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Questions and Answers

There's a camera on every street corner, observing each person and looking into their soul. The cameras know you better than you know yourself; they don't get distracted, tired, hungry or bored. They know that you live your life alone, they know that you're tired and desperate trying to make a living in a job you hate. The cameras have more power than all the governments combined; they are our God.
I could stand for hours on the street looking into that blank, glazed stare of the camera, waiting for it to blink. But it doesn't.
I know that I can see, hear and smell. I know that I can taste and touch, but am I aware of it? Do I actually exist? Is this proof of my existence? I can sense but I don't know how; each touch is, to me disembodied. It's like someone else is feeling for me. Half of the time I'm not even aware that I'm seeing something, it's just a random sequence of images appearing somewhere, somehow making me aware, making me able to recognize shapes, forms, faces. Do I know what it is that I'm seeing? Or am I just drifting? When I hear things do I actually know that I'm hearing them and interpreting those electrical signals into something that I can actually understand? Do I exist at all, or is this just part of some cosmic plan? And if I'm existing, do I even know if I'm existing? I think therefore I am. But how do I know what I'm thinking? How can I interpret those thoughts? How can I hear what I'm thinking yet not at the same time? Why us? There are thousands of species of animal on this planet but why are we the only ones who can make concrete monstrosities tower up from the ground? Is the human race existing or are we all just imagining it? Could it be that we're all just one single mass of thought expressing itself through different mediums, forever in conflict with itself, fighting to express itself in different forms? If I'm alone in a room, how can I be sure that the others are still there? Do they cease to exist? And if I exit a room do I cease to exist?
I speak to someone. They reply. Perhaps they perceive what I said differently, and give an entirely different reply. Maybe I interpret that reply in order to satisfy my curiosity. Maybe we're all talking random shit to each other, but all making up our own definitions of what we're saying. Maybe that's how communication works: we don't understand each other but we make ourselves believe that we do.
If I continue to exist (hypothetically speaking, we've still not figured out if we DO exist) will my past cease to exist? Will it never have happened? And is my future predefined? Can it be changed, or does I already know what choices I'm going to make, is my subconscious aware of how and when I'm going to make the choices that I make? Therefore does free will REALLY exist? Am I already aware of how my life will turn out? Maybe I just don't realize it yet.

Confessions of a Deadbeat

"Why don't you get off your ass and get a job?!". Isn't that how it always goes in the movies, where the rebellious teen gets afoul of their parents for some reason or another? Yeah, they say "Why don't you get a job" and the teen stands up defiantly and shouts "Yeah, well maybe I will!" and slams the door. Then they get a job just to prove their parents wrong, and many humorous anecdotal things happen.
Well, wake up Hollywood. It ain't like that. I've had many a people tell me to get a job, seeing as I complain about the lack of cash from time to time. Sure! I'll get up, get a job, get a girlfriend! Fuck, it'll be easy! Then you actually get up off your ass and go to do it only to find out that you've not got the time and that cute girl you were eyeing already has a boyfriend. Welcome to my world.
I've thought about getting a job. No, really I have. Here in Béziers, the only work that you can really get if you're a teen is bar work or waiter work. Either way it amounts to pretty much the same thing; you work your ass off for a slave wage serving self-righteous Americans. The smug, self satisfied lot that you have to smile at, all the while imagining what it would be like embedding an empty coke bottle in their skull. Then comes the time issues; you work a full day at school with teachers busting your ass only to get home, change your clothes and work for another five hours. See, I weighed up all these pros and cons. I could be earning money, be proud to be making a living etcetera etcetera. Then again, I'd be tired, overworked and underappreciated as an employee (aren't we all?). No, thanks. I'd rather spend my evenings sitting in front of this machine watching High Fidelity. I admit it, I'm a deadbeat. Getting a job holds no interest to me whatsoever.
So now you're probably assuming I have a pretty active social life that takes up all of my free time? Well, you'd be wrong there, too. My social life is deader than Nelson. My days consist of school, then coming back here and pouring out all of my negative thoughts into this little box, for all of you to read and snigger. A guy I know keeps asking me if I want to hit the town with him and some friends, but I turn him down. He doesn't really know that I can't stand him. I'm just like that; it's not that I'm afraid of hurting his feelings or anything, it's just that I can't be bothered with the hassle that telling someone who previously considered themselves as your friend is actually a shallow asshole who should fuck off. I'm just like that. If anyone tells you that they're afraid of hurting someone's feelings, it's usually bullshit. They just can't be bothered with all of that emotional bombardement that follows the breaking up of whatever relationship... Sure, it's selfish, sure it's shallow. I admit it. In the long run, these sorts of relationships break up any way. I mean come on, how many of your school-mates do YOU still keep in touch with?
But where was I? Oh, yeah. People also seem to have this idea in their head that it's unnatural for a teen my age to be dating. I'd kindly ask those people not to lump me in with a stereotype. Sure, there are girls that I'm interested in, there always will be. It's the same with anyone my age. I just don't ask them out because I don't have the time for that right now. And I don't mean time in a metaphysical sense here, I mean more in an emotional sense of the word. When you're in a relationship, it takes up so much of your goddamned time and space, until you're effectively smothered by the primordial urges that wrack all of us. Or at least from my viewpoint. Cynical, isn't it?

Sure, people sometimes accuse me of being overly cynical. I suppose that I see the world in a different way to most people, I somewhat exaggerate the realism of life and the world in general. Jokingly, I'd say I hate everyone and everything in this world, but I don't mean it. I just have an open disdain for modern culture in every single way. I don't like what it's become, where someone is judged on the artificial qualities in themselves, and where they're willing to change at the drop of a hat just to please a social clique. Did you know that most teens these days talk to more people online than they do in real life? Fuck, I used to be addicted to that shit. Then I realized that I was turning myself into a nervous wreck. Suddenly this urge comes along to meet real people, not just some anonymous guy behind the screen. So then I started to make real friends.

This is where my fingers die.

Here's what i'm trying to learn on bass. The Awakening Bass Solo

First of all, the original version



Now a faithful reproduction of it:



Wish me luck...

Chernobyl

The 26th April 1986 is burned into our memory, and will stay there for many years to come. The Chernobyl disaster has become perhaps one of the most dramatic arguments supporting the end to nuclear proliferation. Surprisingly enough, within the past decade or so, the 30km exclusion zone surrounding the NPP and Pripyat has become an increasingly popular tourist destination among those who wish to visit the exclusion zone and soak up some of the history and the atmosphere.

A Little History

It was April 25th 1986, and the technicians working in Reactor 4 were in the process of preparing the reactor for shutdown, so that maintenance could be performed on the reactor and various performance tests could be exacted. The head of the maintenance operation decided to test the efficiency of the fail-safe systems, making sure that the reactor could generate enough electricity to power up the safety protocols preventing a meltdown of the reactor. The reactor itself was an RBMK-1000 model which required water to be continuously circulated through the core, in order to cool down the nuclear fuel and prevent any accidents.
The plant's reactors themselves had back-up generators as a precaution, though it would take 40 seconds for the generators to power up to full speed in case of an accident. Nevertheless, the maintenance team went ahead with the preparation, as they felt they could react in time lest something go wrong, despite a test run already coming up negative. The reactor output (in other words, the amount of electricity the reactors produced) had been gradually reduced to 50% causing a regional power generator to go offline. This was an unexpected complication for the team, as they had not projected that this would happen. Nevertheless, it wasn't a massive setback so they continued with the test. The grid controller at Kiev furthermore requested that the team stop the reduction of the output rate, as they needed electricity for rush hour and the like in the evening. The plant director agreed and postponed the testing, and left a skeleton crew to watch over the plant during the night. The crew itself had very little experience when it came to these types of tests, and were indeed insufficiently advised concerning reactor safety, this was one of the main factors responsible for the meltdown, yet the worst was still to come.
The crew were unaware of the postponement of the reactor shutdown, whether it be through communications errors or simple incompetence. They therefore followed the original test protocol that had been planned out prior to the decision to postpone the testing. This meant that the power level supporting the safety protocols that safe-guarded the reactor were decreased too rapidly, leaving the reactor incredibly vulnerable. The reactor started to produce more nuclear toxins (Xenon-135) which further dropped the power output, further endangering the integrity of the reactor core. The operators, through sheer inexperience simply believed that this was a malfunction in the automated power generators and not because of reactor poisoning. They then decided to try and increase the productivity of the reactor by extracting the control rods from the reactor's core.

