Topics

[span]Since the weather was so nice this weekend, I decided to take my bike out for a spin... [/span] [span]

[a href="http://www.discoverseattle.net/temp/SuperBike.wmv"]http://www.discoverseattle.net/temp/SuperBike.wmv[/a]

(No, it's not really me.)  

[/span]This file will only be up for a day or so.
[span]

[/span]

[McAfee released an anti-virus update]

            Good thing Mcafee doesn't have liability, via contract, for this mess....

McAfee released an anti-virus update [a  href="http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/2802"]that contained an anomaly in the DAT file [/a]that causes many important files to be deleted from affected systems. At one company, tens of thousands of files were deleted from dozens of servers and around 2000 user machines.

Affected applications included MS Office, and products from IBM (Rational), GreenHills, MS Office, Ansys, Adobe, Autocad, Hyperion, Win MPM, MS Shared, MapInfo, Macromedia, MySQL, CA, Cold Fusion, ATI, FTP Voyager, Visual Studio, PTC, ADS, FEMAP, STAT, Rational. Apparently the DAT file targeted mostly, if not exclusively, DLLs and EXE files.

Already, the SANS Internet Storm Center received a number of [a href="http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?storyid=1184"]notes from distressed sysadmins[/a] reporting thousands of deleted or quarantined files. McAfee in response released [a href="http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_138884.htm"]advice to restore the files[/a]. Users who configured McAfee to delete files are left with using backups or System restore.

[that could make it illegal to publicly disclose even the existence of US domestic spying programs]

Welcome to Nazi Germany, American style.
[hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"]
The Washington Post is carrying [a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/10/AR2006031001677.html"]an article about a disturbing Senate bill[/a] that could make it illegal to publicly disclose even the existence of US domestic spying programs (i.e. NSA wiretaps)." An aide to the bill's author assures us it's not aimed at reporters, but the language is ambiguous at best. From the article:

Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, said the measure is broader than any existing laws. She said, for example, the language does not specify that the information has to be harmful to national security or classified. 'The bill would make it a crime to tell the American people that the president is breaking the law, and the bill could make it a crime for the newspapers to publish that fact,' said Martin, a civil liberties advocate.

[a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/10/AR2006031001677.html"]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/10/AR2006031001677.html[/a]

 Porn star to meet George W.

By MC News from PRWire Mar 12, 2006, 10:24 GMT
http://people.monstersandcritics.com/article_1136454.php



Somebody pinch me because I don't really believe this news story (its NOT April 1st yet!).

PRWire, a very reliable source of mainstream and sometimes alternative news is reporting that adult starlet Mary Carey is scheduled to attend the United to Victory dinner with President George W. Bush in Washington D.C on March 15th - 16th.

Carey, who was also a Republican candidate for governor of California, is going to Washington at the invitation of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).  She will meet and interact with key Congressional leaders and Administration officials to discuss advancing powerful pro-business, pro-family agendas and meeting positive legislative goals.

She will join Karl Rove, senior advisor to the President, for lunch on Wednesday the 15th, and President Bush for dinner on Thursday the 16th.


There is no punchline here folks. It is all true!

[expand opportunities for faith-based and other community organizations and to strengthen their capacity to better meet America's social and community needs]

This Presidential order calls for Homeland Security faith-based initiatives....like the country wasn't f*cked up enough already, now we have official "faith-based" programs? What happened to "separation of church and state"?  What's next- a Presidential order that specifies all "non-believers" be put to death?
[hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"]
US Presidential Order (13397) orders the Department of Homeland Security to "expand opportunities for faith-based and other community organizations and to strengthen their capacity to better meet America's social and community needs". First and foremost DHS is tasked with creating a "Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives". This center is supposed to be in effect no less than 45 days from the issuance of the Presidential Order. Here's a snip from the order:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
9 March 2006

[Federal Register: March 9, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 46)]
[Presidential Documents]              
[Page 12273-12276]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09mr06-131]                        


[[Page 12273]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part IV

The President

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Executive Order 13397--Responsibilities of the Department of Homeland
Security With Respect to Faith-Based and Community Initiatives


                        Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 12275]]

                Executive Order 13397 of March 7, 2006

 
                Responsibilities of the Department of Homeland
                Security With Respect to Faith-Based and Community
                Initiatives

                By the authority vested in me as President by the
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of
                America, and in order to help the Federal Government
                coordinate a national effort to expand opportunities
                for faith-based and other community organizations and
                to strengthen their capacity to better meet America's
                social and community needs, it is hereby ordered as
                follows:

                Section 1. Establishment of a Center for Faith-Based
                and Community Initiatives at the Department of Homeland
                Security.

