Light from the gods...

...is just what we need. After all Lucifer brings his light in many ways. Dear Rachel has been fighting the good fight for freedom and civil liberty while Big Brother Brown has been doing dark deals with Raytheon or Dr Death as they are more widely known. Wanna go to Paris for a dirty weekend? Check in with Dr Death. "Raytheon means "light from the gods." Makers of "Bunker Buster" bombs, Tomahawk and Patriot missiles, this company loves big noises and large civilian casualty counts. When a missile killed 62 civilians in a Baghdad market, that was Light from the Gods." Nothing like a bit of enlightenment to brighten up the day. So there you have it. Freedom to travel. Fuck off. Privacy. Fuck you! Welcome to the light from the gods. Care of a Home Office and a Big Brother Brown near you. They must think that we are idiots. I suggest that the next time that you travel anywhere you should file a complaint against the British government under European data protection legislation. Or fill up the form and shut the fuck up. The choice is yours.
"Washington - A contract to monitor the Amazon rainforest in Brazil will include a shadowy company once described as ''virtually indistinguishable'' from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), IPS has learnt.

The 1.4-billion-dollar contract for satellite monitoring of drug trafficking and deforestation in the 3.2-million-square-kilometre forests in the Brazilian Amazon was awarded last summer to Raytheon, a 12-billion-dollar, Massachusetts-based company that makes Patriot and Sidewinder missiles.

Part of the Raytheon contract is to be implemented by E-Systems, a Texas-based company that Raytheon bought last April. E-Systems' major clients have historically been the CIA and other spy agencies like the National Security Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office.

An unnamed Congressional aide told the Washington Post last year that the company was ''virtually indistinguishable'' from the agencies it serves. ''Congress will ask for a briefing from E-Systems and the (CIA) programme manager shows up,'' the aide is quoted as saying. ''Sometimes he gives the briefing. They're interchangeable.''"
Welcome to Britain's new border police.

Cookienomics for dummies...sample exam questions...

...You are the prime minister of a medium sized European country and you have just been told that global warming is happening a little bit (well a big bit actually) faster than expected. In fact so fast that you have decided to cancel your skiing holiday as there won't be any snow anywhere. Do you:
1) spend 5 billion pounds on an ID card scheme that nobody wants?
2) lock up everybody that you don't like for 56, 58 or 90 days?
3) knock 300 million pounds off the climate change budget?
4) invade Iran?
Please write on both sides of the recycled paper. Or use the multiple choice option, be totally silly and go with all four possibilities to qualify as a competent and decisive modern leader.

Aqua Dots...Public Service Announcement...

...The previous post was in jest. This one is not. I've just been talking to the Cardiff Trading Standards Office about this product that really has been banned in the USA by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. If you see this product on the shelves of a shop anywhere in the UK please notify your local trading standards office as this shit really is dangerous for kids. Swallowing the beads can be poisonous.
"Hazard: The coating on the beads that causes the beads to stick to each other when water is added contains a chemical that can turn toxic when many are ingested. Children who swallow the beads can become comatose, develop respiratory depression, or have seizures.

Incidents/Injuries: CPSC has received two reports over the past several days of children swallowing Aqua Dots. A 20-month-old child swallowed several dozen beads. He became dizzy and vomited several times before slipping into a comatose state for a period of time, was hospitalized, and has since fully recovered. A second child also vomited and slipped into a comatose state and was hospitalized for five days.

Description: The recalled toy is a craft kit which allows children to create various multi-dimensional designs using small colored beads. The beads fuse together when sprayed with water. The recall applies to all models of Aqua Dots. The product is available in various different kits with accessories such as a drying fan, applicator pen, design templates for the beads, and spray bottle. The product is labeled for ages 4+."

My Spacepedia gets you high...

...Whales do it, jobs do it, even educated gates do it. Let's do it, let's all get high. Human search is gonna be the next big thing as our Gossip killer app hits the streets before Christmas in Beta. And who better to do the manufacturing than our old mates, the Chinese. The first product in our range of Virtual Intoxication Toys will be based on Aqua Dots the well known popular toy beads that contain liquid Fantasy or GBH. These have already been banned in America and Australia so this must be some serious shit, folks. We asked CEO van der Zuikerberg just what the fuck was going on here, and he was quoted as saying, "It's quite simple. Everyone gets sucking the Chinese kiddie love beads, gets high and then writes up their best friend's profile on My Spacepedia, giving the whole social networking bubble a much needed kick in the arse."
By further undermining the already dodgy reputation of online infopedias Zuikerberg intends to dumb down everything, everywhere, all the time and thus create the Totally Dumb Information Vortex just in time for Year Zero.

