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Cyberbrother Is Watching Phil Brennan Friday, April 20, 2001 Imagine a world where just about everything about you is recorded on a state-run computer available to bureaucrats, police, credit agencies, banks, the post office and hordes of other groups and people. Imagine not having to file an income tax form every year, or sending out change-of-address notices or renewing your driver's license, because all the information concerning these personal matters is part of a nationwide data bank. That world exists - it's called Finland. Every single citizen has a "citizenship ID card" and a personal identification number, and all ...

When Bush finally became President, the spirits of America understandably rose to heights we hadn?t seen in eight years. Clinton was no longer president and his echo, Al Gore would not be. Expectations were high and hopeful for change but as we travel this trail, it will become clear that Bush will not return us to colonial traditionalism as many of us would like. With few exceptions, big, intrusive government will remain pretty much as it is. Bush will eventually do something to disillusion some people and we will hear voices of protest and disappointment-"He?s just like all the rest." ...

Just in time for summer's final hit-the-open-road weekend, a two-pronged law takes effect today aimed at making North Carolina's highways safer from drunken drivers. The law makes it illegal for passengers to drink beer or wine, and requires anyone convicted of driving while substantially intoxicated to install an alcohol-sensor ignition lock on their cars. Until today, North Carolina was one of the dwindling number of states that allowed passengers to drink alcohol. To make sure everyone gets the word that times have changed, the state is launching an unusually broad campaign to reach as many people as possible -- especially ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the firearms industry on Tuesday charging that the way guns are sold and distributed allows them to end up being used in crimes. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, added the voice of the country's largest municipality to the chorus of 30 other cities and counties that have sued gun makers and distributors for the damages caused by illegal gun use. It named 26 domestic and international gun manufacturers as defendants, including Smith and Wesson Corp. (a unit of Tomkins Plc. (TOMK.L) and the nation's ...

WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court justices Wednesday sharply questioned the government's refusal to reimburse two large oil companies the money they paid for oil and gas leases off the North Carolina coast but didn't use because of a congressional moratorium. Mobil and Marathon oil companies are seeking $158 million they say the government owes them because it reneged on a 1981 contract allowing them and seven other firms to explore for oil and natural gas along a wide swath of the Atlantic Ocean floor 45 miles northeast of Cape Hatteras. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled for Mobil and Marathon ...

Wake County taxpayers spent $3.3 million on a shooting range where they could hone their hobby, but when it opens soon, only those with badges and uniforms will get in. That has gun lovers all fired up over what they call the county's backpedaling -- from a firearms "recreation center" open to the public to a much simpler practice range for law officers alone. In a state where some think the right to bear firearms is as sacrosanct as the right to draw breath, Rex Wheatley is one frustrated marksman. "I think the county has pulled the rug out ...

ATF Director Proposes Interagency Task Force to Track Guns in Region LOS ANGELES--To help share information about guns and their histories, the head of the Los Angeles division of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms proposed Monday the creation of a regional task force of various local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors. Speaking at a conference on gun enforcement laws at City Hall, Richard Curd, the bureau's director, said there is a need for police and prosecutors to swap gun tracing information in a timely, efficient manner. The proposal was met with resounding consensus from an array of ...

Eastern North Carolina Future Farmers of America Chapter needs Your Help. By Fred Bonner Gun raffles have long been a standard method of fund-raising in North Carolina but the North Carolinians against Gun Violence (NCAGV) has decided to bring an end to this practice for a small chapter of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) at the Hobgood Academy in Hobgood, N.C.. The FFA Chapter is trying to raise money by raffling off five guns. A winner will be chosen every day for five days in December. To be given away are three shotguns, one .22 rifle and one centerfire ...