Banning

Thiruvananthapuram, May 8 (IANS) The Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA) has only taken up a complaint against upcoming superstar Dileep, and has not banned his films, says MACTA chairman Vinayan.

Salvia is, according to one commentator, a “minor drug in the world of psychedelics”. It is neither a “party drug” nor does it taste very nice. You’d think that it wasn’t very popular, then? Not so, as a study of 1,500 students at San Diego State University showed. The survey found that 4 percent of participants [...]

Los Angeles, California, almost banned murder. Almost. It turns out the City Council realized that a symbolic 40-hour ban on homicides might just be the dumbest thing anyone's ever tried to do to fight crime, because murder is already illegal. But that didn't stop activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson from urging the council to take the "bold step." You know what would be a really bold step? The City Council banning plea bargains for 40 hours. That's right: eight hours a day for five days banning...(read more)

In a recent court case, Virginia Judge M. Hannah Lauck held that the Virginia law violated the student publications’ constitutional right to free expression. The student publications argued that not being able to run such ads put them automatically at a competitive disadvantage against commercial papers that faced no such prohibition against advertising beer, wine or [...]

According to a United Press International article, some San Francisco companies are banning electronic devices during meetings.  Here is an excerpt from the UPI article: “Laptops, Blackberries, Sidekicks, iPhones and the like keep people from being fully present. Aside from just being rude, partial attention generally leads to partial results,” said Todd Wilkens of Adaptive Path, [...]

As of March 31st, you will no longer be able to sell digital download items on Ebay. An insider secret here though… Put your digital items into a different format and keep selling them For example… Sell your e-book on a cd, sell it as a printed version and mail it, etc… Please, Digg, Sphinn, and PlugIM this post…it [...]

Now that a German high court has upheld a regional ban on teachers wearing the Muslim headscarf in public schools, many German converts to Islam fear that future court decisions could also infringe upon their right to carry out suicide bombings against Americans and other infidels, as well. “This ruling is a clear reflection of the culture of intolerance, fear and injustice that is slowly and insidiously creeping into German society and is directed against peace-loving headgear-toting Muslims everywhere,” said one irate Islamic legal expert. “Like what are they going to forbid us to do next, from carrying out our religiously-motivated car bombing rituals in Afghanistan and Iraq? Germany has no jurisdiction there, you know. Jeez. What has this country come to?” The heads

President Bush said Saturday he vetoed legislation that would ban the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods such as waterboarding to break suspected terrorists because it would end practices that have prevented attacks.

The Low-Tech Times previously reported on a proposal to ban texting while driving in Virginia. Now, according to WJLA ABC News Channel 7, Maryland is again considering to ban the dangerous practice after a previous attempt was rejected. Here’s an excerpt from the WJLA report: The House Environmental Matters Committee has already rejected one [...]

NJ signs first bill in decades banning executionsExcerpt:"New Jersey on Monday became the first state in more than three decades to abolish the death penalty after a state commission ruled the punishment is "inconsistent with evolving standards of decency."In signing the bill, Gov. Jon Corzine called it a "momentous day" and made the Garden State the first state to ban capital punishment since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated it in 1976."http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/17/death.penalty/

Nowadays, you can’t read the paper, watch TV, or even head out the door without being bombarded by some message about environmentalism. Living in Vancouver and on the West Coast, this shouldn’t be a surprise, nor do I think it’s a bad thing. With the dramatic causes and effects of global warming becoming apparent regularly and with increasing frequency (i.e. unusual weather, destructive weather, carbon trading, record oil prices) I think we as humans of this planet, not capitalists, countries, or politicians, need to change our way of life faster than a squeegee kid smears sludge on your windshield! But when I heard about the recent idea of banning plastic bags in Vancouver, I thought to myself: will eliminating plastic bags in a relatively small city like Vancouver really make a lick of difference? I realize it’s a small step in the right direction and that every little bit counts but does it really matter if almost every other city/country, besides San Franc

  Xbox 360 users who have modded firmwares may want to steer clear of Xbox Live for a little while. It seems Microsoft is once again exercising its banhammer muscles with a good old-fashioned ban wave. According to Xbox-Scene, several users of their forums and IRC channels have been banned from Xbox Live. Those who were banned were using Toshiba-Samsung and Hitachi-LG drives with either Xtreme and iXtreme firmwares. As of the time their report was made, BenQ drives seem to have escaped the banhammer, though that may only be a matter of time. In any case, how do you know if you’re banned? It’s simple, really. According to Xbox-Scene, If you have the ‘Z Code’ 8015-190D it means you are banned. This doesn’t ban your account, but only disables your specific console from accessing Xbox Live. Watch Out if you have a modded xbox 360  Share This

