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Capping the line to the tank is really really important. Especially if you remove the tank.

Call it blatant link-whoring if you'd like, but I figured I'd provide a pointer to some resources on Sunshine Week my newspaper, a small Rhode Island Daily, put together - located here. Our stories this year weren't really in-depth analyses, just overviews and features of the current FOI climate in our area, but we hope they were interesting nonetheless.

...than people had feared.
According to this article that was posted to Fark yesterday... the school administration, aka the ones who voted to include ID in the curriculum, didn't even bother to research the concept at all.

A couple of choice quotes from one of the Einsteins on that board:

"They said it was a scientific thing," said Geesey, who added that "it wasn't my job" to learn more about intelligent design because she didn't serve on the curriculum committee."

and

"The only people in the school district with a scientific background were opposed to intelligent design ... and you ignored them?" he asked.

"Yes," Geesey said."

Grade-A fucking scary.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=8290005& BRD=1379&PAG=461&dept_id=162912&rfi=6

What are they doing with my genetic data anyways? It doesn't affect my job performance in any way does it?
I didn't think so.

Thank you for that fascinating string of ad hominems, misinterpretations of both my statements and motives, and uncited factually incorrect assertions. That is certainly a wonderful way to bring up the level of discourse and help others whom you believe misunderstand the situation to come to a better understanding.

As I am in a generous mood, I will go ahead and let you know the thing you desperately need to know:

No matter how earnest or angry you are, citing links to specific non-partisan sources to back up your assertions is much more persuasive than writing things you wished were true punctuated with bits of all caps ranting and using lots of exclamation points.

Here is an example. I have a position. FEMA and the White House screwed up royally in this crisis. Besides the obvious top level things like Bush staying on vacation through the disaster and for days afterwards, besides Condi Rice going on vacation after the crisis started, besides Dick Cheney staying on vacation for a week after the hurricane hit, Mike Brown screwing up so badly he was fired, etc., how else have they screwed up since the disaster started? Take a look at the evidence:

Some have denied that FEMA was responsible, or wasn't called in until after the disaster hit. This is false:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20 050827-1.html

The White House held up deployment of other state's Nat'l Guard in LA:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050903/ap_on_re_us/ka trina_national_guard

Bush dragged his feet on rubber stamping deploying the navy - it was his job to authorize their use and he sat on his hands. The USS Bataan, a naval vessel with helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food, and water had been cruising off the Gulf since the Friday before the hurricane unable to act for more than a week:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi -0509040369sep04,1,4144825.story?page=1&coll=chi-n ewsnationworld-hed

FEMA sent back volunteers with flotilla of 500 boats:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0509/01/acd .01.html

FEMA prevented a convoy of Wal-Mart trucks from delivering food and water:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9179790/

FEMA won't accept Amtrak's help in evacuations:
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/84aa35cc-1da8-11da-b40b-0 0000e2511c8.html

FEMA turned away power generators:
http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWLBLOG.ac3fcea .html

FEMA prevented the Coast Guard from delivering diesel fuel:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/05/national/nationa lspecial/05blame.html?ex=1283572800&en=1d14ebfbd94 2a7d0&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

FEMA won't allow Red Cross deliver food:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05246/565143.stm

FEMA blocks morticians from entering New Orleans:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15147862 &BRD=1817&PAG=461&dept_id=68561&rfi=6

FEMA snubbed Chicago's offer o

Vegans eat shoes? yuck.

Presuming you're just ignorant and not trolling...

Veganism is, in the broadest sense, a lifestyle which attempts to minimize suffering caused to sentient beings. It therefore includes finding alternatives to leather in clothing (list is in dire need of updating), as well as using consumer products that are not tested on animals and that do not contain animal-derived ingredients.

I don't know many people that know about neopaganism

You probably know more Pagans than you think. Many are in the "broom closet", since in less cosmopolitan areas of the US, admiting to being Pagan or displaying a pentacle makes people think you worship Satan.

Less than 1 in 4 of the lawsuits have been settled. Do you really think the media conglomerates are going to grandstand for the little guy fighting them on television? Also, after reading multiple variations of the story, you'll note that 17 year old Mr. Dhaliwal was responsible for files valued at 16% of ALL INTERNET MUSIC PIRACY. Read that again, blink, and wonder if anyone buys this shit.

