I know this isn't something that can be well-covered in a blog, so I'll keep it simple.
Capitalism, is not the practice of taking all the profit one can and keeping it. That's called theft. Capitalism, in its true form, is the practice of taking your resources, investing them in your community, and enriching as much of the community in the process as possible. Before capitalism, the western world essentially worked on theft and one other social/hierarchical structure, serfdom.
Serfdom is the practice allowing some of the community to use your resources, while you keep all the profits. Many modern corporations use this model. Like lords of days past, they distribute the profites to an elite class of property holders, save that they cannot keep due to theft, and the nasty habit serfs have of dying if they're not fed.
The modern improvement on serfdom that has allowed the corporation to blossom is called the "stock market" wherein the elite ruling class persuade the middle and lower classes into returning their profits to the corporation, in exchange for the belief that their own prosperity is tied to the prosperity of the corporation. That's a whole 'nuther article.
Modern capitalism, in most cases, is simple theft. The "willingness" of the client to purchase does not make profit-taking less than theft. We all learned this when we were three. If you traded the retarded kid in kindergarten a booger for his lunch money, you'd have to give it back. If you traded Suzy an iPod for her dead grandmas diamond broche, you have to give that back too, even though Suzy might *really* like the damned iPod.
My point is this: Capitalism is not a dirty word, being greedy and taking more than you need is wrong, and most importantly, all our good fortunes depend on the good fortunes of our neighbors.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Saturday, March 08, 2008
It's not $9.99, it's $10...
... for cryin' out loud!
Why do we put up with this? Seriously? It's not as if we don't understand it. It's irrelevant whether it 'works' or not. It's patently wrong to try to trick people, we all learned that in third grade, yet we put up with this bullshit.
It is clear the pricing fuel @ $2.889 isn't done for MY benefit. What is a $0.001 ? They'll tell you it's my $0.001 per gallon and they wouldn't want to cheat me out of it, but it's obvious that's not true. If it were true, why does the price always end with nine?
I'll tell you what it is: distraction. It is a way to distract my attention past what I'm doing and into the process of doing it. It is a way of resisting my intelligence by removing my decision making processes. Most importantly however, it is a net drain on society.
When a merchant prices an item at $9.99 instead of $10, what have they accomplished?
For starters, should you possess any to start with, they should have offended your intelligence. They are simultaneously insinuating that not only do you not have the presence of mind to realize that you're spending $10 instead of nine, but they're also suggesting that you're subject to being swayed by such a sophomoric ploy.
They waste a significant amount of effort and resources in supporting this inane behavior. Waste behaviors ranging from pissing away extra ink printing all those damned nines instead of zeros to increasing consumer confusion stems from silly notions like minus-one-whatever (i.e. penny, dollar, ten dollars, hundred dollars) pricing. Obfuscation of tax amounts, confusing and difficult calculations of discounts, and overly complicated signage all result in wasted brain cycles. All for the point of trying to separate you from your intelligence.
Most importantly however, minus-one pricing is a net drain on society. I say this not because of some vague fiscal calculation designed to entice, but because it is a state of mind.
We simply accept it. The "99-cent store" has replaced the "dollar store" both literally and physically. We, as a society have accepted that it is the nature of the universe for merchants to employ deceptive means in their efforts to sway our business, and even worse, we've given it our tacit approval. We don't even REGISTER how annoying it is to try to calculate a 20% discount on a 79 cent candy bar. We ACCEPT that the merchant pushes the envelope of his profit margin to its extremest limit.
Most of us are not concerned with whether our merchant is gleaning 8 cents or 9 per loaf of bread, or whether his profit margin is 23 or 23.9 or 24.1 cents per gallon of gas. We really don't care at all, but we all accept it quietly and look the other way, because we all know, deep down, that our whole society is broken, from its core.
That's because the core of our society is violent, animalistic and cruel, removed from puerile, bloody carnage on the savannah by the mere invocation of a scant few thousand years of "development". In all that time, in spite of all the accomplishments of our societies, we still allow that whatever means necessary to capture the profit of the day are the means that man, nay should be employed.
