Rhianna's Groovy Tarot BLOG: What's in The Cards?
Blog of Rhianna, a Groovy Fortuneteller: read about political & economic rants and rambles as Rhianna reveals crystal ball forecasts and tarot card predictions with a mystical twist on celebrity gossip, fortunetelling, current events, astrology, humor, entertainment, news and advice.
Tom wants a wife: Celebrity gossip - Celebrity Spy - NewWoman.co.uk
" Tom Cruise wants another wife! The Mission Impossible star has revealed he is currently looking for a third life-long partner.
The star is divorced from Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman and recently split from long-term girlfriend Penelope Cruz, but he’s still hoping to find wedded bliss."
Supermodel sparks beach stampede. 30/06/2004. ABC News Online: "Police in Italy had to come to Naomi Campbell's rescue when a crowd of up to 4,000 men swarmed a beach to catch a glimpse of her in a bikini."
| I'm a Moonflower. I only bloom at night and I'm pollinated by moths. Kinky, huh? This flower means "I dream of love" and I do. What bloom are you? by Polly_Snodgrass |
SEMIOTICS AND THE SCIENCE OF MEMORY, Paul Bouissac
"Semiotic models are indeed often introduced and delivered through a rhetoric of philosophical persuasion and the way some of these models have spread among fairly large constituencies owes a great deal to the charisma of a few individuals and the institutional pressures they create. Like sects, some semiotic models offer a theory of everything rife with tautological predications and self-fulfilling prophecies.
~snip~
Memory has been a topos of western philosophical discourse at least since Plato. If innate ideas constitute a sort of ontological memory, recoverable through anamnesis, signs are only shadows of shadows and what is learned and remembered through sensorial experience can only be accidental and superficial. The relative significance of these two kinds of memory -- ontological and accidental -- in Aristotle and Augustine is endlessly debated in the Middle Ages."
Semiotics for Beginners: Introduction - Daniel Chandler
"Semiotics represents a range of studies in art, literature, anthropology and the mass media rather than an independent academic discipline. Those involved in semiotics include linguists, philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, literary, aesthetic and media theorists, psychoanalysts and educationalists. Beyond the most basic definition, there is considerable variation amongst leading semioticians as to what semiotics involves. It is not only concerned with (intentional) communication but also with our ascription of significance to anything in the world."
Conspiracy Planet - Astrology - Astrology:Pluto, Fahrenheit 9/11, Bill Clinton Etc
"Not being an astro-meteorologist, I can’t give accurate weather forecasts but I can sure tell the climate of human interactions and global politics. There is some heavy shit flying out there. Generating fear and insecurity are the Saturn forces, marshalling their centurions and legions of protectors of the realm.
Where there is power, there is control of the masses. Mercury conjoining Saturn is control of the flow of information…or suppression of it."
Fortune teller jailed after asking for $5,000 sacrifice to lift curse, police say: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
"NORTH MIAMI BEACH – A fortune teller who needed to sacrifice another $5,000 to lift a curse on an undercover cop posing as a customer was arrested on a fraud count, police said on Thursday.
Detectives said there may be more victims to the alleged scam and are asking them to call the Police Investigations Division at 305-948-2940."
Heinz Kerry's family fortune worth estimated $1 billion
"Teresa Heinz Kerry, through a network of investments in blue-chip corporations, venture capital funds and municipal bonds, controls a family fortune worth an estimated $1 billion, an analysis of public records shows.
The $1 billion figure is double the estimates of her wealth that are widely cited in news stories about her husband, Sen. John F. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.
The couple would rank as the wealthiest to occupy the White House, far surpassing such storied presidential fortunes as the Kennedys'. "
Spyware Warrior
The Scotsman - Top Stories - Was da Vinci's lover the face of Mona Lisa?
"AN AMATEUR German historian believes she has found the answer to a mystery that has intrigued art historians for centuries.
Maike Vogt-Luerssen says 17 years of research have lead her to conclude that the Mona Lisa portrayed the love-sick Duchess of Milan, and not the wife of a Florentine merchant, as the Louvre, where the picture hangs, insists.
She believes the notoriously enigmatic smile is the hint of the noblewoman’s passion for the painter..."
Telegraph | Money | Could property investment become a house of cards?: "Rising interest rates coupled with renewed warnings that house prices may fall are likely to make some buy-to-let investors jittery."
firstamendmentcenter.org: news
"NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A federal judge has struck down a law requiring fortunetellers to post disclaimers on their shops and advertisements, calling the ordinance an unconstitutional restriction on free speech.
U.S. District Judge Robert Echols, ruling in favor of former tarot card reader Beth Daly and the American Civil Liberties Union, rejected the city of Dickson's argument that its law was intended to protect citizens from fraud.
Echols cited earlier rulings that determined 'predictions are only fraudulent if the speaker knows of facts that will prevent a prediction from coming true.'"
Reversal of fortuneteller - Sunday, 06/13/04
"Dickson had an ordinance that banned individuals from plying the trade of ''fortuneteller, clairvoyant, hypnotist, spiritualist, palmist, phrenologist or other mystic endowed with supernatural powers.'' Saying they wanted to protect citizens against fraud, Dickson officials said that Daly, the owner of the Curiosity Corner New Age Shop, could read tarot cards as long as she didn't charge for her services. Daly sued, claiming the ordinance violated her First Amendment rights.
