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Friday, May 30
Thursday, May 29
Neo vs. Jesus, From Killing The Buddha article "One Baaad Messiah" Neo kicks ass. What is better than a reluctant hero who can kick ass? It is the perfect messianic combination. And Neo kicks ass like no other cinematic savior before him. Indeed, he makes the squealing Luke Skywalker seem like a second-rate messiah. Light sabers may rock (and they do), but kung fu kicks serious ass, literally and figuratively, especially if it is digitally sacred and Hong Kong heavenly. I don’t know about you, but I want a messiah that can stop bullets with a raised hand, soar through the air at will, shoot guns like Chow Yun Fat, and, most importantly, kick anyone’s ass who might doubt or challenge his power. The very thought of such a messiah makes me want to pump my fist in the air and give someone a high-five. I would gladly follow Neo to the center of the earth and the end of the Matrix, especially if I got to sport some of his killer duds. Friday, May 23
“Afghan Massacre: The Convoy of Death” Eyewitnesses Testify that US Troops Were Complicit in the Massacre of up to 3,000 Taliban Prisoners During the Afghan War The film has been broadcast on national television in countries all over the world and has been screened by the European parliament. Human rights lawyers are calling for investigation into whether U.S. forces are guilty of war crimes. But no U.S. media outlet has broadcast the film. The film provides eyewitness testimony that U.S. troops were complicit in the massacre of thousands of Taliban prisoners during the Afghan War. It tells the story of thousands of prisoners who surrendered to the US military’s Afghan allies after the siege of Kunduz. According to eyewitnesses, some three thousand of the prisoners were forced into sealed containers and loaded onto trucks for transport to Sheberghan prison. Eyewitnesses say when the prisoners began shouting for air, U.S.-allied Afghan soldiers fired directly into the truck, killing many of them. The rest suffered through an appalling road trip lasting up to four days, so thirsty they clawed at the skin of their fellow prisoners as they licked perspiration and even drank blood from open wounds. Witnesses say that when the trucks arrived and soldiers opened the containers, most of the people inside were dead. They also say US Special Forces re-directed the containers carrying the living and dead into the desert and stood by as survivors were shot and buried. Now, up to three thousand bodies lie buried in a mass grave. Air drones 'to patrol US borders' Remote controlled drones similar to those used in the Iraq war could patrol the US border by the end of the year, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has said. Predators and other unmanned aircraft are expected to be deployed to help stop illegal immigrants entering America. "We are very serious in looking at UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) for both border applications, land and sea," Mr Ridge told the House Select Committee on Homeland Security. Putin orders the clouds not to rain on his parade PRESIDENT PUTIN has ordered fine weather for the St Petersburg summit and 300th anniversary festivities next week, and it is unlikely to rain on his parade. Ten aeroplanes will take to the skies, equipped with cloud-seeding agents in an attempt to induce rain away from the city, allowing holidaymakers and visiting heads of state to enjoy dry weather below. Vladimir Stepanenko, head physicist of St Petersburg’s Geophysics Observatory, said: “Our aim is to empty all clouds of rain before they hit the city borders.” Such practice may strike awe into the heart of every rain-soaked Brit, but Russians take “cloud-bursting” for granted, having enjoyed its benefits over public holidays since Stalin gave the order to research weather control in the 1930s. Wow, I wish our president was this cool. Wednesday, May 14
"THE LIFE and Death of Planet Earth” sees Earth slipping towards another ice age with dwindling natural resources, drastic environmental changes and eventually a suffocating death. On the long term, the fate is “fry and dry.” The sun continuously gets hotter, and its heat ultimately melts the earth’s surface — and worse. Humans have great effects on the short term (global warming, species extinction, etc.) but it is not likely that we can play an significant role in the main events that will change Earth on long time scales. These events include the merging of the continents (again), decline of CO2 below levels required to support plant life, the loss of the oceans to space and our planet being swallowed by the sun. Human intervention on these effects would require engineering on a incredible scale. The ultimate fate of Earth is determined by the ever-increasing brightness of the sun — a natural and unstoppable process. Tuesday, May 13
Conspiracies, Lies, And Hidden Agendas Mick Farren Farren mentions how the FBI quoted figures for professional hits at 5,000 in 1997 compared to 1,000 in 1980, and that the current rates for assassinations range between $5,000 and $10,000, whilst a real pro, who the mob might use, gets paid in excess of $100,000 a job. If the prices and credentials of a modern day hi-tech hitman don't grab you, how about using a "Sanguma"? From the highlands of Papua New Guinea, Sangumas are a cult of medicine men...[who] will commit murder for a price. These homicidal witch doctors, who are usually paid in livestock and trinkets , have a unique method of avoiding detection and disposing of their victims after the hit has been carried out, the killers eat the body of the victim. "They were not only murdered, but they were apparently being killed so their flesh could be used in the initiation of new sangumas (assassins)." SYDNEY 30 July, 1998 -- Missionaries believe 10 boys missing from remote villages in Papua New Guinea's highlands may have been killed as part of a cannibalistic ritual, according to reports. Passionist Brother James Coucher, who has worked in the region for almost four decades, said Father Tom Tommy, a parish priest in the remote village of Wasengia, had reported the suspicious deaths According to Br Coucher, sangumas are part of an "assault-sorcery" tradition that has long been practised in Papua New Guinea's highlands. "I have met sangumas, they are real people. They often kill with poison darts, something that leaves no marks. Scary Saturday, May 10
Friday, May 9
When you talk about movies, there's always that which bookstores live by; the book is almost always better than the movie. You could have no better case in point than FROM HELL, Alan Moore's best graphic novel to date, brilliantly illustrated by Eddie Campbell. It's hard to describe just how much better the book is. It's like, "If the movie was an episode of 'Battlestar Galactica' with a guest appearance by the Smurfs and everyone spoke Dutch, the graphic novel is 'Citizen Kane' with added sex scenes and music by your favourite ten bands and everyone in the world you ever hated dies at the end." That's how much better it is. Warren Ellis / Slashdot / From Hell Thursday, May 8
According to a talk given by Dr. David Jacobs of Temple University entitled "The Anatomy of an Alien," a wide variety of alien types have been witnessed first-hand by sane people all over the world, but, Jacobs adds, the wide variety of descriptions may have more to do with a difference in perception, interpretation or reporting. According to Jacobs, the overt morphology of the most enigmatic of the Visitors, the grays, falls within a range of humanoid features, but under close scrutiny these reports describe a radically different creature "under the skin." (Omega Conference, CT, 10/9/88) 
Monday, May 5
Richards!!! ORLANDO -- An Auburndale 12year-old learned the hard way not to mess with Marvel Comics super-villain Dr. Doom. Now his family wants to teach Dr. Doom a lesson. But this drama is playing out in the courts, not the comics, and embroiling Universal's Islands of Adventure Theme Park in Orlando. Buffy Skinner claims a man playing the character Dr. Doom caused mental and physical anguish to her son, Richard Skinner, by threatening and manhandling him during a visit to the park. 'manhandling'...Uhhmm...he's Doctor Doom. |
