July 7, 2004

Mediators Tell Palestinians to Reform or Lose Aid Reuters - The quartet of Middle East mediators are "sick and tired" of Palestinians failing to carry out reforms and told them on Wednesday to act soon or risk losing international support and aid, diplomats said. In another sign of growing pressure for change on besieged leader Yasser Arafat, results from grassroots elections for his Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip showed reformers sweeping the field, Fatah officials said.  2:04:30 PM

Family sues Disney over Lion song BBC News - Disney is being sued $1.6m by a South African family for alleged unpaid royalties for the use of the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Lawyers acting on behalf of Solomon Linda's family are seeking payments for the song's appearance in The Lion King. Mr Linda originally sold copyright to a local firm, but under British law at that time, it should have reverted to his heirs 25 years after his death. Disney has released a statement that they had obtained the right to use the song properly from Abilene Music, the New York firm which administers its copyright in the United States.  10:20:14 AM

More Weapons of Mass Destruction that Don't Count Were Found Today, But They Don't Count so There are No Weapons of Mass Destruction Found in Iraq.  9:25:23 AM

Will Michael Moore's movie Fahrenheit 9/11 land him in jail?  Maybe.  Only time will tell. Of course, Moore won't end up behind bars because his movie criticizes George W. Bush. The First Amendment still exists, more or less.  Moore may end up as a campaign-finance convict, guilty of illegally referring to a clearly identified candidate for federal office within 30 days of a primary (or 60 days of a general election). 9:14:30 AM

ITU wants spam dead within two years VNUNet.com - Delegates at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) spam conference have called for standardised, tougher worldwide anti-spam legislation, which they believe could stamp out junk email within the next two years. 8:53:08 AM

Iranian Intel Officers Captured in Iraq Fox News - American and Iraqi joint patrols, along with U.S. Special Operations teams, captured two men with explosives in Baghdad on Monday who identified themselves as Iranian intelligence officers, FOX News has confirmed. Senior officials said it was previously believed that Iran had officers inside Iraq stirring up violence, but this is the first time that self-proclaimed Iranian intelligence agents have been captured within the country. 8:14:29 AM