raidersin09

With a disastrously faltering global economy, it doesn't seem likely that developed nations will agree to emissions caps that slow or prevent economic recovery. Further, letting third world countries go on with fewer (or no) restrictions would be like rubbing salt in the wound. This is an excellent question, but current realities dictate that the answer will be NO.

If Franken somehow wins Minnesota -- I swear, I'm gonna move to a different country! Like Minnesota!

My take: the agents probably did not act entirely prudently in their pursuit and apprehension of the suspect, and *might* be considered to have overstepped the bounds of reasonable police action. On the other hand, weighing all other factors, including how the "victim" was given a huge break, and the very serious jail sentences given to the agents, I don't see any downside, with the agents having already served jail time, to pardoning them. Consider it "time served", and be done with it. The President will pardon them.

"UofZero" lmao... @fijis I have to admit I've never heard that term, but I can't say I disfavor it.

Having said that, and being an Oregon State alumnus myself, I have to say that the Civil War game can produce unpredicted results. Certainly OSU has had the better season this year re UofO, but I've sat in the pouring rain and watched this rivalry play out more than once, and like Forrest Gump famously said, "you neva know what you gonna get".

No doubt the Democrat-ruled Senate would confirm Holder. Questioning about Rich would come only from Repubs -- and most likely will -- as the Dems will want to keep silent on the shortcomings of both Rich and former President Clinton who pardoned him in the first place for dubious reasons.

The link provided by emmag is most instructive, and here is my take on this. First, the Chief Justice asks, "Do you, [insert name here], solemnly swear... " etc. Then the President-elect says "I, [his name *verbatim* as spoken by the CJ] ...". Now, my sense is that Chief Justice Roberts is a reasonably nice guy, and probably knows that if he says "Barack Hussein Obama" it might be perceived as a lead-in forcing Obama to say the full name. For his part, Obama would not want to break precedent and appear evasive by saying simply "I Barack Obama...". Therefore, the name Hussein will NOT be used during the swearing-in ceremony.

These are the current rivals.com projections:

BCS BOWLS:
---------------------
BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, Miami - Jan. 8, 8 p.m., Fox
Matchup: BCS No. 1 vs. BCS No. 2
This week's projection: Florida vs. Oklahoma

ROSE BOWL, Pasadena, Calif. - Jan. 1, 4:30 p.m., ABC
Matchup: BCS vs. BCS
This week's projection: Oregon State vs. Penn State

ORANGE BOWL, Miami - Jan. 1, 8 p.m., Fox
Matchup: BCS vs. BCS
This week's projection: Maryland vs. Cincinnati

SUGAR BOWL, New Orleans - Jan. 2, 8:30 p.m., Fox
Matchup: BCS vs. BCS
This week's projection: Alabama vs. Utah

FIESTA BOWL, Glendale, Ariz. - Jan. 5, 8 p.m., Fox
Matchup: BCS vs. BCS
This week's projection: Texas vs. USC

NON-BCS BOWLS:
----------------------------
EAGLEBANK BOWL, Washington - Dec. 20, 11 a.m., ESPN
Matchup: Navy/at-large vs. ACC 9
This week's projection: Navy vs. Virginia

NEW MEXICO BOWL, Albuquerque - Dec. 20, 2:30 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: Western Athletic vs. Mountain West 4
This week's projection: San Jose State vs. Colorado State

ST. PETERSBURG BOWL, St. Petersburg, Fla. - Dec. 20, 4:30 p.m., ESPN2
Matchup: Big East 6 vs. Conference USA 5
This week's projection: South Florida vs. Southern Miss

LAS VEGAS BOWL, Las Vegas - Dec. 20, 8 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: Mountain West 1 vs. Pac-10 4/5
This week's projection: BYU vs. Oregon

NEW ORLEANS BOWL, New Orleans - Dec. 21, 8 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: Conference USA 4 vs. Sun Belt 1
This week's projection: Memphis vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

POINSETTIA BOWL, San Diego - Dec. 23, 8 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: Mountain West 2 vs. Pac-10 7
This week's projection: TCU vs. Boise State*

HAWAII BOWL, Honolulu - Dec. 24, 8 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: Pac-10 6 vs. Western Athletic
This week's projection: Western Michigan* at Hawaii