Dickson has since replaced its ordinance with one that requires fortunetellers to post disclaimers at their place of business and in advertising. "
Britney Spears Engaged (again): "Britney Spears is engaged again but this time it is for real. The singer is planning to marry Kevin Federline, one of her dancers.
Lavasoft
InformationWeek > IT Employment > Study: Technology, Not Outsourcing Is The Biggest Threat To Jobs > June 25, 2004: "In the new millennium, as the use of intelligent computers increase, jobs will vanish, with several million expected to disappear over the next five to seven years, Cohen said. While less labor to do more work is great for business, there will be an impact on society as people find decent paying jobs harder to find."
Forbes.com: Update 8: Web Virus May Be Stealing Financial Data: "Users can search their computers for the files 'Kk32.dll' or 'Surf.dat' to see if they are infected. "
ic Wales - Rowling still writes in old haunts: "Multi-millionaire author JK Rowling still finds the best place to write her best-selling Harry Potter novels is a cosy cafe."
INSIDE JoongAng Daily: "Is semi-permanent makeup medicine or cosmetics? Doctors and beauticians are fighting over what both groups claim as their domain.
The new face of wealth wears lipstick | csmonitor.com: "Britain has long been known as a friendly place for high-achieving women. It's had a female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, and Queen Elizabeth II has ruled for 52 years. Now there's a new milestone: For the first time women make up a larger part of the wealthy population than their male counterparts."
DNA tests debunk sea monster myths. 24/06/2004. ABC News Online: "One of the myths of the sea has been skewered by gene researchers, who say that huge 'blobs' of weird tissue that have washed up on shorelines and sparked tales of sea monsters are in fact the remains of whales."
The Scotsman - S2 Monday - How Italy invented glamour
"Jennifer Lopez in her slashed-to-the-navel turquoise green floral gown? That was Versace. Mrs Beckham showing the world she’d stand by her man in a tight black corset dress? Unadulterated Dolce and Gabbana. Liz Hurley stealing the limelight in that safety-pin dress? Pure Versace once again. Italian couturebrings va-va-voom to an outfit. La Moda Italiana epitomises female beauty and sexuality, drawing the eye, hugging the curves, stopping the traffic."
Ofcourse, no tarot reader can give you legal advice and to seek such from the cards would be folly; however, there are two cards with prominent legal symbolism: IV The Emperor and V The Pope. The Kings of the court cards symbolize the law as well, but the Emperor and The Pope are special cases which merit analysis.
New York Daily News - Home - Tiffany is in a tiff over eBay fakes: "Let the Internet buyer beware: Some discount Tiffany jewelry hawked on eBay is apparently about as genuine as a $10 Rolex sold on the street."
Iran seeks to extinguish hubble-bubble pipes
"TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian authorities are trying to snuff out one of the country's favourite pastimes, the smoking of hubble-bubble water pipes, whose apple and citrus tobaccos waft through most Persian restaurants."
Recordnet.com
"Telecommunications giant Verizon Communications Inc. has been using adware for nearly two years to draw prospective customers to its high-speed Internet business. Claria Corp., the leading adware provider, names Sprint Corp., Motorola Inc. and online travel company Orbitz Inc. among its clients in a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Claria's chief rival, WhenU Co., says British Airways PLC and Bank of America Corp. are among the big-name companies that have used its service.
Advertisers like adware because they believe it works, delivering more customers at a lower cost than many other forms of online advertising."
Unholy Marriage: Spyware & Spam ? MarketingVOX
"MessageLabs reports that some of that intelligence may be coming from an evil union between spyware and spam. The email security firm said that it has evidence that some spyware programs harvest contacts for just this purpose."
"Spammers have found a way to bypass Outlook 2003's anti-spam security by embedding pornographic images into their emails."
Business News Article | Reuters.com
"CHICAGO (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday said a lawsuit that charges Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) discriminated against women in pay, promotions and training can proceed as a class action.
Attorneys for the six lead plaintiffs said it was the largest civil rights class-action case in U.S. history. "
Marziano da Tortona: Inventor of the Tarot?
"The amazing thing is that Marziano actually wrote a book to go with this deck of cards. In the book, he describes the structure of the deck, and then goes into great detail about each of the classical deities, what they represent, and how they are depicted on the cards. This was the first ever 'companion book' for a deck of cards, and it is sitting in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris to this day! Not surprisingly, it does not give divinatory meanings. But interestingly, neither does it gives the rules of a card game. The focus is on the allegorical meaning of the pictures and their proper ranking."
Groovy Pictures: Extracting sound from images of old audio recordings: Science News Online, May 29, 2004
"Songs and words preserved on antique vinyl records and wax cylinders become more precious with each passing day. They also grow increasingly fragile and are especially vulnerable to damage if played.
Now, researchers using optical-scanning equipment have made exquisitely detailed maps of the grooves of such recordings. By simulating how a stylus moves along those contours, the team has reproduced the encoded sounds with high fidelity."
‘Hippie Dictionary' defines groovy era
"The 1960s and '70s were a trip: bad as in good, heavy as in deep, cosmic as in far-out, high as in clean out of sight.
