Awesome Star Wars Parody!

Shortest Vacation Ever!!!

I left Toronto Pearson on December 30th for Mombasa via Amsterdam. I arrived at Schipol on the 31st, early in the morning.

So here I am at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam awaiting my return flight to Toronto. Yes, you read correctly, back to Toronto.

If you haven't heard, Kenya recently had presidential elections - the opposition candidate Raila Odinga was expected to win; early in the polls he had what appeared to be an insurmountable lead, however after delays in the count, the incumbent, Mwai Kibaki ended up winning the elections.

After accusations of voter fraud and election rigging, violence and riots have erupted all over Kenya. From what I hear, Kibaki has already sworn himself in as president elect, while Odinga is also swearing himself in as the "People's President". I don't get it either.

When I landed at Schipol, I called home to see how everything was - I was told NOT to come due to the violence which, by this time, had hit Mombasa, my final destination. I tried to see if I could fly directly back to Toronto, however due to my ticket limitations, I was forced to buy a brand new ticket which would cost me $850.00 Canadian.

While I was on the phone arranging payment, a gentleman, RGC Bischoff at the KLM counter tracked me down to the phone I was using and said that from the time it took me to get from the counter to the phone, a travel advisory has been issued which qualified me to get use the return portion of my original ticket.

Mr Bischoff will probably never come across this tiny little strand of the web, but I would like to offer him my sincerest thanks for going out of his way to get back to Toronto and back to safety. I will writing KLM a letter commending Mr Bischoff for going above and beyond to accommodate me.

Right now it is 10:50 am in Amsterdam, my flight to Toronto leaves at 1:30 PM Amsterdam time and arrives at Pearson International Airport at 3:30 PM EST.

Now I am going to the bar to order a stiff one!

Quoting... George Benard Shaw

If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.
- George Bernard Shaw

Kwaheri

Happy Holidays to everyone - and a special Merry Christmas to Darrell ;) I won't be posting a lot to TFTH for the next month or so. I am going to Kenya! I leave on Dec 30th and plan to return three weeks later.

If I get access to some decent Internet while I'm there, I may post anything I find blog-worthy, although I suspect most of my entries will be on my personal blog. So until my next posting - have a great new year's everyone. And as they say in Kiswahili - Kwaheri!

Keith Olbermann on Bill Moyers

Bill Moyers is an excellent interviewer, and with an interviewee like Olbermann, you know this is a must watch. Take twenty minutes out of your day to see the interview from PBS' Bill Moyers' Journal. AIR DATE: December 15, 2007

PART I


PART II


PART III

Quoting... Daniel Webster

A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures.
- Daniel Webster

Bill Maher on Religion - New Rules RTwMB

More blasphemy - Enjoy :)

George Carlin - Religion is Bullshit

Which leads to another video - Is this the wrong time of the year for these videos?

Bill Maher on Religion

This is what happens on YouTube, one video leads to another.

Why do Atheists care about Religion?

Dude makes some valid points...

Nickelback Rockstar Spoof - Popstar

H/T: Darrell F.

This is just BRILLIANT!

Whopper Freakout!

This is just a smart promotion/campaign. Well done!

What The Fuck Man???

U.S. Publisher Takes American Price Off Magazines To Charge Canadians More

Is it dirty pool or simply smart business? Whatever you decide, it's not a story you're likely to read in a magazine. After months of being hammered over Canadians paying higher prices for U.S. goods despite the higher value of the loonie, one American firm has apparently found a way around it - they've simply removed any trace of the U.S. price for their items sold in Canada.

SOURCE: CityNews
H/T: Darrell F.

All protocol and decorum is being abandoned for this entry. WHAT THE FUCK MAN??? I'm truly sick of the Canadian consumer getting screwed at every turn. For years, when I used to buy magazines, I would look upon the USD price with Envy, and for a split second wished that I too lived the in the land of the green-back, but now that the shoe's on the other foot...

The company maintains it was simply trying to end the confusion for Canucks about the price difference and why it was there in the first place.

What a load of ox shit! There was little confusion for the dual priced magazine cover when the USD / CAD exchange rate favoured the Americans. We in Canada knew that the Loonie was not doing so well against the US Dollar, and so we forked out the extra cash. Seems logical, yes? If there is any confusion, it's why when the exchange rate now favours Canadians, do the the American publishers think that we'll keep paying the extra money!

If I still read any American magazines, this alone would be enough for me stop purchasing their rags all together. If Canadians still buy American magazines at "Canadian" prices despite the current exchange, then they deserve to take it up the tail pipe.

Usilewe (Ndi, Ndi, Ndi) by Yunasi

Kenyan group Yunasi have been named the winners of BBC World Service's Next Big Thing 2007 competition at the Maida Vale studios in London. The band, comprising seven men from East Africa and a French woman, triumphed with their song Ndi Ndi Ndi, about the dangers of excess drinking. They were praised by the all-star judging panel for their "wide open, exuberant vocals" and for being "different to 99% of pop music".

SOURCE: "Mzee Shamba" via RafikiTalk

Outright ban of Scientology in Germany

German officials want Church of Scientology banned in the country

BERLIN — Top German officials announced Friday that they will seek to outlaw the U.S.-based Church of Scientology.

The announcement came after a two-day conference of interior ministers of Germany's 16 states well as federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.

Berlin Interior Minister Erhart Koerting, who presided over the two-day conference, told reporters that Scientology is an organization that is not compatible with the German constitution.

The German government considers Scientology not a religion but a commercial enterprise that takes advantage of vulnerable people, he added.

The ministers said the planned to ask Germany's domestic intelligence agency to begin preparing the necessary information to ban Scientology.

The agency has had Scientology under observation for a decade on allegations that it “threatens the peaceful democratic order” of the country.

SOURCE: The Globe & Mail (Complete Article)

This is a tough one for me. Although I don't agree with the principles of Scientology / Dianetics, I don't see how any modern nation's constitution can disallow its citizens to practice anything of this nature.

Granted, I can see how anyone would draw issue with a "religious" institution that charges its "congregation" for salvation. And yes I can see how Scientology can be regarded as a money making endeavour,but couldn't the same be said about self-help "gurus" such as Tony Robbins who charge for their endless library of books, cassettes, CDs & DVDs? True, he doesn't tout himself as a religion, and I'm sure he doesn't receive the same tax breaks and benefits that most religious organisations do, but I'm sure you can still buy his media in Germany.