Then came the day of the experiment itself. Officially, we know that it started at 1:23:04AM on the morning of April 26th. Through what was possibly an equipment malfunction, the unstable state of the reactor did not show on the control panel, therefore the team were unaware of the fact that there was something wrong. The steam leading to the turbines was then shut off, and the water cooling the reactor decreased in flow. The turbine was further disconnected from the reactor, which in turn increased the amount of steam contained therein, heating up the core. The reactor had an elevated void coefficient (the rate at which a nuclear reactor can change as steam bubbles form in the coolant) and the reactor started to become unstable.
At 1:23:40 AM the team noticed that something was going wrong and ordered an immediate shutdown of the reactor, re-inserting the control rods into the reactor core. The emergency shutdown was known as a SCRAM and Anatoly Dyatlov, who was the deputy chief engineer of the plant further stated in his book Chernobyl, How did it Happen? :

Prior to 01:23:40, systems of centralized control … didn't register any parameter changes that could justify the SCRAM. Commission … gathered and analyzed large amount of materials and, as stated in its report, failed to determine the reason why the SCRAM was ordered. There was no need to look for the reason. The reactor was simply being shut down upon the completion of the experiment.

The mechanism that inserted the control rods was incredibly slow, which in turn reduced the amount of coolant generated around the reactor, meaning that the emergency shutdown increased the reaction rate. At this point, nothing could be done to reverse the effects. A massive energy surge fractured several of the control and fuel rods, making it impossible to shut down the reaction. The reactor then suffered an immense steam explosion which blew the lid off of the reactor. The sudden surge of oxygen in the reactor then sparked a fire and the reactor exploded.


Crisis Management

Due to the fact that the crew were unaware of the immensely high radiation levels contained within the reactor itself, they performed several severe miscalculations. In the reactor building, the worst hit areas contained up to 20 000 Roetgens per hour (500R/h is a fatal amount). Nevertheless, a geiger counter measuring up to 1000R/h was unavailable at the time, due to the Soviet economy decline that the 80s experienced. The Geiger counters that were being used at the time read off-scale levels of radiation, therefore the crews only knew that the radiation contained in the area was somewhere over 3.6R/h. Alexander Akimov, the crew leader assumed that because of these low readings, the reactor was still intact, ignoring the fact that there was massive chunks of debris lying all around the reactor. Another Geiger counter was brought in, and read accurate readings, but they were assumed to be defective and the readings were disregarded. Akimov and his crew therefore stayed in the reactor building, and were dead three weeks later from radiation poisoning.
After the accident, several firefighter crews arrived at the scene, but were not told of the severity of the accident or of the nature of the accident; they assumed that it was a simple electrical fire, and therefore were in the dark about the toxic radioactive materials they would be handling. By 5AM the fires on the roof of the plant were extinguished, and the crew focused their attention on the fire in the reactor. They decided to try and drop sand, boron, lead and clay into the reactor in order to try and smother the fire. This did nothing, and in fact further fueled the fire. This can be evidenced by looking in the underbelly of the reactor; large lava flows were created thanks to the superheated material.
Pripyat was then evacuated. The residents were told that the evacuation would only be temporary. This means that you can still see many of the personal belongings of residents still in the city today. Having said that, many people have taken to looting, despite government warnings.
The liquidators were then sent in to assist in the clean-up. I have nothing but the utmost respect for these men; they were volunteers and they knew precisely what they were getting in to. Teams would work for up to two minutes each, running across the plant roof and clearing a small piece of debris off, then running back to safety. Hundreds of these men died not long after, all that remains of them is a large vehicle graveyard on the outskirts of the Zone, and a monument to their bravery in Chernobyl itself.

Aftermath

Since the fatal experiment, Chernobyl has now become an internationally recognized symbol for the fight against nuclear proliferation. Many countries were affected by the explosion, and still are to this day.
One would expect Chernobyl and the 30km disaster zone surrounding it to be completely barren of life, though this couldn't be further from the truth. Ukranian authorities are reporting a surge in the Elk population, a species which were dwindling before the disaster, and it also appears that there are no serious mutations among animals except a slightly elevated cancer risk for mice.
The reactor core itself is still probed and explored by several scientists, trying to find out where the nuclear fuel went after the explosion. Ironically, they have suffered two deaths from heart related problems. One would expect radiation to be the culprit.
There are still problems though; the sarcophagus surrounding the reactor is slowly crumbling. Plans have been made to construct another sarcophagus around the reactor, but due to lack of funding this has been delayed. If the sarcophagus were to crumble, another accident could happen, resulting in another release of toxins into the air, which could affect many countries in Europe, such as Belarus, a country which already has an elevated child deformity rate as an direct cause of the radiation. In fact there is an orphanage in Belarus itself housing many children with mental deficiencies and Leukemia. Many people visit this place on their way to Chernobyl, to help the children and donate money to the orphanage.

Other than that, what's to say? It's easy enough to get into the Zone itself. It's an interesting place, regardless of what happened there.

Peace

The Internet is the Prankster's A-Bomb

We're now living in a veritable age of the Information Sensation. 93% of all information in the World is currently situated on the World Wide Web.
Besides being a constantly changing technological feat, the Internet is also a major player in the political game; freedom of information reigns here. The government can't stop it, as much as they try.
One prime example has been the latest riots and civil unrest in Burma; where the Internet became an incredibly useful tool in penetrating the media blackouts that the Burmese goverment implemented. The problem is, that the government were able to arrest citizens for supplying information about the situation in Burma, but they weren't able to intercept the information and stop it from getting to the rest of the world. Therefore, we were all able to learn about the atrocities and blatant abuse of human rights perpetuated by the Burmese government.
One thing that you must never do with the information you find, is settle for just one source. Don't be satisfied with just one news site telling you what's going on; search all over the place, talk to people. You'll often find that each source has a conflicting account of just what is going on. This is evidenced especially by the major news corporations (funny, how even information is controlled by money-hungry suits) such as CNN, BBC, NBC and the like. Become the media by talking to people; this is your most powerful weapon: the power of curiosity.
So just how could this technological sensation be useful to the political prankster? The answer is simple, all you have to do is take a look at the latest hacking sensations out there, where a young man broke into the government's computers and found out a bunch of information. The government is practically pissing themselves over hackers, and the new approaches they are taking daily to gain access to confidential files and folders located on computers. They say that a new way of gaining access to someone's computer is found weekly. Some of this is too much for the government to keep track of.
So just what can the hacker do, once they're in the government's computer? First of all, we need to differentiate between "malicious" and "benevolent" hacking. A selfless hacker is a rare thing to find these days. Most people that try and gain access to government computers seek to destroy the economy and cause general disorder. What they fail to realize is the fact that they're trying to destroy the very system that they themselves are dependent on: electricity grids, banks, the like. No, benevolent hacking merely entails finding dirty little secrets that your government doesn't want you to see and exposing it to the world. Remember: they can arrest you, but what about the hundreds of people that you send the information to?
And we need more of that, these days. Instead of phishing myspace accounts and creating viruses for personal gain, why not truely embody and ennact the freedom of information act the governments are so fond of waving about? The majority of classified information that you find on the net is the sort that could take down a president if it was made public. So think about that next time you decide to rummage around in the FBI's drawers...

Stay safe,

Jay

Are PETA Hypocrites?

