Saturday, November 16, 2002

posted by Irdial , 6:10 PM Þ 

"FBI warns al Qaeda possibly planning spectacular attack."
posted by Irdial , 1:18 PM Þ 

Hornet Probs?

"Myself enjoying a pupa of the giant hornets. The bugs were fried not too crisp, but rather soft still."

Time of photo: November 5, 1999. Place: Guangzhou city, Guangdong Province, China.

http://eat.bees.net/
posted by Irdial , 1:04 PM Þ 


Giant hornets regularly attack beehives. Typically, an attack begins when a single hornet captures a lone bee nearby the hive. After several of these perimeter skirmishes, one hornet leaves a marking pheromone at the hive's entrance. This pheromone attracts the other hornets, who arrive en masse and attack the beehive. The bees' stingers can't penetrate the hornets' armor, so it's a one-sided slaughter; something like 30,000 bees can be killed in a few hours by 30-40 hornets.

Japanese honeybees, however, have evolved an interesting defensive strategy. When a hornet marks the hive's entrance, the bees guarding the entrance return to the hive and wait for the attacking hornets. This has the effect of luring the first attacking hornets into the hive, rather than allowing them to start their attack outside. Simultaneously, over 1000 worker bees in the hive leave the combs and mass just inside the hive's entrance. When a hornet tries to enter the hive, the workers surround it, forming a ball of bodies, and cook it to death with their body heat. The bees also release a pheromone that draws ever more bees from the hive's interior to come to the entrance and defend the nest.

This strategy must be perfect in order to be successful. If the bees fail in killing the first hornet attackers, then the hornet pheromone gets stronger, and more hornets arrive to reinforce their attack. By sheer numbers, the hornets can overpower the bees.

Source: Bernd Heinrich, "The Thermal Warriors: Strategies of Insect Survival," Harvard University Press, 1996.
posted by Irdial , 1:00 PM Þ 

Space Weather News for Nov. 15, 2002
http://www.spaceweather.com

The Leonid meteor storm peaks this year on Tuesday morning, Nov. 19th. Are
you ready? Visit spaceweather.com for observing tips, a new Leonid
animation, meteor-counting software, and a recipe for "Falling Star French
Toast" -- the perfect meteor watching snack.
posted by Irdial , 12:13 PM Þ 
Friday, November 15, 2002

Hey, fathermuckers, it was me that posted the hardcore video synth, but still, it's nice to know someone clicks on the links. That whole page is hardcore, I found it whilst looking for the Fairlight Video Instrument, a device which was tr00ly l33t.

In regards to that "Obsession" posting, I have a snippet of the original video for that song from TVAM, and afterwards you can see Anne Diamond.

I love the 80's in so many ways. But what the f@ck I hate people that go on about the 70's so I'll kill my typing. After I say that I've been in Birmingham for the last two days on a work-sponsored ASP course. We went to see XXX last night - a ridiculous film, and thoroughly enjoyable.
posted by captain davros , 8:22 PM Þ 

I saw Ladytron last night.
Ladytron do everything that I like.
And do nothing that I don't like.
Synthetic perfection in motion.

Priceless.
Fresh.
Beautiful.

The first Ladytron that I ever heard was "Playgirl" on a German sattelite TV programme...It was like being in a dream about hearing beautiful music, of the type that you can never remember after you have woken up.

Only I was AWAKE.

Simply unbelievable. Ladytron; a clean beautiful spark in the middle of a long, dark and sad starless night. At last....

Ladytron!
posted by Irdial , 4:16 PM Þ 

You MORON!
Gary McKinnon, the Briton indicted this week for hacking into scores of U.S. military computers, left behind few clues on the compromised systems of his victims. But download log files from a Wisconsin software firm may have led investigators straight to his London door.

In an apparent effort to avoid detection, McKinnon, 36, installed copies of a commercial remote-access utility called RemotelyAnywhere on Navy and other military systems he allegedly hacked last year.

The unusual strategy almost worked. Unlike underground "backdoor" utilities like NetBus or Back Orifice, the popular RemotelyAnywhere program doesn't trigger antivirus software. For nearly a year, McKinnon was able to control a vast network of defense computers without detection, authorities said.

But McKinnon's choice of RemotelyAnywhere ultimately may have been his undoing.

Using a personal computer connected to an ISP in England, McKinnon downloaded a trial copy of RemotelyAnywhere in March 2001 from a server maintained by Binary Research, the Milwaukee-based distributor of RemotelyAnywhere. To obtain a special code to unlock the demonstration software, McKinnon also provided his girlfriend's e-mail address, Binary officials said.

The Internet protocol address left in Binary's server log files from McKinnon's download, along with the e-mail address, gave investigators two "very critical" pieces of evidence, said Binary vice president Jim Szopinski.

"Not only were his finger prints on military computers, they were on ours as well," said Szopinski, who also noted in an affidavit that the version of RemotelyAnywhere McKinnon downloaded matched the one installed on the hacked military systems. [...]

Its all her fault!
posted by Irdial , 2:38 PM Þ 
posted by Irdial , 1:58 PM Þ 


Many Iraqis voluntarily chose to vote with their blood, chanting "with our soul and with our blood, we sacrifice ourselves to you, oh Saddam".

Radio Netherlands
posted by Irdial , 11:13 AM Þ 

posted by Irdial , 10:13 AM Þ 
Thursday, November 14, 2002

in response to Akin's "Hardcore" post of the video synthesizer:

I spent some time in upstate NY at a conference on the history of video, and i got to meet the engineers and imagineers of early video manipulation. i played on the earliest of moving image manipulators and on handmade video synthesizers (patchbays and tangled cables everywhere) that took up whole rooms to make the most psychedelic of times. and these were machines from the late 60s early 70s!

i met people from the Experimental Television Center who invited me to do a residency at their facility with tons of this old equipment. Check out the site, and if inclined, think about heading out there to do a residency. Super nice Left-y Art for the Revolution-type people.

posted by Josh Carr , 5:30 PM Þ 
posted by chriszanf , 5:14 PM Þ 
posted by Josh Carr , 4:59 PM Þ 


"Talking" California gorilla puts out a CD


SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Koko, California's famous "talking" gorilla, is breaking into song.

The 31-year-old lowland gorilla, who is said to have mastered some 1,000 terms in American sign language, has "written" lyrics for a new album which should be available by the end of the week, her keepers said Tuesday.

"The songs show a real depth of emotion. She's a complex person, just like we are," said Jennifer Patterson, a spokeswoman for the California-based Gorilla Foundation near San Francisco that has been Koko's home for some three decades.

The album, entitled "Fine Animal Gorilla" after Koko's term for herself, runs the gamut of musical styles from low intensity rap and reggae to lullabies.

While Koko herself does not sing on the album -- that is left to human vocalists -- she did sign off on the song lyrics and delivery.

"We pretty much run all our lyrics by Koko," album producer Skip Haynes told KCBS radio. "Now, she's getting to the point where she actually listens to different mixes and tells us what mix she likes."

Patterson said the CD would be available through the foundation's Web site (http://www.koko.org), and was expected to cost about $14.

Koko is one of several gorillas which reputedly learned the basics of American Sign Language, and has frequently been pressed into service as an ambassador for her species. Lowland gorillas like Koko are threatened by logging and poaching in their native habitats in central Africa, while their cousins, the mountain gorillas, now number fewer than 500 in the wild.
posted by Josh Carr , 4:06 PM Þ 

http://www.snopes.com/photos/bushbook.htm

"Real? Manipulated? We can't say for sure, but either way these photographs demonstrate nothing beyond the trivial. As much as we may enjoy poking fun at our politicians, they aren't so clueless that they don't know binoculars don't work with the lens caps in place, or would stand confusedly staring through capped binoculars at total blackness for several minutes at a time. The Presidents in these pictures might be looking through night-vision scopes (which would be capped but still usable during daylight), or they may have been handed capped binoculars which they briefly raised their eyes before realizing the caps were still in place while a photographer or two managed to snap pictures during those brief instances."

