F.B.I. Data Mining Went Beyond Targets

The F.B.I. cast a much wider net in its terrorism investigations than it has previously acknowledged by relying on telecommunications companies to analyze phone-call and e-mail patterns of the associates of Americans who had come under suspicion, according to newly obtained bureau records

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BUSH: Just so you know…

just so you know:
•I attacked and took over 2 countries.

•I spent the U.S. surplus and bankrupted the US Treasury.

•I shattered the record for the biggest annual deficit in history (not easy!).

•I set an economic record for the most personal bankruptcies filed in any 12 month period.

•I set all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the stock market.

•In my first year in office I set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any president in US history (tough to beat my dad’s, but I did).

•After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, I presided over the worst security failure in US history.

•I set the record for most campaign fund raising trips by any president in US history.

•In my first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their jobs.

•I cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any other president in US history.

•I set the all-time record for most real estate foreclosures in a 12-month period.

•I set the record for the fewest press conferences of any president, since the advent of TV.

•I presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed.

•I cut health care benefits for war veterans.

•I set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind.

•I dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history.

•I’ve made my presidency the most secretive and unaccountable of any in US history.

•Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in US history. (The poorest multimillionaire, Condoleeza Rice, had a Chevron oil tanker named after her for a while.)

•I am the first president in US history to have all 50 states of the Union simultaneously struggle against bankruptcy.

•I presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world.

•I am the first president in US history to order a US attack AND military occupation of a sovereign nation, and I did so against the will of the United Nations and the vast majority of the international community.

•I have created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States, called the “Bureau of Homeland Security

•I set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any other president in US history (Ronnie was tough to beat, but I did it!!).

•I am the first president in US history to compel the United Nations remove the US from the Human Rights Commission.

•I am the first president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the Elections Monitoring Board.

•I removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential administration in US history.

•I rendered the entire United Nations irrelevant. I withdrew from the World Court of Law.

•I refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions.

•I am the first president in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors access during the 2002 US elections.

•I am the all-time US (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations.

•The biggest lifetime contributor to my campaign, who is also one of my best friends, presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).

•I spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history.

•I am the first US president to establish a secret shadow government.

•I took the world’s sympathy for the US after 9/11, and in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world (possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).

•I am the first US president in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability.

•I changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.

•I have removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any other president in US history.

RECORDS AND REFERENCES:
• I have at least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine
(Texas driving record has been erased and is not available).

•I was AWOL from the National Guard and deserted the military during time of war.

•I refuse to take a drug test or even answer any questions about drug use.

•All records of my tenure as governor of Texas have been spirited away to my fathers library, sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

•All records of any SEC investigations into my insider trading or bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

•All minutes of meetings of any public corporation for which I served on the board are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

•Any records or minutes from meetings I (or my VP) attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.

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gee, thanks a lot, steve

so, according to steve jobs, iphone owners will be getting a $100 in-store credit for apple retail or online stores.  well, that’s nice.  since he didn’t buy us all dinner before he fucked us yesterday by dropping the price on the iphone to $400 after everyone on the planet paid $600, i suppose it’s something that he take us all out to mcdonald’s for a bunch of happy-meals.

thanks, steve.  ass.

one more thing…

i hope everyone had a great labor day weekend!

it’s been a little while, i know…

sorry for that.  i would blame it on my iphone for keeping me busy and distracted, but it’s been a host of other things.  a lot of it is project i’m working on for a friend DigitalAttire.com. i’m updating the site and dealing with some php issues from the previous coder. i hate working on other people’s code.

i’m glad i can still freelance on the weekends, man.  it helps to have a little supplement to your income.  i’m saving for either an imac or a macbook pro…

Bill Gates Shows Off Microsoft’s Touch Table

Billy Gates was on the Today Show this morning showing off his fancy new table. Want to see it in action rather than just in photos? Check the video for all sorts of goodness of it being used for all sorts of applications, such as playing with photos, wirelessly pulling photos off a camera, and ordering and paying for food using credit cards.

ok, so this thing is just bad-ass. even though i have a well-known bias against anything microsoft (everyone who works for them should go jump off a building– go on, do it right now. i’ll wait), THIS THING IS THE SHIZ. sure, it’s been seen in a few different forms over the years, namely at TED (sorrry i don’t have the link– go search youtube on your own), but nothing quite like this (link goes to m$’s site). It’s simply the shiz.

their initial proposed market is retail, such as hotels and restaurants. these things will go for $5k – $10k, and do everything you always wished wi-fi enable things would do. for a good summary of functionality, follow one of the link above, or go to the digg article (link below) and follow the link to the video on the today show.

apparently, there’s going to be a live demo at the new york sheridan hotel on 11th street on june 9th. although they haaven’t announced a time yet, it’ll eventually be posted on their site (linked above). yeah, i’ll be there. as soon as i swallow my pride. perhaps i should show up in an apple t-shirt…

read more | digg story

455FE10422CA29C4933F95052B792AB2 = AACS Processing Key

Seriously! It amazes me that, with all their money, time, and effort put into these copy-protection schemes, that they keep getting cracked so easily and quickly. Only last month the last one was cracked. I suppose that, if this continues to happen, they’ll eventually stop.

