TALKING IS BETTER THAN FIGHTING

People, who are so frustrated with their government that they take to the streets in the face of gunfire, are courageous people. These protesters often refuse to talk to the government until a huge demand is met. I think this is a mistake.

Of course, there are dictators like the late Gaddafi of Libya. I could always tell when Gaddafi was going to stage an attack, because he always offered a truce just before he attacked.

However, democracy does not work unless people talk to each other. Democracy requires compromise between people who disagree.

So, if talk is offered, choose several respected, articulate representatives who are currently outside of the country in dispute. Insist on a neutral spot to negotiate, such as Switzerland. Insist that all participants are protected from assassination.

Talking may not help. I do believe some dictators have a world view that is rooted in the fantasy of their omnipotence. This is especially true if a parent taught the leader that he "was born to rule."

But if a leader is capable of understanding someone else's world view, then at least the leader will then understand the reasons that his streets are filled with protestors.

GOOD LUCK TO THE NEGOTIATORS.

IF THE BAD GUYS TAKE DOWN THE INTERNET

The internet as it is now, is very different than when I first got on raul.net. Back then, everything was done with words. There was no talking, no video, just user groups sharing information.

It is still possible to share information using combinations of old technology and new technology. For instance, I am now using my dialup connection to post on my blog. This is because my highspeed internet has mysteriously gone down. I guess it is the price of blogging.

So you all deserve to be paranoid about the internet going down.

Many solutions to the bad guys shutting down the net are published in the following website:

www.pcworld.com/article/218155/get_internet_access_when_your_government_shuts_it_down

I think there is NO WAY that the government is going to shut down the net in the US or Europe. The economic chaos would be too much. However, individuals like me should take care to have some of the kinds of backup mentioned in this article. New Orleans taught us that Mother Nature can also shut down the net. So keep your short wave radios.

TALE OF TWO SHERIFFS

The brand new San Francisco Sheriff is in trouble for domestic violence. (It is important for you to know that he is a member of the Green Party, which means that he is more liberal than the Democrats.)

Anyway, his wife, who is from South American, complained about her husband bruising her arm on New Years Eve. The neighbor, an attorney, called the police, but did not give the police any of the video she filmed. The District Attorney charged the Sheriff with domestic violence, endangering a minor, and trying to get a witness to change a statement, all misdemeanors. The DA got a search warrant for the neighbor's video. The judge issued a 'no contact' order, over the wife's objections, stating that the wife was from South America and would not understand the issues. 

TWO PROBLEMS. 

   1. A SEARCH WARRANT CANNOT BE ISSUED FOR A MISDEMEANOR! Didn't ANYBODY listen in law school?

   2. Even in Silicon Valley, noted for its 'the accused is probably guilty' culture, a judge will not issue a 'no contact' restraining order over the objection of a wife, especially if the injuries were minor. It is normal to issue a 'peaceful contact' restraining order under these circumstances. I have objected for years about the courts treating domestic violence victims as if they were children, who can not possibly know their own minds. But to say someone from South America must be given extra protection is prejudice of the worst sort. It is the kind of prejudice that called Black men 'boys'.

'SHERIFF JOE' from Phoenix, Arizona, is violating the civil rights of Latinos on a regular basis. He BRAGS about it. I invite you to read the December 15, 2011, 22 page letter from the US Department of Justice. Substitute the word Black or Jew for the word Latino or Mexican, and you will have a clear picture of the deep seated prejudice felt by Sheriff Joe and his supporters.

IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS LATINOS, please substitute the name of your own group for the horrible words you use to describe those who move here from South of our borders. You will be APPALLED, because almost no one pays attention to their own prejudices.

PRICE OF FREE SPEACH?

I hate to sound paranoid. However, since January 1, I have had my printer/fax/copier. my internet, my phone, my water, all ceased to function without notice. While some of this is probably the result of deferred maintenance, it seems to be more 'bad luck' than can normally be expected.

While I am still able, I want to complement Wikipedia, Mozilla, and others for demonstrating a world without the internet. 

Those that are fighting for sane copyright protection laws need to realize that the time may come when Disney can no longer protect Mickey Mouse from parody. Those of us who collected underground comics during the 60s and 70s know why Disney may be very worried about this.

We should be able to find some way to protect Mickey without passing draconian laws like the Millennium Copyright Act. Protecting writers and artists for 99 years and inventors for 14 years seems manifestly unfair. (My # of years may be off as my research is not highspeed right now.)

We are all buying the same content over and over again in different formats. I have Star Wars movies in 4 different formats, I think. 

My arthritis is forcing me to give up real books for ebooks. So I am rebuying all of the books again. Most books are the same price in ebook, even though they do not have to be printed, shipped, etc. 

These issues are real issues, faced by the 99% every day. Both Silicon Valley and Hollywood should take the time to see things from the consumer point of view. They also badly need to talk to each other.

