If you’re an AT&T customer, you have until this Friday to switch.
Government Policy
What, Me Warrant?
By 6.20.06
The AP reports that federal and local law enforcement agencies routinely circumvent warrants and acquire citizens’ phone records from private information collectors, often for free.
Verizon Wants to Chat About -$1000 Bill
By 6.19.06
Back in mid-may, we decided that the best way to protest the phone companies selling our records to the NSA was to send our cell phone company a bill for $1000. What we did is take our Verizon bill, deduct $1000 from it, and enclose a copy of 18 USC 2701 with relevant secitons highlighted. Specifically, those parts saying that if anyone gives up your phone records, they can get fined $1000. Obviously, this is in jest. But Verizon’s taking it seriously enough to want to schedule a conference call with us.
Petty Power Trips at Dulles Airport
By 6.15.06
With wild googly eyes and a crazy unkempt orange beard, Edward Hasbrouck looks a bit crazy. But not terrorist crazy. Geeky crazy. Actually, he’s a very proud American: proud enough to assert his rights in the fear that if he doesn’t, he’ll lose them. He isn’t afraid to question authority. And most importantly, he isn’t afraid to question the murky and nebulous “authority” of TSA contractors demanding to see his identification.
Arson To The Rescue When SUV Owners Can’t Afford Gas
By 6.14.06
Is the Charybdis of your SUV’s gas tank getting you down? Why not purge it in cleansing fire? For $300 dollars, a weasel in a black trench coat will be more than happy to steal your SUV for you and light it on fire so you can reclaim the insurance money. And you’ll even be in Rome: a spate of such arson crimes are sweeping California.
Pizza Delivery Superhero Thwarts Purse Snatching
By 6.9.06
Pizza Delivery just got its own caped crusader. An orange spandex leotard painted across his doughy frame, additionally dressed in ivory tights and tunic, Cameron Evans of Galactic Pizza keeps the streets of Minneapolis safe from the superstitious and cowardly lot that prey upon the fine, upstanding pizza consumers of uptown.
KFC Takeaway Added to UK Miranda Rights
By 6.9.06
As an Irishman, I am for all intents and purposes British. I eat crisps, not chips. I dress head-to-toe in vinyl Adidas tracksuits with my bangs greased in a straight line down my forehead. I refer to people I don’t like as “muppets” and “knackers.” My teeth are jagged brown daggers that stick out of my face at implausible angles. But even I have no idea what a ‘YOB’ is.
Cox Blocking Craigslist?
By 6.8.06
Is this the first major salvo in the net neutrality wars? Silicon Valley Watcher reports Cox is blocking access by some of its users to Craigslist.
The News
By 6.8.06
• Airlines fill up on freight to try to make a buck. Cargo crates complain of cramped quarters, having to buy own forklifts. [CT]
Beat Credit Card Blocking
By 6.6.06
Lifehacker’s got a pointer to an FTC article for avoiding “credit card blocking” when booking trips, whereby a hotel will stake claim for the full cost of your stay, plus the incidentals it feels you may buy, prior to checking out of the hotel.
The News: Now, 100% Dolphin Safe!
By 6.6.06
• Consumer Reports says that due to high levels of mercury, pregnant women should not eat tuna. Plus, those dolphin bits can get stuck in the baby’s umbilical cord. [CT]
The News: Legitimate Businessmen
By 6.5.06
• Need a telco spokesperson to fight net neutrality and give it a happy face? Let’s get that guy who was Bill Clinton’s mouthpiece during the cigar scandal. [LAT]
Lawsuit Filed for 26.5 Mil Vets in Data Privacy Snafu
By 6.2.06
A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the 26.5 million vets whose personal records were lost by Veterans Affairs due to employee negligence, reports the AP.
BREAKING: IRS Archive Control Sold to Lowest Bidder
By 6.1.06
An anonymous tipster writes that the IRS lost a bid yesterday and its archives will now be controlled by a company in Florida.
