| The Degradation of American Discourse |
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Posted on June 11, 2009 @ 2:10 pm
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I have been long talked about the decline in American discussion -
the dunderheaded substitution of emotional kneejerk rhetoric for substantive debate.
There have been 2 recent events, one national - one local, that have brought this to the forefront today.
1) The shootings at the National Holocaust Museum by the white supremacist who's rage and hatred was fanned by the right-wing industry's flames of propganda/hyperbole.
2) The reaction to 98 Rock's Rob, Arnie, & Dawn show's latest abuse target being a transgendered child and family.
Both events have a similar genesis - the public's abject acceptance and endorsement of attack/abuse tactics.
For political and even entertainment purposes, it seems to be OK with a LARGE segment of the population to harass, verbally assault, and malign/libel anyone that you care to take issue with (or is different from you).
It doesn't matter how inhuman, ugly, anti-intellectual, or misinformational the words and tone are, as long as it may sway the ignorant few, or appeal to the spiteful masses who apparently need to piss on someone different from them to make themselves feel like they can get through another day of their wretched existences.
All that matters is the constant need by people to have drama and conflict, and look down on people they don't/can't identify with.
The culpability of the right-wing hate/fear-mongers in the recent killings at the Holocaust Museum and the church (abortion doctor) are made clear in an excellent article today that I'd like to believe that if I was a professional writer that I'd have written:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-rowe/the-holocaust-museum-shoo_b_214133.html
It articulates what I feel is important to stand up for:
It's not alright to foment hatred under the guise of "free speech".
It's not alright to hide hurtful statements behind the ignorant application of the 1st Amendment.
It's not OK to heap scorn on others and then say "it's just a joke".
It's not justified to believe your ignorant, hateful opinion is equal in merit to an informed, reasoned opinion simply because it resides between your 2 ears.
There IS a responsibility by not only professionals, but common citizens to stop abusing and maligning people under the guise of humor or political zealotry.
And you RA&D fanatics who think it's OK to spew filth day in and day out because "it's just for laughs" simply do not get it. I have been embarrased and depressed for Sacramento by reading the ignorant masses add their continually-misinformed thoughts about the controversy. It shows how backward many people in the region are, and lays bare just how empty their lives must be without Rob and Arnie being their constant outlet for feelings of rage, fear, inadequacy, and failure.
RA&D fanatics - I truly pity you and the world you choose to wallow in.
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Posted on May 14, 2009 @ 12:50 pm
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One of the many dramas going on in America today has to do with America's desire/unwillingness to face the harsh realities of our participation in torture.
Unfortunately, we as a nation lack the intestinal fortitude to prosecute the crimes that were perpetrated in the name of American safety.
We accepted the bald-faced lies back when Abu Ghraib was first revealed. It pacified our psychological wounds and shame in being complicit (we wanted blood as a nation) to believe that it was a few rogue low-level soldiers who somehow did this on their own. How utterly cowardly of us as a nation to allow ourselves to be so deluded.
Or, do you think we knew it wasn't the low-level soldiers (they were just following orders), and we either couldn't bring ourselves to go after the higher-ups, or did we want to but simply weren't allowed to go after the actual people responsible due to the manipulative/controlling media and government influence?
Either way, we now have a vital opportunity to step up as a nation and say that We Don't Stand for Torture.
This blog entry summarises my feelings pretty well.
"And yet, as the world watches in disbelief, this country has become inextricably mired in non-stop debates that defy reason."
To anyone who believes that we are justified in "enhanced interrogation techniques", consider the victims as if they were innocent:
According to the State department and the commander at Abu Ghraib, most were.
Worst of all, there are potential revelations about the imprisonment and torture of children that are so nauseating that if they were verified by the mainstream media you would see an immediate populist investigation of Bush and administration for war crimes.
This is the unsavory and hard-to-digest reality that America does not want to face.
But we must, if America the free is to mean anything again.
