Saturday, December 04, 2004

posted by meau meau , 1:40 PM Þ 

posted by meau meau , 1:37 PM Þ 

Went to see

http://www.orwellrollsinhisgrave.com/home.htm

at the I.C.A.'s tiny Cinema2 last night, together with the usual small audience
(eight people in total!), would certainly recommend it to anyone here if they
get the chance to see it. very simply put together, very straight, talks sense, good facts.

also available to buy here:
http://www.buzzflash.com/premiums/04/05/pre04014.html
posted by THESE , 1:37 AM Þ 
Friday, December 03, 2004
posted by mary13 , 4:36 PM Þ 

What I said from someone who knows:

British businesses will face an extra layer of red tape when ID cards are introduced, according to the boss of the government's own regulation watchdog.

David Arculus, chairman of the Better Regulation Task Force (BRTF), believes businesses will be affected by the cards, despite claims from the Home Office that it is not possible to say whether they will feel an impact. He fears "regulatory creep" because the legislation has unclear objectives. The Task Force produced a report in late October which warned that legislation with unclear objectives tends to be interpreted over-zealously by organisations[...] The Register

...The BRTF advises government to ensure that regulation accords with five principles - proportionality, accountability, consistency, transparency and targeting

Ha, ha, ha, ha & ha.
posted by meau meau , 3:58 PM Þ 

RIME Minister Tony Blair today promised fundamental reform to put more power into the hands of the people. (Scotsman)
[No NIR]

Mr Blair said there was a "massive agenda" ahead as he used a speech in Edinburgh to set out his stall for a General Election which may be only five months away.

[Someone has an agenda, and it sucks]

...

But Mr Blair was also at pains to set out his own principles, saying he wanted to stake out a new middle ground in British politics around which a progressive consensus could be built.

[Policy built around flicking through a thesaurus]

He said Labour’s governing purpose was to provide greater opportunity and security for people in a constantly changing world.

[No NIR & better Foreign Policy]

But he said the future policy agenda required a different relationship between citizen and state in today’s world.

[Get the state away from me]

He said: "It is often said people feel disengaged from politics - I don’t believe that’s true. There is no shortage of interest, and in some cases passionate concern, about the issues of the day.

[Yes, we hate you for what you are trying to do to us]

"People aren’t disengaged - but they do feel disempowered. They no longer want or expect government to solve all their problems.

[No, either listen to us or fuck off. Don't force us to follow your lame agenda]

"They want the means in their hands to lead their own lives, make their own choices, develop their own potential.

[No NIR, leave us to prosper]

"People don’t want a minimalist state [?!], but nor do they want the old centralised state. Instead, they want the state to empower them, to give them the means to make the most of their own lives."

[No to centralisation and removal of autonomy - No NIR!]

The Prime Minister, who delivered his speech at the university’s Craiglockhart campus, visited HMV on Princes Street on his way there and bought the Band Aid 20 single.

[Should have given the money straight to charity, the singing on that single is TERRIBLE]

...
posted by meau meau , 3:48 PM Þ 

Hmmm, it seems Thales make chip & pin readers - not particularly healthy, considering...

And the local 'independent' cinema had a Newscorp/Fox film in every single trailer the other night...

-

Generally I have a thing against facial hair but this is quite good. And imagine after another 950 years growth
posted by meau meau , 1:28 PM Þ 

Thank God you banned this Anad luser. Bad can be good-bad, U2 is bad-bad.
posted by Claus Eggers , 11:29 AM Þ 
posted by Claus Eggers , 11:08 AM Þ 
posted by alex_tea , 12:05 AM Þ 
Thursday, December 02, 2004

NIR validating c@$h m@ch1n3 proposal?

This is of course, an obvious iteration. Imagine having to put TWO cards into (or near) a cash machine in order to make a withdrawl. Yes, "Drawl". Of course, once the cash machines are connected to the system, you will only need to put your thumb on the machine to make the transaction. The physical card(s) is a(are) vestigial tokens that are part of the hearts and minds transitional phase, before everyone is made to understand that the thumbprint says who you are.

In the interim, thieves would have to steal two cards (the ID card being FAR more valuable than the cash card) in order to get money from your account.

Later, they will cut off your thumb with bolt cutters.

