IRS Compromises Taxpayer Privacy
So now even the fuckin IRS is selling your personal data to spammers (of the junk mail kind). Sorry, targeted mail. Which makes it worse, because rather than just sending names and addresses, the IRS is sending names and addresses that fit a particular demographic.
"The parents of Ghyslain Raza, the infamous "Star Wars Kid," have filed a $160,000 lawsuit against the classmates who posted their son's humiliating video to the Net. The episode landed Ghyslain in a phsychiatric hospital, according to the suit."
I dunno, seems like a hard case to prove. For one, his name is "Ghyslain" so some form of lifetime mockery is to be expected. The parents should sue themselves for that. Secondly, if the kid wasn't such a spaz, he wouldn't have made the tape in the first place and because he is such a spaz it's going to be hard to say that the tape was the proximate cause of his need for psychiactric care.
Just goes to show that humor and not taking yourself seriously can save you a lot of bullshit. Like psychiactric wards. Also, kicking the shit out of the assholes who posted the video would really provide some nice closure, one would think.
Germany's dog-eating catfish found dead
Words fail me.
Woman Banned for Criticizing Bush's Legs
Note to self: add Virginia Borders music stores to the "Backs against the wall first when the revolution comes" category.
Wow. So, you're saying that once the GOP attained majority power, they abandonded all pretenses of reform and change and instead now try to strengthen their hold on power, particularly with central figures?
I'm shocked! Shocked! I tell you.
Two veteran cops investigated in dust-up with rookie at bar
Fuckin cops. The provincial, blue-line-protecting, above-the-law assmunches are the ones that give all the rest a bad name. And that "their drinks were laced" red herring is so absurd, I want to slap the reporter. Kudos to the young cop for standing up to the veterans who (allegedly) committed the felonious destruction of police property.
Nuns sentenced for antiwar protest
So these "dangerously irresponsible" malcontents will be behind bars for 2.5-3.42 years. Their professions? Nuns. Their respective ages? 68, 55, and 66. The amount of damage they caused? $1000.
This is what's known as a "chilling effect." It's also what's known as an extreme overreaction to tresspass.
Armed men take up positions in Manila
Holy cow! Rogue elements of the Philippino army have taken control of parts of downtown Manila. Crazy ass shit, yo. Betchya Bruce Willis plays someone involved here at some point (although at this point in his career, it may be as the “Grizzled Veteran Presence Who Dies 2/3rds of the Way Through to Provide Protagonist More Pathos” role).
Microsoft Moves to Weather Time of Slow Growth
More stable than ever before!
"Mr. Gates acknowledged today that the company's error reporting service indicated that 5 percent of all Windows-based computers now crash more than twice each day."
For reference, cmoore.com has been up for over 180 days running without fail, and some BSD sites are approaching three years or so. MS blows.
Microsoft: Owned (by InterTrust patents)
It's still preliminary, but it's looking pretty serious. I say MSFT just says "fuck it, no DRM at all then. Hollywood can fend for itself." I might actually buy their next OS if they did that.
Well, OK. Maybe not.
AOL Subscribers Down by 846,000
That's 846,000 fewer people not paying the Internet's version of the stupid tax anymore. Whatever. There's always going to be some giant conglomerate ready to make a "safe" zone for all the sheep out there.
Then again, there's always hope…
Elderly Are Targets in Internet Subpoenas
Hi! We're the RIAA. We think someone… in your general vicinity… has downloaded music that our plantation owner overlords "own"… so… we're going to sue you! Isn't that great! Aren't we geniuses? We rule! w00t!
Don't Spam This Deputy Minister
The Russian Deputy Minister of Communications got spammed, (like a n00b) asked to be removed, and then received even more spam.
This being Russia, he decided to get even. By sending spam phone messages to the numbers listed in the spam he got. Nonstop. 24/7.
"They wanted to joke us around, so we decided to joke them around, too," Korotkov said flatly.
Somehow, I don't think the word he used was "joke."
Russia's a crazy interesting place. I think it would be… exciting to live there right now. I'd probably get mugged and left for dead in Gorky Park, but it would be a fun ride.
Another critical Windows flaw found
This one comes through your MIDI driver of all things. Add this to yesterday's super-fast password crack and… hey, anyone remember what happened to "Trustworthy computing"?
Grr. Nothing angers me more than sworn officers of the court not respecting the law that they are to uphold. In this case: ashcroft and his DoJ cronies. Massaoui is a scapegoat, a lightning rod put out there to deflect attention away from the utter incompetence, the complete corruption, the moral turpitude of the current administration.
And you know what? Because Massaoui is such an asshole and stands up for his rights, he's going to show them exactly what they don't want to see: a mirror.
He's also likely to be taken to a secret tribunal and executed by the State because we now live, thanks to the Supreme Court and the duhbya brownshirts in Florida, in a banana republic.
There is no excuse, none whatsoever, that can justify not granting Massaoui his Constitutional Sixth Amendment rights. Do the right thing, DoJ. Run a fair trial.