] Concerned that information about your file-sharing
] username may have been subpoenaed by the RIAA? Check here
] to see if your username is on one of the subpoenas filed
] with the D.C. District Court.

EFF: RIAA Subpoena Database

] When I mentioned in last week's column that I would this
] week be writing about a legal way to do a successful
] music downloading business -- a business that would
] threaten the Recording Industry Association of America
] and its hegemony -- dozens of readers wrote to me trying
] to predict what I would write. Some readers came at the
] problem from a purely technical perspective, ignoring the
] fact that the real issues here aren't technical but
] legal. Some readers took a legal approach, but they
] tended to ignore the business model. Some were looking
] solely for the business model. Interestingly, nobody
] even came close to my idea, which makes me either a total
] loon or a diabolical genius. Truth be told, I'm probably
] more of a diabolical loon.
]
]
] The reason I am even writing this column is two-fold.
] The biggest reason is simply because I would like people
] to consider lateral solutions to problems. I am pushing
] the concept of problem solving in a new way. There is no
] particular methodology here, just the underlying concept
] that if things aren't working the way you like, think of
] something different. Too often, people restrict their
] thinking or they somehow expect the world to change just
] for them, which it won't. But taking a lateral approach
] often yields interesting results. And once you've found
] an approach, maybe it can be applied to a different
] problem. What I am abo

Cringely's crazy idea

Elonka wrote:
] ] I landed in Los Angeles at 11:30 PM, and it took me
] ] another hour to get to my hotel. The city was booked, and
] ] I was lucky to get a reservation where I did. When I
] ] checked in, the clerk insisted on making a photocopy of
] ] my driver's license. I tried fighting, but it was no use.
] ] I needed the hotel room. There was nowhere else I could
] ] go. The night clerk didn't really care if he rented the
] ] room to me or not. He had rules to follow, and he was
] ] going to follow them.
]
] ] The only way to change security is to step outside the
] system
] ] and negotiate with the people in charge.

Or the other way is to say "fuck the system" and use a fake ID for such insurgencies! ;)

Seriously... if he had to photocopy your ID, what is their policy for disposing of the photo copy after you have checked out?? That would mondo-suck if a dumpster diver was able to harvest enough info out of the hotel trash to commit identity theft.

Laughing Boy

RE: Bruce Schneier: 'How to Fight'

] Hatch on Tuesday surprised a Senate hearing on copyright
] issues with the suggestion that technology should be
] developed to remotely destroy the computers of people who
] illegally download music from the Net.
] The senator's site makes extensive use of a JavaScript
] menu system developed by Milonic Solutions, a software
] company based in the United Kingdom. The
] copyright-protected code has not been licensed for use on
] Hatch's website.
]
] "It's an unlicensed copy," said Andy Woolley, who runs
] Milonic. "It's very unfortunate for him because of those
] comments he made."

] A spokesman in Hatch's office responded, "That's ironic"
] before declining to put Wired News in contact with the
] site's webmaster. He deferred comment on the senator's
] statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which did
] not return calls.

Oh f'ing HYSTERICAL! "Pot calling the kettle black"? I hope this makes the big media channels to show what a hypocrite he really is.

Wired News: Orrin Hatch: Software Pirate?

] The reason these net people get away with all kinds of
] stuff is that they work for no one. They put stuff up
] with no restraints. This, of course, is dangerous, but
] it symbolizes what the Internet is becoming.

Becoming? I guess Bill thinks the free press (free expression?) is a dangerous thing..

] So all over the country, we have people posting the most
] vile stuff imaginable, hiding behind high tech
] capabilities. Sometimes the violators are punished, but
] most are not. We have now have teenagers ruining the
] reputations of their peers in schools on the Internet.
] Ideologues accusing public officials of the worst things
] imaginable. And creeps gossiping about celebrities in
] the crudest of ways.

How is this the fault of the Internet? Would Bill have us start to place limits on speech on the net?

Bill is angry about "word of mouth". "Word of mouth" pre-dates the Internet by thousands years. Its just grown more powerful and attained further reach due to the recent advances of information technology. Much in the same way it did because of the telephone, mail service, etc.. If this is a bad thing, then our human ability to communicate is a bad thing..

Do we need to return to the old arguments about "right to reply" and "equal time"? Europe seems happy to do so.. A mistake we made in the US for awhile, before we came to the conclusion that the entire concept was flawed..

] The Internet has become a sewer of slander and libel,
] an unpatrolled polluted waterway, where just about
] anything goes. For example, the guy who raped and
] murdered a 10-year old in Massachusetts says he got
] the idea from the NAMBLA Web site that he accessed from
] the Boston public library. The ACLU's defending NAMBLA
] in that civil lawsuit.

Is NAMBLA the problem? Or the web? Oh! Its the web! Thanks for clearing that up Bill!

Oh yeah, and the ACLU is also bad.. Couldn't have one of his rants without shit talking the association who's mission it is to protect our civil liberties..

See a common thread here? A gross mis-understanding of what freedom of speech means? Its not freedom of speech if only the people you think should be allowed to talk, can talk.

] So which is the bigger threat to America? The big
] companies or the criminals at the computer?
] Interesting question.

