rarity.. 4 generations of a family, all standing next to one another...

III's bday is tomorrow

I miss II ('98) and I('86 i think) ...

Sun Microsystems was purchased by Oracle

+ =


lolzors

As some of you may or may not know, Sun Microsystems was purchased by Oracle. In this process, the encryption keys they use to validate their software repositories have changed. this will cause ubuntu updates to throw an error involving NO_PUBKEY.

this applies to everyone running a virtual machine on virtualbox.

first run following (this is one line not two - it wrapped):

wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -


then run
sudo apt-get update

then run
sudo apt-get upgrade

then run
sudo apt-get install virtualbox-3.2

to upgrade virtualbox to the laaatest version. dont forget to install the vm client utilities!!! enjoy!!

social networking phenomenon

There are people who have FB accounts on which all they do is associate themselves with family and friends and saying hi, but never posting anything other than replies. This is perfectly ok to do, but this can be accomplished far easier and more discreetly with email as often those replies contain dangerous geographic information. This is a patently obsolete way of seeing the web and it's purpose for mankind. This also glaringly misses the point of the social networking phenomenon.

FB is, as the first* Next Big Thing to blogging (followed by the pure descendant Twitter), a forum for airing all of those things rattling around in your head. Its a place to share those things that you just want to go out into the middle of a parking lot and scream for all to hear. to share the moments of Wow I just saved a bundle on my car insurance :) or solved some stupid computer issue that i know a lot of other people have. to truly foster humanity in the realm of "computers are sooo impersonal and you can't build relationships online, only in the physical world".
[* (non-crapped-up - re: MySpace was here first but it is completely USELESS for this unless you're a 12-16 yo teener or a perv looking to pick one up)]

Facebook and it's contemporaries are the last bastion of an environment in which corporate is merely a peer rather than an authority. In which subversion by big $$$ is only doable if the big $$$ is on the same page with what people want. Signing on with a belief system, or not, is entirely voluntary and much more likely to be done with a clear head and rational thought. It's less likely to brainwash if the recipient of information has the power to simply click it away (see Big TV Advertisers -vs- TiVo/DVR technology :) - scares the hell out of 'em because people don't have to watch ads any more. ).
[Anecdote - I don't watch ANYTHING on live cable or broadcast TV anymore because of this. Of course I don't equate PBS with "cable or broadcast TV" in any way.]

I just wanted to stand out in the facebook parking lot and shout this :)

It is still possible to be infected while on antivirus...

[warning - im having fun with icons ^_^ )

Happy Mothers Day to all you Mothers out there!

It is still possible to be infected while on antivirus...

Those on Crtain platforms still need to be especially careful what they run and who they open emails from..

Those who n longer run ffected platforms-its nice to be on the outside looking in :)

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/07/argument_switch_av_bypass/

"Researchers say they've devised a way to bypass protections built in to dozens of the most popular desktop anti-virus products, including those offered by McAfee, Trend Micro, AVG, and BitDefender."

stupid effing java!

stupid effing java!

Java is installed but not seen by firefox under ubuntu 9.04 jaunty jackalope
about:plugins doesnt reference Java(TM) Plug-in 1.6.0_20
File: /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun-1.6.0.20/jre/lib/i386/libnpjp2.so
etcetera ad nauseam
Or when running firefox you get a disappearing crash with an error like

SomeUser@yourmachine:~$ firefox
OpenOffice path is '/usr/lib/openoffice'
Didn't find JVM under /opt/firefox/plugins
firefox-bin: ../../../../src/plugin/solaris/plugin2/common/JavaVM.c:104: InitializeJVM: Assertion `foundJVM' failed.

To make it Not So Stupid in Ubuntu Jaunty:

1 Install :
$ sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin sun-java6-jdk sun-java6-doc sun-java6-bin sun-java6-fonts
agree to DLJ license

2 Activate:
update-alternatives --config java
choose sun java (if choice given)

Even if only output is

There is only 1 program which provides java
(/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun/jre/bin/java). Nothing to configure.

it did something. your output may also be

# update-alternatives --config java
There are 2 choices for the alternative java (providing /usr/bin/java).

Selection Path Priority Status
------------------------------------------------------------
* 0 /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/java 1061 auto mode
1 /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/java 1061 manual mode
2 /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun/jre/bin/java 63 manual mode

pick java-6-sun, in this case #2, logically enough by hitting 2[enter] lol

then do

# apt-get remove openjdk-6-jre openjdk-6-jre-headless openjdk-6-jre-lib

if it appears(as it does above) that openjdk is installed.