And I'm still trying to figure out exactly what civil right the music industry is violating anyway

US Constitution - Amendment 4:

• The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The RIAA obtained information on Nick Mamatas without the signature of a judge. As his article clearly states, the 8th Circuit Court has already ruled that the RIAA needs more than a court clerk's signature to obtain this information. Congress has looked at this before and the idea of lowlifes getting account information on underage children easily with a DMCA informational subpoena doesn't sit well with them. Therefore, I don't expect the entertainment industry's appeal will get them anywhere. The end result is very clear; Mr. Mamatas had his rights violated.

The industry will fight vociferously to protect them.

If only the citizenry of the US would fight as hard for our REAL property rights! Over the last several years, eminent domain has been used by many municipalities to force people off of the property they OWN so that developers like Wal-Mart can build stores. Some examples:

Alameda Square in Denver Colorado: The City of Denver is considering condemning the shopping center so that Wal-Mart can build a super center. story

Alabaster, Alabama: Colonial Properties Trust wants to build a shopping center anchored by a Wal-Mart in the town of 24,000. The local government is all for it because they're "not receiving enough in tax revenue to support the town." Trouble is, there are a few property owners that don't want to sell. Answer, local government is resorting to eminent domain. They're citing the increase in tax revenue as the "public good" that justifies condemnation of the property. story

Ardmore, Pennsylvania. A local government plan to "revitalize" the town of Ardmore has officials seeking to use eminent domain to oust property owners and demolish several historic buildings. story

New London, Conneticut. (This is the Supreme Court case that's being heard and was referenced in the posted article). The town is attempting to use eminent domain to forcibly evict seven property owners and sieze their property so that a private company can develop more tax-profitable properties on the land. story

Lakewood, Ohio. Scenic Park, a middle class neighborhood, was seized under eminent domain. The homes were deemed "blighted" because they didn't conform to certain criteria. They didn't have three bedrooms, two baths, an attached garage or central air. Incidentally, the mayor's house, in another neighborhood, doesn't fit these criteria, either. The homes were razed in order to put in a mall and high-end condos. story

Ogden, Utah. The Mayor and City Council want to demolish 34 homes and 6 businesses in order to erect a Wal-Mart (there's that Wal-Mart again) Super Center.

Clemson, SC (right up I-26 from me). Pickens County Council voted to invoke eminent domain to condemn a tract of land zoned residential for the purpose of building a Wal-Mart. story

Between the years 1998-2002, TEN THOUSAND properties were seized via eminent domain in order for the municipalities to sell to private developers!!! The right to own land and property is directly tied to all our other rights. Now, I'm not a big, Anti-Corporation type of guy as I recognize that corporations are not vast, faceless entities, but are made up of individuals that work, eat, sleep, and all that. I have BECOME extremely anti-Wal-Mart, though, in part due to this eminent domain thing and also because of their recent trouble with the labor laws. I don't begrudge Wal-Mart's right to exist, but they've demonstrated time and time again that they are willing to tight rope the law and even break it if necessary in order to continue growing. They're like a virus that must be stopped. I'm on a personal boycott of Wal-Mart. If something isn't done about governments seizing property rightfully owned by law-abiding individuals, a huge pillar of our democratic republic is going to be severely compromised. This is no joke, people. This poses one of the most severe threats to our country.

If you want to keep abreast of the situation, here are a couple of good links. And I especially want to thank Neal Boortz (national talk radio guy, Libertarian). Were it not for him, FAR fewer pe

The problem is that focused monitoring tends to expand and quickly consumes resources and/or becomes ineffective.
First visitors from which countries get monitored? You say Iranians, what about Saudis? The US has many enemies/potential enemies spread around the world.
Terrorist organizations exist obviously in the middle east, but also asia, africa, even south america.
Next, out of those countries who do you monitor? Those with visitor visas, student visas, legal immigrants, first generation americans?
Do you limit it to just nationalities? What about religions, or political affiliations (ie communists).
These questions may seem slippery slope, but if you look historically at the expansion of terrorist laws towards citizens, it isn't that far fetched. Will the suburban 40 year old white mother be monitored any time soon? Probably not, but you don't think they will try to expand monitoring towards organized crime suspects or suspected drug dealers.I think some degree of control is acceptable, the new foreign entry requirements are minimally intrusive. However, when you advocate active monitoring I think it's too intrusive and not effective for the time/cost requirements involved.