Everyone was an individual and everyone wore bell-bottoms, beads, granny glasses, sandals, fringe, headbands, peace symbols, tie-dye shirts and flowers in their hair."
Eagles rush prompts extra shows
"A box office rush for Eagles concert tickets has prompted tour promoters to add an extra show in Sydney and Melbourne...Internationally, the Eagles have sold more than 120 million albums with five number ones, four Grammy Awards, and five number one singles."
Designtechnica News - Mozilla 1.7 Web Browser Download - Your source for digital cameras, laptop computers, computer hardware and new technology: "Mozilla's latest browser isdesigned for compliance, performance and portability. Aren't they all designed for this? You can download it at the Spyware FREE MajorGeeks.com site."
Indictments of Enron's Lay Expected Soon
"HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors are expected to ask a federal grand jury to indict former Enron Corp. chairman Ken Lay within two weeks on charges related to the company's 2001 collapse, a newspaper reported on Saturday."
Prevx Home, is freely available: "With an estimated one in three PCs falling victim to spyware, home users can now protect their systems for nothing, claims Prevx"
Technology News: Software: Spyware Legislation Wins House Panel OK
"Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) associate director Chris Hoofnagle said Congress is likely to pass spyware legislation this year, especially considering that the threat, unlike spam or viruses, often goes undetected on people's computers. 'I think this bill has some momentum because the extent to which computers are infected by spyware is very high,' Hoofnagle told TechNewsWorld."
“I was shaking my cuchi cuchi before she was born” [said Charo]
"Already calling it the surprise entertainment event of the summer, promoters announced this morning that Spanish singer, dancer and actress Charo will replace Britney Spears on this summer’s 'Onyx Hotel Tour'."
"The appeal of this show, though, combines the game itself with celebrity banter. Unlike some of the Vegas tournament shows, this one makes very clear that the celebs are supposed to be entertaining."
"Football fans have been advised not to borrow money from loan sharks to place bets on Euro 2004 matches in the hope of making a quick buck.
George Town OCPD Senior Asst Comm II Mohd Ali Mohd Yusuf said the odds were always on the bookies’ side.
'I have never come across a punter making a fortune this way,' he added yesterday.
SAC Mohd Ali said some of bookies were also loan sharks, who offered loans to 'regular customers' to enable them to bet on matches. "
Bet the house on equities?
"In a report this week from London, Deutsche Bank joined the list of global investment banks calling for an “overweight” rating on global equities. It also called for a similar rating for cash, but for an “underweight” rating on global bonds.
Earlier, in a report from New York, Prudential Financial said it expected a global stock market boom to be fueled by “super money” over the next 12 months. Prudential said “super money” - sum of the US monetary base and foreign reserves held by international central banks - “would drive the global stock market in general,” and in particular, the materials, energy, industrials, and technology sectors. "
Money: "New legislation [in the UK] could threaten the profits of gaming companies, says Jenne Mannion"
Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Bush Campaign Fortune Hits at Least $218: "Bush long ago surpassed the presidential record of $105 million he set in 2000, in part thanks to a doubling of the individual contribution limit to $2,000 under a new campaign finance law. Every dollar he raises now sets a record."
FresnoBee.com: Metro: Fortune in the Cards: "Bidding on eBay may top $100,000 for Fresno man's prized basketball card."
Ananova - Madonna talks about her new name
"Madonna has revealed why she's changed her name to Esther.
She says she has adopted the ancient Hebrew name to get away from the energy of her mother who was also called Madonna."
Health News Article | Reuters.com
"NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who delay having a child until their late 30s can't necessarily rely on artificial techniques to help them become pregnant, a new study shows. The author says that assisted reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization cannot compensate fully for the loss of fertility that occurs with age."
Entertainment News Article | Reuters.com: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mel Gibson, whose controversial film 'The Passion of the Christ' paid off big at the box office, is the year's most powerful celebrity, according to Forbes magazine's Celebrity 100 power rankings."
Internet Archive: Wayback Machine
"About the Wayback Machine:
Browse through 30 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago. To start surfing the Wayback, type in the web address of a site or page where you would like to start, and press enter. Then select from the archived dates available. The resulting pages point to other archived pages at as close a date as possible."
Playing Card Museum / Old German Decks
Is vasopressin the secret?
"For centuries, the difference between a bed-hopping Casanova and a dull but devoted spouse has been considered a matter of moral choice.
Not any more. Researchers have found that red-blooded Lotharios and lovers of pipes and slippers could be distinguished by a single gene.
The role of the 'love gene' is linked to a hormone in the brain, called vasopressin, which controls the sense of pleasure."
NewsFactor Network - Wireless Networking - Cell-Phone Virus: A Taste of Things To Come?: "Cabir may have made its mark as the first virus to target cell phones, but security experts are not squirming over the feat yet. The era of the harmless or inconvenient virus is over, and there is little to gain from fooling with cell phones, relative to the riches that can be plundered by attacking PCs. "
BW Online | June 16, 2004 | Personality Profiling: Shrink to Fit?
"As more entrepreneurs use psychological testing to screen hires, psychologist Ben Dattner warns against putting too much weight on the results ...The most popular tests place people into categories, including Myers-Briggs, the Kolb Learning Style Inventory, and the Thomas-Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument."