                    (a) The Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary)
                shall establish within the Department of Homeland
                Security (Department) a Center for Faith-Based and
                Community Initiatives (Center).
                    (b) The Center shall be supervised by a Director
                appointed by Secretary. The Secretary shall consult
                with the Director of the White House Office of Faith-
                Based and Community Initiatives (WHOFBCI Director)
                prior to making such appointment.
                    (c) The Department shall provide the Center with
                appropriate staff, administrative support, and other
                resources to meet its responsibilities under this
                order.
                    (d) The Center shall begin operations no later than
                45 days from the date of this order.

                Sec. 2. Purpose of Center. The purpose of the Center
                shall be to coordinate agency efforts to eliminate
                regulatory, contracting, and other programmatic
                obstacles to the participation of faith-based and other
                community organizations in the provision of social and
                community services.

                Sec. 3. Responsibilities of the Center for Faith-Based
                and Community Initiatives. In carrying out the purpose
                set forth in section 2 of this order, the Center shall:

                    (a) conduct, in coordination with the WHOFBCI
                Director, a department-wide audit to identify all
                existing barriers to the participation of faith-based
                and other community organizations in the delivery of
                social and community services by the Department,
                including but not limited to regulations, rules,
                orders, procurement, and other internal policies and
                practices, and outreach activities that unlawfully
                discriminate against, or otherwise discourage or
                disadvantage the participation of faith-based and other
                community organizations in Federal programs;
                    (b) coordinate a comprehensive departmental effort
                to incorporate faith-based and other community
                organizations in Department programs and initiatives to
                the greatest extent possible;
                    (c) propose initiatives to remove barriers
                identified pursuant to section 3(a) of this order,
                including but not limited to reform of regulations,
                procurement, and other internal policies and practices,
                and outreach activities;
                    (d) propose the development of innovative pilot and
                demonstration programs to increase the participation of
                faith-based and other community organizations in
                Federal as well as State and local initiatives; and

[[Page 12276]]

                    (e) develop and coordinate Departmental outreach
                efforts to disseminate information more effectively to
                faith-based and other community organizations with
                respect to programming changes, contracting
                opportunities, and other agency initiatives, including
                but not limited to Web and Internet resources.

                Sec. 4. Reporting Requirements.

                    (a) Report. Not later than 180 days from the date
                of this order and annually thereafter, the Center shall
                prepare and submit a report to the WHOFBCI Director.
                    (b) Contents. The report shall include a
                description of the Department's efforts in carrying out
                its responsibilities under this order, including but
                not limited to:

(i) a comprehensive analysis of the barriers to the full participation of
faith-based and other community organizations in the delivery of social and
community services identified pursuant to section 3(a) of this order and
the proposed strategies to eliminate those barriers; and

(ii) a summary of the technical assistance and other information that will
be available to faith-based and other community organizations regarding the
program activities of the agency and the preparation of applications or
proposals for grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and procurement.

                    (c) Performance Indicators. The first report shall
                include annual performance indicators and measurable
                objectives for Departmental action. Each report filed
                thereafter shall measure the Department's performance
                against the objectives set forth in the initial report.

                Sec. 5. Responsibilities of the Secretary. The
                Secretary shall:

                    (a) designate an employee within the department to
                serve as the liaison and point of contact with the
                WHOFBCI Director; and
                    (b) cooperate with the WHOFBCI Director and provide
                such information, support, and assistance to the
                WHOFBCI Director as requested to implement this order.

                Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) This order shall be
                implemented subject to the availability of
                appropriations and to the extent permitted by law.

                    (b) This order is not intended to, and does not,
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
                enforceable at law or in equity by a party against the
                United States, its agencies, or entities, its officers,
                employees, or agents, or any other person.

                    (Presidential Sig.)B

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                     March 7, 2006.

