speech, and I don't know of ANY religion (not cults) that accepts homosexuality.
March 20, 2004
Why The World Hates the US
Another great article from one of my favorite writers; Jack Kinsella
"One would have to presume that the New York Times, being located in New York and named after New York, would owe its first allegiance to the people OF New York. And, since it claims the title of 'America's Newspaper of Record', that it would by extension, also owe some sense of allegiance to the United States of America. "
"The editorial page of the New York Times calling on the Socialist leader of Spain to put pressure on the US to force it to submit to the UN. Shouldn't this editorial be running in Pravda, instead of being offered as the editorial consensus of America's 'newspaper of record'? Or is it just me? "
"But here's the thing -- to the rest of the world, the New York Times is the voice of America. To somebody living in Berlin, or Ankara or Moscow, the New York Times is a mirror of America.
They read in the New York Times that America is a loose cannon, that George Bush, in defiance of public opinion (eg. The NYTimes) defied the United Nations, which is why nobody should trust the United States as long as George Bush is in office. "
Read the entire article here
March 17, 2004
The difficult question of George W. Bush
"Many Christians are rethinking their support of George Bush and, frankly, with good reason. I'm not talking about George Bush the Christian, but George Bush the politician.
There is a lot of discussion about George Bush and whether or not he is a "real" Christian, as if that in some way had a bearing on whether or not they will vote for him. If one is going to base his vote on the best Christian for the job, who then gets it? Kerry? Nader? Just not vote at all? Throw it away on a fringe candidate?
Nobody is actually running for the job of Theologian in Chief, and those who will vote for Bush on that basis make up a small portion of the general electorate. When was the last time you voted for a president based on his Christian doctrinal worldview?"
This article is a must read for anyone who wonders why anyone would want to vote for George W Bush.
Read the article here
March 11, 2004
SCO's Suit: A Match Made in Redmond?
Just as the legal battle over Linux was about to become even more expensive, Microsoft suggested that a hedge fund invest in the outfit.
For months, rumors have swirled around the Web alleging that Microsoft helped finance a small Utah software company's suit against IBM and two corporations that use Linux software. BusinessWeek has learned that Microsoft did not put up the money, but did play matchmaker for SCO Group and BayStar Capital, a San Francisco hedge fund which made a $50 million investment in SCO last October.
Full Story @ BW Online
Report: Al Qaeda Claims Credit for Madrid Blasts
The Arabic newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi said Thursday it had received a claim of responsibility for the Madrid train bombings issued in the name of Al Qaeda, the terror organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
The five-page e-mail claim, signed by the shadowy Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri, was received at the paper's London offices. It said the brigade's "death squad" had penetrated "one of the pillars of the crusade alliance, Spain."
"This is part of settling old accounts with Spain, the crusader, and America's ally in its war against Islam," the claim said.
Referring to Spain's Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, the statement asked: "Aznar, where is America? Who will protect you, Britain, Japan, Italy and others from us?"
The newspaper faxed the claim to The Associated Press office in Cairo.
The paper's editor Bari Atwan told Fox News the alleged letter from Al Qaeda "looks authentic" and consistent with letters the paper has received from the terrorist organization in the past.
A van containing several detonators and an Arabic-language tape of Koranic verses was found near Madrid, Interior Minister Angel Acebes said later Thursday, announcing that new lines of investigation into the bombings were being opened.
Full Story @ FOXNews.com
March 10, 2004
Army to Gates: Halt the free software
Microsoft has been mailing free copies of its pricey Office productivity software to government employees, but CNET News.com has learned that at least two federal agencies are warning recipients to return the gifts or risk violating federal ethics policies.
Since the launch of Office 2003 last year, Microsoft has given out tens of thousands of free copies of its flagship software, which retails for about $500, to workers at its biggest customers. The giveaway was expanded to government workers this year, but ethics offices at the Department of the Interior and Department of Defense have said the offers constitute unauthorized gifts and must be returned.
The Department of the Army went a step further, calling on Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates to stop sending the software to Army personnel.
"We ask that you cease immediately the mailing of free software, and other types of gifts, to the Department of the Army personnel," Deputy General Counsel Matt Reres said in a Feb. 19 letter seen by CNET News.com. "Your offer of free software places our employees and soldiers in jeopardy of unknowingly committing a violation of the ethics rules and regulations to which they have taken an oath to uphold."
The issue comes up as many governments are looking at open-source alternatives for Office and the Windows operating system. The British government has been evaluating a switch to the Linux OS, while open-source software is also being eyed in Korea, China, India and even at some local agencies in the United States.
Full Story @ CNET News.com
The Biggest Story that Never Was
Nary a day goes by without some news story about poor US intelligence, or complaints from the UN, or France, or Germany -- or Democrats -- that the US unseated Saddam based on flawed intelligence or deliberate manipulation of known facts.
Or stories about US failures in Iraq, or US troops being 'bogged down' by terrorist activity or a lack of cooperation from local Iraqis, etc., etc.
When the news isn't running stories about the president being a crook, or innuendo pieces about Haliburton contracts (Dick Cheney's former company. Did you know?), there are stories about how homeland security is too restrictive, too lax, too intrusive, or too weak.
But NOBODY is talking about when our alleged allies sold us out to Saddam Hussein. Nobody is talking about the improprieties surrounding the UN's administration of Iraq's Oil-For-Food program that bought Saddam computers, new Mercedes', weapons components, but very little food.
Nobody is investigating the secret slush-funds Saddam used to pay off politicians like British MP George Galloway. (Galloway personally pulled in nearly $10 million while defending Saddam.)
Why is the fact Saddam's allies profited by pocketing the difference between the price of oil under the U.N.'s "Oil for Food" program and the price of oil on the open market not news?
Full Story @ The Omega Letter
March 09, 2004
Convicted Washington Sniper Muhammad Sentenced to Die
March 9 (Bloomberg) -- John Allen Muhammad, one of two men accused in the sniper-shooting deaths of 10 people in the Washington, D.C., area in 2002, was sentenced to death by a Virginia judge for murdering a man at a gas station.
A jury in Virginia Beach, Virginia, convicted Muhammad of capital murder, terrorism, conspiracy and firearms violations in November for the death of Dean Harold Meyers, 53, who was gunned down in Manassas, Virginia, in October 2002. Meyers was the seventh sniper victim.
The same jury a week later recommended the death sentence for the crime. Prince William County Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr. today accepted the jury's recommendation and imposed the death penalty, county sheriff's Captain Brenda Perkins said in a telephone interview.
``There are no winners today,'' Meyers's brother Bob said at a televised press conference. ``This was not a victory. But yet it was something that had to be done and it was done right.''
Muhammad's execution is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 14, pending appeals, officials said. A formal date will likely be set after an appeal is filed, Prince William County Court Administrator Bob Marsh said.
Full Story @ Bloomberg.com
March 08, 2004
John Kerry is a traitor
John Kerry touts his war record in his campaign and reminds us every 10 min that he is a 'war hero' but in reality he was a man who joined the likes of Jane Fonda to speak out against the war. I really don’t have a problem with speaking out for what you believe is right but I find it a bit hypocritical to brag about your war experience in order to get a job when you were against the very things that you did in the first place.
Here is a copy of a flyer that his group passed out to the Americans people. John Kerry was a member of the group that passed this flyer out. Next time your see an ad with John Kerry's 'war buddy's' remember that he is talking about them in this flyer. Here is a copy of the minutes from one of their meetings and shows John Kerry as a member.
I have a HUGH problem with this and believe that when you go to the trouble of sending out this kind of propaganda you are not a ‘war hero’, you are a traitor.
March 04, 2004
SCO Slips up, Microsoft to Thank
Document shows SCO prepped lawsuit against BofA
The SCO Group filed lawsuits this week against DaimlerChrysler and AutoZone, but the Unix seller's attorneys also had prepared a complaint against Bank of America, according to a document.
A Microsoft Word document of SCO's suit against DaimlerChrysler, seen by CNET News.com, originally identified Bank of America as the defendant instead of the automaker. This revision and others in the document can be seen through powerful but often forgotten features in Microsoft Word known as invisible electronic ink.
A feature in the word-processing software tracks changes to documents, who made those changes, and when they were made. These notations typically are invisible to someone reading a Word document. But as some lawyers, businesspeople and politicians have learned the hard way, Word can also display so-called metadata in the document--including the original version and all subsequent changes. This information is available by viewing the document under "original showing markup" or "final showing markup."
Full Story @ ZDNet
Muddy's Notes : I find this whole ordeal profoundly sad. Your not making money, going to go under and so you start suing people who work on "free" software to earn cash by being bastards of the highest caliber. You threaten everyone you think might have money you can swindle, then you don't show any bloody proof to back up your baseless accusations then start suing more people still without showing any evidence. On top of that you send out hacked word docs that anyone with a few brain cells can look at and see what changes you made. How in the hell these mindless twits are still around is beyond me.
February 29, 2004
Reading, Writing and … Homosexuality?
Teachers and kids can’t talk about Jesus Christ, Moses or Biblical ethics -- at least not in a positive, plausible sense -- in the classroom. But it’s just fine to talk about Timmy and Tommy, the Testicle Twins? About Daddy’s male roommate? About anal sex and oral sex between teenagers of the same sex? What in the world is going on?
Read this very interesting article here
February 26, 2004
Cops Had Many Contacts With Columbine Killers
LAKEWOOD, Colo. — A report released Thursday on the Columbine High School massacre reveals that police had at least 15 contacts with the two teenage gunmen before their deadly 1999 shooting spree.
Officials also released new videotapes Thursday that showed Eric Harris (search) and Dylan Klebold (search) walking in the black trench coats they wore on the day they killed 13 people before turning their guns on themselves. The tapes show Harris and Klebold going through the school and firing mock guns, perhaps at students acting as bullies for a school project.
Briefing families of Columbine victims before releasing the report to the public, Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar (search) said authorities began having contact with Harris and Klebold up to two years before the attack.
Read the rest of the story at Fox News
ACLU wants to legalize adultery
Wait, you mean the ACLU is trying to legalize adultery? In order for the ACLU to get involved in an issue it must pass these 3 criteria;
1. It must be something that goes against religion. Preferably against Christianity.
2. It must be something that leads to the moral decay of our society.
3. It must be something that the ACLU can make money from.
Yea this fits all three.
Please help me stop the ACLU and their anti-American agenda. Click here to sign my petition
a bunch of white men
Her outburst was directed at Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega during a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill. Noriega, a Mexican-American, is the State Department's top official for Latin America.
"I think it was an emotional response of her frustration with the administration," said David Simon, a spokesman for the Democrat from Jacksonville, Fla. He noted that Brown, who is black, is "very passionate about Haiti."
Brown sat directly across the table from Noriega and yelled into a microphone. Her comments sent a hush over the hourlong meeting, which was attended by about 30 people, including several members of Congress and Bush administration officials.
Noriega later told Brown: "As a Mexican-American, I deeply resent being called a racist and branded a white man," according to three participants.
Brown then told him "you all look alike to me," the participants said.
Full Story @ FOXNews.com
Are you old enough to remember?
People over 30 should be dead.
According to regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the '40s, '50s, '60s, or even maybe the early '70s probably shouldn't have survived. Just think about it.
Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint.
There was nothing to stop us from sticking a fork in an electrical outlet.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking.)
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors!
We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from it.
We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day.
No cell phones. Unthinkable!
We had video games, no 99 channels on cable, videotape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms.
We had friends! If we didn't, we went outside and found them.
We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt.
Full Story @ Marshall Democrat-News
February 25, 2004
Woman Collapses During Showing of "The Passion Of The Christ"
Wichita, KS
A woman collapsed in an East Wichita theatre this morning, during a showing of "The Passion Of The Christ". Peggy Law apparently suffered a heart attack. She was pronounced dead a short time later at a Wichita medical center.
Peggy Law, also known to some by her married name Peggy Scott is a respected figure in the local broadcasting community. The tragedy has hit some here at KAKE especially hard. She was a former employee.
People viewing the movie at the Warren Theatre East say Law collapsed during the portion of the movie where the crucifixion of Christ was shown.
A few off-duty doctors and nurses who were in the audience tried to revive her. But when she was taken away in the ambulance, authorities say Law still had no pulse.
Full Story @ KAKE
Bible Club Denied School Display
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Hispanic Club, the Chess Club and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance are just some of the clubs that have displays in the hallways of Portland schools.
But after the Bible Club at Marshall High School put a Bible and some other Christian books in a display case, some teachers complained to the principal. After a call to the district's lawyer, the display was taken down.
District officials said they felt the display gave the impression that the school was endorsing Christianity.
Bible Club leader Jeff Chatterton fought back by contacting the American Center for Law and Justice, an organization that has taken on a number of similar cases. This week Chatterton filed a federal lawsuit against the school district, saying that his right to free speech was violated.
Chatterton also claimed that the school clearly violated of the Federal Equal Access Act. The Supreme Court has ruled that all student groups be given the same access to outlets such as school newspapers, bulletin boards, even the public address system.
Full Story @ FOXNews.com
Skywalker's comment: I don't know about Oregon, but in Georgia, this is Illegal. If a school grants access to one group, they must grant access to them all. Hence why in Georgia, the Parks and Rec. department can use a school for a basketball league, on Saturday, and a Church can have a function or services there on Sunday. In Georgia, if they didn't want the one group there, they would have to cancell the function. It's called the equal access provision. Sorry but some students showing their religious views doesn't imply to anyone that the school endorses those views, nor does it show favoritism towards one religion as an Atheist or Hindu Group could do the same. This is indeed a violation of free speech and the ACLU might want to take this opportunity to prove they are not anti-Christian.
Growing Number of Unmarried Women
In the spirit of the current arguing in the U.S. over gay marriage, I bring you the troubles with marriage in the Arab world.
Also from the famous Webster guy.
"Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)"
Marriage Mar"riage, n. OE. mariage, F. mariage. See Marry,
v. t.
1. The act of marrying, or the state of being married; legal
union of a man and a woman for life, as husband and wife;
wedlock; matrimony.
Last year the Ministry of Planning issued a report on the number of unmarried women in Saudi Arabia — an alarming1 . 5 million. Dr. Abdullah Al-Fawzan, a sociologist at King Saud University, later produced a study about hazards to the Saudi families, in which he cited unmarried women. He also listed a number of reasons for this.
One of these reasons, he said, was that the mindset or prejudices of people in the Kingdom have not changed over the years. He said that as people moved from a rural to a metropolitan environment over the decades, this should have meant a concomitant change in customs and social norms — including how girls get married — but that has not happened.
In the past, a girl’s family had to wait for a suitable man to come forward with his family and propose. Because towns and villages were small and most people knew one another, tying the knot was not a problem. But social and economic changes have meant that we now live in vast cities, and unfortunately we have held on to traditions that were suitable for us a rural society but are no longer suitable now.
Now in big cities, where residents number in their millions and few people even know their next-door neighbors, it is common for a Saudi woman to continue to be single into her late twenties hoping and waiting for fate to come knocking on her door.
But in many case Prince Charming never comes and then, well, she stays single.
It remains a social taboo for a woman to propose to a man, or even for the father of a single girl to mention that he has a daughter to the parents of an eligible bachelor. This is despite the fact that we all know that in Islamic history it was the Mother of Believers, Khadeejah, the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who proposed to him, and not the other way around.
This taboo has nothing to do with Islam but continues to hinder social development.
Full Story @ Arab News
February 20, 2004
Nader to announce Sunday whether he'll run for White House
If Nader decides to run, his late start, lack of party affiliation -- he won't be on the Green Party ticket this time -- and the challenge of getting his name on ballots in 50 states weigh against his candidacy.
So does the palpable anger among many Democrats after nearly four years of a Republican in the White House.
Calling Nader "egomaniacal," veteran Democratic strategist Dane Strother said the independent would "have the same impact he had last time. He would hand the presidency to George Bush."
Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe said he met with Nader several times urging him not to run because he could pull votes from the Democratic nominee.
Full Story @ startribune.com
February 19, 2004
Movies, CDs, Games to Carry FBI Copyright Warning
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Trade groups representing the U.S. entertainment industry said on Thursday that new CDs, DVDs and video games would carry a stark warning about the legal penalties for unauthorized copying as part of an effort to combat digital piracy.
The new warning label, which was announced at a news conference on Thursday, will carry the seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The new and more prominently displayed warning will read: "The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000."
Muddy's Note: What moron does not know that it's illegal?!? Who are they out to impress here? I have a sure fire way to cut back drastically on pirating. 1. start making quality stuff, people won't pay for garbage. But they will pirate it. 2. Stop over charging, $50 for a game I'll play for 2 days is worthless. and $40 for a DVD I'll watch 3-4 times at most is senseless. Get with the times you brainless twits, make it all available for download direct from the studio's for cheap and you'll see profits.
Full Story @ Reuters
February 16, 2004
‘Faith, Hope, Love and Forgiveness’
Critics fear Mel Gibson's upcoming film, The Passion of the Christ, could be a too-bloody retelling of Jesus' final hours, and potentially could stoke the fires of anti-Semitism.
But Gibson tells Diane Sawyer in an exclusive interview — airing Monday at 10 p.m. ET on ABCNEWS' Primetime — that those who accuse him, or the film he directed, of sparking anti-Semitism avoid the central point he hoped to make.
"I don't want people to make it about the blame game," Gibson says. "It's about faith, hope, love and forgiveness. That's what this film is about. It's about Christ's sacrifice."
Full Story @ABCNEWS.com
Muddy's Notes
In case any of you missed this show I've uploaded it HERE for your viewing pleasure. File is 107Mb and encoded as mpeg4 avi file. (aka divx)
February 14, 2004
Mexican crowd jeers eliminated U.S. team with chants of 'Osama!'
A loud anti-American crowd hollered as Mexico beat the United States 4-0 Tuesday night in the under-23 tournament, claiming a berth in the Athens Olympics.
As U.S. players left the stadium for their bus, several fans -- some clutching beers -- chanted "Osama! Osama!" in reference to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
"It's better than having things thrown at you," U.S. Soccer Federation president Bob Contiguglia said Wednesday after returning to Colorado Springs, Colo. "I was bothered by the whistling during the national anthem. It's just the way it is. You accept it. Our kids showed a lot of dignity. They didn't do silly things on the field."
Police in riot gear held back the crowd and urged people to calm down.
"I think the fans here in Mexico are terrific; I think their patriotism and support of their team is terrific," U.S. coach Glenn Myernick said. "But unless I missed something, not one of them came down on the field and kicked the ball. We were beaten by a better football team tonight, not by the fans."
For Mexico, the game partly avenged a 2-0 loss to the United States in the second round of the 2002 World Cup, a far more important tournament involving national teams.
The U.S. men will miss the Olympics for the first time since 1980 -- when the entire American delegation boycotted the Moscow Games. Mexico also ended the United States' 19-tournament streak of qualifying for every FIFA men's outdoor event, including the World Cup, the Olympics, the World Youth Championship for players under 20 and the Under-17 World Championship.
"We all feel that these things are learning experiences and something to grow on," Contiguglia said. "I don't think it's a reflection on the program; the program is doing outstandingly well. I feel bad for the kids, who don't get to go to the Olympics. It shows at that age group we're just not as strong as we are elsewhere."
Mexico is unbeaten in 20 consecutive Olympic qualifiers since a 3-0 loss to the United States on April 26, 1992.
While both Mexican national television networks broadcast Tuesday's game live, the game was shown in the United States on closed circuit to about 190 restaurants.
U.S. soccer officials said they did not plan to protest, though they did after a May game between the same two teams in nearby Zapopan.
Full Story @ SI.com - Soccer
Notebook: Clarett ruling outrages Pro Bowl players
HONOLULU -- Colts head coach Tony Dungy stood before the elite of the AFC earlier this week and informed his squad of All-Stars of an alarming decision. A judge had just ruled in favor of Maurice Clarett, giving the Ohio State youngster and all others the right to enter the NFL Draft.
"That poor kid," one player immediately belted out.
Every year, the fine folks at SportsLine.com banish me to Hawaii to get a pulse of a burning issue or two to head into the offseason with. This year's topic couldn't have been more hotly talked about.
This year's Pro Bowl is a bit different than in years past. Rather than the typical stress-free week where the NFL's crème de la crème can congregate together and talk about football on its highest levels, the week was marred. In fact, all week long, NFL players -- after forgetting about the nipple shot heard round the world -- reacted with outrage and couldn't let it go even days after the Clarett decision was rendered.
"I would hope whoever the first one to try it, the teams would send them a message that this is not what the NFL is about," Colts quarterback Peyton Manning said regarding a boycott of drafting such a youngster. "I've never faulted a kid in college from coming out early when he has been eligible.
"You have to go to college for three years and get an understanding of what life is about. You have to be ready or you'll never get over the hump."
Full Story @ CBS.SportsLine.com
February 13, 2004
Christians aid Gibson's "Passion" marketing
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Arch Bonnema was so moved by Mel Gibson's controversial film "The Passion of The Christ," he bought $42,000 (22,000 pounds) worth of tickets so more people could see it.
"It had a profound impact on my life," said Bonnema, a Southern Baptist who runs a financial services firm near Dallas and saw a preview of the film. He gave away 6,000 "Passion" tickets for opening day on Ash Wednesday, February 25.
"The way the movie industry works is, the more people see a film at the beginning, the longer the film stays around."
A potent mix of religion and money looks set to make "Passion" a box-office smash, despite concerns the film could foment anti-Semitism. Gibson, who spent $25 million of his own fortune to make the film, is relying on evangelical churches to market it, and the strategy appears to be working wonders.
Except for Gibson's star power, the movie is hardly a typical Hollywood blockbuster -- it's a low-budget film with no well-known actors and the dialogue is in Latin and Aramaic.
The film will open on some 2,000 screens -- similar to what a major studio release would receive and almost unheard of for what is, in effect, an independent film.
Instead of the usual barrage of billboards and television advertisements, Gibson invited thousands of religious leaders to watch screenings and spread the word about his film, which looks at the final 12 hours in the life of Jesus Christ.
Critics contend the movie unfairly blames Jews for Jesus's death. Gibson, who belongs to an ultra-conservative sect of the Catholic church, has said he was surprised by the outcry.
BIGGER THAN 'HARRY POTTER'?
Full Story @ Reuters
Muddy's Notes : Well I can't believe my Jewish brothers are getting upset that Mel want's to tell it like it is. Shame on them. I suppose we've been mistaken all these thousands of years, it was the Druidish Priests not the Jewish that brought Jesus to be killed. They sound so close it's easy to see how we could mix that up. :-P
February 07, 2004
Why I'll Vote Bush Out
Bush's Proposal Could End Overtime Pay for Millions of Workers
Lower pay, longer hours and unpredictable work schedules are some of the changes working families could face under the proposed changes to overtime.
The Bush administration proposal to loosen the rules that determine which employees are entitled to overtime pay could cut paychecks for 8 million workers, possibly including police officers, nurses, store supervisors and many others. Millions would face unpredictable work schedules and reduced pay because of an increased demand for extra hours for which employers would not have to compensate workers, according to an Economic Policy Institute report released June 26. The administration has indicated it wants to issue final regulations before the end of the year.
Under the Bush overtime scheme:
* Millions of salaried workers making between $22,101 and $65,000 who now are eligible to receive overtime pay could be reclassified as executives or administrative or professional employees—and would no longer qualify for overtime pay.
* Relatively low-salary earners who have supervisory responsibilities or management-related responsibilities would be penalized, as would workers with advanced education or specialized training. Some of the jobs affected could be jobs police officers, nurses, retail managers, insurance claims adjusters and medical therapists hold.
* Employees not covered by the new rules also could be hurt: By reclassifying many of their workers as exempt from overtime pay, employers most likely would assign overtime only to them and eliminate overtime for other workers.
* Anyone making $65,000 or more a year likely would lose overtime pay, effectively eliminating many middle-income wage earners' much-needed extra pay.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor's own estimates, the Bush administration's proposed rule changes could mean between 2.1 million and 3.3 million workers would face unpredictable work schedules because of an increased demand for extra hours for which employers would not have to pay time-and-a-half.
The Bush administration claims its plan would give overtime protections to more workers by allowing anyone who earns $22,100 or less to automatically qualify for overtime pay. But many of those workers, such as fast-food employees, already are covered.
Many working families depend on overtime to pay bills—especially during the current economic recession that has resulted in stagnant and declining wages coupled with increasing costs of health care, prescription drugs, child care and other essential expenses. The Bush proposal would cut into many of those families' paychecks.
Healthy Spirit Cleans a Mars Rock; Opportunity Rolls
"Our patient is healed, and we're very excited about that," said Jennifer Trosper of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., mission manager for Spirit.
Spirit temporarily stopped communicating Jan. 22; the problem was later diagnosed as a memory-management issue. Engineers regained partial control of the spacecraft within days and reformatted Spirit's flash memory Wednesday to prevent recurrence of the problem.
JPL's Glenn Reeves, flight software architect for the Mars Exploration Rovers, said Friday, "We're confident we know what the problem is, and we have a procedure in place we believe can work around this problem indefinitely."
Spirit's first day of science operations after the memory reformatting featured the first brushing of a rock on a foreign planet to remove dust and allow inspection of the rock's cleaned surface. Steel bristles on the rover's rock abrasion tool cleaned a circular patch on the rock unofficially named Adirondack. The tool's main function is to grind off the weathered surface of rocks with diamond teeth, but the brush for removing the grinder's cuttings can also be used to sweep dust off the intact surface.
The brushing on Thursday was the first use of a rock abrasion tool by either Spirit or its twin rover, Opportunity. The brush swirled for five minutes, said Stephen Gorevan of Honeybee Robotics, New York, lead scientist for the rock abrasion tools on both rovers.
"I didn't expect much of a difference. This is a big surprise," Gorevan said about a picture showing the brushed area is much darker than the rest of the rock's surface. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present you the greatest interplanetary brushing of all time."
Full Story @ SpaceRef - Your Space Reference
February 05, 2004
Archaeologists find 1,400-year-old tomb of Anglo-Saxon king
A tiny piece of bronze poking out of the mud was the first clue that something extraordinary lay beneath the surface in Prittlewell.
The subsequent discovery of an Anglo-Saxon king's burial chamber complete with a lavish collection of treasures was more than any archaeologist would hope to find beneath a verge in the Southend suburb.
Described yesterday as "a once in a lifetime discovery" it is hoped the chamber in Essex will provide a unique insight into life and death in the Dark Ages.
More than 60 beautifully preserved objects from bronze cauldrons and gold foil crosses to glass jars, copper buckles, a sword and a shield were dug from the site and taken to conservation laboratories for analysis. The body itself had been eaten away over the centuries by the acidic soil that seeped in.
"This is extremely significant because it is so rare to find an Anglo-Saxon burial chamber, let alone one that is so well preserved. To find an intact chamber grave and a moment genuinely frozen in time is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery," Ian Blair, senior archaeologist on the dig said.
"This will open new windows on our understanding of that period. You can draw arrows all over Europe and the near east tracing the origins of the grave goods.
Full Story @ Guardian Unlimited
February 02, 2004
Expert Says Glass Is Major Threat to Birds
Daniel Klem Jr. cradles a small, dead bird with chestnut-mottled wings, another victim of what he says is a largely unrecognized environmental hazard that kills birds in flight.
Full Story at Yahoo! News
January 30, 2004
Secret world of heavy fetishism
Full Story @ news24.com
Kassel - The trial of a German cannibal, jailed for manslaughter Friday after killing and eating an apparently willing victim, has given a chilling insight into the secret world of extreme fetishism.
Armin Meiwes was sentenced to 8½ years in jail for fulfilling his dream of cannibalism and what the judges agreed was his victim's wish for "the ultimate kick".
But, without the internet, it might never have got so far.
"The deed would not have happened like that without the internet," said Meiwes's lawyer, Harald Ermel, afterwards. "It would have stayed in the realms of fantasy."
Presiding judge Volker Muetze, passing sentence in Kassel, central Germany, spoke of a barely believable online "sub-culture."
"This trial has opened the door to a world that one is tempted immediately to shut again."
Meiwes, a 42-year-old computer technician, met Bernd Juergen Brandes after advertising on a cannibal website under the pseudonym, Franky, for someone ready to be killed and eaten.
wtf is wrong with these people!
January 28, 2004
Multi-year buys key to big Boeing Super Hornet win
Full Story @ Jane's Defence News
The company has also received a $1 billion contract for the system design and development (SDD) phase of the EA-18G airborne electronic attack aircraft, dubbed the 'Growler'.
Under the terms of the MYP contract, the USN will buy 42 aircraft in each Fiscal Year (FY) from FY05-09. The agreement gives the USN the flexibility to increase the number of aircraft on order by as many as six units per year. Deliveries for platforms purchased through this second MYP will begin in FY07. The first MYP contract, ending in 2004, calls for up to 222 Super Hornets; Boeing has already produced 170 of these.
According to USN Capt 'BD' Gaddis, US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) F/A-18 programme manager, one of the F/A-18E/F programme's strengths is the stability of its procurement accounts. "Multi-year procurements have driven stability and increased cost efficiencies with the programme," he said.
"The US Navy realised around $750 million in cost savings from the first Super Hornet multi-year contract. In the second multi-year contract, we've realised just over $1 billion in savings. I would call that a pretty good return on investment."
January 27, 2004
Colleges Noticing Home Schooled Students
Full Story @ Yahoo! News
Home-schooling advocate Karl Bunday used to get a lot of blank looks when he visited college fairs in his native Minnesota and pitched the virtues of students educated around the kitchen table.
Nearly a decade later, things have changed. "It seems like this time, everybody has heard of home schooling," said Bunday, who operates the Web site learninfreedom.org about "taking responsibility for your own learning."
Until recently, educators say, home-schooled students mostly gravitated to small, primarily religious colleges. Now, as the movement keeps gaining in popularity, they can be found on many — even most — campuses nationwide.
Actor Calls for Boycott of Hit Movie Based on Bestselling Book
Full Story @ Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When Oscar nominations are announced this morning, the popular Civil War romance-drama "Cold Mountain" is expected to be competing for multiple awards.
If Miramax Films' 155-minute epic, starring Hollywood heavyweights Nicole Kidman, Jude Law and Renée Zellweger and based on Charles Frazier's National Book Award-winning novel, gets a best picture nod, it will surely make aggressive studio chief Harvey Weinstein happy. But some moviegoers who saw "Cold Mountain" won't be smiling.
Erik Todd Dellums, an African-American actor from Washington who has appeared on TV shows such as "Homicide: Life on the Street" and in films like "Doctor Dolittle" with Eddie Murphy, is calling on moviegoers to boycott "Cold Mountain," claiming it's a Civil War film that fails to address the issue of slavery.
January 25, 2004
672 Skydivers Set Mass Free-Fall Record
Full Story @ Yahoo! News
*Mrs. Muddy is thinking: "If at first you don't succeed.....skydiving is not for you." Thank God these people got it right the first time.*
BANGKOK, Thailand - In a world record for a mass jump, 672 skydivers from 42 countries leaped from six aircraft over the Thai capital on Saturday, organizers said. At least three jumpers were injured upon landing.
The previous mark of 588 skydivers was set in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, in 2000, according an organizer of the event, Herman Landsman, and the Guinness World Records Web site.
Wind blew several skydivers off the landing zone near Bangkok's Grand Palace, and reporters saw at least three jumpers taken to a hospital with injuries. None was believed life-threatening.
January 23, 2004
ARCH ENEMY
Full Story @New York Post Online Edition
His mission: To eat three meals a day for 30 days at McDonald's and document the impact on his health.
Scores of cheeseburgers, hundreds of fries and dozens of chocolate shakes later, the formerly strapping 6-foot-2 New Yorker - who started out at a healthy 185 pounds - had packed on 25 pounds.
But his supersized shape was the least of his problems.
Within a few days of beginning his drive-through diet, Spurlock, 33, was vomiting out the window of his car, and doctors who examined him were shocked at how rapidly Spurlock's entire body deteriorated.
"It was really crazy - my body basically fell apart over the course of 30 days," Spurlock told The Post.
His liver became toxic, his cholesterol shot up from a low 165 to 230, his libido flagged and he suffered headaches and depression.
Spurlock charted his journey from fit to flab in a tongue-in-cheek documentary, which he has taken to the Sundance Film Festival with the hopes of getting a distribution deal.
"Super Size Me" explores the obesity epidemic that plagues America today - a sort of "Bowling for Columbine" for fast food.
January 21, 2004
Further Proof the U.S. Gov. is trying to keep us Fat and Stupid
Full Story @Yahoo!
U.S. sets off furor in anti-obesity fight
The U.S. is challenging a draft plan by the World Health Organization (news - web sites) to combat the growing worldwide epidemic of obesity, provoking strong international criticism and charges that the food industry is influencing the policy.
The Bush administration alleges that the WHO plan, under development for three years, relies too heavily on questionable science to recommend that people limit their intake of sugar and other refined foods, among other measures.
The administration's position has caught international public health officials by surprise and sent shock waves through the WHO governing board, which is meeting in Geneva. The board is set to decide Tuesday whether to endorse the new obesity plan.
"People are appalled and, frankly, extremely dismayed," Neville Rigby, director of policy for the London-based International Obesity Task Force, said Monday in Geneva.
The WHO plan would lay out policy recommendations that nations could adopt to stem a rising tide of obesity. Some 300 million people are thought to be obese worldwide.
The WHO seeks to create an international blueprint for promoting healthy lifestyles and reducing the costs of chronic diseases related to obesity, such as heart disease and diabetes.
The draft plan suggests nations consider advising people to limit sugar and refined foods, restricting junk food marketing, improving food labeling and raising prices on unhealthy foods.
Rigby and others suggest that U.S. criticism of the plan is being driven by the sugar industry, grocers and other U.S. multinational food companies that want to forestall emerging international efforts to regulate food marketing, pricing, production and trade.
The U.S. position came to light in a Jan. 5 letter by William Steiger, special assistant for international affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, to Dr. J.W. Lee, director general of the WHO.
*Muddy's Note*
Thanks to Bennyhill for pointing this article out to me, how stupid can the Bush administration be?? If you don't realize the U.S. Government is looking only out for it's self and their friends (Oil Industry and similar scum) and could not care less about us wake up. When they yearly give themselves big fat raises and perks but give us the middle finger it's plain to see who is #1 in their eyes.
The full text of the WHO's document is here.
January 20, 2004
State Of The Union Tonight
Tonight is the state of the union address. Rumors abound that Bush will continue his trend of large spending increases.
I like some of the thing our President does. He supports some things I like. He's good for the military, which I like. He also is concerned about the security of our nation - which to me is going to be the number one issue for a few elections.
Here is what I don't like: He isn't for the legalization of drugs. He isn't for abandoning our income tax and going to a sales tax (for those of you who are about to say who horrible that will be for the poor, there is a bill sitting in congress right now which would abandon our income tax - repeal the amendment in fact - create a sales tax and refund poor people their sales tax based off of a set amount based on their income that they need to live. Also, items such as clothing (under a certain amount) and food would not be taxed. Only non-essential goods and services. But, I digress.) He hasn't reformed social security - a campaign promise.
I'm not to sure how I feel about his immigration proposal, because on the one hand we are talking about people who came into this contry illegally. But then, we have out of work Americans who don't want to take the jobs that our illegal aliens will take.
Then there is the big issue. His spending habits. He's increasing spending faster than Bill Clinton!
Tonight, it seems he will continue this trend. Out of everything I've read that he plans to propose, there is only one thing that I like: increasing NASA's funding.
One plan I find particularly distasteful is his plan to have the FHA take no-down-payment loans from low-income buyers. I see this becoming disasterous very quickly.
The people who would get these loans will probably be people who have poor credit...of their own irresponsibility. This means they will probably be irresponsible homeowners and one of 3 things will happen. They could, turn over a new leaf, realize they have made some mistakes, and correct them. This will be a very small minority of the people. Then, their will be people who are great homeowners, but poor bill payers - people who got into something they couldn't afford. They will quickly be foreclosed. The last group and probably largest group will be the people who let the home fall into disrepair. The home loses value and eventually for whatever reason stop making the payments. They will be foreclosed and the government will either sell the home at a loss, or have to destroy it. Who will pick up the tab for this loss? Me, and the other members of the 50% of income earners who pay taxes in this country. (Okay, so we only pay 98% of the taxes...)
Sounds like bad news to me.
*Edit* I have found one other potential proposal I like - Super IRAs.
January 18, 2004
India, Russia to sign Gorshkov aircraft carrier deal
Full Story @India / Kerala News
India and Russia will sign next week the long-awaited agreement on Indian acquisition of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov.
Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes and his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov will sign the $1.67 billion deal, one of the biggest between the two countries that see themselves as strategic partners, on January 20, officials said.
The deal includes retrofitting of the carrier and supply of 28 MiG-29K jet fighters and five K-28 and K-31 helicopters fitted with anti-submarine and radar equipment.
The deal was to be signed in November shortly after Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to Russia. But haggling over a cost-escalation clause delayed the agreement.
Russia wanted 15 percent extra payment towards cost escalation but, after hard bargaining, settled for half the percentage.
The purchase of the 44,000-tonne aircraft carrier, now decommissioned and berthed in a Black Sea port, has been hanging fire since 1994 because the two countries had not been able to agree on the price for refitting the ship according to the Indian Navy's requirements.
The aircraft carrier, 237 metres long and 53 metres wide, was built at a Ukraine shipyard and commissioned in 1987 before the break-up of the Soviet Union.
As part of the deal, the Russians also insisted on fitting the carrier with Kashtan missile systems that provides for self-defence of the ship against high precision weapons.
But India rejected the missiles as their performance was found to be not up to the mark during trials. The Russians then offered a modified Kashtan-M missile system.
Indian officials said the new system would be put through tests before taking a decision on their installation.
"They didn't want Israeli or French missiles to be mounted on the ship but that will depend on how the new Kashkan missiles perform," a senior official told IANS.
Gorshkov is an important deal for both India and Russia. The Indian Navy's reach and strike capability will multiply when the aircraft carrier is delivered after the retrofit in 2006-07.
For Russia, the deal ensures continued employment in 52 enterprises, besides maintaining its traditionally strong military cooperation with India.
Russia currently accounts for 70 percent of the equipment used by the Indian military, although countries like Israel, South Africa, Britain and France have been increasingly cutting into its share.
The sources said negotiations for the purchase of four Tupelov TU-22 backfire, long-range supersonic bombers from Russia were still to be finalized, as New Delhi is keen that a maintenance base be set up for the planes in India.
Once details of the base are worked out, the deal would be signed, officials said.
January 17, 2004
Paris streets fill with protest
Full Story @The Globe and Mail
About 5,000 people marched in Paris wielding French and Islamic flags, along with banners denouncing the ban that French President Jacques Chirac and most of the country's politicians favour.
Veiled and bareheaded women alike marched in the streets chanting: “the veil is my choice” and “we've chosen the headscarf.”
The protests are a co-ordinated international event, with large demonstrations of several thousand people being staged in Beirut and the Gaza Strip, and smaller demonstrations in London, Brussels, Bahrain, Bethlehem and Kashmir.
January 15, 2004
Bush Booed, Protested as MLK Jr. Tomb
For those who do not know, for over 3 decades now, every president has at some point during their presidency, layed a wreath at Dr. King's tomb on his birthday. President Bush is apparently no different. He was greeted by protestors. This is sad. The AP is reporting that over 700 people were out there protesting...being that I drove right by it this afternoon and saw it first hand...I'd say it was more like 70, give or take. So the AP is lying, what else is new? Either or, it's pretty sad. Dr. King wanted black people to be free of racial oppression. Well, with the except of a few moronic, ignorant individuals, they are. These days, they suffer from the oppression of a cycle of welfare dependency, from a culture of inner-city violence and gangs. My solution? Stop voting for people who oppose reforming welfare, and schools...and a bunch of other policies that don't help the problem. That's what Dr. King would have wanted. He would not have wanted this sad state.
Anyhow, here's the article.
January 12, 2004
Paul O'Neill
Let me preface this by saying I was upset about his being canned as the Secretary of Treasury. He was a supporter of the FairTax, which I believe to be one of the greatest ideas for saving individual liberty and freedom, and is the best way of eliminating the intrusive income tax.
Mr. O'Neill is now flashing (quite illegally) classified documents that he shouldn't even had, had access to, or know about detailing the "planning of regime change in Iraq."
First off, documents like that are need to know basis documents. I can't see how he would need to know. His possession, much less flashing of those documents is on the vergence of treason.
Look folks, sitting somewhere in the Pentagon are plans for the invasion of Guam (a US Territory if you didn't know) and probably Alaska for good measure. We have and train for the possible invasion of every square inch of this planet, a fact cwilli can probably back me up on. Every couple of years, the Pentagon pulls the "contigency plans" (that's what they are called) for the places that are very volatile and dynamic and goes over them and updates them. Depending on the places this is done are a timetable of every 6 months to every 10 years. With a places like Iraq (very very volatile and very very dynamic, especially in early 2001) they will pull these plans and brief the president on them, possibly make changes upon a new president taking office.
What we have here is Mr. O'Neill is bitter and is seeking a little political revenge by making things seems other than how they are. I know this makes great fodder for the conspiracy theorists, but people GET OVER IT!
Democratic Defection
Ed Koch Will Vote For Bush in 2004.
"I am a lifelong Democrat. I was elected to New York's City Council, Congress and three terms as mayor of New York City on the Democratic Party line. I believe in the values of the Democratic Party as articulated by Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson and by Senators Hubert Humphrey, Henry "Scoop" Jackson and Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Our philosophy is: "If you need a helping hand, we will provide it." The Republican Party's philosophy, on the other hand, can be summed up as: "If I made it on my own, you will have to do the same."
Nevertheless, I intend to vote in 2004 to reelect President Bush. I will do so despite the fact that I do not agree with him on any major domestic issue, from tax policy to the recently enacted prescription drug law. These issues, however, pale in importance beside the menace of international terrorism, which threatens our very survival as a nation. President Bush has earned my vote because he has shown the resolve and courage necessary to wage the war against terrorism."
January 07, 2004
Euro police hunt Air France absentee
Full Story @ Aljazeera.Net
Six Air France flights were cancelled over Christmas
But the French interior ministry said on Wednesday it was too soon to draw any conclusions about the man's identity or his suspected ties to al-Qaida.
"I can confirm to you that we are looking for someone. I can't tell you any more than that," French Justice Minister Dominique Perben said.
Government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope later added the suspect had been booked on one of the US-bound Air France flights grounded over the Christmas holidays.
US television network ABC reported on Tuesday that a search had been launched for the man, who US law enforcement officials believe is an Afghan national.
December 31, 2003
Israel stops buying Microsoft software
Full Story @ Globetechnology
JERUSALEM — In an apparent showdown over price, Israel's government has suspended purchases of Microsoft productivity software and is encouraging the development of an open source alternative.
A spokeswoman for the Finance Ministry, which oversees government purchases, said Tuesday that government agencies would use existing Microsoft Office products for the time being rather than upgrade to newer versions.
The Israeli government also will encourage the development of lower-priced alternatives to Microsoft software in an effort to help expand computer use by the public.
December 19, 2003
Court: RIAA lawsuit strategy illegal
Full Story @ CNET News.com
update A federal appeals court on Friday handed a major setback to the record industry's legal strategy of tracking down and suing alleged file swappers.
Reversing a series of decisions in favor of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Washington, D.C., court said copyright law did not allow the group to send out subpoenas asking Internet service providers for the identity of file swappers on their networks. The ruling came in favor of Verizon Communications, the first ISP to challenge the recording industry's actions.
"We are not unsympathetic either to the RIAA's concern regarding the widespread infringement of its members' copyrights, or to the need for legal tools to protect those rights," the court wrote. "It is not the province of the courts, however, to rewrite (copyright law) in order to make it fit a new and unforeseen Internet architecture, no matter how damaging that development has been to the music industry."
While it is a blow to the recording industry, Friday's decision is unlikely to derail the RIAA's ongoing lawsuits against hundreds of individual file-swappers. The ruling focuses on the unconventional subpoena power that the organization had claimed in order to seek ISP subscribers' identities and did not address the legality of the lawsuits that have already been filed.
December 14, 2003
Saddam Hussein Captured Alive Near Tikrit
Full Story @ Excite News
"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer told a news conference Sunday, eight months after American troops swept into Baghdad and toppled Saddam's regime.
"The tyrant is a prisoner."
In the capital, radio stations played celebratory music, residents fired small arms in the air in celebration and passengers on buses and trucks shouted, "They got Saddam! They got Saddam!"
Washington hopes Saddam's capture will help break the organized Iraq resistance that has killed more than 190 American soldiers since President Bush declared major combat over on May 1 and has set back efforts at reconstruction. U.S. commanders have said that while in hiding Saddam played some role in the guerrilla campaign blamed on his followers.
In the latest attack, a suspected suicide bomber detonated explosives in a car outside a police station Sunday morning west of Baghdad, killing at least 17 people and wounding 33 more, the U.S. military said.
Saddam was one of the most-wanted fugitives in the world, along with Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaida terrorist network who has not been caught despite a manhunt since November 2001, when the Taliban regime was overthrown in Afghanistan.
Saddam was captured at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in a walled farm compound in Adwar, a town 10 miles from Tikrit, said Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq. The cellar was little more than a specially prepared "spider hole" with just enough space to lie down. Bricks and dirt camouflaged the entrance.
A Pentagon diagram showed the hiding place as a 6-foot-deep vertical tunnel, with a shorter tunnel branching out horizontally from one side. A pipe to the concrete surface at ground level provided air. The entrance to the hide-out was under the floor of a small, walled compound with a room in one corner and a lean-to attached to the room. The tunnel was roughly in the middle of the compound.
December 13, 2003
PowerPoint Makes You Dumb
Full Story @ NYTimes.com
In August, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board at NASA released Volume 1 of its report on why the space shuttle crashed. As expected, the ship's foam insulation was the main cause of the disaster. But the board also fingered another unusual culprit: PowerPoint, Microsoft's well-known ''slideware'' program.
NASA, the board argued, had become too reliant on presenting complex information via PowerPoint, instead of by means of traditional ink-and-paper technical reports. When NASA engineers assessed possible wing damage during the mission, they presented the findings in a confusing PowerPoint slide -- so crammed with nested bullet points and irregular short forms that it was nearly impossible to untangle. ''It is easy to understand how a senior manager might read this PowerPoint slide and not realize that it addresses a life-threatening situation,'' the board sternly noted.
PowerPoint is the world's most popular tool for presenting information. There are 400 million copies in circulation, and almost no corporate decision takes place without it. But what if PowerPoint is actually making us stupider?
December 10, 2003
US Army Making Headway in Iraq; Kills Senior Fedayeen Officer
The US Army - which I routinely criticize for its inffeciencies and deficiencies - has been taking cues from the Marine Corps' way of doing things and has been taking care of business of late in Iraq. The latest today being the raid on the home of a Saddam Fedayeen colonel.
Read the story here.
Israel gets new fighter, need becoming more obvious.
Full Story @ Jane's Defence News
Israel's F-16I fighters to go down a storm
A total of 102 two-seat F-16Is will be delivered to Israel under two production contracts worth a combined $4.4 billion. The first aircraft will arrive early next year and subsequent deliveries will occur at a rate of two per month spanning about four years.
Acquired through the US government's Peace Marble V programme, the fighters will gradually replace the IAF's existing inventories of A-4 Skyhawk ground-attack and F-4 Phantom strike aircraft (Jane's Defence Weekly 30 April). The F-16 will provide the backbone of the air force's future strike capability - the latest acquisition brings to 362 the number of the aircraft delivered to the IAF. Dubbed the Soufa (Storm), the new aircraft will augment more than 230 F-16s now in service, as well as the IAF's fleet of more than 90 F-15-series fighters.
## And now why they need them.. ##
Syria's fear
Full Story @ Jane's Middle East/Africa News
The Israeli military intelligence service, Aman, has informed the government that the Syrian leader, President Bashar Al-Assad, has instructed his army to get ready for an Israeli military attack.
He has also called for a resumption of peace talks with Israel. But Israel, under the leadership of the hardline expansionist, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, does not take Assad's call for a resumption of negotiations seriously, especially when Sharon apparently has no intentions whatsoever of withdrawing from the Golan heights, which has artillery batteries within firing range of Damascus, the Syrian capital.
In open provocation of Syria, Israel has been conducting air force flights over Syrian airfields, barracks and other military interests, and has attacked 'terrorist' targets within Syrian territory. On 5 October, Israeli F-16 jets bombed an empty Palestinian training base near Damascus. It was the first assault on Syrian soil in 30 years and the Syrians were stunned, failed to retaliate and were mocked throughout the Arab world for letting the Israelis humiliate them. In October, eight Israeli F-15's crossed the international border with Lebanon, flew over Beirut and all the way over the 35,000 Syrian troops stationed in northern Lebanon.
December 07, 2003
A Day of Infamy
Today, for those of your who do not know, is December 7th, 2003. It has been 62 years since a Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, HI and the Aleutian Islands (where they actually took and occupied American soil) occured, virtually destroying the United States' ability to make war in the pacific, and subsequently bringing the US into WW2.
The flag (as seen above) here in the Chappo Area (22 Area) of Camp Pendleton was raised to half-mast today in rememberance of the Marines and Sailors who died on that fateful day, which President Roosevelt laster declared "A day that will live in infamy."
62 years later, another day, much more recent, stands out in most American's minds. September 11th, 2001 has overshadowed Pearl Harbor as our worst tragedy to date. It has also brought us into yet another global war, except this time, one where sides are blurred.
The world has also changed since 1941. In 1941, it was no question in most people's minds that we should go to war. In 1941, if you were of age and not running to join the military then you had to walk around showing that you were 4-F, or that your services were needed stateside. In 2001, attacking the people who attacked us became a topic of protest and dissent. In 2001, enlistments initially dropped (although eventually they skyrocketted.)
As you go about your day, remember those that serve and those who have died in the fight for the freedom of this nation. To many people today believe the fight to be something other people do, but it is a fight be all must take part of, and it requries the sacrifice of many.
December 06, 2003
Intel scientists find wall for Moore's Law
Full Story @ CNET News.com
Moore's Law, as chip manufacturers generally refer to it today, is coming to an end, according to a recent research paper.
Granted, that end likely won't come for about two decades, but Intel researchers have recently published a paper theorizing that chipmakers will hit a wall when it comes to shrinking the size of transistors, one of the chief methods for making chips that are smaller, more powerful and cheaper than their predecessors.
Manufacturers will be able to produce chips on the 16-nanometer manufacturing process, expected by conservative estimates to arrive in 2018, and maybe one or two manufacturing processes after that, but that's it.
"This looks like a fundamental limit," said Paolo Gargini, director of technology strategy at Intel and an Intel fellow. The paper, titled "Limits to Binary Logic Switch Scaling--A Gedanken Model," was written by four authors and was published in the Proceedings of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) in November.
Although it's not unusual for researchers to theorize about the end of transistor scaling, it's an unusual statement for researchers from Intel, and it underscores the difficulties chip designers currently face. The size, energy consumption and performance requirements of today's computers are forcing semiconductor makers to completely rethink how they design their products and are prompting many to pool design with research and development.
Resolving these issues is a major goal for the entire industry. Under Moore's Law, chipmakers can double the number of transistors on a given chip every two years, an exponential growth pattern that has allowed computers to get both cheaper and more powerful at the same time.
Mostly, the trick has been accomplished through shrinking transistors. With shrinkage tapped out, manufacturers will have to find other methods to keep the cycle going.
December 04, 2003
Baghdad Journal: Toys for Iraqi Tots
Full Story @ FOXNews.com
The dictator's priorities were clearly not focused on children. The schools are dilapidated and ill-equipped.
A U.S. Army officer who calls himself "Chief Wiggles" is doing his part to change all that.
Chief Warrant Officer Paul Holton, from Salt Lake City (search), Utah, is an army interrogator based in Baghdad.
One day he saw a crying child on the other side of the razor-wire fence separating the American enclave from the rest of the city. He helped reunite the child with her mother, and calmed her down by giving her a stuffed animal.
That small gesture has grown into a major effort to help the children of Iraq.
"I knew the way to touch the Iraqi people was through the children," says Holton.
As an interrogator, he says, "a big part of my job is connecting with the Iraqi people so that we build a relationship, build trust. A big part of that is reaching out to them, and a lot of times that is through their families, through the children. That way, we're able to build a connection and change attitudes about America."
*Muddy's Note* I lost it when I read this line, "As an interrogator, he says, "a big part of my job is connecting with the Iraqi people". I had to post this, it was too funny. That line goes together about as well as "As a sniper a big part of my job is to reach out to those around me." hahaha
December 02, 2003
Cops Connect 12 Shootings Along Ohio Highway
Full Story @ FOXNews.com
Four of the shootings -- three at vehicles and one at an elementary school last month -- were from the same gun, Franklin County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Steve Martin said Tuesday.
Although ballistics tests could not link the rest of the shootings along Interstate 270, investigators said they "are comfortable" saying all 12 are connected, he said. He would not elaborate.
Authorities have received more than 500 tips, but would not speculate about who the shooter might be and would not release the type of weapon.
"Collectively, we think it's not good for us to put that information out," Martin said.
The shootings began in May along Interstate 270, the freeway that circles Columbus. Many were not reported until after Nov. 25, when 62-year-old Gail Knisley was killed by a bullet that pierced the side of a car driven by a friend.
The latest shooting linked to the spree was a Nov. 11 shooting at Hamilton Township Elementary School in Obetz, about two miles from the freeway.
Superintendent Bill Wittman said he believes the shooting was not meant to harm anyone because it happened overnight, but nervous parents expressed concern.
Tiffany Ellis, 32, said her son's second-grade classroom faces the front of the school, where the bullet struck.
