SNIP
] When the pair reunited Wednesday, the cat "rubbed his
] face on my hand, climbed right up and started purring,"
] Inglis said. "It's pretty monumental. It's almost
] surreal."

Yeah, but what about the privacy of the cat? ;)

Chip helps reunite cat with Calif. man after 10-year separation

] LONDON, England (CNN) -- Rock singer Robert Palmer has
] died in Paris of a heart attack at the age of 54, his
] manager said.
]
] The British star, whose chart hits in the 1980s included
] Addicted to Love, suffered the attack in the early hours
] of this morning, Mick Cater said.
]
] Palmer, who lived in Switzerland, was staying in the
] French capital with his partner, Mary Ambrose, after
] recording a TV appearance in the UK.
]
] "I can't say anything else at this point, I'm just in
] shock," Cater of What Management in England told CNN.

Bob Hope, Jonny Cash, John Ritter, Charles Bronson, now Robert. Its been a rough summer for the entertainment industry - and I don't mean from illegal downloads.

LB

Singer Robert Palmer dies at 54

] Several months ago, my husband and I received two rebate
] checks simply for having children, all part of the Jobs
] and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, an
] economy-stimulating incentive. Congress approved this
] quickie tax cut so we'd all go out and buy Pottery Barn
] lamps and Gap boot-cut trousers and then presumably the
] economy, and we, would be saved. Instead, I cashed the
] checks, paid off some bills, and then tucked my dignity
] under my arm and went to file for food stamps.

We've all ready plenty of stories about how the economy sucks, but this article strikes a chord because the author has such a great command of imagery. I suggest you read it simply because of the clear picture that she is able to paint.

Falling down

] NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S.-led invasion and occupation
] of Iraq was "a perfect example" of military domination
] while failing to achieve victory, retired general and
] Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark wrote in a
] new book.
]
] Clark, who joined the 2004 race last week, also said he
] learned in November 2001 that the Bush administration's
] plan for invading Iraq and ousting President Saddam
] Hussein had been part of a broader five-year military
] campaign in seven countries that Washington accused of
] supporting terrorism.
]
] He believed that would be a mistake, Clark wrote in
] "Winning Modern Wars. Iraq, Terrorism and the American
] Empire" to be published by Public Affairs next month.
]
] Clark wrote that a senior military officer told him on a
] visit to the Pentagon in November 2001 that the U.S. was
] planning to go against Iraq but there was more to it.
] After Iraq, the plan called for targeting Syria, Lebanon,
] Libya, Iran, Somalia and Sudan.

I have realized from being out in the 'working' world for a few years that it's very easy to create a mandate if the creator isn't the one who has to go do the work.

Something tells me that after a couple years in Iraq the morale of the armed forces is going to be low enough that any further invasions will inevitably fail.

Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage

] Internet restrictions, government secrecy and
] communications surveillance have reached an unprecedented
] level across the world.
]
]
] A year-long study of Internet censorship in more than 50
] countries found that a sharp escalation in control of the
] Internet since September 2001 may have outstripped the
] traditional ability of the medium to repel restrictions.
]
]
] The report fires a broadside at the United States and the
] United Kingdom for creating initiatives hostile to
] Internet freedom.
]
]
] Those countries have "led a global attack on free speech
] on the Internet" and "set a technological and regulatory
] standard for mass surveillance and control" of the Net,
] the report by London-based Privacy International and the
] GreenNet Educational Trust argues.
]
]
] The 70,000 word report, Silenced, is launched today
] (Friday, September 19) at the preparatory meeting of the
] World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva.
]
]
] The study, undertaken through a collaboration of more
] than 50 experts and advocates throughout the world and
] funded by a grant from the Open Society Institute, found
] that censorship of the Internet is commonplace in most
] regions of the world.

The Register

] To gather new strains, Sulakvelidze need only drop a
] bucket into Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The waters of the
] Chesapeake Bay, of which the harbor is an inlet, have
] enough exchange with the Atlantic that he can find a
] phage for almost any species of bacteria, he says. If one
] doesn't work, he simply refills his bucket and looks for
] another that does.
]
] "This upgradability is one of the unique qualities of
] phages," Sulakvelidze adds. "Developing a new antibiotic
] takes 10 years and God knows how many millions of
] dollars."
]
] As he puts it, "Mother Nature runs the best genetic
] engineering lab out there. No institution or company can
] match it."

Wired 11.10: How Ravenous Soviet Viruses Will Save the World

The phaomnneil pweor of the hmuan mnid.

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it
deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod
are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and
lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a
total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey
lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Fcuknig amzanig, huh?

naet ltilte ticrk!

] Smart bombs and "surgical strikes" would ensure a
] soldier's quick return. State of the art equipment would
] keep our soldiers safe. Billions of dollars for the
] Department of Defense would ensure that the compensation
] of our men and women in uniform would match their
] sacrifice for their country.
]
] Two hundred and ninety-one deaths later, with the war in
] Iraq officially "over,' active duty military still have
] no dates set for their return home. Soldiers are dying
] due to shortages of supplies, like bulletproof vests. The
] Bush administration's proposed cut in combat pay came
] with a simultaneous call for the Iraqi resistance to
] "bring 'em on." Already inadequate services for veterans
] are suffering further cuts, making the return home
] scarcely safer than the tour of duty.
]
] In the eyes of many military families a contract has been
] breached, a promise has been broken. And these families
] are making sure that those who broke their trust are
] called to answer for their betrayal.

And we wonder why "incidents" in Iraq are increasing? They want to come home, and they've instead been sent off to New Vietnam.

AlterNet: They Volunteered, Didn't They?

] The true scale of American casualties in Iraq is revealed
] today by new figures obtained by The Observer, which show
] that more than 6,000 American servicemen have been
] evacuated for medical reasons since the beginning of the
] war, including more than 1,500 American soldiers who have
] been wounded, many seriously.
]
] The figures will shock many Americans, who believe that
] casualties in the war in Iraq have been relatively light.
] Recent polls show that support for President George Bush
] and his administration's policy in Iraq has been
] slipping.
]
] The number of casualties will also increase pressure on
] Bush to share the burden of occupying Iraq with more
] nations. Attempts to broker an international alliance to
] pour more men and money into Iraq foundered yesterday
] when Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, brusquely
] rejected a French proposal as 'totally unrealistic'.

What? You mean our goverment hasn't been releasing accurate numbers? Who knew.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | America's hidden battlefield toll

] At the heart of a space elevator would be a cable
] reaching up as far as 100,000km from the surface of the
] Earth. The earthbound end would be tethered to a base
] station, probably somewhere in the middle of the Pacific
] ocean. The other end would be attached to an orbiting
] object in space acting as a counterweight, the momentum
] of which would keep the cable taut and allow vehicles to
] climb up and down it.
]
] A space elevator would make rockets redundant by granting
] cheaper access to space. At about a third of the way
] along the cable -- 36,000km from Earth -- objects take a
] year to complete a full orbit.
]
] If the cable's center of gravity remained at this height,
] the cable would remain vertical, as satellites placed at
] this height are geostationary, effectively hovering over
] the same spot on the ground.
]
] To build a space elevator, such a geostationary satellite
] would be placed into orbit carrying the coiled-up cable.
]
] One weighted end of the cable would then be dropped back
] towards Earth, while the other would be unreeled off into
] space.
]
] Mechanical lifters could then climb up the cable from the
] ground, ferrying up satellites, space probes and
] eventually tourists.

Sign me up.

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