The Opinions of Taris

Not dead

2008-07-15T12:33:00.002-04:00

Hey, im not dead! here's a quick sit-rep of whats up and whats going down.

Finished my first year of college, will be returning for a second
as a second year student, i have been accepted into the Game Design area of the T.I.M.E department. This is awesome
I shall also be serving as a Resident Assistant in order to cut down on the costs of going to college. It also cuts down on my free time
I've gotten a job as a Genetic Research Assistant. My tasks include data entry, formatting, website design, maintenance, and Administering a private Wiki.

My summer has been busy and chaotic, in a few short weeks it will be over and i shall return to college for 2-3 weeks of R.A. training. This helps cut costs, but you can still help out this artist by donating via paypal! expect more life stuff, some political stuff in the weeks to come

Chanology Project

2008-02-13T01:13:00.002-05:00

More to come.

Expect us.

The End of the Internet as we know it

2008-02-05T17:43:00.000-05:00

By Steven Levy
Wednesday, January 30, 2008; Page D01

If you are an Internet-crazy movie lover in Beaumont, Tex., life may soon take a miserable turn for you.

Time Warner Cable, which also sells broadband via its Road Runner service, has chosen your city for a pricing experiment. If you have plans to sign up and watch lots of high-definition flicks using, say, the new iTunes digital rental program announced last month, start saving now, because Time Warner is going to tally up those gigabytes. You know that feeling that mobile phone users get when they exceed their allotted minutes and get a heart-stopping tariff for overage charges? Some Beaumont cinephiles could get the same infarction from their Road Runner bills.

The experiment doesn't necessarily mean the rest of us will soon see a dramatic change in the way we pay for our broadband Internet; cable giant Comcast says it's also evaluating the concept, but other broadband providers aren't indicating they'll adopt the scheme. (They all have their own ideas, though, about getting returns on their broadband investments.) But Time Warner's move illuminates some of the troubling issues facing the United States in the Internet era, where, in terms of penetration, we are in 24th place -- behind Estonia -- in the international broadband competition.

The news broke about Time Warner's plan from a leaked internal memo that company spokesman Alex Dudley confirms as genuine. The Beaumont trial will be a test of "consumption-based billing." The reason for the change, he says, is that some users are unfairly piling up gigabytes of goodies on their digital plates. "As few as 5 percent of our customers use 50 percent of the network," he says, adding that these bandwidth hogs are commonly denizens of seamy peer-to-peer file-sharing networks; one of these gluttons downloaded the equivalent of 1,500 high-definition movies in a month.

It sounds reasonable for Time Warner to ask big-time freeloaders to pay their way. But talking to Dudley, I get the impression that it won't just be flagrant over-indulgers who wind up paying more. Indeed, he acknowledges that TW hopes such a plan will get all its customers thinking about how much media they consume on the Net. TW envisions offering plans capped at 5, 10, 20 and 40 gigabytes. Five gigs gets you barely two movies and a couple of TV shows, not counting the normal Web surfing, music streaming and e-mail. Clearly it won't just be inductees to the LimeWire Hall of Fame who are hit with excess charges.

Those penalties could be rough. Bell Canada, which meters service in some plans, charges customers who go over the limit $7.50 per additional gigabyte. (The Canadian dollar is worth about as much as the U.S. version these days.) That would jack up the $2.99 iTunes rental fee for "The Magnificent Seven" by 10 bucks. A high-def movie, typically 4 gigs, could cost you $30 more. (Bell Canada offers an Unlimited Usage Insurance Plan for $25 a month.)

You would think that consumer activists would be lining up against this idea, but some are holding their fire, largely because the experiment will measure how many bits a customer uses but doesn't care where those bits come from. This is in contrast to behavior that violates the principle of "net neutrality," which asserts that providers shouldn't be able tilt the digital playing field to favor their favorite Internet services (i.e. their partners or those who pay them). Digital populists are more concerned with pressuring the FCC to enforce its principles that ban companies from selectively blocking Internet content. In the wake of one possible violation -- Comcast slowing traffic involving certain peer-to-peer transmissions -- several groups have petitioned the agency to adopt and enforce more specific regulations. Metering isn't seen as part of that problem.

There is, however, a net neutrality angle to the Time Warner Cable experiment. As its name implies, this operation's main interest is cable television. An increasingly important component of that business is distributing video on demand. TW's competitors in that arena are Internet companies that intend to do the same thing. The TW plan tilts the field in its own favor. Let's say I want to watch the indie film "Waitress." I may have the choice to order it on my cable box or rent it from iTunes. Each might cost me $3. But if I'm metered, renting it from iTunes might mean that I exceed my monthly limit, perhaps incurring a penalty that's more than renting the movie.