Continuing what has become a national trend, more and more cities are passing ordinances and laws prohibiting baggy pants. Actually, “baggy” is a misnomer, because the apparently-nothing-better-to-do-masterminds behind these proposals really don’t care so much about the bagginess. Nah. In actuality the plan is to establish and enforce proper waistline etiquette. Even the fellow to [...]

It has come to my attention that Widgetbucks has been banning accounts of many people who are due for payment. The company did not provide any reasons for the ban unlike Google Adsense. I advice my readers to stay clear of Widgetbucks at least for now or even permanently. You guys can read more about it here . advertising network, make money online, widgetbucks

Lisa over at Bark for Peace just emailed me and asked me to help get the word out about a hearing that is going to be held tonight here in Austin. The City Council will listen to arguments on whether or not to ban dogs from Turkey Creek Trail - a trail that has been leash free for over 3o years. Here’s the info: We’re coming down to crunch time for keeping dogs on Turkey Creek with the public hearing scheduled for Thurday, 8 November at 6 p.m. at City Hall: 301 West Second. Here’s an overview of the strategies and logistics as we move forward: Strategies and Logistics: Winning Strategy 1. Show up. Parking underneath City Hall or on the street is free after 5:30 p.m. The entrance to the parking lot is on the Lavaca side of City Hall on a one-way street heading north. On-street parking is free, but limited because of construction. You can hop an elevator from the parking garage to the 1st floor to enter the building or take the stairs up to the first floor. Winning Strategy

Hijab-a-scooterOriginally uploaded by aymanshamma.I am using the free WiFi at the JetBlue terminal in JFK. Laptops outnumber passengers without them. I should be in Las Vegas shortly after midnight EST. So I decided to dash off this post before my plane departs; I can't wait for Internet in the Sky. If this country asked Muslims to eat pork - I would stand up for their rights because it is compulsory in Islam to avoid the eating of pork. If this country asked Muslims to drink alcohol - I would stand up for their rights because it is compulsory in Islam to avoid the drinking of alcohol. If we asked Muslims to pray to Jesus - I would stand up for their rights because it is compulsory in Islam to pray only to Allah because God does not beget nor is he begotten. But all Muslims tell you that wearing of the hijab is voluntary, that Muslim women LOVE wearing the veil and there is no compulsion to its use. So if it is truly a matter of choice, and the lifting of the veil is no impe

Nancy Pelosi has supported the right of The Architect of the Capitol’s stance on banning mention of the word of God on flag certificates. The Architect of the Capitol is an unelected low level position. Therefore this position should not have the power to dictate policy. To read the stories click here: Capitol Hill: Don’t Dare Ask Us To Write The Word God Nancy Pelosi Defends Banning God After reading the stories take action and let your voice be heard by calling, writing and emailing Ms. Pelosi: Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker Pelosi 235 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 Primary Phone: 202-225-0100 Secondary Phone: 202-225-4965 E-Mail: Nancy Pelosi, Pelosi

I recently posted an article regarding the boy that requested a flag for his Grandfather and the rejection that he received. Click here to view the story.Please see the information below from the American Family Association and help fight the good fight.Nation's Top Democrat Defends Banning GodThe nation’s number one Democrat, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, is defending the banning of religious references on certificates issued by the Architect of the Capitol.An Eagle Scout asked that a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol be sent to his grandfather, along with a certificate bearing the message: “In honor of my grandfather Marcel Larochelle, and his dedication and love of God, country, and family.”Stephen Ayers, the Architect of the Capitol, banned the use of the word “God” in the certificate issued for the Eagle Scout. Ayers, serving in a low-level, non-elected position, claims he has the authority to ban the word “God” from the certificate. This is the first time ev

Brian's initial column takes on Milwaukee's ban of Bernie Brewer. If you ask people outside of Wisconsin (and perhaps many Wisconsinites) for an association for Milwaukee, perhaps the most common answer would be beer. After all, Milwaukee is home to many breweries, most famously Miller. That is unless you are a fan of Schlitz, which proclaimed itself, “The beer that made Milwaukee famous.”

