electricinca.com

He is one of those orators of whom it was well said, 'Before they get up, they do not know what they are going to say; when they are speaking, they do not know what they are saying; and when they have sat down, they do not know what they have said.'
Winston Churchill

Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry,
Winston Churchill

The discovery of the corpse of a bizarre hairless canine creature dubbed the Lufkin beast has caused speculation that it may be the mythical Chupacabra or Goatsucker.

However all bizarre looking the creature is unlikely to be a new species. A more probable explanantion would be that it is a coyote from a particularly inbred pack that has caught some mange-like disease.

Never mind though as the hobbit-like new species of human is a true scientific discovery that eclipses the importance of the Lufkin beast.

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?
Mahatma Gandhi

A wrong decision isn't forever; it can always be reversed.
The losses from a delayed decision are forever; they can never be retrieved.
J.K. Galbraith

ABC News: Cuba Moves to Stop Trade in U.S. Dollars

Moving to wean its communist economic system from the U.S. currency, Cuba said that dollars will no longer be accepted at island businesses and stores in a dramatic change in how commercial transactions have been done here in more than a decade.

The Cuban move is in response to the US sanctions which the US government is trying to strengthen in order to starve the small communist island of dollars. This move is designed to undermine Fidel Castro's government.

I really cannot understand why the US is continuing with this dogmatic approach to Cuba, are the few Cubano votes in Florida really worth the bother of maintaining sanctions. With the collapse of the Soviet Union over a decade ago surely even the most paranoid neoconservative cannot believe that Cuba still poses a threat.

Perhaps the best solution would be a hands off approach and through allowing American tourists and businesses to go to Cuba they can destabilise the communist regime via the backdoor so to speak. A similar effect to this is actually occurring in Vietnam, by doing nothing the US government is unintentionally being more successful in their goal of defeating communism than they were in the Vietnam War.

I have lost all enthusiasm for my present job and would much rather spend my days writing crap on my weblog. Please aid me in my goal and free me up so I can entertain you like some kind of insane fool mumbling incoherently in the corner of the room.

Visit dropcash and make a donation to my fund.

This is basically an experiment to test the waters of using the dropcash service before I launch a more serious project with it.

Hey, what's Dropcash?

It's a simple way to organize a fundraiser. Are you raising money for a charity, a trip overseas, a family gift for mom, or to pay off a surprise hosting bill? Dropcash lets you set up a page so everyone can follow your progress as you near your goal.

Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman gets namechecked in the latest issue of Warren Ellis's comic Planetary. If it's possible to have eccentric physicists as idols then Feynman is one of mine.

Fifty years ago, Mr. Snow the physicist Richard Feynman gave a lecture entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom."

His thesis was that, in a period concerned with megaengineering and macroscale physics we were not directing the correct attention to the microscale.

We contain universes. There are vastnesses in every grade of sand.

I watched the first part of a three-part documentary series titled The Power of Nightmares on BBC 2 early tonight.

This series shows dramatically how the idea that we are threatened by a hidden and organised terrorist network is an illusion. It is a myth that has spread unquestioned through politics, the security services and the international media. At the heart of the story are two groups: the American neoconservatives and the radical Islamists. Both were idealists who were born out of the failure of the liberal dream to build a better world. These two groups have changed the world but not in the way either intended. Together they created today's nightmare vision of an organised terror network. A fantasy that politicians then found restored their power and authority in a disillusioned age. Those with the darkest fears became the most powerful.

I would urge everyone to see this if you get the chance as well as watching Errol Morris's documentary film The Fog of War.

I've been saying this for a while but the concept of a War on Terror is nonsensical because not only is it a war on an abstract concept but you cannot defeat terrorists by waging war anyway. We are not at any greater risk of terrorism since 9/11 than we were before, that's not to say that there is no danger but that it is of the same level as it ever was.

To really combat terrorism requires the typical cloak and dagger stuff that the security services do such as surveillance, wiretapping and infiltration of suspect groups. Plus increasing the security of likely targets of terrorist attacks in a manner that not only appears like you are doing something to improve security but actually does improve security.

But it isn't easy to sell to the public that you are doing everything possible to combat terrorism if nothing is appears to be happening. Foiling a terrorist attack isn't something that can revealed to the public in many cases at it could hamper future operations. So for the governments to appear to their citizens that they are effective in this they need to go and wage war in the name of combating terrorism even if the enemy in these wars are only tangentially connected to terrorism if at all.

Labels: Security, Surveillance, Terrorism

There has been a hell of a furore in the blogosphere concerning an initiative launched by The Guardian newspaper titled Operation Clark County. The Guardian has identified Clark County in Ohio as being a crucial battleground in the upcoming US presidential election as it almost evenly split between the two candidates. The newspaper is encouraging its readers to write a letter to a registered voter in Clark County in order to influence their vote.

They never say that letterwriters should endorse Senator Kerry for President but as a left-wing newspaper it is probably true that the majority of readers will be in favour of Kerry winning the election. As you would expect the right-wing blogs are aghast at the thought of the election being swung away from their candidate and that foreigners are seeking to have an influence in US politics.

It strikes me as ironic that this should happen considering that since the end of World War II that the US government has itself exerted their own influence over foreign elections even going so far as to support coups and the overthrow of democratically elected governments.

I was initially tempted by the idea of writing to an American voter but I wonder if I could truly have any influence over their choice of candidate. How would I react to receiving a letter from overseas urging me to vote one way or another? With my contrary nature I would probably vote in a different direction to the way in which I was being urged to, unless I was very much in favour of a particular candidate such that I was unlikely to be swayed any way.