I live several miles north of Spring. Our general area, which is dominated by corporately planned communities, worries about "offensive billboards," not the local citizens without access to electricity or running water. Those articles should provide an accurate impression of the sentiment here.

I live several miles north of Spring. Our general area, which is dominated by corporately planned communities, worries about "offensive billboards," not the local citizens without access to electricity or running water. Those articles should provide an accurate impression of the sentiment here.

All you fucking do is curse at people, look at all you past posts you are a fucking god damn TROLL if I ever saw one.

"Each disposable cartridge would pack as much energy as a few heavy handfuls of lithium-ion batteries."

We don't really want to carry larger and larger packages of energy on our person. As it is, we are seeing accidents like this one due to today's ordinary lithium-ion batteries. And I recently got a recall notice from Verizon about the kind of batteries used in my cell phone, so this isn't an isolated incident.

When someone tosses a 9V battery in their pocket and it gets shorted out by a coin, they are startled, yell, and pick the hot coin out of their pocket.

When a cell phone battery acts up, Shelley Kaehr got a handful of battery acid and set fire to the floor.

Multiply that by "a few heavy handfuls" and you start to get the possibility of really serious personal injury.

What we need are breakthroughs on the power consumption side, not ever-increasing power supplies

I think you are completely wrong. I'm googling to find stats. I heard my state governor (Robert Ehrlich - Maryland) say that 50% of the state school budget comes from federal funding. According to ahis article, Mississippi gets $600 million out of their $800 million budget from the federal government. That's 75%.

This and this are comments by various Maryland state senators complaining that the federal government is only paying between 11% and 18% of the special education budget. That's not even close to a full picture, but it sounds like 5% is nowhere close.

I wish it were 5%. Then the federal government couldn't use school funding to punish states.

... half of the 5.3 million tickets are still unsold.

Aw, heck. It's not like we have any electrical problems!

I don't know what 2005 will be like. It's a toss up between running out of water, and running out of air. Or maybe running out of smog and ozone. Like I said, it's a toss-up.

Aw, heck. It's not like we have any electrical problems!

I don't know what 2005 will be like. It's a toss up between running out of water, and running out of air. Or maybe running out of smog and ozone. Like I said, it's a toss-up.

I live in a town of 6200 (Madison, SD) and highly doubt such a service would be available anywhere near me... let alone in the state.

Now the choice... the peace and quiet of small town life... or an uber fast internet connection... I think I'll stick with the small town life, stray bullets and not too bright criminals

If you were to look up "dumb ass bitch" in the dictionary,
there is most certainly going to be a picture of this
woman. She's cruising around a part of town where cops are
in the process of busting drug dealers, and when they stop
her, she refuses to produce her drivers license.

Did it stop there? Ohhhhh noooooo! She gets out of the car,
disappears (how the cops let this happen I don't get), and
when she comes back she is still defiant. So they slap the
cuffs on her.

Did it stop there? Uh...not quite. As the 6'6" 300+ pound
cop is walking her to the car, she grabs the guy by the
nuts and starts to squeeze. I don't mean in the good way
either.

Can you guess what happened? He beat the ever loving shit
out of her! Busted lip...broken teeth.

Just a warning ladies - most "real" men would never hit a
woman under any circumstances, unless you mess with our
balls. Once you cross that line you are fair game. It's a
survival instinct and any gender distinction you might have
had before is just simply gone. All we see is a mass of
hate trying to hurt "the boys" and you will be dealt with
most severely.

Last friday I read in other news that a cell phone possibly ignited a flash explosion of gas vapors

But there's a huge difference between what happened in that story, and what happens at your local gas station.

For one thing, it wasn't a gas station, but a Texas oil well where the explosion occurred. Oilfield work is inherently dangerous, and subject to freak accidents like this one, where gas pressure blew a plug into some poor guy's head.

