New Station For GTA

Sick of the 80's music that pumps through every car you jack in GTA: Vice City? Then check out a new mod that lets you listen to an army recruiter, driving instructor or yo mama as you whore and maim your way through the game as Tommy Vercetti. The monologues were performed by voice actors and can be loaded
on your Xbox or PC to replace the game's in-built soundtrack. My favorite is the book on 8-track version of Terminator as read by Ahhhhnold.

Grand Thieves’ Audio MODologues [Bunkmag via Kotaku]

GloThongs

Call me crazy, but I find this a cool and surprisingly sexy idea. Look for hotties modeling one at your local Rave club soon. (or so one would hope)

--- Product Page --- [GloThong via Gizmodo]

School Crime; 30 year low.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Violent crime against students in schools fell by 50 percent between 1992 and 2002, and young people are more often targeted for violence away from school, according to a government report released Monday.

There were about 24 crimes of rape, sexual assault, robbery and physical assault for every 1,000 students in 2002, down from 48 per 1,000 a decade earlier, said the report from the Education and Justice departments.

The reduction mirrored the trend found outside classrooms -- overall crime is at a 30-year low across the nation.

*You have to wonder why things like this never make the front page. I suppose its easier to sell, "Kids are going to hell in a handbasket," then the truth.*

--- Read Article --- [CNN]

New Ways to Detect Lying

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Brain scans show that the brains of people who are lying look very different from those of people who are telling the truth, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

The study, using functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI, not only sheds light on what goes on when people lie but may also provide new technology for lie-detecting, the researchers said.

"There may be unique areas in the brain involved in deception that can be measured with fMRI," said Dr. Scott Faro, director of the Functional Brain Imaging Center at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"There may be unique areas in the brain involved in truth-telling," Faro added at a news conference.

Faro and colleagues tested 10 volunteers. Six of them were asked to shoot a toy gun and then lie and say they didn't do it. Three others who watched told the truth about what happened. One volunteer dropped out of the study.

While giving their "testimony," the volunteers were hooked up both to a conventional polygraph and also had their brain activity imaged using fMRI, which used a strong magnet to provide a real-time picture of brain activity.

There were clear differences between the liars and the truth-tellers, Faro's team told a meeting in Chicago of the Radiological Society of North America.

--- Read Article --- [CNN]

Lava Lamp = Death

KENT, Washington (AP) -- A man who placed a lava lamp on a hot stovetop was killed when it exploded and sent a shard of glass into his heart, police said.

Philip Quinn, 24, was found dead in his trailer home Sunday night by his parents.

"Why on earth he was heating a lava lamp on the stove, we don't know," Kent Police spokesman Paul Petersen said Monday.

After the lamp exploded, Quinn apparently stumbled into his bedroom, where he died Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Police found no evidence of drug or alcohol use.

DIY PS2 Portable

Now that's cool stuff. A portable PS2; homemade I might add. And for all you guys drooling at the mouth, the site has plenty of pictures and info on making one for yourself

--- Read Article --- [ RedFerret viz Gizmodo]

No False Advertising Here

Just what is ShitBegone, you probably don't wonder?

'ShitBegone is the American dream. A young man from Wisconsin makes his way to New York City, the Big Apple. There he sets out to forge his future, making his name in the world of toilet paper.'

'Part journey of discovery, part assertion of responsibility, part embrace of life, ShitBegone expresses our hope and belief that a better world is possible.'

We're sold. We wonder if they'd market our Michael Powell Begone line of boutique douches?

--- Official Site --- [Josh Rubin via Screenhead]

Flying on Halo 2

Well although i knew there were bugs, this has got to be one I didn't expect. The video get a little repetitive but is worth the time.

Evil Avatar via Kotaku]

Stripping the Nintendo DS

What’s the first thing a true geek does after getting their hands on a Nintendo DS? Why, take it apart of course. Lik Sang has a hands-on and hands-in review of the handheld, complete with pictures of the inner workings of a gutted DS. They also tested out a few GameBoy Advanced accessories and found that all of them worked with the DS. Rock!