HA!

yeah, i was just kidding. they’re never going to stop trying to prevent people from copying hd-dvds. they’ll try harder and harder, blaming the rise in cost of the hd-dvds to the continual development of the “next best thing” in encryption. eventually everyone will stop buying them, and just download the content for free from some p2p service.

that’ll teach ‘em.

read more | digg story

breaking the apple cycle

When it comes to Apple and its prodcuts, people are in either one of two camps: love it or hate it. For those who hate Apple, the solution is simple: avoid Apple products and make fun of anyone who purchases them. But for those of us who love Apple and their wonderful products, we can’t get enough. We want more. We need more. Like any other Apple fanboy, I am addicted.

I don’t mean to say that i like their products and am a loyal customer. I mean exactly what I said: I am addicted Apple, and lust for nearly every product they produce. What’s more, I must have them (aside from, thank goodness, products like the iPod Shuffle, the Mac Mini, and a handful of other terrible ideas). Like many fanboys, I go to great lengths to afford them. When a new iPod comes out, I buy one. I’ve had a 3g, a 4g, and currently have a 5g. The only reason I haven’t pre-ordered an iPhone is because I can’t afford one yet.

Come to think of it, that’s also why I don’t have a Mighty Mouse, am still using my G4 PowerBook, and haven’t upgraded my Airport Extreme to the new Draft-N one (although my PowerBook wouldn’t be able to take advantage of it). I suppose that not being able to afford it may be the only way out of this quandary.

But I still want it all sooo baaaad. I want a MacBook AND a MacBook Pro. I want a Mc Pro, a Mac Mini, and XServe, a new 5.5g ipod (my 5g is scratched), the Bluetooth Mighty Mouse, a 24″ iMac… I have no rational need for any of these (except an iMac and a MacBook Pro… maybe the Bluetooth Mighty Mouse, too.

Why do I want all of these things from Apple s very badly? It can’t be the marketing: i never watch TV, so i don’t see the commercials (except a couple on youtube, and that’s not enough to create this level of desire). I don’t see ads in print because I don’t read print, and I don’t see ANY ads online because I have a good ad-bocker.

So what gives? Is it just because I have one and use it all day and want a faster one? Still that doesn’t make any sense. The only thing stopping me from buying any more Apple products is, seriously, I can no longer afford to buy anything right now (Apple or otherwise). And I suppose that may be the only cure…

letting the days go by…

well, eric was here this last weekend, from friday to sunday. oh, and did we have an awesome time. friday, of course, we went to the village to get some great indian food, then off to soho for drinks. madam x on houston st., funky and a little burlesque-y, fortunately has a smoking garden, allowing us to sit out back, drink, smoke, and be merry! we met up with an old orlando friend who, strangely enough, had known eric for even longer.

the next night, saturday, we started with some running around, then met up with eric’s chicago friend craig for dinner at this great restaurant in chelsea named cookshop. eric and i both enjoyed this lamb 3-way special they were having that night, along with an incredible bordeux– the ordering of which prompted the restaunt’s owner to run over to the table and serve it to us personally while recanting the story of how he came to posess this wine. apparently, while visiting a vinyard, he was brought out to a large tree in the middle of some huge field. at the foot of this tree were storm cellar doors that led down to a huge wine cellar underneath the tree, and that’s where he had gotten that wine. both the lamb and wine, thank goodness, were much better than the story.

after dinner, we went out to this season’s last Bank party at Element, courtesy of dj kevin graves. the upstairs party was sorta lame, so we hung out downstairs with all the hotties. awesome times and awesome photos were had by all (although the pics are still in my camera- will be posted soon)!

sunday we slept in. we did, fortunately, get to see a good bit of central park. and, although we didn’t get to go into the met (don’t ask), we did get to see it.

unfortunately, eric had to leave not too long after that. it was really too bad he couldn’t stay longer, but he promised that he’d be visiting again this summer. can’t wait!

movin’ on up, to the east village.part 3.return of the jedi

ok, so where we last left off, i had proposed the refined plan, the numbers, etc. for dad’s approval. well, he gave it. sort of.

he’s still not too keen on the numbers i gave him. but by his suggestions, we’ll be doing it by the week. also, i’ll be coming back in three weeks to tie up some loose ends. we’ll be holding on to my apartment and my car for back-up, eric will be holding on to gregory (my kitty), and i’ll be flying up wednesday morning. that’s right, 3 days from now.

so, now i have a lot of shit to do, and not a lot of time to do it. i need to clean my apartment (for real this time!), do all my laundry, sort through things i want to keep, give away, or throw away, see and say goodbye to all my friends. a bit of a big deal.

well, today (sunday), i’m cleaning my apartment and doing laundry. actually, almost 4:30 in the afternooon and i haven’t started, but eric, bridget, and angel are coming over soon to help. bridget and i will take oon the bathroom, and eric can take on the kitchen. i put 2 people (including myself) into the bathroom because although it’s half the size of the kitchen, it’s twice as bad. all eric has to do it throw stuff away and do a whole bunch of dishes. i have to scrub poopie and vomit off the underside of my toilet seat. eeewwwww!!!! even when it’s my own poopie and vomit.

right now, however, i’m on my way to my farewell meeting with my mom, so i have to shit, shower, and shave. when i get back, we’ll get down to the cleaning. tomorrow, i finish pressure-washing my dad’s driveway. i don’t know what else i’ll have to do, but i’m sure it’ll come to me.