Ah , the american health care system. One of my favorite subjects.
Article
Victoria Grove wanted to find out if she was destined to develop the form of emphysema that ran in her family, but she did not want to ask her doctor for the DNA test that would tell her.
She worried that she might not be able to get health insurance, or even a job, if a genetic predisposition showed up in her medical records, especially since treatment for the condition, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, could cost over $100,000 a year. Instead, Ms. Grove sought out a service that sent a test kit to her home and returned the results directly to her.
So what is the problem here ?
The problem is that Health Insurance in the USA only seems to want to sell their product to people who don't need it , to people who won't ever get sick. If you have some kind of genetic disposition , they're going to raise the premiums because it's more likely you'll cost them money.
And since most health insurance in the states is through the employer, that costs the employer more money ... maybe they don't want to hire you.
In the states, this is called "Type One Uninsurable" , where upon the people who need health insurance the most are simply left to die.
I wonder if they understand ... no one needs that kind of health insurance. Maybe it would be better to do without it entirely , since it's only going to treat tennis elbow and the common cold and nothing else. Maybe we'll treat our own tennis elbow and let these guys go out of business from lack of customers ?
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Legal torture
Ex-cop facing jail time rejects last chance to testify at Ont. public inquiry
Even the threat of death wouldn't be enough to compel a former Ontario police officer to testify before a public inquiry into an alleged pedophile ring, he told a Toronto court on Wednesday.
Now why would someone say that ? Probably because they're being tortured.
"I will never go to that public inquiry in Cornwall even if you put a gun to my head," said Dunlop. "It's been excruciating."
Aha.
The former officer blew the whistle in the 1990s on allegations that prominent community members, including Roman Catholic clergy, were sexually abusing dozens of children in incidents dating back to the 1950s.
I remember living through this. Half the churches in ontario wound up paying hundreds of millions of dollars to keep their preachers out of jail for child molesting. Everyone thought it was so corrupt of the catholic church because these people were getting off scott free and other people were paying the money for them to continue their molesting ways.
And now ... the cop that started it all is still being tortured, I mean questioned, on the matter 17 years later. They want to investigate how the police handled the matter (ie: drag him through the public eye and make him look bad) in a "Public" Inquirey.
And of course he doesn't want any of that.
It seems the Catholic Church is trying to set itself up as untouchable. Say or do anything against them , and they will come for you , even decades later. And that is just not acceptable. This guy isn't even a cop any more, and I have no doubt the church is responsible for that he isn't even charged with any crimes , he's just tired of answering questions after 17 years of this nonsense.
And the value of a witnesses statement after 17 years is pretty much zilch anyways. Check his police notes, but dragging him out 17 years later is pretty much a waste of everyones time.
That church is scum , if you ask me.
Even the threat of death wouldn't be enough to compel a former Ontario police officer to testify before a public inquiry into an alleged pedophile ring, he told a Toronto court on Wednesday.
Now why would someone say that ? Probably because they're being tortured.
"I will never go to that public inquiry in Cornwall even if you put a gun to my head," said Dunlop. "It's been excruciating."
Aha.
The former officer blew the whistle in the 1990s on allegations that prominent community members, including Roman Catholic clergy, were sexually abusing dozens of children in incidents dating back to the 1950s.
I remember living through this. Half the churches in ontario wound up paying hundreds of millions of dollars to keep their preachers out of jail for child molesting. Everyone thought it was so corrupt of the catholic church because these people were getting off scott free and other people were paying the money for them to continue their molesting ways.
And now ... the cop that started it all is still being tortured, I mean questioned, on the matter 17 years later. They want to investigate how the police handled the matter (ie: drag him through the public eye and make him look bad) in a "Public" Inquirey.
And of course he doesn't want any of that.
It seems the Catholic Church is trying to set itself up as untouchable. Say or do anything against them , and they will come for you , even decades later. And that is just not acceptable. This guy isn't even a cop any more, and I have no doubt the church is responsible for that he isn't even charged with any crimes , he's just tired of answering questions after 17 years of this nonsense.
