Al-Qaeda said to be using stegged porn

By Thomas C Greene in Washington Posted: 12/05/2003 at 10:24 GMT From time to time a rumour that international terrorists are trading Net porn embedded with secret blueprints for some dastardly deed resurfaces. It has returned this week, in a New York Post article claiming that Italian members of al-Qaeda have been caught with stegged terror .jpg's. "Chilling details of al-Qaeda's secret communications system - and the possibility of widespread knowledge that the devastating attacks on New York and Washington were in the works - were unveiled in a courtroom in Milan, where a group of Islamic militants are on trial for supporting al-Qaeda's terrorist activities," the Post explains. "Photographs of President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were also being passed around on the Internet by members of the group, along with hundreds of pornographic photos." We'll forget for the moment that the likelihood of Islamic fundamentalists hiding messages in porn is roughly the same as their likelihood of hiding them in pig carcasses. The Register

Any anger about this, sneering, finger pointing....useless. 20AC is the only answer to this whole problem. No more talking, no more debate. We simply refuse to play anymore. The Guardian

Another stupid Internet Explorer trick... This webpage actually opens your CD-ROM drive without prompting, using VBScript to access the Windows Media Player API. If you hate Internet Explorer, feel free to include the below sample code on every page of your own site.

<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="VBScript">
<!--

Set oWMP = CreateObject("WMPlayer.OCX.7" )
Set colCDROMs = oWMP.cdromCollection

if colCDROMs.Count >= 1 then
        For i = 0 to colCDROMs.Count - 1
                colCDROMs.Item(i).Eject
        Next ' cdrom
End If

-->
</SCRIPT>

Frustrated, U.S. Arms Team to Leave Iraq Task Force Unable To Find Any Weapons

By Barton Gellman Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, May 11, 2003; Page A01 BAGHDAD -- The group directing all known U.S. search efforts for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is winding down operations without finding proof that President Saddam Hussein kept clandestine stocks of outlawed arms, according to participants. The 75th Exploitation Task Force, as the group is formally known, has been described from the start as the principal component of the U.S. plan to discover and display forbidden Iraqi weapons. The group's departure, expected next month, marks a milestone in frustration for a major declared objective of the war. Leaders of Task Force 75's diverse staff -- biologists, chemists, arms treaty enforcers, nuclear operators, computer and document experts, and special forces troops -- arrived with high hopes of early success. They said they expected to find what Secretary of State Colin L. Powell described at the U.N. Security Council on Feb. 5 -- hundreds of tons of biological and chemical agents, missiles and rockets to deliver the agents, and evidence of an ongoing program to build a nuclear bomb. Scores of fruitless missions broke that confidence, many task force members said in interviews. Army Col. Richard McPhee, who will close down the task force next month, said he took seriously U.S. intelligence warnings on the eve of war that Hussein had given "release authority" to subordinates in command of chemical weapons. "We didn't have all these people in [protective] suits" for nothing, he said. But if Iraq thought of using such weapons, "there had to have been something to use. And we haven't found it. . . . Books will be written on that in the intelligence community for a long time." Army Col. Robert Smith, who leads the site assessment teams from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, said task force leaders no longer "think we're going to find chemical rounds sitting next to a gun." He added, "That's what we came here for, but we're past that." Motivated and accomplished in their fields, task force members found themselves lacking vital tools. They consistently found targets identified by Washington to be inaccurate, looted and burned, or both. Leaders and members of five of the task force's eight teams, and some senior officers guiding them, said the weapons hunters were going through the motions now to "check the blocks" on a prewar list. U.S. Central Command began the war with a list of 19 top weapons sites. Only two remain to be searched. Another list enumerated 68 top "non-WMD sites," without known links to special weapons but judged to have the potential to offer clues. Of those, the tally at midweek showed 45 surveyed without success. Task Force 75's experience, and its impending dissolution after seven weeks in action, square poorly with assertions in Washington that the search has barely begun. In his declaration of victory aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, President Bush said, "We've begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons, and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated." Stephen A. Cambone, undersecretary of defense for intelligence, told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday that U.S. forces had surveyed only 70 of the roughly 600 potential weapons facilities on the "integrated master site list" prepared by U.S. intelligence agencies before the war. But here on the front lines of the search, the focus is on a smaller number of high-priority sites, and the results are uniformly disappointing, participants said. "Why are we doing any planned targets?" Army Chief Warrant Officer Richard L. Gonzales, leader of Mobile Exploitation Team Alpha, said in disgust to a colleague during last Sunday's nightly report of weapons sites and survey results. "Answer me that. We know they're empty."[...] Washington Post My emphasis.

"I copied songs to two other Macs; each time, I had to authorize playback only once, by typing my user name and password and letting iTunes go online to check my account. (Reformatting the hard drive of one Mac, then copying my music back over, didn't count against that total.) I transferred songs to two iPods -- one of them registered to another person -- and burned an album to CD, then saved the tracks as MP3 files on a Windows computer. Apple's copying restrictions may still cramp your style, though. A playlist can be burned to CD only 10 times before it must be changed, you can't put your music on more than three Macs, there's no way to give a song outright to somebody, and you can't broadcast your purchased music to non-authorized Macs on a home network using the wonderful sharing feature Apple has built into iTunes 4. If you use non-Apple hardware and software to listen to music files, your horizons shrink further. It's not because of Apple's use of AAC instead of the standard MP3 format; the few digital-music and CD/DVD players that read AAC files still can't work with Apple's downloads. The reason is the digital locks on the files. They make playback on Windows or Linux computers impossible, although Apple says it will open its music store to Windows by year-end. They also mean the only device that can play a CD or DVD of Apple's AAC files is a Mac OS X computer, and the only compatible portable player is Apple's iPod." Washington Post

Machine Politician Exposed By Photos

By Gene Weingarten Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, December 27, 2000; Page C01 First, don't panic. There is probably a good explanation for the mystery of the photographs, something that does not threaten the enslavement and/or extermination of mankind. There has to be a benign explanation. I just haven't found it yet. The first photograph appeared in The Washington Post on Dec. 18. In it, the president-elect stands behind and to the side of Condoleezza Rice, his nominee for national security adviser. George W. Bush is slightly out of focus. His head is cocked to the left and tilted slightly backward, his mouth downturned in a perfect cartoonish crescent, the way a first-grader might draw a frown. His eyes are squinty. The next photograph appeared in this paper two days later. In it, the president-elect stands behind and to the side of Alberto R. Gonzalez, his choice for White House counsel. George W. Bush is slightly out of focus. His head is cocked to the left and tilted slightly backward, his mouth downturned in a perfect, cartoonish crescent, the way a first-grader might draw a frown. His eyes are squinty. It is not a similar pose; it is an identical pose. It is not a similar expression; it is the identical expression.[...] Washington Post wtf its THREE YEARS OLD!

This is the dude: Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim, the leader of the largest Iraqi Muslim group opposed to Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), speaks to his followers upon his arrival to the southern city of Basra, Iraq (news - web sites), Saturday May 10, 2003. Al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution of Iraq, rolled across the Iranian frontier into Iraq at the Shalamjah border crossing. He had been in exile in Iran and under protection of its Shiite religious leaders since 1980. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel)

Cyberdyne progenitor flexes his muscles.

By request :] I did 1,2 and 4. 5 is was difficult. The later ones are really hard looking.

Horoscopes for everyone!