Nintendo DS is here: Opened and Exposed Picture Gallery [Lik Sang via Kotaku]

Turn Your Back On Bush

Check this out: A bunch of people who are not so fond of Bush want to all get to together and sneak into the inauguration ceremony posing as supporters and then at a given time, turning their back on Bush, revealing anti Bush shirts, and chanting some yet undetermined mantra.

Alright, I understand you don't like him. That's fine and their are plenty of reasons not to. But for the love of God people is nothing sacred anymore. Over half the people that voted, voted for him. He won the popular vote, electoral vote, and the presidency. Although I support your right of protest completely, by using this venue what exactly do you plan to accomplish. We already know half the people in the country don't like him and the other half do or at least tolerate him. Seriously I see no point to this. Nevertheless here is the site.

http://www.turnyourbackonbush.org/index.html

Rather Moving On

"I have decided to leave the CBS Evening News on March 9, 2005," Rather said in a statement issued by CBS.

"I have been lucky and blessed over these years to have what is, to me, the best job in the world and to have it at CBS News," he added.

It seems that that Rather would rather be doing other things than giving great little quips every night on the evening news. And at the ripe young age of 73 I would say it is a well deserved retirement; and timed rather well for Rather amid the National Guard hoopla. I would rather remember Rather in a more distinguished manner though. Rather, whether your on the news or, rather at home, we will always remember you.

*I would rather you forgive me for my liberal and somewhat excessive use of the word rather, but I would rather seize this opportunity to use the word rather when speaking of Rather, rather than not. Rather good of you to amuse me*

PA School Teaches Intelligent Design

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania school district on Friday defended its decision to discount Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and take a lead in teaching what critics say is a version of creationism. Dover Area School District in south-central Pennsylvania is believed to be the first in the country to approve the teaching of a new theory called "intelligent design," according to the National Center for Science Education.

Proponents of intelligent design argue that the complexity of nature is such that it could not have occurred by chance, as Darwinian theory holds, and so must have been created by some all-powerful force.

That being is not explicitly identified, but many of the theory's conservative religious supporters say it is God

--- Read Article --- [Reuters]

Locked and Loaded

The second fix for Halo 2 just went live. This latest patch fixes the matchmaking problems, fixes the HDTV problems and unlocks the Foundation map for all you lazy people;).

And as if you didn't have enough reasons already to get Xbox Live, it seems the only way you can get this patch is through Live. Apparently they cant throw it on the Xbox Magazine CD.

--- Read Article --- [Bungie ]

Nintendo DS to get TV Tuner

Well I was waiting for this to come out for the SP, and so it seems Nintendo DS is getting a TV. So for all you that look back fondly on your GameGear tuner take heart. The TV Tuner for the DS will fit into the Game Boy Advance slot on the bottom of the console and use its own set of four AAA batteries so it can run for six hours. The device will be made by Agatsuma Entertainment and is set for a Japan release in January for about $90. No word on when it comes to the U.S.

--- Read Article --- [IGN via Kotaku]

New Pentateuch translation from original Hebrew meanings

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- It is considered the most magisterial opening in English literature: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

But now a major revisionist translation of the Bible would have the cosmos begin with a more conversational clause: "When God began to create heaven and earth ... "

And where the King James translation of Genesis had the earth begin "without form and void," the new translation of the Hebrew Bible says that the earth was "welter and waste."

Biblical scholar Robert Alter's major new English translation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible -- alternately called the Five Books of Moses, the Torah or Pentateuch -- has some critics manning the barricades while others are applauding his efforts to return the work to its original Hebrew meanings and majestic repetitions.

--- Read Article --- [CNN]

Fake Half-Life 2 game released to catch pirates

Valve software has released a fake copy of Half-Life 2 onto the Internet in the hopes of tracking and catching pirates. The very unconfirmed rumor includes a quote from Half-Life creator Gabe Newell:

“We’re running a bit of an experiment. We’re keeping track of the accounts that do this and will be shutting them off.