Theft of intellectual property is a serious problem that needs to be solved. It will NOT be solved without involving ALL of the stakeholders. It is also possible that it can not be solved by any one country, but requires an international solution.

HELP YOUR ELDERS - MAKE CERTAIN THEY HAVE ID

Many older people do NOT have a proper ID that can be used to prove their identity.

Without an ID they can not easily sign any documents that require a notarization. A California Notary Public can NOT notarize a document unless the signer has proper ID. There is a way to sign using credible witnesses, but you still need a proper ID to sign deeds, power of attorneys, and other monetary related documents.

This means that older people may NOT be able to sell their home, refinance their home, sign a power of attorney, or form a trust to distribute their estate.

In the security conscious world of 2012, getting an ID may be especially difficult. It is no longer possible to get a birth certificate without a notarized request from the person or a relative.

So help your elderly friend. Find out what ID they did have. Research how to get a new government ID (like the California ID card), help them fill out the paperwork, and keep track of the project until the ID is received.

Help of this sort is a WAY better gift than slippers.

When you get the ID, go to my website for information on power of attorney, health care directives and trusts. There may be more paperwork that you can help with. (My website is www.LawandLaws.com.)

PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND CIVIL RIGHTS

One of the oldest and most important civil rights we have is HABEAS CORPUS. This is a constitutional right granted to a person being held in prison or jail to ask a judge to make certain that the jail or prison is using legal means to keep the person in prison or jail.

President Lincoln suspended this right during most of the Civil War. Lincoln even ignored a court order to release a war protester.

Currently, our fear of terrorists is allowing people to be incarcerated by the military indefinitely. Yes, I know. I do not like it either.

However, the current internet upsetness over the National Defense Authorization Act is unnecessary. Please read 1021 (e) of the Act. NOTHING IS CHANGED regarding indefinite detention.

I would like ALL of the indefinite detention to GO AWAY. We need to restore the civil rights for even the people being held in Cuba. Your fear of terrorists is stopping this from happening. Republicans even used your fear to stop a proposed terrorist trial in New York City. You would have thought that New York City had never held a terrorist trial before.

If you are going to protest something, it is important to know EXACTLY what you are protesting against.

CLOUD COMPUTING

If you rely on cloud computing, you may be making a HUGE error.

For instances, I have an old HP color laser jet 2840. It is still incredibly reliable. The document feeder still works. The print is perfect.

Unfortunately, I can no longer find out when to order my supplies, such as toner and the drum. This is because HP decided to put this information in the "cloud". However, the "cloud" information for my printer has disappeared.

Leaving essential data to the decisions of another company is STUPID. You could lose WAY more than printer information. You have NO WAY of knowing whether the company you rely on is going out of business or is keeping good care of your data.

THE CLOUD is fine for getting more servers for your website. It is STUPID to rely on the cloud for long term data storage.

BAD GOOD IDEAS

ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE - In an effort to help with electronic commerce, many countries, including the US, have adopted laws which allow electronic signatures, even for real estate transactions. I have no problems with banks exchanging electronic signatures or courts accepting electronic signatures from attorneys with passwords.

I think that electronic signatures for real estate transactions at the consumer level is a BAD IDEA. How does one know that the electronic signature is valid? It is WAY too easy for a real estate agent to copy and paste signatures into documents or to use copy and paste to alter documents.

ENERGY SAVING LIGHT BULBS - The only energy saving light bulbs currently affordable are the florescent light bulbs, WHICH CONTAIN MERCURY. Mercury is poisonous to humans. Requiring people to take their used light bulbs to a hazardous waste facility is STUPID. People are not going to do that. If you break one of those light bulbs, you had better keep all children away from the shards and use a mask and gloves to clean up the mess.

The term MAD AS A HATTER came from the people who went crazy because they were using mercury in the making of hats.

ALLOWING FORMER DOMESTIC ANIMALS TO INVADE OUR WILD LANDS - I really like horses, but I also would like to save the antelope and the big horn sheep. If we allow horses and burros to run wild in the West, we will not have any antelope and big horn sheep.

Allowing cats to run wild is killing off the bird population.

We all have an almost instinctual response to former domestic animals. We need to understand that we can not save the former domestic animals that do not have a human owner. (Care of the land is WAY more complicated than city people think.)

NO MORE PLASTIC BAGS - This idea comes from people who have never had to ride a bus. It ignores the germs that are carried into our grocery stores by dirty reused bags.

Why do you not require that all plastic bags be biodegradable? Hemp can be used to make biodegradable plastic bags.

If hemp was legal, hemp bags could be made. They are biodegradable and do not melt in the rain like paper bags do.

BTW, there is historical evidence that hemp was made illegal so that people who owned forests could cut the trees to make paper, and so that the plastic companies could get people to buy plastic ropes, which also ruin the ocean.

---
You need to be careful about what seems like a good idea. Sometimes the good idea is actually a BAD good idea, promulgated by people who only care about money.