Ow my eye !

Article = none , personal experience.

So , I already mentioned I failed a GTT (Glucose Tolerance Test) and it's pretty certain I'm a diabetic now (type two).

So they sent me off to the eye doctor to see what kind of harm diabetes had done to my eyes. And I waited for a while , and I saw, a technician I guess. Some guy you see before you see the doctor.

And he did an eye test. And then he had to "measure" my eye.

Which involves putting in eye drops , which I hate , and then he takes this little hand probe thingy and very gently touches your eye with it.

Which of course, is the part where I freak out. Ow my eye ! I can't stand having anything in my eye or touching my eye. It doesn't hurt , he was very gentle, but he had to try a few times. When the probe was coming closer and closer I literally could not make myself stay still. It was awful.

And then I saw the doctor , and she did it again , in both eyes. Repetition didn't improve my reaction , I actually yelled as if in pain. More unpleasant surprise, there wasn't any pain , I just hated the very idea of anything touching my eye.

In Philosophy , there is a belief that you do not deal with the world. You deal with a projection onto your awareness, that your senses draw for you. Your eyes, your ears , etc etc. When I got poked in the eye, this suddenly became crystal clear that I was looking at some kind of natural movie screen and not actually experiancing the real world.

How is that you ask ?

Ever see those blooper reels in DVD's about making the particular movie your watching ? And sometimes someone bumps into the camera ,and it all flexes and the whole view gets distorted for just a moment , and you instantly say "He touched the Camera" ?

Yeah. They touched the camera. Only I wasn't watching any movie. And I wasn't wearing glasses. And the whole world went DING ! and got all distorted for just a second.

PS: She said I have cataracts , but they're not serious to operate on , she wants to see me in a year.

Vancouver Police At it Again

Yet another example of Police Brutality in Vancouver BC , Canada.

At least this time they left the Tasers behind and no one died.

Rise of the Robots

Article = none, personal opinion.

Lost my job a while back (well they announced it , still got a month left before they kick me to the curb). It got outsourced to the Philipines. The dollar a day guys , as I call them.

I phone tech support for my Dell Computer. I get India.

I talk to a guy at work , ask him how long he's been here. Tells me he's worked four call centers the last year. Why you quit so many jobs ? He didn't . They all outsourced to pakistan. Or china. Or in the case of the one we work at at the moment, the philipines.

Dollar a day guys taking over everything.

So I'm thinking maybe retraining, what is it I can retrain in that they cannot outsource to these dollar a day guys ?

I remember an old news article on the internet. It was very very hard to get doctors to move to small towns, so their solution was to build robots that the doctors could run by remote control. Nice color monitors, remote controled hands.. get a doctor on the line to sit in the control booth , great idea.

Now I'm thinking ... they outsourced all the brainy stuff. Book keeping , computer programming , even computer repair. When these robots get going ... they're going to outsource the manual labor to.

We're gonna have dollar a day guys running a robot cleaning shopping centers and stuff. No need for high end artificial intellgence when you can hire a philipino for a dollar a day to sit in a booth on the other side of the world and do it.

so what does that leave for us ?

Does it leave anything for us , any job we can do to earn a living ?

Because you aint selling me your stereo and your nice computer if I can't hold down a job. Or if I only make a dollar a day.

Booksellers take on Ottawa over Amazon's distribution plans

Article



Canada's booksellers are urging Ottawa to block Amazon.com from building a distribution network in Canada, raising the stakes in a showdown over government restrictions on foreign control of the cultural industry.


Thats nice. Why do I care ?


“A few years ago I was disadvantaged from having a partner. That's not to say I didn't succeed. I, as a competitor, was in a position to be able to invest for a long time – losing money – to get to where I got. Many people would not have had the deep pockets that I had and, as a result, may not have succeeded without ... a U.S. or a foreign partner.”


This is why I care. "Deep Pockets" is the relevant term.

Americans come in , open up shop , lose money for a couple of years to put the competition out of business , and then they own the place. Time to raise prices. Their pockets are deeper than any canadian ones because they come from a country ten times our size. And they don't hesitate to use that size advantage.

