This message was created automatically by mail delivery software. A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed: irdial@gmail.com SMTP error from remote mailer after end of data: host gsmtp171.google.com [64.233.171.27]: 552 5.7.0 Illegal Attachment ------ This is a copy of the message, including all the headers. ------!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy New Year to all the BLOGDIAL crew!
Friday, December 31, 2004
eXeem Beta blocked by Gmail
Send any file as an email attachment with the name 'eXeem BETA 0.16.zip' to a Gmail address, and it will be rejected by the Gmail system with the following error:
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Peace and love to you all!
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
1+1=2 all over the world
U.S. Slips in Attracting the World's Best Students
Published: December 21, 2004
The European Union, moving methodically to compete with American universities, is streamlining the continent's higher education system and offering American-style degree programs taught in English. Britain, Australia and New Zealand are aggressively recruiting foreign students, as are Asian centers like Taiwan and Hong Kong. And China, which has declared that transforming 100 universities into world-class research institutions is a national priority, is persuading top Chinese scholars to return home from American universities.
[...]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/21/national/21global.html?oref=login
Muslim academic resigns from US university Polly Curtis, education correspondent Friday December 17, 2004 Tariq Ramadan, the leading Muslim academic, has resigned his professorship at an American university after authorities refused to give him a visa.
Swiss-born Prof Ramadan is one of the most respected philosophers of religion and conflict resolution; he has argued for a more moderate and modern Islam, and was named by Time magazine as one of the world's top 100 influential thinkers this year.
But in July his American visa was revoked under the Patriot Act, adopted after the terrorist attacks on September 11, prohibiting him from taking up the post at the University of Notre dame in Indiana. They have so far refused to issue a new visa.
Today he announced his resignation of two professorships at the university - professor of Islamic studies in the classics department and professor of religion, conflict, and peace building - and accused the American authorities of attacking academic freedom. [...]
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/worldwide/story/0,9959,1376111,00.html
Now, what self respecting student, or less, a student that wants access to a broad range of teachers, would go to an american university?
1+1=2
You want an education that is of the highest calibre? DONT go to an american institution. Not only will you have nothing but government approved professors, but you will have to put up with a student population, half of which will completely agree with the banning of ideologically undesireable professors. Then there is the no-fly business, racial profiling, visa humiliation - and all of that is before you even get there.
There is one disadvantage to not going to an american university; you wont be able to supersize your freedom fries!
Whats the word?
Once more...with feeling
Thunderbird
17.5% alc. by vol.
As pictured to the left, look for the pigeon feces and you'll find this old bird. As soon as you taste this swill, it will be obvious that its makers cut every corner possible in its production to make it cheap. Self-proclaimed as "The American Classic," Thuderbird is Vinted and bottled by E&J Gallo Winery, in in Modesto, CA. Disguised like Night Train, the label says that it is made by "Thunderbird, Ltd." Anyways, if your taste buds are shot, and you need to get trashed with a quickness, then "T-bird" is the drink for you. Or, if you like to smell your hand after pumping gas, look no further than Thunderbird. As you drink on, the bird soars higher while you sink lower. The undisputed leader of the five in foulness of flavor, we highly discourage driking this ghastly mixture of unknown chemicals unless you really are a bum. A convenience store clerk in Show Low, AZ once told me that only the oldest of stumbling indian drunks from the reservation buy Thunderbird. Avaliable in 750 mL and a devastating 50 oz jug.
The history of Thunderbird is as interesting as the drunken effects the one experiences from the wine. When Prohibition ended, Ernest Gallo and his brothers Julio and Joe wanted to corner the young wine market. Earnest wanted the company to become "the Campbell Soup company of the wine industry" so he started selling Thunderbird in the ghettos around the country. Their radio adds featured a song that sang, "What's the word? / Thunderbird / How's it sold? / Good and cold / What's the jive? / Bird's alive / What's the price? / Thirty twice." It is said that Ernest once drove through a tough, inner city neighborhood and pulled over when he saw a bum. When Gallo rolled down his window and called out, "What's the word?" the immediate answer from the bum was, "Thunderbird."
WARNING: This light yellow liquid turns your lips and mouth black! A mysterious chemical reaction similar to disappearing-reappearing ink makes you look like you've been chewing on hearty clumps of charcoal.
[...]
http://www.bumwine.com/tbird.html
My emphasis. This is a re-post. I think.
Monday, December 20, 2004
Tolerance and Decency in England
Tolerance and decency are deeply rooted in England, but they are not indestructible, and they have to be kept alive partly by conscious effort. The result of preaching totalitarian doctrines is to weaken the instinct by means of which free peoples know what is or is not dangerous. The case of Mosley illustrates this. In 1940 it was perfectly right to intern Mosley, whether or not he had committed any technical crime. We were fighting for our lives and could not allow a possible quisling to go free. To keep him shut up, without trial, in 1943 was an outrage. The general failure to see this was a bad symptom, though it is true that the agitation against Mosley's release was partly factitious and partly a rationalization of other discontents. But how much of the present slide towards Fascist ways of thought is traceable to the 'anti-Fascism' of the past ten years and the unscrupulousness it has entailed? [...]
At the death of John Reed, the author of Ten Days that Shook the World - a first-hand account of the early days of the Russian Revolution - the copyright of the book passed into the hands of the British Communist Party, to whom I believe Reed had bequeathed it. Some years later the British Communists, having destroyed the original edition of the book as completely as they could, issued a garbled version from which they had eliminated mentions of Trotsky and also omitted the introduction written by Lenin. If a radical intelligentsia had still existed in Britain, this act of forgery would have been exposed and denounced in every literary paper in the country. As it was there was little or no protest. To many English intellectuals it seemed quite a natural thing to do. And this tolerance or [of?] plain dishonesty means much more than that admiration for Russia happens to be fashionable at this moment. Quite possibly that particular fashion will not last. For all I know, by the time this book is published my view of the Soviet régime may be the generally-accepted one. But what use would that be in itself? To exchange one orthodoxy for another is not necessarily an advance. The enemy is the gramophone mind, whether or not one agrees with the record that is being played at the moment. [...]
Exerpts from George Orwell's original preface to "Animal Farm". My emphasis.
Museum of Russian Synths
Description
A guitar processor ARTON ME-01 (produced by Formanta factory in 1981) is a floor-mounted synthesizer of effects, such as compression, reverberation, chorus etc. It has five rubber footswitches, knobs and sliders to control parameters of effects. ME-01 consists of four main serial effect sections: RHYTHM/SOLO, COMPRESSION, REVERBERATOR, CHORUS. Every section has its own dedicated parameters.
Control functions are the following:
* RHYTHM/SOLO: guitar, rocktone, spectrum, turbo;
* COMPRESSOR: level, attack, restoring, output;
* REVERB: level, echo;
* CHORUS: balance, brightness, amplitude, rate;
* OUTPUT - amplifier on, output (effect, scale - min\max), turbo on.
Indicators - control, overload, effect.
Connections: line input, output (line, phone, amplifier).