MOTOR CITY BOWL, Detroit - Dec. 26, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: Big Ten 7 vs. Mid-American 1
This week's projection: Northwestern vs. Ball State

MEINEKE CAR CARE, Charlotte, N.C. - Dec. 27, 1 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: ACC 6 vs. Big East 3
This week's projection: Georgia Tech vs. West Virginia

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL, Orlando, Fla. - Dec. 27, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: ACC 4 vs. Big Ten 5
This week's projection: Florida State vs. Wisconsin

EMERALD BOWL, San Francisco - Dec. 27, 8 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: ACC 7 vs. Pac-10 4/5
This week's projection: Boston College vs. Illinois*

INDEPENDENCE BOWL, Shreveport, La. - Dec. 28, 8 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: Big 12 8 vs. SEC 8
This week's projection: Florida Atlantic* vs. Louisiana Tech*

PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL, Birmingham, Ala. - Dec. 29, 3 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: Big East 4 vs. SEC 9
This week's projection: Pittsburgh vs. Troy*

ALAMO BOWL, San Antonio - Dec. 29, 8 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: Big Ten 4 vs. Big 12 4
This week's projection: Iowa vs. Oklahoma State

HUMANITARIAN BOWL, Boise, Idaho - Dec. 30, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: ACC 8 vs. Western Athletic
This week's projection: Wake Forest at Nevada

HOLIDAY BOWL, San Diego - Dec. 30, 8 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: Big 12 3 vs. Pac-10 2
This week's projection: Missouri vs. California

TEXAS BOWL, Houston - Dec. 30, 8 p.m., NFL Network
Matchup: Conference USA 6 vs. Big 12 9
This week's projection: Rice vs. Akron*

ARMED FORCES BOWL, Fort Worth, Texas - Dec. 31, noon, ESPN
Matchup: Conference USA 3 vs. Mountain West 3
This week's projection: East Carolina vs. Air Force

SUN BOWL, El Paso, Texas - Dec. 31, 2 p.m., CBS
Matchup: Big 12 6/Big East 2 vs. Pac-10 3
This week's projection: Nebraska vs. Arizona

MUSIC CITY BOWL, Nashville, Tenn. - Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: ACC 5 vs. SEC 6/7
This week's projection: Virginia Tech vs. Vanderbilt

INSIGHT BOWL, Tempe, Ariz. - Dec. 31, 5:30 p.m., NFL Network
Matchup: Big Ten 6 vs. Big 12 7
This week's projection: Minnesota vs. Kansas

CHICK-FIL-A BOWL, Atlanta - Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: ACC 2 vs. SEC 5
This week's projection: North Carolina vs. Ole Miss

OUTBACK BOWL, Tampa, Fla. - Jan. 1, 11 a.m., ESPN
Matchup: Big Ten 3 vs. SEC 3
This week's projection: Michigan State vs. South Carolina

CAPITAL ONE BOWL, Orlando, Fla. - Jan. 1, 1 p.m., ABC
Matchup: Big Ten 2 vs. SEC 2
This week's projection: Ohio State vs. Georgia

GATOR BOWL, Jacksonville, Fla. - Jan. 1, 1 p.m., CBS
Matchup: ACC 3 vs. Big East 2/Big 12 5
This week's projection: Miami vs. Notre Dame

COTTON BOWL, Dallas - Jan. 2, 2 p.m., Fox
Matchup: Big 12 2 vs. SEC 4
This week's projection: Texas Tech vs. LSU

LIBERTY BOWL, Memphis, Tenn. - Jan. 2, 5 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: Conference USA 1 vs. SEC 6/7
This week's projection: Houston vs. Kentucky

INTERNATIONAL BOWL, Toronto - Jan. 3, noon, ESPN2
Matchup: Big East 5 vs. Mid-American 2
This week's projection: Connecticut vs. Buffalo

GMAC BOWL, Mobile, Ala. - Jan. 6, 8 p.m., ESPN
Matchup: Conference USA 2 vs. Mid-American 3
This week's projection: Tulsa vs. Central Michigan

The only time in our history that the U.S. might have been considered an "empire" was after the Spanish-American War, through which we acquired far-flung territories such as the Philippines, Guam, and Cuba, virtually all of which we since returned to independence (sometimes to our dismay, e.g. Cuba). Since then we have gone to foreign lands to fight battles of freedom on behalf of our allies, ourselves, and innocent oppressed peoples. But we have not waged war with the intent of occupying other nations or commandeering their wealth and resources, a mark of empire since Roman times if not earlier. If you are hoping to suggest that the current conflicts in the Middle East are meant to seize resources such as oil, you are mistaken. We do, of course, have a national interest in seeing that the *flow* of oil from the region continues, as does Europe, Japan, and other entities. Our intent is to stabilize and protect interests, not to seize unearned spoils of war as was done in earlier times. And BTW, Pat Buchanan is an isolationist whose theories about external American actions should be fervently disregarded.

