Dropped puppy off at weekend camp. Dropping guns off at local gun store for safe-keeping. Then off tomorrow morning to visit LA and imouto1 and anime conventions. Back sometime late sunday night, ya'll take care.

Oh my. Penalty case against M$ is going to go ahead and won't be delayed pending a Supreme Court review. Apparently the justice department doesn't want to wait for the Nine Wizards to, if ever, get to the case. More later.

Sacchan...have a good vacation and take care of yourself. Congrats. ^_^

Further showing a terrorist presence in Jenin, a trio of Islamic Jihad terrorists were arrested there with a 22-pound explosive charge, apparently intended to be detonated in Haifa's bayside area or at a shopping mall. This and the other fourteen terrorist threats would be good reason that the IDF is blockading other portions of the West Bank as well, trying to stop any terrorists from getting out.

Ariel Sharon promised George Bush that he will not directly escalate the situation any further or "lead the region to war". Government flappers are saying that Sharon realizes that not all Palestinians are terrorists and apologizes to the (probably 3 or 4) Pallies who don't hate the Israelis and are inconvienenced due to the security measures, but that Israel's military and government will continue taking "preventive action" against the terrorists gleefully intent on wiping out the Jews.

The US and the Russians are both leaning heavily on both sides to push for peace, and Condoleeza Rice (Bush's National Security Advisor) are due to meet with the Egyptians in ending the violence. They did reject a plea by the Egyptian political advisor to send "observers" to monitor things, which seems to have annoyed the Egyptians. I wonder if the Egyptians are interested in inserting some of their own people to openly and safely "monitor" (read - spy) on the IDF preparations for war. Other major behind-the-scenes work for peace is being pushed hard, with meetings between top Pallie and Israeli leaders, along with the European Union and Americans.

All well and good, but that government may go down, hard and fast. Binyamin Netanyahu claims that the addition of the Center Party's Dan Meridor is a move to block Netanyahu's takeover of the Likud party, and that the government won't last over there with them inside. They previously left the Likud party (Sharon's own group) after Ehud Barak tried to give the Palestinians all they claimed they wanted, and more, which became extremely unpopular with the Israeli populace. The Likud party is also annoyed with him for giving preferential treatment to what they feel are deserters.

Staring in from the outside, there's a LOT of hard-hitting politics being played right now, and there could be a fight for control of the Israeli government at the same time that threats of war with the Arab states are looming, and the Palestinian uprising is realy becoming a threat. Wonderful timing, guys, whatever goes on politically, you HAVE to stick together inside, or else it all comes down like a house of cards in a flamethrower.

Kristi...admittedly, yeah, we are playing a perfect-world game. But what really should stop a responsible teenager who has no history of any problems to keep from owning a firearm? That's all I'm really asking. Ah well. You have too much fun.

Speaking of fun, Clef and Eriol have the same voice actors. Anyone want a plotbunny?

And in the weird today, artist asks millions with laser pointers to help him paint the moon red. That's right, October 27 or November 24, 11:00pm EDT, shine your little mini-laser at the moon. I figure the overall effect is going to be about as bright as this guy is.

Welsh father, victim of a "business trip" hoax perpetrated by a rival company that sent him to New Delhi, apparently flipped his lid when he was over there and came back and stabbed his own 12 year old daughter through the heart. He did have a history of mental-illness before, namely manic depression and schizophrenia. The three charged with e-mail forgery have not been named, and it is not known if they will be charged on some sort of accomplice to manslaughter charge. The father was cleared of murder charges due to insanity but has been detained indefinitely at a medium-security mental hospital.

And while Microsoft continues to play the exclusive game and wrap itself up in its own operating system, AOL is pushing for the intercompatibility with different software. About bloody time...

And, in a time when Jordan is quite literally a political and geographic key to peace in the Middle East, the US is working with the Jordanians to increase relationships and military cooperation due to heightened conflict between the Israelis and Pallies. Jordan may be the one thing that keeps the whole Arab world out of Israel - they did sign a true peace treaty (not just a cease-fire) with Israel in 1994, and are very strong friends with the Americans, especially with the new king over there. US military aid to Jordan runs around 75 million a year, and they do get a lot of good hardware.