Ummmm like we dont know this?

That voice is the typica skeptics voice, disseminating the truth from an imaginary above position, in a smug, condescending, "there there pat on the head" voice.

These people, (and that is an insult to people) are the rabid humanists, atheists and flat worlders that would have all of mankind draped in grey bowing to thier logic and science.

I cordially invite them to DIE.

Thanks for that link "a.t."!
posted by Irdial , 3:11 PM Þ 

yeah whatever
spoil our fun

anyway this is more fun (from last.fm):

MARTINTEN says :: cool stuff.more cool music to come.
MARTINTEN says :: streaming is the new filesharing
ALEX_TEA says :: which labels do you have at the moment?
ALEX_TEA says :: streeming is to p2p what stickers are to graphitti
MARTINTEN says :: u right there.
posted by alex_tea , 2:03 PM Þ 


"It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be what he is."

You are Desiderius Erasmus!

You have great love for others and will do just about anything to show it to them. You are tolerant
and avoid confrontations, so people generally are drawn to you. You are more quiet and reserved in
front of strangers, but around some people you open up. When things get tough, you like to meditate
alone. Unfortunately you often get things like "what a pansy," or "you're such a liberal."


What theologian are you?

A creation of Henderson


Half right - I can be a badass bitch as well :]
posted by Alison , 1:30 PM Þ 

Look closely, this man is about to start a war.
posted by Irdial , 1:17 PM Þ 



"God will not suffer man to have the knowledge of things to come; for if he had prescience
of his prosperity he would be careless; and understanding of his adversity he would be senseless."

You are Augustine!

You love to study tough issues and don't mind it if you lose sleep over them.
Everyone loves you and wants to talk to you and hear your views, you even get things like "nice debating
with you." Yep, you are super smart, even if you are still trying to figure it all out. You're also
very honest, something people admire, even when you do stupid things.

What theologian are you?

A creation of Henderson
posted by Irdial , 12:34 PM Þ 

Crack smokaz do it better!
posted by Irdial , 11:59 AM Þ 
posted by Alison , 11:57 AM Þ 
posted by Alison , 11:45 AM Þ 

Sucks to be you

WASHINGTON — If the Homeland Security Act is not amended before passage, here is what will happen to you:

Every purchase you make with a credit card, every magazine subscription you buy and medical prescription you fill, every Web site you visit and e-mail you send or receive, every academic grade you receive, every bank deposit you make, every trip you book and every event you attend — all these transactions and communications will go into what the Defense Department describes as "a virtual, centralized grand database."

To this computerized dossier on your private life from commercial sources, add every piece of information that government has about you — passport application, driver's license and bridge toll records, judicial and divorce records, complaints from nosy neighbors to the F.B.I., your lifetime paper trail plus the latest hidden camera surveillance — and you have the supersnoop's dream: a "Total Information Awareness" about every U.S. citizen.

This is not some far-out Orwellian scenario. It is what will happen to your personal freedom in the next few weeks if John Poindexter gets the unprecedented power he seeks.

Remember Poindexter? Brilliant man, first in his class at the Naval Academy, later earned a doctorate in physics, rose to national security adviser under President Ronald Reagan. He had this brilliant idea of secretly selling missiles to Iran to pay ransom for hostages, and with the illicit proceeds to illegally support contras in Nicaragua.

A jury convicted Poindexter in 1990 on five felony counts of misleading Congress and making false statements, but an appeals court overturned the verdict because Congress had given him immunity for his testimony. He famously asserted, "The buck stops here," arguing that the White House staff, and not the president, was responsible for fateful decisions that might prove embarrassing.

NYT
posted by Irdial , 10:55 AM Þ 
posted by alex_tea , 9:18 AM Þ 

re: last.fm

what an awesome idea. stupid me heard about it ages ago, from one of the guys who runs it, but i stupidly forgot about it... this is so cool...

;D
posted by alex_tea , 8:19 AM Þ 
Wednesday, November 13, 2002

Amazing! Film Gimp

About a year ago, I and another person began to flesh out the spec for a sound tool, to beat SoundForge in performance and features.

This was going to be developed in conjunction with a University computer science lab, but it / we got side tracked.

If anyone doesnt believe that Linux/OSX is the future, they are smoking Crack®
posted by Irdial , 7:12 PM Þ 

Face of a Spammer
posted by Irdial , 3:09 PM Þ 

Putin tells reporter to 'get circumcised'

Russia's media expressed has shock over a remark by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russia-EU summit in which he urged a Western reporter asking about the war in Chechnya to come to Moscow and "get circumcised". [...]

[...]
Mr Putin is known for his tough talk that at times becomes interlaced with slang used by criminals and the military. [...]

ABC
posted by Irdial , 2:49 PM Þ 
posted by Alun , 2:10 PM Þ 
posted by Irdial , 12:57 PM Þ 

Love the radiostation - VERY interesting
One beautiful thing about the Jes Brinch poster was, that it was all over the city of copenhagen, like concert-posters. And in Danish the language has a very beautiful and almost perfect flow... I have the poster at home in my entré and seriously think that Jes Brinks poster is some of best danish art in many years, it reached beyond galleries and museums...
posted by Alison , 12:51 PM Þ 


Breath of Heaven

> Older, but not wiser
>
> Older ID and document systems have their own problems. Credit card theft is a perennial, and apparently growing, problem. Even smart credit cards, such as the American Express Blue card, can be hacked, as two researchers in the United Kingdom recently proved. And in New Jersey, an investigation by the Bergen County Record found that, among other things, security failings allow driver's licenses to be issued despite the presentation of inadequate identifying documents. New Jersey was home to at least four of the 11 September hijackers, two of whom reportedly had valid state driver's licenses.
>
> Even with valid documents, problems arise. In recent years, the U.S. Social Security Administration routinely issued tens of thousands of Social Security numbers to noncitizens who presented insufficient or counterfeit identification.
>
> Adding biometric information to driver's licenses may not be enough. Researchers at Yokohama National University in Japan have found they were able to replicate fingerprints with a cheap artificial "skin." They photographed a fingerprint left on a drinking glass, enhanced it with photo-editing software, and then used a photosensitive sheet to transfer it three-dimensionally to a sheet of copper. From there they could move the image onto a highly elastic food-based gelatin. The fingerprint was recognized by a variety of security systems about 80 percent of the time.
>
> That may be more work than is really needed. A recent book by three German researchers told how they defeated a fingerprint scanning system by breathing "gently upon the sensor's surface." They reported that on the screen of the biometrically protected computer, "we were able to see the contours of an old fingerprint slowly reemerge." In all, the team tested 11 biometric security systems and, by a variety of means, defeated each of them.

IEEE
posted by Irdial , 12:50 PM Þ 

American Ideals: Dead

TRAFFIC CHECKS: Random stops begin today in Michigan

November 12, 2002

BY TAMARA AUDI
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER


Federal agents will begin randomly stopping traffic today,
looking for illegal immigrants, terrorists and drug or weapon
smugglers.

Cars will be stopped at unannounced, rotating checkpoints
within Michigan, including metro Detroit. U.S. Border Patrol
agents at the checkpoints will ask passengers their
citizenship and will have leeway to ask a host of follow-up
questions.

