Wil's Rant

Another toxic bloom discovered in the Pacific Ocean. This latest effect has scientists stumped as to the cause. I think it's safe to predict that somehow humans are involved. We just seem to have that type of impact on the planet. Take something clean and beautiful and turn it into a toxic wasteland. We've done such a wonderful job so far, it's really anybodies guess as to what will be the next part of our environment to turn toxic to us.

China has woken up to the reality of it's pending environmental crises. What is different about their situation is the fact much of it is of their own making. In most situations of third world pollution it has been created by western companies operating in the country due to that countries lack of tough environmental laws. In the case of Russia and China, they have largely done the damage all by themselves. China has been experiencing unprecedented economic growth and fears taking this momentum away by introducing strong measures to get the ecosystem under control. Lets face it, if we in the west can't get our environmental abuses under control, what hope do any of the third world counties have.

Their are some who are suggesting that Israel is behind the car bombing of a terrorist in Syria. This is no surprise as we all know that the Israelis' must keep the battle going to avoid internal conflict. I don't blame anyone for trying to stop the terrorist attacks in Israel. The problem is Sharon instigated the latest round with his visit to the Wailing Wall. Any efforts to stop terrorism must be two-fold. One is to stop the people committing these acts. The other is to stop the creation of this kind of desperation in the first place. Persons living in a free and just society are rarely driven to this kind of action.

In a move that we knew was coming, Microsoft has announced plans to charge for Outlook access to Hotmail. Yes that's right, they have decided to add their little profit margin to the whole spam experience. In order to help us avoid the hassles of spam, they will charge us to get rid of it. I won't be signing up anytime soon. If I am going to pay to have spam dealt with on my system, the software will come from anyone but Microsoft.

At what point do past errors and crimes past the point of becoming re-payable? One present dispute is between Germany and Poland over WW II compensation. It is certainly not in question that the Poles suffered horribly during the war. Virtually, all the leaders and many of the participants are dead. Most of those who suffered directly are now getting up there in age. Should modern Germany continue to bear a financial responsibility to pay for those crimes. Trudeau once said( Canada) that should we attempt to satisfy all native land claims in Canada that we would have to give a land mass totaling 115% of Canada. In other words, there ain't enough land. While we definitely must take responsibility for past mistakes, the important point is to recognize that crimes were committed and make damn sure we don't repeat them. If people are suffering hardship today as a direct result of those past crimes, then they deserve to be compensated in some fashion. As in the case of Poland, they sit right on the edge. There are many who have suffered who are still alive.The countries current woes can be said to stem from the Russian takeover following the war. The problem becomes trying to possibly look at all these cases. There are just too many. Our recent and long past is filled with so many of these crimes that it becomes impossible to even attempt a repayment. In a totally just world, it would be a pointless pursuit anyway. If all humans had equal chance, opportunity and share of resources, this type of question would hold no meaning.

A Winnipeg police officer took his life while on duty the other day. What surprises me is that this doesn't happen much more often than it does. I once considered trying to become a cop when I was much younger. I quickly saw the light. Police officers in Canada have a very difficult job. They spend significant effort investigating a crime. Then they find the bad guy, arrest him and hand him over to the courts. Usually he can see him again within two days right back where he was when arrested. If the criminal gets any jail time, it will be short, even for violent crimes. A criminal must commit many serious crimes here before ever getting a lengthy sentence. If I were a cop, having to risk life and limb on the job, this would be enough to drive me completely crazy. It's the equivalent of saying the cops life is worth very little. Is it any wonder that after years of service a cop might end up with a pretty bad attitude. Hell, if I were in their position, it might very well make me want to shoot first and ask questions later. The result of it all is too produce veteran officers with a great deal of psychological problems and stress. We must make our laws more strict when it comes to certain crimes. Why not give the law some teeth and make the country a better place for not just for the cops, but for everyone.

With Ramadan approaching, many Muslims will make the pilgrimage to Haram al-Sharif. The structure is thought to be weak and unstable. The Israeli gov't plans to begin repairs and the Muslims are starting to complain that the Israelis are doing so simply to increase their control over the site. The solution to this one seems simple enough. This site is revered by not only the Jews. It is also important to Muslims and Christians. Out of respect for the importance this site holds to several different faiths, the Israelis should seek to form a commission comprised of representatives from all these faiths to jointly study the problem and come up with a plan to restore, or at least strengthen the site. The benefits of this type of co-operation go beyond the problem at hand and can serve as a model for future co-operation between peoples whose relationship is very stressed.

