Why I Blog These Things..

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...when it appears nobody is paying any attention....??????

Because I do believe in my ideas. I do believe they would improve the world. I do believe that some of them will be implemented someday. I believe they will make for a better, saner, safer, more enjoyable world for my grandchildren. It is entirely possible that none of this will come to pass, but if you do not try, then it will absolutely not come to pass, and if your distant offspring look back, you don't want them saying, "he didn't even try...." As Newton said, "I stand on the shoulders of giants." We all owe the past, we all pay forward to the future, if we are to have any sense of self-esteem. What will your legacy be ?

For the most part, nobody told anybody in history how important their ideas and productions would be, at the time they made them. "nice work, DaVinci, the check's in the mail...." is about all anyone can hope for, for now.

Instant feeback Continued

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Actually, the voting results do not have to show up either on CSPAN or in the Congressperson's mailbox. It simply needed to be published on-line where the citizens, including the Congresspeople, can see them. The big problem is limiting the voting to one vote, per qualified US voter, or as close to it as you can get. Add Tom Coburn, MD, Senator to Oklahoma to the list of drug company jerks.

Instant Feedback for the Public & Congress on CSPAN

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I notice that the American public can watch Congress at work on CSPAN.

It would seem to me that it would be very interesting to set up a site that would enable voters to vote pro or con in real time on the issues being discussed live.

Voters should also be able leave comments and send emails from the same website to the Congresspeople. The peoples' vote should be visible as a running tally in the corner of the CSPAN screen, and, on-line, the votes should be visible by state. This would give the people a notion of how many others are concerned, and which way they are voting. Of course, the polls would favor those not working regular jobs, and it might be needed to have a filter or breakdown. Access via cellphone could offset the elder effect. One vote per email, check for human filters in place, as well as multiple sends from same IP addy.

I'd also like to see the breakdown by industry and individuals of a given speaker on screen when they are talking, so we see who's money is talking. Does Allard of Colorado have a particularly large contribution from the PharmCos ?

Bill Maher vs Rush Limbaugh, The Debate we all need to see.

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I have no doubt that it would be the most meaningful exchange ever. It would help delineate for everyone the issues viewed as important by both sides, and would show what each side even considers worthy of being an issue.

I would like to see it start as a written exchange between the two of them, with each first listing and defining what they consider to be the 35 most important issue facing the nation. After swapping that set of lists, they then challange the other side, in writing, on the issues involved.

Finally they meet face to face for a televised verbal debate on top of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. Rush can have his RV airlifted there, Maher can be carried up if need be by bearers, including perhaps Jon Stewart and Cobert, and be sure to include Robin Williams and Mencia and Chris Rock, and one of the Blue Collar dudes. Politics is such fun, now that scientists have complicated global warming with global dimming, and thus made one of the most important issues of our time incomprehensible to 95% of the earth's population.....

Maher would make a great Veep for the distinguished Senator from Hawaii, whose name I haven't yet learned to spell. He's one bright practical thinker !

Possible Solution for Viginia Tech Columbine Situations

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Here's a solution, or at least a few thoughts about elements of a solution.

The problem is how to allow for a group to stop a killer, without proliferating more weapons for the unstable.

Bright orange mini crossbow.

Only legal when bolts (arrows) are tipped with stench gooey sticky tip, and one of two components which cause relatively instant non-lethal sleep.

Cocking and trigger mechanisms only function if bolt contains RFID chip from approved manufacturer. RFID chip includes unique ID which can be traced to original purchaser.

Accurate within 3 feet at 60 feet.

If more than 6 of these were in a given classroom, they would certainly slow down a shooter. If they were all over the place, people would be able to fight back in a non-lethal fashion, and this at least would reduce the carnage.

GE Goes for the Gold

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Without a doubt the ads are costing a fortune. Without a doubt the marching orders were, "spare no expense," get the radical boomers to think kindly of us, so that when we say, "well, Nuke's are the only answer that works," they'll listen with a somewhat friendly ear.

I much rather see a dry chart that showed GE's spending on solar and wind power, as contrasted with their spending on nuke developments and just plain manufacture. But I rather guess the story they would tell is not something GE wants made public. How much do they spend on nuclear power ? What are their annual sales figures ?

