You Can Help

Teams of American, European, Australian and Taiwanese Scientology Volunteer Ministers are en route to Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and India to join other Scientology Volunteer Ministers already assisting in relief efforts following the devastation of the tsunamis of December 26. If you can help with donations or wish to volunteer time, call (323) 960-1949 or 1-800-435-7498 or e-mail vm@volunteerministers.org.

If You Want To Help

Scientology Volunteer Ministers from around the world are being sent to Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka to assist with relief efforts in the aftermath of the tsunamis. If you can help with donations or volunteer time, call (323) 960-1949 or 1-800-435-7498 or e-mail vm@volunteerministers.org.

Merry Christmas to All!!!

Psychiatric Mind-Control Techniques Used To Indoctrinate Terrorist Killers

The book "Seeds of Terror" by Maria Ressa explores the roots of terrorism. In an interview with Freedom Magazine she described a video used in terrorist recruitment like this: "There is no question this is mental conditioning, brainwashing that is part of the whole indoctrination of programmed killers.":

Freedom Article - Terror 2004: Sensory Overwhelm.

Drug company's stock crashes on exposure of the danger of their drugs

With the recent news about Celebrex from Pfizer causing heart problems, Iressa from AstraZeneca not making any difference to lung cancer patients, Strattera from Eli Lilly (an "ADHD" drug) causing severe liver injury, and earlier news on the suicidal effects of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and all the other SSRI drugs, the stock of major drug companies has crashed. Personally I think the people who allowed these drugs onto the market with insufficient testing (i.e., the scientists who created them, the executives who lied about them and the FDA officials who approved them) should all be thrown in jail and the key dropped down the nearest drain. But for the moment the pain of their suffering stock price will do: Pricey Drug Trials Turn Up Few New Blockbusters.

Intelligence Agencies and Psychiatrists

A look at some of the orchestators of Cold War mind-control projects. These men were the forefathers of modern-day terror: Meeting of the Mind Manipulators.

"Ground-breaking mental-health practitioner" William Sargant exposed

It's quite amazing when someone digs up the truth about a leading psychiatrist, a man revered by those in his own profession. This expose is even written by a man who was a friend of Sargant, so he is an unbiased source: The Terror Doctors: Inside the Sleep Room

Who are the psychiatric manipulators in the world of terror?

You can find a rogues’ gallery of those stoking the fires of fanaticism in the Middle East here: A Worldwide Trail of Terror

The link between Psychiatry and Terrorism

Surprise, surprise, Osama bin Laden's right hand man is a psychiatrist named Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Read the latest Freedom Magazine, published by the Church of Scientology

The Terror Doctors; Freedom Magazine publication

Should GlaxoSmithKline Executives Be Charged With Murder?

According to last night's "Primetime Live" show, "... internal studies by GlaxoSmithKline concluded that Paxil had little or no effect in treating depression in children and adolescents. And as far back as 1997, the company was aware of studies reporting suicide-related behaviors in young patients taking the drug. In spite of this information, GlaxoSmithKline distributed a memo to its sales force in 2001 touting the drug's 'remarkable efficacy and safety in the treatment of adolescent depression.'" So in effect the executives who didn't make this data known and who pushed for children to use these drugs are responsible for the death of every child who took these drugs and killed themselves. I think that could quite reasonably be called murder.

ABC News: Drug Maker Withheld Paxil Study Data

More Warnings About Anti-Depressants

Britain seems to be at the leading edge of exposing the dangers of anti-depressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors - SSRIs). Britain was the first to ban the use of most SSRIs on children under 18 because they cause suicide and psychotic behavior. Now the British medical authorities have issued warnings about the dangers of these drugs for patients over 18.

These drugs are following the same path as so many drugs before them: they start off as wonder drugs, then the complaints start, the drug companies and medical authorities deny the "anecdotal" evidence, more deaths occur, the "anecdotal" evidence is eventually validated by "scientific" evidence and the drugs are banned. The great shame is the deaths and destroyed lives caused by the pride of medical professionals and the avarice of the drug companies.

Some extracts from the article:

• "... 'clear advice' should be given in all product information about withdrawal reactions, dose changes and suicidal behavior." (emphasis added - all SSRIs are included here).
• "...young adults are at a higher background risk of suicidal behavior than older adults, so as a precautionary measure, young adults treated with S.S.R.I.'s should be closely monitored." (notice it only says "at a higher background risk than older adults", this means ALL adults are at risk.)
• "In separate guidelines, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, which is part of the National Health Service and issues rulings on treatments and care, said that antidepressants should not be used at all in the initial treatment of mild depression because 'the risk-benefit ratio is poor.' " (emphasis added)
• "... patients could suffer withdrawal symptoms if they reduce their dosage or stopped taking the drugs." (that's something the drug companies have been denying for years.)

The article: New Level of Caution Over Antidepressants in Britain

The Pretense of Religious Tolerance In Europe Begins to Crumble

'Islamophobia' Rises in Europe

Great News - Forced Psychiatric Drugging of School Children Banned in the USA

President Bush Signs Landmark Legislation Prohibiting Forced Psychiatric Drugging of School Children

Anti-Depressants Cause Boy To Commit Double Murder

A twelve-year-old, with no previous history of violence, murders the grandparents he loves and then flees after setting the house on fire. This happened just three weeks after he was put on the anti-depressant Zoloft. Naturally Pfizer, the maker of Zoloft, is helping the prosecution. A not-guilty verdict would be VERY costly to them and a snowball effect would occur in the many other such cases. The time is approaching when these mind-altering, psychosis creating drugs will be banned and the drug companies who make them will be paying out billions in damages.

Teen Says Antidepressants Led to Slayings

The Profits Made From The Drugging of Children

The huge number of children on mind-altering psychiatric drugs in America is a national disgrace.

The Citizen's Commission on Human Rights exposes the fraudulent psychiatric diagnoses used to enforce the drugging of our youth: Child Drugging - Psychiatry Destroying Lives.

FDA Too Cozy With Drug Companies

A report from a Washington DC TV station: ABC 7 Medical: FDA Too Cozy With Drug Companies? There are serious allegations that the Food and Drug Administration may be putting the interests of major drug companies ahead of consumers. Medical reporter Kathy Fowler has been investigating these allegations.

The FDA knew SSRI's cause people to become suicidal or homicidal from the beginning

"Dr. Richard Kapit, a retired FDA scientist who reviewed Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft in the late 1980s before the antidepressants were approved to treat depression in adults, said that he suspected the drugs could cause people to become suicidal or homicidal from the beginning." So why, 15 years later, are they still on the market?

Depression drugs to be distributed with warning label

Psychiatry and Artists

What do Kurt Cobain and Judy Garland have in common? Both were destroyed by psychiatry.

