The Russia Journal Daily::Economy - Russia to nationalize natural resources The semi-official version is that Mr. Khodorkovsky, Russia's richest man and YUKOS’ largest shareholder, has mostly himself to blame for his troubles. After all, he started to meddle in politics, supporting various opposition groups and breaking an implicit agreement between Russian oligarchs and President Vladimir Putin, according to the newspaper.

CNN.com - Girls pummel man who exposed himself - Oct. 31, 2003 A man described by authorities as a known sexual predator was chased through the streets of South Philadelphia by an angry crowd of Catholic high school girls, who kicked and punched him after he was tackled by neighbors, police said Friday.

BBC NEWS | Technology | World drowning in oceans of data

I read something interesting today. "Bush is the Devil himself, and you can't beat a Shaitan. Saddam will magically appear in cuffs two months before the elections and American soldiers will be at their homes partying by New Year's. The ground will start spitting up WMD's and al-Qaeda links the moment he touches the ground with his nose, and he will be the next american president."

Here's me making an effort at being politically conscious. At heart, I am actually extremely apolitical - I hate conflict and arguing moot issues, I mostly prefer to be couped up in my bubble listening to the Beatles; and not be bothered by all the suffering and injustice that goes on in the world. It is a daily struggle between the half of me that just wants to chill and enjoy what's going on in my surroundings--knowing fully well that my voice can't make an impact on people's lives halfway across the world--and the side that feels selfish and beligerant not speaking out against what I know is wrong...

Bush Won't Commit to Giving Classified Reports to 9/11 Panel Burn!

What Will Iraq Cost Bush? Burn Bush, burn.

With Cable TV at M.I.T., Who Needs Napster? AWESOME. "The quirk in the law that makes the system legal, Mr. Winstein said, has much to do with the difference between digital and analog technology. The advent of the digital age, with the possibility of perfect copies spread around the world with the click of a mouse, has spurred the entertainment industry to push for stronger restrictions on the distribution of digital works, and to be reluctant to license their recording catalogues to permit the distribution of music over the Internet.

So the M.I.T. system, using the analog campus cable system, simply bypasses the Internet and digital distribution, and takes advantage of the relatively less-restrictive licensing that the industry makes available to radio stations and others for the analog transmission."

Questions & Answers: Touch wood/knock on wood “What is the origin and true meaning of knock on wood or touch wood?” And an interesting addition - "A Jewish version says it originated during the Spanish Inquisition under Torquemada during the 1490s. During that time Jews were in flight and since temples and synagogues were built of wood, they evolved a code to use in knocking on doors to gain admission. Since this resulted in lives being saved, it became commonplace to knock on wood for good luck."

NYTimes - Apple's Latest 0.1 Adds a Lot This much is certain: In Panther, Apple has taken an already sparkling, super-stable operating system and made it faster, better equipped and more secure.

SONY TAKES ‘NO COMPROMISE’ APPROACH TO NEW SLIM CAMERA My next camera ;)

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Fool.com: VeriSign Out of Solutions [Motley Fool Take] October 17, 2003 As has happened with so many big-ticket Internet assets, the business known as Network Solutions was sold off relatively quietly yesterday. Authentication software vendor VeriSign (Nasdaq: VRSN) said Thursday morning it was selling Network Solutions to Pivotal Private Equity for $100 million -- $60 million in cash, a $40 million note, and a 15% stake in the company.

Backers of Medical Marijuana Hail Ruling

Fast Company | If It's Broke, Fix It Put yourself in your customers' shoes, see what's broken about what you do, and fix it. / Interesting fastcompany article. Typical Godin.

"What about tollbooths? If you live in the Northeast, you know that bridges almost always have tolls, which were originally put in place to pay for the bridges. But do we need tolls today? For every dollar collected on the George Washington Bridge, the government is effectively taxing the people waiting in line. That's at least several dollars in wasted time. You lose the time, but the government gains nothing. There's probably no less efficient way to collect a tax (and that's what a toll is) than making people wait anywhere from five minutes to an hour to pay a few bucks to use a small piece of road. There are dozens of ways to fix this and other things that are broken -- ways that save everyone time and money."