Dimensions - 420 x 360 x 115
Weight - about 5 kg
From Museum of Soviet Synths
Four Leaf Clovers
76,000 mutated clovers
KENAI, Alaska — Some people believe the Kenai Peninsula is the luckiest place on Earth. Cooper Landing resident Ed Martin Sr. said he believes it is time somebody proved it. Martin has been finding four-leaf clovers since his childhood and started to save them only two years ago. Since then he has rounded up more than 76,000 clovers. Some people likely would ask why a person would be so concentrated on how many mutated clovers they found, especially a collection well into five figures. The answer is it has to do with a little competition, and a little bit of pride. Martin has surpassed the previously largest known four-leaf clover collection held by George J. Kaminski, who collected 72,927 clovers within prison grounds in Pennsylvania (Guinness World Records). Kaminski has held the record since April of 1995. Although Martin's world record-breaking application still is being completed, he is confident it will stand officially. The city of Soldotna, where many of the clovers were found, is handling the paperwork. Kathy Dawson, assistant to Mayor David Carey, is making sure the project stays within the Guinness office record guidelines. This includes clear documentation in multiple forms. "This is just amazing. I've got file cabinets full of clovers," Dawson said. "The mayor had kids from the schools counting all these clovers, and there are still more to be counted." Actually finding 76,000 clovers, let alone a handful, is a difficult task, so Martin shared his secret: "I look for mutated clovers, ones with four clovers and above. Now, you're not going to believe this, but once I found 880 in one day. I found 90 percent in the Soldotna Kenai Borough area." It's a knack, Martin said. "People just don't see what I see," he said. Martin expects to break a world record, but he says the accomplishment goes beyond that. "I'm interested in the good that will come out of this," he said. "We have a wonderful country, a wonderful state and community. We are all lucky to be living here. It's just a fact of life. I really think this is the luckiest place in the world, and this will prove it. Maybe this is why the fishing is so good here." Martin, a former member of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly, said he hasn't been as involved as he used to be — although competing for a world record in the name of your homeland seems to be a good contribution. "When you're meeting a challenge, when you do your best in anything, there is a feeling of pride that goes with it," Martin said. "I'm going to keep looking for clovers." [...] http://ap.peninsulaclarion.com/pstories/state/ak/20041220/2667984.shtml
More lies...blatant lies.
Full speed ahead on ID cards that are 'good for you'
CHARLES CLARKE today accuses critics of identity cards of “liberal woolly thinking” and spreading false fears as he pledges not to waver from David Blunkett’s controversial plans.
A spokesman for the civil rights group Liberty said: “If opponents of identity cards are woolly liberals, what does that make George W Bush? He has ruled out ID cards in the US on the grounds that they will have not one iota of effect on terrorism and will seriously undermine civil liberties.”
As both the new Home Secretary and Michael Howard, the Tory leader, face backbench rebellions in tonight’s Commons vote, Mr Clarke says in The Times that ID cards will “help make everyone a bit safer” at no real cost to civil liberties.
In an attempt to placate opponents Mr Clarke says that the legislation will not make it compulsory to carry a card, and will not give powers to the police to stop individuals and demand to see their card. The database accompanying the system will not hold information on medical records, religion or political beliefs. [...]
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1410171,00.html
These are some really bold lies.
The only thing that is wolly is the wolly mammoth lies that this fat pig of an elephant Dumbo is telling about ID cards. It doesnt take a genius to figure it out.
If the cards will "not hold information on medical records" then how can they be used to stop people abusing the NHS? somewhere, someone has to keep a list of people who are entitled to NHS care, and this list MUST be checked against the NIR, if the system is to only allow people who are entitled to care access. That means that either the NIR must mark your record as entitled, OR the NHS has to have its own NIR generated database against which all people will be checked.
Mere posession of the card is not enough, if it were, there would be no need for a database at all and the standard issue NHS cards would suffice. No need for a new database, biometrics and all of that guff.
To say that the police will not have the right to ask for this card, and then say that it will help stop crime is absurd. The only way that, for example, illegal immigrants are going to be weed-outable is if everyone without expception who is "legal" is put into the ID card system, and then, the population routinely swept for undocumented persons until they get every last one of the bloody wogs. To say that you must have a card that need never be produced kills the very (false) utility of the card. Its a total lie.
Now, I said 'wogs'. What I REALLY meant was 'mullahs'. A system that does not aid in the profiling of the population is next to useless in finding the people who you want to imprison without trial. Somewhere, there is going to have to be a database of everyone with the name 'Mohammad', 'Ahmed', and 'Mina'. That is the only way that you will be able to 'fight terrorism', which of course this will not, since the majority of people with those names are only guilty of having those names, and nothing more.
Baroness Thatcher was also reported yesterday to be strongly against ID cards. She told a private meeting that they were a “Germanic concept completely alien to this country”. The Lib Dems oppose the Bill. [...]
Maybe if your governments had been a little... nicer we would not be in this mess M'Lady!
Mr Clarke writes in The Times that ID cards have significant security and practical benefits as well as saving millions by tackling fraud. A secure system would help to prevent terrorist activity and tackle the “vile trafficking in vulnerable human beings” as shown by the Morecambe Bay cockle-picking tragedy. It would be profoundly civil libertarian because it promotes the most fundamental civil liberty, the right to live free from crime and fear. [...]
What EXACTLY are these vapourous security benefits? Practical benefits? To whom? Tackleing fraud? how can this be true without it invading everyones privacy? The answer is, it cant, especially if every time you present the card, a record is created.
How ON EARTH is a card going to stop people from being abused, trafficked and prostituted? Will the card automatically inflate to act as a lifesaver for cocle-pickers? Or will it be issued with a razor sharp edge so that people can slice muggers with it.
The last sentence is pure Jackass Straw double-talk, which meau meau eloquently cleaned up earlier, so no need to even go there.
“Those kinds of nightmares will be no more true of ID cards than they have been for the spread of cash and credit cards, driving licences, work security passes and other forms of ID which most of us carry.” [...]
Voluntary, voluntary, voluntary voluntary and limited, and voluntary. All of the above have a limited purpose, are voluntary, and for all intents and purposes, nearly anonymous in relation to each other. This proposed card will be the 'One Card to Bind Them All', it is literally that evil, all governments, when they touch this idea go insane for it just like the characters in Lord of the rings. The unlimited power it gives over populations is just too seductive to bear.
This card must be thrown into the fire, where it should finally burn, forever eliminated from evern threatening us again.
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Suprnova Gone?
Good-bye!
Greetings everybody,As you have probably noticed, we have often had downtimes. This was because it was so hard to keep this site up! But now we are sorry to inform you all, that SuprNova is closing down for good in the way that we all know it. We do not know if SuprNova is going to return, but it is certainly not going to be hosting any more torrent links. We are very sorry for this, but there was no other way, we have tried everything.
Thank you all that helped us, by donating mirrors or something else, by uploading and seeding files, by helping people out on IRC and on forum, by spreading the word about SuprNova.org. It is a sad day for all of us!
Please visit SuprNova.org every once in a while to get the latest news on what is happening and if there is anything new to report on.
As we wish to maintain the nice community that we created, we are keeping the forums and irc servers open.
Thank you all and Goodbye! sloncek & the rest of the SuprNova Team
Saturday, December 18, 2004
One rule for them
Purge of e-mails will deny the right to know
By Sam Coates and Jill Sherman
MILLIONS of e-mails to civil servants at the heart of government will be automatically wiped on Monday, 11 days before freedom of information laws come into force.
The Cabinet Office, which supports the Prime Minister and co-ordinates policy across government, has ruled that e-mails more than three months old must be deleted from December 20, The Times has learnt.
Its 2,000 civil servants are being told to print and file e-mails that should be disclosed under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act.
It will be up to the individual which e-mails are printed, with no monitoring from heads of department. Many officials, who receive about 100 e-mails a day, will have at least 3,000 items in their mailboxes. These include officials in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, the Delivery Unit, and the offices of Alan Milburn and Sir Andrew Turnbull, the Cabinet Secretary.
Although the deleted e-mails will be stored on back-up systems, these have been declared off limits to freedom of information requests because of the cost of accessing them.
