The new low cost TV line-up

This is my new $25 line-up from Shaw cable.

Do you remember the idea behind this? You were supposed to be able to pick and choose your own TV stations. Eliminating all that chaff that was included and that you had to pay for because some rich buddy of a CRTC buddy started an inane TV channel and got it listed.
Remember Superchannel? What was super about it? It played C movies or videos that didn't sell anywhere and old Opie episodes!

So before we had this revelation of being able to pick and choose TV fare at home, you had and were paying for Toopy and Binoo as you searched at 2am for something to watch. How many episodes of The Honeymooners haven't you seen? The only thing left to do at 3 am is take a flashlight to your TV screen and try to see where the embedded camera is that is watching YOU!

But what I don't get, is why, if we can receive Hi Def channels, we need three extra ones from the same broadcaster?


So look what I get, THEN have to add expensive individual choices to them ....
If I have ABC HD why would I need another ABC? That applies to ALL the HD channels. Don't need the duplicates. I don't even know what AMI TV is, and surely I do NOT want the French edition. Same with CBC. No French, no third listing!  Never heard of Krem2. Might keep it if it is from the Kremlin. CTV has FOUR in this list. Give me just ONE.
Cpac? Now that's funny but there are better comedy channels than the jokers in Parliament.  Omni? again, they can stuff French down my throat all they want and I won't even TRY to understand what they are saying! Cancel them. 

Nothing much here is for me. The bottom eight on that list can all go back to oblivion.

So. If I COULD pick out of all those 40 channels, I would only want 11 of them and that even includes keeping the Shaw) channel !  (I might reconsider Fox, because they are sort of comedy really)

I thought I could pick my eleven, say at $1 each, THEN add a good one like HBO,  even if it brought the price to the $25. But I want CBS, Knowledge, History, Food, BBC World News, CNN, Nat Geo Wild, Show Case, RT, TSN, Comedy and I am hoping MY38 is a soft porn channel that I can sneak into the mix without anyone noticing.

Of course you can see that these would be perfect for me, without all the duplication and foreign languages and probably cost way more than I am paying now. I feel no obligation to support any channel that I will never watch. If you want a childrens' babysitter channel, go for YTV. I liked the Muppets when they were more adult. And out here in Hongcouver I am sure Mandarin and Cantonese channels will sell. But not to me. Of course if you are a displaced Quebecker grab all that French content with your cigarettes but I don't believe Maillardville has any French speakers left out there, so what's the point? 

If you like sobby love, go for CW and Lifetime. H&G if you like tools and Norm making everything perfect because he has the Fixer500 Super emulsifier to make that cabinet for Wifey, (not THAT Wifey) but strap on your hammer and watch.
If you love William Shatner in his prime, go for SpaceTV. 

This seems to get to that point where the channels will cost $200 a month! Defeating the whole idea of you picking channels that you really want for fewer dollars. And they KNOW that most channels are crap but now they don't know what you want because they've been forcing inferior channels on you all these years! 
So 30 of the so-called basic channels are needless duplications. Or foreign language. Yes I am patriotic and understand the National dual language thingy, but if I don't understand what they are saying I don't want it taking up space on my choices!

No wonder that so many are dropping their TV provider totally and going to Netflix or Popcorn and all the streaming internet channels instead.   

Too bad we can't go back to a TV aerial atop our roof and grab the programs floating past in the air. Oh no, that was too much freedom for the people and too threatening for governments as anyone could send out signals, and you might hear or see something you're not supposed to, causing them to set the sun on broadcast television so they could control everything you see.

Do you get that Shaw will get the same money and more from letting me have some REAL choice? Some human somewhere has decided what I need again. If one is good then four is better? Am I supposed to use the extra channels of the same content just to see if they are synchronized? It is not about adding channels, it is about dumping them! I get it and you get it but the CRTC doesn't!

And you see, everything is still a 'bundle'. I cannot just add HBO on its own for a single additional price. Why not? Because without HBO towing along some other dud channel friends of friends don't get that money.


I might get better entertainment content by putting a spoon in my microwave and calling it Burno and Sparky.

And it won't cost me $25 a month.

Dumbing Down

You still don't believe there is a world-wide conspiracy to dumb down the populace?
How about at least a North American conspiracy? It has to have started somewhere and now the phrase itself is becoming part of our lexicon.

Dumbing down

How does it start? Social networking? Facebook etc. Twitter, where folks spend hours upon endless hours Linked in to telling the world they had stew for dinner? Showing pictures of their new sofa? Revealing info about themselves to any and all of the information gathering agency hackers. Are those who post dumb or what?


Or sports, everyone knows how rabid sports fans are, get on with the game no matter how much athletes cheat? Sure. We all see that, Pete Rose is great. Roger Clemens is great. Tom Brady didn't know his balls were deflated. Lance Armstrong was too great to be using drugs. And now Peyton Manning had strength inducing drugs delivered to his door and said they were for his wife!
One would suggest that sports fans are already as dumb as they can get!

