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(AFX UK Focus) 2008-05-20 20:44 Business, first-class air travel declined in March

WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of international air travelers flying in business or first-class fell in March by the largest amount in five years, the latest bad news for an industry buckling under record fuel prices and slowing global economies.

The International Air Transport Association on Tuesday said premium air traffic shrank 3.9 percent in March compared with the same month last year, after growing by 5.1 percent in February. Although the drop was exaggerated both by the leap year adding an extra day to February and because March business travel fell due to an early Easter, it was the largest "absolute decline" in business and first-class passengers since 2003.

"Given the importance of premium passengers for airline profitability the absolute decline in numbers is bad news, particularly since the price of jet fuel rose 170 percent over the year to March reaching $130 a barrel," IATA said. more

Oklahoma Tech Company Expands Church Offerings

Steve Caton, vice president of sales and marketing for CCB, said the alliance will help his company stay focused on core competency.

"We could provide a Web site solution to our customers," he said. "But our mission is to provide a world-class church management solution. By aligning with Element Fusion, our customers now have access to a comprehensive Web site solution that works well with our technology without compromising quality."

But just because the companies have aligned, churches can still purchase the services separately.

Element Fusion's church Web sites start at $1,995. Monthly charges for Element Fusion's offerings run from $29 to $199.

CCB's pricing varies depending on the services a church needs. The company works with more than 800 churches around the world. more

Safeway names chief marketing officer

Dietz will oversee the Pleasanton-based grocery chain's marketing, merchandising, manufacturing and distribution functions and report to Safeway's chairman, president and CEO, Steven Burd.

Dietz comes to Safeway (NYSE: SWY) after 19 years with Proctor and Gamble, where she most recently ran one of the company's largest business units.

Dietz is known in both the consumer packaged goods and retail industries, Safeway said, for her ability to drive sales and deliver improvements.

Dietz holds a bachelor's degree in marketing and economics from Northern Illinois University.

. more

Latest Business Lead Phone System News

Google and India Test the Limits of Liberty - Wall Street Journal

The rules of political speech on the Internet are usually pretty simple. In America, almost anything goes. In places like China, the censors call the shots. But in India -- a boisterous democracy that's riven by religious and ethnic tension -- the ...

New Fairview building, program on the horizon in 2010 - Herald Times

» Newsletters & alerts: local information sent to your inbox or phone. Sign up here. The design for the new Fairview Elementary School, which will open for classes next fall. MCCSC Superintendent J.T. Coopman The new Fairview Elementary building ...

Some of city's most successful money managers are father-son teams - Ibj.com

All parents hope to teach their kids the value of money. Few end up successfully investing hundreds of millions of dollars together. But for a handful of top local teams, wealth management is a family affair. Each began their financial lessons at ...

Vodafone rings in New Year with innovative products - Zawya.com

... home sitting at home," said Grahame Maher, CEO Vodafone Explaining more about the system, Luke Longney, Marketing Product Manger of Vodafone said, "We will load money directly on to the mobile phone and once set, customers can use it to send ...

Smile! You've got cancer - The Guardian

Ehrenreich: 'In the lore of the disease, chemotherapy smoothes and tightens the skin and helps you lose weight, and, when your hair comes back it will be fuller, softer, easier to control, and perhaps a surprising new colour.' Photograph: Stephen ...

Pair say Square expands plug-and-pay - Indianapolis Star

It's a small plastic device, or dongle, that plugs into a cell phone's audio jack and lets anyone, including small merchants and individuals, accept credit card payments. The credit card owner uses a finger to sign a receipt on the phone's touch ...

It’s Always the End of the World as We Know It - The Heartland Institute

Y2K problems would not be limited to mainframe computers that governed the information systems of the modern world, but were going to affect millions ... Falwell advised stocking up on food and guns. So the scene was set here in New Zealand for ...

Every Wingnut Has a "Liberal Friend" - AlterNet

Guy Benson -- " America's youngest top-market political talk show host " -- claims he knows a woman in Jersey who's a "lifelong Democrat voter, harbors a long-standing distaste for George W. Bush, and slants left on most issues." This already tells ...

Murderous Xe Services* (Blackwater) Thugs Get Off ... Aren't They ... - AlterNet

A federal judge dismissed charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused of killing 14 Iraqi civilians in a controversial shooting in a busy Baghdad square two years ago in a ruling that sharply criticized the tactics of Justice ...

Economic troubles top news in 2009 - Carteret County News

morehead city — For the second year in a row, hardships caused by the downed economy graced the front page of The News-Times more than any other issue in 2009. The last year was also the third in a row that Carteret County was spared by any major ...

Resolved Question: Many Questions About a Poor Office Environment?

I work in advertising and our floor is an "open atmosphere" that has been promoted as an environment that increases communication. However, since a recent merger that has changed the makeup of those within the office, the open environment seems to be cultivating an environment social interaction. I am a supervisor and my seat within this environment is next to another supervisor on this floor. This supervisor has a bit of a different work ethic than I and places more emphasis on being the social butterfly of the group as opposed to a professional leader whom is respected by his coworkers for his knowledge of the business. Often throughout the day, this coworker will spend up to 30 mins talking away on his cell phone to his friends overseas or carrying on with conversations with other coworkers. Over the past 5 months, I have complained to our management that I do not like sitting in this environment (specifically next to this social supervisor) and asked to be moved to an environment that is more like the environment I had agreed to work in prior to the merger. Recently after asking my management to discuss this issue, it was suggested that while waiting for a response, I simply check out a laptop from IT and work in a quieter area of the office. When the head of my group heard that I had done just this, I was told "that it was unacceptable and to return to my assigned seat". This flagrant act of alternative dispute resolution lead me to contact HR. HR took the situation seriously, but stated that HR was not aware of any other complaints (despite the fact that there are a few others that have expressed a disappointment in the change of environment). Not really having an argument to dispute the fact that HR had no other complaints, I questioned the tone and the approach that management had taken up to this time, as an example that the lack of professionalism is in fact missing from our group and accepted. To make a long story short - I am considering just resigning my position as I clearly see no future now that the merger has taken place. However, the group my group sits on 2 separate floors, the second of which I have experienced as being perfectly tolerable. I DO see a future by simply sitting on this quieter floor. Am I really at the mercy of a terrible work environment such as this? Am I really at the mercy of management that does not wish to work with their employees and ensure that serious and (not to brag) but competent employees are happy with their work environment? I hate to be one to "abuse" the system but are changes in environment due to a merger, grounds for a compensated resignation? By the state? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you! more

Resolved Question: Is it a coincidence that the same companies Geithner meets with regularly will be exempt from new finance rule?

Turns out Secretary of the Treasury (Turbo Tax Cheat Geithner) speaks quite regularly (VERY regularly) with 3 companies specifically: Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase. (All in top 5 of bailout TARP fund recipients) And interestingly enough the new financial regulations being developed by Geithner and Barney Frank conveniently leave a loophole that would allow these companies exemption from the new rules. Is this simply a coincidence, or are the bankers basically writing the new rules?? (making sure to leave loopholes for themselves) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/08/bloomberg-reports-derivat_n_313914.html Hey kids! Were you holding out hope that someone might do something to robustly regulate the derivatives market that wrought such wrack and ruin to the global economy? Ha, ha, that's adorable! Tina Seeley and Dawn Kopecki report for Bloomberg today that "Legislation by Representative Barney Frank to tighten derivatives regulation contains an exemption that may let most financial firms escape new collateral and disclosure rules." Great! Here's where the specific exemption lies: A plan offered by the Obama administration would subject all swaps dealers and "major market participants" to new regulations for capital, business conduct, record-keeping and reporting. [Representative Barney] Frank's version would exempt corporations from that definition if they use derivatives for "risk management" purposes. While Frank's proposal is a "step in the right direction," its "ambiguous" definition of risk management may leave a large number of corporations unregulated, Henry T.C. Hu, director of the SEC's new division of risk, strategy and financial innovation, told the committee. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/08/geithner-talks-to-select-_n_313612.html When they call, Geithner answers. He has spoken with them immediately after hanging up with President Barack Obama and before heading up to Capitol Hill, between phone calls with senators and after talking with the Federal Reserve chairman, according to a review by The Associated Press of seven months of his appointment calendars. The calendars, obtained by the AP under the Freedom of Information Act, offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the continued influence of three companies – Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. – whose executives can reach the nation's most powerful economic official on the phone, sometimes several times a day. There is nothing inherently wrong with senior Treasury Department officials speaking regularly with industry executives, or even with the secretary keeping tabs on the market's biggest players, even though critics say Geithner risks succumbing too much to these bankers' self-interested worldview...........In the first seven months of Geithner's tenure, his calendars reflect at least 80 contacts with Blankfein, Dimon, Citigroup Chairman Richard Parsons or Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit. Geithner had more contacts with Citigroup than he did with Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the lawmaker leading the effort to approve Geithner's overhaul of the financial system. Geithner's contacts with Blankfein alone outnumber his contacts with Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. more

Resolved Question: Is it fair for those who don't want or need health insurance be forced to buy it?

Let's say that you're single, unemployed (as, apparently, at least 10% of Americans are as of Sept 2009), have some money in the bank (i.e., enough to live on, comfortably, including being able to buy some frills, such as the occasional designer coffee, having regular internet and cell phone services, being able to rent movies, buy gas for your economy car, etc, etc), and are in reasonably good health, and haven't been to or need a physician, dentist, etc. Given the above, in Massachusetts, where health insurance is mandatory, just as automobile insurance is (except, of course, that you have the choice of not owning a car), you would be required to pay nearly ***$5,000*** per year (as of 2008) for mandatory health insurance, and, if you don't buy into a health insurance plan, you would be penalized via your State income taxes, which proves that their health plan is little more than a punitive, direct, tax, as would be the US National Health Plan, should it come to that). And, yet,there has been no decrease in Medicaid or Medicare spending (why would either be needed if the poor will be "given" health care while the wealthy pay for it? (and, don't kid yourself: the amount that goes into the system, State or nationalized or not, won't pay a fraction of the medical costs, which will continue to rise as the number of people who demand to get their fair share of services rises while, proportionally, the number of physicians, care givers, pharmacists, etc, decreases, which means that taxes and health care plan rates would have to increase). The rich don't need a health plan. Most middle income individuals and families would rather see a doctor when they have to, not because they feel obligated to get their money's worth under a forced plan. And the poor will either abuse the system or be abused by it (i.e., insurance companies and physicians taking bigger cuts, kick-backs, etc). So, given the above, the vast majority of Americans don't require (or, arguably, want) a mandatory health insurance plan. What we need is a guarantee of low-cost medical services, elimination of waste, redundancy, unnecessary procedures, etc, and improved health education, so that people learn how to take better care of themselves. In the history of the USA as a united republic, no department, function, or "business", run by or taken over by the government, State or Federal, has ever improved or been profitable, as evidenced by numerous State bankruptcies and even the Fed having to shut down on occasion. On the contrary, the increased gov't presence has, more than not, led to waste at taxpayer expense. Our government, both State and Federal, are run by wealthy politicians (who, BTW, have health insurance and can afford it), who have no clue how the average person lives, and, yet, they are positive they know what's best for us. So, given the above, do you think it's fair for those who don't want or need health insurance to be forced to buy it? Your thoughts? more

Resolved Question: Are these difficult concepts to understand?

8 common myths about health insurance reform: *Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it: It’s a myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies. *We can’t afford reform: It's the status quo we can't afford. It’s a myth that reform will bust the budget. To the contrary, the President has identified ways to pay for the vast majority of the up-front costs by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government health programs; ending big subsidies to insurance companies; and increasing efficiency with such steps as coordinating care and streamlining paperwork. In the long term, reform can help bring down costs that will otherwise lead to a fiscal crisis. *Reform would encourage "euthanasia": It does not. It’s a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions. *Vets' health care is safe and sound: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget significantly expands coverage under the VA, extending care to 500,000 more veterans who were previously excluded. The VA Healthcare system will continue to be available for all eligible veterans. *Reform will benefit small business - not burden it: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses, provide tax credits to help them pay for employee coverage and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average. *Your Medicare is safe, and stronger with reform: It’s myth that Health Insurance Reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. To the contrary, reform will improve the long-term financial health of Medicare, ensure better coordination, eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies, and help to close the Medicare "doughnut" hole to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors. *You can keep your own insurance: It’s myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors. To the contrary, reform will expand your choices, not eliminate them. *No, government will not do anything with your bank account: It is an absurd myth that government will be in charge of your bank accounts. Health insurance reform will simplify administration, making it easier and more convenient for you to pay bills in a method that you choose. Just like paying a phone bill or a utility bill, you can pay by traditional check, or by a direct electronic payment. And forms will be standardized so they will be easier to understand. The choice is up to you – and the same rules of privacy will apply as they do for all other electronic payments that people make. How hard is this to understand?ReallyNow is deliberately mis-interpreting aspects of the bill.Neil is LYING in every single point he makes.Show me how I'm wrong. You can't do it. more

Voting Question: Should I feel guilty about a bad fake Google business review I wrote out of frustration?

My job is to cold call homes and businesses to qualify leads and drum up interest in solar energy systems, an admittedly terrible way to promote an extremely useful and legitimate product. I'm used to getting blown off by people, happens all the time, but for some reason one garden store manager or owner really pissed me off the way he acted on the phone. Still fuming about it, I wrote a review on Google saying that their customer service sucks and that no one should ever go there, and it's the only review on Google about this place. Anyone unfamiliar with the place would now be influenced by my fake review. On one hand, I feel guilty about doing this since the guy didn't actually do anything wrong, he was probably busy running his business and feeding his family. On the other hand, he was a complete prick with no professional courtesy toward a fellow businessman simply trying to forward him some information about a product that could help his company immensely. Am I just overthinking this or did I do something legitimately wrong? more

Resolved Question: I think this is a scam, Please help~?

I got he email below. I had my resume posted on Careerbuilder.com. I checkout out the website and did google street view and the building in the address matches the building on the website. I am pretty sure this is a scam, but one their site said they use Citrix system, which is a secure remote in utility so i could see how this could be possible. Please let me know what you think. Dear I am glad that you are interested! Here is the detailed information about this vacancy OUR COMPANY Capital Management Services is a dynamic e-business development company, widely recognized for its professionalism and track record of success. Capital Management Services is committed to delivering the latest technologies that enrich people's lives with our leading-edge iCommerce platform for wireless and ISP carriers. The company's patented technology enables all types of online payment and supports multiple access channels, transaction models, networks and devices. Capital Management Services iCOMMERCE iCommerce platform enables the rapid and efficient introduction of new merchants, distributors, services and products, instantly bringing interactive commerce services to the entire subscriber base. It also lowers operational costs by leveraging existing investments in infrastructure, while providing the operator with an advanced, unified, comprehensive and business-driven infrastructure capable of delivering all existing and future payments, promotions and electronic recharging services. In general, iCommerce platform represents very flexible Internet payment system that accepts almost every icurrency and transaction method. iCommerce allows customers and users to perform any kind of transfer from one exchange system to another in no time. This system enables our customers to broaden the variety of accepted payment methods, to reduce the transaction time and to make the whole payment operation highly secured. For example, iCommerce allows performing a direct exchange from Western Union to bank account. Money can now be sent from one system to another in no time. Also iCommerce lets customers to provide the person-to-business transfers for every user, when other systems provide the person to person transfers only. CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER position Capital Management Services is located in United States and needs customer service representatives worldwide. Today our United States customers require specialists to manage iCommerce platform to assist users. So customer service manager will be an official employee of one of the telecom operator that we serve. Today our company serves 4 large telecom operators in United States (America Movil, Vodafone, Verizon Communications, Worldcom). Capital Management Services will provide the 10 days training course that would be sufficient to start working in one of these companies. We guarantee this immediate employability after the training period. Responsibilities will be to provide assistance with iCommerce platform to current telecom operator. Customer service manager's accountability will be to instruct users, to provide the current statuses of their operations in the system and to be ready to answer on any general question about iCommerce. Candidate will get all necessary knowledge and experience during the training. No previous experience with iCommerce or alternative systems is required. EMPLOYMENT Before start to work, company will provide free training course to cover all aspects of the iCommerce platform operation and maximization. You don't need any special education in iCommerce services or finances, company will provide you all information. This course is to be done distantly. This means that you will be studying from your own home with internet access. During the training you will be paid by Capital Management Services directly to your bank account. The training period wage is 498 weekly and 99.4 daily. NO MONEY NEEDED FOR JOB / TRAINING COURSES OR ANYTHING. COMPANY PAYS FOR ALL. After you finish the training course successfully, you become a company employer and will get a certified Capital Management Services specialist. And you start working in one of the United States telecome companies that our organization serves in Part Time or Full Time position. You will work from home or from local office location (not more than 5-7 miles close to your house). You will have access to company database and all documents for work. Company pays for all cell phone calls, internet access and any fees and taxes. First guaranteed wage is 1,750 monthly for the part time and 3,900 for the full time. In Part Time position work 2-3 hours during the day (any hours) / In Full Time work 5 hours from morning time or evening time. greg, if you have any questions, then ask me freely. I will be glad to clarify at any time. If you are interested to start free training course, please let me know as soon as possible. I will send you Job Application FoThe fact that my name isn't capitalized says almost enough for me... I think its a scam, but curious what you thinkThat's what I was thinking, I was looking online about the company.. I have no interest in being a debt collector, I have a good job now, but figured a part time position would help out... I am not sure what to think. The company itself appears legit, whether this is though I am not surehttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=30685962 Company Overview Capital Management Services L.P. operates as a receivables management company in the United States. The company provides delinquent receivables collection and data management services. It manages portfolios in various stages of delinquency, including first-party, pre-charge off, primary, mid-primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary, and quints, as well as manages record-setting results in bankcards, retail charge cards, signature and personal cards, lines of credit, bankruptcy dismissals, purchased debt referrals, overdraft checking, auto loans and deficiencies, and telecommunication delinquencies. Capital Management Services L.P. was incorporated in 2004 and is based in Buffalo, New York. more

Resolved Question: Virus in BIOs? please read?

My computer broke down, it started going slow, i got blue screen, and things were getting out of hand. So i reformat my Hard drive but i cant copy windows xp to it, some of the system files will not copy. So from there everything is a mess, and i cant even go to the setting up windows xp part without getting an error and giving me no opition but to force shut down.I've brought a new hard drive and i've gotten the same problem, i reformat both hard drive and installed windows xp completely on a different computer then moved it to my PC. This works but as soon as i restart it about 3 times, it deletes or "terminates" a system file, cause it to go on a loop of restarting itself over and over...I even installed an anti virus and updated it, when i ran a scan i got no infection, i used three different programs all same results. i checked for confiker on mircosoft website and the scan didnt find it...All this leads me to believe that my BIOS must be infected with a virus. -I have a gateway GT5404 -No Floppy Drive -Warrenty over so no phone service -No money to be ripped off by a Tech also -Compusa stole our CD that came with the computer and they went out of business - I do have USB and flash drives Is there anything i can do to clear out my BIOs and get my computer up and running again... Much thanks in advance more

Resolved Question: What is the best way to manage a clientele type business?

I offer a maintenance type of service that requires me to keep in contact at least yearly. I make hundreds of calls every week to my warm leads and sometimes even pull my car over to make calls. I need ideas from the best cell phone to software I may not be aware of. I am also looking for the best automated calling system as I feel Citalink may be too expensive. more

Resolved Question: i need some advice about my lying boyfriend...?

Hi, I'm new to this, but i am going around in ircles wondering what to do. I am 24, I have two children who are 5 and 2, they are not my partner's. i have been with my partner who is 22 for just over a year now(ive known him for 6), and the last year has been very stressful because we have had to move house so many times and had no money. But we have got through it and he loves the kids and vice versa. he is a sound engineer and I am a session singer and also in a band as the lead singer that he works for. He also works in a theatre doing other shows. A couple of months ago, he engineered a telent show and this girl was singing in it. By the look of things, they got on really well. I has in hospital the previous two weeks before this and I'd had an operation so i wasn't really in the mood to get intimate( i feel i should point this out). I noticed that she has added him to her facebook, and I mentioned to him that she works fast. Was she a good singer? He said No she was rubbish, nothing more than a seazy pub singer. I thought nothing of this until a couple of weeks later when i found a text from her on his phone, there were kisses on the end of it and she called him hun and said sorry i culdnt meet you last night. I confronted him and asked how she got his number and he told me someone had put her in touch with him because she was thinking of buying a PA system. I told him i didnt like the way she spoke and would he just delete her number and tell her to stop flirting? he replied yes. I forgot about this until a couple of weeks ago when i was using his phone and he said out of the blue, "if u have been through my phone numbers you will find ive saved al's 2nd number(al is a mate from work), its his business mobile". i though hmm strange. then last week i saw the texts from this "al", and well i this guy definately doesnt put xxx and call him hunni, so i started getting really suspiciouse that he'd saved this girls number under "al". The other day he'd left himself signed onto facebook(he'd changed his password a month or so ago), so i sneakily checked his messages. There I found 19 messages, with my boyfriend telling her she's so talented, would she sing in the band, calling her sexy, and would she meet up with him. i was devaststed. he told me she was chasing after him, but it was clearly the toher way round. I confronted him the other day about it, and he lied about her right up to the point where i said you can stop lying because i found your facebook messages. he kept texting me to say he was sorry he made a mistake ut he didnt cheat. I've agreed to sort things out with him but i cant get past the lies. He tells me he lied because he knew straightaway i didnt like her, bt he knows im not usually the jealous type, ive always let him have female friends, and have no prob with him engineering female singers. I don't know what to do. Every time i look at him i cant stop thinking about how he lied, and how he didnt think of me or the kids when he was texting her and messaging her. he's deleted her number now and i've text her telling her to back off but what if this happens again? Does anyone have any advice as to how I can dal with this problem? I have a weekend without the children this week so it's my chance to get my head straight. I'm already very badly depressed, and it's starting to send me over the edge. I don't want to get out of bed in the morning, and I feel so ugly and crap. Why did my fella feel the need to go behind my back when i've completely trusted him for the last year, and worshipped the ground he walks on? He calls me his princess, but right now I don't feel like one. i feellike a damsel in distress. Can anyone help? x more

Resolved Question: Cleavages [diversity of opinions and attitudes] is it a world problem keeping peace away?

We know well using the Yahoo Answers there is in truth a diversity of opinions and attitudes out here. And that in itself is not bad but there is a time to note what that does in government business and start focusing on cooperation with all nations and the United Nations for some kind of peace. My brotherhood of faith do not mix in government or wars. But that does not mean we cannot see what is going on around us daily. If you have the skills to be positive in your answers that could bring some cooperation putting all on the same page for once. The unskilled still can answer but people will notice your skills by how you answer. Hate me all you like and not care who did what for this nation and your personal rights but please show the world you really can be civil if you just want to. Can we talk civil about the info below? Let your own sense of justice lead your great answers! Thank you Yahoo good citizens! I am doing all I can to influence a good community save here. But that cannot be forced I understand because all have free will that only you have control over! I hate going into great detail but have been around Yahoo Answers to not know how things go here. What can you add to the cooperation not to the world cleavage? Be nice if you will please! I fear the first answers will not get it. Please show me I am wrong here! I am trying to get all on one unique page here. Hate them all you want and not understand their teaching aright but they did you good in America and beyond. Cooperation Needed is my user name because it is needed in the world for peace and security but the governments and religions backing them are in such cleavage of attitudes they cannot fix anything. But see please how they JW's worked together peacefully to save your great constitutional rights and freedoms without killing you or your loved ones in any war not even one of those who made themselves needlessly the brotherhood's enemy! I know other faiths that have the golden rule would love to put that aside and kill me or one of my brothers in the faith if the law would allow you to do so, true? So we do have the godly sense not to act like your clergy would allow you to act toward us. We know, we have been at the end of their hate of us around the earth without good cause at all. I have a church and state civil case right now if the church would get out of government business could get fixed aright! That will be done in Jehovah's due time. Before or after human rule ends like Daniel 2:44 says is coming soon! So make fun of us if you like but the end will end that in due time! So have fun well it last! Edit added: Once I saw the word cleavage by the Blackstone perople I reasoned cooperation needed by all! Personal to me, Including the judicial system! Focus Point! Cleavage! Because, "Cleavages [diversity of opinions and attitudes] may so divide the members of the political system [including the judicial system] (U.N. too!) that they find themselves unable to cooperate, negotiate, or compromise their differences." [Added:religion in government cause great cleavage, they all conflict with each other so no peace with them there!] From The Blackstone Institute who is committed to reviving the Constitution and its Blackstonian foundations. Blackstone Institute Phone (972) 423-3131 Fax (972) 423-6570 Address 903 E. 18th Street, Suite 230 Plano, TX 75074 info@libertylegal.org See link for USA TODAY info for who opened doors for your rights: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtbcRWt5D9as4DvjSfiQaufsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090430110332AAvON4j And if you will be NICE! Sincerely nice guy Cooperation Needed. A true world need NOW! Yesterday!Dogpatch USA well said, "Diversity in harmony gets results. Were everybody well enough educated and of good enough character to understand this and be able to pass this on to each ensuing generation the problems of cultural and political and religious schism should disappear to never return. Easily said difficult to accomplish." I believe out of all the times I have put up a question this answer would top all others. But perfection of character in government and religion will be needed to get it right for generations to come. Note the perfect rule of law at, Galatians 5:22 "On the other hand, the fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 mildness, self-control. Against such things there is no law." There is no godly law against being good in all the above ways, it benefits both us and other people as well. But like Dogpatch USA said, "Easily said difficult to accomplish." See Galatians 5:19-21 to know why it is not easy to live by.How well do clergy follow these godly rules at, Matthew 6:24 "“No one can slave for two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick to the one and despise the other. YOU cannot slave for God and for Riches." and at, Matthew 10:8 "Cure sick people, raise up dead persons, make lepers clean, expel demons. YOU received free, give free." How many ask for money all the time and how many cure the sick for free now days? The TV clergy more than others seem to have a great income coming from some where. Are they a good example of following the above rules in the Bible? If they are in it for the money and not to save lives might they be the great cause of world cleavage more interested in what they can get out of it than doing good for the people and their real needs? We have seen some in the past exposed for their great greed and some in court likely right now for the same kind of things. And do not those same clergy make themselves your judge, and executioner? more

Resolved Question: How long does it take for a search warrant's seizure to get seized property back?

I was raided by fbi, riaa, ct local and state police and several other agencies for owning a website selling mixed tapes back in November of 2008. I have yet to hear anything about the case, they did not arrest me, give me a court date or even talked to my lawyer about anything. I am just sitting here waiting, it has been 5 months now and i am getting really stressed and pissed off as well. They took tons of computers and other electronics such as monitors, tvs, gaming systems and tons of other stuff. seriously they left me a 20 foot piece of paper of all the items they took during the search. I am looking for a timeframe or some type of actions i can take in the mean time. I dont know my rights for this situation. i have never been arrested or in trouble with the law at all. on top of all of this my business was legit LLC i paid taxes and everything for 4 years. they raided me but yet there are still similar sites selling exactly the same products i did, which i purchased from music djs, which by the way all the products will lead right back to the creators of the products, websites, phone numbers, emails and tons of other contact information all over the products. they said copyright infringement and mail fraud were the reasons for the search warrant. also the search warrant didnt specify any items to be seized. this whole thing sounds really dirty if you ask me. i never got any letters from any companies or warnings saying my business was illegal of any sort. i just find it really funny how everything was flipped around and no one knows why. more

Resolved Question: can somone correct my grammer please?? its a book report.?

Dr. Kim Reggis is the best cardiac surgeon at The University Medical Center. His former wife, Tracy, shares custody of their daughter Rebecca Reggis, age nine. Tracy takes a weekend trip to Aspen with her current boyfriend Carl Stahl. Carl is the current CEO Foodsmart, a large agricultural export wholesale business involving grain and beef. That Friday night, Kim takes his daughter to her favorite restaurant, The Onion Ring. Little did Becky know that her burger was infested with E.Coli. During the weekend Becky was watched over by Kim’s current girlfriend and secretary, Ginger. Becky began to get flulike symptoms which Kim thought would pass. Becky was returned to her mother Sunday night and was getting worse and worse. Becky was finally taken to the hospital ER after blood was found in her diarrhea. Becky’s constant cramps and pain was being ignored for three hours until Dr. Kim found the attention of the staff by punching the vice president of the hospital. Becky was sent home with no medications and was only told not to consume dairy products and that she had a bit of food poisoning and should recover. A few days later Becky had thrown up blood. She went to the hospital again and was given attention almost immediately. The doctors suspected that a certain type of bacteria had entered Rebecca’s system; bacteria like E.Coli, salmonella ect. A specialist named Dr. Kathleen Morgan then spoke with Kim about E.Coli O157:H7 and that it could lead to HUS which shuts down the organs randomly. She then explained statistics of E.Coli and that Kim and his wife should be prepared for the worst. Suddenly Becky perforated and had to have surgery. The surgery went well but Becky was getting worse every day. The next day Kim came to the hospital from work and Becky was put on a respirator. Becky needed special treatment which Ameri-Care did not allow the hospital to perform. Ameri-care merged with Medicare 6 years ago. It shut down Kim’s old hospital and limited the power of doctors. Ameri-cares choices were based on “cost effective” reasons and their main concern was making money. Kim was infuriated. He marched out of the hospital and drove to The Onion Ring were he suspected Becky was infected with the toxin. There he learned which company the burgers were made and confiscated two patties, but Kim was arrested for being extremely violent towards the employees. Becky had a seizure that night. Now Kim was determined to find who was responsible for his daughter’s illness. He located Mercer Meats, the company that delivered the meat to The Onion restaurants everywhere. He was shown the process and was released. Mercer Meats then became nervous and did not want this to get into the news, it could ruin them. Kim then made friends with the inspector of Mercer Meats. Her name was Marsha Baldwin and her job was to make sure that Mercer Meats fallowed the proper regulation to prevent disease. Kim persuaded her to help him by showing her his daughter, unfortunately Becky died that day. Kim tried to save her, but it was too late. Marsha and he then went back to Mercer Meats. They traced the meat and now new it came from Higgins and Hancock’s Slaughterhouse .Marsha a decided to go alone. She called Kim and told her almost erverything he needed to know. She was interrupted by a Carlos, a mad killer whose job was to get rid of Marsha. Kim heard her screams from the phone and dashed to the slaughterhouse. Kim was then attacked but was founds by the police and was arrested for breaking and entering. Tracy and Kim became inseparable. They went to Kim’s house for comfort but little did they know Carlos was waiting for Kim. Carlos became distracted by Tracey in the shower and Kim soon chased Carlos out of his house. They decided to go to Tracy’s. Kim planed to get a job at Higgins and Hancock to find evidence so Kelly Anderson could report his story. Kelly Anderson was a hard hitting news reporter for channel six news. She was looking for her next big story they often stared Dr. Regiss. Now the doctor became an ill reliable resorce being arrested twice. He disused himself by dying his hair and dressing in leather and was wired with microphones. He found more then enough evidence that meat was getting contaminated and inspectors were not doing their job. Tracey could hear everything that was happening loud and clear and recorded every word. Carlos worked and Higgins too and soon recognized Kim. Carlos attacked him after shift but Tracey came to the rescue with Kim’s gun and killed Carlos. The couple went back to Tracy’s home but another assassinator was waiting for them. He explained he was not going to kill them because he was not treated well by the CEO’s of the beef industry and was being taken advantage of. Kim and Tracey rushed off to a motel and learned that morning that the news of “The Doctor Gone Mad”. They decided to leave to a country with no contaminated meant and do something for the America more

Resolved Question: RESUME HELP! Can I aks for some outside assistance?

I have been unemployed for just about 8 months right now. My resume, when the job market was good, was a decent resume. I had some help from an associate at the last institution I worked for, however, reviewing it, I do not feel it is all that strong. Could I get some help or just another set of eyes to look at it and let me know what you think? Also, should I list my unemployed status? I am working part time at Target while unemployed for some supplemental income, should I post that? Should I leave Linens n Things on there, even thought it was only one month? Thank you in advance, --A sad and frustrated banker. Adam Armstrong 225 Stark St. NE., Salem, OR. 97303 503.856.6681 adam.armstrong@live.com Objective: -I am seeking a position that will further my career, as well as assist in the growth of the company and my fellow associates. Profile: -Nearly four years experience in management. -Exceptional training in communications. -Goal-oriented individual with strong leadership capabilities. -Organized, highly motivated, and detail-directed problem solver. -Proven ability to work in unison with staff, volunteers, and costumer’s. -Strong sales leader. Education: -Currently attending the University of Phoenix, majoring in Business Management. Relevant Work & Accomplishments -Management/Supervision -Mentor (trainer) for new associates. -Annual budgeting. -Consistently able to help the branch meet the goals set (20% increase from previous year). -Directed recruitment and retention of supervisors and staff of nine employees. -Training, supervising, evaluating and coaching improvement management skills. Relevant Work Experience Linens n Things, Salem, OR. Nov. 25th, 2008 Dec. 23rd, 2008 Department Manager, HouseWares, -Sold fixtures, gave quotes, and helped in the removal of fixtures. - Assisted in the liquidation of all product. -Answered phones, and questions on the phones. -Recovered HouseWares and assisted in recovery of other areas in the store. -Double verified deposits. -Ran transactions on cash registers. -Recovered shopping carts. -Assisted in all aspects of customer service. -Assisted associates when needed. -Stated employment with the understanding that the position was temporary due the liquidation. Marion and Polk Schools CU. Assistant Branch Manager II, June 14th, 2007 Aug. 20th, 2008 Salem, OR. -Provide exception service to staff and customer’s alike. -Home Equity and Mortgage loans, as primary lending duties. Assisting in auto, boat, RV, personal and Visa loans as well. -Involvement with the West Salem Rotary and the West Salem Business Association. -Community involvement, primarily with the West Salem High School, in our Titan Branch. We currently have three interns working between the two branches. -Branch support in all aspects needed. Assisting other loan officers, acting as a teller, handling member discrepancies and teller cash/check outages. -Meet monthly referral goals. -Handle multiple operating systems at one time. -Met the following lending goals monthly: $250,000.00 home equity loans. Close at least one mortgage. -Make sure the branch meets its control policy and passes all audits, according to company policy and State/Federal guidelines. -I would handle new and existing IRA’s and Certificate deposits. -Coaching the staff monthly or as needed by individual. -Marketing and new Relationship marketing quarterly with our Relationship Manager. Umpqua Bank. Nov. 1st 2004 June 9th, 2007 Lead Associate/Mentor -Lending in the following areas: auto, RV, home equity, Visa. -Opening and maintain new accounts, IRA’s and time deposits. -I would assist in branch goals and the overall flow of the branch. -Open, close and assist members in safe deposit boxes. -Weekly we had teleconferences where we would discuss our success, and areas we needed to improve in. -Balancing the vault, coin machine, and teller drawer. -Over draft reports; calling and following up with clients. -Yearly we had to volunteer 40 hours to a local charitable organization. -As a mentor my duties were to train the new hire in the Umpqua culture. I would train them on 1)Service 2)Products 3)Sales -I would also, on occasion, assist in ‘Train the Trainer’ classes. more

Resolved Question: Has anyone bought from www.lapislazuliworld.co.uk?

I'm am currently raising a dispute with my credit card company about this online retailer, I was wondering if anyone else had bought from them recently. The order tracking system on their website permanently shows my order status as "Order processed. Good will be dispatched within 24 hours". It has been in this state for over a week. They charged my card (with the wrong merchant name, not the one given in the 'Payment' section on their website) in US dollars - all of the transaction including invoice/receipt is in £ sterling. Surely it must be illegal to charge me in a currency which was not mentioned anywhere throughout the whole transaction. This has led to my card being charged with more than I authorised. They don't answer emails. The 'phone and fax numbers given on the invoice and their website are both out of service. There is an '0526' sales number on their website which I don't much fancy calling since I've no idea what I will be charged for that. I have not received any product - they quote 5-10 business days and we're not quite there yet (7 & counting) but given all of the above I'm not holding my breath. I have spoken at length with my credit card company who will pursue them for overcharging (due to the currency issue) and once the 10 business days are up they will also pursue them for non-delivery of goods. Has anyone else dealt with this retailer?Update: Yesterday morning I received an automatic email from them saying my order has been despatched! Again all the details were in £ sterling. Again the same non-working 'phone and fax numbers were quoted. I emailed them again repeating all my questions & complaints and of course have had no reply. I am still pursuing them via my credit card company for (over)charging me in US $ without my authorisation. I would recommend never ever using them, I certainly never will again. Mike more

Resolved Question: Should adults rich and poor receive Ten's of billions of dollars of bailout money of $50,000?