Do you normally let your children eat marzipan, jams, sweets, brown sauce, yoghurts, jellies or cheesecake? If so, well then you’re up for real trouble if you listen to new research from the University of Southampton. All these products contain the chemical additive Carmoisine which is banned in Scandinavian countries, but not in the [...]

And the blog tour begins.This month's tour goes out to The Return, book 3 of the Mars Hill Classified series by Austin Boyd.In other news, the Spirit of Vatican 2 "Catholic" Faith Community has weighed The Sci Fi Catholic in the scales and found it wanting. As a result, it has officially and unceremoniously banned this blog forever, for the following reasons:Phariseeism, Funny Languages, Intolerance, Republicanism, and Offensiveness. I was hoping for a Neocatholic (NC) rating and a Bells and Smells (BS), but apparently I didn't quite squeak by. Not sure what the "Republicanism" thing is about.You will find me caught beneath the landslide of a Blog Tour Supernova (I'm running out of these things!):Trish AndersonBrandon BarrJim BlackJustin BoyerGrace BridgesAmy BrowningJackie CastleValerie ComerKarri ComptonLisa CromwellCSFF Blog TourGene CurtisD. G. D. DavidsonJaney DeMeoMerrie Destefano or Alien DreamJeff DraperApril ErwinBeth GoddardMarcus GoodyearJill HartKatie HartSherrie HibbsCh

A Clark County School is apologizing to the local newspaper Monday after banning one of its reporters at the Homecoming game.The Winchester Sun says the Principal at George Roger's Clark High School would not allow a reporter in the press box because he didn't like an article the newspaper ran that day.That story was about four white students, at George Roger's Clark, who gave a black student a racially charged note, according to Ronda Hopewell, the mother of the student who received the note. The note depicts a white person whipping a black person, it also shows a noose and includes racial statements like "the south will rise again." The banned journalist says reporting the news is their job and the action Principal Gordon Parido took was shocking. "I get a phone call saying, you're banned from the press box tonight and I said you're kidding right? He said no Mr. Parido doesn't want you to be in the press box," [sports editor Keith] Taylor explained."I said why? and I was told w

I realize that all of us cringe when we hear or read stories about censorship or the banning of certain books in schools and public libraries. But do some books actually deserve that fate because providing free access to them places the public in danger? I think so, and I think that some public libraries in the U.K. are making a stupid mistake by placing these books on their shelves.Public

No baggy pants, no display of boxers or the unsightly thong, not even a bra strap, not one of them if authorities in Atlanta have their way. “Little children see it and want to adopt it, thinking it’s the in thing,” says Atlanta Councilman C.T. Martin Wednesday. “I don’t want young people thinking that half-dressing is the way to go. I want them to think about their future.” But, apparently, teaching students to dress more appropriately isn’t an option, not according to this AP article entitled Atlanta considers banning baggy pants. The proposed ordinance states that “the indecent exposure of his or her undergarments” would be unlawful in a public place. It would go in the same portion of the city code that outlaws sex in public and the exposure or fondling of genitals. The penalty would be a fine in an amount to be determined, Martin said. Earlier this year, the town council in Delcambre, La., passed an ordinance that carrie

Rev. Jim Berkley of the IRD posted an opinion on his blog, Officially for Presbyterians is Homosexual Practice Sin? As I understand his argument, he suggests that the PCUSA's policy also applies to unrepentant practicing gays to be members. I posted the following comment:Jim,I applaud your straightforwardness here. I think your decision is quite logical. I argued your viewpoint in 2001, although from a 180 degree perspective. I also commented on this policy last year.I hope you will move forward with this. It may finally wake up the moderates so we can remove this hateful policy at the 2008 General Assembly.By the way, I will soon make a comment about this on my blog.Grace and Peace,JohnThe latest move from the right (if Jim's viewpoints are shared more widely) is to affirm congregations that do not want gays as members let alone officers. It appears that the movement is to ban gays from membership, let alone ordination, in PCUSA churches. Truthfully, I think Jim's move

