Google Gone Too Far

The new Google service offers 360-degree images of locations as seen from the ground, instead of the usual overhead satellite image and matching map. So far, it covers parts of five metropolitan areas — San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Denver and Miami.

How’d Google get the images in the first place? In San Francisco, Google staffers drove vans around town for the past year snapping pictures, CNET said. In the others, Google formed a partnership with a company called Immersive Media to do something similar. The images, taken with a 11-lens camera — are static, not real-time webcams. It is not clear how often they will be updated.

Even so, privacy concerns are starting to spread like wildfire. The Drudge Report, that early-warning system for democracy, is now using a screencap of someone peering out of a living room window as his top image. If that didn’t scare you, the banner headline might: SMILE, YOU’RE ON GOOGLE EARTH!"

Although it seems like a cool feature, what's the main purpose of it? Seems a bit excessive and even Matt Drudge thinks it invades on privacy. What would people really use this for other than vacation planning? Plus the level of detail is rather outrageous. Would it affect national security if it was in the wrong hands? Google, sometimes you are too smart for ever yourselves.

Rosie.

Is Evil

Think Different.

Don't Vote for Hillary.

People will sell anything. ANYTHING!

"If you thought donning tin foil caps was excessive, Isabodywear is out to make those contraptions looks mighty mild. While the debate about just how dangerous (or not) cellphone radiation is still rages on, there's certainly a paranoid sect that will snap up anything that claims to "protect them," and this Swiss garb maker is latching onto said opportunity. The briefs are purportedly constructed with threads made of silver, which the company claims will fend off harmful cellphone radiation; moreover, in an effort to really prove just how effective these undergarments are, it suggests that phone calls originated within the confines of your new underwear simply won't connect. Reportedly, 4,000 pairs have been created so far, and for folks willing to give these a try and fill out a survey, the first 500 of you to email in and request one will seemingly have one sent out gratis. There's no word on when you can expect the Slipways to hit the market, but they should sell for CHF29.90 ($24) apiece when retailers start stocking."

Really, how stupid do you have to be to buy one of these. I'd rather buy tin foil and wrap myself in it to blind the surround people while I walk around in sunny California than to spend a staggering $24 on that crap.

Empire Strikes Back.

"The storm yesterday afternoon was part of the latest blast of bad weather to hit New York.

The murky skies and lightning, seen from across the East River in this dramatic picture, were accompaniedby 72mph winds and a deluge which saw an inch of rain fall in nearby Central Park.

There was no damage to the 1,454ft Empire State Building.

The lightning rod at its very top absorbs such strikes around 100 times a year.

It may not, however, have been such a good day to visit the outdoor viewing gallery on the 86th floor."

Just thought this was cool. You don't see this very often in LA with their buildings not being so tall. But the person who took that picture must have been waiting very patiently. Or he just used photoshop.

At least this is better than talking about how Al Gore is tired of politics.

If Jenny Jameson supports Hillary, then...

PR.com: "Who's your favorite Democratic front runner for 2008? Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or John Edwards?"

Jenna Jameson: "I love Hillary. I think that in some ways she's pretty conservative for a Democrat, but I would love to have a woman in office. I think that it would be a step in the right direction for our country, and there would be less focus on war and more focus on bettering society."

PR.com: "Do you find that the climate of the adult industry changes when there is a Republican administration versus Democratic?"

Jenna Jameson: "Absolutely. The Clinton administration was the best years for the adult industry and I wish that Clinton would run again. I would love to have him back in office. I would love to have Al Gore in office. When Republicans are in office, the problem is, a lot of times they try to put their crosshairs on the adult industry, to make a point. It's sad, when there are so many different things that are going on in the world: war, and people are dying of genocide...I look forward to another Democrat being in office. It just makes the climate so much better for us, and I know that once all our troops come home, things are going to be better and I think that getting Bush out of office is the most important thing right now."