Hey Barrie, check these links on Canada's energy situation. National Energy Program The national energy program, conceived by the former Liberal government led by Trudeau, is still seen as Ottawa's blatant grab of Alberta's energy riches and an intrusion into provincial powers. The NEP, a complicated set of economic measures, kept the domestic price of oil below the world price. It was intended to protect Canadian consumers and the manufacturing heartland in Central Canada from the high energy prices of the time. Ottawa also wanted a piece of the pie and for Canada to achieve energy security by increasing its oil self-sufficiency. But of course, all of the US companies pulled out of the West, and there was a huge recession. Which paved the way for Free Trade, and the language we find in this doc: Strategy for North American Energy Markets Where are we now? No longer Canadian, but North American. We can't really complain that we are paying more for oil when we have agreed to this. But I never did agree to this. Maybe my parents did. Maybe they knew it was giving with one hand and taking with the other. Ah well ...

Watch Mary humiliate us all with her tales of instantly derived solutions! Now now. To humiliate would never be my intention. However, I did get the first two ... it reminds me of a board game, Master Labyrinth, have you played? It is made of shifting tiles that create a maze you navigate through to find spells. Fun! Do you think you could make an AC20 t-shirt in a women's cut? Dav, I wish I could be at your opening. Will be thinking of you!

Locust Music continues to release and re-release incredible audio documents. I really should buy everything that comes out on that label. Check this out, for example. Those mp3s are wild.

I loathe America, and what it has done to the rest of the world

By Margaret Drabble (Filed: 08/05/2003) I knew that the wave of anti-Americanism that would swell up after the Iraq war would make me feel ill. And it has. It has made me much, much more ill than I had expected. My anti-Americanism has become almost uncontrollable. It has possessed me, like a disease. It rises up in my throat like acid reflux, that fashionable American sickness. I now loathe the United States and what it has done to Iraq and the rest of the helpless world. I can hardly bear to see the faces of Bush and Rumsfeld, or to watch their posturing body language, or to hear their self-satisfied and incoherent platitudes. The liberal press here has done its best to make them appear ridiculous, but these two men are not funny. I was tipped into uncontainable rage by a report on Channel 4 News about "friendly fire", which included footage of what must have been one of the most horrific bombardments ever filmed. But what struck home hardest was the subsequent image, of a row of American warplanes, with grinning cartoon faces painted on their noses. Cartoon faces, with big sharp teeth. It is grotesque. It is hideous. This great and powerful nation bombs foreign cities and the people in those cities from Disneyland cartoon planes out of comic strips. This is simply not possible. And yet, there they were. Others have written eloquently about the euphemistic and affectionate names that the Americans give to their weapons of mass destruction: Big Boy, Little Boy, Daisy Cutter, and so forth. We are accustomed to these sobriquets; to phrases such as "collateral damage" and "friendly fire" and "pre-emptive strikes". We have almost ceased to notice when suicide bombers are described as "cowards". The abuse of language is part of warfare. Long ago, Voltaire told us that we invent words to conceal truths. More recently, Orwell pointed out to us the dangers of Newspeak. But there was something about those playfully grinning warplane faces that went beyond deception and distortion into the land of madness. A nation that can allow those faces to be painted as an image on its national aeroplanes has regressed into unimaginable irresponsibility. A nation that can paint those faces on death machines must be insane. There, I have said it. I have tried to control my anti-Americanism, remembering the many Americans that I know and respect, but I can't keep it down any longer. I detest Disneyfication, I detest Coca-Cola, I detest burgers, I detest sentimental and violent Hollywood movies that tell lies about history. I detest American imperialism, American infantilism, and American triumphalism about victories it didn't even win. On April 29, 2000, I switched on CNN in my hotel room and, by chance, saw an item designed to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war. The camera showed us a street scene in which a shabby elderly Vietnamese man was seen speaking English and bartering in dollars in a city that I took to be Ho Chi Minh City, still familiarly known in America by its old French colonial name of Saigon. "The language of Shakespeare," the commentator intoned, "has conquered Vietnam." I did not note down the dialogue, though I can vouch for that sentence about the language of Shakespeare. But the word "dollar" was certainly repeated several times, and the implications of what the camera showed were clear enough. The elderly Vietnamese man was impoverished, and he wanted hard currency. The Vietnamese had won the war, but had lost the peace. Just leave Shakespeare and Shakespeare's homeland out of this squalid bit of revisionism, I thought at the time. Little did I then think that now, three years on, Shakespeare's country would have been dragged by our leader into this illegal, unjustifiable, aggressive war. We are all contaminated by it. Not in my name, I want to keep repeating, though I don't suppose anybody will listen. America uses the word "democracy" as its battle cry, and its nervous soldiers gun down Iraqi civilians when they try to hold street demonstrations to protest against the invasion of their country. So much for democracy. (At least the British Army is better trained.) America is one of the few countries in the world that executes minors. Well, it doesn't really execute them - it just keeps them in jail for years and years until they are old enough to execute, and then it executes them. It administers drugs to mentally disturbed prisoners on Death Row until they are back in their right mind, and then it executes them, too. They call this justice and the rule of law. America is holding more than 600 people in detention in Guant�namo Bay, indefinitely, and it may well hold them there for ever. Guant�namo Bay has become the Bastille of America. They call this serving the cause of democracy and freedom. I keep writing to Jack Straw about the so-called "illegal combatants", including minors, who are detained there without charge or trial or access to lawyers, and I shall go on writing to him and his successors until something happens. This one-way correspondence may last my lifetime. I suppose the minors won't be minors for long, although the youngest of them is only 13, so in time I shall have to drop that part of my objection, but I shall continue to protest. A great democratic nation cannot behave in this manner. But it does. I keep remembering those words from Nineteen Eighty-Four, on the dynamics of history at the end of history, when O'Brien tells Winston: "Always there will be the intoxication of power� Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - for ever." We have seen enough boots in the past few months to last us a lifetime. Iraqi boots, American boots, British boots. Enough of boots. I hate feeling this hatred. I have to keep reminding myself that if Bush hadn't been (so narrowly) elected, we wouldn't be here, and none of this would have happened. There is another America. Long live the other America, and may this one pass away soon. The Telegraph

The canadian dollar should be spent, you should go on holiday there and do business with them, because they are not the enemy. The canadian dollar is NOT "insignificant", in fact, I would imagine that many many canadians carry around some bux, especially in Toronto. They should convert them all to Euros, no matter how small the amount...especially if they are small amounts.

AC20 to 20AC done. The rifle is an AK47 The € is (not) AC20 its so beautiful! 21st century warfare, distributed resistance; guns mean war, like the old RAF, but this time, the effects are global and the fix are permanent. There is nothing wrong per se with the image of a rifle; its powerful its serious, its beautiful; its the resort that we will never go to, because we dont have to Its a reminder that it is quite serious, and in all probability, you are more likely to be asked about it because of the rifle. This is, at its very core about violence; not the violence done by us, but that other juggernaut: violence perpetrated by the state.

1. All violence is out of the question. Something about this first tenet and the logo which prominently features an assault rifle irks me in the realm of massive contradiction. I know that the right to bear arms is one which the Irdial philosophy encompasses (under the rubric of no one having the right to tell us what or what not to do/own/ingest), but if we are going to do this non-violently, I would suggest avoiding any weapon-imagery.

MARINE BIOLOGISTS at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute discovered 23 of what they call Big Reds in Monterey Bay and the Sea of Cortez and off Hawaii, Japan and the Farallon Islands near San Francisco, according to the latest online edition of the journal Marine Biology.[...]

Bush, Bliar nominated for Nobel prize for Iraq war

''Sometimes it's necessary to use a small and effective war to prevent a much more dangerous war in the future,'' Jan Simonsen, a right-wing independent in Norway's parliament, told Reuters. ''If nobody acted then Saddam Hussein could have produced weapons of mass destruction and, in five or 10 years, could have used them against Israel,'' he said. [...] MSNBC This is the dude: Its the DRUGS.

