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589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | john, you are so funny. :) even though i don't completely understand what you meant about the raw data and the thermal imaging - science and such is not my thing so if someone could explain that for the scientifically illiterate, i would appreciate it. and for all of you people out there who hate the left, you'll be pleased to know that ben and i should be starting up our show again sometime in the next few months! and one of our main objectives of this program is to get whomever is running against bush elected. i mean we just hate bush. anyway, not all conservatives are bad - heck, my parents are republicans. and i do feel very sorry for rush - it's horrible for him and his family that he would have such a awful addiction. i do dislike al franken more after hearing reports of what he said. if he disagrees with rush on ideas, policy, etc, that is one thing but to celebrate when another fellow human being is suffering is reprehensible. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Ben - Honestly I did not read the entire article. When I started seeing where it was going with the tone of it being a Republican/republican conspiracy AND saw that I was maybe a third of the way through, I did stop reading. I tried to be clear that I was not attcking Ben Haley directly with my thoughts on the response to the 2000 elections by saying the collective you. I used your name just to make sure you saw it, since you posted the original article. I apolgize for the force of my reposne, but it set me off yesterday. I get a little tired of the 'corporations are evil' and 'corporations have the Republicans in their pockets' attitudes. Assuming for a moment that the second is true (which I do not agree with since most corporations grease the palms of just about any politician, regardless of party affiliation, to make sure they have access to power brokers), a corporation is going to do what it can to make sure it stays profitable. To assist with that, they need to be able to influence politicians. It is generally easier to influence someone to you point of view if they are already close to it to begin with. Conservitives tend to favor less taxes and less government than liberals. This fact automatically puts the corporations more towards the conservatives. The voting machines/software/hardware have to be made by someone. The entities that can most easily do it are corporations. Let's say for a second that a bunch of hackers got together and made some apparently good software. Should the software be mistrusted because the hackers tend to be less concerned with laws of society? Not if it works. Now, the whole restriction on who can review the raw data, uh-uh, that is bogus. I can see making the non-corporate personnel signing a non-disclosure agreement about whatever they see in the guts of the machine, but the integrity of the system has to come first. And not using the full capabilities of the software (thermal imaging to keep track of what part of the screen was touched), why bother having it if you are not going to use it. My main umbrage was the implied tone of the article that Republicans are pulling all these strings behind the scenes and that we are all evil bastards complicit in the grand conspiracy to make sure we are in control. I initially thought you sneaked a Salon.com article by me. I was a little shocked to see that someone in the UK would be that interested in our politics. Again, Ben, I apologize if you thought my response was directly aimed at you. I can see why you would think that (since I did use your name in my first sentence), but it really was not. Now, if you will please excuse me while I attend my weekly strategy meeting for keeping the masses under control.... |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | The truth of the matter is, moths are not from our world: among their kind there are tales of a faraway place of happiness and belonging -- a home to which they can return only through a legendary portal that hides deep within the center of flame. None may know which flame holds the gateway; but that does not deter many moth-dreamers who plunge bravely into flame after flame, hoping that this light will not bring scorching heat and painful death, but instant passage to a land of eternal dusk filled with tiny flittering wings and a million joyful hearts. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | the moth don't care if the flame is real. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | then i must admit that we are all very sexy people - good for us! |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Who says you woke up? |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | i had a dream that i bought a red bridesmaid dress for angie and johnathan's wedding. it was sexy but i was very embarassed by the snafu. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | iTunes and iPod work together to make a powerful, seamless, elegant music management system. As for the store, I've visited it only once. However, if it occurs to me to get a song, I would rather pay .99 for it than download it for free. I've just never felt comfortable getting free music. Can't explain why. Regardless, I love both the app and the device. The store is for me only a side item. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | In other news: Apple launches iTunes for Windows. Visit apple.com for details. ok, i'll bite - is anyone else in this group planning to buy songs from the apple site rather than just continue to download them for free from the p2p networks? c'mon, i know all of you have stolen your share of mp3s at this point; why stop now? the only users getting targetted by the RIAA are the ones sharing out the huge catalogs of songs. as innovative as this apple thing may appear, i'm hoping it's just a beta test for what's to come; namely: artists over the next few years allowing their contracts with the record companies to run out, and then start selling their music directly to the net from their own sites. now, *that's* the sort of music i would pay for - my $ would go straight to the band, not some musical megacorp that pushes us to buy overpriced crap product designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | God's Chosen Few, urlLink a-one and urlLink a-two |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Are they already smoking out back, shooting sullen glances your way? |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | man, i got me some cheesecake to get rid of. i've got 6 pieces left and they're going to go bad by sunday. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | oh, okay, you're talking about sting. yeah, i agree with you. definitely. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | i'm starting to feel slow - spell it out for me pump. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | something new ben? but what does it mean? |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | urlLink Acquired Situational Narcissism |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | back now. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | I was counting my blessings as I chowed down this year's Thanksgiving feast and I enumerated my friends here among them. Freaks. *shrug* |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | that's DUMBASTERISK, not asterisk. Earthling. *shrug*shrug*shrug*shrug*shrug*shrug*shrug*shrug* oh no, not again! *shrug*shrug*shrug*shrug*shrug*shrug* shoulders... hurting... from... repeated... indications... of... ambivalence! |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Headline of the day: 'Space station crew hears crunching noise' |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | That's an ASTERISK, not an apostrophe. Dumbass. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | *SHRUG* *SHRUG* *SHRUG* *SHRUG* *SHRUG* *SHRUG* *SHRUG* HELP! I CAN'T STOP TYPING THE WORD 'SHRUG' WITH AN APOSTROPHE AT EACH END! *SHRUG* *SHRUG* *SHRUG* *SHRUG* *SHRUG* *SHRUG* *SHRUG* oh, wait. yes i can. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | urlLink emancipation for secondary hard drives! |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Seen on a discussion board: MICROSOFT: Where do you want to go today? APPLE: Where do you want to go tomorrow? LINUX: Are you coming or what? |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Have at you, dead horse: yelahneb -- if the iPod topic interests you, click urlLink here for an ongoing discussion board. There is a link below the news item (as of this posting it read '74 comments) -- several pages of discussion. I use it mainly at work or connected to a stereo at home, so it's usually plugged into an outlet anyway. So as a user I may not be comparable to the campus-roaming users who rely on the battery daily for months on end. