Letter Never Sent

In a weird twist to the Robert Hanssen story, I was surprised to read in the New York Times that Hanssen was a member of the secretive, right-wing, catholic organization Opus Dei (God’s Work). I’ve read some weird conspiracy stuff about Opus Dei. One thing was a purported coverup of the murder of Princess Diana. According to this theory, the wife of French president Jacques Chirac used her Opus Dei contacts to cover up the assassination of Diana. I’ve also heard of Opus Dei in conjunction with the Calvi affair which is definitely worth a read. Roberto Calvi’s body was found on June 18, 1982 dangling from an orange rope under Blackfriars Bridge in London, England. His pockets contained pieces of brick and rocks and $15,000 in various foreign currencies. The Calvi affair is too complicated to go over here and honestly I don’t understand the whole thing myself. But read that link. Awhile back on Napster I found a spoken word piece by Robert Anton Wilson regarding the Calvi murder.

Oh, I almost forgot. Louis Freeh is also a member of Opus Dei, one of the few in the Clinton administration. Supposedly, during the Reagan administration many Opus Dei members were brought into various positions in the government. This might be why Freeh seems to get along so well with the Bush administration. He’s already got the right-wing credentials. The Bush’s are no strangers to elite secret societies. Both big and little Bush are well-known members of the Skull & Bones fraternity. And, Prescott Bush had ties to the OSS (The precursor to the CIA) and his son, George H.W. Bush ran the CIA for some time. In a related situation, Prescott Bush and George Herbert Walker (Dubya’s grandfathers) operated banks and shipping companies that were later declared by the US Congress to be fronts for the Nazis. In 1942 shortly after the US entered WWII the assets of these Wall Street companies were seized by the US government under the Trading With The Enemy Act. This stuff will make you think twice about things.

This morning the federal government exchanged one heinous act with another by executing Timothy McVeigh this morning. A group of wack pro-death penalty protestors recited the Lord’s Prayer then one of them yelled “Die McVeigh!”. That’s very Christian of them. I’m sure they’re anti-abortionists too. The two contradictory attitudes go well with one another.

McVeigh left a 19th entury poem, Invictus by William Henley as his last words:

“Invictus”

“Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scrolls,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.”

I think McVeigh selected Gore Vidal as a witness to his execution. I look forward to his reaction of it.

In case you had any doubt about the current administration and the pseudo-fascist direction in which this country is headed here are some sparkling gems presented by John Ashcroft and members of the House Judiciary committee during a recent meeting.
Purveyors and disseminators of hardcore porn and other criminals watch out!

REP. BOB GOODLATTE (R-VA): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The failure of the previous administration to enforce those laws has led to a
proliferation of obscenity both online and off. And I am particularly concerned
about the safety of our children on the Internet where they’re subjected to
child pornography and solicitation in a massive way. And I’d like to know to
what extent the Justice Department will use its resources to assist state and
local enforcement in combatting this cyberattack on our nation’s children.

ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: I thank you for the question. I am concerned about
obscenity and I’m concerned about obscenity as it relates to our children.

The electronic data transmission revolution has revolutionized certain kinds
of criminal activity, and the technology involved in it makes it much more
difficult for limited law enforcement agencies, like small county prosecutors
and frequently local enforcement operations, to operate as effectively as they
might otherwise if the digital universe were not involved.

We pride ourselves on cooperating to enforce laws with state and local
authorities, but particularly in areas where the federal government has the kind
of technology and technological awareness related to cybercrime and its many
manifestations in different areas. We try to be especially accommodating to
local law enforcement to assist them, and I would think that would be an
objective of ours in this respect.

REP. GOODLATTE: Thank you, General Ashcroft.

The second question I have relates to online piracy, the theft and then
either the sale or in any many cases the wholesale giving away of valuable
copyrighted material on the Internet.

A few years ago, I introduced legislation which passed the Congress, was
signed into law, called the NET Act, or No Electronic Theft Act, which gave the
Justice Department considerably greater law enforcement tools to combat this
serious growing problem of protecting valuable intellectual property on the
Internet. And so far, there have been very little action. I think there have
been just a handful of prosecutions in this area. And I wonder if the Justice
Department and you could commit to a greater beefed-up effort to enforce that
law and combat the multi-billion dollar theft of valuable intellectual property
on the Internet.

ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: Well, frankly, as you know, the NET Act assists the
department by addressing a new form of crime, large-scale distribution of
pirated software and copywritten (sic) materials over the Internet where the
infringer does not act out of a pure profit motive.

Sometimes these infringers are just with a mischievous but malicious intent
giving away the property of other people. And we are interested in making sure
that we do what we can to curtail that. And we launched a joint intellectual
property enforcement initiative in the department over a year ago, and I would
expect that initiative to begin to bear fruit.

Uniquely, the United States of America is the source of much of the really
valued intellectual property that is important around the world. And if it
becomes available without cost as a result of privacy (sic) or without
compensation to those who create it, we will simply destroy the capacity for
this culture to generate and continue to be the generators of the leading edge
in technology and information processing.

[…]

REP. SENSENBRENNER: The gentleman’s time has expired.

On the subject of enforcement of the federal criminal obscenity statutes, at
this point I would like to ask unanimous consent to insert into the record a
letter which I wrote on February 15th to the attorney general relative to a
report on this statute and the response dated May 3rd from Cheryl L. Walter
(sp), acting assistant attorney general, to my letter. And without objection,
they are included.

[…]

REP. HOWARD COBLE (R-NC): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Attorney General, for the record, your prayer life does not bother me. I
think whether people embrace or reject prayer services may be subject to
interpretation. Now if there were some sort of intimidation or coercion
surrounding that, it would be a different story, but I can’t believe that that’s
the case.

It was said earlier that the Justice Department is leaking like Niagara
Falls. I guess the good news is if the Justice Department is leaking, not

gushing like Niagara Falls. If there is in fact a leak down there, Mr. Attorney
General, I know — I’m confident that you will terminate it before it reaches
the gushing threshold.

The chairman commented about the FBI’s possibly having had its armor
tarnished. I still think it’s a first-rate outfit, first-rate organization. I’m
bothered, Mr. Attorney General, that it has become very bureaucratic, and if you
can make that organization a little less bureaucratic on your watch, I would be
appreciative. I think others would.

Now permit me to direct attention to our Subcommittee on Courts, Internet and
Intellectual Property. Mr. Attorney General, can you update the committee on the
extent to which prosecution of intellectual property crimes is becoming a
greater priority for the Department of Justice?

ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: Well, Congressman, I thank you for both your comments and
your question. We have recently welcomed to the Criminal Division a newly
confirmed — just last week — director of that division.

Crime has developed new dimensions as a result of the Internet, and as a
result of the data processing and data transmission. And I can say to you that
we take very seriously piracy and theft and the invasion of privacy and a whole
variety of issues that are related to the advent of the capacity of individuals
to utilize the computer both in industry and personally. And given the fact that
much of America’s strength in the world economy is a result of our being the
developer and promoter of most of the valuable software, we cannot allow the
assets that are held electronically to be pirated or infringed. And so we will
make a priority cybercrime issues. And additional resources have been requested
in next year’s budget for that. And that’s not just in this administration’s
submission in regard to the FBI but in regard to the Commerce Department as
well, because they are also concerned about the protection of this area of
commerce, in which the United States holds a preeminent position.

REP. COBLE: Well, I’m glad to hear you say that, Mr. Attorney General,
because the intellectual property community, as you just pointed out, is a
significant contributor to the commercial wheel- turning in this country. And as
you also implied, the provisions of the ‘net act gives you all additional pegs
upon which to hang your hat in pursuing cyberpirates. And I hope that you all
are utilizing that at Justice, and I feel confident that you are.

Good to have you with us, Mr. Attorney General. And in the interest of time,
Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

This is chilling. These guys don’t get it. I wonder how much time they’ve actually spent using computers. There are going to be some problems when people come around to the fact that millions and millions of Americans are technically criminals and these are only the people who currently use computers. As more and more people get connected and make their own decisions this fight will get even dirtier. The forces of reactionary belief against your average freedom-loving citizen. Here’s a story about the prosecution of hardcore porn on the web under AG John Ashcroft.

It was also interesting to see the Justice Department react so strongly to the attempts to have the McVeigh execution videotaped. The government knows that depictions of executions will reveal it for the murder that it is. It’s like that bumper sticker: “Why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong?” I’m particularly annoyed by the hypocrisy involved. For one thing, Ashcroft is a ‘Christian’ and forgiveness and redemption are supposed to be central to Christianity. And let’s not forget, Christ himself was a victim of capital punishment at the hands of the Romans. Also, the government is allowed to kill people whenever it suits them but are not held accountable to the same rules. Like that FBI sharpshooter who murdered that woman during the Ruby Ridge incident.