Jon Stewart's Daily Show displayed a photo taken of George W. that gave me pause for thought today. The shot was taken when George W. was introduced to a young lady who had lost her mother in the 9/11 attack. When told who she was George spontaneously went up to her, put his arms around her and gave her a long hug. I have commented long and hard on the policies of George Bush. This picture brought home to me the George that I don't know. Yes, a George who is compassionate towards others. This hasn't changed my opinion of his policies, actions, or capability of leading the U.S. out of the mess that is Iraq. But it has changed my opinion of the man. While I don't think he can adequately deal with the corporate powers that run the U.S. government, he does appear to be the kind of man that I might call friend. Most people I know could not deal with the challenges of being the U.S. President. The job seems to age all of them prematurely. I can't say that I have any clue as to what might actually work in Iraq or the U.S. Only time will really tell. The U.S. political system is just as warped as the Canadian, the only difference being that in Canada, our failures don't affect the world the way the American ones do. George appears to honestly believe in what he is doing. Kind of scary that. The problem really comes from the fact that his hands may be tied when it comes to making real change in the U.S., even if he wanted too. Canadian and American politics have more similarities than differences. They are both terribly flawed. Fact is, I can't think of any system that would be any better considering the current state of human evolution. That doesn't mean that things cannot change, only that the change must be gradual and from within if it is to have any chance of success. We must all become more aware, tolerant, and informed if our voices are to have any affect. We must also find ways too limit the input of corporations on politics. Corporations have no human identity. They are above the laws of individuals because of this. As such, they should not be able to control political parties because of their cash donations and power to layoff and move factories to get their way. Perhaps it has become time to make it illegal for any contributions to be accepted from any organization that does not directly represent the will of the people. This type of meddling has no place in a true democracy.

In what can be described as the standard reporting in Iraq, there are many interesting details that are missing from this article. We know that a Canadian woman was being held. We know that she is now free with at least some help from the American military. The confusing part comes from what she was doing there. Canadian media have been calling her an aid worker. The linked article states that she works for a sand and cement company. I was not aware that there were sand and cement companies that could be called an aid agency, maybe there are. It becomes very difficult to come to an informed opinion about anything going on there when it seems impossible to find two articles that present the same facts. The media would do well to actually investigate this type of reporting in order to provide factual details of whatever incident they are commenting on. In any case, once again we owe thanks to the Americans for whatever role they played in assisting her escape, release, whatever.

While the actions against civilians by the terrorists in Iraq continue, it is hard to imagine that these criminals will gain by their actions in any way. It is true that they gain international attention, I'm not so sure that it is to their benefit. I can certainly sympathize with the people of Iraq due to the horrors they are living with now and in the past. The actions of the terrorists detracts from this sympathy and focus' on the actions of the criminals. This can not lead to any good results for the Iraqi people who these terrorists state they are trying to free from American tyranny. An honorable soldier does not target innocents. A child may be used as a weapon and as a result become a target themselves, this much should be clear. This practice is old and familiar to those fighting in the east. A soldier forced to engage said child does not bear the responsibility for the child's injuries in such a situation. The responsibility then transfers to the group who chose to use the child in this fashion. There really is no such thing as a clean war. Dirty deeds are done on a daily basis by both parties. Many of these deeds can be attributed to the insane circumstances that these people are in. It is not a surprise that a human placed in this position might snap and lose the capacity to act as a civilized human. Only those who have been in war can possibly predict how they will respond. Insane situations create insane people, often to a degree that no manner or amount of therapy can ever heal. In these cases, the real hope for the future is in the children who have an opportunity to grow up in a world without this insanity.

The fact that the ice shelves in the Arctic and Antarctic are melting is not new information. The fact that they are speeding up the flow of the glaciers is. There seem to be various opinions as to the affect that this will have. One of those opinions is that it will accelerate the rising of the sea levels all over the world. What I find particularly surprising is the number of people who continue to insist that this is all part of a normal climate cycle that the world goes through repeatedly. While the earth does go through this type of cycle, the real concern is the speed at which it is currently changing. The faster the change, the more difficult it will be for all species to adapt to it. It definitely appears that without some major change in our strategy another mass extinction looms.