I’m not sure if I buy it, but if it’s true it’s a very cool concept. I don’t think it would be too hard for a developer to do something like this either.although I think I wouldnt say anything about it. Pirates be warned.

--- Read Article --- [FileFront via Kotaku]

Hey it was worth a shot.

This is hilarious. He should have made it with bids though.

Don't pay one of these jerks on eBay $200 for a copy of Halo 2. They are readily available all over for $54.99. However, if you feel like wasting your money, and to make this a legitimate auction, I have in hand one precious copy of Halo 2 Limited Edition that I am selling for a buy it now price of only $1000.00. That's right, $1000.00. What all will you get with that price? One copy of a $54.99 video game, and that is it! Heck, I'll even autograph it for you! Who am I? Nobody, but you'll have an autographed copy!

You will be proud in knowing that you paid the highest price of anyone for a copy of Halo 2!! And, the best part is, I will have made $950!

Please be prudent in your search for Halo 2. They are available EVERYWHERE! But, if you want to throw away your money, please throw it at me.

The Buy it Now price include free overnight shipping! Heck, I may even take a road trip anywhere in the US just to deliver it to you in person!

---Auction --- [Thanx LiquidGlass]

Believe it or Not! Atlantis May Be Found.

LIMASSOL, Cyprus (Reuters) - A U.S. researcher claims he has found the lost civilization of Atlantis in the watery deep off Cyprus -- adding his theory to a mystery which has baffled explorers for centuries.

Robert Sarmast said on Sunday a Mediterranean basin was flooded in a deluge around 9,000 BC which submerged a rectangular land mass he believes was Atlantis, lying 1.5 km beneath sea level between Cyprus and Syria.

"We have definitely found it," said Sarmast, who led a team of explorers 80 kilometers (50 miles) off the south-east coast of Cyprus earlier this month.

Deep water sonar scanning had indicated man-made structures on a submerged hill, including a 3-kilometre-long wall, a walled hill summit and deep trenches, he said. But further explorations were needed, he added.

"We cannot yet provide tangible proof in the form of bricks and mortar as the artifacts are still buried under several meters of sediment, but the circumstantial and other evidence is irrefutable," he claimed.

--- Read Article --- [yahoo]

Didn't See This One Coming.

Powell Quits, Rice to Be New Secretary of State

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - websites), widely respected in a world often wary of America's superpower diplomacy, resigned on Monday and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - websites) was set to replace him.

Powell, viewed as a moderate in the right-wing Republican administration, is the top official to quit since President Bush (news - websites)'s re-election, and was one of four Cabinet resignations announced by the White House on Monday

--- Read Article --- [Yahoo!News]

686 Tool Belt

Check out this cool belt. Not that I would wear it, but would still be cool. Its got screwdrivers and wrenches built into it. Awesome idea.

--- Catalog Page --- [ExtremePie via CoolHunting via Gizmodo]

Three Flavors of Xbox

There will be three flavors of Xbox Next when it launches next year, according to the latest NextGen rumors. The Xbox Next will not include a hard drive, while the creatively named Xbox Next HD will. Both will hit shelves in Fall 2005. The Xbox Next PC, which will release the following year, will include a CD burner, wireless keyboard, mouse and controller and run Windows. It sounds like the blending of Sony's multimedia PSX and a Media Center PC. It also sounds like a load of steaming crap. The Inquirer claims they extracted the info from a slide shown during a non-disclosure agreement presentation. I guess Microsoft wanted to summarize, in one picture, exactly what no one should be talking about.

--- Read Article --- [The Inquirer via kotaku]

Women Allege Boss Spanked Them for Errors

RED BANK, Tenn. - Two young women complained to police that they were spanked by their 57-year-old employer for mistakes on the job, and the boss now faces criminal charges.

