August 31, 2005
Joke
[image from google]
The US Postal Service has created a stamp with a
picture of President George W. Bush to honor his first
term achievements. In daily use it has been shown that
the stamp is not sticking to envelopes. This has
enraged the President, who demanded a full
investigation.
After a month of testing, a special presidential
commission has made the following findings:
1) The stamp is in perfect order.
2) There is nothing wrong with the applied adhesive.
3) People are spitting on the wrong side
~An adaptation of a joke from the old Soviet Union?
Immigration Hearing Set for Accused Anti-Castro Terrorist
At issue in the hearing is whether the one-time CIA operative should be granted asylum in the United States despite requests by the Venezuelan government that he be deported to that country.
Venezuelan officials have alleged that Posada, an ex-Venezuelan security official, was in Caracas when he plotted the deadly 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner that crashed off the coast of Barbados, killing 73 people.
CIA documents also show the spy agency trained Posada in 1961 to participate in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. Immigration Judge William Abbott last month asked lawyers in the case to prepare briefs on whether the invasion was a terrorist act.
The judge said he would also consider whether Posada had ever provided material support for acts of terror as part of the case.
Posada's lawyers have said he did not participate in the failed attempt to topple Fidel Castro's communist government.
Posada's detention and the ongoing court proceedings have sparked international outrage, with governments from Cuba to South America demanding his deportation so he can be tried in the bombing.
~Chicken came home to roost? And most likely for some Miami area medical expertise.
What's the odds on Posada dying in a Venezuelan jail awaiting trial as a terrorist?
The Shrub is gonna allow Immigration to label this life-long anti-Castro "freedom fighter" a terrorist; hand him over to Venezuela(!) for a BIG trial and spit in big-brother Jeb's Cuban-constituents' faces? Enquiring minds want to know!
Asylum-seeking accused terrorist Luis Posada
[photo via google]
~He doesn't look like a mass-murderer. Where's his beard?
August 30, 2005
Abu Ghraib General Karpinski's Interview
Karpinski says she did not know about the torture occurring in Cellblocks 1-A and 1-B at Abu Ghraib because it took place at night. She didn't live at Abu Ghraib, and nobody was permitted to travel at night due to the dangerous road conditions. The first she heard about the torture was on January 12, 2004. She was never allowed to speak to the people who had worked on the night shift. She "was told by Colonel Warren, the JAG officer for General Sanchez, that they weren't assigned to me, that they were not under my control, and I really had no right to see them."
When Karpinski inquired, "What's this about photographs?" the sergeant replied, "Ma'am, we've heard something about photographs, but I have no idea. Nobody has any details, and Ma'am, if anybody knows, nobody is talking." When Karpinski asked to see the log books, the sergeant told her that the Criminal Investigation Division had taken everything except for something on a pole outside the little office they were using.
"It was a memorandum signed by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, authorizing a short list, maybe 6 or 8 techniques: use of dogs; stress positions; loud music; deprivation of food; keeping the lights on, those kinds of things," Karpinski said. "And then a handwritten message over to the side that appeared to be the same handwriting as the signature, and that signature was Secretary Rumsfeld's. And it said, 'Make sure this happens' with two exclamation points.
article by Marjorie Cohn | truthout
~From Unknown News: "there's no doubt this is important. This interview with one-time Brigadier General Janis Karpinski is yet another smoking gun.
Karpinski is now a Corporal, busted in rank and retired, so the traditional smearing has already been done."
[Cieciel] One might wonder if the World Court at Hague will be using General Karpinski's book to build a case against those 'bad apples' that have so far avoided prosecution?
[abu ghraib photo: google\ not with interview]
Hurricane News
Katrina Takes Local Family On $3,700 Ride
GLENCOE, Ill. -- Tens of thousands of people left the Gulf Coast in the last 24 hours to escape the fury of hurricane Katrina.
(A)...Glencoe family escaped in a Chevy suburban limousine...(after)...negotiating a price of $3,700 for their very long limo ride...their pricey escape definitely got them out of harm's way.
Marine Life Dolphins Moved to Hotel Pool
GULFPORT, Miss. -- There were three unusual guests at one Gulfport hotel Sunday. Three saltwater dolphins were brought to the Best Western in Gulfport from Marine Life. story
~I first saw these two news stories on local area tv news. The limousine story was also reported on local radio. Here in the Midwest we sympathize with the plight of the hundreds of thousands of people affected by this storm.
Governor Backs War, but His Boys Are Safe at Home
Gov. Mitt Romney, (Massachusetts) who has comforted the grieving loved ones of soldiers killed in Iraq and promoted National Guard recruitment, yesterday said he has not urged his own sons to enlist - and isn't sure whether they would.
Massachusetts residents can enlist in the National Guard up to age 39.Romney's five sons range in age from 24 to 35. Neither the Romney children nor the governor have served in the military.
~An e-mail friend remarked that the Boston Herald is a conservative dog-trainer (i.e. newspaper).
[image google\ not with story]
U.S. Workers Enjoy Far Fewer Vacation Days than Europeans
...there is no mandated vacation time in the United States.
Economic Snapshot | Economic Policy Institute
~Freedom isn't free. Figure B illustrates just how much freedom America has compared to Old Europe.
Earning a Living as a Ghost Man
Gopal Haldar
When not busy frightening people he plays chess and takes it easy.
"I have been playing a ghost for so long that sometimes I wonder if I am a man or a real ghost," says Gopal, who always carries his make-up kit with him.
It therefore takes him only 10 minutes to turn into a ghost - so he can play the role at the shortest possible notice.
press release [BBC Asia]
~I understand exactly what this man is going through.
Paper: Psychological & Behavioral Reactions to the Bombings in London
"Although the psychological needs of those intimately caught up in the attacks will require further assessment, we found no evidence of a widespread desire for professional counselling. The attacks have inflicted disproportionately high levels of distress among non-white and Muslim Londoners."
http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/august/London.pdf
[ British Medical Journal]
Faulty Sensor Cited as Cause of Blackouts
The first rolling blackouts in California since the power crisis of 2001 were caused by a faulty sensor at a new power transfer station in Sylmar, raising concerns about how such a relatively minor glitch could leave nearly 500,000 customers without electricity.
The $118-million facility, operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, was opened with much fanfare last fall. But officials now believe a malfunction in a sensor that monitors a cooling system at the station triggered an automatic shutdown...
"We have a fragile system in California, and we have more people moving to this state," said Anne Silva, a spokeswoman for San Diego Gas & Electric...
~When I was growing up the reasons given for blackouts were either downed power-lines or 'lighting' during storms. It's a sign of progress that the system itself, without any outside agents acting upon it, can shut itself down, can create its own blackouts.
Maybe 'progress' is not the right word?
August 29, 2005
SexBiblio
bibliography of the history of western sexuality
search 2nd edition | via growing up sexually
[image via google\ not with above links]
Leak Shows Blair Told of Iraq War Terror Link
Top official warned in 2004 of British Muslim anger
· Secret document said UK seen as 'crusader state'
'Colleagues have flagged up some of the potential underlying causes of extremism that can affect the Muslim community, such as discrimination, disadvantage and exclusion,' the letter says. 'But another recurring theme is the issue of British foreign policy, especially in the context of the Middle East peace process and Iraq.
'Experience of both ministers and officials ... suggests that ... British foreign policy and the perception of its negative effect on Muslims globally plays a significant role in creating a feeling of anger and impotence among especially the younger generation of British Muslims.'
~How significant are these leaks? Are there British officials, men in pin-striped trousers sitting in London clubs, unhappy with Blair's alliance with America's Mid-East foreign policy? Or are these leaks British politics as usual?
By the way when was the last time an American news-outlet published anything that caught the Bush Adminstration unawares, that they had to scramble to answer? The Abu Ghraib photos?
Art or Pornography?