Health News Article | Reuters.com
"LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have developed a method that aims to predict how fast a woman's biological clock is ticking and when she is likely to go through menopause.
By measuring the volume of ovaries with ultrasound, researchers in Scotland said Thursday that they can predict the reproductive age of a woman aged 25 to 51, or how many eggs she may has left, which could dramatically change fertility treatments."
Fear that Australia's koalas face extinction
"SYDNEY (Reuters) - Koalas, an iconic symbol of Australia, face extinction as rapid urbanisation along the eastern seaboard destroys their fragile habitat, environmental activists have warned.
The Australian Koala Foundation has written to the government urging it to declare the koala a vulnerable species after a survey of 1,000 koala habitats found 30 percent no longer had a koala in them and 60 percent had suffered widespread destruction.
'I truly believe that in my lifetime the koala will become extinct unless we do something,' Deborah Tabarat, executive director of the foundation, told Reuters.
Koalas are protected by law but the eucalyptus trees they call home and which provide their only source of food are not."
Technology News Article | Reuters.com
"For most consumers, 'ChoiceMail Free' should work just fine. It can be downloaded from http://www.DigiPortal.com"
SouthFlorida.com | CELEBRITY NEWS: "Jennifer Aniston is reportedly pregnant with her first child by husband Brad Pitt."
CBS News | Singer Morissette Gets Engaged: "The 30-year-old singer says her boyfriend, actor Ryan Reynolds, has asked her to marry him, according to Us Weekly magazine. The couple hasn't set a date yet.
HISTORY OF GYPSIES
"Aside from these labor-oriented functions, another activity in which the Gypsies have participated is entertaining. They danced, sang, and played musical instruments. However, the form of entertainment for which the Gypsies are perhaps the best known is fortune-telling. Taking advantage of the superstitious belief that they possessed magical powers which enabled them to see into the future (Mayall, Gypsy-Travellers 49), Gypsy women sold fortunes at fairs and made considerable profits. They read palms and tarot cards, and cast charms and spells. In nineteenth-century England, fortune-telling was the equivalent of the modern-day horoscope (Mayall, Gypsy-Travellers 50) and taken as seriously by many. Others who considered fortune-telling foolish and unrealistic dismissed it as an easy way for the Gypsies to make money. However, fortune-telling was an important part of Gypsy tradition."
Entertainment News Article | Reuters.com
"NEW YORK (Billboard) - Australian rock band INXS, which lost its singer, Michael Hutchence, to suicide in 1997, will be at the center of a new reality show called 'Rock Star.'
The latest show from Mark Burnett, the creator of such reality hits as 'Survivor' and 'The Apprentice,' will see a new lead singer chosen for the veteran combo."
USATODAY.com - Report: U.S. won't create do-not-spam list: "WASHINGTON (AP) ?4 The Bush administration will not create a national do-not-spam registry to discourage unwanted e-mails, saying using current technology to do so might generate even more unsolicited sales pitches across the Internet, according to documents obtained Tuesday."
Fast-food beef tacos blamed for multi-state E coli outbreak
"Thirteen people from Arizona, California, and Nevada who ate beef tacos from a national fast-food restaurant chain in 1999 became infected with Escherichia coli, according to a study in the June 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.
Further information on E coli and other foodborne illness is available at http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/3629.html - contents (for healthcare professionals) and http://www.fightbac.org/main.cfm (for the general public), said Dr. Jay.
Founded in 1979, Clinical Infectious Diseases publishes clinical articles twice monthly in a variety of areas of infectious disease, and it is one of the most highly regarded journals in this specialty. It is published under the auspices of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Based in Alexandria, Va., IDSA is a professional society representing more than 7,500 physicians and scientists who specialize in infectious diseases. For more information, visit http://www.idsociety.org. "
Orange cauliflower to debut at stores - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - June 15, 2004: " In addition to its unusual color, the orange cauliflower combines a flavor nearly indistinguishable from that of traditional varieties with a higher nutritional value, containing more than 25 times more vitamin A than white cauliflower. "
'Under God' remains in Pledge - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - June 15, 2004
" Schoolchildren are allowed to abstain from saying the Pledge, Justice Rehnquist added, but 'to give the parent of such a child a sort of 'heckler's veto' over a patriotic ceremony willingly participated in by other students, simply because the Pledge of Allegiance contains the descriptive phrase 'under God,' is an unwarranted extension of the establishment clause.' "
Madonna serves up dull inventions -- The Washington Times
"The mother of reinvention seems more like a master of recycling these days. Madonna, the erstwhile Material Girl-turned-Britney-Spears-mentor, dropped by the MCI Center Sunday night for the first of two District stops on her Re-Invention Tour '04.
Unlike her last tour, Madonna obliged with a healthy dose of fan favorites, from 'Like a Prayer' to 'Into the Groove.'
What stood out for those who have tracked her career through its many phases -- virgin, less than virgin, bad actress and children's book author -- is that today's Madonna isn't exactly sure who she is."
J-Lo’s Marc is a cheat - Celebrity gossip - Celebrity Spy - NewWoman.co.uk
"Jennifer Lopez better beware of her new hubby’s roving eye, according to his ex-fiancee.
Marc Anthony’s ex, Debbie Rosado, told the Sunday Mirror that Marc is likely to break Jen’s heart. She says he cheated on her and on other girlfriends."
