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I don't want my real physical address listed on my domain for the world to see, and I don't have a P.O. box.

We get that a lot. Now go read California Business and Professions Code Section 17358, which applies if you sell to California, and the European Electronic Commerce Directive (2000/31/EC), which applies if you sell in Europe. Anonymous businesses are illegal in most of the developed world. Deal with it.

California prosecutors have used B&P code section 17538 when dealing with complaints against online businesses. If the business didn't comply with the address disclosure requirements, but accepted credit cards, the maximum penalty is six months in jail for that alone. Do anything that brings your anonymous business to the attention of prosecutors, and they have that hammer to hold over you.

http://bugzilla.state.ca.us/

All of your students may have had their personal information compromised? Damn, bad PR. Oh, wait a minute, they are all from California, double damn.

There's nothing quite like being required by law to notify every single student that their information may have been compromised to help an organization take security a bit more seriously.

I thought it was the power companies "enron-ing" by withholding supplies and overcharging?! caag.state.ca.us

one concise citation your bank may be willing to dispute a lesser sum, but they don't have to

While I'd like to agree, just to stick it to the Republikkkins, Lockyer's a Democrap, he was elected to the position of AG (not appointed by the gov.), and it looks like he may be running for goverbator against Ah-nuld in 2006.

Actually, in California giving a false name is a felony - it's very similar in other states...

Basically it's 'obstruction of justice' and sections 1510 and 1511 are almost equally applicable (depending on whether or not you really are a suspect of a crime).

how often are people really "wrongly arrested"?

I can't find convienent US nationwide figures, but extrapolating official Califoria government statistics into a national figure:

Roughly ONE MILLION per year.

Based on that, given a family of four, chances are that one of them will be arrested and released some time during their life.

One in four.

So much for the assumption that arrest implies guilt. So much for assumptions that innocent people have nothing to fear.

Law enforment are generally good people trying to do an important job. It is however an extremely difficult job and inevitably innocent people sometimes get dragged through the system.

Catching and convicting the guilty is a good thing, but it's not worth doing when it is a step towards turning the nation into a police state and trampling on innocent people.

-

Write and complaint to the Office of the Robot, er, the Office of the Attorney General of the State of California.

CA State AG Public Inquiry Unit

or

You can contact the Public Inquiry Unit at (916) 322-3360 or, within California, by calling (800) 952-5225.

Why not do something about it and file a complaint >:)

Apparently, $50,000 is close, but not enough.

(from his site)

Attorney General Lockyer Issues Statement on Decision to Return Oracle Contributions
May 8, 2002
02-053
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(916) 324-5500
(SACRAMENTO) - Attorney General Bill Lockyer today issued the following statement regarding his decision to return campaign contributions from Oracle Corporation:
"As I have previously indicated, two weeks ago, in my capacity as the state's chief law officer, I launched investigations into circumstances surrounding the state's Enterprise License Agreement with Oracle Corporation to determine if there have been any violations of civil or criminal law. While it would be inappropriate and unfair to discuss the particulars of our investigation, our efforts are ongoing, aggressive and comprehensive.
In an effort to insert political considerations into a non-partisan law enforcement endeavor, some elected officials have speculated that my office will not be able to conduct a thorough and fair investigation due to the fact that the governor and I are from the same political party and because I have received campaign contributions from Oracle.
While their speculations are baseless, because the investigation involves allegations of wrongdoing at the highest levels of state government and because politicians with a partisan agenda threaten to distract the attention of the public and policymakers from the investigation, today I returned the $50,000 Oracle has contributed to my campaign during my term as Attorney General.
These contributions neither create a conflict of interest for me or my office, nor do they constitute any violation of law. Further, the contributions I received from Oracle came long before I or anyone in my office learned of any controversy involving the ELA or any other issue involving it and state government.
I have decided to return the contributions because it is clear to me that given the unique aspects of this investigation it is more important to the good reputation of the Office of the Attorney General to assure the public that our investigation of the Oracle contract is fair, non-partisan, and non-political than to retain campaign contributions simply because they were legally made.
Full, fair, non-partisan and non-political investigations have always been the standard for this office. Returning the campaign contributions from Oracle will help ensure that partisans don't undermine public confidence in the integrity of the ELA investigation by the California Attorney General's Office."

