Bruce Schneier’s excellent essay on a recent proposal to monitor all Internet communication. He uses the analogy of airline security to make his point. [via Daring Fireball]
Since 9/11, approximately three things have potentially improved airline security: reinforcing the cockpit doors, passengers realizing they have to fight back and — possibly — sky marshals. Everything else — all the security measures that affect privacy — is just security theater and a waste of effort.
I believe Schneier hits the point on the head. When you give up personal liberty for security, you may become more secure from the original threat, but a new threat is created, with the potential of being even more intrusive.
After a cease & desist put the breaks on Amplive’s Radiohead In Rainbows remix project…an agreement has been reached between all involved parties and Amplive has been granted permission to release Rainydayz Remixes for free to the general public.
I’m anxious to listen to this all the way through. In Rainbows was one of my favorite albums of last year.
A press release from opensecrets.org, a campaign finance tracker, discussing the financial outlook of the current election as of February 4.
Even before a single vote was cast, the candidates running for the White House raised and spent more money in 2007 than in all of seven of the last eight presidential elections, the Center for Responsive Politics has found.
While I may be unpopular in my views, I don’t think anything could be better for democracy than spending increased amounts in personal donations. While I hear comments all of the time suggesting that this money could be better spent, to solve “real problems”, I couldn’t disagree more that the money is ill spent. The first thing one must remember when making such an argument is that such donations are made, personally, by a citizen. If an individual does not wish to support a political candidate with his or her money, they are free to spend it elsewhere.
More importantly, I think many people forget that money is, to some extent, a form of speech. In order to achieve the strongest Republic (by which I mean most favorable to the most people), the discussion needs to welcome as many people as possible. Campaign contributions enable this discussion. Still skeptical? Fringe candidates from both parties, such as Edwards and Paul, promote a message outside of the popular views. Contributions enable such ideas to enter the marketplace, opening debate on these less popular issues. Because a variety of viewpoints are represented in the primaries, more popular candidates are forced to address and adopt some of these issues or face losing votes to other competitors. This notably happened when Edwards dropped out of the Democratic primaries. The remaining candidates, in particular Clinton, directly addressed Edwards’ supporters.
Whenever people make decisions for themselves from their own purse, it cannot be a bad thing. If people want their money to go elsewhere, they would do it.
Now you can eat strategically.
Weight lifting tears and breaks up your muscle fibers and it is important to feed your body food that will help it rebuild your muscles stronger with minimal fat added. Foods rich in protein help you develop lean muscle mass.
I came across this article which I thought to be very fitting, considering the times.
While you may not be able to control the price of oil or the prime rate, there are some simple things you can do to shore up your finances, safeguard your future and ride out whatever the economy throws at you.
With the 2008 presidential nominations in full force, both sides have placed major emphasis on the economy. There is little doubt that the national economy has left a lot to be desired. As a result, candidates’ are making it the central issue of their campaigns. Being reminded that there are things you can do to help yourself get through these times always helps. Placing your spare change into a big jar at the end of every day may not seem like much, but it adds up. After two years, my family completely financed a vacation to visit my extended family by simply saving our pennies, so it does work if you’re serious.
According to this article, it doesn’t.
While there’s no proof that certain foods directly enhance libido, eating a well-balanced diet improves cardiovascular health, which in turn improves total body and sexual health. And if eating dark chocolate or oysters sets the mood, go right ahead. Just balance your calories with ample physical activity—in the bedroom and elsewhere.
This is definitely news to me as I identify certain foods such as the ones mentioned above as aphrodisiacs. Am i disappointed? Absolutely not, the last thing we need is food to get ourselves or mates in the mood. I think I may take a second look at my diet to certify its “hearth-healthiness”.
From today’s Huffington Post [via Real Clear Politics] End of a Romance: Why the Media and Independent Voters Need to Break Up with John McCain
The John McCain they fell in love with in 2000 — the straight-shooting, let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may maverick - is no more. He’s been replaced by a born-again Bushite willing to say or do anything to win the affection of his newfound object of desire, the radical right.
I’ve been thinking the exact same thing since his CPAC Speech and Bush’s endorsement of the Senator.
Dont feel bad, I really did not know either.
I don’t use them nor do I condone the use of these artificial sweeteners. The warning label alone is enough to keep me away, natural cane sugar suffices. This scientific study states that “rats that ate food sweetened with saccharin ate more, gained more weight and stored more fat over time than rats that ate regular sugar.” The use of these artificial sweeteners causes a biological change in rats, slowing down their metabolism. This has not been tested in humans, but the research suggests a likely correlative effect in humans. When our body ingests something sweet, it is programmed to speed up our metabolism to burn off the incumbent calories, but when the calories just aren’t there, that metabolic response will not kick in. This is the inherent flaw in these artificial sweeteners, they seem to circumvent our bodies natural ability to metabolize calories because it simply does not recognize them for what they are.
I know many people who swear by the artificial sweeteners and none of them are in their “best” shape. I have always had a bad feeling about these things and always favored the natural alternative and this study definitely supports that. This is often my philosophy but, don’t trust the engineered substitute. Nature was perfect before we intervened. Just be informed on what you ingest in your body folks!
Apparently men are predisposed to video game addiction. Male brains seem to struggle to let go of video games once they start them. I’ve been there. I’ve done that. I think its the drive to succeed and persist when you fail.