An old story, but a funny quote.

Participants at the weekend's annual Gridiron dinner, a closed-door affair where jeers and gibes are the most popular course, enjoyed repeated laughs at Gore's expense. Senator John McCain waxed eloquent about his time in a Vietnam prisoner-of-war camp. The one thing that sustained him? "The thought that some day I would come home and invent the Internet."

Have you seen Rescue Dawn?

The Laugh Is on Gore

Yes, you too can find out what anyone (relatives, friends, neighbors, that girl you are stalking) has bought at Sears provided you have their name, address, and phone number. And you can do it anonymously.

Sears Roebuck and Privacy

Supporters of the FairTax plan are particularly drawn to the feature that calls for repealing the 16th Amendment and abolishing the Internal Revenue Service. That fits with the insurgent, populist-tinged nature of Mike Huckabee’s campaign.

Don't forget "folksy" ...

“Am I running for president to shut down the federal government? Not exactly. But I am running to eliminate all federal income and payroll taxes. And I do mean all — personal federal, corporate federal, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, self-employment.”

But even though critics acknowledge that there would be some economic benefits from introducing a broad-based consumption tax, William Gale of the Brookings Institution said that the proposal itself was “fundamentally a ruse.”

“The notion that there is a 23 percent rate that solves all our problems,” he said, “is politically unrealistic and mathematically impossible.”

Whatever the rate, critics say, a steep federal retail tax, piled on top of existing state sales taxes, would encourage widespread illegal tax evasion, black market transactions and other forms of cheating, creating a cycle that would require even higher tax rates.

Huckabee’s Tax Plan Appeals, but Is It Fair?

Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner passenger jet may have a serious security vulnerability in its onboard computer networks that could allow passengers to access the plane's control systems, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

The computer network in the Dreamliner's passenger compartment, designed to give passengers in-flight internet access, is connected to the plane's control, navigation and communication systems, an FAA report reveals.

Boeing's New 787 May Be Vulnerable to Hacker Attack

1. Obama beat Hillary among women voters 35 to 30 percent.
2. Amid record Democratic turnout, as many people under 30 showed up to caucus as those over 65.
3. Sixty percent of the GOP electorate in Iowa were born-again Christians.
4. Rudy Giuliani finished with a mere 4,013 votes, in sixth place, with less than half of the support of Ron Paul.

Maybe he's not so Ready after all.

Iowa By the Numbers

We selected fifteen entries to be in the exhibition, with seven alternates (in case print versions of the original selections could not be obtained). Many images were highly rated by the selection panel; we present the top forty-nine here. We invite you to view all the entries that were entered into the contest.

Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest 2007

The subtitle for Marjane Satrapi's highly personal animated film "Persepolis" might as well be "Iranians: They're Just Like Us." They lose their keys, dance to "Eye of the Tiger," endure rocky relationships.

Satrapi, an Iranian who now lives in France, said her mission was to share with Westerners her stories of how life was lived during the Islamic revolution, and what went on just out of sight of the "guardians," police enforcers of religious principles.

The film, largely in black and white, is based on Satrapi's two graphic novels of the same name. Co-written and co-directed by Vincent Parronaud, it features Chiara Matroianni as the voice of Marjane, Catherine Deneuve as her mother, and Danielle Darrieux as her dynamic grandmother.

Satrapi, dressed in flowing black, stabbed her lit cigarette in the air to emphasize points as she talked about the movie in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

Bear in mind:

PARIS, FRANCE -- A ban on smoking in hotels, bars, restaurants and cafes went into effect at the start of the new year on Tuesday. Smoking was already banned in offices, schools, airports, hospitals, train stations and other public places. Health Minister Roselyn Bachelot has repeatedly warned that the cafe ban will be strictly enforced.

Growing up Iranian, in black and white

How the race to translate Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky continues to spark feuds, end friendships, and create small fortunes.

The Translation Wars

Reza Aslan, on why the next American president should leave God out of the war on terror.

What America Must Do

By the end of July, 25 percent of American combat troops are due to withdraw from Iraq. FP sat down with Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, to find out how he plans to draw down without leaving chaos behind.

Petraeus, on Winding down the Surge