Mormon Teens Petition For "Respectful" Clothing
It's the anti-Britney backlash, and it is coming from the Mormon contingent in the metro Phoenix area. Teens are collecting signatures on a petition to pressure Dillards to carry clothes "that covers the midriff, bust, shoulder, back, legs to the knee and any clothing that shows respect for the body." Good luck, girls.

If It Isn't Terrorism...
...the cable news channels don't talk about it. Did anyone else see this? This afternoon, there was breaking news from St. Louis where a FedEx truck, apparently an 18-wheeler, exploded on the highway in the city. And since then, not a peep. Turns out, the explosion was the result of a traffic accident, and not terrorism. So the "breaking news" item was never followed up by the cable news channels. The good news is that the drivers were not hurt, but the packages were lost.

Google Bombs Defused
It seems that Google has changed it's search algorithm to prevent those infamous blog Google bombs. I never understood the motivation of bloggers to make them in the first place. Now, Google has the last laugh.

What Dubya Watches Inflight
No surprise, the cable news networks are almost never played on Air Force One, and they often play a taped Texas Rangers game. It was interesting to see how the Prez is using the plane to support local politians, including Matt Salmon who is running for Arizona governor. Salmon drove for 2.5 hours to catch the plane in Flagstaff so he could be seen getting off it in Phoenix with Dubya.

Today's Theme: Disturbing Current Events

This Takes The Cake
I'll admit that I've spent more time watching the cable news channels this week than usual. It was interesting to see the story unfold, when there really were things that were happening. In general, I don't like the coverage by the cable news channels, the way they sensationalize even the most trivial events, and the way they invite every possible "expert" to talk on air. Most of these people's comments are totally irrelevant and often misleading, as was the case during the beltway sniper coverage. But read this... CNN actually asked CBS if they could interview the ACTORS who appear on CSI to talk about how a real investigation is different from their scripted television show investigations. This is cable news "journalism" at an all time low. Don't believe me? Read this article for yourself.

Beltway Sniper Legal Documents
Thanks to The Smoking Gun, we can see a huge collection of the warrants, restraining orders, and murder charges documents related to the investigation of the suspects, Muhammad and Mavlo.

Moscow Terrorists Supported by al Qaeda?
Seems that this could be the case. Unfortunately, the war in Chechnya is something that I've not educated myself about, but the ongoing terrorist situation in Moscow has moved it to the top of my list. There is a lot of information available about the conflict... I just need some time to sift through it. I suppose I really should be reading some Russian history, too. But this amazes me -- about 500 Chechens living in Moscow have offered to substitute themselves with the hostages. WOW. Thankfully, the seige appears to be over.

Iraq To Expel Foreign Journalists
They invited the journalists into Iraq to document the "re-election" of Saddam Hussein, and after CNN covered both the release of the prisoners and the demonstration by the families of prisoners that were not released outside the Iraqi Information Ministry in Baghdad, they want everyone out. I read earlier this week that many of the prison guards were actually killing prisoners as they were being released, but now I can't find that link to share with you.

Sad Story From Nigeria
Oprah, bless her, is working to use her influence to save the life of Amina Lawal by encouraging people to participate in the letter writing campaign sponsored by Amnesty International. While this story tugs at my heart, and while I would love to see this woman's life saved, I don't believe this effort will be successful. This woman was sentenced to death under the religious law, the Sharia. This is the same religious law in place in Afghanistan under the Taliban. She hasn't been charged by the government's laws, but the church's laws, in a place where such things are allowed. In this report, now Sharia is about to be introduced in Kenya.

I'm glad to see Oprah making this issue so public -- I think that the more we in America understand the situation of people living in this type oppression, the more chance there is for a political negotiation. I would love to see people all over the world living in freedom, but the reality is, very few places give people the sorts of freedoms we enjoy in democracy. And even within the US, there are huge numbers of people who don't understand that no one is going to save them, no one is going to come along and GIVE them a wonderful life. You have to use your freedoms to make your life wonderful. It's called personal responsibility. Even in democracy, you are still responsible for your own life.

What is happening to Amina is common in many countries. If you read the news from around the world, you will be shocked to see stories like this appearing frequently.

Alice Cooper's Nightmare
The reviews are in, and Alice's haunted house seems to be the real deal. I missed hearing about this house last year, its maiden voyage year, if it is appropriate to talk about a haunted house like a ship. According to Steve Kopelman, the house director, Cooper approached him three years ago with the idea for a haunted house that uses high-tech effects. Kopelman recently designed the Ice Restaurant and Bar in Scottsdale. The house was so popular last year that Alice has opened another one in San Antonio this year. You can look for an Alice haunted house in a town near you in the near future.