American Civilian Deaths in Iraq:

Yet more tragedy in Iraq. There are reports out today of more beheadings in Iraq. What strikes me most about the reports is what they don't say. When we hear about these deaths they give very little information as to what exactly these individuals were doing there. They talk about their stated jobs, but not about who they are working for. Military personnel accept the risks of their jobs, civilians generally are not expected to take these same risks. Were these individuals working for the military? If so, than they must accept a certain degree of danger. On the other hand, were they working for a civilian agency whose sole purpose there is to try and make a terrible situation for everyone, especially Iraqis, a little bit better. If that is the case, than the damage done by these terrorists is mostly to themselves as many foreign aid groups refuse to go there. We read of burnings of schools, explosions at police stations, and innocents killed. These types of actions create total chaos with the biggest losers being the Iraqi people themselves. While there are many people in the world who sympathize with the Iraqi people, few would venture to go there to help, particularly when many of the people there don't want it. There very well may be many there who would welcome assistance, but their voices are silenced in fear over the prospect of punishment from these individuals who continue to create horror with every passing day. All people must be free to practice their faith , so long as they don't try to shove their beliefs down someone else's throat. It is in this regard that the greatest crimes are being committed. Freedom comes with work and responsibility. To progress, all the worlds people must be free to practice their own beliefs. Those who refuse to accept this only serve to keep us in the dark ages. My heart goes out to those families of the slain. Even more so if the reason that the individuals have ventured there was out of some desire to do good and be a real help. By killing the people who mean you no harm simply out of some desire to get the Americans to leave may very well have the exact opposite affect. The more chaotic the situation becomes, the less likely that the quality of live for these people will ever improve. Should the Americans leave now, I have no doubt whatsoever that the country will be thrown into a full civil war. The American intervention without U.N., and more importantly neighboring countries, support was a mistake. Alas, the deed has been done, it cannot be undone. The only sane course of action is to continue to try and stabilize the country enough to allow true, free elections. The Americans must comply with U.N. resolutions before they will gain the support of the rest of the globe. Once gained, this support will allow the presence of a much more uniform multi-national peacekeeping force. Even this will be useless without the vocal and active support of the majority of the Iraqi people. So long as the Iraqi people remain in fear and refuse to recognize their true enemies within, the chaos will continue. The Iraqi people must play a very active part in stopping these crimes. The world is almost ready for a new type of existence, one where true freedom reigns. For this to become reality, the developed nations must first adopt it themselves. We in the West think that we live in freedom, we really do not. True freedom is gained through honesty, particularly from our politicians. Without this honesty, none of us really knows what the hell is going on. This is not the path to Nirvana. You never know, we might just muddle our way through this era. On the other hand, if we continue as we are, the world to come may very well be one that only the worst predictions of the future can even come close to describing.

Syrians to Pull Out of Lebanon:

It has been nearly 25 years that Syria has kept troops in Lebanon. In response to a U.N. request they appear to be leaving. The tragic recent history of Lebanon is certainly one of the worlds greatest. Beirut was once considered to be one of the most beautiful. enlightened, and accepting cities in the world. For the most part, the evidence suggests that the international community's involvement has left the country in ruins. We haven't quite figured out how to help someone without dictating to them or completely destroying what we sought to help. I thought real counselors didn't imprison those who they were helping. In Canada, we have a fairly strong Lebanese community. These new arrivals in Canada have managed to find peace and understanding, for the most part. I have been lucky enough to meet several people from Lebanon and count some of them as friends. They are good, hard working people with a strong devotion to their families. These characteristics are some of the ones that I find most important in life. We might all learn from them. No, I'm not talking about American family values. It wasn't so long ago that the Moral Majority was trying to ram their version of life down all our throats. Short of causing suffering to another, none of us has a right to sit in judgment of anyone. Perhaps we should be leaving the judgment to God or cosmic justice or whatever Karma you might believe in. None is without error or transgression. At one time Lebanon was the very picture of acceptance of other beliefs and harmonious living among widely varying peoples.