UK Surfers Love To SEARCH: "The latest study into Internet trends by comScore has found that UK Internet users are among the most active search engine users in the world, beating the USA"
EBay's PayPal to settle lawsuit
"SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - PayPal, eBay's online payment system, has said it will pay $9.25 million (6.4 million pounds) to settle a federal class action lawsuit.
In their 2002 lawsuit, which resulted from the consolidation of two separate cases filed in federal court in Northern California, some PayPal customers alleged that the company did not appropriately communicate about customer transactions and did not appropriately process limits that were placed on some customer accounts."
New copyright grants artists greater license
"The idea behind Creative Commons licenses is to give musicians the freedom to release their work to people who want to disseminate it or to remix the music and try something new, Lessig said. Artists choose how they want to share the work, specifying whether they want credit for reuse, whether they want to be paid for commercial use or whether it is acceptable to change it.
'This is a different way of spreading or building upon musical works,' Lessig said.
Lessig, who says that copyright and patent law is too restrictive, is the author of 'Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity,' which he has made available on the Internet for free. The bound version from Penguin Press costs $24.95. He has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court against extending the length of time that copyrights cover original works, a period that lasts 95 years in the United States, and is an advocate of open-source software, which is distributed freely on the Internet."
Tokyo, London top list of costliest cities - The Washington Times: Business - June 14, 2004
"LONDON (AP) — The weak American dollar and strong European and Asian currencies helped make Tokyo and London the most expensive cities in the world, according to a survey released today.
American cities were absent from the top 10, with the most expensive U.S. city, New York, dropping two spots from last year to 12 in the survey of 144 urban areas conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting."
Some campaign ads give a rosy employment picture. The crystal ball and Reuters show a somewhat murky outlook.
Reuters Recommends News Article | Reuters.com: "That's an extra 5.96 million people, in addition to the 8.2 million 'officially' unemployed, who are waiting on the sidelines and may at some point step back into the labor force.
Although it receives little notice, the adjusted jobless rate has important implications for Federal Reserve policy-makers because it suggests the job market will not tighten as quickly as some in the financial markets believe."
Japanese or Korean What Language Are You?
Take the quiz: "Are you an independent thinker?"
Take the quiz: "Are you CUTE, HOT OR BEAUTIFUL ? FIND OUT."
Warning over China's aging populace: "Implementation of the one-child policy in the past decades prevented fast population growth, but it also expedited the aging process."
1010wins.com
"NEW YORK (AP) -- Pop star Britney Spears is a new crossover artist in the beauty business. The 22-year-old singer will launch a new fragrance, Curious, this fall. A blend of white flowers and vanilla-infused musk, the fragrance is part of a licensing agreement with Elizabeth Arden, the company announced Thursday."
Dancers find its hip to be square. 13/06/2004. ABC News Online: "The Australian Square Dancing Convention in Hobart has attracted 750 participants from as far afield as New Zealand, Japan and England."
Parents Group Slams Mattel's "Imaginary Friend"
"DETROIT, Michigan - Parents Against Misleading Marketing, an organization combating child-focused advertising, is speaking out against Mattel's latest offering, 'My Imaginary Friend'. 'It's an empty package! That's it, just a package,' complained PAMM spokesman Arthur McGillikan, 'But the ads make it look like you're getting a buddy in a box. My daughter still doesn't understand why I won't buy her one, she thinks I'm the bad guy.' The group has organized numerous protests in Michigan and Ohio and hopes to take their message nationally through the summer."
Oddly Enough News Article | Reuters.com: "LONDON (Reuters) - An angry buzzard is terrorizing a quiet English country road by dive-bombing passing cyclists, newspapers reported on Friday."
Oddly Enough News Article | Reuters.com
"ROME (Reuters) - A giant billboard advertising lipstick at the top of Rome's Spanish Steps prompted the city council to clamp down on advertising rules on Thursday in a bid to protect historic sites from being marred by commercialism.
The final straw that sparked widespread outrage and the anger of Rome's Mayor Walter Veltroni was the recent appearance of an advertisement for cosmetics firm L'Oreal on the 16th century facade of the church of Trinita dei Monti."
Exploit Code Publicly Available for Microsoft Internet Explorer Cross
"There are five security zones used by IE and Outlook: Local Machine, Intranet, Trusted, Internet and Restricted. You can modify the Active Scripting settings and other options in all zones (1 through 4) except Local Machine with the Internet Options Control Panel. Active Scripting can be manually disabled in the by modifying several registry entries: [\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\0] Change the value of '1004' (DWORD) to 3. Additional technical information on Security Zones may be obtained from Microsoft's websites: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315933 http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/security/szone/overview/overview.asp Further technical details regarding this proof of concept and vulnerabilities may be obtained from: http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/713878 http://secunia.com/advisories/11793/ http://lists.netsys.com/pipermail/full-disclosure/2004-June/022331.html http://62.131.86.111/analysis.htm AusCERT will continue to monitor these vulnerabilities and any changes in exploit activity. "
The exploit by-passes security controls of IE to execute code in the "Local Machine" zone instead of the "Internet" zone.
"All versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer are vulnerable and there are currently no
patches available.