The Donovan 'Try and Catch the Wind" ad is brilliant. I hope Donovsan donates at least half to organizations and businesses that really try to do just that. I worry that they just got a bunch of PI's together to find out what aging rock stars needed the cash the most, scanned the lyrics for tie-ins, and then moved in for the kill. Dylan's donation to Kaiser Permanente was great, and the ads are very human, I like those.

The New Nazis in Islamabad

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Here we go again. Book burnings and now the updated version, DVD burnings.

Has it not occurred to the naive terrorists that China is not going to stand idly by while they destroy China's biggest customer ?

My wife says I write dangerous stuff, so in the interests of family peace, I've wiped out the bulk of the post. The fact that MicheleMalkin with 6,000 links has writen the same sort of stuff doesn't move her.

Less Stress for the Average Citizen, Via TV Remote Automation

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My microwave knows to run for 1 or 2 or 3 or more minutes with just one push of a button. How come my TV remotes, even the most expensive ones, don't have this feature ?

Could it be that Sony makes tv's and owns media which they use to sell products like HeadOn and KaBoom ?

Could it be there's a giant conspiracy to force people to listen to commercials??? Without a doubt it is far easier to push a mute button followed by one digit for a full minute or minutes of sound off, or two or three digits for xx number of seconds of silence. This is not rocket science.

I am continuing to look for such a device or a work-around that I can build. I am totally amazed at how little is written about this concept. The closest I've come to finding it is an arthritic patient who wanted something to adjust his bed automatically at night. Another person claimed a schematic for it was at a newsgroup site, and I'm still looking for it.

So, how about a timed button pusher, a remote with a timer mechanism, etc. Where is it ? I can't imagine that nobody else thinks this is important. Things you can do with one finger, reinvest your entire investment portfolio via etrade,. but you can't get timed silences from head-On, activon, the force driving me to get this ball rolling. Never buy a product that causes the problem it purports to cure.

KaBoom go the advertizing stressors !

I will be watching this post anonymously from another machine to see if it disappears. I have a copy ready to repost if necessary.

How crazy is it all ?

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Anna Nicole Smith

" I'm stupid but pretty, and I struck it rich, and entrusted it all to my attorney, including my life itself....."

And so, she now is the most important thing on the planet, at least according to Fox "News."

This is The "news" source that discovered Al Gore flies in a jet to most efficiently deliver his message while staying rested and making the maximum number of stops. Chasing Gore for that is like complaining about a fire truck draining the duck pond while the farm house burns.....

Hey Ralph Nader,

There are many ways of protesting. For one, anyone giving youi any money for anything should cease until after the 2008 election, or at the point where you tell your supporters not to actually vote for you.

Private, No meaning To Anybody But Me

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KMozul visits sw.

Gogie, googie, ninety niner goes the 49'r.

The dogs are in, are you ?

Tankasaurus

Avoiding Identity Theft on Your Birthday

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One should never give out one's birthday, if one wishes to avoid ID theft, so annoucing things like "Today is your birthday!" and 'WhenI'm 64" and various other Beatle's tunes is a bad idea.

We're still not on Mars in person. Big disappointment. I'm glad Nicole Smith took the heat of the astronaut.

Growing older ticks me off, I've decided not to do it anymore. The reason time flies for older people is that they take more naps.

The Iraqis have finally figured out how to hunt in packs, just like lions and other predators. Up to now the US copters have been safe, but I suspect that the Iraqi glory hogs finally got together, and using two way radios/cell phones, or even land lines, they've set up spotters all over the place in a given area. Then they relay speed and direction information as soon as a chopper takes off. Eventually the chopper passes over a fully alerted and waiting group with just plain old machine guns and RPG's. The effect is an IED in the air. What's surprising is that it took this long for them to figure it out.

Bush, ever the opportunist, will report it as, "advanced weaponry from Iran," and, like a gambler way in over his head, he'll stumble over there to bloody the noses of US citizens everywhere, with more stupidity. If astronauts can fall off the wagon, why do people think that it can't happen to presidents ? We need sanity tests for our leaders, as well as our astronauts.

In the meantime, China is building an extremely advanced rail line from China to Turkey, through some of the richest oil nations on the planet. The US burns while President Bush fiddles.

What the heck, One Last Blast, Highjacked from elsewhere

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Henry Porter has a real must read column up in the Observer. He takes a look at the tolerance of intolerance in Britain. His judgment of it is harsh, indeed.