We legally bind the administrators of all publicly traded companies to an oath of maximizing profits by whatever means are necessary, within the bounds of existing law. Which is why "we understand why minus-one pricing exists". We accept it because we accept that we live in a world where profit belongs to the most aggressive, regardless of whether they deserve it or not.
Monday, March 06, 2006
no wonder terrorists are so excitable
they're all jacked up on METH!!!
You could be among the first affected by the USA Patriot Act poised for final congressional passage this week.
Besides terrorism, the bill takes aim at the production of methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug that cannot be manufactured without a key ingredient of everyday cold and allergy medicines. The bill would impose new limits next month for how much relief a person can buy over the counter.
And beginning Sept. 30, it'll take a flash of ID to buy that medication.
The legislation sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. and Jim Talent, R-Mo., would blanket the nation with one policy that would put medicines containing pseudoephedrine behind the counter and out of the reach of meth cooks.
The idiocy of ignoring with WHY people are meth/crank/crack/heroin addicts aside, what the FUCK is this doing in the "Patriot Act"?
jenni
once you go Gitmo, you never go back
....
If he were sent back to China, he might be executed, the man, identified only as Mahmut, told the panel at the start of his hearing, according to a transcripts released by the Pentagon.
"I do not want repatriation and am seeking political asylum," he said.
His fear, according to a review of dozens of other transcripts from hearings at the prison in eastern Cuba, was not uncommon among the detainees.
Prisoners from Uzbekistan, Yemen, Algeria, and other nations told tribunals that they or their families could be tortured or killed if they are sent home.
Some detainees worry about reprisals from militants who will suspect them of cooperating with U.S. authorities in its war on terror. Others say their own governments may target them for reasons that have nothing to do with why they were taken to Guantanamo Bay in the first place.
A man from Syria who was detained along with his father pleaded with the tribunal for help getting them political asylum -- in any country that will take them.
"You've been saying 'terrorists, terrorists.' If we return, whether we did something or not, there's no such things as human rights. We will be killed immediately," he said. "You know this very well."
luggage tape
great zombie jesus! I MUST have this. The TSA has to literally slice
the 4th amendment in half to leave one of those asinine little cards
in my luggage.
I know what my friends are getting for their birthdays.
peace,
jenni
keeping soldiers in the dark
...this is from an actual Marine in actual Iraq... i reckon right wing propoganda is acceptable when you got some towel-heads to jack.
Unfortunately anonomizers don't work out here (never have). Anyway, I had a few minutes today and thought I'd look and see what else was banned on the Marine web here. I think the results speak for themselves:
* Wonkette – “Forbidden, this page (http://www.wonkette.com/) is categorized as: Forum/Bulletin Boards, Politics/Opinion.”
* Bill O’Reilly (www.billoreilly.com) – OK
* Air America (www.airamericaradio.com) – “Forbidden, this page (http://www.airamericaradio.com/) is categorized as: Internet Radio/TV, Politics/Opinion.”
* Rush Limbaugh (www.rushlimbaugh.com) – OK
* ABC News “The Note” – OK
* Website of the Al Franken Show (www.alfrankenshow.com) – “Forbidden, this page (http://www.airamericaradio.com/) is categorized as: Internet Radio/TV, Politics/Opinion.”
* G. Gordon Liddy Show (www.liddyshow.us) – OK
* Don & Mike Show (www.donandmikewebsite.com) – “Forbidden, this page (http://www.donandmikewebsite.com/) is categorized as: Profanity, Entertainment/Recreation/Hobbies.”
Can Americans travel freely?
Still, some Americans think that 'if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear'. Were the Founding Fathers criminals trying to protect themselves when they inserted the 4th and 5th amendments into the Bill of Rights? After all, nobody who hasn't done anything wrong needs to worry about being searched or being forced to testify against himself.
...
The custom of showing ID at airports came about in July of 1996, in the wake of the TWA flight 800 disaster. Faulty fuel tank insulation caused TWA 800 to explode over Long Island Sound. Before we knew that, there was concern that terrorists had blown up the plane. According to former terrorism czar Richard Clarke's book, the ID requirement was instituted as a temporary measure so that then-President Clinton had something to announce to the families of the victims when he met with them....