So unless you all want to be working minimum wage jobs for americans , this kind of thing needs to be stopped. And not just for books. But for everything.

Raising the minimum wage can only do so much. It looks like maybe one of those so called "trade wars" is the way to go , where we stop buying american and they stop buying canadian ...hmm..didn't they already stop buying canadian a long time ago ?

So what have we got to lose ?

Yahoo Issues Takedown Notice for Spying Price List

Yahoo Issues Takedown Notice for Spying Price List


Yahoo isn’t happy that a detailed menu of the spying services it provides law enforcement agencies has leaked onto the web.

Shortly after Threat Level reported this week that Yahoo had blocked the FOIA release of its law enforcement and intelligence price list, someone provided a copy of the company’s spying guide to the whistleblower site Cryptome.

The 17-page guide describes Yahoo’s data retention policies and the surveillance capabilities it can provide law enforcement, with a pricing list for these services. Cryptome also published lawful data-interception guides for Cox Communications, SBC, Cingular, Nextel, GTE and other telecoms and service providers.


Yep. You have no privacy online anymore. You really shouldn't be writing emails that have much more info in them than "meet you at the coffee shop as usual".

Only question is , now that it's open to the police, how long before your private emails are open to the spammers ?

So long and thanks for the Cash

A.I.G. Plan for $100 Million Bonus Payout Draws Fire


The American International Group has agreed to cut employee bonuses by $20 million and will distribute about $100 million on Wednesday, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations.

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A.I.G. first promised the retention bonuses to keep people working at its financial products unit, which traded in the derivatives that imploded in September 2008, leading to the biggest government bailout in history.


Ok. So. You dumped the world economy down the toilet. And you're walking way with millions. Do you have anything to say on your way to your early retirement party ? Other than "So long SUCKERS ! GAWD I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW STUPID YOU PEOPLE ARE !!!"

No ?

I didn't think so.

The American banker. Fail so badly you take the whole world down into a depression. And you still collect millions.

The Bell Non-Contract Contract

Not being too happy with Rogers since they pulled that stunt with cancelling everyones unlimited texting and charging them, and then telling them they're still under contract, I thought I'd see if Bell was any better.

Bell Online Service Agreement


Changes; Amendments. To the extent permitted by applicable law, Your Service Provider may modify the Service, this Service Agreement, including any other document that forms part thereof, at any time and from time to time, with or without your consent or authorization, including but not limited to modification or amendment of Service Fees or modification, amendment or termination of any Service feature. Your Service Provider will notify you of any material amendment to this Service Agreement or of any material change to the Service in advance by posting notice of such change at www.bell.ca/agreements, by sending you notice via email to your Bell Internet parent email address or to another email address provided by you to Your Service Provider (in which case it is your responsibility to ensure that such email address remains current at all times) or by using any other notice method that will likely come to your attention. You agree to go to www.bell.ca/agreements periodically and to review this Service Agreement to be aware of such modifications. Nothing in this Service Agreement shall be construed as obligating you to accept receipt of the Service after any change is made to the Service or this Service Agreement; however, to the extent permitted by applicable law, your sole remedy in the event that you do not wish to accept such change shall be cancellation of the Service (and termination of this Service Agreement) including the payment of any discounted or deferred Service Fees (as set out in Section 3) or other charges that may apply.


'Nother words. We can change our minds about anything we offer you , and your sole recourse is to cancel and pay up all cancellation fees.

Which is another way of saying "Nope...we're no different than rogers. We do as we please and you need to bend over and take it up the (ahem) you silly fool you dared to sign a contract with us now you gonna pay and pay and pay ..."

There seems to be a lot of non-contract contracts going on here. We are bound to pay , they are bound to do not a dang thing at all.

I aint signing. Not anything. Not ever.

The American Oligarchy

24 States’ Laws Open to Attack After Campaign Finance Ruling


A day after the United States Supreme Court ruled that the federal government may not ban political spending by corporations or unions in candidate elections, officials across the country were rushing to cope with the fallout, as laws in 24 states were directly or indirectly called into question by the ruling.

