Rollin'

Pierced Eyeglasses

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 19:18:00 +0000

http://www.arborsci.com/CoolStuff/JulianBeever.htm

“People should think things out fresh and not just accept conventional terms and the conventional way of doing things.”
- R. Buckminster Fuller

The idea of hanging eyeglasses from a piercing or a combination of piercings or even transdermal implants is something that a lot of us have toyed with — as I was writing this, my old boss Tom Brazda reminded me that almost ten years ago we made a set of them built around a 10ga bridge piercing (with both left and right-handed threading to make it adjustable). That said, I don’t think we ever took pictures, so maybe I’m making it up because I want to steal James Sooy’s thunder. He’s who sent me this gorgeous example of a piercing-mounted set of eyeglasses:

James is an artist currently designing and painting for Texas-based Magnificent Egos, a minatures (as in gaming) company. Art consumes all of his time, professionally and personally, and much of it is centered around character design, which gives him both time — and money — to fantasize about mods on fictional characters. With the help of his friend Oliver (who many of you know as one of the founding members and guerrilla engineers of the suspension group TSD) this fantasy was made real.
BME:	How did you come up with the idea of attaching a pair of glasses to a piercing?
JAMES:	I’m not sure... some time during the drooling days of high school the idea came to me. I kept it in mind over the years and got the bridge piercing this July and then started looking to make it happen. Maybe it had something to do with not being able to wear contacts.
OLIVER:	I had originally considered making a pair of glasses that hung from a bridge piercing for myself about ten years ago. It was just one of those things that seemed so obvious that I was surprised I hadn’t seen it done. I never got around to doing it then, since I wasn’t too keen on getting a bridge piercing. When I got a call from James inquiring if I could help him with some jewelry he wanted to make, and then he mentioned he wanted to do the glasses as well, I jumped on the opportunity. He already had the piercing done over at Obscurities, here in Dallas, so I knew he was more serious about it than I ever was.
BME:	And how did you guys formalize the design?
JAMES:	Oliver and I sat down for about five minutes one night to think over what would need to be done and he got straight to work making the brackets out of aluminum with a small mill in his garage!
OLIVER:	Originally we were discussing and sketching ideas that would have been considerably more involved to produce. The ones that we ended up making aren’t necessarily the final product, but seemed the best and easiest way to test the viability of the idea. The brackets were machined from aluminum, roughly to shape and then drilled and tapped on my little tabletop Sherline mill — a machine that’s far more suited to this size project than what I normally use it for! After a fair bit of tweaking and polishing with files and abrasives we ended up with what you see. The part you don’t see is a barbell from Anatometal.
JAMES:	The threading on the barbell was 1.2 mm, which happens to be a relatively uncommon and expensive thread (as far as screws go). The screws ended up delaying the project about a month. We used some lenses out of an old pair of glasses I had at first, but I decided to get some new lenses once everything else was finished.
BME:	What’s it like actually wearing it? What does it feel like?
JAMES:	They feel exactly like a regular pair of glasses, actually. I put the nose pads on to keep them from swinging around, so all the pressure is placed there, just like any other pair of glasses. Since they have no frame on the side I can wear them while I sleep and still roll onto my side.
BME:	Good thinking; so the piercing is more of a balance point than something structural. Does that make it more than just a “show piece”, and into something that you wear for real?
JAMES:	I’ve only had them for about a week now, but I’ve been sleeping and showering in them. I hadn’t taken them off in four days when one of the brackets cut me while I was asleep; I’d forgotten to sand the edges and they were still razor sharp. They’re back on now and seem reliable enough to take on a two week trip over the holidays; I doubt I’ll need to take them off during that time. Taking them on and off is a bit of a hassle, as it involves taking a tiny screwdriver and unscrewing them while they’re on my face — about a 5 to 10 minute process — which I suppose is about what you’d spend with contacts.
BME:	I hope they don’t get caught on anything... I suppose that could tear them out rather unpleasantly. Any thoughts on how the engineering might change for the next model?
OLIVER:	This pair isn’t quite what I was looking for both in design terms and in terms of fit. I don’t think they sit at quite the right angle to his face and we both want them to sit a little closer to his eyes, so we’ll probably make another pair in the near future. Much as there are so many designs and styles of eyeglasses currently being manufactured, I think there are a number of ways this design could be improved upon. I certainly think they look neat and ended up being far more subtle than I thought they would be. I didn’t even realize he was wearing them when I saw him a few days later, and he mentioned that most people don’t notice that they are only attached to the piercing.
BME:	What’s next?
JAMES:	I suppose I could try to make marketable version if I had ambition to do so — something easier to take on and off. As for me I only have run of the mill tattoos and piercings planned right now, but seeing how some of my friends and family are in the community and looking to push the frontier, it means I have the manpower at hand to try out what comes to mind, so I’ll keep trying out any of my feasible ideas. Being young and unsure where my future will lead, I’m quite reserved about anything permanent and visible, which limits what I’m willing to do right now... As well as not having the time or resources to work on any major projects, so it’ll just be the ones that steadily work their way in, like the glasses.
BME:	Since people are going to ask me, I have to ask... are these for sale?
JAMES:	As far as money I only spent about $10 on screws and $75 for new lenses. And I bought Oliver a meal.
OLIVER:	I don’t have any intention at this point of pursuing the idea commercially but it’s not something I’m averse to doing. If others were interested I might work something out with them. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing a more developed version of these glasses from the existing body jewelry companies. I know there are any number of people here on IAM that could probably do a much better job both in the design and execution.

Be sure to visit James over at jamessooy.com, and of course you can visit Oliver at iam:antagonist. Thanks to both of them for taking the time to talk to BME, and for thinking creatively about body modification... Too few people understand that it’s OK to try something different or new.

Finally, I apologize that an article on the creative application of piercings has such an uncreative title.

http://www.arborsci.com/CoolStuff/JulianBeever.htm

Why Americans Should Never Be Allowed To Travel

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Wed, 30 May 2007 20:05:00 +0000

The following are actual stories provided by travel agents:

I had someone ask for an aisle seats so that his or her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window.

A client called in inquiring about a package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii?"

I got a call from a woman who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information when she interrupted me with "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts. "Without trying to make her look like the stupid one, I calmly explained, "Capecod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa." Her response ... click.

A man called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that is not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me. I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state."

I got a call from a man who asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada?" I said, "No." He said "But they look so close on the map."

Another man called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had a 1-hour lay over in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and I need a car to drive between the gates to save time."

A nice lady just called. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:20am and got into Chicago at 8:33am. I tried to explain that Michigan was an hour ahead of llinois, but she could not understand the concept of time zones. Finally I told her the plane went very fast, and she bought that!

A woman called and asked, "Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know who's luggage belongs to who?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said FAT, and I'm overweight, is there any connection?" After putting her on hold for a minute while I "looked into it" (I was actually laughing) I came back and explained the city code for Fresno is FAT, and that the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.

I just got off the phone with a man who asked, "How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these darn planes have numbers on them."

A woman called and said, "I need to fly to Pepsi-cola on one of those computer planes." I asked if she meant to fly to Pensacola on a commuter plane. She said, "Yeah, whatever."

A businessman called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him he needed a visa. "Oh no I don't, I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express."

A woman called to make reservations, "I want to go from Chicago to Hippopotamus, New York" The agent was at a loss for words. Finally, the agent: "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" "Yes, what flights do you have?" replied the customer. After some searching, the agent came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Hippopotamus anywhere." The customer retorted, "Oh don't be silly. Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!" The agent scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don't mean Buffalo, do you?" "That's it! I knew it was a big animal!"

The Mind of a Hacker.

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Sat, 26 May 2007 11:11:00 +0000

Another one got caught today, it's all over the papers. "Teenager Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", "Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering"...

Damn kids. They're all alike.

But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950's technobrain, ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? Did you ever wonder what made him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him?

I am a hacker, enter my world...

Mine is a world that begins with school... I'm smarter than most of the other kids, this crap they teach us bores me...

Damn underachiever. They're all alike.

I'm in junior high or high school. I've listened to teachers explain forthe fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction. I understand it. "No, Ms. Smith, I didn't show my work. I did it in my head..."

Damn kid. Probably copied it. They're all alike.

I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this is cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it's because I screwed it up. Not because it doesn't like me... Or feels threatened by me... Or thinks I'm a smart ass... Or doesn't like teaching and shouldn't be here...

Damn kid. All he does is play games. They're all alike.

And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing through the phone line like heroin through an addict's veins, an electronic pulse is sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought... a board is found.

"This is it... this is where I belong..." I know everyone here... even if I've never met them, never talked to them, may never hear from them again... I know you all...

Damn kid. Tying up the phone line again. They're all alike...

You bet your ass we're all alike... we've been spoon-fed baby food at school when we hungered for steak... the bits of meat that you did let slip through were pre-chewed and tasteless. We've been dominated by sadists, or ignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach found us willing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.

This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and you callus criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We seek after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for.

I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike.

Facts in the Human World.

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Sat, 26 May 2007 09:32:00 +0000

The women of the Tiwi tribe in the South Pacific are married at birth.

When Albert Einstein died, his final words died with him. The nurse at his side didn't understand German.

St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was not Irish.

The lance ceased to be an official battle weapon in the British Army in 1927.

St. John was the only one of the 12 Apostles to die a natural death.

Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer (more commonly known as Satan) are the only 3 angels to be named in the bible.
According to Genesis all demons are angels who were cast out of heaven after Lucifer tried to take God's throne and several of the other angels bowed down and worshiped him.

Many sailors used to wear gold earrings so that they could afford a proper burial when they died.

Some very Orthodox Jew refuse to speak Hebrew, believing it to be a language reserved only for the Prophets.

A South African monkey was once awarded a medal and promoted to the rank of corporal during World War I.

