David Gilmour To Appear on New CD To Benefit British UFO Hacker

Maybe he’s just curious about UFOs himself, or perhaps just doesn’t think that breaking into government computers is a serious crime, but whatever the case, Pink Floyd veteran David Gilmour is lending his talent in support of a forthcoming CD that is intended to benefit self-proclaimed British hacker Gary McKinnon.

Back in 2001, the 43-year-old unemployed systems administrator is alleged to have had his way with a number of government computer systems in the U.S. Among them were systems belonging to NASA and the Defense Department.

Needless to say, the year 2001 wasn’t the best time to pass one’s time by hacking into U.S. government computers due to increased awareness surrounding these kinds of things after the 9/11 attacks. McKinnon admits he penetrated U.S. government systems, but claims he was only seeking evidence that would reveal the real truth about UFOs.

I think there are a lot of people who could sympathize with his desire to get to the bottom of the whole UFO thing, but hacking government computers probably wasn’t the best way to go about it. He did get caught, after all.

For seven years McKinnon has been fighting extradition to the United States where he would probably face charges that could land him in prison for up to sixty years, or possibly even more.

McKinnon has been gaining more support in recent months after London’s mayor penned a newspaper editorial that appealed to U.S. President Barack Obama to halt the efforts to extradite the curious hacker, and even suggested that the whole affair was a “comment on American bullying.”

The U.S. Government says that McKinnon’s shenanigans resulted in almost a million dollars in damage to various computer systems, and was also responsible for the shutdown of several critical military computer networks shortly after the 9/11 attacks.

The new CD is set for release next month and McKinnon’s supporters hope it will help get President Obama’s attention.

So far, Gilmour is the only artist on the CD that has been identified, although there are others who have participated whose names have not yet been revealed.

One can’t help but think that there are better ways to investigate UFOs other than breaking into computer systems. As a former systems administrator himself, McKinnon had to be well aware of the risks involved in that kind of activity. He will surely have plenty of time on his hands to read all the UFO literature in existence and watch every television program ever produced on the subject of UFOs if he finds himself confined to a prison cell for sixty years or so.

Head on over to Computer World for more on this story.

Tags: CD, David Gilmour, Gary McKinnon, Government, Hacker, Systems, UFOs

Long-Awaited Guns N’ Roses Album ‘Chinese Democracy’ A Hit

I’m not sure how many copies of this new album will sell. I also do not know where it it will end up on the charts, but this album is already a hit with me. The new album landed on Best Buy store shelves yesterday and it has also been made available by the group on MySpace, where it is said to have broken records there for number of listeners.

To be honest, I’m not even a Guns N’ Roses fan and I don’t have any of their albums. However, any album that attracts negative comments from the oppressive Communist government of China deserves accolades in my book.

With news of the release of Chinese Democracy, the government of China apparently felt the need to respond.

An article in a government-controlled publication called the Global Times used the headline: “American band releases album venomously attacking China.” It then went on to say that, “unidentified Chinese Internet users had described the album as part of a plot by some in the West to grasp and control the world using democracy as a pawn.”

I think I know which Chinese internet users they are talking about. The ones with the drab-looking green uniforms and the matching caps with the red star on them. You know, like the ones driving the tanks in this picture.

It’s not surprising to hear an oppressive government like the one on China talk about democracy that way. It’s not a word that’s particularly popular with the leaders in that part of the world since it threatens their power and control of the citizenry.

The good news is that there are probably many Chinese citizens who will get to hear Chinese Democracy since file sharing and pirating of DVD disks and music CDs is quite popular in that country.

Although sharing music by way of file sharing networks and copying of CDs can be a touchy subject, I’d be curious to hear what the guys that recorded the album think of that activity where China is concerned.

It’s doubtful that the government would ever allow an album entitled Chinese Democracy be distributed in that country, so I’d have to say that I’m in favor of Chinese rock fans getting their hands on this album by any means available. It seems unlikely that it will be taking any money from the pockets of the artists or the music industry in this case.

Gee, do you think this post will be enough to get my site blocked by the famed “Great Firewall of China?” I’d have to say I would consider it an honor.

Tags: Album, Chinese Democracy, Government, Guns N Roses, Release