ABC will have the Spitzer call-girl's interview Friday night. Expect that to pull a fair amount of viewers.

Okay, at the risk of overkill in the commenting-on-a-market department, I wanted to add: if he's smart he won't want to be perceived as overusing *executive branch* power and prerogatives, something that the anti-Bushites have been hammering GWB with for years now.

Oh I forgot to mention my rationale: he won't want to be perceived as "expanding big government", that kind of thing. I honestly hope he doesn't feel pressured by his big campaign donors and supporters to go beyond that.

I don't think he'll go hog wild and create a bunch of new positions at this level. It's serious stuff, and even if he ultimately does expand the cabinet I believe he's shrewd enough to take his time. He's got four years after all. Very good market though, bigken!

I don't see what he gains at this point by appointing her to such a position. I mean cmon, the election's over and he doesn't have to appease the former Hillary voters. Not to mention, she still carries all the baggage she always did from Arkansas to the Bubba Clinton White House. Supposedly Bill Richardson is being looked at now, and he's a much more stable, rational personality, much more suited to State than Hil by far. Gotta go No on this one, unless BHO has really lost his marbles!

@valor re your first post up top there: LMAO... but I recommend for your health's sake -- switch to decaf man!

@eliminati: sadly I think you're right; wish Davis would keel over!

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-syria11-2008nov11,0,7617259.story

Not conclusive, but leaning more toward it being a nuke plant.

Public school? No way. This is no down-home Jimmy Carter.

It's a campaign phrase. I don't see him using it at inauguration. He'll want to sound "presidential", not like he's still running.

She could run for the Senate seat in the special election. On the other hand, for purposes of this market, that would not constitute 'appointing' anyone in a direct sense. I'd hate to see this voided if a rewording can take care of that difference. Guess I'm gonna flag it, darn it.

Last election it was widely felt that Gregoire and/or her cronies were able to steal the election, a la 'Bush/2000/Florida'. Hoping she will fall this time, but cynically betting she'll survive for another term. Those Washington state Dems can be pretty nasty and tenacious.

Getting back to clarifying the settlement ... I submit that since it says *begin* having age restrictions, a state or local law -- which would happen to be the first such law -- would be sufficient. On the other hand, I'm still betting NO on this one because of the wording "gun fairs". This particular event was a sort of "gun fair" as near as I can tell, a shooting fest if you will. This is quite different from the much more common event we in America call a "gun show", which consists primarily of a large gathering of people who wish to buy and sell firearms and accessories, not shoot them. So while I can see legislation being passed that would restrict entry to "gun shows", I rather doubt anything similar will be proposed regarding "gun fairs". It's more than semantics, it's a real difference in the type of event being discussed.

@dragon - you took the words right out of my mouth.

@monkey_man: Gen. Colin Powell, former Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff. Also Secy.of State under GW Bush. Black, Republican, moderate. Highly respected in military and political circles; many people wanted him to run for president, but he has always declined.

Has just endorsed Barack Obama. IMHO, Powell, by doing this, has just lost about 50 percent of the respect he had among the populace. I can't imagine what he figured he has to gain by siding with BHO, I really can't. This is a lose-lose for him. If he didn't like McCain, all he had to do was decline to endorse either one and stay the he** out of this. A sorry end for a man who was once so highly regarded across party lines.

The Dems have been rather silent on this subject for quite a while. It's been said that it hurt both Gore and Kerry in their campaigns, and helped Repubs take back Congress for a while. Some sage advisor told them to keep their mouths shut about guns, unless they're talking about how "hunting guns are okay", that sort of thing, to pander to midwestern/southern/western voters. I'm guessing that the issue won't come up in this debate either, as the Dems have a poor record on it and no one will want to showcase that.