I can see a government refusing to recognise Scientology as a religion and disallowing many of the privileges that religious organisations enjoy. But to ban it outright seems more than just a little dictatorial.

The First MacDonalds Commercial EVER

This is creepy!

Polling Is Bullshit - Penn & Teller

Quoting... Soren Kierkegaard

People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.
- Soren Kierkegaard

Where have all the good men gone?

I just finished watching "Licence to Wed" and my one word review is, "YUCK". It was sappy, more than predictable and barely funny at best. That's not the point of this entry, but it did get me thinking.

Is it so politically incorrect to have a strong man in a any kind of "couple" type scenario that they have been written off into extinction? Be it on the small screen or the large, men just seem to be portrayed as impotent pansys. They're indecisive, weak-willed putzes that are completely clueless until an ethereal woman graces him with her presence.

When he screws up, and he will screw up, she gets all indignant until he carries out the great romantic gesture that will win her back over. "Fine." One might say, "Fair enough." He screwed up, he should pay for it.

Conversely if she ever screws up or does something less than honourable, that is usually a mechanism for her to find out that he is screwing up, even unknowingly, (the bastard should have known better) and she gets all indignant until the great romantic gesture wins her back over.

It's a pathetic commentary on either the writers or the audiences or both that a needlessly weak character is required to highlight the strengths of the more stalwart one. Alana (my writing sounding board) rightfully points out, "movies would be a lot more engaging with two leads who could hold their own, not one pansy and one hero-type." Two strong leads or even two weak leads in the same film or television show should not need to be mutually exclusive.

The exceedingly sharp contrast in character types either illustrates how writers cannot write in nuance or that the audiences are just too stupid to understand nuance.

Cellphone + Public Washroom = OMG!

I came across this today. It is one of the funniest things I have ever read! I post here in it's entirety. I don't know who wrote this, I don't know where it came from, but it's here now for your enjoyment.

All in all, it hadn’t been a good day. Bad traffic, a malfunctioning computer, incompetent coworkers and a sore back all made me a seething cauldron of rage. But more importantly for this story, it had been over forty-eight hours since I’d last taken a dump. I’d tried to jumpstart the process, beginning my day with a bowl of bowel-cleansing fiber cereal, following it with six cups of coffee at work, and adding a bean-laden lunch at Taco Bell. As I was returning home from work, my insides let me know with subtle rumbles and the emission of the occasional tiny fart that Big Things would be happening soon. Alas, I had to stop at the mall to go Christmas shopping. I completed this task, and as I was walking past the stores on my way back to the car, I noticed a large sale sign proclaiming, “Everything Must Go!”. This was prophetic, for my colon informed me with a sudden violent cramp and a wet, squeaky fart that everything was indeed about to go. I hurried to the mall bathrooms. I surveyed the five stalls, which I have numbered 1 through 5 for your convenience:

1. Occupied.
2. Clean, but Bathroom Protocol forbids its use, as it’s next to the occupied one.
3. Poo on seat.
4. Poo and toilet paper in bowl, unidentifiable liquid splattered on seat.
5. No toilet paper, no stall door, unidentifiable sticky object near base of toilet.

Clearly, it had to be Stall #2. I trudged back, entered, dropped trousers and sat down. I’m normally a fairly Shameful Sh1tter. I wasn’t happy about being next to the occupied stall, but Big Things were afoot.

I was just getting ready to bear down when all of a sudden the sweet sounds of Beethoven came from next door, followed by a fumbling, and then the sound of a voice answering the ringing phone. As usual for a cell phone conversation, the voice was exactly 8 dB louder than it needed to be. Out of Shameful habit, my sphincter slammed shut. The inane conversation went on and on. Mr. Sh1tter was blathering to Mrs. Sh1tter about the sh1tty day he had. I sat there, cramping and miserable, waiting for him to finish. As the loud conversation dragged on, I became angrier and angrier, thinking that I, too, had a crappy day, but I was too polite to yak about in public. My bowels let me know in no uncertain terms that if I didn’t get crapping soon, my day would be getting even crappier.

Finally my anger reached a point that overcame Shamefulness. I no longer cared. I gripped the toilet paper holder with one hand, braced my other hand against the side of the stall, and pushed with all my might. I was rewarded with a fart of colossal magnitude — a cross between the sound of someone ripping a very wet bed sheet in half and of plywood being torn off a wall. The sound gradually transitioned into a heavily modulated low-RPM tone, not unlike someone firing up a Harley. I managed to hit the resonance frequency of the stall, and it shook gently.

Once my *** cheeks stopped flapping in the breeze, three things became apparent: (1) The next-door conversation had ceased; (2) my colon’s continued seizing indicated that there was more to come; and (3) the bathroom was now beset by a horrible, eldritch stench. It was as if a gateway to Hell had been opened. The foul miasma quickly made its way under the stall and began choking my poop-mate. This initial “herald” fart had ended his conversation in mid-sentence.

“Oh my God”, I heard him utter, following it with suppressed sounds of choking, and then, “No, baby, that wasn’t me (cough, gag), you could hear that (gag)??”

Now there was no stopping me. I pushed for all I was worth. I could swear that in the resulting cacophony of rips, squirts, splashes, poots, and blasts, I was actually lifted slightly off the pot. The amount of stuff in me was incredible. It sprayed against the bowl with tremendous force. Later, in surveying the damage, I’d see that liquid poop had actually managed to ricochet out of the bowl and run down the side on to the floor. But for now, all I could do was hang on for the ride.

Next door I could hear him fumbling with the paper dispenser as he desperately tried to finish his task. Little snatches of conversation made themselves heard over my anal symphony: “Gotta go… horrible… throw up… in my mouth… not… make it… tell the kids… love them… oh God…” followed by more sounds of suppressed gagging and retching.

Alas, it is evidently difficult to hold one’s phone and wipe one’s bum at the same time. Just as my high-pressure abuse of the toilet was winding down, I heard a plop and splash from next door, followed by string of swear words and gags. My poop-mate had dropped his phone into the toilet.

There was a lull in my production, and the restroom became deathly quiet. I could envision him standing there, wondering what to do. A final anal announcement came trumpeting from my behind, small chunks plopping noisily into the water. That must have been the last straw. I heard a flush, a fumbling with the lock, and then the stall door was thrown open. I heard him running out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

After a considerable amount of paperwork, I got up and surveyed the damage. I felt bad for the janitor who’d be forced to deal with this, but I knew that flushing was not an option. No toilet in the world could handle that unholy mess. Flushing would only lead to a floor flooded with filth.

