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If "here" is the US, it's already a common practice. And yes, if you refuse you can expect your name to be published in the paper.

IMO, this is an obvious breach of our 4th amendment protections against unreasonable searches, and our 5th amendment protections against self incrimination.

http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/519

Why are we rehashing the news from 2005?

WO2005/015989 and WO2005/017204

http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?adjacent=true&KC=A1&date=20060503&NR=1651030A1&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_V3&CC=EP&FT=D

Let's get up to date.

Check out some US file history at

http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal/pair

with application number 10/565548 .

Or some EP file history from

http://www.epoline.org/portal/public/registerplus

with Application number EP20040757318 .

Or stick with old news:

http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2240

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=GUP20060520&articleId=2480

Frankly, I am tired of the amateur approach to patents so prevalent at Slashdot.

I was shocked to find out just how varied the laws are from state to state regarding whether felons can vote.

In some states, your rights are restored automatically once you're out of prison and off of parole or probation. In other states, you have to get the governor to restore your rights. Where I live (Arizona), it's somewhere between those two extremes, but you definitely have to go through a process to get your civil rights restored.

In predominantly red states, there's a lot of incentive to make it as difficult as possible for felons to resume voting, mainly because felons who vote tend to vote Democrat, not Republican. (That's not universally accepted wisdom, but it is echoed in one of the articles I'll link to in a second.) On the other side of the debate, statistics show that felons who vote are 50% less likely to be re-arrested.

So, here are some articles that deal with the topic of felony voting:

From Time, Why Can't Felons Vote?

From the Washington Post, Why Can't Ex-Felons Vote?

And finally, Some Felons' Voting Rights Left Behind Bars

There are some pretty choice quotes in each of those articles, and I recommend reading all three.

As for Iowa, it seems that Governor Tom Vilsack issued an executive order in 2005 which restores voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences; prior to that, Iowa was one of the states that required ex-felons to apply to the governor's office to restore their voting rights. Digging deeper, though, it appears that this was a one-time clemency deal, and people who hadn't completed their sentences prior to July 4, 2005, are required to go through the old system or a new, streamlined (mostly automatic) system to apply to have their rights restored.

I was wondering the other day why no one has proposed an outsourcing tax, at least not that I've heard of?

Because it would hurt the US economy. Outsourcing means american consumers get more for less. Moreover, it would encourage other countries to take similar actions against us, and we've been in a 50 year effort to drop tariffs against American products through GATT and now the WTO. The US exported $65 billion in products to China in 2007, up from $14 billion in 1998. US exports to India in 2007 were $17 million. And these are going to go up year after year.

However, despite that, the US already has a domestic production tax deduction (this is one of those "oil company tax breaks" people complain about).

There is a difference between information and food. You can share information and you still have exactly what you started with. You can't do the same for food. As for making the case for a different model, I'd rather not get wrapped up in the details. I simply made the assertion that it was possible and suggested that people might do things for reasons other than revenue that would make the point moot.

You and I disagree on the open issue. It's not really a matter of proof. It's more of a matter of worldview. Also, it is probably worth mentioning that there are people trying different models for news. I mentioned Indymedia, which some might say is a failure, but there needs to be some experiment for something new to be developed - and as your argument illustrates, developing a new model for news is not a trivial problem.

I do analysis and contract information for business organizations for a living. My experience is that access and the ability to use information is something even large firms often don't do well. Most aren't even aware what is out there and why they need it (which to be fair the products are continually changing and you do need someone that specializes in this sort of thing to provide the balance you speak of).

It gets back to metrics. How do you define "success"? If you define it as market share in a market where you can't even buy a free software system from many standard vendors such as Dell or as revenue when free software doesn't work on the software as product model, you have a point. I think free software is nascent and in the short term, it works as a skunk works that is building a foundation that will eventually eat proprietary software's lunch. You can disagree that free software doesn't contribute ideas, and it would be difficult for either one of us to make the case definitively.

