field marshall hrádek

Oh man do people whine. Ted Kennedy has been in office for 50 years (probably just riding out the nation's sympathy for the horrible murders of his brothers) and now that an independent State and free peoples elect a Republican to Congress and the hissing and stench of hate emit from the generally leftist circles of the Internet; Facebook and the various comments to the story on various news outlets.

We want change! No you don't. You want your agenda to enslave the country to your naive understanding of politics, history, and flawed human character. If people understood even a speck of that I think they'd be in for less government and more personal responsibility. Health care reform only needs to happen because government meddled in health care in the first place. See how the billions of dollars we've all paid into Social Security have been managed? Horribly. Do not expect otherwise from government.

Last night I had a jam session with Koa (drums) and his buddy Pat (guitar). It was flippin' awesome. I busted out my laptop, used my midi controller, and played some wicked organ, piano, and crazy techno bass lines and sounds to create almost two hours of intense Trash Rock Trance Lounge music. It was rage fun and we really had a good time. We played around with some chord progressions, styles, rhythms, and melodies. It took me a little while to set up but once I did it was on. The guys are just awesome. We practiced at Evolution in Bellevue. Since it isn't going to be often the $6.50 a person for 2 hours seems reasonable.

Last night I finally got my copy of Panzer Tactics for the DS. The reviews give it a low score but I kind of expect it in today's game market. It's a pure throwback to the old SSI Panzer General series. I played for a little bit last night. Very good indeed!

I voted, did you?

A famous scene from the 1976 film called "Network" which has caught my attention (which mow I need to borrow and watch) while watching Zeitgeist: Addendum. The first, I would say, 30 minutes of Addendum is a fairly factual explanation of our central bank system but then the entire thing fall apart into a conspiracist New World Order rant ultimately advertising The Venus Project. The movie is simply a drive for humanism attempting to illegitimate faith and truth.

If anything I'd watch it just to familiarize yourself with the way our monetary system works. Like the criticisms I have read so far, the entire Zeitgeist thing brings up good facts and things to discuss and ponder but ultimately some of the stuff is misrepresenting and the eventual collectivist solution is just more "... of the disease itself."

I've been making an effort to make time to do things other than work, commute, vegetate, and sleep. I've had mediocre success in that some days I will spend the night playing with the kids and having dinner with them and then other days when I plop down in front of my computer and play Navy Field. Incidentally I have been able to finally purchase the heavy cruiser (CA) Admiral Hipper and then refit it to the CA Prinz Eugen. It's been a challenge to play the Kreigsmarine (KMS) in that game in that this particular faction uses the shoot and scoot tactic a lot. Unlike the British faction which has decent armor and fire power the KMS is more distant precision strike type game play. Anyway, it has been really fun.

Not to overload you with media but here is something a little less filthy, a little less dirty, but good none the less, Betty Boo & Jack Rokka - Take Off (Digital Dog Dub):

So after a while you need to watch this commentary by the folks at South Park to the Indiana Jones IV movie that came out recently. It's fantastic and mirrors my thoughts about what Lucas and Spielberg did that that series. I realize that the subject is horrible but I and everyone at the office couldn't help but laugh... uncomfortably.

More work has been getting done on my revamp of that troublesome web application. I've been meeting with people to see what all needs to get done to make it stable and secure. I think I have a pretty good grasp on the problem and how to fix it.

We're moving into the final staging of selling our home in Bremerton. The final documents have been sent to our lender and everything appears to be lining up. The buyers are eager to buy our home and they even offered to take our cat.

I ordered this backpack today. I think carrying around my monster laptop will be a lot easier. On the other hand, it has been quite nice traveling to work with nothing more than my umbrella.

I have been listening to a lot of music lately. I have been traveling through the channels of DI.FM. I subscribed to the service. It's a mere $7 a month and at 192 Kbps its a lot nicer than the usual 128 stuff on most larger streaming radio stations. However, there are a few good ones I have regularly been visiting. Rautemusic.fm, Radio FG, and HHUK to name a few. I have been getting into a style of music called "Electro-House". The melody is driven by the bass line and is often a saw or... It's hard to explain but the WikiPedia has a couple samples. Oh, and Björk has a song/video "Declare Independence" that drives me awesome:

I am not a big fan of hers but once in a while things she does are interesting. Alfa-Matrix has been a fantastic record label. I like a lot of the stuff they release.

As usual lots of stuff is going on. There is a credit/market crisis of sorts. It's hard to muddle through the details but it appears that a few key legislations that were enacted after the previous Great Depression were repealed by President Clinton, a democrat. With large institutions collapsing all around us and the government dropping the federal interest rate to near record lows things look bad in terms of a recession or even better, the once a hundred years correction; a depression. If the price of goods inflates past the increase in wages, then even us consumers have things to worry about. The price of gas is now hovering around $3.45 a gallon which is also affected things like the price of groceries and our willingness to drive. I had a thought the other day about this insane drive with things "Green". I wonder if eventually private land use will be abolished in the name of being environmentally conscious. After all, its the moral thing to do. No, not really.

