Judge: Not unreasonable for city workers to surf Web -- Newsday.com

~~~ Bravo !! I hope the higher courts see this the same way. ~~~ TP
-----------------------------------

Judge: Not unreasonable for city workers to surf Web -- Newsday.com: "
In his decision, Spooner wrote: 'It should be observed that the Internet has become the modern equivalent of a telephone or a daily newspaper, providing a combination of communication and information that most employees use as frequently in their personal lives as for their work. He added: "For this reason, city agencies permit workers to use a telephone for personal calls, so long as this does not interfere with their overall work performance.'"

Republicans defeat Net neutrality proposal | CNET News.com

~~` I posted alot earlier about the big
Telcoms who are pushing to destroy Internet Network neutrality .
The battle is growing hottter. Much hotter
Net neutrality is at the core of what the internet is.
Freedom to visit any website , anywhere.
{ Unless you live in China. }
The greedy TelComs must be stopped.
~~~ TP
-------------------------------------------

Republicans defeat Net neutrality proposal | CNET News.com: "A partisan divide pitting Republicans against Democrats on the question of Internet regulation appears to be deepening.

A Republican-controlled House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Wednesday defeated a proposal that would have levied extensive regulations on broadband providers and forcibly prevented them from offering higher-speed video services to partners or affiliates.

By an 8-to-23 margin, the committee members rejected a Democratic-backed 'Net neutrality' amendment to a current piece of telecommunications legislation. The amendment had attracted support from companies including Amazon.com, eBay, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, and their chief executives wrote a last-minute letter to the committee on Wednesday saying such a change to the legislation was 'critical.'"

Q: "Internet Injects Sweeping Change Into U.S. Politics ? A: " NO !!

~~ Yes the Internet is becoming part of the political campaign arsenals.
But has the internet produced better candidates or any major shifts in power ?

It is still the democrats and republicans.
The medium may be new but the players are the same.
Not only the mega- political players,
but the mega- media players too are the same .
In the end the Internet has re-enforced the status quo. See here for more .

Yes Blogs have some impact, but it is still the mega-media that makes "what is news" , so there too , the Internet has done little to tilt the power center.

The hope of the Digital Age was that people would produce a better, a fairer and more representative government through cyber involvment.

Well the Internet is only really 10 years old, so maybe there is still hope.


~~ technopolitical
-----------------------------------

Internet Injects Sweeping Change Into U.S. Politics - New York Times:
April 2, 2006
Internet Injects Sweeping Change Into U.S. Politics
By ADAM NAGOURNEY

"The percentage of Americans who went online for election news jumped from 13 percent in the 2002 election cycle to 29 percent in 2004, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center after the last presidential election. A Pew survey released earlier this month found that 50 million Americans go to the Internet for news every day, up from 27 million people in March 2002, a reflection of the fact that the Internet is now available to 70 percent of Americans.

This means, aides said, rethinking every assumption about running a campaign: how to reach different segments of voters, how to get voters to the polls, how to raise money, and the best way to have a candidate interact with the public. In 2004, John Edwards, a former Democratic senator from North Carolina and his party's vice presidential candidate, spent much of his time talking to voters in living rooms in New Hampshire and Iowa; now he is putting aside hours every week to videotape responses to videotaped questions, the entire exchange posted on his blog.

'The effect of the Internet on politics will be every bit as transformational as television was,' said Ken Mehlman, the Republican national chairman. 'If you want to get your message out, the old way of paying someone to" {end quote]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/washington/02campaign.html?hp&ex=1143954000&en=003299f756f21d88&ei=5094&partner=homepage
-

"When computers do the news, hoaxes slip in." | csmonitor.com

~~ It is a case of the good with the bad. As pointed out in this article below , alternative news sources-- who would get limited or zero exposure in print & broadcast -- have a ready forum on the Internet.

Yahoo! News contains regular content from "The Nation ", "the Weekly Standard" and loads of other smaller "alternative" news sources, which i know i only read regulary,
because they are on the 'net.
As far as weeding out the truthful from the falsehood,
It is simply, let the reader beware with news.