One of the women told police that on her first day at the Tasty Flavors Sno Biz, before any spanking, owner Paul Eugene Levengood made her sign a statement that said: "I give Gene permission to bust my behind any way he sees fit."

The separate complaints prompted two sexual battery charges against Levengood of Cleveland, who was freed on a $2,000 bond pending a Nov. 16 court hearing.

I found this horribly ironic At the company headquarters in Minneapolis, sales manager Tom Novetzke described Levengood as a "very Christian person." He said the company's toll-free number is very visible
for employees and customers.

[yahoo via drudge]

Gmail Enables POP

Looks like Gmail is about to officially offer POP access, according to this message in their sdupport database. This function has already been enabled by lots of third party tools, but has been expected from Google themselves for quite a while. It doesn't appear to be actually be enabled yet—not for me, anyway; a few people are reported to have gotten it working—but it looks like it is just around the corner.

Text for their configuration instructions is incomplete, make sure to use
port 995 for pop.gmail.com and to enable SSL. One current drawback is that
mail sent from the web client appears in the Inbox.

This is good news for mobile devices, as even the most basic usually have a
POP client of some kind, even if they can't run Gmail's web-based client. And
that means using Gmail as your primary email account is going to be a lot more
viable.

Support Page [Gmail.Google]

Update: It's official. They say they're intro'ing it in "phases."
Why don’t I have POP access? [Gmail.Google]

Safe Sex By Text?

Teaching kids about safe sex certainly seems like an admirable goal -- but, is sending them text messages with safe sex tips really the best way to accomplish this goal? It sounds like someone just said "hmm, kids use text messaging... so let's send them text messages!" However, think about it from the kids' side. First off, who is going to sign up for such a thing on their own? If someone wants to know about safe sex, is their first thought going to be to sign up for a text messaging service that will send them random tips? How does the service time the tips? Is it on request -- as in, will bumbling teens be sending in text messages from the back of their parents cars asking for help? Or will kids get randomly timed messages telling them completely out of context information? Generally, safe sex education doesn't seem like the type of info that works well in a "tips" format -- but rather in a more comprehensive program

Told ya so.

Bush Nominates Gonzales to Replace Ashcroft

President Bush nominated as his new attorney general on Wednesday the top White House lawyer, Alberto Gonzales, a son of migrant workers who rose to become a confidant of Bush and helped shape legal opinions about prisoner treatment in the war on terror.

If confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate, Gonzales, 49, would be the first Hispanic-American to become the country's top law-enforcement official. He would replace Attorney General John Ashcroft, whose resignation was announced on Tuesday night and was the first of several expected changes in the Bush Cabinet in his second term.

--- Read Article --- [Reuters]

Real Thumb Drive

I'm not sure which freaks me out more, the fact that it looks like a real thumb or the fact that it's made by a prosthetics lab. It's a 128MB version that is going for $30 right now on eBay, but they promise larger sizes are to come.

--- Auction --- [eBay via Gizmodo]

Free Music:Aight / Legal: We'll see

A new twist on file sharing is holding out the promise of allowing millions of people to share their song collections online, at no cost--and without legal risk.

The trick involves marrying peer-to-peer technology with Internet radio. Using that combination, some companies are creating powerful tools that automatically broadcast people's private playlists onto the Web. The output is then pulled together into a searchable database that lets listeners find the music they want, when they want it.

Safeguards are in place to prevent unauthorized downloads, ensuring copyrights are honored. But if the technology behind the networks keeps improving and the number of people using them keeps growing, the services could one day turn into something akin to free, on-demand request radio.

--- Read Article --- [Cnet via Gizmodo]

Microsoft execs comment on PlayStation Portable

Xbox supremos unconvinced by Sony's handheld ambitions

Senior executives from Microsoft's Xbox division have commented on Sony's plans for the PlayStation Portable, with Peter Moore dismissing the console's launch as being similar to a company trying to challenge the Windows operating system.