The protocols of 20AC

1. All violence is out of the question. 2. Any action that does not have a permanent effect on governments� ability to prepare for and wage war is out of the question. 3. Any action that relies on the media's co-operation is out of the question. 4. There is no 20AC leadership. 5. Communication is by word of mouse/mouth. 6. Any action that does not directly stop the preparations for and waging of war is out of the question. (This means marching on demonstrations and smashing up shops.) 7. You cannot touch the US dollar, nor holiday in the USA, play concerts in the USA or buy USA products, goods and services, unless they are aligned with 20AC. 8. You must convert all your dollars and dollar linked currency to Euros, in a Euro bank account. 9. Buy an 20AC t-shirt. Wear it. Tell your friends. Submitted for your addition subtraction. This will be a one page website, 1 image linked to cafepress, and text.

Americans now point finger at Iran

By AP VIENNA -- Concerned that Iran may be running a nuclear weapons program, the United States is pushing for UN action against Tehran, diplomats said yesterday. Washington is specifically seeking a declaration from the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran has violated the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which it has signed. The United States has accused Iran of secretly embarking on a program to enrich uranium at Natanz in southern Iran, which American officials fear could be used to make nuclear weapons. The diplomats said U.S. requests for support have gone out to Russia, France, Britain, Germany and other members of the 35-country board, the key decision-maker at the UN nuclear watchdog agency. Britain suggested yesterday that it was receptive to the U.S. overtures. "We share U.S. concerns about the scale and scope of the Iranian nuclear program," said a spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office in London. http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonNews/es.es-05-09-0068.html But with the world run on the dollar in progress and the American economy in ruins, they will not be able to mount another attack on anyone....is this clear to everyone?

Euro at 4-year high vs. dollar

Currency reaches $1.1530 before pulling back, sets record vs. yen and pound. May 9, 2003: 6:47 AM EDT LONDON (Reuters) - The euro powered to new four-year highs against the dollar and record highs against the yen and the pound Friday after the European Central Bank's decision to keep interest rates on hold gave new legs to its rally. The euro -- which has gained eight percent on the dollar and six percent on the yen in the past month -- rose above $1.1530 for the first time since January 1999, the month the currency was launched. It later pulled back to just below the $1.15 level. [...] CNNfN

What will Nader do? Blow it again... Why can I hear 'Duelling Banjos' in my head? as long as you dont hear "purty little mouth u got there!" youre ok!

It seems unlikely Its all very interesting isnt it? The scenarios of how you can or cannot loose your music should be listed somewhere in a TOS doc shouldnt they? Bang Bang!

Terrible Puzzles. Watch Mary humiliate us all with her tales of instantly derived solutions!

The two faces of Rumsfeld

2000: director of a company which wins $200m contract to sell nuclear reactors to North Korea 2002: declares North Korea a terrorist state, part of the axis of evil and a target for regime change Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, sat on the board of a company which three years ago sold two light water nuclear reactors to North Korea - a country he now regards as part of the "axis of evil" and which has been targeted for regime change by Washington because of its efforts to build nuclear weapons. Mr Rumsfeld was a non-executive director of ABB, a European engineering giant based in Zurich, when it won a $200m (�125m) contract to provide the design and key components for the reactors. The current defence secretary sat on the board from 1990 to 2001, earning $190,000 a year. He left to join the Bush administration. [...] The Guardian We are all aware that these people are evil incarnate, the question now is, what is to be done about it, not "what new scandal can we uncover today" as interesting and gasp inducing as these scandals are....

Fascinating...so if this rumor is true, you can always download all the music you have ever purchased from Apple with that user ID. So, if you take your ID onto another machine, you can download all the music you have ever purchased. Again and again and again? If that is true, then the DRM is very broken, because the ID is portable which means you can use it to fill other machines with files. For real DRM to work, the ID has to be tied to your hardware, thats the whole point. If that isnt true, and its trivial to move IDs between machines then.....its fucked!

On Monday I watched the latest episode of ER just a few days after it was broadcast in the United States. But I was not in the US - I sat in front of my computer at home to watch the programme, which I had downloaded from the internet in the interests of research in about five hours. After ER, I watched the latest instalment of thriller 24, a new episode of Frasier and a new episode of Friends, again all in the interests of research.[...] I used a program called BitTorrent to download the shows, a piece of software which allows multiple people to download the same programme at the same time.[...] Yinka Adegoke, deputy editor of New Media Age magazine said: "No-one I know in the industry is aware of it and it is just not on the agenda."[...] BBC Pete Townshend will tell you that "just for research" is no excuse.

Al-Qaeda preparing new attack in US "on scale of September 11": report

DUBAI (AFP) - Al-Qaeda is preparing a new attack in the United States on the scale of September 11 after adopting a new operational structure which is impenetrable to US intelligence, according to a Saudi weekly. "An attack against America is inevitable," Al-Majallah quotes the Islamic militant network's newly-appointed spokesman Thabet bin Qais as saying in an e-mail to the paper. Al-Qaeda has "carried out changes in its leadership and sidelined the September 11, 2001 team", the paper quotes bin Qais as saying. "Future missions have been entrusted to the new team, which is well protected against the US intelligence services. The old leadership does not know the names of any of its members." Bin Qais mocks concerns expressed by Washington about a possible al-Qaeda attack on its consulate in the Pakistani metropolis of Karachi, saying the network's target is the United States itself. "Of course, the US consulate in Karachi is a US interest and a staging post for Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel in Pakistan, but it doesn't necessarily constitute a pressing target. [...] Yahoo News WHAT-EVER OBL (if its even a true report), this tactic is a total mistake!

Gadzooks. Gas costs boo coo $$ here in UK...you would not BELIEVE. AT, you have seen VCD Quality of course, where they say that X2 is already released as a DVD rip.

Bravo for being the frist one to point it out AT; that money goes to keeping here alive, and is turned straight into euros when it touches our account. Clearly, if something is being used to fix the problem, it can be done in dollars if absolutely necessary. Also, if someone in the USA is on our side, we can deal with them. This should be obvious. CafePress are one of the good guys. Lets say the cost of getting 10,000 people to switch to euro is 10,000 t shirts. Thats a good deal. Sorted??!?

In todays Daily Mail, there is a huge screed about British independence, the new european constitution, the Monarchy and Britain loosing its sovereignty. First things first. You cannot on the front page, be for the monarchy, and then on page 29, try and undermine and destroy it with a pathetic sour grapes story about Prince Andrew having a round of Golf "With your money". You cannot be for "a democratic parliament which represents the deepest instincts of the British people" when that same body totally ignores the explicitly and loudly expressed will of those very same people whenever it wants (see IRAQ invasion). You cannot be for the sovereignty of Britain when Britain is a country that invades other countries and denies them their sovereignty. Any country that does that, cannot be sovereign since it cannot be trusted to restrain itself. Britain will be taken wherever Tony Bliar wants Britain to be taken, wether it is to war or into complete Euro submission. This is the TRUE problem that the idiots at the Daily Mail refuse to address. For crying out loud, they dont even have a website so we can quote them quick and dirty like. "Britain is not yet a dictatorship. This country is not Bliars plaything to dispose of at his pleasure. It belongs to us. And we have an absolute right to decide on the future we want ... for our children. Enough of the lies and obfuscation and the avoidance of debate" Im not making this up. Britain is, for all intents and purposes, a dictatorship, run by Tony Bliar. It does NOT belong to the British, and you have no absolute right to a debate on anything at all. You have no right to decide on your future or that of your children. Enough of all the lies and obfuscation? ROTFL, are you FOR REAL??? Just as IRAQ was invaded, Britain will be sold to Europe, and there is NOTHING that you can do about it Simon Heffer and Edward Heathcoat Amory (Daily Mail hacks). The same system that The Daily Mail supported for sending in troops is the same one that will sell you, body and soul, wholesale to Europe. You DUMBASSES!

