The Internet has a rising star whose name isn't Google. Just over 2 years old, MySpace now has 2 1/2 times the traffic of Google

The development comes as the leading portal, Yahoo, becomes more like MySpace, starting a social-networking service called 360 and buying content-sharing sites such as Flickr and Del.icio.us.

MySpace rises as new online star

Everyone has seen the picture of Rumsfeld shaking hands with Hussein on an official visit to Baghdad. There is no disputing the fact that this qualifies as a contact.

"The Insider" starts with a scene in which a Hezbollah leader is interviewed for a segment on 60 Minutes. Does this qualify as "Ties" between Viacom and Hezbollah?

We are often reminded that Iraq had "ties" to Al'Queda. TIA like programs and the NSA surveillance system are looking at people with "ties" to Al'Queda as well. Do you have "ties" to Al'Queda?

Clearly the reason that I'm asking questions is because I hate Bush more then I fear Al'Queda. Smart people don't ask questions, only crazy people ask questions.

MemeStreams | Contacts, Ties, and Relationships, Oh My

The most recent Hajj occurred during the first half of January 2006.

There were a number of stampedes, called "tragedies" in the press, during the Hajj which killed several hundred pilgrims.

These were not unavoidable accidents, they were the results of poor planning by the Saudi government.

And while the deaths of these pilgrims was a mere blip on the traditional western media's radar, it was a huge story in the Muslim world. Even the most objective news stories were suddenly casting Saudi Arabia in a very bad light and they decided to do something about it.

The 350 pilgrims were killed on January 12 and soon after, Saudi newspapers (which are all controlled by the state) began running up to 4 articles per day condemning the Danish cartoons.

There rarely is a clearer case of "Death to the West" being used to divert attention away from local problems.

Daily Kos: Muslim Cartoon Controversy: What the Media Isn't Telling You

The US government is developing a massive computer system that can collect huge amounts of data and, by linking far-flung information from blogs and e-mail to government records and intelligence reports, search for patterns of terrorist activity.

The system - parts of which are operational, parts of which are still under development - is already credited with helping to foil some plots. It is the federal government's latest attempt to use broad data-collection and powerful analysis in the fight against terrorism. But by delving deeply into the digital minutiae of American life, the program is also raising concerns that the government is intruding too deeply into citizens' privacy.

This keeps coming up. We start collecting a bunch of data, often without court oversight, start mining it, someone finds out, a dialog about privacy starts, the program is changed or moved, things go quiet, rinse, repeat... There is no dialog. Only negotiation. Only power.

Ultimately we're rapidly moving toward an environment where law enforcement is perfect because they know everything by default and we needn't be concerned about civil liberties because a computer doesn't care about your dirty laundry... There is no civil liberties concern with searches performed by robot. The democrats will use this technology to crack down on gun hobbiests and video gamers and rockers. The republicans will use this technology to crack down on heretics and scientists and pot heads. You'll get to choose between two parties on the basis of what you'd most like to see this flawless machine used to control. The idea of individual liberty will disappear from the lexicon entriely, as the word freedom is redefined. Freedom from crime. Freedom from terrorism. Freedom to be American. But never freedom of thought. Never freedom to be different. We don't like that here.

Welcome to the new Singapore.

US plans massive data sweep | csmonitor.com

The bloodied body of a collaborator on the children's book series Curious George was found Tuesday morning covered in black garbage bags in the driveway of his impeccably landscaped mobile home.

This is absolutely terrible but sometimes you want to blog things like this because the press won't pay much attention to them.

Curious George collaborator found dead

Profits are up, but the wages and the incomes of average Americans are down.

Short and to the point.

What's wrong with the economy?

I’ve had dreams like this, usually one the first night of a fever.

And don't miss this.

LILEKS (James) Institute :: Archives

A prominent Iranian newspaper said Tuesday it would hold a competition for cartoons on the Holocaust to test whether the West extends the principle of freedom of expression to the Nazi genocide as it did to the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

"Alright, you asked for it! I'm writing this cartoon!!"

Iranian Paper Plans Holocaust Cartoons - Yahoo! News

Why, then, does the software industry want patents at all? Software firms, in the main, don't rely on software patent in fundamental ways—they innovate to make a better product.

There is some interesting information in this article, but there are also some conclusions I don't like. I don't think the Stallman "all software patents are bad" solution is the right answer. I've seen software patents used by entrepreneurs to sell their companies. Without them, you either have to become Microsoft or you die. Furthermore, I've certainly seen Microsoft collect on patents, from powering mice from the serial port to displaying text on television sets. I think the problems are:

1. Obvious patents are bad. The standard for obviousness used by the PTO is very, very weak. They need a completely new perspective on how to assess this.
2. Patents should not be issued for things you can't actually do, even if you might be able to do it in the future.
3. Heres a radical idea: If you could not have copied the patented product you didn't violate the patent. The ensures that obvious ideas aren't covered, and it ensures that patent trolls aren't covered either. No one is going to independently invent RSA. However, if you invent wireless email you're going to have to actually get a product out there that people might have seen before you can argue that someone might have copied you. (I realize they might have read the patent database, but they didn't. The patent database is almost completely useless. It was designed as a thing for engineers to read, and yet engineers cannot read it for fear of criminal liability lest they violate something. It should be done away with.)

Weapons of Business Destruction

The latest (February 6) issue of Newsweek has a picture on page 39 of
George Bush visiting the NSA headquarters in Fort Meade. A wall-sized
screen in the background displays the latest versions of our favorite
open source security tools, including Nmap, Metasploit, Snort
Ethereal, Cain & Abel, and Kismet. Nifty.

You can use the same display at home!

Nmap Development: NSA tracking open source security tools