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| Good recap article on Bush's legacy |
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Posted on January 14, 2009 @ 9:59 am
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From MarketWatch.com:
I felt I should post something on my blog to commemorate Bush finally leaving the reins of power, in disgrace.
Too bad it didn't come BEFORE the shredding of the Constitution, the blood of innocents, the collapsing of the American economy, and the bankrupting of future generations, but ....
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The remarkable thing about President George W. Bush wasn't that he was a horrible chief executive; it's that he was horrible in so many ways.
( continue to article... )
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| Holiday deals so far.... |
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Posted on December 14, 2008 @ 9:25 pm
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The last couple holidays in particular there have been some good deals (at least on boardgames and some other things the family and I like), and this holiday I wanted to catalog some of them for reference.
XBox 360 Pro (Holiday Bundle, 60 GB with Kung-Fu Panda and Lego Indiana Jones) for $299, with $60 Target gift card (Black Friday)
Guitar Hero World Tour with wireless guitar bundle $69 @ Amazon (ditto below) (got a $5 promo code when calling for a price adjustment that Amazon no longer does)
Braveheart 2-disc Special Edition DVD $6.99
Beowulf DVD $4.99
Goonies DVD $3.99
300 2-disc Special Edition DVD $6.99
Yahtzee Free for All $5.99
Battleship Express $4.99
Settlers of Catan (4th Edition) $14.99 (Gold box deal)
(additional $5 off promo)
Pathfinder board game (classic 70's mazegame) $2 at Goodwill, also
Balderdash for $2, and Dragonology Hatch card game with tin for $.50
4000 Microsoft Live points for $32.31 @ TrU.com (PayPal promotion)
Caillou Ready for School PC, Jumpstart Kindergarten PC and $10 Best Buy gift card for $10.76
Rock Band 2 Special Edition for $109 (Toys R Us, pricematched to WalMart)
Cranium Hullaballoo $8 @ TrU
Battleground Crossbows & Catapults War Chest $4.99 @ TrU
Rumis $8 at Barnes & Noble (using 20% off coupon)
Ebay auction (with 10% off EBay coupon and 30% off Live.com cashback thru PayPal)
That's probably about it for our shopping this year - the biggest surprise was the Rock Band 2 SE, since that's been $189.99 EVERYwhere, without any sales at all until this weekend. Best Buy wouldn't pricematch, but Walmart did!
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| This economic crisis WAS predicted, in public and on TV - but was laughed at |
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Posted on November 15, 2008 @ 12:37 pm
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Encroaching doom |
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The more that I hear and learn about what's going on with the economy, the more I get scared to death and just want to put my head in the sand.
I don't know if people should be buying ANYthing, or would be better off investing in fortifications to keep out the hungry hordes from taking away their stuff next year.
The bailout is not "just" $750 billion + $25 billion here and there.
According to various sources, it's closer to $3 trillion. (and may be $4 - $6 trillion)
The economy is so complicated, I'd wager there are few people that understand half of it.
But as I mentioned last blog entry, the entire collected debt from the history of American expenditures (the national debt) is "only" $10 trillion or so. Yet, we're thinking we can float $3-$6 trillion MORE without consequence?
I guess when it's Monopoly money, the figures don't mean anything. *rolleyes*
What's $53 trillion in actual debt mean, anyway?
And wouldn't it have been nice if in this past election, we could have been able to choose someone knew how bad things could have gotten?
Here's Peter Schiff, Ron Paul's economic advisor, getting ridiculed and laughed at for his 2006 & 2007 correct predictions of what he saw happening:
(as collected by some youtube comment)
The "Experts" that laughed off Schiff's observations predictions :
Buy Merrill Lynch at $76.04
As of last close on Nov 12 2008, Merrill Lynch & Co Inc closed at 13.35
Buy Goldman Sachs at $175.00
Goldman Sachs Group Inc set a new 52-week low during today's trading session when it reached 64.54.