Before I start this blog, let it be known that I hate PETA with a passion. I think they are hypocrites, so the whole point of this blog is to try and justify my opinion. Nevertheless, as always it's up to YOU to decide what you think about them. You may agree with me, I don't know.
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So what IS PETA? To you and me, they're the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, in other words an animal rights group. Over the past decade or so, their name has become synonymous with the whole concept of animal rights; they promote veganism, denounce animal testing and abstain from any product derived from an animal. No doubt most of you will have been told that they are dedicated to saving animals through clever campaigns and raids on animal testing laboratories. When you take away this layer, which is essentially a very expensive and cosmetic PR campaign, you see that not all things are good in PETALand.

First of all, I think it would be worth taking a look at the head and guiding light of PETA, Ingrid Newkirk. According to Wikipedia, Newkirk (pictured right) is a British born vegan who's experiences in India concerning the abuse of animals in circuses helped shape her philosophy as it is today. While this seems like a noble enough reason to campaign for animal rights (and believe me, I don't have a problem with animal rights), one only has to take a look at her will to know that something is wrong.

2. While the final decision as to the use of my body remains with PETA, I make the following suggested directions:

a. That the “meat” of my body, or a portion thereof, be used for a human barbecue, to remind the world that the meat of a corpse is all flesh, regardless of whether it comes from a human being or another animal, and that flesh foods are not needed;

b. That my skin, or a portion thereof, be removed and made into leather products, such as purses, to remind the world that human skin and the skin of other animals is the same and that neither is “fabric” nor needed, and that some skin be tacked up outside the Indian Leather Fair each year to serve as a reminder of the government’s need to abate the suffering of Indian bullocks who, after a life of extreme and involuntary servitude, as I have seen firsthand, are exported all over the world in this form;

c. That in remembrance of the elephant-foot umbrella stands and tiger rugs I saw, as a child, offered for sale by merchants at Connaught Place in Delhi, my feet be removed and umbrella stands or other ornamentation be made from them, as a reminder of the depravity of killing innocent animals, such as elephants, in order that we might use their body parts for household items and decorations;

d. That one of my eyes be removed, mounted, and delivered to the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a reminder that PETA will continue to be watching the agency until it stops poisoning and torturing animals in useless and cruel experiments; that the other is to be used as PETA sees fit;

e. That my pointing finger be delivered to Kenneth Feld, owner of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, or to a circus museum to stand as the “Greatest Accusation on Earth” on behalf of the countless elephants, lions, tigers, bears, and other animals who have been kidnapped from their families and removed from their homelands in India, Thailand, Africa, and South America and deprived of all that is natural and pleasant to them, abused, and forced into involuntary servitude for the sake of cheap entertainment;

f. That my liver be vacuum-packed and shipped, in whole or in part, to France, to there be used in a public appeal to persuade shoppers not to support the vile practice of force-feeding geese and ducks for foie gras;

g. That one of my ears be removed, mounted, and sent to the Canadian Parliament to assist them in hearing, for the first time perhaps, the screams of the seals, bears, raccoons, foxes, and minks bludgeoned, trapped, and sometimes skinned alive for their pelts; that the other ear be removed, preserved, and displayed outside the Deonar abattoir in Mumbai to remind all who do business there that the screams of the cattle who are slaughtered within its walls are heard around the world;

h. That one of my thumbs be removed, mounted upwards on a plaque, and sent to the person or institution that, in the year of my death or thereabouts, PETA decides has done the most to promote alternatives to the use and abuse of animals in any area of their exploitation;

i. That one of my thumbs be mounted in a downward position and sent to the person or institution that, in the year of my death or thereabouts, has gone against the changing tide of societal opinion and frightened and hurt animals in some egregious manner;

j. That a little part of my heart be buried near the racetrack at Hockenheim, preferably near the Ferrari pits, where Michael Shumacher raced in and won the German Grand Prix;

k. That anything else be done with my body that PETA believes will serve to draw attention to and so abate the plight of exploited animals.

Now, what is wrong with this picture? To me, a will that expresses the wish to be turned into a parody of fast food when I pass on, is a sign of mental illness. One needs to question whether Newkirk is quite in her right mind. And as El Sid herself stated, "who the fuck would want one of her severed thumbs mounted on their desk?!" It's this kind of delusional behavior that shuns people away from the animal rights movement. People see the will on the PETA website and assume that it's fronted by a mental patient.

But that's not all I have to say about PETA, oh no. Next in line is the "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" ads that they're so fond of. Again, it bases itself on a noble concept, the abolition of animal fur in clothing. Let's face it, we're in the 21st century now; polyester and artificial fabrics are cheap and easy to make. Sure, they wore skins back in the club-toting days, but they didn't have Ikea back then.
Again though, PETA have taken this concept and blown it out of the water. Take a look at this add:
Now, ask yourself, to whom does this ad seem marketed? Women? I doubt it. A bunch of lecherous men and sexually repressed teenagers? Likely. And at the end of the day, what does the viewer concentrate on the most; the message behind the ad or the fact that there's a naked woman on it? You tell me.

Possibly the most insulting part of PETA's entire campaign would have to be comparing the treatment of animals in mass-farming to holocaust victims. PETA states explicitly that

"like the Jews murdered in concentration camps, animals are terrorized when they are housed in huge filthy warehouses and rounded up for shipment to slaughter. The leather sofa and handbag are the moral equivalent of the lampshades made from the skins of people killed in the death camps."

While animals are perhaps mistreated in the mass farms, how on earth can anyone lack so much sense as to compare their treatment to that of holocaust victims in concentration camps? Believe me, there is a difference. For one, the concentration camps were specifically created to kill a large number of people, due to malicious intent from the Nazi regime. What is the aim of a farm? To provide food to a mass-consumer base. There is no emotion in a farm. None whatsoever.

And now for the finale, my friends. Did you know that PETA holds a policy on animal euthanasia? Our good old friend Newkirk tells us that

"Our service is to provide a peaceful and painless death to animals who no one wants."

One has to question her dedication to animal rights. Why doesn't PETA take it upon themselves to find homes for these animals? Why kill them? There is no logic in this act whatsoever. And do the animals have a say? No, of course they don't. For an organization who prides themselves on the ethical treatment of animals, they sure enjoy having the last say. But instead, PETA blames people not spaying their animals. Well, fuck me.
One well known case of unnecessary euthanasia concerning animals was in 2005 when the police found over 80 animals had been euthanized and thrown in dumpsters. Among one of these animals was a cat and her kittens. According to veterinarian Patrick Proctor, who had seen the cats before their death, they were adoptable and the PETA employees had specifically stated that they would have no problem finding homes for them.

So are PETA destroying the credibility of the animal rights movement? Here's my slightly biased evidence. Don't be content just with what I've said, though. Look around the net, find out for yourself and make your own damn mind up. I'm just presenting my point of view.


Stay Sane,

Jay

Pointless Bickering

Pray, do tell. Is there any point whatsoever to the right and the left debating and trying to put each other down 24/7? They spend so much goddamn time trying to get one over on the other, that the real issues become obscured by the debate, exaggerated by the media; "Who is best, the liberal left or the wacky right?"
I've noticed this recently on a forum I frequent. Every topic seems to transform into a debate of whether the left is better than the right or vice-versa. Take, for example, a topic on the war in Iraq. One person comments that Bush should be tried for war crimes, and the more conservative members of said forum jump on him/her like rabid animals, shrieking "YOU CAN'T SAY THAT, SHOW ME PROOF!" Each camp effectively tries to undermine the image of the other, claiming each other to be childish. Alas, they don't stop to consider the fact that their pointless bickering makes them both come across as angsty five year olds.

This also applies to the political domain, though thankfully not as extreme. Still, instead of debating policies, why don't the right and the left try to find a solution that is mutually beneficial for all parties concerned, and especially the public? That way pretty much everyone is happy, right? Or wrong? In a world full of contradictions nothing is certain.

