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What We Call the News

You know, sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying.

Thank You for Flying Orwell Airlines

Just when you think it is safe to board an airplane…

Apparently, to ensure terrorist-free flights at home and abroad, the glorious Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has decided that they must become terrorists themselves.

One of their senior officials thinks it would be a righteous idea to slap an electronic tracking bracelet on every passenger. One that will shock the crap out of you if you "get out of line".

Feature List:

• Take the place of an airline boarding pass
• Contain personal information about the traveler
• Be able to monitor the whereabouts of each passenger and his/her luggage
• Shock the wearer on command, completely immobilizing him/her for several minutes

We all know that airport security is not known for their ability to judge what a real threat is… and the Feds want to give them a handy-dandy shock button to hit when they "feel threatened"?

I’m sure the Bondage and S&M types will be signing up in droves.

Thank you Sir, may I have Another?!?

Happy Independence Day!

No, it’s not called “The Fourth of July”… I hope that America finds its way back to where it once belonged.

It you need a bit of a reminder:

Now, don’t blow yourself up today. Terrorists notwithstanding.

The Public Net

I’ve often told my wife that the big media comPAINies won’t be happy until we have to pay for every little bit of content we access.  Be it T.V., music, movies, web pages, or simply bandwidth in general.  The large media corporations will make the claim that they are entitled to a “royalty” because it is “their” content that drives the overall intellectual property market.

But, and most sinister, is the potential for these companies to use their power to overhaul the way in which broadband internet content is distributed by creating a “tiered” range of internet service packages that absolutely kill the free and even exchange of public information in the way that the internet currently services the world.  (Except places like China, where they lock it up like a medieval virgin in a chastity belt – for the people.)

I’m sure to some it all sounds like a tin-foil-hat kind of conspiracy… and, generally, I would agree.  But, we’ve all seen how viciously the RIAA and MPAA eats their own customers.  Would it really surprise anyone if they pulled a stunt like this?

Certainly not me.

It’s time for at least the people of the United States – hopefully the European Union and anyone else who lives in a country where it is possible to be heard by your government – to stand up and demand free and equal access to the Internet.    Bandwidth For The People!

For their web sites, their blogs, their music, photos, videos, whatever…  Available to all they see fit to make it available to.  The internet has become an important vessel through which many people express their feelings and beliefs.  The creative variety of these musings should be considered protected free speech.  No restrictions on its availability via bandwidth-throttling or tiered services that restrict the number of sites one can visit should ever be allowed.

Cable companies are required to have “public-access” channels.  Of course, the original spirit of that rule has since been watered down by certain coporate lawyers…  but, the internet gives us the ability for public access to media that far surpasses the intent of that original public access T.V. channel.  And it scares the crap out of Big Media.

Be heard now or be silenced.

"And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;"
Revelation 18:22

Running on Fumes?

Just read an excellent article about what is driving the price of gasoline in the U.S. and around the world.  I’ve been telling my friends that the whole “running out of oil” doomsday scenario is all a bunch of hooey.  Seems even the standard notion of “supply and demand” has been ripped away from the crude oil industry.  Oil prices have been artificially inflated because of fat-cat Wall Street commodities traders… not the infamous “Big Oil” companies (run for your lives, we’re all gonna die!!!)

You see, us peasants get to tighten our belts and – in some cases – suffer, so global financial companies like Goldman Sachs get rich “speculating” on the oil supply.  Pipeline breaks somewhere?  Price of oil goes up.  Oddly enough, by the time the traders hear about the pipeline break – it has most likely already been fixed.  Who cares?  Let’s make some money (on the backs of the peasants.)

And, let us not forget our glorious government.  (Pick one.)  I’ll pick the United States, since I happen to live there.  The U.S. Federal Gasoline Tax is 18.4 cents per gallon.  I live in the State of Mississippi, where the state tax is an additional 18 cents per gallon.  I also happen to live on the Gulf Coast – where we have a lovely man-made sand beach with a concrete seawall.  Those of us who live in the three coastal counties of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson get to pay an additional 3 cents per gallon which supposedly goes towards maintaining the seawall.  (You know all that sand that blows up onto Highway 90 when the winds are high and from the south?  The Seawall Tax is where the money comes from to pay the crew that sweeps all that up into trucks and takes it to Jackson so the State Legislature can use it for the sand traps at their golf courses.)

Oh, I almost forgot… we also pay an another 0.4 cents per gallon for an “Environmental Protection Fee.”  I guess that is to cover all the Red-Necks who dump their old oil down storm drains when they’re working on their pick-up trucks in the back yard.  Thanks, GreenPeace!

O.K.  So, that gives us a grand total of 39.8 cents per gallon in Federal and State taxes in Mississippi.  I believe that’s right, but I always sucked at math.  But, it is close.    I mean, gee whiz, don’t they tax the oil companies?  If you live in the U.S., figure yours out if you want.

On top of that, the oil companies themselves only make 9.5% profit from each barrel sold.  Compare that to 22.5% for the Application Software industry and 10.2% average on your local water utility company.  When is the last time you bitched about the price of water?  Hell, in most places you can’t even drink tap water.

Clearly, it’s not “Big Oil” making all the money here… it’s the Wall Street suits and the taxes.  But, fear not!  The evidence indicates that we are looking at a price “bubble.”  Same thing that happened to all the Dot-coms when the Internet Bubble burst will likely happen to the price of oil.  Then everything will just be hunky-dorey, right?

Screw it… I’m moving to France.

Related Links:

Economics 101: The Price of Gas

Gasoline Tax Rates By State

UP, UP AND AWAY: What’s Really Driving the Price of Oil?