The "mass criminality" mentioned in the Privacy International release will extend to the Dorian Greys that I mentioned in a much earlier post, the informal banks that will spring up all over the country and europe, a rise in bartering, especially for booze, a roaring trade in faked ID cards, large scale bribery of everyone with any kind of access to the system, alibi faking, you name it.
posted by Irdial , 8:12 PM Þ 

Of course chip & pin control freakery won't do anything to stop online or phone transactions and unless the government has no regard for the economic success of this country there is no way they could force online traders to only accept NIR validated transactions, and to force the population to buy NIR compatible readers.

And who will have to pay for such stupidity in the shops:
Credit agencies will charge businesses, small businesses will charge consumers while big corporations will 'absorb' the costs. Another way of feeding the oligopolies.

Shall we keep our eyes peeled for an NIR validating c@$h m@ch1n3 proposal?

The sort of transactions they could credibly have some right to 'profile' (leading to crime - determined by REAL intelligence) are all likely to be done this way (and probably through an intermediary if actually used for criminal acts) otherwise the amount of data collection only benefits the IT companies that get the contract.

Imagine if everyone in the country had to go to court because someone dropped some litter. It would not be tolerated. This is exactly the same.

(looks like i've been beaten to that conclusion)
posted by meau meau , 5:15 PM Þ 

UK Announces ID Card - Will Create Mass Criminality

IDENTITY CARD WILL CREATE AN ERA OF MASS CRIMINALITY

Government proposals will drive millions of people underground and will
create a vast criminal infrastructure

23rd November 2004

For immediate release

The leading international critic of identity cards today warned that the UK
government¹s ID proposals will create an unprecedented opportunity for
organised crime and a huge expansion of the black and grey economy.

Simon Davies, Director of Privacy International, warned: "The government's
proposals will be a gift to organised crime. Hundreds of thousands of
illegal immigrants will be driven underground and will be ripe for
exploitation by criminal interests. They will join hundreds of thousands of
UK citizens who fear state intrusion into their lives and who will not
accept the ID card".

"Millions of UK citizens have expressed their alarm over the proposals. Many
people have told Privacy International that they will accept an ID card only
at the point of a gun".

A poll commissioned by PI earlier this year through YouGov indicates that 20
per cent of the population will actively resist the ID card. 3 per cent said
they would go to jail rather than carry a card. There is widespread concern
over the development of national ID database and the use of biometrics.

"The implementation of an ID system is repugnant to millions of people.
Millions more will be unwilling or unable to apply for one. Those people
will be driven into a thriving underground criminal economy", said Mr
Davies.

In 2004 Privacy International released a study on the relationship between
ID cards and counter-terrorism. It concluded that eighty percent of the top
terrorist target countries have long-standing ID cards, most incorporating
biometrics.

"The ID card proposal is a dangerous sham", said Mr Davies. "It will
increase the threat of crime and terrorism while diverting much-needed
resources from police and security services".

[...]

http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd[347]=x-347-84705
posted by Irdial , 4:41 PM Þ 

You Could Be Asked for ID at Checkout

SHOPPERS may be asked to show identity cards at checkouts in a major extension of govenrment planes it emerged today.

The Home Office is in talks with banks to convert 900,000 "chip & pin" credit-card readers to read ID cards.

The plan, highlighted by Computing Magazine, could help to stanmp ouit credit card fraid and prevent the sale of alcohol to under 18s. But it would also build up a database of every citizen's shopping habbits which could be accessed by police and the security services.

Anti-card campaigners condemned the move as "sinister" and claimed it would bring a huge extra bill for taqxpayers.

Campaign group No2ID said: "are they going to refuse you groceries based on what a computer says?"

[...]

Evening Standard


You better believe it:

Talks consider use of ID cards for business

But prospect of central audit trail raises concerns
James Watson, Computing 01 Dec 2004

The government is working with the private sector to determine how ID cards for a range of commercial transactions.

If adopted, the plan would create a central audit trail of every citizen's major transactions with both government and business.

The proposals are revealed in the Regulatory Impact Assessment, a document accompanying the ID cards Bill published this week. It says the Bill allows for the national identity register (NIR) to record when and from whom any checks on the database take place.

According to the document, typical uses could include:

  • Banks and other finance firms for combating money laundering and identity fraud
  • Employers to check a job applicant's immigration status
  • Retailers to help protect against credit card fraud

As part of the proposals, Whitehall is also evaluating the possibility of using a future generation of chip-and-PIN readers for checking ID cards at point-of-sale.

