The Mammoth Book of Dirty, Sick, X-Rated and Politically Incorrect Jokes is the ultimate collection of X-rated and decidedly politically incorrect jokes—an indispensable guide to the funny, the fearless and the filthy. Be warned, the contents of this spanking new bumper book are not for the faint-hearted or easily offended. This unique and up-to-the-minute compendium features thousands of politically incorrect jokes covering every topic from Alzheimer’s to Zoos. Among the themes a (more…)

Some Internet privacy advocates don’t like the idea of a governmental agency keeping information files about Web site visitors. Whether the government intends to use that information for tracking purposes is beside the point. The advocates argue that the government shouldn’t keep tabs on people using cookies at all.

It may come as a surprise to conspiracy theorists, but the government more or less agrees with this perspective. In 2003, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget issued a memo regarding the federal government’s Internet privacy policies. The memo said that all federal government sites must post their privacy policies on an easily accessible Web page. The memo also forbids the use of persistent cookies in most cases. These are Internet cookies that remain on your hard drive even after you close your browser program [source: Office of Management and Budget].

There are some exceptions to the rule. The memo says that a federal government Web site can use persistent cookies if:

* There is a “compelling need,” although the memo doesn’t define what makes a need compelling
* The agency provides a clear posting in the privacy policy that alerts the user that the site has persistent cookies
* The agency explains in the privacy policy how the information in the cookie will be used

Cookies that expire once the user closes his or her browser program are exempt from these rules. Web bugs, which are images one pixel wide by one pixel tall that have many of the same properties as persistent Internet cookies, are not explicitly addressed, meaning some agencies may consider them exempt.

Despite this memo, several people have reported the use of persistent cookies on governmental Web sites. For example, the New York Times reported in 2005 that the National Security Agency (NSA) used persistent Internet cookies on its Web site that wouldn’t expire until 2035. An NSA spokesperson said that the inclusion of the persistent cookies was an accident caused by a software upgrade [source: New York Times].

Many of the exposé reports about government Web sites and persistent cookies seem to be due to such accidents. Some Web page development software includes persistent cookies as a standard option. If the Web administrator doesn’t know about the option, he or she might create a Web page that includes persistent cookies without being aware of it. Considering the amount of work necessary to track someone using cookies, it’s likely that most of these incidents are, in fact, accidents.

Internet cookies are small text files that Web sites store to your computer’s hard drive — they aren’t computer programs. An Internet cookie gives a unique identifier relevant to a particular Web site to each computer that visits the site. The identifier lets Web sites tailor the browsing experience to your preferences. If you visit an international Web site that’s available in many languages, you’d want to read it in a language you know. Using an Internet cookie, the Web site can remember this information. The next time you visit that site, you’ll go straight to the appropriate version because the cookie on your hard drive told the site which language you prefer.

If you fill out an online form on a Web site, the site may store that information in the cookie on your hard drive. The personal information can’t get into the cookie file unless you choose to provide that information. There’s no way for the cookie to search your computer for identification information. In other words, if you’re worried about personal information hitting the Web, just don’t share it.

A small number of major Web companies provide most of the cookies on the Internet. These companies use the same format for all their cookies, so it’s possible for these companies to see when a computer visits different Web sites that use their cookies. For example, Web advertising giant DoubleClick provides cookies for thousands of Web sites. DoubleClick can see if a computer visits different Web sites using their cookies, but it can’t see if the computer visits a site that either uses a different Internet cookie or doesn’t use cookies at all.

Currently, the U.S. Congress is considering an act that would require Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to retain personal data for all its subscribers that the government could then use in investigations. The act is called H.R. 837: Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today’s Youth (SAFETY) of 2007 [source: GovTrack]. If this becomes law, ISPs will have to save personal information like names, postal addresses and Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for all its subscribers. While the government wouldn’t be able to track a user’s browsing in real time, it could request records from an ISP showing all Internet activities on a particular user’s account. People who use public computer accounts (like a computer lab in a public library) would be harder to track.

Republican Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas introduced the bill on Feb. 6, 2007. On March 1, 2007, the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security received the bill for deliberation. As of February 2008, the bill is still in the legislative process.

