The nation obviously regards piping petroleum and natural gas products as more critical to human
sustenance than water. We spends billions on pipelines to deliver fossil fuels that destroy our environment and bring man to war, yet oxygen and water are given a backseat.
On
the other hand, why should I be surprised that government leadership that can't create a safe and reliable
transportation infrastructure would act differently in this case?
If your computer’s acting up today, showing errors or shutting off completely, it might be infected with “Sasser”, a worm that hit computers this weekend. It does not use email to propagate, but it copies itself onto random vulnerable computers directly.
Industry analysts suggest Sasser may have started in Russia. Microsoft is offering 250-thousand dollars in reward money for the identity of the author.
Last year’s Blaster worm cost companies millions to fight, but Sasser may not have it so easy, due to acute awareness of such threats. In fact, Microsoft released a patch more than two weeks before the worm struck, that protects Windows computers from the worm.
Speculation abounds that the very act of publishing a patch alerts would-be hackers and inspires attacks.
The best defense against such threats? Keep your security patches up to date, use anti-virus software and put a firewall between you and the Internet.
I want to tell an Iraqi person how I feel as an American. I am naive. I learned about America in text books. I learned about the world from text books.
I have been given so much by our society and have put back so little in comparison. I volunteered for our military service as a promise and comitment to defend freedom, liberty and our American values. Luckily, I was not asked to fight in any war. I am truly a lucky individual. I was born into and inherited the principles of The New World, a place where freedom was born.
We are not an old European country. We make no apologies for that. We are America! We are the United State of America. We are free people because our fathers and forefathers fought and died to establish it and maintain it. Freedom and liberty were gifts left by generations past. We came here to escape many injustices and built a land that is the envy of people of many lands. I am proud of my heriatage and I couldn't imagine living in another.
I don't think people kill Americans for who they are so much as for what they do. I think Islamic funamentalists attacked the US on September 11, 2004 because Americans took a proverbial whore into the church of Islam and offended its sensibilities. The US Government tried to integrate American into Iraq and the Middle East which are incompatible with Muslim beliefs. I draw no correlation between September 11 and the US Government's attacks in Iraq.
Please be clear on this. America is a population of American Citizens who are human beings like you. One has to be able to draw a distintion between Americans and the US Government. I am not among the Americans who did this. I am not against you. I am for you. If you ask for my help, I will be happy to help you. I do not want to occupy your homeland. If you would rather I stayed home, that is what I will do. Americans do not speak with one voice unless that voice speaks for Liberty and Freedom.
There is a double standard between America and Iraq today. We have said many times in our history that we would rather die on our feet than live on our knees. We are proud people and have a strong desire to live free. These aren't just words to us, to make us feel good. We honestly believe them as others believe in their guiding principles. We do, however, sometimes forget that you most likely have prinicples that you would would die to defend. Thereinlies the rub. It may seem like America wants to force on you its own beliefs without regard for your own. But I, an American, say here and now that I do not want to force my beliefs on you. I want to you live by your own principles, happily so, in the place of your choosing.
Understanding my own resolve, I imagine yours is just as strong, and I can respect you for that.
I think burning fossil fuels is a bad plan for our whole planet, so the possibility that there may be some oil interests that motivated a few Americans to visit Iraq and do battle is very disturbing.
I want to live a simple life and to be able to support my family and raise my children in a safe, healthy environment. I detest war, the slaughtering of innocent people, corruption among world leaders and the greed that feeds them. I think Michael Jackson acts like a jackass. Are we so different?
I want to reach across the lands as one person to another person, transcend the conflict that divides us and give you a gift: my respect.
I was reading THE JEFFERSON MUZZLES the other day and it brought back a Dr. Phil quote from a couple years ago that has stuck with me, and it goes to the heart of secrecy.
The thing that protects our liberties and freedoms most of all is the free speech principles of the First Amendment, which is responsible for keeping the government out in the open for all to observe, and thereby keeping it honest. If the government is permitted to operate under a veil, then it will most certainly be corrupt. One of the underlying themes of our form of government is distrust. Maintain a healthy distrust for the government, because when you start to trust it to provide for you, it will take away from you. Freedoms, liberties and money.
But wait. That's already happening!
When a popular voice tells a lie, the passive majority among us will begin to promote it until it is perceived as the truth. Inundate sheep with manure long enough and they'll wallow in it.
Case in point: A recent poll indicated most people believed weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq and that the dictator had indeed been linked to the 9-11 terrorists. While facts showed otherwise, popular media, through vague and ambiguous "analysis",
propagated those perceptions.
Walter Cronkite was once quoted as saying, "The news is what I saw the
news is." That seemingly arrogant remark has been taken several steps
further by today's so-called news organizations. Just because you report
it, people do believe it. There are a growing number of
"analysts" who purport to be "journalists", and while news
and commentary were once divided, today, opinion-based content is pervasive in
popular media.
Diane Sawyer was on Letterman recently and she made a comment that everyone
should hear: "Journalists don't make commentaries." Thank you,
Diane!
"The Fox Commentary Channel" would be a much more fitting name for
Murdock's conservative media property. href="mailto:danny@radiowiseguys.com">What do you think?
How long will Clear Channel tolerate my style of broadcasting? When
will Mark Mays announce a zero-tolerance policy against the likes of me and my
standards? When will "href="http://www.greaseman.org/wp_19970515.html" target="_blank">Greaseman"
be heard in our market?