It's ok this is just a example, Been living with a woman that I don't really love; not married and unemployed. She has been working 2 jobs making good money that she spends the hell outa of once she does get paid and comming to me asking for more money I don't have. I havn't been able to find a good job or career. Did manage to save the house without bankruptcy by using up credit cards and giving her son a car to go to college plus, still making the house payments and paying for food. Now that the housing market has made a huge crack with falling prices, my house is worthless. Won't sell the house for nothing cause I know you can't go build a house for less. Been trying to get her to sell the house now going on over 2 years. She finally agrees that we should sell the house now that I'm $55,000 in debt. Phones at my house rings off the hook from crediters morning, day and night. Spoke to several lawyers that can handle my case for credit bankrupty chapter 7 for erasing my debt but, they say it will take 10 years to restore my dept and cost me $3000 in legal fees. Not to mention if I'm found guity during the case for perjury as all people face during bankruptcies. It's a huge mess and it just keeps getting worse since credit card companies keep charging for higher interest rates and finance charges cost of living keeps going up too. Before, I can get the money needed for the lawyers the amount will grow to over 100 thanusand dollars by the end of the year from not having a job. Had the creditors left me alone and stop calling, my woman would have stop spending and would've got the job. Would have made $6000 on AOG since I had 50000 shares at .05 and went to .20 last year with a local invested brokage company. I've made lots of money in my time even doing 4 for 1 stock splits making $200000 off of $5000 investments and keeping a job. If I had it to do all over again, would have never sign my name on a contract to buy a house for investment with my lady friend. The plan totally failed when the woman fail in love with the house...The same thing is going on all across this nation of ours as the government continues to help the banks, car companies and finanial companies. They should be giving billions of dollars to the people to spend on paying back debt. Shame on America! If the people had the money to put back into the system this would create jobs, stop forclosures, payoff credit cards and end the worse crises in history. Tax payers could pay back money they owe to the IRS or Federal Government and it is very important to pay back those taxes that build our bridges, roads and highways. Thou we continue in the wrong path with hardship and with new leaders "God Bless Thy" to lead this country. So, look for more of the same and worsier times. Anybody that can lead me in the right path is welcome, I'm here to help you anwser these questions. 1. Does it make since to give money to a failing president or CEO of a company? 2. How can giving money to Corporate America solve the problems using bailout money if noone, buys cars, houses and theirs no jobs in the job market to drive our economy? 3. Should the adults or people rich and poor recieve Ten's of billions of dollars each with equal 50 to 100 thausand dollars in bailout money which could pay off some mortages and save thousands of people from being homeless? Note: This money should be required to pay back only bills or debts that are outstanding if owed. If no money is owed the adult can use the money for anything such as food, cars, to buy houses, business and ect to recycle throughout our economy. Remember, everthing that is purchase, ever 1 cent that is spent and saved goes back into the system to create jobs, pay bills and pay taxes that build america and the United States of America... Sincerely, The Invincible Charlie more

Resolved Question: Any successful annuity agents?

Hello, I am trying to find a successful annuity agent who could give me some solid marketing advice on how to get in front of qualified clients. I am a licensed insurance agent, and have spent the past two years of my insurance career (not my only source of income) trying to build my insurance business. What I have learned is that selling annuities is really all about marketing. Simply stated, you can know annuities inside and out, but if you cannot get in front of qualified people who are interested in annuities to begin with, you are getting nowhere. I have spent literally thousands of dollars on my own marketing, as well as lead programs that were nothing more than a waste of my money. I really believe in this business, and I need it to work to provide a steady income for my family, but I am at a loss on how to successfully market annuities and actually get in front of qualified prospects on a regular basis. It would really mean a lot to me if someone who has a successful business with annuities would spend a few minutes with me on the phone and offer some realistic marketing advice on how to get in front of qualified prospects as soon as possible. I know that agents who are successful have mastered a system that constantly puts them in front of new prospects. I also know I am reaching for straws here, but it would really mean a lot to me if someone with experience and success could offer me a few minutes of their time to help me get a solid marketing plan in place. If anyone reads this who is successful in this area, and would be willing to help a struggling agent with some words of good advice, please send me an email to: comingsoon222@hotmail.com Thanks in advance to anyone who may take the time to reply. more

Resolved Question: Do the Riddex Pest Control Units expire after a year? Or are they meant to last much longer?

And if they are connected to a multi-socket outlet extender (e.g. 3 plugs patched into 1 outlet), are they less effective? If you are familiar with the Riddex system, you know that it sends a reverse signal through your home's wiring, emitting an ultrasonic sound that is not noticable to the human ear but is irritating to bugs and mice, driving them away and supposedly out of your home. I purchased 3 Riddex Units a little over a year ago and have been quite pleased with the results. They seem to have worked well. But lately, we've been doing reparations to my condominium complex in the aftermath of a hurricane this past summer, installing a new roof and tearing away wood rot that had built up over the years. This may have caused unusual disruption and in effect, drove rodents INTO our home. I've seen only one little mouse thus far. There may be others I know...those darn mice all look alike, you know (smiles). But I've not seen more than one at any given time so I suspect my pest problem is most likely minor. But as I never expected, this little mouse keeps re-appearing in a location that is literally just 5 feet away from my plugged in Riddex unit, leading me to believe the unit has worn out or is not working, or else the mouse is just tone deaf. I've tried calling the Riddex people on the phone, but they have one of those mind-numbing / soul-murdering computer-automated systems where it is virtually impossible to get to a live customer service agent unless you buy something. And then that live body ends up trying to sell you something and may not really be a tech expert on the Riddex system. So I turn here to Yahoo! Answers in hopes someone here might be able to tell me if I should expect to have to replace these Riddex units on some regular basis because they have built in obsolesence or something similar in an effort to keep consumers buying their stuff and Riddex in perpetual business. What's the real story here? If it is electonic only, lights up, and appears to work on the face of it, I would suspect it is still working properly although I don't have ultrasonic testing gear to tell for sure. I think the little mouse is laughing at me and my Riddex units now. Time to get a cat! I've got mouse burgers on the menu here. Come and get 'em, Sylvester! more

Resolved Question: What's going to happen now?

I told you all to protest the bail out but the American people caved! It didn't work did it? Why? Because it's global! That money was just for the government to take over our businesses, banks, and our way of life. They now are our bosses, bankers, and have a hand in our lives! Thank you America for trusting the crooks in Congress! They could care less about us! The are the one's who want a Socialist Government eventually leading to a Communist take over! Farrakhan is now calling Obama 'The Messiah!" John 'I am soft hearted" McCain is not the answer! Biden is a fibber and Palin's Husband messed up her political career. When will the American people wake up and smell the s-h-i-t that our government is shoveling to us??? When will we get the balls and make a run on the white house and Congress and take back our country??? I am ready to vote for a no name party and a no name candidate. I am sick of our government! For all Liberals who want government ran healthcare I suggest that you look at our economy first and then decide if you want our government running our healthcare system? They can F-up a wet dream! Come on people!!!! Stand up and have some balls!!!! Write letters, make phone calls, and tell our government that we aren't going to take it any more!!!!! So, What do you think will happen now????YouTube - Minister Farrakhan Speaks About Barack Obama Minister Farrakhan Speaks about Sen. Barack Obama.Support The ... 10 min - Farrakhan www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7QUftErt_M more

Resolved Question: my laptop crashed otherday i was able to reinstalll everything but works9 would not work tried it on other ?

computers but did not work tried dvds cds ext they worked on lap top ok phone aol as they had provided me with it they told me to call car phone warehouse they told me to call hp that's the make of lap top was adv that works 9 was a free trial software and they do not supplied it i would have to by my own 1st part of questions would microsoft give me works 9 free if i phoned with Serial no on cd sleeve and if so how do i get in touch with them 2nd part of question is when i called cpwh they said the only disk they could send out was my operating system so said ok he asked me if it was Vista basic which it is or business i stump led and said business he said if it was wrong one it would not work on Computer so i said i would look told him it was basic is he right if they had sent business would it work on my computer or not more

Resolved Question: Interviewing Current Empoyees?

Hi im doing work experience at the moment and am interviewing current employees from all over the business (Hr, Marketing, Business Analytics, Finance etc) about their IS (IT for us British) usage. Asking about their software, computing, phone system etc. These guys are high up and i havent really got many good questions. These questions should lead onto a survey so i need some deep stuff as well. Does anybody have any ideas about some questions to ask? I hope i have made myself clear. more

Resolved Question: is this THE only longest joke youve heard ?

Lost in the Desert (Author unknown) So, there’s a man crawling through the desert. He’d decided to try his SUV in a little bit of cross-country travel, had great fun zooming over the badlands and through the sand, got lost, hit a big rock, and then he couldn’t get it started again. There were no cell phone towers anywhere near, so his cell phone was useless. He had no family, his parents had died a few years before in an auto accident, and his few friends had no idea he was out here. He stayed with the car for a day or so, but his one bottle of water ran out and he was getting thirsty. He thought maybe he knew the direction back, now that he’d paid attention to the sun and thought he’d figured out which way was north, so he decided to start walking. He figured he only had to go about 30 miles or so and he’d be back to the small town he’d gotten gas in last. He thinks about walking at night to avoid the heat and sun, but based upon how dark it actually was the night before, and given that he has no flashlight, he’s afraid that he’ll break a leg or step on a rattlesnake. So, he puts on some sun block, puts the rest in his pocket for reapplication later, brings an umbrella he’d had in the back of the SUV with him to give him a little shade, pours the windshield wiper fluid into his water bottle in case he gets that desperate, brings his pocket knife in case he finds a cactus that looks like it might have water in it, and heads out in the direction he thinks is right. He walks for the entire day. By the end of the day he’s really thirsty. He’s been sweating all day, and his lips are starting to crack. He’s reapplied the sunblock twice, and tried to stay under the umbrella, but he still feels sunburned. The windshield wiper fluid sloshing in the bottle in his pocket is really getting tempting now. He knows that it’s mainly water and some ethanol and coloring, but he also knows that they add some kind of poison to it to keep people from drinking it. He wonders what the poison is, and whether the poison would be worse than dying of thirst. He pushes on, trying to get to that small town before dark. By the end of the day he starts getting worried. He figures he’s been walking at least 3 miles an hour, according to his watch for over 10 hours. That means that if his estimate was right that he should be close to the town. But he doesn’t recognize any of this. He had to cross a dry creek bed a mile or two back, and he doesn’t remember coming through it in the SUV. He figures that maybe he got his direction off just a little and that the dry creek bed was just off to one side of his path. He tells himself that he’s close, and that after dark he’ll start seeing the town lights over one of these hills, and that’ll be all he needs. As it gets dim enough that he starts stumbling over small rocks and things, he finds a spot and sits down to wait for full dark and the town lights. Full dark comes before he knows it. He must have dozed off. He stands back up and turns all the way around. He sees nothing but stars. He wakes up the next morning feeling absolutely lousy. His eyes are gummy and his mouth and nose feel like they’re full of sand. He so thirsty that he can’t even swallow. He barely got any sleep because it was so cold. He’d forgotten how cold it got at night in the desert and hadn’t noticed it the night before because he’d been in his car. He knows the Rule of Threes - three minutes without air, three days without water, three weeks without food - then you die. Some people can make it a little longer, in the best situations. But the desert heat and having to walk and sweat isn’t the best situation to be without water. He figures, unless he finds water, this is his last day. He rinses his mouth out with a little of the windshield wiper fluid. He waits a while after spitting that little bit out, to see if his mouth goes numb, or he feels dizzy or something. Has his mouth gone numb? Is it just in his mind? He’s not sure. He’ll go a little farther, and if he still doesn’t find water, he’ll try drinking some of the fluid. Then he has to face his next, harder question - which way does he go from here? Does he keep walking the same way he was yesterday (assuming that he still knows which way that is), or does he try a new direction? He has no idea what to do. Looking at the hills and dunes around him, he thinks he knows the direction he was heading before. Just going by a feeling, he points himself somewhat to the left of that, and starts walking. As he walks, the day starts heating up. The desert, too cold just a couple of hours before, soon becomes an oven again. He sweats a little at first, and then stops. He starts getting worried at that - when you stop sweating he knows that means you’re in trouble - usually right before heat stroke. He decides that it’s time to try the windshield wiper fluid. He can’t wait any longer - if he passes out, he’s dead. He stops in the shade of a large rock, takes the bottle out, opens it, and takes a mouthful. He slowly swallows it, making it last as long as he can. It feels so good in his dry and cracked throat that he doesn’t even care about the nasty taste. He takes another mouthful, and makes it last too. Slowly, he drinks half the bottle. He figures that since he’s drinking it, he might as well drink enough to make some difference and keep himself from passing out. He’s quit worrying about the denaturing of the wiper fluid. If it kills him, it kills him - if he didn’t drink it, he’d die anyway. Besides, he’s pretty sure that whatever substance they denature the fluid with is just designed to make you sick - their way of keeping winos from buying cheap wiper fluid for the ethanol content. He can handle throwing up, if it comes to that. He walks. He walks in the hot, dry, windless desert. Sand, rocks, hills, dunes, the occasional scrawny cactus or dried bush. No sign of water. Sometimes he’ll see a little movement to one side or the other, but whatever moved is usually gone before he can focus his eyes on it. Probably birds, lizards, or mice. Maybe snakes, though they usually move more at night. He’s careful to stay away from the movements. After a while, he begins to stagger. He’s not sure if it’s fatigue, heat stroke finally catching him, or maybe he was wrong and the denaturing of the wiper fluid was worse than he thought. He tries to steady himself, and keep going. After more walking, he comes to a large stretch of sand. This is good! He knows he passed over a stretch of sand in the SUV - he remembers doing donuts in it. Or at least he thinks he remembers it - he’s getting woozy enough and tired enough that he’s not sure what he remembers any more or if he’s hallucinating. But he thinks he remembers it. So he heads off into it, trying to get to the other side, hoping that it gets him closer to the town. He was heading for a town, wasn’t he? He thinks he was. He isn’t sure any more. He’s not even sure how long he’s been walking any more. Is it still morning? Or has it moved into afternoon and the sun is going down again? It must be afternoon - it seems like it’s been too long since he started out. He walks through the sand. After a while, he comes to a big dune in the sand. This is bad. He doesn’t remember any dunes when driving over the sand in his SUV. Or at least he doesn’t think he remembers any. This is bad. But, he has no other direction to go. Too late to turn back now. He figures that he’ll get to the top of the dune and see if he can see anything from there that helps him find the town. He keeps going up the dune. Halfway up, he slips in the bad footing of the sand for the second or third time, and falls to his knees. He doesn’t feel like getting back up - he’ll just fall down again. So, he keeps going up the dune on his hand and knees. While crawling, if his throat weren’t so dry, he’d laugh. He’s finally gotten to the hackneyed image of a man lost in the desert - crawling through the sand on his hands and knees. If would be the perfect image, he imagines, if only his clothes were more ragged. The people crawling through the desert in the cartoons always had ragged clothes. But his have lasted without any rips so far. Somebody will probably find his dessicated corpse half buried in the sand years from now, and his clothes will still be in fine shape -shake the sand out, and a good wash, and they’d be wearable again. He wishes his throat were wet enough to laugh. He coughs a little instead, and it hurts. He finally makes it to the top of the sand dune. Now that he’s at the top, he struggles a little, but manages to stand up and look around. All he sees is sand. Sand, and more sand. Behind him, about a mile away, he thinks he sees the rocky ground he left to head into this sand. Ahead of him, more dunes, more sand. This isn’t where he drove his SUV. This is Hell. Or close enough. Again, he doesn’t know what to do. He decides to drink the rest of the wiper fluid while figuring it out. He takes out the bottle, and is removing the cap, when he glances to the side and sees something. Something in the sand. At the bottom of the dune, off to the side, he sees something strange. It’s a flat area, in the sand. He stops taking the cap of the bottle off, and tries to look closer. The area seems to be circular. And it’s dark - darker than the sand. And, there seems to be something in the middle of it, but he can’t tell what it is. He looks as hard as he can, and still can tell from here. He’s going to have to go down there and look. He puts the bottle back in his pocket, and starts to stumble down the dune. After a few steps, he realizes that he’s in trouble - he’s not going to be able to keep his balance. After a couple of more sliding, tottering steps, he falls and starts to roll down the dune. The sand it so hot when his body hits it that for a minute he thinks he’s caught fire on the way down - like a movie car wreck flashing into flames as it goes over the cliff, before it ever even hits the ground. He closes his eyes and mouth, covers his face with his hands, and waits to stop rolling. He stops, at the bottom of the dune. After a minute or two, he finds enough energy to try to sit up and get the sand out of his face and clothes. When he clears his eyes enough, he looks around to make sure that the dark spot in the sand it still there and he hadn’t just imagined it. So, seeing the large, flat, dark spot on the sand is still there, he begins to crawl towards it. He’d get up and walk towards it, but he doesn’t seem to have the energy to get up and walk right now. He must be in the final stages of dehydration he figures, as he crawls. If this place in the sand doesn’t have water, he’ll likely never make it anywhere else. This is his last chance. He gets closer and closer, but still can’t see what’s in the middle of the dark area. His eyes won’t quite focus any more for some reason. And lifting his head up to look takes so much effort that he gives up trying. He just keeps crawling. Finally, he reaches the area he’d seen from the dune. It takes him a minute of crawling on it before he realizes that he’s no longer on sand - he’s now crawling on some kind of dark stone. Stone with some kind of marking on it -a pattern cut into the stone. He’s too tired to stand up and try to see what the pattern is - so he just keeps crawling. He crawls towards the center, where his blurry eyes still see something in the middle of the dark stone area. His mind, detached in a strange way, notes that either his hands and knees are so burnt by the sand that they no longer feel pain, or that this dark stone, in the middle of a burning desert with a pounding, punishing sun overhead, doesn’t seem to be hot. It almost feels cool. He considers lying down on the nice cool surface. Cool, dark stone. Not a good sign. He must be hallucinating this. He’s probably in the middle of a patch of sand, already lying face down and dying, and just imagining this whole thing. A desert mirage. Soon the beautiful women carrying pitchers of water will come up and start giving him a drink. Then he’ll know he’s gone. He decides against laying down on the cool stone. If he’s going to die here in the middle of this hallucination, he at least wants to see what’s in the center before he goes. He keeps crawling. It’s the third time that he hears the voice before he realizes what he’s hearing. He would swear that someone just said, “Greetings, traveler. You do not look well. Do you hear me?” He stops crawling. He tries to look up from where he is on his hands and knees, but it’s too much effort to lift his head. So he tries something different - he leans back and tries to sit up on the stone. After a few seconds, he catches his balance, avoids falling on his face, sits up, and tries to focus his eyes. Blurry. He rubs his eyes with the back of his hands and tries again. Better this time. Yep. He can see. He’s sitting in the middle of a large, flat, dark expanse of stone. Directly next to him, about three feet away, is a white post or pole about two inches in diameter and sticking up about four or five feet out of the stone, at an angle. And wrapped around this white rod, tail with rattle on it hovering and seeming to be ready to start rattling, is what must be a fifteen foot long desert diamondback rattlesnake, looking directly at him. He stares at the snake in shock. He doesn’t have the energy to get up and run away. He doesn’t even have the energy to crawl away. This is it, his final resting place. No matter what happens, he’s not going to be able to move from this spot. Well, at least dying of a bite from this monster should be quicker than dying of thirst. He’ll face his end like a man. He struggles to sit up a little straighter. The snake keeps watching him. He lifts one hand and waves it in the snake’s direction, feebly. The snake watches the hand for a moment, then goes back to watching the man, looking into his eyes. Hmmm. Maybe the snake had no interest in biting him? It hadn’t rattled yet -that was a good sign. Maybe he wasn’t going to die of snake bite after all. He then remembers that he’d looked up when he’d reached the center here because he thought he’d heard a voice. He was still very woozy - he was likely to pass out soon, the sun still beat down on him even though he was now on cool stone. He still didn’t have anything to drink. But maybe he had actually heard a voice. This stone didn’t look natural. Nor did that white post sticking up out of the stone. Someone had to have built this. Maybe they were still nearby. Maybe that was who talked to him. Maybe this snake was even their pet, and that’s why it wasn’t biting. He tries to clear his throat to say, “Hello,” but his throat is too dry. All that comes out is a coughing or wheezing sound. There is no way he’s going to be able to talk without something to drink. He feels his pocket, and the bottle with the wiper fluid is still there. He shakily pulls the bottle out, almost losing his balance and falling on his back in the process. This isn’t good. He doesn’t have much time left, by his reckoning, before he passes out. He gets the lid off of the bottle, manages to get the bottle to his lips, and pours some of the fluid into his mouth. He sloshes it around, and then swallows it. He coughs a little. His throat feels better. Maybe he can talk now. He tries again. Ignoring the snake, he turns to look around him, hoping to spot the owner of this place, and croaks out, “Hello? Is there anyone here?” He hears, from his side, “Greetings. What is it that you want?” He turns his head, back towards the snake. That’s where the sound had seemed to come from. The only thing he can think of is that there must be a speaker, hidden under the snake, or maybe built into that post. He decides to try asking for help. “Please,” he croaks again, suddenly feeling dizzy, “I’d love to not be thirsty any more. I’ve been a long time without water. Can you help me?” Looking in the direction of the snake, hoping to see where the voice was coming from this time, he is shocked to see the snake rear back, open its mouth, and speak. He hears it say, as the dizziness overtakes him and he falls forward, face first on the stone, “Very well. Coming up.” A piercing pain shoots through his shoulder. Suddenly he is awake. He sits up and grabs his shoulder, wincing at the throbbing pain. He’s momentarily disoriented as he looks around, and then he remembers - the crawl across the sand, the dark area of stone, the snake. He sees the snake, still wrapped around the tilted white post, still looking at him. He reaches up and feels his shoulder, where it hurts. It feels slightly wet. He pulls his fingers away and looks at them - blood. He feels his shoulder again - his shirt has what feels like two holes in it - two puncture holes -they match up with the two aching spots of pain on his shoulder. He had been bitten. By the snake. “It’ll feel better in a minute.” He looks up - it’s the snake talking. He hadn’t dreamed it. Suddenly he notices - he’s not dizzy any more. And more importantly, he’s not thirsty any more - at all! “Have I died? Is this the afterlife? Why are you biting me in the afterlife?” “Sorry about that, but I had to bite you,” says the snake. “That’s the way I work. It all comes through the bite. Think of it as natural medicine.” “You bit me to help me? Why aren’t I thirsty any more? Did you give me a drink before you bit me? How did I drink enough while unconscious to not be thirsty any more? I haven’t had a drink for over two days. Well, except for the windshield wiper fluid… hold it, how in the world does a snake talk? Are you real? Are you some sort of Disney animation?” “No,” says the snake, “I’m real. As real as you or anyone is, anyway. I didn’t give you a drink. I bit you. That’s how it works - it’s what I do. I bite. I don’t have hands to give you a drink, even if I had water just sitting around here.” The man sat stunned for a minute. Here he was, sitting in the middle of the desert on some strange stone that should be hot but wasn’t, talking to a snake that could talk back and had just bitten him. And he felt better. Not great - he was still starving and exhausted, but much better - he was no longer thirsty. He had started to sweat again, but only slightly. He felt hot, in this sun, but it was starting to get lower in the sky, and the cool stone beneath him was a relief he could notice now that he was no longer dying of thirst. “I might suggest that we take care of that methanol you now have in your system with the next request,” continued the snake. “I can guess why you drank it, but I’m not sure how much you drank, or how much methanol was left in the wiper fluid. That stuff is nasty. It’ll make you go blind in a day or two, if you drank enough of it.” “Ummm, n-next request?” said the man. He put his hand back on his hurting shoulder and backed away from the snake a little. “That’s the way it works. If you like, that is,” explained the snake. “You get three requests. Call them wishes, if you wish.” The snake grinned at his own joke, and the man drew back a little further from the show of fangs. “But there are rules,” the snake continued. “The first request is free. The second requires an agreement of secrecy. The third requires the binding of responsibility.” The snake looks at the man seriously. “By the way,” the snake says suddenly, “my name is Nathan. Old Nathan, Samuel used to call me. He gave me the name. Before that, most of the Bound used to just call me ‘Snake’. But that got old, and Samuel wouldn’t stand for it. He said that anything that could talk needed a name. He was big into names. You can call me Nate, if you wish.” Again, the snake grinned. “Sorry if I don’t offer to shake, but I think you can understand - my shake sounds somewhat threatening.” The snake give his rattle a little shake. “Umm, my name is Jack,” said the man, trying to absorb all of this. “Jack Samson. “Can I ask you a question?” Jack says suddenly. “What happened to the poison…umm, in your bite. Why aren’t I dying now? How did you do that? What do you mean by that’s how you work?” “That’s more than one question,” grins Nate. “But I’ll still try to answer all of them. First, yes, you can ask me a question.” The snake’s grin gets wider. “Second, the poison is in you. It changed you. You now no longer need to drink. That’s what you asked for. Or, well, technically, you asked to not be thirsty any more - but ‘any more’ is such a vague term. I decided to make it permanent - now, as long as you live, you shouldn’t need to drink much at all. Your body will conserve water very efficiently. You should be able to get enough just from the food you eat - much like a creature of the desert. You’ve been changed. “For the third question,” Nate continues, “you are still dying. Besides the effects of that methanol in your system, you’re a man - and men are mortal. In your current state, I give you no more than about another 50 years. Assuming you get out of this desert, alive, that is.” Nate seemed vastly amused at his own humor, and continued his wide grin. “As for the fourth question,” Nate said, looking more serious as far as Jack could tell, as Jack was just now working on his ability to read talking-snake emotions from snake facial features, “first you have to agree to make a second request and become bound by the secrecy, or I can’t tell you.” “Wait,” joked Jack, “isn’t this where you say you could tell me, but you’d have to kill me?” “I thought that was implied.” Nate continued to look serious. “Ummm…yeah.” Jack leaned back a little as he remembered again that he was talking to a fifteen foot poisonous reptile with a reputation for having a nasty temper. “So, what is this ‘Bound by Secrecy’ stuff, and can you really stop the effects of the methanol?” Jack thought for a second. “And, what do you mean methanol, anyway? I thought these days they use ethanol in wiper fluid, and just denature it?” “They may, I don’t really know,” said Nate. “I haven’t gotten out in a while. Maybe they do. All I know is that I smell methanol on your breath and on that bottle in your pocket. And the blue color of the liquid when you pulled it out to drink some let me guess that it was wiper fluid. I assume that they still color wiper fluid blue?” “Yeah, they do,” said Jack. “I figured,” replied Nate. “As for being bound by secrecy - with the fulfillment of your next request, you will be bound to say nothing about me, this place, or any of the information I will tell you after that, when you decide to go back out to your kind. You won’t be allowed to talk about me, write about me, use sign language, charades, or even act in a way that will lead someone to guess correctly about me. You’ll be bound to secrecy. Of course, I’ll also ask you to promise not to give me away, and as I’m guessing that you’re a man of your word, you’ll never test the binding anyway, so you won’t notice.” Nate said the last part with utter confidence. Jack, who had always prided himself on being a man of his word, felt a little nervous at this. “Ummm, hey, Nate, who are you? How did you know that? Are you, umm, omniscient, or something?” Well, Jack,” said Nate sadly, “I can’t tell you that, unless you make the second request.” Nate looked away for a minute, then looked back. “Umm, well, ok,” said Jack, “what is this about a second request? What can I ask for? Are you allowed to tell me that?” “Sure!” said Nate, brightening. “You’re allowed to ask for changes. Changes to yourself. They’re like wishes, but they can only affect you. Oh, and before you ask, I can’t give you immortality. Or omniscience. Or omnipresence, for that matter. Though I might be able to make you gaseous and yet remain alive, and then you could spread through the atmosphere and sort of be omnipresent. But what good would that be - you still wouldn’t be omniscient and thus still could only focus on one thing at a time. Not very useful, at least in my opinion.” Nate stopped when he realized that Jack was staring at him. “Well, anyway,” continued Nate, “I’d probably suggest giving you permanent good health. It would negate the methanol now in your system, you’d be immune to most poisons and diseases, and you’d tend to live a very long time, barring accident, of course. And you’ll even have a tendency to recover from accidents well. It always seemed like a good choice for a request to me.” “Cure the methanol poisoning, huh?” said Jack. “And keep me healthy for a long time? Hmmm. It doesn’t sound bad at that. And it has to be a request about a change to me? I can’t ask to be rich, right? Because that’s not really a change to me?” “Right,” nodded Nate. “Could I ask to be a genius and permanently healthy?” Jack asked, hopefully. “That takes two requests, Jack.” “Yeah, I figured so,” said Jack. “But I could ask to be a genius? I could become the smartest scientist in the world? Or the best athlete?” “Well, I could make you very smart,” admitted Nate, “but that wouldn’t necessarily make you the best scientist in the world. Or, I could make you very athletic, but it wouldn’t necessarily make you the best athlete either. You’ve heard the saying that 99% of genius is hard work? Well, there’s some truth to that. I can give you the talent, but I can’t make you work hard. It all depends on what you decide to do with it.” “Hmmm,” said Jack. “Ok, I think I understand. And I get a third request, after this one?” “Maybe,” said Nate, “it depends on what you decide then. There are more rules for the third request that I can only tell you about after the second request. You know how it goes.” Nate looked like he’d shrug, if he had shoulders. “Ok, well, since I’d rather not be blind in a day or two, and permanent health doesn’t sound bad, then consider that my second request. Officially. Do I need to sign in blood or something?” “No,” said Nate. “Just hold out your hand. Or heel.” Nate grinned. “Or whatever part you want me to bite. I have to bite you again. Like I said, that’s how it works - the poison, you know,” Nate said apologetically. Jack winced a little and felt his shoulder, where the last bite was. Hey, it didn’t hurt any more. Just like Nate had said. That made Jack feel better about the biting business. But still, standing still while a fifteen foot snake sunk it’s fangs into you. Jack stood up. Ignoring how good it felt to be able to stand again, and the hunger starting to gnaw at his stomach, Jack tried to decide where he wanted to get bitten. Despite knowing that it wouldn’t hurt for long, Jack knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. “Hey, Jack,” Nate suddenly said, looking past Jack towards the dunes behind him, “is that someone else coming up over there?” Jack spun around and looked. Who else could be out here in the middle of nowhere? And did they bring food? Wait a minute, there was nobody over there. What was Nate… Jack let out a bellow as he felt two fangs sink into his rear end, through his jeans… Jack sat down carefully, favoring his more tender buttock. “I would have decided, eventually, Nate. I was just thinking about it. You didn’t have to hoodwink me like that.” “I’ve been doing this a long time, Jack,” said Nate, confidently. “You humans have a hard time sitting still and letting a snake bite you - especially one my size. And besides, admit it - it’s only been a couple of minutes and it already doesn’t hurt any more, does it? That’s because of the health benefit with this one. I told you that you’d heal quickly now.” “Yeah, well, still,” said Jack, “it’s the principle of the thing. And nobody likes being bitten in the butt! Couldn’t you have gotten my calf or something instead?” “More meat in the typical human butt,” replied Nate. “And less chance you accidentally kick me or move at the last second.” “Yeah, right. So, tell me all of these wonderful secrets that I now qualify to hear,” answered Jack. “Ok,” said Nate. “Do you want to ask questions first, or do you want me to just start talking?” “Just talk,” said Jack. “I’ll sit here and try to not think about food.” “We could go try to rustle up some food for you first, if you like,” answered Nate. “Hey! You didn’t tell me you had food around here, Nate!” Jack jumped up. “What do we have? Am I in walking distance to town? Or can you magically whip up food along with your other powers?” Jack was almost shouting with excitement. His stomach had been growling for hours. “I was thinking more like I could flush something out of its hole and bite it for you, and you could skin it and eat it. Assuming you have a knife, that is,” replied Nate, with the grin that Jack was starting to get used to. “Ugh,” said Jack, sitting back down. “I think I’ll pass. I can last a little longer before I get desperate enough to eat desert rat, or whatever else it is you find out here. And there’s nothing to burn - I’d have to eat it raw. No thanks. Just talk.” “Ok,” replied Nate, still grinning. “But I’d better hurry, before you start looking at me as food. Nate reared back a little, looked around for a second, and then continued. “You, Jack, are sitting in the middle of the Garden of Eden.” Jack looked around at the sand and dunes and then looked back at Nate sceptically. “Well, that’s the best I can figure it, anyway, Jack,” said Nate. “Stand up and look at the symbol on the rock here.” Nate gestured around the dark stone they were both sitting on with his nose. Jack stood up and looked. Carved into the stone in a bas-relief was a representation of a large tree. The angled-pole that Nate was wrapped around was coming out of the trunk of the tree, right below where the main branches left the truck to reach out across the stone. It was very well done - it looked more like a tree had been reduced to almost two dimensions and embedded in the stone than it did like a carving. Jack walked around and looked at the details in the fading light of the setting sun. He wished he’d looked at it while the sun was higher in the sky. Wait! The sun was setting! That meant he was going to have to spend another night out here! Arrrgh! Jack looked out across the desert for a little bit, and then came back and stood next to Nate. “In all the excitement, I almost forgot, Nate,” said Jack. “Which way is it back to town? And how far? I’m eventually going to have to head back - I’m not sure I’ll be able to survive by eating raw desert critters for long. And even if I can, I’m not sure I’ll want to.” “It’s about 30 miles that way.” Nate pointed, with the rattle on his tail this time. As far as Jack could tell, it was a direction at right angles to the way he’d been going when he was crawling here. “But that’s 30 miles by the way the crow flies. It’s about 40 by the way a man walks. You should be able to do it in about half a day with your improved endurance, if you head out early tomorrow, Jack.” Jack looked out the way the snake had pointed for a few seconds more, and then sat back down. It was getting dark. Not much he could do about heading out right now. And besides, Nate was just about to get to the interesting stuff. “Garden of Eden? As best as you can figure it?” “Well, yeah, as best as I and Samuel could figure it anyway,” said Nate. “He figured that the story just got a little mixed up. You know, snake, in a ‘tree’, offering ‘temptations’, making bargains. That kind stuff. But he could never quite figure out how the Hebrews found out about this spot from across the ocean. He worried about that for a while.” “Garden of Eden, hunh?” said Jack. “How long have you been here, Nate?” “No idea, really,” replied Nate. “A long time. It never occurred to me to count years, until recently, and by then, of course, it was too late. But I do remember when this whole place was green, so I figure it’s been thousands of years, at least.” “So, are you the snake that tempted Eve?” said Jack. “Beats me,” said Nate. “Maybe. I can’t remember if the first one of your kind that I talked to was female or not, and I never got a name, but it could have been. And I suppose she could have considered my offer to grant requests a ‘temptation’, though I’ve rarely had refusals.” “Well, umm, how did you get here then? And why is that white pole stuck out of the stone there?” asked Jack. “Dad left me here. Or, I assume it was my dad. It was another snake - much bigger than I was back then. I remember talking to him, but I don’t remember if it was in a language, or just kind of understanding what he wanted. But one day, he brought me to this stone, told me about it, and asked me to do something for him. I talked it over with him for a while, then agreed. I’ve been here ever since. “What is this place?” said Jack. “And what did he ask you to do?” “Well, you see this pole here, sticking out of the stone?” Nate loosened his coils around the tilted white pole and showed Jack where it descended into the stone. The pole was tilted at about a 45 degree angle and seemed to enter the stone in an eighteen inch slot cut into the stone. Jack leaned over and looked. The slot was dark and the pole went down into it as far as Jack could see in the dim light. Jack reached out to touch the pole, but Nate was suddenly there in the way. “You can’t touch that yet, Jack,” said Nate. “Why not?” asked Jack. “I haven’t explained it to you yet,” replied Nate. “Well, it kinda looks like a lever or something,” said Jack. “You’d push it that way, and it would move in the slot.” “Yep, that’s what it is,” replied Nate. “What does it do?” asked Jack. “End the world?” “Oh, no,” said Nate. “Nothing that drastic. It just ends humanity. I call it ‘The Lever of Doom’.” For the last few words Nate had used a deeper, ringing voice. He tried to look serious for a few seconds, and then gave up and grinned. Jack was initially startled by Nate’s pronouncement, but when Nate grinned Jack laughed. “Ha! You almost had me fooled for a second there. What does it really do?” “Oh, it really ends humanity, like I said,” smirked Nate. “I just thought the voice I used was funny, didn’t you?” Nate continued to grin. “A lever to end humanity?” asked Jack. “What in the world is that for? Why would anyone need to end humanity?” “Well,” replied Nate, “I get the idea that maybe humanity was an experiment. Or maybe the Big Guy just thought, that if humanity started going really bad, there should be a way to end it. I’m not really sure. All I know are the rules, and the guesses that Samuel and I had about why it’s here. I didn’t think to ask back when I started here.” “Rules? What rules?” asked Jack. “The rules are that I can’t tell anybody about it or let them touch it unless they agree to be bound to secrecy by a bite. And that only one human can be bound in that way at a time. That’s it.” explained Nate. Jack looked somewhat shocked. “You mean that I could pull the lever now? You’d let me end humanity?” “Yep,” replied Nate, “if you want to.” Nate looked at Jack carefully. “Do you want to, Jack?” “Umm, no.” said Jack, stepping a little further back from the lever. “Why in the world would anyone want to end humanity? It’d take a psychotic to want that! Or worse, a suicidal psychotic, because it would kill him too, wouldn’t it?” “Yep,” replied Nate, “being as he’d be human too.” “Has anyone ever seriously considered it?” asked Nate. “Any of those bound to secrecy, that is?” “Well, of course, I think they’ve all seriously considered it at one time or another. Being given that kind of responsibility makes you sit down and think, or so I’m told. Samuel considered it several times. He’d often get disgusted with humanity, come out here, and just hold the lever for a while. But he never pulled it. Or you wouldn’t be here.” Nate grinned some more. Jack sat down, well back from the lever. He looked thoughtful and puzzled at the same time. After a bit, he said, “So this makes me the Judge of humanity? I get to decide whether they keep going or just end? Me?” “That seems to be it,” agreed Nate. “What kind of criteria do I use to decide?” said Jack. “How do I make this decision? Am I supposed to decide if they’re good? Or too many of them are bad? Or that they’re going the wrong way? Is there a set of rules for that?” “Nope,” replied Nate. “You pretty much just have to decide on your own. It’s up to you, however you want to decide it. I guess that you’re just supposed to know.” “But what if I get mad at someone? Or some girl dumps me and I feel horrible? Couldn’t I make a mistake? How do I know that I won’t screw up?” protested Jack. Nate gave his kind of snake-like shrug again. “You don’t. You just have to try your best, Jack.” Jack sat there for a while, staring off into the desert that was rapidly getting dark, chewing on a fingernail. Suddenly, Jack turned around and looked at the snake. “Nate, was Samuel the one bound to this before me?” “Yep,” replied Nate. “He was a good guy. Talked to me a lot. Taught me to read and brought me books. I think I still have a good pile of them buried in the sand around here somewhere. I still miss him. He died a few months ago.” “Sounds like a good guy,” agreed Jack. “How did he handle this, when you first told him. What did he do?” “Well,” said Nate, “he sat down for a while, thought about it for a bit, and then asked me some questions, much like you’re doing.” “What did he ask you, if you’re allowed to tell me?” asked Jack. “He asked me about the third request,” replied Nate. “Aha!” It was Jack’s turn to grin. “And what did you tell him?” “I told him the rules for the third request. That to get the third request you have to agree to this whole thing. That if it ever comes to the point that you really think that humanity should be ended, that you’ll come here and end it. You won’t avoid it, and you won’t wimp out.” Nate looked serious again. “And you’ll be bound to do it too, Jack.” “Hmmm.” Jack looked back out into the darkness for a while. Nate watched him, waiting. “Nate,” continued Jack, quietly, eventually. “What did Samuel ask for with his third request?” Nate sounded like he was grinning again as he replied, also quietly, “Wisdom, Jack. He asked for wisdom. As much as I could give him.” “Ok,” said Jack, suddenly, standing up and facing away from Nate, “give it to me. Nate looked at Jack’s backside. “Give you what, Jack?” “Give me that wisdom. The same stuff that Samuel asked for. If it helped him, maybe it’ll help me too.” Jack turned his head to look back over his shoulder at Nate. “It did help him, right?” “He said it did,” replied Nate. “But he seemed a little quieter afterward. Like he had a lot to think about.” “Well, yeah, I can see that,” said Jack. “So, give it to me.” Jack turned toface away from Nate again, bent over slightly and tensed up. Nate watched Jack tense up with a little exasperation. If he bit Jack now, Jack would likely jump out of his skin and maybe hurt them both. “You remember that you’ll be bound to destroy humanity if it ever looks like it needs it, right Jack?” asked Nate, shifting position. “Yeah, yeah, I got that,” replied Jack, eyes squeezed tightly shut and body tense, not noticing the change in direction of Nate’s voice. “And,” continued Nate, from his new position, “do you remember that you’ll turn bright purple, and grow big horns and extra eyes?” “Yeah, yeah…Hey, wait a minute!” said Jack, opening his eyes, straightening up and turning around. “Purple?!” He didn’t see Nate there. With the moonlight Jack could see that the lever extended up from its slot in the rock without the snake wrapped around it. Jack heard, from behind him, Nate’s “Just Kidding!” right before he felt the now familiar piercing pain, this time in the other buttock. Jack sat on the edge of the dark stone in the rapidly cooling air, his feet extending out into the sand. He stared out into the darkness, listening to the wind stir the sand, occasionally rubbing his butt where he’d been recently bitten. Nate had left for a little while, had come back with a desert-rodent-shaped bulge somewhere in his middle, and was now wrapped back around the lever, his tongue flicking out into the desert night’s air the only sign that he was still awake. Occasionally Jack, with his toes absentmindedly digging in the sand while he thought, would ask Nate a question without turning around. “Nate, do accidents count?” Nate lifted his head a little bit. “What do you mean, Jack?” Jack tilted his head back like he was looking at the stars. “You know, accidents. If I accidentally fall on the lever, without meaning to, does that still wipe out humanity?” “Yeah, I’m pretty sure it does, Jack. I’d suggest you be careful about that if you start feeling wobbly,” said Nate with some amusement. A little later - “Does it have to be me that pulls the lever?” asked Jack. “That’s the rule, Jack. Nobody else can pull it,” answered Nate. “No,” Jack shook his head, “I meant does it have to be my hand? Could I pull the lever with a rope tied around it? Or push it with a stick? Or throw a rock?” “Yes, those should work,” replied Nate. “Though I’m not sure how complicated you could get. Samuel thought about trying to build some kind of remote control for it once, but gave it up. Everything he’d build would be gone by the next sunrise, if it was touching the stone, or over it. I told him that in the past others that had been bound had tried to bury the lever so they wouldn’t be tempted to pull it, but every time the stones or sand or whatever had disappeared.” “Wow,” said Jack, “Cool.” Jack leaned back until only his elbows kept him off of the stone and looked up into the sky. “Nate, how long did Samuel live? One of his wishes was for health too, right?” asked Jack. “Yes,” replied Nate, “it was. He lived 167 years, Jack.” “Wow, 167 years. That’s almost 140 more years I’ll live if I live as long. Do you know what he died of, Nate?” “He died of getting tired of living, Jack,” Nate said, sounding somewhat sad. Jack turned his head to look at Nate in the starlight. Nate looked back. “Samuel knew he wasn’t going to be able to stay in society. He figured that they’d eventually see him still alive and start questioning it, so he decided that he’d have to disappear after a while. He faked his death once, but changed his mind - he decided it was too early and he could stay for a little longer. He wasn’t very fond of mankind, but he liked the attention. Most of the time, anyway. “His daughter and then his wife dying almost did him in though. He didn’t stay in society much longer after that. He eventually came out here to spend time talking to me and thinking about pulling the lever. A few months ago he told me he’d had enough. It was his time.” “And then he just died?” asked Jack. Nate shook his head a little. “He made his forth request, Jack. There’s only one thing you can ask for the fourth request. The last bite. After a bit Nate continued, “He told me that he was tired, that it was his time. He reassured me that someone new would show up soon, like they always had. After another pause, Nate finished, “Samuel’s body disappeared off the stone with the sunrise.” Jack lay back down and looked at the sky, leaving Nate alone with his memories. It was a long time until Jack’s breathing evened out into sleep. Jack woke with the sunrise the next morning. He was a little chilled with the morning desert air, but overall was feeling pretty good. Well, except that his stomach was grumbling and he wasn’t willing to eat raw desert rat. So, after getting directions to town from Nate, making sure he knew how to get back, and reassuring Nate that he’d be back soon, Jack started the long walk back to town. With his new health and Nate’s good directions, he made it back easily. Jack caught a bus back to the city, and showed up for work the next day, little worse for the wear and with a story about getting lost in the desert and walking back out. Within a couple of days Jack had talked a friend with a tow truck into going back out into the desert with him to fetch the SUV. They found it after a couple of hours of searching and towed it back without incident. Jack was careful not to even look in the direction of Nate’s lever, though their path back didn’t come within sight of it. Before the next weekend, Jack had gone to a couple of stores, including a book store, and had gotten his SUV back from the mechanic, with a warning to avoid any more joyriding in the desert. On Saturday, Jack headed back to see Nate. Jack parked a little way out of the small town near Nate, loaded up his new backpack with camping gear and the things he was bringing for Nate, and then started walking. He figured that walking would leave the least trail, and he knew that while not many people camped in the desert, it wasn’t unheard of, and shouldn’t really raise suspicions. Jack had brought more books for Nate - recent books, magazines, newspapers. Some things that would catch Nate up with what was happening in the world, others that were just good books to read. He spent the weekend with Nate, and then headed out again, telling Nate that he’d be back again soon, but that he had things to do first. Over four months later Jack was back to see Nate again. This time he brought a laptop with him - a specially modified laptop. It had a solar recharger, special filters and seals to keep out the sand, a satellite link-up, and a special keyboard and joystick that Jack hoped that a fifteen-foot rattlesnake would be able to use. And, it had been hacked to not give out its location to the satellite. After that Jack could e-mail Nate to keep in touch, but still visited him fairly regularly - at least once or twice a year. After the first year, Jack quit his job. For some reason, with the wisdom he ‘d been given, and the knowledge that he could live for over 150 years, working in a nine to five job for someone else didn’t seem that worthwhile any more. Jack went back to school. Eventually, Jack started writing. Perhaps because of the wisdom, or perhaps because of his new perspective, he wrote well. People liked what he wrote, and he became well known for it. After a time, Jack bought an RV and started traveling around the country for book signings and readings. But, he still remembered to drop by and visit Nate occasionally. On one of the visits Nate seemed quieter than usual. Not that Nate had been a fountain of joy lately. Jack’s best guess was that Nate was still missing Samuel, and though Jack had tried, he still hadn’t been able to replace Samuel in Nate’s eyes. Nate had been getting quieter each visit. But on this visit Nate didn’t even speak when Jack walked up to the lever. He nodded at Jack, and then went back to staring into the desert. Jack, respecting Nate’s silence, sat down and waited. After a few minutes, Nate spoke. “Jack, I have someone to introduce you to.” Jack looked surprised. “Someone to introduce me to?” Jack looked around, and then looked carefully back at Nate. “This something to do with the Big Guy? “No, no,” replied Nate. “This is more personal. I want you to meet my son.” Nate looked over at the nearest sand dune. “Sammy!” Jack watched as a four foot long desert rattlesnake crawled from behind the dune and up to the stone base of the lever. “Yo, Jack,” said the new, much smaller snake. “Yo, Sammy” replied Jack. Jack looked at Nate. “Named after Samuel, I assume?” Nate nodded. “Jack, I’ve got a favor to ask you. Could you show Sammy around for me?” Nate unwrapped himself from the lever and slithered over to the edge of the stone and looked across the sands. “When Samuel first told me about the world, and brought me books and pictures, I wished that I could go see it. I wanted to see the great forests, the canyons, the cities, even the other deserts, to see if they felt and smelled the same. I want my son to have that chance - to see the world. Before he becomes bound here like I have been. “He’s seen it in pictures, over the computer that you brought me. But I hear that it’s not the same. That being there is different. I want him to have that. Think you can do that for me, Jack?” Jack nodded. This was obviously very important to Nate, so Jack didn’t even joke about taking a talking rattlesnake out to see the world. “Yeah, I can do that for you, Nate. Is that all you need?” Jack could sense that was something more. Nate looked at Sammy. Sammy looked back at Nate for a second and then said, “Oh, yeah. Ummm, I’ve gotta go pack. Back in a little bit Jack. Nice to meet ya!” Sammy slithered back over the dune and out of sight. Nate watched Sammy disappear and then looked back at Jack. “Jack, this is my first son. My first offspring through all the years. You don’t even want to know what it took for me to find a mate.” Nate grinned to himself. “But anyway, I had a son for a reason. I’m tired. I’m ready for it to be over. I needed a replacement.” Jack considered this for a minute. “So, you’re ready to come see the world, and you wanted him to watch the lever while you were gone?” Nate shook his head. “No, Jack - you’re a better guesser than that. You’ve already figured out - I’m bound here - there’s only one way for me to leave here. And I’m ready. It’s my time to die.” Jack looked more closely at Nate. He could tell Nate had thought about this - probably for quite a while. Jack had trouble imagining what it would be like to be as old as Nate, but Jack could already tell that in another hundred or two hundred years, he might be getting tired of life himself. Jack could understand Samuel’s decision, and now Nate’s. So, all Jack said was, “What do you want me to do?” Nate nodded. “Thanks, Jack. I only want two things. One - show Sammy around the world - let him get his fill of it, until he’s ready to come back here and take over. Two - give me the fourth request. “I can’t just decide to die, not any more than you can. I won’t even die of old age like you eventually will, even though it’ll be a long time from now. I need to be killed. Once Sammy is back here, ready to take over, I’ll be able to die. And I need you to kill me. “I’ve even thought about how. Poisons and other drugs won’t work on me. And I’ve seen pictures of snakes that were shot - some of them live for days, so that’s out too. So, I want you to bring back a sword. Nate turned away to look back to the dune that Sammy had gone behind. “I’d say an axe, but that’s somewhat undignified - putting my head on the ground or a chopping block like that. No, I like a sword. A time-honored way of going out. A dignified way to die. And, most importantly, it should work, even on me. “You willing to do that for me, Jack?” Nate turned back to look at Jack. “Yeah, Nate,” replied Jack solemnly, “I think I can handle that.” Nate nodded. “Good!” He turned back toward the dune and shouted, “Sammy! Jack’s about ready to leave!” Then quietly, “Thanks, Jack.” Jack didn’t have anything to say to that, so he waited for Sammy to make it back to the lever, nodded to him, nodded a final time to Nate, and then headed into the desert with Sammy following. Over the next several years Sammy and Jack kept in touch with Nate through e-mail as they went about their adventures. They made a goal of visiting every country in the world, and did a respectable job of it. Sammy had a natural gift for languages, as Jack expected he would, and even ended up acting as a translator for Jack in a few of the countries. Jack managed to keep the talking rattlesnake hidden, even so, and by the time they were nearing the end of their tour of countries, Sammy had only been spotted a few times. While there were several people that had seen enough to startle them greatly, nobody had enough evidence to prove anything, and while a few wild rumors and storied followed Jack and Sammy around, nothing ever hit the newspapers or the public in general. When they finished the tour of countries, Jack suggested that they try some undersea diving. They did. And spelunking. They did that too. Sammy finally drew the line at visiting Antarctica. He’d come to realize that Jack was stalling. After talking to his Dad about it over e-mail, he figured out that Jack probably didn’t want to have to kill Nate. Nate told Sammy that humans could be squeamish about killing friends and acquaintances. So, Sammy eventually put his tail down (as he didn’t have a foot) and told Jack that it was time - he was ready to go back and take up his duties from his dad. Jack, delayed it a little more by insisting that they go back to Japan and buy an appropriate sword. He even stretched it a little more by getting lessons in how to use the sword. But, eventually, he’d learned as much as he was likely to without dedicating his life to it, and was definitely competent enough to take the head off of a snake. It was time to head back and see Nate. When they got back to the US, Jack got the old RV out of storage where he and Sammy had left it after their tour of the fifty states, he loaded up Sammy and the sword, and they headed for the desert. When they got to the small town that Jack had been trying to find those years ago when he’d met Nate, Jack was in a funk. He didn’t really feel like walking all of the way out there. Not only that, but he’d forgotten to figure the travel time correctly, and it was late afternoon. They’d either have to spend the night in town and walk out tomorrow, or walk in the dark. As Jack was afraid that if he waited one more night he might lose his resolve, he decided that he’d go ahead and drive the RV out there. It was only going to be this once, and Jack would go back and cover the tracks afterward. They ought to be able to make it out there by nightfall if they drove, and then they could get it over tonight. Jack told Sammy to e-mail Nate that they were coming as he drove out of sight of the town on the road. They then pulled off the road and headed out into the desert. Everything went well, until they got to the sand dunes. Jack had been nursing the RV along the whole time, over the rocks, through the creek beds, revving the engine the few times they almost got stuck. When they came to the dunes, Jack didn’t really think about it, he just downshifted and headed up the first one. By the third dune, Jack started to regret that he’d decided to try driving on the sand. The RV was fishtailling and losing traction. Jack was having to work it up each dune slowly and was trying to keep from losing control each time they came over the top and slid down the other side. Sammy had come up to sit in the passenger seat, coiled up and laughing at Jack’s driving. As they came over the top of the fourth dune, the biggest one yet, Jack saw that this was the final dune - the stone, the lever, and somewhere Nate, waited below. Jack put on the brakes, but he’d gone a little too far. The RV started slipping down the other side. Jack tried turning the wheel, but he didn’t have enough traction. He pumped the brakes - no response. They started sliding down the hill, faster and faster. Jack felt a shock go through him as he suddenly realized that they were heading for the lever. He looked down - the RV was directly on course for it. If Jack didn’t do something, the RV would hit it. He was about to end humanity. Jack steered more frantically, trying to get traction. It still wasn’t working. The dune was too steep, and the sand too loose. In a split second, Jack realized that his only chance would be once he hit the stone around the lever - he should have traction on the stone for just a second before he hit the lever - he wouldn’t have time to stop, but he should be able to steer away. Jack took a better grip on the steering wheel and tried to turn the RV a little bit - every little bit would help. He’d have to time his turn just right. The RV got to the bottom of the dune, sliding at an amazing speed in the sand. Just before they reached the stone Jack looked across it to check that they were still heading for the lever. They were. But Jack noticed something else that he hadn’t seen from the top of the dune. Nate wasn’t wrapped around the lever. He was off to the side of the lever, but still on the stone, waiting for them. The problem was, he was waiting on the same side of the lever that Jack had picked to steer towards to avoid the lever. The RV was already starting to drift that way a little in its mad rush across the sand and there was no way that Jack was going to be able to go around the lever to the other side. Jack had an instant of realization. He was either going to have to hit the lever, or run over Nate. He glanced over at Sammy and saw that Sammy realized the same thing. Jack took a firmer grip on the steering wheel as the RV ran up on the stone. Shouting to Sammy as he pulled the steering wheel, “BETTER NATE THAN LEVER,” he ran over the snake. THE END (No one said it was the longest FUNNY joke in the world) more

