:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::

:: 6.30.2003 ::

:: Iraq's media free-for-all ::

From BBC News:

All over central Iraq, independent radio and television stations are suddenly emerging to fill the void left by the destruction and collapse of the old national broadcaster.

It's a kind of media Wild West. Anyone who can grab a relay station and get a radio or TV station off the ground becomes a station manager. Anyone who can get hold of a printing press, or even a photocopier, is suddenly a newspaper editor.

posted by me

:: 11:39:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Online Music update ::

Record Labels May Face Risk in Music Suits
By Jon Healey Los Angeles Times

As the record industry prepares to haul thousands of alleged music pirates into court, its biggest risk may be suing the wrong people--and losing the support of leading members of Congress in the process.

posted by me

:: 11:36:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Bloggers Gain Libel Protection ::

From Wired:

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last Tuesday that Web loggers, website operators and e-mail list editors can't be held responsible for libel for information they republish, extending crucial First Amendment protections to do-it-yourself online publishers.

Online free speech advocates praised the decision as a victory. The ruling effectively differentiates conventional news media, which can be sued relatively easily for libel, from certain forms of online communication such as moderated e-mail lists. One implication is that DIY publishers like bloggers cannot be sued as easily.

One-way news publications have editors and fact-checkers, and they're not just selling information -- they're selling reliability," said Cindy Cohn, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "But on blogs or e-mail lists, people aren't necessarily selling anything, they're just engaging in speech. That freedom of speech wouldn't exist if you were held liable for every piece of information you cut, paste and forward."

The court based its decision on a section of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, or the CDA. That section states, "... no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." Three cases since then -- Zeran v. AOL, Gentry v. eBay and Schneider v. Amazon -- have granted immunity to commercial online service providers.

Tuesday's court ruling clarifies the reach of the immunity granted by the CDA to cover noncommercial publishers like list-serve operators and others who take a personal role in deleting or approving messages for online publication.

posted by me

:: 10:53:00 AM [+] ::
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:: So Weird ::

From Chuck Shepherd's News of the Weird:

Another PETA Tactic: In April, The Independent (London) revealed that the founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the 53-year-old Ingrid Newkirk, will be advocating her cause even after she passes away. To continue PETA's campaign to educate people on the treatment of animals for food, fashion and testing, her will provides that part of her body be publicly barbecued; that her feet be turned into ornaments; that part of her skin be turned into a leather product; that the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency receive her eyes, mounted; and that the owner of the Ringling Brothers circus receive one of her fingers, mounted. [The Independent, 4-19-03]

Also, in the Last Month
A 29-year-old man was hospitalized in fair condition after he playfully put a 4-inch-long fish in his mouth (not realizing the fish would head for the only opening, his esophagus) (Macomb, Ill.). At La Mesa Junior High School (where students can be expelled for carrying even squirt guns), the yearbook came out with a quarter-page ad for the National Rifle Association (Santa Clarita, Calif.). The 48-year-old owner of a skydiving service whose fatality rate is eight times the national average was killed while skydiving (Ottawa, Ill.). [WQAD-TV-AP, 6-10-03] [Los Angeles Times, 6-10-03] [Houston Chronicle-AP, 6-8-03]

Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa FL 33679 or WeirdNews@earthlink.net

posted by me

:: 10:15:00 AM [+] ::
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:: 2nd Mars Rover Launch Delayed ::

From Discovery.com:

June 29, 2003 — NASA late Saturday delayed the launch of its second Mars space probe for 24 hours, due to strong winds over the launch site, a spokesman said early Sunday.

The first of NASA's twin Mars rovers left Earth on June 10 for a seven-month journey to the Red Planet and the start of an ambitious mission to hunt for signs of water.

"If we have any hope of finding an answer to the questions 'Is there life on Mars; Was there life on Mars?' we have to show that water not only exists on Mars but persevered for long, long periods of time," said Ed Weiler, NASA's associate administrator for space science, when the first rover was launched.

"And if it did, and if evidence for past or present life on Mars ultimately is found, humanity would finally have solid evidence Earth is not unique in a vast and forbidding universe," he said.

posted by me

:: 10:01:00 AM [+] ::
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:: WMD war in the UK ::

No 10 and BBC are on warpath over Iraq WMDs

The war of words and threats between BBC and Tony Blair' powerful communications director Alastair Campbell over the allegation by a Radio 4 reporter that Campbell sexed up Iraq weapons dossier has led to the drawing of battle lines between Downing Street and mandarins at BBC.

A cabinet minister has reportedly said that the issue was now "tribal".

This unprecedented row between the Government and the Broadcasting Corporation took a dramatic turn on Saturday night when Andrew Gilligan, the reporter at the centre of claims that Number 10 sexed up evidence against Saddam Hussain, announced that he was ready to sue Phil Woolas, the deputy leader of the House of Commons, unless he received a full apology for allegation made by the minister against him.

