Slashdot Mirror

[The airline pilot said over the PA:] "Sometimes a potential hijacker will announce that he has a bomb. There are no bombs on this aircraft and if someone were to get up and make that claim, don't believe him. If someone were to stand up, brandish something such as a plastic knife and say, 'This is a hijacking' or words to that effect, here is what you should do:

"Every one of you should stand up and immediately throw things at that person -- pillows, books, magazines, eyeglasses, shoes -- anything that will throw him off balance and distract his attention. If he has a confederate or two, do the same with them. Most important: get a blanket over him, then wrestle him to the floor and keep him there. We'll land the plane at the nearest airport and the authorities will take it from there."

"Remember, there will be one of him and maybe a few confederates, but there are 200 of you. Now, since we're a family for the next few hours, I'll ask you to turn to the person next to you, introduce yourself, tell them a little about yourself and ask them to do the same."

...The fact is, Islam preaches the Golden Mean - everything in moderation, nothing to excess....

In
this article in the Washington Times, economist Bruce Bartlett notes,

This raises an interesting question. Where does this hatred of capitalism come from? Contrary to popular belief, it does not come from Islam.

Indeed, one could argue that Islam is the most pro-business of all the world's major religions. It is worth remembering that the Prophet Mohammed was a businessman, who engaged in extensive commerce during the years before he devoted himself exclusively to religious affairs in the year 611. Even afterward, Mohammed often made comments and took actions that demonstrated his support for business and the free market.

For example, he forbade the imposition of price controls, saying prices were in God's hands and that he wished to meet God (the same God to whom Christians and Jews pray) without having to answer for some injustice that he might commit in this respect.

Story Links:
BBC
MSNBC
CNN
Chicago Tribune
Globe and Mail
Washington Times
Sydney Morning Herald
New Zealand Herald
LA Times


Picture Links:
BBC
Sydney Morning Herald

The Senate, in particular Sen. Daschle and the other Democrats, has already made it clear this morning that they will attempt to overturn what is from their point of view a ban. This article in the Washington Post is a fairly liberal take on the decision, and includes some comments by Daschle.

On the other hand, outright permission from the President would have resulted in an equally vicious attack from the Republican-led House of Representatives and conservatives. This article in the Washington Times is a good example of the typical mix of conservative responses.

At least the limited approach the President chose has a chance of standing up against the legislature. Regardless of your personal feelings about the politics or morality of the situation, I believe the President's decision was a fairly balanced approach to an extremely difficult issue.

Why does one need cheesy dotcoms to tell us what a directory is?

A directory search limited to U.S. newspapers immediately brings up, say, an explanation by Linda Chavez about her relationship with the illegal alien in question.

If one wants political news, one can go to a political news source. If one wants information on Linda Chavez, one can do a more specific search. If one wants political news about Linda Chavez, one can (this must be getting very complex for your average dotcom founder) search a news archive.

White House e-mails are verified

"Officials at Northrop Grumman Corp. have confirmed that thousands of White House e-mails containing information on "Filegate," campaign finance abuses, "Chinagate" and Monica Lewinsky were never turned over to a federal grand jury or three congressional committees despite pending subpoenas."

White House issued threats

"Five Northrop Grumman employees were so intimidated by White House threats of jail that one was nearly fired when she refused to tell her own bosses about the administration's failure to turn over thousands of e-mail messages under subpoena."

White House e-mails are verified

"Officials at Northrop Grumman Corp. have confirmed that thousands of White House e-mails containing information on "Filegate," campaign finance abuses, "Chinagate" and Monica Lewinsky were never turned over to a federal grand jury or three congressional committees despite pending subpoenas."

White House issued threats

"Five Northrop Grumman employees were so intimidated by White House threats of jail that one was nearly fired when she refused to tell her own bosses about the administration's failure to turn over thousands of e-mail messages under subpoena."

Pentagon study finds China preparing for war with U.S.

From the Washington Times: Pentagon study finds China preparing for war with U.S.

Nearly 1 billion people watched the game, including 130 million Americans. The Super Bowl was broadcast in 24 languages, including Mandarin Chinese, Bulgarian and Hindi. The game even prompted an informal holiday in Germany, where many arose early to watch the 4 a.m. live broadcast.

"Lots of Germans have learned that the Super Bowl is the greatest party of the year," said Alexander Roesner, sports coordinator of Germany's SAT 1 network. "The game is a highlight event, especially for the younger people."

. There were 3,500 journalists covering the Super Bowl, including 476 from 162 international agencies. An estimated 500,000 also monitored the game through www.nfl.com.

Back on November 11, I submitted a story about certain U.S. state governors' plan to band together to adopt a so-called "voluntary" internet sales tax. ("Voluntary" on the states' part, naturally, not the consumers.) The Washington Times originally broke the then-secret plan, about a week before the article to which I made a link above. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the Wash Times's article is available on their web page anymore. (If you have a Northern Light account, you can get the entire Wash Times article.) Oh well, guess Slashdot had more important things to report*! ;-P

Cheers,
ZicoKnows@hotmail.com

[*] Most likely a story where "someone somewhere said that they weren't a fan of Linux" ;-)