As I left, I glanced into the next-door stall. Nothing remained in the bowl. Had he flushed his phone, or had he plucked it out and left the bathroom with nasty unwashed hands? The world will never know.

I exited the bathroom, momentarily proud and Shameless, looking around for a face glaring at me. But I saw no one. I suspect that somehow my supernatural elimination has managed to transfer my Shamefulness to my anonymous poop-mate. I think it’ll be a long time before he can bring himself to poop in public — and I doubt he’ll ever again answer his cell phone in the loo. And this, my friends, is why you should never talk on your phone in the bathroom.

If anyone knows the original author, please let me know, I would be happy to give them their due credit. Goodness knows that deserve it.

KO Special Comment on NIE and Iran

Olbermann & Maddow on DHS Failures

Individual Rights v Societal Rights

Students Launch Human Rights Complaints Over School Food Allergies

There are all kinds of deadly weapons that have appeared in schools in the modern era. We've heard of recent knife attacks and gun threats. And then there's the peanut butter sandwich. The lunch bag staple many used to take for granted has become a new threat to some kids who suffer from severe food allergies.

And on Friday, six students from York Region afflicted with the problem announced their intention to file a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission to force their school to re-introduce mandatory bag checks to ensure they're not exposed to any of the substances that can kill them.

The kids, who attend St. Stephen Catholic Elementary School in Woodbridge, insist their rights have been violated after repeated appeals to the principal and the board proved fruitless. The school used to have a policy that had teachers inspecting all lunch bags to ensure they were peanut free. But it became an onerous and expensive process and was eventually abandoned. Now the kids and their parents want it back, arguing it may not be pleasant or easy - but it's better than the alternative.

SOURCE: CityNews (Complete Article)

Hmm, I don't know where I stand on this issue. Although I am all for the safety of kids, I think this might be going too far. I mean if every allergy were catered to in this manner, what would be left? Thinking back to my childhood, I would have starved if all these options were removed.

Milk

Some forms of it can be found in:

• Deli slices,
• Canned tuna (casein, a milk protein),
• Pudding,
• Sour cream,
• Yogurt and custard,
• Margarine,
• Butter used to grill food, which melts into the product and can't be detected

Eggs

Some forms of it can be found in:

• Foam topping on coffee drinks,
• Egg substitutes, despite the name,
• Cooked pastas,
• Soup,
• Mayonnaise,
• Pasta,
• Marshmallows

Peanuts

Some forms of it can be found in:

• Any cooked products made with peanut oil,
• Many ethnic foods, like Chinese, Indonesian, Mexican, Thai, and Vietnamese,
• Baked goods,
• Ice cream,
• Sunflower seeds,
• Chocolate and other candy,
• Chili,
• Donuts and pastries,
• Egg rolls,
• Any product that is made near where peanuts or peanut oil is in use.

Tree Nuts

Some forms of it can be found in:

• Barbeque sauce,
• Cereals,
• Crackers,
• Ice cream,
• Mortadella,
• Pesto,
• Chocolates,
• Hacky sacks or bean bags (non-food items that may contain crushed nut shells.)

Fish

Some forms of it can be found in:

• Caesar salad dressings,
• Steak sauce

Soy

Some forms of it can be found in:

• Baked goods,
• Canned tuna,
• Cereals,
• Crackers,
• Infant formulas,
• Sauces,
• Soups,
• Peanut butter.

Wheat

Some forms of it can be found in:

• Many baked goods,
• Hot dogs,
• Ice cream,
• Imitation crabmeat,
• Couscous,
• Wreaths (a non-food product that may use wheat as part of its decoration)

Shellfish

Some forms of it can be found in:

• Crab,
• Lobster,
• Shrimp,
• Prawns,
• Oysters,
• Some natural or artificial flavourings

Lists courtesy of: Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, Health Canada and various health agencies

I believe that when the allergies get this extreme, the onus should be on the children and parents to protect themselves, even if it means wearing latex gloves all day. This sets a dangerous precedent in that, say for example, I have a child who is allergic to chlorophyll (extreme, I know, but humour me here) can I ask the school to chop down every tree, eliminate every bush and shrub and pave over every blade of grass? Would I be out of line in asking that children with such extreme conditions be home-schooled?

While I am all for individual rights, my common sense tells me to draw a line when they infringe on the rights of a society as a whole.

Silly silly gift card!

Shopping Malls Exempt From Dropping Expiry Dates On Gift Cards

Before you get gift card happy this holiday season, there's something you should know.

You may recall when the Ontario government banned gift cards from having an expiry date back in October because it wants "consumers to know that gift cards are worth the money they paid for them, regardless of when those cards are used," according to Consumer Services Minister Ted McMeekin.

But it looks like that rule won't apply to shopping malls over the shopping frenzy this month as they've been granted a temporary exemption from the new law until the New Year.

Some malls are still charging a $1.50 processing fee, while others are subject to a monthly two dollar maintenance fee.

SOURCE: CityNews

I've never understood why gift cards had expiration dates to begin with. In my mind, that's the equivalent of going to the ATM and withdrawing cash with an expiration date, saying must be spent by xx/xx/xx. I mean come on shopkeepers, I've paid for the card, you have the money, let the bearer spend the card when ever they damn well please. It makes no sense to me.

But then again, I've always thought the concept of gift cards made little sense to begin with. As a comedian, whose name I cannot recall, so aptly put it, and I'm paraphrasing here, you know for the same twenty dollar gift card, you could have gotten me twenty bucks. So much for telling me not to spend it all in one place, it doesn't seem like I have a choice now, do I?

What's worse is it says about the giver that they went all the way to a store, but when they got there, were too lazy to figure out what to get.

Some might argue that giving cash may seem thoughtless and crass. I don't see how it is crass, the value of the card is printed in large bold text for the whole world to see; we know exactly how much it cost. Also, by giving someone a gift card, you're telling them where to shop... that seems a lot less thoughtful.

A thought just occurred to me. If one were to buy, say a $20.00 gift card, after taxes, that should come up to something just shy of $23.00. Now, when the recipient purchases something with that same gift can they buy something with a $20.00 sticker value and simply walk out the store, or would they have to pay taxes on that again? Would the government be double dipping on an item that was essentially only sold once?

Total Recall

This is by no means a complete list. Even, of the side affect listed, I only selected the most severe to illustrate my point.

