The world may be awe of the Sydney Olympics, but foreigners have

been left dumbfounded by our Vegemite culture, writes Paul Sheehan. Sydney Morning Herald

“The Second Coming will happen because we will make it happen…Our

intention is to clone Jesus, utilizing techniques pioneered at the Roslin Institute in

Scotland [birthplace of Dolly, the lovable sheep], by taking an incorrupt cell from

one of the many Holy Relics of Jesus’ blood and body that are preserved

throughout the world, extracting its DNA, and inserting it into an unfertilized

human egg…The fertilized egg, now the zygote of Jesus Christ, will be implanted

into the womb of a young virginal woman (who has volunteered of her own

accord), who will then bring the baby Jesus to term in a second Virgin Birth.”

Palm Virus Hits, But Don’t Worry. First real self-replicating and -propagating virus hits Palm OS. It apparently overwrites the beginning of Palm executables. It doesn’t appear to do anything particularly malicious except to reproduce itself. A technical description of the virus is available at the F-Scure virus description database and F-Secure says a fix is coming soon. ‘Til then, practice safe synch. Wired

Thousands Sign Up to Sell Votes. “Boasting of the more than 6,000 Americans who have signed up to auction off their

presidential votes to the highest bidder — illegal activity under the laws of every state in

the union — Voteauction is now detailing its plans to begin an outreach campaign.

Using its “Voter Empowerment Kits” and “Action Teams,” the company claims in a press

release that it can reach more potential customers and facilitate voter fraud without the

intervention of an online middleman.” The going rate to buy a vote appears to be around $20. Is it unscrupulous profiteering at its worst, or an anarchist goof on the system? Wired

Kraft recalls Taco Bell shells with biotech corn. “Philip Morris Cos.’ Kraft Foods unit said on Friday it is voluntarily recalling all Taco Bell Home Originals taco shells sold in U.S. grocery

stores nationwide because samples contained an unapproved variety of gene-modified corn.

Tests performed by an independent laboratory found, in certain samples, the presence of a variety of gene-modified corn that Kraft had not specified for the product and

which is not approved by U.S. regulators for use in food, Kraft said….

Kraft’s willingness to incur the expense of a recall despite no evidence the product is unsafe demonstrates U.S. companies are becoming increasingly sensitive to

consumers’ heightened awareness about food safety, said food industry consultant Willard Bishop. ” Reuters

Aryan Nations compound forfeited to satisfy $6.3m judgment against Richard Butler and his followers, about which I blinked below. They also lost the rights to continued use of the name “Aryan Nations”. AP

Environmental-Safety Tests Are ‘Falsified’. “The federal

authorities said today that

thousands of environmental safety

tests conducted at Superfund

locations, landfills and other hazardous

waste sites from 1994 to 1997 will

have to be repeated because the

company that performed the tests

falsified the results…Federal prosecutors announced today that 13 former

employees of the London-based company, Intertek Testing

Services, had been indicted by a federal grand jury in Dallas

and charged with up to 30 counts of fraud and lying to the

government. Prosecutors said that the test results were

falsified to save the company time and money….The test results mean that some sites thought to be safe

from carcinogens and other contaminants might hold harmful

materials, the federal authorities said, though they

emphasized that none of the sites so far retested had been

found to be a health hazard.” New York Times

States With No Death Penalty Share Lower Homicide Rates. “The

Times found that during the

last 20 years, the homicide

rate in states with the death

penalty has been 48 percent

to 101 percent higher than in

states without the death

penalty.” This pretty much deals a fatal blow to the argument that the death penalty is a deterrent; but you knew that already, didn’t you? New York Times

A Question on Music Piracy. “Will Napster’s novel claim that its users are protected by the

Audio Home Recording Act carry the day? Probably not, said

several lawyers and law professors who are experts in

Internet law and copyright infringement.” New York Times