Buy Washington Mutual at $13.07
As of last close on Nov 12 2008, Washington Mutual Inc closed at 0.063
I am incredible skeptical of any economist, educator, or financial officer's advice - they seem to be stuck in the same box, incapable of seeing out of it, despite people like Peter Schiff telling them exactly what has happened, what is happening and what will happen yet they STILL don't listen.
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| Billions, Trillions, what's the difference? |
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Posted on September 30, 2008 @ 2:31 pm
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It's not likely that many Americans even recognize the difference between millions, billions, and trillions - to most people, those are probably all just "real big numbers".
But there IS a difference, and no simple analogy/comparison to grains of sand or stars is going to get America interested in reigning in the kinds of absurd numbers our economy is having to deal with right now.
And there ARE people to blame, and punish, for the absolute cluster-fuck that is America today.
We shouldn't just fix the mess and "get along with" the treasonous criminals that perpetuated this dire state of economy - the only way to make things better is to pursue, convict, and heavily punish the people involved (and they aren't hard to find).
Here's a few to start with:
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/09/29/couricandco/entry4486228.shtml
Bush Administration Adds $4 Trillion To National Debt
"With no fanfare and little notice, the national debt has grown by more than $4 trillion during George W. Bush’s presidency.
It’s the biggest increase under any president in U.S history.
On the day President Bush took office, the national debt stood at $5.727 trillion. The latest number from the Treasury Department shows the national debt now stands at more than $9.849 trillion. That’s a 71.9 percent increase on Mr. Bush’s watch. "
and
The very people that are supposed to be "fixing" this mess by passing legislation, are the ones that have been wooed, wined, and dined by them:
http://sunlightfoundation.com/presscenter/releases/2008/09/24/financial-sector-fetes-lawmakers-making-bailout-de/
Have a nice day, America - and keep ignorant about the mountainous pile of debt you're heaping on a destabilising economy - go ahead and not worry your pretty little head about income and outlay. Just keep assuming things can go on like they have, with no repercussions. Keep thinking that credit will be extended to you without care. Keep assuming your colorful pieces of paper are worth the ink used to print them.
By all means, keep listening to the same people that have got us in this mess by treating All taxes as the Devil, and deifing all Defense spending.
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| The Dark Knight review (long analysis) |
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Posted on August 01, 2008 @ 12:51 pm
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The Dark Knight is the most overrated "superhero" film of all time.
I can't believe the incredibly overblown, unjustified hype this film is getting.
I say "superhero" because TDK is quite simply, a super-spy film/crime drama. They basically turned the genre into The Bourne Identity. Lots of people plotting and double-crossing and out-guessing the out-guessing of the other guy ....
I'm posting this not to upset Kelly (she really enjoys the Batman movies), but to be true to my movie reviewing inner self. :)
Man, it is really becoming annoying how ignorant the messianic fans are about this film.
It is a MESS, plot-wise, and they collectively ignore the problems, or handwave them with a "they didn't bother ME", or they say "you just didn't pay attention" (of course, they don't answer the questions I have that were apparently answered onscreen ...)
So here's a laundry list of problems with this movie that has been described by MANY people as "perfect", "the best superhero film of all", and even "one of the best films of all time".
Note - these are not nitpicks like "Why is Batman's suit black" or "why would a billionaire fight crime?"
I accept the suspension of disbelief required to view a movie in the Batman universe.
These are plot problems way over and above the "typical action movie accomodations". Plus, aren't the sycophants saying TDK is such an excellent film? Why should it share the typical braindead action movie flaws? And have they SEEN a Marvel movie recently? They do NOT have near the plot flaws that TDK has. I still haven't heard 5 problems with Iron Man's plot anywhere near the 30+ ones here.