Imagine the Archbishop of Canterbury or any senior Anglican clergyman giving a sermon which suggested that homosexual men should be thrown off a mountain; that they were no better than filthy dogs. Imagine another priest rising in another church to preach that children should be hit for not praying, that women were deficient, should walk behind men and only go out with their man's permission. Consider what the reaction would be if a third joined in by saying all Jews were born liars.

The media would be trembling with indignation for weeks. Questions would be asked in the House and the archbishop called to account for the state of his church. There would be demonstrations, commissions of inquiry and Baron St John of Fawsley would be summoned from retirement.

But when these statements are made in British mosques and recorded by a secret camera for a Channel 4 Dispatches programme, it seems nobody takes much notice. This might have been because Undercover Mosque was broadcast three weeks ago, as the nation was obsessed with Jade Goody's behaviour on Big Brother. While Goody has the power to cause an international incident, it seems that weekly attacks on women, gays and Jews raise little interest.

I suspect the lack of outrage has a lot to do with the degree of separate development that has taken place in Britain while so many of us were living the multiculturalist dream. Whatever Muslims say, the standards that most British institutions live by simply do not apply to the missionaries of Saudi fundamentalism who, as demonstrated beyond doubt by this documentary, are attempting to poison relations between Muslims, Christians and Jews in Britain and to establish what amounts to a separate community under Sharia law.

Porter points out the unhinged conspiracy theories that dominate among younger Muslim males in Britain. Terror arrests are seen as a plot against Muslims. Bombings by islamists, more plots. The list goes on and on. But there are also hopeful signs with some people in the Muslim community standing up against the islamist extremists.

There is a twisted set of double standards in place that allows the extremists a free hand to spout venomous hatred with impunity. The West cannot simply continue to allow that double standard to exist in the name of multiculturalism.

Just to prove I Tried to get this made right..

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This is a series of items I posted, and then Google's screwed up reposting of them.. This is absolutely my last post

UNLESS A HUMAN FROM PLANET MEGACORP GOOGLE decides to bless me with a reading of the issues, and a thoughtful resolution.

Hope Springs Eternal !

bye for now.....


I posted over in another area, and my first post was modified when
posted to eliminate some crucial information needed to solve the
issue. I tried posting back to that area, and was blocked. So I will
try again here.

OK, even dumber, their blacking out the email addies I so carefully
published, probably from themselves too. They are absolutely
necessary for solving this problem.

Fortunately I checked before logging out, so here comes the scrambled
but legible by humans version of the emails in question.

First part of old addy is:
Keachie

The second part is swland.org.

They are joined by the usual (at) sign.

The first part of a currently working addy is:

KMozilla06

The second part is swland.org.

Again they are joined by the usual (at) sign.

On Feb 4, 10:48 am, Keach wrote:

- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

> I get one shot at this, as, unless something changes, I may never be
> able to log in again. In a nutshell, as I have posted to my blog at:
> farstars.blogspot.com

> "So this will be the last post unless I can get through to a Google
> human, which is not likely.

> I had already determined that what I thought would have been the
> Google ID I'd set up a year and one half ago, and then never used, did
> not respond to any of my passwords.

> So this time I put in my old email addy, now long dead, and one of my
> most likely passwords, and presto, I'm in like Flynn. The only
> problem is that now they are sending a confirming email to the dead
> address, without ever bothering to ask if it is still valid. Dumb,
> dumb, DUMB GOOGLE !

> So either it will reset and give me a second try after it maybe
> realizes that the email account is a deader, or it will simply freeze
> me out. We shall see."

> If someone who is in control will be so kind as to change the email
> for me from [email address] over to [email address], I will
> be able to stay in touch. Otherwise, it is totally sayonara for me
> from my blog of four years.

> Why do you not have a chance to at least PAY the $10 and talk via
> email at least to someone who is human and can handle these kinds of
> issues, which will not be handelable via message boards which will be
> out of reach, as soon as I log out this one time ??????

> Microsoft has already done this number to me. There sits my hotmail
> blog, I can still see it, and turn up items in it via Google search,
> but I cannot reach it, or anyone at Microsoft to make the changes so I
> can change it.

> Here's my challange. Is Google as DUMB as Microsoft ?

Of all the Dumb F Arrangements

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So this will be the last post unless I can get through to a Google human, which is not likely.

I had already determined that what I thought would have been the Google ID I'd set up a year and one half ago, and then never used, did not respond to any of my passwords.

