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When he says "the makings a train wreck" he means that there has been basically ZERO evolution since the 2004 winhec.

A really inaccurate analogy. Pedantically, a train wreck requires high speed before it can happen. If nothing's moving at all, it can hardly make a dramatic collision. He really doesn't mean a disaster, but a flop, downer, or expensive boondoggle.

Your numbers are just pulled out of thin air (here's a hint for you: a company is not even in the vicinity of 10,000 troops).
Sorry. This was my mistake. I constantly confuse company and division in the make up of the forces. Your typical company is actually between 60 and 250 troops plus equipment, non-fighting enlisted men, and command structure. A division, of which I was referring to in my suggested numbers, has around 10,000 troops. Please, accept my apologies.

Rebels in various industries?
Yes. It's not hard to imagine. As a guerilla force, you seek to recruit cogs of the status quo into your group, and use their influence and power. For example, if you persuaded a few disgruntled employees at a munitions factory to join the rebel side, they could disable a plant with only a few hours havoc, and then melt out into the rebellion. Sabotage.

What history of armed revolt within democratic nations do you have to draw on?
I am not suggesting that the US is going to do this, or go through it, or that it is going to happen. It is possible though. There are 300,000,000 million people in the US, and not that many have to revolt to cause people to lose faith in the govermment. Imagine what would happen if all the government checks ceased to be issued due the rebellion. The millions of federal workers, the army, and the welfare checks stopped being printed and paid on a regular basis. Social security payments stopped. That alone would bring the government to the precipis of failure.

Even stipulating (which I will gladly do) that the U.S. is not as democratic as it used to be, where does any of this lunacy come from other than your own mind?
How many rebels are there in Iraq? There are 150,000 soliders having a handful keeping a lid on 5,000-10,000 insurgents. If .1% of the country supported the insurgency, that'd be 300,000 guerillas. Given enough funding, I think you could recruit that number of people without all that much trouble.

And citing a colonial revolution against a monarchy on the other side of the ocean 200 years ago as a precedent for the ridiculous scenario you paint here... really, it makes me wonder why I am still participating in this thread. I have real work to do.
It's not ridiculous. It's a valid military history. The crown had garrisons in every major city before the revolution. Actual fighting garrisons, of which we have virtually none in the US. We have few trained and equipped troops stationed in the US. About 50,000 British regulars and Hessians fought in the US revolution against no more than 90,000 untrained Continental militamen and regulars. Washinton's biggest army never exceeded 17,000 men. This is important. Why is this relevant? The Patriot forces in the revolution fought essentially the same war that would be fought today, but quicker thanks to our friend technology. Of course it won't apply litterally - the rebels wont be spending the winter at Valley Forge - but a careful analysis shows how to win a guerilla revolution. Discard me if you wish, but I really do know my history and of what I speak.

I'm not going to say anything about the logistics or administration of your 5,000,000 man army (that would be one of the largest armies currently on Earth).
It's not an army per se. That's the point. It's a guerilla war. It doesn't need a top down structure like the US Armed Forces. It's decentralised, it's spread out, it's self-organizing. There would likely be a few top-level leaders, but they aren't equal in control to say, the Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces.

About

GWB and the neo-conservatives are abusing the name Christian just like they abuse the name Republican, just like they abused the name Colin Powell. They're even doing it with the name "America".

They superficially associate themselves with something good, then do bad things in its name for their own personal gain, tricking people into trusting that good name one last time. Then the name is ruined, they disassociate themselves, and move on to ruin the next good name.

Colin Powell realized they were using him, so he jumped ship, albeit a little too late to save his name.

Republicans are sloooowly realizing that they've had their organization hijacked. Some Christians are, too.

I only hope America figures it out before GWB's second term is up. I would love a true Republican president, or a true Democratic one. I believe both true parties want to do genuine good for America.

There are many political figures and organizations at least trying to have an influence on this issue. I wouldn't necessarily say that any of these entities have significant political power unto themselves (except the Republican party, I guess), but that taken as a whole, they may persuade some politicians up on Capitol Hill to reconsider their position. E.g.:

National Organization of Women's petition.

Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy's petition.

Cheney's position regarding the senate filibuster.