Every government that has imposed totalitarian rules told its populace that it was doing so to "uphold freedom" or "improve the security of the homeland" or "root out terrorists and subversives." These ends do not justify unconstitutional means. We uphold freedom by exercising it – not by restricting it.
so i invite you all to do your part. According to what the government told the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Gilmore case, you can – you need only submit to secondary screening in order to fly anonymously.
Please try doing some or all of your travel by declining to show ID and report back about what happens to you. Our ultimate intent is to submit declarations from people such as yourself to the court and introduce hard evidence about what TSA's real policies and practices are. This would probably involve arriving an hour or so earlier in the airport than otherwise, to avoid missing planes while still determining what the rules are for ID-less travel.
Amateur science tinkering -- another casualty of the war on terror
Time for some more of those flippant, lock-kneed, goose-steppin' retorts explaining how everybody who's always been "on the right side of the law" or something like that will be able to buy a friggin' $1000 PYRO license so they can mess around with a chemical toy kit.
Come to think of it, i bet some of you got your start with exactly one of the kind of kits they're going to make it impossible for potential little rocket scientists such as yourself to ever get interested in the art of making things go BOOM!
peace,
jenni
The United States CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) has initiated criminal legal action against us and other chemical suppliers. In short, the CPSC would like to ban the public from all access to chemicals. This would mean an end to hobbies such as model rocketry, pyrotechnics and of course chemistry. One by one, our freedoms are slowly being taken away from us - this action must be stopped now.
Specifically, the CPSC is focusing on certain chemicals and metals at this time. The current CPSC injunction would require:
"Not sell, give away or otherwise distribute any of the following Metals for which the particle size is finer than 100 mesh (or particles less than 150 microns in size) to any recipient who does not possess a valid
manufacturing license for explosives issued by the ATF:"
Aluminum and Aluminum alloys
Magnalium metal
Magnesium metal
Magnesium/Aluminum alloys
Titanium and Titanium alloys
Zinc metal
Zirconium metal
"Not sell, give away or otherwise distribute any of the following chemicals to any recipient who does not possess a valid manufacturing license for explosives issued by the ATF:"
Antimony and antimony compounds
Benzoate compounds
Nitrate compounds
Permanganate compounds
Chlorate compounds
Perchlorate compounds
Salicylate compounds
Sulfur
or any other chemical or metal listed at 16 C.F.R. § 1507.2 to any recipient who does not possess a valid manufacturing license for explosives issued by the ATF"
"Not sell, give away or otherwise distribute any fuse in an amount greater than 25 feet per year per recipient who does not possess a valid manufacturing license for explosives issued by the ATF."
In addition, the injunction requires extensive record keeping (photocopies of drivers licenses and, if applicable, ATF licenses for all recipients, as well as detailed invoices maintained for at least seven years) and will require suppliers to provide those records to CPSC at any time on demand.
more A-hole legislation introduced in Congress
First, this is the most appropriate quote on technology chilling i've ever heard.
"... embarrass and shackle the progress of improvements of tomorrow by recording and registering as law the prejudices and errors of today” - Isambard Kingdom Brunel - 1847
New "Analog-hole" legislation news: from http://tinyurl.com/ldfal
"House introduces mandatory radio-crippling law
Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.) has introduced a bill to cripple all digital radios. The Audio Broadcast Flag Licensing Act of 2006 (H.R. 4861) requires all digital radio makers to build their devices so that they only permit "customary uses" of broadcasts. That means that no one ever gets to invent any new radio tech ever again unless the RIAA approves of it. Finally, it requires radio device makers to cripple their products to prohibit "unauthorized copying" -- which is a lot more broad than "illegal copying." As we've heard, the RIAA's position is that no copying is implicitly authorized -- they don't even think you should be allowed to rip your CDs."
keep watching, i'll send a "letter to your congress-people" link as soon as i find it.
peace,
jenni
this is getting out of HAND!
Ok, can somebody justify this? I can't believe that even the goosiest of our goose-stepping geese on this list can agree that Homeland Security should have ANY god-damned business looking at our credit card, or any other payments.
