Slashdot Mirror

Women should avoid it for all the same reasons.

One exception. As a natural fertility treatment when a woman has low estrogen. And women are not as affected by being doused with estrogen.

The scary part is the estrogen mimics. These have been implicated in birth defect in male children https://www.sciencedaily.com/r...

And the really nifty one https://www.wfaa.com/article/n...

It is incredibly interesting that there is no national program, no hue and cry to eliminate this problem, other than the BPA mimic issue. It's real, it's proven, and I'll leave it to others to discuss why no one seems to give a shit about it.

Cause this time he didn't just manage to sound like his usual Creutzfeldt-Jakob incoherent self.
He also managed to sound like a teen or a twelve-year-old tweeting "You don't break up with me! I'm breaking up with YOU!" at a porn star he's been having an imaginary Twitter romance with.
And at the same time, begging to be taken "back".

https://www.whitehouse.gov/bri...

But the most hilarious part is when the White House gift shop web site crashed under the weight of the global schadenfreude.
Thanks to millions of people going there to see the commemorative "challenge" coin being discounted after the cancellation of the summit.

There goes that Nobel peace prize all those Republican brown nosers tried to sign him up for, I guess.
That's IF they've managed to spell Norway correctly this time.
That W... very much like an M... all them straight lines...

The guy in west texas was forced to spend 30 grand because the hospital would not allow his son to transport him.
http://www.wfaa.com/article/ne...

Granted he was pretty dumb trying to snap a photo of a rattlesnake.
The air ambulance thing from what I hear is basically extortion.

I think the police must and can change. The bullying can be kept to a minimum, through screening and training. The training also needs to change.

One problem is higher up. It's not just the police, it's local governments. For example, a few weeks ago, I got a letter about my grass being too high. In a neighboring city, the bureaucrats actually escalated an unmown lawn into jail time! They had kept a dossier of lawn care violations dating back nearly 20 years! Wow, welcome to East Germany. I had mowed 2 weeks before, but it had rained a lot recently and the city's own medians were not in compliance. But none of that mattered. The tone of the letter is what I find most troubling. It was insulting, threatening, demeaning, and belittling all in one. There was no due process, the property was simply declared in violation. I had no idea what the height limit was until the letter informed me that it was 12 inches, and only a vague notion that there probably was a city ordinance about it. The letter informed me that the city could fine me up to $2000 per day that the property was in violation, If I don't pay, they can file a lien and may sue me. Also, it seems I'm on probation for a year, as the letter also said I would not receive another warning for 12 months, they'd just start the punishment the next time the property was found in violation. Pretty heavy handed for a little grass. I doubt whether they can really do all the terrible things they say, and it may be in part a scare tactic. They also stated in the letter that the purpose is "that the property be maintained in an attractive and pleasant manner free of all nuisances. Premises that become unattractive because of of high vegetation or other nuisance invite deterioration, vandalism and infestation and undermine the integrity of the neighborhoods and commercial areas where they exist." That's damned insulting, lecturing me about that. I have done much to clean the property up. It had a lot of trash scattered around before I moved in, and I have disposed of it all. Nor do I agree with their premise that high vegetation is a nuisance, or that over 12 inches is "high". So, according to that, my grandparents, who were farmers and good people, are public nuisances because they never mowed their yard? They had 4 foot high grass, and a vegetable garden. As a citizen with a clean record, I deserve better treatment than that.

Finally, the letter concluded with a list of lawn mowing services I could employ, with a disclaimer that they do not endorse any of them. Yeah, right! That list struck me as highly improper. So, the city is being run as a racket for lawn care profiteering? With a city being run like that, is it any wonder that their cops aren't totally fair either? What I would like to see is the people rise up against such petty racketeering. Citizens who want to keep our hard won rights should descend upon the city of Grand Prairie Texas for jailing a man for not mowing enough, and set them straight. No escalation of civil violations into criminal ones. No de facto debtor prisons. Sadly, I have not heard that anything further is being done in this case. Looks like the episode is going to be forgotten, and Mr. Yoes will not receive any apology or compensation. Maybe the media attention they got is enough to scare the bureaucrats from pulling that one again.

