...in Skipping Towards Gomorrah Dan Savage.... commits each of the Seven Deadly Sins himself (or tries to) and finds those everyday Americans who take particular delight in their sinful pursuits.

Posted by GeeTee at September 26, 2002 11:44 AM | TrackBack 0

FW:Fwd is an exhibition of short films by international artists which explores new ways of accessing work online. This site will offer an ongoing, rolling programme of short films selected by Red Leader Industries, who initiated the project, plus guest curators. You are looking at the opening selection of films which have been chosen for their diversity - of approach, content and technique.

Posted by GeeTee at September 26, 2002 10:50 AM | TrackBack 0

To make downloading immoral, you have to accept that copyrighted products are governed by the same moral and legal principles as real property, thus the recent and continuous reference by the copyright community to label downloading as stealing. But the fact is that real and intellectual property are different and are governed by different principles. Downloading a copyrighted product does not diminish the product, as would be the case of taking and using tangible property such as a dress. At worst, it is depriving the copyright owner of a potential sale. Indeed, it may be causing a sale (through familiarity) or even more likely, have no impact on the sale. My son often will become familiar with artists through downloading their music on the Internet and then go out and buy the CD.

Posted by GeeTee at September 26, 2002 10:34 AM | TrackBack 0

Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee threatened to hammer the IRS' budget, "The IRS wouldn't accept from a taxpayer the non-answer it has given regarding the 2,300 computers -- just as a taxpayer would be held accountable for missing receipts, so must the IRS be held accountable."

Posted by GeeTee at September 26, 2002 09:58 AM | TrackBack 0

"They complain about the Napsters," she said, referring to the bankrupt music swap site that was found to violate U.S. copyright laws. "But why do the Napsters exist, because the marketplace wants them."

Posted by GeeTee at September 26, 2002 09:47 AM | TrackBack 0

n the other hand, those who have condemned such operas as ideological weapons in the service of Western political hegemony miss a larger point. Butterfly's world premiere at La Scala took place in February 1904 — one week after Japanese torpedo boats launched a surprise attack on the Russian navy in Manchuria. By the following year, Japan had annihilated two Russian fleets, setting in motion events that would lead to the downfall of the Russian empire, and the decolonization of the Far East over the course of the twentieth century. In other words, if Madama Butterfly was an Orientalist weapon for dominating and having authority over Asia, it proved about as effective as a squirt gun. Bullets and bayonets — not Japanese bells — are the true weapons of imperialism.

Posted by GeeTee at September 26, 2002 08:43 AM | TrackBack 0

We've got get on with the business of our country. We've got to rise to a higher level. Our founding fathers would be embarrassed by what they are seeing going on right now. We've got to do better than this. Our standard of deportment ought to be better. Those who died gave their lives for better than what we are giving now.

Posted by GeeTee at September 26, 2002 08:20 AM | TrackBack 0

Click here to send Christopher Reeve a FREE birthday card. An anonymous donor has offered to contribute $1 to CRPF for every birthday card sent in September.

Snopes verifies: this is true.

Posted by GeeTee at September 26, 2002 08:10 AM | TrackBack 0

"I'm here for one thing: I'm here to buy the crooked E," said Mr. Azizi, who was born in Iran and builds lofts in Houston, reaching into his pocket and flashing a wad of folded bills. "I've got $20,000 in cash. I'm going to get the E and put it on top of a building."

Posted by GeeTee at September 26, 2002 06:57 AM | TrackBack 0

It's less draconian than the notion that no piece of hardware can be produced unless it has protective technology mandated by the government. The beauty of my approach is that it empowers copyright owners but also puts limits on their ability to go beyond merely protecting their property. They can't do anything that would damage the people using the networks.

Posted by GeeTee at September 26, 2002 06:54 AM | TrackBack 0

Engineering today feels like that window seat on the airplane. Those can't be real transistors and wires down there, can they? Watching the simulations on my computer monitor is like watching the movie on the airplane—an unreality wrapped in another unreality. I feel that I have lost touch with Edison's world of electricity—a world of black Bakelite meters, whirring motors, acrid chemical smells, and heated conductors. I miss Heathkits and the smell of molten solder and burning insulation—the sensual aspects of engineering that have been replaced for many of us by the antiseptic, ubiquitous, and impersonal CRTs.

Posted by GeeTee at September 26, 2002 06:52 AM | TrackBack 0

The law in question is one section of the USA Patriot Act, signed by President George W. Bush last October, which outlaws providing "material support or resources" to foreign terrorists who have been placed on a State Department list. Material support is defined as money, lodging, training or "communications equipment."

Posted by GeeTee at September 26, 2002 06:23 AM | TrackBack 0