] NEW YORK (AP) -- Declaring that personal security is as
] important as national security, a judge Wednesday blocked
] the government from conducting secret, unchallengeable
] searches of Internet and telephone records as part of its
] fight against terrorism.
]
] The American Civil Liberties Union called the ruling a
] "landmark victory" against the Justice Department's
] post-September 11 law enforcement powers.
]
] "Today's ruling is a wholesale refutation of excessive
] government secrecy and unchecked executive power," said
] ACLU attorney Jameel Jaffer.
]
] U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero struck down a
] provision of the Patriot Act that authorizes the FBI to
] force Internet service providers and phone companies to
] turn over certain customer records. The companies are
] then barred from ever disclosing the search took place.

Woo-hoo!

CNN.com - Judge blocks part of Patriot Act - Sep 29, 2004

] Californians to Vote on Stem Cell Research Funds
]
] LOS ANGELES, Sept. 19 - The federal government spent $25
] million last year on studies involving human embryonic
] stem cells. But California, in an act of political and
] scientific rebellion against limits on stem cell research
] imposed by the Bush White House, may be on the verge of
] spending $300 million a year in each of the next 10 years
] on such research.
]
] A coalition of Hollywood producers and actors, technology
] billionaires, scientists, patient advocates and business
] organizations - including Michael J. Fox and Bill Gates -
] has marshaled emotion, scientific argument and money to
] underwrite a state ballot proposal that would let
] Californians make the decision. The initiative on the
] Nov. 2 ballot, known as Proposition 71, would authorize
] the state to issue $3 billion in bonds to pay for a range
] of stem cell research. This promising but ethically
] controversial field of biomedical research is now
] severely limited by the Bush administration's policy
] restricting public money for research on embryonic stem
] cells.

Way to go, California. Opposed to the technology or not, the United States must be on the cusp of new technology in order to remain an active World Power. Furthering agendas to suppress and regress technology will not enable us to keep our footing in the medical intelligence trades, something we desperately need to do with the state of healthcare and gynocology in this country.

Californians to Vote on Stem Cell Research Funds

] Chance Casey from San Jose asks: "How do you think things
] would change for Americans if the rules were changed so
] that only women could run for all the currently elected
] offices?"

] madowd - 12:53 PM ET September 15, 2004 (#7 of 12)
]
] Well, we wouldn't have so many cat fights, as we
] did with Rummy, Dick Cheney and Colin Powell over going
] into Iraq and the trumped-up weapons evidence. And we
] wouldn't have so many people crying, the way Poppy Bush
] does and Jeb Bush did at a press conference about his
] troubled daughter. And there would be none of that
] hormonal instability, as we see with Dick Cheney and
] Rummy and W., who got into a testosterone fever over
] going into Baghdad to topple Saddam. And we wouldn't have
] any hissy fits, as we see with Rummy.
]
] The more I think about it, the more I think men may be
] biologically unsuited to hold high public office.

HAHAHAHA!

The New York Times: A Discussion

] LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- If Doreen Seelig pocketed
] all the money she has spent on classroom supplies over 35
] years as a teacher -- the printer cartridges, the paper,
] the pencils and the paperback books lent to her Venice
] High School students -- she figures she would have a new
] car by now.
]
] Now, as the new school year gets under way, the burden on
] Seelig and other teachers around the country is even
] heavier.
]
] Because of a budget crunch, California has suspended a
] tax credit that reimbursed teachers up to $1,500 for
] classroom supplies. Meanwhile, a $250 federal tax
] deduction for teachers that helped defray out-of-pocket
] spending expired this year.

I. Hate. [expletive]. [expletive]. [expletive]. President Bush.

What good is No Child Left Behind since children can't possibly get "ahead" without any books or pencils?

CNN.com - Teachers lose tax breaks for class expenses - Sep 16, 2004

] LONDON, England (AP) -- A German who had his lower jaw
] cut out because of cancer has enjoyed his first meal in
] nine years -- a bratwurst sandwich -- after surgeons grew
] a new jaw bone in his back muscle and transplanted it to
] his mouth in what experts call an "ambitious''
] experiment.

EWWWW!!!!