>for example: "To me, it's just a job."- Jenna Jameson
via Secret Archives thanks Diederik
Lyrics: Iraq and Roll
YOU CAN WAVE YOUR SIGNS IN PROTEST
AGAINST AMERICA TAKING STANDS
THE STANDS AMERICA'S TAKEN
ARE THE REASON THAT YOU CAN
IF EVERYONE WOULD GO FOR PEACE
THERE'D BE NO NEED FOR WAR
BUT WE CAN'T IGNORE THE DEVIL
HE'LL KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE
SOME SEE THIS IN BLACK AND WHITE
OTHERS ONLY GRAY
WE'RE NOT BEGGING FOR A FIGHT
NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY
WE HAVE THE RESOLUTION
THAT SHOULD PUT'EM ALL TO SHAME
BUT IT'S A DIFFERENT KIND OF DEADLINE
WHEN I'M CALLED IN THE GAME
CHORUS
I RAQ, I RACK'EM UP AND I ROLL
I'M BACK AND I'M A HIGH TECH GI JOE
I PRAY FOR PEACE, PREPARE FOR WAR
AND I NEVER WILL FORGET
THERE'S NO PRICE TOO HIGH FOR FREEDOM
SO BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU TREAD
THIS TERROR ISN'T MAN TO MAN
THEY CAN BE NO MORE THAN COWARDS
IF THEY WON'T SHOW US THEIR WEAPONS
WE MIGHT HAVE TO SHOW THEM OURS
IT MIGHT BE A SMART BOMB
THEY FIND STUPID PEOPLE TOO
AND IF YOU STAND WITH THE LIKES OF SADDAM
ONE JUST MIIGHT FIND YOU
CHORUS II
I ROCK, I RACK'EM UP AND I ROLL
I'M BACK AND I'M A HIGH TECH GI JOE
I'VE GOT INFRARED, I'VE GOT GPS AND I'VE GOT THAT GOOD OLD FASHIONED LEAD
THERE'S NO PRICE TOO HIGH FOR FREEDOM
SO BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU TREAD
BRIDGE
NOW YOU CAN COME ALONG
OR YOU CAN STAY BEHIND
OR YOU CAN GET OUT OF THE WAY
BUT OUR TROOPS TAKE OUT THE GARBAGE
FOR THE GOOD OLD U.S.A.
I ROCK, I RACK'EM UP AND I ROLL
IN THE USA
I ROCK, I RACK'EM UP AND I ROLL
I'M TALKIN' ABOUT THE USA
by Clint Black
[image via google\ not with lyric]
Soldiers Gravestones Have Pentagon Slogans
The gravestones of fallen Americans buried at Arlington National
Cemetery during the Iraq war era show a change in style from earlier conflicts... Unlike earlier wars, nearly all Arlington National Cemetery gravestones for troops killed in Iraq or Afghanistan are inscribed with the operation names, such as 'Operation Iraqi Freedom' and 'Operation Enduring Freedom', which the Pentagon selected to promote public support for the conflicts. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
August 28, 2005
Photo Essay: A Bitter Fruit
"A War without casualties? A war where only the evil get hurt? As much as we would like to believe this, such an idea does not exist. War produces casualties and destroys lives. Since the beginning of the Iraqi war the government has consistently tried to divert media attention both visually and factually. An obvious example of that effort was closing Dover Air Force Base to the press so we cannot see rows of flag-draped coffins ready to be shipped to grieving families.
As increasing numbers of families grieve in the small towns of America, Paul Fusco shows us the bitter truth associated with the intolerable loss and pain from this war."
http://www.magnuminmotion.com/bitterfruit/player.html
[requires flash]
see also comments & links
>for example
August 25, 2005, 3:07 pm
"Great photos that tell an important story. I am very happy that you have a forum to deliver your photos and share your opinions and insights. However, by saying these men and women died without glory, or purpose, reflects great ignorance and blinded bias. Your prejudice, reflected in your own words hurts the hearts of those of us who are fighting, dying, and defending your right to express your opinions. We who Serve also hope that our efforts will allow you to take more photos and share more commentary free from fear of a terrorist attack in your neighborhood, city, or place of work..."*
LTC Brook Allen, US Army
~We are valuable people with a heigtened sense of purpose defending everything you do, even your blind ignorance; therefore our deaths are purposeful and glorious. While your lives and the lives of those people that get in the way of our military operations...not so much? Hey we're fighting and dying there!
I wonder if there's a drug that'll instill 'purpose' and 'service' in slackers et.al. Who might purposeful slackers need to attack in order to defend?
via Conscientious
Promiscuous Female Stereotypes and the Media
Variation in the application of the "promiscuous female" stereotype and the nature of the application domain: influences on sexual harassment judgments after exposure to the Jerry Springer Show
The results of a number of empirical investigations seem to indicate that the concerns regarding the media's sexual portrayals of women are warranted.
In this study we assessed whether the application of the promiscuous female stereotype to a sexual harassment victim would vary after exposure to media images of promiscuous women. More important, we assessed whether such variation in stereotype application would influence judgments of victim trauma and victim responsibility.
study by Tara Ferguson | Sex Roles: A Journal of Research
thanks Diederik
~Who has the time to be so involved with people like those Jerry Springer 'contestants'? Watching them in each others faces, I'm grateful my job keeps me away from my home, family and human contact as much as it does.
Work on weekends? On-call 24/7? No medical, no sick-days? Sure. Anything the company wants, just don't let me fall into that particular circle of hell. Where instead of the requirements of corporate-structured work, the demands and concerns of other people's (flawed, messy, noisy, crazy) daily lives would occupy my time. Please God.
[image google\ not with above]
August 27, 2005
Nukes in the News: Radioactive Wounds of War
The Pentagon has expanded DU beyond tank and A-10 shells, for use in bunker-busting bombs, which can spew out more than half a ton of DU in one explosion, in anti-personnel bomblets, and even in M-16 and pistol shells. The military loves DU for its unique penetration capability—it cuts through steel or concrete like they’re butter.
The problem is that when DU hits its target, it burns at a high temperature, throwing off clouds of microscopic particles that poison a wide area and remain radioactive for billions of years. If inhaled, these particles can lodge in lungs, other organs or bones, irradiating tissue and causing cancers.
Worse yet, uranium is also a highly toxic heavy metal. Indeed, while there is some debate over the risk posed by the element’s radioactive emissions, there is no debate regarding its chemical toxicity. According to Mt. Sinai pathologist Thomas Fasey, who participated in the New York Guard unit testing, the element has an affinity for bonding with DNA, where even trace amounts can cause cancers and fetal abnormalities.
Dr. Doug Rokke, a health physicist at the University of Illinois who headed up a Pentagon study of depleted uranium weapons in the mid ’90s after concerns were raised during the Gulf War, concluded there was no safe way to use the weapons. Rokke says the Pentagon responded by denouncing him, after earlier commending his work.
story [in these times by way of truthout]
~Work-related illnesses. The VietNam War created a new medical/psychiatric sub-discipline out of stress-related injuries. "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder" covered a vast array of symptoms. Today everybody has some idea of how stress can be harmful.
What name(s) might be given to the various cancers and birth defects that the unprecedented numbers of soldiers and civilians contaminated with depleted uranium will contract? DU Syndrome? Sand Disease? Rag Rot?
Does the Pentagon now have the public-relations machinery to insure diseases no longer become associated in the public's mind with their wars?
Veterans with PTSD can be dramatic; hundreds of hours of tv shows featured such characters. PTSD also 'explained' a wide-range of behaviors...hostage-situations, drug abuse, homelessness, gun-play, spousal abuse, suicide...both on and off the tube.
Cancer on the other hand is a silent killer, a 'wasting disease', and birth defects are heart-breaking. They aren't suitable subjects for blockbuster movies or primetime tv. The majority of Americans won't remember Operation Iraqi Freedom and the neo-cons foreign policy because of disease?
The question remains: how will the health of thousands of people, in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and the US, be affected by the Pentagon's use of depleted uranium?
[image via sky soldiers\ not above]
Text Messaging: 160 Characters
How did you learn your first rhyming games? From other kids, right? As children we entertained ourselves by combining words, rhythm, and rhyme. Now we're big kids with grown-up toys, and Anita Bacic has built a new playground for us. '160 Characters' is an exhibition of nursery rhymes, songs, and games gathered from all over the world, via mobile phones. People can contribute to her archive by text messaging lyrics and stanzas to a centralized phone number. The collected messages will form part of a multimedia installation, with a selection chosen for viewing with a retro slide viewer. Contemporary text messaging abbreviations and multi-lingual submissions are encouraged, thus opening the lid on a whole new toybox of ideas for those linguists and cultural studies buffs who like to play with notions of digital storytelling in the global village, the hybridization of culture through technology, or the role of mobile communication in creating new diasporas. So come on out! and play--after all, isn't the 'Hokey Pokey' really what it's all about? - Peggy MacKinnon
via NetArtNews
August 26, 2005
"Today's Presidential Action"
August 24, 2005
Retreat And Isolation Will Not Make America Safe; We Must Complete The Mission In Iraq
The mother of four son's currently deployed to Iraq, Tammy Pruett, is embraced by President George W. Bush following his speech at Idaho Center Arena, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2005 in Nampa, Idaho, honoring the service of National Guard and Reserve troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. White House photo by Paul Morse
fact sheet/more photos [whitehouse gov.]
