two-thirds of the world's resources used up

The human race is living beyond its means. A report backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries - some of them world leaders in their fields - today warns that the almost two-thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure.

The report, prepared in Washington under the supervision of a board chaired by Robert Watson, the British-born chief scientist at the World Bank and a former scientific adviser to the White House, will be launched today at the Royal Society in London.

Commentary

Current events

Science

copyright rules could change

Today many of the latest hit songs and movies are a few mouse clicks away on the Internet, and those same justices are being asked to settle a multibillion-dollar dispute about how such items are shared.

Entertainment companies want the court to let them sue the manufacturers of file-sharing software that allows computer users to download music and movies from each other's computers. The companies say such downloads violate copyright protections and amount to stealing.

Lower courts have sided with the software makers, Grokster Inc. and StreamCast Networks, which say their technology should be looked at no differently than a videocassette recorder.

The Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday and will issue a decision before July.

Internet

Music

Terri's Passion on Good Friday

NewsMax.com has the compelling story of members of the nation's clergy weighing in on Terri's plight.
Click the link for the story.

Religion

Current events

richard attenborough...where are you?

Article in NewScientist.com reports on blood vessel recovery from T. rex bone.

Read more from UbikCentral.

Science

Current events

attitude through process

the allocation of dogs 
The trading attitude comes from watching the need to sort one animal from the rest. My dog helps and has become loyal throughout the process. My dog stays loyal knowing that we will do the process again in the future. He knows he fills a need because he makes the job of sorting easier.

Daily Life

measuring the price

Two things cause real inflation: Too much money or too little goods.

The inflation of the 1970's experienced in the United States had less to do with energy prices than it did with socio-economic changes and baby boomers coming of age in terms of consumption.

We may well be on the precipice of a similar situation, only this will be a global change. China is coming of age. The July 2004 population estimate was 1,298,847,624. The United States population was estimated at 293,027,571 for the same time frame.

So, for every American there are about 4.4 Chinese. U.S. Per capita GDP is $37,800. In China it is only $5000. As the economy grows there, consumption and demand will grow. Social changes are already beginning to take hold.

If (when) China's per capita GDP doubles, it will be only about 1/4 of the United States. Given the vast population, the demand on resources will be great. Higher demand can be a harbinger of higher prices. I think we are beginning to see that right now in the energy markets amongst others.

You want to be on board with entities that will benefit from the changes going on in China. Be cautious about instruments that can be hurt by inflation.

With demand climbing we should see commodity prices generally climb. Along with this, we should see new pricing paradigms for many commodities. We could be at the beginning of a golden age for commodities.

Economics

is IT an evolution or a veritable revolution?

beneficial effects ? 
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. gives us insight into the technological future by looking at the past and pondering if the computer evolution really exists.

Computers

Business

spend-management software

• Ariba - provides domain expertise, operational services and technology solutions
• Emptoris - integrates spend analysis, supplier negotiation, and supplier performance
• ICG Commerce - purchase-to-pay transaction automation service
• Ketera - offers an on-demand suite for spend analysis, e-procurement, and IT services
• Oracle - enables spend analysis, supplier management, and productivity measurements
• Perfect Commerce - helps analyze spending patterns and track commodity prices
• SAP - tools to analyze spending, improve visibility, and manage contracts
• Saqqara - organizes supplier data and contract terms for easing compliance processes
• SAS Institute - addresses spend analysis, sourcing data quality, and sourcing strategy
• Tradestone Software - supports order management, payment processing, and spending
• Verticalnet - advanced decision support and spend analysis and program management
• Zycus - resolves data quality problems that helps e-procurement

Business

spend management

is terry schiavo being executed ?

am i witnessing a media execution? i feel as if i am and that terry schiavo's attorneys are waiting for the governor's stay. what on earth is going on? does anybody know?

the doctors on the talking head shows seem to have it all figured out. pull the tube and that should be it. no big deal. what an attitude. i frankly don't want any of these doctors to treat me nor any member of my family. they are too busy treating their own egos.

there needs to be much ego checking in this entire matter.

Current events

Culture

Rants

when companies need more sophisticated software

Companies may be finding that the old "racking and stacking" manual ways of doing financial analysis are growing obsolete. Operational performance could be slowing. This article gives clues as to when improvements should be made.

Business

software

Maundy Thursday

The creativeguy tells what Maundy Thursday is all about.

Religion

The Bible and Worship

Jesus Christ, The Good Shepherd 

Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve - Jesus Christ
(Matthew Chapter 4 verse 10)

1. The Bible tells us that we worship and praise God. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for He is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under His care. (Psalms Chapter 95 verses 6 - 7)
2. Bible reading is an act of worship.
3. The Bible is the grand story of salvation in Jesus, promised and fulfilled.
4. The Bible has enabled us to understand the Lord.
5. Verses to reference: Psalms Chapter 50 verse 23, Hebrews Chapter 13 verses 15 and 16, Psalms Chapter 29 verses 1 and 2, John Chapter 2 verses 13 - 17, Chapter 8 verse 29, Chapter 13 verses 31 and 32, Psalms Chapter 51 verses 15 - 17

Religion

Jesus

Christianity

Angolans die from Ebola-like bug

In the last five months almost 100 Angolans have died from an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever. Similar in symptoms to its more famous cousin Ebola, this outbreak is being blamed on the Marburg virus. The symptoms include: vomiting, bloody discharge and fever. The Marburg virus was first isolated in 1967 and effects primates as well.

Angola's infrastructure is essentially destroyed and that makes it very hard to respond to any threat such as this. One saving grace of this family of disease is its lethality. It kills quickly thus limiting its spread.

News

Science

First cloned buffalo born

BEIJING, Mar. 21 -- The world’s first water buffalo cloned from somatic cells was born Thursday morning in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The buffalo’s heart rate, temperature and breathing were normal. About 30 minutes after the birth, the calf stood up and nursed, said doctor Shi Deshun, head of the research project at Guangxi University.

Science

Calvin Klein Brings Back CK One With New Ad Campaign

Ten tears after its grunge-like CK One campaign, Calvin Klein is relaunching the brand in April with a new television, outdoor and print ad campaign. The campaign will feature 40 mostly unknown models in a hip party scene in a building shaped like the CK One bottle. The campaign, designed by Fabien Baron and shot by David Sims, will continue with the "You're the One" tagline.

Marketing

Culture

Announcements

Only creativity-impaired chumps have to pay journalists for favorable coverage.

The current administration looks at the unveiling of key policy initiatives as product launches, each replete with its own marketing strategy. Exercising perhaps unintentional candor, in the summer of 2002, President Bush's Chief of Staff Andrew Card famously pronounced: "[F]rom a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August." Washington was in its annual dog-days slough, and official attention was at a low ebb. The product in question was the Iraq war, which Card said would not begin its marketing cycle until September.
ADVERTISER

Spin is a central part of any well-conceived launch strategy. The trick, of course, is to transfer essential viewpoints from the spinner to the spinnee, thereby removing from the message any taint of a vested interest. Journalists, defined as ostensibly objective reporters and skeptical interpreters of reality, are the primary targets of spin. If you can get them to take up your cry, it gains credibility whether it deserves it or not. And credibility is an asset well worth cultivating and, in some instances, purchasing.

