march 4, 2008

i'm concerned about this article.  it's about the food industry not wanting to label the food they're selling as coming from cloned animals, and the federal government supporting that.  it would be up to the state to make the laws for the food industry to follow. 


fda refuses to require labels for cloned food


i'd like to know, why do i not have the right to know where my food is coming from?  i pay for it, i'm ingesting it, what i put in my body is my responsibility, so why can't i know that this food is coming from cloned animals?   i should have the right to not purchase this and purchase a different brand of meat.  have i completely lost that right?  kosher food is labeled and is even in a separate section!  i'm not trying to bash kosher food or anything, i'm just using it to make a point.

why won't the federal government help the people on this?  is it because the food industry is so powerful that they can pull strings like this?  that's my opinion, and ain't nuthin' humble about that!

april 23, 2006

this article is a little disturbing.  it's about the woman who had a press pass and started to scream at the chinese president.  the US attorney general is charging her with "harassing, intimidating, and threatening a foreign official."  she was originally charged with disorderly conduct.  i guess first amendment rights are down the toilet these days.  honestly, i don't know anything about falun gong or how they're treated in china.  as far as i'm concerned, that's not the point.  the point to me is the threat of losing your right to speak out against your government or any other government's position in anything that concerns you.  no one got hurt, it was just an embarassment.  this was a perfect way for bush to show the chinese president what happens to people who speak out in the US.  you don't kill them, you send them to jail for possibly 6 months.  there will probably be some sort of national security issue and someone will bring up sept 11 so this woman will have to spend the rest of her life in jail or something nonsensical like that.  that seems to be the trend on why people have to lose certain freedoms these days and why big brother is at every corner.


Feds lower boom on Hu's Falun Gong heckler

march 13, 2006

the city council went around to mta property and showed how much of the property the mta owns is just down right filthy - that if it were private property, how the property owner would have been hit with hefty fines.  i'll bet you something will be done to clean things up at the places mentioned now.  my thing is, we all knew this before, but why is it that nothing is done until it's publicized?  i think people of authority at the mta need to make rounds at different locations (surprise visits) otherwise it's just do what you want, just make sure the trains keep moving and the metrocard machines and turnstiles work enuf to let the passangers in.  cleanliness and safety are secondary, and forget about handicapped people cuz they're just second class citizens.


they should have a number of people at the mta in charge of making rounds (surprise visits as mentioned above) at the stations / property.  each person is in charge of a zone.  if the station within the zone doesn't pass, that person will have to answer to the city council and be reprimanded or whatever (not a little slap on the wrist).  





council dumps on mta's trashy sites


official new york city council report - their site sucks and it took me forever to download (pdf format)


march 8, 2006

the articles below came out back in 2004.  they're about services which allow the customer to find out if someone read the email they sent, how long the recipient had the email open, if the email got forwarded, and how long the forwarded person had the email open for, and so on and so on.


these are known as web bugs, where an image, most likely invisible is embedded into the email.  once the email is open the image talks to a server and tells it the email has been open, by who, and i guess it will keep polling the server until the message is closed, letting the server know how long the message had been open for.


i had actually found out how to do this years ago, way before the services were offered and way before those articles came out.  you can do this yourself for free, if you know how to do it.  you just have to embed some code into the image (the image really isn't invisible, it's just something that was shrunken down to a 1x1 pixel) to talk to a server and that's it.


here are some articles which talk about them (i'm getting lazy and i don't feel like saving them to my server).


http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2004/0621gearhead.html

http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2004/062804gearhead.html

http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/index.php?p=610

february 22, 2006

i'm not gonna give my opinion on this article cuz i think the title says it all...


"Bush unaware of Dubai ports deal before approval"


ok, just one comment... how can the president of the united states not know (or care) about a deal like this?  better yet, how can his staff not inform him or ask for his approval on this deal?  is it because they don't think he'll know what they're talking about?  they didn't think he would find out about it?  gw probably didn't find out about it until a reporter confronted him on it.  he probably still doesn't know the whole story... but i'll bet the dick... cheney does.


february 16, 2006

here's an article pointing out cheney's power and independence over the president and the president's cabinet, not to mention his secretive nature.  it's kind of ironic how secretive the guy is, meanwhile it's ok for everyone else's privacy to be violated... i guess it's good to be above the law.  


as far as his waiting 4 days before speaking out, everyone knows it was so he could be well briefed and well rehearsed to answer questions.  of course it helped tremendously that he met with only one reporter, which made it as controlled an environment as you could get. 