It's Friday and I am beat. A week of riding the bus has taken the toll on me.

When Oliver Stone spoke in Spain this week, I could not agree with him more. It is such a shame that our regime in Washington D.C. continues to use fear to pass the most terrible legislation. Now practically anyone in the U.S., legal or illegal, can be imprisoned for any reason, held indefinitely and not allowed to even know the charges. Suspending such fundamental legal principles such as habeas corpus in the name of fear is a sad day for us all. So much blood was spilt to ensure secret trials and arrests were outlawed. I wonder why those Senators caved in to the great satan's wishes. Praise to Hugo Chavez and others who are willing to stand up to this government. People of the world, my government does not represent the will of the majority of Americans and most certainly not me.

What is even scarier than this is the way the situation was handled. The Supreme Court says no, your practices are illegal in terms of the Constitution and the Geneva Convention. Bush's reply? Fine, I will just pass a law making it legal (Well, its still illegal but it is the fact that he is doing whatever he pleases). The whole affair is silly. This neo-conservative movement is just about dead. Their theories on conquering and forcing the world to submit to their versions of democracy are null. Iraq and Afghanistan have turned into quagmires. Every time in our nations history something happens like September 11th that scares people to legislate themselves out of freedom. Every time we regret it and prove that doing these things was not worth the false sense of security they granted.

Oh and the rhetoric has started up again. Democrats are soft on terrorists. They do not support their troops by bringing them home. Well this sort of one sided you-are-with-us-or-against-us super patriotism is our worst enemy. Let us stop our hypocritical ways. Let us stop abiding by a plutocratic system. Let us start behaving like Americans.

Yes, I am afraid it is so. Its a funny laugh but man does it drive that point home. Mind you, this requires a pop-up. Check this out courtesy The Daily Show

What really perturbs me is that this guy is the head of a committee which decides the future of certain technologies and their regulation.

And to really laugh your ass off.... watch this awesome remix of Ted Stevens on Net Neutrality.

Regarding this article about America's journey towards a police state and a populace herded by fear a friend of mine brought to me this response on Slashdot. Its actually a very well written response. Having visited a Soviet Bloc country a few times before the fall of Communism I must say that this brought back some intense memories and recollections of stories I had heard through my youth. Of course, the article itself doesn't really surprise us. Its the collection of all the different stories.

No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.

— Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964

Of course we must also be weary of any self proclaimed patriots who are willing to spit on individual freedoms and other preservations of dignity in the name of America or any institution for that matter. Anyway, here it goes:

Two Words: Chilling Effect

(Score:5, Insightful) by Moraelin (679338) on Friday June 09, @11:57AM (#15502829)
(Last Journal: Monday June 21, @05:25PM)

I'll tell you a different kind of a "in soviet russia" story, and it's not a joke. I'll tell you what kept those people in line under most totalitarian regimes. Yes, the short story is "the secret police", but that's only a very superficial view of the problem.

The communist block's secret police didn't always have the indiscriminate brutality of Stalin's black cars and summary executions. It eventually evolved into something more "subtle": the widespread idea that somewhere they have a dossier of what you've said and who you've associated with. That even if you don't land in the Gulag (but then again, you might land there anyway) for going drinking again with comrade Piotr who speaks against the government, there'll be a page in your dossier for ever flagging you as sharing Piotr's subversive views. And it someday might bite you in the ass. E.g., maybe some day you won't get a promotion, or the party's approval to go abroad (on business or holyday), or whatever, just because somewhere there's a page in your dossier saying you're a subversive element and associate with traitors.

Now they didn't have the computers or manpower to actually do that on anywhere near the scale NSA is doing it, so the probability was really low, but the chilling effect was thorough anyway. People didn't want to take risks, so they tended to shut up.

But the effect was more perverse than that. Anyone who openly spoke against the government was seen as a potential agent provocateur, trying to bait you into saying something that'll come back to haunt you later. It's the most perverse thing you can do to prevent organized resistance: make sure that people don't trust each other. The guy shouting against the government might be paid by the government, or may be someone who has a petty grudge against you and tries to get you to say something you might regret.

Basically, the most effective threats don't have to be explicit, but vague and implicit. People don't have to know that the government will swiftly come and send them to Guantanamo for speaking against it. The most effective threat is to just have everyone know that you know everything they did and everyone they associated with, that it's for ever attached to their file somewhere, and they don't know how or when you'll use it. Maybe you'll go for direct retaliation, or maybe their son won't be able to get a government scholarship/job/whatever because of what they said, or whatever. That unknown can pretty chilling while costing very little to maintain. (A lot less than trying to execute everyone who disagrees, and creates less martyrs.)

And all this mining phone calls and social sites (a lot do have personal information, e.g., dating sites) has the potential to create a chilling effect of epic proportions. Is John speaking out against the new fascist government? Well, then better make sure you're not on his friends list or calling him every week. You don't want to have _that_ on your file, now do you? If you're an employer, better get rid of him on your own, because otherwise, you know, that relationship goes on your file too. Plus, you know they'll make a connection every time he calls you to take a sick day, or you call him to ask why the server isn't up. Better not risk losing a fat government contract just because you're associating with and employing undesirables.