3 Clean Up old Links/Binaries (if any) (!!!!PLEASE adapt following to your environment - change paths etc)
Delete ALL pluginreg.dat file(s)
$ rm ~/.mozilla/firefox/ul9j1z05.default/pluginreg.dat
# updatedb && locate libnpjp2.so libjavaplugin_oji.so
[output] might be similar to
/home/SomeUser/.mozilla/plugins/libjavaplugin_oji.so
/home/SomeUser/.mozilla/plugins/libnpjp2.so
/home/AnotherUser/.mozilla/firefox/plugins/libjavaplugin_oji.so
/opt/firefox/plugins/libjavaplugin_oji.so
/usr/lib/firefox/plugins/libjavaplugin_oji.so
/usr/lib/firefox-plugins/libjavaplugin_oji.so
/usr/lib/firefox-plugins/plugins/libjavaplugin_oji.so
/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun-1.6.0.20/jre/lib/i386/libnpjp2.so
/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun-1.6.0.20/jre/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so
/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun-1.6.0.20/jre/plugin/i386/ns7-gcc29/libjavaplugin_oji.so

remove all instances if any of libnpjp2.so and libjavaplugin_oji.so EXCEPT the ones in "/usr/lib/jvm/- - - - -"
# rm /home/SomeUser/.mozilla/plugin/libjavaplugin_oji.so
# rm /home/SomeUser/.mozilla/firefox/plugins/libnpjp2.so
# rm /opt/firefox/plugins/libjavaplugin_oji.so
-- NOT --
rm /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun-1.6.0.20/jre/lib/i386/libnpjp2.so

4 Link In Fresh Plugins
cd /opt/firefox/plugins/
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun-1.6.0.20/jre/lib/i386/libnpjp2.so .
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun-1.6.0.20/jre/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so .

# updatedb && locate libnpjp2.so libjavaplugin_oji.so
[output] should be
/opt/firefox/plugins/libjavaplugin_oji.so
/opt/firefox/plugins/libnpjp2.so
/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun-1.6.0.20/jre/lib/i386/libnpjp2.so
/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun-1.6.0.20/jre/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so
/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun-1.6.0.20/jre/plugin/i386/ns7-gcc29/libjavaplugin_oji.so


5 Test Firefox
$ firefox http://www.java.com/en/download/installed.jsp

click (Verify java ......) or the like

[output] should be

Verified Java Version
Congratulations!
You have the recommended Java installed (Version 6 Update 20).

if this happens, WOOHOO!!!!

if not, keep on searchin... and comment back with what works for you!!

http://tinyurl.com/26oabvs had a similar problem that i forwarded my post to...

545 vs. 300,000,000

This is so true. Short, but an Excellent read.




What the hell happened - 545 vs. 300 million

This is about as clear and easy to understand as it can be - read it!! The article below is completely neutral, ...not anti republican or democrat.

Charlie Reese, a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinel has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that, in the final analysis, must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day.

It's a short but good read. Worth the time. Worth remembering!

545 vs. 300,000,000

EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS JOURNALIST HAS SCRIPTED IN THIS MESSAGE. READ IT AND THEN REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR CURRENT POLITICAL DEBACLE..

Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years.

545 PEOPLE

By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them...

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.

Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ .

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do..

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper..

What you do with this article now that you have read it.......... Is up to you. This might be funny if it weren't so darned true. Be sure to read all the way to the end:

Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table At which he's fed. Tax his tractor, Tax his mule, Teach him taxes Are the rule. Tax his work, Tax his pay, He works for peanuts Anyway! Tax his cow, Tax his goat, Tax his pants, Tax his coat. Tax his ties, Tax his shirt, Tax his work, Tax his dirt. Tax his tobacco, Tax his drink, Tax him if he Tries to think. Tax his cigars, Tax his beers, If he cries Tax his tears. Tax his car, Tax his gas, Find other ways To tax his ass. Tax all he has Then let him know That you won't be done Till he has no dough. When he screams and hollers; Then tax him some more, Tax him till He's good and sore. Then tax his coffin, Tax his grave, Tax the sod in Which he's laid... Put these words Upon his tomb, Taxes drove me to my doom...' When he's gone, Do not relax, It's time to apply The inheritance tax.. Accounts Receivable Tax Building Permit Tax CDL license Tax Cigarette Tax Corporate Income Tax Dog License Tax Excise Taxes Federal Income Tax Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) Fishing License Tax Food License Tax Fuel Permit Tax Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon) Gross Receipts Tax Hunting License Tax Inheritance Tax Inventory Tax IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties
(tax on top of tax) Liquor Tax Luxury Taxes Marriage License Tax Medicare Tax Personal Property Tax Property Tax Real Estate Tax Service Charge T ax Social Security Tax Road Usage Tax Sales Tax Recreational Vehicle Tax School Tax State Income Tax State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) Telephone Federal Excise Tax Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax Telephone State and Local Tax Telephone Usage Charge Tax Utility Taxes Vehicle License Registration Tax Vehicle Sales Tax Watercraft Registration Tax Well Permit Tax Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the hell happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'

I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!

GO AHEAD - - - BE AN AMERICAN!!!

taylor swift love story

bleh another pseudo disney teener popsong played while getting preggo and for lifetime movie fans.. they dont mention that romeo hangs drywall and gets drunk on payday and juliet goes to the bar with a baby on her hip.. I know Im rambling but what a cloying saccharine sweet song...

then again all taylor swift tunes are like that. well i hope she has a good financial team to capitalize while the moneys good :).

twitter background update lolololoolll

twitter background update lolololoolll twitter.com/mrinvader

twitter

rhymes with its current residence...

The Shitter

funny from my cousin

Last night, the deluxe bean burrito combo platter. This morning, the 3-cheese omlette w/ broccoli. This afternoon, ur a ticking time bomb. Sweet, sweet mercy.

lol

lost job

Didn't get along with the grey area morality of the place - shipping machines with hot keyed/unlicensed software and inadequately protecting against malware and trojans by 1: NOT telling people about firefox and 2 NOT installing antispyware. his business model relies on the machines coming back outside of warranty due to the computer illiteracy of the clientèle.

We did exactly what we said we would do.. and put on exactly what we said we would. And nothing more!

...but is it just me or is it shady to release product with full knowledge that it is inadequately protected against threats!?

O Waitasec, Microsoft has been doing this for YEARS!?!?!

I Got The Job

I start Monday July 13

I will be repairing and building PCs and printers, and basically doing what i always do.

Going for hardware job intervew tomorrow

Getting ready to go for a hardware test at a computer store in town. hopefully it will be employment.

Coors put its slogan, "Turn it loose," into Spanish where it was read as "Suffer from diarrhea."

Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.

Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick", a curling iron, into German only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the "manure stick."

When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the beautiful Caucasian baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label of what's inside, since most people can't read.

An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I saw the Pope" (el papa), the shirts read "I saw the potato" (la papa).

Pepsi's "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave", in Chinese.

Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "it takes a strong man to make a tender chicken" was translated into Spanish as "it takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate."

The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Ke-kou-ke-la", meaning "Bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "ko-kou-ko-le", translating into "happiness in the mouth."

When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "it won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." Instead, the company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant."

In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into Schweppes Toilet Water.

GM renamed its Buick LaCrosse in Canada because the name for the car is slang for "masturbation" in Quebec.