But TV. There's another totally black horse, galloping away with your brain to Oblivion even though it is glowing bright and friendly right there in your own living room.
You click each night to watch your favorite programs and it is overwhelmingly obvious that someone, somewhere out in TV programming land is using the medium, to slowly and sneakily make sure you have nothing important to think about. Today's TV is a no threat, comfortable place to be. With an occasional jab to let you know who the bad guys are, Putin, the Chinese, Kim Jong Un, Deux and Trois, but it is okay, the powers that be are handling it. Keeping us safe. We'll build up our military and stop these guys so just tune in and see what Big Bang Theory is doing tonight.
Silly, huh?
Well, here's a TV line-up to think about, if you have any independent brain cells left ....
And these are Prime Time viewing!

The Bachelor - a bevy of beauties compete for a really dumb but good looking guy.
SuperGirl - a flying Pipi Longstockings with a red cape! Or was it blue?
Schitt's Creek - a whole program based on an idiot phrase. Only in Canader you say?
Real Housewives of  _  _  _  - doesn't matter where. Slutty women, all tits and tattoos with those hard-edged bar voices.
Lost Girl - A succubus feeds on the sexual energy of Mortals. Without Tiny Fey.

implants at their best

Storage Wars Canada - pale copy of the US version without Brandi's boobs. 

.... are you beginning to get it? Don't stop now ....

Ted - tough guy Mark Wahlberg and his talking Teddy Bear who can pee in a urinal. Talk about issues.
Family Feud - with inane people and the whitest teeth you ever saw!
Duck Dynasty - Phil Robertson endorsed Cruz or Hillary? Of course it was The Donald.
Alvin & the Chipmunks meet Frankenstein - No, Virginia, there isn't.
Mike and Molly - Really fat people collide on their rush to the cookie jar. 
The Walking Dead - old skin and broken bones with a hunger for brains.

Herrre's Jahnnnney!

..... hey, don't blame me for any of this .....

Chicago Fire - Firemen and policemen fight anytime they meet and you get hosed.
Buying the View - where Daddy's inheritence money is spent by imbecile son and goofy wife.
House Hunters International - Let's go live in Iraq with our kids and dogs, Honey!
Shark Tank - Where poor people with good ideas get them stolen by arrogant rich bullies.
Just for Laughs, Gags - Totally poor actors and totally poor extras, all doing stupid stunts for totally bereft viewers.
Moonshiners - Hooch fun in the backwoods, "You got a purty mouth, boy."
Married at First Sight - Newlyweds find out they don't like each other. Based on a Danish series titled Gift Ved Første Blik. Maybe they shoulda kept the title.


Some others you don't want to miss after having your porridge and learning to tie your shoelaces -
When Ghosts Attack; Boo hoo - True Life; I had my cousin's baby - Super Bowl's greatest all star commercials, more Clydesdale exploitation - Ice Road Truckers; ear muff guys who just don't get winter driving - Billy the Exterminator; meets pythons in your attic - Hill-billy Hand Fishin'; trying to coax catfish outa their holes - Dirty Jobs; we just had to put the entire plot-line in here - Mike is in Michigan where he gets filthy working at a bone black plant; then he meets twin sisters who are fans of the show to discuss the top five dirtiest jobs he has ever done.        O... M... G!   Tune in to see if the girls bathe Mike?

We can't let this go without an honorable Mention tribute to inanity and those who started the TV dumb decline - Any Adam Sandler movie, Friends, Dog and Beth, Sex and the City, Designing Women, and these are all from Prime Time!
Still believe you've graduated to adulthood?

And you have no one to blame but yourself, you look back now and say how you loved Gilligan and the Skipper, grew up with Opie, Left it to Beaver and now it's almost time to cash in your Chips. You're at fault yourself for the dumbing down of the continent for allowing it to happen so subtly, and all the time you were watching! So now the powers that be have had it their way for too long.

Take-over-the-World conspirators say you need to control a population for three generations to subjugate them completely.  It is almost time people and you pnly have about a half generation to go.
Just look at the new TV series now in preproduction; Women Crying. They sob and wail throughout each episode while Cry Detectives rush through their former lives trying to find out why. [spoiler alert - they never do.]

Quit thinking and just go along with it, it is as painless as 50s television. Think of Uncle Miltie, Lucy and Ed Sullivan. No worries, we know what's best for you. Have some more porridge, we put extra 'vitamins' in it.

Really, it is okay, just taste it and think that Julia Child made it.


(or Nigela if that's your want ....)

Profiling

Criminal Investigative Analysis, also known as profiling, is an investigative tool used by law enforcement to help solve violent crimes. It is based on evidence from crime scenes, victims, and witnesses. Mostly profiling is from information of crimes that have already happened, resulting in intelligent guesstimates of projected criminal actions ....

.... It can include signature profiling, psychological profiling, modus operandi and hundreds of other aspects to pre-identify criminal intent. The techniques are used worldwide as those gang societies emerge as dangerous to civilized populations.