Thus is born the American Oligarchy , or rule of the few. If you are a corperation, like Taser Corp , and your stun weapon is actualy killing people, you may now legally bribe politicians into going to bat for you , or create massive attack ad campaigns at election time to punish those who hurt your bottom line. (Which they have already threatenned).

Big business now rules the roost there, even more so than before. You can expect consumers to get the shaft on a frequent basis for everything. You can expect laws to be changed to become more lienient towards the indiscretions of large corperations. You can then expect those laws to be completely gutted in the name of profit. You thought the USA was a big polluter before ? You aint seen nothing yet.

In a society ruled by profit, you can now expect the USA to go to war for reasons of profit alone.

The whole world just got a little less safe.

Deactivate Facebook

Went to my old facebook account to get rid of it.

You cannot delete it. You can only deactivate it. And it specifically states people can still send messages to your account , look at photo's etc etc.

In my case there's nothing on facebook but a few rants about what a horrible violation of privacy it is. But other people who may have posted something... there's no removing it ..

(edit)
Delete Facebook

A google search turned this up. It doesn't show if you search facebook or look for an option , but google found it.

It seems facebook doesnt' want to get rid of those embaraassing photo's of you getting drunk and piddling on the cop car just before they arrested you. Isn't that just so irritating ?

Turn over Facebook history, judge orders

Article


Rosemary Carter is fighting Herbert Connors for damages after the two were involved in a collision in the northern New Brunswick community five years ago.

"Incidentally, it must not be forgotten that this legal action was commenced by the plaintiff and in launching it she has implicitly accepted certain intrusions into what otherwise might be private information, the disclosure of which would ordinarily be left to her own personal judgment."



So , you got into a car accident, you're sueing the guy who hit you , his lawyer demands you turn over your face book account, and it's legal.

Nice. Feel like sueing someone ? Hope you don't have a face book account. Feel like looking for a job ? Collecting insurance , anything at all almost with any large organization ? They want to look at your face book account.

Give me six sentences from an innocent man and I will hang him , as the Riechlieu quote goes. Give them your face book account and it wont stop there.

Assumed Sale Technique

Toronto telemarketing firm fined $15M for scam


DataCom telemarketers succeeded in the scam by using an "assumed sale" technique. They implied that the business had ordered a directory listing in the past and it had been authorized by someone in the company. Telemarketers would then use aggressive collection tactics to ensure payment. The targeted firms were usually duped out of $200 to $500.



This is actually how most collection agencies work.

You get in trouble with some company , usually because they're ripping you off, and they don't argue with you. They just send you to the collection agency. Now the collection agencie has no records to check anyones story so they just assume you're guilty as charged, and demand payment.

The really sleezy one is when my wife went through bankruptcy , and the collection agencies ignored that and still harrassed her about it and demanded payments.

And when she refused ? They sold her debt to another collection agency and it started all over again. Around and around and around.

Mom takes on Rogers policy

Mom takes on Rogers policy


A Coquitlam mother of three text-happy teenagers is angry with her cellphone provider for altering their contract, but Rogers Wireless said the customer was given advance warning that some terms of their agreement would change.
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"It’s wrong for Rogers to be able to change anything they want,” she said. “I want them to honour our original deal. I have no control over who texts my children.”

A spokesperson for Rogers said they notified customers in June 2009 that their contracts would be changing.

Edward Bukszar, a Simon Fraser University business professor, said the move is legal but risky for Rogers.

“You always risk alienating customers when you change things like this regardless of the strategy they put behind it,” Bukszar said. “Customers feel distanced from a company they’re expected to be loyal to.”


Welcome to the wonderful world of the Non-Contract Contract.

That would be the part where you're stuck with a two year contract and they can change the terms any time they like and there's nothing you can do about it. Giving notice that they're about to rip you off doesn't help if you don't get the opportunity to cancel , etc etc.

The day of signing contracts is over, if you ask me. Since you're bound by them and the other party is not , and you gotta know this has legs and is going to spread, there is no point to it. It's now become another form of advertising. Reel them in with a great deal then hit them hard with a fee hike afterwards.

I will sign nothing with Rogers anymore. Or bell, but thats another matter.