The Home Office says the use of ID cards will ensure security and consistency and make the system easier to understand and to operate.

'We are proposing to make online checks against the register the norm, except in those low risk/low value cases where a visual check is judged to be sufficient,' said a spokesman.

Mike Rodd, external relations director at the British Computer Society, says the proposals go far beyond what was ever intended for ID cards.

'The potential to connect and collate information about people that may be commercially sensitive will make the population at large very unhappy,' he said.

'To create this huge database of information starts smacking of some sort of authoritarian state. This could really cause an outrage.'

Professor Jim Norton, a senior policy advisor at the Institute of Directors, says the government would be inundated with data.

'Recording every high value transaction doesn't sound like a great idea to me,' he said.

'The idea of having a huge database and sucking vast amounts of information into it seems to me to be remarkably na‹ve on one hand and a potential major burden on business on the other.'

posted by Irdial , 3:43 PM Þ 

HandsOn 26 - Liesegang Experiment

I. Pre-Lab

silica4.png

Figure 6.6: Multiple parallel Liesegang rings in silica gel.

petri1.png

Figure 6.7: Circular Liesegang rings in a petri dish of agar gel.

posted by Irdial , 2:57 PM Þ 

LEGAL UPDATE...

Efforts by Camilo's defense lawyers to introduce evidence about his legal duty, under international law, not to return to Iraq, were rejected by the military judge. After listening briefly to the proposed testimony of international law professors Jules Lobel and Francis Boyle, the judge ruled that he wouldn't allow the military jury to hear any evidence of international law violations. This reduced the trial to the simple issue of whether Camilo had returned to Iraq, as ordered, on October 16, 2004 or not.

The defense also filed a motion asking that charges be dismissed because a treaty between Costa Rica and the U.S. bars "compulsory military service" by either country of the other's nationals. Since Camilo is a Costa Rican citizen and his eight year enlistment contract expired in April, 2003 the treaty should have prevented the military from keeping past his discharge by imposing a "stop loss" order. Without requesting additional briefs or testimony, the judge rejected this argument.

After deliberating very briefly, the jury brought in a verdict of guilty to desertion charges. Even though four enlisted men who'd served with Camilo all testified to his bravery and diligence as a squad leader in Iraq., the jury imposed a maximum sentence of one year in prison, Bad Conduct discharge and loss of all rank and most pay.

Citizen Soldier supporters are urged to write letters of support and solidarity to Camilo at the following address:

Pvt. Camilo Mejia
1490 Randolph Rd.

Ft. Sill, OK 73503

You may also encouraged to write Major General William Webster urging him to drop all criminal charges and to separate Sgt. Mejia administratively at:

60 Macneely Rd.
Ft Stewart, GA 31314

Please send copies to Citizen Soldier, 267 Fifth Ave., #901., New York, N Y 10016

[...]

http://www.citizen-soldier.org/CS07-Camilo.html

There cant be anyone anywhere tha is surprised by this can there?

posted by Irdial , 1:56 PM Þ 

via downhill battle

Remixed U2 ipod

In 1991, the experimental sound collage band Negativland released a single called “U2”, which extensively sampled both U2’s hit single “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and colorful studio recordings of Top 40 disc jockey Casey Kasem. This offbeat recording would have languished in obscurity if weren’t for Island Records, U2’s record label, which decided to sue Negativland and their independent label SST Records for deceptive packaging and copyright infringement. After a protracted legal battle, Negativland’s legal funds were exhausted and they settled out of court. Today, it is illegal to produce the “U2” single in the United States. (U2, on the other hand, would go on to use unauthorized samples of appropriated satellite video in their Zoo TV tour.)

Now you can commemorate this ignoble episode in intellectual property history with iPod U2 vs. Negativland Special Edition. From its packaging to its pre-installed content, this unauthorized iPod modification is an artful mash-up of the forces of corporate megarock and obscure experimental music, and a provocative symbol of the ongoing struggle between those who would confine culture and those who would free it...
posted by meau meau , 1:52 PM Þ 

Galloway wins Saddam libel case
George Galloway
George Galloway said he was 'angry' after the case.
MP George Galloway has been awarded £150,000 in libel damages from the Daily Telegraph over claims he received money from Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.