Woolas had sent a letter to Gilligan saying that he had misled Foreign Affairs Select Committee which is conducting an inquiry into the Government's handling of the run-up to war in Iraq. Gilligan is livid and says the allegation that he misled the Committee is defamatory. He has also said that unlike Campbell's allegations, Woolas's are not protected by parliamentary privilege.

Gilligan has released the letter he sent to Woolas and that has led to furious media campaign and also ld both the Government and BBC into uncharted territory.

posted by me

:: 9:58:00 AM [+] ::
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HAPPY B-DAY TO ME DA!!! =)

posted by me

:: 8:06:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Dessert is back! ::

Beer ice cream goes on sale

from BBC NEWS:
The distinctive taste of Newcastle Brown Ale has become the latest ice cream flavour from a family-run Northumberland dairy
Newcastle Brown Ale flavoured ice cream was launched on Tuesday by Doddington Dairies, and will only be available during the summer months.

The makers say the handmade ice cream reflects the region's identity, and was even handed out to the European Capital of Culture 2008 judges on their last visit.

Newcastle Brown Ale has already been used as an ingredient in locally produced products, such as bread.

Famous brand

Although the ice cream is made using the ale, under licence from brewers Scottish and Newcastle, the cooking process means it contains less than 1% alcohol.

Jackie Maxwell, director of Doddington Dairy said: "We were looking for an ice cream flavour that was distinctive, and had a strong identity with the region.

"Newcastle Brown Ale has all of that.

"It has been a fantastic challenge working on a product like this, with one of the world's most famous brands.

"Every part of the process has been great for us - from the design of the cartons, through to testing the ale syrup for just the right flavour.

"The ice cream highlights Newcastle Brown's unique flavour characteristics."

Award-winning products

Mrs Maxwell said the product had a caramel flavour with a "subtle" taste of Newcastle Brown and said it had gone down well with the Capital of Culture judges.

She added: "I think they liked it, they thought it was great. We got some feedback from the organisers and they said they had tasted it and enjoyed it."

Sharon Annette, of Scottish Courage, who brew Newcastle Brown Ale, said: "Doddington Dairy are an award winning North Eastern company, Newcastle Brown is an award winning North Eastern beer. It's a perfect partnership."

The Newcastle Brown Ale ice cream goes on sale at supermarkets and speciality shops across Newcastle and Northumberland from next week.

posted by me [Thanks to alternativetentacles.com =]

:: 8:04:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Online Music update ::

From Wired:
Are You in RIAA's Cross Hairs?
By Katie Dean

When the recording industry said Wednesday it would sue heavy music sharers, it left one unnerving question unanswered: Just who would they consider to be a heavy sharer?

In a conference call with reporters, the Recording Industry Association of America's President Cary Sherman said the group will begin collecting evidence against those who offer "substantial" amounts of music online to others over peer-to-peer networks, then will file hundreds of copyright-infringement lawsuits beginning in August. But he declined to say specifically what "substantial" means.

"They may go after people who are on really large pipes and seem to be uploading a lot," said Bram Cohen, a P2P programmer who developed BitTorrent. Or, the RIAA could "find someone who is unimportant but typical of everybody out there, and just sue them to make their life miserable to send a message."

The vagueness seems to be a deliberate move by the RIAA to strike fear in anyone who trades, experts said.

posted by me

:: 8:53:00 AM [+] ::
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:: RE Green Computing ::

From Wired:
Bill Aims to Cut Computer Clutter
By Katie Dean

Junking the old Apple on your desk is not as easy as tossing an apple in the compost pile.

Because no widespread solution exists for taking care of obsolete computers, many are buried at the bottom of closets and garages or dropped off at charitable organizations to become the nonprofits' problem.

A federal bill designed to curb the growing computer garbage problem would tack on a small fee to computer purchases in order to fund new recycling programs.

"We have an overwhelming number of computers that need to be recycled or properly disposed of," said Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), the sponsor of the legislation. "We have a responsibility to deal with them."

Environmental advocates and manufacturers alike are glad the problem is being addressed at a national level, though both sides say the bill, dubbed the National Computer Recycling Act, needs work.

Thompson's bill would create a grant program through the Environmental Protection Agency to help fund a national infrastructure for recycling computers.

posted by me

:: 10:05:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Wired "Quote Marks" ::

"What is the value in accelerating the speed of the rumor mill?"
— An attorney questions the usefulness of a new Pentagon database that will track anomalous activities.

From a Wired report:
The Defense Department is building a database of unverified domestic reports of suspicious, terrorist-like activity targeting the military. Critics say the Pentagon's new Talon antiterrorism system is just Operation TIPS in a military uniform.

posted by me

:: 9:25:00 AM [+] ::
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:: TIA update ::

From CNET News.com:
Senator presses Pentagon on spy plan
By Declan McCullagh

Sen. Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat who wrote legislation requiring a report on the Total Information Awareness project, asked on Tuesday for the Pentagon to respond to 11 pointed questions about the project's scope, its implications for privacy and civil liberties, and which private-sector and government databases would be linked into the system.

