We've moved Seen On Slash to a new host. We're hoping you'll see a huge performance increase. So far I'm finding it very speedy.

Our software has also been upgraded and a few tweaks to the theme have been made. Let me know if you run into any problems. Thanks for your patience during the transition.

There's a new "Slashdottit" link on the top Slashdot story. Follow the link and get this message:

"Your vote in the Slashdottit system will help insure the best stories are presented to our readers, with hyper accurate numbers to indicate their relevance and general awesomeness. Only by requiring the contribution of every random user of the internet can we guarantee the most scientifically perfect numbers will be generated. These numbers will guarantee that every story that appears on Slashdot will be interesting, insightful, and flawless. Vote early, vote often."

While mildly amusing I wonder if this is only the beginning of something bigger. Let's hope this year the surprise isn't pink.

It's been almost exactly one year since we began Seen On Slash to collect the best Slashdot comments. Today we hit 1000 comments collected. Thanks for your great submissions and keep 'em comin'!

The US is building the biggest embassy on Earth on the banks of the Tigris. Locals in Iraq are enraged as running water is still a problem and the electricity can't stay on, yet the $592 million embassy is on schedule (being built by only foreign workers). The new US embassy may be bigger than anything Saddam Hussein ever built.

This apparently isn't helping to "win over the hearts and minds" of Iraqis. With distaste they refer to the project as "George W.'s Palace". Apparenty embassadors who are slumming it in Hussein's palaces are eventually in for a real treat.

They can't have very nice lives - librarians. It's like being a teacher, only without the opportunities for dating, because the only kids you meet are the nerds. So the last thing America's shsssshing minority needs is the indignity of a urine test. But that's just what we're doing... The last time a librarian did something really stupid and reckless on drugs was when Laura married George.

- Bill Maher

It is, therefore, not an exaggeration to say that if the city of New York were suddenly replaced by a ball of fire, some significant percentage of the American population would see a silver-lining in the subsequent mushroom cloud, as it would suggest to them that the best thing that is ever going to happen was about to happen: the return of Christ. . . Imagine the consequences if any significant component of the U.S. government actually believed that the world was about to end and that its ending would be glorious. The fact that nearly half of the American population apparently believes this, purely on the basis of religious dogma, should be considered a moral and intellectual emergency.

Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation, quoted in The Huffington Post

We ran a poll immediately following the Slashdot redesign. They're now following up with their own survey. While some people hate the new design most find it marginally better. There are some particular issues with small font sizes. This may be your chance to bring about some change. So head over and voice your opinion.

I'm not a huge fan of Bill Clinton. But this interview on Fox News Sunday is great. Wallace attempts to ask Clinton tough questions, then not allow him to completely answer. It comes off as a weak attempt by Wallace to hurt President Clinton's image. Clinton doesn't stand for it and backs up his attempts to catch Bin Laden. He even bluntly admits his failure. Great interview.

[Edit:] This has turned into a big story. First it should be noted that Fox News performed some very selective editing of the interview. ThinkProgress has more of the complete interview transcripts.

As Jon Stewart pointed out much of the mainstream media ignored the facts Clinton raised and focused only on reporting his emotions and the tone of his voice. As if Clinton's anger is more important than his actual record and that of his successor. Condoleezza Rice spoke in defense of the Bush administration. Of course the newspaper which spoke with her and published her comments is owned by the same company as Fox News. Oddly she uses the 9/11 commission to back up her arguments, while previously she did nothing but fight the commission's creation and made every attempt to prevent officials from cooperating with them. She also failed to add any facts to the debate with Clinton, instead claiming the 9/11 commission has already made everything perfectly clear. Yet the two people who headed the commission tell us there are still many unanswered questions. Let's hope no one believes here spin.

[Edit:] Rice claims "We were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight al Qaeda." But just five days after President Bush was sworn into office, a memo from counter-terrorism expert Richard A. Clarke to Rice included the 2000 document, "Strategy for Eliminating the Threat from the Jihadist Networks of al-Qida: Status and Prospects." This document directly addresses specific issues Rice claims were not mentioned by Clinton when Bush entered office. We can now label Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a liar with very specific evidence. If she's going to lie so bluntly Congress should remove her from office.

For the first time today I noticed a Slashdot user with an ID higher than 1,000,000. Any web site would be proud to hit that number. On average that equates to roughly 100,000 new users every year. And we still see comments from users with 3 digit IDs. In internet time Slashdot's been around a very long time. To still be popular at all is quite impressive.

Introspection is not a scientific activity: it's not repeatable, there are no good theories about how to do it, what you expect to find. It's strange that by looking into yourself you really get an appreciation of the mystery of the universe. You don't by trying to find the laws of physics.

- John Backus

Against our traditions we are now entering upon an unjust and trivial war, a war against a helpless people, and for a base object — robbery. At first our citizens spoke out against this thing, by an impulse natural to their training. Today they have turned, and their voice is the other way. What caused the change? Merely a politician's trick - a high-sounding phrase, a blood-stirring phrase which turned their uncritical heads: "Our Country, right or wrong!" An empty phrase, a silly phrase. It was shouted by every newspaper, it was thundered from the pulpit, the Superintendent of Public Instruction placarded it in every schoolhouse in the land, the War Department inscribed it upon the flag. And every man who failed to shout it or who was silent, was proclaimed a traitor - none but those others were patriots. To be a patriot, one had to say, and keep on saying, "Our Country, right or wrong," and urge on the little war. Have you not perceived that that phrase is an insult to the nation?

I was never very pleased with the original bland slash theme. So I've finally made some changes to make Seen on Slash a little more unique. I'll probably make a few more little tweaks but I think it's got a nice, simple feel. Of course I had to stick with Slashdot green. But unlike Slashdot's new theme I'm keeping it low on graphics. Let me know what you think.

Erasing more than 90 years of Supreme Court precedent justice Samuel Alito broke a tie to allow police to enter your home without knocking. Instead of the judiciary balancing the power of the executive branch they're leaving it up to civil lawsuits to reconcile abuses.

David Moran, a university professor, says, "There are going to be a lot more doors knocked down. There are going to be a lot more people terrified and humiliated."

Currently evidence collected in violation of the Fourth Amendment cannot be used in trials. It appears at least 4 of the Supreme Court Justices would be happy to change that rule. Soon the police won't have to abide by the Fourth Amendment:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

From Findlaw.com...

"Terrorism is a tactic, not an entity, and it is a tactic used by people who have a political grievance. Therefore, if you want to eliminate terrorism, you have to address the political problems that gave it birth."

Very well said, Charley Reese.

[Edit:] I disagree with his views on Israel. I do agree to some extent with his points on how the US is handling the situation, though.

Slashdot has updated its CSS again in the last few hours. They fixed my only two layout complaints: The "Read More" link is now on the left on the home page and comment mod points are immediately next to the title. So I'm happy. But of course there were many complaints about the contrast, font, and broken journal entries as posted to our poll. Let us know Slashdot has fixed the problems you've seen.