Last night, Phil Boyd, the assistant information commmissioner, who will enforce FoI requests, said that the decision could be a big risk and that important files could be lost.
Constitutional experts called the introduction of an “opt-in” system, where civil servants are proactive in preserving information, a blatant contradiction of the Act’s “presumption of disclosure”.
The Tories said that the Government was deliberately trying to destroy embarrassing information. “This begs the question how much more does the Labour administration need to hide,” Michael Fabricant, the Shadow Minister for Industry and Technology, said.
The decision also raises questions about whether the trail of correspondence which brought down David Blunkett, the former Home Secretary, would have surfaced.
The Cabinet Office insisted that the exercise was not related to the Freedom of Information Act but was “good records management practice”, to stop files blocking the system.
“It is the end of the year and our computer system is getting overloaded,” he said. Most e-mails would be copied to a number of officials, and ministers’ private offices would ensure that important records were kept.
“We are not going to get some 25-year-old graduate deleting the advice which the Attorney-General gave to the Government about going to war with Iraq,” the official said.
The Department for Constitutional Affairs, which is monitoring the introduction of FoI legislation, said: “No Government Departments have been told to destroy records in order to prevent their release under the FoI Act, and such a policy would run totally contrary to the Government’s intention to increase openness.
“Departments regularly destroy records as part of proper records management policies. Paying to store outdated records which are no longer of any use, and which are not historically valuable, wastes taxpayers’ money.”
But freedom of information campaigners and opposition MPs called the decision extremely worrying. Alan Beith, the Liberal Democrat chairman of the Constitutional Affairs Committee, said: “This has the appearance of trying to get round the new freedom of information legislation. It certainly appears that they are not observing the spirit of the Act. The FoI legislation was meant to result in a change of culture, not a wholesale clear-out.”
Mr Boyd said: “The risk is that you’re applying a deletion policy on the basis of the age of the record, rather than the information which it contains. The policy should not automatically decide that after three months a record has no value, but at that point someone must decide whether to keep it.” [...]
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1407627,00.html
And of course, the "ordinary" mans emails, phone calls etc must be kept for SEVEN YEARS so that this immoral, law breaking murdering governmet can delve into your affairs at will, at the expense and inconvenience of your ISP.
In a perfect world, all ISPs and telecoms providers would point blank refuse to comply with such absurd data retention rules, on principle.
It is outrageous that public servants should be able to hide their communications, yet compel the very people that they work for to keep theirs.
There is absolutely no technical reason why all of these emails cannot be archived permanently just as they are, in a snapshot fashion. They just want to bury their dirty laundry murdered corpses, the bastards!
But you know this!
Hearts and minds and lies
TV station put on US terror list
 Al-Manar's website says it first began satellite broadcasts in 2000 |
The designation comes less than a week after France banned broadcasts of al-Manar's satellite channel.
The station is backed by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, already considered by the US a "foreign terrorist organization".
Anyone linked to the station could face action, the State Department warned.
"For example, an alien would be found inadmissible ... if the alien is a member of al-Manar, if a person solicits funds or other things of value for al-Manar, if he provides material support to al-Manar or solicits any individual for membership in al-Manar," State Dept spokesman Richard Boucher said.
Mr Boucher denied the US decision had been made under Israeli pressure.
"It's not a question of freedom of speech," he said.
"It's a question of incitement to violence. And we don't see why here or anywhere else a terrorist organisation should be allowed to spread its hatred and incitement through the television airwaves." [...]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4106595.stm Freedom of speech, Equality for all, First amendment rights, Rights, Right and Wrong, all men are created equal, all out the window.
Friday, December 17, 2004
ID Cards: 'Sinister'
If you value your freedom, reject this sinister ID card
We should be afraid of future governments, whose nature we can't predict
Henry Porter
Friday December 17, 2004
The Guardian
Where are the demonstrations demanding the identity card, the letters imploring the government to introduce a scheme as soon possible, the citizens calling phone-in programmes anxious to be able to identify themselves beyond reasonable doubt?
Of course, there has been no such clamour, merely a silence, and a rather eloquent one at that. Since the 1939 National Registration Act was repealed in 1951 after Clarence Willcox, the manager of a dry cleaning shop, challenged the principle that a policeman could demand to see his wartime identity card, the British have seen compulsory registration schemes as the mark of more officious and authoritarian states than ours. Over the years we've taken pride that we carried as much or as little identity as we pleased, and that as long as we were within the law, no official or policeman could demand to see proof of our name and address.
Although little essentially has changed in the condition of the country, the government wants to compel us to accept what the former home secretary called the "gold standard of identification", with large fines for non-registration and failing to renew a card or notify the authorities of a change of address.
Some 95% of Britons do not lack the means to identify themselves. We voluntarily carry driving licences, credit and bank cards, professional ID of every sort, security passes and sometimes social security numbers and medical tags. If a document needs to be signed or a large sum to be collected from the bank, it is simply a matter of producing a passport.
So the important point is not that we need to identify ourselves, but that the government wishes to identify us, which is a different matter and one that should set off alarms. That David Blunkett has been replaced by Charles Clarke, who has shown that he has some reservations about the details of the scheme, should not mean that we relax.
To be anonymous, to go privately, to move residence without telling the authorities is a fundamental liberty which is about to be taken from us. People may not choose to exercise this entitlement to privacy, or see the point of it, but once it's gone and a vast database is built, eventually to be accessed by every tentacle of the government machine, we will never be able to claw it back. We are about to surrender a right which is precious, rare even in western democracies, and profoundly emblematic of our culture and civilisation. And what for? The government advances arguments of necessity, raising the threats of terrorism, organised crime, benefit fraud and illegal immigration.
It is obvious that the members of criminal gangs will not be deterred by having to apply for identity cards, just as they are not by the need to have a passport. The possession of a legitimate national ID card does not of itself magically prevent criminal intent. It doesn't in mafia and Camorra strongholds of Italy, so why should it here?
Benefit fraud may be reduced a little, but most cases involve people making false claims about their circumstances, not their identity. A national registration scheme will do nothing to put off those bent on coming here, as has been discovered in France, Spain and Italy, which of course all have identity card schemes.
The first claim about countering the terrorist threat is, of course, baloney. Even at the height of the IRA campaign no one suggested that identity cards would defeat the active units here, or in Northern Ireland. [...] http://politics.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9115,1375859,00.html At last, they are coming out of the woodwork. The ID card proposal is going to die. Believe that.
Google-Watch appeals to the American Library Association
Google-Watch appeals to the American Library Association
[...]
It is my feeling that those librarians who contract with Google for access to their books and documents for purposes of digitization should require that any future searches done on Google that produce this material, must respect the anonymity of the searcher. This would mean that Google cannot record the IP address or unique ID from the cookie for such searches. Short of this, another alternative would be for libraries to deny Google access to any literature that has political content or relevance.
As I understand it, for legal reasons Google will be interested primarily in material that is not copyrighted.* But this could include a lot of political and anarchist material from 100 years ago. What, for example, would prevent Google from supplying to the FBI a list of those who read Marx, if required to do so by subpoena?
I'm aware that the ALA is already involved with discovery and lobbying on this issue with the Justice Department over practices that evolved out of the Patriot Act. But keep in mind that the scale of anything Google does is a million times larger than the scale of anything that involves discrete libraries, access to paper hard copy, and occasional subpoenas for specific information. Perhaps the scale of what Google does is even ten million times larger.