The Glasgow Kelvin MP was awarded the damages in compensation for articles published by the paper in April 2003.

He had denied ever seeking or receiving money from Saddam Hussein's government, which he said he had long opposed.

The newspaper said it was in the public interest to publish the claims, based on documents found in Baghdad.

Mr Justice Eady said he was "obliged to compensate Mr Galloway... and to make an award for the purposes of restoring his reputation".

Outside the court, Mr Galloway said: "I had to risk absolute and utter ruin to bring this case.

"If I had lost I would have been homeless, I would have had everything I possess taken from me and would have been bankrupted and forced out of public office.

I don't feel in any way happy about the award of £150,000
George Galloway

"In those circumstances I don't feel in any way happy about the award of £150,000.

"I feel angry that I have been effectively banished from the floor of the House of Commons for more than a year, I have had to risk everything to bring this action.

"I feel angry against [former telegraph owner] Conrad Black, [former editor] Charles Moore and [Lord Black's wife] Barbara Amiel."

A Telegraph spokesman said the judgment was "a blow to the principle of freedom of expression in this country". [...]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4061165.stm

How on earth can this be described as " a blow to the ..." they LIED and now they have to PAY. If anything, this is a small victory for justice. If it was a true victory, the damages should have run into the millions, since Galloway would have lost everything he had. The Telegraph will suffer nothing at all due to this loss.

And that is not right.

posted by Irdial , 1:43 PM Þ 
posted by alex_tea , 1:31 PM Þ 

This is
LONDON

02/12/04 - News and city section

Police fingerprint system wiped out
By Paul Waugh Deputy Political Editor, Evening Standard

Police investigations across the country have been crippled by a huge crash in the national fingerprint computer system.

All 43 forces in England and Wales, including the Metropolitan Police, have been hit by the shutdown of the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (Nafis).

The blunder, described by insiders as the biggest ever police IT disaster, means national checks have not been run on suspected criminals or evidence at crime scenes. A police memo leaked to the Evening Standard reveals the network collapsed more than a week ago.

Written by Bruce Grant, head of the Met's Fingerprint Bureau, it states that the meltdown "means that no offender's identity can be verified".

The crash is the latest costly IT disaster to hit government departments or agencies. The Tories today demanded a full inquiry and seized on the incident as proof that David Blunkett's plans for a national ID card system could be wrecked by a computer failure.

The Nafis system, which is run by American computer giant Northrop Grumman, has been the Government's most prestigious police IT project.

It allows an individual force to check if a fingerprint matches hundreds of thousands of others. The Standard has learned that the system went offline at 4.30am last Wednesday, plunging into chaos every one of the 43 fingerprint bureaux across the nation.

Several forces were back on the system by last night but some parts of the country are still not connected today.

A Home Office spokeswoman said that while forces could not check prints nationally they could run local checks.

[...]

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/15072873?source=Evening%20Standard

Well well well, and my emphasis!!!

First of all, Northrop is a MILITARY CONTRACTOR from the USA, not a benign supplier of computer services. Just what on earth is the UK doing outsourcing such a sensitive function to a foreign country? Are they actually saying that there is not one company, in the country that gave birth to the man who invented the world wide web, that can provide this service? Honestly.

Secondly, it should be abundantly clear to all and sundry that HMG could not collectively format a floppy disc, let alone run a national ID card system, and this is more proof, as if we even needed it, that the whole thing is a non starter.
posted by Irdial , 1:22 PM Þ 

... some are concerned about the Cardiff team's research.

Woman man fish bicycle?
posted by meau meau , 1:14 PM Þ 

Spitefully, I wish my government had not let him on Canadian soil. How can I find the forgiveness that will lead me away from condemnation?

