"All I will say about the maelstrom is that I look forward eagerly, in the near future, to setting the record straight and going back to leading my life as discretely as possible. And in the meantime, it wouldn't hurt if the Pope continued to make controversial comments to grab the attention of the press."

--Hewlett-Packard chairwoman Patricia Dunn, as she was being inducted Wednesday night into the Hall of Fame of the Bay Area Council, a business group. Reporters, by the way, were banished to the back of the room during her remarks and not allowed to talk to her.

Earlier that day, news broke that H-P considered planting spies in the offices of two news organizations that were covering the company.

H-P has stopped cooperating with the state of California's investigation into the company's questionable surveillance practices, attorney general Bill Lockyer said today. The company is planning to hold its own press conference tomorrow.