>related: Bush backers give speech 20 standing O's
NAMPA, Idaho -The standing-room-only crowd punctuated the president's 40-minute address regularly with applause and nearly 20 standing ovations.
"A heavy burden falls on our military families. There are few things in life more difficult than seeing a loved one go off to war. They miss you and love you," the president said. "By standing behind you, the families are standing up for America."
At the end of his speech, the president acknowledged the fallen, noting 491 of more than 1,800 soldiers killed in Iraq were National Guard troops. "We mourn the loss of every life," he said. "We will honor their sacrifice by completing their mission."
press release
~An e-mail friend sent this press release along with the observation, "You know, 20 years ago, 10 years ago this would have been satire. 5 years ago?"
[Cieciel] I don't think our President would allow himself to be photographed, for example, with the young man in the photo below. That is, I haven't seen any photos of this President (other US presidents in recent years too?) with crippled soldiers. Hugging parents is as close as they can get to the damage they've done.
Or perhaps photos of the President with wounded soldiers is not the message the Whitehouse is trying to convey. We are united at war: this is not the time for healing and reconciliation.
>for what it's worth: google image search "president bush" hospital (searching within these results with 'veteran' added nothing)
Doing a similar search for Clinton shows that neither of these presidents were (often or ever?) photographed with severely wounded soldiers or for that matter crippled civilians. (Imagine what our enemies would do with pictures of America's presidents showing compassion?) There are photos on google of both Clinton and Bush honoring veterans at the Arlington Cemetery.
August 25, 2005
Photo-essay: The Damage Done
Tristan Wyatt
AGE 21; FRANKTOWN, COLORADO
Machine gunner in the Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.
photos\ interviews by Nina Berman | see also Purple Hearts
via: Concientious
Afghanistan Criticizes US Military Courts Over Prisoner Abuse Trials
Afghan human rights officials Wednesday described as "unbelievably lenient" the sentences U.S. military courts have handed down to American soldiers convicted of abusing two Afghan detainees who later died.
One soldier has been sentenced to two months in prison, another to three months. A third was demoted and given a letter of reprimand and a fine. A fourth was given a reduction in rank and pay.
~Remember Afghanistan? Me neither.
"Abuse": is that what the military calls it when a man is repeatedly beaten until he dies? He was 'abused to death'? Or is that the AP headline-writer's way to avoid mentioning death or killing?
An e-mail friend on the use of the term 'abuse' to describe these crimes: "Yeah, like in shouting at your wife, say. Except that when you abuse your wife to death you will get slightly more than two months - except when she's Afghani."
"...the two men were chained to the ceiling in standing positions, one at the waist and one by the wrists, while their feet remained on the ground."
[image google; not with above\ caption from story]
Tactical Infrasound
The military and intelligence value of monitoring "infrasound" -- inaudible sound waves of a frequency less than 20 Hertz -- is the subject of a new report from the secretive JASON advisory group on military science and technology.
"Using sound as a source of intelligence in a tactical setting has a long military tradition. Our study was undertaken to assess how this technique might be exploited in contemporary settings, in particular at tactical infrasound arrays," ...
"An array of low power robust sensors could be used to monitor diverse activities from a distance. Sonic data could provide strategic information to corroborate rocket launches that are detected by other means, including perhaps location information for mobile launch vehicles. Activity levels at military airfields could be monitored from a safe distance. Real time bomb damage assessments could be augmented with sonic data; particularly when attacking targets below the surface, listening for the explosions can help identify instances when the ordinance fails to detonate. These are but a few examples of the potential utility of sonic monitoring in the intelligence arena," the report stated.
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dod/jason/infrasound.pdf
via secrecy news
image via @\ not from links]
August 24, 2005
Why Pat Robertson's Statements Help Hugo Chavez
"...any cold war-style talk about "taking Chavez out" with "covert operatives," as Robertson suggested, just confers more Che Guevara cachet on the former army lieutenant colonel ..."
article by Tim Padgett | Time, via truthout
~So is Time Inc. for or against the assassination of Hugo Chavez? Pat Robertson's fatwa? As I remember from the movie, Che Guevara was a popular leader before the CIA killed and deified him. Che's popularity didn't stop the USA then, why would Chavez's popularity stop us now?
[image, google search: 'che'\ not from above]
Infrared Camera Images
>for example
Exotic Wildlife Thermal Infrared Image of a bird
link [spi corp]
~Many small examples of industrial applications of infrared photography.
Sensor Could Detect Concealed Weapons Without X-Rays
Unlike X-ray machines or radar instruments, the sensor doesn't have to generate a signal to detect objects – it spots them based on how brightly they reflect the natural radiation that is all around us every day.
There is always a certain amount of radiation – light, heat, and even microwaves – in the environment. Every object – the human body, a gun or knife, or an asphalt runway – reflects this ambient radiation differently.
The Ohio State sensor isn't the only ambient radiation sensor under development, but it is...compatible with silicon – a feature that makes it relatively inexpensive and easy to work with.
The team that is making the antimonide sensor has succeeded in combining it with a camera system; the pictures look a lot like X-ray images, with bodies and clothing appearing as dim outlines and metal objects such as guns standing out in sharp relief.
Fun with Photoshop
mohammed's baseball; midnight on halliburton field, baghdad
[by way of dover publ. clip art]
Fun in the Great Outdoors
View image\ View image\ View image\
View image\ View image\ View image
"...all flesh is as grass..."
More Images of Abu Ghraib
The ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in October 2003 to make public 87 photographs and four videos depicting prisoner abuse in Iraq. The Pentagon originally argued that releasing the images would violate the Geneva Convention rights of the detainees; a supreme irony considering that the US originally denied these very prisoners Geneva Convention protections. The ACLU agreed that the Pentagon could black out "identifying characteristics," but a federal judge in New York ruled last week that DoD must explain publicly why it's concealing the images. "By and large, I ruled for public disclosure," said US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein. A final ruling is expected on August 30.
In court proceedings, General Richard Myers argued that releasing the pictures and videos would give aid to the enemy: boosting Al Qaeda recruitment, destabilizing governments in Iraq and Afghanistan and inciting riots throughout the Muslim world.
The NewsHour's (PBS) Ray Suarez said the images reportedly depict "assault, coerced sexual activity, rape, even dead bodies." Some may have originated outside of Abu Ghraib.
story by Ari Berman [the nation] via truthout
[an abu ghraib photo which we are permitted to see/ via google]
Overheard at Starbucks
"People who rarely speak the truth have trouble hearing it."
-"Did you take-out Chinese last night?"
"No, I was watching a Lifetime movie about a cheating husband who loses his family and hits bottom before finding help for his crippling truth-agnosia."
-"What other media informs while it entertains as much as tv?"
"Next week there's a special about compulsive moralizers."
August 23, 2005
GraphicAttack
>for example
The adapted billboards featured here have all been spotted in Bristol, U.K
Iran Supplies Infra-red Bombs that Kill British Soldiers in Iraq
The "passive infra-red" devices, whose use in Iraq is revealed for the first time by The Sunday Telegraph, are detonated when the beam is broken, as when an intruder triggers a burglar alarm. They were used by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group against Israel in Lebanon from 1995.
A radio signal is used to arm the bomb as a target vehicle approaches. The next object to break the infra-red beam - the target vehicle - detonates the device.
Guardsman Anthony Wakefield of the Coldstream Guards died from wounds inflicted by a similar infra-red device in al-Amara in May. As the "top cover" gunner, his head and shoulders were exposed in an armoured Land Rover. The bomb was set at a precise height and directed towards the road so it would hit a soldier in this position.
British intelligence reports indicate that complete infra-red devices, carefully machined in military workshops, are being delivered to Shia militants in Iraq.
British officials said Iran had also been providing Shia insurgents with "shaped charges", which use a directional explosive force to fire a metal projectile that penetrates heavy armour.
Before the introduction of infra-red devices, bombs in Iraq were usually set off by an electronic remote control signal found in a mobile telephone, car locking device, garage door opener or even a child's toy.
They could be blocked by electronic countermeasures developed by the Army in Northern Ireland.
These are powerless, however, against infra-red beams, which can be modified from burglar alarm systems.
story [telegraph]
~Suicide bombers in Iraq are mostly from Saudi Arabia while these infra-red bombs are manufactured in Iran. Iraq has become the place to be for American-hating Muslims. Pity the Iraqis who want none of it.
Does this story mean British airfields will be used by American bombers on their way to Iran?" (When Turkey refuses?) Will the RAF itself be dropping HMs-own 'smart bombs' on suspected Iranian 'plutonium factories', WMDs, strategic infrastructure, military targets etc,.etc.? With Bush's continuing war on terror are the Brits really "in for a penny; in for a pound"?