Spacebook merger details emerge...

...as this morning's sub prime ripple hits banking stocks, details are emerging on the MySpacebook megadeal. Cookienomics sub prime CEO Marco van der Zuikerberg has hinted that this will be the mother of all social networking deals. The buzzword on the street is the revolutionary new killer app Zeroprivacy, part of the top secret Singularity Project. This will allow anything to be done anywhere at any time to anyone without them having a clue about what is really going on. This business model will be monetized by phishing and spam software managed by a secure database in St. Petersburg. Which St Pete has not been revealed for security reasons. The opportunities for optimization are awesome as this will replace Web 2.0 by Web 3.0, which will then be replaced by Web 4.0. The plan is to reach the Total Web Infinity.0 loop by Christmas. 2008 will then be renamed Year Zero and the Total Information Vortex will be up and running. The government will introduce a Zero beer and fags policy in order to channel all consumption into the Vortex. The Virtual Intoxication App is already in Beta testing and the advertising model will be quite simple. Click ads will be linked to a virtual intoxication Experience Interface (available with a USB port for 99 pence on eBay) and a built in vibrator is being developed in China, along with a virtual bicycle sex kit for $9.99. There will be a social network called the Pets Dating and Marriage Agency as it takes all sorts. "World domination is our goal." van der Zuikerberg was quoted as saying as he left his local greasy spoon and got into his Bentley.

Social DNA...dramatic new breakthrough...

...as early this morning scientists at the University of Illesota Department of Pseudoscience found that buying too much high tech stuff is linked to dramatic rises in crime, alcoholism and click ad fraud. Measures are now being taken to compel each citizen to compile a register of their social DNA which will include orchestral instruments, openness in relationships, Top 10 movies and toilet etiquette. All this is of course intended to waste more of the citizen's precious time and money to stimulate economic growth and this blog must declare an interest here as we receive secret payments in kind from the coffee and chocolate lobby (we should be so lucky!) which, by the way, is a hint LOL! (Whatever that means? Answers on a postcard containing a stamped addressed envelope containing a few used fivers to the DEFRA Bird Flu Hedge Fund c/o Cookienomics, Lichtenstein.) Not compiling your social DNA profile is not a criminal offence, but if you refuse to do so, you may be imprisoned for a period not exceeding 28 days detention roulette which could be doubled to 56 days very soon, vampires. You have been warned. Get your social DNA profile done for you by our experts. Just fill in our easy Social Optimization DNA Obviously Free Form and join our Facebook group today.

Buy turkey futures now while stocks last...

...as the meltdown in the US banking sector continues and the dollar goes down the drain, why not invest in turkey futures? Now that the bird flu in Suffolk has been confirmed as the deadly H5N1 variety, turkey prices should rise before Christmas. Get a roast instead of a roasting! Sell all those overhyped Web 2.0 stocks that aren't making any money and offload all those banking shares before they become worthless and get on the turkey bandwagon. What better place to start than on Facebook where our new Bird Flew Free Turkey Killer App will be launched tonight at midnight CET and the first three users will also win a free iPhone! Rachel has been talking turkey with the Home Affairs Committee today but as HMG is seriously out to lunch we do not expect much action this side of Christmas for fear of frightening the horses, or in this case the turkey punters. So get your turkey futures here. You know it makes sense.

Mad Browns and Englishmen go out in the midday sun!...

...and the next outing in the sun will be...Iran! With the dollar in meltdown the Yanks could do with a jolly good war. The poodle is dead! Long live the poodle!
With thanks to Through Balanda Eyes for reminding me of this Noel Coward gem.

Knowledge is Power...Is Big Facebook Watching You?...

...I've been involved in a thread on Mashable titled Facebook asks Can we see your id? The post throws up a number of issues connected to our privacy and also the possibility of identity theft (BBC story) a topic in the news again this morning. I have contacted the Welsh office of the ICO for clarification of some the issues raised by the mass collection of personal data. The Wales network of Facebook alone already has 195,586 members and Wales is just a small country! It is perhaps important at this stage to make sure that all this data being collected is not breaking current data protection legislation and also to ask the question: Where do we draw the lines between the individual's right to privacy and the practical control and knowledge of all the data being collected. Facebook has a few spooky connections such as possible CIA links
and the now defunded Information Awareness Office whose motto was "Knowledge is Power." Some of the aims of the IAO were:
* Human Identification at a Distance (HumanID) to develop automated biometric identification technologies to detect, recognize and identify humans at great distances.