New Lead in the Petticoat Thief Case
85 years ago, the small Ohio town of Barberton was terrorized by a burglar who specialized in stealing, you guessed it, women's underwear. First, things disappeared from the clothes lines (remember, this was around 1915). Then, as the thief grew more brazen, he would break into people's homes, leaving their valuables and taking the lacy goods. There was a $100 reward for him! And now, after many years without an attack (they stopped in the early 1930s), the town's most famous unsolved crime spree has a new lead. The thief confessed, well, sort of. The man, now 99 years old, wrote a letter to the local police confessing to the crimes, but signed only by his initials, G.K. And the letter was postmarked from Phoenix. The local historian, Phyllis Taylor, wrote about this crime in her book "100 Years of Magic, The Story of Barberton, Ohio, 1891-1991." Some wondered if he was the town's mayor. It turns out, he was only 14 when he started his collection out of his compulsion for cross-dressing. Today, he could shop in public for such things!

Brain Tumor Linked To Pedophilia
Strange but apparently true. A man suddenly developed an interest in pedophilia and got in all kinds of social and legal problems. Later, when he developed headaches, he got an MRI and they found a tumor in his brain. When it was removed, his interest in the pedophilia disappeared, but return when the tumor returned. His doctor, Russell Swerdlow and of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, reported this unusual case to the American Neurological Association annual meeting.

OJ Not Sure He's Still "Innocent"
I've read some pretty weird stuff online before, even from a major news source like MSNBC, but this one takes the cake. If this is true, then I believe that OJ is joining the majority of Americans who doubt his innocence, in spite of the jury ruling in his favor.

No Way! Way!
A new subdivision in Toronto is going to have Mike Myers Drive in honor of the home town boy who made good.

Hobbits Are Alive And Well...
...and living in Russia according to the results of their latest census.

Sexual Enhancement Scam Busted (pun intended)
In spite of the informercials, I knew you couldn't really enhance your privates with these potions. Now the whole world knows.

College Dorm Laundry Rooms Get Digital
Now, you can be paged when your dryer shuts off thanks to E-Suds. Great. But everyone else on the waiting list will also be paged that a dryer is available. This isn't what I had in mind when I ws thinking about "better living through..." technology. If only they could get the dryer to fold the clothes and stack them in my basket, I would be signing up!

Jeffrey Archer Creates A New Controversy
The British author, Jeffrey Archer, is not best known for his books (including As The Crow Flies, Kane & Abel, Shall We Tell the President, and Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less) but for his public controversies. While a Conservative Party Member of Parliment in 1987, Lord Archer sued the Daily Star for libel when they published that he had paid a prostitute. The policital backlash caused him to resign, but he won the lawsuit. Still politically active, he helped raise funds for the Kurdish refugees after the Gulf War, was knighted, and ran for Mayor of London in 1999. In July 2001, after the testimony of his secretary and others, Archer was found guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice, and was sentenced to four years in prison and had to repay the settlement, which he had donated to charity. Always a writer, Archer began keeping a prison diary which will be published by Macmillan around Christmas. A portion of the book is being published by the Daily Mail. In it, Archer breaks the prison rules by naming other inmates and guards. He was moved from the North Sea Camp prison to the Lincoln prison recently after being caught taking advantage of the open prison situation (what we call "country club" prision in the US), and he may have to spend additional time in prision for the rule breaking related to his book.

New Sex and the City Book Due Soon
I've been out to Amazon to look at the pages, but I haven't made up my mind if I'm going to order this book. Because of my illness, I missed all but the first two episodes of this season. I've heard mixed reviews about the quality of this season, but I'm looking forward to seeing the episodes for myself. And, will the DVD for season 4 be out soon?

Organized Kid Sports Too Stressful?
I don't have any kids, but I've been to enough sporting events to watch my neices and nephews that I know the ill-tempered parents can ruin it for their own kids, and the whole team. And now a study that says that perhaps these organized sports are too stressful for kids. What's a soccer mom to do?

Japanese Abductions
This is not the type of story I normally cover. Perhaps I've been force fed one too many episodes of Forensic Files during my recouperation (I do prefer that show to Jerry Springer, which is another staple on the TV in the house). I was shocked. Perhaps the whole world is already at war and I am just realizing it.

