Seven arrested in YMCA sex ring: "Authorities arrested seven men Wednesday night after accusing them of performing sex acts on one another inside the men's locker room at the YMCA on North Coalter Street, the Staunton Police Department said."

Odd. When I was in the Navy, it was commonly understood that this was what the YMCA was for. Certainly, the Village People understood...

Hatchery salmon to count as wildlife: "Six of the world's leading experts on salmon ecology complained last month in the journal Science that fish produced in hatcheries cannot be counted on to save wild salmon. The scientists had been asked by the federal government to comment on its salmon-recovery program but said they were later told that some of their conclusions about hatchery fish were inappropriate for official government reports.

'The current political and legal wrangling is a sideshow to the real issues. We know biologically that hatchery supplements are no substitute for wild fish,' Robert Paine, one of the scientists and an ecologist at the University of Washington, said when the Science article was published in late March."

On one hand, if you are protecting a species, the hatcheries can produce enough to offset the losses from a degraded habitat. On the other hand, if we have degraded the habitat to the point that it can no longer maintain itself, have we not lost something even if the species is artifically preserved? It seems unclear whether the goal is protecting the species or the ecosystem.

Robotic bollards to take control: "It is envisaged the road markers would be delivered to a location by a specially equipped truck.

"A camera on the vehicle would image the road and send a picture to a worker's laptop. The worker would then indicate on the screen where they wanted the bollards to be deployed.

"Software developed by the Nebraska team would then obtain the precise coordinates and feed these to the 'shepherd' unit so it could lead its herd of red robots into position. "

In a story that screams for a video, there are only still pictures. If this had a dateline of 4/1 instead of 4/28, I'd think the Beeb was making Dalek jokes.

Marillion: appetite for resurrection: "'Instead of gigging round toilets for ten years trying to get a record deal, gig around toilets for ten years and ask people for their email addresses. If what you're doing strikes a chord, you'll be financially better off while remaining pure and free to do what you want.'"

Here's what some are beginning to recognize: Technology has shattered the music industry's biggest monopoly -- distribution. A number of bands are now setting their sights on another of the industry's strengths -- promotion. Unless your primary goal is to get your CDs in the bins at the chain stores in the mall, or Wal-Mart, you don't need the major record labels any longer if you can effectively communicate with your fans and handle your own promotion.

As the article mentions, it's this kind of realization and a few spiffy tricks that are letting dinosaur acts like The Alarm or Marillion break back into the charts 20 years after the music industry wrote them off. I hope this continues -- we'll all be much better off. Not to mention the bands who get a much larger slice of the pie, even if it's a smaller pie, and appear to be gettting a much better return than they did with the majors.

Killer cyberloo kidnaps kiddie: "Details are sketchy, but it appears that the door 'failed to operate', as JC DeCaux nicely put it. The firm warned: 'Children aged 10 or under should not use the kiosks unaccompanied as they are weight sensitive.'

"Exactly. As soon as the devilish digidunny detects a body under 50kg, it knows it has attracted easy prey. Readers are invited to immediately run into the streets with flaming torches and pitchforks and storm the nearest shifty-looking public convenience with cries of 'Kill the monster!'"

There's a Microsoft joke in there somewhere, but I'll leave it to the reader as an exercise.

Diebold apologizes for device flaws: "It is an uncommon day when the nation's second-largest provider of voting systems concedes that its flagship products in California have significant security flaws and that it supplied hundreds of poorly designed electronic-voting devices that disenfranchised voters in the March presidential primary."

The first step is admitting you have a problem. I'm guessing it will be the ONLY step, but that's me.

April 16: Poop For Peace Day: "On April 16, take some time to think when you take your time to stink. Think of yourself on your toilet, and George W. Bush on his, and Saddam and Osama on theirs. Think about the children of Iraq and the children of America, and realize that while their skins are different colors and their gods have different names, their daily ritual is exactly the same. We all poop, which means we're all human, which means we're all brothers and sisters. Any other differences are arbitrary -- we are all united in the daily struggle against the tyranny of the bowel. "

Cheney gets iPod, but what should he listen to?: "A recent profile of Vice President Dick Cheney revealed that his daughters had given him an iPod, the ultrahip digital music player, for Christmas. Mr. Cheney, known for his serious demeanor, hasn't let on publicly what songs he's jamming to. And the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign declined to talk about it. So we asked some local music types what Mr. Cheney should listen to -- and what he shouldn't."

"Deep in the Heart of Texas" -- Constitutionally speaking, it would have been illegal to have two Texas residents on the 2000 GOP ticket, But, according to the VP, although he lived and voted in Texas for the five years immediately proceeding, he was really a "Wyoming resident." Uh-huh.

Paper trail sought for electronic voting: "'People are just realizing exactly what we've bought into in some states,' said Maryland state Sen. Andrew Harris, a Republican. 'The stakes are so high. I don't put it above someone trying to manipulate elections on a grand scale.'"

After an otherwise pedestrian beginning, the article gets interesting. Nice to see the occasional Republican on the side of verification and paper trails.

MSNBC - Media use of gruesome Iraq photos varies: "'On the one hand, you can't shy away from the news, and the news in this case is the indignities visited upon the victims and the jubilation of the crowd,' said Bill Keller, the Times' executive editor. 'At the same time you have to be mindful of the pain these pictures would cause to families and the potential revulsion of readers, and children, who are exposed to this over their breakfast table.'"

Let's stick to accurate, detailed, and specific reporting. If there are horrors of war, the American people should be informed. I see no reason to shield the public from the price of US foreign policy. Maybe more people would take action if they knew what was really going on, and why.

Yahoo! News - Study: File-Sharing No Threat to Music Sales: "Internet music piracy has no negative effect on legitimate music sales, according to a study released today by two university researchers that contradicts the music industry's assertion that the illegal downloading of music online is taking a big bite out of its bottom line.

"Songs that were heavily downloaded showed no measurable drop in sales, the researchers found after tracking sales of 680 albums over the course of 17 weeks in the second half of 2002. Matching that data with activity on the OpenNap file-sharing network, they concluded that file sharing actually increases CD sales for hot albums that sell more than 600,000 copies. For every 150 downloads of a song from those albums, sales increase by a copy, the researchers found."

Ahem. File sharing did not decrease sales, it actually had a positive effect on sales of popular albums. The recording industry has just closed its best year ever, despite their global attempts to bite the hands that feed them.

How E-Voting Threatens Democracy: "Up until 1995, Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel had been chairman of ES&S (then called American Information Systems) before quitting the company in March of that year two weeks before launching his Senate bid. ES&S, based in Omaha, Nebraska, manufactured the only voting machines used in the state in his election the following year. According to Neil Erickson, Nebraska's deputy secretary of state for elections, the machines counted 85 percent of votes in Hagel's race; the remaining votes were counted by hand.

"Hagel, a first-time candidate who had lived out of the state for 20 years, came from behind to win two major upsets in that election: first in the primary race against a fellow Republican, then in the general race against Democrat Ben Nelson, the state's popular former governor. Nelson began the race with a 65 percent to 18 percent of the vote, becoming the state's first Republican senator since 1972."

First, sell a lot of your voting machines to your home state, then quit your day job, move back, and get yourself elected. Could it be that simple?

