] If you've ever wondered how big the universe is, you're
] not alone. Astronomers have long pondered this, too, and
] they've had a hard time figuring it out. Now an estimate
] has been made, and it's a whopper.
]
] The universe is at least 156 billion light-years wide.

And you thought it was a long walk to the grocery store. -LB

Universe Measured: We're 156 Billion Light-years Wide!

k wrote:
] ] The Spanish Defense Ministry says it has completed its
] ] troop withdrawal from Iraq, fulfilling a campaign pledge
] ] made by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez.
] ]
] ] At the time of the initial withdrawal announcement, there
] ] were 1,430 Spanish troops in Iraq, but nearly half of
] ] them had already left by Friday.
]
] Hey - lets ALL stick our tails between our legs when a suicide
] bomber strikes. Cave in to their demands and the problems
] will all go away. This is cowardice of the worst sort -
] befitting of the french.
]
] There is an old saying "He who appeases the crocodile is eaten
] last."
]
] LB
]
] [ Actually, if I recall correctly, Zapatero had been
] campaigning on an anti-war message throughout his candidacy.
] It's arguable that the bombings in madrid gave the public a
] shove in his direction, a mere few days before the election...
] though I think he was probably going to win anyway.
]
] Regardless, Zapatero was almost certainly going to pull these
] troops out regardless of the tragic bombings. You can
] criticize his opposition to the war, but I wouldn't base those
] criticisms on the terrorist acts. -k]

Oh I dont criticize Zapatero one bit. You are right - it was his platform during the campaign. Cant blame someone for sticking to his campaign guns! ;) However the polls in the weeks leading up to the election (IF you believe polls) showed him lagging well into last place as I understand it.

I blame the voters in Spain for doing an 11'th hour 180 degree turn in the face of tragedy and appeasing the extremeists.
To to cave in to the terrorists demands is to let them win. And when extremeists win the rest of us lose. VERY bad judgement call.

While I didn't support the war, I also realize that what is done is done and like it or loath it - we are there. It is FAR too early for ANYone to pull out. There is a fledgling "government" that needs full support of the coalition at this time and to give up now would leave Iraq in worse turmoil than it ever saw under Saddam.

al Qaeda has already stated they prefer Bush in the Oval Office, as he continues to show no regard for forigen relations. Sitting idle as he turns the rest of the world against the the USA is very much in their best interest.

Expect the Homeland Security threat level be raised to code RED in the final weeks leading up to the November election. And do not be suprised if a string of attacks on "soft targets" happens in that time frame... and a majority of voters rally to pacify the incombant president.

Four more years of George W BULLSHIT I fear...

RE: Spain pulls out last Iraq troops

] President Bush fell off his bicycle Saturday while riding
] on his ranch, according to White House spokesman Trent
] Duffy.
]
] Bush, who was accompanied on his bike ride by his doctor,
] Richard Tubb, a military agent and a member of the secret
] service, fell about 16 miles into a 17-mile ride. The
] accident caused minor abrasions his chin, upper lip,
] nose,right hand and both knees, but was able to ride back
] home, said Duffy.

"DOH!" Bad enough he fell off of a Segway last June (forgot to turn it on). Now he forgot how to ride a bicycle. And this man has his finger on the button??? -LB

Bush falls on bike ride

] The Spanish Defense Ministry says it has completed its
] troop withdrawal from Iraq, fulfilling a campaign pledge
] made by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez.
]
] At the time of the initial withdrawal announcement, there
] were 1,430 Spanish troops in Iraq, but nearly half of
] them had already left by Friday.

Hey - lets ALL stick our tails between our legs when a suicide bomber strikes. Cave in to their demands and the problems will all go away. This is cowardice of the worst sort - befitting of the french.

There is an old saying "He who appeases the crocodile is eaten last."

LB

Spain pulls out last Iraq troops

] May 12, 2004: On May 13th, weather permitting, sky
] watchers up and down the US east coast can see the
] International Space Station (ISS) glide by the planet
] Jupiter. The ISS looks like a slow-moving meteor, as
] bright as Jupiter itself. When the two converge ... it's
] going to be beautiful.
]
] The encounter will be widely visible from Alabama,
] Georgia, parts of North Carolina and Tennessee,
] Washington D.C., West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and all the
] states of New England. Most people in those areas will
] see the ISS pass mere degrees from Jupiter. A few
] observers are going to see the station actually eclipse
] the giant planet.
]
] The "path of totality," only about 80-meters wide, runs
] from Alabama to Maine. Viewed from inside this narrow
] corridor, the space station will pass right in front of
] Jupiter. It only takes a split-second for the ISS to
] cross the planet, but during that instant, Jupiter's
] cloud belts and its largest moons will wink in and out
] among the station's gangly solar arrays and modules.