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| Hellboy II, Hancock, Wall-E, and other summer movies |
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Posted on July 14, 2008 @ 11:12 am
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I don't think I've posted a movie review in a while, and I haven't yet about the rash of summer movies I've been fortunate enough to attend this year, so here's a collected post about them (reverse chronological order):
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| Irony, thy name is Outsourcing |
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Posted on June 26, 2008 @ 2:30 pm
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the silence of the Damned |
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IT Students Contract Out Coursework To India
http://management.silicon.com/careers/0,39024671,39250909,00.htm
Here's the Slashdot summary on it:
Students studying computing in the UK and US are outsourcing their university coursework to graduates in India and Romania. Work is being contracted out for as little as £5 on contract coding websites usually used by businesses. Students are outsourcing everything from simple coursework to full blown final year dissertations. It's causing a major headache for lecturers who say it is almost impossible to detect.
This is SUCH tasty irony, since the students are outsourcing their work.... so that they can get a piece of paper... that qualifies them for jobs with (lazy) employers who use said paper instead of actually testing/interviewing their skills/knowledge... and then the employer lays off American workers by outsourcing back to India.
Didn't Dungeons & Dragons (the cartoon) have an episode about the Circle of Evil? LOL
("The evil will exist until the circle is broken")
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update on my blog entry from a couple months ago:
It's interesting to me that the 22 yr-old that got $300 million in military contracts, just to turn around and sell them 40-yr-old Chinese ammunition, is FINALLY getting some national attention.
Of course, some media outlets are saying "We were somewhat astonished this week to learn...."
Maybe they should read my blog more, and they would have learned about it 2 months ago, eh? ;)
Some pithy quotes:
* "The contracting officers that execute the contracts are not required to go and look at the watchlist," said Brigadier General William N. Phillips
* "This kid was 19 years old and he got a $300 million contract," Lynch said. "Has anybody been fired for this? Can I ask the panel: Has anybody gotten their walking papers for this?
No, Parsons replied, nobody's been fired over the AEY investigation.
where's the :rolleyes: smiley?
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And I wanted to post this jaw-dropper last week:
Bush Says Dems to Blame for High Gas Prices
So... Bush doesn't think his administration is to blame for high gas prices - from the secret Energy Policy Meeting in 2001 to now.
It's all the "Democratic-controlled Congress" (mind you, it's 49 Dems to 49 Repubs to 2 Ind's) fault.
But I can save America's hard-earned dollars! Just let my oil buddies drill wherever the F they want to!
What? That's a bad idea? Well, you're aiding and abetting the Enemy, now - and you're increasing our dependance on foreign oil - letting the Terorists Win!
The only saving grace to his galacticallly-stupid delusions is that America is seeing through them - finally.
Out of the 337 comments, the vast majority see Bush and cronies for what they are and have done. Very few people can argue differently, and the ones that do are pathetically devoid of substantive argument.
Here's the real reason why the world is being shafted by gas prices:
The energy futures market was deregulated and is out of control
And Here's testimony about it. It's well known and been attempted to be stopped. But Bush and crew won't stop the fleecing of the world's people to line the pockets of his corporate masters/partners-in-crime.
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| Something HAS to change |
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Posted on May 02, 2008 @ 1:59 pm
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more political diatribes ; this time about Bush's demand for $70 Billlliiiion hard-earned (borrowed) American dollars.
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| Great sportsmanship story |
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Posted on May 01, 2008 @ 12:37 pm
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It's rare to see such a clear story of sportsmanship, and it's a good read:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/01/earlyshow/main4061276.shtml
College Softball Players Carry Opponent Around Bases After She Hits Homer But Gets Hurt
With two runners on base and a strike against her, Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon University uncorked her best swing and did something she had never done, in high school or college. She hit her first home run, which cleared the center field fence.
But it looked like the shortest of dreams-come-true when she missed first base, started back to tag it, and collapsed with a knee injury.
She crawled back to first but could do no more. The first base coach said she would be called out if her teammates tried to help her. Or, the umpire said, a pinch-runner could be called in, and the homer would count as just a single.