Shot heard round world highlights Cheney's secrecy


february 14, 2006

dick cheney's message to the public, courtesy of cbs and the late show with david letterman:

  rt. click and save to hd...


well the ripping on dick cheney was relentless as expected.  yahoo was kind enuf to gather some of the more popular ones, which you can read below.  unfortunately, the 78 year old attorney who got peppered with an estimated 200 PELLETS suffered a "minor" heart attack.   hmmm... now they're using the term "minor" heart attack, and 200 pellets was stated as "broke the skin."  what would they consider a stroke... a migraine?


hunting accident triggers humor volley


cheney victim suffers heart attack


february 12, 2006

dick cheney accidentally shot someone today while he was quail hunting.  good thing he wasn't using one of those high powered rifles they say hunters should be able to use.  of course someone in his hunting party (Katharine Armstrong) tried to place some of the blame on the guy who got shot stating: "The person who is not doing the shooting at that moment in time is just as responsible and, should be, as the person actually shooting."  hmm... maybe the guy didn't have a chance to react when someone suddenly reels around and pulls the trigger.  all the guy had time to do was probably widen his eyes, drop his jaw, and shit in his pants... not to mention the guy who got shot is 78 years old.


FYI - corpus christi is also known for white supremacists!!!


read the article: cheney accidentally shoots hunting companion


this article is even better... read the last paragraph!


watch a video broadcast


watch a better video cuz you get to see what the idiot woman katharine armstrong looks like


february 11, 2006

if you read my blog section, you will have read that gatorade and other drinks with high amounts of "citric acid" will soften and wear away the enamel of your teeth which will then cause your teeth to rot.  of course the makers of those drinks said the study was irrelevant.  i've taken the time to also add a video clip from a news broadcast talking about this.  just so you appreciate all the effort i put into this frickin' video clip, it was originally in .flv format and i had to convert it over to mpg and then decided to convert it into wmv format.  pain in the ass and alot of trial and error to get a decent quality and smaller size.  anyway, here's the clip... save to your HD first and then play...





here are some articles for you to read if you'd like.  they're both pretty much the same as the vid.  if you had to pick, just watch the vid.


news broadcast from cbs 2 chicago


webmd.com article


i was meaning to post this a few days ago when the article came out, but was just too damn lazy to update the web page.  what it basically says is, large isp companies like at&t and verizon are considering charging websites like google and yahoo a fee in order to deliver customers to them, saying google and yahoo (for example) are getting a "free lunch" and of course some "republican" senators agree.  IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!!!

at&t, verizon, and whatever other broadband isp out there thinking about doing this should realize, customers don't like to be restricted, blocked, whatever from doing things, especially when they're PAYING for this service.  i'm your PAYING customer... you make money off of ME and whatever advertising you put on your web sites.  i'm PAYING for your service and if you don't give me the service i expect, i will not hesitate to change over to someone else.  don't even think i won't, and if i'm saying this, you'd better realize a ton of other people are saying this as well!


here's the yahoo article mentioned above for you to read.

January 21, 2006
so yesterday the twu members struck down the deal made with the mta.  now just so you know, and you can read it below as evidence, i was on the twu side.  after they rejected the offer, which in my opinion is a sweet-ass offer, i cannot sympathize with the twu any longer.  as far as i'm concerned they're as bad and as greedy as pataki, and if you know me, i can't stand pataki.  so screw you, twu members.  i hope they take the deal back and you end up getting less than what you got the first time.  even better... maybe your union will get bankrupt and you won't even have a union any longer.  how would you like that?   think about it... that is... if you have half a brain!!!


January 20, 2006
hey yahoo, msn, and aol - you guys suck!!!  you guys caved in to the gov't!!!  it never even went to court and you sold out your users.  i hope your stocks tank.  2 thumbs up for you google!!! 

here are some more articles for you to read regarding this (click on the links inside the article to read even more):


DOJ search request - google says no; yahoo, aol, and msn say yes


january 19, 2006
this article is terrifying... definitely a breach in privacy and a cause for concern. 