I'm really, really, really worried, and it's not because of terrorists.
peace,
jenni
What got him so upset might seem trivial to some people who have learned to accept small infringements on their freedom as just part of the way things are in this age of terror-fed paranoia. It's that "everything changed after 9/11" thing....
They paid down some debt. The balance on their JCPenney Platinum MasterCard had gotten to an unhealthy level. So they sent in a large payment, a check for $6,522.
And an alarm went off. A red flag went up. The Soehnges' behavior was found questionable.
....
After sending in the check, they checked online to see if their account had been duly credited. They learned that the check had arrived, but the amount available for credit on their account hadn't changed.
...
They were told, as they moved up the managerial ladder at the call center, that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified. And the money doesn't move until the threat alert is lifted.
hey, you're not here!
I arrived early at the airport because I was hoping to catch an earlier flight than the one I was booked on. But, I just missed it. ... So, we checked in at the kiosk, but it refused to give me my boarding pass. ... So, I waved over a desk agent who clicked some buttons and told me that I had already used my ticket....
She informed me that I had used my ticket and boarded the flight that had just left. This was surprising since I was standing in front of her with my feet planted firmly on the ground.
Papers please!
Justice William O. Douglas: "As nightfall does not come all at once,
neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when
everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight
that we all must be most aware of change in the air - however slight
- lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness."
http://tinyurl.com/k2xus
Thursday, January 19, 2006
whose data is it anyway???
unchecked corporations run like the egos of their leaders... that is to say grandioseness bordering on self-deification.
"(Bellsouth CTO Bill) Smith, echoing recent sentiments by AT&T Inc. chief executive Edward E. Whitacre Jr., responded that network operators must be free to control the type and quality of service on the system in which they have invested heavily.
Legislating otherwise "would be the same thing as saying to Google, 'I think we ought to have regulation on Google that says when I enter a search term, the top search result is always a random event,' " Smith said, claiming that Google allows clients to pay to influence the ranking of search results. In fact, Google does not allow payments to influence general search results, although advertisers pay for top billing on the lists that run on the right side of Google's pages."
It's amazing how little the "chief technology officer" knows about technology... it's like the f*cker thinks it's actually his data. In reality, it's mine and yours, and it doesn't belong to the network operators. Keep an eye on this one, kids... it's insidious.
peace,
jenni
Saturday, January 14, 2006
establishment vs. authority
I honestly hadn't thought about why i was asking, but you could be right. The fact is i've been asking people, more or less at random, "Do you respect authority or question it?". George and i have kicked the point around in the past, specifically how it relates to one's political affections.
I found that while outclassed linguistically and in the unenviable and morally indefensible position of lone defacto "liaison of America" in Europe, i was able to keep conversations safe but interesting by entering politically neutral ground. The irony of recognizing this as a useful tactic while celebrating a winter holidays in Switzerland was not lost on me.
The recurring caveat was one of separation. The central theme i heard was that the dictums of one's personal social contract always trumped whatever prevailing winds may blow today. Some people called it "the establishment" vs "authority". Some said "the laws of God always trump the laws of man". Some people said, "I may not know the law, but i know when things are wrong". One person characterized it thusly; "A person can be smart, but people are stupid."
Regardless, I present these links. I'm sure you will see the thread that caused me to pose my postulate. Please enjoy them in the order presented for maximum effect:
Ehrlichman's wikipedia entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ehrlichman#Political_life
Ehrlichman's testimony, 7/24/73 - http://tinyurl.com/dk864
Gonzales' actions expanding the executive - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Gonzales#War_on_Terror
Gonzales agrees to testify - http://tinyurl.com/atlrs
peace,
jenni
On Jan 14, 2006, at 10:08 AM, Theodore wrote:
Hopefully agreements and legislation were developed without duress or ill motives and are based on morality which probably has its roots in the Holy Bible (10 commandments). That's where British and US law are rooted anyway. That would argue for suspecting authority and subjecting it to more scrutiny since it is exercised by less than perfect men who may not be subject to or mindful of the rule of law as established in a document such as the US Constitution.
