Slashdot Mirror

1) Global atmospheric CO2 levels are increasing:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4803460. stm

2) CO2 dissolves in water
3) The oceans are water
4) CO2 dissolves in the oceans
5) When CO2 dissolves in water the PH of the water goes down
6) When the PH of the water goes down, Calcium Carbonate concentrations go down
7) When calcium carbonate levels go down the plankton dies
8) When the plankton dies, so does everything else by starvation
9) Ergo, people who think disproving global warming will let them drive their hummers without killing their own species, and a lot of others with it, are total asswipes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4803460. stm
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/265052_acid31. html
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/265241_coral03 .html

1) Global atmospheric CO2 levels are increasing:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4803460. stm

2) CO2 dissolves in water
3) The oceans are water
4) CO2 dissolves in the oceans
5) When CO2 dissolves in water the PH of the water goes down
6) When the PH of the water goes down, Calcium Carbonate concentrations go down
7) When calcium carbonate levels go down the plankton dies
8) When the plankton dies, so does everything else by starvation
9) Ergo, people who think disproving global warming will let them drive their hummers without killing their own species, and a lot of others with it, are total asswipes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4803460. stm
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/265052_acid31. html
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/265241_coral03 .html

> What's the deal with passwords in a corporate environment these days?

There's a good chance it's because of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). There were rules about financial fraud that others (seems to be mostly consultants) have used to push for more restrictive password policies.

An interesting article I found:
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/buzz/archives/0 03950.html

Google is a dual-class stock -- founders hold one class, and everyone else holds the other common class.

Seattle Post Intelligencer: Google does IPO its own way: "To insulate themselves from outside pressure, Page and Brin are creating a two-class stock hierarchy designed to give them effective veto power. The company is selling Class A common stock to the public, but Page and Brin will control Class B stock, which will have 10 times the voting power."

Google's Class A common stock, the shares you and I can buy, has reduced voting rights relative to founder stock. A single Class B founder's share vote is the equivalent of 10 shares of Class A common. So already, the founders have tremendous say in what Google does, to an extent that isn't true of most other public companies.

Further, the majority of Google's stock is held by the founders.

This fact, combined with the 10x voting weight given to founders' shares, means that Google is insulated from Wall Street to an unusual degree. No block of shares held by outsiders, even by large institutional investors, can force Google to do something that the founders do not agree with.

This isn't to say Google is immune from the stock market. The founders' net worth certainly depends on the stock price. But again, Google's corporate direction is unusually strongly tied to what its founders want, rather than what an institutional investor or other common stockholder wants.

--Pat

(Former VMWare employee, posting anonymously).

Although Rummy is just about as evil as they come and the FDA approval process is unfair, I still trust Aspartame. Aspartame itself is not a "poison that attacks nerve ends"; although its components may have some health effects in huge amounts, typical food consumption is safe. It is approximately 180 times sweeter than sugar, so diet foods and beverages only contain a small amount of it.

Approximately 10% of aspartame (by mass) is broken down into methanol in the small intestine. Most of the methanol is absorbed and quickly converted into formaldehyde. Some scientists believe that the methanol cannot be a problem because: (a) there is not enough methanol absorbed to cause toxicity, (b) methanol and formaldehyde are already a by-product of human metabolism, and (c) there is more methanol in some alcoholic beverages and fruit juices than is derived from aspartame ingestion. (Wikipedia)
See also: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd= Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=1218049 4&query_hl=2

Phenylalanine is an amino acid commonly found in foods. Approximately 50% of aspartame (by mass) is broken down into phenylalanine. I can't see why this would be a bad thing. Phenylalanine is used in living organisms, including the human body, where it is an essential amino acid. Phenylalanine can also be converted into L-tyrosine, another one of the twenty protein-forming amino acids. L-tyrosine is converted into L-DOPA, which is further converted into the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. Research indicates that Phenylalanine can be an effective part of an overall program to fight chronic pain and depression in some cases, including the mood swings of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Some sources contend that it can increase energy and mental alertness. So it's a natural amino acid that can function as a CNS stimulant. It can't hurt you any more then the caffene already in the pop, as long as you don't abuse it. (Even stronger CNS stimulants like amphetamines are fairly safe as long as you use a small enough quantity of them and maintain a normal sleep cycle).