You are either with us or with the terrorists. If you change your money to Euros, and shun the dollar you are hurting America. Therefore if you change your money, you are with the terrorists. 20AC is Unicode for the Euro symbol. Therefore we make a T-shirt. War is waged.

The dirty animals are at it again, this time, starting the brainwashing so that vitamin consumption can be outlawed. The EU is already well on the way to do this, obviosly at the behest of the drug companies, who instead of getting into the vitamin business, simply want to destroy it so that we have to keep eating their poison, compulsorialy via exclusion of any alternative. Even the recently reliable Guardian has eaten this bullshit hook line and sinker. The words of Linus Pauling are appearing in the news but this has nothing to do with the crux of the matter; no one can tell me what I can or cannot ingest. If someone wants to take Ginko leaf, dry them, grind them up and put them in a capsule, and sell them to me, that is an affair between the medicine maker and me, and no one else. Period. Anything that breaks that principle means that someone owns me, and that is totally unnaceptable. Read on: http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/ "In April 2001 Dr. Matthias Rath wrote an open letter demanding "No worldwide vitamin therapy ban in furtherance of the pharmaceutical industry's billion-pound business interests" http://www.g-vision.com/newsletter/EU_Protest.shtml "Criticism is mounting for what is seen as an "over the top" move by pharmaceutical companies to take firmer control of the lucrative health promotion and disease prevention markets. More than 600 million people have protested against these Directives (see box) by signing the largest on-line global petition ever, demanding continued freedom to access natural remedies." http://www.i-sis.org.uk/vitamins.php

I saw this from IraqTV: many days during the invasion....what a life... Have you seen the new Animatrix episode? Its the best one yet...frightening and horrible. And Mozilla 1.4b is out right now...

Samah was the backward spelling of Hamas, the militant Palestinian group. As far as I can see, it still IS the backward spelling! What an extraordinary story! "For the next eight years, the FBI watched the Holy Land Foundation develop into what the U.S. now says was a fund-raising lifeline for Hamas. In 2000, the foundation raised $13.3 million in the U.S., according to its federal tax return. Some of the money it raised over the years allegedly went to families of suicide bombers -- a macabre form of life insurance that U.S. and Israeli officials say has expanded the supply of Palestinian "martyrs." Escalating Hamas attacks recently have helped bring Israelis and Palestinians to the brink of war." [...]

"irdial is another pappa of the modern/future electronic music scene - the ground breaking releases from this label still shake indiviuals and generally create a low subsonic rumbling energy that resonates throughout the so-called scene secretly affecting people, drawing them towards something new, something better,the something that the conscious mind didn't even know the subconscious was seeking. irdial are progressive policy makers for music and their philosophy always had and still has a huge impact on me and my work. Absolutely love this site - dammright educational. I thoroughly recommend that everyone signs up for blogdial and if anyone really works out how to use it could you please send me the instructions ! Once again this is really bloody good - well I wouldn't be mentioning it otherwise - many of the postings are thought provoking, intelligent and occaissionally funny - especially someone called alex tea whose pieces are really worth reading. and whilst it's not always easy to find this gear on vinyl, hardwax has the last of it, the lads here have been thoughtful enough to put the entire backcatalogue up online so everybody can hear it. oh yeah and buy a t-shirt from them - it's how they keep their site going." http://www.kautious.btinternet.co.uk/myreviews.htm

A lurker writes: Hi! I don't have a blog account so can't post, but as I studied PC repair a few years ago (mainly for my own use), the symptoms made me dig out my books to see if I could help. Please tell Chris J to google "beep codes"--the meaning of the beeps depends on what BIOS he has--he will have to open the case to see who manufactured his BIOS/board. Some good links that might help, from google: http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/beep/ http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm http://www.pcmech.com/show/troubleshoot/14/ >From glancing at these, it looks as though his computer might have memory problems--some chips might be loose or need replacing. It might be something else, but it's worth trying the steps on: http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm . Please pass these on to Chris J-- I hope they help! Evelyn ***********@***.com (of www.longblackveils.com )

"Whatever happened in the past is in the past." Colin Powell

The ban, which was upheld by Spain's supreme court in March, was the first ban on a political party since the death in 1975 of dictator General Francisco Franco. What a great honor; to be the man who returns Spain to the ways of Franco! US Secretary of State Colin Powell signed the order adding three Basque nationalist groups - Batasuna, Euskal Herritarrok and Herri Batasuna - to the US list on 30 April. "Euskal Herritarrok" what an awesome name! Mr Powell signed the decree just one day before he visited Madrid, but its announcement was delayed, according to usual practice, to ensure that the organisations named would not have time to dodge financial sanctions by placing their funds out of reach of US authorities. Now, do you see that the first thing that they do is destroy thier flow of money? The flow of money is the most important power on earth. It is the key to everything, and they understand this completely. Without money, ETA is finished. This decree also makes it illegal to donate to ETA, or any of the three organizations; how THICK the StopWar people are to not see that donations to these organizations are IDENTICAL to individuals paying for war! What is so shocking, is that they have the power to mobilize at least ten million people to start restricting the flow of warbucks, and yet prefer to MARCH and DEMONSTRATE!. They are now planning another useless gesture by organizing a trip to Evian: "If you wish to travel to the demonstrations at the G8 Summit in Evian, transport and coordination is being organised by Globalise Resistance. The mobilisation is supported by the Stop the War Coalition. For more information click here." I dont have any doubt now that either these people are severely mentally retarded, or that they are working directly for the $enemy.

With CDs as well as with AACs. What I understood from that Reg article is that if your original computer goes boom and you have the AACs somewhere else, like on a backup, you cannot play them on another mac because that mac has to be authorized BEFORE your old mac dies. You can only play these AAC files on three macs, which have to be authorized in advance of you moving files there to be played. If the original authorizing mac goes b00m, then you are fux0red. Even if you own the files, you cant use them, thanks to the AAC DRM. Now, if you had MP3s, you can play them anywhere and do anything with them, because you own them, like a C or anything else. You can restore them from a backup and they will play on any machine forever. This is why Apple can sell files and know that no one will trade them wildly. At least not between Macs, because aparently, you can copy these files to an unlmited number of ipods. Does this mean that you can copy files between ipods? Doesnt make sense, because that would mean that you can still trade the files, and what is the difference between being able to copy files to an ipod or a mac? A device is a device is a device....

Those BBC tapes really are amongst the best Joy Division recordings, the others being the singles, compilation appearances and the numerous live tapes. If you can find it Baz, get a hold of "Incubation"... What a group...what a life!

As CD owners who failed to "backup" to another cd in advance of catatrophic disk scratch will discover, the music you bought doesn't really belong to you. Ah no grasshopper: in the AAC case you still have the files you just cant play them. If you destroy a CD, you dont have the original medium.

there are other vicious greedy businessmen But only one "richest man on earth". As for the .1 million, you are completely right, and of course, all the WAR money should be going to our friends in the labs...and the teachers...hospitals...$essential_services And what about those SARS numbers; is it going up or down?!

I have to admire him for that. Poisioning the IT world with one hand and throwing cash at the "third world" with the other. No amount of philanthropy can change the fact that a destroyer is a destroyer. Nobel started his peace prize after unleashing dynamite; he tried to directly counter the monster he created (and he had no hand in dynamiting anyone directly). MS has destroyed businesses, held back progress in the field of software development and done many many bad things. An analagous act of repentence and true philanthropy would be for him to voluntarily break MS into small companies, each one responsible for one piece of MS software. Then he should create a trust fund of one billion dollars to be used on the development of GPL software. THAT would be a genuine act of contrition, repentence and interest in the long term public good. MS (Corbis) should also stop buying up every photographic library on earth in their pitiful and selfish attempt to hold every creative person to ransom. Im afraid these donations are being done to buy Karma, soften his "Vlad the Impaler" image of the most brutal of entrepreneurs, and divert everyone from what he is REALLY doing, as can be seen with the new "Athens PC" a rip off of the Apple business model, and a flagrant attempt to stop people running the OS that they want (which means linux and perhaps OSX if the rumors are true). This is evil. Pure and simple. Marry this new PC with the laws making reverse engineering illegal, and we have a new computer, the workings of which are completely closed / off limits, that everyone will be compelled to upgrade to. 25milion for malaria is nothing in the face of this.