Hey man, I love that crazy 80s hair. Are you saying I should cut my mullet?? :-)

Given the modern climate of "advocacy scientists", I'm not certain I would trust any report coming out of the UK (or U.S. for that matter) on a subject like this. Even those who call themselves scientists often have an agenda, and look for data that support their particular one. Nonetheless, since the settlement details carefully state that there must be noted a significant threat to healthy adults, I'll put a little on the 'NO' side.

ahh, so it is. another D'oh moment. it's been a long day.

Are these times based on Pacific Std. Time?

Ya, people don't realize that the USC campus is right next to some seriously bad L.A. neighborhoods. Students are discouraged from leaving campus and wandering around the hood, for sure. Ole Pete might think he's invincible, who knows, but it's clearly not safe around there. Then again, the homeys know that if they messed with him, all of LAPD would come around to dole out a serious a$$-kickin.

An update:

http://www.whittierdailynews.com/rds_search/ci_10591734

"Hearing delayed in dog-killing case
Article Launched: 09/29/2008 12:02:10 PM PDT

BELLFLOWER - The arraignment of a 91-year-old Norwalk woman accused of killing her son's miniature pinscher with a shovel was continued next month.

Beatrice Godinez Castillo was scheduled for an arraignment today at Bellflower Superior Court but the hearing was continued to Oct. 28.

The District Attorney's Office earlier charged Castillo with one felony count of cruelty to an animal. Her arraignment has been continued before.

The charge stems from an April 14 incident in the 12000 block of Bayla Street in Norwalk. Responding to a call, an officer with the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority found Castillo with blood on her hands, pants and shoes.

The dog wasn't at the scene but was later brought in to SEAACA by Castillo's son. It suffered severe injuries to its jaw, teeth and hind leg."

There's still no indication that she's been in custody as of yet.

I'm going to flag this question for CatEd, because when I first created it I left it open, with no suspend date, thinking the case would resolve in a few months at worst. It obviously hasn't, and I'm thinking now that if possible maybe a suspend date should be put on this, obviously set to sometime after the above-mentioned Oct. 28 arraignment date. Then if options 1 or 2 don't occur by that date, it would settle as option 3. Anyone has thoughts on that, please bring them up.

Gotta take the underdog. I mean, OSU beat USC in NCAAF so anything's possible! Go Raiders!

@curios - no, it's $H !!! Or is there much difference nowadays between that and $US.

@tocm - I'd agree that in the long term, the 'no bailout' option would do a lot of good. What's the term... 'constructive destruction' ? Something like that. It would appropriately punish the purveyors of risky loans, and those who stupidly accepted them. It would also prevent an increase in government power and regulation over the free market. Unfortunately it wouldn't catch all the bad actors - some would still escape scot free. But .... in the short term, some level of chaos would ensue, and innocent consumers and businesses could well be hurt among the expected bank failures, etc. So... what to do, what to do. I don't know the answer.

An excellent market, but the 'make no statement' wording troubles me. She *could* make a statement of some kind that does not constitute support. Maybe the wording should read more like 'Palin makes no statement of support for any candidate', or something similar, you get the idea.

Go Raiders!

Sorta does sound like an attempt on his life, even if he ultimately wasn't there. After all, the bad guys most likely didn't know that, and thus it was their intention to do him in. Sticky issue, this. Is it an attempted assassination if the target wasn't present? Hmm.

Go Beavs!

Obama campaign initial response has indicated reluctance to forestall the debate.

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/09/mccain_postpone_debate_for_cri.html

Catfight!

On a roll !! Go Raiders!

Starting percentages are based on a rough, estimated average of August and September polls collated at http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/2008/. Clearly an inexact science, as much less polling is done on minor candidates like these, and the low values the candidates draw are subject to much variation.

I agree. Since the related question noted above by Erik was settled, for consistency's sake this one should be as well.

@markc: in my own defense, I did say "but I could be wrong" !! Your logic does make sense, thanks for sharing it.

http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/ They're saying it has "apparently" reached minimum; I might suggest not settling until their next statement, which hopefully will not include the "apparently" aspect.

http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

They're saying it's apparently reached minimum now. Not sure if I would settle just yet, maybe wait a bit to see whether their next statement loses the "apparently".

@intlibber: Like you, I don't take NSIDC or Colorado U. values for ice extent as gospel. I'm not a global warming "true believer". But I chose them for this market's settlement purposes because they do have an apparently consistent method for estimating ice extent, nothing more.

