] Unlike a database run by the state's Bureau of Criminal
] Apprehension, the MJNO network doesn't just tell police
] if a person has been convicted of a crime. It also tells
] whether they've ever been arrested or if they appear in
] police files as a victim, a suspect, a complainant or a
] witness. It has juvenile files.

Ever get turned down for a job because you were investigated but not charged with a crime? You will... (This is absolutely aweful. Its clear that this was done outside of the government because its grossly illegal and obviously couldn't get state funding. By retaining data about suspects once cases are over, and about people found innocent by the courts, you turn getting investigated/charged into something that carries a punishment (greater scrutiny forever). By retaining juvenile files you eliminate one of the core features of the juvenile justice system, which is that people who make mistakes when they are young are allow to make good and start again when they grow up. Finally, by doing this with a private company they ensure that this information will ultimately become available to private companies and PIs. This system must be pulled!)

USATODAY.com - Growing use of private police network raises concerns

Your holiday moment of zen...

Happy Halloween!!!

] We, as a nation, need to ask ourselves some pretty hard
] questions about this incident.
]
]
] The sad fact is that local officials were not acting in a
] manner much different from the way in which many of our
] national leaders have been acting in the two years since
] Sept. 11, 2001. I speak primarily of the rampant,
] institutionalized violations of privacy by our
] government, and the sky-is-falling mentality of fear that
] continues to grip our nation and colors much of what
] passes for national policy these days.

indeed. good article by Bob Barr...

it's getting to the point where being an unhappy kid, or maybe even just a creative one, is indicative of radical mental disease and maladjustment. god forbid that the youth of america should express themselves...

Creative Loafing Atlanta | NEWS & VIEWS | THE TERROR OF A TEENAGER'S DIARY

Thought this one was particularly apropo for this group.

WorkingForChange-This Modern World: Something Truly Terrifying

flynn23 wrote:
] I don't believe there are official transcripts of these
] sessions.

This seems like a worthwhile project/discussion in and of itself. People ought to be able to watch their government operate. CSPAN was a good step in the the right direction, but in general it is a tool for insiders.

Thomas was a hell of a lot more useful, but this is such a minor example of what it possible.

Sessions of federal, state, and local governments ought to be available online in various streaming video and audio only formats, along with text transcripts. The stuff should be broken down by committee and subject. It should be easy to search your local government for issues you are interested in and to follow the legislative process online.

All of this data IS being kept by someone, because judges USE the discussions that occur while a law is being passed to interpret it later.

RE: State DMCA Part 2 - Electric Boogaloo

logickal wrote:
] ] Kohl, the principal investigator for an instrument aboard
] ] NASA's sun-watching SOHO spacecraft, said the probability
] ] of two huge flares aimed directly at Earth coming so
] ] close together, as they have this week, "unprecedented
] ] ... so low that it is a statistical anomaly."

UM, OK, at this point I've got to ask what you're all thinking.... UM... this isn't the end of the solar system is it? This thing isn't going to go red giant tomorrow? Right? I got shit to do man. I don't need the damn rapture starting right now!

RE: HoustonChronicle.com - Second space storm smacks into Earth

] I long ago let my ARRL membership lapse. I lost
] interest in dealing with the on-line prima donnas that
] frequent their ranks. All the fun radio stuff (e.g.,
] truly random FFH in HF for anti-fade) is prohibited in
] the ham bands. Any radio enthusiast who wants to advance
] the radio arts will likely be playing in the unlicensed
] bands or operating outside the regulations in the amateur
] bands.

I don't really care enough about ARRL to comment on it frequently, but it is basically bad news. The FCC gives people a license which grants them special rights as long as they follow certain rules. So, they become obsessed with enforcing rules, and they become obsessed with special rights. They argued against the 5 gig wifi bands basically because they were opposed to letting commoners use radios. They predicted wifi would be like CB. I agree with these commentators. We should start cutting chunks out of that spectrum.

ARRL's 'private game preserve'

] John Perry Barlow: Dump the Doodads, and Retrofit
] the Brain
]
] Scott Adams: Puss Can Run, but He Can't Hide
]
] Michael K. Powell: Zap! The Form's Filled Out
]
] Donald J. Trump: Your Wish Is My Command
]
] William Gibson: Lies Exposed in Telltale Colors
]
] Moby: A High That Wouldn't Hurt
]
] Bill Joy: Memo to My Borsalino: Quiet!

Ideas Unlimited, Built to Order

] U.S. economic growth surged in the third quarter of 2003
] to the fastest pace in nearly two decades, the government
] said Thursday, in a report that was much stronger than
] most economists expected.

!!!!!!

GDP growth posts strongest growth in nearly 20 years - Oct. 30, 2003

] adio stations must pay royalties to recording companies
] and performers, as they do to composers and songwriters,
] when musical broadcasts are "streamed" over the Internet,
] a federal appeals court has affirmed.

At Phreaknic JonnyX did a talk on how to do independent radio broadcasting. I asked him if the internet was a viable option, and he referenced this recent decision. He basically said this was the nail in the coffin all hope was lost.

Hrm.... This is interesting. Previously it was felt that (and the law literally says that) traditional radio stations that simulcast over the internet did not have to pay the RIAA royalties that people running webcast only stations have to pay. The courts have undone that interpretation. Its an example of how laws mean what they mean and not what they say. Laws are not like code.

However, as this is an issue for traditional broadcasters, and not something that impacts webcast only transmissions, I really don't think it impacts the question I posed. However, it does mean that even more internet radio is going to go away. In particular, college radio stations are probably going off the air because of this. I wonder if any have already...

It probably makes sense for everyone to pay the same royalties. Furthermore, I don't even mind if a royalty structure exists. The critical question is: can a few hobbyists set up a viable internet radio show and make the payments... Can they still make payments as the popularity of their station scales? If the answer is no, then these royalties aren't a way to pay artists, they are a way to stifle innovation. So far I have to say that it feels like the later.

Court Affirms Internet Radio Royalties