Google is increasingly turning into a portal, in which the more Google knows about its users, the more competitive Google becomes for purposes of targeted advertising. This targeted advertising is over 95 percent of their gross revenue, and it is obviously their main priority. The new Google Groups Beta is merely the latest manifestation of this. Other major players such as Yahoo, Amazon, and Microsoft are also very interested in "personalized search." My concern is that libraries may get sucked into this scenario if they don't take steps now to make their priorities clear. Google, Yahoo, Amazon and Microsoft are already unstoppable, but librarians still have time to speak out.
[...]
To clunk or not to clunk
et tu, Brute?
"To the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee."
I didnt know you meant to brand him "clunk" after all, it did just say "clunk clunk clunk"!
Now, this is the guy we are discussing:
who votes for "Dumbo" and who votes for "Clunk"?!?!?
By the way, we can lay into this guy because its "plans unchanged" for human rights abuse and ID cards under his tenure as Home secretary. The law lords voted 8:1 that detaining people without trial because they are foreign is an abuse of their human rights, yet, this PIG says "I will not be releasing them because they constitute a threat to this country."
So, hurl away your insults, he deserves them all!
who votes for "Dumbo" and who votes for "Clunk"?!?!?
By the way, we can lay into this guy because its "plans unchanged" for human rights abuse and ID cards under his tenure as Home secretary. The law lords voted 8:1 that detaining people without trial because they are foreign is an abuse of their human rights, yet, this PIG says "I will not be releasing them because they constitute a threat to this country."
So, hurl away your insults, he deserves them all!
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Poetry in motion
Arrogant. Vainglorious. Delusional.
Completely, absolutely, 120% correct.
What is so delicious about this resignation is that he was caught by a type of system that he wants to impose on the entire British population; a system where everything you ever do is recorded and retrievable to haunt you and bring you down at any time.
This system is how they managed to have all the emails he ever sent, that came back to incriminate him. How they have all the phone calls his office made that incriminated him, how they know that a letter was read out to him over dinner, how they know WHERE he was having that very same dinner.
Turn about is fair play motherfucker; thats what its like to be a victim of a Total Information Awareness society. It sucks.
I have no problem at all with a government minister fast tracking Visae, or Passport applitcaions or anything else like that; that is how the world works, that is how things get done. What I cannot accept is that everyone EXCEPT government ministers are made to be accuntable down to the last action, while they do whatever they want, whenever they want. Rather like the drinking laws that tell everyone last orders are half past ten, yet they can drink 24/7 in private bars in parliament. We should all be able to live by flexible law, bending the rules sensibly when we need to, without any consequence.
Life is fuzzy. It is grey, and messy, and muddled up. It is not geometric, except in the messy fractal sense - it is not Platonic in its geometry. Everyone needs to be able to escape, to shrink, to expand, to step forward obliquely, to spin on their heels, do a favour here and there. An NIR/ID card society is less like a fractal one, and more like an idealized Platonic one, and it is inhuman, inflexible and a bad idea, and its greatest proponent has just bitten the dust and been made to eat shit by the same bad mechanisms that he sought to foist on all of us.
Burn in hell you adulterating son of a bitch!
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
oh my
What TO do?
...Loads, liquids, neon, heater, jaws, jungle
mains, signal, knives, kitchen
ingot, lovely, mirror, mold
Mycenaean, moat, poppy, rubber,
radar, rags, sugar, teak
silver, poke, tin, beetroot,
carrott, ebony, fruit, copper, silk
Carpet, distant, pigmy, hid, pack,
timber, pudding, straw
raindrops, spattering, ramps
chameleon, prairie, pods, trigger
museum, scales, square, ultra, out of map, vent
volcano, vain, wreck, tactic
tidal, arches, valley, hand
inflect, impression, loom, last, molten
you gamma, meeting
lighting, signal, island, coral, cold...
...Loads, liquids, neon, heater, jaws, jungle
mains, signal, knives, kitchen
ingot, lovely, mirror, mold
Mycenaean, moat, poppy, rubber,
radar, rags, sugar, teak
silver, poke, tin, beetroot,
carrott, ebony, fruit, copper, silk
Carpet, distant, pigmy, hid, pack,
timber, pudding, straw
raindrops, spattering, ramps
chameleon, prairie, pods, trigger
museum, scales, square, ultra, out of map, vent
volcano, vain, wreck, tactic
tidal, arches, valley, hand
inflect, impression, loom, last, molten
you gamma, meeting
lighting, signal, island, coral, cold...
Exercises in General Semantics
From: Exercises in General Semantics by J. Samuel Bois
Presented August 1950,
URL: http://www.general-semantics.org/learningctr/bois-ex.htm
Exercise E:
For discussion
Four men in the their early thirties meet in the lounge of a New York-Montreal train, and discuss the topics of the day, such as the war in Korea, the British Labor Government, pension plans in industry, etc.
a. was born and brought up in New York, belongs to a wealthy family, is assistant to the president of a firm that makes office machines and in which his family has the controlling interests. Was a pilot in World War II. Single.
b. is French from Quebec, educated at Harvard, is general manager of the family's firm in Quebec. Theirs is the largest foundation garment industry in the British Commonwealth, with factories under license in various countries. No military experience because one eye was lost playing hockey. Married, no children.
c. is an engineer, born and brought up in the Middle West, earned most of his education, was Lt. Colonel of paratroop unit in Pacific theater. Now assistant to Works Manager in a large plant in the western part of New York state, where mining and construction equipment is made for the U.S. and outside. Married, 2 children.
d. is second generation American, of Polish descent, born and brought up in Chicago. Military service in Infantry and Intelligence (European theater) up to rank of Major. College: Arts with major in sociology. After the War took graduate work in Human Relations at M.I.T. Now industrial relations consultant to a large labor union. Married, 1 child.
Are they living in the 'same' world?
He always knows what to do.
Christmas comes early to Great Britain!
Blunkett quits as home secretary
Mr Blunkett has been in the media glare
for much of the last month
David Blunkett has quit as home secretary after an e-mail emerged showing a visa application for his ex-lover's nanny had been fast tracked. Mr Blunkett said he had nothing wrong because the visa had been processed by the "system". But he said questions about his integrity had been damaging the government.
Sir Alan Budd is due to unveil the findings of his inquiry into the allegations in the next few days. [...]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4099581.stm
LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE!!!
See the statue of the beast-man pulled down as the crowds cheer; this is a moment the people of the UK had...you get the picture!!!!
Oh well, there goes my new tshirt!!!!!
Caught with his pants down in an adulterous affair, Caught abusing the system...TWICE Eager as fire in a petrol station to force everyone into a ID card cage, but bends the rules for himself like its his God given right...
This despicable, evil, twisted, low down dirty dog is gone gone gone!!!!!
Knowing What to Do
Allons! the road is before us!
It is safe—I have tried it—my own feet have tried it well.
Allons! be not detain'd!
Let the paper remain on the desk unwritten, and the
book on the shelf unopen'd!
Let the tools remain in the workshop! let the money
remain unearn'd!
Let the school stand! mind not the cry of the teacher!
Let the preacher preach in his pulpit! let the lawyer
plead in the court, and the judge expound the
law.
Mon enfant! I give you my hand!
I give you my love, more precious than money,
I give you myself, before preaching or law;
Will you give me yourself? will you come travel with
me?
Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?
He knows what to do
President Chisholm
"I stand before you today as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency of the United States. I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women's movement of this country, although I am a woman, and I am equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of any political bosses or special interests. I am the candidate of the people."
.........She knows what to do!
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
googlewatch
A look at Google's monopoly,
algorithms, and privacy policies
http://www.google-watch.org/
YEs!!!!
and on the other side
http://www.google-watch-watch.org/
Its official!
Can you believe me when I say there is no god? It's only my opinion, as it was Flew's opinion.
What I am talking about is something different than a man stating an opinion.