Drug	Use	Side Affects
Accutane	Acne Medication	Suicidal Depression
Advair	Asthma Medication	Exacerbates Asthma
Avandia	Diabetes	Heart Attack and Heart-related Death
Bextra	Arthritis	Heart Attack and Stroke
Celebrex	Arthritis	Heart Attack
Crestor	Cholesterol	Life Threatening Muscle Failure & Kidney Failure
Ortho Evra	Birth Control Patch	Death Due To Blood Clotting
Paxil	Anti-Depressant	Suicidal Behaviour
Permax	Parkinsons	Heart Valve Damage
Plavix	Anti-Coagulant	Gastrointestinal Bleeding
Procrit	Anaemia	Heart Attack, Blood Clots & Kidney Failure
Risperdal	Schizophrenia	Stroke
Serevent	Asthma	Life Threatening Asthma Attacks & Death
Serzone	Anti-Depressant	Liver Failure & Death
Trasylol	Control Bleeding Of Heart Operation Patients	Doubles The Risk of Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Stroke and Renal Failure
Viagara	Erectile Dysfunction	Heart Attacks, Sudden Cardiac Death
Vioxx	Arthritis	Heart Attack
Xolair	Asthma	Difficulty Breathing
Zelnorm	Irritable Bowel Syndrome	Heart Attack & Stroke
Zicam	Common Cold	Total Loss Of Smell

SOURCE: Defective Drugs

I have a couple of questions:

What the hell are the FDA doing? If this is the stuff they have approved, I dread to think of the drugs they did not approve. When anti-depressants lead to suicide, when asthma medication increases difficulty breathing and promotes severe asthma attacks and when medication that's supposed to aid in a patient's heart surgery recovery causes more damage to the heart, there is definitely something rotten in the State of Denmark.

If all these prescriptions drugs, many of which have not been tested for more than twenty or thirty years, seem to be approved willy nilly, why hasn't Marijuana?

Marijuana has been smoked and ingested in various forms for at least 2500 to 2800 years in the Indian sub-continent alone, and as far as I am aware, there isn't a single weed related death on record. Ganja's medicinal benefits have been proven time and time again, yet Big Pharmacy has the FDA and other regulating bodies by the short and curlies.

A new study published by JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association) reveals that Marijuana can kerb the spread of breast cancer, and yet it, in most of the world, it remains only available on street corners.

Quoting... Albert Einstein

A man's ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.
- Albert Einstein

Quoting... George Orwell

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

-George Orwell (From The Book, 1984)

Homer on Letterman

Top ten reasons why Homer J. Simpson should be President of The United States... you mean he's not?

Too dumb for words

I'm stunned! First Sherri says she doesn't believe in evolution, then she says she doesn't know if the world is round or flat now she's saying NOTHING pre-dates Christianity! Oy vey! I don't know where to begin.

There's is just no defending this kind incompetence. I mean I can't even say she's a mindless Christian drone, because she's not even that. She's Dumb! Even a mindless Christian drone who has read the Bible would know that the ENTIRE OLD TESTAMENT pre-dates Christianity. In the words of Bugs Bunny, "Whatta maroon! Whatta ignoranimus!"

Quoting... Marie Curie

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
- Marie Curie

Truer and more timeless words were never spoken.

They actually needed a group.

Turks Angry at Mel Gibson.

The Foundation for the Struggle Against Baseless Allegations of Genocide (ASİMED) has begun an e-mail campaign to try and dissuade actor Mel Gibson from playing a role in a film that underscores claims of an alleged genocide of Anatolian Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I.

SOURCE: The Brussels Journal (Complete Article)

I find it odd that these guys get accused to genocide often enough to warrant a full time organisation to fend off these allegations.

What Would Jesus Buy?

From Producer Morgan Spurlock



Produced by the guy who brought you "Supersize me" and HBO's "30 Days" comes a docu-drama about one man's crusade against the Shopacalypse

Stop Fox Hunting!

H/T Wino via Rafikitalk.

Jesus & Mo: Fact

Another succinct one from Jesus & Mo

A Love Story In Three Pictures

A friend e-mailed me this this morning... tee hee hee.

H/T:

The name should have been a clue!

Cruise Ship Sinks Off Antarctica

BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 23 -- The first cruise ship ever built to ply the frigid waters off Antarctica became the first ever to sink there Friday. The red-hulled M/S Explorer struck ice, took on water as 154 passengers and crew members scrambled to safety aboard lifeboats and rafts, then went to the bottom.

SOURCE: The Washington Post (Complete Article)

I only make light of this because everyone survived - What the hell are passengers thinking going to the Antarctic in a ship called the M/S Explorer? Of course it's going to crash! That makes as about as much sense as travelling on a passenger jet named M/S Windows or BSD (Blue screen of death). I realise the ship came long before Bill Gates stole his first piece of code... but still!

Ricky Gervais on Creationism

Noam Chomsky on US policy towards Iran

Noam Chomsky is be far one of the smartest people I have ever come across! This is a MUST watch!

That's it US Government... you never get to tell anyone what to do again!

Quoting... Ron Paul

"In Washington, lawmakers either want to prohibit something, or subsidize something. How about doing neither, and letting people make the decisions!"
-Ron Paul

When Rob Paul says something like this, he sound less like a conservative and more like a libertarian. Keep at it Dr. Paul!

I'm fucking disgusted!!!

Think Moderate has just published another one of my pieces. If the first or second of my entries there didn't piss you off, this one will!

Life Imitating Life

Nothing needs to be said here...

Bang bang... you're dead

An Excerpt...

The following entry starts mid-thought because it is an actual entry from my personal blog, however all the pertinent details are still intact... I hope

On my way in, there were a couple of gentlemen discussing religion, a subject of interest to me; so I eve dropped. One of the gents quoted something which resonated with me. Curious, I introduced myself and asked for more information, to which he informed that the quote is from Gospel according to Thomas from the Coptic Gospels.

After a little research I learned that the Coptic Gospels are, if I understand them correctly, dialogues between Thomas and as well as some of Christ's "sayings". I always knew not all the gospels were included in the Bible, these, apparently, were one of them. After very little digging, I found the quote:

Whether you look under the stone or within the split wood, God is there.

The reason this struck a chord with me is because, in my mind, it encapsulate the omnipresence of God elegantly and I can see why the Roman Catholic church discarded it. In essence, it implies one does not need a church/temple/mosque/synagogue or what have you, in which to worship and dispels the concept of hallowed or consecrated ground as the whole planet is already such.