Says the guy in the Slashdot thread about the LEO who go infected just by walking inside the house.

What? The only infected person in the US died earlier today--that's what this Slashdot article is about. Where does anything say that the LEO is infected? He doesn't even have the classic symptoms of Ebola, and neither do any of the people who the Ebola victim was staying with. The LEO just felt a bit sick, so he decided to go to the hospital just in case, but it's extremely unlikely that he caught Ebola--he was in the apartment 4 days after the Ebola victim was taken to the hospital, and he didn't touch anything in there. The linked news article sucks--why link to some place in North Carolina when the situation is going on in Dallas, TX? It's a heavily-edited version of the original WFAA article, which says, among other things, "'He's doing exactly basically what we told him to do: If at any time you don't feel well, go seek some medical attention,' Dyer said. 'I'm being told that he's not exhibiting classic signs of the Ebola virus. It's just a matter that he doesn't feel well, and because he had contact with Mr. Duncan's apartment, they're taking every precaution.'" And, "Denton County Health Department director Dr. Matt Richardson said Monnig is not currently classified as having had 'contact' with Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan. 'Because of the absence of contact to the Ebola patient or anyone symptomatic with Ebola, we see no threat to the public's health regarding this individual,'"

It looks like there may be another Texas ebola case.

good news: http://www.wfaa.com/story/news...

Prove it. Can you name one instance where an aircraft was brought down by someone shining a laser pointer at it? I wanna read an actual NTSB report that says pilot blindness caused by an ordinary retail store bought laser pointer located on the ground resulted in a subsequent crash. There's no such thing.

Not quite a crash, but is this "good enough" for you? Even if it isn't, the other commenters here, saying you don't have to wait for the first accident to happen before you do, are correct.

This one isn't frivolous. It has put pilots and crew in the hospital with eye burns.

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local...

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/he...

While it hasn't led to air crashes YET it is still a serious form of assault on someone in a critical position.

Some states still have the death penalty for attacking a first responder. Something to think about.

it happens all the time.
here is a pilot that ahd eye damage?
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/he...
http://www.wfaa.com/news/local...

Permanently blinded? I don't know. Temp blinded, often.
There are hundreds of cases.

Learn to fucking use Google.

Wrong. Here's one:

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local...

Sure, his helicopter didn't crash, but either this was 1 accident, or it was worse than an accident, it was deliberate assault, which doesn't help the case.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroo...

Four more people hospitalized and blinded. This one is extra-crazy since it's military "friendlies".

Note also that non-laser light sources have been a problem in the past.

These were two of the first three results for "laser dazzle accidents" (no quotes) -- the other was an allegation that the car accident that lead to Princess Di's death may have been caused by intentional laser dazzle which I don't have the time of patience to follow up on right now.

Google "helicopter laser pointer" - first item to pop up

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local...

Is this good enough for you? There are others...

You're assuming too much.

Metal doesn't burn easy, and this is likely moving a *lot* slower than most iron meteors that manage to burn up anyway.

Really?
Here's what we send up: http://i.space.com/images/i/000/010/556/original/Sacriflight_AW.jpg?1309195668

Here's all we got back:
http://i.space.com/images/i/000/003/207/original/080228-cs-02.jpg?1292266925

Here's what it looked like coming back:
http://www.wfaa.com/video/featured-videos/RAW-VIDEO--189393891.html

Metal burns just fine, and light aluminum burns extremely well. I once saw a guy welding on the tongue of an airstream trailer, and the structure caught fire. Before the fire department could get there, the entire trailer structure was a white ball hovering above the ground, too bright to look at for more than a second or two.

Yeah, major drug cartels and especially Iceland have massive data centers that rival what the US has. Right. That must be why so many of the job postings for those with related skills are in Columbia and Iceland.

Iceland is building a 50 to 70 acre data center. And they're hiring tons.

The mexican drug cartel has a massive national wireless network. They're hiring too, but you have to apply in person; They don't take online resumes.

Look, we know that the NSA hires shills to mock all of us who are concerned with this stuff. You're probably not one of them. You probably just do it for free.

Well, you got one thing right: I do this for free. I suppose 1 out of 6 is better than your usual average though.

