Owning Ideas…. What an Idea

The Guardian came out with a good piece today; it questions whether the notation of being able to patent ideas as intellectual property is such a good idea. For example Amazon has licensed out the patented idea of letting costumers review products on their website. Google has patented the online ad and Microsoft is trying to patent XML. I’m sire that Ebay would just love to be able to patent the idea of “online auctions.”

How far are we going to go? Come on lets face it, no one can own an idea let alone patent one. Your thoughts are your own and so are mine. Got a good idea? Good, then use it. And if someone comes along to cut in on your action then too bad. That the free market place for you. It truly is survival of the fittest.

O.J. Speaks Out and for Once I Agree

O.J. Simpson came out today after the civil suite in Robert Blake’s case ended. The Civil suite specified that there was evidence to show that Blake was civilly reasonable in the death of his wife. Awarding the family of Blake’s wife the sum of 40 million dollars.

Clearly this is not an issue of guilt here. It was found that the defendant was not guilty yet it turns out that he’s “kind of” guilty. Is this really the way the justice work? Not to over simplify it but either he’s guilty or not guilty.

The United State justice system has one shot to prove their case. In this case and in others they failed either because the person was truly not guilty or because they failed to make the case stick. I’m not familiar with the Blake case, but it’s clear that in hind sight there was a breakdown in justice at it’s core.
O.J. Simpson calls this “double jeopardy” and I strangely for once agree with him.

NBC to Offer On-Demand Movies…. Oh Great

Days after AOL announced that they will offer classic television shows on-demand. NBC announced they will be offering movies under the Universal label sometime early next year. The price per download has not yet been set, however a good source had said the price will be between $2.95 to $6.00 per download.

It looks like for now movies will only be available under the Universal label. The titles will range from new releases which are currently available on the Pay-Per-View service. To shows such as Jerry Springer uncensored and blind date.

No thanks NBC I’ll just watch LOST and hang myself in the bathroom.

Giant Victory for Bloggers.....… Bloggers are Journalists says FEC

A giant leap for bloggers came today when the Federal Election Commission issued an advisory that said “FiredUp” a network of bloggers qualifies to be labeled as “journalists” and therefore exempt from federal campaign finance laws. It is the fear among bloggers that federal campaign laws could hinder the right to post their personal opinions on the web.

The full detail of the FEC report can be found HERE. Be advised it’s in PDF format.

Magazines make lists……. I could care less

Check this out, go on to Google and do a search for Magazines who have made greatest lists of all time. Here you lazy bastard I did the work for you (CLICK HERE)

Maybe I’m wrong; but I think that Americans are addicted to polls and lists. Whenever I see a an opinion poll on the internet I have to check it out; I don’t vote, I just want to see what the other dumb-asses thought. You have to admit that’s the main reason you vote in online polls or read magazine’s top 100, top 10, best of all time lists.

And when you think about it; why do they list the top ten or the top 100. Save time and save ink. Obviously through a process of elimination there is the best of worst.

Best movie: La Mosa Del Aga
Worst movie: 'Manos' the Hands of Fate

Best president: Harry S. Truman
Worst president: Grant

First Snow Fall at The Bat Farm

It finality came, you can mark it down. Yesterday was the first snow fall this autumn. Blowing snow, blood on the slick sidewalk and just deep enough in the Missouri flood-plan to take shelter of the government hacks and the long arm of the patriot act.

No sneak and peek at my library. She’s big and she’s deep. The books are all mine. I don’t take names; I just remember faces.

All the bats are quite and the ceiling joists are just beginning to settle in for their long winter nap. They have been battling torrential winds, tornados and second hand curses from third rate witch doctors.

It’s 35 outside and 65 inside CNN is on and state fair beauty queens fresh out of Columbia are reading the news. And it this wondrous snowy wonderland Fox News is never on; that button is broken.

Leave it to the British to fake space Travel

I don’t like the constipated block of reality shows on the market right now. But I have to admit that I would probably watch the new British reality show coming out sometime next year which in a few words, fakes a space mission for a selected group of participants.

The program produced by Channel 4 out of England, will be taking selected participants which are currently waiting in the wings for a chance to go to the place they think is a Russian training facility. When in reality it’s an undisclosed location in England. Apparently the same model of the Space Shuttle that was used for the movie Space Cowboys (I want my money back) will be used as the main set fixture. Also large screens and speakers will be used to simulate blastoff and orbit.

I love this idea. All they have to do now it figure out how to fake zero gravity, G-forces, the true curvature of the earth and the unavailable boom mic the falls in front of the window.

Since 9/11 U.S. has Detained 83,000 “Person’s of Interest”

The Associated Press is reporting that since the fall of 2001 the Untied States has detained approximately 83,000 people. The number comes form two primary sources; the two fronts in the “War on Terror” Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is John McCain who is leading the fight to bad cruel and unusual punishment for U.S. detainees. Some have questioned if the current administration endorses torture as Vice President Cheney has asked that the CIA be exempt.

Sony pulls Controversial CD’s

It looks like Sony BMG entertainment had been bent to the will of consumer advocacy groups. Sony said today that they would start pulling some of their titles with the new controversial copyright protection on some of their most popular titles which will according to some groups leave the user’s computer copy to virus’s and malicious script. The company will also offer a swap to consumers who bought the copy-protected disks.

It was Sony who altered their (EULA) in which among the new conditions would force the consumer to delete any Sony BMG music from their computer in the case that the user files for bankruptcy.