"I remain very deeply concerned that TIA technology will be used to plow through large amounts of private information on individual Americans in the United States in search of hypothetical threat situations," Wyden said in a three-page letter to the director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

The Pentagon claims that TIA, which it has renamed to Terrorist Information Awareness in response to public criticism, is a promising collection of technologies that can track patterns in databases and provide advance warning of terrorist incidents. TIA will mine other databases but will not create a master computerized dossier on every American, DARPA says.

Earlier this year, in a triumph of privacy concerns over worries about terrorist threats, Congress required DARPA to prepare a report on what laws would cover a final implementation of TIA. In a 102-page report dated May 20, DARPA said TIA would track transactions that "would form a pattern that may be discernable in certain databases to which the U.S. government would have lawful access."

In his letter on Tuesday, Wyden asked for additional details ...

posted by me

:: 8:43:00 AM [+] ::
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:: So Weird ::

From Chuck Shepherd's News of the Weird

A joint resolution commissioning a statue to recognize the anti-abortion movement in South Carolina is currently making its way through the state House of Representatives. In the original proposal in circulation until May, the statue that sponsors thought would best celebrate unborn children was to be a huge (6-foot-tall) fetus. (Some supporters have suggested an alternative design.) [The State (Columbia), 5-3-03]

Davidson County (Tenn.) judge Ellen Hobbs rejected the death-row appeal of murderer Abu-Ali Abdur Rahman, 52, scheduled for June 18, ruling that the state's lethal-injection cocktail is constitutional, even though one of the three drugs involved (Pavulon) is banned in Tennessee for animal euthanasia. And a congressional committee staff revealed in May that five U.S. companies that have relocated their headquarters offshore in order to avoid federal taxes were nonetheless awarded a total of nearly $1 billion of taxpayer money in federal government contracts over the last fiscal year. [WMC-TV (Memphis), 6-1-03] [Chicago Sun-Times, 5-27-03]

Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa FL 33679 or WeirdNews@earthlink.net

posted by me

:: 9:56:00 AM [+] ::
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:: RE Harry P. ::

Harry Potter and the missing pages

posted by me

:: 9:46:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Twister season is here... ::

One Dead, Five Injured in Neb. Tornadoes

posted by me

:: 9:45:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Gate-Crashing in the UK ::

From The Canada.com:
Intruder talked his way past security to get access to Prince William's party

It's believed Barschak got into Windsor Castle by scaling an embankment, climbing a tree and jumping onto a wall, from which he gained access to a terrace.

According to one newspaper report, he managed to get onto the stage with William as the prince was thanking the Queen and his father, Prince Charles, for organizing the costume party, which had an African theme.

Barschak reportedly grabbed the microphone from William and began shouting: "I am Osama, I am Osama," before he was taken into police custody on suspicion of burglary.

The Conservative party's home affairs critic said the stunt by Barschak, who is known as the Comedy Terrorist, shows there is a need for a minister with exclusive responsibility for security.

Fred Barschak said he thinks his son may have been trying to promote an upcoming show. "He does not tell me everything about what he plans to do," he told reporters outside his London home on Sunday. "He dresses up as Osama bin Laden, but I have to stress he would not harm anyone."

Barschak was photographed and filmed clowning around outside Windsor Castle as guests arrived for the private party. He was dressed in a salmon-pink ball gown, white turban, fake beard and sunglasses.

posted by me

:: 9:40:00 AM [+] ::
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:: P2P update ::

From CNET News.com:
New bill injects FBI into P2P battle
By David Becker

A bill introduced in Congress on Thursday would put federal agents in the business of investigating and prosecuting copyright violations, including online swapping of copyrighted works.

HR-2517, the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act of 2003, instructs the FBI to develop a program to deter online traffic of copyrighted material. The bureau would also develop a warning, with the FBI seal, that copyright holders could issue to suspected violators. And the bureau would encourage sharing of information on suspected copyright violations among law enforcement, copyright owners and ISPs (Internet service providers).

The bill bears the names of two legislators who have been prominent on intellectual property and copyright issues--Reps. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and Howard Berman, D-Calif. Berman gained attention last year with a bill that would have allowed copyright holders to hack into peer-to-peer networks believed to be distributing protected materials.

posted by me

:: 9:05:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Online Music update ::

From Slashdot:
RIAA Warns Individual Swappers

"CNET News.com reports that the RIAA has sent cease-and-desist letters to four individuals for allegedly pirating its music on P2P networks." They have yet to publicly release the names of who they have contacted, but 4 of the 5 were Verizon subscribers involved with their previous high profile case.

ALSO:
RIAA CEO Hilary Rosen to Become CNBC Commentator?

posted by me

:: 10:10:00 AM [+] ::
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:: "Orrin Hatch: Software Pirate?" ::

A Wired report:
Sen. Orrin Hatch caused a stir by suggesting copyright holders should have the right to remotely destroy computers of suspected pirates. It turns out the senator is using unlicensed software on his website. By Leander Kahney.