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | JLS: no you don't. you hate your iPod, and when the battery dies, so dies all hope. shrug all you wish; it will not save you. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | don't worry about yel, harmony, he's been pretty grouchy lately. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | From The Washington Post: Last year, China supplied 96 percent of the 10.7 tons of hair imported by the U.S. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Recent sidebar: The winner of a recent drinking contest in Russia downed three half-liter bottles of vodka in a half hour. He was sent home by taxi and died. Five runners-up landed in the emergency room. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | *shrugs* Mine works fine every day. Love it. Should the battery die, I'll pop off the back and install a new one. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | All batteries eventually die. The iPod battery is quite replaceable; various vendors are available online. You can do it yourself, or Apple can do it for you. Battery life, of course, depends on individual use. Owners of the original generation of iPods are doing fine on the boards. i just got off the phone with a representative at Apple. here's the story: up until literally a week ago (!), anyone whose internal iPod battery died had to pay (at the very least) $250.00 to have the unit serviced, regardless of what was wrong with it; which, of course, is almost as much as buying a new one (they run about 3, 4 and 5 hundred dollars each, depending on the GB). as you might have guessed, consumers weren't too happy with the cost, so Apple finally relented (as i said, just about 7 days ago), and began offering a 'battery exchange program' for those whose iPod batteries died. the cost of this service is $99.00, plus shipping and handling . to have your battery replaced, you are required to mail your iPod back to the company , and they may send a replacement unit back instead of your original, depending on their workload. the nationwide Apple stores cannot replace your battery, and according to the company, neither can the owner; the internal battery is not being offered for individual sale by Apple. a second option is to purchase Apple's 'iPod Protection Plan' for $59.00 . this will cover battery replacement for up to 2 years, but you must still send the iPod back to Apple for the same aforementioned service. after the 2 years of the plan are up, you're back to the $99.00 charge for battery replacement. despite the company's assertions to the contrary, however, there is a non-Apple site that you can buy a replacement iPod internal battery from: urlLink iPodbattery.com , for about $50 apiece. they even include online instructions on how to install it, for the urlLink old and urlLink new models. average life span of the iPod's internal battery, according to Apple: 1 year with heavy use, 2 years with light use. it's a brilliant marketing scheme; charge the consumer 3 to 5 hundred dollars for your initial product, and then another hundred bucks every 1-2 years after to keep it running. i gotta admire them for their chutzpah at the very least, especially with the competition undercutting them by about 50 bucks. perhaps they figure that the average consumer either won't know any better, or will be unwilling to install the battery themselves...? |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | I thought Nick's post was clear and well stated. As for my agreement regarding his take on the protest -- well, yes, I agree it was his take, since it was his protest, not mine, and those were his reasons. They seemed valid grievances to me. I don't really have a response to his suggestions, except they sounded like valid options for debate. And yes, there certainly are many things that can be done now -- that was my point. I was just wondering what others thought those should be, as most of what I hear in various media amounts to complaints rather than solutions. As for handing Iraq over to the UN -- sounds to me like a swift Islamic Fundamentalist state in the making. Which is what it wants to be, anyway. All choices being equal, an uninformed populace will take the path of least resistance. Either the UN's bureaucratic incompetence will set up a fast-track to that result, or the US will spend lots of money, resources, time, and lives on delaying it as long as possible. The choice, in my layman's opinion, seems not in the destination, which appears predetermined to me, but rather in the journey that gets us there. Note that I do not consider this fate permanent. It is merely this generation's path of least resistance. Revolutionary change takes generations to ripen. Until then, a populace will suffer any inhumanity in exchange for bread on the shelves and trains that run on time. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | All batteries eventually die. The iPod battery is quite replaceable; various vendors are available online. You can do it yourself, or Apple can do it for you. Battery life, of course, depends on individual use. Owners of the original generation of iPods are doing fine on the boards. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | this just in: the iPod's unreplaceable battery only lasts urlLink 18 months . see the link for some adbusters lettin' the people know... [UPDATE]- see more recent post, which addresses this issue; they are indeed replaceable, but at a cost... |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | JLS: in regards to the protests against Bush's visit to England, you said: 'A shame that 200,000 people organized themselves only to express anger. Such honest effort and energy expended to no end other than brief catharsis.' Nick responded to your conclusions. What did you think of his response? Do you agree with his take on the protest? OK, on to the 'Bush unwelcome'. I take the point that a Stop the War protest seems a little pointless about a war that's over, but a) it's not like we were protesting the Boer War or something; there's still shooting and air bombardment going on in Iraq; and b) that wasn't the point of the march anyway. It was from all kind of angles, but all focusing on Bush and the fact that the 200,000+ people there didn't want to be counted amongst a 'silent majority' welcoming him to Britain and, by extension, tacitly approving his various charming exploits, from Iraq through the clamp-down on civil liberties in the US to 'missile defense', the Kyoto protocol, his stance on the ICC (the International Criminal Court, not the online chess site), illegal holding of prisoners, including British citizens, at Guantanamo Bay and the little fact of his having seized power in the world's most powerful country and our most important ally, with a flagrant disregard for democracy. It was also a protest against Blair's offering up our country as 'the mother of all photo-ops' (not my phrase - comes from the ex-Foreign Secretary) to the incumbent during his re-election year. As the head of the Labour Party, it seems pretty perverse of our Prime Minister to grant such a PR boost to a pretty extreme Republican administration. You also said: 'I will repeat the question: What should be done *now*? Nick responded to this as well: he addressed concerns that people have from many countries, including the US, in regards to Bush's policies in Iraq; it is safe to say that any or all of these issues could and should be addressed immediately. What is your response to this? Beyond his list, aren't there a great many other things that can be done now, from changing our tactics in Iraq to overhauling our foreign policy in the middle east overall? 