Marketing

U.S. February Consumer Prices Rise 0.4%; Core Up 0.3%

Prices paid by U.S. consumers rose a greater-than-expected 0.4 percent in February, the most in four months, supporting concerns at the Federal Reserve that inflation may be starting to pick up.

Higher costs for gasoline, air fares and lodging led the increase in the consumer price index last month after a gain of 0.1 percent in January, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.3 percent, the most since September, after rising 0.2 percent.

Economics

the fundamental appeal of VoIP

washington 2005,

VoIP just might change the way we live. The idea of voice traffic across the Internet is nothing new, however the progress of VoIP has been slowed by technical problems. When SBC acquired AT&T for a $16 billion price tag, VoIP became an almost household term. The tecnical kinks have been worked out and vendor competition is heating up. The voice and data functions available now seem to be everywhere. New VoIP networks are replacing voice-mail systems. The switch is saving time and money. The cost-savings alone (the fundamental appeal of VoIP) is alluring enough that problems with VoIP aren't problems. By next year, more than two-thirds of 131 large companies surveyed by Deloitte & Touche will be rolling out VoIP to employees. The primary driver (84%) is cost reductions. Consultants tell IT departments to assess network traffic and bandwidth needs before implementation and to continue monitoring and testing afterward.


VoIP

technology

Business

Fear, Loathing & Determination In The Terri Schiavo Case

by Joe Gandelman

Right now the most miserable job in the world belongs to federal U.S. District Judge James Whittemore who is deciding on whether to order a feeding tube put back into Terri Schiavo, who has become a symbol of an ethical dilemma for some and seemingly a political football for others.What more can you say about a case where the Congress meets to pass a law to apply specifically to just one case, GOPers are reportedly being told what a great issue it is for their party, talking points have been distributed, the President flies back to Washington to sign the bill passed by Congress (one of the few times apparently that he has flown back from Texas due to a crisis in the nation's capitol), and an initial poll shows most Americans don't agree with the President or Congress.No matter what Whittemore does, he and the judiciary are going to come under intense fire:
If he refuses to order the feeding tube put back in, he will probably be accused of being an unfeeling or activist judgeand his decision will be appealed anyway.
If he orders it back in he'll will be accused by others of trampling states rights and injecting the federal judicary into a patients rights case largely propelled into national prominence by politicians responding to a clamor from conservatives and Christian Evanglicals.
If he somehow comes up with something that isn't a clearcut yes or no he'll be accused of being a wimp and sidestepping the issue.


Culture

Society

News

Judge Won't Order Schiavo Tube Reinserted

A federal judge on Tuesday refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, denying an emergency request from the brain-damaged woman's parents that had been debated in Congress and backed by the White House.

U.S. District Judge James Whittemore said the 41-year-old woman's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, had not established a "substantial likelihood of success" at trial on the merits of their arguments.

Current events

the higher price of oil

Oil: $100 a barrel, $4 a gallon

Patrick Schaefer writes about much stronger world demand in the near future. This surge in demand is causing big price increases.

Culture

Current Affairs

The 10 Commandments of Church Website Search Engine Optimization

Jesus from the 6th century,

One thing you'll notice in many of my critiques is advice on how to improve a church website's search engine visibility. While the following list is by no means a magic enumeration that if followed will guarantee you a great Google rank - not doing them is sure to put your website on the bottom of the heap.

When possible, I've provided hyperlinks to posts and article on this and/or other sites that will help you figure out how to keep from backsliding into the abyss of search engine invisibility.

click on the link for the entire story.

Religion

Internet

Corporate Blogging: Ready for Prime Time?

Steve Rubel at Micro Persuasion conducted a random blogging survey in New York's Grand Central Station this week, asking random commuters about blogs.

Slightly more than half of the 32 people questioned knew what blogs were, and 6 of the 32 (19%) said they read blogs.

click on the link for the entire story.

Weblogs

Global darkness shortage poses health and sanity risk

There's a global shortage of darkness, and it's not good for us.

"A number of health and environmental problems are due to a loss of darkness," says Dr David Crawford, executive director of the International Dark-Sky Association, a group that campaigns against light pollution.

Health and wellness

dollar races up

The dollar got to a two-week high against the euro as the Fed may take a more aggressive stance with interest rate rises. The FOMC is expected to hike interets rates anothe quarter percent to 2.75%. The euro zone rate is still at 2.00%. The Fed may want to give itself room to raise rates at a faster pace before 2005 is out.

Economics

how to write a better blog

There are ways to better blogging. David Mahoney brings some good ideas to writing a better blog that will be more enjoyable to read. Writing a blog can be entertaining and educational and the writer should keep striving to improve writing skills. Mr. Mahoney has very useful tips on blog writing. Take the time to read his article and perhaps take som notes to help you become a better blogger.

Weblogs

Weblog

Blogging

black hole created

wikinews has the story about the blackhole created in a Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton New York. The fireball absorbed more than ten times the predicted amount of energy and radiated it as heat, a behavior characteristic of black holes. Scientists assured the public that there was no threat to their safety during the experiment.

Science

NASA's portal

NASA wants to make a web portal the axis for more than 170 sites. The new NASA Public Web Site Integration Plan sets principles and standards the space agency will use to weave and link the sites to the central portal www.NASA.gov.
The effort will consolidate many of the agency's Web sites and pages through the portal. This will provide standards for the presentation of all pages, even those that NASA opts to integrate with the portal. NASA wants to make its online services more productive to its visitors. The project has a wide-ranging budget. The estimate is toward $12 million, depending on how much contractors like eTouch carry out.
The eight guiding principles are:

• Satandardize content
• Create a uniform look
• Implementing naming conventions to ensure existing URL's have appropriate redirects
• Evaluate the need for additional hardware and software
• Ensure scalability
• Evaluate content for full integration into the portal's content management system
• Migrate content off existing systems
• Assess the need for additional databases and applications

The project is expected to be complete by mid-2007.

Science

Internet

Web

How we interpret the Bible

Jesus from the 6th century,

HOW WE INTERPRET THE BIBLE

1. Symbolic - Objects are used to represent something else. Example: A dove is a symbol of peace.

2. Literal- Following the exact words of the original. Matter-of-fact.


3. Historical - Based on people and events of the past.


4. Psychological - Dealing with mental processes and feelings. The science of behavior.


Passage: Matthew 6 : 9 - 13

PRINCIPLES

What is the historical, social, and cultural settings for a passage? (Set-up)

What is the context for a passage in the book in which it is contained? (Just before and after)

What is the immediate setting for the text? (Time and place)

What is the message of this passage for us today? (Inspired communication)


Another passage: I Corinthians 13


Religion

The ANWR Is Yes

Bloggers are discussing the Senate's support for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Blogging

Current events

US Had Secret Plans for Iraq Oil from 2001

It appears the BBC have taken seriously the accusations against the Bush Administration that they had planned a takeover of Iraq long before 9/11.It shoots down their claims that it was to remove WMD, or get rid of a terrorist regime in Iraq, as the rather extensive report with some big hitters in Washington and the Oil industry seems to lay credence to the many claims that Bush wanted Iraq's oil.