As for the stealth capabilities, there are active stealth systems that do a fine job of masking aircraft, using the principle of wave cancellation. A radio wave, like a sound wave, has a specific frequency with troughs and peaks. If the radar reflection from the aircraft is overlaid with another, mirror-image, signal, it will cancel out the original signal as if there was no reflection to begin with. The Danes have tested this system in the late 1990s and found it to be a definite success.

NATO plans to send troops to Macedonia to quell the fighting going on over there. 400 troops, from the British 16th Air Assault Brigade, will provide HQ, support, and communications operations to the rebel-disarming plan. The Macedonian rebels have apparently promised to turn in their weapons to a British force, and there appears to be an honest cease fire in the area. The deployment is only supposed to last 30 days, and then the NATO forces will leave, however NATO member nations may vote to keep troops there as long as they please. The Israelis are threatening to send in troops to the Palestinian areas should the fighting in Gilo commence again - this could be what starts it. If the Palestinians do keep on shooting at Israelis in Gilo, then the Israelis will move tanks massed outside Palestinian areas directly into Beit Jala (bait ja-LAH).

"There are red lines which Israel will not allow the Palestinians to cross and these include shooting on Gilo. This is not a joke. The moment they cross the line and there is shooting at Gilo we will not sit quietly; full stop. There is a limit to what a country can take," Ben-Eliezer told reporters during a tour in the North.

A senior Israeli political source confirmed Israel's intention to enter Beit Jala if shooting erupts again.

"If the shooting resumes the operation will automatically be activated," the source said.

However, if the shooting in Gilo (apparently) did immediately stop as reports have suggested right after Arafat promised the order, then he is most definitely in control of the Palestinians and has been endorsing and possibly ordering the recent terrorist attacks, putting a complete lie to his statements of wanting a cease-fire. If Arafat does not use his authority to actually stop the violence, then the Israelis are hinting at taking over the other Pallie cities like they have occupied the Orient House and other important Palestinian Authority buildings. However, Fatah - Arafat's pet terrorist wing - has promised to escalate the violence since the takeover, and the crazy b*stards might just be the ones who light the Middle East on fire. One very bad sign for war - current poll results from Israel, with over 18,000 entries, show 82% of the population feel the government has been too weak in its dealings with the Palestinians. The Israeli civilians do at least seem to be spoiling for a fight...King Solomon is pulling family members out, so he's taking it real serious, and doesn't see any way back from this point.

Ragabash...great article about the Jerusalem Post commentary on the NYTimes support of the Arab propaganda that I figured you'd get a chuckle off of. Happy reading. And yes, everyone else should read this as well - doubly so if you believe in the existence of fantasy creatures like leprechauns, the boogeyman, and an objective press.

Kristi, yes I did reply, I enjoy a good fun debate. And when I get home I'll take more time to read through and discuss more. Good, interesting discussions are fun.

And in other news, it's official - the first prototype of the Tickle Me Dolls has completed electronics, and may actually fit into a regular UFO catcher. Yes, I know they were discussed some time ago, but I have finally gotten the first one prepared. And the others can be produced fairly quickly. Now, let's see what I can find while I'm in Los Angeles this weekend...nyahaha. I think I'll e-bay it.

According to the BBC, the Israelis did make moves near the area but did not actually "violate" Pallie-held areas of the West Bank. And the BBC story also appears to confirm the reports of gunfire in the Gilo area near Jerusalem, and that this move by the Israelis may be a show-of-force against the shootout.

And...aw sh*t. Arafat's off to Cairo, Egypt, to discuss the situation - with a LOT of Arab leaders. They are "concerned" that Israel is "winning the propaganda and publicity war". REALLY. So all along, I guess I was right - it WAS a Look At The Horrible Jews all along. Wonder how much suport he might get for a real fight.