What strikes me as odd is the split between the US and the rest of the world over their preference in this election, this is the first time that I'm aware of that this has been the case. Typically you would find a fairly even split down the middle with left-wing individuals preferring the Democrat candidate and the right-wing the Republican. But even in countries where they have a right-wing government such as Italy or Australia where you could assume that the majority of individuals would favour the Republican candidate the majority of the population don't.

Are Americans that different to people from other countries and yet how can they be as they are virtually all descended from immigrants. But the again when you have a court judgement that asserts that FOX News has a constitutional right under the First Amendment to present lies as news how can you expect people to make an informed decision about their choice of president.

Extract from an interview with Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones.

{Tour staffer asks Keith if he ever met the devil at the crossroads again, what kind of deal would he ask for this time...}

KR: A better one! The devil doesn't bother me, it's God that pisses me off. Him and his rain. You wait until I meet the motherfucker. Doesn't he know who we are? We're the Rolling Stones!

It's stuff like this that makes me love The Rolling Stones.

I got an intriguing email from eBay today asking me to verify my details because a fraudulent bid had been made with my accout. Interestingly it was sent to the email address that I don't use for my eBay account. To see a copy of it click here.

It is of course a spoof email designed to steal my details and defraud me. First time I had ever received one though and it is probably because I have just started to sell a number of items that I don't want anymore. Too much stuff and not enough space syndrome. It is quite a cathartic process to declutter my life. I've dumped a load of old magazines and comics for recycling that weren't worth selling as well.

The company RetroPod has ceased trading following a letter from law firm Cooper & Dunham, LLP that argued it was infringing the trademarks of Sony and damaging their business. The RetroPod was a handmade iPod case created from a vintage Sony Sports Walkman shell.

Sony recently learned that you are selling a case for carrying an iPod personal stereo that is made from a WALKMAN tape player. The product is being offered at your website at www.retropod.com.

Your use of casings for such a purpose is a clear infringement of the SONY and WALKMAN marks because it is deceptive. Consumers likely will be misled and deceived into believing that Sony is somehow connected with the iPod personal stereo when in fact it is not. Moreover, they will be misled into thinking that Sony is backward in its design of products and is going away from miniaturization, as the size of the tape player housing is quite large by today's standards.

Accordingly, we demand on behalf of Sony that you immediately cease and desist from selling, or offering to sell or distributing your Retropod product...

It is a shame to see the end of RetroPod as it was a great idea I thought. However it is a case that couldn't be won as it is clearly an infringement of the Sony trademark.

It crossed my mind that they could carry on with an altered design that no longer carried the Sony or Walkman logos but perhaps without them the product loses some of it's retro appeal and humour.

Autumn Leaf
Originally uploaded by pwinn.

Mother Nature begins to roll out the colours of Autumn.

I haven't posted any pictures from Flickr in a while, but this one really stood out as I was browsing through the recently uploaded pics.

fucking talking about.

How an example of the use of Creative Commons in South Africa not only encourages the creation of culture but a profit can be made from it also.

This new spin on pong sees me as addicted as I was to the original, Virtua Pong.

Actually having written that it might not truly be the case. I think the first computer game I really became addicted to was a knock the bricks from the wall by bouncing a ball off a movabble platform type game.

Labels: Games

Farmyard furore as Five lets Rebecca Loos on porker

I can't quite decide whether this is the zenith or nadir of reality television.

Five is heading for a new storm over dumbed down reality TV shows after screening its most controversial broadcast yet in which David Beckham's alleged lover was shown masturbating a pig.

Rebecca Loos, Beckham's former personal assistant, who gained notoriety earlier this year when she alleged she had conducted an affair with the England captain, carried out the procedure on Five's reality show, The Farm.

The collection of semen from livestock is an everyday event in modern farming as the first step in artificial insemination that is done for selective breeding.

The public reaction and outrage surrounding this incident is hilarious with some even complaining that it is nothing more than bestiality. I think the most bizarre thing is the presence of Rebecca Loos on the show. Did I miss the point when she became not just the women that had fucked a famous married man but a celebrity in her own right? But then again with the surfeit of celebrity reality TV shows at the moment they must be having to scrape the bottom of the celebrity barrel to get people for the show.

Busted Back The Tories

Young heart throbs Busted are backing the Conservatives - if only to hang on to their millions.

The trio, who found fame with Year 3000, Crashed The Wedding and Thunderbirds Are Go, attacked Labour's tax hikes.

It was cretinous upper-midddle class twats like this that influenced enough people to keep Thatcher in power for so long.

In other news there is a new album by William Shatner that's just been released and it's been produced by Ben Folds.

William Shatner - Has Been

His rendition of Pulp's Common People is to say the least interesting.

Count Olaf of A Series of Unfortunate Events now has a blog apparently.

Lemony Snicket is just a name the studio cooked up to help sell my movie to citrus lovers! He doesn’t even exist!

I would recommend that if you happen to be fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events that you do not bother visiting these websites. If I were you, I would immediately turn your computer off rather than view any of the dreadful images, read any of the wretched information, play any of the unnerving games or examine the unpleasant books presented within them.

Frank Sinatra (deceased) weighs in with his opinion on Northwest Airlines flight #327. As one of the more prominent fans of The Big Apple with his song New York! New York! Frank is the man to go to post 9/11 when one needs an opinion on airplane security matters. In the style we've come to expect of Sinatra he croons Strangers on my flight.

Labels: Security

If not I recommend you try the Dubya Programme. Your 12-step programme to becoming paranoid and misguided. Don't know what to think about the threat of global terrorism. Well we can remember it for you wholesale.
George W. Bush: Keeping America scared.

Found via Plasticbag.

Labels: Terrorism

Link from BoingBoing to a couple of essays by the brilliant Bruce Schneier.

City Cops' Plate Scanner is a License to Snoop

Academics locked out by tight visa controls

Labels: Security