That's easy to beat. Running out of oil wouldn't even be any kind of disaster if our government types and the big corporations weren't too greedy to move away from oil by now.
Yellowstone is a super volcano, one of the world's biggest. Most of Yellowstone Park is inside its caldera. Its major eruptions are extinction events. When it went off back in the late Cretaceous, the eruption had the force of 1000 Mount St. Helens. A pyroclastic cloud, moving at the speed of sound, filled with ash, debris, extreme heat, and shock force, swept down from the volcano, flattening and incinerating anything (including dinosaurs - we have their charred bones) in its path. The western half of the USA was buried in ash. The whole world went through a nuclear/volcano winter. If you would like to see a dramatization, watch "Little Das' Hunt", a "Dinosaur Planet" episode.
If such a large eruption were to happen today, say bye-bye to the US and its food production. Maybe even bye-bye human race. You were saying something about running out of oil?
As for me, I really hope we clean up our act and start convincing Mother Earth that we are worth keeping around. I don't want to be buried in volcanic ash along with some dinosaurs she didn't like anymore.
Mr. Goto: "Nature spent millions of years making all this, and we destroyed it all in a matter of minutes." Ms. Goto: "So what now?" Mr. Goto: "It may not be too late to save the trees in the forests. It's going to take many years of hard work." Ms. Goto: "Maybe, when we have grandchildren... they can live in a different world -- one where people respect the environment. We have to make sure that becomes a reality." Mothra Leo roars "Grow! Grow!", and sheds ten thousand years worth of sunlight, rain, and dreams on the forest, which comes back to life in a matter of minutes. "Rebirth of Mothra" 1996
Fossil fuel pollution: "Mothra" (1961) : destruction of Newkirk Motors.
Any Godzilla movie depicting the destruction of refineries and other oil industry targets.
Terrorism: "Godzilla vs. Ebirah" (1966): Godzilla and Mothra come down on the Red Bamboo terrorists and their WMDs.
"Mothra 3: King Ghidora Attacks" (1998): Ghidora as King of Terror flying into twin towers (very accurate depiction, I might add), shock and awe attack on Tokyo, Mothra as Queen of Peace kicking his butt.
Environmental Issues: "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster" (1971): Hedorah as pollution monster, Godzilla's disgust with pollution, dealing with environmental problems the right way (would later become a recurring theme).
"Godzilla vs. Mothra" (1992): Battra, the Black Mothra, and the Earth punishing those who harm the Earth. Mount Fuji, not amused by Maritomo Company's plans for development, drops Godzilla on top of the project.
"Rebirth of Mothra" (1996): Death Ghidora as monster of super volcanoes, forest fires, and global warming, importance of forests, dealing with environmental problems the right way.
"Rebirth of Mothra 2" (1997): Dagara, a Mothra badly mutated by Belems (a plan to remove ocean pollution that backfired), threatens humanity; importance of the seas, water pollution, dealing with environmental problems the right way, tribute to real world environmentalists who saved Ishigaki's coral reefs.
"Godzilla vs. Megagiras" (2000): importance of clean energy, neither fission or fusion/plasma are clean in Godzilla's book.
Those are just some samples. Lots of issues have been dealt with by the monsters over the last fifty years. Try watching some movies and taking them as seriously as they were meant.
Mr. Goto: "Nature spent millions of years making all this, and we destroyed it all in a matter of minutes." Ms. Goto: "So what now?" Mr. Goto: "It may not be too late to save the trees in the forests. It's going to take many years of hard work." Ms. Goto: "Maybe, when we have grandchildren... they can live in a different world -- one where people respect the environment. We have to make sure that becomes a reality." Mothra Leo roars "Grow! Grow!", and sheds ten thousand years worth of sunlight, rain, and dreams on the forest, which comes back to life in a matter of minutes. "Rebirth of Mothra" 1996
First and foremost, Godzilla is the Son of Bravo: a 15 megaton H-bomb exploded by the US as a nuclear test on Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954. Bravo dug a crater a mile wide and 240 feet deep, had a mushroom cloud 18 miles high, with a cap 62 miles across. It shed radioactive ash across an area 20,000 square miles, hitting a Japanese fishing boat (the Lucky Dragon No. 5) with a lethal dose for the ship's radioman (Aikichi Kuboyama). It spawned a nuclear typhoon that raged over hundreds of miles, engulfing Rongelap Atoll and its people. Japanese newspapers called this "The Second Atomic Bombing of Mankind". Kuboyama died on September 23, 1954. On November 3, 1954, "Gojira" was released, with Godzilla sinking fishing boats, rampaging over Ohto island in the teeth of a typhoon, and destroying Tokyo. This is Godzilla in his most ancient form: as the god of the atom, and the god of mass destruction.
While Godzilla first destroyed a nuclear power plant in 1966, it was part of a nuclear weapons manufacturing plant run by the Red Bamboo terrorists using slave labor (some of the slaves were kidnapped from Infant Island, involving Mothra as well as Godzilla). It was not until the end of the Cold War that Godzilla became the god of nuclear power, and the god of Chernobyl and Tokai. Considering eight plant workers were sprayed with radioactive water in a mishap in Japan in the last month, and America's own Hole-in-the-Head reactor in Ohio (we came within a 16th inch of our very own Chernobyl in the midwest), that aspect of Godzilla is hardly irrelevant.
With Iraq's missing WMD's in the news, Bush's desire to make mini H-bombs he can use, and Congress clearing the way for a rapid resumption of the production and testing of nuclear weapons (not to mention the 30,000 Russian nukes still pointed at us on hair trigger alert), the oldest aspect of Godzilla is alarmingly once more extremely relevant.
In the mythology of Godzilla, humanity, which once stole fire from heaven, has now stolen fire from the atom. But that fire is as wild and untamable as Godzilla himself. Originally made in the image of the T. Rex, Godzilla is an animal, the dominant alpha carnivore, the biggest to walk the earth, and the atom is his territory. Godzilla is also the god of the atom, the world's only, who demands that humanity pay for its theft. He will sleep in peace only when humanity returns what it has stolen, destroying all nuclear weapons, and forsaking them and nuclear power, fission and fusion, forever. Until then, expect his return: in the movies, in typhoons and the sinking of fishing boats, in nuclear tests, in nuclear plant accidents and disasters, in the deaths and damage caused by human pride, human greed, and human stupidity.
Have we no hope then? There is one: the mightiest monster in all creation, the one power greater than the world's sole superpower, the goddess of peace, humanity's greatest friend and protector: Mothra! She alone has defeated the god of mass destruction to become the Queen of Monsters.
Homage to Godzilla, King of Monsters, in the year of his Golden Jubilee!
Homage to Mothra, Queen of Monsters, in the year of her Ruby Jubilee!
"Our people.. stricken with disease.
You.. you played with the fires of the gods.
And you dare to come here and ask us for help!
You betrayed us! You expect us to trust you after what you have done?" Infant Island Chief, "Godzilla vs. Mothra", 1964 - for the tenth anniversary of Bravo
"Fossil" is exactly what I was thinking when I saw it. It is, after all on the bottom of an ancient lake, which is exactly where fossils form on Earth.
Here is something else to consider: Mars may be recovering from a mass extinction event. Had we sent a probe to Earth just after the Permian extinction wiped out 90% of all life, the place would be a devastated mess, with what little life remaining hiding out and clinging by a thread. Life takes decades to recover in the vicinity of a major volcanic eruption. Life took far longer to recover in the vicinity of the Yellowstone super volcano. It is not inconceivable that Mars could take as long as we have been watching it or more to recover from a severe mass extinction. While it did, it would look dead to us, at least until we had the technology to find its life, and had looked in enough places.