May I carry a concealed firearm in California? Except in extremely limited circumstances, you may not carry a concealed firearm on your person in public unless you have a valid CCW license. CCW permits are issued only by a county sheriff to residents of the county, or by the head of a city police department to residents of that city.

I live in another state and have a permit to carry a concealed handgun that was issued in my home state. Does my permit allow me to carry a concealed handgun while in California? No. Weapons permits from other states are not valid in California.

The City and County of San Francisco is downright parsimonious in issuing CCW permits:

San Francisco is the toughest city in California, if not America, in which to be granted a CCW permit. Currently there are only five permits issued to non-law enforcement personnel in the city. (as of June 2003)

So if Darl carried his weapon concealed in San Francisco, and he has not obtained a permit from Sheriff Hennessey (a reporter could easily ask), he's broken California state law, and should go to jail or at least pay a stiff fine. (Had the weapon remained in a locked container, he would be okay.)

May I carry a concealed firearm in California? Except in extremely limited circumstances, you may not carry a concealed firearm on your person in public unless you have a valid CCW license. CCW permits are issued only by a county sheriff to residents of the county, or by the head of a city police department to residents of that city.

I live in another state and have a permit to carry a concealed handgun that was issued in my home state. Does my permit allow me to carry a concealed handgun while in California? No. Weapons permits from other states are not valid in California.

The City and County of San Francisco is downright parsimonious in issuing CCW permits:

San Francisco is the toughest city in California, if not America, in which to be granted a CCW permit. Currently there are only five permits issued to non-law enforcement personnel in the city. (as of June 2003)

So if Darl carried his weapon concealed in San Francisco, and he has not obtained a permit from Sheriff Hennessey (a reporter could easily ask), he's broken California state law, and should go to jail or at least pay a stiff fine. (Had the weapon remained in a locked container, he would be okay.)

"1. You are the recipient of the spam and you are a resident of California.

2. The spam was delivered via servers located in California (sender's, recipient's or intermediary server will suffice).

3. There is some indication that the spammer is operating in California, such as a California telephone number or address for orders. If you can identify the spammer and have information from other sources showing that the spammer is in California, that will also work.

4. The spam fails to comply with the statutory restrictions. To comply, the unsolicited advertising emails' subject line must begin with "ADV:", the first text in the message must offer a toll-free number or functioning email address for removal of the recipient from further unsolicited emails, and that statement must be in a type size as large as most of the other text.

1,2 and 4 are pretty easy. Proving 3 can be a real PITA, and means if I really want to work this hard I have to do a lot of legwork. Granted, the end result may be worth it, but...

ref: http://caag.state.ca.us/spam/index.htm

I'm not sure.
But a quick Google search on "12301. (a) The term "destructive device" gives six .ca links like for example caag.state.ca.us that could indicate that he is talking about a law in California.

Or maybe you're just lucky? It's a well-documented fact that Arab (and Arab-looking) people were openly mocked, derided, and attacked in some areas.

And, to be perfectly honest, did you ever consider that it was maybe the fact that you shaved that made the difference? In my personal experience, people tend to respond more negatively to bearded individuals (why I keep fairly clean-shaven).

Some reading material: Hate crimes after Sept. 11. Fortunately, the reported number went down after a bit, but this clearly shows that there was an rash of attacks after the WTC and Pentagon were attacked.

1. Spertus v Kozmo
2. Ferguson v Friendfinder
3. California v PW Marketing LLC

Because of the nature of the Do Not Call program, the telephone number you furnish will be disseminated to telemarketers for the express purpose of not being called. The information may not be sold or used for any other purpose.

In california you can alredy pre-register for free at here

Mail form where you can send your own letter

I would like to comment on statements that California Attorney General Bill Lockyer made in a recent court case where he is quoted as saying that "DeCSS is a burglary tool".

I am strongly opposed to copyright infringement and I applaud the California Attorney General for doing everything possible to stop both large-scale and small-scale piracy of media, whether digital or otherwise.

But I would ask that the Attorney General please make a distinction between software tools, which can generally be used for both legal and illegal actions, and the actions which are themselves illegal.

I should note at this point that I have a Master's degree in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University, I have experience with encryption algorithms, and I have worked in the software engineering field for many years.