Hoaxes are nothing new in the creations of the human mind.
The Internet does not create hoaxes. People create hoaxes using the Internet.
The good thing is : That BECAUSE of the Internet's freedom of thought and speech, hoaxes do not last long, but are quickly dispelled. ~~ TP
---------------------

When computers do the news, hoaxes slip in | csmonitor.com:

"Lack of human involvement is why hoaxsters love Google News."

By Randy Dotinga | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

"But while press releases and satire are labeled as such, Google News doesn't give users information about the difference between the missions of, say, a respected newspaper and a website devoted to political diatribes.

Publicists and activists aren't the only people interested in using news aggregator sites to their advantage. Earlier this month, another fake press release made its way onto Google News, this one falsely saying comic actor Will Ferrell had died in a hang-glider accident.

'In the old days, to perpetrate a hoax and get it in front of the eyes of the millions of people, you had to be in the media some way or have access to a reporter. Nowadays, literally anybody can do it,' says Alex Boese, author of 'Hippo Eats Dwarf: A Field Guide to Hoaxes and other BS.'

Google News and its rival sites offer pranksters a forum that seems legitimate, adding credibility to fake stories, Mr. Boese says.

Indeed, Internet users worldwide started buzzing in 2003 when a story appeared on Yahoo News about the arrest of a time traveler on charges of insider trading. The story was from a tabloid newspaper called the Weekly World News that is infamous for its casual relationship with truth."

New broadband bill draws fire

~~` I posted alot earlier about the big
Telcoms who are pushing to destroy Internet Network neutrality .
The battle is growing hottter.
This evil must be stopped. ~~~ TP
--------------------------------

MSN Tech & Gadgets:
"New broadband bill draws fire"
By Declan McCullagh,
CNET News.com
Published on ZDNet News:
March 28, 2006, 3:32 PM PT

"Internet companies including Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are protesting new federal legislation that would not strictly regulate how broadband operators can organize their network.

In a letter to Congress on Tuesday, the companies told Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, that his bill to revamp telecommunications laws 'would fail to protect the Internet.' Barton is the chairman of the House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee."

Network neutrality is the idea that the companies that own the broadband pipes may not be able to configure their networks in a way that plays favorites--allowing them, for example, to transmit their own services at faster speeds, or to charge Net content and application companies a fee for similar fast delivery."

Non-Microsoft Patches Issued for IE Flaw

~~ Microsoft ain't known for its rapid response work,
but this is a first. ~~~ TP
=============

Security Fix - Brian Krebs on Computer and Internet Security - (washingtonpost.com):
"Brian Krebs on Computer Security
Non-Microsoft Patches Issued for IE Flaw

"A couple of computer-security companies have separately released free patches to plug a critical security flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser that hacker groups have been exploiting to steal passwords from Windows users.

The third-party fixes from Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based eEye Digital Security and Determina of Redwood City, Calif., came after Microsoft said it did not plan to issue its own update until April 11, the next date in its regular monthly security-update cycle."

Proposed FEC Rules Would Exempt Most Political Activity on Internet

~`Clearly good news for Internet Political Junkies like me. Bring on the Elections!!
I predict now that in 2008 it will be Sen. McCain vs . Sen Clinton for the POTUS.
And that McCain will win.
{ I also picked the New York Jets to win last year's Super Bowl brfore the
last season started, just so you know .}
~~ TP
-----------------

Proposed FEC Rules Would Exempt Most Political Activity on Internet:

by Zachary A. Goldfarb and Thomas B. Edsall Washington Post Staff Writers

Saturday, March 25, 2006; Page A04

"The Federal Election Commission last night released proposed new rules that leave almost all Internet political activity unregulated except for the purchase of campaign ads on Web site"