A more profound problem with the metering scheme, however, doesn't involve corporate competition but international competition. In the United States, where the Internet was born, we pay higher prices (seven times what they pay in South Korea) for slower speeds. (Japan's users surf 13 times faster.) Though President Bush promised affordable broadband for all by 2007, tens of millions are still stuck with dial-up.

Fast, cheap, abundant broadband is a fantastic economic accelerator, enabling breakout businesses and kick-starting new industries. Unless we move quickly, these will spring from foreign soil. Instead of testing systems that discourage people from vigorously using our overpriced, underpowered systems, government and industry should be working overtime to figure out how to get faster service for less money and make sure that all users, no matter where they live, have affordable access to the high-speed Net. Maybe then we'll get out of 24th place.

Steven Levy, a senior editor atNewsweek, can be reached atsteven.levy@newsweek.com.

#142934

docsigma2000: jesus christ man
docsigma2000: my son is sooooooo dead
c8info: Why?
docsigma2000: hes been looking at internet web sites in fucking EUROPE
docsigma2000: HE IS SURFING LONG DISTANCE
docsigma2000: our fucking phone bill is gonna be nuts
c8info: Ooh, this is bad. Surfing long distance adds an extra $69.99 to your bill per hour.
docsigma2000: ...!!!!!! FUCK FUCK FUCK
docsigma2000: is there some plan we can sign up for???
docsigma2000: cuz theres some cool stuff in europe, but i dun wanna pauy that much
c8info: Sorry, no. There is no plan. you'll have to live with it.
docsigma2000: o well, i ccan live without europe intenet sites.
docsigma2000: but till i figure out how to block it hes sooooo dead
c8info: By the way, I'm from Europe, your chatting long distance.
** docsigma2000 has quit (Connection reset by peer)

The pricing plan at the top of the page is the only thing that is fake. thus far. Those that control the internet, at least who has access to it, have once again become greedy little money grabbers and have decided that it would be a good idea to charge still more for internet access. This spells trouble for all citizens of the internet, but what's more, it spells trouble for freedom. Freedom of speech, of expression, and of information. The very corner stone of this country, the freedom to say what you want to anyone at any time, is again in jeopardy. This time it's not the government with such things as THE PATRIOT ACT, but these conglomerates that feel that several billion in profits just aren't enough.
Now is the time to get upset, not later when it may be too late to make a change. Write to your Senators, Representatives, and most importantly, the FCC. What is being proposed by these businesses is immoral, if not illegal.

"Doomsday Seed Vault"

2007-12-04T10:41:00.000-05:00

This interesting article cites the near compleation of a new seed vault (think the Ark in Titan AE). What makes this particularly interesting is the people and companies that sponserd it. Bill gates, of microsoft, the Rockefeller foundation, from the oil company, and the GMO (Group Member Oganization). here's an exerpt, follow the link for the rest of the artical.

The seed bank is being built inside a mountain on Spitsbergen Island near the small village of Longyearbyen. It’s almost ready for ‘business’ according to their releases. The bank will have dual blast-proof doors with motion sensors, two airlocks, and walls of steel-reinforced concrete one meter thick. It will contain up to three million different varieties of seeds from the entire world, ‘so that crop diversity can be conserved for the future,’ according to the Norwegian government. Seeds will be specially wrapped to exclude moisture. There will be no full-time staff, but the vault's relative inaccessibility will facilitate monitoring any possible human activity.

Did we miss something here? Their press release stated, ‘so that crop diversity can be conserved for the future.’ What future do the seed bank’s sponsors foresee, that would threaten the global availability of current seeds, almost all of which are already well protected in designated seed banks around the world?

Anytime Bill Gates, the Rockefeller Foundation, Monsanto and Syngenta get together on a common project, it’s worth digging a bit deeper behind the rocks on Spitsbergen. When we do we find some fascinating things.

Link

Where Have I Heard that Tune Before?

2007-10-28T22:55:00.001-04:00

A political cartoon about American propaganda and the Middle East. You can't fool us again. Or can you?

read more | digg story

Italy Lay Plans to Resurrect the Axis of Evil

2007-10-24T20:17:00.000-04:00

It would seem that Italy has gone back to the days of the Third Reich and is choking free speech.

Ricardo Franco Levi, Prodi’s right hand man , undersecretary to the President of the Council, has written the text to put a stopper in the mouth of the Internet...The Levi-Prodi law lays out that anyone with a blog or a website has to register it with the ROC, a register of the Communications Authority, produce certificates, pay a tax, even if they provide information without any intention to make money.

Now, doing a little digging, i found these pictures, and i must say, i was stunned.

It seems that this man has a history of oppression, and should be stopped at all costs.

Dear Censors in Asia:

2007-10-11T22:37:00.000-04:00

Fuck You

Seriously, you Chinese Censors can't shut down my blog, and you can't stop me, short of sending ninjas or something. And I'm a pirate, so I'll win anyway. Just knock it off already.