New Ansel Adams Photographs on Display
Recently, a box of vacation snapshots taken by Ansel Adams on a trip through the Southwest in 1937 were discovered and are currently on display at the Fitchburg Art Museum in Massachusetts. In addition to the great landscape, they include candids of the travellers, which included Georgia O'Keeffe. The Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, founded by Adams, may have contact sheets and negatives of these images. But to find new Adams photographs is quite a discovery.

Sydney Most Multilingual Australian City
According to a recent study done by researchers Michael Clyne and Sandra Kipp at Melbourne University using the 2001 Australian census information, nearly 30% of Sydney residents speak a language other than English. Not only that, but the study showed that younger people are increasingly multilingual, and that the emphasis is shifting from European languages to Middle Eastern and Asian languages. The full results of their study were published in the latest edition of People and Place, a publication of Monash University. They previously had done a similar study using the 1996 census information.

Best Cities In The World
And while Sydney may be more multilingual than nearby Melbourne, it was Melbourne that was just rated as the best city in the world to live in by the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, tied with Vancouver, Canada. Cities in the top ten include: Melbourne, Australia; Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, Canada; Vienna, Austria; Zurich, Switzerland; Frankfurt, Germany; and Oslo, Norway. The highest American city was Honolulu at 16th.

Fallen FDNY Chaplin A Saint?
There is a movement afoot to nominate the Reverend Mychal Judge for sainthood within the Catholic Church. From what I've heard of his life, he sounds like a terrific candidate to me.

New York City Finds Places of Solace
Post-9/11 New York is filling up with a new type of space -- places of solace where employees can go to relax. Mostly, this means that existing offices are adding garden spaces with water features that provide a different environment. Hurrah for NY. Let's start a movement to add such places to all workspaces. It might just improve the sanity and quality of life for everyone.

"Joy of Sex" Anniversary Release
I am not surprised to learn that Nicholas Comfort didn't learn about the joys of sex from his father, the author of the celebrated book, Joy of Sex. After all, I suspect his father was too busy doing research to share his findings with his son. And isn't that part of the reason why he wrote the book, so he could just do the research and people could read the book? I just wonder what it would be like to grow up with a father who had written a famous sex book.

Wanted: Bilingual Canadians
My university didn't require me to take a foreign language -- I had the option to complete a set of courses that would give me research skills instead. So I never learned more than just the few phrases most people know in Spanish or French. Which is to say, I don't understand either one. I did take 3 years of Latin in high school, but that hasn't helped me one bit. I've lived in Phoenix for 10 years, and I swore at the start that I would learn enough Spanish to be able to get by... and still I don't know a word. But in Canada, currently 24% of the high school grads are bilingual, and there is a push to get nearly half of the population bilingual. I applaud this idea. Maybe I'll sign up for conversational Spanish at my neighborhood community college in the spring.

Dubya Fun

Thanks to Jennifer at Forty.Something for finding this gem... a site where you can be the speechwriter for George W. Bush. I spent a lot of time here, and so did my whole family!

[Quick entry because I just can't keep quiet...]


Adult Superstore Controversy Continues
The new Castle Boutique Megastore currently under construction in Phoenix is under attack from every angle. What isn't clear from the articles against this construction is that these are retail stores, not adult services facilities.

Update: 2 October

Now, the issue has gone to the Board of Adjustment, and the neighbors are threatening to recall their local city councilman, Dave Seibert, because he hasn't been able to stop the project. Meanwhile, the owners of the Castle Superstore chain thanks the media for all of the free press and increased business this controversy has created. Talk about silver linings...

[Still recouperating from my surgery, but starting to realize how much I miss the world news...]


And While We Are At It, Let's Challenge Copyrights!
A fascinating story about Larry Lessig, a Stanford University law professor, whose challenge to the 1998 copyright law, the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, is about to reach the US Supreme Court as the case Eldred v. Ashcroft. Interestingly, the article mentions how Disney uses literary classics as the basis for its own classics, but wants to lock up the copyrights so no one can use their works in the same way that they have used the works of others, and the Act (which they used campaign contributions to promote) is interestingly timed to prevent Mickey Mouse from entering the public domain for an additional 20 years! Eric Eldred is quite an interesting character himself, someone who believed he was making a contribution for the common good.

I'm Not The Only One Not Amused...
...by the abbreviated written language that appears throughout the IM world. Things like "R U OK?" drive me up the wall. OK, I'll admit that I've been known to use LOL (for laughing out loud) and I've made my fair share of smiley/winky/frowny faces. But I draw the line there. Putting this together with the recent study that found that the kids today are more dexterious with their thumbs than my generation, and you get a group of people who can thumb their own noses but can't type. Hurry up voice recognition is all I can say!