[FR Doc. 06-2362
Filed 3-8-06; 11:05 am]

[[font face="ARIAL,VERDANA,HELVETICA"][font size="+7"][a href="http://reuters.myway.com/article/20060310/2006-03-10T220751Z_01_L10753163_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-NUCLEAR-IRAN-DC.html"]IRAN 'A GRAVE NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERN'[/a][/font][/font]]

[font face="ARIAL,VERDANA,HELVETICA"][font size="+7"]Goddamn, where the hell have we heard this before? Next we'll hear about the "WMDs".[/font][/font][font face="ARIAL,VERDANA,HELVETICA"][font size="+7"]
[a href="http://reuters.myway.com/article/20060310/2006-03-10T220751Z_01_L10753163_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-NUCLEAR-IRAN-DC.html"]IRAN 'A GRAVE NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERN'[/a][/font][/font]
[font face="ARIAL,VERDANA,HELVETICA"][font size="+7"][img]http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/rids/20060310/i/r1852557060.jpg?x=240&y=345&sig=h3WF_iJW1YqynUnqV_z.ww--"]
[a href="http://reuters.myway.com/article/20060310/2006-03-10T220751Z_01_L10753163_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-NUCLEAR-IRAN-DC.html"]
[/a][/font][/font]

It's about time. Thank you, Maryland!

Computerworld.com reports:

The state Maryland House of Delegates this week voted 137-0 to approve a bill [a href="http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legislation/story/0,10801,109436,00.html?source=NLT_PM&nid=109436"]prohibiting election officials from using Diebold's "AccuVote-TSx" touch-screen systems[/a] in 2006 primary and general elections. The legislation calls for the state to lease paper-based optical-scan systems for this year's votes. State Delegate Anne Healey estimated the leasing cost at $12.5 million to $16 million for the two elections.

[denying reality]

Bush says his beliefs "unshaken" by poor poll numbers.

[font face="Verdana,Sans-serif"][font color="black" size="2"]WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Down in public opinion polls, President George W. Bush said on Friday he realizes he has made some unpopular decisions but that it "comes with the territory" and he will stand by his beliefs.[/font][/font]
[hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"]
I think that's called "denying reality" and "not giving a shit what other people think".

[a href="http://reuters.myway.com/article/20060310/2006-03-10T183226Z_01_N10296043_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-BUSH-POLLS-DC.html"]Story[/a]

[Bush: Iran is 'grave national security concern']

CNN Headline: Bush: Iran is 'grave national security concern'

Yeah, but the Dubai ports deal thingy wasn't.

[Another good reason to hate Wal-Mart, as if there weren't enough already......]

 Another good reason to hate Wal-Mart, as if there weren't enough already......

[a href="http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2006-03-10T164922Z_01_N10240586_RTRUKOC_0_US-FINANCING-BANKING-WALMART.xml&rpc=23"]Wal-Mart threatens US banking system
[/a]
By Kristin Roberts

WASHINGTON(Reuters) - A group of lawmakers on Friday said an industrial bankowned by Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, could threaten thestability of the U.S. financial system and drive community banks out ofbusiness.

In a highly critical letter to the acting chairman ofthe Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., obtained by Reuters, a group ofmore than 30 Congress members asked the bank regulator to rejectWal-Mart's application to open a bank in Utah.

"Wal-Mart's plan,to have its bank process hundreds of billions in transactions for itsown stores, could threaten the stability of the nation's paymentssystem," the lawmakers wrote.

"Given Wal-Mart's massive scopeand international dealings, it is not possible to rule out a financialcrisis within the company that could damage the bank and severelydisrupt the flow of payments throughout the financial system."

Thecongressmen said the losses to the FDIC, which insures deposits atbanks and thrift institutions, could be staggering if Wal-Mart beginsto have financial troubles that bleed into its bank's business.

"Consider the consequences if Enron or WorldCom had owned a bank," the group said.

Thegroup included Ohio Democrats Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Rep. TimRyan, Hawaii Democrat Rep. Neil Abercrombie and California DemocratRep. Loretta Sanchez. A complete list of signatures was not immediatelyavailable.

Wal-Mart is trying to open an industrial bank to handle electronic payment processing.

Industrialbanks are state-chartered and state-regulated, and fall under thesupervision of the FDIC. Commercial companies may own them becausefederal laws that bar non-financial companies from engaging in bankingactivities do not classify them as banks.

But as "industrial loan companies" owned by non-financial companies, they escape a level of federal bank regulation.