And Google celebrates S. Korea's Independence day with the new logo. That's neat.

Now for some other news.

Ya'll remember Microsoft getting spanked by the Code Red virus last week? Guess what? FedEx (ha haaaa! suckers!), the Associated Press services, Computer Associates, and now Lucent are all victims of the virus - and victims of lazy-@$$ IS crews. Lucent is especially pissed, and is apparently threatening termination to anyone who doesn't follow instructions to get the worm taken care of, either sysops or users. They're pissed.

And more on Code Red - namely, Cisco routers seem to be vulnerable as well. Products including DSL routers, IP-equipped phones, and wireless networking access kits may all be very susceptible to a side-effect of the CR virus, namely a major Denial of Service attack. Cisco put out an advisory about the errors and fixes. Not since Melissa have things been this fun.

Umm...okay. *speechless*

Ne, W2...would that make him Varsh the Stampede?

Hmm. Happosai^2, think we could do this song to a music video? It'd be in the running for Most Humorous. Thoughts?

Ragabash, FYI - here's the info on the Front Sight, NV town - to quote:

Phase One of the development includes: Paved road leading to facility and throughout. 6000 square foot classroom and conference area. Pro Shop. Administration building. 7200 square foot armory and gunsmithing facility. 4000 square foot maintenance facility. Gourmet restaurant overlooking desert vistas and lake. 10 training ranges from 25 yards to 400 yards. 8, 360 degree live-fire training simulator ranges. 5000 square foot indoor video training simulator building with multiple simulators. Five story SWAT training tower. Rappelling area. 400 yards of underground tunnels with simulators. Anticipate Grand Opening of Phase One in Fall, 2001.

Phase Two of development includes: Four private training ranges for Front Sight graduates to practice their skills under the supervision of a Front Sight instructor. 900 square yard Celebrity Training Center completely secured for privacy and staffed to serve the needs of Fortune 500 executives, entertainment industry stars, political leaders and their protection teams. 7200 square foot martial arts gymnasium. 1000 yard rifle range. 5000 foot airstrip. Anticipated opening of Phase Two for May, 2002.

Phase Three of development includes: Front Sight Master Planned Community. Gated community of 177 one-acre, luxury home sites, 350 condominiums. Complete Commercial Center serving all the needs of the residential community. Community Center. Private K-12 school. Paved roads, municipal water, sewer system, power and data cable all underground. All amenities anticipated for completion Fall of 2003.

That's the end for today, off to other projects.

Israel continues to hold Orient House as well, despite multiple protests from the Pallies in the area. Palestinians claim that the Israelis have "opened the gates of hell" by their renewed occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza strip.

Just to show that the Palestinians can bullshit even better than the Israelis, Israeli female soldier reportedly starts strip-tease and then pulls a gun from her underwear and kills 2, wounds 9. No joke, that's what they're claiming, that this trooper went down almost to the total buff and when a crowd showed up to throw rocks at her, she made "rude gestures" and then whipped a gun out from her undies and opened fire.

Now, there actually honest-to-god is a product called Thunderwear that does exactly that - but, somehow...I don't think so.

US and British aircraft waxed a Russian-built SA-2 SAM site in Iraq as well, eliminating a site that has apparently been a problem lately. And again raising the possibility that they might end up on the side of the Israelis, or at the very least against Iraqi forces, should a war start.

In the meantime: check out the Jerusalem Post for a current list of events - namely, there a lot more bombings going on than the news here is reporting - it's a constant thing over there, not just now and then. Tanks and troops deployed to Bethlehem and reports of a 6-hour Pallie shooting spree in Gilo, near the Bethlehem city. And Palestinian newspapers have been loudly thinking of using biological weapons, supposedly to "achieve equality" in the conflict by coming up with a means of Pallies being able to slaughter Jews without being stopped - in their own words. Now THAT'S a fucking fun thought.