Then, members of the Central Washington University softball team stunned their home crowd in Ellensburg by carrying Tucholsky around the bases Saturday so the three-run homer would count - an act that contributed to their own elimination from the playoffs.
also, just to note:
even though it's being done by a union, it's important that some American citizens are standing up and making an effort to display their displeasure with the crime/boondogle/cesspool/cluster-fuck in Iraq:
(it's too bad that the American government doesn't listen or respond to its people anymore.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/us/01cnd-port.html?hp
Dockworkers Protest Iraq War
Thousands of dockworkers at West Coast ports stayed off the job on Thursday in what their union said was a call for an end to the war in Iraq. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union said more than 25,000 members in 29 ports stayed off the job. The action came despite an order issued Wednesday by an arbitrator directing the union to tell its members to report for work as usual in response to a request from employers. “Longshore workers are standing down on the job and standing up for America,” Bob McEllrath, the union’s president, said in a statement. “We’re supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it’s time to end the war in Iraq.”
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| Study shows drummers are smarter |
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Posted on April 18, 2008 @ 11:46 am
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I've been hearing a few too many drummer jokes lately (the past 6 months there's been a rash of them), so here's an interesting Swedish study (rock on, Swedes!) which corrolates rhythym with intelligence finally reveals to the world the truth!
http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=11186&print=true
People with a knack for holding a steady beat score higher on intelligence tests, a new study has shown. Researchers say the study suggests a biological basis for intelligence related to the regularity of nerve cell activity in the brain.
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| absolutely un-believable |
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Posted on March 28, 2008 @ 12:12 am
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OK, I've heard about a lot of absurdly-irratating news reports in my lifetime, but this one may well be near the very top on the "US is scarily incompetent" meter.
Military contractor found defrauding America
...it raised questions about how Army contracting officials have been securing arms for the Pentagon’s allies in Afghanistan and Iraq. Mr. Diveroli’s company, AEY Inc. of Miami Beach, received a two-year contract in January 2007, potentially worth $298 million, to provide Afghan security forces with ammunition. At the time, Mr. Diveroli was 21. An examination of the company’s business by The New York Times, reported on Wednesday, found that it had shipped tens of millions of decades-old Chinese cartridges to Afghanistan, almost all of them in poor packaging. AEY has also worked with middlemen and a shell company that are on a list of federal entities suspected of illegal arms trafficking and that have been accused of corruption.
It is patently impossible, in my understanding of a remotely-reasonable form of a government, for any official to award a $298 million arms contract - to a 21 year old who obviously was running a fake company, with fronts and subcontractors providing ammunition for military efforts.
What kind of a SHAM is this country pulling, with our military efforts over there, if they give a quarter of a billion dollars to some yahoo that puts in an arms-supply bid?!? What possible expertise, experience, or contacts could a 21 year old CEO have in a multinational military logistics huge $$ contract that would allow him to be awarded it? This large of contract would have HAD to be looked over by tens if not hundreds of people - yet noone thought to actually check out the company? That's apparently not part of the military procedure, when awarding a 1/3rd of a billion of taxpayer money.
This is the kind of attention that the military gives to its insane budget expenses.
Oh yeah - and the military did not bring this story to light, even though many knew about it - the NY Times apparently put all this info together.
I really thought I had become disillusioned to government waste, and the travesties that the Bush Administration have perpetuated upon the American people and the finances of its children and grandchildren.
This article shows that there is SO much graft, waste, criminal negligence and corruption that could possibly lead to this contract being awarded, that the situation must just truly be "criminals - line up and put out your hand, because the taxpayer (sucker) gravy train for the ages has pulled in to stay!"
Truly unbelievable. The only thing more unbelievable is that the majority of people will not ever hear this news story. There will be people who hear it, but won't be disconcerted by this news story. There will be people who will want to forget this news story.
