Relatives pleaded on Monday for the release of two Americans and a Briton as a deadline loomed for their beheading.

More than 100 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq, some for lucrative ransoms, and at least 26 of them have been executed. At least five other Westerners are currently being held hostage here, including an Iraqi-American man, two female Italian aid workers and two French reporters.

The Tawhid and Jihad group, led by Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has threatened to behead Americans Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong and Briton Kenneth Bigley on Monday unless Iraqi women are released from two U.S.-controlled prisons here.

(One of these guys is from Marietta. I know his 13 year old daughter.)

Hostages in Iraq

Here is a site all about the weapons ban. (the history,implications, effectiveness, etc.)

My whole point on this issue is not that we should reimplement this particular ban. I just think this is an issue we need to address as a nation.

Weapons Ban Info

]The 10-year-old assault weapons ban today, thus lifting the law
]that prohibits the manufacture and sale of 19 brands of semi-
]automatic weapons in the United States.

]Among the weapons that will be available at gun shops across
]America is the M-96 semi-automatic that sprays up to 120 bullets
]in 45 seconds. Another weapon is called the Street Sweeper for
]its ability to take out a lot of human targets in short order.

]Police Lt. Frank Boudreaux admitted having more of the guns on
]the streets could make his job more difficult and dangerous, but,
]he said, assault weapons are out there right now. The ban has not
]been effective, he said.

]"They (criminals) already have these weapons. They get them on
]the black market like everything else they get. The only thing
]the ban did is prevent gun collectors and honest citizens from
]purchasing these weapons. But yes, we consider these guns very
]dangerous," Boudreaux said.

]"I can't believe that anyone would think that having assault
]weapons on the streets is a good idea. It makes our job more
]difficult and much more dangerous. It also makes it more
]expensive. We're going to have to take counter measures in
]purchasing body armor and more powerful weapons. We're doing that
]now to some degree because the drug busts we make, a lot of them
]have assault weapons. With the ban being lifted, it will be
]easier for them to buy and use these weapons," Balthazar said.

Ok I know that the ban wasn't effective in keeping assault weapons off the streets but that doesn't mean we should have an open market. If this ban was useless then we need to be formulating another plan to keep these weapons off the streets. If terrorism is our major concern right now why make it easier to buy automatic wepons in our country. Honestly what possible reason could anyone have to need these types of weapons??

Weapons Ban Ends Today

Santosh Malhotra, 68, of Miramar, got the Diet Coke Saturday from an employee refrigerator in the back of the store at 2581 Hiatus Rd. in Cooper City.

When she took a swig from the 20-ounce bottle, her mouth and throat began to burn.

Preliminary tests on the soda showed high amounts of a potent alkali.

The chemicals had begun to melt the plastic bottle by the time emergency workers arrived, according to Lt. David Erdman of Broward Sheriff's Office Fire-Rescue. It was emitting heavy fumes, he said.

Scary.

Poisoned Soda in Fl

Many African-Americans had objected to the former state flag and its prominent display of the Confederate battle emblem, saying it was a painful reminder of slavery.

But supporters of that flag, which was raised in 1956, said it was merely a reflection of Southern heritage and pride.

Some historians say the rebel banner was added to the flag in response to the federal order to desegregate schools. Supporters of that flag say it was meant only to honor the memory of Confederate soldiers.

The debate is one of heritage versus racial sensitivities.

More on the flag

]Senate Bill 98 was signed into law on February 13, 1956,
]effectively changing the flag to its current design.

]Proponents for the current design say that it represents the
]state's heritage, and those who want it changed call it a symbol
]of defiance of the civil rights movement.

This is from a town hall meeting held at Tech.

GA flag

] Children suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
] Disorder (ADHD) are not disrupting their school classes
] or their neighborhoods because of poor parenting, UK
] scientists said on Wednesday.
]
] Rather they are a product of a genetic malfunction made
] worse by anarchic surroundings, they believe.

] "At its most severe it is a hidden disease," Taylor said. "If left untreated, it leads to a four-fold rise in mental disorders in adulthood."

] The areas of the brain involved in self-control are smaller in ADHD sufferers

Theories on ADHD

Here are the pics of Dragon*Con. Nothing to interesting. But do note the storm trooper that has boobs was actually a guy.

Dragon*Con Pics

] Apple Computer Inc., which says its iTunes online music
] store sells 70 percent of legal music downloads in the
] U.S., plans to pay other companies and colleges a
] commission to resell songs.

Apple to allow ITunes songs to be resold

] More than 400 people, including many children, have been
] taken hostage by a group of armed militants in the
] southern Russian republic, North Ossetia.

]There are reports of shooting and that the attackers are wearing suicide bomb belts.

This is sad. Hopefully it won't end tragically.

Hostage Situation