Born 4 January 1838, General Tom Thumb's growth slowed at the age of 6 months, at 5 years he was signed to the circus by P.T. Barnum, and at adulthood reached a height of only 1 metre.

Because they had no proper rubbish disposal system, the streets of ancient Mesopotamia became literally knee-deep in rubbish.

The Toltecs, Seventh-century native Mexicans, went into battle with wooden swords so as not to kill their enemies.

China banned the pigtail in 1911 as it was seen as a symbol of feudalism.

The Amayra guides of Bolivia are said to be able to keep pace with a trotting horse for a distance of 100 kilometres.

Sliced bread was patented by a jeweller, Otto Rohwedder, in 1928. He had been working on it for 16 years, having started in 1912.

Before it was stopped by the British, it was the not uncommon for women in some areas of India to choose to be burnt alive on their husband's funeral pyre.

Ivan the terrible claimed to have 'deflowered thousands of virgins and butchered a similar number of resulting offspring'.

Before the Second World War, it was considered a sacrilege to even touch an Emperor of Japan.

An American aircraft in Vietnam shot itself down with one of its own missiles.

The Anglo-Saxons believed Friday to be such an unlucky day that they ritually slaughtered any child unfortunate enough to be born on that day.

During the eighteenth century, laws had to be brought in to curb the seemingly insatiable appetite for gin amongst the poor. Their annual intake was as much as five million gallons.

Ancient drinkers warded off the devil by clinking their cups

The Nobel Prize resulted form a late change in the will of Alfred Nobel, who did not want to be remembered after his death as a propagator of violence - he invented dynamite.

The cost of the first pay-toilets installed in England was tuppence.

Pogonophobia is the fear of beards.

In 1647 the English Parliament abolished Christmas.

Mao Rse-Tang, the first chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, was born 26 December 1893. Before his rise to power, he occupied the humble position of Assistant Librarian at the University of Peking.

Coffee is the second largest item of international commerce in the world. The largest is petrol.

King George III was declared violently insane in 1811, 9 years before he died.

In Ancient Peru, when a woman found an 'ugly' potato, it was the custom for her to push it into the face of the nearest man.

For Roman Catholics, 5 January is St Simeon Stylites' Day. He was a fifth-century hermit who showed his devotion to God by spending literally years sitting on top of a huge flagpole.

When George I became King of England in 1714, his wife did not become Queen. He placed her under house arrest for 32 years.

The richest 10 per cent of the French people are approximately fifty times better off than the poorest 10 per cent.

Henry VII was the only British King to be crowned on the field of battle

During World War One, the future Pope John XXIII was a sergeant in the Italian Army.

Richard II died aged 33 in 1400. A hole was left in the side of his tomb so people could touch his royal head, but 376 years later some took advantage of this and stole his jawbone.

The magic word "Abracadabra" was originally intended for the specific purpose of curing hay fever.

The Puritans forbade the singing of Christmas Carols, judging them to be out of keeping with the true spirit of Christmas.

Albert Einstein was once offered the Presidency of Israel. He declined saying he had no head for problems.

Uri Geller, the professional psychic was born on December 20 1946. As to the origin of his alleged powers, Mr Geller maintains that they come from the distant planet of Hoova.

Ralph and Carolyn Cummins had 5 children between 1952 and 1966, all were born on the 20 February.

John D. Rockefeller gave away over US$ 500,000,000 during his lifetime.

Only 1 child in 20 are born on the day predicted by the doctor.

In the 1970's, the Rhode Island Legislature in the US entertained a proposal that there be a $2 tax on every act of sexual intercourse in the State.

Widows in equatorial Africa actually wear sackcloth and ashes when attending a funeral.

The 'Hundred Years War' lasted 116 years.

The British did not release the body of Napoleon Bonaparte to the French until twenty days after his death.

Admiral Lord Nelson was less than 1.6 metres tall.

John Glenn, the American who first orbited the Earth, was showered with 3,529 tonnes of ticker tape when he got back.

Native American Indians used to name their children after the first thing they saw as they left their tepees subsequent to the birth. Hence such strange names as Sitting Bull and Running Water.

Catherine the First of Russia, made a rule that no man was allowed to get drunk at one of her parties before nine o'clock.

Queen Elizabeth I passed a law which forced everyone except for the rich to wear a flat cap on Sundays.

In 1969 the shares of the Australian company 'Poseidon' were worth $1, one year later they were worth $280 each.

Julius Caesar wore a laurel wreath to cover the onset of baldness.

Ernest Bevin, Minister of Labour during World War II, left school at the age of eleven.

At the age of 12, Martin Luther King became so depressed he tried committing suicide twice, by jumping out of his bedroom window.

It is illegal to be a prostitute in Siena, Italy, if your name is Mary.

The Turk's consider it considered unlucky to step on a piece of bread.

The authorities do not allow tourists to take pictures of Pygmies in Zambia.

The Dutch in general prefer their french fries with mayonnaise.

Upon the death of F.D. Roosevelt, Harry S Truman became the President of America on 12 April 1945. The initial S in the middle of his name doesn't in fact mean anything. Both his grandfathers had names beginning with 'S', and so Truman's mother didn't want to disappoint either of them.

Sir Isaac Newton was obsessed with the occult and the supernatural.

One of Queen Victoria's wedding gifts was a 3 metre diameter, half tonne cheese.

Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, never phoned his wife or his mother, they were both deaf.

It was considered unfashionable for Venetian women, during the Renaissance to have anything but silvery-blonde hair.

Queen Victoria was one of the first women ever to use chloroform to combat pain during childbirth.

Peter the Great had the head of his wife's lover cut off and put into a jar of preserving alcohol, which he then ordered to be placed by her bed.

The car manufacturer Henry Ford was awarded Hitler's Grand Cross of the Supreme Order of the German Eagle. Henry Ford was the inventor of the assembly line, and Hitler used this knowledge of the assembly line to speed up production, and to create better and interchangeable products.

Atilla the Hun is thought to have been a dwarf.

The warriors tribes of Ethiopia used to hang the testicles of those they killed in battle on the ends of their spears.

On 15 April 1912 the SS Titanic sunk on her maiden voyage and over 1,500 people died. Fourteen years earlier a novel was published by Morgan Robertson which seemed to foretell the disaster. The book described a ship the same size as the Titanic which crashes into an iceberg on its maiden voyage on a misty April night. The name of Robertson's fictional ship was the Titan.

There are over 200 religious denominations in the United States.

Eau de Cologne was originally marketed as a way of protecting yourself against the plague.

Charles the Simple was the grandson of Charles the Bald, both were rulers of France.

Theodor Herzi, the Zionist leader who was born on May 2 1860, once had the astonishing idea of converting Jews to Christianity as a way of combating anti-Semitism.

The women of an African tribe make themselves more attractive by permanently scaring their faces.

Augustus II, the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland seemed to have a prodigious sexual appetite, and fathered hundreds of illegitimate children during his lifetime.

Some moral purists in the Middle Ages believed that women's ears ought to be covered up because the Virgin May had conceived a child through them.

Hindus don't like dying in bed, they prefer to die beside a river.

While at Havard University, Edward Kennedy was suspended for cheating on a Spanish exam.

It is a criminal offence to drive around in a dirty car in Russia.

The Emperor Caligula once decided to go to war with the Roman God of the sea, Poseidon, and ordered his soldiers to throw their spears into the water at random.

The Ecuadorian poet, José Olmedo, has a statue in his honour in his home country. But, unable to commission a sculptor, due to limited funds, the government brought a second-hand statue .. Of the English poet Lord Byron.

In 1726, at only 7 years old, Charles Sauson inherited the post of official executioner.

Sir Winston Churchill rationed himself to 15 cigars a day.

On 7 January 1904 the distress call 'CQD' was introduced. 'CQ' stood for 'Seek You' and 'D' for 'Danger'. This lasted only until 1906 when it was replaced with 'SOS'.

Though it is forbidden by the Government, many Indians still adhere to the caste system which says that it is a defilement for even the shadow of a person from a lowly caste to fall on a Brahman ( a member of the highest priestly caste).

In parts of Malaya, the women keep harems of men.

The childrens' nursery rhyme 'Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses' actually refers to the Black Death which killed about 30 million people in the fourteenth-century.

The word 'denim' comes from 'de Nimes', Nimes being the town the fabric was originally produced.

During the reign of Elizabeth I, there was a tax put on men's beards.

Idi Amin, one of the most ruthless tyrants in the world, before coming to power, served in the British Army.

Some Eskimos have been known to use refrigerators to keep their food from freezing.

It is illegal to play tennis in the streets of Cambridge.

Custer was the youngest General in US history, he was promoted at the age of 23.

It costs more to send someone to reform school than it does to send them to Eton.

The American pilot Charles Lindbergh received the Service Cross of the German Eagle form Hermann Goering in 1938.

The active ingredient in Chinese Bird's nest soup is saliva.

Marie Currie, who twice won the Nobel Prize, and discovered radium, was not allowed to become a member of the prestigious French Academy because she was a woman.

It was quite common for the men of Ancient Greece to exercise in public .. naked.

John Paul Getty, once the richest man in the world, had a payphone in his mansion.

Iceland is the world's oldest functioning democracy.

Adolf Eichmann (responsible for countless Jewish deaths during World war II), was originally a travelling salesman for the Vacuum Oil Co. of Austria.

The national flag of Italy was designed by Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Matami Tribe of West Africa play a version of football, the only difference being that they use a human skull instead of a more normal ball.

John Winthrop introduced the fork to the American dinner table for the first time on 25 June 1630.

Elizabeth Blackwell, born in Bristol, England on 3 February 1821, was the first woman in America to gain an M.D. degree.

Abraham Lincoln was shot with a Derringer.

The great Russian leader, Lenin died 21 January 1924, suffering from a degenerative brain disorder. At the time of his death his brain was a quarter of its normal size.