So this time I put in my old email addy, now long dead, and one of my most likely passwords, and presto, I'm in like Flynn. The only problem is that now they are sending a confirming email to the dead address, without ever bothering to ask if it is still valid. Dumb, dumb, DUMB GOOGLE !

So either it will reset and give me a second try after it maybe realizes that the email account is a deader, or it will simply freeze me out. We shall see.

Well, this may be the last post....

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Google announces join up or shut up. Unless I join and stay joined, I'm locked out, after this post.

Google has pointed the gun at my privacy, and the most obvious question, "Can I delete the Google Toolbar, and still access Google and GMail without being so obviously tracked ?" is not answered anywhere convenient. I also just got 20 SPAM comments, even with moderation turned on, so now I have to turn on moderation + identify the letters and numbers to avoid those hassles.

I will create a google only email for them to write me as I explore it a bit further. I have my way of tracking them. You can't ask such questions until AFTER you've signed up. Wonder if this post will last ? TypePad here I come. It's like I only have about six different email enabled sites, three of them anonymized completely, that I can set up on. Actually, I am going to experiement a bit with setting of a vBulletin site (BBS) first for Nevada County and the high country. This may take awhile. At www.mynevadacounty.biz, surfer girl!

In the meantime, commenting on Amazon.com is always fun.

Eeeeeekamouse !

Clock Closer to Midnight, Way Closer.....

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Some how or other (is that all one word ? "Somehoworother" "Somehow or other"), 4 choppers go down in two weeks.

Does this move the US closer to direct force against Iran ?

Is it really Iranian sourced, or a double sting to give the US the excuse to attack Iran ? (Did we supply the missles ?)

We will probably never know, but for me the doomday Clock moves much closer to midnight.

50 choppers in 4 years, but 4 in two weeks ???? WTF ???? Where's the Fire ???
At that rate we'd lose 200/year.

Something has changed.

"If confirmed, it would be the fourth helicopter lost in two weeks.

Last month, 12 US soldiers died when a Black Hawk military helicopter crashed near Baghdad. The helicopter is believed to have been shot down.

The US military has lost more than 50 military helicopters in Iraq since May 2003.

"I can confirm that we are looking into reports that a helicopter went down north of Baghdad," US military spokeswoman Lt Col Josslyn Aberle said.

Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed Iraqi military source as saying his unit saw the helicopter go down near Taji, about 30km (20 miles) north of the capital.

"We don't know the reasons for the crash, nor its exact site because the US army has sealed off the area," ...

How come some ground forces in Iraq can suddenly down the most powerful US whirlybirds ?
We are paying too much attention to blinking billboards with antique video game characters.

hey, with Hugh Hewitt apparently supporting Romney in his new book, anything can happen.

Further Stupidity on the "Why Are We There? " question.

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"We had to destroy the village to save it, "the classic quote from Vietnam, gets an upgrade on the family level. Unfortunately this one cuts way too close to home in many families.

A Jordanian man fatally shot his 17-year-old daughter whom he suspected of having sex despite a medical exam that proved her chastity, an official said Thursday. The man surrendered to police hours after the killing, saying he had done it for family honor.

A state forensic pathologist, who works at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Amman where an autopsy was performed, said in a phone interview that the girl had run away from home several times for unknown reasons. (really, “unknown reasons?” be honest) - Doug

Weeks ago, the girl had returned home from a family protection clinic after doctors had vouched for her virginity and the father had signed a pledge not to harm her, the pathologist said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the case.

“The tests proved that she was a virgin,” the pathologist said. The girl returned home only after her father signed a statement promising not to harm her, he added.

The father shot the girl four times in the head on Tuesday. On Wednesday, an autopsy was performed that again showed “she was still a virgin,” the pathologist said.

Crazy values wreck an otherwise happy family, what can I say ?

Homeland Security Needs a Youth Wing, Fox News Needs a Mirror

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I can't believe Boston. And the Boston Mooninites.

I can't believe Fox. Will PacMan have a revival and rule the World for Osama ? Good Grief !

Today Fox ran a total rehash of yesterday, including the fact that they started receiving emails immediately from the younger generation telling them exactly what the image was. What was so difficult about calling Turner Broadcasting and starting an investigation?

Why didn't Fox report as part of the news that the younger generation had a much better idea of what it was than Fox did ? Or at least that the younger generation had some "Information of Interest ?"

Could it have been that Fox needed the Terror story to sell air time ????
Yeah, that might be it.

