Technology is a crucial component in America's war against terrorism, President George W. Bush said Thursday, in his first major address to technology industry leaders since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
In a 30-minute speech, Bush praised the technology industry in broad strokes and offered encouraging remarks for companies in the business of high-speed Internet access.
"The country must be aggressive with the expansion of broadband," he said, winning a loud round of applause from some 100 technology CEOs and luminaries gathered at the White House for the address.
Bush also commented on the government's $53 billion technology spending budget--the largest such appropriation in history. "If you're a recipient, make sure the product actually works," he said, half-jokingly.

"For my taste, they're focusing on the right issues," said Napster CEO Konrad Hilbers. "Broadband is very high on our agenda. I'm glad broadband was brought up with a very high priority."

Bush: Broadband must be 'aggressive'

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Police are probing an Israeli gambling ring suspected of putting its money on a grim game of chance -- predicting the target of the next Palestinian suicide bombing.

But this particular type of betting carries a bitter irony.

Israelis frequently compare their daily lives to a game of Russian roulette. Palestinian suicide and car bombings have struck buses, cafes, restaurants and family celebrations in a 20-month-old uprising against Israeli occupation.

According to the weekly, cities which have been frequent targets of Palestinian attacks bring the lowest returns. Jerusalem's odds are shortest at 3-2, the report said.

Bookies give the longest odds to places largely untouched by violence, with the southern port city of Ashdod cashing in at 13-1 and the Red Sea tourist resort of Eilat scoring 17-1, it said.

The weekly described the punters as an informal group who originally got together to wager on soccer and basketball. The bets are set at a minimum of 10 shekels ($2) at one city per wager and must be renewed each time an attack has taken place.

Police Probe Israelis Gambling on Suicide Bombings

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- Bethpage State Park erected a sign on the first tee to let the public know what to expect. ``Warning: The Black Course is an extremely difficult course which is recommended only for highly skilled golfers.''

There was no need to remove the sign just because the world's best players came by for the U.S. Open.

``We all think of ourselves as highly skilled,'' Hal Sutton said Wednesday. ``I guess we're about to find out.''

An Open Challenge: World's best take on Bethpage Black

Federal regulators voted tentatively Wednesday to require chief executives to personally vouch for their companies’ financial reports, a Bush administration initiative inspired by the collapse of Enron Corp.
COMPANIES ALSO WOULD have to make public important changes in their operations much faster and report a wider group of changes under the new rules of by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The “8-K” form for reporting significant events or corporate changes important to investors would have to be filed with the SEC within two business days, rather than the current requirement of five days for some items and 15 days for others.
Among the new items that would have to be reported in the 8-K: the sort of off-balance-sheet transactions that helped topple Enron and unexpected departures of top executives, senior managers or directors.

SEC votes to require CEOs

IOSAT Potassium Iodide blocks the thyroid's absorption of cancer-causing radioactive iodine released from a nuclear power plant or nuclear bomb.

6 million tablets of IOSAT Potassium Iodide recently purchased by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for limited distribution to states with nuclear plants.

aka. "dirty bomb candy"

FDA Approved and Foil-Sealed IOSAT Potassium Iodide

Which one is your favorite?

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Talk about custom jobs...

The year's first solar eclipse, a partial blackout, was visible Tuesday across the Pacific Ocean.

Here's a short RealVideo clip of the eclipse, from Associated Press.

The Recent Annular Solar Eclipse [RealVideo]

Another really funny one!

Kiss - Behind the music that sucked

"Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something."
Henry David Thoreau
"What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?"
Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau rulez!

Henry David Thoreau Quotations - The Quotations Page

Adelphia Communications Corp. inflated the number of its cable-TV subscribers by between 400,000 and 500,000, or as much as 10 percent of the company’s total customer base, according to people familiar the situation. In addition, investigators have uncovered evidence that Adelphia kept two sets of accounting books for its capital expenditures, one of which was shown to Wall Street and boosted the amount Adelphia spent to upgrade its cable systems.

The SEC is also focusing heavily on the role Deloitte & Touche played as Adelphia’s auditor. Regulators are taking a close look at what Deloitte knew about related-party transactions, co-borrowing arrangements and subscriber inflation, said a person close to the situation. The SEC is concerned that Deloitte “knew things and didn’t bring them to the board’s attention,” this person said.

Adelphia kept 2 sets of books