News – Death of a Creator

General

Gary Gygax, cofounder of Dungeons and Dragons, has died. I don’t recall if D&D was the first, but it was a solid part of the base from which so much has sprung.

The encrypted data on your laptop might not be as secure as you think.

10,000 BC is not a movie for one looking for ‘authentic’ caveman action. Indeed, it sounds more like an action movie with vague prehistoric themes than a real caveman movie, like Quest for Fire.

The Blogs look at the explosion near a recruitment center in Times Square and muses the potential of another shot for Gore at president.

Today’s Papers has news that Viktor Bout, a Russian businessman who is thought to be one of the world’s largest arms dealers, was arrested yesterday in Thailand after a sting operation by U.S. agents, agreement that disenfranchising millions of voters from two battleground states could be a disaster for the Democratic Party, the Senate overwhelmingly voting in favor of a new law that would strengthen the government’s oversight of safety in consumer products and more in the one page news.

Middle East

The cycle continues, death leading to death leading to death, with no one on either side to break the eternal spin. Only reprisal after worthless reprisal. Abbas advocates calm, but does he really expect all of the militants to listen? There is too much killing, it needs to stop.

Things are getting worse for Iraqi women. Perhaps things there moved too quickly and a backlash of traditional sentiment has set in. People are spooked by change, especially those with power when the change reduces their power.

The true cost of Iraq? Could be more than anyone has yet predicted.

Africa

Islamist forces raid a town north of Mogadishu, killing 5 Somali troops. The saddest thing about Somalia’s situation isn’t the violence per se, but the fact that the government seems to really struggle to deal with these militants. Which makes it likely the militants could resume control again.

Asia/Pacific

Looking into why Japanese hunt whales.

Looks like China’s government won’t be dropping the ‘one child’ rule after all. Which is a pity. China needs to reevaluate how it will deal with its massive population. ‘one child’, while having some validity in that China needs a means to prevent overpopulation, is not the right way to approach the issue. Of course, that won’t answer the question of how to deal with it in a way less authoritarian.

Europe

The European Court of Justice admonishes Spain for breaking competitive rules by ignoring an order to remove conditions placed on German energy firm Eon in its bid to take over Spanish firm Endesa.

Germany is looking into a new medal for the bravest of the brave, but won’t be bringing back the Iron Cross as anything more than a symbol on military hardware.

Fuel and food price issues have spawned a mass of strikes in Germany, which continue to grow and linger. Talks lie ahead, but there is no optimism on the outcome.

Why Prince Harry didn’t have to cut his hair during his military service.

Americas

The Defense Department bans Google from filming the inside of US military bases for Google maps. A valid concern, as the security gains from that outweigh what small inconvenience would result, I think.

The RIAA could be in hot water after a suit filed by one of their mistaken victims. She’s looking to hold the group responsible for all the shady means they’ve used in their crusade to sue anyone who they can wring a justification from. Which means they might have to reveal their practices for judgment by the authorities.

Nasty stagflation sets in. Something must be done about it.

Amusements

Neurotically Yours: People Piss Me Off

Man manages to get himself barred from every pub in the entire country

If you’ve stolen a 4ft by 2ft container filled with liquid nitrogen, police would like a word with you … before Darwin does

Kissing on the playground? Law-fearing teachers are keeping cops busy by reporting every lip-lock they see at recess. Seems kids as young as age 5 are getting in on the act

Caught doing 100mph in a 55 zone, teen sentenced by his mother to wear “I was stupid” sign

Man’s explanation for putting his girlfriend’s children in a clothes dryer. “That’s what I wanted to show my kids, is that you don’t have to have money to have a good time. All you have to have is an imagination.”

No more Caturdays, no more lolcats, you can’t haz cheeseburger. New service pushes lolcats off the internets

Headline: Boarding school is bad. Article: filled with quotes from successful people who boarded, stats about higher test scores, and famous folk who went to boarding school

If you’re going to tamper with restaurant food to try to get it for free, don’t leave your bag of worms behind

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, except maybe a karate expert woman scorned. She hath TONS of fury

Denver voters made it clear last November that they don’t want police spending time and resources busting people who smoke marijuana … so why are marijuana arrests up?

<A HREF="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/05/us_kills_european_based_cuba_websites/”>British-owned websites for a Spanish travel agency that are hosted in the Bahamas get shut down by the US Treasury Department

If you already have four drunk driving charges under your belt, you probably want to make sure you’re not so intoxicated when you pick up your kids from daycare that other parents have to step over your body in the hallway

Not news: Guy falls asleep in cinema during chick-flick. News: Wife leaves him there to teach him a lesson. Fark: Goes unnoticed by staff, locked in for the night

Woman tries to breakup with boyfriend by calling in fake bomb threats to his plane flight. “She believed he would leave her alone after finding out she made the calls”. The two years in prison should assure that

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this shopper and her choices

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop these old timers and their relaxing break

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this vain creature