For the rest of you however...
Ko-Htike Blog
Free Burma

For NM Furries, life is more than lions, tigers and bears—oh my!

2007-10-10T16:42:00.001-04:00

A well written and unbiased article on the subject of furries. It offers up a clear picture of your typical furry, something that has been terribly distorted in the past. Props to David Maass.

read more | digg story

What America Can Look Forward to Before the 2008 Elections

2007-10-09T00:09:00.001-04:00

Vet questions why lost nukes sent to Middle East staging area
A retired lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve who served with the Navy's Supervisor of Salvage questioned in a little-noticed editorial Sunday why six active nuclear armed cruise missiles were being transferred to an active bomber base that "just happens to be the staging area for Middle Eastern operations."
"The United States also does not transport nuclear weapons meant for elimination attached to their launch vehicles under the wings of a combat aircraft," Navy veteran Robert Stormer wrote in the Texas-based Star-Telegram. "The procedure is to separate the warhead from the missile, encase the warhead and transport it by military cargo aircraft to a repository -- not an operational bomber base that just happens to be the staging area for Middle Eastern operations."

Six nuclear W80 nuclear-armed cruise missiles were flown to Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale AFB in Louisiana where they sat for ten hours undetected.

"Press reports initially cited the Air Force mistake of flying nuclear weapons over the United States in violation of Air Force standing orders and international treaties, while completely missing the more important major issues, such as how six nuclear cruise missiles got loose to begin with," writes Stormer.

"Let me be very clear here: We are not talking about paintball cartridges or pellet gun ammo. We are talking nuclear weapons."

Stormer doesn't buy reports that the missiles were simply lost. The title of his piece is "Nuke transportation story has explosive implications."

"There is a strict chain of custody for all such weapons," he said. "Nuclear weapons handling is spelled out in great detail in Air Force regulations, to the credit of that service. Every person who orders the movement of these weapons, handles them, breaks seals or moves any nuclear weapon must sign off for tracking purposes."

"All security forces assigned are authorized "to use deadly force to protect the weapons from any threat. Nor does anyone quickly move a 1-ton cruise missile -- or forget about six of them, as reported by some news outlets, especially cruise missiles loaded with high explosives.

"This is about how six nuclear advanced cruise missiles got out of their bunkers and onto a combat aircraft without notice of the wing commander, squadron commander, munitions maintenance squadron (MMS), the B-52H's crew chief and command pilot and onto another Air Force base tarmac without notice of that air base's chain of command -- for 10 hours."

At the end of his editorial, he poses the following questions.

The questions that must be answered:

1 Why, and for what ostensible purpose, were these nuclear weapons taken to Barksdale?

2 How long was it before the error was discovered?

3 How many mistakes and errors were made, and how many needed to be made, for this to happen?

4 How many and which security protocols were overlooked?

5 How many and which safety procedures were bypassed or ignored?

6 How many other nuclear command and control non-observations of procedure have there been?

7 What is Congress going to do to better oversee U.S. nuclear command and control?

8 How does this incident relate to concern for reliability of control over nuclear weapons and nuclear materials in Russia, Pakistan and elsewhere?

9 Does the Bush administration, as some news reports suggest, have plans to attack Iran with nuclear weapons?

10 If this was an accident, have we degraded our military to a point where we are now making critical mistakes with our nuclear arsenal? If so, how do we correct this?

The last 2 points are what are particularly frightening for me. Looking at the presidents ability to issue Executive Orders, he has the potential to suspend or postpone the 2008 elections indefinably.

The Scenario as I see it:

Early to mid 2008. A nuclear device is detonated in the middle east. Executive and media spin point fingers at Iran or a terrorist device.
48 hours after the mushroom cloud, the United States declares War with Iran.
One to three weeks after a Declaration of War, US Troops invade Iran
The President of the United states suspends the 2008 presidential election, using an executive order.
Late 2008 to mid 2009: Civil unrest in the US is on the rise, the national guard is mobilized around the country. There are resolutions for a draft, 'political dissidents' are arrested and disappear from public view.

Things begin to get hazy after the elections are canceled, the international response will play a major role in public response in the United States.

Digg it!

Free Burma!

2007-10-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

Ko-htike.blogspot.com

2007-10-02T01:49:00.001-04:00

A blog keeping updates on the situation in Burma. Thousands detained, scores dead, and no end in sight. The internet within the country has been disabled, cutting off the bloggers that were putting out videos and information. In fact, those bloggers are now being hunted, and they fear for their lives.

read more | digg story

High School Security Guards Attack Teen With Cell Phone Camera

2007-10-01T22:18:00.001-04:00

read it, digg itIs it just me, or is there a very very serious problem with the state of our police and security forces in this country? There are far far too many violent assaults on students and ethnic minority's, be it racially motivated or motivated by a desire to control the flow of information. You surly know of the University of Florida student that was tasered while Sen. John Kerry gave a speech, amidst the screams of pain and terror. Or countless assaults of blacks and Latin Americas by police forces. This country is fast becoming a police state, and if things do not change soon, it may be to dangerous to leave your home because of roaming gangs of police.

read more | digg story

Unseen footage from ground Zero on 9/11

2007-09-30T04:03:00.001-04:00

Unseen footage from just a few streets away from the WTC before it collapsed on 9/11. You can hear pieces of the second plane hitting the street and cars just after it hits the tower. Thoughts? Diggs?

read more | digg story

The Warrent is Out! Arrest George W. Bush!

