If you haven’t heard about this yet (which would completely surprise the hell out of me), here are some links to various media sources I read daily for fun, and to keep up upon what is going on in the world, and what people are bitching about:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympic_games/7873669.stm

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/05/kellogg.phelps/index.html

http://www.thestar.com/article/580780

Knowing what I know about the whole story, where Phelps was at a party, smoked some weed, someone took a snap and leaked it to a British newspaper, and we now have Phelps suspended for three months, and Kellogg deciding not to renew their contact with him, etc etc etc, all I have to say is this:

SO WHAT?!

The only people that would have an issue with this are the ultra-conservative, generally right-wing, highly-religious, socially-inept dweebs that are usually not very fun at parties anyway. It’s not like Phelps was snorting coke or shooting heroin, as that would be pretty fucked, but taking a bong hit? How is that morally wrong? A common thought as to why marijuana is illegal is because it was a threat to cigarette companies back in the 1920s – 1930s, and we all know how Big Tobacco, along with Big Oil, control the world. Hell, the income generated from taxing cigarettes alone is huge.

Still, I can see how a family company like Kellogg would want to distance themselves from Phelps as they want to maintain their “wholesome image”, and that’s their right, as they’re in business and have to cater to everyone, including the dweebs that are no fun at parties. But for the media to hammer Phelps’ image about how he has disappointed everyone, brought shame to the U.S. swimming team, the nature of the Olympics, etc, well… that’s just a crock of shit.

I doubt it will occur in my lifetime where people will wake up and realise that marijuana is hardly a drug at all and generally better for society than cigarettes and booze (people would certainly be a lot calmer), and a stoner is leaps and bounds better than a crack/coke/heroin addict (when was the last time you’ve heard of a stoner holding up a store… even if he DID have the munchies?!)… but one can hope.

Hey ultra-conservative right-wing highly-religious dweebs! You know this is just a plant, right, and that God apparently created it, right? So… what’s the big frikkin’ deal?

Austin drivers making their morning commute were in for a surprise when two road signs on a busy stretch of road were taken over by hackers. The signs near the intersection of Lamar and Martin Luther King boulevards usually warn drivers about upcoming construction, but Monday morning they warned of  “zombies ahead.”

“I thought it was pretty funny,” said University of Texas sophomore Jane Shin, who saw the signs while driving down Lamar Bouelvard with friends Sunday night. “We wondered who did it.”

The City of Austin does not own the signs, but they are responsible for the message. The contractor on the construction project owns the signs. A city spokesperson said the hacked messages were only up for a few hours, until the construction project manager saw them during his morning commute and immediately ordered them to be changed back.

“Even though this may seem amusing to a lot of people, this is really serious, and it is a crime,” said Austin Public Works spokesperson Sara Hartley. “And you can be indicted for it, and we want to make sure our traffic on the roadways stays safe.”

Hartley said though it was a locked sign, the padlock for it was cut. Signs such as these have a computer inside that is password-protected.

“And so they had to break in and hack into the computer to do it, so they were pretty determined,” said Hartley.

This crime is a class C misdemeanor in Texas, and Hartley said it endangers the public.

“The big problem is public safety,” said Hartley. “Those signs are out there to help our traffic on the roadway to stay safe and to know what’s coming up.”

KXAN Austin News cameras caught many drivers slowing down to read the signs as they approached. Some read, “Zombies ahead! Run for your lives!”

Hartley said the city will discuss more secure safety measures with the manufacturer of the signs.

- source -

I also found a YouTube upload of the Austin News (KXAN) story which shows images of the prank:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVK33H85GGI

I wonder if we use the same sort of road signs up here in Canada…? I should look into that.  

Thanks to my brother for thinking that I’d get a kick out of that story. You were right.

Update (2009-01-29): …and thanks to McLeody for finding this little gem which explains how to (very simply) perform this little hack:

http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/274/48/

Why am I not surprised that the default password is rarely changed, and even if it is, there is a dead-simple way to reset it? I hardly doubt that this little incident will prompt anyone to quickly make firmware updates to all the road signs out there, or for that matter, change all the passwords… it would take too long to retrain the workers.  

A B.C. man probably wishes he had given his 11-month-old son a set of keys to play with instead of a phone, after the infant accidentally dialled 9-1-1 and brought police to dad’s marijuana grow operation.

Mounties say a 9-1-1 call came in from a White Rock, B.C. residence Friday morning but whoever was on the other end of the line hung up.

Officers arrived at the residence and after numerous knocks on the door went unanswered, they entered the home.

“The gentleman was quite surprised,” said White Rock RCMP Const. Janelle Canning.

She said the 29-year-old male, startled by the sudden sight of police, insisted he hadn’t made the call.

When it was suggested a child might have dialled, the father objected and said his son was far too young.

That’s when police spotted the baby boy, phone in hand.

“We saw him playing with the cordless phone and just pressing all the buttons, so evidently he had called 9-1-1,” Canning said.

With that mystery solved, officers began inspecting the residence and soon discovered a 500-plant marijuana grow operation.