So I guess it's pretty straight forward. Clinton loves porn. Jenna Jameson does porn. Therefore, Jenna Jameson is loved by Clinton. Also, if you're a Democrat, you support porn. And if you're a Republican, you're against it. Sounds about right.

"A remote chain of Arctic islands is advertising itself as a showcase of bad things to come from global warming.

Visitors to Svalbard can see reindeer, seals or polar bears in the Arctic, where U.N. scientists say warming is happening twice as fast as on the rest of the planet in what may be a portent of changes further south.

"Svalbard is an important meeting place...You clearly see the melting of the ice, problems for polar bears, for birds, which are damaged by global warming and environmental pollutants," Norwegian Environment Minister Helen Bjoernoy told Reuters.

A group of Dutch, British and Irish students attended a climate change college in Longyearbyen run by Ben & Jerry's, a U.S. ice cream maker, to educate them about climate change and help them launch grassroots environmental campaigns back home.

Briton Rob Bell, for instance, wants mobile phone companies to create chargers that switch off when the phone is full: "If everyone unplugged their phone chargers it would be enough to power 33,000 homes for a year."

Very interesting, and also very compelling to see how the world has changed due to global warming. The statistics is very interesting too, stating that if everyone unplugged their phone chargers, it would be enough to power 33,000 homes for a year. I would like to see how they came up with this statistic. Anyways, it's a real situation with the climate changes and we should all do our part to not further damage the environment more than it is already.

Goodbye Falwell.

"The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and used it to mold the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University. He was 73.

Ron Godwin, the university's executive vice president, said Falwell was found unresponsive late Tuesday morning and taken to Lynchburg General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

Sen. John McCain, the school commencement speaker last year, said Tuesday that his prayers were with Falwell's family.

"Dr. Falwell was a man of distinguished accomplishment who devoted his life to serving his faith and country," McCain said.

Days after Sept. 11, 2001, Falwell essentially blamed feminists, gays, lesbians and liberal groups for bringing on the terrorist attacks. He later apologized.

In 1999, he told an evangelical conference that the Antichrist was a male Jew who was probably already alive. Falwell later apologized for the remark but not for holding the belief. A month later, his National Liberty Journal warned parents that Tinky Winky, a purple, purse- toting character on television's "Teletubbies" show, was a gay role model and morally damaging to children."

For being someone so many people loved, he surely was pretty whacked out. He blamed the feminists, gays, lebians, and liberal groups for bringing the terrorit attacks for the Sept. 11 attacks. What the heck was he thinking. "Teletubbies" was a gay role model which damges our children? Wow, who actually listens to this guy?

Apparently a lot of people.

Why So High?

"Gasoline prices hit a new record at the pump on Monday, but gas futures prices fell on concerns that $3 gas will crimp demand. Oil prices, meanwhile, rose on reports of refinery problems in the U.S. and abroad.

The average national price of a gallon of gas hit $3.073 on Monday, up almost a penny from Sunday's also record-setting price, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gasoline is now well above the previous record of $3.057, set on Sept. 5, 2005, soon after Hurricane Katrina.

"Tightness in the U.S. gasoline situation will continue to drive the market ... because the summer driving season is right around the corner," said Victor Shum, energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "There's not a lot of time for refineries to catch up with demand."

How painful is that. It's already 3.45 per gallon where I live and I can't really imagine it getting that much higher. I know my friends in Northern California are paying even more, but that's understandable. But people in Arizona are paying a fraction of what we are paying. Ah, are the demands really that dramtically higher to constitute such a high spike in prices?

"Hamas-run television defied Israel and the Palestinian government on Friday by airing a controversial children's show with a Mickey Mouse lookalike preaching resistance and Islamic domination.

Israel and Jewish groups have slammed the Al-Aqsa television channel for allowing the copycat mouse "Farfur" and a girl co-star to urge resistance against Israel and the United States, and for its overtly Islamist message.