It may very well happen; seems to have become SOP for outgoing presidents. Look at the sleazeballs and wealthy fugitive donor-criminals that Clinton pardoned. Half the country didn't seem to mind, nor did the media outside of right-leaning talk radio. Bush might see it as having no significant downside, as he's used to getting hammered by left-leaning media anyway over just about anything he does anymore.

@bk: this is why I added nsidc.org as a source of data for settlement. NSIDC will post their calculation (based on data) of the areal extent of sea ice and will announce a date when they judge it had reached minimum area. If CatEd wishes to extend suspension date, I have no problem with that.

Go Raiders!

www.wunderground.com listed 3.7 miles for Sat. 3 PM.

Great question! I now feel compelled to watch (or record) every possible minute of beach volleyball. Just to check out whether the bikini rule is followed, of course. No other reason. :-)

As one who used to live in Anchorage, let me add my unscientific two cents worth of observations to this. It always seemed to me that July was the month most likely to have warm days (i.e., 65 to 70 plus degrees F.). In August those temps. were generally less likely, though not impossible. As you approach the end of August it's entirely possible for cold to move in and "dust" the nearby mountaintops with snow, harshly signaling the end of what we Alaskans called summer. Bottom line: my gut feeling is that the potential for "warm" days is fast waning, and that reaching 14 days is becoming less likely. Now watch Alaska go and prove me wrong!

Not to throw a wrench in the works, but ... despite the fact that the news story in link above says "red tide", the photos don't show anything but green algae and no mention is made of any red. Algal blooms (which this is, no question), can be green to red to pinkish or purplish. So I'm not convinced just yet that it's an actual red tide taking place. :-\

Typo alert, typo alert! DJIA, not DIJA lol.

@ rassi, I agree completely. Settlement details says "text accompanying ... largest photograph ...", and in this case that text clearly was a headline starting with a consonant.

Maybe he was sleep-deprived (to give him the benefit of the doubt). What BHO said makes no sense whatsoever. We already have a civilian-originated (potential) armed force, and that is the Militia. If that's what he means -- though I doubt it -- then fine, we're available to be called up for a REAL need that may present itself. My sense though is that he's obliquely referring to some kind of diplomatic corps. Definitely cornfusing.

Compromise: 10 minutes!

D'oh!... thx wrangler.

Which headline? There are many on the front page. I'm cornfused.

@ Erik -- lol ... I think he would mainly let his kids take care of it, and only be seen with it himself for photo ops. But I could be wrong.

Now I just know someone's going to ask what qualifies as a "pet". One would think that for his political benefit, BHO would get a dog (or at least a cat), but for purposes of this question I want to clarify that it can be any type critter that people might normally consider a pet. That could include hamster, snake, horse, any number of things. If he does get something, I think it might be somewhat telling of his character what kind of animal he actually chooses.

Oops, sorry Monkeynacho! I thought Kruijs had made the question. Anyways, good question!

Kruijs, excellent question! I live not far from where this chimp lived most of his life (with private owners, in the suburbs of L.A.). He bit a couple of people, and finally was taken to a sanctuary after some public outcry. When his former owner went to visit him there, a couple other chimps got out of their cages and attacked the man, tore him up really really bad. Later this one was moved to a different sanctuary, the one he escaped from just recently. It's been a long-running, weird story, and people in this area either love him or hate him. Most people are tired of seeing 'Moe the Chimp' turn up in news stories repeatedly, and some of them hope for that reason he never gets found! He is very accustomed to people, so you would think he would gravitate back to civilization and be found fairly soon... but who knows.

This will be interesting to follow. I was involved in the first BLM wild horse roundup back in the mid 70s, and the plan all along was of course to capture and adopt out any excess animals. There have been successes and abuses along the way among adopters, but it seemed to work for quite a while. Nonetheless, one has to consider that these animals are non-native to the desert / high-desert environments they range in, and between horses and burros they consume forage and water that the native wildlife desperately needs (deer, bighorn sheep, etc.). Most ranchers out there hate the darn things; people from the city think they're a natural part of the landscape and should stay. From a biologist's viewpoint, BLM would be doing the right thing to humanely remove animals the land can't support, BUT the hue and cry from animal rights folk is going to be huge. They will most likely stop any plans to kill the horses... but I could be wrong.