I think the problem with metrics in evaluating success is that it is confined to the here and now. If I had to use a metric, I'd probably use something like awareness. How many people have heard of free software? Have used it (not use it primarily or exclusively)? Any new technology takes time to mature and achieve a high penetration rate - TVs, VCRs, DVDs, Internets, computers, etc. Free software is fragmented, so this penetration issue with free software will take longer.

You also keep making this argument about forced openness. No one is forcing anyone to do anything. The GPL is using IP - namely copyright law - and it is licensing the work under specific conditions. If you don't like the license, you don't have to use or develop the software - just like you have the option not to use it when faced with another program's EULA.

Personally, I think the IP model is completely broke. I think the GPL is a stop-gap measure designed to restore the idea at the center of IP - which at least in the United States was "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts". The idea was to promote these things for the common good - not for the good of a few. There needs to be a complete rethinking of copyright, patent and other IP laws that puts the common good and promoting progress as the key considerations. In the meantime, GPL just creates a new concept of copyright within the current framework. It may serve as a spark for the larger discussion necessary.

Which brings us to your arguments about net benefits of openness. I think your arguments on the negatives are weak. The development of Linux and practically every other free software project is done on volunteer work that is given freely - and it is only given freely because of the open model. It's called cooperation, and it is something that is difficult to understand if you put your faith in the concepts of capitalism, the rational consumer and finance. These models tend to forget that people also do things for love (not to mention fame, joy of solving problems or whatever) and not just, prima

No need to suspect this since there are so many well documented examples for it. For instance many Congressmen are on record of having stated that they did not have time to read the Patriot Act before it was voted on. Then there is the popular procedural trick of the majority leaders to schedule a vote so close to finishing a draft that the opposition is caught of guard and does not have time to organize. One of the crassest examples for this despicable spectacle is the current budget bill that even contained a typo: http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items /2834

[T]hese exemptions ... create a black hole into which the bureaucracy can drive just about any kind of information it wants to. And you can bet that Guantánamo, Abu-Ghraib-style information is what DIA and others would want to hide.

• The Indymedia network is one of the longest standing examples of an attempt to have a large citizen journalist network.
• The Pacifica Network (especially the Democracy Now show
• The New Standard

I see two problems with this right off the bat. First, as I noted on the thread next door, there are already known ways to hack the vote on "good" machines, on election day, either as an official with access to the machines or as an unofficial "super-voter" who has practiced the necessary steps.

And secondly, the whole concept of "random samples" is subject to abuse, not only in theory someday but in practice now:

And in Jefferson County, Green Party observer Ed Bortz reported that precinct staff had pre-selected "random" districts for the recount.

--MarkusQ

Unfortunately, the issue isn't that there is an error or irregularities, but that only a small percentage of the voting population actually has any sort of choice about the election. David Brin wrote a great article about this, pointing out that incubents almost always win, and most states are "no contest" for a particular party, so the only way to produce change is to vote in a primary (see the recent Lieberman loss in Connecticut).

As for the Kennedy-Nixon election in 1960, I think that although there are a number of scenarios which were very similar (voting fraud, etc) to the 2000 elections, the voters were dealing with a pretty awful choice: Kennedy, the good looking guy who brought us to the brink of WW III, or Nixon, the weasely guy who eventually redefined presidential corruption and dishonesty.

I dare say that Al Gore, though he may have seemed to be a relatively boring candidate for president, could not have done a worse job in terms of cronyism, rampant constitutional revisionism, and astroturfing support for an unpopular war in another country. That's leaving out the lying to the American public thing (about something actually *pertinent* to the country), the dismal response to Hurricane Katrina (not even placing all the blame on him, he *did* put the idiot in charge of FEMA who sat on his thumbs for a few days while New Orleans was being flooded), or the list of shady and probably indictable characters on his staff.... No president should *ever* have to have the American public look past all of that. We're a laughingstock, and our knee-jerk reactions to terrorism (removing personal liberties and spying on Americans) indeed looks like we've allowed terrorists to *win*, as opposed to the UK reaction.