If only the religious right could figure this and take cleaning up the planet more seriously.

Quoting... Dr. Gregory House

You can't use logic on religious people, if you could, there's would be any religious people.
-Dr. Gregory House

I support FOX News

It's true, and chances are, so do you! If you watch:

• 24
• American Dad
• American Idol
• American's Most Wanted
• Are You Smarter That A Fifth Grader
• Back To You
• Bones
• Cops
• Don't Forget The Lyrics
• Family Guy
• Hell's Kitchen
• House
• King Of The Hill
• Kitchen Nightmare
• K-Ville
• Mad TV
• Nashville
• New Amsterdam
• The Next Great Band
• Prison Break
• The Simpsons
• So You Think You Can Dance?
• Talkshow With Spike Ferensten
• 'Till Death
  
• Anything released by 20th Century Fox

Oh... And FOX News, you're contributing to Rupert Murdoch's ever growing wallet.

This list is just a tiny fraction of products and services under the giant umbrella that is Rupert Murdoch. Here's my dilemma: What do I do? Do I cease watching my favourite shows on FOX? Ethically, I should. How about practically?

Well, here's the thing, short of very independent "Mom & Pop" operations, if one goes far enough up the proverbial umbrella, one finds that few corporate entities own many many subsidiaries. Example: If you're a fanatical anti-smoker, do you stop purchasing Kraft products? Kraft is owned by The Philip Morris Tobacco Co., and this is but one example. Imagine all the products and services you use - now if you were to trace their parent companies, chances are you could find someone you would protest. Based on this one simple instance, it seems unreasonable to expect you to forgo everything made by an unpleasant corporation doesn't it? Then again, what's so unreasonable about adhering to one's principles?

I'm confused... especially now that The Simpsons is funny again.

Doug Stanhope - Fuck the French

There are so many people out that need to see this.

Not The Daily Show

The more and more I hear about the writers strike, the more and more I find myself siding with the writers. This little video encapsulates the whole fiasco rather succinctly in the style of TDS.

Miss The Daily Show?

Now that the WGA strike is in full swing, Daily Show viewers are already feeling the sting. Unlike other shows which have un-aired episodes already in the can, TDS is already in re-runs. With the strike said to last up to nine months, a torturous amount of time away from Jon Stewart, here is something that might tide you over, even if only for a little while - TheDailyShow.com where you can search the last nine years of TDS all in one convenient place. Although they already something like this before... I believe it was called YouTube, this is done by Comedy Central, so you know that the quality of the video is going to be good.

On a hunch, I punched in http://thecolbertreport.com and this came up:

What the...???

This left me agape.

It's about time.

Health and safety 'extremists' damaging children's development

Health and safety "extremists" were warned that they are hindering the development of children by wrapping them in cotton wool.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said it was "positively necessary" for youngsters to take part in activities which could lead to a twisted ankle or cut knee.

Instead, said chief executive Tom Mullarkey, they were being cosseted by "small-minded bureaucrats".

He said officials should concentrate on making Britain "as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible".

Mr Mullarkey said: "People have this perception of 'elf and safety' as something that restricts your life, rather than helping you to live fully and successfully.

SOURCE: DAILY MAIL (Complete Article)

I've already talked about how I loathe those warning labels that just make one feel like a complete imbecile and I am happy to see that there are people out there doing something about it (would be nice to see a similar movement here in North American as well) and finally saying it's okay to get hurt. that we don't have to be living in a bubble wrap world and personally I think it's about time.

One state solution? It's worth a shot...

Palestinian, Israeli scholars to advance one-state solution in London

Leading Palestinian and Israeli scholars and activists will be among the speakers at an unprecendented conference to explore a one-state solution, at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London on 17-18 November.

Organized by the London One State Group and the SOAS Palestine Society, the conference, "Challenging the Boundaries: A Single State in Israel/Palestine," will explore new models for a just peace including binationalism, secular democracy, a 'state of all its citizens' and federalism.

The London conference comes as prominent politicians including US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and UK Foreign Secretary David Milliband have recently warned that the window for implementing a two-state solution is fast closing. Israel has continued to block the establishment of a Palestinian state by accelerating its colonization of the occupied West Bank and tightening its starvation siege of the occupied Gaza Strip, even as Rice makes last ditch efforts to implement a partition.

SOURCE: THE ELECTRONIC INTIFADA (Complete Article)

While I don't nearly enough know as much as I should about the whole Israel/Palestine debacle, for as long as I can remember it has always been ever present on the world stage, rarely, if ever, in a positive light.

I feel like going up to the Israelis & Palestinians and saying, "Look! If you can't share, neither of you can have it, now go to your room."

Quoting... Steven Wright

Everyone dies instantly... It's the only way to die. You're alive... you're alive... you're alive... you're dead.
- Steven Wright

Where to now?

Readers may have noticed that lately I've posted very little as of late, and of those few posts even fewer have any commentary from me. The reason for this is simple - I'm exhausted.

I realise this tiny piece of the web is less than insignificant and will not change the world, but there was a time I had faith that things would get better. Last year in the United States, the Democrats won the House and the Senate sparking an ember of hope within me that all the wrongs of the six years previous would be righted as much as it could have been. But here we are, almost eleven months later and NOTHING!

The Democratic Party talked tough (well tough for the Democratic Party anyway) because they realised that the people wanted an end to war, so much so that the last mid-term elections became, in essence, became a referendum on ending the war. Pro-Iraq War? Vote GOP. Anti-Iraq War? Vote Democratic. The Democrats won. The people had spoken.

However, Bush's veto power has all but stripped the House of any power. If Mr. Bush does not get where we wants, he will, and has, vetoed his way there. Upon challenging a presidential veto the Congress, it seems, are unable to uphold said challenge. If memory serves me correctly (I have to go by memory as I am unable to find Bush's veto record ANYWHERE on line), prior to the last mid-term elections in Nov, 2006, he had used his veto power once in almost six years (he vetoed stem-cell research). In the past year, he's used it at least four or perhaps even five times and every single time his veto has withstood any challenge it had faced.

Now with Bush poised for yet another veto this time to bar $606 Billion for health, education and labour programmes I just know he will get his way yet again.

I feel all vented out. When things were bad I had used all the superlatives in my vocabulary to lambaste the current administration and policy makers, now that things are worse, I find I have nowhere to go.

