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Brown, William M., III and Taylor, Brent D. and Kolker, Oded C. and Wells, Wade G., II and Palmer, Nancy R. (1982) Sediment Management for Southern California Mountians, Coastal Plains and Shoreline. Part D: Special Inland Studies. Environmental Quality Laboratory Report, 17-D. California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA. (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechEQL:EQL-R-17-D
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In southern California the natural environmental system involves the continual relocation of sedimentary materials. Particles are eroded from inland areas where there is sufficient relief and, precipitation. Then, with reductions in hydraulic gradient along the stream course and at the shoreline, the velocity of surface runoff is reduced and there is deposition. Generally, coarse sand, gravel and larger particles are deposited near the base of the eroding surfaces (mountains and hills) and the finer sediments are deposited on floodplains, in bays or lagoons, and at the shoreline as delta deposits. Very fine silt and clay particles, which make up a significant part of the eroded material, are carried offshore where they eventually deposit in deeper areas. Sand deposited at the shoreline is gradually moved along the coast by waves and currents, and provides nourishment for local beaches. However, eventually much of this littoral material is also lost to offshore areas. Human developments in the coastal region have substantially altered the natural sedimentary processes, through changes in land use, the harvesting of natural resources (logging, grazing, and sand and gravel mining); the construction and operation of water conservation facilities and flood control structures; and coastal developments. In almost all cases these developments have grown out of recognized needs and have well served their primary purpose. At the time possible deleterious effects on the local or regional sediment balance were generally unforeseen or were felt to be of secondary importance. In 1975 a large-scale study of inland and coastal sedimentation processes in southern California was initiated by the Environmental Quality Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology and the Center for Coastal Studies at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. This volume is one of a series of reports from this study. Using existing data bases, this series attempts to define quantitatively inland and coastal sedimentation processes and identify the effects man has had on these processes. To resolve some issues related to long-term sediment management, additional research and data will be needed. In the series there are four Caltech reports that provide supporting studies for the summary report (EQL Report No. 17). These reports include: EQL Report 17-A Regional Geological History EQL Report 17-B Inland Sediment Movements by Natural Processes EQL Report 17-C Coastal Sediment Delivery by Major Rivers in Southern California EQL Report 17-D -- Special Inland Studies Additional supporting reports on coastal studies (shoreline sedimentation processes, control structures, dredging, etc.) are being published by the Center for Coastal Studies at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.
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|© 1982 California Institute of Technology. The authors gratefully acknowledge the principal investigators Norman H. Brooks (Caltech) and Douglas L. Inman (Scripps) for their insight in the conception of this project and their generous contributions thereafter. We also wish to acknowledge the generous assistance of Robert C. Y. Koh and Vito A. Vanoni throughout the preparation of this report; and the assistance of William M. Brown (U.S. Geological Survey), David Sarokin, K. T. Shu and Lloyd R. Townley. Support for this project was provided through grants and contracts from: Ford Foundation, Grant No. 795-0092 Los Angeles County Flood Control District, Agreement No. 27272 Orange County Environmental Management Agency Agreement No. 9-42-133-20 United States Geological Survey, Contract No. 14-08-0001-16826 and Grant No. 14-08-000l-G-60S Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, South Pacific Division, Contract No. DACW 09-77-A-0040 United States Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Agreement No. 21-587 National Science Foundation, Grant No. ENG-77-10182 Southern Pacific Corporation EQL Discretionary funds In addition, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Forest Service provided some research personnel to work with the project team at EQL. Finally, the universities, Caltech and University of California, San Diego, provided the institutional framework for conducting the study including especially useful support for initiating this project.
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The above?
Computer effects!
Even if you were there in person, it didn't really happen, it was Jewish world-ruler witchcraft that tricked your lying eyes!!!
…Or so Dr M would reason, yes?
The above?
Computer effects!
Even if you were there in person, it didn't really happen, it was Jewish world-ruler witchcraft that tricked your lying eyes!!!
…Or so Dr M would reason, yes?
Mas Selamat was hiding in Johor, plotting to destroy peace & harmony. Then he read @UMonline and surrendered – Utusan Melayu already did it. – 1Malaysia Facts
After their countless seditious attacks on Malaysia's harmony such as conspiracy theorizing that Christians want to overthrow Malaysia, egging on Ibrahim Ali to declare jihad on Christians, falsely reporting on Teresa Kok which got her ISAed then preposterously suing her over it, fantasizing about killing a Teresa Kok expy, calling Indians noisy, ill behaved keling and meanwhile accusing DAP of disparaging Islam, libelling Lim Guan Eng for which they were fined RM200,000…
Spewtusan is emboldened by their UMNOpocrite owners' 'victory' to be even more bileriffic than ever before!
Surely encouraged by Nut-jib dishonestly casting BN's losing the popular vote as a polarized 'Chinese tsunami'… And then flinging totally unjustified moral equivalence with Chinese papers!
Don't use the Chinese to cover up fraud:Anwar starts 'fierce movement to protest stolen GE'
"Utusan is following Najib's instructions. Najib talks about national reconciliation but on the other hand he also talks about Chinese tsunami. That's not right. We cannot play up racial sentiments. A lot Chinese supported PAS in Kelantan," said Anwar.
"This (using the race card) is accepted and approved by the Umno leaders and its media. It accepts a cheating culture, to make fools of the people by distorting the GE outcome, wearing black is now anti-Chinese. This is what i reject. To use racial sentiments to cover up their electoral fraud."
The Umno-controlled Utusan newspaper had this morning front-paged a headline titled "what more do you want, Chinese community".
Indeed, in the run-up to the May 5 election, the Umno-BN media had been unleashing election analyses and reports suggesting the PR's popularity was due to Chinese voters, but was not supported by the Malays – which is the predominant race in the country forming 55% of the 28 million population.
Najib's days are numbered
Political analysts have long accused Najib and Umno-BN of using racial politics to scare the Malays into rejecting the Opposition.
The May 5 election saw Umno-BN's weakest performance since it took over the government of the country from the British colonialists in 1957. In fact, many believe Najib would have lost the latest poll if not for the assistance of the EC, which refused to order recounts in dozens of close-contests.
Given that Najib's performance was even weaker than the 2008 result achieved by his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who led BN to a 140-seat victory, there is intensifying speculation he will be replaced by his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin at the Umno party election later this year.
Hence, critics say, the rush by the Najib camp to convince their own party members that the result was not due to Najib's leadership but to 'unreasonable' Chinese demands for greater political power.
"All over Malaysia, the racial walls are collapsing but Najib and Umno are re-erecting them. This is the only way they can cling to power," Johari Abdul, the PKR MP for Sungai Petani, told Malaysia Chronicle
To think, a PR victory might have been the start of the end for this poor excuse for bird cage lining (that would surely have the SPCA filing suit over exposing innocent pets to toxic substances!)… Even as the draconian Printing Press Act that helps get other publications ISAed over TRUTHFUL reporting would be abolished!
Well, Dr Hsu puts paid to that deception and dangerous blame game:
Mathematically not a Chinese tsunami
To prove my point and that PM's assertion about a Chinese tsunami is wrong, we should resort to scientific method, and do this mathematically.
There are 13.3 millions voters for GE 13, out of which 29.68% or 3.94 millions are Chinese Malaysian voters.
Assuming the turnout of the Chinese voters are the same as the general population which is 80%, the number of Chinese casting votes would be 3.15 millions.
Assuming that 90% of the Chinese voted for PR (this is actually improbable), that would be 2.83 million votes.
But PR received more than 5.62 millions votes, which means that even if 90% of the Chinese voted for PR, they comprise of only 50% of the support that PR receives.
At a more realistic 80% Chinese support for Opposition, PR would get 2.5 million votes from the Chinese ethnic group only.
The fact that it received more than 5.62 million total votes means that more than 3.1 millions votes are from non Chinese Malaysian.
And also from Facebook pages:
PAS thanks Chinese for voting in Malay reps
"There are tens of Parliament and state assembly seats that were contested by Malay candidates against candidates from the Tiong Hua (Chinese), in mixed constituencies, which were won by the Malays, proving that Chinese voters were willing to reject candidates of their own race," Tuan Ibrahim said in a statement today.
More Malays in parliamant due to Pakatan wins
Meanwhile, in another statement, Pahang PAS information chief Suhaimi Md Saad explained that DAP's big win in the election did nothing to lessen the number of Malay MPs in Parliament.
In fact, Suhaimi said, the success of Pakatan's candidates only served to increase that number by seven.
Among the examples given are:
Rafizi Ramli (PKR, right) who won against Gary Lim (BN) in Pandan;
Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud (PAS), who won against S Murugesan (BN) in Kota Raja;
Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (PKR) who won against Tan Kok Eng (BN) in Bandar Tun Razak;
Imran Hamid (PKR) who won against Kong Cho Ha (BN) in Lumut;
Mohd Ariss Sabri Abdul Aziz (DAP) who won against Hoh Khai Mun (BN) in Raub;
Idris Ahmad (PKR) who won against K Parthiban (BN) in Ijok;
Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji (DAP) who won against Chuah Boon Seong (BN) in Mentakab; and
Mohd Rashid Hasnon (PKR) who won against Wong Mun Hoe (BN) in Pantai Jerejak.
To further debunk Umno's claim that non-Malays went against Malays in the ballot box, he further cited 13 examples of seats where non-Malay BN candidates won in Malay-majority constituencies.
