The confessions of Eric Clapton

The second "o" is critical. Back in the 1960s, when London graffiti proclaimed "Clapton is God," the brilliant British guitarist was descending into a personal hell. Eric Clapton traded a heroin addiction for alcoholism, suffered disastrous love affairs, contemplated suicide while armed with a bottle of vodka, a gram of blow and a shotgun.

The guitar deity has long since surrendered to a higher power; at 62, Clapton has 20 years of sobriety, a happy marriage and three young daughters. It's a good time to consider an extraordinary life, as the rock Hall of Famer does with "Clapton: The Autobiography."

Unlike many rock star efforts, this one includes no Zeppelin-esque tales of debauched groupies or ghostwritten revisions of musical and personal history. Clapton delivers a brutally honest and unsparing look at his life, near-death and recovery, interspersed with tales from an unparalleled music career.

Clapton, sipping a bottle of water in an office at National Public Radio before doing a radio show, said he deliberately shied away from the usual type of celebrity memoir.

"I wouldn't even know where to begin, to do that," Clapton explains. "I don't even know what that means, to be honest with you. Celebrity has lost whatever meaning it did have. I really tried to find out for myself where I'd been." Watch Clapton talk about the loss of his son »

Initially, Clapton planned to sit down for a series of interviews about his life, leaving a collaborator to handle the tweaking and organization. But a perusal of the first manuscript led the guitarist to get more hands-on.

"I realized this was not what I wanted to do at all," Clapton says. "So I rewrote that, and then I thought, 'I'll have to write this myself.' "

Clapton's six-string inspiration, Robert Johnson, sang of a single hellhound on his trail; Clapton had a whole pack nipping at his heels until a second trip through rehab changed his life in 1987. Johnson was dead by age 27, and there was a time when Clapton was convinced his life wouldn't last much beyond that.

"I entertained that notion when I was young and I was trying to identify with those guys," Clapton says of Johnson and other legendary bluesmen. "That is kind of a built-in fantasy that goes along with addiction, a way of justifying my need to get stoned: 'Well, that's what my heroes did."'

Through it all, Clapton created an indelible musical legacy that spanned genres while inspiring generations. The autobiography's chapter titles provide a roadmap through his life's work:

iPods and Macs pillars of Apple profits

Apple Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profits jumped 67 percent, capping a year of unprecedented growth in its Macintosh computer business, continued demand for iPods and the successful launch of the iPhone.

The company has sold more than 120 million iPods since the product debuted in 2001.

In the three months that ended September 30, Apple said Monday it earned $904 million, or $1.01 per share, compared with $542 million, or 62 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Apple easily beat the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Financial, who predicted earnings per share of 86 cents on sales of $6.07 billion.

Revenue totaled $6.22 billion, compared with $4.84 billion in the same quarter last year.

Apple's stock price, which has more than doubled since January, rose $3.94, or 2.3 percent, to close at $174.36. After the earnings report, shares climbed about $12, almost 7 percent, in extended trading.

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Albus Dumbledore, is gay

She made her revelation to a packed house in New York's Carnegie Hall on Friday, as part of her US book tour.

She took audience questions and was asked if Dumbledore found "true love".

"Dumbledore is gay," she said, adding he was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, who he beat in a battle between good and bad wizards long ago.

The audience gasped, then applauded. "I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy," she said.

"Falling in love can blind us to an extent," she added, saying Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down" and his love for Grindelwald was his "great tragedy".

"Oh, my god," Rowling, 42, concluded with a laugh, "the fan fiction".

JK Rowling
Rowling said her books are a "prolonged argument for tolerance"

Fan sites have long speculated on Dumbledore's sexuality as he was known for having a mysterious, troubled past.

Rowling told the audience that while working on the planned sixth Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, she saw the script carried a reference to a girl who was once of interest to Dumbledore.

She said she ensured director David Yates was made aware of the truth about her character.

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell welcomed the news about Dumbledore and said: "It's good that children's literature includes the reality of gay people, since we exist in every society.

"But I am disappointed that she did not make Dumbledore's sexuality explicit in the Harry Potter book. Making it obvious would have sent a much more powerful message of understanding and acceptance."

And a spokesman for gay rights group Stonewall added: "It's great that JK has said this. It shows that there's no limit to what gay and lesbian people can do, even being a wizard headmaster."

Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Daniel Radcliffe plays Harry Potter in the films

Rowling also did a brief reading from the seventh book in her best-selling series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, as part of her Open Book Tour of the US - her first there for seven years.

She said she regarded her novels as a "prolonged argument for tolerance" and urged her fans to "question authority".

But she added that not everyone likes her work. Christian groups have alleged the books promote witchcraft. The author said her revelation about Dumbledore would give them one more reason.

