this Wikipedia entry on Martha Stewart is relevant now that the "domestic diva," as the media puts it, is likely to go behind bars.
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The Drudge Report reveals the possibility of a covered-up sex-scandal with an intern for Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry
My prediction on the lifespan of this scandal appears below...
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First, this is important for voters in considering Kerry's electibility. Bush won in some part because people were tired of Clinton's philandering days. Bush, by comparison, was the man of faith. That you could trust him was Bush's selling point. Kerry already has some of the negative traits of Clinton in giving the "appearance" of a playboy, so it won't be hard for Bush to play this up come election time.
However, will this story have legs before the Democratic National Convention? My assumption is that it will only have legs in the media if there is motive behind it. Who has motive attached to this story?
Bush? I bet he'll rather save this one up for closer to November.
Edwards? He has sold himself on this positive-message thing, he won't do this now, especially since he might be seeking a vice-presidential slot
Dean? Yes, Dean is highly motivated, but by the 17th, if he doesn't win Wisconsin, he'll lose more and more motivation. Plus, the press isn't giving him much attention these days anymore. And, the story JUST got leaked, it'll take more than an aide suggesting for it to come up. For the juicy details, the media will need some pictures, a name, more reports, sktchy evidence etc.. and that takes weeks to come up. Dean doesn't have the time before Big Tuesday. He'll bring it up though.
Anybody else? The left would rather just get this in-fighting over and MoveOn. What about the right? They could bring it up, but Bush is the main guy for this, so it's his job, and he'll keep it for later.
My guess is that the story will bubble up a little over the weekend but will then die down in a few days, until new evidence comes up, which it inevitbly will, and it'll try to be ressurrected, but not in time for Dean or Edwards to gain anything by it. Once these two start dropping out, then who knows where this story will go.
UPDATE: Slate has a fun article regarding the Kerry Rumor.
Pornish alert...
This has been swimming in the blogosphere.... but a company is offering a way to covert your cellphone into a sexual vibrator, dubbed Dial An Orgasm... it's basically a dildo shell for your cellphone...
People can call you up and "vibrate" you...
Singularity nuts like myself find this as the first entry into the masses of Tele-immersion. Tele-immersion iniatives involve being able to reach out and really touch some one, a la things like manipulating robotic arms over the Internet. Some examples have been already demonstrated, such as remotely performing surgery...
this dial-an-orgasm is the first time though I've seen it hit the masses albeit lo-fi
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By releasing an organic layer on top of water resevoirs, a Canadian company was able to reduce water evaporation by 30%. (Read full story)
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File-Sharing Battle Leaves Musicians Caught in Middle
So, many musicians have found themselves watching helplessly from the sidelines as the recording industry has begun suing people who are their fans, their audience and their consumers — who also share music online without authorization. Last week, 261 lawsuits were filed, the first battle in what the association says will be a long campaign of litigation against the most active music fans sharing songs on services like KaZaA.
All windows XP users should go update their patches at windowsupdate.com. A new blaster-like worm is being prohesized in the matrix (internet).
Offline PK - Online multiplayer gamers get so vexed with each other that they take their bloodshed off the computer onto the streets. (peta)
BBC | Europe's new heavyweight Poland's participation in the invasion of Iraq, and its self-declared role as America's "best friend" in Central-Eastern Europe, have set teeth on edge in France and Germany.
Although I like how Fark labels this in the category of "Unlikely," I would rather label this "Scary." It looks as though part of the reason behind the US-Polish alliance is to counter the new Franco-German axis. This gives me pause because it reminds me of the how the first World War started. In the early 20th ceuntry, the world powers became interlocked in a mosaic of alliances that created what would be termed as a "balance of power." Unfortunately, by balance they actually meant the kind of balance one has tight-rope walking.
Yahoo! News - Judge Names N.J. Student Valedictorian A high school student who sued to claim the title of valedictorian as hers alone doesn't have to share the honor with two other students with lower grade point averages, a judge ruled Thursday.
On one hand, the knee-jerk reaction is that this kid is being bratty and should learn to share. Another part of me thinks that this is just the spin of the story.
I can remember often being outspoken in High School. One of the more annoying cases, and this would inevitably happen every semester, was when I knew that the only thing holding me back from a certain grade was the silly whim of the teacher. Grading has elements of subjectivity and nobody is impervious to playing favorites. Arguing against those situations were impossibly difficult to win because of the nature of argument. When you argue, you have to use words and phrases that show a certain perspective on a situation such that the other person wants to change their mind. The problem I had was that everything I'd say, as true as it my point may be, would always carry a certain spin by its appearance. Any plea for a grade change automatically looks like you're being greedy. Many would say, well, "tough luck." In my mind I respond, why should I be the one to get the "tough luck" and not the teacher who is just being stubborn and playing favorites? Others would say, well, "that's life." But why is it that the teacher's incorrect version of "life" be the one that gets enforced and not mine?
Idealism 0, Realpolitik 1. *sland*
Wired News: Hey, Who's That Face in My Song?
Old news, but some guy was using an mp3 player with a visualization on and all of a sudden a face started to appear.... read on.
Where is Raed ? "the West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do."
Company sells ‘Dis-information Minister’ doll People who joined the cult-like following of Iraq’s wartime spokesman Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf can now buy a talking doll and hear him say things like “our initial assessment is that they will all die” as often as they want. What they really should do if they want to make $$$ is to make dolls, no wait, Voodoo Dolls of Bill O'Reilly and the rest of the FOXnews staff. That would sell like crazy.