When the law chases the Internet | csmonitor.com

~~~ Cybercrime in Cyberspace.
The Internet will never be a totally safe place.
Just be careful out there !! ~~ TP

When the law chases the Internet | csmonitor.com: "And yet cybercrime is now considered a greater worry than physical crime among US businesses, according to a new IBM survey. Nearly 9 out of 10 companies experienced a computer security incident in 2005, the FBI has found, with viruses, computer theft, and other such crimes costing US firms more than $67 billion a year. And the latest worry to individual PC owners is a type of 'spyware' that can remotely follow a person's keystrokes to steal a password or other vital information.

Google itself is quite aware of potential abuse by new software, and how much governments, from Washington to Beijing, want to control or snoop on Google users.

It is primarily up to Congress to pass new laws that can provide the tools to fight cybercrime while also balancing privacy concerns.

One pending bill would provide national standards for companies to notify customers if personal data on their computers has been breached. About half the states have such laws. Another bill would provide protection against spyware intrusion on PCs."

Introducing Mr. McDean? - Los Angeles Times

~~~Sen. Russ Fiengold is trying to become the next internet sensation. Can he succeed where Howard Dean failed? In the end I think that grassroots door-to-door canvassing , handshake rallies, and a good core activist base is what is needed to win elections.
Remember , in the end all politics are local !
The Internet can help, but good field organization is what gets the vote out. ~~~ TP
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Introducing Mr. McDean? - Los Angeles Times: "
"Feingold clearly is courting the Dean vote as he positions himself to the left of other Democratic presidential hopefuls. He is reaching out to the Internet-savvy, airing video podcasts on the website for his political action committee and holding an online 'listening session.'

'Howard Dean was one of the first people who recognized the power of the Internet as a [political] organizing tool, and absolutely we are picking up that mantle and using those tools,' said George Aldrich, spokesman for Feingold's PAC."

Briton wins Templeton Prize | csmonitor.com

Briton wins Templeton Prize | csmonitor.com: "Barrow says the two fields do not contradict as long as each is kept in its own sphere. '[The Bible] is not attempting to explain the [science] of the origin of the earth,' he says, 'any more than we would use a physics textbook to try to tell people how they should act. That was not the purpose of the Bible, or scriptures in other traditions, and there is a long history of disasters following this type of literal interpretation of the textual materials.'"

Math Professor Wins a Coveted Religion Award - New York Times

Math Professor Wins a Coveted Religion Award - New York Times: "Dr. Barrow said that in contrast with the so-called culture wars in America, science and religion had long coexisted peaceably in England. 'The concept of a lawful universe with order that can be understood and relied upon emerged largely out of religious beliefs about the nature of God,' he said."

Chicago Tribune | Internet blows CIA cover

~~~ QUESTION: How do we know if the names discovered by the Tribune
are not plants by the CIA ?

ANSWER: Because we know the Bush / Cheney  CIA is not that smart.~~ technopolitical
--------------------------------------------------

Chicago Tribune | Internet blows CIA cover: "Internet blows CIA cover
It's easy to track America's covert operatives. "
All you need to know is how to navigate the Internet.
By John Crewdson
Tribune senior correspondent
Published March 12, 2006
"

Web Directory of Congressional Bios Debuts - Forbes.com

~~~ COOL ! ~~ TP

Web Directory of Congressional Bios Debuts - Forbes.com:
via Associated Press

By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL , 03.04.2006, 02:45 AM

Official congressional biographies have been online for years. Now, all the information in the new directory, including Cabinet officials and lists of lawmakers by state and session, is searchable online.

Those who want their congressional trivia on paper can still pay for it, at $99 a copy, but it's free to those who want to download its 2,218 pages from http://www.gpoaccess.gov.

Court: Hallucinogenic tea OK

~ A major win here for religious civil liberties. And an 8-0 shutout too. I find this to be a "Liberal" ruling, as it is allowing something the Federal Government wanted to ban. Not bad for a "Conservative" court. ~~~ TP

---------
Court: Hallucinogenic tea OK: "WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday rejected government arguments against use of a hallucinogenic tea in religious services.

The 8-0 ruling written by Chief Justice John Roberts stemmed from a New Mexico case involving O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao Do Vegetal, a Spiritst Christian sect originating in the Amazon Rainforest. The court`s newest justice, Sam Alito, did not take part in the case."