Add to that the location. Here in Texas, every pump has a stupid "NO CELLPHONES" sticker on it. So everyone thinks that cellphones cause explosions, despite zero evidence. Now, in the article, it says "It is believed that either the cell phone or static electricity when the person reached to pick up or open the cell phone caused the ignition of the gas in the area." The cell phone got the headline, but I doubt it was to blame.

Also, note that "gas vapors... had accumulated in a low-lying area." That's a recipe for disaster, since natural gas is heavier than air.

All in all, I feel much better than I did before about using my cell phone at the gas station, and I'm still looking for any evidence an explosion was actually caused by a cell phone. Note, though, that POTS phones *do* spark!

Last friday I read in other news that a cell phone possibly ignited a flash explosion of gas vapors. I think this incident will revive the discussion about banning cell phone use from gas stations. In almost every manual there's a warning not to use the cell phone when exposed to inflammable gasses. I haven't seen a warning signs at filling stations yet but I expect them to come soon.

What I said before was pretty harsh... I don't think the guy deserves prison time, but he's in for some harsh civil penalties, I bet. There's an update here at the same site as the original article.

The thing is that the guy sold the website address, or at least he supposedly claimed to have. That was pretty dumb, I think. If it were me, and I needed to stop paying for the hosting, I'd have handed the whole site over on a CD, transferred the domain name to the town's ownership, and then shut off the site.

I read the first article before I posted, and didn't even know the guy had a personal defense website up. It really looked to me like the guy was scamming, and I really hate scammers, especially greedy ones. But why would they charge him with extortion if he hadn't demanded that money to keep the site up?

Here's the latest on this case. Whatever the law says, he didn't do anything WRONG.

An article from today on this topic.

Perhaps this should be a lessong to all to work out your contracts a bit more clearly in advance.

That's why a recent delegation of representatives didn't stay overnight in Iraq; they were flown back to Kuwait each night, according to James Pinkerton (who was in the first Bush administration).

That's why the airport is still closed because of the threat of missile attack. (You might have to skim a little to find that.)

That's why the war in Iraq has been great for Al Qaeda recruiting. And we're giving them plenty of great practice, like the Soviets did in Afghanistan.

So how is this good again?

[Judge] Strand said the school records of Joshua were "atrocious" last year, and the parents did not try to help educators and "that alone shows me probation is not something I would consider." He said parents need to know they can keep their children out of situations such as the one faced by the defendants.

Joshua Buckner sneaked the two guns out of a bedroom closet and hid them in the woods about a week before the June 25 crime

According to this story

During [Aurora, CO's] annual bluegrass festival in 2000, officers posted signs saying "Narcotics checkpoint, one mile ahead" and "Narcotics canine ahead". They then hid on a hill, clad in camouflage, and watched for any people who turned around or appeared to toss drugs out of their windows after seeing the signs.
Stephen Corbin Roth, 60, was pulled over for littering after he threw out what appeared to be a marijuana pipe. Police found a marijuana pipe and mushrooms during a search of his car and he appealed his conviction on possession of drug paraphernalia to the appeals court.
Under the procedure that day, an officer down the road would be told by radio to pull over any vehicle seen littering while an officer on the hill would run down and find the items thrown away.
The appeals court ruled drug checkpoints are illegal because motorists are stopped at random and without reasonable suspicion of committing a crime. However, in Roth's case, the court concluded that finding the marijuana pipe gave the officers probable cause to stop Roth's vehicle.

CARROLLTON -- A Chesterfield man was charged Wednesday with sexually abusing a mare in Macoupin County, even as prosecutors in Greene County filed new charges against him of aggravated cruelty to animals. Horse owners from the two counties attended Wednesday's preliminary hearing in Greene County Circuit Court for Kevin Eugene McAfee, whose 43rd birthday also was Wednesday. A number of horse owners say they believe McAfee has been sexually abusing their mares oversome 20 years. Macoupin County State's Attorney Vince Moreth charged McAfee with one count of sexual conduct with an animal, as well as criminal trespass to property and criminal damage to property.

Sell it all to ClearChannel.

