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What struck me about this article was the Navy's response, namely that they were already doing most of what the NRDC wanted. They sounded a bit bewildered, actually.

So what's up? Well, for a really cynical explanation, consider this. According to the linked article, the peak season for getting people to donate money to nonprofits and charitable groups is just before Christmas, a time rapidly approaching, and nonprofit execs are already forseeing a reduced supply because of the previous demand from Katrina, a sort of bad-news burnout.

Now if I were fundraiser in chief at NRDC, contemplating our usual Christmas appeal for donations mailing, I'd be worried about this. I might, depending on how desperate I was, consider advising that we do something to get our name in the news, something we could describe in our fundraising letter to illustrate how dire is our need for contributions right now.

Of course, I'd recommend that we be careful to pick a cause sure to tug at the heartstrings in the Christmas season. Say, a threat to mommy and baby whales in their breeding grounds.

Not saying this is true at all. Just that it's something to consider. Just because they carry weapons doesn't mean the Navy are always uncaring brutes. Just because they have photos of adorable animals on their newsletter doesn't mean nonprofit XYZ isn't as willing as the next firm to cynically grandstand a bit for the sake of next year's salary increases.

I think malware writers are shifting their focus away from mass-mailed malware to other easier and more effective ways to harm computer users. This article (http://www.keralanext.com/news/indexread.asp?id=1 63468) says that viruses, spam, and phishing scams are still on the rise, which is pretty alarming considering they are already a huge problem.

There are news bites coming out about Firefox everywhere you could possibly imagine.

Thanks, but we've already heard about Google News.

It is doubtful whether Encyclopedia Britannica foreign versions maintain the same exacting standard. I also remember a curious incident of the Kerala consumer court banning the Malayalam translation of Encyclopaedia Britannica because of the profuse number of errors.

Supposed to be out any day now, but I don't anticipate seeing it until fall.

When will they find bigfoot?

Who cares, when they found the Yeti somewhere in Jammu and Kashmir. But then, it being J&K, it's quite possible that the alleged Yeti is actually a terrorist trying to infilitrate into India...

(Context:- During rural India's earlier experiences with the muchnowa, a senior police officer actually said that he believed this thing was the handiwork of Pakistan's spook organisation, ISI.)