The dispiriting drumbeat of these events - punctuated by the savage sectarian violence convulsing Iraq - are causing even temperate voices to wonder if the world is really careening into some fundamental clash of civilisations.

It's easy to predict the impact if the US decides it does not trust a company owned by even an ostensibly friendly Arab government to operate facilities at US ports. Many in the Islamic world would surely take that as a sign that America sees itself in a clash of civilisations, - and in that interpretation, the Islamic world might well be correct.

I think this port controversy is bull shit. The security of the ports is and will remain a domestic responsibility.

How fear is controlling US thinking - Opinion - theage.com.au

Higgins breaks up a person's identity into pieces -- or "services" -- and lets computer users dictate who can access what parts of their identity information, within applicable privacy guidelines and laws. Organizations using "smart” applications, built with Higgins open source tools, can share specific identity information, such as their telephone number or buying preferences, according to rules set by the individual, or by an authorized third-party service provider acting on their behalf. Like Web services, companies will be able to build support for Higgins into their applications, websites and services, and its open approach will support any technology platform and identity management system.

I've wanted to see something like this for quite some time, and this is probably the right way to do it. Lets hope they don't over engineer the crap out of it. The project is in its early stages.

CRM Today: Open Source Initiative to Give People More Control Over Their Personal Online Information

"If Mozilla permit the sale of copied versions of its software, it makes it virtually impossible for us, from a practical point of view, to enforce UK anti-piracy legislation, as it is difficult for us to give general advice to businesses over what is/is not permitted."

How dare you have a different approach to Intellectual Property. Now everything won't be the same and some people might have to think! Thats impossible!

Hillarious anti-open source quote...

Has Jyllands-Posten insulted and disrespected Islam? It certainly didn't intend to. But what does respect mean? When I visit a mosque, I show my respect by taking off my shoes. I follow the customs, just as I do in a church, synagogue or other holy place. But if a believer demands that I, as a nonbeliever, observe his taboos in the public domain, he is not asking for my respect, but for my submission. And that is incompatible with a secular democracy.

This is a good explanation of the context around the cartoon war.

Why I Published Those Cartoons

terratogen enters the fray....

I had to make one. How can I grow old as an artist and have people ask "What did you do during the Cartoon War?" and have nothing to show for it except a thumb up my ass. How many calls to arms will artists get in a lifetime? Artists should have a duty to make their own personal Muhammad Cartoon! Causing fear is how terror extremist groups gauge if they are winning or not. The world needs to stop being afraid of these idiots and paint them up like clowns with guns. Any group which cannot respect another world view deserves to look stupid. They need to start taking themselves much less seriously. Remember The Guru Maharaj ji ? He ripped off his followers for decades and promised to levitate the Houston Astro Dome with "Green Energy"(where was this bastard during Katrina???). I understand that people like to believe in their magic little spiritual worlds, to get the rush you get when you feel self important for no good reason at all. And everyone should have every right to do so. However, not acknowledging fundamentals of reality makes you look like an idiot to people who see things differently. Do you think some people are stupid? So do I! It's not about morality, right or wrong, or any self-righteous platform... It's about TRUTH. If you want yours to Dominate someone else's, those people are going to look at you either like a big fat DUMMY or a God (as if you have to ask which you might look like!). Getting irate, belligerent, and violent doesn't change the fact that some people are not interested in your Kool-Aid! This goes for you neo-right-wing-jesus juice slurping-fascist-christians as well. If your spirituality is not a PERSONAL experience... There is a large chunk of the world who considers you an ASSHOLE and your way of life ANNOYING! If you don't like having your bible-bubble burst, then SHUT the fuck up and it's a non-issue! When you open the panel for discussion, you will learn that "religion" does not equal "reality" and you will deserve it.

T-Shirts and other merchandise of my cartoon are available HERE. I think that the fact that I made one when there are Fatwas going around prooves that my balls are big enough to warrant your support.

Muhammad Cartoon for the Cartoon War

You do realize that you have basically betrayed a legacy of protecting journalistic sources (that at the WaPo includes the most infamous of such, Deep Throat), not only that but you have inadvertnatly (we can only assume it was inadvertant) destroyed faith in the concept of journalists protecting their sources, making it more difficult for future sources to come forward.

Read the threads... Apparently there is a googlemap link to 0x80's likely neighborhood.

Brian Krebs and 0x80 - (washingtonpost.com)

I haven't read this yet, but it seemed interesting.

Earlier this week, the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC, held a remarkably interesting conference titled "Panic Attack: The New Precautionary Culture, the Politics of Fear, and the Risks to Innovation." It was interesting not only because I was a participant, but because it looked at how many Western countries are losing their cultural nerve, as evidenced by the increasing cultural acceptance of the so-called precautionary principle.

The strongest versions of the precautionary principle demand that innovators prove that their inventions will never cause harm before they are allowed to deploy or sell them. In other words, if an action might cause harm, then inaction is preferable. The problem is that all new activities, especially those involving scientific research and technological innovation, always carry some risks. Attempting to avoid all risk is a recipe for technological and economic stagnation.

Bill Joy came to mind.

Culture of Fear: Dealing with cultural panic attacks

A new suite of free and open tools let you watch TV, make TV, and recommend TV in a way that's easier, cheaper and more accessible than ever before.

Has anyone played with this?

Boing Boing: Democracy: a new platform for making and seeing TV on the net

In this game you take land from poor people, grow cows on it, process it in a factory, add hormones, sell it in your stores, fight off anti-globalization protestors, bribe government officials, and profit!

Its strangely addictive. I think I should open a franchise.

McDonald's Videogame

The new spoofer can handle multiple modulation schemes; which means it is capable of copying almost any 125kHz or 13.56GHz ID-only card.

All your RFID are belong to us!

Proximity card spoofer: proxmarkii - hack a day - www.hackaday.com _