What are you gonna do, play with your prick for another 30 years? ... George Carlin
'Aliens could attack at any time' warns former MoD chief | the Daily Mail
Topic: Science
11:13 am EST, Nov 10, 2006
UFO sightings and alien visitors tend to be solely the reserve of sci-fi movies.
So when a former MoD chief warns that the country could be attacked by extraterrestrials at any time, you may be forgiven for feeling a little alarmed.
During his time as head of the Ministry of Defence UFO project, Nick Pope was persuaded into believing that other lifeforms may visit Earth and, more specifically, Britain.
"The consequences of getting this one wrong could be huge," he said.
"If you reported a UFO sighting now, I am absolutely sure that you would just get back a standard letter telling you not to worry. "Frankly we are wide open - if something does not behave like a conventional aircraft now, it will be ignored.
"The X-Files have been closed down." If these words had come from a sci-fi fanatic, they could be easily dismissed by cynics.
This morning is clearly taking on "news of the weird" theme...
Forget the terrorists... We got aliens to worry about!
the grand piano that props up my mortal remains... -
Topic: Health and Wellness
3:13 pm EST, Nov 8, 2006
Through the Guru, one can obtain The Knowledge. Through the Guru, the collective whole can find Peace and Happiness. Through the Guru, one can attend "Millenium '73," a three-day conference at the Houston Astrodome in which the Guru and his Holy Family would appear to lead his American sheep into fits of peaceful meditation and Christian-like stadium singing led by his brother's rock-n'-soul band Blue Aquarius. Through the Guru, one can attend a Knowledge Session to finally, if they are chosen to do so, Receive The Knowledge. And oh, the people, the desperate, desperate people, the people who panic when they may not Receive the Knowledge before their flight leaves Texas, the people who freak out when they touch something that the guru has touched, the people who cannot comprehend why it is that the Rest of America thinks they are all mislead crazies under the spell of a prankster.
It is said, in Lord of the Universe, that when the Guru was about to move to the United States from his home in India, barely an adolescent, it was requested of his followers that they send any "extra appliances" they may have to his new home on Long Island. Yes, God lives it up, with a big house and fancy cars (that I don't think he was able to drive yet?) and many gadgets. He's a rich guru, could ya believe it?
I couldn't even really explain the wealth found in Lord of the Universe. Seeing is believing. Thank god, the ex-Premies (followers) have created a site with video clips. See it for yourself. Rennie Davis and Abbie Hoffman both make appearances in the film, with Hoffman delivering the best (and most sense-making) line of the entire piece. While the outward intent of the film is to capture the 3-day Event in Houston, I personally found the film to be more of a criticism of desperation. The guru, he's just there, serving as the master of this bizarre three-ring circus.
A friend of mine wrote a great review of this documentary. Definitely worth watching (even for the opening theme alone).
Tesco condemned for selling pole dancing toy | the Daily Mail
Topic: Humor
2:15 pm EST, Oct 29, 2006
Tesco has been forced to remove a pole-dancing kit from the toys and games section of its website after it was accused of "destroying children's innocence".
The Tesco Direct site advertises the kit with the words, "Unleash the sex kitten inside...simply extend the Peekaboo pole inside the tube, slip on the sexy tunes and away you go!
While I'm not one of your constituents, your statements and actions often have an impact that reaches beyond your district. Yesterday you were quoted in several news media outlets as having called for the arrest of Christopher Soghoian, a PHD candidate at the University of Indiana Bloomington, because he created a web page that generates phoney airline boarding passes. As you are likely aware, your call was answered by the FBI who reportedly broke into Soghoian's house last night and seized all of his computer equipment.
I am a professional computer security researcher. I work for one of the worlds largest IT companies. My job involves finding vulnerabilities in software systems and getting them fixed. Responsible vendors are usually very responsive and willing to work with my team when we contact them with information about problems with their products. Through this process we are able to locate and repair vulnerabilities in IT infrastructure before the bad guys can find them and exploit them. However, there are always a few unsophisticated people who seek to shoot the messenger instead of dealing with the flaw.
Christopher Soghoian is one of the good guys. He is not a criminal and he is not enabling criminals. He did not create the vulnerability in the boarding pass screening process. This problem has existed for years, and it has been noted in other quarters, most recently by Sen. Chuck Schumer. However, the problem hasn't been fixed. Soghoian's website was intended to demonstrate how simple this is, and he has clearly and repeatedly stated that his intent in creating the site was to raise awareness about the problem so that it will be fixed. His website does not make this much easier than standard desktop publishing software available on anyone's personal computer.
Your call for his arrest, and the subsiquent events that have unfolded over the past 24 hours, have done serious harm to the national security of the United States. You could have simply contacted him, informed him of the legal problems that one could face for operating such a website, and discussed shutting it down. By choosing instead to prosecute him you are sending a message to security professionals in this country that if you observe a problem with national security policies or practices and make people aware of those problems in good faith so that they might be fixed, the government will treat you as an enemy and will prosecute you if possible. The inevitable result will be that people will hold their tongues, and problems will persist until they are discovered by someone who has malicious intent.
I strongly urge you to reconsider your position on this matter. The current course of action is not in the best interests of this country.
National Geographic often shows dual standards in the way it portrays women from different cultures. While they would never print a full-page picture of a topless 19 year-old Californian girl, they have no problems doing to with a native African woman. This practice has been called colonial and is, in a way, also censorship – although not made with black ink.
Pictures of western magazines censored by the Iranian government. I wonder how many copies of these come into the country and how many people they employ blacking out flesh?
