] More than a month after he accepted an offer of asylum in
] Nigeria, former Liberian President Charles Taylor has
] been warned to stay out of Liberian politics, Nigeria's
] president told CNN Saturday.
]
] The Nigerian government warned Taylor that he is
] violating the terms of his asylum, President Olusegun
] Obasanjo said.

And this is the other problem you face when you give corrupt rulers assylum. Taylor himself said that he hoped to return to Liberia and become involved in politics again.. not something that gives much hope for Liberia's future peace. Even in the Congo, Mobutu's son is attempting to reform his father's political movement and has made noises about running for president in the next election.

So what _do_ you do with these people?

CNN.com - Stay out of politics, Taylor told - Sep. 28, 2003

] OTA, Nigeria (AP) -- Nigeria's influential president set
] tough terms Tuesday for two African pariahs, pledging to
] "persuade" indicted war criminal Charles Taylor to
] surrender for trial if Liberia asks and to bar Zimbabwe's
] president from an international summit.

I was going to recommend a different but similar article until I saw this was datelined 'Ota, Nigeria', which is where I lived.. :-)

This is an interesting situation. On the one hand, corrupt former rulers should be brought to face justice. On the other hand, they're not likely to step aside and allow someone else to take over (and possibly bring peace to their country) if they know they're going to face the music. The question is whether it's worth granting these guys immunity for the sake of their people..

CNN.com - Nigeria sets tough terms for Africa's pariahs - Nov. 25, 2003

] Welcome to the home of the Atlanta Santa Claus Pub
] Crawl!!! This year's Santa Pub Crawl will take place on
] Saturday, December 6th, 2003 in Midtown, starting at
] FRONT PAGE NEWS at 6pm.

I think these are the same guys who crashed the MindSpring christmas party in 1995 or 1996. It was pretty amusing- a bus pulled up outside the party and lots of Santas poured into the party.

Santa Pub Crawl!

Pictures of Magnetic Liquids being pulled around by electro-magnetics. Pretty interesting images of the topography of magnetism. Site is slow, good things come to those who wait.

Magnetic Fields

] Quote of the week, First Family edition:
]
] "Mr. Bush, you have to admit it's a pretty remarkable
] thing for a man just to go to a hotel room door and open
] it and have a woman standing there and have sex with
] her."
]
] --Marshall Davis Brown, attorney for Neil Bush's ex-wife,
] during the couple's divorce proceedings

Hit & Run: Insert 'Billy Beer' Joke Here

] In 2000 George W. Bush campaigned across the country
] telling voters: "My opponent trusts government. I trust
] you."
]
] Little wonder that some of his supporters are now
] wondering which candidate won that election.
]
] Federal spending has increased by 23.7 percent since Bush
] took office.

The Bush Betrayal (washingtonpost.com)

The Cato Institute takes conservatives to task for their devotion to the Pledge of Allegiance and gives some interesting information about the Pledge's author (the part about the ritual is particularly good):

] It's probably too much to ask politicians to reflect a
] little before they lunge for a political hot-button
] issue. But any conservatives so inclined should think
] about what they're defending. What's so conservative
] about the Pledge?
]
] Very little, as it turns out. From its inception, in
] 1892, the Pledge has been a slavish ritual of devotion to
] the state, wholly inappropriate for a free people. It was
] written by Francis Bellamy, a Christian Socialist pushed
] out of his post as a Baptist minister for delivering
] pulpit-pounding sermons on such topics as "Jesus the
] Socialist."

What's Conservative about the Pledge of Allegiance?

Dick Gephardt definately casts a shadow..

It's Dick!

] Meetup with others to discuss current news and events. No
] particular viewpoint is required, just an interest in
] what's going on in the world. Bring an open mind.

I suggested the current events meetup this summer but as far as I can tell there have never been enough people signed up to make this happen (at least here in Atlanta). If you're interested, sign up!

International Current Events Meetup Day -- Join other Current Event Followers near Atlanta, GA

Hayes, always the trendsetter, started to tank as a company long before the dotcom bubble started to burst.

ajc.com | Business | Modem moguls' paths diverge