And, finally, the Republican party's plans for ending the filibuster.

It's not the first time the RIAA has been involved in criminal activity.

Law enforcement goes wild and imprisons students for sharing a few thousand dollars worth of mp3s. It's about time we start imprisoning music industry CEOs who steal $143 million from the public.

I don't think the short article adds much new information, but it certainly lends a further extent of legitimacy to the issue.

Is it less worthy 'cause you didn't see it in the New York Times?

Funny you should mention the Times.(White House Press Pass Required)

As soon as the company went public, it changed. "Don't be evil" immediately took a backseat to "make money" on the day that happened. It is inevitable. Look at the "innovations" that google had come out with in the past year or so since going public.

They have gmail, which sounds like a great idea, but they do scan the content of the emails to put ads there. They claim no humans see the messages, and we have no proof otherwise, but it is a dangerous idea.

So far, this is all fact. Now my fear is definately theory bordering on conspiracy and I admit that. The sad fact is that all of this is possible and it shouldn't be this close.

They have admitted to the New York Times back in November of 2002 that , "Searches are logged by time of day, originating I.P. address (information that can be used to link searches to a specific computer), and the sites on which the user clicked.". Combine that with gmail and you get a database full of privacy violation. But that is just the start.

In the same New York Times article, when asked if they have ever turned any of this information over to anyone, they denied comment and refused to answer. The fact is that if they didn't log all of this data, and make these intrusive privacy policies, they wouldn't be putting our privacy at risk like this.

What about blogger? Do you think they log that also? Of course they do. They log the people who visit and what they read. They log who says what in their blogs. Then there is Picasa, for pictures on your hard drive. Don't even THINK about what they could find out from that desktop search tool that scours your entire hard drive for all of your files. Maybe it doesn't report everything now, but how long before they do? It may just be flipping a switch in the software to "phone home" with the information on the next update. By the time anyone knows, it is too late. the thought police are coming!

Now many many sites track similar information. Google is by no means the only one guilty of this type of tracking. But because of the large number of their "innovations" they have to potential to tie it all together and create a file on each and every user they have by data mining that information. They most assuredly have profiles on all of us and that should scare you to death. What have you used google for?

Yes, I am playing the "what if" game. But the fact is that it is dangerously close. The same holds true for Microsoft. I just don't have the same level of trust for google that I once had. As soon as they sold out to stickholders, I immediately worried that it would only be a matter of time before this huge database of profiles would be sold to the highest bidder (if it is not already). It is just getting too close to my privacy for my comfort which is why I am very careful about how I use Google and all of their wonderful "innovations".

I think everyone should do the same.

source: "Postcards from planet Google" November 28, 2002.

source: NewsHour with Jim Lehrer November 29, 2002.

source: google-watch.org

source: Binary Revolution Radio episodes 87,86,70,43,42,41.

Actually, that's not the case at all according to this new NY Times Article

...the Purdue researchers say the real explosive secret lies in the hull, or pericarp ... In some varieties, the pericarp becomes more moistureproof as it is heated, sealing in the steam until the pressure gets so high that the hull fractures and the kernel goes pop.

In other varieties that don't undergo heat-induced change, the moisture escapes, the hull never breaks and then the kernel goes pfffft.

believe me, this is no favor to developing nations unless one believes that such countries ought not to see what the real world looks like. Favor? To me it looks like one technology guaranteed to limit net access! See http://www.nytimes.com/ or, if you dont like their reg process, see http://www.cnn.com/

since 9/11. Sure it sucked but eventually folks here will have to realize that the rest of the industrialized world didn't stop competing because we "discovered" terrorism.

We're a net importer of technology now. (The trade deficit in technology grew to $37 billion last year.) Think about *that* for a second.

Good government policy is a critical part of having a competitive economy. (Where do you think the Internet came from? Private industry alone? Hardly.)

The current administration couldn't care less about any of what we're taking about here - it doesn't speak to their core constituencies of the very rich (who are insulated from the public sphere by their gated communities, private schools, etc.) and the very stupid (who are convinced the Rapture is around the corner - "Econamy? Technalogy? Future? What *are* you all babbling about?".)

Unless we get rulers that actually *care* about any of this, we're just going to have to get used to slipping further behind every year.