Join the Slashdot discussion.

posted by me

:: 9:58:00 AM [+] ::
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:: The WMD Issue ::

Closing the ‘credibility gap’ in Iraq
Why finding weapons of mass destruction is not optional

The United States is launching into a new campaign to convince the world that something must be done about a dictatorial Muslim nation on the cusp of building a nuclear weapon. The Bush administration, according to a senior administration official, is pressing the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer suspicions about Iran’s nuclear program to the U.N. Security Council. That’s the easy part. Far more difficult, officials and proliferation experts say, will be restoring the credibility of U.S. intelligence reports as a means for substantiating the kinds of allegations leveled against Iraq before the war.

posted by me

:: 9:44:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Today in tech history ::

June 19, 1998
From CNET News.com:
FBI posts the real "X files"
By Courtney Macavinta
As fans rush to see the anticipated X-Files movie today, another unusual phenomenon is unraveling.

The truth, it seems, is out there. And it can be found where special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully might never look--on the FBI's own Web site.

The agency has been quietly posting documents on the Net about reported unidentified flying objects, alleged alien abductions, and unexplained animal mutilations. More than 1,600 pages dating back to the 1940s are now public on the site, although most contain blacked-out passages and missing names.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) files may not reveal all there is to know about the possibility of life on other planets, but they give true believers--and even skeptics--a peek at the government's investigations into decades of mysterious sightings.

Included in the batch are random reports, such as a September 19, 1947 memo to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover regarding "flying discs" near Seattle, Washington. "[A man] sighted a silver object streaking across the sky," the memo states. "It was observed by these three people while they drove from 20 to 30 miles. All three people saw it, they decided they must be 'seeing things.'"

There also is only one document about the infamous craft that reportedly crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. A July 1947 memo to the FBI office in Cincinnati about the craft states, "The object resembles a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector…Disc and balloon being transported to Wright Field by special place examination…National interest in case…National Broadcasting Company, Associated Press, and others attempting to break story of location of disc today."

posted by me

:: 10:34:00 AM [+] ::
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:: A Whiny Bill ::

From MSNBC.com:
BILL O’REILLY ENCOUNTERS THE NO-WEENIE ZONE

The Blogosphere is buzzing in response to Bill O’Reilly’s whiny complaints about the Internet. The problem with the Net, according to this Man Of The People, is that there aren’t enough bosses to protect the interests of famous people:

Nearly everyday, there’s something written on the Internet about me that’s flat out untrue. And I’m not alone. Nearly every famous person in the country’s under siege. . . .

The reason these net people get away with all kinds of stuff is that they work for no one. They put stuff up with no restraints. This, of course, is dangerous, but it symbolizes what the Internet is becoming.

Well boo-freakin’-hoo. O’Reilly’s schtick is as a tribune of the people against the powerful, but when people start writing about him, well, it seems they need to be brought into line, pronto. And O’Reilly demonstrates that he’s no paragon of fairness himself by first ignoring that the particular report he’s complaining about came from a newspaper (the San Francisco Chronicle) and not from “the Internet,” and then somehow managing to tie bad comments about his underperforming radio show to child molestation. Excuse me? Does this guy have an editor? Because it doesn’t show.
O’Reilly’s comments, unsurprisingly, aren’t playing very well on the Internet. If you follow this link it will take you to the Technorati Link Cosmos page that collects blog entries that link to O’Reilly’s screed.

:: 10:15:00 AM [+] ::
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:: War & Iraq ::

A Telegraph UK report:
US soldiers kill two Iraqi demonstrators

An American soldier has killed two people after shooting at a group of Iraqi protesters outside the US-led administration in Baghdad.

The group had been chanting anti-American slogans and threw stones at the troops on duty outside the building. They were protesting at their sacking by the new adminstration.

A spokesman for the US military said that the soldier had fired in self-defence. Two Iraqis were injured in the shooting and later died.

posted by me

:: 9:50:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Oldest Homo Sapiens Fossils Found, Experts Say ::

From National Geographic News
By John Roach

Three fossil skulls recovered from the windswept scrabble of Ethiopia's dry and barren Afar rift valley lend archaeological credence to the theory that modern humans evolved in Africa before spreading around the world.

The fossils include two adult males and one child and are estimated to be 160,000 years old. They were found among stone tools and butchered hippopotamus bones. Cut marks on the skulls suggest an early form of mortuary practice.

Prior to the discovery of these fossils, evidence for the out-of-Africa theory of evolution for modern humans was largely based on the analysis of genetic variation in people alive today. Archaeological evidence from 100,000 to 300,000 years ago was scarce.

As a result, another theory that modern humans evolved simultaneously in various parts of the world at roughly the same time from ancient local populations, such as the Neandertals in Europe, maintained plausible traction.

