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Government

Submission + - Church of Scientology violates Federal Law (rapidshare.com) 5

FreedomToThink writes: "This is a very long story I'm sure the editors will have fun with, but I couldn't see how to cut it down at all.

On the eve of the Ides of March protest, from the source of the recent 'Anonymous' submitted CCHR leak on wikileaks, comes this message

"Dear $cientology,You attempt injunctions.I respond.Shall we continue the game? Much Love, DEEP CLAM"

Included was yet another PDF this time including yet more emails leaked from a Church of Scientology front group.

Vote Rigging?

From: "Mike Kaplan" <mkaplan@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
Subject: Fw: RE-ELECT FRANK HIBBARD, MAYOR OF CLEARWATER
Date: Sun, 6 Jan 2008 11:53:07 -0400

See below. Everyone in Clearwater MUST vote. Every vote will be needed to be
sure Hibbard gets re-elected. The alternative is Rita Garvey who is an SP.

— Original Message —
From: Shelly <mailto:shelly.bauer@Earthlink.net> Bauer
To: Shelly Bauer <mailto:shelly.bauer@earthlink.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 06, 2008 8:09 AM
Subject: RE-ELECT FRANK HIBBARD, MAYOR OF CLEARWATER

DO YOUR PART
RE-ELECT FRANK HIBBARD
MAYOR OF CLEARWATER
VOTE!!!
JANUARY 29TH
TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED!

Lunch with your preferred Presidential candidates for a high price?

ONE SEAT LEFT

I have arranged a private one-hour luncheon with Ron Paul on 11/28 in St.
Pete when he will be in town for the CNN/YouTube Republican debate.

This luncheon is reserved for $1000+ donors to Ron Paul's presidential
campaign. 19 people so far have paid and confirmed and will have the honor
and pleasure of having lunch and communicating with Ron Paul directly.


From the head of the "Non Proffit" CCHR Bruce Wiseman

Go the the HELP committee website. The link is here.
http://help.senate.gov/About.html
Here you will see the names of the Committee members on the left hand
side
of the page. Please go to the individual websites of the Republican =
members
(this will take just a bit of leg work on your part by putting their =
name
into Google) and calling their office or sending a fax to them (email is =
the
least effective) stating your opposition to S. 1375 The Mother's Act.


Currently, the law prohibits political campaign activity by charities and churches by defining a 501(c)(3) organization as one "which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."

An OCMB (Operation Clambake Message Board)regular adds :

I downloaded myself a copy and started looking through them. I found an interesting one on pages 47-48.
http://rapidshare.com/files/99292051/CCHRLeak3.pdf.html

Karin Pouw of OSA of CofS writes a message.
It's forwarded by Michael Genung. He's the guy who runs ACSR, Association for Citizens Sociel Reform. http://www.citizensforsocialreform.org/ ["CSR Background and Philosopy: CSR was founded in 2001 by a group of Scientologists and other like-minded individuals concerned with the escalating social ills in society. CSR's purpose is to work with in the field of public policy to bring about more effective and humane solutions to these social ills of illiteracy, criminality substance abuse and general decay of character."]

Then it's forwarded by Doyle Mills, of LEAF fame (Letters to the Editor Attack Force).
Then it's forwarded by Mary C. (possibly one of two Mary C's I'm thinking of, but unsure).
Then it's forwarded by Mike Kaplan, another person who runs an email list and forwards CCHR type stuff to CofS members.

If that ain't stringing a line from the CofS to CCHR and the CofS front group ("grassroots") movements, then I don't know what is!


Apologies in advance as the Enturbulation servers will not be up to a slashdotting so the Coral Cache link is here Enturbulation Discussion (already cached for you)

ANYONE CAN REPORT TAX FRAUD DIRECTLY TO THE IRS : http://www.irs.gov/compliance/enforcement/article/0,,id=106778,00.html It does require that you print out and mail in an actual hardcopy, but it does not require you to identify yourself.

Just a casual user passing on a message from the Enturbulation forum, this is already out there, there's no reason to attack the messenger."

