More Islamic Alarmism

One of the latest headlines out of that most useful of "world bodies", the United Nations, once again points to just how worthless that body is.

"Islamaphobia on rise, especially in Europe - U.N. envoy"

Mr. Doudou Diene, the UN special rapporteur on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, (Did you know that, the longer your title, the lower your position?) states that the amount of "intolerance" against Islam world-wide points towards a serious problem. His evidence?

"Recent acts of defamation in the shape of blasphemous sketches in Sweden and posters in Switzerland reinforce this conclusion."

Huh? That's the best you can do? Point towards a single cartoon of Muhammed, and it points towards the terrible intolerance of the Western nations? Tell me this: How does a caricature show intolerance? And where is the anger when someone puts a Christian cross in urine and calls it "art"?

Next question: Did that cartoon actually kill anyone? You'll have to forgive me here, but on 9/11, I lost almost 3,000 of my fellow citizens. How many people did that cartoon kill? Okay, more than one. Why? Because the Islamists got so pissed off, they actually went out and killed other Islamists.

It really sucks when certain people discover that no right is absolute. Freedom of religion doesn't trump freedom of expression. That's what really pisses off those fundamentalist Muslims, isn't it? They want men to be supreme, women to be compliant, children to be unheard and unseen, and everyone else to know that Muhammed is, in actuality, God.

Bullshit.

That caricature did not incite to violence, as a Muslim TV show in Lebanon did recently. The "grandfather" of the current Muslim fundamentalist movement made much more violent statements, yet nothing is said of that. Of course not. The Western nations, especially the US, are responsible for all the worlds ills.

Well, we're not. We didn't start this crap. But we're having to deal with it. Do you know why Iraq is such a mess? It's because the people of the Middle East wouldn't know peace if it came up and bit them in the ass. Peace? They have no idea of the concept. The idea of compromise doesn't enter into their vocabulary. So stop with the exhortation that we're causing all of their problems by being "intolerant". When it comes to intolerance, the Western nations are even in the same league as those of the Middle East.

If you want a shorter response, here it is: Bite me.

Corel can kiss my ass!

Corel sucks. There is not other way to say it. I finally took the plunge, plunked down $60 of my hard-earned dollars, and upgraded my copy of Paint Shop Pro from version 9 to version 11.

Big mistake.

I've now had more errors and problems with this version than with any previous version. I know what Corel will say, "In any complex undertaking, there will be problems and issues."

Bullshit.

I'm paying for a program that works! It should WORK! It should NOT crash, it should NOT lose a half-hours work, it should NOT lock up and lose my work! Period. End of story! If it DOES do any of this, then you guys NEED TO FIX IT! (Am I making myself understood here!?!? HELL-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!)

What's worse? Well, I want to send an e-mail to Corel saying, point blank, "WTF?" Guess what happens when you click on the link labelled "e-mail Corel technical support."

I won't bother telling you. I'll let you do it yourself. (Don't forget to use the "Back" button to come back here.)

That's right. The alleged e-mail link, in fact, simply dumps you to the general "Knowledge Base". TRY and find a link that will allow you to e-mail Corel. I can't find one. If it's there, they've done a fair job of hiding it. I've clicked on every link I can find on the page and I cannot find the support e-mail address.

Frankly, by now, it doesn't really matter. I'd only send them e-mail to tell them (a) how much Paint Shop Pro sucks now that Corel is in charge, (b) how much Corel sucks in general and (c) that I don't want anything more to do with either of them.

Corel, you can kiss my ass. I'm done with you. And I will do everything in my power to ensure that everyone in the world knows how much you suck. How much your products suck. And how they should be ANYTHING else before they buy from you.

Good riddance.

Let me IN!

It took me 15 minutes to get into this *(&*#$^! account! I've been to it many times, although I haven't posted much. And now it decided that I was not who it thought I was. It would not accept my password. Mind you, I have my password written down (I keep a list, which there is little chance that some POS hacking from hundreds of miles away will ever see.) I know it was the right one. Then, when the *#&&^! system decided to not let me in, it added a new wrinkle. It put up one of those "Type in the letters you see" boxes.

Two words: F______ YOU!

Either make it so that my password works, or don't bother to put up the *#&! service! I guess I'm getting what I paid for. (It's free.)

To Mauritania Pilot: Git R DONE!

The news was initially terrible. A hijacker had once again managed to smuggle a gun aboard an aircraft the overpower the crew while in flight. With the great desire of many Islamic extremists to kiss their 72 Virginians, it seemed that the crew was doomed. Fortunately, this hijacker was of the old-school variety. Further, he did not speak French. The pilot, while preparing the land, told the passengers his intention to make it a rough landing, which would knock the hijacker off-balance, then allow the passengers and crew to overpower him.

And it worked.

As Larry The Cable Guy would say, "Git r done!"

