July 19, 2004

Darfur Documents Confirm Government Policy of Militia Support Human Rights Watch - Human Rights Watch has obtained copies of government documents that indicate a Sudanese government policy of militia recruitment, support and impunity. 3:22:07 PM

Chirac Says Sharon Not Welcome in France ABC News - President Jacques Chirac said Monday that the Israeli leader would not be welcome here until he gave a satisfactory explanation for saying Jews should go to Israel to escape anti-Semitism in France. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's remarks Sunday produced a storm of rebuke after he said French Jews were under threat by the nation's much larger Muslim community and should leave. A jew not welcome in France?   I'm shocked! 3:15:07 PM

al-CRTC WSJ.com - When it comes to Canadian identity, Fox News Channel is apparently a threat. Al-Jazeera, on the other hand, is just another point of view enriching Canadian culture. That's the message sent last week when the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) granted the Qatar-based, anti-American al-Jazeera a Canadian license. Fox has wanted into Canada since 1999 but has so far been shut out -- except in Ottawa, at the Canadian Parliament, which requested and got a Fox feed last August. 11:30:22 AM

Verizon 30Mbps 'Fios'. Fiber to the premises gets name, price. Fiber to the home on a large scale is years (if not a decade) away, but Verizon's fiber trial in Keller, Texas is the foundation for their "Fios" service. The company's latest press release indicates trial participants have a choice between 5Mbps/1Mbps ($35, bundled), 15/2Mbps ($45, bundled) and 30Mbps/5Mbps (no price set) speed packages. "Thousands of people can now see for themselves that fiber from Verizon is coming down their streets and heading straight for their doors, and the excitement in these communities is building," says Paul Lacouture, president of Verizon's Network Services group.   [Broadbandreports] 11:10:37 AM

Philippine Troops Quit Iraq, No Word on Hostage ABC News -The last group of Philippine humanitarian troops to leave Iraq arrived in Kuwait on Monday, after the government gave in to militants holding a Filipino hostage, straining its alliance with Washington. There was no word on kidnapped truck driver Angelo de la Cruz, last seen in a video shown by Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera on Thursday in which he said he would be coming home. 10:43:48 AM

Companies Brace for Microsoft Update Washington Post, DC - As a vice president at security software leader Symantec Corp., Matthew Moynahan applauds Microsoft Corp.'s effort to make its Windows operating system safer from attack. But Moynahan is not so excited about the flood of help-desk calls almost certain to come when Microsoft releases a comprehensive security overhaul of Windows XP next month. His company's Norton antivirus software runs on about 100 million desktop computers. To make the new Microsoft system work smoothly with Norton, customers will need to download a Norton update. The company is already bracing for the change, working with its customer support staff and making plans to increase phone support. 7:04:01 AM

Japan slaps warning on Microsoft NEWS.com.au - JAPAN'S anti-monopoly watchdog has slapped a warning on Microsoft, demanding that the US software giant remove what it said was a restrictive clause from contracts with computer makers. 4:52:53 AM