When shipped to the US, the London bridge ( thought by the new owner to be the more famous Tower Bridge ) was classified by US customs to be a 'large antique'.

Sir Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' cloakroom after his mother went into labour during a dance at Blenheim Palace.

In 1849, David Atchison became President of the United States for just one day, and he spent most of the day sleeping.

Between the two World War's, France was controlled by forty different governments.

The 'Crystal Palace' at the Great Exhibition of 1851, contained 92 900 square metres of glass.

It was the custom in Ancient Rome for the men to place their right hand on their testicles when taking an oath. The modern term 'testimony' is derived from this tradition.

Sir Winston Churchill's mother was descended from a Red Indian.

The study of stupidity is called 'monology'.

Hindu men believe(d) it to be unluckily to marry a third time. They could avoid misfortune by marring a tree first. The tree ( his third wife ) was then burnt, freeing him to marry again.

More money is spent each year on alcohol and cigarettes than on Life insurance.

In 1911 3 men were hung for the murder of Sir Edmund Berry at Greenbury Hill, their last names were Green, Berry , and Hill.

A firm in Britain sold fall-out shelters for pets.

During the seventeen century , the Sultan of Turkey ordered his entire harem of women drowned, and replace with a new one.

Lady Astor once told Winston Churchill 'if you were my husband, I would poison your coffee'. His reply …' if you were my wife, I would drink it ! '.

There are no clocks in Las Vegas casinos.

The Great Pyramid of Giza consists of 2,300,000 blocks each weighing 2.5 tons.

On 9 February 1942, soap rationing began in Britain.

Paul Revere was a dentist.

The Budget speech on April 17 1956 saw the introduction of Premium Savings Bonds into Britain. The machine which picks the winning numbers is called "Ernie", an abbreviation, which stands for' electronic random number indicator equipment'.

Chop-suey is not a native Chinese dish, it was created in California by Chinese immigrants.

The Russian mystic, Rasputin, was the victim of a series of murder attempts on this day in 1916. The assassins poisoned, shot and stabbed him in quick succession, but they found they were unable to finish him off. Rasputin finally succumbed to the ice-cold waters of a river.

Bonnie Prince Charlie, the leader of the Jacobite rebellion to depose of George II of England, was born 31 December 1720. Considered a great Scottish hero, he spent his final years as a drunkard in Rome.

The Liberal Prime Minister, William Gladstone, was born of the 29th December 1809. Apparently, as a result of his strong Puritan impulses, Gladstone kept a selection of whips in his cellar with which he regularly chastised himself.

A parthenophobic has a fear of virgins.

South American gauchos were known to put raw steak under their saddles before starting a day's riding, in order to tenderise the meat.

There are 240 white dots in a Pacman arcade game.

In 1939 the US political party 'The American Nazi Party' had 200,000 members.

King Solomon of Israel had about 700 wives as well as hundreds of mistresses.

Urine was once used to wash clothes.

North American Indian, Sitting Bull, died on 15 December 1890. His bones were laid to rest in North Dakota, but a business group wanted him moved to a 'more natural' site in South Dakota. Their campaign was rejected so they stole the bones, and they now reside in Sitting Bull Park, South Dakota.

St Nicholas, the original Father Christmas, is the patron saint of thieves, virgins and communist Russia.

Dublin is home of the Fairy Investigation Society.

Fourteen million people were killed in World War I, twenty million died in a flu epidemic in the years that followed.

People in Siberia often buy milk frozen on a stick.

Princess Ann was the only competitor at the 1976 Montreal Olympics that did not have to undergo a sex test.

Ethelred the Unready, King of England in the Tenth-century, spent his wedding night in bed with his wife and his mother-in-law.

Coffins which are due for cremation are usually made with plastic handles.

Blackbird, who was the chief of Omaha Indians, was buried sitting on his favourite horse.

The two highest IQ's ever recorded (on a standard test) both belong to women.

The Tory Prime Minister, Benjamin Disreali, was born 21 December 1804. He was noted for his oratory and had a number of memorable exchanges in the House with his great rival William Gladstone. Asked what the difference between a calamity and a misfortune was Disreali replied: 'If Gladstone fell into the Thames it would be a misfortune, but if someone pulled him out again, it would be a calamity'.

The Imperial Throne of Japan has been occupied by the same family for the last thirteen hundred years.

In the seventeenth-century a Boston man was sentenced to two hours in the stocks for obscene behaviour, his crime, kissing his wife in a public place on a Sunday.

President Kaunda of Zambia once threatened to resign if his fellow countrymen didn't stop drinking so much alcohol.

Due to staggering inflation in the 1920's, 4,000,000,000,000,000,000 German marks were worth 1 US dollar.

Gorgias of Epirus was born during preparation of his mothers funeral.

The city of New York contains a district called 'Hell's Kitchen'.

The city of Hiroshima left the Industrial Promotion Centre standing as a monument the atomic bombing.

During the Medieval Crusades, transporting bodies off the battlefield for burial was a major problem, this was solved by carrying a huge cauldron into the Holy wars, boiling down the bodies, and taking only the bones with them.

A ten-gallon hat holds three-quarters of a gallon.

George Washington grew marijuana in his garden.

Son beheads mother in Japan

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Tue, 15 May 2007 17:58:00 +0000

A teenage Japanese boy has been arrested after walking into a police station carrying a severed human head, claiming to have killed his mother. The 17-year-old went to a police station in the town of Aizuwakamatsu, north of Tokyo, carrying the head in a sports bag, Japanese media said.
The beheaded body of a woman was later found at the boy's home, police said. This is the latest in a series of grisly killings in Japan, a country renowned for its low crime rate. On Monday, a severed human leg was discovered in a small river in central Tokyo. In January, a 32-year-old woman was arrested after she confessed to killing her husband, dismembering him with a saw and dumping body parts around Tokyo.

In the latest case, the boy, said to be a local high school student, reportedly told police he killed his mother with a knife during the night as she slept, and had acted alone. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki expressed his alarm at the reports.
"If it's true, it's horrifying," he said. Aizuwakamatsu is located in Fukushima prefecture, 200 kilometres north of Tokyo.

Upcoming sex expert Tristan Taormino

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 20:05:00 +0000

Pittsburgh - BlueDoor.com, an online adult DVD rentals/sales and adult entertainment website, is proud to announce its partnership with award-winning author, columnist, editor and sex educator Tristan Taormino and the launch of a new exclusive section: Tristan's Room.

Tristan's Room will feature a weekly column by Tristan Taormino which focuses on erotic exploration and sex advice, as well as Tristan's personal recommendations for DVDs and toys. As part of the column, BlueDoor.com customers can email specific questions for the sex expert to answer.

"Tristan's Room will cover lots of erotic territory from sex toys to orgies and beyond. I am especially excited to interact with readers on a regular basis as I answer all their burning questions," says Tristan.

Tristan helms Vivid-Ed, the sex education imprint of Vivid Entertainment. Vivid-Ed's first release, Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide To Anal Sex has become an instant hit on BlueDoor.com.

BlueDoor caters to the growing couples market and believes this partnership is a step in the right direction in accomplishing that goal. Tristan agrees saying, "I am thrilled to be working with such a high quality, couples-friendly adult site. Blue Door offers me the perfect platform to share my expertise on sex and relationships with its readers. It's a match made in porno heaven!"

To kick off Tristan's new column, Vivid-Ed and BlueDoor are co-sponsoring an introductory contest. One reader will win an all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles to be a guest on the set of a Vivid-Ed movie. The winner will get the opportunity to hang out with Tristan and the stars of the next Expert Guide video, sit in on a real sex workshop, plus have the option to appear in the video as a workshop audience member. For more information on this contest and details, visit BlueDoor.com. The person who sends in the most interesting question (as judged by Tristan) wins.

"I rarely have visitors on my sets, so this is a unique opportunity for one lucky person," said Tristan. "Not only will the winner get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the Expert Guide video series, the person also gets to schmooze with me, my cast and crew. Hopefully, whoever it is won't be shy because we're also allowing them to be in the audience for the teaching segment. The experience will be fun, educational, and give someone bragging rights for being in a Vivid movie!"

The rape of Ms Shilpa Shetty

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 19:41:00 +0000

Though India seems preoccupied with sex, they seem equally as preoccupied with morally oppressing it.

Indian actress Shilpa Shetty
Apparently to some it almost resembled a Bollywood rape scene on screen. Only the victim was not screaming or resisting. She was giggling with her eyes closed and seemed to be quite appreciative of what was going on.

To an outraged public it was not an affectionate hug, but it was a passionate, sexual embrace.

Hearing them describe the controversial cuddle sounds something like this: "Gere held her with his arms and legs in a breath-taking grip, bent her down, pressed his torso and hips against her soft body. It looked as if he was overcome with passion and could not control himself. He was evidently unaware of the large audience that had come to participate in an AIDS awareness programme. He was totally oblivious to the world and got into a tight, blissful embrace..."

Gere is regarded as a serious and charitable man, often dedicating his time to caring for people around the world through his work with various HIV/AIDS awareness, support and prevention programs.

Porn Site Reviews and Previews

Indian actress Shilpa Shetty did not think there was anything wrong in what Gere had done, she said later.

But some critics seem to feel that the 'passionate embrace' would have attracted a fatwa if it happened in some Middle Eastern countries.

Gere perhaps would have been more careful if he was aware of the kind of moral policing that exists in India. The moral police are not just in the police force, but they are all over the place, angrily condemning all 'immoral activities' and swearing by India's ancient and glorious heritage.

Women in various organizations are mounting attacks on Gere. They have not only condemned the 'obscene' display at the AIDS meet but also declared such amorous happenings will not help the AIDS awareness programme.

Maybe they wanted Gere to wear a condom?

Meanwhile the 'victim' has given a clean chit to Gere. Shetty has stated it was just 'entertainment' and nothing else.