Iraq

News

News and politics

backlog of security clearances

More than 500,000 federal employees can't do the work the federal government hired them to do beacuase they are waitng for the Office of Personnel Management or the Defense Department to issue them security clearances. This backlog has prevented crime fighting efforts, intelligence analysis,and homeland security procedures. Needed work is not getting done and this is costing hundreds of millions of dollars. New congressional requirements for the Intelligence and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 will enable an agency to oversee the security clearance process. This will be in place at the end of March. By December a database will be developed about federal and contract employees. By December of 2006, 80 perent of the clearances must be done within a 120 day window. Agencies must accept each other's clearances and the agency must grant interim clearances for expediting the clearance process. The Defense Security Service (DDS) uses the pilot Automated Continuing Evaluation System (ACES) for information on military, contract, and federal employees. ACES run under Solaris on a Sun Microsystems Server and stows the data in an Oracle9i database. The ACES test results will enable DDS to issue requests for a contractor to develop a new system by the end of April. ACES currently searches 27 databases.

Security

News

Black hole created in NY lab

Scientists created a temporary black hole that lasted for 10 million billion billionths of a second. The heat generated was 300 million times the temperature of the surface of the Sun.

To create the black hole, scientists used a particle accelerator. They shot two beams of gold nuclei at each other at the speed of light. The intense heat of the collision broke the nuclei into quarks and gluons, the most basic building blocks of matter. A ball of plasma was formed, which is detected as it absorbs jets of particles produced by the collision, so creating a black hole.

technology

Genes, Intelligence, & Religion

People in other countries think we Americans are crazy.

Big surprise.

Specifically: They think American parents are crazy.

And they may have a point.

In the last forty years American parents have been schooled in a form of parenting that worries endlessly and obsessively about the minutiae of how their children are treated. Now: Don't get me wrong! Parents have always obsessed about their offspring. That's nothing new. But the lengths that American parents carry things are out of synch with how parenting has been done in world history, in other cultures today, and even in America prior to about forty years ago.

One may argue that this is a good thing, that parents have found a better way. But the other side of the question should also be considered. I entertain a personal suspicion that the obsessiveness is partially driven by the fact Americans aren't as fertile as they once were.

Culture

random

Bhopal in Slow Motion

Crops no longer grow, animals die, water buffaloes produce toxic milk, babies are born with birth defects and people are constantly sick in the once-beautiful town of Patancheru, India. Local industry produces pesticides, steel, chemicals and drugs. Pharmaceuticals and their byproducts join the salts, acids and heavy metals from other factories to poison Patancheru's streams, groundwater and soil. Area Dr. Allani Kishan Rao says, "We're now into a second generation of toxic exposure. We're seeing another Bhopal - but in slow motion."

Science

Culture

Is it immoral to abandon the USA?

I am going to reply to my own post. I am building my own thought and I want anyone else to have the benefit from it:)

So we know basically how it works in this world, with the power of love, and there are different influences and most of its success is based on the role of the image through our own perceptions. It is is the example of the carrot and the stick. The neocons prefer to give the stick than the carrot.

In childhood psychology the stick make usually the victim an abuser later on. One of the dirtiest secrets of the Bush administration after 911 was to give the abused nations and the abusors of the nations a revigorification of their patholigical syndroms:

* The old Italy of Mussolini gave Italians this desire of nationalism, it inspired lots of pronationalist Italian with El Ducce (forza Italia mi culo).

* The persecuted Poland gave Poles the opportunity to get a revenge on History. Indeed they were persecuted by the Nazis and then got persecuted by the Soviets. One more time and I will tell you why, they are on the wrong side of the lane.

* The old nazi Germany who knew better and is aware of its crimes prefered to step down.

So this is how it works with the neocons. These guys have no morals whatsoever and could even sell their mother for their very own survival. "Either you are with us or against us" and this is how Bush sold his marketing to foreign nations. Not a long time ago a US senator stated that the roles of the world was to make the US bigger and not to let it down. Right now the position of the USA is going down.

The ethics of the world through the accumulation of defeats and winnings gave a different perception of this world. It's not only about cultures - because Europeans always play the card of origins for the Americans and vice et versa when they want to get the Americans on their sides. Today's in the 21st century it is all about who is going to win in this World. And what is at stakes in this world? Originally it is the way of the world was working, no more no less! This world changed, drastically because of the Bush administration. The american propaganda on Faux News makes Bush an angel that we could even guess 2 wings coming from the rear of his back. If you beleive in angels story, then be careful, because Bush is not an Angel or he is going to burn his wings fly high in the sky.

Bush wanted to change the world and he did it with the neocons and History is changing against the USA.

News and politics

DRUG DOGS ARE COVERS FOR LIES

Drug dogs are covers for lies. Here's how -

1. Cops ask to search cars for no reason at all. Most Americans are too meek to say "no" because government schools have conditioned them to submit to government and have taught them nothing about their rights. When drivers say "no," then some cops tell drivers that further action is inevitable because radio dispatch "has a drug dog on the way over." It is often a lie to induce consent. There is no dog on the way.

2. If a dog is or is not "on the way," cops add additional lies to make drivers think that there will be a long wait and that the driver must stay until a dog arrives. Cops rely on driver ignorance of the fact that evidence will be suppressed if drivers are detained longer than it takes to complete the traffic stop (e.g. write the ticket). Drivers are induced to consent to search to avoid a long wait based on lies.

3. If a dog is enroute, cops let drivers think that they are obliged to stay even when the cop has no reason to detain drivers any longer. The cop's rationalization is that drivers loiter roadside with cops for no apparent reason or because drivers enjoy waiting for dog sniffs. Cops take advantage of drivers who are too stupid (or too meek) to ask if they are free to go, so that drivers "consent" to unwarranted detention by not leaving.

Current Affairs

from melduke

3/18/05 Say It Isn't So

Last month's U.S. import prices rose 6.1% year-over-year with oil import prices up 0.8%. Meanwhile, our export prices were flat. That doesn't make for good news on company margins.
Yesterday, gas prices at the pump reached a new all-time high with a national average of $2.055 a gallon.

Last year, China's imports of crude grew by 34.8% over the year ago period. They get 50% of their crude supplies from the Middle East, while the U.S. gets but 10%.

Economics

saturns rings taken by cassini

saturns rings,
originally uploaded by mike8185936366504@N00.