I think it is fine for you do condemn our government mary - and I think it's healthy that you feel that way. Too often people just let themselves get walked over by America, because by golly America is awesome and there's something wrong with you if you don't think so, you freedom-hating pinko!
Well that of course is a stupid attitude and I'm glad more and more Canadians are feeling this way. It is hard to call the US our "friends to the south" when they are showing us the greatest signs of disrespect - especially when they insult our intellingence (yes intellingence, i'm tired dammit) by saying a missile shield would "work" and is "necessary during these dangerous times." Not least of these insults was seeing Bush visit Halifax trying to smear his smarmy compassion all over the place, in one of the most crassly sentimental news "events" I've seen in a while. Pathetic.
Perhaps we can (and should, as it is Good) to forgive Martin for letting Bush in here, but we certainly must not let him get away with thinking that it was a good thing to do. Martin cannot believe Bush when Bush says "we cannot be divided." This will be difficult seeing as how Martin has about as much personlity and charisma as a tin cup. I won't get into the rest of what Bush says because any intelligent (and any barely intelligent) person can decipher the hilarious ironies present.
Canada and the US right now MUST be divided. This is the time where we stand up and declare sovereignty; this is the time we should stand up and say "Fuck you Paul Martin, for bringing this dirtbag into our fair country and fuck you for stooping and falling for his dimestore charm." Shame on him! This is no time for complacency!
posted by Barrie , 6:57 AM Þ 
Wednesday, December 01, 2004

The head of Interpol has told of his "surprise" at shortcomings in the passport controls at UK borders.

Ron Noble, an American, said he was not asked for his passport serial number when he entered the UK.

"It's been proven in every single terrorist incident that a fraudulent passport has been used," Mr Noble told a House of Lords committee."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4058427.stm

This is of course, a total and blantant (yes, BLANTANT) lie.
posted by Irdial , 10:25 PM Þ 

Are you at risk of Identity Fraud?

If the answer is yes to any of the following questions, you could be vulnerable.

* Have you ever lost your purse or wallet?
* Do you keep all your credit cards, store cards and driving licence together in your purse or wallet?
* Do you use online chat rooms or belong to members web sites?
* Are all your pin numbers and passwords the same so that they are easier to remember?
* Do you use Internet banking?
* Do you regularly eat out at restaurants?
* Do you throw away receipts, bank statements and utility bills without shredding them?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4054771.stm

Oh yes, right into the trap.

The introducion of an ID card will make the green line true for all people instantly, irrevocably and most disasterously. All your eggs will be in one basket. Like keeping all you cards on you at one time, the one number that is assigned to you by HMG, when compromised by a criminal, will besmirch your name forever, and there will be nothing you can do about it. You wont even have to have your wallet stolen for this crime to be comitted against you. Criminals will attack you with "cardholder not present" types of fraud. This card number will be written down everywhere, for example, when you collect a parcel from DHL. When this is done, anyone will then be able to use this number to find out everything about you. They will be able to find your home address, and from that your telephone number, the details of your bank account, and onward.

This is a perfect example of why you should not ever accept a number being imposed upon you by the state.

The purple line is an example of why its important to be able to control your identity. You can shred your bills to make sure no one can take your details and use them. Your national ID number will not be shreddable, or disposable. It will forever mark you, and haunt you. You can cancel any of your accounts and get new ones in any name that you like, thus breaking the link between your old identity and your new identity. You will not be able to do this if it is reqiured that you present state ID to open a bank account, and believe me, this WILL become a requrement.

All humans have the right to transact between each other without interference from the state. This is an absolute right, that if compromised, makes both parties to any transactions that are soiled bysuch interference, slaves. By compelling people to accept this ID card, and then mandating that you present this card to get service of any kind, you are allowing the state to come between you and second parties in a transaction, where they have no business being.

The smartasses will say that cash is the state instrument that is between parties when they transact, but this is a lie. Cash belongs to the people, it is anonymous, untraceable, and exists separate from the state when you use it to buy something. Thats why the state hates cash, and has made so many rules about the upper limits that you can transact with for any purpose.

After saying all this, do I really have to spell out that the orange line says it all? The same number used on every form you fill out (your national ID number) is IDENTICAL to using the same username and password for every site/service you use. Once someone has this number, they have access to everything you own. In fact, they OWN YOU.
posted by Irdial , 6:20 PM Þ 

freelance propaganda on the BBQ website aiming to pretend that 'identity theft' is the same as credit fraud (which it isn't)