And in local news, California Supreme Court says schools may search students without a "reasonable suspicion" in response to a 1999 incident in Los Angeles, where a school security officer found a "knife" in a student's pocket after randomly pulling him out of class to search him. Interesting quote:

"The U.S. Supreme Court has said the Bill of Rights doesn't stop at the schoolhouse gate, and it has said you should protect the constitutional rights of students because that's a way of educating them to responsible citizenship," Gerstein said.

Kristi, that was the point - good old fashioned debate. (and I kinda miss the back and forth discussion from before, it was fun) And pretty much we both agree on the same thing. Yes, someone fucked up with a lot of these kids, in their upbringing - and I do NOT want to see guns in the hands of those little antisocial brats. I made the stresses on the ones who show respect for the firearm, and have parents from a good backround that actually give a damn about their kids. Perhaps, as an idea, we can set up nationally-certified training centers, like the ones that are out there now - where you pay some cash, spend time in a classroom learning not just how a gun works and how to shoot, but also the laws, the legalities, and the ethics of owning firearms. A lot of people go through that now - a concealed weapons training class gives you all that, plus you're also put through a background check from the local police or sheriff's office, AND you pay a not-insignificant sum. Why not set up something like this, for shooters, since we already have Driver-Training classes that cover the very same thing - how to drive, plus all the laws, plus tests to prove you paid attention, plus the fees for the license to drive. How about something akin to a driver's license, for shooters? Your thoughts? I agree 110% about kicking the asses of the slacker-parents and adults, and the ways to deal with the molestors. And, like I said - in a better society we used to have, it was legal - why not try and get that back again? Yes, it had its problems - sexism, racism, and the like - but I think we can identify those and work them out as well, and restore some solid belief in this country and some damn principles.

And yes, the ages are pretty arbitrary, but hey - we're used to those numbers as a nation, so I'll stick with them for now. Pretty much an age-of-responsibility where the kids would be able to comprehend things like ethics and responsibility, and be able to make their own informed decisions, and understand the consequences. A 16-year-old friend of mine wants to get started shooting, partly for fun and partly for self-defense because she doesn't feel safe in this world, and is asking me for help with it. She knows the risks and the responsibilities, but can't own a handgun for any reason - defense, sport, or just plain plinking - for another 5 years. Meanwhile, there are folks I work with in their 30s that...I would have *koff* deep reservations about them being in a gun store, let alone owning a gun.

Apparently in rather blatant defiance of the Egyptian threat, Israel has decided to make further grabs of Pallie buildings - namely a police station and two checkpoints. Tanks and bulldozers struck fast into the center of Jenin, and quickly wiped out the buildings in a reprisal for a pair of suicide bombings. Both of the terrorists in the bombings were from the town, which apparently was the deciding factor.

Israel isn't helping the peace process much, even with the Palestinian terrorists crying for a peace process and then outright endorsing the murder of innocent Israelis. The Israelis have been coming down with a heavy hand, especially in the rather arbitrary destruction of the police station. It may end up coming down to a full-on war, Israeli/Pallie-Egyptian-Syrian.

IF that were to happen - and according to King Solomon, it's quite possible - the key to the war is Mubarak himself, and Jordan. Mubarak may not commit the Egyptian forces to full warfare against Israel - there is a peace treaty in place, and the decision HAS NOT YET BEEN MADE to actually send in the troops (as far as I know). The Egyptians also seriously do not like the Palestinians. King Solomon suggests a possibility of a limited engagement at best, that should the Israelis move against the Pallies the Egyptians may take their time and only do a harassing strike at best, and then I doubt the other Arab nations would do anything.

The other, bigger key should anything start, is Jordan. Jordan and Israel don't have the best of relationships, but they do get along and Jordan's about the friendliest one out there. The new king of Jordan is also a big America-lover, and has even learned how to shoot from the Gunsite academy in the states. So he stands a good chance of staying out of a fight, Arab League or no. If Jordan stays out, then they'll block the Iranians and the Iraqis, and post a BIG threat to the Syrians since they're along the border opposite Israel. It pretty much hangs on them if any major fights start.