Loving Thoughtful Blog Entries Like This One
Having been offline for weeks and missing my several hours of daily reading, it is a real treat to find that my cyber pal Mal is still cranking out entries that hit my heart and mind. I was raised in a similar way, not taught to pay attention to race or creed. I just realized a year or so ago that one of my best friends from high school was Latino -- it never occured to me then. Here is a bit of what Mal observered that really touched me:

What I didn't fathom was that ... [s]he was talking about Mal and Mormons and fat girls and celibate bisexuals and all of the other labels that keep me from speaking. From feeling worthy to speak my truths. All of those things that keep me from stripping down and standing, arms wide, in the sun. From knowing myself and being known. From the dark corners where the questions live.

I've missed a lot!

Who Said That The Free Internet Is Dead?
I've been watching this story for some time with great interest. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has plans to make all of its courseware available for free online. You can't get a degree for free, but you can learn if you have the initiative to spend the time to read and learn. I think this is a fabulous idea. After working through the details about tools and copyrights and file formats, the information is scheduled to start becoming available on 30 September 2002. Personally, I'm planning to be there!

Marines Training For Urban Battles
I'm recouperating from my surgery at my parent's home in Dayton, Ohio and I discover that the Marines have beat me here. Seems they have taken over parts of the town to prepare for a possible urban battle in Bagdad (yep, the capital of Iraq). The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Lejeune, N.C. is involved. They previously spent three months in Afghanistan.

Please see my post at Desert Mermaid for an update.

I'm taking a few sick days. Be back when I feel like it!

Prince Ahmed bin Salman Dies
I missed this one when it happened. I wrote about the Prince earlier this year when I realized that he was the owner of a winning throughbred horse, War Emblem. I'm sorry that he has passed so young. I love stories like this, a man whose passions, not heredity, lead him to the successes that he sought in life.
[Previous coverage]

Administrative Crack Down on Illegal Workers
Until recently, many people who are in this country without a social security number have invented numbers to get past the Department of Justice requirement for employers to make sure their employees are in the country and working legally. Now, the DOJ is actually getting around to checking the submitted social security numbers, and they are notifying employers when an employee didn't match the number they gave. Sometimes, it is an honest, clerical error. But many people are losing jobs because they falsified this information, which is impacting the businesses that are losing employees. About 1/8 of employers have received this kind of letter and over 7 million employees have been addressed since the beginning of the year. The Social Security Administration and the Immigration and Naturalization Service are being factual in their handing of these cases, while special interest groups like the National Imigration Law Center are screaming about it. In 1999, there was $4.9 billion in social security taxes withheld from paychecks for people whose SSN didn't match what was on file.

NetFlix Sucess Makes Them a Target
You've got to hand it to the people at Blockbuster... they are smart about their business. First, they took on the mom & pop video stores, running them out of business with their exclusive deals with the studios. Second, they took on satellite TV services, becoming one of the largest retailers of DirecTV. And now, they are experimenting with a subscription service to knock out the impact of their newest competitor, NetFlix. The new program is called DVD Subscription Pass and it's being tested in Phoenix, Seattle, Houston, and New York right now. With video on demand services just around the corner, Blockbuster isn't letting any competition stand in their way. But NetFlix isn't fazed by this... they have just opened several regional processing centers so they can deliver their DVDs through the mail quicker across the country.
[Previous coverage]

"I See Crop Circles..."
OK, I'll stop making fun of M. Night Shyamalan's movies. But as you might expect, the interest in crop circles has risen in response to his new movie Signs. I'm planning to see it in a couple of weeks. I don't have an opinion about crop circles, and my world wouldn't be shaken one way or the other if they were unmistakenly proven true or false. But the images are pretty. Here is the latest from Quebec, Canada.

Everyone With A Stolen Debit Card Should Be So Lucky
Jacqueline Boanson had her debit card stolen by Andrew Cameron in the UK. He used the card to place two £50 (about $80) bets on horse races. He won, but the winnings were posted to the debit card that was used to make the bet. The overall effect? Her bank account balance went up by nearly $500.

Australian Grain Shipments to Iraq Refused
Recently, the government of Iraq threatened to reduce the level of wheat they import from Australia because of their military presence in the Gulf region and their political support of the US policies against Iraq. At that time, shipments were already on their way by boat. Now that the shipments have arrived, the have been refused by the Iraqis because they claim that the shipments are contaminated. The AWB Limited, the grain board, says that is the shipments are not contaminated, but indeed the refusal is political, the AWB is going to put pressure on the Australian government because of the importance of these imports. Fasten your seatbelts, the shakeout has begun.