Timothy White, a paleoanthropologist at the University of California at Berkeley, said that the fossils he and his colleagues found in Ethiopia fill this gap in the archaeological record and support the argument that Neandertal was an evolutionary side branch unrelated to modern humans.

posted by me

:: 2:07:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Kabul.com ::

From BBC News:
Kabul's cyber cafe culture

When Kabul-based businessman Sabir Latifi opened his internet cafe in the Afghan capital last December, he had little idea what to expect.

After all, he had only logged on to the internet for the first time ever just a few weeks earlier.

He had heard about the world wide web from friends but did not even know what e-mail was.

"People talked about this being the internet era. I wondered how an era could be named after the internet," Mr Latifi told BBC News Online.

Six months later he has learned a lot more and has grown proportionately more ambitious, hoping to become the country's first privately-owned internet service provider (ISP).

For a country that has been brutally scarred by a war that has left little standing, the idea of an information revolution takes some getting used to.

Only two years ago, the Taleban banned the use of the internet by anyone but the government.

But like people in many other developing countries around the world, Afghans are realising that their best chance of catching up is by taking a technological leap of faith.

posted by me

:: 11:13:00 AM [+] ::
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:: The SPAM Wars ::

From CNET News.com:
Bill would let spamees sue spammers
By Declan McCullagh

Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York joined with the Christian Coalition to announce support for a new bill that would create a national "Do Not Spam" registry of e-mail addresses and, unlike other federal proposals to date, give individuals the right to sue spammers for $1,000 per unlawful message.

In a second unusual twist, Schumer's Stop Pornography and Abusive Marketing (SPAM) Act generally requires that unsolicited commercial e-mail include "ADV"--for advertisement--in subject lines. But the SPAM bill has been questioned because certain industry groups, such as the Direct Marketing Association, could qualify for a loophole that would permit them to send bulk e-mail without placing ADV on their messages.

Schumer's proposal has also been criticized because it could endanger legitimate Internet services such as "anonymous remailers" and would give marketers access to the complete do-not-spam list.

posted by me

:: 11:03:00 AM [+] ::
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:: So Weird ::

From Chuck Shepherd's News of the Weird:

Just as Democratic presidential candidate Bob Graham's daily, quirky, minutely detailed, written diaries are in the news (e.g.,"6:50-7:00 - Apply scalp medication"), the Pentagon was seeking bidders for contracts to create electronic "diaries" (the LifeLog program) that could record virtually all facets of a person's daily existence (via sensors, microphones and wearable cameras), to be dumped into gigantic databases, searchable to detect behavior patterns that might be useful to the military. A Pentagon spokesman said not to be alarmed, that only consenting subjects would be used, but one privacy advocate told Wired magazine that LifeLog could be "TIA cubed," referring to the previously revealed Total Information Awareness program, which would track everyone's purchase transactions and computer usage. [Wired, 5-20-03; Dayton Daily News-AP, 6-3-03]

Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa FL 33679 or WeirdNews@earthlink.net

posted by me

:: 10:36:00 PM [+] ::
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:: The WWWW ::

Weird World Wide Web

posted by me

:: 10:41:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Honoring Gregory Peck ::

From Shepparton News:
Mockingbird co-star to deliver Gregory Peck's eulogy

Film great Gregory Peck's public memorial service will be led by a tribute from actor Brock Peters, who co-starred with Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Peters played the wrongly accused black man defended by white lawyer Atticus Finch in Peck's most famous film role. Peters will deliver Peck's eulogy at a mass set for Monday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels in downtown Los Angeles, according to a spokesman for Peck.

Peck died of natural causes with his wife, Veronique Passani, by his side between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. He was 87-years-old. His acting career began in the early 1940s and spanned five decades.

ALSO:
Death of a Decent Man

Oscar-winner's roles helped define America's culture and its character

posted by me

:: 10:22:00 PM [+] ::
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:: /. ::

Matrix Gets Egyptian Ban For Explicit Religion
"BBC News is reporting that that The Matrix Reloaded has been banned in Egypt. The country's censorship board cited violence which might 'harm social peace', but also said the 'religious themes' of the film's storyline, about the search for the creator and control of the human race, may cause 'crises'. A statement said: 'Despite the high technology and fabulous effects of the movie, it explicitly handles the issue of existence and creation, which are related to the three divine religions, which we all respect and believe in.'"

posted by me

:: 10:19:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Earth Attacks! ::

From Wired:
Landers to Probe Mars' Waterworks

A sprinkling of recent U.S. and European probe launches may soon unleash a flood of data about the history of water on Mars, helping to determine whether oceans ever existed on the red planet.

Three probes, one from the European Space Agency and twins from NASA, are to land on the surface of Mars in about half a year to seek signs of water there by testing rocks and soil.

Finding evidence that water once covered much of the surface of Mars would add new urgency to the search for life, or fossils of once-living things, on what appears to be a dead planet.

But another NASA probe already orbiting Mars sent back data last week from a heat-imaging camera indicating that the planet may always have been a world of glaciers fringed by dusty tundra, with only flash floods of water caused by ancient volcanoes or asteroid impacts. No Martian oceans, no warm alien Eden next door to Earth.