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Are you one of them?
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| political stuff, again |
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Posted on March 20, 2008 @ 1:37 pm
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Whether or not John McCain, or Hillary or Obama are elected, America may well be in for more of the same failed economic policies:
http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/79987
I've meant to post some other links to important political sites, so:
http://www.publicintegrity.org/default.aspx Excellent investigative journalism site that :
* catalogs the Bush Administration's deceptions leading to the war in Iraq
* tracks who is spending the big bucks for the 2008 Presidential race
* details the corporations that are getting millions thru no-bid cIraq contracts
* lists the committees and councils that have influence over the polticians
and even more (especially at the bottom of the page)
I may add more links over time.
And one more link - I guess I was mistaken earlier when I said that would be the last and only time I'd post a Darwin Award story:
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN3K32064420080320?sp=true
I just can't get over the thought that this woman must have just been Fated To Die, if a manta ray not only flew up out of the water near their boat, but that it landed in the boat........ stung her in the neck... and then she hit something else on the way down that may have killed her.
It vaguely reminds me of a classic Swamp Thing story where a character is informed he's going to die by highly improbable means (being impaled by a stuffed swordfish), he doesn't believe it, and of course at the end of the story, he is.
And this looked interesting:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/aftermath/
Watch civilization be overtaken by nature in time-lapse.
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| First & last time I will post a Darwin Award story |
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Posted on January 09, 2008 @ 4:58 pm
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080109/od_nm/huntingdog_dc;_ylt=ApjXIE4BmxgJEx8We4tn7zEZ.3QA Texas sheriff: Dog fatally shoots owner
HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Houston-area man was killed in a hunting accident after his dog stepped on a loaded shotgun in the back of a pick-up truck, triggering a blast that pierced the vehicle and the hunter's leg, a local sheriff said.
Perry Price, a 46-year-old math teacher, shot a goose on Saturday then put his gun in the back of the truck where the dog was waiting to retrieve the bird. "I've been in law enforcement 20 years and this is probably the strangest one I've had," said Chambers County Sheriff Joe LaRive. Investigators found paw prints and mud from the dog, a chocolate Labrador retriever named Arthur, on the shotgun, LaRive said. Price was taken to a local hospital, but died from a loss of blood after doctors were unable to revive him.
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May as well add this little news by-line:
What are you doing here? - man asks wife at brothel WARSAW (Reuters) - A Polish man got the shock of his life when he visited a brothel and spotted his wife among the establishment's employees. Polish tabloid Super Express said the woman had been making some extra money on the side while telling her husband she worked at a store in a nearby town. "I was dumfounded. I thought I was dreaming," the husband told the newspaper Wednesday. The couple, married for 14 years, are now divorcing, the newspaper reported.
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| Just another online security wrinkle |
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Posted on December 14, 2007 @ 5:29 pm
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http://resources.zdnet.co.uk/articles/features/0,1000002000,39291463,00.htm?r=1
More scary information about how Spam- and bot-nets are being used to make money, and how it's evolving into a fairly unstoppable money-generating profit-enterprise.
On one hand, it's impressive the way unscrupulous hackers (and the profiteers taking advantage of their services) are forging ahead with a profitable business model despite all the industry's attempts to stop them, but mainly it is unsettling in the extreme that the internet on the whole has basically zero mechanisms in place to stop this kind of cybercrime.
It does not bode well for the future of the internet, when organised crime is profitable - it will only attract more criminals wanting to get a bite of the tempting fruit of ill-gotten money from computer hacking.
Hell, hackers have been growing (in numbers, and effectiveness) for decades, and that's with their hobby not providing any income - just for their own education/amusement.
You throw the carrot of actually making a LIVING off your black-hat hacking activities, while living a renegade online life and "sticking it to the man"?
I can easily see a significant minority of disaffected tech-savvy youth going this direction and making it messy.