Padded out with Islamic songs and calling cities in Israel part of Palestine, Friday's episode apparently sought to prepare children for their end-of-year examinations.

Asked by an Al-Aqsa reporter why he looked around to see what his friends were writing, Farfur -- whose name means butterfly -- answered: "Because the Jews destroyed my home and I left my books and notes under the rubble."

"I'm calling on all children to read more and more to prepare for exams because the Jews don't want us to learn," said Farfur who failed the test."

I still find it hilarious but downright disturbing that this event has occured. What do you plan to prove with this show on hatred? Trying to influence a generation with more hate and anger to bring forth more violence? But you have to admit, watching that mickey mouse impersonater was both hilarious and very distasteful.

"He says President Bush isn't the only one to blame. "He's the person where the buck stops, but it goes through the secretary of defense and the planning agencies, the Department of State -- it's the whole administration," Romney says. "They made mistakes... and we're paying for those mistakes."

The president's "surge" policy of putting additional troops into Iraq may never work, says Romney, but it deserves a chance. "We're going to know in a matter of months if it's working or not working."

Romney acknowledges that voters may have a problem with his religion's history of polygamy. "That's part of the history of the church's past that I understand is troubling to people," he says. The practice, outlawed before 1900, is equally troubling to him. "I have a great-great grandfather. They were trying to build a generation out there in the desert and so he took additional wives as he was told to do. And I must admit, I can't image anything more awful than polygamy," he tells Wallace."

Mitt Romney has an interesting view here. President Bush isn't the only one to blame. There are a lot of different people who should be blamed on top of Bush but Bush is usually the one to blame for the war, assuming you go that way. There were a lot of mistakes during that period of time and we are all paying the price now.
I find very hard to believe that Mitt Romney "can't image anything more awful than polygamy." It sounds like a way to emphasize that he doesn't support it, but to put out that common is outrageous. Of course there are things more awful than polygamy.

Pelosi threat to sue Bush over Iraq bill

"Pelosi recently told a group of liberal bloggers, “We can take the president to court” if he issues a signing statement, according to Kid Oakland, a blogger who covered Pelosi’s remarks for the liberal website dailykos.com.

The president has made excessive use of signing statements and Congress is considering ways to respond to this executive-branch overreaching,” a spokesman for Pelosi, Nadeam Elshami, said. “Whether through the oversight or appropriations process or by enacting new legislation, the Democratic Congress will challenge the president’s non-enforcement of the laws.”

How ridiculous is it to sue the President for the power he has been given. I like the idea expressed later on in the article where it talks about adding pressure on the President but sueing President Bush isn't the way.

Speaking the Truth. Or Not.

"Curt Schilling, the outspoken pitcher of the Boston Red Sox, levelled his guns on Tuesday at Barry Bonds, who needs 12 homers to break Hank Aaron's all-time home run record. Bonds has been at the centre of baseball's ongoing steroids controversy, but never has admitted to knowingly taking steroids. Schilling must have thought otherwise during an interview with Boston-based sports radio station WEEI. "He (Bonds) admitted he used steroids. There's no gray area," Schilling said on WEEI. "He (Bonds) admitted cheating on his wife, cheating on taxes and cheating on the game. " You knew someone was going to say it. You just didn't know when. Curt Schilling said what has been in most of the sport worlds minds and now he will get what is coming to him too. A bowl full of Bond. Now whether it was warranted is another issue, but I have to commend Schilling here. Bond has not readily admitted to taking Steroids willingly but it doesn't change the fact that his body resembles nothing of his former self as a Pirates and resembles more of a Mark-like body. He must have known that since he was getting so huge that Balco must have done something illegal.

Riots in France.

"Street violence took some of the shine off victory in the French elections for new president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Far-left activists had running battles with police across France as 270 people were taken in for questioning and 367 parked vehicles were torched"

How sad. This is what happens when you have extremist. And in this situation, the FAR-LEFT had to start this crap. 367 parked defenseless vehicles is quite a hefty number. But yes, this is a sad day.