"It makes me angry to be honest with you, that I have to drive down the road worrying about getting shot," Ellis said Tuesday.
*Muddy's Note* What puzzles me is how a few shootings here and one death can make world headline news, I just checked fox, cnn, msnbc and even bbc and this story is on the front page of each. It's even on news sites that I can't read because I don't speak that language. Nice going Ohio, nobody makes a big deal about normal happenings like us. A drunk redneck (and we're full of them) and a hunting rifle should not take precedence over real news.
December 01, 2003
DVD Forum chooses standard
Full Story @ CNN
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Toshiba and NEC won a round in the fight for standardizing the DVD formats as their technology has been embraced by an industry forum, but the real battle is won by convincing consumers and Hollywood.
Japan's Toshiba and NEC received the support from the DVD Forum last month, but the news spread into the public domain over the weekend.
Last year, the two companies pitched their version of a blue-laser DVD player against that of a consortium of the world's biggest electronics makers, including Japan's Sony Corp. and Matsucrapa and Dutch firm Philips.
Sony and Philips are also members of the DVD Forum.
Blue-laser DVD players will replace the current generation of red-laser DVD players in a few years' time. A blue-laser disc can store around five times more information than red-laser discs -- which is up to three hours of high definition video.
The DVD Forum, an industry association of some 220 electronics and media companies, said it will endorse only one technology. By backing the so-called HD DVD standard from Toshiba and NEC, a new format war is looming.
Ohio Commuters Warily Return to Freeway
Full Story @ Atlanta Journal Constitution
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)--At least a dozen times a day, Edward Sparks drives his tractor-trailer along the stretch of beltway where authorities are investigating the shootings of 11 vehicles.
``You're constantly looking,'' he said.
After the long holiday weekend, commuters returned Monday to the five-mile stretch of Interstate 270 where the shootings began earlier this year, most in the past two months.
Terry Daugherty, of Pikeville, Ky., passed through the stretch of highway Monday on his way home from visiting family for Thanksgiving. The shootings were a topic of discussion during the holiday, and relatives told him to be careful during his drive.
``Life goes on. You've still got to live, travel and visit,'' he said while buying coffee and candy at a gas station. ``You don't want to go through the heart of the city. You can't shut down the freeway for a couple of shootings.''
Authorities did not connect the cases until a 62-year-old woman was killed Tuesday while riding in a car driven by a friend; she was the only person hit in any of the shootings.
November 29, 2003
The Return of Juan Valdez!
Full Story @ Mercury News
Coffee growers to open U.S. stores
COLOMBIAN FEDERATION TO TOUT VALDEZ BRAND
The Colombian Coffee Federation, which represents more than 500,000 Colombian coffee growers, is planning to open its first coffee shops -- all bearing the name Juan Valdez, after the federation's signature character -- in the United States by early next year.
Gabriel Silva, the president of the federation, which is based in Bogota, Colombia, said he believes the coffee growers have been ``too passive'' in claiming a larger piece of the $8.4 billion specialty coffee industry.
``In a cup of coffee that you get at a coffee shop, between 1 and 2 cents goes back to the farmer,'' Silva said, referring to Colombian growers. ``We need to build our own solutions and take the destiny in our hands and really fight for our share of the industry.''
Coffee growers are facing a difficult market. Per-capita consumption has been in decline since 1963 with the only growth area the specialty coffee shops, led by Starbucks, according to the International Coffee Organization in London. The price of coffee beans has also declined significantly from a high of about $1.20 a pound five years ago because of a global oversupply of coffee beans from countries like Vietnam and Brazil. In Colombia today, the average coffee grower gets only about 68 cents per pound of coffee, Silva said.
*muddy's note*
Now I happen to see this little piece of irony and had to take a screen shot of it.
November 26, 2003
Hero Hacker Does It Again
Full Story @ Scotsman.com
A young Norwegian who became a global hacker hero by writing and distributing a program to crack DVD security codes appears to have struck again, this time against Apple Computer’s ITunes online music service.
Jon Lech Johansen, 19, faces a new trial next week after prosecutors appealed his acquittal for violating Norway’s data break-in laws with his DeCSS program.
Now, a new security ripping program called QTFairUse was posted – along with the message So sue me – on an Internet home page under Johansen’s name.
The new program circumvents ITune’s anti-copying program, MPEG-4 Advanced Audio Coding, by legally opening and playing a music file, but then, essentially, draining the music into a new and parallel file.
November 22, 2003
Hungover CNET wakes up next to MP3.com
Full Story @ The Register
What a night out that was. It must have seemed like a good idea at the time...
On Friday morning CNET woke up to find it was sharing a bed with MP3.com, and couldn't quite recollect how the pair of them had got there. We've all had nights like this, but yesterday CNET staffers were puzzling over how the mothership found itself tweaked into an improbable and very hastily arranged relationship between two hugely unlikely partners, both apparently lured to sin by the glamor of latest Silicon Valley goldrush: copy-protected music downloads.
Some poor, unwitting business development executive at CNET must be rubbing his forehead this morning, asking himself "what did I do?"
November 21, 2003
Wal-Mart to write own name on notebooks
Full Story @ CNET News.com
Wal-Mart Stores is developing a plan to launch its own brand of PCs.
The retail giant plans to begin offering notebooks under its own brand name during the first quarter of 2004, a report in the Taiwan Economic News said this week, quoting industry sources.
A source familiar with the notebook industry in the United States told CNET News.com that Wal-Mart has shown interest in offering a notebook line in the future, but has not yet reached a deal with a specific manufacturer.
If Wal-Mart, which sells PCs from companies such as Hewlett-Packard and eMachines, moves into the notebook market successfully, it could send ripples across the PC industry. The retailer's typically aggressive pricing could compel manufacturers such as Dell, HP and Toshiba to lower their notebook prices in response, analysts said.
However, retailers haven't had much luck with house brands in the past. CompUSA has tried a number of times to launch its own PC line but has usually wound down projects after a few months, and Best Buy put an end to its own PC effort.
November 19, 2003
Like Music, but not the RIAA? Visit Magnatune.
If you like music like I do but despise the RIAA then I have a solution.
Magnatune: try before you buy MP3 music.
Enter Magnatune, a company who believes as I do! Nice to hear the musicians and others in the industry are as feed up with the RIAA as I am.
Here you can not only buy mp3's but can download a 100% digital copy of the entire CD!, Imagine paying for and downloading music that's in a high quality format, not that phase shifting poor quality mp3 crap. Yes, the future is here and it's easy going on the ears.
What I really, really like is the fact Magnatune pays the artists 1/2 of the sale price. 50% is unheard of in todays world as the music companies normally give the artist pennies per cd if that.
As a former Napster downloader I'm very happy to pay for good music that is #1 good, #2 affordable and #3 something the artist will actually make money from.
I'm jamming to the Electric Frankensteins now, good stuff.
November 15, 2003
Scientists Warn CIA About Future Biological Arms
Full Story @ FOXNews.com
WASHINGTON — Advances in biotechnology could lead to a generation of biological weapons far more dangerous than those currently known, scientists have told the CIA.
The life sciences experts, convened by the agency's Office of Transnational Issues, raised fears of genetically engineered diseases that "could be worse than any disease known to man," according to the CIA's unclassified report on their conference.
The report, "The Darker Bioweapons Future," speaks only generally of the dangers of newly created diseases and does not specify countries that could use them to threaten the United States.
"The same science that may cure some of our worst diseases could be used to create the world's most frightening weapons," the report says.
November 12, 2003
More Fixes From Microsoft
Full Story @ InformationWeek
It issued patches for vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, Windows, FrontPage, and Office, with three of the five flaws rated as "critical," its highest-ranking assessment.
Microsoft has issued patches for vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, Windows, FrontPage, and Office in the second of its now-monthly rollouts of fixes.
Of the five flaws, Microsoft rated three as "critical," its highest-ranking threat assessment. Several let attackers remotely execute code on compromised machines.
In addition, exploit code and proof-of-concept code--which is typically used to build exploits--are circulating on the Internet for all three critical vulnerabilities, according to security firms such as Symantec, which has released alerts to users of its global DeepSight threat-assessment network.
"Yes, there are known exploits," confirmed Mark Miller, the manager of Microsoft's security-response team. "We've seen several posted on public Web sites and we're investigating them."
*note* So in the mean time kids... be smart and install Linux or FreeBSD.
November 10, 2003
Happy Birthday U.S. Marine Corp
Full Story @ European and Pacific Stars & Stripes
One by one, Marines came out and stood at parade rest in front of viewing stands for an abbreviated history lesson of each uniform.
After the pageant, the annual reading of the 13th Commandant, Gen. John A. Lejeune’s birthday message, was read, followed by current Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael W. Hagee’s message.
Commanding General of Camp Butler Brig. Gen. James Flock then addressed the audience.
“For many years, the Marine Corps has been engaged in some of the most fiercest fighting the world has ever seen,” Flock said. “But Marines don’t ask for war, instead we seek peace for all nations. And that is why for 228 years the Marine Corps has stood ready to answer the call to arms.
November 09, 2003
Spammers Can Run but They Can't Hide
Full Story @ excite.com
After Zen gives a good bark at the ducks, the two return to the boat, and Mr. Linford climbs a spiral staircase into a sunny home office with nine computer screens piled on a black desk. This is the unlikely command center for the Spamhaus Project, one of the leading groups that is trying to make the world safe from junk e-mail.
As a cause, stopping spam may not be as urgent as, say, curing AIDS. Yet thousands of activists, of whom Mr. Linford may be the most visible, have mobilized to fight it.
November 08, 2003
Ban on Internet access tax stalls in Senate
Full Story @ CNET News.com
An attempt in the U.S. Senate to enact a permanent ban on Internet access taxes failed on Friday, with senators vowing to negotiate over the weekend and return to the topic next week.
State and local governments and their allies in Congress warn that a permanent extension of an existing moratorium, which expired on Nov. 1, would cost billions in lost tax revenue. The moratorium had applied to special taxes that singled out dial-up and some other Internet access methods and is not related to sales taxes.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said on the Senate floor Friday that the arguments for special tax treatment for Internet access were vanishing. "The Internet is not a baby in the crib anymore," Alexander said. "They can at least afford to hire the most expensive lobbyists. We know that."
Alexander said he hoped to reach a compromise that could be voted on by next week. "We'll be working over the weekend," he said. "We hope we can come to some agreement."
November 07, 2003
Jessica Lynch Announces "I'm Not A Hero!"
Full Story @ The NewYork Times
Those of us with brains figured out long ago Jessica is just another under trained reservist who could not cope with the reality of the modern battlefield. Now she tries to set the record straight.
Asked by the ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer if the military's portrayal of the rescue bothered her, Ms. Lynch said: "Yeah, it does. It does that they used me as a way to symbolize all this stuff. Yeah, it's wrong," according to a partial transcript of the interview to be broadcast on Tuesday.
November 05, 2003
Microsoft Redirects Public Anger With High Dollar Stunt
Full Story @ Yahoo! News
Microsoft is pulling the old "hey look over there" trick. Instead of making secure software that is not full of holes they now choose to create hystaria with Old West style man hunt.
Microsoft offered two $250,000 rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the Blaster worm and Sobig e-mail virus, which disabled computers and snarled Internet traffic across the globe in August and September.
November 04, 2003
Longhorn May Pose Security Concerns
From Internet Week
Microsoft is portraying Longhorn, the version of Windows due in about three years, as its most secure operating system ever. But company officials acknowledge that features in Longhorn that blur the boundaries between code that's running online and locally will compel the software maker to better educate developers about online trust.
Microsoft's new programming specs, called WinFX, will let developers create Web applications that launch local programs that consume data from the Internet. At its Professional Developers Conference last week, Microsoft demonstrated a visit to a LexisNexis Web site that launched a program that let users search their hard drives and the Web simultaneously. If those kinds of applications come to pass, software developers will need a more-precise mechanism for controlling the privileges those applications have, says Microsoft senior VP Eric Rudder. "Absolutely, there are security issues with downloading code," he says. Current yes/no controls for downloading applets from the Web are "super coarse-grained," he adds.
Longhorn will include security technology called the Next Generation Computing Base that's supposed to wall off some software programs from important parts of the Windows operating system. But IT managers will still have to decide how to write into software policies that deal with when to grant download rights and how to phrase questions to users, Rudder says.
Security issues are starting to hit Microsoft's top line. During its first quarter ended Sept. 30, the company reported a sharper-than-expected $768 million sequential drop in unearned revenue, a reflection of how quickly businesses are renewing licenses. CFO John Connors attributed the drop in part to ongoing concerns about computer attacks.
Gene Fredriksen, VP of information security at financial-services provider Raymond James & Associates, says Longhorn features that post blog entries and instant-messaging buddy lists on the Windows desktop could create new ways for attackers to enter systems.
Security pros are right to be worried about how attackers can exploit new technology, says John Pescatore, a Gartner research director for Internet security. First-generation standards and protocols generally are designed for easy implementation, he says--not for keeping out the bad guys.
November 03, 2003
First Optical Processor! Laser Tag in your CPU.
From The Register
Israelis ship eight tera-ops optical processor
By Tony Smith
Posted: 31/10/2003 at 15:18 GMT
Israeli technology Lenslet has begun shipping what it claims is the world's first optical microprocessor.
However, its use of light rather than electronics enables it to perform up to eight trillion calculations per second - roughly a thousand times faster than semiconductor DSPs, the company claims.
EnLight comprises an eight trillion ops per second vector-matrix engine, a 128 billion ops per second vector processing unit and a standard semiconductor DSP licensed from Texas Instruments for scalar processing and chip control.
It's the vector-matrix maths unit - called the Ablaze core - that uses optical processing technology. The optical engine - or Spatial Light Modulator (SLM), as Lenset calls it - is... well... here's how Lenset describes it: "A two dimensional 8-bit resolution, reflective mode intensity modulator." It operates using "advanced Multiple Quantum Well (MQW) [Gallium Arsenide] technology".
Essentially, it performs vector-matrix multiplication by firing 256 tiny "vertical cavity surface emitting" lasers into the SLM's "programmable internal optics". The beams interfere yielding a series of outputs that are 'read' by an array of 256 light detectors and converted back to electronic information. The chip is fast because it allows many calculations to be made in parallel.
According to Lenslet, Ablaze can operate as a standalone device. The company reckons it has a role in a number of information processing and communications applications, including high capacity data storage, high bandwidth I/O in CMOS chips and others. As part of EnLight, its role broadens to take in high definition video encoding - such as H.264 compression for multiple HDTV channels - and unnamed "military and industrial" applications, but mostly military, we note from the tone of the company's web site.
Lenslet sees system designers replacing multi-DSP set-ups with single EnLight 256 chips. Not that it comes cheaply: the part is expected to cost tens of thousands of dollars a pop, with each chip designed to order.
October 28, 2003
Wildfires Kill 17, Destroy 1,100 Homes
From FOXNews.com
SAN DIEGO — Firefighters in Southern California (search) were continued to battle devastating wildfires Tuesday morning that have killed 17 people and destroyed at least 1,134 homes in the state's deadliest outbreak of fires in more than a decade.
About 30,000 homes were still in danger from the fire, which had consumed more than half a million acres of dense, dry brush and trees.
Fifteen Californians were killed as of Tuesday by five separate blazes scattered around Southern California. Two more people were killed in Mexico.
The mounting daily cost of fighting Southern California's wildfires is draining the state's already stressed coffers as California's contribution could swell to $100 million.
"This will be the most expensive fire in California history, both in loss of property and the cost of fighting it," Dallas Jones, director of the state Office of Emergency Services, said Monday.
The flames dotted an area that extended on a 100-mile line from the Mexican border north to the suburbs of Los Angeles.
A handful of other fires that hadn't hit any homes also consumed tens of thousands of acres of brush and forest lands, bringing the total burned to more than 500,000 acres -- or about 780 square miles, roughly three-quarters the total area of Rhode Island.
"It's a worst-case scenario. You couldn't have written anything worse than this. You can dream up horror movies, and they wouldn't be this bad," said Gene Zimmerman, supervisor of the San Bernardino National Forest, the area in which two of the most destructive fires began last week.
A blaze in San Bernardino County called the Old Fire, which began near the forest on Saturday, has destroyed at least 450 homes and been blamed for the deaths of two people. It was 10 percent contained Tuesday. The Grand Prix Fire, which was 25 percent contained, has destroyed at least 77 homes since it ignited near the forest on Oct. 21.
One of the biggest fire fights on Tuesday was unfolding in the Santa Susana Mountains that separate Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, where 1.3 million people live, from Simi Valley in neighboring Ventura County.
The Simi Valley fire, which has destroyed 13 homes since it began Saturday, was burning dangerously close to a gated community of million-dollar mansions in Los Angeles' Chatsworth section. It was only 5 percent contained.
Meanwhile, 90 miles away in San Bernardino County, the Old Fire and Grand Prix Fire, which merged earlier in the week, had jumped a highway and was moving as one contiguous wall of flames toward the mountain resort town of Lake Arrowhead. The town, which sits at an elevation of 5,100 feet, was left particularly vulnerable to flames by a beetle infestation that has devastated the surrounding trees.
"It is one of our major concerns at the moment," U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Carol Beckley said late Monday.
Officials were particularly concerned about "crowning," in which flames leap from one treetop to another, leaving firefighters on the ground all but powerless to stop them.
"If that occurs we don't have the capability to put those fires out," Beckley said. "It will be a firestorm."
Conditions were equally grim in San Diego County, where ash from three large fires fell on the beaches like snow and drivers had turn on their headlights during the day.
San Diego Fire Chief Jeff Bowman was worried that the fires would merge into one gigantic blaze, pushing already strained resources to the breaking point.
"It would be disingenuous to say we have control of these fires. Right now we are throwing everything we can at them," Dallas Jones, director of the state Office of Emergency Services, said of the San Diego blazes.
More than 10,000 firefighters were battling the flames, which by Tuesday had already cost the state more than $24 million.
The 15 people killed were the most since the devastating Oakland Hills fire that killed 25 people and destroyed more than 3,000 homes in October 1991.
Scores of people were also injured by this week's fires, including eight people treated for burns and smoke inhalation at the University of California, San Diego, Medical Center, on Monday. Two were in serious to critical condition with burns over more than 55 percent of their bodies, spokeswoman Eileen Callahan said.
The fires also knocked out power to tens of thousands of people, closed highways and disrupted air travel.
More resources were on the way from Arizona and Nevada, which were answering pleas for help from Gov. Gray Davis.
Each state has volunteered the use of 50 fire trucks, most of which are being directed toward the San Diego fires, Davis said. Nevada was also sending three helicopters.
On Monday, President Bush granted Davis' request to declare the region a disaster area, opening the door to grants, loans and other aid to residents and businesses in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties.
"I believe at the local, state and federal levels they are doing their parts in this distress," Davis told The Associated Press.
The Democratic governor, who will leave office next month after being recalled, dismissed criticism from some Republican lawmakers that he could have asked for help sooner.
"It's not time for second guessing, but to pull their loads to get these fires out and checks in the hands of people who lost their homes," Davis said.
As the flames continued to rage out of control, every Californian seemed to know someone -- or know someone who knew someone -- who was affected by the fires.
U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, said his home was among hundreds damaged or destroyed in his mountain town.
Maurice Greene, a sprinter who won a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics, had to evacuate his 9,000-square-foot home near Simi Valley on Monday.
"We have to put it in God's hands. That's all we can do," he said as he left.
October 25, 2003
Anti-'Passion' = anti-Christ
From WorldNetDaily
By Ted Baehr
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
Several people have called me lately to discuss the controversy over "The Passion." Generally, they have brought up the question of whether the movie is anti-Semitic. The real issue of "The Passion" is not anti-Semitism; after all, Jesus was Jewish, as were the disciples. The real issue is anti-Christ – a bigoted position embraced by a group of negative, self-appointed secular elites whose intent is to attack Jesus Christ by attacking the authenticity of the Bible and of Christianity itself.
These are the same people who fight to get the 10 Commandments removed from the Alabama courthouse and crosses removed from government cemeteries. Their arguments do not hold water.
(The Passion of Christ, will open in theaters next Ash Wednesday — Feb. 25)
Watch the movie trailer.
Windows Media version here.
Real Player version here.
Many of these anti-Christs want people to believe that the Bible is highly inaccurate and cannot be read as if it says what it says. They are angry that Mel Gibson has stuck to the biblical text, and their problem is that they do not want to believe the biblical text because it would force them to consider the claims of Jesus Christ. Their fallacious premise is that "we don't know who wrote the Gospels." The reason they can make such an absurd statement is that they've thrown out 2000 years of tradition, research and historical documents. From their brief, insignificant, semi-sentient life spans and limited intellectual capacity, they've passed judgment on over 2000 years of tradition and history; and so, their judgment is that the Gospels do not mean what they say.
One of these anti-Christs makes the silly statement that the thieves on the cross, crucified with Jesus, were not thieves, but "insurgents." The question is, Has this self-appointed expert ever read the Old Testament? Isaiah 53:12 says that the Messiah will be crucified with thieves, and the Gospel account of the crucifixion is a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy written hundreds of years earlier. In fact, most of the things they object to in the Gospels are prophesies testified to in the Old Testament. Therefore, the events of the Gospels are proved by prophecy, history and the immediate revelation to those who are believers in Jesus Christ. What's sad is that the cynical press seizes upon the comments of these negative anti-Christs and treats them as if they were saying something profound and truthful, which they are not.
The Gospels were written very shortly after the death of Jesus, as J.A.T. Robinson points out in "Redating the New Testament." Robinson (a noted theologian, but not a believer) dates all of the New Testament books as written before A.D. 70 and some as early as A.D. 40-50, which is only 10 to 20 years after these events occurred. Biblical archeologist William Foxwell Albright supports this finding:
In my opinion, every book of the New Testament was written by a baptized Jew between the 40s and 80s of the first century A.D. (very probably sometime between about A.D. 50 and 75).
In recent years, this view has been confirmed by several other top-line scholars.
The significance of this dating is that those reading the testimony of the New Testament writers would have been alive during the events written about. Hence, if the writings were outright fabrications, they could have easily been challenged. In fact, the testimonies in the writings were indeed challenged, yet there is no historical record anywhere that the challenges were successful, or that the disciples who witnessed Christ's brutal death and miraculous resurrection appearances recanted their testimony.
Bishop Robinson began his book, "I thought I would see how far one could get with the hypothesis that the whole of the New Testament was written before 70," the year in which the Roman army sacked and burned the Temple of Jerusalem. According to reviewer Edward Thomas Veal, "As it turned out, Robinson got much further than he had ever expected, a journey made more impressive by his lack of any predisposition toward a 'conservative' point of view. His conclusion is that there is no compelling evidence – indeed, little evidence of any kind – that anything in the New Testament canon reflects knowledge of the Temple's destruction. Furthermore, other considerations point consistently toward early dates and away from the common assumption (a prejudice with a seriously circular foundation) that a majority of primitive Christian authors wrote in the very late first or early-to-middle second century under assumed names."
Thus, the Gospels are highly accurate and well attested to by the historians of their age and tell the story that God gave His only begotten son, that all who believe in Him will be saved. What these people are rejecting is not Mel Gibson and "The Passion"; they're rejecting reason, tradition and God himself, who is Jesus Christ, and his salvation, and we need to pray for their eternal souls. This pack of ravenous anti-Christs have done little more than weave a pack of vicious lies.
"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."
- 1 John 2:22 (KJV)
October 24, 2003
Ballmer on why Windows is more secure than Linux
From The Register
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer yesterday defended the company's record on security, arguing that, contrary to popular opinion, Windows was easier to secure than its open source rivals.
During a showpiece Interview with analysts during Gartner's ITXpo in Orlando, Ballmer went as far as suggesting data from security clearing house CERT supported his controversial assertion that Windows was subject to fewer vulnerabilities than popular Linux distros, such as Red Hat.
According to Ballmer, four critical vulnerabilities were discovered in the first 150 days after the release of Windows 2003, compared with 17 found in the same time following the release of Win2000.
"The first 150 days of Red Hat 6, go check the number, just go check the number. It's five to ten times higher than what we are showing," Ballmer said.
But vulnerabilities in Red Hat include flaws with the applications that run and top of the distro as well as the distro itself, so Ballmer has latched onto a misleading comparison. In absolute terms, the number of Microsoft security alerts is decreasing. But this doesn't tell the whole story either, as the seriousness of particular problems and how widely they are exploited are not taken into account.
Blame game
Academics believe that the security of open and closed source platforms to be roughly equivalent. Sysadmins says that patching Windows for security updates is more problematic than is the case with Linux. Despite this, Ballmer continues to find fault with open source security.
"There's no roadmap for Linux. There's nobody to hold accountable for security issues with Linux. There's nobody sort of, so to speak, rear end on the line for issues; it may or may not be an issue," he said.
And what of Microsoft's own Trustworthy Computing initiative, now approaching its second birthday? Ballmer admits that Redmond's effort to address patching issue are overdue but he points to the progress the company has made thus far.
"Since we embarked on what I might call the trustworthy computing release process, we've made dramatic strides; maybe not good enough, four critical vulnerabilities, still not good enough, but we've made dramatic strides," Ballmer said.
"We put a lot of effort and energy into improving our patching process, probably later than we should have and now we're just gaining incredible speed. Our patching process needs to be more predictable, people want smaller patches, we need one simple installation process for patches, which we haven't had, we need rollback on patches, we need a more consistent patch policy, people want more predictability about when they come out, and people want better patch management tools."
"There's a whole set of things that people absolutely want and we've been raising our game," he added, referring to Microsoft's plans to provide improved "inspection and shield" technologies.
Security is 'top priority' for Redmond
Ballmer gave one of his strongest statements to date that giving people confidence in the security of Microsoft's products is "absolutely our top priority.
"We've got our best brains on it. We've told people anything we need to do - acquiring new technologies, people, approaches - we should put our heads down and go get that stuff done. And we're not going to let anything stand in the way.
"We understand this is an issue of customer satisfaction. It could slow down progress on IT for the whole industry."
The last remark is telling. Ballmer's sees security as a difficult stretch of water to be navigated or a roadblock to "innovation", not as a process that needs to be continual, with trade-offs made to manage risks within business requirements.
Gartner analysts correctly identified one of the key security problems Microsoft has yet to address. Whatever the compamy is doing now in terms of improving its code quality most of the problems ("probably 95 per cent") are from code that was written six, seven, eight years ago.
Ballmer was asked if Microsoft was going to rewrite some of this code over time or start over in a few years?
His reply was far from convincing: "There are some things that, in the 20-year time horizon, I'm sure we will redo, and perhaps others will as well," he said, before moving on to discuss new security models based on XML technology.
This is not good enough and touches the heart of the problem, namely the lack of compelling commercial incentives for Microsoft to improve older software.
A transcript of Ballmer's interview is here. ®
October 20, 2003
Flesh traders traumatising Pakistan
From Aljazeera.Net
Sameena, 26, had her dreams shattered when, instead of the small house her husband Jameel had promised, she ended up in an Islamabad Rawalpindi brothel in November 2001.
“I was shocked to know that it was not my sweet home and Farida, whom my husband had introduced to me as caretaker, was lady manager,” recalled Sameena in an interview that an NGO conducted into the issue of women trafficking.
Her face, said the interviewer later, betrayed the trauma Sameena has undergone as a prostitute for almost two years.
Sameena’s is not an isolated story; scores of such victims of greedy flesh merchants serve and suffer not only at hundreds of "civilized brothels" – guest houses – inside Pakistan, but also abroad, where young girls and women are taken as nurses and caretakers, but are in fact used as tools for money-minting.
Fighting back
Human Rights organisations like the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report that a woman could be bought for no more than rupees 10,000 ($175) in NWFP.
In the Sindh and Punjab provinces, impoverished parents sell daughters as young as 10 to suitors willing to pay their families sums of money ranging from $425 to $4250. They either end up in local brothels, or are taken abroad.
“I have seen young girls being brought back on stretchers from the Gulf, after agonizing experiences at the hands of foreign merry-makers,” says Firyal Ali Gohar, a social activist and a Goodwill Ambassador to the UN’s population fund.
Gohar, who has been focusing on human rights and women’s issues in Pakistan, says unscrupulous traders are using both domestic as well as foreign women to fill up their pockets.
“Pakistan in fact serves as a nation where women are sold and sent to other countries after being brought into it,” says Zia Awan, the head of a Karachi-based Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid (LHRLA).
The survey noticed an increase in recent years in the number of women brought into the country from Bangladesh, Iran and Central Asia, often to serve as sex workers or as bonded domestic labour.
Huge traffic
In November 2002, 20 young Iranian girls were repatriated to Iran in a state of trauma after being forced to work in Pakistan as prostitutes.
“These girls had apparently been brought by traffickers from impoverished families in Iran and promised marriage with well-off men in Pakistan,” revealed Kamila Hayat, editor of the monthly magazine of HRCP.
Areen Parvez, a Bangladeshi woman had been brought to Pakistan 10 years ago by a distant cousin with a promise of marrying her off to a God-fearing landlord, but sold her for $350 instead to someone in the southern Sindh province; the middle-aged man subjected Areen to a decade of rape, torture and bondage.
According to estimates by human rights activists, about 200,000 women and girls between the ages of 12-30 years have been trafficked from Bangladesh to Pakistan in the last 10 years.
Dozens of girls from China and some Central Asian Republics at a few low profile, but exquisite places of entertainment in Islamabad, also point to the flourishing trade in recent years.
Dr Sarah Tirmazi, Country Director Action Aid Pakistan, a British NGO, says trafficking of women and children is a shame for any country.
“There also seemed to be an increase in the trend of kidnapping women for trafficking with several women of the same family sometimes abducted for this purpose and smuggled within the country or abroad,” Tirmazi maintains.
Action Aid runs a counseling office in the red light district of Lahore, capital of the largest Punjab province, particularly to promote awareness on sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and AIDS.
According to a Karachi-based helpline, Madadgar, there have been over 1745 cases of abduction across the country last year.
Children targeted
Another issue confronting human rights activists as well as the authorities is the abduction and trafficking of children.
A recent US State Department report classified Pakistan, India and Bangladesh as countries that “do not fully comply with minimum standards to check human trafficking.”
“Pakistan is a main transit point for women and children trafficked for sexual exploitation and bonded labor,” the report said.
“I don’t think this (exploitation of women) will ever come to an end in the Pakistani society where males consider females as their personal property or a trading commodity," said 31-year-old Sobia Faruq, who was forced into prostitution after her husband abandoned her in favour of another girl.
“I tried my best to find a job but got nothing except ‘dirty looks’. Many people were ready to help me but they wanted to have sex in return,” she said adding that an elderly woman later offered a job of a housekeeper to her, which she accepted.
“But it was trap laid out for me; it was not a house but a brothel, which turned a housewife into a prostitute.” Sobia lives on in the same house with little choice of getting out of the vicious cycle.
Root causes
Few would, however, disagree that trafficking and trade in women and children within and outside Pakistan is a primary result of extreme poverty and social norms that treat women as inferior beings.
“The fact that women and children are placed in the same category as arms and drugs is in itself a flagrant violation of their dignity and rights as human beings,” said Nazish Brohi, who also works for Action Aid.
Firyal Ali Gohar is equally bitter about the situation.
“The landed aristocracy, a corrupt and conniving bureaucracy, and a people essentially mired in anti-women conservative culture all combine to put poor women and children at the mercy of unscrupulous traders," Gohar believes.
October 19, 2003
The Longest Struggle
From New York Post
October 19, 2003 -- BETTER-ARMED and better-trained, a Western army "liberates" Arab territory. Divided among themselves, some Arabs cut deals with the invader, while hardliners resist the occupation. Assassins from a terrorist organization haunt - and hunt - local leaders.
Sunnis and Shi'as compete for advantage. Long-suffering minorities wonder whether to welcome their liberators or distrust them. Divided between new powers and old, the Westerners squabble over issues of international law, political authority and trading privileges. Favored parties win economic concessions from the victors.
Having failed to block the advance of the invading army, the Turks meddle in Arab affairs. And a portion of the soldiers in the conquering army feel they've done what they came to do and want to come home.
Iraq, 2003?
No. The Middle East at the close of the 11th century, in the wake of the First Crusade.
The point is not to play clever games with history, but to stress that the dilemmas of our own day are not exceptional or new. On the contrary, our worthy destruction of Saddam's regime can be seen as part of history's longest war: the battle for hegemony between Middle Eastern and Western civilization.
We don't have to like the idea of such an endless conflict before admitting its existence. Well-meant denials help no one, while hindering understanding. The historical record shows that the conflict between Islam and the (Judeo-) Christian West began in the middle of the seventh century, as Muslim armies burst from the Arabian peninsula, energized by a new vision, destroying or subjugating the Christian and Jewish populations of the eastern Mediterranean.
The war never really stopped.
When Arabs complain of their victimization by the West, inevitably citing the interlude of the Crusades, they neglect to mention that, within a century of the birth of Islam, Muslim armies had swept across North Africa, through Spain, and deep into France. In the process, Christian communities that had shaped the faith were devoured.
To the north, the Arabs relentlessly pushed back the Orthodox Christian empire of the Byzantines. Turkic tribes thrust westward, across the Russian steppes and through the Balkans, establishing Islam's frontiers in today's Hungary and Romania.
The combat hardly paused. And the tide slowly turned. Long weakened by the West's internal rivalries, Byzantium fell in the middle of the 15th century. But by the end of that century, the Moors had been expelled from Spain. After a thousand years of defeats, the West's march to dominance began.
Even so, a Turkish army besieged Vienna as late as 1683 - until defeated by the valor of a Polish king. Russia fought fanatical Islamic warriors throughout the 19th century - as Russia does again today. And the Balkan wars that finally expelled the Turks in the early 20th century were vastly more horrific than those of our own time.
The struggle did not stop. It only moved. With the age of European imperialism, the conquests shifted in the other direction. The Islamic world of the greater Middle East, proud of its tradition of conquest, found its methods and values could not compete with modern, mechanized, liberal societies. The Mahdi's horsemen fell to Maxim guns.
The new debate in the Muslim world, begun 200 years ago and still underway, is between those who seek to emulate the processes of the West and those who advocate a return to religious rigor. Tragically, the fanatics appear to be winning the tactical debate, which leads, inevitably, to strategic defeat and further humiliation.
Now we face something unique in history: the collapse, before our eyes, of the competitiveness and competence of a vast civilization, that of Middle Eastern Islam. None of its cherished values - the subjugation of women, religious intolerance, economic organization based on blood ties - works anymore. The people of the Middle East simply can't compete on their own terms. And the Arab world appears close to hitting bottom.
A decade ago, that rarest of creatures, a courageous academic - Samuel P. Huntington - advanced his theory of a "clash of civilizations." His honesty met outrage from those for whom emotion and prejudice trump facts. Yet all that Huntington really did was to note that the emperor of political correctness wore no clothes.
Still, even Huntington fell short by suggesting that this clash of civilizations was something new. Clashing is what civilizations do. Especially monotheist civilizations, with their one-God, one-path-to-the-truth, our-way-is-best convictions.
We should not be surprised at the current clash of civilizations. It would be far more surprising if it were not occurring. Such conflict is the rule, not the exception.
Of course, we would be fools to celebrate this clash, despite our own triumphs. It would be better for all if the Middle East could regain its moral and economic health. Cooperation is better than warfare. Peace should be our ultimate goal.
But not peace at any price. And cooperation doesn't work unilaterally.
Our soldiers in Iraq aren't engaged in a religious crusade. But ours is, undeniably, a cultural crusade, based upon our belief that the values of our civilization, from human rights to popular sovereignty, are superior to archaic forms of oppression. It's an old, old struggle, fought on post-modern terms.
Today's Middle East has become a citadel of tyranny. And tyranny must be fought without compromise. If that's a crusade, there's no reason to deny it.
Ralph Peters' new book is "Beyond Baghdad: Postmodern War and Peace."
October 15, 2003
Man denies RIAA charges of Latin music love
From The Register
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has come to the aid of one Ross Plank - a man the recording industry accuses of having an unhealthy love for Latin music.
Plank, of Playa Del Rey, California, is one of the 261 alleged file-traders to face a lawsuit from the RIAA's (Recording Industry Association of America) legal arm. The music labels claim that he made hundreds of Latin song available via the KaZaA service. The problem, however, is that Plank does not have a love for the Latin groove.
"Plank does not speak Spanish and does not listen to Latin music," the EFF said in a statement. "More importantly, his computer did not even have KaZaA installed during the period when the investigation occurred."
Plank would not be the first victim of a RIAA legal misfire. The pigopolists last month withdrew their lawsuit against a 66-year-old woman after discovering that she uses a Mac and cannot run KaZaA.
A self-employed Web consultant, Plank is a tad hacked off at the RIAA's threaten now and check the facts later legal strategy.
"I need my computer and Internet connection to run my business," he said. "I shouldn't have to feel my business and future are at risk because the RIAA has somehow linked my name to a set of Latin songs."
The EFF along with US Senator Norm Coleman are calling for new legislation that would cut the amount of damages the RIAA can seek against file-traders and call for a judge - a not a clerk - to review subpoenas seeking individual's information.
October 14, 2003
France: Expulsion Of Teens From School Heats Up Controversy Over Head Scarves
From Radio Free Europe
Two girls have been expelled from their school on the outskirts of Paris for wearing Muslim head scarves. It's the latest move in a debate over whether wearing head scarves in public schools represents a breach of the country's century-old separation of religion and state.
Prague, 13 October 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Two French sisters, 18-year-old Lila and 16-year-old Alma Levy, were suspended at the end of September from their high school in the northern suburbs of Paris after refusing to remove their traditional Muslim dress.
A disciplinary board meeting on 10 October decided to expel the two students after they refused to comply with a dress code banning "ostentatious" religious symbols in French schools. The sisters were wearing head scarves that covered everything but their faces, as well as long tunics that hid the remainder of their bodies.
Alma and Lila maintain they were not flaunting their religion. Their father, who describes himself as an atheist Jew, characterized the board's decision as "academic apartheid" and is promising to launch an appeal.
Michel Tubiana, president of the Paris-based Human Rights League, calls the move a defeat for dialogue and secularism. "These young girls were following all classes, which is essential for us. And despite the fully detestable meaning of the scarf [at school], [wearing it] comes under their freedom of conscience only. I think that those who decided this expulsion have forgotten that the only way to make things evolve is precisely the teaching given by the republic's school system," Tubiana said.
Worn by some Muslim women as a sign of modesty, the head scarf -- or "hijab" in Arabic -- has become a sensitive issue in France. Mouloud Aounit, head of the antiracist Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples (MRAP), says the expulsions point out what he called the "Islamophobia" currently reigning across France. Lila and Alma, he said, are not Islamic radicals.
However, Agence France Presse quoted Remi Duloquin, educational counselor at the school, as describing the girls as "militants" and saying their presence upsets the balance inside the school. The school's student body is made up largely of the children of Muslim immigrants. About 15 other young girls wear a more revealing head scarf without the accompanying tunic.
France's principle of separation of religion and state bars the display of any religious symbols in state schools. And Richard Serero stresses that secularity is not negotiable. He is first vice president of the Paris-based International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA).
"LICRA's position is the republican law -- secularity, full secularity, and only secularity. No exception. No head scarves at school. No religious signs at school. It's crystal clear," Serero said.
In practice, however, school authorities across the country decide themselves on a case-by-case basis whether to implement the rule. There have been expulsions of Muslim girls wearing head scarves before, but the current case has raised the heat under a national French commission mulling whether to recommend a tightening of the rules on the issue. The panel is due to report back to President Jacques Chirac by the end of the year.
To some advocates of tougher laws, head scarves are perceived as a provocation. Jacques Myard is a member of the ruling conservative UMP coalition in the French National Assembly. "In our schools, there have been no signs of religions of any kind for a century now," he said. "It has been just for a few years that it has been an attempt by [some] Muslims to try to impose the head scarf to show the other people that they are Muslims."
The Human Rights League's Tubiana, however, said tightening the law would put France in contradiction with its constitution and its international commitments to protecting freedom of religious beliefs. Besides, he noted, such a move would further stigmatize the French Muslim community. "In reality, the daily wearing of any religious sign is not targeted, but only the Muslim head scarf. So a law would be totally inappropriate," Trubiana said.
Others warn that a tougher law would only boost support for the Islamist fringe. France, traditionally a Roman Catholic country, has Europe's largest Muslim minority, with about 5 million faithful.
Last month in Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the Baden-Wurttemberg state was wrong to deny a job to an Afghan-born teacher who was wearing a head scarf. The country's highest court argued that the state has no laws banning such displays. The court said the state could ban head scarves if it passes a law to that effect, prompting a number of German states to announce plans to do so.
Twelve million moments frozen in time
From Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - A collection of more than 12 million historic photographs, capturing scenes from the Boer War to the D-Day landings, has been published on the Internet.
The images, which date back to the turn of the 20th century, have been captured from the archives of the British Pathe newsreel, a cinema news service that pre-dated television.
The unique collection has been created by re-scanning every inch of the archive's 3,500 hours of 35mm film.
A still image has been produced from every second of film, ranging from the earliest flickering monochrome pictures of the Boer War in 19th century Africa to Pathe's coverage of London in the swinging sixties.
Peter Fydler, archive marketing director at Independent Television News, which owns British Pathe, said the collection should provide a powerful learning aid and a trip down memory lane.
"By using the newsreel archive to create a huge collection of still images, people can have access free of charge to printable pictures which will add to their enjoyment of history," he said.
The collection can be accessed at britishpathe.com
Memorable images include John Lennon and Paul McCartney with their 1964 NME award and England footballers Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst celebrating their 1966 World Cup victory.
Two unidentified soldiers are seen after their rescue from Dunkirk in 1940, while former leader Winston Churchill is pictured enjoying a football match at London's Wembley Stadium at the height of World War Two.
Classic actresses Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe also feature, along with silent movie star Charlie Chaplin, pictured in Venice in 1930.
Queen Elizabeth is seen at the annual Chelsea Flower Show in 1960 and the world's first supermodel, Twiggy, is captured in Hamburg.
Surrealist painter Salvador Dali was the highlight of Pathe's final newsreel in 1970, pulling a bizarre pose in Paris.
October 13, 2003
SunnComm shrinks from DMCA threat
From The Register
Realizing it had little to gain through legal action, SunnComm has backed down from threatening to sue a Princeton student who broke the company's CD copy protection technology simply by holding down the Shift key.
SunnComm issued a statement long on denouncing researcher Alex Halderman's critique of the MediaMax CD3 technology and short on saying why it won't sue. But nonetheless, the company has retreated from its promise to use the DMCA against Halderman.
"I don't want to be the guy that creates any kind of chilling effect on research," SunnComm CEO Peter Jacobs told The Daily Princetonian less than twenty-four hours after wanting to be that guy. "I just thought about it and decided it was more important not to be one of those people. The harm's been done . . . if I can't accomplish anything [with a lawsuit] I don't want to leave a wake."
Jacobs' change of heart comes after seeing his company's market value drop by more than $10 million. In addition, SunnComm's approach to DRM endured widespread public ridicule at the hands of Halderman.
The Princeton student showed that holding down the Shift key would disable Windows' Autorun function and leave MediaMax CD3 rather ineffective.
Sunncomm, whose slogan is "light years beyond encryption," said that Halderman has missed the point when he exposed weaknesses with the MediaMax technology.
"MediaMax performs EXACTLY as "advertised" to the companies who purchased it," Jacobs said in the statement.
“We realize now that Mr. Halderman had mistakenly expected to be researching an 'extremely hack resistant' copy protection product when he evaluated MediaMax -Version1."
Extremely hack resistant apparently meaning something not done in by the Shift key.
All in all SunnComm made the right choice by backing down from what would have been a most liberal use of the DMCA. The company will be better off focusing its efforts on the MediaMax technology and also, with any luck, its Web site.
October 11, 2003
Bremer aide talks of Iraq progress
From The Washington Times
White House Web site guests got some straight talk about postwar Iraq yesterday from Dan Senor, senior adviser to L. Paul Bremer, who's spearheading the multinational rebuilding effort in the war-torn country.
Mr. Senor, who has spent the last six months in Iraq, answered questions submitted online as part of "Ask the White House," a live, public forum that has featured more than 50 Bush administration officials since April.
There is good news, he told a New York woman who complained that the news media presented an "unfairly negative" portrait of the coalition efforts in Iraq.
"Hospitals are open. Schools are open. Children are back at school. Iraqis are taking more and more responsibility for their security. There is a flourishing free press with over 160 Iraqi newspapers that have started up since liberation," Mr. Senor said. "Ninety-five percent of the country is at peace and returning to normal daily life."
One California man wanted to know if the Iraqis are grateful to the United States for ousting Saddam Hussein.
"There are Iraqi leaders stepping up all the time thanking the United States for their liberation. Members of Iraq's new governing council as individuals and as a group have repeatedly thanked President Bush and the United States for removing Saddam Hussein from power," Mr. Senor said.
"I hear from Iraqis all the time who have expressed this sentiment. One I will never forget was Gen. Ahmed Ibrahim, who is a senior Iraqi security official. In his words, 'We will never forget the Americans who came to a foreign country to help people they never knew.' "
Mr. Senor also calmed a man concerned that the media reports depicted Iraq as "another Vietnam."
Iraq had 40,000 new police officers and a new army battalion to help protect Iraq's borders and assist American troops, he said.
"In addition, today, all of Iraq's 240 hospitals are open, 90 percent of Iraq's health clinics are open ... just a few days ago, we exceeded prewar electricity-generation levels," the aide said.
"The overwhelming majority of Iraqi people have embraced the liberation and are grateful for all we are doing to reconstruct their country," Mr. Senor told a California woman concerned about Iraqi children.
"When we arrived in Iraq after the fall of the regime, the school system was in disarray, but we got the school system up and running quickly," Mr. Senor added, noting that 1,500 schools were rebuilt in time for the new school year, and that all of Iraq's 22 universities had reopened.
"As the media speculates, do you think Iraq has derailed us from the war on terror?" asked one man.
"Iraq is now a central front in the war on terror," Mr. Senor said, and Iraq now served "as a model for the region" for a nation at peace with its citizens.
"If we choose to ignore terrorists in Iraq, we will wind up hearing from them on our own soil. That is why success in the reconstruction of Iraq is so critical," he said.
The complete transcript can be read online at www.whitehouse.gov/ask.
October 08, 2003
Playable version of Half-Life 2 stolen
From CNN.com
Theft of game's source code was just the beginning.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - When hackers broke into the computing system of Valve Software, they stole more than just the source code to Half-Life 2. They also stole enough game maps and other components to put together a playable build of the game. Today, five days after the first leak, they have released that build.
Message boards and chat rooms were buzzing Tuesday morning with word of the leaked game. Some fan-based and hacker sites were even displaying in-game images. It is unclear whether the leaked version features the entire game or a limited number of levels. Also unclear is how current the assets used to create the game are.
t's the latest in a series of frustrations for Vivendi Universal Games (V: Research, Estimates) and developer Valve. Earlier today, Christophe Ramboz, VU Games president of international operations, told Reuters the source code theft would result in a four month delay, pushing Half-Life 2 back to April 2004.
Valve, though, has not confirmed that delay. (Calls to the developer were not returned.) That's an important thing to note. Large independent game developers such as Valve and id Software typically decide when their games are released – not the publishers.
The hunt for the thieves is ongoing, but a rough timeline of events has emerged. Somewhere on or around Sept. 11, hackers broke into the email of Valve founder Gabe Newell, possibly utilizing a security hole in Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) Outlook. Eight days later, they made a copy of the game's source tree. Keystroke recorders were also installed on the computers of several other employees. The invasion was methodical and seems deliberately aimed at the developer.
"This [keystroke] recorder is apparently a customized version ... created to infect Valve (at least it hasn't been seen anywhere else, and isn't detected by normal virus scanning tools)," said Newell in a message board posting last week.
In the same post, Newell said the company had been subject to "a variety of denial of service attacks" over the past year. He was unsure whether these were related to the code theft.
The company has since minimized its network connection to the Internet, as it was still finding infected machines on Saturday.
The company has asked the Half-Life fan community for assistance as it searches for the attackers. Newell also mentioned in a Saturday update that it's possible other game developers might have been targeted by the same group.
"There's anecdotal evidence that other game developers have been targeted by whoever attacked us," he wrote. "This hasn't been confirmed. We've been providing other game developers with more detailed information about the exploits and evidence of infiltration."
Valve did not name the other developers who might have been targeted.
Id Software, though, knows a few things about source code leaks. Several of the company's biggest games, including all of the Quake games, have seen their source code leak out. Last year, a playable build of the still-in-development Doom 3 hit the Internet.
"It's happened enough that you think you'd start to get used to it," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software. "But whenever it happens, it's a sinking feeling. It's like somebody died. I don't mean to over dramatize it - I know its just a video game - but this is our lives here."
Today's release of a playable version of the game brings Vivendi's comments from earlier today into question. Ramboz told Reuters "a third of the source code was stolen". However, with the stolen game now out, it's possible a more complete version of the source code was taken.
While it's possible to make a playable version of a game without its complete source code, doing so without a strong knowledge of game development is extraordinarily challenging.
There are additional fears that the thieves could distribute other aspects of the game, which have not yet been officially announced.
Valve has been actively pursuing the thieves since the hacking came to light, which is a different approach than other developers have done in previous instances of code theft. Hollenshead said he understands where the drive to find who was responsible comes from, but questions its usefulness.
"From what I've seen of Half-Life 2, it looks like it's going to be a really fun game," he said. "My focus would be on doing the thing that's going to make the game great: Focus on finishing it. ... The risk is they find out who did it and [the hacker is] a resident of Russia. Then there's not a damn thing you can do about it. Ultimately, we're in the business of making games, not chasing hackers."
Half-Life 2 was shaping up to be the year's most anticipated PC game. Vivendi was counting on heavy sales to help it improve revenues – and possibly make its gaming unit more attractive to potential buyers. The game, originally scheduled to be released Sept. 30, was first delayed on Sept. 23, with Valve saying it was "targeting a holiday release."
The leak could also have a negative impact on graphic chip manufacturer ATI, which Valve recently named the preferred graphics card partner of Half-Life 2. ATI (ATYT: Research, Estimates) planned to give away a free copy of the game with its two latest products. The leaked version could lessen demand for those graphics cards, though.
October 07, 2003
FBI issues reward for pizza man bank robber info
From CNN.com
Federal agents investigating the death of Brian Wells on August 28 outside Erie also issued a $50,000 reward for information leading to anyone responsible for the robbery and Wells' death.
Before he died, the 46-year-old deliveryman told authorities he had been forced to rob the bank by someone who locked the collar around his neck. Police who surrounded Wells after he robbed the bank were waiting for a bomb squad when the device detonated.
FBI Agent Bob Rudge said the cane-shaped weapon fired shotgun shells and appeared to be homemade. Investigators hope someone will recognize the gun, which is made of wood and metal.
"We know that Mr. Wells was instructed to take the cane inside (the bank) to commit the robbery," Rudge said. He did not say how the FBI knows that and he refused to say whether the weapon had been fired.
Rudge said behavioral specialists at FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, determined that the person who made the weapon was likely patient, mature and deceptive.
"This may not be the only cane-gun the individual has manufactured," he said.
In the weeks since Wells' death, authorities also have released details from an extensive note in Wells' possession. The note directed him to four locations after robbing the bank. Investigators also have released photographs of the three-ringed, locked metal collar.
Investigators have said that they have not ruled out that Wells could have been a willing participant in the crime.
Indy Wins Amazing Game in OT!
The Indianapolis Colts just shocked the Tampa Bay Bucs with an amazing OT win.
In the 4th quarter the Colts scored 4 TD's to come back from a 21 point deficient to tie the game. In OT Mike Vanderjagt missed his 1st field goal attempt only to be given another chance after Simeon Rice was called for unsportsman like conduct on an obscure rule. Vanderjagt's 2nd attempt was tipped at the line and hit the goal post only to bounce in giving the Colts an incredible win in OT.
More on NFL.com
October 06, 2003
Israel Bombs Syria
From Newsday.com
Warplanes hit suspected training camps used by Palestinians
Beirut, Lebanon -- Israeli warplanes bombed a target just miles from the Syrian capital yesterday, in the first Israeli military attack inside Syria in 30 years. Israel said the site was a training camp used by Pales- tinian militants responsible for deadly attacks against Israelis, but Syria said it was a civilian area and warned of a "grave escalation" in violence.
The air strike - in apparent retaliation for a Palestinian suicide bombing Saturday that killed 19 Israelis, came on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, in which Israel held off Arab armies. The attack brought condemnation from many Arab governments and heightened fears that Israeli-Palestinian fighting could spread to neighboring countries. The Bush administration appeared to have been taken by surprise, with officials saying that Israel did not give Washington any advance warning of the attack.
The administration urged both countries to show restraint, but added a pointed criticism of Syria, saying Damascus "must cease harboring terrorists and make a clean break from those responsible for planning and directing terrorist action from Syrian soil." Washington has been pressuring Syria for months to cease its support for Palestinian militant groups and to seal its borders with Iraq, where Syrians have slipped in to fight U.S. troops. Last month, administration officials suggested that they might impose sanctions on Syria.
With Israel's far superior military, Syria has little option for retaliation. Instead, Syrian leaders looked for international support yesterday, calling for emergency meetings of the United Nations Security Council and the 22-member Arab League. In a letter to the UN, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al- Sharaa said the attack "threatens security and peace in the region and could aggravate the situation into dire consequences that would be hard to control."
Israeli officials said they would pursue Palestinian militants wherever they are. "Any country who harbors terrorists, who trains them, supports and encourages them, will be responsible to answer for their actions," said Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner.