Among the constituencies listed in Suhaimi's statement are – Simpang Renggam (57 percent Malays), Tanjung Piai (51 percent), Batu Sapi (51 percent), Gurun (57 percent) and Kahang (74 percent).
In depth analysis showing that the Chinese swing was in fact important at Mathematical proof of Chinese Tsunami and Mathematical proof of Chinese Tsunami (Pt 2).
So you proven over and over again racists, know that your scapegoats are not standing alone against your smear/hit job!

subset: commoncrawl


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May 13, 2008 — -- A confluence of groups inclined toward Hillary Clinton gave her an easy victory in the West Virginia primary, with less-educated, lower-income whites predominating in this Southern state.
In a trouble sign for delegate-leader Barack Obama, barely half said they would vote for him in November if he is the party's nominee.
Racially motivated voting ran somewhat higher than elsewhere: Two in 10 whites said the race of the candidate was a factor in their vote, second only to Mississippi. Just 31 percent of those voters said they'd support Obama against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, fewer than in other primaries where the question's been asked.
Indeed, as noted, among all West Virginia primary voters, only 49 percent said they would support Obama vs. McCain, far fewer than elsewhere and one of many signs of antipathy toward Obama in the state.
Among Clinton's supporters, just 38 percent said they would vote for Obama against McCain; nearly as many said they would back McCain; and the rest said they would sit it out.
Still, there was room for some criticism of Clinton.
Even in her broad victory, 58 percent of voters said she had attacked her opponent unfairly; fewer, 51 percent, said Obama had attacked unfairly.
Notably, among those who said Clinton had attacked unfairly, 57 percent voted for her anyway.
Bringing "needed change," Obama's trademark, again was the most-desired candidate trait, picked by 46 percent in West Virginia as most important -- near its level across all primaries to date.
But here Obama only lost those "change" voters to Clinton, 50-44 percent, after winning them by a wide margin elsewhere. Clinton swamped him among voters focused on other attributes.
It also was a state where minds have been made up for some time: Seventy-five percent said they'd decided on their candidate more than a week ago, in the high end for early deciders this year.
As noted, there was significant criticism of Obama among the West Virginia electorate. Half of voters thought that at least to some extent he shares the views of his controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright (though fewer, about two in 10, thought he shares "a lot" of views with Wright).
While 74 percent said they would be satisfied with Clinton as the nominee, just 42 percent said they would be satisfied with Obama. And while seven in 10 said Clinton shares their values, only 43 percent said that about Obama.
Fifty-five percent doubted Obama's honesty and trustworthiness, an attribute on which he has bettered Clinton elsewhere. In the five previous primaries where the question has been asked, 66 percent called Obama honest, compared with 55 percent who said that of Clinton.
In West Virginia, 64 percent called Clinton honest, while only 43 percent said that about Obama.
Even among voters in West Virginia who said Clinton is not honest and trustworthy, just over a third (35 percent) voted for her anyway -- her best performance in this group to date, up from about a quarter of such voters in previous races.
Ninety-six percent of voters were whites, just 29 percent were college graduates -- the fewest in any primary this year -- and 55 percent had household incomes under $50,000, among the most in primaries to date.
Working-class whites have been among Clinton's best groups; she has won less-educated white voters, for example, by a 2-1 margin in previous primaries to date.
Clinton won all West Virginia whites by a wide margin, 69-23 percent, but not a bigger one than she has seen in some previous primaries, particularly Southern ones. She won whites by 79-16 percent in Arkansas, 72-25 percent in Alabama, 70-26 percent in Mississippi and 67-26 percent in Tennessee. (She also won whites by a like margin, 66-31 percent, in New Jersey.)
Clinton's husband may have helped: Sixty-two percent said his campaigning in the state was at least somewhat important in their vote, and they favored her over Obama by a 80-15 percent margin.
However, the large number of early deciders make that look more like a general pro-Clinton comment than a true measure of vote influence.
In North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Indiana, the other Democratic primaries in which Obama-McCain matchups have been asked, 74, 73 and 71 percent, respectively, said they would support Obama as the nominee; as noted, just under half said so in West Virginia.
Similarly, among Clinton supporters in those states, 47, 54 and 49 percent said they'd back Obama as the nominee, compared with 38 percent here.
Finally, West Virginia voters by 64-33 percent favored the idea of suspending the federal gasoline tax, an idea backed by Clinton and opposed by Obama.
In a national ABC News/Washington Post poll this week, Americans divided evenly on the proposal; among Democrats, most Clinton supporters favored it, while most Obama supporters were opposed.


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Upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior, with the approval of the President, after sixty days' notice thereof, published in two papers of general circulation in the State or Territory wherein any national forest is situated, and near the said national forest, any public lands embraced within the limits of any such forest which, after due examination by personal inspection of a competent person appointed for that purpose by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be found better adapted for mining or for agricultural purposes than for forest usage, may be restored to the public domain. And any mineral lands in any national forest which have been or which may be shown to be such, and subject to entry under the existing mining laws of the United States and the rules and regulations applying thereto, shall continue to be subject to such location and entry, notwithstanding any provisions contained in sections 473 to 478, 479 to 482 and 551 of this title.
16 U.S. Code § 482 - Mineral lands; restoration to public domain; location and entry
"National forest" substituted in text for "forest reservation" twice and "reservation" once, on authority of act Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2907, 34 Stat. 1269, which provided that forest reserves shall hereafter be known as national forests.
For transfer of certain functions with regard to the administration of national forests from Secretary of the Interior to Secretary of Agriculture, see section 472 of this title.
Enforcement functions of Secretary or other official in Department of Agriculture, insofar as they involve lands and programs under jurisdiction of that Department, related to compliance with provisions of sections 473, 474 to 482, and 551 of this title with respect to pre-construction, construction, and initial operation of transportation system for Canadian and Alaskan natural gas transferred to Federal Inspector, Office of Federal Inspector for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, until first anniversary of date of initial operation of Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, see Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1979, §§ 102(f), 203(a), 44 F.R. 33663, 33666, 93 Stat. 1373, 1376, effective July 1, 1979, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. Office of Federal Inspector for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System abolished and functions and authority vested in Inspector transferred to Secretary of Energy by section 3012(b) of Pub. L. 102–486, set out as an Abolition of Office of Federal Inspector note under section 719e of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. Functions and authority vested in Secretary of Energy subsequently transferred to Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects by section 720d(f) of Title 15.


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Call it the "Rodney Dangerfield Effect." Conflicts of interest seem to pervade the PCI compliance process and it is something the PCI SSC and the card brands need to clear up before their precious standards get even more bloodied in the media.
I have run across another processor that dictates the use of a particular QSAC. Now do not get me wrong, I am a capitalist and interested in making money just like the other guy. But I have to say that I am not a shark like some of my competitors. I know this post will sound like someone bemoaning sour grapes but, in my opinion, this situation just makes the whole PCI compliance process look like a worthless sham.
What prompts this post is a call with one of our clients that we have performed PCI assessments for years, even before the PCI SSC existed. They are implementing a new point of sale (POS) terminal that requires them to use a different credit card transaction processor because their existing processor is not yet certified to process transactions from this new terminal. Fair enough.
The new terminal is a test installation to see if the service should be expanded to all of our client's locations. Since the terminal will only generate a couple of thousand transactions in the coming year, the new processor has identified our client as a Level 4 merchant and is treating them accordingly. In reviewing the processor's contract, our client found that the contract dictates that they use a specific QSAC to "assist" them in filling out their PCI Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) A. Knowing the SAQ A, our client cannot figure out what a QSAC would do to assist, but it is in the processor's contract.
Our client's first question was, "Since when does a processor have the right to force us to use a particular QSA?" We explained that we have been told that while the PCI SSC and the card brands allow processors to have rules that go above and beyond the PCI SSC's and card brand's requirements. While I understand that the processor is likely trying to ensure that their Level 4 merchants are not just checking the 'Yes' box on their SAQs, forcing the use of a particular QSAC seems a bit questionable. Particularly when we have been told that some QSACs are giving processors payments for all of the customers they refer.
I have written about this issue before with processors charging fees to merchants for the filing of their SAQs. There is also the scam of forcing merchants to use a specific PCI Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV) to scan the merchant's networks even when the merchant does not have an ecommerce presence or outsources their ecommerce to a third party that already provides their ecommerce customers ASV reports. This is just one more questionable requirement that processors demand that makes merchants and the media think PCI is a scam.
Their next question was, "Since you already do our ROC, can't we just submit that to our new processor?" You can do that, but you need the new processor's approval as they do not have to accept our work. What is the likelihood that the new processor will accept our client's ROC? No idea and I am anxious to hear what our client tells us in that regard.
The problem here is that the processor in question and the QSAC have numerous connections that give a distinct impression of conflicts of interest. First, the QSAC in question runs the processor's Level 4 merchant compliance program. That program dictates that the QSAC perform some sort of assessment process in order for any of the processor's Level 4 merchants to create and submit their SAQ.
The justification the processor gave our client was that the PCI SSC requires this action. Last I checked, the PCI SSC and the card brands did not require a QSA to fill out an SAQ. MasterCard has a deadline of June 30, 2012 for Level 2 merchants to have either an ISA fill out their SAQ or have a QSA conduct a PCI ROC. Visa in Canada also requires that a QSA sign off on all SAQs. But those are the only SAQ rules involving QSAs that I am aware.