2007-09-28T19:06:00.001-04:00

[Taken from "http://www.roguegovernment.com" via digg.com]

As George Bush made his appearance and speech today at the United Nations in NYC, 1,000 people issued a citizen's arrest warrant against him for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The day began with twelve separate feeder marches converging from across the city, consisting of perhaps several hundred protesters. The people carried 20 large coffins with them and marched from all five boroughs toward Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza and the UN Building where Bush was speaking. The feeder marches were organized by Arrest Cheney First, the War Resister's League, Witness Against Torture, Movement for a Democratic Society (MDS-NYC) and others.

1,000 Attempt Citizen's Arrest of Bush at UN; Blocked by Police, 10 to 12 Arrests

9/25/07

A citizen's arrest warrant has been issued! Please do your duty and see that it is served!

As George Bush made his appearance and speech today at the United Nations in NYC, 1,000 people issued a citizen's arrest warrant against him for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The day began with twelve separate feeder marches converging from across the city, consisting of perhaps several hundred protesters. The people carried 20 large coffins with them and marched from all five boroughs toward Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza and the UN Building where Bush was speaking. The feeder marches were organized by Arrest Cheney First, the War Resister's League, Witness Against Torture, Movement for a Democratic Society (MDS-NYC) and others.

Police had already set up a protest pen outside of the UN for a rally called by the vanguardist World Can't Wait, and quickly moved to herd the marchers into the pens. When members of the War Resister's League exited the pen to deliver the arrest warrant, police arrested 8 of them and grabbed three or four unaffiliated protesters from the pen as well, at approximately 10:30 am.

Eventually, the original contingent of marchers and several hundred others got tired of the pens and began to march south on Second Avenue toward Washington Square Park. A few attempts were made to march in the street, but police reacted violently, shoving and pushing marchers back onto the sidewalk. In the process, police also seized any megaphones they saw. Several protesters sustained injuries in these encounters, but no arrests were made. In all, about 500 people made their way to Washington Square Park.

The idea of citizen's arrest has its roots in common law, and allows for any citizen to execute an arrest on someone who they witness committing a felony offense. All states in the United States allow for citizen's arrest, except for North Carolina, which follows different statutes. Those undertaking a citizen's arrest can still be held liable in civil or criminal court for any damages they inflict in the process. However, they have full rights to detain and arrest a suspect who they witness in commission of a felony.

Applicable felonies in this case include, but are not limited to: treason, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice, perjury, conspiracy malfeasance in office, fraud, embezzlement, and kidnapping.

Under established international and military law, also, the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity, for which, as commander in chief, Bush bears command responsibility for the actions of those under his command as well as for his own policies.

Under the principles of the Nuremburg Trials at the end of World War Two, Bush would be indictable for all four counts established back then:

1. Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of crime against peace;

2. Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace;

3. War crimes;

4. Crimes against humanity.

While the efforts of citizens today to serve an arrest warrant on Bush failed, be advised: the warrant stands. Please do you duty, and try at every opportunity to bring this criminal to justice.

More need not be said. Do your duty! fulfill this warrant!

read more | digg story

How your lawmakers vote (unbelievable video)

2007-09-28T18:58:00.001-04:00

[Via Dig]WTF. I am truly at a lose for words, perhaps you have some that i lack.

read more | digg story

Student tasered after asking questions of John Kerry.

2007-09-18T12:54:00.000-04:00

It gets gruesome a the end. Is this justified by the police or were they ordered to shut him up?

The Salem Witch Hunts Return!

2007-08-24T06:32:00.001-04:00

The witch hunts are back, now targeting Wiccans and spreading more misconceptions and stereotypes about the Wiccans community.

read more | digg story

All unclean must be hidden from our God-King!

2007-08-22T10:57:00.000-04:00

White House Manual Details How to Deal With Protesters

By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 22, 2007; Page A02

Not that they're worried or anything. But the White House evidently leaves little to chance when it comes to protests within eyesight of the president. As in, it doesn't want any.

A White House manual that came to light recently gives presidential advance staffers extensive instructions in the art of "deterring potential protestors" from President Bush's public appearances around the country.