Even if Syria does not retaliate directly, the raid signals a dramatic shift in Israel's response to Palestinian suicide attacks. Since the start of the current Palestinian uprising three years ago, Israel has confined its retaliation to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Now, analysts say, Israel could expand its strikes into Syria and Lebanon, where Palestinian groups operate.
"This is the beginning of a new phase of retaliation, because now nothing can stop Israel from hitting Palestinian targets inside Syria or Lebanon," said Farid el-Khazen, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut. "There is no military deterrence to Israel in the region. The only deterrence is the United States, and it does not seem to object strongly to this new Israeli strategy."
Syrian analysts said Damascus would not abandon the Palestinian groups, which are one of its last potential bargaining chips with Israel.
"Israel's message to Syria today was that Damascus will pay for anything that happens inside Israel and the occupied territories," said Imad Shueibi, a politics professor at the University of Damascus whose views often reflect the government's position. "But Syria cannot be intimidated into withdrawing its support for the Palestinian resistance groups."
By making such a dramatic raid, analysts said, the Israeli government might have forestalled public demands for the expulsion of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, a move strongly opposed by the United States.Israeli officials said the targeted camp - about 12 miles northwest of Damascus - was used by Islamic Jihad, the group that claimed responsibility for Saturday's suicide bombing in the Israeli port city of Haifa. While several leaders of Islamic Jihad, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups are based in Damascus, they all deny having any training camps on Syrian territory. Villagers near the targeted site told reporters that Palestinian guerrillas had used it in the 1970s but that it had been abandoned for many years. Syrian officials quickly closed off the area yesterday and prevented journalists from photographing it.
To buttress its case, Israel distributed undated video footage said to have been taken at the camp by Iranian TV. The footage shows a man in a camouflage uniform conducting a tour of underground tunnels packed with arms and ammunition. In one room, dozens of pistols, machine guns and grenades were displayed on a table.
A small, radical Palestinian group based in Damascus said it once used the area but that it had been deserted for years. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command said two civilian guards were injured in the air strike.
The last time Israel struck inside Syrian territory was during the October 1973 war.
During the past 30 years, military confrontations between Israel and Syria have taken place in neighboring Lebanon, which is politically dominated by Damascus. Syria has more than 20,000 troops in Lebanon. In April 2001, Israeli warplanes destroyed a Syrian radar station in Lebanon, killing three Syrian soldiers. That strike came in retaliation for an attack on Israeli troops by Hezbollah, a Lebanese guerrilla group backed by Syria and Iran.
Yesterday's attack prompted speculation that Syria would retaliate indirectly by having Hezbollah launch attacks from Lebanon's southern border with Israel. A senior Hezbollah official said the group, which fought an 18-year guerrilla battle that drove Israel out of south Lebanon in 2000, has taken steps to fortify its positions along the border. But the official hinted at Hezbollah restraint, saying the group "would not take any steps to enable further Israeli aggression."
In recent months, Syrians have been worried about becoming Washington's next target for "regime change."
Syrian leaders are convinced that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will not negotiate a return of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War, and that the Bush administration will not broker a peace deal between the two countries. That is why Damascus sees little incentive to entirely cut its support to Palestinian militant groups and to Hezbollah.
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
Microsoft may face new lawsuit
From Aljazeera.Net
A possible new class-action lawsuit against the Microsoft Corporation claims that the software giant’s products are susceptible to viruses that are capable of triggering “massive, cascading failures” in global computer networks.
The lawsuit comes in the wake of two major viruses that took advantage of flaws in Microsoft operating systems.
Filed on Tuesday, the suit also claims that Microsoft’s security warnings are too complex to be understood by the general public – instead it gives hackers detailed information on how to exploit the flaws in the operating system.
Attorney Dana Taschner of Newport Beach, California, filed the lawsuit on behalf of Marcy Levitas Hamilton, a film editor and "garden variety" PC user who had her social security number and bank details stolen over the Internet.
"Something fundamental has to change to protect consumers and businesses," Taschner said.
The lawsuit, which could include millions of plaintiffs if allowed to proceed as a class action, seeks unspecified damages and legal costs, as well as an injunction against Microsoft barring it from alleged unfair business practices.
Microsoft, which received and reviewed the complaint, said it would fight the attempt to certify the lawsuit as a class action.
"This complaint misses the point. The problems caused by viruses are the result of criminal acts by people who write viruses," said Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake, adding that Microsoft was working with authorities to bring malicious code writers to justice.
Reignite debate
But the lawsuit will most likely refuel the debate over whether the software industry should be accountable – as other companies such as automakers – for their end product.
"It's obvious Microsoft does not bear 100% of the responsibility for these problems, but it's just as obvious that they don't bear 0%," said Bruce Schneier, chief technology officer at Counterpane Internet Security.
"This represents the first salvo for consumers to say to software makers 'Wait a second, if you are going to put out software that needs be patched three times a week, take responsibility for it,'" said Mark Rasch, a former head of the US Department of Justice computer crime unit, now with security firm Solutionary.
But with about $49 billion in cash and more than 90% of the market in PC operating systems, Microsoft has long been seen as a potential target for massive liability lawsuits.
But the company, which has been moving to settle anti-trust claims that it abused its monopoly on PC software, has been seen as shielded from liability claims by disclaimers contained in the licenses that users must agree to when installing software, according to experts.
October 02, 2003
Iraq Weapons Searcher Indicates Longtime U.N. Violations
From FOXNews.com
WASHINGTON — The inspector leading the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq received a round of applause from the House Intelligence Committee Thursday morning even though he told lawmakers that no smoking gun has yet been found in the search, a Capitol Hill source told Fox News.
Speaking to reporters after a companion hearing on the Senate side late Thursday afternoon, CIA adviser and head of the Iraq Survey Group David Kay said he is convinced that there will be more surprises to come.
"Don't be surprised by surprises in Iraq," Kay said, adding that a mission that size will always uncover startling information.
Kay did not reveal any bombshells but said that he had enough evidence to show that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (search) had been violating U.N. disarmament resolutions up until as recently as this year, including by having very substantial chemical and biological weapons plans.
"At this point we have found substantial evidence of an intent of senior-level Iraqi officials, including Saddam, to continue production at some future point in time of weapons of mass destruction. We have not found at this point actual weapons," he said.
Kay said Iraq's nuclear weapons program appears to have been the least developed program uncovered so far, but the country did have bombs that could fly as far as 1,000 kilometers, much further than the 93-kilometer limit the U.N. had imposed on the country.
Kay said his team is still trying to determine the foreign influences that could have provided the liquid and solid fuels that would have flown medium-range missiles.
Earlier in the day Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom, one of the coalition partners in Iraq, said weapons inspectors, who have only been on the ground for three months, have only one threshold to consider.
"The crucial question Kay's report poses is whether it will disclose evidence that is a breach of the United Nations resolutions that would have triggered a war with U.N. support if that information had been before the U.N. last March," Blair said.
The Kay appearance came after Bush administration officials revealed last month that Kay was returning to Washington to spend time barreling through thousands of documents from Saddam's deposed regime.
According to a source with knowledge of the closed-door House meeting, when Kay was asked point-blank by one House member whether he had found any weapons of mass destruction, Kay said no. Asked if he is going to find any, Kay replied, "I don't know."
According to the source, Kay described having found a lot of documents, a lot of computer files and quantities of materials — like chemical agents — needed to make weapons of mass destruction.
Kay briefed House committee members for approximately two and a half hours, spending the first hour delivering written testimony and the remaining 90 minutes answering lawmakers' questions. The source said he did a "very thorough job."
He cautioned that he still has much ground to cover and suffers from obstacles such as an inadequate supply of Arab linguists.
"It's not going to be obvious. Just walking in the country is not going to reveal the truth, you have to work at it and work at it hard," Kay told reporters after his testimony.
The source said Kay told lawmakers he expects to submit a final report to CIA Director George Tenet in September 2004, right in the middle of next fall's presidential campaign.
White House officials Thursday downplayed the importance of the session, saying Kay's mission remains very much a work in progress.
"This is a progress report, keep it in perspective. They continue to do their work. There's some 1,900 members of the Iraq Survey Group who are going through a massive amount of documents, interviewing a number of people in Iraq, Iraqis and scientists, who have knowledge of Saddam Hussein's history of weapons of mass destruction. And so they continue to pull together a complete picture," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said.
Asked whether the intelligence relied on to justify the war had been off base, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he had not seen anything that would lead him to think collectively the intelligence was inaccurate.
"I expect there to be considerable variations between what the intelligence suggested and what is eventually found on the ground. That's been true with intelligence since man began trying to gather intelligence. But I believed it then. I believe it now. We'll all know in good time," Rumsfeld said in a briefing with reporters.
One Republican senator suggested that whatever Kay reports, it will not diminish the strength of President Bush and Congress' decision to authorize war in Iraq.
"I think that we all made that decision in good faith. So I hope we do find remnants that show that there was an ongoing effort to make those weapons of mass destruction, but I also think events have overtaken that issue right now," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.
Some experts have suggested that Kay's group will find no evidence of actual weapons, and perhaps only documentation. For Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, that's not good enough.
"If he's talking about programs or ready-to-reconstitute weapons of mass destruction, that's a very different thing than what it was that the president said to us in the State of the Union when he implied in a sense that the situation in Iraq was of immediate threat to the United States and therefore we had to take pre-emptive action," Rockefeller said.
He added, however, that he is not prepared to make any final judgments until the report is wrapped up next year.
Lawmakers are continuing to investigate the quality of prewar intelligence. In a letter last week to Tenet, the two top members of the House intelligence panel said there were "significant deficiencies" in the collection of intelligence on Iraq's weapons programs and any ties Iraq may have had to Al Qaeda terrorists.
"There was a disconnect between public statements by administration officials and the underlying intelligence," read the letter sent by Chairman Porter Goss, R-Fla., and Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif.
Kay's visit corresponds with Senate debate of President Bush's request for $87 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan. Democrats say the failure to find weapons calls into question whether the war, and its human and financial costs, were necessary.
Among the classified section of the request is a $600 million request to pay for the continued hunt for conclusive evidence of WMD, according to a New York Times report Thursday.
Fox News' James Rosen and The Associated Press contributed to this report
September 28, 2003
Mass. Wants to Use Linux-Type Systems
From Yahoo! News
Massachusetts the last state still in court suing Micro$oft over antitrust violations has taken that all important step.
Open Source.
As many local and state governments are looking for ways to cut budgets and save some serious cash, Linux and Open Source is looking more ideal.
" Kriss said the state's decision was driven by a desire to reduce licensing fees but also "by a philosophy that what the state has is a public good and should be open to all," Kriss told The Associated Press. He characterized the decision as the "most visible concrete action by a state government" to move toward open standards."
Let's take a look at this, your IT folks have 100% access to the code your systems are running. It's monumentally cheaper than closed source products and it's far more reliable.
Makes sense to this geek. However the following from the article was no surprise to me.
" A Microsoft spokesman had no immediate comment."
Sometimes silence speaks volumes.
Power Failure Brings Italy to Standstill
From Reuters
Sun September 28, 2003 06:11 AM ET
By James Crawford
ROME (Reuters) - A nationwide power cut plunged Italy into darkness early Sunday in one of the country's worst blackouts, which authorities blamed on the breakdown of electricity lines from France and Switzerland hit by storms.
The early morning blackout hit virtually the entire country, stranding more than 30,000 train passengers, forcing airlines to cancel flights and leaving people sleeping on the streets.
There were no reports of fatalities directly linked to the fourth major power breakdown in Western economies in two months.
It was Italy's worst blackout in nearly a decade and hit all of the country except the island of Sardinia and some small pockets of the mainland, officials said.
Eight hours after the power went out, huge sections of the country were still without electricity including Rome, where stranded subway and train passengers slept on the ground.
"It's chaos, and until the electricity comes back on it will continue to be chaos," said policeman Fabio Bragazzi, 21, at Rome's main Termini train station.
Italian authorities said the near simultaneous failure of power lines from neighboring Switzerland and France, which provides about one fifth of Italy's electricity at night, triggered the cut at 3:20 a.m. (0120 GMT).
"It was an exceptional, extraordinary event," Andrea Bollino, chairman of national grid operator GRTN, told Reuters.
"There was a problem with the connection in Switzerland which then caused a problem with our connection with France and then affected Italy," Bollino said.
French authorities said severe storms apparently cut two 400,000 volt lines connecting the two countries. Sunday morning the two lines were reconnected, restoring power to large parts of northern and central Italy.
"The origin of the main failure is not French. There was a failure between Switzerland and Italy around 3 a.m. (0100 GMT)," said Patrick Larradet, a spokesman for French grid operator RTE.
He said two French power lines came down shortly afterwards, around 3:25 a.m. (1025 GMT) -- most likely due to storms in the region -- but electricity was soon restored.
Power was expected to be up in the rest of Italy by Sunday afternoon, Industry Minister Antonio Marzano said.
"WE'RE NOT HAPPY AT ALL"
The outage brought an early close to an all-night party in the capital where shops, tourist sites and museums were meant to stay open until daybreak. Cash machines in Rome went on the blink.
Patrons in one Rome cafe without power to run the coffee machine turned to liqueur instead.
"We're not happy at all. Everything was fine until about 3:30 a.m. (0130 GMT). Then it all happened at once and now we're angry and wet," one sodden party-goer said.
About 110 trains with some 30,000 passengers were stranded when the power went out. "Almost all trains that were blocked are now brought into the stations," a spokesman for the state railway firm said.
Italy, which relies on a constant supply of imported power, especially from France, suffered several power outages over the summer as temperatures soared.
About five million consumers in eastern Denmark and southern Sweden were left in the dark last Wednesday in the worst blackout there in 20 years.
That followed last month's huge outage that left 50 million North Americans without power for up to two days and a shutdown which paralyzed London for several hours.
September 27, 2003
Western Press Review: The Bush-Putin Summit, New Atomic Inspections In Iran, And Bosnia's Economic Challenges
From Radio Free Europe
Prague, 26 September 2003 (RFE/RL) -- A review of coverage in major media outlets today finds a look at Iran's nuclear ambitions as UN inspectors prepare to head to the country, analysis of U.S.-Russian relations as leaders of the two nations prepare to meet at Camp David near Washington, Bosnian economic challenges, and the selection of Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as NATO's new secretary-general, among other issues.
THE WASHINGTON POST:
"The Washington Post" in an editorial remarks that Russian President Vladimir Putin likes to compare Russia's war against Chechen separatists with U.S.-led antiterrorist campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But the paper says in reality, "the comparison is obscene. In Chechnya, Russian troops have wiped out a democratically elected government, killed tens of thousands of civilians, forced others out of refugee camps and back into the war zone, reduced the capital and every major town to rubble, indiscriminately rounded up the entire male populations of dozens of villages for torture or summary execution and so shattered the country's civil society that previously marginal Islamic extremists now are a major force."
After launching the war in Chechnya four years ago "in an effort to bolster his own presidential ambitions, Mr. Putin has found himself trapped," the editorial says. "[Thousands] of Russian soldiers have been killed and Mr. Putin has repeatedly declared the war over, [but] the bloodshed relentlessly goes on."
Elections scheduled for October had offered some hope of political progress. "If a credible Chechen leader had been chosen to replace the deeply unpopular Kremlin appointee, [Akhmed-hadji] Kadyrov, meaningful negotiations on the republic's future might have been possible."
But instead, Putin "chose the Stalinist route of eliminating Mr. Kadyrov's main opponents" and rendering the upcoming election a mere sideshow.
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR:
On 28 September, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors will return to Iran for the first time since setting a 31 October deadline for Tehran to prove it is not manufacturing weapons-grade nuclear material. "The Christian Science Monitor" says if the country's conservative mullahs block inspections or miss the deadline, the IAEA might recommend that the UN Security Council levy economic sanctions on Iran -- "much like the sanctions on Iraq that never really worked."
Nevertheless, the paper says, the U.S. and the UN's atomic-energy agency "are working together -- in contrast to the UN-U.S. split over Iraq." In Tehran, a "lively debate" has begun over how to respond to the IAEA request.
Western powers "may try using both sanctions and incentives to bring Iran around. In fact, France, Britain, and Germany have offered to help it develop safe nuclear [power]. But there's tension over whether to keep one card on the table: the threat of a military strike on Iran, or at least on its nuclear facilities."
The paper says the U.S. and Europe "should avoid splitting over this issue and do everything short of war to make Iran comply."
THE ECONOMIST:
"The Economist" says Iran's strategy of choice when confronted over its nuclear ambitions has been "to play for time." But this approach "backfired badly last week when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed its collective exasperation with Iran's evasive attitude" by setting a 31 October deadline to come clean on its nuclear program.
The magazine says Tehran "mistakenly pinned its hopes" on European nations blocking any U.S.-backed proposals. But "[concern] over Iran's nuclear activities has been mounting on both sides of the Atlantic," "The Economist" says. The end result "was a diplomatic disaster for a country that has made a priority of courting Europe as a buffer against America."
The nuclear row has also "exposed the limits [of] authority" of reformist President Mohammad Khatami's government. Some reformists claimed the EU's strong stance would give "ammunition" to Iran's hard-line conservative clerics. But there "is little sign that the reformists have the final say on the issues that matter to the rest of the world, and the gap between Iran's words and actions could no longer be overlooked."
The magazine says even the most avid supporters of the EU's constructive-engagement policy on Iran are now forced to question its efficacy. And now that even Paris and Washington are standing "side by side" on this issue, "The Economist" says Tehran "has managed to produce the seemingly unattainable: trans-Atlantic unity."
THE MOSCOW TIMES:
In a contribution to "The Moscow Times," Sergei Markov of the Institute of Political Studies and the Civic Committee on Foreign Affairs says U.S. troubles in Iraq "have given rise to 'schadenfreude' among certain sections of Russian society."
Meanwhile, in the name of advocating an "immediate transfer of power to the Iraqi people, world leaders would wash their hands of responsibility, and power in Iraq would quickly be seized by Islamic radicals."
Markov says U.S. President George W. Bush did make "a big mistake by going into Iraq, but if he cuts and runs, the consequences will be tragic" for both the U.S. and Russia. Now that the United States "desperately needs help" in Iraq, there is another chance "to forge a genuine alliance" between Moscow and Washington. "In Russia, there is a growing conviction that Russia and America should be strategic allies."
"There is, however, a problem," Markov writes. "The United States, proud of its role as the one and only superpower, is incapable of appreciating the concessions made by other countries. As a result, many in Russia, even those who understand the imperative of helping the Americans, are in favor of waiting for the United States to get further bogged down in Iraq. Given the widespread distrust of the United States in the Russian establishment, the best chance for a deal lies in the personal friendship and trust" between Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE:
An editorial in "The Wall Street Journal Europe" says the choice of Dutchman Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to replace the outgoing Lord George Robertson as NATO secretary-general "suggests the old trans-Atlantic military alliance has plenty of life left in it."
As a career diplomat, de Hoop Scheffer "may lack the military background that Robertson, a former defense minister, brought to Brussels. But the Dutchman has proved to be a deft advocate of close trans-Atlantic ties. The Netherlands put troops on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq, backing up its words with action."
Robertson "leaves the alliance in reasonably good shape, all things considered. NATO took over the Afghan mission last month and might have a future role in Iraq." And the editorial says de Hoop Scheffer "seems well-qualified to build on NATO's recent achievements."
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG:
In the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung," Friederike Bauer looks at the little-noticed anniversary last week (18 September) of Germany's 30 years of membership in the United Nations.
She says: "When the world organization's founders gathered in 1945, the atrocities of Nazi Germany were fresh in everyone's minds -- indeed, finding a way to avoid a similar catastrophe was a major motivation for them coming together."
In remembering this, says Bauer, "it is easy to appreciate the long road the country has taken, from being an 'enemy state' to being a divided one, then unification and today -- 58 years after the war's end -- a rotating member of the UN Security Council confident enough to press for permanent membership."
Most important for postwar Germany's continuing development as a "normal country" was its decision to participate in UN peacekeeping missions. For historical reasons, Germany was for decades unwilling to send soldiers abroad. Only following a Federal Constitutional Court ruling in 1994 was Germany able to participate in collective security missions.
Since then, the number of German "blue helmets" -- UN peacekeepers -- has risen steadily, to 8,200 at present. Most importantly, says Bauer, "Germany continues to see the United Nations as its preferred stage as it sets about enlisting allies to advance its international objectives."
THE ECONOMIST:
"The Economist" weekly says many aspects of life continue to improve in Bosnia. There is now one Bosnian passport, and movement throughout the country is unrestricted. Many of the war's refugees have returned home or reclaimed their property.
"Yet all this progress may still be reversed," the magazine says. "Opinion polls show that the ethnic rivalry that tore the country apart a decade ago no longer bothers ordinary people as much as it did. What they worry most about is jobs. And some fear that the economy is so bad that it could again create ethnic tension and revive the political fortunes of violent nationalists."
Foreign aid "is drying up." Many companies and institutions in Bosnia are mired in debt. Poverty is worsening, and government revenue is shrinking. The magazine cites Gerald Knaus of the Berlin-based European Stability Initiative as saying that the huge amount of foreign investment that has been pumped into Bosnia has been a success, but that new policies are needed to ensure all that money -- estimated at $19 billion -- does not go to waste.
Knaus suggests the European Union should get involved, applying policies similar to what it has done to spur reform in Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. The EU is now undertaking a feasibility study on this prospect, but "The Economist" says Bosnians "want EU handouts fast."
LE MONDE:
An item in France's "Le Monde" says Russian President Vladimir Putin adopted "a low profile" so as not to offend Washington in his speech at the UN General Assembly yesterday (25 September).
Putin called for the "direct participation" of the UN in the reconstruction of Iraq, while stopping short of demanding a timetable for a U.S. withdrawal and the full return of Iraqi sovereignty, as Paris and Berlin have insisted. The French daily notes, however, that Putin did allow his foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, to say that a "calendar" of some sort is necessary for a transfer of power and a troop withdrawal.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, meanwhile, announced that there would be a further reduction in UN staff in Iraq, following another attack on 22 September seemingly aimed at the UN mission in Baghdad. He emphasized, however, that this was not an evacuation of UN workers, merely a decrease in the active duty workforce in Iraq.
Up to 600 UN workers were in the country before the 19 August attack that killed the world organization's special envoy to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and 21 others. The number of UN workers now stands at 42 in Baghdad and 44 others in northern Iraq. The paper says even this partial retreat comes as a major blow for the United States, which is fervently seeking increased UN involvement to assist their efforts in Iraq.
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG:
A commentary in the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" debates some of the moral issues underlying the refusal of 27 Israeli Air Force reservist pilots to carry out air strikes in Palestinian territories, on the grounds that such attacks are "illegal and immoral."
The paper says Israel has launched military operations that "are unworthy of a democratic state even in the position of an occupier." The reaction of the pilots, and the many others who share their opinion, makes amply clear that a section of the Israeli population questions the morality of attacking a civilian population.
To be rid of this moral burden is yet another reason why a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problems must be found. It is clear that neither side can win this war. Apart from the many casualties on both sides, "the moral damage" should be taken into consideration, says the commentary. "It is possible to rebuild damaged houses and reconstruct communications. But wounded souls cannot be quickly healed."
September 26, 2003
Au Revoir, Islamists
While France has tried to maintain a cozy relationship with the Islamic world, French Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy said in Paris the government might expel all Muslim clerics disseminating militant views.
The minister also said France will not hesitate to close down mosques preaching Islamic fundamentalism.
The minister, who spoke to the daily La Figaro, said among others: "Mosques where fundamentalism is preached will be shut down. Imams that express radical views will be expelled and speakers who do not guarantee respect for the republic's rules will see their entrance visas refused."
France has a Muslim population of 5 million, mainly of North African descent.
Sarkozy also said: "I do not negotiate with extremists. I have a dialogue with the Muslim community in France as it is, in all its diversity." The minister also said he has no regrets if his words are making the Islamic community unhappy.
In an earlier statement made last April, the minister also cautioned the Union of Islamic organizations in France to refrain from agitation. This came after the militant organization showed strong election results of fundamentalist views within the fledgling French Muslim Council.
"We want to rid Islam in France of foreign influences," the minister told Europe 1 radio. "Imams who make statements that run contrary to the values of the Republic will be deported."
Liberals have criticized the UOIF, saying it has close links with the Muslim Brotherhood -- the originally Egyptian movement, which calls for Islamic rule via personal purification and political action -- and should have no official place in a secular country like France.
France is not alone among European nations showing concern over the increasing population of Muslims and their rising militancy. Denmark's right-wing government just published a plan to curb the activities of radical religious leaders, which politicians said was aimed at Islamic clerics.
The proposal is part of a package of strict new immigration laws the government announced last week.
It has the support of the government's far-right ally, the Danish People's Party, and the opposition Social Democrats and is therefore expected to sail through parliament in October.
The rules oblige religious leaders to be financially self-sufficient, speak Danish and respect "Western values" or risk being declared persona non grata.
They are apparently designed to deter radical Islamic clerics from establishing bases in Denmark and clip the wings of those already living in the tiny country.
Although the new rules do not specifically target Islamic leaders, which would leave the government open to accusations of discrimination, politicians confirmed they were aimed at Muslim clerics, or imams.
Integration Minister Bertel Haarder told the Jyllands-Posten newspaper some imams would be forced to leave Denmark because they would not be able to comply with the new rules and would therefore be refused residence permits.
"I think the most fundamentalist of the imams, who are poorly educated and speak Danish badly, will end up having to go back home," he said. "The imams have a very negative influence on both parents and young people," he added.
Back in France, the education minister said he is opposed to a law banning headscarves in public schools but wants, instead, legislation that includes a "vigorous" reminder of the principle of secularism. The minister, Luc Ferry, told a commission examining the issue of secularism that a legal ban on wearing the traditional Muslim head covering in the classroom risks creating "martyrs."
President Jacques Chirac created the commission on secularism in July amid a heated debate on Muslim headscarves in schools. The commission is to present its findings by the end of the year.
The headscarf issue has simmered in France since 1989 when two Muslim girls in Creil, outside Paris, defied school orders to remove their headscarves. It was reawakened this spring when Sarkozy reminded a gathering of Muslims that headscarves are forbidden on national identity photos.
The Council of State, the highest administrative body, has ruled that headscarves in schools should be banned when they are "ostentatious" or risk provoking confrontations. But it left that assessment in the hands of schools. Ferry noted that the Council's opinion "allows for a very firm position in case of difficulty."
September 25, 2003
Overcoming mutual misconceptions
From Arab News Newspaper
By Raid Qusti
A year has passed since an evil act was perpetrated in New York City. Nineteen men, 15 of them misguided Saudis, had it in their hearts and minds that the United States was the root of evil in the world and the cause of injustice and corruption, and as such deserved to suffer such atrocities. Their mission was not only to attack Americans, but also to shatter the historic friendship between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
As a young Saudi, I would like to offer my condolences to the families of the victims of Sept. 11 and share with them a moment of mourning. So many families lost loved ones on that day: A wife, a husband, a son, a daughter, a relative or a friend. The people who died in the Twin Towers had nothing to do with politics. They had nothing to do with the military. They were ordinary people of various nationalities, all just going about their daily routine.
I grew up in the United States. I received part of my education there, at a public school. I studied the same textbooks as American children. I attended plays and field trips; I took my lunch like American children. I grew up in an American social environment, celebrating with my American friends their birthdays and attending their social gatherings. I was exposed to the same television and print media as Americans. And I had many American friends whom I regularly visited.
At the same time, I maintained my Muslim identity to the extent that when I moved back to Saudi Arabia to live in Makkah I felt like that was home too.
I have been asking myself since Sept.11 : Do Americans think I am evil just because I am a Saudi national? That is what the smear campaign in several American media outlets over the past year would like us to believe is true. But the American mainstream media do not speak for all the American people. America is one of the greatest nations on earth, not only because of its constitution, but also because of its extraordinary diversity. And I have concluded that it would be wrong to believe that a nation of over 200 million people who come from every ethnic background we can think of — European, Asian, Hispanic, African, and Arab — hate me because I am a Saudi because of what appears in the editorials of some of their newspapers, or even because of what 15 other Saudis did. The American people know better than that.
One of the many things that we have learned after Sept. 11 is how ignorant Saudis and Americans are of each other. Many Americans I have spoken to, for instance, were amazed to discover that many Saudis have different backgrounds, that those who live in the Hejaz region are often descendants of families who came here hundreds of years ago from other Arab countries — and even from Russia, India and Indonesia — to settle in the Arabian Peninsula for religious or economic reasons. All this happened long before the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established in1932 .
But are we to blame only Americans for this ignorance? Would it not be appropriate to at least partly put the blame on ourselves? It is the responsibility of Saudis, and Saudis alone, to open up as a society, and properly represent ourselves and our culture to the world. The fact that we have not done so in the past is what has left us vulnerable to the hate campaign when it became clear that 15 of the hijackers were Saudis. Ignorance is at the root of all hatred. We are now hated because people did not understand, and still do not understand, who we are and what we are about.
I think it is about time we Saudis realized that we can no longer isolate ourselves from the rest of the world in fear that globalization will change our culture for the worse. Islam can withstand any change, is indeed defined by its very timelessness. As Saudis, we are part of the global community, whether we like it or not. Globalization, for all its faults, is a one-way train: You either get on it, or it leaves you behind.
The other thing I have noticed throughout the last year is how many Saudis have falsely assumed that they understand what America is. Saudi writers produce columns in the local press full of judgments about America based only on what they experienced while living there as students or on a private visit. They presume that they have a full understanding of Americans and American politics. Many might find this hard to believe, but we Saudis are probably more ignorant about Americans than Americans are of us. There are Arab and Islamic study centers scattered all over America. Any American can, if he so chooses, learn everything about our Arab culture and our Islamic religion. Dare we ask how many centers for American studies, and other religions, there are here? Dare we also ask the so-called experienced analyzers of the West who appear on our TV shows if they ever studied American politics?
Yes, after Sept. 11 my generation does indeed dare to ask, and we will continue to ask until we get answers. After Sept. 11 we Saudis have a grave responsibility to make the whole world — and not America alone — understand that the hijackers do not represent the reality of Saudi society.
I was queuing in the airport at the end of my holiday a month ago in a European city. Another Saudi, who was wearing traditional clothes and seemed to be very pious, was in front of me. A white woman in front of him was struggling to lift a heavy suitcase onto the X-ray belt. She asked the pious Saudi for his help. At first he ignored her by pretending not to hear. When she asked again, he yelled in her face: “No!”
Of course, I made a point of helping her and I can only hope she does not stereotype all Saudis as being like that as a result of this experience.
Two Saudis standing in a queue at a European airport. One refuses to help a white lady, presumably because she is a woman and a Christian. Another helps her because, first and foremost, she is a human being.
Which image do we want the world to have of Saudis after Sept.11 ? And how would we prefer to see ourselves?
***
(Raid Qusti,27 , is Assistant Public Relations Manager at the Kingdom Holdings Company. He is a regular contributor to Arab News and his work has appeared in The Washington Post.)
University Shuts Down Anti-Affirmative Action Bake Sale
From FOXNews.com
DALLAS — Southern Methodist University (search) shut down a bake sale Wednesday in which cookies were offered for sale at different prices, depending on the buyer's race or gender.
The sale was organized by the Young Conservatives of Texas, who said it was intended as a protest of affirmative action.
A sign said white males had to pay $1 for a cookie. The price was 75 cents for white women, 50 cents for Hispanics and 25 cents for blacks.
Members of the conservative group said they meant no offense and were only trying to protest the use of race or gender as a factor in college admissions.
Similar sales have been held by College Republican chapters at colleges in at least five other states since February.
A black student filed a complaint with SMU, saying the sale was offensive. SMU officials said they halted the event after 45 minutes because it created a potentially unsafe situation.
"This was not an issue about free speech," Tim Moore, director of the SMU student center, said in a story for Thursday's edition of The Dallas Morning News. "It was really an issue where we had a hostile environment being created."
The sale drew a crowd outside the student center and several students engaged in a shouting match, Moore said.
David C. Rushing, 23, a law student and chairman of Young Conservatives of Texas at SMU and for the state, said the event didn't get out of hand. At most, a dozen students gathered around the table of cookies and Rice Krispies treats, he said.
"We copied what's been done at multiple campuses around the country to illustrate our opinion of affirmative action and how we think it's unfair," he said.
Matt Houston, a 19-year-old sophomore, called the group's price list offensive.
"My reaction was disgust because of the ignorance of some SMU students," said Houston, who is black. "They were arguing that affirmative action was solely based on race. It's not based on race. It's based on bringing a diverse community to a certain organization."
The group sold three cookies during its protest, raising $1.50.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled universities could use race as a factor in admissions under limited conditions. In Texas, universities had been banned from using race as a factor under a 1996 decision by a lower court.
September 24, 2003
Federal Court Rules Against Do-Not-Call List
From FOXNews.com
OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal judge handed down bad news to those expecting their dinners to be forever free from interruptions Wednesday, ruling that the Federal Trade Commission (search) didn't have the authority to slap telemarketers with a national "do-not-call" list.
The decision came in a lawsuit filed by telemarketers who challenged the list of 50 million people who said they do not want to businesses to solicit them at home via telephone calls. The list was slated to take effect Oct. 1.
The telemarketing industry has said the list could reduce its business by half, costing it up to $50 billion in sales each year.
U.S. District Judge Lee R. West said the case hinged on the issue of "whether the FTC had the authority to promulgate a national do-not-call registry. The court finds it did not."
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La., and Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., issued a statement Wednesday saying they were confident the ruling would be reversed.
"Contrary to the court's decision, we firmly believe Congress gave the FTC authority to implement the national do-not-call list," they said. "We will continue to monitor the situation and will take whatever legislative action is necessary to ensure consumers can stop intrusive calls from unwanted telemarketers."
Calls to the FTC were not immediately returned.
Direct Marketing Association Inc., one of the plaintiffs, said it was happy with the ruling while acknowledging "the wishes of millions of U.S. consumers who have expressed their preferences not to receive telephone-marketing solicitations — as evidenced by the millions of phone numbers registered on the FTC list."
The suit was filed by DMA, U.S. Security, Chartered Benefit Services Inc., Global Contact Services Inc. and InfoCision Management Corp.
More than a dozen states with do-not-call lists planned to add their lists to the national registry this summer, the FTC said.
Telemarketers would have to check the list every three months to see who doesn't want to be called. Those who call listed people could be fined up to $11,000 for each violation.
September 23, 2003
$20B Iraq Plan Call for Museum, ZIP Codes
From Kansascity.com
WASHINGTON - President Bush's $20.3 billion proposal for rebuilding Iraq includes money to establish ZIP codes there, help Iraqi workers learn English and start a museum of former leader Saddam Hussein's atrocities, an administration document shows.
The report, obtained by The Associated Press, was distributed to members of Congress as the administration began its Capitol Hill defense of Bush's Iraq policies. The $20.3 billion is part of Bush's $87 billion proposal for Iraq and Afghanistan, which is dominated by his $66 billion request for U.S. military activities in both countries and elsewhere.
"Creating a sovereign, democratic, constitutional and prosperous Iraq deals a blow to terrorists," L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday.
Since terrorists "thrive in chaotic environments with little or no effective government," rebuilding Iraq "will serve American interests by making America safer," Bremer said.
Bremer told the senators that so far, 61 countries have pledged $1.5 billion to help reconstruct Iraq, which U.S. officials estimate will cost $50 billion to $75 billion.
Congress is expected to approve something much like Bush's overall $87 billion plan with strong support from both parties, perhaps next month.
Even so, Democrats have criticized the $20.3 billion portion for Iraqi reconstruction, noting it comes as the United States struggles with record federal deficits.
The request "gave Americans sticker shock and awe," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., in a play on the name officials gave the U.S. bombing campaign that opened the war. "We don't have a lot of money in the bank. It is red ink."
Democrats also contrasted the proposal with their demands - resisted by Bush - for increased domestic security spending.
"The administration fought against a $200 million boost for America's police officers, firefighters and paramedics," Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., told Bremer. "But Iraqi first responders would get $290 million."
Appropriations Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, however, promised his full support and cast the plan as one that would serve American interests.
"The sooner a new Iraqi government is formed and effectively functions, the quicker our soldiers, sailors and all Americans can come home," Stevens said.
The administration's 53-page report, written by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority that runs Iraq, said Iraqi police "are supposed to be performing patrolling duties but are reluctant to do so as they have no means to call for assistance." It estimates the cost of establishing a communications network for police, fire and other emergency workers at $150 million.
In a recent coalition survey of 700 miles of power lines, one-fourth of the 2,554 towers were destroyed. Repairing them, building generating plants and otherwise re-establishing an electrical system will cost an estimated $2.9 billion, the paper says.
Other projects and their estimated costs listed in the report include:
_$9 million to modernize Iraq's postal system, including establishment of ZIP codes.
_$30 million to provide half-day classes in English for 5,000 workers.
_$1 million for a museum and information center to document past atrocities by Saddam's regime.
_$100 million to protect - and perhaps relocate overseas - 100 witnesses and their families who testify against former government officials, terrorist groups or organized crime figures.
_$67 million to hire, train and equip 20,000 guards to protect Iraqi government facilities.
_$100 million to retain 500 experts to investigate crimes against humanity by Saddam's former government.
_$99 million to build and modernize 26 jails and prisons for 8,500 inmates.
_$55 million for an oil pipeline repair team that can respond quickly to new reports of sabotage or other problems, as part of a $2.1 billion effort to rebuild Iraq's oil industry.
_$130 million to construct 10 major irrigation and drainage projects.
_$125 million to rebuild railroad tracks.
_$100 million for housing, including starts of 3,528 new houses next year.
_$150 million to start building a new children's hospital in Basra.
September 22, 2003
Sex.com Owner Wins Right to Sue VeriSign
From PCWorld.com
Registrar may be held liable for transferring site ownership to forger.
Gary Kremen, the original owner of the Sex.com Web site, has won the right to sue VeriSign's Network Solutions division because it transferred ownership of the site to a con man without verifying the transfer with Kremen.
The ruling, which was issued July 25 by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, reverses a trial court decision that said VeriSign wasn't liable in the dispute because a domain name was "intangible property."
In this decision, a panel of three judges disagreed with the trial court decision, saying that a Web address is indeed property and that VeriSign should be held liable for giving it away without Kremen's permission.
"Like other forms of property, domain names are valued, bought and sold, often for millions of dollars," Judge Alex Kozinski wrote on behalf of the panel of judges. "Exposing Network Solutions to liability when it gives away a registrant's domain name on the basis of a forged letter is no different from holding a corporation liable when it gives away someone's shares under the same circumstances. The common law does not stand idle while people give away the property of others."
Domain Debacle
The case originated in 1995 when Stephen Cohen sent a forged letter to registrar Network Solutions, which VeriSign purchased in 2000, requesting that the Sex.com domain be transferred to his name. Network Solutions transferred the domain without verifying the move with Kremen, and Cohen proceeded to build a thriving pornography business around the popular domain.
Kremen sued Cohen in 1998 for the unlawful conversion of his property, although courts have generally held that under the tort of conversion, property must be tangible.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ordered the domain name returned to Kremen in 2001 and hit Cohen with a $65 million judgment. The court rejected Kremen's claim against VeriSign, however, so he appealed that decision.
Cohen fled the country, and Kremen wasn't able to collect the money from him, so Kremen went after VeriSign. But VeriSign claimed that a domain name wasn't property and that therefore it wasn't responsible for the transfer, according to Sex.com.
A VeriSign spokesperson said the company doesn't comment on ongoing litigation.
September 20, 2003
Galileo Probe to taste Jupiter before demise
September 21st will mark the end of a 12 year mission to Jupiter with the planned crashing of the space probe Galileo into Jupiter. Scientists are concerned that the probe, which is running out of propelent, will crash into Jupiter's moon Europa, and contaminate it with Earth scum. Europa is thought to one day harvest extra terestrial life, or be a space substation for humans in the distant future.
For the Galileo probe to reach Jupiter it had to use the gravity of Earth, and Venus, to propel into the outer reaches of our solar system. Galileo lanched in October of 1989 and witnessed many events, including a close up of the astroid, Ida, and the Shoemaker-Levy comet's dramatic end into Jupiters atmospher.
In all, Galileo took over 14,000 photographs of Jupiter, its rings, and many of her moons. Before the fatal crash into the Jupiter atmospher, the space probe will have traveled 2,878,053,500 miles.
Ask not what telemarketers can do to you
From The Miami Herald
There's just over a year to go before the 2004 presidential election, and everybody in the nation is extremely excited. Except of course the public. The public, shrewdly, pays no attention to presidential politics until all of the peripheral dorks have been weeded out, and it's finally time to make a selection between the two main dorks left over.
So what does the public care about right now? Telemarketers. The public hates them. It hates them even more than it hates France, low-flow toilets or ''customer service.''
We know this because recently the Federal Trade Commission, implementing the most popular federal concept since the Elvis stamp, created the National Do Not Call Registry. The way it works is, if you are a member of that select group of people (defined as ''people with phones'') who do not wish to receive unsolicited calls from telemarketers, you can go to www.donotcall.gov and register your phone number. Starting Oct. 1, any telemarketer who calls you will be locked in a tiny room with a large, insatiable man who will force the telemarketer, repeatedly, at all hours of the day and night, to change his long-distance provider.
No, sorry, that was the original concept. But the law is pretty strict: For each call to a registered number, telemarketers face an $11,000 fine. This program is a huge hit with the public. Already 30 million American households have registered; this figure would be even higher if it included all the Florida residents who tried to register but accidentally voted for Patrick Buchanan instead.
And how has the telemarketing industry responded to this tidal wave of public hostility? It has issued this statement: ''Gosh, if these people really don't want us to call them, then there's no point in our calling them! We'd only be making them hate us more, and that's just plain stupid! We'll try to come up with a less offensive way to do business.''
No, wait, that's what the telemarketers would say in Bizarro World, where everything is backward, and Superman is bad, and telemarketers contain human DNA. Here on Earth, the telemarketers are claiming they have a constitutional right to call people who do not want to be called. They base this claim on Article VX, Section iii, row 5, seat 2, of the U.S. Constitution, which states: ''If anybody ever invents the telephone, Congress shall pass no law prohibiting salespeople from using it to interrupt dinner.''
Leading the charge for the telemarketing industry is the American Teleservices Association (suggested motto: 'Some Day, We Will Get a Dictionary and Look Up 'Services' ''). This group argues that, if its members are prohibited from calling people who do not want to be called, then two million telemarketers will lose their jobs. Of course, you could use pretty much the same reasoning to argue that laws against mugging cause unemployment among muggers. But that would be unfair. Muggers rarely intrude into your home.
So what's the answer? Is there a constitutional way that we telephone customers can have our peace, without inconveniencing the people whose livelihoods depend on keeping their legal right to inconvenience us? Maybe we could pay the telemarketing industry not to call us, kind of like paying ''protection money'' to organized crime. Or maybe we could actually hire organized crime to explain our position to telemarketing-industry executives, who would then be given a fair opportunity to respond, while the cement was hardening.
I'm just thinking out loud here. I'm sure you have a better idea for how we can resolve our differences with the telemarketing industry. If you do, call me. No, wait, I have a better idea: Call the American Teleservices Association, toll-free, at 1-877-779-3974, and tell them what you think. I'm sure they'd love to hear your constitutionally protected views! Be sure to wipe your mouthpiece afterward.
In closing, here's an:
IMPORTANT REMINDER -- Mark your calendar with a big ''X'' on Sept. 19, which is the second annual National Talk Like A Pirate Day. This is the day when everybody is supposed to talk like a pirate for very solid reasons (see www.talklikeapirate.com).
Last year, the first National Talk Like a Pirate Day was a huge success, as measured by the number of messages on my answering machine consisting entirely of people going ''Arrrrr.'' So if you're feeling depressed -- if you think the world is in terrible shape, and one person like yourself can't make a difference -- remember this: You're right. So you might as well talk like a pirate. It's easy! For example, when you answer the phone, instead of ''Hello,'' you say ''Ahoy!''
Then you hang up. Scurvy telemarrrrrketers!
September 19, 2003
Iraqis Now College Sports Fans
Now it's not only funny but news. I'm seeing Iraqi sports bars packed with people on Saturday nights (day here but time difference would be night there) showing their support for the Vols. Cheering Casey Clausen as he leads the team down the field to victory. You'll see Orange T-Shirts popping up everywhere in Iraq now.
Next you'll see some crazy Buckeye fan or Gator fan painting their water towers. After that who knows, maybe they will start their own football league.
The AFL or Arab Football League will someday Rival the NFL and we'll really have a World Champion. ;-)
Anyway, full story (not my fantasy) is @ Metro Pulse.
After 531 years, world's oldest wine in a barrel still has fine aroma
From Yahoo! News
(left - A bottle containing the oldest wine in the world, a white wine from Alsace, in Strasbourg eastern France(AFP/File/Olivier Morin) )
With its bright shades of golden-amber and its aromas of vanilla, hazelnut or camphor, the 1472 vintage of white Alsace wine has been ageing for over 500 years now in the cellars of the Strasbourg Hospice in eastern France.
After so many centuries in a barrel "it is simply extraordinary that it is still wine," said Philippe Junger, who is in charge of the historic cellars to be opened to the public this weekend for the yearly Heritage Days.
In France, a country proud of its past, 11.5 million people turned out last year for the two-day event when thousands of historic sites and buildings are thrown open for a once-a-year peak to the public. Some 14,000 sites will be involved this year for the 20th edition.
In 1994, tests conducted on the old wine by the office in charge of policing products and preventing fraud, the DGCCRF, concluded that "the old thing has maintained an astonishing sprightliness" and "a powerful, very fine aroma."
The white wine, tinted with the amber shades oak, has an alcohol content of 9.4 percent and has a particularly high percentage of dry matter (the solids in a wine), which, according to Junger, is a guarantee of the persistence of the original wine.
"About one percent of the volume evaporates each year, it's the angels' share, so we add a bottle of dry white wine every three months. But in this barrel there is dry matter from at least 300 litres of 1472 wine, so it remains a 1472 vintage."
Junger, a former chef, said the vintage had survived notably because of its acidity.
"It is a wine with a lit of aroma, very acidic on the palate. It is extraordinary but should be drunk sparingly," said Junger, one of the happy few to have tasted a wine said to be the oldest in the world "until someone proves the contrary."
Celebrated as early on as in the 17th century, the wine is the topmost "treasure" of the cellars of the Hospice, which each year make a profit of tens of thousands of euros (dollars).
In centuries past the hospital would exchange vines against medical help and make its own wine in the old cellars built in 1395. But around a decade ago, the hospice signed an agreement with some 40 top Alsace wine-makers to hand over their best vintages for ageing in the cellar's gigantic old barrels.
The result are 150,000 bottles each year of titillating "Hospices de Strasbourg".
September 15, 2003
Swedes vote no on euro shift
From azcentral.com
Matt Moore
Associated Press
Sept. 15, 2003 12:00 AM
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Swedes rejected adopting the European common currency in a Sunday referendum overshadowed by the killing of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, an ardent euro supporter, days earlier.
The vote came as a blow to Europe's currency and to European integration, and it provided a boost for euro opponents in Britain and Denmark, still using their own currencies.
Despite the setback, the second since 2000 in Scandinavia, the European Commission reiterated its faith in the euro and held out hope that Sweden would eventually adopt it.
"We're confident the Swedish government will choose a way forward to keep the euro project alive in Sweden," the commission said in a statement.
European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg said the decision would not change the euro's position or bank policy.
"It will not affect the ongoing cooperation between Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden's central bank) and the European Central Bank," Duisenberg said from Germany.
With all votes counted from the Scandinavian country's 5,967 precincts, 56 percent of the more than 5.4 million ballots cast were against the euro, while 42 percent voted in favor of it. Remaining ballots were blank. More than 7 million Swedes were eligible to vote. No minimum voter turnout was required.
"We have evidently not been able to firmly establish the European idea among the voters," said Alf Svensson, leader of the Christian Democrats and a euro supporter. "People still seem to believe that we live in a Europe with national borders and national currency, but the reality is something else."
The results countered analysts' predictions the stabbing death of Lindh would emotionally sway voters to adopt the currency used by 12 of the 15 European Union members. They also ran contrary to polls in the final days.
Prime Minister Goeran Persson said late Sunday that opinion polls were read too optimistically. "We could have had a referendum at a better time. Europe is in a deep recession."
Wednesday's attack on Lindh, which police said did not appear politically motivated, came during the final stages of campaigning on whether Sweden should join the European Monetary Union.
Lindh was stabbed repeatedly by an unknown assailant at a Stockholm department store. She died early Thursday after surgery.
Wife’s body kept in freezer for years
From MSNBC.com
Elderly man hoped she could someday be brought back to life.
PHOENIX, Sept. 12 — A 75-year-old man stored his wife’s body for nearly six years in his backyard, twisted and upside down in an old freezer, because he hoped she could someday be brought back to life, authorities said.
WHEN POLICE went to Edwin Rowlette’s home after receiving a tip from his daughter, they found dozens of cats along with feces and urine inside the house. The backyard, where one of the daughter’s friends discovered the body, was cluttered with garbage, debris, insulation and furniture.
Authorities found Marcia Lynn Rowlette’s body packed in dry ice and insulation and stored along with the bodies of ten dead cats. Rowlette told police he used the cats for research.
Rowlette was arrested last week on a felony charge of crimes against the dead. Investigators are trying to determine if he legally acquired his wife’s body from a funeral home and whether he submitted the proper documents.
“One of the areas that we’re looking at is if he had committed a fraud in obtaining the body,” said Prescott police Sgt. Michael Kabbel.
Prescott, a pine-studded town of about 33,000, is located 90 miles north of Phoenix.
HOPE FOR SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH
Rowlette told police he was keeping his wife’s body frozen in hopes that someday science could bring her back to life.
Marcia Rowlette was wheelchair-bound and lived in a nursing home before she died Dec. 15, 1997, of respiratory failure. The 38-year-old woman had a history of rheumatoid arthritis and musculoskeletal problems.
“She had a lot of congenital anomalies that made it difficult to do anything,” said Karen Gere, medical investigator with the Yavapai County medical examiner’s office.
After her death, Marcia Rowlette’s body was transferred to a funeral home. The body was released to the McCandless Research and Development Foundation after Rowlette submitted documents showing his wife’s body was being donated for scientific research.
Rowlette said he created the foundation in 1985 and bills it as an organization that supports scientific research and humanitarian causes. Police are investigating whether the foundation is legitimate.
The president of the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based cryonics facility said to be storing the body of baseball great Ted Williams said he was unfamiliar with Rowlette’s organization.
Alcor Life Extension Foundation president Jerry B. Lemler also noted that cryonics is generally performed with liquid nitrogen, not dry ice, because liquid nitrogen is colder.
“I hate to be the one to burst the bubble on this man’s dream,” Lemler said. “He had a dream that we share here at Alcor. But I don’t think his methodology was very thought out.”
September 07, 2003
Assembly Oks Bill Allowing Illegals To Get Drivers' Licenses
From FOX40 KTXL
The Bill Would Allow Undocumented Immigrants To Submit A State-approved Form Of Identification To Apply For A Drivers License
SACRAMENTO -- A bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses, an issue that has worked its way into the debate surrounding the attempt to recall Gov. Gray Davis, passed the state Assembly on Tuesday.
In a debate in English and Spanish, Republicans and Democrats argued about whether the bill would harm or help public safety before approving it by a 44-30 vote and sending it back to the Senate for consideration of amendments.
The legislation, by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, would help undocumented immigrants get drivers' licenses by allowing them to submit a federal taxpayer identification number or some other state-approved form of identification to the Department of Motor Vehicles instead of a Social Security number.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service issues taxpayer identification numbers to tax filers who cannot qualify for Social Security numbers, which authorize a person to work legally in the United States.
Davis has vetoed two similar bills since he became governor, citing law enforcement's concerns about the legislation. After he vetoed the bill last year, the Legislature's Latino caucus refused to endorse him for re-election.
Last month, at an anti-recall rally in Los Angeles, the governor said he would sign the latest bill "in a heartbeat" if it reached his desk.
Aides said he wanted to sign the bill all along and that a number of law enforcement officials are now comfortable with the legislation.
Republicans have accused Davis of agreeing to sign the bill to try to win Hispanic votes to defeat the recall and contend it would raise security concerns in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"Why is he willing to put the state at risk, the country at risk, the electorate at risk? It's his last grasp at keeping the governorship," said Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy, R-Monrovia, who claimed the bill would "open the road" to a movement to reclaim parts of the southwestern United States for Mexico.
Another opponent, Assemblyman Doug La Malfa, R-Biggs, said the bill was "an invitation for voter fraud. Why don't we just rescind the need for citizenship? That's where we are going with this."
But Democrats said up to 2 million illegal immigrants are driving without proper licenses already and that someone who wants to obtain a fake drivers' license can get one now on big-city street corners.
Cedillo's bill, they said, would improve public safety by helping ensure that all drivers pass a driving exam and have insurance.
"I want to have everybody behind the wheel to have been tested and I want them to be carrying insurance," said Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles. "And I don't want any more of this foolishness that this is about homeland security.
"What this is about is there are certain people you just don't want to have on the road, to have any rights," she told Republicans. "That is just wrong."
Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said the bill would actually help law enforcement by giving them a way to identify illegal immigrants.
"If an individual is here in the country illegally, law enforcement has no means of identifying that person," he said. "But if the bill passes we'll have a database on persons who currently cannot otherwise be tracked."
Assemblyman Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, contended the bill's opponents were motivated by "such hatred, such vehemence against these people that we cannot trust on the road. Yet we entrust our parents, our children, our homes to them. We entrust our food to them. We entrust everything to them except for our rights."
But Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta, said the opposition "had nothing to do with race."