Nintendo's dominance of the handheld market makes Sony's launch "like developing your own little operating system and saying, 'Well, I'm going to challenge Windows'," Moore told questioners at a Halo 2 Backstage Pass event in Seattle late last week, according to a report in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

--- Read Article --- [GI via Gizmodo]

Black Tuesday

On the eve of the biggest game launch in Xbox history, a slew of Xbox modders found their accounts banned from Xbox Live. Microsoft has long reserved the right to check out your Xbox's hard drive and ban for life any gamers who modified their Xbox. They haven't seemed too keen on putting their god-like
powers to the test until Tuesday night. I'm guessing they've decided to clear the decks in anticipation of Halo 2, which is likely to push Live to the breaking point. Unfortunately, the people banned include at least one guy who just did a self-repair on their crappy DVD drives.

Xbox Live ban day [Xbox-Scene via Kotaku]

If playing video games was a sin: Halo 2 would be a mortal one.

Well, I had my first hands on of Halo 2 this morning: It can be summed up in two words. . . F'n Rocks!!!

I walked into Walley World at about 12:05 and walked out with one of the eight they had sitting at the register. I tried not to get my hopes up, seeing as how trying to make a sequel to a game where the original kicked so much polygonal ass, would be a tough feat indeed. But good ole Bungie came through
with a stellar game.

The feel is slightly different, its not something you can really put your finger on but you'll see what I'm talking about for the first few minutes you play. Also the Ghost and Banshee physics have changed as well. Other than that its the same addictive game play with new weapons, vehicles, and opponents. I have to say also that the cut scenes are top notch: very well done with a considerable amount of detail. I'm just now playing as the elite in the campaign mode. Its a interesting twist to the game play.

Final say: It's a must own for any Box owner. But, of course I'm sure you already knew that.

Hmmm . . . And you didnt see this coming how?

Maybe making SS Nazi guard action figures isn't such a good idea, even if they are based on characters from a computer game. Just a few weeks ago Plan B Toys staunchly defended their decision to market the dolls based on the Nazi Totenkopf from Call of Duty. My favorite quote:

"That division was involved in some terrible things but wasn't
everyone during World War Two? It's just history."

After that idiotic statement, the toy company decided to cut their losses and pull the mini-Nazis from store shelves.

--- Read Article --- [The Jerusalem Post via Kataku]

Kerry Not a Favorite on Wall Street Apparently

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks reversed course suddenly on Tuesday and drifted lower as chatter on the Internet speculated that early exit polls had Sen. John Kerry leading the presidential election in key swing states.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 42 points, or 0.42 percent, at 10,012. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2 points, or 0.20 percent, at 1,128. And the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.69 of a point, or 0.03 percent, at 1,979.

The Dow Jones and S&P 500 had been higher for most of the session, heading for a sixth straight day of gains, but turned south sharply just after 2:30 p.m. EDT on the exit poll speculation.

--- Read Article --- [via nickdenton.org]

Welcome Back Bush, Good Bye Ashcroft

From the department of silver linings...

"Attorney General John Ascroft could be one of the first Cabinet members to leave the administration. Sources close to Ashcroft told CNN on Thursday that they believe it is most likely the attorney general will submit his resignation in the near future, possibly within the next two weeks."

The Times, meanwhile, says that "Ashcroft and the secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge [are] considered the most likely to relinquish their posts."

[DefenseTech]

Plop...Plop...KABOOM: Halo 2 Sold on Nov 4?

"The devil you say" Seems one lucky gamer if not others was able to get thier hands on Halo 2 a few days early. No not the leaked French version on the net, but an actually copy of the game he bought from a chain store: Meijer to be exact. (yeah i've never heard of them either) And for you non believers out there he has a pic to prove it.

I'll post when Microsoft sets in on the lawsuits. You know its coming.

Halo 2Street Date Broken [Gaming Age Forums via Kotaku]

PENTAGON STILL SPOOKED BY SPACE ATTACK

Even before he became George Bush's Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld was spooked about a "space Pearl Harbor"-- a surprise attack on America's satellites. Now that he's headed for a likely second term at the Pentagon, Rumsfeld and his deputies are getting even more jittery about a hostile strike in orbit.

