On this page
you'll find the thank-you text and some photos (more to follow) from the Children of the Centro de Formacion Integral PAI PUKU, the project we sponsored with the donations at the occasion of our wedding in september 2003
2003-12-15
2003-12-12
Follow Up on the Metacortechs.com Game
Alternative Reality Gaming: smoke signals on the horizon: have they got too much time on their hands?
remember "Majestic" - the game?
§Virtual reality mixed with powerfull tools and real-world interference (players would get real calls from real people...)
They pulled the plug on the game after 9/11 - too much pseudo-terrorist content... and maybe they got scared when some real FBI graycoats decided that it just might be too true....
Can you imagine, you're surfing around "playing", and the next thing you know is you get nailed by some cop, because you showed up through Echelon... brrr. or ... cool!
it all reminds me of a good ol' friend who used to play tricks on ignorant innocent people by placing random phone calls from untraceable phone booths...
"George, la mouche est tombée dans le pot de miel, je répète: la mouche est tombée dans le pot de miel..." -end of voice transcript...
And then 5 seconds later a different caller asks whether the bug landed in the honney...
The latest (and most succesfull) development played around a website devoted to the Metacortex company, of Matrix I fame.
Some enthousiastic fan-fiction-authors and developpers took us for a ride, and a hell of ride it was
endgam at: MUMOWMOW
Read the review in The Guardian
Excellent advanced ressources can be found at unfiction.com
*** end transmission . . .
remember "Majestic" - the game?
§Virtual reality mixed with powerfull tools and real-world interference (players would get real calls from real people...)
They pulled the plug on the game after 9/11 - too much pseudo-terrorist content... and maybe they got scared when some real FBI graycoats decided that it just might be too true....
Can you imagine, you're surfing around "playing", and the next thing you know is you get nailed by some cop, because you showed up through Echelon... brrr. or ... cool!
it all reminds me of a good ol' friend who used to play tricks on ignorant innocent people by placing random phone calls from untraceable phone booths...
"George, la mouche est tombée dans le pot de miel, je répète: la mouche est tombée dans le pot de miel..." -end of voice transcript...
And then 5 seconds later a different caller asks whether the bug landed in the honney...
The latest (and most succesfull) development played around a website devoted to the Metacortex company, of Matrix I fame.
Some enthousiastic fan-fiction-authors and developpers took us for a ride, and a hell of ride it was
endgam at: MUMOWMOW
Read the review in The Guardian
Excellent advanced ressources can be found at unfiction.com
*** end transmission . . .
Lord of the Rings Research
http://www.lordoftheringsresearch.net/
WHOAH: largest movie-reception study will kick off next week: go answer the questionnaire...
You assume:...
You're making an ass out of me and you
(could be a Matrix quote)
WHOAH: largest movie-reception study will kick off next week: go answer the questionnaire...
You assume:...
You're making an ass out of me and you
(could be a Matrix quote)
2003-12-09
The first and the last Samourai
Neal Stephenson (of Cryptonomicon fame) released the first volume of the Baroque Cycle... An intriguing story that opens up with a lot of references to the history of science...
La Loi de Gödel:"En mathématiques, la vérité, c'est ce qu'on ne peut pas démontrer..."
The main character, Enoch the Red is a Fellow of the Royal Society, ... and carries 2 pistols....
La Loi de Gödel:"En mathématiques, la vérité, c'est ce qu'on ne peut pas démontrer..."
The main character, Enoch the Red is a Fellow of the Royal Society, ... and carries 2 pistols....
2003-10-24
American "Bio-scientists" recreate strains of the 1918 Spanish Flu virus, retro-engineering from recovered tissue of victimes of the global influenza plague...
In some views, (see full article) this so-called "research for bio-defense" might be considered a
"Weapons of Mass Destruction" Laboratory... if it were located in say, China, North-Korea or Pakistan:
okay: let's call the U.N. Security Council and bomb Texas...
In some views, (see full article) this so-called "research for bio-defense" might be considered a
"Weapons of Mass Destruction" Laboratory... if it were located in say, China, North-Korea or Pakistan:
okay: let's call the U.N. Security Council and bomb Texas...
2003-10-15
2003-10-09
2003-10-06
Week van het bos (bos bis boe...)
Ludo Sannen plant volgend jaar 800 hectare bos
- bron De Standaard 6/10/2003
MAASMECHELEN -- Natuurliefhebbers mogen in hun handen wrijven. Zij kunnen binnenkort 100.000 hectare extra bos verkennen.
Enkel gebrek aan bereidheid van de boseigenaars om mee te wandelen in de logica van de Vlaams minister van Leefmilieu, Ludo Sannen (Agalev), kan daar nog een stokje voor steken. Sannen lanceerde gisteren zijn Open Bos Plan tijdens de opening van de vijfentwintigste Week van het Bos. AMAI: gebrek aan bereidheid...
www.vbv.be/weekvanhetbos
Het planten van bossen schiet niet echt op. Minister Sannen lanceert nu een zijspoor om de bestaande bossen beter te beheren. Zijn Open Bos Plan moet het voor privé-eigenaars aantrekkelijk maken om hun domein duurzaam te beheren en open te stellen voor recreanten. Het plan kon te midden van de beuken van domein Heiwijk in Maasmechelen op veel ??? ach zo, en van wie dan, van de verzamelde agaleve-militanten, die zo'n zware klappen kregen bij de vorige verkiezingen....lof rekenen.
Zeventig procent van het Vlaamse bosareaal, of meer dan 100.000 hectare, is in handen van privé-eigenaars. ,,Die krijgen subsidies -- 50 euro per hectare -- als ...en enkel ALS natuurlijkze hun domein toegankelijk maken voor het grote publiek'', legt Sannen uit. (noot: plus de papperasserie, plus het tolereren van ADVIES van pasafgestudeerde groene bio-klungel-ingenieurs, die van achter hun boeken nog nooit een bos van dichtbij gezien hebben...cf. infra
De minister nodigt de eigenaars uit om zich te verenigen in zogenaamde bosgroepen "kolchozes". Die moeten het versnipperde Vlaamse boslandschap aan elkaar rijgen. Daardoor wordt efficiënter bosbeheer mogelijk. De eigenaars kunnen in ruil rekenen op gratis advies van onder meer bio-ingenieurs HOLA!!!!voor het onderhoud van hun stuk(je) bos. Sannen maakt daarvoor, samen met Europa, meer dan 1 miljoen euro (YIEHAA, enkel dus voor die cryptocommunistische groene boseigenaars) vrij. Een rondedansje met Week van het Bos-mascotte Boris de bostrol sloot Sannens imagocampagne gisteren vlekkeloos af. Toch is er weinig reden tot juichen. Voor de eerste keer in meer dan honderd jaar is er minder bos in Vlaanderen. QED!!!
De Afdeling Bos en Groen van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap, mede-initiatiefnemer van de Week van het Bos, beoogde tegen 2004 3.500 hectare extra bos. Sannen noemt dat vooruitzicht nu ,,misschien wat onrealistisch''. ,,Dit jaar kwamen er 280 hectare bos bij'', vertelt Roel Vanhaeren van Bos en Groen. Die povere evolutie zet de doelstelling van het Ruimtelijk Structuurplan op de helling. Het plan voorziet tegen 2007 in tienduizend hectaren nieuw bos.
Sannen geeft nu toe dat dat moeilijk wordt. ,,Het gaat allemaal wat trager dan verwacht. Misschien lukt het tegen 2010. Maar dan moeten we volgend jaar minstens 700 tot 800 hectare winnen.'' De onderhandelingen met grondeigenaars verlopen in een aantal gevallen stroever dan verwacht 't was te pijzen.
- bron De Standaard 6/10/2003
MAASMECHELEN -- Natuurliefhebbers mogen in hun handen wrijven. Zij kunnen binnenkort 100.000 hectare extra bos verkennen.
Enkel gebrek aan bereidheid van de boseigenaars om mee te wandelen in de logica van de Vlaams minister van Leefmilieu, Ludo Sannen (Agalev), kan daar nog een stokje voor steken. Sannen lanceerde gisteren zijn Open Bos Plan tijdens de opening van de vijfentwintigste Week van het Bos. AMAI: gebrek aan bereidheid...
www.vbv.be/weekvanhetbos
Het planten van bossen schiet niet echt op. Minister Sannen lanceert nu een zijspoor om de bestaande bossen beter te beheren. Zijn Open Bos Plan moet het voor privé-eigenaars aantrekkelijk maken om hun domein duurzaam te beheren en open te stellen voor recreanten. Het plan kon te midden van de beuken van domein Heiwijk in Maasmechelen op veel ??? ach zo, en van wie dan, van de verzamelde agaleve-militanten, die zo'n zware klappen kregen bij de vorige verkiezingen....lof rekenen.
Zeventig procent van het Vlaamse bosareaal, of meer dan 100.000 hectare, is in handen van privé-eigenaars. ,,Die krijgen subsidies -- 50 euro per hectare -- als ...en enkel ALS natuurlijkze hun domein toegankelijk maken voor het grote publiek'', legt Sannen uit. (noot: plus de papperasserie, plus het tolereren van ADVIES van pasafgestudeerde groene bio-klungel-ingenieurs, die van achter hun boeken nog nooit een bos van dichtbij gezien hebben...cf. infra
De minister nodigt de eigenaars uit om zich te verenigen in zogenaamde bosgroepen "kolchozes". Die moeten het versnipperde Vlaamse boslandschap aan elkaar rijgen. Daardoor wordt efficiënter bosbeheer mogelijk. De eigenaars kunnen in ruil rekenen op gratis advies van onder meer bio-ingenieurs HOLA!!!!voor het onderhoud van hun stuk(je) bos. Sannen maakt daarvoor, samen met Europa, meer dan 1 miljoen euro (YIEHAA, enkel dus voor die cryptocommunistische groene boseigenaars) vrij. Een rondedansje met Week van het Bos-mascotte Boris de bostrol sloot Sannens imagocampagne gisteren vlekkeloos af. Toch is er weinig reden tot juichen. Voor de eerste keer in meer dan honderd jaar is er minder bos in Vlaanderen. QED!!!
De Afdeling Bos en Groen van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap, mede-initiatiefnemer van de Week van het Bos, beoogde tegen 2004 3.500 hectare extra bos. Sannen noemt dat vooruitzicht nu ,,misschien wat onrealistisch''. ,,Dit jaar kwamen er 280 hectare bos bij'', vertelt Roel Vanhaeren van Bos en Groen. Die povere evolutie zet de doelstelling van het Ruimtelijk Structuurplan op de helling. Het plan voorziet tegen 2007 in tienduizend hectaren nieuw bos.
Sannen geeft nu toe dat dat moeilijk wordt. ,,Het gaat allemaal wat trager dan verwacht. Misschien lukt het tegen 2010. Maar dan moeten we volgend jaar minstens 700 tot 800 hectare winnen.'' De onderhandelingen met grondeigenaars verlopen in een aantal gevallen stroever dan verwacht 't was te pijzen.
Een redenering van mijn voeten
Moet Vlaanderen zich schamen omdat het zo weinig bossen heeft? Hoegenaamd niet. Het kleine Vlaanderen heeft nog altijd veel meer bos dan heel Nederland, heel het Verenigd Koninkrijk en heel Ierland.
- bron: De Standaard 6/10/2003
Thema: week van het bos:
er loopt duidelijk iets mis in ons land/gewest,
men praat het gebrek aan "herbebossingsprojecten" goed door gebrek aan beschikbare landbouwgrond, want de boeren zijn niet van plan hun al beperkte landbouwterritoria aan bosbouwers te verpanden, want anders geraken ze hun streng gereglementeerde mestoverschotten niet meer kwijt...
Anderzijds, wordt de natuur in Vlaanderen overgereglementeerd, met VEN toestanden waar bestaande bossen, meestal in handen van privé-eigenaars die er goed voor zorgen, zomaar opeens gebroodroofd worden, én hun totaal-eigendomsrecht verliezen. Het zal zover komen dat boseigenaars bij de overheid en de zogezegde "natuurgebruikers" (wandelaars, fietsers, crossers, mountainbikers, ruiters, scouts, e.a. of liever... de zwijgende meerderheid half-communistische natuurmisbruikers, gerund door een hoop idiote "groen jongens -ecoterroristen") zullen moeten gaan bedelen om een paar dagen (op voorhand per fax vastgelegd) per jaar alleen in hun bos te mogen rondmijen...
De redenering vandaag de dag:
- overheid: indexeren van alle bossen, en ze dan ontfutselen aan de eigenaar
- overheid: ha, nen bos, direkt een autostrade doortrekken, dan hebben we er 2 (met dank aan Urbanus)
- groene jongens/rakkers/cryptocommunisten: how! privé eigenaars, onteigenen, bos overnemen, er niks mee doen, ... en AFSLUITEN voor iedereen met borden: "natuurgebied".... -verboden toegang voor onbevoegden
- natuurmisbruikers: how! appels ->plukken, noten... -> rapen, paddestoelen: zijn toch van iedereen? honden: mogen OVERAL loslopen, ....
- fietsers, zondagstoeristen: wegwerpen die verpakkingen, sluikstorten aub, wildparkeren, lawaaimaken OVERAL
als ge dan eens een vuilnisopkuisactie organiseert, of een hageplantingsactie.. en ge vraagt vrijwilligers in uw dorp, komt er geen kat opdagen....
De week van het bos:: guerilla voor het bos, een hol discours vol fratsen waar handenvol geld worden aan besteed
alle hervormingen van de overheid ten spijt, is het beschikbare bos in Vlaanderen voor de eerste keer in 100 jaar.... gedaald...
Quod erat demostrandum...
QED
- bron: De Standaard 6/10/2003
Thema: week van het bos:
er loopt duidelijk iets mis in ons land/gewest,
men praat het gebrek aan "herbebossingsprojecten" goed door gebrek aan beschikbare landbouwgrond, want de boeren zijn niet van plan hun al beperkte landbouwterritoria aan bosbouwers te verpanden, want anders geraken ze hun streng gereglementeerde mestoverschotten niet meer kwijt...
Anderzijds, wordt de natuur in Vlaanderen overgereglementeerd, met VEN toestanden waar bestaande bossen, meestal in handen van privé-eigenaars die er goed voor zorgen, zomaar opeens gebroodroofd worden, én hun totaal-eigendomsrecht verliezen. Het zal zover komen dat boseigenaars bij de overheid en de zogezegde "natuurgebruikers" (wandelaars, fietsers, crossers, mountainbikers, ruiters, scouts, e.a. of liever... de zwijgende meerderheid half-communistische natuurmisbruikers, gerund door een hoop idiote "groen jongens -ecoterroristen") zullen moeten gaan bedelen om een paar dagen (op voorhand per fax vastgelegd) per jaar alleen in hun bos te mogen rondmijen...
De redenering vandaag de dag:
- overheid: indexeren van alle bossen, en ze dan ontfutselen aan de eigenaar
- overheid: ha, nen bos, direkt een autostrade doortrekken, dan hebben we er 2 (met dank aan Urbanus)
- groene jongens/rakkers/cryptocommunisten: how! privé eigenaars, onteigenen, bos overnemen, er niks mee doen, ... en AFSLUITEN voor iedereen met borden: "natuurgebied".... -verboden toegang voor onbevoegden
- natuurmisbruikers: how! appels ->plukken, noten... -> rapen, paddestoelen: zijn toch van iedereen? honden: mogen OVERAL loslopen, ....
- fietsers, zondagstoeristen: wegwerpen die verpakkingen, sluikstorten aub, wildparkeren, lawaaimaken OVERAL
als ge dan eens een vuilnisopkuisactie organiseert, of een hageplantingsactie.. en ge vraagt vrijwilligers in uw dorp, komt er geen kat opdagen....
De week van het bos:: guerilla voor het bos, een hol discours vol fratsen waar handenvol geld worden aan besteed
alle hervormingen van de overheid ten spijt, is het beschikbare bos in Vlaanderen voor de eerste keer in 100 jaar.... gedaald...
Quod erat demostrandum...
QED
2003-09-26
Some questions:
Neo holds the faith of Both worlds?
What is the blindfold for?
What is the role of Persephone & the Merovingian?
Do the Zion Partisans enlist the help of machines to counter the attacks BY the machines?
Is Zion a parallel Matrix?
Is Cypher back?
Agent Smith, as a rogue programme, threatens the established order, and in doing so destroys both the Matrix and Zion?
Is Neo THE One, or the 6th One? Or is he just someone who believes that " a man's got to do, what a man's got to do":
Age quod agis, al de rest zijn vodden?
What about this diagram....
Neo holds the faith of Both worlds?
What is the blindfold for?
What is the role of Persephone & the Merovingian?
Do the Zion Partisans enlist the help of machines to counter the attacks BY the machines?
Is Zion a parallel Matrix?
Is Cypher back?
Agent Smith, as a rogue programme, threatens the established order, and in doing so destroys both the Matrix and Zion?
Is Neo THE One, or the 6th One? Or is he just someone who believes that " a man's got to do, what a man's got to do":
Age quod agis, al de rest zijn vodden?
What about this diagram....
Everything that has a beginning, ... has an end:
The Matrix Revolutions, theatrical trailer available on the M A T R I X website.
In theatres November 5th 2003.
Remark: Neo's wearing a "blindfold"
ref to: The Matrix is the world that's been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth
The Matrix Revolutions, theatrical trailer available on the M A T R I X website.
In theatres November 5th 2003.
Remark: Neo's wearing a "blindfold"
ref to: The Matrix is the world that's been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth
2003-09-24
Net nu we dachten dat het wel mocht:
"Bah..." - uit De Standaard van vandaag
Vaticaan wil mis zonder applaus en meisjes-misdienaars
Om ,,liturgische ontsporingen'' te corrigeren werkt het Vaticaan aan een lijst van nieuwe verbodsbepalingen voor misvieringen. Zo zouden, volgens de voorlopige ontwerpteksten, meisjes niet langer misdienaar mogen worden. Dat meldde gisteren het katholieke Italiaanse maandblad Jesus.
Volgens het blad zeggen conservatieve kringen dat door de meisjes-misdienaars de voedingsbodem voor het rekruteren van priesters ondergraven werd. Ze bespeurden ze ook een eerste aanzet tot het vrouwelijk priesterschap. De lijst van nieuwe gedragsregels suggereert verder een verbod op applaus en dansen tijdens de kerkdiensten. Plus een verbod van lectuur van teksten die niet uit de bijbel komen, zoals onder meer poëtische teksten.
Italiaanse media meenden te weten dat een aantal ontwerpteksten, ter lectuur aangeboden aan een aantal bisschoppen wereldwijd, veeleer negatief werden onthaald. Allicht wordt er nog flink bijgeschaafd voor de definitieve tekst eind dit jaar of begin volgend jaar wordt gepubliceerd.
"Bah..." - uit De Standaard van vandaag
Vaticaan wil mis zonder applaus en meisjes-misdienaars
Om ,,liturgische ontsporingen'' te corrigeren werkt het Vaticaan aan een lijst van nieuwe verbodsbepalingen voor misvieringen. Zo zouden, volgens de voorlopige ontwerpteksten, meisjes niet langer misdienaar mogen worden. Dat meldde gisteren het katholieke Italiaanse maandblad Jesus.