Europe's Beagle 2, named for Charles Darwin's ship and carried aboard the Mars Express, was launched June 2 from Kazakhstan. It's scheduled to land in December.

NASA launched its 400-pound Spirit probe Tuesday after weather delays, and an identical probe called Opportunity is set to launch June 25. The two U.S. rovers are slated to land in January.

posted by me

:: 6:11:00 PM [+] ::
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:: "Detective Work" ::

From Wired:
DOJ Net Surveillance Under Fire
The Justice Department has not provided enough detail about how it uses broad surveillance powers granted under the USA Patriot Act to monitor Internet use, civil liberties advocates say. By Joanna Glasner.

posted by me

:: 2:43:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Photo Poetics? ::

From Wired:
Fotolog: Where Art Meets T&A

The increasingly popular Fotolog website is becoming a battleground where high and low culture clash.

Fotolog is a relatively new weblog-cum-photo-gallery that allows anyone to post digital photos in chronological order. Thanks to the ability to link to, and comment on, others' work, the site is rapidly building a large community of enthusiast snappers.

But like many new online societies, members with radically different ideas are waging a battle for its "soul."

On one side are high-minded amateur photographers, who publish serious photography, which sometimes verges toward reportage or art. On the other are scores of teenage Brazilian girls posting saucy webcam portraits.

posted by me

:: 8:59:00 AM [+] ::
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:: /. ::

Mars Failures: Bad Luck or Bad Programs?

"One European mission is on its way to Mars and two US landers will soon launch. They face tough odds for success. Of 34 Mars missions since the start of the space age, 20 have failed. This article looks at why Mars is so hard. It reports, for example, that a former manager on the Mars Pathfinder project believes that "Software is the number one problem". He says that since the mid-70s "software hasn't gone anywhere. There isn't a project that gets their software done."" Or maybe it has to do with being an incredible distance, on an inhumane climate. Either or.

[Join the Slashdot discussion]

ALSO from Wired:
Clouds Delay Mars Robot Launch

posted by me

:: 8:54:00 AM [+] ::
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:: So Weird ::

From Chuck Shepherd's News of the Weird:

Weird Science
Doctors at Chimkent (Kazakhstan) Children's Hospital told the BBC in April that they had removed a fetus from a 7-year-old boy; it was thought at first to be a cyst but when removed, actually had hair and bones and is now believed to have been the boy's Siamese twin that grew in the wrong place. And in May, Groote Schnuur Hospital (Cape Town, South Africa) reported only the 15th documented case of a fetus developing in the mother's liver (and the fourth to survive). [BBC News, 4-30-03] [BBC News, 5-23-03]

posted by me

:: 8:27:00 AM [+] ::
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:: War & Iraq ::

From The Guardian UK:
A latte - and a rifle to go
Baghdad's cafes are busy but there's no clean water. Galleries are opening, but visitors are armed. Patients freed from the bombed psychiatric hospital are returning there - because they feel it's safe. In this powerful dispatch, we reveal the reality of daily life in an upside-down city.

posted by me

:: 8:17:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Blix on Iraq ::

From The Guardian UK:
Blix criticises weapons intelligence

The United Nations' chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, has hit out at the quality of intelligence given to him by the United States and Britain on Iraq's alleged chemical and biological weapons programmes.

As the prime minister, Tony Blair, continued to be dogged by claims he had exaggerated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, Mr Blix said today he was disappointed with the tip-offs provided for his inspection teams.

"Only in three of those cases did we find anything at all, and in none of these cases was there any weapons of mass destruction, and that shook me a bit, I must say," he told BBC News 24.

"I thought, my God, if this is the best intelligence they have and we find nothing, what about the rest?"

The BBC also reported last night that British intelligence services were asked at least six times to rewrite the controversial dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

A source, described as "close to British intelligence", said Mr Blair was at one stage personally involved in the decision to get the document redrafted.

The new claim appears to back up the allegation, originally made by the BBC's defence correspondent Andrew Gilligan on Radio 4's Today programme, that intelligence services were told by Downing Street to "sex up" the dossier to boost support for the war.

posted by me

:: 8:50:00 PM [+] ::
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:: The Patriot Act & beyond ::

From The NY Times:
Ashcroft Goes to Capitol Hill to Defend Antiterror Policy
By DAVID STOUT

WASHINGTON, June 5 — Attorney General John Ashcroft vigorously defended his Justice Department today against charges that it had mistreated illegal aliens in the hunt for potential terrorists.

Mr. Ashcroft not only defended a 2001 law that broadened government powers to use wiretaps and other surveillance techniques, but said it should be expanded.

"Let me state my view as clearly as possible," Mr. Ashcroft told the House Judiciary Committee. "Our ability to prevent another catastrophic attack on American soil would be more difficult, if not impossible, without the Patriot Act."

The Patriot Act, as its supporters dubbed it, was enacted shortly after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Besides widening surveillance powers, it gave the government more access to some financial information and other records.