A few days ago I commented on the fact that the Guardian was removing legitimate questions I raised on the number of complaints brought to the General Medical Council by Ms Penny Mellor. I replaced the question they removed in even more basic terms. Today, they have sought to remove the message yet again. It is interesting that while they have removed all my defences to Ms Mellor's assertions, they have allowed Mellor to continue her defamatory diatribe against Professor Southall many times over. My basic question that is indeed causing some gibbering difficulties over at Guardian towers, GMC towers and Mellor Towers is this " HOW MANY COMPLAINTS HAS PENNY MELLOR MADE OVER THE YEARS AND WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME OF SAID COMPLAINTS". Mellor keeps the above data hidden in one of her " SECRET FILES". The GMC of course protect their little serial complainer to the nth degree while spending doctor's subscriptions on legal advisors. The two alternatives are that Mellor has reported these co

The European Union is currently debating the issue of whether or not to ban mercury fillings. "Amalgams," which contain 50 percent mercury, is still standard issue in many European countries. The EU has commissioned two working groups to sort out the potential health hazards, and environmental risks, and to report back by the end of 2007.Mercury is fatal in high doses, but even low doses have been linked to a wide variety of adverse symptoms and illnesses, including: mild tremors neurological damage kidney problems autism Alzheimer's disease If you have not yet seen the telling video Mercury In Your Teeth?, then make it a point to watch it now. A visual demonstration of how the mercury fillings in your teeth vaporizes and spreads is worth more than a thousand words. You may also want to read through Mercury Toxicity and Systemic Elimination Agents, for more in-depth information about how to eliminate mercury toxicity from your body. Reuters July 25, 2007

Well, in the past twenty minutes I received not one but two emails from separate bloggers informing me that Digg and Blogger have both seen fit to label them as “spam” and ban them in their own way. A Blogger ban is the most serious since it disables a site almost entirely (i.e. cannot post), as was the case for 18 hours most recently with Gates of Vienna. Who is the primary suspect behind this recent trend of censorship? Well, none other than the “Reverend” Jim Sutter. Jim thinks we are all Islamophobes and apparently that makes us hate what we supposedly fear. And that is his excuse for fashioning his own brand of fascism and hate and calling it “good work”. Can you say hypocrite, boys and girls? If anyone has any further information on who else might be behind the moves to ban anti-jihad sites or other politically oriented sites that do not cultivate a “progressive” agenda, please pass it along. Here are the two affected sites toda

It seems like every time a post about global warming I say now I’ve heard it all. And then I hear something else, post it, and then I think that has to be it, there can be nothing more ridiculous than what I just posted about.  I thought I heard it all when the genocide in Darfur was blamed on global warming, and now this, while not as important an issue as Darfur it may be just as stupid. (more…)

As you all know a few years ago someone was killed because of the game “Manhunt” in the end it turned out the person who killed him never owned the game. Today, the release of the newest Manhunt has been stopped in the UK, meaning cos of some crossed wires and some social problems SANE people cannot play the game. Now I have expressed my opinions on the BBC news website (hoping they will be published.) but, in case they dont here we go: Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/6767623.stm Banning the new Manhunt game developed by rockstar is a stupid idea not only will people then order the game online from America it will just make the game more popular. The death of stefan was tragic and I understood at the time that the killer played the game and was mentally unstable, but it turned out that Stefan owned the game not the killer. Its just a scape goat to blame violence on games, music, tv, films and the internet has anyone taken a step back and said w

    Jhilmil and Pehalwan - No, these are not inter-caste lovers who have been hounded from their hiding places and strung up from the nearest tree by indignant relatives and friends. These are the imaginative, seductive names of two eating- places along the road to Delhi. There are many, many more by the sides of our crisscrossing, nation-wide highways. They are the ubiquitous dhabas that bring together India's roads and pilgrims. Long before our erstwhile poet-PM thought of the "golden triangle", the gutsy Indian and his grandmother had set up degchis, phataas and charpoys for hungry voyagers. But now all these are to be sent into oblivion. They have flouted rules nobody heard of before the kadaais and tandoors were set up. We are to forfeit our chicken tikkas, sarson da saag and phulkas to some obscure rule-book or greedy politician whose palm has not had enough grease or belly engorged with free food. For a lot of us who commute often to the capital, the likes of

LONDON — A teaching assistant, Sariya Allan, is claiming 50,000 pounds damages from her former school for religious discrimination, after her employers reprimanded her for telling her pupil not to read out a Harry Potter book to her because witchcraft theme was against her faith. Allan, who was working in Durand Primary School in Stockwell, [...]

