[Quote:]

Sudanese security forces have begun seizing laptop computers entering the country to check on the information stored on them as part of new security measures.

One state security source said the laptops are searched and returned in one day and that the procedure was introduced because pornographic films and photographs were entering Sudan.

U.N. officials, aid agency workers, businessmen and journalists who regularly visit Sudan worry the security of sensitive and confidential information such as medical, legal and financial records on their computers could be at risk.

Authorities have cracked down on organizations like Medecins Sans Frontieres, the International Rescue Committee who have published reports on huge numbers of rapes in the violent Darfur region.

[Quote:]

Officers have uncovered a stash of hundreds of guns in what is described as one of the biggest weapons seizures in the Metropolitan Police’s history.

Three addresses were visited during dawn raids on Wednesday in Dartford, Kent, as part of an 18-month inquiry into shootings in north London.

A 55-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of supplying firearms during the raids, which involved 30 officers.

Law enforcement agencies in the US have carried out linked raids in New Jersey.

[..]

The operation – codenamed Mokpo – was launched 18 months ago following a spate of shootings in north London involving rival gangs.

Sounds like old-fashioned police work to me…aparently the lessons learned in the IRA era still hold…

Germany now has its own pirate party

[Quote:]

Die Piratenpartei Deutschland wurde gerade erst – am 10.09.2006 – in Berlin gegründet. Sie ist basisdemokratisch organisiert: die Gründung, Parteiprogramm und Satzung wurden für jedermann öffentlich in unserem Forum und Wiki erarbeitet. Dabei konnte jeder Inhalte hinzufügen, ändern und kritisieren. Der Werdegang der Partei ist dort archiviert. Wir laden sie ein dort zu stöbern, Gemeinsamkeiten zu entdecken und sich an der regen Diskussion zu beteiligen. Denn unseren Wurzeln bleiben wir treu, die Mitarbeit an den Inhalten soll auch weiter niemandem verwehrt bleiben. Das Engagement eines Jeden ermöglicht erst die Kettenreaktion des Erfolges der Piraten – darum: verbreiten Sie ihre Entrüstung über den Status Quo, verbreiten Sie das Wort.

Die Piratenparteien sind eine Bewegung mit internationalem Hintergrund. Mit den Piratenparteien Europas wollen wir gemeinsam für die Wahl des Europaparlaments 2009 kandidieren. Doch Piraten gibt es quer über den Globus verstreut. Uns eint ein neues Verständnis von der Rolle des kreativen Schöpfungsprozesses, technologischer wie kultureller Errungenschaften und deren Nutzung, sowie die Ablehnung der sich abzeichnenden Überwachungsgesellschaft.

[Quote:]

On August 22nd, for LinkTV and DemocracyNow! we videotaped the thousands of Katrina evacuees still held behind barbed wire in a trailer park encampment a hundred miles from New Orleans. It’s been a year since the hurricane and 73,000 POW’s (Prisoners of W) are still in this aluminum ghetto in the middle of nowhere. One resident Pamela Lewis said, “It is a prison set-up�? — except there are no home furloughs for these inmates because they no longer have homes.
To give a sense of the full flavor and smell of the place, we wanted to show that this human parking lot, with kids and elderly, is nearly adjacent to the Exxon Oil refinery, the nation’s second largest, a chemical-belching behemoth.

So we filmed it. Without Big Brother’s authorization. Uh, oh. Apparently, the broadcast of these stinking smokestacks tipped off Osama that, if his assassins pose as poor Black folk, they can get a cramped Airstream right next to a “critical infrastructure�? asset.

So now Matt and I have a “criminal complaint�? lodged against us with the feds.

[..]

Dectective Pananepinto, in justifying our impending bust, said, “If you remember, a lot of people were killed on 9/11.�?

Yes, Detective, I remember that very well: my office was in the World Trade Center. Lucky for me, I was out of town that day. It was not a lucky day for 3,000 others.

Yes, I remember “a lot�? of people were killed. So I have this suggestion, Detective — and you can pass it on to Mr. Bush: Go and find the people who killed them.

[Quote:]

Every-time you access an open wifi network at a conference or hotel there is probably some script kiddie running a program called EtherPEG that captures all the images going across the network and reassembles them into a sort of artful collage. This website is a very low-tech hack to keep a bit of privacy where it belongs…

The instant you came to this website a copy of the infamous Goatse image was loaded into a 1 pixel by 1 pixel image tag that will be sent across the network to anyone who cares to sniff the packets. It automatically reloads every 60 seconds for as long as you care to stick around. You don’t have to see it but it’s there. Oh yes indeed it’s there. So if you by chance hear a groan come from someone somewhere in the audience of the convention you’re sitting at at this very moment just know GoatsePEG is at work for YOU!

[Quote:]

Since his death authorities say as many as 10 stingrays have been found dead on Queensland beaches.