Peace

Coke steps up to the political mainframe

In September's edition of Private Eye, the magazine gave uncovered the latest debacle in the circus that is the House of Commons, whereupon Coca-Cola, longtime fighter of injustice paid for a meeting on 'corporate social responsibility'. This comes as a slight shock seeing as the Coca-Cola Company, which is as we all know a corporation, has had a long and checkered history when it comes to the social welfare of their employees and clients. After all, there is no trace of any health warnings on the Coke website as to the adverse effects of excessive consumption of their product, which includes high traces of caffeine and sugar, not to mention a massive variety of artificial colourings and flavours pumped into their soft drink. The caffeine in Coca Cola, when consumed excessively is thought possible to lead to caffeine dependancy for the consumer. This is further exacerbated by the fact that Coke contains a few ingredients used by the "orange" drink Sunny D, which can turn the consumer yellow if they drink too much.
Of course, the company aren't trying to promote excessive consumption of the drink, are they? Kids aren't pulled in by those bright adverts where the guy puts a nickel in the vending machine, and a whole new world springs to life inside the dispenser. That's what Coke seems to think at least.
Furthermore, Nestlé sponsored a meeting concerning obesity in children. The critical Nelson might find this overly hypocritical, as Nestlé's contributions to stopping childhood obesity include the Kit Kat bar and Cookie Crisp cereal, which is essentially chocolate chip cookies in a bowl with milk poured on them. Nestlé of course are well known for having publicly opposed Labour's scheme for "traffic light" food labels, which mark the product with a green, yellow or red light depending on the ingredients used, and the amount of E-numbers and chemicals pumped into the product. They also opposed the government's plan to limit junk-food adverts on prime-time TV.
This is of course the corporation without any scruples whatsoever. We all remember the baby milk controversy of the 70's don't we? This being the controversy where their special formula allegedly caused the deaths of fifteen infants, due to the result of the formula being mixed with contaminated water. The only problem is, a lot of this information has been slow getting out to people, since Nestlé have been involved in a long number of libel court cases against people who openly opposed their breast-milk substitute using the fifteen dead children as a thorougly justifiable example of how Nestlé don't give a shit about their clientelle if their Corporate interests are in the picture.

Back to Coca-Cola, and we know that way back when a few decades ago, cocaine was an active ingredient in their drink. Having said that, this was back in the day when Cocaine was a legal substance. Nevertheless, with the high amount of sugar, caffeine and coke in the drink, it gave the user an unbeatable high, therefore the company decided to market it as a health drink. This was bullshit, and they knew it. The health drink plot was simply a way to increase consumption, therefore people would drink it more often, leading to cocaine addiction amongst a plethora of other health problems.
Again, why did all this information come out late? Because the company, like Nestlé was involved in a long series of libel cases against people who argued that the drink held no health benefits whatsoever. This has been a common caracteristic of large food and drink corporations such as Coke and Nestlé whereupon they use intimidation and the like to beat the public into submission. While the fat-man at the top floor sits and pats his stomach, knowing he's got premium health service, his employees and consumers are struggling to make money, and are falling victim to health complications, because they've been fed lies by the corporation.
And at the heart of it all, who or what do we have to blame for this? Capitalism of course. It may be the only viable economic system out there (let's not forget that Stalin and Castro aren't true representatives of Communism, a system which has never made a true apparition in the economic market), but it's destroying public interests, as it's been twisted by the corporations whose only mantra is "Make a profit and screw everything else". Pay your workers pittance, try to dodge any and all inspections that might bring an end to production and wallow in your own greed like a pig in mud.

Stay sane,

Jay

Wave of Mutilation

Wanted:A "rogue state," needed by President Bush to justify spending $60 billion as the down payment on a National Missile Defense system.

How convenient for him that Russia is trying to re-establish itself as a new superpower, with Comrade Sta... I mean Putin implementing his new form of dictatorship.
It seems like the Alliance of Evil, that is to say the UK and the US, is more and more willing to plunge the world into another Cold War. What with the Litvinyenko radiation poisioning and the Russian bomber planes being intercepted in UK airspace, one can only sit and wonder how long it'll be before those itchy trigger fingers on both sides of the Iron Curtain slip up. These days, true power is dictated by the amount of missiles a country can produce in order to beat their neighbors into submission. We've seen time and time again that richer countries sell the poor countries shiny new ballistic missiles, only to invade them ten years later claiming they're a threat to world peace. But who sold them the weapons in the first place?
'Oh, shit, we forgot,' they scream hysterically, 'you can't get angry at us! We were simply protecting our foreign economic interests.'

But £60 billion dollars on a missile defense system? And a missile defense system that has every single chance of fucking up and leading to the downfall of a country, and the deaths of millions of innocent lives? Thank god that at least the system has been overhauled from the ancient 1950s model, where a counterattack stood a high chance of wiping incoming missiles from the radar, so that they could not be intercepted.
Now the army is using the Pathfinder missiles which carry a payload equal to the explosive power of twenty-five Hiroshima style atomic bombs. During the crucial phase of development, did anyone stop to think about what might go wrong? Say there's an error with one of the payloads, and it explodes in mid-air, spreading deadly radiation into the atmosphere, poisoning millions? The government might cover it up. "You're not sick... You're not sick... You're not sick..." and then, when it's too late... "Oh, you ARE sick. Sorry, there's nothing you can do except sit and wait. Here's a re-run of American Gladiators to take your mind off of things." Then, anarchy in the streets. What do you think would happen when a whole nation of people realizes they're all going to die and there's nothing that they can do about it? 'It's okay if I break into this house and rape this kid, I'm going to die anyway, I may as well get some enjoyment out of the process!' Society as we know it would crumble.

So why doesn't Bush try and use this $60 billion for a more practical purpose; one that excludes the senseless death of millions of people? Why not... Oh, I don't know... invest it in the financing and construction of community centers, a better health system or education or even strengthening foreign relations by donating a few billion to impoverished nations ruled by bloodthirsty dictators? Oh, wait... I forgot. He knows what's best for America, that's why he's the president. The country doesn't need a stable economy or a 100% literacy rate amongst adults. No, only evil communist countries like Cuba have those sorts of demographics. And the USA will never fall under such an oppressive, authoritarian Orwell-wet-dream government like Cuba.

Or will they?


Stay sane,

Jay

Bombs Away! The USA PATRIOT Act Has Come To Play!

Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 is a government legislation in the US that was introduced by (surprise surprise) George Dubya, the latest monkey in the long line of fundamentalist Christians to take the throne. We've all heard of the Patriot Act, but hands up how many people actually knows what it permits the government to do?

First of all, looking at the title, one might think that Bush misunderstood what "USA" stands for. Instead of United States of America, he thought it meant Uniting and Strengthening America. Perhaps in his cocaine-binge heyday someone jokingly told him that's what USA stood for and he was dumb enough to believe it. Hey, weirder stuff has happened, right? 'But what are these Appropriate Tools?!' I hear you cry in confusion. Well, let's take a look, shall we?
One might say that 9/11 was a good thing for the government, in the sense that in the wake of these terrorist attacks on US soil, the government could pass through pretty much any legislation they wanted to, as long as they found some obscure link to the prevention of terrorism. Hell, this could have included a nationwide cull of all Muslims or people suspected of being Muslim (Nazi Germany, anyone?), all in the name of revenge, and kicking Mujah's ass in the name of Uncle Sam. We all drew out a sigh of relief when they didn't, however. Then we drew it back in again when the PATRIOT Act was proposed.
Essentially, the Patriot Act is one massive sham. It gives the government extended powers when it comes to surveillance on the American public. Yes, kids, that's right. You're not safe even in your own home! If the low-income discriminated minority doesn't kill you in your sleep and rape your kids, the Government will come and take you away for having said something un-patriotic. And don't think they wouldn't either.
Slowly but surely, the country's descending into an Orwellian nightmare. 1984-07, right on your doorstep. Speak out against the Patriot Act and you'll be arrested for "supporting terrorism". Oh yes, the government can do it. And legally too. Or at least that's what they want you to think.
And if they can't find proof, they'll make proof, and ship your ass to Guantanamo so fast that you won't be able to protest. Remember, it's not fascism when THEY do it. It's just democracy in disguise!