If you’re having a problem with Napster withdrawal here’s yet another simple, easy alternative VexTV. VexTV uses internet explorer to create an easy to use way to download your favorite mp3’s. The one bad thing about Napster’s demise is that it’s a little harder to find certain things, like the more rare items for instance. But on the other hand, everything else is available and you can still get your music for free. Now, it just takes a tiny amount of work. (My best Burns voice) Excellent. Hoist the old Jolly Roger!! Long live the high seas of the internet! Argggh!!

Has it really been this long since I’ve added to the page? I have been busy on irc starting a new tv channel. Have pity on me.

Man, oh man. That was pretty funny about Jenna Bush and her brush with the law. I’m glad the Republicans are such guardians of morality. It makes it all the more funny when they look like hypocrites. I found it particularly funny that local ‘cool’ hangout Chuy’s was described by The Washington Post as “a joint known for mediocre food and killer margaritas”. *chuckle* It’s more like an upscale Taco Bell. Actually, it’s where white Austinites go to get authentic texmex. People get a little mad that the Bush daughters are in the spotlight and they compare this situation to Chelsea Clinton’s. However, the difference is that Jenna Bush actually broke the law and she’s technically an adult. I remember when I worked at a photolab down on the Drag and the Bush girls would come in and bring their film for development. Laura and the twins would roll up in their ginormous suburban and Laura Bush would bring them in. Once, I saw a few photos of the elder George Bush. He looked enormously drunk. He was wearing this pink polo shirt with his presidential blazer over it and his hair was all messed up and greasy-looking. What a dork. Why do we keep electing these people?

Speaking of old people, I saw this funny story over at Fark about some old people at Sun City West retirement community annoying people by engaging in sex at public recreation facilities. These intimate locations range from pools, spas, and golf courses to park benches. The local sheriff has rounded up a volunteer posse to discourage these people. What I want to know is, who’s volunteering to catch old people in the act? Firstly, any volunteer is probably a self-righteous perv and secondly, don’t pick on old people. Let them have their fun.

I finally watched the season finale of The Sopranos. Only one season left, and that’s not for eleven months. I’m disappointed but also excited. Here are some good Sopranos oriented pieces over at Salon.com. Also, I located some good Sopranos interviews at the Freshair website. Freshair is my driving companion for an hour every day. Here are interviews with David Chase (Creator of the Sopranos), Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti) and Nancy Marchand (Livia Soprano) from 3/9/2001, another David Chase interview from 6/22/00, AND David Bianculli’s review of the first Sopranos episode back in 1999.

What a great show.

Well, since Napster has been effectively bludgeoned to death and they’ve now instituted a lame filtering procedure to keep people from lifting the ‘intellectual property’ of the RIAA, it’s now time to bid a fond farewell and pursue other means of acquiring our music and video. The decomodification of art, science, and knowledge shouldn’t be stopped and I think it has a good chance of continuing on. I have a feeling that the so-called new economy will be one based not on charging money and exchanging money for art, but an economy based on sharing freely with one another; a common ownership of the products of human civilization. Civilization flourishes when knowledge is freely available and not guarded by those who would own it.

I’ve seen some nice napster alternatives:

BearShare uses the gnutella network but has ads and spyware.

LimeWire also uses the gnutella network and seems to be much better than bearshare. I like the way it looks too and it has some extra features.

Aimster Another interesting program. Uses AIM to trade files. May stand up to legal challenges because it’s software is protected by the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. Haha!

I finally got to watch the latest episode of The Sopranos. I thought it was an especially good one. It’s getting to the point where I find myself really caught up in the show. During the last episode, I even felt anxious about what was going to happen. I don’t normally watch shows that have a consistent storyline. I believe the last show of that sort I did watch was Northern Exposure whose storyline got rather stupid after a while. Some shows seem to have a continual story but are also very episodic in nature. A show like Star Trek: The Next Generation did this. You could either watch the shows in order or on their own. The Sopranos is almost like a 35 hour long movie. It’s in season 3 now, but I heard that the scripts for seasons 4 and 5 have already been written. I’m sure this show has been a gold mine for HBO. I bet a number of people subscribed just for The Sopranos.