Censorship

Wikileaks Airs Scientology Black Ops 509

An anonymous reader alerts us to new material up on Wikileaks: 208 scanned pages (in one PDF) relating to the Church of Scientology and its former "Office of Special Affairs" employee (and subsequent apostate) Frank Oliver. "The documents are dated between 1986 and 1992 inclusive, when, according to the file, Frank Oliver was declared a 'suppressive person' and excommunicated. Frank Oliver should be able to verify the material and has appeared in the media before on subjects relating to the church. Starting on page 107, the document shows that at the time of writing the Church of Scientology was still actively engaged in black propaganda (especially concerning psychiatry), 'fair game' and infiltration."
Graphics

Submission + - SPAM: UK government sponsoring computer games?

Roland Piquepaille writes: "A computer scientist at University College London (UCL) has developed new algorithms which can quickly add indirect light to computer simulated scenes. According to UCL, 'Dr Jan Kautz has developed a fast method that models the path of light as it bounces off surfaces.' His new algorithms have the potential to make computer games seem more realistic. Helped by a grant from the UK government's Technology Strategy Board (TSB), Kautz will work with software company Geomerics to develop future computer games. It's intriguing to see a government funding games, but read more for additional references and images."

Comment Library now = "Discovery Centre" (Score 1) 270

This is what our local library was recently reopened as, though presumably not because it's now far more difficult to "discover" the whereabouts of the few books which were left behind.

My university's library was also recently extended, for which it won the city society's "best new building" award, yet it is the internet facilities within the library which are most frequented, closely followed by the coffee shop rather than the book sections. This isn't surprising as researching on the internet is highly encouraged to the point at which it's easy to get away with solely using online references.

Maybe the traditional fine system needs to be reviewed in order to attract users back: when I was ticked off for the late return of a couple of books, knowing from the catalogue records that no other student hadn't bothered to borrow or reserve any of our reading list throughout the module, it did make me wonder why I didn't save myself the bother and just go on the internet instead. It's just that I prefer cutting out the "middle man", as online copies aren't guaranteed to be of quality or even complete, but also because I don't believe that Google is a replacement for a good librarian, particularly a subject librarian, who can locate far more using the tricks of their trade.

For years as a child, I spent the whole of every Saturday in the library curled up with a good book or 10. Maybe that's not what my son will be doing in a couple of years time, but I'd like him to at least have the choice.
Social Networks

Facebook Photos Land Eden Prairie Kids in Trouble 626

slim-t writes "The Star Tribune is reporting that students have been disciplined for photos of them on Facebook. 'Eden Prairie High School administrators have reprimanded more than 100 students and suspended some from sports and other extracurricular activities after obtaining Facebook photos of students partying, several students said Tuesday.' Is the school right to do this? My opinion is that the students should know not to post pictures of yourself breaking the law." I'd just like to know what all those administrators are doing cruising Facebook pages looking at the students in their school.
The Almighty Buck

SecondLife Bans Unregistered In-World Banks 353

GuruBuckaroo writes "Virtual Ponzi schemes — pardon, "Banks" — have finally been given the boot by the policymakers at Linden Lab's Second Life. According to the company's latest blog post: 'As of January 22, 2008, it will be prohibited to offer interest or any direct return on an investment (whether in L$ or other currency) from any object, such as an ATM, located in Second Life, without proof of an applicable government registration statement or financial institution charter. We're implementing this policy after reviewing Resident complaints, banking activities, and the law, and we're doing it to protect our Residents and the integrity of our economy.'"
The Internet

Submission + - SPAM: YouTube wants your marriage proposal

coondoggie writes: "Ok, you don't have to be a geek for this one but it couldn't hurt. Starting this week, YouTube is teaming with online flower seller 1-800-Flowers.com for a contest to get people to video their most wacky or touching marriage proposal in 120 seconds or less. Should you ultimately win the contest and the heart of your target video subject, the touching entry will be featured on YouTube's front page on Feb. 11 where millions can make fun of you. More importantly though, he winner will receive a wedding at a Sandals Resorts location, free air transport from American Airlines and an engagement ring from the Internet jeweler Blue Nile. If marriage proposal is a little heavy for you, you can try submitting a video Valentine that too will be judged and the winner will be featured on YouTube's front page on Feb. 14. [spam URL stripped]"
Link to Original Source
Privacy