The effort is part of President George W. Bush's attempt to
increase security along the northern border, said Immigration
and Naturalization spokeswoman Karen Kraushaar.

[...]

www.freep.com
posted by Irdial , 12:47 PM Þ 

Permanent State of Emergency for USA


THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release November 12, 2002


TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:


Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal
Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent the enclosed notice, stating that the emergency posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems declared by Executive Order 12938 on November 14, 1994, as amended, is to continue in effect beyond November 14, 2002, to the Federal Register for publication. The most recent notice continuing this emergency was published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2001 (66 FR 56965).

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. Therefore,
I have determined the national emergency previously declared must continue in effect beyond November 14, 2002.


GEORGE W. BUSH


THE WHITE HOUSE,
November 6, 2002.
posted by Irdial , 12:44 PM Þ 

We Get Results


- James Taranto, Best of the Web, Wall Street Journal


Bloggers have their accomplishments. Some have taken on the hard job of preventing our nations’ academics from making complete and utter asses out of themselves.

Two universities have invited known supporters of terrorism to address and mentor their students. Lynne Stewart, who formerly represented and worshipped Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman (involved in the first World Trade Center bombing) is currently being charged with two counts of aiding his terrorist organization. In an article in the New York times, Stewart stated that she doesn’t know why people object to terrorist attacks:


"I have a lot of trouble figuring out why that is wrong, specially when people are sort of placed in a position of having no other way."


Stewart is a moral imbecile and Stanford Law invited her to be a mentor for their students. Either they agree with Stewart, or they are entirely clueless about her ideas. Both options are proof that they are idiots.

Blogger Euenge Volokh reported on this and Taranto reported it. They got resuts – Stanford is no longer calling Stewart a mentor.


Taranto also reported that Harvard was inviting Irish poet Tom Paulin to speak at the Morris Gray Lecture.

Tom Paulin was the man who said, in an interview with the Egyptian Newspaper, Al Ahram weekly, that Israel has no right to exist. He also said of the Brooklyn-born Jewish settlers:


"They should be shot dead..I think they are Nazis, racists, I feel nothing but hatred for them."

Obviously, when the news of this invitation spread, Harvard got some letters – in fact, they received ‘widespread consternation’. Taranto linked to the webpage promoting the speech, but by this morning the page had disappeared. Paulin is not going to speak on Thursday, and Harvard’s English department posted this information:


"By mutual consent of the poet and the English Department, the Morris Gray poetry reading by Tom Paulin, originally scheduled for Thursday, November 14th, will not take place. The English Department sincerely regret the widespread consternation that has arisen as a result of this invitation, which had been originally decided on last winter solely on the basis of Mr. Paulin's lifetime accomplishments as a poet.

- Lawrence Buell, Chair

How’s that for a lame excuse? “We made this appointment a year ago, and..and he’s really famous and all..it’s not our fault!” They’re opting for the clueless defense. Idiots.



In America, we call these idiots intellectuals - and Europeans wonder why we have no respect for intellectuals.



Can you smell the froth?
posted by Irdial , 12:03 PM Þ 

This is interesting...
posted by Irdial , 11:53 AM Þ 

Poster by Jes Brinch



"I do not want to participate in this ridiculous repressive petit bourgeois dung society.

I am neither Danish, citizen, earner, taxpayer, consumer, proprietor, owner, tenant, borrower, customer, buyer, vendor, viewer, listener, voter, worker, unemployed, client, pupil, student, retired or pensioner.

I am not my name, my social security number, my address, my position, job, income, property, my bank account or something else.

Stuff your society up your arse, and leave me to be as a feel like.

Jes Brinch, Albertslund Town Hall, 06/18/01 – 08/19/01"
posted by Claus Eggers , 11:01 AM Þ 

I totally agree races do not exsist among homo sapiens...
But cultural differences do exsist - my life is all cultural complications - my childhood was a very fucked-up mixture of cultures witch gave me a multi-national, -cultural and -class identity. A sweet mixture of criminal people (drugdeals and smugglers) and racist high-class snotty pakistani people (my pakistani fathers extreemly snotty family, they claim we have royal blood in our vains - I should have some royal Afghani roots - yeah right!), far out danish missionary kristian farmer attitudes from the island Bornholm (with is a pretty far out island in Denmark) and ending up from Copenhagen to Quetta to Karachi to Køge (a very provencial small city in Denmark) and then back to Copenhagen. It makes life confusing and very funny at the same time. Like you see your self, Barrie, I have seen myself as a dane for many years... But over the last 2-3 years my other part - the pakistani one - called, pulled and dragged in my bones and veins...First I ignored it - but it keep calling me and made me understand parts of my self I never understood up until now, I got friends with half and half (never had that before, only danish friends) - today 26 yers old. I am not 50-50 dane and pakistani probably more 80% dane and 20% pakistani - cultural speaking. I first really realized it over the last couple of years... Cause I am raised as to be a hardcore shia muslim (in pakistan as a kid I should pray infront of a picture of The Ayatollah Khomeni) witch I AM NOT, but it has been the biggest struggle to get over it, to eat pork - and all that comes with it.... Very Very confusing - but also amazingly funny and interessting when looking back. I feel like Alice in Wonderland traveling in the modern world and learing to be a human beeing... Ops, better stop now... But thanks for sharing Barrie, so you got my story. (and again i would like to appologize my broken english, no dictionaries around me - I'm getting a computer at home very soon, BLOGDIAL is turning me into a major internetuser)

Love the longplayer! can we get in Copenhagen?
posted by Alison , 9:47 AM Þ 

Do what Linus Pauling did, and break out the Vitamin C.
posted by Irdial , 8:09 AM Þ 

That linux today story... it's long... don't quite understand. Maybe it's because I'm tired?
Speaking of rambling:
Akin is correct in saying that "races" do not exist - at least in science. Race is a social construct, and this fact is confused by many people thinking that the social idea of race is a scientific idea. I doubt I wrote that out right.
So, my "ethnicity" - my origin cultures, nationalities I am made up of, would be British (and Yugoslavian, to a lesser extent). Now, since I have been born and brought up in canada, I do consider myself "Canadian" - I have grown up in this culture so I am of this particular ethnicity. BUT my parents are both British and follow British customs and ideals - which ARE different that general Canadian (derived from European descent) ideals. Having been brought up by Britons I do carry some cultural traits of Britain - but not entirely. So I am "British Canadian-" though I'd rather just be Canadian, so that's what I'm calling myself. Why would I want to associate myself with Britain? And my Yugoslavian heritage... is a mystery. My grandfather doesn't talk about it much, and said that I would get in trouble if I researched it in Serbia. Gramps didn't have much of a sociological impact on me - other than being the prime influence on me for being pacifist. So maybe that's bigger than I think.
And as you see, race plays into this not at all - only nationality, and the culture from that nation.





you have an ominosity quotient of

eight.


you are more ominous than the creators of this quiz. good god.



find out your ominosity quotient.
posted by Barrie , 7:00 AM Þ 
Tuesday, November 12, 2002
posted by Claus Eggers , 11:11 PM Þ 
posted by Claus Eggers , 10:27 PM Þ 
posted by Claus Eggers , 10:18 PM Þ 
posted by captain davros , 8:11 PM Þ 

Presenting for your enjoyment the latest source of controversy which is going to arise between Europe and the US. This is actually something that's been going on for a long time, but it's about to get more intense.

The subject in question is freedom of expression. We believe in it. Europe doesn't. The Council of Europe just outlawed it.