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| Wanna know the present (future) of computer security? |
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Posted on November 29, 2007 @ 9:23 am
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I've been involved in computer security for many years, and have kept an ear open for the ways people get their computer compromised.
It has progressed from viruses being attached to programs that were distributed by floppies, to Word attachments & scripts via email, to peer-to-peer trojans masquerading as desired programs, to Instant Message trojans, to web-sites that distribute spyware.
The common problem that virus creators have is:
How do I distribute my virus/trojan to as many victims as possible?
Email virus is becoming more and more secured, as hyueristic algorithms are in place on most email accounts (even free ones), this lowers the impact of email distribution.
But a distribution channel that has continued to increase, is search engine poisoning : the hacker adds many blog entries and comments everywhere on the internet they can, which quickly gets the site they want showing up at or near the top of everyday searches. The user who trusts Google's, Yahoo's, or Microsoft's results, clicks on the site and may become infected with whatever they want installed on the PC. Voila! They now have another bot to add to their zombie army.
And this zombie army is no joke - lately the criminal computer organization RBN (Russian Business Network) has become more and more powerful in organized DDOS attacks that have been damaging companies they want to extort from, and more impressively - to use their zombie army to take out websites of any organization that posts something they don't like (and we're not talking small organizations - the Pentagon, Nasa, Estonia, Veritas, and other security sites and professionals have been targeted). They even took out 8 or 9 of the 13 DNS Root Servers recently!
Basically, there is a criminal shadow organization that possesses the computing power to shut down anyone they want, extort $$$, and even rent their services to anyone that pays them.
The current picture is coming into focus - society, and government, is not remotely in control of the internet and even the largest agencies are unable to stop a coordinated criminal effort. There are roving gangs that really have the power on the internet, as long as they stay unknown and anonymous. And the RBN recently went underground, moving from Russia to China.
Maybe this is excessive attention to a known over-achieving hacker groups - but they have created a blueprint of how to make real money from their actions, and their zombie-bot army isn't going away. And anyone that can take out not one, not two or 3, but 8 or 9 of the DND Root Servers, is showing the world that the balance of power between the internet institutions, and rogue criminal gangs, has radically shifted.
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| Beowulf |
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Posted on November 20, 2007 @ 12:07 am
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mood |
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music |
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Finger Eleven - Paralyzer |
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Kelly was nice enough to be interested enough in Beowulf to get us IMAX 3D tickets last week (thanks, babe!) - I don't have the hour I could go on about it, but here's a short review:
Basically - if anyone hasn't been to a IMAX 3D show, and likes fantasy, SEE THIS FILM before you miss the film experience that you may never get a chance to again.
It's a wonderful mess - it's a commendable experiment, flawed and beautiful at the same time.
There are a couple scenes (with Angelina, of course) that actually reach photo-realism - no, scratch that ..... HYPER-realism. They actually did it with this film - they made a CGI model that can be zoomed in to fill a 100 ft wide frame and stare at any spot on the face, with moisture droplets on her skin, visible pores... it's PERFECT.
Don't blow this off, fans of the CGI artform - this may well be the last time anyone as enthusiastic and well-connected as Robert Zemeckis will try this kind of movie again.
It is simply too (comparatively) cheap to put real actors in front of a green screen and make movies ala Robert Rodriguez' great films. To make CGI acotrs is basically flawed from the start, since a feature-length film has too many frames that have to be polished to perfection to work for the average audience to be successful.
And many scenes in Beowulf didn't get the extra time and care (and money) that the Angelina Jolie scenes did, and it shows. You have to be able to look past some pretty glaringly-different scenes and focus on the breathtaking, spectacular scenes (fights with rotted-flesh giants, sea monsters, air and water battles with dragons, etc) and marvel in the depth of the 3D direction. Robert Zemekis made this film to be seen in IMAX 3D, with many sequences deliberately staged solely for the 3D effect.