As a species we are seriously failing in our efforts to really learn from history. We continue to interfere in affairs that we seem unequipped to solve or understand. The result is most often disaster. Iraq comes to mind. Another Vietnam, who knows. The American invasion has made the situation so complicated that it appears it will be an awfully long time before it becomes a country known for its tourism. In fact, now that the damage has been done, I can see no clear path out of this mess. If the Americans simply leave Iraq, it is likely that full scale civil war will result. Now, even U.N. troops will be seen as the enemy. Before the Western nations can truly help anyone, they must first start by being far more open about their reasons for doing so. They must also accept that not all problems can be solved from the outside. Only history can truly judge whether this action finally leads to stability in the region. If Beirut is any indicator, it is not likely to be a very pleasant place to live in my lifetime.

Microsoft to Open Up?:

Have they finally started to see the light. Microsoft is reportedly going to reveal its source code to its government clients. Well, it's a start. Probably way to late for me. I have spent far too many hundreds of hours trying to get my system running properly while listening to Compak blame Microsoft and Microsoft blame Compak. Had I access to the code, I could have fixed the mess myself. Frankly, I don't trust Microsoft. Until we can view the code ourselves we will never really know what the hell they have placed within it. So now, out of some great business acumen, they have started the process of trying to undo all the bad press they've been getting. Fact is, they will have to completely change their entire business ethics for it to make any difference to me and likely, many others. Before I ever buy another Windows box, I will have exhausted every other alternative available, and would have to achieve the same level of disgust with them as I have for Windows. My words on this have been long, varied, and often within these pages, so long time readers will have heard much of this before, so I'll not go into my tirade with anymore detail than I have already out of pity for those who would chose to read it.

The Greatest Act of Horror Ever committed Systematically Against a Portion of Humanity:

They decided to hold a conference recently to declare a consensus against the practice if female genital mutilation. What scares the hell out of me is the fact that they would ever have to hold such a conference in the first place. I find it absolutely terrifying that such a large portion of our species consider women to be despicable creatures whose sexuality must be surgically altered to prevent them from living devout lives. This is the single most horrifying picture of humanity that I can imagine. That such a level of ignorance could exist in the world defies all logic. Assuming that the reasons given are legitimate, then their actions are in the least blasphemous. If you believe that God created the world, then he could do no wrong. He created all life. To surgically alter a female against her wishes, or before she is old enough to make the decision for herself is effectively to state that God made a mistake and that ant man can correct that error. This is blasphemy as much as any other act. So I don't buy the religious argument and I don't buy the promiscuity argument. To me it is simply one portion of the population completely subjugating another to a horrific degree. It is criminal! It is inhumane! It must be stopped. I am a father of daughters. I cannot imagine any father knowingly, willingly, allowing this to be done to one of his daughters. In the name of your God, or alternatively, in the name of all that is sane... STOP. Your Kids deserve better. It is only when practices such as these are totally halted that we will finally start to make real progress.

Wind Power:

Alberta continues to play a leading role in implementing wind power systems. I find this particularly outstanding in light of the fact of their huge oil reserves. This is the kind of forward thinking that we must all adopt if we are to survive the coming man-made disasters. Perhaps we might seek counsel in the aboriginal peoples of the world, who have managed to survive many thousands of years in harmony with their environment. As I measure it, these peoples, while not evolving along technical lines, are overall far more evolved then us.

Death Parties Return To Guatemala:

It appears that the good old days are returning to Guatemala. During the civil war hundreds of thousands of mostly Mayan people were summarily killed. In current times the focus seems to be Mayan women. The official count is over 300, but the actual number of dead may be much higher. I'm sure the perpetrators of these genocidal crimes consider themselves to be heroes. I consider them monsters who prey on the weakest in society, oh yah, real heroic. If any of us are under the false impression that as a species we are evolving, one only has to pick up a newspaper to correct that impression. As a species, we are committing as many horrific acts as at any time in history. We have all the tools and knowledge necessary to make this quite a pleasant world for everyone. Instead we continue to act just as barbarically as anyone ever has. So where is the progress? While we have gaines enormously from technological advances, we have not advanced one degree in our ability to treat each other and all lifeforms with the dignity and respect they deserve. I might have a lot more hope for this planet if this was not the case. If we can't even stop killing each other, how can we possibly stop killing the world.