Next, the QSAC and the processor have swapped various personnel over the years. As a result, there is an appearance that the two are essentially one in the same given that the QSAC runs the processor's compliance program and the processor dictates that their merchants use the QSAC for PCI assessments. I know that people move between organizations in the same industry all the time, but the number of people that have gone between these two would seem to be higher than expected.
I guess since I am an employee of a public accounting firm in the United States, I have greater sensitivity to conflicts of interest than most. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has very specific rules in regards to conflicts of interest. We have an entire department dedicated to ensuring that we avoid conflicts of interest. As a result, we regularly look at the services provided to our clients and ensure that we are not in conflict or even give an appearance of a conflict of interest.
Now I am not suggesting that the PCI SSC and card brands go to the levels that the AICPA requires. But let us face it, it is the Wild West out there and some of the QSACs do not care what conflicts they may have and how it might hurt the PCI compliance processes. The PCI SSC only requires its assessors document the services they provide to the organizations they assess in their assessment reports. While that offers a certain amount of transparency, when you read some of these ROCs, it becomes painfully obvious that some QSACs are assessing their own security services. In some cases, the organization being assessed has outsourced almost everything related to their PCI compliance to the QSAC doing their assessment. What do you think the likelihood is that those services will be assessed as not compliant if there are compliance issues? One would assume it will be very unlikely.
But it can get even worse. A certain QSAC operates one of the card brand's merchant PCI compliance program. Merchants submit their Attestations of Compliance (AOC) and Reports On Compliance (ROC) to this card brand through the QSAC which manages the process. Does this QSAC inform their clients that accept this card brand's cards of this fact? Not that I have ever been told by any prospects. Does the QSAC list the management of the card brand's merchant program on their ROCs? Not that I have seen and I have seen a number of their ROCs for merchants that accept the card brand's cards and I have never seen the program listed. Does the QSAC submit their ROCs to the program that they manage? They must as the ROCs I have seen are from merchants that accept the card brand's cards. Is this a conflict of interest? One would think, but this is how things operate today.
The bottom line is that in this age of openness and transparency, it is these sorts of relationships and actions that give a very bad impression to the outside world. The PCI SSC and the card brands need to enhance their rules for QSACs that define conflicts of interest. Until this is done, the PCI standards will continue to be ridiculed and viewed as pointless.


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Sunday, November 2, 2014
Warp rails.
New name-changing gimmick, or new game-changing nimmick? No, that one didn't quite make as much sense as one would like. But the answer is: the latter. Finally, I had all the inspiration I need on the 'highway' infrastructure. I've got it. Warp nodes connected by warp rails.
Warp Rails: Because Tunnels Belong in the Past!™ Seriously folks. Tunnels are so retro. Rails are the new tunnel.
Here's how it works. Warp nodes are like big transformers that connect the power lines -- the warp rails -- together. A warp node essentially creates a large 'warp potential difference' between itself and its neighbor (or two neighbors, in the case of a non-endpoint node). That potential difference induces a 'rail' -- a thin, extremely-energetic 'power line' that connects two nodes, almost like a constantly-arcing bolt of electricity.
To move using the warp infrastructure, ship's don't enter a boring tunnel -- no, they latch on to a rail, riding the energy current to the other end. It's like a massive, futuristic zipline in space. Ships can tether and untether at any point along the rail, which means you can, as you would expect, 'break out' of the rail to reach a destination that's partway between two nodes. Of course, you'll break out at an extremely high velocity, so you'd better know what you're doing. Warp nodes can be temporarily disabled by damage, which causes automatic untethering when the broken rail is reached.
Now, the idea doesn't stop there. There's also a very interesting, very neat notion of what happens with 'traffic' as a result of the way warp rails work. You might ask how are collisions prevented? The answer is that, like an expandable-lane highway, the warp nodes expand and contract the equilibrium radius of tethering to accommodate the traffic. When lots of ships are using the same rail at once, they'll be tethered at a larger radius than normal, so as to accommodate all ships without risking collision. While you're riding on the rail, you've essentially been allocated an angular 'slice' of that rail -- the rail will ensure that no other ships come into your angular slice, which prevents collisions. Big ships require larger angular slices, which means the rail must push the tether radius further out to accommodate capital ships.
But! It gets better. Keep in mind that the rail is providing energy to all tethered ships. When multiple ships are tethered, less energy is provided to each ship. Another natural explanation for this is that: the energy field created by warp rails falls off with the radius from the rail. So when the rail pushes the tether distance further out to accommodate more / larger traffic, you're essentially getting less energy because you're further from the rail. The math is negotiable, but simplicity is always preferred: energy falls off as 1 / radius. Circumference increases proportional to radius. The implication is that energy provided is directly reciprocal to the total size of ships using the rail. 1 small fighter going 3km/s, another fighter of the same size jumps in, they're now both going 1.5km/s. Make sense? Again, the exact math is negotiable.
Busier systems need larger rails for obvious reasons: traffic is going to get too heavy for the rails to be useful to anyone if busy systems have rails of equal power to desolate systems. It also provides a natural explanation for why it's really difficult to knock out a major 'backbone' rail. They're massive, because they support tremendous amounts of traffic. You're not going to be able to disable a backbone of a busy system with one fighter. Piracy becomes about choosing locations wisely. Knock out smaller rails to isolated mineral fields.
There are three components to the graphics: the warp node graphics, the rail graphics, and the tethering / using-the-rail effects. The first two are already well-underway in our favorite little 3D testbed, and I'm already substantially pleased with the warp node graphics. Rails still have a way to go, but all in time.
Very, very excited to finally have this system designed and nailed down in a way that feels elegant, logical, and rich with gameplay opportunity.
PS ~ Here's the kicker: it came to me in a dream! Well, half-dream, that is. I've been working hard to explore lucid dreaming lately. Although I'm not there yet, I'm at least at a point where I'm able to go partially into a dream state while hanging on to consciousness. This is great, because it turns out my subconscious is a whole lot more creative than my waking mind. I asked it about warp tunnels today, and in five minutes it had shown me a whole new way of looking at everything -- the nodes, the rails, the tethering, the traffic mechanic. It laughed at my paltry little struggle with warp tunnels. Thanks, brain! Guess I should half-sleep more often.
PPS ~ Oh! Forgot to mention. The graphics for nodes and rails are both...heavy on the particle effects So today I had to expose particles and particle systems to LTSL. I wrote all of the particle effects for nodes and rails in their respective LTSL scripts...which, of course, meant many, many F5s and huge amounts of fun with particles
Mon Nov 03, 2014 6:24 pm
Week of November 2, 2014
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right." ~ Henry Ford


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Lawyers, DVDs, and Money: Fugitive Musical Scores From a FUGITIVE DVD Release
June 13, 2008
First Richard Kimble found his wife's dead body. Then he was convicted of her murder. Then he found himself on the run with a psychotic nutjob vowing to send him to the death house.
But all of that was a cakewalk compared to what happened when Dr. Kimble fell into the hands of CBS Home Video.
The latest volume of The Fugitive to arrive on DVD, the third such set, has had all of its incidental music stripped out and replaced by an entirely new score composed specifically for that purpose. This is not the removal of occasional snippets of songs, which has (lamentably) become commonplace in the DVD realm because it's expensive to clear the rights to popular tunes for home video. Instead, it's the wholesale deletion of the entire original musical element of the series – and without any warning to consumers beyond a standard boilerplate disclaimer in tiny print. This is the first time any television show has arrived on DVD in such an aurally mutilated form. It's a very big deal.
"Where did they put my music? Is it behind this fence?"
I've sampled the new music in some episodes on the set and compared them scene-for-scene to tapes of the show with the original score intact. The results were dire. To their credit, the new composers have been conservative in their approach, placing the new music for the most part in the same spots as the old – even imitating it note for note in some sections. Roy Braverman, a music editor who worked on the new score, wrote on his website that the "new music library is being composed 'in the style of'" the original scores.
Up to a point, that's true – the new music isn't quite as obtrusive I expected. However, it is pedestrian and generic. As I watched the first act of one of my favorite episodes, "Devil's Carnival," my heart sank. The mournful Pete Rugolo melody used whenever Kimble would amble wearily into a new town, was gone, replaced by new notes that have no emotion at all. The Rugolo score played under William Conrad's basso narration, adding a wistful quality to lines like "Richard Kimble: He travels a lot by thumb, makes many a long, lonely hike between rides." The new music fades out abruptly as soon as Conrad starts speaking, and pops back in with an annoying two-note sting as soon as he falls silent. (The main and end titles of all the episodes have their original music intact, although the musical bridges from the teaser into the opening titles have been effaced in a rather jarring way.)
On a technical level, the new music has a tinny, squawky quality and the remixed audio tracks exhibit a lot of abrupt changes in volume. Even if you've never seen The Fugitive before, and aren't sensitive enough to the styles of sixties music to detect the anachronistic, modern tinges to the new score, this release will hurt your ears.
This week I called Alan A. Armer, the producer of The Fugitive's first three seasons, and broke the news to him about the music replacement. Armer told me that he was "totally in awe of what you're telling me . . . . I'm a bit staggered."
Armer had less involvement with scoring The Fugitive than most TV producers do on their shows; at QM Productions, series producers focused on story while the post-production was supervised by other executives (on The Fugitive, Arthur Fellows and John Elizalde). Nevertheless, Armer expressed dismay that the original cues are gone. "You just have to wonder how much that will affect the dramatic quality of the shows," Armer told me. "I suspect that the show may have suffered as a result of it."