Yet those mounting the attack on Gere say that Shilpa Shetty should have, instead of giggling, fought against his 'sexual attack', screamed and strongly put up resistance.

Instead of doing this 'she seems to have enjoyed it all'. They want her to say nasty things about Gere - that he looks like a sex maniac, that she was taken by suprise, that her giggling should not be regarded as a sign of ecstasy she was experiencing, but was a result of pain and embarrassment. They are prepared to let the 'victim' go scot free if she were to agree with them and state that she was an unwilling partner in the 'obscene' act.

The moral police

Shilpa Shetty
India's moral police are again beating their drums. Recently a female minister who hugged a paratrooper in France found herself in trouble. The minister was participating in an air-drop exercise and when they came down to earth, she got a hug. A fatwa has been issued against her and she has since said her life is in danger.

There was a time in India when a scantily-clad girl could not be shown on the screen. When for the first time the bare leg of an actress was shown four decades ago there were strong objections, but people still flocked to the theatre and the film became a big box office hit.

Slowly, bit by bit, nudity has been revealed in Indian films and accepted. Yet kissing has never been allowed and is still not done. As the faces of the male and female actors come together, the scene gives way to two doves shown pecking or some other such fade-out transition.

Morality seems to be geographical in that it differs from nation to nation.

What is moral in Britain may be immoral in India.

Perceptions about morality also keep changing. In the Victorian period in England, there were stiff regulations about woman's dress. Sex was taboo. Great writers like DH Lawrence, Oscar Wilde and many others were harassed because they presented sex in their books.

Some of these morals arrived in India along with colonial rule. Indians began to accept the stiff moral codes of the British. Today when Indians talk of 'their heritage', they refer to the morals which existed during the colonial rule rather than early Indian history.

For example, Indian women in ancient times were far freer than even in today's soceity. A woman could choose any man she wanted as her husband. And every warrior was a Casanova and he was admired for his amorous activities. Take the Pandava hero Arjuna for instance; whenever he conquered a new kingdom, he had affairs with attrative women of the kingdom.

In the elite circles, the women exposed themselves stark naked and bathed in moonlight. Compare their dress to the clothes women wear today. Looking at early texts and paintings you can see how Draupadi - the daughter of King Drupada, who becomes the wife of the five Pandavas and then known as Princess Krishna - used to dress. If she walked down Dadabhai Nowroji Road today, people would be scandalized. A woman's breasts were squeezed into a tiny bit of a bra which at the back had only thin strings. Almost the entire back was bare. The neck region, arms and the armpits were also not covered.

But today people who seem to know nothing about early Indian civilization and the values India's ancestors cherished, shout themselves hoarse from roof tops and decide what is moral and what is not.

Even Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty on a stage where an AIDS awareness program is being discussed and dedicating their time for a charitable cause can find themselves the target of India's moral police.

Still some are just largely amused. A female Bandra resident is reported to have responded to Gere's embrace of Shetty saying, ¡§When I looked at them, I thought I was looking at a blue film.¡¨

The woman evidently has not seen a blue film, but maybe it is time she did.

Yume Miru Kusuri

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 19:32:00 +0000

Peach Princess, the leading publisher of Japanese PC dating-sim games in English, announces the completion of production and immediate release of 'Yume Miru Kusuri :: A Drug That Makes You Dream'.

This is an interactive dating simulation game for Windows, intended for adults aged 18 and older, is the latest in Peach Princess's popular lineup of bishoujo games - games featuring beautiful women with whom the player can form meaningful relationships via choices taken throughout the story.

The game is set in a pastel-hued version of postmodern Japan, where players take the role of student Kagami Kouhei and guide his quest to find meaning and color in an otherwise lackluster existence.

Porn Site Reviews and Previews

Along the way players interact with several girls, each exceptional in their own way, who hold out the promise of the answer you've been seeking - Aeka, the target of merciless bullying, Mizuki, the reckless student council president, and Nekoko, a strangely vital girl who insists she is a "fairy of the night".

Yume Miru Kusuri :: A Drug That Makes You Dream features a highly involved story, epic on a personal scale that deals more intimately than any earlier Peach Princess title with very real issues present in modern society. Themes of classroom avarice, suicide, and youthful temptations of escapism are all present, coming with them a depiction of the fragile beauty of life that it is the player's duty as Kagami to choose to protect - or abandon.

Acclaimed by Japanese critics for its brilliant characterization and scenes of haunting eroticism, Yume Miru Kusuri is the first in a series of artistically oriented titles planned for release from JAST USA and its affiliate brands over the coming months. As with other Peach Princess titles the player will enjoy completely uncensored graphics and a high-quality, faithful English translation of the original Japanese game text for dozens of hours of absorbing gameplay. The game's initial production run is limited to 1,000 pieces and contains extras on disc including the full game soundtrack in lossless audio format, character system voice files, exclusive artwork and trailers for other JAST USA-distributed titles.

METHODS TO ERADICATE FEAR

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 08:43:00 +0000

1. VICTORY OVER FEAR
(Pratipaksha-Bhavana-Method)

As you think, so you become. As you think, so you develop. As is your ideal, so gradually your life will become. This is so, because there is a great transforming power in thought.

Take, then, the life of perfect men like Bhishma and think of their deeds and their life and ideals. Your life will be filled by purity, courage, etc. You will become a noble, perfect man. The thought will transform you into its own likeness. Man becomes like what he worships. Man becomes like what he thinks. This is indeed true.

Sit with closed eyes in the early morning. Meditate on courage, the opposite of fear, for half an hour. Think of the advantages of courage and the disadvantages of fear. Practice the virtue during the day. Feel that you actually possess courage to an enormous degree. Manifest it
in your daily life. In some weeks or months fear will be replaced by courage. Repeat the formula
“Om courage” mentally, daily several times. Meditate and assert:
“I am all courage OM OM OM
I am an embodiment of courage OM OM OM
I am like Bhishma OM OM OM
I am a great hero OM OM OM My will is very powerful OM OM OM
I am not afraid of anything OM OM OM
I am bold and chivalrous OM OM OM Courage is my birthright OM OM OM

CONQUEST OF FEAR

It is very difficult to attack fear directly. It is very strong. You are a victim to this
negative trait in hundreds of lives. It has taken deep root. Put the seeds of courage in your heart. Allow it to grow. Fear will die by itself. The positive always overcomes the negative. This is an immutable psychological law. This is the Pratipaksha-Bhavana-method of RajaYogins. Try this method again and again. You are bound to succeed.

May you attain triumph over fear by cultivating courage through the Pratipaksha- Bhavana-method or the method of thinking on the opposite!

2. FEELING THE PRESENCE OF GOD

God is all-pervading. He is always with you. He is in you, around you. He is not far to seek. He cannot be, perceived through the physical eye. Your sense of touch cannot help you.
He has to be realized through the inner eye of wisdom.

Modern civilization has enslaved people to such an extent that they are incapable of any original expression, thought or deed. They do not care to think of their routine actions—how their activities progress, what they are running after or what goal they are marching towards. Inventions, innovations and contrivances have eased men from their labour and human skill. The conservation of energy in this direction has only created laziness in them. More sensual desires and perceptions have begun to sway them. Lost in the ever-pouring luxuries of life, the true mission is once for all forgotten. People do not think wherefrom their daily requirements come, who the unfailing and non-stopping supplier is, where His abode rests, how to have His Darshan, what to request of Him and how to revere Him. No amount of study and research in physical geography, vegetable kingdom, various industrial technologies, physiology and other sciences will solve these problems nor even give a clue to the solution. This scientific knowledge is subject to various hypotheses, axioms and data which are by themselves under controversies. This knowledge will in no way aid one to arrive at the source. The source is really beyond all these conceptions. Its abode cannot be located by running the finger over a coloured map. The Dweller and His abode can be seen only through the inner eye and right understanding. Concentration, Meditation and Sublime Thoughts are the pathways to this abode.

Most people feel themselves unable to stay their mind upon God and meditate upon divine thoughts. This is all due to want of training. Realization is always through practice. Practice comes out of proper training. Proper training requires consultation of learned men. This
is “Initiation in the right path.”

In all ages you meet with such great personalities who are always ready to help you but who may not advertise themselves as such. It is left to you to find out such men, to choose your own GURU to obey him implicitly, to serve him with all sincerity and earnestness and express your thirst for knowledge. Vain discussions and intentional test-questions must be strictly avoided. You must be regular in your lessons and practice.

There are again persons who say that they are unable to meet even a single man of such qualities, for their Guru. Though it is firmly held that no perfection can be attained in any line

without a Guru, it may well be asserted that God is near and dear to you as He is to everybody.
Sincere and earnest attempt will have its own fruits. It is not on this plea the concentration and meditation have to be cast off.

Because a man does not understand the film language, does he refrain from visiting films? He avails himself of every opportunity to accompany his friend who is able to interpret and who is already in the groove. If not he makes fresh acquaintance while in the queue to procure tickets. Even this if he is unable to get he pushes himself anyway and tries his best to decipher the whole film racking his brain. He makes earnest efforts to improve his knowledge in this line by purchasing synopsis, bulletins and magazines. He is restless until he acquires some knowledge. At no stage does he stop and put an end to this quest of knowledge. In due course every actor or actress lives at the tip of his tongue. He becomes profusely enlightened in this art.
He speaks hours and hours about the talents of various film-stars. What are all these due to? Is
he not training himself earnestly. honestly, sincerely and virtuously in the particular line? Did he wait for a Guru? What a pity it is that a man indulges so much in trivial things discarding the vital mission of life?

It is quite common for people to complain that when they begin to think upon God, their mind wanders here and there and their thoughts become engaged with mundane affairs. This is again due to lack of training and want of definite will-power. True. It is very difficult, extremely difficult to fix the mind at first instance upon God. An entirely different, superior and higher stratum of mind is needed for this practice. This has to be well developed.

