Free Republic

It could be the plot of a dark comedy if it weren’t a science tragedy. A janitor working in a laboratory who was annoyed by an incessant beep reportedly flipped a switch that killed the noise — but also shut off a storage freezer, destroying decades of scientific work, according to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute lab in Troy. The cleaner’s alleged carelessness cost the lab at least $1 million in damages, a lawsuit the university filed against its third-party cleaning service charges. “People’s behavior and negligence caused all this,” Michael Ginsberg, RPI’s attorney, told the Times Union in Albany. “Unfortunately,...

Plovdiv, Bulgaria has a long history of design and innovation going back at least 6000 years to cultures like the Thracians, Celts, and Romans. In the last decade it is also an important center for open hardware innovation -- reviving the lost glory of the computer hardware industry from the former "Soviet bloc countries". One of the companies in the region that has thrived is a 5000 square-meter microelectronics factory which you may have heard of before: Olimex. Olimex has over 25 years of experience in designing, prototyping, and manufacturing printed circuit boards, components, and complete electronic products. Over the...

One more scam in the "Gang of Eight" immigration reform bill needs to be exposed and understood by the public, congressmen, reporters, and opinion leaders: any of the promises to secure our national borders can be canceled later by a Congress in the future -- or simply ignored. Even what is actually written in the law can later be revoked or left unenforced by the Executive Branch. But once amnesty is granted to specific individuals, the amnesty can never be taken back -- including all of the later benefits one might claim. Now, those who climbed through America's window illegally...

The Acorn Archimedes range of computers was moderately popular, especially in schools, around the time of the Atari ST and Amiga home computer reign. However these ARM powered computers were quite a lot more expensive than those 16-bit favourites, also no killer app(s) to entice people to move over to the platform left Acorn Archimedes owners to remain a minority. Most 16-bit friends I remember moved to the PC because of Doom, flight simulators and Word. More arty types gravitated to the Apple Mac with its Quark Xpress and Pagemaker and sometimes played Myst. Determined not to follow the pack,...

Raspberry Pi is the name given to an ultra-low-cost computer that went on sale recently for just $35. The bare-bones PC, which is built to run a few different flavors of Linux, is capable of hooking up to a mouse, keyboard, HDTV and Ethernet. Initial interest has been strong -- the first batch quickly sold out. Frantic buyers cleaned out the shelves of two UK retailers offering a small US$35 Linux computer from the Raspberry Pi Foundation.

TROY — The Sanctuary for Independent Media will host a controversial exhibit in which an artist portrays himself as a suicide bomber on a mission to kill the president starting at 6 p.m. Monday. The exhibit, created by Wafaa Bilal, is described as a “Virtual Jihadi” and was recently suspended by officials at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute because of concerns about its intent and al-Qaida content. “Like many others, I did not have a chance to see Wafaa’s exhibit in its original form and hope the community will take advantage of this chance to appreciate it,” said Steve Pierce, an adjunct...

U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton To Speak at Commencement 2005 Troy, N.Y — United States Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) will speak at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 199th Commencement, on Saturday, May 21, 2005 at 9:30 a.m. at the Harkness Field. “Senator Clinton is a national and global leader, focusing on issues of national security, innovation and science, and education. She has given important focus to regional economic development, paying particular attention to upstate New York concerns,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. “We are delighted and honored to have her speak to the next generation of leaders in science,...

A man who said he was sexually abused by a priest said he got a formal church apology from Bishop Howard Hubbard. Randy Sweringen, 38, met privately with the bishop Tuesday. Sweringen was a freshman at RPI back in 1983 when he first came in contact with Father Charles Celeste. Sweringen said Celeste abused him sexually. He said after his meeting, he has recommendations for the church. He said, "The first step should be either temporary or permanent replacement of Bishop Howard Hubbard. This man who has worked so hard with the diocese and deserves much praise in his work...

In July 2002, the California secretary of state certified that enough signatures had been submitted to qualify the "Racial Privacy Initiative" (RPI) — an initiative to ban government classification based on race and skin color — for the ballot in the next statewide California election. Little did anyone know at the time that the next statewide election in California would be a special election in October 2003 to recall Governor Gray Davis. According to California's election code, any ballot initiative that has qualified for the ballot is automatically rolled over to the next statewide election, a fact that doomed RPI.A...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - CONTACT: Diane Schachterle (916) 444-2278 or ds@acri.orgFPPC FAILS TO MAKE ITS CASE FOR THE AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS COALITION TO DISCLOSE CONTRIBUTORSSACRAMENTO - The American Civil Rights Coalition (ACRC) is vindicated today as the FPPC is denied a preliminary injunction to force disclosure of contributors to ACRC. The judge’s order states: “Upon the record presented, the Court finds that the FPPC has not demonstrated a likelihood that it will ultimately prevail on the merits of the action. Further, the potential irreversible constitutional injury that could be occasioned to Defendants and their contributors by the compelled disclosure sought...