Among other things, any event must be open only to those with tickets tightly controlled by organizers. Those entering must be screened in case they are hiding secret signs. Any anti-Bush demonstrators who manage to get in anyway should be shouted down by "rally squads" stationed in strategic locations. And if that does not work, they should be thrown out.

But that does not mean the White House is against dissent -- just so long as the president does not see it. In fact, the manual outlines a specific system for those who disagree with the president to voice their views. It directs the White House advance staff to ask local police "to designate a protest area where demonstrators can be placed, preferably not in the view of the event site or motorcade route."

The "Presidential Advance Manual," dated October 2002 with the stamp "Sensitive -- Do Not Copy," was released under subpoena to the American Civil Liberties Union as part of a lawsuit filed on behalf of two people arrested for refusing to cover their anti-Bush T-shirts at a Fourth of July speech at the West Virginia State Capitol in 2004. The techniques described have become familiar over the 6 1/2 years of Bush's presidency, but the manual makes it clear how organized the anti-protest policy really is.

The lawsuit was filed by Jeffery and Nicole Rank, who attended the Charleston event wearing shirts with the word "Bush" crossed out on the front; the back of his shirt said "Regime Change Starts at Home," while hers said "Love America, Hate Bush." Members of the White House event staff told them to cover their shirts or leave, according to the lawsuit. They refused and were arrested, handcuffed and briefly jailed before local authorities dropped the charges and apologized. The federal government settled the First Amendment case last week for $80,000, but with no admission of wrongdoing.

The manual demonstrates "that the White House has a policy of excluding and/or attempting to squelch dissenting viewpoints from presidential events," said ACLU lawyer Jonathan Miller. "Individuals should have the right to express their opinion to the president, even if it's not a favorable one."

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that he could not discuss the manual because it is an issue in two other lawsuits.

The manual offers advance staffers and volunteers who help set up presidential events guidelines for assembling crowds. Those invited into a VIP section on or near the stage, for instance, must be " extremely supportive of the Administration," it says. While the Secret Service screens audiences only for possible threats, the manual says, volunteers should examine people before they reach security checkpoints and look out for signs. Make sure to look for "folded cloth signs," it advises.

To counter any demonstrators who do get in, advance teams are told to create "rally squads" of volunteers with large hand-held signs, placards or banners with "favorable messages." Squads should be placed in strategic locations and "at least one squad should be 'roaming' throughout the perimeter of the event to look for potential problems," the manual says.

"These squads should be instructed always to look for demonstrators," it says. "The rally squad's task is to use their signs and banners as shields between the demonstrators and the main press platform. If the demonstrators are yelling, rally squads can begin and lead supportive chants to drown out the protestors (USA!, USA!, USA!). As a last resort, security should remove the demonstrators from the event site."

Advance teams are advised not to worry if protesters are not visible to the president or cameras: "If it is determined that the media will not see or hear them and that they pose no potential disruption to the event, they can be ignored. On the other hand, if the group is carrying signs, trying to shout down the President, or has the potential to cause some greater disruption to the event, action needs to be taken immediately to minimize the demonstrator's effect."

The manual adds in bold type: "Remember -- avoid physical contact with demonstrators! Most often, the demonstrators want a physical confrontation. Do not fall into their trap!" And it suggests that advance staff should "decide if the solution would cause more negative publicity than if the demonstrators were simply left alone."

The staff at the West Virginia event may have missed that line.

wow. Well, there goes the First Amendment, as well as a terrible abuse of civil rights. If you or someone you know participates in the afore mentioned 'rally squads', you should ask citizenship be revoked and move to the middle east.
Let's be serious people, in a country based on the idea of free speech, how well should this be accepted? What would George Washington, Benjamen Franklin, or any other of our founding fathers have to say about this? They certianly wouldnt give Ol' King George a pat on the back, i guarantee it.

The Rats are Jumping Ship

2007-08-17T18:48:00.000-04:00

The following is a list of White house employees that have recently left their positions at the top of the executive branch of the United States Government.

Karl Rove - Former Top White House Aid; Failed to Appear to Senate Judiciary Committee hearings regarding the firings of 8 white house aids.
Harriet Miers - Former White House Aid; Offered position as Head Supreme Court Justice, declined the position.
Tony Snow - White House Spokesman; Citing financial troubles, has announced his resignation.

This is just a note of the very top of the list. The only ones who seem determind to stay are King George and his sidekick, Cheney .

Any thoughts and additional information such as other resignations would be most welcome.

Global Change

2007-08-17T03:15:00.001-04:00

"Chaplin Snakker" by Lasse Gjertsen. Using parts of a script from WW2 Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator", this song and movie are quite moving in this modern age of speed and profit.

read more |

NYPD Warns of Homegrown Terror Threat

2007-08-15T23:06:00.000-04:00

EDIT: I've been provided with the source document here

By TOM HAYS 08.15.07
NEW YORK -

Average citizens who quietly band together and adopt radical ways pose a mounting threat to American security that could exceed that of established terrorist groups like al-Qaida, a new police analysis has concluded.