While cruising around Saturn in early October 2004, Cassini captured a series of images that have been composed into the largest, most detailed, global natural color view of Saturn and its rings ever made.

This grand mosaic consists of 126 images acquired in a tile-like fashion, covering one end of Saturn's rings to the other and the entire planet in between.

The images were taken over the course of two hours on Oct. 6, 2004, while Cassini was approximately 6.3 million kilometers (3.9 million miles) from Saturn. Since the view seen by Cassini during this time changed very little, no re-projection or alteration of any of the images was necessary.

Three images (red, green and blue) were taken of each of 42 locations, or "footprints", across the planet. The full color footprints were put together to produce a mosaic that is 8,888 pixels across and 4,544 pixels tall.

The smallest features seen here are 38 kilometers (24 miles) across.

Many of Saturn's splendid features noted previously in single frames taken by Cassini are visible in this one detailed, all-encompassing view: subtle color variations across the rings, the thread-like F ring, ring shadows cast against the blue northern hemisphere, the planet's shadow making its way across the rings to the left, and blue-grey storms in Saturn's southern hemisphere to the right.

Tiny Mimas and even smaller Janus are both faintly visible at the lower left.

The Sun-Saturn-Cassini, or phase, angle at the time was 72 degrees; hence, the partial illumination of Saturn in this portrait.

Later in the mission, when the spacecraft's trajectory takes it far from Saturn and also into the direction of the Sun, Cassini will be able to look back and view Saturn and its rings in a more fully-illuminated geometry.


Science

Cassini Finds An Atmosphere On Saturn's Moon Enceladus

The Cassini spacecraft's two close flybys of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus have revealed that the moon has a significant atmosphere.

Scientists, using Cassini's magnetometer instrument for their studies, say the source may be volcanism, geysers, or gases escaping from the surface or the interior.

When Cassini had its first encounter with Enceladus on Feb. 17 at an altitude of 1,167 kilometers (725 miles), the magnetometer instrument saw a striking signature in the magnetic field. On March 9, Cassini approached to within 500 kilometers (310 miles) of Enceladus' surface and obtained additional evidence.

Science

dollar up

Investors are edgy about the emerging markets and came to the safety of U.S. debt. This has helped the dollar today so far as America woke this morning. Speculation that U.S. interest rates will rise after the next Federal Reserve meeting has helped the greenback too. Some analysts have said that higher interest rates should help the dollar at some point.

Economics

dollar to trend up?

Newsweek magazine on the cover of the March 21 issue has "The Incredible Shrinking Dollar" as the story. Hold that thought.

I have read from timt-to-time that when a major magazine has a market related story on the cover look for a change in the market trend. But not right away. Usually not for two to three weeks or more. Something to watch.

Business

Random thoughts

marketing & digital media

titan nightside

Marketing continues to still be a blackhole in business accountability. Media outlets(television, radio, newspapers, and magazines) consume 70 percent of the budget. Don't accept a poor level of measurement and accountability. Marketing now looks at return on investment(ROI). This is a somewhat new trend, but needed if marketing techniques are going to improve. How well do the marketing specialists know the consumer's media consumption and comprehension? This type of data is usually unavailable. Marketers haven't looked at this area much, but the day is coming where they will have to. The quest for superior return on investment data should also be a quest for critical audience measurement. One item that has promise is digital media(DM). In the digital area there is now relevant and compelling consumer media consumption and behavioral data for ROI modeling. These modeling techniques may advise on what mediums to use for a campaign and what results to expect in order to achieve success measures. Planning a campaign with digital modeling is worth the time and investment and will bring marketing up to a new level of achievement.

Marketing

dollar falls

The dollar fell against the euro for the first day in three and dropped against the yen after a government report showed the U.S. current-account deficit grew more than forecast in the fourth quarter.

The gap was a record $187.9 billion, from a revised $165.9 billion in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said.

The pace of deficit growth means the U.S. needs to attract more than $2 billion daily to compensate for the gap and to maintain the dollar's value against other currencies.

Yesterday the dollar advanced to the highest in a week against the euro after a government report showed demand among international investors for U.S. assets rose in January to the most in almost two years. The biggest increase was in purchases of U.S. Treasury securities, mostly by buyers in the Caribbean, which analysts tie to hedge funds, while Japan's holdings of Treasuries fell by the most since 2000.

Europe's currency is being buoyed by speculation growth will quicken from 0.2 percent last quarter. Investor confidence in Germany, Europe's largest economy, unexpectedly increased to a six-month high in March and money supply growth in the euro area grew an annual 6.6 percent in January, the fastest pace in more than a year.

Business

is the u.s. dollar starting to turn around?

The dollar advanced against the euro and pared losses versus the yen after a government report showed demand among international investors for U.S. assets rose in January to its highest in almost two years.

Foreigners bought a net $91.5 billion of U.S. financial assets, up from a revised $60.7 billion in December, the Treasury Department said. Tomorrow the government reports the current account deficit for the fourth quarter. The U.S. needs to attract about $1.8 billion a day to compensate for the record current account and maintain the value of the dollar. Other economic data released may show a slight gain in the United States' domestic economy.

Could this be the start of the dollar's gain?

Business

push to open-source VOIP

drops of blue

Several IP telephony veterans are banding together to organize the first major open-source community concentrating on VOIP tehnology. Pingtel Corporation is spearheading the project by releasing its SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) software platform into the open-source world. Several projects, including Vivida, used by Vonage, and Resiprocate, which provides a SIP stack and tool kit, will be used to initiate the session. The open-source enterprises might be too early in development to affect the market, but IP telephony staffs have shown interest. The release of intellectual properties into open-source will shift Pingtel's business model to sell a subscription service.

VoIP

marketing optimization technology

Comprises three components or some combination of the three:

1. Campaign management (CM): An overarching term that comprises activities ranging from planning and strategy to tracking statistics, schedules, and other metrics of multiple advertising campaigns across a combination of distribution channels.
2. Marketing resource management (MRM): Helps marketers achieve maximum efficiency by providing practitioners across all locations, channels, and brands with tools that help drive and measure their marketing initiatives.
3. Enterprise marketing management (EMM): Drives enterprisewide effectiveness through the formalization and unification of best marketing practices, organizationwide technology infrastructure, metrics/measurement, training, and change management processes.

Marketing

solar robots go underwater

Underwater robots may one day help water quality. Scientists at the Darrin Fresh Water Institute
on Lake George, New York are experimenting with distributed sensing devices and water-monitoring robots as part of RiverNet project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. The robotic device known as sloar-powered autonomous underwater vehicles (SAUV's), would detect chemical and biological trends that impact water quality.

Science

a fact about congressional pensions

This piece has been circulating on the Internet since April 2000. So much of it is outdated, inaccurate, or misleading, it's difficult to know where to begin.

· It is not true that Congressmen do not pay into the Social Security fund. Since 1984 they have paid into the fund just as most everyone else does. (A few odd exceptions to the Social Security program still exist, both inside and outside of government, but not for members of Congress.)

