] FCC Chairman Michael Powell has indicated that he would
] like to move more Internet access services into the
] category of "information services," which have fewer
] regulations and likely would not be subject to CALEA.
] That alarms DSL providers such as EarthLink, which fear
] that deregulation means that former Baby Bells such as
] Verizon and BellSouth will raise their rates for access
] to the copper wire that runs to telephone subscribers'
] homes.

(Comments from Decius)

As CALEA was originally written, it would have required anyone building any kind of network to provide the FBI with access at the location of the FBI's choice. I.E. run a cable between two computers in your house, and you'll have to run a third cable to Kansas for the FBI. And, as originally written, you pick up the tab for it.

Well, the phone companies managed to get the feds to agree to pick up the tab, and the EFF managed to get the law to only apply to telecom services and not information services. Of, course, the EFF did this by agreeing to support the law if it only applied to telecom. This was the endorsement the FBI needed to get the law passed, and the internet community was very unhappy with this compromise. The result was that the EFF split in two. Part of it (the anti-compromise piece) retained the name EFF and moved to San Francisco (it was felt that actually living in Washington had corrupted them), the other part (pro-compromise) stayed in Washington and became known as the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT).

Now, the impracticalities of connecting small computer networks to some sort of central monitoring center aside, when I, and I think most people, read the resulting compromise, it was clear that CALEA applied to POTS telephone service and that is all.

While it was inevitable that this would come up again, additional Congressional action is required. The way that they are attempting to avoid this oversight by confusing the issue with that of telecom competition is clearly dishonest, and I am very disappointed to see Earthlink, of all companies, gleefully jumping on the bandwagon.

The FBI's insidious CALEA strategy

] In DIY culture, consumers are the producers, owning the
] tools of production -- a laptop instead of guitar, bass
] and drums. The bedroom is the studio and factory
] machinery moves out of the nightclub onto the Internet
] for millions to access. The media monopolies are fighting
] back, but with the airwaves gobbled up by conglomerates,
] homespun mash-ups may be the people's digital antidote.

Salon on Mash-ups and their IP related problems.

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | The mash-up revolution

] There will be no final pictures from inside the
] World Trade Center in the instant replay.
] There will be no final pictures from inside the
] World Trade Center in the instant replay.
]
] There will be no RealVideo of 2600-reading,
] Linux-booting white hat hacktivists
] And Mickey Mouse in the public domain.
] The theme song will not be written by Jack Valenti or
] Hilary Rosen, nor sung by Metallica, Dr. Dre,
] Christina Aguilera, Matchbox 20, or Blink-182.
] Revolution is not an AOL Keyword.
]
] Revolution will not be right back after
] Pop-up ads about eCommerce, eTailers, or eContent.
] You will not have to worry about a
] Cookie in your browser, a bug in your email, or a
] Worm in your recycling bin.
] Revolution will not run faster with Intel inside.
] Revolution, dude, is not getting a Dell.
] Revolution will increase your Google rank.
]
] Revolution is not an AOL Keyword, is not an AOL Keyword,
] Is not an AOL Keyword, is not an AOL Keyword.
] Revolution will be no stream or download, dear Netizen;
] Revolution must still be live.

This is an update of the very famous Gil Scott-Heron Poem of the 60's "The Revolution will not be Televised"*. Though I believe our elcetronic connectedness DOES empower revolutionary ideas and movements in a way unlike anything in the past, there is still an amount of candy-coating that surrounds it and lulls people to inaction.

*"...The revolution will not be right back after a message
bbout a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.
You will not have to worry about a dove in your
bedroom, a tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl.
The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath.
The revolution will put you in the driver's seat."

(Rattle didn't realise this had _never_ been meme'd.. Wow.)

Revolution is not an AOL Keyword

] Moreover, 802.15.3 offers reliable quality of service,
] the IEEE said. It uses Time Division Multiple Access to
] allocate channel time among devices to prevent conflicts
] and provides new allocations for an application only if
] enough bandwidth is available.

