] What we need are corresponding mechanisms to prevent
] abuse. This is the proper question: "Should we allow law
] enforcement to use new technology without any judicial
] oversight, or should we demand that they be overseen and
] accountable?" And the Fourth Amendment already provides
] for this in its requirement of a warrant.

[ Yeah, accountability is the most critical thing here. The judges need to be in charge of this, and if a warrant turns out bad and violates an innocent mans privacy, then the judge gets the smackdown. There's a bigger problem with this, however, which is that judges are already overworked, and finding competent judges is not that easy. Anyone who's had to go to court for anything knows just how backed up and inefficient the whole thing is... that's gonna have to get fixed too, or the accountability Schneier argues for will be hollow, applied to persons we can't afford to lose... -k]

Newsday.com - Opinion

Look at their list of customers and product descriptions. Imagine using this against your data stores! There is a free client available for windows, along with some sample data.

Professional Visualization Tools

] From her front porch, Alice Dembowski has watched her
] city change, one tidy house at a time.
]
] "Chinese, Polish, Bosnian, Polish, Bengali,"
] she recites, her finger moving down the block. "They
] were all Polish at one time."
]
] "I've made friends. I go to their weddings.
] (But) we're losing our tradition and I'm
] getting mad," Dembowski said. "If they're going to live in
] America, why can't they be more American?"
]
] Next month, Hamtramck will become one of the few cities
] in the United States where the Islamic call to prayer is
] broadcast onto public streets. The impact of that
] decision is reverberating across the nation.

That woman's statement is humerous in its obvious ignorance.

This is a 4 minute thing that they blast 5 times a day. There is a sample on this site. For the most part I think its cool. I wouldn't mind it especially in an urban area. But, of course, I mostly like it because its alien. Others will hate it for the same reason.

I think the critical question is, at dawn? If this thing is loud enough to wake people up its a no go. I strongly support your right to blast islamic rites (or heavy metal for that matter) as long as you're not interfering with other people's sleep.

Community standards must factor in here. Obviously I couldn't set up a heavy metal loud speaker that played megadeth for 4 minutes five times a day. The only way to draw the line between this and that is to ask what the community is comfortable with, regardless of what you think of the community's reasons for choosing to be comfortable or uncomfortable with it. I don't see any way around that conceptually.

In general I think its a good thing to promote the notion that in the west Islam is acceptable. In the East they might ask if other cultures are similarly accepted.

(Of course, there is always the story about the Orb concert where they took a record of this thing and cut it into their mix because they thought it sounded cool and ended up getting their show shut down because there were Islamic people in the audience who got offended...)

Cultures collide in diverse Hamtramck

angus wrote:
] Even if you are not a fan you should checkout some of the
] stories and links on his web page. I think Howard is making up
] for lost time. He sat on this domain for many years with
] almost no content posted and now the site is suffering from
] information overload. You be the judge.

This bruhaha over Jackson's breast, in the context of recent consolidation of broadcast media, is entertaining enough to comment on, but not fundamental enough to be angry about, IMHO.

First, Jackson's "incident" was clearly a promotional stunt for her new album. It apparently didn't help much. Whatever.

Second, I really liked Stern's movie. I had such great hope for him. But my only access to him is his television show, and Stern's television show sucks. If you've seen one you've seen them all. Its Stern "convincing" some stripper to take her clothes off, but I don't even get to see her naked because his show has always been censored. Between my cable and internet access I've got much better porn at my fingertips if thats what I'm in for.

Frankly, I don't care about the consolidation of broadcast radio and television because I'm not listening and I'm not watching. I get my information from the internet. I never watch broadcast television unless its the super bowl or something. The stereo in my car doesn't work, and when I do fix it I'll probably get XM. I think XM is over-priced, but broadcast radio is so bad that its almost not worth the money to fix my stereo if thats what I'm going to be listening to.

Stern should be using his website and he should be on XM. I'm sure that people who work in the old broadcast world view these new media as ghettos for programming thats not popular enough to make it in the real world. That perception is wrong. There is a fundamental change occurring from an environment where we all accessed the common denominator to an evironment where no one accesses the common denominator because there is enough bandwidth available to provide each of us with something that really does interest us. This is the future. The broadcast world is a ghetto of programming that no body really likes but which appeals to the majority of us on some low level.