'Oh, yeah, and what to do about Iraq? Immediate moratorium on any contracts to multinational companies based in any of the invading powers, hand over control to the Arab League with a UN Resolution pledging aid to the restoration of democracy, and invaders to end occupation ASAP. But I'm just speaking off the top of my head.' Also, your posts regarding different 'what do i do with this flag?' scenarios were clever and hilarious; it helped point out the absurdity of the whole notion that you can make it illegal to burn or otherwise destroy a symbol, which by its very definition cannot truly be destroyed anyway. Because IT'S A SYMBOL, damnit, NOT the tangible thing that it represents! |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | harmony, are we having a game this sunday? |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | And now, a little bit of urlLink this and a little bit of urlLink that |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | My point is not that the Ten Commandments are old, but rather that they were traditionally authored by Yahweh, the god of the Hebrews in the Old Testament, and to refer to them as a starting point in our legal theory is to make inseperable our society's laws and the aforementioned deity. Such a link would be quite alarming to citizens who do not worship that particular god. Unlike many other countries, America is not a nation of culture, religion, or kin. It is a land of immigrants, regardless of who got here first. Any attempt to establish a connection to a single, unifying religious tradition immediately excludes hundreds, perhaps thousands, of others, and immediately weakens what I consider one of my country's strengths. The history of human thought is rich and vast, and is more than capable of providing all the justification necessary to hold a society, or a nation, together. I see no need to choose one artifact from one religion to serve as a back-up for already existing laws. It is every family's right to display that artifact -- any artifact -- in its own home, or, alternatively, in any private gathering place. Such an artifact can inspire as much or as little thought or dialogue as the private individual sees fit. But to place it in a government courthouse suggests, to me, that our laws and the god of the Old Testament are inexorably connected. And I just can't find a compelling historical, philosophical, or, for that matter, religious reason that it must be so. Note: My argument is focusing on the suggested *connection*; I do not feel the judge in question was directly prohibiting the exercise of any particular religion. Though I doubt he'd mind very much. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Nick - I'm not ignoring your post or your points, but I need sometime to make sure that my response is a cogent as your post. I don't agree with much of it, but it was a very good post. Time to get back to the grindstone. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. My non-legal interpretation It says Congress can't do it. Somewhere along the way that got put on the states as well (note that I am not proposing that states should be allowed to). Displaying an item in a public place is not making a law. Keep in mind that the writer's of the Bill of Rights had fresh memory of English rule where the Anglican Church was the government endorsed religion. I don't know what, if any, penalties were involved with practicing a different type of Christianity (or judaism or even worse, considering the English history with the Crusades, islam) or being an atheist. Perhaps Nick could shed some light on it? The part that always seems to be forgotten is where is says 'or prohibiting the free excercise thereof.' Going down the path we are heading, churches on major thoroughfares may not be allowed to display their crosses or Christmas nativities because it can be seen from a public street and might be interpreted as the government endorsing a religion by having a road travel right by the church? Ridiculous? Yes. But stranger things have happened - remember the woman who spilled hot coffee on herself and won millions of dollars from McDonald's in a lawsuit? Once the courts get involved, just about anything can happen. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | I was pretty sure that you were, but I wanted to see what was written about the subject. I was surprised to see that we had a US Flag Code as part of the actual US Code of Laws. Note that all of those items are shoulds not musts or wills . |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Johnathan - In one of your responses concerning the Ten Commandements, you stated (correctly) that you are not a 13th century BCE Hebrew, implying to me that you did not think that something proposed 3,300 years ago has no place in today's society because we have changed over time. I submit to you that we are not 4th century BCE Greeks, therefore the notion of the Republican form of government proposed by Plato (or at least written about by Plato) has no place in today's society. I may have my information incorrect on Plato, as I don't remember much ancient history, but the specifics are not that important to my point. Just because a concept is old does not mean it does not have modern relevance. Where do you draw the line? 3,000 years - there goes the Ten Commandments 2,000 years - there goes the Republican form of government 1,000 years - there goes the Magna Carta 500 years - I can't think of anything except for the discovery the New World. 200 years - there goes the US Constitution 100 years - there go workers/consumers rights (labor unions / Sherman Anti-Trust laws) |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Thanks for the post. I was indeed jesting, but was curious regardless. I found this part fascinating: 'The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing.' |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Does anyone know if the actor Steven Culp is the son of Robert Culp? He currently has three recurring roles on three different shows on three different networks (Clayton Webb on JAG; the Speaker of the House on the West Wing; the MACO major on Enterprise). I have seen him various parts over the past few years, but I am beginning to notice that he looks a little like Robert Culp. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | In somewhat of an answer to your question Johnathan (in case it was a serious question) 176. Respect for flag No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental colors, State flags, and organization or institutional flags are to be dipped as a mark of honor. (a) The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property. (b) The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise. (c) The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free. (d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker's desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in general. (e) The flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stored in such a manner as to permit it to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way. (f) The flag should never be used as a covering for a ceiling. (g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature. (h) The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything. (i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard. Advertising signs should not be fastened to a staff or halyard from which the flag is flown. (j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations. The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart. (k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning I do not think the Code has been modified to account for stickers and magnets. Note that the prefered way is through burning, just not in protest. I know that many VFW and Foreign Legion Posts hold ceremnonies each year to dispose of flags and that these do involve burning the flag during a somber ceremony. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Self observation: How curious, that when I am talking with my fellow citizens, I tend to doubt key elements of my government's foreign policy; yet when I encounter someone from another country who voices similar opinions, I bristle, and feel compelled to defend it. Regardless, thanks for sharing. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Then Santa will come, after all? God bless us, every one! |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | nick - you sound like a very intelligent guy - nice to have that represented on the blog. :) and i want you to know, i know of plenty of people, some of whom are on this blog, who enjoy gay sex in virginia multiple times a week, so don't worry about coming over to ole virginie. we like dem foreigny accents. heh heh. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | I liked the idea of that as an offence - maybe that could've been a way out of being burned as a witch. As a non-American blogger I've been a little reluctant to get involved in some of these discussions, particularly the bits about flags, but since I started it (the subject, not the flag-burning) I suppose I'd better say something. Firstly, I think that the idea of having a law against flag-burning is completely nuts. The moment you start according a symbol - any symbol - that kind of automatic reverence and protection, you've taken a small but important step towards totalitarianism. Symbols are kind of fickle - they don't a priori represent anything in themselves; it's what they are perceived as meaning or made to represent that's important. The flag may represent freedom to you, but that doesn't mean freedom is affected by burning it, any more than terror, torture, coersion and death vanish when it's burned by someone to whom it represents those things. It follows that you can't just argue against flag-burning by ascribing some meaning to the flag and saying that the flag-burner must dissapprove of this meaning. ' by doing so [burning the flag], they are saying to me that they do not like the lifestyle the US lets them lead. The lifestyle that allows them to burn the flag without being arrested or shot .' Couldn't they be saying just about anything about the US? Maybe they don't like the choice of milkshakes available there. It's a little unfair to assume that it's the positive things they don't like. And if they're really free to do it, why does taking advantage of that freedom in fact imply any protest at all? By that logic, having gay sex is a protest against a country that grants the freedom to indulge in it. I'm sure no-one would say, 'by having gay sex, they are saying to me that they do not like the lifestyle the US lets them lead - the lifestyle that allows them to have gay sex without being arrested or shot.' (This might be a bad example to anyone reading in Georgia*) That said, I think there are tactical reasons, as a protestor, to avoid burning flags - be they the Stars'n'Stripes, the Union Jack, the Tricolore or the Star of David - unless you're a citizen of the country that flag represents. Unless your point really is 'I hate all Americans/British/French/Jews', in any of which cases I'd really rather not be marching alongside you, that's the message you're going to put across to people in that country. I was pleased to note, on the march against Bush, that almost every banner and speaker was careful to differentiate between GWB and the population he claims to represent. I would have felt uncomfortable if someone had burned an American flag, because of the indiscriminate message that would put across to people watching in the US (Yeah, like it made the headlines). I have zero sentimental or political attachment to my country's flag, but I still feel if I see it burned overseas that I probably wouldn't be welcome at that particular party (unless it's one of those 'Hindus For The Abolition of Primary Colors' demonstrations - those guys are alright). OK, on to the 'Bush unwelcome'. I take the point that a Stop the War protest seems a little pointless about a war that's over, but a) it's not like we were protesting the Boer War or something; there's still shooting and air bombardment going on in Iraq; and b) that wasn't the point of the march anyway. It was from all kind of angles, but all focusing on Bush and the fact that the 200,000+ people there didn't want to be counted amongst a 'silent majority' welcoming him to Britain and, by extension, tacitly approving his various charming exploits, from Iraq through the clampdown on civil liberties in the US to 'missile defense', the Kyoto protocol, his stance on the ICC (the International Criminal Court, not the online chess site), illegal holding of prisoners, including British citizens, at Guantanamo Bay and the little fact of his having seized power in the world's most powerful country and our most important ally, with a flagrant disregard for democracy. It was also a protest against Blair's offering up our country as 'the mother of all photo-ops' (not my phrase - comes from the ex-Foreign Secretary) to the incumbent during his re-election year. As the head of the Labour Party, it seems pretty perverse of our Prime Minister to grant such a PR boost to a pretty extreme Republican administration. Oh, yeah, and what to do about Iraq? Immediate moratorium on any contracts to multinational companies based in any of the invading powers, hand over control to the Arab League with a UN Resolution pledging aid to the restoration of democracy, and invaders to end occupation ASAP. But I'm just speaking off the top of my head. Er, I'd better go. *or, Eva informs me, Virginia. Damn it, that's another Christmas tradition that I'll have to miss this year. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | john - i don't think the issue here is whether our laws have a judeo-christian origin or not. nor do i think that conservatives are desperate to educate the masses regarding common law. it is the intent, john, that is the problem. by having the ten commandments displayed, it is promoting a particular religion - that being christianity - if you saw a copy of a section of the koran everwhere, you could believe that religion was being promoted. the u.s. government is not supposed to endorse any religion - |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | One can only hope that the debunking from AICN towards the bottom of this posting is true. My apologies in advance for the lengthy copy/paste. From Dark Horizons: ****** ...We've heard about Lucas yet again making changes to the original trilogy to update it. Til now most of the rumours have been about adding additional elements like more in regards to Alderaan before its destruction and so on. The gossip reached fever pitch earlier today over the Internet but now it seems the whole fiasco has been defused. Here's the story. First up the rumours that emerged over at The Digital Bits yesterday: 'These changes include new special effects, revised and updated shots and scenes, and new footage shot with actors Hayden Christensen (Anakin) and Ian McDiarmid (the Emperor) that would flesh out moments with their characters in the original films. For example, an aged and scarred Hayden now appears as Anakin at the end of Return of the Jedi when Luke removes Vader's helmet. Among the other changes reportedly being made are the restoration of the original 'Han shoots first' moment from Star Wars and a revamped lightsaber fight between Obi-Wan and Vader. What we've heard meshes with what we've been told before, which is that Lucas has always planned to release ultimate, 'Archive' editions of these films that tie in better with the new prequels. The main question in our minds now is this: will these changes be completed in time to appear on the DVD releases planned for next September, or will we have to wait until after Episode III hits theaters to see them? And if we have to wait, what versions will appear on the DVDs? Time will tell'. That wasn't the only site with talk of it. TheForce.Net posted an extensive list of all the apparent rumoured changes in order for the original trilogy - 22 for 'A New Hope', 10 for 'Empire' and 14 for 'Jedi'. Amongst musical cue differences and improved lightsaber and spaceship effects there's some big changes here: 'A New Hope' - A new scene which has been shot during the filming of Episode III in which the Emperor dissolves the Senate. - The bleeding arm on the floor in the Cantina has been replaced with a non-bleeding arm because it's now canon that lightsabers cauterize wounds - The original Han/Greedo shooting scene has been restored - When the Death Star destroys Alderaan there's a new scene of Yoda's reaction to the disturbance in the Force that is created by all those deaths and then it cuts to Obi-Wan reacting to it as well - Temuera Morrison's voice is being recorded for use with all the stormtroopers - The Obi-Wan/Vader duel has been spruced up. It is much more epic and there is much more movement. A modified version of Duel of the Fates is being considered for the scene - There's a new scene (shot during Episode III) where Darth Vader goes to Coruscant and lands his ship in the same building Count Dooku does at the end of Attack of the Clones. Except now the building is all fixed up and it is now Palpatine's palace. He meets with Palpatine to ask for forgiveness for his failure and inform him of a new potential who is strong in the Force 'Empire Strikes Back' - Tom-Toms are now