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You might want to check some of those well known "facts" Before they make you seem like a runner up for the tinfoil hat of the year award. No matter what you feel about Microsoft, if the NSA is going to have MS and other US corporations add backdoors to their code, are they really going to be dumb enough to leave it named NSAKEY in plain sight in the registry? Incidentally, how many believe this 'theory' also install the SELinux additions to make their Linux more secure. You might want to go ahead and check who puts that together.

...to do a badly needed internet cleanup.

You mean the NSAKEY that turned out to be nothing?

Most reports I have heard say that most people from countries outside of the US view many US products (McDonalds, Microsoft, Nike, others) as international producs and don't really associate them with the US.

You're forgetting that governments think in terms of strategic value. You would have a very difficult time trying to find a government anywhere outside the US which saw McDonalds, et al. as anything but US corporations. They let them in because there are economic benefits.

Software/IT infrastructure is a very different issue. There are very powerful strategic considerations to be made by any government regarding this.

Oh, and don't forget about about the purported NSA key. Whether it's true, or not (and you'll notice that i linked to a page which attempts deal with the story without a lot of hand waving, btw) , the bottom line is that many governments (the US' *very* much included) wear their foil hats when it comes to important, strategic considerations.

...almost.

Went to take some money out late one night. There were about three (eastern european) guys huddled around the machine fiddling. Went to get money out, and the machine held out to my card - you could see the card in the slot, but couldn't get it out. Guys reappear and tell me something like "Oh. I've seen this before. Press blah, blah, blah and enter your PIN" while standing over me. Hmm, I don't think so...

So, I step back call my bank, wait on hold for an age, and as soon as they hear me confirm to the bank I want to cancel my card, I get my card thrown back at me by said guys, and they scarper into a car that has subsequently double parked.

I reported it to the local police station, and they said it happens all the time, but it wasn't actually a crime until they withdrew money (!!!).

It's called a "Lebanese Loop". More info here:

http://hoaxinfo.com/atmscam.htm

I see plenty of machines in London with glue residue around the card slot. This must happen all the time...

Taxing is a form of censorship. If you censor e-mail, people will move alternative communication mediums (IRC/IM/Blog/etc.) or start using e-mail accounts in jurisdictions that aren't censored. When people move to other communication mediums, the spammers will be there to greet them (IM spam, pager spam, chat room spam, etc.).

Then again, maybe this bill is yet just another hoax.

-ez