US Courts Consider Legality of Laptop Inspection 595

ceide2000 writes "The government contends that it is perfectly free to inspect every laptop that enters the country, whether or not there is anything suspicious about the computer or its owner. Rummaging through a computer's hard drive, the government says, is no different from looking through a suitcase. One federal appeals court has agreed, and a second seems ready to follow suit." This story follows up on a story about laptop confiscation at the borders from a few months ago.
Education

Submission + - Future for Virginia Tech massacre site announced (collegiatetimes.com)

rtphokie writes: The academic building where a Virginia Tech student rampaged through the halls killing 32 before turning the gun on himself, will once again be used by the Department of Engineering and Science and Mechanics. It will also be shared by a newly created Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention.
Portables

Submission + - Garmin GPS Navigator Nuvi 350 Review (atboon.com)

keanwoo writes: "Garmin GPS Navigator Nuvi 350 Review What if one device could help you navigate anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, while offering travel tips, storing your favorite tunes and photos, providing translation assistance, and more? That device is here, and it's not much bigger than a deck of cards. The Garmin n?vi 350 is set to revolutionize what we expect from a GPS navigation device, or from any device for that matter."
Education

Submission + - Linux Distribution To Appear On 180,000 desktops (ubuntu.com) 1

mojo writes: The Republic of Macedonia Ministry of Education and Science will deploy more than 180,000 workstations running Canonical's Edubuntu 7.04 as part of its "Computer for Every Child" project. The Republic of Macedonia "Computer for Every Child" project is one of the largest known thin client and desktop Linux eployments ever undertaken.
Toys

Submission + - Christmas Gifts for Geeks

Ponca City, We Love You writes: "As the holidays rapidly approach, it may be time to start shopping or dropping a few hints on the perfect gift for the science or technology enthusiast in your home. MIT Technology Review has done your work for you by compiling a list of gifts based on emerging technologies that includes the following: mySKY, a handheld unit that enables a user to identify stars, planets, and constellations by pointing the device at the star or planet of interest and pressing a button; a DNA Portrait with an aesthetic arrangement of your chromosomes immortalized on film from a few drops of your blood; a Wi-Fi T-shirt with glowing bars on the front of the shirt that light up as its wearer gets within range of a Wi-Fi signal; a Wireless Christmas Tree with a transmitter that illuminates LED's hung on the tree in whatever arrangement you desire; and a Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Toy Car equipped with a hydrogen storage tank and a fuel-cell system connected to the car's electric motor. Last but not least for the Nobel Prize winner that already has everything is a personal genome sequence for $350,000 a pop."
United States

Submission + - At UCLA aVirtualCathedral for DigitalAge Pilgrimes (techluver.com)

Tech.Luver writes: "In a computer lab at UCLA, the worlds of cyberspace and Medieval Europe merge. Computer re-creation of Santiago de Compostela Cathedral portrays the building as it looked in the 13th century — which took only seven years to construct. "A large group of computer engineers, scholars, students and other experts at UCLA have built a virtual cathedral — a computer re-creation of the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral as the building probably appeared when it was dedicated in northwest Spain in 1211. Projected onto a screen curving nearly a half-circle, the image looks as if it belongs in the virtual world of a video game. Animated granite bricks rise up to form massive towers and Romanesque arches, and cartoon clouds fill a flawless royal blue sky. ( http://techluver.com/2007/11/25/at-ucla-a-virtual-cathedral-for-digital-age-pilgrims/ )"
Real Time Strategy (Games)

Submission + - Internet Helps Kill the Pool Hustler

Reservoir Hill writes: "Pool hustlers are outlaws, but they are — or were — the kind of outlaws we root for, "honorable swindlers" who usually dripped with charisma and eccentricity. As recently as 10 years ago, it was possible for a pool player to earn a living hustling, provided he was armed with the requisite chops and disposition. But pool hustling is dead says L. Jon Wertheim in the New York Times, killed by a combination of the internet and the International Pool Tour that took away husters' anonymity, a prerequisite for their success. Time was, a player would score big in, say, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and by the time word got out over the pool transom, the hustler was already in Lexington, Kentucky., or Laredo, Texas. But then came the popular online forum AZBilliards.com. Suddenly a player would score big and his exploits would be publicized by sunrise. So shed a tear for pool hustlers, who have joined American heavyweight boxing champs, complete-game pitchers, hockey goons and drug-free cyclists as relics in sports."

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