Pope John Paul II George Carlin embraced the harsh realities of suffering head-on, and showed that they are an integral and unavoidable part of our pilgrimage here on earth, not to be feared but to be accepted willingly and even joyfully as the inevitable conditions for entrance into eternal life dumb.

Haven’t you ever noticed how many news channels at any given time are just churning through the same few Reuters or AP stories as everybody else?  This can be potentially, if not in fact usually, less “original” than more obviously link-based journalism as there is inevitably less freedom and multi-lateralism in the sources.

Then again, I went to art college I have even read Death of the Author so I guess I’ve been a bit brainwashed.

I may have to steal the ‘Saint Pete for Peace’ moniker.

From the InfoWars article on the study:

… the number of Americans who avoided flying after 9/11 and were subsequently killed in car crashes was higher than the total number of passengers who died on the four 9/11 flights.

Should we have draconian new laws and fundamentally change the way our society works as a result?  The changes would save vastly more lives than stop-and-search routines at airports and train stations.

I’ll be upset, but surprised, if I’m asked to remove this post because, apparently, you can copyright a number. If that’s the case, should I go for 1? Actually I think 0 is more in my line.

It’s also worth noting that the comments (3 at the time of writing) range from blazé – “that’s how news work” (sic) – to downright ignorant – “there’s a war on there” (it’s not a ‘war’, it is a military occupation).

Well done, Zach, and remember that you carry your own values and it’s never worth letting them go just because other people don’t always measure up.

Personally I’m dubious about these claims. After all, if this were likely to prove to be a “cure” for “most cancers” then I’m pretty sure the capitalist profit imperative would ensure it was worth someone’s time and effort in research and development …. or would it?

Anyway – please can everyone blog about this to at least give the thing a shot in the public eye.

The experiment had some unexpected, and fascinating results.

Does file-sharing hurt the music biz?

Andrew Sullivan | The Daily Dish: What We’ve Lost

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | US Iran report branded dishonest