The Perils of Hosting Weblogs.

The Salon/Userland weblog-hosting project brings up some interesting issues — such as, how much latitude do you give the bloggers who decide to use your hosting service in terms of controversial content? Salon's "amateur bloggers" are paying for the hosting service (free for the first month, then $39.95 a year), so does Salon really want to tell a controversial blogger he/she's got to go? Why it might be tempted to kick out certain hosted blogs is because it lists all of them; part of the appeal of having a weblog on Salon is the exposure that Salon can bring to it, which makes the hosting worth the money.

What is a weblog?

"A weblog (sometimes called a blog or a newspage or a filter) is a webpage where a weblogger (sometimes called a blogger, or a pre-surfer) 'logs' all the other webpages she finds interesting. The format is normally to add the newest entry at the top of the page, so that repeat visitors can catch up by simply reading down the page until they reach a link they saw on their last visit....

Everyone should keep a weblog, if they have any interest in sharing their opinions with others." [via Scripting News]

Embattled, Scrutinized, Powell Soldiers On

Indeed, Secretary Powell's greatest resource may remain the admiration bordering on awe that he commands from his striped pants civilian army. He never complains, never explains, and neither does his circle — an approach that for much of his tenure has tended to mask tensions that would be much more on display with a more political secretary.

Space rock 'on collision course'

"This asteroid has now become the most threatening object in the short history of asteroid detection." --Dr. Benny Peiser

The end is near!

A massive asteroid could hit Earth in just 17 years' time, destroying life as we know it, a British space expert said on July 24, 2002. The asteroid -- the most threatening object ever detected in space -- is 1.2 miles wide and apparently on a direct collision course with Earth.

Condit is Traficant's only vote.

Only Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., who was defeated in a primary for re-election after he was romantically linked with Chandra Levy, a government intern who was murdered, voted against Traficant's expulsion.

Pinocchio still a stand-out in Italy.

Intergalactic warriors and web-spinning superstars may be the stuff of heroes in other countries but in Italy the long-nosed wooden puppet holds center stage.

Dear whomever replaces Bob Pittman:

Please know, one of your biggest competitors now is eBay, especially with the purchase of PayPal. They now have a billing relationship with a large percentage, perhaps even a majority, of your customers. And they're using Microsoft's Passport for authentication.

How Big Media Missed the Big Story

The system of institutional checks, balances and alarms that we Americans imagine are in place to warn us when gross malfeasance corrupts government or big business is evidently in bad repair.

Preparations are underway in Southern California and Nevada for the largest military experiment in U.S. history.

About 13,500 troops from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines will use the latest in military hardware in a simulation of what planners believe the battlefield could look like in five years.

One of the weirdest creatures ever discovered.

Scientists have found the remains of one of the weirdest creatures ever discovered -- a flying reptile that lived during the time of dinosaurs and snapped up fish with a scissors-like beak as it skimmed over the water. A winged reptile that was a cousin of the dinosaurs, known as pterosaur (pronounced TER-oh-sawr) is seen here in this undated artists' drawing. (Maurillio Oliveira-Science via Reuters)

Skull sparks an evolution revolution.

The discovery of a fossil skull in a remote Chadian desert could rewrite the scientific saga of human origins, researchers said Wednesday. The skull and other fossil remains have been dated at 6 million to 7 million years old — which would make them the oldest-known relatives of modern humans. If confirmed, the find would dramatically change scientists’ conception of where and when our ancestors arose.

ESPN.com: Even Bud didn't deserve this kind of torture.

Good evening, eternally damned viewers, and welcome to another edition of "Devil's Advocates." I'm your moderator, former Senator Joe McCarthy, and here on the panel with me this week are Torquemada, leader of the Spanish Inquisition; the former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin; and the man who helped fix the 1919 World Series, our sports expert Arnold Rothstein. Gentlemen, hello.

A List Apart: Time Management -- The Pickle Jar Theory.

Email is a lot like the phone in that even though we all have our phones on just in case an important call happens, when we look back on our year it is rare that we can remember more than one or two occasions where we absolutely needed to answer our phone or email at that precise instant.

Gnutella pioneer Gene Kan dies.

Programmer and peer-to-peer pioneer Gene Kan has passed away. Kan, 25, rose to prominence online as one of the most articulate spokesmen for the Gnutella file-swapping community at the height of the Internet's love affair with peer-to-peer software. He was cremated Friday, according to friends. It was not immediately clear how he died.

The History of Eating Utensils.

The Anthropology Department at the California Academy of Sciences houses the Rietz Food Technology Collection. Containing approximately 1,700 items, this collection was assembled by Carl Austin Rietz, an inventor and businessman in the food industry. His interest in the industry led him on travels around the world to collect objects used in the production, processing, storage, presentation, preparation, and serving of food. [via anil dash via Rebecca Blood]

INS Denied Residency to LAX Gunman In 1996.

The Egyptian immigrant who gunned down two people at Los Angeles International Airport drew little attention during the 10 years he lived in the United States. However, an INS spokesman said the man's first petition for permanent residency was denied in February 1996. It wasn't clear why the Immigration and Naturalization Service rejected Hesham Mohamed Hadayet's request.

Peggy Noonan

Let us hold a single sparkler to the lights that didn't fail.

Blogging. The 24-7 opinion sites that offer free speech at its straightest, truest, wildest, most uncensored, most thoughtful, most strange. Thousands of independent information entrepreneurs are informing, arguing, adding information. Imagine if we'd had them in 1776: "As I wrote in yesterday's lead item on SamAdams.com, my well meaning cousin John continues his grammatical nitpicking with Jefferson (link requires registration) 'Inalienable,' 'unalienable,' whatever. Boys, let's fight. Start the war." Blogs may one hard day become clearinghouses for civil support and information when other lines, under new pressure, break down.