Rights groups Think Taliban just peachy, continue to Bash Westerners

Rights groups add to call for Afghan torture inquiry


OTTAWA – Canada has put at risk every Afghan prisoner it has transferred over the past eight years, the head of Amnesty International said today.


What about the all the people the Taliban were busy murdering , do they count for anything ?


At that time, prisoners were being handed over to U.S. forces in Afghanistan, despite the likelihood of further transfers on to Guantanamo Bay in addition to the "strong risk of torture and ill-treatment" at U.S. detention centres in Afghanistan, Amnesty states.


What about the Taliban throwing acid on school girls faces because they dared to attend school ? What about how they continue to this day to terrorize and close schools, murdering teachers and students alike ?


"We highlighted that given the prevalence and systematic nature of torture in Afghan prisons, such transfers were prohibited under international law," the open letter states.


Why is it Amnesty International only goes after western nations , never anyone else ? If I was a betting man , I'd say "follow the money" , who's benifiting this ? And that puts Amnesty in the pocket of every third world dictatorship on the planet.

Why don't you go after them for a change ?

The deafening silence of your response is answer enough , I think.

Insurers using Facebook to investigate claimants

Article

Canadian insurance firm Manulife has reportedly cut a depressed woman’s benefits because photos showing her happy were posted on Facebook.

The woman, Nathalie Blanchard, said she cannot understand how Manulife was able to access her account because she had adjusted her privacy settings so that only friends could see her posts, said CBC News.


Smile for the birdy ! Thank you. Kiss your insurance goodbye.


Manulife has confirmed to CBC News that it uses Facebook to investigate clients.
But it said, "We would not deny or terminate a valid claim solely based on information published on websites such as Facebook."

Facebook has already proved its use to human resource departments wanting to investigate potential new staff. Senior managers have also been found to use Facebook to check up on employees.

According to Facebook's current privacy policy, the social networking site will share information to prevent fraud or other illegal activity.

"This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, courts or other government entities," says the policy.


We sell your facebook info to anyone and the dog. They get to see your pictures , your video's , anything marked private , anything at all !

So what can you do on face book ? You can talk shop. You cannot talk politics or religion, you can talk about a game you play. Thats about it.

Microsoft License

I had reason to go over the terms of the Win Xp license , which is on my computer. Had to hit the microsoft site for it.

Consent to Use of Data. You agree that MS and Microsoft Corporation and their affiliates may collect and use
technical information gathered in any manner as part of the product support services provided to you, if any, related to
the SOFTWARE. MS, Microsoft Corporation and their affiliates may use this information solely to improve their
products or to provide customized services or technologies to you. MS, Microsoft Corporation and their affiliates may
disclose this information to others, but not in a form that personally identifies you.


You agree to let Microsoft spy on you , and by the way the spyware is already there. Built right into the operating system. It will loot anything it feels like and send it back to Redmond where they will do whatever they like with it.

Security is Job One , indeed !


Internet-Based Services Components. The SOFTWARE contains components that enable and facilitate the
use of certain Internet-based services. You acknowledge and agree that MS, Microsoft Corporation or their
subsidiaries may automatically check the version of the SOFTWARE and/or its components that you are
utilizing and may provide upgrades or supplements to the SOFTWARE that may be automatically downloaded
to your COMPUTER


They're gonna change your operating system on you. Anytime they like. And they don't have to warn you of it.

The part I was looking for , the one where they claim to have the right to confiscate your computer, wasn't there. Thats an urban myth it seems.

But still. They can spy on you any time they like, and they can upgrade your "internet connectivity software" any time they like. That's enough that you should not use windows for any kind of in house stuff. Microsoft can legally steal your trade secrets you know.

How do you like them apples ?

What Happens When You Pay The Ransom

Spain calls for pirate blockade


She also called for the international community to track ransom payments made to Somali pirates by shipping firms through intermediaries.

Somali pirates are currently holding 36 Spanish fishermen hostage on a trawler.

The pirates say they will not release any of the fishermen until Spanish authorities release two of their colleagues from custody in Spain.