They wouldn't want a 25% earnings increase to slow down because they're selling less lightbulbs. According to NY Times:

"Net income grew to $4.04 billion, or 38 cents a share, for the quarter from $3.24 billion, or 32 cents, a year ago. Revenue jumped 19 percent, to $39.8 billion, from $33.4 billion. Nine of G.E.'s 11 businesses reported double-digit growth in the first quarter." ... "G.E.'s shares rose 25 cents yesterday, to close at $35.75 on a day that Dow fell 191.24 points."

With the stock market as it is, GE will try to keep its revenue up by downplaying the usefulness of LEDs, promoting its bulbs as a more long-lasting and dependable resource used for decades. (Not in my kitchen, where they always burn out for some reason--fuses? weakness? I'll never quite know.)

Clicky!

In a nutshell, we have Friedman essentially saying that among other things, having inexpensive and widespread broadband is essential to remain competitive. Countries like Japan and South Korea have encouraged this, since it is in the best interest of their economies. Us? We encourage the profits of the entrenched monopolistic telecoms.

Krugman talks about our health system, and has one astonishing statistic - that we not only pay twice what other countries with "socialized" medicine pay out per capita, with worse results, but almost half of our per capita is Medicare expenditures by the government. In other words, the US government already pays pretty same the much amount per citizen of what the French, Canadian or UK governments do - but we still have 40 million uninsured, and private insurance doubles our per capita. With worse results. This defies any kind of logic.

Why would a government promote policies that give worse results, while enriching private companies and special interests? Simple: our government serves those entities, but not the citizenry. I don't care about your party affiliation or ideology; spending more money with poorer results to benefit the few at the cost of the many is NOT something that represents American ideals. Anyone that says otherwise is simply ignorant or likewise beholden to special interests.

I'd blame the government, but the citizenry is who elected them. We get the government that we deserve.

jh

In a nutshell, we have Friedman essentially saying that among other things, having inexpensive and widespread broadband is essential to remain competitive. Countries like Japan and South Korea have encouraged this, since it is in the best interest of their economies. Us? We encourage the profits of the entrenched monopolistic telecoms.

Krugman talks about our health system, and has one astonishing statistic - that we not only pay twice what other countries with "socialized" medicine pay out per capita, with worse results, but almost half of our per capita is Medicare expenditures by the government. In other words, the US government already pays pretty same the much amount per citizen of what the French, Canadian or UK governments do - but we still have 40 million uninsured, and private insurance doubles our per capita. With worse results. This defies any kind of logic.

Why would a government promote policies that give worse results, while enriching private companies and special interests? Simple: our government serves those entities, but not the citizenry. I don't care about your party affiliation or ideology; spending more money with poorer results to benefit the few at the cost of the many is NOT something that represents American ideals. Anyone that says otherwise is simply ignorant or likewise beholden to special interests.

I'd blame the government, but the citizenry is who elected them. We get the government that we deserve.

jh

Unfortunately for the Democrats, 73 members of the party voted in favour of that bill. So much for being able to take the high ground.

Say what you will about the paranoia of all these sousveillance nuts, but don't pretend that it doesn't serve a valid purpose. For instance, remember all those RNC convention protestors who got arrested last year? And those sworn affidavits from cops saying that those kids had been kicking and screaming, resisting arrest and so forth? Yeah, those cops were making shit up.

I wonder why this hasn't gotten wider play. Are we now entirely unsurprised when cops perjure themselves? Had it not been for some paranoid kids with camcorders, a lot of people would have been unjustly imprisoned. I mean, more than they already were.

--grendel drago

This seems like such nonsense..what is the point of videotaping or photographing the cameras? How does videotaping a camera that is videotaping you deliver on the following quote from the article?
"What I argue is that if I'm going to be held accountable for my actions that I should be allowed to record ... my actions," Mann said. "Especially if somebody else is keeping a record of my actions.???

Now actually taping your ACTIONS makes perfect sense if you are going to be doing something that is potentially dangerous or you expect to have a brush with the law. The New York Times just had an article on how a bunch of "amateur" video tapes of the Republican Convention protests have shown that the NYPD have either doctored evidence or simply lied about what protesters did when they were arrested.