And the value of a witnesses statement after 17 years is pretty much zilch anyways. Check his police notes, but dragging him out 17 years later is pretty much a waste of everyones time.
That church is scum , if you ask me.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
And the Winner Is : Blue Ray !
Article
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Toshiba said Tuesday it will no longer manufacture HD DVDs, effectively ending the long-running battle with the rival Blu-ray for a dominant high-definition format.
So , am I happy or Sad that Blue Ray beat HD ?
Don't give a rats behind. As long as someone one and there's only one format to deal with. I aint buying two players and two sets of DVD's.
What does this mean for the average user ?
Everyone is going to produce blue ray disks instead of the old DVD because it's too
easy to copy the old DVD's and trade them over the internet. Blue Ray may have some new fancy wigits to add ... but really , it's mostly about copy protection.
So we should rush out and get a Blue Ray Player ?
It's entertainment, not a neccesity. Don't rack up your credit card if you don't have to ! But yes... all the new movies will be blue ray only now. The death blow has been dealt not only to HD DVD's , but regular DVD's as well. But the blue ray player will play your old DVD's so you don't have to go out and buy them all over again. Which I hate , because I lost so many movies from my collection when VHS died and I had to switch to DVD.
Is Blue Ray High Definition ?
Yes.
What does that mean to you ?
Not much. I watch movies on my computer screen , which qualifies as a high definition TV all by itself.
What about High Definition TV ?
It's nice that they raise the quality of the picture on TV , but TV is still CRUD !!! and not worth my time. I'll probably wait for a player to come out that goes in my computer. 22 min of show and 38 min of HIGH DEFINITION commercials is a waste of my time.
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Toshiba said Tuesday it will no longer manufacture HD DVDs, effectively ending the long-running battle with the rival Blu-ray for a dominant high-definition format.
So , am I happy or Sad that Blue Ray beat HD ?
Don't give a rats behind. As long as someone one and there's only one format to deal with. I aint buying two players and two sets of DVD's.
What does this mean for the average user ?
Everyone is going to produce blue ray disks instead of the old DVD because it's too
easy to copy the old DVD's and trade them over the internet. Blue Ray may have some new fancy wigits to add ... but really , it's mostly about copy protection.
So we should rush out and get a Blue Ray Player ?
It's entertainment, not a neccesity. Don't rack up your credit card if you don't have to ! But yes... all the new movies will be blue ray only now. The death blow has been dealt not only to HD DVD's , but regular DVD's as well. But the blue ray player will play your old DVD's so you don't have to go out and buy them all over again. Which I hate , because I lost so many movies from my collection when VHS died and I had to switch to DVD.
Is Blue Ray High Definition ?
Yes.
What does that mean to you ?
Not much. I watch movies on my computer screen , which qualifies as a high definition TV all by itself.
What about High Definition TV ?
It's nice that they raise the quality of the picture on TV , but TV is still CRUD !!! and not worth my time. I'll probably wait for a player to come out that goes in my computer. 22 min of show and 38 min of HIGH DEFINITION commercials is a waste of my time.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Hurt Feelings
Dozens of Afghan civilians killed in attack on Canadian convoy: official
At least 38 civilians have been killed in a suicide car bombing on Monday that targeted a Canadian convoy in southern Afghanistan, a governor said.
While four Canadian soldiers were slightly wounded in the attack at a busy market in the town of Spin Boldak, 30 civilians were also injured, many of them critically, Kandahar Gov. Asadullah Khalid said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility through its spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi.
Yes yes we claim responsibility for blowing up one of our own people , killing a bunch of civilians we dont' really care about even though they're our civilians , and possibly hurting the feelings of a few canadians.
We are determined to continue to blow ourselves up and kill our own people until you leave. Hopefully you will feel bad about all the people who are dying (even though they're not your people) and will leave on yoru own , because it's obvious we don't have the military strength to guard the local outhouse.
viva la resistance !