"If you enter this country illegally you're not supposed to be working here," he said. "It's been that way for quite some time."
September 04, 2003
Universal Slashing CD Prices
From TechNews.com
The world's largest music company said yesterday that it will lower prices on compact discs to lure back customers who get their music digitally, and often free, over Internet file-sharing services.
Universal Music Group, which accounts for about 30 percent of all music sales worldwide and is home to stars such as Eminem, Shania Twain, Nelly and U2, said that beginning in the next few weeks it will put a sticker on almost all newly pressed CDs suggesting a $12.98 retail price -- about $6 less than the current sticker.
At the same time, the company will drop its wholesale cost to retailers from $12.02 to $9.09 per CD, except on releases from top-selling artists, such as Eminem, which will drop to $10.10 wholesale for the first few months of their release and then drop to $9.09.
The music industry has suffered from slumping sales over the past few years, blaming the drop on the rise of free Internet song sharing, or copyright-violating piracy, as the industry calls it. Shipments of new CDs to stores dropped 10 percent in the first half of 2003 compared with last year, the industry said in late August, mirroring the yearly decline since the late '90s when a program called Napster introduced the mainstream to online song swapping.
The record industry, led by its lobbying group, the Recording Industry Association of America, is mounting a vigorous legal defense of its copyrighted work and will unleash hundreds of lawsuits against song sharers in the coming weeks.
The industry has drawn criticism for trying to stop piracy without offering viable alternatives. Yesterday, Universal Music chief executive Douglas Morris said his company's price slashing was part of the industry's strategy, mentioning the lawsuits as well as legal Internet sites, such as Apple's iTunes, where fans can buy digital music for 99 cents per song.
"Given the difficulties we have experienced, we are convinced it is time to do something dramatic to jump-start sales," Zach Horowitz, president of Universal Music, said during yesterday's announcement. "Many of the people who are acquiring music are simply not paying for it. We are besieged by rampant piracy. But these same services have shown the tremendous appeal of music."
Universal Music, which is owned by French media giant Vivendi Universal, said it expected that retailers will begin selling the lower-priced CDs as early as Oct. 1.
Retailers are under no obligation to follow a manufacturer's suggested retail price. If such a price sticker is already posted on a CD, however, consumers may react negatively if they see a retailer has marked up a CD. For many retailers that do not rely on music for primary revenue, such as Best Buy, CDs are "loss leaders," meaning the store sells them at a loss in hopes of enticing consumers to buy pricier items such as television sets.
As the largest music company, however, Universal already enjoys some muscle with retailers, which includes getting prime shelf space for its new CD releases.
"Frankly, I think because of the market forces, the retailers are going to abide" by the new pricing structure, said Jim Urie, president of Universal Music and Video Distribution. Because Universal Music is dropping its wholesale cost, retailers should continue to make money on CDs even at $12.98 apiece, he said. It costs 75 cents to $1.10 to create each CD, Urie said.
Universal Music said retailers would be advised by e-mail beginning yesterday afternoon of Universal's price cutting.
Several major retailers contacted after yesterday's announcement said they were unaware of the plans. Only Best Buy said it knew Universal Music's announcement was coming, but it would not say whether it would slash prices in accordance.
In an interview after the announcement, Morris said he was hopeful that the four other major music companies -- Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, BMG Entertainment and EMI -- would drop their prices, as well. Owing to antitrust laws, Morris said, he had not discussed Universal Music's price-slashing plan with the other companies.
Sony and Warner Music had no comment on Universal Music's move, though many in the industry knew it was coming. Morris said the plan has been in the works for about six months.
September 03, 2003
Brussels hits out at France's budget deficit
From FT.com
In a shift in its approach, the Commission is seeking to isolate France as the main cause of the crisis gripping the EU's budget rules.
Although Germany and Portugal face similar deficit problems, the Commission claims both are doing their best to comply with the EU's stability and growth pact.
However, Brussels fears that President Jacques Chirac's government will this month present a budget that will flout the pact for the third successive year.
Unless France backs down, the Commission will be forced for the first time to issue specific recommendations on how a member state should run its finances. Paris could face fines if it continues to break the rules.
Tensions were heightened on Monday night when Paris revised upwards this year's deficit forecast to 4 per cent of gross domestic product, well above the stability pact's 3 per cent ceiling.
Pedro Solbes, EU monetary affairs commissioner, revealed that France's worsening finances could cause the overall deficit level for the 12-country eurozone this year to exceed 3 per cent.
"Given the fact that France seems to have gone off the rails a bit in 2003, the eurozone deficit will be around 3 per cent, or exceed the 3 per cent figure," Mr Solbes's spokesman said.
The symbolism will not be lost on many smaller EU member states, which run tight public finances and blame larger countries such as France and Germany for undermining the euro by running large deficits.
While Germany and Portugal have promised to bring their deficits below 3 per cent in 2004 - an outcome doubted by many economists - France has not disguised the fact that it is unlikely to stay within the rules.
Noelle Lenoir, France's European minister, yesterday said it would be "difficult to substantially reduce the deficit next year".
Alain Lambert, budget minister, said France valued the stability pact but that the government's first responsibility was to foster a return to growth.
European Commission officials claim that while German economic policy reflects its obligations to its single currency partners, the French debate is almost devoid of a sense of European solidarity.
"Germany is doing everything possible to stay within the rules," said one official.
The praise lavished on Germany - whose deficit could reach 3.8 per cent this year - partly reflects the fact that the Commission will need Berlin's support if it is forced to take on Mr Chirac's government.
Finance ministers from France's 11 eurozone partners will have to vote on any Commission recommendation for Paris to impose spending cuts or tax rises, possibly in November.
Germany will then have to choose whether to side with the Commission and its attempts to uphold EU budgetary discipline, or to show solidarity with its neighbour.
Russia: Putin's Signal Of Support For U.S.-Led Multinational Iraq Force An 'Important Favor' For Bush
From Radio Free Europe
Washington has signaled it is ready to begin negotiations in the United Nations Security Council to authorize a multinational force under U.S. command. But the U.S. may have to mend fences with some fellow council members who opposed the war in Iraq. Ironically, it is one of the staunchest critics of the U.S. invasion, Russia, that is bolstering Washington's hope for success. In an unexpected policy turnaround during the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he supported the idea of a U.S.-led international force in Iraq. RFE/RL speaks to a leading Russian analyst about the Kremlin's new stance.
Prague, 3 September 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Amid continuing terror attacks and mounting U.S. casualties in Iraq, it was a rare moment of good news for U.S. President George W. Bush. His Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, announced during the weekend he would support a multinational force in Iraq -- even one under U.S. command.
Speaking at a press conference in Italy on 30 August, Putin said, "we don't see anything wrong" with the possible participation of international forces in Iraq under U.S. command. The Russian president stressed, however, that such a force must be authorized by the United Nations Security Council.
Russia, together with fellow permanent council members Germany and France, formed a staunch axis of opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Putin's new turnaround may prove valuable to the U.S. as it moves to win broader international backing for its post-Saddam Hussein occupation. A draft resolution on a multinational force may be presented to the Security Council by the end of this week.
Viktor Kremenyuk is deputy director of the USA-Canada Institute, a Moscow-based foreign-policy think tank. He told RFE/RLthat Putin has done Bush an "important favor," and that a UN-authorized force could go a long way toward alleviating Washington's burden in Iraq.
"Maybe [the U.S.] is counting on the hope that the degree of resistance coming from the Iraqis will diminish substantially, because the UN is associated with the idea of aggression to a lesser degree than the Americans and their troops. And so it would be possible to have fewer victims, fewer [military] casualties, and -- something that Bush is very interested in, in light of his re-election campaign -- less criticism of U.S. policy," Kremenyuk said.
Putin's remarks come just weeks ahead of a scheduled summit meeting between the two presidents. Kremenyuk said a successful summit will reflect well not only on Bush, but also on Putin, who hopes to solidify his control of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) in parliamentary elections this December, and will himself run for re-election next March.
But the strain of the Iraqi crisis will be hard for Washington and Moscow to overcome. Kremenyuk said a gesture of personal support may be the best way for Putin to get his relations with Bush back on track. "Relations between Russia and the United States aren't really based very much on existing agreements, [common] organs, or bilateral mechanisms, but on the personal friendship of the two presidents," he said. "Because of this, Russia's position during the [Iraq] crisis means [this relationship] could be lost. Bush took Russia's position very much to heart, and he practically hasn't forgiven Putin for it."
It is not the first time Russia has appeared to soften its stance on Iraq. Officials in Moscow had sometimes muted their criticism of the U.S. posture -- a move analysts say was meant to drum up Washington's support for the restitution of Russia's financial interests in prewar Iraq. In addition to a pending $6 billion oil contract, Russia was also hoping to collect on Iraq's $8 billion Soviet-era debt.
Now, Kremenyuk said, Putin's nod to a U.S.-led multinational force may mean that Russia has given up hope of seeing its financial claims honored. "Russia lost everything it had in Iraq -- the debt incurred by the [former] Iraqi regime, the prospect of contracts that were promised. All that is lost. I don’t think anyone will restitute anything," he said. "I think Moscow knows this, and that’s why they don’t mention it."
Energy giant LUKoil, which heads the Russian consortium waiting to activate its contracts in Iraq, appears to be ready to concede defeat. The company's vice president, Leonid Fedun, said the U.S. has "explained the reasons" why Russia cannot proceed with extraction projects on Iraq's West Kurna oil field. Fedun added that the consortium's West Kurna contract included a force majeure "war and occupation" clause. Such a clause would presumably nullify the contract.
September 01, 2003
"Stupid" t33kid.exe writer busted
From New Zealand's National Business Review
The FBI arrested the 18-year-old on Friday, charging him with creating a variant of the MS Blaster worm that sent information from infected machines directly to his own website, t33kid.com, which had been registered under his real name using his actual address.
The website is down now, but a cached copy is still live on Google. The cached front page permited visitors to download a copy of several worms, including one designated "p2p.teekid.c" that was designed to spread over file-sharing networks like Kazaa. Visitors had taken advantage of that particular download offer 4,394 times before the site was taken down by the host (aptly named Chaos Networks).
Out-law.com reports that the US Attorney in Seattle announced the arrest on Friday for “one count of intentionally causing or attempting to cause damage to a computer”. If convicted he will face up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
He is now living under house arrest, and is prohibited from using the internet.
This is not Parson's first incredibly foolish stunt.
According to the Washington Post, Parson also apparently broke into the website of the Minnesota governor's office, leaving the message "site hacked by Teekid," his standard chat name and one that plugged directly into his website details through a simple Google search.
In one online forum, Parson described himself as a "junior Trojaner." A Trojan horse is a malicious program that, when installed on a victim's computer, allows attackers to take complete control over the infected computer. One of the main alterations Parson allegedly made to the Blaster worm was the inclusion of a backdoor Trojan.
In a usenet group back in 2001, Parson wrote:
The t33kid.com staff have decided to take a new route with t33kid.com, we are going to focus on our unique programs that we make for internet protection and internet offense.
We will also be releasing the source code for all of our programs 2 months after they have been released. We Really Hope You Like The New T33kid.com We Are Working Really Hard To Make It The best We Can. We Plan To Be Done Within A Few Weeks. So Look Back Frequently (all sic)
To which a member responded: "John, we've told you before and we'll tell you again, one person DOES NOT make a "staff".
August 31, 2003
U.S. Muslims Set Political Agenda
From CBS News
National Muslim leaders at their largest convention of the year announced plans to register 1 million Muslim voters and make civil rights a top issue in any endorsement of a presidential candidate.
*Muddy Says* Um.. were you guys around in the 60's when the civil rights movement was happening, I think your off a few decades.
When they say civil rights, are they talking about the right to take flying lessons?
--END--
Muslim leaders made their first unified endorsement in a presidential race in 2000, backing George W. Bush. Many thought he would take a harder line against Israel, and, based on statements he made while campaigning, would protect the rights of immigrants facing deportation.
Muslims say they have been bitterly disappointed on both counts.
*Muddy Says* Yea.. ok lets think about this one. Side with God's Chosen people, or a group of wack jobs [speaking of Hamas and any nut job who agrees with them] who want all Jews and Americans to die. Well call me crazy but that's not a real hard choice there boys.
--End--
Investigators Probe Bizarre Bomb Death of Pizza Man
From FOXNews.com
Brian Douglas Wells, 46, answered a delivery call Thursday to a mysterious address in a remote area and ended up about an hour later at a bank wearing a bomb.
As the time bomb ticked Wells tried in vain to convince police, who were waiting for the bomb squad to arrive, that he was forced into the crime, but died when the explosives detonated.
WJET-TV of Erie, Pa., captured audio and video from Wells as he sat handcuffed in front of a state police cruiser. "Why is nobody trying to come get this thing off me?" he asked.
State police are also looking into the death of a 43-year-old co-worker of Wells’, Fox News has learned. The man called paramedics Sunday morning and said he wasn’t feeling well but then he refused treatment. He was later found dead in his parents’ home, where he lived.
McCabe said the unusual aspects of the incident means it “looks like a good old-fashioned bank robbery with a new twist on it,” adding that as of now it is a homicide investigation because there was a death involved and there is no evidence it was a suicide.
“We’re not ruling anything out, we’re investigating it hot and heavy all weekend,” McCabe said. He said the FBI was working with the Erie police and Pennsylvania state police.
McCabe said the most unusual feature of the robbery was that the bomb was wrapped around the man’s neck. “This is probably one of the most dangerous bombs to try to defuse … the bomb squad would have to do a hand entry and use their hands and tools and try to get it off.”
No one else was hurt in Thursday's explosion, which happened in front of law enforcement officers as they waited for a bomb squad to arrive.
A state police spokesman confirmed Friday night that Wells had made a number of statements, including that he had been forced to rob the bank.
The tape shows Wells telling authorities someone had started a timer on his bomb under his T-shirt, and that there was little time left.
"It's going to go off," Wells said. "I'm not lying."
Erie Chief Deputy Coroner Korac Timon said Saturday the bomb appeared to have hung from Wells' neck, and that he had been told it was of a "very sophisticated construction."
FBI Special Agent Bob Rudge called the case unusual, noting that while bank robbers sometimes claim to have a bomb, few actually do.
While no one has been arrested or identified as a suspect, Rudge said the investigation was "going extremely well." He said investigators were looking into Wells' background.
Linda Payne, who owns the property where Wells lived, described him as a private, trustworthy person who liked music and cared for three cats. He was a friend of Payne's husband, who also had been a pizza deliveryman, she said.
"I couldn't believe that he would rob a bank. He doesn't care that much about money," Payne said. "I think somebody lured him into that place delivering a pizza, dropped a bomb on him and sent him into the bank ... He would not have decided to do that on his own."
Wells' boss and one of the owners of Mama Mia's Pizza-Ria outside Erie, who asked that his name not be published, said Saturday he took a call Thursday for a pizza delivery but didn't recognize the address given.
He put Wells on the phone to get directions. Wells left to make the delivery and never returned, the pizzeria owner said.
The address of the delivery was a rural spot along a main drag that runs south of the city, where a gravel road leads to a television transmission tower.
According to police, Wells entered the PNC Bank branch outside Erie on Thursday afternoon and produced an "extensive note" demanding money and said he had a bomb. Rudge would not provide any details about the note.
Wells left with an undisclosed amount of money and got into his car. Police surrounded him a short time later in a nearby parking lot, pulled him out of his car and handcuffed him, authorities said.
The bomb exploded about 40 minutes after he entered the bank.
Authorities obtained a search warrant and took evidence from Wells' home, but a state police spokesman refused to say what was taken. The evidence arrived at FBI laboratories in Washington, D.C., but Rudge could not say how long testing would take.
State police forensics teams also searched near the spot of Wells' last pizza delivery. It was not known what, if anything, they found.
Joey Porter resting comfortably after shooting
From Pittsburgh Steelers
PITTSBURGH - Steelers linebacker Joey Porter is resting comfortably in a Denver hospital after he was shot outside of an establishment there.
Porter, who went to Colorado State, was in Denver to attend the Colorado-Colorado State game. He was standing outside of an establishment when a drive-by shooting occurred and he was hit by a stray bullet.
"Joey was an innocent bystander hit by a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting," said head coach Bill Cowher. "A total of six people were injured in this drive-by shooting; one was shot fatally. This being a homicide, I can not disclose any more information at this time.
Linebacker Joey Porter is resting comfortably after being shot.
"The bullet entered his left buttocks and is lodged in his right thigh. All the tests are being done and at this time it looks as though the bullet did not hit any vital organs. He is resting comfortably in the hospital and we are in the process, barring any setbacks, of trying to fly him back here tomorrow. At that point we will do further tests and further information will be available as we get it."
Cowher spoke with Porter earlier in the day on Sunday.
"He is doing as well as can be expected," said Cowher. "He feels like he let the football team down. He was very emotional at the time. I talked to him and his wife. He begged me not to put him on IR."
Porter is one of the leaders on the field, and it's not surprising that even though he was an innocent by-stander that he felt like he let his teammates down.
"It's just the nature of the feeling," said Cowher. "I think any time anybody goes through something like that; that's just the type of person he is. He is a very unselfish individual. He has put a lot of effort into this season and into where we are. He was very disappointed at the time and probably very emotional at the time. I think that's very understandable."
The players were given the weekend off after the final preseason game in Carolina on Friday night, before having to return Monday to begin preparing for the Ravens game. Porter headed to Denver for the game, and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"There are shootings that take place around our city and a lot of innocent people are getting hit," said Cowher. "It's very unfortunate. It's the unfortunate part of our society that's taking place. When high profile people are in that situation, it comes to light. Unfortunately these things are happening daily and a lot of innocent people are having to suffer through it."
Cowher said that the incident will not be a distraction as the team prepares for the Ravens.
"We're a family," said Cowher. "Any time something like this hits your family; I know Joey won't want this to be a distraction and I don't think it will be. If anything this will draw us closer together. I think that's how you should respond as a family. Him being an integral part of that, that's the type of effect it will have on our team.
"Joey's going to be back. He'll be fine. He's a special guy. He'll be back."
Despite the situation Cowher did try to shed some positive light on it.
"As I told Joey, I am glad we are having this conversation because there is one member who is not talking to anybody today," said Cowher. "You have to keep things in perspective.
"He is a lucky young man. That is the perspective we have to have at this time."
Clark Haggans would start if Porter is unable to play on Sunday.
"He had a very good camp," said Cowher. "That's why he's here. He's an established guy. He's a very good linebacker."
August 30, 2003
Mosque Bombing Rocks Quest for Iraq Stability
President Bush returns from vacation on Saturday. With his re-election fight just a year away, analysts say he must act quickly to calm fears that Iraq is turning sour.
The third major bombing there this month left a field of potential culprits as wide as the Baghdad attacks on the embassy of Jordan, an Arab friend of the United States, and on the headquarters of the United Nations, to which Washington is increasingly looking to share the burden of postwar occupation.
Some analysts say all three could be the work of anti-U.S. forces out to wreck Bush's efforts to create a friendly Iraq. Friday's blast could also have quite different roots, however.
At least 75 people were killed and about double that number wounded in the explosion at the Imam Ali mosque in the holy city of Najaf, south of the capital. It is the most sacred site for Shi'ites, who form a 60 percent majority of Iraq's population.
Supporters of the slain Ayatollah Hakim, 63, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) which has been cooperating with the U.S. authorities, blamed diehard loyalists of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, under whose largely secular rule the Shi'ites were heavily oppressed.
SCIRI, once fostered by the anti-American Shi'ite rulers of neighboring Iran, had taken a pragmatic approach to dealing with the U.S. occupation, taking up a seat on the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council as a first step toward self rule.
FACTION FIGHTING
Similar shadowy groups, possibly operating in concert with foreign Islamists from the likes of al Qaeda, were widely blamed for the Jordanian and U.N. attacks, as well as the killings of dozens of U.S. and British soldiers since the war in April.
As worrying for the prospects of stability in the nation of 26 million may be the accusations in some quarters that the Najaf bombing was another symptom of bitter faction fighting among Shi'ite leaders. One cleric, like Hakim newly returned from exile, was hacked to death in the same mosque in April.
A relative of Hakim was wounded in a bomb attack last week, spurring accusations against another Shi'ite leader, Moqtada al-Sadr, who has criticized the U.S. occupation in strong terms. Sadr, a youthful radical, denies involvement in the violence.
"It's a blow to (U.S.-led) coalition efforts to encourage moderate Shi'ites," said Toby Dodge, an Iraq expert at Britain's Warwick University. "It's also a dire and public warning to all Iraqis with links to the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority and a drive to heighten sectarian tensions."
The Shi'ites, predominant in areas south of Baghdad, are looking to U.S. plans for representative democracy to give them the upper hand in Iraq after centuries of repression.
But mindful of the big non-Shi'ite minority, Washington is anxious to ensure the Shi'ites' numbers do not create problems, notably with the Sunni Arabs to the north of the capital, where much of the anti-American, pro-Saddam violence is concentrated. U.S. officials have also made clear they will oppose those Shi'ite clerics whose idea of democracy is clerical rule like that in Shi'ite Iran, still on Washington's "axis of evil" list.
WASHINGTON DEFIANT
Bush's administration, facing new questions at home over the wisdom of occupying Iraq in defiance of many of Washington's closest allies, insisted that the worst carnage since the fall of Saddam in early April would not deter them.
"We remain resolved to defeat terrorism and continue to work to bring a better life for the Iraqi people," White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said of the Najaf bombing.
The United States, as the main occupying power, is ultimately responsible under international law for security in Iraq. But a State Department official said the Iraqi Interior Ministry would be the lead agency in the investigation.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, in a separate statement, did not mention the United States at all. He said:
"As success during this period of transition continues to mount, the opponents of success and of a free Iraq may continue their desperate acts. But the outcome is not in doubt."
Bush is keen for other nations to step forward and help U.S. forces in Iraq but has been resisting calls from opponents of the war, such as France, Russia and Germany, that Washington hand over much of the responsibility for the country to the U.N.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had drafted a new U.N. resolution on the issue, which had been discussed with Berlin and with Secretary of State Colin Powell:
"Our positions on this are getting closer," Putin said.
France and Russia called for a quick return to Iraqi rule.
Friday's blast tore through worshippers as they streamed out of prayers where Ayatollah Hakim had been preaching. It left rescuers scrabbling through the rubble for body parts.
Thousands of Shi'ites waving banners and pictures of Hakim later marched through Baghdad, many beating themselves in grief at the cleric's death. The Governing Council issued a statement calling for three days of mourning from Saturday.
August 26, 2003
Fear of US Attack Forced NK to Come to Negotiating Table
From KoreaTimes
A Chinese scholar who is also a key Communist Party member in Shanghai, has said Chinese President Hu Jintao through his top envoy informed North Korean leader Kim Jong-il of a possible United States invasion.
Shen Dingli, professor at Hudan University in Shanghai and who was visiting Korea for an international seminar, was quoted by sources as saying that Hu’s message was very clear about the possibility of U.S. military action against the communist country that is defying international calls to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
Attending a workshop held on the sideline of the 12th Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations last week, the Chinese expert on international relations said, ``Hu told Kim, `If you make a problem, the U.S. will attack you. Don’t expect any help from us.’’’
He said that words of advice by the leader of Pyongyang’s only ally apparently scared the North Korean leader into accommodating Beijing’s suggestion that Pyongyang should engage in talks with the U.S. under whatever format.
During Pyongyang’s June 25, 1950, invasion of the South and the ensuing three-year war, China sent tens of thousands of soldiers to help the North avoid being overwhelmed by United Nations forces.
Kim is widely known to be afraid of U.S. military might and an attack on his impoverished country, which, according to some experts, has pushed it to develop nuclear weapons in the first place.
However, Shen didn’t specify who carried the message but said it was delivered by a senior Chinese official about a month ago.
At least three senior Chinese officials have recently visited Pyongyang. They are Army Chief Political Commissar Xu Caihou, and Vice Foreign Ministers Dai Bingguo and Wang Yi.
Hu’s message came at a time when the North apparently underwent a change of heart and became more accommodating to multilateral dialogue involving not only the U.S. and China, but also South Korea, Japan and Russia. In April, Pyongyang and Washington held the first and only round of three-way talks, with Beijing playing host, after the North’s admission of having a nuclear weapons program.
The negotiations, however, failed to progress as the North demanded that it would conduct direct discussions with the U.S. for a non-aggression pact, while Washington refused.
In connection, the U.S. cable channel CNN reported in an online report that Hu delivered an ultimatum to the North Korean leader, calling on him to adopt a Chinese-style open-door policy, halt its development of weapons of mass destruction and improve relations with neighbors.
Willy Wo-Lap Lam, a CNN analyst, said in the article that Hu’s message forced Kim to send a delegation to the first-round of six-way talks that begin in Beijing today.
DirectX attack expected - Switch To Linux Now
From ZDNet UK
Following last week's MSBlast worm attack, security experts at Microsoft and other firms are worried that a recently discovered vulnerability in DirectX could cause even more problems
Microsoft seems to have survived the MSBlast worm attack, but now the company is urging Windows users to patch their systems against a different, potentially more dangerous, vulnerability in its software.
Even though most businesses have installed the patch for MSBlast, there is another vulnerability that could completely overshadow last week's events. On 23 July Microsoft posted a security bulletin on its Web site that describes a "critical" vulnerability in DirectX. According to Microsoft, unprotected systems could be at the mercy of an attacker by simply playing a midi file or visiting a malicious Web page.
The danger comes, says Microsoft, in a component of DirectX that relies on a library file called quartz.dll, which is used by a number of applications -- including Internet Explorer -- to play midi files. A specially designed midi file could cause a buffer overflow error and either pass control of the system to an attacker, cause damage to the system or use the system to set off another MSBlast-type attack.
Russ Cooper, chief scientist at security company TruSecure, expects a worm or virus to take advantage of the vulnerability in the near future: "We are definitely afraid of the DirectX vulnerability." The vulnerability, he said, is very widespread because few people have applied the patch for this. Cooper believes it could be exploited by a worm that uses several methods of spreading, similar to the way that MSBlast did.
Graeme Pinkney, analysis operations manager at security company Symantec, said that because the time between vulnerabilities being discovered and exploits being written is decreasing, users have less time to learn about new vulnerabilities and update their systems. "The DirectX vulnerability does have the potential to be exploited, but there are around seven new vulnerabilities found in computer software everyday. Vulnerabilities become a critical issue only when an exploit is released," he said.
Stuart Okin, chief security officer at Microsoft UK, told ZDNet UK: "My real worry is about a more destructive trojan coming on to people's machines. They need to patch their systems, but more importantly, put into place the automatic update. There will be patches that fix problems that are just as large as [MSBlast]," he said. The DirectX patch is available from Microsoft's Web site.
A secure version of DirectX (9.0b) for all Windows versions -- except NT4 -- was released in late July.
Last week's worm attack coincided with the Microsoft.com Web site falling over on at least two separate occasions, but the company denies that these faults had anything to do with the worm, which was designed to launch a denial of service attack on the windowsupdate.com domain.
"Microsoft.com went down briefly, but that was a completely different denial of service attack and had nothing to do with the worm," said Okin, who admitted there were a few "flickers" on the Windows Update service as millions of users updated their systems. "It has often been much slower than usual, but it generally handled the traffic without many problems."
Okin said that early estimates indicate traffic on the Microsoft Web site doubled last week when more than 80 million people downloaded the patch. The company also saw the number of calls to its helpline increase 1,400 percent, from 2,000 calls a day to more than 30,000.
NASA Launches New Space-Based Telescope
From NewYork Times & nasa.gov
|
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Aug. 25 — The last in the series of NASA's "Great Observatories" streaked into a starry sky early this morning, reaching its intended orbit around the Sun less than an hour later. |
Called Sirtf (pronounced SIRT-ef), short for Space Infrared Telescope Facility, the $700 million satellite will scan the cosmic abyss for infant stars and other relatively lukewarm objects hidden by the dusty cores of our galaxy as well as others, some as distant as 10 billion light-years.
"These objects are far away; it takes the light a long time to get to us, so we're seeing them when they were young," said Dr. Michael Werner, the spacecraft project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "We're looking back in time as well as back in space."
Sirtf's three scientific instruments will be chilled to minus 457 degrees Fahrenheit (right above absolute zero) by a hefty reserve of liquid helium. The telescope's three-foot-wide mirror will enable scientists to detect celestial bodies like young stars still encircled by a blend of gases, dust and other matter that one day may coalesce into planets. The search will include failed stars, also known as brown dwarfs.
NASA hopes observations will go on for two and a half years and possibly twice as long. The launching was delayed more than a year because of problems with the spacecraft and its Delta 2 rocket.
"Sirtf will be following the Earth around the Sun, kind of like a faithful puppy," Dr. Werner said.
Sirtf will also make it possible to study frigid worlds like Pluto and its moon, Charon. They are considered part of the Kuiper belt, a sort of boundary of the solar system populated by more than a million icy bodies.
Without Sirtf, these objects would be just too cold, dim and distant to be observed, said Dr. Dale Cruikshank of NASA. About half of the comets seen in the solar system come from the Kuiper belt, he said.
August 23, 2003
Alabama Chief Justice Suspended
From FOXNews.com
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who has defied a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the state's Judicial Building, was suspended Friday by a judicial ethics panel.
A federal judge had decided the 5,300-pound granite marker violated the Constitution's ban on government promotion of a religious doctrine.
Moore was automatically suspended with pay when the nine-member Judicial Inquiry Commission referred the ethics complaint against him to the Court of the Judiciary, which holds trial-like proceedings and can discipline and remove judges.
• Raw Data: Complaint Against Moore (pdf)
Ruby Crowe, an assistant clerk working with the court, said Moore would have 30 days to respond.
The Commandments monument "will be taken out very soon," said state Attorney General Bill Pryor on Fox News' "DaySide." "We have an obligation to uphold the rule of law."
Moore met with the commission early Friday as about 100 of his supporters, several blocks away at the federal courthouse, ripped and burned a copy of U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson's order for the monument's removal.
Moore said he told the commission that he upheld his oath of office by acknowledging God. Moore has said Thompson has no authority to tell the state's chief justice to remove the monument.
"What this federal judge has said is that we cannot acknowledge God," Moore told Fox News Friday. "My battle is not with the justices of the court, my colleagues, my battle is with the federal government, who has come in and told us how to think, who we can believe in."
Moore had no immediate comment after his suspension was announced. His spokesman, Tom Parker, said Moore's attorneys would respond to the complaint Monday.
• Video: Interview With Roy Moore
Pryor said the public corruption and white collar crime unit in his office would handle the prosecution of Moore, who cannot perform any judicial duties while disqualified. Pryor said senior Associate Justice Gorman Houston would perform the chief justice's duties.
"I'm not happy we have to deal with these matters, but it is part of our duties and we will continue to do so," said Pryor.
Thompson ruled last year that the monument, installed by Moore in a highly visible public spot in the Alabama Judicial Building, violates the Constitution's ban on government promotion of a religious doctrine, but added that it could be moved to a private place in the building.
Thompson had ordered the monument removed by Wednesday — the same day the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Moore's appeal for an emergency stay. Moore has said he plans to file a formal appeal with the high court.
"I respect whatever it is that they (the ethics panel) do," said Stephen Glassroth, the Montgomery lawyer who filed the complaint against Moore.
The Court of the Judiciary, currently made up of four judges, three lawyers and two non-lawyers, has handled numerous judicial ethics cases.
Meanwhile, attorneys who sued to get the monument out of the rotunda put their contempt filing against Moore on hold, now that Alabama Supreme Court associate justices have agreed to move the marker.
Moore supporters' around-the-clock vigil near the monument continued in downtown Montgomery. They have prayed, sung hymns, preached and kept an eye on the monument through the building's glass doors since Wednesday's deadline.
On Friday, about 100 protesters moved from the steps of the judicial building to a sidewalk in front of the federal courthouse, where Thompson works. Some ripped a copy of Thompson's ruling to pieces and burned it. Demonstrators also held a mock trial, in which Thompson was charged with breaking the law of God.
"We hold you, Judge Thompson, and the United States Supreme Court in contempt of God's law," said Flip Benham, director of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue.
Inside the state judicial building, court officials were trying to determine where the monument would go and when it would be moved.
Ayesha Khan, an attorney for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, one of the groups seeking removal of the monument, said Thompson told the parties in a conference call Friday that he would schedule another conference call for late next week. She said plaintiffs would drop their request to hold Moore in contempt, or fine the state, if the monument was moved by then.
"Our concern all along has been compliance with the Constitution. Once the monument has been removed, our concerns will have been addressed," she said.
Khan said Pryor, speaking for the eight associate justices who overruled Moore, told Thompson that building officials were looking for the best location for the monument and considering security problems that might occur because of the ongoing demonstrations.
Thompson's order gave the option of moving the monument to Moore's office. But Khan said she asked Moore during a deposition about moving it to his office and he said the monument was too heavy.
An organizer of pro-Moore demonstrations, Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, said Friday the demonstrations would continue.
He said five protesters would kneel in front of each of the two building exits in order to prevent the monument from being removed.
"Our message is clear. We are going to peacefully block the way if they try to move it," Mahoney said.
One of the demonstrators, retired Birmingham schoolteacher Murray Phillips, said she knows the monument will probably be gone from the rotunda soon.
"I'm upset, but I'm not surprised. At least I am going to be able to say to my grandchildren that at least I tried to do something," Phillips said.
August 20, 2003
Cowher names Zereoue, Riemersma as Starters
From Steelers.com
Amos Zereoue will be the team's starting running back when the Steelers open the season against Baltimore on Sept. 7 at Heinz Field. Coach Bill Cowher also named Jay Riemersma the starting tight end. |
LATROBE - Making what he described as "a gut decision," Coach Bill Cowher said at a Thursday news conference that Amos Zereoue would open the season as the starting running back and Jay Riemersma would open as the starting tight end. |
Cowher said he came to the decision last Monday, two days after the Steelers' second preseason game, and that's when he informed Zereoue and Jerome Bettis, and Riemersma and Mark Bruener of the decision.
"We will use Jerome and Amos a lot," said Cowher. "Both of them will play, and hopefully we'll be able to keep them fresh all year. But we don't have any preconceived notions. Whoever is running the best will play.
"I just made a gut decision. It wasn't a case where one guy outplayed the other. Both guys will play. This position is not like quarterback. You can alternate running backs."
Cowher said that Riemersma has done well in his first camp with the Steelers, and while he didn't mention Jerame Tuman's groin injury, that also had to be a factor in his decision at tight end.
As for the other position battle on offense -- right tackle -- Cowher said Oliver Ross will start Thursday's game against Dallas, with Todd Fordham also working with the first unit. Cowher said the two players could alternate ever couple of series against the Cowboys, because "somebody needs to step up."
The starting safeties will be Mike Logan and Brent Alexander, and Cowher indicated that would be the case for the opener on Sept. 7 against Baltimore. Verron Haynes was cited as a player who has taken advantage of opportunities so far this preseason, and he will get more of them as the third-down back.
Kendall Simmons will start at right guard against the Cowboys. As for how long he'd play, Cowher said, "We'll see how he feels. His strength isn't all the way back."
The Steelers now have completed their 2003 training camp, and Cowher gave it mixed reviews. He acknowledged that it's difficult to leave any camp with the notion that everything got accomplished, and he admitted that the persistent rain and subsequently soggy fields were a bit of a distraction. But he also closed camp with a punitive move.
He canceled the annual rookie show, which is typically held on the final night of camp.
"I canceled the rookie show, because I didn't feel we were focused on this game," said Cowher.
INJURY NOTES: Ruled out of the game against the Cowboys were Tuman, Jason Gildon (knee), Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala (hamstring) and Tim Levcik (knee). Cowher said Tuman and Fuamatu-Ma'afala will run for the first time on Friday, and that's when the team will have a better idea of when they might return. Cowher said Gildon could've played against the Cowboys if it were a regular season game.
August 18, 2003
Fear, uncertainty and Linux
From Salon.com
SCO claims IBM and Linux have ripped off its old program code. Linux advocates say that's bunk. Nothing will become clear until SCO shows its hand in court.
By Farhad Manjoo
Aug. 18, 2003 | "There is perhaps not the same level of interest in this case as in that of the O.J. Simpson trial," says Gordon Haff, a technology analyst who's been closely following the multibillion-dollar lawsuit that the SCO Group, a small Utah software firm, filed against IBM in March. Cable news networks are not clamoring to cover every development in the complex contract dispute. "I do not expect to see it on Court TV anytime soon," Haff says.
But in open-source software circles, SCO's suit has achieved trial-of-the-century status. SCO owns the copyrights to decades-old Unix code, and it has accused IBM of secretly stuffing this code into Linux, thereby making Linux "an unauthorized derivative of Unix." To fans of Linux, SCO's claims seem at once preposterous and dangerous, and the lawsuit has set the community buzzing: Rhe press (embodied by the likes of Slashdot and Linux Journal) is all over it, the pundits are in high gear, everyone believes himself an expert on the issue, and, like the best celebrity trials, the whole thing keeps getting curiouser and curiouser.
On Aug. 5, SCO made its boldest claim yet: Because the company believes that everyone using Linux is illegally using SCO's technology, the company released a price list detailing how much money Linux users should pay SCO if they want to continue using their beloved open-source OS without facing any legal troubles. SCO wants $199 for every desktop computer running Linux and $699 for every server (though that price will rise to $1,399 in October).
According to SCO, these prices are reasonable -- Linux is, after all, a pretty good operating system. "We compared Linux to our Unixware product," says Blake Stowell, a company spokesman, referring to SCO's Unix-based server system. Since Unixware sells for $1,400, SCO determined that a Linux server at $700 would be a steal.
But wouldn't Linux users balk at paying hundreds of dollars to use an operating system they'd long believed was free? SCO is unmoved by this question. To the people who thought they could get a good operating system for nothing, "I guess all I can say is, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," Stowell says.
According to SCO, many major corporations have expressed interest in buying its Linux licenses, and one firm, a Fortune 500 company that SCO says "recognizes the importance of paying for SCO's intellectual property," even purchased licenses for its Linux servers. Blake Stowell says that terms of the deal prevent SCO from naming the company or disclosing how much money it paid, but he notes that SCO considers the amount "significant -- it was not a small number." He adds that he's confident that the company will soon announce more sales, and "hopefully we'll be able to name some of those companies." On Thursday, SCO announced that during the third quarter of 2003, it made more than $7 million from its efforts to license its Unix code.
News that SCO has made some money selling rights to its code failed to convince many of its critics that the company has a valid case against Linux. "I think it's amusing that they were willing to put out a press release for one licensee, and on top of that it's a licensee who's ashamed of doing business with SCO," says Don Marti, the editor of Linux Journal.
Marti and other critics see the licensing announcement as just one more rhetorical escalation by the company -- just about every week, SCO puts out statements crowing about another apparently trivial "development" in its case, an effort designed, open-source advocates say, to garner ever more public attention for its claim that using Linux is illegal and somehow dangerous. This is particularly galling to Linux devotees since, in their view, SCO has not publicly provided any real evidence of infringing code in Linux.
In the first few months after SCO filed its case, many large firms selling open-source software seemed to be staying out of the imbroglio; even IBM was not very vocal in its defense of Linux. But on Aug. 6, IBM filed a forceful countersuit in the SCO case, charging SCO with violating IBM's own software patents and with causing unnecessary harm to IBM's Unix and Linux businesses.
In an argument that many others in the open-source community have long been making, IBM also noted that because SCO had itself once sold a version of Linux under the GPL (General Public License) for open-source software, it had explicitly disclaimed any rights to all code in Linux. (On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that SCO's lawyers plan to argue that the GPL violates copyright law and is therefore invalid.) On Aug. 4, Red Hat, the top Linux company, also filed suit against SCO. The company claimed that SCO's public comments had damaged Red Hat's business, and it asked a judge to issue a declaratory judgment stating that Red Hat's products do not infringe on any of SCO's copyrights.
The lawsuits -- both the SCO-IBM case and Red Hat's separate suit -- are destined to be long-term affairs, and to the extent that SCO is successful at creating actual uncertainty in the marketplace regarding the legality of Linux, the worries are going to linger. So far, according to almost every reliable expert on the matter, Linux users don't seem to be very nervous. But if SCO keeps up its rhetorical war -- and especially if a few more big firms decide to pay SCO off just to make it go away -- Linux could face some problems in the marketplace. Risk-averse corporations, especially, might think twice about using the system.
"It really wouldn't make sense for a company to rip out its Linux servers and put something else in right now," says Gordon Haff, the tech analyst who contrasted this case with the O.J. trial (Haff works at Illuminata, a research firm in New Hampshire). "But if they're thinking of a Linux rollout a year from now and they're also considering alternatives like Windows and maybe Solaris and others, then they might consider this small risk associated with Linux."
Can IBM, Red Hat and other Linux firms successfully combat SCO's claims in the media? Foes of open-source software -- with Microsoft taking the lead -- have long been saying essentially what SCO says now: If Linux seems too good to be true, maybe it is. Maybe there's a catch to it. Maybe using it could land you in trouble. And maybe paying for your operating system is not such a bad idea after all.
Fear, uncertainty and Linux | 1, 2, 3
It is not quite true, as SCO's opponents say, that the company has refused to provide any proof of its claims. Since June, SCO has been offering to show its code to anyone willing to sign a strict nondisclosure agreement requiring them to keep what SCO presents confidential. But by many accounts, this provision has greatly limited the number of qualified people who can see the code.
According to Ian Lance Taylor, one developer willing to sign the NDA, the contract prevents the signer from revealing anything you see in SCO's presentation, even code that you previously knew about. People who work on Linux, then, would not be able to sign the NDA, "as it easily could prevent them from ever again working on the kernel," Taylor wrote in an account of his visit to SCO's headquarters that was published in Linux Journal in June.
Taylor's article, which was cited in many blogs and discussion sites, has become proof to some people that SCO is blowing smoke. Chris Sontag, a vice president at SCO, showed Taylor two source files -- one he claimed was from SCO's Unix code, and one from Linux. "The identical portions of the code were highlighted," Taylor wrote. "There were indeed substantial similarities in the code: very similar comment text, the same variable names, the same algorithm. There also were some differences, but it seemed quite plausible that both pieces of code came from the same source." But SCO refused to show Taylor a "revision history" of the files, meaning that it was impossible for him to tell which code appeared where first. Was the code in the Linux file taken from the Unix file, or was it the other way around?
Taylor noticed another chink in SCO's argument: "The code is fairly trivial -- the kind of stuff I wrote in school," he wrote in Linux Journal. "The similar portions of the code were some 80 lines or so. Looking around the Net, I found close variants of the code, with the same comments and variable names, in sources other than Linux distributions. The code is not in a central part of the Linux kernel. The code does not appear to have been contributed to Linux by SCO or Caldera. The code exists in current versions of the Linux kernel." (Taylor also added that "SCO's example unsettled me by what it implies. Although in itself trivial, it does suggest that some Linux contributors may have been careless about copyright infringement. That is unfortunate.") In an interview, Taylor said that SCO told him there were many more examples of infringing code, but he wonders, he said, "why they wouldn't lead with their best stuff."
When asked about reactions like Taylor's, Blake Stowell, of SCO, gave a puzzling answer. Many of the people who have been unimpressed by SCO's presentation "have not been developers," he said, and they may not have understood the importance of what they were seeing. (Taylor, in fact, is a developer.) Stowell then pointed to several technology analysts who had seen the code and came away thinking that SCO could possibly have a case -- but none of these people are developers.
One analyst Stowell cited was Laura DiDio, of the Yankee Group. DiDio, a personable woman who has been covering technology for decades, first as a journalist and then as an analyst, says that one of her strengths is that "I call it as I see it -- I have no qualms about criticizing any vendor." And when it comes to companies who have bet their fortunes on Linux and other open-source software, Didio says she sees much to criticize.
"The thing about Linux is, you can talk about a free, open operating system all you want, but you can't take that idea of free and open and put it into a capitalist system and maintain it as though it is some kind of hippie commune or ashram," she said in a phone interview from her home in Massachusetts. "Because if you can do it like that, at that point I'm like, 'Pass the hookah please!'"
DiDio did not sign an NDA to see SCO's code -- doing so is against the Yankee Group's policy -- but she says she did give the company her word that she would not violate the terms of the agreement. It is not clear whether she was shown the same code that Taylor was shown, but she was slightly more impressed by what she saw. "It appeared as though the Unix System V code" -- that is, SCO's code -- "complete with the developer notes had been copied and pasted right into Linux," she said. "OK now, that said, that is not empirical proof of anything. It's just what it looked like to me, and they showed us snippets of things, so I can't state with absolute certainty what it meant. But what I came away thinking was that if this is what it appeared to be, then SCO has a credible case."
Taylor and DiDio did not react especially differently to SCO's presentation; they both say that what they saw did not either prove or disprove SCO's case, and they only appear to differ in which side they're more willing to accord the benefit of the doubt. At the very least, it can be said that SCO's case is not cut and dried -- but neither, it seems, will IBM's case be a slam dunk.
But DiDio makes an additional argument: If SCO is right, she says, then Linux customers all over the world could be in hot water. Why, then, aren't IBM, Red Hat and other Linux vendors addressing this apparent risk with their customers? She notes that "neither IBM nor Red Hat are offering their customers any indemnification" -- that is, insurance against the lawsuits threatened by SCO or, for that matter, any other company that might come along at some point to claim that Linux might be infringing on a copyright. "Why is the world's No. 1 computer company not willing to offer any type of indemnification for Linux? Why are they not saying so publicly? They're afraid that they could lose, and so if they lose that would be a very big payout." What does it say about Linux if the big companies who sell it aren't willing to warrant that it's legal?
Red Hat, despite repeated requests, was not available for comment on the SCO case. When asked about indemnification, Trink Guarino, a spokeswoman for IBM, said that because Linux is an open-source program, "no single company provides it, and users understand that there are no warranties or indemnities that come with it, and that no single company can indemnify it." Guarino also sent Salon an internal memo that IBM's executives recently sent to its sales team. The letter tells salespeople that they should inform customers that SCO's case is baseless and that they have nothing to fear from Linux. "Make no mistake, SCO will continue to look for ways to create fear, uncertainty and doubt -- FUD, not facts, remains the focus of SCO's efforts," Bob Samson, an IBM vice president, wrote. "As the lawsuit continues, understand that the industry will resolve it. In the meantime, if you get questions, as always, send them to this ID or contact your local counsel."
But if IBM truly believed that SCO's case was FUD, Laura DiDio wonders, why isn't it telling its customers that it will assume any legal risks they incur in using it? DiDio notes that this is a standard practice for proprietary operating system sales. "If Linux is going to take its place as an enterprise server and desktop operating system alongside Unix and Windows and Netware and Apple Macintosh, it has got to be certified ready and worthy not just from a technical standpoint but from a business standpoint," she says.
What DiDio does not note, though, is that indemnification, like any form of insurance, costs money. Part of the reason proprietary operating systems cost as much as they do is that the companies you purchase them from pay for this insurance and then they pass the cost on to customers. And for software released under the GPL, indemnification might cost more -- not because open-source software carries any measurably greater risk, but because, in a highly technical, actuarial sense, the risks associated with open-source software might just be harder to calculate, says Gordon Haff. If IBM and Red Hat refuse to indemnify their customers, they're not necessarily saying they believe their customers are at risk; "they're saying that there are unknowable things in the world -- including potential intellectual property issues -- and for them to stand up and offer a potentially open-ended indemnification would be fiscally irresponsible," he says. "I think executives and lawyers get very nervous about indemnification clauses."
That may be a reasonable explanation for why Linux comes without indemnification, but it is not one likely to satisfy folks who might be just a bit wary about using the free OS when, every day, SCO is calling it illegal. If you keep using Linux and then, contrary to all expectations, SCO wins big in court, could you find yourself owing SCO a great deal? How much will you be liable for if you simply ignore SCO?
"I'm confident you'll owe nothing," says Lawrence Rosen, the general counsel of the Open Source Initiative. Under several theories of law, even if SCO wins against IBM, it will not be able to recoup money from users of Linux, he says.
For one thing, Rosen says, if IBM pays SCO its damages, then SCO is, in a legal sense, no longer damaged -- and can't claim money from anybody else. "There's a principle in the law that says that you can't double dip for your damages," Rosen says. "Lets suppose that you get into a three-car pileup and you sue one driver and he pays you out in full. Are you entitled to sue the other car? No. That would be paying twice for your damages."
If SCO proves and wins its case, then you, as the buyer of Linux, will have essentially purchased stolen goods -- though you believed it to be legitimate. Can someone sue you for using a product that you believed was legal but that later turned out to be stolen? That's unlikely, Rosen says. "This is unlike the big debate that's going on in music," he says. "Remember, you're not an infringer just because you played a piece of copied music -- you're an infringer because you copied it or distributed it. With Linux, you're typically just using it, not selling it or copying it. If I'm just using it, how am I infringing?"
Rosen's position seems logical, and if you're using Linux, there appears to be little to fear. SCO can't get you just for running an operating system, even if it insists that it can, and even if IBM won't indemnify you against its lawsuits.
But there is still a risk for Linux, Rosen says: It's that, in the apparent uncertainty created by SCO and others, people just don't know whom to believe. "I think that's the real problem of the SCO lawsuit is that it raised all these concerns," he say. "A company or a product has to deal with fear -- fear exploited by its enemies, its competitors. This fear has to be explained away by the company. What we have to do is tell people, 'Look, software is written by human beings and human beings do things -- and we are undertaking a process to minimize risks.'"
The question for Linux is, can people overcome the fear?
August 17, 2003
Mel Gibson unleashes an unholy uproar over movie about Christ's life
From Detroit Free Press
If you believe Mel Gibson, he has been divinely inspired. While he will be credited with directing and cowriting "The Passion," he says that his upcoming film about the final 12 hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth -- who Gibson believes is literally the son of God -- is actually the work of the Holy Spirit, expressed through him.
If this is true, the Holy Spirit looks to be one hell of a filmmaker, if you'll excuse the expression. At least that's the impression I took away from the official 1-minute, 45-second online trailer for "The Passion," made available by Gibson's Icon Productions, and the 4 1/2-minute preview that was shown last weekend to a Christian convention in Anaheim, Calif. (Both can found at www.themoviebox.net/trailers /moviebox_trailers /passion_tr_page.htm).
Gibson has also claimed that the book on which much of the film is based, written by the 19th-Century German nun and mystic Anne Catherine Emmerich, actually fell from his bookshelf one day, all but begging him to read it. He also says that "The Passion" is not anti-Semitic in its depiction of why Jesus was crucified, but that "anybody who transgresses has to look at their own part or look at their own culpability."
Naturally, some have begged to differ, including Rabbi Eugene Korn, one of the first Jewish leaders allowed to see the film. He reported it raises troubling questions about "deicide," suggesting Jewish complicity in Jesus' death. That was enough to provoke a news release from the Anti-Defamation League suggesting the film "unambiguously portrays Jewish authorities and the Jewish as the ones responsible for the decision to crucify Jesus." If that's so, what's the Holy Spirit up to?
Whatever it is, Gibson has taken note of the adverse publicity. The marketing director for his production company said Wednesday that Gibson has edited the film to show more "sympathetic" Jewish characters, including some who speak out against the crucifixion, though he was careful to say that wasn't the Gospel's version of the story.
"We believe we have softened the story compared to the way the Gospel has told it," Icon Productions' spokesman Paul Lauer said.
This, of course, is the problem with movies about religion -- and, to some extent, religion in general: God has to rely on humans to make his point. That makes much of what is said in his name somewhat suspect, which is why I've always believed Monty Python's "Life of Brian" is one of the best films ever made about religion. "Blessed are the cheese-makers?" asks one fellow who fails to get a good seat at the Sermon on the Mount. "Did he say blessed are the cheese-makers?"
Gibson, it is obvious, has his biases. He belongs to a Catholic sect that rejects the Second Vatican Council, in which various long-held traditions and teachings were revised or done away with. One section of Vatican II specifically repudiates the belief that Jews should be held responsible for Jesus' murder. Moreover, Hutton Gibson, the director's father, is a conservative Catholic author who has been quoted as calling Vatican II a "Masonic plot backed by the Jews" and as denying that the Holocaust occurred.
Let me admit my own biases: I believe there should be more movies about religion and faith. The reason there are not is the same reason there are not more serious dramas about politics and race and sex: Hollywood is in the business of catering to mass audiences, not offending them.
When someone like Gibson or Martin Scorsese, whose "Last Temptation of Christ" created an uproar for its alleged anti-Christian sentiments, elects to make a movie about Jesus (or Abraham or Muhammad), he is openly inviting the sort of controversy "The Passion" is only beginning to incite. This is why these films are most often bankrolled by a religious organization or by someone like Gibson, who has $25 million -- his current asking price to star in a movie -- to lose.
Moreover, audiences usually shun religious-themed movies on the grounds they do not go to the movies to be preached at and told what to think. They have cable news for that.
Besides, Gibson is still saying he wants "The Passion," which was filmed in Aramaic, to be released without subtitles, which is the equivalent of telling everyone save movie critics, scholars and sign-wavers to stay home. (I'm betting he backslides on this one.) If he sticks by his guns, Gibson may be forced to distribute the movie himself, or through a small boutique distributor that may be all too happy to court and exploit the controversy.
In the meantime, the story of the Passion -- one of suffering and sacrifice and among the most moving and dramatic stories in all literature -- will be overshadowed by yet another holy war waged by soldiers with God on their side. I for one am glad that the French composer Theodore Dubois wrote the impossibly moving "The Seven Last Words of Christ" before the age of mass media. Divinely inspired or not, the seven last words might have ended up as four or five.