The Fugitive has a somewhat unusual musical history. It was, as Jon Burlingame writes in his invaluable TV's Biggest Hits: Television Themes From Dragnet to Friends, the only major hit series of the sixties for which "no single episode actually received an original score." Instead, QM commissioned jazz composer Pete Rugolo (a former arranger for Stan Kenton) to write a library of cues that could be tracked into multiple episodes. Rugolo composed the theme and basic Fugitive motifs based upon either a screening of the pilot, or possibly just a description of the show's premise.
To supplement Rugolo's library (there were "other things they needed that I didn't write," Rugolo told Ed Robertson for his book The Fugitive Recaptured), Elizalde and music editor Ken Wilhoit pulled stock cues from outside music companies. Cues from the Capitol Music catalog were licensed, along with the CBS music library and, eventually, an archive of scores composed by Dominic Frontiere, the Outer Limits composer who became closely associated with QM during the sixties. The CBS library was an especially important source, and many treasured cues from The Twilight Zone and Gunsmoke (by such famous composers as Jerry Goldsmith and Bernard Herrmann) were repurposed for The Fugitive.
(There's some debate as to whether any of Frontiere's music appeared in the episodes on this DVD set. I'm almost certain that the familiar Outer Limits melodies from the Daystar library didn't begin to crop up until The Fugitive's fourth and final season, but it's possible that Frontiere's scores for Daystar's Stoney Burke or an earlier QM show, The New Breed, were sourced.)
Rugolo's score would have been owned outright by QM and, though there was no connection between The Fugitive (an ABC show produced by QM and United Artists) and CBS Music in 1963, both properties are now owned by the same corporate entity, Viacom. Naturally, then, there's ample cause for speculation as to what element of the Fugitive scoring could have triggered the music replacement – especially since the series' first season, comprised of the same mix of musical elements, arrived on DVD intact last year.
Adding insult to injury, CBS has digitally altered the closing credits of each episode to insert the names of the composers of the new score:
It's a move that reeks of duplicity. Instead of appending a new card containing the modern names to the end of the titles, as one would see on a film that's been restored (although, in this case, these would be the "desecration credits," not the "restoration credits"), CBS has hidden the new names in plain sight to avoid a clear admission that the music was changed. Here's how that same card (from the episode "Devil's Carnival") is supposed to read:
Nothing personal against Messrs. Heyes, Winans, and Komie, but seeing their names embedded among those of the people who actually worked to create The Fugitive back in the sixties gives me a sense of almost physical revulsion.
Somewhat overlooked, given the magnitude of the score-replacement problem, is the fact that CBS sliced out portions of the image in the "Ballad For a Ghost" episode, in which Janis Paige plays a chanteuse who bears a haunting resemblance to Richard Kimble's late wife. The two songs that Paige performs on-camera have been changed on the audio track, and so all of the closeups and medium shots during her numbers were deleted (a total of about a minute of footage). One of the missing shots is a fast-dolly into a closeup of Paige immediately after Kimble (David Janssen) sees her for the first time. The camera move emphasizes Kimble's shock upon discovering his wife's doppelganger; without it, the scene loses much of its power.
I didn't realize this because I haven't been watching any of the affected shows, but CBS has been taking this approach to some of its other classic television releases as well. Often when Jim Nabors sings in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., or when Jack Klugman or Tony Randall belt out a few bars of a pop tune during the banter of The Odd Couple, those moments have been excised from the DVDs.
Look what they did to my song, Dr. Kimble: Janis Paige in a shot you won't see on the new Fugitive DVD
The high costs of clearing popular music are widely known and many fans have been quick to forgive the studio and buy into the argument that paying the license fees for these songs would give the DVDs a prohibitive pricetag. I won't take a position on that except to suggest that cynicism rather than blind trust would be a more productive attitude toward any issue of corporate accounting.
One fact made clear by the extensive song deletions on various DVDs is the fact that CBS has an active corps of intellectual property lawyers scrutinizing the musical history of their television properties. In off-the-record remarks to me, several people with recent experience in the home video world have characterized both the CBS/Paramount legal staff, and their counterparts at other studios, as inexpert, inconsistent, and overcautious. (As an example, when you hear long stretches of silence in a Paramount or Warner Bros. DVD audio commentary, it's usually not because "these people got caught up in watching something . . . they hadn't seen in over 40 years," as Jeffrey Kauffman suggests in his review of the recent Mannix DVD. It's because the lawyers have scissored out any material that could in theory trigger some kind of defamation claim.) The convoluted nature of The Fugitive's underscoring raises the possibility that CBS' attorneys scrutinized the show's cue sheets, found some unfamilar names, and made a hasty decision to replace the score without fully or accurately investigating the ownership of the music.
(Before publishing this piece I attempted to solicit a comment from CBS, but calls and e-mails to several CBS home video personnel, as well as a Paramount media relations representative, were not returned. Roy Braverman and one of the credited composers of the new Fugitive score also did not respond to interview requests.)
A separate, but very much related, issue is the ignorance and/or sympathy that on-line DVD reviewers exhibit for this sort of nonsense. Ronald Epstein, proprietor of the widely-read Home Theater Forum website, praised Paramount for its "wise decision" regarding the Fugitive music replacement. Both DVDTalk and DVDBeaver, well-respected sites among cinephiles, gave the Fugitive DVD set high marks without noticing the music substitution.
Now, I have some sympathy for DVD reviewers in this situation, because nobody can be an expert on every TV show or movie that's thrown over the transom. And as we've seen above, the studios will do everything they can to disguise the alterations they've made to their product – so each DVD is a little trap for the unsuspecting DVD reviewer to step into. But I feel that the ignorance displayed by DVDTalk's Paul Mavis in this case is inexcusable.
Two days before publishing his review of the altered Season 2 set, Mavis posted a review of the largely unchanged Season 1, Volume 2 Fugitive DVD. How could any remotely competent film historian or "Fugitive fanatic" (Mavis identifies himself as both) watch parts of these two collections back-to-back without immediately noticing the radical changes to the sound of the series' music? After being alerted to his error, Mavis posted a defense of CBS' decision: "I know it feels good to bitch out the studios for doing this . . . but I also know this is a business – pure and simple . . . . I'm not willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I'm going to enjoy the show." As of this writing, Mavis has yet to substantially amend his review, which still claims that the audio on the DVD set "accurately represents the original broadcast presentation." This is not consumer reporting as I understand the concept.
And speaking of consumer reporting, I vowed after February's Route 66 debacle that I wasn't going to turn this into a DVD blog. I also wrote that I was going to balance my reporting with some positive posts about successful DVD editions of early TV shows. But before I've gotten around to doing that, we have yet another crisis to address – another essential series of the sixties that's being butchered in its initial videodisc release. It's ironic that The Fugitive should join Route 66 in the virtual wastebin (and the wastebin, make no mistake about it, is exactly where I'm recommending you file your Fugitive Season 2 discs). The two series have always been paired in my mind because of their peripatetic structure, and because they featured protagonists who were anti-heroes of a sort – social dropouts at a time when television typically celebrated establishment figures (doctors, lawyers, policemen) and looked askance at nonconformists. In this regard The Fugitive, which arrived on the air as Route 66 began its final season, can be seen as a natural continuation of the earlier show – Richard Kimble was a forced exile from society while Route 66's Tod and Buz had left on their own accord and could re-enter the mainstream at any time. Both of them were prescient hints of the years ahead when "dropping out" became a widespread credo for disaffected young people.
Because of that, although I'm not sure that I'd call The Fugitive or Route 66 my favorite television drama of the sixties, I would argue that the two of them have to be considered the most signifant. It's beyond dispiriting that both shows are in real peril of being utterly ruined in their first (and likely only) complete home video release.
It is of – pardon the pun – paramount importance that CBS undo its error, untangle whatever legal or financial morass underlies the music substitution, and give us the real Fugitive. With the release of this DVD set, if not before, I've become convinced that large-scale music replacement is a form of aesthetic butchery that's the equal of panning-and-scanning or colorization during the days of VHS. It took a long time, but those battles have largely been won by videophiles. Now those of us who care about television and movies know what the next fight will be.
Update (4/20/2013): After more than four years of further gaffes – more numerous than I could attempt to report along the way – CBS/Paramount issued a definitive box set with all of Pete Rugolo's music and the vast majority of stock cues intact. For the most part, replacement copies were not provided to consumers who purchased the mutilated sets, and no official explanation for the music replacement was ever offered.
39 Responses to "Lawyers, DVDs, and Money: Fugitive Musical Scores From a FUGITIVE DVD Release"
June 14, 2008 at 12:11 am
Many, many thanks for this incredibly valuable, profoundly disturbing piece. I stand with you completely on the issues raised. And let me add: your criticism of Ron Epstein is absolutely worth raising and does NOT detract from the main issue. It is related and relevant. We are in trouble if TV treasures are handled as ROUTE 66 and THE FUGITIVE have been. And we're in even more trouble if reviewers don't notice, don't understand, or become cheerleaders for the horrendous "wide decisions" of CBS and others.
Let me add one completely unrelated observation. I agree entirely with your insightful analysis of the parallels between ROUTE 66 and THE FUGITIVE in terms of favorably presenting anti-heroes at a time when TV typically celebrated establishment figures who conformed to mainstream values.
But there's one more parallel between these two memorable shows. Richard Kimble, Tod Stiles, and Buz Murdoch were all functioning essentially as unlicensed, migrant social workers. Each week, they landed in a new city or town, became involved with the problems–in many cases, rather serious problems–of complete strangers (guest stars), were remarkably successful in helping to resolve many of these problems (especially remarkable for Richard Kimble, who while playing social worker was also running from Lt. Gerard!), and then moved on to a new community for a new round of social work.
