June 26, 2003

Court: Microsoft not required to carry Sun's Java InfoWorld -  An appeals court has reversed a lower court's ruling that Microsoft must distribute a version of Java endorsed by Sun Microsystems. But the appeals court also affirmed a ruling saying Microsoft violated Sun's copyright by distributing its own version of the Java programming language with its products. 4:43:03 PM

Hamas willing to call for truce if Israel withdraws from Palestinian lands. In case you wonder where Palestine is, this is a map of Palestine, as per the "Palestinian National Authority State Information Service". How about if Hamas withdraws from what the world thinks is Israel? 3:26:03 PM

Last year on this date: Bush "demanded" that the Palestinians "build a practicing democracy, based on tolerance and liberty."  He is still waiting. and Iran raised the age at which a girl can get married without her parents' consent to 13 from nine.  Welcome to the 16th century. 2:16:36 PM

Supreme Court kills ban on gay sex Houston Chronicle, TX - The Supreme Court struck down Texas' ban on gay sex today, ruling that the arrest of two Houston-area men having sex in their bedroom was an unconstitutional violation of privacy. The 6-3 ruling reverses course from a ruling 17 years ago that states could punish homosexuals for what such laws historically called deviant sex. 9:29:51 AM

Nuke program parts unearthed in Baghdad CNN - CNN's Mike Boettcher spoke to the Iraqi scientist who led US officials to the nuclear centrifuge buried in his back yard. Would giving more time to the inspectors have brought this "material breach" to light?  I don't think so. 8:46:39 AM

Man Who Put Early Copy of `Hulk' on Net Pleads Guilty to Piracy Canton Repository, OH - When Karen Randall received a phone call late one night and learned that an early, rough version of "The Hulk'' had been pirated and posted on the Internet, one thought came to mind. "We are going to get them. We are going to get them, crush them, stop them,'' said Vivendi Universal Entertainment's general counsel. Wednesday, she got her wish. Kerry Gonzalez, a 24-year-old New Jersey insurance underwriter, pleaded guilty in a New York City federal courthouse to criminal charges of posting the bootlegged movie on the Internet. He faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of $250,000 when he is sentenced Sept. 26. 5:15:01 AM

Internet pirates hearing the noise: Swappers face crackdown Boston Herald - If you swap music on the Internet today, it could earn you a date in court by the end of summer. The Recording Industry Association of America threatened court action yesterday against thousands of individual computer users who electronically share "substantial" numbers of copyrighted songs, but refused to say how many songs will trigger a suit. 4:31:03 AM