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5/28/2005

Experts: Petroleum May Be Nearing a Peak :.

AP is telling people to assume the crash position. * yawn *

Could the petroleum joyride - cheap, abundant oil that has sent the global economy whizzing along with the pedal to the metal and the AC blasting for decades - be coming to an end?

Some observers of the oil industry think so. They predict that this year, maybe next - almost certainly by the end of the decade - the world's oil production, having grown exuberantly for more than a century, will peak and begin to decline.

And then it really will be all downhill. The price of oil will increase drastically. Major oil-consuming countries will experience crippling inflation, unemployment and economic instability. Princeton University geologist Kenneth S. Deffeyes predicts "a permanent state of oil shortage."



Intel: DRM Inside :.

Here it comes:

Microsoft and the entertainment industry's holy grail of controlling copyright through the motherboard has moved a step closer with Intel Corp. now embedding digital rights management within in its latest dual-core processor Pentium D and accompanying 945 chipset.

Officially launched worldwide on the May 26, the new offerings come DRM-enabled and will, at least in theory, allow copyright holders to prevent unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted materials from the motherboard rather than through the operating system as is currently the case.

While Intel steered clear of mentioning the new DRM technology at its Australian launch of the new products, Intel's Australian technical manager Graham Tucker publicly confirmed Microsoft-flavored DRM technology will be a feature of Pentium D and 945.


Related: Years of Cryptogon DRM Coverage and Commentary


5/27/2005

Moller's Atomic Hydrogen Generator :.

Naudin does it again...



United Nuclear: Hydrogen Fuel System :.

Must see:

The United Nuclear Hydrogen Fuel System Kit is an intermediate approach that simply converts your existing vehicle to burn Hydrogen or Gasoline. The Gasoline fuel system remains intact and is not modified. This allows you to switch between running on Gasoline or Hydrogen at any time. The engine itself is only slightly modified, the conversion makes substantial changes to the computer & electrical system, ignition and cooling systems. Since they never have to be removed, Hydrogen fuel storage (Hydride tanks) can be installed in virtually any available space within the vehicle.



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White House Wants Search Limits Overturned :.

The Bush administration asked a federal appeals court Friday to restore its ability to compel Internet service providers to turn over information about their customers or subscribers as part of its fight against terrorism.

The legal filing with the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New York comes amid a debate in Congress over renewal of the Patriot Act and whether to expand the FBI's power to seek records without the approval of a judge or grand jury.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero of New York last year blocked the government from conducting secret searches of communications records, saying the law that authorized them wrongly barred legal challenges and imposed a gag order on affected businesses.



Use of Encryption Software Shows Criminal Intent :.

Set the mouse down and step away from the computer!

It's really getting weird out there. * sigh *

Oh yeah, my public key is here:

A Minnesota appeals court has ruled that the presence of encryption software on a computer may be viewed as evidence of criminal intent.

Use These Tools Together, They're Good for You: Thunderbird - Enigmail - GPG

Key management is so simple now with Enigmail. Check it out. It's very nice.



Terrorist Link to Copyright Piracy Alleged :.

Cryptogon's forward looking analysis is coming true... Again.

In Militant Electronic Piracy, I wrote:
Crimes involving the loss of corporate profits will increasingly be treated as acts of terrorism and could garner anything from a local law enforcement response to activation of regular military forces....

Expect a legislated, "national security" justification for Microsoft's long awaited (and dreaded) Digital Rights Management scheme, codenamed Longhorn. Microsoft will tout Longhorn as the solution to piracy and other "terrorist" uses of computers and the Internet. Besides turning each computer into a tamper proof vending machine (this will mean The End of general purpose computing), Longhorn will provide an astonishing surveillance capability to ACS law enforcement, intelligence and military organizations. Those who refuse to use Longhorn will increasingly find themselves locked out of networks. The goal will be to apply maximum surveillance and control to "trusted" users on the Internet.
And now, from today's ZDNET News:
Counterfeit DVDs and cigarettes may be funding terrorists.

That's what the Senate Homeland Security committee heard Wednesday from John Stedman, a lieutenant in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department who's responsible for an eight-person team of intellectual property (IPR) investigators.

"Some associates of terrorist groups may be involved in IPR crime," Stedman said. "During the course of our investigations, we have encountered suspects who have shown great affinity for Hezbollah and its leadership."

Even though Stedman's evidence is circumstantial, his testimony comes as Congress is expected to consider new copyright legislation this year. An invocation of terrorism, the trump card of modern American politics, could ease the passage of the next major expansion of copyright powers.