CG, the Hoth battle is much more extensive. - Temuera Morrison's voice is being recorded for the older Boba Fett and all the stormtroopers - Ian McDiarmid has refilmed scenes as the Emperor. The conversations between Vader and Palpatine is now longer and features a few connections to the prequels - Yoda's face is now animated in CG allowing more expression of emotions yet his movements remain the same. Also two deleted scenes featuring Yoda instructing Luke have been restored - A new scene was shot in which the stormtroopers, after they capture Han, Leia and Chewie, bring Vader the box containing C-3PO in pieces. Vader orders the stormtroopers to bring the broken droid to Chewbacca's cell so that he can fix him 'Return of the Jedi' - Jabba, Yoda & the Ewoks are now mostly CG. - In the battle of Endor there are thousands of Ewoks and they are more vicious than there midgets-in-suits counterparts. More bite the dust now. - Palpatine's face has gotten a CG lift, the black blotches removed - Sebastion Shaw who played Anakin when he was unmasked has been replaced with Hayden Christenson in make-up to make him look older. Anakin has much more dialogue. He apologizes for the destruction he caused, he thanks his son for turning him back to the light, he tells his son to rebuild the Jedi and he says he loves him and his sister. Just before he dies he says, 'It is finished...'. - We see more planets celebrating at the end of the movie. We see an aged Jar Jar, who is now the leader of the Gungans, on Naboo celebrating with the people of Naboo and the Gungans. We see an old Watto, who is now unable to fly, sitting in a hover chair cheering on Tatooine. During these scenes Across the Stars plays transitioning to the victory celebration music at the Ewok tree village. - Anakin's spirit is now played by Hayden Christenson with make-up to make him look his age. He looks on proudly at his son Luke with the spirit of Padme by his side The full list can be found here, there's also talk that 'Episode I' will also get a revamp of some sort. Just a few hours ago though, another site has weighed in - none other than AICN who calls the whole thing an utter fabrication. Here's ' Moriarty': 'I'm going to have to call this one out as being total nonsense. This exact word for word list ran as a talkback by a guy named 'Donnie Darko' several weeks ago, and that's not the first time I've seen it show up. Yes, Lucas is working on Archival Editions of the films, despite his continued denial of it in public, like at a UCLA appearance this week. Yes, there are some dramatic things they're trying. But this fanboy wish list is just not true. And the films that are coming out on DVD next fall are the Special Editions you've seen already. The ones released in '97. No changes. Nothing done to them' |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | I have flag sticker in my cube that was left behind by the previous occupant. Can someone recommend the appropriate way to dispose of this sticker, should I decide to remove it? Please note that I would be removing the sticker merely for aesthetic reasons, and not in any kind of protest. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | The Ten Commandments are the product of a 13th century BCE religion and culture, regardless of the message, and to place them on government property suggests that we should accept the deity Yahweh, or Jehovah, as our single, original source of law. As for what is wrong with telling people not to kill, to respect their parents, etc.: nothing. But what is curious is the need to enhance the already strong argument with the physical presence of the Ten Commandments, which, if one is to take them as merely wise suggestions rather than the direct prescriptives of Yahweh, have no more weight than what anyone else recommends anyway. The only way that words gain weight, or importance, beyond their inherent meaning, is in either how they are used, or who uses them. The Ten Commandments, traditionally, come directly from Yahweh through Moses. Take away that connection, and they have no more weight than any other wisdom. Are our society's laws so dodgy that we need to back them up with a direct line to the Creator of the universe? My goodness, but that's an alarming prospect. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Yeah, but then you would have laws passed against attempted flag burning and impersonating a flag (TIC) |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Johnathan - Who said anything about a theocracy? Would the commandments be better accepted if the one about honor no other God before me (or something to that effect) was not listed? What is wrong with telling people to not kill one another, respect their parents, don't steal, don't bear false witness against your neighbor, and don't cover your neighbor's possessions? I seem to recall that most states have laws against taking another's life (except for the State itself with capital punishment). Of course, if people did not kill others, then the need for capital punishment would be greatly reduced. Any, the principles expressed in the commandments sound like pretty good fundamentals to live by to me, and totally non-religious in nature if you ignore where they supposedly came from. Eva - My point with the statues is what point was toppling a statue of Bush supposed to prove? I really doubt that anyone in the US will be convinced not to vote for Bush because the people in another country don't like him. Anyone who considers the actions of the protestors in deciding not to vote for Bush will probably have already decided not to based on many other factors. As for France and Germany, why would they care if you toppled statues or burned their leaders in effigy? I'm sure 90%+ of their citizens could care less what we in the US think of their leaders. All I'm saying is that the reverse is true. (P.S. Thanks for the trivia information on French Fries. Don't blame me for someone way back thinking that Flemish Fries did not have the same ring.) If the British don't like the way their PM is buddying up to the US/Bush, then they should do whatever is necessary under the procedures of Parliament to bring down the government. If the British Parliament is anything like Israel's or Italy's procedurally, then it should not be difficult. The British protesting our President accomplishes nothing productive. We are not going to impeach our President because he is unpopular in England. The last time I checked, we won a war 222 years ago so that we would not have to take orders from them. Ben - I don't quite understand the difference between how you typed the one sentence (Free speech just does not apply...) compared to what I typed. To me they say the same thing. Then again, my degree is in engineering not english. The point I was trying to make was regardless of the standard that is set for the definition of free speech, it must be applied universally to the socially acceptable topics (Civil rights) and the socially unacceptable topics (white supremacy). Burning things in peoples yards (i.e. burning a cross in a black family's yard) is not freedom of speech, but a form of intimidation (and probably terrorism under the Patriot Act). But, a bunch of guys in a farmer's field, with his permission, burning a cross and spouting their hate speech must be accepted as freedom of speech IF we are going to say that burning the flag is. If a law is passed to make burning the flag illegal, then doing so is no longer a question social acceptability/unacceptability, but strictly legal versus illegal. If someone, right now, were to burn a flag in front of me, I would not try to have them arrested because he has not violated any law. What I am saying is that I think that there should be a law against it. For my part, when I see someone burning a flag in protest, even if I might have been supportive of their cause previously, they have lost my support, and may have even pushed me to be against it depending on what their cause is. Johnathan - Somewhere back aways, you were asking about other ways of defiling the flag, I think. When a flag gets old or tattered, there are ceremonies to cover properly destroying the flag. Under standard flag etiquette, the flag that was on top of the WTC should have been destroyed long ago, but it has now become a different type of symbol all together. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Perhaps one could create a cloth flag that lacks one stripe, or several stars, and set *that* on fire. It would kind of *look* like the flag, but not really *be* the flag, thus keeping all true flags safe. One could even market it as the Safe Protest Flag, and sell it at convenience stores. Or, one could perform a 'Flag Threatening,' in which a protestor holds a flag *close* to an open flame, but does not catch it on fire, thus conveying one's emotion without actual destruction of the object. Perhaps the apprehension an observer might feel watching such an act would yield the same impact as actual destruction. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | john: ok, i'm going to pick on you now. i'm sure you're worried. :) concerning the legality of burning the american flag, you said: ' Burning the flag pisses alot of Americans off. However, it does not bother me as much to see foreigners do it in foreign countrys[sic]. It does bother me to see protestors in the US do it, because by doing so, they are saying to me that they do not like the lifestyle the US lets them lead. The lifestyle that allows them to burn the flag without being arrested or shot. ' i have no problem with that; you have every right to be pissed off, just as the protestors have every right to piss you off. onward; you also said: ' Flag Burning - I think it should be illegal. As I said before, it is extremely ironic that people will chose to burn the symbol of the country that allows them protest peacefully without getting thrown in jail or worse. ' the irony is interesting, and somewhat intentional, no doubt; but more importantly, the act of burning the flag identifies the protest in question as a serious one, garnering the attention of the public that the protestors are looking for in regards to their cause. it shows people that they're mad about what our country is doing - so mad, in fact, that they feel like burning their own flag. ' People will say that burning the flag is an expression of free speech. Hog wash. If burning something is free speech, then the KKK cannot be prosecuted for burning crosses as a symbol of what they believe. Free speech does not just apply to the things that are considered socially acceptable. ' assuming you meant to type ' Free speech [just] does not apply to the things that are considered socially acceptable ', tell me, then, if this is what you're saying: that americans who burn the american flag in a show of protest against US policies should be arrested, because it is socially unacceptable for them to do so, considering they're citizens of a country that lets them protest without being arrested. the definition of what is 'socially acceptable' is just a vague as the definition of 'free speech'; more so, in some cases, given the fact that social standards differ from person to person, city to city, culture to culture... even within the US. i would daresay that infringing on the rights of others in regards to their own individual pursuit of life, liberty and happiness is unacceptable. that means i shouldn't be allowed to burn anything on your personal property without your express permission, whether it's a flag or a cross. doing so on public property, though, is another matter entirely. that means that *any* group, whether it's white supremisists or dirty hippies, has the right to express themselves in whatever way they see fit, provided their actions do not infringe on the rights of others. this rule means i could be exposed to plenty of activities and ideas i'm not happy with; but if i am certain of my convictions, they will be made all the stronger via the comparision. furthermore, ridiculous ideas and beliefs tend to get stronger if repressed, not weaker. better to let everything out into the light of day; after a day or so, you'll be able to distinguish between the profound and the poop, via the smell, if you take my meaning. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | I will repeat the question: What should be done *now*? A shame that 200,000 people organized themselves only to express anger. Such honest effort and energy expended to no end other than brief catharsis. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | The protest wasn't against the war. Where the hell did you guys hear that? It was against Bush visting England. People here are incredibly angry at him and they didn't want the US media to have a nice photo-op moment showing how loved Bush is in England, America's best friend. And the march slogan was simple: 'Go home Bush!' The protest was awesome! Over 200,000 people were there. I think that we got the point across that Bush is not welcome here. By the way, why on Earth would you topple down statues of Chirac and Schroeder? For not siding with the US in an illegal invasion of a country? Were you too busy eating Freedom Fries to realize that countries have the freedom not to side with the US when it does bad things? (On a side note, 'French' fries were actually invented in Belgium.) |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | this is just urlLink pathetic - http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/031120/482/rs10811202309 |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Meanwhile, this headline from CNN: 'Police await Michael Jackson's surrender' How does one catch a Smooth Criminal? |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Does any country know how to solve complex problems? It seems analogous to hoping that a single wave will reshape a coastline. Change occurs over long periods of time, according to the effects of many disparate forces, each acting separately and often without any awareness of the other. The best anyone can hope for is to be one of those myriad disparate forces. A human lifetime is too short a span to allow for complete understanding of long-term change. My fear is for movements that lack proper perspective. How many of us recall one isolated incident with our parents that redirected our entire lives for the worse, in some way, leaving a permanent scar? Yet at that moment, the parent perceived that the action was warranted and appropriate. It seems to me that wisdom begins with perspective. And perspective is what the current anti-war movement seems to lack. A shame, really, because the forces they are protesting -- the hawks of the right -- seem to me, to lack perspective themselves. Us and Them, targeting issues and each other, firing wide, missing the mark, perpetuating the illusion of dialogue, while History does its own thing in the middle of it all, heedless of the sound and fury. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | a pause in the current discussion; then, please continue: The urlLink Richmond Indigenous Gourd Orchestra , containing some alumni and friends of the Ululating Mummies, is playing urlLink Ashland Coffee & Tea on November 28th at 8pm (that's the day after thanksgiving). should be a good time, so come and get your native on for a mere $5; 'paleolithic lounge music' awaits you. the aforementioned urlLink venue appears to sell tickets online for the shows, though the R.I.G.O. is not listed at this time. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | i agree with you johnathan - it does seem silly to protest a war that has happened and what exactly is the message now that we couldn't really leave without causing more chaos than before. (ie, afghanistan) i believe one of the major problems with protests at this point is that there is no clear message that can be chanted as you march. like, 'we didn't want this war in the first place, even though saddam was a horrible dictator, but there are horrible dictators across the globe, but now we hope for democracy, but that doesn't seem to be happening, and how can we afford this with so many domestic issues, and i need a slurpee because my throat is sore from so much chanting' it's an issue that cannot be solved by slogans or 10 second sound-bites. which is scary - because i don't know if this country knows how to solve complex problems - |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | I am not a 13th century BCE Hebrew. Nor do I wish to be a citizen of a theocracy. The notion that humans require a deity to identify and enforce ethical behavior is absurd. Also, note that democracy emerged from pagans, not from Hebrews. If one shouldn't burn the flag, can one burn a copy of the Constitution? Or the Declaration of Independence? Should one not throw a flag away? How about cutting it? Or placing it in acid? Should one not discard it out the window of a car? Should one not draw on it? What if I draw on a painting of