Incidentally, I googled this to see if there was an actual case out there (this being the internet and all). This case does exist and the woman in question was assaulted a bit over two weeks ago. My view on it though is that it is a simple though brutal assault and battery (whatever the Texas equivalent is). It shouldn't matter whether the pain was inflicted because the attacker thought she was homosexual or because the attacker wanted her watch. It should matter that the assault was done in front of a bunch of children.

I think that the "hate crime" aspect is a huge red herring. It's useful for ascribing motive in court, but criminalizing bigotry is just a 1984 thoughtcrime thing. We shouldn't be trying to police what people fear and hate. We should be policing what brutal and harmful actions they do in response to that fear and hate. One doesn't need to classify assault and battery as a "hate crime" in order to do that. It's already illegal with suitable punishments in store.

As to the accusation of the police department dragging its feet? There's not enough information out there yet for me to decide if the police department is ignoring the case (unless the poster I'm replying to has more information). It's worth noting that there's probably a couple of people who know a lot about who this man is, there supposedly was a female companion and presumably a child associated with this man, but the group may be unknown to the other people at the park. At that point, you're going on eyewitness accounts and whatever evidence was left behind by the assailant and his group. That might or might not be enough to go on.

He believes the LAPD ruined his life, because he accused his trainer of beating up a civilian while he was doing his first week mentorship, and those charges were dropped after an investigation revealed that they were false. The "ruining his life" part comes because the LAPD then dismissed him for making a false charge: they felt he was a risk to have on the force.

He should have just applied for a job with Dallas PD.

He believes the LAPD ruined his life, because he accused his trainer of beating up a civilian while he was doing his first week mentorship, and those charges were dropped after an investigation revealed that they were false. The "ruining his life" part comes because the LAPD then dismissed him for making a false charge: they felt he was a risk to have on the force.

He should have just applied for a job with Dallas PD.

Ever calculate the costs of driving faster? For example, driving 55 mph instead of 65 saves about 10% on fuel.

I don't know if that's true... supporting citations, anyone? I think the original 1973 law may have *intended* to save fuel, but my brief search yielded a few citations that would seem to cast some doubt on limits actually having that effect:

• A 1986 paper (a pdf, booh, sorrry) stating total fuel savings to be 1% and that independent studies found a 0.5% savings.
• In 2009 The American Trucking Associations called for raising the limit to 65 mph and also national fuel economy standards claiming that the lower speed limit was not effective at saving fuel.
• Observations supporting the idea that municipal governments benefit substantially from speeding tickets as a source of revenue (one striking example: Westlake, TX took in $42,000 per citizen over nine years for its speed traps).

Not necessarily. Just up the road at the DFW airport a woman got a handgun past the ever vigilant TSA.

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/TSA-Woman-slips-through-DFW-Airport-checkpoint-with-gun-137567048.html

doesn't always work that way. sometimes the police get keep items turned in by honest people.

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Dallas-decides-to-keep-cash-found-by-honest-teen-121609364.html

Um, okay. Let's look at the results:

1) A link to a school policy explaining teachers' responsibilities with respect to student fights.
2) A story about a family criticizing a teacher for NOT breaking up a fight.
3) A teacher being sued by an adult university student for injuring her while breaking up a fight.
4) A dupe of #2.
5) And another.
6) An article about teachers being urged to tolerate swearing (has a comment near the bottom by someone claiming to have been sued for breaking up a fight; no details provided).
7) Information about avoiding being sued while working.
8) Video of a teacher breaking up a fight and some random anonymous commentary in which someone speculates that the teacher will get sued.
9) A teacher does nothing while an impromptu boxing match occurs in the classroom.
10) A teacher suffers a miscarriage from breaking up a fight. Again, some random commenter speculates that she risked getting sued by breaking up the fight.

I'm seeing lots of claims of these lawsuits. Not a whole heck of a lot to back up those claims. The only actual lawsuit involving the breakup of a fight was the one where the student, an adult, was allegedly injured. The teacher/student factor is irrelevant in that case. If an adult injures another adult, a lawsuit is a real possibility.

I don't know about BART, but if you ride DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit), that little button isn't worth a shit.

