Is Google a friend or foe?

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately in regards to our nation's newest moral dilemma, the right to privacy. Is there a right? Or is just a privilege, like driving, many of us believe we are entitled to?

With the recent debate between the Civilian spying programs issued by the US government and the people who believe it is infriging on our privacy, the dilemma has come back into the public scene. Now the internet search engine giant, Google, has been thrown into the fire with its recent actions.

Google, founded on the principle "Don't Be Evil", last week lauched its service for and from China. Its service is just like any one else's around the world. The only hitch is that it the Chinese government, which has employeed 30,000 police officers to monitor web traffic, has had Google place censors on words and events the Chinese Government does not want its people seeing. Google has encountered a real backlash since it has collabrated with the Communist Government. Blogs everywhere have voiced outraged opinions and the US Congress is taking up the issue with a formal investigation. But feelings are mixed with this and their stance for Americans right to privacy.

This is entire new issue all together. Has corporate America truly sold out its American soul? Or is it just the seeds of true market capitialism we as Americans push down the throats of the world being reaped?

However Google has resisted recent attempts by the US Government to attain web browsing information from the Department of Justice for June - July 2005. The interesting thing is Google keeps all websearch information for years and years after the fact. The Google Toolbar keeps a database of your IP's websearchs and websites viewed, long after you and your computer have moved on. Here is a wonderful article by John Lanchester of the Times Online UK, on how Google has the potential to change everything. From the way we live of lives on the internet, to how our social interactions are labeled "acceptable". "Google has an extraordinary amount of information about its users. It logs all the searches made on it and stores this information indefinitely.

Users of Google’s Gmail service, who are already having their e-mails scanned to place targeted ads, have given the company their identity, a full record of all their searches and copies of all their e-mails, stored indefinitely. Users of Google’s Toolbar are inadvertently giving the company a list of not just all their searches but also of every single website they visit. And, as the lawsuit makes clear, all this information is potentially vulnerable to subpoena."


The fact that the US government can issue demands from internet companies for an un-godly amount of information, and all but one company give it up, is something of "1984" Orweillian surpise. What right does the government have on reviewing such a board scope of the American people's internet viewing? Does it not require a warrant with specific accusations and terms? Or is the internet just a way for all governments to play Big Brother once more?

I commend Google for the actions against the DoJ. But I my contempt, for their actions in regards to helping Soviet China and other countries ( it has happened before) limit their people's rights to free speech, is limitless. We as Americans, as American companies, have the solemn right to protect Human Rights around the world. The selling out of our values for a buck must stop now. It has gone on for too long and now it has gone too far.

As of today I am pulling all Google Ads and Toolbars from this website. It is a small gesture but I am not going to add to Google's success if they limit the success of other's lives.

A bit of a pick me up today.

In light of all today's great news events, 7 children for the same family die in a car wreck, Hamas is now the political leader in Palestine, and NC State gets their asses kicked at home, here is something to laugh at.



"It was recently discovered that 3 million Irish could trace their ancestry to one man. In the man's defense he said he had been drinking." ~ Conan O'Brien.

The $100 barrels

The effect remains yet to been seen, but if it does happen, $100 for a barrel of oil may become a reality before this year is out. Or before this winter.

Today a barrel costs $64, more or less, for middle eastern oil. Imagne what our gas prices for the United States would be if that cost rose to $100.

We are talking $5 a gallon. At least $4 per in most states.

Now I know I am the gasoline paranonia. I've been like this since gas left 99 cents in 2000.
For me however its not the fact we are paying 500% more (don't believe I'm not pissed the f* off though), but it lies deeper into our national security.

How do we go to $100 a barrel prices? It is because of our current ideas on national security. Circular agruements are in style.
Currently the US and its Allies are pursuing a course of action that will lead to economic sanctions on the country of Iran. Iran fears this and has threaten to pull its oil production out of the global market, along with most of its European savings accounts. Iran produces 4 million barrels a day, the 2nd highest of any OPEC nation, behing Saudi Arabia.

Iranian officals, their President as well, has begun talks to Hamas and Islamic Jihad from Palestine, and this week have talked to Syrian officals. Syria you may recall is on their on frying pan.

With sanctions impending on Iran from the UN Security Council, and Iran seemingly willing to play the game, many economic experts are ready to see the fireworks begin. Has Wall Street begun the 2nd Panic since 2001?

What is to stop oil prices from flying to $5/gallon if there are sanctions on Iran, Iraq still not producing any high quantity of oil, US oil reserves still un-tapped and un-prepared? What will happen if Iraq does not flourish as a democracy in 5 years? What happens if Iran becomes a higher military threat?