Among other incidents, the amateur video shows defendents who were charged with resisting arrest in no way putting up a fight when arrested.

link to article http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/12/nyregion/12video .html?

Oh yeah, I've never personally been able to understand the whole hooplah over the Ipod shuffle, or even the Ipod mini? 1 gigabyte? 5 gigabytes? Do you have ANY idea how old the songs get on your mp3 player if you keep hearing stuff over and over again like a radio station? I suppose for top 40 teenie boppers, that's okay.

Top 40 teenie boppers like George W. Bush, you mean?

Mr. Bush has had his Apple iPod since July, when he received it from his twin daughters as a birthday gift. He has some 250 songs on it, a paltry number compared to the 10,000 selections it can hold. Mr. Bush, as leader of the free world, does not take the time to download the music himself; that task falls to his personal aide, Blake Gottesman, who buys individual songs and albums, including [George] Jones's and [Alan] Jackson's greatest hits, from the iTunes music store.

I imagine there are probably a lot of people out there who are just as incurious as President Bush is. For these people ("just gimme a few Greatest Hits albums, thank yew very much"), 5GB is probably more than enough.

P.S. I wonder if that aide had to flip a coin with another one, and the winner gets to carry around the nuclear "football", while the loser keeps the President's iPod filled up?

The current system is a house of cards. Remember a few months back when a bum broke two major subway lines with a single track fire? I agree about the conductors, but the subway still has major problems and does need a major upgrade.

Also, Carl Zimmer has written an article in the NYTimes on this; here's his blog post on the topic, as well.

Half of the patents granted to IBM are software patents
They are lobbying the EU FOR software patents

They have patented such novel invention like:
Caps lock notification (granted 2004)
And Web page templates (submitted 1998)

Face it.. as much as you want to praise IBM.. they are a company, and are just doing what's in their best interest -- including patenting some ridiculous crap.

Yesterday's New York Times had a related article (do not pass Go, sell your soul). One of the points was that IBM is sharing some of its patents so that others may build on them. Collaboration is more economically efficient (ie. profitable) in the global business-space.

Somewhat along the same lines, Carl Zimmer also talked about "resurrecting the genome" of a mammalian ancestor from about 80 million years ago. Snippets of the genome are present in all mammals today. By comparing the genomes of various mammals, they were able to come up with a pretty good approximate of the genome. This chart shows how much of the original genome different mammals have. Surprisingly, humans have lost only 25% of the original genome, whereas rats and mice have lost more than twice that. I would have thought otherwise since the earliest mammals were shrewlike... but I'm not a biologist/geneticist/whoever studies these things.

He also wrote this article some time ago that talked about Resurrecting the Genome. Here is another article (by him) on the same topic, that appeared on NY Times.

Let there be no more remarks about how Open Source never innovates and is always copying Apple or M$...

I've long expected that the next Win would become more *nix like. They want some of the *nix geek acceptance apple found when they created Darwin and OSX

What remains is how far will they go - fully embracing the ethic might be upset their business model.

"

To do the Unix philosophy right, you have to be loyal to excellence. You have to believe that software is a craft worth all the intelligence and passion you can muster. . . . Software design and implementation should be a joyous art, and a kind of high-level play. If this attitude seems preposterous or vaguely embarrassing to you, stop and think; ask yourself what you've forgotten. Why do you design software instead of doing something else to make money or pass the time? You must have thought software was worthy of your passions once. . . .

To do the Unix philosophy right, you need to have (or recover) that attitude. You need to care. You need to play. You need to be willing to explore.
"

Id be surprised if they did.

Nick ...

Oh, whoa, am I embarrassed! I even double-checked it, too, argh... Here are the corrected links:

No-registration required link (thanks to the NY Times link generator!)
registration-required link

Oh, whoa, am I embarrassed! I even double-checked it, too, argh... Here are the corrected links:

No-registration required link (thanks to the NY Times link generator!)
registration-required link

I think this was the link the submitter meant.

javascript:(function(){var%20x,t,i,j;t=location.hr ef.replace(/[%]3A/ig,':').replace(/[%]2f/ig,'/');i =t.lastIndexOf('http://');if(i>0){t=t.substring(i) ;j=t.indexOf('&');if(j>0)t=t.substring(0,j)}window .location='http://nytimes.blogspace.com/genlink?q= '+t})();

NYT Article

Use this when you link to a NY Times article. It'll provide you with a link in which you don't need to register or log-in to view the article.