If there is life on Mars, I believe it should be left alone. No more probes, unless it can be proven that they are made of harmless materials (as the current ones are not) and will not damage anything. Certainly not any human visits. Our species has a terrible record for destroying life. It is one thing to go back in time and destroy our own ancestors, ensuring we do not evolve. We have no right to be going to another planet and messing up their evolution.
"It's a miracle! The sea water has once again created new life." Moll, "Rebirth of Mothra 2"
If it was a musician or the family of a deceased musician saying: "Don't use my work for this." I would agree whole heartedly.
But it is not a musician or artist saying this. It is not a surviving Beetle or even the family member of a deceased Beetle. It is a greedy corporate monster shark, who holds the rights long ago taken from the Beetles, saying this.
The US Constitution gives the creator of a copyrighted work a monopoly on copying it for a short period as a way of rewarding creators for contributing to their society. After that, the work is to return to the public domain. Once in the public domain, anyone can copy, redistribute, or make derivative works (Grey Album) from the work. The Constitution basically agrees with the ancient ideal: the music belongs to the artist and to the people.
The greedy sharks that are the big labels used a monopoly on recording technology they once had to force a kind of contracted slavery on artists. They and other corporations pushed Congress to extend copyright periods obscenely, stealing from the people and their public domain, and ruthlessly suppressing the creativity that can come from derivative works. They have used contracts, and more recently, a work-for-hire law to take copyrights from the artists. They sell the artists, again and again, at every performance, and on every CD. And they have the unmitigated gall to claim the artist's work as *their* intellectual property, and to persecute anyone from little girls in projects to grandparents for "pirating" something that should belong to the artists or the public domain!
The shark's day is done! The very technology that once gave them their power has now turned against them, enabling a new music industry to arise. In this new industry, free and independent artists have the power, and other companies (music making equipment, CD distribution, etc.) are arising to serve the artists. It will be the people, not the sharks' label execs, who decide whether an artist is hot or not.
As for the sharks, I suspect they will be too busy trying to grab the cane from somebody's grandpa to see the bullet coming that was fired at them by Justice herself.
"They bind our hearts: 'Let's sell them again and again!'
Our plan understands the sea; we can wait for her coming." From the song "Infanto no Musume" in the Japanese version of "Mothra" (1961).
If developing nuclear power very safely is within our grasp, then why don't we do it?
Chernobyl Three Mile Island Tokaimura
Every major and minor nuclear accident, famous or unreported, is due to human stupidity, often motivated by greed. Until you fix human stupidity and greed, you won't have safe nuclear power.
Tokaimura was the worst example of stupidity. Disable all safety procedures, then invite the Godzilla crew over to film an attack on the plant. Before the movie (quoted from below) was released, Japan had its worst nuclear accident.
Current nuclear fusion technology emits neutrons that render anything they impact with highly radioactive. We are at least 50-100 years from anything like safe, production level, fusion technology. Of course, Japan is trying to get a fusion reactor built there that uses today's technology.
And yes, you can use nuclear fusion to blow stuff up. Just ask the son of H-bomb Bravo: Godzilla. In fact, the US has restarted making plutonium pits (hollow spheres that you pack explosives around, when you blow them up, they start fission, which ignites fusion), and plans to restart making H-bombs and testing them. The funds for research and shortening the restart of testing are in the 2004 budget.
Otherwise, I agree with your post whole-heartedly.
"Our people.. stricken with disease. You.. you played with the fires of the gods.
And you dare to come here and ask us for help! You betrayed us! You expect us to trust you after what you have done?" Infant Island Chief, "Godzilla vs. Mothra" (US Version), 1964 (1964 was the 10th year anniversary of H-bomb Bravo test on Bikini Atoll, aka the Second Atomic Bombing of Mankind)
The problem with DDT is that it is a poisonous excuse for not using one's brain.
I used to live across the street from a river, and up the road from a marsh. Yet I could go out a night without fear of mosquito bites! Why? Bats, an army of 2,000 of them, patrolling the skies every night during mosquito season, sucking up the insects like a vacuum cleaner. They were cute little brown bats, and thanks to them, I could star gaze in safety.
Mosquitos are, with the exception of females in mating season, basically plant eaters that have lots of enemies, including brown bats and dragonflies. If mosquitos are out of control in an area, look for their enemies and see why they aren't out eating such a gourmet feast. Fix that problem, and mosquitos in wild areas should be under control. In cities, look for stagnate puddles and eliminate them. With no place to breed, except wetlands patrolled by their enemies, mosquitos should not be much of a problem.
Of course chemical companies do not like such a simple solution. There is no profit in bats and dragonflies. They want to sell something they can make money on, whether or not it is a good solution to a problem, or causes more harm than the good it does. And if their product harms its competition, the bats and dragonflies that might otherwise control the mosquitos themselves, so much the better for the chemical companies!
And if we can't trust chemical companies to do the right thing with something simple like pest control, why are we trusting companies to do the right thing with the atom, the cell (most food crop GM is so they can sell more pesticide), let alone nanotech?
More and more I am convinced that some of these companies would happily wipe out all life on this planet if it made their quarterly earnings report look better!
"Ridiculous, you have no claim. I'll sue you for interfering with private enterprise." Kumoyama, Happy Enterprises, "Mothra vs. Godzilla", 1964
It has long been the theme of Toho's Godzilla series that the atom and later the cell are sacred fires man is not to touch, let alone steal from the gods. The theme of scientific responsibility, so eloquently expressed in "Jurassic Park", is but an echo of a movie from fifty years ago about another dinosaur: "Gojira"!
In the original Japanese version of that movie, Dr. Serizawa chooses death rather than take the risk that his accidental discovery would be used as a weapon by some nation. He had experience with the Nazis that cost him his eye, and that convinced him that he could be tortured into revealing his discovery. He could trust no nation, on either side of the Cold War. The only way to save Japan from Godzilla and protect the world from his discovery, was for him to make one weapon, destroy his life's work, and then die with Godzilla.
His shining example shames the irresponsible corporate scientists of today, as much as it shamed the Manhattan Project scientists.
"Our people.. stricken with disease.
You.. you played with the fires of the gods.
And you dare to come here and ask us for help!
You betrayed us! You expect us to trust you after what you have done?" Infant Island Chief, "Godzilla vs. Mothra" (US Version), 1964 (Giving voice to the Marshall Islands people, on the tenth anniversary of the H-bomb Bravo, which also created Godzilla.)
Of course, it is not going to work. There is no way fingerprinting can prevent a bunch of giggling terrorists chattering on the satellite phone about wild tales of future attacks, and then laughing while the US blunders about trying to prevent it. Al Qaeda wants fear, economic damage, and the US humbled. Satellite phone chatter is a cheap way to get it, and the idiots in Homeland Security fall for it. Or cooperate with it and the terror in America's heart that results as a way to make Bush out to be some evil conquering good guy in an election year.
You hit the nail on the head with "War on Peace". Of course the flunky of the King of Terror's favorite pet, the Mongol King George, would think Peace is the real threat. Not that Peace is amused by their antics: the last time Code Orange was invoked to hinder a peace protest, Mongol King George got dumped on and spent quality time stuck behind a snow plow!
If Peace can get one of her special ops doves to infiltrate the Pentagon (last May), perhaps she can get a human dove in the White House to save us from this mess.
"The path of peace is yours to discover for eternity." Japanese version of "Mothra" (1961)
Well, you would destroy half the base too if they offered you army food instead of a nice juicy whale. Any good monster emulator would emulate Rodan's excellent taste as well as his nobility of spirit.
