] PARIS, Dec. 11 — A report delivered to President Jacques Chirac
] on Thursday called for a new law banning the wearing of
] "conspicuous" religious symbols in French public schools — large
] crosses for Christians, head scarves for Muslim girls, or
] skullcaps for Jewish boys.

Ban Religious Attire in School, French Panel Says

] The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) will be the first
] spacecraft to be powered by a uranium nuclear reactor.
] NASA plans to launch the vessel after 2011 to sniff out
] life or its potential toeholds on Jupiter and three of
] its moons.

Its big...

Nuclear probe to journey to Jupiter's moons

] CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The sight of three massive
] rockets lying side by side -- all, in fact, built
] together as the new Delta 4 Heavy -- prompts visions of a
] new kind of space shuttle.

Now if we just had a vehicle to bolt onto the top of a Delta IV Heavy or Atlas V...

First Delta 4 Heavy Moved to Cape Launch Pad

] After five years, a project to replace the Internal
] Revenue Service's aging file-keeping computer system with
] modern technology is so far behind schedule that the
] I.R.S. has told the prime contractor that unless it
] improves its performance by the end of the month, the
] government may have no choice but to fire it.

This is going to become one of those "anti-patterns" case studies. Apparently, the FBI is having the same trouble. Computer Sciences Corp is the contractor in both cases. How is CSC more qualified to do this stuff than IBM or Oracle? Aren't they just another (incompetant,corrupt,ineffecient) government contractor?

At I.R.S., a Systems Update Gone Awry

] The issue of who controls the internet will not be
] decided till 2005, UN member states have revealed.

UN Punting on ITU vs ICANN until 2005

] WASHINGTON (AP) -- A sharply divided Supreme Court upheld key
] features of the nation's new law intended to lessen the influence of
] money in politics, ruling Wednesday that the government may ban
] unlimited donations to political parties.

Yay!

Supreme Court Upholds McCain-Feingold

ryan is the supernicety wrote:
] ] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) said
] ] Tuesday that it had hired the director of the federal
] ] Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
] ] to head its antipiracy operations.
]

Is he going to burn my house down if I steal MP3s?

RE: Briefly: Record label group signs ATF chief | CNET News.com

] SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 7 - Fighter pilots have long been able
] to view flight data projected onto jet windshields within
] their line of sight. Soon recreational motorcyclists and
] bicyclists will be able to take advantage of that
] technology.

Neat.

Heads-Up Displays Move From Cockpits to Cyclists

] "Needless to say there was blood all over the floor on
] the SCO side of the aisle none on the 'left' side.

First Report from Grokker Inside Hearing: IBM Wins Both Motions to Compel

] LONDON (Reuters) - A controversial plan to grant
] governments broad controls over the Internet has stolen
] the spotlight of a United Nations conference on IT next
] week, where China and Cuba will be among its strongest
] supporters.

More ITU v ICANN.

Fight for control of the Net erupts at U.N.