All these "community" groups who are pissed off that consolidation has pushed them off the air need to get their asses in gear and start using the internet. They'll have real power to communicate and organize online. Its completely stupid for them pawn after dead media. I agree with the conservative's push to get these people wired, even if they did do it for selfish financial reasons. These changes are inevitable anyway. Within my lifetime I think I'll see the broadcast radio and television spectrum reallocated for another purpose, and I'll celebrate the day.

RE: Howard Stern: A General in the Culture Wars?

So, how many people can say they walked away from $3.6 million to do something they really believed in? Unfotunately, the story took a sad turn. This guy is a hero in the truest sense.

SI.com - NFL - CNN: Former Cardinals safety Tillman killed in action - Friday April 23, 2004 10:53AM

(U:) Upon further consideration it occurs to me that those of you who are trying to figure out what you think about Bush could do worse then to pay close attention to this situation. Bush is not an intellectual. He likes to shoot from the hip. Regardless of how rational the conclusions here are, the WAY in which they were reached provides actual substance to the paranoid delusion that the U.S. supports Israeli expansionism. It is that paranoia that fuels much of the terrorist violence in the middle east, and its something we need to be combatting, not re-enforcing. It seems clear that this decision was counter to United States interests. Even conservative commentators seem to be scratching their heads on this one.

inignoct wrote:
] ] Informed of Palestinians' reaction, Sharon was quoted by
] ] two well-informed Israeli columnists covering his White
] ] House visit as saying: "They have a better understanding
] ] of the significance of (Bush's) letter than most
] ] Israelis. I said that we were going to deal them a lethal
] ] blow, and they were dealt a lethal blow."
] ]
] ] Over decades of Republican and Democratic
] ] administrations, the United States had officially viewed
] ] Israeli settlements implanted since the occupation of the
] ] West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Middle East war as an
] ] obstacle to peace.

On the one hand, Bush is mostly right. Those settlements aren't going away. He is saying that the Palestinians should have a contiguous state. Furthermore, Isreal is retreating from some of it's holdings.

Emotionally, however, there are serious problems with this. Mostly the fact that Sharon and Bush are sitting around making decisions about the Palestinian territories without any Palestinians at the table. Furthermore, Isreal gets to walk away with official recognition of formerly illegal settlements.

This kind of stuff dumps fuel in the general middle east fire about American fairness toward Arab interests. Most commentators seem to agree that its not a good time to be doing that.

RE: Palestinians Urge World to Challenge Bush Policy

Simson Garfinkel has the cover article in the April 2004 issue of MIT's Counterpoint Magazine. It's a short (three page) article, and worth the read.

You can download the full issue in PDF; no subscription is required. Here's a brief description, in his words:

"It's a combination of advice to current undergraduates and reflections about all of the money and time that I wasted in my 20's. Key lessons from the article:

- It turns out that grades matter after all.
- On the other hand, your choice of major doesn't matter much.
- Once you graduate, it's really important to stay in school (i.e.: continuing education)/
- Apply for things.
- Invest for your future (ie: save, save, save --- and don’t gamble with your savings).
- Don't make enemies --- the world is a small place.

I can wholeheartedly endorse all of Simson's lessons. You'll also find at least one of them in Anthony Zinni's "20 Principles."

On Leap Day I posted the lyrics to Pink Floyd's "Time" -- I was thinking about many of the same things Simson brings out in this article, particularly the post-college context.

Simson Garfinkel, on College

There are plenty of modern management techniques which the movement could employ to reinvigorate itself. Has, it, for instance, tried benchmarking itself against comparable movements? If street protest is too arduous for the membership, should it not think of outsourcing its more strenuous activities to the immigrants who already do most of Britain's tougher jobs? Taking that argument further, if domestic apathy is the problem, perhaps the answer is offshoring. A Mayday protest organised in, say, Libya or North Korea would really make a splash.

The finest in British wit, now available worldwide.

And it goes hand in hand with my recent suggestion that the Democrats hire a Bangalore call center to conduct a get-out-the-vote campaign.

From anarchy to apathy

This is an interesting look at a specific point in history as seen from both sides of the issue. Part of the MIT OpenCourseWare initiative, this information really points out how history is really all about perspective.

[This is really neat. -t ]

Black Ships & Samurai

His beautifully produced vignettes include not only the major figures like Hamilton and Jefferson, but also lesser ones like Hugh Henry Brackenridge, Eli Whitney and "a true American hustler," Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Calling CNN -- can we get Anderson Cooper to interview McDougall?

'Freedom Just Around the Corner': Rogue Nation