] Presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry is sitting down
] for a much-anticipated meeting with independent Ralph
] Nader, but there's little sign they'll alter this year's
] political dynamic when they get together.
]
] Nader is making it clear he won't leave the race, and
] Kerry isn't likely to overtly ask him to do so.

If Politics were just a bit more like the Mob, this would be a far more interesting conversation. Or hit.

Salon.com News | Kerry-Nader meeting unlikely to alter race

] Êàê ñòàëî èçâåñòíî SecurityLab, 13 ìàÿ 2004 ãîäà áûëè
] óêðàäåíû âñå èñõîäíûå êîäû îïåðàöèîííîé ñèñòåìû CISCO IOS
] 12.3, 12.3t, êîòîðàÿ èñïîëüçóåòñÿ â áîëüøèíñòâå ñåòåâûõ
] óñòðîéñòâ êîìïàíèè CISCO. Ïîëíûé îáúåì óêðàäåííîé
] èíôîðìàöèè ñîñòàâëÿåò îêîëî 800Ìá â àðõèâå.
]
]
] Ïî èìåþùåéñÿ ó íàñ èíôîðìàöèè, óòå÷êà ôðàãìåíòîâ
] èñõîäíîãî êîäà ïðîèçîøëà èç-çà âçëîìà êîðïîðàòèâíîé ñåòè
] Cisco System. Ïðåäñòàâèòåëè Cisco System ïîêà íèêàê íå
] êîììåíòèðóþò ïðîèçîøåäøèé èíöèäåíò.

Translation: Source to IOS 12.3 is floating around IRC now.

[Wow. Apparently Memestreams or the bookmarklet really do not take kindly to non-ASCII characters]

SecurityLab.ru - Óòå÷êà èñõîäíîãî êîäà CiSCO IOS?

] Google has "bought" an ad for the search term Jew that
] goes on top of the first result so they can apologize for
] their first result!

This is an interesting response to the problem. The problem being that the search "Jew" results in a prominent link to an anti-semetic page. This caused outrage, and a giant petition drive (when it was expressed by someone at Google that they would take the link out if a certain number of people signed against it). It is a tight spot for Google -- they don't want to be responsible for the results of queries, they want it automated, and to respond based on subjective (rather than legal) consideration would be a pandora's box. I think this solution is in pretty good taste.

Jew Watch Watch (Google Weblog)

] Wal-Mart is renowned for forcing it's suppliers to
] radically revamp their operations to meet Wal-Mart's
] needs. Wal-Mart dictates to it's suppliers, demanding
] just-in-time inventory control and annual - if not
] quarterly - wholesale price drops. 20% of CD and DVD
] retail dollars now flow through Wal-Mart. With that kind
] of buying pull, recorded music became yet another
] consumer item that Wal-Mart could live without, but that
] couldn't live without Wal-Mart. If we go with the theory
] that Sam Walton's boys popped the RIAA's cherry during
] the buyer's renegotiations, that probably provided
] leverage for other retailers from Kmart to Tower Records
] to cut the same deal, especially during a down economy.
]
]
] I wouldn't be surprised to find that the gusto with which
] the music industry tries to squeeze more blood out of
] consumers by lobbying Washington and other capitals was
] in direct relation to how much of they're getting
] squeezed in Bentonville, AR.

And this comment sums up the other key point of the previous linked article.

Slashdot | RIAA Loss Report Contradicts Nielsen Sales Record

] The RIAA reports a sale as a unit SHIPPED to record
] stores. Whereas Soundscan reports units sold [to the
] consumer] at the point of purchase. So, you're talking
] about apples and oranges.

10% more music was sold, but revenue was down 7%. Funny, that.

And if the RIAA's accounting is like this, once can only dream of what the MPAA, in the presence of mystical and legendary Hollywood Accounting (budget was $80M, movie made $300M -- no net profit!), could concoct.

US

] Either way, our heroes this week are the folks who, given
] the lemon of the Atkins diet, make lemonade. Like
] Colgate-Palmolive's (NYSE:CL - News) Hill's Pet Nutrition
] division, which recently started selling Prescription
] Diet Feline m/d, "a low carbohydrate, high protein pet
] food formula clinically proven to alter a cat's
] metabolism for effective weight loss."
]
] Yes. An Atkins diet for your cat. A Cat-kins diet, so to
] speak.
]
] Of course, high-protein diets have been traditional among
] members of the cat family -- lions and tigers come to
] mind -- but the audacity of imposing a human weight-loss
] strategy on a defenseless animal is indeed awesome to
] behold. We can't wait to hear what Weight Watchers
] (NYSE:WTW - News) will be offering in this space.

The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week

] TMF: Coffee and coffee drink-vending machines are big in
] Japan but haven't yet caught on here. Buy, sell, or hold
] the possibility that we might see Starbucks vending
] machines?
] Schultz: That is a buy.

(Howard Schultz, chairman of Starbucks)

Fool.com: Starbucks on the Fly [Special] May 14, 2004

] The Russian capital Moscow now boasts more billionaires
] than any other city in the world, according to a survey
] by Forbes magazine.
]
] The study also estimates that a quarter of Russia's
] wealth is now concentrated in the hands of just 100
] people.

Sent to me by warday with the comment "I love capitalism!"

BBC NEWS | Business | Moscow 'has most billionaires'

] According to a recent J.D. Power & Associates survey of
] new-car quality, American car makers now have a new
] low-priced, high-quality Korean rival to add to their
] list of expensive, high-quality Japanese nemeses in
] Toyota (NYSE: TM), Honda (NYSE: HMC), and Nissan (Nasdaq:
] NSANY). I refer, of course, to the surprise second-placer
] in J.D. Power's survey: Hyundai (which tied Honda for
] second and lost only to Toyota). The Korean automaker
] achieved its impressive numbers by slashing its average
] problems per 100 vehicles by nearly 30% in a single year.
] Since 1999, the company has improved its results by
] closer to 50%.

Who didn't see this coming?

Fool.com: Detroit's Quality Pickle [Motley Fool Take] May 13, 2004

] Mobile phone maker Motorola Inc. plans to introduce a
] device that would seamlessly switch calls from cellular
] networks to cheaper Wi-Fi networks wherever they're
] available. Discount carrier IDT Corp. is testing consumer
] Wi-Fi phone service in Newark, N.J.

Salon.com Technology | Wi-Fi phones could be next trend in thrift