The New York Police Department report released Wednesday describes a process in which young men - often legal immigrants from the Middle East who are frustrated with their lives in their adopted country - adopt a philosophy that puts them on a path to violence.

The report was intended to explain how people become radicalized rather than to lay out specific strategies for thwarting terror plots. It calls for more intelligence gathering, and argues that local law enforcement agencies are in the best position to monitor potential terrorists.

"Hopefully, the better we're informed about this process, the more likely we'll be to detect and disrupt it," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said during a briefing with private security executives at police headquarters.

The study is based on an analysis of a series of domestic plots thwarted since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, including those in Lackawanna, N.Y.; Portland, Ore.; and Virginia. It was prepared by senior analysts with the NYPD Intelligence Division who traveled to Hamburg, Madrid and other overseas spots to confer with authorities about similar cases.

The report found homegrown terrorists often were indoctrinated in local "radicalization incubators" that are "rife with extremist rhetoric."

Instead of mosques, those places were more likely to be "cafes, cab driver hangouts, flop houses, prisons, student associations, non-governmental organizations, hookah bars, butcher shops and bookstores," the report says.

The Internet also provides "the wandering mind of the conflicted young Muslim or potential convert with direct access to unfiltered radical and extremist ideology."

The threat posed by homegrown extremists - from "eco-terrorist" groups to neo-Nazis - has long been a top concern for federal counterterror officials.

Recently, authorities have taken a closer look at radicalization happening in U.S. prisons, where a study last year by George Washington University and the University of Virginia found that Islamic extremists were turning jail cells into terrorist breeding grounds by preaching violent interpretations of the Quran to their fellow inmates.

Additionally, the Justice Department last year indicted 28-year-old Adam Gadahn, who was raised on a farm in southern California, with treason and supporting terrorism for serving as an al-Qaida propagandist.

Gadahn is believed to have tried to recruit supporters through videos and messages posted on the Internet.

The NYPD report warns that more intelligence gathering is needed since most potential homegrown terrorists "have never been arrested or involved in any kind of legal trouble," the study says.

They "look, act, talk and walk like everyone around them," the study adds. "In the early stages of their radicalization, these individuals rarely travel, are not participating in any kind of militant activity, yet they are slowly building the mind-set, intention and commitment to conduct jihad."

Kareem Shora, legal adviser for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, called the findings faulty and potentially inflammatory.

Police "paint such a broad brush," Shora said. "It plays right into the extremists' plans because it's going to end up angering the community."

A recently released National Intelligence Estimate concluded that Osama bin Laden's network had regrouped and remains the most serious threat to the United States.

Kelly insisted the NYPD report made no effort to provide a "cookie-cutter" profile for terrorists. He also argued that the NYPD report "doesn't contradict the National Intelligence Estimate - it augments it."

Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington contributed to this report.

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

I've gone through this article and highlighted some key words, thoughts, and phrases for you. read it once or twice. This article is a clear and blatant attack on Arab-Americans in the United States, as well as a threat of attack to free thinkers across the country. I mean, come on! Book stores, student unions, coffee shops!? All of these places are stereotypical gathering places of writers, readers, and those that want to be informed of the world they live in, as places where ideas and opinions can be freely exchanged. Beware, if you are found to be within these locations, your name, your family's names, and your friend's names will be added to a terrorist watch list...

Kareem Shora is right on the money. This report does nothing more then an inflammatory document meant to demonise and discriminate against Arab-Americans and Americans that do not agree to the ruling party's doctrines.

You Play With Your Own Toys

2007-08-02T18:06:00.000-04:00

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from nearly two dozen cities executed 32 federal search warrants in 16 states in the past 24 hours as part of a mammoth crackdown on chip modding.

Operation Tangled Web, the result of a year long investigation headed up by the ICE office in Cleveland, is the largest national enforcement action of its kind targeting the sales of modification chips and "disc copyright circumvention devices" in history.

Neither the Department of Justice nor the ESA would name the businesses, homes or storefronts involved in the sweep that took place in California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin today.

The modchips and circumvention devices allowed users to play pirated software on the PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Wii.

"Illicit devices like the ones targeted today are created with one purpose in mind, subverting copyright protections," said Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "These crimes cost legitimate businesses billions of dollars annually and facilitate multiple other layers of criminality, such as smuggling, software piracy and money laundering."

Newly minted ESA chief Michael D. Gallagher was quick to offer federal kudos:

"Plain and simple, selling and distributing products to illegally bypass game consoles' piracy protections is a crime with real-life consequences. This is not a game; we're talking jail time. Enforcement initiatives of this scope send a clear message to both the public and pirate community that this illegal activity will not be tolerated," said Michael D. Gallagher, president of ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. "We commend Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Department of Justice, and the participating U.S. Attorneys' offices for targeting individuals and groups selling 'mod-chips' and pirated game software."