August 16, 2003
"Lake Erie Loop" Eyed in Power Outage
From FOXNews.com
Aug. 14: The darkened New York City skyline contrasts with a twilight sky. |
WASHINGTON — Investigators focused on an electrical transmission loop Friday that encircles Lake Erie as they tried to understand a massive power blackout that cut across the Northeast and Midwest, leaving millions of people without electricity.
The White House announced a U.S.-Canadian task force will investigate the cause of the blackout and identify actions to prevent it from happening again. It will be headed by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and Canadian Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal. |
President Bush said the power breakdown showed "we need to modernize the electricity grid." But, he acknowledged, "Something like this isn't going to happen overnight."
The cause of the blackout, which continued for a second day in many parts of the region, remained elusive as officials first suggested it had been triggered by a malfunction in Ohio and then backed off that assessment as premature. Earlier it had been believed the problem started in Canada, while still another theory had the cause pinned down to eastern Michigan.
No one was sure.
What did become clear, however, was that power grid experts were stunned at the broad reach of the blackout and the speed — a matter of seconds — in which it spread thousands of miles across New York and southern New England to the eastern sections of Michigan and into Canada.
"We never anticipated we could have a cascading outage" of this magnitude and speed, said Michehl Gent, chief of the North American Electric Reliability Council (search), the industry-sponsored organization charged with assessing the dependability of the nation's electric grids.
Precautions were supposed to have been put in place to prevent such a widespread domino effect, he said, vowing to ferret out what triggered the chain of events and to take corrective action.
If the problem began in Ohio or Michigan, as was being speculated, it should never have reached Manhattan, complained New York Gov. George Pataki (search), adding that the grid was supposed to be designed to isolate such problems. "That just did not happen," he said.
But it may be days, even weeks, before solid answers emerge.
As power slowly began to be restored Friday, officials jumped from one theory to another in search for a cause.
Gent at a news conference acknowledged that the answer was somewhere on what is called the "Lake Erie Loop (search)" — a massive, but troublesome transmission loop that encircles Lake Erie from New York to Detroit, into Canada and back to New York.
"That's the center of the focus. This has been problem for years and there have been all sorts of plans to make it more reliable," said Gent.
About the time power was disrupted at 4:11 p.m. EDT Thursday, technicians noticed a stunning development on the northern leg of the loop: some 300 megawatts of electricity moving east abruptly reversed course and within seconds 500 megawatts of power suddenly were moving west.
Electricity flows on its easiest path so it is believed the change in direction was caused by a sudden reduction in power somewhere on the line at the western end of the loop, investigators suggested.
"This was a big swing back and forth," said Gent, adding that throughout the grid system, power levels began to fluctuate. That caused generators and other systems to trip across the region to protect equipment.
More than 100 power plants, including 22 nuclear reactors in the United States and in Canada, shut down, most of them automatically to protect themselves against power surges, officials said.
The whole process "essentially took 9 seconds," said Gent "It happened very quickly."
But what triggered the shift of electricity flow and where?
As of late Friday no one was confident enough to say.
"Speculation is running rampant," said Gent. "I really don't want to speculate."
He said it could be next week before any firm answers are known, but he ticked off a string of factors that authorities are certain played no role.
Reports of lightning hitting a facility in the Niagara Falls (search) area have been ruled out, as have reports that a fire at a New York City electric facility may have triggered the power disaster.
The weather also has been given a reprieve because it was not hot enough either in the Ohio Valley or in the Northeast to cause such a demand on electricity that the system should have overloaded, said Gent. In fact, he said, there was plenty of extra capacity.
And terrorism has been ruled out by everyone from grid managers to President Bush.
But Gent said he wouldn't rule out that negligence by someone, somewhere might have been a cause. Investigators will have to determine whether some industry transmission standards might have been ignored, or perhaps simply conclude that the industry-crafted standards are inadequate.
The political fallout from this week's blackout will be heard long after power is restored. And much of the discussion will center around the need to modernize and, possibly expand, the nation's aging electrical transmission system.
Congressional committees already are staking out time for hearings on the blackout when lawmakers return from their summer recess after Labor Day. Federal and a number of state regulatory agencies also plan to pursue investigations.
Pat Wood, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (search), cautioned not to jump to conclusions until "we see what really happened here." But he said a critical question is to determine why protective safeguards did not isolate the grid failure wherever it occurred.
Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., said his House Energy and Commerce Committee plans hearings next month on the causes behind the blackout. He said he anticipated the blackout will spur lawmakers to take a closer look at how to improve the power systems when they work out a final energy bill.
Nora Brownell, another FERC commissioner, said the industry's move toward competition should not be blamed, as some critics of electricity market deregulation have argued.
"It's very clear this is not about deregulation. It's about investing in the transmission system," said Brownell.
August 15, 2003
RIAA Methods Under Scrutiny
From Wired News
WASHINGTON -- A Senate panel will hold hearings on the recording industry's crackdown against online music swappers, the chairman said Thursday.
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minnesota), made the announcement in a letter to the Recording Industry Association of America. He had received information he had requested from the group about the campaign, which Coleman has called excessive.
The Senate governmental affairs' permanent subcommittee on investigations is reviewing the group's responses and declined to make them available Thursday. The RIAA was also silent.
The association announced plans in June to file several hundred lawsuits against people suspected of illegally sharing songs on the Internet. Copyright laws allow for damages of $750 to $150,000 for each song.
In his letter, Coleman said he would look at not just the scope of that campaign but also the dangers that downloaders face by making their personal information available to others. Coleman said he would review legislation that would expand criminal penalties for downloading music.
An RIAA statement said that "hearings are part of any oversight process and we always look forward to having the opportunity to present our position."
Coleman said he is concerned the campaign could ensnare innocent people, such as parents and grandparents whose computers are being used to download music by their children and grandchildren. He also said that some downloaders themselves might not know they are breaking the law.
Coleman has admitted that he used to download music from Napster, the file-sharing service that a federal judge shut down for violating music copyrights.
He wrote that as subcommittee chairman, he intends "to assist in the development of remedies that will be reasonable and narrowly tailored to fit the extent of infringement."
Coleman was on vacation Thursday and unavailable for comment.
Last month, Coleman asked the RIAA to furnish him with a list of its subpoenas, its safeguards against invading privacy and making erroneous subpoenas, its standards for issuing subpoenas and a description of how it collects evidence of illegal file sharing.
August 12, 2003
Man Killed By Racing Cars
From TheWBALChannel.com
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A man from Riverdale was killed when he was struck Sunday morning by a car that was allegedly racing another car.
Police Seek Racing Vehicles
Anne Arundel County police said Chelliah Johnson, 53, was hit as he was attempting to cross Laurel Fort Meade Road just before 9 a.m. Sunday. An unknown type of car -- possibly an Acura Integra -- hit Johnson as two vehicles were seen racing east on Laurel Fort Meade Road.
Investigators said as a result of the impact, Johnson was thrown more than 225 feet down the roadway while severing both legs and an arm. Both vehicles fled the scene without stopping.
Based on the evidence at the collision scene, police said the striking vehicle probably sustained at least a broken tinted headlight cover, a broken headlight, damage to the front of the vehicle and possibly a broken windshield. Due to the injuries and the distance the victim was thrown, investigators said the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed when the collision occurred.
ISP group challenges RIAA subpoenas
From CNET News.com
An Internet company trade association sent a letter to the Recording Industry Association of America, asking for information and dialogue over issues related to the subpoenas being issued for file-swappers' identities.
NetCoalition, a Washington, D.C.-based policy group that represents companies ranging from small Internet service providers to Yahoo and DoubleClick, on Monday said it is worried that ISPs are getting drawn too deeply into the RIAA's online enforcement efforts--an issue that has kept relations between copyright holders and Net service providers tense for years.
"There are understandable fears among many in the Internet community that the real purpose of this legal campaign is to achieve in court what the association has not yet been able to accomplish in Congress--to make Internet companies legally responsible for the conduct of individuals who use their systems," the group wrote in its letter. "Obviously, such a result would be an anathema to Internet companies and the millions of Americans who use this medium on a daily basis to engage in countless legitimate activities impossible in the offline world."
The letter comes after a month during which the RIAA's unprecedented campaign to track down the identities of alleged file-swappers has dominated headlines. In preparation for what could ultimately be thousands of copyright-infringement lawsuits against individual computer users, the record industry trade group has already sent close to 1,000 subpoenas seeking subscribers' identities to ISPs and colleges.
A few recipients have already fought back. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston College challenged the RIAA subpoenas, saying they were not filed correctly. A Massachusetts federal judge agreed last week, saying that the RIAA had not followed proper legal procedures.
California service provider Pacific Bell Internet Services, a division of giant SBC Communications, has filed a more substantive challenge to the subpoenas, including charges that the requests for information are unconstitutional.
NetCoalition is taking a somewhat more conciliatory approach--at least for now. On behalf of its members, which at least indirectly include America Online and EarthLink, it has asked for information on 18 different issues related to the subpoenas and is calling for a meeting with the RIAA to allay its members' fears.
NetCoalition's questions included the following:
• How does the RIAA identify potential infringers?
• How does the RIAA ensure that songs being offered on file-swapping networks are indeed copyrighted?
• Has the RIAA been able to obtain the needed personal information on an ISP subscriber without a subpoena?
• How will the RIAA decide to file a lawsuit based on the information gleaned from the subpoena?
• Does the RIAA believe that ISPs need to configure wireless access points--currently viewed as one way to surf and download relatively anonymously--so that they can always identify computer users?
• Will the RIAA compensate ISPs for costs resulting from the subpoenas?
The final point is a crucial one for many ISPs. The stream of subpoenas is proving expensive for some providers, and the providers should not be forced to bear that financial burden, the companies say.
"Smaller ISPs, whose limited resources are already being exhausted by legitimate law enforcement requests, simply cannot afford to underwrite legal fishing expeditions and still provide services for their subscribers," the NetCoalition letter said.
An RIAA representative said that the group would be happy to talk to ISPs.
"We welcome the opportunity to sit down with anyone in the ISP community to discuss Internet piracy and how we can work together constructively," the representative said. "We look forward to dispelling some of the gross inaccuracies contained in the letter and hope that these ISPs will help to foster the legitimate online music marketplace."
Executives from the record group have said they are still on track to file the first round of lawsuits resulting from the subpoena information in late August or early September.
Windows worm starts its spread
From CNET News.com
A worm that takes advantage of what some security experts have called the most widespread Windows flaw ever has started spreading, fulfilling the predictions of many researchers.
Dubbed "MSBlast" by its author, the worm is spreading quickly, according to an initial analysis posted to the Internet Storm Center, a digital threat-tracking site. Ever since mid-July, when Microsoft announced a vulnerability in a widespread component of Windows, security experts have been waiting for some online vandal to create a worm that takes advantage of it.
"It is pretty widespread," said Johannes Ullrich, chief technology officer for the Storm Center. "It is sort of getting to the point where it is causing some slowdown."
Microsoft is investigating the worm but couldn't immediately comment on the program.
Some system administrators posting to a mailing list run by the North American Network Operators' Group, a popular forum for engineers who maintain large networks, believe that as much as 10 percent of the data coming into their networks has been created by the worm.
The worm contains two messages in its code. The first apparently is a "greet"--a message of greeting or recognition to a friend or peer--while the second takes aim at Microsoft: "billy gates why do you make this possible?" the second part of the message says. "Stop making money and fix your software!!"
Starting with a random Internet address, the worm sequentially scans for computers with the vulnerability.
MSBlast installs the Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server, and runs the program to download its program code to the compromised server. It will also add a registry key to insure that the worm is restarted when the host computer is rebooted.
The worm attacks Windows computers via a hole in the operating system, an issue Microsoft on July 16 had warned about. Nine days after the software giant announced the flaw, hackers from the Chinese X Focus security group publicly posted a program to several security lists designed to allow an intruder to break in to Windows computers. The Windows flaw has been characterized by some security experts as the most widespread ever found in Microsoft's operating system.
The flaw is in a component of the OS that lets other computers request that the Windows system perform an action or service. The component, known as the remote procedure call (RPC) process, facilitates activities such as sharing files and allowing others to use the computer's printer. By sending too much data to the RPC process, an attacker can cause the system to grant full access to the system.
The Chinese code worked on only three variants of Windows, but other hackers have since refined it. Nine days ago, a hacker posted an attack program to a security mailing list. Many facets of the current worm seem to be similar to that program.
Experts have feared that a worm created to take advantage of the Microsoft flaw could have an effect similar to that of the Slammer worm that downed corporate networks in January.
Slammer spread to corporate networks worldwide, causing databases to go down, bank teller machines to stop working and some airline flights to be canceled. Six months earlier, a researcher had released code that exploited the major Microsoft SQL vulnerability used by the worm to spread.
Security experts and network administrators are working to identify the worm and patch their networks.
Microsoft Windows users can update their operating systems through the company's Windows Update service. More information about the flaw and workarounds are available in the advisory posted online.
August 10, 2003
Linux's Lucky Lawsuit
SCO's challenge of IBM's use of its software is not a threat to the open-source Linux operating system. If fact, SCO is a toad about to face a steamroller
Alarm bells are ringing throughout the open-source software world. SCO Group has filed suit against IBM, accusing it of illegally incorporating SCO's Unix code into the Linux operating system. Some analysts are predicting an onslaught of legal attacks that will kill Linux.
The alarm is overdone. While no one relishes the prospect of going to court, this lawsuit is actually a good thing for Linux in the long run.
The story behind the lawsuit goes like this: In 1995, SCO Group purchased the code for the Unix System V operating system from Novell. IBM has a contract with SCO to use this code as part of its own operating system, known as AIX. (An outside observer would be forgiven if he thought this lawsuit is all about a bunch of acronyms suing each other). SCO charges that IBM violated the contract and stole SCO's trade secrets by incorporating SCO software into the hugely popular Linux operating system. SCO claims a whopping US$3-billion in damages. Linux defenders accuse SCO of being a gold-digger, a two-bit player trying to exploit Linux's success for money.
At the centre of the lawsuit, Linux has its own interesting tale. Linux doesn't belong to any one company. Instead it was created through a fascinating process known as open-source development. A team of talented volunteer programmers led by Linus Torvalds collaborated over the Internet and built a stable, spiffy and very cheap operating system. In less than a decade it has become Microsoft's most dangerous rival. The operating system is now deployed on 14% of servers and its market share is growing at a torrid pace of 60% a year.
Four years ago, IBM recognized Linux's strength. It put 250 of its own engineers to work on it and integrated Linux into its products. The bet has paid off handsomely: In the fourth quarter alone, IBM shipped US$160-million worth of Linux servers.
And there lies the rub. Linux is now big business. It powers products for Dell and HP. It is finding its way (albeit at a slower pace) on to desktops and consumer electronics gear. Linux was born out of a warm and fuzzy let's-work-together idealism that is typical of all open-source projects. Today it finds itself front and centre in a world where market share projections and $800-an-hour litigation lawyers count for as much as spiffy code.
Software analysts worry that SCO's lawsuit will put the big chill on Linux development. This would be a bad thing, not least because it would leave Microsoft in a stronger position than ever. But there's another, more stout-hearted way of looking at it: SCO's legal action is the first harbinger of the corporate makeover of Linux. Open-source advocates are outraged at the audacity of the lawsuit. They should instead be thankful. Linux must inoculate itself against the nasty legal toxins that are endemic in the corporate environment. And if we were to perversely pick a poison, the SCO suit has a lot going for it. SCO is strong enough to provoke a strengthening of Linux's defences but not so strong that it poses any real danger.
What makes the SCO action the ideal first-time lawsuit for Linux is this: First, it is directed at IBM rather than directly at Linux customers. This means there is no immediate threat against the deployment and continuing use of Linux.
Second, the substance of SCO's claims appears weak. Eric Raymond, who heads the Open Source Initiative (OSI) advocacy group, has been a vocal debunker of SCO's charges. According to Raymond, it is unlikely there were trade secret transfers from SCO code to Linux. The codebase owned by SCO is an old and creaky one, a jalopy compared to the Formula One technology found in Linux. Furthermore, SCO itself had made its codebase freely available for public downloading, making its trade secret claim somewhat dubious.
Thirdly and perhaps most significantly, IBM is no pushover. It is no stranger to the court system, having successfully fought a decade-long antitrust suit with the government as well as countless intellectual property suits. It has a massive portfolio of patents for countersueing SCO. SCO on the other hand has had little support aside from a limp handshake from Microsoft in the form of a purchase agreement for a Unix licence. In the meantime, it hobbles along on a mere US$70-million in annual sales and has now earned the enmity of a large part of the software community. In the upcoming court battle, SCO is a toad facing a steamroller. IBM has already launched its counterattack, charging in a suit on Thursday that SCO is in violation of four IBM patents.
Despite SCO's dim prospects, there is no room for apathy. After filing suit against IBM, SCO went one step further. It sent letters to 1,500 large commercial users of Linux, warning them they could be liable for intellectual property violations. SCO claims code fragments in Linux are directly copied from the Unix codebase. Although no litigation is planned against Linux users, it raises the spectre of licensing fees.
Will it be able to enforce such demands? SCO's position is wobbly. For one thing, SCO was once itself a Linux developer. As such, the Linux licensing agreement that explicitly disallows such fees binds it. On top of that, the suspected code fragments have so far been trivial. Removing them would be easy for Linux programmers.
But wobbly or not, SCO is doing the Linux community a favour. The most valuable gift the SCO attack gives to the Linux community is time. While the legal battle plays out in the courts, the Linux community has a chance to gird itself for future conflict.
For a start, the Linux community should move quickly on the following issues:
- Anyone who packages Linux in their products should indemnify their customers from any intellectual property issues. This would remove a significant part of the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) factor that arises whenever lawsuits are launched. System suppliers would be leaving themselves open to legal attacks but the alternative, exposing the end user to such attacks, is the greater evil.
- Tighter copyright control is needed on Linux software. One of the great strengths of open-source programming is the reliance on reuse of software. Unfortunately, if the reused software is proprietary, this creates a grave problem. Linux designers should formally declare that any code they submit into the Linux code base is original work. Other copyright issues need examination as well. The copyright to Linux code is widely distributed among the programmers who have written the code. This raises interesting succession questions. If a Linux contributor were hit by a bus tomorrow, his or her copyright would be part of their estate and could potentially be inherited by antagonistic outsiders more interested in the fast buck than in community-based software. Similar succession issues surround Torvalds' ownership of the Linux trademark.
- Perhaps the most dangerous intellectual property issue is patents. While copyright violations can be swiftly remedied by rewriting the affected pieces of software, patent violations are a different matter. Patents cover algorithms, capabilities and features. If Linux were found to be in violation of a patent, it would either have to remove that particular feature (thus weakening the software) or agree to whatever licensing the patent owner requests. So far the Linux community has taken a passive stance toward patent rights. It is relying on the legal firepower of its corporate friends to shield it from attack. The more expensive alternative is to set up a stand-alone body that actively pursues patent protection for Linux. This has the advantage of helping Linux maintain a certain independence.
Running a gauntlet of lawsuits is often the price of success in the corporate world. But with its powerful allies and with proper stewardship of its intellectual property issues, the future of Linux remains outstandingly bright. SCO may be the first in what could be a long line of legal assaults. But Linux will most assuredly get stronger with each attack, and that is hardly a cause for alarm.
August 09, 2003
Armstrong Wins Record-Tying Fifth Straight Tour de France Title
From FOXNews.com
PARIS — Lance Armstrong (search) won his hardest but sweetest Tour de France (search) title Sunday, a record-tying fifth straight victory that places him alongside the greatest cyclists in the sport.
The 31-year-old cancer survivor and Spanish great Miguel Indurain (search) are now the only two riders to win the sport's most grueling and prestigious race five times straight — a record Armstrong plans to break next year.
Savoring his triumph, Armstrong sipped from a flute of champagne as he completed the largely processional final stage of the race past Paris landmarks. He toasted his achievement with a "cheers!" as he rode, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey that he had so ardently coveted.
"It's incredible to win again," he said.
The indefatigable Texan overcame illness, crashes, dehydration, team and equipment problems, and uncharacteristic bad days during the 23-day, 2,125-mile, clockwise slog around France to win by his smallest-ever margin — 61 seconds over five-time runner-up Jan Ullrich of Germany.
Armstrong, who had never won by less than six minutes, said his fifth title was "definitely the hardest" but "feels better" than the previous four, when he demoralized rivals by dominating in lung-burning mountain ascents and super-speedy time trials.
A staunch perfectionist, Armstrong said the closeness of the victory was already motivating him to come roaring back in 2004.
"The other years I won by six, seven minutes. I think it makes it more exciting and sets up an attempt for No. 6," he said. "Before the Tour started I was very confident about winning. But before next year's Tour, I won't be so confident."
The intense rivalry between Armstrong and Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner, turned 'Le Tour' into a gripping festival of cycling after four years when Armstrong was all but assured of victory days before the finish on the Champs-Elysees (search).
This year, he only sewed up his win in a rain-soaked time trial Saturday, the penultimate day, when he managed to stay upright on the slippery road while Ullrich skidded and crashed, ending a squarely fought duel.
So action-packed was this Tour that Armstrong was prepared even Sunday, on the largely processional final stage, for the unexpected.
"If a plane landed in the race I wouldn't be surprised," he said before setting off from the Paris suburb of Ville d'Avray on the 92.4 mile ride through streets packed with cheering spectators.
Armstrong, who underwent surgery and chemotherapy for testicular cancer (search) diagnosed in 1996 that had spread to his lungs and brain, said his hard Tour battle had humbled him.
"It makes me appreciate this victory and the other victories more because you realize the best form and the best conditioning are not a given," said Armstrong, who favors the Tour above all other races and prepares meticulously for it.
Ullrich, returning from two knee operations and a ban for taking amphetamines in a disco, came into the Tour saying he did not expect to win. But as it became evident that Armstrong was not at his best, the German and other key rivals pressured the Texan as never before, attacking him on grueling mountain stages in the Alps and Pyrenees.
The German was most devastating in a time trial July 18, when he sliced a whopping 96 seconds off Armstrong, who had never before been beaten by Ullrich in a race against the clock at the Tour.
Armstrong wilted in scorching heat that day in the sun-roasted south of France, hanging grimly onto second place but losing about 11 pounds in weight through dehydration. It was a crucial mistake that prompted speculation that at 31, he was too old to win again.
But Armstrong stormed back three days later on a mist-shrouded 8.3-mile ascent to the Pyrenean ski station of Luz-Ardiden (search), one of the Tour's hardest climbs.
He recovered from a fall, caused by a spectator's outstretched bag that caught his handlebars, to roar past Ullrich, who sportingly waited for him to get back on his bike. Other than a victory in the team time trial with his U.S. Postal Service squad, it was Armstrong's only stage win of this Tour and marked a turning point. From then on, Ullrich was chasing Armstrong's lead.
"At the start of the climb, I knew that that was where I needed to win the Tour," Armstrong said. "At the finish I was confident that that was enough."
Armstrong said that in previous years, his preparations for the following Tour begin almost straight after his victory celebrations. Not this year.
"This Tour took a lot out of me," he said. "I need to step back from cycling and from the races and relax a little bit and focus on 2004 in due time."
August 07, 2003
Jets hidden in the Desert
So just to get this straight. Saddam hid over 30 fighter jets in the sand in the vicinity of our own troops and you think that we should just walk in a find his WMD without problem and when we dont find them right away then you want to jump to all kinds of conclusions?
And DF. If you do repond to this. Please stick to the point and dont give us a 3000 word reply that has little to do with the original post.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2003/n08062003_200308063.html
July 30, 2003
Running for it's life, Micro$oft installs Linux
From InformationWeek
Vendor plans to do side-by-side comparisons between Linux and Windows in lab environment.
In an effort to better understand its main source of competition, Microsoft has deployed Linux and other open-source software in a test center that's typically used by its business customers to experiment with Microsoft's own products.
At its Enterprise Engineering Center in Redmond, Wash., Microsoft has installed the Linux operating system, Apache Web server, MySQL database, and Open LDAP directory-access software on Intel-based computers, according to Martin Taylor, the executive who recently assumed responsibility for Microsoft's strategy for competing against Linux.
The project was started in May with an initial goal of determining the effort involved in building the kind of open-source platform that might be found in a typical business environment. "It's an opportunity for learning for us," Taylor says. The goal is to understand "what can you do and how can you do it" using open-source software, he says.
Next, Microsoft plans to create a comparable system using Windows and its own server products to see how Windows and Linux match up side-by-side in a variety of workload scenarios.
The move is the latest in Microsoft's attempt to demonstrate that Windows has both technical and cost advantages over Linux, which has been gaining share in the server market at Microsoft's expense. In a meeting with financial analysts last week, CEO Steve Ballmer argued that Windows' total cost of ownership is lower than Linux's, while chairman Bill Gates claimed Microsoft is better at fixing software problems quickly than the open-source community.
Expect Taylor, a 10-year Microsoft veteran who's been in his new job for just three weeks, to play up the advantages of Microsoft's integrated product line. "The end-to-end scenarios is where things don't work quite as well with Linux," he says.
July 29, 2003
Anger simmers in Baghdad over lack of electricity, crime
From USA Today
BAGHDAD — Bassem Younis felt no remorse when he heard reports that U.S. coalition forces had killed Uday and Qusay Hussein last week during a four-hour siege in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
|
Well here's proof, since they are angry over the lack of crime too their now selling guns in the street to kick off a crime wave. Silly ain't it?
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But the Christian shop owner who lives in the Karada district of Baghdad says he doesn't think his life will get any better now that Saddam Hussein's two despotic sons are dead. His skepticism echoes complaints heard throughout the capital.
As he sits inside his sweltering two-story house with his wife, Ikhlas Sibu, and their four children, Younis says the top priority for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq should be restoring basic services — like the electricity needed to cool his house. Since the United States launched the war March 20, air conditioning has been an intermittent luxury. Daytime temperatures have been averaging around 110 F.
"It is not necessary for Uday and Qusay to be dead," Younis says. "We need water and electricity. At night, we have two hours of electricity on and four hours off. It was better before the war."
The U.S. coalition and its chief civil administrator, Paul Bremer, have made restoring electricity a priority. During Bremer's latest trip to Washington last week, he pledged to have power supplies at prewar levels within 60 days.
Iraqis warn that the failure to provide basic services has generated anger and may be helping fuel ongoing attacks against U.S. forces here. "Iraqis want electricity and work," says Mohammed Jassem, an unemployed Sunni electrical engineer. "If I do not have work or a better life, I will attack the Americans. So will many Iraqis."
But getting a constant supply of electricity to Baghdad means overcoming persistent looting and political sabotage and repairing damaged infrastructure. The de facto Iraqi electricity minister, Karim Hassan, admits that getting the power grid working the way it did before the war began is difficult. "We aimed to get to prewar levels by the end of this month," he says. "But the electricity system is fragile."
Hassan puts the current electricity generation figure at 3,200 megawatts, well short of prewar generation levels of 4,400 megawatts. He is cautious about predicting when power levels will increase and become more stable, saying it depends on whether sabotage and looting continue.
The senior U.S. coalition adviser to the electricity commission, Peter Gibson, argues that the average Iraqi gets more electricity today than before the war, except in the capital. "The only reason folks in Baghdad got more (electricity) was because of Saddam," he says. "We are attempting to promote fair treatment for all peoples of Iraq."
On Monday, the U.S. coalition announced a power-sharing program. An official said electricity will be on for three hours and then off for three hours in most cities. The official said efforts would be made to guarantee a 24-hour electricity supply at such strategic sites as hospitals, water plants and oil installations.
Before the war, Baghdad consumed 40% of electricity resources, even though its population represents 20% of the 24 million people. Gibson says Baghdad was receiving 20 to 24 hours of electricity a day while other cities got 8 to 15 hours a day.
Younis and his family members are not used to dealing with the intense summer heat. While they experienced deprivation during Saddam's reign, they had the basics.
"We are suffering," his wife, Ikhlas Sibu, says. "I am sweating all the time. Look at the children. They are suffering in this heat. Yesterday, my oldest son, Phillip, was crying because he has to stay home all the time."
The family's four children, Phillip, Mina, Peter and Mathew, have stayed home since the war began due to safety concerns. "We still have no security," Younis says. "I am a father of four. I think about my children whenever I leave my house. ... People kidnap children and demand money for ransom."
Mina and Peter, ages 10 and 7, sit playing with black toy machine guns as their father speaks. "When I go to my business everyday, I can't take $10 with me," Younis says. "They would kill me on the street for that money. The American soldiers must do more to protect us. They are not doing enough."
He says the lack of security has hurt his business. He sells bottled water, cigarettes, soda and other goods a few blocks from his house. "My work was much better before the war," Younis says.
The U.S. military says it is trying to improve security. The U.S. coalition press center announced Friday that U.S. coalition forces had conducted 19 raids, 1,111 day patrols and 813 night patrols in a 24-hour period in the capital. It said the raids and patrols resulted in 253 arrests including two for murder, 11 for kidnapping, 12 for carjacking, 12 for aggravated assault and 35 for looting.
The U.S. adviser to the Iraqi Interior Ministry, Bernard Kerrick, on Sunday told the Baghdad Interim City Advisory Council conference that the city has 5,000 police officers, down from 17,000 before the war. The former New York City police commissioner said the aim is to build the police force to 65,000-75,000 nationwide.
"We are still waiting for safety," Ikhlas Sibu says. "If the two sons (of Saddam) are really dead, I would feel safe. But I suspect that they are not dead. I want to see their bodies with my own eyes. Anyway, it will not be safe until Saddam is dead. He taught us to be paranoid."
July 28, 2003
Music-Sharing Subpoenas Targets Parents
From Yahoo News
WASHINGTON - Parents, roommates — even grandparents — are being targeted in the music industry's new campaign to track computer users who share songs over the Internet, bringing the threat of expensive lawsuits to more than college kids.
"Within five minutes, if I can get hold of her, this will come to an end," said Gordon Pate of Dana Point, Calif., when told by The Associated Press that a federal subpeona had been issued over his daughter's music downloads. The subpoena required the family's Internet provider to hand over Pate's name and address to lawyers for the recording industry.
Pate, 67, confirmed that his 23-year-old daughter, Leah Pate, had installed file-sharing software using an account cited on the subpoena. But he said his daughter would stop immediately and the family didn't know using such software could result in a stern warning, expensive lawsuit or even criminal prosecution.
"There's no way either us or our daughter would do anything we knew to be illegal," Pate said, promising to remove the software quickly. "I don't think anybody knew this was illegal, just a way to get some music."
The president of the Recording Industry Association of America (news - web sites), the trade group for the largest music labels, warned that lawyers will pursue downloaders regardless of personal circumstances because it would deter other Internet users.
"The idea really is not to be selective, to let people know that if they're offering a substantial number of files for others to copy, they are at risk," Cary Sherman said. "It doesn't matter who they are."
Over the coming months this may be the Internet's equivalent of shock and awe, the stunning discovery by music fans across America that copyright lawyers can pierce the presumed anonymity of file-sharing, even for computer users hiding behind clever nicknames such as "hottdude0587" or "bluemonkey13."
In Charleston, W.Va., college student Amy Boggs said she quickly deleted more than 1,400 music files on her computer after the AP told her she was the target of another subpoena. Boggs said she sometimes downloaded dozens of songs on any given day, including ones by Fleetwood Mac, Blondie, Incubus and Busta Rhymes.
Since Boggs used her roommates' Internet account, the roommates' name and address was being turned over to music industry lawyers.
"This scares me so bad I never want to download anything again," said Boggs, who turned 22 on Thursday. "I never thought this would happen. There are millions of people out there doing this."
In homes where parents or grandparents may not closely monitor the family's Internet use, news could be especially surprising. A defendant's liability can depend on their age and whether anyone else knew about the music downloads.
Bob Barnes, a 50-year-old grandfather in Fresno, Calif., and the target of another subpeona, acknowledged sharing "several hundred" music files. He said he used the Internet to download hard-to-find recordings of European artists because he was unsatisfied with modern American artists and grew tired of buying CDs without the chance to listen to them first.
"If you don't like it, you can't take it back," said Barnes, who runs a small video production company with his wife from their three-bedroom home. "You have all your little blonde, blue-eyed clones. There's no originality."
Citing on its subpoenas the numeric Internet addresses of music downloaders, the RIAA has said it can only track users by comparing those addresses against subscriber records held by Internet providers. But the AP used those addresses and other details culled from subpoenas and was able to identify and locate some Internet users who are among the music industry's earliest targets.
Pate was wavering whether to call the RIAA to negotiate a settlement. "Should I call a lawyer?" he wondered.
The RIAA's president wasn't sure what advice to offer because he never imagined downloaders could be identified by name until Internet providers turned over subscriber records.
"It's not a scenario we had truthfully envisaged," Sherman said. "If somebody wants to settle before a lawsuit is filed it would be fine to call us, but it's really not clear how we're going to perceive this."
The RIAA has issued at least 911 subpoenas so far, according to court records. Lawyers have said they expect to file at least several hundred lawsuits within eight weeks, and copyright laws allow for damages of $750 to $150,000 for each song.
The AP tracked targets of subpoenas to neighborhoods in Boston; Chicago; St. Louis; San Francisco; New York and Ann Arbor, Mich.
Outside legal experts urged the music industry to carefully select targets for its earliest lawsuits. Several lawyers said they were doubtful the RIAA ultimately will choose to sue computer users like the Pate family.
"If they end up picking on individuals who are perceived to be grandmothers or junior high students who have only downloaded in isolated incidents, they run the risk of a backlash," said Christopher Caldwell, a lawyer in Los Angeles who works with major studios and the Motion Picture Association of America.
The recording industry said Pate's daughter was offering songs by Billy Idol, Missy Elliot, Duran Duran, Def Leppard and other artists. Pate said that he never personally downloaded music and that he so zealously respects copyrights that he doesn't videotape movies off cable television channels.
Barnes, who used the Napster (news - web sites) service until the music industry shut it down, said he rarely uses file-sharing software these days unless his grandson visits. The RIAA found songs on his computer by Marvin Gaye, Savage Garden, Berlin, the Eagles, Dire Straits and others.
Barnes expressed some concern about a possible lawsuit but was confident that "more likely they will probably come out with a cease and desist order" to stop him sharing music files on the Internet.
"I think they're trying to scare people," Barnes said.
July 21, 2003
SCO Escalates Linux Battle
From Internet.com
Laying the ground work to take its battle with Linux directly to Linux customers, SCO Group (Quote, Company Info) said it has received U.S. copyright registrations for its Unix System V source code, just the firepower it needs to pursue copyright violation suits.
Until now, SCO's conflict with Linux, which it claims is an unauthorized derivation of its Unix code, has centered on a breach of contract suit aimed at IBM (Quote, Company Info). But with the copyrights in hand, SCO said using Linux is essentially software piracy, and it is ready to open a new revenue stream by giving Linux users immunity to copyright violations through licensing.
*muddys note*
SCO stands for Microsoft whipping boys!
Steve Balmer and buddies have said for years they were going to take out linux so they didn't have to compete against it. Well this is their back door way, I hope that Balmer and the rest of his butt buddies at SCO remember they don't serve ice water in hell :-P
The company said it plans to offer UnixWare licenses tailored to support run-time, binary use of Linux for all commercial users of Linux based on the 2.4.x and later versions of the Linux kernel. SCO said any commercial Linux customers that purchase the license will be held harmless against past copyright violations and for any future use of Linux in a run-only, binary format.
"Since the year 2001, commercial Linux customers have been purchasing and receiving software that includes misappropriated Unix software owned by SCO," said Chris Sontag, senior vice president and general manager of SCOsource, the company's intellectual property unit. "While using pirated software is copyright infringement, our first choice in helping Linux customers is to give them an option that will not disrupt their IT infrastructures. We intend to provide them with choices to help them run Linux in a legal and fully-paid for way."
The company said Linux's Symmetrical Multi-Processing (SMP) capabilities are a derived from Unix System V and its derivative works (like IBM's AIX).
"For several months, SCO has focused primarily on IBM's alleged Unix contract violations and misappropriation of Unix source code," said Darl McBride, president and CEO of SCO Group. "Today, we're stating that the alleged actions of IBM and others have caused customers to use a tainted product at SCO's expense. With more than 2.4 million Linux servers running our software, and thousands more running Linux every day, we expect SCO to be compensated for the benefits realized by tens of thousands of customers. Though we possess broad legal rights, we plan to use these carefully and judiciously."
SCO said it will begin contacting companies regarding their use of Linux this week, and give them the option of buying a UnixWare license. The company's stock price rocketed up about 15 percent, to $13.75 a share, in mid-morning trading after the licensing plan was unveiled.
SCO's crusade against Linux began with IBM. On March 6, the company sent a letter to IBM Chairman and CEO Sam Palmisano, warning him that IBM had allegedly breached its contract with SCO by contributing portions of its Unix-based AIX code to the open source movement, and by introducing concepts from Project Monterey, a joint effort by SCO and IBM to develop a 64-bit Unix-based operating system for Intel-based processing platforms, into Linux. IBM scrapped Project Monterey in May 2001.
But in the meantime, while maintaining that its problems were with IBM and the alleged violation of its contract, SCO has also been giving customers notice. In May, it sent a letter to some 1,350 companies that use Linux, warning them, "similar to analogous efforts underway in the music industry, we are prepared to take all actions necessary to stop the ongoing violation of our intellectual property or other rights."
It also issued a statement that "Linux is an unauthorized derivative of Unix and that legal liability for the use of Linux may extend to commercial users."
While the case against IBM is still in the initial phases, SCO has already terminated IBM's license for the AIX operating system. IBM maintains the license is perpetual and irrevocable, and continues selling AIX.
July 20, 2003
Greetings From Parris Island
Hello Everyone! On thursday, July 24th, I'm going to become PFC Greene. I'm on liberty for a couple hours today, and I found the depot library and decided to use it's net access to post! Boot Camp has been tough physically, and mentally, but most of all, emotionally. If you've never been through it, you shouldn't ever say a bad thing about our armed forces because our lives are hell just for you. That's the blunt way to say it! Parris Island is so miserable even the Drill Instructors want off it! haha! Anyhow! I'm going to run! Good luck, and God speed! (BTW, try hopping in a room full of CS gas, it's fun!)
July 11, 2003
Police Report: Sausagegate
Remember this: Randall Simon is innocent until proven guilty. Page 2 has received a copy of the complete police report from the incident, so read through the evidence before you declare Simon be sent to jail.
*Muddys Note* this is a funny take on a sad story. The Pittsburgh Pirates Randall Simon decided it would be a good thing to wack one of the sausages in the traditional "sausage" race after the sixth inning with his bat. It was not funny as the poor slob was waxed pretty good knocking him flat on his butt.
July 09, 2003
Administration clears way for direct aid to Palestinian Authority
The Bush administration has cleared the way for $20 million in direct U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority, a step reflecting its support for Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas' leadership.
"We stand behind Mr. Abbas and under his leadership we have seen constructive change," State Department deputy spokesman Philip T. Reeker said Wednesday.
After consultation with Congress, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage on Tuesday signed a waiver from congressional restrictions that barred direct U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority, which is led by Yasser Arafat. The administration and Congress had accused the Palestinian leader of corruption.
Reeker said that under Abbas and Finance Minister Salam Fayad the U.S. assistance would be used for humanitarian purposes in ways that were open and accountable to the Palestinian people.
The $20 million is part of a $50 million special assistance package approved by Congress. The other $30 million was distributed through U.N. offices, thereby bypassing Arafat.
Overall, the Palestinians are due to receive more than $200 million in U.S. assistance this year.
Armitage's move had the support of Israel and members of Congress, Reeker said. However, the U.S. official said he did not know if there would be additional direct contributions to the Palestinian Authority.
Abbas is caught in a split among the Palestinians on how to deal with Israel. The State Department on Tuesday rallied to his support, with Reeker saying that Abbas held out the promise of "a new day" for the Palestinian people.
For years, the United States has bypassed Arafat and the Palestinian Authority and has assisted Palestinians directly through the United Nations and private groups.
This year, the Palestinians are due to receive $124.5 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development, while the State Department's refugees bureau provides Palestinians with $89 million through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
The European Union and the Arab League have given more than $1 billion directly to Arafat and the Authority this year.
Secretary of State Colin Powell has showered praise on Abbas, calling him the kind of leader the Palestinian people should embrace. Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, traveled to the West Bank in June to invite Abbas to meet with the president in Washington.
No date has been set for a meeting, but the administration's admiration for Abbas reached new heights with the promise of four Palestinian terror groups to suspend attacks on Israelis for three to six months.
The decision to circumvent Arafat in providing aid was based on a slowly developed judgment that he is an inadequate leader and that U.S. assistance was being diverted.
July 05, 2003
Torvalds on SCO suit, Microsoft and his exit from Transmeta
Linus Torvalds is the creator of the Linux operating system, the open source version of Unix that is sweeping through the software world in a direct challenge to Microsoft. He is a technical leader and an outspoken advocate of open source development, which allows software users to develop and modify their own versions of software for free. He spoke candidly with Mercury News staff writer Dean Takahashi about the lawsuit from SCO Group versus IBM (where Big Blue is accused of illegally putting Unix code into Linux), on Microsoft and open source development. He also shed light on his decision to leave chip maker Transmeta for a Linux corporate software consortium, the Open Source Development Lab. Here is an edited transcript:
Q: The SCO Group has sued IBM for illegally contributing Unix code to Linux. Do you believe this episode reveals any vulnerabilities in the open source movement?
A: Not really. Open source software is very visible. That means it's very easy to see if there is something wrong. I think that is a good thing. I think the whole point is that, with the kind of transparency you get with open source, people are a lot less likely to ever have intellectual property issues. I compare it to stealing a car. Do you steal a car in the bright daylight with a lot of people around? Or do you steal a car, go for a joyride at 4 am in the morning when there aren't a lot of people around. With open source, there is a lot of daylight. A lot of people looking at the code. You don't really go around and steal things.
Q: There was some mention of the origins of Linux being murky.
A: There has been a lot of rumor. It's more of an allegation. It's complete crap. Quite the reverse. If you look at murky, it's SCO's allegations that are murky. With Linux code, you can see how it's been developed. You can see who applied patches. You can see when they got applied. It's all in the open.
Q: They were referring to the original creation of Linux.
A: No, it's not an issue. Some of the history might be slightly hard to find, but compared to other projects, it's a lot better documented than any proprietary operating system ever. Most of the stuff that has been on public mailing lists is archived.
Q: How about the history of Unix itself. Is it hard to follow?
A: There was a lawsuit between AT&T and Berkeley. AT&T sued UC Berkeley for copyright infringement because the Berkeley version of Unix was made available openly with the Berkeley license. It took a few years but it was shown that it wasn't Berkeley that stole code from AT&T but it was AT&T that stole code from Berkeley, removed Berkeley copyrights, and they ended up settling out of court. So there is no judge that has said so officially but it was believed that Berkeley had done nothing wrong. This is the same code at issue. In that case, there was a clear genetic continuation. Now SCO is trying to use the same code that already failed a test once and to apply it to something where there isn't the same genetic continuation.
Q: For our readers who don't know the origins of Linux, can you talk about how it was written given the existence of Unix?
A: The origin was all written by me. For the first six months or so I was the only person working on Linux. It took almost a year before there was a major contribution from people outside. It's all original code since day one.
Q: The SCO Group has said that you haven't had the highest respect for intellectual property rights. How do you react to that?
A: That's very normal that you always try to twist the truth in lawsuits. The only part that has been irritating is they make it personal. They are showing my e-mails to the Linux community to the press. They called my approach cavalier because I made a joke in an e-mail. OK. Tough. If they can't take a joke, that's their problem. I think it backfired. Most journalists do have a sense of humor. They didn't mind.
Does it surprise you that Linux is a pawn in a battle between big companies, like IBM and Microsoft?
No. I'm not surprised about lawsuits per se. When there is enough money involved, lawsuits are inevitable. I don't think that's anything strange. To a large degree, and a reason I made it open source in the first place, was I was interested in the technical side, and not the legal and commercial side. It's not a pawn that somebody takes over. That's one of the points. I find it interesting that people have used it in different ways that I didn't envision and also that they're raising issues that I don't care about.
Q: What do you care about?
A: I still care about the technology and the community. The people putting it together. And I do care about if someone has actually copied stuff into Linux that they don't have rights to, I'd be upset about that. I care about software rights. Right now I'm taking a leave. From what it looks like, as long as it is contract rights between SCO and IBM, I don't care at all. IBM can defend themselves. And if IBM ends up having to say OK we did something bad, it's not my problem.
Q: Microsoft took out a license from SCO. Do you think that was necessary and that the timing seemed strange?
A: It's not exactly clear what they licensed. Most people see it as a PR move. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I'm not a lawyer.
Q: Do you worry now that, regardless of who wins the lawsuit, that it will do some damage to the adoption of Linux?
A: What I worry most about is these things tend to drag out. If somebody were to show this is what a judge thinks about this case, I'm fairly confident that Linux is OK. I worry that it will drag out forever.
Q: Can you tell us how Linux evolves?
A: It all boils down to hundreds of different groups. A group can be a huge company that has an agenda. Or it can mean one person at a university working on a research project. They have their own thing they want to fix. All of these people make their modifications, and not all of them are accepted. I see it as a kind of ecosystem. You have survival of the fittest. Some changes work better. Sometimes it is for purely technical reasons. It's just the right thing to do. Sometimes it is for personality reasons. Some people who push their changes are more likely to get things done because they are nicer about it. It's not really centralized. I am at the center, but I don't direct any teams. All these people are trying to pull me in different directions. Some groups pull together in the same direction. It's a very dynamic situation.
Q: Do you think it works well that you have the final say?
A: I think it works well because I don't have the final say. I have this final say in my tree. It is special in that a lot of people trust my tree. So some people will not use it if it is not my tree. That is a minority. But most people end up using various appendages. My tree is really not. Yes I have the final say on my tree. There is always this forking but there is always this joining. There is more forking than there is joining. But that just means that there are all these dead branches that not end up not being interesting. My branch is to some degree, you could think of it as the trunk of the tree. People try to join back into my tree.
Q: Competitively, do you think this controlled chaos works against a company like Microsoft?
A: I think it ultimately the only way to do software. I have arguments why. The main one is the complexity issue. It's very hard for someone who doesn't work like this to keep control of an increasingly complex source base and increasingly complex user base. If you try to control the process too much, you can go straight to the end point where you want to go. That works well if you know where the end point is. If you don't know where it is and you can't control where people want to use your software, it's a very bad thing to have one branch that is very concentrated on one line of development. The best analogy is biological diversity. You have the Linux approach that is fairly diverse and all over the map. Maybe it is not very efficient. But it works very well in the face of complexity and changing circumstances. Changing circumstances will really show that part of that diversity really works. Biology on the other extreme is a very mono culture, which works very well as long as the circumstances stay the same. To some degree they are seen as very efficient and they can live on for a long time. A perfect case in genetics is sharks. They are very stable but they also don't evolve anymore. That works, but if you want to go past a certain point, it's a problem.
Q: That's what Bill Gates is.
A: That's a fairly good analogy but sharks is a bad word. I should make up another example. Turtles! Turtles are very stable and have been around forever. But they have problems adapting. When humans came along, turtles came under serious threat. The Dodo too. Biodiversity is good and I think it is good in technology as well. If you look at a lot of stable things, you have a certain amount of biodiversity. Look at cars. The U.S. car industry was sloppy. There wasn't a lot of biodiversity. There no real competition from true diverse species. The Japanese came in and provided new diversity for the market. It was a huge boon for the car industry, though not so good for certain countries. Cars started improving.
Q: If you look at how Microsoft is now struggling to deal with Linux, what do you think?
A: They are not in trouble. I think they are struggling to deal with Linux partly because Linux is undermining them the same way they undercut their competition. If you look at DOS, or maybe compilers, one thing that happened with Microsoft was that these small upstarts came out and had cheaper compilers. DOS was also cheap and it undercut the competition. They never had a competitor like themselves. Then comes somebody who undercuts them and they start acting exactly how all of their competitors acted. If you look at how Unix vendors acted toward Microsoft, they were belittling Microsoft. They were saying yes we're more expensive but we're better and we give better support. Whether that was true or not was not the point. The reaction to somebody coming in and undercutting you is for Microsoft exactly the same as the failure mode for their competitors. Microsoft is on the receiving end of this undercutting.
Q: You have left Transmeta (the Santa Clara maker of low-power microprocessors) where you worked for six years. Now you've joined the Open Source Development Lab (which is creating a version of Linux for corporations). Can you explain why you took the leave of absence?
A: It's a number of reasons. One was for the last six months I was spending a lot of time working on the next 2.6 release of Linux. We're getting close. But I expect it to take a few more months at least. This happened before with other releases. I don't like doing releases but we have to do them. Before releases you get into a painful mode. Transmeta has been very good to me. This time I felt I'd have a hard time bouncing back to the Transmeta work. I was feeling more guilty about that. I talked to a lot of people there. They knew how I worked. The OSDL thing came along. I asked about that position when I decided I needed to leave. It was a neutral place. I need to concentrate on Linux. Why not let somebody pay me for that? I can't go to a Linux vendor like Red Hat because I would no longer be seen as neutral.
Q: With Transmeta, their plan didn't work out as expected. Did that affect your decision to leave them?
A: A lot of companies share that problem. I don't know. What made it easier to leave now was that it seems to have stabilized lately. We didn't have the panic problems we had. That made it easier and I didn't feel like I was a rat leaving a sinking ship. The fact that it didn't worked out affected a lot of my co-workers more than it did me. I ended up being able to cash in on my dream. It happened in a strange way. But I got my house in the area. In that sense it didn't affect me. Because the Transmeta dream didn't work out, it has less resources to do fundamental research. It has to concentrate on the customers and the products. For me, because I'm interested in the crazy stuff, that made Transmeta maybe not as fun as it was five or six years ago. Five or six years ago we did stuff at Transmeta that universities didn't do. We did fundamental research. That made Transmeta a very special place.
Q: You want to concentrate on going after one monopoly at a time?
A: (Laughs). I never saw Intel as a monopoly. It has competition. To me personally, Intel has always had a healthier position. A lot of people thought, yeah, he's always going after the big guys. That wasn't the point of being at Transmeta. I want to do something that is relevant, and if it is relevant there is always somebody else out there.
Q: Do you see any boundaries for Linux? Do you want to go after Wind River and other companies in the embedded software space?
A: That is a traditional company question. If you're a company, you want to go after certain markets. The point of open source is there is no such thing as certain markets you go after. It's more like certain companies use Linux to go after a market. The embedded space has been very receptive to Linux. It's not like Wind River doesn't exist, but Linux is growing.
Q: Did it surprise you that IBM, this big giant company, embraced Linux?
A: I always thought IBM was interesting. Early on in 1998 and 1999, a lot of people were going through the motions of embracing Linux. They would mention it in a press release. But IBM always followed through. Because I was never interested in the commercial market, I never found fault with how people used Linux there. I enjoyed that IBM started porting Linux to the S390, found that hugely amusing. I thought, OK, somebody has done a few too many drugs. But it ended up being a master stroke. The people who started it just did it because they found it interesting. It ended up working out really well.
Q: You mentioned you wanted to end up at a neutral space. Do you feel like a religious leader? Or what kind of leader do you see yourself as?
A: I try to avoid that. I think I've been fairly successful. Some of the free software people don't like how I'm not very religious. I try to be pragmatic. People know that. At the same time I have a very high profile and because people trust me and want to continue to trust me and I want people to trust me, I want to make sure that there is nothing that has the appearance of being bad. Going to work for a specific Linux company would, even if I work the way I've always worked, it would still look like I was favoring one vendor over another. You can't avoid it in the environment we're in.. I want to make sure everyone sees that I'm neutral. They may disagree with me and quite often they do. But at least they know I'm not working for the competition. I may not care about their viewpoint, but they know I do it for my own personal reasons. That makes people a lot more accepting. That makes it easier for me to make decisions. People will accept those decisions more if they understand they are my personal decisions and not because I am trying to screw them over as a competitor. It gives me more authority. That's the only authority I have. I don't have legal rights. I have one special right since I started Linux as the owner of the collective copyright. From a license standpoint I don't have any special rights.
Q: What about cashing in on Linux? Where do you stand on where it is appropriate for you to make money from Linux?
A: I'm cashing in in the sense that I have a good salary. I did get stock options and I accepted them when there were no strings attached. In the good old days there were a few Linux companies that gave me stock options as a thank-you. Nobody thought they would be worth that much when they gave them to me. I bought a house in this area so they were worth a lot. I'm doing OK. I'm not a Larry Ellison. There only needs to be one.
Q: You moved from Finland. How do you like living in Silicon Valley.
A: Some parts I love. I have a convertible. I will never ever move to a place where I can't drive a convertible. I like the dynamics. Sometimes it's sad how you go into a random restaurant and all the tables around you talk about technology. At the same time, it is nice to be where you understand the people. Genetically maybe not very homogenous. But perspective wise, it's a nice place to be. It's too crowded. It's too expensive.
Q: And what about the bust?
A: Everybody was expecting it. Everybody was calling it a bubble. The people who now complain about it. They didn't complain two years ago. What I think is sad is the people who came here two years ago, just as the bust was starting, had jobs for not very long, got laid off, and had to move back. They changed their lives. That's nasty. I remember it took me four years to get a green card. The people who came in at the wrong time, they had to go back. The social issues there are huge.
Q: Any irony that you might be deposed by (SCO counsel) David Boies, who led the case against Micosoft?
A: I was a bit surprised. I realize that David Boies wasn't against Microsoft. It's that he likes high-profile cases against big companies. That's what he specializes in. In that sense, SCO vs IBM makes sense. It's a nice twist but it doesn't mean anything.