They thought that was a Mothra emulator, but really it was a Mothra egg. The larva hatched twelve years ago and ate all of Saddam's WMD plans so he couldn't make them anymore. She also told Saddam and his boys that they were mean (the ultimate insult from a Baby Mothra). She spun a cocoon and emerged as an adult. On her way out of Iraq, she stopped by the hospitals, healing sick kids that were dying because of the US imposed sanctions.
Earlier this year, Mothra was seen organizing the global peace movement, and leading the February 14th world-wide peace protests. Bad old bin Laden might have his thousands of followers, but Mothra, Goddess of Peace, has millions.
She later returned to Washington DC as Hurricane Isabel. She shredded all fifty flags around the Washington Monument, and toppled modern trees onto the White House lawn, but didn't disturb a twig of the trees planted by former presidents. The Shrub in Chief of the armed forces of the world's only superpower fled from her. As she moved northward into peaceful Canada, the skies wept, gently breaking their drought.
Mothra, and her newborn twins, are currently in Tokyo trying to coral a rampaging Godzilla (Godzilla X Mothra X MechaGodzilla: Tokyo SOS". Trailers are here:
http://www.godzilla.co.jp/movie/trailer/index.ht ml
Don't believe in Mothra? Here is a picture taken in July of this year of her hiding behind a cloud in Florida. Only the top of her head, one of her antennas, and part of a wing are visible:
Yep, Ohio's infamous Hole-In-The-Head reactor was First Energy's baby. Enough primary coolant (the stuff that cools the rods and glows a pretty blue around them from the radiation) was leaking out the top of the reactor head to eat a hole big enough to put a gallon milk jug through. The only thing between America and Chernobyl was a one-sixteenth inch thick stainless steel plate on the outside. Enough coolant did make its way to the outside that the top had to be wiped off periodically. This went on for six years, with several bungled inspections failing to catch it, and a cover up to attempt to let First Energy to continue running the thing. First Energy was still trying to get the government to let them patch and restart it when the blackout happened.
Funny thing about the blackout: nuclear plants and dirty fossil fuel plants were affected. Clean plants, like the Niagara Falls hydroelectric plant, blinked, then went right on running.
Another funny thing about the blackout: five days before the lights went out, "Godzilla X Megagiras" had had its US premiere at the Egyptian Theatre. In this movie, Godzilla's attacks on nuclear plants cause Japan to ban all nuclear energy and look to clean energy. The bad guy keeps building fusion plants (fobbing them off as "clean energy"), but they always leak radiation, and Godzilla always finds them and knocks their lights out.
You might want to stock up on flashlights. "Godzilla X Megagiras" is coming out on DVD in the US January 6th.
> Too many luddites are trying to reverse the tide of > technology.
Nope, just trying to reverse the tide of foolish and careless use of technology. Technology is only good when mixed with large doses of wisdom.
> Nuclear technology is a triumph of physics--it's > something no other animal has mastered.
We haven't mastered the fire of the atom. Like the fire from heaven, we stole it, and can barely control it. Like the fire from heaven that destroys homes and rampages through forests and entire towns, the fire from the atom has run wild: Bravo, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, Tokai, among others. Our stupidity, carelessness, greed, and pride have cost lives.
The only animal that ever mastered this fire is the child of H-bomb Bravo: Godzilla, the Dreaded God of the Atom and of Destruction. Play with his fire, and he will burn you.
After the big blackout, there were a number of articles on various new, safe, technologies that could be used to power individual buildings instead of relying on a grid. Perhaps one or more of those technologies would do the job without the risks associated with a reactor.
"Our people.. stricken with disease.
You.. you played with the fires of the gods.
And you dare to come here and ask us for help!
You betrayed us! You expect us to trust you after what you have done?" Infant Island Chief, "Godzilla vs. Mothra" (US Version), 1964
Hindus, Indian or not, believe in non-violence, as do many others of many other religions, including more moderate versions of Islam. Non-violent peace protesters follow in the footsteps of Ghandi and Dr. King. They, like jihadists, go where they are needed (such as human shields in Iraq and Palestine). Thanks to the internet, they can be gathered together quickly in very large numbers all over the world. This led to the unprecedented peace protest in February where millions gathered in sixty countries all over the planet on a single day to protest the Iraq war.
When enough G5 Macs cluster, they become a super computer of Godzilla proportions.
When enough human doves cluster, they become the power greater than the world's greatest superpower: Peace.
"The path of peace is yours to discover for eternity." Japanese version of "Mothra" (1961)
> There is no way, on current trends, that China will be > able to challenge the US as an economic power.
China alone, perhaps not.
> There aren't the resources on the planet to raise China to > the economic level of the United States or Europe.
There are two resources actually: international cooperation and courage.
Last month, at the WTO (World Trade Organization) meeting in Cancun Mexico, the US (the world's sole superpower), the EU (an emerging superpower) and Japan (an economic power in its own right) were confronted by the G21, a group consisting of Brazil, China, India, South Korea, South Africa, and other developing nations. At issue was a proposal put forth by the big powers that would harm small farmers worldwide. The G21 put up their own proposal, and negotiations (hello, this isn't the USTO) began. Negotiations consisted mostly of a series of bad compromises, bribes and attempts at coercion on the part of the big powers, with poor Mexico trying to play good host. Some of the African delegates said they wavered, but the sight of the activists cheering them on gave them the courage to stand firm.
At the end of the meeting, the G21 members got up and left. Because of their united opposition, the proposal of the big powers, that only benefited the big multinational corporations, was defeated. The future of the WTO itself is in question. Small farmers from Wisconsin to South Korea cheered. And a lesson was learned.
The G21 of course learned that they could wield some serious clout if they banded together against the superpower. But the rest of the world was watching, and they want to try it too.
The APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperative) Summit is meeting in Thailand later this month, and against tradition, the WTO Director isn't invited. The Thai prime minister said "the WTO has nothing to do with APEC summit" (Japan Today).
It's not just nations banding together. Grass roots groups are doing it too. The nice folks who brought you the world wide peace protests earlier this year are back, and putting tens to a hundred thousand people on the streets in several countries. It takes a bit to organize the big ones, but they will no doubt will be back to millions before you know it.
Say hello to the new world's biggest superpower: the people of Earth.
"The path of peace is yours to discover for eternity." Japanese version of "Mothra" (1961)
> You need talent first. > > I hate posts that end with stupid questions like this.
Do you know if this person has talent or not? It is not a stupid question if the person's talent is unknown.
In fact, back in the days where this sort of technology was not available to anyone with a decent PC or Mac, there was no way to tell if you had the talent to record music. Technology then gave the monopoly to a very few (the big bad labels).
Now someone interested in recording can try out some of the less expensive software and see if they have a talent for it, and if they like it. They can start out as a hobbyist for their own amusement, and if they are any good, build it into a hobby that pays for itself, and maybe even into a livelihood.
The future of music is going to be very interesting indeed.
"Lightning shines on wavy beach, and all clouds are made right:
Happiness Appears!" From the song "Infanto no Musume" in the Japanese version of "Mothra" (1961).
> Publishing credit card information on ebay etc etc, yadda > yadda - is just plain dumb. It's all moronic behaviour > that's only gonna lead to trouble for the "unsung hero" - > how is that clever? Why should that be rewarded with > street cred and trend points?
He didn't put the credit card information on Ebay. He put two computers up for auction on Ebay, assuming their hard drives had been professionally wiped clean.
When he found out that was not the case, he could have just tried to erase the disk himself, and sold it anyway. What made him a hero was that he immediately yanked the auction, and took the risk to himself of contacting the reporter and the bank (if he had not been believed, he might have wound up in a whole mess of trouble). Because he did this, the bank could trace back where the problem was and fix it so no other hard drives fell into possibly the wrong hands, and the public was notified of the problem. He may well have saved thousands of people from identity theft.