Aspartic acid is an amino acid commonly found in foods. Approximately 40% of aspartame (by mass) is broken down into aspartic acid. A lot of FUD has been drummed up about aspartic acid being an "excitotoxin". I really is just one of the 20 natural proteinogenic amino acids which are the building blocks of proteins.

"...since aspartame is broken down into these components before it is absorbed into the blood stream, aspartame in its initial form does not have the opportunity to travel to target organs, including the brain, to cause cancer." (American Cancer Society)

Animal studies HAVE found aspartame to be cancer causing, but no major human study has. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/265559_soda 05.html/

Your reasoning starts a slippery slope in terms of rights and is weak arguement at best. People who go to smokey bars know the negative effects of cigarette smoke. I've never been to a town which has no options for non-smokers, for both consumers and employees. Should we ban driving as well? The rate of pedestrian deaths has been decried in the news[1], and its effects are much more immediate.

Your second comment is odd and the start of another slippery slope. You mention the reason it's done is because of higher healthcare costs, yet you mention a special tax that supposedly recovers these costs. This also doesn't take into account the fact that many people pay higher premiums for health insurance as smokers anyhow. This one points directly to a fast food tax because obesity is quickly becoming a leading cause of death[2].

Once again Franklin rings true here:

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Also note, I'm not a smoker, but I do believe that our freedoms here are being chipped away. Also apologies to the mods if this all is offtopic but (to tie it all together) the removal of online gambling is just another example of freedoms being eroded for the sake of "morality", greed, or what the state thinks is "good for you".

[1] http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/64767_traffic0 1.shtml
[1] http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-03-09-obe sity_x.htm

Meanwhile, competitor Microsoft is making room for 12,000 new employees.

Hmm...

Umm...maybe you're referring to Washington DC. But in Washington state - everywhere outside of Seattle metro / I-5 corridor is fair game Bush-votin' Bible thumpin redneck country. Just one hour north of Portland (an even more liberal place than Seattle), you've got your famous Uncle Sam sign with gems like "AIDS TURNS FRUITS INTO VEGETABLES."

According to my Seattle PI version of this story, Jordan Robertson wrote the story about techie fight clubs. It could be an assumed name, but you could always Google for his home address.

Right here. I'm surprised they're still publishing those numbers. At some point there were talking about not publishing them anymore, probably because they interfered with Bush's repeated assertions that "the world is safer."

I suddenly miss my IIGS now. sigh...

"On May 5, 1970, over 1,000 protestors came together on I-5, blocking southbound lanes, to speak out against the US's invasion of Cambodia, and the death of four Kent State antiwar protestors, shot by members of the National Guard." - http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_ id=2271

March 2, 2003: Peace activists took to the streets by the thousands yesterday in cities from Olympia to Bellingham as well as several locations in Seattle. Spurred by the first salvos in Iraq that pierced the uncertainty about what for months has been a potential war, yesterday's rallies had a decidedly more aggressive tenor than those just a few days earlier. ... In Bellingham, 300 to 500 peace activists made their way onto Interstate 5, temporarily blocking freeway traffic for two miles in either direction. - http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/113604_wpeace2 1.shtml

November 30, 1999: WTO - http://www.urban75.com/Action/seattle.html

April 30, 2004: LOS ANGELES -- Independent truckers protested mounting diesel fuel prices Friday by abandoning trucks in rush-hour traffic on one of the region's busiest freeways and staging rallies at two of the largest ports on the West Coast. - http://www.nbc4.tv/traffic/3255276/detail.html

March 27, 2006: LOS ANGELES -- More than 36,000 students from throughout Los Angeles County skipped classes and marched through streets and on various freeways Monday to protest an immigration bill being debated in Congress. - http://www.nbc4.tv/news/8289535/detail.html