Volgens het blad zeggen conservatieve kringen dat door de meisjes-misdienaars de voedingsbodem voor het rekruteren van priesters ondergraven werd. Ze bespeurden ze ook een eerste aanzet tot het vrouwelijk priesterschap. De lijst van nieuwe gedragsregels suggereert verder een verbod op applaus en dansen tijdens de kerkdiensten. Plus een verbod van lectuur van teksten die niet uit de bijbel komen, zoals onder meer poëtische teksten.
Italiaanse media meenden te weten dat een aantal ontwerpteksten, ter lectuur aangeboden aan een aantal bisschoppen wereldwijd, veeleer negatief werden onthaald. Allicht wordt er nog flink bijgeschaafd voor de definitieve tekst eind dit jaar of begin volgend jaar wordt gepubliceerd.
2003-09-22
ref: 060903:
A toutes et à tous,
to whom it may concern,
aan... (jullie weten wel wie...)
a BIG THANK YOU & and even bigger HOW HOW!
Van ganser harte bedankt voor alle hulp, ruggesteuntjes, ideeën, spell-checking, logistieke ondersteuning!
Klik op de link hieronder en je komt bij een aantal foto's terecht!
Also, a very special thank you for all the gifts, flowers, and friendly notes.
The Pai' Puku Project will greatly benefit from your generosity.
Elke & Thomas VW-H
"Festina Lente"
PLEASE: send a copy of all the pictures you've taken to our well-known email adress! thanks in advance
2003-09-17
2003-08-26
The Infamous Lighthouse vs US Navy Warship joke as told by some former sailors...
Believe it or not...this is the transcript of an actual radio conversation between a US naval ship and Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995. The Radio conversation was released by the Chief of Naval Operations on Oct. 10, 1995.
US Ship: Please divert your course 0.5 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.
CND reply: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.
US Ship: This is the Captain of a US Navy Ship. I say again, divert your course.
CND reply: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course!
US Ship: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CORAL SEA*, WE ARE A LARGE WARSHIP OF THE US NAVY. DIVERT YOUR COURSE NOW!!
CND reply: This is a lighthouse. Your call.
Believe it or not...this is the transcript of an actual radio conversation between a US naval ship and Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995. The Radio conversation was released by the Chief of Naval Operations on Oct. 10, 1995.
US Ship: Please divert your course 0.5 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.
CND reply: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.
US Ship: This is the Captain of a US Navy Ship. I say again, divert your course.
CND reply: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course!
US Ship: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CORAL SEA*, WE ARE A LARGE WARSHIP OF THE US NAVY. DIVERT YOUR COURSE NOW!!
CND reply: This is a lighthouse. Your call.
2003-08-20
PA'i Puku School in Paraguay:
http://www.pla.net.py/paipuku/escuela.htm
http://www.uninet.com.py/accion/227/temadelmes3.html
and last but not least:
Radio Pa'i Puku
http://www.pla.net.py/paipuku/escuela.htm
http://www.uninet.com.py/accion/227/temadelmes3.html
and last but not least:
Radio Pa'i Puku
2003-08-19
Did you know that the Russian Space programme succesfully fired off 1.700 Semiorka missiles, carrying payload into orbits around the earth. In fact, they are so reliable, that everybody around the world is adopting their systems.
Even Atlas V, the latest US rocket has a Russian engine...
And Soyouz is going to move to Kourou, French Guyana....
In fact, after the latest catastrophies with the Shuttle, the Russian airlifting capacity is the only guarantee that the ISS-International Space Station will continue to be built...
The Russian trackrekord is impressive:
1957: first succesfull launch into orbit of Spoutnik 1: 86 kilos of the first artificial satellite of the earth
First living creature launched into orbit: Laïka
First pictures of the Dark Side of the Moon
First mission towards Venus
April 1961: First Man in orbit: Gagarine (he pee-ed on the wheels of his vehicle before taking off)
May 1961: JFK announces the race for the moon... at incredible costs
Even though the Russian space programme has largely collapsed, their engineers still build the best rockets in the world.
Even Atlas V, the latest US rocket has a Russian engine...
And Soyouz is going to move to Kourou, French Guyana....
In fact, after the latest catastrophies with the Shuttle, the Russian airlifting capacity is the only guarantee that the ISS-International Space Station will continue to be built...
The Russian trackrekord is impressive:
1957: first succesfull launch into orbit of Spoutnik 1: 86 kilos of the first artificial satellite of the earth
First living creature launched into orbit: Laïka
First pictures of the Dark Side of the Moon
First mission towards Venus
April 1961: First Man in orbit: Gagarine (he pee-ed on the wheels of his vehicle before taking off)
May 1961: JFK announces the race for the moon... at incredible costs
Even though the Russian space programme has largely collapsed, their engineers still build the best rockets in the world.
2003-08-18
Africa's sordid and black capital market: the possessions of Africa's billionaires and millionaires are larger than the consolidated debt of sub-Saharan Africa...
conclusion of a UN report: between 1970 and 1996: African K fled the continent immediately (total amount 187 billion dollar) and was deposited in foreign accounts. There's no reason to think that this changed after '96.
The monney spent by international loans flows thus immediately to Western accounts, controlled by...?
At risk of sounding bizarre, most African nations were run by crooks, thieves, murderers and corrupt "officials" (ref to the death last weekend of Idi Amin Dada, the butcher of Uganda...)
A sad story that will ever end?
conclusion of a UN report: between 1970 and 1996: African K fled the continent immediately (total amount 187 billion dollar) and was deposited in foreign accounts. There's no reason to think that this changed after '96.
The monney spent by international loans flows thus immediately to Western accounts, controlled by...?
At risk of sounding bizarre, most African nations were run by crooks, thieves, murderers and corrupt "officials" (ref to the death last weekend of Idi Amin Dada, the butcher of Uganda...)
A sad story that will ever end?
2003-08-13
En dan nu wat lokaal nieuws:
Willy De Waele, burgemeester van de gemeente Lennik, al geplaagd bij de voorbije verkiezingen door tweetalige onconstiutionele stemlijsten, en door de massale concentratie van buitenlandse stemmen die in dit kanton werden geloosd (waardoor de franstaligen enorme winsten boekten), maakt -terecht-van zijn oren en klaagt over de zeer manklopende postbedeling, daarbij dreigementen uitend dat ie zelf wil overgaan tot postbedeling.
Prompt daarop volgt een staking...
* Commentaar: de man heeft overschot van gelijk... Bewijs zijn de massa's onbezorgde poststukken, die tegenwoordig zelfs niet meer terug naar afzender worden bezorgd, zodag je gewoon géén info hebt of een uitnodiging wel dan niet is aangekomen.
In Parijs overigens is het niet meer te harden, temperaturen boven de 42°C, 's nachts geen afkoeling meer, en all rekords van 1983, 1976 en zelfs van 150 jaar terug gebroken. Eens je de airco-veilige omgeving verlaat, word je bijna geliquidifeerd geliquideerd. Météo France voorspelt aanhoudende hitte tot eind september...
Willy De Waele, burgemeester van de gemeente Lennik, al geplaagd bij de voorbije verkiezingen door tweetalige onconstiutionele stemlijsten, en door de massale concentratie van buitenlandse stemmen die in dit kanton werden geloosd (waardoor de franstaligen enorme winsten boekten), maakt -terecht-van zijn oren en klaagt over de zeer manklopende postbedeling, daarbij dreigementen uitend dat ie zelf wil overgaan tot postbedeling.
Prompt daarop volgt een staking...
* Commentaar: de man heeft overschot van gelijk... Bewijs zijn de massa's onbezorgde poststukken, die tegenwoordig zelfs niet meer terug naar afzender worden bezorgd, zodag je gewoon géén info hebt of een uitnodiging wel dan niet is aangekomen.
In Parijs overigens is het niet meer te harden, temperaturen boven de 42°C, 's nachts geen afkoeling meer, en all rekords van 1983, 1976 en zelfs van 150 jaar terug gebroken. Eens je de airco-veilige omgeving verlaat, word je bijna geliquidifeerd geliquideerd. Météo France voorspelt aanhoudende hitte tot eind september...
2003-08-08
De gezonde ambitie van El Tattoo Del Tigre
Mambo op zijn Belgisch
c De Standaard 8/8/03
Het Vlaamse mambo-orkest El Tattoo del Tigre heeft lak aan tradities en toch laat het artiesten als Perez Prado of Tito Puente herleven in zijn kleurrijke Latijnse muziek. Het olijke samenraapsel van acteurs en beroepsmuzikanten debuteerde in 2001 na amper twee repetities op het podium van Rock Werchter. En toch is de groep meer dan een uit de hand gelopen grap.
DE harde kern van El Tattoo del Tigre bestaat uit vier leden, maar het hele orkest telt ruim dertig muzikanten en zangers. Net voor de zomer verscheen hun tweede cd Sensacional , waarop naast een handvol latin klassiekers, ook eigen werk te vinden is. Gezonde ambitie heet zoiets.
Stoffel Verlackt: ,,Het ligt nochtans allemaal niet voor de hand hoor. Zelfs de repetities zijn een unieke belevenis. Wij moesten voor de opnames van de eerste plaat de concertzaal van de AB huren omdat we nergens anders alle muzikanten konden herbergen. Het is ook niet evident om iedereen samen te krijgen voor optredens. Daarom trachten we die te bundelen. Er worden geen echte tournees gepland. Dat ongedwongen karakter zorgt voor de toffe sfeer. Voor de meesten onder ons blijft het natuurlijk ook een hele eer om in dit prestige-orkest te spelen.''
El Tattoo del Tigre kiest voor een nostalgisch repertoire, dat verwijst naar de jaren veertig en vijftig, met mambo en cha cha. ,,Maar op onze nieuwe plaat tonen we meerdere kanten van het latin spectrum'', zegt Verlackt. ,,Muziek uit de jaren zeventig bijvoorbeeld en Sensacional bestaat natuurlijk ook voor de helft uit eigen composities.''
Het is een ambitieuze luisterplaat geworden. ,,De groep is homogener én volwassener geworden'', meent Kobe Proesmans. ,,In het begin werd er heel strak gespeeld. Een, twee, drie, vier. Het leek wel fascistenmambo.''
,,El Tattoo Del Tigre heeft intussen een eigen stijl'', vindt Tom Hautekiet. ,,We klinken niet Puertoricaans, Cubaans of Colombiaans. Veel Latijns-Amerikaanse muziek wordt nog steeds geschreven als voornaamste bron van inkomsten. De intentie is commercieel. De muzikanten van de Buena Vista Social Club hebben heel lang moeten wachten vooraleer ze in het buitenland van het succes mochten proeven. We krijgen daardoor een vertekend beeld van hetgeen zich ginds afspeelt. In Cuba wordt nauwelijks naar Buena Vista Social Club geluisterd. Dat is muziek voor ouw peekes . De hiphop van bijvoorbeeld Orishas is er veel populairder. Om die reden is er geen plaats meer voor mambo-orkesten. De liefde voor die muziek is er nog, maar het is commercieel oninteressant. Cubanen vinden het daarom uniek wat wij doen. Zelfs zij onderhouden deze tradities niet langer.''
,,Een vriendin uit Puerto Rico verzekerde me dat we ginds de zalen zouden plat spelen'', zegt Verlackt.
GROTE platenfirma's zien geen brood in El Tattoo del Tigre. Toch werden er van de eerste plaat zesduizend exemplaren verkocht. ,,Gezien de omstandigheden is dat een mooi resultaat'', vindt Verlackt. ,,De plaat was opgenomen met de intentie om er een aantal van te verkopen tijdens onze optredens, als een vorm van souvenir. We hadden het al prima gevonden als we er duizend van kwijtgeraakt waren.''
In het buitenland is de respons eerder lauw. ,,Onze eerste plaat verscheen via Munich, een platenfirma die in heel de Benelux actief is, maar we zijn enkel over de promotie in Vlaanderen echt tevreden'', zegt Verlackt. ,,In Nederland moesten we het stellen met slechts twee advertenties in het poptijdschrift Oor . Vorig jaar stonden we daar wel op het festival Lowlands, maar dan om vier uur 's namiddags.''
Intussen nam de groep in het voorjaar afscheid van zijn boegbeeld, de trompettist Theo Mertens. ,,Nu Theo er niet meer bij is, beseffen we pas echt hoe belangrijk hij was'', zegt Proesmans. ,,Hij heeft nog gespeeld met Miles Davis en Frank Sinatra. Van alle muzikanten uit El Tattoo Del Tigre was hij de enige die deze muziek van dichtbij heeft meegemaakt. Als eerbetoon aan hem hebben we nog een unieke live-opname uit 2001 van Duke Ellingtons ,,Caravan'', met Theo in een glansrol, aan de nieuwe plaat toegevoegd.'' Op zomerfestivals als de Antilliaanse Feesten of Polé Polé zul je vergeefs zoeken naar El Tattoo del Tigre. ,,Die willen ons niet'', zegt Verlackt. ,,Wij zijn immers geen originals . Het wordt nooit met zoveel woorden gezegd, maar je voelt het onbegrip. El Tattoo Del Tigre wordt vereenzelvigd met een band die de Latijns-Amerikaanse muziek parodieert, en dat is jammer.''
,,Wij zijn maar Belgen'', zegt Hautekiet. ,,Maar Polé Polé boekt dan wel Salsa Celtica, een Schotse band. De Beursschouwburg haalt de neus op voor Belgische mambo maar programmeert wel de Mardi Grass Big Band. Dat zijn Duitsers. Ach, eigenlijk heb ik heb liever dat we ergens echt fout worden geboekt en dat we optreden voor gasten die de hele dag gitaarmuziek voorgeschoteld krijgen.'' Momenteel doet El Tattoo del Tigre een aantal speciale optredens op ongewone locaties: een kasteel, een oud mijngebouw of de opluistering van een modeshow van Dries Van Noten.
De groep zou het ook wel leuk vinden om zijn nummers te laten remixen. ,,Door Buscemi, bijvoorbeeld'', zegt Proesmans. ,,Het resultaat zou geestig kunnen zijn.'' Verlackt knikt instemmend. ,,Een remixalbum zou geen slecht idee zijn, want ooit zal mambo echt verdwijnen. Wie kan nog mambo dansen? Het is echt niet voldoende dat je met je heupen zwiert.''
Cd : ,,Sensacional'' is uit op Pias. Concerten: Domein Haksberg, Tielt-Winge, 9 augustus; Kasteel Hof Ter Linden, Edegem, 23 augustus; Pukkelpop, 30 augustus, Kazerne Majoor Blairon, Turnhout, 13 september; Oud Mijngebouw, Heusden-Zolder, 20 september.
Mambo op zijn Belgisch
c De Standaard 8/8/03
Het Vlaamse mambo-orkest El Tattoo del Tigre heeft lak aan tradities en toch laat het artiesten als Perez Prado of Tito Puente herleven in zijn kleurrijke Latijnse muziek. Het olijke samenraapsel van acteurs en beroepsmuzikanten debuteerde in 2001 na amper twee repetities op het podium van Rock Werchter. En toch is de groep meer dan een uit de hand gelopen grap.
DE harde kern van El Tattoo del Tigre bestaat uit vier leden, maar het hele orkest telt ruim dertig muzikanten en zangers. Net voor de zomer verscheen hun tweede cd Sensacional , waarop naast een handvol latin klassiekers, ook eigen werk te vinden is. Gezonde ambitie heet zoiets.
Stoffel Verlackt: ,,Het ligt nochtans allemaal niet voor de hand hoor. Zelfs de repetities zijn een unieke belevenis. Wij moesten voor de opnames van de eerste plaat de concertzaal van de AB huren omdat we nergens anders alle muzikanten konden herbergen. Het is ook niet evident om iedereen samen te krijgen voor optredens. Daarom trachten we die te bundelen. Er worden geen echte tournees gepland. Dat ongedwongen karakter zorgt voor de toffe sfeer. Voor de meesten onder ons blijft het natuurlijk ook een hele eer om in dit prestige-orkest te spelen.''
El Tattoo del Tigre kiest voor een nostalgisch repertoire, dat verwijst naar de jaren veertig en vijftig, met mambo en cha cha. ,,Maar op onze nieuwe plaat tonen we meerdere kanten van het latin spectrum'', zegt Verlackt. ,,Muziek uit de jaren zeventig bijvoorbeeld en Sensacional bestaat natuurlijk ook voor de helft uit eigen composities.''
Het is een ambitieuze luisterplaat geworden. ,,De groep is homogener én volwassener geworden'', meent Kobe Proesmans. ,,In het begin werd er heel strak gespeeld. Een, twee, drie, vier. Het leek wel fascistenmambo.''
,,El Tattoo Del Tigre heeft intussen een eigen stijl'', vindt Tom Hautekiet. ,,We klinken niet Puertoricaans, Cubaans of Colombiaans. Veel Latijns-Amerikaanse muziek wordt nog steeds geschreven als voornaamste bron van inkomsten. De intentie is commercieel. De muzikanten van de Buena Vista Social Club hebben heel lang moeten wachten vooraleer ze in het buitenland van het succes mochten proeven. We krijgen daardoor een vertekend beeld van hetgeen zich ginds afspeelt. In Cuba wordt nauwelijks naar Buena Vista Social Club geluisterd. Dat is muziek voor ouw peekes . De hiphop van bijvoorbeeld Orishas is er veel populairder. Om die reden is er geen plaats meer voor mambo-orkesten. De liefde voor die muziek is er nog, maar het is commercieel oninteressant. Cubanen vinden het daarom uniek wat wij doen. Zelfs zij onderhouden deze tradities niet langer.''
,,Een vriendin uit Puerto Rico verzekerde me dat we ginds de zalen zouden plat spelen'', zegt Verlackt.
GROTE platenfirma's zien geen brood in El Tattoo del Tigre. Toch werden er van de eerste plaat zesduizend exemplaren verkocht. ,,Gezien de omstandigheden is dat een mooi resultaat'', vindt Verlackt. ,,De plaat was opgenomen met de intentie om er een aantal van te verkopen tijdens onze optredens, als een vorm van souvenir. We hadden het al prima gevonden als we er duizend van kwijtgeraakt waren.''
In het buitenland is de respons eerder lauw. ,,Onze eerste plaat verscheen via Munich, een platenfirma die in heel de Benelux actief is, maar we zijn enkel over de promotie in Vlaanderen echt tevreden'', zegt Verlackt. ,,In Nederland moesten we het stellen met slechts twee advertenties in het poptijdschrift Oor . Vorig jaar stonden we daar wel op het festival Lowlands, maar dan om vier uur 's namiddags.''
Intussen nam de groep in het voorjaar afscheid van zijn boegbeeld, de trompettist Theo Mertens. ,,Nu Theo er niet meer bij is, beseffen we pas echt hoe belangrijk hij was'', zegt Proesmans. ,,Hij heeft nog gespeeld met Miles Davis en Frank Sinatra. Van alle muzikanten uit El Tattoo Del Tigre was hij de enige die deze muziek van dichtbij heeft meegemaakt. Als eerbetoon aan hem hebben we nog een unieke live-opname uit 2001 van Duke Ellingtons ,,Caravan'', met Theo in een glansrol, aan de nieuwe plaat toegevoegd.'' Op zomerfestivals als de Antilliaanse Feesten of Polé Polé zul je vergeefs zoeken naar El Tattoo del Tigre. ,,Die willen ons niet'', zegt Verlackt. ,,Wij zijn immers geen originals . Het wordt nooit met zoveel woorden gezegd, maar je voelt het onbegrip. El Tattoo Del Tigre wordt vereenzelvigd met een band die de Latijns-Amerikaanse muziek parodieert, en dat is jammer.''
