February 9, 2003

U.N., Iraq Fail to Agree on Key Inspection Issues Washington Post - The top U.N. arms experts said tonight that they were unable to reach agreement with Saddam Hussein's government on several key weapons issues. Specifically the UN says he can't have them, and he says he can! 8:20:54 PM

The choice for Iraq's rag-tag army: be killed by the US or by Saddam The Guardian - The choice for Iraq's rag-tag army: be killed by the US or by Saddam Luke Harding in Chamchamal hears a defector's tale of low morale Saturday February 8, 2003 The Guardian For Private Abass Shomail the war in Iraq ended before it had even begun. Two days ago Abass slipped away from his sentry post and started running in darkness across the muddy frontline. He stumbled past the newly dug trenches designed to protect Iraq's conscript army from American bombardment. He kept going. Eventually he found himself in a rolling landscape of green hills and pine trees, the Kurdish self-rule enclave in the north of Iraq. Abass was the first deserter from the Iraqi military to cross into Kurdistan for several months. Yesterday, in an interview with the Guardian, he gave a unique insight into the condition of the Iraqi army on the eve of an imminent and massive US attack. 12:39:26 PM

Indictment: BC hacker stole IDs, spent freely Boston Globe - A Boston College senior majoring in computer science allegedly hacked into dozens of campus computers, stole personal information about thousands of students, staff, and faculty, and used it to charge food, books, and laundry service to other students' school accounts, according to an indictment handed up yesterday by a Middlesex County grand jury. 12:33:08 PM

Microsoft Provides SQL Server Patch Kit As Experts Question Patch Practicality InternetWeek.com - In the wake of the Slammer worm, Microsoft posted to its Web site three tools designed to help users identify vulnerable instances of SQL Server 2000 on their network. 12:31:32 PM

Jackson defended by mom of boy who sleeps in his bed Edmonton Journal - The mother of the 12-year-old boy who shares Michael Jackson's bedroom has defended the singer and filed a complaint about Martin Bashir's documentary to broadcasting officials. 12:27:38 PM