The father was arrested and will appear in court in early April on charges of production of a controlled substance and mischief.

The boy was removed from the home by the Ministry of Children and Family Development, though he was later released into his mother’s custody.

The mother does not live in the residence and Canning says she had no idea what was going on at the home.

- source -

500 plants. Wow. I bet that kid is going to hear this story over and over again when he grows up… busted Daddy before even turning one. That’s impressive.

Jared passed me along a YouTube video taken from a police car’s dashboard camera in Edmonton, which so far seems to have the best view of the entire event. Quite cool. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_2aX-784sw

Naturally, the Canadian media is all over it:

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/11/20/alberta-meteor.html

I wish I saw this with my own eyes. I love stellar phenomena.

Still, kinda makes you wonder about how NASA says it is trying to keep an eye on potentially Earth-shattering (huh huh) chunks of rock. Did they see this one? Perhaps they did, and thought “Well, it’s only going to hit Canada… in the prairies… which is basically just a mix of farmland and snow-covered wasteland anyway…”

Jerks.  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/13/tina-fey-as-sarah-palin-o_n_126249.html

I always thought Sarah Palin looked like a celebrity, but I couldn’t recall whom. Don’t know why I didn’t even think of Tina Fey… she totally does.

Seems that Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and one of John McCain’s advisors, didn’t see the humour in the sketch:

“The portrait was very dismissive of the substance of Sarah Palin, and so in that sense, they were defining Hillary Clinton as very substantive, and Sarah Palin as totally superficial,” McCain advisor Carly Fiorina told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Monday. “I think that continues the line of argument that is disrespectful in the extreme, and yes I would say sexist.”

The Fey/Poehler sketch satirized such topics as Palin’s religious beliefs and foreign policy.

“Just because Sarah Palin has different views than Hillary Clinton does not mean that she lacks substance. She has a lot of substance,” Fiorina said.

- source -

Good lord, Carly. Take a pill.

Peter Small
Courts Bureau
Toronto Star

A judge has dismissed applications for a publication ban on the trial of a youth accused of murdering Jane Creba, ruling that the public’s right to know outweighs the risk of prejudicing the fair trial rights of other defendants whose days in court are set to follow.

“The public has the right to determine whether all of the players in the criminal justice system are performing their respective roles in a fitting and proper manner,” Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer said in a ruling released yesterday.

The Crown and lawyers for most of the accused sought the ban on the trial of a man identified only as J.S.R., who was a youth when the 15-year-old Riverdale Collegiate student was shot on Boxing Day 2005, and so cannot be identified.

His trial is set to begin Monday.

The applicants argued that publicity surrounding the first trial would taint juries in the upcoming trial of the adult accused. The Crown and most defence lawyers sought a ban on reporting any evidence concerning the one other youth and seven adult accused until the jury in the last trial, expected to begin next year, was sequestered and in deliberations.

The second youth is set to be tried, separately, before the adults go to trial.

The Crown sought the publication ban for the Greater Toronto Area only, while the others sought a ban unrestricted geographically.

“In not a single case of which I have been made aware, has a court ever granted the type of broad publication ban that is sought in this case,” Nordheimer wrote.

The ban was opposed by the Star and other media outlets.

Creba was shopping among throngs of Boxing Day bargain hunters near the Foot Locker on Yonge St. north of Dundas St. when a gunfight erupted between two groups of young men on the sidewalk. She died from a single bullet. Six others were wounded.

J.S.R. is charged with second-degree murder. The other youth, identified as G.C., is charged with manslaughter. Jeremiah Valentine, 26, and Raphael Woodcock and Tyshaun Barnett, both 21, are charged with second-degree murder, while Andrew Smith, 23, Vincent Davis, 27, Andre Thompson, 24, and Shuan Thompson, 23, are charged with manslaughter.

The concern regarding pre-trial publicity is not imaginary, the judge said. There is no dispute that the evidence in all three trials will overlap, with similar witnesses. There has been much pre-trial publicity. It would be naïve to assume that most prospective jurors won’t have heard of the shooting, he said.

The judge noted that Canadian law requires a publication ban be necessary to prevent the real risk of an unfair trial and that its benefits outweigh its impinging on freedom of expression. The courts have accepted that the mere fact people are aware of an event does not preclude them from acting properly as jurors, he said.

The judge said any effects of publicity could be offset by excluding jurors who report they have prejudged the issues and by instructions to those who are chosen.

- source -

Had there actually been a publication ban put into place surrounding this trial, I would have done everything in my power to find out all about it, and post it here on my site, and also keep friends informed. Publication bans do nothing but give the impression that the accused have more rights than the victim.

The main points that I know of with regards to what happened:

• On Boxing Day 2005, an innocent teenager’s life was tragically ended during a gang battle.
• This gang battle took place near Yonge and Dundas during one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the busiest area of Toronto at that time of the year.
• The gang was supposedly fighting over drugs and turf, according to some stories.