County calls out Diebold execs: "After his phone inquiries to Diebold went unanswered, Alameda County Registrar of Voters Bradley J. Clark wrote a letter Monday invoking the performance clause of the county's $12.7 million contract.

"He demanded Diebold deliver within 10 days a written plan to correct multiple problems, foremost of which was forcing the county to use poorly tested, uncertified voter-card encoders that broke down in 200 polling places March 2."

Finally, the civil servants begin fighting back. Is this part of the larger "rebellion of the professionals" that's beginning to rise against political manipulation, or just an isolated case? Either way, props to Alameda for at least trying to enforce the contract terms. Now, wait for the California Attorney General to weigh in on Diebold's side...

Stop the row, no one gets married! - The Economic Times: "In a new twist in the battle over same-sex marriage roiling the United States , a county in Oregon has banned all marriages -- gay and heterosexual -- until the state decides who can and who cannot wed."

Yes! Equal rights for all. Nice to see that some people understand.

Not So Happily Ever After: "Ron Fanelle, a Camarillo middle school teacher, had hoped to keep his personal life out of the classroom.

But that all changed when his seventh- and eighth-grade students recently asked him about a rumor that he was gay and had married his longtime partner in San Francisco. The social studies teacher told his students it was all true.

Since then, the parents of one of Fanelle's students pulled their child out of his class, the father of another accused him at a public board meeting of pushing a pro-gay agenda and Fanelle filed complaints against two teachers accusing them of helping to spread the word among students about his homosexuality."

Let's see: It's OK to be gay, it's OK to get married, but it's not OK to confirm that you're gay and that you got married. If a student asks you if you got married, you shouldn't answer. If another teacher says you did, you might get fired. If another teacher lets the students discuss it among themselves, you might get fired. Oh, and it doesn't matter if their kid is in his class, just knowing that there's a gay teacher in the school is enough to get some parents up in arms.

Confirming suspicions and answering direct and discreet questions can get you in trouble for "promoting a homosexual lifestyle." Since when is providing factual information a bad thing? Aren't the students there to learn?

Vigilantes Troll for Pedophiles: "Perverted Justice has made more than 600 such busts since it was formed in July 2002. The group's volunteers pose as kids in chat rooms, and when an adult engages them in sexual banter, they publish the person's personal data on the site so the group's supporters can harass the adult by phone and e-mail.

"The group says it's protecting children from sexual predators, but critics say its aggressive tactics seldom lead to convictions. "

They don't have to make arrests. They are probably more effective. Sometimes shame works. If you've ever chatted up jailbait online, you should explore this site then go look in the mirror.

Live from the Nuke Free Zone: Uncle Diebold's Clubhouse: "On March 2nd, I was a poll worker for this year's California primary election. More specifically, I was a Systems Inspector in San Diego county, whose problems with voting machines and procedures received some coverage in the national media.

"First, a summary of my personal opinion: I think that current electronic voting systems are better than the traditional systems in terms of security, and also in terms of usability for most people. However, I share the opinion of many bloggers that major security issues remain in the new machines and implementations, and that these issues should already have been fixed."

Another first-person report, complete with the downloadable Diebold manual with redacted passwords. It sounds long on good intentions, and short on verifiable audit trails.

Muslim nations, Europe question U.S. motives: "A majority of people living in Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan and Turkey believe the United States is conducting its campaign against terror to control oil in the Middle East and to dominate the world, according to an international poll released Tuesday."

It doesn't have to be true -- it's enough that this is how our actions are perceived in other parts of the world. It's also why labelling Iraq as part of the "war on terrorism" muddies the waters.

Local officials nearly fall for H2O hoax: "City officials were so concerned about the potentially dangerous properties of dihydrogen monoxide that they considered banning foam cups after they learned the chemical was used in their production."

If you don't understand that dihydrogen (H2) monoxide (O) is indeed "'an odorless, tasteless chemical' that can be deadly if accidentally inhaled," maybe you should stay out of the pool.

California Legislators Urge E-Voting Halt: "In Orange County, poll workers using a new voting system gave about 7,000 voters the wrong ballots, which resulted in ballots being cast for the wrong legislative districts, the Los Angeles Times reported. In 21 precincts, more votes were cast than there were registered voters. Additionally, in San Diego, 64 percent of the precincts failed to open on time because of problems with the machines, Perata said. He added he is sure there are other problems that officials will probably never know about, since there is no paper trail to audit the election."

Shock. Shock and surprise. At least they got a Republican on board...

ACTIVIST TRESPASSED INTO YARD, THINKING POOCH NEEDED COMPANY: "I just wanted to find out if a dog that seemed to be in distress was OK,'' Sherman said. "I do not think my actions were a crime in comparison with abuse or neglect of animals."

"By law, pets are property,'' Sherman said. "I don't accept that."

Then accept this: you're guilty of trespassing and prowling. You may think your actions are more important than the law, but you're wrong.

The Bovine Simulator Project: "Bovine rectal palpation is a difficult procedure for veterinary students to learn and requires considerable practice to accurately identify structures. The majority of teaching takes place on farms with veterinary surgeons but it is increasingly difficult to ensure all students develop skills adequately by the time of graduation. This is partly due to the increased number of students in each year and reduced access to cows. Additionally, when a student is examining a cow the teacher is unable to observe what the student is palpating and the student may not be able to describe their hand position inside the cow. Therefore it is difficult for the teacher to instruct the student in the procedure."

First, you have to imagine Eric the half-a-cow because the simulator is only the upper rear quadrant of the cow. It has one leg (a white pole), no front, and holes in both sides and the rear. Almost every picture includes someone's arm inserted up to the elbow, but they don't mention whether doing that produces the expected sound. For those who like horses, there's also an equine model, presumably with a longer pole.

Science Blog - IM, machine translation on front lines of Iraq: "In late 2002, Rear Adm. David T. Hart Jr., deputy commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, suggested the U.S. and its allies use off-the-shelf technology to help them communicate rapidly and accurately, in a way that would reduce the costs and delays of conventional translation practices. In response, ONR's science advisor at the Naval European Command, Chris Hillenbrand, set up a working group with ONR's Tech Solutions office and the ONR math, computer and information sciences division to modify a program that MITRE Corp. had developed for several other service programs. TRIM, or trans-lingual instant messaging, was used in conjunction with a machine-translation engine from Logomedia Corp. and integrated with other commercial IT hardware. The result: the Coalition Chat Line. The technology is getting rave reviews from U.S. and allied-coalition personnel."

You'd hope they've got past that pesky "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" != "the wine is good, but the meat is rotten" problem with machine translations.

Why 2004 election will defy history: "It was Henry Ford who said 'history is bunk' as he was busy reinventing American industry a century ago. Well, Ford is the man to see about this presidential campaign. So far, patterns of the past haven't predicted a thing, and it's going to remain that way right up to Election Day. For, based on history, neither George W. Bush nor John F. Kerry has a chance."

Obviously, it's going to be Nader's year...

Need Stem Cells? We Got 'Em: "On Tuesday night, two Congress members wrote to Bush criticizing his policies on stem cells. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-California) and Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-New York) said he and the NIH misled scientists and the public by saying more than 64 stem cell lines were available. The NIH denied the accusation, saying it's still unclear how many lines are available."

