] Dark Tips: Mag Stripe Secrets
] Being the curious lad that he is, Kevin wanted to know
] what information is contained on the little magnetic
] stripe on his credit cards, grocery club cards, Starbucks
] card, etc. With the V3-4 Magstripe Reader from Omron
] ($40) adapted by Yoshi to a DB-15 male connector, you can
] swipe your own cards to see what;s on them. Just get
] a copy of StripeSnoop and you're on your way; note
] that some stripe have multiple tracks.

Congrats Acidus!

Stripe Snoop.... ON THE SCREENSAVERS!

] Therefore, IPac will support elected representatives and
] candidates for public office who fight for these
] principles:
]
] Creators of ideas and inventions have the right to be
] compensated for their work, but not to limit political
] expression, veto technological innovation, or restrict
] education and scientific research.
]
] Intellectual property laws should be judged by their
] potential to foster new creativity, as required by the
] U.S. Constitution.
]
] Intellectual property laws should be clear and explicit,
] so anybody can create without fear of lawsuits.

IP laws aren't going to improve until people loose their jobs. The EFF can't endorse candidates because of the way they are organized. These guys can.

IPac

The 30 minute video here is not to be missed.

America's Secret War - George Friedman - Author interviews

] Now, any Californian who shares files with more than 10
] people must add their e-mail address to the file. Those
] who break this law could be fined up to $2,500, spend a
] year in jail or both.

Anonymous speech on the Internet is now illegal in California. The MPAA is coming to your state next.

Wired News: California bans anonymous speech on the Internet

In the book, George Friedman identifies the United States' most dangerous enemies, delves into presidential strategies of the last quarter century, and reveals the real reasons behind the attack of 9/11-and the Bush administration's motivation for the war in Iraq. It describes in eye-opening detail America's covert and overt efforts in the global war against terrorism.

Stratfor's George Friedman has a new book. It will be released on October 5, 2004. Here you can read the preface and prologue as well as chapter summaries.

This web site also includes a 30 minute video interview with George Friedman. It's available at

http://www.americassecretwar.com/GFIntrvFull.mpg

JLM managed a pre-release copy of this. Its well written/a fast read. Unfortunately it seems mostly a history. It puts things in perspective, but it creates more questions then it answers.

America's Secret War

] Astronomers have found a cloud of frozen sugar near the
] centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way, it was revealed
] today.

Very cool indeed.

Sweet Discovery at Centre of Milky Way

] The disturbing fact is that a repetition of the problems
] of 2000 now seems likely, even as many other nations are
] conducting elections that are internationally certified
] to be transparent, honest and fair.

Carter's Essay

Still Seeking a Fair Florida Vote (washingtonpost.com)

Hamdi's case, decided by the Supreme Court earlier this year, was supposed to represent a high-water mark for American freedoms during wartime. He had fought for and won his day in court, an opportunity to question his captors, and a chance at national vindication at the end of it all. Hamdi's name stood for the proposition that the Bush administration couldn't run roughshod over the courts and the law in its pursuit of the war on terror. It now stands for precisely the opposite: With a yawn and a shrug, the administration sidestepped the courts and the judicial process once again, abandoning this criminal prosecution altogether and erasing the episode from our national memory. Hamdi has been stripped of his citizenship and his freedom to travel, and sent packing to his family. The rights and processes guaranteed him by the Supreme Court have been yanked away one last time, by an executive branch that held him for years for no reason and smugly claims now that it was finished with him anyhow.

Nevermind - Hamdi wasn't so bad after all. By Dahlia Lithwick

] COLBERT: CBS is in chaos, it's
] unsafe, riven by internal rivalries. If you ask me,
] respected, reputable outsiders need to be brought in to
] help the rebuilding effort.
]
] STEWART: ... at CBS News?
]
] COLBERT: Yeah, at CBS news! What possible other unrelated
] situation could my words be equally applicable to?!

Daily Show Transcript on the Great Leader's Mistake

Awesome. The BBC has put Infocom's HGTTG text adventure on the internet. All the excitement of the original Apple ][ classic, but unfortunately without the real life microscopic space fleet.

BBC - Radio 4 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - The Adventure Game