June 27, 2003
U.S. Military's New Laser Defense System
Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) Program
The fixed-site version Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) THEL, was developed by TRW Inc. under a $89 million contract. During several tests in teh USA, the system has shot down 25 Katyusha rockets, but has not been deployed.
The system has not progressed much since the end of the demonstration program, since the lack of mobility and the fixed base limitations of the system made in insufficient to counter long range rockets currently employed by Hezbulla at the Israeli northern border with Lebanon. While Katyusha rockets had a range of 20 kilometers, and could hit only a few urban targets, the long range rockets have a range of 70 kilometers and can hit strategic facilities and large urban areas in the Haifa bay. A laser-based defense against such weapons must rely on more systems, which could be rapidly mobilized to protect a much larger area. Similar threats could face US contingencies in other parts of the world. This requirement is driving the need for an air-mobile version of the beam weapon.
A study completed in 2001 concluded that the rocket interceptor has "lots of promise" and further development should be pursued, primarily in enabling system's mobility. Mobility considerations for the future mobile systems include system mobility (road and off road capabilities) and air transportability, including the type of transport aircraft it should fit on (C-130, C-17 or C-5). Conclusions of these studies will define the necessary size- reduction technologies required for the future version.
Further studies of the system include the use of such laser beam weapons to provide "hard kill" defenses against artillery projectiles, UAVs and cruise missiles.
June 26, 2003
Chante Mallard Found Guilty
Chante Mallard the "Windshield Killer" has been found guilty of Murder and Tampering with Evidence. I am glad to see our justice system FINALLY did what it is supposed to do. The fact is she hit this guy on the street, he was lodged into her windshield. Chante then proceeded to drive home, park her car into the garage, close the garage door and go inside. He was still alive.
What's even more amazing is her friends told her to call 911 and she became "angry"? What the heck is that!?!? The hearing heard testimony from an EMT, doctor and other in the medical field who all said the two or so hours he hung upside down in her windshield he could have been saved. He did Not have to Die.
Instead of wasting our tax dollars on this low life we should allow Gregory Biggs's family to run her down in their cars.
June 14, 2003
How far do you trust Microsoft?
Technology analyst Bill Thompson wonders who would trust an anti-virus product from Microsoft
This week Microsoft announced plans to buy a Romanian anti-virus technology company, and instantly the technology sites were full of speculation about what it all means.
Shares in anti-virus firms dropped in value, comparisons were made with the browser wars when Microsoft used illegal tactics against Netscape's Navigator web browser, and everyone assumes that the whole anti-virus market would be completely turned upside down.
The regulars from the industry, like Graham Cluley from Sophos, are wheeled out to make their pronouncements, and Microsoft gets a massive amount of publicity for very little effort indeed.
To bundle or not to bundle?
It helps that that GeCad, the company involved, makes one of the few serious anti-virus tools for Linux, as this fuels another level of the grand Microsoft conspiracy theory.
Since GeCad's RAV software will be discontinued if the deal goes through, the paranoid argue, all Microsoft are really trying to do is weaken the market for open source software.
There are, of course, examples of technologies which were doing very well as third-party add-ons until Microsoft decided to bundle them with Windows and take over the market.
The web browser is the most obvious, but disk de-fragmenters, disk compression tools and network software all came first.
In fact, Microsoft had its own bundled anti-virus program for DOS and Windows 3.1 back in 1994, but it was not a success, primarily because the company could not get updates out to people reliably.
This was before the rapid growth of the internet, when viruses spread on floppy disks, and getting new signature files to people meant posting them.
However it does demonstrate that not everything Microsoft wants to do is a success, and this may be doubly true for a modern anti-virus product.
Lots of support
First, it is hard to do.
The successful vendors have massive teams of developers analysing new viruses, providing customer support and running around to make sure that large-scale outbreaks are contained.
They do not just deal with home users, either. Big companies spend lots of money on virus protection because of the potential damage to their business.
Microsoft may have bought in some expertise for writing the software, but it will take a lot to get the support structure in place, and customers who have been unhappy with its level of support for the software it provides today are unlikely to be convinced it can do this well.
This leads to the second point. Microsoft has a poor track record when it comes to the security of its products and its ability to deal with these problems effectively.
Some of the patches it sends out to customers cause new problems and have to be recalled, and many computer administrators are suspicious of software updates in case they break working programs.
Security holes
Why should anyone want a Microsoft anti-virus program?
We do have good and effective anti-virus software today. I have never been infected, and I get a lot of e-mail and have a permanent connection.
The combination of a third-party firewall and a third-party AV program keeps my Windows computers safe from harm.
But I know what damage the interaction between the various components of Microsoft Office and the Windows operating system can do.
It opens up security holes, gives virus writers the hooks they need to install their software on my system and has required dozens of patches and software updates over the years to make it even moderately safe.
How can I be sure that Microsoft will not decide to make its own anti-virus software 'easier' to use, or 'more convenient', and in the process damage its effectiveness?
The competition among the AV software firms, and their independence from the operating system vendor, is the best guarantee I have that they will protect me.
Price for using Windows
They have no interest in protecting Microsoft's public image, they have no access to the internals of the Windows operating system, and they have a lot to lose if they get it wrong.
I do not want to be stuck with a Microsoft anti-virus program as the price of using Windows.
If a team of anti-virus writers come on board and get unrestricted access to the source code of Windows so that they can spot the bugs and errors that a virus would use to damage my computer, then they could be useful.
But that would be because they make it harder for virus writers to work, not because they have written a new anti-virus program.
I suspect I am not alone in saying that I would never buy, trust or install an anti-virus package with the Microsoft name on it.
SCO may expand Linux case soon
The SCO Group soon may open another front in its legal battle against Linux by filing suit against a major hardware manufacturer in North America, a company executive said.
In an interview with CNET News.com, Chris Sontag, senior vice president at SCO, said the Lindon, Utah-based company likely will file a new suit or amend its controversial lawsuit against IBM to target other companies SCO believes are illegally appropriating its Unix source code.
"The fact that there are other companies infringing our contract... (means) there could be other complaints," Sontag said.
In particular, Sontag said that a "major" hardware vendor inserted code protected by SCO's Unix intellectual-property rights into a Linux product.
The identity of that company remains a mystery for the moment, as the major Unix manufacturers appear to be ruled out. Sontag said it is not an overseas manufacturer and that Sun Microsystems had a very strong licensing agreement with SCO that allows the server giant to make derivative Unix products. Sun has paid nearly $100 million to license Unix over the years, he added.
"They have rights that no other Unix vendor has," he said.
A Hewlett-Packard spokeswoman, meanwhile, denied it was HP, to the best of the company's knowledge. SCO's major Unix licensees in the computing hardware business are IBM, Fujitsu, NEC, HP and Sun. SCO also recently signed a licensing agreement with an unnamed major hardware manufacturer.
Other Unix hardware vendors include SGI, but these companies are second-tier players. Of course, there are several hardware and chip companies that do not specialize in Unix but that participate in Linux development.
SCO shocked the technology industry in March by suing IBM, claiming major portions of the Linux software the Armonk, N.Y., company distributes are based on Unix source code SCO controls. SCO is likely to up the ante against IBM soon by seeking to revoke the company's Unix license.
The dispute has grown to rattle the growing movement to boost corporate use of Linux, embroil SCO in spat with former business buddy Novell and possibly open a new front in Microsoft's war against Linux.
Sontag said SCO has found numerous other violations since filing the IBM suit. "We keep finding more stuff every day," he said. "There's (allegedly infringing) code in all the Linux distributions."
"If it were a few lines of code, I'd give it to you," he said. SCO wasn't aware of any potential infringement until CEO Darl McBride began to ask engineers to investigate how Linux could have grown so quickly. Statements by IBM to shift customers away from its Unix product AIX to Linux also prompted the company to consider if Big Blue was violating any licensing agreements.
Linux software companies could also become SCO targets. "Do we have potential issues with Red Hat, SuSE and other commercial Linux distributors--yes, we might," Sontag said, adding that chances for negotiating with such companies appear to be slim.
"Red Hat has been saying all along, 'We don't believe in licensing IP (intellectual property),'" he said.
A Red Hat representative said that the company has not been contacted by SCO regarding possible legal issues and that Red Hat's approach to intellectual property is to only distribute software under the open-source general public license.
Sontag said SCO planned to have suggested remediation measures ready by next month for companies it believes to be infringing on its Unix rights, including the 1,500 corporations that received warning letters from SCO last month.
"Hopefully by July, we'll have some solutions we can offer," he said.
Those remedial measures, however, seem to point toward some sort of royalty payment, as SCO does not believe that its intellectual property can be easily extracted from Linux. Not only are there lines of SCO's code in Linux, but also derivative products based on SCO intellectual property have been created, Sontag said. Getting all of the protected bits out, assuming SCO's claims are valid, would be a huge chore.
"Our biggest issues are with the derivative code," he said. "It would be almost impossible to separate it out."
By David Becker and Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
June 13, 2003, 4:16 PM PT
June 08, 2003
Why do those who came from other countries love the US more than natural born citizens?
THE SECOND rover is scheduled for launch later this month, and both vehicles are to arrive at Mars in January.
The rovers were officially named on Sunday. Third-grader Sofi Collis, 9, of Scottsdale, Ariz. chose the name Spirit for the first rover and Opportunity for the second in a nationwide contest that drew 10,000 entries.
“I used to live in an orphanage. It was dark and cold and lonely,” said Sofi, who was adopted from Siberia at age 2. “In America, I can make all my dreams come true. Thank you for the spirit and the opportunity.”
Thats what I'm talking about.
June 07, 2003
June 06, 2003
Muslim Women has to unveil for drivers license
From
signonsandiego.com
Finally some common sense in the judicial system.
I seen a picture of her without the veil on CNN. They obviously didnt show her face to the judge because if they did then she would be forced to wear it all the time because
SHE IS UGLY!!!!
May 31, 2003
Analysts to SCO: No thanks to code review offer
By Patrick Thibodeau and Todd R. Weiss
MAY 30, 2003
Analysts are balking at The SCO Group Inc.'s offer to view its proof that there is illegal Unix code in Linux, with one calling the move a publicity stunt. Meanwhile, Linux creator Linus Torvalds today said that he has no plans to look at the code and that the battle between SCO, IBM and Novell Inc. is on par with a rancorous episode of the Jerry Springer Show.
In an effort to convince the world that the Linux operating system was created in part with its Unix code, SCO said it plans next week to begin showing analysts its evidence -- provided those parties sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA).
But Giga Information Group Inc. analyst Stacey Quandt said she has discussed SCO's offer with her legal counsel, and if she signs an NDA, it may hinder her ability to write about it. She could get subpoenaed as well. Quandt called the offer a PR stunt.
"[SCO] should tell everybody what they have," said Quandt, who has advised clients of Cambridge, Mass.-based Giga to continue with their Linux adoption.
Other analyst firms expressed similar reservations about playing an active role in SCO's $1 billion lawsuit against IBM, which alleges misappropriation of trade secrets and other claims. SCO has warned some 1,500 businesses that they may be using Linux at their legal peril.
One person who won't sign a nondisclosure agreement is Torvalds, who created Linux in 1991. Torvalds, in an e-mail response, said there's "no way" he can sign a nondisclosure agreement with SCO to review the code. "Others have asked and haven't gotten anything, so I don't see much point. They don't want to tell; they want to sue. I'm told that it will come out in discovery during the actual suit at some point."
As for what he thinks of SCO's actions, Torvalds in an e-mail interview compared the fight between SCO, IBM and Novell Inc. to bad TV. "Quite frankly, I found it mostly interesting in a Jerry Springer kind of way. White trash battling it out in public, throwing chairs at each other. SCO crying about IBM's other women. ... Fairly entertaining," said Torvalds.
George Weiss, an analyst at Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Inc. who recently recommended minimizing Linux in complex, mission-critical systems until the merits of SCO's claims are clear, has been talking to SCO and is also leaning against accepting the offer. Weiss said SCO is making its case based on "vague inferences" and is asking analysts to do the same. "It's stepping right into their shoes," he said.
Analysts to SCO: No thanks to code review offer
By Patrick Thibodeau and Todd R. Weiss
MAY 30, 2003
Analysts are balking at The SCO Group Inc.'s offer to view its proof that there is illegal Unix code in Linux, with one calling the move a publicity stunt. Meanwhile, Linux creator Linus Torvalds today said that he has no plans to look at the code and that the battle between SCO, IBM and Novell Inc. is on par with a rancorous episode of the Jerry Springer Show.
In an effort to convince the world that the Linux operating system was created in part with its Unix code, SCO said it plans next week to begin showing analysts its evidence -- provided those parties sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA).
But Giga Information Group Inc. analyst Stacey Quandt said she has discussed SCO's offer with her legal counsel, and if she signs an NDA, it may hinder her ability to write about it. She could get subpoenaed as well. Quandt called the offer a PR stunt.
"[SCO] should tell everybody what they have," said Quandt, who has advised clients of Cambridge, Mass.-based Giga to continue with their Linux adoption.
Other analyst firms expressed similar reservations about playing an active role in SCO's $1 billion lawsuit against IBM, which alleges misappropriation of trade secrets and other claims. SCO has warned some 1,500 businesses that they may be using Linux at their legal peril.
One person who won't sign a nondisclosure agreement is Torvalds, who created Linux in 1991. Torvalds, in an e-mail response, said there's "no way" he can sign a nondisclosure agreement with SCO to review the code. "Others have asked and haven't gotten anything, so I don't see much point. They don't want to tell; they want to sue. I'm told that it will come out in discovery during the actual suit at some point."
As for what he thinks of SCO's actions, Torvalds in an e-mail interview compared the fight between SCO, IBM and Novell Inc. to bad TV. "Quite frankly, I found it mostly interesting in a Jerry Springer kind of way. White trash battling it out in public, throwing chairs at each other. SCO crying about IBM's other women. ... Fairly entertaining," said Torvalds.
George Weiss, an analyst at Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Inc. who recently recommended minimizing Linux in complex, mission-critical systems until the merits of SCO's claims are clear, has been talking to SCO and is also leaning against accepting the offer. Weiss said SCO is making its case based on "vague inferences" and is asking analysts to do the same. "It's stepping right into their shoes," he said.
What do you think? Post your opinions and see what others have to say in our discussion forum.
Framingham, Mass.-based IDC is also mulling the offer from SCO to review source code, but it has reservations. "I'm not sure that showing us the code would prove anything to me, because I don't know where it came from," said IDC analyst Dan Kusnetzky.
Despite the concerns expressed by Gartner, Giga and IDC, Darl McBride, SCO's CEO, today said that five or six analysts have expressed interest in viewing the code under NDAs. He said that some "highly recognizable" members of the open-source community have also asked about the NDA process, but he would not give their names.
Starting next week, SCO will "be happy to show the code," he said.
The value of review by analysts at Giga, IDC, Gartner or any independent source is questionable and legally risky for anyone who agrees to it, said Michael Overly, a partner at the law firm Foley & Lardner in Los Angeles. Anyone who reviews the source code can expect to be deposed in the IBM lawsuit. "Do they want to lose all that employee time and face potential adverse publicity?" asked Overly.
But if an analyst says there are copyright infringements, other Linux firms could make claims against the analyst's firm because the opinion could depress Linux earnings. Those companies could seek to find out whether the analyst was negligent in his analysis of the code, said Overly.
Even if there is similar code, that doesn't mean there is infringement, especially under copyright law "fair use" provisions, said Overly. "If I take a piece of code that someone has written, take it verbatim but expand on it and use it for a completely different work, that may or not be copyright infringement," he said.
Overly said a review of the code by anyone other than a judge "means absolutely, positively nothing" in determining the merit of SCO's claims.
Regardless of the uncertainties, legal experts said Linux users have to pay attention to the fight. "The fact that you ignored it could potentially cause your damages to increase substantially," said Brian E. Ferguson, an attorney at McDermott, Will & Emery's Washington office. "The ostrich's head-in-the-sand approach is definitely not an option."
Matthew Furton, an attorney at Gordon & Glickson LLC in Chicago, said it's premature for any company to reduce or eliminate its exposure to Linux. "The fact that someone is making allegations about proprietary technology [being] inappropriately included doesn't mean that companies should uninstall or cease deployments," he said. "It means they should remain vigilant about the case."
May 28, 2003
Novell challenges SCO's Linux claims
By Stephen Shankland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
May 28, 2003, 7:01 AM PT
update Novell, the second in the chain of four companies to own rights to the Unix operating system, is challenging the copyright infringement claims that the current owner of those rights, SCO Group, is making against Linux.
In a letter to SCO released Wednesday, Novell asserted that it retains Unix patents and copyrights, demanded that SCO reveal where Unix source code has been copied into Linux and raised its own threat of legal action to compensate for damage it says has been done to customers, programmers and companies using Linux.
"To Novell's knowledge, the 1995 agreement governing SCO's purchase of Unix from Novell does not convey to SCO the associated copyrights," Novell Chief Executive Jack Messman said in the letter to SCO Chief Executive Darl McBride. He said that SCO evidently realizes this because "over the last few months you have repeatedly asked Novell to transfer the copyrights to SCO, requests that Novell has rejected."
But SCO Group said the issue is beside the point because it bought full rights to the Unix intellectual property, including its copyrights, patents and the right to enforce those patents, according to Chris Sontag, head of the SCOsource effort to derive more money from the Unix intellectual property.
"We have enforcement rights to any appropriate patents that are still viable and related to Unix," Sontag said in a Tuesday interview. He did say that Novell and AT&T, the original creator of Unix, still had some Unix patents, but that SCO has "all the rights and control of all copyrights and contracts."
SCO's claims are the basis of a $1 billion lawsuit against IBM alleging that Big Blue misappropriated SCO's Unix trade secrets by building Unix intellectual property into Linux and violated its Unix contract with SCO. More recently, SCO has claimed that Unix code has been copied line-by-line into Linux, sometimes obscured to disguise its origin, an accusation that cuts to the core of the open-source philosophy that underlies Linux.
SCO recently sent threatening letters to 1,500 of the world's largest companies, saying use of Linux could make them the target of legal action based on copyrighted Unix source code allegedly copied into Linux.
Novell's move will come at nearly the same time that SCO Group reports results for its second quarter of fiscal 2003. Two weeks ago, SCO said it expected net income of $4 million for the quarter, the company's first profit.
Patents aren't a part of SCO's suit against IBM, but Sontag said SCO doesn't rule out the possibility of adding patent-based claims to its suit in the future. In any case, though, the company believes it has a stronger position with its claim that IBM's actions breached its contract with SCO Group.
"Copyrights and patents are protection against strangers. Contracts are what you use against parties you have relationships with," Sontag said. "They end up being far stronger than anything you do could do with a patent."
Unix, more than 30 years old, has a long and complicated history. Unix was initially developed by AT&T, though many extensions to the operating system were created at the University of California's Berkeley campus.
AT&T sold the rights to the operating system to Novell, which later sold them to the Santa Cruz Operation. That company renamed itself Tarantella at the same time that it sold the Unix intellectual property to Linux seller Caldera International, which in turn changed its name to SCO Group to reflect the fact that most of its revenue comes from the Unix products it acquired from the Santa Cruz Operation.
Novell and AT&T still have patents related to Unix, Sontag said, but Tarantella doesn't. "Tarantella has no leftover intellectual property from the sale of our Unix business to Caldera. There is no Unix IP ownership at Tarantella anymore," said spokeswoman Lynn Schroeder.
Linux, meanwhile, is a derivative of Unix with a completely separate and freely available code base. Linus Torvalds began the Linux project less than 12 years ago, piggybacking on Richard Stallman's GNU (Gnu's Not Unix ) project that began in 1984 to clone Unix but discard its proprietary nature in favor of an open, sharing philosophy.
Linux now has the backing of all the major server makers and many software companies. Analyst firm IDC said about 13 percent of all servers in 2002 shipped with Linux. By 2007, that number is expected to exceed 25 percent, though the fraction of money spent on Linux servers likely will be closer to 15 percent.
SCO's actions have triggered derision from many Linux advocates. And industry analysts have said SCO appears to be shifting from a company that sells software products to a company that licenses intellectual property.
SCO's actions triggered more intense scrutiny last week when it licensed Unix intellectual property to Microsoft, a Linux foe that has been trying for years to attract Unix customers to its own Windows operating system.
May 26, 2003
The fear war against Linux
The fear war against Linux
By Bruce Perens
May 19, 2003, 1:00 PM PT
Microsoft's connection to the anti-Linux campaign being waged by the SCO Group is becoming clear.
In the latest move, Microsoft has stepped up the battle with an announced agreement to license SCO's Unix patents and the source code, describing the deal as a reflection of its "ongoing commitment to respecting intellectual property and the IT community's healthy exchange of IP through licensing."
Nice rhetoric.
This comes after SCO just last week sent a letter to big IT customers, threatening legal action. And the reality is that Microsoft is tying SCO's allegations into its own anti-GPL campaign, a mostly unsuccessful effort to convince customers that the sharing and openness methods used in Linux development are unhealthy for the market. (SCO has gone so far as to publish "Quotations from Linux Leaders," a collection of inaccurate and out-of-context quotes of GNU Public License creator Richard Stallman and myself to paint Linux developers as nothing better than software pirates.)
Someone should tell SCO that IT customers don't like to be threatened by their vendors. In fact, the increasingly bellicose tone of SCO's communications and the refusal to show any evidence might well suggest that its claims are nothing more than grandiose ravings. To be sure, Microsoft will take advantage of those ravings while it can.
The real story here is the lack of substance to the SCO claims, and the increasingly remote chance that its lawyers will prevail. A similar case alleging plagiarism of Unix by an open-source operating system was litigated in the early '90s. AT&T sued the University of California, claiming that the BSD system infringed upon AT&T's copyrights. Eventually, the court narrowed AT&T's concerns down to only four source files, which the university simply replaced rather than argue about them. AT&T then settled the case by paying the university's court costs. SCO is not likely to do any better.
SCO's lawsuit against IBM is not a patent case. The fundamental patents on Unix would have expired long ago, while SCO's handful of patents aren't significant. The main allegation is that trade secrets of Unix have been copied into Linux. To win a trade secret case, you have to prove the information was secret. Detailed knowledge of Unix has been available in libraries for 30 years, and a full Unix specification was distributed by the U.S. government as part of its POSIX standards.
The Unix source code has been licensed to universities for the past 30 years, and most good college computer science departments made use of a copy until the publicly available Linux came along. While students were contractually restricted from committing plagiarism by directly copying code, they also were expected to use what they'd learned from the Unix internals during their entire careers. And computer science textbooks have documented every aspect of operating system internals for a long time. It is thus extremely unlikely that SCO can show that any of the claimed "trade secrets" were secret at all.
Besides the older Unix secrets, SCO claims that IBM copied newly developed SCO trade secrets that got revealed through the two companies' partnership during the Monterey project. The use of secrets is now alleged to have enabled Linux to run efficiently on the Intel Itanium processor. In fact, the lead engineers on the Linux Itanium port weren't even at IBM; they are Hewlett-Packard's David Mosberger and Stephane Eranian. Their book, "IA-64 Linux Kernel," documents the work they performed. Itanium was derived from HP's PA-RISC architecture through an HP-Intel partnership, and thus it's much more likely that any Itanium rocket science in the Linux kernel has come from HP and Intel, rather than IBM and SCO.
There's also a problem with attributing too much interest in Itanium to IBM, which makes its own CPU chips in competition with Intel. And the very notion of IBM being the Robin Hood of operating systems--stealing from SCO to give to Linux--is difficult to believe. Of the companies that could be expected to have stringent policies and training about intellectual-property issues, IBM must head the list.
Similarly, the open-source community has been careful to create its own code rather than copy others. Richard Stallman's 1984 "GNU Manifesto" deals extensively with copyright issues and ownership of software, and later documents, like my "Open Source Definition," have continued that process. Our developers are smart enough to understand the consequences of plagiarism.
Where SCO stands
And yet SCO officers allege--without any substantiating evidence--that their copyrighted code has been appropriated into Linux. If there's been any copying, it's much more likely that the publicly available GNU/Linux code has been copied into the secret SCO source. To prove otherwise, SCO would have to present evidence regarding the date its code was written. The creation dates for Linux code aren't in question because CD-ROM archives exist of all stages of its development and have been sold to thousands of witnesses.
SCO's allegations can't be proven until its lawyers produce the evidence. But no publicly disclosed evidence is forthcoming until the trial, says SCO's Darl McBride, because it would give Linux developers a chance to launder their issues.
As if they could wipe the bits off of the hundreds of thousands of Linux source-code CDs already sold. SCO says it might show the evidence to "independent experts" under a nondisclosure agreement in a few weeks. But why is an NDA necessary? By SCO's own attestation, the code in question is already available to the public. The company would not be further damaged by a public display of evidence. The no-spin answer is that by delaying the public release of evidence, SCO can continue to make unsubstantiated assertions about Linux for as long as possible.
It's interesting to look at the size of the Linux development organization. Some 440 people are listed in the Linux kernel credits--that's only a partial list. They produce 50,000-plus lines of new or modified code per month. And that's just the kernel--other sizable teams produce libraries, utilities and applications.
SCO, a small and troubled company, can't hope to match those figures. Indeed, any Unix team in history would have been hard-pressed to rival them. Why, then, would Linux or IBM need SCO's contribution?
And what of SCO's own participation in Linux, and its effect upon its lawsuit and future income? SCO shut down distribution of its own Linux system, citing "intellectual property risk." So what? The company's behavior had already driven Linux customers elsewhere. And shutting down its Linux business does not change SCO's intellectual-property risk: The company had already distributed the Linux kernel and other critical components under the GPL license as part of SCO's own products.
Who really benefits from this mess? Microsoft.
SCO had more than adequate chance to notice if it owned any of the code in question. The GPL does not have a termination date and promises royalty-free use of the licensed code to everyone. The fact is, SCO's potential to collect royalties from the Linux kernel or anything else connected with the GPL is nil.
For SCO to have been distributing the very code it contends was appropriated--under a license that assures everyone of the right to use it for free--further hurts its chances of prevailing.
SCO management also fails to grasp its liability for the harm it is causing to countless customers, developers and software projects involved in Linux. The group's actions will lead to loss of sales and jobs, delayed projects, canceled financing, and the like. The damage to others will certainly invite retribution when the frivolity of SCO's claims is revealed.
I earlier thought the suit could be a bid to force IBM to acquire SCO at a cheaper price than the cool billion dollars being demanded to settle the case. Big Blue, which isn't taking the bait, must be confident of winning.
Who really benefits from this mess? Microsoft, whose involvement in getting a defeated Unix company to take on the missionary work of spreading FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) about Linux is finally coming to light.
Microsoft hardly needs an SCO source license. Its license payment to SCO is simply a good-looking way to pass along a bribe, coupled with an announcement designed to further intimidate Linux users. It's hard to imagine former Microsoft adversaries SCO and David Boies doing Bill Gates' bidding, but Microsoft's money is green. SCO stockholders should be asking questions.
May 19, 2003
Disney to Start Renting 'Self-Destructing' DVDs
LOS ANGELES — This disc will self-destruct in 48 hours.
That is the warning The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) will issue this August when it begins to "rent" DVDs that after two days become unplayable and do not have to be returned.
Disney home video unit Buena Vista Home Entertainment (search) will launch a pilot movie "rental" program in August that uses the self-destruction technology (search), the company said Friday.
The discs stop working when a process similar to rusting makes them unreadable. The discs start off red, but when they are taken out of the package, exposure to oxygen turns the coating black and makes it impenetrable by a DVD laser.
Buena Vista hopes the technology will let it crack a wider rental market, since it can sell the DVDs in stores or almost anywhere without setting up a system to get the discs back.
The discs work perfectly for the two-day viewing window, said Flexplay Technologies, Inc. (search) , the private company which developed the technology using material from General Electric Co. (GE).
The technology cannot be hacked by programmers who would want to view the disc longer because the mechanism which closes the viewing window is chemical and has nothing to do with computer technology.
However, the disc can be copied within 48 hours, since it works like any other DVD during that window.
Buena Vista did not disclose pricing plans but said the discs, dubbed EZ-D, would be available in August in select markets with recent releases including The Recruit, The Hot Chick and Signs.
May 16, 2003
RIAA apologizes for erroneous letters (via cnet.com)
By Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
May 13, 2003, 4:41 PM PT
update The music industry's antipiracy efforts took an embarrassing turn Tuesday when the Recording Industry Association of America acknowledged that it has erroneously sent dozens of copyright infringement notices.
The RIAA said Tuesday that a temporary worker was responsible for firing off legal notifications last week that invoked the Digital Millennium Copyright Act without confirming that any copyrighted files were actually being offered for download. "We have sent two dozen withdrawal notices--all appear related to this particular temp," the RIAA said in a statement. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."
On Monday, as first reported by CNET News.com, the RIAA withdrew a DMCA notice to Penn State University's astronomy and astrophysics department. Sent during Penn State's final exams, it prompted the central computing office at the campus to threaten the department with having its Internet connection severed unless the infringing material was removed.
Click Here.
The problem, however, was that no infringing file existed on the department's computer. The RIAA's automated program apparently confused two separate pieces of information--a legal MP3 and a directory named "usher"--and concluded there was an illegal copy of a song by the musician Usher.
In a second incident, Speakeasy, a national broadband provider, said Tuesday that the RIAA had apologized for sending it a cease-and-desist letter alleging illegal activity on a subscriber's FTP site devoted to the Commodore Amiga computer. The RIAA's form letter sent to Speakeasy last Thursday alleged the Amigascne.org site illegally "offers approximately 0 sound files for download. Many of these files contain recordings owned by our member companies, including songs by such artists as Creed."
The errors represent a black eye for the RIAA's latest efforts against piracy, which rely on automated crawlers to scour the Internet in an attempt to find material that is being distributed in a way that violates federal copyright law. The RIAA refuses to disclose what techniques its crawlers use, but the group appears to employ companies such as MediaForce and MediaDefender. Its copyright enforcers are not required to listen to an allegedly infringing MP3 file in its entirety, the RIAA has acknowledged.
RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy would not say who the temporary employee worked for, whether the person had been fired or who else had received DMCA notices.
"We do not discuss employment details, other than to say, 'We are taking appropriate action against this individual,'" Lamy said. "As we said, 24 withdrawal notices have been sent, all apparently due to mistakes this temp employee made." Just as the RIAA doesn't publicize the names of whom it sends cease-and-desist notices in order to protect their privacy, Lamy said, the group will not publicize this temp's name.
While the RIAA said that only 24 faulty letters have been sent, a comparison of the tracking numbers inserted in the Penn State and Speakeasy notices shows they differ by 136 numbers. That difference implies that hundreds of additional notifications may have been fired off around the same time, though not necessarily by the same RIAA worker.
Speakeasy said Tuesday that it accepted the RIAA's apology.
"Speakeasy routinely monitors abuse allegations from outside parties and forwards notices to its subscribers when appropriate. In this particular case, our abuse department notified the subscriber of the RIAA inquiry and Speakeasy simultaneously contacted the RIAA to question the '0 files found' portion of the original letter," a spokeswoman said. "Speakeasy is satisfied with the RIAA's timely response."
Kurt Hoffman, Speakeasy's chief operating officer, said the company believed RIAA's notice to be an honest mistake and that Speakeasy will not pursue legal action.
DMCA litigation
Under section 512 of the controversial DMCA, a representative of a copyright holder can send a "takedown" notice to a university or other Internet provider requesting that copyrighted material be removed. Anyone receiving a false notice can sue for damages and attorney's fees, but only if the sender "knowingly materially misrepresents" information.
Cindy Cohn, legal director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said Monday that section 512 hands too much power to copyright holders. "If you have a good-faith belief that use of the material is not authorized by the copyright holder under copyright law, that's the only standard you have to meet," Cohn said. "You can't be liable if you're wrong unless you knowingly and materially misrepresented. I think the situations where there will be liability will be very small."
Section 512 of the DMCA is also what's at issue in the RIAA v. Verizon lawsuit, which is before a federal appeals court in Washington. The law permits a copyright owner to send a subpoena ordering a service provider to turn over information about a subscriber. The service provider must promptly comply with that order, and no judge's approval is required first, a process that Verizon says is not sufficiently privacy-protective.
While this appears to be the first time that mistakes by the RIAA have been made public, other copyright holders overreached. A site that offers the open-source OpenOffice program received such a notice from Microsoft's representatives after an automated program searching for MS Office became confused. The Church of Scientology invoked section 512 in an attempt to get Google to delete links to both the church's copyrighted work and a critic's Web site.
Disruptive effects
Erroneous takedown notices sent under section 512 can be disruptive. At Penn State, where a song by the astronomer a capella group The Chromatics about a gamma-ray satellite apparently triggered the RIAA's notification-bot, the astronomy department's system administrator spent four days dealing with the fallout. "I knew the DMCA was not the greatest law ever made, but when this came down the pike, I was caught completely off guard," said Matt Soccio, the department's network and information systems manager.
Sam Kielek, who is an administrator for the Amiga site he runs from his home with a DSL connection, said he believes Speakeasy took a clearly erroneous complaint from the RIAA too seriously. A note to Kielek from Patrick McDonald in Speakeasy's abuse department defended the RIAA, saying the group's investigators must have found something: "If the current complaint does not have any scan results, this would mean that at one point it did--otherwise, they would not have sent out an e-mail in the first place--and they are making a formal notification about it."
Kielek said: "I'm unhappy with the way Speakeasy handled this entire ordeal...I wanted Speakeasy to make more of an effort to look at an obvious error in this e-mail. The way the e-mail could have been written is to say, 'We received the e-mail from RIAA saying that there were zero files. So there was an error.'"
The Amigascne.org site is devoted to collections of "demo" files, which show off the capabilities of the Amiga computer, which had superior graphics when it was introduced in the 1980s. "There are some files with the suffix mp3 but there is nothing I could find that I could associate with any artist that I know of," Kielek said.
May 15, 2003
UPDATE 2-Microsoft aims discounts at Linux
Thu May 15, 2003 12:59 PM ET
(Recasts, adds EU, lawyer, Microsoft comment)
By Lucas van Grinsven and Siobhan Kennedy
AMSTERDAM/NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) - Microsoft MSFT.O is offering large discounts on its products and has dedicated funds for a battle against the licence-free Linux operating system, measures that may run afoul of European competition rules.
But the company declined to comment a newspaper report that its previous sales chief had sent a email a year ago authorising executives to offer steep discounts as a way of preventing customers from buying Linux.
The discounts cash-rich Microsoft is said to be offering may put further pressure on the world's largest software maker which is under investigation by European market regulators for abusing its market dominance.
Microsoft said it used two funds as part of its Linux strategy. One aimed at governments and the educational sector and a second was aimed at enabling its sales force to undercut competitors who sell Linux software. "The primary objective (of the government and education program) is to make technology available to customers at low prices. We believe that this programme makes good business sense," said Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler in Seattle.
"There are (also) business investment funds. We use them in the case of a major competitor -- in this case it was IBM IBM.N -- dropping prices for services consulting and Microsoft responding with a program to compete," he said.
The news that Microsoft has set up funds to compete against Linux first emerged in the International Herald Tribune newspaper which said it had obtained internal Microsoft emails.
"Under NO circumstances lose against Linux," Orlando Ayala, chief sales executive, was quoted saying by the newspaper.
Microsoft is the operating software on more than 90 percent of desktop computers around the world, while it is pushing into the market for more powerful and expensive computers. A range of Microsoft rivals are promoting Linux as a cheap alternative to Microsoft's Windows.
ABUSE?
"If it's true the discounts would constitute an abuse. It would a be an infringement of case law involving article 82: no discounting by a dominant company that excludes competition," said Thomas Vinje, a competition law attorney at Morrison & Foerster in Brussels who is involved in cases against Microsoft.
Microsoft said it believed its programmes complied with all existing laws and regulations.
A spokeswoman for European Union competition commissioner Mario Monti declined comment.
Monti said in June 2001 after fining French tyre maker Michelin MICP.PA for keeping competitors out of the French tyre market that "dominant companies must be careful not to engage in practices that exclude other players from the market".
Governments and organisations in many countries are interested to use Linux on desktop computers, which is already a successful rival to Unix and Windows in server computers, used to power Web sites and corporate software.
Linux software runs 15 percent of all servers sold in Western Europe in 2002, compared with 56 percent of servers running on Windows, according to research group IDC.
LINUX CHANGES GAME
But just as Microsoft changed the computer industry 25 years ago when it started selling operating software as a separate product, Linux is changing the game again, analysts said.
"Linux software is owned by the software community. For Microsoft that's a very hard fight. If it says it doesn't want to lose against Linux, that's a statement against the community," said analyst Martin Hingley at IDC.
Linux is being distributed by hundreds of companies, which are not allowed to charge for the core software, but which do charge for modifications, services and maintenance. (Additional reporting by Tom Miles in Brussels)
May 02, 2003
Enron, MCI seek tax refunds
Report: Scandal-tainted firms to claim IRS overpayments
Reuters
NEW YORK, May 2 — Some major U.S. firms, under investigation for overstating profits, are preparing to collect or file for refunds in overpaid taxes tied to the same earnings they are accused of manipulating, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Cynics and the USS Abraham Lincoln
The pundits are so sophisticated that they see the Abraham Lincoln speech as nothing more than a campaign stump.
by David Brooks
05/02/2003 5:00:00 AM
David Brooks, senior editor
BOY AM I in a terrible mood. I watched and listened to the punditry on President Bush's speech on the USS Lincoln. The people he was standing before have been away from their families for ten months. That's mothers away from their kids, fathers away from their kids, men an women away from their spouses, their mothers, fathers, and siblings. One hundred and fifty fathers on the Abraham Lincoln missed the birth of their child.
That's called sacrifice. Most of us are basket cases if we're on a business trip away from our families for four days. These people were gone nearly a year. And they did it to defend the country. They did it to liberate the people of Iraq, so that 25 million Iraqis would be emancipated from a sadistic regime, the greatest victory for human rights since the defeat of the Soviet Union.
And what do my fellow pundits say? They sit in the studios and point out sagely that the speech was a tremendous photo-op, and then they go home to the safety of their beds and the comfort of their families.
Somehow the sacrifice of those men and women never registers. It's not worth commenting on. The only thing that matters is that this was a campaign event and it's to be judged as just another rally on the way to the convention. The ship, the soldiers, the ocean--all of it is treated as mere bunting, as a Deaveresque device to provide pretty pictures. This is what passes for wisdom.
Now I'm not denying that this was in part a political event or that President Bush is a politician. But this was first an American event, a recognition of the noble deed this country is accomplishing. And it was an act of recognition for those soldiers, and through them all the soldiers who fought, including those who were injured and died.
And much of punditry treated those soldiers as mere props, as not even human. I understand that most pundits don't know too many of the people on that ship, but it doesn't take a huge act of imagination to feel what they have been through and to at least register their idealism and what they have suffered for it.
Somehow the cynicism and the churlishness of the savvy campaign commentator makes that impossible.
As I say, I'm in a terrible mood. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow.
David Brooks is a senior editor at The Weekly Standard.
May 01, 2003
Microsoft admits older software insecure and unreliable
(Muddy says, Swtich now to Linux or BSD if you know what's good for you.. unless you enjoy poor quality software)
10 weeks turns into a year
By Staff at the Newsdesk: Thursday 01 May 2003, 14:43
THE CONSTANT COMPLAINT from the Microsoft's detractors is that its software is full of bugs. And it's pretty hard to ignore the almost daily security warnings. So it's quite nice to hear the Vole of Redmond finally start admitting that its software is insecure and unreliable.
According to a story on CNN, Microsoft vice president S. Somasegar said Windows Server 2003 "took a much longer time because we did the right thing on security and reliability."
(Muddy says, *cough, cough* oh riiiiggghhhtttt... wait 4 or 5 years and you'll be saying.. server 2003 sucked and we knew it) That seems like a tacit admission that previous Microsoft operating systems were duff if ever there was one. That operating system was held back by a year because of bug fixing and security improvements. It's nice to know that Microsoft finally admits that the rest of its operating systems could have done with that extra year too.
It all came about because of the Vole's "Trustworthy Computing" scheme. It's not quite certain who is supposed to be trusted in the scheme but we're fairly certain it's not the customer. As part of the scheme, Microsoft spent 10 weeks last year teaching its employees all about planning and thinking about "quality."
Microsoft hopes that its customers will see a "huge improvement" with Windows Server 2003. It's early days yet. Anyone want to start a sweepstake on when the first major bugs focus points and security issues appear? µ
April 25, 2003
Ballmer: No sleep lost over Linux
By Michael Kanellos and Stephen Shankland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
April 25, 2003, 4:00 AM PT
newsmakers Will IT buy his pitch?
Steve Ballmer had the stage to himself Thursday in San Francisco as he introduced Windows Server 2003, a new version of the company's server operating system that Microsoft's CEO described as "the right product" to help companies stretch their IT budgets.
[Bwwwahahahahaha... Steve you have spoken lies and deceit so long your starting to believe it.. I need to get your addy so I can send you a clue. In
fact I'm sending you a semi load of clues you mindless twit -Muddy]
Just how long fence-sitting CIOs will take to heed that message and upgrade their existing servers is the big wild card.
Clearly, Windows Server 2003 is the most ambitious version of the company's server operating system. Microsoft, keen on gaining a stronger foothold in corporate data centers, plans to spend as much as $250 million to promote the product. Though the software took four different names and four release dates to get here, Ballmer says that Windows Server 2003 offers a heap of new features designed to appeal to security-conscious corporate buyers.
But in raising its sights, Microsoft also must grapple with a new constellation of challenges--not the least of which is the increasing popularity of Linux among IT administrators who manage corporate servers.
Ballmer, playing up to his legendary image as a hard-driving salesman, did not mince words in discounting the gathering threat to Microsoft's ambitions posed by the Penguinistas. Although Microsoft has distanced itself from Ballmer's earlier criticisms that the license governing Linux makes the software a "cancer," the CEO still believes that Linux is qualitatively different and that its license poses insurmountable problems.
Sitting down for an in-depth interview with CNET News.com, Ballmer discussed the Linux phenomenon as well as a range of other issues facing Microsoft.
Q: Microsoft has beaten companies touting free software before. But as one of your former executives pointed out, Linux is a completely different kind of free. There is no single company promoting it. There are people voluntarily coding for it. Do these aspects change how you compete against them.
A: We have competed with things that had no price attached with them before. There is a clear set of guideposts for adding value to customers to differentiate you from the guy who has no price or a lower price. It is a different model in the sense that there is no commercial company behind it, but I think that winds up being an advantage for us, rather than a disadvantage.
In what respect?
Innovation is not something that is easy to do in the kind of distributed environment that the open-source/Linux world works in. I would argue that our customers have seen a lot more innovation from us than they have seen from that community.
Linux itself is a clone of an operating system that is 20-plus years old. That's what it is. That is what you can get today, a clone of a 20-year-old system. I'm not saying that it doesn't have some place for some customers, but that is not an innovative proposition.
Some people say it is an advantage that Linux gets built in all of these little pieces. The fact is that if you want to do some kind of integrated innovation that touches the kernel, that touches the user interface--there is no way. Maybe Linus (Torvalds) can control the innovation in the piece called the kernel, but there are many pieces.
The Linux world in some sense is a lot like the Unix world. There is not much communality. There is this distribution; there is that distribution. There is this user interface, there is that. Some people might see some advantages to that. On the other hand, in terms of putting a clear, simple proposition in front of the customer, I think we have a leading edge proposition.
Linux itself is a clone of an operating system that is twenty-plus years old. That's what it is.
So when it comes to development models, you're claiming the edge?
If you want a fix now, we may need to perform better, but you know where to go. There is nobody to turn to if you as a (Linux) customer says, 'I need this.' You can't turn to IBM. They don't write the thing. It's not like IBM can support Linux the way they support the mainframe operating system. They don't write the code for it. All they can say is, 'You can call us and ask us a question, but if you actually want something done we can't do it.'
But why do you think people are adopting Linux? Is it because they can look at the code? Is it because they don't have to go through an 80-page licensing agreement?
No. There are some scenarios where people consider it. People don't really consider Linux much on the client--that's my market observation. On the server side, you have people who have skill sets and applications on Sun that they want to move now to Intel hardware to save costs. I think we have a pretty good story, but I tell you, game's on. We've got to prove ourselves, and some people are choosing Linux. I don't think that is going to continue to be the case.
In the past you've used strong words like "cancer" to describe Linux. There is the un-American comment from a colleague about GPL (General Public License) and open source. Are you backing off from that position and taking more of a technological or business view?
I think there are many parts of the discussion. I do think there are things that people don't understand very well about the new alternative, where it is important for us to help customers understand the issues.
Steve Ballmer in an interview with CNET News.com The way things are structured today, from a licensing perspective, in the Linux world nobody will ever commercialize Linux the way the Sun commercialized FreeBSD. For some customers, that can be viewed as advantageous. But customers will never really know who stands behind this product. If the lead developer for this component chooses to do something else with his life, who will carry on the mantle for that? The fact that it will never be commercialized is assured by the GPL. The GPL licensing form does that, as opposed to the open-source license for FreeBSD, where you could say Sun took it and commercialized it and can say that they own it. Nobody can ever do that (with GPL).
There are advantages (to Windows) that are more subtle. We may not have always been sharp in the way we have communicated about those (laughs), but there are some things that are important for customers to understand. We think that in some sense our commercial form is a major asset for us.
Gauge the piracy problem. Are you finally getting a handle on it?
Some countries yes, some countries no. It has improved certainly in Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe and Southern Europe. Piracy was high at one time. There are still challenges in parts of Asia. We have seen improvements in Latin America.
What is driving it, legal enforcement or a growing PC industry that wants to make money?
Both. It really takes both. Neither one nor the other by itself is generally enough.
On the desktop, in developing countries, computer dealers will tell you that they sell Linux-based PCs, but in a lot of these places, Windows only costs $1 in the street.
A Linux PC in most countries is a PC in which somebody is being encouraged to pirate Windows. We conducted some surveys about this in one large Asian country, where we found that, of all PCs that didn't have Windows installed on them when they were sold, 99 percent wound up with Windows on them within 30 days.
Who is the target audience for Windows 2003 server? Is it Windows 4.0 users? The Unix crowd?
The initial market will probably evolve into three categories. Category No. 1 will be NT 4.0 users. There are a lot out there, and I think we offer an important step forward. It's not like a client, where everybody might want to upgrade at the same time, but I think we've set up a real wave there.
No. 2, there are people moving applications from expensive gear onto cheap gear. I think Windows Server 2003 is going to look good to a lot of that community. Those are high-performance computing applications, or applications running on Solaris or AIX.
And No. 3, people who want to put in new applications or people who want to support new working information-type scenarios--and people are always putting in new applications. They really are.
There are millions of new servers sold a year, and that is a market that continues to grow. It grows faster than the PC market does. By hook or by crook, so to speak, there will be 5-plus million servers, roughly, sold in the next 12 months.
Over time, will servers become 50 percent of your business?
It's not a line of dialogue I choose to engage in because then all you are doing is comparing the growth prospects of various businesses. I think we have great growth opportunities in our server business. I think we have great growth opportunities in small business and medium business, as well as the enterprise. I think the percentage growth rate in that (the server) business will exceed that which we see in the Windows client business or the Office business. But those are huge businesses. This is a very large business, but those are huge businesses.
Shifting gears here, when you look at your balance sheet, Office does well, Windows does well; but there are these other projects, such as MSNBC, Xbox, that don't have that same sort of trajectory. Why is that?
They absolutely have a trajectory we are used to.
I don't think the price of software and the price of hardware have some inextricable link.
Are you happy with the growth of Xbox?
Yes. We're a clear No. 2 in the market. We are coming on strong. It is probably going to take us another turn of the crank, from a product cycle perspective, before we make money. But most of the things we do as a company successfully today we worked at for years before they made money. Remember, we brought Windows 1 out in 1983 and we didn't have any real volume until 1991. It took us eight years to get volume. I don't know when we got profit, but it took us eight years to get volume.
Take Windows server. We started on it in 1988, but it was probably 1998 before we had real volume, and I don't know when we would have said we had profitability on that product. But most of the good businesses require long-term patience, commitment, tenacity...and you can't be impatient. I feel very good that we have great teams to take MSN and Xbox in exactly those same directions.
Are you looking at search?
We are in the search business today. In fact we have a lot of search users. If you take a look at search usage today--everybody likes to talk about Google, which is fine. They are doing a good job as a company. But for traffic, Yahoo is doing quite well and we are doing quite well. We've got some of the best people in the world in the area of search thinking about information retrieval.
If you put Office on a PC, it can be one-third of the material cost of the system. Is that sustainable? Hard drives are going down in price and processors are going down in price.
I think that is a bad way to look at it. I don't think the price of software and the price of hardware have some inextricable link. I think what we need to make sure of is customer perception of value versus competitive offerings. I think we've got the right mix of capability, functionality, simplicity, price, etc. I don't think looking at it relative to hardware prices takes you any place.
And I also don't think hardware prices have come down, at least at the client. Hardware prices have not come down significantly in a number of years...The capability goes up, as the capability goes up in our software.
Average selling prices are pretty far down.
No, no, no. Not in the home. It hasn't come down in the last several years at all. Remember when sub-$1,000 PCs were all the rage. The percentage of sub-$1,000 or $500 PCs is not significantly different today than it was several years ago. There is more capability every year for the price, but the same could be said for Microsoft Office 2003.
The Licensing 6 program was announced nearly two years ago, and there was a big stink about it. Customers weren't happy. Has that subsided? And do you foresee any further changes?
I think we've learned a lot from the experience, and I think the most important thing is the lesson of consistency. Most of the issue was that the new thing was different than the old thing. What we learned is that customers don't want us to change things very often.
We've worked very hard with our customers to get them through the transition, to educate them on the new opportunities, and make sure they are getting good value for their money. Certainly, we've seen that even customers who thought they had issues with licensing 6.0 have been able to move to the new licensing programs more successfully. We always make small tweaks. You'll see that we've tuned up some of the licensing conditions to be more clear and more favorable to the customer. But we are going to show consistency.
Licensing 6-- the thing that was significant about it was that it was a very different way to think about the licensing of software to business. No, I don't anticipate making a change of that ilk in the foreseeable future.
April 22, 2003
Like a virgin - Madonna hacked for the very first time
By Ashlee Vance in San Francisco
Posted: 22/04/2003 at 20:19 GMT
Madonna's role as the material girl placed her in a spot of trouble this weekend when the pop star's Web site started doling out free song files from her new album.
A hacker decided to take revenge on Madonna after she flooded P2P networks with fake music files from her "American Life" album. Madonna had apparently laced the fake tracks with loops of her saying, "What the f**k do you think you are doing?"
The hacker scored a minor victory against Madonna by breaking into her site over the weekend and posting all of the tracks from "American Life" for download. According to The Smoking Gun, the site went offline after the attack and remained down for close to 15 hours.
The hacker also left a message for Madonna saying, "This is what the f**k I think am doing."
Neither Madonna nor her music label cohorts seem to have mastered the art of fan relations just yet.
Swearing at your most loyal and eager audience ranks right up there with filing lawsuits against college students and launching attacks against our armed forces. It's also on par with making new CDs as difficult to open as possible, bound as they are with glue and cellophane.
This is not an industry run by men and women with any love of music.
Times must be tough for the one-time pop queen.
She stared as Amber in the film "Swept Away," but few were able to judge her performance as a torrent of damning reviews ensured moviegoers stayed at home.
More recently, Madonna prepped a vitriolic music video meant to depict her firm stance on the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The diva, however, decided to pull a scene with a grenade landing in George Bush's lap. This change of heart has the mainstream press calling for her head.
April 21, 2003
U.S. Administrator Begins Postwar Baghdad Tour
Apr 21, 6:01 am ET
By Mona Megalli
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. administrator for Iraq arrived in Baghdad on Monday to begin the huge task of repairing devastation caused by the war to oust Saddam Hussein
Retired general Jay Garner flew in from Kuwait to assess needs in the battered capital as pressure mounted from regional nations and Europe for Washington quickly to make way for the United Nations in the rebuilding of Iraq.
U.S.-led troops, their offensive role all but over, widened the dragnet in their search for dozens of leading members of the ousted government, seizing Saddam's scientific research minister Adbul-Khaleq Abdul-Ghafur.
The opposition Iraqi National Congress said Saddam's one surviving son-in-law -- two others were executed in the 1990s after defecting -- had surrended to them and would be handed over to U.S. forces.
The fate of Saddam himself and his sons Uday and Qusay remained a mystery 12 days after U.S.-led forces pushed into the center of Baghdad, ending Saddam's 24-year reign.
In Moscow, a senior foreign ministry official said Russia would insist on U.N. arms inspectors declaring Iraq free of weapons of mass destruction before sanctions could be lifted.
The United States is pushing for the quick scrapping of the 12-year-old sanctions but Russia, France and some other countries fear that once they are gone the United Nations will have no more leverage over Iraq's future.
NO WEAPONS FOUND
President Bush launched the invasion of Iraq on March 20, saying he wanted to oust Saddam and rid the country of chemical and biological weapons, but so far no trace has been found of such arms.
Iraq denied having weapons of mass destruction.
Itar-Tass news agency quoted the unnamed Russian foreign ministry official as saying U.N. weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei should be allowed to return and quickly finish their work.
"This could be done within a couple of weeks as it is obvious that there are no such weapons there," the official said.
Ahmad Chalabi, founder of the Iraqi National Congress and a favorite of the Bush administration, told BBC Radio the United Nations should have only a limited role in getting Iraq back on its feet.
"The United Nations cannot play a significant role in Iraq because it has little credibility in Iraq," he said.
Chalabi said his intelligence reports indicated Saddam was still in Iraq, contrary to speculation that he might have fled to neighboring Syria.