You can hold any political opinion you want ... but it's very difficult to make a case that this guy has done a good job, and justifying why he's in office seems like an equally poor idea.

There isn't anyone "in cyberspace" -- unless AI has gotten really, really good overnight.

Everyone "in cyberspace" is a real, physical person in an actual country governed by specific laws. The same is true for the websites and services they use. Ultimately they are hosted on physical machines in specific countries, owned by real people and again, subject to the laws of the country(ies) they belong to.

I realize that this isn't central to the argument, but it bugs me every time I see it.

Oh and the whole car analogy argument:

With modern cars you often can't work on the car without the ability to talk to the
car's computer which often has an undocumented interface. The dealer has the tools and correct codes, but you might not.

http://www.righttorepair.org/

http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items /3212

They don't need to weld the hood shut.

In August of this year, the Department of Homeland Security began testing RFID tags at five border crossings under the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, or "US VISIT."

Yes, then there are those of us who can see beyond it. Sadly, there are many ppl in /. and other places that defend their parties action by wrapping themselves in terrorism, the flag, false logic, and FUD.

Over the next year, people in these categories will be issued new "I-94" visa cards embedded with an RFID tag ... Homeland Security Department requires that the I-94 cards be carried at all times.

Implanting chips in people != implanting chips in visas, even if you have to carry the visa (tinfoil, anyone?)

Before you go all "1984" on our asses, take a moment to stop and realize that this is the company that SELLS THE CHIPS making the proposal, NOT the government.

Are you sure about that?

The New Standard.

Here's a tip: Don't let it bother you ever

I hear you. I try. But for reasons beyond my control, things do bother me. These things are real, something might bother me at one point in time, then it goes away. But something else bothers me. So, I'm never free or at least it seems.

I don't like the sheep thing. Yeah, they get free haircuts to benefit the owners, and then they are turned into mutton when they no longer are of any use for haircuts.

My parents are completely average Americans. They do not rock the boat in any way shape or form. They are good and scared from the stuff they see on the "news", and they even pound their chest that they "know what is right" from what the government tells them is right and wrong.

Keep in mind that this is the same government that said it was OK to treat citizens of the country like minorities and women as second class or the same as an illegal alien or outsider. Keep in mind that women were allowed to vote in 1920. My great grandmother was alive then. Black people were only given lip service "rights" in 1964, only a few years before I was born. These are the same people that deceive the people on a daily basis via the media, spy on their citizens illegally, "liberate" countries for their economic personal gain, and so on.

For the record, before we "saved" and "liberated" Iraq from their horrible dictator, and "freed" them of their "suffering" by killing approximately 25,000 to 30,000 of their citizens. Well, to put it simply, Iraq's death rate has did not exceed their birth rate this year. The last time that happened was over 100 years ago. Granted they don't have gas (WTF?!?!), electricity, water from this time and the last time we bombed them, etc. Why would the want this shit instead of being free?

Granted, I don't care about Iraqi people. Why should I? I don't know any, they live on the other side of the world. They are a 3rd world country about the size and population of New York state with 1/2 of the population being under 20 years old.

I would be happy to ignore these people, and for our government to spend its time and resources to do things like provide quality affordable health care for its citizens. To use the military to protect our borders from attack. To increase, not decrease our personal liberties that are supposed to be fundamental to our country.

I'm back to my original thesis -- Lets just party for New Years and have a good time.

Happy New Year people!

Opera's been everything I need a browser to be since I was forced back to it in search of an e-mail program, oddly enough-- Thunderbird destroyed a friend's entire e-mail storage (about four months after I installed it for her) and Apple Mail apparently froze but 'sent' some important e-mails of mine without saving a copy anywhere.