Proof:

"People were hitting the little button to talk to the conductor," Walker said. No information was coming back whatsoever. Nobody was talking to us."

(Funny thing for those too lazy to RTFA: DART had actually planned on charging the passengers who left the train with a crime.)

http://www.wfaa.com/news/texas-news/Man-dies-while-raping-elderly-South-Texas-woman-123777409.html

I can't decide which is more surprising: that this guy rode his bike 2 miles to rape a granny, that he was a paroled sex offender, or that he was a spic.

Researching a 100-mile radius around Fort Worth, the U.S. Geological Survey recorded 11 minor earthquakes from 1973 to 2006, the period the government database spans.

But, in the last seven months, 15 more minor quakes have happened, including the four most recently in Cleburne. Still, most occurred along the Dallas and Tarrant County line.

lawful execution by Castle Doctrine law.

Can you tell me the last time a citizen was able to successfully use weapons to defend his property from 'intrusion' by any determined authority, local or federal? Rambo fantasies are so lame.

Don't you watch the news?

2 killed

1 killed

lawful execution by Castle Doctrine law.

Can you tell me the last time a citizen was able to successfully use weapons to defend his property from 'intrusion' by any determined authority, local or federal? Rambo fantasies are so lame.

Don't you watch the news?

2 killed

1 killed

Citations would have been good. Here they are for reference. There could be more.

December 26, 2009: A Toyota Avalon crashes into a lake in Texas after accelerating out of control. All four occupants die. Floor mats are ruled out as a cause because they are found in the trunk of the car.

Read more

Four Jehovah's Witnesses died when a 2008 Toyota Avalon they were riding inside raced out of control and plummeted into a pond on December 26. ...
Speculations had swelled over whether the car's mat had become stuck on the accelerator, which was one of the reason's Toyota recalled the Avalon, along with several other models. But, investigators found the floor mats in the car's trunk after the accident, ruling out the mat theory.
Read more

Just yesterday in Dallas a large fork lift plowed into a 14 foot 5 inch clearance underpass and thoroughly shattered the first cement beam.
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa090722_wz_tootall.6696c458.html

Actually it was the last beam of the bridge that he hit.

Observations,

These are very special hauling requirements, so they require a much more specialized design. I am uneasy about that generic hauling truck trailer shown in the picture.

1. If the blades are 50 yards long, then designing a hauling truck like an old fire engine ladder truck might be better. Those had a rear cab and movable wheel carriages in the back.
2. Also the trailer design in the picture is horrible regarding height. Design a trailer with lengthwise side support that allows blades to travel four or five feet lower. This could also incorporate hydraulic lifting to raise the trailer over bumps and low spots. Think lowrider cars that jump up.
3. Additional tires on the truck and trailers to distribute weight and save the roadways. Heavy equipment haulers here in TX once in a while have as many as 50 wheels per tractor\trailer(s). For max wheels see this site (the bottom picture).
http://www.goodtransportationinc.com/
4. I hope for low interstate overpasses that trucks could exit, then take the service road up, over (and adjacent) to the interstate then return to the interstate.
5. And a lead car with laser height and side measurement device to alert the hauling convoy of incorrect, changed, or terrain shifted height/side measurements.

I know this is blitheringly obvious. But plan and triple check. Just yesterday in Dallas a large fork lift plowed into a 14 foot 5 inch clearance underpass and thoroughly shattered the first cement beam.
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa090722_wz_tootall.6696c458.html

Thanks,
Jim

Did NOBODY even bother to read the links I put up before they slammed me? NEWS FLASH_The corps have found a way AROUND the whole Skilled labor bit. If you bother to read you will see how they do it. And this is in one of the MOST DANGEROUS professions where you HAVE to speak and read English. If you don't people could die. Lots of people. Do the corps care? Nope, because it costs a lousy $25 an hour to hire someone qualified to do the work, whereas if they run Jose through a 3 week Spanish only "The wrench is pointed this way" school they can pay him $10 or even less. So for 2 qualified Americans they can have 5 unqualified Jose. That is ALL they care about.