That is why he is a hero.
"There is something important to do, no matter how hard or painful." Mothra (via Moll) "Mothra 3: King Ghidora Attacks" (Japanese version)
Correction: they have never on purpose been used on people. Accidents do happen, and Cold War secrecy made this one worse:
On March 1, 1954, a 15 megaton hydrogen bomb, code named Bravo, was exploded on the Bikini Atoll. Outside the restricted zone, 125 miles to the east was the inhabited Rongelap Atoll, and 100 miles to the east a Japanese fishing boat, the Lucky Dragon, was operating.
The explosion kicked up a violent nuclear hurricane, which hit Rongelap and the Lucky Dragon. The inhabitants of Rongelap and the crew of the Lucky Dragon were heavily dosed with radiation from both the hurricane and from the radioactive ash that fell like yellow snow. These caused deaths, badly deformed babies, and many cancers.
On September 23, 1954, Aikichi Kuboyama, the Lucky Dragon's radioman, died, the first victim of the hydrogen bomb. Headlines in Japan declared Bravo to be "The Second Atomic Bombing of Mankind".
The Japanese made movie, in part so that Bravo's victims would not be forgotten. Released on November 3, 1954, it featured first the radioactive destruction of ships at sea, and then a destructive force visiting an island during a hurricane. Finally, for the first time in history, Godzilla, Son of Bravo, appears in Tokyo Bay.
"Our people.. stricken with disease.
You.. you played with the fires of the gods.
And you dare to come here and ask us for help!
You betrayed us! You expect us to trust you after what you have done?" Infant Island Chief, "Godzilla vs. Mothra" (US Version), 1964 (Released near the 10th anniversary of Bravo, featuring the defeat of Godzilla by Mothra, goddess of peace.)
A gun may be used with good intentions (to protect), or with evil intentions (to harm), but it can only be used to kill or wound. And if you aren't very careful with it, the bad guy can take it from you and use it on you. Guess what intentions the bad guy has?
Embrace. Extend. Extinguish. Remember those three? Remember the part where Microsoft is the bad guy?
"At this moment, it has control of systems all over the world. And...we can't do a damn thing to stop it." Miyasaka, "Godzilla 2000 Millennium" (Japanese version)
True, ignorance of the law is no excuse. Though with 400+ page laws being passed on a regular basis for the last 200+ years, I don't know any American, except maybe a lawyer, who isn't ignorant of at least some of the law.
But that is not what is supposedly going on here. If we are to take the statements given by the little girl and her mother as fact, they seemed to think they were subscribing to a paid music listening service. And that since they were paying monthly (some legitimate music services do work that way), they were paying for the music. That implies an ignorance of Kaazaa's business practices, not the law. If Kaazaa falsely represented themselves to them as a legitimate music service, then the culprit is Kaazaa, not them.
Anyway, suing a child for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars when all they did is listen to some songs is ridiculous. If the music sharks are so cash strapped that they have to sue kids to make a profit, then maybe they should just save us all a lot of grief and go extinct.
"Mothra's going to come and save us." Taiki Goto, "Rebirth of Mothra"
Sorry to burst your bubble, but I have been using *csh for thirteen years and I am not going to stop now.;)
Apple has an X server in beta that is a free download. Go download it and whatever terminal emulator you like.
Bash is available on Jaguar and will be the default on Panther, which should suit you.
For Apple updates from the command line, try "softwareupdate".
Commandline Emacs not only is a part of OS X (if it isn't on your Mac, install the free Developer Tools), but there is an xemacs that works on the X server, and an Aqua emacs port.
"What's going on here, monsters on Parade?!" "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidora: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack" (US Premiere on SciFi Channel Aug 31)
The overload shut down 23 power plants, 9-10 of them nuclear plants. The area's hydro-electric plants are still functional, even the one at Niagara Falls.
There is only one being interested in ending man's irresponsible playing with the fire stolen from the atom.
It is the dreaded god of the atom: the one true Godzilla!
The Godzilla Prediction Network is warning against attacks and other phenomena in America through the end of August by the following monsters:
Godzilla (G2K and 54/GMK aspects), Mothra (Mothra Leo and Mothra of Yamato), King Ghidora (King of Terror and Thousand Year Dragon King aspects), Baragon, Megagiras: the Hyper-flight Dragon, possibly also Death Ghidora and Dagara.
Many attacks or phenomenon will take the appearance of accidents or natural phenomenon such as the 1-km asteroid flyby this Saturday (King Ghidora). Only the King of Terror has been known to attack by means of terrorists (and his days are seriously numbered).
If the situation gets out of control, call Mothra. From the remarkably calm reactions of people in New York, and the cooling breeze that CNN just reported springing up, there is evidence that Mothra is already in New York providing assistance.
"What's going on here, monsters on Parade?!" "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidora: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack"
The original scriptwriter sued Sony for ripping off his script.
Marvel sued Sony for hijacking the character of Spider-Man and trying to make it sound like a Sony creation.
The actual creator of Spider-Man, Stan Lee, sued Marvel for not getting his fair share of the movie profits.
That is all allegedly done by Sony, a MPAA member, and Marvel, a major comic book publisher.
The above allegations, if true, are a drop in the bucket of all the things the members of MPAA and RIAA and done in the last few decades to rip off artists, each other, and the general public. It sounds to me like they need to clean up their own acts before they start worrying about the security of file-sharers' PCs.
Bells are ringing: Mothra, Mothra! Every heart is calling: Mothra, Mothra! Come on, Tok Wira, these sharks have gotta pay! New Kirk calling Mothra, we need you today!
> SBC is huge and they are skilled with lobbying. > > If they can put pressure on the government to reconsider > parts of the DMCA, that could actually be a good thing > for a change.
Challenging the traditional foe of the world's biggest monster on said monster's birthday ("Mothra" was released in Japan on July 30, 1961) isn't going to hurt them either. SBC may be huge, but the original Mothra with a 820 foot wingspan is nothing to sneeze at, as she has been described as the one power greater than the world's greatest superpower.
Mothra is currently filming her newest movie, but she is expected to come to the US in August to battle the King of Terror (fight to be televised by the SciFi channel on August 31st - two new Godzilla movies will premiere in the US on the same day and channel). The Godzilla Prediction Network has posted attack warnings covering much of the continental US, especially the east and west coasts, for Mothra, Godzilla, King Ghidora, Baragon, Megagiras, Death Ghidora, and Dagara.
It has been noted that reformation of character is an excellent deterrent of Mothra attacks, because she only attacks for just reasons. The RIAA is encouraged to heed this advice, and quit being mean to their member labels' artists and customers, and to other businesses like SBC.
Music is a part of our culture. We shouldn't let the RIAA take that from us.
Instead, we should take music away from the RIAA. The technology for production and promotion is here, today. Make music outside the RIAA, heck, outside any label if you want to. Buy music from indie artists and honest indie labels. Create a new music industry apart from the RIAA and its members, and watch them shrivel and blow away.
It is the artists and the people that must be free.
And the RIAA sharks with their decades of enslaving artists and gouging their customers is evil.
Bells are ringing: Mothra, Mothra! Every heart is calling: Mothra, Mothra! Come on, Tok Wira, these sharks have gotta pay! New Kirk calling Mothra, we need you today!
Slashdot Mirror
That's easy to beat. Running out of oil wouldn't even be any kind of disaster if our government types and the big corporations weren't too greedy to move away from oil by now.