The mind is full of lust. It is always restless. It traverses through all spheres—good or bad. It has to be wound up by the triple cord of devotion, concentration and meditation. It must always be kept under control.

Try to get alone for a few minutes every day. If you cannot afford this, utilize every scrap
of leisure you presume to enjoy. Select a lonely place, a river bank, the top of a mount, the open terrace of your house, a sea shore, a simple pleasant meadow, a corner in a temple, church or mosque or a private room. Purge all your wavering thoughts. This will be quite easy in any of
the above localities as all the senses will be drawn by the exquisite, beauty of the spot or landscape or by the deep silence pervading all-round. If necessary, burn incense or scented sticks, which will always keep you alert.

There are two distinctive ways for worship of God. One, the “All-pervading Nature” and
the other “Here and here alone”. If one is to sit down and contemplate on the omnipresence of God, i.e., presence in the sun, in the moon, in the stars, in anything and everything he comes across, perhaps he might become lost in immensity. On the other hand one may localize the presence of God at the initial stage which he may develop later into the former method.

Having steadied the mind either by gazing at a particular spot, or the picture of any form
of God or Guru or tuning the ears to the murmur of the river or receding waves of the sea, utter slowly in a low tone the statement “GOD IS NOW HERE” or “GOD IS IN THIS ROOM”. First repeat “G-O-D I-S N-O-W H-E-R-E” in a deep meditative way. Then relax for a while and

again repeat. Do this untiringly till you are immersed in your statement. Now you realize the
presence of God.

Do not stop with this. This is not the ultimate aim. Existence Absolute, Knowledge Absolute and Bliss Absolute are the supreme things to be aimed at. After experiencing “GOD IS NOW HERE” repeat “HIS PRESENCE FILLS ME FROM HEAD TO FOOT”. By repeated utterances realize His existence in you. In the same way practice “HIS PRESENCE IS JOY”,
“HIS PRESENCE IS LOVE” and “HIS PRESENCE IS PEACE”. Whenever your mind attempts
to wander, repeat these statements loudly until it comes round. Morning hours are most suitable. This practice will free you from fear and fill you with courage, joy and peace.

If this is practiced untiringly a sense of supreme joy, Cosmic love and Eternal Peace will reign over you. What to speak of the radiance of such a realized Yogi? How glorious will he shine in the world.

May all know this easy way for the realization of God! May all practice this with definiteness and self-will. May all share His blessings. May all be free from worldly ties and sensual agonies. May the All-merciful Lord encumber them with help and relieve them from the struggle of Samsara!

3. DEVOTION TO GOD ERADICATES ALL FEARS

God bestows perfect security on His devotees and removes all sorts of fears. He transforms the sense of insecurity and fear into one of confidence and faith. He saves him from panic and despair.

Mira was tormented by her husband in a variety of ways but Lord Krishna protected her and removed all her fears. The cup of poison was changed into nectar. Cobra was changed into Saligrama and a garland of flowers. She was shut in a cage where there was a hungry tiger. The tiger did not eat her but kissed the feet of Mira. This was all due to grace of Lord Krishna.

Lord Hari removed all the fears of Prahlada. Prahlada also was tormented by his cruel father. Prahlada was thrown into the sea. He was trampled under the feet of the elephant. He was rolled down from the top of a hill. He was thrown into the fire. But he was saved by Lord Hari. Lord Vishnu removed all his fears.

A devotee sees only the Lord in all names and forms. He beholds Lord Hari everywhere. How can there be fear, then, for him?

Take refuge in Lord, in His name and grace. All fears will vanish completely. He will bestow strength, fortitude, courage, presence of mind, etc., in you.

Abandon desires, Raga-Dvesha, and all sorts of worldly attachment. Pray and meditate:

Lord Hari! I am Thine Ram Ram Ram

O Lord Hari! All is Thine Ram Ram Ram
Thy will be done Ram Ram Ram Fill my heart with courage Ram Ram Ram Shower Thy grace on me Ram Ram Ram Let my mind be attached to Thy lotus feet Ram Ram Ram Let me feel Thy presence, everywhere Ram Ram Ram Let me behold Thee in all forms Ram Ram Ram Reveal Thy form to me Ram Ram Ram Guide me, protect me Ram Ram Ram Pahi Mam. Raksha Mam Ram Ram Ram

4. MEDITATION ON ATMAN
(The Method of Jnanis)

Meditation on the fearless Atman removes all sorts of fears in toto. A sage beholds the immortal fearless Self only everywhere. How can there be fear for him then? There is fear only where there is duality. If one feels that there is a second object besides himself, at once fear is generated. He is afraid of the other man. Separation, duality, perception of objects are all due to Avidya or ignorance.

Start the anti-current from today. Deny the body, and identify yourself with the all- pervading, immortal, fearless Atman. Entire denial of the body cannot come in a day or a week. Constantly think of the Atman. Gradually you will become fearless. You will have to fight against the Samskaras of Anadikala (beginningless time). The more you think of Atman, the more courageous you will become. By constant hammering only can you entirely drive the nail into the wall or a plank. Even so, by constant and protracted thinking on Atman alone you can become absolutely fearless.

Meditate. Assert. Recognize. Realize:

I am fearless, all-pervading Atman OM OM OM
I am not afraid of anything OM OM OM Courage is my birthright OM OM OM
I behold the one Atman everywhere Everything is my own Self OM OM OM Who is to be afraid of whom? OM OM OM There is no duality for me OM OM OM
I see the non-dual essence only OM OM OM My will is very powerful now OM OM OM My power is irresistible OM OM OM
I have no enemy OM OM OM Enemy, tiger, cobra, are my own Self They cannot do harm to me OM OM OM
I love them as my own Self OM OM OM

A Jivanmukta or a sage hates none, fears none. May you all be established in that
Supreme Non-dual Fearless Brahman.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FEAR.

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 08:34:00 +0000

Fear is a great enemy of man. It is the enemy of his progress. It disturbs his peace and harmony. It sucks or saps his vitality and energy. It drains the nervous system of its reserve of energy. It produces weakness.

Fear is of two kinds, viz., natural or rational fear, when there is a threatening situation to endanger life; and unnatural or unusual fear which has no objective reality.

The origin of most neurotic fears can be traced to childhood. The seeds of fear may lie dormant in childhood in the subconscious mind. They sprout forth after some time during some period of crisis or stress.

Panicky fear is more contagious than typhoid or cholera. The atom bombs cause terrible panicky fear. People leave their houses and move to villages.

Anxiety and worry are the effects of fear. Some sort of fear gets buried in the subconscious mind. So man worries himself. There is continued strain and tension in the mind.
If the fear is released or dispelled, he will have peace of mind.

Normal fear is healthy. It paves the way for one’s progress. It preserves life. A Headmaster is afraid of the Inspector of Schools. He takes a very keen interest in training the boys. All the boys get success in the examination. An engine-driver of the Railways is afraid of
his superior officer. He is very careful in the discharge of his duties. No collision occurs. A physician is afraid of getting a bad reputation. He takes great care of his patient. He makes researches. He saves many lives. He becomes a famous physician also.

Psychologists are of opinion that there cannot be absolute fearlessness and that only determined effort can be made to conquer fear. This is incorrect. Psychologists have no transcendental experience. A perfect sage who has knowledge of Brahman is absolutely fearless. Upanishads declare in a thundering voice, “The knower of the fearless Brahman becomes himself absolutely fearless.” (Brihadaranyakopanishad)

There can be fear only where there is duality. How can there be fear for one who experiences non-duality? Such a person is the most courageous of men. The courage of a soldier
in the battlefield or of a dacoit is only Tamasic courage. It is not courage at all. It is only brutal ferocity born of hatred or jealousy. That Sattvic courage born of Wisdom of the Self alone is real courage.

As a matter of fact, fear exists to glorify courage. A timid man exists to glorify a courageous man. There will be no value for goodness if badness does not exist. One side of a thing cannot have significance without the existence of the other side. Hence everything in this world has two sides. Dvandvas exist to keep up the flow of the world.

This book throws much light on the causes and characteristics of fear. It suggests efficient remedies for the eradication of fear and cultivating courage and fortitude, and attaining
the fearless Brahman or the Absolute.

3 ON TERROR CHARGE

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 20:18:00 +0000

eThe first three people to be charged over the 7/7 London terror attacks have appeared in court.

Mohammed Shakil, 30, Sadeer Saleem, 26, and Waheed Ali, 23, appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court charged with conspiring with the July 7 suicide bombers to target London's tourist attractions and its transport network.

They are accused of conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life.

The three accused are all from Leeds. However, Ali, has been living in east London.

They are the first people to be charged over the 7/7 terror attacks - 21 months after the four blasts which killed 52 people. Their alleged co-conspirators are the four men who detonated rucksack bombs on three London Tube trains and a bus on the morning of July 7, 2005 - Mohammed Siddique Khan, Shezhad Tanweer, Jermaine Lindsay and Hasib Hussein.

The alleged targets of the conspiracy were the Transport for London system "and/or tourist attractions in London". The attractions were not specified in the details of the charge.

The three defendants on Saturday spoke only to confirm their names and dates of birth.

Senior District Judge Timothy Workman remanded all three men in custody to appear for a preliminary hearing at The Old Bailey on April 20.

The charge against them alleges that between November 1, 2004, and June 29, 2005, they "unlawfully and maliciously" conspired with the four 7/7 bombers - Khan, Tanweer, Lindsay and Hussein - to cause "by explosive substance, explosions on the Transport for London system and/or tourist attractions in London of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property".

The alleged offence is contrary to Section 3 (1) (a) of the Explosives Substances Act 1883.