Steadman said he saw Hezbollah flags and photographs of the group's leader in homes that he raided, coupled with anti-Israel sentiments on the part of those arrested.
Do you get it yet?



Toxin in Plastics Harming Unborn Boys :.

Your fetus is bathing in toxic effluvia. Have a nice day:

Scientists in America have found the first evidence that common chemicals used in products as diverse as cosmetics, toys, clingfilm and plastic bags may harm the development of unborn baby boys.

Researchers have long known that high levels of substances called phthalates have gender-bending effects on male animals, making them more feminine and leading to poor sperm quality and infertility. The new study suggests that even normal levels of phthalates, which are ubiquitous, can disrupt the development of male babies' reproductive organs.

"Every aspect of male identity is altered when you see this in male animals," said Fred vom Saal, professor of reproductive biology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Levels of aggression, parenting behaviour and even learning speeds were affected, he said.

Andreas Kortenkamp, an expert in environmental pollutants at the School of Pharmacy in London, said: "If it's true, it's sensational. This is the first time anyone's shown this effect in humans. It's an indicator that something's gone seriously wrong with development in the womb and that's why it's so serious."

He added: "These are mass chemicals. They are used in any plastic that is pliable, whether it's clingfilm, kidney dialysis tubes, blood bags or toys. Sorting this out is going to be an interesting challenge for industry as well as society."

The work, which is to appear in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, is due to be presented at the Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Forum in San Diego on June 3.

Gwynne Lyons, toxics adviser to the WWF, said: "At the moment regulation of the chemicals industry is woefully inadequate."



The 'Sins' of The Father :.

While Catholic priests raped Orange County children, Pope John Paul II looked the other way.

Pope John Paul II knew.

Of the many shocking stories to emerge from the Orange diocese's recently released personnel files, one is likely to resonate worldwide: the pope knew that Catholic priests were accused of molesting Orange County children as early as 1987--and apparently did nothing to stop the scandal.

That disturbing revelation is included in the papers of Father Andrew Christian Andersen. His file is included in the thousands of pages of documents released May 17 as part of the record-breaking $100 million settlement reached between the Orange diocese and its victims. Andersen pleaded guilty in 1986 to 26 counts of molesting four boys while working at St. Bonaventure in Huntington Beach.



Mexican Drug Commandos :.

Blowback or by design?

They were the elite "special forces" of the Mexican military, trained in the U.S. at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia and sent to "wipe out" one of the most powerful Mexican drug cartels.

But these soldiers deserted and became the muscle for the very cartel they were supposed to destroy.

According to this Department of Justice "Intelligence Bulletin" obtained by the 5i-Team, these rogue commandos now known as "Los Zetas" may be heading our way.



CIA Child Prostitution :.

During the early morning of Septmeber 5, 1982, Johnny Gosch was kidnapped from a West Des Moines neighborhood while delivering newspapers. It was silent, quick and professional. "This man has told us that at the end of their investigation that there were 834 kids involved that were kidnapped," says James Rothstein. He's talking about a former CIA agent who must remain anonymous.

Rothstein is a former New York City police detective, now a private investigator working the case for Johnny's mother, Noreen. And within the last couple weeks, Rothstein has uncovered new evidence linking Johnny's kidnapping to child prostitution. "It basically came down to one thing and one thing only. You know, it was money. These kids were being grabbed to satisfy the malignant, twisted, you know, evil depravity of very powerful individuals who have the money," he says.

Rothstein is talking about individuals who would spend as much as $10,000 to have sex with young boys and girls. And this new evidence points to the involvement of U.S. government officials. "They were using kids to compromise people. And what better way to compromise somebody than get a young boy with a politician or some powerful person that may be in the military or whatever and then you can compromise them and get what ever you want."



Bush: Catapult the Propaganda :.

Make sure you listen to the MP3. The audience applause is surreal!

"See in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."


5/26/2005

Fear of Impending Doom, Dreams and Random Number Generators

There is a heightened sense of impending doom floating around out there right now. Many people think something big is going to happen very soon. Timetable: days to weeks.

My experience with stuff like this is that whenever people think something big is going to happen within "days to weeks", nothing happens. I don't think it's helpful to propagate the specific memes right now, but if you are one of the people who have recently had a weird dream involving some kind of big/catastrophic event, please email me the details of that dream.

NOTE: I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who are NOT Evangelical Christians.

There is traffic from multiple nodes (with no readily apparent links) mentioning vague notions of some type imminent cataclysm. I, however, haven't had any weird dreams that I can recall, and I don't feel any additional anxiety about the immediate future. (For me, the disaster is that this meat grinder of a system somehow continues to function.)