Yellowstone is a super volcano, one of the world's biggest. Most of Yellowstone Park is inside its caldera. Its major eruptions are extinction events. When it went off back in the late Cretaceous, the eruption had the force of 1000 Mount St. Helens. A pyroclastic cloud, moving at the speed of sound, filled with ash, debris, extreme heat, and shock force, swept down from the volcano, flattening and incinerating anything (including dinosaurs - we have their charred bones) in its path. The western half of the USA was buried in ash. The whole world went through a nuclear/volcano winter. If you would like to see a dramatization, watch "Little Das' Hunt", a "Dinosaur Planet" episode.
If such a large eruption were to happen today, say bye-bye to the US and its food production. Maybe even bye-bye human race. You were saying something about running out of oil?
As for me, I really hope we clean up our act and start convincing Mother Earth that we are worth keeping around. I don't want to be buried in volcanic ash along with some dinosaurs she didn't like anymore.
Mr. Goto: "Nature spent millions of years making all this, and we destroyed it all in a matter of minutes."
Ms. Goto: "So what now?"
Mr. Goto: "It may not be too late to save the trees in the forests. It's going to take many years of hard work."
Ms. Goto: "Maybe, when we have grandchildren... they can live in a different world -- one where people respect the environment. We have to make sure that becomes a reality."
Mothra Leo roars "Grow! Grow!", and sheds ten thousand years worth of sunlight, rain, and dreams on the forest, which comes back to life in a matter of minutes.
"Rebirth of Mothra" 1996
Your new monsters are already covered by Toho:
Fossil fuel pollution:
"Mothra" (1961) : destruction of Newkirk Motors.
Any Godzilla movie depicting the destruction of refineries and other oil industry targets.
Terrorism:
"Godzilla vs. Ebirah" (1966): Godzilla and Mothra come down on the Red Bamboo terrorists and their WMDs.
"Mothra 3: King Ghidora Attacks" (1998): Ghidora as King of Terror flying into twin towers (very accurate depiction, I might add), shock and awe attack on Tokyo, Mothra as Queen of Peace kicking his butt.
Environmental Issues:
"Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster" (1971): Hedorah as pollution monster, Godzilla's disgust with pollution, dealing with environmental problems the right way (would later become a recurring theme).
"Godzilla vs. Mothra" (1992): Battra, the Black Mothra, and the Earth punishing those who harm the Earth. Mount Fuji, not amused by Maritomo Company's plans for development, drops Godzilla on top of the project.
"Rebirth of Mothra" (1996): Death Ghidora as monster of super volcanoes, forest fires, and global warming, importance of forests, dealing with environmental problems the right way.
"Rebirth of Mothra 2" (1997): Dagara, a Mothra badly mutated by Belems (a plan to remove ocean pollution that backfired), threatens humanity; importance of the seas, water pollution, dealing with environmental problems the right way, tribute to real world environmentalists who saved Ishigaki's coral reefs.
"Godzilla vs. Megagiras" (2000): importance of clean energy, neither fission or fusion/plasma are clean in Godzilla's book.
Those are just some samples. Lots of issues have been dealt with by the monsters over the last fifty years. Try watching some movies and taking them as seriously as they were meant.
Mr. Goto: "Nature spent millions of years making all this, and we destroyed it all in a matter of minutes."
Ms. Goto: "So what now?"
Mr. Goto: "It may not be too late to save the trees in the forests. It's going to take many years of hard work."
Ms. Goto: "Maybe, when we have grandchildren... they can live in a different world -- one where people respect the environment. We have to make sure that becomes a reality."
Mothra Leo roars "Grow! Grow!", and sheds ten thousand years worth of sunlight, rain, and dreams on the forest, which comes back to life in a matter of minutes.
"Rebirth of Mothra" 1996
First and foremost, Godzilla is the Son of Bravo: a 15 megaton H-bomb exploded by the US as a nuclear test on Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954. Bravo dug a crater a mile wide and 240 feet deep, had a mushroom cloud 18 miles high, with a cap 62 miles across. It shed radioactive ash across an area 20,000 square miles, hitting a Japanese fishing boat (the Lucky Dragon No. 5) with a lethal dose for the ship's radioman (Aikichi Kuboyama). It spawned a nuclear typhoon that raged over hundreds of miles, engulfing Rongelap Atoll and its people. Japanese newspapers called this "The Second Atomic Bombing of Mankind". Kuboyama died on September 23, 1954. On November 3, 1954, "Gojira" was released, with Godzilla sinking fishing boats, rampaging over Ohto island in the teeth of a typhoon, and destroying Tokyo. This is Godzilla in his most ancient form: as the god of the atom, and the god of mass destruction.
While Godzilla first destroyed a nuclear power plant in 1966, it was part of a nuclear weapons manufacturing plant run by the Red Bamboo terrorists using slave labor (some of the slaves were kidnapped from Infant Island, involving Mothra as well as Godzilla). It was not until the end of the Cold War that Godzilla became the god of nuclear power, and the god of Chernobyl and Tokai. Considering eight plant workers were sprayed with radioactive water in a mishap in Japan in the last month, and America's own Hole-in-the-Head reactor in Ohio (we came within a 16th inch of our very own Chernobyl in the midwest), that aspect of Godzilla is hardly irrelevant.
With Iraq's missing WMD's in the news, Bush's desire to make mini H-bombs he can use, and Congress clearing the way for a rapid resumption of the production and testing of nuclear weapons (not to mention the 30,000 Russian nukes still pointed at us on hair trigger alert), the oldest aspect of Godzilla is alarmingly once more extremely relevant.
In the mythology of Godzilla, humanity, which once stole fire from heaven, has now stolen fire from the atom. But that fire is as wild and untamable as Godzilla himself. Originally made in the image of the T. Rex, Godzilla is an animal, the dominant alpha carnivore, the biggest to walk the earth, and the atom is his territory. Godzilla is also the god of the atom, the world's only, who demands that humanity pay for its theft. He will sleep in peace only when humanity returns what it has stolen, destroying all nuclear weapons, and forsaking them and nuclear power, fission and fusion, forever. Until then, expect his return: in the movies, in typhoons and the sinking of fishing boats, in nuclear tests, in nuclear plant accidents and disasters, in the deaths and damage caused by human pride, human greed, and human stupidity.
Have we no hope then? There is one: the mightiest monster in all creation, the one power greater than the world's sole superpower, the goddess of peace, humanity's greatest friend and protector: Mothra! She alone has defeated the god of mass destruction to become the Queen of Monsters.
Homage to Godzilla, King of Monsters, in the year of his Golden Jubilee!
Homage to Mothra, Queen of Monsters, in the year of her Ruby Jubilee!
"Our people.. stricken with disease.
You.. you played with the fires of the gods.
And you dare to come here and ask us for help!
You betrayed us! You expect us to trust you after what you have done?"
Infant Island Chief, "Godzilla vs. Mothra", 1964 - for the tenth anniversary of Bravo
"Fossil" is exactly what I was thinking when I saw it. It is, after all on the bottom of an ancient lake, which is exactly where fossils form on Earth.
Here is something else to consider: Mars may be recovering from a mass extinction event. Had we sent a probe to Earth just after the Permian extinction wiped out 90% of all life, the place would be a devastated mess, with what little life remaining hiding out and clinging by a thread. Life takes decades to recover in the vicinity of a major volcanic eruption. Life took far longer to recover in the vicinity of the Yellowstone super volcano. It is not inconceivable that Mars could take as long as we have been watching it or more to recover from a severe mass extinction. While it did, it would look dead to us, at least until we had the technology to find its life, and had looked in enough places.
If there is life on Mars, I believe it should be left alone. No more probes, unless it can be proven that they are made of harmless materials (as the current ones are not) and will not damage anything. Certainly not any human visits. Our species has a terrible record for destroying life. It is one thing to go back in time and destroy our own ancestors, ensuring we do not evolve. We have no right to be going to another planet and messing up their evolution.
"It's a miracle! The sea water has once again created new life."