To begin with, nobody at the Pentagon – nobody anywhere, in fact – really has a firm grasp on what's actually out there, circling the Earth. There are dozens of satellites, thousands of pieces of man-made debris, as well as an array of space rocks. But no one's quite sure of where, exactly, it all is.

Aviation Week quotes a "nightmare" that the country's top military space officer sometimes shares with his colleagues: "A phone call from the White House asking, 'What happened to our satellite? And what are you doing about it?' With few exceptions, today's response will be the same as a former Cincspace [Command-in-Chief of Space Operations] gave the Vice President several years ago: 'We don't know, and there's not much we can do."'

[defenseTech]

Blu-Ray optical disks to be made from corn

BOFFINS AT Japanese tech company Pioneer have made a next-generation optical disk out of corn starch.

We are not sure how this breakthrough came about, probably a bizarre accident involving a CD player left in a kitchen during the mixing of a good sweet and sour.

However, Pioneer is sure that corn starch disks will be jolly good for the environment as it is totally biodegradable when buried underground and is loved by bacteria everywhere, particularly with a liberal coating of butter.

Apparently corn starch can be made compatible with Blu-ray, the storage device format supported by Sony and Matsushita. It has a storage capacity of 25 gigabytes, about five times that of a DVD, and offers high performance for recording and playback performance.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper "most of the 1.2mm-thick disk is produced from a resin made from corn starch, with a single ear of corn able to make about 10 disks". We have never seen an ear of corn creating a disk as normally machines do it, so we will have to take their word for it.

Since resin made from corn starch costs less than ordinary types, Pioneer calculates that mass-producing the eco-friendly disk will bring its price down to about the same level or less than those of conventional optical disks.

Humble corn has come a long way since the Medieval Aztecs on their way to a human sacrifice served it as a tasty snack. Around the time of the American Civil war, corn replaced the potato and wheat as the main source of industrial starch and it has since been used for laundry, sweeteners, animal feed, alcohol, food additives and motor fuel.

[Gizmodo]

Do Your Duty

Click here or here, or call 866-MYVOTE1 to find yourpolling place. 866-OUR-VOTE is the number for legal help on election day. And OurVote.com has a state-by-state list of voting rights.

When you do go vote...

- Bring a picture ID with your name and current address. If your Picture ID doesn't have your current address, bring official mail (utility bill, cable bill, rent agreement, etc). To be safe, bring as many forms of ID as possible.

- Always bring a voter registration card if you have one.

- If your name is not on the registration list, cast a provisional ballot. No one can e legally turned away at the polls.

For the love of God people..... Please vote, you have no excuse not to. Too many men and women have died so that we could have the privilege and the right to vote. Take your family, take your friends, and go get the neighbors. Let's rock the vote people.

Gotta Love Those "AP" Photos

Ahhh . . . CNN. You can just count on those guys for everything. Especially thought provoking pictures such as this one here on the right. Meet Dave; he is infected; no its not the flu, and no its not an STD, he has spyware.

Sorry guys I couldn't resist posting this picture. It just struck me as hilarious. You know that's exactly what I do when I have spyware on my machine. I just lay my head on the monitor, listen to the gentle hum of the fan, and rub it gently as if it were a baby kitten. I then close my eyes and hope that it will just go away by itself.

--- Read Article I'm Making Fun Of --- [CNN]

Put On Your Voting Shoes

Well I'll be frank and to the point: Vote, or don't say a word about the outcome or effects there of.

Well . . . Not much else to say. I'm sure you have had your fill of political spins and spews over the last few weeks.

The Dead Will Vote Again

So if a person in Florida casts an early ballot, then is run over by a truck right outside the polling place, there's no way to rescind the vote. But the vote of a Florida soldier who mails an absentee ballot from Iraq (news - web sites), then is killed in action,-- won't or shouldn't-- be counted.

