] An International website featuring up to date Internet
] Usage Statistics and 2004 Population Data for over 233
] countries and regions of the world.
 . . .
] A useful resource for international market research,
] containing Internet statistics, broadband penetration,
] world population data and global trade information.

Fascinating data.

They do have some interesting definitions of what counts as "Europe" which (IMHO) doesn't quite match up with geography. For example, Russia is listed as being part of Europe, though Turkey is not.

Not counting continental divides though, this is some great information!

Internet Usage World Stats

] After many postponements, the trial for DragonCon founder
] and science fiction writer Ed Kramer, accused of
] molesting three teenage boys, is scheduled to begin in
] May.
]
] A trial date has been deferred several times since Kramer
] was arrested in almost four years ago. Most recently, the
] case was postponed in November after a third boy came
] forward with accusations of sexual abuse and
] Kramer's attorneys asked for a continuance. A new
] date has been set for May 3, prosecutors said Wednesday.

I look forward to seeing this resolved.

DragonCon founder's trial to start in May

] After you've responded to the following propositions during the
] next 3-5 minutes, all will be explained. In each instance,
] you're asked to choose the response that best describes your
] feeling: Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree or Strongly Agree.
] At the end of the test, you'll be given the compass, with your
] own special position on it.

I rate this one up there with ontheissues.org, as one of the most thorough political viewpoint quiz sites available.

In terms of calculations, it rated me as more liberal/libertarian than I think I am (especially in comparison to most of the members of Memestreams *grin*), but I still found the questions interesting.

The Political Compass

] Iraqi authorities will reopen an old nuclear site near
] Baghdad at the end of March for "peaceful scientific"
] research purposes, Science and Technology Minister Rashad
] Mandan Omar said on Thursday.
]
] "We are working to transform al-Tuwaitha into a peaceful
] scientific site to serve the Iraqis and to participate in
] research and studies on a global level," Omar told AFP.

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe if it's re-opened though, we'll finally get some better data on the yellowcake contamination?

Iraq to reopen Tuwaitha

] 179 Swap the echo messages in the first example:
 . . .
] [Thanks to Elonka Dunin]

Cool, I got credit from the authors for reporting an error in Unix Shell Programming, 3rd ed. :)

'UNIX Shell Programming' by Kochan & Wood: Errata

I'm recommending this software, Spybot Search & Destroy, as a good utility to scan for spy software that may have infiltrated a system.

When I'm playing the role of free tech-support for friends and family, and I'm helping them clean or secure their systems, these are the items I recommend:

#1: Get an anti-virus program. Particularly Norton, McAfee, or AVG at grisoft.com
#2: Get a firewall, such as ZoneAlarm from www.zonelabs.com
#3: Get Ad-Aware, a free utility from lavasoftusa.com
#4: Get a spy-checker program, such as this SpyBot one, or PestPatrol
#5: Keep their Operating System updated, such as by using the "Windows Update" option in the Tools menu of Internet Explorer.

After the above 5, it's mostly a case of training, such as to remind them *don't* run executables that have been sent to them in email, and if they do have ZoneAlarm, *don't* click yes to give access to a program, if they're not already damn sure what that program is!

Spybot S&D

] Technology has paid off handsomely for porn sites in the
] USA. Led by sites like Danni's Hard Drive and Cybererotica,
] they generated $2 billion in revenue last year, up 10% to 15%
] from 2002, says Adult Video News, a trade magazine. That's
] about 10% of the overall domestic porn market. The number of
] porn sites has vaulted eighteenfold, to 1.3 million, since
] 1998, says the National Research Council.
] ...
] "Technology turned trash into cash," Harris says. "That's a
] lesson other industries can learn."

There are so many different reports on the size of the porn industry, I'm still not sure what to believe. If anyone's interested, here's a meme from a few weeks ago about the Forbes report:

http://www.memestreams.net/thread/bid11157/

RE: Online porn often leads high-tech way

] Recently one of our elite operatives, Irina Slutsky, went
] undercover to infiltrate the launch party for Google's
] new friend-network thingy Orkut. Irina has now resurfaced
] with this report:
 . . .
] A giant bouncer in requisite leather and shaved head is
] clutching a handful of printed Orkut profiles in his left
] fist, telling people trying to get into the club that
] they'll have to "get someone from inside to vouch that
] they are on Orkut" before they can go in.
]
] I feel special as Scott and I hand over our profiles and
] the bouncer pulls back the red velvet rope, showing us
] into the inner sanctum of this brave new world. After
] all, the invitation-only site has garnered over 130,000
] very special people as members as of this writing.

This is one of the best reviews of behind-the-scenes orkut that I've seen so far.

Orkut Launch Party

] "We have been informed that Mohammed Abbas or Abu Abbas, head of
] the Palestine Liberation Front, who has been held in American
] custody, has died in Iraq," the official told Reuters, adding that
] the death was "related to his deteriorating health situation."

He was 55 years old. What health situation?

On the one hand, I don't think the guy's death is a huge loss -- he did some *horrifying* things in his younger days. But I don't like the idea of his death under mysterious circumstances while in U.S. custody, either. This one smells fishy, and there had better be more details forthcoming.

PLF Terrorist Abu Abbas Dies in U.S. Custody in Iraq

Hijexx wrote:
] I remember a while back this was the stated mission from
] Bush's handlers, to exploit 9/11 for political advantage. And
] so it begins.

Well, I haven't seen the ad, but I don't see it as exploitation, I see it as stating a fact. No matter who's elected as President, I see one of their top jobs as protecting the country from another such event. It's not just a trivial occurrence that is being taken advantage of because we happen to have an emotional photo -- 9/11 was the greatest challenge that our country faced during the course of Bush's presidency. How he dealt with that challenge *is* crucially important.

To put it another way: For me, it's a key issue to note that since 9/11, there *hasn't* been another such (successful) attack, even though there have been multiple threats of such, and multiple attempts.

If people are going to blame Bush for everything that goes wrong, then I believe that they should also give him credit for some of the things that go *right*. And say what you will, we haven't had another 9/11 while on his watch.

Don't get me wrong: There are plenty of things that I dislike about Bush -- but as far as his passion for national security, I agree with him and think he'd still be a good leader. The question for me as to who I vote for though, is whether all the things that I *disagree* with him on are going to outweigh the things that I agree with.

RE: Furor over Bush's 9/11 ad