While the act has been lauded by some as a necessary tool to fight terrorists, it has also stirred alarm among people who say it may undermine bedrock American principles of due process.

Some of those concerns were voiced at the outset today by the committee chairman, Representative F. James Sensenbrenner, Republican of Wisconsin.

"My support for this legislation is neither perpetual nor unconditional," he said. "I believe the department and Congress must be vigilant towards short-term gains which ultimately may cause long-term harm to the spirit of liberty and equality which animate the American character."

posted by me

:: 1:51:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Pumping Up the Police State? ::

Results from an aol poll (as of 6.5.03 @ 2:42pm EST)

Should the Patriot Act and the attorney general's powers be expanded?

72% No 190
25% Yes 66
3% Don't know 9
Total votes: 265

posted be me (one of the 190)

:: 1:48:00 PM [+] ::
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:: RE Green computing ::

From Wired:
You Make It, You Take It: PC Law

A bill that would require electronics manufacturers to devise and finance a plan to collect and recycle all computer equipment passed California state Senate on Wednesday.

The bill now moves to the state Assembly. If the Assembly approves it and Gov. Gray Davis signs it, the law would push manufacturers to create collection centers where people could drop off their old computers and monitors, which both contain many toxic substances. Equipment makers would also have to come up with plans to recycle the equipment.

In the absence of federal legislation outlining the correct way to discard e-waste, several state legislatures are in the process of reviewing bills to draft into law. If California adopts the law, it should have a sweeping effect on the industry.

The recycling question looms large for computer manufacturers. Californians discard 2.75 million televisions or computer screens per year, roughly 7,500 units per day according to Charles Corcoran, chief of waste identification at the Department of Toxic Substances Control.

posted by me

:: 10:10:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Blogging in the news ::

From Wired:
Gag Rules? Bloggers Report Anyway

The Wall Street Journal is thinking of changing the reporting rules for its high-profile technology conference after a couple of webloggers inadvertently broke a gag order.

The Journals inaugural D: All Things Digital conference, held near San Diego last week, attracted an impressive roster of big names from the technology industry.

Attendees included Microsoft's Bill Gates, Apple's Steve Jobs, eBay's Meg Whitman, USA Network's Barry Diller, and Larry Page and Sergey Brin from Google, among others.

The bigwigs agreed to talk partly because journalists covering the event were subject to reporting ground rules. Anything said onstage was deemed "off the record," and wouldn't be reported without the express consent of the speaker.

But a couple of members of the audience, who weren't privy to the gag rule, reported onstage comments on their weblogs. Denise Howell, a lawyer based in L.A., and David Hornik, a venture capitalist, posted reports of interviews given by Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.


The rising popularity of weblogging may prompt conference organizers to rethink rules for reporting conferences.

Dan Gillmor, a columnist with the San Jose Mercury News, suggested the distinction between reporters and audience members no longer makes sense.

"Conference organizers cannot make an event off the record only for the official journalists anymore," wrote Gillmor. "The rules of 'journalism,' whatever that is, are changing. This is just one more example."

posted by me

:: 10:07:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Online music update: Flogging a dead... ::

A Reuters report:
EMI sues Bertelsmann over Napster

EMI Group on Wednesday became the second big record label to join a $17 billion legal fight brought by music publishers against Bertelsmann over the Napster file-swapping service.

The EMI lawsuit, which alleges the German media giant perpetuated online piracy by funding Napster, follows a similar suit filed last month by Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group. Both companies are joining a legal attack initiated in February by music publishers, which included rhythm and blues pioneers Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller.

All three suits accuse Bertelsmann of perpetuating Napster's success by investing more than $100 million in the service. A spokeswoman for Bertelsmann had no immediate comment.

ALSO:
Verizon to hand names over to RIAA

Verizon Communications said Wednesday that it will turn over to a recording industry trade group the names of four anonymous subscribers accused of illegal file swapping, after an appellate panel denied the company's request for a delay.

posted by me

:: 9:48:00 AM [+] ::
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:: RE Full Disclosure & Online Security ::

From CNET News.com:
Group drafts truce in security dispute
By Robert Lemos

A security coalition has published draft guidelines for issuing bug alerts, a bid to temper a hot debate over when and how alerts should be released. The draft rules were released Wednesday by the Organization for Internet Safety (OIS), a group composed of software companies and security firms, which have found themselves on opposite sides of the debate.

The OIS guidelines call on application makers to respond within seven days to a researcher's notification of a vulnerability in their software and to attempt to create a patch for that flaw within 30 days. On the other side, the proposed rules require researchers to keep details of a flaw secret for at least 30 days after the release of a software patch for it.

In the early 1990s, several researchers and hackers revolted against the secrecy that software companies maintained regarding the security of their products by releasing flaw information to the public. Because application makers were generally slow to respond to security problems, such news of a vulnerability would frequently be published before any patch had been issued.