Find more here: http://www.google.com/search?q=freeway+protest

Now which issue was it that you deem unworthy? Was it one of these? Your advice to protestors to be forgettable seems unlikely to bring attention to their cause -- something that was achieved by the disruptive, dangerous and memorable protests above. With the exception of the truckers opposed to $2.50/gal gas, the protesters seem to achieved both national attention and lasting results: Seattle is certainly never going to host the WTO again. Congress is working on the immigration law as I type this. We all know how Cambodia worked out (a sad story, that. By getting their way the nonviolent protestors indirectly killed about 1/4th of all Cambodian men, women and children. A heavy burden for people of conscience. *). Perhaps you could offer something more helpful. Are you by chance a protest organizer? Do you have a history of success in nonviolent promotion of social change? If so, the organization is almost certainly eager to have your contribution.

* - The Khmer Rouge regime is remembered mainly for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people (from an estimated 1972 population of 7.1 million), through execution, starvation and forced labor. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge

I think my point is that protestors should be tolerated as much as possible, but they should be reminded be careful which causes they take up.

Q: Do you think Sony copied Nintendo with its new controller?

A: (Laughs.) Actually before they made the announcement we already anticipated that they might do that, so I had to laugh. Even though I was laughing, it was with a grim face, I should add. (Laughs.)

Having said that, please know that putting the motion-sensor technology into the classic-style controller is one thing. Putting the motion-sensor technology into the Wii remote as well as the "nunchuck" controller, where you can use both hands freely and independently, this is quite another thing. -- Q&A | Nintendo president sits down to chat a Wii bit

The Democrats are just as evil as the Republicans.

Bullshit.

Name one period in history where this has happened when the Democrats held all od the power.

Yes, there are craven power seekers in the Democratic party. They're politicians, after all. But there is one essential thing lacking on the Democratic side: absolute party unity. Republicans have it, Democrats don't.

I consider myself to the left of the spectrum. I have been a registered Democrat at times. Today I learned that a Democratic representative took a bribe. You know what my immediate reaction is? Prosecute the bastard. When it comes to criminals I have no party loyalty. More often than not (and we've seen it in the whole Abramoff debacle) the reaction of Republicans is to circle the wagon, no matter how despicable the behavior. This is not something I see nearly as much on the Democratic side.

Let the Deconstruction begin!

the news

• DOJ Press Release on Detroit FBI's Public Website-March 29, 2006
• Nineteen Charged with Racketeering to Support Terrorist Organization

DETROIT - An indictment charging 19 individuals with operating a global racketeering conspiracy was unsealed in federal district court today, announced United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Stephen J. Murphy. The indictment alleges that portions of the profits made from the illegal enterprise were given to Hizballah, a foreign terrorist organization. Nine of the individuals were arrested this morning.

[. . .]

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This is evidence of nothing, given this administration's miserable failures at securing terror convictions using due process of law, and their reprehensible practise of inhumane detainment of humans who have not been properly convicted in an equitable judicial process, in blatant violation of the 4th, 5th, 8th and 13th Amendments to the US Constitution.

The trials of Sami al-Arian and Sami al-Hussayen immediately stand out:

1. Peter Whoriskey, "Ex-Professor Won Court Case but Not His Freedom", Washington Post, December 14, 2005
2. Maureen O'Hagan, "A terrorism case that went awry", Seattle Times, November 22, 2004

Originalize this:

"The Habeas Corpus secures every man here, alien or citizen, against everything which is not law, whatever shape it may assume."

Thomas Jefferson - Letter to A.H. Rowan - September 26, 1798
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson - Definitive Edition"
Albert Ellery Bergh, Editor (1907) - Chapter 10 pg 61

"Why suspend the habeas corpus in insurrections and rebellions? The parties who may be arrested, may be charged instantly with a well-defined crime; of course, the judge will remand them. If the public safety requires that the government should have a man imprisoned on less probable testimony, in those than in other emergencies, let him be taken and tried, retaken and retried, while the necessity continues, only giving him redress against the government, for damages. Examine the history of England. See how few of the cases of the suspension of the habeas corpus law, have been worthy of that suspension. They have been either real treason, wherein the parties might as well have been charged at once, or sham plots, where it was shameful they should ever have been suspected. Yet for the few cases wherein the suspension of the habeas corpus has done real good, that operation is now become habitual, and the minds of the nation almost prepared to live under its constant suspension."

