Tuesday, July 17th, 2007 (
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Under the guise of security, the Iraqi people are being cataloged into a US database. First, I want to make it clear that I do not necessarily oppose this move in that it's possible that it will be used properly to target terrorist while leaving innocent people alone. As with all the various privacy concerns here, though, the problem is in what
else they plan to do with the data. And let's face it, the US governement has a sad, sick, history of abusing our data and privacy.
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Tags:
Big Brother
Monday, July 16th, 2007 (
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A Slashdot user warns us not to use the “Try before you buy” deal
based on his experience with the same deal and Office 2003. He said it changed all the file types to 2003 so when the trial was over, he wasn’t able to access any of his files.
Usually, the program will warn you before updating the format, but it won’t warn you that anything you create from scratch during the trial will be locked into the newer program.
And as you can read in the comments, most people agree that it’s ridiculous that Microsoft refuses to make the files backwards compatible.
Tags:
Microsoft
Monday, July 16th, 2007 (
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Apparently, a recent update to Vista has
disabled program uninstall. That sounds like a big problem to me, but so far, no word from Microsoft on the issue.
Tags:
Windows
Monday, July 16th, 2007 (
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Let’s hear it for the
winning team! Yeah!
Tags:
Microsoft
Monday, July 16th, 2007 (
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Two things today:
This and
this.
I didn’t have the strength to summarize these, but check them out if you’re a fan of watching the RIAA scum writhe.
Friday, July 13th, 2007 (
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The Patriot Act should never have been passed.
We all saw the potential for abuse, but our
"trust us" government assured us that it would never happen. Yeah, right.
Now that the
inevitible abuses have come to light, it would be nice if someone would
face some consequences for a change. Like maybe
Alberto Gonzales who lied to congress saying that there were no abuses during the hearing for the reauthorization of the Patriot Act.
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Tags:
George Bush,
Well Duh!
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 (
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The TSA is
failing more tests:
In one test, TSA inspectors hid the components of a fake bomb in carry-on luggage that also contained a bottle of water. The screeners at Albany International confiscated the water bottle but missed the bomb.
To which the TSA replied that the tests are unnaturally difficult and whine that it paints an "innacurate" picture of their work force. To which I wonder if the terrorists will not be so sneaky and mean as the TSA auditors. Perhaps they won't use
every dirty trick. They wouldn't want the TSA to look bad after all.
Last October, the Star-Ledger newspaper of Newark, citing unnamed federal security officials, reported screeners at Newark Liberty International Airport flunked 20 of 22 tests, including failing to detect bombs and guns in luggage at checkpoints.
The TSA responded to the report by launching an internal investigation in which federal employees were interrogated about whether they had leaked the results, the newspaper said.
That sounds like a perfect Bush-era response.
"These statistics are horrible!"
"Yeah, what should we do to fix them?"
"Fix them!? We should cover them up!"
Too bad the TSA doesn't get Nation Security as an excuse.
(Thanks to
The Consumerist for the link)
Tags:
Big Brother,
George Bush
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007 (
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In an act of extreme courage and dedication, a current Department of Justice employee wrote
a devastating op-ed in the Denver Post which has been picked up by
Crooks and Liars.com,
Digg.com, and hopefully others.
Calling him a "National Disgrace", John S. Koppel, a 26 year veteran of the Department of Justice blasts Bush and his tenure as president.
The sweeping, judicially unchecked powers granted under the Patriot Act should neither have been created in the first place nor permanently renewed thereafter, and the Act - which also contributed to the ongoing contretemps regarding the replacement of U.S. attorneys, by changing the appointment process to invite political abuse - should be substantially modified, if not scrapped outright. And real, rather than symbolic, responsibility should be assigned for the manifold abuses. The public trust has been flagrantly violated, and meaningful accountability is long overdue. Officials who have brought into disrepute both the Department of Justice and the administration of justice as a whole should finally have to answer for it - and the misdeeds at issue involve not merely garden-variety misconduct, but multiple "high crimes and misdemeanors," including war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Wow. This guy is my new hero.
Tags:
George Bush
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007 (
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In a somewhat humbling article of human nature, Shankar Vedantam explains how people tend to villify wrongs done to them while minimizing wrongs done by them. What does this have to do with Bush?
It explains why he can be so wrong but believe he's so right.
Spoken about the Libby pardon:
He sees no inconsistency, just as we cannot see our own inconsistencies even though they are strikingly clear to everyone else," Tavris said. "He is protecting one of his own, but his reasoning is consistent with the way the mind works to preserve consistency."
Very true. I am sorry if I ever called him evil and despicable (which, for the record, I never have). But as I've
said before, it doesn't matter what he believes. He's a lead weight that is sinking our country and the rest of the world along with us.
Tags:
George Bush
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007 (
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It looks like they're
not meeting any of the political, economic, or social targets for Iraq according to a report that's been leaked early and is making its way around the Internet.
What remains to be seen is what effect this will have on the senators who still support Bush and his Iraq strategy.
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Tags:
George Bush