The tremendous harm psychs do to artists is covered in a new publication: Harming Artists: Psychiatry Ruins Creativity

Psychiatry and Terrorism - The Links

What does it take for a person to become a suicide bomber? And what does that have to do with Osama bin Laden's chief mentor? This booklet tells you. Chaos and Terror: Manufactured by Psychiatry

Some of us have been saying this for over a decade

Just in case anyone hasn't yet realized that anti-depressants are dangerous drugs that can kill, more data has just come out to show the damage these drugs cause: Article: Newborn mice given Prozac grow up depressed

The FDA "is incapable of guarding America from dangerous drugs"

So it finally comes out.

"the FDA is far too cozy with drug companies" and "an independent drug safety office might be needed." - Might be?

FDA Failed the Public

The Truth about ADHD and "Learning Disorders"

Because children don't have the right to say "No" once their parents have been fooled into believing false psychiatric diagnoses, they have become a source of large amounts of revenue for psychiatrists and pharmaceutical companies.

Read all about it here: ADHD & Learning Disorders - Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR)

Massive New Campaign Exposing Psychiatry

Citizen's Commission on Human Rights has launched a new campaign exposing the dangers and human rights violations of psychiatry. A series of booklets with the full data on the truth can be found here:Publications - Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR)

Dangerous "Mental Health" Screening for all Americans Exposed

Listen to this segment from the "Take America Back" radio show: News - Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR)

Psychiatry's Gift to Mankind: 14 Years of Lies and Thousands of Dead Children

It's finally starting to come out. The recent recommendation that anti-depressants carry a "black box" warnings of suicide risks is the first step, but those who said these killer drugs were safe and made billions out of them MUST be held accountable: Psychiatrists Advised FDA 14 Years Ago Not to Act on Antidepressants

My New Toy

The lease on my old car ran out and I had to replace it. I didn't want to get another vehicle that would just continue to pollute the planet and put money into the coffers of Middle Eastern dictators, so I decided to get a hybrid. In case you are not familiar with what a hybrid car is then you can find out all about them here: Hybrid Cars.

I'll tell you more about my search for a hybrid in later posts, but the one I got was the 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid.

I'm enjoying driving it so far!

Youth For Human Rights Video

Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) has a great video that promotes tolerance and human rights. It's a "hip" music video with a vital message: Youth for Human Rights "United" Video

Why you should vote NO! on Prop 63

Here is the best rundown of why Prop 63 should be stopped. Take the time to read it and I'll guarantee you'll vote NO! on this destructive initiative.

Proposition 63: Destroying Our Children's Future

Who does the FDA work for?

The FDA knew that SSRI drugs cause suicide as far back as 1996! But they did NOTHING about it. How many kids have died because of the FDA's duplicity with the drug companies?

The article below is a damning indictment of the FDA. Example: In reviewing Zoloft in 1996 it was found that it increased suicide in children by 5 TIMES. A letter was sent to Pfizer asking for "clarification and explanation" and a week later, with no response from Pfizer, Zoloft was approved for use in children. So who does the FDA work for? Obviously the drug companies.

Congress Hammers FDA Over Handling of SSRIs -- Rosack 39 (20): 1 -- Psychiatric News

The FDA working in the interest of the American People - NOT!

Here's a story about a congressman with the guts to stand up and tell it like it is. He lost his own son to a "safe and effective" FDA approved drug that cause the boy to commit suicide: Stupak backs drug label change

Vital Vote

Don't be fooled by the public relations campaign, Prop 63 on the California Ballot will put money in the pockets of the people supporting it - the mental health industry and the pharmaceutical companies: NO on Prop 63

Comparison Between Left and Right

Here is an interesting comparison between the two sides of the political battle:

The second American civil war: what it's about - Part 1

The second American civil war: what it's about - Part 2

Antidepressants Cause Suicide

Well, I guess it's better than nothing. The FDA has finally decided to force antidepressant manufacturers to put a "black box" warning on them to say that they cause suicide in children. The fact that Britain, Ireland, Canada and lots of other countries have banned them outright for use by children just goes to prove how powerful the pharmaceutical companies are in the US.

Also of note is the fact that in the UK these drugs are being investigated because there is plenty of evidence that they cause suicide in older people too.

It took 30 years of miscarriages before DES was finally taken off the market. How many more deaths will it take before these dangerous mind altering drugs called antidepressants are also banned?

FDA Orders Strong Antidepressant Warnings

Who To Vote For: Vital Data For The Election

If you are undecided, or even if you are decided, you must see this important unofficial debate between George W. and John F.: Political Bohemian Rhapsody

This is what political debates ought to be like!

Copyright Pirates Look Out!

The Justice Department is not going to stand for it any longer: Justice Department Wants Sweeping Intellectual-Property Changes

And the dead shall rise

Can you believe this election? The stupid things that are being said by both sides is just amazing. How about this one from Sen. Edwards: "When John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going to walk. Get up out of that wheelchair and walk again... "

What is this? Some sort of religious activity? What will Edwards say about Kerry next? Is this the second coming?

Proposition 63: The "Robin Hood" Initiative

Prop 63 is an initiative on the November ballot that is being called by some the "Robin Hood" initiative because it is a tax hike targeted at those earning over a million a year. Sounds good. Who could object to that other than millionaires? Take from the rich and give to the poor mentally ill? How humanitarian.

Yes, it sounds great - until you take a look at who receives the money. If we examine "mental health treatment" then we see that it mainly consists of handing out psychiatric drugs. Therefore the "Robin Hood" initiative is actually "taking from the rich to give to the poor pharmaceutical companies." And when you look at the fact that the pharmaceutical industry is the biggest money maker in the world it turns out that you are taking from the rich to give to the very, very rich.

So vote "NO!" on prop 63.

San Francisco Chronicle Article on Prop 63: PROP. 63 : A mental-health initiative dangerous for California

An Election With No Real Choice

Here is someone who thinks our choices in the upcoming election are between "dumb and dumber, frick or frack". Imagine that ... An Election With No Real Choice

Don't worry there is no global warming. Yeah, right.

I've heard both sides of the issue and my viewpoint is, "why take the chance?"

If there is even a one in a million chance that global warming is occurring then why take it? Why not just make our industrial processes safer so we don't have to worry about it?

So here is a story to scare your pants off: Surprise CO2 rise may speed up global warming

Anti-Depressants Cause Suicide

Here is a link to a BBC TV show that examines the inability of government agencies to protect public health and the fact that killer drugs have been allowed onto the market and thousands have died.

Check this out quickly, because it may change soon. The piece starts with the news and the show starts after it: BBC Panorama - "Taken on Trust"

More Pressure on Music Pirates

Now the battle has moved to Europe with legal action being taken against music thieves in UK, France, Italy, Denmark, Germany and Austria.