Thomas Jefferson - Letter to James Madison - July 31, 1788
ibid - Chapter 7 pg 97, 98

concrete

"US lists 10 foiled terror plots", BBC News, October 7, 2005

The White House has given details of 10 major terror plots that President Bush says have been foiled by the US and its allies since the 11 September attacks.

Mr Bush cited the disrupted plans in a speech, designed to boost support for the so-called war on terror.

[. . .]

But the sketchy details provided by the White House make it hard to assess how serious or advanced the plans were.

On further analysis:

John Diamond and Toni Locy, "

Hmm... Don't know if Microsoft has been in talks with Symantec,

In some countries, the military and police are not fully funded by the government. The government requires them to develop a means to fund themselves

I believe you'll find this is still common in the U.S., where in some states people suspected (not convicted or in some cases even charged) of drug-related crimes can have their property seized and sold at auction, with most of the proceeds going to the law-enforcement organization responsbile for the seizure.

Here's a somewhat dated story about this kind of thing (from late 2001).

More recently, this website says, "Our large Drug Seizure Auction Program has auctioned off more than 75,000 vehicles in the State of Texas. Our Seizure Auctions consist of automobiles, trucks, semi-tractors, boats, motorcycles, and surplus items (jewelry, VCRS, televisions, air conditioners, lawn mowers, and many more)."

MS Patent
How do you pass the Novelty portion of a patent review when there is a product doing it on the market?
The inventors - Apple - gets denied a patent on their product because a competitor patented the process AFTER the product was on the market? What monkey do they have running the USPTO?

'Creative proactively held discussions with Apple in our efforts to explore amicable solutions,' a spokesman for Creative said. 'At no time during these discussions or at any other time did Apple mention to us the patents it raised in its lawsuit.'

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/libra ry/symanteccomplaint.pdf

I know you're joking, but wireless control of control surfaces could prevent accidents where debris from turbine failures cut flight controls and it could even help with the infamous 737 hydraulic control reversal problems that might be related to several major crashes.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/256748_yaho o24.html

Yahoo! Inc., one of the first Internet search companies, has capitulated to Google Inc. in the battle for market dominance. "We don't think it's reasonable to assume we're going to gain a lot of share from Google," Chief Financial Officer Susan Decker said in an interview. "It's not our goal to be No. 1 in Internet search. We would be very happy to maintain our market share."

Meanwhile over in the EU, Microsoft has been accused of exaggerating what is being asked for
  and the difficulty of providing it.

Xix.

A: First of all, all we've said is that we'll have an affordable price range. We're using "affordable" in the sense that the price won't be significantly higher than Nintendo's prices have been historically. Compared with $600, anything is affordable, so it's absurd to even compare our price.

Like this guy? http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/223201_west06. html

"I was looking for UFOs."

Judging by the look on his facecould he be one of them?
Of course he lost the Extradition case, we can't even transport to Mars let alone Alpha Centauri.
This whole mess could have been avoided if he had only tuned in regularly to the History Channel.

Emancipation of women in Iran compares favourably to US allies in the Arabic world like Saudi Arabia

That's not saying much.

Good lord, aside from the drug-injection allegation, some of the things you listed are positively cozy compared to special forces training. Not just in the U.S. but in many nations. The problem is that everyone has their own definition of torture.

I'd really like to see a link where the U.S. military said they were injecting Guantanamo Bay inmates with drugs for any purpose other than medical attention.

Working against the U.S. administration is the current debate about whether interrogation guidelines should remain classified. I can see both sides of the argument on that one.

Now what I don't agree with is prisoners being held in a legal-limbo for years without trial. As someone else said, they are either foreign soldiers who should be treated as POWs, or they are foreign criminals. If they are the latter, ok they may not have Constitutional rights that an American would have, but they should at least be extradited to their home countries, or prosecuted in the U.S. civilian system as a foreign national.