At least 38 civilians have been killed in a suicide car bombing on Monday that targeted a Canadian convoy in southern Afghanistan, a governor said.
While four Canadian soldiers were slightly wounded in the attack at a busy market in the town of Spin Boldak, 30 civilians were also injured, many of them critically, Kandahar Gov. Asadullah Khalid said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility through its spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi.
Yes yes we claim responsibility for blowing up one of our own people , killing a bunch of civilians we dont' really care about even though they're our civilians , and possibly hurting the feelings of a few canadians.
We are determined to continue to blow ourselves up and kill our own people until you leave. Hopefully you will feel bad about all the people who are dying (even though they're not your people) and will leave on yoru own , because it's obvious we don't have the military strength to guard the local outhouse.
viva la resistance !
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Bell recovers stolen data on 3.4 million customers
Article
Bell said Tuesday it has recovered data on 3.4 million of its customers in Quebec and Ontario that was stolen more than four weeks ago.
But it did include information on about 170,000 unlisted and unpublished phone numbers.
Why is this important ?
Telemarketers do much better on the sales if they have your name. If you wife pickes and the person on the other end asks for you specifically , it will likely get through. If he asks 'for the lady of the house' or ' the gentleman of the house' , you're gonna know it's a salesman and say NO ! and hang up , even if you are the lady or gentleman of the house.
The stolen data was shopped around to a number of people, Langton said. One of those people notified authorities.
Tried to sell it.
But it's data , you can make a copy easy , or many copies, how do you know he didn't sell it once or twice already ?
There's no indication that this data has been used improperly," Langton said, adding that Bell will give a new unlisted number to anyone who asks for one.
And that means nothing. Well, the new phone number is nice, though you have to inform all your friends and family of it now, which is annoying. But the value of your unlisted phone number is now toast. Why ? Because it can happen again. And again. And again.
And hey , Bell itself calls us up once a month to try and sell us a DSL modem. Regular as clock work. Just as Rogers hs someone knock on our door (have a rogers modem) trying to sign us up for their phone service. They're both dang annoying.
Bell said Tuesday it has recovered data on 3.4 million of its customers in Quebec and Ontario that was stolen more than four weeks ago.
But it did include information on about 170,000 unlisted and unpublished phone numbers.
Why is this important ?
Telemarketers do much better on the sales if they have your name. If you wife pickes and the person on the other end asks for you specifically , it will likely get through. If he asks 'for the lady of the house' or ' the gentleman of the house' , you're gonna know it's a salesman and say NO ! and hang up , even if you are the lady or gentleman of the house.
The stolen data was shopped around to a number of people, Langton said. One of those people notified authorities.
Tried to sell it.
But it's data , you can make a copy easy , or many copies, how do you know he didn't sell it once or twice already ?
There's no indication that this data has been used improperly," Langton said, adding that Bell will give a new unlisted number to anyone who asks for one.
And that means nothing. Well, the new phone number is nice, though you have to inform all your friends and family of it now, which is annoying. But the value of your unlisted phone number is now toast. Why ? Because it can happen again. And again. And again.
And hey , Bell itself calls us up once a month to try and sell us a DSL modem. Regular as clock work. Just as Rogers hs someone knock on our door (have a rogers modem) trying to sign us up for their phone service. They're both dang annoying.
PM open to compromise with Liberals on Afghan mission
Article
The Conservative government will consider tabling a new motion to extend Canada's mission in Afghanistan until the end of 2011 that could include elements from the Opposition Liberals' proposed amendment, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday.
That would be the amendment where our soldiers don't fight , they just concentrate on building stuff and then watching Al Qada tear it all down without lifting a finger.
Anyone following the news knows that you can't build diddly in Afghanistan. They dump medical waste down the toilet , entire buildings set up by the americans are dismantaled and moved (stolen ! ) Al Qada loves to blow up power lines and kidnap foriegn workers.
The Amendmant is a simple do nothing , see how fruitless this is, lets all go home and forget about it amendmant. Only problem is Al queda is out to conquer the world, and that includes us by the way, so that is a dangerous thing to do.