I'm thinking that's why a safer way of wording it would be something like "Who will be reported to have died first". That way the date when the event is *reported* is what settles the market, not the actual event, which as has been pointed out may not become immediately known. Just my 2 centavos.

Oh my, an appropriate News headline below ("Chukars drop two on the road"). LMAOOOO

He's my inspiration LOL!

I wonder how many MSM outlets will cover this story in the U.S.? Not a lot, I'd wager.

Naw, I used to live in Alaska, and they hold on to incumbents like Young almost no matter what. They do likes their pork up there. I'd be reeeeaaalllll surprised if Don Young isn't AK's U.S. representative up til the day he dies.

Makes sense. A big fight been going in Utah over the state universitys prohibiting permitted carry, mostly at U. of Utah. Down at Southern Utah U., they don't give a rip and let students/teachers carry all day long.

@ironman: I've been wondering myself! The data of past years sort of "averages" to a September minimum; I'm not aware of any evidence being put out there that says it will be in October. If anything, global warming people are implying that the Arctic ice will melt back further than last year, which implies (to me, anyway) that it would have to happen sooner rather than later. But then I could be wrong.

@valor: well said.

Thanks much for the compliments! The positions have been moving more than I thought, and it really is hard to guess how it will turn out. I like the chaos though ... maybe I'll ask my shrink why that is.

ROTFL

I wouldn't be sorry if she were to be recalled or forced to resign -- she really is a deadbeat -- but that's about as likely to happen as having pigs fly. They protect their own. Politicians that is, not pigs. Or is there much difference... ;-)

My rationale for setting initial percentages: since it looks like the bank is already taking the house away from the new buyer, I'm giving that outcome a high probability (although not a certain outcome, as the bank may yet be halted or reversed by lawsuit or threat thereof before suspend date); on the other hand, it doesn't seem especially likely that Rep. Richardson will really get back title to the house, given the scandal and bad P.R. surrounding the whole sordid mess, but hey anything is possible in politics.

Thanks! I'll do my best.

@tom - you don't mean a Rolling Stone I hope heehee (it's not that they're male, it's that they're so bloody olllddddd)

Hmm.. what does 'publicly comment' mean. If she says something on a website, does that count? What if only on her own website? Or does it have to be strictly somewhere on 'mainstream' media?

Ain't gonna happen this year. Price controls, in this country, remain anathema. On the other hand ... next year, if Democrats rule the country, any crazy thing might get through as they will be pressured by those who voted them in to "do something" about every issue or problem of national concern.

Her campaign does appear to be suspended at this point, and "suspend" is a settleable-as-yes option. Does it boil down to what the meaning of "suspend" is? :-\

Echoing tocm: yeh, what about Bill Richardson? To me, he comes under the heading "white male", as many Hispanic (especially mixed) consider themselves to be.

This bill represents just the kind of foolishness my state legislature busies itself with while spending the State into a multi-billion dollar budget deficit and refusing to deal with it.

Knowing how nutty these people are, the bill might just pass. On the other hand, there's an occasional spark of sanity in the Senate which reins in stuff like this. I'm reallllly hoping for the latter.

If they're just setting traps instead of trying to track it with dogs, there's much less chance of finding the darn thing. They should have got right on the trail with dogs. And yes, provincial or state wildlife or game departments always downplay these attacks in the press, never admitting how dangerous these critters can really be. My neighborhood is crawling with black bears, getting into trash, etc., and when somebody finally shot one (legally, I might add) you would have thought from the outcry that JFK got assassinated again!

epicur I am aware of the OLPC thing, and my take on it is that they're using an "abbreviated version" of XP on those, therefore for purposes of this question any "sale" or support of that version is not to be considered. I'm trying to keep this to the mainstream XP line, as available to "normal" private and business consumers and subject to Microsoft's original June 30 deadline thing.

Yes, the issue is a bit muddled, and you're right to ask for clarification epicur. Check the following and I'll see if I can't be more specific: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9080218

"Microsoft set June 30 as the end of XP for computer manufacturers, and the date when it would pull the OS from its retail list. Small shops and individuals pegged as "system builders," however, will be able to preinstall XP on assembled machines for another seven months..". That is why I said "most sales". Yes, XP will continue past June 30 for some machines, but for purposes of this question, we're referring to the retail sales and officially sanctioned OEM pre-installations that MS refers to above. Hope that helps!