While the movie1 (and I know you know to
which I'm referring) and gay marriage2 dominate
the headlines, what isn't being covered? Mel Gibson was apparently try to
make a great movie, and I think he managed to do that. 1Opponents
of the film sound as though they want to hear themselves talk, and those who
favor it are quite passionate in their remarks. 2Regarding
Bush's assertion that a constitutional amendment is needed, the Federal
Government needs to get a life. Now can the media move on and begin
covering the news?
A neat party trick might make you smarter.
Increases or improvements in advanced mental functions might result from learning to juggle -- a revelation that is believed to lead to disease management, accoring to Arne May, who heads reasearch in this area at Germany's University of
Regensburg.
Mars rover 'Spirit' is in critical trouble.
NASA engineers think a hardware failure is the cause of malfunctions that cropped up this past week, which means the mission is terminated for all intents and purposes. Spirit's twin, 'Opportunity', is expected to land later today. It's unclear whether the second rover will suffer the same demise.
A new way to contribute to the presidential candidate of your choice.
Amazon.com rolled out a new feature Friday that collects campaign contributions of up to $200 for the candidates. As of this morning, Kerry received 1,699 bucks, Dean got 1,095 dollars and Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik earned 252 dollars.
A major hotel chain Offers Free Hi-Speed Internet Access in all its properties.
In a big step bound to put pressure on its rivals, Best Western International Inc. said Friday it would begin offering free high-speed Internet access in all 2,300 of its hotels in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Best Western is the first to implement the policy for all its hotels. In each of the hotels, at least 15 percent of the guest rooms will have high-speed Internet access. The company also plans to make wireless cards available for guests to connect in the hotels' public areas.
How to get the attention of a major software developer with your domain name.
Mike Rowe is a 17-year-old Canadian who caught the attention of Microsoft Corp.'s lawyers by registering www.mikerowesoft.com. Friday, he agreed to give up his Web site in exchange for training for certification on Microsoft's products, a subscription to Microsoft's developer program Web site, and an Xbox (news - web sites) video game console with games, as well as an invitation to bring his parents along for a visit to Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, headquarters for an annual technology fair. Microsoft will also set Mike up with a new web site and redirect traffic to it so the lucky kid won't lose any business.
Computer maker turned twenty yesterday (give or take a week).
Introduction of the first Macintosh came two decades ago this week. Happy Birthday!
File sharing software maker strikes back at the music & recording industry
According to Sharman Networks, a U.S. federal court has cleared the way for Kazaa to sue the entertainment industry for copyright infringement. In recent history, studios and recording companies have targeted Kazaa and other file sharing networks -- who are now accused of misusing Kazaa software to invade users' privacy and send corrupt files and threatening messages. TOO-SHAY! RIAA, says Sharman will have a very difficult time providing evidence to support their allegations.
Blogs heavily used presidential election campaigns
Such journals, known as blogs, may not be doing much to sway undecided voters, but analysts say they strongly impact the media, campaign consultants and activists.
"A blog's not going to have the same reach as a Washington Post or USA Today or an AP article," said Cameron Barrett, a longtime blogger now with Wesley Clark (news - web sites)'s campaign. "But it does have reach, and people consistently go to online blogs to find information that traditional media ignore."
Blogs are collections of links and ideas, usually frequently updated. Their most recent entries are on top, and readers can generally post comments. Blogs are increasingly popular, and the software behind them gets friendlier to use by the
day.
Please don't pass this onto your friends.
His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.
There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.
The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings.
An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.
"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."
"No, I can't accept payment for what I did", the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer.
At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.
"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked. "Yes," the farmer replied proudly.
"I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy.
If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of."
And that he did. Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.
Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.
What saved his life this time? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman?
Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.
I won't bore you with promises of happiness if you forward this to your friends. In fact, please don't!
This letter was forwarded to me, claiming to be the best ever chain
letter. You judge.
Hello, my name is Dan and I suffer from the guilt of not forwarding 50
billion chain letters sent to me by people who actually believe that if you send
them on, a poor 6-year-old girl in Arkansas with a breast on her forehead will
be able to raise enough money to have it removed before her redneck parents sell
her to a traveling freak show.
Do you honestly believe that Bill Gates is going to give you, and everyone to
whom you send this email, $1000? How stupid are we?
"Ooh, look here! If I scroll down this page and make a wish, I'll
get laid by a model I just happen to run into the next day!" Whoopee!
Maybe the evil chain letter leprechauns will come into my house and sodomize me
in my sleep for not continuing a chain letter that was started by Peter in 5 AD
and brought to this country by midget pilgrims on the Mayflower. Forget
them.
If you're going to forward something, at least send me something mildly
amusing. I've seen all the "send this to 10 of your closest friends, and
this poor, wretched excuse for a human being will somehow receive a nickel from
some omniscient being" letters about 90 times. I don't bloody care.
Show a little intelligence and think about what you're actually contributing
to by sending out these forwards. Chances are, it's our own unpopularity.
The point being, if you get some chain letter that's threatening to leave you
luckless for the rest of your life, delete it. If it's funny, send it
on. Don't piss people off by making them feel guilty about a leper in
Botswana with no teeth who has been tied to the ass of a dead elephant for
twenty seven years and whose only salvation is the five cents per letter he'll
receive if you forward this email.
Now forward this to everyone you know. Otherwise, tomorrow morning your
underwear will turn carnivorous and will consume your genitals.
Have a nice day.
P.S. Send me $100 for making you laugh!