"I ate bacon and eggs this morning"
That is either a true statement or it is not. The tendency of people to NOT believe a statement like that is what I am talking about, pure and simple. Ish.
When a man like Flew says "I ate bacon and eggs this morning" it is often prefixed by "OFFICIAL" simply because of his special staus. That is wrong. Bacon and eggs are always bacon and eggs, Flew or no flew. You cannot doubt that a bum in the street ate it for breakfast becaus he is a bum, but people do, because they tend towards disbelief and this is a sickness, a terrible mind shackeling sickness.
What is worse, a symptom of this sickness is that the long pigs who suffer from it believe liars more than they do people who tell the truth; they prefer to believe lies, gravitate towards them and make these lies their own.
Archbishop of Canterbury, the Pope, or Osama bin Laden
The Dalai Llama, endless hoards of Swamis, Rabbi and the like, hey wait a minute, OBL isnt a religious leader you tricksy-man!
Back to what I was saying. If a man says "I ate bacon and eggs this morning" you can believe this wether it was said a week or a month or a year or a thousand years ago. Time doesnt fade the truth or the recounting of an experience. Go to the British Museum and have a good look around if you think that the truth of man's life fades over time. All the myriad things people did and experienced are still true, no matter how outrageous they might seem now, like the building of the pyramids, something that a man like Flew would never believe had they not survived to the present day; and this is a perfect example of the flaw in his way of thinking.
The pyramids, a mind blowing achievement, were built three thousand years ago. Had they been dismantled before the present day, he would dismiss completely accurate historical accounts of such an ancient feat as utter nonsense. It is only because they are still here that him and his sort admit that they exist - a written account would not have been enough. That is a belittleing and dehumanizing way of thinking, perfectly harmless in a person without authority, but in a man like Flew, whose every pronouncement has consequences, and whose words are automatically spread all over the globe, those thoughts are a dangerous and destructive tool of opression.
Now, there are some that say that the Pope has precisely this power over his flock, BUT that is a private matter between him and his flock, and NOT a secular matter of the kind that people like Flew are asked to advise on. There must be a separation between the private and the public, the secular state and the private beliefs of individuals. Flew is an adherent of a religion, a transparent, emperors new clothes like religion, a religion that has slipped unquestioned into the mind of the public by its masquerading as secular common sense; we should not be made to swallow his poison or accept the consequences of his brainwashing.
And to top it all off, and most revoltingly, he comes from this false common sense religion standpoint, and then pronounces that God is real, transforming his common sense religion into a near sanctioned quasi religion by virtue that he and his evil cabal accepts that God, after all, made his world - the world that they alone are able to define and explain. From now on, not only will they explain the world to the public, but they will be explaining the design of God himself.
For this, SURELY he will burn!
schmoogle
Now that the news about Google teaming up with Harvard, and more top tier research in the future libraries has hit the press I have gone and deleted my eariler post as it now useless and I will take this moment to comment on the Google-Library phenomenon.
Most stories covering the story are echoing a sentiment which says: "wow" "imagine that" or "how cool." But what goes unnoticed is a statement issued by the EFF which reads:
"Be careful what you put in that Google search. The government may now
spy on web surfing of innocent Americans, including terms entered into
search engines, by merely telling a judge anywhere in the U.S. that the
spying could lead to information that is "relevant" to an ongoing
criminal investigation. The person spied on does not have to be the
target of the investigation. This application must be granted and the
government is not obligated to report to the court or tell the person
spied upon what it has done. [EFF 10/31/01]
What this means is that Google, a privately traded company, would not stand up to the US Government and its PATRIOT ACTS which allow for the unchecked powers of government surveillance. Yet, information professionals are all too happy to see Google team up with libraries. There is no denying that many a great thing could come from Google and its $$$ helping to digitize and provide search tools to library materials. People must, however, take into consideration the ethics/goals/ideas of a company they are so happy to let into the public information sphere.
We all know that the American Empire is on the wane, that America as a project is failing, and only its cold corpse is standing, dangling its dead fingers over the world. But, giving over precious public information to corporate control must be seen as the one more artery of democratic life becoming, as we speak, a clogged vein on the cadaver of freedom.
Where are the Question Google t-shirts!! I want one.
Where there's a will there's a way
so-called opposition party
Well yes indeed. What the imbecile Howard seems to have misunderstood is that by doing this "not be outflanked" he has made the tories unelectable. Why should you bother to vote for the Tories if they have all of the same policies as Labour? There is now no reason to vote for them, in fact, anyone who experienced the Tory government that Howard was a part of would never vote for a party lead by him. When he was home secretary, he was a monster (though no where near as monstrous as Dimwit Blindkid).
The Tories are a party without morals, without fire in their bellies, without belief, without grapefruits. Just to punish them for thier spinelessness, Labour should be brought back in; certainly its clear that voting Tory will change nothing, so why give them the satisfaction of a Labour defeat?
As far as everything else is concerned, its is clear to anyone that is awake that all bets are off. Democracy has failed, it is every man for himself, women and children first, man the lifeboats.
Now for "inter alia".
That man is one of the people who, in this "society" wield power over everyone. He is one of the types that says "fingerprinting as a way to identify a person is absolutely accurate" and thanks to a proclamation llike that, we are now made to fight for our right to walk the streets, smoke a ciggarette or have a drink.
His words are believed above all others because the masses of putain vache have been brainwashed to believe what people like that say above all other speech. They are always the ones asked whenever a consultation is needed on a topic that affects the public good, when they know nothing, and have only darkness in their hearts.
This is wrong.
It is wrong that people give men like that a platform above all other men. It is wrong that they, from their narrow point of view are able to shape the thinking (and the lives) of millions. It is wrong that their word is trusted above anyone elses.
It does not "fit" that he should be believed, and that he should be the confirmer of the existance God. His word is worthless because he believes in nothing but what he can see himself. His philosophy is the complete opposite of what makes (and made) man great; man is great because he can believe, and trust, and through that belief and trust, learn, grow and achieve.
Men who do not do this - men who cannot believe anything other than the evidence of their own eyes, no matter what they are told by another man - are not men at all, but instead are a sort of clever animal, actually, that is an insult ot animals - they are like a strange motivated flesh, with a short, goldfish like attention span, existing only in the everpresent now, unaware of the past, or the future, snapping at the food dropped into its cage/tank, and even unaware that it is alive in any way other than something that eats. And doubts.
A man should never be ridiculed for what he thinks, or what he says he has experienced. He should not lose his job. he should not lose tenure. He should not be burned alive. No one way of thinking should dominate an entire society, and the proclamations of a cabal of detached men should not be the basis of laws that control every one, down to what we eat and drink and the medicine we use.
And that is that.
Finally, a greate friend of me (YES "greate friend of me") said something that I liked:
"...people start a revolution now (seriously) - after all a blind man wants us to have our eyes scanned..."
Now that is pure genius. I feel a t-shirt coming on!!!
Monday, December 13, 2004
Poetry!
Thats quite scary imagery; thankfully the RIAA cant touch is here in the UK, though of course, buying from RIAA sattelite lables feeds that monster and hurts our american brethren.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Ladytron Tour Diary
Danny
We began our China tour in Shenzhen, a 1970s purpose built 'special economic area' across the bay from Hong Kong. Played two ecstatic shows, a lot of fun, The second night, the audience being predominantly those who'd made the short (but apparently tough) trek from Hong Kong itself.
We amused ourselves in the interim with fake Rolex. Shenzhen is interesting, but we expect it to be little like the real China. [...]
http://www.ladytron.com/chinatourdiary.htm
A fascinating read, for those that read.