,,Wij zijn maar Belgen'', zegt Hautekiet. ,,Maar Polé Polé boekt dan wel Salsa Celtica, een Schotse band. De Beursschouwburg haalt de neus op voor Belgische mambo maar programmeert wel de Mardi Grass Big Band. Dat zijn Duitsers. Ach, eigenlijk heb ik heb liever dat we ergens echt fout worden geboekt en dat we optreden voor gasten die de hele dag gitaarmuziek voorgeschoteld krijgen.'' Momenteel doet El Tattoo del Tigre een aantal speciale optredens op ongewone locaties: een kasteel, een oud mijngebouw of de opluistering van een modeshow van Dries Van Noten.
De groep zou het ook wel leuk vinden om zijn nummers te laten remixen. ,,Door Buscemi, bijvoorbeeld'', zegt Proesmans. ,,Het resultaat zou geestig kunnen zijn.'' Verlackt knikt instemmend. ,,Een remixalbum zou geen slecht idee zijn, want ooit zal mambo echt verdwijnen. Wie kan nog mambo dansen? Het is echt niet voldoende dat je met je heupen zwiert.''
Cd : ,,Sensacional'' is uit op Pias. Concerten: Domein Haksberg, Tielt-Winge, 9 augustus; Kasteel Hof Ter Linden, Edegem, 23 augustus; Pukkelpop, 30 augustus, Kazerne Majoor Blairon, Turnhout, 13 september; Oud Mijngebouw, Heusden-Zolder, 20 september.
Couponnetjesknippers vs Fiscale spitstechnici: de nationale Belgische sport: de belastingsontduikingsrace
de regering wenst een "repatrîëringsoperatie" op poten te zetten, waardoor zwart geld terug naar huis komt,
een soort van "amnestie" die je nog voordeliger uitkomt als je dat geld zou investeren in Belgische bedrijven...
Wie gelooft er nu dat die brave huisvader zijn zwart geld zal terugbrengen, gewoon omdat er belachelijke incentives worden gegeven,
laat staan de technici... En zelfs als er zwaardere straffen op zouden komen...
Wat is er voor die mensen (99,99999999999% van de Belgen) leuker dan ne keer naar Lux. rijden, zich te laten verwennen door dikke bankdirecteurs in geheimzinnige rituelen, het geld van de voorvaderen des stambooms te plukken in coupon-vorm, dat gezamelijk familiaal te verorberen, berustend in een rotsvast vertrouwen dat onze economïe'kes NOOIT failliet zullen gaan, en dat we het altijd wel even goed zullen hebben,
om dan slalommend tussen de hollanders door ne keer wat goedkoper benzine, drank en rookwaren in te slaan, dat alles onder het motto,
hunne groothertog is familie van onze koning....
Vanwaar die ijverigheid van onze jonge nieuwe regering? en da in de vakantie bij 40°: ridikuul
de regering wenst een "repatrîëringsoperatie" op poten te zetten, waardoor zwart geld terug naar huis komt,
een soort van "amnestie" die je nog voordeliger uitkomt als je dat geld zou investeren in Belgische bedrijven...
Wie gelooft er nu dat die brave huisvader zijn zwart geld zal terugbrengen, gewoon omdat er belachelijke incentives worden gegeven,
laat staan de technici... En zelfs als er zwaardere straffen op zouden komen...
Wat is er voor die mensen (99,99999999999% van de Belgen) leuker dan ne keer naar Lux. rijden, zich te laten verwennen door dikke bankdirecteurs in geheimzinnige rituelen, het geld van de voorvaderen des stambooms te plukken in coupon-vorm, dat gezamelijk familiaal te verorberen, berustend in een rotsvast vertrouwen dat onze economïe'kes NOOIT failliet zullen gaan, en dat we het altijd wel even goed zullen hebben,
om dan slalommend tussen de hollanders door ne keer wat goedkoper benzine, drank en rookwaren in te slaan, dat alles onder het motto,
hunne groothertog is familie van onze koning....
Vanwaar die ijverigheid van onze jonge nieuwe regering? en da in de vakantie bij 40°: ridikuul
Vamorgen op de metro zag ik een bedelaar zitten, die daar zoals elke vrijdagochtend zit, dit keer was er iets anders aan hem te zien: hij had zo'n rapper's muts op met daarop een wit konijn... moest er nu nog "follow the white rabbit" gestaan hebben, dan had ik hem terstond al de biljetten yens gegeven die nog in mijn portefeuille rondhangen.... pech voor hem dus, want er stond "bugs bunny"...
Gisterenavond op de metro zat er een vrouw tegenover me, die serieus aan de drugs had gezeten, ze hing kotsend over de reling in de nek van andere passagiers te lallen.
Vorige woensdagavond in Gare du Nord kwam er zo'n mafkees regelrecht op me af en begon me uit te schelden.
In dat station kan je de bizarste mensen observeren, beste plek is het platform op het eerste verdiep, of de bar bij het buitengaan links.
Pas er wel serieus op voor langharig ongeschoren tuig of bandieten uit de banlieu (ben er zelf al slachtoffer van geworden).
Gare du Nord is een microcosmos van internationale reizigers die allemaal "Parijs" willen doen,
hordes japanners in mei/juni,
dan volgen de amerikaanse en australische vetzakken op sandalen, met piercings en een torenhoog ego
nu zijn de italianen hier, luid en verontwaardigd roepend over de "desorganisatie"
en tussendoor stoot je zo altijd maar weer op de hollanders die hun boterhammen aan het "plekken" zijn op de trein, roodverbrand als een garnaal en de hele coupé onderwalmen met pindageur....
Human behaviour: soms té gek
Een constante is de agressie die je hier meer en meer voelt als de temperaturen stijgen, zoals deze week met maxima in de buurt van de 40°.
Een weekend Parijs: romantisch - Een week Parijs: en je wordt een serial killer
Gisterenavond op de metro zat er een vrouw tegenover me, die serieus aan de drugs had gezeten, ze hing kotsend over de reling in de nek van andere passagiers te lallen.
Vorige woensdagavond in Gare du Nord kwam er zo'n mafkees regelrecht op me af en begon me uit te schelden.
In dat station kan je de bizarste mensen observeren, beste plek is het platform op het eerste verdiep, of de bar bij het buitengaan links.
Pas er wel serieus op voor langharig ongeschoren tuig of bandieten uit de banlieu (ben er zelf al slachtoffer van geworden).
Gare du Nord is een microcosmos van internationale reizigers die allemaal "Parijs" willen doen,
hordes japanners in mei/juni,
dan volgen de amerikaanse en australische vetzakken op sandalen, met piercings en een torenhoog ego
nu zijn de italianen hier, luid en verontwaardigd roepend over de "desorganisatie"
en tussendoor stoot je zo altijd maar weer op de hollanders die hun boterhammen aan het "plekken" zijn op de trein, roodverbrand als een garnaal en de hele coupé onderwalmen met pindageur....
Human behaviour: soms té gek
Een constante is de agressie die je hier meer en meer voelt als de temperaturen stijgen, zoals deze week met maxima in de buurt van de 40°.
Een weekend Parijs: romantisch - Een week Parijs: en je wordt een serial killer
2003-08-07
Hot D$mn: finally: the definite guide to Belgium:
extract:
Motorway: A large three-laned road connecting major Belgian towns that is spectacularly illuminated throughout the night. Reasons for this are not entirely clear, but viable suggestions include the need to burn up excessively produced nuclear power or to provide runway facilities for alien spacecraft. Also a place where many Belgians have spent several days of their lives in attempts to get to Zaventem
Rijkswacht: At least that's what they are called in the flat bit. Aggressive officials in fast cars whose main job appears to be to relentlessly pursue cyclists and fine them for not having working lights on their bicycles.
The guy spent too much time "studying" in Leuven, but receives an honorable mention for his comprehensive understanding:
chek it out at: An A to Z of BELGIUM
extract:
Motorway: A large three-laned road connecting major Belgian towns that is spectacularly illuminated throughout the night. Reasons for this are not entirely clear, but viable suggestions include the need to burn up excessively produced nuclear power or to provide runway facilities for alien spacecraft. Also a place where many Belgians have spent several days of their lives in attempts to get to Zaventem
Rijkswacht: At least that's what they are called in the flat bit. Aggressive officials in fast cars whose main job appears to be to relentlessly pursue cyclists and fine them for not having working lights on their bicycles.
The guy spent too much time "studying" in Leuven, but receives an honorable mention for his comprehensive understanding:
chek it out at: An A to Z of BELGIUM
2003-08-06
Question: will wide-spread internet attacks, organised by terror-cells really happen?
Answer: is the race for "patches", small pieces of software, that the big developpers continuously spread through their websites, smart marketing:
typical assessment: you create fear, you create gusto, you create a consumerist-demand, a drive, a need for updates, by pumping rumours through all available channels:
example: the latest defcon, and the scare for the latest "hole" in Windows software...
add in a little FBI comment: quote - "we recommend everybody to install the Windows upgrades"....
result: free advertising, massive visits and downloading (with the additional benefits of being able to track your customers and their behaviour)
add it into the big numbercrunchers and you get TIA: total information awareness.
Consequence: the public is held hostage to software evolution.
"Oh, you don't have windows 2008, damn, too bad, you can't enroll in this class, job, country, ..."
"Oh, you only master word 2000, damn, you're fired..."
Answer: wide spread internet attacks will almost certainly happen: if not conducted by smart-ass would-be terrorists willing to shut down power grids matrix-style, it will be the corporate zurich gnomes, or the clever hacks at m-soft, in collusion with american paramilitary black-ops: their sole objective: keep you in fear, keep you consuming, keep you ignorant, keep you docile, keep you under control.
Has anybody ever explained to you what a "patch" really is, it sounds more like a pain-killing patch they hand out to hospital patients...
Bleak future: wars will be fought by tribes on the streets trying to access the latest patch-software that gives them higher user-status or access to certain privileges...
Answer: is the race for "patches", small pieces of software, that the big developpers continuously spread through their websites, smart marketing:
typical assessment: you create fear, you create gusto, you create a consumerist-demand, a drive, a need for updates, by pumping rumours through all available channels:
example: the latest defcon, and the scare for the latest "hole" in Windows software...
add in a little FBI comment: quote - "we recommend everybody to install the Windows upgrades"....
result: free advertising, massive visits and downloading (with the additional benefits of being able to track your customers and their behaviour)
add it into the big numbercrunchers and you get TIA: total information awareness.
Consequence: the public is held hostage to software evolution.
"Oh, you don't have windows 2008, damn, too bad, you can't enroll in this class, job, country, ..."
"Oh, you only master word 2000, damn, you're fired..."
Answer: wide spread internet attacks will almost certainly happen: if not conducted by smart-ass would-be terrorists willing to shut down power grids matrix-style, it will be the corporate zurich gnomes, or the clever hacks at m-soft, in collusion with american paramilitary black-ops: their sole objective: keep you in fear, keep you consuming, keep you ignorant, keep you docile, keep you under control.
Has anybody ever explained to you what a "patch" really is, it sounds more like a pain-killing patch they hand out to hospital patients...
Bleak future: wars will be fought by tribes on the streets trying to access the latest patch-software that gives them higher user-status or access to certain privileges...
Gravity mapped...
Check out this wonderful experiment that confirms so many philosopher's predicaments: gravity's gonna do us in...
Check out this wonderful experiment that confirms so many philosopher's predicaments: gravity's gonna do us in...
The French Actress Marie Trintingnant: le désarroi de la Gauche combattante en France:
Service de Commémoration au Théâtre Edouard VII
Next to my office... Almost couldn't get in this morning, because serious security check "en vigueur"...
Funeral will be held today at Père Lachaise.
Mss Trintingnant, emblematic figure of the french cultural leftist elite, was the victim of intra-couple abuse, her husband, the front-leader of leftist rock formation Noir Désir repeatedly hit her in the hit, causing severe brain damage that led to the actress' death.
Violence against "femmes" was longtime considered not worthy of reflection,
and lyriccs of such groups as Noir Désir contained massive references to the subjugation of woman, be it verbal or physical.
A tragic story leads to even more tragedy as the french cultural elite tries to figure out where to go from here...
Service de Commémoration au Théâtre Edouard VII
Next to my office... Almost couldn't get in this morning, because serious security check "en vigueur"...
Funeral will be held today at Père Lachaise.
Mss Trintingnant, emblematic figure of the french cultural leftist elite, was the victim of intra-couple abuse, her husband, the front-leader of leftist rock formation Noir Désir repeatedly hit her in the hit, causing severe brain damage that led to the actress' death.
Violence against "femmes" was longtime considered not worthy of reflection,
and lyriccs of such groups as Noir Désir contained massive references to the subjugation of woman, be it verbal or physical.
A tragic story leads to even more tragedy as the french cultural elite tries to figure out where to go from here...
2003-08-01
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2003/08/RAMONET/10252
Article in the Monde Diplo on the TIA / Total Information Awareness programme, that the US Governement is implementing to catalogue all of the world's 6 billion people... Big brother is over...
Article in the Monde Diplo on the TIA / Total Information Awareness programme, that the US Governement is implementing to catalogue all of the world's 6 billion people... Big brother is over...
2003-07-31
Intro to following post
Founded in 1542 by Pope Paul III with the Constitution "Licet ab initio," the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was originally called the Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition as its duty was to defend the Church from heresy. It is the oldest of the Curia's nine congregations.
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Founded in 1542 by Pope Paul III with the Constitution "Licet ab initio," the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was originally called the Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition as its duty was to defend the Church from heresy. It is the oldest of the Curia's nine congregations.
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Considerations of the Vatican with regards to the sacrament of mariage,
and opposition against political tendencies towards giving homosexuals these same rights ....
What we learn from this text is the following, without professing any personal views on this new political development:
THE NATURE OF MARRIAGE AND ITS INALIENABLE CHARACTERISTICS
The Church's teaching on marriage and on the complementarity of the sexes reiterates a truth that is evident to right reason and recognized as such by all the major cultures of the world. Marriage is not just any relationship between human beings. It was established by the Creator with its own nature, essential properties and purpose. No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman, who by mutual personal gift, proper and exclusive to themselves, tend toward the communion of their persons. In this way, they mutually perfect each other, in order to cooperate with God in the procreation and upbringing of new human lives.
The natural truth about marriage was confirmed by the Revelation contained in the biblical accounts of creation, an expression also of the original human wisdom, in which the voice of nature itself is heard. There are three fundamental elements of the Creator's plan for marriage, as narrated in the Book of Genesis.
In the first place, man, the image of God, was created “male and female” (Gen 1:27). Men and women are equal as persons and complementary as male and female. Sexuality is something that pertains to the physical-biological realm and has also been raised to a new level – the personal level – where nature and spirit are united.
Marriage is instituted by the Creator as a form of life in which a communion of persons is realized involving the use of the sexual faculty. “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife and they become one flesh” (Gen 2:24).
Third, God has willed to give the union of man and woman a special participation in his work of creation. Thus, he blessed the man and the woman with the words “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28). Therefore, in the Creator's plan, sexual complementarity and fruitfulness belong to the very nature of marriage.
Furthermore, the marital union of man and woman has been elevated by Christ to the dignity of a sacrament. The Church teaches that Christian marriage is an efficacious sign of the covenant between Christ and the Church (cf. Eph 5:32). This Christian meaning of marriage, far from diminishing the profoundly human value of the marital union between man and woman, confirms and strengthens it (cf. Mt 19:3-12; Mk 10:6-9).
And yes, we agree to these last paragraphs, mariage is indeed very serious business...
and opposition against political tendencies towards giving homosexuals these same rights ....
What we learn from this text is the following, without professing any personal views on this new political development:
THE NATURE OF MARRIAGE AND ITS INALIENABLE CHARACTERISTICS
The Church's teaching on marriage and on the complementarity of the sexes reiterates a truth that is evident to right reason and recognized as such by all the major cultures of the world. Marriage is not just any relationship between human beings. It was established by the Creator with its own nature, essential properties and purpose. No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman, who by mutual personal gift, proper and exclusive to themselves, tend toward the communion of their persons. In this way, they mutually perfect each other, in order to cooperate with God in the procreation and upbringing of new human lives.
The natural truth about marriage was confirmed by the Revelation contained in the biblical accounts of creation, an expression also of the original human wisdom, in which the voice of nature itself is heard. There are three fundamental elements of the Creator's plan for marriage, as narrated in the Book of Genesis.
In the first place, man, the image of God, was created “male and female” (Gen 1:27). Men and women are equal as persons and complementary as male and female. Sexuality is something that pertains to the physical-biological realm and has also been raised to a new level – the personal level – where nature and spirit are united.
Marriage is instituted by the Creator as a form of life in which a communion of persons is realized involving the use of the sexual faculty. “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife and they become one flesh” (Gen 2:24).
Third, God has willed to give the union of man and woman a special participation in his work of creation. Thus, he blessed the man and the woman with the words “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28). Therefore, in the Creator's plan, sexual complementarity and fruitfulness belong to the very nature of marriage.
Furthermore, the marital union of man and woman has been elevated by Christ to the dignity of a sacrament. The Church teaches that Christian marriage is an efficacious sign of the covenant between Christ and the Church (cf. Eph 5:32). This Christian meaning of marriage, far from diminishing the profoundly human value of the marital union between man and woman, confirms and strengthens it (cf. Mt 19:3-12; Mk 10:6-9).
And yes, we agree to these last paragraphs, mariage is indeed very serious business...
Reality Shows: watch out...
http://users.pandora.be/cooreman/bere/
Amazing to know that this type of behaviour actually exists...
And an interesting look at today's reality through
http://www.tacticalmagic.org/
Peace through superior poetry
http://users.pandora.be/cooreman/bere/
Amazing to know that this type of behaviour actually exists...
And an interesting look at today's reality through
http://www.tacticalmagic.org/
Peace through superior poetry
2003-07-29
Counting down:
exactly: 38 days and 1 minute to go ...
All is set, under control or will soon be activated
Status report: well advancing in our planning campaign. Execution of major tasks completed with success.
Standing by now for last details and stag activities.
W e (E + T) a r e s o h a p p y!
Who'd have thought that planning a wedding could actually be fun?
And thanks, many special thanks for all those who are helping out...
It must have something to do with the 80/20 Pareto principle...
For those in the know: don't forget to send your replies ASAP!
exactly: 38 days and 1 minute to go ...
All is set, under control or will soon be activated
Status report: well advancing in our planning campaign. Execution of major tasks completed with success.
Standing by now for last details and stag activities.
W e (E + T) a r e s o h a p p y!
Who'd have thought that planning a wedding could actually be fun?
And thanks, many special thanks for all those who are helping out...
It must have something to do with the 80/20 Pareto principle...
For those in the know: don't forget to send your replies ASAP!
Who said that primates such as apes and humans are the only animals to spontaneously fabricate or use tools:
check this out and learn about the smartminded crows, who will soon be dominating our world...
Krrk
Lone dog sent in this link:
understanding traffic jams for traffic coordinators worldwide...
See how they "mysteriously" arise, by manipulatin' some basic parametrics...
A must-see if you're stuck in traffic for hours per week. Get out there, take the bike to the train to the city to the sidewalks to the rollers to the office and blow off some sweat. You'll arrive well-rested, exercised, informed and just maybe you might make new friends in your wagons, all the while protecting the environnement and not risking your life.