The seventh Potter book broke sales records on both sides of the Atlantic when it was published in July, selling 11 million copies in 24 hours.

The fifth film adaptation of the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released this summer. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is due for release late next year.

Secret To Knowing Everything

It is an illusion that we can only know certain things that God has revealed to us, but what is kept hidden we may not know. The truth is that we can know everything there is to know about the whole universe. All knowledge is mental and we can access any part of it with the mind. It is only the limits of our beliefs that govern what knowledge we may or may not have access to. When you think God is stopping you, you can go ahead and wrest that knowledge from God. You will know that he makes it available.

The secret of genius lies in using the principle of correspondence to understand all things. By understanding that which is below, you are able to comprehend that which is above, and vice versa. You're able to know all of reality without going to every place. You can know the whole world without stepping out of the door. The world's within you. Everything you see on the outside is a reflection of what is on the inside. There is nothing that's outside your range of perception. You can observe what is there from here.

Reality is holographic in nature. The part contains the image of the whole. What you find in one area is replicated in every other area. Truth is omnipresent. What is true in one place must be true in every place. Reality has many levels. Subjective truth changes from one level to the next. What is subjectively true on one level becomes very different on another level. The set of rules that govern one level can be replaced by an entirely new one on a higher level. But objective truth stays the same on every level.

The higher level governs the lower level, therefore what is found on a higher level may not necessarily be found in its complete form on a lower level. But because of correspondence, the lower level must contain some part or some form of that which is on the higher level. If it cannot be found then it must be false. There is a representation of something that exist on a higher level in a lower one. When there's a match between the experience of one area of reality with another, then there is truth.

This is where the principle of polarity comes into play where all truth is half truth, because both the inner and the outer world form the whole picture. When you see only what's on the inside or what's on the outside, you are seeing only half the picture. The inside is the intention and the outside is the manifestation. You can look at one to understand the other but they must match if you are seeing rightly. You arrive at truth when your idea of both the higher level and the lower level harmonize with each other.

Everything is connected to everything else. Nothing stands alone. By looking into the essence of a thing and flowing with its connection to another thing and another, you are able to travel the whole universe and back to the original thing. By knowing a thing, you are able to know everything else that is connected to it. You are also able to know a thing by knowing everything else that is connected to it. You are a reflection of the entire universe and everything else in the universe reflects a certain part of you.

The ultimate nature of reality is mental. We can know everything through reason because everything is made up by it. Reality is consciousness therefore we perceive all things through reason. With the power of reason, you can travel to all levels and dimensions of reality and understand everything there is in each of them. Reason is how you are able to go everywhere from here. All things are made by reason or logos, and when you realize that reason is unlimited, your ability to perceive becomes unlimited.

There is only one consciousness that makes up the entire universe, and this consciousness is all knowing. Therefore knowledge is universal. No one knows a thing except through the universal mind. If you know something, others can know it to. If others know something, you can know it too. Nothing is limited from your awareness and you cannot limit anything from other people's awareness. Genius is omniscience flowing into man. All can tap into the universal mind and gain any kind of knowledge required.

We can know by revelation and not be limited by experience. Some people limit themselves from knowing a thing by claiming that they must experience it first. But there is knowledge of things above that is inspired from above. Those that allow themselves to learn about these things through revelation can know far more than those who limit themselves to experience. Blessed are those who have not seen but yet believe. Because their minds are able to comprehend things purely through reason and logic.

Some people are chosen by the universe for direct experience so that they can share it with others. The three blind man each experience a portion of the elephant. They can gain a fuller perspective of what the elephant is by combining their perspectives. Error is what happens when we stick to our own partial viewpoint without merging it with the viewpoints of others. We are all meant to learn from one another. Awareness is to be shared. Each of us is created to help everyone else see everything together.

When you travel along the connections of a thing, follow it until you find the core. All things lead to the core and therefore the core is all you need because it connects with everything else. The core is the purest structure within all structures. It is essence structure. The best structure is the structure that integrates and simplifies everything. It is the most ordered and clearest organization of things. The complete knowledge of the universe is the integration of all truth, and this is how you can truly know everything.

Gadgets To Help Save Our Environment – Towards A Greener, Cleaner Planet

Transportation is a major contributor to pollution and the green house effect that is leading to global warming culminating in the melting of the polar ice caps and the heating of the environment as a whole. The fuel emissions from internal combustion vehicles are a major contributor to green house gases. An innovation called the ‘Scrubber’ is fitted on to the exhaust of polluting vehicles to reduce the pollutant emissions. The scrubber is nothing but a water filled container that is fitted on to the exhaust line of the vehicle with an electronic pump to force the exhaust out through the water filled tank. This liquid treated with some chemicals, removes the carbon monoxide from the exhaust and the suspended particulates as well. The result is almost no pollution into the environment. The liquid is later treated and disposed of.