PREGNANT YOUNG WOMAN GUNED DEATH OVER PARKING SPACE DISPUTE

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 19:58:00 +0000

A community is in shock after a gunman shot dead a young pregnant woman over what is believed to have been a row between neighbours over parking.

Krystal Hart, 22, was blasted with a handgun at "very close range" in her home in Clapham, south-west London, on Friday morning.

Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton, leading the investigation, said it was understood Ms Hart had been involved in a dispute dating back "many months".

He said: "Police were called to the house and found a young girl had been shot in her home. We think that this took place as a result of some kind of dispute, possibly with neighbours, possibly about parking."

Ms Hart's family, including her boyfriend David and mother Debbie, were said to be in deep shock over the killing.

Her stepfather Clive Lawrence said: "She was full of life and looking forward to being a mother. She was about three months pregnant."

Mr Lawrence, 50, who works in a vacuum cleaner store opposite the scene, said he was told Ms Hart was walking down the stairs of the house when a man burst through her front door and shot her.

He confirmed she was involved in a dispute with neighbours but he said it was over "petty things".

"The police seem to have some idea of what happened. They said they have got a good idea about who may have done it," he said.

Mr Lawrence said he had installed cameras in Ms Hart's flat because of the dispute and that they may now help in the investigation.

SECOND ARREST ON THE DOUBLE STAB CASE IN LONDON.

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 19:40:00 +0000

A boy stabbed to death in a gang attack which also left a friend fighting for his life has been named as 14-year-old Paul Erhahon.

Scotland Yard also revealed that they had made a second arrest over the attack, which happened in Leytonstone, east London, on Friday night.

Officers arrested a 19-year-old-man at an address in Wanstead at 5am on Saturday. A 13-year-old boy was arrested before 1am in Leytonstone.

Detectives believe a large group of youths were involved in the attack in the foyer of Gean Court, a block of flats in Langthorne Road, Leytonstone.

The two victims are then thought to have staggered a short distance to nearby Crownfield Road where they were found.

Police were called to Crownfield Road just before 8pm on Friday where the two friends were found.

They were taken to hospital where Paul later died.

His 15-year-old friend, who has not been named, remains in a critical condition, police said.

Witnesses saw several youths running from the scene of the double stabbing.

But detectives say they are keeping an open mind about the motive for the killing as well as on the wider circumstances.

FEDERAL AGENTS CHECKS GAMBLING IN VIRTUAL WORLD

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 17:36:00 +0000

FBI investigators have visited Second Life's Internet casinos at the invitation of the virtual world's creator Linden Lab, but the US government has not decided on the legality of virtual gambling.

"We have invited the FBI several times to take a look around in Second Life and raise any concerns they would like, and we know of at least one instance that federal agents did look around in a virtual casino," said Ginsu Yoon, until recently Linden Lab's general counsel and currently vice president for business affairs.

Second Life is a popular online virtual world with millions of registered users and its own economy and currency, known as the Linden dollar, which can be exchanged for US dollars.

Yoon said the company was seeking guidance on virtual gaming activity in Second Life but had not yet received clear rules from US authorities.

The FBI and the US Attorney's Office for Northern California declined comment.

Hundreds of casinos offering poker, slot machines and blackjack can easily be found in Second Life. While it is difficult to estimate the total size of the gambling economy in Second Life, the three largest poker casinos are earning profits of a modest $1,500 each per month, according to casino owners and people familiar with the industry.

The surge in Second Life gambling coincides with a crackdown in the real world by the US government, which has arrested executives from offshore gambling Websites.

Most lawyers agree that placing bets with Linden dollars likely violates U.S. anti-gambling statutes, which cover circumstances in which "something of value" is wagered. But the degree of Linden Lab's responsibility, and the likelihood of a any crackdown, is uncertain.

HOT DATE WITH PORN STAR SUZI SUZUKI.

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 20:17:00 +0000

In August 2001 I fulfilled a fantasy and had one date with a porn star, an unforgettable experience that was subsequently chronicled for Salon.com as "My Date with Suzi Suzuki."

And yes, as the opening paragraph said, "I had sex with Asian porn star Suzi Suzuki. Several times in fact. In Room 404 of the Boulder, Colo., Ramada Inn." (Salon link here)

But there was more than sex. We also shopped for Navajo rugs, browsed for sex toys, took a leisurely ride through the Rocky Mountains above Boulder, Colorado and talked about jazz, and jazz singing (she's had serious voice training), modern Japanese literature, Bijon friese dogs (Suzi owns one), rug and bead weaving, and porn industry friends of hers, including since-failed Nevada gubernatorial candidate Mimi Miyagi.

When Suzi left Denver International Airport the next day for her San Francisco home I realized that in a little more than 24 hours she'd morphed for me from fantasy fuel to someone I'd enjoy staying in touch with and knowing a little bit better, and not just necessarily in the Biblical sense -- though that, of course, had even more appeal now that I'd actually done the deed with the real deal and not solo via Internet or VCR.

This is the rest of the story or Part II; In Which Our Hero Takes a Porn star to the Rolling Stones and Learns He Has Made Her Shortlist for Surrogate Fatherhood.

Suzi kept in touch, especially after the Salon story hit the Internet two months after our date. She told me her website's traffic, which had not been overwhelming, realized a gratifying spike. Business for her photos, memberships (a modest $10/month), videos and even her personalized underwear -- men's and women's -- blipped and briefly boomed. It also eventually landed her a spot on an upscale New York panel discussing sex and the Internet, part of which was featured on National Public Radio.

As chance had it, I was driving when I heard the report on NPR nearly a year after our assignation. There it was, Suzi's familiar singsong voice, albeit more of a sing-song-sound byte.

I pulled my aging slagheap of a piece of shit excuse for transportation over to the roadside and listened. Damn, I thought, the woman who made "Suzi Bungholeeo" and "Bangkok Boobarello" is sharing rarified air space with the likes of upscale NPR icons such as The Car Guys, Terri Gross and Scott Simon. Yes, Suzi had arrived, albeit briefly.

We exchanged e-mails she'd sent me hand drawn Asian New Year cards and birthday greetings. She even waived my Suzi Suzuki membership fee and at one point honored my photo request for her to pose provocatively with a Navajo rug purchased on our date. I was thrilled to see it on her weekly picture updates, which following her brief Salon-driven business boom were slowly becoming increasingly less weekly and more monthly.

The pictures were also (I had to face it) beginning to look a little shop worn. It was clear Suzi's porn career was on the wane so I asked her if she'd considered writing an autobiography. I offered to edit and/or ghostwrite it. The response was a polite "maybe."

And it came to pass that the Rolling Stones were scheduled in Denver on February 1, 2003. More than a Suzi fan, I am a chronic Stones fan, having seen them nine times since June 16, 1972 when I watched stoned and slack-jawed as Mick whipped the stage with a silver studded belt under a blood red spotlight for "Midnight Rambler" in Denver Coliseum, a venue normally used for livestock exhibitions. It was an unlikely combination: Their Satanic Majesties reigning amidst the commingled odors of dope smoke and dried cow shit.

Times have changed, of course. What cost me about $12.75 in 1972 after standing in line for 9 hours sustained on Bugles and Boone's Farm apple wine could be mine again for ... oh, a couple hundred bucks via credit card on the Internet from the comfort of home. And I had an idea. Why not.take a porn star to a Stones concert. How perfectly appropriate. So I shot an e-mail to Suzi and held my breath. The reply was sweet and prompt.

Dear Peter,
Thank you for the wonderful offer. I have several ideas about trying to do the concert for the Rolling Stones.

On the 3rd of February I am going to Tucson for a bead and gem show so I have one idea to drive to Denver and then to drive to Tucson. I am worried about the weather because it may snow. The other way is to fly to Denver and then fly to Tucson and my friend is driving me back from there to San Francisco.

Thank you very much for asking me to the Rolling Stones. It is such a wonderful and nice opportunity and it will be nice to see you again.

Love,
Suzi

It was a lock. But, like my previous assignation with Suzi I still had to worry about transportation. You might call it performance anxiety, as in four-wheel performance. So as before, I rented a vehicle that didn't look and perform as if it had served as the 18-year rumpus room for a blood orgy of Visigoths and benzene snorting badgers.

February 1 debuted under gray clouds, snow flurries, cold winds and the grim news that the space shuttle Columbia had disintegrated on reentry, killing all seven astronauts. Not exactly an auspicious day. But my reservations for one night for two at Denver's venerable Oxford Hotel were in order and despite the weather, Suzi's flight was on time.

The last time I'd seen her she'd been dressed in sort of casual porn star attire, braless under beige loose weave cotton sweater, a long wrap skirt that parted for saucy flashes o' thigh and red lips that looked as if she could suck a banana out of its peel without splitting the skin. This time I did the proverbial double take when we met at the United luggage carousel. Sans makeup and in a stylish down parka she looked like a Japanese college student on winter break.

Hauling her two bags -- she'd packed for winter in Colorado and Arizona, two different beasts -- I found "my" car.

"It is different than before?" she asked. "Uh, yeah," I replied. "Oh," she laughed. "I remember in your story. Your real car is not so good and you wanted to impress me."

"Yeah, my normal one is not exactly first class date bait. Which might explain why you're my virtually my first since our date."

We checked into the Oxford, had an early dinner and repaired back to our room to dress for Keef and Mick. I threw on a vintage looking shirt festooned with oversized photos of the Brian Jones-era Stones and some other largely dead luminaries such as Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and Jim Morrison.

Suzi emerged from the bathroom, not as a fresh scrubbed college student but a tastefully slutty Stones fan -- white blouse tied at the midriff with generous cleavage, sprayed-on low rise blue jeans and spiked heel boots.

"Perfect," I said. "Promise that if Keith invites you backstage I can come, too?"