Moll, "Rebirth of Mothra 2"
If it was a musician or the family of a deceased musician saying: "Don't use my work for this." I would agree whole heartedly.
But it is not a musician or artist saying this. It is not a surviving Beetle or even the family member of a deceased Beetle. It is a greedy corporate monster shark, who holds the rights long ago taken from the Beetles, saying this.
The US Constitution gives the creator of a copyrighted work a monopoly on copying it for a short period as a way of rewarding creators for contributing to their society. After that, the work is to return to the public domain. Once in the public domain, anyone can copy, redistribute, or make derivative works (Grey Album) from the work. The Constitution basically agrees with the ancient ideal: the music belongs to the artist and to the people.
The greedy sharks that are the big labels used a monopoly on recording technology they once had to force a kind of contracted slavery on artists. They and other corporations pushed Congress to extend copyright periods obscenely, stealing from the people and their public domain, and ruthlessly suppressing the creativity that can come from derivative works. They have used contracts, and more recently, a work-for-hire law to take copyrights from the artists. They sell the artists, again and again, at every performance, and on every CD. And they have the unmitigated gall to claim the artist's work as *their* intellectual property, and to persecute anyone from little girls in projects to grandparents for "pirating" something that should belong to the artists or the public domain!
The shark's day is done! The very technology that once gave them their power has now turned against them, enabling a new music industry to arise. In this new industry, free and independent artists have the power, and other companies (music making equipment, CD distribution, etc.) are arising to serve the artists. It will be the people, not the sharks' label execs, who decide whether an artist is hot or not.
As for the sharks, I suspect they will be too busy trying to grab the cane from somebody's grandpa to see the bullet coming that was fired at them by Justice herself.
"They bind our hearts: 'Let's sell them again and again!'
Our plan understands the sea; we can wait for her coming."
From the song "Infanto no Musume" in the Japanese version of "Mothra" (1961).
If developing nuclear power very safely is within our grasp, then why don't we do it?
Chernobyl
Three Mile Island
Tokaimura
Every major and minor nuclear accident, famous or unreported, is due to human stupidity, often motivated by greed. Until you fix human stupidity and greed, you won't have safe nuclear power.
Tokaimura was the worst example of stupidity. Disable all safety procedures, then invite the Godzilla crew over to film an attack on the plant. Before the movie (quoted from below) was released, Japan had its worst nuclear accident.
"Is Godzilla showing his hatred toward man-made energy?"
Shinoda, "Godzilla 2000 Millennium" (Japanese version)
Current nuclear fusion technology emits neutrons that render anything they impact with highly radioactive. We are at least 50-100 years from anything like safe, production level, fusion technology. Of course, Japan is trying to get a fusion reactor built there that uses today's technology.
And yes, you can use nuclear fusion to blow stuff up. Just ask the son of H-bomb Bravo: Godzilla. In fact, the US has restarted making plutonium pits (hollow spheres that you pack explosives around, when you blow them up, they start fission, which ignites fusion), and plans to restart making H-bombs and testing them. The funds for research and shortening the restart of testing are in the 2004 budget.
Otherwise, I agree with your post whole-heartedly.
"Our people.. stricken with disease. You.. you played with the fires of the gods.
And you dare to come here and ask us for help! You betrayed us! You expect us to trust you after what you have done?"
Infant Island Chief, "Godzilla vs. Mothra" (US Version), 1964
(1964 was the 10th year anniversary of H-bomb Bravo test on Bikini Atoll, aka the Second Atomic Bombing of Mankind)
The problem with DDT is that it is a poisonous excuse for not using one's brain.
I used to live across the street from a river, and up the road from a marsh. Yet I could go out a night without fear of mosquito bites! Why? Bats, an army of 2,000 of them, patrolling the skies every night during mosquito season, sucking up the insects like a vacuum cleaner. They were cute little brown bats, and thanks to them, I could star gaze in safety.
Mosquitos are, with the exception of females in mating season, basically plant eaters that have lots of enemies, including brown bats and dragonflies. If mosquitos are out of control in an area, look for their enemies and see why they aren't out eating such a gourmet feast. Fix that problem, and mosquitos in wild areas should be under control. In cities, look for stagnate puddles and eliminate them. With no place to breed, except wetlands patrolled by their enemies, mosquitos should not be much of a problem.
Of course chemical companies do not like such a simple solution. There is no profit in bats and dragonflies. They want to sell something they can make money on, whether or not it is a good solution to a problem, or causes more harm than the good it does. And if their product harms its competition, the bats and dragonflies that might otherwise control the mosquitos themselves, so much the better for the chemical companies!
And if we can't trust chemical companies to do the right thing with something simple like pest control, why are we trusting companies to do the right thing with the atom, the cell (most food crop GM is so they can sell more pesticide), let alone nanotech?
More and more I am convinced that some of these companies would happily wipe out all life on this planet if it made their quarterly earnings report look better!
"Ridiculous, you have no claim. I'll sue you for interfering with private enterprise."
Kumoyama, Happy Enterprises, "Mothra vs. Godzilla", 1964
It has long been the theme of Toho's Godzilla series that the atom and later the cell are sacred fires man is not to touch, let alone steal from the gods. The theme of scientific responsibility, so eloquently expressed in "Jurassic Park", is but an echo of a movie from fifty years ago about another dinosaur: "Gojira"!
In the original Japanese version of that movie, Dr. Serizawa chooses death rather than take the risk that his accidental discovery would be used as a weapon by some nation. He had experience with the Nazis that cost him his eye, and that convinced him that he could be tortured into revealing his discovery. He could trust no nation, on either side of the Cold War. The only way to save Japan from Godzilla and protect the world from his discovery, was for him to make one weapon, destroy his life's work, and then die with Godzilla.
His shining example shames the irresponsible corporate scientists of today, as much as it shamed the Manhattan Project scientists.
"Our people.. stricken with disease.
You.. you played with the fires of the gods.
And you dare to come here and ask us for help!
You betrayed us! You expect us to trust you after what you have done?"
Infant Island Chief, "Godzilla vs. Mothra" (US Version), 1964
(Giving voice to the Marshall Islands people, on the tenth anniversary of the H-bomb Bravo, which also created Godzilla.)
Of course, it is not going to work. There is no way fingerprinting can prevent a bunch of giggling terrorists chattering on the satellite phone about wild tales of future attacks, and then laughing while the US blunders about trying to prevent it. Al Qaeda wants fear, economic damage, and the US humbled. Satellite phone chatter is a cheap way to get it, and the idiots in Homeland Security fall for it. Or cooperate with it and the terror in America's heart that results as a way to make Bush out to be some evil conquering good guy in an election year.
You hit the nail on the head with "War on Peace". Of course the flunky of the King of Terror's favorite pet, the Mongol King George, would think Peace is the real threat. Not that Peace is amused by their antics: the last time Code Orange was invoked to hinder a peace protest, Mongol King George got dumped on and spent quality time stuck behind a snow plow!
If Peace can get one of her special ops doves to infiltrate the Pentagon (last May), perhaps she can get a human dove in the White House to save us from this mess.
"The path of peace is yours to discover for eternity."
Japanese version of "Mothra" (1961)
Well, you would destroy half the base too if they offered you army food instead of a nice juicy whale. Any good monster emulator would emulate Rodan's excellent taste as well as his nobility of spirit.
t ml
h tm
They thought that was a Mothra emulator, but really it was a Mothra egg. The larva hatched twelve years ago and ate all of Saddam's WMD plans so he couldn't make them anymore. She also told Saddam and his boys that they were mean (the ultimate insult from a Baby Mothra). She spun a cocoon and emerged as an adult. On her way out of Iraq, she stopped by the hospitals, healing sick kids that were dying because of the US imposed sanctions.