Senior U.S. officials have accused Damascus of harboring fugitive members of Saddam's inner circle, but Bush himself made conciliatory remarks about Syria on Sunday, saying there were "positive signs" it would deny sanctuary to fleeing Iraqis.
The INC said Saddam's son-in-law Jamal Mustafa Sultan al-Tikriti had surrended to them along with a top official of Saddam's secret police, Khaled Abdallah, after both returned from Syria. It said Jamal's brother Kamal, the head of Saddam's personal guard, was still in Syria.
RANSACKED HOSPITAL
Garner, head of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA), began his four-day tour with a visit to Baghdad's Yarmuk hospital, which has been ransacked.
Zayed Abdul Karim, the head of the hospital, led Garner through dark, dusty corridors littered with broken glass and showed him wards stripped by looters of everything except beds.
The hospital has had no electricity for two weeks since Baghdad's power was cut during the U.S. air bombardment.
The lights came back on in parts of eastern Baghdad on Sunday night, hours before Garner's arrival.
Garner said his priority was to restore basic services such as water and electricity "as soon as we can." Asked what the greatest challenge was, he said: "Everything is the challenge."
Garner said he wanted to get the job done and leave as soon as possible.
"What we need to do from this day forward is to give birth to a new system in Iraq. It begins with us working together, but it is hard work and it takes a long time. We will help you as long as you want us to," he said.
Some doctors at the hospital were skeptical about U.S. intentions. "I want to cry, because these are only words," a doctor who gave her name as Iman said after listening to Garner.
"Saddam Hussein was an unjust ruler, but maybe one day we could have got rid of him, and not had these foreigners come in to our country."
Highlighting the confusing power vacuum that has prevailed since Saddam was toppled, a U.S. official said Washington did not recognize Mohammed Mohsen al-Zubaidi, a former exile who has declared himself governor of Baghdad.
Barbara Bodine, coordinator for central Iraq in the U.S. civil administration, also ruled out Zubaidi or his aides going to a meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna this week to represent Iraq.
April 20, 2003
New Falcons Jersey Leaked!
Muddysmind.com is one of the first sites to bring you the new Atlanta Falcons Jersey. Enjoy kids.
(not as cool as my Steelers, but looks good)
April 19, 2003
US military shuns BSD for hopping landmines
By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco
Posted: 18/04/2003 at 12:42 GMT
The research wing of the United States military, DARPA, has abruptly terminated funding for an OpenBSD project, leaving dozens of open source programmers in the lurch.
DARPA funds hundreds of loopy research projects, some of which are sinister pork-barrel boondoggles, such as the Total Information Awareness panopticon project, but some of them become socially useful technologies, such as the Internet. So in the process, the tax dollars thrown downstream can provide a net gain.
One of these grants was the funding for POSSE, a $2m sponsorship for the University of Pennsylvania to produce a hacker-hardened operating system for standard PCs.
According to OpenBSD project leader Theo de Raadt, funding has been cancelled.
"We have a hackathon planned for Calgary, Canada for two weeks from now," one participant mailed us.
"60 hackers are coming. plane tickets are bought, and conference facilities are reserved, People are buying their own plane tickets. DARPA funding was providing hotel and conference facilites so people could work. At the last minute, DARPA has pulled out.
"Perhaps We'll be housing people in tents and feeding them moosemeat so they can hack."
Another observed:
"OpenBSD has made some serious gains in security recently--and it was already starting from a high level. For example, they have made the stack non-executable and made the default compiler provide propolice/SSP code, the W ^ X memory permissions system, and substantial improvements to the pf host firewall system, which now gives most commercial firewalls a run for their money.
"It's likely that the POSSE program contributed to this project, and the accomplishments of its audits of OpenSSL are well-known (especially to those of us who have been upgrading and patching OpenSSL in light of those accomplishments).
Now Theo has been known to get very dramatic at what ICBM-experts call the "ascent phase" of a missile's trajectory. Defense Shield experts surmise that there are two stages at which an incoming ICBM can be intercepted: when it's lifting off, and when it's about to drop on your city. Many experts argue that the optimal interception is at the ascent phase. Which is often, in our experience, where Theo throws a wobbler. However, in this case his dramatics appear to be fully justified.
"I wonder if DARPA will fund something else in POSSE's place..." asks mailing list contributor Michael Sinatra.
But Michael - we already know what DARPA is funding in its place. It gives $30,000 more dollars to the amazing idea of "self-healing, self-hopping landmines", which we covered here.
It may not, we admit, be a hacker-hardened mainstream OS, but check the Flash animation - replete with polyphonic sound effects, Mission Impossible-style typewriter and winking Chess knight (you must watch to the end to see the winking knight) - and tell us if that isn't $30,000 well spent. ®
April 17, 2003
Diet Doctor Atkins Was Popular, Controversial
[Sad, now we'll never know if his diet chages actually worked. -muddy]
Thu April 17, 2003 03:13 PM ET
By Grant McCool
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Long a household name for his popular diet that advocates eating freely of meat and fat while shunning starchy foods, Dr. Robert Atkins found little acceptance in the medical community for ideas considered nutritional heresy.
April 16, 2003
ALI DOLLS OUT THE SPIN
An American toy company has begun selling a talking doll of the Iraqi Information Minister, widely known as Comical Ali.
April 15, 2003
Britons baffled by food
LONDON (Reuters) - Urban Britons have never been more disconnected from their rural roots, with most people having lost touch with where their food comes from, a survey published shows.
The study, which comes at the start of a new campaign to reconnect people with the countryside, showed that nearly 90 percent of people do not know that beer is made from barley, one fifth did not know that yoghurt comes from milk, while more than one in 10 people think that rice is grown in the UK.
Some two thirds of people don't know sugar is grown from beet in the UK, more than a third don't realise cherries are grown in Britain and nearly one in 10 were unaware that tomatoes and onions were grown there, the survey of 1,000 people found.
The study also found that less than one in 10 people know that British farmers grow most of the food eaten in the UK.
The campaign "Care of British Farming," launched by a several groups, including farm lobby the National Farmers' Union (NFU) and the Country Land and Business Association, will invite city dwellers to visit the countryside and make better-informed choices about food.
Farming issues have also slipped down the agenda of popular radio and television programmes such as "The Archers" and "Emmerdale," which are nowadays more focused on soap opera fare such as human relationships.
Speaking on behalf of the campaign, NFU Director-General Richard Macdonald said he hoped the campaign would help people connect with their rural roots.
"In today's world, the basic facts on food production and the countryside are no longer handed down from generation to generation," he said.
"This campaign is about helping people to reconnect with their rural roots and develop a greater appreciation of things that were once instinctive to us," he added.
Reconnecting farmers with their markets was a central theme in the sustainable food and farming plan, launched late last year to help agriculture back to profitability in the wake of plummeting incomes in a string of livestock disasters, including foot-and-mouth disease in 2001.
Monday's survey was carried out in March by Taylor Nelson Sofres research company.
April 14, 2003
Human Genome Completely Mapped
BETHESDA, Md. (Reuters Health) - A scant three years after announcing they had a rough map of the human genome, government and private researchers from around the world announced Monday that they have deciphered 99 percent of the genetic code that makes up a human being.
April 12, 2003
Linux not ready for the desktop? Give me a break!
Friday April 11, 2003 - [ 04:00 PM GMT ] Print this Article
Topic - Open Source
- Lee Schlesinger -
I'm tired of reading on an almost monthly basis articles asserting that Linux isn't yet ready for the desktop. Nonsense! Linux is about as ready for the desktop as Windows is. It's simply a matter of corporate and user inertia that's keeping Linux marginalized.
April 11, 2003
FAREWELL, FRANCE
April 11, 2003 -- AS the Baghdad regime's officials fled, leaving behind terrorists and thugs as a rear guard, a trio of Saddam's dismayed defenders met in Moscow. French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Russian President Vladimir Putin - the axis of non-nein-nyet - discussed their powerlessness to save a favored dictator.
April 10, 2003
Mandrake moves faster with new Linux
By Stephen Shankland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
March 27, 2003, 2:18 PM PT
MandrakeSoft has released a new version of its Linux software that embraces some technology that rival Red Hat still keeps at arm's length.
(I'm still on 9.0, but this one looks good)
April 09, 2003
Iraqis Cheer Collapse of Saddam's Regime
[I watched this on the news and was so happy for the Iraqi people, then I wanted to call Chirac and let him know we'll make sure the Iraqi people know that France could not have cared less for them. Hmmm.... I wonder why the Iraqi people are not shouting viva la france? I'm interested to see how they will react to finding out France tried to keep Saddam in power so they could sell him More over priced French nuclear bomb making junk. -muddy]
Apr 9, 9:10 PM (ET)
By RAVI NESSMAN and DAVID ESPO
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Their hour of freedom at hand, jubilant Iraqis celebrated the collapse of Saddam Hussein's murderous regime on Wednesday, beheading a toppled statue of their longtime ruler in downtown Baghdad and embracing American troops as liberators.
(AP) A statue of Saddam Hussein is toppled in downtown Baghdad Wednesday, April 9, 2003.
"I'm 49, but I never lived a single day. Only now will I start living," said Yussuf Abed Kazim, a mosque preacher. A young Iraqi spat on a portrait of Saddam. Men hugged Americans in full combat gear, and women held up babies so soldiers riding on tanks could kiss them.
Iraqis released decades of pent-up fury as U.S. forces solidified their grip on the capital. Marine tanks rolled to the eastern bank of the Tigris River; the Army was on the western side of the waterway that curls through the ancient city.
Looting broke out in the capital as Iraqis, shedding their fear of the regime, entered government facilities and made off with furniture, computers, air conditioners and even military jeeps.
"We are not seeing any organized resistance," said Navy Capt. Frank Thorp at the U.S. Central Command. "The Iraqi military is unable to fight as an organized fighting force."
There was continued combat in cities to the north, though, where government troops were under attack from U.S. and British warplanes.
The scenes of liberation in Baghdad and celebrations in scattered other cities unfolded as the Pentagon announced that 101 American troops had died in the first three weeks of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Eleven others are missing and seven listed as captured. The British said 30 of their troops were dead. There are no reliable estimates for Iraqi casualties, although an Army spokesman said 7,300 prisoners had been taken.
The medical system was overrun with civilian casualties in Basra and Baghdad, cities where some of the fiercest fighting has occurred. Doctors said 35 bodies and as many as 300 wounded Iraqis were brought to the al-Kindi hospital in the capital Tuesday.
Saddam's whereabouts remained a mystery, especially so since a bombing Monday night on a building where U.S. intelligence officials believed he and at least one of his sons were meeting. U.S. special operations forces scoured the site Wednesday, looking for remains or other evidence that the four bombs may have killed the Iraqi leader. Russia's Foreign Ministry denied that Saddam had taken refuge in Moscow's embassy in Baghdad.
There was scattered fighting in the capital, including at Baghdad University, where Iraqis were cornered, the river at their backs.
Fires burned in the city after dark - the Ministry of Transport and Communication was ablaze - and gunfire persisted. But Pentagon officials characterized it as sporadic attacks from pockets of resistance, and said U.S. troops had been through most areas of the capital.
Increasingly, American and British forces were turning their effort to humanitarian assistance in the southern part of the country, and their firepower on northern regions not yet under their control.
Warplanes bombed Tikrit, Saddam's birthplace about 100 miles north of the capital, in advance of ground forces moving in. American commandos and Kurdish peshmerga fighters seized a key mountaintop in northern Iraq, eliminating an Iraqi air defense installation near the government-held city of Mosul.
To the south, officials said the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Regiment had reached Qurnah, said to be the site of the biblical Garden of Eden. The troops were welcomed by cheering crowds of Ma'dan, marsh Arabs who have suffered genocide at the hands of Saddam. There was celebrating, too, in Basra, according to a British journalist who reported that rejoicing broke out after news of developments in Baghdad reached the city.
Administration officials cautioned that difficult and dangerous days may yet lie ahead for American and British forces. "This is not over despite all the celebrating on the streets," said Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. And Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iraqi death squads still exist in the western part of the country.
Like other officials, Rumsfeld said he did not know Saddam's whereabouts. But he said some unidentified members of Saddam's regime were moving out of Iraq into Syria. Citing intelligence information, he added that some were staying in Syria, while others were going on to other locations.
While Rumsfeld and other American officials cautioned that combat may lie ahead, Iraq's U.N. ambassador told reporters that "the game is over and I hope peace will prevail." Mohammed Al-Douri's comments to reporters in New York were the first admission by an Iraqi official that Saddam's forces had been overwhelmed.
Whether Saddam was living or dead, wounded or hoping to escape, the signs of his regime's collapse were everywhere.
For the first time since Operation Iraqi Freedom was launched three weeks ago, Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf failed to appear before reporters with claims of glorious battlefield victories by Iraqi troops. And for the first time in decades, Iraqis were defacing images of the man who ruled brutally for nearly a quarter century.
One wall painting was spraypainted with black devil's horns, eyeglasses and a black chin beard. Others were set ablaze.
"We are relieved because for years we lived in anxiety and fear," said Shamoun George, a resident of Baghdad's Karrada district, as American troops entered the area.
"Bush, Bush, thank you," chanted small bands of youth in Saddam City, a predominantly Shiite area of eastern Baghdad.
At the city center, a crowd gathered at the base of a large statue of Saddam inside al-Firdos (Paradise) Square.
Several men climbed up a ladder, tied a thick rope around the statue like a noose, then tried to pull it over. Moments later, a Marine briefly covered the upright statue's head with an American flag, then replaced it with an Iraqi flag, underscoring the sensitivity that senior U.S. officials feel about entering Iraq as liberators, rather than occupiers.
Finally, the Marines brought an M88 tank recovery vehicle into position. A chain was attached to the statue, which was toppled to the cheers of watching Iraqis. Quickly, they swarmed over the downed icon, stomping it. Soon after, several men were seen dragging its severed head through the streets, and Iraqis used a sledgehammer to attack the pedestal where it once stood.
The scene was televised worldwide to an audience that included President Bush.
At the same time Baghdad rejoiced, celebration broke out in Irbil, far to the north. There was joy, too, in the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah, base of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
That celebration, and statements by Baghdad residents to American reporters, underscored the complexity of establishing a postwar government in Iraq.
"We will never allow them to stay. Whatever he (Saddam) has done, he is a Muslim and we are a Muslim nation," said Ali al-Obeidim, a store owner in Baghdad.
---
This story was written by Special Correspondent David Espo in Washington, based on reporting from Ellen Knickmeyer, Chris Tomlinson, Alex Zavis and Hamza Hendawi in Baghdad and other AP reporters in Iraq and elsewhere.
Original Story HERE
Iraqi-Americans Rejoice at Saddam Defeat
"Standing on car roofs, cheering and waving American and Iraqi flags, people in Dearborn, Mich., breathed a sigh of relief as they realized the day they never thought would come appeared to be imminent: Saddam is on his way out of Iraq for good, if he's not already dead. "
Its amazing how these people love America more than some Americans.
Those who said this would be a long bloody war: YOU WERE WRONG AS USUAL. Those of you who are saying "this will have long term effects" are only showing your ignorance. You know who you are.
Iraqis Cheer U.S. Troops, Loot in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqis cheered arriving U.S. troops and then went on looting rampages as vestiges of President Saddam Hussein's authority collapsed.
April 08, 2003
Scientists Clone Endangered Asian Banteng
Tue April 8, 2003 10:27 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A pair of banteng calves born last week were cloned from an animal that died more than 20 years ago, researchers said on Tuesday -- adding they hoped to rescue more endangered animals using cloning.
The two bantengs were cloned from the San Diego Zoo's "frozen zoo," a project launched before anyone knew whether cloning would work. Bantengs, found in Asia, are a species of wild cattle.
Massachusetts-based Advanced Cell Technologies said cells frozen from an animal that died in 1980 without leaving any offspring were successfully cloned using cells from cattle, and two of the babies made it to birth last week.
The experiment, a collaboration including ACT, the San Diego Zoo, Iowa State University and Trans Ova Genetics, worked in part because bantengs are closely related to domestic cattle, said Dr. Robert Lanza, chief scientist for ACT.
"The San Diego Zoo sent us a vial of frozen cells from a banteng (Stud #319) that was unique in its conservation value," Lanza said in an e-mail exchange.
"The bantengs were cloned by transferring the DNA from these cells into empty eggs from ordinary domestic cows. We implanted the cloned embryos into a herd of beef cattle which served as surrogate moms. Although we started with 16 pregnancies, only two of them went to term."
ACT did that two years ago with an oxlike animal called a gaur. The little calf died after only a few days.
April 07, 2003
Saddam and Sons may be dead
All American cable news channels are now reporting that Saddam and his sons may be dead.
Four 5000lb. bunker buster bombs were dropped on a house tonight and reports are saying there is nothing now but a crater there.
April 06, 2003
InterVideo Tabbed by Microsoft to Port Windows Media to Linux
Micro$oft, we don't want you, or your help, stay out of Linux you blood sucking *&%$@!
When are these losers going to realize we left them to get away from their cheaply built garbage software.
(ok, i'm done ranting)
InterVideo Tabbed by Microsoft to Port Windows Media to Linux
April 02, 2003
Anti-war protesters vandalise memorial
This is a sad testimony to the soulless twits who claim to want peace yet are as violent as those they protest. If someone is anti-war, they should be peaceful in protest, not blocking traffic or causing a public disruption. This is not the case as the majority of scum who claim their "anti-war" are actually anarchists.
April 01, 2003
Ellison: Linux will wipe Microsoft out of data center
No surprise here, Linux is the King of OS's and Microsoft is running scared.
March 31, 2003
Diplomats: China Briefly Cut Off North Korea's Oil Supply
From voanews.com
"Reports from Beijing say China recently halted crucial oil supplies to North Korea, in an apparent expression of anger at Pyongyang's recent defiance of international nuclear safeguards."
"South Korea will propose building a pipeline to deliver gas from Russia to energy-starved North Korea in return for a verifiable end to Pyongyang's nuclear program. He said discussions on the deal are at an early stage. "
This is very good news. This is not a Unites States problem and it is not up the the United States to solve it.
March 28, 2003
Use a firewall, go to jail, and send Bill Gates too
The (DMCA) Digital Millennium Copyright Act clearly isn't enough for some people. Massachusetts and Texas are - in curious formation - considering bills that will extend it to make firewalls (among other things) illegal.
March 27, 2003
Marines discover Iraqi 9/11 mural
NASIRIYA, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. Marines searching Iraqi military headquarters in this southern city that was the site of intensive fighting came across a mural depicting a plane crashing into a building complex resembling New York's twin towers, a news agency photograph showed Wednesday.
March 26, 2003
Vandals Burn Statue of Liberty Replica in France
*sigh*
This is so sad, so, so, sad.
Just read.
BORDEAUX, France — Vandals in southwest Bordeaux torched a replica of the Statue of Liberty and cracked the pedestal of a plaque honoring victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
March 25, 2003
Coalition of the Willing
Since I've been trying to figure out who is in the coalition of the willing, I found a list. Not all have military troops, some have medical, some chemical/bio teams etc...
I do know the following have sent combat troops, if I find more I'll update.
U.S., U.K., Australia, and Poland.
To honor and show respect for the troops in harms way during this war we will fly the flag on this site from each country.
The following is the full list of countries who have signed on to the coalition.
Afghanistan
Albania
Australia
Azerbaijan
Bulgaria
Colombia
Czech Republic
Denmark
El Salvador
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Georgia
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Japan
Korea
Latvia
Lithuania
Macedonia
Netherlands
Nicaragua
Philippines
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Spain
Turkey
United Kingdom
Uzbekistan
In addition, 15 nations do not want to be named . . .nations like Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia. . .
March 24, 2003
A Father’s Words on Going to War
Part of an interview with George Bush Sr.
What do you think is going on with France?
[Pause] They’re French.
Any elaboration?
Nope. There’s always been some friction. I was once talking to a group of French intellectuals, and I said, “You think we’re arrogant, and we think you’re French.” And they looked at each other and thought maybe I’d said something very intelligent. But that may well be it. It’s too bad, but life goes on, and we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do.
March 23, 2003
101st Grenade Suspect
The 101st Airborne soldier who threw grenades into the tents in his own unit was in fact a Muslim - "Hassan Ackbar." He was apparently a fairly recent convert to Islam and had probably changed his name while in the military. It is unknown for sure, but probable that the incident was related to his Islamic faith.
Executed soldiers
For those of you who are as yet unconvinced of the sickening nature of the Hussein regime, well hear this.
It has become apparent to the Pentagon that the video aired on Al-Jazeera is in fact real.
They stripped only the female soldier of her boots and apparently beat her even more than the others. The video shows dead soldiers and it is unknown if they are the soldiers who were forced into interviews. One of the soldiers is apparently wounded in some way.
The dead soldiers contained a single bullet hole to the forehead (which is normally covered by a soldier's Kevlar helmet which is strong enough to withstand most bullets) which is consistant with a sidearm execution. Soldiers killed in action more often than not, die of chest wounds or wounds directly to the face.
All who have seen the video claim to be sickened. They describe it as "absolutely disgusting." One reporter claimed the need to vomit.
Personally, the picture of the Marines lying dead on the floor of a morgue (where they were executed apparently) was sickening enough.
One wonders if this was the fate of Lieutenant Commander Michael Scott Speicher in 1991? I personally hope we find him in an Iraqi prison, and award him the Medal of Honor for his courage in lasting 12 years in prison.
Marines Gassed?
Marines outside Basrah heard the call "GAS! GAS! GAS!" yesterday and immediately donned them gas masks.
It is unknown to 100% certainty if gas was used and if so, what gas was used. However, it is doubtful that a Marine would yell the gas call without being fairly sure he sensed gas.
Marines seem to be fighting both Army and Republican Guard units in Basrah.
Russians Assisting Iraq in War
It has been made public today that Russia has been smuggling military equipment such as Night Vision gear, and electronic jamming equipment [for jamming missile et cetera] into Iraq on UN sactioned humanitarian flights. This smuggling violates UN sanctions.
Russian technicians are currently on the ground in Iraq teaching the Republican guard in Baghdad how to use this equipment.
Iraqis greet advancing Marine units as liberators
WITH THE MARINES IN SOUTHERN IRAQ – Marines driving deep into southern Iraq were greeted by Iraqi civilians yesterday who waved and gave the advancing force a "thumbs-up."
US TROOPS CAPTURE CHEMICAL PLANT
Mar. 23, 2003
By CAROLINE GLICK
An Najaf, Iraq
About 30 Iraqi troops, including a general, surrendered today to US forces of the 3rd Infantry Division as they overtook huge installation apparently used to produce chemical weapons in An Najaf, some 250 kilometers south of Baghdad.
One soldier was lightly wounded when a booby-trapped explosive went off as he was clearing the sheet metal-lined facility, which resembles the eery images of scientific facilities in World War II concentration camps.
The huge 100-acre complex, which is surrounded by a electrical fence, is perhaps the first illegal chemical plant to be uncovered by US troops in their current mission in Iraq. The surrounding barracks resemble an abandoned slum.
It wasn't immediately clear exactly which chemicals were being produced here, but clearly the Iraqis tried to camouflage the facility so it could not be photographed aerially, by swathing it in sand-cast walls to make it look like the surrounding desert.
Within minutes of our entry into the camp on Sunday afternoon, at least 30 Iraqi soldiers and their commanding officer of the rank of General, obeyed the instructions of US soldiers who called out from our jeep in loudspeakers for them to lie down on the ground, and put their hands above their heads to surrender.
Today's operation is the third engagement with Iraqi forces by the First Brigade of the US army's 3rd Infantry Division, since Saturday afternoon.
So far in the campaign, the brigade has suffered no losses. But two were wounded Saturday night in an ambush on the outskirts of As-Samwah in southern Iraq.
March 22, 2003
Morality trial to resume on april 3th in Casablanca
The Casablanca Court of Appeal has decided on Thursday to resume, on April 3th, the trial of 14 youths accused of "detaining object contrary to morality" and of "acts likely to undermine Islamic faith."
March 21, 2003
Iraqi people can smell freedom
Posted: March 21, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
On the eve of the U.S.-led assault on Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, a New York Times reporter in Baghdad had an epiphany of sorts.
In an interview with PBS, John Burns reported from the Iraqi capital city that Iraqis are now speaking out – not just in hushed tones and whispers – about how they welcome the impending invasion.
They see the military action as their moment of liberation, he said.
"Many, many Iraqis are telling us now – not always in the whispers we only heard in the past, but now in quite candid conversations – that they are waiting for America to come and bring them liberty," he said in an interview on "PBS News Hour" Wednesday night.
"Along with all of this apprehension," said Burns, "Americans should know that there also is a good deal of anticipation. Iraqis have suffered beyond, I think, the common understanding in the United States from the repression of the past 30 years."
PBS's Gwen Ifill asked Burns to clarify: "They are actually eagerly anticipating war?"
"It's very hard for anybody to understand this," he said. "It can only be understood in terms of the depth of repression here."
Burns said that, of course, there are people who don't want war out of loyalty to the regime, or out of fear or out of "suspicion of America's motives." Because of the closed nature of Iraqi society, we cannot know how numerous either side is, he said.
"All I can tell you – and every reporter who is here will attest this – is that the most extraordinary experience of the last few days has been a sudden breaking of the ice here," said Burns, "with people from every corner of life coming forward to tell us that they understand what America is about in this."
Burns said the people naturally are fearful of errant bombing, damage to Iraq's infrastructure and what kind of government might come after Saddam is gone.
"Can I just say," Burns stated, after Ifill tried to interrupt, "there is absolutely no doubt, no doubt, that there are many, many Iraqis who see what is about to happen here as their moment of liberation."
Hard to understand? I don't know why it is hard to understand.
I believe there is almost a kind of racism in the establishment press and in some circles of the U.S. State Department underlying the assumption that Arabic-speaking people don't want freedom, that they can't handle it, that they need brutal dictators directing them, that they are somehow incapable of aspirations for a better life and knowing right from wrong.
I'm grateful for the report from Burns, but why is anyone surprised about this?
Were we surprised when the people of France were happy about their liberation in 1945?
Were we surprised when the people of Italy were liberated by Allied troops in World War II?
Were we surprised when other people in Europe were liberated from Nazi occupation?
That's the same kind of oppression and brutality the Iraqi people have been enduring for more than 20 years.
I'm not surprised. Nor was I surprised when the people of Afghanistan welcomed liberators last year. I wasn't surprised when the people of Kuwait welcomed liberators in 1991. And I won't be surprised when the people of Iraq celebrate liberation in a few days or weeks.
People all over the world want to be free.
I appreciate the report by Burns and carried by PBS, but maybe the folks at PBS and the New York Times should get out more. Maybe they should read something other than their own editorials. Maybe they should listen to some other radio networks.
Yes, it's time to free Iraq. It's not only the right thing to do for the security of our country. It's the right thing to do for the Iraqi people.
'Saddam Is Done,' Marines Exult in Captured Town
U.S. Marines hauled down giant street portraits of Saddam Hussein in a screeching pop of metal and bolts Friday, telling nervous residents of this southern Iraqi town that "Saddam is done."
"Americans very good," Ali Khemy said. "Iraq wants to be free."
Some chanted, "Ameriki! Ameriki!"
Current Liberation Status
I thought everyone would like a recap of the current status:
1. This is proving to be revolutionary as far as media coverage. The media is there for everything, and can testify to anything they witnessed, good or bad for the military.
2. Sometime in the past couple hours, the US Marines raised the American flag over the port city of Umm Qasr. This is an extradinary event and is the first time an American flag has been raised by a Marine over a captured foreign city since WW2.
3. The US Army is racing in the West and the South, laregely unopposed (though this was expected), presumably toward Baghdad.
4. Soldiers are on the ground in North Iraq. Reports are that special forces (As in Navy Seals, Green Berets, or (sort of) Force Recon) have captured the oil fields of Kirkuk, presumably the city will be next.
5. The US Marines and the British' Royal Marines are encountering some resistance in and around the city of Basra.
6. Iraq has launched at least 4 missile types which they are prohibited to posses on our forces in Kuwait and on Kuwait City. These include the SCUD missiles which were claimed to have been destroyed in 1998. All of the missiles have either missed drastically or have been successful destroy by the Patriot missile system.
7. Casualties for our military, though tragic, thus far only number ~5 US Marines and ~12 Royal Marines. Most of these however are due to a mechanical or similar problem with a helicopter. Only one combat death has been reported.
8. Civilian casualties have been extremely low, though exact figures are unknown. At last count Iraq claimed only one civilian death. Civilians have been warned by US force over Iraqi state radio to stay away from government and military installations, for their own safety.
9. CIA is sure that the speech from Wednesday Night/Thursday Morning was Saddam Hussein. However, when the speech was taped is unknown. The status of Hussein at this point is unknown.
It should be noted that accoording to the Geneva Convention, heads of state who wear a military uniform can be considered a combatant as any other soldier.
10. Around 1100GMT B-52s which had been loaded with 1 ton bombs the previous night, launched from Great Britain. Assuming they are headed for Baghdad, they should reach their target at 1800GMT, though their destination is unknown and it could simply be a ferry flight to Qatar or Kuwait.
March 20, 2003
Muslims cheer, fear start of Iraq war
PATERSON, N.J. -- Rahim Al-Mubalik was overjoyed when he heard the news that United States troops had unleashed cruise missiles in an attack on Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and his ruling circle.
Freedom
Do not be sad on this eve,
As the blood of patriots spills,
The tree of liberty grows ever more tall,
For every patriot soldier who gives his life,
In the name of freedom,
The Tree of liberty grows a mile,
But for every year that goes by,
That not one patriot should die,
The tree of liberty loses a branch,
Or a root,
Or some leaves,
And should those soldiers never die,
That tree surely will,
We go to war knowing not ,
We leave war a free people,
Able to enjoy the air,
And thank God for the freedom,
That only God could give.
Freedom
Do not be sad on this eve,
As the blood of patriots spills,
The tree of liberty grows ever more tall,
For every patriot soldier who gives his life,
In the name of freedom,
The Tree of liberty grows a mile,
But for every year that goes by,
That not one patriot should die,
The tree of liberty loses a branch,
Or a root,
Or some leaves,
And should those soldiers never die,
That tree surely will,
We go to war knowing not ,
We leave war a free people,
Able to enjoy the air,
And thank God for the freedom,
That only God could give.
March 19, 2003
The Iraqi Liberation
At around, 0235GMT AP/REUTERS reported that the air raid sirens had begun sounding in Baghdad, Iraq. Furthermore it has been reported the sound of jets overhead and explosions somewhere in Baghdad. On lookers and those watching on television could see some light anti-aircraft fire.
This could possibly be the begining of the Iraqi Liberation, or as the Marines are calling it, "The Baghdad Urban Renewal Program."
As I write this, Ari Fleischer has announced the the President will address the nation at 10:15PM EST.
Please pray for all involved.
Protester picks wrong spot to lock himself
A man spent hours chained to the wrong building Tuesday in an ill-planned effort to protest war with Iraq, police said.
March 18, 2003
RIAA chief invokes Martin Luther King in pigopoly defense
Departing RIAA chief Hilary Rosen yesterday invoked the name of slain black civil rights leader Martin Luther King as she defended the music oligopolies' right to prevent people sharing music. She also vigorously defended poisoning peer to peer sharing networks with junk music - presumably not a situation that the civil rights leader could have envisaged, in a clutch of policy statements that are a must-read for even the most casual music-lover.
Story found on theThe Register
March 17, 2003
Large anti-war protests come with a hefty price tag
From FoxNews.com
So who is picking up the tab?
"The major anti-U.S. government demonstrations are organized by people who have been around for a long time, particularly the Workers World Party, which has existed for more than 30 years now and has always supported the enemies of the United States," said Herbert Romerstein, a retired agent of the U.S. Information Agency.
March 15, 2003
Rare Health Alert Is Issued by W.H.O. for Mystery Illness
As a mysterious respiratory illness spread to more countries, the World Health Organization yesterday issued a rare health alert, declaring the ailment "a worldwide health threat" and urging all countries to help in seeking its cause and control.
Full Story HERE
March 14, 2003
Is War With Iraq Legal?
The question of whether a war on Iraq is legal under international law will become more pressing if the United States and Britain fail to get a new Security Council resolution.
I am saddened that Bush has lost all momentum we had after 9/11/2001... we had the world at our side and nobody would have said jack to us if we had attacked Iraq in addition to Afghanistan.
The White House has ignored the fact this is about non-compliance with the U.N. and here they are crying about terrorism has got to be one of the dumbest things he's done.
Bush!, you moron! Stick to what this is about and stop dipping into your grab bag of complaints man.
I imagine when we tackle the North Korea problem your going to claim it's terrorism there too.
I am 100% for getting Saddam out and doing it now, however Bush needs to stick to the subject, he's costing us on so many fronts it's mind blowing.
Sorry Cwilli I know your a staunch Bush supporter but I'm not Republican or Dem, and I don't hold allegiance to either one.
Not that Gore would have been effective either.
I shiver thinking what Gore would have done... "oh mr. terrorist, please take anything you want just don't hurt us".
Please George, for the love of God and Country stop screwing this up! Get in there and remove Saddam, expose the WMD and set the people free!
The Iraqi people keep singing, "set me free why don't you U.N.... you just keep us hanging on...."
Is War With Iraq Legal?
The question of whether a war on Iraq is legal under international law will become more pressing if the United States and Britain fail to get a new Security Council resolution.
I am saddened that Bush has lost all momentum we had after 9/11/2001... we had the world at our side and nobody would have said jack to us if we had attacked Iraq in addition to Afghanistan.
The White House has ignored the fact this is about non-compliance with the U.N. and here they are crying about terrorism has got to be one of the dumbest things he's done.
Bush!, you moron! Stick to what this is about and stop dipping into your grab bag of complaints man.
I imagine when we tackle the North Korea problem your going to claim it's terrorism there too.
I am 100% for getting Saddam out and doing it now, however Bush needs to stick to the subject, he's costing us on so many fronts it's mind blowing.
Sorry Cwilli I know your a staunch Bush supporter but I'm not Republican or Dem, and I don't hold allegiance to either one.
Not that Gore would have been effective either.
I shiver thinking what Gore would have done... "oh mr. terrorist, please take anything you want just don't hurt us".
Please George, for the love of God and Country stop screwing this up! Get in there and remove Saddam, expose the WMD and set the people free!
The Iraqi people keep singing, "set me free why don't you U.N.... you just keep us hanging on...."
Is War With Iraq Legal?
The question of whether a war on Iraq is legal under international law will become more pressing if the United States and Britain fail to get a new Security Council resolution.
I am saddened that Bush has lost all momentum we had after 9/11/2001... we had the world at our side and nobody would have said jack to us if we had attacked Iraq in addition to Afghanistan.
The White House has ignored the fact this is about non-compliance with the U.N. and here they are crying about terrorism has got to be one of the dumbest things he's done.
Bush!, you moron! Stick to what this is about and stop dipping into your grab bag of complaints man.
I imagine when we tackle the North Korea problem your going to claim it's terrorism there too.
I am 100% for getting Saddam out and doing it now, however Bush needs to stick to the subject, he's costing us on so many fronts it's mind blowing.
Sorry Cwilli I know your a staunch Bush supporter but I'm not Republican or Dem, and I don't hold allegiance to either one.
Not that Gore would have been effective either.
I shiver thinking what Gore would have done... "oh mr. terrorist, please take anything you want just don't hurt us".
Please George, for the love of God and Country stop screwing this up! Get in there and remove Saddam, expose the WMD and set the people free!
The Iraqi people keep singing, "set me free why don't you U.N.... you just keep us hanging on...."
Is War With Iraq Legal?
The question of whether a war on Iraq is legal under international law will become more pressing if the United States and Britain fail to get a new Security Council resolution.
I am saddened that Bush has lost all momentum we had after 9/11/2001... we had the world at our side and nobody would have said jack to us if we had attacked Iraq in addition to Afghanistan.
The White House has ignored the fact this is about non-compliance with the U.N. and here they are crying about terrorism has got to be one of the dumbest things he's done.
Bush!, you moron! Stick to what this is about and stop dipping into your grab bag of complaints man.
I imagine when we tackle the North Korea problem your going to claim it's terrorism there too.
I am 100% for getting Saddam out and doing it now, however Bush needs to stick to the subject, he's costing us on so many fronts it's mind blowing.
Sorry Cwilli I know your a staunch Bush supporter but I'm not Republican or Dem, and I don't hold allegiance to either one.
Not that Gore would have been effective either.
I shiver thinking what Gore would have done... "oh mr. terrorist, please take anything you want just don't hurt us".
Please George, for the love of God and Country stop screwing this up! Get in there and remove Saddam, expose the WMD and set the people free!
The Iraqi people keep singing, "set me free why don't you U.N.... you just keep us hanging on...."
March 13, 2003
Canada Implores France to Bend
In a gutsy move Bill Graham called upon France to bend and compromise with the U.S. on the Iraq problem.
Canada Implores France to Bend
In a gutsy move Bill Graham called upon France to bend and compromise with the U.S. on the Iraq problem.
March 12, 2003
Antiwar protesters trash 9/11 memorial
"Antiwar protesters burned and ripped up flags, flowers and patriotic signs at a Sept. 11 memorial that residents erected on a fence along Whittier Boulevard days after the terrorist attacks in 2001 and have maintained ever since. "
"However, although officers witnessed the vandalism Saturday afternoon, police did not arrest three people seen damaging the display because they were "exercising the same freedom of speech that the people who put up the flags were,' La Habra Police Capt. John Rees said Monday."
Again there is a line between freedom of speech and anti-American.
Antiwar protesters trash 9/11 memorial
"Antiwar protesters burned and ripped up flags, flowers and patriotic signs at a Sept. 11 memorial that residents erected on a fence along Whittier Boulevard days after the terrorist attacks in 2001 and have maintained ever since. "
"However, although officers witnessed the vandalism Saturday afternoon, police did not arrest three people seen damaging the display because they were "exercising the same freedom of speech that the people who put up the flags were,' La Habra Police Capt. John Rees said Monday."
Again there is a line between freedom of speech and anti-American.
Suse set to launch Linux for Home Users
Suse taking that bold step to bring it "home" for linux desktop users. It's good to see Linux taking that all important step in making life more enjoyable for home users. Since I switched to Linux 2 years ago I've had headaches and problems. However the benefit is well worth it. I only hope Suse gets it right the first time.
Full Story found on
the inquirer
Suse set to launch Linux for Home Users
Suse taking that bold step to bring it "home" for linux desktop users. It's good to see Linux taking that all important step in making life more enjoyable for home users. Since I switched to Linux 2 years ago I've had headaches and problems. However the benefit is well worth it. I only hope Suse gets it right the first time.
Full Story found on
the inquirer
March 11, 2003
Shame on the "Educators"
From FoxNews.com
The military is not for everybody. Some people simply couldn't handle it. But for others, it could take a screwed up life and turn it around. There are kids from the ghetto who have no chance at an education or anything but a life in the ghetto shy of joining the military.
Furthermore, joining the military is an individual's choice. While I always encourage kids to talk to their family about it, the choice about it is ultimately up to them, and families who do not like their child or sibling joining the military should none the less be supportive.
Apparently, some so-called "educators" do not agree. Sorry, but as far as I am concerned educators are there to teach students facts, not assist parents with political causes or indoctrinate children politically. However, educators in Los Angeles and San Francisco and spending thousands of their budget to make sure parents know that their children can avoid being contacted by recruiters.
As far as I am concerned, once a child becomes an adult, capable of making adult decisions, the parents shouldn't even have a say in whether or not their kids are spoken to by recruiters. When someone becomes of age to enlist, it is their choice and responsibility.
Accoording to the article, at one point 31% of schools were denying recruiters access that they were required by law to provide. There is no telling how many lives could have been changed, or great military careers could have started, but didn't.
This may sound odd, after all it is a volunteer military correct? Why do recruiters need to go to schools and contact kids?
Well, frankly, many children are misinformed about the military. All many have ever heard is horror stories about Vietnam, many of which are probably not true. Many do not know what the potential benefits are, they only know the downsides.
Shame on the "Educators"
From FoxNews.com
The military is not for everybody. Some people simply couldn't handle it. But for others, it could take a screwed up life and turn it around. There are kids from the ghetto who have no chance at an education or anything but a life in the ghetto shy of joining the military.
Furthermore, joining the military is an individual's choice. While I always encourage kids to talk to their family about it, the choice about it is ultimately up to them, and families who do not like their child or sibling joining the military should none the less be supportive.
Apparently, some so-called "educators" do not agree. Sorry, but as far as I am concerned educators are there to teach students facts, not assist parents with political causes or indoctrinate children politically. However, educators in Los Angeles and San Francisco and spending thousands of their budget to make sure parents know that their children can avoid being contacted by recruiters.
As far as I am concerned, once a child becomes an adult, capable of making adult decisions, the parents shouldn't even have a say in whether or not their kids are spoken to by recruiters. When someone becomes of age to enlist, it is their choice and responsibility.
Accoording to the article, at one point 31% of schools were denying recruiters access that they were required by law to provide. There is no telling how many lives could have been changed, or great military careers could have started, but didn't.
This may sound odd, after all it is a volunteer military correct? Why do recruiters need to go to schools and contact kids?
Well, frankly, many children are misinformed about the military. All many have ever heard is horror stories about Vietnam, many of which are probably not true. Many do not know what the potential benefits are, they only know the downsides.
Jerry Springer Gets Ohio Poll's Highest Unfavorable Rating in 14 Years
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Talk show host Jerry Springer, who has said he might run for the Senate, scored the highest unfavorable rating in the 14 years that the Ohio Poll has been taking the state's political pulse.
Jerry Springer Gets Ohio Poll's Highest Unfavorable Rating in 14 Years
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Talk show host Jerry Springer, who has said he might run for the Senate, scored the highest unfavorable rating in the 14 years that the Ohio Poll has been taking the state's political pulse.
March 10, 2003
US highlights new weapons find in Iraq
US authorities say the unmanned aircraft is capable of carrying biological or chemical weapons.
The two nations are reported to be angry that the chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix did not make more of the discovery of the remotely controlled aircraft.
US highlights new weapons find in Iraq
US authorities say the unmanned aircraft is capable of carrying biological or chemical weapons.
The two nations are reported to be angry that the chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix did not make more of the discovery of the remotely controlled aircraft.
March 06, 2003
U.S. Bar Owner Executes Dell Laptop
Had to post this, maybe we can have a national shoot your computer day, it would be great therapy.
Article found on The Register
U.S. Bar Owner Executes Dell Laptop
Had to post this, maybe we can have a national shoot your computer day, it would be great therapy.
Article found on The Register
March 04, 2003
Citizens Against Celebrity Pundits
We the undersigned American Citizens stand against Wealthy Hollywood Celebrities abusing their status to speak for us. We do not believe that they have a clear understanding of how we live, what we fear, and what we support. We believe that celebrities Martin Sheen, Mike Farrell, Tim Robbins, Rob Reiner, Barbara Streisand, and others with them are using their celebrity to interfere with the defense of our country.
Citizens Against Celebrity Pundits
We the undersigned American Citizens stand against Wealthy Hollywood Celebrities abusing their status to speak for us. We do not believe that they have a clear understanding of how we live, what we fear, and what we support. We believe that celebrities Martin Sheen, Mike Farrell, Tim Robbins, Rob Reiner, Barbara Streisand, and others with them are using their celebrity to interfere with the defense of our country.
March 02, 2003
Some British 'Human Shields' Flee Iraq
"Some of the peace activists who went to Iraq to serve as human shields in the event of war returned home, fearing for their safety, a spokesman said Sunday."
What happened? Could it be that they found out that just because they were against the war that the Iragi government and people did not greet them with open arms?
Some British 'Human Shields' Flee Iraq
"Some of the peace activists who went to Iraq to serve as human shields in the event of war returned home, fearing for their safety, a spokesman said Sunday."
What happened? Could it be that they found out that just because they were against the war that the Iragi government and people did not greet them with open arms?
March 01, 2003
French Pols Concerned About U.S. Ties
Saying he believes war on Iraq is inevitable, pro-American UMP lawmaker Herve de Charette said Thursday the use of a veto "is a decision with great ramifications, of great gravity."
"A veto is unimaginable," Claude Goasguen, another senior conservative lawmaker, told daily Le Monde in its Thursday edition. "We are not going to break the United Nations and Europe just to save a tyrant," he said, referring to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
French Pols Concerned About U.S. Ties
Saying he believes war on Iraq is inevitable, pro-American UMP lawmaker Herve de Charette said Thursday the use of a veto "is a decision with great ramifications, of great gravity."
"A veto is unimaginable," Claude Goasguen, another senior conservative lawmaker, told daily Le Monde in its Thursday edition. "We are not going to break the United Nations and Europe just to save a tyrant," he said, referring to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
February 27, 2003
Computer Made from DNA and Enzymes
Whoever said all that Star Trek mumbo jumbo was just science fiction, had better reconsider that thought.
Computer Made from DNA and Enzymes
Whoever said all that Star Trek mumbo jumbo was just science fiction, had better reconsider that thought.
Goodbye Mr. Rogers, and Thank you.
Mr. Rogers (Fred Rogers) Passed away early this morning at age 74.
Goodbye Mr. Rogers, and Thank you.
Mr. Rogers (Fred Rogers) Passed away early this morning at age 74.
February 26, 2003
Sun Challenges Microsoft Prices
Sun Microsystems Inc. threw down the price gauntlet to Microsoft Corp. customers on Wednesday, offering to cut by half the cost of any Microsoft Software Assurance licensing agreement for the desktop.
"Whatever license Microsoft has presented to a customer, we believe we will be able to offer half off with our equivalent desktop solution in software.
Sun Challenges Microsoft Prices
Sun Microsystems Inc. threw down the price gauntlet to Microsoft Corp. customers on Wednesday, offering to cut by half the cost of any Microsoft Software Assurance licensing agreement for the desktop.
"Whatever license Microsoft has presented to a customer, we believe we will be able to offer half off with our equivalent desktop solution in software.
February 25, 2003
God gives middle east sign to chill out
Well, last night God himself spoke.. in the form of a rare overnight snow storm in the middle east.
I think it's his fun subtle way of letting them all know it's time to chill out and relax. He's in control.
Saddam Hussein Challenges Bush to Debate
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Saddam Hussein indicated on Monday that he does not intend to follow U.N. orders to destroy his Al-Samoud 2 missiles, and challenged President Bush to an internationally televised debate via satellite linkup.
February 23, 2003
Destroying missiles would be to 'sign death warrant', says Iraq
"An increasingly cornered Iraq complained yesterday it might be signing its own death warrant if it obeyed a United Nations order to destroy dozens of missiles at the moment the US is poised to lead an invasion."
Resolution 1441 clearly states that Iraq must not have missles that have a certain range. They have been found AGAIN in violation of resolution 1441 (a resolution that every nation in the UN signed) and refuse to destroy them as the UN has ordered.
Watch and you will see that the UN will do nothing.
The UN is worthless and the US should get leave the UN as soon as possible.
Destroying missiles would be to 'sign death warrant', says Iraq
"An increasingly cornered Iraq complained yesterday it might be signing its own death warrant if it obeyed a United Nations order to destroy dozens of missiles at the moment the US is poised to lead an invasion."
Resolution 1441 clearly states that Iraq must not have missles that have a certain range. They have been found AGAIN in violation of resolution 1441 (a resolution that every nation in the UN signed) and refuse to destroy them as the UN has ordered.
Watch and you will see that the UN will do nothing.
The UN is worthless and the US should get leave the UN as soon as possible.
February 21, 2003
Fire on Staten Island
Millions of New Yorkers had a sigh of relief this morning, after learning that a fire at a Staten Island refinery seems (for now) to have been accidental.
The fire at this moment is running out of control after an explosion of some sort sparked it this morning.
We'll update you if we learn more.
*Muddy's Edit*
Link to an article on it HERE
Fire on Staten Island
Millions of New Yorkers had a sigh of relief this morning, after learning that a fire at a Staten Island refinery seems (for now) to have been accidental.
The fire at this moment is running out of control after an explosion of some sort sparked it this morning.
We'll update you if we learn more.
*Muddy's Edit*
Link to an article on it HERE
Transplant
Most of us here in the US have probably heard about the young girl at Duke who recieved the wrong organs. How many of us have now learned she is an illegal alien?
Since her first transplant, at least 100 US citizens and/or legal aliens who needed transplants have died because they did not recieve them. Some of these people could have used the organs this young woman recieved.
It's tragic that she needs a transplant, I can not argue that. It's just as tragic that the hospital messed up the transplant in the first place. But, should illegal aliens get transplants before a citizen or legal alien who needs the same organ?
UNOS doesn't seem to think so. UNOS has a quota for organs that can go to illegal aliens.
I'm sorry but, I feel that people who are here legally should get them first, well maybe not career criminals, but you get the points.
Transplant
Most of us here in the US have probably heard about the young girl at Duke who recieved the wrong organs. How many of us have now learned she is an illegal alien?
Since her first transplant, at least 100 US citizens and/or legal aliens who needed transplants have died because they did not recieve them. Some of these people could have used the organs this young woman recieved.
It's tragic that she needs a transplant, I can not argue that. It's just as tragic that the hospital messed up the transplant in the first place. But, should illegal aliens get transplants before a citizen or legal alien who needs the same organ?
UNOS doesn't seem to think so. UNOS has a quota for organs that can go to illegal aliens.
I'm sorry but, I feel that people who are here legally should get them first, well maybe not career criminals, but you get the points.
Fire Engulfs Rhode Island night club
Late last night a fire ripped through a R.I. night club during the first song of Great White's performance. It seems the band's pytrotechnics set off the fire. Full article linked below.
*note* I would like to extend our condolences to those who lost loved ones during this horrible accident.
Fire Engulfs Rhode Island night club
Late last night a fire ripped through a R.I. night club during the first song of Great White's performance. It seems the band's pytrotechnics set off the fire. Full article linked below.
*note* I would like to extend our condolences to those who lost loved ones during this horrible accident.
February 18, 2003
Chirac on the loose
I read this and all I could do was laugh.
IHT: News analysis: Chirac's outburst exposes contradiction within EU
Chirac on the loose
I read this and all I could do was laugh.
IHT: News analysis: Chirac's outburst exposes contradiction within EU
Check this out
Second U.N. Resolution?
Should the U.S. take action to authorize force against Iraq?
a. Yes, Saddam is not disarming. (88%)
b. No, inspections and diplomacy take time. (10%)
c. Not sure (2%)
Check this out
Second U.N. Resolution?
Should the U.S. take action to authorize force against Iraq?
a. Yes, Saddam is not disarming. (88%)
b. No, inspections and diplomacy take time. (10%)
c. Not sure (2%)
The Aussies have it right
Prime Minister John Howard told the Nine Network: "We are a terrorist target because we are part of western society.
"And if you think taking a different stance on Iraq buys immunity for your citizens, think of the German and French citizens who died in terrorist attacks at the hands of al-Qaeda."
I think he gets it.
The Aussies have it right
Prime Minister John Howard told the Nine Network: "We are a terrorist target because we are part of western society.
"And if you think taking a different stance on Iraq buys immunity for your citizens, think of the German and French citizens who died in terrorist attacks at the hands of al-Qaeda."
I think he gets it.
February 12, 2003
Miscellaneous Stuff
First off, has everyone read the discussion under the "Surrender Monkeys" story? Go read it. It boils my Teufelhunden blood to read what that frog "Yann" wrote!
Anyhow, on to the substance!
I've got a nice political cartoon that is just halarious!
Anyone in the US in favor of ditching the UN? I'm not sure I am, I typically like the idea of "Keeping your friends close, and your enemies closer." But someone at the Jewish World Review says we should get out and gives a pretty good case for it here.
Have fun!
Miscellaneous Stuff
First off, has everyone read the discussion under the "Surrender Monkeys" story? Go read it. It boils my Teufelhunden blood to read what that frog "Yann" wrote!
Anyhow, on to the substance!
I've got a nice political cartoon that is just halarious!
Anyone in the US in favor of ditching the UN? I'm not sure I am, I typically like the idea of "Keeping your friends close, and your enemies closer." But someone at the Jewish World Review says we should get out and gives a pretty good case for it here.
Have fun!
February 10, 2003
AMD pushes past Intel
AMD's newest Athlon XP processor the 3000+ is out and I'm impressed. As a huge fan of AMD I'm all too happy to report this great news.
AMD pushes past Intel
AMD's newest Athlon XP processor the 3000+ is out and I'm impressed. As a huge fan of AMD I'm all too happy to report this great news.
February 01, 2003
I could have told you this...
Experts: Microsoft security gets an 'F'
Computer security experts say the recent "SQL Slammer" worm, the worst in more than a year, is evidence that Microsoft's year-old security push is not working.
LINUX RULEZ!!!!
I could have told you this...
Experts: Microsoft security gets an 'F'
Computer security experts say the recent "SQL Slammer" worm, the worst in more than a year, is evidence that Microsoft's year-old security push is not working.
LINUX RULEZ!!!!
Terrorist Attack on Columbia
During this mornings news briefs I have heard several times about a "possible" terrorist attack on Columbia. Let me be the first to say this is not the case.
For terrorists to have attacked the shuttle from the outside they would have had to use some seriously advanced surface to air missiles due to the fact they lost contact at approx 200,000 feet. The current battery of shoulder launched missiles in the world could not reach that high if they were on steroids. And there are no "hostile" missile batteries anywhere near where it disappeared, let alone any that are designed to reach that height.
The only way for a terrorist to have done this was for them to have done something while it was on the ground before lift off. I can safely say there is a better chance that this is all faked and the astronauts are actually on a alien space ship doing some kind of cross-species meeting than they were taken down by a terrorist attack.