Recording Industry Broadens File-Sharing Wars

Staying Safe Online

A recent survey of average computer users showed a huge gaping hole in their understanding of the threats from scumbags who create viruses, slime who send out scam emails and other online criminals.

If you want to know the best way to protect your computer and therefore your identity, bank accounts, credit cards, etc., then read this article: Top Ten Cyber Security Tips.

Eli Lilly and Company Running America (3)

On February 25, 2003 President George W. Bush announced his intention to appoint Sydney Taurel (President and CEO of Eli Lilly) to serve as a Member of the President's Export Council.

Go to the White House web site so you can read the announcement for yourself.

GlaxoSmithKline Caught Hiding Evidence Again

It is pretty obvious now that anti-depressant drugs cause suicide. It was known to GlaxoSmithKline years ago, yet they continued to push this drug for children who are even more susceptible than adults. How many children has GlaxoSmithKline killed by hiding the truth about their killer drug Paxil?

Sales reps told not to divulge Paxil data

Eli Lilly and Company Running America (2)

On January 7, 2003 President George W. Bush announced his intention to appoint Steven I. Cooper to be the Chief Information Officer at the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Cooper previously served as the Director of Corporate Information Systems at Eli Lilly and Company.

Go to the White House web site so you can read the announcement for yourself.

Eli Lilly and Company Running America

Another conspiracy theory? If only it were. In the next few days I'll be posting the proof.

June 11, 2002: President George W. Bush announced his appointment of Sydney Taurel (President and CEO of Eli Lilly) to serve as a Member of the President's Homeland Security Advisory Council. The following link will take you to the Office of Homeland Security Press Room so you can read the announcement for yourself.

War Planning? No just routine stuff, honest!

So will it be Iran or Syria next?

Place your bets ladies and gentlement: Plans: Next, War on Syria?.

Never trust a psychiatrist

In the article I link to here we have three pieces of data:

1. Antidepressants cause suicide in children.
2. Studies have shown that antidepressants don't even work on children.
3. The American Psychiatric Association is urging the FDA to NOT put warning labels on these drugs.

Do you come to any conclusion here about psychiatrists? Perhaps you conclude they are idiots? Or possibly that they are in the pockets of the drug companies whose profits would suffer if sales decreased? I leave it to you.

FDA Agrees on Antidepressant Risks for Youth

Something else you may have missed while listening to accusations about Swift Boat and National Guard activities from 30 plus years ago...

It is quite interesting what irrelevancies the main-stream media will throw at the population. When one finds out what is going on quietly in the background to take away our civil rights and notices that it is not even mentioned in the media, it makes one wonder whether they are in the business of entertainment or distraction, because they certainly aren't in the business of news.

Anyway, here is the latest news that you should be paying attention to: Mandatory Mental Health Screening for ALL Citizens.

While you were distracted by the CBS Debacle ...

Guess who the next target is going to be for the mighty US Military? Seems the "Team America: World Police" satire isn't so satirical after all: US debates military strikes on 'nuclear Iran'

Vital, Important, Cannot Be Missed Announcement

If, as I did, you missed it last year then don't miss it this year: International Talk Like A Pirate Day

Perhaps it won't bring world peace, but it might lighten things up a bit. And boy, do we need that!

9/11 Statement

A Muslim group has made a very interesting statement about the 9/11 atrocity: "We are so Sorry".

Personally I don't blame Muslims for what happened. Psychotic criminals hiding behind a religion are the responsible ones. But the statement shows that someone is trying to do something about it.

Vaccination Danger

Make sure any vaccinations you or your loved ones get do not contain the preservative "thimerosal". In case you didn't know thimerosal contains mercury and mercury is extremely toxic.

So pay attention and make sure no one you know is given a vaccine containing thimerosal.

Mercury is Still in Vaccines

The Results of Human Rights Violations

It has often been said that violence begets violence. There is a good degree of truth in that but a more accurate statement would be that suppression and denial of human rights begets violence. When human rights are trampled, whether by violent or non-violent means, violence, unrest and terrorism are the result.

A horrific example is the recent terrorist act in Russia where a school was taken over and hundreds of innocents died. This atrocity is easy to see and condemn, but what caused it? To find the cause and correct that is the only way to stop further such atrocities.

The same applies to the situation in Israel find the true underlying cause of that mess and the insanity can be stopped.

My thoughts on this are simple: The denial of basic human rights to the Palestinians and to the Chechnyans is the cause of the daily horrors we hear reported by a ghoulish media. Restore those rights and eventually peace will result.

I don't say this will be easy to accomplish and I don't say there won't be more violence along the road to peace, but the eventual outcome would be peace.

I just wish we had some leaders in the world with the guts and intelligence to see this.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Doug Thompson Hits The Nail On The Head

Interesting article from Capitol Hill Blue: "Bush is a flawed President but he has the luxury of running against an equally-flawed opponent. Both men are products of wealth and privilege. Neither had to work very hard to get where they are today and both owe their present place in life to a family member who cleared the way (Bush owes his daddy, Kerry a rich wife). Both are shameless opportunists who will exploit anything, including death and human tragedy, to further their political ambitions."

Doug Thompson's The Rant: Bush & Kerry: This is the Best We Can Do?

New Joe Satriani Album

Lovers of great music will be pleased to learn that not only has Joe Satriani released a new album, but it is also GREAT! (I'm listening to it as I type!)

You can get it at CDNow Is There Love In Space? - Joe Satriani

If you are concerned about Privacy on the Internet

Check this out: StayInvisible.com is a daily updated list of really functioning free public proxy servers.

Uh Oh. More Power for the CIA

... but it's only temporary, honest.

Bush Enhances CIA Role as Interim Reform

Things just keep getting tougher for the pirates

U.S. Raids Net Song Swappers in Copyright Crackdown

SSRIs and their manufacturers' days are numbered

I can't wait until these creeps are all bankrupt and in jail and their killer drugs are in the trash can where they belong: Prozac Nation? Is the Party Over?

Weapons of Mass Destruction Found!

They were here in the USA all the time: Depleted uranium: Dirty bombs, dirty missiles, dirty bullets

FDA to Issue New Antidepressant Warnings

Well, the truth is finally coming out, but how many people had to die before action was taken?

FDA to Issue New Antidepressant Warnings

Music Pirates Will Be The Next Target For Hackers

According to this article: Hackers Seek XP SP2 Weaknesses, users of peer-to-peer services like Kazaa will become the new targets of hackers. The new service pack for Windows XP contains a firewall that turns off a computer's "listening service mode" but users of file sharing software have to turn this mode back on for the file sharers to work. This mode is what hackers use to connect with and take over a computer.