Back to the act itself. It's comprised of ten "titles", or agendas. They list as so:
In order to keep the masses happy, the government decided to throw a veil over everyone's eyes. The main point of the first Title being the condemnation and banning of discrimination against Muslims.
Now, while I think we can all agree (and if you don't, what the hell are you doing here?) that banning discrimination against any race or creed is a GOOD thing, we have to question the government's motives behind this legislation. It becomes more apparent as the Act goes forward that these laws in particular have been instated to satisfy the 'liberal' public, and in effect try to throw a veil over them so to speak. The government have so little confidence in the intelligence quotient of the average American that they're resorting to this cheap tactic to appease the masses. Well guess what. It didn't work, and the public realized that the Patriot Act was pure and utter BULLSHIT.
This, kids, is the one that hurts. Title II expands the moral and legal restraints imposed by the First Amendment and allows government bodies and organizations to further their surveillance on the public. This includes bugging electronic devices and homes. Oh, but the legislation insists that all this must be done without breaching the First Amendment. But who's going to notice if the CIA or the FBI place a little bug here, or a little one there? After all, they're supposed to be inconspicuous, aren't they?
If you're looking for further proof that the PATRIOT Act is simply an excuse to spy on us, look at Title IV. It would be decent, if not for the simple reasons that
A) The American Economy has grown semi-independent on the flux of illegal immigrants working in the US, since they do the jobs everyone else is too snooty to do
B) It hasn't actually done anything anyway, as there are illegal immigrants getting into the US on a daily basis. Border security is low, and the actual political border doesn't cover the geographical border, therefore there are massive holes in it, enabling illegal immigrants to get through.

All in all, it's the government's way of saying "fuck you" to the taxpayer. They're past caring about YOUR civil liberties; freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and choice are all dead in the black heart of AmeriKKKa.

Stay safe,

Jay

Not a red...but an orange revolution

From 2004-2005, there were a series of protests and demonstrations in the Ukraine which have been dubbed as "The Orange Revolution". This revolution was any leftists' dream in response to the unbelievable amount of political corruption, voter coercion and electoral fraud. The revolution mostly consisted of general civil disobedience, sit ins and general strikes. Ironically enough, the slogan for Viktor Yanukovych (the former president of the Ukraine) and his electoral campaign was 'Hope is good, confidence is better'. Seems his idea of confidence was the confidence he had in his chances of being able to pull off major electoral fraud.
The difference between the Orange Revolution and general anarchy was the fact that the majority of the demonstrations were peaceful, something which could be learned from, especially by the un-evolved mouth breathers who beat up random people, all in the name of Revolution. The government can't take forceful measures (as we've all seen in Burma more recently), for fear of an international backlash, so they really have no choice but to give in to the demands of Citizen Joe.
So two years on, and what's changed? Well, the Ukraine is currently in the middle of an election, and to many people's surprise, the democratic alliance of Viktor Yushchenko (the current president) and Yulia Tymoshenko are slightly ahead in the polls.

So this recent victory of Democracy over Deceit got me thinking. We need an Orange Revolution in the USA. I know that most Americans don't trust 'dem bastard Eastern European commies'(sic), but with more and more people calling to impeach Bush and his cronies, it could just work. Ideally, the best time to have started the revolution would have been after Bush got in the first time. Remember, he blatantly rigged the polls in order to get in. The question is, why was there no reaction? Were the American public content to simply sit in a field chewing cud all day, while their Supreme Leader, Rev. Dubya Bush ran things with an iron fist? Why the hell didn't people rise up and smash the government down through peaceful protest, civil mischief and demonstrations seen only in a Revolutionary's wet dream? If enough people simply refused to work, the economy would crumble, and the government would have no choice but to consider alternative options. Problems like this don't simply go away; you can't close your eyes and hope for it to get the message.
So why didn't people decide to take action? The answer all lies in the Kapitalist-Über-Alles society that America has become. It's the ultimate consumer society, and what do you need to consume? That's right, money. And you don't get paid if you go on strike. It seems people just can't live without their tabloids and their junk food. Alas, we've fallen into the age where creature comforts and Jerry Springer has taken over the need for democracy.

Take from this what you will. But at least try to consider the fact that maybe you CAN make a difference.

Stay safe,

Jay

Hey Kids! Join The Army And Become Vin Diesel!

The Army on both sides of the Atlantic are going to great lengths to try and recruit the youngsters living in the UK and US. One of their many tactics includes a set of adverts on the television, whose goal is to gloss over the experience of open-air combat, so much so that fighting in the Army turns into Duke Nukem instead of a matter of life or death.

The UK army seems to be one of the major culprits here. One advert consists of a platoon launching a spy-plane, and then using an X-Box controller to pilot it. Oh, yes. It's true.
'Don't worry kids, we'll give you the cheat code for God Mode!' the adverts seem to scream. You can die, though. Don't forget that. A bullet to the head makes all the difference, but they're not willing to tell you that. Their macho insecurity forbids them from questioning the idea that they can win every war they get into. Even when it looks like they're losing.

I predict a riot!

"Burmese riot police attack monks"
26th September 2007

Just another example of the unnecessary brutality exerted on peaceful protesters by a bunch of wannabe soldiers. It's events like this that make me wonder just why people join the police force, and try to get onto the Riot Squad. They can and will beat the shit out of anyone who looks at them a bit funny. The thing is, it's happening more and more often. The cops beat the crap out of someone, and claim that they were resisting arrest or being hostile. And the government takes their side too. That's what I don't get. Hell, maybe we should give them something to justify. I think the tables would be turned if everyone turned up at a demonstration armed with petrol bombs and automatic weapons.

Fuck the police.

Sesame Street All-Stars.

Hur hur hur. If only Sesame Street was like this back in the day.

1945, the Brave New World wakes up.

"They knew that the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remember the line from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty and to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says 'Now I have become death, the destroyer of worlds'. I suppose we all felt that, one way or another."
Dr J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atom bomb says these words and wipes a tear from his eye. The Alamogordo experiment marked the beginning of a new era for mankind. The US now had the potential to end millions of lives in one single instant, and so they did.
No, to say that the Brave New World began on the day the US tested the first ever nuclear weapon would be a lie. The Nagasaki and Hiroshima tragedy marked the day when the world suddenly woke up to a bloody start. The definition of political power shifted. No longer could you win a war through intelligence and tactics; instead it was simply a matter of who had the biggest gun.
They call the type of Atom Bomb dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima 'The Fat Man', a name oh so appropriate for such a device. In society, it's the fat man sitting behind his desk who has the potential to decide whether a nation rises or a nation falls. And oh, how Japan fell that day. 110 000 people suddenly ceased to exist in the space of a few seconds. Following that hundreds and thousands of Japanese citizens died from the after effects by the end of 1945.
But the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima were more than just acts of war; they were experiments. After the Trinity test in Alamogordo, the military fat cats were interested in seeing what the nuke would do to people. What better way to satisfy their morbid curiosity than to use such a device on their enemies? It worked astoundingly efficiently. No one was really expecting Japan to surrender though. You could say that the Fat Man surpassed all of their expectations. But what kind of world is this when innocent people are used as lab-rats in this morbid experiment? What kind of world is this when we treat our fellow man like a confused animal?
Had the atom bomb never been created, the second world war may have stretched on for decades. In retrospect, the death of thousands helped prevent the death of millions. I think this is what Oppenheimer had in mind when he helped create it. Perhaps he assumed that the US would only use the bomb as a threat? Only he knows.

