] The unexpected deals that Visa USA and MasterCard
] International made this week to settle a lawsuit over
] their fees are likely to restyle the robust market for
] debit cards, possibly reshaping where and how consumers
] can use them, industry experts said yesterday.

Settlement Seen as Changing Ways Consumers Use Debit Cards

] WASHINGTON, May 1 — The Bush administration and leading Senate
] Republicans sought today to give the Central Intelligence Agency
] and the Pentagon far-reaching new powers to demand personal and
] financial records on people in the United States as part of
] foreign intelligence and terrorism operations, officials said.

Umm ... how about "no" ...

Broad Domestic Role Asked for C.I.A. and the Pentagon

] Widespread inbreeding in Saudi Arabia has produced
] several genetic disorders, Saudi public health officials
] said, including the blood diseases of thalassemia, a
] potentially fatal hemoglobin deficiency, and sickle cell
] anemia. Spinal muscular atrophy and diabetes are also
] common, especially in the regions with the longest
] traditions of marriage between relatives. Dr. Sakati said
] she had also found links between inbreeding and deafness
] and muteness.

Weird.

Saudi Arabia Awakes to the Perils of Inbreeding

] In the toughest move to date against unsolicited
] commercial e-mail, Virginia enacted a law yesterday
] imposing harsh felony penalties for sending such messages
] to computer users through deceptive means.

Lots of problems here; not clear what the right answer is.

Spam Sent by Fraud Is Made a Felony Under Virginia Law

] WASHINGTON, April 29 — In rare defiance of the social
] conservatives within his own party, President Bush today
] urged Congress to fight AIDS internationally with a $15
] billion plan that advocates condom use and in effect
] permits money to go to groups that promote abortion.

Good news, on the face of it.

Bush Pushes AIDS Plan Criticized by Some Conservatives

] The 2004 meters high Mega-City-Pyramid TRY 2004, is a
] partial answer to two important problems : with cities
] becoming more and more crowded and the environment
] suffering progressive damage, the time has come for the
] development of a megacity that functions in harmony with
] nature. So, the city proposed by the Shimizu Corp.'s
] engineers represents the ideal form of living for man in
] harmony with the earth

Saw something about this on the Discovery channel last night. This isn't a great link but gives the basic idea.

Japan building an arcology in Tokyo bay?!

] To this end, I have decided to publish the top ten signs
] that your son is a hacker. I advise any parents to read
] this list carefully and if their son matches the profile,
] they should take action. A smart parent will first try to
] reason with their son, before resorting to groundings, or
] even spanking. I pride myself that I have never had to
] spank a child, and I hope this guide will help other
] parents to put a halt to their son's misbehaviour before
] a spanking becomes necessary.

Before reacting to this piece, I advise reading all of it very carefully and thoroughly. And especially check the embedded hyperlinks. My own reaction is that it's very clever satire, since it's far too well-researched to be as ignorant as it sounds (grin). But many of the people who replied to it seem to have very different opinions . . .

Is Your Son a Computer Hacker?

]
] Viacom doubled its laughs today.
]
] AOL Time Warner announced that it had agreed to sell its
] half of a joint venture in the Comedy Central cable
] channel to Viacom, its partner, for $1.225 billion in
] cash.

AOL Agrees to Sell Its Comedy Channel Stake to Viacom

Tea is good for you.

Discovery Health :: Tea Said to Boost Immune System

] TOKYO, April 17 — A new bidder emerged today for the Sega
] Corporation, Japan's biggest maker of arcade games,
] prompting investors to drive Sega's share price up
] sharply.
]
] Namco, a direct competitor, said today that it was in
] talks with Sega over a merger that would bring two of
] Japan's best-known arcade characters, Pac-Man and Sonic
] the Hedgehog, under one roof. Sega had been in talks with
] the Sammy Corporation, a leading maker of machines for
] playing pachinko, a popular Japanese form of pinball.

Not sure I knew Sega was up on the block. When Dreamcast went
away, I thought they were in deep shit but then I stepped into
a Dave and Busters one day and discovered that they made most of the machines there.

Rival Game Maker Decides to Join the Bidding for Sega