No, the Supreme Court of the United States. Surely you haven't forgotten already?

Who do they make their profits off of? The 50% of people online who are too stupid to be.

Plus the case is in Britain, so I doubt they'd entertain such PC nonsense as basis for a retrial.

Microsoft has more than 50 billion dollarsin the bank by now.

That is pretty close to limitless.

Not sure whether or not this makes your case, but take a look:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/1700AP_EU_M icrosoft_Chronology.html
"Key dates in EU Action vs. Microsoft"

And your point?

100% of the statistics on this topic are invented. Meanwhile, feel free to come up with a single example of a guy successfully boarding an aircraft with any sort of terroristic intent and a weapon more sophisticated than a Swiss Army knife.

You can find isolated incidents like the man who made it through a security checkpoint with a handgun which he then fired - in Lihue Hawaii. I've been to that airport numerous times and it's more like a bus stop than an airport.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/nation-world /airportinsecurity/breaches/

Meanwhile the vast majority of screening incidents are a) people apparently bringing largely innocuous items through security by accident resulting in b) terminal closures for up to several hours ending in c) no passenger or weapon ever found.

I'm sure Dennis Avner, also known as the cat man, would be very happy about this! This guy has already undergone several surgeries to literally turn himself into a cat.

It's on facebook.com today. A while back it used to be on thefacebook.com because someone else had facebook.com. I suppose it took considerable money to pay off the domain squatter.

This week they introduced Facebook Mobile, which lets you get some features (messaging, poking, basic profile info) via a shortcode. A US shortcode costs $1000/month. There's plenty of random features like that that costs money.

And then you have to realize how many effin' servers they must be running. Obviously the domains are virtual hosts, but they're providing space for most college students in the US. That's quite a number of people. According to the Seattle P-I, as of August 2005, Facebook had over 3.4 million accounts, and on any given day 65% of them were active. Facebook had a growth rate of eight thousand accounts per day, which comes to over 2 million additional accounts - assuming only linear growth. If Facebook is still on the exponential part of its logistic growth, I'm estimating that its size doubled this academic year.

"...while speech supporting terrorist activities would be protected"

Are you aware of the post 911 prosecution of Saudi Arabian Computer Science doctoral student at the University of Idaho, Sami al-Hussayen?

One of the charges was that on a website he managed were four vehemently anti American fatwahs by Mullahs advocating violent acts, but it turned out that of of the government's primary "terrorism experts" admitted he had published the very same speeches on his site.

"The four fatwas...which were posted in Arabic on the Alasr.ws Web site, have been dubbed the 'core of the case' against Al-Hussayen by attorneys on both sides. Prosecutors say they show that the University of Idaho graduate student knew he was helping terrorists by working on Web sites, while the defense says they show nothing more than religious and political debate protected by the First Amendment. They also say the fatwas don't represent Al-Hussayen's views; each was written by a different Islamic cleric."

Betsy Z. Russell, "http://www.s-r.com/pf.asp?date=051604&ID=s1520351 ", The Spokesman review (Idaho), May 16, 2004

The prosecution was brought under the Patriot Bill's expansion of the definition of "material support of terrorism"

Law enforcement used the Patriot Act, the sweeping anti-terrorism law hurriedly passed in October 2001, to get around some of those hurdles. Al-Hussayen was charged under a clause that expanded the definition of "material support" to include those who provide "expert advice or assistance" to terrorists' cause. He was the first person ever to be charged under that provision, which Congress has considered expanding.

The contention was that al-Hussayen used his expert skills as Webmaster, so that made him a terrorist.

Maureen O'Hagan, "A terrorism case that went awry", Seattle Times, November 22, 2004

Even more frightening, was the post trial statement by Terry Derden, the prosecuting US attorney, who seemed to admit the charges were an illegitimate use of prosecutorial power, and that John Ascroft had encouraged it:

"'I don't think anybody ever thought the case was airtight,' he said. 'The attorney general asked us to go out and disrupt terrorism and material support wherever it occurred. We were unsuccessful in the terrorism charges, but ultimately we thought we were successful in disrupting what was going on.'"

ibid

They went after a Saudi grad student, in America with a valid student visa, for show, claiming that his tending a website for an Islamic Charity, which has never been charged in the US was material support of terrorism. al-Hussayen rotted in jail for well over a year awaiting charges without bail.