One thing is for certain though, what little sanity the world had left shattered. A new era of violence came in. One that was only hinted at with the arrival of Industrialisation. While the First World War showed us all what man was capable of doing, 1945 showed us all that man was more than willing to do it. We began to fear what we didn't understand, and later that fear became hate. We fought fire with fire, violence with violence. The latest example is of course the response to 9/11. Thousands of people died during the attack on the WTC, and we felt the need to 'return the favor', this time killing thousands of Iraqi citizens with our bombs. An eye for the eye makes the world blind. Blind to the political machinations that rustle and murmur behind the scenes. Blind to the corruption and the willingness to screw and snort and kill your way to the top. Blind to human nature itself.
This is what separates us from the rest of the animals (for we, too are beasts), we're different from the rest because what we do has nothing to do with instinct. What we do is down to malicious intent, the need to be the best, to have the last laugh. And it is this way of thinking that will end up killing every man, woman and child on this planet. Well, every man, woman and child except those responsible for the whole mess in the first place; the fat cats, the greedy politicians. Can we really call them human? Of course we can. They are the embodiment of human nature.

Peace

'Just Business'

A reminder not to lose your head over the stock market.

And today's thought: 'It takes many men to move a mountain but one to destroy an economy'

Police State 2007

2007 is the age of the Surveillance Camera. Orwell's dream of Big Brother has finally been realized, and I don't mean in the form of a tacky overdone TV program, either.
The use of CCTV to monitor the comings and goings of the public is a particularly heated issue in the UK at the moment. Britain now has hundreds of surveillance cameras operating in each city; each records our every move and there's even one city that has decided to put speakers on the cameras, so that the person monitoring the area can reprimand someone if they commit an offense. This and the ever-increasing police presence in the streets of Britain help us all to remember that we can't go anywhere or do anything without being watched. And that's the whole point; to take away our freedom. When we're not being watched, we feel free to do anything that we want.
That's the only positive thing about crime, I think. At least we used to be able to make a conscious choice of whether or not to commit a crime. Now, with all the police and cameras watching our every step, that choice has been thrown out of the window. And let's be fair, if you decide to mug someone when there's a copper a couple of meters away, then you're an idiot.
Ever notice how the rise in surveillance crept up on us all? During the Post 9/11 era, up until maybe the July bombings in '05, surveillance was never really an issue, and the number of CCTV cameras and armed police was certainly smaller than it is today. Then, all of a sudden, BOOM! There was a massive explosion of CCTV and armed police on the streets.
I have my own theories as to how we didn't notice rise until it was too late. Personally, I think that to some extent the media was manipulated by the government, therefore they didn't report the rise in surveillance technology. Think, when was the last time you heard about CCTV on the BBC? I sure as heck can't remember when.

Along with our privacy it seems that freedom of speech has gone out of the window too. We can't speak out against the government these days for fear of being arrested.
I heard a while back, though I'm not sure if it's true or not, that the government were trying to (or already had) pass a law that prohibited someone for joking about 9/11 or saying that they could understand what the hijackers were trying to do. If that's true, then we're pretty much screwed. A country where we can't disagree with our government is getting closer and closer to Orwell's Europa or if you want to go into a real example, Hitler's Nazi Germany.
One great example is one that I'm sure the majority of you have heard of: that of a Mr. Walter Wolfgang. Mr. Wolfgang is a 90 year old man (88 at the time of the story I'm about to tell you) who was a prisoner in Nazi Germany during the 40s and he's also a peace activist.
Now, in 2005 during the annual Labour Party Conference, our old friend Jack Straw (wink wink, nudge nudge) was in the middle of discussing Iraq. Now, he said, and I quote "We are in Iraq for one reason only: to help the elected Iraqi government build a secure, democratic and stable nation". Now, if you've any sense in you, you'd have done what Walter did next. He shouted "Rubbish!" out at Jack Straw. A perfectly ordinary comment, and one that I think is quite justified.
Bearing in mind that this is an 82 year-old peace activist (and I must underline this point. A PEACE ACTIVIST), Straw's hired chimps pushed and shoved their way to Walter, whereupon they manhandled him out of the room. Also a Mr. Steve Forrest was thrown out of the room because he objected to Mr. Wolfgang's treatment.
But it doesn't stop there. Oh no. Mr Wolfgang, remember our 82 year old peace activist was then arrested and held under Section 44 of the Prevention of Terrorism act which reads like so:
"
Authorisations
(1) An authorisation under this subsection authorises any constable in uniform to stop a vehicle in an area or at a place specified in the authorisation and to search—
(a) the vehicle;

(b) the driver of the vehicle;

(c) a passenger in the vehicle;

(d) anything in or on the vehicle or carried by the driver or a passenger.
"
Now, more interestingly, there is also another part of this act, in section 45 which reads:

"
Exercise of power

(1) The power conferred by an authorisation under section 44(1) or (2)—

(a) may be exercised only for the purpose of searching for articles of a kind which could be used in connection with terrorism, and

(b) may be exercised whether or not the constable has grounds for suspecting the presence of articles of that kind.
"

So basically this enables any officer of the law to stop and search you for no reason at all. It's Section 45,1b which sticks out like a sore thumb. He can stop you for no reason at all. I don't see how this fits in with terrorism.

More on the Terrorism Act later.

So ask yourself this: if the police are willing and authorized to stop and search an 82 year old peace activist, where do their limits lie? I envision them stopping toddlers in the street searching them for bombs, using deadly force on a man just because he 'looked suspicious' (then again, they already did that) or maybe even arresting completely innocent people and deporting them to god-knows-where.
It's closer than you think. The police are given some ridiculous rights, all of which encroach on our freedom of expression and freedom of speech.
I've even heard stories of people arrested for wearing T-Shirts critical of Tony Blair. It's insanity. In essence, what the government wants us to do is to stay home, watch TV and buy things, all while they're telling us that everything is Hunky Dory in the Land of the Magic Roundabout. They're telling us what to think.
'You don't want to be critical of your government! Come, come. We know what's best for you. We know you better than you know yourselves!'

Which brings me onto the next subject in this orgy of insanity and corruption:Bio-Information.
Now, the whole idea of Bio-Information is pretty simple: the government takes our DNA and biological data and adds it all to a big database in the Tower of Death. That way if someone commits a crime, they can easily identify any forensic evidence and compare it with that of the suspect. It actually sounds quite appealing in principle, but there are so many ways that this can go wrong.
The first and foremost is cyber-hacking. We've entered a world controlled by Information Technology, and wherever you have a computer, you'll have someone who tries to hack that computer, more so if the computer belongs to the government. What happens if someone does gain access to this database with all of our personal information on it? Identity theft is not the worst case scenario. Imagine the hacker in question decides to change some of the information, maybe cross a couple of files.
Now picture this; you're sleeping in bed next to your significant other when all of a sudden fifty heavily armed police officers kick the door down and arrest you. Turns out they found evidence at a murder scene which corresponds to some of the data found in your biometric file. You know you didn't do it, but you can't prove otherwise.
And again, it's proof that we are slowly slipping into a police-state, a place where the government knows everything about us. Doesn't anyone else find this slightly disconcerting? The problem is, with these new laws in place, people are afraid to speak up, lest they be arrested. In effect, we're playing right into the government's hands. This is the reason they put these laws here; to keep us scared and to keep us quiet. Already we've seen people arrested for writing critical comments about Blair on internet forums!
We can't stay quiet, this can't go unnoticed. We're slowly slipping into an imitation of Fascism.

Stay aware, stay yourself.

Peace.

Tipper Gore: Promoting Fascism for the Younger Generation?

It's no secret that Tipper Gore, creator of the infamous "Tipper Sticker" isn't particularly loved by the artistic community. Then again, is it any surprise? Her name is shoved on millions of album covers each year because they contain what she calls 'explicit content', the very definition of which changes according to each individual.