I look forward to hearing about this trial, and seeing what sort of justice is handed out. I sincerely hope that the courts don’t forget about the fact that a young girl who possibly had a bright future is dead, killed in the crossfire of a pointless gun battle by an example of the pitiful scum that walks our city streets. It’s time that our justice system set a precident when it comes to dealing with gangs and those within them that have no regard for the lives of civilians.

I challenge the courts to ensure that if these thugs are given a fair trial, should they be found guilty, they are issued a sufficient punishment. Anything short of 15 years is unacceptable, as that is all the time that Jane Creba had.

A Croatia lumberjack claims he started ‘enjoying housework and knitting’ after he was given a female kidney..

Stjepan Lizacic, 56, from Osijek, is suing his local health authority because he says he’s become a laughing stock.

He says his life changed from enjoying heavy drinking sessions with pals to prefering housework after the operation.

He told local newspaper 24sata: “The kidney transplant saved my life, but they never warned me about the side effects.

“I have developed a strange passion for female jobs like ironing, sewing, washing dishes, sorting clothes in wardrobes and even knitting.”

He pointed out that before the kidney transplant he would not have been seen dead doing the housework, and expected his wife to do it all, but now found it both relaxing and fulfilling.

He said: “My wife is the only one that is pleased. I do most of the housework now, and I blame the hospital that transplanted me the kidney of a 50-year-old woman instead of a man’s kidney.”

His wife Radmila added: “If the new femine side to him is confined to housework I am very happy, I only hope he doesn’t start looking at other men.”

- source -

…I don’t know what to say…

Anyway, I stumbled upon this article. While I can’t give CNN the credit for writing it, as they’re just regurgitating stories from the Associated Press, I can give CNN credit for making it one of their headlines. Talk about appealing to the average couch potato:

Snack lovers, rejoice: Munching on potato chips just got a little healthier.

Four food manufacturers agreed to reduce levels of a cancer-causing chemical in their potato chips and french fries under a settlement announced Friday by the state attorney general’s office.

California sued H.J. Heinz Co., Frito-Lay, Kettle Foods Inc., and Lance Inc. in 2005, alleging they violated a state requirement that companies post warning labels on products with carcinogens.

The companies avoided trial by agreeing to pay a combined $3 million in fines and reduce the levels of acrylamide in their products over three years, officials said.

“Other companies should follow this lead,” Attorney General Jerry Brown said, calling the settlement “a victory for public health.”

- click here to read the rest of the article -

I love the quote from Attorney General Jerry Brown regarding the settlement. You know what would be an even greater victory for public health? NOT EATING POTATO CHIPS AND OTHER FRIED FOODS.

I will admit, I do have potato chips once in a blue moon, but the aftertaste is usually what reminds me why I don’t eat them more often… other than the fact that I feel like crap afterwards. My tastebuds may initially say “Yay! Potato chips!”, but it is my gut and the rest of my body that later say “Why the HELL did you put us through that torture!?”.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7083015.stm

This past Friday, the price of crude oil was $139 per barrel. WTF. I don’t drive, so I’m not hit by these prices (I do offer to help pay for gas for those who offer me rides, though), but it really makes me wonder how people can afford to keep using their cars.

I also find it funny how Dubya is now trying to reverse a ban on offshore drilling in an attempt to deal with the high prices Americans, and the rest of the world, face at the pumps:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7460767.stm

He calls the ban “outdated and counter-productive”. Hmmm. You know what is outdated? The constant meddling of the United States government in the affairs of foreign countries, especially in the Middle East. You know what is counter-productive? The Bush Administration and the conflicts they have started around the world, mostly in the Middle East.

Oh, and let’s not forget McCain, the rising Republican star. He is for offshore drilling (surprise!), but is also trying to reign in the environmentalists to his side by pledging a goal of 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/us/politics/19nuke.html

What is it with politicians setting goals, especially during campaign times, that far exceed the term of office they are seeking? At best, McCain (God forbid) could serve an eight year stint in the White House. Quick math puts that up until 2016. Not 2030. So… why is this a goal HE is setting? Chances are, he won’t live to see 2030 in the first place, considering he is 71. He is setting a goal of 45 nuclear reactors to be built within the next 22 years to deal with the energy crisis we’re dealing with today!? Read that again: 22 years from NOW. What kind of a pledge is that? I seriously hope American voters don’t fall for this. Lofty goals like this are only used to grab more votes, and the last thing the Republican party deserves are more votes in their favour.

Anyway, that’s enough ranting for one post. 

There is good news and bad news for President George W. Bush as he pursues his valedictory tour of Europe this week, according to a new worldwide study by the Pew Global Attitudes Project.

On the one hand, the image of the United States has improved slightly in many countries over the past year. On the other, the new optimism appears to be driven largely by the fact that Bush will soon be leaving office.

- source -

Personally, I really REALLY hope that Obama is elected. Not only would having a black President be a great thing to help end the continuing racial issues we’re always hearing about on the news, but the last thing the world needs right now is another four year stint with the Republicans in charge. Best to have the Democrats in power so they can clean up the mess left behind by the Bush administration before the Republicans can fuck things up further.

Come on America! Be smart! Vote Democrat!