The Veteran's Administration, plagued by recent budget cuts, has had to resort to charging new veterans entering into its system a yearly fee of $250 in order for them to receive treatment. It is a sad irony that the very people being sent to fight the war are going to have to pay to treat the effects of it.

Support the Warrior Not the War: Give Them Their Benefits!

] Adam Osborne, 64, a technical writer, business executive
] and computer pioneer whose Silicon Valley achievements
] included the introduction of the Osborne 1, the first
] portable personal computer, died March 18 at his home in
] Kodiakanal, India.
]
] He introduced his computer in June 1981 at the West Coast
] Computer Fair. The computer, which retailed at $1,795,
] weighed 24 pounds and was about the size of a sewing
] machine. Dr. Osborne designed the machine to be light
] enough to carry as luggage and compact enough to fit
] under a commercial airline seat.

And an awesome machine it was, for the day. It was quickly called a "Luggable" computer, pre-dating laptop- and notebook-computer designations.

Computer Pioneer Adam Osborne Dies at 64

] A software designer was being held Thursday as a material
] witness in a terrorism investigation after FBI agents
] searched his Hillsboro home and his office at Intel.
]
] According to neighbors and co-workers, Maher Mofeid
] Hawash, 38, was the target of Thursday's searches by the
] FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.
]
] Hawash was booked into the Multnomah County Detention
] Center on Thursday afternoon and put on a "material
] witness hold" at the request of the U.S. Marshal's
] Service, a sheriff's department spokesman said. A
] material witness designation allows the government to
] hold someone in order to compel testimony.

On Thursday, March 20, 2003, our friend and colleague Maher (Mike) Hawash was arrested ("detained") as a "material witness" by the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force in the parking lot of Intel Corp's Hawthorne Farms parking lot. Simultaneously, FBI agents in bulletproof vests and carrying assault rifles awoke Mike's wife Lisa and their three children in the home, which they proceeded to search. Since then, Mike has been held in the Federal Prison at Sheridan, OR.
http://www.freemikehawash.org/#action

FBI, Joint Terrorism agents search home in Hillsboro

] ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico - Two high school teachers said
] they have been placed on leave for refusing to remove
] war-related student artwork posted in their classrooms.
]
]
] Highland High School teachers Allen Cooper and Geoffrey
] Barrett said Tuesday they were told Monday night that
] they would be suspended if they did not remove the
] posters.
]
] Barrett, who teaches history and current events, said the
] student art carried both anti-war and pro-war messages,
] and was created as part of a class assignment.
]
] "I think this is mostly a violation of the students'
] rights to have a voice and express their opinions,"
] Barrett said. "Asking me to take down the posters was
] taking away the voice of the students and I was not going
] to do that."

Two New Mexico teachers placed on leave over war posters

Who's Cliff Johnson? Well, if you remember the early days of Macintosh games, Cliff is the guy who designed the "Puzzle Game of the Year" titles such as "Fool's Errand" and "3 in Three". He's a puzzle-designing god (and yes you can quote me on that). Anyway, if you liked the humor and style of my "PhreakNIC v3.0 Code Tutorial," you'll probably like Cliff's style too.

I haven't solved the challenge yet myself, though I have indeed started work on it. But I wanted to let everyone else know about it too. If anyone would like to brainstorm on any sections, let me know!

Elonka :)

Cliff Johnson Treasure Hunt Challenge

] Intel e-mail case heads to state high court
]
] Ruling could redefine parameters of free speech rights in
] cyberspace

Intel e-mail case heads to state high court / Ruling could redefine parameters of free speech rights in cyberspace

] An Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim leader has urged Iraqis not to
] hinder U.S. invading forces after previously asking them
] to resist efforts to topple President Saddam Hussein, a
] Shi'ite group in the UK said on Thursday.
]
] In a religious ruling, or fatwa, Shi'ite cleric Grand
] Ayatollah Ali Sistani urged Iraqis to stop fighting in
] and around the Shi'ite holy shrine of Najaf, the Al Khoei
] foundation in London told Reuters.
]
] Grand ayatollahs are the highest authorities in Shi'ite
] Islam and Sistani is the only one in Iraq. The fatwa
] applies nationwide.
]
] "Until now the Shias of Iraq and the followers of Sistani
] were confused on whether to take up arms against the
] Americans, whether to fight," said a spokesman for the
] foundation, which represents followers of Sistani.

Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage

] Chinese hacker groups are planning attacks on U.S.- and
] U.K.-based Web sites to protest the war in Iraq, the
] Department of Homeland Security warned in an alert that
] it unintentionally posted on a government Web site
] yesterday.

Interestingly, it was April 1st yesterday, too. One wonders if this is a case of "April fools!" or "April fool me once, shame on me."

Chinese Hackers plan attacks to protest war

] A Minnesota man has plans to launch his own
] Macintosh-manufacturing business, building a low-cost,
] upgradeable Mac called the iBox.
]
] John Fraser, a 21-year-old engineer from Chanhassen,
] Minnesota, is finalizing the design for his flat
] "pizzabox" Mac and hopes to go into production in three
] to four months. If successful, Fraser will be the first
] third party to make a Mac since Apple shut down its
] three-year experiment in clone licensing in 1997.

I want one sooo bad. I miss my IIfx, still in storage somewhere in a large cardboard box that has traveled with me through 5 separate changes in dwelling places.

a low-cost, upgradeable Mac called the iBox

] Not to be outdone by Dell's recent revamp of its PC
] recycling programme, HP has said it will double the
] incentive it offers to consumers for handing in their
] old, unwanted computers.

I applaud both Dell and HP for putting their money where their mouth is by offering cash incentives for environmentally friendly options while pumping up their own sales volume. It may even be a net win for them if the recyclable parts can be sold to others for more than the incentive.

The Register