So just what IS 'explicit content' by her standards? As with most right-wing Christians these days, it would appear that explicit content is anything that offends their precious moral values, which seem to be so fragile that even sneezing on them would break them, sending Tipper and her minions into a frothed jabber-frenzy about how we're promoting violence, promiscuity and drug addiction to our children, who have been coddled and bubble-wrapped until they're so alienated from modern culture that they can't make it in the real world when they leave home.
One could argue that the Tipper Sticker has now become the new Yellow Star, a-la Nazi Germany era. But instead of the Jewish community bearing the brunt of alienation and hatred, it's Snoop-Doggy-Diddle or Icey-Tea. Book burning has been replaced by Wal-Mart casually slapping a Parental Advisory sticker on the album cover, so that the fundamentalist Christian far-right, gay hating, liberal bashing monkey-people can keep their kids away from it, lest their ears should shatter like they were made out of expensive china.

I think in a world where we have innocent people dying in bloody and highly illegal wars overseas, offending our children (They are our future, dontchaknow) should be the least of our worries. In any case, we're just trying to prevent the inevitable. They're going to come into contact with these things sooner or later, so why not at an early age? At least when they leave home to become real people they're prepared for the real world. And what are they prepared for? The horrors of life.

"I'm a strong believer in the First Amendment," says Mrs. Gore. This is a lie. She's doing all that she can to castrate freedom of speech.

It's not often I say this, but I'm actually somewhat thankful that Bush cheated his way into office. Already, Gore uses her husband's status as a senator to pass these ridiculous legislations that that would have banned the sale of albums with warning labels to anyone younger than 18. Now, think how much more leverage she would have been given if Gore had become president? She could try and pass virtually anything she wanted, making it a bona fide law if it had passed.
What next? It wouldn't surprise me if she tried to pass legislations enabling her to send so-called "controversial" artists to Concentration Camps sponsored by Nike and Barbie, where Icey-Tea and William Murderface spent some time with their new camp counsellor Barney the Dino-Sore and learned how to be good little boys and girls, and coming out with those Ritalin-Grins plastered all over their faces. Where lyrics about drugs and pimping once stood, they're now writing songs about how Jesus was a white man, and how we should all bow down to the almighty consumer market. God bless America and fuck anyone else who says different.
It's the invasion of the body-snatchers for the new millennium! No. It's invasion of Neo-Baptist Democrats. Ask yourself, which sounds more menacing?

But disregard all that you have read here. Just remember that if you say anything deemed too 'controversial', Tipper and her Pharmasmile Cronies may come a-knocking on your door.

Peace

"Silenced Revolution"

The corrupted government does all that they can
To kill the thoughts and ideas of the free thinking man
It's been like this ever since civilization began
Just like the NRA, and the Ku Klux Klan
Hating and demonstrating against the black man
The individual is silenced, the masses diminished
The freedom fighters are crushed, the revolution is finished
And the meaning of liberty is redefined
We're all assigned a name, rank and serial number
Until the individuals are the ones outnumbered
And the populace is overencumbered
There ain't no free thought any more, it's been replaced by TV
Watching CNN and teenage kids go on killing sprees
Try to imagine a world without organized creed
Where the preacher man's word isn't motivated by greed
And as we sit in our homes and eat our three square meals
And as we watch television with no artistic appeal
I can't help but wonder if the government steal
All of our souls, while they secure their arms deal
And if you choose to ignore this slice of truth that i'm spittin'
That's fine with me, cuz you don't know what you're missing
One day they'll come for you, to exact their final solution
They'll round up all the free thinkers, rewrite the constitution
And exterminate us, through electrocution
The revolution is silenced, the masses diminished
There ain't no hope for us now, we're as good as finished

'What am I, Fucking Noddy?!'

The Star Trek: Bridge Commander Community

I don't normally go apeshit insane about a mod community, but I gotta say, the guys over at bridgecommander.filefront.com are seriously dedicated.

For those of you not in the know, Bridge Commander is a tactical simulator, where the player can pilot starships from the franchise. The only problem with the game was that the ship selection was incredibly limited: you could only choose from around 6 Federation ships, 2 Cardassian, Romulan, Ferengi and Klingon ships.
This is where the mod community came in, a group of people dedicated to modding the game to make it the most authentic Star Trek experience anyone could find. They created a vast array of ships, both canon and non-canon, most of them true to the series and added features to the tactical HUD.
One major feature, created by the folks at The Beginning: TNG, was the WalkFX feature, which enables the player to walk around the selected bridge. Another groundbreaking feature is the NovaFX mod, which improves the graphics, adding new damage textures, plasma trails and a feature which allows the player to select the warp speed.

Out of all the mod communities out there, I gotta say that the Bridge Commander modders are the most dedicated. Top notch stuff!

A Tribute To Neuf Telecom

Who, coincidentally enough, are morons. A few weeks ago, my net got cut off due to not paying the bills. We called them to tell them to take money out of our account, but they only took half of the money out. Now, this presents a problem; we didn't know why our internet still wasn't working until we checked our bank balance. Furthermore, we couldn't get on to a real person via the telephone, it was all automated systems. Where is the logic in this?

So fuck Neuf Telecom. They're incompetent

A slight dilemma

A few months ago I was looking to earn a bit of cash, so I contacted the editor of the Hull Daily Mail, a mister Paul Johnson about the possibility of writing an article for the paper. He was very eager to give me some space, and set out to pay me £80 for the article as soon as it was published. I was due to go to the UK a short while afterwards so I gave him the details of my English Nationwide bank account, which he claimed to have paid the money to. I got back to England only to find that the money wasn't in there, as only a meager £5 lay in the account. I assumed that it was the standard cock-up either with the bank or with the HDM.
After relatives and friends pressured me to do something about the money, I decided to go into the Hull Daily Mail and have a word with Paul. I got into the offices and talked to the receptionist, explaining my problem. She called Paul upstairs and handed the phone to me, telling me to "calm him down", which I thought was an odd thing to say.

We spoke over the phone; Paul said he couldn't come down and talk to me face-to-face because he had a deadline to work up to, which I assumed was a suitable enough thing to say. We exchanged phone numbers, so we could contact each other, and I left. I spoke to him later in the day, and he told me it was probably a mix-up in the financial department. He said he'd email them and let me know once he'd gotten a reply from them. On Thursday I called him again and he still hadn't received a reply. I called him on Friday, and someone answered the phone, saying that Paul had left for the weekend.

My question is this: Have I been ripped off? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm happy that I got a very generous full page spread for my article and that I also got the chance to write something and get it published. Nevertheless, I do want my money. People have said that he's messing me about but he's appeared very cooperative and friendly. I don't have a cause to believe that he's cheated me of my money, I just want to know what the hell's going on.

What do you think I should do? I would really appreciate any advice.

Cheers, and 'till next time!

Style over Substance: The Movie Epidemic

I don't understand why people love the film Hostel. I remember hearing all the hype about it, and I was naturally interested to see what it was all about. The first half of the film was rampant coed nudity, and the second half was a bloody mess of bad script and poor acting.
It seems that in the modern cinema culture, fans are constantly valuing the content of a movie, I.E. how much gore and sexuality is present in the film, rather than the story itself. It came as no surprise to me therefore, when Film4 dubbed films like Hostel, The Devils Rejects, House of 1000 Corpses and various others as "Splatter Porn".

So why do modern audiences seem more concerned with the amount of bloody fun than the content and quality of the actual film itself? One could rightly say it's a direct product of modern capitalist society. Let us first of all look at the most obvious reason. The majority of mainstream audiences today are within the 13-20something age boundary. They're the iGeneration (to quote MC Lars), and they come to the cinema not to think, but to simply be entertained. Therefore, they do no desire to have a complex, gripping storyline that forces the viewer to make connections in his/her head. They rely completely on the visual speech that the camera provides. Any conversation that does go on is simplified, for example "We've got to get out of here" or "Oh god! He's coming!".
One could argue that the cinema has become the proverbial bedroom for modern society. Behind these closed double doors we all gather to lose all common sense and decency, while laughing at a man getting his head chopped off in a dark room by a homicidal maniac. Our minds go to sleep, tucked in by images of the onslaught. People die, we laugh.