Take note, what brought this on was someone saying something about Bill that Bill didn't like. As the story goes.. The San Francisco Chronicle posts a story with an error, blogs link to story, Bill gets pissed at blogs. Now we have this Talking Point's memo, where he is pretty much suggesting that speech on the net should have limits. This is bullshit of the highest order.

Bill seems to think that the only speaking should be done from the top of the ivory tower.. An opinion that seems to be common in the big media circles..

This guy is really dangerous.

FOXNews.com | Bill O'Reilly still an idiot

] Baghdad was hectic when two blogging friends e-mailed me
] to suggest that I track down "Salam Pax." I had no idea
] who or what they were talking about. I could have handed
] over the job of sorting out this Salam Pax thing to my
] interpreter—he was a clever and funny Iraqi who never
] failed to provide what I needed, whether it was
] interviews or pizza—but I let it pass. I thought I had
] better things to do.

... and it turns out that Iraqi interpreter was Salam Pax.

Salam Pax Is Real - How do I know Baghdad's famous blogger exists? He worked for me. By Peter Maass

] Ever since the invention of the printing press,
] governments have tried to make an ally out of owners of
] the means of information distribution. That's as old a
] story as when the powers that be tried to suppress
] Gutenberg's Bible. Not because they didn't believe in
] the Bible, but because they didn't believe everyone
] should be able to get one. This is a 600-year-old
] story. It's not a new story. But it's news to the United
] States that one side should get this close to that goal.

Strong words from Reed Hundt about the new FCC media ownership rule changes. Ted Turner has also come out strongly opposed to this in recent days. Basically the deal is that soon all the TV will be owned by Fox in the same way that all the radio stations are owned by Clear Channel.

[IP] Former FCC chairman: Deregulation is a right-wing power grab

Dementia wrote:
] ] Clothing shops and factories have been given a written
] ] order to stop producing clothes that stray from the
] ] strict female dress codes, the head of a clothing trade
] ] union in Tehran told a local newspaper.
] ]
] ] Long, shapeless black coats and head coverings have been
] ] mandatory women's wear - regardless of religion - since
] ] the country's Islamic revolution 24 years ago.
] ]
] ] However, in recent times some Iranian women have been
] ] sporting shorter, paler coats that end at the knee and
] ] hug the body.
] ]
] ] Some don colourful headscarves that allow their hair to
] ] spill out from underneath.
] ]
] ] But now dress shops have been told they have a month to
] ] clear their shelves of items that do not conform to the
] ] code.
] ]
] ] Some traders in various shopping districts in Tehran told
] ] news agency AFP they had already been raided by police.
]
] I know - I just don't understand the culture. Still, I
] consider this moronic. So your women _want_ to look beautiful,
] and you won't let them? Idiots caging birds and not only never
] letting them fly, but covering them so no one can appreciate
] their beauty.

I don't understand the culture either. And I don't have to. Clearly the attempt to conceal women’s bodies is a sign of insecurity (remember the Taliban?) "if no one can see how beautiful your woman is, its that much less likely someone will try to seduce her from you."

I don't agree with any culture that oppresses people in such a manner. In Saudi Arabia, its still legal to own slaves, and you can have your hands cut off for petty shoplifting. Adultery in many Muslim countries is an offense punishable by death - but normally only for the woman. The offending male goes free with no punishment.

This culture still lives in the dark ages in so many respects. Is it any wonder they resort to pathetic acts of terrorism (kill first, negotiate later) to try and force their out dated ideals on the rest of the world?

Will the Muslim countries PLEASE join the rest of the world in the 21’st century???

Laughing Boy

RE: BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Iran tells women to button up

] Clothing shops and factories have been given a written
] order to stop producing clothes that stray from the
] strict female dress codes, the head of a clothing trade
] union in Tehran told a local newspaper.
]
] Long, shapeless black coats and head coverings have been
] mandatory women's wear - regardless of religion - since
] the country's Islamic revolution 24 years ago.
]
] However, in recent times some Iranian women have been
] sporting shorter, paler coats that end at the knee and
] hug the body.
]
] Some don colourful headscarves that allow their hair to
] spill out from underneath.
]
] But now dress shops have been told they have a month to
] clear their shelves of items that do not conform to the
] code.
]
] Some traders in various shopping districts in Tehran told
] news agency AFP they had already been raided by police.

I know - I just don't understand the culture. Still, I consider this moronic. So your women _want_ to look beautiful, and you won't let them? Idiots caging birds and not only never letting them fly, but covering them so no one can appreciate their beauty.

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Iran tells women to button up

] Mercado, who brushed back strands of brown hair from her
] reddened eyes as she spoke, has a story that has not
] changed from the start. She told the Richardson police
] officer who responded to the store's call that she had
] always taken pictures of her children nude, and that it
] wasn't uncommon in her native Peru to do so. They were
] innocent baby pictures, taken for the family's benefit,
] she said.
]
] Five days later, when a state child welfare investigator
] and two detectives arrived at her house, Mercado again
] insisted that she saw nothing wrong with the photos. She
] allowed the group to search the couple's cramped room,
] and the detectives went through everything, including
] their photo albums, apparently looking for more evidence
] of child porn. They found nothing.
]
] "We fought so hard to come to this country," says
] Mercado, a 33-year-old who was a nurse in Peru and
] aspires to become licensed in the United States one day.
] "For this to happen is unbelievable."

This is crazy. People are so afraid that they're going to miss a child abuse case that they go after everything and anything.

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