The essential test of free expression is the extent to which it tolerates unpopular opinions, even ones most people find vile and despicable. As soon as government gets involved in deciding what is acceptable and what is not based on content, then the fox is in the henhouse and people's ability to express themselves will be more and more restricted. The ultimate danger is the eventual tyranny of the majority, where opinions survive or are suppressed based solely on how popular they are.

The North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) is a perfect example of this principle. Pederasty should be, and is, a serious crime. (It's statutory rape.) But thinking about it, and talking about it approvingly, should not be. And though I find what they advocate revolting, I fully support their right to make their case.

The only way we can truly prove our commitment to freedom of expression is by defending that freedom for people whose opinions we despise. It is therefore necessary to protect the ability of vanishingly small groups to express opinions that others find loathsome. Only when such speech is protected can we be sure that our own speech is also protected.

http://denbeste.nu/cd_log_entries/2002/11/HateSpeech.shtml
posted by Irdial , 7:43 PM Þ 

http://www.clydelewis.com/dis/puppetmaster/puppetmaster.htm

i hit 7 on the ominous richter scale.

have been thinking; you don't hear about fort knox much these days do you...
posted by alex_tea , 6:27 PM Þ 

A campaign to collect one million AOL CDs has got off to a good start.
The two Californian men who kicked off the campaign have now gathered more than 80,000 of the promotional discs.

The campaign is intended to tell the company about the damage the discs do to the environment when discarded, and shame it into curbing its zealous promotional efforts.

In addition sister campaigns to collect CDs are springing up around the world
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2440911.stm








you have an ominosity quotient of

nine.


you are so ominous that you sat on a rainbow and skittles popped out.



find out your ominosity quotient.



Tis would seem there is no hope for me!!
posted by chriszanf , 4:45 PM Þ 





you have an ominosity quotient of

four.


you are probably somewhat ominous. maybe.


href="http://www.likeisaid.com/ominosityquiz.html">
find out your ominosity quotient.
posted by captain davros , 3:18 PM Þ 





you have an ominosity quotient of

five.


you are somewhat more ominous than average.


href="http://www.likeisaid.com/ominosityquiz.html">
find out your ominosity quotient.
posted by Alison , 1:21 PM Þ 





you have an ominosity quotient of

six.


you are really ominous.


find out your ominosity quotient.
posted by Claus Eggers , 1:05 PM Þ 

Which half, the top half or the bottom half?

The difference between Human beings is not the same as the difference between Horses and donkeys; there is only one type of human being, no matter what your parents look like. CERTAINLY one should never measure amounts of nationality "that are in your blood" because the idea of different nationalities being different types of Homo Sapien is just total nonsense.

Now, of course the Frankenstiens and the Fascists will tell you that there are different "races" of human being but then they both have an evil agenda, so dont even go there.

It's a matter of culture (like the test) half pakistani half dane - thats it - or do want my hole cultural life-story?
posted by Alison , 1:04 PM Þ 

THE troubled music industry faces at least another two years of recession as internet pirates become more sophisticated and the threat of economic slowdown deters potential buyers, a new survey says.

Sales of singles and albums will fall by more than 7 per cent this year to just over $31 billion (£19.6 billion) — the third fall in a row, the report, published by Informa Media, cautions. [...]

The Times
posted by Irdial , 11:13 AM Þ 





you have an ominosity quotient of

six.


you are really ominous.


href="http://www.likeisaid.com/ominosityquiz.html">
find out your ominosity quotient.
posted by Irdial , 10:55 AM Þ 

"The UK had at least two choices under the Directive -- put the burden of protecting consumer rights on the global media companies (where it belongs) or put the burden on consumers. The Patent Office has made its choice ­ and is putting the burden squarely on consumers. Under proposed provision XXX, if you buy a CD which is copy-protected, and it doesn't play in your computer disc drive, or won't download to your MP3 player, your only remedy will be to send a letter of complaint to the Secretary of State.

If Mr. Blunkett in his magnaminity (and spare time) decides that you actually should be allowed to exercise your legal right to play the disc you bought, he will then send a letter to the offending media giant instructing it to ensure that you (and probably only you) are able to play the bloody disc. If Bertelsmann tells him (and you) to take a long walk off a short pier, only then will you (but no one else who may have experienced the same problem, but failed to contact the Secretary of State) have the right to hire a lawyer and sue Bertlesmann. How many people do you think are actually going to go through the bother?"

UK Patent office's proposed implimentation of the dastardly directive.
posted by Irdial , 10:18 AM Þ 

I'm a half dane and half afghani/pakistani

Which half, the top half or the bottom half?

The difference between Human beings is not the same as the difference between Horses and donkeys; there is only one type of human being, no matter what your parents look like. CERTAINLY one should never measure amounts of nationality "that are in your blood" because the idea of different nationalities being different types of Homo Sapien is just total nonsense.

Now, of course the Frankenstiens and the Fascists will tell you that there are different "races" of human being but then they both have an evil agenda, so dont even go there.

The anthem to Utopia should, of course, be "Utopia" by Goldfrapp.
posted by Irdial , 10:00 AM Þ 





How BLACK are you?

Brought to you by the good folks at sacwriters.com.


Hihi - thats fun since I'm a half dane and half afghani/pakistani - wonderful test!
And now over to the sad part:
Digital consumers may well be the most criminal people in our world, our rights are gone soon, cause it's not payable enough with digital consumers. Face it in the end is all about the Benjamin$ and not L.O.V.E Life is hard - but what the fuck to do? Utopia - again? Or like you point it out Irdial Discs - the thrill will double... Sure it would!

Besides that I had this democracy discussion with a friend the other day: how high was the percentage of people voting in the US? Once I read that 42% of the american voters actually voted - but then it's not a democratic election is it? Souldn't more than 50% of the voters actually vote to make an election a democratic election? Hhhmmmmmmmmmm
posted by Alison , 9:27 AM Þ 
Monday, November 11, 2002

Some things are going to happen because of this.

Russia and China are going to instantly become the pre-eminent crackers / reverse engineers of the world.
Tens of Millions of criminals will be instantly created all over europe.
Europe will be further discredited.
P2P software will improve.
The thrill will double. :]
posted by Irdial , 5:41 PM Þ 





How BLACK are you?

Brought to you by the good folks at sacwriters.com.


Have been fighting shit flooding my back door from a blocked drain and fighting shit flooding both nostrils from inside my head. Great weekend.

Good stuff the last few days though. Depressing, but good. Keep it up!

Spent a ridiculous amount on the Wilco YHF vinyl... but its a lovely album. Two slabs of heavyweight vinyl, 12 minutes a side, very good sound. Very good album. Songs! Remember them? Wow! And the conet 'sample' is more of a 'piece' than a sample. And its not exactly buried in the track, or altered in any way. Works though.
Also the Beth Gibbons LP. Nice, but nice can slip into dull sometimes. And although she only uses that snarly Portishead voice once or twice it still bugs me. For unknown reasons. Seems the character acting of some singers works better for me than others... love PJ, love Nick Cave, love Diamanda Galas, but me and Beth... we never clicked.

And WHITE CHOCOLATE???!?!!? Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit maaaaaan!!!! And here's me in ma SUV, ho rollin a blunt for me, anotha bitches hands fumblin inta ma Hilfiger dungarees, me sippin on a 40 while I shoot pedestrians, thinkin I'm one cool mutha. Well, how wrong can one be?
posted by Alun , 5:09 PM Þ 

Read it and weep


http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&numdoc=301L0029&lg=EN
This European Union directive on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society must be implemented in all member states:

"Article 13
Implementation
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive before 22 December 2002. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive."