Recently three Middle Eastern looking men raised interest while snapping pictures of entrances and exits in a mall in Vancouver. Many people saw it and reported it. Later it was said by police that the three were British tourists and they had poor vision. Hmm. Really? This was accepted by officialdom even though all three were taking pictures. So all three had poor vision? As it turned out to be innocent there was no panic. But would that dispel any apprehension for you? Doesn't work for me. We hope that CSIS would also require further info of such public suspicions.

If you see something, say something

The latest mantra in a wary and nervous North America and Europe has been; If you see something, say something. So people did. No slight against our three British tourists. It is what it is.

Last week a hotel in Burkina Faso, was stormed by al Qaeda leaving 28 dead. Westgate Mall in Nairobi was labeled a massacre! London was bombed. Paris is fresh in memory for Charlie Hebdo and the Bataclan theatre. Jakarta, Indonesia had 12 killed too.

The local police in Vancouver said they were not profiling. Of course they were not, they did not swoop down on the three and make arrests. Shoppers in the mall saw something and said something. It was the public at large who were profiling. For whatever reason but probably on a new awareness of news events around the world. They held a subliminal profile of what they saw as a potentially dangerous situation.

Every week we see another mall or public facility bombed or attacked by jihadists, or Islamic radicals. And in spite of assurances by police, the public feels threatened and nervous. Profiling will only get more intensive and extensive.

What causes profiling?
Past history?  Events that lead to confirmed suspicions? Some Highway Patrol officers in America are as high as 90 % correct when pulling over drivers on certain highways they suspect of transporting drugs. Border patrol are excellent at targeting smugglers. Reading the signs that alert their suspicions is subconscious profiling.

You don't need anything but experience, and people everywhere are gaining that experience just through paying attention to news reporting. We see the nasty characters on TV and their demeanor registers in our minds. And over time we form a profile of those criminals.

Even dogs are profiled. Watch people on the street avoid a pitbull. Why? Because their minds automatically make a negative profile on pitbulls based on the thousands of attacks on humans and the subsequent publicity.

Why do the cops watch an orange Lamborghini with a teenager revving it while driving? Because most police anticipate that Daddy's money bought him that car and he is very likely to kill himself against a tree from street racing. No one needs a written profile to be aware. 

What of two 'hunters' in dark glasses wearing those cloth caps that fold down over the ears, and hunter vests while cruising past in their pickup truck with a old camper unit. Moose decals on the rear door. There is no hunting in town. So what are they doing besides giving you the creeps?


They need to do nothing, in many minds these are the guys from a horror movie who are looking for chain saw targets.

Profiling is a viscous circle. Once two real murderers looked just like those two in that truck .... newspapers and TV exploited the story, Hollywood picked up on it for horror value. Many saw the actor characters on TV and the profile was complete, from real to fiction to real again. At least in public minds.
Profiling goes way back. Wear long hair, a headband and a tie-dye shirt and it will be assumed you smoke pot. Look the part and expect attention.

Profiling is here to stay.
Many believe there are just too many instances and too many repugnant groups who want to cause trouble to a free society, and the public is now into the psychological technique, perhaps unconsciously.
The so-called downside of these actions is political correctness and that some people may be accused of actions seen as suspicious when actually innocent. The upside is that someone may prevent a mass killing in their midst.

And politically correct, unpleasant or not, if you see something, say something. 

If you see something, say something

We have to accept profiling.

Hung Jury - Mistrial.

The Freddie Gray death case again, this repost from Saturday, May 2, 2015 might be apropos to the current events as the jury was hung on the judgement of Baltimore Officer William Porter. You can follow the time-line yourself and make your own assessment of the happenings which led to this trial ......

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Baltimore - lots of WHYs.

On the death of Freddy Gray in Baltimore. See if you arrive at a conclusion by the timeline?
Have a look by the Google Earth map so you can see exactly where the events happened ....

 

This will be simplified here ...7 points in all, one not included in the initial police report but discovered on private surveillance video later.

Starting with,

 #1, 8:39 am. where officers, Lt. Brian W. Rice and Officers Edward M. Nero and Garrett E. Miller were on bike patrol near the corner of North Avenue and Mount Street. Lieutenant Rice made eye contact with Gray, who takes off running from W. North Avenue. He is chased and is caught by Officers Miller and Nero at,

 #2,  8:?? am  Presbury St. and N. Mount St. This is where the TV video taken by bystanders shows him being put into the police van by several officers with hands cuffed. He is never belted in.

Then the police van drives only a block before stopping at, 

#3, 8:46 am. Baker and N. Mount St. Where Officers Miller and Nero and Lieutenant Rice called Goodson to stop,  removed Mr. Gray from the van and placed him in leg restraints. Mr. Gray was loaded head first onto the floor of the van. Still not belting him in.