Alright. Should worst come to worst, here's a rough list of what's out there. Egypt's air force squadrons and their fighters. It's a fairly extensive list, and part of it includes E-2C Hawkeye radar aircraft, which will go far to controlling a lot of airspace over the Sinai, Israel, or Egypt. Very modern fighters, including American F-16s and Mirage 5s, plus AH-64 Apache attack helicopters...this could get nasty. The Israelis also have older US equipment, but the technical wizards over there can do things that the AMERICANS didn't think possible with them. Egyptian ground forces without, sadly, much detail. The Syrian army list is far weaker, and would get slaughtered if they go against the Israelis head-to-head without backup.

Summary? If it starts shooting, it'll get nasty on all sides. Hopefully, it won't. But I think the Israelis might end up pushing it to that point, if Sharon doesn't back down a notch, whether or not the Palestinians keep sacrificing themselves to Allah. That's the other half of things, though, if the Israelis DO back down...the Pallie terrs will start a MAJOR campaign, since Israel won't have the guts to stop them.

Hmm. I'd like to see a 14th Amendment challenge come up to, say, the Roberti-Roos and "assault weapon" laws in California. The Roberti-Roos law is a list of firearms that are specifically banned from ownership in the country - and it's quite long, I'll post a link to them when I'm at home. The "assault weapon" ban is a rule that followed the federal definition, until it was edited last year to be any centerfire rifle with more than ONE feature - pistol/thumbhole grip, detachable magazine, flash suppressor, threaded barrel, bayonet lug, grenade launcher, collapsible/foldable stock, second pistol grip - could not be owned. Gee, all those AR-15s, AKs, Springfield M1s, a large majority of california-owned rifles, became ee-legal.

So what's the 14th amendment have to say? No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States... Hm. I am a citizen of the United States, living in Nevada, I am allowed to legally own those firearms as a law-abiding good citizen, without criminal intent. In California, my privilege to own them has been abridged, quite literally. Ah, a rather flagrant violation, yes? But if a judge decides to only try you on the California law, and the California Supreme Court refuses to hear the case, well...one piece of the Constitution of the United States has been neutralized, without a public challenge.

And, anyone who is interested in gun law, and what the definitions are...go look for the latest copy (September 2001) of Guns & Ammo and check out the article on page 19, Second Amendment Semantics. I have it here, Ragabash, if you want to flip through it and see what they have to say (and pick apart, if you like). On page 78 is also a pretty good article about the Model 1911 handgun, and its dominance in shooting since, well, 1911. Also covers a lot of the different maker's variations, and is a pretty good article.

Captain Cajun is sitting here taking a call, doing a very good imitation of the speaker-box from Chinese Foooood from "Dude Where's My Car". So far, he was up over 20 "And thens" in 9 minutes.

Children and guns...hm. This is a very socially volatile mix nowadays, because of the media hype surrounding children and shootings, and minors committing crime (gang activities & fights, robbery, and such). However, kids that are exposed to firearms at a young age, and are given instruction and careful control over the activity, have far more respect and knowledge for the tool, and are much more conscious of the law. Compare this to the average child who is told never to touch a firearm, that they are evil and kill people - and see the firearms glorified on TV and in the movies.

The experienced child is more likely to laugh or be annoyed at how bad Hollywood got their facts wrong, and will understand exactly what to do when finding a firearm in the real world - namely, leave it where it is and make sure others know about it so as to protect them, and in case the firearm is part of a crime. The inexperienced child will often see movies and TV as "cool" and will not realize the power of a gun, and will (because of the myths they have heard, and the natural curious defiance of rules handed down from parents) want to pick up the gun, and examine it, because this is often the first time they have seen one. Sadly, their experimentation can end in tragedy, though fortunately this is rare.