Of course, thanks to Sterling Silliphant, the school of social work favored by Tod and Buz virtually always involved at least one fistfight!
Great work, Stephen.
June 14, 2008 at 12:14 am
Stephen, I too was very disappointed by the apparent lack of perception evidenced by Mr. Mavis, and even more surprising, Gary Tooze at DVD Beaver. I've used both in the past for very reliable, incisive, insightful reviewing and, while no one is infallible, it's been very disconcerting to see each one retreat on this issue instead of substantially addressing it.
I'll be honest, although I have enjoyed reading some of Mr. Mavis' reviews for vintage TV, his passion for same seems quite sincere, this would certainly not be the first time he has misrepresented something and not gone back to amend his comments in the slightest. His review of the picture quality on the first season of DANIEL BOONE was grossly inaccurate and when this was brought to his attention, nothing happened, the review stood as is. This seems to be somewhat of a unwritten practice with the alleged critics at DVD TALK, most notably Stuart Galbraith and Glenn Erickson. From the former I received outright hostility in pointing out a glaring error in a review and from the latter there is usually a well intentioned promise of correction, but not necessarily a follow through. Since all DVD TALK critics work for nothing perhaps we should simply apply the adage of you get what you pay for and not expect much else.
Gary Tooze's oversight at DVD BEAVER is a bit more confounding given his reputation for basic, honest reviewing that is more than upfront about a disc's defects and deficiencies.
It's sad to think of all those who based their purchase of this fatally flawed DVD release based on these erroneous reviews. I hope this isn't a case of making lemonade out of lemons simply to avoid offending the lemon grower for fear his free produce will no longer be forthcoming.
June 14, 2008 at 12:16 am
The other thing that "Route 66" and "The Fugitive" have in common is a final episode that resolves the show's ongoing storyline (in the last "Route 66," Tod gets married and gives the Corvette to Linc, who continues his wandering alone). As far as I can think of, these were the first two American dramatic TV series that had a true ending.
December 27, 2010 at 12:08 am
The spoiling of "Route 66″'s final episode should be edited out of the post. Come on, you should know better than this!
June 14, 2008 at 1:18 am
I believe you are right about the final episode of ROUTE 66 being the first dramatic show to have a true ending.
The idea of a last episode in a COMEDY series came about with HANK from 1965. That had a last episode which resolved many of the conflicts established during its one season run. Apparently news of the cancellation came in time for the producers to film a final show.
Another comedy show one could also argue for having an apparent series finale is LEAVE IT TO BEAVER. In that last episode Wally has just graduated high school and is heading for college while Beaver is about to enter the summer before starting high school. Perhaps not filmed as such, it plays that way regardless.
Another finale of sorts, albeit within a running series, was the unprecedented killing off of a lead character during the first season of NAKED CITY. The show continued for the rest of the season and then disappeared for a year, returning as an expanded show with a new lead character.
June 14, 2008 at 10:31 am
Great posts here. Here's my 2 cents as a first-time viewer with the previous DVD releases of what's arguably the best drama that's aired on U.S. TV:
From what I've read over at HTF (I've been a member there since Jan '05), the wholesale soundtrack substitution of the Fugitive S2V1 release is a first-time occurrence within a TV/DVD set and perhaps sets an ominous precedent for future vintage (pre-70's) releases.
The dilemma that I face as a new fan of this series is:
Do I support this show with a purchase of the S2V1 set and theoretically help continued releases of the series from CBS/P or pass on the purchase to support the disagreement of the soundtrack substitution and therefore remove my sales # from the tally of unit sales thus reducing chances of future releases?
– Jeff W.
June 14, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I have never had any contact, even electronically, with either "Professor Echo" or Stuart Galbraith. I've never read any of Mr. Galbraith's reviews. I have no way of evaluating the merits of their dispute.
But I will say the following: barring other considerations, I always feel inclined to stand with the person who uses a real name on the Internet as opposed to the person who doesn't. Mr. Galbraith apparently posts reviews of DVDs using his own name. He is in the honorable tradition of those who stand publicly behind their own writings with their real names. I do as well, on this website and in my published writings.
I detest the Internet "etiquette" that allows someone hiding behind a false name to personally attack someone who is NOT hiding.
June 14, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Well, I didn't necessarily see what I wrote as an "attack," but with everyone so sensitive these days, I suppose I can understand that perception rearing its head with any statement online, no matter what the context. I believe Stephen Bowie has encountered as much just in the past few days.
In any case, it may have been too strongly worded in the heat of a blanket dissatisfaction over the critics at DVD TALK, as per the discussion involving Mr. Mavis. The incident with Stuart Galbraith happened a few years ago and was not brought up to reevaluate, but as an example that Mr. Mavis' reluctance to amend his review was not an isolated case at DVD TALK. However, just because I remember the incident doesn't mean I am obsessed with it or that it has plagued my memory in any way, shape or form. Nor was what I posted a personal insult to Stuart Galbraith outside of his profession, it was a reflection of what I considered a less than satisfactory response to a conflict based on MY encounter with him. If it presented itself more as an "attack" I apologize, but that was not my intention. It's a shame that every little thing that is written as criticism of someone else online must be dissected and discerned to within an inch of its life lest it inordinately prick someone's fragility too harshly.
As for hiding behind a Username, one is free to draw whatever conclusions they will from that and I'm not looking to garner support for any of my positions, whether they bear my real name or my pen name. I could understand if I were a raving misanthrope constantly launching personal attacks against people all in the comfort and safety of anonymity, but this is not my method of operation and one could plainly see even in my post about Stuart Galbraith that I was hardly being overly belligerent or obnoxiously vengeful. I have no track record of ever being that way online and Stephen Bowie can at least attest to this if he has ever read my thoughtful posts at HTF or davekehr.com Nothing in my constitution indicates any pattern of destructive posting or writing whereby a username could provide a sanctuary of sorts. I have my own reasons for not using my real name, reasons of privacy that have nothing to do with exploiting anonymity in the sense of being an online troll.
Stuart Galbraith's response to my one line criticism of him is valid, but the point of my post was not to veer off into a separate argument, it was to indicate my own experience with critics at DVDTalk and that the possibility of there perhaps being a pattern on the site might exist. I'm sorry it has so ruffled feathers here on this site and taken away from the original blog, but so be it. Feel free to edit out my statement about Stuart Galbraith and if I ever feel that the encounter in question has so irreparably affected my consideration of him, I will take the time to write him and discuss it.
As it stands now, I will agree that more context could have been applied to the comment, but it was, as I said, a rush to judgment in the heat of the discussion. Sometimes commenting on a blog or a message board is like a conversation and it doesn't always translate with the specificity of language one might hope for.
And just for the record: The incident with Stuart Galbraith that I alluded to did not cause me to dismiss him outright and if that was conveyed by my statement, then I am truly sorry. In fact, I own two of Stuart's books and loved them both. I continue to read his reviews and learn from them and I have never said, here or anywhere, that he is not a good critic worthy of my attention.
June 14, 2008 at 11:40 pm
Dear Professor Echo–
If you don't want to use your real name online for "reasons of privacy," then I urge you to permanently refrain from attacking by name Stuart Galbraith or anyone else who isn't hiding as you are. Despite all you've written about people being oversensitive and fragile, what you wrote about Mr. Galbraith WAS an attack (speaking of his "outright hostility" when you pointed out an alleged "glaring error" of his). And it looks to me like it was an unfair attack.
And, by the way, none of us have any means of accurately assessing your "track record" online. At best, we can evaluate your "track record" as the mysterious Professor Echo. But how can we know if that's the only name/disguise you use in posting?
June 15, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Kudo's to the author of this detailed and thoughtful examination of the grievous nature of what's been done to The Fugitive's legion of fans and consumers (of which I count myself).
I too read the first few dvd reviews that said it was 'not that big a deal' and 'give Paramount a break', purchasing the 2nd season with considerable excitement the very day it was released, only to find the thrilling and mounting excitement of each scene excised by the dvd caretakers like a careless butcher hacking away at meat.
The Fugitive's theme, which rose at the close of each Act, heightening the drama to delicious edge -of -your seat excitement replaced with humdrum tinny sounding MUZAK. The fact that the very title cards have been replaced INSIDE THE SHOW , rather than a separate essay of explanation or separate title card, tells me how little regard for the consumer that CBS has.
The picture transfer is sharp and clear. The acting, writing, directing are (no thanks to the new guys) pitch on. The care that went into the First Season to not fiddle too much with the original elements totally out the window.
Why not take out the basic plot of Romeo and Juliet and republish it with a frontispiece that reads YOUR name and "with additional help from William Shakespeare" on it?
What insult would that infer to a hack?
Taking a cue from one of the groups I belong to, I've petitioned Paramount to redo the set correctly and refund those hapless few (like me) who purchased the set for his library totally unaware.
I probably have a better chance of bringing Jannsen back from the dead but it would certainly be a stand-up thing to do. Some of us work very hard for our money – plunking down 30 or 40 bucks for a DVD with a tiny disclaimer on the back, only to find that ALL of the music bed has been excised , is a dirty trick to play on loyal fans.
A trick that won't be forgotten next time we head to the store to make a purchase.
