meta-roj

traffic

bhutan bans smoking

bésame mucho

spam spam spam spam

radio free europe. poland.

carnivore is dead.

FBI Retires Controversial E-Mail Surveillance Tool [reuters, january 18, 2005]

The monitoring system developed to intercept the e-mail and other online activities of suspected criminals was not used in fiscal years 2003 and 2002, according to the reports obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center under the Freedom of Information Act.

long live carnivore!

FBI Retires Controversial E-Mail Surveillance Tool [reuters, january 18, 2005]

According to the reports, the FBI used commercially available software to conduct court-ordered Internet surveillance in criminal investigations 13 times during that time period.

epic is the group on this story, with plenty of resources.

epic.org [january 14, 2005]

The reports suggest that the FBI’s need for Carnivore-like Internet surveillance tools is decreasing, likely because ISPs are providing Internet traffic information directly to the government.

this probably means the government has a huge penis, huge breasts and the lowest rate available.

paint. bye bud

we’re coming up on inauguration day, and as a precuation and security is a huge issue this time around. let’s review.

united states capitol police press release, january 13, 2005

Prohibited Items

Firearms, weapons of any kind, ammunition (either real or simulated), explosives of any kind (including fireworks), knives, blades, or sharp objects (of any length), aerosol sprays, coolers, thermal or glass containers, mace, pepper spray, sticks, poles, pocket or hand tools (such as a leatherman), packages, backpacks, large bags, duffel bags, suitcases, laser pointers, posters, signs, placards (including supports structures), animals other than guide dogs or service dogs assisting handicapped individuals, strollers, chairs, umbrellas, alcoholic beverages, and any other items at the discretion of the security screeners that may pose a potential safety hazard.

let’s just zoom in on a couple things there…

posters.
signs.

i can only conclude that pieces of paper of cardboard with writing on them are extremely hazardous to the sign-bearer, facing potential beat-down by his fellow citizens, half of which probably disagree with anything that might be on said poster or sign.

fortunately, they haven’t banned t-shirts. yet.

sign me up for the next thoughtcrime reeducation seminar, please. before i hurt myself or the party.

some analysis of the election in florida… for your bemusement as we approach inauguration day.

Paper and pencil a winner in ’04 election [south florida sun-sentinel, january 16, 2005]

Florida’s touch-screen voting machines performed better in the Nov. 2 presidential election than they did in the March primary, but were still outmatched by older voting devices that use pencil and paper ballots, according to a South Florida Sun-Sentinel analysis.

…

Of 5 million votes analyzed from the November election, there were 18,555 examples of flawed or unregistered presidential ballots. Of 2.7 million votes on touch screens reviewed, 11,824 ballots had no vote registered for president. Of 2.3 million votes on optical-scan machines, 6,731 ballots were not recorded or flawed.

hmmm. what does diebold (one manufacturer of electronic touch-screen voting machines that gets a lot of space here) have to say about undervoting?

[diebold election systems faq

Q: Can you under-vote using the AccuVote-TSX terminal?

A: The AccuVote-TSX touch-screen ballot station offers a summary page to the voter once the voter has sequenced through the entire ballot. The summary page will indicate via a distinct color which races have been under-voted. A touch of the screen on the under-voted race will cause the AccuVote-TSX to return the voter to the under-voted race within the ballot and allow the voter to complete the voting process. A voter can also step back and forth through the ballot, changing any selection until the ballot is “cast.” The system will allow an under-voted ballot to be cast if it was the voter’s intent not to vote in a race.

so all the undervotes on the diebold machines (at least) are intentional. by design. anyone want to reconcile this?

since… well, at least since i can remember, virginia’s been promoting itself with the slogan “virginia is for lovers.” but it’s not exactly true. it’s for certain kinds of lovers sure. lovers with state endorsements. until now.

Singles’ Sex No Longer a Va. Crime [washington post, january 14, 2005]

The state Supreme Court yesterday struck down as unconstitutional a 19th-century Virginia law making it a crime for unmarried couples to have sex.

activist judges, some might say. will say. oddly, this is coming from a “red state.”

for this, i’m going to limit my commentary to two links:

the opinion itself [pdf]

and, for a bit of perspective on the issue, i turn to the work [mp4, mov, wmv, mp3] of one eric schwartz, whom i’ve had the pleasure of meeting in the past.

so, with all that in mind, and in this brief window between the decision from the supreme court and the seemingly inevitable crackdown of “family values” under the current regime, i strongly suggest all you celebate single virginians go out and fuck like rabbits. now.

update: for the record, fornication in virginia was a Class 4 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $250. plus, of course, whatever you had to spend to get her to put out in the first place.