Bandwidth reservation

IEEE issues new spec for high-speed wireless streaming - Computerworld

] "I am a U.S. university student who has recently come
] across 2 remote exploits for a homework program used by
] colleges nationwide. Both vulnerabilities allow students
] to give themselves arbitrary scores, and possibly execute
] arbitrary code. To further emphasize the scope of this
] vulnerability, I have written and -selftested
] proof-of-concept exploit code. Naturally, I want to share
] this information with their software engineers, and would
] even be nice enough and suggest a means to fixing it.
] However, with the state of current intellectual property
] and reverse-engineering laws, I hesitate to do so out of
] fear of litigation or academic disciplinary action. As an
] ethical geek, what do -you- do?"

this sounds familiar.

Disclosure of Major Software Exploits by Students?

] An even greater risk is putting this subpoena power in
] the hands of anyone willing to pretend to have a copyright
] claim. These fraudulent requests will be impossible to
] distinguish from legitimate ones.

(Comments from Decius)

The EFF spoke of this at Defcon... That as these subpoenas become an established proceedure, which is almost the case now, they will be a powerfull tool for stalkers, batterers, and other kinds of predators. You don't really care about being in contempt of court if you are planning to assault someone. Predators will use these subpoenas to track down their victims. The internet will really become a very unsafe place unless you use an anonymizing proxy network.

Whether its the elminiation of judicial oversite for subpoenas or the approval of vigilanti computer hacking, Congress seems to be absolutely committed to the erosion of critical, fundamental pillars that underlie the very rule of law in the United States in an attempt to give their friends in the media industries what they want. Enabling predators is obviously far far worse then any amount of copyright infringement that might be going on, but thats just the beginning. If they continue down this road, Congress must eventually must conceed that by picking away at the rule of law they are in fact picking away at their own authority and their own reasons for existance. Do it here, and establish that its legal here, and it will pop up somewhere else, and then again, and again, until there are very serious threats to the stability of this system of goverment.

Of all possible ways to address this problem, these people have chosen a path that is dumber then any I had imagined... Between these actions, and the pressures they exert which will naturally lead to the development of extremely strong anonymizing proxy technology, Congress is breaking ground, at this moment, on a very, very ugly future for all of this. And they have absolutely, positively, no fucking clue about the implications of their actions. Tim May might just turn out to have been right all along.

The implications of DMCA subpoenas on privacy/stalking

] Striking electricians have reached a tentative deal with
] the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, an agreement that
] could end the longest strike in the plant's history.
]
] Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical
] Workers Local 1289 were due to vote on the proposal
] Thursday and would return to work on Monday if the offer
] is accepted.
]
] The deal was reached early Tuesday after a marathon
] negotiating session. Neither side would provide details
] of the settlement, but officials with the Lacey plant
] were optimistic that it would be approved.

Newsday.com - Striking electricians, nuclear plant operators reach tentative deal

] The Electronic Frontier Foundation is proud to host EFF's
] Freedom Fest 2003 on Saturday, August 9, from Noon to 5pm
] at Golden Gate Park's Music Concourse Bandshell. This
] free event will showcase an eclectic lineup of
] performers, including award-winning Bay Area musicians
] and an array of other talented artists.

I'll be at this.

EFF: Freedom Fest 2003

] U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer found that
] Ontario-based Research in Motion had violated patents
] held by NTP Inc. of Arlington for the radio-wave
] technology that undergirds the handheld BlackBerry. The
] judge ordered RIM to pay NTP $53.7 million in damages,
] interest and attorneys' fees.
]
] Spencer also ordered RIM to stop selling BlackBerry
] software and services and nine hand-held models. But the
] judge delayed imposing that decision because he said RIM
] would be "irreparably injured" without the chance to
] appeal.
]
] "If they don't win the appeal, the BlackBerry's off the
] market in the United States," said Jim Wallace, the
] lawyer for NTP.

Lawsuit May Curtail Sales Of BlackBerrys (TechNews.com)

] In an announcement that shook the California political
] establishment, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday
] he intends to run for governor.
]
] "I will pump up Sacramento," the former bodybuilder and
] "Terminator 3" star said on the "Tonight Show with Jay
] Leno."

sigh..

It wasn't a T3 publicity stunt