DeCSS is a program that decrypts the data stored on a DVD movie. Every DVD player, hardware and software, contains a program functionally identical to the one known as DeCSS. The difference is that all commercial DVD players contain a program (or derivative program) that was originally written by members of the DVD consortium who came up with the format in the first place. DeCSS was written in a "clean room", by talented computer programmers who figured out how the encryption on a DVD works without access to any secret information.

Note that this "reverse engineering" is very common in the field and is completely legal. It's the equivalent to a Ford technician opening the hood of a Honda and studying how the engine works to see how they got such good performance.

DeCSS has many legal uses. The most obvious one is that it lets amateur programmers write their own DVD players, to play the DVD movies that they already own. Some may want to do this so that they can watch DVDs on their favorite operating system that is not supported by any commercial software yet (like Linux), and others may want to build new innovative portable DVD players.

DeCSS is not even necessary to make copies of a DVD! You can make a perfect copy of a DVD simply by copying all of the data encrypted. It does not require decrypting the data to make a copy, any more than it is necessary to understand French for me to make a photocopy of a book written in French.

It is true that DeCSS can be used to share DVD movies over the Internet in a different format (usually smaller size) than the original. However, in this case, DeCSS is one of about a dozen separate software programs that are all involved in the process. It just so happens that in the special case of DVDs, DeCSS was the only missing piece of the puzzle that didn't exist before. But there is nothing about DeCSS that makes it, in and of itself, illegal.

As a computer programmer, I am very concerned at the idea that a program can be labeled as illegal, when it has many legal uses. This threatens to have a chilling effect on the software industry. It's like owning a knife - it can be used for good or for evil. Owning the knife is not illegal, using it to kill someone is.

[Slashdotters: sorry if some of my analogies aren't that good. Feel free to pick them apart, but if you do, please suggest better ones, and I'll use the best I'm aware of in the future when discussing this with friends. Also, if you're complaining, show me the letter YOU wrote...no? I thought so.]

Oh look, he has a website ...

some public information:

Mailing Address:
BILL LOCKYER
California Department of Justice
P.O. Box 944255
Sacramento, CA 94244-2550

His Phone, well, you may have to ask for him:
(800) 952-5225

Just a reminder: Californians can pre-register for the Do Not Call list at http://caag.state.ca.us/donotcall/ (effective October 2003). Other states can simple Google "statename do not call" for the relevant linkage. YMMV.

A carbine is a short rifle (barrel length under 20").

"assault rifle" is a general term some anti-gun activists and politicians and media have created.
In the People's Republic of California, it is (defined by law as) a semiautomatic centerfire rifle with any of the following characterics:
a pistol grip
a flash suppressor
magazines holding more than 10 rounds
folding or collapsible butt stock ...
See here or here for more exact PRC legal info.

A carbine is a short rifle (barrel length under 20").

"assault rifle" is a general term some anti-gun activists and politicians and media have created.
In the People's Republic of California, it is (defined by law as) a semiautomatic centerfire rifle with any of the following characterics:
a pistol grip
a flash suppressor
magazines holding more than 10 rounds
folding or collapsible butt stock ...
See here or here for more exact PRC legal info.

From the "Privacy Policy": Because of the nature of the Do Not Call program, the telephone number you furnish will be disseminated to telemarketers for the express purpose of not being called. Now, I'm no English major, but that seems to be an oxymoron.

I'm in CA, and ours is set to be in place by april 1st this year. Reading about it on their website, I ran into this:

The new program will allow Californians to place, for a small fee, their residential and cellular telephone numbers on a Do Not Call list.

Here's an idea, why don't you collect from fines like the Feds (there will be many), or better yet, charge vendors a "small fee" for access to the list. Say $10 a cd or for access to the website.

If you are in California, make a fuss about this in your local press.

The AG's office website gives gives some information, but fails to mention that they've let the deadline slide.

California is just starting a crackdown. Unfortunately, the Attorney General of California didn't bring criminal charges, although some of the violations of law in the complaint carry criminal penalties in California. (While spamming isn't a crime, conducting a business and accepting credit card payments without disclosing the ownership of the business up front is a criminal offense in California.)

California is just starting a crackdown. Unfortunately, the Attorney General of California didn't bring criminal charges, although some of the violations of law in the complaint carry criminal penalties in California. (While spamming isn't a crime, conducting a business and accepting credit card payments without disclosing the ownership of the business up front is a criminal offense in California.)

