From a West Indian friend, so I guess no one will be upset if I post it?
NORTH KOREANS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SONY HACK, SAY EXPERTS
NORTH KOREANS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SONY HACK, SAY EXPERTS
Some of the world’s leading cybersecurity experts, as well as prominent hacking groups like Anonymous, say North Korea is NOT responsible for hacking Sony. And Anonymous now threatens to hack Sony if they DON’T release the Seth Rogen movie online. (My favorite comment below the article: “Guardians of Peace blackmail Sony into not releasing the movie so Anonymous will blackmail them into releasing the movie. What to do, what to do…”
TORTURED REASONING
Any politician (or journalist) using the term “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques” should be waterboarded, ‘rectally rehydrated’, and forced to stand in an agonizing position until they soil themselves. And then asked if they’re now ready to use the correct term – torture.
And Canadians shouldn’t get too smug about thinking the CIA torture techniques wouldn’t be used here.
Considering the overheated frenzy of nationalism that swept the country after a lone crazed gunman attacked parliament hill, I wonder how quickly Canadians would support ‘torturing a few folks’ if we suffered carnage akin to 9/11.
But full credit to the American government for releasing the CIA torture report. I can’t recall Mr. Harper’s government mustering up the integrity to admit to doing anything wrong. Ever.
USA TORTURE MASTERMINDS PAID $81 MILLION
The two psychologists who devised and tested the CIA torture tactics were paid $81 million.
And the American Psychological Association didn’t see this as a problem. More here
CIA TORTURE WHISTLEBLOWER ONLY ONE IN PRISON
“John Kiriakou, who worked for the CIA between 1990 and 2004, stepped forward in 2007 and confirmed to press outlets some of the first details about the agency’s widespread use of torture.
Among Kiriakou’s revelations was an account to ABC News of the repeated water-boardings of Abu Zubaydah—a man currently imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay without charges whose 12 years of torture and abuse at the hands of the U.S. were further exposed in the Senate report.
In 2013, Kiriakou—a father of five—was prosecuted by the Obama administration under the Espionage Act for allegedly revealing classified information to a reporter. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison, which he is still serving. His incarceration came after the Obama administration refused to prosecute any of the higher-up government officials who designed, authorized, or otherwise took part in implementation of the torture program.” More here
AND FINALLY, AND PERHAPS MOST DISTRESSING …
VAGINA KAYAK & PENIS PARADE
Yeah, that title got your attention, huh? We lived in Japan a couple times, once for 3 years, and developed a love/hate relationship with the place. (Probably mutual.) And these 2 pieces give you a sense of why:
JAPANESE POLICE ARREST WOMAN WHO MADE KAYAK MODELED FROM HER VAGINA – AGAIN
“A woman who 3-D printed her vagina and rendered it into a giant yellow Kayak, has been arrested — again — by Japanese police for allegedly trying to show people her “Pussy Boat.” (more here)
And yet, at the same time, the annual Kanamara Matsuri parade:
So, penises … okay.
Vaginas … not so much.
TWITTER-QUITTER CONFESSION
THERE IS NO BUDDHA IN TWITTER
Love this from a recent Twitter Quitter: “… I was becoming unconscious over at Twitter. I’d wrapped myself into a stream of inane blather that is extremely habit forming but ultimately becomes rote, superficial and turns you into a mental mirror, rather than a sentient being. There is no Buddha in Twitter.” (More here)
He has since rejoined for some specific usage, but with a new account that he is determined to use very sparingly, saying: “I’ve re-joined Twitter, but … On October 12th I decided to close down my Twitter account as an experiment. I could see it was taking up too much of my time, on the other hand I found it useful for certain things and I wanted to see what difference not having it around would make to my working life and life in general.”
GLOBAL CORRUPTION INDEX
New GLOBAL CORRUPTION rankings out. (Jeez, it’s like the NFL or something.)
According to “expert analysis of public sector sleaze”, the least corrupt countries are Denmark, followed by New Zealand, Finland and Sweden.
The most corrupt? Somalia, North Korea, Sudan and Afghanistan.