So if you are a music pirate ... tough. I hope you get hacked soon.

Win XP SP2 Support Center

I find stuff on Microsoft's site hard to find. It took me a while to find the XP SP2 support center on microsoft.com. So just to save you the time here it is:Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) Support Center.

Wonderful Tool for Web Developers

... and it's free!

A friend just directed me to this great toolbar for web developers provided by the National Information Library Service in Australia. Although the toolbar is meant to assist developers to create pages that are useable by people with disabilities, the functions it provides are extremely useful to any developer.

Get it here: Web Accessibility Toolbar - Functions.

Very Practical Advise On Testing Resource Pools

Martin Fowler is one of the most practical people in the field of software writing: TestingResourcePools.

Another Blow To Piracy

The MPAA wins another case against pirates

Don't you hate waiting?

Well it's still "almost" here: XP SP2 out to Manufacturers.

Excellent Open Source Blog Software

I came across DotText or .Text and decided to try it out on my local IIS at work. I'm using it to help me keep track of the various projects I'm working on. At the end of the day I make an entry to tell myself where I'm at and where various files are that I'm working on. I also make entries when I come across things I want to make a note of for the future (like that Visual Studio "repair" problem a few posts ago). The posts are stored in my local SQL Server so I can do queries against it to easily find stuff.

So far it is working very well. You can download source code or binaries from GotDotNet - .Text Home. (Warning: the server is sometimes slow, so be patient.)

Shouldn't be long now

The long awaited Service Pack 2 for Windows XP will be here soon, honest. Just don't hold your breath.

Major Microsoft Windows Update to Debut After Delay

Permissions Problem when reinstalling or repairing Visual Studio 2003

I ran the "repair" on VS.NET 2003 on a Windows 2000 machine and afterwards got an error when I tried to open or create a web application.

Error Message:

The default Web access mode for this project is set to file share, but the project folder at 'http://localhost/appname' cannot be opened with the path 'd:\inetpub\wwwroot\appname'. The error returned was:
Unable to create Web project 'appname'. Unable to create the Web location 'd:\inetpub\wwwroot\appname'. Access is denied.

Solution:

The ASPNET user has permission to the d:\inetpub\wwwroot but the permission is not inherited.

Go to the folder in Win Explorer, right-click and select Properties then Security. Select the "ASP.NET Machine Account". At the bottom of the tab check "Allow inheritable permissions from parent to propagate to this object" and click OK.

Martin Fowler Hits the Nail on the Head Again

Martin Fowler is the most practical writer in the field of software development that I've come across. His article Prefer Functional Staff Organization once again proves that he can observe and make logical conclusions from what he sees.

The President is taking Psychiatric Drugs

Capitol Hill Blue: Bush Using Drugs to Control Depression, Erratic Behavior

This coming election is going to be a joke - not a funny one.

Regular Expression Reference

I just found an excellent site dedicated to regular expressions: Regular-Expressions.info - Regex Tutorial, Examples and Reference - Regexp Patterns.

I found it while searching for a regex to validate a date: Regular Expression Matching a Valid Date.

Vital News

Man charged with swinging gator at girlfriend

A story you can really get your teeth into.

A Shadow on the Rings of Saturn

Here is a very cool picture taken by the Cassini spacecraft which is orbiting Saturn: A Shadow on the Rings of Saturn.

To The Stars - Conclusion

It is rare today to find a book, movie or TV show that actually leaves you feeling like you want to do something for the world. More often than not, mankind is portrayed as something degraded or evil.

The entertainment industry itself seems to like this idea as evidenced by their Oscar and Emmy choices: American Beauty, Monster, Sopranos, etc. When was the last time something uplifting got an award?

When not showing man as degraded, the highest most forms of entertainment reach is family or sometimes country, but the "country" stories usually portray some other "country" as evil.

So a book that is uplifting without being mawkish, inspiring without being "goody-goody" and ends leaving you wanting to do something about the state of the world is a rarity indeed and much appreciated. To The Stars is such a book.

The story and the characters keep you glued and it isn't until the final chapter that the punchline hits, leaves you gasping in amazement and with a new idea of mankind's destiny.

This is an awesome book. I highly recommend it.

To The Stars

I didn't listen to the traffic news this morning. Usually I turn it on as soon as I get in the car, but this morning I had to hear the next part of the audio book of "To The Stars" by L. Ron Hubbard.

I listened to the first CD this morning while making breakfast and I was hooked. So I got in the car, put it on and to hell with the traffic.

Science Fiction stories tend to ignore, avoid or somehow circumvent Einstein and his theory of relativity. We get "warp drives", "hyperspacial drives", "star gates" and other inventions to get around the problems of immense distances between stars and relativity: "as the velocity of a mass approaches the speed of light the passage of time for that mass approaches zero."

Rarely does a story deal head-on with not only the scientific consequences but also the human consequences of traveling close to the speed of light. This story does just that.

To the crew of the ship, they've only been gone 6 months but to the people on Earth they've been gone 60 years or 600 years or 6000 years. It all depends on how far and how fast they traveled.

I'm a quarter of the way through the story and, as I said, I'm hooked. I can't wait till this evening and my commute home.

Important Political Debate

As we have an election coming up soon I thought you should see this very important political debate between George Bush and John Kerry.

It may take a few minutes to load and sometimes the server is busy because it's a popular video but it's worth the wait.

Hope you have a good chuckle.

Is Blogspot down?

I was going to write about a great blog I discovered a couple of days ago, but Blogspot seems to be missing right now. If I make a post I can get to the blog (such as this one) but if I try to go directly I get that annoying "The page cannot be displayed" message in IE. Maybe I should try a different browser? Or is it Blogspot playing up?

Well, I'll try again later and, if I can get at it, I'll tell you about the great blog.

Honesty of Spammers

A few weeks ago I decided to try an experiment. I have a Yahoo email that I give out when I am asked for an email address when registering on web sites, etc. Not surprisingly this account started receiving quite a bit of spam.

My experiment was to see what would happen if I told the spammers to take me off their list. So for 2-weeks I clicked on the "take me off your list" link of every spam I received ... or at least the ones that provided a link.

The result was that the amount of spam I was receiving tripled. So if anyone is in doubt about replying to spams in order to get off the list I can tell you it doesn't work.

I guess I should say that some "reputable" companies (e.g., Walgreens) did remove me from their list, so if you know the spam is from a big company, then you can probably take the risk of replying. However, make sure the email is from the company and is not a fake address - for example if the name says "Walgreens" and the email address is something like xyqwm8900@whatever.com then you know it isn't really from Walgreens.

Also I would recommend the Yahoo spam filter. It is over 99% accurate.