Two recent news articles about alcohol and advertising caught my attention. First, you should know two things: I like to have a drink now and again -- you might have realized that by the name of this blog! -- and, I've made a good chunk of my living for the last 24 years in advertising and public relations.My attitude is that if a product is legal, the marketers of that product ought to be able to legally advertise it so long as the methods of advertising the product do not suggest a usage for the product that goes outside legal boundaries. For instance, sports cars are a legal product. They can and should be advertised. However, GM should not be allowed to advertise that the Corvette is particularly we suited for night racing on neighborhood streets at 130 miles per hour.That's why I don't see a problem advertising beer, wine and spirits. The industry has adopted rules to avoid marketing the products to underage consumers, which is a good thing. The fact of the matter is that it wo

Console hackers: beware! Microsoft has officially taken the hard line on hacked consoles connecting to Xbox Live. According to the Xbox’s Gamerscore blog, henceforth when a modded console is detected on the Live network, users can expect to have their account auto-banned, and their console permanently disabled from the system. Read on… Via: Engadget.com

Daily Express15 May 2007HOW shameful that Croydon Council, in banning pupils from wearing crosses in class, should make exceptions for Muslim, Sikh and Hindu religious jewellery without making the same exception for symbols of the Christian faith (“Outrage over new ban on the cross”, May 14). Shadow Education Secretary David Willetts has apparently described this as ‘clumsy’, but I fear it is

This is from Wake Up America posted by mpinkeyes and I couldn't agree more. In Los Angeles the socialists on the city council are considering the same exact thing. Not surprisingly they have no reasonable alternative idea on what the hell to use to carry our groceries. San Francisco is using "compostable" plastic bags but here in So Cal we don't have the processing facilities to deal with them and studies have shown they would likely contaminate landfills. Cloth bags are the latest "must do" from the birkenstock and tofu crowd but I think I will hold off a bit before investing in any cloth bags. ~RJH Wake Up America article link Banning Plastic Bags in BostonApr 26th, 2007 by mpinkeyes Ban,ban,ban,ban,ban, that’s all the liberals know how to do. This is what they consider legislating, telling us what we can’t do or have any more. This is the latest in Boston.Don’t Massachusetts legislators have more pressing issues to deal with than banning plastic bags? Fir

Ban,ban,ban,ban,ban, that’s all the liberals know how to do. This is what they consider legislating, telling us what we can’t do or have any more. This is the latest in Boston. Don’t Massachusetts legislators have more pressing issues to deal with than banning plastic bags? First we had to switch to plastic bags because we were killing trees to make paper bags. Trees are a renewable resource but that didn’t matter, we had to stop using them. Now plastic bags are no good either, when will the absurdity stop?

Chi ha avatuto il piacere di giocare e appasionarsi ad un MMOG, sa benissimo quanto sia difficile controllare i cheaters in gioco. Le cheats sono sempre esistite, e, come il doping nello sport, sono la piaga dei giochi online. Recentemente si era parlato di uno scandalo su Eve online, adesso invece si parla di World of Warcraft. In questi giorni si sta pesantemente criticando la policy adoperata da Blizzard per prevenire il cheating. Come riporta un interessante articolo su CNet, sono scoppiate enormi polemiche in seguito ad alcuni bann ricevuti da utenti di WoW. Chi ha alzato questa tempesta di polemiche è un giovanissimo giocatore della Georgia, Zak, che ha dichiarato di essere stato bannato perchè troppo forte in gioco. Dopo aver esaminato il caso, Blizzard, ha riabilitato il suo account. La situazione di Zak sembra non sia l’ unica, altri giocatori hanno lamentato simili interventi ingiustificati da parte dei “moderatori” del gioco. Altri invece affermano che

Singapore has said that Indonesia's grounds for banning sand exports are unjustified.Indonesia banned exports of concreting sand last month citing environmental concerns and fears that exports would shrink Indonesia's borders.However, Minister of National Development Mah Bow Tan, told Parliament that the claims were not justified, and that the price of the exports was supposed to factor in environmental degradation.Related:Singapore vs Indonesia: the saga continues