Gajimmy

Ricky Martin Demonstrates His Command of the English Language

So, it seems that singer Ricky Martin is livin' la vida loco with his open defiance of The Power. Seems he's upset concerning the War in Iraq, so he directed his anger at President Bush.

Mind you, Bush had something to say back to him.

There are two things I'm noticing with those famous people opposed to the War in Iraq. First, they don't make their feelings openly known unless they are in front of a crowd. Secondly, they tend to be very simplistic with their feelings. Did the Dixie Chicks come out with a reasoned discourse of why they hated Bush during the concert in England? Nope. And Rickyboy's response to Bush was the ultimate in simplicity.

You go, Ricky! Bust a move!

Gajimmy

US Mocks Al Qaeda Deputy's Plan for Iraq

President Bush, in a subtly worded press release, openly mocked the Al Qaeda deputy's plan for Iraq.

The US President, who has received much criticism at home for his plan to boost the number of troops in Iraq, released a statement stating:

"I must say that I just love Al-Zawahiri's plan for Iraq. I have to say that it is true simplicity, "Agree with us or we will kill you." It only has one two-syllable word in it. Every other word is is a single syllable. I doubt even the lowest echelon of Al Qaeda fighter will have his lips get tired reading it."

Al-Zawahiri was said to have replied to this press statement with a much lengthier statement. Unfortunately, most Western journalists were asleep within the first five minutes of the statement, and that was before he finished the statements saying that Allah wanted him to do all of this and.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

A Spontaneous Protest? Yeah. Right.

BBC News is carrying the story of a massive protest in downtown London. Thousands, perhaps as many as 100,000 people, descended on Westminster and 10 Downing Street. According to what I've been seeing and reading, the vast majority sided with Hezbollah. All were screaming for an end to the fighting, and most made it sound as if this were all Israel's fault. One can find fault with many things that Israel does, but, folks, this ain't one of 'em.

Remember, Israel left Lebanon. They pulled out of Lebanon. First Hamas then Hezbollah conducted raids into Israel, killing several soldiers and taking a total of three hostage. Both Hamas and Hezbollah rant and rave about how Israel is killing Lebanese. Er, um, yeah, they are. Only because they are firing back at the people firing at them. And the people firing at them, whether Hamas, Hezbollah, or Walter-the-paper-hanger, are using the Lebanese as human shields. The Hezbollah / Hamas / whatever want as many casualties as possible. The more, the merrier. Don't know if this has to do with they want as many people as possible to find their 72 virgins (or strum their golden harp because, according to the press, many casualties are Christians). What I do know is that, the more innocent people in Lebanon die, the better for Hamas.

But the story doesn't stop there. Israel very quickly began circulating the story that Iran was behind this. At first, to me, the unitiated, that seemed plausible, but strange. I thought Israel might be trying to shun responsibility. Now, it not only seems plausible or possible, it seems probable. As the Marines say, let me break it down shotgun style.

First, Iran re-started their nuclear program. The world is concerned because Iran now wants the bomb. You don't believe that? Consider this item: Iranian's President , when speaking about the United States, said,

"How do you justify this logic of having a full arsenal of nuclear weapons, but when it comes to nations such as ours, you do not even allow research?"

Ah, so now he's no longer saying that the nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, it's for research. Ahhhh! I see. Research for... what? Frankly, you have an elected President stating outright that he wishes for the demise of another country. That country, of course, is Israel.

Second, just when the European community and the US are about to come breathing down Iran's neck over its nuclear "research" program, Hamas and Hezbollah attack Israel. Coincidence? Perhaps. But I find it interesting that they attack almost the exact same day that the Western World gathered to discuss what to do with Iran.

Third, there are now protests in downtown Baghdad against the US, against Israel, and in support of Hezbollah.

It's a triple whammy.

Yet, that's not enough. Now the milquetoast liberals come out of the woodwork in London to rally against Israel and "for" the people of Lebanon. "Ceasefire now", many placards say. "Stop the fighting!", they scream. Except the "they" the protesters want to stop are the Israelis. The Hezbollah can kill as many as they want.

Getting to the Internet through Comcast

Do you have a Comcast high-speed connection to the Internet? If so, are you having difficulties getting to the Internet? (Obviously, if you are, you're not on the computer from which you're having the difficulty. Either that, or you went through a particular connection and you went back to the old connection.)

Here's the typical scenario: You were connected using a particular computer, but you decided to add another system. So, you popped over to Best Buy and bought a router, such as are sold by Linksys or D-Link. Now, you can't get anywhere.

Here's why. First, some background. Every single ethernet connection is required to have a MAC (MAC = media access control) address. The MAC address, typically just called "the MAC", is essentially a serial number for each device. It uniquely defines that particular device. For example, you most likely have an Ethernet connection on your computer. It could either be a NIC (network interface connection) card or a connection that is direct on your motherboard. Either way, this connection has its own MAC address. If you are using a NIC card, such as made by D-Link or any of the others, it will have a MAC address. You can have two of the exact same make & model NIC cards, but they will each have a different MAC address. As I said, each device will have its own, unique MAC address.