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/

Cheney Says He Can Declassify Info { but not hunting accidents!}

~~~ However it seems Dick Cheney is not empowered to
publicly report when he shoots someone.
So at least there is some check on his power.~~ TP
-----------------------

Cheney Says He Can Declassify Info WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2006 "(AP) == "Vice President Dick Cheney says he has the power to declassify government secrets, raising the possibility that he authorized his former chief of staff to pass along sensitive prewar data on Iraq to reporters"

Battle Lines Drawn in Net Neutrality Debate - Internet Life - NewsFactor Network

Battle Lines Drawn in Net Neutrality Debate - Internet Life - NewsFactor Network: "By Jay Wrolstad
February 8, 2006 2:00PM

Opinion is divided on Capitol Hill, with some lawmakers supporting a return on infrastructure investments and reluctant to pass legislation inhibiting the carriers' business, while others favor a law that would prohibit what they see as discriminatory practices by network operators. "

BBC NEWS | Technology | Locking down our digital future

BBC NEWS | Technology | Locking down our digital future: "A two-tier internet?

Techdirt:No Network Neutrality, No Internet... And That's Just What Telcos Want

~~ This concept of the "Internet highway with tolls" gives me the creeps, Also see here

and next few posts below . ~~ TP
---------------------------------------------

Techdirt:No Network Neutrality, No Internet... And That's Just What Telcos Want:

Contributed by Mike on Tuesday, February 7th, 2006 @ 10:39AM
from the killing-the-internet dept.
The network neutrality debate has been heating up as of late, and with hearings today, it's no surprise to be hearing more about it. The always interesting Daniel Berninger has written up a good analysis on Om Malik's site explaining why the internet doesn't exist without network neutrality, while suggesting that's exactly what the telcos want. It's not so much about squeezing more money out of the likes of Google and others, but in killing off what makes the internet useful... which allows them (they think) to go back their older business model which is clearly under attack from the internet. Of course, most people recognize that this will never happen -- but that won't stop the telcos from making a mess of things in the meantime.

Is Verizon a Network Hog? Not yet ,, but they must be stopped !! Support "network neutrality." !!

"Is Verizon a Network Hog?"
News Analysis
By Catherine Yang
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2006/tc20060202_061809.htm

"The telecommunications giant wants to devote most of its capacity to its own traffic, to Internet companies' dismay

"At issue is what the Internet of the future will offer. Critics of the phone industry say the Net has flourished because innovators anywhere could reach consumers just as easily as deep-pocketed corporations. But if Verizon and AT&T set up tolls and express lanes, upstarts may not be able to afford the fees. "If you deliver video the way Verizon does now, that makes it very hard for others to compete," says Carnegie Mellon's Sirbu.

LEGISLATIVE STRATEGY. The Net companies are trying to persuade Congress to pass a law ensuring that broadband providers, such as the Bells, don't discriminate against rivals when they charge tolls or prioritize traffic, an idea called "network neutrality."

"Tech.gov: A Gated Internet"

~~ Some major telcoms are pushing for a "tiered" internet , were website owners would pay extra to their web hosters to get their sites "favored" and easier to download .

As well some internet service providers {ISPs} also want to narrow the browsing freedom of Netizens, by charging more to surf beyond their Portal { and their paying partners ] at high speed.

In other words Verizon could give you broadband speeds for Verizon sites ,, but only dial-up speeds for the rest of the web.

This tiering will kill the internet. An issue worth hand-writing [-- not emailing, 'cause emails are useless as a lobbying tool --] your Congressperson about !! ~

~ ` `TP
-------------------------------

"A Gated Internet?"
Anush Yegyazarian, PC World
Thursday, February 02, 2006"

"The companies who build and control the Internet's pipes want to control the content over those pipes, too."

"A number of telephone companies such as SBC/AT&T, Verizon and others have begun talking about offering a new prioritization service to Internet businesses.

The general concept is simple: Pay the ISP some extra money, and the data packets to and from your Web site get priority. Your users will get the information they want faster, or perhaps they will enjoy a smoother online gaming experience, or they'll be able to make their purchases more quickly. Whichever the case, what business wouldn't want to deliver a better online experience to its customers?

Consumer advocacy groups Consumer Federation of America, the Consumers Union, and Free Press recently released results from a survey that indicates Americans want their Internet to remain neutral. These groups are lobbying Congress to incorporate network neutrality into law, while telecom firms are lobbying hard to prevent it."

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,124558,00.asp
------------------------------------------------------------

AT&T Sued Over NSA Eavesdropping

~~ A new twist in the NSA wiretap mess.

Did Ma Bell do it with Big Brother ?!?!