Q. were they actually planning to give Gray a so-called 'rough-ride' and wanted to put on the leg cuffs without the people one block away seeing them do it and taking more video? In that position it could be an extremely rough ride if the driver sped up and then jammed on his brakes several times, and from Gray's position, would result in him slamming helplessly into the bulkhead in his compartment, quite possibly breaking his neck?

Instead of going straight ahead for only another 4 blocks, to the police station, driver Officer Goodson instead travels southeast for about 10 blocks, maybe a half mile away to,

Q. Why did he drive far away from the police station if it wasn't to do a rough ride?

 #4, 8:54 am. N. Freemont Ave and Mosher St. Where the truck stops again for the driver to 'check on him'. Gray still unsecured by a seatbelt.

 Q. Was driver Goodson only looking to see what damage may have been inflicted on Gray at this time? He was supposed to continue to Central Booking with his prisoner who had said he needed a medic! Was Goodson in communication with other police and what were they instructing him to do?

But then he proceeds even farther away to stop at,

 #5, 8:59 am. Dolphn and Druid Avenues. Officer Goodson radios for help to 'check his prisoner'. 

Q. Did Goodson become worried after his previous check and saw that Gray was comatose, about to die, and needed help right away?

Officer William G. Porter arrived and he and Goodson went to the back of the van. Mr. Gray at that time requested help and indicated that he could not breathe and needed a medic. Porter helped sit Gray up on a bench but still never belted him in. 

Q. Might a sudden hard braking while Gray was propped up on the bench in shackles result in even a harder fall? A spinal breaking fall?

Then a call came to pick up another man arrested way back at the original scene on North Avenue and N. Mount St. So Goodson drove there instead of to Central Booking even though it was obvious that Gray needed medical attention?.

#6, 9:?? am. Officers Nero, Miller and Porter. Sgt. Alicia D. White and Officers Porter and Goodson all observed Gray who was now unresponsive. No medical assistance was called for in spite of Gray's condition. The other prisoner is loaded into the left compartment of the police van.

#7, 9:24 am. Western District police station. A medic was called as Gray was not breathing, he was rushed to the University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma Center, where he died a week later.

The questions pile on. Why move Gray a block away out of sight of the gathering crowd with cameras to restrain him, but not belt him in? Why drive him so far away from the Police station when is was only a couple of minutes and a few blocks away? Then when the driver did check his passenger, Why continue driving away from his destination?  Then even again, Goodson went back to the original scene and the other officers were there with one passenger? Why did that passenger say he heard Gray thrashing and kicking when we now know he was not even breathing and was unable to kick or bang around? 

Was that suggestion put into the 2nd prisoner's head by the now worried officers?

Did the 'rough ride' plan go terribly wrong and the police were then trying to cover the consequences of their actions?

Unfortunately, there is limited CCTV footage, some video from a private owner at a small grocery store that the police evidently copied, was stolen when the store was later torched during the riots.  Coincidence? Happenstance? Or enemy action?

Hmm? One might expect that there is much more private video out there, if and when it will turn up is anyone's guess.

It will unfold of course, but seems hard to change from the original time-line or the actions as already stated by the police who were involved. 

You can use Google Earth yourself to actually follow the chain of events from Google Street View to get a feeling for the area and the environment of the people who live there. It is a sad event for all.

We expect there will be lots more WHYs to come.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Stay tuned even though the procedures seemed to have changed from 'accidental' death in a police van to simply shooting people in their tracks while perceiving they were threatened with a weapon.
Ongoing.

 

Instantly spying on you?

 Microsoft spying on you?    Even recording your actual keystrokes?   Coincidence?

4 days ago I looked at a used car. Nice young salesman named xxx Zhen. We talked about it but I did not drive it. Decided to email him and set up a time for a drive test. So I emailed him from Microsoft Outlook on Firefox about meeting up. First time I had entered his email into my computer system from his business card!

Less than 10 minutes later I get an email in my Spam folder from this other guy - Shen Zhen - he wants me to know about a car battery he can supply me ...

 THIS Mr Shen Zhen, is no relation to the Vancouver car dealer Mr. xxx Zhen. I have never emailed anyone in Shenzhen, China ever! And this guy's battery business is there - - -

NO. 11 building, Northern Yong Fa Industrial Zone, Yan Chuan Chao Yang Road.

And you think no one is watching you? My first two initials are R C. Think again.

Now I am afraid the car might come with a 'Trunk Zhen'! 

Creepy. 

James Garrison - 1967

- Still interesting stuff -

Bank Withdrawal

If she/he can make a bank cash withdrawal looking like this .....

.... can I make a bank cash withdrawal looking like this?

In Canada equality rules of course.

Voting? Maybe. Maybe not.

So far there seems to be no real reason to vote in Canada for any of these bozos who are professing to make Canada better. Better than what?
Each are only telling us what the other guy will do. Mulcaire will destroy Canada. Trudeau will destroy Canada. Harper will continue to destroy Canada.
What to do?

Prime Minister Goodboy?