'Been driving around recently, and goddamn... you better buy a bigger car than those maniacs out there... The odds you're going to be involved in serious shit on the road have risen dramatically these last years... And wear a seat-belt, all the time, anywhere, especially in the back!
http://vwisb7.vkw.tu-dresden.de/~treiber/MicroApplet/simFrame.html
check this out and learn about the smartminded crows, who will soon be dominating our world...
Krrk
Lone dog sent in this link:
understanding traffic jams for traffic coordinators worldwide...
See how they "mysteriously" arise, by manipulatin' some basic parametrics...
A must-see if you're stuck in traffic for hours per week. Get out there, take the bike to the train to the city to the sidewalks to the rollers to the office and blow off some sweat. You'll arrive well-rested, exercised, informed and just maybe you might make new friends in your wagons, all the while protecting the environnement and not risking your life.
'Been driving around recently, and goddamn... you better buy a bigger car than those maniacs out there... The odds you're going to be involved in serious shit on the road have risen dramatically these last years... And wear a seat-belt, all the time, anywhere, especially in the back!
http://vwisb7.vkw.tu-dresden.de/~treiber/MicroApplet/simFrame.html
Hyperlinking your world today: Harvest of the Month:
a company in Nevada gets into trouble, running ads promising hunters game they've never seen.
Civil rights activits condemn the portrayal of this activity as fun...
After our travels to Japan, some intrest sparkled up; check out the latest rules of behaviour when you wanna call somebody on his/her mobile device. You shrttxt them first to see if they're available...
Another great internet-related phenomenon that is sparking up: FLASH MOBBING:
tons of people get together at a preset hour and start doing something inobtrusive,
asking a rug dealer about his carpets, hundreds at a time,
clapping your hands, in large malls and hotels worldwide,
the MOBS mysteriously appear and disappear into assembled crowds,
only to reunite on the net, and set the date for the next intervention.
Hilarious.
Anyone up to flashmob the european community in Brussels?
check out
http://parismobs.free.fr/
http://wiki.crao.net/index.php/MousseNavire
a company in Nevada gets into trouble, running ads promising hunters game they've never seen.
Civil rights activits condemn the portrayal of this activity as fun...
After our travels to Japan, some intrest sparkled up; check out the latest rules of behaviour when you wanna call somebody on his/her mobile device. You shrttxt them first to see if they're available...
Another great internet-related phenomenon that is sparking up: FLASH MOBBING:
tons of people get together at a preset hour and start doing something inobtrusive,
asking a rug dealer about his carpets, hundreds at a time,
clapping your hands, in large malls and hotels worldwide,
the MOBS mysteriously appear and disappear into assembled crowds,
only to reunite on the net, and set the date for the next intervention.
Hilarious.
Anyone up to flashmob the european community in Brussels?
check out
http://parismobs.free.fr/
http://wiki.crao.net/index.php/MousseNavire
Whoah!
The United States Forest Service (Bubbah the Bear) declares: "we're the ninja's of the woods"...
You wouldn't believe what's growing in your downtown national reserve...
Longtime believed to be pristine, it appears whole plantations of crops are being settled. Watch out: the next time you're hiking, camping, ... you might no longer bump into a real grizzly, but into some poor chicano weed-farmer protecting his crops...
Read the article in Time
Extract hereunder:
A blue-gray dawn tickles the tops of the ponderosa pines at the Sugar Pine Recreation Area in California's Tahoe National Forest. Campers slumber in lakeside tents; bikers have yet to hit the trails. But all is not quiet on this cool July morning. A platoon of camouflaged figures equipped with rifles, pistols and bulletproof vests creep through manzanita brush with a police dog. Their objective: a marijuana plantation a few hundred yards from a well-traveled tourist area.
As the Forest Service rangers stealthily approach, an unsuspecting Mexican laborer named Pedro Villa García, 51, stands in a clearing. All around him the hillside is freshly terraced, irrigated by black plastic hoses and dotted with iridescent green cannabis. Villa García peers down the path. Is that a black bear—a common local species—emerging from the morning mist? Suddenly he sees the rangers and dashes off through the brambles. But the police dog, a Belgian Malinois, catches up quickly, sinking its teeth into Villa García's arm. Two rangers wrestle him to the ground and handcuff him. "We're good at jungle warfare," says Laura Mark, a Forest Service investigator, as she prepares to question the suspect. "We're the ninjas of the woods."
Armed combat is hardly what families hope to encounter as they head for their summer vacations in America's national parks and forests. But drug smugglers, methamphetamine cooks and cannabis cultivators are invading federal lands as never before. A U.S. Park Service ranger in Arizona's Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was gunned down by a Mexican pot smuggler last August. In Missouri's Mark Twain National Forest, 192 meth labs have been dismantled over the past three years. And marijuana farms are infesting Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest and Alabama's Talladega National Forest.
But the most explosive conflicts—and the biggest hauls—are taking place in California. As enforcement tightens along U.S. borders, especially since 9/11, it is getting harder to transport drugs into America. So Mexican traffickers have turned to creating vast marijuana plantations Stateside, that much closer to their main customers. Thanks to a mild climate, rich soil and a lengthy, March-to-October growing season, California cultivators routinely produce 10-ft.-high specimens worth up to $4,000 each. Some of these California pot farms stretch over several hundred acres and have as many as 50,000 plants. Last year 420,000 pot plants with a street value of $1.5 billion were eradicated from the state's 18 federal forests, a tenfold increase from 1994.
In Sequoia National Park, renowned for its majestic trees, rangers confiscated eight tons of marijuana in a single week last September. "We have a tremendous influx of Mexican growers," says Ross Butler, a special agent for the federal Bureau of Land Management. "They are sophisticated. They have guns. And we don't know much about who they are."
Villa García is unarmed when he is caught in the Tahoe forest—probably, rangers say, because it is early in the season. If they had already matured, the 3,500 plants he was tending would have yielded some $8 million worth of pot—an investment worth protecting. In the fall, when scores of Mexican workers arrive to harvest and process the pot, shoot-outs occur between law-enforcement agents and camouflage-clad growers toting AK-47s. Sometimes the pot pirates mistake innocent tourists for thieves or cops. Last year kayakers on the Salmon River in the Klamath National Forest were held at gunpoint by traffickers, as were a hiker in the Sequoia National Park and hunters in Mendocino National Forest. Two years ago, an 8-year-old boy hunting deer in the Eldorado National Forest with his father was shot in the face by pot farmers. "If you are a hunter, a fisherman or a backpacker, it can be dangerous," says Michael Delaney, who oversees marijuana cases for the Drug Enforcement Administration in Northern California. "There's a safety factor for everyone who is out there."
Squirming in his handcuffs, the white-bearded Villa García looks more like a kindly grandfather than a drug trafficker. He says he has been in the U.S. poquito—only a short time. A stranger came to his village in the Mexican state of Michoacán and brought him across the border, along with four others.
One of them was with him on the Tahoe farm but managed to escape. "I did not know what kind of work it would be," he says in Spanish, adding that he was paid $200 a month. Villa García was arraigned on narcotics-cultivation charges, pleaded not guilty, and is in prison awaiting trial. His is a story federal agents know well after arresting scores of low-level gardeners, all undocumented, most hailing from Michoacán. "They don't know much, and they're told, ‘You talk, you gonna die,'" says Mark, who has questioned 60 such workers in the past year. "The odds of us finding the organizers are slim."
At least five Mexican drug rings are under investigation, some of them related to the Michoacán-based Magana family. In June 2001, nine members of the Magana clan pleaded guilty in federal court to narcotics charges and were given prison sentences ranging from four to 12 years. The Maganas have been tied to 20 large gardens with more than 100,000 plants in the Sequoia, Sierra, Stanislaus and Mendocino national forests. They also supplied workers for pot farms on federal land in Arkansas, Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington. According to investigators, the Maganas and other groups have used profits from methamphetamine operations to expand into marijuana. They own gas stations, haciendas and million-dollar resorts in Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, Michoacán and other parts of Mexico. "They have tremendous networks involving legal businesses, money laundering and distribution," says Jerry Moore, the Forest Service's regional law-enforcement chief. "We arrest people, but new players move in."
Villa García and his Tahoe pot farm were discovered a week after two forest rangers on patrol noticed a recently bushwhacked footpath. After the bust, the rangers found the usual layout and pattern of cultivation. "It's like they all go to the same college course—Marijuana 101," says Mark. As in other grows, seedlings are planted 6 ft. apart in rows. A forest canopy admits filtered sunlight but hides the seedlings from aerial surveillance. A stream is diverted to allow its water to flow through drip-irrigation tubes along the terraces. So that the workers can escape more easily, their sleeping area—strewn with toothbrushes and bottles of Pepto-Bismol and NyQuil—is hidden in the brush, apart from the kitchen and processing area. Propane bottles provide fuel for a two-burner stove next to bags of tortillas, cans of Juanita's-brand menudo (tripe), sacks of fertilizer and a votive card of St. Peter with the inscription "May your spirit intercede for sinners …" in Spanish.
Rangers say that in March and April, workers are driven in vans along remote forest roads at dusk or dawn. They pile out onto prescouted paths with 100-lb. packs of supplies. Once they set up camp and begin planting, they are resupplied every two to three weeks. Throughout the summer, a skeletal crew tends the gardens, which are often divided into connected plots. In the fall, more workers come in to process the weed; one raid found 40 sleeping bags at a single site. The workers pick the flowering tops and hang them in nets to dry for up to a week. They peel off the buds, package the pot using scales and Baggies, and hike it out at night in duffel bags. At preset pickup points, vans await to transport the pot to consumers across the U.S.
Beyond the safety issue, the ecological damage from large-scale farms in parks and forests could take years to repair. Tree cutting and terraced slopes are causing massive erosion. In addition, the pot farmers leave a mess. At the Tahoe grow, 20 rangers and sheriff's deputies dug up the cannabis and stuffed it into paper bags as evidence. But propane tanks, coils of irrigation hose and food cans were left behind. "We don't have the manpower to get the garbage out," says Mark as she rips open plastic bags and tosses tortillas into the bushes.
Only seven drug-enforcement agents are assigned to police California's 20 million acres of federal forests. Rangers estimate that they discover as few as a third of the pot farms growing on public lands—and more than half of those are left untouched for lack of personnel to investigate them. When forest fires demand extra bodies, as was the case during last year's drought, even more cannabis is left to harvest. "This is a huge criminal enterprise, and we have so few resources to fight it," says Mark. "There are more growers than we know about or can deal with. We pick off a couple. The rest get away."
From the Aug. 04, 2003 issue of TIME magazine
The United States Forest Service (Bubbah the Bear) declares: "we're the ninja's of the woods"...
You wouldn't believe what's growing in your downtown national reserve...
Longtime believed to be pristine, it appears whole plantations of crops are being settled. Watch out: the next time you're hiking, camping, ... you might no longer bump into a real grizzly, but into some poor chicano weed-farmer protecting his crops...
Read the article in Time
Extract hereunder:
A blue-gray dawn tickles the tops of the ponderosa pines at the Sugar Pine Recreation Area in California's Tahoe National Forest. Campers slumber in lakeside tents; bikers have yet to hit the trails. But all is not quiet on this cool July morning. A platoon of camouflaged figures equipped with rifles, pistols and bulletproof vests creep through manzanita brush with a police dog. Their objective: a marijuana plantation a few hundred yards from a well-traveled tourist area.
As the Forest Service rangers stealthily approach, an unsuspecting Mexican laborer named Pedro Villa García, 51, stands in a clearing. All around him the hillside is freshly terraced, irrigated by black plastic hoses and dotted with iridescent green cannabis. Villa García peers down the path. Is that a black bear—a common local species—emerging from the morning mist? Suddenly he sees the rangers and dashes off through the brambles. But the police dog, a Belgian Malinois, catches up quickly, sinking its teeth into Villa García's arm. Two rangers wrestle him to the ground and handcuff him. "We're good at jungle warfare," says Laura Mark, a Forest Service investigator, as she prepares to question the suspect. "We're the ninjas of the woods."
Armed combat is hardly what families hope to encounter as they head for their summer vacations in America's national parks and forests. But drug smugglers, methamphetamine cooks and cannabis cultivators are invading federal lands as never before. A U.S. Park Service ranger in Arizona's Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was gunned down by a Mexican pot smuggler last August. In Missouri's Mark Twain National Forest, 192 meth labs have been dismantled over the past three years. And marijuana farms are infesting Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest and Alabama's Talladega National Forest.
But the most explosive conflicts—and the biggest hauls—are taking place in California. As enforcement tightens along U.S. borders, especially since 9/11, it is getting harder to transport drugs into America. So Mexican traffickers have turned to creating vast marijuana plantations Stateside, that much closer to their main customers. Thanks to a mild climate, rich soil and a lengthy, March-to-October growing season, California cultivators routinely produce 10-ft.-high specimens worth up to $4,000 each. Some of these California pot farms stretch over several hundred acres and have as many as 50,000 plants. Last year 420,000 pot plants with a street value of $1.5 billion were eradicated from the state's 18 federal forests, a tenfold increase from 1994.
In Sequoia National Park, renowned for its majestic trees, rangers confiscated eight tons of marijuana in a single week last September. "We have a tremendous influx of Mexican growers," says Ross Butler, a special agent for the federal Bureau of Land Management. "They are sophisticated. They have guns. And we don't know much about who they are."
Villa García is unarmed when he is caught in the Tahoe forest—probably, rangers say, because it is early in the season. If they had already matured, the 3,500 plants he was tending would have yielded some $8 million worth of pot—an investment worth protecting. In the fall, when scores of Mexican workers arrive to harvest and process the pot, shoot-outs occur between law-enforcement agents and camouflage-clad growers toting AK-47s. Sometimes the pot pirates mistake innocent tourists for thieves or cops. Last year kayakers on the Salmon River in the Klamath National Forest were held at gunpoint by traffickers, as were a hiker in the Sequoia National Park and hunters in Mendocino National Forest. Two years ago, an 8-year-old boy hunting deer in the Eldorado National Forest with his father was shot in the face by pot farmers. "If you are a hunter, a fisherman or a backpacker, it can be dangerous," says Michael Delaney, who oversees marijuana cases for the Drug Enforcement Administration in Northern California. "There's a safety factor for everyone who is out there."
Squirming in his handcuffs, the white-bearded Villa García looks more like a kindly grandfather than a drug trafficker. He says he has been in the U.S. poquito—only a short time. A stranger came to his village in the Mexican state of Michoacán and brought him across the border, along with four others.
One of them was with him on the Tahoe farm but managed to escape. "I did not know what kind of work it would be," he says in Spanish, adding that he was paid $200 a month. Villa García was arraigned on narcotics-cultivation charges, pleaded not guilty, and is in prison awaiting trial. His is a story federal agents know well after arresting scores of low-level gardeners, all undocumented, most hailing from Michoacán. "They don't know much, and they're told, ‘You talk, you gonna die,'" says Mark, who has questioned 60 such workers in the past year. "The odds of us finding the organizers are slim."
At least five Mexican drug rings are under investigation, some of them related to the Michoacán-based Magana family. In June 2001, nine members of the Magana clan pleaded guilty in federal court to narcotics charges and were given prison sentences ranging from four to 12 years. The Maganas have been tied to 20 large gardens with more than 100,000 plants in the Sequoia, Sierra, Stanislaus and Mendocino national forests. They also supplied workers for pot farms on federal land in Arkansas, Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington. According to investigators, the Maganas and other groups have used profits from methamphetamine operations to expand into marijuana. They own gas stations, haciendas and million-dollar resorts in Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, Michoacán and other parts of Mexico. "They have tremendous networks involving legal businesses, money laundering and distribution," says Jerry Moore, the Forest Service's regional law-enforcement chief. "We arrest people, but new players move in."
Villa García and his Tahoe pot farm were discovered a week after two forest rangers on patrol noticed a recently bushwhacked footpath. After the bust, the rangers found the usual layout and pattern of cultivation. "It's like they all go to the same college course—Marijuana 101," says Mark. As in other grows, seedlings are planted 6 ft. apart in rows. A forest canopy admits filtered sunlight but hides the seedlings from aerial surveillance. A stream is diverted to allow its water to flow through drip-irrigation tubes along the terraces. So that the workers can escape more easily, their sleeping area—strewn with toothbrushes and bottles of Pepto-Bismol and NyQuil—is hidden in the brush, apart from the kitchen and processing area. Propane bottles provide fuel for a two-burner stove next to bags of tortillas, cans of Juanita's-brand menudo (tripe), sacks of fertilizer and a votive card of St. Peter with the inscription "May your spirit intercede for sinners …" in Spanish.
Rangers say that in March and April, workers are driven in vans along remote forest roads at dusk or dawn. They pile out onto prescouted paths with 100-lb. packs of supplies. Once they set up camp and begin planting, they are resupplied every two to three weeks. Throughout the summer, a skeletal crew tends the gardens, which are often divided into connected plots. In the fall, more workers come in to process the weed; one raid found 40 sleeping bags at a single site. The workers pick the flowering tops and hang them in nets to dry for up to a week. They peel off the buds, package the pot using scales and Baggies, and hike it out at night in duffel bags. At preset pickup points, vans await to transport the pot to consumers across the U.S.
Beyond the safety issue, the ecological damage from large-scale farms in parks and forests could take years to repair. Tree cutting and terraced slopes are causing massive erosion. In addition, the pot farmers leave a mess. At the Tahoe grow, 20 rangers and sheriff's deputies dug up the cannabis and stuffed it into paper bags as evidence. But propane tanks, coils of irrigation hose and food cans were left behind. "We don't have the manpower to get the garbage out," says Mark as she rips open plastic bags and tosses tortillas into the bushes.
Only seven drug-enforcement agents are assigned to police California's 20 million acres of federal forests. Rangers estimate that they discover as few as a third of the pot farms growing on public lands—and more than half of those are left untouched for lack of personnel to investigate them. When forest fires demand extra bodies, as was the case during last year's drought, even more cannabis is left to harvest. "This is a huge criminal enterprise, and we have so few resources to fight it," says Mark. "There are more growers than we know about or can deal with. We pick off a couple. The rest get away."
From the Aug. 04, 2003 issue of TIME magazine
2003-07-24
Week by week, the same couple of OWLS are sitting on the street. Every night at around midnight you can see them enjoying the heat of the macadam, refusing flat out to fly away scared as they are by the headlights of the car. Very distinctively you can make out the size of the female>male, which is common among birds of prey (in Dutch: kerkuiltjes).
Do you realize how many different species walk/fly amongst us?
Do you realize how many different species walk/fly amongst us?
2003-07-23
It's pretty hard to find solid info on Jon Krakauer and his masterpiece "Into the wild".
Here's a link. Anyone has more suggestions?
Here's a link. Anyone has more suggestions?
Some Quotes
Il ne faut pas toujours tourner la page, il faut parfois la déchirer.
Il vaut mieux être le premier dans les choses simples que le dernier dans les grandes choses.
Pardonnez à vos ennemis mais n'oubliez jamais leurs noms.
Le sage, c'est celui qui lit à la fois dans les livres et dans la vie.
Il ne faut pas toujours tourner la page, il faut parfois la déchirer.
Il vaut mieux être le premier dans les choses simples que le dernier dans les grandes choses.
Pardonnez à vos ennemis mais n'oubliez jamais leurs noms.
Le sage, c'est celui qui lit à la fois dans les livres et dans la vie.