How to make an angry American

This apparently came out in the summer, this is the first time I've seen it... All I could do was shake my head.

Henry Rollins - This is how I protest the war

Henry Rollins - "This Is How I Protest The War"

Wow, Henry... Wow!

What the hell?

glumbert - The Magic Trick You'll Never Figure Out

If you had one lecture to give before you died...

What would it be?

Set some time aside for this one, runtime: one hour, 44 minutes.

The Pirate Bay fights back!

TPB files charges against media companies

Thanks to the email-leakage from MediaDefender-Defenders we now have proof of the things we've been suspecting for a long time; the big record and movie labels are paying professional hackers, saboteurs and ddosers to destroy our trackers.

While browsing through the email we identified the companies that are also active in Sweden and we have tonight reported these incidents to the police. The charges are infrastructural sabotage, denial of service attacks, hacking and spamming, all of these on a commercial level.

The companies that are being reported are the following:

* Twentieth Century Fox, Sweden AB
* Emi Music Sweden AB
* Universal Music Group Sweden AB
* Universal Pictures Nordic AB
* Paramount Home Entertainment (Sweden) AB
* Atari Nordic AB
* Activision Nordic Filial Till Activision (Uk) Ltd
* Ubisoft Sweden AB
* Sony Bmg Music Entertainment (Sweden) AB
* Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Nordic AB

SOURCE: THE PIRATE BAY BLOG

Well done TPB! After being conned by big media with CD & DVDs, I really hope TPB takes a big bite of out the collective asses of Big Media. When the disc medium first came out, they were tagged with lofty promises to explain their tag. They were supposed to last forever and they cost more to make. Now we've find, thought the experience of time, that they DON'T last forever and are in fact cheaper to make.

The Internet in 1999 as seen in 1967

Wow, this is uncanny to say the least. As someone of the one of message boards put it: "That is amazing… It’s a lot more accurate than the Back to the Future movies. LOL."

Wanna see what $87,000,000,000.00 looks like?

On top right of TFTH, there a little counter that estimates how much money has been spent on the Iraqi war, courtesy of costofwar.com. At the time of writing, it currently sits at $453,005,095,656. As mere mortals, can we even begin to conceptualise what that kind of money would look like? How much room one would need to store it? I came across this today. It shows what $87,000,000,000.00 would like and then what $315 Billion would look like.

Make sure you read the very bottom...

Quoting... Darrell A. Foley

It's not that I'm itching to get married... I just don't want to be too old to enjoy my first divorce.
- Darrell A. Foley

Quoting... Thomas H. Huxley

Irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors.
- Thomas H. Huxley

How Spiderman 3 should have ended.

There's a great site out there called How It Should Have Ended. The long and the short of it is that they create their own version of how they feel films should have ended. This is their latest instalment. Enjoy.



If you have time to kill, check out their site. A couple of my favourites are Lord of the Rings and Superman

FOX censors Sally Field, but this isn't about that.

By now most of you have heard that Sally Field was censored by FOX, and if you haven't... you have now.

Here's the video...


This is my first video upload, hope it works... if it doesn't here's transcript of the bit I'm referring to.

This is was broadcast

“Surely this [award] belongs to all the mothers of the world. May they be seen, may their work be valued and raised. Especially to the mothers who stand with an open heart and wait. Wait for their children to come home from danger, from harm’s way, and from war. I am proud to be one of those women. If mothers ruled the world, there would be no….“

And this is how it was meant to end.

“…god-damned wars in the first place.”

While most I do abhor the fact that she was censored, it was by FOX, and right now there isn't much they can do to shock me. In fact, let's put it this way, if she wasn't censored, I would have been shocked.

The part I draw issue with is:

If mothers ruled the world, there would be no….“ “…god-damned wars in the first place.”

First, I truly sick of hearing this kind of hyperbole. Talk like this is not only divisive but flies in the face of the true feminist movement. I mean are women looking for equality of superiority?

Second, well for the second part, I'll bet Bill Maher address what she said... This is from Bill Maher's HBO Special "Victory Begins at Home"

Fight for Kisses

I see why road rage exists.

So Darrell and I were booting about the city on Saturday... actually, let me rephrase... So Darrell and I were moving about the city painfully slowly on Saturday. He was driving, while I was riding "shotgun" and I was the one getting my knickers in a twist. By the end of the day I was mother effing this and c sucker that. On more than one occasion I had to mentally slow myself down, find my Chi, and centre it.

Al has already discussed the Toronto Transit Commission's mismanagement here with a lively discussion ensuing. The people I have an issue with are whoever the hell plans roads and highways in and out of the city.

There are far too few arteries flowing in and out of Toronto for a city this size on the average day, however, when there is an event in the city such as the recently completed Toronto International Film Festival or the Home Show, the city grinds to standstill!

It is not as though these are Hailey's comet type events that happen every once in a while. No! These are yearly occurrences. The same can be said when there's a Leaf, Raptors, Jays (well, maybe not the Jays), Argos or Toronto FC game in town. The down town core is gridlocked! Getting on or off the Gardiner anywhere between Bathurst and Yonge is enough of an ordeal to throw a Zen master into a fit of rage. One can only imagine what the city would have become had we been awarded the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

One of the primary motives for the IOC not granting the City of Toronto the much coveted games was our poor infra-structure. To put it another way, according to the IOC (not that their credibility isn't unblemished), the Toronto road system is worse than the Beijing's pitiful human rights record.

I will concede that not all the traffic problems are the fault of the road network. A fair bit of blame should fall squarely on the some of the drivers in the city.

Making a green light is NOT as important as making it across the intersection.
Switching lanes just to get a car's length ahead is not work inconveniencing three other vehicles.
Indicator (signal) lights do serve a purpose - please use them accordingly.
Sightseeing at the expense of everyone behind you is RUDE

You know, I remember the good ol' days when they made you take a test to get a driver's license. Whatever happened to them? Maybe I'm just getting old...

Quoting... Ronald Reagan

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'
- Ronald Reagan

Quoting... Bertrand Russell

If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way.
-Bertrand Russell

Is it 1984 yet?

Senate blocks mandatory ID implants in employees

Tackling a dilemma right out of a science fiction novel, the state Senate passed legislation Thursday that would bar employers from requiring workers to have identification devices implanted under their skin.

State Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) proposed the measure after at least one company began marketing radio frequency identification devices for use in humans.

The devices, as small as a grain of rice, can be used by employers to identify workers. A scanner passing over a body part implanted with one can instantly identify the person.