~~~TP

------------------------------

AT&T Sued Over NSA Eavesdropping
Wired News::
By Ryan Singel
04:03 AM Jan, 31, 2006

The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a class-action lawsuit against AT&T Tuesday, accusing the telecom company of violating federal laws by collaborating with the government's secret, warrantless wiretapping of American citizens' phone and internet usage.

The suit, (.pdf) filed by the civil liberties group in federal court in San Francisco, alleges AT&T secretly gave the NSA access to two massive databases that included both the contents of its subscribers' communications and detailed transaction records, such as numbers dialed and internet addresses visited.

'Our goal is to go after the people who are making the government's illegal surveillance possible,' says EFF attorney Kevin Bankston. 'They could not do what they are doing without the help of companies like AT&T. We want to make it clear to AT&T that it is not in their legal or economic interests to violate the law whenever the president asks them to.'"

US plans to 'fight the net' revealed . BBC NEWS | Americas

~~~ This is well worth the read. ~~ ~ TP
------------
-------------

BBC NEWS | Americas | US plans to 'fight the net' revealed:
By Adam Brookes
BBC Pentagon correspondent

"A newly declassified document gives a fascinating glimpse into the US military's plans for 'information operations' - from psychological operations, to attacks on hostile computer networks."

The declassified document is called "Information Operations Roadmap". It was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University using the Freedom of Information Act.

"Could Your VoIP Phone Be Tapped?"

~~ America has to decide just exactly how "Big" we want our "Big Brother " to be. As reported in New York Times , polls show a 50 -50 split , or so on Americans support of the Bush Wiretaps. ~~ TP
--------------------------------------------------


PCWorld.com - Could Your VoIP Phone Be Tapped?: "

Dennis O'Reilly, PC World

Friday, January 27, 2006

BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA -- "Several privacy and civil-liberties organizations are mounting a legal challenge to prevent VoIP and other Internet-based communications from being subject to taps from law-enforcement agencies."

"Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him" " NYTimes

~~ Typical of the Bushies. ~~~ TP

"Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him"
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: January 29, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com

"In several interviews with The New York Times in recent days, Dr. Hansen said it would be irresponsible not to speak out, particularly because NASA's mission statement includes the phrase 'to understand and protect our home planet.'

He said he was particularly incensed that the directives had come through telephone conversations and not through formal channels, leaving no significant trails of documents.

Dr. Hansen's supervisor, Franco Einaudi, said there had been no official 'order or pressure to say shut Jim up.' But Dr. Einaudi added, 'That doesn't mean I like this kind of pressure being applied.'

The fresh efforts to quiet him, Dr. Hansen said, began in a series of calls after a lecture he gave on Dec. 6 at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. In the talk, he said that significant emission cuts could be achieved with existing technologies, particularly in the case of motor vehicles, and that without leadership by the United States, climate change would eventually leave the earth 'a different planet.'

The administration's policy is to use voluntary measures to slow, but not reverse, the growth of emissions.

------------------

Google : Communist sympathizer !!

Google is willing to bow to China on search censorship . but yet Google fights the American Government on releasing search data.
Seems clear to me . Google 's motto of " Do no evil", is easy to abide by when you have your own definitions of right and wrong. ~~ TP
-------------
--------

Google faces China challenges

By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter, BBC News website

Google has acknowledged that its decision to launch in China will be seen as inconsistent with its mission to make information universally accessible but believes it has little choice.

"We don't want to risk becoming irrelevant or useless due to the way that our content is blocked or filtered currently," Google's senior policy adviser Andrew McLaughlin told the BBC Radio Four's Today programme.

