Pirates and ninjas make good friends if you can keep each secret from the other.

The EFF and the Free Press have issued a National Conference Call to discuss AOLs "email tax."

This was a bad move by AOL. Yahoo is also thinking of implementing the same plan. See my previous discussion here.

More info on the National Conference Call is here.

Don't die.

The ill munkeys versus the killer klowns in a battle for supremacy.

I absolutely detest the idea of a "tiered" internet. Lately, the argument has shifted from us to Europe.

Kai-Uwe Ricke, Chief Executive of Deutsche Telekom, says: "It is not fair that only the customer, via the monthly subscription fee (for using the Internet), pays for this great new world."

I have a newsflash for Ricke: the cost will trickle back to the customer. If production costs increase, a company must either choose to eat the loss or charge more for its services. Which, Ricke, do you think a business would choose?

Secondly, the customer has already paid for those lines you "own" through taxation. We pay these taxes so you can continue to keep our communication infrastructure alive and well.

Read more about it here.

Don't die.

Bob will one day stay in my head and stop jumping about.

I think the Vanity Fair "fiasco" is fairly humorous. If you don't know, and you're a guy, then head on over to Vanity and check out the pictures of a naked Kiera Knightly and Scarlett Johansson. Yep. So go check it out and stuff.

So, what's the fiasco? Well, (feminists) people are wondering why they bare all when the man on the cover with them only shows us some chest hair.

It's quite simple, really. Naked women sell. Naked men... not so much.

Don't die.

A pig can't yet fly, but three have begun to glow.

I must admit, it's a rare day indeed when I agree with President Bush. But today, he has taken a stand I pretty much agree: Legislators who are looking to block the port deal are racially driven. In this country (and in many others), it is bad to be Arab. Since September 11, an Arab is an easy target for our disgust, hatred, and mistrust.

Bush's statement rings true: "I am trying to conduct foreign policy now by saying to the people of the world, 'We'll treat you fairly.'"

Bravo. This is a statement which reflects a United States I am proud to live in.

You can read about it in many places, but I'll point you here and here.

Don't die.

Don't fear the reaper, he comes for you.

Taxes. Everyone hates taxes.

I recently read an article about how income taxes discourage the act of working (I wish I had a link to said article...). When taxes are high, the worker sees less reward. When taxes are low, the worker sees more reward. The premise is sound.

Now, for some evidence.

I came across this article today, which has nothing to do with taxes, but is an Oddly Enough story filed by Reuters. (If you don't read the Oddly Enough section, you should.) It describes how the Hell's Angels in Sweden have moved from the violent crimes of their past to more white-collared crimes such as fraud. Sweden is on a warpath to end fraud as it "has estimated that as much as a fifth of the workforce is on long-term sick leave or early retirement due to sickness, often put down to 'burn-out'."

One-fifth of the workforce is out on extended sick leave? Something is very, very wrong with this picture.

According to the Index of Economic Freedom 2006 Sweden's "income tax burden is one of the heaviest among the world's industrialized economies" with a "60 percent top income tax rate." Compare this to the United States top income tax rate of "35 percent."

Could it be possible the workers in Sweden get a much sweeter deal in not working? The answer is a resounding yes.

Although some taxes are a necessity (someone, after all, has to pay for those roads we drive on), evidence contends that higher taxes do not generate more income for a country.

Don't die, all.