Resolved Question: help i have no idea wat this means some body explain in short text 10 points best answer in plain explantion?

Overview Instant messaging (IM) and chat are technologies that facilitate near real-time text based communication between two or more participants over a network. It is important to understand that what separates chat and instant messaging from technologies such as e-mail is the perceived synchronicity of the communication by the user - Chat happens in real-time before your eyes. For this reason, some people consider communication via instant messaging to be less intrusive than communication via phone. However, some systems allow the sending of messages to people not currently logged on (offline messages), thus removing much of the difference between Instant Messaging and e-mail. Instant Messaging allows instantaneous communication between a number of parties simultaneously, by transmitting information quickly. Some IM systems allow users to use webcams and Microphone which made them more popular than others. Due to this feature users can have a real-time conversation. In addition IM has additional features such as: the immediate receipt of acknowledgment or reply, group chatting, conference services (including voice and video), conversation logging and file transfer. IM allows effective and efficient communication, featuring immediate receipt of acknowledgment or reply. In certain cases Instant Messaging involves additional features, which make it even more popular, i.e. to see the other party, e.g. by using web-cams, or to talk directly for free over the Internet. It is possible to save a conversation for later reference. Instant messages are typically logged in a local message history which closes the gap to the persistent nature of e-mails and facilitates quick exchange of information like URLs or document snippets (which can be unwieldy when communicated via telephone). [edit] History In early instant messaging programs each character appeared when it was typed. The UNIX "talk" command shown in these screenshots was popular in the 1980s and early 1990s.Instant messaging actually predates the Internet, first appearing on multi-user operating systems like CTSS and Multics[1] in the mid-1960s. Initially, many of these systems, such as CTSS'.SAVED, were used as notification systems for services like printing, but quickly were used to facilitate communication with other users logged in to the same machine. As networks developed, the protocols spread with the networks. Some of these used a peer-to-peer protocol (eg talk, ntalk and ytalk), while others required peers to connect to a server (see talker and IRC). During the Bulletin board system (BBS) phenomenon that peaked during the 1980s, some systems incorporated chat features which were similar to instant messaging; Freelancin'_Roundtable was one prime example. In the last half of the 1980s and into the early 1990s, the Quantum Link online service for Commodore 64 computers offered user-to-user messages between currently connected customers which they called "On-Line Messages" (or OLM for short). Quantum Link's better known later incarnation, America Online, offers a similar product under the name "AOL Instant Messages" (AIM). While the Quantum Link service ran on a Commodore 64, using only the Commodore's PETSCII text-graphics, the screen was visually divided up into sections and OLMs would appear as a yellow bar saying "Message From:" and the name of the sender along with the message across the top of whatever the user was already doing, and presented a list of options for responding.[2] As such, it could be considered a sort of GUI, albeit much more primitive than the later Unix, Windows and Macintosh based GUI IM programs. OLMs were what Q-Link called "Plus Services" meaning they charged an extra per-minute fee on top of the monthly Q-Link access costs. Modern, Internet-wide, GUI-based messaging clients, as they are known today, began to take off in the mid 1990s with ICQ (1996) being the first, followed by AOL Instant Messenger (AOL Instant Messenger, 1997). AOL later acquired Mirabilis, the creators of ICQ. A few years later ICQ (by now owned by AOL) was awarded two patents for instant messaging by the U.S. patent office. Meanwhile, other companies developed their own applications (Excite, MSN, Ubique, and Yahoo), each with its own proprietary protocol and client; users therefore had to run multiple client applications if they wished to use more than one of these networks. In 1998 IBM released IBM Lotus Sametime, a product based on technology acquired when IBM bought Haifa-based Ubique and Lexington-based Databeam. In 2000, an open source application and open standards-based protocol called Jabber was launched. Jabber servers could act as gateways to other IM protocols, reducing the need to run multiple clients. Multi-protocol clients such as Digsby,Pidgin, Trillian, Adium and Miranda can use any of the popular IM protocols by using additional local libraries for each protocol. IBM Lotus Sametime's November 2007 release added IBM Lotus Sametime Gateway support for XMPP. Recently, many instant messaging services have begun to offer video conferencing features, Voice Over IP (VoIP) and web conferencing services. Web conferencing services integrate both video conferencing and instant messaging capabilities. Some newer instant messaging companies are offering desktop sharing, IP radio, and IPTV to the voice and video features. The term "instant messenger" is a service mark of Time Warner[3] and may not be used in software not affiliated with AOL in the United States. For this reason, the instant messaging client formerly known as Gaim or gaim announced in April 2007 that they would be renamed "Pidgin"[4]. [edit] Cooperation Standard free instant messaging applications offer functions like file transfer, contact lists, the ability to have similtaneous converstations etc. These may be all the functions that a small business needs but larger organisations will require more sophisticated applications that can work together. The solution to finding applications capable of this is to use enterprise versions of instant messaging applications. These include titles like Jabber, Lotus Sametime, Microsoft Office Communicator, etc., which are often integrated with other enterprise applications such as workflow systems. These enterprise applications, or Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), are built to certain constraints, namely storing data in a common format. There have been several attempts to create a unified standard for instant messaging: IETF's SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and SIMPLE (SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions), APEX (Application Exchange), Prim (Presence and Instant Messaging Protocol), the open XML-based XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol), more commonly known as Jabber and OMA's (Open Mobile Alliance) IMPS (Instant Messaging and Presence Service) created specifically for mobile devices. Most attempts at creating a unified standard for the major IM providers (AOL, Yahoo! and Microsoft) have failed and each continues to use its own proprietary protocol. However, while discussions at IETF were stalled, Reuters head of collaboration services, David Gurle (the founder of Microsoft's Real Time Communication and Collaboration business), signed the first inter-service provider connectivity agreement on September 2003. This agreement enabled AIM, ICQ and MSN Messenger users to talk with Reuters Messaging counterparts and vice-versa against an access fee. Following this, Microsoft, Yahoo! and AOL came to a deal where Microsoft's Live Communication Server 2005 users would also have the possibility to talk to public instant messaging users. This deal established SIP/SIMPLE as a standard for protocol interoperability and established a connectivity fee for accessing public instant messaging clouds. Separately, on October 13, 2005 Microsoft and Yahoo! announced that by (the Northern Hemisphere) summer of 2006 they would interoperate using SIP/SIMPLE which is followed on December 2005 by the AOL and Google strategic partnership deal where Google Talk users would be able to talk with AIM and ICQ users provided they have an identity at AOL. There are two ways to combine the many disparate protocols: One way is to combine the many disparate protocols inside the IM client application. The other way is to combine the many disparate protocols inside the IM server application. This approach moves the task of communicating to the other services to the server. Clients need not know or care about other IM protocols. For example, LCS 2005 Public IM Connectivity. This approach is popular in Jabber/XMPP servers however the so-called transport projects suffer the same reverse engineering difficulties as any other project involved with closed protocols or formats. Some approaches, such as that adopted by the Sonork enterprise IM software or the Jabber/XMPP network or Winpopup LAN Messenger, allow organizations to create their own private instant messaging network by enabling them to limit access to the server (often with the IM network entirely behind their firewall) and administer user permissions. Other corporate messaging systems allow registered users to also connect from outside the corporation LAN, by using a secure firewall-friendly HTTPS based protocol. Typically, a dedicated corporate IM server has several advantages such as pre-populated contact lists, integrated authentication, and better security and privacy. Some networks have made changes to prevent them from being utilized by such multi-network IM clients. For example, Trillian had to release several revisions and patches to allow its users to access the MSN, AOL, and Yahoo! networks, after changes were made to these networks. The major IM providers typically cite the need for formal agreements as well as security concerns as reasons for making these changes. [edit] Mobile Instant Messaging Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) is a presence enabled messaging service that aims to transpose the desktop messaging experience to the usage scenario of being on the move. While several of the core ideas of the desktop experience on one hand apply to a connected mobile device, others do not: Users usually only look at their phone's screen — presence status changes might occur under different circumstances as happens at the desktop, and several functional limits exist based on the fact that the vast majority of mobile communication devices are chosen by their users to fit into the palm of their hand. Some of the form factor and mobility related differences need to be taken into account in order to create a really adequate, powerful and yet convenient mobile experience: radio bandwidth, memory size, availability of media formats, keypad based input, screen output, CPU performance and battery power are core issues that desktop device users and even nomadic users with connected network. [edit] Friend-to-friend networks Instant Messaging may be done in a Friend-to-friend network, in which each node connects to the friends on the friendslist. This allows for communication with friends of friends and for the building of chatrooms for instant messages with all friends on that network. Emotions are often expressed in shorthand. For example; lol. But a movement is currently underway to be more accurate with the emotional expression. Real time reactions such as (chortle) (snort) (guffaw) or (eye-roll) are rapidly taking the place of acronyms.[citation needed] [edit] Business application Instant messaging has proven to be similar to personal computers, e-mail, and the WWW, in that its adoption for use as a business communications medium was driven primarily by individual employees using consumer software at work, rather than by formal mandate or provisioning by corporate information technology departments. Tens of millions of the consumer IM accounts in use are being used for business purposes by employees of companies and other organizations. In response to the demand for business-grade IM and the need to ensure security and legal compliance, a new type of instant messaging, called "Enterprise Instant Messaging" ("EIM") was created when Lotus Software launched IBM Lotus Sametime in 1998. Microsoft followed suit shortly thereafter with Microsoft Exchange Instant Messaging, later created a new platform called Microsoft Office Live Communications Server, and released Office Communications Server 2007 in October 2007. Both IBM Lotus and Microsoft have introduced federation between their EIM systems and some of the public IM networks so that employees may use a single interface to both their internal EIM system and their contacts on AOL, MSN, and Yahoo!. Current leading EIM platforms include IBM Lotus Sametime, Microsoft Office Communications Server, and Jabber XCP. In addition, industry-focused EIM platforms such as IMtrader from Pivot Incorporated, Reuters Messaging, and Bloomberg Messaging provide enhanced IM capabilities to financial services companies. The adoption of IM across corporate networks outside of the control of IT organizations creates risks and liabilities for companies who do not effectively manage and support IM use. Companies implement specialized IM archiving and security products and services like those from Secure Computing, Akonix, SurfControl, and ScanSafe to mitigate these risks and provide safe, secure, productive instant messaging capabilities to their employees. [edit] Practical Use in Enterprise The popular embrace of IM technology for sharing information has quickly led to organizations adopting IM solutions for the perceived advantages that can be brought by it. As organizations are becoming more information based (McNurlin & Sprague, 2006, p.499) the need for effective knowledge sharing, team working and collaborative environments amongst employees has become vital, especially within more geographically dispersed teams. Typically IM conversations tend to have a certain "character", they are often short and only cover one topic. Media-switching and multitasking are common throughout, however IM might also be used between established coworkers and friends for longer, more intermittent conversation. In their report of IM use at the workplace Nardi et al. (2000) identifies the four primary functions of IM which are often cited in other reports, These primary functions are: Quick Questions and Clarifications Coordinating and scheduling tasks Coordinating impromptu social meetings Keeping in touch with friends and family IM is perhaps best suited to "Quick Questions and Clarifications" as this is the most often mentioned attribute in other reports. A user can "respond rapidly without the overhead of telephone or FTF interaction. For example, IDC reports, "Users see IM as a medium for quick, semi-permanent ‘flashes’ that beg a near-immediate response" (Isaacs et al., 2002). Nardi's second and third observations are enabled in part due to the "Presence Awareness" feature of IM clients in which the user knows who is "available". This is the most relevant for colleagues who share the same physical space as each other and even paves the way for other mediums to take up the task of communication e.g. F2F or Phone. The implication is that viable communication of any sort can in someway be encouraged through IM's "Presence Awareness" feature. (Issacs et al, 2002) supports this view, "IM in business might not be the main tool for of communication, it could just be the meeting point for another type of media e.g. conference calls. Nardi's third and fourth observations focus on the social use of IM, which have also been widely publicized in other report. That IM is used for keeping in touch with friends and arranging social events has led some employers to believe that it is used primarily for this purpose. According to (Issacs et al, 2002) a market study found that "'Fear of losing employee productivity’ was the greatest concern of businesses in regards to instant messaging". The study by (Issacs et al, 2002) goes on to suggest this fear is unfounded as it was found that on average "only 13% of conversations contained personal topics", and "only 6.4% were exclusively personal". [edit] Review of Products "IM solutions can typically be catagorised into two types: Enterprise Instant Messaging (EIM) and Consumer Instant Mesaging (CIM). Enterprise solutions use an internal IM server, however this isn't always feasible, particularly for smaller businesses with limited budgets. The second option, using a (CIM) provides the advantage of being inexpensive to implement and has little need for investing in new hardware or server software. However, in recent years open source IM clients such as Jabber have emerged that provide free EIM grade solutions. (Wikipedia,. 2008) For corporate use encryption and conversation archiving are usually regarded as important features due to security concerns. Sometimes the use of different operating systems in organizations calls for the use of software that supports more than one platform. For example many software companies use Windows XP in administration departments but have software developers who use Linux. Most people have had experience of using online chat and messaging over the internet whether it is with Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger, Skype or e-mail. One form of chat and messaging currently popular is Bebo. It is a non-corporate form of messaging which allows its user to create and maintain a social network. Libraries use chat applications and Morris Messenger is an application commonly used by them. This is a power based instant messenger, which uses Perl, SQL, and small Java. It accepts input from both staff and regular customers and saves important information in an SQL database built for the system. [edit] Risks and liabilities Although instant messaging delivers many benefits, it also carries with it certain risks and liabilities, particularly when used in workplaces. Among these risks and liabilities are: Security risks (e.g. IM used to infect computers with spyware, viruses, trojans, worms) Compliance risks Inappropriate use Intellectual property leakage Crackers (malicious "hacker" or black hat hacker) have consistently used IM networks as vectors for delivering phishing attempts, "poison URL's", and virus-laden file attachments from 2004 to the present, with over 1100 discrete attacks listed by the IM Security Center[5] in 2004-2007. Hackers use two methods of delivering malicious code through IM: delivery of virus, trojan, or spyware within an infected file, and the use of "socially engineered" text with a web address that entices the recipient to click on a URL that connects him or her to a website that then downloads malicious code. Viruses, worms, and trojans typically propagate by sending themselves rapidly through the infected user's buddy list. An effective attack using a poison URL may reach tens of thousands of people in minutes when each person's buddy list receives messages appearing to be from a trusted friend. The recipients click on the web address, and the entire cycle starts again. Infections may range from nuisance to criminal, and are becoming more sophisticated each year. In addition to the malicious code threat, the use of instant messaging at work also creates a risk of non-compliance to laws and regulations governing the use of electronic communications in businesses. In the United States alone there are over 10,000 laws and regulations related to electronic messaging and records retention.[6] The more well-known of these include the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, HIPAA, and SEC 17a-3. Clarification from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") was issued to member firms in the financial services industry in December, 2007, noting that "electronic communications", "email", and "electronic correspondence" may be used interchangeably and can include such forms of electronic messaging as instant messaging and text messaging.[7] Changes to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, effective December 1, 2006, created a new category for electronic records which may be requested during discovery (law) in legal proceedings. Most countries around the world also regulate the use of electronic messaging and electronic records retention in similar fashion to the United States. The most common regulations related to IM at work involve the need to produce archived business communications to satisfy government or judicial requests under law. Many instant messaging communications fall into the category of business communications that must be archived and retrievable. Organizations of all types must protect themselves from the liability of their employees' inappropriate use of IM. The informal, immediate, and ostensibly anonymous nature of instant messaging makes it a candidate for abuse in the workplace. The topic of inappropriate IM use became front page news in October 2006 when Congressman Mark Foley resigned his seat after admitting sending offensive instant messages of a sexual nature to underage former House pages from his Congressional office PC. The Mark Foley Scandal led to media coverage and mainstream newspaper articles warning of the risks of inappropriate IM use in workplaces. In most countries, corporations have a legal responsibility to ensure harassment-free work environment for employees. The use of corporate-owned computers, networks, and software to harass an individual or spread inappropriate jokes or language creates a liability for not only the offender but also the employer. A survey by IM archiving and security provider Akonix Systems, Inc. in March 2007 showed that 31% of respondents had been harassed over IM at work.[8] Companies now include instant messaging as an integral component of their policies on appropriate use of the World Wide Web, e-mail, and other corporate assets. Within the company there is also the risk of employees using instant messaging to release confidential information and project details to an outside source. This issue is best controlled by a combination of written policy and technology. An organization's policies on use of IM in the workplace should be an integral part of the overall computing and network use policies, and should be published and communicated at least annually. In addition to written policy, organizations should implement "gateways" or IM security products to monitor content of inbound and outbound messages. Products from IM security providers (See section on IM security) typically allow administrators to set alerts and enforce policy (i.e. allow or block messages) based on keywords and regular expressions within instant messages. Employees may also misuse IM to communicate on a personal level with friends and family. This is poor use of a business’s time and resources, as the employee’s effectiveness will most certainly decrease due to the added distractions. (Licari, J., May 2005). Businesses often use IM security products to monitor and archive IM conversations for the purpose of minimizing this type of productivity drain. [edit] Security and archiving In the early 2000s, a new class of IT security provider emerged to provide remedies for the risks and liabilities faced by corporations who chose to use IM for business communications. The IM security providers created new products to be installed in corporate networks for the purpose of archiving, content-scanning, and security-scanning IM traffic moving in and out of the corporation. Similar to the e-mail filtering vendors, the IM security providers focus on the risks and liabilities described above. With rapid adoption of IM in the workplace, demand for IM security products began to grow in the mid-2000s. By 2007, the preferred platform for the purchase of security software had become the "appliance", according to IDC, who estimate that by 2008, 80% of network security products will be delivered via an appliance.[9] [edit] User base Note that many of the numbers listed in this section are not directly comparable, and some are speculative. Some instant messaging systems are distributed among many different instances and thus difficult to measure in total (e.g. Jabber). While some numbers are given by the owners of a complete instant messaging system, others are provided by commercial vendors of a part of a distributed system. Some companies may be motivated to inflate their numbers in order to increase advertisement earnings or to attract partners, clients, or customers. Importantly, some numbers are reported as the number of "active" users (without a shared standard of that activity), others indicate total user accounts, while others indicate only the users logged in during an instance of peak usage. Service User count Date/source AIM 53 million active September 2006 >100 million total January 2006 Jabber 40-50 million total January 2007, based on calculations of Jabber Inc 90 million total Based on calculations of Process-One: Process-One uses ejabberd as Jabber server software. If it is assumed that ejabberd has a 40% market share amongst public and private open source server deployments, there are 50 million users using open source servers. With Jabber Inc's numbers, this adds up to the 90 million number stated here. eBuddy 35 million total October 2006, including 4 million mobile users Windows Live Messenger 294 million active worldwide November 2007 Yahoo! Messenger 22 million total September 2006 QQ 20 million peak online (majority in China) 3 June 2006 221 million "active" (majority in China) 3 June 2006 IBM Lotus Sametime 17 million total (private, in enterprises) November 2007 ICQ 15 million active July 2006 Skype 12 million peak online February 2008 309 million total April 2008 Xfire 10 million total May 2008 MXit 7 million total (>560,000 outside of South Africa) 10 August 2007. Note that these users are part of the Jabber user base as MXit federates with the Jabber network. Gadu-Gadu 5.6 million total June 2006 Paltalk 3.3 million unique visitors per month August 2006 IMVU 1 million total June 2007 Mail.ru Agent 1 million active (daily) September 2006 Meebo 1 million total October 2006 PSYC 1 million active (daily) (majority in Brazil) February 2007. Total count cannot be accurately estimated due to the decentralized nature of the protocol. VZOchat >200,000 October 2007 [edit] IM Language Users sometimes make use of internet slang or text speak to abbreviate common words or expressions in order to quicken conversations or to reduce keystrokes. [edit] See also Comparison of instant messaging clients Comparison of instant messaging protocols Instant messaging manager LAN messenger Text messagingit is a question more

Resolved Question: Is this the longest joke in the world?