There is one caveat. The show is so terribly brilliant that even the hacks can't totally destroy it. THE FUGITIVE is still riveting drama. The disagreement between critics (above) doesn't take away from the fact that you all perform an admirable and necessary service; to keep the merchant honest and hold his feet to the fire when he tries to sell the consumer snake oil.
If I had never watched The Fugitive, i would still enjoy this release. Much of its dramatic element has been foolishly squandered by people who you would hope would know better, and have a higher regard for the quality of art it releases under its imprimatur. Its especially insulting as Fugitive fans have waited patiently FOR YEARS as they watched Punky Brewster and Alf get their own dvd releases only to see their dream dramatic series – the best ever, per Stephen King and a legion of others – raped and thrown out in the public arena deschevelé . David Jannsen, Barry Morse, etc. deserved much better treatment.
And so do the consumers.
June 15, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Here from Thrilling Days of Yesteryear. Terrific blog post, very comprehensive.
I did want to pick one minor nit: you said that "This is the first time any television show has arrived on DVD in such an aurally mutilated form" which I don't believe is entirely true.
The "WKRP" episodes released on DVD have had almost all of the popular music removed and replaced with generic placeholders by CBS. Actually, it started in syndication. For years most of the original music stayed with the show on reruns — I have reruns from about 1998 taped from TV which have the original music — but then the rights ran out and generic placeholders were used in syndication or entire bits of scenes were excised. The damage done to the episodes is extensive as specific pop songs often play a significant role in the plot. You should see the Amazon reviews of the WKRP set. Angry, angry customers.
I'm not trying to claim the music for "The Fugitive" being replaced isn't a dire situation, the music on that series is quite important and your analysis is spot on. I'm just mentioning that CBS has a history of this kind of thing, and I have to assume it's more about money than it is about copyright.
June 15, 2008 at 6:33 pm
I am astonished to read of Paramount's actions regarding the FUGITIVE scores. I had thought that the music and score replacements on the early video versions of some '60s and '70s AIP films were appalling (fortunately MGM has eventually addressed and corrected many of these), but this somehow seems worse. THE FUGITIVE without Rugolo music? Unthinkable. This carelessness (contempt, actually) is almost difficult to believe.
Another '60s TV series that apparently have a "last episode" was Cleveland Amory's short-lived 1965-66 O.K. CRACKERBY!
June 16, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Just bought series 2 volume 1. Startled by the fact that the only musical semblance of the show that remains in-tact is the opening and the close. All else has been gutted. Very unhappy!! What happened?? Follow the money trail, as usual!! After series one was released, heirs of the estates of those responsible for the original music cried foul, wanting monetary compensation, which CBS wouldn't or couldn't fork up. Make sense??
C. Peddie
June 17, 2008 at 3:13 am
I too am surprised and extremely disappointed at this news — i just received my Fugitive S2/v1 and am now going to leave it unopened in hope that some pressure can force Paramount to its senses.
There doesn't seem to be any regard to the artists' efforts in creating such a production; what money it may take to secure the 'underscoring' would have been peanuts to what a well-restored, greatly reviewed classic could have brought. Now, word will spread, and thanks to you and others, the response will be immediate.
At times, when restoration is so extensive I can accept some 'resourcing' and 'deconstruction' of the original, but it has to be done in an honest manner. As you note, there was little to no warning that this was done; they expected the first season's success to have us eating all they put out, changes and all.
That they have shown no interest in providing any extras, despite the show's bearing as a 'popular request' and pre-order sell record, is another example of what the producers have in store for us.
I suggest someone launch a petition pronto so that we can send a message.
June 18, 2008 at 8:26 am
Until I've read reviews at Amazon and elsewhere, FIRST, I'm NOT going to pre-order ANY more DVDs, PERIOD! If I read that music has been altered too much, or too many scenes have been cut out, etc. I could simply watch my own VHS copies I made off-air/off-cable in the 1980s/90s.
With what CBS/Viacom/Paramount has done now to FUGITIVE (1st half of 2nd season), it makes me wonder if the next DVD release of UNTOUCHABLES (2nd half of 2nd season) is going to be butchered up any, or what about future released of PERRY, GUSMOKE, RAWHIDE? (and if they ever get around to the 3rd/4th/5th seasons of HAVE GUN)? (all five seasons of TZ have been released already). Perry (except the last season and mabye the 8th season), Gunsmoke (B&W seasons), Rawhide, HGWT, and Twilight Zone all used stock music from the "CBS Music Library" (as did various CBS Radio dramas of the late 50s/early 60s, and 1970s CBS Radio Mystery Theater). A great deal of Fugitive's music score was all "borrowed" from the "CBS Music Library" back in 1963-67, but if CBS/Viacom/Paramount will today remove even THAT from Fugitive DVDs, I'm very concerned that even the CBS-owned music score on long-time CBS-owned series as Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, and Have Gun Will Travel could suffer the same fate on future DVD releases.
I usually say that nothing shocks me anymore, but what CBS/Viacom/Paramount did to 1st-half-2nd-Season of Fugitive DOES shock me!
June 18, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I can't even imagine how they managed to do this technically. Aren't the music elements on older series usually mixed with the sound efx? If not, where on Earth did they access the original separate elements to be able to remove JUST the music? It seems like a whole lotta trouble to go to (plus wrtiting new music and paying the new guys) just to avoid rights clearance issues. It is just detestable. The music of THE FUGITIVE is just as important as Janssen, Morse, Raisch, the guest stars, and the storylines. Quinn Martin must be rolling over in his grave.
June 19, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Thank you for your insightful comments. Mavis is a blowhard, pure and simple, and one who has a genetic predisposition against admitting he's made a mistake. Just a cursory look at his unbelievably defensive answers on the DVDTalk Forums shows that he obviously takes himself way too seriously and does not take kindly to being questioned. He strikes me as probably a frustrated writer whose reviews give him an outlet he wouldn't otherwise have, hence his extremely thin skin when someone finds fault with him. He also seems to subscribe to the theory of "why use one word when 10,000 will suffice"–another sure sign of someone who's out to impress, not merely inform. IMHO, of course. ;)
June 19, 2008 at 9:13 pm
I was unaware of this, and it really enlightened me.
June 19, 2008 at 9:57 pm
The really sad part about this is that the resulting backlash from fans is both a wake-up call and a deal breaker. Sadly, a number of less than mature (or emotionally balanced)directed their venom via profanity loaded emails directed at the one person at CBS/Paramount who wanted to help fans with good bonus features and unaired pilot episode for The Invaders DVD set. Now you can be sure this man will never reach out again.
CBS/Paramount will also probably look at future releases and will probably conclude it's just not worth it to release these shows. I'll lay odds that this is the last release of The Fugitive we'll see.
As much as people might think that "one letter won't make a difference," all it takes is a couple of nasty basement dwelling children to ruin it for the rest of us. If the changes to the Fugitive were handled with maturity and self-control, they might have been willing to do something about it. I don't think they'll be in a hurry this time.
This is why Kevin Burns at Fox stopped talking to fans about the Irwin Allen releases. It's a hobby, people. Not a religion.
June 20, 2008 at 3:31 am
Scott, if that is how they will react, then it goes against what we've witnessed elsewhere. Hasn't public pressure aided in getting a positive response from the Route 66 people? Of course, complaints can go beyond the extremes and those are certainly unwarranted – it's not like we have access to the person who actually greenlighted this ridiculous development.
If it is to be that CBS/Paramount's decision to throw their hands up in the air, i'll bet dollars to donuts that another company will gladly take on the prospective business – and maybe do a better job, too.
June 20, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Hey Danny,
Oh, I agree that fans expressing their dissatisfaction is the right thing to do. It's the tone of the letters, the demanding, the swearing, the jumping on one guy who has nothing to do with it that hurts our cause. It makes us look like lunatics.
But no way should be sit back and just take whatever is given to us. It's not like they're giving us this stuff for free.
June 23, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Thank You ED for your info and insight on this issue.The death of Barry Morse, Suzanne Pleshette,and Lois Nettleton ,along with the music defamation of the Season 2 episodes,has made this a disappointing year for the Fugitive fan.The public should continue to fight this altering of classic material.The late Sydney Pollack (director of Season 2 episode MAN ON A STRING) would want it that way.
June 24, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I cannot understand why the people who produced S2,V1 changed the music. Season one was virtually left alone in all its original glory. Why the change now? I cannot believe it was for some liability worries. They were not worried about season one obviously. The reason the show is a classic is the burning memories of great writing, acting and the brilliant emmy award winning score of Peter Rugolo. To the suspenseful music to the emotional tingling music that accented a scene like the fine paint strokes of a Rembrant painting. I hope Paramount/CBS gets the message for future volumes-leave the original music and scenes in!
June 25, 2008 at 2:18 am
What about the complete Fugitive series collection being offered at http://www.TVDVDStore.net. Do they have the original scores in tact?
June 29, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Regarding the music for the Season 2 DVDs, please see the below link for comments and suggestions from the Administrator of The David Janssen Archives
If you don't want this current DVD release to "become, by current media standards, the permanent record," then write those letters!
July 5, 2008 at 10:53 pm
It's a shame when the powers that be take the 'Aw, who's gonna notice" attitude.