Bee Sting Remedy

I got stung by a bee yesterday on my right hand, right between my index and middle finger. Try typing or driving with that area swollen up or painful. So I wanted to handle it fast. My office-mate did a quick search and found this: Sting Operation - What's the best remedy for a bee sting? By William D. Brantley. I used the ice remedy and it worked like a charm. The sting never swelled up and there was no pain or itching.

The Heat Gets Turned Up on the Pirates

It's good to see that the anti-piracy movement is now international.

Music Industry Readies Fresh Wave of Net Lawsuits

Another Masterpiece from Ayreon

Arjen Anthony Lucassen is without doubt the king of the rock opera. His new Ayreon album The Human Equation features 11 awesome vocalists telling the story of a man fighting his way out of a coma. James LaBrie (Dream Theater) is "Me", Arjen himself is "Best Friend", new talent Marcela Bovio (with a voice like an angel) is "Wife", Mike Baker (Shadow Gallery) is the very nasty "Father". The other vocalists represent feelings and emotions the man is experiencing. Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth) is Fear, Devin Townsend is Rage, Devon Graves (Dead Soul Tribe) is Agony, Eric Clayton (Saviour Machine) is Reason, Heather Findlay (Mostly Autumn) is Love, Magnus Ekwall (The Quill) is Pride and Irene Jansen (Star One) is Passion.

The music itself is as varied as the emotions, ranging from progressive rock to metal and covering Gaelic, pop, ballad, you name it. You can spot musical tips of the hat to Pink Floyd, the Beatles and others. The only word to describe it is BRILLIANT.

The special edition comes with a DVD which is highly informative and entertaining telling the story of the making of the album, a history of Ayreon (and Arjen) and some extras such as a video of the song "Day 11: Love", and more!

Get it! You won't regret it.

Kamelot

They describe themselves as "melodic power metal", I'd be more inclined to say "neo-classical progressive metal", but genres and labels are rarely accurate when applied to music. Anyway, the bottom line is that Kamelot are an excellent, high quality metal band who include lots of orchestration and keyboards in their work.

Every album since "The Fourth Legacy" in 2000 has been brilliant, with their latest effort "Epica" being the brilliantest of all. If you like great melodic metal and album covers featuring beautiful girls then Kamelot are the band for you.

Kamelot - Official Website

Only A Week Away

It's now only a week until the release of the new Ayreon album The Human Equation

Every review I've seen of it is raving about how good it is. That's not surprising when you consider the brilliant past work of Ayreon's creator, Arjen Anthony Lucassen. From "The Final Experiment" to "Space Metal" he has produced consistently superb music.

I'm counting down the seconds!

War and the Western Tradition

I was recently listening to a recorded lecture by American Philosopher L. Ron Hubbard in which he described a key difference between the Eastern and Western viewpoints.

When mankind in the northern hemisphere was developing, the people in the East had to contend with a pretty rough environment - desert, barren lands, rugged mountains, freezing winters, monsoons, poor food supply, etc., etc. So they developed a philosophy of endurance. If you could endure you could survive.

A recent example of this was a Chinese man whose boat lost its engine in a storm and drifted out into the Pacific (this was off the coast of California). He was thought to have died. Then after months and months his boat drifted relatively close to the coast of Mexico and he was picked up by the Life Guard. He'd lived by collecting rain water to drink and by catching fish. He had endured.

Mankind in the West developed a different philosophy. They had plentiful game, plenty of shelter and a relatively gentle climate. If you could get close enough to an animal to hit it with a club or a spear or whatever and you hit it hard enough, then you ate. So Western man developed the philosophy of strike an overwhelming blow.

A recent example of this philosophy in action is the Iraq war. The US went in with the idea that all they had to do was strike an overwhelming blow and it would all be over.

The only trouble with the "overwhelming blow" idea is that it may work well when you are hunting animals, but it fails when you are dealing with a country made up of millions of human beings. Following this philosophy to its ultimate conclusion would require that you kill everyone in the country to bring about peace. Not a very desirable outcome.

We must hope that someone in the US Government manages to snap out of this Western tradition of "stike an overwhelming blow" and that they realize how unworkable it actually is.

Politics in a Cynical Age

We are bombarded daily with how bad it all is. The news media seems to revel in it. So it's easy to get the idea that all politicians are liars and con artists who just say whatever they have to so they can capture our vote.

Well, I just want to point out that the news media are of the opinion that they have to have controversy, harm, big names, sex and other such nonsense in their stories or we won't read or listen to 'em. So that becomes the diet we are force fed. The truth is that the liars and con artists are in the minority and most politicians are there because they want to make a difference for people. So when the BS starts flying in the months leading up to the election, just remember that.

War

It is always a mistake to start a war. You can usually get away with defending yourself, but even then it takes a heavy toll. Look at what happened to the world after WW II. Germany was a burned out ruin and Britain was in a state of collapse even though it "won". The economic health of the world was severely damaged and it took many years to rebuild.

A war between two nations is similar to a war between two individuals. Once hostilities start, even if one of the antagonists is apparently beaten, hostilities will continue. The "loser" will find ways to get back at the "winner", even if it is only by damaging him behind his back.

Right now we see this demonstrated in Iraq. The "simple" war envisage by those who began it has now become a complex mess with the "losers" taking more and more desperate and insane actions to damage the "winners".

A solution is now more difficult to come up with than before the whole thing started.

My solution, for what it is worth, is for the US to get out of there as quickly as possible. The presence of US soldiers, dressed in a very "alien" way is a constant antagonizer for the extremists who are already in a pretty crazed state.

The country should be handed over to Iraqis and they should start running their own country. The US should completely and without any doubt get out. They should not leave US companies behind to assist in rebuilding because these will simply become targets. Everything American, every reminder, every symbol must go. This probably won't stop all the terrorism, but it will cause it to decrease tremendously.

Next is for the Iraqi government to distribute the book "The Way To Happiness" in its appropriate translation. This book has been proven to bring calm to areas where it is distributed. Every school should teach it to the kids, the police should hand it out, it should be distributed with every newspaper and any other means of getting it out to the people should be carried out.

That would be a starting point to bring calm to Iraq.

News Media

I took a vacation and didn't look at the news for two weeks. And you know what? Nobody killed me. I wasn't caught up in any mindless wars. The world didn't disappear when I wasn't looking. I wasn't swallowed up by any rents in the fabric of the space-time continuum.

In fact I did very well, thank you. My life went on and the fact that I wasn't bombarded with pointless controversy, manufactured mayhem and general bad news actually made me feel better.

In looking around me at the people I encountered and the town I was in I saw just ordinary people living their lives and I thought to myself, "the news media are a bunch of ghouls who feed off peoples' fear that they (the media) create by their constant barrage of bad news."