Resolved Question: Do Somalis have a violent culture?

The latest sign of contradiction is the Somalis shooting at those who came to save them. What's the matter with those Somalis, anyway? "To really reach a Somali's heart, you must communicate in poetry," a Somali scholar wrote recently. Poetry is not what first comes to mind when one is confronted by those starving faces. The West has not understood Somalia in the past, and we don't understand it now. This has helped create and fester Somalia's problems, which, no matter how hard we tried to look the other way, have become our own. There is more to Somalia, even now, than meets the eye, including the camera eye. More, that is, than starvation and death. There is, among other things, a history. The Somalis and we parted company centuries ago, when we moved to towns while they followed their camels over the Horn of Africa hills. In time, their nomadic life evolved into a structure of five clans, in turn divided into subclans and further, lesser, extremely complex groupings. Centuries of nomadic life created a psyche that more recent colonialism and similar "civilizing" influences were unable to eradicate. Wrote I.M. Lewis (The Modern History of Somalia: Nation and State in the Horn of Africa: Westview Press, 1988), "A hierarchical pattern of authority is foreign to pastoral Somali society, which in its customary processes of decision-making is democratic almost to the point of anarchy." Several well-known colonizers tried to tame and organize Somalia. The French arrived first, in 1860, followed in the 1880s by the British. In the 1890s the Italians squeezed in to the south of the British. They all tried to centralize and bureaucratize. They built roads and railways and towns and schools. The Italians created extensive banana plantations because, it is said, Mussolini had decreed that every Italian eat a banana for breakfast. The colonizers handed the region, about the size of Texas, back to the Somalis in 1960. The nomadic, anarchic spirit quickly reasserted itself Life continued to be harsh, even primitive. As one Somali described it, "In the past, our people wandered from plateau to valley, from water hole to water hole. If there were enough water and pasture to share, all went well - if not, families and clans fought to kill." This might recall the recent Mogadishu thugs and their "technicals" robbing the starving at gunpoint. But Americans with long experience of Somalia warn that cultures other than our own are seldom as obvious as they seem. The Somalis "work at a volatile level," concedes Eric Olfert of the Mennonite Central Committee. "They get easily into verbal conflict." And, as we now know, physical conflict is frequently not far behind. But, insists Olfert, we should not judge this by our standards. Not surprisingly, says Hershey Leaman, who lived in Somalia from 1960 to |61 and visited there many times since, colonialists found the Somali context "exceedingly difficult to understand, and particularly the issue of conflict resolution." The intricate traditional system of governance and justice by clan elders gradually seems to assume the deliberate vagueness and labyrinthine social contortions generally associated in this country with organized crime, except, perhaps, that life and death have never been so well-camouflaged in Somalia. The colonizers created a university and thus an intellectual class. Many other Somalis were educated in England, Italy or, later, the (then) Soviet Union. In many ways, theirs was a headlong leap into modem times. They have bad their own written language only for the past 20 years. Their oral tradition was correspondingly alive. They use poetry as a means of recording and reflecting on their life's experiences, especially their happy experiences," says Olfert. "They will begin composing poetry in a rhythmic manner, having to do with, let's say, a work situation, and they'll begin dancing to it, and they'll do one verse and, sure enough, another verse will develop, and another one will begin dancing ... all spontaneous.' Another area in which the Somalis have clung to the past is religion. Overwhelmingly Sunni Muslims, they have been discouraging to Christian missionaries, although their 1960 constitution does allow freedom of religion. As the world opened to them, many became prosperous. Leaman told how they can, even in today's circumstances, with a phone and a fax, locate a camel in the boonies, get it transported to the sea, then to Saudi Arabia, make a deal there for, say, a jeep, which will soon be delivered in Somalia's outback. This acute business acumen has become in a small way legendary, and no doubt derives in part from centuries of haggling over camels and water rights. To exemplify the curious schizophrenia of ex-nomads who made good, Olfert tells bow, on his last visit there, "before things came apart, on the road from Mogadishu to Baidoa, on a Friday afternoon (their sabbath), I saw at least six large expensive cars, Mercedeses and such, pulled off the road under the trees, where these businessmen and government officials from the city had come out to spend their day off with their camel herds." After colonialism, Somalia became a pawn of the Cold War. Amid the gathering chaos and postcolonial corruption, Gen. Mohammed Siad Barre gained power in a military coup in 1969. The Soviet Union plied him with arms. The KGB trained his police, who then created a police state. Siad Barre encouraged his own cult status. Kids sang of him as "the Father of Knowledge." But then, in 1977, when war broke out with equally Marxist Ethiopia, the Soviets backed the latter, so Siad Bane embraced the United States. "During the 1980s," writes Edward R.F. Sheehan in The New York Review of Books, "the Reagan administration provided Siad Barre with about $1 billion in military and economic aid and sales .... American diplomats are highly defensive about this today, but one wonders whether U.S. policymakers at the time had any notion of the complexity and instability of Somali clan politics." It's not as if Siad Barre were uprigbt and honorable. Africa Watch described how his corruption and viciousness led to more organized opposition, which "resulted in wholesale slaughter of noncombatants .... Entire regions have been devastated by a military in combat against its own people, resembling a foreign occupation force that recognizes no constraints on its power to kill, rape or loot." Siad Barre was toppled in early 1991. He is still waiting in Nigeria to get back and restore old glory. Into the vacuum, meantime, have stepped the thugs. "We (Mennonite Central Committee) have taken the position that this military intervention was probably a mistake," said Olfert. "It has probably set back very significantly initiatives to put in place a longer-term solution .... There was a lot of good effort going into fixing and re-empowering the traditional elder/clan system that dealt with conflict and retribution in such situations." In northwest Somalia, the old system of rule by elders is working quite well even amid the current turmoil, he said. Although many more might have died from hunger in the current crisis, Olfert claims that likely failure to fix the long-term situation will mean that even more will eventually die. The United Nations, by dealing with the warlords, even if only to oppose them, has given them a significance and role that future problem-solvers will find very hard to take away, Leaman said. The intervention could also play into the hands of fundamentalist Muslims. If the United Nations, an ostensibly Christian force, fails, this will tell Somalis not to rely on the West for prosperity and stability, and the only alternative will be Islam. Somalis have "an incredible sense of humor," says Leaman. They are gong to need it. Even in the camps, he says, "the kids are playing, there is a lot of laughter and a lot of fun." This, too, the West might find hard to understand. "The best time for any composer or artist is when times are bad," said poet Mohamed Ali Kariye. Hard to understand a country where the worst of times is the best of times. more

Resolved Question: I am winning £ 500,000.00GBP yahoo/msn windows live promotion that is true or not?

The Yahoo/Msn Lottery IncorporationPO Box 1010, Liverpool L70 1NL,United Kingdom . Ref: XYL /YM35447XN Batch: YM 09102XN "Dear Winner Arivajagane Albert " Congratulations once again on behalf of the YAHOO/MSN WINDOWS LIVE PROMOTION We do believe that your winnings will be put into good use for community, educational and business development. On Behalf of the Screening Committee of YAHOO/MSN WINDOWS LIVE PROMOTION , I wish to formally announce to you that you have successfully passed the Email Screening and Verification Matching Test conducted for all online winners in your Category.Hence you are therefore cleared, your cheque has been issued and you can now claim your wins. Your cheque has been issued and signed. It has been sent to the courier service to deliver you original copy of your cheque, original copy of your certificate of winnings and a winning manual that will instruct you on how to deposit your winning cheque, it is specially designed by Fortis Bank London, for winners that can not come to our office for claims. All necessary documents that will facilitate the clearance of your cheque in your name has been processed. Your parcel contains the following documents: 1.WINNING CHEQUE VALUED IN IT FULL SUM (£500,000.00GBP) 2.WINNING CERTIFICATE FROM THE YAHOO/MSN WINDOWS LIVE PROMOTION . 3.CLEAR SOURCE OF FUNDS CERTIFICATES(C.S.F.C.) 4.ANTI-TERRORISM CERTIFICATES(A.T.C) 5.CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN OF FUNDS(C.O.F.) 6.LETTER OF AFFIDAVITS FROM THE BRITISH HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE, STATING THAT THE WINNING WAS RECEIVED LEGALLY FROM THE UNIVERSAL DONATION PROGRAM, AND DUELY SIGNED BY THE LEGAL ATTORNEY TO THE YAHOO/MSN WINDOWS LIVE PROMOTION . These documents has been securely sealed and packed for security reasons which makes it impossible for anyone to view it until its been delivered to you. Your parcel with identification number: CPEL/OWN/2000 has been sent to our affiliate courier company (GLOBAL COURIER SERVICE). You are required to contact the courier officer of International Global Service customer desk with the following details: (GLOBAL COURIER SERVICE) Dispatch Officer Mr.Steven Ferguson. Email Address: globalcourierservice.org19@googlemail.com ( +447011147912 Precaution.Make sure you contact the courier company in the next 24 hours. NOTE: Services rendered by (GLOBAL COURIER SERVICE)are to be paid by you and not the lottery board. Have it in mind that your won prize cannot be deducted from, this is because your cheque cannot be cashed by anyone. This is in accordance with section 13(1)(n) of the national gambling act as adopted in 1993 and amended on 3RD July 1996 by the constitutional assembly. This is to protect winners and to avoid misappropriation of funds. Its is imperative that you add your identification number (CPEL/OWN/2000)as the subject of any correspondence with the courier company to ensure they respond in a timely manner. I will require a concise update on proceedings with the firm as soon as you are in contact with them. If you need any assistance whatsoever, please do not hesitate to let me know. Best Regards, Mr. Carlson David.Payment ManagerPhone:+44-701-1133047 The Yahoo/Msn Lottery Incorporation WE SEND BY AIR. WE SEND BY VAN. GLOBAL COURIER DELIVERYUnit 128 , Ajax Avenue Reeeves Cresent , Slough Berkshire SL1BG London United Kingdom.GLOBAL COURIER COMPANY REG NO: 346454Tel: +447011147912 Dear Esteem Customer: ALBERT ARIVAJAGANE, Greetings to you,from Global Courier Delivery Company We are proud to inform you that,we are in possession of a certified parcel,with identification number {CPEL/OWN/2000} which is to be delivered to you,as instructed by our affiliate(Yahoo/Msn & Microsoft Lottery Board). Who will sign to collect the parcel upon delivery? include a phone number of this person to enable us call him/her when we gets close to your area.With this information, we would be able to dispatch your parcel immediately. We will only deliver the parcel to the address you have given us and we will only hand over the parcel to the person you will assign to sign for its collection. This individual must have a valid identification of him/herself as proof. Description of parcel to be delivered : Weight of parcel ........................0.32kg Color of parcel............................Brown Lenght of Days.........................Pending on your choice of delivery.Parcel Status............................Metallic Sealed please confirm the below data's We could only gathered from you the beneficiary "ALBERT ARIVAJAGANE, " and Our Affiliated lottery house,if they are correct about the receiver of the parcel,to enable us input it into our computer delivery system 1. Receiver Name: ALBERT ARIVAJAGANE, 2.Receiver Next Of King:None3.Receiver Contact Address :APPT. D-41 1 Passage des artisans, 95000 cergy perfecture4.Receiver State: LA 70546 5.Receiver Country:FRANCE6.Phone Number: 627550669. Global Courier Delivery Company has gone through a transformation from a mere quoting method to becoming an essential tool for shippers, entities who perform projections and inspections, and the general public We make it simple. By standardizing the Inter Cargo Service of rates, Global Courier Delivery Company has put the world in your fingertips. We are not a broker, we are licensed by the Federal Maritime Commission as a non-vessel operating common carrier (N.V.O.C.C.) to produce original shipping documents, and we are licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration under the TSA as an indirect air carrier (I.A.C.) to engage in air International worldwide, therefore we can leverage our technology with our experience to save your money and serve you on a Inter basis. The delivery Service items are priced according to the tariff zone of the destination country, weight or volumetric weight (1m3 = 250kg) of the item and additional services selected. The price includes export and import forwarding. For your designation,below are the mandatory charges that you are required to pay to enable us courier your certified parcel to you. You are allowed to choose one of our three specified shipment options for your location in your country STATUS OF DELIVERY [COURIER DELIVERY WORLDWIDE] Please find out our below charges :SERVICE TERMS Normal class delivery: 120 hours {5Days}__________________________Mailing £ 50.00 00.00 Insurance £ 90.00 00.00 Administrative £ 60.00 00.00 TOTAL £200.00GBP =$402.198USD Premium class delivery:72 hours{3Days} Mailing £ 80.00 00.00 Insurance £90.00 00.00 Administrative £ 60.00 00.00 TOTAL £ 230.00GBP =$462.499USD First class delivery: 48 hours{2Days} ________________________ Mailing £120.00 00.00 Insurance £ 90.00 00.00 Administrative £ 60.00 00.00 TOTAL £ 270.00GBP =$542.838USD Note:The charges are a little high because of the insurance cover we have undertaken incase of loss,damage or theft of your highly sensitive consignment content. We assume all responsibilities incase of any eventualities. Global Courier Delivery Company do not allow Cash on delivery (C.O.D) as all payment must be made in this office before shipment can commence.Your winning fund can not be deducted from your winning parcel delivery,the lottery company have issue your winning fund to the real total amount (PAYMENT FOR THE DELIVERY CHARGES (DIRECTIVES) The Global Courier Delivery Company management recommends that Payment for the insurance and delivery charges should be made via Western Union Money Transfer or Money Gram International Transfer ,so as to speed up the delivery process. Do visit any Western Union or Money Gram outlet close to you and make payment for your shipment option to our chief account officer whose details are stated below. Receiver Name: Mr.scott MartinsReceiver Address: United Kingdom,London. After payment you are required to send the payment informations and a scan copy of your payment receipt to this office via e-mail. Your payment informations should include: Senders Name. Amount sent. MTCN. Text Question and Answer if any.And Senders Country: Immediately our account department confirms your payment, your parcel will be insure and approve for dispatch. Do confirm the delivery address and indicate your specified shipment option and send it to this office via, email. All orders not delivered within FIVE (5) working days from this communication, will lead to the return of the parcel. Your satisfaction is our priority and we look forward to providing you the best of our quality service.Do have a wonderful day in anticipation to hearing from you ASAP. Sincerely, Mr. Steven FergusonGLOBAL COURIER DELIVERY COMPANY ===================================================== This e-mail is intended only for the above addressee. It may contain privileged information. If you are not the addressee you must not copy, distribute, disclose or use any of the information in it. If you have received it in error please delete it immediately and notify the sender. ======================================================= © 1995-2008 Global Courier Delivery Systems 77735 876378 253667469 more

Resolved Question: a bunch of not funny jokes?

Q: What did the farmer say when he lost his tractor? A: "Where's my tractor?" A Black man, a mexican and a russian walk into a bar. What a great example of a united society. What's the difference between Michael Jackson and Neil Armstrong? Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon and Micheal Jackson molests little boys. What did the homeless man get for Christmas? Nothing Q: What do you call a Mexican flying a plane? A: A pilot. Three blokes walk into a pub. One of them is a little bit stupid, and the whole scene unfolds with a tedious inevitability. Why did the sheep dog count 40 sheep when there were only 38 He rounded them up. A seal walks into a club. However, the particular club he entered had a no animals policy and he was turned away. Two porn stars, a man and a woman, are going at it during a shoot. They're doing it doggy style, and the director keeps urging them to do it faster, since they're in sort of a homestretch two-shot. So they're really going at it, and the woman kind of looks over her shoulder at the man and says, "Ooh, you feel so good inside me!" And the man thinks to himself, I choose to believe you. A boy owned a dog that was uncommonly shaggy. Many people remarked upon its considerable shagginess. When the boy learned that there are contests for shaggy dogs, he entered his dog. The dog won first prize for shagginess in both the local and the regional competitions. The boy entered the dog in ever-larger contests, until finally he entered it in the world championship for shaggy dogs. When the judges had inspected all of the competing dogs, they remarked about the boy's dog: "He's not so shaggy." Two light bulbs are lying in their cardboard sleeve on a shelf somewhere. The first light bulb is a real nervous type. He's been going on and on. "What if I don't light up? Seriously, what if I don't? I will just m'kaying die! God, I'm freaking out. And thanks to our m'kaying packaging, we don't know whether we're in a store or a warehouse, or if we're sitting under someone's kitchen sink moments away from being screwed in and turned on. What if there's something wrong with my filament? I mean, it feels OK to me, but there's not really any way of knowing for sure until I get hit with some current. Sure, I passed the factory test and lit up just fine, but what if ..." The second light bulb has had enough. "Will you shut the m'kay up! Just shut up!" There is a long awkward silence. Then the first light bulb says, "Well, what else are we supposed to talk about?" What did the aborted baby say to it's mother? Nothing. Dead babies can't speak, and even if they could it takes at least a year or so for babies to learn how and because this particular baby was aborted and you can only be aborted if you're younger than about four months it wouldn't have had the time. A man walks into a bar. He then meets some friends and has a rather enjoyable night. A salesman is sitting in the reception area of a big corporation, waiting to give a presentation to some of the people there. He is kept waiting almost 40 minutes beyond the time of his appointment, and then he's finally ushered into a conference room. He goes in, and sitting around a big table are two Jews, an African-American woman, and a gay guy of Chinese descent. The salesman goes into his pitch, for software or a phone system or something, and it's pretty evident a couple minutes into it that these four people couldn't care less, especially the younger Jew, who keeps checking his BlackBerry. But he plows through the presentation anyway, and when he finishes, everybody shakes his hand and thanks him. He goes out to his car and starts to drive home. On the road, his cell phone rings and he answers it. It's his wife, and she asks him to pick up a couple of groceries on his way home. He says OK. She says, are you OK? And he says, yeah, I'm fine. She says OK. He hangs up, and this commercial for anti-itch powder comes on the radio, and it's got all these country-sounding old people giving testimonials about how this powder completely improved the quality of their lives. And the salesman starts crying. Big choked sobs. He shades his eyes with his left hand so that the other drivers can't see that he's crying and says, "And I don't even m'kaying care about this poo!" How do Helen Keller's parents punish her? By giving her a timeout. A man is walking alone on the beach when he trips, and stumbles accross an old rusty lamp. Curious, he picks it up and begins to wipe the sand away. He cuts himself on the lamp, giving himself a nasty infection, but after a series of shots he is fine now. My dog's got no nose. It was cut off by a gang of drunk teenagers in a public park, leading to three successful prosecutions for animal cruelty Why was there lipstick on the blonde's steering wheel? She braked really hard because some m'kaying cat ran in the road and kind of busted her mouth on it. A woman becomes pregnant. 9 months later she has a baby. Yo momma is so fat, she developed a serious case of diabetes and had her foot removed. A farmer, waiting on the side of the road with several sacks is approached by a boy. The kid asks, "Hey, what do you have in those bags?" The farmer replies, "Oats." Yo mamma's so dumb she had to take remedial classes all through school. A guy tells his psychiatrist: It was terrible. I was away on business, and I wired my wife that I'd be back a day early. I rushed home from the airport and found her in bed with my best friend. I don't get it. How could she do this to me? "Well," says the psychiatrist. "Maybe she didn't get your telegram." "No, she got it" replies the man. They both remain silent for the rest of the session, after which the psychiatrist proceeds to charge the man $60 for it. What do you call it when 2 blacks, 3 mexicans, and a jew escape from prison? A jailbreak. Yo' Mama's so fat the doctors put her on Enalapril for her blood pressure. more

Resolved Question: elvis alive?

The only time I feel alive... is when I'm in front of my audience, my people. That's the only time I really feel like I'm human." "Long after I'm gone, what I did today will be heard by someone. I just want them to get the best of what I had." (Elvis Presley) Is Elvis Alive ? There are many reasons to believe that Elvis Presley is dead. When the only arguments to believe otherwise come from crazed fans and supermarket tabloids, it is easy to dismiss the possibility that Elvis is still among us. However, the circumstances surrounding Elvis' alleged death are quite mysterious and beg closer attention. As it turns out, there are many concrete reasons to believe that Elvis is still alive. The Gravesite. Elvis' name is misspelled on his headstone. Elvis' full name is Elvis Aron Presley, but on his grave his middle name is spelled incorrectly with two a's. His father would not have let this happen. When Elvis was born, his name was misspelled on his birth certificate, and his father went to great lengths to get it put right. The unique spelling of Elvis' name was important to his family. Elvis' current "resting place" is in between his father and his grandmother and not next to his mother where he had adamantly requested. It is doubtful that the people close to him would allow these things to happen. Elvis is a superstitious man, enough so that he wouldn't tempt fate by putting his real name on a tombstone, or violate the ground next to his mother until he was ready to be placed there for good. Death Certificate. Elvis was very vain, and he was embarrassed about his recent weight gain, an astonishing 50 pounds in the month before his so-called death. Even though he weighed about 250 pounds at the time of his "death," his death certificate lists him at a spry 170 pounds. The original death certificate disappeared, and the current death certificate is dated two months after his alleged death. The Wax Body Theory. This argument is very convincing when the facts are considered. Elvis' coffin required several pall bearers because it weighed 900 pounds. Attendants of the funeral reported that the air around the coffin was rather cool. It is suspected that the coffin contained an air conditioning unit to keep a wax body cool, a wax body that was a replica of Elvis designed to fool funeral-goers. And how did the Presley family get a 900 pound, custom made coffin ready for a funeral that was held on the day after his death? It takes a lot of time to build such an elaborate coffin. And why was the funeral so quickly? Some say that the immediacy was intended to make it as difficult as possible for the people who were Elvis' biggest fans to attend the proceedings. It could be a concern that they might recognize the flaws in the wax replica. Elvis was an 8th degree black belt whose hands were rough with calluses, yet the body in the coffin had hands that were soft and pudgy. The body in the coffin had a pug nose and arched eyebrows {unlike Elvis} and most importantly, one of the sideburns on the "corpse" was loose and falling off. A hairdresser later reported gluing the sideburn back on the body. Unusual Behavior. Two hours after Elvis' death was announced publicly, a man who reportedly looked remarkably like Elvis purchased a ticket for Buenos Aeries, paid in cash, and used the name John Burrows: the same name Elvis had used as an alias several times before. Elvis had a few books that were considered to be his most prized possessions. He had a bible, several pharmaceutical books, books on death, and most importantly Chiro's Book of Numbers and The Autobiography of Yogi which I will explain more about later. After Elvis's death was announced, these books disappeared and were never recovered. In the weeks preceding his alleged death, Elvis' actions were not those of a man who was about to embark on an extensive US tour. He ordered no new suits despite having gained 50 pounds since his last tour, and he bid "adios" at his last show in Hawaii. He had never done this before. Adios, like the French adieu, has the significance of being a final good-bye as opposed to an "I'll be seeing you on my next tour" kind of good-bye. Others were intrigued by Elvis' decision to sign a lucrative TV deal with NBC that would cover the tour. It was unprecedented for a network to pay such a large amount up front, in cash, for such a deal. Many wonder why Elvis even agreed to the deal since his vanity discouraged him from making public appearances due to his weight gain. RCA showed uncanny and unbelievable foresight by mass producing millions of Elvis' current and previous recordings and merchandise. This is standard practice for an act that is about to go on tour, but the numbers in this case were beyond reasonable expectations. The announcement of Elvis' death caused record sales to skyrocket. Elvis did other unusual things that created suspicion. First, he fired several employees that he had relied upon for a long time. Also, two days before his alleged death, Elvis telephoned a friend of his named Miss Foster. He told her that he wasn't planning on going on the upcoming tour. She asked him if he had canceled it, and he said that he had not. When she asked if he was ill, he said that he was fine, and that she should not ask any more questions or tell anyone anything, and that she should not believe anything she read. He told her that his troubles would all soon be over, and that he would call her in a few weeks. The author of Elvis Where Are You? writes that Miss Foster took a polygraph test regarding this story, and that she was not lying. The day after Elvis' alleged death, a woman named Lucy De Barbon, a former lover of Elvis, received a single rose in the mail. The card indicated that the flower was from "El Lancelot." This had been her pet name for Elvis, and it was a name that no one else knew. Flowers can't be sent from beyond the grave. This was Elvis' way of letting her know that he was not dead, even though he didn't want to be found. Chiro's Book of Numbers. Elvis had a fascination with numerology, an interest he fed by reading Chiro's Book of Numbers. The theory that Elvis orchestrated his death is further supported when considering the significance of the date of his alleged death. The date in question is August 16, 1977. By adding the numbers in the date, 8, 16, and 1977, you get 2001. This is the title of Elvis' favorite movie in which the hero plans his immortality in the bathroom. Elvis spent a considerable amount of time doing the same: planning his afterlife on the toilet.. Elvis spent so much time in the bathroom that he had his toilet converted into a reclining comfy chair. Coincidentally, the bathroom is also where Elvis' body was reportedly found. Given Elvis' religious beliefs, he had a fascination with things that come in threes, for example, father, son, and holy ghost. The sum of the digits from his favorite film (2+0+0+1) is three. Let's consider the triad of the repetition of the number 24. 2001 (favorite film) less 1977 (year of death) is 24. The two numbers from the day of death (8/16) when added up equal 24. The sum of the digits in the year of death (1+9+7+7) also equals 24. That is 3 occurrences of the number 24 which is divisible by 3, and when divided by three the result, 8 has a perfect cubed root (2x2x2=8). Elvis loved numerology, and when you consider the numeric significance of the date of his alleged death, it is clear that if indeed he did plan to fake his death, he could not have chosen a better date. Reason Elvis had many reasons to fake his death.It has been said that Elvis' life was in danger. He had recently lost $10,000,000 in an airplane/real estate deal with a California based organization called the "Fraternity" that had links to the Mafia. It is speculated that he corroborated with the government to expose the organized crime ring in exchange for protection, perhaps in the form of a new life and identity compliments of the Witness Protection Program. Elvis was a prisoner of his own fame. He had many other reasons to leave his life behind. Because of his incredible popularity he recieved several death threats, and he was concerned about the safety of his ex-wife and daughter. Sometimes when he wanted to leave Graceland he would send look-alikes out to distract would be followers. Elvis was also known to ride in the trunk of someone else's car to avoid being seen. Once, when he fell ill in Las Vegas, he couldn't get proper medical attention because the hospital was overwhelmed by fans. At the time of his alleged death, Elvis thought he was nearing the end of his career. He saw his self as 42 with greying hair, overweight, and he thought his voice was starting to weaken,. He was going down hill, and he was too proud to go out with a whimper. He would never want his fans to see him in such an unhealthy condition. Elvis had shown a fascination with death on several occasions. In the days leading up to his alleged death he was reported to have visited funeral homes at odd hours of the night with close friends. Was he doing research? Elvis once faked his death by setting up an elaborate shooting in which a would be killer fired blanks at Elvis who had a blood pack which he discharged. It was Elvis' intention to see how the people closest to him would react to his death. Perhaps what he learned convinced him to do it for real. Finally, one of Elvis' favorite books is the spiritual Autobiography of Yogi. One of the central themes of this book is the relinquishing of one's wealth and earthly possessions to achieve spiritual oneness. Elvis could do this, as well as address his other concerns of sanity and safety by faking his death and living in exile. Means. Elvis had the means to fake his own death. He is accused of destroying himself with drugs. In reality, Elvis was a pharmaceutical expert. He took a lot of drugs, but he knew what he was doing and was extremely careful. He knew what drugs he could self-administer to create a deathlike state. Also Elvis' experience with the martial arts was such that he could slow his heart rate and breathing in order to feign death. Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker, had once created a new identity for himself. He came to America as an illegal immigrant from Holland, but through various connections managed to create a new identity complete with a passport, birth certificate, drivers license, and social security number. He would have known how to give Elvis a second life. Aswell as Elvis' ties to the government through his testimony against the "Fraternity", Elvis was known to interact with the President of the United States. He was reported in government documents to use the name John Burrows as an alias when he wanted to travel. Some people believe that Elvis worked for the government as a drug agent. He did, after all have extensive contact with many people in the music business who, as we know, tend to dabble in illegal substances. And, of course, we must allow that Elvis' connections to the government gave him access to the Witness Protection Program. If they can turn the Simpsons into the Thompsons, they can relocate anybody. Orion? Many believe that Elvis couldn't have given up performing completely. Just imagine, after a while the desire to perform would grow once he started his life in exile. The story of Orion supports the theory that Elvis attempted a secret comeback. Shortly after Elvis' alleged death, a masked singer by the name of Orion emerged on the scene. He was big like Elvis, and he sang just like Elvis. Because of the mask no one could tell his true identity. One fan described seeing Orion from near the stage. She claims that Orion left the stage between songs, and when he appeared moments later the sweat was gone from his armpits and back and she thought that his costume looked slightly different. After the song he left the stage, and the original Orion returned. Another fan described how she rushed into a tour bus at an Orion show only to see two Orions in the back of the bus. She claimed that one ducked into the bathroom before she could get a good look at him, but he appeared to look like Elvis Presley. What's even more remarkable is the fictional story called Orion that was written by Gail Brewer-Georgio about a legendary performer who had several identities and wanted to fake his death. The story was written and submitted to the William Morris Agency for publication consideration after Elvis' alleged death and before the real Orion ever performed. As it turns out, there are many ways in which the real Orion mimicked the events as described in the book. For example, the performers' managers had the same name. Also, without knowing it, Brewer-Georgio wrote of events in Orion that had actually taken place in Elvis' life. It was a case of life imitating art. Picking up the Pieces. In 1981, 20/20 did an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the alleged death of Elvis Presley. The investigative report was very convincing. Oddly enough, within two weeks of the report, the singer, Orion, disappeared and was never heard from again. The book, Orion disappeared from shelves across the country. It had been recalled by the publisher which was associated with the William Morris Agency. Incidentally, the William Morris Agency is the same agency that represented Elvis. It seems that Elvis Presley is worth more dead than alive. By faking his death and relocating with a new identity he is safe from his fans and the "Fraternity", the government can make a solid case against the organized crime ring, and RCA, Elvis' family, and Elvis' management can all reap immense financial benefits from the attention. That is... except for one benefit....after nearly 25 years no one has collected on his life insurance policy. Why ????? During his last concert tour in 1977, Elvis spoke of "not looking good tonight", but, he would look good in his coffin. He made comments of being tired of living as he was and how it was going to change. He told of how he would like to be just himself instead of an "image". On August 16th 1977, at 8:00 A.M., Elvis told Ginger Alden that he was going into the bathroom to read. (This bathroom/lounge had it's own back entrance.) For the next six hours no one saw him. Elvis signed for a special delivery letter at 9:30 A.M. At 2:00 P.M. Ginger Alden found the apparent body of Elvis lying on the floor in front of his chair, where he had been reading. She called Al Strada who in turn called Joe Esposito. George Nichopoulous (aka Dr. Nick) was then telephoned. Joe called the fire department, unit 6. The ambulance arrived at Graceland at 2:33 P.M. Paramedics administered CPR, despite rigor mortis. The body was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital at 2:48 P.M. By 3:00 P.M. Elvis' family members and friends were informed of his "death". Public announcement was given at 3:30 P.M. August 17th, the body was brought back to Graceland for family viewing. The public viewing was from 3:00 P.M. to 6:30 P.M. On August 18th,1977. Tennesse Governor Ray Blanton ordered flags to be flown at half-mast for the duration of the funeral procession. At midday the Graceland gates swung open, a white Cadillac hurse rolled through them, followed by sixteen white Cadillac limousines. QUESTIONS BEGIN How could it take twenty minutes for paramedics to drive sixteen blocks to Graceland if the call came in at 2:33 P.M.? The Medical Examiner's Report states that the body was found with rigor mortis, while the police report states "unconcious". Why would anyone try to give CPR to a rigor mortised body ? The ME report listed the body as weighing 80 pounds lighter then Elvis' actual weight. How could Elvis have passed a physical exam just prior to August 16th if his heart was so enlarged ? How could he have played raquetball for several hours on August 16th, just before his "death" ? ABC's 1979 program on the cover up of Elvis' death stated that all the stomach contents were destroyed. Bill Burkin in his book Elvis World states that officials at Babtist Memorial Hospital had assured him that the stomach contents had been shipped to a California lab to be examined and then on to a lab in Utah, and then ? There are rumors of Elvis' "death" being caused by a heart attack, drug overdose, suffocation in carpeting, suicide and even cancer ! Persons in attendance at Graceland at the time of "death" don't agree on the color of pajamas Elvis was wearing or the posistion of the body. Why did Vernon ask many people NOT to attend the funeral but to come a week later ? Why did Vernon refuse to accept the flag which is usually given to dead war veterans ? Why didn't Elvis have any new jumpsuits made during 1977 ? The handwriting on the death certificate matched Elvis' own writing ! Elvis was very aware of which presribed drugs did not mix well with others. Elvis had glaucoma, and Dexedrine, a drug not to be taken with that condition, was listed as being in his system. Who would prescribe it and why would he take it ? Whose body was autopsied ? Funeral homes don't usually keep solid copper coffins in stock. These coffins weigh in the area of 300 pounds and usually take two months to receive once ordered. This coffin seemed to have been ready. Monte Nicholson, a nineteen year veteran of the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department, wrote a novel called The Presley Arrangement. This novel tells the story of a body that is autopsied, a man resembling Elvis. The man had died of cancer. The body is later returned for private burial, to the man's own family. The man's family are paid to remain silent about the incident. Nicholson explains a government connection. In a 1989 radio interview Nicholson said that even if he knew there was an FBI connection and was told not to say anything, he COULD NOT say. Nicholson also claimed that if he knew the answer to the question, and says he does, he will not disclose his knowledge. He said that if Elvis is alive that his book is pretty close to the truth of what REALLY happened. Was Elvis a DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) agent ? Elvis can be seen wearing a DEA Staff jacket in several photographs, including one taken in June of 1977, approximately six weeks before his "death". Also Elvis was wearing a jogging suit with the DEA logo on it during the early morning hours of August 16th 1977. When Elvis met with President Richard Nixon he said he had been "studying" the drug culture for over 10 years, he could get into any culture group and be accepted. Elvis said he had gotten alot from the country and he wanted to repay in some way. It would have been a dangerous job and one that an entertainer such as Elvis would not have HAD to do unless he chose to. Many DEA agents pose as "drug users" and "pushers" in their undercover work. Elvis could get to anyone if he appeared to be a "user". In the book Elvis: What Happened? one of the guys wondered if Elvis was ever as whacked out as he seemed to be. Maybe he is a "great" actor after all. Perhaps he deserves an "Oscar". Death threats were issued against Elvis and his family. Those who had leveled those threats had actually broken into Graceland. At times, the FBI were called. Deputy Narcotics Director John Finlator arranged for Elvis to come to his office under the name of John Burrows. Finlator didn't want to give Elvis a badge but the President reversed the decision. On December 21st of 1970, Elvis met with President Richard Nixon in the oval office, Washington, D.C. Elvis had written a letter requesting a meeting and expressed his concerns about the drug culture, hippie elements, the SDS and other groups who were against the establishment. When Finlator finally gave Elvis the badge and promised to issue him consultant credentials, Elvis was overcome with emotion and his eyes became misty. Ten days later he met with the FBI. On the same day, President Nixon wrote Elvis a thank you. Elvis wrote to the President and said, "I can and will do more good, if I were made a Federal Agent at large, and I will help out by doing it my way." Elvis was known to be in his bedroom for weeks, seeing no one. (There was a back staircase at Graceland.) Elvis could sneak out whenever he needed to. Department of the Treasury-Bob Pritchett says that during the years of '74, '75, and '76 "Mr. Presley provided one of our undercover agents, who was a musician, a job cover. Undercover agents appear to have other occupations. None of Elvis' group of friends knew of this agent and the role he played in setting up his cover. Since he had an undercover agent in his group from '74-'76, when did he find time to use drugs himself? Elvis was very good at keeping secrets and living a "double life". Elvis spoke with President Carter two weeks before his death. It involved aid to a friend. On August 16, 1977, President Carter issued this tribute: "Elvis Presley's death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was unique and irreplaceable. More than twenty years ago he burst upon the scene with an impact that was unprecedented and will probably never be equaled. His music and his personality, fusing the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues, permanently changed the face of American popular culture. His following was immense and he was a symbol of good humor of his country." This was a formal statement, when a celebrity's death is usually only commented on. He had spoken to Nixon and Carter both shortly before the day he died. In the September 1988 issue of American Karate magazine, Ed Parker tells of a time when a terrorist group threatened Elvis' life to make him an example of how they could get to famous people. They threatened to plant a bomb in one of the gifts offered to Elvis at a concert. This was a threat as long as he was "alive", and his family were targets also. Elvis always had law enforcement officials around him. John O'Grady, who was earlier in charge of NARC Divisions of the LAPD, was one of them. He also hired Dick Grob, a former sargeant with the Palm Springs Police. He was surrounded by at least two lawmen in top security positions. Elvis was in danger. The "hoax" may have been the only way out! History will prove Elvis to be an American hero beyond being an American entertainer. SIGHTINGS With all the Elvis lookalikes, he could actually walk around using disguises and get away with it. Who would be looking for him anyway, when he is supposedly dead? Before 1977, there was an "Elvis lookalike, sound alike" at a Memphis theatre. Elvis put on his best "Elvis outfit", strolled in and mingled with the clones, doing his best "Hey, baby". Afterwards, he came back to Graceland laughing. He tried out and lost! Elvis and his mother's bodies were moved to the Meditation Gardens for burial, after three men tried to break into the crypt. Graceland was rezoned to permit burials at the estate. In the 1989 Orion's "Farewell to the King", the King says "I died once. I had to be willing to give up everything, even the will to live." The last recording session at Graceland was The Last Farewell. There have been many sightings at various places including Graceland. There are some escape routes at Graceland that people don't know about. In a syndicated newspaper across the nation on June 5, 1990, an article headlined "Elvis Lives, At Least On Census Form." The Census Bureau reported in 1990 that Elvis returned a questionaire to the bureau office in Huntsville, Alabama. It was noticed by census workers who were screening forms for completednesss. Late Night with Ross Shafer (August 1988) had a survey that showed that out of 30,000 people polled, approximately 84% believe Elvis is alive. On Monday, August 22, 1988, Harold Schuitmaker, in an item of the Detroit News, said "Elvis is Alive and Living in Kalamazoo." Schuitmaker was a well known Michigan politician and resident of Paw Paw (15 miles from Kalamazoo). The masked singer Orion was at the McMinnville Civic Center and a fan said that she felt that the man onstage and the one who signed autographs were different people. People have reported that someone sounding like Elvis called them on the phone and some hung up because they couldn't believe it. A book titled Elvis: Where Are You? came out of Wilton Manors, Florida around August, 1982 under the name of Al Jefferies. The premise of the book was that Elvis hoaxed his death. Kelly Burgess, a former assistant editor and feature writer with the Detroit News, claimed to have seen Elvis in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She is not living now. In 1988, Heartbreak Hotel starred David Keith as Elvis. (The film had the support of EP Enterprises.) A soundtrack album thanked Jerry Schilling and a special thanks to J.B. In 1987's Robo Cop, a cop is killed, but didn't die. He returns as Robo Cop-a superman hero. It was filmed in Michigan. During that time radio stations got calls from a man sounding like Elvis Presley. There have been lots of sightings there and it was also on his final concert tour. Is this possibly a "message" film? March 18, 1990, an article on Robo Cop, in the Detroit News told of Robo Cop speaking to a Boys and Girls club against drugs. It was a three month long anti-drug campaign organized by the FBI, Orion Home Video of New York, and the Boys Club of America. This Robo Cop was not the same actor as in the movie-his true identity was not revealed. he was a special agent helping the FBI fight the war on drugs. His suit was bullet-proof. During filming, some people saw a man looking like an older Elvis. In Mac and Me, a film from 1988, a young alien is lost and at the end the family drives away in an old pink Cadillac convertible. A balloon caption says "We'll be back". The sound track is on Curb Records, which is the same label as "Spelling on the Stone". There were some song lyrics which were: "Tired of being myself, being different from everyone else, somehow you knew I needed your help, be my friend forever. I never found my star in the night; living my dream was far from sight." There was a scene in the movie where Eric asks Debbie "Why didn't you tell him that you saw him (the alien)?" She says, "Because no one would believe me." Elvis has become a mythic figure, and there have been frequent rumors that he is still alive. Elvis remains the single most influential and respected figure in the history of Rock music. Elvis was the first Rock/Pop singer to have a single record sell a million copies, the first to go platinum with an album in less than two weeks, the first singer to pre-sell a million records before it's release, the first entertainer to earn a million dollars for one concert performance, and the first young, white, southern male to bring international attention to the importance of black rhythm and blues. He was the first singer to get a million dollar screen contract. He was the first music personality to have a TV performance broadcast worldwide via satellite. In 1993, he became the first rock'n'roll star whose picture appeared on a commemorative U.S. Postal stamp (the largest stamp printing in history). Elvis is a landmark in almost everyone's life, going back to distant memories of watching him above the waist on Ed Sullivan or hearing "Hound Dog" for the first time. His image continues to mesmerize: witness the appearance of 200 Elvis impersonators at Liberty Weekend in 1986. There was a time when he was merely the most popular entertainer in history. He is more than that now. He is a symbol of America as recognizable as the flag. Elvis opened the 'window of his soul' to his fans all over the world. Thank you, Elvis! Remember you are always on our minds. "TCB FOREVER! Any Comments on this ? E-mail Mei found this on the internet weird more

Resolved Question: Politicians and their Illusion of Power? Take a look a give your opinion:?