What happens if the Chinese call in their debt on American loans thus effectivelyr stripping our nation of the readines to buy Middle Eastern oil?

So hear is my warning. And head it if you think my logic is just. With the absence of modernized mass transit throughout most of the United States, and the willingness (perhaps the forced) to pay over $3/gallon today, and the shakiness of the stock market on oil, if something BIG drops with Iran, nothing but hard times will follow.

Imagine paying $90 a week for gas. Or $110 for you travelers. And then conjure up a vision of your paycheck.

Uncle Sam and big business government will not be coming to our aid this time. No, in fact no help would be coming for a long time.

New names, same games.

If the world ended tomorrow, if the earth as we knew it blinked into nothingness and a race of intelligent alien life forms stubbled upon what the history of the world, what would they say about our United States of 2006?

Probably this: Those people, of such proud democratic lingiue, were so afraid of death in their time that they were willing to sacifice that which made them great.

Last week was a tumoltuous week in which lots of shit went down. I wont rehash it. Because well you should have caught it by now. We bombed Pakistan, thinking we could kill some Al-Queda leaders. Failed. Killed innocents instead.
Bin Ladin decided to send out the doves of peace saying they'll rebuild Iraq and Afganistan. Right. Our administration may love to have that easy of a way out, but even they're not that dense.

Today President Bush decided to keep up his offense attack on critics of his domestic spying program. In effect renaming the effort the "Terrorist Surveillance Program" he has begun to sway the issue from what is right and just within our laws, to the cloak and political deathbed of "national security".

In a speech to Kansas State students and faculty (mind you all Bush supporters) he addressed that he did not act outside the bounds of the law and that "Congress gave me the authority to use necessary force to protect the American people, but it didn't prescribe the tactics," Bush said, adding that the government needs to know why people linked to al Qaida are calling into the U.S. "One of the ways to protect the American people is to understand the intentions of the enemy."

Apparently the War on Terror is then a blank check from Americans to the Executive Branch enabling whoever is there to do as they see fit to protect the people.

These aliens would then laugh as they found the word irony in our dictionaries. As they would when they found what "martial law" means.

If red-state Americans are so hell bent on giving up the ideas they so love more than blue-state Americans, then they should answer this simple question:

If the Patriot Act will expire when the War on Terror is over, then pray tell will the War on Terror expire?

The Romans had a act themselves they used when implenting actions that shredded their Constitution and allowed for the exipiration of oversight to be overruled by national security. It was called theFinal Act.

Go Maryland!

I never thought I'd be saying this, but Maryland...you rock!!! During the Maryland legislature's operation on Thursday, a bill was passed that specficily requires large corporations, like Wal-Mart, to spend a certian amount of money on their employees health care or pay the differences in taxes. What is being dubbed the Wal-Mart Bill, was previously vetoed by Maryland's Republican Governor Rob Ehrich because he believes it sets it will Marylander's jobs and a new distribution center on the Eastern Shore.

Spokespeople for Wal-Mart and other big businesses see this as a "slippery slope" in which corporations are being singled out by the government. Not to mention good ole partisan politics.
Other state representatives that voted for the veto to stay in place with reasons such as ""Annapolis is telling private business in the private marketplace what to do;" and " "If you don't want to work for Wal-Mart, no one's twisting your arms. Go somewhere else and work." ( The latter by MD House GOP Leader George Edwards.)

If you couple this fight with the battle boiling over the increase of the minimum wage the next year of politics is going to be a nasty one.

My opinion is that neither the min. wage nor health care benefits will drasticlly hurt small or big business. The American people, the middle and lower classes, cannot even shop at Wal-Mart with a petty salary of $5.15 hr. Nor can they afford health care when the out of pocket costs are more than a week's worth of wages. I cannot see any logic, besides selfishness and greed, behind the motives of Big Business and Republicans when year after year they veto and lobby against these two issues. Every time an increase is mentioned, the GOP cries job loss. Every time its been increased, jobs have dipped. But rebounded in no time.

There is a lot of information out there on this issue. I would advise anyone who is not a billionare to take interest in it. Read the papers and watch some news.

You cannot pay the people next to nothing and give them no safety net when it comes to their livelihood. This is America, not Soviet Russia. We ARE better than that.

World Affairs

The war of wills is apparently being stepped up today. The decision to refer Iran to the UN Security Council is being made today between the EU3, who are Britain, France, and Germany, and the United States. What this means is that these countries are now leaving matters of sanctions for violating the non-nuclear profilertation treaty of Iran into the one body that is the last line between war and peace. The UN.

Not much can be said as of right now on how this will all play out in the end. However this referral to the UN was the same route the West took with Saddam and Iraq. What's to say it will end differently? What's to say Tehran will not be soon struck by Patriot Missles?

