Wednesday, March 27, 2002

Bush signs campaign finance bill. US President George W Bush has signed into law a bill that limits the funding of political campaigns. [BBC News: world] The Incumbent Protection Act would go into effect after the November election, which will hopefully give enough time for the Supreme Court to overturn it before the next following election. comment () trackback ()  11:40:56 AM     Palestinians Walk Out at Summit. Angry Palestinian delegates walked out of an Arab summit session Wednesday after Lebanon prevented Yasser Arafat from addressing the conference live via satellite link from his besieged headquarters in the West Bank. [AP World News] Here's an explanation of why Lebanon blocked the speech. It's almost funny, in a scary sort of way. I feel sorry for the diplomats who have to take those nutcases seriously. comment () trackback ()  10:55:18 AM     Lumber: A 29 Percent Tax. American softwood lumber producers are the latest sob story.ÊÊThey have sought and received relief from the nanny state in the form of new tariffs.ÊÊAs The Washington PostÊreports, "The U.S. Department of Commerce today set duties as high as 29% on many shipments of softwood lumber from Canada."ÊÊIf Canadian lumber cost $100 yesterday, it costs $129 today.ÊÊIf youâre an American producer of softwood lumber, you are clicking your heels. [Ludwig von Mises Institute] Good reading for anyone wondering why houses are so expensive. comment () trackback ()  9:29:10 AM     Handspring to raise stand-alone Treo price by $50 [PDABuzz.com] This will make the price $600, which is ridiculously high. I have one of these for testing at work, and I'm not impressed. It replaces the Grafitti area of a normal palm with a QWERTY keyboard about the size of three postage stamps, and the phone aspect is nothing special. In addition, I consider the idea of a combination PDA/phone basically flawed, because these are two different functions which people will need to use at the same time. If someone wants a Palm device and a phone, they'd be better off buying a regular Palm model for around $150-200, and getting a cell phone for another $100. comment () trackback ()  9:12:57 AM     Arabs set conditions for Mid-East peace. Saudi Arabia unveils its peace plan for the Middle East at an Arab summit, but Palestinians walk out after Yasser Arafat's speech is barred. [BBC News: world] The article doesn't mention anything about why Lebanon (where the summit is being held) blocked the speech. I'm rather curious as to the reason. comment () trackback ()  9:04:27 AM

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