Paris In Jail

"A judge sentenced Paris Hilton to 45 days in jail Friday for violating her probation, putting the brakes on the hotel heiress' famous high life.

Hilton, who parlayed her name and relentless partying into worldwide notoriety, must go to jail on June 5 and she will not be allowed any work release, no furloughs, no use of an alternative jail and no electronic monitoring in lieu of jail, Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer ruled after a hearing.

The heiress arrived at court 10 minutes late in the back of a black Cadillac Escalade and swept into the Metropolitan Courthouse with several men in suits, ignoring screams of photographers lining the route into a rear entrance. Her parents, Rick and Kathy Hilton, also came with her.

Wearing a gray jacket and white shirt over black slacks and with a black headband on, she said nothing and appeared serious.

The celebrity case brought an unusual scene to the austere courthouse south of downtown in a commercial area. As if at a red carpet event, dozens of photographers and reporters lined up at the rear entrance. Yellow police tape substituted for velvet ropes.

TV trucks were parked nearby to beam the news worldwide and a helicopter hovered overhead. Extra sheriff's deputies stood guard.

Hilton, 26, pleaded no contest in January to reckless driving stemming from a Sept. 7 arrest in Hollywood. Police said she appeared intoxicated and failed a field sobriety test. She had a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent, the level at which an adult driver is in violation of the law.

She was sentenced to 36 months probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines."

It seems fair enough. Although, you often hear about the slap on the hand and telling them celebrities not to do it again, this gives a slight fairness to the situation. If a normal person did this, it would have been a lot harsher, but at least something is done.

Deport Them ALL!

"He has never called for the deportation of all illegal immigrants, but Lou Dobbs believes the U.S. could pull off such a feat if it really wanted to. The CNN anchor, whose stance against illegal immigration has helped raise his ratings but also fueled criticism, speaks to Lesley Stahl for a profile to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday, May 6 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Dobbs is against amnesty programs for illegal immigrants and the president's guest worker proposal, so Stahl wonders whether Dobbs thinks the government could deport all illegal immigrants. "I've never called for their deportation,"says Dobbs. "But at the same time, when this president and open-borders, illegal-alien-amnesty advocates say, 'You can't deport them,' my answer is, 'You want to bet?' because this is the United States. I think this country can do anything it sets its mind to," he tells Stahl."

Good message on thinking this country can do anything it sets its mind to. Bad idea in deporting all illegal immigrants. There are other ways to deal with illegal immigrants at this moment, such as the card system for identification. Illegal immmigrants will find work where labor is needed, so simply deporting them doesn't stop the problem at heart.

Ask before you Post.

"The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer, Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war. And it could mean the end of military blogs, observers say."

Although I don't totally agree with this, I think it needed for the security of the military. The enemy is evolving and the internet is the quickest way to gather information. Plus, there shouldn't be anything that should prevent them from actually sending the emails or posting blogs since the superior officer can okay the post or email unless it is something that is not acceptable. So what exactly are you hiding to be against this? Other than of course, privacy.

Bush Shows them Who's Boss.

"President Bush vetoed legislation to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq Tuesday night in a historic showdown with Congress over whether the unpopular and costly war should end or escalate.

Democrats accused Bush of ignoring American's desire to stop the war, which has claimed the lives of more than 3,350 members of the military.

"If the president thinks by vetoing this bill, he'll stop us from working to change the direction of the war in Iraq, he is mistaken," Reid said.

"Our troops and their families deserve better, and their elected leaders can do better," Bush said.

"Whatever our differences, surely we can agree that our troops are worthy of this funding and that we have a responsibility to get it to them without further delay," the president said."

It's not like it was a great surprise. Bush was going to veto the bill anyways. But it was good nontheless that Bush put up an argument. Our troops and their families do deserve better. What is done is done, and pulling our troops out at a vital point isn't the answer.