No one wants a five or ten or twenty year war.
But no one wants Al Queda showing up in canada blowing things up either.
I think we have to stay.
The Conservative government will consider tabling a new motion to extend Canada's mission in Afghanistan until the end of 2011 that could include elements from the Opposition Liberals' proposed amendment, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday.
That would be the amendment where our soldiers don't fight , they just concentrate on building stuff and then watching Al Qada tear it all down without lifting a finger.
Anyone following the news knows that you can't build diddly in Afghanistan. They dump medical waste down the toilet , entire buildings set up by the americans are dismantaled and moved (stolen ! ) Al Qada loves to blow up power lines and kidnap foriegn workers.
The Amendmant is a simple do nothing , see how fruitless this is, lets all go home and forget about it amendmant. Only problem is Al queda is out to conquer the world, and that includes us by the way, so that is a dangerous thing to do.
No one wants a five or ten or twenty year war.
But no one wants Al Queda showing up in canada blowing things up either.
I think we have to stay.
Canada a top copyright violator, U.S. group says
Article
Canada has joined Russia and China as the biggest violators of U.S. copyright law, according to the U.S.-based International Intellectual Property Alliance.
Maybe we don't want your cherry flavored tylonal. Maybe we're pretty happy with the old stuff that fell out of copyright in this country 17 years ago , but in the states the laws got changed and gave them more time. (basically forever)
The group also recommended that 10 other countries be placed on the Priority Watch List, including Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Mexico, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Ukraine.
It also recommended that 29 other countries, including Spain, Sweden and Israel, be placed or maintained on the less critical Watch List. A total of 51 countries were named as significant violators.
No specific cases. Just a general everyone is a scum bag they don't follow our laws.
Well , you're laws are a crime to most people, even your own people. When we agree to a 17 year copy right and you decided at the last minute NO , WE CHANGED OUR MIND , WE WANT IT FOREVER , that just doesn't fly.
The group's report is the latest to urge the U.S. government into pressuring Ottawa to reform copyright laws.
Thanks for admitting we were following the copy right laws, and you altered them from underneath us , thus demanding we 'reform' our ways to the new version.
If you don't like it , don't sell stuff here. What can I say ? Keep your cherry flavored tylonal, and new experimental drugs that do more harm than good and keep getting recalled. Canadian Business would love a chance to make their own TV shows and music instead of being drowned in cheap run offs from the states. We make our own beer here too you know, and our own cars.
I vote we stop buying american.
I vote we cut them off. We don't want most of their junk anyways.
Canada has joined Russia and China as the biggest violators of U.S. copyright law, according to the U.S.-based International Intellectual Property Alliance.
Maybe we don't want your cherry flavored tylonal. Maybe we're pretty happy with the old stuff that fell out of copyright in this country 17 years ago , but in the states the laws got changed and gave them more time. (basically forever)
The group also recommended that 10 other countries be placed on the Priority Watch List, including Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Mexico, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Ukraine.
It also recommended that 29 other countries, including Spain, Sweden and Israel, be placed or maintained on the less critical Watch List. A total of 51 countries were named as significant violators.
No specific cases. Just a general everyone is a scum bag they don't follow our laws.
Well , you're laws are a crime to most people, even your own people. When we agree to a 17 year copy right and you decided at the last minute NO , WE CHANGED OUR MIND , WE WANT IT FOREVER , that just doesn't fly.
The group's report is the latest to urge the U.S. government into pressuring Ottawa to reform copyright laws.
Thanks for admitting we were following the copy right laws, and you altered them from underneath us , thus demanding we 'reform' our ways to the new version.
If you don't like it , don't sell stuff here. What can I say ? Keep your cherry flavored tylonal, and new experimental drugs that do more harm than good and keep getting recalled. Canadian Business would love a chance to make their own TV shows and music instead of being drowned in cheap run offs from the states. We make our own beer here too you know, and our own cars.
I vote we stop buying american.
I vote we cut them off. We don't want most of their junk anyways.
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