Now that the threat of terrorism and border safety concerns are a thing of the past we can finally get down to dealing with the real threats to America's borders... dodgy copies of Wii Sports.

Press releases: Jump

ICE partners with industry to launch largest enforcement action of its kind targeting importers and distributors of illegal devices used to circumvent anti-piracy technology in top gaming consoles
32 search warrants executed in nationwide intellectual property rights investigation

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from 22 offices assisted by representatives of the electronic industry today executed 32 federal search warrants in 16 states as part of an investigation into the alleged sale and distribution of illegal modification chips and disc copyright circumvention devices. This investigation represents the largest national enforcement action of its kind targeting this type of illegal activity.

The search warrants were executed at businesses, storefronts, and residences located in California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin at locations associated with subjects who are allegedly involved in the direct importation, installation, sale, and distribution of the devices that are of foreign manufacture and smuggled into the United States.

The modification chips and circumvention devices allow users to play illegally obtained, pirated and/or counterfeit software on video game consoles including Sony's Playstation 2, Microsoft's XBOX and XBOX 360, and Nintendo's Wii. Modification chips and swap discs for gaming consoles violate laws under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA). According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the makers of the gaming consoles, game developers, and others in the industry have incurred billions of dollars in losses worldwide due to sales lost to those selling counterfeit and pirated video games.

Counterfeiting and piracy is estimated to cost the U.S. economy between $200 billion and $250 billion annually and results in the loss of up to 750,000 jobs according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

"Illicit devices like the ones targeted today are created with one purpose in mind, subverting copyright protections," said Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "These crimes cost legitimate businesses billions of dollars annually and facilitate multiple other layers of criminality, such as smuggling, software piracy and money laundering."

As the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, ICE plays a leading role in targeting criminal organizations responsible for producing, smuggling and distributing counterfeit products. ICE investigations focus on keeping counterfeit and pirated products off U.S. streets, and on dismantling the criminal organizations behind this illegal activity. In fiscal year 2006, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and ICE marked an 83 percent increase in the number of intellectual property rights (IPR) seizures, including 14,675 seizures of counterfeit goods worth more than $155 million, a 67 percent increase from the year before. ICE investigations resulted in 219 arrests, 134 indictments and 170 convictions in intellectual property rights violations.

Between fiscal years 2002 and 2006, ICE agents arrested more than 700 individuals for IPR violations and dismantled several large scale criminal organizations that distributed counterfeit merchandise to nations around the globe. At the same time, ICE investigations into these networks resulted in 449 criminal indictments and 425 convictions. Together, ICE and CBP seized more than $750 million worth of counterfeit goods from fiscal year 1998 through fiscal year 2006.

This enforcement action is the result of a year long investigation conducted by the ICE Office of the Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Cleveland, Ohio.

The names of those targeted, addresses and case specifics are not releasable at this time.

The investigation is being coordinated with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio in Cleveland and assisted by the Department of Justice Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). In addition, ICE has received valuable technical assistance during this investigation from ESA and other industry members.

Video Game Industry Hails Nationwide Piracy Raids In "Operation Tangled Web"
Action Shuts Down Importers and Sellers of Illegal Modification Chips

August 1, 2007-- Washington, DC -- The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today commended U.S. law enforcement agents and prosecutors' work in undertaking the nation's first and largest anti-piracy raid of its kind. The action, code-named "Operation Tangled Web," targeted retailers selling modification chips through the Internet for the Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony game console systems. Law enforcement executed 32 search warrants in more than 20 localities across the country within a 24-hour period.

"Plain and simple, selling and distributing products to illegally bypass game consoles' piracy protections is a crime with real-life consequences. This is not a game; we're talking jail time. Enforcement initiatives of this scope send a clear message to both the public and pirate community that this illegal activity will not be tolerated," said Michael D. Gallagher, president of ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. "We commend Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Department of Justice, and the participating U.S. Attorneys' offices for targeting individuals and groups selling 'mod-chips' and pirated game software."

Modification chips or "mod-chips" are typically installed in video game console systems to circumvent the technological protection measures and enable the user to play pirated game software. These chips, as well as other circumvention devices, are illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

"As an industry, we protect our intellectual property, encourage our government to crack down on those who break the law, and urge other governments to take similar action against video game pirates. Yearly worldwide piracy costs total over $3 billion and it impinges on businesses and employees who create, develop, and distribute innovative products," said Gallagher. "The ESA will work with federal law enforcement to ensure that those engaged in the illegal trade of circumvention devices are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

The ESA is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. ESA members collectively account for more than 90 percent of the $7.4 billion in entertainment software sales in the U.S. in 2006, and billions more in export sales of entertainment software. For more information about the ESA, please visit www.theESA.com.