You must ask if your vote will count for anything. The Federal Conservatives under Stephen Harper have been in charge now for years and it seems to me that the direction of Canada is simply to go American. Whatever Obama is telling Harper to do will be what he does.

All they rail about is their own prescribed talking points, which are really only psychic estimates of what the others will do. ESP is wonderful and they'll be bending spoons next. In so-called debates they all agree to the questions beforehand, and probably the answers. The trick is to placate the population.

Under Harper we are now at war in a foreign land and being handed the American spin that our brave boys are protecting us from ISIS! Be reminded about the head of the CIA who testified to Congress that they had saved America from thousands of terrorist threats, then when questioned further said hundreds, and finally more pressure - ONE!
We have the TPP looming under Harper. Where a foreign corporation can try to sell us toxic goods for instance, and if we refuse to buy them because of Canadian law protections, they can sue Canada for us to take the goods, or sue Canada for the profit they would have made on those goods! Our nation is lost already!
But we hear the planted comments everyday on radio and TV, Mulcair can't handle money, Trudeau is not ready. If we stopped our stupid expensive war could Canada build a fantastic infrastructure in our North to aid the aboriginals who struggle up there without basics. And as a bonus assert our sovereignty in the Arctic? 

Pierre Trudeau was dynamic and ready for anything. But the Liberal party's history is one of corruption and scandal. Why should we think they are better today? Do we want a Chretien or a Martin type government again? Do we forget that sponsorship scandal?
And the Conservatives. Have we forgotten Mulroney, Duffy and Wallin? Do we ignore Maxime Bernier whose girlfriend had connections to the Hells Angels and he left classified info about NATO at her house?

Prime Minister Goodluck?

We only hear from these two about what Mulcair WILL DO if elected Prime Minister of Canada. But he has just not had the chance to screw up yet. The others have had multi chances and do the same things all over again because WE the populations are too stupid to vote them out!

Shouldn't we treasure our votes for their potential effectiveness? Studies show that people usually vote as a protest, not FOR something but against it. Here's an example that could count:
Harper's government closed THREE coast guard stations in British Columbia, while at the same time, opening a new one in Atlantic Canada. Putting boating safety here at risk. All the time not a single word from a BC Conservative to defend their own province. They were quiet to a degree of ridiculousness! Can we believe a thing they say now? Nope.
Use your vote wisely and think of what would happen if ALL 8 Conservative seats in BC were tossed out? That would be a message impossible to ignore and set a precedent for all of Canada.

So what would people in Canada want to vote FOR?

Prime Minister Goodhair?

Lots. Canadians overwhelmingly want food labeling. They want to know if Monsanto has its toxic chemicals in their food. But not a word from any candidate on that subject.

They want Canada to return to their earned and respected role as Peacekeepers in troubled lands. They DON'T want Canadian soldiers joining in futile and expensive wars in foreign countries so America can steal their oil. Anything on that? Nope.

They want our own citizens to prosper wherever they are, and that includes our native Canadians in the Northern regions who have a terrible struggle. Is it fair to give immigrants a huge benefit as soon as they arrive, while ignoring Canadians who are born here?

They want us to protect our sovereignty and to stand alone if we have to against the trend toward corporations taking over the world. Canadian law should be ironclad, it was made for us and a signature on a line should not eradicate it? Don't sign secret agreements that give it up! Politicians have no mandate to betray the electorate!

They want the greatest wild salmon run in the world to continue instead of allowing foreign fish farms to taint our pristine waters and destroy it for their own profit! (even in their own countries they have to farm salmon on LAND!) Anyone talking about that for a vote? No. (I forget who was in charge and ignored the scientists' warnings about the total collapse of the Grand Banks cod fishery?)

They want honesty in presenting a proposal. The Northern Gateway pipeline used a distorted video to show a corrupted picture of the bitumen being shipped through the narrow Douglass Chanel as if it was open sea! No one in federal politics refuted the blatant misrepresentation of the truth.

They want the facts when a treaty is presented for an international agreement. Canadians are not stupid unless kept in the dark. They want to know that we are not giving away the whole store to Petronas on gas or China on tar sands oil for the benefit of a few.

They want to know the government is going to spend their money wisely. We don't need more decrepit submarines from WWII England. Or F35s at 35 million each that the US Military says is a dog and refuses to buy! Any candidates talking about spending tax money to build Canadian industry or is it just too easy to dump our resources offshore.


Most of all they want integrity.

One might assume that integrity is lost in politics in Canada. (and pretty much anywhere else too)
But do we accept it? We don't have to. If we have that great strong Douglas Fir lumber that Japan needs will they stop buying it and buy Brazilian balsa wood if we don't sign TTP? Nooo. We need to negotiate any international agreement from a position of strength, not weakness. And certainly not accede to the rich corporate point of view.
If you see an agreement promoted by a politician that seems to go against all Canadian values .... you might as well believe that a fat brown envelope stuffed with cash was passed beneath the table. It is just the way international politics is done. But it is cheating the voter who put that person in power.