So if you are feeling a bit down, here is some advice. Don't pop another pill, turn off the TV and radio, don't visit your favorite website for news, cancel the newspaper and instead go out for a nice walk, or go to the local Starbucks with some friends. You'll feel all the better for it.

Beginning of the end for spammers?

Let's hope this story shows where spammers are headed - to jail!

"Buffalo Spammer" Found Guilty of Forgery

If you love great music then read on

The new Ayreon album is coming out soon (not soon enough for me, but never mind) and here is an article about a sneak preview of it. Including an interview with Arjen Lucassen. The Human Equation by Ayreon.

Whoda Thunk?

Many moons ago (I think it was summer 1977) I was browsing through a bin of cut price, must go, "you'll never see these prices again" cassettes and I came across an album by a band I'd never heard of and had no idea of how they sounded. I glanced at the song titles and thought they implied progressive rock - my favorite genre at the time. Well, the cassette was really cheap and it gave me a chance to expand my musical horizons, so I bought it.

The band and the album were called "Automatic Man" and I it's unlikely you've ever heard of them because from that day I never came across hide-nor-hair of them ... until today.

The album was a mix of many styles, funky, rocky, spacey, progressive and more. It was almost impossible to assign it to a genre, so I just called it progressive rock because that label covers a multitude of sins. Anyway, the musicianship and vocals were high quality and I loved it. But as I said I never heard of them again until today when I was perusing my favorite progressive rock & metal website Progressive World and there before my astonished eyes was a review of the album "Automatic Man" by "Automatic Man".

The reviewer has the same problem as me, "How do you categorize this band?" And he seems to have the same viewpoint on them too, "Awesome music."

If you ever get the chance to hear the album I highly recommend it.

Europe finally taking action against music pirates

I have many friends who are musicians and song writers and the music pirates are stealing from them. Every time a song is stolen another song fails to be created because the artist has no income. Europe's song-swappers face court

US Presidential Election 2004

I think it is important for people to realize what choices they have to make in the coming election. One one side you have a man who is a son of one of the leading families in the ruling oligarchy. He grew up with money and privilege and the interests of his class and keeping them in power are his primary concerns. On the other side you have a man who is a son of one of the leading families in the ruling oligarchy. He grew up with money and privilege and the interests of his class and keeping them in power are his primary concerns. So when you vote, choose wisely.

Well It's About Time!

FDA Urges Caution Over Antidepressant Use

Some Truth In Reporting

Carl Bernstein is one of the two former Washington Post reporters who exposed Richard Nixon as the criminal he was. Here he talks about how much of today's news has deteriorated into gossip, sensationalism and manufactured controversy. He is so right: Ex-Watergate writer laments "idiot culture"

Blatant Fraud

You'd think that by this time the complete failure of psychiatry to do anything effective about mental illness would elicit cries of outrage. Take this story for instance: Ohio Suspect Has Mental Illness History.

If psychiatry actually did anything effective (for example, if it worked) then the headline would never have happened. The guy would have gone to a psychiatrist, received treatment and been cured. But because psychiatry is a complete failure we see headlines like this (and worse) all the time.

Of course being complete failures and frauds doesn't stop psychs demanding "mental health parity" or asking for more taxpayer money so they can go into schools and drug the children. I really hope that some day soon this profession becomes widely known for the destructive fake and fraud that it really is.

Now that's what I call real money!

The New $200 Bill?

Maybe she should have tried six 300s?

Million Dollar Bill

Weird

This is a weird news article. I've been to Weston Super-Mare and I sure didn't see any weird stuff like this. Perhaps they've built a nuclear reactor since I was last there? Weird Story.

Andromeda

A couple of weeks ago I bought an album called "II=I" by Andromeda. I must have been in a funny mood because when I first played it I didn't really like it. However, earlier this week I decided to give it a second chance and I have hardly listened to anything else since. "II=I" is their second album and I can't wait for more.

The band is from Sweden and their style is progressive metal. Excellent musicianship, great vocals and engaging songs.

Official Andromeda Site

By-the-way, "II=I" is a mathematical way of defining love.

The Silent Killer in Organic Foods

While looking for something else entirely I came across an interesting web site that analyses false and misleading public relations campaigns. Here is a story about false claims that organically grown foods are somehow more dangerous than foods grown in the intensive chemical oriented "conventional" farms: Trashing organic foods - Disinfopedia

The Passion

With all the hoopla about the Mel Gibson movie I thought I'd throw in a different spin on the whole thing by referring y'all to the book The Jesus Mysteries. A book that presents compelling evidence of a different take on the Jesus story.

Personally I found the book refreshing and the final conclusion logical. For me the book changes the focus of the Christ story onto the philosophy contained in it.

Great Movie

I just saw the movie Secondhand Lions with Michael Cain, Robert Duval and Haley Joel Osment. What a great movie, great story, great acting, great directing.

It's about a kid whose mom is an expert at lying and in picking real lousy guys to go out with. One summer she leaves him with his two old uncles who are rumored to be filthy rich from being bank robbers in the 20's and 30's. They aren't exactly overjoyed at having a wussy kid around the place. Their main sport is shooting at salesmen who stop by trying to get them to spend some of their millions on that latest and greatest ... whatever.

Over the course of the movie the uncles have an effect on the kid and the kid has an effect on the uncles and that's all I'm tellin' ya. To find out more see it for yourself.

New Year's Resolution #1

Well, I did it. I got my BMI down to 23 from 25 by losing 15lbs. According to this BMI calculator that is my ideal BMI.

So, how did I do it? I ate a diet of donuts and twinkies - just kidding. I didn't so much change what I was eating but how I was eating it. Instead of eating a large breakfast, lunch and dinner, I had a smaller breakfast, a mid-morning snack, a smaller lunch, a mid-afternoon snack, a smaller dinner and a late-night snack. This is similar to the South-Beach Diet. I also ate no carbs for the first week and a half.

I don't eat wheat, corn or potatoes and I stick to the Blood Type Diet recommendations. I also inadvertently started combining my foods better. This wasn't really a conscious choice at first, it just tasted better to not have carbohydrates with proteins. So for breakfast, lunch and dinner I have meat and vegetables (often salad) and for evening snack (supper) I have manna bread or oats or something like that. This seems to work really well. I actually prefer the meat and veg during the day and the carbs at night, and from the fact I've lost 15lbs, it is clearly working.

I hope this is helpful to anyone attempting to lose weight.

Lies and Obfuscation - California Prop 56

I heard another ad on the radio for the Proposition from Hell - Prop 56. The ad sounded so wonderful. The Prop is the solution to all budget grid-lock in Sacramento, it's a positive panacea, a balm for all budget woes. I'm surprised they didn't have sweet Tinkabel fairy music playing to give the ad that magical feel.