AusCERT advises users and sites running Internet Explorer, to evaluate their exposure to
these vulnerabilities and to apply the following mitigation to reduce the risk of exploitation
of these vulnerabilities:
o Disable Active Scripting and ActiveX in the "Internet" and "Local
Machine" domains.
o Apply the Outlook Email Security Update in order to open email messages
in the Restricted Sites Zone
o Disable the ITS protocol handlers in the registry.
o Use a different web browser."
Microsoft riled by adware scam - silicon.com: "The flaws could let any attacker with a website send an email message or an instant message with a link that, when clicked on by an Internet Explorer user, would cause a program to run on that victim's computer."
IE flaws open back door to adware - ZDNet UK News
"The flaws are apparently being used to install the I-Lookup search bar, an adware toolbar that is added to IE's other toolbars. The adware changes the Internet Explorer home page, connects to one of six advertising sites and frequently displays pop-ups -- mainly pornographic ads, according to an adware advisory on antivirus company Symantec's Web site...Other browsers available on Windows, such as Opera and Mozilla, do not contain the flaws."
Entertainment News Article | Reuters.com
"He was among the first artists to combine gospel with rhythm and blues, helping to create soul music. Both forms were steeped in the blues, but there had been very little crossover.
Church people were horrified by the sensuality of R&B. When gospel hero Sam Cooke went secular in 1956, he might as well have joined a satanic cult. It was no coincidence that Charles performed at Cooke's funeral eight years later."
Internet News Article | Reuters.com: "While the Internet has arguably increased the chances of meeting potential mates, it carries its own share of heartbreak and growing complaints about false profiles, bad behavior and ill-suited matches."
US News Article | Reuters.com
"Drawing on influences as diverse as Chopin and Sibelius, Tatum, Artie Shaw and Nat 'King' Cole, Ray Charles helped revolutionize popular music in the 1950s, leading the way for such performers as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and Sam Cooke and what was to become rock 'n' roll.
His 'I Got A Woman,' is widely considered to be the key that opened the door for a crossover of the black musical heritage into the white American musical mainstream."
Top News Article | Reuters.com
"For both [Reagan & Thatcher], the watchwords were tax cutting, smaller government, trickle-down economics and a rising tide lifting all boats. Thatcher sneered at Britain's welfare system, calling it the 'nanny state.'
Despite some economic improvements during their tenure in the 1980s, critics complained of a growing gap between rich and poor, parodying their right-wing theory as 'a rising tide which lifts all yachts.'"
The Fall of Soviet Communism in Central and Eastern Europe
CNET.com
Usability News - Three main Online User Modes - with Young People darting between - says Agency
"Online behaviour is primarily driven by pre-determined user modes, based on personality type but affected by other factors:
• Funseekers – go online to find new games, interact with friends. Switch around between sites quite easily in their search fo rnew and exciting things. Love interactivity.
• Enthusiasts – use the Internet to find out more about their offline hobbies. More likely to create or join communities to discuss their interests, and are collectors of information.
• Focussed – have a very specific idea of what they’re going online to do. Less able to be waylaid, functionality is the most important driver."
Remembering Ray Charles: 1930-2004 (HamptonRoads.com/Pilot Online)
Click on the button below [at the side of the article] to hear a selection from some of Ray Charles' hits, including "Wha'd I Say," "I Got A Woman" and "Georgia On My Mind."
The Beaumont Enterprise
"Charles won nine of his 12 Grammy Awards between 1960 and 1966, including the best R&B recording three consecutive years ('Hit the Road Jack,' 'I Can't Stop Loving You' and 'Busted').
His versions of other songs are also well known, including 'Makin' Whoopee' and a stirring 'America the Beautiful.' Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell wrote 'Georgia on My Mind' in 1931 but it didn't become Georgia's official state song until 1979, long after Charles turned it into an American standard."
Candy going low-carb: "Chicago-AP _ Call it Candy Lite.
The Ledger Independent:
"BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Ray Charles, the blind singer and piano player who erased musical boundaries with classic hits such as 'What'd I Say,' 'Hit the Road Jack' and the melancholy ballad 'Georgia on My Mind,' died Thursday. He was 73.
Blind by age 7 and an orphan at 15, Charles spent his life shattering any notion of musical boundaries and defying easy definition. A gifted pianist and saxophonist, he dabbled in country, jazz, big band and blues, and put his stamp on it all with a deep, warm voice roughened by heartbreak from a hardscrabble childhood in the segregated South."
Server Pipeline | News | Korgo Worm Threat Grows: "Like Sasser, Korgo exploits the Microsoft Windows LSASS Buffer Overrun Vulnerability, which was originally announced on April 13 in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS04-011. LSASS (Local Security Authority Subsystem Service) provides an interface for managing local security, domain authentication and Active Directory processes. Unpatched computers running the Windows 2000 and XP operating systems are thought to be at most risk of infection by Korgo."
Money Center - The Business Journal (Minneapolis/St. Paul): "...it's more important than ever to recognize the telltale signs of health insurance fraud. As an aid to consumers, the Colorado Division of Insurance has recently posted a prominent new link on its home page to an article titled, 'Don't Get Burned by Insurance Fraud' (see www.dora.state.co.us/insurance/)."