"If we don't have details, we are just going on the word of the software vendors and a small group of trusted companies," said Marc Maiffret, chief hacking officer at security firm eEye Digital Security. "That's not good. You are hoping that these few people are doing it right."

posted by me

:: 9:45:00 AM [+] ::
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:: "Tomorrow Now" ::

From CNET News.com:
Big Brother and the next 50 years
By Declan McCullagh

Bruce Sterling calls himself an author, a journalist and an editor--and all that is true. But Sterling, who wrote "The Hacker Crackdown," is also a contrarian and a leading cultural critic of modern technology. CNET News.com recently caught up with Sterling to capture his thoughts about the future.

You don't get to cut that chain of evidence and start over. You're always going to be pursued by your data shadow, which is forming from thousands and thousands of little leaks and tributaries of information.

And if the Bush administration overcame congressional objections and got a deep data-mining system working?
An insane information-hungry KGB or a relatively open and decent government? Vote with your feet. Get the hell away from those lunatics. Who the hell wants to live in a USA with a TIA in it? Why would you want to invest it that country? The currency would crash. The political elite would annihilate one another.

posted by me

:: 9:36:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Iraqi WMD investigation ::

From Newsday.com:
CIA Probing If Officials Were Misled On Iraq

Washington - At the behest of Congress, a handful of CIA analysts are investigating whether the agency and its sister organizations buckled under administration pressure and produced exaggerated estimates to policy-makers about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction or its alleged links to al-Qaida.

But these officials will not be able to review the performance of a small office inside the Pentagon that critics claim routinely distorted the CIA's intelligence to support a policy to invade Iraq: the Office of Special Plans and Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs.

posted by me

:: 10:38:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Online music updates ::

From CNET News.com:
Record labels sue Morpheus maker

The recording industry has filed a new copyright infringement suit against the makers of Morpheus, a move that comes only a month after suffering a setback in its legal fight against the file-sharing service.

The new suit involves a Web radio service never launched by Streamcast Networks, the company behind the popular Morpheus software that lets millions of fans share songs for free.

Record labels allege in the suit that in preparing to launch the radio service, Streamcast bought thousands of CDs with thousands of songs and then transferred the music onto a digital database on computer hard drives and other memory devices without the permission of the copyright owners.

Streamcast Chief Executive Officer Michael Weiss called the lawsuit frivolous. "They're doing everything they can to stop this company and have reverted back to the only tactic they know, which is to spend their opponent into submission."

Metallica strikes new Net chord

The longtime opponents of Internet piracy, who sued file-swapping network Napster in federal court, are promoting downloads of their songs via Metallicavault.com, a Web site set to launch Thursday.

But the site will be free only to people who buy the band's upcoming album, "St. Anger," scheduled for release the same day. The CD inset will include a unique code that people can use to access the site's video of live performances and download newly released tracks.

Nullsoft founder says he's had it with AOL

Gnutella author Justin Frankel is considering quitting Nullsoft, the company he founded and sold to America Online, following repeated clashes with his corporate parent over software projects.

Frankel's comments come less than a week after AOL pulled a program he authored called Waste that enables small groups of people to create secure networks for sharing computer files.

Calling coding "a form of self-expression," Frankel said he could no longer put up with AOL's interference. "The company controls the most effective means of self-expression I have," he wrote in a note posted on his personal Web site. "This is unacceptable to me as an individual, therefore I must leav (sic).

Altnet to pay Kazaa users for swapping

posted by me

:: 10:32:00 AM [+] ::
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::CollegeRadio.com ::

A Reuters report:
RIAA, colleges agree on Webcasting rate

Universities and the music industry on Tuesday said they reached a royalty payment deal that would allow college radio stations to stream music over the Internet at a discount.

Under the deal, college radio stations and other educational broadcasters will pay a flat fee of $250 to stream their signals over the Internet this year, while other noncommercial Webcasters will pay up to $400. The deal applies retroactively to 1998 and lasts through the end of next year.

The flat-fee structure echoes a deal reached last fall with smaller commercial Webcasters, who agreed to pay $500 per year rather than the standard commercial rate of roughly 1 cent per hour for each listener, which they feared would drive them out of business.

posted by me

:: 10:11:00 AM [+] ::
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:: The FCC & Monopoly: an update ::

From CNET News.com:
FCC eases rules on media ownership
By Declan McCullagh

The Federal Communications Commission on Monday voted 3-2 to relax rules limiting ownership of TV stations, radio stations and newspapers, saying that decades-old regulations are obsolete in part because of the rise of the Internet and other new technologies.

Under the new rules, broadcast networks may own TV stations that reach 45 percent of the national audience, an increase of 10 percentage points, and in most cases a company may now own both a newspaper and a radio station in the same area. Media mergers still must be approved by the FCC and the Justice Department.

The widely anticipated vote split along party lines as expected, with the three Republican commissioners backing the new rules and saying that a pair of recent appeals court decisions provided a strong impetus for the change.

posted by me

:: 8:21:00 AM [+] ::
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