Interviews with anti-war protesters in NYC.

bt: Protesting the Protesters - Devil's Advocate

] The documents were among intelligence files that the city
] released as a result of an unrelated lawsuit in which the
] police are accused of violating the constitutional rights
] of protesters.
]
] The American Civil Liberties Union sued the city last
] March after learning that the Denver Police Department
] had compiled surveillance files on at least 3,200 people
] and 208 groups. The organization said the police didn't
] just target known or suspected criminals, but also
] singled out peaceful activists.
]
] The documents released Wednesday indicate that officers
] watched people ranging from anti-war protesters to
] members of militia groups and motorcycle gangs.

CNN.com - Police kept files on 'Trench Coat Mafia' group after Columbine - Feb. 20, 2003

] The FCC commissioners, voting 3-2 with Chairman Michael
] Powell dissenting, agreed to let the states maintain a
] strong role in regulating the Bells.
]
] Under current rules, the Bells have to let rivals use
] their local networks at sharp discounts. They also have
] to let rivals "share" their local phone lines to deliver
] high-speed Internet service.
]
] The FCC did rule that line-sharing rules will be phased
] out over three years, with the Bells allowed to raise
] prices "incrementally" each year on the portion of copper
] wire used to deliver high-speed Internet. But the agency
] stopped short of the more drastic changes the Bells
] wanted.

FCC largely keeps phone rules intact

From Boing Boing (http://www.boingboing.net/):

Zed sez: "An Indian-born Canadian citizen was flying home from India to Toronto, and transferring at O'Hare. INS decided her passport was funny-looking, destroyed it, denied her access to the Canadian consul, and deported her to India via Kuwait with her papers in such disorder she might not have been able to get into India if Kuwaiti and Indian authorities hadn't been so co-operative."

Permanent link to Boing Boing post: (http://boingboing.net/2003_02_01_archive.html#90351481)

US INS destroys Canadian woman's passport, sends her to India

] First, air travelers had to submit to an electronic wand
] waved over the body. Then they were asked to remove their
] shoes. After that, their checked luggage was opened and
] searched. Now, with the nation under a Code Orange alert,
] local police are pulling over drivers as they approach
] airport terminals for random searches of their vehicles.

washingtonpost.com: Police Searching Cars at Random Outside Airports

So, here is an official U.S. Government site that explains terrorist attack preparedness using the format of airline saftey instruction cards. "Duck and Cover..."

Ready.gov - Be Informed - Chemical threat - Visual Guide

] Searching for sudden "bursts" in the usage of particular
] words could be used to rapidly identify new trends and
] sort information more efficiently, says a US computer
] scientist.

Finding emerging fads in blog data

I like military surplus clothing. I like it because its drab... not flashy. I like it because its got a lot of pockets. I like it because its made for a purpose rather then a market. I like it because it doesn't have a brand. Military surplus clothing is the closest you can come to wearing something that isn't an advertisement for itself. Something that exists outside of the ever shifting moods of fashion.

Of course, I don't really own any military surplus clothing. The reason is that actually buying it is a pain in the ass. You have to order it out of specialty catalogs that cater to gun fetishists and shell shocked Vietnam veterans or travel out during banking hours to run down little outlets in the worst parts of town. Putting a huge amount of effort into avoiding fashion is exactly the same as putting a huge amount of effort into following it. I don't care and I don't want to care.

So I shop at Abercrombie and Fitch. A&F sells knock off military surplus clothing. It looks right. Its comfortable. Its available in any shopping mall in America. Its conveinient. I shop there for exactly the same reason that all geeks hate radio shack and yet slip in there on a regular basis. Because even though it sucks, its the easiest way to get what you need.

A&F is an extremely strange establishment. They sell clothing that is supposed to look like it came from a thrift shop and is 5-10 years old. But they put their logo on all of it. Promimently. So that everyone knows you bought it at an upscale store. You want to look like you shop at the thrift store but you want everyone to know that you shop at an expensive place. Quite an absurd paradox.

Fortunately, the logos on the pants aren't prominent. Thats what I usually buy there. Pants. The logos still annoy the hell out of me. I've considered cutting them off, but they are well attached, and they are subtle enough. Again, putting a huge amount of effort into avoiding fashion is the same thing as following it.

So I was there two months ago. I was with my sister. I needed a coat. I was out of luck. So I went across the hall into another store, which was literally an A&F knock off. Tommie Hillfiger to my Ralph Lauren. My sister warned me not to go in, but I insisted. It was so bad in there that it literally made my skin crawl.

Thats what this book is about.

The fads that rise out of the ether that you identify with because they mean something real, and the fads that are handed down by the Gap which you shudder at because they are inhuman. The way you can usually FEEL the difference, on sight.

This website is a grand experiment at figuring out if we can find those real fads at their source and make them move faster. And at the same time an attempt to escape those Gap fads that Americans want free of so desperately that the emotions manifest as protest movements against international finance bodies. And this website even has its own fake fad now, four strange looking boxes in the corner of your screen. And really the only way this site will be able to support itself is through advertising. Quite an absurd paradox.

I've only just started reading this book, but I think its likely to be required reading for MemeStreamers. I'm finding it full of rich observations on the subjects at hand.

] Nokia on Tuesday said it's working with Hewlett-Packard
] to let customers print content from their cell phones.

Can anyone think of a good application for this? I'm stumped.

Can you hear me now, killing a tree?

] It must have been quite a sight - a near-naked man
] careering down a road on a motorised barstool, with his
] backside on fire.

New Zealand News - NZ - Fast barstool in hot water