The British Council in China connects people worldwide with learning opportunities and creative ideas from the UK and builds lasting relationships between the UK and China.http://www.britishcouncil.org.cn/china.htm They also, it seems, arrange for British groups to tour in China. and finally.... : NEWS : IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Ladytron sign to Island Records. ( 7th December 2004 ) Ladytron are happy to confirm the rumours, that after extensive negotiations they have finally signed with Island/Universal records. It is with great pleasure they now join the likes of Roxy Music, Sparks, B52s, Pulp, PJ Harvey, and countless other acts they love on this label. They are currently in London mixing their new LP, working on the songs: 'international dateline', 'weekend', 'soft power', 'destroy everything you touch', 'sugar', and 'highrise'. A spring 2005 release for the yet untitled album is planned, accompanied by an extensive tour. ??!! ..............No Mira, Nooooooooooooo!! The corrosive influence of a major label, unless this group has grapefruits of steel, will RUIN its output. Unless we are very very lucky. During the China tour, in a press conference, someone asked them:
"Did you choose Reuben to be in the band because he is Asian for his special effects?"They might think that a question like this is quaint, even funny. Just wait till it comes from some piece of shit at Island, said in complete seriousness. Tina Weymouth had to audition for her own group just because the group got a major label deal. I had actually heard a different rumor to the one recited in that link, that she had to re-audition because some record company dude thought "girls cant play bass", but still, what a completly outrageous thing to happen. An example of very recent major label insanity; Craig David being told he must replace his guitarist because he is "white". When those subhumans get a hold of you, and start to superimpose their ideas of what you do on to you, everything about your group and its work is up for destruction, from your artwork, the songs you record, how and when they are released, who mixes the tracks...everything....and in return for what? Increased sales of something you rather would have done differently? PreviouslyLadytron were on a safe looking label http://www.magnetbox.com/riaa/search.asp safe looking, since I dont know anything about how Emperor Norton operates. I wonder what kind of contract they have signed...how much control they retain, if any....what advance they got, how many records they have to deliver. Nothing lasts forever. In any case, we have enough pure Ladytron to last a lifetime. DONT WE ALEX? And if I have got it all horribly wrong.... Good!
As the breaking point approaches
Er… there’s a law against it!
Earlier this month, as recounted on this Blog, I received a happy little missive from the DVLA demanding £80 for being late taxing my car. This is of course a new impost by the regulatory authorities who have long failed to enforce the law, resulting in an estimated 1,000,000 untaxed and uninsured vehicles on the road. Now conscious of the scale of money slipping from their grasp, the authorities therefore decided to get a grip of the situation - not by actually getting out on the streets and picking up the tax evaders, but by creating a new charge for everyone, if they fail to get to the post office on time. Anyhow, by an almost comical set of circumstances, I was late in getting my tax, but not least because the car spent two weeks in the garage being repaired, which delayed me getting an MOT. Having sent a letter to the DVLA, explaining the circumstances, together with the documents and a cheque, I received almost by return of post, a tax disc, suitably backdated, which is what I asked them to do. For one moment, I thought, sense had prevailed. But, oh no. I had reckoned without the mind of the bureaucrat… especially when there is a chance of easy money. In the post I have received another letter, this one from a Mrs P Woolley, Enforcement Manager, pointing out that although I have paid my full tax, I still owe them another £80 for being late - or £40 if I cough up quick. If the car was going to be off the road – which indeed it was – I should have sent a SORN declaration (notwithstanding that I did not know it was going to be off the road). Anyhow, it may come as a surprise to some, but there is a law against this sort of thing. It is called The Bill of Rights of 1689. And it is still in force. Accordingly, I have sent my own happy little note to the said Mrs P Woolley, which I reproduce below. I will let you know how I get on. Mrs P Woolley Enforcement Manager Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency Continuous Registration Centre 3rd Floor Riverside House Riverside Way Northampton, NN1 5WW 24 July 2004 Madam, I write with reference to your letter of 21 July and your demand that I make a payment of £40/80 to the DVLA as a penalty for late payment of vehicle excise duty. In response, may I refer you to the Bill of Rights 1689, this being an Act "Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown". I am sure you are aware that this states, inter alia, "That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of particular persons before conviction are illegal and void". You may also be aware that the Bill of Rights remains on the statute book and has not been repealed, and is therefore still in force. Furthermore, in the absence of any specific subsequent Act, directly and specifically repealing the above-quoted provision, you may not rely on the principle of implied repeal, the Bill being a constitutional Act. On this basis, given that I have not yet been convicted in respect of any matter relating to the payment or non-payment of vehicle excise duty, any demand for payment of a penalty is, as set out by the Bill, "illegal and void". Unless you are able to cite me a valid authority, by which you can demonstrate unequivocally that your demand is in fact legal, therefore, I am advised that I am in no way obligated to comply with your demand. Yours faithfully, Richard North (Dr) [...] http://prisonerjw7874.blogspot.com/ These are the people, whom when pushed, come out in droves to demolish a government.
foofoofoo
.d888 .d888 .d888 d88P" d88P" d88P" 888 888 888 888888 .d88b. .d88b. 888888 .d88b. .d88b. 888888 .d88b. .d88b. 888 d88""88b d88""88b 888 d88""88b d88""88b 888 d88""88b d88""88b 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 Y88..88P Y88..88P 888 Y88..88P Y88..88P 888 Y88..88P Y88..88P 888 "Y88P" "Y88P" 888 "Y88P" "Y88P" 888 "Y88P" "Y88P" foofoofoo is now available for all of yous from: http://imbecil.net/foofoofoo OSX and Linux users, feel free to download foofoofoo, an MPEG Layer-3 smasher script that will create a single MP3 file out of mini-chunks of all the MP3 files in your hard drive(s). The standard downloadable file is packaged for OS X-friendly use (a package installer file), so Linux (or other Unix flavs users) should get the fooUNIX.tar file and follow the install instructions in there. We are collecting the resulting MP3s for an eventual release on Alku, so feel free to send us your foo-file. Mucho love for beta testing and support: Stephen, Joe, Olivier, Kike, Michi. a+r ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ % evol~~~~~~ http://www.mego.at/evol.html % alku~~~~~~ http://personal.ilimit.es/principio % imbécil~~~ http://imbecil.net % foofoofoo~ http://imbecil.net/foofoofoo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shoot it down!
They ain’t kidding
Anybody who might have the slightest doubts about the US intentions in relation to the EU’s Galileo satellite constellation (see earlier Blog), should it represent a threat to their interests, might care to read US Air Force Doctrine Document 2-2.1, issued as recently as 2 August 2004, entitled "Counterspace Operations".
Not only does it make their policy very clear, in a foreword to the document, the Honourable Peter B Teets, Undersecretary of the USAF states that "space is the high ground" and talks about "denying that high ground to our adverseries".
In that same foreword, he also asks: "What will we do ten years from now when American lives are put at risk because an adversary chooses to leverage the global positioning system of perhaps the Galileo constellation to attack American forces with precision?"
Well, the answer has been given. Either jam it or shoot the satellites out of the sky. And there is no way that this should be considered to be bluff. The USAF has already developed a range of "micro-satellites" designed to "destroy enemy spacecraft", so small that ten can be loaded in a reusable military orbiter and despatched into space. [...]
http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2004/10/they-aint-kidding.html
Saturday, December 11, 2004
He got a WITNESS-AH!!!
Famous Atheist Now Believes in God
One of World's Leading Atheists Now Believes in God, More or Less, Based on Scientific Evidence
The Associated Press
Dec. 9, 2004 - A British philosophy professor who has been a leading champion of atheism for more than a half-century has changed his mind. He now believes in God more or less based on scientific evidence, and says so on a video released Thursday.