 

[h3]Chocolate cast from real human skull         [img]http://www.boingboing.net/200603101142.jpg" alt="200603101142" align="left" border="0" height="150" hspace="4" vspace="4" width="200"]
[/h3]Marina Malvada from Toronto has created a mold out of a real human skull using food-grade silicon. She casts it with a special mix of chocolate she developed herself called 'Bone Chocolate.' By adding a little milk chocolate added to Belgian white chocolate, she has perfected the tone and flavor so it looks just like a real human skull.  $143 will get you one.[br clear="all"][a href="http://www.chocolateskulls.com/"]http://www.chocolateskulls.com/
[/a]

[h3]Wirelessly-enabled wine glasses [img]http://www.boingboing.net/images/wine.jpg" alt="Wine" align="left" border="1" height="151" hspace="4" vspace="4" width="340"][br clear="all"][/h3]MIT Media Lab students Jackie Lee and Hyemin Chung have designed wireless-enabled wine glasses (actually, big tumblers) so couples can imbibe "together," even when they're geographically apart. From New Scientist:[blockquote]When either person picks up a glass, red LEDs on their partner's glass glow gently. And when either puts the glass to their lips, sensors make white LEDs on the rim of the other glass glow brightly, so you can tell when your other half takes a sip. Following tests in separate labs, Lee says the wireless glasses really do "help people feel as if they are sharing a drinking experience together".[/blockquote]They'll present their work at the [a href="http://www.chi2006.org/"]CHI[/a] (Computer Human Interaction) 2006 conference next month in Montreal.

[a href="http://www.newscientist.com/channel/mech-tech/mg18925425.400.html"]http://www.newscientist.com/channel/mech-tech/mg18925425.400.html[/a]


[span style="text-decoration: underline;"][/span]

[Tennessee senate wades into abortion fight]

 Tennessee senate wades into abortion fight

By LUCAS L. JOHNSON II
Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The state Senate on Thursday passed a proposal to amend the Tennessee Constitution so that it doesn't guarantee a woman's right to an abortion.

The 24-9 vote was the first step of many toward officially amending the state constitution. The measure would go before voters if the General Assembly approves it twice over the next two years.

The state Supreme Court has ruled that the Tennessee Constitution grants women a greater right to abortion than the U.S. Constitution.

Abortion rights supporters are attacking the measure as a stepping stone to prohibiting all abortions in Tennessee if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark abortion decision in Roe v. Wade.

"The resolution is an all-out attack on the women of Tennessee and seeks to rob women of their right to make choices about their own health, safety and personal welfare," said Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee.

Sen. David Fowler, a Republican sponsor of the bill, proposed a similar resolution last year that cleared the Senate but stalled in a House committee.

"I regret this will cast me as being hardhearted, unsympathetic and unkind but that's not who I am," Fowler said.


 

 WASHINGTON (AP) - Bowing to ferocious opposition in Congress, a Dubai-owned company signaled surrender Thursday in its quest to take over operations at U.S. ports.

"DP World will transfer fully the U.S. operations ... to a United States entity," the firm's top executive, H. Edward Bilkey, said in an announcement that capped weeks of controversy.

Relieved Republicans in Congress said the firm had pledged full divestiture, a decision that one senator said had been approved personally by the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.

"The devil is in the details," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, reflecting a sentiment expressed by numerous critics of the deal.

[font face="Verdana,Sans-serif"][font color="black" size="2"]The announcement appeared to indicate an end to a politically tinged controversy that brought President Bush and Republicans in Congress to the brink of an election-year veto battle on a terrorism-related issue. The White House expressed satisfaction with the outcome.[/font][/font][font face="Verdana,Sans-serif"][font color="black" size="2"]"It does provide a way forward and resolve the matter," presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said.[/font][/font][/p][font face="Verdana,Sans-serif"][font color="black" size="2"][/font][/font]
 

[h3 style="text-align: left;"]New, bizarre looking crustacean discovered         [img]http://www.boingboing.net/images/_us.i2.yimg.com_p_ap_20060307_capt.par80103071540.france_new_animal_par801.jpg" alt=" Us.I2.Yimg.Com P Ap 20060307 Capt.Par80103071540.France New Animal Par801" align="left" border="1" height="245" hspace="4" vspace="4" width="350"][br clear="all"][/h3][div style="text-align: left;"][a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060308/ap_on_sc/france_new_crustacean"]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060308/ap_on_sc/france_new_crustacean[/a]

Scientists just announced the discovery of this strange new crustacean 900 miles south of Easter Island. According to a report in the journal of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, divers first found the creature last year at a depth of 7,540 feet. From the Associated Press:[blockquote]Scientists said the animal, which they named Kiwa hirsuta, was so distinct from other species that they created a new family and genus for it. The animal is white and just shy of 6 inches long — about the size of a salad plate.

