The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) was co-founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Dr. Thomas Szasz, Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, to investigate and expose psychiatric violations of human rights. Today, it has more than 135 chapters in 34 countries.

Recent public statements by Tom Cruise were the openning salvo in a broad PR campaign in support of this organization. Saw a freeway billboard for them tonight. They must be running against Intelligent Design for the Nobel Prize in Disingenuous Sophistry. (I'll add into the competition people who think disease is a social construct.)

To be sure, I've seen first hand the nature of involuntary psychiatric "treatment" by the state, and I share the perspective that it is abusive. This does not lead to the conclusion that psychiatric treatment is always or even usually abusive. Unfortunately, by using examples of the former as a springboard to attack the later, the Scientologists damage the credibility of those who are seriously concerned about the former. Perhaps this is intentional.

Home - Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR)

These are the men and women who bring you the news at Al Jazeera. We have a diverse staff complement. Our people are made up of dozens of nationalities...Come and have a look at who we are (here is our flickr photoset). We are not afraid of your threats.

This is interesting. The English seems, ehm, western. Would someone from Al'J named "mohammed" really say "You guys rock?" It might be true. It might not be true. Same thing can be said for the accusations in question. Is it possible to know if anything is real anymore?

Don't Bomb Us - A blog by Al Jazeera Staffers

A former Canadian Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister under Pierre Trudeau has joined forces with three Non-governmental organizations to ask the Parliament of Canada to hold public hearings on Exopolitics -- relations with “ETs.”

Liberalize the rules on pot and pretty soon everyone in your society thinks they are communicating with aliens...

Former Canadian Minister Of Defence Asks Canadian Parliament Asked To Hold Hearings On Relations With Alien

He believes scientists searching the heavens for signals from extra-terrestrial civilisations are putting Earth's security at risk, by distributing the jumble of signals they receive to computers all over the world.

Now why didn't I think of that!

Guardian Unlimited Technology | Technology | Scientists, be on guard ... ET might be a malicious hacker

“attacker can perform the aforementioned attack by deploying an uncooled microbolometer thermal imaging (far infrared) camera within up to approximately five to ten minutes after valid keycode entry”

interesting stuff from Michal Zalewski

Cracking safes with thermal imaging

This paper describes a technique that can be used to bypass Windows hardware-enforced Data Execution Prevention (DEP) on default installations of Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows 2003 Server Service Pack 1. This technique makes it possible to execute code from regions that are typically non-executable when hardware support is present, such as thread stacks and process heaps. While other techniques have been used to accomplish similar feats, such as returning into NtProtectVirtualMemory, this approach requires no direct reprotecting of memory regions, no copying of arbitrary code to other locations, and does not have issues with NULL bytes. The result is a feasible approach that can be used to easily bypass the enhancements offered by hardware-enforced DEP on Windows in a way that requires very minimal modifications to existing exploits.

This looks like it could be an interesting journal...

Bypassing Windows Hardware-enforced Data Execution Prevention

Printing presses are the prized platform of a public lynch mob spouting liberty but spewing lies, libel, and invective. Their potent allies in this pursuit include Ben Franklin and John Hancock.

In case you missed it Forbes Magazine published an insanely vindictive scare post on bloggers in this month's issue, which claims that bloggers are an untamed lynch mob and suggests all kinds of unethical things for containing them (honestly explaining the truth is not considered). Forbes doesn't let you read the article for free so I'm linking the EFF's response instead.

Forbes 'Attack of the Blogs'

Newmark said his news project will involve Web technology to let readers decide which news stories are the most important. At least one Web site is already working this field. Digg.com invites readers to submit stories to be posted on its Web site. "Once a story receives enough (votes) from (the site's visitors) it will be promoted to the front page," the site explains.

What a great idea!

Internet Daily: Craigslist plans to make news

Yesterday I expressed that "Open Source Media," the radio show, had trademarked their name for a radio show. I was slightly, but very significantly, wrong. I think this is actually a big problem. I don't think anyone is going to listen to me about it though.

We do have a pending registration for a trademark on “Open Source,” submitted in May of this year, as the title of a radio show and a website.

Well, thats interesting. Not "Open Source Media." Just "Open Source." These guys want to own the words "Open Source" as the title of "a radio show and a website." Its interesting that they didn't tell the USPTO about the website, just the radioshow. But apparently...

“Open source,” if used to describe software, cannot be trademarked. But “Open Source,” if applied to a current affairs blog and radio show can be trademarked; in our case, it is distinctive, not descriptive.

I don't think thats true. In fact, in the next paragraph they say...

We chose the name “Open Source” because it signals the way we produce radio and web content.

Then its descriptive, not distinctive.

I think people should be able to use the word "open source" in reference to blogs and other kinds of participatory media.

Open Source - The Name Problem, Part II

NEWSPAPERS editors were threatened with prosecution under the Official Secrets Act last night if they published details of a conversation between Tony Blair and George Bush in which the President is alleged to have suggested bombing al-Jazeera, the Arab news network.

Please somebody tell me they are lying! More here. I really hope this is a misunderstanding. It sounds like it is...

Some partisan Republican out there is thinking "If it's true, well good, Fuck Al Jazeera."
Some partisan Democrat out there is thinking "if it's true, well fine, Fuck Bush."

I implore that you're both wrong. If this is true... for the President of the United States to seriously suggest something like this... it will do irreperable harm to the credibility of this country on an almost unprecidented level. No one who cares about the United States should wish this.

Editors are threatened over TV station bombing claim...