If you can't say how many there are, how can you support a statement that there are more than a specific number? At least the states and private institutions are starting to avoid the ban on research using Federal funds by funding research themselves. Expect a reaction from Washington to stop the legal pursuit of science.

DEA Accedes to Ecstasy Test: "Many therapists believe -- either from observation or anecdotal evidence -- that Ecstacy can help people suffering from post-traumatic stress and other psychological problems because the drug creates feelings of euphoria, warmth and empathy. Most say that combining the drug with therapy is key to helping patients learn to incorporate what they experience on the drug into their everyday lives."

It took long enough. It doesn't seem to matter what legitimate uses a drug may have -- once the drug warriors get it scheduled, it is usually an effective prohibition on research. If you don't know what's scheduled, you should.

Safety board wants airline passengers weighed: "Air travel would be safer if airlines weighed their passengers from time to time to make sure they know how much weight their planes are carrying, the National Transportation Safety Board says.

"Following its investigation into a commuter plane crash last year in North Carolina, the NTSB said on Thursday that airlines should at least periodically make passengers step on a scale."

Reread that first sentence. The airlines don't know how much weight their planes are carrying. How can you operate an airline efficiently if you don't? Imagine the possibilities. Computer assigned seating for optimal weight distribution. Weight-based fares (yes, "fat class"). Wouldn't it be easier to weigh the loaded planes than to weigh each of the passengers and do the math? If your plane is overweight, just stop at the gas pump after taxiing over the scale...or return to the gate and put someone off.

U.S. Reverses Land Mine Pledge, Draws Anger: "'This new land mine policy is not just a gigantic step backward for the United States, it is a complete about-face,' said Stephen Goose, executive director of the arms division of Human Rights Watch.

"The charity Land Mine Action added: 'While 141 countries around the world -- including all other NATO countries -- have now banned land mines, the U.S. is choosing to continue to use this outmoded and indiscriminate weapon that kills and injures thousands of people every year.'"

It has been pointed out before that one of the reasons 'they hate us' is that we don't understand why they hate us. This is one of the other reasons...

Pigs May Hold Key to Diabetes: "In a study at Washington University in St. Louis, researchers took pig cells from very young embryos and transplanted the cells into diabetic rats. The rats, even without drugs to prevent immune rejection, adopted the pig cells as their own and produced their own insulin."

Great. Look for America to get even fatter, and for the pig population to increase dramatically at the same time.

An Unusual Love Story: "Birds do it. Bees do it. And, it turns out, even the penguins at the Central Park Zoo do it. So let's do it: Let's let gay people make a lifelong commitment to each other openly and in public."

The subhead says it: "Penguins accept same-sex commitments. Why do some people have so much trouble with the idea?"

Nearly one quarter of GLBT people surveyed thought they could already get married in the U.S.: "The data show that 51% of respondents mistakenly believed that civil unions are the same as marriage, while nearly a quarter of respondents (21%) thought same-sex couples can already get married somewhere in the United States. The survey was completed weeks before Massachusetts's highest court reaffirmed its decision ordering that same-sex marriage be permitted no later than May 17 and before San Francisco began to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, at a time when same-sex marriage remained unavailable and illegal throughout the United States."

They're wrong, of course. Which points out one of the bigger problems with modern politics and the reliance on polls. A majority surveyed believe something that's definitively false. The public is largely misinformed. Who knew? At some point, a polititian is going to be wildly successful by ignoring the polls, and telling people to do the right thing because it's right, rather than the wrong thing because it's popular.

Why Cloning Didn't Happen in U.S.: "Researchers say there are many reasons why Koreans -- and not Americans -- were standing at the podium Thursday at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Seattle, not the least of which is the support of the federal government. "

Bow to the religious fundamentalists and ban the inevitable. Make sure others get there first, and watch them reap the benefits while we remain at a disadvantage.

Thief makes off with streakers' car: "Three men who made a racy run through a Denny's restaurant earlier this month were themselves the victims of a keen-eyed customer who apparently made off with the naked men's car -- as well as the clothes they left inside. "

Isn't keyless entry a nifty feature? Bet they wish they had it. Also, they're not being prosecuted -- note to perps: become the victim, avoid prosecution.

Feds step up push to wiretap VoIP calls: "The Bush administration plans to ask the Federal Communications Commission to order Net telephony providers to comply with a law that would permit police to wiretap conversations carried over the Internet. "

We should know later today. If the FCC rules that VoIP is neither telecommunications nor a telecommunications service, it may be hard to consider the VoIP providers as "telecommunications carriers" under the law. If that happens, the Feds come up empty, at least on this attempt.

A Way Out of Automated Phone Hell: "The angrier the caller becomes, the greater the energy that will be apparent in the wave pattern. Once the wave pattern hits the level the computer is programmed to recognize as the frustration cutoff point, the caller will immediately be transferred to the operator. "

It is a good thing to reduce anger and frustration users feel from dealing with automated systems, but is it a good thing to reward profanity and abuse with escallation? Is dealing with one of the standard humans going to reduce their anger and frustration, or just give them someone to vent on? Does this only reward bad behavior?

Government agency exposes day-care data: "Two separate databases with personal information about children and their families were exposed. In one case, a list of children in the county's low-income day-care program was intentionally posted for download on Jan. 22 to a Web site used by computer programmers to hire temporary help. Another database, listing families participating in the county's foster care program, was posted to the same Web site in November. Both remained on the site, free for anyone to download, until they were removed Thursday."

Aside from calling people when they make silly and exceptional mistakes, there seems to be little being done to institutionalize the concepts of privacy and security of personal data within the government and their contracting community.

The power of Google: "On the 3rd of February 2004, this page (or rather the page that was here) was swamped by requests and the server subsequentially failed. The reason was traced to Google introducing a fractal looking logo (see below), which when clicked, performed an image search for 'julia' and 'fractal'. The two most interesting resulting images on the top row of the list were on this page (or rather the page that was here). "

Thanks in part to San Francisco Bay area listeners of KFOG radio, who discussed the fractal logo on-air with a Google staffer. Not only the power of Google, but the power of promotion in the largest US technology center (KFOG also has a San Jose transmitter for Silicon Valley.)

Create a Hoax, Earn Damnation: "'Mac users are nuttier than a fruitcake,' Andy said. 'People have an unnatural emotional attachment to object(s) like computers. For some, their reaction was akin to me butchering their parents or a beloved pet.' "

Apple (well, Steve Jobs) has always strived to make "insanely great" systems. Why should it be a surprise that many of their buyers are insane? See overclockers.com for the original article. I'm not a Mac user either, but I've been very impressed by the G5 system design.

America Gripped By Breast Terror: Sunday's SuperBowl Half-Time show stunned many. I was stunned by the disjointed choreography, missed queues, inappropriate lyrics, flag descration, simulated sex, Justin Timberlake, and the suggestion of violence against women. Others were stunned by the briefly redeeming appearance of Janet Jackson's right breast. I don't get it -- if you're worried about keeping the show to appropriate family fare, why is the rest ok but brief partial nudity crosses the line? To me, it seems that those who are offended are offended by the wrong things. Of course, to me, the marching band was the best part of the half-time show.