Does that have to be accurate and filtered clean of character assassination bullshit? No, it's probably better if it isn't. Might get some people thinking they already have plenty of bogus or inaccurate stuff on their file anyway, so all the more reason not to add real stuff to it too. Better keep low and try not to trip their radar, than have to explain which stuff is bogus and which isn't.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A divided Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that government workers who blow the whistle on alleged illegal conduct do not deserve First Amendment protection that would automatically shield them from discipline from their bosses.

The decision creates a higher legal hurdle for the 20 million public service employees nationwide who seek to expose official wrongdoing in the face of possible retaliation.

It was only the second 5-4 opinion issued by the high court since its newest member, Justice Samuel Alito, joined the bench in January. He cast the deciding vote in a case that was argued twice this term, the first time back in October.

At issue is what constitutional guarantees civil servants deserve in speech done as a routine part of their job. Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy noted, "Exposing governmental inefficiency and misconduct is a matter of considerable significance."

But he rejected the idea "that the First Amendment shields from discipline the expressions employees make pursuant to their professional duties."

Kennedy said a "powerful network" of whistle-blower protection and labor laws exist to benefit workers who fear punishment for speaking out. He was supported by Chief Justice John Roberts and his fellow conservatives, Justice Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Alito.

The nine-member bench seemed to struggle balancing the need for preserving discretion in many aspects of the workplace with the need to ensure those who expose wrongdoing are not unfairly punished. The majority concluded not every aspect of government work deserves free-speech protection.

The case involves Richard Ceballos, a deputy Los Angeles County prosecutor who investigated allegations that a sheriff's deputy lied on an affidavit to obtain a search warrant in a criminal case.

After looking into a formal complaint by a defense attorney, Ceballos found evidence of misconduct and recommended to his bosses the criminal case be dismissed for that reason. He was asked by his supervisors to tone down the wording of his memo, but the revised letter still contained the conclusion that "grossly inaccurate" statements were made in the deputy's affidavit.

Despite that, prosecutors moved ahead with the case, which involved theft at an auto parts store. Ceballos said he was obliged to tell the defense of his conclusions. He testified about his investigation at the trial, which went in favor of the defendant. Ceballos claimed his bosses later retaliated by demoting him, making threats, creating a "hostile" work environment, and denying a promotion. He sued and a federal appeals court eventually agreed with him. But the high court reversed the decision.

In dissent, Justice David Souter said civil servants, in some cases, deserve greater free speech protection.

"It stands to reason that a citizen may well place a very high value on the right to speak on the public issues he decides to make the subject of his work day after day," wrote Souter. "These citizen servants are the ones whose civic interest rises highest when they speak pursuant to their duties, and are exactly the ones government employers most want to attract."

Also in dissent were Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

The appeal was originally heard in October, when now-retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was still a member of the court. She stepped down before the opinion was completed, and under court rules her vote did not count. That left a 4-4 tie, and the justices decided to rehear the case.

Alito was an especially active questioner during the rearguments in March.

Source CNN Thanks to you for pointing this one out.

Intrestingly, the page no longer loads. That's right. The American fascists are sealing themselves in so that its harder to discern the government wrong doing. The government needs to be held accountable. Truth and righteousness loving people on the inside must be allowed to criticize the government. I don't believe that the founding fathers saw such a huge beauracracy that has formed. I beleive that during those days, wrong doing was open for discourse. Yet as the government builds around itself tall walls of silence, it creates for itself an ability to perform outside of law and scrutiny. The impact of this decision are far and wide. No, it doesn't affect you driving your giant SUV to your kid's soccer game. Yes, your children will one day be implanted with a tracking device but what do you care? The proof is out there folks. It's time to act. It's always time to act. Liberty is not free.

There are people out there who believe that the United States shits gold bricks and the world should be grateful. I had my first encounter with people like this whom I dubbed "super patriots" because of their apparent ignorance to fact. It frightens me that people exists whom believe that you are unpatriotic or un-American because you disagree with a policy determined by the United States regime or its leader.

What are these people? Neo-Cons? Super conservatives? This person completely shits on the ideas of personal freedom and liberty. They use the blood spilt in Vietnam an excuse to do whatever it takes to keep our country safe. Now who wants to argue with a veteran?

As an American I would like to see our country do well both internally and externally. Unfortunately, with how crappy current domestic and foreign policy are I am quite worried about our future.

The NSA is apparently obtaining every phone conversation that occurs domestically. No warrents or anything. Kind of like how the Patriot Act is being used to curb illegal gambling in Las Vegas, it's only a matter of time before good intentions lead a way to a means for bad intentions. The dumb asses in Washington D.C., completely ignorant of our Constitution say its legal. I suppose I will humbly clarify for them: Of course its legal... in Soviet Russia*

* - insert any government lacking civil liberties and Constitution gaurentees of said liberties.