[photo of Land Rover via Allsorts Die Cast Toys/ not with story]
New Defences Needed to Stop a Fanatical Foe
~Scots oogling USAs homeland security gadgets.
"... the United States has already piloted scanners capable of sweeping large crowds within seconds and detecting suspicious packages and weapons hidden beneath clothing.
They have also tried electronic, hyper-sensitive 'sniffer' devices for airports, capable of sensing minute traces of explosives on travellers' passports and tickets. [search Spitting Image for "ZNose" for more infor on 'sniffers']
"Unobtrusive surveillance and detection are the watchwords involved in these projects.
"The latest generation of scanners can sweep across an airport or station concourse very quickly, picking up anything suspicious*. It is especially useful in tackling the growing threat posed by suicide bombers. However, no technology is 100% perfect, and it is extremely costly: for example, the units tested in the US run into hundred of thousands of pounds per piece."
The new generation of scanners effectively strip subjects bare by employing terahertz radiation, an almost unused range of frequency lying between infra-red and microwave radiation. T-rays can pass through clothing, plastic and paper to reveal hidden objects. Unlike X-rays, they do not harm the body.
Substances, including explosives, also emit terahertz rays naturally, and scientists are working on ways to search for specific T-ray fingerprints.
TeraView, a company based in Cambridge, the National Physical Laboratory and Qinetiq, the defence research company, are among the many groups investigating the possible security applications of this unexploited part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Qinetiq (the defence research company) is... developing cameras linked to sophisticated software that can spot potential terrorists on public transport by detecting unusual behaviour. Trials are being undertaken to test the system, codenamed Praetorian, in America.
complete story [scotsman]
~Have you been scanned today?
*We don't need to be reminded that "anything suspicious" can be most anything? I'm guessing the scanner being described quickly differentiates between living flesh (it glows?; it's temperature?) and inanimate objects like clothing, bombs or weapons next to flesh.
I wonder if the folds of flesh of the morbidly obese cause problems? Anybody notice fat people at airports being puled out of line more often than not?
August 22, 2005
Messianic Art
>for example
Stripes by Ben Burton [large/url]
link to other Messianic artists
~If I accidentally make art, I make scapegoat art.
Controversial Art
Yahoo by Alfred Phillips
story from May '05 \ article from June '05
thanks diederik
Army Planning for Four More Years in Iraq
[photo: American Memory/ not with story]
August 20, 2005
Cattle Drug Sickens Heroin Users
ATLANTA -- A drug that promotes lean muscle growth in cattle may be turning up in heroin on the East Coast, sickening users and stoking fears of a wave of such poisonings, U.S. health officials said.
Traces of clenbuterol were found in the urine of eight reported heroin users who became ill in New York and Connecticut in the first three months of 2005, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Legal in some countries but not in the U.S., clenbuterol has also been linked to 18 other cases that surfaced in New York and four states along the Atlantic coast around the same time, according to the CDC report.
Many of those sickened developed dangerously rapid heart rates and palpitations, chest pain and hypotension. The majority said they had snorted rather than injected what they thought was heroin before becoming sick. "The 26 cases described in this report likely represent a fraction of actual cases of clenbuterol poisoning," the CDC said in its report, the first published investigation into the problem.
The federal agency said it was possible that those sickened earlier this year had taken pure clenbuterol that was sold to them as heroin. It urged health-care providers and others dealing with heroin users to be aware of the symptoms associated with ingestion of clenbuterol. The warning came one week after six people died of apparent heroin overdoses in lower Manhattan. [wsj]
~An e-mail friend notes:
"Do you know of a list of approved drugs that can be administered to animals that we eat? I'm interested in knowning how many different things that promote growth and weight gain are being used on our food source."
[Cieciel]
I've no idea how many different substances not fit for human consumption are used on the animals we eat or by drug abusers.
The drug in question is illegal in the US. Could it be legal in countries like Brazil and Argentina, both exporters of beef to the US?
The Wall Street Journal doesn't say if clenbuterol's manufactured or distributed by USA companies.
The Sustainable Table reminds us:
"According to expert scientists appointed by the European Union, the use of growth hormones in food animals poses a potential risk to consumers' health.The scientists reported that hormone residues found in meat from these animals can disrupt the consumer's hormone balance, cause developmental problems, interfere with the reproductive system, and even lead to the development of cancer...AND...According to the Cattlemen's Beef Association, 90% of all U.S. feedlot cattle are hormone implanted." link
Maybe illegal drug users should be added to the "Canary Database"?
Actors w/ Police Uniforms at Risk for Arrest in NYC
Understanding the serious security concerns facing New York, the (Screen Actors) Guild has spent the past four months working in cooperation with City officials to address the New York Police Department policy covering the many actors who regularly portray police officers. "...(the) Guild advises its members to no longer purchase or carry police costumes in the New York City area “
link via/archived @ politech
~Now to go after the NYC cops who are masquerading as law enforcement officers.
Natural Disasters Summary
Storms, floods, (mudslides) droughts and locusts but not earthquakes and volcanoes*.
by month [wmo]
*Not a WMO monitored natural disaster.
[photo (Iceland?) via google/ not WMO]
World Meteorological Organization Members
~The National Weather Services sites of 187 nations/territories
with links to members with web servers.
weather station
[photo via ALMA-J Site Testing (Chile)/ not WMO]
Swedish Library 'Lends' Out Gays, Minorities
~Make-up your own joke.
Also see my ~comment here.)
While doing a google image search for "gay librarian" I found this:
Dore- Jacob Wrestling the Angel
...an illustration for a symposium on social justice at a Catholic University @. The biblical reference is here- Genesis 32.
NFL Players Swallowing Temperature-Sensing Pill
The Core Temp Ingestible Core Body Temperature Sensor was developed in the late 1980s by HQ Inc., of Palmetto, Fla., as a research tool used for a number of projects, including monitoring how certain pharmaceutical drugs affect the body's core temperature.
The pill has evolved in the past couple of years or so into a protective device for athletes -- in football, tennis, running and other sports -- who train in intense heat.
~Not yet wifi: trainers periodically need to hold an electronic sensor close to the player's back to get a reading, but soon individuals will be implanted with medical sensors (glucose next year?) that wil inform them via cell phone/text messages when problems arise.
I wonder if medical sensors will ever be used by the courts to enforce mandatory drug-monitoring? Antabuse sensors for chronic alcoholics? Lithium sensors for paroled manic-depressives? Anti-sex- drug sensors for rapists? THC sensors? Road-rage sensors that automatically shut-off the cars of people with anger management problems? Alcohol sensors that do the same for convicted drunk drivers?
To be modern is to be monitored.
[image google/not with link]
Hyporeality?
Walt Disney changed the lyrics for "Born to Be Wild."
For Herbie: Fully Loaded, they used classic rock songs covered by modern bands - like Caleigh Peters singing the Beach Boys' "Fun, Fun, Fun", the Donnas singing BTO's "Roll on Down the Highway", and the Mooney Suzuki singing Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild."
But if you listen closely, the motorcycle anthem's lyrics have been changed to eliminate a reference to firearms. item via politech
ALSO:
Lindsay Lohan gets digitally reduced breast
After test screening "Herbie: Fully Loaded", some parents felt that Lindsay Lohan's character in the film was too vulgar for a children's film.
In response to this concern, Disney bosses called in the computer wizards to digitally reduce Lohan's breasts item [di-ve.com]
[LL: medically not digitally enhanced?/ via google: not from above]
August 19, 2005
Hyperreality:
Facts, Info and Encyclopedia Article
Hyperrealism is a symptom of postmodern culture. Hyperreality does not "exist" or "not exist." It is simply a way of describing the information to which the consciousness is subject.
Examples of hyperreality:
+ a sports drink of a flavour that doesn't exist ("wild ice zest berry")
+ a plastic Christmas tree that looks better than a real Christmas tree ever could
+ a magazine photo of a model that has been touched up with a computer
+ a well manicured garden (nature as hyperreal)
+ the cinema
+ Disney World and Las Vegas
+ pornography ("sexier than sex itself")
+ MMORPGs, where simulated life is perceived as more engrossing than "real life
complete page w/hyper-links
~Let's review.
I'm aware hyper-this and hyper-that is so 1980's, but I liked the word "symptom" in the above definition. Medical terminology used to describe cultural phenomena is a rhetorical device that will never get old.
Since the media insists that technology...how the living things/systems of the earth are packaged for our use... has all but tamed nature; doesn't it follow that culture take on some of the menace that nature no longer holds for us?
I'm guessing hyperreality has something to to do with simulations that people confuse with real things? Which itself sounds like a symptom of some kind of perceptual or brain disorder.