It' is important that you read this directive, as it in effect takes away many of the rights you had, as a digital consumer, and transfers these rights to content distributers and rightholders. Read the whole lot, the 'fun' starts in Chapter I - scroll down to the middle...
posted by Claus Eggers , 4:38 PM Þ 





How BLACK are you?

Brought to you by the good folks at sacwriters.com.
posted by Irdial , 4:23 PM Þ 

Because we did not authorize the invasion of Iraq.
We did not authorize the invasion of Iran.
We did not authorize the invasion of North Korea.
We did not authorize the bombing of civilians in Afghanistan.
We did not authorize permanent detainees in Guantanamo Bay.
We did not authorize the withdrawal from the Geneva Convention.
We did not authorize military tribunals suspending due process and habeas corpus.
We did not authorize assassination squads.
We did not authorize the resurrection of COINTELPRO.
We did not authorize the repeal of the Bill of Rights.
We did not authorize the revocation of the Constitution.
We did not authorize national identity cards.
We did not authorize the eye of Big Brother to peer from cameras throughout our cities.
We did not authorize an eye for an eye.
Nor did we ask that the blood of innocent people, who perished on September 11, be avenged with the blood of innocent villagers in Afghanistan.
We did not authorize the administration to wage war anytime, anywhere, anyhow it pleases.
We did not authorize war without end.
We did not authorize a permanent war economy.

http://www.thespiritoffreedom.com/
posted by Irdial , 4:05 PM Þ 

Who wants to go make a new utopia on some crazy island? Lord knows we'll fuck it up anyway.

Sweet Mikkel, we would fuck it up anyway. But it does'nt mean we should't try...
Like the Dane Søren Kirkegaard said it:
Gift dig og du vil fortryde det
Gift dig ikke også det vil du fortryde
Uanset hvad - du vil fortryde

In english
Get married - and regret it
Do not get married - and regret it
No matter what - you will regret

I prefer to regret things I've done - cause it makes me feel brave - so lets try the utopia
posted by Alison , 2:54 PM Þ 

m/e It is DESIGNED in part to make you tired; to wear you down and ultimately destroy your good and free human spirit.

The register article is excellent, but doesnt ask the pertinent questions; "who and where are the people who wrote / proposed this, so that we may find them, and kill them?".

I fear that this is the ONLY way that we will be able to live free; the enemies of freedom have to be PERMANENTLY ELIMINATED, one way or the other, so that we do not have to keep having these discussions over and over ad nauseum.

If the threat comes from Germany, then let them be burned at the stake. If it be France, then let them be torn limb from limb. If it be Belgian, let them be boiled alive in a vat of chocoloate. One way or another, we must be RID of these rats.
posted by Irdial , 1:19 PM Þ 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/28033.html

Stuff like this makes me infinitely tired. Fatigues the mind. Stupid fucking idiots. I almost don't care anymore. I started getting interested in politics only around 2-3 years ago. Now I'm disillusionised and bitter. I remember when I thought America was pretty cool, heh. I wonder how the world will look in 20-30 years time. Will these trends continue? Fucking hope not. All this racism, deprivation of rights, namecalling, warmongering.

Who wants to go make a new utopia on some crazy island? Lord knows we'll fuck it up anyway.
posted by Mikkel , 12:09 PM Þ 

Explanation of the 24 hour viewing period.

"The movie is available to watch as many times as you like in a 24 hour period. The 24 hour period begins when you have successfully downloaded the movie and clicked Play Movie in your Movielink Manager to watch the movie for the first time. Movielink Manager shows you the remaining time to watch each movie you have downloaded in the Watch By column. The 24 hour period includes the time that you pause or rewind a movie. At the end of the 24 hour period, the movie is automatically deleted from your computer."

So says http://www.movielink.com/

You cant get into the site unless you are coming from a USA IP, so get proxied up to see the site.

"Automatically deleted"? The crack on Hollywood buggelawd must be SMOKIN!

How long do you think it will be before this is 100% 0wn3d?


"Still, Movielink aims to present consumers with a legal option for watching movies on the PC, rather than turning to file-trading communities that contain stolen copies of films or unsanctioned movie-rental sites operating overseas. The entertainment industry has been haunted by digital piracy through file-swapping sites like now-defunct Napster and Morpheus. As a result, the industry seeks to preempt the troubles that hit the music industry through peer-to-peer communities."

News.com

Can you spot the "irrational phrase"?
posted by Irdial , 11:13 AM Þ 

the nice doggie article is pretty good... not too accurate about WWI though.
The only thing I don't get is if EUropean states are so fucking useless, why does American help in the first place? It doesn't have to, does it? It's not some obligation. There's a reason why these (and all) things happen.
Wouldn't it be cool to fight war with words? Someone comes up with a real good zinger, and it takes a year for the other side to fire back with an EVEN BETTER ZINGER. HAHAHAHA
Oh god too tired

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is searching for ways to create the "metabolically dominant soldier." Among the projects it is pursuing is the creation of a warrior who can fight 24 hours a day, seven days straight. "Eliminating the need for sleep while maintaining the high level of both cognitive and physical performance of the individual will create a fundamental change in war-fighting,"

See, that's scary, cause I was just watching Babylon 5, and there's a plot in that show about a faction of the earth government medically engineering powerful telepaths to wage war. WHOAGHA GLGBLBL ART IMITATES LIFE HURHALGHALGH
posted by Barrie , 9:17 AM Þ 
posted by Irdial , 9:15 AM Þ 

Grey, cold and windy monday

scatters of snowflakes on my face

Mimi's music in my ears
posted by Alison , 9:09 AM Þ 

NO BLOOD FOR EUNUCHS!

OK, so something Citizen Beaker said in a comment to this post about Florence got me all worked up over the friggin' feckless EUnuch assmunchers and I thought that it would be a horrible thing to let a perfectly good rant wither away in a comments box, so here goes...

What Beaker brought up was basically asking what the fuck is WRONG with those nutsos on the other side of the pond?

First they get their asses burned when their idiot royalty have at each other and we send our doughboys over to save them from themselves... OK, good, problem solved, right? WRONG!

Just over two decades later, they decide to try fascism and nazism on for size, get their shrivelled nuts caught in the wringer again and hey presto, off go our GIs to save the fucknuts from themselves once a-fucking-GAIN! OK, THAT settled it, right? Surely you asswipes have had it with totalitarian regimes now, haven't you? Can we leave you home alone now for a while without worrying about you setting the house on fire while we're gone?

Wait, what's that? The Soviets, you say? Well alright then, let's station our boys over there indefinitely then, paying for your defense while you pump all the money you save by refusing to defend yourselves into welfare for your lazy, no-good citizens. At least we'll save the cost of having to ferry our boys over the next time.

Five decades later the Soviets finally realize that they're no match for us and hoist the French white flag. Yay! It's over! We can go home now and start spending trillions of American tax dollars on actual Americans, right? WRONG!!!

Now the terminally screwed up EUrofucks decide to split up into 735 nation states the size of my backyard and fight among themselves. Well, surely you EUrinals can take care of shitholes the size of your average Texan ranch with the combined military budgets of Liechtenstein without us 'Murkins getting involved, right? WRONG!!!

The stupid fucks sit impotently in Brussels and debate the curvature of cucumbers while the people of the Balkans are systematically wiped out by madmen... OK, here we go a-fucking-GAIN!!! In go the GIs, out go the shitheads.

Finally it looks like some semblance of peace is about to erupt in that rotten backwater of civilization that calls itself "Europe" when WHAM! The US of A finds itself under attack. Well, surely you guys remember all that we've done for you and will line up to lend a hand, right? WRONG!!!