Here are some news stroies (Google is your friend):
* Palast, BBC journalist, says war is profit-maker for Bush allies
* Post-war carve-up to benefit CDMA standard, record industry
* Journalist says media is biased on war

I encourage you to check out Greg Palast's site. He is the BBC reporter that the original article mentions and the author of "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy". Interesting read.

zwire.com
what a great, free country!

mainstream media outlet brainwash seems to work very well so far. how come that powell and the likes can command the us media not to show certain footage? oh, sure... the masses might start to remember that people die at war and that the mere process of assaulting "innocent" countries (what exactly DID saddam do to threaten us security? what exactly IS the justification for breaking international law?) produces injustice, suffering and the exact opposite of all those things the gvmnt pretends to bring to the iraqi people.

During World War I sauerkraut was renamed liberty cabbage and frankfurters became hot dogs. great outlook for the "freedom" the us wants bring the world. language cleansing usually is the first step towards fascism and censorship.

oh, topic: protection of minors is taken rather seriously in germany - doesnt always work, but prevents the worst excrescences. stop confusing that with censorship (go check a dictionary if you need to).

Apparently the fire may have coincidentally happened at the same time as the shuttle breakup, and may not be related after all.

Yesterday news also hit of bioethicist Dan Brock advocating mandatory abortion for disabled people such as blind and mentally ill.

This is not a new concept, but is one that is growing in feasability and global support.

What does this have to do with cloning and stem cell research? Well they all have the same amoral drive: creating a "better" human race through science without any moral guidelines. As we see on this board, many people ridicule those of us with moral presuppositions as "non-scientific", "ignorant", etc. Above, though, we see an extreme example of this.

Fast-forward now 10 or 20 years. Science has guaranteed a "perfect" child to anybody who can afford one. A minority of rich people get smarter, stronger, better-looking, and richer, in contrast to those who still suffer with gross things like blindness and the worst- mental inferiority. It wasn't enough to genetically engineer perfect children. The question now is "Why hold on to that last moral presupposition that we shouldn't kill scientifically inferior people?" You may think me an extremist, but it's happened before.

That is the question that should be answered today. If you truely believe in removing morals from science, be logically consistent with it: advocate a super-human race and the death of all inferior people. If you believe in moral presuppositions, though, realize what unchecked research in cloning, embryionic stem cells, and science in general will lead to. Either way, the question is: what criteria do you use to value human life? You may have about a year to decide.

There are alternatives, such as adult stem cells, which have potential as well and sidestep ethical concerns.

August 06, 2002

WOONSOCKET -- The commanding officer of the city's undercover drug squad accidentally shot himself in the buttocks in a park outside the Frank J. Licht Judicial Complex on South Main Street in Providence yesterday afternoon, police said.

Detective Lt. Walter Warot was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with a "canoe-shaped" wound in his right buttock which he suffered when his service issue .45-caliber handgun discharged shortly after noon, said Deputy Police Chief William J. Shea. Warot was released from the hospital several hours later and is expected to spend the next two to three weeks recovering at home, Shea said.

Read More...

with this and guess which one will prevail ?

(title of the page is "The state Legislature has given police power to search your home without telling you why."

without you even knowing whats going on.

Do not believe? With a new US law that just passed, it is very easy to archive.

The state Legislature has given police power to search your home without telling you why.

What, you did not know that such a law is there? What kind of state it will be...
ok, ok, I am gonna shut up right there, I still remember how bad it could be...

Not in Michigan, they can search you without a word, or a warrant for that matter.

Have you heard that in Michigan there's a law that allows the police search your home without telling why?

Take a look at this article.
--
spam spam spam spam spam spam
No one expects the Spammish Repetition!

There is a small but rather impressive shrine built on top of tomb #4, with an eternal flame burning bronze effigies of Tod Frye and Howard Scott Warsaw.

Etched on the Warsaw bust, the words that Warsaw said to Steven Spielberg during the short development cycle of E.T., "Steven, this game is going to make your movie famous."

And etched on the Frye bust, the words that Rick Mauer said to Tod Frye after hearing of his $1,000,000 paycheck for PacMan, "You ought to put a photocopy of that on your office door at Atari. I think it'll help programmer morale."

According to a few stories from local (to me) newspapers and television stations, I am led to believe that the discovery was at the state university about 5 minutes from where I live, West Chester University (Pennsylvania). This is somewhat surprising because WCU is mainly a school for teachers and musicians, and doesn't have a very strong science program.
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