CNN.com - Doctors grow new jaw in man's back - Aug 27, 2004

] Did you successfully avoid the Microsoft Tax? Are
] you eager to remove the Microsoft Windows* Sticker with
] the Microsoft Windows* Label from your laptop or
] notebook? Here are some methods to remove the Microsoft
] Windows* Logo. (Pictures will follow hopefully soon).
]
] Method One: Removing the Microsoft Label with a Pair of
] Tweezers
]
] You need a good pair of tweezers to carefully remove the
] Microsoft label. If there is still some remaining glue,
] you may remove it with acetone. Acetone is usually the
] main part of nail-varnish remover, so you may use that
] instead. Attention: please make sure the acetone will not
] destroy the painting of your laptop or notebook. Test how
] it works on a part where it does not matter.

Is this some sort of passion with reluctant MS Windows users? Removing the sticker to hide their shame?

TuxMobil: How to Remove a MicroSoft Label from a Laptop or Notebook Case

] "I don't use Windows and asked my OEM for the refund,
] they have no idea what I'm talking about"
]
] Most customer support personel, supervisors, and managers
] that work within the sales departments of these major
] OEMs are not educated in this issue. First off, they've
] probably never actually read the agreement and secondly
] are not encountered with this situation as much as they
] should be. In other words, they don't have a procedure in
] place to deal with this. However, This does not mean that
] you are not entitled to your refund.

A refund for uninstalling Windows from a purchased computer?

WindowsRefund.net :: Get your refund

] "Cuba will not accept supposed help from the government
] of a country that harms us and tries to take us under
] with hunger and need," the statement added, referring to
] long-standing restrictions on trade and travel aimed at
] undermining Fidel Castro's communist government.
] ...
] "It's obvious the American government suffers from total
] amnesia," the statement said. "Otherwise it would be
] impossible to understand how it could pretend to assume
] the role of benefactor to the Cuban people just after
] once again tightening the cruel blockade," it added,
] referring to new U.S. restrictions on travel to the
] island.

TOTAL AMNESIA!! Good God, that's the perfect phrase to describe the Bush Administration! Foreign policy = Total Amnesia! Environmental policy = Total Amnesia! Social policy = TOTAL FUCKING AMNESIA!

CNN.com - Cuba rejects U.S. aid for Charley - Aug 23, 2004

] People driving or riding in a sport utility vehicle in
] 2003 were nearly 11 percent more likely to die in an
] accident than people in cars, the figures show. The
] government began keeping detailed statistics on the
] safety of vehicle categories in 1994.

I really cannot conceive of SUVs as the root of all evil of the auto industry. If anything, that title should belong to policy makers who refuse to hike min mpg requirements or lobbyists who insist that making such policy would send the U.S. back into little more than primordial ooze (technically speaking). If they could more than double the average mpg from 12 mpg in '72 to 24 mpg in '82, they can sure as hell stack on some additional efficiency now without flushing the economy.

Rightly so, however, many of the arguments for high mpg center around the atrociously heavy SUV; SUVs are pulling down the average mpg as they rise in popularity while Congress continually defeats laws that would raise the minimum average mpg or demand tighter safety restrictions (like mandatory side-curtain airbags). However, the trend seems to be subtly shifting from giant behemoths like the Tahoe and Expedition to more car-like vehicles with comparable weight, height, and location of center-of-gravity. I was standing next to a new Lexus SUV the other day and noticed that it was shorter than me (5'3”). It's chassis is from a car, not a truck, and as such the weight and location of the center-of-gravity are greatly reduced, the benefits of which contribute greatly to fuel efficiency and rollover resistance (respectively).

However, with the current standing in Congress, things just aren't going to change. Benefits to fuel-efficient drivers are expiring while tax breaks for land-barge drivers are increasing. And that's just the trouble with consumption; there's hasn't been a "call to arms" for fuel efficiency increase since the 70s. And, even in places where legislation is making the giant leap towards energy efficiency, some of the enforcers are being held up by their own biases; check out the link for an article entitled "California's SUV Ban: The Golden State has outlawed big SUVs on many of its roads but doesn't seem to know it."

So, before its too late, I hope the policy makers, automakers and consumers seek to narrow the gap between SUVs and cars before the decline in oil production does it for us.

http://slate.msn.com/id/2104755

Safety Gap Grows Wider Between S.U.V.'s and Cars

] In a far cry from the high-minded ideals of humanity and
] tolerance embodied by the Olympics, the organizers of the
] Athens games have warned spectators that they could be
] barred for taking a surreptitious sip of Pepsi or an
] illicit bite from a Burger King Whopper.

And the Olymipics will crash and burn in 3....2....1 games from now. Apparently, the IOC doesn't see the entire lack of attendees to the games as a show stopper for the "ambush marketers".

SBN