<p>The thought does not escape me that over the past decade or so I have been a pain in the rear to many liberals and, on occasion, to a few conservatives as well, all because I believe the American people should consider themselves one extended human family, undivided by "race," color, ethnicity, national ancestry, gender or sexual orientation.</p>

[Me]?  this just in.  You still in the mood for posting at fr?  If not, not to worry. Best, [Her] Yes, Ma'am. Now sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Justin Jones Thursday, September 11, 2003 916-444-2278 or jj@racialprivacy.org FORMER GOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE BILL SIMON JOINS WARD CONNERLY TO ENDORSE PROP 54 SACRAMENTO, CALIF.Ward Connerly, chairman of the Yes on Proposition 54 campaign, announced today that former Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon has endorsed Prop 54. Mr. Simon released the following statement of endorsement: Prop 54 will accomplish exactly what Californians deserve: a color-blind government that will no longer require its citizens...

America's Racists September 10, 2003 by Burt Prelutsky Two seemingly unrelated thoughts keep running through my brain, and I'm wondering if there is a connection that my subconscious is trying to make. The first of these notions is that most of the racists in America are black, and that until we all recognize and acknowledge this fact, we're not going to get anywhere so far as resolving the race question. For, way too often when blacks insist they want to have a dialogue with whites, what they really mean is that they get a free pass to bitch and...

PROP 54 CAMPAIGN CHAIR WARD CONNERLY ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF FIRST ‘YES ON PROP 54’ RADIO AD TO AIR IN LOS ANGELES, SACRAMENTOSACRAMENTO, CALIF.--Ward Connerly, chairman of the Yes on Proposition 54 campaign, announced today that the campaign will begin airing its first radio advertisement on Thursday, September 11. The 60-second ad will air in Los Angeles and Sacramento. “The opposition plans to unleash a Goliath-sized horde of money to spread falsehoods about Prop 54,” said Mr. Connerly. “We may be outspent, but we have the truth on our side. This ad is just one small step in getting the truth...

To set the stage, first a snip from a Sacto Bee article (url at bottom)--snip-The FPPC has not yet acted on the Proposition 54 complaint, which was filed by California Common Cause, the League of Women Voters of California, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Greenlining Institute, Californians for Justice and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.---end snipACRC Statement regarding lawsuit (See below thread post for background data) Posted at www.acrc1.org:The American Civil Rights Coalition (ACRC) was established in January 1997 in the District of Columbia as a national not-for-profit organization to promote the principles of equal treatment...

Editor's note: Arianna Huffington spoke to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco Aug. 27.>Sept. 2, 2003begin snipLet me end by saying a word about how appropriate it is that we gather here today, one day shy of 40 years since Martin Luther King led the march on Washington. Unfortunately, here in California, some still haven't taken Dr. King's message to heart.Those who put forth discriminatory measures like Proposition 54 need to be told loud and clear, in no uncertain terms, that discrimination in any form, no matter how disguised, has no place in California. We're better than that.From this immigrant's...

<p>A judge ordered that the ballot summary for Proposition 54 be changed, saying it does not accurately portray the measure's potential effect on medical research.</p> <p>The statewide initiative backed by University of California regent Ward Connerly would block public agencies from collecting and using many types of racial data.</p>

August 29, 2003 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Diane Schachterle (916) 444-2278 or ds@racialprivacy.org PROP 54 SCORES A MAJOR VICTORY IN COURT TODAY SACRAMENTO -- In an eleventh hour attempt to legitimize their false and misleading characterization of Proposition 54 as an “Information Ban”, MALDEF filed an action in Superior Court to change several parts of the voter pamphlet to reflect their political strategy. The Judge struck down virtually the entire action.The following Requested Changes were all denied:The Ballot Label Currently reads: Prohibits state and local governments from classifying any person by race, ethnicity, color, or national origin.Requested change: Prohibits state...

On Wednesday August 27 a joint session of the Assembly and Senate Judiciary committees will hear testimony and public comment on Proposition 54. The legislative staff sent the following message:"Just wanted to let you know that groups and individuals have been contacting us who want to submit letters in opposition to the proposition for the hearing record. If you know of any groups or individuals that would like to do the same in support of the proposition, their letters would be welcomed as well. They can be addressed to Senator Martha Escutia and Assemblymember Ellen Corbett (the chairs of the...

What Yvette Falarca, BAMN, is covering up is the fact that the vast majority of Californians do not at all fit into any of the categories of "race" that Felarca supports.  And all Californians are being forced by their own government to fit into a generic category which doesn't apply, except it benefits very specific interest groups.  What else she is not telling here that is that some cases, if one does NOT provide a "race" for a government sponsored or government subsidized entity -- one can not either get the service nor do particular transactions through the state.  In...