Take Two software features OJ Simpson in its new All Pro Football game. In the game Simpson plays on a team called The Assassins. The mascot is a hooded figure who makes stabbing motions with a large knife in the end zone when the Assassins score.
Tie: Several companies don’t realize that references to Nazis are offensive.
1.A Mumbai-based home furnishing company releases “The Nazi Collection” of bedspreads that feature swastikas. Although the swastika is a symbol of luck in India that goes back thousands of years, the company’s explanation for the name of the collection – it allegedly was an acronym for “New Arrival Zone for India” – put the lie to that.
2.Zara, a UK retail chain, pulls bags that are found to have swastikas on them.
3.Bell Canada has to pull ads that show a young woman wearing a button that says “Belsen Was A Gas” – a reference to a song by the Sex Pistols.
4.Italian winery releases Der Fuerher branded wine. Labels feature Nazi leaders, etc. Italian police not amused and seize wine. Wonder what happened to the evidence?
Cartoon Network fails to notify authorities that it will be placing odd electronic devices on bridges. In Boston, hilarity ensues. Nine other cities in the US scratch their heads. Parent company Turner Broadcasting coughs up $2 million for Boston’s freak out. Nine other cities in the US wish they’d freaked out, too.
Tie: car companies can’t figure out that suicide isn’t funny:
1.GM runs Super Bowl ad that shows robot getting laid off from job at GM plant and killing itself.
2.VW ad shows man coaxed back from jumping off ledge by news that VW has cars priced less than $17K.
Hershey begins selling Ice Breakers Pacs – small, clear-plastic envelopes of white powder. Police have problem with this. Hershey fails to capitalize. Does not claim that snorting breath mint is healthier than snorting cocaine or heroin.
Johnson & Johnson sues the Red Cross over the use of… wait for it … the red cross.
German campaign to raise funds for UNICEF features blonde kid in black face. Quoting AdFreak: This campaign was meant to raise support for schools in Africa, but even that part of the message is mangled by lines that sound like they’re condemning an entire continent: “In Africa, kids don’t come to school late, but not at all.” The campaign’s apparently been pulled after international criticism, although UNICEF notes that there was no “negative reaction from the German public after publication.”
Spirit Airlines two-fer:
1.Doesn’t realize that its “Many Islands, Low Fares” promotion will result in a very unfortunate acronym.
2.CEO Ben Baldanzasends email berating customers asking for a refund to said customers. Head of corp. communications adds fuel to the fire with following quotes:
“No, we really don’t believe we have anything to apologize for regarding Ben’s e-mail.”
“I can tell you that Ben cares enormously about our customers and our customer service. Ben said what is exactly true: that we don’t owe the customer anything. People can and do post whatever they would like on the Internet. But it cannot alter your adherence to your company policy or your procedures.”
Virginia tourism agency runs ads showing people flashing a hand signal used by the Gangster Disciples
Apple manages to generate ill will during most successful product release of the year. Shortly after the release of the Jesus Phone, Apple cut the price of the iPhone by $200, thereby pissing off early buyers and giving the press a reason to take a break from gushing over the gadget. This would have ranked higher but it had no impact on sales whatsoever. Great product will survive.

[IF] -Rudyard Kipling

[IF]

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

Video of Taliban flogging girl draws anger in Pakistan

waitasec.. i thought the taliban was no longer in power?! and pakistan was supposedly our ally? how can this be allowed to occur?!

it is however disgustingly ironic that this happened in _swat_ valley... lol.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/asia/la-fg-pakistan-flogging4-2009apr04,0,7541311.story


Video of Taliban flogging girl draws anger in Pakistan
'We condemn the whipping of women in Swat'

---

Women carry placards that read "We condemn the whipping of women in Swat," during a protest in Hyderabad, Pakistan.
The 17-year-old was believed to have been punished for refusing to marry a militant commander in the Swat Valley. A human rights activist calls the whipping 'intolerable.'

By Mubashir Zaidi and Laura King
2:45 PM PDT, April 3, 2009
Reporting from Istanbul, Turkey, and Islamabad, Pakistan -- Face down before a crowd, the teenage girl shrieks and writhes, begging for mercy. But the three masked men holding her down merely tighten their grip while a fourth man whips her again and again.

The video of a 17-year-old girl being publicly flogged by the Pakistani Taliban in the Swat Valley has galvanized the nation, drawing protests from human rights groups, denunciations from the central government and expressions of revulsion from ordinary Pakistanis.


Taliban flogging girl(google video)


The video, shot earlier this year, surfaced Friday on Pakistani television stations and the Internet.

While reports of abusive acts by the Pakistani Taliban have filtered out of the northwestern valley for months, such brutal scenes are rarely if ever captured on camera and publicly aired.

"This is intolerable," prominent human rights activist Asma Jahangir told journalists in the eastern city of Lahore.

Jahangir said the girl was believed to have been punished for refusing to marry a Taliban commander in the northwestern valley, where the government in February struck a truce with Islamic militants to stem violence. The militants then accused her of immoral behavior and ordered 34 lashes as a punishment, Pakistani news reports said.

The video, shot with a cellphone, initially shows the girl, clad in an all-enveloping black burka, being held by men while another begins striking her. She can be heard shouting for help in the Pashto language, spoken by most in Swat, but is dragged to another location, held down and flogged. Several dozen people can be seen looking on.