Do these violent films therefore desensitize us to violence itself? Many critics of such movies would say that the answer to that question is Yes, however I disagree. When we are watching a film, be it a slasher flick or a war movie, the screen serves as a constant reminder that we are safe from the violence. We know that it is not real, and that we are protected, because after all, this homicidal loon is really only an actor in a suit!
Regardless of the safety issues, I think in a way, if films that depict constant, bloody (some would say unnecessary) violence in a way that makes us amused instead of repulsed, there may come a time when we are faced with such a situation, where someone is trying to kill us; and we try to do what our good old friends the Hero did in their movie-which may lead to disastrous consequences.

The Darker Side of the Information Sensation

It's a subject that's been bogging down my mind for the past few days. Back before I had the internet, I didn't really do much but play on the computer and read. As soon as I moved to France, discovered the so-called "wonders" of the Internet. Until recently I've been quite happy using it, but there have been a series of events that have left me incredibly disallusioned with the whole information sensation.

The main thing that worries me is the anonymity of people on the internet. It's no secret, I'm a total slave when it comes to social networking sites and forums such as Myspace. I always used to think that these sites were a great way of meeting new people, and a good way of furthering my social development. But, alas, for every one decent person on the internet, you're always bound to have two nutters in their place. The problem is that you can never be sure just who you are dealing with. You can't peer through the screen and see who they are, you simply have to put your trust in them. There are some very sick people on the Internet who try to take advantage of that naïvety. I remember a few months ago, on one of the forums I was on, a woman came on there and claimed her life was full of strife, and always had been. Among her endeavours, she claimed that within the last six or so months, she had:

• Been shot, and wrestled her assailant to the ground while a bullet was lodged in her
• Been diagnosed with cancer. She claimed it was uterian, however she knew nothing about the specific diagnosis, nor the treatment she would be recieving.
• Lost one of her nephews in Iraq, although various sources of all troops killed in Iraq yield no evidence that a Brian Weaver ever existed, let alone went to Iraq.
• Her daughter was dating an emotionally abusive brute. Take from this what you will

There were a few other things too. But that list should be enough to make anyone suspicious. When I found out she had been lying, that naïvety of mine suddenly turned into a suspicion for everyone I knew on the internet who I hadn't met in real life. As I said before, you can't be certain just who you're chatting to, unless you know who they are in real life.

This brings me to the actual subject of today's blog. People claim that the Internet has revolutionized our communication methods, a fact which cannot be disputed. Emails are recieved instantly, you can chat to people on the other side of the world; hence the reason people claim it's a wonderful way of expanding your social maturity. I disagree. I personally believe that chatting on the internet is hindering our social awareness and our common sense. The majority of the youth today spend towards 5 hours on the Internet per day chatting to people they may or may not know. They neglect their friends who they can see, hear and touch, and therefore become socially constricted from the rest of the world.

Take from this what you will. As I said before, there are decent people on the net but there are also some very sick people on the Internet.

~peace~

Ostracition is a terrible thing

I left Italy around 2003-2004. I thought I was leaving behind people who I considered to be good friends, we exchanged emails, said we'd keep in touch, you know, the same old shit.

That's where all veils of apparent amicality ended. I got the contact details of roughly a dozen people, so me being me, as soon as I got the Internet back on, I tried to get in contact with everyone to say hi. Two of the emails I had been given simply didn't exist. This sort of hurt me, as I was rather close to the people in question, you know? I thought they were good friends. The other emails, or the majority of them simply didn't bother to reply at all. Of the three that did, two were outcasts of the academic society, one of which has changed so much beyond recognition I don't know him anymore, the other doesn't reply much to emails. As of the other kid of the three, he replies to my mails, and seems to be interested in keeping in touch. But what of the others? Which brings me to the subject of today's blog.

See, I was one hell of an outcast back in Italy. Whereas the other kids in my year were the typical teenagers; they enjoyed hip-hop, football; they were athletic kids who did well in sports. I was into Heavy Metal, I detested football and I was rather chubby. Therefore, corresponding to the strict rules of academic society, I was an outcast. I don't know how many of you have read "Cell"; the new novel by Stephen King, but I can draw up a comparison to a scene in the book, where the heroes are deemed "untouchable" by the villains, so noone will associate with them; "Ecce Homo Insanus".
Of course, it's a bit of an exaggeration. I don't mean to imply that the other kids were "malicious" in any way, because they weren't. They were just kids. I mean, they were friendly to me, I never got any abuse hurled at me, like say a kid called Kaushik (the guy who I said changed beyong recognition). Even so, we never connected on a true "friendship" basis. These things can do horrible things to a child's mind. What does anyone in modern society want? To be accepted, of course. That was all I wanted, but instead I was shunned away like a sort of broken toy. And I think that this treatment has had adverse effects on my social integration. Nowadays, I still find it hard to fit in, I'm incredibly shy and I like being alone a lot.
Therefore, I take the "fuck it" approach to life. If people don't like me, they can go and fuck themselves. Strong, I know, but it's true. I don't care what people think of me any more, and I don't try to fit in; hence why I'm alone a lot of the time. Bizarely enough though, I now have more true friends than I ever have done. Among those people, Laura, Romain, Aslan: three kids who are incredibly different to me in ways of culture and tastes (they being French and me being English is the biggest gap) but we're very close friends.

Sure, being kept out of any social clique can really screw with your emotions, but it's an important lesson in life. In somewhat of a bizzarre twist, I am actually trying to get back in touch with some people I was at school with, via the social networking site Facebook. I'm not quite sure why, but I feel it may be worth it. A lot can happen over three years, maybe their attitude towards me has too.

~Peace and Donuts~

"Catalyst"

Your crimson catalyst stares at me through the netherworld
I paint this picture just for you
Cursing conundrums as I shoot my way across the void
I wish that what I say is true
She'd stare me down and then she'd proceed to suck me dry
I hope she does the same to you
My god abandoned me and I now i'm going solo
At least this much I say is true

But now I see our common goal
We've gotta strive for the truth
Now I know just what i'm gonna do
I've gotta crash before the dawn

My crimson king he pairs up best with your own bloody queen
She told me I shouldn't trust you
I stand back watching her and while she slips into the clutch
I hope she does the same to you

Heaven never was so far away
I'm down here in hell with you
She was immaculate in every way
But I gotta crash before the dawn
I gotta crash the dawn
We're gonna crash before the dawn

She stood right in front of me
And asked me if I was OK
I said "baby, i'm all good"
And so she tortured me
With all of her incessant ways
And I never felt so good before

Baby, come and take a ride with me
I'm gonna show you what it's worth
Baby, I'm gonna take you away
And we're gonna crash before the dawn
I'm gonna crash before the dawn
And we gotta crash before the dawn

"PissMartyr"

We stray to find
Our lives redefined
Why can't you see
This absolute representation of me

I find my desire
I fight instinct
Cuz i'm not what you think I am
I'm not what I planned to be
I'm not human...

I am, i'm a monster

We see ourselves
As great avatars of society
What am I?

Monster...
Father...
Lover...
Mother...;
I'm ME!

We try to redefine
Our bodies intertwined
I can see you
But you want to..
Degrade me

I fight my needs
I fight the urge to bleed
These colours
I fight my inner
Retreat inside this shell you came from

What am I?

Killer...
Helper...
Mother...
Father...
Lifeless
Souless...
Heartless
And it's just the way I wanna be

Why can't you
See into
This soul of mine
Why won't you
Accept me?
I'm christ...personified

Mother... i'm your father
Father i'm your killer
I'm CHRIST...
Christ!
Christ!
Personified....

15 Second Orb

This orb was created in 15 seconds using Photoshop CS2. A perfect example of how the most simple of methods can create something visually stunning. Granted, it's not the most breathtaking of pieces but that doesn't matter. Quality always triumphs over Complicity

Bioluminescence

The atom bomb. Life. We are constructed from atoms, so you could say that in an abstract way, we are similar to the atom bomb. We are all prone to explode

Overlord

This was my first piece that I created. My main inspiration for this piece comes from black light.