] A software company voluntarily released the source code
] for its paperless ballot verification system on Tuesday,
] marking a first in the increasingly controversial
] electronic-voting market.

Secret laws are incompatible with democracy.

MSNBC - E-voting firm opens up its code

] When the 40,000 subscribers to Reason, the monthly
] libertarian magazine, receive a copy of the June issue,
] they will see on the cover a satellite photo of a
] neighborhood - their own neighborhood. And their house
] will be graphically circled.

[ Interesting marketing. Sure to get the debates running strong. -k]

Putting 40,000 Readers, One by One, on a Cover

] Every year Helena, Mont., counts how many people suffer
] heart attacks. Every year the number stayed about the
] same -- until the city banned smoking in workplaces, bars
] and restaurants in 2002.
]
] Instantly the number of attacks among Helena's
] townspeople plummeted by more than 40 per cent.

Public Smoking ban cuts heart attack rate by 40%!

They're back!!!!!

:: Garbage Pail Kids World ::

Acidus wrote:
] ] ATLANTA - Genital piercings for women were banned by the
] ] Georgia House Wednesday as lawmakers considered a bill
] ] outlining punishments for female genital mutilation.
]

Sounds like they didn't know what the hell they were passing. It'll probably get smoked in the conference committee. However, if you live in Atlanta and like piercings NOW is the time to send a very loud message to your state legislators that they are confused about this and they need to rethink it. If you wait a week you'll be out of luck.

RE: Georgia House Bans Female Genital Piercings

] There weren't a lot of hot babes with Commodore 64's in
] Toronto in the '80s.

The friendster keynote at SXSW.

Fast Company Now: Friendster Keynote

] I have always considered the profound distinction between
] ninjas and pirates to be an absolute one. One was either
] ninja or pirate - there were no inbetweens. One
] personality type was skilled and proficient, elegant and
] silent, contained and constrained, honourable and
] spiritual. The other type loud and flamboyant, gregarious
] and unrestrained, life-loving and vigorous, passionate
] and strong. I thought all people must pledge their
] allegiance, or be categorised accordingly.
]
] The other day at work, another binary pair was presented
] to me - a co-worker who doesn't declare people pirate or
] ninja, but instead elf or dwarf. For him, humanity falls
] into doers and thinkers - elves being elegant and
] timeless, conceptual and refined, abstract and beautiful
] while dwarves are practical and structural, hard-working
] and no-nonsense, down-to-earth smiths and makers.

plasticbag.org | weblog | From pirate dwarves to ninja elves...

] In June 2003, I wrote something about instant messaging
] that included the words "question" and "answerer". In
] November of that year, a young girl trying to finish her
] homework searched for "instant message question
] answerer", found the piece I had written, and IM'd me,
] looking for some answers.

Stupid People

] A top Clinton-era expert on Europe and security warns
] that if the deadly Madrid bombings prove to be the work
] of al-Qaida, it could transform politics throughout
] Europe

An interesting point in this analysis which is different then mine is that I would have thought that Al'Q would have supported the socialists in spain, because doing so would remove spain from the table in terms of the conflict in the middle east. But this guy says that they support the right, so that the issue is less likely to be resolved peacefully. To me that seems like a suprising result. As an asymetrical element fighting a democratic state, I would think that I would want to use the element of shock to encourage the election of a government which is pliable and will do things that I want them to do, rather then the election of a government which is rigid and will attempt to engage me directly in a conventional way that I can't defend myself against.

Can anyone point me at a resource that discusses this in more detail?

Salon.com News | Spanish bombs

] Tennessee could become a model for the nation when it
] comes to protecting the public from chemical, biological
] or radiological releases.
]
] Already, sensors that are part of Oak Ridge National
] Laboratory's SensorNet are deployed in Nashville,
] Knoxville and Oak Ridge, and in other parts of the
] nation.

SensorNet proposed as system to protect millions nationwide