At age 81, after decades of insisting belief is a mistake, Antony Flew has concluded that some sort of intelligence or first cause must have created the universe. A super-intelligence is the only good explanation for the origin of life and the complexity of nature, Flew said in a telephone interview from England.
Flew said he's best labeled a deist like Thomas Jefferson, whose God was not actively involved in people's lives.
"I'm thinking of a God very different from the God of the Christian and far and away from the God of Islam, because both are depicted as omnipotent Oriental despots, cosmic Saddam Husseins," he said. "It could be a person in the sense of a being that has intelligence and a purpose, I suppose."
Flew first made his mark with the 1950 article "Theology and Falsification," based on a paper for the Socratic Club, a weekly Oxford religious forum led by writer and Christian thinker C.S. Lewis.
Over the years, Flew proclaimed the lack of evidence for God while teaching at Oxford, Aberdeen, Keele, and Reading universities in Britain, in visits to numerous U.S. and Canadian campuses and in books, articles, lectures and debates.
There was no one moment of change but a gradual conclusion over recent months for Flew, a spry man who still does not believe in an afterlife.
Yet biologists' investigation of DNA "has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce (life), that intelligence must have been involved," Flew says in the new video, "Has Science Discovered God?"
The video draws from a New York discussion last May organized by author Roy Abraham Varghese's Institute for Metascientific Research in Garland, Texas. Participants were Flew; Varghese; Israeli physicist Gerald Schroeder, an Orthodox Jew; and Roman Catholic philosopher John Haldane of Scotland's University of St. Andrews.
The first hint of Flew's turn was a letter to the August-September issue of Britain's Philosophy Now magazine. "It has become inordinately difficult even to begin to think about constructing a naturalistic theory of the evolution of that first reproducing organism," he wrote.
The letter commended arguments in Schroeder's "The Hidden Face of God" and "The Wonder of the World" by Varghese, an Eastern Rite Catholic layman.
This week, Flew finished writing the first formal account of his new outlook for the introduction to a new edition of his "God and Philosophy," scheduled for release next year by Prometheus Press.
Prometheus specializes in skeptical thought, but if his belief upsets people, well "that's too bad," Flew said. "My whole life has been guided by the principle of Plato's Socrates: Follow the evidence, wherever it leads."
Last week, Richard Carrier, a writer and Columbia University graduate student, posted new material based on correspondence with Flew on the atheistic www.infidels.org Web page. Carrier assured atheists that Flew accepts only a "minimal God" and believes in no afterlife.
Flew's "name and stature are big. Whenever you hear people talk about atheists, Flew always comes up," Carrier said. Still, when it comes to Flew's reversal, "apart from curiosity, I don't think it's like a big deal."
Flew told The Associated Press his current ideas have some similarity with American "intelligent design" theorists, who see evidence for a guiding force in the construction of the universe. He accepts Darwinian evolution but doubts it can explain the ultimate origins of life.
A Methodist minister's son, Flew became an atheist at 15.
Early in his career, he argued that no conceivable events could constitute proof against God for believers, so skeptics were right to wonder whether the concept of God meant anything at all.
Another landmark was his 1984 "The Presumption of Atheism," playing off the presumption of innocence in criminal law. Flew said the debate over God must begin by presuming atheism, putting the burden of proof on those arguing that God exists. [...]
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=315976
So, this man, who for decades spread his poison that there is no God, finally admits that there IS a God, from his Ivory tower, because HE has seen the proof. All along, the proof was not there sufficient to convince and convict him, but now, by his leave, you can all believe there is a God, and he, a diviner of truth in whom you must trust, is the messenger to bring you this news, how you should interpret it, what you should do about it, and how you should not worry about God at all.
Note very carefully how he believes in God, BUT still stubbornly believes that God is "not actively involved in people's lives". This is the same CONCEIT that led him to doubt that God existed at all. He doesnt know what God is or is not, what he is or is not doing on a daily basis, or what the extent of his power is. He has only just accepted that God is real, that he created the entire universe and the first thing that he does is put a limit on what God does!
This is a coward, pure and simple, who thinks secretly that he is the only real object in the universe, and that everything else is a dream unless it is personally seen and experienced by him. A man of pure illusion, self centered, ignorant, narcissistic and frankly, utterly dumb.
All of this has nothing to do with believing in God or not. It has everything to do with wether or not you think that you are the only concious thing alive, the only pair of eyes that constitute proof of any event. THIS is what that story is about - it is about the lack of educated peoples ability to put themselvs in the position of another person, and then to believe what they have been told, when it is told honestly. It is about people who stupidly and blindly refuse to accept the word of another man, beceuse the words dont fit in with their personal internal model of the world. It is about the pure evil of self centeredness a vile disease running rampant throughout the entire western culture and beyond. A disease that retards human progress, beats down anyone who doesnt toe the line, burns people at the stake, forces them out of their jobs censors artists works and generally debases human kind.
Falluja mass branding practice session
Marine Corps deploys Fallujah biometric ID scheme
Published Thursday 9th December 2004 12:13 GMT
US forces in Iraq are attempting to tame Fallujah with biometric ID, according to an NBC news report broadcast last week. The returning population of up to 250,000, reporter Richard Engel said on Tom Brokaw's last Nightly News, is to be allowed back in gradually, a few thousand at a time. "They'll be finger printed, given a retina scan and then an ID card, which will only allow them to travel around their homes or to nearby aid centers, which are now being built. The Marines will be authorized to use deadly force against those breaking the rules."
Get an ID card or we'll shoot you - a possible slogan for David Blunkett's ID card marketing campaign? But although that's pretty much the bottom line, the Fallujah effort is particularly interesting as an apparent attempt to use ID to control a large population which is at least uncooperative, possibly hostile, and possibly armed. Bearing these factors in mind it's difficult to see how it can possibly succeed.
The underlying theory of the effort can be identified fairly readily. The US has taken quite a few cues from Israel, which operates intensive ID checks (and massive strikes and punishment demolitions), and has been trying to implement an ID system in Iraq, operating small scale exercises in 'controlled access.' This draws on the 'secure hamlet' approach which was used by the British in South Africa (where we pioneered concentration camps, oops) and in Malaya, where it was at least rather better marketed.
Alex Jones of Prison Planet has a clip of the relevant broadcast, and in 1999 Jones covered a Marine Corps exercise in Oakland, California, where "resistance fighters" were contained in a mock camp and biometrically scanned. This was part of Operation Urban Warrior, an exercise which took place at several US locations and which also involved the UK, Australia, Canada, Holland and France (no, seriously - this was 1999-2000). Another eye-witness account, where the Marine Corps conducts some kind of census of the Chicago sewer system, can be found here.
Although most of the links from the Urban Warrior homepage have ceased to function, it makes it clear that the Marine Corps' training pre-Iraq was for rather different conditions, anticipating only "mid-intensity combat operation in an urban environment against a backdrop of civil unrest, [with the mission to] restore order." A 100-strong contingent from the UK's elite Comacchio Group (now the Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines, which guards the UK's nuclear capability against sundry threats, including demonstrators, was present at the Oakland operation, which was intended to simulate combat in urban areas, dealing with both an 'enemy' and a civilian population.
The plan underlying Fallujah's ID scheme and phased return may be an effort to stop it reverting to a hostile no-go area for security forces, but it's doubtful that this could entirely work. It won't be possible to stop arms and insurgents who haven't been issued with ID from infiltrating an area of this size, nor (once they have) will it be feasible to operate intensive ID checks that could maintain a 'clean' population. By keeping sufficient forces there and keeping a tight lid on the movement of the inhabitants it may be possible to stop Fallujah from blowing up again, but that isn't of major significance against the backdrop of the rest of Iraq, and most of the things governments anticipate they could do with biometric ID in a peaceful society aren't going to be particularly relevant.