So what we have here is an entire ecology of pirates, and victims , and security personal trained to deliver ransoms , and the whole nine yards. And they're demanding the pirates you did catch get returned or they'll do nasties to the hostages they have at the moment. Which are many . Because they've been at this for a long , long time.

Now how did we ever arrive at this point , you wonder ?

It's simple.

They paid the ransom.

And the pirates found the money good. So they did it again , and again , and again. And more and more joined the pack, until it became a huge wealthy industry not only on the pirate side, but on the victim side as well, as all sorts of security experts had to be hired on because of it.

Very profitable all around.

Unless your the customer trying to buy the goods being shipped on those boats and wondering why the price is so high all of a sudden ?

Unless those goods are actually needed to save lives (weapons , medicine , food , you get the idea).

Unless your economy depends on trade and you have people starving on the street because you can't afford to feed them because all trade is blocked by pirates.

Thank you for demonstrating to us all why you should not pay the ransom. Now the only question is what will the toll in blood be to shut this place down. You've let it run for quite a while so I'm certain the body count will be rather high.

Just as I'm certain there isn't any choice in the matter.

Your X-Box is not Your X-Box

Microsoft disconnects Xbox gamers


Thousands of gamers may have been cut off from Microsoft's online gaming service Xbox Live for modifying their consoles to play pirated games.


Oohhh..you can only play microsoft games , not anyone elses.


Microsoft has not said how it was able to determine which gamers to disconnect.

"We do not reveal specifics, but can say that all consoles have been verified to have violated the terms of use," the firm said in a statement.



And how did you verify six hundred thousand x-boxes without the cops kicking in six hundred thousand doors ? I'll tell you how. The X-Box is running spyware , courtesy of microsoft, to see everything you're doing. And to make sure you only run microsoft products , not some other guys products.

This X-Box you bought , you didn't buy it. You just rented it. It's not really your property. And Big Brother Bill Gates is watching your every move.

Pirates get a taste of Microsoft COFEE

Article


Microsoft's Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor (COFEE) has made it into the hands of pirates, and their virtual ships are distributing it quickly for everyone to get a taste. The COFEE application uses common digital forensics tools to help law enforcement officials at the scene of a crime gather volatile evidence of live computer activity that would otherwise be lost in a traditional offline forensic analysis. In other words, it lets officers grab data from password-protected or encrypted sources. That means you can now break the law twice over: download the software and then use it to steal information from other people's computers.


For those of you who think you're clever, encrypting your files , setting up passwords, things like that. I have news for you.

You've been back stabbed from day one.

The USA requires all encryption programs to have a back door so the cops can get in fast, and that tool has now been stolen and is available on the web at large.

Once they figure out how to put it in a virus , banking information will be the high priority target. Kiss your online shopping spree's good bye.

Now we must write our own encryption.

Or just don't keep anything on your computer at all . Programs on the computer, documents on the memory stick. Memory stick goes on your key chain and follows you around wherever you go.

Disturbing Caller

Article = none, personal experiance.

I was at work the other day , talking to an american customer, waiting for test results to come back on his phone, when the topic of american health care came up.

Apparently americans believe in "managed health care", which means that someone decides who lives and who dies, where to spend the money , etc etc.

Apparently , this is inferior to "paid health care" where the rich pay their own medical bills and the poor are kicked to the curb. Well , the guy had a pricy phone so I guess I know where he stands on the rich vs poor issue.

In order to keep my job , I just agreed with whatever silliness he said.

but still, I can't help but think how brainwashed these americans are. Their health care is making billions in profits, and people are getting kicked to the curb with no treatment at all , just abandonned to die. Why ? Because of some myth of "managed health care, just like canada".

I got news for you buddy , Canada doesn't dump anyone on the street. And you get health care until the point where you stop breathing. Hows that for Managed Healthcare ?

The lies big business tells down there. Unbelievable. In canada they'd be sued into the ground for neglect causing death. They're profiting and the people they pretend to protect are dying.

If that aint Evil , I don't know what is.

Ah the Medcon scam. They got the vaccine for free from the government and charged 2300$ for an exam before they would give you your "free" government provided vaccine.

(drawing taken from the CBC website, but judging by the signature it actually belongs to the Sun group of newspapers in Ontario)