Oh no, now all you do is piss, moan and whine, while you try to obstruct every single fucking move we make to defend ourselves while your unwashed masses congregate in all of your major cities to protest OUR aggressiveness and all the while you're busy building a totalitarian bureaucrapcy that would've made Josef Fuckin' STALIN blush!!!

Listen, you castrated numbnuts: It's time for you to step up to the fucking plate just for ONCE in your irrelevant, miserable little lives, K? And I don't really give a good shit anyway, it's not like you can contribute with anything useful, considering that your combined military spending is on par with fucking Ecuador, I just want you to know one little thing:

When you get your asses caught in a sling again and come crying to us, begging for help, and it WILL happen, you assclowns just can't HELP yourselves, I'm gonna whip out the smallest violin I can find in all of our 50 states and play you the saddest song in the fucking Universe on it while your cities burn, for I'll be three times fucking DAMNED if I'll ever lift a fucking FINGER to help your sorry asses again!

Am I making myself absolutely fucking clear here, you worthless stinking pissants?

Good! Now go to HELL!

I forgot, you're already there... Well enjoy, then...

[Insert usual disclaimer about not all EUropeons being ingrate Islamofascist nutsack lickers etc. etc. We all know that. The ones of you that my rant is directed at know who you are, the rest of you can just ignore what I said or, better still, go take a Clue Bat™ to the pointed skulls of your Idiotarian compatriots. You'll be doing all of us a favor]

nicedoggie.net
posted by Irdial , 9:02 AM Þ 

Also has terrorist connotations, but they can work that out for themselves.
That's the point.

Akin, I appreciate your view and it's totally true. Still, it's one more thing - obviously a vote isn't EVERYTHING... but it's a start. For example, if anyone in this province votes our premier in again, I will personally visit their house with a Louisville fuckin' Slugger. Or something. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if someone is voting they are at least trying to thing about "the issues" whether their thoughts are useful or not.
My brain hurts and I'm thinking about WWI too much. Damn Remembrance Day, being all depressing... odd how in these days of looming/ongoing wars WWI is the one that comes to mind, what with it being the one with no point...
posted by Barrie , 9:00 AM Þ 

i think i need these pills:

With a Pill Called Modafinil, You Can Go 40 Hours Without Sleep -- and See Into the Future
http://www.washingtonpost.com/

i've been up all night after a weird weekend's sleeping pattern. however, i haven't left my house once this whole weekend. something is wrong.
posted by alex_tea , 8:15 AM Þ 

There is nothing on this earth, quite as strange and beautiful....as Swiss "Mountain Music".

Spinning coins, ringing bells, containers gonging...and Yodeling.
posted by Irdial , 8:11 AM Þ 

ONE person can be a weapon.

Only monkeys keep doing something that doesnt work. When it rains, monkeys dont seek cover. REAL PEOPLE however, run for shelter.

People who vote cannot complain when they are bombed, because they have explicitly endorsed the insane policies that spawn bombers.

Democracy is hopelessly broken. This information is now in the mainstream; even "The Times" published an article on it. Its ok to vote in a place like Switzerland or Canada that doesnt get involved in messy garbage, but in otther, insanely active countries, participating in Democracy is actually immoral.

In Australia, voting is COMPULSORY ie, it is ILLEGAL not to participate in Democracy. Astounding.
posted by Irdial , 8:07 AM Þ 

we use the energy efficient lightg bulbs in 90% of the light fittings in my house. the kitchen has a strip light, which are quite efficient. I don't know about my flat mate's bedrooms, but all the shared areas do, and I use two in my room, one for the main light and one for my bedside lamp. I also have an anglepoise lamp using a daylight bulb, and a halogen desk lamp. anyway, i think we do ok on that level. things that we do bad: too much tea / coffee = a lot of boiling water. that has to be the worst. and just general water wastage from me (especially when washing up: i can't stand using tepid or dirty water... i usually change the water at least once) was that too much info?

ONE person can be a weapon.
I like your sentiment, I might make some badges (pins/buttons, y'know) with your permission. Will make people think... Also has terrorist connotations, but they can work that out for themselves.
posted by alex_tea , 8:06 AM Þ 

Are there any sane and socially responsible governments left in the world?

Canada?

Our government might be retarded but oh lord it's nowhere NEAR as bad as Britain's. While our copyright laws remain backwards and bizarre, when a major political problem happens it IS on the front of our newspapers (or at least, the more credible ones like The Edmonton Journal).
Now if only people in this country would DO SOMETHING like alex says. Voter apathy is terrible. I want to erect billboards all over with big letters:
"IF YOU DON'T VOTE YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT - IT IS YOUR FAULT"
Or something like that. HATE people who don't vote, and there's so many.
A million people saying "I'm just one person, what does it matter? Wah." Wake up, you lazy dipshits. ONE means a lot. ONE person can be a weapon.
posted by Barrie , 5:22 AM Þ 

I forgot to add. I think gum sicks, but my girlfriend inadvertently (sp?) smuggled some in, and we quite happily and openly chewed gum on the bus and walking down the pricipal shopping street, Orchard Road... We also Jay-Walked quite a bit. However, when I signed up for a free ISP they required my ID number (obvioulsy I don't have a Singaporean ID) so I used my girlfriends.

Customs wasn't that bad either, except the Visa carried a big warning "DRUG OFFENCES CARRY THE DEATH PENALTY". But I didn't get stopped or searched and I went through Singaporean customs four times. Very different story in the UK, I nearly always get stopped at Waterloo when using Eurostar. I think this is because I try and stare the customs officials out, and I'm always knackered and so probably look stoned. Last time I used it I got stopped on the French side on my return, they empied my bag and my pockets, and left me to repack! I got my bag hoovered by this magic drugs detector once. Funniest customs incident: Going to meet my girlfriend at Heathrow, got off the tube, policeman asks me to step to one side...

Policeman: Why don't you have any luggage?
Me: I am going to meet my friend?
Policeman: What flight are they on?
Me: I don't know, one from Frankfurt
Policeman: Which airline?
Me: I don't know; it begins with L (it was Luftansa)
Policeman: Do you know which terminal?
Me: No, I was going to look at the sign behind you.
Policeman: Right,. well, you can understand why I've stopped you. You look suspicious without any luggage.
Me: Yeah, whatever (I just wanted to get there, I was late and tired, and he was pissing me off - I should, however, had said the following...)

Me: Well, no, surely hundreds, no Thousands, of people come to meet their friends and relatives returning or arriving from other countries. Why on earth would they bring luggage with them? So their friends can feel like they're in good company? To look cool? To fit in? Are you stupid? Have you even thought about why you stopped me? Or is it because I am young and haven't shaved because I got up late, that's why I look a bit sleepy too. Idiot.
posted by alex_tea , 12:50 AM Þ 

There is a new type of light bulb that uses 60% less electricity for the same amount of light.

This, coupled with high temperature superconducting transmission lines will reduce the waste of electricty drastically. It means replacing every power line and light bulb, but it really needs to be done.

This is the sort of thing the BILLIONS of $ being spent on war should really be spent on, dont you think?
posted by Irdial , 12:35 AM Þ 



as found on Ebay!
posted by Irdial , 12:31 AM Þ 

I forgot to mention in my YayHooray reply, Iceland is quite a nice country. There are a few downfalls though. Anything apart from fish is very expensive (£5 for a beer). It's very small - Total population = 280,000 over half that amount live in Reykjavik. This makes it very clostrophobic socially, even though there's an amazing level of social/cultural interests for such a small city soon everybody knows who you are and what you're doing. I quite like the anonymosity London affords.