* Wargaming the Asymmetric Environment (WAE) focused on developing automated technology capable of identifying predictive indicators of terrorist activity or impending attacks by examining individual and group behavior in broad environmental context and examining the motivation of specific terrorists.

* Futures Markets Applied to Prediction (FutureMAP) was intended to harness collective intelligence by researching market-based techniques for avoiding surprise and predicting future events. The intent was to explore the feasibility of market-based trading mechanisms to predict political instability, threats to national security, and other major events in the near future.
All a lot of innocent fun to provide us all with useful suggestions as to what to buy for Christmas based on our known interests and purchasing habits? In view of recent deadwood press criticism of bloggers and the cult of the amateur (story/Rachel) why aren't our gatekeepers doing more to investigate these issues?
This is what the FT had to say this morning: "...allowing advertisers to exploit the deep connections between users on the Facebook site - a web of relationships known in the industry as the "social graph" - could backfire if the move ends up alienating the users themselves.

"What we've learned from the commercialisation of the web is that people are more than happy to exchange their privacy for free stuff and greater convenience as long as you allow them to maintain the fiction that their activities are not being monitored and recorded," writes Nicholas Carr, a prominent technology author, on his blog, Rough Type.

"In breaking that illusion, Facebook is taking a big risk. It may set off a rebellion among its users, who up until now have felt comfortable cavorting behind Facebook's walls." There is a perceived and real inequality between the rights and freedoms of the citizen and the power of large multinational corporations and an urgent need to make sure that advances in technology do not deprive us of our liberties.

Anti GMO Protest Action in Portugal...

Find more videos like this on Ceridwen

...as Chris Huhne of the Lib Dems says that GM crops 'should not be approved.'
"Mr Huhne, environment spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said: "People want to be safe and not sorry on GM foods, as the overwhelming bulk of responses to the government's consultation show.

"Ministers should not give any go-ahead for commercial planting until they can state confidently that GM varieties would not contaminate non-GM foods and that they are safe.

"This is essential for consumers who prefer non-GM foods, but also for organic farming which is the fastest growing part of British agriculture."

The Cookie Mouse gets everywhere!...

Things I've loved
Originally uploaded by emdot

...and is going to be the mascot for our permaculture project. Cookie mouse lives in de Pijp in Amsterdam with two young girls from Prague. He is a very friendly and clever mouse and just loves all the goodies he gets from the organic market. His wink is what made him famous. Thanks to Emdot for this lovely collage.

Open social networks...

Find more screencasts like this on Ning Network Creators

Fair Trade - The Movie. An eq.tv original.

...Please watch this great video and pass it on. Oxfam

Sick of spam...get Gmail...

...I just love the music on this one and as I have Gmail there's more time to learn esperanto. Thanks to Mashable

Al Gore for President!...

...Gore Vidal and the Condition of America. The one Gore wants the American people to vote for the other Gore. Vidal for Al. Their names seem full of puns. Perhaps Al could have Gore as Vice President. Then it really would be an Al Gore Administration.

Cardiffnet internet workshops...

...with the idea of going local and global we have set up a new workshop group in Cardiff called Cardiffnet intended to be an interface between the local and global in the Cardiff County area. A googlejuice bar with Web 2.0 munchies and blogging geeks for dummies. It will be hands on learning by doing for people into social networking and community. I hope it will also keep me off the streets and glued to my MacBook. Talking of which if anybody knows of any public open wifi in a nice Cardiff cafe or pub could you let me know? Then we can set up our first open meeting.

Scary movie...

...when you think about the odds we only have one choice.

Tantra for your pets...

...gets my weird bad taste award of the week. Sorry but I could not resist this.

This is maybe taking the New Age to the outer limits!

Google buys Jaiku...

...according to the Jaikido blog today. New user sign up will be by invitation only for the time being. As the search engine's share price soars to over 600 dollars there are rumors of a Google mobile phone coming out soon. According to the Telegraph it will not be a phone but a mobile operating system that will be offered for free in order that Google can gain a foothold in the small, but rapidly growing, mobile advertising market. All of this fits in with my view of the coming mobile internet being the next big thing as technologies converge and more people adopt a mobile online lifestyle. This time Nokia lost out but they are still very much in the game. I quite like Jaiku as it's fun and has many practical possibilities. What I have yet to find, though, is my favorite mobile phone.

Increase your WiFi signal...

...with just a mobile phone, your laptop and an Ethernet cable. Awesome!