Critics accuse libertarians of reveling in government failures. Yes and No. No one is pleased to see the destruction caused by government policies, whether small scale, as when a tighter regulation causes business failures, or large scale, as when wars destroy life for millions. The kernel of truth to the claim is this: the failure of government illustrates something extremely important about the structure of reality that most people are likely to forget. It comes down to this: statesmen and public officials, no matter how powerful they may be, cannot finally control social outcomes. If I might offer a summary of a point emphasized in all of Mises's works: the structure of society and world affairs generally is shaped by human actions, stemming from imaginative human minds working out individual subjective valuations, and their interactions with the material world, which is governed by laws that are beyond human control. What that means is that you and I cannot on our own, even if we have maximum political power, control all of human society, and especially not its economic side. Let's first consider an example from current popular wisdom about the manufacturing base. Many products that were once made in the US – thinking here of televisions, pianos, firecrackers, plastics, and bicycles--are now made in China. This has caused a great deal of alarm--all unwarranted, so far as sound economics is concerned. But let's say we have the ambition to change this social outcome. Anyone is free to build a bicycle and attempt to market it to willing buyers. Let's say you rent some property, hire the workers, acquire all the necessary capital, and then put your bike on sale. In order to cover your costs and make a profit, you find that you must price your bikes above the going market price. Maybe you can persuade people that you have a special product that is better than the others. Or maybe yours will sit on the floor. Or maybe you will have to lower your price and you will find that your revenue does not cover your costs, and you have to go out of business. No matter what you decide, this much is clear: you are not dictating the outcome. You wanted to build bikes, but it is the consuming public that decides whether it is in our interest to do so. There is nothing you have to say about it. You cannot make people fork over the money. I would venture to suggest that you will ultimately come to the conclusion that you should be doing other things besides attempting to keep up with other businesses that have lower labor and capital costs and hence can make a profit through selling goods at much lower prices. But let's say you decide that you don't want to bow to the realities of the market. Instead you lobby Congress to tax everyone who buys a bike from overseas. The tax is high enough that you can continue to charge exorbitant prices for your bikes. You make a profit. But at what expense? The consumers who buy your bikes have less income left over for other pursuits, whether consumption, saving, or investment. The workers you are employing are being kept from other pursuits as well, and the capital you are consuming is not available for other projects. Ultimately, you have skewed the entire economic system in a way that benefits you at everyone else's expense. Others have found a way to do what you are doing much more efficiently, but because you lobbied and got your way, society is prevented from benefiting from others' innovations. And how long must this distorted system last? That you managed to tax everyone to benefit you does nothing to change the reality that others can do what you are doing more cheaply and better. Do workers really want to be employed in an industry that is something of an artifice? Do consumers really want to pay high prices just so that you can continue to indulge in your bike-making passion? Clearly not. At some point, people will catch on to the racket, and find other ways to go about acquiring bikes. Maybe they will exploit loopholes in the law that allow them to import bike parts. An industry of do-it-yourself bike building becomes a threat to your profits. Or perhaps black markets will take over. Or maybe people will turn away from bikes altogether and starting trying out new forms of informal transportation. Skateboards are fitted with handlebars. Gas-powered scooters develop a peddle-only option. The very definition of a bike comes into question. Increasingly, enforcement will have to become ever more onerous. At some point in this game, we face a choice. We can continue to impose an ever more absurd and preposterous system of regulations and protections just so that you can benefit, or we can bow to reality and let in foreign bikes for consumer purchase. Let's say your tariff lasts a year or even ten years. What will it accomplish? In that time, vast resources are wasted. Consumers of all sorts are exploited. Capital is consumed in economically wasteful ways. People are pushed around and the police powers of the state grow. It does society no good at all. My point is that whatever the fate of the so-called manufacturing base, there is nothing in the long run that can be done to turn it in one direction or another. The fate of manufacturing is in the hands of consumers at large, and subject to the laws of economics which no man can repeal. It is the outcome of human choice. Now, the Bush administration has thought otherwise and imposed a huge range of protections to benefit its supporters and people who the administration hoped would become its supporters. The result has been to skew the world economy, hobble markets, delay inevitable transitions, and impose massive social costs. What this example shows is that governments are not omnipotent. Many try to be, and no government is liberal by nature. But there are limits. Governments bump up against human valuations time and again. Even in the highly rarified event of a despotic government that rules a population unanimously in support of despotism, government still bumps up against the structure of the world, which resists control. Let us consider another example. Let us say that government desires a strong dollar. But it still wants to print dollars and ship them around the world. In this case, there is nothing that government can do to insure the dollar’s strength against depreciation. Nothing. This is due to the laws of economics. All else equal, the value of a currency in terms of goods falls as its quantity increases. Governments that desire otherwise can only shake their fist in anger. The same is true domestically. The government wants economic recovery before a recession has fully run its course. It thereby drops interest rates, spends vast amounts of money to gin up demand, and otherwise encourages as much consumption as possible. These tactics can result in some short-term gains but it doesn't work in the long run. These tactics deplete savings and capital and weaken the foundation for solid future growth. The issue of the price of prescription drugs will be a big one in this coming campaign. The problem is high prices. Popular wisdom has it that this is because of the greed of the medical industry. The truth is that these high prices are partly a result of subsidized demand due to Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the restricted supply due to patent laws. In other words, the political class is responsible for the high prices. It's true that the pharmaceutical industry is not complaining. In fact, high prices are precisely what its friends in government want to bring about. They may regret that the poor have to pay the higher prices, but not enough to do anything substantive about it. Prices would plummet today if patents were repealed, free trade (including re-importation) allowed, and subsidized demand ended by the abolition of Medicare and Medicaid. But no one wants to consider that solution, so Congress creates ever more intrusive programs designed to control prices, keeping the prices high enough to satisfy the industry but low enough to reduce the political clamor. The problem is that the government can't have it both ways. It cannot reward its friends with high prices and keep consumers happy at the same time. The current system with its large subsidies is only creating massive new liabilities in programs that cannot be funded in perpetuity without massive tax increases that no one is willing to advocate. Absent tax increases, the only answer is inflation, which taxes us in other ways. One way to think about government is as a rat wandering through a maze with no escape. There is no magic solution to getting around basic economic laws. All lunches must be paid for by someone, prices cannot be both high and low at the same time, and all attempts to coerce generate counter-reactions. In short, there is no alternative universe in which the fantasies of politicians come true. But try telling that to the political class. The last thing they want to hear is that their power is limited, that their will is not a way. They are prone to believe that membership in the political class comes with the privilege of shaping the world to their liking. If you read the social science literature, you find the same error at work on a nearly universal basis. Very rarely does anyone come along and say: great theory but it has nothing to do with reality. You are just playing intellectual games. Socialism was really nothing other than an intellectual game. People from the ancient world to the present conjured up some vision of how they would like the world to work and then advocated a series of measures of how to achieve it. Mises and his generation explained that their vision was fundamentally at odds with reality. In the real world, capital must have price rooted in exchange of private property in order for it to be employed in its highest-valued capacity. It solves nothing to say that everyone should own capital collectively. This was the equivalent of pointing out that the Emperor was wearing no clothes. In some ways, what we do as commentators on economic affairs is to follow this model again and again. The other day, a candidate for president suggested that the answer to our economic woes was more regulation. He had it all figured out in his mind. Immediately, free-market economists from all over the world joined forces to point out that his goal of higher economic productivity could not be achieved this way. It was an unwelcome message but one necessary to deliver regardless. The experience of Iraq has provided myriad examples of the same. The US wants to pump oil. It wants to start factories, stores, and commerce generally. But it refuses to put private owners in charge. As a result, all its military muscle has amounted to very little at great expense. It is a classic example of how governments fail when they try to fight against forces they cannot control. Factories in Iraq that have gone into operation have done so without support of the occupying government. And think of the war generally. At the outset, the visionaries in the Bush administration imagined that Iraq was really a very simple problem to solve. It only needed to be decapitated and the magic dust of the US presence would otherwise create an orderly and prosperous society that would be a model for the region. The reality hit. Crime was unleashed. Feuding political factions clamored for control. Production stopped. Society flew into chaos. This was not because of the absence of the political leadership. It was because of the presence of foreign martial law in a country that was seething in resentment against the US. Time and again, we have seen evidence that the Iraq war only accomplished the opposite of its aims. Its purpose was to find weapons, punish terrorism, and bring order to the region. Instead it has fueled terrorism and brought new levels of disorder to the region. Not having done that, the war is then re-defined in terms that reflect whatever government has done: namely to toss out and capture Saddam, In this sense, the war was like any other government program: bringing about the opposite of its stated intentions and doing so at greater expense. Thus do we see the intersection between foreign and domestic policy. Government is famously ham-handed at home and similarly incompetent abroad. No matter how much government claims that it is master of the universe, it constantly confronts forces beyond its control. In all the talk of the calamity of this war, never forget the broader picture: what an incredible opportunity was squandered after the end of the Cold War. The US had emerged as the universally acknowledged ideological victor in that forty-year struggle. That the Cold War was not actually an ideological struggle so much as a classic standoff between two empires is irrelevant for understanding the implications of this fact: totalitarian communism collapsed while the free economic system of the market remained standing in total triumph. The world was ready for a new period of genuine liberalism, and looking to the US. On the verge of an amazing period of technological advance, we were perfectly situated to lead the way. There had never been a time in US history when George Washington's foreign policy made more sense. A beacon of liberty. Trade with all, belligerence toward none. Commercial engagement with everyone, political engagement with as few as possible. The hand of friendship. Good will. This was the prescription for peace and freedom. It was within our grasp. Our children might have grown up in a world without major political violence. A world of peace and plenty. It could have been. But it was not to be, mainly because George W.'s father decided that he wanted to go down in the history books for doing something big and important. What else but war? The US was now the world's only superpower and itching for some fight somewhere. It's a bit like a playground filled with wimps and one boy with a black belt in karate who never absorbed the lesson in how and where to use his fighting skills. And then there was this oil-drilling dispute between Iraq and Kuwait, and Bush decided to intervene. Twelve years later, the US is still there, causing unrelenting havoc for those poor people. Here at home we are given constant examples of the huge gulf that separates government's perceptions of itself versus the reality. The Bush administration wanted to give the steel industry a boost. The administration established tariffs, which amounts to a tax on all consumers of steel. American manufacturers faced a choice of paying the tax to buy imported steel or paying the higher prices for domestic steel. Those who could do neither had to cut back production and hiring in other areas. Other consumers had to pay higher prices, which diverted income from other pursuits. As for the steel industry itself, the tariffs did nothing to help it achieve greater efficiency, which is the only way to deal with more efficient competitors. They only ended up subsidizing inefficiency. Even then, it wasn't enough. During the period of tariffs, the industry dramatically consolidated in order to become more efficient in other ways. Once faced with the prospect of trade wars, the ultimate cost of protectionism, the Bush administration pulled back and repealed the new tariffs, thereby landing the industry in exactly the same predicament it was in before the tariffs were past. As for commercial society as a whole, it paid dramatically higher steel costs, and faced sporadic shortages, for absolutely no reason. Faced with failure on every front, the Bush administration did the right thing and repealed the tariffs. Not that it was honest about the failure. Instead it claimed its policy worked so well that it could now repeal it. This is like a physician prescribing poison and then changing his mind. He can't but try to put the best spin on it, I suppose. But what a beautiful example of the powerlessness of government this is! The Bush administration wanted to save American industry and only ended up vastly raising the costs of doing all forms of business. More cutbacks are inevitable as steel production shifts to other countries and the US finds its comparative advantage elsewhere. Much legislative energy is poured into helping some groups gain favorable treatment in the workplace. I'm thinking here of the usual litany of victim groups as identified according to race, ability, sex, national origin, religion, and the like. Have these laws actually helped the group in question? The results are mixed at best. If you send people out into the workforce with a high price attached to their heads – and the prospect of a lawsuit is a very high price indeed – you only make employers less likely to hire them. I don’t doubt that some people have been helped by these laws, but they are not the people most in need of help. Today, the disabled, blacks, women, and religious minorities go in search of jobs with a major problem: employers fear them on the margin, and, on the margin, are less likely to hire them relative to others, provided they can get away with it. It is the least qualified among them who pay the highest price. A good test case is disability: it is a documented fact that unemployment among the truly disabled is higher today than it was when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed. Because libertarians know in advance that government policies are destructive, we tend to focus our editorial energy on pointing to its destructive effects. But in our zeal to draw attention to issues others ignore, let us not forget the bigger picture. There are always limits to what the government can do, and the government's destruction is always accompanied by examples of great creativity on the part of the market. Even as government dominates the headlines, private entrepreneurs are busy every day working to improve products and services that improve our lives. They do it without taxing us or regulating us, or making us suffer through tedious elections or political debates. They make their products and offer them to us in a way that pleases the consuming public the most. We can choose whether we want them or not. Consider the success of Wal-Mart. If government had set out to create a volume discounter that made a world of material goods and groceries available to the multitude in all countries, it might have tried for a thousand years and not created anything resembling this company. Even the military has relented and now routinely points its employees not to its on-base stores but to Wal-Mart, Office Depot, and others for the best prices. Foreign development aid is another example. It took decades to get the message across, but today finance ministers in the developing world understand that they have far more to gain through integration into the world economy than from development aid and all the restrictive policies that come with it. Today, as Sudha Shenoy points out, the largest resistance to new trade deals comes from the developing world, not because they don't want trade but because they desire trade without the labor and environmental controls the US demands. The same is true in the area of communications. In the last century, governments aspired to control them all: the phones, the mails, the media. Today, we see that government, in practice, controls very little of the communications industry, despite every attempt to hobble private enterprise. In that same vein, a major issue for everyone these days are computer viruses and spam, which threaten to make our chief mode of communication less reliable. Congress passes ineffectual legislation against spam and viruses, while private enterprise has given us dozens of means of winning the battle. Private enterprise creates; government destroys. That is the great economic lesson of our times and all times. Of course there is one way in which government never fails. It can loot. It can gain footholds into society's command centers. It can punish enemies. It can even indoctrinate people in its preferred vision of the world through propaganda. This is the best way to understand the public school system. It doesn't work to educate but it does work to transfer vast sums from the private to the public sector. And here too, we see the power of private enterprise: booster clubs in public schools represent a de facto source of privatization, and the clubs and groups connected to them are the only really successful things going on in public school. We’ll hear much in the coming months about all the wonderful reforms politicians are going to bring us. This is the time when politicians vie for our allegiance by telling all about their ideas and vision for the future. As usual, they will parse their words in ways to maximize the numbers of people who are persuaded and minimize the amount of trouble they get into for inadvertently telling people something they don't want to hear. As an aside, whoever came up with this idea of a mass democracy just wasn't thinking things through very clearly. Nothing runs well by majority vote, to say nothing of the fact that a truly free society shouldn't be "run" at all; it works on its own without would-be masters-and-commanders grasping at the helm. Let me then offer to you my own top ten list of political lies you are told, all designed to make you believe that government should have more power than it already has, so that it can create more of the disasters we are accustomed to: 10. My new program will generate jobs. Truth: only the market generates jobs on net. 9. My education program will reform schools so that they leave no child behind. Truth: the public schools do not work for the same reason no government program can work. They exist outside the market economy. 8. My program will save industry x. Truth: industry must be part of the market or else it is not really industry at all. 7. I won't raise your taxes but I will pass lots of new programs: Truth: all programs must be paid for. 6. As president, I will pursue a humble foreign policy. Truth: nothing in the office of the president encourages humility. 5. This war is humanitarian and winnable. Truth: war is nothing but a government program on a massively destructive scale, and just as error prone. 4. My reform will bring market-based competition. Be on the lookout for this lie, which market partisans are likely to believe. There is only one kind of genuine market, and it is rooted in private property and nothing else. 3. We will secure the nation. Truth: government cannot provide security better than markets, any more than it can provide food or houses better than the market. 2. Government is compassionate. Truth: men who seek power over the lives of others are the coldest, cruelest humans of all. 1. You can't love your country and hate your government. Truth: A person who loves his country loves liberty first. One hundred years from now, the great story of the latter part of the 20th century and the first part of the 21st century will be the vast improvements in life wrought by technology. Consider the web, the cell phone, the PDA, the affordable laptop computer, advances in medicine, and the spread of prosperity to all corners of the globe. What has government had to do with this? The answer is: nothing contributory. It has worked only to impede progress, and we can only be thankful that it hasn't succeeded. Through all of human history, governments have caused frightening levels of bloodshed and horror, but in the end, what has prevailed is not power but the market economy. Even today governments can only play catch-up. This is because of the reasons that Mises outlined. Government cannot control the human mind, so it cannot, in the long run, control the choices people make. It cannot control economic forces, which are a far more powerful and permanent feature of the world than any government anyway. Governments have a propensity to overreach in so many areas of life that their exercise of power itself leads to their own undoing. The overreach can take many forms: financial, economic, social, and military. In this way, and with enough passion for liberty burning in the hearts of the citizenry, governments can be responsible for their own undoing. It comes about as a result of overestimating the capacity of power and underestimating its limits. I believe this is happening in our time. It may not be obvious when taking the broad view, but when you look at the status of a huge range of government programs and institutions, what you see is a government that is at once enormously powerful and rich, but also fragile and teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Events of the last year indicate just how far the government has slipped in its ability to manage the economy, society, culture, and world order. Despite the exalted status of the state today, the vast and sprawling empire called the US government may in fact be less healthy than it ever has been. A few months back, we had a special speaker come to Auburn, probably the most famous man who has visited us since the Country and Western star Alan Jackson was in town. He was Mikhail Gorbachev, a very interesting figure in the history of nations. He came to power with the reputation of a reformer and instituted many reforms that were designed not to give more liberty to the people, but to stop the unraveling of an empire before it was too late. But it was too late. All his talk of perestroika and glasnost couldn't fool the people, who had become convinced that the Soviet machine was something of a hoax. The empire unraveled not because of him, but despite his efforts to save it. When it came time to make the critical decision of whether to try to hold the empire together by more and more force, or not, history had already made the choice for him. The empire dissolved in the blink of an eye. Not too many months later, he was out of a job, not because he was recalled in some formal process, but because the forces of history had run him over. Democratic governments are not immune from the forces of history that overthrew Soviet tyranny. All governments overreach and no government is permanent. So let us fear government but not exaggerate its powers. It can cause enormous damage and it must always be fought. But in this struggle, we are on the right side of history. The power of human choice, aided by the logic of economics and the laws that operate without any bureaucrat's permission, are our source of hope for the future. _______________________________ Llewellyn H. Rockwellhttp://www.mises.org/story/1396 more

Resolved Question: China: From Death Camp to Civilization. Why very limited power to government is crucial? Mao unknown story?

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/china2.html A hysteria of sorts has been generated by reports that some of China's products lack quality control. Some cat food has been tainted. A few cell-phone batteries have blown up. Cough syrup contained stuff that makes you sick. And so on. In response, the Chinese government actually executed its regulatory head of food and product safety, Zheng Xiaoyu. How very strange this last point is! In the West, we long ago gave up the idea that these people are actually supposed to carry out their jobs and should be personally responsible for their failure to do so. What is most striking about these product criticisms is how historically insular they appear in light of the modern history of China. This is a subject that is deeply painful, horrifying in its detail, highly instructive in helping us understand politics – and also puts into perspective these reports of recent troubles in China. It's a scandal, in fact, that few Westerners are even aware, or, if they are aware, they are not conscious, of the bloody reality that prevailed in China between the years 1949 and 1976, the years of rule by Mao Zedong How many died as a result of persecutions and the communist policies of Mao? Perhaps you care to guess? Many people over the years have attempted to guess. But they have always underestimated. As more data rolled in during the 1980s and 1990s, and specialists have devoted themselves to investigations and estimates, the figures have become ever more reliable. And yet they remain imprecise. What kind of error term are we talking about? It could be as low as 40 million. It could be as high as 100 million – or more. In the Great Leap Forward from 1959 to 1961 alone, figures range between 20 million to 75 million. In the period before, 20 million. In the period after, tens of millions more. As scholars in the area of mass death point out, most of us can't imagine 100 dead or 1000. Above that, we are just talking about statistics: they have no conceptual meaning for us. And there is only so much ghastly information that our brains can absorb, only so much blood we can imagine. And yet there is more to why China's communist experiment remains a hidden fact: it makes a decisive case against government power, one even more compelling than the cases of Russia or Germany in the 20th century. The horror was foreshadowed in a bloody civil war following the Second World War. After some nine million people died, the communists emerged victorious in 1949, with Mao as the ruler. The land of Lao-Tzu (rhyme, rhythm, peace), Taoism (compassion, moderation, humility), and Confucianism (piety, social harmony, individual development) was seized by the strangest import to China ever: Marxism from Germany via Russia. It was an ideology that denied all logic, experience, economic law, property rights, and limits on the power of the state on grounds that these notions were merely bourgeois prejudices, and what we needed to transform society was a cadre with all power to transform all things. It's bizarre to think about it, really: posters of Marx and Lenin in China, of all places, and rule by an ideology of robbery, dictatorship, and death. So spectacular has the transformation been in the last 25 years that one would hardly know that any of this ever happened, except that the Communist Party is still running the place while having tossed out the communist part. The experiment began in the most bloody way possible following the Second World War, when all Western eyes were focused on matters at home and, to the extent there was any foreign focus, it was on Russia. The "good guys" had won the war in China, or so we were led to believe in times when communism was the fashion. The communization of China took place in the usual three stages: purge, plan, and scapegoat. First there was the purge to bring about communism. There were guerillas to kill and land to nationalize. The churches had to be destroyed. The counterrevolutionaries had to be put down. The violence began in the country and spread later to the cities. All peasants were first divided into four classes that were considered politically acceptable: poor, semi-poor, average, and rich. Everyone else was considered a landowner and targeted for elimination. If no landowners could be found, the "rich" were often included in this group. The demonized class was ferreted out in a country-wide series of "bitterness meetings" in which people turned in their neighbors for owning property and being politically disloyal. Those who were so deemed were immediately executed along with those who sympathized with them. The rule was that there had to be at least one person killed per village. The number killed is estimated to be between one and five million. In addition, another four to six million landowners were slaughtered for the crime of being capital owners. If anyone was suspected of hiding wealth, he or she was tortured with hot irons to confess. The families of the killed were then tortured and the graves of their ancestors looted and pillaged. What happened to the land? It was divided into tiny plots and distributed among the remaining peasants. Then the campaign moved to the cities. The political motivations here were at the forefront, but there were also behavioral controls. Anyone who was suspected of involvement in prostitution, gambling, tax evasion, lying, fraud, opium dealing, or telling state secrets was executed as a "bandit." Official estimates put the number of dead at two million with another two million going to prison to die. Resident committees of political loyalists watched every move. A nighttime visit to another person was immediately reported and the parties involved jailed or killed. The cells in the prisons themselves grew ever smaller, with one person living in a space of about 14 inches. Some prisoners were worked to death, and anyone involved in a revolt was herded with collaborators and they were all burned. There was industry in the cities, but those who owned and managed them were subjected to ever tighter restrictions: forced transparency, constant scrutinies, crippling taxes, and pressure to offer up their businesses for collectivization. There were many suicides among the owners of small and medium-sized businesses, who saw the writing on the wall. Joining the party provided only temporary respite, since in 1955 began the campaign against hidden counterrevolutionaries in the party itself. A principle here was that one in 10 party members was a secret traitor. As the rivers of blood rose ever higher, Mao brought about the Hundred Flowers Campaign in two months of 1957, the legacy of which is the phrase we often hear: "let a hundred flowers bloom." People were encouraged to speak freely and give their point of view, an opportunity that was very tempting for intellectuals. The liberalization was short lived. In fact, it was a trick. All those who spoke out against what was happening to China were rounded up and imprisoned, perhaps between 400,000 and 700,000 people, including 10 percent of the well-educated classes. Others were branded as right-wingers and subjected to interrogation, reeducation, kicked out of their homes, and shunned. But this was nothing compared with phase two, which was one of history’s great central-planning catastrophes. Following the collectivization of land, Mao decided to go further to dictate to the peasants what they would grow, how they would grow it, and where they would ship it, or whether they would grow anything at all as versus plunge into industry. This would become the Great Leap Forward that would generate history's most deadly famine. Peasants were grouped into groups of thousands and forced to share all things. All groups were to be economically self-sufficient. Production goals were raised ever higher. People were moved by the hundreds of thousands from where production was high to where it was low, as a means of boosting production. They were moved too from agriculture to industry. There was a massive campaign to collect tools and transform them into industrial skill. As a means of showing hope for the future, collectives were encouraged to have huge banquets and eat everything, especially meat. This was a way of showing one's belief that the next year's harvest would be even more bountiful. Mao had this idea that he knew how to grow grain. He proclaimed that "seeds are happiest when growing together" and so seeds were sown at five to ten times their usual density. Plants died, the soil dried out, and the salt rose to the surface. To keep birds from eating grain, sparrows were wiped out, which vastly increased the number of parasites. Erosion and flooding became endemic. Tea plantations were turned to rice fields, on grounds that tea was decadent and capitalistic. Hydraulic equipment built to service the new collective farms didn't work and lacked any replacement parts. This led Mao to put new emphasis on localized industry, which was forced to appear in the same areas as agriculture, leading to ever more chaos. Workers were drafted from one sector to another, and mandatory cuts in some sectors was balanced by mandatory high quotas in another. In 1957, the disaster was everywhere. Workers were growing too weak even to harvest their meager crops, so they died watching the rice rot. Industry churned and churned but produced nothing of any use. The government responded by telling people that fat and proteins were unnecessary. But the famine couldn't be denied. The black-market price of rice rose 20 to 30 times. Because trade had been forbidden between collectives (self-sufficiency, you know), millions were left to starve. By 1960, the death rate soared from 15 percent to 68 percent, and the birth rate plummeted. Anyone caught hording grain was shot. Peasants found with the smallest amount were imprisoned. Fires were banned. Funerals were prohibited as wasteful. Villagers who tried to flee from the countryside to the city were shot at the gates. Deaths from hunger reached 50 percent in some villages. Survivors boiled grass and bark to make soup and wandered the roads looking for food. Sometimes they banded together and raided houses looking for ground maize. Women were unable to conceive because of malnutrition. People in work camps were used for food experiments that led to sickness and death. How bad did it get? 1968 an 18-year-old member of the Red Guard, Wei Jingsheng, took refuge with a family in a village of Anhui, and here he lived to write about what he saw: "We walked along beside the village…Before my eyes, among the weeds, rose up one of the scenes I had been told about, one of the banquets at which the families had swapped children in order to eat them. I could see the worried faces of the families as they chewed the flesh of other people's children. The children who were chasing butterflies in a nearby field seemed to be the reincarnation of the children devoured by their parents. I felt sorry for the children but not as sorry as I felt for their parents. What had made them swallow that human flesh, amidst the tears and grief of others – flesh that they would never have imagined tasting, even in their worst nightmares?" (The author of the passage was jailed as a traitor but his status protected him from death and he was finally released in 1997.) How many people died in the famine of 1959–61? The low range is 20 million. The high range is 43 million. Finally in 1961, the government gave in and permitted food imports, but it was too little and too late. Some peasants were again allowed to grow crops on their own land. A few private workshops were opened. Some markets were permitted. Finally, the famine began to abate and production grew. But then the third phase came: scapegoating. What had caused the calamity? The official reason was anything but communism, anything but Mao. And so the politically motivated round-up began again, and here we get to the very heart of the Cultural Revolution. Thousands of camps and detention centers were opened. People sent there died there. In prison, the slightest excuse was used to dispense with people – all to the good since the prisoners were a drain on the system, so far as those in charge were concerned. The largest penal system ever built was organized in a military fashion, with some camps holding as many as 50,000 people. There was some sense in which everyone was in prison. Arrests were sweeping and indiscriminate. Everyone had to carry around a copy of Mao’s Little Red Book. To question the reason for arrest was itself evidence of disloyalty, since the state was infallible. Once arrested, the safest path was instant and frequent confession. This time, guards were forbidden from using overt violence, so interrogations would go on for hundreds of hours, and often the prisoner would die during this process. Those named in the confession were then hunted down and rounded up. Once you got through this process, you were sent to a labor camp, where you were graded according to how many hours you could work with little food. They were fed no meat nor given any sugar or oil. Labor prisoners were further controlled by the rationing of the little food they had. The final phase of this incredible litany of criminality lasted from 1966 to 1976, and during this phase the number of killed fell dramatically to "only" one to three million. The government, now tired and in the first stages of demoralization, began to lose control, first within the labor camps and second in the countryside. And it was this weakening that led to the final and, in some ways the most vicious, of the communist periods in China's history. The first stages of rebellion occurred in the only way permissible: people began to criticize the government for being too soft and too uncommitted to the communist goal. Ironically, this began to appear precisely as moderation became more overt in Russia. Neo-revolutionaries in the Red Guard began to criticize the Chinese communists as "Khrushchev-like reformers." As one writer put it, the guard "rose up against its own government in order to defend it." During this period, the personality cult of Mao reached its height, with the Little Red Book achieving a mythic status. The Red Guards roamed the country in an attempt to purge the Four Old-Fashioned Things: ideas, culture, customs, and habits. The remaining temples were barricaded. Traditional opera was banned, with all costumes and sets in the Beijing Opera burned. Monks were expelled. The calendar was changed. All Christianity was banned. There were to be no pets such as cats and birds. Humiliation was the order of the day. Thus was the Red Terror: in the capital city, there were 1,700 deaths and 84,000 people were run out. In other cities such as Shanghai, the figures were worse. A massive party purge began, with hundreds of thousands arrested and many murdered. Artists, writers, teachers, scientists, technicians: all were targets. Pogroms were visited on community after community, with Mao approving at every step as a means of eliminating every possible political rival. But underneath, the government was splintering and cracking, even as it became ever more brutal and totalist in its outlook. Finally in 1976, Mao died. Within a few months, his closest advisers were all imprisoned. And the reform began slowly at first and then at breakneck speed. Civil liberties were restored (comparatively) and the rehabilitations began. Torturers were prosecuted. Economic controls were gradually relaxed. The economy, by virtue of human and private economic initiative, was transformed. Having read the above, you are now in a tiny elite of people who know anything about the greatest death camp in the history of the world that China became between 1949 and 1976, an experiment in total control unlike anything other in history. Many more people today know more about China's exploding cell-phone batteries than the hundred million dead and the untold amount of suffering that occurred under communism. When you hear about shoddy products coming from China or wheat poorly processed, imagine millions in famine, with parents swapping children to eat in order to stay alive. And what do China's critics today recommend? More control by the government. Don't tell me that we've learned anything from history. We don't even know enough about history to learn from it. Note on sources, all of which you should buy and read in detail: "China: A Long March into Night," by Jean-Louis Margolin in The Black Book of Communism, by Stephane Courtois et al. (Harvard, 1999), pp. 463–546; Death by Government, by R.J. Rummel (Transaction, 1996); Hungry Ghosts: Mao's Secret Famine, by Jaspar Becker (Owl Books, 1998); and Mao: The Unknown Story, by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday (2006). July 21, 2007 Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. [send him mail] is president of the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, editor of LewRockwell.com, and author of Speaking of Liberty. more

Resolved Question: Anyone intrested in writing a two page summary of this?