Tell me, have you ever read such a load of bullshit? Well, probably, but this is still an article full of crap. The mod chips that they are confinscating are 100% legal in the United States. Said chips are commonly used to run homebrew programs, that's programs made and freely distributed by people in their free time. Programs such as Music players, Image viewers, PDA-like programs, mail programs, and home made games of all sorts. I use my NDS to run DSOrganize, NDSMail(i wish he'd get the SSL working), MoonShell Media viewer, and countless games. It is a widely held belief by persons and groups that research and are involved with the Homebrew communities that these raids were encouraged and even demanded by companies such as Sony and Microsoft under false pretense.
Homebrew is not illegal, and modifying one's own property is still legal as well. Or have i mistaken the land of the free for a dictatorship?

Going Mobile

2007-07-23T15:27:00.000-04:00

[This post is coming from a modified Nintendo DS game console.]

Well, i`ve not been on top of the news much most of the summer, what with prep to move to college! But heres a few points oh intrest.

*an agrenment was reached at the last second for internet radio to stay alive, giving more permenent bills to make it through the house and senate.
*there's still alot of problems in the midle east
*other stuff i can't recall right now.

posting from my NDS means its really hard to provide links, but it also means i can post anywhere there's a wifi point.
untill next post!

Happy 4th of July!

2007-07-04T15:48:00.000-04:00

Happy Fireworks Day!

RIAA Lawsuits get backlash

2007-06-27T12:49:00.000-04:00

Exonerated defendant sues RIAA for malicious prosecution

By Eric Bangeman | Published: June 25, 2007 - 04:40PM CT

Former RIAA target Tanya Andersen has sued several major record labels, the parent company of RIAA investigative arm MediaSentry, and the RIAA's Settlement Support Center for malicious prosecution, a development first reported by P2P litigation attorney Ray Beckerman of Vandenberg & Feliu. Earlier this month, Andersen and the RIAA agreed to dismiss the case against her with prejudice, making her the prevailing party and eligible for attorneys fees.

The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the District of Oregon late last week and accuses the RIAA of a number of misdeeds, including invasion of privacy, libel and slander, and deceptive business practices.

Andersen is a disabled single mother residing in Oregon. In 2005, she was sued by the RIAA for file-sharing, accused of sharing a library of gangsta rap over Kazaa. She denied the allegations and filed a counterclaim alleging fraud, racketeering, and deceptive business practices by the record labels. Despite the lack of any evidence of infringement apart from an IP address, the RIAA continued to press ahead with the case until the abrupt dismissal earlier this month.

Andersen lays out an unsavory account of the music industry's actions as it attempted to dig up evidence that she was guilty of infringement. Early on, an employee at the Settlement Support Center, the RIAA's prelitigation collections agent, allegedly told Andersen that he believed she had not infringed any copyrights according to the complaint.

After the RIAA filed suit, Andersen's complaint says that she provided the name, location, and phone number of the person she believed was behind the Kazaa account "gotenkito," the account the RIAA accused her of using for copyright infringement. "Instead of dismissing their false claims, the defendant Record Companies persisted in their malicious prosecution of her they publicly libeled her with demanding and repulsive accusations [sic]" that she listened to misogynistic rap music according to the complaint.

The RIAA is also accused of trying to contact Andersen's then eight-year-old daughter without her knowledge. "Knowing of her distress, the RIAA and its agents even attempted to directly contact Kylee," reads the complaint. "They called Ms. Andersen's apartment building looking for Kylee. Phone calls were also made to her former elementary school under false pretenses... Ms. Andersen learned of these tactics and was even more frightened and distressed."

Andersen says that the RIAA acted negligently throughout the proceedings and engaged in fraud and negligent misrepresentation by demanding that she enter into a four-figure settlement for copyright infringement that she never engaged in. The RIAA is also accused of violating both federal and state RICO statutes, the intentional infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy. Andersen seeks statutory and punitive damages along with attorneys fees.

We explored the possibility of charging the RIAA with malicious prosecution last month. Attorney Rich Vasquez of Morgan Miller Blair told Ars Technica that he believed the RIAA could be vulnerable to such charges, but it would be an uphill battle to make them stick. Still, the complaint paints a very unflattering picture of the RIAA and its agents engaging in activity that was in many cases questionable and unethical at best.

The history of file-sharing litigation shows that Atlantic v. Andersen was not an isolated case of mistaken identity, and should Andersen get a favorable result here, other former defendants may follow her lead. That could lead to a potentially very costly class-action suit against the RIAA. "You'd have to have a lot of winners," said Vasquez. "If you have enough people bringing charges of malicious prosecution, you could then show a pattern of practices on the part of the RIAA."

The RIAA told Ars that it would have no comment on Andersen's lawsuit.

It's good to know that we can still strike back at the big mega corporations that are trying to rule our lives. Here's to hoping that this succeeds.