"RFID is a minor miracle, with all sorts of good uses," Simitian said. "But we shouldn't condone forced 'tagging' of humans. It's the ultimate invasion of privacy."

Simitian said he fears that the devices could be compromised by persons with unauthorized scanners, facilitating identity theft and improper tracking and surveillance.

The bill has been approved by the state Assembly and now goes to the governor.

Nine senators opposed the measure, including Bob Margett (R-Arcadia), who said it is premature to legislate technology that has not yet proved to be a problem. "It sounded like it was a solution looking for a problem," Margett said. "It didn't seem like it was necessary."

One company, VeriChip, has been licensed by the Food and Drug Administration to sell implanted identification devices, and about 2,000 people have had them implanted, Simitian said. A representative of the firm did not return calls seeking comment Thursday.

Source: LA Times (Complete Article)

Wow! I had to re-read this article twice and check the domain name just to make sure that this wasn't a farce of some sort.

I do not know what's worse, the fact there is a company out there that mandates its employees to be outfitted with these RFID tags or that the Senate had to block such legislation.

What in the world were the 2000 employees of VeriChip thinking when they acquiesced to this Orwellian tagging system. This is grossly irresponsible of the VeriChip employees. By allowing themselves to be tagged like cattle, they set a very dangerous precedent for other corporations to follow suit, that is to say nothing of the fact that something like this is obviously invasive regardless of how small it is.

Media-opoly

This is supposedly a skit that aired only once on NBC, presumably during SNL, and was never seen again.

You know... I just don't trust anyone any more, and I probably won't believe anything that anyone has to say...

Olbermann's Special Comment - Sept 4, 07

You know, after all detritus this administration has put the world through, I keep asking myself how much more can we take? Surely, we have reached the end of our tether? Evidently we have not.

I am flabbergasted beyond believe. This is the sort of stuff that incites civil unrest and sometimes even revolutions. Since the dawn of democracy (what ever the hell that means these days), when has a populace ever been this marginalised without consequence?

XXX Hot, Steamy God-on-God Action XXX

I said I was going to take the summer off, but I subscribe to MarkDayComedy on you tube and thought this was too priceless to turn down.

A little late...

It's a little late, but just a quickie to let readers (if they're any left) know that I'm taking the summer off from blogging, the weather's just too damn nice!

The Day Before...

The following is from an advertising campaign for the Cape Times.

Monday, September 10th 2001, the day before aeroplanes struck the World Trade Centre in New York.


Sunday, August 5th, 1945, the day before the Atom bomb was unleashed on Hiroshima.


Tuesday, June 15th, 1976, the day before the riots erupted in Soweto.


Tuesday, November 21st, 1963, The day before John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas

Quoting... Steven Weinberg

With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
- Steven Weinberg

Quoting... Clement Atlee

Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people talking
- Clement Atlee

Boston Legal - Homosexuality

Another classic delivery from Alan Shore

Hi, I'm a Liberal

Global Warming


Branding


Crossing Dressing

TorrentSpy Ordered To Start Tracking Visitors.

TorrentSpy Ordered To Start Tracking Visitors.

A court decision reached last month but under seal until Friday could force Web sites to track visitors if the sites become defendants in a lawsuit.

TorrentSpy, a popular BitTorrent search engine, was ordered on May 29 by a federal judge in the Central District of California in Los Angeles to create logs detailing users' activities on the site. The judge, Jacqueline Chooljian, however, granted a stay of the order on Friday to allow TorrentSpy to file an appeal.

The appeal must be filed by June 12, according to Ira Rothken, TorrentSpy's attorney.

TorrentSpy has promised in its privacy policy never to track visitors without their consent.

"It is likely that TorrentSpy would turn off access to the U.S. before tracking its users," Rothken said. "If this order were allowed to stand, it would mean that Web sites can be required by discovery judges to track what their users do even if their privacy policy says otherwise."

The Motion Picture Association of America, which represents Columbia Pictures and other top Hollywood film studios, sued TorrentSpy and a host of others in February 2006 as part of a sweep against file-sharing companies. According to the MPAA, the search engine was sued for allegedly making it easier to download pirated files.

Representatives of the trade group could not be reached for comment.

The court's decision could have a chilling effect on e-commerce and digital entertainment sites, said Fred von Lohmann, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He calls the ruling "unprecedented."

SOURCE: C|Net News (Complete Article)

I don't really have anything to say about this. I just thought I'd post this as a "public service" to those of you naughty people out there who frequent TorrentSpy. Does anyone know where TorrentSpy is based? I thought most of these are usually located in either the Scandinavian countries or the BeNeLux countries - If they are, how does a US court achieve jurisdiction?

Heroes -- Zeroes 2

A while ago I posted Heroes -- Zeroes, here is the sequel: Heroes -- Zeroes 2 - enjoy.


PS. I'm really digging the new You Tube player... very cool stuff. Click the menu button after the clip is done to see what I mean. Also a big fan of being able to get the embed code and URL without having to go to You Tube.

H/T Darrell

My Problem With Atheism

An atheist is someone who does not believe in God, an all powerful force, a mighty deity or what have you - in short, an atheist is the polar opposite to a canonist.

A canonist believes without a doubt that there is a God. The rationale for their belief stems from an intangible yet resolute faith.

An atheist believes without a doubt that there is no God. The rationale for the their belief stems from a deficiency of scientific evidence.

Here's my dilemma with atheists: some, if not most, are willing to accept even the very slimmest of possibilities that intelligent extra-terrestrial life may exist. I mean with the millions of galaxies, containing billions of planets, it's a pretty arrogant notion to emphatically state that Earth could be the only one blessed with life. So without empirical data, they are, even on a minuscule level, open to the suggestion, which is fair enough.

However, with all the wonders in our infinite universe, they're not receptive to even the slightest inclination of an all powerful force. It does not have to be a god or God in the way we have made him/her/them out to be, but just "something" out there.

In my mind, an atheist & religionist make equally little sense in that one is sure there is no God or gods, while the other is sure there is. Given that there is no actual data to support the existence of deities does not controvert the possibility that there might be something out there.

Not all the evidence is in. Everything we know now, is not, by any stretch of the imagination, all we will ever know. So, the way I see it, being an atheist requires at least some amount of... faith.

Now I have a feeling someone might bring up Dawkins' "Flying Spaghetti Monster". It's true that it is pretty unlikely that such a beast exists, but no one can say with certainty that it doesn't exist anywhere in the universe.