What about your lovely country? Full rankings and more here
And again, if you haven’t read McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld, give it a go. Very disturbing. Very enlightening
DOIN IT (With You)
DOIN IT (With You)
DOIN IT (With You)
Eat raw, go green
Sail a purple submarine
Find God, lose weight
Grow some kids and levitate
Stop time, solve the case
Try to save the human race
Think big, stand tall
Yes, for you I’ll do it all
Tap dance, hug giraffes
Kiss you in a bubble bath
Fix your car, float your boat
Call the people out to vote
Bang your drum, blow your horn
Only buy organic corn
I’ll be hot, I’ll be cool
Long as I’ll be doing it with you
Oh, woh, woh
Like to take it slow
Oh, woh, woh
Listening to our heartbeats
Boom bappa-loomba
Pounding when our chests meet
Boom bappa-loom, bappa-loomba
Oh, my, my
Nothin like the high
Oh, my, my
When you love somebody
Body, buddy
Like I’m lovin you
Stand up, sit down
Paint my toes, dance around
Do my face, do my hair
Buy some sexy underwear
“Yes sir, no sir”
You can be my officer
Spend the night, share the morn’
Love you in a uniform
Over here, over there
You can take me anywhere
To the moon on a bus
To the bedroom in a rush
Don’t care, don’t mind
Pick the place, name the time
I’ll be good, I’ll be bad
Long as I’ll be doing it with you
Oh, my, my
Nothin like the high
Oh, my, my
When you love somebody
Body, buddy
Like I’m lovin you
Oh, stand up, sit down
Paint my toes, dance around
Check my phone, get your text
Tingles from what’s comin next
Here you come, here we go
Heat to melt the polar snow
Ya, I’ll be hot, I’ll be cool
Long as I’ll be doing it with you
I’ll be good, I’ll be bad
Long as I’ll be doing it with you
Ya, I’ll be good, I’ll be bad
Long as I’ll be doing it with you
©2014 Van Clayton Powel
WILL CANADIAN GAL BRING DOWN US BANKSTERS?
Can a gal from Terrace, B.C. bring down the biggest US Banksters?
Great piece by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone :http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-9-billion-witness-20141106
“The $9 Billion Witness: Meet JPMorgan Chase’s Worst Nightmare:
Fleischmann is the central witness in one of the biggest cases of white-collar crime in American history, possessing secrets that JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon late last year paid $9 billion (not $13 billion as regularly reported – more on that later) to keep the public from hearing.”
"FLU SEASON" FARCE
Nature created just four seasons. And “Flu Season” isn’t one of them.
In fact, the term was probably dreamed up by some marketing genius on the payroll of the pharmaceutical industry with the express intention of making you feel scared. Why? Because they sell a lot more drugs and vaccines that way. (The stress alone probably makes some people sick.)
So next time you hear some shill yapping about “Flu Season”, have a laugh and remind yourself that only a small fraction of Canadians gets the flu every year (estimates go as low as 5%.)
And that with some very simple techniques – wash your hands regularly, cough or sneeze into your elbow, and don’t burn out your immune system with too much skiing, partying and work – you’ll probably be one of the 80-90% of Canadians who is flu-free this winter.
“Flu Season??” Ha! Bring on the snow.
SAD TO SAY
Lyrics
SAD TO SAY
It seems at times we never learn
We light the fires and watch them burn
We feel the pain the victims feel
But flat deny the sex appeal
Of front-row seats to agony
That we keep tuning in to see
It’s sad to say we crave the fires
That satisfy our dark desires
It’s sad to say we bow our heads
To empty men on empty quests
Who steal the gold and buy the power
Then broadcast to us every hour
That everything will be just fine
As long as we just stay in line
So we don’t mind the things they do
As long as it’s not to me or you
It’s sad to say, it’s sad to say
Yeah it’s sad to say, so sad to say
That we don’t learn
We just don’t learn
No, we don’t learn
It seems at times we worship gods
Who’d have us die for worthless causes
Text your friends and Tweet your list
About the sale you almost missed
Describe the prize that’s in your hands
But don’t admit you don’t understand
The emptiness that gnaws inside
You swore this one would satisfy
It seems at times we learn the most
When we’re down to our one last hope
One last chance to make things right
To bare your soul with all your might
Confess your crimes, confess your sins
Tell her what a fool you’ve been
Then wait for her to make the move
‘Cause you’ve made her the judge of you
It’s sad to say, it’s sad to say
Yeah it’s sad to say, so sad to say
That we don’t learn
We just don’t learn
No, we don’t learn
©2010 Van Clayton Powel