One third No way.

I've been looking for this Epidemic Socorecard that places SARS in the perspective of other diseases. It was up on NYTimes, but it seems they took the PDF off of their server. So I made my own from the print copy I have from April 30, 2003: a GIF and a PDF. The sizes are large, because it is a large image. One third of the world's population is infected with Tuberculosis? Wow.

Wedding song: "Crazy" Patsy Cline.

I got that email too. Still pondering it. And this one: http://www.thetruthiswhatyoubelieve.com/ Define Birthing, living, dying Wedding song: Open Window, Sarah Harmer Game Cube: I looked after my 8 year old cousin, with the stipulation that he bring the Cube with him. 12 hours later, he had destroyed me in NHL 2003, but we had huge fun with Zelda. Link has the best little kung fu moves ...

False Information About Amnesty International's Campaign on Amina Lawal

Amnesty International today moved to correct misleading information falsely attributed to one of the web pages of the Spanish section of Amnesty International. Information has been widely distributed by email falsely claiming that Amina Lawal's execution had been set for 3 June 2003 and referring to Amnesty International as a source. [...]"All our web pages contain up-to-date information on Amina Lawal's case. Our public material mentions 3 June 2003 not as the date for carrying out a sentence of death, but as the new date set by the Sharia Court of Appeal of Katsina State for the hearing against her sentence," Amnesty International said. An Amnesty International delegation was present in Court in Katsina state on 25 March 2003, when the new date was fixed. http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/2003/nigeria05062003.html

I just got an email saying Amina Lawal "is going to be stoned on June 3^rd" heh: "Nigeria Wars Episode 2: The Sharia Menace"

THis is the "deleted" dog advert that I have been trying to find@!!!

"is one stupid" hmmmm about 618 entries. Anyone use the Game Cube? You can be sure that I am in line for Zelda.

Secondly, it marks a fundamental shift in ownership. As Mac users who failed to "authorize" another Mac in advance of a catastrophic disk crash will discover, the music you bought doesn't belong to you. With CDs we have a limited licence, but in DRM it's even more limited. Users who trill that the DRM is 'harmless' or give us bland assurances that it will be, touch wood, circumvented miss the point. DRM hands control from the technologists to the dying labels: the terms will henceforth be set by them.[...] The Register Its AAC Its DRM Its X-pensive Its ????? Its Bullshit!

and respond to them Well, I couldnt agree with you more; those BASTARDS should be ritually slaughtered, like dogs on leashes in pig pens. I didnt know you were an afficionado of cheap wines! My word, after such an irresponsible party you should have a liver the size of a football. Does MD keep you sane, or insane? Personally I like the sound of that "liquid crack" coctail you were passing around to your unknowing "friends" whose brains were about to be "wet dusted" by that awful concoction...isnt that type of mickey finn illegal? I drink cider me. I know what you mean about the times being unfit for toilet duty on a diorhea farm, but hey, "freedom of the press" & all that innaaaaaat?? And whats the real deal with the SARS numbers? First they say that its spread has peaked, and now they say that its still on the rampage in China!??! Maybe they should get some MD 20/20 in, after all, "MD" could be easily mistaken as "Medical Dose" with some judicious black felt tip penning...just as long as you assign the patent to me!

I forgot/should have posted this part: "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." "

We went to war just to boost the white male ego

Norman Mailer With their dominance in sport, at work and at home eroded, Bush thought white American men needed to know they were still good at something. That's where Iraq came in... Exeunt: lightning and thunder, shock and awe. Dust, ash, fog, fire, smoke, sand, blood, and a good deal of waste now moves to the wings. The stage, however, remains occupied. The question posed at curtain-rise has not been answered. Why did we go to war? If no real weapons of mass destruction are found, the question will keen in pitch. Or, if more likely, such weapons are uncovered in Iraq � not a tenth, not a hundredth of what we possess � but, yes, if such weapons are there, it is also likely that even more have been moved to new hiding places beyond Iraq. If that is so, horrific events could ensue. Should they take place, we can count on a predictable response: �Good, honest, innocent Americans died today because of evil al-Qaeda terrorists.� Yes, we will hear the President�s voice speaking before he even utters such words. (For those of us who do not like George Bush, we may as well recognise that putting up with him in the Oval Office is like being married to a mate who always says exactly what you know in advance he or she is going to say, which also helps to account for why the other half of America loves him.) [...] The Times Oh dear! This piece is despised in the USA of course, as seen here Dennis Miller tows the line like a sailor hauling in anchor, and also here a blogger begs Mailer to "...take the fucking Viagra already". Clearly this blogger didnt spot the irony in asking for this particular action. It seems that no one over there can take any criticism of any kind; moreso when it is beautifully written. It is precisely then that the "ama gonna shewt u wif ma shewtin iron callege boih!" talk comes out. You idiots. How many distinguished people have to rain down words on your head before you reach for the shampoo out and "take the urge to urbal"??? Honestly!

My word. I know why you just HAD to post that whole article. Shocking, but hardly surprising. When they make it impossible for an honest guy to open a bank account, keep his money, he is going to "go underground" or more accurately "break free". I wonder if these people have any kind of informal banking like they have in the "east" where you can deposit money with a man, and withdraw it in another country. As cigarettes get taxed into absurdity here, we are seeing people smuggle them because the profits are so huge...prohibition does not work, the evidence is abundant, its clearly immoral, and how the FUCK can someone go to gaol for a second much less than for more time than a murderer?? I also despise the use of the term "drug"; MJ is a PLANT not a DRUG. Possessing that PLANT gets people gaoled, a patently absurd state of affairs. Poor Americans, they are doing less and less right every day!

Paul's Boutique is simply incredible, in every way that counts and in some ways that dont - and you are right about those lyrics not being 100% accurate; I did however, cut and paste them directly from a google search cache of the Beastie Boys site. The pressing I have of this record is astonishing. Its a DMM cut, that is pure and clean sounding, with an extraordinary level of bass. This record draws a line between Hip Hop of before, and the Hip Hop of after; in other words, there is Hip Hop BEFORE "PB" and there is Hip Hop AFTER "PB". Check it