There have also been many insisting that Janet exposed her bare breast, which is not accurate. She was wearing a large nipple shield held on with a barbell through her pierced nipple. She was wearing a Shield Style #7 from thechaingang.com. This isn't like a pastie in that it doesn't cover the nipple -- more adornment than concealment.

The Farewell Dossier: "'The pipeline software that was to run the pumps, turbines and valves was programmed to go haywire,' writes Reed, 'to reset pump speeds and valve settings to produce pressures far beyond those acceptable to the pipeline joints and welds. The result was the most monumental non-nuclear explosion and fire ever seen from space.' "

Occasionally, our intelligence succeeds brilliantly. Here is a story on the winning of the cold war, as told by William Safire.

E-Vote Still Flawed, Experts Say: "William Arbaugh, a University of Maryland assistant professor of computer science who participated in the test, graded the system an 'F,' 'with the possibility of raising it to a 'C' with extra credit -- that is, if they follow the recommendations we gave them.' "

They're beinning to do realistic testing, but they can't agree on what the dismal results really mean. This test addressed the systems as a whole after an earlier test where SAIC evaluated the software and proposed a number of changes. The changes had not been made to the systems being evaluated, and other previous recommendations had not yet been implemented. So a number of things that were found are being discounted as old news already addressed. No explanation why the second round of tests didn't include the remediation recommended in the first round, though. Diebold insists all is wonderful, and the state thinks they just need to stick some tape over the locks.

See You on the Darknet - Why we don't really want Internet security. : "Totalitarian governments (you know, like the one in 1984) will clamp down on the Net by instituting a digital Mark of the Beast, a personally assigned crypto-certificate that tags every online transaction, letting authorities track exactly who did what, where, and when. But Walker also argues that the rest of us (the ones who aren't yet peons in Orwellian regimes) will voluntarily sign up for similar surveillance when the certificate system is marketed to us as a cure for spam, fraud, and other Internet annoyances. He's right that we'll be sold this stuff. The question is, will we buy it?"

A better question is whether we'll be given a choice. For most, the implications will never be explained, and opt-out options will seldom be presented. When they are, they'll usually take the form of "to use this program, you must enable this feature." The biggest implication is that there will be more freedom for those who understand their rights and technology, and less freedom for sheep and idiots. We are, however, a nation of sheep and idiots.

Now, These Commercials: "'We're not concerned about getting new members,' Short said of the campaign. 'We're making sure the people we're serving aren't interested in getting anybody else.'"

That's Len Short, AOL's executive vice president of Brand Marketing. AOL now takes a page from Corel -- don't attract new customers, but try to keep your existing customers deluded into staying. When you stop trying to grow your business, you're in decline. Period. If you're already going over the cliff, why not try to fly?

Indians pitcher: Gay porn video was mistake: "Kazuhito Tadano never got a second chance in Japan, where the pitcher was shunned by pro baseball teams after he appeared in a gay pornographic video. However, the Cleveland Indians have accepted Tadano, who may make their club this season."

At the same time Ohio is about to outlaw gay marriage, the Indians are out recruiting gay porn stars for their baseball team. Actually, while he confirms his appearance in a gay porn video, he insists he's not gay. I guess we'll have to wait for the highlight reel.

Flower Power Takes on Land Mines: "The genetically modified weed has been coded to change color when its roots come in contact with nitrogen dioxide evaporating from explosives buried in soil. "

Ok, so it's really Thale Cress, but my first thought was "Poppies, Poppies, Poppies." As Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, it just seems amusing to think of combining this with their number one cash crop. Could carpet bombing give way to carpet seeding? If so, could super-accurate Predator-style drones target the red-flowered cress plants?

Students disciplined for posters on King Day: "A small group of Westside High School students plastered the school Monday with posters advocating that a white student from South Africa receive the 'Distinguished African American Student Award' next year. "

In a school with fewer than 70 blacks out of 1,843 students, he may have been the most qualified candidate. Another example of racism in reverse -- it's OK to single out a black student for an award because they're black, but try recognizing a white guy who's more african than they are, and all hell breaks loose.

Gay Marriage Poll Gets Annulled: "'We're very concerned that the traditional state of marriage is under threat in our country by homosexual activists,' said AFA representative Buddy Smith. 'It just so happens that homosexual activist groups around the country got a hold of the poll -- it was forwarded to them -- and they decided to have a little fun, and turn their organizations around the country (onto) the poll to try to cause it to represent something other than what we wanted it to. And so far, they succeeded with that.' "

So, they post a poll on the Internet, expecting that only righteous homophobes will vote, and when they find that the public doesn't share their view, they blame "homosexual activists." Obviously, everyone who understands that the separation of church and state will eventually force the courts to force the state to get out of the "sanctification" business is a homosexual activist. If you want to save marriage, or the "sanctity" of marriage, you need to get the government out of the marriage business. If you let the churches sanctify what they want, and let the government stop discriminating in which relationships they recognize, you'll save the sanctity of marriage. If not, the courts will eventually force the government to recognize gay marriages. Of course, you'll also find churches that sanctify gay marriages, whether the state does or not.

Nicked for doing 406mph: "The Peugeot 406 Sport has a top speed of 129mph. But when he saw the letter it confirmed that he had been exceeding the 60mph limit in Runcorn, Cheshire at 406mph."

Despite the impossible cited speed, they're still moving to prosecute, applying to magistrates for a summons. Here in DC, they ended up tossing out thousands of traffic camera tickets when the cameras were found to be miscalibrated, off by as much as 10-15 mph. No explanation for how the UK system can still be enforced when it appears to be off by about 300 mph if not more.

It should be noted that the British hold the world land speed record, although it was set in a jet-powered car in the Black Rock Desert, not in a Peugeot 406 Sport in Runcorn, Cheshire.

Microsoft backpedals on MikeRoweSoft threats: "Microsoft has admitted it took things 'too seriously' when its lawyers threatened a 17-year-old student called Mike Rowe over his domain name.

"Microsoft has admitted it may have made a mistake in threatening Mike Rowe for using his website, mikerowesoft.com."

The crux of the biscuit appears to be that, insulted by their $10 offer to buy the domain (refunding his "out of pocket expenses" consisting solely of the domain registration fee), he made an equally irrational counter-offer. Microsoft's lawyers immediately asserted that this demonstrated his intention to offer the domain for sale for a profit. That's a common lawyer trick, but it appears to have backfired this time.

Craving brain food, mad cow or no: "Cecelia Coan of Evansville, Ind., looks over the deep-fried cow brain sandwich she ordered to go at the Hilltop Inn in Evansville, Ind. The brains, battered with egg, seasoning and flour, puff up when cooked and trace back to a time when southern Indiana newcomers from Germany and Holland were frugal with their slaughtered cattle."

How to Deconstruct Almost Anything: "The essential paradigm of cyberspace is creating partially situated identities out of actual or potential social reality in terms of canonical forms of human contact, thus renormalizing the phenomenology of narrative space and requiring the naturalization of the intersubjective cognitive strategy, and thereby resolving the dialectics of metaphorical thoughts, each problematic to the other, collectively redefining and reifying the paradigm of the parable of the model of the metaphor."

As an aside, "The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon; the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true."