I came across a blog in our system today that I just have to point out. This blog has met all of the PayPerPost basic requirements. The blog has plenty of posts, original content, clear disclosure, it even has a decent page rank and Alexa score. What it doesn't have is a whole lot of appeal to advertisers and I could see why this blog would be banned.The large ad banners, text prompting people to scroll down and (PPP) in the header are not appealing to advertisers, let alone the button to hide sponsored posts (I would remove this completely). In addition, this blogger is pointing out his posts as a PayPerPost advertisement. I have said this before, any sponsored post should be credited to the advertiser, not to PayPerPost. Advertisers don't like posts that say "a PayPerPost advertisement" instead they prefer posts that say "sponsored by ACME", "brought to you by ACME", or something along those lines. In Post disclosure is great, just give credit where credit is due. The advertiser is

I will begin with my birthday first..of course. :) You see, yesterday I turned 29 (for the fourth year in a row according to my kids) years old. Okay so I'm really 32 but my kids are smart enough to not remind me. lol. Anyway- my birthday became important to me three years ago because of my cancer diagnosis. When the doctor gave me the news some of the first things that went through my head were (besides the obvious ones about my kids)- Am I going to even make it to Christmas? Am I going to see my 30th birthday? I had waited so long to finally turn 30 and in an instant I thought it was being taken from me along with everything I held dear.Luckily we found out that I would definately make it to my 30th (although I'm afraid my adrenal glands weren't there to celebrate) and hopefully many more. Every year that I celebrate another birthday is another year I'm alive to make memories with my husband and children. I no longer care about what I do or don't get, who remembers (except the h

In typical 'feel good-do nothing' political fashion, there is a movement being discussed by the New York City Council to ban "The N-Word." Read the New York Times for the back story.All I can think is...what the hell? Now we begin to legislate political correctness in unenforceable, symbolic statutes. Is it wrong to call someone "The N-Word" in an attempt to belittle or demean them? Ummmm, duh! But common decency and civility dictate its wrong to call anyone any name for those purposes. Banning a word doesn't even address the issue. It simply makes some people feel like they've done something, although that something is nothing. But since nothing is nothing, nothing isn't something. See how stupid this can get?All I'm saying is, if we ban one word, what about the rest? Shouldn't Asians be allowed to ban 'The G Word,' Jews 'The K Word,' and Democrats 'The L Word.' All are insulting, degrading, and derogatory. Maybe our new Speaker of the House can create a House

In August, the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation published David Griffin's book, The Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11. I read the book and I urge others to read it. In my opinion, it is well written, scholarly, and makes some important challenges that should be addressed. His basic thesis is that the 9/11 Commission Report is flawed and questions behind what happened on 9/11 remain unanswered.The point of this post is not the book itself. I am concerned about the possibility of censorship. The publishers offered their rationale for publishing the book and you can still order it. Pressure from the right has caused the publishers to distance themselves from the book. Christianity Today included these quotes from Kenneth Godshall, the board chair:The CT article states:Kenneth Godshall, chair of the board, explained the decision in a November 11 press release, in which he said the theological reflections of author David Ray Griffin are "helpful and timely," but that t

I recently discovered that Blogger does not have a feature which allows you to easily ban an IP address. As with anything, however, there is usually a way around that. Should you ever have difficulty with a particular visitor and desire to ban an IP, I found this website helpful. Hopefully it works. I'm not about to test it by banning my own IP. The code should work for any host.

We have received a number of suggestions, complaints and cries regarding banning and made a small change with today's release. When advertisers go to ban Posties they are now presented with more information regarding the ban so they understand the full implications and the negative impact on a Posties quality score. You can see the prompt below:The advertiser has always had to enter a reason for the ban. We are working on getting those comments displayed for the Posties in a near future release. Thank you all for your feedback in the townhall meeting, a lot of those comments drove this change.

No seriously. The Kingdom of Norway may become the first nation on God's green Earth to ban all gasoline-only cars. Citing Brazil's success with bioethanol as their rationale, Norwegian lawmakers are considering ditching petrol-only machines completely, in favor of biofuel-powered transportation. The United Press International reports that Center Party committee member Jenny Klinge feels banning sales of gasoline-powered cars to her country's 4.7m residents "would pressure the automobile industry into developing technology faster than it otherwise would." The Norwegian Transport ministry is trying to determine if such a ban would be legal. Meanwhile, Norway's many corn, soybean, and sugar cane farmers are excited about the prospects of a new market for their crops.