The Washington Post's headline writers illustrate the success of his trip as follows, and somehow manage to be both more and less pointed in their commentary: "Bush's Asia Trip Meets Low Expectations" (Washington Post, November 21, 2005).

But you know what? We're at least proud to say he is so totally beating those Chinamen! You show them who invented bicycling, George! And we'll pretend it wasn't the French or the Germans. And that no one can ever, ever, ever pass you on the bikepaths. Or tell you that you're wrong. About anything at all.

We want to answer such questions as, 'Why is 24-hour cable news "blondes reporting on missing blondes"?'"

Part 1
Armand Van Helden - My My My (Ashley Beedle's New York Farm Remix) [Ultra]
Royal Sapien - Save Me (Strip Poker Slot Machine Remix) [Olaris]
Paul Mac - 100 EP [Immigrant]
PFN - You Are Sleeping (Luke Chable Vocal Pass) [Yoshitoshi]
Royal Sapien - Oh No (XXL Remix) [Olaris]
The Lovefreekz - Shine (Pete Heller's Phela Remix) [Ultra]
Highland - No Way Out (George Thompson vs. Acid Rockers Remix) [Audio Therapy]
REM - The Great Beyond (Hybrid Remix) [Warner Bros]
Hybrid - Zulu (Royal Sapien Re-Edit) [Distinct'ive]
Imogen Heap - Have You Got It In You? (Royal Sapien Remix) [Megaphonic]

Part 2
John Dahlback - Nothing Is For Real (Warren Clarke Remix) [Toolroom Records and Traxx]
Royal Sapien - Nothing Is For Real (acapella)
Freeform Five - No More Conversations (Mylo Remix) [Fine Records]
Suicide Sports Clube - I Don't Know feat. The Dead Rabbits (King Unique Mix) [B_Rock]
Patrick Rassmusen - Hymn (RIchard Davis Remix) [Kitty Cuts]
DJ T - Glitter [XLR8R - Iris]
Royal Sapien - Oh No (Dub) [Olaris]
Eight Frozen Modules - Head Change [Plateaux Resistance]
Royal Sapien - Outlander [CDR]
The Crystal Method - The Name of The Game (Hybrid Remix) [Outpost]
Eight Frozen Modules - Dogs Bark People Growl [Plateaux Resistance]
Phonc - Slust [10Kilo]
Joel Armstrong - Serenity [Proton]
Justin Martin - Cicada (Pedro De La Faydro Birth Mix) [Dirtybird]
Imogen Heap - The Walk (Royal Sapien Choppedub) [Megaphonic]
Royal Sapien - Be With You (Love to Greece Mix) [Olaris]

The suit, to be filed in Los Angeles County Superior court, alleges that the XCP and SunnComm technologies have been installed on the computers of millions of unsuspecting music customers when they used their CDs on machines running the Windows operating system. Researchers have shown that the XCP technology was designed to have many of the qualities of a "rootkit." It was written with the intent of concealing its presence and operation from the owner of the computer, and once installed, it degrades the performance of the machine, opens new security vulnerabilities, and installs updates through an Internet connection to Sony BMG's servers. The nature of a rootkit makes it extremely difficult to remove, often leaving reformatting the computer's hard drive as the only solution. When Sony BMG offered a program to uninstall the dangerous XCP software, researchers found that the installer itself opened even more security vulnerabilities in users' machines.

Sony BMG has still refused to use its marketing prowess to widely publicize its recall program to reach the over 2 million XCP-infected customers, has failed to compensate users whose computers were affected and has not eliminated the outrageous terms found in its End User Licensing Agreement (EULA). The MediaMax software installed on over 20 million CDs has different, but similarly troubling problems. It installs files on the users' computers even if they click "no" on the EULA, and it does not include a way to fully uninstall the program. The software transmits data about users to SunnComm through an Internet connection whenever purchasers listen to CDs, allowing the company to track listening habits -- even though the EULA states that the software will not be used to collect personal information and SunnComm's website says "no information is ever collected about you or your computer." If users repeatedly requested an uninstaller for the MediaMax software, they were eventually provided one, but they first had to provide more personally identifying information. Worse, security researchers recently determined that SunnComm's uninstaller creates significant security risks for users, as the XCP uninstaller did.

Cheney ... shrugged off the failure to find weapons of mass destruction. "We never had the burden of proof," he said, adding that it had been up to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to prove to the world that he didn't have such weapons.

Mr. Sketch writes "According to Yahoo!, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott 'filed a civil lawsuit on Monday against Sony BMG Music Entertainment for including "spyware" software on its media player designed to thwart music copying. [...] Texas is seeking civil penalties of $100,000 per violation of the state's Consumer Protection Against Computer Spyware Act, which was enacted earlier this year. "Sony has engaged in a technological version of cloak and dagger deceit against consumers by hiding secret files on their computers," Abbott said in a statement.'"

SP: In a live performance you realise within 30 seconds whether something's working or not. In a studio you can disappear into this intellectual, er...

M: Wank.

SP: Wank, yes. You can think you're making something really meaningful but in a live arena it just won't translate. So when we were working on stuff here I would play the tracks when I was DJing and nobody would know what it was and you could see how things were actually working from the reaction.

M: That was one thing we did on this record that I haven't had the luxury of doing before. Because Stuart DJs all over the world we tried it all out - dub versions so they wouldn't know it was me or there would only be a strain of my vocal in the background. I even made him film things for me on his telephone so I could see the crowd reaction.

SP: It just looks like Sodom and Gomorrah. If the reaction wasn't instant we'd go back and change the tracks.

M: If only I could do everything like that - anonymously.

