[H]ardNews 6th Edition - Blair's "Tech" Edition

Light-emitting Silicon:

GENEVA, Switzerland -- STMicrolectronics claims to have achieved a breakthrough in the creation of light-emitting silicon and said it would have engineering samples of monolithic silicon devices based on the technology, combining electrical isolation and optical communication, before the end of 2002.

Suing Patriots?

Two major privacy and civil liberties groups are preparing to file lawsuits this week to force the Bush administration to disclose more information about how it has been using the USA Patriot Act, which was signed in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks so as to give federal law enforcement officials greater powers to track and eavesdrop on electronic communications.

Back to Aluminum Interconnects?

Among the findings that appear in the current issue of the journal Science: When it comes to forming tiny structures in computer chip circuits and nanotechnology, aluminum may endure mechanical stress more than 30 percent better than copper, which is normally considered to be the stiffer metal.

Allrightythen:

While he was in the bathroom I could hear him getting into the shower stall and wiggling around and then I heard him drink out of the toilet," she said. "And after he was done drinking out of the toilet, he wiggled into the shower some more and turned on the shower. Later on, when I had gone in after he left the house, I realized he wiped his face on my husband's bathrobe."

The bear truth.

Its a Conspiracy:

Eating too much monosodium glutamate - the flavour enhancer common in oriental and processed foods - could make you go blind.