"Justice Department lawyers revealed that Google has refused to comply with a subpoena issued last year for the records, which include a request for 1 million random Web addresses and records of all Google searches from any one-week period."


i have to give credit to google for sticking up for their users' rights.  i mean, i realize they're asking for info on porn, but you should know as well as i do, it won't stop there.  this may be the gov't's way of testing the water on how far they'll be able to go with this, and why not start off with something like porn.  god forbid there be porn on the internet.  like howard stern says, that's the only reason why people go on the internet.


what are they gonna do next... start eaves dropping without a court order and... oh wait a minute...


next thing the gov't will ask for (if they don't already have something to do it already) is everyone's hotmail, yahoo mail, gmail, excite mail, ...mailboxes.  would that surprise you if they asked for it?


feds after google data


january 9, 2006
the city wants to put a cap on how much the people who were injured or family members of those killed by the ferry disaster can sue.   they want the cap to be $14M.  that means all together, everyone combined, they cannot sue for more than $14M.   if you lost both your legs cuz the pilot fell asleep (who only got 18 months in prison by the way - 11 people killed and more than 70 injured), how much would you sue the city for?  how much do you think your legs are worth???


you know, i'm not trying to just criticize NYC or just sound like a big complainer, but where do you find good news???  i mean, the giants lost, i can't listen to howard stern on free radio any longer, what's going on here???


oh, here's some news that's not too bad... they're talking about trying to open up an aquarium just north of the WTC site (vacant spot bet. west side hwy and hudson river).  it would be called "city fish."  the aquarium would showcase marine life from the ny harbor like striped bass, sea horses, crab, and shrimp - 40,000 gallon fish tank.  they're talking about trying to get it open by early july.  i hope they know that's only 6 months away.


i hope you people read my blog section as well as all the other sections!!!!!


january 4, 2006
so this whole mess with the mta, i still blame george pataki.  the whole thing with his people keeping certain parts of the deal secret from him should show his own people don't respect him.  what kind of leader is that?  yeah, you go run for president pataki and i hope you get creamed.  those stupid redneck bible belt people are probably gonna vote him into office though.  if you happen to be a redneck bible belt person reading this... oh wait a minute, if you're a redneck bible belt person, you probably don't know how to read... nevermind.


i think it's interesting that when the whole pension thing was on the mta's advantage that when the twu wanted to have the pension portion removed from the contract (because it's a state thing), the mta didn't want it removed.  now that this side deal happened, pataki says it violates state law.  how suddenly convenient.


so his reason at the moment for wanting to veto the pension portion of the deal: "we will not reward those who break the law."  well, what about the other 2 times he vetoed that deal, when they didn't go on strike?  what was his excuse then???   oh, i forgot to mention, the contract isn't a done deal yet.  both sides still have to vote on it.


YES, I'M BASHING PATAKI!!!!!!!  I DON'T CARE IF YOU LIKE HIM!!!


i also think everyone who is on the mta board (or whatever those people are called) should have their parking plaques taken away and have to take the subway.  maybe they'll have a better grasp of what's going on down in the tunnels.  they should have to pay for their own metrocards too.  they need to feel the pain the rest of us hard working people feel.


here are the articles (actually i copied it from ny1, so it's not really an article):


Pataki Threatens To Veto Pension Provision In Transit Contract


Governor Unaware Of Secret MTA Deal

december 28, 2005
here's a very heart-warming story, and it figures it doesn't involve humans.  it happened after the devastating tsunami that hit the indian ocean earlier this year.  a baby hippo who survived the tsunami and a 130 year old turtle who adopted him (i'm guessing it's a him since it was named owen).





read the article


december 22, 2005

the strike is FINALLY over.  i can take pride in the fact that i made it to work every day.


i strongly believe people have the right to strike though.  it's the only way workers can make a statement and be taken seriously, especially with the MTA... although i was getting really pissed off with this entire thing.


hey, we're new yorkers and we adapt.  that's what makes new yorkers.
   