· It was true prior to 1984 that Congressmen did not pay into the Social Security fund because they participated in a separate program for civil servants (the Civil Service Retirement System, or CSRS), but that program was closed to government employees hired after 1983:

In 1983, Public Law 98-21 required Social Security coverage for federal civilian employees first hired after 1983 and closed the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) to new federal employees and Members of Congress. All incumbent Members of Congress were required to be covered by Social Security, regardless of when they entered Congress. Members who had participated in CSRS before 1984 could elect to stay in that plan in addition to being covered by Social Security or elect coverage under an 'offset plan' that integrates CSRS and Social Security. Under the CSRS Offset Plan, an individual's contributions to CSRS and their pension benefits from that plan are reduced ('offset') by the amount of their contributions to, and benefits from, Social Security.

· It is not true that Congressmen "continue to draw their same pay, until they die." The size of their pensions is determined by a number of factors (primarily length of service, but also factors such as when they joined Congress, their age at retirement, their salary, and the pension options they chose when they enrolled in the retirement system) and by law cannot exceed 80% of their salary at the time of their retirement.

· It is not true that Congressmen "paid nothing in on any kind of retirement," and that their pension money "comes right out of the General Fund." Whether members of Congress participate in the older Civil Service Retirement System or the newer Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS), their pensions are funded through a combination of general tax provisions and contributions from the participants. Right now, members of Congress in the FERS plan must pay 1.3% of their salary to FERS and 6.2% in Social Security taxes.

It is true that, if current pension levels and cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for Congress members continue to apply in the future, some former members of Congress could conceivably collect millions of dollars in annuities over the course of their lifetimes. However, the huge dollar amounts bandied about in e-mails like the ones quoted above are based upon extreme cases: those of politicians who entered Congress at a relatively early age, served for several decades, and retired while still young enough to potentially live for another several decades. These cases are the rare exceptions, based upon the hypothetical assumption that a few long-serving members of Congress who retired while in their mid-50s will live well past the age of 80. (Even the person who collects a modest salary/pension of $40,000 per year stands to take in a million dollars over the course of 25 years.)

As of 1998, the average annuity for retired members of Congress was $50,616 for those who retired under CSRS and $46,908 for those who retired under FERS. Those figures are quite good (about 2-3 times better than the pension collected by the average worker), but not quite the highway robbery these e-mails make them out to be.

News and politics

Inmarsat Satellite Launch Delayed

Inmarsat Group Ltd. said Friday that an "anomaly" in the final stages of the countdown forced the company to delay the launch of its first of three satellites that will make up a global broadband wireless network.

The London-based company said it hoped to launch the Inmarsat 4-F1 from Cape Canaveral in Florida between 4:42 p.m. and 4:58 p.m. EST. Friday.

The launch had been scheduled for the same timeThursday, but was postponed "after an anomaly was encountered in the final stages of the countdown at Cape Canaveral," the satellite operator said in a statement.

Click the link for the entire story

Science

executives want customer data

In a survey conducted by Teradata and Buzzback Market Research, 21% of the 192 senior executives interviewed say they desire information about future customer needs and preferences.

future customer needs and preferences 21%
consumer purchasing habits of competitive products 14%
future purchasing habits 11%
financial and investment information 9%
other customer data and information 9%
how customers decide where and what to purchase 7%
customer satisfaction and feedback 7%
general competitor information 6%
product information and product feedback 5%

To read the report go to www.buzzback.com

Marketing

multichannel marketing main points

• Multichannel customers are now a majority. More that 65 percent of 2004 holiday shoppers used more that one channel to purchase.
• Implementing effective multichannel strategy "entangles" customers and increases actual and future lifetime customer value.
• Customer migration, leading customers toward their most valuable channel, is the cutting edge of multichannel strategy.

Marketing

Saudi Newspaper: Al-Zarqawi Caught

Saudi newspaper Al Watan Daily has reported that the al-Qaeda terrorist organization's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has been apprehended according to Iraqi sources. The alleged arrest was made near the border Iraqi-Syrian border. The day after the story was published, al-Qaeda published a statement on an Islamist website denying the reports of Zarqawi's capture.


"Our sheikh Abu Musab, may God watch over him, is in good health. He is preparing for battles and is leading the fight in Iraq," read a statement from the Organization of Al-Qaeda of Jihad published on an Islamist website.


The authenticity of the message could not immediately be verified.

The Saudi paper said that the arrest of al-Zarqawi was completed ahead the recent visit of US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in Iraq. This visit took place early February.

Iraq

how to start a startup

Kevin Briody offers this article from his blog seattleduck. One lesson I learned is don't take yourself to seriously and have fun doing what you do, or what you are going to do.

click on the link for the whole story

Marketing

key providers of resource management and enterprise marketing management

• Aprimo - involved in delivering marketing projects that allows to communicate relevancy
• Assetlink- coordinates deliverables across multiple mediums
• Doubleclick - a one-stop shop to automate anything and everything
• Eloqua - designed to provide real-time management and optimization
• Epiphany - responds to customer events with real-time marketing tools
• Oracle - designed to handle complex B2B marketing and trading relationships
• Quaero - provides marketing effectiveness consulting services and CRM outsourcing
• SAP - gives better measurement capabilities with marketing analytics
• Saratoga Systems - offers easily configurable marketing products
• SAS - helps users understand campaign responses ans a leader in automation software
• Siebel - enables organizations to implement standardized processes and metrics
• Teradata - offers a range of analytics and profitability-analysis tools for overall strategy
• Unica - offers product enhancers and event-triggered campaign automation products
• Veridiem - links sales results to the marketing programs that drove them

Marketing

seven steps to smarter marketing

1. Clean up the mess - Scrub clean the data for a centralized database
2. Follow the leader - Indentify a single point person for any project
3. Present a unified front - Coordinate with the IT department
4. Keep your eye on the prize - Have both long-term and short-term goals and communicate
5. Curb the enthusiasm - Have realistic expectations. Don't expect too much too fast
6. Put it down on paper - Prepare a MRD (marketing requirement document) for needs
7. Be wary - Know what you are going to spend on a project and for what

Marketing

Dollar down

The dollar fell against the euro, heading to its biggest weekly decline in a month, and dropped versus the yen after a government report showed the U.S. trade deficit widened in January to the second biggest ever.

The deficit, the amount by which imports exceed exports, increased to $58.3 billion in January from a revised $55.7 billion in December, the Commerce Department said in Washington. The dollar/yen was trading at 105.85 at 10:35 A.M. Central Time in the U.S.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said yesterday his country needs to consider diversifying its foreign-exchange reserves, the world's largest. The comments helped send the dollar to a two-month low against the euro. Japanese investors are the largest foreign holders of U.S. Treasury securities.

China's central bank reduced the share of its currency reserves held in dollars and raised its holdings of euros last year. Seventy-six percent of China's reserves, the world's second largest, were in dollars last year, down from 82 percent in 2003.