According to the Press Release on the California Attorney General's site:

"Provide Consumer Compensation. A total $67.4 million will be made available for partial refunds to consumers who purchased prerecorded music from 1995 to 2000, the period during which the objectionable policies were in place. Consumers will be asked to submit a claim using an on-line or written claim form developed by the court-approved claims administrator. Details of the claims process will be announced later."

According to the Press Release on the California Attorney General's site:

"Provide Consumer Compensation. A total $67.4 million will be made available for partial refunds to consumers who purchased prerecorded music from 1995 to 2000, the period during which the objectionable policies were in place. Consumers will be asked to submit a claim using an on-line or written claim form developed by the court-approved claims administrator. Details of the claims process will be announced later."

Here.

is here (PDF format).

They accept non-spam complaints from a web form, so they know how to do it right. Clearly they're not serious about stopping spam, even though California has a strong anti-spam law, and the courts have ruled that it is valid. There haven't been any high-profile spam cases from the California AG yet.

(There's a legal challenge to the California anti-spam law, but the spammer is losing. The California State Supreme Court recently decided that the California anti-spam law was valid (Ferguson vs. Friendfinder). Friendfinder may still try an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. But that has to happen soon, or the decision is final.)

I filled this out last summer. Not only does it cut down the junk mail and telemarketing calls (I've had three calls since August, and can check my mailbox for bills once a week), but the reporting agency letters request that many casual inquiry requests not be honored.

If you request your credit report, you can deny access to specific companies (I banned Providian many years ago).

I Wish I had written it. Enjoy!

As an enlightened, modern parent, I try to be as involved as possible in the lives of my six children. I encourage them to join team sports. I attend their teen parties with them to ensure no drinking or alcohol is on the premises. I keep a fatherly eye on the CDs they listen to and the shows they watch, the company they keep and the books they read. You could say I'm a model parent. My children have never failed to make me proud, and I can say without the slightest embellishment that I have the finest family in the USA.

Two years ago, my wife Carol and I decided that our children's education would not be complete without some grounding in modern computers. To this end, we bought our children a brand new Compaq to learn with. The kids had a lot of fun using the handful of application programs we'd bought, such as Adobe's Photoshop and Microsoft's Word, and my wife and I were pleased that our gift was received so well. Our son Peter was most entranced by the device, and became quite a pro at surfing the net. When Peter began to spend whole days on the machine, I became concerned, but Carol advised me to calm down, and that it was only a passing phase. I was content to bow to her experience as a mother, until our youngest daughter, Cindy, charged into the living room one night to blurt out: "Peter is a computer hacker!"

As you can imagine, I was amazed. A computer hacker in my own house! I began to monitor my son's habits, to make certain that Cindy wasn't just telling stories, as she is prone to doing at times.

After a few days of investigation, and some research into computer hacking, I confronted Peter with the evidence. I'm afraid to say, this was the only time I have ever been truly disappointed in one of my children. We raised them to be honest and to have integrity, and Peter betrayed the principles we tried to encourage in him, when he refused point blank to admit to his activities. His denials continued for hours, and in the end, I was left with no choice but to ban him from using the computer until he is old enough to be responsible for his actions.

After going through this ordeal with my own family, I was left pondering how I could best help others in similar situations. I'd gained a lot of knowledge over those few days regarding hackers. It's only right that I provide that information to other parents, in the hope that they will be able to tell if their children are being drawn into the world of hacking. Perhaps other parents will be able to steer their sons back onto the straight and narrow before extreme measures need to be employed.

To this end, I have decided to publish the top ten signs that your son is a hacker. I advise any parents to read this list carefully and if their son matches the profile, they should take action. A smart parent will first try to reason with their son, before resorting to groundings, or even spanking. I pride myself that I have never had to spank a child, and I hope this guide will help other parents to put a halt to their son's misbehaviour before a spanking becomes necessary.

1. Has your son asked you to change ISPs?

Most American families use trusted and responsible Internet Service Providers, such as AOL. These providers have a strict "No Hacking" policy, and take careful measures to ensure that your internet experience is enjoyable, educational and above all legal. If your child is becoming a hacker, one of his first steps will be to request a change to a more hacker friendly provider.

I would advise all parents to refuse this request. One of the reasons your son is interested in switching providers is to get away from AOL's child safety filter. This filter is vital to any parent who wants his son to enjoy the internet without the endangering him through exposure to "adult" content. It is best to stick with the protection AOL provides, rather than using a home-based solution. If your son is becoming a hacker, he will be able to circumvent any home-based measures with surprising ease, using information gleaned from various hacker sites.

