Dateline 1897. Yes, that's *18*97
] Mr. T.J. Weems, the U.S. Army Signal Service officer at
] this place and an authority on astronomy gives it as his opinion
] that the pilot was a native of the planet Mars. Papers found on
] his person -- evidently the records of his travels -- are written
] in some unknown hieroglyphics and cannot be deciphered. This ship
] was too badly wrecked to form any conclusion as to its
] construction or motive power. It was built of an unknown metal,
] resembling somewhat a mixture of aluminum and silver, and it must
] have weighed several tons. The town is today full of people who
] are viewing the wreckage and gathering specimens of strange metal
] from the debris. The pilot's funeral will take place tomorrow.

I ran across this on a page of "famous newspaper hoaxes." The article says that there was due to be a followup in 1997, but I've been unable to find anything. Has anyone else seen such a thing?

Journalism Hoaxes

Acidus wrote:
] ] ``I've ordered this level of cooperation because I
] ] consider it necessary to gaining a complete picture of
] ] the months and years that preceded the murder of our
] ] fellow citizens on Sept. 11, 2001,'' Bush said.
]
] You considered it necessary? Or you consider it necessary only
] after getting your ass handed to you by the media during the
] last week?
]
] Seriously this man so transparent. Why would any vote for him
] in Nov?

If I vote for him (and I haven't made up my mind yet), it would be because I agree with many of his policies and goals, and I trust that what he says he wants to do, is what he really wants to do.

So far, I have not seen anything from Kerry that makes me trust anything he says. He'll say one thing one day, and then flop around and say something completely different the next. When Bush says something, even if I disagree with it, I at least get the sense that he's speaking from his core beliefs. Some of those beliefs (protecting the country, fighting terrorism, being proactive against gathering threats) I strongly agree with. Others (especially his views on marriage, and a woman's right to choose) I strongly *disagree* with. So, I'm still undecided. The worst-case scenario for me if he were elected, would be fear of what he'd do during the next four years to the upper ranks of judgeships around the country, including the Supreme Court. I don't want to see Roe v. Wade overturned, and abortions made illegal.

As for the flap about Rice testifying, I see both sides of it. I *don't* think that the National Security Advisor should be required to testify before Congress as a matter of course. Then again, this was a special case.

And what I really hate, is the idea that a 9/11 investigation is being used like this during an election year. I agree that it's worthwhile to find out the truth, but I see many other motivations here than truth-finding. I see Democrats who are hungry to find anything that they can use to attack the current administration, just so that they can give their own candidate a boost. In other words, if it weren't an election year, I don't think they'd be all so hot and bothered about this investigation. I also really despise any insinuation that the White House knew about the impending attack but did nothing to stop it. That's just absurd.

Bush Agrees to Let Rice Testify Publicly

] PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - (KRT) - Thugs robbed motorists at
] gunpoint and thousands of looters plundered warehouses
] Friday as anarchy roiled Haiti's capital.
 
] At least a dozen bodies were seen on the streets, some shot
] in the head execution-style. Armed Aristide loyalists hijacked
] cars and stripped motorists of valuables. Looters descended on
] the gritty port, fighting with one another and carrying away
] food and appliances.

(sigh) I feel awful for those folks. What a nightmare.

Chaos in Haiti

And may your next year be a happy one! :)

Happy Birthday Nanochick!

] The International Academy of Astronautics in Paris
] maintains a list of volunteers willing to help world
] governments if ET arrives. Most are astronomers. Here is
] the team that PM would prefer to see on the job. Shown
] counterclockwise from the center are: Sen. John Glenn,
] American Representative. As the first American to orbit
] the Earth and an elected political leader, the senator is
] the obvious choice to lead the American delegation.

Hmm, actually, come to think of it, I guess John Glenn would be a good choice. :)

When UFOs Arrive: Who will meet them?

Interesting site. Make any kind of petition you want, collect virtual "signatures", etc.

The Petition Site

] BAGHDAD, Feb. 9 -- Insurgents in Iraq sought the help of
] senior leaders of the al Qaeda terrorist network for a
] plan to spark a "civil war" that would pit the country's
] religious and ethnic groups against each other and
] prevent a transfer of sovereignty from U.S. occupation
] authorities to Iraqis, U.S. officials said today, citing
] a document seized from an al Qaeda courier.
  . . .
] The document was on a computer disk that was found in a raid
] on a terrorist safe house in Baghdad about a month ago,
] officials said.

I'm curious whether or not it was encrypted, and if so, how.

Washington Post: Insurgents Attempting to Ferment 'Civil War' in Iraq Sought Al Qaeda Help

] This experiment is designed to test whether you can spot
] the difference between a fake smile and a real one
]
] It has 20 questions and should take you 10 minutes
]
] It is based on research by Professor Paul Ekman, a
] psychologist at the University of California

Personally, I suck at this kind of thing... I need more context than just a face. But I still found it interesting, especially the discussion at the end.

BBCi - Science - Human Body - Spot The Fake Smile

] The following 5,000 individuals make up the WSSRAP
] team...is your name on the list?

Okay, this is my "odd link of the day". I was doing a routine google search for something orkut-related, and ran across my name on this page. I had no idea what the page was though. Then I dug deeper. It's related to the "Weldon Spring" project, a Superfund-related cleanup site that I worked at as a temp secretary over 10 years ago.

Kind of odd to be included on the list as part of the team, considering how briefly I worked there!

Weldon Spring IC Team

] Claim: A moratorium on Internet taxation expired on 1
] November 2003.
]
] Status: True.

I'm getting asked questions about this particular issue, so I'm meme-ing this page for future reference.

Snopes.com on the Internet Taxation Moratorium