Senator pulls support for copyright bill - Tech News - CNET.com

"Opening this legislation to the digital realm has caused the virtually unanimous industry support behind it to evaporate, and it has raised a host of troubling liability issues that cause substantial harm to Internet service providers," Allen, who chairs the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force, said in a statement.

Google It!

An Alternative to Microsoft Gains Support in High Places

"Microsoft worries that some governments may all but require the use of Linux for their powerful servers, which provide data to large networks of computer users. For the most part, the battle does not involve the kind of software that runs on the typical computer user's desk.

"To curb such moves, Microsoft is backing an industry group called the Initiative for Software Choice. The group lists 20 members -- besides the chip maker Intel, a close ally, most of them small foreign companies or organizations. (Illegally stifling choice, of course, was precisely what the federal courts in the long-running antitrust case ruled that Microsoft did in the market for personal computer software.)"

Google It!

Senators Vote to Permit Pilots to Carry Guns

"The 87-to-6 vote followed lopsided House approval in July of a similar measure and left little doubt that pilots would eventually be armed. Both measures would let pilots volunteer to be deputized as federal law enforcement officers, a status that would override the gun control laws of states and foreign countries, supporters of the measure said. "

This is a travesty which, if it actually becomes law, will only make the skies more dangerous.  As the Times points out, even El Al pilots do not carry firearms.  We should definitely have more sky marshals, but if the pilot are using firearms, who will be flying the plane?  In addition, how much attention are pilots really going to pay to target practice and self-defense and safety courses? The Congressional stampede in favor of passing this measure shows the Congress to be even less reflective than usual.  It is a classic variation on the phenomenon that Beccaria described when he observed that the more impotent a government is to combat a problem, the more likely it is to pass draconian measures that give the appearance of action.

Google It!

Tech-Smart Kids Pay in Pounds

Google It!