October 18, 2002

Ex-aide condemns Arafat's handling of intifada Guardian Unlimited - Yasser Arafat has been criticised by his former security chief for failing to grasp the chance to establish an independent state, even on unfavourable terms, and for the attacks on Israeli civilians. Muhammad Dahlan, who resigned last week as Mr Arafat's national security adviser and returned to his base in Gaza, was quoted by the London-published Arabic daily Al-Hayat condemning the leadership for causing Palestinians to suffer for no perceivable gain 10:21:51 PM

What will those crazy record labels do next? CNN - Despite the neutering of Napster, online piracy of music continues unabated. And we all know who the culprit is: rock critics. At least that's the assumption behind a series of moves that makes it more difficult for reviewers to hear new music in advance without jumping through increasingly unwieldy hoops. The latest tactic: Epic Records has taken to sending selected members of the press advance CDs of Tori Amos and Pearl Jam glued into Walkmen. That's right: Even as we speak, record company interns are getting Superglue all over their collegiate hands making sure personal CD players stay shut. 10:13:08 PM

Hate-crime death probed in California Salon - The killing of a 17-year-old boy who dressed as a girl was being investigated Friday as a possible hate crime by police who say they were led to his shallow grave by one of four young men arrested on suspicion of murder. 10:10:20 PM

Sharp market swings could signal Wall Street's recovery Star - As unpredictable as Wall Street appears these days, there might be some hope behind its whipsaw price moves. Analysts say the volatility might be what's needed for a slow, truly meaningful switch from bearish to bullish sentiment. 10:08:02 PM

Winnipeg Free Press staff vote to end strike Toronto Star, Canada - WINNIPEG (CP) - Striking employees at the Winnipeg Free Press voted in favour of a new contract offer Thursday night, ending their walkout after eight days. The three-year agreement gives the majority of the inside workers pay increases of two per cent in each of the first two years, and 2.25 per cent in the third year, said union spokesman Paul McKie. Editorial and advertising workers were scheduled to be back at work Friday. Others are to return over the weekend as production returns to normal. The first paper will be on the street Sunday morning, McKie said 4:25:12 PM

Microsoft Tops Forecasts Wired News Microsoft easily topped Wall Street forecasts for its latest quarterly earnings, turning in a hefty profit fueled by strong sales of its Windows XP operating system. The company reported a net profit of $2.73 billion, or 50 cents a share, after taking a charge of $291 million, or 5 cents a share for investment losses. Revenue for the quarter totaled $7.75 billion. 4:20:09 PM

Bogus Yahoo Email Picks Up Credit Card Numbers Reuters - Yahoo has announced that some of its customers had been tricked into giving their credit card numbers to an unaffiliated third party that had posed as Yahoo in a mass e-mail. Yahoo, which has a billing relationship with more than one million customers who pay for such services as expanded e-mail and online matchmaking, sent out its own mass e-mail Thursday morning advising customers not to respond to the bogus request. 4:12:09 PM

Can a Hacker Outfox Microsoft?. Cypherpunk Lucky Green files a defensive patent to prevent the software giant from using Palladium to block piracy efforts. Analysts say it just might work. By Pete Rojas. [Wired News] 8:40:44 AM

All-Californ ia World Series brings back memories of '89 quake FOX Sports -The last time two California baseball teams met in a World Series, a deadly earthquake rocked Northern California. 8:33:41 AM

Vatican: Sex abuse policy needs 'greater precision' CNN -The Vatican formally announced Friday that an agreement reached by United States Roman Catholic bishops on how to deal with priests accused of pedophilia must be amended because of conflicts with church law. The Vatican seems to be seeking to protect the rights of accused priests. Well it would seem to me that they have been doing that very well for a long time.  It is now time to balance the scale. More on the same subject:        Pope expected to tell bishops to ease sex-abuse policy - Washington Times        Pope Meets With Top US Bishops - Austin American Statesman        POPE-GREGORY Oct-17-2002 (730 words) With photos. xxxi - Catholic News Service 8:25:24 AM