Zend to make PHP enterprise ready

Zend Technologies, creator of the open-source PHP Web application development language is rolling out new software. Zend Paltform 1.1 is an integrated software platform that delivers sacalability and interoperability to PHP applications. Zend calls it PHP Intelligence-performance management, configuration control, and interoperability with JAVA applications. Zend platform is tightly integrated with Zend Studio IDE(integrated development environment) for PHP.

Former Marine says Hussein Capture Was Fabricated

A former Marine says the Saddam Hussein wasn't found in a hiding hole, but in a house instead. His story has holes in it however. Click on the link for details.

Consolidated Sports Media Group is entering the feature film industry

Consolidated Sports Media Group, Inc . (OTC: CSGU) is a publicly traded firm focused on developing and acquiring companies, which fill market specific niches in the world of sports. Consolidated Sports Media Group, Inc. has a very concerted mission to maximize earnings and growth. Our formula for growth is simple by design. CSMGI will magnify, enhance and capitalize on specific sports market segments. CSMGI is involved in a wide range of sports activities all with the common marketing and risk management strategies.

Sport is our passion, our challenge, and our choice. We all speak sports. We are a team of driven people who believe in working hard and thinking outside of a job description. We believe different opinions lead to better ideas. The bar is set high!

At CSMGI, there is an unbending commitment to excellence. At the end of the day, our people will dominate the highlight reel. "Team" is not just a word we just use; it's how we are able to do the things we do, day in and day out. Everyone contributes. We are competitive, yet supportive. Ultimately, the mentality exists that you would find in a champion sports team.

CSMGI has developed business strategies, set market trends and been abreast of technological innovations in media and telecommunications. We have contributed to new venture start-ups.

CSMGI is entering the feature film industry. Documentary films and their distribution is becoming a much broader business. Documentaries have gained popularity and the audiences for such films have steadily grown over the last five years.

If you would like more information on this opportunity contact CSMGI.

Neither the information nor any opinion expressed herein constitutes an offer or an invitation to an offer.

Tokyo Stocks Slip, Techs Sag After Data

By Mariko Katsumura
TOKYO (Reuters) - The Nikkei share average lost 0.85 percent and closed at a one-week low on Thursday as a weaker dollar and an unexpected fall in Japanese machinery orders knocked technology stocks such as Tokyo Electron Ltd.

Japan's core private-sector machinery orders, a gauge of trends in capital spending, fell 2.2 percent in January from a month earlier, worse than a median market forecast of a 2.4 percent rise and marking the second straight month of decline in the volatile series.

Analysts called the figures a bit disappointing, but many of them stuck to the view that Japan's economy is returning to growth after a mild recession in the last three quarters of 2004.

click on the link for the entire story

Vietnam reports second case of bird flu with no symptoms

HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnamese health officials said Wednesday the 61-year-old widow of a bird flu victim has also tested positive for the H5N1 virus, but showed no symptoms.

Earlier in the day, officials reported that an 80-year-old man - who had two infected grandchildren - also had the virus but did not fall ill.

The two cases raised concerns that avian influenza may be more widespread than originally believed.

Click the link for the entire story

Commodity Prices Rise to 24-Year High

Commodity prices surged to a 24-year high, led by gains in copper and crude oil, on concern that global economic growth is eroding inventories of raw materials faster than supplies can be replenished.

Copper reached a 16-year high, and oil rose near an all-time high in New York, extending the rally in the Reuters-CRB Index of 17 commodities to the highest since January 1981. The index gained 7.1 percent in February, the most in any month since August 1983.

The Reuters-CRB Index rose 2.79 to 312.16 at 11:45 a.m. in Chicago, the eighth straight gain. Commodity prices are up 15 percent in the past year, in part because of rising demand and a decline in the dollar, which makes commodities priced in the U.S. currency cheaper for buyers using the euro or yen.

commodity investment info


CLICK on the LINK for the whole story

Virtual Case File possibly DOA, the FBI must figure out how to modernize

The collapse of the FBI’s Virtual Case File project leaves the bureau facing complex choices about how to modernize case management for its workers and how to quell skeptics who question whether the bureau can avoid making the same management missteps.

Over the last five years, the FBI appears to have wasted $104 million on a system that it may never use—a loss that FBI director Robert S. Mueller III acquiesced to last month during a grilling on Capitol Hill.

The botched project has provoked lawmakers to question whether poor IT management is a problem stretching beyond the Hoover building.

interest rate hikes may not help the dollar

Economists are leaning toward the idea that even measured rate hikes are not going to help appreciate the U.S. dollar. The trade deficit in the U.S. is the leading indicator for the dollar's woes. The U.S. economy is still projected to grow at a 4 percent clip in 2005. The dollar needs some good news from home and thus far, recently this hasn't happened. Put this against good economic news coming from Japan and Germany, the dollar couldn't gain any upside momentum.

mike81859 comments on NEWS: Gas Prices in the U.S. Could Reach $2.15 Per Gallon This Spring

Oil had another good day with cold northeastern U.S. temperatures giving fundamental support. OPEC has announced that they will not step up production. Looks as if that gas could get up to 2.15. I am paying 1.99 now so I am not at all surprised. The weak U.S. Dollar is also helping oil to go up.

mike81859's comments to Forex Trading Fundamentals: Dollar Plays It Safe Amid PBoC Comments

I agree with the remarks about the Bank of Japan and the desire to keep the Yen lower. The stage is about set for a lower Dollar aginst the Yen. Many expect the U.S. trade deficit to increase. However with the price of oil going up, that could counter the Yen's strength.

Opec boosts output to keep oil prices in check

Opec said in a statement issued over the weekend that it was producing about 29.5m b/d, and said it would ensure that demand was fully met. The interpretation placed on the statement was that the oil cartel would keep quotas unchanged at 27m b/d at the group's meeting in Isfahan, Iran on March 16.

The rising oil price has been accompanied by increased interest among hedge funds in US crude futures. Speculative funds boosted their net long position, a bet on rising prices, in the West Texas Intermediate futures contract to 60,173 contracts, its highest level since June 2004, according to the latest data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The CFTC said gross long interest rose almost 10,000 contracts to 130,797, its highest level since early October.

aging bull

As of October 2004 the U.S. economy had entered its third year of another bull market. This is the fourth in twenty years. Typically, up cycles occur once in four-and-a-half years. Already indicators are showing a slowdown-the S7P 500 index, for example, posted only a nine percent gain last year, compared to twenty-six percent in 2003. Issues like the war in Iraq, a budget deficit going toward five hundred billion dollars, and a widening trade gap may keep the bull from charging.