How many constitutional violations can you spot in this prosecution?

Fortunately, an Idaho jury aquitted on the terrorism charges.

"He that would make his own liberty secure
must guard even his enemy from oppression;
for if he violates this duty
he establishes a precedent
that will reach to himself."
--Thomas Paine

The Dreamtime America is being strangled by an administration so arrogant, ignorant and derelict, that they failed to perform a primary duty: defending America, on September 11, 2001, and whose first response to the 911 attacks, was the dishonourable breaking of their solemn oaths to uphold and defend the constitution, by covertly abrogating the fourth amendment, and engage in unabridged warrantless spying upon the American Citizenry.

This indicates the the abject c

"...while speech supporting terrorist activities would be protected"

Are you aware of the post 911 prosecution of Saudi Arabian Computer Science doctoral student at the University of Idaho, Sami al-Hussayen?

One of the charges was that on a website he managed were four vehemently anti American fatwahs by Mullahs advocating violent acts, but it turned out that of of the government's primary "terrorism experts" admitted he had published the very same speeches on his site.

"The four fatwas...which were posted in Arabic on the Alasr.ws Web site, have been dubbed the 'core of the case' against Al-Hussayen by attorneys on both sides. Prosecutors say they show that the University of Idaho graduate student knew he was helping terrorists by working on Web sites, while the defense says they show nothing more than religious and political debate protected by the First Amendment. They also say the fatwas don't represent Al-Hussayen's views; each was written by a different Islamic cleric."

Betsy Z. Russell, "http://www.s-r.com/pf.asp?date=051604&ID=s1520351 ", The Spokesman review (Idaho), May 16, 2004

The prosecution was brought under the Patriot Bill's expansion of the definition of "material support of terrorism"

Law enforcement used the Patriot Act, the sweeping anti-terrorism law hurriedly passed in October 2001, to get around some of those hurdles. Al-Hussayen was charged under a clause that expanded the definition of "material support" to include those who provide "expert advice or assistance" to terrorists' cause. He was the first person ever to be charged under that provision, which Congress has considered expanding.

The contention was that al-Hussayen used his expert skills as Webmaster, so that made him a terrorist.

Maureen O'Hagan, "A terrorism case that went awry", Seattle Times, November 22, 2004

Even more frightening, was the post trial statement by Terry Derden, the prosecuting US attorney, who seemed to admit the charges were an illegitimate use of prosecutorial power, and that John Ascroft had encouraged it:

"'I don't think anybody ever thought the case was airtight,' he said. 'The attorney general asked us to go out and disrupt terrorism and material support wherever it occurred. We were unsuccessful in the terrorism charges, but ultimately we thought we were successful in disrupting what was going on.'"

ibid

They went after a Saudi grad student, in America with a valid student visa, for show, claiming that his tending a website for an Islamic Charity, which has never been charged in the US was material support of terrorism. al-Hussayen rotted in jail for well over a year awaiting charges without bail.

How many constitutional violations can you spot in this prosecution?

Fortunately, an Idaho jury aquitted on the terrorism charges.

"He that would make his own liberty secure
must guard even his enemy from oppression;
for if he violates this duty
he establishes a precedent
that will reach to himself."
--Thomas Paine

The Dreamtime America is being strangled by an administration so arrogant, ignorant and derelict, that they failed to perform a primary duty: defending America, on September 11, 2001, and whose first response to the 911 attacks, was the dishonourable breaking of their solemn oaths to uphold and defend the constitution, by covertly abrogating the fourth amendment, and engage in unabridged warrantless spying upon the American Citizenry.

This indicates the the abject c

"...while speech supporting terrorist activities would be protected"

Are you aware of the post 911 prosecution of Saudi Arabian Computer Science doctoral student at the University of Idaho, Sami al-Hussayen?

