Looking at this PHOTO, I'd say that Cheney might be in for a surprise when he gets back.

A sad example of The madness of religious fundamentalism. Exactly why I think our problems with terrorism is multifaceted.
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Lauryn Hill Unplugged
She was at the top of the music scene a few years ago and then sort of disappeared. Now she's back with a different sound and a different view of the music business. "This is the first time y'all are meeting me. Don't think that you met me before." Whoa!? -----------

Movies opening this weekend include Showtime and Ice Age. Reviews Here

On being yourself

Marcus Aurelius warns us not to worry about the perception of others, but to tend to our own honesty and integrity. Chuang-tzu gently chides us for worrying so much about what others think that we forget who we are, Thoreau reflected, “If I am not I, who will I be”.

The Tax man Cometh

The major component of the new tax law is the restructuring of the rates at which the four highest income brackets are taxed. Check out the chart and see where you rate.

Airport porn
New pervy airport scanning machines let security staff probe your innermost innards with EM waves. Link  .... Yet another reason to dislike airports and flying. (Via Boing Boing )

The Blame of Sept 11th: Al-Qaida or Capitalism. Let the lawyers decide?


"Things are getting back to normal in the Big Apple. At last count, some 1,300 people have given official notice that they may sue New York City for a total of $7.18 billion because of the city's alleged negligence in the wake of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center."

"...The line at the courthouse is growing exponentially. Building owners are targeted for "failure to evacuate," the airlines and private airport security firms provided "inadequate safety measures," landlords were "negligent" about the asbestos dust in the apartments near Ground Zero, Florida flight schools that trained the hijackers were "reckless," and New York City is at fault for "business interruption."

Seems to me that the lawyers are going to have a field day.

All the world's a stage

Shakespeare wrote:

All the world’s a stage
And all the men and women are merely players
They have their exits and their entrances
And one man in his time plays many parts …

With regard to Shakespeare's thoughts, I think that in our lives, the curtain has gone up and the play is in progress. We haven’t read the script; the plot remains unknown. We can’t foresee the scenes yet to be played out or when the play will end because, as in live theatre, the plot is developed extempore [ ?] as line follows line and scenes follow scenes. On rare occasions, however we may get a glimpse of comprehension, inspiration, and vision. It is at at those moments, that seizing the opportunities can make all the difference.

No jail sentence will be harsh enough for These Creeps
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Dubya leaves the script for a few minutes and hints that Jerry Springer may have duped Al Qaeda:

"They didn't think we were a nation that could conceivably sacrifice for something greater than our self, that we were soft, that we were so self-absorbed and so materialistic that we wouldn't defend anything we believed in. My, were they wrong. They just were reading the wrong magazine, or watching the wrong Springer show." Read on.

Come to think of it, The Springer Show could very well be why they hate us so much.

September 11 a Holiday?

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll finds that 48% of Americans want to make Sept. 11 a national holiday; the same percentage oppose the idea.

I'm not sure I would support the idea. Why celebrate the day of an attack? I can understand a day of rememberance but not a national Holiday. We don't need a Holiday just to remember. We should never forget 9/11, just like (as the article suggests) we never forgot Pearl Harbor.

But think about it, would we take the day off from work to reflect on those tragic events and remember the fallen heroes? or would most people perform all their reflecting and remembering while lying on their backs at the beach just like we do now during memorial day weekend? The answer is quite obvious.

On being a Philosopher

As an amateur philosopher, I’m committed to pondering the largest possible perspective, the weightier, more stubborn problems of human nature. It is to think, to wonder, to question, to speculate, to reason, to formulate and even to fantasize – in the search for wisdom.

Ever since Socrates spent his days in the marketplace engaging the Athenian citizens in thoughtful conversations, the message of philosophy has been that everyday thinking is inadequate to solving the important problems of life. If we are serious about finding solutions, then we need to learn to think critically and precisely.

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...And while thinking, at times we are inspired to act. Very often, we can unknowingly inspire others to act with the quality or passion in our thoughts. For example, after reading Trina's post today, I was inspired to think about writing a personal mission statement of my own. You see, Quality thoughts are self perpetuating.

But of course, life is also to be enjoyed ... Speaking of enjoyment, at under 30K, this baby is worth a look. The BMW 325I.

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The knicks blew another double digit lead today in the fourth quarter ... AGAIN. They collapsed in a 104-96 loss to the Sixers. This marks the 14th time this season the Knicks have blown a double-digit lead - 12 under new coach Don Chaney. Hello!

"Many of the states that received billions of dollars in the national tobacco settlement have invested some of that money in the stock market, benefiting the same tobacco companies the settlement was meant to punish, according to a research group". Collusion perhaps? Read on.

Before and After

"Sharbat Gula captivated audiences with her haunting green eyes when she appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine in 1985. Although time and hardship have erased her youth, her gaze still challenges in this picture taken 17 years later."

Photo Credit: Associated Press

Related Story: National Geographic tracks down Afghan girl in famous photo

Will Napster ever regain its former glory?

"... Sure, it still has a brand name, but that's about all: Its users have abandoned it for underground swapping services that have none of the restrictions on copyrighted music that Napster was forced to add in response to the recording industry's suits."

Business Week Online Reports

Microsoft Breaks High-tech Ground with Black Enterprise
The software giant has teamed up with B.E. in a landmark technology initiative and sponsorship agreement

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When racial inequalities are reversed, I think that's just as unfair.

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Someone has to be held responsible for this and fired.

The alternative for India
"After the recent slaughter of over 500 Muslims by Hindu mobs in western India, done in revenge for a murderous attack by Muslim vigilantes on a train carrying Hindu activists, we are obliged to ask whether one of the great political experiments of the last 100 years--the establishment in India of a secular state--has unraveled beyond repair."

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Seymour Hersh in this New Yorker article talks about what goes on in the inner circles for the planning and complications of a possible war with Iraq. The Debate Within
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The Media Line reports that "Yasser Arafat's state-run radio station gave unstinting praise Sunday morning (March 10) to two Palestinian terror attacks on Israelis Saturday night in which 13 Israeli civilians were murdered and more than 100 were wounded.

Arafat won the nobel peace prize in 1994 ... The term peace seems very loose in this context.

There is no such thing as a "six-month anniversary." The word anniversary comes from the Latin annus, which means "year." . 9/11 to 3/11 = 6 months later

In memory of the victims who lost their lives in the horrific events of 9/11/01.
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Politics at its best

Amid the Enron controversy, President Bush announced a 10-point plan that he said will "improve corporate responsibility and help protect America's shareholders."

Interesting plan, but:

The federal government already has the authority to implement Bush's proposals. No new laws are needed.

Even the toughest of the Bush ideas (#5 -- CEOs or other officers who clearly abuse their power should lose their right to serve in any corporate leadership positions) can be executed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today, right now, with no law changes.

Is this all smoke and mirrors?

Well, The reviews are in and many flaws in the plan are being pointed out.
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A Little history lesson for thought

President Clinton sent anti terrorism and airport security measures to the US House in 1996, 97, 98, 99, and 2000... All were killed by the House Republicans without even bringing them up for debate.
- One of the things that is discussed in these measures is ways to prevent terrorists from hijacking airliners and using them as weapons. It's all public record and can be seen at: The US General Accounting Office

- Clinton also cut all aid and trade to the Taliban for harboring bin laden…
U.S. Slaps Sanctions on Afghanistan's Taliban Movement: CNN - July 6, 1999

We are enrolled in a full-time informal school called life. Each day presents a new oppportunity to learn lessons, Some lessons we'll like, while others may seem irrelevant. But make no mistake about it, The lessons will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned them.