Biometrics in Airports
Human Justice
'I think it would be a great addition to airport security: identifying airline and airport personnel such as pilots, maintenance workers, etc. That's a problem biometrics can help solve. Using biometrics to pick terrorists out of crowds is a different kettle of fish.'
A text-book concrete example of what I'm getting at in my Human Justice essay.
Google Search: alt.humor.best-of-usenet Humor-Amusing
Best kind of humor... there's a point beneath the sarcasm. Replicated here, since Google may not store it forever (minus a few unimportent headers):
Newsgroups: alt.humor.best-of-usenet Followup-To: alt.humor.best-of-usenet.d X-FAQ-Is-At: ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/faqs/best-of-usenet-humor X-FAQ-Via-WWW: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/best-of-usenet-humor/ X-For-FAQ-Mailto: ahboufaq@eey.org From: roger@nospam.firedrake.org Subject: [uk.media.radio.archers] ID cards - Yes or No? A Questionnaire (Or 2) Message-ID: Originator: amu@multics.mit.edu Date: 27 Sep 2001 17:29:53 GMT
Subject: ID cards - Yes or No? A Questionnaire (Or 2) From: Min Lacey Newsgroups: uk.
Salon.com Technology | Peer-to-peer terrorism
'Their hatred is implacable, their forces are decentralized. They seek the protection of remote hosts for their secret bases. Their networks are weblike and personal, difficult for outside observers to penetrate. They use e-mail, encryption and other new technologies to hide their dark doings.'
'Pay close enough attention to the descriptions of America's newest enemies coming from Washington's talking heads, and something starts to seem oddly familiar.
Real-Life Cyborg Challenges Reality With Technology
Protecting Yourself
'The inspiration for SeatSale and for many of Dr. Mann's other recent inventions is his growing alarm at what he calls the totalitarian uses of technology: the omnipresent surveillance cameras hidden behind "ceiling domes of wine-dark opacity" or the daunting licensing agreements anyone has to accede to before running new software or trying out new online services.'
Hackers face life imprisonment under 'Anti-Terrorism' Act
Misc.
'Hackers, virus-writers and web site defacers would face life imprisonment without the possibility of parole under legislation proposed by the Bush Administration that would classify most computer crimes as acts of terrorism....'
'Most of the terrorism offenses are violent crimes, or crimes involving chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons. But the list also includes the provisions of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act that make it illegal to crack a computer for the purpose of obtaining anything of value, or to deliberately cause damage.
Oracle boss urges national ID cards, offers free software (9/22/2001)
Misc.
'Broaching a controversial subject that has gained visibility since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Oracle Chairman and CEO Larry Ellison is calling for the United States to create a national identification card system -- and offering to donate the software to make it possible.'
I'd like to ditto this.
Today, there's safety in spreading out (9/22/2001)
Misc.
'Then came the atrocities of Sept. 11. In the horror of that day, and in the way the Internet responded, the logic of decentralization has never been more clear.'
The first hint of dispersal talk that I wondered about on the original WTCAttack list.
Dont Press the Panic Button
Misc.
'Congress is being asked to rush to pass emergency antiterrorist legislation written by the Department of Justice. House Committee hearings are scheduled for Friday, Senate hearings for Tuesday, and the DOJ is demanding the bill be enacted by the end of the week. It would be a serious mistake for Congress leaders to force this legislation into law without careful scrutiny, because much of the legislation turns out to have nothing to do with fighting terrorism.
MS FrontPage Restricts Free Speech II (It's True!)
Free Speech
From Slashdot: Several readers have told me their EULA for FrontPage 2002 does not contain the no-disparaging-MS term, or that the term only applies to the FrontPage logo or to the Web components like the MSNBC news headline component. Just to be sure, this afternoon I went down to the store and bought a copy of FrontPage 2002 myself. In the box was the "
Open Letter to Michael Eisner, Chairman and CEO, Walt Disney Company
DMCA
'The SSSCA, which you are in the middle of buying from Congress, would outlaw the software that powers the independent Internet, the Internet that had many of us crying on our keyboards this week, from loss, relief or rage. At times like this, a slightly cracked monkey means more to us than a perfectly coiffed mouse.'