"Sexier than sex itself"?
image: google/ not with above
August 18, 2005
What's a FICO Score?
by way of How to Read Your Credit Report from Consumer Reports
ColdPlay's Frontman Refuses to Meet Blair
Chris Martin has snubbed British Prime Minister Tony Blair's invitation to meet him at his London residence... "I really like Tony Blair. He's interested in the same things as I am - he plays the guitar and he always gives the impression of doing what he can to help.
"But I don't particularly want to be photographed with him at the moment."
item via unknown news
~"We are not amused."
August 17, 2005
US Department of Defense
Detainees at Guantanamo Bay
~Numerous DOD Military Commission press releases, fact sheets, special reports concerning their detainees at Guantanamo.
A detainee is escorted to a minimum security facility at Guantanamo, Cuba
~For what it's worth the most recent DOD photos of Guantanamo were taken in 2003 while the latest news-article is dated 7/16/2005.
U.S. Marines attached to Interim Marine Corps Security Force Company practice weapons handling maneuvers during a training exercise at Udari Range in Kuwait on Aug. 11, 2005...
Airport Postcards For Sale
AP 197
~Is there anything as modern as air-travel? Besides medicine and the military?
cApital Offense
[@]
...no one seems to care about
the "correct" use of capital
letters anymore. Typography -
and typing, for that matter -
has become a tool for design,
not literature, and nowhere is
this more appreciated than on
the Web, where reading has been
replaced by scanning, skimming
replaced by surfing.
[more courtesy of Amy O'Tate | Suck 1996]
thanks
Anything But the Truth:
Official spin, unnamed sources, and the art of managing perceptions
"... perception management is about more than censoring or pushing an individual story. Rather, it involves the creation of an overall environment that promotes the uncritical acceptance of questionable assumptions — and a press corps willing to promote them."
article By Greg Guma | Vermont Guardian
~So many lies so little time.
Dutch Politicians Say Google Earth Images Help Terrorists
Liberal Democrat Frans Weekers... ‘I would just like the government to explain why it does not find it necessary to take measures [against Google Earth].’
A local terrorism expert agrees. Dick Leurdijk, of Instituut Clingendael, also thinks that the government should take action. ‘Free access to such images lowers the [terrorism] threshold,’ he said.
The current stir in the Netherlands actually started down under, when the Australian Ministry of Defence described Google Earth as a potential threat to national security as it is possible to use the online service to clearly pinpoint Australian nuclear power-plants. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) has since requested that Google blank out these sites from its images. The organisation is still awaiting a reply.
~Up until March of this year the Dutch had 1,300* members of its armed forces in Iraq. But of course it's access to images not their government's policies that make them vulnerable to attack. [*source]
The Strategic Class
At a time when the American people are turning against the Iraq War and favor a withdrawal of U.S. troops, and British and American leaders are publicly discussing a partial pullback, the leading Democratic presidential candidates for '08 are unapologetic war hawks. Nearly 60 percent of Americans now oppose the war, according to recent polling. Sixty-three percent want U.S. troops brought home within the next year. Yet a recent National Journal "insiders poll" found that a similar margin of Democratic members of Congress reject setting any timetable. The possibility that America's military presence in Iraq may be doing more harm than good is considered beyond the pale of "sophisticated" debate.
article By Ari Berman
~This is depressing.
You can't be elected to higher office in the USA opposing even a war as unnecessary and disastrous (as criminal) as Bush's invasion of Iraq?
Our leaders must be expecting another terrorist attack inside the US before 2008. Not wanting to appear weak, pre-emptively?
Keep the Home Fires Burning
Verse
They were sum-moned from the hill-side,
They were called in from the glen,
And the Coun-try found them read-y
At the stir-ring call for men._____
Let no tears add to their hard-ship;
As the Sol-diers pass a-long
And al-though your heart is break-ing,
Make it sing this cheer-y song.___
Chorus
Keep the Home-fires burn-ing,
While your hearts are yearn-ing,
Though your lads are far a-way
They dream of Home;
There's a sil-ver lin-ing
Through the dark cloud shin-ing,
Turn the dark cloud in-side out,
Till the boys come Home.
Verse
O-ver seas there came a plead-ing
"Help a Na-tion in dis-tress,"
And we gave our glo-rious lad-dies;
Hon-or made us do no less._____
For no gal-lant Son of Free-dom
To a ty-rant's yoke should bend,
And a no-ble heart must an-swer
To the sa - cred call of "Friend".___
Chorus
Keep the Home-fires burn-ing,
While your hearts are yearn-ing,
Though your lads are far a-way
They dream of Home;
There's a sil-ver lin-ing
Through the dark cloud shin-ing,
Turn the dark cloud in-side out,
Till the boys come Home.
The Canary Database
Animals warn of human health hazards in new ’Canary Database’
Yale School of Medicine has launched a state-of-the-art database funded in part by the National Library of Medicine, called the Canary Database, containing scientific evidence about how animal disease events can be an early warning system for emerging human diseases.
There have long been reports of animals succumbing to environmental hazards before humans show signs of illness, according to the project’s leader, Peter Rabinowitz...
press release/ http://canarydatabase.org/
"cats and mercury poisoning"
[image cieciel/ not from database]
zNose(R) in China
The zNose(R), which is an electronic sensor device that can capture and analyze nearly any odor, fragrance, or chemical vapor within ten seconds, is expected to be used in China for environmental and homeland security applications.
August 16, 2005
'Psycho Men Slayers'
- Illegitimate, Monstrous & Out there: Female Quake Clans and Inappropriate Pleasures
Quake is one of the most successful computer games amongst hardcore gamers (also known as 'advanced gamers'). It is a 3D first person shooter requiring a good deal of practice, skill and strategy in order to achieve even the most basic degree of mastery. It is also a game that is designed for multiplayer use so the pressure to be competent is intensified. The existence of a vibrant online female quake-playing community and all-female 'clans' is therefore somewhat surprising and unsettling to typical assumptions about female play preferences. This female Quake playing community deploys names and imagery to demarcate their presence as oppositional and resistant - Chiq, Hellchick, Supergirl, Geekgirl , Clan PMS (Psycho Men Slayers), Da Valkyries: The Women of Quake, Clan Crack Whore, The Coven, Hell's Warehouse to name but a few.
The appropriation of these real or mythical monstrous female
identities demonstrates their perception of themselves as disruptive
and oppositional to dominant and legitimate feminine identities as
well as to the masculine game culture in general. Their adoption of
these identities can be related directly to Haraway's subversive
cyborg identity, an identity which embraces technologised embodiment and actively fosters an illegitimate use of technology. Butler's work on gender insubordination and this techno (or cyber) feminist discourse are used to analyse the ways in which the online context facilitates and sustains these transgressive identities. This paper will also explore the ways in which these players both make use of but also resist a particular feminist discourse.
by Helen Kennedy
http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/newFemininities/kennedy.pdf article (20 pp)
[image Quake Gallery (4 skins) / not Helen Kennedy]
~By the way the male figure in the above gallery is wearing knee-pads too.
Nukes in the News: Japan to Build World-Class Plutonium Enrichment Plant
...it has amassed 45 tons of plutonium, and is embarking on opening one of the world's largest plutonium enrichment plants...
In December 1967, the then Japanese Prime Minister Eisaku Sato put forward the three non-nuclear principles for the first time: the official policy is that Japan will not "manufacture or possess nuclear weapons or allow their introduction into the country." Sato was awarded Nobel Peace Prize' in 1974 because of this.
Ichiro Ozawa said in early 2002: "We have plenty of plutonium in our nuclear power plants, so it's possible for us to produce 3,000 to 4,000 nuclear warheads." In May of the same year, Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yasuo Fukuda, claimed Japan's "pacifist" constitution did not prohibit nuclear weapons.
story [People's Daily]
~More nukes for their own space program and they'll export the excess to the USA?
>related(?): "Year by which every U.S. nuclear weapon will have reached the end of its original design life : 2014" link.
Isn't it ironic the USA spends millions attempting to control nukes among rogue nations while it's own nuclear policy encourages the production of new nuclear devices in the rest of the world?
LA Cops' Super Sonic Blaster
Since the early part of last year, U.S. soldiers and marines have been experimenting with a series of sonic blasters in Iraq. The Long Range Acoustic Devices, or "LRADs," can broadcast messages hundreds of yards away -- or be ear-splittingly loud at close range. The New York Police Department also had the devices at the ready during the Republican National Convention, although it's unclear whether the LRADs were actually used or not.
Last week, the L.A. Sheriff's Department tested out an acoustic transmitter that makes earlier models look like "childrens' toys" in comparison...