With MIT's science research labs stuffed full of youthful scientists and Harvard's business school crammed with budding entrapmentaneurs, surely a quick caucus would have focused on Turner quickly, and analysed a circut board with a few batteries as not having the volume to contain a sufficient sized bomb to do much damage.

Maybe Homeland Security should invest in free floating occasional groups of youth culture experts to analyse situations like this.

So much for the "chicken little story of the day."

Finally ! The Power Elite recognizes Global Warming

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This is quite amazing. These folks must have finally made sure they will not "lose power" when it comes to the changeover to solar/nukes. After all, staying in power, controlling the money, is the bottom line for the global nobility. PG&E has finished beta testing having local home owners push power back into the grid, and so now the rebates disappear. It will be illegal to sell your power to your neighbor.

Bush 'must fight climate change'

Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers said it was time to take action

Chief executives of some of the largest companies in the US have urged President George W Bush to introduce measures to tackle global warming.

The executives from nine corporations said Mr Bush should support a mandatory cap on greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr Bush will address the issue in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, but will not introduce binding rules for emissions, the White House says.

President Bush has in the past rejected mandatory controls on greenhouse gases.

Former President Bill Clinton signed the Kyoto protocol but it was never ratified by Congress.

'Desire for clarity'

"We can and must take prompt action to establish a co-ordinated, economy-wide market-driven approach to climate protection," the executives said in a letter to President Bush.

Mr Bush is preparing to make his State of the Union speech

They have formed a group - the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) - which they intend to use to push for mandatory caps on greenhouse gases to cut them by more than 60% by 2050.

"It's time for the nation's political leaders to come together and act," Duke Energy chief executive Jim Rogers - a USCAP member - told reporters at a news conference in Washington.

Other members of the USCAP are CEOs of Alcoa, BP America, DuPont, Caterpillar, General Electric, Lehman Brothers, FPL Group and PG and E.

The pressure from big business stems from a desire for clarity, the BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says.

At the moment, some states impose caps and the severity varies.

The White House said President Bush was going to make an important announcement about energy efficiency and greenhouse gases.

But White House press secretary Tony Snow said "binding economy-wide carbon caps" are not part of Mr Bush's approach.

Mr Snow added that the president believed that industry must come up with innovations to address the issue of climate change.

Go Paperless, Yes Indeedy ! When You Give Me DSL...

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Go Paperless, Yes Indeedy ! When You Give Me DSL.

I got shifted to "go paperless" options at every turn when trying to pay my bill at ATT.

Now I'm sure the executives at ATT think all of us out here in rural areas are morons for not going paperless. Afterall, they can look at their bills on line and flip page to page effortlessly, in their fiber optic cocoons of the future. Us peasants, however, out in the hinterlands, are stuck with flaky dishes or s l o w dialups, and don't have the time to wait 45 seconds or more between pages.

So why do we need to flip through pages like executives anyway ? Well the other day I noticed my bill was a bit high and discovered a new charge for $6.95 had been added for an "extended voice mail" plan. I had never requested such a thing. It was a third party add-on. Apparently ATT thinks it just fine to bill us for whatever any third party says we've requested, without even bothering to ask us if indeed we have requested it. Had I been viewing online at dialup speeds, I might not have bothered to wait to explore my bill so thoroughly. As it was, it's taken several calls to get this charge removed. How many others out there are been scammed the same way ?

So here's my offer to ATT. You get me a reasonable price for a DSL connection, and I'll go paperless.

Frankly, I think the entire country should be wired equally, and damn the cost. It's a utility, and should be available equally to all citizens. Yes it costs more for people to vote in rural areas, all that expense of driving the machines out there, but we still do it, regardless of how few citizens there are, and how inefficient it is. Rural folks are being deprived of their right to be equally seen and heard in the Cybersphere, and to receive information. We are second class cybercitizens, and that's discrimination by geography.

Dogs are fun, and then some....

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Dog-owners 'lead healthier lives'

Dogs can provide companionship

If you want to live a healthier life get a dog, research suggests.

The companionship offered by many pets is thought to be good for you, but the benefits of owning a dog outstrip those of cat owners, the study says.

A psychologist from Queen's University, Belfast, said dog owners tended to have lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

Writing in the British Journal of Health Psychology, she says that regular 'walkies' may partly explain the difference.

Dr Deborah Wells reviewed dozens of earlier research papers which looked at the health benefits of pet ownership.