In what (the French Institute for Sea Exploration's Michel) Segonzac described as a "surprising characteristic," the animal's pincers are covered with sinuous, hair-like strands.

It is also blind. The researchers found it had only "the vestige of a membrane" in place of eyes, Segonzac said.[hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"][/blockquote][/div]White, blind, and hairy...I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere that has to do with the kids at Mercer Island High School.

(For out-of-towners, Mercer Island is where all of the rich, beautiful people in Seattle live.)

[iBill]

[h3][span style="font-family: Arial Narrow;"]iBill leaks 17,000,000 customer records [/span]       [/h3][a href="http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70356-0.html?tw=wn_index_1"]http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70356-0.html?tw=wn_index_1[/a]

iBill, a company that handles credit-card transactions for porn sites (and others) has leaked the personal information of 17 million customers, information that's being used by phishers, mortgage companies, and others. Researchers studying malware stumbled across at least two caches of customer records:[blockquote]Independently, Wired News found that entries from the smaller cache are listed as mortgage leads on a spammer community site, specialham.com. (The website's homepage offered no contact information and Wired News was unable to reach the registered owner of the domain, one "Juice Wobble.") This suggests that the database was marketed as a lead list for outside businesses. "I can attest to the fact that this goes on with phishing groups," says James. "They break in and steal leads and then sell those leads to (black market) leads companies, who resell them to legitimate companies, and sometimes the same companies they stole them from.""The fact that a total of 17,781,462 iBill records have been found in the hands of criminal hackers is quite disturbing, be it an inside job or the successful work of criminal hackers," says Thomas.[/p][/blockquote]

[Three Students Held in Ala. Church Fires]

[span class="mainarttitle"][span class="mainarttitle"]Three Students Held in Ala. Church Fires

[/span][/span][table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"][tbody][tr][td]
[/td][/tr][tr][td colspan="2"][img]http://images.forbes.com/media/assets/spacer_white.gif" height="5" width="5"][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table][!--/OUTER BOX TABLE--][span class="mainarttxt"]Three college students, including two aspiring actors known around campus as pranksters, were arrested Wednesday in a string of nine church fires across Alabama.[/span]

[span style="font-weight: bold;" class="mainarttxt"]Federal agents said the defendants claimed the first few fires were set as "a joke" and the others were started to throw investigators off the track.[/span]

(Watch me laugh when they're sent to prison. Now that will be funny, ha ha!)[/b]

[span class="mainarttxt"]Gov. Bob Riley said the church arsons did not appear to be "any type of conspiracy against organized religion" or the Baptist faith. With the arrests, he said, "the faith-based community can rest a little easier."[/span]

[span class="mainarttxt"]Benjamin Nathan Moseley and Russell Lee Debusk Jr., both 19-year-old students at Birmingham-Southern College, appeared in federal court and were ordered held on church arson charges pending a hearing Friday.[/span]

[span class="mainarttxt"]Matthew Lee Cloyd, 20-year-old junior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was also arrested.[/span]

[span class="mainarttxt"]The fires broke out at five Baptist churches in Bibb County south of Birmingham on Feb. 3 and four Baptist churches in west Alabama on Feb. 7. The federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency had made the arsons its top priority, with scores of federal agents joining state and local officers.[/span]

[span class="mainarttxt"]"While all three are entitled to have their day in court, we are very hopeful that this is the end to the fear that has been rampant in West Alabama," said Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala.[/span]

[Just too gross for me. Ack.]

This is interesting, but I can't help thinking what happens if this guy gets hit in the head- wouldn't these implants be likely to cause a more severe injury than if they weren't there?