...by rearranging the orientation of the magnetic speakers, they can increase or decrease the width of the lobe, as well as decrease the size, weight and power. The device we tested is "full range;" that is, it provided clear sound from about 50 Hz to about 20,000 Hz. ...they can also "tune it" to provide maximum effectiveness for a specific frequency range and reduce the size and power, while increasing the range
[image with press release]
~If they reduce it's range does it follow that they'll increase it's size and power? How far away can it shatter windows? Eardrums?
The most recent "non-lethal" device Chicago cops perfected was car batteries used in interrogations. LA cops must have connections within the defense industries in California. While Chicago cops get sweet deals on stolen/confiscated auto-parts?
>No mention of Israel's recent use of a sound weapon on Palestinians. One might wonder how LA's "Sonic Blaster" compares with Israel's "The Scream". link
The Media Freedom Internet Cookbook
The surprising feature of this guide may well be the underlying anxiety of our experts that freedom on the Internet needs preservation at all. One of the half-baked wisdoms of our age is the common belief that the Internet is not only qualitatively freer than all previous media forms but also that its freedom is invincible, due to the unique technology and the global character of the Web.
Now, the truth is sobering. The Internet can be controlled, conditioned,and curtailed. More than that, it can be censored and
suppressed.... The experience of China – potentially the biggest Internet market – proves that... the Internet can be fully subjugated to the political needs of the Government.
This guide, the work of cutting-edge experts in modern communication technology, modern media, and modern freedoms, is aware of the real-life dilemmas of the Internet...
The publisher thanks the governments of The Netherlands
and Germany for their financial support to this publication.
http://akgul2.bcc.bilkent.edu.tr/media-freedom.pdf
Edited by Christian Möller and Arnaud Amouroux; [276 pages]
thanks diederik
~For legislators/policy-makers and those who might need to explain the internet to them.
New Homeland Security Work Rules Blocked by Judge
The workplace rules would have dramatically reduced the clout of unions in the department, which has about 160,000 employees...
Congress and the White House have been closely watching the case. The Defense Department, with about 746,000 civil service employees, is revising its workplace rules, and the Office of Management and Budget has proposed legislation that would revamp federal pay and modify some union rules for 1 million more workers.
story [Wash.Post] via truthout
~I'm guessing during the appeals process this brief will come before a judge or judges more in-line with the current administration and new law will be made, new federal labor standards will be instituted.
States and corporations with gov't contracts will soon follow with their own versions. Less taxes and more profits for everyone.
News of the Weird
London's Sunday Times reported in July that Prime Minister
Blair had spent the equivalent of about US$3,300 on makeup and
makeup artists over the last six years, and according to campaign
disclosure statements reported by the Boston Globe in May, U.S.
Rep. Steve Lynch of Massachusetts spent $2,506 on makeup
services only in the previous eight months. [Sunday Times, 7-24-
05] [Boston Globe, 5-17-05]
Sex Spys' Gallery Descriptions
Public Voyeur
Changing by the car Changing in bathroom Changes into lingerie Changes into lingerie Showing off panties Putting on thongs Short grey skirt Sitting on steps Taking panties off Showing sexy panties Getting out of car Washing sexy pussy Bending over trunk Putting on pants Sexy hot jeans Changing in lingerie Fucking in the park Putting on red thongs Taking off panties Putting on lingerie Sexy red lingerie Taking off skirt Sucking in the park Bending over naked Taking a bath Bending over car Small grey skirt Light blue thong Sexy grey skirt Taking off clothes Sexy orange panties Hot white panties Red latex thong Naked in the shower Short dark skirt Short grey skirt Looking up skirt Short white skirt Bending over trunk Red latex thong Light blue panties Taking off shirt Light pink skirt Short black skirt Sexy girl in bathroom Sexy pink thong Naked by the car Naked at the car Sexy white thong Red latex skirt Bending over trunk Sitting in a chair In the parking lot Bending over in car Short black skirt White sexy panties Hot white thong Girl in shower Sexy white thong Girl in bathroom Sheer pink panties Black short skirt Sexy white thong Sexy naked girl Bending over to far She can see me Under the desk peek sexy white bra hot sexy tits Sweet upskirt ass Bending over to far White thong shot Upskirt in the club I see some panties Hot little ass Thong peek victim Pantyless upskirt hot tan ass Playing out doors Public hardcore fuck Beach upskirt pics Voyeur upskirt pics Candid panty shots Sexy thong snapshots Exposed thong slut Hardcore in public Public hard fucking Voyeur changing girl Changing girl caught Spied on wife Laundry room changing Showering teen girl Changing girl workout Amateur candid voyeur Shower spying Changing in public Locker room cam Caught masturbating Changing blonde Upskirt cam shots Upskirt panty shots Thongs caught on cam Amateur flashes thong Visible thong series Dancind lingerie slut Ass's in public Ass voyeur photos Spied on great ass Ass caught on cam Ass voyeur pictures Spying on hot ass Candid ass snapshots Public ass display Panty girls show it Candid upskirt series Teen girl upskirt Girl upskirt pics Purple panty upskirt No panty upskirt Pussy lip upskirt set Sexy blonde upskirt Atm girl upskirt Bent over and caught No panty upskirt Schoolgirl upskirt Red panty upskirt Candid public upskirt Upskirt in the mall Tight panty upskirt Veranda upskirt set Hidden shower cam
~Access to the more explicit photos will cost you?
I'm intrigued by the implicit shamefulness (illegality) of which we're matter-of-factly being invited to partake; combined with descriptions like "Veranda upskirt" and "candid ass snapshots" which I assume have suggestive power over a number of our fellow computer users.
(MaryWorthMaryWorthMaryWorth...ThongCamThongCamThongCamThongCam...)
Collect the naughty pictures...list the magic words....all for the spies in the house of love.
If the things people purchase to fill the empty spaces in their lives are often perplexing, how about the images and scenes which get our hormones going, which peak our desires? What a piece of work. How did we get this way?
[image via google/not with above]
August 15, 2005
UK Union Calls for Halt to RFID Tracking of Workers
The GMB is calling on the European Commission to legislate to outlaw the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) and GPS satellite linked wearable computers to tag and track workers in the workplace.
The report by Michael Blakemore, a professor at Durham University, found that companies - predominately those supplying goods to supermarkets - were increasingly requiring staff to wear devices on their wrists and fingers that tell them which goods to pick in different areas of warehouses.
However, the GMB claims the devices also register how long it takes workers to go from one part of the warehouse to another, what breaks the workers require, and how long they need to go to the toilet. "Any deviation from these times is not tolerated...
press release via/archived at politech
~I wonder if these devices can be programmed to automatically send reminders, to get moving, pick-up the pace? Besides buzzers and bells? How about little electric shocks?
Parent-Trap Snares Recruiters
The tune changes at some homes when they hear 'sign here'
Jason McCamey, 19, does push-ups under the supervision of his recruiter, Staff Sgt. Jason Rivera, at the Armed Forces Recruiting sub-station on McKnight Road in Ross yesterday. Marine recruits meet weekly with their recruiters for physical training and pep talks until they leave for boot camp.
"Staff Sgt. Jason Rivera, 26, a Marine recruiter in Pittsburgh, went to the home of a high school student who had expressed interest in joining the Marine Reserve to talk to his parents.
It was a large home in a well-to-do suburb north of the city. Two American flags adorned the yard. The prospect's mom greeted him wearing an American flag T-shirt.
"I want you to know we support you," she gushed.
Rivera soon reached the limits of her support.
"Military service isn't for our son. It isn't for our kind of people," she told him."
~The e-mail friend who forwarded this link notes: "The only thing that's a little bit amazing about this is the kind of mock outrage this has generated amongst the liberal echo chambers.
OF COURSE, the middle and upper middle class won't allow their children to join the army. And claiming to be outraged when somebody openly says that is just pathetic."
[Cieciel] "What if they gave a war and nobody came?"
Too bad the "many kids just waiting for their 18th birthday, so they can enlist" don't have other opportunities than the military.
It's as if a whole generation, with a few exceptions, was bred to serve the Homeland in our war on terrorism/insurgency/extremism. It's uncanny how it seems to work out that way, isn't it?
GPS System Gives Parents a Foot in Driver's Seat
Nearly 1,500 vehicle owners across Canada are using the LockDown system, designed by a Vancouver-based company, since it was introduced to car dealerships in February as an option for parents to monitor the driving habits of their teenagers.
The LockDown system allows users to set up what they want reported, such as speed limits and restricted areas, for their vehicles using their computers and informs them by phone or e-mail when the rules have been broken..
The LockDown system is sold for $895, and users pay a monthly monitoring fee of $20.
