Month: February 2002

Altering Region Codes On DVD Drives [MacSlash: A daily dose of Macintosh News and Discussion]

There are pointers to a site where you can get patched firmware upgrades that remove region protection. I have the patched firmware for the DVD drive in my Pismo, but I’ve held off on applying it. I don’t have very many DVDs, and so far they’re all region 1.

Indonesian forests on borrowed time. Conservationists say many of Indonesia’s richest forests will have
been destroyed within a decade. [BBC News: sci/tech]

I’m more concerned that Indonesia as a nation will probably be destroyed within a decade, with massive death and destruction. But then, I’m not a “conservationist,” so I have this old-fashioned notion that people are more important than trees.

I was watching the women’s figure skating short program tonight. It’s really kind of amazing how so many of the world’s best figure skaters live in Southern California–a place best known for sunny beaches.

Peru Won’t Pardon Jailed American. Peru’s justice minister on Tuesday ruled out a presidential pardon for Lori Berenson after the Supreme Court confirmed the American woman’s 20-year sentence for aiding leftist rebels. [AP World News]

Hopefully President Bush will let her rot. If we want the rest of the world to take our opposition to terrorism seriously, we have to prove that we oppose even American terrorists.

Ralph Nader Says 9/11 Would Never Have Happened If He Had Been President. Nader said he would have made changing cockpit doors a priority, so the 9/11 terrorist attacks would never have happened. Yet another indication that Nader and reality separated years ago. [LeftWatch.Com]

Personally, I think if Nader had been elected president the attacks wouldn’t have happened for a different reason. I think the terrorists would have all died laughing over what a joke America had become if it could elect such a buffoon.

Letter from an American prison. Rabih Haddad, co-founder of the second largest Muslim charity in the United States, has for the past two months been incarcerated in a maximum security prison. He is in a cell for extremely violent criminals, he is not allowed outside, and he is chained and shackled everytime he leaves his cell. What did he do to deserve such treatment? He overstayed his visa. This letter was written by Mr. Haddad to the Chicago Coalition Against War & Racism, and it details the experience one such Muslim is going through in these witch hunt post 9/11 times. [kuro5hin.org]

As bad as this man’s situation is, it could be worse. At least this name and location are known, which is more than can be said of many of the people who were “disappeared.”

‘Aggressive pacifists’ put their faith on the firing line. Cameron W. Barr at The Christian Science Monitor –

‘Aggressive pacifists’ put their faith on the firing line –
Christian Peacemaker Teams talk to Israeli soldiers in occupied
Palestine attempting to convince them of the error of their
ways. Unarmed. [lew] [End the War on Freedom]

The “pacifists” never try to convince the Palestinian terrorists of the error of their ways. Is it because they’re anti-Israeli, or is it because they realize which side might possibly listen to them?

As part of my ongoing experiment with e-gold, I tried buying some gold using a credit card. Normally credit cards are used for their convenience when purchasing things over the Internet, but in this case the convenience wasn’t there. It seems that credit card fraud is a huge problem for a digital currency, so the few companies that accept credit cards at all have very impressive anti-fraud measures in place. I bought from GoldNow, and it took eight days for the transaction to go through, including a verification phone call to prove that I’m not a crook. I do appreciate all the security, though, and I’m told that if I should wish to use that card again the verification won’t be necessary.

Freedom in America: it’s real isn’t it?. Dorothy Anne Seese –

Freedom in America: it’s real isn’t it? – are we facetious yet?
Would be funny if it weren’t so true. [kaba]
bq.
I do know that as long as I stay inside my condo unit, obey all the
laws, do whatever the government says, and fill out all the forms I’m
asked to fill out and tell the truth, then I’m free to sit in here and
read, or cook, or even work at the computer.

Freedom is easy when you just do as you’re told!
[End the War on Freedom]

NY Times: “Record companies have said that it’s the artists who lose with services like Napster. Under the labels’ new Internet services, however, the performers still don’t get a dime.”  [Scripting News]

Of course they don’t. Did anyone really believe that the record companies ever cared about the artists?