Bullshit

Slipping under the radar, in a 19-0 vote, Internet Censorship passes swimmingly.

No one is talking about this. Is it because no one knows, or because no one cares?

US Agencies and officials can file court orders for domain registrars to pull domains, and web hosts to shut down any websites that are considered to have pirate content. This isn't just going to affect US websites, this bill allows them to shut down any website anywhere in the world. As you can imagine, some other countries aren't quite OK with this.

My question is: Why are we?

This is literally only the beginning. Internet Censorship is now allowed, and don't think that it won't get worse before it gets better. Corporations such as Disney have backed this bill (no wonder it passed), and now can go after these pirate web sites.

I'm very interested to see reactions on this (because I've heard NOTHING from ANYONE yet), and I'm scared to see where this will go.

Honestly, I've tried to wait this one out. I've tried to avoid saying anything about this TSA nonsense. At first, it was hard to disseminate the truth from the nonsense stories of standard Internet whack jobs.

This, however, is insanity. That whole "rights" thing... apparently, it's OK for it to get totally fucked. I don't even know where to start.

I'll just start with this: A CBS poll shows that eighty-one percent of respondents are OK with the airport scanners.

So in summary: No, we have not learned that trading our freedoms away for supposed safety is a bad idea. We're just so fragile. Please protect us, Mr. Government, but don't you DARE TRY TO GIVE US HEALTHCARE! (Yeah, I had to slip that in there, sorry.)

Well, what's the big deal anyway? Scanners sound good, right? I mean, we'd be able to stop people trying to blow some shit up. That's awesome.

Apparently not. There are so many front page stories right now about groping, sexual harassment (such as one woman being mocked as her breasts were exposed), three year olds being patted down... I could go on, but if I do, I'm afraid the bile won't stay down.

The good news is that people are fighting back. Lawsuits are pouring in as people's rights are decimated by the TSA. Inappropriate conduct should be punished, and the excuse "we're told to do it" will not fly. It's bullshit and it's unconstitutional. They are pushing their supposed power around and getting away with it. Images have surfaced here and there, and it's obvious that the TSA employees are posting theses images on the Internet with no regard to anyone's safety.

Did you know that a full body scan photo can easily be manipulated (by inverting the color) thereby rendering an actual image of the person in question? So basically, they can easily grab nude images of people. It's already been done, and can be found on the seedier and less seedy places around the web.

By the way, did I mention that the TSA will not allow you to fly if you decline the security proceedings?

So if you're flying, either enjoy being manhandled, or stfu and move on.

It's only a matter of time before the revolt against the TSA hits full swing.

I'm sure you're not surprised. I know I'm not. Facebook doesn't care about privacy. I know people who've been affected by Facebook's notorious updates that change all of the privacy settings in place. I'm one of them.

At this point, I figure that I've had the account for so long, I might as well keep it. I know better than to share truly private information. I refuse to play any (and I mean ANY) of the stupid games such as Steal-Your-Information-Ville (aka Farmville) or Mafia nonsense or whatever bullshit the kids these days are playing.

Still, the article's speculation on whether Zuckerman is misguided or is operating out of malice is interesting. Is it that he doesn't care, or that he cares and is invigorated by the power?

Honestly, it doesn't matter. Facebook, because of its popularity, seems to garner a certain amount of trust from its users. I remember recently the phone number sharing fiasco.

The only safety is to either not use it, or to be extremely judicious about what you share. However, the problem arises in other people.

Anyone can post an image of you pulling a huge bong load. Is it fair? No. Other people are in control of your privacy. It's unsettling, but it's the world we live in. Make good choices, be careful, and keep the bong and the camera in separate rooms.

Apparently, the GOP is planning on spending around five-hundred million dollars (that's $500,000,000.00) on attack ads to counter Obama's reelection run for 2012.

And the Dems are prepared to set up outside groups to counter that by spending more money.

So the only obvious answer is that we're no longer having an economic meltdown, right? I mean, to spend that kind of money, we have to be out of the hole!

Let's celebrate!

"You have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide."
Oh yeah? Fuck you.

So Pennsylvania's office of Homeland Security has been tracking groups engaged in lawful, peaceful protests, including groups opposed to natural gas drilling, peace activists and gay rights groups. Apparently, these groups are akin to Al Qaeda.

Back the truck the fuck up. What? Are you kidding me? The group who claims responsibility for destroying the WTC towers is the same thing as those who think gay people should be allowed the same rights as straight people, people who are against drilling for natural gas, and peace activists?

For fuck's sake. I guess I'm #1 on the list, then, because I am in favor of all of those. Governor Rendell had this to say:

"Uh, oops. Didn't know about that. I'll, uh... get back to you." (paraphrased)

Pennsylvania is sneaky like that. You see, on the east side you have Philly and the west you have Pittsburgh, and bringing up the center is State College... the city of Penn State University. Those three points are plenty liberal, but everywhere else in the state may as well be Arkansas.

Ugh.