FIBER KEEPS ITS PROMISE BY GEORGE GILDER "Today, I await the death of television, telephony, VCRs, and analog cameras with utter confidence as Moore's law unfolds." Rupert Murdoch, Ted Turner, John Malone, are you listening?" Get ready. Bandwidth will triple each year for the next 25, creating trillions in new wealth. Editor's note: Four years ago, Forbes ASAP published its first issue with a stunning prophecy by contributing editor George Gilder. Fiber optics, said George, had the potential to carry 25 trillion bits per second down a single strand. This represented a ten-thousandfold leap in carrying capacity over the 2.5 billion bits "barrier" long assumed by most experts in the field. What did George see that others had missed? One, a little-recognized (at the time) breakthrough called an erbium-doped amplifier, which keeps optical signals pure and strong over long distances. The other was a deep technical shift, with roots in the 1940s-era work of information theory pioneer Claude Shannon. If you believed Shannon, his logic dictated a new messaging scheme called wave division multiplexing. Though scorned by the experts four years ago, WDM now is emerging as the winner George had prophesied. The real winners will be all of us, as the coming world of cheap, unlimited bandwidth unfolds and at last fulfills the true potential of the information age. Here is George with an update. IMAGINE THAT IN 1975 YOU KNEW that Moore's law--the Intel chairman's projection of the doubling of the number of transistors on a microchip every 18 months--would hold for the rest of your lifetime. What if you knew that these transistors would run cooler, faster, better, and cheaper as they got smaller and were crammed more closely together? Suppose you knew the law of the microcosm: that the cost-effectiveness of any number of "n" transistors on a single silicon sliver would rise by the square of the increase in "n." As an investor knowing this Moore's law trajectory, you would have been able to predict and exploit a long series of developments: the emergence of the PC; its dominance over all other computer form factors; the success of companies making chips, disk drives, peripherals, and software for this machine. With a slight effort of intellect, you could have extended the insight and prophesied the digitization of watches, records (CDs), cellular phones, cameras, TVs, broadcast satellites, and other devices that can use miniaturized computer power. If you did not know precisely when each of these benisons would flourish, you would have known that each one was essentially inevitable. To calculate approximate dates, you had only to guess the product's optimal price of popularization and then match its need for mips (millions of instructions per second) of computer power with the cost of those mips as defined by Moore's law. Merely by using this technique of Moore's law matching--and holding to it with unshakable conviction for nearly 20 years--I became known as a "futurist." Today I await the death of television, telephony, VCRs, and analog cameras with utter confidence as Moore's law unfolds. You can tell me about the 98% penetration of TVs in American homes, the continuing popularity of couch-potato entertainments, the effectiveness of broadcast advertising, and the profound and unbridgeable chasm between the office appliance and the living-room tube. But I will pay no attention. Just you wait--Jack Welch, Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch, John Malone, and David Jennings--the TV will die and you may be too late for the Net. It is now 1997, and a stream of dramatic events certifies that another law, as powerful and fateful and inexorable as Moore's, is gaining a similar sway over the future of technology. It is what I have termed the law of the telecosm. Its physical base lies in the same quantum realm of eigenstates and band gaps that governs the performance of transistors and also makes photons leap and lase. But the telecosm reaches beyond components to systems, combining the science of the electromagnetic spectrum with Claude Shannon's information theory. In essence, as frequencies rise and wavelengths drop, digital performance improves exponentially. Bandwidth rises, power usage sinks, antenna size shrinks, interference collapses, error rates plummet. The law of the telecosm ordains that the total bandwidth of communications systems will triple every year for the next 25 years. As communicators move up-spectrum, they can use bandwidth as a substitute for power, memory, and switching. This results in far cheaper and more efficient systems. In 1996, the new fiber paradigm emerged in full force. Parallel communications in all-optical networks became the dominant source of new bandwidth in telecom. Like Moore's law, the law of the telecosm will reshape the entire world of information technology. It defines the direction of technological advance, the vectors of growth, the sweet spots for finance. AMERICA'S DARK SECRET FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, American companies have been laying optical fiber strands at a pace of some 4,000 miles a day, for a total of more than 25 million strand miles. Five years ago, the top 10% of U.S. homes and businesses were, on average, a thousand households away from a fiber node; now they are a hundred households away. However, the imperial advance of this technology conceals a dark secret, which has led to a pervasive underestimation of the long-term impact of photonics. Sixty percent of the fiber remains "dark" (unused for communications) and even the leading-edge "lit" fiber is being used at less than one ten-thousandth of its intrinsic capacity. This problem has prompted leaders in the industry, from Bill Gates and Andy Grove to Bob Metcalfe and Mitch Kapor, to underrate drastically the impact of fiber optics. Restricting the speed and cost-effectiveness of fiber has been an electronic bottleneck and a regulatory noose. In order for the signal to be amplified, regenerated, or switched, the light pulses had to be transformed into electronic pulses by optoelectronic converters. For all the talk of the speed of light, fiber-optic systems therefore could pass bits no faster than the switching speed of transistors, which tops out at a cycle time of between 2.5 and 10 gigahertz. Meanwhile, telecom companies could not deploy new low-cost fiber products any faster than the switching speed of politicians and regulators, which tops out roughly at a cycle time of between 2.5 years and a rate of evolution measurable only by means of carbon 14. Nonetheless, the intrinsic capacity of every fiber line is not 2.5 gigahertz. Nor is it even 25 gigahertz, which is roughly the capacity of all the frequencies commonly used in the air, from AM radio to kA band satellite. The intrinsic capacity of every fiber thread, as thin as a human hair, is at the least one thousand times the capacity of what we call the "air." One thread could carry all the calls in America on the peak moment of Mother's Day. One fiber thread could carry 25 times more bits than last year's average traffic load of all the world's communications networks put together: an estimated terabit (trillion bits) a second. Over the last five years, technological breakthroughs and legislative loopholes have begun to open up this immense capacity to possible use. Following concepts pioneered and patented by David Payne at the University of Southampton in England, a Bell Laboratories group led by Emmanuel Desurvire and Randy Giles developed a workable all-optical device. They showed that a short stretch of fiber doped with erbium, a rare earth mineral, and excited by a cheap laser diode can function as a powerful amplifier over fully 4,500 gigahertz of the 25,000 gigahertz span. Introduced by Pirelli of Italy and popularized by Ciena Corporation of Savage, Maryland, and by Lucent and Alcatel, today such photonic amplifiers are a practical reality. Put in packages between two and three cubic inches in size, the erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) fit anywhere in an optical network for enhancing signals without electronics. This invention overcame the most fundamental disadvantage of optical networks compared to electronic networks. You can tap into an electronic network as often as desired without eroding the voltage signal. Although resistance and capacitance will leach away the current, there are no splitting losses in a voltage divider. Photonic signals, by contrast, suffer splitting losses every time they are tapped; they lose photons until eventually there are none left. The cheap and compact all-optical amplifier solves this problem. It is an invention comparable in importance to the integrated circuit. Just as the integrated circuit made it possible to put an entire computer system on a single sliver of silicon, the all-optical amplifier makes it possible to put an entire system on a seamless seine of silica--glass. Unleashing the law of the telecosm, it makes possible a new global economy of bandwidth abundance. Five years ago when I first celebrated the radical implications of erbium-doped amplifiers, skepticism reigned. I was summoned to Bellcore, where the first optical networks had been built and then abandoned, to learn the acute limits of the technology from Charles Brackett and his team. I had offered the vision of a broadband fibersphere--a worldwide web of glass and light--where computer users could tune into favored frequencies as readily as radios tune into frequencies in the atmosphere today. But Brackett and other Bellcore experts told me that my basic assumption was false. It was no simpler, they said, to tune into one of scores of frequencies on a fiber than to select time slots in a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) bitstream. Indeed, electronic switching technology was moving faster than optical technology. In the face of the momentum and installed base of electronic switching and multiplexing, the fibersphere with hundreds of tunable frequencies would remain a fantasy, like Ted Nelson's Xanadu. In 1997 the fantasy is coming true around the world. Xanadu has become the World Wide Web. The erbium-doped fiber amplifier is an explosively growing $250 million business. Electronic TDM seems to have topped out at 2.5 gigabits a second. TDM gear has suffered a series of delays and nagging defects and so far has failed in the market. Electronic TDM failed not only because it pushed the envelope of electronics but also because it violated the new paradigm. In single-mode fiber, the two key impediments are nonlinearities in the glass and chromatic dispersion (the blurring of bit pulses because even in a single band different frequencies move at different speeds). Chromatic dispersion increases by the square of the bit rate, and the impact of nonlinearities rises with the power of the signal. High-powered, high-bit-rate TDM flunked both telecosm tests. By contrast, wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) follows the laws of the telecosm; it succeeds by wasting bandwidth and stinting on power. WDM takes some 33% more bandwidth per bit than TDM, but it reduces power to combat nonlinearity and divides the bitstream into multiple frequencies in order to combat dispersion. Thus it can extend the distance or increase capacity by a factor of four or more today and can lay the foundations for the fibersphere tomorrow. In 1996 the new fiber paradigm emerged in full force. Parallel communications in all-optical networks, long depicted as a broadband pipe dream, crushed all competitors and became the dominant source of new bandwidth in the world telecom network. The year began with a trifold explosion at the Conference on Optical Fiber Communication in San Jose when three companies--Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs, NTT Labs, and Fujitsu--all announced terabit-per-second WDM transmissions down a single fiber. Sprint confirmed the significance of the laboratory breakthroughs by announcing deployment of Ciena's MultiWave 1600 WDM system, so called because it can increase the capacity of a single fiber thread by 1,600%. The revolution continues in 1997. At the beginning of January, NEC declared that by increasing the number of bits per hertz from one to three, it had raised the laboratory WDM record to three terabits per second. During 1996, MCI had increased the speed of its Internet backbone by a factor of 25, from 45 megabits a second to 1.2 gigabits. On January 6, Fred Briggs, chief engineering officer at MCI, announced that his company is in the process of installing new WDM equipment from Hitachi and Pirelli that increases the speed of its phone network backbone to 40 gigabits per second. Accelerating MCI's previous plans by some two years, the new system will use a more limited form of wavelength-division multiplexing to put four 10-gigabit in-cause formation streams on a single fiber thread. The first deployment will use existing facilities on a 275-mile route between Chicago and St. Louis, but the technology will be extended to the entire network. This move will consummate a nearly thousandfold upgrade of the MCI backbone, from 45 megabits per second to 40 gigabits, within some 36 months. Ciena, meanwhile, has announced technology that allows transmission of 100 gigabits per second. Its February IPO was the most important since Netscape (market cap at the end of the first trading day: $3.4 billion). Why? Ciena is the industry leader in open standard WDM gear. During the first six months the MultiWave 1600 was available, through October 1996, the firm achieved $54.8 million in sales and $15 million in net income. (Lucent is believed to be the overall leader with more than $100 million of mostly proprietary AT&T systems.) At the same time, the trans-Pacific consortium announced that it would deploy 100-gigabit-per-second fiber in its new link between the United States and Asia. A powerful new player in these markets will be Tellabs, currently the fastest-growing supplier of electronic digital cross-connect switches and other optical switching gear. In a further coup, following its purchase of broadband digital radio pioneer Steinbrecher, Tellabs has signed up all 12 principals in IBM's all-optical team. Headed by Paul Green, recent chairman of the IEEE Communications Society and author of the leading text on fiber networks, and by Rajiv Ramaswami, coauthor of a new 1997 text on the subject, the IBM group built the world's first fully functioning all-optical networks (AONs), the Rainbow series. Tellabs now owns the 11 AON patents and 100 listed technology disclosures of the group. The implications of the WDM paradigm go beyond simple data pipes. The greatest impact of all-optical technology will likely come in consumer markets. A portent is Artel Video Systems of Marlborough, Massachusetts, which recently introduced a fiber-based WDM system that can transmit 48 digital video channels, 288 CD-quality audio bitstreams, and 64 data channels on one fiber line. Aggregating contributions from a variety of content sources--each on different fiber wavelengths--and delivering them to consumers who tune into favored frequencies on conventional cable, the Artel system represents a key step into the fibersphere. It can be used for new services by either cable TV companies or telcos. The deeper significance of the Artel product, however, is its use of bandwidth as a replacement for transistors and switches. The Artel system works on dark fiber without compression. The video uses 200-megabit-per-second bitstreams (compare MPEG2 at 4 to 6 megabytes per second) that permit lossless transmissions suitable for medical imaging, and obviate dedicated processing of compression codes at the two ends. A move to massively parallel communications analogous to the move to parallel computers, all-optical networks promise nearly boundless bandwidth in fiber. According to Ewart Lowe of British Telecom, whose labs at Martlesham Heath in Ipswich have been a fount of all-optical technology, the new paradigm will reduce the cost of transport by a factor of 10. For example, the optoelectronic amplifiers previously used in fiber networks entailed nine power-hungry bipolar microchips for each wavelength, rather than a simple loop of doped silica that covers scores of wavelengths. As these systems move down through the network hierarchy, the growth of network bandwidth and cost-effectiveness will not only outpace Moore's law, it will also excel the rise in bandwidth within computers--their internal "buses" connecting their microprocessors to memory and input-output. While MCI and Sprint move to deploy technology that functions at 40 gigabits a second, current computers and workstations command buses that run at a rate of close to 1 gigabit a second. This change in the relationship between the bandwidth of networks and the bandwidth of computers will transform the architecture of information technology. As Robert Lucky of Bellcore puts it, "Perhaps we should transmit signals thousands of miles to avoid even the simplest processing function." Lucky implies that the law of the telecosm eclipses the law of the microcosm. Actually, the law of the microcosm makes distributed computers (smart terminals) more efficient regardless of the cost of linking them together. The law of the telecosm makes broadband networks more efficient regardless of how numerous and smart are the terminals. Working together, however, these two laws of wires and switches impel ever more widely distributed information systems, with processing and memory in the optimal locations. WHAT SHOULD THE MAJOR PLAYERS DO NOW? FOR THE TELEPHONE COMPANIES, the age of ever smarter terminals mandates the emergence of ever dumber networks. Telephone companies may complain of the large costs of the transformation of their system, but they command capital budgets as large as the total revenues of the cable industry. Telcos may recoil in horror at the idea of dark fiber, but they command webs of the stuff 10 times larger than any other industry. Dumb and dark networks may not fit the phone company self-image or advertising posture. But they promise larger markets than the current phone company plan to choke off their own future in the labyrinthine nets of an "intelligent switching fabric" always behind schedule and full of software bugs. Telephone switches (now 80% software) are already too complex to keep pace with the efflorescence of the Internet. While computers become ever more lean and mean, turning to reduced instruction-set processors and Java stations, networks need to adopt reduced instruction-set architectures. The ultimate in dumb and dark is the fibersphere now incubating in their magnificent laboratories. The entrepreneurial folk in the computer industry may view this wrenching phone company adjustment with some satisfaction. But computer firms must also adjust. Now addicted to the use of transistors to solve the problems of limited bandwidth, the computer industry must use transistors to exploit the nearly unlimited bandwidth. When home-based machines are optimized for manipulating high-resolution digital video at high speeds, they will necessarily command what are now called supercomputer powers. This will mean that the dominant computer technology will first emerge not in the office market but in the consumer market. The major challenge for the computer industry is to change its focus from a few hundred million offices already full of computer technology to a billion living rooms now nearly devoid of it. Cable companies possess the advantage of already owning dumb networks based on the essentials of the all-optical model of broadcast and select--of customers seeking wavelengths or frequencies rather than switching circuits. Cable companies already provide all the programs to all the terminals and allow them to tune in to the desired messages. But the cable industry cannot become a full-service supplier of telecommunications unless the regulators give up their ridiculous two-wire dream in which everyone competes with cable and no one makes any money. Cash-poor and bandwidth-rich, cable companies need to collaborate with telcos--which are cash-rich and bandwidth-poor--in a joint effort to create broadband systems in their own regions. In all eras, companies tend to prevail by maximizing the use of the cheapest resources. In the age of the fibersphere, they will use the huge intrinsic bandwidth of fiber, all 25,000 gigahertz or more, to simplify everything else. This means replacing nearly all the hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of switches, bridges, routers, converters, codecs, compressors, error correctors, and other devices, together with the trillions of lines of software code, that pervade the intelligent switching fabric of both telephone and computer networks. The makers of all this equipment will resist mightily. But there is no chance that the old regime can prevail by fighting cheap and simple optics with costly and complex electronics and software. The all-optical network will triumph for the same reason that the integrated circuit triumphed: It is incomparably cheaper than the competition. Today, measured by the admittedly rough metric of mips per dollar, a personal computer is more than 2,000 times more cost-effective than a mainframe. Within 10 years, the all-optical network will be thousands of times more cost-effective than electronic networks. Just as the electron rules in computers, the photon will rule the waves of communication.I know people would not write it..But worth a try:) more

Resolved Question: Which part of the script should I use to draw a picture of?

Lilo And Stitch Script Read the charges. Dr. Jumba Jookiba-- lead scientist of Galaxy Defense Industries-- you stand before this council accused of illegal genetic experimentation. How do you plead? Not guilty! My experiments are only theoretical-- completely within legal boundaries. We believe you actually created something. Created something?! Ha! But that would be irresponsible and unethical. I would never, ever... make more than one. What is that monstrosity? Monstrosity! What you see before you is the first of a new species. I call it Experiment 626. He is bulletproof, fireproof and can think faster than supercomputer. He can see in the dark and move objects times his size. His only instinct: To destroy everything he touches! So, it is a monster. Hey, just a little one. It is an affront to nature. It must be destroyed! Calm yourself, Captain Gantu. Perhaps it can be reasoned with. Experiment 626 give us some sign you understand any of this. Show us that there is something inside you that is good. Hmm? Meega, nala kweesta! So naughty! I didn't teach it that. Place that idiot scientist under arrest! I prefer to be called evil genius! And as for that abomination... it is the flawed product of a deranged mind. It has no place among us. Captain Gantu, take him away. With pleasure. Hmm. Uncomfortable? Oh... Good! The council has banished you to exile on a desert asteroid. So, relax... enjoy the trip and don't get any ideas. These guns are locked onto your genetic signature. They won't shoot anyone but you. Ow! Why, you...! May I remind the captain that he is on duty. Secure the cell! Aye, Captain. Captain on deck. All ahead full. Do... Does this, uh, look infected to you? Oh! Quiet, you. Gunfire in the cell bay! Open a channel. He's loose on Deck C! Red alert. Seal off the deck! Security, converge on door seven! Deadly force authorized. Fire on sight! There he is! Security to Bridge. It's in the ventilation system. He's headed for the power... grid. What was that? I don't think he's on the ship anymore. Confirmed. He's taken a police cruiser. Yeah... he took the red one. Yee-haw! Hmm?! That's it! We got it. We got it! Hyperdrive activated. System charging. He's engaged his H-drive! Warning-- guidance is not functional. Pursuit Commander that crazy trog is about to make a jump! Break formation! Get clear of that ship! Navigation failure. Do not engage hyper... Get me Galactic Control. Where is he?! He's still in hyperspace. Where will he exit? Calculating now-- quadrant section - - area . A planet called... Ee-arth. I want an expert on this planet in here now! What is that? Water. Most of the planet is covered in it. He won't survive in water. His molecular density is too great. No... Of course. How much time do we have? We have projected his landing at three hours, minutes. Oh, we have to gas the planet. Hold it! Hold everything! Earth is a protected wildlife preserve. Yeah. We've been using it to rebuild the mosquito population which, need I remind you, is an endangered species! Am I to assume you are the expert? Oh, I don't know about expert. Agent Pleakley at your service. Can we not simply destroy the island? No! Crazyhead! The mosquito's food of choice, primitive humanoid life forms have colonies all over that planet. Are they intelligent? No, but they're very delicate. In fact, every time an asteroid strikes their planet they have to begin life all over. It's fascinating, isn't it? With this, I've been able to study... What if our military forces just landed there? Well, that'd be a bad idea! These are extremely simple creatures, miss. Landing there would create mass mayhem and planet-wide panic! A quiet capture would require an understanding of - - that we do not possess! Who, then, Mr. Pleakley, would you send for his extraction? Does he have a brother? Close grandmother, perhaps? Friendly cousin? Neighbor with a beard? He got away? I'm sure this comes as no surprise to you. I designed this creature for to be unstoppable. Which is precisely why you must now bring him back. What? Me? And to reward you we are willing to trade your freedom for his capture. - - will not come easily. Maybe direct hit from plasma cannon might stun him long enough to... Plasma cannon granted. Do we have a bargain, Dr. Jumba? B-B-But it's a delicate planet! Who's going to control him? You will. Very good, Your Highness. I... I didn't quite... Uh, you're notjoking! So, tell me, my little one-eyed one on what poor, pitiful, defenseless planet has my monstrosity been unleashed? Mahalo nui ia Ke Ali iwahine O Lili ulani O ka Wohi ku Ka pipio mai o ke anuenue Na waihooluu a halikeole E nana na maka i ke ao malama Mai Hawaii akea i Kauai... O Kal'kaua he inoa O Ka pua mae ole i ka I' Ka pua maila i ka mauna I ke kuahiwi o Mauna Kea Ke 'maila i K'lauea M'lamalama i Wahinekapu A ka luna o Uw'kahuna I ka pali kapu o Ka auea Ea mai ke ali i kia manu Ua wehi i ka hulu o ka mamo Ka pua nani a o Hawai i O Kal'kaua he inoa O Kal'kaua he inoa Ka pua mae ole i ka I' Ka pua maila i ka mauna I ke kuahiwi o Mauna Kea Ke 'maila i K'lauea... One, two, three, four... ...M'lamalama i Wahinekapu... Ay-yi-yi. ...A ka luna o Uw'kahuna I ka pali kapu o Ka auea Mahalo nui ia Ke Ali iwahine O Lili ulani O ka Wohi ku... Ea mai ke ali i kia manu Ua wehi i ka hulu o ka mamo Ka pua nani a o Hawai I O Kal'kaua he inoa... He Inoa No Kalani Kalakaua Kulele. -Whoa! -Whoa! Stop. Stop. Lilo, why are you all wet? It's sandwich day. Every Thursday, I take Pudge the fish a peanut butter sandwich. Pudge is a fish? And today we were out of peanut butter! So I asked my sister what to give him and she said a tuna sandwich. I can't give Pudge tuna! Do you know what tuna is? Fish? It's fish! If I gave Pudge tuna, I'd be an abomination! I'm late because I had to go to the store and get peanut butter 'cause all we have is-is stinkin' tuna! Lilo, Lilo, why is this so important? Pudge controls the weather. You're crazy. Please! Please! Everybody calm down! Girls... Shh. Lilo... I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Maybe we should call your sister. No! I'll be good! I want to dance. I practiced. I just want to dance. I practiced. Ooh, she bit me. Eww! I called your sister. She said to wait for her here on the porch. We'll try again on Sunday. Does this look infected to you? Yeah. You better not have rabies. If you have rabies the dogcatcher is going to have to cut... Are you going to play dolls? You don't have a doll. This is Scrump. I made her, but her head is too big. So I pretend a bug laid eggs in her ears, and she's upset because she only has a few more days to... Lilo! Lilo? Lilo? Oh, no. You better be home. Hey! Watch where you're going! Stupidhead! I found a new place to dwell... Oh, Lilo! Lilo! Open the door, Lilo! Go away. ...You make me so lonely, baby... Lilo? We don't have time for this. ...I get so lonely... Leave me alone to die. Come on, Lilo that social worker's going to be here any minute! ...You still can find some room For brokenhearted lovers to cry away their gloom Don't make me so lonely, baby Don't make me so lonely I get so lonely I could die... The bellhop's tears keep flowin'... You are so finished when I get in there! Well, they been so long on Lonely Street They ain't ever gonna look back... Oh, I'm going to stuff you in the blender push puree, then bake you into a pie and feed it to the social worker! And when he says, Mmm, this is great. What's your secret? I'm going to say... Love... and nurturing. Hi. Uh... You must be the, uh... The stupidhead. Oh! Oh... Oh, you know, I'm really sorry about that and if I'd known who you were, of course I never would've... Uh... I can pay for that. It's a rental. Are you the guardian in question? Yes. I'm Nani. Nice to meet you, Mister...? Bubbles. Mr. Bubbles. That's a strange... Yes, I know. Are you going to invite me in, Nani? Uh... I thought we could sit out here and talk. I don't think so. Right. Uh... ...It's always crowded... This way. ...You still can find some room For brokenhearted lovers to cry away their gloom You make me so lonely, baby... Uh... wait here. Hey! So... lemonade? Do you often leave your sister home alone? No. Never. Well, except forjust now. Uh, I had to run to the store to get some... Oh! You left the stove on while you were out? Low heat! Just a simmer. Mmm! It's coming along great. I found that this morning. Lilo! There you are. Honeyface... this is Mr. Bubbles. Nice to meet you. Your knuckles say Cobra. Cobra Bubbles. You don't look like a social worker. I'm a special classification. Did you ever kill anyone? We're getting off the subject. Let's talk about you. Are you happy? I'm adjusted. I eat four food groups and look both ways before crossing the street and take long naps, and get disciplined. Disciplined? Yeah. She disciplines me real good. Sometimes five times a day. -With bricks. -No... Bricks? Uh-huh, in a pillowcase. Okay! That's enough sugar for you. Why don't you run along, you little cutie. The other social workers just thought she was a scream. Thirsty? Let me illuminate to you the precarious situation in which you have found yourself. I am the one they call when things go wrong and things have indeed gone wrong. My friends need to be punished. Call me next time you're left here alone. Yep. In case you're wondering, this did not go well. You have three days to change my mind. -Blah. -Eww! Lilo! Why didn't you wait at the school? You were supposed to wait there! Lilo! Do you not understand? Do you want to be taken away? Answer me! No! No, you don't understand? No! No, what? No! You're such a pain! So why don't you sell me and buy a rabbit instead?! At least a rabbit would behave better than you! Go ahead! Then you'll be happy because it'll be smarter than me, too! And quieter! You'll like it, 'cause it's stinky, like you! Go to your room! I'm already in my room! Hey. I brought you some pizza, in case you were hungry. We're a broken family, aren't we? No. Maybe, a little. Maybe a lot. I shouldn't have yelled at you. We're sisters. It's ourjob. Yeah, well, from now on... I like you better as a sister than a mom. Yeah? And you like me better as a sister than a rabbit, right? Oh... Oh, oh, oh, oh. Yes. Yes, I do. I hit Mertle Edmonds today. You hit her? Before I bit her. You bit her. Lilo, you shouldn't... People treat me different. They just don't know what to say. I'll tell you what. If you promise not to fight anymore I promise not to yell at you, except on special occasions. Tuesdays and bank holidays would be good. Yeah? Would that be good? Oh! My camera's full again. Aren't they beautiful? A falling star! I call it! Get out! Get out! I have to make a wish! Can't you go any faster? Oh, no! Gravity is increasing on me. No, it's not! It is, too, Lilo. The same thing happened yesterday. You rotten sister! Your butt is crushing me! Why do you act so weird?! It's me again. I need someone to be my friend... someone who won't run away. Maybe send me an angel... the nicest angel you have. What we when hit? There it is. It stay jammed under the fender. We better call somebody. We're looking for something that can defend itself... something that won't die... something sturdy, you know? Like a lobster. Lilo, you lolo. Do we have a lobster door? No. We have a dog door. We are getting a dog. So nice to see your pretty face again! Jumba? We need your name and address at the bottom of the form... The kennel's back this way. Go. Pick someone out. Hello? Hello?! Are there any aminals in here? Hello! Hi. Hoh... ha... Hi... Wow! Oh, yes. Mm-hmm. All of our dogs are adoptable. Except that one! What is that thing?! A dog, I think. But it was dead this morning. It was dead this morning?! Well, we thought it was dead. It was hit by a truck. I like him! Come here, boy. Oh! Aah! Wouldn't you like a different dog? We have better dogs, dear. Not better than him. He can talk! Say hello. He... Hel... Dogs can't talk, dear. He did. Does it have to be this dog? Yes, he's good. I can tell. You'll have to think of a name for him. His name is... Stitch. Now, that's not a real name... Hmm. Uh-uh, uh-uh-uh. ...in Iceland... but here, it's a good name. Stitch it is. And there's a two dollar license fee. I want to buy him! Can I borrow two dollars? He's all yours. You're all mine. Well, what's he doing? Shh! Keep quiet. He's listening for us. How good is his hearing? I mean, can he... Why don't you run? Coming! I'm coming! Stop! I have just determined this situation to be far too hazardous! Don't worry, I won't hit her. No! That girl is a part of the mosquito food chain. Here! Educate yourself. Using a little girl for a shield. This is low, even for you! Whoo-hoo! Bah! Tear him apart with all both my bare hands! Have you lost your mind?! What is it, Stitch? We cannot be seen! Bad dog, barking at nothing! You can't shoot, and you can't be seen. Look at you! You look like a monster. We have to blend in. Okay, I got to get to work. Stick around town and stay out of the roads, okay? I'll meet you at : . Hmm? Oh! Ah! Okay, I guess we should be going. What about Stitch? My friends! What do you want? I'm sorry I bit you and pulled your hair and punched you in the face. Apology not accepted. Now get out of my way before I run you over. I got a new dog. His name is Stitch. That is the ugliest thing I have ever saw. -Yeah. -Yeah. Eww! Get it away from me! I'm gonna get a disease! Somebody do something! Oh, great! He's loose. His destructive programming is taking effect. He will be irresistibly drawn to large cities where he will back up sewers reverse street signs and steal everyone's left shoe. It's nice to live on an island with no large cities. Are you okay? Doo-doo... Doo-doo... You can shake an apple off an apple tree Shake-a, shake-a, sugar, but you'll never shake me -Uh-uh-uh -Doo-doo-doo No, siree, uh-uh... Uh-uh. ...Doo-doo-doo Doo-doo-doo I'm gonna stick like glue Stick because I'm... Stuck on you I'm gonna run my fingers Through your long, black hair... Hey, over here, little buddy. ...Squeeze you tighter than a grizzly bear -Uh-uh-uh -Doo-doo-doo Yes, siree, uh-huh Doo-doo-doo, Doo-doo-doo I'm gonna stick like glue Stick because I'm... Stuck on you Hide in the kitchen Hide in the hall Ain't gonna do you no good at all 'Cause once I catch ya and the kissin' starts A team o' wild horses couldn't tear us apart Try to take a tiger from his daddy's side... When you're ready to give up just let us know, heh? Whee! ...Uh-uh-uh... Yeah! This is you. This is your badness level. It's unusually high for someone your size. We have to fix that. Ay-yi-yi, Lilo! Your dog cannot sit at the table. Stitch is troubled. He needs desserts. Oh, you didn't even eat your sweet potato. I thought you liked them. Desserts! David! I got a new dog. Oh! You sure it's a dog? Uh-huh. He used to be a collie before he got ran over. Yum! Hey... Blah! Eww! Howzit, Nani? Did you catch fire again? Nah, just the stage. Listen, I was wondering if you're not doing anything this... David, I told you, I can't. I... I got a lot to deal with right now. I know. I just figured you might need some time... You smell like a lawn mower. Look, I got to go. The kid at table three's throwing poi again. Maybe some other time, okay? Don't worry. She likes your butt and fancy hair. I know. I read her diary. She thinks it's fancy? Blech! Oh! Mmm! Aha! Look what I find! Get restraints! Right. Ow! Take that! Hurry! Uh, hold still just a... Aah! Hey, Nani! Is that your dog? Uh... All is well. Please, go about your business. I'm okay. Oh, your head looks swollen. Actually, she's just ugly. Darling... He's joking. Ugly-- look at me... Uh, this is not working out. Uh, b-but... Mm-mm. Yeah? Well, who wants to work at this stupid... fakey luau anyway. Come on, Lilo. Did you lose yourjob because of Stitch and me? Nah. The manager's a vampire and he wanted me to join his legion of the undead. I knew it. This is a great home. You'll like it a lot. See? Uh, Lilo... Comfy. -Hey! -Hey! What is the matter with you? Be careful of the little angel! It's not an angel, Lilo. I don't even think it's a dog. We just have to take him back. He's just cranky because it's his bedtime. He's creepy, Lilo. I won't sleep while he's loose in the house. You're loose in the house all the time and I sleep just fine! Hey, what are you doing? Stop that, Stitch! Hey! Look at him, Lilo. He's obviously mutated from something else. We have to take him back. He was an orphan and we adopted him! What about O'hana? He hasn't been here that long. Neither have I. Dad said O'hana means family. Huh? O'hana means family. Family means... ...nobody gets left behind. Or...? Or forgotten. I know. I know. I hate it when you use O'hana against me. Mmm. Don't worry, you can sleep right next to me. Look how curious the puppy is. This is my room, and this is your bed. This is your dolly and bottle. See? Doesn't spill. I filled it with coffee. Good puppy. Now get into bed. Hey! That's mine! Down! Mmm! Be careful of that! You don't touch this! Don't ever touch it! No! Don't pull on her head! She's recovering from surgery. No! That's from my blue period. Mmm... There. You know, you wreck everything you touch. Why not try and make something for a change? Ah! Wow. San Francisco. Save me! Eek! No more caffeine for you. This little girl is wasting her time. - - cannot be taught to ignore its destructive programming. Ooh! Push that over. What are you doing? Nothing! Uh, say, I want to try it on. No! Share! Let me try it! Hey! Ow! You're justjealous 'cause I'm pretty! Don't move. A mosquito has chosen me as her perch. She's so beautiful. Look, another one. And another one! Why, it's a whole flock. And they like me! They're nuzzling my flesh with their noses. Now they're, um, they're.... I think it might be a koala. An evil koala. I can't even pet it. It keeps staring at me, like it's going to eat me. Hello? Nani? Hello? Are you there? Now, this is interesting. What? - - was designed to be a monster but now he has nothing to destroy. You see, I never gave him a greater purpose. What must it be like to have nothing... not even memories to visit in the middle of the night? Nah! Hmm. Hmm... That's the Ugly Duckling. See? He's sad because he's all alone and nobody wants him but on this page, his family hears him crying and they find him. Then the Ugly Duckling is happy because he knows where he belongs. Hmm... Want to listen to the King? You look like an Elvis fan. Nani. Nani! Uh... yeah? Look. We can't go on together With suspicious minds... ...cious minds... ...can build our dreams... ...On suspicious minds... Heard you lost yourjob. Well, uh, actually, I just quit thatjob because, you know, the hours are just not conducive to the challenges of raising a child... Hey! I am so sorry about that. What is that thing? That's my puppy. Really? Thus far, you have been adrift in the sheltered harbor of my patience but I cannot ignore you beingjobless. Do I make myself clear? Perfectly. And next time I see this dog I expect it to be a model citizen... capisce? Uh... yes? New job. Model citizen. Good day. You look like an angel... Mrs. Hasagawa? I'm here to answer your newspaper ad. Elvis Presley was a model citizen. ...Walk like an angel... I've compiled a list of his traits for you to practice. Number one is dancing. I can't talk now, dear. I'm waiting for someone to answer my ad. That's why I'm here. Hands on your hips. Now follow my lead. Ooh-hoo. ...You fooled me with your kisses... Ah! That's my want ad. I know! ...Heaven knows how you lied to me You're not the way... Whoa, whoa! Why is everything so dark? I am all about coffee. Let's move on to step two. ...Walk like an angel... Elvis played guitar. Here. ...Talk like an angel... Hold it like this, and put your fingers here. See? Now you try. ...and I make great cappuccinos and lattes with... I wish I could, Nani, but I just hired Teddy and with tourist season ending... Concierge-er-ing is my life. ...You look like an angel... I just love to answer phones... This is the face of romance. ...Walk like an angel... She looks like she could use some lovin'. ...Talk like an angel, but I got wise... Oh, we might have something. Good. Now kiss her. ...The devil in disguise... I'm sure Elvis had his bad days, too. I'm all about saving people? ...I thought that I was in heaven... Actually, I do think we have an opening. Really? Okay, this is it. ...But I was sure surprised... Time to bring it all together. Oh, that'd be so great! You have no idea how badly I need this job. ...The devil in your eyes You're the devil in disguise... It's all you! Knock 'em dead! ...The devil in disguise You're the devil in disguise... Don't crowd him! ...Oh, yes, you are The devil in disguise... The devil in disguise, oh, yes... Hey, knock it off! Hey, Lilo! Howzit... Nani? We've been having a bad day. Hmm... Hey, I might not be a doctor but I know that there's no better cure for a sour face than a couple of boards and some choice waves. What you think? I think that's a great idea. -Aloha e, aloha e -Aloha e, aloha e -'Ano'ai ke aloha e -'Ano'ai ke aloha e -Aloha e, aloha e -Aloha e, aloha e 'Ano'ai ke aloha e 'Ano'ai ke aloha e... There's no place I'd rather be Than on my surfboard out at sea Lingering in the ocean blue And if I had one wish come true I'd surf till the sun sets beyond the horizon Awikiwiki, mai lohilohi Lawe mai i ko papa he'e nalu Flying by on a Hawaiian roller coaster ride Awikiwiki, mai lohilohi Lawe mai i ko papa he'e nalu Pi'i na nalu, la lahalaha O ka moana, hanupanupa -Lalala i ka la hanahana -Whoo! -Me ke kai hoene i ka pu'e one -Whoo! Yeah! Helehele mai kakou e Hawaiian roller coaster ride There's no place I'd rather be Than on a seashore dry, wet free On golden sand is where I'd lay And if I only had my way I'd play till the sun sets beyond the horizon Lalala i ka la hanahana Me ke kai hoene i ka pu'e one It's time to try the Hawaiian roller coaster ride Hang loose, hang ten, howzit, shake a shaka No worry, no fear, ain't no biggy, brahda Cuttin' in, cuttin' up, cuttin' back, cuttin' out Front side, back side, goofy-footed, wipe out Let's getjumpin', surf's up and pumpin' Coastin' with the motion of the ocean Whirlpools swirling, cascading, twirling Hawaiian roller coaster ride... Oh, can't complain, Mom. I'm camping out with a convicted criminal and, uh... oh, I had my head chewed on by a monster! Wait... something is not right. - - is returning willingly to water. Oh, hold on, Mom-- another call. Mr. Pleakley, you are overdue. I want a status report. Oh, uh, things are going well. He cannot swim! Things are going well. Jumba, aren't they going well? Why will he risk drowning? Jumba? Jumba, help me out here. I would have expected you back by now, with - - in hand. Just a few things left to pack and, uh, we'll be... Hang up. We are going swimming. Huh? There's no place I'd rather be Than on my surfboard out at sea Lingering in the ocean blue And if I had one wish come true I'd surf till the sun sets beyond the horizon Awikiwiki, mai lohilohi Lawe mai i ko papa he'e nalu Flying by On a Hawaiian roller coaster ride Awikiwiki, mai lohilohi Lawe mai i ko papa he'e nalu Pi'i na nalu, la lahalaha O ka moana, hanupanupa Lalala i ka la hanahana -Me ke kai hoene i ka pu'e one -Yeah! Helehele mai kakou e Hawaiian roller coaster ride. Lilo! What happened? Oh... some lolo must have stuffed us in the barrel. Where's Stitch? Get off of her! What happened? Stitch dragged her down. We lost Stitch! Lilo? Lilo, look at me. Look at me, baby. Are you hurt? No. He's unconscious, but I think he's alive. David, take Lilo. This isn't what it looks like. We were... It-It's just that... I know you're trying, Nani but you need to think about what's best for Lilo... even if it removes you from the picture. I'll be back tomorrow morning for Lilo. I'm sorry. Nani? Is there something I can do? No, David. Uh, I need to take Lilo home now. We have a lot to talk about, Lilo. Thanks. You know, I really believed they had a chance. Then you came along. Lilo, honey... we have to, uh... Don't worry. You're nice, and someone will give you a job. I would. Come here. Aloha Oe, Aloha Oe E ke onaona noho i ka lipo One fond embrace, a ho'i a'e au Until we meet again. That's us before... It was rainy, and they went for a drive. What happened to yours? I hear you cry at night. Do you dream about them? I know that's why you wreck things and push me. Our family's little now and we don't have many toys but if you want, you could be part of it. You could be our baby and we'd raise you to be good. O'hana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind but if you want to leave, you can. I'll remember you, though. I remember everyone that leaves. L... L... Lost. I'm lost. Help! I don't like the ocean! Oh, look, a friendly little dolphin. They helped sailors in the war... It's a shark! It's a shark, and it ain't friendly! It looks like a dolphin. Tricky fish! Tricky fish! Oh, octopus, come and help me? An octo... octopus is worse than a shark! I hate this planet! Oh... little monster! Uh, Agent Pleakley here. I have lost patience with you both. Have you captured - - or not? Um... Uh-uh... Consider yourselves fired and prisonbound. Your incompetence is nothing short of unspeakable! But, uh... mm... We're fired! Now we do it my way! Your way? Oh... uh, wait! It seems I have overestimated Jumber and Blinkley. Uh, Jumba and Pleakley. Whatever. The mission is in jeopardy. This could be your chance to redeem yourself, Captain Gantu. How soon will you be prepared to leave? Immediately. Don't run. Don't make me shoot you. You were expensive. Yes. Yes, that's it. Come quietly. Mm... waiting. For what? Family. Ah! You don't have one. I made you. Oh... maybe I could... You're built to destroy. You can never belong. Now come quietly and we will take you apart. No, no, no, no, don't, don't run! Don't run! Lilo. I didn't hear you get up. Baby, what's wrong? Stitch left. Really? It's good he's gone. He didn't want to be here, anyway. We don't need him. Lilo... sometimes you try your hardest but things don't work out the way you want them to. Sometimes things have to change and maybe sometimes they're for the better... even if... Nani! David! I think I found you a job. You what?! Old man Kukhkini's store, but we got to hurry. Oh, um, okay. Lilo? Baby, this is really important. I need you to stay here for a few minutes. I'm going to be right back. Lock the door and don't answer it for anyone, okay? Things are finally turning around. Aw, David, I owe you one. That's okay. You can just date me, and we'll call it even. Come back here, you little...! Stitch? What is it? Shh! Oh, hiding behind your little friend won't work anymore. Didn't I tell you? We got fired this morning. New rules. Ha! Ooh. Oh, ooh! Ow! Ow! Ow! You ain't nothin' but a hound dog... What are we going to do? ...Cryin' all the time... Ooh! I love this song! Pliers. Screwdriver. Check. Come out, my friend from whomever you're hiding behind. ...Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit And you ain't no friend of mine... What the...? Ooh! Come on! What's the big deal? I'll put you back together again. I'll make you taller and not so fluffy! I like fluffy! No... No... No! Oh, leave my mother out of this! You could do with a makeover. I tried to give you my good looks but let's face it, something went wrong. No! Quick! Follow me! If we make it to... You're alive! They're all over the place! Running away? Here... let me stop you. You always get in the way! Where's the girl? What have you done to the girl? Hello? Cobra Bubbles? Aliens are attacking my house. No, no, no! No aliens! Blue punch buggy! No punch back. They want my dog! There's no need to alert the authorities. Everything's under control. Lilo, who was that? Oh, good, my dog found the chainsaw. Lilo! Don't hang...! Ha! You shouldn't play with guns. Oh, okay. Thank you. Oh, I just remembered. It's your birthday! Happy birthday! Merry Christmas! It's not Christmas. Happy Hanukkah! We're leaving Stitch? Trust me. This is not going to end well. -One potato. -Two potato. -Three potato. -Four. -Five potato. -Six potato. Seven potato, more. My... mother... told... me... you... are... it. Oh, I win! Thanks. Mahalo plenty. You won't be disappointed. I'll show up early to help with the morning deliver... Oh, don't turn left. No. One of them had a giant eye in the middle of his face. Oh, Lilo! Please don't do this. You know I have no choice. No! You're not taking her! I'm the only one who understands her! You take that away, she won't stand a chance! You're making this harder than it needs to be. But you don't know what you're doing! She needs me! Is this what she needs?! It seems clear to me that you need her a lot more than she needs you. Lilo! Lilo! -Lilo! -Lilo! Lilo! -Lilo! -Lilo! You ruined everything. You're one of them? Ooh! Get out of here, Stitch. Surprise! And here I thought you'd be difficult to catch. Ho-ho-ho. Silly me. Lilo? Lilo! There you go, all buckled up for the trip. And look-- I even caught you a little snack. No! Stop! Lilo. Aah! Okay, talk. I know you had something to do with this. Now where is Lilo? Talk! I know you can. Okay, okay. Where's Lilo? Lilo... Now all your washing is up! You're under arrest! Read him his rights. Listen carefully. Hello? Galactic Command? Experiment 626 is in custody. We'll wait right here. Huh? Don't interact with her. Where's Lilo? Who? What?! Lilo... my sister. Uh, sorry, we do not know anyone by this, uh... Lilo! She's a little girl-- this big! She has black hair and brown eyes and she hangs around with that thing! Uh... We know her. Bring her back. Oh, we can't do that. Uh-uh. That would be a misuse of Galactic resources. See, problem is... we're just here for him. So she's gone? Look at the bright side. You won't have to yell at anyone anymore. Come. O'hana. Huh? Hey! Get away from her. No! What did you say? O'hana means family. Family means... ...nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten. Yeah. Hey... What?! After all you put me through you expect me to help you just like that?! Just like that?! Ih. Fine. Fine? You're doing what he says? Uh, he's very persuasive. Persuasive?! What exactly are we doing? Rescue. We're going to get Lilo? Ih. Oh, good! I was hoping to add theft, endangerment and insanity to my list of things I did today. You, too? Oh! Yeah, yeah, yeah! What? Did you think we walked here? This is Gantu, requesting hyperspace clearance. Stand by for clearance. Clearance is granted on vector C- . Connect me to the Grand Councilwoman. Gantu, what's going on? I thought you'd like to know that the little abomination is... is... Yes, Captain? I'll call you back. How did you get out of there? So what exactly are we doing? Don't worry, is all part of plan. We are professionals. Hey! Get that out of your mouth! Hold on! Okay, is show time! This is it! Go! Go! Go! Little savage! Get off my ship! Stitch! Computer, locate Experiment 626. 626 located. We finish this now. Stitch is unconscious. What do we do now? We stay close. Hope for a miracle. That's all we can do. No! Don't leave me, okay? Okay. Okay. Okay. Target - - is in motion. Speed is . Impossible! Stitch! Hmm? Abomination. Stupidhead. Yee-haw! Aloha! You're vile! You're foul! You're flawed! Also cute and fluffy! You came back. Nobody gets left behind. Lilo! Good dog. Auwe! David! Hey, Lilo. Can you give us a ride to shore? Uh... Sure! But I have to make two trips. So you're from outer space, huh? I heard the surfing's choice. We have - - . Take him to my ship. Leave him alone. Hold on. Grand Councilwoman, let me explain. Silence! I am retiring you, Captain Gantu. Actually, credit for the capture goes to... Goes to me. You'll be lucky if you end up on a Fluff Trog farm after we sort this thing out. Uh... I think I should... You! You're the cause of all this! If it wasn't for your Experiment 626 none of this... Stitch. What? My name Stitch. Stitch, then. If it wasn't for Stitch.... Does Stitch have to go in the ship? Yes. Can Stitch say good-bye? Yes. Thank you. Who are you? This is my family. I found it all on my own. It's little and broken... but still good. Yeah. Still good. Does he really have to go? You know as well as I that our laws are absolute. I cannot change what the Council has decided. Lilo, didn't you buy that thing at the shelter? Hey! Three days ago, I bought Stitch at the shelter. I paid two dollars for him. See this stamp? I own him. If you take him, you're stealing. Aliens are all about rules. You look familiar. CIA. Roswell. . Ah, yes. You had hair then. Take note of this. This creature has been sentenced to life in exile a sentence that shall be henceforth served out here... on Earth... and as caretaker of the alien life-form, Stitch this family is now under the official protection of the United Galactic Federation. We'll be checking in now and then. I was afraid you were going to say that. This won't be easy to explain back at headquarters. I know what you mean. Don't let those two get on my ship. CIA? Former. Saved the planet once. Convinced an alien race that mosquitoes were an endangered species. Now, about your house... Wait. Lord Almighty, I feel my temperature rising Ooh Higher and higher It's burning through to my soul Baby, baby, baby You're gonna set me on fire Yeah My brain is flaming I don't know which way to go Yeah 'Cause your kisses lift me higher Like the sweet song of a choir You light my morning sky With burning love Mmm... ooh, ooh, ooh I feel my temperature rising Mmm Help me, I'm flaming I must be a hundred and nine Burning, burning, burning And nothing can cool me Mmm I just might turn into smoke But I feel fine, yeah 'Cause your kisses lift me higher Like a sweet song of a choir And you light my morning sky With burning love Burning love Mmm Burning love It's coming closer The flames are now licking my body Won't you help me? I feel like I'm slipping away Oh, yeah It's hard to breathe And my chest is just a-heaving Mmm, mmm Lord have mercy, it's burning a hole in me Yeah 'Cause your kisses lift me higher Like the sweet song of a choir You light my morning sky With burning love Burning love Burning love! Burning love I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning love I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning love I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning love I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning love I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning love I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning love I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning love I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning love I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning... Love. Do, do, do I just can't help falling in love with you Wise men say Only fools rush in But I can't help Falling in love with you Shall I stay? Would it be a sin? If I can't help Falling in love with you Like a river flows to the sea So it goes, some things are meant to be Some things are meant to be Take my hand Take my whole life too For I can't help Falling in love with you Wise men say Only fools rush in But I can't, I can't help Falling in love with you Take my hand Take my whole life too But I can't help Falling in love with you Oh, I can't help Falling in love Falling in love with you That's the way love goes That's the way it goes And my whole life, too I just can't help fallin' in love with you That's the way love goes I just can't help myself So falling, baby, for you Falling in love with you That's the way love goes That's the way it goes 'Cause I can't help Falling in love with you With you... omg its so long! more