2004 curency market report

2004 has been a monumental year in the currency markets. Dollar weakness was the predominant theme as the world's premiere reserve currency slid to a fresh all-time low against the euro, a nine-year low against the Swiss franc and a 12-year low against the British pound. 2004 also marked the beginning of the global tightening cycle, with many central banks raising rates for the first time since reducing them to extremely accommodative levels. The US current account deficit became a primary point of focus. I expect these themes to resonate into 2005, especially the earlier half. However, growth should also become a primary focus as the world monitors the strength of the US economic recovery.

WHO: Seven Vietnamese patients found infected with bird flu after samples retested

The World Health Organization says seven Vietnamese patients who initially tested negative for bird flu have been found to be carrying the virus after their samples were retested _ suggesting that avian influenza may be more widespread than originally believed.

All seven, who were first tested in January, have since recovered, WHO regional spokesman Peter Cordingley said Tuesday.

"There's no doubt. The WHO accepts that we are missing cases. It's quite possible that some people are falling sick and their symptoms are very light and they don't end up in hospital," he said.

"It's also possible that they have a very light viral load and Vietnamese tests may not be sensitive enough to pick it up," he said.

The WHO will wait to receive more details on the seven cases before adding them to the overall tally for Vietnam, Cordingley said.

Google moves Desktop search out of Beta

Google Inc. is taking its desktop search application out of beta on Monday with a release that supports more file formats and opens access to third-party developers.

Google Desktop Search 1.0 moves beyond the beta version's Microsoft focus by introducing support for applications from the Mozilla Foundation and America Online Inc.'s Netscape Communications.

While the beta only indexed Microsoft Outlook e-mail and Internet Explorer Web browsing history, the latest release also can search e-mail from the Mozilla Thunderbird and Netscape clients and browsing history from the Firefox and Netscape browsers, Google announced.

To make more desktop data searchable, the latest release adds indexing support for the full text of PDFs to existing support for Microsoft Office formats. It also indexes the metadata of video, images and audio, such as titles or artist information.

click on the link to read the entire story

SafeNet Announces Results of Second Annual Global Password Survey

Tony Caputo, SafeNet Chairman and CEO, said of the results, "This survey reinforces what we hear from customers about their information security concerns - that passwords alone do not provide sufficient security. That's why our USB token, smart card and other authentication products and solutions are in such demand."

"Whether employees are writing their passwords down, or frequently calling the internal help desk because they can't remember them, the organization can be at risk while experiencing loss of productivity. Technology today has solutions that are appropriate and affordable for every situation."

High Level Results:

-- Fifty percent of employees still write their passwords down

-- Over one-third of the respondents share their passwords

-- More than 80 percent have three or more passwords

-- Respondents use these passwords to access an increased number of applications: 67 percent access 5 or more; and another 31 percent access 9 or more

-- Forty-seven percent require their passwords reset at least once a year

The following is an analysis of 2004 results over 2003, with further breakout by geography.

Organizations' Security Policy

Of all surveyed, sixty-eight percent of organizations have enhanced their security policies by either requiring longer or more complicated passwords over a year ago. Companies requiring password changes three to four times a year increased by one percent, from 22 percent to 23 percent; from five to six times a year also increased by one percent, from 14 percent to 15 percent; while password changes seven or more times a year grew by three percent, from 27 percent to 30 percent. This indicates that a majority of organizations are more sensitive to security issues surrounding passwords.

Data specific to Europe reflects the same trends. France shows a four percent increase of employees required to change passwords five to six times a year, and a three percent decrease in employees who say they never have to change passwords. Germany has the largest change where five percent of employees must change passwords seven or more times, and also have three percent fewer employees never having to change a password. In the UK, there is a three percent increase changing passwords three to four times, a two percent increase with changes seven times or more, and a four- percent decrease of employees never having to change a password.

The survey also indicates a growing trend toward more complicated passwords. This is measured in two ways - either passwords with more characters, or passwords containing alphanumeric composition. Interestingly, there was a decrease of four percent where employees are required to create passwords with six or more characters, but a three percent increase in passwords of eight characters or more, from 19 percent to 22 percent. There was also a two percent increase, 27 percent to 29 percent, of companies requiring alphanumeric passwords.

France and Germany show a one percent increase in the need for alphanumeric passwords; and a higher increase in France, Germany and the UK all requiring passwords of eight or more characters, with France leading the way with a five percent increase, up to 26 percent.

Employee Password Behavior

Considering that 47 percent of the total respondents have between five and ten passwords to access business applications, the likelihood of employees either writing down or forgetting a password because of its length or complexity, or the fact the passwords change so frequently, sharply increases. In Germany, there is a five percent increase in the number of employees using nine or more passwords, up to 18 percent. In the worst case scenario using the results above, an employee might have 10 passwords, of eight or more characters, that change at least seven times a year. Roberta Witty, a vice president of research at Gartner, was quoted as stating the average user has 15 ID's and passwords, all expiring at different times.

When asked directly if they had ever shared a password, all respondents reflected an overall dramatic swing of the pendulum, with six percent more saying they have never shared a password, up to 65 percent; and six percent fewer saying they have, down to 35 percent. There was a two percent increase, moving from eight percent to 10 percent, in the number of people claiming to always write their password down because it is too complicated to remember.

There are some dramatic shifts in Europe. It would seem that German employees are most sensitive to password security. Employees showed improvement in all categories. In 2003, 16 percent of employees wrote passwords down two to three times, where in 2004 that percent dropped to nine percent. Two percent fewer wrote passwords down once, and the same percent decrease who wrote their password down more than five times. At the same time, seven percent more employees said they never write their passwords down, moving from 62 percent to 69 percent.

France and the UK are moving in the opposite direction. In France, there is a two percent increase in employees who write their password down two to three times, a three percent increase in four to five times, and a three percent decrease who say they never write their password down. British employees have increased by three percent the for the number who write their password down two to three times, a one percent increase in four to five times, a three percent increase who always write their password down, and a three percent decrease in those who say they never write their password down. Security is further at risk in the U.K considering employees there showed the greatest increase in the number of applications they access with these passwords - a six percent increase, up to 32 percent of employees, access nine or more applications.

While respondents in the U.S. showed a three percent increase in the number who never share a password, France has a nine percent increase, Germany an eight percent increase, and the UK a 12 percent increase.

When asked whether employees had to have their password re-set because they forgot or misplaced it, nine percent of employees said they had passwords re-set three to four times, and three percent said five to six times. In 2003, 56 percent responded that they never have had a password reset, and in 2004, 53 percent said they had not.

Employees in the UK increasingly forget their passwords or have their passwords reset. Six percent more employees in 2004 have passwords reset between one to six times a year, and six percent fewer say they never need to have their passwords reset.

The result to organizational information security

This survey indicates that organizations still face some serious security issues. Based on the statistics, in an organization of 1000 people, 500 people would write their passwords down and 350 people would share their passwords. Forty-seven percent, or 470 employees, would have passwords reset at least once a year. At an estimated cost of US$30-$50 per password reset, the company could minimally spend US$15,000.