I believe that there is a pre-cognitive touchdown point in the mass unconscious mind. Scientists routinely observe anomalies in the entropy of random number generators---before major world events---that may be an indication of some sort of etheric, pre-cognitive download. Take a gander at the Global Consciousness Project if you doubt it.

So, when I start hearing "It's Coming Down" from people who normally have nothing to do with that perspective, it gets my attention. There are bound to be a handful of people who are ahead of the curves that the researchers at Princeton are plotting. My guess is that "It" becomes usable by the waking consciousness of some people before "It" impacts the wider population.

Can dreams serve as a hyperdimensional viewer or portal? Why not? If we can't even explain the behavior of random number generators just prior to (and during) major events, who's to say what dreams may or may not be?

I apologize if all of this sounds nuts. I just go where the verifiable research and informed speculation takes me. I don't care how weird it gets. My mind open to all possibilities.

So, let me in on your recent, juicy End O' Days paranoia, dreams, thoughts, etc. I'm curious and would like to learn more about the current meme wave that is sweeping the noosphere.



Murdered Doctor Called for Mad Cow Testing of All Beef :.

Sixty-four-year-old Robert Lull was found murdered in his home last week. Investigators believe his assistant's son may be involved in the crime.

Police say 30-year-old Ellison Millare has a history of mental problems and criminal activity. He's been arrested before on charges of assault and robbery.


Related: Remedy for an Insane Policy-Test All Beef for Mad Cow



Amnesty International Accuses Israel of War Crimes :.

No kidding:

Amnesty International has accused Israel of committing war crimes in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The rights group's report for 2004 says Israeli forces have killed some 700 Palestinians - including 150 children - mostly in unlawful circumstances.

The report lists "reckless shooting, shelling and air strikes in civilian areas... and excessive use of force".



Peak Oil: U.S. Military Wants 19,000 Minivans, 5,000 Pacificas :.

Thank Jesus! More HUMMERs will be available for idiot soccer moms, since the military doesn't even like having to fill them up anymore! Yippee!

A huge U.S. military order for 24,000 minivans and Pacificas means DaimlerChrysler Canada employees can work overtime most Saturdays, holidays and even some Sundays until mid-July if they want to.

Company sources say the U.S. armed forces have ordered 19,000 minivans and 5,000 Pacificas for use as light-duty vehicles in the U.S., Iraq and elsewhere in the world. It is believed the light gasoline-powered vehicles will replace the diesel-powered Humvees in use as light personnel carriers on U.S. bases around the world to reduce fuel consumption.

The U.S. military has been increasingly concerned about fuel consumption in recent years, and its commanders have complained publicly that the diesel-guzzling Humvee is extremely inefficient in non-combat use to ferry a few soldiers at a time around base.



CIA Overseeing 3-Day War Game on Internet :.

And how do they propose dealing with shovels, hatchets and publically available fiber maps? Refer to my crusty, old cyberwar essay if you don't get that last reference:

The CIA is conducting a secretive war game, dubbed "Silent Horizon," this week to practice defending against an electronic assault on the same scale as the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks.

The three-day exercise, ending Thursday, was meant to test the ability of government and industry to respond to escalating Internet disruptions over many months, according to participants. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the CIA asked them not to disclose details of the sensitive exercise taking place in Charlottesville, Va., about two hours southwest of Washington.

The simulated attacks were carried out five years in the future by a fictional alliance of anti-American organizations, including anti-globalization hackers. The most serious damage was expected to be inflicted in the war game's closing hours.



A Few Impressions of Baja California, Mexico

Each time I cross into Mexico (via Tijuana), three thoughts come to mind:

1) It's absolutely incredible that such crushing poverty exists so close to the U.S. (And, no, I've never been to Detroit or Appalachia.)

2) I can't believe that, after seeing the squalor just south of the border, I'm able to somehow put it out of my mind and go about my life... As if "that" isn't happening right next door.

3) Compared with parts of Africa and Asia, Tijuana looks like a 5-Star resort.

Other random observations:

Despite all the hardship, the Mexican people are very innovative, hard working and have a great sense of humor.

I spent a couple of hours gazing at the ocean near Puerto Nuevo. I watched the lobstermen launch their boats from the beach (in heavy surf) and row several hundred yards offshore to check their traps. I was in awe. That's not easy work. But maybe those guys will have the last laugh as supplies of hydrocarbon based fuels begin to decrease. No fuel or oil to buy. No motors to break. Muy bien.