OK, so I'm teasing the most convoluted part. The article goes on to actually explain the literary style of deconstruction in simple terms, separating the style from the frequent lack of substance. Now I understand the objections to deconstruction -- I had been confusing the simple, practical method of "parsing the language" from the complex and slightly deranged literary metaphysics exercise.

MSNBC - What Party Elders Overlook in Dean: "Former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley, himself a past Democratic Presidential candidate who recently endorsed Dean, has figured out what party insiders haven't. With turnout below 50% in Presidential elections, millions of potential voters are up for grabs. It's the Democratic Party that has the best chance to win them over. But without that infusion of new blood, the party will be trapped like a hamster on treadmill, frantically running in place to hang on to those seniors, minorities, and women who form the old party base.

"Yes, Dean may be the riskiest of the Democratic hopefuls. But he also offers the party its best chance of breaking through the red state/blue state, 50/50 split in the popular vote that has thrown modern-day Presidential elections into gridlock. "

I've been saying since 2000 that what the Democrats need is a charismatic firebrand populist who is willing to return to core Democratic values, speak his mind and take positions even if they are at odds with the polls and discard the strategy of "triangulation", and re-invigorate the party witn an influx of new (young) voters. In Vermont, 80% of the voters polled were against civil unions when Dean signed the measure, yet Dean ran his re-election campaign on the issue and won. If he can sell the message in the Bible Belt that the only way to save the religious institution of marriage is to institute the civil instituion of civil unions -- the whole separation-of-church-and-state issue -- he may be able to persuade many religious moderates to support him. If he can convince religious moderates that civil unions will guarantee religious freedom, he can splinter the Republican religious right. And win? Maybe -- call it a bank shot.

Carnival Booth: An Algorithm for Defeating the Computer-Assisted Passenger Screening System: "To improve the efficiency of airport security screening, the FAA deployed the Computer Assisted Passenger Screening system (CAPS) in 1999. CAPS attempts to identify potential terrorists through the use of profiles so that security personnel can focus the bulk of their attention on high-risk individuals. In this paper, we show that since CAPS uses profiles to select passengers for increased scrutiny, it is actually less secure than systems that employ random searches. In particular, we present an algorithm called Carnival Booth that demonstrates how a terrorist cell can defeat the CAPS system. Using a combination of statistical analysis and computer simulation, we evaluate the efficacy of Carnival Booth and illustrate that CAPS is an ineffective security measure. Based on these findings, we argue that CAPS should not be legally permissible since it does not satisfy court-interpreted exemptions to the Fourth Amendment. Finally, based both on our analysis of CAPS and historical case studies, we provide policy recommendations on how to improve air security."

It's sad when college students can knock holes in your security system before you deploy it, demonstrate how to game the system, and recommend something better. It's refreshing when the something better is simpler and less invasive and presents no new privacy concerns. It's maddening to know that common sense and civil liberties will be trounced by clueless polititians anyway.

McCormick & Schmick condom girl previously sued Taco Bell over spilt coffee: "The California woman who sued a restaurant after allegedly finding a condom in her chowder agreed yesterday to a confidential settlement of her legal claim. Amazingly, if Laila Sultan is to be believed, the condom episode was the second time she was forced to sue over an injurious incident at a chain restaurant. In December 1996, Sultan sued a Long Beach Taco Bell after she was burned by some spilled coffee (Sultan claimed her tray was bumped into by some rambunctious young customers). A Taco Bell lawyer told TSG that Sultan's claim was 'a b.s. case,' but that the fast food firm settled the matter for about $2000 to avoid hefty legal fees. Before settling in the condom case, a lawyer for McCormick & Schmick's seafood restaurant ridiculed Sultan's claim, saying there was 'absolutely no evidence to suggest the restaurant was the source of the condom' found in her grub in February 2002. Along with the restaurant lawsuits, Sultan's tort history includes two other lawsuits, both of which she filed after allegedly being injured in auto mishaps. Below you'll find Sultan's Taco Bell lawsuit. (5 pages) "

Dell in front line of War on Terror™: "Being an honest terrorist organisation, we frankly stated that the PDA was for export to Chad (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, North Korea and Syria being unavailable as options), that the intended use was government/military and that the product would indeed be used in connection with weapons of mass destruction. "

Of course, it then invited them to pay and offered immediate shipment. They theorize "Of course, it's likely that Dell's cunning plan involves taking the credit card payment for intelligence-gathering purposes and then sending in the helicopter gunships."

Wait a minute -- Dell has helicopter gunships?

New system no easy touch for 134 voters in Broward: "Bogdanoff had a ready explanation for the mystery. She theorized that some of the people who cast nonvotes were among the county's true-blue Democrats who were appalled to find a ballot with only Republicans.

''That would make a heck of a lot of sense if you were looking for a Democrat on the ballot,'' she said."

It may be a valid explanation, but we'll never know, because the system produces no independant audit trail. Why is it that when these things happen, they always seem to break in favor of the same party? Also, why was only one party represented?

Treasury breaks word on e-mail anonymity : "Jim Harper, editor of the Privacilla.org privacy advocacy site, says 'Treasury's privacy promise included an important unwritten caveat: 'Unless keeping this promise is inconvenient.'' "

Sue them for violating their posted privacy policy, and fine them for each element improperly disclosed. The bastards.

Citing 'security concerns,' Tom Ridge pulls the plug on 'Yes, Dear': "Countering critics who have charged that the cancellation of 'Yes, Dear' might be an overreaction on the government's part, Mr. Ridge said, 'Whether or not 'Yes, Dear' was going to be used as part of a plot to destroy the world, I think we can all agree that we're better off without it.'"

"Mr. Ridge added that, effective Monday, CBS would replace "Yes, Dear" with repeated airings of Ed Bradley's "60 Minutes" interview with Michael Jackson "until the end of time."

Reuters AlertNet - German government builds 225,000 euro frog tunnel: "Germany's cash-strapped government is paying 225,000 euros ($285,200) to build a tunnel to help frogs avoid the perils of a busy road, officials said on Monday.

"Germany's government is expected to breach European Union budget deficit limits for a third year in a row in 2004."

Slate reads another Dean book so you don't have to.: "Dean's Kentucky campaign begins poorly: Letters received by Dean after he signed Vermont's civil-unions bill: 'I was really sorry to read where you have allowed the passage of a bill recognizing queers to marry,' wrote someone from Kentucky, 'who vowed never to vacation in Vermont again.' 'I have been a Democrat all my life, but now that the Democrats are turning into queers, I am switching to the Republican Party. I hope you and all your queer buddies rot in hell.'

"Another said, 'Dean Is a Faggot Lover. All Homosexuals, Go to Vermont, Dean Loves You. All Normal People, Stay Away From Vermont. A State Full Of Perverts—Run By Perverts. Boycott Fag Run Vermont.' On one fund-raising walk after the bill-signing, an elderly woman walked up to Dean and said, 'You fucking, queer-loving son of a bitch.'"

Unfortunately, we aren't told who was really living in Howard Dean's room at Yale -- Brother Jim Dean (who now works for the campaign) describes his brother's 1971 graduation from Yale: "We get to Howard's room, and he isn't there, but there are a bunch of people apparently living there who aren't Yale students but are kind of street people with tattoos and all."

What You Can't Say: "You have to take that extra step if you want to think clearly. But it's harder, because now you're working against social customs instead of with them. Everyone encourages you to grow up to the point where you can discount your own bad moods. Few encourage you to continue to the point where you can discount society's bad moods."