[h3]Subdermal implants: body-mods that give you cool lumps
[/h3][a href="http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,70322-0.html?tw=wn_index_1"]http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,70322-0.html?tw=wn_index_[/a]1

Quinn Norton profiles the body-modification practice of subdermal implants, through which substances like molded silicone are slid beneath the skin to produce raised, shaped lumps. [a href="http://bmezine.com/"]BMEZine[/a]'s Shannon Larratt -- whose site and work often appear here -- is featured in the story, which covers the connection with this work and implanted RFIDs, and why the plastic surgery establishment won't touch it.[blockquote]


[div style="text-align: left;"]Just too gross for me. Ack.
[/div][/blockquote]

[IBM will not use Windows Vista - but will move to Linux desktops[a target="_blank" href="http://www.neoseeker.com/news/story/5436/#" style="border-bottom: medium double darkgreen; text-decoration: none; color: darkgreen; background-color: transparent;" class="iAs"][/a]]

This is probably only of interest to a few here, but....it's the future comin' at ya.
[hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"]
[font color="#111133" face="arial" size="+1"]IBM will not use Windows Vista - but will move to Linux desktops
[a target="_blank" href="http://www.neoseeker.com/news/story/5436/#" style="border-bottom: medium double darkgreen; text-decoration: none; color: darkgreen; background-color: transparent;" class="iAs"][/a][/font][/div][div][font color="#666699" size="2"]William Henning[/font][font color="#666699" size="2"] -  Monday, March 6th, 2006 | 1:13PM (PST)[/font][!-- Replaced storybody --]
[font color="#443344"]IBM switching to Linux destops inGermany according to a Linux Forum 2006 presentation by their head of open source and Linux sales in Germany.[/font][!-- Replaced story_productbox --][/p][font face="arial" size="2"]Interesting news from Linux Forum 2006[/font][/p][font face="arial" size="2"]During a presentation on IBM's involvement with Open Source, Andreas Pleschek from IBM in Stuttgart, Germany, who heads open source and Linux technical sales across North East Europe for IBM made a very interesting statement...[/font][/p][blockquote dir="ltr" style="margin-right: 0px;"][font face="arial" size="2"][em]"AndreasPleschek also told that IBM has cancelled their contract with Microsoft as of October this year. That means that IBM will not use Windows Vista for their desktops. Beginning from July, IBM employees will begin using IBM Workplace on their new, Red Hat-based platform. Not all at once - some will keep using their present Windows versions for a while. But none will up grade to Vista."[/em][/font][/p][/blockquote][p dir="ltr"][font face="arial" size="2"]The question is, does this only apply to IBM in Germany, or IBM world wide?[/font][/p][p dir="ltr"][font face="arial" size="2"]If ALL of IBM switches to Linux desktops and OpenOffice... that would be a very significant loss to Microsoft; not only in direct licensing revenues, but also in speeding adoption of Linux by other companies. After all, if IBM can run on Linux desktops...[/font][/p]

I give up....first coffee is good for you, then it's bad, then it's good...            I've started injecting it, so I'm not sure how this applies to me.

Canadian researchers have published a [a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060306/full/060306-9.html"]study in the Journal of the American Medical Association[/a] indicating that excess coffee drinking (4+ cups a day) could lead to an increased risk of heart disease if you have the wrong gene.

In light of [a href="http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/29/0342207&tid=14"]other studies[/a] linking antioxidants in coffee to a reduction in heart disease, who is right?  Or will it just cancel out in a big ol' coffee death-match?

[h3]Judge quotes Adam Sandler movie in decision blasting defendant        [/h3]        [img]http://craphound.com/images/judgequotessandler.jpg" border="1" height="93" width="438"]
A Texas bankruptcy judge replied to a Defendant's motion with a rulingt hat concluded, "The Defendant's motion is accordingly denied for incomprehensibility¹." With the following footnote:[blockquote]¹Or, in the words of the competition judge to Adam Sandler's title character in the movie "Billy Madison," after Billy Madison had responded to a question with an answer that sounded superficially reasonable but lacked any substance,[blockquote]Mr Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I've ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response was there anything that could even be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.[/blockquote]Deciphering motions like the one presented here wastes valuable chamber staff time, and invites this sort of footnote.[/blockquote][a href="http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0306061billy1.html"]http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0306061billy1.html
[/a]

Maybe it's just me, but I think this guy has waaaaaaaaay too much time on his hands.
[h3]Twin Towers model made from McDonalds fries and ketchup      
[/a] [/p]
[a href="http://tinselman.typepad.com/tinselman/2006/02/french_fry_art.html"]http://tinselman.typepad.com/tinselman/2006/02/french_fry_art.html[/a]

Don't try this at home kids. (Do it at the neighbor's place.)