The same goes for routers, wireless access points, on and on and on. Each will have its own MAC address.

What does this have to do with you not being able to connect to the Internet through Comcast? Simple. Let's say that your old connection was a PC connected directly to your cable modem. What happened was this: Comcast registered your connecting by using the MAC address of your computer. It's a form of security. If someone else tried to take over your connection, they wouldn't know your MAC address. (Yes, for those technical people out there, it's possible to spoof it. But that requires more work. Hackers tend to be, among other things, lazy.) Remember I said that every device has a different MAC address? Well, when you got that shiny, new router, it also had a MAC address. And it was different than that of your computer. When you plugged it into the cable modem, Comcast did not recognize that new MAC address. Therefore, it essentially locked you out. No Internet for you! (Note: That last sentence was said in the same voice as the "Soup Nazi" from "Seinfeld".)

But fear not! There is hope. You have two options. The first is to clone the MAC address of your old connection to your new router. The other option is to get Comcast to recognize the MAC address of your new router (or whatever new thing is connecting to the cable modem.)

To go with Option #1, use whatever method is necessary to configure your router (or whatever) and look for an option to clone the MAC address. On my Linksys router, for example, I open my Internet browser, open the web-based configuration page (by typing "http://192.168.1.1" into the address bar), then enter the administrator password. From the main "Setup" page, there's an option called "MAC Address Clone". On that page, I select "Enable" next to "MAC Clone Service". At that point, the "Clone" button is no longer greyed out. I press that button and it clones the MAC address of my computer. (NOTE: I don't know how it knows which MAC address to clone if there are multiple items connected to the router. It could be that it simply clones the MAC address of whatever computer is being used to set the configuration settings. Again, I don't know this for sure.) Finally, click the button at the bottom that says, "Save Settings".

From there, you should be able to connect to the Internet.

Option #2 is to simply disconnect your cable modem from the cable connection. You will need to leave it down for at least 12 hours. (Note: I've not tried this. I'm simply quoting what some others have reported.) At that time, Comcast will release your IP address. When you connect back to the Internet, it will allow you to re-register with a new MAC address.

Best of luck to you!

Gajimmy

Dixie Chicks: The Victims of Intolerance?

The poor Dixie Chicks. Hard to not feel sorry for them. After their slamming the President and the war in Iraq, the Dixie Chicks tucked their tails between their legs and headed home. They were threatened, yelled at, had every epithet in the world thrown at them. All for merely speaking their mind. They told a London audience that they were ashamed that President Bush came from their home state of Texas.

After that, they were slammed in public and even threatened in private.

Now they are back on tour with a new album. It includes a new song, "Not Ready to Make Nice". This is a song they claim has to do with how they feel about the whole episode. After that incident, they put out some apologies, but no one seemed interested. Their reaction was, "We're being muzzled. We should be allowed to speak our minds."

Yup, that's absolutely right. But when other people, you know, us common folk, express our minds, don't act surprised. What were you expecting? Okay, here's another question: Why didn't you say this in Texas? Why did you have to fly 3600+ miles away from your "home" in Texas to speak your mind?

I know, I know, you were so muzzled in Texas. They're nothing but a bunch of hicks. Such simpletons. Only the English would understand.

Mind you, I don't like the guy who threatened you. I think that idiot should be put in a nice, 6 x 9 cell with his roommate, Rufus T. Buttlove.

But those people who merely expressed anger and outrage at your antics and expressed it by NOT buying your albums, calling the local radio stations to request that they NOT play your music, well, you had that one coming.

How Microsoft Hijacked the Internet

Remember when the Internet was first born? Remember how anyone with a simple command of HTML could post their own web page? And, so long as your browser supported the HTML *standard*, you could read that web page?

Obviously, that did not make Microsoft happy. Was it Netscape pushing Microsoft back into the corner & out of the limelight that did it? Who knows? What I can say is that they not only came back and pushed Netscape off of the map (Netscape who?), but they also took over the Internet. How many times have you gone to someone's web site and seen those dreaded words, "This site REQUIRES (my emphasis added) Internet Explorer Ver X or higher". What happened to the HTML standard? Did it die? Pull a MacArthur ("just faded away" for those of you who are a little short on history)?

Again, no. Microsoft said, "Hey, let's not only destroy Netscape, let's take over the Internet, too! HTML? BAH! We don't need no stinkin' HTML! We're MICROSOFT!"

So it goes. Obviously Microsoft was not content to merely suck the life blood from a competitor. Who would be?

Now I'm stuck occasionally having to use Internet Exploder, despite my wish to use Mozilla's Firefox whenever I can. I can say that I've noted several attempts (looking at firewall logs) of outside entities trying to get through to my computer. I've also noted that they line up perfectly for when I'm using IE as opposed to Firefox.

IE = lots of attempts
Firefox = all's quiet on the binary front.

Sigh.