"(This essay is about heresy: how to think forbidden thoughts, and what to do with them. The latter was till recently something only a small elite had to think about. Now we all have to, because the Web has made us all publishers.)"

Despite Best Efforts, Doughnut Makers Must Fry, Fry Again: "In the summer of 1997, the FDA, armed with search warrants, raided Mr. Ligon's office and packaging facilities in Kentucky and Illinois, seizing 18,720 doughnuts, along with cinnamon rolls and labels. Mr. Ligon shut down the business, but the FDA pursued a criminal case."

Doughnut fraud is serious, and shall incur the full weight of law enforcement. I wonder how long the doughnuts lasted in the evidence room?

TSA Chief At Dulles Is Charged With DWI: "On a night considered at particular risk of terrorism, with extraordinary security actions in place across the country, Brady was supposed to be at his airport post until 2 a.m. TSA spokeswoman Jennifer Marty said that Brady should have been participating in a security exercise to ensure the safety of air travelers at that hour."

Thank you. I feel safer now.

'Queer Eye' Questions Code Orange: "But even as he attacked Ridge’s choice of orange, Kressley did not recommend that the government step back down to a yellow alert, pronouncing that color “yucky beyond Thunderdome.” For his part, Kressley unveiled a new “Queer Eye” terror alert chart, featuring such colors as raspberry sherbet, scarlet and blizzard."

White, off white, antique white, ivory, cream.

Wired News: Judge Bars Forced Anthrax Shots: "The Pentagon must stop forcing servicemen and women to take the anthrax vaccination against their will, unless President Bush signs a special order, a judge ruled Monday."

I will encourage him to sign such an order. The military is one of the very few arenas where I would recommend forced vaccination. It isn't so much using our servicemembers as guinea pigs, it's more a matter of protecting them (and their ability to successfully complete their mission) from agents that are much more likely to be encountered in an operational military setting than in civilian life. Maybe it's a matter of the required waiver never having been issued by President Clinton, but it worries me when the judiciary actively impedes national defense.

Texas housewife busted for hawking erotic toys / Sales rep for Brisbane firm sold vibrator to undercover agents: "Joanne Webb, a former fifth-grade teacher and mother of three, was in a county court in Cleburne, Texas, on Monday to answer obscenity charges for selling the vibrator to undercover narcotics officers posing as a dysfunctional married couple in search of a sex aid.

"Webb, a saleswoman for Passion Parties of Brisbane, faces a year in jail and a $4,000 fine if convicted."

As a result, her husband had a nervous breakdown, and she's left wondering. "We have a real problem with drugs in our schools,'' she said, "and they're using our narcotics officers to entrap me for selling a vibrator.''

Columbine spoof online way out of line: "Using that logic, I could create a website pretending I have a target-shooting business with cutout targets that resemble naked, rail-thin Jews as part of a re-enactment of the Holocaust.

"Or I could dream up a re-enactment of a slave ship heading to America. For only $25 you can enter this makeshift vessel and feel what it's like to get whipped and beaten while chained and unable to defend yourself."

Today's example of a reporter who doesn't get it. While demanding accountability from a tasteless spoof site, she gives many inches of free publicity including a link, but fails to follow up on the falsified domain registration. She finishes by inciting hack attacks against the site, without realizing she already has enough information to revoke the domain registration. Why is a journalist whining about tastelessness on the 'net when her point is accountability, and why is she advocating illegal action when she has documented facts that provide a legal means? And why does she feel action must be taken, rather than simply reporting facts?

California blocks sales of 'Glofish' pets - Dec. 4, 2003: "'For me it's a question of values, it's not a question of science,' said commissioner Sam Schuchat. 'I think selling genetically modified fish as pets is wrong.' "

Which is unfortunate, since his job is to enforce the law. Worse, he went on to say "To me, this seems like an abuse of the power we have over life, and I'm not prepared to go there today." The law in question was meant to prevent commercial fisheries from threatening local species should GM food crop fish be released into the wild. The pet store fish will not survive in the wild, and cannot reproduce.

Teacher to 1st-graders: Santa is fake: "'How do you destroy a 6-year-old like that?' said Pam Sturt, whose son Bradley is in D.J.'s class."

Delusion is not the same as innocence. I'd ask the same question of the parents who told the kid lies. Of course, it's easier to blame a teacher for telling the truth. You shouldn't blame the DJ either.

Experts voice doubts about voting machines: "As Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller considers which electronic voting machines to buy for the state, two national computer experts said their tests show the devices are unreliable and should not be bought until questions about security and accuracy can be answered.

"But the manufacturers disagree, and Heller said he plans to enlist the expertise of the Nevada Gaming Control Board to ensure the machines are secure and accurate."

That can't be bad. The controls which the Nevada Gaming Control Board places on slot machines dwarf the controls that most states have placed on electronic voting systems. They have substantial enforcement experience, too.

Ohio Halts E-Voting Machines: "COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The state's top elections official said Tuesday that security problems found in new touch-screen voting systems mean they won't be in place statewide in time for the November 2004 presidential election."

That would be Ohio's Secretary of State. Maryland delayed, then went forward under pressure from the Republican governor. Diebold is responding that the same mitigation they used in Maryland will satisfy Ohio. I presume that means having the Republican governor of Ohio (Bob Taft) apply pressure.

Also worth noting (again) is that Diebold Election Systems is headquartered in Ohio, and it's president is a major Republican fundraiser who is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."

Army Quietly Opens JetBlue Probe: "The Army's investigation is likely the third federal inquiry into possible violations of law stemming from JetBlue's handing over almost 5 million passenger records -- in violation of its own privacy policy -- to a defense contractor. That contractor, Torch Concepts, then augmented that data with Social Security numbers and other personal data which it bought, with JetBlue's permission, from data giant Acxiom."

Hopefully, the story will get some traction this time 'round. An update to an earlier post. Probably smoke and mirrors...

Master/Slave: "Another example of this phenomenon surfaced recently in reference to 'master/slave,' a term commonly used in computing (and related industries) to describe the unidirectional control of one device or process by another. Equipment vendors who do business with Los Angeles County received a message in November 2003 from the county's Internal Services Department (ISD) informing them that 'based on the cultural diversity and sensitivity of Los Angeles County,' labeling or describing equipment with the term 'master/slave' is no longer acceptable: "

Accompanying the (verified) memorandum is a nice article on the collision between linguistics and "political correctness run amok."

Interracial Interactions are Cognitively Demanding: "A new Dartmouth study reveals that interracial contact has a profound impact on a person's attention and performance. The researchers found new evidence using brain imaging that white individuals attempt to control racial bias when exposed to black individuals, and that this act of suppressing bias exhausts mental resources."

As El Reg puts it, "As for us, we reckon there's a bit of a chicken/egg debate to be had here: does racism make you stupid, or are racists thick to begin with?" Yes.

Can America trust electronic voting?: "What has resulted is a set of uncritical mandates heavily weighted in favor of the local purchase of untested and unreliable electronic voting systems, supported by large federal subsidies of your tax dollars -- or rather borrowed dollars that future taxpayers will eventually have to pay off, with interest.