2. Are you finding programs on your computer that you don't remember installing?

Your son will probably try to install some hacker software. He may attempt to conceal the presence of the software in some way, but you can usually find any new programs by reading through the programs listed under "Install/Remove Programs" in your control panel. Popular hacker software includes "Comet Cursor", "Bonzi Buddy" and "Flash".

The best option is to confront your son with the evidence, and force him to remove the offending programs. He will probably try to install the software again, but you will be able to tell that this is happening, if your machine offers to "download" one of the hacker applications. If this happens, it is time to give your son a stern talking to, and possibly consider punishing him with a grounding.

3. Has your child asked for new hardware?

Computer hackers are often limited by conventional computer hardware. They may request "faster" video cards, and larger hard drives, or even more memory. If your son starts requesting these devices, it is possible that he has a legitimate need. You can best ensure that you are buying legal, trustworthy hardware by only buying replacement parts from your computer's manufacturer.

If your son has requested a new "processor" from a company called "AMD", this is genuine cause for alarm. AMD is a third-world based company who make inferior, "knock-off" copies of American processor chips. They use child labor extensively in their third world sweatshops, and they deliberately disable the security features that American processor makers, such as Intel, use to prevent hacking. AMD chips are never sold in stores, and you will most likely be told that you have to order them from internet sites. Do not buy this chip! This is one request that you must refuse your son, if you are to have any hope of raising him well.

4. Does your child read hacking manuals?

If you pay close attention to your son's reading habits, as I do, you will be able to determine a great deal about his opinions and hobbies. Children are at their most impressionable in the teenage years. Any father who has had a seventeen year old daughter attempt to sneak out on a date wearing make up and perfume is well aware of the effect that improper influences can have on inexperienced minds.

There are, unfortunately, many hacking manuals available in bookshops today. A few titles to be on the lookout for are: "Snow Crash" and "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson; "Neuromancer" by William Gibson; "Programming with Perl" by Timothy O'Reilly; "Geeks" by Jon Katz; "The Hacker Crackdown" by Bruce Sterling; "Microserfs" by Douglas Coupland; "Hackers" by Steven Levy; and "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" by Eric S. Raymond.

If you find any of these hacking manuals in your child's possession, confiscate them immediately. You should also petition local booksellers to remove these titles from their shelves. You may meet with some resistance at first, but even booksellers have to bow to community pressure.

5. How much time does your child spend using the computer each day?

If your son spends more than thirty minutes each day on the computer, he may be using it to DOS other peoples sites. DOSing involves gaining access to the "command prompt" on other people's machines, and using it to tie up vital internet services. This can take up to eight hours. If your son is doing this, he is breaking the law, and you should stop him immediately. The safest policy is to limit your children's access to the computer to a maximum of forty-five minutes each day.

6. Does your son use Quake?

Quake is an online virtual reality used by hackers. It is a popular meeting place and training ground, where they discuss hacking and train in the use of various firearms. Many hackers develop anti-social tendencies due to the use of this virtual world, and it may cause erratic behaviour at home and at school.

If your son is using Quake, you should make hime understand that this is not acceptable to you. You should ensure all the firearms in your house are carefully locked away, and have trigger locks installed. You should also bring your concerns to the attention of his school.

7. Is your son becoming argumentative and surly in his social behaviour?

As a child enters the electronic world of hacking, he may become disaffected with the real world. He may lose the ability to control his actions, or judge the rightness or wrongness of a course of behaviour. This will manifest itself soonest in the way he treats others. Those whom he disagrees with will be met with scorn, bitterness, and even foul language. He may utter threats of violence of a real or electronic nature.

Even when confronted, your son will probably find it difficult to talk about this problem to you. He will probably claim that there is no problem, and that you are imagining things. He may tell you that it is you who has the problem, and you should "back off" and "stop smothering him." Do not allow yourself to be deceived. You are the only chance your son has, even if he doesn't understand the situation he is in. Keep trying to get through to him, no matter how much he retreats into himself.