There is a definite element of "anything goes" when it comes to building construction down there. Lots of people are living in structures that are made out of industrial refuse, old vehicles, billboards, etc. Despite all of the scarcity in Mexico, there is no shortage of labor and dirt. For very little money, people could be trained in flexform earthbag construction techniques. Comfortable, clean and functional dwellings could be built for a couple of hundred dollars.

I noticed that many people have placed black water tanks on their rooftops to heat water for use in their homes. What a concept. Compare that technique to the way it's almost exclusively done a few miles to the north, across The Fence. In each house, non renewable natural gas is burned, around the clock, to keep 80 to 100 gallons (or more) of water at a constant temperature of 140 degrees. Try to think of a bigger waste of energy. It's tough.

What's the story with the Mexican Army deployments along the old coastal highway near Rosarito? The last few times I've been down there, I've seen the Mexican Army out in force around there. And no, these aren't cops. These soldiers are dressed in military fatigues and boots. They are armed with heavily worn HK G3 battle rifles. (Those weapons are older than the soldiers carrying them.) On the way back up from Puerto Nuevo, one of the new toll plazas on the highway was manned by one of these Mexican Army units. They just waved us through, but there were about ten guys standing around with loaded G3s.


5/25/2005

Power Goes Off in Moscow :.

Power went out in large parts of Moscow and four surrounding regions for several hours Wednesday, and President Vladimir Putin, moving with uncharacteristic speed, bluntly blamed Unified Energy Systems chief Anatoly Chubais for the outage.

The outage began at about 10 a.m. in the city and spread to the Moscow, Tula, Kaluga and Ryazan regions, leaving between 1.5 million and 2 million people without electricity.

Metro trains came to a stop, running water supplies went off and hospitals and military headquarters switched to backup generators in a rolling blackout.



Not a Pretty Picture :.

"History," Hegel said, "is a slaughterhouse." And war is how the slaughter is carried out.

If we believe that the present war in Iraq is just and necessary, why do we shrink from looking at the damage it wreaks? Why does the government that ordered the war and hails it as an instrument of good then ask us to respect those who died in the cause by not describing and depicting how they died? And why, in response, have newspapers gone along with Washington and grown timid about showing photos of the killing and maiming? What kind of honor does this bestow on those who are sent to fight in the nation's name?

The Iraq war inspires these questions.



FBI's Powers May Become Fearsome :.

...the most frightening prospect for Americans is an unfettered national police force with the sole discretion to determine who can be investigated as a potential terrorist. That's the impact of little-known proposals to greatly expand the powers of the FBI, permitting its agents to seize business records without a warrant and to track the mail of those in terrorist inquiries without regard to Postal Service concerns.

Because the government can label almost any group or individual a terrorist threat, the potential for abuse by not having to show probable cause is enormous, prompting civil libertarians to correctly speculate about who will guard against the guardians. Up until now the answer was the Constitution as interpreted by the judiciary. But it is clear that sidestepping any such restriction is the real and present danger of the post-9/11 era.


5/24/2005

Original Limu Mentioned in June 2005 Alternative Health Magazine :.

There is lots of nonsense out there. Thankfully, Alternative Health got it right:

After researching the leading health elixirs on the market, Natural Health - a hugely popular magazine found in major book stores, grocery stores and health food stores throughout America - recently featured Original Limuâ„¢ in their Health & Healing section.

Related: My Limu Story




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Friendly Fascism: The New Face of Power in America by Bertram Myron Gross This is a relatively short but extremely cogent and well-argued treatise on the rise of a form of fascistic thought and social politics in late 20th century America. Author Bertram Gross' thesis is quite straightforward; the power elite that comprises the corporate, governmental and military superstructure of the country is increasingly inclined to employ every element in their formidable arsenal of 'friendly persuasion' to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Americans through what Gross refers to as friendly fascism.

The Good Life
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Helen and Scott Nearing are the great-grandparents of the back-to-the-land movement, having abandoned the city in 1932 for a rural life based on self-reliance, good health, and a minimum of cash...Fascinating, timely, and wholly useful, a mix of the Nearings' challenging philosophy and expert counsel on practical skills.

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The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It: The Complete Back-To-Basics Guide by John Seymour The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It is the only book that teaches all the skills needed to live independently in harmony with the land harnessing natural forms of energy, raising crops and keeping livestock, preserving foodstuffs, making beer and wine, basketry, carpentry, weaving, and much more.

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The New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener This expansion of a now-classic guide originally published in 1989 is intended for the serious gardener or small-scale market farmer. It describes practical and sustainable ways of growing superb organic vegetables, with detailed coverage of scale and capital, marketing, livestock, the winter garden, soil fertility, weeds, and many other topics.