-

Is this interesting/useful?
posted by meau meau , 11:24 AM Þ 

'BAAT' AF
posted by meau meau , 10:40 AM Þ 


posted by Alun , 8:47 AM Þ 

Do you think of yourself as white or British or both? Does it worry you that you got your job just because of your race? Where are you from? No, but really? Since this is where you live, don't you think you should try and integrate with other races more? Is your first loyalty to your God, or to your country? Is it true what they say about white guys? Given the genocide, slavery and colonialism unleashed in the name of Christianity over the last two centuries, do you feel your religion is compatible with democracy? Mr Grant, do you think of yourself as a white actor or an actor who happens to be white? I don't mind white people, but if they want to live here then why shouldn't they have to fit in with our traditions? Shouldn't the police be doing more to tackle white-on-white crime? Given the objectification of women in your culture and the rise in teenage pregnancies, don't you think it's time to ban young girls wearing make up? What do you make of the tribal conflict in Ukraine? I thought you asked for flesh-coloured tights? Don't you feel that this politically correct belief that we have to respect white people's feelings has stifled honest discussion and debate? Isn't it a shame that white people cannot pick more responsible leaders? What do you mean, you can't Morris dance? Don't you ever worry about being pigeonholed as a white person? Why aren't you doing more to check the rise in Christian fundamentalism? Who are your community leaders? Why should we balance our belief in human rights with our tolerance for Christians? What do white people think about Jews? How would you define "white" style? Mr Amis, why do you write about white people all the time? Don't you find that limiting? What are you doing for your people? Have you seen what the Bible says about women? Are you the token white guy? Don't take this personally, but why are white men so aggressive? Now the Olympics are over, can we finally admit that white people are genetically equipped to excel in archery and rowing? What is it with white people and homophobia? You know what white women are like, don't you? I understand that as a white person you come at this from a particular place, but can't you try to look at it objectively for a moment? Why do you people have such a chip on your shoulder? Don't get offended, I was only asking.
posted by Alun , 8:39 AM Þ 

George Bush and co. visited Canada today. Gladly, he is moving east instead of west. The protesters were out, full force, of which he blithely joked "thank you to the Canadians who waved with all five fingers ..." He was fed Alberta beef for dinner. Not surprisingly, soft wood lumber and cattle trade were not open topics of discussion. Bush appeared with smirking arrogance, and it felt like we were hosting a murderous dictator. Stooping to the enemy. The media was filled in days prior with messages: be civil, you can hate him, but please, be civil, be polite. Like you'd treat the nasty cousin, the backwater sibling, who never learned that their brutish demeanor evokes nothing but contempt and creates havoc in their wake. And so we spend thousands to protect him, to welcome his money. It is proxemity that ties us to this blundering hulk of misdirection.

Forgive them, Father, for they do not know any better. And I find myself trying to face this visit with compassion. But I realize that the agendas are so very different. Canada is attempting to mend trade relations, relationships fostered between people, across close lands. The US is attempting to push the armement of space, and to soften the rest of the world's view of them. Canada is a soft touch. The US will do well to garner our favour.

I watched the speeches tonight, and I was disgusted by their trite accolades. I know that these are necessary steps in creating peace, but it sickens me. I am too angry with that smirking puppet to give him the courtesy of my compassion. Spitefully, I wish my government had not let him on Canadian soil. How can I find the forgiveness that will lead me away from condemnation?
posted by mary13 , 7:59 AM Þ 

posted by captain davros , 1:46 AM Þ 
Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Alabama clings to segregationist past

US state with racist history votes to keep 'separate schools for white and coloured children' as part of constitution [...]

The Guardian reports this this.

There's talk of 'civil resistance' being on the cards if this ever-so close election is not re-run, it could even split the country.

Infectious?
posted by meau meau , 5:10 PM Þ 

So now we know where we stand. A total ban on hunting with hounds, forced through by the use of the Parliament Act, will come into force on 19th February 2005. From that date it will be illegal to let your dog kill a mouse, but not a rat: it will however be legal to let your cat kill a mouse. It will remain legal to use terriers underground to kill a fox, but only for the protection of pheasants, not lambs. Beagles can hunt rabbits but not hares, and it will be legal to use foxhounds to drive foxes towards waiting guns in Scotland but not England or Wales. This is probably the worst piece of legislation to be enacted since the Dangerous Dogs Act, and all concerned should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. [...]

http://www.votehunting.com/
posted by Irdial , 3:44 PM Þ 

Wangari Maathai, who won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, says African governments should do more about climate change.

Professor Maathai, also Kenya's deputy environment minister, was speaking to African journalists at the United Nations Environment Programme HQ here [...]