a flag? Is a painting a flag? Or is it only cloth? Does plastic count? Does it have to be a rectangle? What of flag bookmarks? Flag shot glasses? Flag shirts, socks, hats? What if I am angered by the discovery of something horrible that my country sanctioned, and I want to remove the flag sticker from my car -- should I wait until I've calmed down, so the act of disposing of the flag sticker won't be soiled by my mood at the time? Here's a quandary: All the people protesting in Great Britain today are encouraging those who committed the latest bombings in Turkey. *Even* if they honestly don't think they're doing so! Conundrum Corner indeed! yelahneb: If Iraqis feel that they can bicker amongst themselves, but if someone tells them what to do, they want none of it. In America, that feeling is a source of pride. Yet we disregard Iraqis who feel that way. Ironic, no? The current anti-war movement lacks focus, and has not yet produced a clear thesis. I realize it *thinks* it has, and I acknowledge the thrill and glee of joining a movement, however vague its nature -- but I have yet to hear a clear, compelling manifesto. Which is a shame, because for all the effort it takes to make and topple a statue, it means nothing without a meaningful message. I'm sold on the fad, but not the thinking. A question to the Left: Assuming that you are correct, that the war was misguided (and I am inclined to agree, to a point), what will it take for the 'movement' to move into the present situation? Protesting a war that has already happened seems rather silly. What is the goal -- to get a leader elected who will pull everything *out* of Iraq immediately? Surely it would be clear to a careful observer that the resulting vacuum would be even worse. Given that -- what is the *present* strategy of the Left? What should be done with the *current* situation? A complete pullout? Half? What, exactly? Assuming the war was wrong -- what should be done *now*? Assuming our election was a fraud -- what should be done *now*? Protesting occurs in the present. Once the protested event is past, the act becomes whining. An unfortunate, but honest truth. What do we do *now*? -- Nonaffiliated But Engaged in Virginia |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | What? Am I, as your soon-to-be-wife, not considered a fellow blogger? I know who Michael Kamen is, monkey...I remember him not only from his film scores, but from that great performance of 'Dream On' he did with Aerosmith for MTV's tenth anniversary special. 'Twas keen. Sad am I that he is gone. John, urlLink here is a list of movies he's scored. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Johnathan - Sadly, I don't recognize the name. What moves did he score? Mir - I wouldn't necessarily classify you as a flaming liberal, but there is definitely some smoke rising around you. Ben - Do you want pictures of the statue or of the nudists? Speaking of the statue, do the protestors see how silly it is? Bush is not being toppled, Sadaam was. If Bush loses the election next November, he will still be President for another 14 months. And, he won't be a hunted man in his own country. Hey, maybe we should hold a protest over here and topple statues of Chirac and Schroeder! Yeah, that will show the French and Germans! |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Flag Burning - I think it should be illegal. As I said before, it is extremely ironic that people will chose to burn the symbol of the country that allows them protest peacefully without getting thrown in jail or worse. People will say that burning the flag is an expression of free speech. Hog wash. If burning something is free speech, then the KKK cannot be prosecuted for burning crosses as a symbol of what they believe. Free speech does not just apply to the things that are considered socially acceptable. The Ten Commandments - Given that every judge puts his hand on a bible and swears to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America to the best of their ability without reservation or purpose of evasion, so help me God and that all witnesses swear on a bible to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God , I don't see where the disconnect is. Additionally, can anyone say that if we as a nation were to live by the Ten Commandments, that the we would be worse off? |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | the image created in my mind from the last bit got me: 'Home Secretary David Blunkett has refused to grant diplomatic immunity to armed American special agents and snipers travelling to Britain as part of President Bush's entourage this week. In the case of the accidental shooting of a protester, the Americans in Bush's protection squad will face justice in a British court as would any other visitor, the Home Office has confirmed. The issue of immunity is one of a series of extraordinary US demands turned down by Ministers and Downing Street during preparations for the Bush visit. Demands for the US air force to patrol above London with fighter aircraft and Black Hawk helicopters have also been turned down.' |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | JLS: feel what way, specifically? nick and eva: interesting about the statue bit; excellent street theater. makes me flash upon the cover of Moore's latest book. send pics please! btw, did you catch the protest staged by the nudists? mir: what did the indians say in response to your suggestion? john: a side thought, but i'm curious - what's your take on the legality of the burning of the american flag? for that matter, what are everyone's thoughts on the presence of the ten commandments in government buildings? |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Film composer Michael Kamen died of a heart attack recently. John may be the only other blogger who recognizes the name. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | I wonder if Iraqis feel this way. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | a short story to prove john's point - and in case you don't know nick, i'm a flaming liberal (at least for virginia)and john is a staunch conservative. (in a moderate kind of way) i was out having dinner with some friends and two exchange students from india. we were chatting about politics and i started to go on some rant about something or the other and one of the exchange students started going on about how yeah, america was such a international bully, destroying the planet, didn't know how to take care of its own people and so on - all of which i agree with - however, hearing it from her - someone who voluntarily came to my country to take advantage of the educational opportunities just infurirated me. i told her that if she hated the country that much then i'm sure a plane was leaving for india sometime soon and she should just go catch it. listen, this country tries me nuts - but hell, it's my country and i don't need no mouthin' off from somebody who isn't even a citizen. and yes, i know that is a narrow-minded point of view - but it is what i believed in that moment and what most americans believe. i support the british protesting a president i can't stand but i seriously don't think anything will change as a result of it. until we in this country get together and start actively protesting this man will things change. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Think of it as a family for a second. My father has 2 sisters and 1 brother. They bicker and argue with each other quite a bit (at least they did when they were younger). But, if someone outside the family, even one of the spouses of the four siblings, were to say something derogatory about one of them, the other three will circle the wagons and defend the other, even if what was said was true or something that one of them had said before. That is the way it is here. We can bicker amongst ourselves, bitch about the government, and even leave the country for a change, but if someone outside of here tells us we need to change or attacks us (verbally or physically), we will tell you in no uncertain words to go f*** yourself. Burning the flag pisses alot of Americans off. However, it does not bother me as much to see foreigners do it in foreign countrys. It does bother me to see protestors in the US do it, because by doing so, they are saying to me that they do not like the lifestyle the US lets them lead. The lifestyle that allows them to burn the flag without being arrested or shot. As for the security issue, the same NBC report said that security was already higher than normal because of some intelligence indicating a possible Al Queda attack. They actually had some British official discussing that briefly in the report. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | i agree with eva - the burning of the american flag will just turn people against your cause. i would say, the best way to protest, is to not be violent or threatening - but rather peaceful, with a good solid message. but most of all - don't say or insinuate that americans are stupid. even americans who say americans are stupid don't want to hear from another country. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | As I type, Mr Bush is having tea with the Queen a few miles away. It must be strange for him, spending time with someone who's head of state even though they weren't elected, just because of who their family is. The security crackdown here is unbelievable. I read in yesterday's newspaper that 1 in 9 policemen, nationwide, is involved in the security operation surrounding Bush. Half the police in all of London, too, apparently. If I weren't marching tomorrow, I think I'd carry out a few burglaries as far from George as possible. Eva and I have been talking about ways of protesting Bush while making it difficult for the media to portray it as mindless 'anti-Americanism', which is an accusation Blair has made, predictably. Any ideas? Richard Dawkins said he wanted to see a burning American flag behind Bush in every shot, but Eva thinks this'll just look threatening to people in the US, and I can see her point. Oh, and I think most of the protestors will be from the UK, but there'll be be some from elsewhere, including plenty from the US, if experience serves. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | They are expecting between 60,000-100,000 people at the protest tomorrow in London. Nick and I will be there. At the end of the march, they are going to be knocking down a 6 meter statue of George Bush. Toppling over statues seems to be symbolic in the US media as the end of a regime, so I think it is very appropriate. I came here to get away from George. He followed me to St. Petersburg when I was living there and now he's followed me to England. He needs to stop sweatin' me. I mean, I know that I'm super cool and all, but damn! |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | NBC news this morning was reporting that the British were expecting 100,000 protestors during President Bush's visit. They were a little vague leading up to that statement, talking about Bush's general unpopularity in Europe and something about a large (no percentage given) portion of the population supporting Bush. On a sidenote, I just about fainted when an AIDS activist was complimentary of the Presidents record on AIDS - has hell started to freeze? Anyway, my question is simple. Are the 100,000 protestors from the UK or are they from all over western Europe? |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | meanwhile, in urlLink this madman's world... SALEM, Ore. - A gun-toting man traveling on a tricycle allegedly tried to hijack a car in Salem, in what police there termed a 'bizarre' incident. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | okay, peoples, i need a job |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | they really do urlLink hate us |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | well, urlLink here we go. from his inaugural speech: 'Schwarzenegger urlLink quoted President John F. Kennedy -- the slain uncle of his wife, Maria Shriver -- calling himself 'an idealist without illusions.' But he also invoked both former President Ronald Reagan and the framers of the Constitution, who faced a deep crisis when they met in Philadelphia in 1787. 'The dream of a new nation was falling apart,' Schwarzenegger said. 'Events were spiraling downward. Divisions were deep -- merchant against farmer, big states against small, north against south. Our founding fathers knew that the fate of the union was in their hands, just as the fate of California is in our hands.' But those delegates in Philadelphia produced what he called 'the miracle of Philadelphia.' |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Reference previous posts. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | what's up withyou and staplers? |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | 'Over the past month, I've managed to convert my sleep cycles to something called the Uberman's sleep schedule. The end result is that urlLink I am sleeping roughly three hours a day . How did I do it? Is it safe?' |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Some staplers are terrorists. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | some women are idiots. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Some Women Are Going Under the Knife to Fit Into Sexy Stilettos 'I will generally suggest a urlLink surgical procedure to shorten the toes a bit,' says Dr. Suzanne Levine, a Park Avenue podiatrist. 'Take some of the bone out.' |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | RTG - check your email! (Sunday morn) |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | okay, ben, i spent way too much time playing with that. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | here's a urlLink fun one : type some words into this engine, and it will sing them back to you with samples from several hundred pre-existing songs. the database of words is far from complete, but if you keep it simple, you will be rewarded handsomely. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | come on here the noise, girls rocks your toys |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Staplers are terrorists. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | you like staplers? i never knew. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Ben! Uninvite Nick! We usually get on the internet at the same time and he gets to post something witty and interesting, and then I read it and can't think of anything to say in response. How the hell am I suposed to look smart if someone who's more articulate than me always posts something right before I do. I feel like the most intelligent thing I can say is, 'I agree with Nick. Oh, and I like staplers.' Not that I think that I've really ever had anything interesting to say, but now my illusion is shattered! It's not fair! |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | Just read urlLink that Village Voice article . Scary - I understand that similar legislation was proposed Europe-wide. Maybe it even went through. The definition they give for terrorists is pretty loose, don't you think? To whit: 'any association, organization, entity, coalition, or combination of two or more persons with the primary or incidental purpose of supporting any politically motivated activity through intimidation, coercion, fear, or other means'- which, pared down, could include pretty much anyone with an opinion, couldn't it? I mean, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney are a 'combination of two or more persons with the primary or incidental purpose of supporting any politically motivated activity' - and I'll bet they mean to achieve their nefarious ends 'through intimidation, coercion, fear, or other means'... Mainly because 'other means' includes absolutely everything. I'm going to call that 800 number and report them. Then I'm going to throw paint on some gerbils for wearing fur and send off some hate mail to Indonesian kids for using Nike products. Oh, and Eva says she'll post a picture when she oh look, a squirrel! Sometimes I think she has some kind of attention deficimy foot is itching. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | this week's bob the angry flower is actually pretty funny. |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | I just learned of this myself and oddly enough from someone at work that does not even play the game. Unfortunely the news that Ben posted is about the most I know. I just know I have yet to see one. Though not surprising since it is only two out of thousands of players. Still fun to play!!! Just do not hgave the time to putthat much effort in to it. Oh well! |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | what you do with your tricks is your business |
589,736 | male | 35 | Technology | Aries | 05,August,2004 | why do some people like to ride you around like you're some trick pony? |
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