So what do you expect when and if you vote? Change, or same old same old? Don't expect change if the same shadowy back-room boys are still running the parties! Some even say you should vote ONLY for an independent candidate. Some merit there because you KNOW he is going to do what you tell him. And the party candidates can say anything they like while running, but you know they will clam up and behave later and represent the government TO you instead of representing you to the government once there.

Good Going Girl!

So what do I like about politicians? Hmm ...... sorry leave it with me, I'll get back to you.

I can only think of one female in government years ago when Carolyn Parish was asked by an American TV personality why Canada was respected and the USA was not. She said, "Because we don't go around the world pissing everyone off like you do." Succinct. I liked her.


One last - if it was decided by intelligence and grasping of the facts and real issues, Elizabeth May would be Prime Minister on October 19th.


For now, have a look at why a man in England refuses to take voting seriously. Don't mock it until you see it all. Respected Jeremy Paxman talks to Russel Brand about voting. Listen carefully and do not dismiss Brand for his look as he gives Paxman a lesson in the politics of voting.
Closed minds need not enter.



https://youtu.be/3YR4CseY9pk





       You voting? 
       I am not sure either, but I might be convinced.

Hi, I'm Cortana

I come installed with Microsoft Windows 10.

I'll be here getting to know you. In order to serve you better. 

Type something, say something, search something or send something.

I'm here to help.

 Really.

Hi, I'm Cortana's friend.

I'll be listening in too, working to keep you safe.

Smile for your camera, I'm watching you.

It's all right, you can trust us.

 Really.

You cannot uninstall us or shut us off anyway. 

Robotic war

The Robot army is coming.
Even Stephen Hawking is warning about it. So is Steve Wosniak, co founder of Apple. Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX,  Christof Heyns, the UN Special Rapporteur, and many other scientists, scholars and intellectuals have written warnings.  It has recently been reported that these killer robots are about to become a reality. And they are going to roam our world with A.I. and the ability to define their own targets!
Crazy huh? So why and who will they target?
Well, if you think not you because you're not doing anything wrong. You might be the crazy one if you think YOU can define wrong.

Of course I see you

Someone somewhere may decide who is to stay and who should go. Robotic soldiers will probably emerge from underground bunkers and just go about their business. (from beneath the Denver airport?) Trimming the population. And there will be no need for a General on the battlefield to guide these troops.  Just as drones emerge from the blue skies and unleash missiles at desert huts now,  all flown remotely from bunkers 10,000 miles away in Minnesota or wherever.

How can this be? It's not incredible at all. You used to wind your alarm clock to sound off at 7 am. Now you can set your laptop to turn on at 3 am, go to a specific web site, download a file, install it and have it humming away for you when the r-r-r-ing sounds on that alarm clock! You simply program it.
We saw cruise missiles during the first Gulf War, flying down streets between buildings heading for targets, turning and twisting to their destination, looking ahead at certain buildings and landmarks for identifying their route! All sent from warships hundreds of miles out at sea! Programmed effectively from info collected from satellite. You can almost do the same with Google Earth and Street View, to place a picture of a certain house at a certain address, and put it into the mix for targeting! You just need a robot who can handle sensing the juxtaposition of the roof angle, porch, windows and door, to send an RPG crashing into the house and exploding! Sure it might be identical row housing, and your machine might kill every house, but that's only collateral damage! Target destroyed. But that is old technology.
Research what happened to journalist Michael Hastings for a glimpse of newer technology.


What will happen when a robot soldier gets going? It might be programmed to kill a certain type of people. With black skin, or long red hair or 6 feet tall or with a penis, or a hippie head band or a member of a certain church or someone who attended a military academy in Cleveland or was schooled in Holland or Iran or Florida. Or a survivalist who has weaponry in his basement! Or a Corvette driver. Or Neil Young whose weapons are protest lyrics. Endless information all obtained in seconds. And even Ted Nugent won't be able to make it to his own front porch to shoot back with his bazooka.

But not you, right? You are a doctor, or an IT programmer, or an electrical engineer, even a successful artist, you are important. Right? They'll just go after the political activists right? Wrong.
A writer you say? LOL, first to go! The ones in charge already know who they want. After the Russian revolution they killed off all those smart people. Same in Vietnam, Americans left and intellectuals were murdered, too much thinking going on there. Burma the same. Zimbabwe after Ian Smith. North Korea. You're smart and educated. Safe. Wrong. Even in what we regard as civilized countries people are being 'disappeared'.

The Robot Soldier will already be real-time connected to a satellite web. And you will have helped with the targeting of yourself! You posted that info on facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. remember, and emails mentioned unmentionable things and 'friends' tagged your picture at the birthday party. So the robot already knows about you 20 seconds into its mission!
Then it uses thermal imaging to see you hiding in your basement, sensors to see your body shape, (that penis is a dead give away that you are male) facial recognition, gathered from all those cameras at the ball games, and from using your own webcam, even if you have it turned off, or that secret camera installed behind your TV screen, even iris reading when you are holding a thick book in front of your face! The soldier will be able to detect your heart racing and your blood pressure going through the roof of your head! Even see the trace of that broken ankle you had when you were twelve. Yes, that's you alright. ID complete.

