July 9, 2003

Hong Kong's leader vows to stay on; thousands protest San Francisco Chronicle - Tens of thousands of chanting, singing pro-democracy activists gathered outside the legislature Wednesday night to voice disapproval of Hong Kong's leader and his handling of an anti-subversion bill. 7:52:06 PM

Long-term Marijuana Use Doesn't Dull Senses RedNova News - Long-term marijuana use doesn't seem to damage the brain and central nervous system, a new study says. "Surprisingly, we saw very little evidence of deleterious effects. The only exception was a very small effect in learning new information," senior author Dr. Igor Grant says in a statement. 7:48:14 PM

Ottawa set to sell its medical marijuana The Globe and Mail - The federal government is going to share its stash of marijuana, selling the drug to hundreds of critically ill Canadians at bargain prices. A Health Canada spokeswoman said Wednesday that more than 1,650 baggies of the drug have been packaged and are ready to ship as soon as the applications have been approved. The application form has been posted on-line at the Health Canada Web site; people who fill it out properly could have the drug in their possession in as little as a week. Is this a bit like Gun Registration?  First they are going to get all the pot heads to register, then swoop down and arrest them.  Only this will not cost 1 billion dollars.  In fact it probably will turn a nice profit.  Probably to cover the gun registration costs. 2:41:57 PM

Illinois man accused of being Iraqi agent CNN - An Illinois man who allegedly collected information about Iraqi opposition groups in the United States has been arrested on charges of failing to register as an agent of Saddam Hussein's regime, according to federal prosecutors. You are supposed to register somewhere?  Am I the only one who is surprised by that? 2:35:27 PM

Microsoft spec invites controversy CNET News.com - A Web services security specification, introduced this week by IBM and Microsoft, could emerge as a rival to the existing Sun Microsystems-backed Liberty Alliance Project. 9:17:47 AM

US Officials Hampering Sept. 11 Probe ABC News - A lack of cooperation from the Bush administration could hamper an independent inquiry into the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the commission's leaders say. 8:06:48 AM

US-Palestinian Diplomatic Dispute Looms Over Ambassador's Comments Voice of America - A diplomatic dispute is looming over comments reportedly made by the American ambassador to Israel about the new Palestinian prime minister. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted the ambassador as saying that Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was a relatively weak man who tended to run away from problems. 8:04:57 AM

Microsoft to quit granting options Austin American Statesman - Microsoft Corp., which more than any company has symbolized the power of the stock option to create vast wealth, offered up a novel plan Tuesday: Give employees company stock instead of options to buy shares, in the process eliminating questions for employees and investors about the value of those options. 8:01:43 AM

Ark. Man Wakes After 19 Years in Coma Atlanta Journal Constitution - The words began tumbling out--at first just a few nouns and eventually a torrent of phrases. 7:57:25 AM

Man Drives Home, Pedestrian in Windshield Newsday.com - A motorist drove home about a mile with the legless body of a pedestrian in his front windshield before calling authorities to report that he had struck the man with his car, officials said. My friend Tom hopes this isn't becoming a fad. 7:40:10 AM