Should only be seen in IMAX 3D, and is a must see for any fan of fantasy action films, CGI animation, or 3D effects.
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| It's just the fate of America, that's all |
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Posted on October 25, 2007 @ 12:15 pm
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pissed off |
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music |
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the faint but undeniable strains of America dying |
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I can't be silent anymore -
I've found and read countless good, fact-based persuasive, well-attributed blogs the past few years that have hundreds of informed, reasonable replyers that point out the absurd levels of damage that Bush & Company are doing to the country, to the Middle-Eastern people, to the Constitution, and to the children (saddling them with trillions in debt while insisting there's not enough money for their healthcare)
The future of this country can't afford the collective ignorance and disinterest of the majority of Americans in what's going on with their country anymore.
Here's a trio of recent articles (amidst hundreds of others) that give a small taste of the political problems today.
We Can't Afford This Damn War Anymore
This talks about how the minority is somehow overriding the majority
And here's a look at money matters - what companies are reaping benefits (pun intended) from this "War on Terror"
So now it's gonna be $2.4 trillion for the "War" in Iraq?
A war that was started with proven lies and misleading propaganda, foisted on a populace being "represented" by complicit media and politicians, is unable to be stopped, even though a vast majority of Americans want out and have a majority of political representatives trying to decrease funding for the "war" (and being overruled by a president with no check or balance), and is making the blatant reality that America needs to decide where it's priorities lie and where our monies are going to go (to Medicare, SS, and American's (kids and adults) health, or to corrupt, criminal multi-national corporations).
I can't communicate how pissed off I am at the average American who is complicit in these traitorous, inhuman political actions by not standing up and demanding their representatives stop it by any means necessary.
Congress has control over 1 major check/balance : the national budget.
Theoretically, with no funding for a president out-of-control, then he can't promulgate his corruptness on the world.
However, when the American people allow themselves to be bored by a Congressional budgetary battle (with Bush winning because spineless cowards won't stand up to him and override his veto, no matter how obvious the decision gets) then it enables this farce of a democracy to continue its mistakes unabated.
Barring a super-majority of Democrats being elected, we are all under control of the Republicans who won't override the President's veto, proving they are more interested in spending money on continuing an insanely-failed foreign occupation then on providing American children healthcare.
If you ever told me, years ago, that these obvious of political decisions could be screwed up and NOT have the American people in absolute riot-mode, I would never have believed it. How can we possibly prefer to spend money on an endless occupation of Iraq and billions of dollars of no-bid-contractors stealing OUR money (when they aren't murdering other humans wantonly) than provide needy American kids with healthcare?
How absurd does the current regime have to become for people to have had enough to at least clear their throats and say "Uh - this isn't right."
Is that so hard to do? Question your leaders and not swallow what's being told to you?
(Coming soon - a rant on society's desire to keep us all from being free thinkers - schools, companies, and politicians would rather us be subserviant robots who just say "Yes, m'aam" and watch TV all day from childhood on.)
That's it for now - I'm tired - go back to watching TV, America - my indignation only has so much steam before it fades out in the face of abject disinterest.
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| Star Wars Trumpet + Incompetence Research |
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Posted on October 12, 2007 @ 11:56 am
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2 posts in one.
First, the succulent Star Wars Trumpet performance.
Beauty Pageant?
Talent Show?
Who knows - who cares - this is one for the ages.
Plus -
an article from 2000 about the nature of Incompetence in humans. (after the cut)
Fascinating insight on human behavior, that is both common sense and insightful just the same.
The final conclusions are spot-on to my approach in social circles/internet, actually - that if you tolerate incpmetence by clapping/nodding politely, you aren't helping that person or any of the future victims of that person's incompetence.
Train them, by making them aweare of how much they suck, even if it's socially uncomfortable.
You're helping them, and society as a whole, if you make them aware of something they are incapable of realizing without another's helpful perspective in the form of constructive criticism.
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