BBQ

Besides the little problem of African countries contributing to climate change there is also the much more pressing irritation of where the industrialised countries are going to buy up emission quotas allowed by carbon trading under Kyoto. After all if African countries have no quotas left to sell, the 'West' will have to make REAL reductions in their emissions and we can't have that....
posted by meau meau , 1:35 PM Þ 

Skype is based not in the USA

Unlike Blogger which grinds to a halt every time the US gets out of bed and lurches from one form of stupor to another, on which note...

The alcohol was not poured by me (nor the politics FTM) it merely lubricated the wheels of reason.
posted by meau meau , 1:25 PM Þ 

without coercion and with alcohol.

Non sequitur!
posted by Irdial , 11:13 AM Þ 

http://savetheipod.com/

300 Million Europeans, One Billion residents of China...and a whole bunch of other people, will not be touched by INDUCE. We will leap forward as they are retarded.

Skype is based not in the USA, but in Estonia and it has tens of millions of users in the USA. 3 Billion minutes served, a new deal with Logitech, veryy cool periferals released and under development, they have captured this world market, from another country. The USA is left behind on this one; its already too late.

If INDUCE passes into law, the iPod may die, but this will give a golden opportunity to SONY or some other non-USA company to steal the momentum and rise to the top of the portable music player market.

Kill the iPod?

"Go ahead; make my day"
posted by Irdial , 10:55 AM Þ 

Of the people I've been talking to over the last five days:
100% think the PM is not doing a good job
100% think Blunkett is a zealous control freak
100% are against ID cards
100% aren't confident that other voters will vote rid of Labour
100% would accept a Lib Dem government if it weren't for further EU integration

Results are not scientific and views were expressed without coercion and with alcohol.
posted by meau meau , 10:42 AM Þ 

Italy slows down as strike bites

Italy faces a standstill as millions of workers take part
in a general strike against the economic policies
of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Travellers face chaos and hospitals are only providing emergency services.

Trade union leaders are furious with $8bn in public sector spending cuts in next year's budget, pushed through last week by Mr Berlusconi.

The European Commission had warned Italy to reduce its public debt, which is the third largest in the world.

But economists say the planned reforms - tax cuts and a squeeze on spending - give little relief to industry and are unlikely to boost the sluggish Italian economy.

Flights cancelled

"[This] general strike is the best response to the social massacre of this well-to-do government which gives to the rich while heavily cutting services to citizens," Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, the head of Italy's Green party, told Reuters.

The stoppages will hit air traffic, especially between 1200 and 1600 (1100 and 1500 GMT). National airline Alitalia has cancelled over 100 flights.

Trains have stopped running and will not start again until 1300, while post offices and government buildings will be closed all day.

The protest marks the fourth general strike in Italy since Mr Berlusconi took power in 2001.

Industrial action in Italy may be inconvenient, says the BBC's Tamsin Smith in Rome, but it is always flamboyant.

Banners, balloons and marching bands will fill city streets and squares across the country, our correspondent says.

The largest demonstrations are expected to take place in Turin, Milan and Venice, where leaders from the country's three main unions will address the crowds. [...]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4053809.stm

This is the only way to attack a rogue government that takes your money and abuses it, and your trust. Shut the whole country down, and have a USEFUL party!

posted by Irdial , 9:39 AM Þ 
Monday, November 29, 2004



Saturday December 4th
Esther Venrooy & Simon Ladefoged: DUPLEX
Klara in Het Paleis, Bozar, Ravensteinstraat 23, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
14.00h & 17.00h in Terarkenzaal 1

Duplex is an audiovisual stage production that combines the music of Esther Venrooy with moving images by Simon Ladefoged. The title suggests the duality of sounds versus images as well as a division between mental and physical space. Duplex is a creation by two artists working from their own field, yet at the same time crossing into each other's: the photographical compositions of Ladefoged and the aural landscapes of Esther Venrooy. The result of this synergy is a mesmerizing nocturnal journey through places from which human activity seems to have been erased.



Tickets: 02 507 82 00 / info@bozar.be


www.simonladefoged.com
www.klara.be
www.bozar.be



www.esthervenrooy.com
posted by Irdial , 10:48 PM Þ 

Subsystence: Volume 4 is now online.
posted by Ken , 8:26 PM Þ 
Sunday, November 28, 2004
posted by alex_tea , 7:52 PM Þ 
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