SafeNet conducted this seven question e-mail survey in December 2004, polling the same 67,000 individuals in the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom as in its initial survey. The company had a four percent response rate. For copies of the full survey results, please go to http://www.safenet-inc.com/pwsurvey04

About SafeNet, Inc.

SafeNet is a global leader in information security. Founded more than 20 years ago, the company provides complete security utilizing its encryption technologies to protect communications, intellectual property and digital identities, and offers a full spectrum of products including hardware, software, and chips. ARM, Bank of America, NetGear, the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, Adobe, Samsung, Texas Instruments, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and scores of other customers entrust their security needs to SafeNet. For more information, visit www.safenet-inc.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

The statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are subject to uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are included but are not limited to those listed in SafeNet's periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update information concerning its expectations.

commodity popularity

Commodities are being talked about. After all...it's cool to trade commodities! All the hype is in commodities now because of expanding economies worldwide. Nations like China, the U.S., and Australia are clamoring for more commodities. See what this has done for prices. Mostly raw material prices have gone up. Many economists on the talking head shows are saying that this demand is to go for another two years. Then what? Think about this....could commodities become the next internet stock bubble? You folks look at the charts just like I do: short-term, mid-term, short-term. Ask yourself if you see a bubble expanding. Then ask yourself if you see the bubble popping. The "overboughts" (i.e. the traders who say this bull has to stop sometime soon) will most likely be overruled by the popularity of trading commodities. Brokers and analysts will ride the bull for entire "eight seconds"... and then what? The cowboy has to get off somehow and when he does....look out. Think of this...because you folks know as well as I, "somebodys" are going to get burned. The price starts going down and somebody says "it's only a correction".... and it looks like it is, but all of a sudden the bottom drops out. The big question to ask is when this could happen.

They've got it taped

In the booming surveillance industry they spy on whom they wish, when they wish, protected by barriers of secrecy, fortified by billions of pounds worth of high, high-tech technology. Duncan Campbell reports from the United States on the secret Anglo-American plan for a global electronic spy system for the 21st century capable of listening in to most of us most of the time.

TurboScout.com Makes Web Searching 20 Times Faster

A 21 year-old undergraduate from Singapore launched TurboScout.com, a
new search tool that helps Internet users to access and compare original
results from over 90 search engines across 7 categories on a single
web page, removing the hassle of retyping keywords into different search
engines.
Comparing results from different search engines like Google, Yahoo,
MSN Search, and Ask Jeeves is a common practice for many users. This is
because different engines use different ranking methods and thus no
single engine can give users exactly what they're looking for.
"That's where TurboScout.com comes in handy." Says William Chee,
founder of TurboScout.com. "Grown out of the frustration of typing and
retyping keywords into different search engines, I decided to create an online
search tool to get rid of these hassles and make such searching 20
times faster."

"Users who visit http://www.turboscout.com only need to enter keywords once, and getting original results from different search engines is as simple as clicking the engine's name. No more retyping keywords into different search engines."
Search engine marketing firms also find TurboScout.com an invaluable
tool for search engine optimization and finding out the rankings of their
clients' web sites in different engines.

Users who set their browser home page to their favorite site can even
customize TurboScout.com to load together with their favorite web
site.
This way, users can have all the benefits of TurboScout.com and
access to their favorite site at the same time.

In addition to web page search, TurboScout.com also helps users to
find images, search encyclopedias, check out latest news, look for
interesting blogs, find songs and videos, and even compare prices from major
online retailers and auction sites. With a growing number of users who search online, TurboScout.com is slated to become the preferred time-saving search tool for many across the globe.

computer disposal

The development of faster computers just barely keeps up with the need for faster ones. Computers are typically replaced every 3 to 4 years. Getting rid of the old computers can be a difficult process. Computers hold a massive amount of structured and unstructured data. Migrating this info can be a challenge. Environmental concerns to dispose of the old PC's in a friendly fashion can be a chore too. New IT systems are more popular now than compared with getting entirely new systems. The regulation of several industries hold companies responsible for disposing of the old computers. Hard discs need to be "swept" before disposal. This process erases all the data so that none of it will be held. Companies are turning to outsiders to do the job. Most hard drives are overwritten 3 or 4 times and this process takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes per machine. This way there is no risk for any data to be recovered.

tech doc weirdness

Check out the info darren barefoot has submitted to give us a laugh and get us to thinking about why we don't think.

osprey webcam

Washington DC students can view nesting ospreys via a Webcam located under the Frederick Douglas Bridge. Neval Thomas Elementary School students collaborated with the environmental group Earth Conservation Corps on the project.

Sun may have advantage in security

The Air Force Research LAboratory, which manages the Department of Defense Intelligence Information Sysytem Infrastructure, is currently shifting thousands of intelligence analysts' desktops to Sun Ray hardware running trusted Solaris. This initiative for the Defense Intelligence Agency is known as the DODIIS Trusted Workstation Program. The move will help the DIA, which manages 30,000 desktops across more than 900 sites, to consolidate to five data centers by late 2008.

Sun targets Red Hat

Jonathan Scwartz, predisent and ceo of Sun Microsystems said Linux will be running more systems next year than ever before. He also said there will be no one Linux because of the diversity of clients. He sees more technology bought that people will carry around in their hands than ever before. He sees a demand growth for services and service operators. Mr. Schwartz sees demographic changes, as we are no longer the target demographic of the Internet, but of particular demographics. He used the example of ringtones because that industry is now a 3 billion dollar industry. The idea of a PC run network gives no clue as to what the network is on. The network is really where people are and an evolution is taking place with mobile network devices.
Grids are growing and Mr. Schwartz sees the financial services and gas companies as the major grid building players.

dollar drops against the yen

The dollar dropped for a third straight week against the as economic numbers relaesed yesterday showed that job growth was not active in the U.S. Speculation had 300,000 jobs would be added to the U.S. economy, but that number fell short, coming in at 262,000. The jobless rate rose to 5.4 from January's 5.2% The numbers were just not there to keep supporting the dollar's bullish tone against the yen. The dollar finished at 104.78 yen, down 0.4% this week. Also helping the yen was speculation that Japan's economy is pulling from recession. This will help the foreign stock investment picture. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average had its best week this year, rising 1.8 percent to an eight-month high.

World is not ready for a flu pandemic

The world is poorly prepared for a future influenza pandemic, with only a dozen countries purchasing significant quantities of antiviral drugs and just 50 with contingency plans on how to cope with such an outbreak.

A Financial Times analysis on the eve of a World Health Organisation meeting on preparing for a pandemic shows widely differing approaches between countries that already have plans, and a sharp divide between richer countries and many poorer nations, creating splits that could hinder efforts to curb disease.

The analysis comes as concern rises about the likelihood of a pandemic linked to widespread outbreaks of bird flu in south east Asia, which have killed at least 42 people.

The WHO, which meets in Luxembourg on Wednesday with 52 countries from the European region, estimates that up to 8m people could be killed and 30m could be hospitalised by a pandemic.