Election officials nationwide failed to demand that HAVA include meaningful regulation of voting-system manufacturers and vendors. Congressional staff were apparently persuaded that the mere application of electronic technology would be sufficient to protect the security of the right to vote, and the integrity of elections.
But this is at best a willing suspension of disbelief, a confusion of the difference between hope for the future, and money in the bank."

Written by the Yolo County clerk/recorder and a professor of law at UC Davis. We're starting to see more of these articles from people who do know what they're talking about. They all point towards extreme caution, and most question motives.

The Implications Of Food Dye On Poop Color: "The year was 1996. I was a biochem major at St. Michael's College in Winooski, Vermont. I had consumed copious quantities of Purplesaurus Rex Kool-aid in a one night time frame. A few hours later, I pooped. It was green. Bright green. I was fascinated, and called as many of my floor-mates as would come into the stall to marvel at the miracle of the 'not brown, not bloody shit'. "

Fine, so we know how to make green. Where's the rest of the spectrum?

Uranium Pebbles May Light the Way: "To developers, the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor design promises to deliver an 'African Renaissance' -- a rebirth of nuclear energy. The PBMR is safer, cleaner, smaller and more affordable than conventional nuclear power plants, says Tom Ferreira, spokesman for the PBMR consortium. In fact, proponents insist that the reactor's design features make it 'meltdown-proof' and 'walk-away safe.' "

Nice to see PBMR getting some press. This is a very promising technology, as much for its benefit as for its waste storage and disposal approach. The reactor is designed to operate over a 40-year life cycle, with all wastes stored on site for an additional 40 years thereafter. Back to background 80 years after starting. It is also small and modular, so multiple plants would be a common approach in larger scale implementations.

Electronic Voting Debacle: "Security pros also need to work to change the perceptions of public officials. Unfortunately, many of them are ignorant about security, some willfully so ('In response to the Hopkins report [by Avi Rubin], Linda H. Lamone, the state election administrator, said yesterday that Maryland's experience in the 2002 election gave her 'absolute confidence' in the Diebold touch-screen system'). Couple that with a back-against-the-wall defensiveness, and you get statements like this, made by Penelope Bonsall, director of the Office of Election Administration at the Federal Election Commission: 'The computer scientists are saying, 'The machinery you vote on is inaccurate and could be threatened; therefore, don't go. Your vote doesn't mean anything.'' No, Ms. Bonsall, that is most definitely not what security experts are saying. But believing so does help solidify your refusal to look at their concerns, doesn't it?"

Another grand roll-up with links-o-plenty.

Strip search that spares your blushes: "Last year a powerful scanner which can detect plastic explosives and illicit drugs was installed and tested at London’s Gatwick Airport as part of a pilot programme.

"But the scanner has been sitting idle because its remarkable technology allows it to use a special wavelength of light literally to see through clothing. This, for obvious reasons, infringes civil liberties and means the machine cannot be used."

So, first we spend a lot of money on a machine that lets us see people naked, then we spend lots more money making it come up with a dummy image so we don't. Of course, this wouldn't be an issue if we all flew Naked Air.

Movie moguls in piracy quandary: "'As an industry, we are going to have to adjust. The tide is coming in whether we want it to or not,' says Sony America Chairman Howard Stringer. 'We've got to redefine our relationship with our customers and recognize that it's a two-way dialogue. We can't sit back and close our eyes for five years, the way the record business did before they began to deal with new technology.'"

At least some among them get it. Not so others, including Jack Valenti, their spokesweasel.

Opening Doors With the DMCA: "A universal garage door opener is not in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, even if used on a system made by another company, a U.S. District Court ruled Thursday. "

That's the second of the highest profile red herrings. This brings it back to mostly the entertainment industry (RIAA/MPAA) abusing a bad law.

U.S. takes hard line on Greenpeace: "But 15 months after the APL Jade incident, the U.S. Justice Department in Florida’s Southern District dramatically upped the ante. Drawing on an 1872 law, it filed criminal charges against Greenpeace USA for boarding a ship before its arrival in port, and with conspiracy to do so — in a case scheduled to be heard in December."

UPDATE: Kari Huus kindly provided the text of the code and the case history from its last use in 1890:

Title 18, Sec. 2279. - Boarding vessels before arrival

Whoever, not being in the United States service, and not being duly authorized by law for the purpose, goes on board any vessel about to arrive at the place of her destination, before her actual arrival, and before she has been completely moored, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

The master of such vessel may take any such person into custody, and deliver him up forthwith to any law enforcement officer, to be by him taken before any committing magistrate, to be dealt with according to law

Here is an explanation of the prohibition, from a decision on United States v. Sullivan, in 1890:

The evil which this section is intended to prevent and remedy is apparent, and in this district notorious. For instance, lawless persons, in the interest or employ of what may be called "sailor mongers," get on board vessels bound for Portland as soon as they get in the Columbia river, and by the help of intoxicants, and the use of other means, often savoring of violence, get the crews ashore, and leave the vessel without help to manage or care for her. The sailor thereby loses the wages of the voyage, and is dependent on the boarding house for the necessaries of life, where he is kept, until sold by his captors to an outgoing vessel, at an enormous price.

Despite precedent to the contrary, this looks like an appropriate charge. Boarding a vessel is a major offense, much more than harassment or interference with navigation. When I was in the Navy, we occasionally worried about having to scuttle Greenpeace craft or repel boarders by force. We would have had few choices -- rules of engagement tied our hands. In this case, it is also interesting that the second clause gives the captain rights to detain -- that's much more in line with what we've come to expect from Ashcroft, but I'm not sure it's relevant in this application.

You Gotta Stop, Smell the Roses: "During the past two weeks and 1,212.5 miles down Route 1, we've met witches and whirlpool survivors, smugglers, sailors and spies. We've experienced snow and ice (Caribou, Maine), torrential rains (Portland, Maine), mega-fog (all of Rhode Island), major mugginess (Alexandria, Virginia), one small tornado (Poolesville, Maryland) and a really swell total lunar eclipse."

BOGUS ALERT: If they're travelling Route 1, and they're in Poolesville, MD, they've tumbled into an alternate universe. Poolesville is west of Route 1 by over 30 miles. Poolesville, VA, is even further off in the other direction. Hooray for fact checking.

Uncensored Gore: The take-no-prisoners social critic skewers Bush, Ashcroft and the whole damn lot of us for letting despots rule: "Do you not think of Bush and Ashcroft as Americans?

"I think of them as an alien army. They have managed to take over everything, and quite in the open. We have a deranged president. We have despotism. We have no due process."

Vidal, that is. The original writer of Caligula discusses the founding fathers, the DMCA, Enron, the PATRIOT act, Iraq, and electronic voting in a wide-ranging interview.

Diebold with a Vengance: Secrets, lies, and electronic voting: "Napsterized memos are perhaps the least of Diebold's problems. Allegations have surfaced that upgrades to voting software used in the most recent California elections had not been independently certified, a violation of state law. The more conspiratorially minded have even attributed surprising results in hotly contested 2002 congressional races to e-chicanery on the 's part. That suspicion is tied in no small way to the fact that Diebold CEO Walden O'Dell is a major GOP fundraiser who told Buckeye State Republicans in an August fundraising letter that he was 'committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year.' "

A nice roll-up, with links-o-plenty.