"I like Charlie better," she said. "He's the quiet one. And I like his big band." I was impressed. Only die-hard Stones fans knew of drummer Charlie Watts' "other" band, a classic 40s-era big band. Suzi also knew that original bassist Bill Wyman exited the band in 1993 and -- damn it -- I wasn't her virginal Stones experience. She'd seen them in Tokyo in 1990 on the Steel Wheels tour.

The show itself passed nearly in a blur. Aside from seeing them up close on the "B-stage" walkway for stripped down versions of "Mannish Boy," "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" and "Brown Sugar," and guest act Jonny Lange's guitar sound going dead as he stepped forward to solo with Keef on "Rock Me Baby," I recalled only an admiring male sitting next to Suzi on my right who nudged me when she took a quick restroom break before the show began.

"Nice," he said in one of those confidential guys-only tones. "Your wife? Girlfriend?"

"Yeah, well, my date," I said. "Good friends. We're staying at The Oxford tonight."

"She looks kinda familiar..." he mused.

I thought quickly. "Yeah, she's done a little, uh, acting, commercial work. Some small film, video stuff. Playing Asian hookers and geishas, mostly. But she's more into jazz singing. That and weaving rugs and beads."

"Weaving?" He looked a little startled. Just then Suzi returned, flashed him a smile and settled in comfortably with me as the house lights dimmed, the welcoming din began and the Stones kicked into "Street Fighting Man."

Back at the hotel we flopped on the bed and rehashed the show. She admired Mick's physique at nearly 60. Looking at my developing paunch approaching 50, I quickly changed the subject to her musical aspirations. Suzi had brought a small desktop CD player and she put in a demo disc she'd been working on with an eye towards an eventual musical she said she was writing.

Her future seemed a bit vague and after we'd gotten down to carnal knowledge - a satisfying albeit tame performance compared to our last encounter that involved a sex toy and her inserting a Latex-gloved finger up my ass as I came - we cuddled afterward and I pushed her a little bit for her future plans.

"I'm thinking of getting out of the business soon," she said. "And I want to have a child." Then she turned and looked at me directly. "You're not the kind of guy who only likes Asian women, are you? Not one of those guys?" The fact that she made a living based largely on "those guys" was an irony I politely ignored.

Well, I hedged some, maybe I just prefer Asian women. I'd confessed as much in the Salon story. I did some quick calculating. Two ex-wives, one Asian, one Jewish. A total of four serious ex-girlfriends: two Asian, two white. "Uh, my track record is strictly 50/50 at this point," I said reciting the stats. "I could go either direction. Versatile. You'd tip the scale, though. But, no, it's not like I'm clinically stuck on Asians."

"I'm thinking of having a child," she said again, looking even more serious. "Would you think of being the donor? Do you have any strange, bad medical history?"

I thought of my own Amerasian son. He turned out fine. A bright, funny guy -- worldly, even then at age 17, but also someone who'd be a just a bit shaken by news that he suddenly had a half-sibling by his dad and a porn star.

Still I was floored. And, yeah, somewhat flattered. "No. No weird medical stuff. But uh...how did you plan to do this? Like have me jack-off in a cup or on a slide and donate it to you? Have you asked any other guys?"

She had. Suzi was sounding out potential donors after evaluating their qualifications. It wasn't clear how many or what the qualifications were, other than to perhaps be Yellow Fever-free.

I was almost afraid to ask more, fearing I'd jeopardize my chances with an admission that I had been a chronic bed wetter as a child. Her plan was to raise the child herself with no strings attached, no financial or emotional involvement required by the lucky X-Y donor.

"Um, well, okay. I'll think about it, too. Let me know, you know, if ... " I trailed off.

Suzi laughed and said she would, though it was the last I heard from her on the subject.

I took her to the airport again the next morning so she could rent a car and go skiing before driving to Arizona. I had a job interview in the late afternoon and, even with a porn star thrown in, would no more go skiing than I would let a chimpanzee perform dental surgery on me with a rusty spoon.

We kissed good-bye and, except for a slightly panicked call I got from her about three hours later asking for directions to the ski area, it was the last time I heard her voice.

At year later Suzi made it official, quit porn and closed her website. I'd gotten wind of it early in an e-mail from her, but for fans taken by surprise she left a parting message on her website:

"After a lot of thinking about it I have decided that I want to close my web site for the time being. There are a lot of reasons but the one that is most important is that I made a promise to myself about seven years ago that I would only do the adult business, the video and the pictures, for five years and at the end of the five years I would stop. Well it is now about seven years and I think it is a good time to stop."

No mention of any children, though. In 2005 I shot an e-mail off to her from my new location, Hong Kong where I'd found new employment and more Asian women in one subway ride to work than I'd seen in my previous 50 years. I asked her if she was still thinking about writing a book and asked about her musical. Her reply came quickly, from another city and with another identity -- her real name.

Dear Peter,

Congratulations on your job! You must be so excited to be in Hong Kong. Do not worry about the autobiography. As matter of fact, I was thinking that I'd better write it by myself and hire an editor later. But now believe it or not, I am a real estate agent in (a major western US city). It's my 6th month here and my 7th deal has just gone into escrow.

See ya!
K---- "Suzi" P-------

I sat back and sank briefly into a reverie, a porn cliché about a nymphomaniac real estate agent seducing the unwitting client. Or vice versa. I wondered how many of her customers knew that the diminutive Asian woman talking excitedly about kitchen and closet space and quality neighborhood schools had also made a movie called "Butthole Whores." I mused briefly about moving from Hong Kong back to the USA to house hunt Suzi's new city. But, nah, I thought, never happen.

I'm happy for you Suzi, I thought. But, damn. We could've made a good baby together. I swear.

DEAD FUNNY PICS

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 15:20:00 +0000

APRIL FOOL IN ARIAS.

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 15:07:00 +0000

DRUNK PILOT ARRESTED BEFORE TAKE - OFF

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 10:37:00 +0000

The pilot of a plane bound for the US has been arrested on suspicion of being over the alcohol limit.

Passengers on the Virgin Atlantic flight from Heathrow were delayed for around an hour, after the pilot was breathalysed and arrested by the Metropolitan Police.

Virgin Atlantic had to find another pilot to fly the plane to New York's JFK airport following the incident, which happened while the aircraft was at the terminal gate.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: "Officers at Heathrow Airport arrested a 47-year-old male pilot on board a Virgin Atlantic flight en route to JFK."

The pilot was arrested under the section of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 which relates to being over the limit on drink or drugs while "performing an aviation function".

The legal limit for pilots, navigators, flight engineers and cabin crew on flights is 9 microgrammes of alcohol in breath, compared to 35 microgrammes for motorists. The pilot was bailed to a date in May, the police spokeswoman added.

In a statement, Virgin Atlantic confirmed one of its pilots had been released on police bail following the allegation.

"The pilot was due to operate a flight from Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic provided a replacement for the flight which departed just over an hour later than scheduled from Heathrow," the statement said.

"Virgin Atlantic would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused and would like to reassure passengers that the airline will be investigating this matter thoroughly in accordance with its strict company policies in relation to operational staff.

"The safety and security of its passengers and crew is Virgin Atlantic's top priority."

TV STATION SHOWS KILLED BRITISH TEACHER

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 10:34:00 +0000

CCTV footage of murdered British teacher Lindsay Hawker with the main suspect just hours before her death has been broadcast.

Police in Japan have issued an arrest warrant for 28-year-old Tatsuya Ichihashi, who fled a Tokyo apartment as officers arrived and discovered Miss Hawker's body in a bath of sand on the balcony on March 26.

Miss Hawker, 22, from Brandon near Coventry, had been badly beaten before being strangled.

The grainy CCTV footage shows the pair together in a coffee shop near Tokyo just hours before the young teacher was murdered, according to the Kyodo News agency.

Miss Hawker, wearing a knee-length white coat, and suspect Ichihashi, dressed in dark clothes with a grey hat, are seen chatting at the counter.

Miss Hawker seems relaxed before making her way from the store as Ichihashi pays and then follows her.

Police released the images to the Nippon Television Network in the hope it would move their investigation forward.

The body of Miss Hawker was found last Monday. It is still unclear if the English language teacher was sexually assaulted. Japanese police launched a manhunt as soon as Miss Hawker's body was found but so far have been unable to track down their prime suspect.

Ichihashi first approached Miss Hawker about possible English lessons on March 21. Japanese police said she had allowed Ichihashi into her flat after he followed her home from a railway station.

She later agreed to give him an English lesson at his home. She was reported missing seven days ago by her employer, the Nova language school.

SMOKING BANNED IN WALES.

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 10:29:00 +0000

Ban stubs out smoking in Wales

Smoking in pubs and bars in Wales became illegal on Monday when the ban on smoking in enclosed public places started at 6am.

Anyone caught lighting up will face a £50 fine and the Assembly Government has embarked on an advertising and publicity campaign to warn people the ban descends on Wales before England.

English smokers will not have to stub out their cigarettes until July 1 and a backbench bid to delay the Welsh ban and bring both sides of the border into line was defeated in the Assembly earlier this year.

Ministers say Wales's three smoke-free months could save 100 lives as passive smoking kills 400 people a year in Wales.

Wales was the first part of the UK to call for a ban, but because of the Assembly's limited law-making powers it had to wait until Parliament passed legislation last year.

It follows the scrapping of prescription charges on Sunday - two flagship health policies introduced in the run-up to Welsh Assembly elections on May 3.

Landlords and managers who do not display adequate no-smoking signs will be fined £200. They will face a fine of up to £2,500 if they allow people to smoke on their premises.

Anyone issued with a penalty notice can challenge it in court in the same way as a speeding ticket.

The Scottish Executive heralded its year-old ban as a success last week when it said there had been more than 46,000 attempts to quit smoking since it began.

A BBC survey this week found one in five working men's clubs in England and Wales thought they would have to close as a result of lost trade if customers could not smoke.

