Sure... I can see that

All you need to know about Chicago in one handy sentence

"Patrick O'Connor said his wife's success has nothing to do with developers' dependence on his approval. And, he said, there is nothing wrong with him making zoning decisions on projects where his wife ultimately earns a commission."

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Race To Zero

These guys are holding some sort of contest to see how many people can sneak viruses and malware past antivirus software.

I must say I can't believe that the contestants will be all that challenged. I am frequently given virus- and spyware- infected computers to try to repair, although lately I have had limited success, as the latest malware has just gotten so complicated and hides itself so well.

In every case, the victim will be running one of those glossy, useless products like Symantec or McAfee. The last computer I was given to try to sort out was running McAfee and there were no less than nine McAfee processes running on the machine. Did they prevent the spyware installing itself? Of course not.

As far as I can see, all Symantec/McAfee does is sap the computer's processing power and plague the user with unwanted popups until the time comes that they get some real malware on their machine.

The difference of course is that the hapless user has had to pay for these dubious benefits.

Personally, the first thing I do on any computer is remove all the AV bloatware. If I'm lucky, this won't render the machine unbootable. But at least I will then not see the hard disk constantly thrashing as the AV software endlessly churns through all my files.

It strikes me the Symantec/McAfee business model is to milk the gullible for subscriptions for their utterly useless products while employing the dumbest people in the industry to keep pushing out so-called 'updates'. The most junior Russian hacker can and does run rings around them.

Jobs Page

This trial is a travesty. It's a travesty of a mockery of two travesties of a mockery of a sham

As everybody who works for a living knows, the Government has an endless need for cash to fund its operations, which can be categorized into two main areas:

- Hiring Fuckwits who then find ways to irritate the working man
- Spending large amounts on disastrous projects, where the consultancy firms doing the work later hire the government employees responsible into no-work positions at generous salaries

And in the US, of course, there are two wars to fund. Putting your best and your bravest in body bags and wheelchairs is not cheap!

So the tax authorities are always on the lookout for people who might actually want to spend the money they earn on themselves rather than giving 50% of it to fund the foregoing. The latest victim of this crusade is hardworking Wesley Snipes

He's somebody who never "phones in" a performance. His films may not make all that much sense, but you can tell he always gives 100%.

So anyway poor Wesley is looking at three years in the slammer on some technicality to do with filling out forms. He's on bail at the moment, but as you can see, things do not look good for him.

I remain hopeful that he will be ok, because in his own immortal words from the excellent Passenger 57 ...






"Always bet on black!"

Ban All Knives

There must be something about living off public money which softens the brain.

How else to explain a bunch of ER doctors in the UK (part of the National Health Service) who have come up with a brilliant solution to the problem of large numbers of teenagers stabbing each other to death.

Simple -ban sharp pointed knives

That should do the trick! Even though these kids make their living thieving and dealing drugs, and regard arrest as little more than an occupational hazard, knowing the chances of their being jailed are almost non-existent, they are sure to obey a blanket ban on knives.

Congratulations, doctors! Case closed! Socialized medicine at its finest!

Dickheads.

Bear Stearns RIP

So for those of us who thought there was no justice in the world, we got proved wrong back in March when the market delivered the finest kicking you could wish for to those arrogant, pompous, blowhards at Bear Stearns

Nobody who's ever worked there or had dealings with them was surprised by what happened.

So now as Bear passes into history, the question remains, who will play former boss Jimmy Cayne in the TV movie?

My money's on William Shatner.

Cayne	Shatner

"Jimmy Cayne" "Jimmy Cayne" "Jimmy Cayne"




Check out the stock price. I could look at that chart all day. I know it's bad to rejoice in the misfortunes of others, but in their case, I'll make an exception.

British Police Crack Down on Crack Dealers

The Soviet Government used to love boasting about its tractor production numbers. The British Politburo love boasting about how they are cracking down on crime. And just like in Soviet Russia nobody believes it because of the evidence of their own eyes - large parts of London resemble Mogadishu and feral kids roam around stabbing people largely unhindered by the utterly useless and ineffective police force. Even if they get to court, the left/liberal judiciary, who are unelected, and therefore able to indulge their 1960s world view, where crime is a result of social deprivation, let the felons go time after time.

Here's a good example. The London cops seized some property from a drug dealer




Check out all his crap - about eight hundred baseball caps!!

Anyway if you read the story you have a Somalian illegal immigrant making a thousand pounds a day dealing drugs and he gets jailed for four years of which he will not even serve two. It never occurs to the powers that be to deport him.

Once he gets out I'm sure he'll be buying even more baseball caps!

Popeyes Chicken

When I was in college people would rearrange the letters on the cafeteria menu. In one hilarious case the place was made to offer "Fried Rat" and a "Bunk Up Special".

Now Popeyes chicken has taken things a stage further. Customer reports 'deep fried rat' in carryout chicken

Having had the misfortune to eat at Popeyes a few times, I think they were already stretching the definition of 'Chicken'. Certainly I've felt like taking a sample and having it DNA tested. Now with commodity prices soaring maybe corporate has told the restaurant managers not to overlook the nutritional potential of any rodents they may have scurrying around the place.

Statecraft For Beginners, Part 1

The lesson here is that things can change quickly in the world of international geopolitics. Your friend one day can be invading you the next, and so on.

"You can't exactly crap out of the windows!"

Space station astronauts left without a toilet

The international space station's lone toilet is broken, leaving the crew with almost nowhere to go.

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They do things differently over there

No.1 in an occasional series

Russian Social Workers

Decriminalizing Dope

In the UK they have made progress in decriminalizing dope. With the prisons full to bursting and everybody from cabinet ministers to school crossing guards toking up in the street they had no choice.

George Lucas: New Money Making Scheme

He's released slightly different versions of the same film over and over again on VHS and DVD knowing that the average fan boy will *have* to buy them *all*.

Now he's hit on the idea of yet another "reimagining" this time getting rid of the original actors and replacing them with up to date celebrities.

Here Larry David appears as the Grand Moff Tarkin

Pop Quiz

This is:

a) One of the actors from the latest Harry Potter film

b) The British Foreign Secretary

Clue: now Britain is run from Brussels nobody with any talent is going to enter politics in that country!

There is a God

Bear Stearns Crisis

Former CEO Jimmy Cayne admits "maybe we hired the wrong people"

Below: Former Head of Risk Management

America's Oil Crisis

Execs testify on Capitol Hill

Leadership Crisis in UK

Fat kid buried up to his neck in shit

This story works on so many levels

I read it as a commentary on the type of people you get when you have three generations in a family who have never worked

Cutting edge of radical terror

So the Department of Homeland Scaremongering and Western governments in general are trying to get us to throw away ideas like "due process good" and "torture bad" because of the awesome unprecedented threat presented by Islamist radicals.

Like this guy

Throw in a bottle of vodka and it's a deal

A Missouri car dealer is offering a free handgun with every vehicle sold

Man I *love* living in the land of the free!

I always said "Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms" should be a convenience store not a government agency

You picked a fine time to not be trigger happy

Tony Blair almost shot down by the Israelis

Next time - shoot first, and then ask questions, ok?

Mazel Tov!