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Many people fear that a similar thing is happening on the Web. They’re worried that someone, usually the government, is recording and analyzing their Web browsing activity. They argue that these acts are an invasion of privacy. Are they right to be worried? Can the government keep track of all the Web sites everyone visits, and would it be able to act on that information?

It’s easy to understand why some people are worried. The United States Patriot Act expands the government’s ability to perform searches and install wiretaps. It doesn’t seem like a big stretch to add tracking people’s Internet activity to the list. These people fear that they’ll be spied on whether they’ve done anything to justify it or not.
In some ways, fear about the government’s ability to keep tabs on Web activities has reached the level of a conspiracy theory. In the most extreme version of the theory, the government is tracking not only Web site activity, but also is building a database of potential suspects for crimes ranging from corporate sabotage to terrorism. Other theories don’t go that far, but still suggest the government is treating everyone like a suspect — even if people aren’t doing anything illegal or questionable.

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Bayless owns two very popular restaurants in Chicago – Frontera Grill & Topolobampo. He’s almost about to open his newest restaurant XOCO, which is just waiting city inspections. If you’re in the city this weekend, check out the Saturday brunch at Frontera Grill. Here you can feast on Mexican-inspired brunch items from 10:30 AM till 2:30PM on Saturdays.

Bayless and finalists Hubert Keller and Michael Chiarello had to make a four-course meal that served as an autobiography of their food lives.

Bayless wowed the judges with his Ahi tuna smothered with Oaxacan black mole sauce.

“Mmmm,” is what the judges had to say–all together–about the mole sauce, just before they called the chefs back to announce the winner.

“I don’t believe this,” said Bayless, who came out on top of the 24 chefs who competed this summer. “I am just totally elated … Viva Mexico!”

Past “Top Chef” winners, including Chicago’s Stephanie Izard, and “Top Chef” judges Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons helped judge the dishes.

Below are descriptions each of the four courses were supposed to be, and what Bayless created for each:

* Create a menu of your first food memories: Bayless made barbecued quail smoked with hickory house sauce that his parents made, plus sour slaw and watermelon salad.
* The experience that made you decide to become a chef: Here’s where the mole sauce came in, smothering ahi tuna and served with plantain tamale and grilled nopales.
* The opening of your first restaurant: His Achiote-Marinated Cochinita Pibil (suckling pig) with Sunchoke Puree and Crispy Pig’s Feet scored with the judges.
* Where you’ll be heading in the future: The judges didn’t enjoy Bayless’ final course, a seafood dish called Arroz A La Tumbada with tomato-jalapeno broth and chorizo “air

Thread-sewn for durability and a flatter writing surface at binding margin Permanent, waterproof inks Unit ruled Table of Contents page Black covers with red spine and corners Premium white, acid-free paper Manufacturer’s lifetime guarantee Numbered pages.

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What’s a kid to do when his best buddy lets him borrow an exciting new computer game, but his mom says “I’d prefer you stay off my computer?” Sneak on to the computer, of course. Trouble is, the young cartoon aardvark Arthur and his bunny friend Buster crash the computer. Now Arthur has to decide when and how to confess the crime to his mom. In the accompanying episode, Arthur vs. The Piano, Arthur’s overconfidence becomes his own worst enemy. A bad dream causes him (more…)

We believe this to be the most complete and thorough book of its kind in print! The Scale Section contains major and minor scales in numerous forms and positions. The Arpeggio Section contains a multi- octave presentation of each chord-related arpeggio. The Chord Section presents carefully voiced, powerful-sounding chords in every key. In addition, chord spelling, chord notes, and scale tones are shown. A wealth of information for daily practice performance.

About the Author
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From the Manufacturer
Use your Tag Reader to bring this story to life! Read along as lonely Miss Spider asks her fellow bugs in for tea. Come along with her as she searches for new friends. After the story, use your Reader to play learning activities that help build phonics skills, vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. Children can earn online rewards and parents can connect the Tag Reader to the online LeapFrog Learning Path to see what their child is learning. Recommended a (more…)