I have a feeling you're in the midst of arguing a point inversely from principle to a particular situation. Please proceed.
jenni x
[rant] Re: establishment vs. authority
fair enough... so which should we suspect first? Which should be subject to more scrutiny?
jenni
On Jan 13, 2006, at 11:28 PM, Theodore wrote:
I believe there is a connotation of history associated with establishment- that is, what has previously been established whether through agreement or legislation. Authority is transient and fleeting and in the hands of whoever has the most firepower at a particular place and a particular time.
jenni x
[rant] establishment vs. authority
what's the difference between "the establishment" and "authority"?
jenni
Monday, January 09, 2006
w00t! Comedy Central replies!
I take back everything i said. Comedy Central kicks ass.
jenni
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Viewer Services @ Comedy Central" <viewerservices@comedycentral.com>Date: January 9, 2006 8:03:22 AM PSTTo: < nope @ uh-uh.com >;Subject: RE: South Park - unbelievableDear Viewer:Thank you for your letter regarding the "South Park" episode entitled "Bloody Mary." We appreciate your concerns about the potential influences of outside special interest groups on the media and entertainment industries and particularly Comedy Central. Though Comedy Central did not include the "Bloody Mary" episode in a special year-end marathon of "South Park" episodes in deference to the Holidays, "Bloody Mary" did in fact air in every one of "South Park's" normally scheduled repeat timeslots. As satirists, we believe that it is our First Amendment right to poke fun at any and all people, groups, organizations and religions and we will continue to defend that right. Our goal is to make people laugh, and perhaps if we're lucky, even make them think in the process. Despite misleading claims from those who would like to claim victory, we have not permantly shelved the "Bloody Mary" episode from future airings due to outside pressure nor will we exclude it from future DVD releases.Sincerely,Comedy Central Viewer Services-----Original Message-----From: ComedyCentral Servers @ ComedyCentralSent: Friday, December 30, 2005 12:01 PMTo: Viewer Services @ Comedy CentralSubject: South Park - unbelievableName: jenni xE-mail Address: <>Message: Shame, shame, shame! Letting the Catholics strong arm you out of your integrity. South Park's irreverence is the ONLY thing that keeps me coming back to your testosterone-soaked network, and now you've gone and shown us you've collectively got no 'nads at all in the face of threats from zealots.disappointed,jennix
Saturday, December 24, 2005
the "legal" way to unlock a cellphone
I contacted Cingular (my carrier in the U.S.) with the following information (i have entered asterisks instead of sharing my personal info. Sorry, fans.)
Account # *********
Name on the account Jenni X
Mobile # ***-***-****
Phone make and model SonyEricsson s710a
IMEI # ********-******-*-**
( To get the IMEI #, look at the label on the original carton, or dial *#06# on the S710a. ) I called 1-800-331-0500. This got me to customer service, who transferred me to tech support. I told them i was going to Europe for a month and would like to use my phone. Eventually the rep asked me to fax my phone purchase info (& receipt)... she actually called me back and told me she'd submit my request although usually they would make me wait 90 days because i received a $50 discount on my $399 phone?)
A week later I called back, got transferred around a few times and then was told i'd have to wait, someone will be calling me. Finally, a couple of days later, i got the email below direct from Sony Ericsson. The rep from Cingular did call me back a day or two later to make sure i was all set.
Subsidy unlock code for IMEI **************** is *******************
1. For the unlocking of a locked Sony Ericsson, no Simcard is required.
2. Turn on the handset. Display will indicate "Insert SIM."
3. Press the left Arrow (<) button.
4. Press the star (*) button twice.
5. Press the left Arrow (<) button again.
6. You will briefly see the message "Personalized with MNC2" or "Personalized with MNC3".
7. Wait approximately three seconds.
8. The display will indicate "Network" and a picture of a closed lock.
9. Press Select.
10. The display will indicate "Unlock (Net)5" and "NCK:".
11. Enter the 16 digit code and press okay.
12. The handset will display "Network unlocked" and the display "Insert SIM" appears.
13. The handset is successfully unlocked.
Richard Diaz
Cingular Wireless
Technical Support-West
ATCC-Castle Call Center
Please do not reply to this e-mail as outside e-mail will be delivered to an unmonitored mailbox and automatically deleted. All questions should be directed at Cingular Wireless customer care 1-800-331-0500
That's it, all is well. I've been able to use several different providers during my current trip to Europe
peace,
jenni
Saturday, December 10, 2005
local.live.com privacy concerns
Microsoft's IP location database includes spooky datamined information about users' actual location that is not normally available by querying the publically accessible databases.