So before anybody slams me, try reading the link. Even in aircraft repair, where if you don't follow procedure people die, they hire illegals. They get around it by hiring ONE qualified American, some of whom can't even speak Spanish, to "sign off" on the work of dozens of illegals. The illegals can't follow procedure, and the qualified worker doesn't have the time to follow every one of the dozens of illegals to see that they are doing a correct job. Thanks to greed you will see this more and more. I know that in the tract housing being built down the street they have exactly ONE American who has to stand there with an interpreter because he can't understand the crew and the crew can't understand him. But the crew is getting paid peanuts and are living down the street from me 6 guys to a tiny apartment, so who cares if the house they build is shoddy shit and falls down around the new owners ears, right? As long as you make a big profit, it's all fine.

Give the man a cigar. All these "work with your hands types" are missing the elephant in the room: They will just give that job to an illegal that will get paid peanuts to do the job. Of course before if you worked hard and got a degree you were assured you would be able to feed your family, today they will just hire an H1-B who will work like a dog and get paid peanuts because it cost him 1/10th the amount for a master's degree than it did you.

That is why we are going to have to fight at the grass roots level and support any part BUT the Dems or Repubs. The whole "red VS blue" is a total bullshit pro wrestling game where it doesn't matter who wins, YOU LOSE! Look at how much Obama is like Bush? Look at how many times you have read "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" why? Because he is cashing the same checks and answering to the same corps that Bush did. That "giant sucking sound" you hear is all our money being sent overseas and never returning. It is being sent with our jobs, or by illegals and H1-Bs that are sending the cash home while those in the USA find more and more posted jobs are just "How not to hire an American" BS postings. So all this talk of "will you have a job if you work with your hands instead of a degree?" is BS. You will NOT have a job because they will give it to a guy that lives with a dozen guys in a tiny apartment and will work for a wage that won't even put food on your table. Just as the job requiring a degree will be sent to Bangalore if they just don't bring Bangalore to the job. It is time to wake up before we lose what little we have left.

One of the very credible TV stations in Dallas recently published a story and some followup stories alleging that the Ripoff Report attempted to extort a payment from a small company in return for removing or deemphasizing a negative report.
Story: http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/localnews/investigates/stories/wfaa090115_mo_ripoffreport.8a6931c.html

Yes its Texas. For sometimes good reasons and more often bad ones (as in the Microsoft monopoly case). This time its a good reason. The attorney general says the agreement did not go far enough about verifying ages. I don't know how an any age verification would work. Factual data like emails or birth dates can be easily faked. Perhaps name the continents? No, that would knock out a lot of college students today. Thumbprints? DNA samples anyone?
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa080114_mo_myspacetx.21af3d6b.html

Jim

For some reason, Google News (and the original poster) are linking to an Austin TV station's copy of the story, which originated in Dallas -- site of the store and, oh yeah, GameStop's headquarters. Here are some links to the "breaking news story", as I'm sure Channel 8 is touting it:

Before (Sep 13): Store only sells video games to kids with good grades. Wow, great guy, good publicity!

After (Sep 14): GameStop manager suspended after 'games for grades' policy. Hey, bad boy, hurt sales!

Fortunately, I don't feel the need to stop in at GameStop anyway. Not when the Dallas area has independent stores like Game Trade, with a bigger selection, better prices, more knowledgable staff, and a LAN room in the back.

For some reason, Google News (and the original poster) are linking to an Austin TV station's copy of the story, which originated in Dallas -- site of the store and, oh yeah, GameStop's headquarters. Here are some links to the "breaking news story", as I'm sure Channel 8 is touting it:

Before (Sep 13): Store only sells video games to kids with good grades. Wow, great guy, good publicity!

After (Sep 14): GameStop manager suspended after 'games for grades' policy. Hey, bad boy, hurt sales!

Fortunately, I don't feel the need to stop in at GameStop anyway. Not when the Dallas area has independent stores like Game Trade, with a bigger selection, better prices, more knowledgable staff, and a LAN room in the back.

Our system in the US is way more expensive. It also works, it works quickly, and people don't go without. We don't let people bleed out in an ER because they don't have insurance. That's ILLEGAL, in addition to any moral/ethical issues.

Don't go to many urban EDs, do you?