Resolved Question: Lee Iacocca has a very strong argument about Iraq, Bush, etc. It's an easy read. Agree/Disagree/Comment?::

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Iacocca Subject: Lee Iacocca speaks out Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound Bite: Throw the bums out! You might think I'm getting Senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I Have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize This country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a Pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by Passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I Don't need it). The most famous business leaders are Not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While We're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and Nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is Waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours Traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How About you? I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a Patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm Ready and willing to have. My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, You're eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the Young people." I'd love to speak to them as soon as I Can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds And get them to pay attention. I'm going to speak up Because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will Listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a Straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to Strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't Vote because they don't trust politicians to represent Their interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys Work for us. Who Are These Guys, Anyway? Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this Crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them, or at Least some of us did. But I'll tell you what we didn't Do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We Didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding Answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who Call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a Dictatorship, not a democracy. And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That's an Intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the Reason we're in this stew. We're not just a nation of Factions. We're a people. We share common principles And ideals. And we rise and fall together. Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to Action and make us stand taller? What happened to the Strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What happened to The courageous, populist party of FDR and Truman? There was a time in this country when the voices of Great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do Better. Where have all the leaders gone? The Test of a Leader I've never been Commander in Chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the Top. I've figured out nine points, not ten (I don't Want people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses). I call Them the "Nine Cs of Leadership." They're not fancy or Complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every True leader should have. We should look at how the Current administration stacks up. Like it or not, this Crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe We can learn something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let's be sure we use the leadership test to Screen the candidates who say they want to run the Country. It's up to us to choose wisely. So, here's my C list: A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to People outside of the "Yes, sir" crowd in his inner Circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world Is a big, complicated place. George W. Bush brags About never reading a newspaper. "I just scan the Headlines," he says. Am I hearing this right? He's the President of the United States and he never reads a Newspaper? Thomas Jefferson once said, "Were it left To me to decide whether we should have a government Without newspapers, or newspapers without a Government, I should not hesitate for a moment to Prefer the latter." Bush disagrees. As long as he gets His daily hour in the gym, with Fox News piped through The sound system, he's ready to go. If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to Hear different ideas, he grows stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don't care. Before the 2006 election, George Bush made a big point of saying he didn't listen to the polls. Yeah, that's what they all say when the polls stink. But maybe he should have listened, because 70 percent of the people were saying he was on the wrong track. It took a "thumping" on election day to wake him up, but even then you got the feeling he wasn't listening so much as he was calculating how to do a better job of convincing everyone he was right. A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. There's a disturbingly messianic fervor to his certainty. Senator Joe Biden recalled a conversation he had with Bush a few months after our troops marched into Baghdad. Joe was in the Oval Office outlining his concerns to the President the explosive mix of Shiite and Sunni, the disbanded Iraqi army, the problems securing the oil fields. "The President was serene," Joe recalled. "He told me he was sure that we were on the right course and that all would be well. 'Mr. President,' I finally said, 'how can you be so sure when you don't yet know all the facts?'" Bush then reached over and put a steadying hand on Joe's shoulder. "My instincts," he said. "My instincts." Joe was flabbergasted. He told Bush, "Mr. President, your instincts aren't good enough." Joe Biden sure didn't think the matter was settled. And, as we all know now, it wasn't. Leadership is all about managing change whether you're leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day they covered that at Harvard Business School. A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I'm not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the truth. Nobody in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not really as bad as they seem. I don't know if it's denial or dishonesty, but it can start to drive you crazy after a while. Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it's painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn't cry wolf when the wolf was at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the casualties and chaos mount, we've stopped listening to him. A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you want to test a man's character, give him power." George Bush has a lot of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a willingness to take bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows little regard for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths, for what? To build our oil reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have him killed? To show his daddy he's tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster. A man of character does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy. A leader must have COURAGE. I'm talking about balls. (That even goes for female leaders.) Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush comes from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You know, My gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk. If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were all softballs. To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION, fire in your belly. You've got to have passion. You've got to really want to get omething done. How do you measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation days taken by a U.S. President, four hundred and counting. He'd rather clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. He even told an interviewer that the high point of his presidency so far was catching a seven-and-a-half-pound perch in his hand-stocked lake. It's no better on Capitol Hill. Congress was in session only ninety-seven days in 2006. That's eleven days less than the record set in 1948, when President Harry Truman coined the term do-nothing Congress. Most people would expect to be fired if they worked so little and had nothing to show for it. But Congress managed to find the time to vote itself a raise. Now, that's not leadership. A leader should have CHARISMA. I'm not talking about being flashy. Charisma is the quality that makes people want to follow you. It's the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him. That's my definition of charisma. Maybe George Bush is a great guy to hang out with at a barbecue or a ball game. But put him at a global summit where the future of our planet is at stake, and he doesn't look very presidential. Those frat-boy pranks and the kidding around he enjoys so much don't go over that well with world leaders. Just ask German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who received an unwelcome shoulder massage from our President at a G-8 Summit. When he came up behind her and started squeezing, I thought she was going to go right through the roof. A leader has to be COMPETENT. That seems obvious, doesn't it? You've got to know what you're doing. More important than that, you've got to surround yourself with people who know what they're doing. Bush brags about being our first MBA President. Does that make him competent? Well, let's see. Thanks to our first MBA President, we've got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life support, and we've run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in Iraq. And that's just for starters. A leader has to be a problem solver, and the biggest problems we face as a nation seem to be on the back burner. You can't be a leader if you don't have COMMON SENSE. I call this Charlie Beacham's rule. When I was a young guy just starting out in the car business, one of my first jobs was as Ford's zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. My boss was a guy named Charlie Beacham, who was the East Coast regional manager. Charlie was a big Southerner, with a warm drawl, a huge smile, and a core of steel. Charlie used to tell me, "Remember, Lee, the only thing you've got going for you as a human being is your ability to reason and your common sense. If you don't know a dip of horseshit from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you'll never make it." George Bush doesn't have common sense. He just has a lot of sound bites. You know, Mr.they'll-welcome-us-as-liber... e-mission-accomplished Bush. Former President Bill Clinton once said, "I grew up in an alcoholic home. I spent half my childhood trying to get into the reality-based world and I like it here." I think our current President should visit the real world once in a while. The Biggest C is Crisis Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down. On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where was George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when he heard about the attacks. He kept sitting there for twenty minutes with a baffled look on his face. It's all on tape. You can see it for yourself. Then, instead of taking the quickest route back to Washington and immediately going on the air to reassure the panicked people of this country, he decided it wasn't safe to return to the White House. He basically went into hiding for the day and he told Vice President Dick Cheney to stay put in his bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs, scared out of our wits, waiting for our leaders to tell us that we were going to be okay, and there was nobody home. It took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the right photo op at Ground Zero. That was George Bush's moment of truth, and he was paralyzed. And what did he do when he'd regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraq, a road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush didn't listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on being faith based, not reality based. If that doesn't scare the crap out of you, I don't know what will. A Hell of a Mess So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership. But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, competence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point. Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened. Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time. Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when "the Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it? Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry. I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change? Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope. I believe in America. In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises, the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this: You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to action for people who, like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the horseshit and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had enough. Excerpted from Where Have All the Leaders Gone?. Copyright © 2007 by Lee Iacocca. All rights reserved. more

Resolved Question: Is it possible to do network marketing online without having to actually speak to people over the phone?

I love Melaleuca products and would like to join the company as a rep to make money and also because I feel passionate about there products, however I am not keen on network marketing the old fashioned way by prospecting people that aren't looking for an opportunity. Is there any way the build a sucessful online business by using a website that creates free leads and is fully optimized ( this I don't know how to do currently, but also really want to learn!) If so how and where would I go from there? I am new to Internet Marketing, but I really want to learn it and market a product that I love. I haven't signed up with Melaleuca yet as I am looking for a rep who currently markets the product this way and is sucessful at it. I would like a mentor that can guide me through this and help me realize my dream of financial freedom. There are so many scammers out there, I just want to learn for myself a duplicatible system that I can use and pass down to the people that I may introduce.Can only legit people respond, I am not interested in any remarks, I am looking for a genuine answer! more

Resolved Question: Which of the key Human Resource Challenges is IBM facing?

Case Study: IBM’s Wandering Tribe (Roaming-Family) IBM Ltd. is a software development company, which strives to lead in the invention, development and manufacture of the industry's most advanced information technologies, including computer systems, software, storage systems and microelectronics. IBM translates advanced technologies into value for his customers through his professional solutions, services and consulting businesses worldwide. An important trend in business today is the “Virtual Office”, or office without walls. IBM is also one of the companies who are saving office costs by making their employees work out of their homes. The employees of IBM work from home, where extra phone lines, computer, fax equipment, desks and chairs have been provided at IBM expense. And they work from their cars, cellular phones and laptops. None of the sales teams, a total of 15,000 employees and growing, have fixed work locations provided by IBM. If they need office for the da more

Resolved Question: Does Communism work better than capitalism? Der Speagal thinks so.?

February 27, 2007 Font: RED CHINA, INC. Does Communism Work After All? By Andreas Lorenz and Wieland Wagner China is securing an ever-bigger share of the world market with the methods of a planned economy. Competitors and economists alike are astounded by the country's seemingly unstoppable march to becoming a global economic superpower. The development has left many wondering: Does communism work after all? Boom City Shanghai: President Hu Jintao and his Communist Party are experiencing explosive success across the country. Getty Images Boom City Shanghai: President Hu Jintao and his Communist Party are experiencing explosive success across the country. Nine men dressed in dark tailored suits meet behind high, Red walls. Their secret meeting place in downtown Beijing is called Zhongnanhai, or "Middle and Southern Lake." Once part of the Forbidden City, Zhongnanhai was a place where emperors, concubines and eunuchs would spend their days concocting court intrigues. Some of the buildings from those feudal days are still standing today, joined by functional, gray and white structures built when the Chinese Communist Party established its headquarters here. The nine men -- who constitute the Standing Committee of the Communist Party's Politburo, the most-powerful political body in the Middle Kingdom -- meet in the southern section of this refuge. Their discreet meeting is businesslike. The group's members were not elected by the people and they are not interested in being observed while governing. Cameras are banned and there is a conspicuous absence of jovial pats on the back or ready smiles for the evening news. FROM THE MAGAZINE Find out how you can reprint this DER SPIEGEL article in your publication. None of the members of this sombre squad is known for his charisma. President Hu Jintao, 64, the head of state and Communist Party leader, and his eight colleagues are stiff technocrats. Hu, the son of a tea merchant from Jiangsu Province, holds a degree in hydroelectric engineering. The others are trained in fields like electrical engineering, metallurgy or geology. But the discussions and decisions made here within the ranks of China's Politburo affect the well-being of 1.3 billion Chinese -- and increasingly the rest of the world. If the Middle Kingdom were not a country, but rather a giant company -- let's call it Red China, Inc. -- then the Politburo would be its all-powerful board of directors. And if Hu were not a communist official but rather a capitalist corporate boss, he would find himself inundated with job offers worldwide. Competitors in the capitalist West can only dream of the successes he and his fellow communist leaders cum business executives have achieved. Hardly a day goes by on which Asia's giant, Red corporation does not report new and dazzling business figures. And the more helplessly Western heads of state -- from United States President George W. Bush to German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- attempt to reform their traditional market economies, the more enviously the capitalist world eyes China's frenzied growth, all the while asking itself: Does communism work after all? China's speedy ascent to become a global economic superpower is troubling to many: to the industrialized nations of the West because they fear for their jobs; to politicians because the global balance of power is shifting; and, last but not least, to economists because it is so puzzling to them. Red China, Inc.: Does communism work after all? * * * Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (7 Photos) Economists' theories are based on the recognition that market forces alone drive economic growth. The state's only role is to ensure that competition functions and that no one is able to abuse his power in the marketplace to an inadmissible degree. A Midas touch For these economists, the fall of the Iron Curtain offered glaring proof that their hypotheses were correct. Indeed, planned economies in Soviet bloc countries were failures, creating poverty instead of affluence and leaving industrial wastelands in their wake. Yet China is flourishing. With a blend of a planned economy and unbridled capitalism that you won't find mentioned in any textbook, the country is capturing world markets and achieving double-digit growth year after year. Hu and his Red board of directors appear to have something akin to the Midas touch. With their country, which amounts to a gigantic, low-cost factory, they have already managed to accumulate more than $1 trillion in foreign currency reserves. In theory, at least, the communist People's Republic of China, has now joined the United States, the global capitalist superpower, in deciding the fate of the world's leading currency. In 2005, China leapfrogged over France and Great Britain to become the world's fourth-largest economy. The country's new spot in the rankings came as the result of an omission on the part of its communist bosses: Already blessed with so much growth, they had simply forgotten to include a large portion of their giant service sector in China's economic statistics. American sinologist Roderick MacFarquhar is astonished by China's performance. "Never before," says MacFarquhar, "has so much wealth been created by so many people in such a short time span." If China continues to grow at the same pace, it will oust Germany as the world's third-biggest economy in only two years, perhaps even dethroning the United States from its leading position one day. In 2005, China was already the US's second-largest goods supplier and Japan's largest. Not satisfied with being No. 2, Beijing's strategists are continuing their plans to shower the world with inexpensive products such as T-shirts and DVD players -- and, increasingly, with Chinese high technology. A fast-developing tech sector China recently surpassed Germany in the number of patents it registers. With its latest five-year plan, the country's Communist Party has set itself an ambitious goal of catapulting China to world-class heights in the fields of science and technology. According to the plan, Chinese probes will orbit the moon next year and land on it by 2010. China's space ambitions also include a bizarre aural spectacle: Its lunar orbiters will transmit 150 pop songs back to earth, including a Chinese tune titled "We Love our China." Photo Gallery: China's Celestial Ambitions * * * Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (8 Photos) The Communist Party's economic successes aren't its only impressive achievement. Chinese cities are safer than places like São Paulo or Bogotá, and they seem cleaner and more orderly than the slums of Nairobi or Soweto in South Africa. Beijing and Shanghai boast a lively cultural scene, and broadband Internet access is already taken for granted in the country's major cities. Mobile phone reception is even available in small villages. Communist Party leader Hu and his Politburo colleagues aren't the only ones behind the changes that have swept across this vast country. True, they are responsible for coming up with the overriding strategies behind China's economic miracle, and for this task they take the necessary time -- hours that Western politicians waste doing the rounds on talk shows. But the Politburo also routinely solicits advice and reports on the latest global trends in science and business -- on issues running the gamut from biotechnology to health insurance -- from academics in so-called "study sessions." This being a communist land, these sessions would of course be incomplete without the requisite lectures on China's revolutionary history and Marxist theory. Graphic: The Government System of the People's Republic China Zoom DER SPIEGEL Graphic: The Government System of the People's Republic China The State Council, China's cabinet -- headed by the pedantic and schoolmaster-like 64-year-old Prime Minister Wen Jiabao -- deals with the day-to-day business of government. The cabinet meets at least three times a month, as required by law, in a building located a stone's throw from the offices of the Politburo. Meetings are graced with tall beauties dressed in red outfits and white gloves, who serve cabinet members green tea from the Wuyuan district in Jiangxi Province. Red China, Inc.'s central nervous system In addition to Wen, this inner circle of the Chinese government includes four deputy premiers, five members of the State Council (including one general) and a secretary general. Comprised of eight men and two women, the group directs and coordinates the work of 28 ministries and commissions, including the country's central bank and its central auditing authority. It also presides over an immense number of government agencies, including China's official news agency, Xinhua, the Academy of Sciences, the customs agency, the weather bureau, an agency in charge of grain production and distribution and -- not to be overlooked -- the Administration of Government Offices, which provides high-ranking officials with living quarters, cars and vacation homes. NEWSLETTER Sign up for Spiegel Online's daily newsletter and get the best of Der Spiegel's and Spiegel Online's international coverage in your In- Box everyday. All the elements in the network that make up Red China, Inc. come together in Wen's State Council. The body controls daily life in China with a plethora of decrees, memorandums, plans, measures and responses. In the month of September alone, it issued a decree on the "Administration of Payment of the Automobile Sales Tax," approved "Basic Regulations for the Electricity Market" and organized "Safety Inspections of Dams that include Power Plants." A decade and a half after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a communist country appears to be relentlessly transforming itself into an economic superpower. Its recipe for success is, at first glance, the five-year-plan -- one which dismayed Western politicians have routinely dismissed for such features as its ban on private ownership of land and its manipulation of currency exchange rates. Having your cake and eating it too But five-year plans are only one side of the coin in China's vast realm. The other is a wildly unfettered capitalism geared solely toward naked profit. And when it comes to turning a profit, hardly anything seems sacred anymore, not even for China's communists. The Great Hall of the People in Beijing is a case in point. If the National People's Congress doesn't happen to be in session or President Hu isn't using the magnificent building -- with its more than 300 rooms and enormous paintings depicting scenes from the revolution -- to receive foreign dignitaries, the government simply rents it out. Recently, US automaker Ford used the building to unveil its latest line of car models, and fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken opted for the elegance of the Great Hall to hold a meeting of its more than 2,100 Chinese restaurant managers. Ironically enough, while economists in Europe and the United States advocate "less government" and "open markets" as a response to globalization and the Chinese challenge, the Marxist-Leninist party that rules China blatantly avails itself of every advantage of capitalism while steadfastly refusing to give up state control over the economy. Graphic: Awakening Giant Zoom DER SPIEGEL Graphic: Awakening Giant ICBC, a major Chinese bank, recently conducted the biggest initial public offering in financial history, floating shares worth the equivalent of $22 billion on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges. In a win-win situation for China's communists, the bank's value rose to more than $200 billion, and yet Beijing retains control over ICBC. The country's three largest telecommunications companies are also state-owned. Two years ago, the Communist Party simply reshuffled senior executives among the three companies. Is China, one of the most undemocratic nations on earth, setting an example for democratic countries on how to effectively solve problems? Do China's successes fly in the face of every critic and skeptic who believes that Marxism-Leninism and capitalism are as incompatible as the devil and holy water? " A social market economy with Chinese characteristics">> : Blogs discussing this story more

Resolved Question: Do you belong to the "new Church of Global Warming"?