At the moment, however, the biometric factor has a relevance in terms of producing some kind of local census backed up by a difficult to forge ID that can be tied to the individual. In areas that have been secured, it will be possible to do a local check on the ID, but that clearly only applies in secured areas where the population has submitted to the ID programme. And as the marines are not going to be able to secure, Fallujah-style, the whole of Iraq, it's difficult to see this one as anything other than a weird experiment without any obvious long-term pay-off. (Thanks to Garland and Cryptogon for drawing this one to our attention). [...]
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/09/fallujah_biometric_id/
This is the coralling and mass branding of individuals, pure and simple.
It is as sad as it is interesting that FINALLY people are starting to take Alex Jones and the like seriously. They have been reporting on the long term plans of ..."the bad guys" for years, and have been routinely ridiculed. Now its not so funny is it, because everything they have been saying is true, and only a cosmic revelation will be able to stop it all, such is its momentum.
Boycotts in a 50/50 situation
You may have voted blue, but were you aware that every day, you unknowingly help dump millions of dollars into the conservative warchest? Simply by buying products and services from companies which heavily donate to conservatives, we have been defeating our own interests as liberals and progressives on a daily basis.
Buy Blue is a concerted effort to educate the public on making informed buying decisions as a consumer. We identify businesses which support our ideals and spotlight their dedication to progressive politics. In turn, we shine that spotlight on unsupportive businesses in the form of massive boycotts and action alerts. Currently, we are developing an extensive and interactive website which will soon allow you to find out exactly where your money goes when you make purchases, and participate in a dynamic community which constantly monitors corporate activity. There will be Blue alternatives to offending companies, and by making a decision to buy from these businesses, you are helping stimulate the growth of Blue-friendly economics. We are aiming for complete corporate responsibility.Our collective buying power WILL make a difference, and we WILL be heard.
Refer to our FAQ page for further information!
[...] http://www.buyblue.org/ This is a great idea, BUT, in a situation where the other half of america will support the enemy, nothing like this can work to bring about what you want.The only solution is partition.
you got to screw up, right
I am proposing that the Genius Decision originates in the pressing of the Abject's desire for representation (a desire that can never be fulfilled because the Abject is formless and unrepresentable) and in the artist's act of reflective decision to make visible the conflict between the pressing of the Abject to be represented and its inability to be represented.
It is a decision that can only result in a representation of failure. Or, to paraphrase Foucault, the artist must assume the role of the dead man in the game of art. The only "success" lies in evidencing this conflict—that there is a Nonrepresentable. It is a success that can only be achieved in failure. The Genius Decision thus focuses on recognizing the extraordinary in art as an active finite event, and describing it after it has occurred in order to better understand it. Comprehension of the extraordinary within the postmodern condition must by definition remain fragmentary and incomplete, and ultimately fail—but it must fail better.
[...]
From The Genius Decision: The Extraordinary and the Postmodern Condition a dissertation by Klaus Ottman which was recently published in book form. It's an interesting read, and an inspirational homage to that sweet goddess, failure. Although the ideas are lodged firmly in the thought your typical 20th century minds, (a very non-genius decision) Ottmann's thesis attempts a current reconceiving of the notion of genius by detailing the history of the disruption of the static ordinary by artist types. Disruptions which cannot be further explained in factual positive accounts, but rather as modes of, and odes to attempts of respresenting the Nonrepresentable. The historical ideas are fantastic, the writing is to be expected.
hypo-glycimik
"i think i've got enough to do without this"
???
What's interesting here is that Ken's double post which started all the fuss, was posted in the exact same form both on this and this!
I ask: So, how much time could it take a person to cut and paste a post? and, What is the point of putting the same post in two locations? Fear? It certainly shows how little Mr. Meier cares about his fellow blogdialians, or to Blogdial itself that he simply cuts and pastes posts from his own blog. As though it 'takes too much time' to write something, anything, different.
Is this the first Blogdial retirement? If so, should be have a retirement party?
Leaking out
This means that an entry in the ID card database in relation to this service might appear against the individual's name, even though an ID card has not been presented for checking. Eventually, the idea is that "the ID card scheme could provide the infrastructure for a one-stop shop for people to notify changes of personal details"."Cardholder not present attacks."
Finally, the private sector, especially in relation to the provision of financial services and employment, is likely to be encouraged to use the card. The assessment states that the Government would "work closely with private sector organisations to ensure that the [ID card] scheme develops along lines which will meet their business requirements". This means that links to records of private sector service use are very likely to appear in the registrable facts associated with an individual. Dr. Pounder, Editor of Pinsent Masons' Data Protection and Privacy Practice, welcomed the new openness of Government in relation to the database. He said: "it has been obvious that the efficiency of public service delivery has underpinned much of the ID card debate, yet this database has hardly been mentioned in public consultation documents about the card". Dr. Pounder continued: "Now we should be able to have a public debate as to whether the data protection principles should fully apply to the database of registrable facts, whether disclosures from the database to the authorities should be subject to a test of prejudice as it is in the Data Protection Act, or indeed whether the police and security services should have secret access to an audit trail which is likely to describe all the key public and private sector used by each individual resident in the UK."[...] There can be all the debate that you want; the only way that this will be stopped is if:
- people refuse to register their children into the proposed numbering system
- people refuse to register themselvs with the proposed ID card system
| Q3a Agreement with statements: ID cards will help Britain to fight the war against terrorism, or ID cards did not help prevent the Madrid bombings so what difference would they make here | |
| Agree more with 1st statement | 56% |
| Agree more with 2nd statement | 39% |
| Don't know | 5% |
| Q3c Agreement with statements: ID cards will help to prevent benefit fraud, or ID cards will inevitably be forged which will undermine their effectiveness against fraud | |
| Agree more with 1st statement | 65% |
| Agree more with 2nd statement | 32% |
| Don't know | 2% |
Bush spends more capital to buy america back
GEORGE BUSH wants to overhaul America's tax code. The newly re-elected president has declared tax reform to be a top economic goal for his second term, alongside the revamping of Social Security (the public pension system). A commission is being set up, to mull over options. Washington's tax wonks are busily speculating about what Mr Bush might do. [...]
He proposes simplifying America's tax code dramatically. He would replace the income tax with the AMT, but with an exemption of $100,000 per family and a single rate of 25%. With a $100,000 exemption, only 25m people would need to pay income taxes, around one-fifth of today's figure. To make up for the lost revenue, Mr Graetz suggests introducing a value-added tax of between 10% and 15%. This would shift the tax base towards consumption rather than income, and would thus be friendlier to saving. Marginal rates would be low. And the system would be simpler. To retain progressivity and mitigate the impact on the poor, Mr Graetz suggests that poorer Americans could get tax relief on their contributions to Social Security. [...]
The Economist
The problem with a pliant president, one that listens to redily to advice and is willing to act on it almost instinctively, is that the good proposals that are brought to him are bundled in with the bad ones and he treats them all equally..."to be done". With one hand he takes away the very heart of america with an eagle claw style thrust and grab, and on the other, destroys a major part of the slavery system that has robbed from and terrorized americans for generations.
The book burning emperor quote from Demon Seed comes to mind, but, it does not appear to be online.
Friday, December 10, 2004
Without Delay
Some kind of wonderful, September 9, 2003
| Reviewer: David Johnson from Oxford |
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