Or is my reasoning specious?

This about sums it all up

Came across this this morning

Quoting... Friedrich Nietzsche

All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Connery Says Never Again

Connery bows out of Indiana film.

Sir Sean Connery has announced that he will not be playing Harrison Ford's father in the next Indiana Jones film.

"If anything could have pulled me out of retirement, it would have been an Indiana Jones film," the 76-year-old said in a statement on its website.

"But in the end, retirement is just too damned much fun," he continues.

SOURCE: BBC News

Indiana Jones is the second film Sir Sean has opted not to partake in - the first being the iconic role of Ganfalf the wizard in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He cites not understanding the role Gandalf for dismissing it; but his recent decision on Indy 4 baffles me. Of course, it's his prerogative to accept or reject any role he wishes, and to stay in retirement. However, and maybe this is just a fan speaking, I had hoped that he would reprise the role of Dr. Henry Jones Sr. for a few reasons.

• It would make his rationale for abstaining from Lord of the Rings more credible. If he knew in his heart of hearts that he was indeed permanently retired, a simple, "Thanks, but no thanks, I'm out of the business would have sufficed when turning down Gandalf the Grey.
  
• I'm a devout fan of the Indiana Jones franchise and the introduction of Indy's dad in the most recent installation added a whole new dimension to the character of Indiana Jones which the film makers will now be limited to explore.
• Finally, I am a great enthusiast of Sir Sean Connery himself. I've enjoyed his work since I was a child watching him on mission after mission and the original super secret agent 007. Being the fan that I am, I really hated seeing Mr. Connery end his near fifty year career on such a sour note as "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" - a film that sounded great on paper but was so horribly executed. Connery deserved a far better exit which Indy 4 would have handily provided.

Running For Political Office for GOP's 101

Family guy nails it again.

Jesus & Mo - Holy

Here's another chuckle from Jesus & Mo.If you're having trouble reading the text, click to see it at full size.

Shift Happens

You've probably already seen this, but I think it's worth seeing again.

Darfur still getting uglier...

Another satellite image of Darfur.
Click for a clearer picture.

Quoting... Johnny Carson

Democracy means that anyone can grow up to be president, and anyone who doesn't grow up can be vice president.
- Johnny Carson

Group Memorials @ Think Moderate

A while ago I mentioned that I would be contributing to Think Moderate. I just wrote my first entry - feel free to swing on by and check it out at this permalink.

Late Breaking News!

Bush declares Cold War over

Prague - US President George Bush declared on Tuesday that the Cold War has ended and Russia was "not our enemy" and should not be concerned about the extension of the US anti-missile shield in Europe.

"The Cold War is over. It ended. People in the Czech Republic do not have to choose between being friends of the US or friends of Russia. You can be both," Bush said during a joint press conference with Czech President Vaclav Klaus and Premier Mirek Topolanek.

Source: IOL (Complete Article)

In other breaking news: The North won the Civil War and the Germans Lost WWII. Join us next week where we will examine the applications of the newly invented wheel. Also, don't miss our special report - Advances in Science: Fire

Canada dethrones Australia as friendliest nation!

Australia Loses Out in Latest Anholt Nation Brands Index

Sydney, May 31st, 2007 – Aussies are no longer the friendliest people in the world, according to the Q1 2007 edition of the Anholt Nation Brands Index (NBI) powered by GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc.), a provider of global market intelligence solutions. Canada took Australia’s crown as the world’s friendliest nation, and China knocked Australia out of the Top 10 nation brand financial valuations by making its debut in Brand Finance’s 2007 Nation Brand League Table, climbing from 12th place in 2005 to ninth this year. Australia, whose nation brand valuation ranked ninth in 2006, goes down two places to number 11 in 2007.

Source: Anholt Nation Brands Index

Well that settles it. After experiencing the amiability of Canadians first hand, on Jun 1st, 2007; it turns out that just the day before we were named the friendliest nation in the world by Anholt Nation Brands Index. Don't really have much to say on the matter except... We're #1!.. Oops, I hope I don't screw up Canada's ranking in the humility rankings.

Just plain silliness

Toronto is friendly

So I was meeting Alana at the Queen's Park subway station this afternoon, and while I was waiting for her, I apparently had a mild blackout and supposedly "fell" and hit my head on the railing I was leaning against. I have no recollection of said events, save the word of two very kind women who came to my immediate assistance. They near insisted on taking me to the closest hospital and were adamant about not leaving me alone, and they didn't, despite my assurances that I was okay. They did not leave my side until Alana showed up.

I neither got their names, nor thought to ask for them. The chances of those altruistic women ever coming across this lowly blog are as great as getting hit by lightning on the way to cash a winning lottery ticket. But on the very very slim chance that either or both of them do happen to stumble across TFTH, I would like to extend my deepest thanks to the both of them for their act of genuine compassion.

My thanks to you.

The Church of Google

Proof that Google is indeed God. Check out the Church of Google.

Still not sure? Here are their Nine Proofs that Google fulfils the definition of God in the conventional sense.

Brilliant... Absolutely Brilliant!

Humans & Dinosaurs Co-existed?

12 arrests in the name of terrorism... out of 814,073

Less Than 0.01% Of Homeland Security Cases Are Terrorism Related

Records obtained from the immigration courts under the Freedom of Information Act show that only 0.0015 percent of the total number of cases filed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were terrorism related, despite the fact that the Bush administration has repeatedly asserted that it is the primary focus of the DHS.

A report issued Sunday by independent research group The Transactional Records Action Clearinghouse (TRAC) found that in the last three years there have only been 12 charges of terrorism out of 814,073 cases.

Source:Infowars.net

We all knew, the passing the Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act was nothing but a smokescreen to curtail civil and human rights. Even I, in my scepticism, realised that on occasion, these acts, and other like it, would be used to further the agenda of the Bush Administration. However, as it turns out, I was completely wrong. These acts are not being used on occasion to foster the government's ulterior motives, but instead, they are only, on occasion being used for their intended purpose.

I can't even begin to describe the sadness I feel.

Using such an extreme form of the laws to incarcerate over 800,000 people, the size of a small city, amounts to the action of a totalitarian regime. What is worse, within the eyes of the law this is all acceptable; this is, essentially, legislated dictatorship.

When the numbers are this telling, how can any branch of the government allow this injustice to continue, even in the name of security and freedom?

The "terrorists" who "hated America for their freedoms" must hate them a lot less now.