The reality is, people who don't have insurance, don't have a doctor or any kind of regular, preventative care. So the ER becomes their "primary care" department. Why? Because the ER can't turn people away, regardless of insurance. So what happens when you have a bunch of people going to the ER for non-emergency situations? ER backs up. Your ER waits turn into hours - 12+ hours, perhaps. And yes, people die in the ER because they don't get taken care of right away.

Classic example:

Velma Edwards and David Luckett, who both waited to be seen in the ER Tuesday, are contributing reasons to the ER problem because neither have an emergency nor health insurance. "Well, I was feeling woozy today in my head," Edwards said. Luckett said waiting in the ER is his only way to get relief. "Just to come in here to get a pain pill or a refill I have to go through the whole process, which is a four or a six hour wait sometimes just to be seen," he said. "But I have to have it."

So no, I don't think the US system "works", and it doesn't "work quickly", at least not for everyone. I don't think more government control is the answer either, but the situation is not exactly rosy right now.

Also humans are too fat like bacon.

"Villemarette said eating chips, in a roundabout way, presents a problem when a human skeleton is being processed. The [dermestid] beetles don't like to eat human tissue, he said, because of the volume of grease in human bones and meat."

Source: a Boston Globe article that was widely distributed in October.
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/ 110106dnbusskulls.2e2231f.html

Off topic, I wish this would slot under "The Robot Got it Right"

Thanks,
Jim Burke

This story is a tad bit old.

http://www.wfaa.com/s/dws/bus/columnists/all/stori es/093005dnbusworldview.1b969a1b.html

Where to begin with this...

At least on Fox they have two sides for arguments...

Yeah. It's either wacko righty + even more wacko righty OR wacko righty + diluted inarticulate liberal (ie, Alan Colmes or Bob Beckel). Having straw man liberals to take crap from unfair questions is not showing two sides for the argument. It is not at all about getting to the truth of an issue, but creating the appearance of fairness in order to promote your agenda.

People that use this tend to think that there's nothing wrong with the government funded left-biased NPR, yet get all up in arms about Limbaugh starts shooting his fat mouth off.

You really want to talk about unfair government interference in public broadcasting? You can start by explaining why Rush Limbaugh is on Armed Forces Radio but liberals critical of this administration get pulled.

radio stations west of the mississippi rivir use K for their callsign. Not w. Nice try.

You don't even need Google for this one. Simply typing "WFAA" into your browser is enough to make you look like the world's biggest ass.

(That comment about Photoshop being a Mac game, though? Funny. Keep up the good work.)

That rule was instituted after a number of W callsigns were issued to stations west of the Mississippi.

The stations already holding W callsigns were allowed to keep them. Dallas has at least two:

WFAA
WRR

What is/was the scandal? I'd like to know because I write them a check every month :/

In 2002, their European operations took a nosedive, and they had to borrow a wad o'cash to get things back together. I can't find any decent muckraking on the events, probably because the local paper is widely known to be a corporate tool (just ask these guys or these guys).

But here's one mention (2/3 down the page), and the local paper did mention the problems in a puff piece saying how great everything is now: turn off JavaScript to read without registration (google cache also requires you turn off JS).

Incidently, QNX has been establishing itself in the Automotive sector for quite some time. Here's a few article excepts, etc.

Life-or-death code [Registration Required]
Bugs hold danger as cars and hospitals rely more on software

QNX Software Systems Ltd. makes software for both. Bugs might present minor problems, but the Canadian company has found a way to keep devices from crashing completely, said product management director Sachin Lawande.

QNX operating system revs up for the road
Robust brain of smart-vehicle computers is able to repair itself

Should Bill Gates worry? If he's going after high-reliability markets then we will beat him without question, says Mr. Dodge. But let's be realistic here. Technology doesn't always win everywhere and Microsoft has the marketing. People are used to rebooting their PC every day. We've had customers running QNX for 10 to 15 years without rebooting.