From The Guardian-UK With pot and porn outstripping corn, America's black economy is flying high Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles Friday May 2, 2003 The Guardian Marijuana, pornography and illegal labour have created a hidden market in the United States which now accounts for as much as 10% of the American economy, according to a study. As a cash crop, marijuana is believed to have outstripped maize, and hardcore porn revenue is equal to Hollywood's domestic box office takings. Despite laws that punish marijuana cultivation more strictly than murder in some states, Americans spend more on illegal drugs than on cigarettes. And despite official disapproval of pornography, the US leads the world in export of explicit sex videos, according to Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs and Cheap Labour in the American Black Market, by Eric Schlosser. Although the official American economy has been suffering a downturn, the shadow economy is enjoying unprecedented levels of success, much in the way that the prohibition period fuelled the illegal markets in the 30s. Schlosser found that three specific industries accounted for a major portion of this boom. No aspect of farming has grown faster in the US over the past three decades than marijuana, with one-third of the public over the age of 12 having smoked the drug. While the nation's largest legal cash crop, maize, produces about $19bn (�11.9bn) in revenue, "plausible" estimates for the value of marijuana crops reach $25bn. Steve White, a former coordinator for the US drug enforcement administration's cannabis eradication programme, estimates that the drug is now the country's largest cash crop. Marijuana Belt Schlosser writes: "Although popular stereotypes depict marijuana growers as ageing hippies in northern California or Hawaii, the majority of the marijuana now cultivated domestically is being grown in the nation's mid-section - a swath running from the Appalachians west to the Great Plains. Throughout this Marijuana Belt drug fortunes are being made by farmers who often seem to have stepped from a page of the old Saturday Evening Post." Some of the most expensive crops are grown indoors on the west coast using advanced scientific techniques but the American heartlands account for the largest volume. Some estimates suggest 3 million Americans grow marijuana, although mostly for their own or their friends' use, but between 100,000 and 200,000 are believed to do so for a living. The laws against the drug are strict. There were 724,000 people arrested for marijuana offences in 2001 and about 50,000 are in prison. Commercial growers can serve sentences far longer than those for murder, but the high risks appear to have had little effect on production or availability: 89% of secondary school students surveyed indicated that they could easily obtain the drug. The annual number of hardcore video rentals in the US has risen from 79m in 1985 to 759m in 2001. Hardcore pornography in the shape of videos, the internet, live sex acts and cable television is now estimated to generate around $10bn, roughly the same amount as Hollywood's US box office receipts. Americans spend more money at strip clubs than at Broadway, regional theatres and orchestra performances combined. The industry has mushroomed since the 70s, when a federal study found that it was worth little more than $10m. Now the US leads the world in pornography; about 211 new films are produced every week. Los Angeles area is the centre of the film boom and many of those in the trade are otherwise respectable citizens. Nina Hartley, a porn star, told Schlosser: "You'd be surprised how many producers and manufacturers are Republicans." The majority of women in the films earn about $400 a scene. At the moment, there is a surplus of women in California hoping to enter the industry. The internet has provided a fresh and profitable outlet. In 1997 about 22,000 porn websites existed; the number is now closer to 300,000 and growing. More than a million illegal farmworkers are estimated to be employed in the US, with the average worker being a 29-year-old from Mexico. Surplus labour The total number of illegal immigrants is estimated at about 8 million and many are being paid cash in a shadow economy. Many live in primitive conditions: a survey in Soledad, in the heart of California's agricultural territory, found that 1,500 of them, one-eighth of the town's official population, were living in garages. There are mutual economic benefits. "Migrant work in California has long absorbed Mexican surplus labour, while Mexico has in effect paid for the education, health care and retirement of California's farmworkers," writes Schlosser. "Maintaining the current level of poverty among migrant farmworkers saves the average American household around $50 a year." The advantages to the employer are clear, most notably in LA county, where an estimated 28% of workers are paid in cash. Schlosser believes that the shadow economy will continue to thrive as long as marijuana and pornography remain illicit. "A society that can punish a marijuana offender more severely than a murderer is caught in the grip of a deep psychosis," he concludes. "Black markets will always be with us. But they will recede in importance when the public morality is consistent with our private one. The underground is a good measure of the progress and the health of nations. When much is wrong, much needs to be hidden." � Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs and Cheap Labour in the American Black Market by Eric Schlosser, published by Houghton Mifflin

After checking my email I turned my attention to the news and celebrated the capture of Abu Abbass, yet another indication of terrorist support in the Iraqi regime. Good for us, I said. Occasionally I glanced at the clock, waiting for 9am EDT, when Apple Tech Support opened for business.[...] Macnet2 May all your laptops fail you. Forever.

any recommendations? Stay up all night go to sleep watching Dragnet Never sleep alone because Jimmy's the magnet I'm so rope they call me Mr. Roper When the troubles arise I'm the cool coper On the mic I score just like the Yankees Get over on Ms. Crabtree like my main man Spankee Excuse me young lady I don't mean to trouble ya But you're looking mighty fine inside your B.M.W. I got lucky I brought home a kitten Before I got busy I schlepped on my mitten Can't get better odds cause I'm a sure thing Proud Mary keeps on turning rolling like a Ring Ding Jump the turnstile never pay the tool Doo wa diddy bust with the pre-roll [...] Paul's Boutique 3 Minute Rule

blogger doesnt like opera. opera is fast. opera doesnt have free floating windoze in windoze. you have to pay for opera. mouse gesture in opera are kwl.

Give three examples. Heaven Earth Hell

http://www.boycottusa.org/default.htm

Today, it is the most powerful nation on earth in every sense of the word, except moral. The moral authority of the United States comes from the barrel of a gun. It is feared worldwide, even by its friends, and dismayed that others don't unconditionally love it. Yet it is difficult for outsiders to credit that even Americans love it.[...] info clearing house

These Boycotts are worth noting, and Ethical Consumer magazine itself is a "must read".

"Cisco is bottled by the nation's second largest wine company, Canandaigua Wine Co., in Canandaigua, NY and Naples, NY - the same company as Wild Irish Rose. Known as "liquid crack," for its reputation for wreaking more mental havoc than the cheapest tequila."[...] http://www.tcsn.net/rags/bum/

US: 'Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction'

By Neil Mackay The Bush administration has admitted that Saddam Hussein probably had no weapons of mass destruction. Senior officials in the Bush administration have admitted that they would be 'amazed' if weapons of mass destruction (WMD) were found in Iraq. According to administration sources, Saddam shut down and destroyed large parts of his WMD programmes before the invasion of Iraq. Ironically, the claims came as US President George Bush yesterday repeatedly justified the war as necessary to remove Iraq's chemical and biological arms which posed a direct threat to America. Bush claimed: 'Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. We will find them.' The comments from within the administration will add further weight to attacks on the Blair government by Labour backbenchers that there is no 'smoking gun' and that the war against Iraq -- which centred on claims that Saddam was a risk to Britain, America and the Middle East because of unconventional weapons -- was unjustified. The senior US official added that America never expected to find a huge arsenal, arguing that the administration was more concerned about the ability of Saddam's scientists -- which he labelled the 'nuclear mujahidin' -- to develop WMDs when the crisis passed. This represents a clearly dramatic shift in the definition of the Bush doctrine's central tenet -- the pre-emptive strike. Previously, according to Washington, a pre-emptive war could be waged against a hostile country with WMDs in order to protect American security. Now, however, according to the US official, pre-emptive action is justified against a nation which simply has the ability to develop unconventional weapons. http://www.sundayherald.com/33628

Samurize_085d.zip is really rather exellent!

That was simply the most BEAUTIFUL day that I have EVER seen in London! Every street, every park looked like a postcard; every house immaculately clean, every street without a blemish, flowers blooming everywhere, birds singing, children playing.... Like a sweet dream...

U.S. says Canada cares too much about liberties Terrorism report also says too little spent on police

Jim Bronskill, with files from Janice Tibbetts The Ottawa Citizen Thursday, May 01, 2003 ADVERTISEMENT The United States says the lack of funding for police and restrictive privacy legislation in Canada are frustrating probes of political extremists. The comments in an annual report on international terrorism were the latest critical remarks from the U.S. apparently aimed at prodding Canada to bring its security measures in line. The State Department report on global terrorism for 2002 suggests that while Canada has been helpful in the fight against terrorism, it doesn't spend enough on policing and places too much emphasis on civil liberties. It says "some U.S. law enforcement officers have expressed concern" about Canadian privacy laws. The U.S. officers feel those laws, as well as funding levels for law enforcement, "inhibit a fuller and more timely exchange of information and response to requests for assistance," the report says. "Also, Canadian laws and regulations intended to protect Canadian citizens and landed immigrants from government intrusion sometimes limit the depth of investigations."[...] What can I say??