And Finally from Tony Blair:

Tony Blair now is warning of the consequences of Global Warming. Yah gotta take it seriously when the politicians start warning. This is about the last thing any of them have wanted to stand up and recognize. The question is, how many are going to listen, and how many even care?

NHL Lockout:

In a couple of words... who cares. These guys lost me a long time ago.Now don't get me wrong, I love the game of hockey, just not it's the current NHL. First it was the high sticks. It sets a hell of a bad example when kids, or anyone else for that matter, gets to see a grown up swinging a weapon at another human being with very little regard for the penalty, crime, or results on the other player. The fact that they get away with it makes it an even worse example. Next you get to pay fifty bucks, in Ottawa, for an eagle's eye view- A hundred or more if you actually want to see the puck. I admit I've taken my kids to a game- just so they could say that they had been to one. There's an awful lot of real good hockey players out there who would be more than happy to strap on the skates for a whole lot less than some of these guys are making. Check out a good junior game and you'll see faster hockey played by kids who are hungry and want to make it. And guess what, it's affordable. So fact is, I don't sympathize with the players or the owners. The owners have been sticking it to the fans for years instead of getting these outlandish salaries under control. This is one game that's going to really have to clean itself up before they're going to get my dollars. And enough already with the criminal weaponry, if someone wants to go to a full combat match they shouldn't be on the ice.

Internet Explorer:

Microsoft continues to decline, as can be seen by the falling Internet Explorer numbers.
I don't know how they are going to survive the overwhelming number of lawsuits not to mention their falling market share all over the world. If they do manage to live through this one, surely this is additional evidence of the obscene profits they have made, at all our costs. I have no problem with innovators making a profit for their efforts. I do have a problem when they operate in such a fashion as to leave the customer to deal with their mistakes, or pay them to fix a product, defective from the day of purchase. They also, very aggressively, attempt to stop anyone from fixing the problem themselves unless they want to do it the Microsoft way, developers copies come to mind. Anyway, so long Microsoft, you were great in the beginning, but the profit went to your head. You got way, way too greedy.

Cat Skinning, For Your Entertainment!:

I really can't quite believe this one. They way I understand it, it goes something like this: Two " Art Students" decide that it would be a great idea to take a pretty much defenseless, against human males. cat and make a film out of skinning it alive, and then calling it Art. The pair were convicted of animal cruelty. They have managed to overcome this setback and are now showing this film in Toronto at a film festival. Truly, this must be an example of humans gone mad. We can accept that we come from a species of hunters and this instinct may remain stronger in some than in others. This was not, however, the act of a hunter. This was an act of monsters. That's right, monsters, disguised as human beings. How anyone could find this entertaining is unbelievable to me. I actually don't even like a lot of cats. I go about 50-50 on whether I want to pet one or strangle it. The thing is I don't strangle it. It has to remain a fantasy that sometimes helps when one of our cats discovers a new way to make me totally insane. Problem is, anything I might do to one of the cats, my wife will visit upon me ten-fold. I've long ago accepted that I can't win the battle of the cats, so they remain the true kings of this castle, and I get to go on bitching about them. In the end, everyone wins. Cats get to go on living, wife gets to keep her bevy of pets, and I get to keep bitching.

Now back to the deviants, I laws are seriously flawed if excrement such as these are allowed to show this type of thing in public. Whether you would like to see all cats dead or not, surely you don't feel that skinning one alive is the right thing to do. I don't care what any law anywhere says to the contrary, no one has the right to take the life of anything accept as a means to survive. Should we have the need to kill. we at least owe it to the animal to do it in the fastest and most painless way possible. Failure to respect this basic tenet of existence should never be allowed under the law. Allowing these individuals to flaunt it is even worse.

Deviance in Iran:

I don't know why, but I always think of serial killers as a particularly western thing. I know that in reality this is not the case. In fact the opposite may be true. It's likely the reason that I feel this way is simply that living in North America, I tend to hear a lot more about our murderers than I do about anyone else's. In any case, it looks like Iran has a little problem of their own in the two men recently charged with the killing of many children. The report says ten kids' bodies have been found so far and many more are expected. Unfortunately for us and Iran, this is one problem we seem to share.