At 15 or even earlier, many kids are learning how or already know how to drive a vehicle - with the responsibility it entails, namely safe driving and paying a lot of attention to the world around them. At highschool age, now, children are introduced to sex and are expected to be able to understand how to control their changing bodies (a long argument about this I shan't get into for my purposes). In some states, at 16 alcoholic consumption is legal. Yet...a child cannot own and carry a handgun for protection or even for enjoyment of the handgunning sports until they are 21, and may not own rifles or shotguns until they are 18. So, we leave our children defenseless against predators - thieves, murderers, rapists, child-molesting pederast fucks.

I would postulate that the 99% recidivist rate for child molestors would be far lower were our teenagers allowed to carry firearms like they were before.

And how many older teenagers, especially those living alone, might like to have a small, concealable friend to have with them in a dark place? I'm discussing arming a young 15 year old friend now, and deciding what firearm would be best for her parents to own and for her to "use around the house". If a mere privilege of driving a vehicle can be extended to a teenager as young as 16, why can't the right to protect themselves? We used to have that right in the past - but a lot of hysteria over a very few incidents changed that. Ask any relative over 50 what it was like when they grew up - when a lot of kids learned to shoot when they were still young, when there was respect for firearms and their power, and for society in general.

Ragabash...I assume you mean the Front Sight community - but there's no link on your page. I'll post more about it later tonight, but I am all for the idea.

Well, sh*t. Egypt seems to be weighing in on the side of the Pallie terrorists and is considering sending the 3rd Armored Army into the Sinai if Israel makes further moves against the Palestinian-occupied areas. Egypt is stuck on this - they've also signed with the Arab League promising to protect any Arab peoples under attack, but any fighting with the Israelis will be quite vicious on both sides, since the Egyptians are using old American hardware rather than the cheap Soviet crap they had before. Egypt also promises to aid the Syrians if Israel attacks them, and Israeli intelligence is predicting large, full-scale war again with the Arabs if the situation with the Pallies spirals down further. Considering the Israelis have already opened up foreign recruiting offices for the IDF, I think that they're preparing for just such a war. Not good news...but I'll bet Arafat is dancing in the streets. I hope the GSS and Mossad can pull a repeat performance of 1967...

Here's a thought - Saddam's been seriously pushing for a chance to destroy Israel and has twice tried to send armored divisions to Jordan and then get their permission to drive to the Mediterranean. Would the Americans step in both on the side of our ally there, and also against Saddam? Still, unpl;easant forboding in the Middle East..

Well well well! Remember the Great Trio of scientists who are getting started on their threat/promise to begin cloning humans, and spouting nonsense like it's perfectly safe and they'll always and only get successes? Here's the background on one of the three, Boisselier - namely, she thinks she and the rest of the human race were cloned from space aliens. Yup, that's right, she's one of the Raelians, whose company Clonaid charges two hundred thousand dollars for the promise of cloning you or someone you love. And apparently she bilked half a million from Mark Hunt, who wanted to try to clone his 10 month old baby boy, and set up an unregistered company with a lab inside an old 1950s school building, and kept churning out embryos (implanted into over 50 women) that appear to not yet have taken.

Boisselier though could not contain herself, and the apparent cloned-snake-oil saleswoman went on a grand tour, championing her cloning research and begging for cash. The FDA stepped in and took a look around, and made a deal with her - she stops cloning work for now until the government can get a legal structure going, and they'll not reveal the details of the lab or the donors. Well, Boisselier agreed - naturally. She sure didn't stick to the agreement though, and now Mark Hunt calls her a complete press hog and has apparently broken off his agreement.

And the best part of it all? This Boisselier woman, one of the three doctors who will charge ahead and lead humanity into the Clone Age...is in front of a grand jury on fraud charges for her supposed cloning promises! GOD I love it!

Woke up late, so off to work, but do enjoy the fun.

And Sakki-danna updates too!

Wow, this is seriously nihilist compared to last blog. Hello? *echo...echo...* cool.

No I am not drinking.

Update happiness. New layout, much less cluttercrowded. Much sleep-depraved Icchan. Er, I mean sleep-deprived. Yes. That's it.