In some cases, the social support offered by an animal is greater than the support than another human could offer Dr June McNicholas Health psychologist

She confirmed that pet owners tended in general to be healthier than the average member of the population.

However, her research suggested that dog ownership produced more positive influence than cat ownership.

As well as lower blood pressure and cholesterol, she said dog-owners suffered fewer minor ailments and serious medical problems.

There was also the suggestion that dogs could aid recovery from serious illnesses such as heart attacks, and act as 'early warning' to detect an approaching epileptic seizure.

Stress-busting

Dr Wells said the precise reason for the benefits was not totally clear.

"It is possible that dogs can directly promote our well-being by buffering us from stress, one of the major risk factors associated with ill-health.

"The ownership of a dog can also lead to increases in physical activity and facilitate the development of social contacts, which may enhance both physiological and psychological human health in a more indirect manner."

Dr June McNicholas, a health psychologist who has specialised on research into the health effects of pet ownership said that an important reason for the improved health of dog-owners was not just the exercise received while taking it for walks, but the opportunity for social contact with other dog-owners.

She said: "For older people, an animal can fulfil the 'need to be needed', perhaps after children have left home.

"In some cases, the social support offered by an animal is greater than the support than another human could offer."

Forget Global Warming, The Chinese Do Very Dangerous Things

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Starting off, when I say Chinese, I refer to the idiot leaders who thought it would be cute to show that China could blow up a satellite orbiting in space.

There is absolutely no rational reason for doing this. You simply add to the dangerous space debris, and turn a simple object which coulkd have been retrieved into the space equivalent of a wild shotgun blast. Dumb dumb dumb !

So they want to be macho and waive sabers ? The world just does not need it. If China wishes to dominate the world, the world will be destroyed. It is that simple. We have enough submarine born missles to wipe them out, they have enough missles to wipe us out. It's deja vue all over again, CCCP (USSR). Religion and Politics. Can Man and Womankind survive them ????? Tune in next century to se how it turned out, if there's anything left.

One of my best friends, Chinese, informed me that racism lives in China, and that most Chinese view other races as the traditional whites of the late 19th century viewed blacks. This does not bode well for a peaceful future. Anytime one group (racial, religious, cultural, etc., us vs them) views others as "subhuman," there has been hell to pay in history. It happens over and over and over........

Sometimes the Pressure to Cave-In to Oslo is Too Great

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If the child/prisoner is subjected to enough stress, you can get a Shawn situation.

"

Devlin, jailed on $1 million bail, is charged in the kidnapping of 13-year-old Ben, but authorities also expect to charge him with abducting Shawn Hornbeck, a 15-year-old who went missing four years ago.

Ben thanked Mitchell Hults, 15, a friend who helped authorities find him by identifying a small white pickup seen speeding away after Ben's abduction. The boys were found at Devlin's apartment in Kirkland, a St. Louis suburb.

"Thank you for being such a great big help in this entire thing," Ben said, addressing Mitchell.

"If it wasn't for what Mitchell (saw) I don't know if we'd be sitting here talking to you right now," said Ben's father, William Ownby.

He said he didn't know when Ben would return to school.

"I'm ready. I just need my backpack," the boy said.

The Ownbys said authorities had asked the families of both boys not to speak about their time in captivity. That left open the mystery of how their captor kept them from escaping.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Tuesday cited anonymous investigators as saying that Devlin kept Shawn from fleeing by threatening to kill the boy and his entire family, perhaps explaining why Shawn passed on ample opportunities to get away. Devlin's attorney, Michael Kielty, did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday seeking comment on that allegation. (Watch how kidnap victims sometimes deal with their abduction )

Kielty said earlier he has not seen any evidence and will enter a not guilty plea at an arraignment Thursday morning at the Franklin County Courthouse.

Shawn apparently had the freedom to go outside, and perhaps even to use phones and the Internet.

While his alleged kidnapper was at work, Shawn or someone pretending to be him put photos of him online and posted a message on a site created by his desperate parents: "How long are you planning to look for your son?"

{a real parent will look forever, regardless}

Since Shawn's rescue, Web users have discovered a profile at mindviz.com, and online comments have flooded in.

"Welcome home Shawn," wrote one of the nearly 40,000 visitors to Shawn's site on Monday. "I have prayed for you and I know many others have as well. Glad you are safe and healthy."