DNA Fingerprinting Raises Questions:

The inventor of DNA fingerprinting has expressed his concern over possible misuses of the technology. I don't find this particularly surprising given all the possible evils that could result from this one. As he states, it is already being misused in some countries where the police keep on file DNA collected from people found to be innocent. Eventually, if humans are still around, we will all be tested at birth or before and someone will have this on file, probably the government. The trouble comes when we try to prevent abuse. As with any great secret, sooner or later, the data in a DNA database will leak out or be stolen. We should definitely not trust that the big corporations or governments will " do the right thing" when it comes to how this information would be used. Probably the best thing to do would be to enact laws now that deal with these issues before the cat is out of the bag, so to speak. As the prospect for damage is so high, these laws should carry very significant penalties for those convicted of its violation. We better get control, through laws, of these big guys now before we get to the point where they become untouchable.

Yet Another Dog Attack:

So this time a teenage girl in Chatham, another pitbull involved, politicos all scheming on what to do about it, talks of banning different breeds, etc. Big Tip, it's not the breed! I have had dogs pretty much every minute of my life, including a pitbull that I adored and eventually put down. This particular dog was just about the sweetest thing you could imagine, with me! The problem was with everyone else, including kids, squirrels, cats, other dogs, and just about anything else he saw. This is not to say that he was mean, he wasn't. It's just that he loved to show his dominance, and fighting over it was just about his favorite thing in the world to do. I've known a few people like that too. I've known someone who had another pitbull and this dog was the exact opposite. His 2 year old daughter would drive her little plastic bike over it repeatedly and the dog would lap it up. This pitbull was only 38 lbs. full grown and was purchased from a blue ribbon line in the U.S. When looking at mine and his at the same time it was hard to imagine that they were the same breed. So what was the difference? Breeding! I would also add, training and attitude of the owner. First and foremost, though, is breeding. Many people intentionally seek out an aggressive dog for several reasons, security and confidence not the least. I must admit it gave me a bit of a charge knowing my dog would easily take just about anything on two or four legs. I didn't have any trouble sleeping at night knowing he was there. His dominant trait was universal except with me. I understand this trait extends to almost all pitbulls in that they are never any threat to their owners. The problem is that many owners can't see past this and look through the eyes of the person or child on the other side of it. They refuse to admit that the dog they love and who loves them is a threat to everyone else. Short of living as a hermit, it will always be a threat. There is really only one responsible choice, and that is to put them down, preferably before they attack someone who doesn't immediately lay down and show their throat. This decision must be made as soon as the dog demonstrates anti-social behavior. For the pitbulls at least, I can't imagine someone being able to train this trait out of them. With proper breeding at the start, it will never be a problem to begin with so long as the owners look after the training and their own attitudes. Many large dogs are being bred to be aggressive and good fighters. So long as there are people who will pay for these dogs, it will continue. So in the end, it all comes back to the owners. I've known good and bad dogs of all breeds, but it is us, one way or another, who makes them that way.

Thanks!:

I wanted to take the time to thank the folks at blogspot for their speed in solving the problem they were having with their system. For the last 2 days the service has not been working and essentially went haywire. Very frustrating but fortunately shortlived as they have managed to fix the problem very quickly.

Negotiate with the Chechens?:

The article in question doesn't actually identify where this one comes from. It simply says that western leaders have suggested that Putin negotiate with the Chechen terrorists to resolve the dispute. If in fact there is some western leader who has made this recommendation, they have obviously not lost any of their children in this incident. The very concept of negotiation with child murderers is simply not understandable to me. I can find sympathy for many things in this life, however I can't imagine ever being able to relate to this particular bunch. The deliberate targeting of children as part of any offensive operation to me is the worst kind of crime. Worse than almost anything that I can think of short of a total genocidal campaign. To even suggest that the Russians should negotiate with the people responsible for this crime serves to further injure the people who have already been hurt enough. There can be no justice in a crime such as this. No penalty will be enough. They simply must be stopped! I imagine the Russians will go a long way along this path. Whether in the end it makes any difference remains to be seen. It's likely many innocent Chechens who haven't supported this crime will pay a price as well. The terrorists have hurt the cause of these innocent Chechens more than any outside force could have ever done. My hopes go out to these innocent Russians and Chechens, as well as to any other peoples of the world who suffer as a result of actions they have not committed. Our world is filled with people who are in this situation. To date, Western solutions have been somewhat less than successful.