Will they come Home Sick Again?

No one truly knows what causes Gulf War syndrome. We do know that with some serenity is does exist. What causes it is anyone’s guess. Depleted Uranium shells, Anthrax vaccine and deliberate malice on the part of the U.S. government Are Many a theory.

Many believe that the cause my in fact be Depleted Uranium shells used by the Army used to slice through armor and tanks. This weapon which easily melts through tank armor like a hot knife through butter is a modern marvel, there’s no doubt about that. The only problem is once the shell is fired it puts off millions of particles of uranium which easily circulates throughout the air and is inhaled with little effort.

In this war its unclear how many shells were fired. However this in is not a factor. If you just look at the post war photos from Gulf war one you’ll see the dozens of Iraqi tanks squashed like fire ants.
The life of Uranium of 4.5 million years. And that same sand in which we treaded in 14 years ago we are treading in again.

Who am I?

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

File for Bankruptcy? Sony wants their Music Back

Today when you buy software from any company you’ll fall under that company’s End User Licensing Agreement. (EULA) Sony BMG music for example was added a 3000 word EULA agreement that says if you file for bankruptcy you must delete all your Sony BMG music from your computer and if someone breaks into your house and steals your entire Steely Dan collection you must delete the backup music files from your P.C. Its unclear as how Sony plans to enforce the new agreement, But even in death Sony has you by the neck; no music compilations for funerals.

Oh Sony, when will you learn that you can’t dominate the consumer electronic market. that’s Microsoft’s job.

AOL to offer Classic T.V. Shows…. Please Don’t Encourage Them

It really beats the hell out of me why someone would want to take time out of their day to watch re-runs of T.V. shows from yester-year, but It looks like it’s unavoidable. AOL has announced that next January they will be offering that vintage crap on demand. Shows like Welcome Back Kotter, Chico and the Man, Saved By The Bell, Hogan’s Hero’s and a hundred others.

Maybe these AOL execs don’t understand, but many of us watched those shows back because there was no internet and we just finished Ivanhoe. I have high speed, I have Google. What more do I need?

A Political Essay to end Political Essays

There are right now roughly 2,050 dead American soldiers who died as a result of the actions taken upon Iraq. What really pisses me off is when focus groups don’t count the soldiers sent home from the battle field and die as a result of their injury.

If I shoot someone in anger and they spend six months in a hospital room and then one day when all things are looking up, he or she dies; I get charged with murder. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The scars of war can not be solved or fix by one liners of a politician whom many of them will never meet. Do I support the troops? Yes.

But why even ask? What do I have to do with the recovery or the treatment of American troops? I am nobody, what can I do? Flying a flag and placing a magnate on my car does not do a lot of good. Another thing that doesn’t do any good is when war hawks, GOP analysts and well off people say “2,050 soldiers, that’s not bad at all. You should look at Vietnam.”

When are these people going to figure out that no number is small enough? Vietnam had roughly 50,000 causalities. And God help us, but we’re on are way there again.

Now don’t know I’m going to lay all the blame on the republicans, you democrats have some explaining to do. To many of you are trivializing and politicizing the deaths of American soldiers. A whole bunch of you protested in front of funeral homes where dead soldiers lay, that’s almost unforgivable. Yes we both share the blame.

Think we have seen the last of Gulf War Syndrome? Check out the news services on the web. Look at all of these soldiers who have died from “Lung Infections” from smoke inhalation, six months later in Army hospitals.

Why do some men seek out to destroy other men and civilizations? It’s way beyond a bad habit or a fetish....... Titanic has been hit and the lifeboats are going fast.

Stay at Home Blogger Mom Sued for 2 Million

Louisette Lanteigne a resident of Waterloo, Ontario Canada is a 36-year-old stay at home mom and concerned citizen who grew wary of what she saw in her neighborhood. She clamed that the building contractor Activa Holdings Inc. was conducting unsafe building practices such as oil spills on streets and sidewalks, contamination of soil and water and workers not using proper safety equipment. When she brought the matter to light, local officials brought only temporary solutions to some of the problems.

Lanteigne soon found out the sad fact that you can’t fight city hall or for that matter corporations. She decided to take her message to the internet to whoever would listen. It was not long after the site went up that Activa Holdings Inc. Slapped Lanteigne with a cease and desist letter. When she did not apologize and take down the site; the company sued, demanding 2 million dollars from the mother of three. As of now her website appears to be down. It’s unclear whether the site was taken down by Lanteigne or pulled by the hosting company.

Man who showed Iraq War Photos Jailed, Faces Life Term

Some have charged that Chris Wilson an entrepreneur from Lakeland Florida is nothing more then a smut peddler who’s website; nowthatsfuckedup.com is filled with photos and videos of some of the most filthy carnality that would make Larry Flint himself stand up and walk. And yet what is he charged with? 300 counts of obscenity. It was Wilson who allowed American soldiers to post photos of the real life in Iraq and the true horrors of war. In return the website gives free memberships to soldiers in thanks for their service. Some have said that Wilson's charges were coerced direct from the people upstairs so to speak.

Last month Lakeland Florida police officers stormed Wilson’s apartment seizing computers and documents and arrested Wilson on 300 charges of obscenity, which carries a possible sentence of 300 or more years in prison. Or if compared to the current life expectancy standard, Wilson is looking at three life terms. As of right now Wilson is still in jail on bond of $101,000.

More information about this case you can visit freeChris.org