Fortunately, Opera got a version (8.5) that actually worked on Mac at about the same time, and Firefox just isn't as good yet. And now ad-free Opera is officially free.

~~~
"The only thing that could make the Bush regime worse would be competence."
write me via my web design contact page.

please read and support independent, noncommercial news:

• The Narco News Bulletin, reporting on the drug war and democracy from Latin America.
• The NewStandard, original hard news on what matters for real people, daily.

Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 19:43:38 -0500
To: Rebates1
Subject: Re: NetGear Promo Center Email (Thread:318575)
From: Benjamin Melançon

I don't remember what any of the stuff was, I just know Tiger.com said it was a rebate and everything seemed to match up when I mailed it in, and I feel ripped off. I won't be taking any more rebate offers, though it has worked before. You can pass that on to Tiger and Netgear both.

benjamin melançon
human being
Natick, Massachusetts, USA 01760

Founding Member
People Who Give a Damn
http://pwgd.org/

Webworker, beMWeb web site design & digital photography
http://bemweb.com/

Interim Co-ordinator
The Fund for Authentic Journalism http://authenticjournalism.org/
Supporting the work of the Narco News Bulletin, http://narconews.com/
And its companion projects, the School of Authentic Journalism and the NarcoSphere, http://narcosphere.narconews.com/

Volunteer, Elected Board Member & Secretary
Amazing Things Arts Center
Saxonville, Framingham MA
http://www.amazingthings.org/

Investigative Reporter & Photojournalist, Freelance
news@bostontruth.com

Unpaid Promoter, The NewStandard
http://newstandardnews.net/

Ungraduated Student, formerly of UMass-Amherst

Town Meeting member, Precinct 4, Natick

oh right, and the 4/5ths time job
Compensation Consultant
Lawrence Associates

On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 16:39:16 -0500, Rebates1 wrote:

Dear Benjamin Melançon: Tracking number: 167874006

Thank you for your rebate inquiry. We have received your submission, but unfortunately, the UPC barcode that was included is not valid for this promotion. Please make sure that the product you purchased was the WG311 54 Mbps Wireless PCI Adapter and that the UPC for the correct product
was submitted.

If you still have the UPC for the correct product, please send it to the following address:

Rebate Special Services
PO Box 028516
Miami FL 33102-8516

We appreciate your participation in this promotion. If there is anything else we can do to assist you, please contact us at netgear.rebateinfo@netgear.com. We are always happy to help. You can also track the status of your rebate, using the Tracking number above, at www.netgearrebates.com.

Allan
Promotions Customer Service

"Really? Name one. I'll wait.
Still waiting."

Jesus, give me a chance!

Ok, a quick Google srearch turns up:

How we survived jail hell (Observer, respected, non-tabloid British newspaper)

Britain frees all five former Guantanamo detainees (USA Today)

Returning Afghans Talk of Guantanamo (Washington Post)

British Guantanamo Terror Suspects Released Without Charge (ATSNN (?))

Men Held at Guantánamo Months After Deemed Innocent (New Standard News (?))

Guantanamo Bay Prisoners Complain of A Year Long Torture by US Military (globalpolicy.org (?))

And that was just on the first page.

Do I get my apology now?

"You're not going to get ANYWHERE arguing that individuals who have engaged in covert military action against the US aren't enemy combatants."

No, of course many of them were. However, the correct term for an opposing fighter taken prisoner in a war is "prisoner of war".

Classifying them as "enemy combatants" is a weak legal loophole designed solely to avoid the US's Human Rights obligations under the Geneva Convention.

"The "loophole" you describe has been used by other countries before"

As you said, name one.

You'll also not I'm not automatically assuming you're wrong, merely asking you to prove it. Because I don't know for sure you aren't.

This is careful and rational argument, and not just arrogantly assuming I'm automatically right. We try to do this where I'm from, although I know the US isn't big on it at the moment.

"and quite frankly, the people who are being detained violated the Geneva Conventions themselves by not clearly identifying themselves as combatants. When they did that they forfeited their protections."

I don't recall a passage or clause under the Geneva Accords that says you have to clearly identify yourself as a combatant, but if you show me an excerpt I'll concede this point.

Nevertheless, this is what a trial is for - to establish whether or not the person actually is guilty. If they're all denied a trial, how can the innocent ones be freed?

