March 13, 2003

Saddam Hussein gives $225,000 to families of Palestinian "martyrs" in Gaza. (NJ.com: International) GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- A defiant Saddam Hussein, under intense international scrutiny for possible ties to terrorism, this week distributed $225,000 to 21 families of Palestinians killed in fighting with Israel, including $25,000 to the family of a Hamas suicide bomber. [Palestine & Israel News] 9:29:51 PM

Adobe's Three-Ring Acrobat Forbes - In an effort to swing the market back in his direction, Adobe Systems Chief Executive Bruce Chizen is turning his Acrobat software into more of a crowd pleaser. 8:35:22 PM

UN human rights chief slams Guantanamo 'black hole' ABC Online - The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has criticised an American court ruling that has found Guantanamo Bay detainees are not protected by United States law. I wonder if they were allowed to inspect Taliban, or Iraqi prisions? 8:33:52 PM

Who's Googling you right now? CNN - Savvy Web users are using Google.com and other powerful Web search tools to track down or keep tabs on long-lost acquaintances -- be they former lovers, classmates, friends or enemies. These searches, which once might have required hiring a private detective, have become increasingly easy as the amount of data available on the Web grows. Sites like AltaVista.com, which indexed about 20 million Web pages when it was founded in the mid-1990s, now has information on billions of pages. 3:35:59 PM

CNN Powell rejects notion that US policy driven by Jewish interests CNN - Secretary of State Colin Powell flatly rejected on Thursday any suggestion that the Bush administration's confrontation with Iraq was engineered by Israel or American Jews. Powell told a House Appropriations Subcommittee that the drive to compel Iraq to disarm stretches back over two administrations and 12 years of United Nations resolutions. 3:23:27 PM

Vidor man sentenced to 30 days in doghouse Houston Chronicle - A man convicted of injuring his 11-year-old stepson must spend 30 nights in a 2-foot by 3-foot doghouse, a judge ordered today. 2:47:57 PM

France aims to break Iraq deadlock BBC - France says it is willing to set a series of disarmament "benchmarks" for Iraq, but speculation has continued to mount that military action will be launched without a UN vote. US and UK officials say that negotiations on a new UN resolution against Iraq could continue into next week, but both Washington and London clearly indicated on Thursday that the Security Council may be bypassed. 2:46:48 PM

Study warns of porn on peer-to-peer networks Detroit News, MI - Child pornography is easily found through online file-swapping services that are usually used to share music and movies, according to a congressional investigation. The General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm, also said children who use the services could easily access pornography inadvertently. Investigators used names of popular singers, actors and cartoon characters -- names they thought children might be likely to use -- to retrieve pornographic images. 7:06:05 AM