"We feel it is a step forward. Not a big step forward but a step forward. We understand that many people will find the decision either puzzling or objectionable," he said.

politics are only a matter of present concern. A mathematical equation stands forever.

~~ I found these quotes today on my Google homepage.

I thought I would share them ~` TP
---------------------------

"Yes, we have to divide up our time like that, between our politics and our equations. But to me our equations are far more important, for politics are only a matter of present concern. A mathematical equation stands forever."
- Albert Einstein
............... ..............................

"There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun. "
- Pablo Picasso"

-------------

"Annoying Online Posts Could Be Illegal"

~~ As the culture of the Internet matures it seems the net will become a less free-wheeling "post whatever you want" theater. But is it possible to criminalize non-violent speech ? ~~ ` TP


PCWorld.com - Annoying Online Posts Could Be Illegal:

"Annoying Online Posts Could Be Illegal. Free speech advocates say a new law geared to stop cyberstalking could be cause for concern."

Samantha Nelson, Medill News Service
Friday, January 13, 2006
http://www.pcworld.com/

Writing annoying, anonymous online posts or e-mails could land you in jail for as long as two years. That's according to the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005, which was signed into law last week."

The Final War ! Yahoo vs. Goggle . They are going Going Mobile !!

Yes it is the ratings battle between Yahoo! and Google 2006 .
They are the ones playing for the World Series of wireless & cyberspace.
[ And all the money it will make. ]

Yeah , there are Amazons, and
E-Bayers skirmishing around them. But for the first part
of this century, Google & Yahoo are a part of life on the
internet. Everyone goes there sometimes.

Will Google now
also rule the wireless world? Or maybe Yahoo -- who I think
is a better search engine~ will finally beat Google, and win the Wireless World Series.

Probably not.
Gmail beats Y-mail in my book for utility.
I go with Google to do it again in wireless. We will see.

`` TP
-------------------

Yahoo, Google Going Mobile,

David A. Utter ,

Staff Writer ,

Published: 2006-01-06 ,

www.webpronews.com :


"Both Internet players have new products ready to roll for mobile devices, with Google making another mobile-centric deal while Yahoo debuts its Go service.

The Consumer Electronics Show became a mobile Internet playground, as Google and Yahoo made announcements that will broaden the presence of their brands on mobile handsets."

--------------

Answering Back to the News Media, Using the Internet - New York Times

~~ There is a bit of irony to me in the
New York Times reporting on the
Internet's rising power --
through personal blogs and
web pages -- as a growing check
and balance to the mainstream
media powers
{ Of which of course the Times is one.]
Yeah, there has been some
democratization of journalism
because of the Internet, but the blogsphere is still a small fish in the
Corporate Media Ocean.
And the business of actually
reporting the news – what is the
news story of the day --- is
dominated by the same mainstream
Wire & Broadcast services
that where in charge before the
rise of the Internet.

Internet based writers & bloggers,
have yet to become – for
the most -- the “reporters” of
news. The early promise of
Internet muckrackers – like Matt
Druge – becoming a powerful
force , really has yet to
emerge, and may never. As with
the mediums of print, radio
and then television , the power
of gathering and disseminating
original reporting on the web falls into
the hands of mega-media companies,
interested in circulations,
advertising revenues and
ratings, more than independent
reporting of the news that
really matters.
[See this link for a litte more backround]
~~ TP

Answering Back to the News Media, Using the Internet - New York Times

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
Published: January 2, 2006

"Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel, or so goes the old saw. For decades, the famous and the infamous alike largely followed this advice. Even when subjects of news stories felt they had been misunderstood or badly treated, they were unlikely to take on reporters or publishers, believing that the power of the press gave the press the final word.
The Internet, and especially the amplifying power of blogs, is changing that."

Happy 2006 !

~~~ May 2006 be a year of more peace,

more freedom, less war ,

and a more honest American Government

~~ :) ~~ TechnoPolitical~ `