Martha in an Orange Jumpsuit?
Looking for a belly laugh? Then read this wonderful opinion about why Martha Stewart won't be going to jail -- not because she isn't guilty, but because the Federal Bureau of Prisons isn't prepared to contain a style maven like her. In fact, about the only thing M would like about prison is the heavy use of grey, which Paul Coggins observers "...Gray is the new black..."

Was bin Laden Upset About the WTC Architecture?
Did you know that the World Trade Center incorporated Islamic sacred architectural elements? Or that the architect, Minoru Yamasaki, was a favorite of the Saudi royal family who had also designed the King Fahd Dhahran Air Terminal in the 1950s which the royal family liked so well that it appears on their currency?

Which Side of the Road is Right?
Have you ever wondered why some countries drive on the right side of the road, and other countries drive on the left? That question has been answered! Fascinating history of transportation site that gives a method to the madness. While you are there, check out the list of countries that prefer each side. And if you have any additional information, they are accepting input from visitors.

Privacy Zone Getting Smaller
Imagine that you live in a country without the separation of church and state. And imagine that it is illegal to explore many of the types of services available so easily on the Internet. Now, imagine that you are a creative business owner in that country. So you convert a back room, or maybe a hallway, into a cybercafe where your customers can pay for a slice of privacy and a chance to explore options on the Internet. Now, imagine that your country puts in new homeland defense type of laws, that require you as the operator of a cybercafe to register with the government, and then, to require ID from all of your customers. Welcome to Pakistan. Welcome to the Brave New World post-September 11.

Dream DVD Rentals? I Think So
About two years ago, when I bought my DVD player, I joined NetFlix. At first, I was incredulous -- the offer sounded too good to be true. But I've found that the company is reputable, the service is good, and the promises are delivered. In this time, the company has gone public and seems to be headed for that elite group: dot com financial success. It's a smart idea that seems to be well executed. If you are thinking about joining them, make sure that you poke around for a free trial membership offer to try-before-you-buy. I think you'll be hooked.

Back To School Tip: Bananas & Bach
With schools getting ready to start up, it is time to think about coping with that most common problem: test taking. According to the staff at the Turves Green Girls' School in the UK, the best way to prepare students for test taking is to have them eat bananas, listen to some Bach, and do some mental gymnastics. Unless you hate bananas, it can't hurt. I wonder if this works for adults preparing for difficult days on the job, too.

Virgin Blue Men Get Fair Coverage
In America, we have the NY firefighters beefcake calendar... but in the UK, they are now getting a beefcake article about the male flight attendants that work for Virgin Blue airlines. Seems that a group of the women posed for a layout in FHM magazine, and the The Sunday Telegraph decided to select the best beefcake among the male attendants. The winners are Stuart Arnolda and Fabian Lizza.

Beacon in the Desert
The Arizona/Mexico border is the place where many people attempt to enter this country illegally. (Don't get me started about the legalities of political borders...) With the conditions they encounter crossing the desert, many of them die in the process. As a humanitarian effort, especially after the deaths of a group of 14 Mexicans about a year ago (and influenced by the events of 11 September), the Yuma, Arizona division of the US Border Patrol has begun installing beacons that are 30 feet tall that allow those people crossing the desert can notify the Border Patrol that they are there and need help. So far, the beacons have been saving lives, and more are scheduled for installation.

Korean Textbook Bias Investiation Started
The Grand National Party in Korea has ordered an investigation into pro-governement (North Korea) bias found in recent history textbooks, written to support Marxist theory. They want the textbooks corrected and those responsible punished.

Demand for Universal Cell Phone Chargers
More interesting news from South Korea -- the government there is calling for all cell phone manufacturers selling phones there to come up with a universal charger so that people don't have to purhase a new charger when they get a new phone. What a great idea!

Talk About Sailors on Shore Leave...
On a recent shore leave trip to Perth, Australia, it seems that American soliders were wearing out the sex workers at a local brothel, so badly that they closed their doors so the girls could get some sleep. The madame, Mary-Anne Kenworthy, said that she would rather the US soldiers would get their leave in smaller groups so her business could keep up. The ships were the USS John C Stennis, USS Port Royal, and the USS Bridge which were returning to the US after a tour of Afghanistan in late April.