Two stingrays were found today at Deception Bay, north of Brisbane, with their tails cut off, while up to eight stingrays were found in similar circumstances yesterday on Dundowran Beach, near Hervey Bay.

Some people are so fucking stupid…

and yes, I’m talking about both the assholes who killed the rays, and the idios who are going to buy the stingray barbs on eBay as the actual stingray barb that killed Steve Irwin

[Quote:]

A man accused of ramming his car into a women’s clinic and then setting his car on fire thought it was an abortion clinic, police said Tuesday.

“He was using his car to torch the building,” Davenport police Detective Mike Bowers said.

David Robert McMenemy, 45, of Sterling Heights, Mich., is charged with second-degree arson. He’s accused of driving his car into the Edgerton Women’s Health Center about 4:30 a.m. on Monday.

The center does not perform abortions and does not provide abortion referrals, said Tom Fedje, the president of the clinic. He said the clinic does advise pregnant women on the various options available to them.

Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa is monitoring the incident, spokeswoman Kathi Di Nicola said.

“He drove into the clinic and set his car on fire using an accelerant. He knew what he was doing. He planned it. It wasn’t an accident,” Bowers said.

So, I assume this guy will be charged with acts of terrorism, what with all the concern for religious zealots who try to kill Americans, right?

[Quote:]

With Republicans controlling Congress and the White House, conservatives these days ought to be happy, but most aren’t. They see expanding government, runaway spending, Middle East entanglements, and government corruption, and they wonder why, exactly, the country should be grateful for Republican dominance. Some accuse Bush and the Republicans today of not being true conservatives. Others see a grab bag of stated policies and wonder how they cohere. Everyone thinks something’s got to change.

Now seven prominent conservatives dare to speak the unspeakable: They hope the Republicans lose in 2006. Well, let’s be diplomatic and say they’d prefer divided government—soon. (Perhaps that formulation will fool Dennis Hastert.) Of course, all of them wish for the long-term health of conservatism, and most are loyal to the GOP. What they also believe, however, is that even if a Speaker Pelosi looms in the wings, sometimes the best remedy for a party gone astray is to give it a session in the time-out chair.

Let’s quit while we’re behind
By Christopher Buckley

Bring on Pelosi
By Bruce Bartlett

And we thought Clinton had no self-control
By Joe Scarborough

Give divided government a chance
By William A. Niskanen

Restrain this White House
By Bruce Fein

Idéologie has taken over
By Jeffrey Hart

The show must not go on
By Richard A. Viguerie

[Quote:]

While taking this series of shots of Battersea Power Station in the early hours a police car pulled up on Grosvenor Road and two officers, one female, one male got out. They told me that they were stopping me under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and asked what I was doing.
“Taking photos,” said I.
“What of?” asked she
“Battersea Power Station,” I said. “Would you like to see some.”
“Yes, if you don’t mind,” she said.
I showed her a picture.
“Can I see some more?”
I showed her 6 or 7.
“They’re very good,” she said. “Have you go any ID?”
“Yeah,” I said, handing her my driver’s licence… “what do you need that for?”
“If we stop anyone under the Prevention of Terrorism Act we have to fill in some paperwork. Do you have any possessions?”
I pointed at my bike with a bag on the panier.
“Just that,” I said.
“Okay… well, even looking through your camera constitues a search so we have to fill in the form.”
She started filling in Form 5090: Stops and Searches.
“It’s a beautiful building,” said her colleague. “The thing is, we’re in Central London and we have to be really careful these days. I like your shots though… very nice. What do you do with them?”
“Nothing really,” I said. “I’ll probably put a couple of them on a website.”
“Right. What website is that then?”
“Flickr”
“Oh flickr!” said the WPC, stopping her form-filling for a moment. “I’ve got photos on there. Photos of my wedding from 7 weeks ago.”
“Really?” I asked. “It’s good isn’t it? Oh… and congratulations on 7 weeks ago.”
“Thanks,” she said with a smile. “So… have you ever been arrested?”
“Err…. no”
She picked up her walkie talkie and contacted someone else, asking them to run a check on my name. There was no awkward break in the conversation though as her colleague picked up the slack.
“So, is digital the same as a film camera at night?” he asked.
“How do you mean?”
“Y’know, exposure time and all that… with the poor light,” he explained.
“Yeah, I guess so,” I said. “That’s why I like night time photography. But I’ve never been any good with film.”
The walkie-talkie crackled into life to tell them there was no match with my details.
“Do you mind if I write down that website?” asked PC Chap.
“It’s flickr.com” said PC Lady.
“There are thousands of people posting photos there.” I explained.
“How do I find yours?” he asked.
“flickr.com, slash photos, slash dgbalancesrocks,” I said. “Don’t ask.”
“Here’s your copy of the form,” she said, handing it to me. “Nice chatting to you. You can carry on if you like.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Have a good evening.”
“Thanks,” said he.
“Thanks,” said she.
And they drove off into the night. It was all surprisingly jolly. A novel good cop/good cop routine.

