digitalreporter wrote:
] ] An action-packed trailer for the long-awaited sequel to
] ] The Matrix has been released by Warner Bros.
] ]
] ] The minute-long series of clips from The Matrix Reloaded
] ] offers a glimpse of the action sci-fi feature, due for
] ] release on 23 May.
] ]
] ] It mirrors the first film's combination of acrobatic
] ] martial arts fight scenes, high-octane car chases and
] ] spectacular special effects.

Here's a link to a full-screen Quicktime version of the trailer:
http://progressive1.stream.aol.com/wb/gl/wbonline/progressive/thematrix/us/med/trailer_final_1000_dl.zip

RE: Matrix sequel trailer released

I've been having a lot of fun with this lately. Especially the prank phone calls section. Thanks to Mike Morrison for the tip.

ebaumsworld.com Celebrity Soundboards - Pranks - Online Games Flash Cartoons, Funny movies, funny pictures, Jokes, Prank phone calls and more

] This site is a coalition effort of bloodthirsty hawks and
] ineffectual doves united in admiration for Mohammed Saeed
] al-Sahaf, Iraqi Minister of Information (currently on
] administrative leave).

Wasn't sure whether to put this in the humor or current events topic ;)

We Love the Iraqi Information Minister

France became a major military supplier to Iraq after 1975 as the two countries improved their political relations. In order to obtain petroleum imports from the Middle East and strengthen its traditional ties with Arab and Muslim countries, France wanted a politico-military bridge between Paris and Baghdad.

Between 1977 and 1987, Paris contracted to sell a total of 133 Mirage F-1 fighters to Iraq. The first transfer occurred in 1978, when France supplied eighteen Mirage F-1 interceptors and thirty helicopters, and even agreed to an Iraqi share in the production of the Mirage 2000 in a US$2 billion arms deal. In 1983 another twenty-nine Mirage F-1s were exported to Baghdad. And in an unprecedented move, France "loaned" Iraq five SuperEtendard attack aircraft, equipped with Exocet AM39 air-to- surface missiles, from its own naval inventory.

...

Iraqi debts to France were estimated at US$3 billion in 1987.

1Up Info | Iraq | Arms from France | Iraqi Information Resource

] It has been stated by your office that this is "a bump in
] the road" between the RIAA and Michigan Tech, and that we
] will move on from here. It is unfortunate that you choose
] to trivialize the problem in this manner. It is not a
] bump in the road for Joe Nievelt or Michigan
] Technological University.
]
] Taking all of this into consideration, we realize the
] seriousness of the allegations against Mr. Nievelt and
] will cooperate fully in resolving this matter.

(Decius's Comments)

This is from a day ago, but I think its really important.

1. The RIAA must be laughing its ass off about this letter. He says "this is not a bump in the road" and then he agrees to cooperate fully. Obviously MTU is either unable or unwilling to create any real pain for the RIAA. I would have provided my legal department for the defense and stopped all the measures that I had taken on their behest.

2. The RIAA has no moral character. I've said this before, and I'll say it again. (People seem have forgotten much of this in the past few years, but trust is the basis of business, and strong moral character is a pre-requisite for trust.) These are not good people, do not trust them.

3. What the RIAA is sueing here are campus SEARCH ENGINES. They are not just for MP3s. They weren't built with MP3s in mind. These are for anyfile. There are lots and lots of non-infringing uses. With the proper legal defense, the RIAA will loose these cases. Much like Felton, they may have stepped on another grenade. (Without proper legal defense it will be ILLEGAL to run a search engine on a campus, which is an intolerable result, frankly.)

Michigan Tech Media Relations Story#95 - President Responds to RIAA Suit

"Iraq has a new regime, and that regime is love, baby" "These arms are fo' huggin"

-- I might add that there's another version of this picture that appeared on FoxNews where she had the rifle pointed at him, which I found particularly ironic.

Operation:Iraqi mackin'

] Pound for pound, who's the biggest, richest media mogul
] on the Web? Terry Semel? Nope. Sumner Redstone? Not
] exactly. Try Matt Drudge. Years after his big "scoop" --
] leaking that Newsweek was sitting on a story about the
] tryst between President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky --
] Drudge's website is bigger than ever. Run on a
] shoestring, the Drudge Report, a plain-Jane page of news
] links and occasional scoops, clears, by our
] back-of-the-envelope estimate, a cool $800,000 a year.
]
] While other news sites make money, they don't mint it
] Drudge-style. New York Times Digital scored an operating
] profit of $8.3 million last year. But it has 237
] full-time employees, meaning that each worker accounts
] for about $35,000 in profit. (And that doesn't take into
] consideration the fact that the site's reports are
] actually generated by the newspaper staff, a cost
] allocated to the paper side only.) By any calculus,
] Drudge's site might be the most efficiently run on the
] Web; it makes the Times site look bloated. Drudge's is a
] two-person operation (although he never mentions his
] right-hand man); that means it makes $400,000 per
] employee. And he never has to leave the comfort of his
] Miami condo.

Business 2.0 - Magazine Article - Printable Version - The Secrets of Drudge Inc.

] The intelligence officials offered a tantalizing coda for
] conspiracy-mongers. They said the "crude forgery"
] received by U.N. weapons inspectors suggesting the Iraqis
] were trying to buy uranium from Niger as part of their
] nuclear program was originally put in intelligence
] channels by France. The officials wouldn't speculate on
] French motives.

Last paragraph of the article which I found particularly interesting.

Tipping Points (washingtonpost.com)

] Patriotic items for fanatical flagwavers

Flag-O-Rama!

] With the burgeoning Sars epidemic spreading fear among
] travellers worldwide, the Hong Kong tourist board must be
] ruing the day it commissioned a series of magazine ads
] telling readers a visit to the city will "take your
] breath away".

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Advertising | Hong Kong in hot flush over ad blunder