2003-07-10
Staging Group Pranks,
read this article in Wired about Flash Mobbing for the Masses
a wonderful read and inspiring content
read this article in Wired about Flash Mobbing for the Masses
a wonderful read and inspiring content
2003-07-08
Dans le silence,
nos paroles se refont une petite beauté
(lu dans le Métro Parisien)
Today @ 1600 zulu, the whole 14 juillet - airborne parade flew over the center of Paris in rehearsal of the National Celebration next week,
felt like a gigantic air - raid with tremendous views of jetfighters, tankers and helicopters... Kick ass views from the terrace!
nos paroles se refont une petite beauté
(lu dans le Métro Parisien)
Today @ 1600 zulu, the whole 14 juillet - airborne parade flew over the center of Paris in rehearsal of the National Celebration next week,
felt like a gigantic air - raid with tremendous views of jetfighters, tankers and helicopters... Kick ass views from the terrace!
2003-07-07
2003-07-04
Uit De Standaard van vandaag: El Tatto del Tigre maakt furore in Parijs
Het ging over de kleren, maar naderhand had iedereen het zo mogelijk nog meer over de muziek. De Vlaamse modeontwerper Dries Van Noten vroeg het Vlaamse mambo-orkest El Tattoo Del Tigre deze week om de muziek te verzorgen bij zijn Parijse modeshow. Het bleek een gouden idee. ,,De mensen waren stomverbaasd'', aldus de congaspeler Kobe Proesmans. ,,Hopelijk opent dit deuren voor ons.''
www.eltattoodeltigre.com
Dries Van Noten vond El Tattoo Del Tigre goed passen bij zijn nieuwe collectie, verklaart Proesmans. ,,Laten we zeggen dat zowel zijn kleren als onze muziek een hoge elegantiefactor hebben. Hij wilde van zijn defilé deze keer een feest maken, met cocktails en hapjes en toen hij voor de muziek een feestgroep zocht, kwam hij bij ons uit.''
,,Al voor het defilé begon, liep een klein groepje muzikanten tussen de aanwezigen door. . Een catwalk ontbrak. ,,Toen de modeshow begon, ging er ineens een gordijn open, stonden de 35 muzikanten van El Tattoo Del Tigre op het podium en werd een rode loper uitgerold voor de mannequins'', vertelt Proesmans. ,,De reacties waren enorm goed. Hopelijk kan dit helpen om onze naam verder te verspreiden over de wereld. We dromen ervan om ooit eens in New York of Tokyo te spelen en wie weet komt dat er nu wel van.''
De samenwerking tussen Van Noten en El Tattoo De Tigre was in elk geval niet eenmalig, want het logo van de groep siert ook kleren van Van Notens zomercollectie van 2004.
Het ging over de kleren, maar naderhand had iedereen het zo mogelijk nog meer over de muziek. De Vlaamse modeontwerper Dries Van Noten vroeg het Vlaamse mambo-orkest El Tattoo Del Tigre deze week om de muziek te verzorgen bij zijn Parijse modeshow. Het bleek een gouden idee. ,,De mensen waren stomverbaasd'', aldus de congaspeler Kobe Proesmans. ,,Hopelijk opent dit deuren voor ons.''
www.eltattoodeltigre.com
Dries Van Noten vond El Tattoo Del Tigre goed passen bij zijn nieuwe collectie, verklaart Proesmans. ,,Laten we zeggen dat zowel zijn kleren als onze muziek een hoge elegantiefactor hebben. Hij wilde van zijn defilé deze keer een feest maken, met cocktails en hapjes en toen hij voor de muziek een feestgroep zocht, kwam hij bij ons uit.''
,,Al voor het defilé begon, liep een klein groepje muzikanten tussen de aanwezigen door. . Een catwalk ontbrak. ,,Toen de modeshow begon, ging er ineens een gordijn open, stonden de 35 muzikanten van El Tattoo Del Tigre op het podium en werd een rode loper uitgerold voor de mannequins'', vertelt Proesmans. ,,De reacties waren enorm goed. Hopelijk kan dit helpen om onze naam verder te verspreiden over de wereld. We dromen ervan om ooit eens in New York of Tokyo te spelen en wie weet komt dat er nu wel van.''
De samenwerking tussen Van Noten en El Tattoo De Tigre was in elk geval niet eenmalig, want het logo van de groep siert ook kleren van Van Notens zomercollectie van 2004.
2003-06-27
Day J-1: tomorrow at Saturday June 28th: 1100 zulu time...
I cannot imagine the future, but I care about it. I know I am a part of a story that starts long before I can remember and continues long beyond when anyone will remember me. I sense that I am alive at a time of important change, and I feel a responsibility to make sure that the change comes out well. I plant my acorns knowing that I will never live to harvest the oaks.
I cannot imagine the future, but I care about it. I know I am a part of a story that starts long before I can remember and continues long beyond when anyone will remember me. I sense that I am alive at a time of important change, and I feel a responsibility to make sure that the change comes out well. I plant my acorns knowing that I will never live to harvest the oaks.
2003-06-25
Read this to enjoy some of the fondest memories of Comical Ali
and here is a link to his website: http://www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com/
Copyright The Daily Mirror:
COMICAL Ali, Saddam Hussein's ludicrous spin doctor, has been arrested in Baghdad, it was claimed last night.
Information minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf had been hiding out at a relative's house since April watching satellite TV - banned under Saddam.
US troops set up a road block in the Baghdad suburb and caught him in his car on Monday night.
Al-Sahaf - who became a comic hero for his ridiculous denials of the truth in the Gulf War including "We are winning" as Baghdad fell - gave himself up without a fuss.
It was thought he might have killed himself when he disappeared on the day the Iraqi regime collapsed, still insisting Saddam would prevail.
But after his arrest the man, infamous for his amazing lies, begged US soldiers to save him from the embarrassment of being taken away publicly in a conspicuous armoured Humvee.
He was allowed to go into the house where he has apparently been holed up with his wife Lamia, daughter Thefaf and doctor sons Ziad and Isama, to collect a toothbrush, razor and book.
He wore a short-sleeved shirt, rather than his trademark army uniform and beret but was told to remove his tie for fear he might try suicide.
The Americans hope that Sahaf, who did not appear in their deck of cards of Iraq's most wanted, will tell them where Saddam is hiding.
A senior coalition source said: "He has some serious talking to do ... this time."
Relatives said Sahaf has been in a state of shock since the regime collapsed.
He was the last member of Saddam's Ba'ath party to abandon his post, giving his final briefing on the morning the tyrant's statue was symbolically toppled in the capital.
In it he cheerily insisted: "There is no presence of American infidels in Baghdad. They are going to surrender or be burned in their tanks". As he was speaking, US troops were pouring into view behind him, waving to cheering Iraqis.
A colleague at the radio station where he had sent desperate propaganda broadcasts in the last days, told how he had returned and poignantly removed his beret and epaulettes, threw the keys of his Mercedes and his satellite phone into the Tigris River and vanished.
His disappearance prompted rumours he had hanged himself on a lamppost, unable to cope with the reality that Saddam had finally gone.
But he is reported to have spent much of his time watching banned satellite television which his homes have had for many years. Friends said his main pleasures were a few shots of Scotch whiskey and regular barbecues of skewered beef and lamb.
Meanwhile, a worldwide industry exploiting his cult status is growing around the world.
A website set up in his honour crashed after receiving 4,000 hits per second.
And fans have bought thousands of t-shirts with his picture and his most fanciful sayings including: "We slaughtered them and we will continue to slaughter them. God is grilling their stomachs in hell."
THE WISDOM OF ALI
COMICAL Ali's outlandish statements made him a cult figure with President George Bush amongst his diehard fans.
Bush once said of him: "Somebody would tell me: 'He's getting ready to speak!' and I'd pop out of a meeting or turn and watch the TV."
But Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf didn't have the same affection for Bush of whom he said: "'He is a very stupid man. The American people are not stupid, they are very clever. I can't understand how such clever people came to elect such a stupid president." He said another time: "I speak better English than this villain Bush."
As the situation got more desperate in Iraq, Sahaf could not take it in. He said: "They are not in Baghdad. They are not in control of any airport. I tell you this. It is all a lie. They lie. It is a Hollywood movie. You do not believe them."
He always maintained the Americans were losing the war. "We have destroyed two tanks, fighter planes, two helicopters and their shovels - We have driven them back."
Asked about his outlandish claims, he hit back: "Lying is forbidden in Iraq. President Saddam Hussein will tolerate nothing but truthfulness as he is a man of great honour and integrity. Everyone is encouraged to speak freely of the truths evidenced in their eyes and hearts."
He added: "I blame al-Jazeera - they are marketing for the Americans!" Always upbeat, he said: "My feelings - as usual - we will slaughter them all." "Our estimates are that none of them will come out alive unless they surrender to us quickly." "Don't believe anything! We will chase the rascals back to London!"
and here is a link to his website: http://www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com/
Copyright The Daily Mirror:
COMICAL Ali, Saddam Hussein's ludicrous spin doctor, has been arrested in Baghdad, it was claimed last night.
Information minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf had been hiding out at a relative's house since April watching satellite TV - banned under Saddam.
US troops set up a road block in the Baghdad suburb and caught him in his car on Monday night.
Al-Sahaf - who became a comic hero for his ridiculous denials of the truth in the Gulf War including "We are winning" as Baghdad fell - gave himself up without a fuss.
It was thought he might have killed himself when he disappeared on the day the Iraqi regime collapsed, still insisting Saddam would prevail.
But after his arrest the man, infamous for his amazing lies, begged US soldiers to save him from the embarrassment of being taken away publicly in a conspicuous armoured Humvee.
He was allowed to go into the house where he has apparently been holed up with his wife Lamia, daughter Thefaf and doctor sons Ziad and Isama, to collect a toothbrush, razor and book.
He wore a short-sleeved shirt, rather than his trademark army uniform and beret but was told to remove his tie for fear he might try suicide.
The Americans hope that Sahaf, who did not appear in their deck of cards of Iraq's most wanted, will tell them where Saddam is hiding.
A senior coalition source said: "He has some serious talking to do ... this time."
Relatives said Sahaf has been in a state of shock since the regime collapsed.
He was the last member of Saddam's Ba'ath party to abandon his post, giving his final briefing on the morning the tyrant's statue was symbolically toppled in the capital.
In it he cheerily insisted: "There is no presence of American infidels in Baghdad. They are going to surrender or be burned in their tanks". As he was speaking, US troops were pouring into view behind him, waving to cheering Iraqis.
A colleague at the radio station where he had sent desperate propaganda broadcasts in the last days, told how he had returned and poignantly removed his beret and epaulettes, threw the keys of his Mercedes and his satellite phone into the Tigris River and vanished.
His disappearance prompted rumours he had hanged himself on a lamppost, unable to cope with the reality that Saddam had finally gone.
But he is reported to have spent much of his time watching banned satellite television which his homes have had for many years. Friends said his main pleasures were a few shots of Scotch whiskey and regular barbecues of skewered beef and lamb.
Meanwhile, a worldwide industry exploiting his cult status is growing around the world.
A website set up in his honour crashed after receiving 4,000 hits per second.
And fans have bought thousands of t-shirts with his picture and his most fanciful sayings including: "We slaughtered them and we will continue to slaughter them. God is grilling their stomachs in hell."
THE WISDOM OF ALI
COMICAL Ali's outlandish statements made him a cult figure with President George Bush amongst his diehard fans.
Bush once said of him: "Somebody would tell me: 'He's getting ready to speak!' and I'd pop out of a meeting or turn and watch the TV."
But Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf didn't have the same affection for Bush of whom he said: "'He is a very stupid man. The American people are not stupid, they are very clever. I can't understand how such clever people came to elect such a stupid president." He said another time: "I speak better English than this villain Bush."
As the situation got more desperate in Iraq, Sahaf could not take it in. He said: "They are not in Baghdad. They are not in control of any airport. I tell you this. It is all a lie. They lie. It is a Hollywood movie. You do not believe them."
He always maintained the Americans were losing the war. "We have destroyed two tanks, fighter planes, two helicopters and their shovels - We have driven them back."
Asked about his outlandish claims, he hit back: "Lying is forbidden in Iraq. President Saddam Hussein will tolerate nothing but truthfulness as he is a man of great honour and integrity. Everyone is encouraged to speak freely of the truths evidenced in their eyes and hearts."
He added: "I blame al-Jazeera - they are marketing for the Americans!" Always upbeat, he said: "My feelings - as usual - we will slaughter them all." "Our estimates are that none of them will come out alive unless they surrender to us quickly." "Don't believe anything! We will chase the rascals back to London!"
2003-06-24
Some Quotes to jumpstart your workday/evening:
I love deadlines.
I especially like the whooshing sound they make
as they go flying by.
Accept the fact that some days you are the pigeon and most days the
statue.
I don't have an attitude problem. You have a perception problem
A pat on the back is only a few centimeters from a kick in the butt
Needing someone is like needing a parachute.
If he/she isn't there the first time, chances are you won't need him/her again.
I love deadlines.
I especially like the whooshing sound they make
as they go flying by.
Accept the fact that some days you are the pigeon and most days the
statue.
I don't have an attitude problem. You have a perception problem
A pat on the back is only a few centimeters from a kick in the butt
Needing someone is like needing a parachute.
If he/she isn't there the first time, chances are you won't need him/her again.
Demain... les soldes,
incroyable comment les parisiens s'y préparent,
la majorité s'est pris de congés de récupération afin de dénicher les derniers trucs à voir pour cet été.
En moyenne, les français ont droit à 32 jours de soldes/an... Pourqoui encore payer si l'on trouve tout ce qu'il faut en période de prix creux?
Eh bien, parce qu'évidemment, les bonnes tailles n'y sont pas...
C'est donc l'arnac, l'arnaque totale, et ça fait penser aux marges que les vendeurs de fringues encaissent...
incroyable comment les parisiens s'y préparent,
la majorité s'est pris de congés de récupération afin de dénicher les derniers trucs à voir pour cet été.
En moyenne, les français ont droit à 32 jours de soldes/an... Pourqoui encore payer si l'on trouve tout ce qu'il faut en période de prix creux?
Eh bien, parce qu'évidemment, les bonnes tailles n'y sont pas...
C'est donc l'arnac, l'arnaque totale, et ça fait penser aux marges que les vendeurs de fringues encaissent...
Check out some contemporary artists, recently exposing work in Paris,
great laughs, great fear, when you analyze terror these days...
http://www.palaisdetokyo.com/hardcore/
Another great link for fine young art is
http://www.irational.org
great laughs, great fear, when you analyze terror these days...
http://www.palaisdetokyo.com/hardcore/
Another great link for fine young art is
http://www.irational.org
2003-06-23
A sales rep, an administration clerk and the manager are walking to lunch
when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out in a
puff of smoke. The Genie says, "I usually only grant three wishes, so I'll
give each of you one each." "Me first! Me first!" says the admin clerk. "I
want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the
world." Poof! She's gone. In astonishment, "Me next! Me next!" says the
sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal
masseuse, an endless supply of pina coladas and the love of my life." Poof!
He's gone. "OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The manager says,
"I want those two back in the office after lunch."
Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.
when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out in a
puff of smoke. The Genie says, "I usually only grant three wishes, so I'll
give each of you one each." "Me first! Me first!" says the admin clerk. "I
want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the
world." Poof! She's gone. In astonishment, "Me next! Me next!" says the
sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal
masseuse, an endless supply of pina coladas and the love of my life." Poof!
He's gone. "OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The manager says,
"I want those two back in the office after lunch."
Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.
2003-06-18
Get your rocks on! Get your rocks on honney!
http://www.belgiumrollers.com/
All summer long, rollerblading in major Belgian cities, every day of the week!
Friday nite is Brussels nite...
http://www.belgiumrollers.com/
All summer long, rollerblading in major Belgian cities, every day of the week!
Friday nite is Brussels nite...
2003-06-16
Tokyo and Moscow are world’s most expensive cities; Asuncion in Paraguay is cheapest
View the report here
View the report here
2003-06-11
Is this the big one we've all been waiting for?
BUGBEAR ComputerVirus unleashed worldwide, targetting financial institutions:
Repeat after us: "I shall not open unidentified attachments from unknown senders..."
Repeat Over and Over....
for more info check with your antivirus updaters... and remember:
You'll hear about it on the radio, before you realize your own adress book has been hijacked!
BUGBEAR ComputerVirus unleashed worldwide, targetting financial institutions:
Repeat after us: "I shall not open unidentified attachments from unknown senders..."
Repeat Over and Over....
for more info check with your antivirus updaters... and remember:
You'll hear about it on the radio, before you realize your own adress book has been hijacked!
2003-06-05
2003-05-21
Belgium vs the USA part 2 (and ... game over)
Belgian Gov. transferred complaints against General to US Law system, effectively ending risk of the Tommy Franks dude needing to defend himself and military tactics in Brussels against accusations of crimes against humanity in the Iraqi campaign
---> De Mantel der (broeder)Liefde of liever gewone klassieke blackmail van de Amerikanen?
Belgian Gov. transferred complaints against General to US Law system, effectively ending risk of the Tommy Franks dude needing to defend himself and military tactics in Brussels against accusations of crimes against humanity in the Iraqi campaign
---> De Mantel der (broeder)Liefde of liever gewone klassieke blackmail van de Amerikanen?
Verkiezingskoorts cont'd
Als mijn analyse goed is, verliezen we in het kiesarrondissement Brussel Halle Vilvoorde 2 (twee!) zitjes in de Kamer, … 2 van de 11, dat is 10% die de Franstaligen binnenrijven. Komt dit door de toenemende verfransing van de groene Rand rond Brussel? Of zijn we plots allemaal geneigd om op Franstalige lijsten te gaan stemmen….
Maar al te vaak worden we geconfronteerd met het ongeloof van de collega Vlamingen “en province”, die maar niet begrijpen wat voor een gevecht wij hier rond Brussel moeten voeren.
Schokkend om in een Vlaams Stemlokaal te moeten kiezen tussen een Franse of Vlaamse lijst voor de Senaat. Illegaal bovendien, à quand le recours en cassation/arbitrage?
De splitsing van BHV zou ondermeer tot gevolg kunnen hebben dat er geen Franstalige partijen meer kunnen bevoordeeld worden door « Vlaamse » kiezers, ook al zijn ze Franstalig, hun domicilie is in het Vlaams Gewest. Ze moeten maar zien dat ze hun vertegenwoordiging in het Vlaams Parlement laten gelden.
Of anders… kan er misschien iemand in Luxemburg opkomen aub in ’t Vlaams… Zouden ze dat accepteren? Of misschien nog beter, en tamtam gaan maken in de Grognon in ’t Regionaal Waals Parlement…
Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde: 9 zitjes, verlies van 2 voor de Vlaamse partijen (* zat al in de Kamer)
VLD: 3 zetels
· Annemie Neyts · Willy Cortois (*) · Maggie De Block (*)
SP.A-Spirit: 2 zetels
· Frank Vandenbroucke · Bert Anciaux
Vlaams Blok: 2 zetels
· Filip De Man (*) · Bart Laeremans (*)
CD&V: 2 zitjes.
· Herman Van Rompuy (*) · Simonne Creyf
Bron: De Standaard – Commentaar TVW
P.S. het is toch godgeklaagd dat "de grote stemmenkanonnen" opkomen als lijsttrekker, - duwer, ... en dan de CUMUL durven aanvragen, zoals Stef. De Clerck. Zijn ze niet beschaamd, of zwaait het specter van de verjonging al even uitdagend als bij Agalev, waar de oude rotte ratten de grootste nederlaag ooit op hun donder kregen...
