] Although the labour market has clearly been improving,
] companies may still feel there is an abundance of workers
] to draw on. By this stage in an economic recovery, the US
] economy would typically generate 300,000 jobs a month.
]
] But even April's bumper gain of 274,000 jobs failed to
] match that. The monthly average for the past year has
] been just 181,000. The labour force participation rate
] though rising recently to 66 per cent is still well down
] on its peak of 67.3 per cent in April 2000.

There is a lot of journalist fluff in this article. Scan for numbers. The job growth last month beat estimates, but that doesn't mean it was particularly good. If numbers like that are sustained for a while it would be a positive sign. However, there are still fewer jobs in the economy today then there were in March of 2001.

FT.com / World - Balance of power shifts to the employers

] Using a skull shape determined by hundreds of recent CT
] scans, three groups of researchers have independently
] produced busts showing what Egypt's King Tutankhamen
] probably looked like on the day of his death about 3,300
] years ago.

A starkly realistic reconstruction.

Meet King Tut

Link Roundup. Unless you're thinking Bush will veto the Iraq spending bill, RealID is law.

Kennedy said "the so-called Real ID immigration provisions" are "highly controversial, harmful and unnecessary."

But the legislation still passed with a 100-0 vote.

"While this bill is imperfect, it has many important provisions that our soldiers cannot be denied," Kennedy said.

[Politech] Senators again ignore privacy, federalism and approve Real ID Act 100-0 [priv]

] William McCardle was arrested by federal authorities in
] 1867 for writing and publishing a series of editorials in
] his Mississippi newspaper. The editorials were sharply
] critical of Reconstruction. McCardle sought a writ of
] habeas corpus on the ground that the Reconstruction Acts
] under which he was arrested were unconstitutional.
] McCardle appealed to the Supreme Court under an 1867
] congressional statute that conferred jurisdiction on
] appeal to the High Court. After hearing arguments in the
] case, but prior to announcing a decision, the Congress
] withdrew its 1867 act conferring jurisdiction.

Ex parte McCardle (1869) []

] H.R. 418 would require the Secretary of Homeland Security
] to waive any and all laws that he determines necessary,
] in his sole discretion, to ensure the expeditious
] construction of barriers and roads under IIRIRA 102...
]
] Section 102 of H.R. 418 would amend the current provision
] to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive
] any law upon determining that a waiver is necessary for
] the expeditious construction of the border barriers.
] Additionally, it would prohibit judicial review of a
] waiver decision or action by the Secretary and bar
] judicially ordered compensation or injunction or other
] remedy for damages alleged to result from any such
] decision or action.

Does the Real ID act contain a Constitution-busting Trojan horse?

] One widget, he says, will automatically install itself on
] users' desktops when his "Zaptastic" Web site is visited
] using Apple's Safari browser.

Why would I want Safari to allow web pages to do stuff without asking me?

Link: (This will install a widget if you open it in Safari)
http://stephan.com/widgets/zaptastic/

Mac malware door creaks open | CNET News.com

Don't miss this... Its an interactive java applet the maps samples.

The History of Sampling

] A group of 77 intramural National Institutes of Health
] (NIH) scientists has joined several hundred of their
] extramural microbiologist colleagues in criticizing the
] agency's funding priorities. In response to letters from
] both groups, NIH director Elias Zerhouni has agreed to
] meet with their organizers.

Lots of good links in this article, including links to the original letter, and to the NIH's response. Why do so many Microbiologists feel that funding has dried up if is hasn't actually dried up? Its obvious that the priorities have changed, but the NIH is holding the details of those changes close to it's heart. Those changes may not be related to bioterrorism. Maybe they are related to something else. Possibly the money is being diverted away from University research and more toward the private sector?

A good quote in response to NIH's response: "Seven hundred and fifty people didn't sign this letter because they were confused and there is no issue," says Robert Landick, a bacteriologist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

The Scientist :: NIH scientists criticize agency

] The era of garage biology is upon us. Want to
] participate? Take a moment to buy yourself a molecular
] biology lab on eBay.

It was only a matter of time...

Wired 13.05: VIEW

If you'd told me 20 years ago that I would see this headline I would have thought you were joking.

ABC News: Bush Salutes Soviet Victory in Red Square