] In his new book, Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap
] Labor in the American Black Market (Houghton Mifflin, 310
] pp., $23), Schlosser examines three disparate
] commodities -- marijuana, strawberries, and
] pornography -- to burrow deep into the nation's
] subterranean economy, which racks up as much as $1
] trillion in off-the-books transactions each year.
]
] Schlosser intends Fast Food Nation and Reefer Madness as
] part of a trilogy, to be completed with a book on the
] U.S. prison system. %u201CThey%u2019re about the history
] of America over the last 30 years

Something I'll have to pick up soon.

The Village Voice: Features: Pot, Porn, and Strawberries by Jessica Winter

] However, the big winner has been Marvel itself. This
] becomes its sixth consecutive licensed release to open as
] the top draw at the local multiplex after Spider-Man,
] Daredevil, Blade, Blade 2, and the original X-Men. For a
] company that was little more than a comic-book specialist
] making toys on the side, Marvel has come a long way.

Why didn't I have half a mil last year to drop into Marvel? I know what to invest in, now I just have to find the money to do it...

Fool.com: Marvel's Big Weekend [Motley Fool Take] May 5, 2003

] Apple has indirectly confirmed it is developing a version
] of its iTunes music jukebox software for Windows.
]
]
] According to the Mac maker's employment opportunities
] site, the company is seeking a Senior Software Engineer.
] His or her key responsibility: "Design and build Apple's
] newest Consumer Application, iTunes for Windows."

Mac Coder Wanted - Must Perform Miracle Before End of 2003

] The US spends almost $50 billion each year on education,
] so why aren't kids learning? Forty percent of students
] lack basic reading skills, and their academic performance
] is dismal compared with that of their foreign
] counterparts. In response to this crisis, schools are
] skilling-and-drilling their way "back to basics," moving
] toward mechanical instruction methods that rely on
] line-by-line scripting for teachers and endless
] multiple-choice testing. Consequently, kids aren't
] learning how to think anymore - they're learning how to
] memorize. This might be an ideal recipe for the future
] Babbitts of the world, but it won't produce the kind of
] agile, analytical minds that will lead the high tech
] global age. Fortunately, we've got Grand Theft Auto: Vice
] City and Deus X for that.
]
] After school, kids are devouring new information,
] concepts, and skills every day, and, like it or not,
] they're doing it controller in hand, plastered to the TV.
] The fact is, when kids play videogames they can
] experience a much more powerful form of learning than
] when they're in the classroom. Learning isn't about
] memorizing isolated facts. It's about connecting and
] manipulating them. Doubt it? Just ask anyone who's beaten
] Legend of Zelda or solved Morrowind.

High Score Education

] This site is a coalition effort of bloodthirsty hawks and
] ineffectual doves united in admiration for Mohammed Saeed
] al-Sahaf, Iraqi Minister of Information (currently on
] administrative leave).

Wasn't sure whether to put this in the humor or current events topic ;)

We Love the Iraqi (Mis)Information Minister

] A software designer was being held Thursday as a material
] witness in a terrorism investigation after FBI agents
] searched his Hillsboro home and his office at Intel.
]
] According to neighbors and co-workers, Maher Mofeid
] Hawash, 38, was the target of Thursday's searches by the
] FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.

This was March 21st; He is still being held, and no one will tell the family any more than he is a 'material witness'. He's been in the US for 15 years. The only thing that puts him into question is 2 donations of about $5000 each to the Global Relief Foundation, which has come under scrutiny of the FBI.

From the http://www.freemikehawash.org/ site:

"On Thursday, March 20, 2003, our friend and colleague Maher (Mike) Hawash was arrested ("detained") as a "material witness" by the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force in the parking lot of Intel Corp's Hawthorne Farms parking lot. Simultaneously, FBI agents in bulletproof vests and carrying assault rifles awoke Mike's wife Lisa and their three children in the home, which they proceeded to search. Since then, Mike has been held in the Federal Prison at Sheridan, OR."

This scares the crap out of me. What has America become?

FBI, Joint Terrorism agents search home in Hillsboro

] The previous Meat Meat Meat! section contained, I
] believed, the finest examples of hideously glistening
] meatage I'd ever seen.
]
] I was wrong. Thanks to patron Jody, we now have this rare
] volume from the fabled Family Circle collection. Steady
] your gorge; this is going to be a rough one.

MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! part 2.
Hooray!

LILEKS (James) : Gallery of Regrettable Food : MEAT!

The real meanings of the pictures from ready.gov.

Great Suggestions on How to Handle Terrorist Attacks

WASHINGTON - President Bush's aides did not forcefully present him with dissenting views from CIA and State and Defense Department officials who warned that U.S.-led forces could face stiff resistance in Iraq, according to three senior administration officials.

This is much like having bad news and not telling grandpa. "No, don't tell him, it'll only upset him."

Charlotte Observer | 03/29/2003 | Bush reportedly shielded from dire forecast

] Then all of a sudden, some big powerful democratic
] country has one of those election things, someone new
] takes over, and suddenly they actually MEAN what they
] say?!?! How the hell is someone like me supposed to know
] when they're serious in their threats to invade?
] I miss Bill Clinton.
]
] :: Saddam "No Nukes Here" Hussein 12:39 AM

LOL!

Saddam's Blog