Als mijn analyse goed is, verliezen we in het kiesarrondissement Brussel Halle Vilvoorde 2 (twee!) zitjes in de Kamer, … 2 van de 11, dat is 10% die de Franstaligen binnenrijven. Komt dit door de toenemende verfransing van de groene Rand rond Brussel? Of zijn we plots allemaal geneigd om op Franstalige lijsten te gaan stemmen….
Maar al te vaak worden we geconfronteerd met het ongeloof van de collega Vlamingen “en province”, die maar niet begrijpen wat voor een gevecht wij hier rond Brussel moeten voeren.
Schokkend om in een Vlaams Stemlokaal te moeten kiezen tussen een Franse of Vlaamse lijst voor de Senaat. Illegaal bovendien, à quand le recours en cassation/arbitrage?
De splitsing van BHV zou ondermeer tot gevolg kunnen hebben dat er geen Franstalige partijen meer kunnen bevoordeeld worden door « Vlaamse » kiezers, ook al zijn ze Franstalig, hun domicilie is in het Vlaams Gewest. Ze moeten maar zien dat ze hun vertegenwoordiging in het Vlaams Parlement laten gelden.
Of anders… kan er misschien iemand in Luxemburg opkomen aub in ’t Vlaams… Zouden ze dat accepteren? Of misschien nog beter, en tamtam gaan maken in de Grognon in ’t Regionaal Waals Parlement…
Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde: 9 zitjes, verlies van 2 voor de Vlaamse partijen (* zat al in de Kamer)
VLD: 3 zetels
· Annemie Neyts · Willy Cortois (*) · Maggie De Block (*)
SP.A-Spirit: 2 zetels
· Frank Vandenbroucke · Bert Anciaux
Vlaams Blok: 2 zetels
· Filip De Man (*) · Bart Laeremans (*)
CD&V: 2 zitjes.
· Herman Van Rompuy (*) · Simonne Creyf
Bron: De Standaard – Commentaar TVW
P.S. het is toch godgeklaagd dat "de grote stemmenkanonnen" opkomen als lijsttrekker, - duwer, ... en dan de CUMUL durven aanvragen, zoals Stef. De Clerck. Zijn ze niet beschaamd, of zwaait het specter van de verjonging al even uitdagend als bij Agalev, waar de oude rotte ratten de grootste nederlaag ooit op hun donder kregen...
Another proposal for better EU Border Protection against the "See Europe in 5 days" travelling Americans.
you know those big line-ups when entering US territory as a foreigner...
We should get those to in Europe, fast-tracking all EU nationals, and making huge line-ups standard operating procedure for the americans.
Along those queues, we should get "great advertising", such as Quick smell, Bad French Movie posters, incomprehensible Finnish shampoo commercials, .... I'm sure you can come up with tons and tons of ideas...
All border police personnel should flatly refuse to speak English (good for keeping the Britons out too) and the documents (tons and shitloads of them) written in Teutonic Gothic Characters, with (again) Finnish, Basque, Slovac and RhaetoRomanic translation...
you know those big line-ups when entering US territory as a foreigner...
We should get those to in Europe, fast-tracking all EU nationals, and making huge line-ups standard operating procedure for the americans.
Along those queues, we should get "great advertising", such as Quick smell, Bad French Movie posters, incomprehensible Finnish shampoo commercials, .... I'm sure you can come up with tons and tons of ideas...
All border police personnel should flatly refuse to speak English (good for keeping the Britons out too) and the documents (tons and shitloads of them) written in Teutonic Gothic Characters, with (again) Finnish, Basque, Slovac and RhaetoRomanic translation...
Intelligent Frontier: the new tactics of the Department of Homeland Security:
starting 2004, all foreigners, including Europeans, will have to submit fingerprints when entering US Soil, states the newest rule of the Department of Homeland Security.
Big Brother, Matrix, Police State: you wanted it - you got it...
As a countermeasure, alle EU countries should retaliate by declaring access to Americans, subject to stringent VISA-application procedures:
blood samples, testing for GMO's, a thorough mulitple-choice examination of "euro-survival-fitness":
E.G. (and see post from yesterday)
Where is Brussels,
1. It's Jean-Claude's dog
2. It's somewhere in the European desert of the real where "l'exception culturelle" still reigns
3. It's a myth, a spook story, a mystery wrapped inside an enigma. The CIA did not shoot Kennedy, it was Fidel who ordered it all
4. No, I have no Muslim forefathers
5. Brussels is a country, to the North of the Netherlands, to the East of Germany, and to the south of France, it is bordered by Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, North Korea and Libya. It's a rogue state where peaceful and democratic generals are prosecuted in accordance with obscure international treaties that the USA does not ratify and that are in contempt of our righteous right to pursue our happiness. We will nuke 'em all, because they've been threatening us for too long now with Bio-Chem weapons disguised as Brussels Sprouts.
6. It's the capital of such obsolete and vetuste institutions as the European Commission (on what?), NATO, the Belgian Federal Parliament, the Flemish regional Parliament, the Brussels Regional Parliament, and the 19 independant guerillero urban communities that refuse to sign cooperation agreements. In fact, if you cross into Brussels territory, you will encounter (but not exclusively) rabiate spleen and "mal de vivre", surrealistic laws and wide-spread corruption
7. All of the above
8. Refuse to answer stating that you'd rather go to Sh*tville, Arkansas than travel abroad on foreign airplanes infested with AIDS, SARS, EBOLA and knife-toting terrorists. Enough is enough, remember 9/11. Eat Freedom Fries...
starting 2004, all foreigners, including Europeans, will have to submit fingerprints when entering US Soil, states the newest rule of the Department of Homeland Security.
Big Brother, Matrix, Police State: you wanted it - you got it...
As a countermeasure, alle EU countries should retaliate by declaring access to Americans, subject to stringent VISA-application procedures:
blood samples, testing for GMO's, a thorough mulitple-choice examination of "euro-survival-fitness":
E.G. (and see post from yesterday)
Where is Brussels,
1. It's Jean-Claude's dog
2. It's somewhere in the European desert of the real where "l'exception culturelle" still reigns
3. It's a myth, a spook story, a mystery wrapped inside an enigma. The CIA did not shoot Kennedy, it was Fidel who ordered it all
4. No, I have no Muslim forefathers
5. Brussels is a country, to the North of the Netherlands, to the East of Germany, and to the south of France, it is bordered by Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, North Korea and Libya. It's a rogue state where peaceful and democratic generals are prosecuted in accordance with obscure international treaties that the USA does not ratify and that are in contempt of our righteous right to pursue our happiness. We will nuke 'em all, because they've been threatening us for too long now with Bio-Chem weapons disguised as Brussels Sprouts.
6. It's the capital of such obsolete and vetuste institutions as the European Commission (on what?), NATO, the Belgian Federal Parliament, the Flemish regional Parliament, the Brussels Regional Parliament, and the 19 independant guerillero urban communities that refuse to sign cooperation agreements. In fact, if you cross into Brussels territory, you will encounter (but not exclusively) rabiate spleen and "mal de vivre", surrealistic laws and wide-spread corruption
7. All of the above
8. Refuse to answer stating that you'd rather go to Sh*tville, Arkansas than travel abroad on foreign airplanes infested with AIDS, SARS, EBOLA and knife-toting terrorists. Enough is enough, remember 9/11. Eat Freedom Fries...
2003-05-20
A report just in:
the US of A are using heavy metal to mentally torture Al Qaida prisonners, Baghdadi Saddam-informants, ...
this modern equivalent of Scottish bag pipes was already put to great use in Panama (Manolo Noriega surrendered after 48hrs of listening to Enter Sandman).
After this great success (?...) the caves in Afghanistan were swamped with loud music to make life a "living hell" for the remaining fighters...
After embedded journalists, other great tactics in the modern wars of the world...
Imagine those poor Iraqi's being submitted to the latest Matrix soundtrack... Whoah...
Sometimes you just can't help thinking how isolationist Americans really are...Was on the train to Bxl last Saturday and sat across some middle-aged Californians going to A'dam to score some weed (they asked me if the coffee shops were "nice"...). Other questions: is Brussels in France? Do we have to show our passports? Do they accept €uros???? Just nagging on and on and on and on
the US of A are using heavy metal to mentally torture Al Qaida prisonners, Baghdadi Saddam-informants, ...
this modern equivalent of Scottish bag pipes was already put to great use in Panama (Manolo Noriega surrendered after 48hrs of listening to Enter Sandman).
After this great success (?...) the caves in Afghanistan were swamped with loud music to make life a "living hell" for the remaining fighters...
After embedded journalists, other great tactics in the modern wars of the world...
Imagine those poor Iraqi's being submitted to the latest Matrix soundtrack... Whoah...
Sometimes you just can't help thinking how isolationist Americans really are...Was on the train to Bxl last Saturday and sat across some middle-aged Californians going to A'dam to score some weed (they asked me if the coffee shops were "nice"...). Other questions: is Brussels in France? Do we have to show our passports? Do they accept €uros???? Just nagging on and on and on and on
2003-05-16
2003-05-15
Strikes in France
everything that works on rails has been dead for the last 3 days, massive social movements as they are called, gridlock the French capital and forced us to buy .... (no not a gatling gun to blow the smithereens out of reluctant metro workers), but a Bike....
Reporting LIVE & Mobile from the bowels of the city, and laughing as hundreds of auto-stuck "drivers" get irritated at each other while we slalom over Concorde and Etoile in a major traffic limbos....
Peace through superior poetry_firepower
everything that works on rails has been dead for the last 3 days, massive social movements as they are called, gridlock the French capital and forced us to buy .... (no not a gatling gun to blow the smithereens out of reluctant metro workers), but a Bike....
Reporting LIVE & Mobile from the bowels of the city, and laughing as hundreds of auto-stuck "drivers" get irritated at each other while we slalom over Concorde and Etoile in a major traffic limbos....
Peace through superior poetry_firepower
Great Tactics 101
in Pakistan, 18 Shell gasoline stations were bombed: guys on bikes drove from one filling hole to the next, shooting at trash cans in which the explosives were stashed...
Simple, effective, designed to perfection, planned accordingly, impactful and major press coverage. What more can you expect after Gulf War II? These guys are learning their lessons the hard way....
More and more, word's on the street that the USofA have opened Pandora's Box in the Middle East, and thus all over the world. The Domino-theory that states that the rogues nations will be toppled one after another without a single shot fired, doesn't hold up. People were already betting that NKoreo would surrender after witnessing supreme american firepower do away with Saddam. Then you read that these same so-called terrorists with ABC capacity are shining the latest bright laser-weapons, illuminating US Black & unmarked helicopters... (ex China technology...) and that small scale attacks are happening on Western interests worlwide....
How long did you expect it would take for retaliation by some clever-ideologic minds who're activating sleeper cells the world over...
After 9/11 everything has changed. Not because the world has become a less safer place and that terror reaches the "homeland"...
No - because the US is projecting a very sour, revengeful and aggressive strategy over the world, disguised as protection for mankind...including "pre-emptive strike doctrine" and the disrespect of all "other" dissenting voices, including their former allies in Europe
Okay, so they had their revenge, they invaded 2 countries without a good reason, planting in our minds the so-called "raison d'état" that 2 big criminals were all behind this, nothing more.... Enough is enough. We do not need a "world police man", we need world peace, and with the US effectively boycotting all major institutions and agreements, after that fateful day in Sept. 01, we're farther away then ever from where we should be going.
As the Matrix Reloaded was screened in Cannes,
Keanu Reeves gave an interview to the press, describing the gruelling hours of kung-fu training he was subdued to...
"At the end of the day - Ice is your best friend" (he took baths of ice, to calm down)
In the famous Gibson novel "Neuromancer", I.C.E. stands for Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics....
Quote of the week:
"Any information system of sufficient complexity will inevitably become infected with viruses - viruses generated from within itself" (Neil Stephenson - Snow Crash - p.371...)
Proust Questionnaire
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Which living person do you most admire?
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
What is your greatest extravagance?
What is your favorite journey?
On what occasion do you lie?
Which living person do you most despise?
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
When and where were you happiest?
Which talent would you most like to have?
What is your current state of mind?
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
What is your most treasured possession?
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
What is your favorite occupation?
What is the quality you most like in a man?
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Who are your favorite writers?
What is your motto?
- - - - - - - - - -
US general 'war crimes' case filed BBC Link
Belgium vs the USA.... part1: are we gonna get nuked in Brussels?
A lawsuit accusing the commander of US troops in Iraq of war crimes has been filed in a Belgian court - but has come under immediate attack from the Belgian authorities.
Foreign Minister Louis Michel described the move as an "abuse of the law", adding that Brussels had "no pretensions to judge the United States".
Earlier US Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers said the situation was being viewed "very seriously" by the US Government, and that it may stop US officials taking part in meetings at Nato HQ in Brussels.
The plaintiffs, mostly Iraqis, filed the suit against General Tommy Franks under Belgium's "universal competence" law, which allows charges to be brought regardless of where crimes are alleged to have been committed.
It is thought unlikely that the case will succeed.
Washington has already warned that Belgium's status as an international hub could be affected unless the "universal competence" law is restricted.
The action against General Franks is likely to be a test of recent revisions to the law following high profile cases brought against the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the former US President George Bush senior.
Judges can now pass war crimes cases onto other countries or reject them if they are not brought by Belgian citizens.
The plaintiffs in the latest case comprise 17 Iraqis and two Jordanians - the widow and father of Tareq Ayub, a Jordanian correspondent for Arabic broadcaster al-Jazeera, killed on 8 April when a US tank shell hit a Baghdad hotel.
Mr Fermon told reporters: "General Franks is responsible as commander in chief for the way some of his men acted on the ground. For instance, the use of cluster bombs on civilian areas is a war crime."
The suit also names Marine Lieutenant-Colonel Brian MacCoy, who is accused of categorising the ambulances as "legitimate targets" because he suspected them of harbouring gunmen, AFP said.
in Pakistan, 18 Shell gasoline stations were bombed: guys on bikes drove from one filling hole to the next, shooting at trash cans in which the explosives were stashed...
Simple, effective, designed to perfection, planned accordingly, impactful and major press coverage. What more can you expect after Gulf War II? These guys are learning their lessons the hard way....
More and more, word's on the street that the USofA have opened Pandora's Box in the Middle East, and thus all over the world. The Domino-theory that states that the rogues nations will be toppled one after another without a single shot fired, doesn't hold up. People were already betting that NKoreo would surrender after witnessing supreme american firepower do away with Saddam. Then you read that these same so-called terrorists with ABC capacity are shining the latest bright laser-weapons, illuminating US Black & unmarked helicopters... (ex China technology...) and that small scale attacks are happening on Western interests worlwide....
How long did you expect it would take for retaliation by some clever-ideologic minds who're activating sleeper cells the world over...
After 9/11 everything has changed. Not because the world has become a less safer place and that terror reaches the "homeland"...
No - because the US is projecting a very sour, revengeful and aggressive strategy over the world, disguised as protection for mankind...including "pre-emptive strike doctrine" and the disrespect of all "other" dissenting voices, including their former allies in Europe
Okay, so they had their revenge, they invaded 2 countries without a good reason, planting in our minds the so-called "raison d'état" that 2 big criminals were all behind this, nothing more.... Enough is enough. We do not need a "world police man", we need world peace, and with the US effectively boycotting all major institutions and agreements, after that fateful day in Sept. 01, we're farther away then ever from where we should be going.
As the Matrix Reloaded was screened in Cannes,
Keanu Reeves gave an interview to the press, describing the gruelling hours of kung-fu training he was subdued to...
"At the end of the day - Ice is your best friend" (he took baths of ice, to calm down)
In the famous Gibson novel "Neuromancer", I.C.E. stands for Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics....
Quote of the week:
"Any information system of sufficient complexity will inevitably become infected with viruses - viruses generated from within itself" (Neil Stephenson - Snow Crash - p.371...)
Proust Questionnaire
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Which living person do you most admire?
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
What is your greatest extravagance?
What is your favorite journey?
On what occasion do you lie?
Which living person do you most despise?
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
When and where were you happiest?
Which talent would you most like to have?
What is your current state of mind?
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
What is your most treasured possession?
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
What is your favorite occupation?
What is the quality you most like in a man?
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Who are your favorite writers?
What is your motto?
- - - - - - - - - -
US general 'war crimes' case filed BBC Link
Belgium vs the USA.... part1: are we gonna get nuked in Brussels?
A lawsuit accusing the commander of US troops in Iraq of war crimes has been filed in a Belgian court - but has come under immediate attack from the Belgian authorities.
Foreign Minister Louis Michel described the move as an "abuse of the law", adding that Brussels had "no pretensions to judge the United States".
Earlier US Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers said the situation was being viewed "very seriously" by the US Government, and that it may stop US officials taking part in meetings at Nato HQ in Brussels.
The plaintiffs, mostly Iraqis, filed the suit against General Tommy Franks under Belgium's "universal competence" law, which allows charges to be brought regardless of where crimes are alleged to have been committed.
It is thought unlikely that the case will succeed.
Washington has already warned that Belgium's status as an international hub could be affected unless the "universal competence" law is restricted.
The action against General Franks is likely to be a test of recent revisions to the law following high profile cases brought against the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the former US President George Bush senior.
Judges can now pass war crimes cases onto other countries or reject them if they are not brought by Belgian citizens.
The plaintiffs in the latest case comprise 17 Iraqis and two Jordanians - the widow and father of Tareq Ayub, a Jordanian correspondent for Arabic broadcaster al-Jazeera, killed on 8 April when a US tank shell hit a Baghdad hotel.
Mr Fermon told reporters: "General Franks is responsible as commander in chief for the way some of his men acted on the ground. For instance, the use of cluster bombs on civilian areas is a war crime."
The suit also names Marine Lieutenant-Colonel Brian MacCoy, who is accused of categorising the ambulances as "legitimate targets" because he suspected them of harbouring gunmen, AFP said.
2003-05-13
Attention! The Queen Elisabeth Competition for Piano: starting this week: check out @ website
The previous edition was won by the Grand Maestro VITALY SAMOSHKO
The previous edition was won by the Grand Maestro VITALY SAMOSHKO
The X-Files of Govt't in the USA: September 11th part 2: the training continues, it is all run by a commercial company
http://www.topoff2media.net/pressroom.htm
So-called real-life simulation exercises, controlled by the Gov't, try to engage in massive catastrophy contingency plans designed to counter a possible new wave of terrorist attacks in the UsofA.... Designed to measure the response time of gov.agencies, the outcome of the exercise is victorious, just like the 2000 version of it...
After it's all over, US citizens can go back to their happy lives and ignore the profound and deep causes of the present anti-american feelings.
US Media completely fail to educate their public audience. Take a look, on any given day, at the major newswires and paper-journalism: where is the Reason, the Critique, the hard-boiled analysis?
http://www.topoff2media.net/pressroom.htm
So-called real-life simulation exercises, controlled by the Gov't, try to engage in massive catastrophy contingency plans designed to counter a possible new wave of terrorist attacks in the UsofA.... Designed to measure the response time of gov.agencies, the outcome of the exercise is victorious, just like the 2000 version of it...
After it's all over, US citizens can go back to their happy lives and ignore the profound and deep causes of the present anti-american feelings.
US Media completely fail to educate their public audience. Take a look, on any given day, at the major newswires and paper-journalism: where is the Reason, the Critique, the hard-boiled analysis?
2003-05-12
Countdown: After 9 years: only 26 days and 47 days to go...
FridayFive.org
1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not?
