] As President Bush plunges into Middle East diplomacy, a
] survey of 20 nations and the Palestinian Authority shows
] widespread distrust of his leadership, skepticism in the
] region about his plan for peace and less regard for the
] United States around the world.
]
] The survey, sponsored by the non-partisan Pew Research
] Center, found that feelings in Muslim countries were
] particularly inflamed in the wake of the war with Iraq.
] In seven of eight Muslim countries, majorities said they
] feared a U.S. military invasion.
]
] In Indonesia, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority,
] majorities said they had confidence in Osama bin Laden to
] "do the right thing in world affairs." Nearly half of
] those in Morocco and Pakistan agreed.

I see Bush's policies have really made a big splash in international relations. Good going, dubya.

Survey: World support for U.S. at new low

Decius wrote:
] ] However, there have also been a number of people who
] ] claim I'm overstating the case and that it's not possible
] ] to build a real cruise missile without access to
] ] sophisticated gear, specialist tools and information not
] ] readily available outside the military.
] ]
] ] So, in order to prove my case, I decided to put my money
] ] where my mouth is and build a cruise missile in my own
] ] garage, on a budget of just US$5,000.

Oh how I'd have been the envy of everyone in the Rocket Club back in JR high armed with THIS info! ;)

Laughing Boy

RE: Fux0ring 3133t Cruise Missile d00d3s

Laughing Boy wrote:
] ] Heavy-metal band Metallica, a vociferous opponent of
] ] Internet song-swapping sites, is turning to the Web as a
] ] way to encourage fans to buy the band's new music.
] ]
] ] Metallica, whose first album in six years is scheduled to
] ] be released on June 5, is offering exclusive music tracks
] ] online as well through a partnership with Speakeasy, the
] ] Seattle-based high-speed Internet access provider said.
] ]
] ] Customers who buy Metallica's new compact disc, St.
] ] Anger, will find a code inside the packaging allowing
] ] them to view, listen to and download exclusive,
] ] unreleased music tracks from a Metallica Web site.
]
] What I've been saying for years... want to encourage people to
] BUY your CD vs. download the tracks online? You have to give
] some "value added" as incentive. Granted, these "exclusive,
] unreleased music tracks" will appear soon on a P2P network
] near you, but this is a step in the right direction.
]
] Now start adding some "VA" that can not be pirated. Ideas off
] the top of my head... random drawings for concert tix, back
] stage passes, t-shirts and other swag, etc...

Yeah, but a lot of artists feel like that's 'paying for your fan base' and will be reluctant to do it. I'll just take the enhanced CDs that are coming out with video, lyrics, added tracks, etc. I'm digging Weird Al's new one with a whole lot of great extras!

RE: 'Anger' leads Metallica to the Internet

] For sale: what might be one of the Soviet Sputnik
] satellites that ushered in the Space Age and sparked a
] frenzied competition that soon led to the launch of the
] first man into orbit.
]
] As with so many things Russian, the sale, offered online
] by Sovietski.com and eBay Inc. for a starting auction
] price of $25,000, presents a riddle wrapped in a mystery,
] for no one is able to say how many authentic Sputniks
] actually exist.
]
] The Soviet Union launched the original Sputnik, a shiny
] metallic orb with four antennas streaking from the side,
] in 1957, setting off a panic in the United States, which
] feared it was falling behind its Cold War rival.
]
] Amid the secrecy that prevailed at the time, Moscow made
] several back-up models, and since the fall of the Soviet
] Union, some of these have landed in the hands of their
] former adversary on very capitalist terms.
]
] Cathleen Lewis, curator of the Russian and Soviet Space
] collection at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., said
] experts believe Moscow originally made four back-up
] Sputniks. Yet far more than four Sputniks are now in
] circulation.
]
] The original 183-pound (83 kilo) Sputnik burned up when
] it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere.
]
] "There is so little documentation and accountability. We
] just don't know what it is," she said of the latest sale.

Cool if its the genuine article

CNN.com - Missing Sputnik may be for sale on eBay - Jun. 4, 2003

] The latest version of the federal Carl Perkins Act, which
] provides the framework and money for vocational-technical
] education, runs out June 30, 2004, and its future is
] uncertain. Earlier this year, President Bush proposed
] revamping vocational-technical education programs and its
] funding.
]
] ''It would be devastating if we lost our Carl Perkins
] money because that's the money we use to stay current. If
] we didn't have that, we wouldn't be able to keep up,''
] said Bill Davis, vocational director for Giles County
] Schools. ''We're focusing on job-attaining and
] job-retaining skills.''
]
] But federal education officials say the focus isn't sharp
] enough. They want a greater emphasis on academics and
] programs linked to post-secondary education and training.

Do these "federal education officials" understand that a large percentage of high school students these days either don't want or can't afford (or get funding for) "post-secondary education and training"? If they continue to cancel vocational programs so that everyone has to go to some kind of post-secondary, who will pay for that? Will they continue pushing down the poverty level for financial aid qualification until only the poorest of the poor can get it, and the poor and middle-class are left in the dust (because tuition will be raised to compensate for the increased enrollment)?

Who will pay, in the end?

Other articles in this vein, relating to the underfunding of TN schools and how it is negatively impacting support and staff:
http://www.tennessean.com/education/archives/03/06/33657925.shtml?Element_ID=33657925 - "Tough Times for Rutherford County Schools"
http://www.tennessean.com/education/archives/03/06/33654586.shtml?Element_ID=33654586 - "UT to cut 287 jobs in state"

Fading funding threatens vo-tech programs - Wednesday, 06/04/03

] ALBANY, N.Y. (Reuters) - With the widely anticipated
] computer-animated movie "Finding Nemo" set to debut in
] theaters on Friday, the Walt Disney Co. has found a novel
] way to guard against people illegally taping the film in
] advance showings.

Yahoo! News - Disney Uses Night Goggles to Guard 'Nemo'

] "They made the machines. That's what I'm trying to tell
] you. Meat made the machines."
]
] "That's ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You're
] asking me to believe in sentient meat."
]
] "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. These creatures are
] the only sentient race in that sector and they're made
] out of meat."
]
] "Maybe they're like the orfolei. You know, a carbon-based
] intelligence that goes through a meat stage."
]
] "Nope. They're born meat and they die meat. We studied
] them for several of their life spans, which didn't take
] long. Do you have any idea what's the life span of meat?"

Before The Matrix, There was Only Meat

] Man of the moment Keanu Reeves has shown his generosity
] by giving away £50 million of his earnings from the
] Matrix sequels. The 38-year-old decided to hand over the
] money to the unsung heroes of the sci-fi blockbusters -
] the costume and special effects teams.

He may not come off as the sharpest crayon in the box, but he really does seem like a genuinely nice guy.

Whoa!

Elonka wrote:
]My favorite of the Flash Cow "Mooovies". Do not watch with anyone ]under 18 -- unless you're ready to do a *lot* of explaining. ;)

I love this one! Great song for getting stuck in people's heads.

(Not Safe for Work!) Flash Video - 'I'm A Cow'

] The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association
] counted 140 million cellphone subscribers in this country
] in 2002 %u2014 a number that is sure to keep rising as
] cellphones become smaller, lighter and more versatile.
]
] One of the most popular new configurations is the
] cellphone with a built-in personal digital assistant. But
] that combination represents only a small fraction of what
] telecommunications or computer companies and independent
] inventors say cellphones can do.

Fascinating stuff.

New Functions for Cellphones