] Microsoft and MSN have a history of trying to stop people
] from using the Opera browser. When trying to access
] MSN.com using the Opera7 browser, there are two visible
] problems. First, for the user it looks like Opera7 has a
] serious flaw so that many lines are partially hidden.
] Second, the page shows less content than users of
] Microsoft's Internet Explorer (MSIE) see.
]
] The purpose of this page is to document, in technical
] terms, what is going on. Did the Opera programmers make
] grave mistakes? Or is it something wrong on the MSN site?
] If so, is the Opera browser targeted specifically?
] (Executive summary: no, yes, yes)

Pure evil.

Why doesn't MSN work with Opera

] Science fiction has long been William Gibson's electric
] guitar - the instrument he uses to gain perspective, to
] transform life's ditties into anthems of transcendent
] strangeness. In Pattern Recognition (Putnam, $26), he
] goes acoustic, unplugging the overt sci-fi tropes that
] have marked his work and producing a mainstream product.
] He succeeds because our real world has such gnarly tech
] (Web surfing on a laptop with a Wi-Fi connection is
] functionally the same as jacking your brain into a
] cyberspace deck) and because his riffs make such a good
] read.

Rudy Rucker reviews Pattern Recognition for Wired.

Wired: Legomancer

] President Bush has signed a secret directive ordering the
] government to develop, for the first time, national-level
] guidance for determining when and how the United States
] would launch cyber-attacks against enemy computer
] networks, according to administration officials.
]
] Similar to strategic doctrine that has guided the use of
] nuclear weapons since World War II, the cyber-warfare
] guidance would establish the rules under which the United
] States would penetrate and disrupt foreign computer
] systems.
]
] The United States has never conducted a large-scale,
] strategic cyber-attack, according to several senior
] officials. But the Pentagon has stepped up development of
] cyber-weapons, envisioning a day when electrons might
] substitute for bombs and allow for more rapid and less
] bloody attacks on enemy targets. Instead of risking
] planes or troops, military planners imagine soldiers at
] computer terminals silently invading foreign networks to
] shut down radars, disable electrical facilities and
] disrupt phone services.

Bush Orders Guidelines for Cyber-Warfare (TechNews.com)

] Walters, the U.S. drug czar, says he has talked with his
] Canadian counterparts about the pitfalls of pot
] legalization and harboring of American drug fugitives.
] "If Canada wants to become the locus for that kind of
] activity," he says, "they're likely to pay a heavy
] price."

This is a really good article. I would not be suprised if Canada legalized pot. If they did, then this will segway with current conservative anger about the open border (thank you Bill "no spin (yeah, right)" O'Reilly). The result will be a very strange border situation, with major hassles involved in crossing one direction, but little trouble crossing the other direction... If this impacts the rate of trade, or if there are trade restrictions, then both sides will feel this in their wallets and their markets. The US may try to screw with the trade situation betting that it will hurt Canada more then the US. Of course, the US will have to contend with domestic pressures, both from the pot brigade, but also from corporate america and wall street...

So basically, this is worth paying attention to because it is certainly possible that there is a situation developing here that could have serious economic and policy implications. If this situation worsens rapidly this could prolong the recession.

The Drug War Refugees

These folks linked MemeStreams as well... Another Blog directory...

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] category name as string is deprecated. Use the LC_*
] -constants instead. in
] /home/morman/public_html/modules/Web_Links/index.php
] on line 772

Seeing these all over their site.. Looks like someone make a booboo.

Blogger Links - Blog Links - Weblog Directory - Web Links

] ...a new site bringing you a collection of categorised blogs
] from around the world.

These people linked me and then asked me to link them back, so I am doing so. They are a blog directory. If you search for MemeStreams on this site and then click through it you'll increase my ranking. :)

BLOGWISE is...

A good chunk of the military air traffic out of the air bases in this area goes over where I'm living right now. Its been constant all day today. More so then we've seen in awhile, on the level seen jdurring the gulf war buildup. (I wasn't in the area when we went into Afganistan, so I can't compare it with that..) Its cloudy, so I can't see what it is, but it sounds like big transports.

It does not necessarly mean anything, but its worth noting.

] A Japanese scientist has developed a coat which appears
] to make the wearer invisible.

How many books can you name that featured an invisibility cloak?

Ananova - Japanese scientist invents 'invisibility cloak'

] A piece of debris classified "top secret" is somewhere
] among the thousands of shards of the space shuttle
] Columbia spread across Texas.
]
] The communications device handles encrypted messages
] between the shuttle and the ground. According to its
] serial number, it is in a class of equipment labeled
] "TSEC" -- telecommunications security -- that must be
] handled with strict chain-of-command documentation.
]
] Experts differed on the importance to national security
] of recovering the device, which was "keyed," or prepared
] for use with mathematical algorithms.

There are many good reasons for them not wanting anyone to know the details of the equipment they use for secure communications, but I think its unlikely that the discovery of the equipment would not give someone the ability to decrypt any communications using similar equipment. The importance of the keys on this device are likely minimal. Its a big deal if you can get a private key, and that key is in use.. But this key is no longer in use. And its safe to assume it was specific to that particular shuttle. At least, it would be a major oversight if it wasn't specific to that shuttle.

HoustonChronicle.com - Top secret part among the shuttle debris

Although there are several possible benign explanations for the image -- such as a barely perceptable jiggle of the camera as it took the time exposure -- NASA's zeal to examine the photo demonstrates the lengths at which the agency is going to tap the resources of ordinary Americans in solving the puzzle.

S.F. man's astounding photo / Mysterious purple streak is shown hitting Columbia 7 minutes before it disintegrated