And this is where the AI comes in, even if you are not the designated target, will the killer robot decipher your body functions as being afraid? Why are you afraid? You must be up to something. Perhaps to save itself, the Robot will interpret you as a threat, and use an 'independent decision' to fire a particle beam weapon to kill you. Leaving no trace that you ever existed. Like those depleted uranium bullets used in Iraq, no incriminating evidence, not even ash on the ground. But the robot is not trying to get away with a crime, simply doing the job. It knows no crime.

Sure, these robots will be produced to 'protect' you from terrorists, the usual spin to the gullible. They'll be patrolling to 'keep you safe.' Are you still going for that one? What else is there, how will you know? The art of investigative journalism will have died by then. Your head will be spinning from the spin. Just follow the baseball scores.

The plot of course, has been in the works for years now. The New World Order has been determined by people in shrouded paneled rooms, the chosen. We are nearing seven billion people on Earth. The Powers That Be, have determined that the optimal population on this planet is 500 million. Somehow, six and a half billion must be eliminated. Culled.
The way to do that, is to instigate wars, spread deadly diseases, DNA management, environmental upheavals etc. (HAARP?) But those methods are helter-skelter, take too long and subject to unintended mishaps. Germs don't always stay on poor people and human soldiers can begin to see the picture and start fragging lieutenants, like in Vietnam.

But complete control can be obtained by careful manipulation of computerized killer robots.
It will not be a war against the enemy, it will be a war against ourselves.

What could possibly go wrong?

there was no-one here

Hawking & Wozniak warning killer robots

salon.com/killer robots

Windows 10

What's it like? The newest greatest Windows ever?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Lots of media spin on this one, almost like the commentators had their words written for them before they even saw Windows 10.
I put in my request last week for the upgrade, it became available last night and was downloading at 7 am this morning. Completed about 11 am.
I went ahead with their suggestions to just let it start, and go back and change things later, even though a bit apprehensive at the first screen which it turned out to automatically send all my info to Microsoft via One Drive. It was like your phone that says it needs to share your friends, locations, history and about any other info they can think of. So before you can react, it accesses all your info and sends it to the Microsoft 'Cloud'. Don't know about you but my web polls show about 82% distrust in ANY so called Cloud storage. Google search 'cloud back door' if you don't believe me.

Really?

After working on it for a day now, I can say this must be the NSA version of Windows 10. It is more intrusive than your phone ever was. Some programs I had on my desktop just disappeared.
I had a simple password to sign into my computer before, which meant nothing to anyone but me. Now Microsoft considers that Windows belongs to them and you must sign into your 'Microsoft account' with an email account. I did. And later found that Windows 10 had ditched MY password and changed MY sign-in to that email account. Which is now open every minute that you are there. Leaving your private info open and vulnerable to onlookers and hackers. (and the dreaded Cloud)
The actual W10 screens are confusing and complicated. Sure you have a start button again, but I had that with W8, through Classic Shell and with 8.1. I tried to set up an old email account that I don't use to make it my sign-in account but now with Microsoft they want to know exactly who you are so you need to give them a picture and phone number to send you a code to access your own email! (I have already migrated 7 email accounts to other email programs because I think it is none of Microsoft's business if I am a real person with a phone number or not. (are those NSA cross-referencing requirements?) Microsoft even cancelled one of my email accounts because it said it didn't believe I was a real person! If your name is easily hackable Bill Smith, that's okay but Og14 is not. Sorry, digressing.

The program Microsoft One Drive is automated in Windows 10. So everything you do, search or say is added and sent to their Cloud, wherever that may be. It is my opinion that virtually ALL Cloud storage is monitored and not safe from prying eyes. (I eventually found that you can sign in with a 'local account') But it is too late, isn't it. So I went in and turned OFF anything I could see on One Drive. And there was a ton of (spy) things automatically set to ON. Laugh if you will, but this is healthy paranoia to me.

the cloud is watching

Whatever Cortana is didn't come with my edition of Windows 10, it said my region and language was not available. Hmm. Last I looked I was in North America and spoke American English. Canada is not on their list. Communist China sure, who has stolen more technology from the USA than anyone in history. They might want to tell Canadians there is no Cortana before they buy computers with W10. Not that anyone expects Cortana wont do exactly what Apple's SIRI does, that is to send every word you say to Her to an NSA earbud and digital recorder.
So I was able to get Cortana anyway. OMG! Under the 'guise' of getting to know you, Cortana asks you WAY more personal questions than the FBI asks serial killers! So I UNinstalled it. Guess what, it came back. I used Task Manager to turn it off and guess what? It keeps turning itself back on! I KNOW it is listening and recording my every keystroke! Is this an FBI App?