"For God's sake, please stop, stop it," the girl pleads as the whip falls. "I am dying."

Off-camera, another militant gives orders: "Hold her feet tightly. Lift her burka a bit."

A Taliban spokesman, Muslim Khan, defended the public lashing, saying the girl had engaged in immoral behavior, but did not specify. "It happened two months ago, when we were at war with the government," he told reporters in Swat. But local people said the incident had taken place two weeks ago in the village of Kala Kalae.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gillani condemned the flogging and pledged an investigation. The government's former information minister, Sherry Rehman, requested a special session of parliament to discuss the incident.

"Such brutalities . . . cannot be allowed to take place under the leadership of a democratic government," Rehman said in a statement. "We cannot leave our citizens at the mercy of militants who are murdering and maiming our people in the name of Islam."

Under the February truce, the Taliban were to cease hostilities and in return the provincial government permitted them to set up Islamic courts to enforce their version of Sharia law.

Jahangir, head of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, called the flogging a harbinger that the country and its leaders must heed.

"This is not just the flogging of the girl; it is an indication of what is in store for us," she said. "The Taliban are forcing their brand of Islam on us, and we have to resist that."

Despite widespread condemnations, some Pakistani religious leaders defended the public whipping.

"The flogging is Islamic, and the punishment is written in the holy Koran," a leading Muslim scholar, Mufti Munibur Rehman, said in a televised debate. "So how can we term it un-Islamic?"

Other influential religious figures, though, denounced the punishment. Amir Liaquat Ali, who hosts a popular Islam-themed program on Geo TV, called it barbaric.

Some provincial officials complained that it was unfair to portray the flogging as reflecting current conditions in Swat, 100 miles north of the capital Islamabad.

Stations that aired the video preceded it with a warning that it contained graphic imagery and children should not be allowed to view it. Word of it quickly spread, with horrified Pakistanis from across the social spectrum text-messaging friends and urging them to watch it.

The Swat accord was reached between the North-West Frontier Province government and a cleric named Sufi Muhammad, whose son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah leads a Taliban army that for nearly two years had held off army and paramilitary troops seeking to regain control of Swat.

The alpine valley was once a tourist haven, with stunning mountain scenery and a ski resort, which the militants burned down.

Over the last two years, they also burned down nearly 200 schools providing education to girls and beheaded dozens of local officials and paramilitary troops, terrorizing anyone who dared speak out.

The central government was not a party to the peace accord but signaled its approval and pulled back army troops. The Swat deal was viewed with concern by Western governments, but Pakistani officials defended it as a way of stemming bloodshed in Swat and said the brand of Islamic law to be imposed was not a particularly harsh one.

The video was reportedly obtained by a documentary filmmaker named Samar Minallah, who said she received it from friends in Swat. It had been circulating in the valley for some days, she said.

laura.king@latimes.com

Zaidi is a special correspondent. Special correspondent Zulfiqar Ali in the city of Peshawar contributed to this report.

chromium-browser (where google chrome is derived)

unstable as hell but man it goes like a raped ape!

Footloose is now Zac Efron-free.

The teen dream has shimmied out of his Kevin Bacon-channeling role in the long-gestating remake of the classic '80s musical.

I think this is good due to Bacon's character liking GiRLS..

executives of insurer American International Group

March 17 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley said he wants “contrition” from executives of insurer American International Group Inc. for their company’s problems, after earlier saying they should follow Japanese tradition and “resign or go commit suicide.”

“Of course, I don’t want anybody to go commit suicide, but I do want some contrition,” Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said today in a Bloomberg Television interview.

Now, what I want to know is, Why the hell not, Mr Grassley, why would you backpedal on this?!? Absolutely they should commit Seppuku! With a dirty garden trowel, even!

Cheney: unhappy

Cheney: unhappy Bush did not pardon his former aide
Reuters - ‎2 hours ago‎
By James Vicini WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - Former Vice President Dick Cheney said on Sunday he was unhappy with then-President George W. Bush's refusal to pardon Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's onetime chief of staff who was convicted in the CIA ...

Awwww he should be glad HE isnt in a situation to require pardon.. He should be in the federal pen getting a cockmeat sandwich with scooter and jeff skilling and all the rest of those rightwing blowhards!