Celebrating London's role in the international art market: "The biggest sale of Impressionist and modern art to be held in Britain in a decade is expected to make more than ?50m later this month.
Environmental Working Group || foodnews.org
Highest in Pesticides
These 12 popular fresh fruits and vegetables are consistently the most contaminated with pesticides — buy these organic.
• Apples
• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Cherries
• Grapes (imported)
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Potatoes
• Red Raspberries
• Spinach
• Strawberries
Lowest in Pesticides
These 12 popular fresh fruits and vegetables consistently have the lowest levels of pesticides.
• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Corn (sweet)
• Kiwi
• Mangos
• Onions
• Papaya
• Pineapples
• Peas (sweet)
EWG Issues || Mercury in Seafood
Health concerns for Lip Makeup
EWG Report || Skin Deep
"Cosmetics companies use approximately 10,000 ingredients in personal care products, most of which have not been safety tested, and many of which are linked to potential health risks."
Take the quiz: "What Celtic Diety are you?"
The Seattle Times: Personal Technology: Someone's watching you: Spyware likely hitching ride on your computer:
"Computer viruses are rampant and spam is epidemic. But the fastest-growing Internet malady is spyware, and chances are your computer is infected.
~snip~
Programs to help you with the spyware problems:
Lavasoft AD-aware (www.lavasoft.de): A highly regarded scanning and cleaning program. The company also sells a feature-rich version.
Spybot Search & Destroy (safer-networking.org): Consistently judged one of the top programs of its kind, Spybot roots out even the most shifty adversaries."
Science News Article | Reuters.com
"LONDON (Reuters) - Venus dazzled astronomers and stargazers around the globe Tuesday as it made it first transit across the Sun in more than 100 years.
Until 1:19 a.m. EDT, no living person had viewed the rare phenomenon first seen by British astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks in 1639.
From Sydney to the pyramids and western Europe, people armed for the occasion with pinhole cameras and special dark glasses gathered for the celestial show."
Fed to Act as Needed to Thwart Inflation
"The Fed has held overnight interest rates at a 1958 low of 1 percent since last June. But it is widely expected to bump them up by a quarter percentage point at the conclusion of its next meeting on June 29-30. Analysts expect that move to be the first step in a protracted rate-rise cycle.
Greenspan said financial markets have already been adjusting in anticipation of Fed action, contrasting the current period with the painful tightening cycle of 1994, when investors were caught off-guard by rate hikes."
Net operators warming to video ads | CNET News.com
"Several Web publishers, including About.com and iFilm.com, have started testing new video advertising technology from Eyeblaster, in a sign of further momentum for online commercials. Eyeblaster, which makes software to deliver graphics-rich online ads, said that it has signed up four Web publishers to test its new video advertising software, called the VideoClip Module. The software, which supports Windows Media and Flash-created content, lets publishers stream commercial clips directly into video broadcasts online, thereby earmarking new ad inventory."
Modern Astronomy: The Lives of the Stars
Star and stars portal for Sunnybank Brisbane Queensland Australia
WOKR-TV 13 ROCHESTER || NEWS
Tracking firm finds that 18.8% of U.S. Web visits were to 'adult' sites, 5.5% to top search engines.
Is the 3rd time the charm?: "Actress-singer Jennifer Lopez has married her current boyfriend, salsa singer Marc Anthony, barely five months after breaking her much publicised engagement to actor Ben Affleck, US Weekly has reported.
CNN.com - Tributes flow for Reagan - Jun 5, 2004: "LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The death of former President Ronald Reagan brought a wave of condolences from people around the world, all saddened with the passing of a man many considered an American hero for his work to end the Cold War."
Reagan Credited With Precipitating USSR Collapse: "MOSCOW (AP) -- He stunned the Soviet Union with his tough rhetoric, calling it an 'evil empire' whose leaders gave themselves the 'right to commit any crime.'
Take the quiz: "Which Playing Card Are You?"
Frequently Asked Questions
Predictions for 2004 Transit of Venus
NASA Tips For Observing Venus Transit of the Sun | SpaceRef Europe - Your Space Reference: "NASA invites you to safely view a rare celestial event, one not seen before by any person alive. On June 8, Venus will appear to cross in front of the sun as viewed from Earth. The last 'Venus transit' occurred in 1882. The next two Venus transits are on June 6, 2012, and Dec. 11, 2117."
The Christa McAuliffe Planetarium: "The Planetarium, located in Concord, New Hampshire, is a living memorial that combines Christa McAuliffe's dream of traveling through space with her dedication to teaching, and her belief that everyone should have the opportunity to 'reach for the stars'. Our shows blend computer generated effects, video, slides and music into an awe-inspiring experience. Education and entertainment mix in our 40 foot domed theater to delight audiences of all ages. Bring yourself, your family, your friends, or a group from your school or business to discover the wonders of the cosmos and our place in it."
United Press International: Analysis: Sic transit Venus: "WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- Next Tuesday, June 8, millions of Earth-based observers -- and one or two odd satellites -- will be following a tiny black silhouette as it appears to travel across the giant surface of the sun in just a few hours.
The Sun Herald | 06/05/2004 | Venus, sun, Earth to line up perfectly: "It won't be noticeable, for the most part, if you don't know it's occurring.