One of the charges was that on a website he managed were four vehemently anti American fatwahs by Mullahs advocating violent acts, but it turned out that of of the government's primary "terrorism experts" admitted he had published the very same speeches on his site.

"The four fatwas...which were posted in Arabic on the Alasr.ws Web site, have been dubbed the 'core of the case' against Al-Hussayen by attorneys on both sides. Prosecutors say they show that the University of Idaho graduate student knew he was helping terrorists by working on Web sites, while the defense says they show nothing more than religious and political debate protected by the First Amendment. They also say the fatwas don't represent Al-Hussayen's views; each was written by a different Islamic cleric."

Betsy Z. Russell, "http://www.s-r.com/pf.asp?date=051604&ID=s1520351 ", The Spokesman review (Idaho), May 16, 2004

The prosecution was brought under the Patriot Bill's expansion of the definition of "material support of terrorism"

Law enforcement used the Patriot Act, the sweeping anti-terrorism law hurriedly passed in October 2001, to get around some of those hurdles. Al-Hussayen was charged under a clause that expanded the definition of "material support" to include those who provide "expert advice or assistance" to terrorists' cause. He was the first person ever to be charged under that provision, which Congress has considered expanding.

The contention was that al-Hussayen used his expert skills as Webmaster, so that made him a terrorist.

Maureen O'Hagan, "A terrorism case that went awry", Seattle Times, November 22, 2004

Even more frightening, was the post trial statement by Terry Derden, the prosecuting US attorney, who seemed to admit the charges were an illegitimate use of prosecutorial power, and that John Ascroft had encouraged it:

"'I don't think anybody ever thought the case was airtight,' he said. 'The attorney general asked us to go out and disrupt terrorism and material support wherever it occurred. We were unsuccessful in the terrorism charges, but ultimately we thought we were successful in disrupting what was going on.'"

ibid

They went after a Saudi grad student, in America with a valid student visa, for show, claiming that his tending a website for an Islamic Charity, which has never been charged in the US was material support of terrorism. al-Hussayen rotted in jail for well over a year awaiting charges without bail.

How many constitutional violations can you spot in this prosecution?

Fortunately, an Idaho jury aquitted on the terrorism charges.

"He that would make his own liberty secure
must guard even his enemy from oppression;
for if he violates this duty
he establishes a precedent
that will reach to himself."
--Thomas Paine

The Dreamtime America is being strangled by an administration so arrogant, ignorant and derelict, that they failed to perform a primary duty: defending America, on September 11, 2001, and whose first response to the 911 attacks, was the dishonourable breaking of their solemn oaths to uphold and defend the constitution, by covertly abrogating the fourth amendment, and engage in unabridged warrantless spying upon the American Citizenry.

This indicates the the abject c

Trying to defuse trade deficit tensions with China.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstech nology/2002916176_chinatrade07.html

I thought the Chinese were interested in Linux ? I am guessing Uncle Sam forced Windows onto them.

Kind of a shame.

Well, "spaz" and "watermelon" both qualified in the past 24 hours.

Spaz makes sense, but...watermelon? Is there something I don't know? Is that like fried chicken, or is the throwing the problem? Either way...I defend my right to make political math jokes without having people call me racist...

"As for death squads, those are not US security. If you think a bunch of pasty ass white guys or black guys from the US are running around Iraq undetected killing off civilians, you are simply delusional."

Last I checked the US trained security forces in Iraq are composed of Iraqis.

"If you think a bunch of pasty ass white guys or black guys from the US are running around Iraq undetected killing off civilians, you are simply delusional."

Apparently the seattle times is delusional as well. This was front page news in Europe; didn't really hit the radar here.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2002876683_civilians20.html

"Go to google news and type in "iraq mosque bombing". Unless all Shiites (women and children) are "traitors" because they are paying in a Shiite mosque, it is pretty clear that you have an ethnic/religious conflict going on."

Establishing that there is a religious conflict does not establish that the majority of deaths and violence in Iraq are the direct result of that conflict. It certainly does not make the actions of the United States moral.