But yes, I can see that Britian is slipping down the pan, probably has been since the 1950s, although maybe it wasn't so great before. But rather than move / complain we can DO SOMETHING about it, we have the rights (allegedly) and the power. The least we can is encourage public debate and enhance public knowledge / understanding of why these things matter - I am actually going to start doing stuff soon. I promise.
posted by alex_tea , 12:30 AM Þ 

Red Army Faction

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion) was a German radical leftist terror organisation active from the 1970s to 1998. The name was inspired by that of The Red Army, a Japanese leftist terrorist group. The word faction was thrown in to illustrate the connection leftist organisations felt with a large, international Marxist struggle. The group is mostly known under the name Baader-Meinhof Gang, but this name is misleading, for, although Andreas Baader was one of the leaders of the group, Ulrike Meinhof was not. She was not second-in-command and she was not Baader's lover, as some think. Gudrun Ensslin was the second-in-command (and Baader's lover, by the way), but it is believed she was actually the brains behind the whole group.

Most of the leaders of the Baader-Meinhof Gang were captured as early as 1972, both Baader and Meinhof in June of that year. As they went to trial in 1975-76 their followers would hold hostages a number of times over the next five years in an effort to secure the release of their leaders from jail.

Meinhof committed suicide in May 1976. While in June 1976 following the famous Entebbe hi-jacking a number of terrorists including members of the Baader-Meinhof gang were freed.

In 1977 another kidnapping and airplane hi-jacking failed to gain the release of the three leaders of the gang. Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe all committed suicide on October 17, 1977.

After the deaths of their leaders the so-called third, fourth, and fifth generations of the RAF carried on. Another organisation, the Movement 2 June, dissolved in 1980 and its remnants joined forces with the RAF.

In the early 1980s the RAF allied with the French group Action Directe. The collapse of Communism and the Soviet Union was a serious blow to left-wing terrorist groups and by 1990 only the RAF remained. The RAF was financially and logistically supported by the STASI, the security and intelligence organization of East Germany.

A bomb that destroyed a prison in Wieterstadt in 1993 would prove to be the RAF's last gasp. But it was not until April 1998 that a letter was sent to Reuters stating that the RAF was officially disbanded.

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Army_Faction
posted by Irdial , 12:25 AM Þ 

http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp

How many planets would you need to sustain the world's population if they all lived like you?

For me 3.8, which is shocking. I need to buy more locally produced, unpackaged foods. I also need to get a bike, although I don't drive, and I walk short to medium distances... But if I had a bike I could cycle to work.

I think the electricity / energy levels in our house could be a bit better too, but with 5 computers it's tough...
posted by alex_tea , 12:23 AM Þ 

Britain has become an utter fucking joke.

1. Politicians, who are payed almost 3 times their salary, are refusing to give a pay increase to the firefighters. The firefighters are poised to go on strike, leaving Britain protected against fire by the army, who have no firefighting training, and "Green Goddess" fire engines that were built in the 50's, do not have ladders, and have a top speed of 50mph (25mph around corners).

2. The British government issued, and quickly retracted, a statement warning the population of a "real and credible" threat of a terrorist attack on the UK mainland, consisting of either a chemical or biological attack, a bomb at a nuclear facility, or a "dirty bomb". This statement was retracted to prevent "widespread panic".

3. Two days later the government accidently let slip that the first troops of an Iraq invasion force are being shipped to Kuwait, despite all signs indicating that Saddam Hussein will concede to UN demands, and that there will be no legal grounds for a war on Iraq.

4. The national rail infrastructure has collapsed, resulting in thousands of deaths, and an unsuable rail service, all due to privatisation. The government has ignored public sentiment and the wishes of our elected mayor, and is now privatising the Tube, London's subway system. The last two serious incidents on the Tube (The Kings Cross fire and the Moorgate crash) were catastrophic, and are still in the memory of Londoners, despite decades having passed. People will die, but the government have pushed this through to line their own pockets.

5. Our government cannot be stopped. We no longer have a credible opposition party, and the 2nd house, the House of Lords, has been all but dissolved. The Conservatives, our supposed opposition party, have become nothing more than a "lunatic fringe party", with no hope of attaining power within the next decade.

6. Our government is nothing but a willing lapdog of US foreign policy. We are inviting untold terror and destruction to be wrought on our country by gleefully and blindly following the US' wishes, no matter how insane and destructive they may be to international relations and our own position in the world.



And what are the main stories that the UK media, both print and broadcast, are concentrating on?

1. Princess Dianas butler and his alleged theft of her trinkets and Phil Collins CDs.

2. The Queens status in our legal system.

3. Alleged gay rape at the palace, and our old friend Michael Barrymore's involvement.

4. Ulrika Jonsson's sex life.

5. Allegations of rape against John Leslie.

6. Who is the greater Briton - Princess Diana, Charles Darwin or William Shakespeare?

7. The pubs might get to open a couple of hours later.


This is utterly fucked. Our country is falling apart, we're under immediate danger of terrorist attack, and our government is fucking us sideways - and all we care about is what a couple of washed-up TV celebrities are up to, and the goings-on inside Britains most irrelevant and pointless family.




I'm out of here. I don't want to live in a country like this anymore.

The question is - where to go?



The US is out, obviously, as I believe in freedom of speech, freedom in general, and honesty and transparency in government. I also don't want to get shot or executed.


Are there any sane and socially responsible governments left in the world?

Canada?
Denmark?
Holland?
Sweden?
Where?

from alex's yayhooray post.

Where indeed? Personally, i like to chew gum so singapore is OUT :]

Antartica is free.
So is the moon.
One is too cold.
The other too far.

there is a group of people in the USA who are gathering together to form a new state, which will then break away from the federal government...cant find the link...

hmmmmmm
posted by Irdial , 12:21 AM Þ 
Sunday, November 10, 2002
posted by Ken , 11:02 PM Þ 

No free person will allow another person in another country tell her what to do with her words.

I will not allow another person in my own country to tell me what to do with my words. No one has the right to limit my thought, or anyone else's thought.
posted by Barrie , 8:56 PM Þ 

I read up on all the Baader Meinhoff stuff about a year ago. I find it really interesting, and they look really cool. I think that's the problem, they look and sound so cool but they're 'terrorists'. Well, they killed people, and that's not good. Ever. I think. If there was a Baader Meinhof gang minus the violence, then I would endorse that. I think it would be hard for any non-violent terrorist / rebel group to be taken seriously though.

This is interesting: http://www.yayhooray.com/s-forums.cfm?action=read&id=212492
posted by alex_tea , 7:01 PM Þ 



"Our youth is turning on us!" -- in the summer of 1971, German authorities printed up millions of these and similar wanted posters. With an almost equal number of women as men, the Baader-Meinhof Gang was threatening beyond their bombs and guns. They threatened the patriarchal backbone of the German state.
posted by Irdial , 3:22 PM Þ 

Cracks starting to show...

No respect for rights, even in death.
posted by Irdial , 3:18 PM Þ 

The Council of Europe fights against racism and xenophobia on the Internet

Strasbourg, 07.11.2002 - The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers today adopted the Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime. The Protocol requires States to criminalise the dissemination of racist and xenophobic material through computer systems, as well as racist and xenophobic-motivated threat and insult including the denial, gross minimisation, approval or justification of genocide or crimes against humanity, particularly those that occurred during the period 1940-45. It also defines the notion of this category of material and establishes the extent to which its dissemination violates the rights of others and criminalises certain conduct accordingly.[...]