Reg-free link to article

clicky

Done with the help of the NYT Link generator.

Cutting NASAs budget makes me angry too, but military spending does not kill intellectual growth. Don't kid yourself, military research = science research.

Think again: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/02/technology/02dar pa.html. DARPA's getting out of the research game. Klienrock is even quoted in the article. You know, the father of the Internet? Don't take my word for it, see what HE says. If this policy existed in 1969, there would be NO Internet today.

.. when they end up having to deindex the RMB in order to clean up their banking structure..

http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2263.html

Remember how the last Asian Crisis (tm) came about from lots of nonperforming loans of cheap money for phallic skyscrapers (among other things). Guess where the biggest concrete and steel dicks are these days? Shanghai, Chicom Hong Kong, and the coveted Taiwan ROC... I'm thinking Soros is chomping at the bit for the opportuninty to fuck China _and_ the US over in a spectacular fashion once the dike starts to crack...

Given that and recent reporting of labor shortages in Guangdong..

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/international/as ia/03china.html

The next few years should be interesting indeed.

At any rate, there's enough dollars in China to support an interesting shopping spree. I'm thinking they'll buy GM after they declare bankrupcy, and use those brands plus Chinese labor (and, hopefully, American labor after the UAW is destroyed by bankrupcy renegotiation) to enter the US auto market.

We'll need that performance to track the lies from the DoE about nuke waste insecurity. And the lies from the NRC about current nuke storage insecurity. Good thing our tax dollars are spent so wisely that we now have the situation under control.

I wish we had the money

"Report Says Pentagon Spending on Weapons to Soar"

"The government is readying a plan to spend more than $2 billion on a routine 10-year overhaul to extend the life of the aging warheads. At the same time, some weapons scientists say the warheads have a fundamental design flaw...."

"The shift away from basic research is alarming many leading computer scientists and electrical engineers, who warn that there will be long-term consequences for the nation's economy."

"The voice of science is being stifled in the Bush administration"

"Led by twenty Nobel laureates, the scientists say Bush's government has systematically distorted and undermined scientific information in pursuit of political objectives."

"For Bush, science is a dirty word"

I wish we had the money

"Report Says Pentagon Spending on Weapons to Soar"

"The government is readying a plan to spend more than $2 billion on a routine 10-year overhaul to extend the life of the aging warheads. At the same time, some weapons scientists say the warheads have a fundamental design flaw...."

"The shift away from basic research is alarming many leading computer scientists and electrical engineers, who warn that there will be long-term consequences for the nation's economy."

"The voice of science is being stifled in the Bush administration"

"Led by twenty Nobel laureates, the scientists say Bush's government has systematically distorted and undermined scientific information in pursuit of political objectives."

"For Bush, science is a dirty word"

I wish we had the money

"Report Says Pentagon Spending on Weapons to Soar"

"The government is readying a plan to spend more than $2 billion on a routine 10-year overhaul to extend the life of the aging warheads. At the same time, some weapons scientists say the warheads have a fundamental design flaw...."

"The shift away from basic research is alarming many leading computer scientists and electrical engineers, who warn that there will be long-term consequences for the nation's economy."

"The voice of science is being stifled in the Bush administration"

"Led by twenty Nobel laureates, the scientists say Bush's government has systematically distorted and undermined scientific information in pursuit of political objectives."

"For Bush, science is a dirty word"

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/02/business/02plug. html

Meanwhile, the Pentagon will be spending hugely more money on more expensive weapons. Because of all the armies poised against us, now that we've got that low-rent Cold War out of the way. Why pay for communications research during an infowar (like the TerrorWar), when we can buy missile defense systems against the departed Soviet Union?

This copyright notice makes it quite clear you have no right to copy and paste like this. This post is at +5 right now shows what hypocrites you are.