Yes Prop 56 is so good that those nasty politicians won't get paid if they don't pass a budget on time. And the wondrous, fabulous Prop 56 gives them the means to do it - unlimited ability to INCREASE TAXES. Of course they don't mention that in the ad because nobody would vote for this piece of crap if they knew the truth - Prop 56 gives a virtual carte blanch to the overspending idiots in Sacramento to tax us to death.

So guess how I'm voting on Prop 56?

Big Brother Takes Another Step Into Your Life

Whittling away individual rights is a slow process. You have to take tiny little steps one after another and you have to hide your true intentions behind the facade of "saving lives" or "protecting people from <your favorite bad thing here>" New Mexico has just taken such a step: KOBTV.com - House votes for ignition interlocks on every vehicle.

What Not To Say In A Job Interview

My friend interviewed someone for a job yesterday. The guy told my friend that he'd been fired from his previous job because he did such a good job of setting everything up and making it stable that they didn't need him anymore.

For some strange reason my friend was not impressed (imagine that) and is not going to hire this paragon of perfection.

So even if you are the greatest thing since sliced bread, it's probably best not to trumpet it during a job interview.

Pirates Beware

The music industry fires another broadside at the file swapping pirates: Yahoo! News - Record Industry Sues 531 More File-Sharers

Here's a great gadget that helps your wrists, hands and arms

Sitting at a computer, typing every day for years has been wearing away at my hands and wrists. I finally decided to do something about it and one of the things I'm using is the Dynaflex Powerball. This thing is really cool. You spin the inner ball and then move your hand back and forth in an arc and the gyroscope inside starts to spin like crazy and the ball suddenly feels heavier and as if it's trying to get out of your hand. It's amazing how much effort it takes to keep in going. But it's a lot of fun - just don't over do it.

The French Government is at it again

Not content with creating an anti-religious law a couple of years ago that would allow them to disband any religion they disliked (See Human Rights Watch - France for full details) the French Government has now banned kids from wearing anything religious in school. So for example a Jew can't wear a yarmulka, a Christian can't wear a cross, a Muslim girl can't wear a headscarf and a Sikh's can't wear a turban.

I can understand when a state doesn't allow religious symbols in government buildings so they don't look as if they are supporting any particular religion, but to deny individuals the right to simply wear something is ridiculous. The idiots think the ban will somehow "help to keep classes from dividing into 'militant religious communities'." Personally I think it's going to have completely the opposite effect.

As they demonstrated in their extremely bloody Revolution in the 1790s the members of the French Government seems to have the idea that if someone doesn't agree with them then they'll simply use force to get their way. What they have failed to notice is that it doesn't work and France has been going downhill as a nation ever since. It got so bad last century that they had to be bailed out of their mess by Britain and America, twice.

France is a country with a great potential and if the Government would simply get it's nose out of people's lives and especially out of their religion I think things would be going a lot better in that country.

Uh Oh

Fortune.com - Technology - The Pentagon's Weather Nightmare

Perfect Gift for your Valentine

I just came across the absolute best Valentine's gift: Personalized love songs for your Valentine.

It's hard to explain this simply but the CD is personalized. Example, your valentine is called "Jane." So you order the CD for "Jane" and the first song has a line in it "Jane, be my valentine," the second song has the line "Oh, Jane. I know how lucky I am," and the singer is a guy. But if your sweetie is called "Dave" then when you order the CD for "Dave" you hear "Dave, be my valentine," and "Oh Dave. I know how lucky I am," and the singer is a girl.

Both vocalists have great voices.

Anyway, I got the CD for my valentine - but don't tell my wife (just kidding)!

Fire and Brimstone will Rain down from the Sky - aka: Stormwatch Los Angeles

Southern California has some of the mildest weather in the world. You actually become a weather wimp after a few years living here. I remember the first year I was here, it was winter and I was standing in line at the post office when a girl rushed in wearing a sweat shirt, sweat pants and running shoes. She had her arms wrapped around herself and was lamenting about how cold it was. I mean, she sounded like there was a blizzard outside and she'd narrowly escaped frostbite. In fact the temperature was in the 50s (that's Fahrenheit) and I (newly arrived from England) was feeling warm, so I thought a few uncharitable and condescending thoughts to myself and gave my attention back to buying some stamps. A couple of years later, again in the winter, I caught myself lamenting about how cold it was when in fact the temperature was in the 50s - what a wimp.

The reason I bring this up is that I heard a commercial on the radio for the "Doppler 7000", which is a weather radar system. The announcer in the commercial sounded so serious and they had some sound bites of various news anchors saying things like "it's really raining", "there's rain in the San Fernando valley" and "rain is threatening the Southland." You'd think we were in south-eastern Florida and a hurricane was about to rip the city to pieces.

The only time we get real rain in Southern California is during El Niño. Then we really get some weather. But the rest of the time the weather is such a non-event. For example a couple of days ago we had some rain. It rained from about 5pm till 5am and then it stopped and it hasn't rained since. But the amount of attention it got on the local media was amazing. A month or so ago there was a "Storm Watch" and the weather forecasters were going into foaming fits about "Fire and Brimstone will rain down from the sky and the seas will roil with boiling blood." Well not quite that bad, but almost. Anyway the day of the "Great Storm" came and nothing (I mean absolutely NOTHING!) happened. No rain, no wind, no storm. It was sunny and quite warm for January.

So now perhaps you will understand why I laughed and laughed at the commercial for the Doppler 7000.

Vote Absolutely No Flippin' Way On Proposition 56

I just heard an ad on the radio for Proposition 56. The ad tried to portray the opposition to Prop 56 as large "hated" corporations (big oil, big tobacco, big etc.). Then came the list of organizations backing Prop 56. Now, before I tell you who they were let me give you some data on the Proposition and then you can try to guess.

Prop 56 essentially gives the California Legislature the ability to raise taxes at will. Currently they require a 2/3rd majority to increase taxes. Prop 56 would reduce this to 55%. The current legislature are the bozos who gave us the huge deficit that ended up with the recall of the Governor (what a pity it didn't include recalling the legislature). Anyway, bottom line is the irresponsible people who got us into this mess will be given a carte blanche to raise taxes and then overspend those so they'll have to raise taxes to cover that and then overspend and raise taxes some more ... etc., etc.

Now can you guess who is supporting Prop 56? Let me give you a clue. Who gets paid out of public funds (i.e., taxes)? How about public employee unions? That's right the California Teachers Association, California State Council of Service Employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, etc., etc. (news article) are supporting this Prop.

I wish I could pay for the election of politicians who then vote me a pay increase.