I have never believed that these laws are right in any way; in fact, they will encourage and bolster the very voices that they want to silence.

I support, without qualification, the absolute right for people to write and read whatever they want, via what ever media they choose. This insane legislation thus makes me a supporter of "the bad guys". So be it.

The title of this announcement is wrong; it should read "The Council of Europe fuels racism and xenophobia on the Internet". Believe me, this is only the beginning. When everyone is issued an EEC passport, and each persons own national legislature is nothing more than a toothless vestigial organ housed in a building of historic value, then these dictates will come thick and fast, controlling every aspect of your life, down to the very words that you are allowed to read and the music you are allowed to listen to.

This, my friends, is the face of TRUE evil; and frighteningly, it is a faceless face. What are the names and nationalities of the people who wrote this piece of trash? Who are they answerable to? The Germans and many other nations do not accept the idea of absolute rights. No problem, I dont have to live there. Ive spoken about this many times before; now I will spell it out for you. This is the mind set that controls Europe; a mind set that is hungry for total control over every person in Europe, all the way to Russia.

Taken straight from the German Constitution

Article 9 (Freedom of association).

(1) All Germans have the right to form associations and societies.
(2) Associations, the objects or activities of which conflict with the criminal laws or which are directed against the constitutional order or the concept of international understanding, are prohibited.

The word "rights" means that individuals reserve unto themselves certain freedoms that cannot be circumscribed or constricted by the state. If the state can control, meter, or stop you from doing something, then you no longer have the right to do it. Rights are not privileges they belong to you outside of any organization of control. The German constitution is flawed in this respect, on every issue concerning the rights of Germans.

Article 11 (Freedom of movement).

(1) All Germans enjoy freedom of movement throughout the Federal territory.
(2) This right may be restricted only by or pursuant to a statute, and only in cases in which an adequate basis of existence is lacking and special burdens would arise to the community, or in which the restriction is necessary to avert an imminent danger to the existence or the free democratic basic order of the Federation or a Land, to combat the danger of epidemics, to deal with natural disasters or particularly grave accidents, to protect young people from neglect or to prevent crime.

Interesting; "All Germans enjoy freedom of movement throughout the Federal territory." this is a statement, not an assertion of rights.

Article 12 (Right to choose an occupation, prohibition of forced labor; amended March 19, 1956.)

(1) All Germans have the right freely to choose their trade or profession their place of work and their place of training. The practice of trades and professions may be regulated by law.
(2) No one may be compelled to perform a particular work except within the framework of a traditional compulsory public service which applies generally and equally to all. Anyone who refuses on conscientious grounds to render war service involving the use of arms may be required to render an alternative service. The duration of this alternative service shall not exceed the duration of military service. Details shall be regulated by a law which shall not prejudice freedom of conscience and shall provide also for the possibility of an alternative service having no connection with any unit of the Armed Forces.
(3) Women shall not be required by law to render service in any unit of the Armed Forces. On no account shall they be employed in any service involving the use of arms.
(4) Forced labor may be imposed only in the event that a person is deprived of his freedom by the sentence of a court.

Article 12a (Liability to military and other service; added 24 June 1968)

(1) Men who have attained the age of 18 years may be required to serve in the Armed Forces, in the Federal Border Guard, or in a civil defense organization.
(2) A person who refuses, on grounds of conscience, to render war service involving the sue of arms may be required to render a substitute service. The duration of such substitute service shall not exceed the duration of military service. Details shall be regulated by a statute which shall not interfere with freedom to take a decision based on conscience and shall also provide for the possibility of a substitute service not connected with units of the Armed Forces or of the Federal Border Guard.

Pass me the knife bud, so I can cut my dick off.

So, in one article, they say that compulsory labour is forbidden, then they have an extension to the same article saying that you can be compelled to serve in the German Army, and then, most absurdly, they EXCLUDE WOMEN. With this language, they give with the right hand, and then take (more than they have given) with the left.

It gets better.

Article 16 (Deprivation of citizenship, extradition, right of asylum).

(1) No one may be deprived of his German citizenship. Loss of citizenship may arise only pursuant to a law, and against the will of the person affected it may arise only if such person does not thereby become stateless.
(2) No German may be extradited to a foreign country. Persons persecuted for political reasons enjoy the right of asylum

This time, they confer and remove a right in TWO CONSECUTIVE SENTENCES! Now that is what I call efficient use of language.

The last two articles are the killers:

Article 18 (Forfeiture of basic rights).

Whoever abuses freedom of opinion, in particular freedom of the press (Article 5, paragraph 1) freedom of teaching (Article 5, paragraph 3), freedom of assembly (Article 8), freedom of association (Article 9), the secrecy of mail posts and telecommunications (Article 10),property (Article 14), or the right of asylum (Article 16, paragraph 2) in order to attack the free democratic basic order, forfeits these basic rights. The forfeiture and its extent are pronounced by the Federal Constitutional Court.

Article 19 (Restriction of Basic Rights).
(1) Insofar as under this Basic Law a basic right may be restricted by or pursuant to a law, the law must apply generally and not solely to an individual case. Furthermore the law must name the basic right, indicating the Article.
(2) In no case may a basic right be infringed upon in its essential content.
(3) The basic rights apply also to corporations established under German Public law to the extent that the nature of such rights permits.
(4) Should any person's right be violated by public authority, recourse to the court shall be open to him. If no other court has jurisdiction, recourse shall be to the ordinary courts.

Oh dear. These two articles complete the neutering of this absurd document. Freedom of speech is obliterated by phrases like "Whoever abuses freedom of opinion, in particular freedom of the press". The "the free democratic basic order" in Germany is basically a giant prison for Germans, where you are forbidden to say certain things at the whim of whoever has the keys on that day. We already know that there is widespread phone bugging but what I would like to know is, what happens EXACTLY to someone who is stripped of their "basic rights" can they then be tortured, killed imprisoned indefinitely? Certainly its clear from the above that all rights to property (that actually never existed for the sad German who has been stripped of his "basic rights") are up in smoke.

There is a glimmer in here, a very dull one that someone saw this document for what it is. This line "In no case may a basic right be infringed upon in its essential content." feels like an attempt to claw something back from the morass of restrictions. Unfortunately, the "essential content" of each basic right simply isn’t there to begin with

The business men got their hands in, where corporations are given the same rights as real people (such as they are). More on that another time maybe!

"Should any person's right be violated by public authority, recourse to the court shall be open to him." This is astounding; every public authority can cut your "rights" off if they think that they have due cause; the courts will surely go along with them, since they are part of the SAME AUTHORITY. This is why rights must be ABSOLUTE, so that there can be no question of "appropriate action" against a person.

It is clear from this, and examples from history that rights cannot be granted or conferred, but must be taken.

All of that being said, this is not what I am concerned about.

What concerns me is that these people, who are of little interest while they shackle themselves in private, now want to shackle people outside of their borders. This is totally unacceptable, and will (hopefully) cause a large social calamity to put to death FOREVER the idea of a unified Europe. A good friend of mine said that "Germans are another race of beings". We laughed our heads off. If this evil edict comes into force, having blogged an account of this conversation, we are liable to have our blog removed from the net, and I could arrested. That is just bullshit.

Many people will "go to war" over this. It is simply "not going to happen". No free person will allow another person in another country tell her what to do with her words. Like I said before, hopefully the weight of all these edicts will break the back of the European goal of total control, and destroy it forever.

Bring it on then burn in hell you PIGS.
posted by Irdial , 11:40 AM Þ 
posted by Irdial , 10:21 AM Þ 
posted by Ken , 12:31 AM Þ 
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