Investigators would not comment on the postings, and it was not immediately known if they were, in fact, created by Shawn or by someone else. Either way, they add to the long list of clues that no one seemed to pick up on while the boy was missing.

Shawn, now 15, was 11 when he was kidnapped in 2002 while riding his bike near his rural home.

Investigators have given no motive for the crimes and no details on what the boys went through. Officials said Devlin did not appear to have a criminal record.

Devlin's two jobs often took him away from the modest two-bedroom apartment they shared, which had a landline phone and a cell phone, as well as a computer.

A series of Web postings, some under the name "Shawn Devlin," have raised questions about whether he was trying to send clues about his real identity.

At 1:59 a.m. on December 1, 2005, a "Shawn Devlin" asked in a forum on the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation Web site: "How long are you planing (sic) to look for your son?" Shawn's parents, Craig and Pam Akers, started the foundation to help find their son and other missing youngsters.

Later that same day, at 2:56 p.m., Shawn Devlin wrote to ask if he could compose a poem for the family. The poem never appeared in future postings.

Other Web profiles also appeared to be of Shawn, including the profile on mindviz.com, which described "Shawn" as a single atheist with a pet cat living in Kirkwood.

Dr. Juliet Francis, a clinical psychologist and consultant for the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children, said it is not unusual for a bond to develop between an abductor and the child.

"It developed when someone feels that their life is being threatened, but they aren't killed," she said.

Some neighbors said they never saw Shawn with books or a backpack. Neighbor Krista Jones, a stay-at-home mom, noticed Shawn wearing black clothes and piercings in his ear and lip. She said she figured he was either a dropout or attended an alternative school.

Larry Douglas said his younger brother, Tony, and Shawn were best friends and often went skateboarding and biking. He said Tony had no idea of Shawn's real identity. Larry Douglas said his family was not allowing his brother to speak to reporters.

Before Tony Douglas' family made him unavailable to the media, he told Fox News that on three occasions, police stopped the two for being out beyond curfew. Officers gave the boys a lift home, unaware of Shawn's real identity, Tony said.

The Post-Dispatch cited another encounter between Shawn and police that occurred September 29 when an officer stopped the boy, who was riding his bike about 11:20 p.m., about a mile from the apartment.

The police report stated that Shawn told the officer his name was Shawn Devlin and gave a birth date of July 7, 1991 -- 10 days off his actual birthday. Shawn told the officer he was biking to the apartment after visiting a friend's home.

"He was wearing dark clothing and didn't have reflectors on his bike," Glendale Sgt. Bob Catlett told the newspaper. "The officer stopped him to find out who he was.

"He said he was Shawn Devlin, and we had no reason to doubt him."

Tony sometimes spent the night at Shawn's apartment, but rarely spoke with Devlin. Larry Douglas said his brother saw no indication of abuse, or clues that Shawn was a captive.

"He just hopes to see his friend again," Douglas said. "He's happy for Shawn."

from a current news story...

Eventually the truth will come out, no matter what you say to them, and then you'll have a wee bit of explaining to do..........good luck and love through the whole messy process, --- dad

One of the Possible Results of Oslo Syndrome

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Child abuse link to future health

Children who are abused have poorer health as adults

Children who suffer abuse have an increased risk of physical ill health in adulthood, results suggest.

Researchers at King's College London followed 1,000 people in New Zealand from birth to the age of 32.

A third of those who were maltreated had high levels of inflammation - an early indicator of conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

Preventing abuse in childhood could help to reduce the burden of illness in adults, experts said.

Participants in the study, which is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, were monitored as children and were also asked to recall any maltreatment they had suffered as children at the age of 26.

What we have observed is the long-term effect of stress from a phase when children are particularly vulnerable Dr Andrea Danese, study leader

The researchers took into account many other factors which could account for poor health, including stress, depression, poor status attainment as well as smoking, diet and physical activity.

They took blood samples to measure levels of C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and white blood cells - substances which are known to be associated with inflammation in the body.

Adult survivors of childhood maltreatment who appeared to be healthy were twice as likely to show clinically relevant levels of inflammation compared to those who had not been maltreated.

Inflammation is known to predict the development of conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

C-reactive protein in particular has been recommended by the American Heart Association as a screening tool to help assess a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Public health

Study leader Dr Andrea Danese, a psychiatrist at King's College London, said that public health interventions to prevent maltreatment in childhood could help reduce illness in adults.