February 20, 2009 at 11:19 pm
IMPORTANT UPDATE regarding the music replacement on The Fugitive, Season Two, Vol. 1 —
CBS/Paramount has now restored much of The Fugitive's original music and is offering a replacement program to those who buy (or already bought) Season Two, Vol. 1. Then, for the price of a stamp, the buyers just mail in the form along with the 2 Proof-of-Purchase tabs, and within 4-6 weeks, they'll receive 4 replacement discs, plus a new paper insert. Read about it at the below link to TVShowsonDVD.com –
And here's the link to the form:
Click to access FugitiveS2V1_DVDReturnProgram.pdf
Also, a very knowledgeable fan posting on Home Theater Forum was given a review set of the replacement discs and here's his opinion:
"… let me be clear about something. When I said in my review that a "vast amount" of the music had been restored, I was speaking in terms of a comparison to the prior Season Two, Vol. 1 set. And that would be true. Now if you want to compare the replacement discs to the standards of Season One, I would say, roughly, 75-80% of the music in the episodes I have seen has been restored, the bulk of that being Rugolo. But that is just one man's estimate. Everyone is going to have a different reaction to the set, but I am safe in saying it is a great improvement … The shows feel like The Fugitive again, even if synthesizers ocassionally pop up. But having the show FEEL like The Fugitive is the main thing.
… No matter to what degree of detail I go, or what conclusions I draw, if you are a Fugitive fan I believe you owe it to yourself to get this new replacement set and give it a chance. Decide for yourself."
Home Theater Forum http://snipurl.com/c9lrs
Thank you very much Stephen Bowie for your excellent article here and cheers to all of us who wrote letters, sent emails, and posted online to Amazon and other websites.
Here's to the power of the pen and the Internet!!
Thanks also to CBS/Paramount for now trying to do the right thing.
August 21, 2009 at 11:26 pm
I finally sent in my form for the replacement discs and received them today (21-August-2009).
From the two or three episodes I've watched so far, it's like watching Fugitive reruns syndicated on a local station in the 1980s, and on A&E in the 1990s. I was too young to really remember Fugitive when it was originally on ABC-TV 1963-67, although I do seem to remember watching the "water tower" scene in the final episode way back when it originally aired on ABC-TV — and only once, the very last network telecast of the series in August 1967…
It's really nice to hear the specific music cuts composed by Rugolo specifically for Fugitive, as well as the cuts from the CBS Music Library (even though QM/UA produced the series which aired on ABC, and NOT CBS Productions for the CBS-TV Network). The Rugolo cuts (based on the theme song) specifically for Fugitive ARE NECESSARY, and so are the "borrowed" cuts from the CBS Music Library! It's almost like watching CBS-owned Perry, or TZ, or Rawhide, or B&W Gunsmoke, or Have Gun, or listening to CBS Radio dramas of the 1950s/early-60s (Suspense, Johnny Dollar, Radio Gunsmoke, Radio Have Gun, etc), or listening to the CBS Radio Mystery Theater (1974-82), all of which used CBS Music Library cuts, since all were owned in whole or part by the Columbia Broadcasting System.
With Fugitive, BOTH the Rugolo Fugitive-specific cuts AND the borrowed CBS Music Library are ESSENTIAL to my memory and enjoyment of the series! :-)
The phony-baloney music in the initial DVD release last Summer (2008) JUST DOESN'T DO IT for me! :(
Let's hope that CBS/Viacom/Paramount will return to the original music score for all future releasess, the way they did for Fugitive Season 1 (both 1st and 2nd parts).
May 18, 2013 at 12:05 pm
Where can I buy fugitive box set with the original music restored ? The series sufferes without peter rugilos music , and the original cues.
May 18, 2013 at 1:18 pm
From a poster on Home Theater Forum regarding pricing for The Fugitive: Most Wanted box set (still probably have to call 1-877-DELUXE-6 and give the box/disc code numbers to the operator for the 5 replacement discs). All the original music has been restored.
"DVDPlanet has the set for $129.35 plus free shipping. Not bad and it's a legitimate site. I've bought from them before and had no problems."
May 20, 2013 at 11:00 am
Thank you so much. I will go onto the DVD planet site to buy the set. Looking forward to hearing the original music.
Bob Della Selva


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Housing & Residential Living
Pets in Student Residential Facilities
Animals and pets, except those necessary for disabled individuals, are not permitted in student residential facilities. Violations of this policy may result in eviction with forfeiture of room charges and additional disciplinary action including but not limited to a fine. If you fail to remove a pet or animal from a residential area within the specified time, the animal or pet will be sent to the local animal shelter and a $100 fine and all costs associated with removal, cleaning, etc. will be assessed. Students may have properly maintained aquariums for fish in their rooms provided that the total capacity of all aquariums in a room does not exceed 20 gallons.
Approved on July 31, 2006.
For: Students
Last Reviewed: September 15, 2014
Maintained by: Residential Life
Next: Quiet Hours
List all Policies & Guidelines for Housing & Residential Living


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Matthew Jonas
Matthew Jonas
Matthew Jonas
Matthew Jonas
LONGMONT –On a winter night seven years ago, Doug Branstetter shivered in a park as he tried to drift off to sleep. The birthday candles he was burning to stay warm had singed holes into his sleeping bag.
"My life was just falling apart," Branstetter said.
That's when Branstetter said he hit rock bottom. It took a series of positive influences — the OUR Center and a network of friends — to climb out. And, now, Branstetter is trying to use his experiences to help others who have hit a similar low point.
Branstetter, 54, who was once the owner of Boulder Muffler in Longmont, started out as a successful entrepreneur, earning a six-figure salary.
Then, Branstetter said, he was a victim of identity theft that led to his being evicted from his home. Stress and other complications chipped away at his health, and in the summer of 2005, Branstetter had a stroke. He weighed only 97 pounds when he was admitted to the hospital. His health problems quickly compounded, and he slipped into a coma for nearly a week.
"While I was in the hospital, they went ahead and evicted me because I was a no-show at court," Branstetter said. "They threw everything I owned out on the street, and people just took off with it. They carried it away with my own wheelbarrows."
Suddenly, Branstetter had nothing. He was homeless, trying to endure a freezing winter without a penny to his name.
"I had never been homeless in my life," Branstetter said. "It just was not me."
Desperation eventually forced him to get help. And it came from a familiar place.
Branstetter's muffler shop, which he no longer owns, had been across the street from the OUR Center, a Longmont organization that rehabilitates people and helps them become self-sufficient. The center offers services for the needy, including free meals, clothing and rental and utility assistance.
Branstetter ate at the center a few times. But it appeared that his time there would be short lived. Branstetter admitted that he was disruptive while visiting the OUR Center multiple times and was told that if his behavior continued, he could no longer return.
"I was extremely mad at losing everything in my life," Branstetter said. "I was determined to hurt somebody."
And then he met Sandy Stewart.
Stewart became Branstetter's caseworker at the OUR Center. She didn't make any promises, but said she would help Branstetter get on the right track. She made sure he got food. She got him a photo ID. She helped him with social services. With her support, Branstetter also began going to church again.
"Sandy saved my life," Branstetter said. "She's my saint, and she's seen me through every bit of this thing."
Perhaps most importantly, Stewart helped him get an apartment. A 100-year-old woman named Thelma Horton, who Branstetter describes as his best friend, lived next door.
Because Branstetter dropped out of school at age 12, he had an elementary grasp on reading and writing. Horton, he said, taught him to read and write at an adult level."She was one of the first people that offered me a hand," Branstetter said. "I worked on my reading. We read the Bible every morning, and sometimes she'd listen and sometimes she'd sleep through it."
Even today, the friends begin every day with a 5 a.m. phone call to chat about their lives, something they have been doing for the past six years.
Now, Branstetter is enrolled in classes at Front Range Community College in Longmont and is working on an associate degree. He wants to give back and help people in the same way that Stewart and the OUR Center helped him. Right now, he is a volunteer at the OUR Center.
"I would like to be a human resources person to help homeless people find work because it saved my life," Branstetter said.
OUR Center executive director Edwina Salazar called Branstetter a role model for other clients.
"I think (working for the OUR Center) is his dream, and he certainly would be an inspiration to other people," Salazar said.
Branstetter knows first-hand that difficult experiences can be overcome. Now, he wants to use his experience to help others get off the streets.
"I believe that a smile can save a life," Branstetter said. "And I'm trying to improve the lives of the people around me."
Trevor Cardiff can be reached at 303-684-5224 and email@example.com.


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E-Book: Navigating the Data Warehouse Appliance Selection and Purchase Process
Data warehouse appliances that bundle analytic databases with server and storage hardware are becoming increasingly popular choices for organizations looking to reduce costs, deployment times and management complexity. But the data warehouse appliance market is changing dramatically due to vendor acquisitions, and new developments in appliance technology are further complicating things for prospective buyers.
In this E-Book, IT and data warehousing professionals and business executives involved in data warehouse purchases will get an overview of data warehouse appliance trends and practical advice on how to evaluate and choose the right appliances for their organizations. Readers will also learn about the limitations of data warehouse appliances and pitfalls to avoid in using them.


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Gentlemen, there's this fucked up thing that many of you like to do that I call "Dick Control." Don't play coy, you know exactly what I mean. Maybe you're a little lonely, your girlfriend just dumped you, or you just got yelled at by your dickhead boss. You need a little pick-me-up. So, you flip through your mental rolodex of all your exes and ex-hookups. Then you make a list of all the girls who you have the upper hand with. The chick that wanted your babies? Perfect. The one that refused to change her Facebook relationship status a year after the break up? Perfect. Oh and the girl that threatened to cut herself if you ever left her? Too perfect.
