Slashdot Mirror

10 North Naples middle school students were suspended for participating in "kick a Jew day." South area council for the Florida Anti-Defamation League, David Barkey said, “You are talking about an incident that has anti-Jewish bias if not anti-Semitism. You have Jewish students being singled out, harassed and assaulted. If the allegations are true, it is possible these students violated Florida’s new anti-bullying law. And, if students were physically assaulted, it could rise to the level of criminal conduct.” How the students knew it was kick a Jew day remains unclear but the school district has now set aside the first 20 minutes of each day to focus on character traits. I can't think of anything that can't be fixed in 20 minutes a day, problem solved.

Robert P. Schwartz has missed his last ten birthday parties. He's missed them because he died on July 25, 1997. The Naples millionaire didn't see why his death should end the party so he put an interesting stipulation in his will. All his relatives 13 or older must attend his parties or they wouldn't get a share of the inheritance. If they miss two consecutive parties, or two within five years, they are out. The Robert P. Schwartz Party Trust is now worth about $7.86 million so relatives can celebrate many more birthdays to come. Every will should have this clause.

Thanks to the New York Times/Naples Daily News for their article discussing Electronic Arts' gigantic expansion of its Los Angeles offices, and discussing how they're poaching Hollywood talent to expand the LA division, with 1,000 employees planned there by 2010. The article suggests that "Ninety percent of these [new EA] workers will be creative types who formerly would have worked in television or in the movies - animators, digital artists, writers, directors and set and costume designers", and although it's pointed out that "Electronic Arts is not going whole-hog-Hollywood", at least one analyst suggests that, fearing the competition, "the Hollywood studios, many of whom tried building their own games divisions in the mid-'90s, could decide to start developing games again or could make the rights to movies very expensive."

Romancer writes "The Naples Daily News has an article about an environmental anomaly discovered by local fisherman: "They've dubbed it black water, and they're demanding that local, state and national government agencies find out what's causing it." With the Ice shelf falling and now this, solutions are helping but might be a bit late."