Regarding the differences in death tolls. "Official" sources obviously are propoganda mills. Your other source is counting reported deaths, the source I quoted is using the data available to calculate ALL the deaths, not merely counting those that make the newspaper headlines. This is explained in the article I linked.

Regardless, I have grown bored with the discussion. *tips his hat*

Agreed, and it doesn't go far enough. The morons who write these stupid headlines might try, just once in a while, to have it make sense. E.g. from Google news and Yahoo news:

The Leaker in Chief?
WTF is this story about? You'ld have to click the damned thing to guess.

Disney to use Web
They don't have a web site yet? Or maybe they're talking about spiders? Who knows?

The kind of hacking you want
Are they talking about computers, driving a cab, or writing a newspaper article?

Massachusetts miracle?
And?????

Sutherland pacts for 3 three more years of "24"
That one doesn't even PARSE. Is a verb too much to ask for?

Big Brother inmates released to vote

Would it be too much to ask for folks who are supposed to enlighten us to start actually communicating? I use the headline to tell me whether or not I want to click the link. I gave up paper newspapers long ago.

I sure hope journalists don't make more than minimum wage, 'cause if they do they're all way overpaid.

Hard to believe when this comes from somebody working at IBM. The only company that has been hiring extensively in the last few years is Microsoft.

Maybe this dumb cunt should go google her subject material first. It doesn't seem to jive with reality, *or* my personal experience.

"The exodus of jobs from our shores and the race to the bottom for workers around the world is an obvious result of NAFTA "
    http://www.kucinich.us/issues/outsourcing.php?prin t=y

"AT&T Wireless outsourcing jobs overseas
Consultants from two Indian companies sent to Bothell"
    http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/149035_outs ource20.html

"Bush economic report praises 'outsourcing' jobs"
    http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04041/271362.stm

"Global Outsourcing and the Disappearing Middle Class"
    http://www.newwork.com/Pages/Opinion/Raynor/Middle %20Class.html

"JOBS MOVING OVERSEAS"
    http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/economy/jan-june04/ jobs_3-11.html

• Associated Press/Seattle Intelliigencer April 6, 2006
• FDA won't release generic insulin guide
• By Andrew Bridges Associated Press

• WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration will not release long-delayed guidelines specifically for the production of generic versions of insulin and human growth hormone, according to an agency letter.

  The guidelines, in draft form since 2002, would help manufacturers seeking to produce generic versions of insulin and human growth hormone. It is estimated that $3.5 billion is spent on the two drugs each year; introduction of those lower-cost versions could reduce that total by hundreds of millions of dollars.

No shit ?

Actually, scientists are finding that even sulphur poor volcanos like Mt St Helens put out more polution than all the industry and cars in the state. And that measurement was only for a partial year. Moreover, they have to guess at the upper range because you can't meter the output of a volcano effectively. This means that volcanos are hardly considered 'chump change' when it comes to adding to 'global warming'.

Did you even read your own link? The polllution in question is sulfur dioxide, which is not a greenhouse gas, but does contribute to acid rain. As for carbon dioxide, the article itself has this to say:

Compared to man-made sources, though, volcanoes' contribution to climate change is minuscule, Gerlach said.

Mount St. Helens produces between 500 and 1,000 tons a day of carbon dioxide, he estimates.

Nothstein, of the state energy office, says the Centralia coal plant puts out about 28,000 tons a day. Statewide, automobiles, industries, and residential and business heating systems emit nearly 10 times that amount.

Talk about a selective filter on reality! Your own article says that man made sources output 280X-560X the measured C02 output of the volcano. Read that again. 280,000 tons vs. 500-1000 tons.

Drop. In. The. Bucket.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/20 02105397_volcano01m.html Actually, scientists are finding that even sulphur poor volcanos like Mt St Helens put out more polution than all the industry and cars in the state. And that measurement was only for a partial year. Moreover, they have to guess at the upper range because you can't meter the output of a volcano effectively. This means that volcanos are hardly considered 'chump change' when it comes to adding to 'global warming'.