The Goldilocks economy - Jun. 5, 2004
XHTML, CSS and Javascript for fun and profit
css Zen Garden: The Beauty in CSS Design
Transit of Venus
"The Institute of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Wales Aberystwyth will be observing the transit of Venus on the morning of 8th June, using two computer-controlled telescopes mounted outside Aberystwyth Arts Centre. The views from the telescopes will be streamed live to this page and will be shown on screens in the Arts Centre. There will also be posters, flyers and informal talks covering the planet Venus, the Sun and Sun-Earth connections, the transit and the scientific advances resulting from transit observations."
Newsday.com - Health News/Science News
Rare celestial event, the transit of Venus, will be visible early Tuesday
Alignment of planets sends team to India
Psychic: Everyone can tap into ESP
ABCNEWS.com : Lewis Considers Seeing Pet Psychic
Edinburgh Evening News - Edinburgh - Become a psychic . . it's easy as ESP
"AT first sight, it may seem an impossible claim.
But a psychic setting up a practice in the Capital believes she can teach people the art of second sight.
Emma King runs Scotland’s first school for psychic development - and she is now on the lookout for people in Edinburgh to enrol in her class, which will start in the city in the next few weeks."
Opec chooses to keep oil prices high - AME Info FN
BBC NEWS | UK | Royal tribute to D-Day soldiers
Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Vatican: Be Careful on Denying Communion
"NEW YORK (AP) - A top Vatican cardinal told visiting U.S. bishops they should be cautious about denying Communion to Roman Catholic politicians who support policies at odds with church teaching, according to a news report.
Bishop Donald Pelotte of Gallup, N.M., said Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger spoke of proceeding cautiously on the issue, Catholic News Service reported. Ratzinger said he would like Vatican officials to meet soon with a U.S. bishops' panel reviewing how church leaders should interact with Catholics in public life."
Ample - stocks, shares, news, FTSE, online trading
"Decliners Elizabeth Arden took a 13 percent dive after the cosmetics company reported revenue that fell short of expectations, and concerns over near-term earnings clarity. Sales rose 4.5 percent over year-earlier levels to $140.8 million, but missed the average analyst estimate compiled by Thomson First Call of $146 million. The company also said it was changing its fiscal year end to June 30 from January 31, prompting King & Associates analyst Gary Giblen to say it will 'delay clarity on how successful the new launches are in the critical fall and holiday 2004 and Valentine's Day 2005 seasons.'"
The Spoof - A Paid Advertisment by George W. Bush
The Spoof - Lobsters become Hot new Hollywood Pet
British Airways was forced to cancel 32 flights: "A glitch in an aging air traffic control computer yesterday caused chaos for thousands of passengers as flights were delayed and, in some cases, cancelled."
Omaha.com:
"In order to get your body in top shape, experts recommend a combination of weight training, eating balanced meals (without cutting calories severely), and increasing aerobic intensity but not necessarily duration.
Weight training helps to preserve your muscle tissue, speed up your metabolic rate and increase the size of your muscles. Although you can't 'spot' train (exercise one spot on your body and have the fat melt away), you can increase the size of the muscle under the fat, which will make the fat appear leaner."
Dr. Koop- Junk Food Reigns Supreme in U.S. Diet: "A 1999-2000 analysis involving more than 4,500 adults found that three food groups -- sweets and desserts, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages -- comprised about 25 percent of calories consumed by the average American. Another 5 percent was attributed to salty snacks and fruit-flavored drinks, the study's authors said in a prepared statement."
Yo-Yo Dieting May Hurt Immunity
"June 3, 2004 -- If your attempts at weight loss often lead to yo-yo dieting, be careful. Too many drastic ups and downs could weaken your immune system, a new study shows.
It's a word of warning against fad diets -- and a vote for eating healthier and getting some regular exercise, experts say."
KFC: not exactly low carb
Magicians taking sides over new exhibit revealing Houdini secret | CP
"APPLETON, Wis. (AP) - How did Harry Houdini do his signature Metamorphosis escape, where he was handcuffed inside a sack, locked in a trunk and yet managed to switch places with an assistant on the outside?
Among other things, visitors learned, the trunk has a side panel that allows someone inside to sneak out."
Government Computer News (GCN) daily news -- federal, state and local government technology; Unsubscribe links: Spam killer or sucker list?
"The Federal Trade Commission, charged with enforcing these laws [i.e. opt-out links], would like for recipients to use these links to reduce the volume of spam. But the common wisdom among systems administrators and security experts is that you should never—ever—respond in any way to spam. It only encourages them."
CD sales up thanks to Tipper Gore's explicit lyrics push
"'Hey, I'm glad they're there. They increase our business,' said Pissed Off Records president Brent Kendall. 'Most kids, they want something rebellious. They're not going to grab a Disney CD..."
 Wood Chess Set With Sheesham/Boxwood Chess Pieces (3.75" King) And 17.25" Walnut/Maple Board This is a good quality, larger size chess set, comprising the combination of our
The chess pieces have French style knights and felted bases. We say: Board Dimensions: 17.25" x 17.25" x 0.5" |
 Florence Style Metal Chess Pieces With 3.25" King - $ 119.95 This Florence (Italian) style chess set has unusual, decorative pedestals for the pieces. We say: King: Height: 3.25", Base Width: 1" |
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