Most of the Google's revenue comes from advertising sales.

In order for the artist to keep their head above water (and in order for the label to cash in on the "new artist" hype) a second album is rushed out. If the artist is out of material and can't write new songs fast enough, half-thought-out songs are slapped togther, other writers are hired, or licenses are bought for a cover-song or two to pad out the album. Whatever it takes to get 35-40 minutes of music on a disk and get it out to the shopping malls.

More often than not, the album sucks and hardly anybody wants to buy it. This is often called "the sophomore jynx" among music critics. Artists who manage to work well enough under pressure to dodge this particular bullet often become the ones which the labels will latch on to and try to turn in to "the next Beatles."

Since there's a contract for a third album, and (for the bands who bombed on the second) no real rush to get another one out, the artist is able to take their time and make something which is guided more by their creative vision (or the creative vision of their producer, in the case of disposable pop acts), and generally a slightly better album is put out. If the critics like it, the artist just might get a chance to re-emerge as a hit machine.

At this point, the artists who had a hit on either their second or third album are likely to be in the black (unless they were ripped off by their management or ran out and bought their own soccer teams or something). This is when it gets interesting.

Public Comment Period for this rule Closes
December 12, 2005

Public comments are now being accepted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its newly proposed federal regulation regarding the testing of chemicals and pesticides on human subjects. On August 2, 2005, Congress had mandated the EPA create a rule that permanently bans chemical testing on pregnant women and children. But the EPA's newly proposed rule, misleadingly titled "Protections for Subjects in Human Research," puts industry profits ahead of children's welfare. The rule allows for government and industry scientists to treat children as human guinea pigs in chemical experiments in the following situations:

1. Children who "cannot be reasonably consulted," such as those that are mentally handicapped or orphaned newborns may be tested on. With permission from the institution or guardian in charge of the individual, the child may be exposed to chemicals for the sake of research.
2. Parental consent forms are not necessary for testing on children who have been neglected or abused.
3. Chemical studies on any children outside of the U.S. are acceptable.

If you try to uninstall the Suncomm MediaMax trojan using the official tool provided by Suncomm, you'll leave your computer with a huge back-door vulnerability, due to the negligent incompetence of Suncomm's programmers.

And don't forget how your computer got screwed up: Sony punished you for doing the honest thing and buying a CD from them instead of downloading your music from an unauthorized source.

Word is that Air America major supremo Danny Goldberg doesn't like the show, doesn't like Marc as an on-air personality, doesn't "get" Marc's or the show's humor, and wants to crumple the program up into a wastepaper ball and chuck it into the basket.

Now Danny Goldberg may have many fine qualities. I sort of liked the book he did a bit back about how the Democrats had lost youth appeal. But he's not a radio guy, and if he can't find the funny in Marc, Lawton Smalls, and Sammy the Stem Cell, he needs to hire a psychic detective to locate his missing sense of humor.

Can anything be done to keep Morning Sedition going and prevent Marc from being pushed into the cold wintry streets of a town without pity?

Well, you can always write to Danny Goldberg at dannyg@airamericaradio.com

Or to the person I'm informed is the big mover on the AA board, Rob Glaser of Real Network. His email address is rglaser@real.com

Should you decide to petition these gentlemen in support of Marc, Mark and Morning Sedition, be concise, polite, and positive. Don't go wailing like a bunch of Freepers. Love-bomb them with eloquence and enthusiasm.

Because a world without Sammy the Stem Cell is a world that might as well stop revolving.

Damn straight. A lot of the production staff has already moved to other shows, but it seems that Marc, Mark, and the amazing Jim Earle are all out of a job.

Sony, which has yet to say how many CDs carrying the XCP software remain on store shelves, stopped short of issuing a recall, a necessary step if consumers are ever to trust Sony with their computers again. And the company still owes customers who have loaded the XCP software onto their machines an easy way to get rid of it. Add to these failures the utter lack of contrition shown by the label and its executives, and you get what's effectively an unforgivable combination.

Jon Jacobs, aka Neverdie, the gamer who bought a virtual space station for $100,000 says he wants to turn it into a nightclub to change the face of entertainment.

Currently being built within the online role-playing game Project Entropia, the space would be called Club Neverdie and would bridge reality and virtual reality.

"I'm already in talks with some of the worlds biggest DJs about spinning live sets inside the nightclub," said Neverdie. "Gamers want to be entertained while they play, hunt, socialise and craft, and because of the real cash economy aspects of Project Entropia, they can afford to pay for their entertainment."

The player believes that "Club Neverdie will enable the entertainment industry to reach inside virtual reality and target the gamer while he's in his element, while also harnessing the economic power of the gamers to raise the quality level of the content on offer."

Although the exact numbers are no doubt different for American and European retailers, similar tales of this Microsoft marketing/strong-arm strategy are likely to hold fast around the globe. I’ve been hearing rumors that the Xbox 360 will only be available in bundles with a set number of games when it goes on sale here. This tactic is not new—I’m pretty sure Sony will do the same thing when it launches the PS3 too. And there is nothing like a sell-out to generate publicity (even if it requires slowing the production line to ensure a shortage).

When I logged in again I discovered that the CD drive was missing from Explorer. Deleting the drivers had disabled the CD. Now I was really mad.

Residents of the Mile High [teehee] City have voted to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana for adults. Authorities, though, said state possession laws will be applied instead.

"We educated voters about the facts that marijuana is less harmful to the user and society than alcohol," said Mason Tvert, campaign organizer for SAFER, or Safer Alternatives For Enjoyable Recreation. "To prohibit adults from making the rational, safer choice to use marijuana is bad public policy."