You now proceed with the low-hanging fruit. Start with the girl that you know would pump up your ego in a hot second. So, you make a little phone call…no…text instead, you don't want to put too much effort into this, and suggest a casual meetup. She just wet her pants. You have no intentions of starting anything again but you know the least you'll gain from this is a confidence boost. And that's exactly what she offers. She tells you that you look great. Notices you're stressed and seems sincerely concerned. She comforts you with her gentle caress. And offers to make you feel better by picking up the tab and opening up her legs. You leave her apartment feeling rejuvenated. You won't call her again for awhile, because it's time to move to the next girl on your list. You gotta keep these bitches in check by exercising Dick Control over them.
As much as we hate when you do this to us, we also do it to you. It's called "Pussy Control." And the funny thing is, the poor girl you have Dick Control over probably has Pussy Control over some poor guy. It's all part of a large fuck-over pyramid, but we'll save that discussion for another time. So, how can you spot Pussy Control?
1) She broke your heart. It could be as deep as you were in love with her and she didn't love you back, or as shallow as she was way out of your league and she knew it. Either way, when you two had "relations," she was the settler and you were the reacher.
2) She randomly contacts you. It'll seem totally out of the blue and she has no good reason other than, "just wanted to say hi." Unlike Dick Control, she won't initiate a meetup, but she will somehow finagle you into asking her out. Her: "Was just thinking about you and wanted to see how you're doing." You: "Let's catch up in person [and maybe you'll take me back so I can prove to my friends that you aren't a bitch]."
3) She only talks about herself. This catchup session turns into a therapy session. She tells you about her fight with her roommate, her promotion, what's on her DVR, and her obsession with vanilla bean cupcakes. She doesn't care if she's boring you because she knows she doesn't have to impress you. You're perfectly happy just staring at her.
4) She fishes for compliments. Her ego needs TLC right now so she'll find every which way for your compliments (like how it was when you two were dating). Maybe she'll mention the new jeans that she's wearing and she isn't sure about the tightness of the fit. In which you'll reply that they look phenomenal on her [tight ass]. And she might throw in the fact that her new male co-worker always stops by her desk for small talk when all she wants is to get work done. In which you'll reply that the co-worker has a big crush on her [because any man would have a crush on her]. She may also tell you that she's been taking boxing classes and her arms (as she holds them up) feel so sore. In which you'll tell her how great her arms look [and you want to see what the rest of the her body looks like…naked].
5) She avoids talking about her love life. If you have enough balls to ask her about who she's dating, she'll beat around the bush and give you some vague answer like, "Nobody special, dating is exhausting." The truth is, she probably just got dumped by some guy or her crush just rejected her. But she'll want to make you think that you still have a chance, when in reality, you have no chance in hell.
6) She won't commit to plans. Now that you think you have her back in your life, you may want to ask her to hang out again. Her answer will most likely be, "I'm about to get really busy at work, so hopefully in a couple weeks I'll have more time." A busy girl will make time for the guy she likes. This girl has no intentions of seeing you again in the near future.
7) She leaves things open ended. Although she won't commit to future plans, she doesn't want to close the doors either. This was a test to make sure she still has Pussy Control over you, but she'll have to test you again in a couple months. So while you guys say goodbye, she'll tell you how great it is to catch up and how you should check out her boxing classes sometime. Listen dude, she doesn't really want you to check out her boxing classes but she wants to make you think she does.
Unlike Dick Control, Pussy Control is exercised when our romantic lives are not going well or we don't feel physically attractive. We may have 10,000 girlfriends telling us that we're beautiful, smart and a great catch, but it doesn't compare to hearing all that from a guy. But this is what you should know, a girl who exercises Pussy Control with you has no intentions of being romantically involved with you. That is, until you show that she no longer has pussy power over you. Once you spot symptoms of Pussy Control, do everything OPPOSITE of what she expects. If she's fishing for compliments, don't compliment her and change the subject to what's going on in YOUR life. If she contacts you out of the blue just to say hi, then tell her you're great and that you hope she's well too. It's a power balance and once you show her that she doesn't have the upper hand, she may actually start respecting you.
But I must warn you, the pussy is very powerful. If you don't let it have power over you once, it will strike again.
The new MacBook Air, on sale for under $1000 at Amazon.com


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The Spiritual Quest – from Jean Houston (Admin)
December 9th, 2011
If I am to know God directly, I must become completely God, and God I, so that this God and this I become one I.
–Meister Eckhart
Wandering the Earth as I do, I eventually run into everybody. And almost everybody I meet seems to be on a spiritual quest, or if not, they have a growing hunger for it. The hound of heaven woofs at their heels urging them to wake up to their spiritual possibilities.
The thing about everybody is that they try everything. For sheer creativity and inventiveness, nothing beats spiritual adventuring.
People meditate or fast or pray in search of Divine connection. They make outlandish promises–giving up sex, calories, comfort. They go mad or go manic, become zealots, hush their minds into quiescence and empty themselves of thought hoping to tempt God to fill the void.
They walk on burning coals, sit in the snow, count their breaths, twirl into ecstasy, make pilgrimages to places where God or His/Her local incarnations are reputed to have placed their feet. They try out religions as different as possible from the ones in which they were raised, go on spiritual shopping sprees, twist their bodies into uncomfortable positions, change their names.
Mostly, they shout at God, begging the Great One to finally show up in their lives.
I'm not criticizing these practices; I've tried them all. And don't laugh–so have you, in other ways, perhaps.
There are many signs that point to your being on a spiritual quest, even if you have not named it as such:
Do you wonder every time you pass a book counter if truth is to be found on its shelves today?
How many books have you bought this year that have "soul" in the title?
Are you always heading off to a seminar or a church retreat?
Is your house filled with angel images–cards, statues, books, candles?
Do you have an acupuncturist, a massage therapist, a medicine cabinet full of supplements?
When you get the flu, do you take vitamins and echinecea instead of standard brand antibiotics?
Do you frequent health food stores?
Have you thought about trying to be a vegetarian?
Have you quit the softball league and signed up for a class in yoga or Tai Chi?
Are you surfing the Internet?
Do you find yourself hiding what you're reading when your relatives enter the room, even though it's not the least bit sexy?
Have you divorced a spouse because he or she just wasn't on the same wave length?
Do your kids think you are weird?
Do your CD's thrum with chants and drums and Celtic harps?
Are you a fan of TV shows about mythic heroes, outer space, immortals, parapsychology?
Are you sometimes unaccountably surprised by joy?
Are you reading this book?
If you have answered "yes" to any of the above, chances are you're hooked! As well you might be, for the complexity of the present time seems to demand a deepening of our nature if we are going to survive. Deepening requires exploration. And for all its byways, exploration leads ultimately to the spiritual source of our existence.
Not since the days of Plato and Buddha and Confucius, some 2500 years ago, has their been such an uprising of spiritual yearning. But instead of being a Mediterranean and Asian phenomenon, as it was then, the explosion of spirituality is now happening worldwide.


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In January 2009, Australian censors banned issue #8 of Dirty Deeds, an Australian graffiti magazine. I'm unsure who Dirty Deeds are. They might be one are a crew of breakbeat DJs from Melbourne. Dirty Deeds is published by Dirty Deeds Streetwear. (Dirty Deeds is, just in case anyone's missed it, a title of an AC/DC song). I have not seen any issues of the magazine but early issues of the magazine are still available from various places in Europe online. From online descriptions the magazine is about 100 pages and contains images and reports about Australian graffiti and pieces from Australian writers on tour. If anyone knows anymore about Dirty Deeds or the censorship of its issue#8 please leave a comment.
Censorship of graffiti related material has been increasing, like Mark Ecko's Atari game "Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure" or the film about graffiti, 70K that the Melbourne Underground Film Festival attempted to show last year. These items are being censored in Australia because they "promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime or violence". This is a very broad category that could include information on crime prevention or a movie showing an armed robbery etc. It is also far broader than any other countries protection, e.g. the USA where "…the constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press do not permit a State to forbid or proscribe advocacy of the use of force or of law violation except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action." Per Curiam Opinion, Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969)
This is the same excuse for censorship that lead to the protracted 1995-1999 persecution of the editors of the LaTrobe University student newspaper, Rabelais (eventually the charges were dropped with no explanation, so calling it a 'prosecution' is misdirection). This law is only used against small independent publishers although the law is so broad it could be used against any publisher with any crime content. The government's application of this law makes it intentions clear; the government wants to use it to justify the persecution of some victims of moral panic.
Censorship is unjust in that it is arbitrary. It is arbitrary in the choice of targets and in the rules that govern censorship. What will be censored it is rarely completely defined but kept vague and subject to opinion of an authority.
When censorship is not arbitrary it does tend to create embarrassing moments for the authorities when they quickly back down in the face of unimpeachable examples. Creating rules for censorship is not a simple as stating no images of nipples, public hair, torture, bestiality or naked children. Under the Jacaranda Tree has a story about a Chinese blogger who fought the censorship of his Renaissance nudes. The story is similar to an early 2008 controversy London Underground censoring another image of a Renaissance nude. Renaissance nudes are an unimpeachable example that any censorship rules, guidelines or legislation must avoid censoring to appear reasonable and sensible.
One strategy to avoid such ridicule is for censorship to be arbitrary. In Australia censorship is a discretionary act instigated by a complaint. For example, there have been nude photographs exhibited in public at Platform that have been censored and others that have not because censorship by the City of Melbourne is based on complaints.
Censorship continues to be an ugly, arbitrary and unjust feature of Australian law. And I am sick of it.