8. Is your son obsessed with "Lunix"?

BSD, Lunix, Debian and Mandrake are all versions of an illegal hacker operation system, invented by a Soviet computer hacker named Linyos Torovoltos, before the Russians lost the Cold War. It is based on a program called "xenix", which was written by Microsoft for the US government. These programs are used by hackers to break into other people's computer systems to steal credit card numbers. They may also be used to break into people's stereos to steal their music, using the "mp3" program. Torovoltos is a notorious hacker, responsible for writing many hacker programs, such as "telnet", which is used by hackers to connect to machines on the internet without using a telephone.

Your son may try to install "lunix" on your hard drive. If he is careful, you may not notice its presence, however, lunix is a capricious beast, and if handled incorrectly, your son may damage your computer, and even break it completely by deleting Windows, at which point you will have to have your computer repaired by a professional.

If you see the word "LILO" during your windows startup (just after you turn the machine on), your son has installed lunix. In order to get rid of it, you will have to send your computer back to the manufacturer, and have them fit a new hard drive. Lunix is extremely dangerous software, and cannot be removed without destroying part of your hard disk surface.

9. Has your son radically changed his appearance?

If your son has undergone a sudden change in his style of dress, you may have a hacker on your hands. Hackers tend to dress in bright, day-glo colors. They may wear baggy pants, bright colored shirts and spiky hair dyed in bright colors to match their clothes. They may take to carrying "glow-sticks" and some wear pacifiers around their necks. (I have no idea why they do this) There are many such hackers in schools today, and your son may have started to associate with them. If you notice that your son's group of friends includes people dressed like this, it is time to think about a severe curfew, to protect him from dangerous influences.

10. Is your son struggling academically?

If your son is failing courses in school, or performing poorly on sports teams, he may be involved in a hacking group, such as the infamous "Otaku" hacker association. Excessive time spent on the computer, communicating with his fellow hackers may cause temporary damage to the eyes and brain, from the electromagnetic radiation. This will cause his marks to slip dramatically, particularly in difficult subjects such as Math, and Chemistry. In extreme cases, over-exposure to computer radiation can cause schizophrenia, meningitis and other psychological diseases. Also, the reduction in exercise may cause him to lose muscle mass, and even to start gaining weight. For the sake of your child's mental and physical health, you must put a stop to his hacking, and limit his computer time drastically.

I encourage all parents to read through this guide carefully. Your child's future may depend upon it. Hacking is an illegal and dangerous activity, that may land your child in prison, and tear your family apart. It cannot be taken too seriously.

If you ask for this deal, and they want money up front, contact the California State Attorney General and file a false advertising complaint.

If you are a Californian, the contact info is here for California attorney general Bill Lockyer- you can call toll-free (800) 952-5225 inside California.

Given that MS has a history of astroturfing again and again pretending to have a grass-roots movement in its support, it would be a good idea to express bona fide concern about how fair the settlement is at a time when it might make some difference.

If you are a Californian, the contact info is here for California attorney general Bill Lockyer- you can phone (800) 952-5225 from inside California.

Anybody got the URLs for Utah and the other states that are suing Microsoft?

One campaign being run by adbusters is called the corporate crackdown. My personal favorite bit is the Charter Revocation Notice. Without a charter, a corporation ceases to exist as an entity. I'm not really sure what happens after that, but at the very least that corporation can no longer do any form of business. Perhaps sending charter revocation emails to gracenote and the california attorney general describing this insane lawsuit might get some notice. In principal a corporation exists because the people, through the government, have given it permission to exist. Prior to the 1886 Supreme Court case Sante Clara v. Southern Pacific Railroad, corporations had a limited list of activities they could engage in and a limited life span. After that court case the corporations have increasingly utilized their hordes of lawers and large financial resources to solidify their power base in our government and get ever more legislative benifits for them passed. One of several possible ways to reclaim power for the people instead of the "corporate republic" is to reclaim the power of life and death over corporations. Though needless to say revoking charter is really difficult at this point. A group has been working on taking out philip morris for some time. Petition to revoke Philip Morris' corporate charter in the state of New York. diane

Well, there is a ".us". For example, there is the State of California site. Many US .gov-type sites arein the .us hiearchy. It is true that you don't see too many US .com's in ".us" though.

Since they are a public corporation based in California (go here for details), they are at the very least subject to the laws of that state.

Note that this is meant to bring e-bay's behavior to the attention of the Attorney General of California. It is not meant to provide personal remedies.

Please, be intelligent with your complaints.