Report Says Pentagon Spending on Weapons to Soar
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/01/business/01milit ary.html

I think something is broken in your society, please fix it before the rest of the world takes your toys away (like ruin your economy but you seem to be doing that without much help)

Here's a link a link where no registration is required.

People! When you submit a link to the NYT use the New York Times Link Generator!

Here is a reg free link to the NY Times article. Thank you New York Times Link Generator.

It's definitely another April Fools post. Just look at the name of the author of the article, Siddhartha Finch. For those that don't know, perhaps the most famous April Fools article appeared in Sports Illustrated 20 years ago. In fact, there was an article about it today in the NY Times (free reg required; yada yada yada).

It's definitely another April Fools post. Just look at the name of the author of the article, Siddhartha Finch. For those that don't know, perhaps the most famous April Fools article appeared in Sports Illustrated 20 years ago. In fact, there was an article about it today in the NY Times (free reg required; yada yada yada).

Taken from www.nytimes.com/2005/03/29/politics/29donate.html? oref=login

List of Schiavo Donors Will Be Sold by Direct-Marketing Firm
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and JOHN SCHWARTZ

Published: March 29, 2005

WASHINGTON, March 28 - The parents of Terri Schiavo have authorized a conservative direct-mailing firm to sell a list of their financial supporters, making it likely that thousands of strangers moved by her plight will receive a steady stream of solicitations from anti-abortion and conservative groups.

"These compassionate pro-lifers donated toward Bob Schindler's legal battle to keep Terri's estranged husband from removing the feeding tube from Terri," says a description of the list on the Web site of the firm, Response Unlimited, which is asking $150 a month for 6,000 names and $500 a month for 4,000 e-mail addresses of people who responded last month to an e-mail plea from Ms. Schiavo's father. "These individuals are passionate about the way they value human life, adamantly oppose euthanasia and are pro-life in every sense of the word!"

Privacy experts said the sale of the list was legal and even predictable, if ghoulish.

"I think it's amusing," said Robert Gellman, a privacy and information policy consultant. "I think it's absolutely classic America. Everything is for sale in America, every type of personal information."

Executives of Response Unlimited declined to comment. Gary McCullough, director of the Christian Communication Network and a spokesman for Ms. Schiavo's parents, confirmed that Mr. Schindler had agreed to let Response Unlimited rent out the list as part of a deal for the firm to send an e-mail solicitation raising money on the family's behalf.

The Schindlers have waged a lengthy legal battle against their son-in-law Michael Schiavo to prevent the removal of the feeding tube from their daughter, who doctors say is in a persistent vegetative state.

Mr. McCullough said he was present when Mr. Schindler agreed to the arrangement in a conversation with Phil Sheldon, the co-founder of a conservative online marketing organization, RightMarch.com, who acted as a broker for Response Unlimited.

"So the Schindlers do know the details," Mr. McCullough said on Monday. How much attention they paid to the matter is hard to assess, he added. "The Schindlers right now know that their daughter is starving to death, and if I ask about anything else, they say, 'I don't want to hear about it.' "

Direct mail and mass e-mailings are ubiquitous fund-raising tools of interest groups on the left as well as the right, and others in the direct-mail business defended the sale of lists like the roster of donors to the Schindlers as a useful way for potential donors to learn of causes that might appeal to them.

Pamela Hennessy, an unpaid spokeswoman for the Schindlers, said she was initially appalled when she learned of the list's existence.

"It is possibly the most distasteful thing I have ever seen," Ms. Hennessy said. "Everybody is making a buck off of her."

Ms. Hennessy, who operates the Schindlers' Web site, www.terrisfight.org, said the family had not released any of the names or e-mail addresses gathered there. "Obviously these people are enterprising, and they are taking advantage of this very desperate father," she said.

On Sunday, as the Schindlers gave up on their legal battle and their daughter passed her 10th day without food, others continued to rally supporters and solicit money in an effort to restore the feeding tube.

"This time, we have a real chance to break through the 'roadblocks' that the enemies of life have been putting up in front of us," said a mass e-mailing from RightMarch.com, asking supporters to urge Gov. Jeb Bush to intervene somehow.