Post Office Gets Pressured to Pry: "Chris Hoofnagle, associated director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, argues that a system requiring postal identity cards or secure stamps would sacrifice anonymity for little gain in security, since anyone who could acquire anthrax would be clever enough to filch a few stamps. "

"Those that would sacrifice essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security." -- Ben Franklin

Vote count marred by computer woes: "A lengthy collaboration between the county's information technology director and advisers from the MicroVote software producer fixed the problem. But before that, computer readings of stored voting machine data showed far more votes than registered voters."

You have to appreciate the extensive detail regarding the problem and the supposed "fix". Or the complete lack thereof. Note that this is the third e-vote vendor to deliver an irrational overvote.

E-Vote Firm's Bill Comes Due: "Starting in 2004, the state will also conduct random audits of voting systems to ensure that all software and hardware is certified. And in the future, the state will require CEOs of vendors to affirm under penalty of perjury that the company will not change systems without obtaining written approval from the secretary of state. Failure to do so may result in de-certification and possible criminal charges, Kyle said."

So Diebold has to pay to have an independant audit confirm that they violated the law (as already separately stipulated), while several counties are left holding the bag with warehouses full of Diebold equipment awaiting deployment. Expect further waivers and wrangling, especially with the warehoused systems.

Beauty contest gives special award to Afghan contestant: "JUDGES ANNOUNCED that, for the first time, they were handing out a “beauty for a cause” prize. They awarded it to Samadzai for “symbolizing the newfound confidence, courage and spirit of today’s women” and “representing the victory of women’s rights and various social, personal and religious struggles.”"

Two things. First, as mentioned previously, she left Afghanistan in 1996 and has lived in the US since. Second, while it's nice to recognize those who overcome adversity, how meaningful is it in a beauty contest?

Phone uses finger as earpiece: "The user puts his finger into his ear for the vibrations to be picked up by the eardrum, which then transcribes them back into sound signals for the brain. "

Stick it in your ... ear.

Jason Salavon - Every Playboy Centerfold, The Decades: "The photographs in this suite are the result of mean averaging every Playboy centerfold foldout for the four decades beginning Jan. 1960 through Dec. 1999. This tracks, en masse, the evolution of this form of portraiture."

Very interesting. Don't expect nudity. Over time, the hair gets blonder, the waist gets thinner, the breasts get larger. But in the 70's, the legs were further apart...

Simpsons Plant Seeds of Invention: "Baur grafted a tomato plant onto tobacco roots, and voilà, he had a real, live tomacco plant. The two plants can successfully become one because they come from the same plant family, which also includes eggplant and the deadly nightshade. The tomacco even bore fruit, although Baur said he believes it's poisonous because it likely contains a lethal amount of nicotine. "

A follow-up to an earlier post with additional information.

Police to stop citing drivers who flash lights - Tuesday, 11/04/03: "Moore's decision came yesterday shortly after a Williamson County judge dismissed the city of Franklin's case against a man who flashed a warning and was charged and found guilty of interfering with a police officer's performance of duty. He appealed.

Judge Russ Heldman dismissed the city's ruling that Harlie ''Bill'' Walker, 75, violated a Franklin ordinance Aug. 14, when he flashed his lights at oncoming traffic to let drivers know there was a police car ahead."

An update to a story covered earlier. The appeals court made things right, and the police say they will change policy and obey the court. As it should be. As it should have been. Their mission is to keep people from speeding, not to profit from speeding tickets and charge those who interfere.

North Bay: Bolinas supports nature bid: "The measure, submitted by a woman who wears burlap and paints her face with chocolate, advises the Bolinas Community Public Utility District to adopt a policy defining the town as 'a socially acknowledged nature-loving town because to like to drink the water out of the lakes to like to eat the blueberries to like the bears is not hatred to hotels and motor boats. Dakar. Temporary and way to save life, skunks and foxes (airplanes to go over the ocean) and to make it beautiful.' "

To like burlap, to vote chocolate, to live in bushes, to drink the tree-huggters, is not hatred for tie-dye, pot-smoking, or Buddhism.

Calif. Halts E-Vote Certification: "Uncertified software may have been installed on electronic voting machines used in one California county, according to the secretary of state's office.

Marc Carrel, assistant secretary of state for policy and planning, told attendees Thursday at a panel on voting systems that California was halting the certification process for new voting machines manufactured by Diebold Election Systems. "

Add this to the problems reported earlier with the certification process in Riverside. "Diebold officials, who were attending the meeting, seemed surprised by the announcement and expressed displeasure to several panelists afterward that it had been introduced in a public forum. They were unavailable for comment." Well, unavailable for comment except to say they were pissed to be embarassed in public. Tough, they should be. Or worse.

Tomacco Becomes A Reality!: "Rob Baur, a huge Simpsons fan, grafted a tomato plant to a tobacco plant, grew it, and tonight he has proof from the lab that it worked. 'What we found was nicotine in the leaves'. said scientist Ray Grimsbo. The plant grew off the tobacco roots and sucked up the nicotine, just like Tomacco on The Simpsons. The lab hasn't tested if the actual tomato has nicotine in it yet, but they say it probably does. 'Generally in the fruit there is more material concentrated because that's what everything's going through to produce the fruit for the next generation. I would expect there would be more.' And that would make the real life tomacco plant very poisonous. Rob Baur says he grew the tomacco plant just for fun, just to see if it would really work. But what's next for him? 'I'll have to review my DVD's to see if there is more Simpsons science available.'"

For video reports from KPTV, go here.

Biniki: "Biniki is a butt bra. It supports and provides gentle curves that those behind you will appreciate."

The Diebold Memos' Smoking Gun -- Volusia County Memos Disclose Election 2000 Vote Fraud: "'If you strip away the partisan rancor over the 2000 election, you are left with the undeniable fact that a presidential candidate conceded the election to his opponent based on [results from] a second card that mysteriously appears, subtracts 16,022 votes, then just as mysteriously disappears.'"

Based on an analysis of the leaked memos (that Diebold is attempting to quash using the DMCA), there are some very obvious questions, like how a precinct with 600 voters could cast over 16,000 votes, or negate them. Note the Diebold references to "the boogie man may be reading our mail," "second shooter theory," and "grassy knoll."

kiss my bitter ass: "Howard Dean came into the restaurant where I wait tables in Burlington, Vermont. He was very laid-back, not high maintenence at all. He tipped well, 20%+, not too high, but that's okay because I don't think he is personally very rich and the fact he was so nice made up for it. Anyway, he acted like just a regular guy in Burlington, Vermont, very easy to wait on, no fuss. He definately didn' t expect to be treated any differently because he's running for President. I thought he was pretty cool. "

Should I be impressed because a bitter waitress speaks well of him, or cynical that the post is a plant by a hip PR flack poser?

The Goretti girls take 'flasher': "Call it 'Girls Gone Wild,' South Philly-style.

"Three former victims recognized the suspect - who had been preying on the girls since Sept. 14 - and chased him down. About 20 Goretti students soon followed and they managed to wrestle him to the ground until Philly cops arrived, police spokesman William Colarulo said last night."

Despite their behavior, the article insists on referring to them as victims. To my eye, they pretty much refused to be victims. You go girls.