Psychiatric Drugs Cause Suicide and Homicide

It's a great comfort to know that the FDA is looking after us. After all it was only 13 years ago that victims of SSRI drugs (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor, etc.) gave harrowing testimony to the FDA about murders, suicides and other horrendous side-effects caused by these drugs. At that time the FDA Advisory Committee ignored the stories and pronounced SSRI drugs to be "safe and effective". I'm sure the fact that 90% of authors of clinical practice guidelines receive research funding from, or acted as consultants to, a drug company (according to the Journal of American Medical Association, Feb 2002) had nothing to do with their decision. I'm sure the fact that most of the members of the committee at that time made their living from grants from drug companies had no effect on their integrity.

Now it seems the evidence has become too great and even the all-mighty, all-knowing, all-powerful FDA Advisory Committee is having second thoughts about allowing all these murders and suicides to happen among children. It's still okay for adults on these drugs to commit murder and suicide but when kids do it then even the FDA Advisory Committee draws the line.

FDA Advisory Committee - SSRIs and Suicide

In Britain SSRIs are now banned for anyone under the age of 18. I guess the theory is that when the clock ticks past midnight and it's the first second of your 18th birthday then some magical change comes over you and you become immune to the adverse effects of the SSRIs.

If you like horror stories then ...
SSRI Experiences
SSRI Adverse Reactions, Serotonin Syndrome and more

Keeping Abreast of the News

I'm so relieved that nothing important is going on in the world. I mean, what happened with Janet Jackson's breast is so unimportant and it's getting so much attention and so many news stories that nothing truly important can be going on can it?

For example the fact that we just discovered that the head of Pakistan's nuclear program sold Pakistan's bomb design to North Korea, Iran and Libya is obviously really unimportant because it got hardly any attention or reporting.

I sometimes despair for mankind.

Great Internet Radio Station

Progged Radio is definitely my favorite Internet Radio Station. They have turned me on to tons of excellent bands.

Go forth and listen:

Weeyabuggaman - From the mutha land

A humorous conversion of English to Geordie, a dialect of Northumbria, North East England

Interesting Combination

According to this story: Yahoo! News - 50 Cent, Foo Fighters & Corea Join Grammys Lineup, Chick Corea, the awesome jazz keyboardist, will be performing at the Grammys with Foo Fighters.

Being a fan of both Jazz and Rock, I'm intrigued by the potential of what could come out of this. I have several Chick Corea albums. He is quite an innovator. He's played everything from jazz-rock, what you'd call "traditional" acoustic jazz, wild and crazy jazz to jazz-classical with orchestras. I don't know Foo Fighters very well, but this should be interesting.

So tune in on Feb 8 to the live broadcast on CBS.

UFO sighting in the Ares Vallis?

Is there extra-martian life? New evidence that there may be intelligent life on Earth: Rancher Reports Flying Saucer Crashes In Ares Vallis

(Or perhaps not)

The Martians are at it again :)

Well, I think it must be pretty obvious by now that Mars is inhabited and that they don't want us knowing what they are up to. I mean, can you honestly believe that our Earth scientists are so inept that they can't land a vehicle on Mars and successfully drive it around for a few weeks? What is this, the 4th failure in a row? Rather than explaining it by doubting our brave, bold and brilliant Scientists let's look at the more obvious explanation: the Martians are shooting the space craft down and if that fails they are sneaking up on the rover and snapping its antennas (or should that be antennae?)

Of course there could be another explanation for so many failures, perhaps they are using a Microsoft operating system.

NASA Scrambles to Diagnose Rover Signal Problems

Music Piracy - Another Round in the War

I think Verizon's fight to prevent the RIAA from getting the names of copyright pirates was mainly a PR affair. They want to be able to say they only give out the names when their arm is twisted and really they are on their users' side. I think the other ISPs are happy with this too because they can claim the same thing. So now that little PR matter is solved the RIAA is back and it looks like the ISPs efforts will result in the song thieves having to pay more to the RIAA to cover the extra costs. Serves 'em right.

Music Industry Sues Hundreds Over Piracy

Great Review of a Great Movie

I saw Seabuscuit when it was in theaters and thought it was a magnificent film. Well you can read a great review of it that contains more about the real Seabuscuit and the people around him: Seabuscuit.

Three Ring Circus

I sometimes despair for our civilization. When radio and TV programs are preempted so we can be presented with the spectacle of Michael Jackson going to his arraignment on charges of child molestation surrounded by his adoring fans, I wonder if we actually have or ever did have a civilization.

Great Band - Within Temptation

If you liked the band Renaissance and the incredible voice of Annie Haslam then you might want to check out Within Temptation. I just heard a track from their Mother Earth album. The lead vocalist has a voice very like Annie Haslam's - beautiful and strong. The music is rather heavier than Renaissance, but uses a lot of orchestration.

Cool Site - Astronomy Picture of the Day

Every day you get a new picture. My favorites are of galaxies, nebulas, stars and planets but sometimes they have terrestrial photos that are breathtaking. Anyway, check it out:

Astronomy Picture of the Day

My First Debt in the New Year

On Dec 31st I said I'd tell you how to achieve the 2nd most popular New Year Resolution: Get out of debt. Then I put myself in debt by not telling you how to do it. Well, now is my chance to pay off this debt:

1. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason.
This is the classic book on not only how to get out of debt but also how to invest, handle your finances and be financially successful. It contains a series of stories set in ancient Babylon, so you get entertained while being educated.

2. The Financial Success Course based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard.
This is an inexpensive course that anyone can do. It teaches you practical principles and methods you can use to achieve financial success. I did this course several years ago and now I'm rich and famous :), well maybe not quite that, but I am doing very well financially, which is what the course is all about.

Libel Laws in the US are a Joke

To me if you have freedom of speech then you also have responsibility of speech. You can't just publish whatever you want without taking responsibility for the consequences. I have seen people and organizations attacked via outright lies published in newspapers and magazines and the media outlets get away with it because the target of their venom can't prove they published either with "malice" or "reckless disregard for the truth". Now how the hell are you supposed to prove either of those? The reporter just has to say "I published it in the public interest." or "I was given the information by a confidential source I considered reliable."

Some recent cases demonstrate the need for reform in this area: Magazine Ordered to Reveal Its Sources.

In libel cases I think the requirement that the target of the lies has to prove the publisher published either with malice or reckless disregard for the truth, should be thrown out and the publisher should be required to state the sources of defamatory accusations and if they don't then they have to prove what was published is true, i.e., the burden of proof is on the publisher, not on the target of the defamation.

The media and anyone else who publishes (e.g., we bloggers) needs to take far more responsibility for what they say than they currently do.

Great Quote to start the New Year

I found this in a card I received for the holidays and I thought it very appropriate for the new year:

"There's more to life than living.
Just as there's more to thought than thinking.
Life is a tapestry fashioned out of dreams."
    -- L. Ron Hubbard

Sweet dreams in 2004!