~I'm surprised that the Provinces (or States), insurance companies(?) haven't made this system mandatory for drivers with many traffic violations (DWIs) or with specific health problems and/or over a certain age?
Or automated it? Give some drivers short-term licenses. Make future renewals dependent upon LockDown monthly reports?
Designer Vaginas
~from Canada's most prestigious newspaper, the Globe & Mail.
Women from around the world flock to David Matlock's marble waiting room carrying purses stuffed with porn. The magazines are revealed only in the privacy of his office, where doctor and patient debate the finer points of each glossy photo.
“This is essentially a cultural problem that we fix medically,” said Prof. Atkinson, (a sociology professor at McMaster University in Hamilton) who studies plastic surgery.
“We have this notion the body's a problem to be worked and if you slightly deviate from a supposed norm you should do something about it, which is really a market logic. That's how we make a lot of money in our culture, to plant these cultural ideals in people's heads and then try to enforce them.”
Not all procedures are even surgical. On the recommendation of a friend, Katia Neves came to Dr. Matlock (LA Gynecologist) for the doctor's so-called G-shot, an $1,800 collagen-based injection in her G-spot that he says amplifies orgasms and lasts for about four months.
“It's a pretty expensive procedure for a short period of time,” said the 36-year-old cosmetologist, who was born in Brazil and now lives in L.A. “It does increase your pleasure. It makes a difference, even if you don't have problems you can feel the difference.”
~Imagine if after the pain and expense of surgery, etc. it didn't make a difference? Some people need miracles, close encounters or hitting bottom to change their lives; others need plastic surgery?
[dollar vagina via origami underground/ not the Globe & Mail]
The Other Army
~NY Times salutes the mercenaries (i.e. private security companies) in Iraq.
Among its praise:
"Throughout his time as head of the C.P.A., (Coalition Provisional Authority) L. Paul Bremer III, whom the insurgency may well have viewed as its highest-value target, was protected by a Triple Canopy competitor, Blackwater USA. Private gunmen, according to Lawrence Peter, (a consultant to the Department of Defense on outsourced security) are now guarding four U.S. generals."
story [NY Times] via Truthout
~What does it mean when US generals choose private security over their own people? What would Patton say?
[April 2004: Paul Bremer and his Blackwater 'troops'/ via google]
>related also from April 2004:
To meet the rising demand, the companies are offering yearly salaries ranging from $100,000 to nearly $200,000 to entice senior military Special Operations forces to switch careers. Assignments are paying from a few hundred dollars to as much as $1,000 a day, military officials said.
In the country I live in military base pay begins at a little over a thousand dollars a month for the lowliest recruit. "Imminent danger pay" for a battle area like Iraq adds $225 to a soldier's base, but last Fall even that pittance was threatened by the same administration which employs expensive mercenaries when it comes to its own protection.
Final note: Mercenaries belong in boys' fantasy fiction only; they are outlawed by the Geneva Convention for very good historic reasons.
via james Wagner.com
Overheard at Starbucks
"He's not really gay. Growing-up he learned that not only could he barely afford to keep one girl or woman interested, it was all but impossible to convince them to do what he needed as often as he wanted.
Then one day in desperation he found out that men were easier and cheaper."
-"She's not really straight. She learned early-on men owned most everything, that nothing is free, nothing comes easy. Luckily she always enjoyed playing dress-up and pretend."
"If sexual satisfaction is a big part of happiness, young hetero-men must be the most miserable beings on earth."
-"Them or women in loveless relationships."
"I'm beginning to understand the popularity of porn... and romance novels."
-"Ancient history, pre-Gay Pride, pre-booty-call sexual mores, Dude."
"Nowadays porn is primarily used for foreplay?"
August 14, 2005
Nano Invades BioMems
...over the past few years, Bio (biomedical/biological/biochemical)MEMS devices have become the largest and most diverse applications of MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) devices.
These applications now include:
Aural (Sound) Sensing Devices
Biosensors (General)
Bioreactors
Cell Handling Devices
Drug Delivery Devices
Micro-chromatography Systems
Microfluidics
Molecular Detection/Handling
Neural Interface Devices
Optical/retinal Sensing
Surgical Devices
Tissue Handling Devices
BioMEMS sensors can be broadly categorized as either in vitro or in vivo sensors. In vitro types include the analysis of samples taken outside from the body or sensors for determining electrochemistry, blood pressure and temperature, blood glucose, genetics, immunology, and those used in cytology, serology, histopathology, and toxicology. In vivo sensors measure biological information inside the body and include catheter-based biosensor arrays, internal imaging systems, online blood assays, and neural recording arrays.
Recently, BioMEMS has become something of a misnomer as many of the latest technologies are increasingly being designed and developed based on nanoscale-level technologies, rather than just micro-scale technologies. While current devices are manufactured mostly on the micro-scale level, the functioning parts and the materials they operate on are at the nanoscale level...
...a number of researchers (including the U.S. military services) as well are starting to investigate the implementation of wearable in vitro bioMEMS sensors and wireless in vivo smart bioMEMS sensing devices, further revolutionizing healthcare with the ability to monitor (and possibly control) physiological quantities*.
~*Performance enhancement drugs/ hormones and hormone inhibitors(?) delivered as needed. In the heat of battle for example? Imagine what bioMEMS will do for professional athletic competitions?
[image via google/ not with press release]
August 13, 2005
$338.00 on E-Bay
"Egg Baby "Freya" is a one-of-a-kind full sculpt baby girl, and is anatomically correct. She can be displayed inside her resin egg shell, or on on her own. She was hand sculpted... and measures 3 1/2 inches.
No molds have been used in its creation, and no molds have been taken, so each baby is truely unique, one-of-a-kind.
Each baby comes with its own adoption certificate.
more photos/info [Camille Allen]
via conscientious
~Ah the mysteries of consumerism: the things people, not like you and me, choose to feather their nests?!
August 12, 2005
The Wall Street Journal, America's Pravda
~An e-mail friend observes: "The Wall Street Journal really is the US version of the Pravda. Check out this article which, in its utter ridiculousness and sycophancy, could be right from the former Soviet Union's main "newspaper":
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110007087 [WSJ]
~I'm in awe of the amounts of money "opinionators" make from their pabulum.
I promise never again to complain about the outrageous wages professional athletes are paid. Base-hits, completed passes and 3-pointers for example are pure and honest, albeit highly specialized, accomplishments compared to the lies like Ms. Noonan's which promote policies that deliver death and grief for untold tens of thousands of people.
"Above all, do no harm" should be a motto for journalists too.
[image via google/ not the WSJ, Pravda or Peggy Noonan]
Cellography: Hugh Scott-Symonds
for example...
"As cell phones get both more ubiquitous (they already outsell digital point-and-shoot cameras) and higher in resolution it was obvious that sooner or later somebody was going to make some pretty good photographs with one." more blurb [shutterbug]
http://www.hupix.net/index.html [link to photos]
Conscientious reminds us: "It takes a good photographer and not a fancy camera . . . "
Google Image Search: Audience
for example...
3D I-Max Audience; Darling Australia
~Today I appreciate how many different kinds of audiences there are.
Behaviors of the Blogosphere
Understanding the Scale, Composition and Activities of Weblog Audiences
"Key findings include the following:
+ 50 million U.S. Internet users visited blog sites in the first quarter of 2005. That is roughly 30% of all U.S. Internet users and 1 in 6 of the total U.S. population.
+ Five hosting services for blogs each had more than 5 million unique visitors in that period, and four individual blogs had more than 1 million visitors each.
+ Of 400 of the biggest blogs observed, segmented by seven (nonexclusive) categories, political blogs were the most popular, followed by 'hipster' lifestyle blogs, tech blogs and blogs authored by women.
+ Compared to the average Internet user, blog readers are significantly more likely to live in wealthier households, be younger and connect to the Web on high-speed connections.
+ Blog readers also visit nearly twice as many web pages as the Internet average, and they are much more likely to shop online."
http://www.comscore.com/blogreport/comScoreBlogReport.pdf
via docuticker
~Audiences? Do you feel like you're part of an audience?
Me neither.
[photo via lomn.net not above]
American War & Military Operations Casualties:
Lists and Statistics
This report... provides tables, compiled by sources at the Department of Defense, indicating the number of casualties among American military personnel serving in principal wars and combat actions. Wars covered include the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam Conflict, and the Persian Gulf War. Military operations covered include the Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission, Lebanon Peacekeeping, Urgent Fury in Grenada, Just Cause in Panama, Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Restore Hope in Somalia, Uphold Democracy in Haiti, and the ongoing Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom."