Ark on the Moon?:

According to this article, at least one scientist thinks it's a good idea to preserve the worlds DNA on the moon in case of disaster. This plan seems to me to lack a few details. I can't help but wonder what good this would ever do. How would a devastated planet ever be able to mount such a mission to retrieve this DNA library? Would we be able to keep men on the moon in order to have access to this library. I was not aware that we had the ability to mount long term missions on the moon with no support from the earth. Short of having people already there with the library, how would the surviving humans ever get there, or more importantly, how long would it be before humans could develope the capability, again, of launching space missions? This is an idea that might have merit sometime in the future, but for now, it would appear, it would be a vast waste of resources. Instead of planning on how to fix the damage we are creating, perhaps we might consider not creating it in the first place.

A Day at the Spa?:

Where to start with this one, supposedly female cons were given a " day at the spa" recently in Kitchener. While I admit that this probably was very usefully as far as making the women less stressed, and I also admit that this is likely usefully as far as their overall rehabilitation, I do have a couple of problems with this. Most importantly would be my wife. You see, she hasn't had a visit to the spa. In fact she hasn't had a real vacation in 10 years. She works harder than almost anyone I know. She has only taken 1 day off work in sickness in all that time. She has probably taken 200 extra days work due to others illness in that time. She hasn't committed any crimes and her taxes pay for these institutions. My problem is ... what do I tell her? Should I suggest she break the law in order to get the same rights as these convicts. Do I say that these women, who broke the law and are being punished, have a harder life than she and as such deserve at little R & R. Where is her reward for her efforts? When does she get a trip to the spa for all her hard work? My problem is the fact that convicts in this country have better access to medical attention, education, therapy, counseling, legal advice and R & R than the rest of us. That's not to say that they shouldn't get these things. I'm only saying that if they do, then the rest of us law-abiding citizens should have access to at least the same!

A Stunning Revelation:

In this breaking report we learn that there is a five copy restriction on downloaded music from most services. You mean someone actually might have a problem with five copies? The way I look at it, one must certainly be able to make a backup copy with five copies available! Not only that, wouldn't you be able to pretty much load the song onto everything you owned with five copies. So finally, where's the news part of the report, I don't see the problem unless you plan to go into business retailing the downloaded copy

What Did They Hope to Gain?:

I just can't understand what it was that these Chechen Terrorists had hoped to accomplish. The very act of taking a child or children hostage is monstrous enough in itself, considering the risk of one of them getting hurt even if that's not your intention. To specifically target them is even more monstrous. The results of their actions while gaining attention, gains it in the worst possible way as far as their cause is concerned. The outcome has proven all too predictable with unknown hundreds dead, most of them kids. Putin has stated that Russia is at war, which translates that he is about to grind the Chechens into dust, with the rest of the world now supporting him in his fury. Now whatever justice the Chechens might have been seeking will be totally lost in the reaction to this incident. Can these people possibly have thought that it would end up any other way?

One way or another, people who would commit monstrous acts of inhumanity against others must be stopped. If we fail in this regard anarchy will eventually take over everything. It is even more unfortunate when these people provide even more reason for the George Bushs of the world to continue stomping their way across the globe. Instead of furthering the cause of global equality and justice, they have pushed it to the back of everyone's attention, hurting the very causes which they profess to support. Our focus as a species must be to preserve our planet and find peace. Monsters such as these terrorists pull our attention away from the one and directly rob us of the other.

Enthusiastic Participants!

I enjoyed a good laugh out of the report of the young couple who where enjoying themselves so loudly that they managed to wake the entire street they lived on. Ah, to be young again. Sounds like a healthy attitude to me although they might try installing some sound proofing. Perhaps they could start a collection in the area, they might consider it an improving the neighborhood project. This one brings back memories of the young British couple not so long ago who were charged after becoming less than aware of their surroundings while shopping in a department store and proceeded to have sex on a double bed there. When asked why, they stated that it was a mistake in that they had become so involved that they forgot where they were.

Apple's New iMac G5:

Apple's new G5 is out and judging by the press release it sounds like they have come up with another winner. The most striking thing about apple is virtually everyone who has one loves it. I can definitely not say the same for any of the other manufacturers. Hence a new Apple remains high on my wish list.