Be forewarned.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
branding in politics
(jennix's note: "..." denotes snip, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-beinhart/brand-x_b_11744.html )
If we know anything from the 2004 election, we know that branding is as essential to politics as it is to selling detergents, cars and perfume.
The Bush campaign branded Kerry as a flip-flopper and soft on terror. Kerry failed to brand Bush as anything. And the chicken-hawk defeated the war hero.
Democrats and liberals have still failed to brand Bush and the Republicans as anything in particular. Here are some suggestions.
1. President Loser ... He immediately lost the budget surplus. Then he lost the World Trade Center. Damn near lost the Pentagon too. Then he lost America’s moral standing in the world. He lost an entire American city - New Orleans.
2. The Grand Old Hypocrisy Party... They name things the opposite of what they are. Clear Skies means more mercury in the air. A Jobs and Stimulus Package, that actually loses jobs. The president calls his home a ranch, but it’s got no cattle, no horses neither. Bush pretends to run a clean campaign and has Carl Rove slander John McCain and the Swift Boat Veterans slander John Kerry.
3. Loot and Pollute defines all their policies. Loot Iraq, and leave a disaster behind. Loot the treasurey and leave deficits behind. Pollute the air, pollute the water, just so that this month’s Enron can get their loot.
4. The National Incompetence Party. They can’t run a war. They can’t run an economy. They can’t reinforce the levees when the hurricanes are coming. They can’t reconstruct an American city. They can’t reconstruct a foreign country they bombed to bits. They can’t negotiate an international coalition. They can’t create jobs. They can’t balance a budget. They can’t even avoid being indicted.
5. The Name-Calling Party.... As the game is played now, it is important to accuse your opponent of what you, yourself are doing. Say it first, say it often, don’t flinch when they say it back, just repeat the accusation two more times.
6. The Big Secrets Party. They love secrets. Why? Because if the people knew the truth about what they were doing, they would know they are looting and polluting, they’re sneak thieves, they’re incompetent, they’ve been asleep at the wheel and they’re losers.
7. The Mean Girls Party. Oh my word, aren’t they whiney. Now that they’re in party, they just keep everyone out. They have their secrets, which they don’t have to share, and that makes them better than anyone else in the lunchroom. They all have their nicknames. And they like to play mean dirty tricks on other people and snicker about it later. Nothing they ever do is wrong, because other people made them do it. Anyway, they’re the real victims. You don’t even have to ask, they’ll tell you so. With my apologies to the feminists among us, but they are just like the Heathers.
There you have it. President Loser. Leader of the Grand Old Hypocrisy Party that became the National Incompetence Party when they took power and used their power to Loot and Pollute. While they kept all their Big Secrets and ruled the lunchroom … but, no more chit-chat, the Heather-in-Chief has to go do his exercise to keep his waist slim because he’s going shopping for more Heather-in-Chief outfits to wear when he next parades in front of the troops.
Monday, December 05, 2005
The SUV in America
I'm reprinting this from a Critical Mass mailing list i'm on, just because i think it's so dead on. Big-assed cars are just gluttonous, and they go along with our big couches, Big Gulp's and our big, fat asses.
Begin forwarded message:
The auto industry is gun shy, remembering the small, efficient car debacle of the 1970's oil crunch. Those big gas guzzlers (Chevy Impala, Ford Thunderbird, etc) were replaced by 1200cc Japanese econoboxes. What people did was to drive MORE when they got better gasoline mileage, their reasoning being that they then could afford to move even farther out into the suburbs and drive farther to shopping centers etc. The people got tired of the tiny cars and low-powered engines. They went to their local auto dealers and asked for larger cars with larger engines. They were told that the law mandated small, high-mileage cars which meant low
powered engines. However, they were told, *commercial* vehicles had no such requirements. They could buy a large engined pickup truck and add a camper shell. They did, then they wanted to knock out the rear window so the kids could crawl from the camper shell to the cab. Thus the SUV was born.
