Balance sheet.Die, Robot The Pentagon likes what it sees of combat robots built by small start-up firms such as iRobot. Troops note that a $45,000 "Pack-Bot" is well-suited to replace soldiers in dangerous tasks such as cave clearing and urban warfare. Adult Whim Jennifer Downey fights local zoning ordinances to bring sex toys to the suburbs. Her small Ambiance am·bi·ance also am·bi·ence n. The special atmosphere or mood created by a particular environment: "The noir ambience is dominated by low-key lighting . . . chain aims for retail space near malls in Ohio. Local "red light district" laws restrict adult fare to decaying center cities. Norwegian Could A Norwegian court finds that a program allowing users to play DVDs on Linux boxes is not an illegal tool for pirates. The Motion Picture Association of America argued that since it didn't license such a player, it was ipso facto [Latin, By the fact itself; by the mere fact.] ipso facto (ip-soh-fact-toe) prep. Latin for "by the fact itself." An expression more popular with comedians imitating lawyers than with lawyers themselves. outlawed. Obscene Queen Utah's budget shortfall claims the position of state porn czar. Paula Houston's two-year reign within the attorney general's office came to an end when the boss decided he needed the money to fight real crime. Cheap Bouquet A grape glut in California allows consumers to pay pocket change for good wine, leading even discount retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target to start stocking bottles. One popular variety, Charles Shaw, retails at $1.99 a bottle. The terrible damage wrought by Prohibition may yet be undone. Rule Book The Bush administration launches www.regulations.gov as a one-stop shop One-Stop Shop A company or a location that offers a multitude of services to a client or a customer. The idea is to provide convenient and efficient service and also to create the opportunity for the company to sell more products to clients and customers. for information on the vast regulatory state. Cruising through the thousands of proposals, rules, and notices is bound to make even the most avowed a·vow tr.v. a·vowed, a·vow·ing, a·vows 1. To acknowledge openly, boldly, and unashamedly; confess: avow guilt. See Synonyms at acknowledge. 2. To state positively. statist stat·ism n. The practice or doctrine of giving a centralized government control over economic planning and policy. stat  ist adj. a little nervous. Union Fundraising Indictments are handed down in a million theft ring-operated by top members of the Washington, D.C., teachers union. A union chauffeur-don't all public-sector unions have chauffeurs?-reportedly stuffed his pockets with $20,000 after cashing one union check. Snow Balling New homeland security restrictions intended to keep explosives from terrorists trip up efforts to protect ski areas from avalanches. Nonresident aliens can no longer handle explosives without clearing yards of red tape, which means snow-pack control experts from Europe, Australia, and New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. are off the team. Penguin Hunter David Boies, who ran the Justice Department's Microsoft antitrust case, now tracks down license violations for a Unix vendor. The Linux community, which often cheered Boies in his pursuit of big, bad Microsoft, is shocked and confused. It shouldn't be. Justice Schmustice A federal appeals court rules that Louisiana-born Taliban fighter Yasser Esam Hamdi cannot be represented by a public defender public defender, governmental official who represents indigent persons accused of crime. U.S. Supreme Court decisions expanding the right to counsel to pretrial proceedings and holding that a person cannot be sentenced to even one day in jail unless a lawyer was because he is an enemy combatant. The Bush administration contends that Hamdi has no right to a trial and can be jailed indefinitely. Cold Draft Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) and Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) call for a return to military conscription. War is too important to be left to volunteers, they say. Smoke That White House drug czar John Walters refuses to comply with Nevada state law, which requires his office to report how much it spent campaigning against the state's November 2002 marijuana initiative. Walters lit a big doobie doo·bie n. Slang A marijuana cigarette. [Origin unknown.] and claimed legal immunity as a federal officeholder of·fice·hold·er n. One who holds public office. Noun 1. officeholder - someone who is appointed or elected to an office and who holds a position of trust; "he is an officer of the court"; "the club elected its officers for . |
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