What if there are no pardons??

Some further news on this: www.whittierdailynews.com/ci_9250462

The woman is undergoing 'psychiatric treatment' at the moment, but apparently not by court order. Arraignment date is supposed to be May 27; so far she remains not in custody.

That would fit with the "nuts or drugs" theory. LOL.

Sounds like they have until basically end of June to get the signatures. Not sure they'll have them at end of May, but who knows.

What if the Italian government buys out the remaining stake in Alitalia? Will that fall under "Other company"?

Looks like compete.com hasn't yet posted the April figures. Hope they get to it soon; I want that "no" vote as well!

I agree with crowe, some clarification is needed as to what constitutes "action". Perhaps if a bill gets introduced in the House or Senate -- that's what I might recommend. Or such a bill has to get passed at least in its house of origin? Some food for thought anyway. This IS a good topic, bayoubear!

What if the bill is amended from its current form and/or specific language, and then passes? Is that a "yes" outcome?

It's insider trading I betcha

Yes robmar you're right, and wise! It's the federal funds rate, which will be discussed by the Fed's Open Market Committee (FOMC).

Recent news on this:

http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/23/news/newsmakers/bernanke.commodities.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008042312

If anyone does mention it, it would be McCain... but I doubt even he will want to risk raising the ire of any potential "green" voters, however few they may be!

No one will dare mention this for fear of humiliating their green supporters, who have yet to acknowledge the consequences of devoting more farmland resources to alternative fuel production and less for food production. Just MHO.

In my account, this question now shows up in the Voided section! I bet correctly on this one and did NOT get paid as near as I can tell.

kruis, well said (re: largest comment posted ever) !! LOL. I'll vote on it.

Je spreek goed engels. Komt je uit nederland? Zuid Afrika?

Oh and I think rohan was just being thorough. Very thorough. :-/

I did gloss through the settlement details but the fact it said "fox.com" didn't stand out (to me, anyway). And when you say "Fox" and "news site" in the same sentence, people in the U.S. do assume you're talking about Fox News (i.e. foxnews.com). At any rate, I did get suckered into thinking that the question referred to MSNBC vs. Fox News, and put H$ on it. Granted I have a vested interest in saying this, but I think this should be voided now because of the confusion.

"No, international torch relay schedule won't change" -- that's not a very concrete option. As bcguelph notes above, SF is changing their route, and most likely other locales will alter their planned routes as well. Seems like a better, clearer choice of options is called for.

Kansas: Rush (junior) has now declared for the NBA draft. Hmm, will there be more..

OOPS suspend date is supposed to be in 2008, not 2009. Can admins reset that?

OOPS I goofed. I meant that last category to say "Five or more".. DUHH. If admins can fix this, please do. If not, go ahead and void and I'll resubmit this correctly.

South Africa needs to allow more hunting of elephants, carefully regulated of course and with locals involved in the stewardship of such populations. That may not be your cup of tea, but it benefits the indigenous folks, and reduces or eliminates the need for culling, which is admittedly a most undesirable outcome. It's almost laughable to hear people discuss the ill impacts of humans on elephants -- as though we are degrading their numbers -- and then argue against reigning in the animals when their populations have exploded so rapidly. But who knows, the government may yet go soft on this and hold off on any culling until the noise dies down.

I don't think this will be all that difficult to settle as stated. I believe the majority opinion either will or will not affirm an "individual right to keep and bear arms". That is all the question asks; if the opinion addresses other issues that were argued, such as the proper level of "scrutiny" and what constitutes "reasonable regulation", it doesn't really matter here.

And Historyteacher... I can't think of any type of firearm that is not useful in at least one of the categories you mention: "to protect their property, their person and join a community defense force". A discreetly carried handgun, for instance, is eminently suitable for protecting one's person; an M-16 is perfect for that community defense force; a semi-auto rifle with a high-capacity magazine is a godsend when you're faced with multiple attackers (think of the Rodney King riots, or the New Orleans post-hurricane criminal mayhem). And none of these are designed to "cater to criminals" as you put it.

Why isn't this settled yet? It's been two days.

Just in from the Associated Press: NEW YORK - Gov. Eliot Spitzer, mired in allegations he was a client of a high-priced prostitution ring, resigned from office Wednesday....

That should do it.