Since a referral is pending, perhaps it is time to have a serious discussion in the public forum about what we are willing to do in Iran. And I mean serious.


The world's favorite nut-job leader of a country, no not W., Kim Jong Il, is out doign some well earned PR. Or is he? It seems no one knows quite where the leader of North Korea is. He is said to currently be in China, looking to resolve their differences over North Korea's nuclear ambitions. However the Chinese and North Korean governments are denying that Jong Il is even there.
The Wall Street Journal, on its print version, also states today that Jong Il is working his way through China to head into Russia. Why Russia? Well what better country to talk to and visit when on one hand your trying to portray yourself as reaching out to the world, and with the other hand, knowing making moves to undermine that peace. I believe he's up to something.


And speaking of China. Well the Red Star nation has tripled their trade surplus to $101.1 billion.
What does this mean for the world, or more importantly the United States? Well it's not good. If China's trade surplus jumps 3x over one year, someone has to pay for it in terms of jobs and a stable economy.
And the more we invest in China, with more US companies going Chinese to save money, the more they run our buying and selling habits. If they control our trade flow of the majority of goods we recieve, then how can we survive in a Chinese run market?

Speaking of which is how you accure debt. Which the United States has more than enough of. We are being forewarned of a economic crisis that will occur once we for the first time ever default on our loans.

And yes I could only find info on our debt crisis through the BBC and other mediums. Weird?

Oh yeah, I forgot about Jesus!

So how fitting is it that over the holiday season Jesus himself, Johnny Damon, becomes one of the newest members of Satan's team!? Yes my friends if you haven't heard by now, perhaps because you've been under a boulder, clogged up by beer fruitcake and NFL playoffs, or just held up at your local McDonalds by Vick & Co., Johnny Damon, the pride of the Red Sox, is now a New York Yankee.

I really love this move, not b/c we need a new Centerfielder, but because of the pain and despair it fuels in Beantown. However it remains to be seen whether that will be the only advantage of having Jesus on our team. I mean my man Bernie Williams, yes I own his jersey he is MY boy, can throw farther than Damon. Hopefully the 1-2-3 combo of Damon, Jeter, and A-Rod will "Pay-Rod" off.

(I however quite like The Universal Hub. I am definitly a fan of the log the use, the Citgo sign from Fenway. Kudos!)

Next Up, War.

First the war over the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court got underway yesterday. Alito is expected to face a tough fight to be confirmed because of his votes on abortion, exective power, and his unwillingness to excuse himself from cases he has a personal stake in.


And then there's the lovely war waiting for us once we realize we attacked the wrong country, Iran. Today much of the world is condeming the new efforts of Iran to produce nuclear fuel. Those efforts will probably go unpunished until somebody understands what is at stake. The whole balance of first world power with nuclear arms over the rest of the world could be challenged by Iran's new program. Why and how? Russia is the answer my friends.

And finally the war in the old Middle East. One of the biggest proponents for peace between Israel and Palestine, Ariel Sharon is trying to be awoken from a coma today. The problem is he is also the main reasons why the war has waged so furisously for so long, many Arabs wouldnt mind to see him bite it.

Happy Tuesday everyone.

Changing of the gaurd

Ariel Sharon, Jack Abramoff, the New York Jets, and more when I return from a errand I forgot to do earlier.

Let me just say I'm happy about only 1/2 of these stories.

And one of them does not have to do with a shitty damn football team of mine.

So here we go!

Ariel Sharon is close to death. He is presently is a comatose state and has reoccuring trips to surgery. Why be concerned abotu the Prime Minister of Israel's health and condition? Becuase of a multitude of things. One being the US is more than a close ally of the nation, where it goes politically and stability wise, so does our interests. You can say the US and Israel are BFFs. (Best Friends Forever, see South Park.)

And more importantly there's this country, Israel, out there saying they will pre-emptive strike the nuclear plants in Iran while Sharon was in charge. That is an old column but it is still relevant. Perhaps even more now tat the nation is in turmoil on the inside as to who will lead. How better to distinguish youself than lead the charge to defend Israel by attacking Iran first? You can't. Hell we did it in 2004 with re-electing Bush.

Jack "the GOP is my bitch" Ambraoff. Just read the site. Watch the news. And marvel at how the Party of Morals and Values will magically become the Party of Corruption and Sellouts. Is this the America Republicans envisioned?

Here's what the man raised for Bush. Here's all the "donations" to Congress by Jack.
This is in the news enough for me not to harp on it any more.

But yes, Republicans can be bad people too. Very bad.