Driving the Future
Click here to see the Audi A8 L's MultiMedia Interface, powered by QNX

Windows CE (now called Windows Automotive) lost out to QNX Neutrino, a real-time operating system from a company with two decades of experience in life-support systems and nuclear power plantsand few plans to run Audi's life in the future. With Microsoft, confided one Audi manager, You were always thinking they had plans to control more than your dashboard. (Microsoft automotive business unit general manager Bob McKenzie says that Microsoft would like to partner with automakers on more extensive projects in the future.)

Obviously there's more, but that gives you an idea of what's happening.

Original video of breakup, in real player format, about the size of a postage stamp. free registration required

still video slideshow of the breakup & astronauts.

Original video of breakup, in real player format, about the size of a postage stamp. free registration required

still video slideshow of the breakup & astronauts.

I got a spam a few weeks ago, and reported it to the hosting service (who turned off the site relativly quickly). I also emailed news.com, who ran an article about a week later on general ebay identity theft scams. And I also emailed the local ABC affiliate in Dallas. They ended up coming out and doing a story about it and airing it. Here is a link to the transcribed interview. link and the video video (real player required) (you probably have to register for the site though). It was also found that the guy that supposidly owns the domain name, had his identity stolen earlier this year.. --Copy of the report ------- Web site designed to scam eBay customers Experts say there are simple ways to protect yourself against similar frauds 11/22/2002 By BRETT SHIPP / WFAA-TV Most everyone has heard horror stories from victims of identity theft. Thieves steal checks or credit card numbers, and go on spending sprees. But now, crooks have concoted a new high-tech plan to put your money in their hands. Imagine a routine check of your computer e-mail. One of the items is a routine-looking message from the on-line auction company eBay. The message reads: "We regret to inform you, but due to a recent system flush, the billing information for your account was lost and cannot be found." To re-register, you are directed to a web site providing a place to again supply eBay with all of your financial information. Chris Pick of Dallas received such a notice just a few days ago asking him for a number of items. "Credit card information, bank account information, pin number, Social Security numbers, address, (and) mother's maiden name," Pick said. But Pick, a computer network administrator by trade, smelled trouble. "This was kind of a double-take for me," Pick said. "Usually I spot these kind of scams a mile away, and trash them, and don't pay any attention." This time he followed his instincts, employed his skills and went to eBay.com to see if his account was still active. It was. "I went and did some more investigating on that site, eBaybillingservice.com, and it turns out they are not affiliated with eBay - it looked like a scam," Pick said. After some research, he discovered ebaybillingservice.com was registered to an address in North Vernon, Indiana - the home of William Flowers who, it turns out, had his identity stolen earlier this year. "The person who called a couple of days ago said the authorities would probably be knocking on my door," Flowers said. "I welcome them with open arms because I want to find out what's going on." What's going on is this: someone has used Flowers' financial information to purchase and establish a Web site, fashion it to look like a genuine eBay site, and fool people into submitting critical financial information. Internet investigator Brian Ingram tracks computer crooks around the globe. "This page was actually quite well done," Ingram said. In this case, he's made important discoveries. "When you access the source code on this e-mail and you do some tracing on it - which is what I specialize in - you can see the e-mail actually originated out of Spain though an internet service provider called Telephonica SA," Ingram said. Tracking the crooks is one thing. Capturing them is another - especially in Spain, where Ingram says the laws are lax. eBay officials are aware of the scheme, and told News 8: "the problem in nailing these guys is that their Web site stays up only a few days and disappears." Ingram said there are some simple ways to protect yourself. "In the address bar of the site that you go to, you should be able to see an "s" behind the 'http'," Ingram said. That means the site's address will begin with 'https://'. "If you don't see that "s", I don't care what's written on the page, it's not secure," Ingram said. Someone's basically copied the source code and hijacked the page." He also said, when supplying financial information on-line, look for the little lock at the bottom of the page, which is your browser's way of telling you the page is secure. Finally, never release financial information in response to an e-mail - it could be an invitation to 'information highway robbery'.

http://www.wfaa.com/wfaa/articledisplay/0,1002,310 13,00.html
http://www.wfaa.com/wfaa/articledisplay/0,1002,311 20,00.html

http://www.wfaa.com/wfaa/articledisplay/0,1002,310 13,00.html
http://www.wfaa.com/wfaa/articledisplay/0,1002,311 20,00.html