http://www.lexus.com/minorityreport/index/

Patriot Raid

By Jason Halperin, AlterNet April 29, 2003 A month ago I experienced a very small taste of what hundreds of South Asian immigrants and U.S. citizens of South Asian descent have gone through since 9/11, and what thousands of others have come to fear. I was held, against my will and without warrant or cause, under the USA PATRIOT Act. While I understand the need for some measure of security and precaution in times such as these, the manner in which this detention and interrogation took place raises serious questions about police tactics and the safeguarding of civil liberties in times of war. That night, March 20th, my roommate Asher and I were on our way to see the Broadway show "Rent." We had an hour to spare before curtain time so we stopped into an Indian restaurant just off of Times Square in the heart of midtown. I have omitted the name of the restaurant so as not to subject the owners to any further harassment or humiliation. We helped ourselves to the buffet and then sat down to begin eating our dinner. I was just about to tell Asher how I'd eaten there before and how delicious the vegetable curry was, but I never got a chance. All of a sudden, there was a terrible commotion and five NYPD in bulletproof vests stormed down the stairs. They had their guns drawn and were pointing them indiscriminately at the restaurant staff and at us. "Go to the back, go to the back of the restaurant," they yelled. I hesitated, lost in my own panic. "Did you not hear me, go to the back and sit down," they demanded. I complied and looked around at the other patrons. There were eight men including the waiter, all of South Asian descent and ranging in age from late-teens to senior citizen. One of the policemen pointed his gun point-blank in the face of the waiter and shouted: "Is there anyone else in the restaurant?" The waiter, terrified, gestured to the kitchen. The police placed their fingers on the triggers of their guns and kicked open the kitchen doors. Shouts emanated from the kitchen and a few seconds later five Hispanic men were made to crawl out on their hands and knees, guns pointed at them. After patting us all down, the five officers seated us at two tables. As they continued to kick open doors to closets and bathrooms with their fingers glued to their triggers, no less than ten officers in suits emerged from the stairwell. Most of them sat in the back of the restaurant typing on their laptop computers. Two of them walked over to our table and identified themselves as officers of the INS and Homeland Security Department. I explained that we were just eating dinner and asked why we were being held. We were told by the INS agent that we would be released once they had confirmation that we had no outstanding warrants and our immigration status was OK'd. In pre-9/11 America, the legality of this would have been questionable. After all, the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution states: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized." "You have no right to hold us," Asher insisted. "Yes, we have every right," responded one of the agents. "You are being held under the Patriot Act following suspicion under an internal Homeland Security investigation." The USA PATRIOT Act was passed into law on October 26, 2001 in order to facilitate the post 9/11 crackdown on terrorism (the name is actually an acronym: "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act.") Like most Americans, I did not recognize the extent to which this bill foregoes our civil liberties. Among the unprecedented rights it grants to the federal government are the right to wiretap without warrant, and the right to detain without warrant. As I quickly discovered, the right to an attorney has been seemingly fudged as well. When I asked to speak to a lawyer, the INS official informed me that I do have the right to a lawyer but I would have to be brought down to the station and await security clearance before being granted one. When I asked how long that would take, he replied with a coy smile: "Maybe a day, maybe a week, maybe a month." We insisted that we had every right to leave and were going to do so. One of the policemen walked over with his hand on his gun and taunted: "Go ahead and leave, just go ahead." We remained seated. Our IDs were taken, and brought to the officers with laptops. I was questioned over the fact that my license was out of state, and asked if I had "something to hide." The police continued to hassle the kitchen workers, demanding licenses and dates of birth. One of the kitchen workers was shaking hysterically and kept providing the day's date � March 20, 2003, over and over. As I continued to press for legal counsel, a female officer who had been busy typing on her laptop in the front of the restaurant, walked over and put her finger in my face. "We are at war, we are at war and this is for your safety," she exclaimed. As she walked away from the table, she continued to repeat it to herself? "We are at war, we are at war. How can they not understand this." I most certainly understand that we are at war. I also understand that the freedoms afforded to all of us in the Constitution were meant specifically for times like these. Our freedoms were carved out during times of strife by people who were facing brutal injustices, and were intended specifically so that this nation would behave differently in such times. If our freedoms crumble exactly when they are needed most, then they were really never freedoms at all. After an hour and a half the INS agent walked back over and handed Asher and me our licenses. A policeman took us by the arm and escorted us out of the building. Before stepping out to the street, the INS agent apologized. He explained, in a low voice, that they did not think the two of us were in the restaurant. Several of the other patrons, though of South Asian descent, were in fact U.S. citizens. There were four taxi drivers, two students, one newspaper salesman � unwitting customers, just like Asher and me. I doubt, though, they received any apologies from the INS or the Department of Homeland Security. Nor have the over 600 people of South Asian descent currently being held without charge by the Federal government. Apparently, this type of treatment is acceptable. One of the taxi drivers, a U.S. citizen, spoke to me during the interrogation. "Please stop talking to them," he urged. "I have been through this before. Please do whatever they say. Please for our sake." Three days later I phoned the restaurant to discover what happened. The owner was nervous and embarrassed and obviously did not want to talk about it. But I managed to ascertain that the whole thing had been one giant mistake. A mistake. Loaded guns pointed in faces, people made to crawl on their hands and knees, police officers clearly exacerbating a tense situation by kicking in doors, taunting, keeping their fingers on the trigger even after the situation was under control. A mistake. And, according to the ACLU a perfectly legal one, thanks to the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act is just the first phase of the erosion of the Fourth Amendment. From the Justice Department has emerged a draft of the Domestic Securities Enhancement Act, also known as Patriot II. Among other things, this act would allow the Justice Department to detain anyone, anytime, secretly and indefinitely. It would also make it a crime to reveal the identity or even existence of such a detainee. Every American citizen, whether they support the current war or not, should be alarmed by the speed and facility with which these changes to our fundamental rights are taking place. And all of those who thought that these laws would never affect them, who thought that the Patriot Act only applied to the guilty, should heed this story as a wake-up call. Please learn from my experience. We are all vulnerable so speak out and organize, our Fourth Amendment rights depend upon it. Jason Halperin lives in New York City and works at Doctors Without Borders/Medicins San Frontieres. If you are moved by this account, he asks that you consider donating to your local ACLU chapter. Alternet.org

It's a strange law/reality relationship, where each seems to have decided to ignore the other exists to a great extent. It's the same here. As long as you are a responsible user/dealer, the forces seem to be acquiesed. I have been thinking about the music databases, what would one look like that is organised by instrument? It makes sense, that you could search for music by what it is made of, instead of an artificial classification that doesn't lend itself to immediate understanding. I think people would learn more about what they are listening to, and be able to understand the bridges between sounds. If that's what they wanted. Hang on, I guess that is how Gnoosic is working in the back end? Or is it relational based on listener comments? It would be nice to see the process ...

http://www.clockwatchers.com/htaccess_tool.html Oooooohh!

Good morning. I imagine you all are into your beers by now. Eduardo Galeano: The church says this body is a sin Science says this body is a machine Business says this body is a product The body says "I am a fiesta" We are getting closer to a freer public body in Canada: Canada revisiting marijuana Sounds promising. They are looking at the issue from many sides, health, education, law execution. There will be allowance for singular situation analysis, like a traffic violation. "Now you will get another ticket, for losing your senses or something like that." Tr�s bien! Of course, the US is already threatening Canada with retaliation. Of course. But don't they know that their threats don't scare us? Harsher border crossing inspections. Come on. Perhaps they should be looking at their border inspectors who are letting the 800 tonnes of pot in, instead of those who are bringing it. However ... BC pot does make me paranoid, it is so strong, maybe that is the problem in the States. They don't know when to stop!

