This is exactly why I HATE news reports anymore. They do not tell you a damn thing.

When they first announced that the remains had been found, there was immediate speculation by the media that it was Chandra Levy. There was no real evidence of this, just the media wanting it to be so. From what I understand, there is also a serial killer working in this area for the last couple of months, so there was no guarantee that it was Chandra Levy, and not some other victim. No news reports that I read or saw or heard say anything about the potential for it to be somebody else. Officials, when interviewed, were very careful, as they should have been, to state that they were not speculating on whose remains they were until they knew more. So, at this point, the only people saying that it was Chandra are the media hype-meisters that WANT it to be her, because it looks good for the story.

Cut to this article. What do you see missing from the information presented here. Go ahead- read it again if you missed it- I'll wait.


Nowhere in this article does it state how the remains were identified. So the reader is left to assume whatever he might assume about what tipped off the official that it was Chandra Levy. I have the idea that it might not be Chandra Levy, and this 'official' either does not exist, or is leaking information that he does not have. I am not normally a conspiracy theory kind of guy. I tend to believe their is less to some things than other might believe. Human nature is not as complex as some people would like it to be. But this is ringing bells. And I am probably wrong. It most likely is Chandra Levy. But then why not tell how the remains were identified? Why not identify the official making the statement? If that information was available to the Post, why is it not in the article?

The important thing here is I am not being told what I need to know in order to make an informed decision about the veracity of the statements being made. And that is what I hate about the press/news media - you are only told what they think you need to know and are just supposed to trust them that what they say is true. And you cannot do that this blindly. There has to be more accountablility from the media, and they have to stop assuming that we are so stupid.

You know, they caught this jackass with help from the father. Much like the Unabomber, the authorities allowed this clown's manifesto, and a member of the family (the father specifically) recognized the lunatic rantings of his son, and turned him in. They caught him, and they arrested him, and he is going to be tried for some long winded charge that basically means he bombed people. Oh yeah, they are going to clip him with a federal firearms charge, which basically means he is screwed.

The important thing that i wish to point out is this statement by the father. To wit ``I really want you to know that Luke is not a dangerous person,'' Cameron Helder said. ``I think he's just trying to make a statement about the way our government is run. I think Luke wants people to listen to his ideas, and not enough people are hearing him, and he thinks this may help.''


For God's sake when are people going to wake up. Not a dangerous person hmmm? He put bombs in mailboxes in several states. Some 70 year-old woman in Iowa opened up her mailbox recently and got an explosion for her trouble - but this clown is not dangerous. We now have a bomb awareness procedure for mail-carriers across the country, but this jackass is not dangerous.

I understand a father loving his son, that makes sense to me. I also understand not wanting your children to do evil things. What I do not understand is how people can be so blind as to see what has been done, and then make a statement like the father did. How are we supposed to believe this "is not a dangerous person." jazz. And can we not assume that if the father is so mentally deficient as to be able to decieve himself this much, that the son is as crazy or more. This is like Johnny bin Walker Lindh really loving the United States as he sat over in Afghanistan as a member of the Taliban/Al Queada Army. WTF???

We need, as a whole - nation and world - to get away from this incessant emotional over/under-reaction. Once we start thinking again, and stop feeling everything, we will be better. Feelings are fine, and they have a purpose, but they are no excuse for not using your brain for something other than keeping the vacuum in your head from collapsing. Feelings are not, and should not be, a replacement for intelligence.

Yahoo! News - EU plans to tax Internet sales, angering US trade authorities

OK, first off - just what we need, another tax. As if somehow taxes have solved anything.

Second, like we do not give enough tax money to the EU as it is. In kind donations, straight aid, what have you. We already give enough money to the various countries of the world that we do not need to give any more. And certainly not through the imposition of a tax.

Third, how the hell are they going to collect this. There are already so many ways around internet taxes. In my state, you are supposed to claim your internet purchases on your tax return and then pay the state sales tax on your purchases at that time. I do not know anybody (including myself) that actually does this. Why add to your taxes if you do not have to. Anonymizers are going to make this process useless.

Fourth, this just shows how much the European Union does not understand the process of business. I can guarantee you that I am buying things from non-EU countries if it means that I will not have to pay taxes on the purchase. That is just simple economics. why pay more if I do not have to for the same product. If they actually believe that this will improve their economic position, they are crazed. Their own people will stop buying on the internet in order to get out of having to pay the tax. Just stoopid. And they will blame the loss of income on the economy and raise other taxes to compensate.

When are people going to learn