[h3]         1949 [em]Modern Mechanix[/em] instructions to make laughing gas[img]http://www.boingboing.net/nitrousoxide.jpg" alt="Picture 2-3" align="left" border="0" height="169" hspace="4" vspace="4" width="169"]
[/h3]
Article from the good old days on how to make the delightful recreational drug, nitrous oxide. [a href="http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/03/07/the-gas-that-makes-you-laugh/"]Link to Modern Mechanix.com[/a][br clear="all"] [em][/em]

Skill, Talent, and the ultimate Handicap.  Quail Hunting with Dick & Friends.

[a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.quailhuntingschool.com/flash.php"]http://www.quailhuntingschool.com/flash.php[/a]

[I think the results speak for themselves:]

[h3]         Websites blocked by political stripes for Marines in Iraq?        [/h3]        Snip from an email sent by an anonymous US Marine to [a href="http://wonkette.com/politics/wonkette/our-boys-need-gossip-158687.php"]Wonkette[/a]: [blockquote]Unfortunately anonomizers don't work out here (never have). Anyway, I had a few minutes today and thought I'd look and see what else was banned on the Marine web here. I think the results speak for themselves: * Wonkette – [span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"]"Forbidden[/span][span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"], [/span]this page (http://www.wonkette.com/) is categorized as: Forum/Bulletin Boards, Politics/Opinion."
* Bill O'Reilly (www.billoreilly.com) – OK
*Air America (www.airamericaradio.com) – [span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"]"Forbidden[/span][span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"], [/span]this page(http://www.airamericaradio.com/) is categorized as: Internet Radio/TV,Politics/Opinion."
* Rush Limbaugh (www.rushlimbaugh.com) – OK
* ABC News "The Note" – OK
*Website of the Al Franken Show (www.alfrankenshow.com) – [span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"]"Forbidden[/span][span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"], [/span]this page (http://www.airamericaradio.com/) is categorized as: InternetRadio/TV, Politics/Opinion."
* G. Gordon Liddy Show (www.liddyshow.us) – OK
*Don & Mike Show (www.donandmikewebsite.com) – [span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"]"Forbidden[/span][span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"], [/span]this page(http://www.donandmikewebsite.com/) is categorized as: Profanity,Entertainment/Recreation/Hobbies."[/p][/blockquote][a href="http://wonkette.com/politics/wonkette/our-boys-need-gossip-158687.php"]
[/a]

 It's too bad that these pieces of shit never broke into my home. I'd have saved the taxpayers a ton of money in trial costs. I'd have also given them a real "adrenaline rush", the kind you get when you realize you're about to be shot to death.
[hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"][span class="print"][/span][div class="Story"][table class="AssocContent" align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"][tbody][tr][td class="AssocContentTD" valign="top"][div class="AssocContentRTS medium"]
[/div][div class="AssocContentDIV"][div class="AssocContClkImg" align="center"][table class="clkImgTbl" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="240"][tbody][tr][td valign="top"][a title=""][img]http://images.ibsys.com/2006/0306/7745982_240X180.jpg" id="image7745982" border="0" height="180" width="240"][/a][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table][/div][/div][br class="AssocContentBR" clear="all"][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table][h1 class="Headline"]Police: 7 Teens Invaded Homes For 'Adrenaline Rush'[/h1][div class="posted"]POSTED: 12:09 pm EST March 6,                              2006[/div][div class="updated"]
[/div][div class="StoryBody"][!--startindex--]Police in Palm Bay, Fla., arrested seven teens in the last several days wanted in connection with a series of home break-ins that were apparently committed because the group wanted an "adrenaline rush," according to a police report.

David Deluna, 18, Matt Rivera, 19, and a 16-year-old were charged with grand theft and burglary charges Monday. Another four suspects were taken into custody and charged on Friday, Local 6 News partner Florida Today reported. "When these three realized that we were looking for them on Friday, they left together and went to the beach," said Jesse Suelter, a Palm Bay detective working on the case. "We arrested one on Saturday and found the other two sleeping at their residences today."Police said the seven teens knew each other from work and school.