december 21, 2005

so this is the second day of the transit strike.  while i was on my way running to get to my pick-up meeting point 2.5 miles away i realized, the MTA is a monopoly.  all the independent bus lines either eventually get absorbed or put out of business for one reason or another. 


look at where that has taken us.  we've become so dependent on the MTA that we are now completely at their mercy.  they can raise the fares anytime they want because they realize we have no choice in the matter... what is our alternative. 


there's corruption within the MTA, that's been a known fact for ages, but in the midst of this strike, the MTA, pataki, and bloomberg have completely turned the tables and are making the workers the bad guys.  although at this point it seems like the mta gave into alot of the demands of the twu.  the MTA is actually run by the governor and any problems there i consider his fault.  kalikow works for pataki and the mta board works either for pataki or bloomberg.


here are some articles for you to read:


MTA security boss out on a limb


MTA shady accounting


december 9, 2005

okay, so it may seem like i'm bashing sony, but i'm only bashing sony cuz they're complete morons.  if you've read the articles i posted below you'll know and understand why i'm upset at them.  they took it upon themselves to protect their music cds by installing software onto your pc (without your knowledge about it) and that same software opened up security holes on your pc.  well, they just released a patch to fix the security hole in the article mentioned below (december 7, 2005), and guess what... now they're telling people... DON'T INSTALL THE PATCH because the patch itself introduces vulnerabilities.

...no, i'm not bashing sony, and i'm so tired with sony's incompetence that i'm gonna end my rant here.  i don't know who's worse, sony or the MTA.   click here to read the article i've just mentioned.

december 7, 2005

sony does it again!!! - what can i say... the incompetence at sony just overwhelms me.  there is now a patch they are requesting their customers install onto their pcs for a different anti-piracy program from different music cds people had purchased.  WTF??!?  sony needs to get their asses sued big time!!!!!!  what a bunch of morons!!!!

what happens is the program changes permissions on your pc so : "because of security weakness in the permissions of a folder, it allows a low-ranked user to act as a high-ranked user."


click here if you wanna read more about it...


i'm telling you, for a big company like sony, they just can't get it right.  what, just because this anti-piracy program isn't hidden it makes it alright to do whatever they please on your computer???  i don't think so.  alot of people, myself included, go to great pains to secure their pcs to prevent people from installing crap or gaining access to their computers, then you have sony pulling a stunt like this - just so that you can listen to a cd you legally purchased - that's your reward for legally purchasing something.  GET IT RIGHT SONY!!!!  IDIOTS!!!!!!!!

sony's rootkit - boycott sony products!!! - dunno if any of you have been paying attention to this, but sony has/had taken it upon themselves to install a "rootkit" onto your PC in order to prevent you from making more than 3 copies of a music cd.  now it wasn't every single cd, just cds from 52 artists.  some of the artists are: neil diamond, celine dion, van zandt brothers (or something like that), and 49 others who i don't know who those other 49 are.

here are some articles for you to edumacate yourselves on what rootkits are and how much harm they can actually cause.  what it comes down to is, hidden folders get created onto your pc, your registry gets written to, files copied onto your pc, and it will communicate to sony what you're doing with that cd and if you try to remove the rootkit, your pc will most likely crash!!! what a bunch of frickin' morons!!!!!

as someone stated in one of the articles, it's one thing to protect your products from being illegally copied, but it's another thing to take over someone's computer like that. they don't own the user's computer.

sony's own artists are upset at them.  sony had never notified the artists they were putting the rootkit onto their cds.

sony - you get the big thumbs down!!!

also, texas, the home state of GWB is suing sony for this "spyware" feature.  YOU GO TEXAS!!!  it's a small step to making up for giving us GWB, but it's a step nonetheless.

article links:

Mark Russinovich - the guy who first revealed sony's shady tricks:

Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far

More on Sony: Dangerous Decloaking Patch, EULAs and Phoning Home

Sony’s Rootkit: First 4 Internet Responds

Sony: You don’t reeeeaaaally want to uninstall, do you?

Sony: No More Rootkit - For Now

texas sues:

Sony BMG sued over CD spyware

Sony BMG Sued Under Anti-Spyware Laws

Sony's Escalating "Spyware" Fiasco