BRITISH CREW HAS ADMITTED TO IRAN CHARGE

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 10:24:00 +0000

Iran's state-run Arabic-language TV channel has reported that all 15 British sailors and Marines have confessed to illegally entering Iranian waters.

The claim was carried by the news channel Al-Alam, a state-run channel that is broadcast across the Arab world, but not in Iran. There was no source given for Al-Alam's new claim.

The station has so far broadcast video footage of four of the 15 saying they were in Iranian waters at the time of their capture, including footage on Monday in which two of the sailors used maps to show the alleged location where they were seized.

The pair, named as Royal Marine Captain Chris Air and Lieutenant Felix Carman, looked in good condition, wearing clean smart military fatigues.

Captain Air, who appeared first, said they had been shown on a GPS that they were apparently seized inside Iranian waters.

He said: "So far we have been treated very well by all the people here. They have looked after us and made sure we are given enough food and treated very well by them, so I thank them for that."

Lieutenant Felix Carman said he would like to tell the Iranian people: "I can understand why you are so angry about our intrusion into your waters."

Both men gestured to points on the map behind them, close to the handwritten words "the point where intruding boats were captured".

The group was captured after conducting a routine early morning anti-smuggling check on a merchant vessel on Friday, March 23.

The British government has vehemently denied that the sailors entered Iranian waters, and has said the confessions appear coerced. Britain says the sailors were in Iraqi waters operating under a UN mandate, and has released its own maps and GPS co-ordinates showing their alleged locations.

AN UNCOVERED FEMALE IS AN UNCOVERED MEAT.

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 09:20:00 +0000

Amid intense public criticism, Australia's top Islamic cleric on last week repudiated remarks he made likening women without head scarves to "uncovered meat," and he temporarily gave up mosque duties after a fainting spell left him hospitalized.

The 65-year old Egyptian-born cleric, Sheik Taj Aldin al-Hilali, was admitted to a Sydney hospital after collapsing during a meeting with mosque administrators following days of criticism over comments that also blamed immodestly dressed women for rape

Al-Hilali, Australia's top Islamic cleric, who sparked outrage with recent comments during a sermon saying that immodestly dressed women invite rape, fainted Monday, October 30, 2006 and was taken to a hospital by ambulance, police said.

In a statement, Al-Hilali said he was temporarily giving up his duties at Australia's largest mosque and acknowledged that the "uncovered meat" analogy was a mistake.

"I confess that this analogy is inappropriate and unacceptable for the Australian society and the Western society in general," he said.

Al-Hilali has rejected calls for his resignation since a newspaper reported last week that he compared women who do not wear head scarves to "uncovered meat" in a sermon at Lakemba mosque in Sydney.

But he said he had a duty to advise Muslim women to adhere to the strict Islamic dress code and that his comments, apparently secretly tape recorded by a critic, was not intended for the general Australian public.

"I am deeply saddened and distressed by the acts of some devious groups which lurk in the dark watching me and who cannot tolerate the moderate, balanced way which I adopt to advocate for women's issues, national harmony and coexistence," he said, without identifying the groups.

Al-Hilali described women as "cherished pearls" and rape of a woman an "abominable crime" that had no justification.

The intense pressure on Al-Hilali to resign heightened Monday when a national newspaper reported that he had recently used an interview on Arabic radio to endorse militants in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories.

Prime Minister John Howard said the man who holds the title of mufti of Australia, the most senior cleric in the nation, might have broken counterterrorism laws which prohibit incitement of violence against Australian soldiers deployed overseas.

Australia, a staunch ally in the U.S.-led war on terror, has troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Howard warned Australia's 300,000 Muslims that al-Hilali's continuing leadership would damage their reputation among their 20 million fellow Australians, who are predominantly Christian.

Female Muslims have been among the most vocal in calling for the cleric's resignation over references in his sermon to women being soldiers of Satan who were responsible for 90 percent of adultery.

"In due course, I will take the necessary decision that will lift the pressures that have been placed on our Australian Muslim community and that which will benefit all Australians," said al-Hilali, who has survived four strokes and recently underwent double heart bypass surgery. He didn't elaborate.

SEX MOVIE INDUSTRY IS BOOMING WORLDWIDE.

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 18:51:00 +0000

Study says US and China dominate markets

Every 39 minutes a new pornographic video is being produced in the United States. Every second, 28,258 Internet users view pornography worldwide and 372 Internet users are typing search keywords looking for adult-oriented material.

These are just a few of the statistics featured in a study conducted by Ogden-based TopTen Reviews. The company claims revenues for the world pornography industry hit an estimated $97 billion in 2006, overshadowing the revenues of the top technology companies - the likes of Microsoft, Google, Yahoo! and Apple - combined.

"The pornography industry is a very large industry, and it's growing," said TopTen Reviews CEO Jerry Ropelato.

The study shows two of the world's largest economic powerhouses, the United States and China, dominate the markets in adult-oriented Internet sites and adult products, respectively.

The report shows China saw estimated revenues of $27.4 billion in 2006, mainly for being one of the largest producers of sex toys, Ropelato said. The other top-ranking countries for adult-related revenues were South Korea and Japan.

The study shows two of the world's largest economic powerhouses, the United States and China, dominate the markets in adult-oriented Internet sites and adult products, respectively.

The report shows China saw estimated revenues of $27.4 billion in 2006, mainly for being one of the largest producers of sex toys, Ropelato said. The other top-ranking countries for adult-related revenues were South Korea and Japan.

The United States hosted a whopping 244 million adult Web pages, compared to second place Germany, which hosted only 10 million pages. About 12 percent of all total Web sites on the Internet are considered pornographic in nature.

TopTen Reviews compiled statistics from more than 10,000 sources, including the pornography industry, media reports and anti-pornography organizations. The report paints a picture of an exploding industry.

Other findings show most viewers of Internet pornography tend to be those with higher incomes. The report states 35 percent of Net porn viewers earn $75,000 a year or more. The next highest, 26 percent, are those who earn $50,000 to $75,000 a year.

Ropelato said the main reason appears to be the ability of people with higher incomes to afford computers, and those with higher incomes can also afford broadband Internet service.

The exposure of minors to pornography on the Internet was also assessed. According to the report, 80 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds have had multiple exposures to hard-core pornography, mostly while doing research for homework. Ropelato said it appears most of these incidents came as the result of a mistyped Web address, pop-up ads or other incidental exposures.

"I feel that people are being exposed to hard-core porn," said Chris Ahearn, section chief for the Internet Crimes Against Children task force at the Utah Attorney General's Office. Ahearn said he has looked at the TopTen Reviews report, and while he cannot confirm any of its findings, he felt there is a likelihood that many of the statistics could be accurate, based on other studies he has seen.

Ahearn said parents should have some kind of Internet filter software installed on their computers as a first step. Parents should also supervise younger Web surfers and talk to older children about Internet safety.

TopTen Reviews has also reviewed and ranked a list of the best parental software in its opinion. The ranking and the report can be viewed at www.internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com.

"I think it's a huge danger for kids, and I think parents need to be aware of it, and if they don't have an Internet filter on their computer they should get one," Ropelato said, adding he agrees with law enforcement that parents need to sit down with their children and talk about Internet safety.

OVER 13,000,000 CHINESE WOMEN UNDERGO ABORTION YEARLY.

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:42:00 +0000

In China, about 13 million women take induced abortion every year and repeated abortion has caused many women to suffer from physical health problems. On weekends and holidays, clinic rooms in hospitals are filled with women waiting to take an operation, most being female students or young women, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Information shows that in China, the annual average abortion rate is 2.93%, covering women aged 13-48, mostly 20-29. The abortion rate in urban areas is higher than that in rural areas and many women have taken such operation several times, making them become a high-risk group. One woman has reportedly taken induced abortion 15 times. According to a recent survey that covered 8,846 women who took abortion in ten hospitals in Beijing, 41.54% of them took the surgery that involved some great risks. Among this group of people, 35.97% had taken abortion twice in half a year and 17.7% of them had taken abortion more than three times in half a year.

It is said that repeated abortions will cause great damage to women’s physical and psychological health. Related research shows that 84% of the women who take abortion will suffer from some kind of psychological pressure. For unmarried women, their psychological problem will be even more serious than married women.

Women get pregnant either because they don’t take any preventive measures before sex, or the preventive measures end in failure, or because of some medical reasons, with the former two becoming the major causes for pregnancy. Among all the unmarried women who take abortion, 78.6% do not take any preventive measures. And if they take abortion, they are even more likely to get pregnant in future, experts say.

TALLEST MAN WANTS TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL

noreply@blogger.com (Mikel) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:23:00 +0000

1.22-meter-tall man enrolled in university

Wei Zeyang, a 22-year-old young man who only has a stature of 1.22 meters, said that “I can be poor, but will not lose confidence; I can be short, but can also make achievements like other normal people.” Our reporter saw Wei on a practice spell in a factory in Yantai, Shandong Province. He looked like a little boy, every inch of him.

Wei was born in a poor farmer family in Lingbi, Anhui Province. When he was 8, his parents found Wei has stopped to grow in height. “At that time I knew the way to change my lot is to receive education,” he said. He went to do part-time jobs in summer and winter holidays in order to earn enough money to pay tuition fees. He once even collected scraps in Zhejiang and Shandong provinces.

After he took part in the college entrance examination in 2003, he started to collect scraps again in Yantai. Meanwhile, Chongqing Business College informed his family that he had passed the exam and the college had decided to admit him. His experience has raised people’s attention, and some common citizens decided to help him with his tuition payment.

He was a diligent student in the college, and preferred to work part-time to earn his own tuition fees when he suffered from osteonecrosis, all his classmates donated money to him. In 2006, he contributed all the 22 thousand yuan raised for him to the college. In recognition of his admirable performance, he was reviewed as a Most Respectable Person of 2007 in Chongqing.