Well THIS just sucks - The path of totality is not too far from my home. I'd take a road trip and my Cannon GL2 out, but forcast calls for scattered t-storms all night :( -LB

Space Station Eclipses Jupiter

IconoclasT wrote:
] w1ld wrote:
] ] ]
] ] ] The hosts of the show on WXDJ-FM, Joe Ferrero and Enrique
] ] ] Santos, fed pleasantries to Castro before breaking in and
] ] ] calling him an assassin. The conversation ended after
] ] ] Castro denounced the callers with a stream of
] ] ] vulgarities.
] ]
] ] hahaha...
] But when the VOA (Voice of America) broadcast anti Castro
] propaganda from Key West into Cuba via Radio Marti back
] between 85 and 95, apparently, that was ok. Given the ongoing
] ineffective 40+ year trade and travel embargo w/ Cuba, one
] would think tormenting Castro would be promoted via almost any
] means.
]
] UPDATE: MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) -- Two Miami radio
] hosts who duped Cuban President Fidel Castro with a prank call
] are soliciting pennies from their fans to pay a $4,000 fine
] proposed by U.S. regulators because of the on-air stunt.
]
] Talk radio host Enrique Santos said the fine made no sense, so
] he and co-host Joe Ferrero plan to pay it with 400,000 cents,
] delivered in person to the Federal Communications Commission
] in Washington.
]
] http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/South/04/28/castro.prank.reut/index
] .html

AWESOME!!! -LB

RE: CNN.com - $4,000 fine for station that cranked Castro - Apr 24, 2004

] A picture of John Ashcroft's face, made entirely of
] little porn people. -LB

John Ashcroft Penis Face

] A radio station that crank-called Cuban President Fidel
] Castro and broadcast the recording should be fined
] $4,000, the Federal Communications Commission said.
]
] The Spanish-speaking hosts of "The Morning High Jinks"
] used snippets of an earlier prank involving Venezuelan
] President Hugo Chavez to move the call from a
] receptionist up the chain to Castro in a five-minute
] broadcast June 17.
]
] The hosts of the show on WXDJ-FM, Joe Ferrero and Enrique
] Santos, fed pleasantries to Castro before breaking in and
] calling him an assassin. The conversation ended after
] Castro denounced the callers with a stream of
] vulgarities.
]
] The FCC concluded Friday that the station should be fined
] for the broadcast. It rejected the station's claim that a
] rule requiring people to be notified before their voices
] are used does not apply to people in Cuba.
]
] Payment of the fine or a request for cancellation or
] reduction is required within 30 days.
]
] It was unclear whether the station had been fined for the
] prank involving Chavez five months before.
]
] There was no answer at the station's business line
] Saturday, and a call to the station's Washington attorney
] was not immediately returned.

The federal government has no sense of humor. -LB

$4,000 fine for station that cranked Castro

This program will estimate the seismic, blast wave, and thermal effects of an impact as well as the size of the crater produced by the impact. The crater size is determined using pi-scaling.

Scary, yet facinating. -LB

Earth Impact Effects Program

] The elderly parents of Grammy-winning recording artist
] "Weird Al" Yankovic were found dead in their home,
] apparently victims of carbon monoxide poisoning,
] officials said.
]
] Nick and Mary Yankovic were found dead Friday in their
] suburban San Diego home by relatives who were worried
] because they had not seen the couple in a while, said
] sheriff's Sgt. Conrad Grayson.
]
] Paramedics found Nick Yankovic, 86, in a chair in the
] front living room. His 81-year-old wife was on the
] bathroom floor.
]
] A wood fire had been set recently in the fireplace,
] Grayson said.
]
] "The house was full of smoke when they opened the door,"
] Grayson said, adding that the family members found the
] flue closed.
]
] "Weird Al" Yankovic, 44, had no comment during a
] performance in Mankato, Minnesota, on Saturday night.

That sucks. I don't know how someone manages to perform the night after losing both his parents, but I've met Al a couple times and he's a very cool person, not to mention an amazing performer. Would rather perform then disapoint his fans. Talk about an unselfish person. -LB

'Weird Al' Yankovic's parents found dead