The message added: "We're asking you to give a donation to help with our activism efforts to save Terri's life. Battles cost money;

Taken from http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/29/politics/29donat e.html?oref=login

List of Schiavo Donors Will Be Sold by Direct-Marketing Firm
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and JOHN SCHWARTZ

Published: March 29, 2005

WASHINGTON, March 28 - The parents of Terri Schiavo have authorized a conservative direct-mailing firm to sell a list of their financial supporters, making it likely that thousands of strangers moved by her plight will receive a steady stream of solicitations from anti-abortion and conservative groups.

"These compassionate pro-lifers donated toward Bob Schindler's legal battle to keep Terri's estranged husband from removing the feeding tube from Terri," says a description of the list on the Web site of the firm, Response Unlimited, which is asking $150 a month for 6,000 names and $500 a month for 4,000 e-mail addresses of people who responded last month to an e-mail plea from Ms. Schiavo's father. "These individuals are passionate about the way they value human life, adamantly oppose euthanasia and are pro-life in every sense of the word!"

Privacy experts said the sale of the list was legal and even predictable, if ghoulish.

"I think it's amusing," said Robert Gellman, a privacy and information policy consultant. "I think it's absolutely classic America. Everything is for sale in America, every type of personal information."

Executives of Response Unlimited declined to comment. Gary McCullough, director of the Christian Communication Network and a spokesman for Ms. Schiavo's parents, confirmed that Mr. Schindler had agreed to let Response Unlimited rent out the list as part of a deal for the firm to send an e-mail solicitation raising money on the family's behalf.

The Schindlers have waged a lengthy legal battle against their son-in-law Michael Schiavo to prevent the removal of the feeding tube from their daughter, who doctors say is in a persistent vegetative state.

Mr. McCullough said he was present when Mr. Schindler agreed to the arrangement in a conversation with Phil Sheldon, the co-founder of a conservative online marketing organization, RightMarch.com, who acted as a broker for Response Unlimited.

"So the Schindlers do know the details," Mr. McCullough said on Monday. How much attention they paid to the matter is hard to assess, he added. "The Schindlers right now know that their daughter is starving to death, and if I ask about anything else, they say, 'I don't want to hear about it.' "

Direct mail and mass e-mailings are ubiquitous fund-raising tools of interest groups on the left as well as the right, and others in the direct-mail business defended the sale of lists like the roster of donors to the Schindlers as a useful way for potential donors to learn of causes that might appeal to them.

Pamela Hennessy, an unpaid spokeswoman for the Schindlers, said she was initially appalled when she learned of the list's existence.

"It is possibly the most distasteful thing I have ever seen," Ms. Hennessy said. "Everybody is making a buck off of her."

Ms. Hennessy, who operates the Schindlers' Web site, www.terrisfight.org, said the family had not released any of the names or e-mail addresses gathered there. "Obviously these people are enterprising, and they are taking advantage of this very desperate father," she said.

On Sunday, as the Schindlers gave up on their legal battle and their daughter passed her 10th day without food, others continued to rally supporters and solicit money in an effort to restore the feeding tube.

"This time, we have a real chance to break through the 'roadblocks' that the enemies of life have been putting up in front of us," said a mass e-mailing from RightMarch.com, asking supporters to urge Gov. Jeb Bush to intervene somehow.

The message added: "We're asking you to give a donation to help with our activism efforts to save Terri's life. Battles cost

Quoting the NEW YORK TIMES

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/12/politics/12VOTE. html

Study of Disputed Florida Ballots Finds Justices Did Not Cast the Deciding Vote

A comprehensive review of the uncounted Florida ballots from last year's presidential election reveals that George W. Bush would have won even if the United States Supreme Court had allowed the statewide manual recount of the votes that the Florida Supreme Court had ordered to go forward"

Anything else?

It's too bad that P2P has been hit with both the stigma and the legal assault resulting from many people's belief that they're entitled to free professionally produced pop music, and free professionally produced porn. If they want some free information, they should make some free information. If they think free music would be cool, they should make some free music. If they think free porn is cool, they could post nude pictures of themselves on their blog.

Meanwhile, there are a lot of possible legitimate uses of P2P technology, but they're not really being taken advantage of because of the stigma. For instance, P2P is probably the logical way to distribute open-source software today, but most people use server-based mechanisms instead.