"Aliens Cause Global Warming" A lecture by Michael Crichton California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA January 17, 2003 My topic today sounds humorous but unfortunately I am serious. I am going to argue that extraterrestrials lie behind global warming. Or to speak more precisely, I will argue that a belief in extraterrestrials has paved the way, in a progression of steps, to a belief in global warming. Charting this progression of belief will be my task today. Let me say at once that I have no desire to discourage anyone from believing in either extraterrestrials or global warming. That would be quite impossible to do. Rather, I want to discuss the history of several widely-publicized beliefs and to point to what I consider an emerging crisis in the whole enterprise of science-namely the increasingly uneasy relationship between hard science and public policy. I have a special interest in this because of my own upbringing. I was born in the midst of World War II, and passed my formative years at the height of the Cold War. In school drills, I dutifully crawled under my desk in preparation for a nuclear attack. It was a time of widespread fear and uncertainty, but even as a child I believed that science represented the best and greatest hope for mankind. Even to a child, the contrast was clear between the world of politics-a world of hate and danger, of irrational beliefs and fears, of mass manipulation and disgraceful blots on human history. In contrast, science held different values-international in scope, forging friendships and working relationships across national boundaries and political systems, encouraging a dispassionate habit of thought, and ultimately leading to fresh knowledge and technology that would benefit all mankind. The world might not be avery good place, but science would make it better. And it did. In my lifetime, science has largely fulfilled its promise. Science has been the great intellectual adventure of our age, and a great hope for our troubled and restless world. But I did not expect science merely to extend lifespan, feed the hungry, cure disease, and shrink the world with jets and cell phones. I also expected science to banish the evils of human thought---prejudice and superstition, irrational beliefs and false fears. I expected science to be, in Carl Sagan's memorable phrase, "a candle in a demon haunted world." And here, I am not so pleased with the impact of science. Rather than serving as a cleansing force, science has in some instances been seduced by the more ancient lures of politics and publicity. Some of the demons that haunt our world in recent years are invented by scientists. The world has not benefited from permitting these demons to escape free. But let's look at how it came to pass. Cast your minds back to 1960. John F. Kennedy is president, commercial jet airplanes are just appearing, the biggest university mainframes have 12K of memory. And in Green Bank, West Virginia at the new National Radio Astronomy Observatory, a young astrophysicist named Frank Drake runs a two week project called Ozma, to search for extraterrestrial signals. A signal is received, to great excitement. It turns out to be false, but the excitement remains. In 1960, Drake organizes the first SETI conference, and came up with the now-famous Drake equation: N=N*fp ne fl fi fc fL Where N is the number of stars in the Milky Way galaxy; fp is the fraction with planets; ne is the number of planets per star capable of supporting life; fl is the fraction of planets where life evolves; fi is the fraction where intelligent life evolves; and fc is the fraction that communicates; and fL is the fraction of the planet's life during which the communicating civilizations live. This serious-looking equation gave SETI an serious footing as a legitimate intellectual inquiry. The problem, of course, is that none of the terms can be known, and most cannot even be estimated. The only way to work the equation is to fill in with guesses. And guesses-just so we're clear-are merely expressions of prejudice. Nor can there be "informed guesses." If you need to state how many planets with life choose to communicate, there is simply no way to make an informed guess. It's simply prejudice. As a result, the Drake equation can have any value from "billions and billions" to zero. An expression that can mean anything means nothing. Speaking precisely, the Drake equation is literally meaningless, and has nothing to do with science. I take the hard view that science involves the creation of testable hypotheses. The Drake equation cannot be tested and therefore SETI is not science. SETI is unquestionably a religion. Faith is defined as the firm belief in something for which there is no proof. The belief that the Koran is the word of God is a matter of faith. The belief that God created the universe in seven days is a matter of faith. The belief that there are other life forms in the universe is a matter of faith. There is not a single shred of evidence for any other life forms, and in forty years of searching, none has been discovered. There is absolutely no evidentiary reason to maintain this belief. SETI is a religion. One way to chart the cooling of enthusiasm is to review popular works on the subject. In 1964, at the height of SETI enthusiasm, Walter Sullivan of the NY Times wrote an exciting book about life in the universe entitled WE ARE NOT ALONE. By 1995, when Paul Davis wrote a book on the same subject, he titled it ARE WE ALONE? ( Since 1981, there have in fact been four books titled ARE WE ALONE.) More recently we have seen the rise of the so-called "Rare Earth" theory which suggests that we may, in fact, be all alone. Again, there is no evidence either way. Back in the sixties, SETI had its critics, although not among astrophysicists and astronomers. The biologists and paleontologists were harshest. George Gaylord Simpson of Harvard sneered that SETI was a "study without a subject," and it remains so to the present day. But scientists in general have been indulgent toward SETI, viewing it either with bemused tolerance, or with indifference. After all, what's the big deal? It's kind of fun. If people want to look, let them. Only a curmudgeon would speak harshly of SETI. It wasn't worth the bother. And of course it is true that untestable theories may have heuristic value. Of course extraterrestrials are a good way to teach science to kids. But that does not relieve us of the obligation to see the Drake equation clearly for what it is-pure speculation in quasi-scientific trappings. The fact that the Drake equation was not greeted with screams of outrage-similar to the screams of outrage that greet each Creationist new claim, for example-meant that now there was a crack in the door, a loosening of the definition of what constituted legitimate scientific procedure. And soon enough, pernicious garbage began to squeeze through the cracks. Now let's jump ahead a decade to the 1970s, and Nuclear Winter. In 1975, the National Academy of Sciences reported on "Long-Term Worldwide Effects of Multiple Nuclear Weapons Detonations" but the report estimated the effect of dust from nuclear blasts to be relatively minor. In 1979, the Office of Technology Assessment issued a report on "The Effects of Nuclear War" and stated that nuclear war could perhaps produce irreversible adverse consequences on the environment. However, because the scientific processes involved were poorly understood, the report stated it was not possible to estimate the probable magnitude of such damage. Three years later, in 1982, the Swedish Academy of Sciences commissioned a report entitled "The Atmosphere after a Nuclear War: Twilight at Noon," which attempted to quantify the effect of smoke from burning forests and cities. The authors speculated that there would be so much smoke that a large cloud over the northern hemisphere would reduce incoming sunlight below the level required for photosynthesis, and that this would last for weeks or even longer. The following year, five scientists including Richard Turco and Carl Sagan published a paper in Science called "Nuclear Winter: Global Consequences of Multiple Nuclear Explosions." This was the so-called TTAPS report, which attempted to quantify more rigorously the atmospheric effects, with the added credibility to be gained from an actual computer model of climate. At the heart of the TTAPS undertaking was another equation, never specifically expressed, but one that could be paraphrased as follows: Ds = Wn Ws Wh Tf Tb Pt Pr Pe… etc (The amount of tropospheric dust=# warheads x size warheads x warhead detonation height x flammability of targets x Target burn duration x Particles entering the Troposphere x Particle reflectivity x Particle endurance…and so on.) The similarity to the Drake equation is striking. As with the Drake equation, none of the variables can be determined. None at all. The TTAPS study addressed this problem in part by mapping out different wartime scenarios and assigning numbers to some of the variables, but even so, the remaining variables were-and are-simply unknowable. Nobody knows how much smoke will be generated when cities burn, creating particles of what kind, and for how long. No one knows the effect of local weather conditions on the amount of particles that will be injected into the troposphere. No one knows how long the particles will remain in the troposphere. And so on. And remember, this is only four years after the OTA study concluded that the underlying scientific processes were so poorly known that no estimates could be reliably made. Nevertheless, the TTAPS study not only made those estimates, but concluded they were catastrophic. According to Sagan and his coworkers, even a limited 5,000 megaton nuclear exchange would cause a global temperature drop of more than 35 degrees Centigrade, and this change would last for three months. The greatest volcanic eruptions that we know of changed world temperatures somewhere between .5 and 2 degrees Centigrade. Ice ages changed global temperatures by 10 degrees. Here we have an estimated change three times greater than any ice age. One might expect it to be the subject of some dispute. But Sagan and his coworkers were prepared, for nuclear winter was from the outset the subject of a well-orchestrated media campaign. The first announcement of nuclear winter appeared in an article by Sagan in the Sunday supplement, Parade. The very next day, a highly-publicized, high-profile conference on the long-term consequences of nuclear war was held in Washington, chaired by Carl Sagan and Paul Ehrlich, the most famous and media-savvy scientists of their generation. Sagan appeared on the Johnny Carson show 40 times. Ehrlich was on 25 times. Following the conference, there were press conferences, meetings with congressmen, and so on. The formal papers in Science came months later. This is not the way science is done, it is the way products are sold. The real nature of the conference is indicated by these artists' renderings of the the effect of nuclear winter. I cannot help but quote the caption for figure 5: "Shown here is a tranquil scene in the north woods. A beaver has just completed its dam, two black bears forage for food, a swallow-tailed butterfly flutters in the foreground, a loon swims quietly by, and a kingfisher searches for a tasty fish." Hard science if ever there was. At the conference in Washington, during the question period, Ehrlich was reminded that after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, scientists were quoted as saying nothing would grow there for 75 years, but in fact melons were growing the next year. So, he was asked, how accurate were these findings now? Ehrlich answered by saying "I think they are extremely robust. Scientists may have made statements like that, although I cannot imagine what their basis would have been, even with the state of science at that time, but scientists are always making absurd statements, individually, in various places. What we are doing here, however, is presenting a consensus of a very large group of scientists…" I want to pause here and talk about this notion of consensus, and the rise of what has been called consensus science. I regard consensus science as an extremely pernicious development that ought to be stopped cold in its tracks. Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled. Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you're being had. Let's be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. In science consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus. There is no such thing as consensus science. If it's consensus, it isn't science. If it's science, it isn't consensus. Period. In addition, let me remind you that the track record of the consensus is nothing to be proud of. Let's review a few cases. In past centuries, the greatest killer of women was fever following childbirth . One woman in six died of this fever. In 1795, Alexander Gordon of Aberdeen suggested that the fevers were infectious processes, and he was able to cure them. The consensus said no. In 1843, Oliver Wendell Holmes claimed puerperal fever was contagious, and presented compellng evidence. The consensus said no. In 1849, Semmelweiss demonstrated that sanitary techniques virtually eliminated puerperal fever in hospitals under his management. The consensus said he was a Jew, ignored him, and dismissed him from his post. There was in fact no agreement on puerperal fever until the start of the twentieth century. Thus the consensus took one hundred and twenty five years to arrive at the right conclusion despite the efforts of the prominent "skeptics" around the world, skeptics who were demeaned and ignored. And despite the constant ongoing deaths of women. There is no shortage of other examples. In the 1920s in America, tens of thousands of people, mostly poor, were dying of a disease called pellagra. The consensus of scientists said it was infectious, and what was necessary was to find the "pellagra germ." The US government asked a brilliant young investigator, Dr. Joseph Goldberger, to find the cause. Goldberger concluded that diet was the crucial factor. The consensus remained wedded to the germ theory. Goldberger demonstrated that he could induce the disease through diet. He demonstrated that the disease was not infectious by injecting the blood of a pellagra patient into himself, and his assistant. They and other volunteers swabbed their noses with swabs from pellagra patients, and swallowed capsules containing scabs from pellagra rashes in what were called "Goldberger's filth parties." Nobody contracted pellagra. The consensus continued to disagree with him. There was, in addition, a social factor-southern States disliked the idea of poor diet as the cause, because it meant that social reform was required. They continued to deny it until the 1920s. Result-despite a twentieth century epidemic, the consensus took years to see the light. Probably every schoolchild notices that South America and Africa seem to fit together rather snugly, and Alfred Wegener proposed, in 1912, that the continents had in fact drifted apart. The consensus sneered at continental drift for fifty years. The theory was most vigorously denied by the great names of geology-until 1961, when it began to seem as if the sea floors were spreading. The result: it took the consensus fifty years to acknowledge what any schoolchild sees. And shall we go on? The examples can be multiplied endlessly. Jenner and smallpox, Pasteur and germ theory. Saccharine, margarine, repressed memory, fiber and colon cancer, hormone replacement therap6y…the list of consensus errors goes on and on. Finally, I would remind you to notice where the claim of consensus is invoked. Consensus is invoked only in situations where the science is not solid enough. Nobody says the consensus of scientists agrees that E=mc2. Nobody says the consensus is that the sun is 93 million miles away. It would never occur to anyone to speak that way. But back to our main subject. What I have been suggesting to you is that nuclear winter was a meaningless formula, tricked out with bad science, for policy ends. It was political from the beginning, promoted in a well-orchestrated media campaign that had to be planned weeks or months in advance. Further evidence of the political nature of the whole project can be found in the response to criticism. Although Richard Feynman was characteristically blunt, saying, "I really don't think these guys know what they're talking about," other prominent scientists were noticeably reticent. Freeman Dyson was quoted as saying "It's an absolutely atrocious piece of science but…who wants to be accused of being in favor of nuclear war?" And Victor Weisskopf said, "The science is terrible but---perhaps the psychology is good." The nuclear winter team followed up the publication of such comments with letters to the editors denying that these statements were ever made, though the scientists since then have subsequently confirmed their views. At the time, there was a concerted desire on the part of lots of people to avoid nuclear war. If nuclear winter looked awful, why investigate too closely? Who wanted to disagree? Only people like Edward Teller, the "father of the H bomb." Teller said, "While it is generally recognized that details are still uncertain and deserve much more study, Dr. Sagan nevertheless has taken the position that the whole scenario is so robust that there can be little doubt about its main conclusions." Yet for most people, the fact that nuclear winter was a scenario riddled with uncertainties did not seem to be relevant. I say it is hugely relevant. Once you abandon strict adherence to what science tells us, once you start arranging the truth in a press conference, then anything is possible. In one context, maybe you will get some mobilization against nuclear war. But in another context, you get Lysenkoism. In another, you get Nazi euthanasia. The danger is always there, if you subvert science to political ends. That is why it is so important for the future of science that the line between what science can say with certainty, and what it cannot, be drawn clearly-and defended. What happened to Nuclear Winter? As the media glare faded, its robust scenario appeared less persuasive; John Maddox, editor of Nature, repeatedly criticized its claims; within a year, Stephen Schneider, one of the leading figures in the climate model, began to speak of "nuclear autumn." It just didn't have the same ring. A final media embarrassment came in 1991, when Carl Sagan predicted on Nightline that Kuwaiti oil fires would produce a nuclear winter effect, causing a "year without a summer," and endangering crops around the world. Sagan stressed this outcome was so likely that "it should affect the war plans." None of it happened. What, then, can we say were the lessons of Nuclear Winter? I believe the lesson was that with a catchy name, a strong policy position and an aggressive media campaign, nobody will dare to criticize the science, and in short order, a terminally weak thesis will be established as fact. After that, any criticism becomes beside the point. The war is already over without a shot being fired. That was the lesson, and we had a textbook application soon afterward, with second hand smoke. In 1993, the EPA announced that second-hand smoke was "responsible for approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths each year in nonsmoking adults," and that it " impairs the respiratory health of hundreds of thousands of people." In a 1994 pamphlet the EPA said that the eleven studies it based its decision on were not by themselves conclusive, and that they collectively assigned second-hand smoke a risk factor of 1.19. (For reference, a risk factor below 3.0 is too small for action by the EPA. or for publication in the New England Journal of Medicine, for example.) Furthermore, since there was no statistical association at the 95% confidence limits, the EPA lowered the limit to 90%. They then classified second hand smoke as a Group A Carcinogen. This was openly fraudulent science, but it formed the basis for bans on smoking in restaurants, offices, and airports. California banned public smoking in 1995. Soon, no claim was too extreme. By 1998, the Christian Science Monitor was saying that "Second-hand smoke is the nation's third-leading preventable cause of death." The American Cancer Society announced that 53,000 people died each year of second-hand smoke. The evidence for this claim is nonexistent. In 1998, a Federal judge held that the EPA had acted improperly, had "committed to a conclusion before research had begun", and had "disregarded information and made findings on selective information." The reaction of Carol Browner, head of the EPA was: "We stand by our science….there's wide agreement. The American people certainly recognize that exposure to second hand smoke brings…a whole host of health problems." Again, note how the claim of consensus trumps science. In this case, it isn't even a consensus of scientists that Browner evokes! It's the consensus of the American people. Meanwhile, ever-larger studies failed to confirm any association. A large, seven-country WHO study in 1998 found no association. Nor have well-controlled subsequent studies, to my knowledge. Yet we now read, for example, that second hand smoke is a cause of breast cancer. At this point you can say pretty much anything you want about second-hand smoke. As with nuclear winter, bad science is used to promote what most people would consider good policy. I certainly think it is. I don't want people smoking around me. So who will speak out against banning second-hand smoke? Nobody, and if you do, you'll be branded a shill of RJ Reynolds. A big tobacco flunky. But the truth is that we now have a social policy supported by the grossest of superstitions. And we've given the EPA a bad lesson in how to behave in the future. We've told them that cheating is the way to succeed. As the twentieth century drew to a close, the connection between hard scientific fact and public policy became increasingly elastic. In part this was possible because of the complacency of the scientific profession; in part because of the lack of good science education among the public; in part, because of the rise of specialized advocacy groups which have been enormously effective in getting publicity and shaping policy; and in great part because of the decline of the media as an independent assessor of fact. The deterioration of the American media is dire loss for our country. When distinguished institutions like the New York Times can no longer differentiate between factual content and editorial opinion, but rather mix both freely on their front page, then who will hold anyone to a higher standard? And so, in this elastic anything-goes world where science-or non-science-is the hand maiden of questionable public policy, we arrive at last at global warming. It is not my purpose here to rehash the details of this most magnificent of the demons haunting the world. I would just remind you of the now-familiar pattern by which these things are established. Evidentiary uncertainties are glossed over in the unseemly rush for an overarching policy, and for grants to support the policy by delivering findings that are desired by the patron. Next, the isolation of those scientists who won't get with the program, and the characterization of those scientists as outsiders and "skeptics" in quotation marks-suspect individuals with suspect motives, industry flunkies, reactionaries, or simply anti-environmental nutcases. In short order, debate ends, even though prominent scientists are uncomfortable about how things are being done. When did "skeptic" become a dirty word in science? When did a skeptic require quotation marks around it? To an outsider, the most significant innovation in the global warming controversy is the overt reliance that is being placed on models. Back in the days of nuclear winter, computer models were invoked to add weight to a conclusion: "These results are derived with the help of a computer model." But now large-scale computer models are seen as generating data in themselves. No longer are models judged by how well they reproduce data from the real world-increasingly, models provide the data. As if they were themselves a reality. And indeed they are, when we are projecting forward. There can be no observational data about the year 2100. There are only model runs. This fascination with computer models is something I understand very well. Richard Feynmann called it a disease. I fear he is right. Because only if you spend a lot of time looking at a computer screen can you arrive at the complex point where the global warming debate now stands. Nobody believes a weather prediction twelve hours ahead. Now we're asked to believe a prediction that goes out 100 years into the future? And make financial investments based on that prediction? Has everybody lost their minds? Stepping back, I have to say the arrogance of the modelmakers is breathtaking. There have been, in every century, scientists who say they know it all. Since climate may be a chaotic system-no one is sure-these predictions are inherently doubtful, to be polite. But more to the point, even if the models get the science spot-on, they can never get the sociology. To predict anything about the world a hundred years from now is simply absurd. Look: If I was selling stock in a company that I told you would be profitable in 2100, would you buy it? Or would you think the idea was so crazy that it must be a scam? Let's think back to people in 1900 in, say, New York. If they worried about people in 2000, what would they worry about? Probably: Where would people get enough horses? And what would they do about all the horseshit? Horse pollution was bad in 1900, think how much worse it would be a century later, with so many more people riding horses? But of course, within a few years, nobody rode horses except for sport. And in 2000, France was getting 80% its power from an energy source that was unknown in 1900. Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Japan were getting more than 30% from this source, unknown in 1900. Remember, people in 1900 didn't know what an atom was. They didn't know its structure. They also didn't know what a radio was, or an airport, or a movie, or a television, or a computer, or a cell phone, or a jet, an antibiotic, a rocket, a satellite, an MRI, ICU, IUD, IBM, IRA, ERA, EEG, EPA, IRS, DOD, PCP, HTML, internet. interferon, instant replay, remote sensing, remote control, speed dialing, gene therapy, gene splicing, genes, spot welding, heat-seeking, bipolar, prozac, leotards, lap dancing, email, tape recorder, CDs, airbags, plastic explosive, plastic, robots, cars, liposuction, transduction, superconduction, dish antennas, step aerobics, smoothies, twelve-step, ultrasound, nylon, rayon, teflon, fiber optics, carpal tunnel, laser surgery, laparoscopy, corneal transplant, kidney transplant, AIDS… None of this would have meant anything to a person in the year 1900. They wouldn't know what you are talking about. Now. You tell me you can predict the world of 2100. Tell me it's even worth thinking about. Our models just carry the present into the future. They're bound to be wrong. Everybody who gives a moment's thought knows it. I remind you that in the lifetime of most scientists now living, we have already had an example of dire predictions set aside by new technology. I refer to the green revolution. In 1960, Paul Ehrlich said, "The battle to feed humanity is over. In the 1970s the world will undergo famines-hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death." Ten years later, he predicted four billion people would die during the 1980s, including 65 million Americans. The mass starvation that was predicted never occurred, and it now seems it isn't ever going to happen. Nor is the population explosion going to reach the numbers predicted even ten years ago. In 1990, climate modelers anticipated a world population of 11 billion by 2100. Today, some people think the correct number will be 7 billion and falling. But nobody knows for sure. But it is impossible to ignore how closely the history of global warming fits on the previous template for nuclear winter. Just as the earliest studies of nuclear winter stated that the uncertainties were so great that probabilites could never be known, so, too the first pronouncements on global warming argued strong limits on what could be determined with certainty about climate change. The 1995 IPCC draft report said, "Any claims of positive detection of significant climate change are likely to remain controversial until uncertainties in the total natural variability of the climate system are reduced." It also said, "No study to date has positively attributed all or part of observed climate changes to anthropogenic causes." Those statements were removed, and in their place appeared: "The balance of evidence suggests a discernable human influence on climate." What is clear, however, is that on this issue, science and policy have become inextricably mixed to the point where it will be difficult, if not impossible, to separate them out. It is possible for an outside observer to ask serious questions about the conduct of investigations into global warming, such as whether we are taking appropriate steps to improve the quality of our observational data records, whether we are systematically obtaining the information that will clarify existing uncertainties, whether we have any organized disinterested mechanism to direct research in this contentious area. The answer to all these questions is no. We don't. In trying to think about how these questions can be resolved, it occurs to me that in the progression from SETI to nuclear winter to second hand smoke to global warming, we have one clear message, and that is that we can expect more and more problems of public policy dealing with technical issues in the future-problems of ever greater seriousness, where people care passionately on all sides. And at the moment we have no mechanism to get good answers. So I will propose one. Just as we have established a tradition of double-blinded research to determine drug efficacy, we must institute double-blinded research in other policy areas as well. Certainly the increased use of computer models, such as GCMs, cries out for the separation of those who make the models from those who verify them. The fact is that the present structure of science is entrepeneurial, with individual investigative teams vying for funding from organizations which all too often have a clear stake in the outcome of the research-or appear to, which may be just as bad. This is not healthy for science. Sooner or later, we must form an independent research institute in this country. It must be funded by industry, by government, and by private philanthropy, both individuals and trusts. The money must be pooled, so that investigators do not know who is paying them. The institute must fund more than one team to do research in a particular area, and the verification of results will be a foregone requirement: teams will know their results will be checked by other groups. In many cases, those who decide how to gather the data will not gather it, and those who gather the data will not analyze it. If we were to address the land temperature records with such rigor, we would be well on our way to an understanding of exactly how much faith we can place in global warming, and therefore what seriousness we must address this. I believe that as we come to the end of this litany, some of you may be saying, well what is the big deal, really. So we made a few mistakes. So a few scientists have overstated their cases and have egg on their faces. So what. Well, I'll tell you. In recent years, much has been said about the post modernist claims about science to the effect that science is just another form of raw power, tricked out in special claims for truth-seeking and objectivity that really have no basis in fact. Science, we are told, is no better than any other undertaking. These ideas anger many scientists, and they anger me. But recent events have made me wonder if they are correct. We can take as an example the scientific reception accorded a Danish statistician, Bjorn Lomborg, who wrote a book called The Skeptical Environmentalist. The scientific community responded in a way that can only be described as disgraceful. In professional literature, it was complained he had no standing because he was not an earth scientist. His publisher, Cambridge University Press, was attacked with cries that the editor should be fired, and that all right-thinking scientists should shun the press. The past president of the AAAS wondered aloud how Cambridge could have ever "published a book that so clearly could never have passed peer review." )But of course the manuscript did pass peer review by three earth scientists on both sides of the Atlantic, and all recommended publication.) But what are scientists doing attacking a press? Is this the new McCarthyism-coming from scientists? Worst of all was the behavior of the Scientific American, which seemed intent on proving the post-modernist point that it was all about power, not facts. The Scientific American attacked Lomborg for eleven pages, yet only came up with nine factual errors despite their assertion that the book was "rife with careless mistakes." It was a poor display featuring vicious ad hominem attacks, including comparing him to a Holocust denier. The issue was captioned: "Science defends itself against the Skeptical Environmentalist." Really. Science has to defend itself? Is this what we have come to? When Lomborg asked for space to rebut his critics, he was given only a page and a half. When he said it wasn't enough, he put the critics' essays on his web page and answered them in detail. Scientific American threatened copyright infringement and made him take the pages down. Further attacks since have made it clear what is going on. Lomborg is charged with heresy. That's why none of his critics needs to substantiate their attacks in any detail. That's why the facts don't matter. That's why they can attack him in the most vicious personal terms. He's a heretic. Of course, any scientist can be charged as Galileo was charged. I just never thought I'd see the Scientific American in the role of mother church. Is this what science has become? I hope not. But it is what it will become, unless there is a concerted effort by leading scientists to aggressively separate science from policy. The late Philip Handler, former president of the National Academy of Sciences, said that "Scientists best serve public policy by living within the ethics of science, not those of politics. If the scientific community will not unfrock the charlatans, the public will not discern the difference-science and the nation will suffer." Personally, I don't worry about the nation. But I do worry about science. Thank you very much. more

Resolved Question: What do you thing about this article?

Anna Politkovskaya and the Self-Defense of Democracy By Jon Hellevig The writer is a Finnish lawyer who has lived in Moscow for 15 years. He has written the book Expressions and Interpretations (www.hellevig.ru) discussing Russia's social development from the viewpoint of philosophy and judicial philosophy. He is also the author of several books on the Russian tax and labor law. The murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya has once again induced a surge of anti-Russianism in Finland. Politicians, so-called researchers and media declare that Russian leaders masterminded the murder. Many people cautiously avoid these direct expressions, while being highly critical of the Russian government. Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja falls somewhere between the two groups, whereas Markku Kivinen from the University of Helsinki affiliated Aleksanteri Institute and MP Heidi Hautala clearly belong to the latter. It is obviously not in the interests of the Russian President to have a well known journalist killed (pointing this out would not be necessary, but for the continuous smear campaign against Russia). Based on information I received from Jukka Mallinen (translator of Politkovskaya's "Putin's Russia" into Finnish), there were no Russian government officials behind the murder. On the other hand, there is reason to put forward an alternative motive, which is quite possible -- that the murder was orchestrated by those wishing to create the kind of public opinion climate to compliment an anti-Russian agenda. In our culture, we usually honor the memory of the deceased by saying positive things about the departed in times of sorrow. One would like to show the same respect for Politkovskaya as well. But I cannot keep quiet when I see how her memory has been turned into a weapon to hit the Russian people in a manner that hinders Russia's development. Some are not happy with the opportunities that have been created during Putin's presidency.This includes the chance for many to now actively participate in a democratically run market economy. Upon the Soviet breakup, criminal elements took advantage of the weakness of a young nascent democracy by grabbing and stealing enormous possessions. Putin, courageously challenged the Mafia and oligarchs (often separated through a fine line drawn on water). Thirsty for "revenge", some of the non-Russian former Soviet states egg on the EU to engage Russia in a confrontational manner They overlook that Russia and the Russian people were the biggest victims of communism. Led by Yeltsin, the Russian people freed themselves from that burden and encouraged this spirit to other former prisoner-countries. Due to Russia's large land mass encompassing troubled regions, Russia unwillingly gets drawn into dirty games. This predicament gets twisted into the claim of a revanchist Russia bullying small, defenseless others. Given the uncritical fanfare accorded to Politkovskaya's work as a journalist, there is reason to critically review it. A case in point is her book "Putin's Russia", (published in 2004) which has been translated into several languages. In this book, she emotionally focuses on peoples' life situations (a style used in Karl Marx's Das Kapital, where he childishly tries to prove his theories of capital through the stories of people's everyday lives). Politkovskaya begins and ends her book with a stated disgust of Putin (as per the English translation of the book, see the Introduction as well as pages 281 and 282). She states her dislike of Putin "because he was a product of the Russian security service" (as if George Bush Sr.'s politics should be condemned on the grounds that he headed the CIA; a prevalent talking point in some circles). According to Politkovskaya, the KGB influenced Putin "does nothing but destroy civil liberties as he has all through his career". No mention is made of Putin's support for the late democratic mayor of St. Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak. At the end, Politkovskaya states she is disgusted with Putin because there is a war in Chechnya (as if he started it). She adds that in her view, he is a cold, cynical, racist, who is prone to lying (among other references in her book, see pages 281-82). Politkovskaya does not like the fact that this evil (in her view) man goes to Easter church services (pages 279 and 280). Politkovskaya attacks Putin for being a "racist" and then like a racist claims that Silvio Berlusconi as a European has better powers of thinking than Russia's Putin (page 279). Politkovskaya's likening of Putin with Stalin (page 272) shows that neither the journalist nor her prize givers and back patters have any sense of proportion. But one should remember that the purpose of this investigative journalist was to tell us about her feelings on why she abhors another person. Politkovskaya displayed no perception that all phenomena in society are based on social practices and that only a positive historical process can promote the wellbeing of society. She does not understand that the basis of a working society was totally destroyed in the Soviet Union and that it was not until 1990 that the building of a democracy, market economy and society at large was started from the ruins of the bankrupt Soviet estate. Through glimpses of peoples' life experiences, she brings up some of Russia's problems, such as the undeveloped democracy, criminality, corruption, the poor condition of the army, low pensions and the state of the judicial system. In her state of disgust, Politkovskaya did not analyze what has been done about these matters during Putin's presidency. Nor does she consider the impact of decisions taken under him. Instead, she writes of human tragedies like the suicide of an alcoholic and about a former friend of hers; a busy businesswoman who went into politics to grab more riches, etc. She tries to convince the reader that Putin is to be blamed for a tragic suicide and a woman politician's ruthlessness (who succeeded remarkably well). Politkovskaya's idea was that from day one of his presidency, Putin alone had to make sure that all in Russia was right. Much like if President Tarja Halonen was responsible for the unemployment in Kainuu and drunks at Hakaniemi Market Square. In one of her brief accounts, Politkovskaya mentions an 80 year old man, who had been found frozen to a floor in Irkutsk, Siberia (page 194). The journalist says the emergency services refused to come to the rescue claiming "the man was so old he could obviously not be all right". According to Politkovskaya - Putin should have stopped this. She seemingly suggests that it was brave of her to have said as much. Politkovskaya writes of an impoverished former navy captain Aleksey Dikinin (page 198). His fate is attributed to Putin (with Politkovskaya having the guts to say so). She does not even think of referencing Soviet Communism as the main culprit Mind you, her chronicling of Dikinin was in the first year of Putin's presidency (2000). Since then, there has been an enormous increase in pensions. I have personally experienced this in the Russian hinterland. At the beginning of this year, I visited a friend of mine in the native village of Azikeevo, situated in the Ural Mountains region of Bashkortostan. A road connection to Azikeevo was opened about ten years ago, at approximately the same time that gas and heating systems were installed. A couple of years ago, phone connections were completed to every cottage. Without any prompting, my friend's 70 year old uncle repeatedly lauded how good living conditions had become. In a healthy spirit, this senior citizen regularly takes care of horses, cows and chickens. Some retired teachers in that village (a married couple) said that pensions were now so good that they could support their children's families (there is a photo report of this trip at www.hellevig.ru). Politkovskaya was far from expert on government, military and legal matters. Topics which Putin has frequently discussed in an openly candid way. Politkovskaya's writing on terrorist dramas sugarcoated the actions of terrorists. Through their deeds, terrorists try to hurt the society they hit. By killing innocent people, they create public discussion designed to fault the leaders of the target country (reference how terrorists sparked a change in government in Spain). This is incomprehensible logic for a sound person to comment on. In "Putin's Russia", Politkovskaya blames Putin for government corruption in Ekaterinburg. There is no acknowledgement on her part that this political environment was evident BEFORE Putin became president. Putin proposed to correct this by having the political center play a more active role with the outlying regions. Instead of lauding this action (a popular one with most Russians), Politkovksaya wrongly concluded it to be anti-democratic. A stance overlooking how the political center was more democratic than the most "independent" of Russian regions. The regional governors operated under the cloak of democracy. They were chosen through "democratic" elections, as in the Soviet Union (in another connection, Politkovskaya remembered how people were elected in the Soviet Union, page 271). A colorful bunch of criminals and adventurers appointed themselves as governors under the shelter of formal electing and voting procedures. This view is acknowledged by the European Commissioner for Human Rights (see: Alvaro Gil-Robles, Report on Visits to the Russian Federation, 2004). In these conditions, anyone wanting to be governor had himself elected by using threats, bribes, blackmail and bodily harm. Putin's proposal to strip the regional governors of their mandates made a positive impression. Democracy is now practiced in much more civilized circumstances, based on a democratic competition between the regional parliament and the president. To have the courage to rise against a powerful elite and to succeed is an unbelievably big achievement. In the West, this reality is not fully appreciated, let alone understood. Instead, Politkovskaya's blinded disgust with Putin is uncritically accepted as the gospel. Politkovskaya characterizes Putin as seeking "revenge" against the oligarchs. Her characterization of the Mikhail Khordorkovsky owned and operated YUKOS is flawed (pages 275, 276, 284 and 285). She erroneously claims that this business entity "operated in daylight" and "gave five percent of its profits to charity". YUKOS flagrantly violated tax laws and other legislation through (among other things) criminal tax paradise companies (I reference a Sitra Report: Suuri Maa Pitka Kvartaali, Big Country Long Quartile, 2005). Furthermore, Politkovskaya claims that Khodorkovsky got into trouble with Putin because he supported "the liberal opposition". She omits the fact that Khodorkovsky supported the Communist Party. The romantic side of her activity would be lost if this point was made. She did not state the ulterior motive behind Khodorkovsky's political activism. The "democratic" parties sold him top positions in electoral candidate lists to enable him to place his own trusted candidates. This was how he planned to carry through a takeover of the Russian Duma. But is this the kind of democracy desired by Politkovskaya, Tuomioja and Hautala? In Finland, this advocacy would be considered treason. A number of anti-Putin analysts admit that former YUKOS CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky had committed crimes, while rhetorically asking "but why Khodorkovsky, just Khodorkovsky"? The answer is clear: others were quicker to realize that their criminal activities in Russia were over. A society cannot be built on revenge. Putin offered an invitation for all to move forward. Russia loses if there is a large scale injustice. This does not mean that democracy has no right to self-defense. This is Putin's Russia, and mine. more

Resolved Question: Is it getting tougher to trespass into America?

Guard makes border breachings tougherBy BARBARA BARRETT McClatchy Newspapers LAS CRUCES SUN-NEWS/NORM DETTLAFF VIA AP Army National Guard Spc. Gustavo Gutierrez, 23, of Las Cruces, N.M., scans the U.S./Mexico border from the top of Radar Hill, near Columbus in southwestern New Mexico. He is part of Operation Jump Start. More photosLOS ALGODONES, Mexico -- Not five minutes after the boatload of migrants slipped across the Colorado River at dusk, the "dogcatchers" arrived. First came U.S. Border Patrol trucks, tearing down a dirt road and cutting their headlights. Then the helicopter with its deafening blades, dipping and circling, casting spotlights across the water and the mountainside, again and again and again. On the Mexican side, above the town of Los Algodones, Francisco Lopez watched and listened. For a month, he said, he's been waiting. He sleeps under the shade of trees, scrounges food. Three times he almost crossed. "They're here day and night," said Lopez, 42, who traveled from the state of Michoacan, hoping to reach New York. "When I got here, I was surprised to see so much force on the other side." The show of force now includes Operation Jump Start, which President Bush announced in May. About 6,000 National Guard troops are coming to the border, to reinforce the Border Patrol "perreras": dogcatchers. The deployment is meant to discourage migrants from risking the dash into the United States. The increased security is pushing them into remote areas -- including harsh desert and mountains -- forcing more to use smugglers and leading those who are caught to make repeated attempts that sap their strength and money. Many walk for days with little food or water. "Short term, you might see more deaths, because they think they can beat the system," said Lt. Col. Randy Powell, the commander of the North Carolina National Guard's 252nd Combined Arms Battalion. Over time, he said, the death toll should drop. The Guard is coming Word has spread throughout Mexico: The Guard is coming. "I read the newspapers," said Hector Encinas, 29, who lives in San Luis Rio Colorado, just south of San Luis, Ariz. He used to cross routinely to work in the United States, paying $300 a trip. Now the price is $1,500. He used to help others, but no more. "It's more hard right now," Encinas said, standing in the shade near an opening in the border wall where three Border Patrol trucks were parked. "They got a fence, more soldiers, more Border Patrol." Of the Guard, he said, "They're cool. They're cool." He knows the troops aren't allowed to make apprehensions, just to call in border agents. Still, in the more urban Mexican crossing points south of Arizona, something has changed. In Los Algodones, tucked into the crook of the border with California and Yuma, Ariz., the travelers who hope to sneak across the border -- known as "pollos," or chickens -- gather at dusk in the park. Fabiola Salazar, 25, figures the smugglers the locals call "polleros" -- chicken herders -- make up 30 percent of the summer business at her family's grocery. Every morning, the smugglers buy water and food for the journey. Lately, she said, business is way down. Dangerous detours What sends migrants farther out are the images of the National Guard standing watch. The North Carolina Guard troops are scattered in strategic spots along the western half of the Arizona border, including some posts so distant they're best reached by helicopter. Near San Luis, Ariz., the troops work under camouflage nets, setting up observation points every quarter-mile on a levee near the Colorado River, above stretches of dirt and fields of tall, swaying grasses. The scrutiny is pushing migrants toward a land so vast that travelers can walk three days before crossing a paved road. During heat like last week's, with temperatures climbing toward 115 degrees, the migrants can't carry enough water. The Sonoran Desert is littered with their castoffs: empty water bottles, shoes, jackets. The daytime heat is blistering, and only a very brave man would walk the rugged landscape at night, said the Rev. Robin Hoover, the founder of Tucson-based Humane Borders Inc. Yet people get through. About 60 miles north of the border lay evidence that Hoover thought came from a recent smugglers' pickup: Two dozen backpacks were discarded among the cactuses. Some held deodorant or unopened tuna cans; Hoover unfolded a scrap of paper with a Florida hotel phone number scrawled across it. Because more men are staying in the United States, more are sending for their families. More women and children are crossing. Migrants pass through the cotton and alfalfa fields around Rebeca Moreno's store, a quarter-mile from the Colorado River, ignoring the signs warning "Peligroso!" -- danger. Pointing across the cotton field, she said in Spanish: "There is the river. The migrants try to swim across." They're caught, sent home and try again. A man died right there, she said, pointing to a spot in the dirt road. more

Resolved Question: Do Orwell’s Predictions Ring True?

Do Orwell’s Predictions Ring True? By Derek Shaw The Daily Trojan October 4, 2002 George Orwell's "1984" depicts a world that has been reduced to absolute governmental control over all areas of life, banishing the freedom to love, read and even think freely. The threat of constant warfare falsely propagated by the "Party," the single political power in the totalitarian state of Oceania, allows the government to maintain and expand its reign over the lives of its people. Sound somewhat familiar? Well it should ... As the likelihood of war in the Middle East continues to escalate, American citizens are slowly and methodically being stripped of some of their most fundamental civil liberties. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has successfully created an unprecedented fervor of patriotism, causing Americans to blindly hand over their freedoms in exchange for the promise of security. Without attempting to cast any unmerited aspersions on our government or immaturely parallel a piece of fiction to reality, it is nonetheless interesting and rather eerie to compare the events in "1984" to the affairs of today. Let's look at the facts. In "1984," the bold slogan of the Party is "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." This set of socio-political paradoxes serve to justify the actions of the government while forcing the population to abide by the imperishable laws. The assumed objective of protecting the nation rationalizes all violence and corruption. The state of Oceania in "1984" is involved in an eternal war with an unclear, ever-shifting enemy. The government leads the public to believe that they are always in danger, when in fact much, if not all, of the war is fabricated. One day the enemy is Eurasia, and the next day the government announces that the enemy is Eastasia and has always been Eastasia. The people swallow the lies and digest them as truths without raising a single question. The real purpose of war is to control opposition of the government and maintain total authority by cultivating fear and hatred. Today we are facing imminent war with Iraq. A year ago our target was al-Qaida and bin Laden. Then it became a battle within Afghanistan. And just to be sure, President George W. Bush openly labeled Iran, North Korea and Iraq as the "axis of evil." In a later speech, he added Cuba, Libya and Syria to the growing list of nations that are allegedly seeking to obtain or develop weapons of mass destruction. Indeed, the war on terrorism has spread out of control. On Aug. 22, 2002, Bush called Saddam Hussein a threat to the civilized world and announced that it was in everyone's best interest to see him removed from power. Granted, Hussein is not the first person on most of our Christmas card mailing lists, but what has really happened in recent years to warrant such treatment? Surely it is a mere coincidence that Bush (former oil tycoon) is targeting Iraq, which just so happens to have one of the most plentiful petroleum supplies in the world. In many ways, Bush has become the physical manifestation of Big Brother, the omnipotent, all-knowing symbol of leadership in Oceania. In "1984," Big Brother is both feared and loved by the people. His power goes untested. Similarly, the Bush administration has sculpted an infallible image of integrity for itself, and the American people have responded with a show of faith and support. In fact, it has become accepted, if not fashionable, to show American pride with stickers, T-shirts and flags. A frenzy of nationalism has infected our country; and consequently we have put trust in the government to do all that is necessary to defend and vindicate the United States. As a result, American freedoms are being cleverly attacked by new legislation, which is taking advantage of the vulnerability of its citizens. In "1984," signs reading "Big Brother is watching you" constantly remind the people of Oceania that their every move is being monitored and judged. The Bush administration has enacted programs such as TIPS (Terrorism Information and Prevention System), which allows the government to recruit citizen-spies within the United States to supplement law enforcement. In addition, the USA Patriot Act now allows law enforcement and intelligence agencies to expand surveillance to monitor phone conversations, Internet usage and business transactions. All the while, it eliminates the checks and balances system which allows courts to oversee the legality and integrity of the affairs. Bush's proposal for a Department of Homeland Security, which happens to include an exemption from the Freedom of Information Act, intends to combine 22 federal agencies for the purpose of fighting terrorism more effectively. It sounds good on the surface, but the problem is that many of the actions will be performed in secret — hidden from the media and the public. Bush himself outlined the goal of the operation in a speech on Oct. 17, 2001. He announced, "Ours will be a broad campaign, fought on many fronts. It's a campaign that will be waged by day and by night, in the light and in the shadow, in battles you will see and battles you won't see." The ambiguity of this statement is indicative of the whole war on terrorism. Just who are we fighting and why? These questions deserve answers. Is America gradually slipping into an Orwellian society? Maybe not, but no nation is indestructible. Bush has made it clear that war is imminent. The trend of violence is only growing stronger, and we are steadily becoming blind to the injustices perpetrated by our government in the name of freedom. So as we focus our attacks on Iraq and our rivals become more unclear and arbitrary, ask yourself, "Who is the real enemy?" © 2002 The Daily Trojan more