And finally my JETS have gone and sold my team down yet another river. We have let our head coach Herman Edwards go to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 4th round draft pick. For those not familar with the NFL draft, there are 3 full rounds of 32 selections before we even get to the whole 4th round.

So essentially what owners Woody Johnson and Co. want to do is get tarred and feathered, run out of town, drowned in the Hudson, and placed atop the Empire State Building needle, for the world to see what happens when you just start fucking new yorkers..

As you may tell I'm somewhat peeved.

Word of the day...FUMBLE!!

espn.comAh yes The Rose Bowl. If anyone stayed up late enough on the East Coast to catch quite possibly the best BCS game this year, close with the WV-Georgia game, it was summed up in one word. FUMBLE!! You got to love it. Hook'em Horns! I have to, you have to give it up to Vince Young, the Qauterback for Texas. 467 total yards? I believe that was more than the total of U of So. Cal. entire offense. I mean wow.

Now Vince, how bout you go pro and join the J-E-T-S?

Also how bout this little nugget from the AP wire. A Oklahoma Baptist pastor was arrested yesterday for requesting the "services" of a plian clothes police officer. A MALE plain clothes officer. Rev. Lonnie Latham admantly denies any wrongdoing, saying he was set up and was just "pastoring" to officers around that neighborhood.

However Latham is one of many religious zealots to spout anti-homosexual rhetoic and lobby for the abolition of gay rights. Talking about homosexuals he said they can be turned from their ways "if they accept Jesus Christ as their savior and reject their 'sinful, destructive lifestyle."

FUMBLE!!

Life just keeps getting better...

Or not. I mean have you looked at the front page of CNN today? Or any other news outlet for that mater. Its perhaps the saddest, anti-everything that is good, death filled day ever in a long long time.

First you have 36 people killed in Iraq. What where they doing? Attending a funeral.

12 miners found alive? Apparently that was too good to be true. Only 1 survived after a tragic "miscommunication" between those on the ground and those giving out information. I'm sorry but that's pretty f***** up. You don't keep people in the dark for 3 whole hours. Tell them then and there. There is nothing worse than getting all your hopes crushed when they were higher than the sky the minute before.

And Indonesia has potentially over 100 people dead in a massive landslides that occured earlier this week. The torrential downpour that has hit the region has left 170 people missing, and many of them coming from one village. It seems even the otherside of the world cannot escape the madness that surrounds today.

Happy 2006!!

Lets see how happy it will be, shall we?

First off: SUVs, not safe for your kids. According to a new study done by the Children's Hospital of Philly and State Farm Insurance Co.'s, the likelihood of SUV roll-over defeats the supposed safety a SUV would have due to its larger size.

However the study also shown that a heavier vehicle is safer than a lighter one of its own class. Thus a heavier SUV would, Escalade, would be safer than a lighter one, Honda CVR.
So here's the funny thing then. If all these new SUV driving its my god given right Americans don't have the safety of the children to back their hypocritical driving decision, then what pray tell is their excuse now to drive a 5 mpg behemoth down the road?


Jack Abromoff, peace.
He will plead guilty today on 3 felony counts of corruption and fraud in a plea bargin with federal investigators. He will not get the max. 10 years in federal prision, but will be sentenced when all his cooperation is completed.

More importantly is that Jack will roll over on at least 6 Congressman would he traded campaign $$$ for direct influence in Congress. Sources have been quoted as saying "that the former lobbyist may have thousands of e-mails in which he describes influence-peddling and explains what lawmakers were doing in exchange for the money he was putting into their campaign coffers."

Peace out scum.

And starting this year your credit card payment may look a little bit different. The minimum payment of your credit card debit will be doubled, an increase of 2% to 4% minimum, which supposedly is to help Americans rid the debt faster.
"The new rules are meant to get people to pay down their debt faster, but in the short term many who get by paying just the minimum are concerned about how they'll pay more. "It's creating a lot of stress and a lot of worry," said Nick Jacobs, a spokesman for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, adding, "but at the same time, the essential motive or the intent is to get out of debt faster, and that's a good one."

If someone has a $1,000 balance and pays $15 a month, it would take 17 years and cost about $3,000 in principal and interest, he said. Paying $20 a month would take seven years and cost $1,750 in interest."

My opinion? This reeks of solving the American Debt problem with a quick political fix. If ridding the middle class of debt is the Credit Card Companies and the NFCCs directive, than how about dealing with the reason qhy there is a debt the size of China.

Its because Americans do not get paid well anymore, in relation to inflation, there is no health care for many, education for ther public is no longer free as practical, and the middle class is being taxed to "lower class" status.

Fix that, and then we wont have to worry about long term credit card debt in the first place.

Word of the day: Roll-over.