"C. If they're US citizens, then their first protection should be the CONSTITUTION, not some ridiculously weak loosley related aggreements between previously (and sometimes currently) warring countries."

How many of them are actually US citizens? As a member of "the rest of the world" (you guys remember that place, right?) you can do what you like with your own citizens, but as I recall most US-native citizens captured were dealt with quickly, and there were barely any of them. Likewise, citizens of other western powers had an expedited release or repatriation for judging in their own countries.

The remaining prisoners are mostly Afghani (or other nationalities that the US feels safe in upsetting), and they aren't going anywhere, not even to trial.

Oh, and the Geneva Convention rights aren't "weak" - they state explicitely what's allowed and what isn't. Humiliation, torture and unlawful imprisonment aren't allowed.

The only reason you think they're weak is because your government has (illegally and immorally) tried so damn hard to weasel out of them, and nobody else is big enough or brave enough to take on the biggest, most nuked-up, violent and paranoid bully in the world at the moment.

"You're a partisan shill. And the worst part

A study published Wednesday in the policy journal Health Affairs found that approximately half of people in the US who file for bankruptcy cite medical costs as a significant reason for their financial troubles. [...] the researchers further found that three-quarters of those "medical bankruptcy" filers had insurance at the onset of illness

You get what you vote for.

Stop blaming voters for their government's actions. The last two elections proved that you do not get what you vote for.

Potential uses for the property: a religious college, spa, golf resort or even a technology park."

Or warehousing, for life "enemy combatants" you don't have the evidence to convict, but can't release because they'll hate you forever for torturing them.

What better for that then a Biosphere literally hermetically sealed from the rest of the world. Perhaps it's even sealed tightly enough to hold in the shame Americans should feel for what's being perpetuated in their names.

Yes, I'm proud to be an American: after getting to the moon in 1969, 35 years later the closest we've come to a manned landing on Mars is a "Biosphere" in the Arizona desert. Meanwhile, "land of the free" is using medieval tortures on innocent men and proposing to jail them for life without any evidence.

Here's to you, Mr. Jefferson! Here's to you Mr. Adams!

This is not the future I dreamt of.

We'll see what happens to this guy.

Imagine that, report that something bad is happening and people want to kill you for being honest and responsible.

You're either a liar or the most ignorant fuck to grace this board yet. U.S. Government, Media Silent on Torture of Detained Iraqi Kids You can't get away with the Limbaugh "they were just blowing off steam" line. Don't even make yourself look stupid by even trying, unless you think child rape is a good time.

No, the government would never hinder people from riding the subway.

You do realize that the total number of American soldiers killed since the invasion began is still less than 1,000, right? The invasion started in March, 2003, and it's now nearly July, 2004, which means the rate of American soldiers dying in Iraq is roughly comparable to the murder rate of Chicago, Illinois.
Um, you might wanna check on what that pesky word "rate" means. This may be just crazy liberal talk, but I interpret rate to be number of murders per unit of population.
last year there were 599 declared homicides in Chicago. The population of Chicago is 2,886,251 Well, that is a 2002 estimate, but it is close enough for the purpose of this exercise. That means that there were a bout 2.075 murders per 10,000 people in the city.
From March 2003 to March 2004 there were 601 US casulties in the Iraq War. Needless to say, the # of soldiers in Iraq is much less than the number of people in Chicago, but just to drill home how dumb your point is, lets do some calculations, shall we?
The total size of US forces in Iraq is roughly 138,000. So 601/138,000, or about 43.55 people per 10,000 killed......
Maybe it's just my poor math skills(obviously a result of our public schools, which I attended for both college and high school), but it seems to me that 43.55 is a lot bigger than 2.075....
Next time, do some real research before opening your mouth, you just might be surprised to see that you were being lied to. I found all these number off the internet in about 5 minutes

I'm sure it could have been more cost-effective, yes. But this isn't like an $85,000 flat tire.