Yes, vital to being sharp, on the edge, where you gotta be. Not always easy to stay organised...
2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly?
Yes, Palm M515, mark IV grade ultra-nuclear, top classified MJ12+ - all the time
3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now?
Work Desk: absolutely trimmed down to the bare essentials (it took 1 whole year...)
Home Desk: swamped with the stuff cleared from Work Desk (judging by the lack of the time critical components of the heap, it will take another light year or so to clean up)
4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter?
No, absolutely not: classified by language, theme, preference, incomprehensible librarian tactics...
5. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to organize?
Own subspace consciousness, plus a trip to South Africa. Major pain in the butt organisation-wise: getting a fax installed in a Japanese hotel... (see archives from March 03)
FridayFive.org
1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not?
Yes, vital to being sharp, on the edge, where you gotta be. Not always easy to stay organised...
2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly?
Yes, Palm M515, mark IV grade ultra-nuclear, top classified MJ12+ - all the time
3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now?
Work Desk: absolutely trimmed down to the bare essentials (it took 1 whole year...)
Home Desk: swamped with the stuff cleared from Work Desk (judging by the lack of the time critical components of the heap, it will take another light year or so to clean up)
4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter?
No, absolutely not: classified by language, theme, preference, incomprehensible librarian tactics...
5. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to organize?
Own subspace consciousness, plus a trip to South Africa. Major pain in the butt organisation-wise: getting a fax installed in a Japanese hotel... (see archives from March 03)
Apen schrijven geen Shakespeare (uit De Standaard 12052003)
Geef een oneindig aantal apen een oneindig aantal tikmachines en als je lang genoeg wacht, zullen ze het werk van Shakespeare schrijven. Althans, zo luidt de theorie. Geef zes apen voor een maand een computer en ze bakken er niets van.
Onderzoekers van de Universiteit van Plymouth in Engeland zijn tot de verbazingwekkende vaststelling gekomen dat apen geen literatuur produceren als je hen een computer geeft. ,,Als je apen alleen laat met een computer, vallen ze die aan. Maar ze produceren geen zinnig woord'', zegt Mike Phillips, die het onderzoek leidt.
Medewerkers en studenten van de vakgroep Media lieten een computer achter in de apenkooi van de Paignton Zoo in zuidwest Engeland. Daarna keken ze toe en wachtten gespannen.
,,Toen we de pc in de kooi droegen, begon de leider met een steen op het toestel te slaan'', zegt Phillips. ,,Later stelden we vast dat de apen graag op het toetsenbord urineerden.''
Na een hele poos gebruikte een vijftal apen het toetsenbord zoals het hoort. Samen schreven ze vijf pagina's waarop heel weinig te lezen was. ,,Ze hebben vooral veel op de s gedrukt '', zegt een onderzoeker. ,,Na een tijdje doken ook de letters a, j, k, l en m op. Maar hoogstaande literatuur kwam er niet.'' Phillips kan ermee leven, want het project was eerder bedoeld als performance art dan als een wetenschappelijk experiment.
De voorkeur voor bepaalde letters bewijst wel dat de apen niet zomaar op het toetsenbord tikken. ,,Ze zitten complexer ineen'', zegt Phillips. ,,Het scherm boeide hen. Ze zagen dat er iets mee gebeurde toen ze op een toets drukten.''
De theorie dat typende apen na een tijd literatuur produceren, wordt toegeschreven aan Thomas Huxley. Deze wetenschapper uit de negentiende eeuw was een aanhanger van Charles Darwin en zijn evolutietheorie. Want hij eigenlijk wou hij met de stelling aantonen dat de kans dat er uit het menselijk ras een auteur van het kaliber van Shakespeare geboren wordt, heel klein is. Even klein als de kans dat er uit het apenras een Shakespeare opduikt.
Het experiment van de Universiteit van Plymouth kostte 2.000 pond (2.800 euro) en maakt deel uit van het Vivaria-project. Dat wil in alle Europese dierentuinen computers installeren om de verschillen tussen dierlijk en artificieel leven te bestuderen.
Geef een oneindig aantal apen een oneindig aantal tikmachines en als je lang genoeg wacht, zullen ze het werk van Shakespeare schrijven. Althans, zo luidt de theorie. Geef zes apen voor een maand een computer en ze bakken er niets van.
Onderzoekers van de Universiteit van Plymouth in Engeland zijn tot de verbazingwekkende vaststelling gekomen dat apen geen literatuur produceren als je hen een computer geeft. ,,Als je apen alleen laat met een computer, vallen ze die aan. Maar ze produceren geen zinnig woord'', zegt Mike Phillips, die het onderzoek leidt.
Medewerkers en studenten van de vakgroep Media lieten een computer achter in de apenkooi van de Paignton Zoo in zuidwest Engeland. Daarna keken ze toe en wachtten gespannen.
,,Toen we de pc in de kooi droegen, begon de leider met een steen op het toestel te slaan'', zegt Phillips. ,,Later stelden we vast dat de apen graag op het toetsenbord urineerden.''
Na een hele poos gebruikte een vijftal apen het toetsenbord zoals het hoort. Samen schreven ze vijf pagina's waarop heel weinig te lezen was. ,,Ze hebben vooral veel op de s gedrukt '', zegt een onderzoeker. ,,Na een tijdje doken ook de letters a, j, k, l en m op. Maar hoogstaande literatuur kwam er niet.'' Phillips kan ermee leven, want het project was eerder bedoeld als performance art dan als een wetenschappelijk experiment.
De voorkeur voor bepaalde letters bewijst wel dat de apen niet zomaar op het toetsenbord tikken. ,,Ze zitten complexer ineen'', zegt Phillips. ,,Het scherm boeide hen. Ze zagen dat er iets mee gebeurde toen ze op een toets drukten.''
De theorie dat typende apen na een tijd literatuur produceren, wordt toegeschreven aan Thomas Huxley. Deze wetenschapper uit de negentiende eeuw was een aanhanger van Charles Darwin en zijn evolutietheorie. Want hij eigenlijk wou hij met de stelling aantonen dat de kans dat er uit het menselijk ras een auteur van het kaliber van Shakespeare geboren wordt, heel klein is. Even klein als de kans dat er uit het apenras een Shakespeare opduikt.
Het experiment van de Universiteit van Plymouth kostte 2.000 pond (2.800 euro) en maakt deel uit van het Vivaria-project. Dat wil in alle Europese dierentuinen computers installeren om de verschillen tussen dierlijk en artificieel leven te bestuderen.
2003-05-05
sites 'o the week:
Remembering World War I:
http://www.inflandersfields.be
Alternative Travel Destination Selector:
http://www.igougo.com/
2003-04-30
Links for this week:
Whoah: the Summum of Desinformation & the true Hero of Gulf War II
A new Kind of Science, does it make kinder science? Stephen Wolfram: very controversial but unique approaches to the mysteries that surround us.
You don't need eyes to see, you need vision: counting down, 16 days to go to release of Matrix Revolutions Worldwide, will also open Cannes. Paris is full of advertising for one of the most expected movies of modern filmmaking. It's amazing to see huge and mysterious posters all over the buses and metro-entrances....
Tomorrow is May 1st; a major holiday in France: tradition wants you to get out of your bed and by "Muguets", small beautiful flowers. You'd think it's some sort of ancient tradition honoring spring and female beauty...
You're mistaken: invented by the Communist party to finance its ever-deepening deficits, it's now the crooks, the drunks, the beggars, bastards and illegal scoundrels of this society who will try to rip you off...
Whoah: the Summum of Desinformation & the true Hero of Gulf War II
A new Kind of Science, does it make kinder science? Stephen Wolfram: very controversial but unique approaches to the mysteries that surround us.
You don't need eyes to see, you need vision: counting down, 16 days to go to release of Matrix Revolutions Worldwide, will also open Cannes. Paris is full of advertising for one of the most expected movies of modern filmmaking. It's amazing to see huge and mysterious posters all over the buses and metro-entrances....
Tomorrow is May 1st; a major holiday in France: tradition wants you to get out of your bed and by "Muguets", small beautiful flowers. You'd think it's some sort of ancient tradition honoring spring and female beauty...
You're mistaken: invented by the Communist party to finance its ever-deepening deficits, it's now the crooks, the drunks, the beggars, bastards and illegal scoundrels of this society who will try to rip you off...
2003-04-25
Friday Five (second one for this week, have some catching up to do…)
1. What was the last TV show you watched?
I can hardly remember, it’s been such a long time & ain't watching the 67 channels and there's nothing on. Let’s keep it at “Les guignols de l’info” on C+, 9 months ago. Some news, and a couple of B-grade movies.
2. What was the last thing you complained about and what was the problem?
Broken showerhead... and water supply cut off for some reason... while in the midst of a shower.
A colleague displaying continuous unreasonable behaviour
3. Who was the last person you complimented and what did you say?
A colleague for his outstanding work on a specific subject (and I meant it)
4. What was the last thing you threw away?
A part from the trash, … old underwear…
5. What was the last website (besides this one) that you visited?
http://poseur.4x4.org/scourge.html#2wd
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/matrix2.html
1. What was the last TV show you watched?
I can hardly remember, it’s been such a long time & ain't watching the 67 channels and there's nothing on. Let’s keep it at “Les guignols de l’info” on C+, 9 months ago. Some news, and a couple of B-grade movies.
2. What was the last thing you complained about and what was the problem?
Broken showerhead... and water supply cut off for some reason... while in the midst of a shower.
A colleague displaying continuous unreasonable behaviour
3. Who was the last person you complimented and what did you say?
A colleague for his outstanding work on a specific subject (and I meant it)
4. What was the last thing you threw away?
A part from the trash, … old underwear…
5. What was the last website (besides this one) that you visited?
http://poseur.4x4.org/scourge.html#2wd
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/matrix2.html
2003-04-24
1. Al Pacino & the Wachowski Bros
2. Michael Wacko Jackson
3. Mick Jagger, Prince, Willem Dafoe
4. No, would not want to be famous: why: that's obvious, not willing to compromise and be under public scrutiny all the time.
5. Yet again, difficult to trade places, if choice must be made, writers-directors of The Matrix
http://fridayfive.org/
2. Michael Wacko Jackson
3. Mick Jagger, Prince, Willem Dafoe
4. No, would not want to be famous: why: that's obvious, not willing to compromise and be under public scrutiny all the time.
5. Yet again, difficult to trade places, if choice must be made, writers-directors of The Matrix
http://fridayfive.org/
What Monty Python character are you?
Let's not bicker and argue about who killed who!
What Monty Python Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Let's not bicker and argue about who killed who!
What Monty Python Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
2003-04-23
Googlism = Poetry
"Who is Wacondah"
Poetry in motion, transforming raw data in verses of non-connected, non-linear, almost transcendent lines and verses...
"Who is Wacondah"
Poetry in motion, transforming raw data in verses of non-connected, non-linear, almost transcendent lines and verses...
R.I.P *Nina*
One of the great jazz vocalists of our time passed away on April 21st.
We'll all remember her "My baby just cares for me..."
One of the great jazz vocalists of our time passed away on April 21st.
We'll all remember her "My baby just cares for me..."
2003-04-22
2003-04-18
"From the Barrel of the Gun"
So that's it, the war is, like... over. I placed a bet it would start before the beginning of April,
Gulf II is over before the end of April - who would have guessed?
Apart from the sadness and terrifying aspects of *war*,
the international community has to take into account some new facts:
- world peace seems farther away than ever, considering unilateral "police"ing Inc. by the US & the UK
- a deeper continental divide? It appears even more clearer that the Island of the UK is closer to the North American shelf than to the Old Continent
- a weakened European position, illustrating yet again that the EU union has not achieved political unity, let alone united foreign policy
- corporate intrests are already set on fire, frantic is the race to "rebuild Iraq".... Bechtel just secured a multi-millions dollar contract to "repair" damaged electrical grids, and other little handyworks...
- what about the Muslim Voices? Where were the big demonstrations?
- and ... Who's Next? Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, North Corea, Liechtenstein, Switzerland?
The spectre of the American military tactics and "global firepower, to police the World" is indeed frightening... the US military doctrine presents some interesting points to cast a haunting view of the future:
1. strike first, ask questions later, and if they're not cheering by the time we "liberate" them, shoot them again
2. diplomacy as a smokescreen, and a
3 Pre-emptive strike capacity now finds a deeper application: once suspected of possessing ABC weapons, or harbouring so-called dictators-who-once-were-close-allies-and-friends-it-was-fun-while-it-lasted, the so called "rogue nations" might find themselves nuked before you can pronounce "Alice in Wonderland"
4. If you compare British and American Forces' tactics to kindle friendship fires in the hearts of "formerly oppressed, yet now liberated", it is sad to note, as some do: that all those decades of "fighting urban guerilla warfare" in Ireland has thaught the Royal Marines better psy-ops... Ouch, what a compliment.... You see, dear Members of Parliament, we practive for almost a hundred years, and then we are allowed to assist the US....
5. one more note on doctrine: the US doctrine to win dual-conflicts in dual-theatre operations, enables the US Defense industry to secure high orders in a slacking conjuncture, and the largest Budget of the world (US Defense equals or > all other global military spending)...
6. "Embedded media" & so-called real-time frontline reporting clearly loose against the Web and the Free Blog Movement. Numerous journalists were trying to b=publish personal accounts, and were shut down by their corporate watchdogs: "war reporting is a full-time activity"... Hell yeah, these guys just sit around all day, waiting for the military briefings to feed them cookies...
A sad, yet true comparison
"Liberated from a dictator", it is almost as sad as saying:
"hell, yeah, you do not have access to clean drinking water and sanitation systems, causing millions to die, but rest in peace, o you poor and underdevelopped populations of the world, at least you are not being subdued by private corporations reaping massive profits - and do not worry, your so called democracy (note: or "rogue state"= a country not part of the "coalition of the willing") will take care of you...." - Quote overheard in Kyoto at the Thrid World Water Forum by some NGO tourists. Note: This is an outrageous lie: when will the nations of the world finally commit real budgets to development programs for water and sanitation? Imagine: with all the monney spent in over the past decades, bribing Iraq, buying expensive and limited and non-replacable natural resources from them (i.e. OIL), while all the while, R&D budgets to come up with clean energy solutions were also slashed, ... could have helped all poor countries world wide to install proper water distribution networks.... What a dream, what a goal, what peace and prosperity that would have brought....
No, i'm being carried away here.... World Peace by World War, in the name of what/whom???
So that's it, the war is, like... over. I placed a bet it would start before the beginning of April,
Gulf II is over before the end of April - who would have guessed?
Apart from the sadness and terrifying aspects of *war*,
the international community has to take into account some new facts:
- world peace seems farther away than ever, considering unilateral "police"ing Inc. by the US & the UK
- a deeper continental divide? It appears even more clearer that the Island of the UK is closer to the North American shelf than to the Old Continent
- a weakened European position, illustrating yet again that the EU union has not achieved political unity, let alone united foreign policy
- corporate intrests are already set on fire, frantic is the race to "rebuild Iraq".... Bechtel just secured a multi-millions dollar contract to "repair" damaged electrical grids, and other little handyworks...
- what about the Muslim Voices? Where were the big demonstrations?
- and ... Who's Next? Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, North Corea, Liechtenstein, Switzerland?
The spectre of the American military tactics and "global firepower, to police the World" is indeed frightening... the US military doctrine presents some interesting points to cast a haunting view of the future:
1. strike first, ask questions later, and if they're not cheering by the time we "liberate" them, shoot them again
2. diplomacy as a smokescreen, and a
3 Pre-emptive strike capacity now finds a deeper application: once suspected of possessing ABC weapons, or harbouring so-called dictators-who-once-were-close-allies-and-friends-it-was-fun-while-it-lasted, the so called "rogue nations" might find themselves nuked before you can pronounce "Alice in Wonderland"
4. If you compare British and American Forces' tactics to kindle friendship fires in the hearts of "formerly oppressed, yet now liberated", it is sad to note, as some do: that all those decades of "fighting urban guerilla warfare" in Ireland has thaught the Royal Marines better psy-ops... Ouch, what a compliment.... You see, dear Members of Parliament, we practive for almost a hundred years, and then we are allowed to assist the US....
5. one more note on doctrine: the US doctrine to win dual-conflicts in dual-theatre operations, enables the US Defense industry to secure high orders in a slacking conjuncture, and the largest Budget of the world (US Defense equals or > all other global military spending)...
6. "Embedded media" & so-called real-time frontline reporting clearly loose against the Web and the Free Blog Movement. Numerous journalists were trying to b=publish personal accounts, and were shut down by their corporate watchdogs: "war reporting is a full-time activity"... Hell yeah, these guys just sit around all day, waiting for the military briefings to feed them cookies...
A sad, yet true comparison
"Liberated from a dictator", it is almost as sad as saying:
"hell, yeah, you do not have access to clean drinking water and sanitation systems, causing millions to die, but rest in peace, o you poor and underdevelopped populations of the world, at least you are not being subdued by private corporations reaping massive profits - and do not worry, your so called democracy (note: or "rogue state"= a country not part of the "coalition of the willing") will take care of you...." - Quote overheard in Kyoto at the Thrid World Water Forum by some NGO tourists. Note: This is an outrageous lie: when will the nations of the world finally commit real budgets to development programs for water and sanitation? Imagine: with all the monney spent in over the past decades, bribing Iraq, buying expensive and limited and non-replacable natural resources from them (i.e. OIL), while all the while, R&D budgets to come up with clean energy solutions were also slashed, ... could have helped all poor countries world wide to install proper water distribution networks.... What a dream, what a goal, what peace and prosperity that would have brought....
No, i'm being carried away here.... World Peace by World War, in the name of what/whom???
2003-03-15
NICE – Taxi Strike @ Carnaval - earlier this month
Mission to Nice, where Carnaval was in full swing and the taxis on strike. Going home, managed to snatch a cab unofficially at the trainstation for the airport. The guy was pissed off at the taxi synicate so he offered me a ride to the airport for 25 euros.
He showed me his real taxi sign in the trunk of his brandnew Mercedes and off we went, while his 2 year old kid was sleeping at my side.
Before we realized what went on, a real chase set off as taxidrivers on strike noticed how one of their colleagues was braking through their strike. They pursued us through the small streets and tried to set up roadblocks, while all of them at once started trying to raise the guy on his cellular and CB-set.
What followed was great rage, panic and fear. The guy spilled his guts to me and continued racing to the airport.
He proposed to drop me off, for no charge at a gas station, but insisted that I talked to him as a good friend and shake his hand before taking my leave.
I agreed, fearful to miss my flight, Air France was on strike too that day. Shaking his hand, a gang of taxistrikers showed up and starting roughing the guy up. I spoke up and talked to them telling them I was on a visit with my good friend.
“since when do you have English friends…” Paf!
“I’m Belgian: vous avez quelque chose contre les belges… ? »
Laconically : YES !
I grabbed my bags and sped off towards the airport….
Mission to Nice, where Carnaval was in full swing and the taxis on strike. Going home, managed to snatch a cab unofficially at the trainstation for the airport. The guy was pissed off at the taxi synicate so he offered me a ride to the airport for 25 euros.
He showed me his real taxi sign in the trunk of his brandnew Mercedes and off we went, while his 2 year old kid was sleeping at my side.
Before we realized what went on, a real chase set off as taxidrivers on strike noticed how one of their colleagues was braking through their strike. They pursued us through the small streets and tried to set up roadblocks, while all of them at once started trying to raise the guy on his cellular and CB-set.