Terrorist Attack on Columbia
During this mornings news briefs I have heard several times about a "possible" terrorist attack on Columbia. Let me be the first to say this is not the case.
For terrorists to have attacked the shuttle from the outside they would have had to use some seriously advanced surface to air missiles due to the fact they lost contact at approx 200,000 feet. The current battery of shoulder launched missiles in the world could not reach that high if they were on steroids. And there are no "hostile" missile batteries anywhere near where it disappeared, let alone any that are designed to reach that height.
The only way for a terrorist to have done this was for them to have done something while it was on the ground before lift off. I can safely say there is a better chance that this is all faked and the astronauts are actually on a alien space ship doing some kind of cross-species meeting than they were taken down by a terrorist attack.
NASA Declares Space Shuttle Emergency
By Marcia Dunn
AP Aerospace Writer
Saturday, February 1, 2003; 10:02 AM
NASA declared an emergency after losing communication with space shuttle Columbia as the ship soared over Texas several minutes before its expected landing time Saturday morning.
The shuttle was carrying the first Israeli astronaut and six Americans, and authorities had feared it would be a terrorist target.
Fifteen minutes after the expected landing time, and with no word from the shuttle, NASA announced that search and rescue teams were being mobilized in Dallas and Fort Worth areas.
Inside Mission Control, flight controller hovered in front of their computers, staring at the screens. The wives, husbands and children of the astronauts who had been waiting at the landing strip were gathered together by NASA and taken to separate place.
Columbia was at an altitude of 200,700 feet over north-central Texas at a 9 a.m., traveling at 12,500 mph when mission control lost contact and tracking data.
NASA, while not saying the shuttle had exploded, broken up or crashed, warned that any debris found in the area should be avoided and could be hazardous. There were reports of debris seen falling.
Residents of north Texas heard "a big bang" Saturday about the time the space shuttle Columbia disappeared on its way to a landing at Cape Canaveral.
"It was like a car hitting the house or an explosion. It shook that much," said John Ferolito, 60, of Carrolton, north of Dallas.
Gary Hunziker in Plano said he saw the shuttle flying overhead. "I could see two bright objects flying off each side of it," he told The Associated Press. "I just assumed they were chase jets."
"I was getting read to go out and I heard a big bang and the windows shook in the house," Ferolito told The AP. "I was getting ready to go out and I heard a big bang and the windows shook in the house. I thought it was a sonic boom."
Bob Multer of Palestine, Texas, told CNN he saw what looked like a high-flying jet and heard a noise.
"It would be very similar to a tornado, it was very loud and intense," Multer said. "It was loud enough and it was low enough that it shook the building."
In 42 years of human space flight, NASA has never lost a space crew during landing or the ride back to orbit. In 1986, space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff.
Security had been tight for the 16-day scientific research mission that included the first Israeli astronaut.
Ilan Ramon, a colonel in Israel's air force and former fighter pilot, became the first man from his country to fly in space, and his presence resulted in an increase in security, not only for Columbia's Jan. 16 launch, but also for its landing. Space agency officials feared his presence might make the shuttle more of a terrorist target.
On launch day, a piece of insulating foam on the external fuel tank came off during liftoff and was believed to have struck the left wing of the shuttle.
Leroy Cain, the lead flight director in Mission Control, had assured reporters Friday that engineers had concluded that any damage to the wing was considered minor and posed no safety hazard.
Columbia is NASA's oldest shuttle and first flew in 1981.
© 2003 The Associated Press
NASA Declares Space Shuttle Emergency
By Marcia Dunn
AP Aerospace Writer
Saturday, February 1, 2003; 10:02 AM
NASA declared an emergency after losing communication with space shuttle Columbia as the ship soared over Texas several minutes before its expected landing time Saturday morning.
The shuttle was carrying the first Israeli astronaut and six Americans, and authorities had feared it would be a terrorist target.
Fifteen minutes after the expected landing time, and with no word from the shuttle, NASA announced that search and rescue teams were being mobilized in Dallas and Fort Worth areas.
Inside Mission Control, flight controller hovered in front of their computers, staring at the screens. The wives, husbands and children of the astronauts who had been waiting at the landing strip were gathered together by NASA and taken to separate place.
Columbia was at an altitude of 200,700 feet over north-central Texas at a 9 a.m., traveling at 12,500 mph when mission control lost contact and tracking data.
NASA, while not saying the shuttle had exploded, broken up or crashed, warned that any debris found in the area should be avoided and could be hazardous. There were reports of debris seen falling.
Residents of north Texas heard "a big bang" Saturday about the time the space shuttle Columbia disappeared on its way to a landing at Cape Canaveral.
"It was like a car hitting the house or an explosion. It shook that much," said John Ferolito, 60, of Carrolton, north of Dallas.
Gary Hunziker in Plano said he saw the shuttle flying overhead. "I could see two bright objects flying off each side of it," he told The Associated Press. "I just assumed they were chase jets."
"I was getting read to go out and I heard a big bang and the windows shook in the house," Ferolito told The AP. "I was getting ready to go out and I heard a big bang and the windows shook in the house. I thought it was a sonic boom."
Bob Multer of Palestine, Texas, told CNN he saw what looked like a high-flying jet and heard a noise.
"It would be very similar to a tornado, it was very loud and intense," Multer said. "It was loud enough and it was low enough that it shook the building."
In 42 years of human space flight, NASA has never lost a space crew during landing or the ride back to orbit. In 1986, space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff.
Security had been tight for the 16-day scientific research mission that included the first Israeli astronaut.
Ilan Ramon, a colonel in Israel's air force and former fighter pilot, became the first man from his country to fly in space, and his presence resulted in an increase in security, not only for Columbia's Jan. 16 launch, but also for its landing. Space agency officials feared his presence might make the shuttle more of a terrorist target.
On launch day, a piece of insulating foam on the external fuel tank came off during liftoff and was believed to have struck the left wing of the shuttle.
Leroy Cain, the lead flight director in Mission Control, had assured reporters Friday that engineers had concluded that any damage to the wing was considered minor and posed no safety hazard.
Columbia is NASA's oldest shuttle and first flew in 1981.
© 2003 The Associated Press
January 31, 2003
Some news agencies are Communist
This article really pissed me off. It was not the words but the simple 185X30 JPG picture that ABC news put with it. I am assuming that since this has Korean writing on the pic that they got this from another site, or did they?
Why would any American put this kind of picture with any story? Notice how the story is about how N. Korea vows to resist the US? Could this story have been written from the other angle of how the US will continue to try to seek a peacefull solution and has feed the North Koreans for 10 years? Or about how much we have done for them and now they start to build nuclear weapons so we stop feeding them and now they are mad? Where is the UN and why are UN sanction against N Korea considered an attack to them from America? All you left wingers want the UN involvement with Iraq but as far as N. Korea goes thats Americas problem?
Click here to see the story and the picture
Ever notice how articles in the press are always on the left wing? This is not an accident. Since we have a Republican president and a Republican house the only way the Democrats and the Left can do anything is by trying fill American with distrust and try to get America to not believe in our leaders anymore. They do this by owning news agencies and getting them to write the stories from the Left or to not even report some news. This is bullS**T and I am tired of it.
I seen an a poll a couple days ago about on both CNN and Fox News. The poll was worded slighlty different but asked basically the same question "Is America just in going to war with Iraq" The difference in results were night and day.
Watch where you get your news. Dont be stupid and believe everything that you read. Do research before you formulate an opionion. Dont be lazy and let someone else formulate the opinion for you.
Some news agencies are Communist
This article really pissed me off. It was not the words but the simple 185X30 JPG picture that ABC news put with it. I am assuming that since this has Korean writing on the pic that they got this from another site, or did they?
Why would any American put this kind of picture with any story? Notice how the story is about how N. Korea vows to resist the US? Could this story have been written from the other angle of how the US will continue to try to seek a peacefull solution and has feed the North Koreans for 10 years? Or about how much we have done for them and now they start to build nuclear weapons so we stop feeding them and now they are mad? Where is the UN and why are UN sanction against N Korea considered an attack to them from America? All you left wingers want the UN involvement with Iraq but as far as N. Korea goes thats Americas problem?
Click here to see the story and the picture
Ever notice how articles in the press are always on the left wing? This is not an accident. Since we have a Republican president and a Republican house the only way the Democrats and the Left can do anything is by trying fill American with distrust and try to get America to not believe in our leaders anymore. They do this by owning news agencies and getting them to write the stories from the Left or to not even report some news. This is bullS**T and I am tired of it.
I seen an a poll a couple days ago about on both CNN and Fox News. The poll was worded slighlty different but asked basically the same question "Is America just in going to war with Iraq" The difference in results were night and day.
Watch where you get your news. Dont be stupid and believe everything that you read. Do research before you formulate an opionion. Dont be lazy and let someone else formulate the opinion for you.
January 28, 2003
Kazaa Sues Movie, Recording Industries
Jan 28, 12:20 PM (ET)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The owners of the Kazaa file-sharing network are suing the movie and recording industries, claiming that they don't understand the digital age and are monopolizing entertainment.
Sharman Networks Ltd. filed its counterclaim Monday in response to a copyright-infringement lawsuit brought by several recording labels and movie studios. That lawsuit accuses Sharman of providing free access to copyright music and films to millions of Internet users in the United States.
The latest filing came two weeks after U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson dismissed Sharman's claim that it could not be sued in the United States because it is based in Australia and incorporated in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu.
Wilson had found Sharman subject to U.S. copyright laws because it has substantial usage by Californians and its actions are alleged to contribute to commercial piracy within the United States.
Sharman's counterclaim alleges copyright misuse, monopolization, and deceptive acts and practices.
"In seeking to simultaneously stop illegal copying and to maintain their dominant position in the distribution of musical and movie content, the industry plaintiffs have obscenely overreached," Sharman said.
It seeks a jury trial, damages, attorney fees and a permanent injunction against the entertainment industry so that it can't "enforce any of their United States copyrights against any person or entity."
Sharman said the entertainment companies are behind the times and don't realize that consumers need not buy CDs, DVDs or videotapes to enjoy music or films.
Sharman also claimed that movie studios "dominate and, when they act in concert, have monopoly power" for the aftermarket distribution of first-run major motion pictures. Likewise, the company said, recording labels "when they act in concert, have monopoly power in the distribution of recorded music."
Movie studios involved in the lawsuit include Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Columbia Pictures Industries Inc., Disney Enterprises Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp. The recording labels are BMG, EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner.
In a statement, the Recording Industry Association of America called Sharman's arguments "laughable."
"Sharman's claims are akin to the thief who plunders Fort Knox and then claims she's not responsible because Fort Knox declined to buy her second-rate security system," the RIAA said.
The case is one of the largest in the recent online copyright wars testing the international reach of U.S. courts.
---
On the Net:
Kazaa: http://www.kazaa.com
Movie industry: http://www.mpaa.org
Article Found on Excite.com
Kazaa Sues Movie, Recording Industries
Jan 28, 12:20 PM (ET)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The owners of the Kazaa file-sharing network are suing the movie and recording industries, claiming that they don't understand the digital age and are monopolizing entertainment.
Sharman Networks Ltd. filed its counterclaim Monday in response to a copyright-infringement lawsuit brought by several recording labels and movie studios. That lawsuit accuses Sharman of providing free access to copyright music and films to millions of Internet users in the United States.
The latest filing came two weeks after U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson dismissed Sharman's claim that it could not be sued in the United States because it is based in Australia and incorporated in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu.
Wilson had found Sharman subject to U.S. copyright laws because it has substantial usage by Californians and its actions are alleged to contribute to commercial piracy within the United States.
Sharman's counterclaim alleges copyright misuse, monopolization, and deceptive acts and practices.
"In seeking to simultaneously stop illegal copying and to maintain their dominant position in the distribution of musical and movie content, the industry plaintiffs have obscenely overreached," Sharman said.
It seeks a jury trial, damages, attorney fees and a permanent injunction against the entertainment industry so that it can't "enforce any of their United States copyrights against any person or entity."
Sharman said the entertainment companies are behind the times and don't realize that consumers need not buy CDs, DVDs or videotapes to enjoy music or films.
Sharman also claimed that movie studios "dominate and, when they act in concert, have monopoly power" for the aftermarket distribution of first-run major motion pictures. Likewise, the company said, recording labels "when they act in concert, have monopoly power in the distribution of recorded music."
Movie studios involved in the lawsuit include Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Columbia Pictures Industries Inc., Disney Enterprises Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp. The recording labels are BMG, EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner.
In a statement, the Recording Industry Association of America called Sharman's arguments "laughable."
"Sharman's claims are akin to the thief who plunders Fort Knox and then claims she's not responsible because Fort Knox declined to buy her second-rate security system," the RIAA said.
The case is one of the largest in the recent online copyright wars testing the international reach of U.S. courts.
---
On the Net:
Kazaa: http://www.kazaa.com
Movie industry: http://www.mpaa.org
Article Found on Excite.com
Linux Defending the Homeland
Linux infiltrates Homeland Security, and other conspiracies
By John Lettice
Posted: 28/01/2003 at 17:22 GMT
A tipster draws our attention to a posting from one Saddam Hussein on the linux-elitists list, pointing out an oddity concerning the US Department of Homeland Security's newly-launched web site.
The site was announced on Friday, running on a spiffy combo of Linux and Oracle 9i, but if you consult its recent history at Netcraft you'll note that this isn't the full story.
It was JRun Web Server on Windows 2000 at a netblock owned by the US Office of Personnel Management up until the grand unveiling, then it switched over to proper hosting solutions.
Enter X-files conspiracy theorists. Did not Homeland Security launch its site just as the dreaded worm hit? Might they not have run cover? Well no, it's inconceivable that you could whizzle up a whole Linux/9i web site in a couple of hours, so they'd have had to know about the worm well in advance in order to be able to do that. Which we agree has the makings of a much better X-files conspiracy theory - government-sponsored cyber counter-terrorism, anyone?
Saddam has what appears to be the text of the press release announcing the site, which is described as having been "designed, tested and deployed within 30 days." Which isn't a couple of hours, but is pretty good, and a pretty good commercial for the software. The Windows 2000 report predecessor, we'd guess, was merely a placeholder ahead of the switch on.
Still, it's nice to see Linux defending the homeland, and to know that the Department of Homeland Security doesn't hold with this stuff about the GPL being communism. Unless... Now, there's another good conspiracy theory... ®
Article From The Register.
Linux Defending the Homeland
Linux infiltrates Homeland Security, and other conspiracies
By John Lettice
Posted: 28/01/2003 at 17:22 GMT
A tipster draws our attention to a posting from one Saddam Hussein on the linux-elitists list, pointing out an oddity concerning the US Department of Homeland Security's newly-launched web site.
The site was announced on Friday, running on a spiffy combo of Linux and Oracle 9i, but if you consult its recent history at Netcraft you'll note that this isn't the full story.
It was JRun Web Server on Windows 2000 at a netblock owned by the US Office of Personnel Management up until the grand unveiling, then it switched over to proper hosting solutions.
Enter X-files conspiracy theorists. Did not Homeland Security launch its site just as the dreaded worm hit? Might they not have run cover? Well no, it's inconceivable that you could whizzle up a whole Linux/9i web site in a couple of hours, so they'd have had to know about the worm well in advance in order to be able to do that. Which we agree has the makings of a much better X-files conspiracy theory - government-sponsored cyber counter-terrorism, anyone?
Saddam has what appears to be the text of the press release announcing the site, which is described as having been "designed, tested and deployed within 30 days." Which isn't a couple of hours, but is pretty good, and a pretty good commercial for the software. The Windows 2000 report predecessor, we'd guess, was merely a placeholder ahead of the switch on.
Still, it's nice to see Linux defending the homeland, and to know that the Department of Homeland Security doesn't hold with this stuff about the GPL being communism. Unless... Now, there's another good conspiracy theory... ®
Article From The Register.
January 27, 2003
Icculus.org Linux Ports Update
Hey guys, just wanted to say that it turns out that Ryan C. Gordon has posted an update. Turns out the Army has contracted him to do the linux side of things for America's Army. He also has stated that he will not be doing a Battlefield 1942 client port.
He also makes some telling statements about not wanting e-mail relating to the politics of doing development for the military. It is truly sad that people in this country who claim to love it as much as guys like Muddy, myself and the rest of the editors and reviewers here, raise so much hell about the people who are willing to die so that they can live in this country.
Speaking of which, I'm going to post a review here soon of two of those new ports. You'll see it when you see it!
Icculus.org Linux Ports Update
Hey guys, just wanted to say that it turns out that Ryan C. Gordon has posted an update. Turns out the Army has contracted him to do the linux side of things for America's Army. He also has stated that he will not be doing a Battlefield 1942 client port.
He also makes some telling statements about not wanting e-mail relating to the politics of doing development for the military. It is truly sad that people in this country who claim to love it as much as guys like Muddy, myself and the rest of the editors and reviewers here, raise so much hell about the people who are willing to die so that they can live in this country.
Speaking of which, I'm going to post a review here soon of two of those new ports. You'll see it when you see it!
Super Bowl
While I like football, Muddy is the big fan. :-) So, I took it upon myself to beat him to the punch of posting that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (the team I was pulling for) are the new Super Bowl champions by a score of 48-21. I will state however, that the call on the Raiders' 2 pt coversion was crappy. But I highly doubt it would have made any difference in the outcome, even momentum wise.
Well Anyhow, there you have it!
Super Bowl
While I like football, Muddy is the big fan. :-) So, I took it upon myself to beat him to the punch of posting that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (the team I was pulling for) are the new Super Bowl champions by a score of 48-21. I will state however, that the call on the Raiders' 2 pt coversion was crappy. But I highly doubt it would have made any difference in the outcome, even momentum wise.
Well Anyhow, there you have it!
January 25, 2003
America's Army
For those of you (all 2 of you...) who have not heard. America's Army: Operations, is a FPS shooter developed by the US Army (yes you read that correctly!) as a recruiting tool.
How successful it has been for recruiting, I don't know (Hey, I joined the Marines, not the Army!) I do know however, that the game is wildly popular, and has apparently been ported to linux!
Apparently it is not quite finished yet and there is no news on a release date.
Icculus (aka Ryan C. Gordon) is also reporting that his group has ported Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, and also, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.
America's Army
For those of you (all 2 of you...) who have not heard. America's Army: Operations, is a FPS shooter developed by the US Army (yes you read that correctly!) as a recruiting tool.
How successful it has been for recruiting, I don't know (Hey, I joined the Marines, not the Army!) I do know however, that the game is wildly popular, and has apparently been ported to linux!
Apparently it is not quite finished yet and there is no news on a release date.
Icculus (aka Ryan C. Gordon) is also reporting that his group has ported Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, and also, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.
Iraq 'preparing for chemical war'
"Documents smuggled out of Iraq by an opposition group appear to indicate that Baghdad is equipping key units with protection against chemical weapons.
The hand-written papers, said to have been smuggled out by the Iraqi opposition, refer to new chemical warfare suits to protect soldiers and distribution of the drug atropine to counter the effects of nerve gas."
Now why would Saddam do this? Could it be that he is intending to use Chemical weapons on anyone who attacks him?
No it couldnt be that, Just ask all the liberals in our country. He would never do anything like this, right? Its all about oil and revenge. Its all about killing in the name of god, right.
Yea, thats it. Watch closely and pay attention.
Story number one is about how Iraq is getting its troops ready for a chemical war. Found here Does anyone else remember a story of how Iraq bought hugh amounts of atropine about 2 months ago?
Story number two is about how Iraq vowes to give us hugh losses, worst that 9/11. Found here
Story number three is tittles "Americans abroad warned in case of evacuation" its a little warning from our own government. Found here
We are very close.
When we do attack the world will finally see that Saddam does have weapons of mass destruction and they will see that we were right.
Iraq 'preparing for chemical war'
"Documents smuggled out of Iraq by an opposition group appear to indicate that Baghdad is equipping key units with protection against chemical weapons.
The hand-written papers, said to have been smuggled out by the Iraqi opposition, refer to new chemical warfare suits to protect soldiers and distribution of the drug atropine to counter the effects of nerve gas."
Now why would Saddam do this? Could it be that he is intending to use Chemical weapons on anyone who attacks him?
No it couldnt be that, Just ask all the liberals in our country. He would never do anything like this, right? Its all about oil and revenge. Its all about killing in the name of god, right.
Yea, thats it. Watch closely and pay attention.
Story number one is about how Iraq is getting its troops ready for a chemical war. Found here Does anyone else remember a story of how Iraq bought hugh amounts of atropine about 2 months ago?
Story number two is about how Iraq vowes to give us hugh losses, worst that 9/11. Found here
Story number three is tittles "Americans abroad warned in case of evacuation" its a little warning from our own government. Found here
We are very close.
When we do attack the world will finally see that Saddam does have weapons of mass destruction and they will see that we were right.
January 24, 2003
Intemperate Thoughts....
Well folks, here goes....
Why are Computer Science majors such flaming liberals.
Better question: Why are they such utter puss- err nevermind.
I'm sitting in a College of Computing computer lab here at Georgia Tech and this is one of 2 buildings on the campus where 90% of the people you run into will be wearing communist red stars, shouting the praises of Marx and then scream about how George Bush is a Nazi taking away their freedoms. They litterally believe George Bush himself penned the Patriot Act (which I will not deny is a down right crappy bill) when in fact, Democrats who they praise as gods wrote it and sponsored it because they saw an opportunity.
Has anyone ever read the article PJ O'Rourke wrote about 20 or so years ago for National Lampoon called something like "Foreigners Around the World?" If not, FIND IT! There are a couple excerpts from it today (1/24/2003) at Neal's Nuze(aka Neal Boortz)
Skywalker out!
Intemperate Thoughts....
Well folks, here goes....
Why are Computer Science majors such flaming liberals.
Better question: Why are they such utter puss- err nevermind.
I'm sitting in a College of Computing computer lab here at Georgia Tech and this is one of 2 buildings on the campus where 90% of the people you run into will be wearing communist red stars, shouting the praises of Marx and then scream about how George Bush is a Nazi taking away their freedoms. They litterally believe George Bush himself penned the Patriot Act (which I will not deny is a down right crappy bill) when in fact, Democrats who they praise as gods wrote it and sponsored it because they saw an opportunity.
Has anyone ever read the article PJ O'Rourke wrote about 20 or so years ago for National Lampoon called something like "Foreigners Around the World?" If not, FIND IT! There are a couple excerpts from it today (1/24/2003) at Neal's Nuze(aka Neal Boortz)
Skywalker out!
Hilary Rosen quits RIAA : And we salute her
The Recording Industry Association of America's chief Hilary Rosen is to step down after five calamitous years shilling for the music distribution cartel.
Full Story on the Register.com
Hilary Rosen quits RIAA : And we salute her
The Recording Industry Association of America's chief Hilary Rosen is to step down after five calamitous years shilling for the music distribution cartel.
Full Story on the Register.com
January 23, 2003
The French are afraid
Look the bottom line is this.
There are 2 reasons why the French are a bunch of *edit*.
1.The French have a hugh population of Muslims that have voting privleges. This is the number one reason why they would never back a war on ANY muslim nation.
2. The French are HEAVILY vested in oil ventures with Iraq. They are afraid that if they Saddam losses power then they will lose all that money that they have paid to Iraq.
The Russians are also invested. This is the reason why both France and Russia are against a war. They dont want to lose the money. As far as China, they will never back anything we want to do.
The French are afraid
Look the bottom line is this.
There are 2 reasons why the French are a bunch of *edit*.
1.The French have a hugh population of Muslims that have voting privleges. This is the number one reason why they would never back a war on ANY muslim nation.
2. The French are HEAVILY vested in oil ventures with Iraq. They are afraid that if they Saddam losses power then they will lose all that money that they have paid to Iraq.
The Russians are also invested. This is the reason why both France and Russia are against a war. They dont want to lose the money. As far as China, they will never back anything we want to do.
January 07, 2003
SGI releases Linux supercomputer with Itanium processor
Silicon Graphics Inc.'s (SGI's) new Altix 3000 machines are penguins on steroids, combining the Linux operating system with Intel Corp.'s Itanium 2 processor into a server that can scale up to 64 processors.
SGI releases Linux supercomputer with Itanium processor
Silicon Graphics Inc.'s (SGI's) new Altix 3000 machines are penguins on steroids, combining the Linux operating system with Intel Corp.'s Itanium 2 processor into a server that can scale up to 64 processors.
January 04, 2003
Bucks Shock Miami in Fiesta Bowl
Ohio State a 13 point underdog shocked the Miami Hurricanes in double overtime last night winning 31-24.
Read more here.
Bucks Shock Miami in Fiesta Bowl
Ohio State a 13 point underdog shocked the Miami Hurricanes in double overtime last night winning 31-24.
Read more here.
December 31, 2002
Osama bin who?
In September 2001, an American request for the Israelis to share their information about Osama bin Laden went unanswered.
At first, the Americans thought the Israelis were for some reason hiding their information. It was, however, only after heads of the secret intelligence service (Mossad) and the military intelligence service (Aman) went to Washington in person that the American administration learned the extraordinary inside story about what was going on.
The reason why the American request went unanswered was that the Israelis did not have any substantial raw intelligence information about Bin Laden and his friends. And the reason for this is that Israel was not on Bin Laden's hit list. And since Bin Laden was not threatening Israel, the Israelis did not threaten him. He was never on the annual list of Islamist extremists issued by the espionage and security services.
This sleepy Israeli approach towards Bin Laden has of course been changed. True? Wrong. Until this week, and regardless of the Kenya attack on Israeli tourists in November, Bin Laden is still not Israel's top priority for intelligence coverage.
Israel's spymasters still think that even after Kenya, Bin Laden has bigger and less-protected targets than Israel to attack. The Israeli secret services' second reason is that, regardless of their worldwide reputation, they are overloaded with work and cannot stretch beyond their main target: espionage on Arab armies, Palestinian groups and Iran.
Article found here.
December 30, 2002
Green says farewell after 20 seasons
LANDOVER, Md. (Dec. 29, 2002) -- Darrell Green did farewell laps before and after the game. The second one lasted 55 minutes, and he cried both times.
Full article here.
December 28, 2002
UNESCO taking over America
My last entry was, to say the least, upsetting. However I now have the list of sites from UNESCO's own web site that they are in 100% control over. Our so called government gave away our national landmarks.
They are as follows, listed in the year the U.N. took over control.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
1978 Mesa Verde
1978 Yellowstone
1979 Grand Canyon National Park
1979 Everglades National Park
1979 Independence Hall
1980 Redwood National Park
1981 Mammoth Cave National Park
1981 Olympic National Park
1982 Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
1983 Great Smoky Mountains National Park
1983 La Fortaleza and San Juan Historic Site in Puerto Rico
1984 Statue of Liberty
1984 Yosemite National Park
1987 Monticello and University of Virginia in Charlottesville
1987 Chaco Culture National Historic Park
1987 Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
1992 Pueblo de Taos
1995 Carlsbad Caverns National Park
I've also found the actual document that was drafted in 1972, it can be found here.
We must take back our land and rid ourselves of the U.N. once and for all. Write your congressmen and Senators, we must stop this.
When will America Rise up against the U.N.?
1972 Treaty Grants the United Nations Control Over American Historical Landmarks
by Melissa Wiedbrauk
When our Founding Fathers sparked the American Revolution and signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, they sought self-government for the American colonies and an escape from the dominance of England.
The Founding Fathers would be shocked to learn that some of their successors have given control of key American sovereign territory to other nations.
Through an international treaty, the United States is allowing the United Nations and its member countries access to and control of American soil - in particular, our historic buildings and treasured wilderness.
In 1972, our government signed the United Nations' World Heritage Treaty, a treaty that creates "World Heritage Sites" and Biosphere Reserves." Selected for their cultural, historical or natural significance, national governments are obligated to protect these landmarks under U.N. mandate.1 Since 1972, 68 percent of all U.S. national parks, monuments and preserves have been designated as World Heritage Sites.2
Twenty important symbols of national pride, along with 51 million acres of our wilderness, are World Heritage Sites or Biosphere Reserves now falling under the control of the U.N. This includes the Statue of Liberty, Thomas Jefferson's home at Monticello, the Washington Monument, the Brooklyn Bridge, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite, the Florida Everglades and the Grand Canyon - to name just a few.
Most ironic of all is the listing of Philadelphia's Independence Hall. The birthplace of our Republic is now an official World Heritage Site. The very place where our Founding Fathers signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution - the documents that set America apart from other nations and created the world's longest-standing democracy - is no longer fully under the control of our government and the American people.
Protection of our treasured places is a sound undertaking, but doing so by ceding control of our sovereign territory to a foreign power is wrong and threatens our rights and freedoms.
In 1995, Crown Butte Mines in the New World Mining District in Montana was forced to abandon a mine development project after the U.N. listed Yellowstone National Park as a "World Heritage Site in Danger."3 Crown Butte proposed to mine a medium-size underground operation on private property three miles from the boundary of Yellowstone. The project would have employed 280 people and generated $230 million in revenue.4
This mining project was not unique. The area had been mined for 150 years before Yellowstone National Park was established. Crown Butte had worked along with the U.S. Forest Service to ensure that all of the necessary precautions were being taken to ensure that the project would be environmentally responsible. Crown Butte had won an award for excellence in 1992 and was considered to be a "showcase operation."5
None of these factors mattered to the U.N.'s World Heritage Committee. Citing the project as a potential threat, the U.N. exerted its authority to force the abandonment of the project. It did not matter to the U.N. that this violated Crown Butte's exercise of its private property rights under the U.S. Constitution. Nor did the U.N. care that its action also went against U.S. federal law prohibiting the inclusion of non-federal property within a U.S. World Heritage Site without the consent of the property owner.6
Although it has not happened yet, under the World Heritage Treaty the U.N. has the legal right to someday restrict us, as American citizens, from visiting our national treasures.
Many environmentalists believe that the mere presence of humans disturbs the environment. As such, it is not farfetched to wonder when the politically-correct U.N. will ban the American public from Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, the Florida Everglades and other precious natural wonders now visited annually by millions of tourists.
Ironically, banning generations of young people from visiting our natural wonders would undermine the public's appreciation for the spectacular gifts of nature, and undercut support for environmental protection.
Unfortunately, the World Heritage Treaty is just one of a series of government actions that is stripping away the gift of freedom we received from our Founding Fathers.
To stop this erosion of sovereign rights, federal legislation has been introduced to restore the rights of Americans against this threat to freedom. The American Land Sovereignty Protection Act seeks to preserve the sovereignty of the United States over public lands and preserve the private property rights of private citizens. It would require congressional oversight of U.N. land designations within the U.S.7
We should not turn our backs on the Founding Fathers by surrendering the precious gift of sovereignty. We should treasure and protect it.
Footnotes:
1 "World Heritage Sites and Biosphere Reserves Fact Sheet," United States House or Representatives Committee on Resources.
2 "American Land Should Be Controlled By Americans," press release, The National Center for Public Policy Research, Washington, D.C., February 24, 1999, available on the Internet at http://www.nationalcenter.org/PRLandSov299.html.
3 Kathleen Benedetto, National Wilderness Institute, testimony before the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Washington, D.C., May 26, 1999.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 "American Land Should Be Controlled By Americans."
Melissa Wiedbrauk is a research associate with The National Center for Public Policy Research, a Washington, D.C. think tank. Comments may be sent to mwiedbrauk@nationalcenter.org.
Article copied from here.
December 27, 2002
Predictions for 2003
Few of the voters who elected President Bush could have possibly realised his socialist leanings.
Yet his willingness to allocate government funds to prop up the ailing US airline industry - admittedly in somewhat unusual circumstances - is unheralded in even European states, where centre-left governments have for the past 20 years been shedding government control of national airlines at a rate of knots.
Read the full article here.
December 24, 2002
Steelers shock Bucs 17-7
The Pittsburgh Steelers went into Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay last night with one thing in mind. Win the AFC Central Division, and that they did.
The Steelers looked like a Superbowl team in their opening drive, going six plays for the TD. Read more here.
December 17, 2002
Iraqi Report Could Prove Damaging to Germany
Iraq’s declaration of its weapons programs contains explosive news for Germany, a Berlin paper has reported. The dossier is said to detail covert arms deals between German defense firms and Iraq.
Just as the heated debates within the German government over the role of German troops and equipment in a possible war against Iraq seem to be cooling down, another potential bombshell threatens to reignite the fires.
On Tuesday, the Berlin-based left-wing paper, Tageszeitung reported that aspects of the 12,000-page Iraqi report on Iraq's weapons programs, submitted to the U.N last week, could prove highly embarrassing for Germany.
The newspaper - believed to be the first to have access to the top-secret dossier - has written that the Iraqi declaration contains the names of 80 German firms, research laboratories and people, who are said to have helped Iraq develop its weapons program.
Germany, Iraq’s number one arms supplier?
The most contentious piece of news for Germany is that the report names it as the number one supplier of weapons supplies to Iraq. German firms are supposed to easily outnumber the firms from other countries who have been exporting to Iraq.
They have delivered technical know-how, components, basic substances and even entire technical facilities for the development of atomic, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction to Iraq right since 1975.
In some cases, conventional military and technical dealings between Germany and Iraq are said to date till 2001, ten years after the second Gulf war and a time when international sanctions against Saddam Hussein are still in place.
The paper reports that the dossier contains several indications of cases, where German authorities right up to the Finance Ministry tolerated the illegal arms cooperation and also promoted to it to an extent.
Wait and watch says German Finance Ministry
The German Finance Ministry has said that it will react to the report only once it has studied the Iraqi declaration.
"We’ll first wait till the report is in our hands," a spokesman from the ministry said on Tuesday.
The spokesman however said that the German government of the time in 1990 had informed the parliament about such German supplies to Iraq.
Ever since Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, there has been a strict embargo against the country. The spokesman said that there have been a few cases of violation of the embargo and the government has initiated investigations.
German military exports to Iraq nothing new
Explosive as the newspaper report may appear, it’s not the first of its kind.
For months rumors have been circulating in the German media of murky deals between German arms companies and businessmen with Iraq despite the rigid embargoes in place.
In October this year, a magazine of the German radio channel, Südwestrundfunk reported that electronics giant Siemens had delivered specialized technical equipment to Iraq for the treatment of kidney stones, but which could also under certain circumstances be used as a detonator for atom bombs.
Siemens insisted that the device could not be misused because it had commissioned an Iraqi company to regularly monitor the equipment. In fact the delivery was even sanctioned by the sanctions council of the U.N. and the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA).
The latest newspaper report also touches upon the gray zone between medicine and armaments and writes of so-called dual-use goods that can be used for developing weapons as well as for civilian purposes.
The German government was apparently informed in 1999 of the delivery of such dual-use goods to Iraq, but is said to have turned a blind eye.
German defense firms conduct roaring trade with Baghdad
German arms companies in the meantime have been conducting booming business with Iraq in recent years. According to the German Federal Statistics Office, German military exports to Iraq have been steadily rising from year to year.
From annual exports amounting to 21,7 million euro in 1997, the volume of exports for the following year shot to some 76,4 million euro. The trend continued in 2001 with exports to Iraq bringing German firms profits in the range of 336,5 million euro.
German goods worth 226,2 million euro have already been shipped to Iraq in the first half of this year. Some of the official heavyweights in the export scene are the German electronics firm Siemens with medical equipment and energy distribution systems and carmaker DaimlerChrysler. Both are reported to rake in revenues worth double digit figures in the millions.
Chancellor Schröder in precarious situation
Though the German government has not officially reacted to the Iraqi declaration detailing its role in supplying Iraq with arms, there is little doubt that the issue is bound to stoke passions.
Ever since Chancellor Gerhard Schröder refused to be part of any military action in Iraq before the German general elections in September, Berlin’s relation to Washington has been a strained one.
With Schröder sticking to his pacifist line, but dithering over the level of cooperation with the U.S. in the case of a war against Iraq, the latest report is guaranteed to provide ammunition to the opposition who have strongly criticized Schröder’s policy towards America.
Another real fear is that Schröder’s image as a staunch pacifist might now be sullied if it emerges that Germany has all along been helping the very leader who it has been unwilling to topple, to stockpile his weapons.
The report could also provide the U.S. with an excuse to step up the pressure on Germany to give in to American military demands for deployment of German troops and use of German military equipment in the case of a military attack on Iraq.
Story From Here
ElcomSoft verdict: Not Guilty
update SAN JOSE, Calif.--A jury on Tuesday found a Russian software company not guilty of criminal copyright charges for producing a program that can crack antipiracy protections on electronic books.
The case against ElcomSoft is considered a crucial test of the criminal provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a controversial law designed to extend copyright protections into the digital age.
The company faced four charges related to directly designing and marketing software that could be used to crack eBook copyright protections, plus an additional charge related to conspiring to do so.
Jury foreman Dennis Strader said the jurors agreed ElcomSoft's product was illegal but acquitted the company because they believed the company didn't mean to violate the law.
"We didn't understand why a million dollar company would put on their Web page an illegal thing that would (ruin) their whole business if they were caught," he said in an interview following the verdict. Strader added that the panel found the DMCA itself confusing, making it easy for jurors to believe that executives from Russia might not fully understand it.
ElcomSoft attorney Joseph Burton said Tuesday's win is important as one of the first setbacks for publishers seeking to assert the law against programmers. But he cautioned that the acquittal did not mean software developers should consider themselves immune from future criminal prosecutions under the law.
"This is sort of the first dent in the DMCA," Burton said. "Up until now, the large publishers have sort of had their way...(but) I think developers still need to be careful."
Prosecutors declined to comment other than to say that they respect the jury's decision.
The case was launched in July 2001, when ElcomSoft employee Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested during the Las Vegas Defcon hackers conference after giving a speech about his company's software, which is designed to crack protections on Adobe Systems' eBooks. Prosecutors, working with Adobe, said ElcomSoft's Advanced eBook Processor violated the DMCA.
But after protests from programmers, Adobe backed away from its support of the case against Sklyarov, and prosecutors set aside charges against Sklyarov in exchange for his testimony in the case against his employers.
During the trial, which lasted two weeks, the government said ElcomSoft created a tool for burglars and characterized the company as an affiliate of hacker networks that was determined to sell the Advanced eBook Processor despite its questionable legality. U.S. Assistant Attorney Scott Frewing charged that company representatives knew all along that they were violating the DMCA by designing and offering the software to the public.
The defense, in turn, argued that ElcomSoft acted responsibly, removing the software from the Web just days after learning of Adobe's concerns. Both Sklyarov and ElcomSoft president Alexander Katalov testified that they did not think their software was illicit and did not intend for it to be used on books that had not been legally purchased. Under cross- examination by the defense, an Adobe engineer acknowledged that his company did not find any illegal eBooks even after hiring two firms to search the Web for unauthorized copies.
Because both the defense and prosecution agreed that ElcomSoft sold software designed to crack copyright protections, the case essentially turned on ElcomSoft's state of mind during the period it was offering the software.
After much wrangling among attorneys over the definition of the word "willful," the judge told jurors that in order to find the company guilty, they must agree that company representatives knew their actions were illegal and intended to violate the law. Merely offering a product that could violate copyrights was not enough to warrant a conviction, the jury instructions said.
The verdict comes after a series of legal wins by publishers seeking to restrict the use of digital technology, which some believe heralds the death knell for traditional media businesses, from film studios to music and book publishers.
The DMCA makes it a crime to offer for sale products that circumvent digital copy protections, including encryption schemes, the issue at stake in the ElcomSoft case. Other provisions create penalties for creating and distributing such tools, raising protests from programmers that the law could, among other things, bar academic research and inhibit open discussion of encryption technology, including in news reports. Last year, in a major ruling favoring the film industry, a federal appeals court ordered a Web site to remove links to code capable of cracking encryption on DVDs, citing the DMCA.
Attorneys not involved in the case said the ElcomSoft verdict boded ill for future criminal prosecutions under the controversial copyright law. A not guilty verdict in a criminal case comes without the ability to appeal, unlike the civil copyright cases targeting Napster and other companies that have bounced through federal court in recent years. Future courts won't be bound by Tuesday's verdict, but it will stand untouched.
"It is troubling for enforcement of the (criminal provisions of the) DMCA," said Evan Cox, an attorney with the San Francisco firm of Covington & Burlington. "This was the kind of case that the DMCA was meant to prevent. If this enforcement led to a not guilty verdict, you have to wonder what would lead to a successful case."
Some attorneys speculated that the jury might have been rendering an opinion on the law itself, as well as on the strict legality of ElcomSoft's activities.
"The jury has the flexibility to think about (ElcomSoft's motives) and essentially nullify the law if they think it is overreaching," said Jefferson Scher, a partner at Carr & Ferrell. "I think there's a little O.J. factor if they decided that the law shouldn't be read as strictly as it seems to read."
News.com's John Borland contributed to this report.
By Lisa M. Bowman
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
December 17, 2002, 10:22 AM PT
Story from News.com
December 11, 2002
Washington State Congressman attempts to outlaw GPL
An anonymous reader writes: "Leaders of the New Democrat Coalition attempt to outlaw GPL. A call to sign off on explicit rejection of "licenses that would prevent or discourage commercial adoption of promising cyber security technologies developed through federal R & D." has been issued by Adam Smith, Congressman for the Ninth District in the State of Washington.
It's already signed off on by Rep. Tom Davis(R-Va), Chairman of Government Reform Subcomittee on Technology, and Rep. Jim Turner (D-TX) Ranking Member of the same committee, with the backing of Rep. Jim Davis (D-FL), and Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI).
It's a note to fellow New Democrats under the guise of protecting commercial interest's right to make money from the fruits of federal R & D, and to sign off on an attached letter to Richard A. Clarke, Chair of the President's Critical Infrastructure.
They are attempting to convince Clarke, Chair of the President's that licensing terms such as "those in the GNU or GPL" are restrictive, preclude innovation, improvement, adoption and establishment of commercial IP rights.
Let's take a look at the highlights:
1) They use the Internet, by virtue of TCP/IP, as "proof" of their thesis.
2) They state that you cannot improve OR adopt OR commercialize GPL software.
3) They state that you cannot integrate GPL'd software with proprietery software.
4) They say you should keep publicly funded code away from the public sector, so that proprietary interests can make money from the work.
5) They equate a lack of understanding of the GPL with valid reasoning against it.
In essence, that non-proprietary interests should not be allowed to use, adopt, improve, or make money from the work. That taxpayers should pay for it twice. And that nobody should be able to stop commercial entities from taking publicly funded code, they will then close off.
Write or fax each of the Congressmen mentioned as supporting this, and let them know they have been given bad information and that categorically anti-opensource and anti-GPL stance will be reflected at voting time:
Rep. Jim Davis
424 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3376
Fax: (202) 225-5652
Webmail: http://www.house.gov/jimdavis/message.html
Rep. Tom Davis
306 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4611
Phone: (202) 225-1492
Fax: (202) 225-3071
Rep. Ron Kind
1713 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202.225.5506
Fax: 202.225.5739
Rep. Adam Smith
116 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-8901
Fax: 202-225-5893
E-Mail: http://www.house.gov/adamsmith/contact/contact.htm l
Rep. Jim Turner
208 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2401
Fax: (202) 225-5955
For those without e-mail listed, email them at: http://www.house.gov/writerep/
You can find this article here
Microsoft backs off Mac-to-PC convert ad
Microsoft backs off Mac-to-PC convert ad
By Ian Fried
Special to ZDNet News
October 15, 2002, 5:06 AM PT
An ad, titled "Confessions of a Mac to PC convert," was posted to Microsoft's Web site last week. The article purports to be a first-person account of a writer who decided to switch from an Apple Macintosh computer to a PC running Windows XP.
"Yes, it's true," the woman is quoted as saying. "I like the Microsoft Windows XP operating system enough to change my whole computing world around...Windows XP gives me more choices and flexibility and better compatibility with the rest of the computing world."
Click Here.
Although the ad appears to be from a "real person," similar to the Apple campaign, Microsoft said it commissioned the posting from a freelance writer who was paid for her work, although the company claims her experience was genuine. Microsoft also said that the photograph of the "convert" was actually a stock photograph.
The ad was pulled down from Microsoft's Web site Monday, following an inquiry from CNET News.com. Microsoft said the posting, made by Microsoft's software marketing group, was a mistake in judgment.
Microsoft "regrets the action" and said it did the right thing in removing the page. The company has no plans for an ad campaign featuring Mac to PC "converts."
Apple launched its "switcher" campaign in June. Web testimonials, print ads and TV commercials all featured people that said they had switched from a PC to a Mac. Apple's TV commercials are directed by documentary filmmaker Errol Morris, director of "The Thin Blue Line."
An Apple representative declined to comment on the Microsoft ad.
While both Apple's "switchers" and Microsoft's "convert" are both unequivocal lovers of their new computers, Apple's "switchers" tend to be plain spoken. By contrast, Microsoft's "convert" sounds a bit like Microsoft's own marketing department.
Microsoft's At one point, the "convert" says she prefers Microsoft Office to Apple's AppleWorks program.
"There's no equivalent to the versatility of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint," the "convert" says. "Toolbars and menus customize themselves to the way I work. I wouldn't know how to function without the Track Changes and Comments features of Word."
Best of friends and foes?
Over the past few months, the friendship between Apple and Microsoft has been strained. A five-year deal under which Microsoft was committed to developing Mac titles recently came to an end.
Microsoft has reiterated its commitment to the Mac, but has also said it would only commit to new Mac development efforts, one version at a time.
Last week, Microsoft announced that it had transferred Kevin Browne, the general manager of the Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU), to an unspecified job in the company's Xbox unit. A new manager has not yet been named.
Browne had criticized Apple's efforts to sell Mac OS X. Microsoft said in July that it had only sold 300,000 copies of the Mac OS X version of Office--less than half of the 750,000 copies it had expected to sell.
Recently, executives within Microsoft's MacBU have stated that they have been happier with sales, though they have declined to provide new sales figures.
Microsoft also recently launched an ad campaign, valued at more than $1 million, touting the Mac OS X version of Office.
You can find this article here
December 10, 2002
Microsoft to "sell" Linux software?
In a major strategy shift, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O) will introduce software based on the Linux open source operating system in 2004 for Web services and server software, market researcher META Group predicted on Monday.
META Predicts Microsoft Will Offer Linux Software
Dec 9, 9:27 pm ET
By Reed Stevenson
SEATTLE (Reuters) - In a major strategy shift, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O) will introduce software based on the Linux open source operating system in 2004 for Web services and server software, market researcher META Group predicted on Monday.
Microsoft, which denied that it had any plans to develop software for Linux, is facing a growing threat from the open source software standard as it gains share in the corporate server market used to manage networks and data.
META Group predicted that Linux will be used on nearly half of new servers by 2007, up from its current share of 15 to 20 percent, making it difficult for Microsoft to ignore Linux as a platform for its database, Web hosting and e-mail server applications.
"We believe that, beginning in late 2004, Microsoft (and its partners) will begin moving some of its (to-date) proprietary application enablers (e.g., .Net components) to the Linux environment; this will gradually include the major Microsoft back-office products, such as SQL Server, IIS, and Exchange," META Group said.
In a further shift, META Group said that Microsoft will also re-price or separate its Windows server operating system "so that it can be favorably compared against 'free' Linux."
"I'm unaware of any efforts at this time to move any products onto Linux," said Peter Houston, senior director at Microsoft's server group, adding that there were no plans to detach or re-price its Windows server operating system.
"We have made a bet on Windows, and we believe that customers are getting value from the bet we made," said Houston, "and we're going to continue doing what we've been doing for customers."
Linux advocates argue that Linux offers better security, flexibility and innovation because its underlying code, or blueprint, for programs remains open to evaluation and scrutiny.
Microsoft, which has grown into the world's largest software maker by selling proprietary software that cannot be copied or modified freely, said it is not opposed to open-source software, and points out that its source code is available to approved partners and educational institutions on a limited basis.
COST A NON-ISSUE
Microsoft faced a similar situation a decade ago when its nascent server software was competing head-to-head with market leader Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUWON), but Microsoft did not choose at the time to write software for Sun's proprietary version of Unix.
Now Linux, essentially a free version of Unix, is eating away at Sun's share of the business server market.
Sun, a hardware and software maker, is now selling computers running Linux, a strategy that was also embraced by International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has toned down its criticism of Linux recently, after an internal strategy document said that some of its arguments against open source software has "backfired."
Instead, Microsoft has stressed that its software is more affordable when considering the total cost of using Linux, including ongoing personnel and administration costs.
A recent Microsoft-sponsored study by researcher IDC concluded that servers based on Microsoft's Windows 2000 were cheaper to own and operate when used for networking, storing and sharing files, printing and security, while Linux servers were cheaper to operate when used for Web hosting.
"The IDC study shows that the upfront cost is a small part of the total cost to the customer," said Microsoft's Houston.
META Group's report also came to the same conclusion, saying that Linux's total costs of ownership were likely to be higher for mainstream server applications.
"IT organizations must evaluate platform costs from a total-cost-of-ownership perspective," META Group's report said.
Story found on excite.com here
November 09, 2002
MS admits its Linux-bashing jihad is a failure
From The Register
By Thomas C Greene in Washington
Posted: 08/11/2002 at 10:21 GMT
The Beast has hired a research crew to do a bit of attitude sampling among the Great Unwashed in the US and abroad, and has found that slagging Linux is not winning it any points. In a company memo posted by Eric S. Raymond here we learn that regular folks are both eager for a Microsoft alternative and generally respectful of the open-source concept.
We also learn that bombastic hoots by Steve Ballmer likening the GPL to a virus are in fact offensive to many people. Outright lies, like Ballmer's claim that Windows is, overall, cheaper than Linux also haven't been playing well, the researchers discovered.
"A plurality (40%) of all respondents felt that a low TCO [total cost of ownership] was the best reason to support OSS [open source software], the report says. MS does make much about the fact that running *nix requires a bit of expertise, whereas dumber, hence cheaper, employees can manage a Windows system. On the other hand they've got a license that just keeps on taking, so it's hard to believe that after a couple of years the Redmond crack addiction isn't going to start upsetting the economic tables to MS' advantage.
Additionally, we're told that "one-third of all respondents cited 'an alternative to Microsoft' as one of the best reasons to support OSS." Apparently a lot of people are starting to question the wisdom of a computing monoculture, as they should.
Most interestingly, "messages that criticize OSS, Linux, & the GPL are NOT effective," the survey crew has learned. (emphasis original)
"On the other hand, 'positive' OSS, Linux, and GPL messages are very effective -- both across geographies and audiences."
What this might mean we're almost afraid to ask. But apparently we can expect Ballmer to start waxing sentimental about how wonderful Linux and the GPl are, second only to Windows and the license that keeps on taking.
"In the short term, then, Microsoft should avoid criticizing OSS and Linux directly, continue to develop and aim to eventually win the TCO argument."
I have no idea what this means but I can hardly wait to find out. I seriously doubt that the TCO argument can be won without frequent recourse to outrageous lies and strident insistence that black is white and up is down. But then this is the sort of gravity-defying rhetoric at which the Redmond PR machine excels, so all bets are off.
One of the goals of the survey was to compare reactions to open-source software and Microsoft's self-serving substitute with strings, 'shared-source' software. There's a fair bit of tortured rhetoric involved, but the wind-up is that SSS could probably fly so long as it's adequately misrepresented. Traditionally cynical Europeans and Asians are unlikely to be fooled, the survey notes, but Americans won't be much trouble, having always been easy, willing prey for commercial manipulators and propagandists.
"Overall, the greatest challenges we face are with the International audience -- especially the French, Germans, and Japanese," the memo laments.
But they've still got the Americans by the short and curlies: "support for Shared Source was strongest in the US (73%)," the writers were relieved to say.
Of course that number is certain to change as the details become better known. ®
November 01, 2002
NFL Becoming a Video Game
I found this on my start page, being a huge Steelers fan, and naturally a football fan, I found this quite enlightening.
The NFL is becoming a video game
October 16, 2002
Ohio encourages debate on evolution
Schools could address ‘intelligent design’ as alternative
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 15 — The state school board said Tuesday it will adopt a science curriculum that leaves it up to school districts whether to teach the concept of “intelligent design,” which holds that the universe is guided by a higher intelligence.
THE BOARD voted unanimously in favor of the standards, which emphasize both evolution and critical analysis of the theory. It will adopt them formally in December.
The standards put into writing what many school districts already do — teach evolution, but also explain that there is debate over the origin of life.
“In no way does this advocate for creation or intelligent design,” said Michael Cochran, a board member who had pushed for the concept to be included in the standards. “I do look upon this as a compromise.”
The decision follows weeks of behind-the-scenes talks to reach an agreement with members who wanted alternative theories to evolution to be put of an equal footing with Darwin’s theory.
In January, Ohio became the latest battleground in the debate over what high school biology students should know about evolution.
Supporters of intelligent design included some conservative groups that had tried and failed to get biblical creation taught in public schools. Critics of intelligent design said it is creationism in disguise.
From msnbc.com
October 13, 2002
Introducing the latest hacker exploit: War Phoning
By John Leyden
Posted: 10/11/2002 at 12:29 EST
Bluetooth-enabled phones and PDAs with inadequate security could become the target of the next wave of security exploits, allowing phreakers to filch confidential information or even make calls using someone else's identity.
Such War Phoning exploits, as they have been dubbed, arise because security features on Bluetooth-enabled devices are sometimes turned off by default, ZDNet reports.
Early reports of the phenomenon come from this week's RSA Security conference, in Paris.
"I have stood at the RSA booth in conferences, with my phone paging for other devices, and watched other people's devices show up," Magnus Nystrom, technical director of RSA Security, told ZDNet.
He reports that many devices permitted access without requesting a "pairing code", opening the door to all manner of abuse - stealing personal data of passers-by or even making calls on other phones - in the hands of the unscrupulous. ®