[/div][/div]http://www.local6.com/news/7745611/detail.html

[Citibank under fraud attack, customers locked out of accounts]

 Citibank under fraud attack, customers locked out of accounts

Citibank customer Jake Appelbaum tried to withdraw some cash with his ATM card on Saturday night. He initiated his bank account long ago in the US, but was in Toronto, Canada yesterday. Jake explains:

To my surprise, the ATM machine rejected the transaction and urged me to contact my financial institution. The machine also reported on the receipt "INELIGIBLE ACCOUNT."

Jake called Citibank's international customer support number, and soon learned that the lockout was part of a much larger fraud crisis -- by no means the only data security issue at Citibank in recent months. Jake continues:

    The supervisor identified herself as a manager named Carla ID#CRU194. I identified myself as an upset customer whose account was locked for some unknown reason. She asked me a few questions about my location, my issue and then informed me that my card was suspected of fraud.

    Naturally, I perked my ears up and asked for details of any fraud. She informed me that there had been no direct fraudulent transactions on my account. Rather, she informed me that the ATM networks of Canada, Russia and the United Kingdom have been compromised. I used the term class break as a question and she repeated that there has been a class break of the ATM networks in those countries. The ATM network in Canada has been compromised and as a result, using my ATM card over the Canadian network locked my account automatically. She informed me that this has been an ongoing issue for the last two weeks. When I asked why there was no media attention, she said she wasn't sure. I said it was a pretty big deal and she agreed.

    She informed me that I would have to return to the United States to change my pin number before my card would be valid and in a usable state again. When I informed her that I would be traveling outside of the United States for at least a few months, possibly up to six, she repeated that I would have to re-enter the United States to fix the problem.

In other words, if you're a US Citibank customer trying to use your ATM card in Canada, Russia, or the UK right now, you are totally fuxx0red. The call-and-response goes like this:

    Citibank customer:
    I'm stranded in a foreign country, I need cash, and I can't withdraw cash from my account.

    Citibank drone:
    d00d omfg we wuz 0wnz0red, it is teh suck!!!1!1 Go home and we'll re-issue a new card. Then be prepared to go through this all over again, and again, and again. kthxbi!

Citibank didn't handle Jake's problem in a customer-friendly way at all, and it appears they're handling all affected customers with exactly the same procedure.

[a href="http://ioerror.livejournal.com/301520.html"]Link to the full text of Jake's account.[/a]

Wired is running an article featuring Katherine Albrecht who, with her new book 'The Spychips Threat: Why Christians Should Resist RFID and Electronic Surveillance', is warning that [a href="http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70308-0.html?tw=rss.index"]RFID tags may in fact be the "mark of the beast"[/a].

Among her arguments are that in a futuristic world anyone who wishes to buy and sell goods would be compelled "to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads," as is foretold in the book Revelation.

Whackos come out of the woodwork all the time, bleating about nearly every new technology such as electricty, the printing press, bar-codes, etc etc etc. Don't they get tired of looking like utter idiots?

Next on Geraldo! "66666" - Is It The Zip Code of The Beast?

Great Doonesbury strip that skewers "Intelligent Design" right up the ass:

[a href="http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html?uc_full_date=20060305"]http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html?uc_full_date=20060305[/a]

[The CPSC proposes that all people attempting to purchase a slew of common chemicals, some of which are in children's chemistry sets, must have a current license to manufacture explosives issued by the ATF]

[h3]US bans sale of chemicals to hobbyists without $1K license[/h3][h3][img]http://www.boingboing.net/images/chemistryset.jpg" align="left" border="0" height="230" width="400"] [br clear="all"][/h3] Amateur science tinkering -- another casualty of the "war on terror"?
 [/p][blockquote]Popular science and chemistry supplier United Nuclear (known by many for their amazing [a href="http://www.unitednuclear.com/magnets.htm"]super-strong neodymium magnets[/a]) is faced with legal action from the United States CPSC. The CPSC proposes that all people attempting to purchase a slew of common chemicals, some of which are in children's chemistry sets, must have a current license to manufacture explosives issued by the ATF. This would extend to people who do not and will not have anything to do with explosives. [/blockquote]The list of controlled substances includes aluminum, titanium, zinc, zirconium, and sulfur. [a href="http://www.unitednuclear.com/legalaction.htm"]Link[/a] to petition for help from United Nuclear.