"We know already that adults who were maltreated in childhood have worse health than other people, but we had no idea how that could be explained so what we're adding here is one of the possible explanations."

Dr Danese explained that stress or fright can lead to inflammation, but if physical harm does not occur the body needs to switch it off quickly or it will cause damage.

Previous research has shown that early-life stress can reduce levels of a hormone - glucocorticoid - that normally works to switch off the inflammatory response.

Dr Danese hypothesised that in maltreated children low levels of glucocorticoids may lead to persistently high levels of inflammation.

"What we have observed is the long-term effect of stress from a phase when children are particularly vulnerable.

"Whether this is reversible is a question we are unable to answer."

Professor Brent Taylor, professor of child health at University College London, said the findings added biological plausibility to what experts already knew.

"It makes sense. We have known for a long time that a bad environment and poor quality parenting is associated with reduced life expectancy as well as other health problems.

"It perhaps suggests there should be more focused attention on preventing maltreatment in childhood."

From the BBC

One Way of Handling Oslo Syndrome

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This is one way, which some can chose.........

Watson gets more than 9 years


Man held wife, daughter hostage in 2005

By Robyn Moormeister, robynm@theunion.com
January 10, 2007

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In a two-hour court hearing this week, Grass Valley engineer Larry Watson was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison for holding his wife and 16-year-old daughter hostage in August 2005, holding guns to their heads and threatening to kill them.

"This was an odd case and an amazing sentence because (Watson) had no (criminal) history," Deputy District Attorney Kathryn Francis said Tuesday. "There really is something very sinister about him and the way he has been treating his wife and daughter for the last 17 years."

Francis said Watson had been inflicting psychological and emotional abuse on his family for so long that his wife was nearly void of self esteem.

She compared the situation to "Sleeping with the Enemy," a movie about a man's pathological need for power and control over his wife and her struggle to be free of his abuse.

"(Watson) would make (his wife) hang his shirts all facing one direction on the same-colored hangers," Francis said, adding that Watson would often punish his wife if she overlooked such details.

"He would make her stand outside naked in the winter," Francis said. "He made her sleep on the floor without a blanket."


Abuse reaches a boiling point

Watson's 16-year-old daughter, who he had recently begun physically abusing, reported the 2005 incident for which he was charged:

It started when Watson, upset with birthday cards he had received from his wife and daughter, gave the cards back and told them to re-write them.

"The guns didn't come out until later that night," Francis said.

She said Watson pointed handguns - one of which was loaded - at his wife's and daughter's heads, locked all of the doors, turned on the house alarm, shut off the phones and lights and threatened to kill them if they called police.

Watson had been drinking alcohol and taking a lot of Xanax at the time, Francis said.

The next morning, Francis said, Watson's wife made their usual breakfast of hash browns, eggs and coffee. Watson "acted like nothing had happened" and he drove his daughter to school.

"Once she got to school she went straight to the principal's office and wouldn't say a word until she could verify that Mom had made it to work," Francis said. "Then there was full disclosure of everything."

Police arrested Watson and he was released from jail at 4 a.m. the next morning. Soon afterward, he located his wife and daughter, who were staying at a local motel under a fictitious name.

He had recognized their car, even though his daughter had tried to conceal it with a car cover.

"He put his thumb over the peephole," Francis said. This time, Watson's wife called the police, who found a copy of an emergency restraining order in Watson's briefcase while they arrested him.

The Nevada County District Attorney's Office charged Watson with two counts of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, violating a restraining order, stalking and brandishing a weapon.

Longtime victims get closure

Francis prosecuted the two-week jury trial that concluded on Aug. 17, 2006, when Watson was found guilty. She argued for the maximum sentence during Monday's sentencing hearing, and Judge Robert Tamietti granted it; nine years and eight months in state prison.

Francis said state law dictates Watson is required to serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

Four of the eight charges Watson was convicted of count as violent "strike" offenses, Francis said, which means that if Watson is convicted of one more felony in California, he will be automatically sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

"(Watson's wife and daughter) are so excited about the sentence and you could just see the relief on their faces," Francis said. "But they do believe that he will hunt them down when he gets a chance."

She said the woman and her daughter have been attending counseling and plan on leaving the area soon.

"It's a chilling story," Francis said. "It's incredibly typical."

ooo

To contact Staff Writer Robyn Moormeister, e-mail robynm@ theunion.com or call 477-4236.