Mostly it seems that 10 is oriented to gamer kids who have XBoxes and War Games etc, because they expect that you'll want to coordinate your games with Edge. (the replacement for I.E.) And they keep asking you to go to the 'store' to buy more apps. And it isn't at all like Microsoft Internet Explorer, now you have advertising pointed at you. So you can only imagine what sites their search engine Bing is sending you to. (allowing you to go to?) W10 seems designed to have ALL your devices under one umbrella, to help YOU they say. Maybe easier for them to track you?  And it looks like you MUST use Bing for searching on Edge. No Google, private DuckDuckGo or Ixquick?  (I have kept I.E., even though I use Firefox. Which doesn't seem to exist in W10. They are driving people to the real safety of Tor.

Here's a FEW of the privacy options that were all automatically turned ON.

- Let apps use my adverting ID for experiences across apps. (whatever advertising ID is) So, someone somewhere has an ID for you that tells them exactly what you like? I expect they'll be sending me sexy ladies very soon, saves me searching for them!
- Location is already on which also includes your location history. GPS tracking? Then there is a long list of apps that also use your location and even use 'geofencing' to see where your going with each app. (geofencing establishes a GPS area and a radius around it, whenever you go in or out of that area, software sends that information to 'someone'. And yes, if you add your phone to the list of devices on Windows 10, you can bet they take your location history from that too! (My location GPS is turned OFF on my phone. I KNOW where I am.)

- Camera. It's not just you and your Skype friend anymore, another long list of apps can use your camera too! You might want to make one of these - - - 

hi-tech NSA cam deflector

- Same for Microphone. Remember that all this goes to One Drive too unless you also turn that off. So if your mic is on (or even off) you're sending your dialogue to the Cloud too. (even wife or secret GF remarks in BG. Do you have a dog? Is that him barking? What is his name?)
- Speech and inking is sort of like letting the computer learn your speech patterns and writing style. We are sure that the NSA considers this one as a great thing! Voice recognition you know and the rhythms of your penmanship.(if they could identify a Morse code operator on a battleship way back in 1943, they sure as hell can ID YOU!)
-  Let apps access my name, picture and other account info. Already on. Really? Do you keep banking info on your computer? Company plans for future operations? Chat memos?
- Let apps read or send messages, (text or MMS) OMG, let apps SEND messages? "Hey NSA, look what this guy is up to!"
- Usage data is set to FULL send to Microsoft. But you can change it to Basic.

If you are concerned about your privacy, you might want to study carefully the permissions and items turned on in Windows 10 that are watching, listening or recording everything you do and communicating with each other. And sending it all to the Microsoft Cloud because you implied they could.

So far for me, the first days with Windows 10 have been quite horrible and had I had a note like this before, I would have stayed with my Windows 8.1. Or the suggestion to go to Apple which everyone seems to think is impervious to snooping, until Siri, and then we knew that Steve Jobs was gotten to by TPTB just the same as Bill Gates.
And there will be no more updates to Windows except by Microsoft. You don't have the choice of choosing updates. I have Word 2007 and didn't need 2003 updates. Is that so THEY can decide what changes can be introduced to your puter?  Seems like sometimes you find an update that only made things worse, after installing it! No choice now.  I will keep working at it to see if I can make it acceptable, I liked XP, loved Vista, had no sweat with 8.0 and got used to 8.1. Maybe I'll find some redeeming factor yet. We'll see,  even though I judge my computer is at least 50% slower, I'm not giving up.

Microsoft wants you to coordinate everything you do under one set of programs, but doesn't consider that not everyone wants to have their computer life all out there, bare and shivering in the stark bright light from the built-in back door to the NSA.

Who knows who is there?

Windows 10, the best ever?
Not quite.

addenda:- Well I have decided Windows 10 has nothing to offer me, and am going to return to Windows 8.1 within my month. My computer has slowed so much it takes too long to start or access programs or blogs etc. My font has suddenly changed from a nice dark Times New Roman to something anemic and hard to read that I don't know what it is, but assumed it came on an update to W10 because I didn't change it.

   It seems like the people who comment on these new programs etc, are not actually using them, but only taking the Micrososft PR write and publishing that.

   We all know there was Classic Shell for W8 that installed your Start button, and 8.1 also had a start button but I have seen many columns that applaud W10 for bringing it back! And everyone tells us how important it is to have Cortana, so it can remind you to eat your dinner or something stupid like that, after asking you more personal questions that a police detective.

   And others say you just have to turn Cortana off, but they haven't checked to see that you CANNOT turn it off. It will just come back and resume telling Microsoft about what you are doing. Just too many spying things going on with W10, like Microsoft has been totally taken over by those who want to keep control of US!

You might like to know that the UNinstall went quite painlessly, about an hour, and only needed a few updates after 8.1 was back, and Windows did say I could try W10 again when I wanted. 

Just wasn't for me but we all know we won't be able to avoid it in the future.