Conventional fire-extinguishers use ozone depleting agents to extinguish fires. Airbus has developed an eco-friendly fire extinguisher that does not use Halon as the extinguishing agent. This extinguisher is manufactured by Siemens for in-flight fire extinguishers. The eco-friendly extinguisher will finally make it into the market for conventional use in buildings and homes.

A lot needs to be done to develop gadgets that will help us to protect our environment. Government Agencies here is an opportunity for you to fund research in this area. Additionally economic incentives for people to use eco friendly gadgets will also go far. This could take the form of sales tax / VAT exemption on eco friendly gadgets or tax rebates on your Income Tax return for use of higher priced eco friendly gadgets.

Britney gets one last chance

Miss one more drug test, Britney, and you'll go from pop tart to toast.

The fed-up judge in the Britney Spears custody battle is turning the screws on the scandalized singer for defying his demand that she clean up her act.

She's already lost full custody of her little boys to her ex-hubby and now the judge is even threatening to take away visitation rights if her erratic behavior continues.

"The court expressly indicates that a missed test, refusal to submit to a test or failure to respond to the testing agency's call . . . shall be deemed . . . a failed test," Judge Scott Gordon wrote in documents released Thursday.

The ruling gives the child services monitor who is to supervise Spears' visits with Jayden James, 1, and Sean Preston, 2, the power to pull the plug "immediately" if she does anything crazy.

It also puts hard numbers on the amount of therapy Spears must complete by her next court date, Oct. 26 - or else.

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15 year prison : Internet in burma

There is no public access available to the internet. "Illegal use of a modem" is punishable by 15 years in prison. The SLORC is very serious about not letting any information in or out. In 1996 Leo Nichols was arrested for "Illegal use of a fax machine." He died in prison shortly after being arrested. Only a couple servers that we know of are inside the country, but they are privately owned, or within the US consulate.

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Who lives in Burma

There are 67 different ethnic groups living in Burma. It's impossible to get an accurate count of their populations since most of them are hill tribes living in the jungles and mountains. Some of the larger minorities have assembled to fight against the military for independence. Some of them are the Shan, the Karen, the Kachin, the Mon, the Akha, the Pulau, the Arakan, the Rohingya. And, you know those women with the long stretched necks with rings around them? Them too. Each has their own language, clothing, culture, food, etc. They have formed liberation fronts and an exile government with one common objective: oust SLORC. By the junta's own count they are currently fighting a dozen separate revolutions. That's nothing a respectable government should brag about.

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God must think about these cruel people in Burma

Soldiers announced they were hunting pro-democracy protesters in Burma’s largest city Wednesday and the top U.S. diplomat in the country said she heard that military police were pulling people out of their homes during the night.

Military vehicles patrolled the streets before dawn with loudspeakers blaring, “We have photographs. We are going to make arrests!”

Shari Villarosa, the acting U.S. ambassador in Burma, said in a telephone interview that people in Rangoon were terrified.

“From what we understand, military police … are traveling around the city in the middle of the night, going into homes and picking up people,” she said.

The U.N.’s special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, declined to comment on his four-day mission to Burma, where the military junta last month crushed mass pro-democracy demonstrations led by the nation’s revered Buddhist monks.

Hundreds of monks and civilians were carted off to detention camps during protests last week. The government says 10 people were killed in the violence, but dissident groups put the death toll at up to 200. They say 6,000 people were detained.

Villarosa said embassy staff had gone to some monasteries in recent days and found them completely empty. Others were barricaded by the military and declared off-limits to outsiders.

“There is a significantly reduced number of monks on the streets. Where are the monks? What has happened to them?” she said. The Democratic Voice of Burma, a dissident radio station based in Norway, said authorities have released 90 of 400 monks detained in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state, during a midnight raid on monasteries on Sept. 25.

A semblance of normality returned to Rangoon after daybreak, with some shops opening and light traffic on roads.

However, “people are terrified, and the underlying forces of discontent have not been addressed,” Villarosa said. “People have been unhappy for a long time … Since the events of last week, there’s now the unhappiness combined with anger, and fear.”

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Clinton jumps on veto in new ad

Hillary Clinton is joining the chorus of Democrats bashing President Bush's veto of a bill to expand a health insurance program for children, citing it in new ads to plug her healthcare plan.

The Clinton campaign said the 30-second television spot will start airing today in Iowa and New Hampshire, which will hold the first caucus and first primary, respectively.

The ad mentions her failed attempt to push universal healthcare coverage in 1993 and 1994 while first lady, plus her advocacy of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Despite public support and support from some Republicans, Bush vetoed the bill, which would add about 3 million kids to the program at an additional cost of $35 billion over five years.

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