So, our American drivers may talk the talk, but they would not walk the walk when it comes to sacrificing vehicle room and/or power. And you can not have a motor vehicle with lots of room, lots of power, and high mileage.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
YOU HAVE ENGAGED IN UNAUTHORIZED ARTISTIC EXPRESSION...
"YOU HAVE ENGAGED IN UNAUTHORIZED ARTISTIC EXPRESSION, CITIZEN. DISPLAY YOUR ART-PASS OR BE REPORTED FOR POSSIBLE VIOLATION OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT CODES!"
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United Federation of Planets, and to the galaxy for which it stands, one universe, under everybody, with liberty and justice for all species.
CENSORED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT - 18 USC 2257 - Yes, that is correct. The wonderful things that used to be here, the very funny things that you want to read, have been made retroactively illegal by the US government...
... these notices did not fully inform the public before testing began about the procedures that TSA and its contractors would follow for collecting, using, and storing commercial data. In addition, the scope of the data used during commercial data testing was not fully disclosed in the notices. Specifically, a TSA contractor, acting on behalf of the agency, collected more than 100 million commercial data records containing personal information such as name, date of birth, and telephone number without informing the public.
Imagine that every time you printed a document, it automatically included a secret code that could be used to identify the printer -- and potentially, the person who used it. Sounds like something from an episode of "Alias," right?
Unfortunately, the scenario isn't fictional. In an effort to identify counterfeiters, the US government has succeeded in persuading some color laser printer manufacturers to encode each page with identifying information.
One morning in late September 2005, Deb was riding the public bus to work. She was minding her own business, reading a book and planning for work, when a security guard got on this public bus and demanded that every passenger show their ID. Deb, having done nothing wrong, declined. The guard called in federal cops, and she was arrested and charged with federal criminal misdemeanors after refusing to show ID on demand.
Coming through Philadelphia Airport on Thursday afternoon, I made no attempt to hide the camera, but I did show the first screener (before the X-ray machine) that it was, in fact, a camera.
Well. They passed it through the machine and then spent several minutes playing with it. (Yes, playing with it. This wasn't inspecting the thing - it was gee-whizzing it.) I encouraged them to take it apart (it disassembles, leaving you with a camera and an empty steel shell in the shape of a Zippo lighter), which they did.
Then it got silly. I was told by the TSA decisionmaker that the camera could come on board *but the empty steel case couldn't.* This seemed so mindless I politely asked for clarification, but got nothing further than "the camera can go, but the case can't." Asked for a supervisor and was told "you got
'em."
The so-called Real ID Act now heads to President Bush, who is expected to sign the bill into law this month. Its backers, including the Bush administration, say it's needed to stop illegal immigrants from obtaining drivers' licenses.
If the act's mandates take effect in May 2008, as expected, Americans will be required to obtain federally approved ID cards with "machine readable technology" that abides by Department of Homeland Security specifications. Anyone without such an ID card will be effectively prohibited from traveling by air or Amtrak, opening a bank account, or entering federal buildings.
That was a reaction to a Washington Post story from Nov. 2 that said the CIA has had secret prisons for terror detainees in eight countries, including democracies in Eastern Europe. The Bush administration has refused to confirm whether the prisons exist.
The Senate hopes to complete work next week on the overall bill. It already includes provisions barring abusive treatment of foreign prisoners and standardizing interrogation techniques. Those provisions also are in the separate $445 billion military spending bill the Senate passed last month.
The White House has threatened to veto any bill with the restrictions on handling detainees, saying it would limit the president's ability to protect Americans and prevent a terrorist attack. Vice President Dick Cheney has vigorously lobbied Congress to drop or modify the detainee provisions sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona.
The power of the Gestapo most open to misuse was "Schutzhaft" or "protective custody" — a euphemism for the power to imprison people without judicial proceedings, typically in concentration camps. The person imprisoned even had to sign his or her own Schutzhaftbefehl, the document declaring that the person desired to be imprisoned. Normally this signature was forced by beatings and torture.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)