Random noise, incoherent thoughts, whatever.
The sorry state of privacy in the United States is once again demonstrated by the US Department of Transportation dismissing a complaint against Northwest Airlines. Northwest Airlines was one of the airlines supplying the US Government with passanger data, against their stated policies and expectations of their customers, to help “fight the War On Terrorism”.
Do you know who is using your information and how?
-TPP
A firsthand report from a peaceful demonstration in Union Square Park on August 31st 2004 shows how the cops trawled, literally, the demonstrators into a sidestreet, blocked both ends of the street with orange netting and arrested everyone, after sitting them down on the street for more than two hours, then bused with city buses to temporary holding pens at Pier 57.
People were arrested in several locations of the city in exactly the same way.
Apparently the whole thing was planned beforehand, but when the arrested got to Pier 57, it was clear the cops had not planned that part too well or simply didn’t care about people’s medical emergencies, lack of sleep or feeding the detainees with proper food.
The detainees are the same people, who were held in custody too long and subsequently caused a Supreme Court Judge fine New York City $1,000 per detainee for not releasing them.
Funny how the democratic convention in Boston didn’t produce such “results”.
-TPP
The people at Save Betamax are trying to organized a national call-in day on Tuesday Sept 14th. Spread the word and call your congress critter this Tuesday.
The INDUCE Act, for those of you who live under a rock :), is the piece of legislation written by the RIAA and MPAA lackies making illegal any device or act that could potentially be used for piracy. That would include writing about methods of piracy, supplying parts to digital music players, manufacturing mp3/wma/aac players, VCR players, DVD recorders, Tivo and anything else RIAA/MPAA thinks might fall under the proposed law.
-TPP
My wife and I had a pleasure of hosting some of our closest friends and our families in a wonderful renewal of vows ceremony and a wedding reception at the New York Academy of Sciences next to Central Park in Manhattan over the Labor Day weekend.
Ailin and I would like to thank all of you who could make it. We had a great time, and wish all of you had a good time as well.
We have plenty of photos, including several great shots of Ailin’s 89-year-old grandma boogieing it down on the dancefloor. Send me an Email, if you want to take a look at any of them.
-TPP
One thing that really, really bothers me about the republicans this election year, is how they’ve somehow adopted Christianity as the official party emblem.
It is as if non-republican is less of a Christian and as if the republican party was on a mission from God sent to save all liberals, democrats and other non-believers from eternal damnation. The religious right is acting as if George W. Bush was the reicarnation of Jesus Christ himself.
When exactly did God become a republican?
-TPP
A couple of months ago I began to wonder why every speech of George W. Bush sounded so weird to me. Then it dawned on me: he speaks in haiku!
He splits every sentence into short bursts of 2 – 4 simple words followed by a pause. Just listen to him speak and you’ll notice it, too.
I can only speculate on the cause of such speech style, but if I suspect it’s because seven, plus or minus two rule is more like four, plus or minus two with him.
Joseph Price (M.D.) has a different explanation.
One thing I’m absolutely sure about. It’s not because of his appreciation of foreign cultures. He has none.
-TPP