I have never really trusted the mass media. Most large media companies are owned by people whose focus is on economic and personal success, and not on portrayal of the truth. This biases the stories they choose to tell, as well as the way in which they tell them. In some cases, it even biases them to the point of ignoring the truth entirely.

A current example of this is Osama Bin Laden, the man the media want you to hate. Now I don't like what's going on any more than you do. The deaths of innocent people is tragic, no matter what the circumstances are. The problem is that no one really knows that much about who caused the “terrorist actions”, or why they did it. There is no solid evidence to support the theory that Bin Laden was in any way involved in what happened, and yet the media, and therefore the general public, have decided that he is the person responsible.

The media will do anything within their power to make this more believable. The more people believe, the longer this will continue and the more people will pay attention to the media. It's quite simple. What worries me is that people don't question any of it.

Recently, it was announced — by the media — that Bin Laden is in possession of chemical and nuclear weapons. He supposedly announced to the world that he was willing to use these weapons. The problem is that it seems Bin Laden never said he had nuclear weapons. The English translation of the original interview contains different quotes to the Urdu original.

I'm not trying to convince you to switch off your televisions or stop reading your morning paper; we need to remain informed. I am trying to convince you to remain just a little bit skeptical about what you do hear and read, and to remember just what the media has to gain out of all of this. They're not without benefit from the current scenario, and they're not below manipulating it to their own, or anybody else's, gain.

A 12 year old German girl has just set a new record for the world's longest tounge. I do wonder if it actually fits in her head. After all, every photo of her seems to have her tounge stuck out, so we really don't know. These sorts of things are what keeps me awake at night.

I have managed to see the the second Star Wars Episode II trailer (also here, with registration). Apparently those people who have the DVD should be able to download this without having to hunt it down.

Now for my comment: wow. Not only does this prove that the movie will have more than just kissing, but it shows dialogue and action. Oh boy, does it show action. And lots of zappy stuff. The special effects guys must really like those little bolts of lightning.

I have no idea why Lucas is holding this one back from the non-DVD-purchasing masses (not all of us actually own a DVD player, George), but it's definitely changed my opinion on Episode II. I will be queuing, lightsaber in hand, when it opens.

Have you ever have a friend who was just a little bit too stinky, but you weren't sure how to tell them? Well, now there's a site dedicated to telling people they have B.O. Yes, you read that correctly.

Interestingly, unlike most sites of this nature, this one requires two people to agree that someone is stinky before it will send them a notification of their stinkiness. People who find the site annoying can also submit their email address or domain to avoid receiving notifications.

It seems that our money might not be as secure we thought it was. Two students found that the cryptographic techniques used by IBM in manufacturing their ATMs is a lot easier to brute-force crack than previously thought. In fact, a brute force technique can crack the key used for a transmission in under 25 hours on a cheap PC.

The most interesting thing about this is that not only have IBM known about this for two years, but they continue to ignore it, stating that “In the real world, there are too many physical safeguards and authority protections for such an attack to be successful.” Sorry, IBM, you really can't expect us to believe that you've got armed guards posted along all the phone lines between your ATMs and your servers.

It is interesting to note that a system that was once considered uncrackable in a lifetime is now easily compromised in a single day. Perhaps this is the future of all public key encryption techniques — to be outdated as we build faster computers with superior algorithms.

Yesterday morning I walked into campus. It's not too far, and it gives me an excuse to spend some time outside in the sun. As I walked, I was listening to a CD to try and wake myself up for another day of work. This particular morning, I had decided to dig out my copy of Fatboy Slim's “Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars”. It seemed suitably upbeat for a warm Friday morning. As I reached one particularly nice spot on my usual walking path, a new song started on the CD.

I wasn't really paying attention to it, but the words of the preacher in the song have stuck in my mind. He implores all his listeners, not just those of any particular religion: “Stop the hate. Forgive each other.” Just as I started to notice how apt these words are, given the current political climate of the world, two white pigeons flew silently overhead.

Did you ever have the feeling that if we could all just stop and put our differences aside for a while, we'd all realise that we just want the same thing? I know none of the world's political readers are reading this, but can't we all just drop the hate?