Degeneerate Music/Pop/Electric De gene erate Props to GATTACA of course.

but there have been a number of warnings recently that many Britons do not understand the risks from cannabis. A newspaper is a newspaper is a newspaper. Whatever the risks of MJ are, they are NO ONES BUSINESS OR CONCERN, EXCEPT TO THE PEOPLE WHO CONSUME IT, in whatever form they might want or need to take it. This sort of absolute nonesense is so shameful, wrong and absurd that it throws the quality of the rest of the paper into doubt. The health arguments against anything are moot; if you are not free to put anything you want into your own body, then that body does not belong to you; it belongs instead to the entity that controls what can and cannot be injested. There are no two ways about this. Do I REALLY have to talk about the deaths caused by alcohol consumption? Of course not, 'cause you all have BRAINS.

shitty pool. Oily pool...still stinky.

Loyalty Day, 2003

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation To be an American is not a matter of blood or birth. Our citizens are bound by ideals that represent the hope of all mankind: that all men are created equal, endowed with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. On Loyalty Day, we reaffirm our allegiance to our country and resolve to uphold the vision of our Forefathers. Today, America's men and women in uniform are protecting our Nation, defending the peace of the world, and advancing the cause of liberty. The world has seen again the fine character of our Nation through our military as they fought to protect the innocent and liberate the oppressed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. We are honored by the service of foreign nationals in our Armed Services whose willingness to risk their lives for a country they cannot yet call their own is proof of the loyalty this country inspires. Their service and sacrifice are a testament to their love for America, and our soldiers' honor on and off the battlefield reaffirms our Nation's most deeply held beliefs: that every life counts, and that all humans have an unalienable right to live as free people. These values must be imparted to each new generation. Our children need to know that our Nation is a force for good in the world, extending hope and freedom to others. By learning about America's history, achievements, ideas, and heroes, our young citizens will come to understand even more why freedom is worth protecting. Last September, I announced several initiatives that will help improve students' knowledge of American history, increase their civic involvement, and deepen their love for our great country.[...] The Congress, by Public Law 85-529, as amended, has designated May 1 of each year as "Loyalty Day," and I ask all Americans to join me in this day of celebration and in reaffirming our allegiance to our Nation.[...] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/04/20030430-26.html That it should come to this...unthinkable. And of course, they made this day fall on May day should not be seen as accidental. "God save the Queen" turned into "My country tis of thee". Same thing. Anyone with Sky TV might have noticed that the prophetic and uncanilly accurate film Deathrace 2000 is being played both on the SciFi channel and one of the movie channels. All the reviews (mostly by pig ignorant Americans) try and smear this great film with cinema prejoratives; "b movie", "low budget" (of course, the money is most important to them), etc, but the fact is, this movie accurately portrays America today, and it was made almost thirty years ago. Before you "go there", let me do it for you GO AND SEE THIS FILM.

Georgians Plan Whites-Only Prom Party Thu May 1, 2:21 PM ET By ELLIOTT MINOR, Associated Press Writer ALBANY, Ga. - A year after holding their first integrated prom, some students at Taylor County High School have decided to again hold a separate, private party for whites only. While many whites say they still plan to attend next week's integrated prom, the decision to hold the whites-only prom this Friday saddened senior Gerica McCrary, who helped organize last year's dance. "I cried," said McCrary, who is black. "The black juniors said, 'Our prom is open to everyone. If you want to come, come.'" Juniors are in charge of planning the prom each year and last year they decided to have just one dance � the first integrated prom in 31 years in the rural Georgia county 150 miles south of Atlanta. Until then, parents and students organized separate proms for whites and blacks after school officials stopped sponsoring dances, in part because they wanted to avoid problems arising from interracial dating. This year, a small number of white juniors decided they wanted a separate prom. "They influenced the others," said McCrary, who plans to major in biology at Columbus State University. "They didn't vote on anything. They said, 'This is what we're going to do.'" The school has 439 students, 232 of them black. McCrary and a white friend passed out fliers informing students of all races that they would be welcome at the May 9 prom at nearby Fort Valley State University. The private prom is Friday night 50 miles away in Columbus. Erin Posey, a white senior, said the entire junior class joined together in hosting last year's prom, but this year's junior class wasn't as unified. "I think a lot of seniors were disappointed," she said. "Now we have to choose between two groups of friends." Posey plans to attend both proms. "I had some white friends who were not going to the other (inclusive) prom," she said. "I wanted to have time with everybody. I'll have a lot of (black) friends there, too. A lot more of the seniors are going to be at the mixed one." After school integration, separate proms were common in the rural South, but Taylor County was among the last to cling to the practice. Glenda Latimore, a 1972 graduate, was in the first class to have separate black and white proms. Now her 16-year-old son, Gerard, is preparing for prom night. As the black junior class president, her son helped organize the open-to-all prom. The class also has a white president. "I would have liked to see it together this year," said Latimore, an outfielder on the school's baseball team. "My class would have, too. It just didn't happen this year." Glenda Latimore said relatives in Philadelphia and New Jersey laugh when they read about Taylor County's prom. She said residents here are "nice and friendly," but they still have a problem with proms. "It seems like it's something secret," she said. "The white people are afraid to speak up against the separation. "But I went to a black prom and I had fun," she said. "It didn't kill me, so I tell my son, 'Just go to the prom and have fun. Don't come out hating anyone.'" From Yahoo News; emailed to me, so no url. Americans cant live next door to each other like civilized human beings after hundreds of years, but can get Iraq's disparate groups to live in harmony. "Yeah Right" as they say.

Long Life Josh... If its not photoshop, Its genius... "Practice makes perfect, Yes I can prove it, Business or pleasure, The more that you do it" I need some of that. Clearly.

...and of Lush music, I had the incredible opportunity to see Dave Burrell play solo recently, and it is up there with the top musical events in my life. I have never seen someone with such ease at the piano, taking stride and rags and pulling them art, chopping them up, juxtaposing them into new soundworlds and creating the loudest racket with the most beauty. It is the closest I will ever get to hearing Monk play live. This man is a genius. You can hear a sample, but it is low quality and in .wma format. Oh well, it is a taste...

On May the First in 1978 I took a step out of the womb. And I just had lunch with the wonderful woman who owned it. -- I've peeped that Braxton book in the library a couple of times and desperately want to own a copy. I meant to post a picture of him when people were posting their heros, so I'll just post one now: Look at the size of that horn! Imagine the sounds that you could conjure out of that thing. Imagine the sounds that Braxton could conjure out that thing!

I smell Photoshop... I just scored 12,925 at level 7

To convert this player to Multi-Region 1. Press the 1 button on your remote control 2. Press the 6 button on your remote control 3. Press the 7 button on your remote control 4. Press the 1 button on your remote control for region 1, 2 for region 2, and so on, or 0 for multi-region playback 5. Press the Standby button on your remote control

Where the hell have you been?

Africa - the dark continent of the tyrants, the beautiful girls, the bizarre rituals, the tropical fruits, the pygmies, the guns, the mercenaries, the tribal wars, the unusual diseases, the abject poverty, the sumptuous riches, the widespread executions, the praetorian colonialists, the exotic wildlife - and the music. http://www.susanlawly.freeuk.com/africa/africa.html

http://www.silentfront.co.uk http://www.thebirdsofparadise.com http://www.houseofstairs.co.uk http://www.artofburningwater.co.uk I met a dude at a concert, who spoke intelligently and with tangible enthusiasm about his band, and the other groups in is circle. Submitted for your (dis)approval are the URLS to each group. This: http://www.freeradicalsounds.com Is the website of another dude who runs a label....interesting man; cold rushed me to say "hi", didnt know me, wasnt selling anything. I have time for that.

John Hinckley Junior, John Wayne, John Wayne Gacey, John Dillinger, John F. Kennedy Jr., a time machine, a case of chainsaws. Music by John Williams.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the 23^rd.

Good Morning. I arrived at my machine this morning to find 4 409s in my inbox, all of the Zimbabwe type. Die Die Die!