Earlier this year, Mothra was seen organizing the global peace movement, and leading the February 14th world-wide peace protests. Bad old bin Laden might have his thousands of followers, but Mothra, Goddess of Peace, has millions.
She later returned to Washington DC as Hurricane Isabel. She shredded all fifty flags around the Washington Monument, and toppled modern trees onto the White House lawn, but didn't disturb a twig of the trees planted by former presidents. The Shrub in Chief of the armed forces of the world's only superpower fled from her. As she moved northward into peaceful Canada, the skies wept, gently breaking their drought.
Mothra, and her newborn twins, are currently in Tokyo trying to coral a rampaging Godzilla (Godzilla X Mothra X MechaGodzilla: Tokyo SOS". Trailers are here:
http://www.godzilla.co.jp/movie/trailer/index.h
Don't believe in Mothra? Here is a picture taken in July of this year of her hiding behind a cloud in Florida. Only the top of her head, one of her antennas, and part of a wing are visible:
http://www.sundog.clara.co.uk/droplets/iridim6.
"The path of peace is yours to discover for eternity."
Japanese version of "Mothra" (1961)
Yep, Ohio's infamous Hole-In-The-Head reactor was First Energy's baby. Enough primary coolant (the stuff that cools the rods and glows a pretty blue around them from the radiation) was leaking out the top of the reactor head to eat a hole big enough to put a gallon milk jug through. The only thing between America and Chernobyl was a one-sixteenth inch thick stainless steel plate on the outside. Enough coolant did make its way to the outside that the top had to be wiped off periodically. This went on for six years, with several bungled inspections failing to catch it, and a cover up to attempt to let First Energy to continue running the thing. First Energy was still trying to get the government to let them patch and restart it when the blackout happened.
Funny thing about the blackout: nuclear plants and dirty fossil fuel plants were affected. Clean plants, like the Niagara Falls hydroelectric plant, blinked, then went right on running.
Another funny thing about the blackout: five days before the lights went out, "Godzilla X Megagiras" had had its US premiere at the Egyptian Theatre. In this movie, Godzilla's attacks on nuclear plants cause Japan to ban all nuclear energy and look to clean energy. The bad guy keeps building fusion plants (fobbing them off as "clean energy"), but they always leak radiation, and Godzilla always finds them and knocks their lights out.
You might want to stock up on flashlights. "Godzilla X Megagiras" is coming out on DVD in the US January 6th.
"Is Godzilla showing his hatred toward man-made energy?"
Shinoda, "Godzilla 2000 Millennium" (Japanese version)
Thinkit3 wrote:
> Too many luddites are trying to reverse the tide of
> technology.
Nope, just trying to reverse the tide of foolish and careless use of technology. Technology is only good when mixed with large doses of wisdom.
> Nuclear technology is a triumph of physics--it's
> something no other animal has mastered.
We haven't mastered the fire of the atom. Like the fire from heaven, we stole it, and can barely control it. Like the fire from heaven that destroys homes and rampages through forests and entire towns, the fire from the atom has run wild: Bravo, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, Tokai, among others. Our stupidity, carelessness, greed, and pride have cost lives.
The only animal that ever mastered this fire is the child of H-bomb Bravo: Godzilla, the Dreaded God of the Atom and of Destruction. Play with his fire, and he will burn you.
After the big blackout, there were a number of articles on various new, safe, technologies that could be used to power individual buildings instead of relying on a grid. Perhaps one or more of those technologies would do the job without the risks associated with a reactor.
"Our people.. stricken with disease.
You.. you played with the fires of the gods.
And you dare to come here and ask us for help!
You betrayed us! You expect us to trust you after what you have done?"
Infant Island Chief, "Godzilla vs. Mothra" (US Version), 1964
Hindus, Indian or not, believe in non-violence, as do many others of many other religions, including more moderate versions of Islam. Non-violent peace protesters follow in the footsteps of Ghandi and Dr. King. They, like jihadists, go where they are needed (such as human shields in Iraq and Palestine). Thanks to the internet, they can be gathered together quickly in very large numbers all over the world. This led to the unprecedented peace protest in February where millions gathered in sixty countries all over the planet on a single day to protest the Iraq war.
When enough G5 Macs cluster, they become a super computer of Godzilla proportions.
When enough human doves cluster, they become the power greater than the world's greatest superpower: Peace.
"The path of peace is yours to discover for eternity."
Japanese version of "Mothra" (1961)
An AC wrote:
> There is no way, on current trends, that China will be
> able to challenge the US as an economic power.
China alone, perhaps not.
> There aren't the resources on the planet to raise China to
> the economic level of the United States or Europe.
There are two resources actually: international cooperation and courage.
Last month, at the WTO (World Trade Organization) meeting in Cancun Mexico, the US (the world's sole superpower), the EU (an emerging superpower) and Japan (an economic power in its own right) were confronted by the G21, a group consisting of Brazil, China, India, South Korea, South Africa, and other developing nations. At issue was a proposal put forth by the big powers that would harm small farmers worldwide. The G21 put up their own proposal, and negotiations (hello, this isn't the USTO) began. Negotiations consisted mostly of a series of bad compromises, bribes and attempts at coercion on the part of the big powers, with poor Mexico trying to play good host. Some of the African delegates said they wavered, but the sight of the activists cheering them on gave them the courage to stand firm.
At the end of the meeting, the G21 members got up and left. Because of their united opposition, the proposal of the big powers, that only benefited the big multinational corporations, was defeated. The future of the WTO itself is in question. Small farmers from Wisconsin to South Korea cheered. And a lesson was learned.
The G21 of course learned that they could wield some serious clout if they banded together against the superpower. But the rest of the world was watching, and they want to try it too.
The APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperative) Summit is meeting in Thailand later this month, and against tradition, the WTO Director isn't invited. The Thai prime minister said "the WTO has nothing to do with APEC summit" (Japan Today).
It's not just nations banding together. Grass roots groups are doing it too. The nice folks who brought you the world wide peace protests earlier this year are back, and putting tens to a hundred thousand people on the streets in several countries. It takes a bit to organize the big ones, but they will no doubt will be back to millions before you know it.
Say hello to the new world's biggest superpower: the people of Earth.
"The path of peace is yours to discover for eternity."
Japanese version of "Mothra" (1961)
null etc. wrote:
> You need talent first.
>
> I hate posts that end with stupid questions like this.
Do you know if this person has talent or not? It is not a stupid question if the person's talent is unknown.
In fact, back in the days where this sort of technology was not available to anyone with a decent PC or Mac, there was no way to tell if you had the talent to record music. Technology then gave the monopoly to a very few (the big bad labels).
Now someone interested in recording can try out some of the less expensive software and see if they have a talent for it, and if they like it. They can start out as a hobbyist for their own amusement, and if they are any good, build it into a hobby that pays for itself, and maybe even into a livelihood.
The future of music is going to be very interesting indeed.
"Lightning shines on wavy beach, and all clouds are made right:
Happiness Appears!"
From the song "Infanto no Musume" in the Japanese version of "Mothra" (1961).
An AC wrote:
> Publishing credit card information on ebay etc etc, yadda
> yadda - is just plain dumb. It's all moronic behaviour
> that's only gonna lead to trouble for the "unsung hero" -
> how is that clever? Why should that be rewarded with
> street cred and trend points?
He didn't put the credit card information on Ebay. He put two computers up for auction on Ebay, assuming their hard drives had been professionally wiped clean.
When he found out that was not the case, he could have just tried to erase the disk himself, and sold it anyway. What made him a hero was that he immediately yanked the auction, and took the risk to himself of contacting the reporter and the bank (if he had not been believed, he might have wound up in a whole mess of trouble). Because he did this, the bank could trace back where the problem was and fix it so no other hard drives fell into possibly the wrong hands, and the public was notified of the problem. He may well have saved thousands of people from identity theft.