RALEIGH, N.C. - An untold number of ballots from people who have died since casting them will be counted this year because of the haphazard and cumbersome process of enforcing laws in many states to weed out these votes.

With millions of voters taking advantage of new, in-person early voting in at least 30 states this year, it's even more likely that such "ghost" votes will be counted because, in most cases, those ballots are impossible to retrieve. Besides, it could be days or weeks after the election before local officials get word someone has died.

Earlier this month, in what would be her last conscious act, 90-year-old Trixie Porter gripped a pen in her weak, trembling hand, checked the candidates of her choice and scrawled a squiggled signature on her absentee ballot.

Within an hour, the petite woman who had been suffering from heart problems lay back in her hospital bed, closed her eyes and never woke up. Her ballot arrived at her local elections board two days later, Oct. 5-- the day she died.

--- Read Article --- [!yahooNews]

Schwarzenegger says he would like to be president

With just two days to the US presidential election, the jockeying for the 2008 Republican nomination stepped up a gear yesterday with an unexpected admission by Arnold Schwarzenegger that he would be interested in running.

On previous occasions the governor of California has sidestepped the question, but asked last night on the CBS programme 60 Minutes if he would support an amendment to allow a foreign-born national to be president, Mr Schwarzenegger said: "Yes, absolutely."

"I think, you know, because why not? I mean, you know, anyone with my way of thinking, you always shoot for the top," he said. "But it's not something that I am preoccupied with. I am not thinking one single minute about that because there's so many things I have to do in California, and my promise was to straighten out the mess in California."

The Austrian-born former action hero's ambitions are not possible at present: under the constitution, a president has to have been born in the US. An amendment would allow anyone who has been a US citizen for 20 years to run. Mr Schwarzenegger became a citizen in 1983.
His words come just two days after he appeared alongside George Bush in Columbus, Ohio.
Mr Schwarzenegger's relations with the president are known to be cool, as was evident during the rally on Friday. The governor failed to attack John Kerry during his speech, and then sat with his hands folded during Mr Bush's speech, failing to applaud many of the more conservative, crowd-pleasing lines.

The differences between the two stem in part from political ambitions, but also from genuine policy differences. Mr Schwarzenegger is mindful that he owes much of popularity to his ability to talk to both Republican and Democrat voters. His aides are concerned that if he is too closely aligned with Mr Bush, much of the governor's liberal support will be scared away.

The two have very different priorities. Mr Schwarzenegger is married to Maria Shriver, a member of the Kennedy clan and active Democrat. Her influence is credited with moving Mr Schwarzenegger to more liberal positions than the president on issues such as gun control, abortion and stem cell research. That issue, brought to prominence by the recent death of Christopher Reeve, also flared up at the weekend as the actor and director Mel Gibson opposed Mr Schwarzenegger's endorsement of a Californian ballot proposition to authorise $3bn (£1.63bn) into stem cell research.

Gibson, one of the most powerful men in Hollywood after the success of his Christian traditionalist-inspired film The Passion of the Christ, said he had tried to call Mr Schwarzenegger to discuss the issue with him. "He said, 'Well, I'm very busy now. I'll call you back. I've got to make a speech, you know. I'll call you right back.' Well, Arnold, I'm still waiting for your call," Gibson told ABC news.

But Mr Schwarzenegger disputed Gibson's version of the conversation, saying that it was Gibson who had failed to return his call. "I don't know what this was all about," Mr Schwarzenegger said. "I did talk to him for several minutes and explained to him what my position was. I called back at 9 o'clock and left a message. He hasn't returned my call."

Gibson, who has also recorded a radio commercial opposing the proposition to fund stem cell research, said: "I was never in a petri dish, but at one stage I was that little cluster of cells myself, as were you, as was the doctor, as is everybody.

"Tell me anybody who was not that at some point in their development, and I'll give you a cigar," he added, in reference to Mr Schwarzenegger's custom of presenting visitors and admirers with his own brand of cigar.

[Guardian]