What followed was great rage, panic and fear. The guy spilled his guts to me and continued racing to the airport.
He proposed to drop me off, for no charge at a gas station, but insisted that I talked to him as a good friend and shake his hand before taking my leave.
I agreed, fearful to miss my flight, Air France was on strike too that day. Shaking his hand, a gang of taxistrikers showed up and starting roughing the guy up. I spoke up and talked to them telling them I was on a visit with my good friend.
“since when do you have English friends…” Paf!
“I’m Belgian: vous avez quelque chose contre les belges… ? »
Laconically : YES !
I grabbed my bags and sped off towards the airport….
2003-02-20
Metro encounters
Vanmorgen op de metro:
een accordeon speler massacreert "Besame Mucho" - een evergreen uit de latijnse cultuur,
2 stations verder stapt er een andere accordeon speler aan boord.
Wat volgde was onbeschrijvelijk: een verbale vechtpartij in een Oost-europese taal, waarna ze elkaar te lijf gingen met hun instrumenten.
De stuivers vlogen in het rond, en er werden serieuze kletsen uitgedeeld.
Ik veranderde van wagon, waar prompt een andere straatventer zijn vodden probeerde te verslijten, dan opnieuw afdroop en bij het buitengaan de crowd toeriep
"vous ne savez pas ce que c'est d'avoir faim...", - ook al zag hij er enorm goed doorvoed uit...
Waren de territoriale grenzen overschreden,
was het een intern conflict of een poging van één misdadig netwerk om de vijandige filière een lucratieve lijn af te snoepen.
In elk geval staat vast dat, wanneer je lang genoeg in een stad hetzelfde patroon volgt, je steeds dezelfde bedelaars en aftrochelaars tegenkomt.
Vanmorgen op de metro:
een accordeon speler massacreert "Besame Mucho" - een evergreen uit de latijnse cultuur,
2 stations verder stapt er een andere accordeon speler aan boord.
Wat volgde was onbeschrijvelijk: een verbale vechtpartij in een Oost-europese taal, waarna ze elkaar te lijf gingen met hun instrumenten.
De stuivers vlogen in het rond, en er werden serieuze kletsen uitgedeeld.
Ik veranderde van wagon, waar prompt een andere straatventer zijn vodden probeerde te verslijten, dan opnieuw afdroop en bij het buitengaan de crowd toeriep
"vous ne savez pas ce que c'est d'avoir faim...", - ook al zag hij er enorm goed doorvoed uit...
Waren de territoriale grenzen overschreden,
was het een intern conflict of een poging van één misdadig netwerk om de vijandige filière een lucratieve lijn af te snoepen.
In elk geval staat vast dat, wanneer je lang genoeg in een stad hetzelfde patroon volgt, je steeds dezelfde bedelaars en aftrochelaars tegenkomt.
2003-02-18
William Gibson Online
By the way, the BLOGGER company: PYRA Labs has been acquired by Google... for an undisclosed amount.
By the way, the BLOGGER company: PYRA Labs has been acquired by Google... for an undisclosed amount.
2003-02-13
New William Gibson novel!
As defined by Gibson in "Pattern Recognition," apophenia is "the spontaneous perception of connections and meaningfulness in unrelated things." In other words: Recognizing patterns that aren't actually there.
Listening to: Massive Attack: 100th Window
As defined by Gibson in "Pattern Recognition," apophenia is "the spontaneous perception of connections and meaningfulness in unrelated things." In other words: Recognizing patterns that aren't actually there.
Listening to: Massive Attack: 100th Window
2003-02-12
2003-02-11
The U.S. Air Force likes to begin its bombing campaigns on moonless nights, and in Iraq, for about two weeks in early March, the moon will remain below the horizon until at least 4 a.m.
Time is up.., the USA became a war-monger.
Time is up.., the USA became a war-monger.
2003-02-07
2003-02-06
Maagdelijke onbevlekte ontvanging: het bestaat dan toch?
Een vrouwelijke donkere tijgerpython in Artis, de dierentuin van Amsterdam, heeft zichzelf gekloond.
De DNA-profielen van haar embryo's zijn identiek aan die van haarzelf.
Volgens onderzoekers is er bij de python sprake van een variant op de parthenogenese of maagdelijke voortplanting.
Bij deze wijze van voortplanting zijn de embryo's echter per definitie van het mannelijk geslacht.
De python in Artis krijgt dochters die identiek zijn aan haarzelf.
Parthenogenese was bekend bij diverse slangensoorten, maar niet bij pythons.
Een vrouwelijke donkere tijgerpython in Artis, de dierentuin van Amsterdam, heeft zichzelf gekloond.
De DNA-profielen van haar embryo's zijn identiek aan die van haarzelf.
Volgens onderzoekers is er bij de python sprake van een variant op de parthenogenese of maagdelijke voortplanting.
Bij deze wijze van voortplanting zijn de embryo's echter per definitie van het mannelijk geslacht.
De python in Artis krijgt dochters die identiek zijn aan haarzelf.
Parthenogenese was bekend bij diverse slangensoorten, maar niet bij pythons.
the 25 Rules (check Dr.Maffioso)
1- Even the Boss must get his fingernails dirty.
Don't make the people under you do things you have not done or are not willing to do. Once in a while, I'll go out into the field with a trusted capo of mine to send a message to my crew. If you are a leader, then lead by example. How can any subordinate argue with you then?
2- A handful of luck is better than a mountain of wisdom.
Okay, this one isn't Sal's or mine for that matter, but it is still an important rule. As smart as you can be, there are always intangibles in life you have to be prepared for. Even a wise man can slip on ice. Don't underestimate the power of being at the right place at the right time.
3- For every one word you say, let your enemies say ten.
Sort of like Rule 1, but I like to emphasize this point by saying that the more you reveal to your enemy, the more weapons he has to hurt you with. Let your enemy talk because information is power, and information can destroy.
4- Cash is cash, even if it comes from an elephant's stomach.
When you have greenbacks in your hands, there are no maybes, no ifs, no credit checks, no anything. A check can always bounce, a credit card is for suckers, cash is always cash (which is why my establishments only accept hard currency).
Don't tell anyone everything...
5- Never reveal 100% of anything to anyone.
If you have a great idea on how to become a millionaire, or how to convince the IRS that you really did only make $18,542 as a dental surgeon, never tell anyone all the details of your plan. Always hold something back, reveal only 75% or 90% of the plan if you have to. It protects you (especially if that last 10% is illegal), and it keeps your great idea yours.
6- Never make a decision when you are angry.
Smart, careful men realize they must have a clear head to think. When you are angry, it is your boiling bloodlines that speak for you, not your logic. Control your emotions. This is one of the most important rules there is. When you are angry, you make threats you often can't deliver on, or decisions you come to regret. Don't say I didn't warn you.
7- A man is nothing without his word.
One of the few things even a poor man has is his word. Your word should never be broken. Always keep your promises (you should never make promises, but I know how some of you clowns can't stop yourselves). The minute someone doesn't trust you is the minute you lose them.
8- Keep your mouth shut. If you have to lie, keep it short and simple.
If you don't have anything smart to say, don't say anything at all. Even if you have something to say, don't say it, you just end up revealing something to the other person, giving them more ammo to shoot you with. If your mouth stays shut, mistakes go the way of the dinosaurs.
If you lie, there is no use in you coming up with some conspiracy theory. A short and sweet lie is easier to defend (and remember) than some elaborate story about how some transvestite got lipstick on your tie.
9- The best way to dodge an enemy's bullet is by never being in a position where he can hit you.
Don't put yourself in a position where you can get in trouble. Avoid being put between a rock and a hard place. Never be in the same room with your enemy and he'll never have a clear shot at your head.
10- When you can't win a war by playing fair, bend the rules. Better yet, break them.
Unless you are some salame who is as motivated as a slug, you always want to win. Winning doesn't mean you have to play by the rules. It means winning. If you want to get ahead in life, you have to learn the rules of the side game. Those who run this country learned this rule a long time ago.
11- Never forgive betrayal.
Never.
Betrayal is an awful thing. It can destroy an organization or a person, so it's important you understand when it is happening to you so that you can take appropriate action. Capisce? Betrayal involves anything in which someone you trusted broke that trust. Let's go over the different ways they can do that.
· They rat on you, they go to cops, the Feds, IRS, INS, whatever. They betray their vow of silence and secrecy to you.
· They have rackets on the side that take away earnings from your organization, either by being in competition with your business or by working on those side businesses while they are on your payroll (if I send Johnny to collect for me, he better be banging down doors for me not for his side shylock business).
· They steal from you or skim from your rackets.
· They help an enemy of yours.
· They purposely deceive you into making a decision you otherwise wouldn't.
· They sleep with your wife, mistress or girlfriend without your permission.
· They are two-faced, insult your good name behind your back, or disrespect you.
· They humiliate you in private or public -- in front of you or not.
What should you prefer; fear or respect?
12. Whenever you're in doubt about whether an enemy should respect or fear you, always choose fear.
Respect is great, fear is better. Machiavelli made this one famous. Fear is a better deterrent than respect; fear will stop an enemy in his tracks more than respect will.
13. A woman's anger can always be subdued with a diamond ring (and a man's with a romp in the sack).
Is this a sexist rule? Who gives a damn? If a woman gets a diamond, she should shut up and be happy (it worked for our grandfathers, it should work for us). As long as my wife doesn't change, this rule will always apply with me. For men, I always tell my crew: A good night with a mistress will clear many ailments.
14- Behind every great man is a great woman.
Just because I tell you to follow Rule 13, doesn't mean that you should disrespect your wife. You need the stability of a great woman to be great. A man without a family can never be a complete man. A mediocre wife will always stop you from fulfilling your potential.
15- Nothing lasts forever.
Whether it is love, good fortune, success in business, your looks, or your hair, nothing lasts forever. This one is self-explanatory.
16- Never give a tip to someone who isn't looking.
Whether you are in a bar being served by a hot waitress, or giving a stock tip to someone at your office, don't give a big tip if -- a) the waitress is not even looking at you or going to know it is from you; or, b) the idiot you are giving the hot stock tip to doesn't even have an investment account or a clue as to what Nasdaq is.
17- If you go to war, always strike first. Strike hard, and hope it is the only strike you need.
When a conflict or a fight is inevitable, always strike the first blow. You will knock your enemy off-balance, and if your blow was strong enough, you could knock your enemy out completely.
18- Peace is only a prelude to war.
Never be complacent. Just because everything is going great in your life now, doesn't mean it always will. Always be ready for the worst, even if you don't live day to day as if the worst is happening to you.
Call a priest and prepare to die...
19- Have a priest on call if you choose to be a careless man.
If you are not careful, or at least cautious in your actions or words, you are doomed to make your wife a widow or torpedo your career.
20- When in doubt, follow your gut.
Instincts were given to us so that we can make a decision when all the elements in a decision-making process are not evident. Listen to your gut, it will save you more often than it will hurt you.
21- Man appoints, God disappoints.
I never quite understood what this meant. Sal used to say it all the time, and I would just nod my head even if I didn't know what he was trying to say. I don't even think Sal knew what it meant. Still, it sounds good.
22- Keep your friends close, your enemies closer.
People always misunderstand this saying. It doesn't mean you have to be best friends with your enemy, it just means you should do everything in your power to keep tabs on your enemy. Have someone you trust in his organization, or as his confidant. Know his moves, predict his thoughts, and capitalize on his weaknesses.
23- Overestimate the time something takes, and underestimate its rewards.
Even the best-laid plans sometimes don't come to fruition (yeah, big word, I know). Most of the time, we have to work to get something, and that means being patient. Overestimating the work and underestimating the reward will never leave you disappointed.
24- To make money, you have to spend money.
I hate greasing all these corrupt politicians, but most of the time, I makes me ten times more money as a result. Don't be afraid to spend money if it will bring you more. Take a loan at the bank if you have a great idea for a business. Pay a good employee a decent salary. Pay for expert advice. If you are a smart businessman, you will always come out on top.
25- Lucky is the man who suffers humiliation in front of others, for his revenge will be sweeter.
If someone ever embarrasses you, make sure he gets a good laugh; make sure people see this embarrassment because the memory will eat at you until you get your revenge. Too often, people don't retaliate when they are humiliated. Raise the stakes, and you'll have no choice but to return with a vengeance.
1- Even the Boss must get his fingernails dirty.
Don't make the people under you do things you have not done or are not willing to do. Once in a while, I'll go out into the field with a trusted capo of mine to send a message to my crew. If you are a leader, then lead by example. How can any subordinate argue with you then?
2- A handful of luck is better than a mountain of wisdom.
Okay, this one isn't Sal's or mine for that matter, but it is still an important rule. As smart as you can be, there are always intangibles in life you have to be prepared for. Even a wise man can slip on ice. Don't underestimate the power of being at the right place at the right time.
3- For every one word you say, let your enemies say ten.
Sort of like Rule 1, but I like to emphasize this point by saying that the more you reveal to your enemy, the more weapons he has to hurt you with. Let your enemy talk because information is power, and information can destroy.
4- Cash is cash, even if it comes from an elephant's stomach.
When you have greenbacks in your hands, there are no maybes, no ifs, no credit checks, no anything. A check can always bounce, a credit card is for suckers, cash is always cash (which is why my establishments only accept hard currency).
Don't tell anyone everything...
5- Never reveal 100% of anything to anyone.
If you have a great idea on how to become a millionaire, or how to convince the IRS that you really did only make $18,542 as a dental surgeon, never tell anyone all the details of your plan. Always hold something back, reveal only 75% or 90% of the plan if you have to. It protects you (especially if that last 10% is illegal), and it keeps your great idea yours.
6- Never make a decision when you are angry.
Smart, careful men realize they must have a clear head to think. When you are angry, it is your boiling bloodlines that speak for you, not your logic. Control your emotions. This is one of the most important rules there is. When you are angry, you make threats you often can't deliver on, or decisions you come to regret. Don't say I didn't warn you.
7- A man is nothing without his word.
One of the few things even a poor man has is his word. Your word should never be broken. Always keep your promises (you should never make promises, but I know how some of you clowns can't stop yourselves). The minute someone doesn't trust you is the minute you lose them.
8- Keep your mouth shut. If you have to lie, keep it short and simple.
If you don't have anything smart to say, don't say anything at all. Even if you have something to say, don't say it, you just end up revealing something to the other person, giving them more ammo to shoot you with. If your mouth stays shut, mistakes go the way of the dinosaurs.
If you lie, there is no use in you coming up with some conspiracy theory. A short and sweet lie is easier to defend (and remember) than some elaborate story about how some transvestite got lipstick on your tie.
9- The best way to dodge an enemy's bullet is by never being in a position where he can hit you.
Don't put yourself in a position where you can get in trouble. Avoid being put between a rock and a hard place. Never be in the same room with your enemy and he'll never have a clear shot at your head.
10- When you can't win a war by playing fair, bend the rules. Better yet, break them.
Unless you are some salame who is as motivated as a slug, you always want to win. Winning doesn't mean you have to play by the rules. It means winning. If you want to get ahead in life, you have to learn the rules of the side game. Those who run this country learned this rule a long time ago.
11- Never forgive betrayal.
Never.
Betrayal is an awful thing. It can destroy an organization or a person, so it's important you understand when it is happening to you so that you can take appropriate action. Capisce? Betrayal involves anything in which someone you trusted broke that trust. Let's go over the different ways they can do that.
· They rat on you, they go to cops, the Feds, IRS, INS, whatever. They betray their vow of silence and secrecy to you.
· They have rackets on the side that take away earnings from your organization, either by being in competition with your business or by working on those side businesses while they are on your payroll (if I send Johnny to collect for me, he better be banging down doors for me not for his side shylock business).
· They steal from you or skim from your rackets.
· They help an enemy of yours.
· They purposely deceive you into making a decision you otherwise wouldn't.
· They sleep with your wife, mistress or girlfriend without your permission.
· They are two-faced, insult your good name behind your back, or disrespect you.
· They humiliate you in private or public -- in front of you or not.
What should you prefer; fear or respect?
12. Whenever you're in doubt about whether an enemy should respect or fear you, always choose fear.
Respect is great, fear is better. Machiavelli made this one famous. Fear is a better deterrent than respect; fear will stop an enemy in his tracks more than respect will.
13. A woman's anger can always be subdued with a diamond ring (and a man's with a romp in the sack).
Is this a sexist rule? Who gives a damn? If a woman gets a diamond, she should shut up and be happy (it worked for our grandfathers, it should work for us). As long as my wife doesn't change, this rule will always apply with me. For men, I always tell my crew: A good night with a mistress will clear many ailments.
14- Behind every great man is a great woman.
Just because I tell you to follow Rule 13, doesn't mean that you should disrespect your wife. You need the stability of a great woman to be great. A man without a family can never be a complete man. A mediocre wife will always stop you from fulfilling your potential.
15- Nothing lasts forever.
Whether it is love, good fortune, success in business, your looks, or your hair, nothing lasts forever. This one is self-explanatory.
16- Never give a tip to someone who isn't looking.
Whether you are in a bar being served by a hot waitress, or giving a stock tip to someone at your office, don't give a big tip if -- a) the waitress is not even looking at you or going to know it is from you; or, b) the idiot you are giving the hot stock tip to doesn't even have an investment account or a clue as to what Nasdaq is.
17- If you go to war, always strike first. Strike hard, and hope it is the only strike you need.
When a conflict or a fight is inevitable, always strike the first blow. You will knock your enemy off-balance, and if your blow was strong enough, you could knock your enemy out completely.
18- Peace is only a prelude to war.
Never be complacent. Just because everything is going great in your life now, doesn't mean it always will. Always be ready for the worst, even if you don't live day to day as if the worst is happening to you.
Call a priest and prepare to die...
19- Have a priest on call if you choose to be a careless man.
If you are not careful, or at least cautious in your actions or words, you are doomed to make your wife a widow or torpedo your career.
20- When in doubt, follow your gut.
Instincts were given to us so that we can make a decision when all the elements in a decision-making process are not evident. Listen to your gut, it will save you more often than it will hurt you.
21- Man appoints, God disappoints.
I never quite understood what this meant. Sal used to say it all the time, and I would just nod my head even if I didn't know what he was trying to say. I don't even think Sal knew what it meant. Still, it sounds good.
22- Keep your friends close, your enemies closer.
People always misunderstand this saying. It doesn't mean you have to be best friends with your enemy, it just means you should do everything in your power to keep tabs on your enemy. Have someone you trust in his organization, or as his confidant. Know his moves, predict his thoughts, and capitalize on his weaknesses.
23- Overestimate the time something takes, and underestimate its rewards.
Even the best-laid plans sometimes don't come to fruition (yeah, big word, I know). Most of the time, we have to work to get something, and that means being patient. Overestimating the work and underestimating the reward will never leave you disappointed.
24- To make money, you have to spend money.
I hate greasing all these corrupt politicians, but most of the time, I makes me ten times more money as a result. Don't be afraid to spend money if it will bring you more. Take a loan at the bank if you have a great idea for a business. Pay a good employee a decent salary. Pay for expert advice. If you are a smart businessman, you will always come out on top.
25- Lucky is the man who suffers humiliation in front of others, for his revenge will be sweeter.
If someone ever embarrasses you, make sure he gets a good laugh; make sure people see this embarrassment because the memory will eat at you until you get your revenge. Too often, people don't retaliate when they are humiliated. Raise the stakes, and you'll have no choice but to return with a vengeance.
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