That is why he is a hero.
"There is something important to do, no matter how hard or painful."
Mothra (via Moll) "Mothra 3: King Ghidora Attacks" (Japanese version)
An AC wrote:
> Hydrogen bombs have never been used on people.
Correction: they have never on purpose been used on people. Accidents do happen, and Cold War secrecy made this one worse:
On March 1, 1954, a 15 megaton hydrogen bomb, code named Bravo, was exploded on the Bikini Atoll. Outside the restricted zone, 125 miles to the east was the inhabited Rongelap Atoll, and 100 miles to the east a Japanese fishing boat, the Lucky Dragon, was operating.
The explosion kicked up a violent nuclear hurricane, which hit Rongelap and the Lucky Dragon. The inhabitants of Rongelap and the crew of the Lucky Dragon were heavily dosed with radiation from both the hurricane and from the radioactive ash that fell like yellow snow. These caused deaths, badly deformed babies, and many cancers.
On September 23, 1954, Aikichi Kuboyama, the Lucky Dragon's radioman, died, the first victim of the hydrogen bomb. Headlines in Japan declared Bravo to be "The Second Atomic Bombing of Mankind".
The Japanese made movie, in part so that Bravo's victims would not be forgotten. Released on November 3, 1954, it featured first the radioactive destruction of ships at sea, and then a destructive force visiting an island during a hurricane. Finally, for the first time in history, Godzilla, Son of Bravo, appears in Tokyo Bay.
"Our people.. stricken with disease.
You.. you played with the fires of the gods.
And you dare to come here and ask us for help!
You betrayed us! You expect us to trust you after what you have done?"
Infant Island Chief, "Godzilla vs. Mothra" (US Version), 1964
(Released near the 10th anniversary of Bravo, featuring the defeat of Godzilla by Mothra, goddess of peace.)
A gun may be used with good intentions (to protect), or with evil intentions (to harm), but it can only be used to kill or wound. And if you aren't very careful with it, the bad guy can take it from you and use it on you. Guess what intentions the bad guy has?
Embrace. Extend. Extinguish. Remember those three? Remember the part where Microsoft is the bad guy?
"At this moment, it has control of systems all over the world.
And...we can't do a damn thing to stop it."
Miyasaka, "Godzilla 2000 Millennium" (Japanese version)
True, ignorance of the law is no excuse. Though with 400+ page laws being passed on a regular basis for the last 200+ years, I don't know any American, except maybe a lawyer, who isn't ignorant of at least some of the law.
But that is not what is supposedly going on here. If we are to take the statements given by the little girl and her mother as fact, they seemed to think they were subscribing to a paid music listening service. And that since they were paying monthly (some legitimate music services do work that way), they were paying for the music. That implies an ignorance of Kaazaa's business practices, not the law. If Kaazaa falsely represented themselves to them as a legitimate music service, then the culprit is Kaazaa, not them.
Anyway, suing a child for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars when all they did is listen to some songs is ridiculous. If the music sharks are so cash strapped that they have to sue kids to make a profit, then maybe they should just save us all a lot of grief and go extinct.
"Mothra's going to come and save us."
Taiki Goto, "Rebirth of Mothra"
mcgroarty:
;)
Sorry to burst your bubble, but I have been using *csh for thirteen years and I am not going to stop now.
Apple has an X server in beta that is a free download. Go download it and whatever terminal emulator you like.
Bash is available on Jaguar and will be the default on Panther, which should suit you.
For Apple updates from the command line, try "softwareupdate".
Commandline Emacs not only is a part of OS X (if it isn't on your Mac, install the free Developer Tools), but there is an xemacs that works on the X server, and an Aqua emacs port.
"What's going on here, monsters on Parade?!"
"Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidora: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack"
(US Premiere on SciFi Channel Aug 31)
It's not aliens and it's not terrorists.
The overload shut down 23 power plants, 9-10 of them nuclear plants. The area's hydro-electric plants are still functional, even the one at Niagara Falls.
There is only one being interested in ending man's irresponsible playing with the fire stolen from the atom.
It is the dreaded god of the atom: the one true Godzilla!
The Godzilla Prediction Network is warning against attacks and other phenomena in America through the end of August by the following monsters:
Godzilla (G2K and 54/GMK aspects),
Mothra (Mothra Leo and Mothra of Yamato),
King Ghidora (King of Terror and Thousand Year Dragon King aspects),
Baragon,
Megagiras: the Hyper-flight Dragon,
possibly also Death Ghidora and Dagara.
Many attacks or phenomenon will take the appearance of accidents or natural phenomenon such as the 1-km asteroid flyby this Saturday (King Ghidora). Only the King of Terror has been known to attack by means of terrorists (and his days are seriously numbered).
If the situation gets out of control, call Mothra. From the remarkably calm reactions of people in New York, and the cooling breeze that CNN just reported springing up, there is evidence that Mothra is already in New York providing assistance.
"What's going on here, monsters on Parade?!"
"Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidora: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack"
Ah, Spider-Man. Now that is a pirated movie:
The original scriptwriter sued Sony for ripping off his script.
Marvel sued Sony for hijacking the character of Spider-Man and trying to make it sound like a Sony creation.
The actual creator of Spider-Man, Stan Lee, sued Marvel for not getting his fair share of the movie profits.
That is all allegedly done by Sony, a MPAA member, and Marvel, a major comic book publisher.
The above allegations, if true, are a drop in the bucket of all the things the members of MPAA and RIAA and done in the last few decades to rip off artists, each other, and the general public. It sounds to me like they need to clean up their own acts before they start worrying about the security of file-sharers' PCs.
Bells are ringing: Mothra, Mothra! Every heart is calling: Mothra, Mothra!
Come on, Tok Wira, these sharks have gotta pay! New Kirk calling Mothra, we need you today!
An AC wrote:
> SBC is huge and they are skilled with lobbying.
>
> If they can put pressure on the government to reconsider
> parts of the DMCA, that could actually be a good thing
> for a change.
Challenging the traditional foe of the world's biggest monster on said monster's birthday ("Mothra" was released in Japan on July 30, 1961) isn't going to hurt them either. SBC may be huge, but the original Mothra with a 820 foot wingspan is nothing to sneeze at, as she has been described as the one power greater than the world's greatest superpower.
Mothra is currently filming her newest movie, but she is expected to come to the US in August to battle the King of Terror (fight to be televised by the SciFi channel on August 31st - two new Godzilla movies will premiere in the US on the same day and channel). The Godzilla Prediction Network has posted attack warnings covering much of the continental US, especially the east and west coasts, for Mothra, Godzilla, King Ghidora, Baragon, Megagiras, Death Ghidora, and Dagara.
It has been noted that reformation of character is an excellent deterrent of Mothra attacks, because she only attacks for just reasons. The RIAA is encouraged to heed this advice, and quit being mean to their member labels' artists and customers, and to other businesses like SBC.
Music is a part of our culture. We shouldn't let the RIAA take that from us.
Instead, we should take music away from the RIAA. The technology for production and promotion is here, today. Make music outside the RIAA, heck, outside any label if you want to. Buy music from indie artists and honest indie labels. Create a new music industry apart from the RIAA and its members, and watch them shrivel and blow away.
It is the artists and the people that must be free.
And the RIAA sharks with their decades of enslaving artists and gouging their customers is evil.
Bells are ringing: Mothra, Mothra! Every heart is calling: Mothra, Mothra!
Come on, Tok Wira, these sharks have gotta pay! New Kirk calling Mothra, we need you today!