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf
*Notable findings include these:
** During the period between the Revolutionary War and the
Persian Gulf War, it was the Civil War that produced the most
American fatalities, when Union statistics and Confederate
estimates are taken into account.
** World War II was the first war in which there were more
battle deaths than deaths from other causes such as accidents,
disease, and infections.
** With a total of 382 in-theater deaths, 147 of which were
battle deaths, the Persian Gulf War was the least costly war in
terms of fatalities.
** The ongoing Operation Iraqi Freedom to date has produced
more than four times the number of in-theater deaths than the
Persian Gulf War (which lasted seven months).
via/ archived: *secrecy news by way of docuticker
~Urgent Fury?
[image via cieciel/ not from above links]
Overheard at Starbucks
"When defence contractors with mobster money were creating their Mecca in Nevada and showing the middle class how to have fun..."
-"Slots, craps and show-girls oh-my."
"Red squads in Peoria, Decatur and similar metropolitan areas were given federal money to crack down on hippies, civil-rights organizers and peaceniks."
-"Dirty hippies."
"Can't you see how mainstream the 'rat-pack' has become?"
-"Swinging crime-fighters...Cool Daddy. Pow!"
"They rule."
Robbers Stick-Up TV Shopping Host While On-Air
'We're doing a live show here and there's probably hundreds of people out there right now calling the police to come down on this building, just so you know,'" he (Gary Spirito, host of the Shopping Mania Auction Show) said.
~I wonder if people who have accidents, are robbed or assaulted in front of surveillance cameras ask the police to see the video?
Are rountinely asked by the police to view the video to help their recollection of events?
Are forbidden from seeing the police video?
Press Stands Up to White House on Abu Ghraib Torture Photos
A coalition of 14 media organizations and public interest groups organized by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press have filed an amicus brief in federal court in New York urging the release of Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse photos. The coalition, which includes CBS, NBC and the New York Times, supports a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union against the Pentagon, which has been pending since October 2003.
The government argues that the information is protected by Exemption 7(F) of the FOIA, which protects law enforcement records from disclosure when they "could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual." Citing recent riots in Afghanistan following Newsweek's publication of an article about claims of Koran abuse at Guantanamo Bay, the government says the release of Abu Ghraib photos could similarly incite violence against military personnel overseas.
"The government has taken the position in this case that the more outrageously the behavior exhibited by American troops, the less the public has a right to know about it," said Reporters Committee executive director Lucy Dalglish. "
>related (from above link) ACLUs Timeline on "Torture Documents Case"
~Isn't it inspiring when the American press behaves like a free press? As advocates for free inquiry, military accountability? However I couldn't find any mention of this amicus brief on NBC, or CBS news-sites while searching google news using e.g. "ACLU NBC" and "reporter's committee" as search terms. Go figure.
[one of the abu ghraib prison photos we're permitted to see/not from above links]
America Supports You.com
Sean Hannity (right), Senator Rick Santorum (third from right), and Oliver North (third from left)* greet wounded soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center at this year's Freedom Concert and Rally for the Troops.
An e-mail friend observes: "Stuff like this reminds me so very clearly of the Soviet Union, where the support of the people was organized from above...
Note how at the bottom it says: "AmericaSupportsYou.mil is an official U.S. Department of Defense website."
Also see: this story"
~AND this quote from the book "Catch 22":
"The enemy, is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on... And don't you forget that, because the longer you remember it, the longer you might live. @
August 11, 2005
Baltimore Police Surveillance Cameras
Here are the results from the Baltimore Surveillance Camera photo tour on 8/7/05.
From what we could tell, there are at least 3 separate networks of
police surveillance cameras in the city.
this kind (long and boxy) are cctv run by the baltimore downtown partnership:
http://flickr.com/photos/45891628@N00/32294221/
the dome-like cameras:
http://flickr.com/photos/45891628@N00/32294164/in/set-718967/
are newer, and were installed this year with homeland security money. this network largely overlaps with the previously mentioned
one, but the cameras are much fancier (if you look into the dome you can see the cameras moving about)
these are the ones discussed here:
http://baltimore.indymedia.org/newswire/display/10787/index.php
as being purchased from an israeli security company. these also may
have limited visual AI, according to the article.
check this out for an example of gratuitous overlap:
http://flickr.com/photos/45891628@N00/32293827/in/set-718967/
then there are the new Citiwatch cameras, which are more about police control of low-income neighborhoods. These are the scary flashing ones:
http://flickr.com/photos/45891628@N00/32293410/in/set-718967/
http://flickr.com/photos/45891628@N00/32293528/in/set-718967/
in the above picture, check out what appears to be an antenna...the dome cameras are apparently on a fiber optic network. these appear to be wirelessly networked. (shame this isn't city-sponsored wireless broadband instead of surveillance)
the ones we don't know about look like this:
http://flickr.com/photos/45891628@N00/32293550/in/set-718967/
http://flickr.com/photos/45891628@N00/32293499/in/set-718967/
http://flickr.com/photos/45891628@N00/32293369/in/set-718967/
which we saw both in and out of downtown, with and without sirens. these are at this point a mystery to us.
The New York City version:
http://www.mccullagh.org/theme/surveillance-camera-players-apr03.html [surveillance camera players]
via/archived politech
>related: Flickr's The Panopticon Pictures of Surveillance Cameras
August 10, 2005
TERRORISTS (ON) THE INTERNET
AND THE BETALUMINIUM THREAT
"Terrorists Turn to the Web as Base of Operations," a Washington Post headline declared in a front-page, above-the-fold story on August 7.
"Among other things, al Qaeda and its offshoots are building a massive and dynamic online library of training materials," the Post reported, and offered sample documents from this library on its own web site.
But contrary to the Post story line, the cited library materials suggest a startling lack of technical competence. Unfortunately, the Post did not critically examine the materials that it presented.
article Secrecy News
~It's stories like this that remind me that news is a collaborative medium. One shouldn't be shy applying the "Who, What, When, Where, How (and Why)" to news-stories themselves. Look at certain news-reports as object's d'art, (public sculpture works best for me), as crafted and polished as anything people with the professional standards of a big city museum board of directors might welcome in or outside their institutions.
It's not always "news u can use"; sometimes it's "news being used".
Endowments, favors, tax-right-offs, investments, advertisements, politics, 'education', status, entertainment, pay-back, dues.
Movie: Gunner Palace
link [imdb]
Diederik asks, "A Here's what really happened" or "Americans are real people" or "How we got him!" discourse?
~Diederik is from Holland.
Saudis Jail, Deport Foreigners With HIV
Saudi Arabia can afford the antiretroviral medication that slows the spread of HIV and often prolongs the life of those infected, and does give the drugs to Saudi nationals who have contracted the illness. It refuses, however, to extend the same treatment to the more than 4,200 foreigners in the country who have tested positive for HIV.
Foreign workers, many of whom hail from South Asia and come to Saudi Arabia looking for better-paying jobs than they could find back home, make up 25 per cent of the country's population, and 54 per cent of those known to have HIV.
story thanks Conscientious
~Interesting news. I wonder what the Koran says about caring for the sick? Doesn't their status as foreign workers give these HIV infected individuals any clout at all? (Duh.)
What would ITT, Motorola or even the Presbyterians do if these people were (sub-sub contracted) to work in Saudi Arabia for them?
Most working Americans are painfully aware all employment is temp(orary) employment. Can we sympathize or be bothered with what the world's "foreign workers" might go through for their 'daily bread'?
Work and workers are not pleasant topics for America's media conglomerates.
Are America's "illegal immigrants" foreign-workers?
Churches Raise Pressure on Firms in Israel
The companies include ITT Industries and United Technologies, which supply communication equipment and helicopters to the Israeli military; Caterpillar, whose equipment is used in Palestinian home demolition and the building of settlements; and Motorola, which provides military wireless communications and invests in Israeli cellphone firms, which are alleged to be sidestepping license requirements and undermining Palestinian businesses.
In an apparent attempt to be evenhanded, the committee also named a fifth company, Citigroup, for providing money-transfer services to charities that were accused of being fronts for terrorist groups. Citigroup has called the charge against the company "an outrage."
story [CS Monitor] by way of Harpers Weekly
~When appeals to justice and morality fail here in the USA, there's more often than not this, what some might call 'reality', behind it all. Money Baby. Yeah.
Coincidentally the appeal beyond all appeals. When money talks, corporations listen. ("An outrage.")
Perhaps the Presbyterians are aiming to negotiate their own "peace terms" with ITT, Caterpillar, Motorola, Citigroup and Israel before finalizing total divestment?
It's a shame individuals sans portfolios can't get these economic behemoths' attention. (To save their lives.)
What are representatives in government for?