I’ve got the form here.
Stop Code: B = To check personal details/documents.
Search Code: J = Terrorism 44(2)
Outcome Code: 1 = No further action
Search started 12.55am. Search ended 12.57.

Grounds for Search or Reason for Stop:
Male seen taking photos of powerstation. Vicinity of bridges, within government security zone. Stopped under terrorism act.

I’m sorry, you’ll have to follow this link to see what it is about…

[Quote:]

In this besieged capital, it was a rare good-news story: Killings had plummeted by as much as 50% since U.S. and Iraqi forces hit the streets last month in a show of strength after the sectarian bloodbath of July.

“We’re actually seeing progress out there,” Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, the chief military spokesman here, said when making the announcement.

Not so fast.

Last week, Iraqi officials released new figures showing the city morgue had received more than 1,500 victims of violent death in August — a significant drop of about 17% from the record of more than 1,800 killings in July, but hardly a great leap forward.

How the U.S. military arrived at the 50% figure remains a mystery. Commanders won’t release the raw data, saying such specifics could help the enemy.

[..]

Iraqi officials stopped giving out daily death counts more than a year ago, Iraqi authorities said, after government officials decided that the steady stream of casualties was too bleak.

One of the most reliable barometers of the bloodshed here has been the monthly numbers report from the Baghdad morgue, where coffins strapped to car roofs arrive hourly, and residents trying to identify loved ones look through gruesome autopsy photos.

Last week, health officials unveiled a change in morgue policy: All requests for statistics would henceforth be routed through the Health Ministry. Morgue officials who previously provided details have abruptly “retired” or left the country.

[Quote:]

Nonlethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices should be used on American citizens in crowd-control situations before being used on the battlefield, the Air Force secretary said Tuesday.

The object is basically public relations. Domestic use would make it easier to avoid questions from others about possible safety considerations, said Secretary Michael Wynne.

“If we’re not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation,” said Wynne. “(Because) if I hit somebody with a nonlethal weapon and they claim that it injured them in a way that was not intended, I think that I would be vilified in the world press.”

I wonder if he’s volunteering or waiting for the next Democratic National Convention…

Complete coverage [here and video here.

[Quote:]

A grandmother sits in her sewing room and reads a letter that threatens her with $100,000 lawsuits if she doesn’t admit to copyright infringement and pay a $300 fine. Not only might she have no clue as to what she did wrong, she could in fact only be a victim of copyright piracy, not a perpetrator. Unfortunately, this is a scene that, with slight variations, has played out again and again across the country, and it’s time we take notice before the copyright lawyers fleece us all.

The people, grandmothers and otherwise, who are receiving these letters are embroidery fans who own computer-aided equipment to stitch from digitized designs. The letter states that it is a legal notice – and “not an advertisement, solicitation, or a scam” as one might assume — from the Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC). The ESPC, after an investigation including records recently obtained from eBay or eBay resellers, has determined that the recipient has “purchased and utilized counterfeit and pirated embroidery designs online … and that these pirated copies of embroidery designs are in your possession, all in violation of the Federal Copyright Act.”

[..]

“The ESPC says they are just following what the music industry has been doing to those who download copyrighted music,” says the buyer of the bird designs. “But I wasn’t sharing or distributing these designs to others. I simply paid for a CD on eBay – nothing popped up and said ‘hey, you’re making an illegal purchase.’ I still don’t know if it was. If a store sells what appears to be brandname purses that are actually knockoffs, would it be OK to go after the unknowing buyers and demand a $300.00 payment from them?”

That does seem to be what the ESPC is saying. It’s a pretty scary concept when you consider the growing frequency of all manner of intellectual property lawsuits and the fact that even the biggest companies sometimes lose those cases. Does that make all their customers criminals?

In fact it’s a scam
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=20 00117763&tstart=0&mod=1156813029715

You see they get these sewing people all scared, work them up into a lather and then direct them to the “Amnesty Program” here:

http://www.embroideryprotection.org/Amnesty_Progra m.pdf

Where they procede to take $300 a piece from unwitting cross-stichers.

[Quote:]

On Saturday, a Florida man was freediving off the lower Florida Keys when he spotted a Goliath grouper. He readied his spear gun, chased after the fish, and shot it. Unfortunately for him, Goliath grouper don’t get their name from their small size. According to Monroe County Sheriff’s Detective Mark Coleman, when the fish was speared, it (understandably) freaked out: “It looks like the fish wrapped the line attached to the spear around the victim’s wrist. The fish then went into a hole in a coral rock, effectively pinning the man to the bottom of the ocean.” Police divers later found the speared fish wedged inside the hole, with the freediver’s body tangled in the line, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said. Not to dismiss the man’s death, but Florida’s Goliath grouper are a protected species and not harvest-able at any time.