"Come On! Let's Boogey To The Elf Dance!" by Sufjan Stevens.

I'm loving it and have just listened to it three times in succesion.

Go visit A Very Sufjan Christmas to check it.

This happened last Friday but I've only just noticed that they have added to their website.

War Nostalgia at Little Film Screening

History was brought to life when a film set in wartime Britain was screened in a Bath venue built in the 1930s. Staff from the Little Theatre cinema dressed up in wartime clothing when they showed Mrs Henderson Presents.

If click the link to read the article you'll notice a small photograph with me in the foreground dressed as a Spiv.

You listening to Ancestor the audiobook podcast by the book's author Scott Sigler?



If you aren't why the hell not it's great as was his previous podbook Earthcore.

An amalgamation of what would have been a number of seperate posts that I then decided to unite under the banner of the Surveillance Society. Every day there seems to be further incursions into the public's privacy.

Firstly we'll llok at the recent news that media companies wish to use legislation that was proposed to combat terrorism, by allowing the police access to communications data, in order to tackle illegal file-sharing.

Fight for your right to privacy

BBC News: Media companies want to take advantage of laws designed to counter terrorism. Bill Thompson thinks they have to be stopped.

The Guardian: Music industry seeks access to private data to fight piracy

The music and film industries are demanding that the European parliament extends the scope of proposed anti-terror laws to help them prosecute illegal downloaders. In an open letter to MEPs, companies including Sony BMG, Disney and EMI have asked to be given access to communications data - records of phone calls, emails and internet surfing - in order to take legal action against pirates and filesharers. Current proposals restrict use of such information to cases of terrorism and organised crime.

"The scope of the proposal should be extended to all criminal offences," says a letter to European representatives from the Creative and Media Business Alliance, an informal lobby group representing media companies. "The possibility for law enforcement authorities to use data in other cases ... is essential." The attempt to pressure MEPs comes as they prepare to vote on an extension to the period for which data must be held by telephone networks and internet service providers. The plans, championed by the British government, would harmonise and extend the broad range of policies across the continent.

The Home Office says such moves are necessary in order to assist proper investigation of suspected terrorist activity. But if successful, it would mean communications companies would be obliged to keep information on phone calls, emails and internet use for as long as three years.

"It is not for us to get involved in the wider issue of national security," said a spokesman for international music industry association IFPI, parent body of the CBMA.

If the demands were met by European legislators, it would open use of such private information across any number of criminal cases. "Even the Bush administration is not proposing such a ludicrous policy, despite lobbying from Hollywood," said Gus Hosein, a senior fellow at Privacy International.

The music industry has already pursued a large number of cases against illegal downloaders, but the letter claims that wider access to private information would be an "effective instrument in the fight against piracy" and help secure more legal actions. Critics say it is simply a case of litigious industries attempting to gain access to protected data by the back door.

The proposals, to be put to the vote on December 13, have already faced censure. More privacy-conscious nations such as Germany have voiced concerns about long-term data retention, and telecoms companies say they cannot afford to keep more information about their customers.

"The passing of the data retention directive would be a disaster not just for civil liberties and human rights in Europe," said Suw Charman, director of digital rights campaigners, Open Rights Group.

The music industry has been waging war against illegal filesharing for some time, with film companies closely behind. An Australian court this week ordered Kazaa, one of the biggest file-swapping services, to filter out copyrighted music from its systems or face closure. Last week the British Phonographic Industry announced its latest batch of cases against illegal downloaders, taking the total number of UK actions to over 150.

Such prosecutions already rely on voluntary data supplied by internet providers, but the music industry would like it made compulsory. At the same time, the legitimate digital download industry continues to grow at a startling pace.

It seems to be that every time that there is some harmonization of EU intellectual property laws they are brought in line with the most restrictive laws that exist in a EU state. But in this case there is no harmonisation taking place as no state has such legislation currently.

Even the US isn't seeking such powers and they're the home of the most powerful music industry lobbying for more and more powers to tackle filesharing and to extend the term and scope of copyright.

I oppose the legislation in any case as I believe this wholesale retention of data is a violation of innocent citizens privacy and is unlikely to be more effective in combatting terrorism than a specific targetted wiretap of a suspect's communications.

But to extend such legislation to cover cases of copyright infringement is ludicrous, government's should wiegh the demands of industry against the rights of the people they represent. The average filesharer is indeed infringing copyright but they do not pose a major threat to the businesses of the music and movie industries. It is the criminals that are making millions by selling pirated copies of CDs and DVDs that are the real threat and it these criminals that the proposal will not catch.

Unfortunately I don't have faith in the British government to weigh the arguments and consider the rights of the people.

There was a debacle several months back concerning the proposed UK National ID card. The main stumbling block for the government is that the majority of the British public is opposed to the ID card on the basis of the high cost.

(I wish the public would be opposing it due to civil liberties infringements and the complete uselessness of the proposal to tackle any of the major issues it is supposed to solve but that's another story)

Anyway there was a leak that the Government was intending to offset the probable cost of the ID card scheme and thus make it more palatable to the British public by the selling of the data in the National Identity Register to private companies. Which caused an uproar and the Government soon announced that in fact they had never considered doing any such thing.

Governments really should not be trusted with our personal data in my opinion. It's very easy for our privacy to be given away but far harder for us to reclaim it. The obvious counter-argument being that they must hold certain data or else how can such things as passports and driving licences be administered. In fact it is possible to create systems based upon crytographic principles that would allow officials to check whether an individual was authorised to drive a car or leave the country without knowing who they are or where they live or any other personal information about that individual.

I wrote earlier that

Even the US isn't seeking such powers and they're the home of the most powerful music industry lobbying for more and more powers to tackle filesharing and to extend the term and scope of copyright.

but that was merely in regard to media companies having access to all communications data.

Of course as you would expect the U.S. government wants to peer into phone service networks

The federal government wants to peer into your computer communications, forcing companies that provide high-speed access or Internet-based telephone service to design -- or redesign -- their networks to accommodate surveillance...

"This is like saying, `Everybody has to keep their doors unlocked because the FBI might need to get in,"' said Mark Rasch, a former attorney who handled computer crime cases for the Justice Department and is now senior vice president and chief security counsel of Solutionary Inc., an Omaha, Neb., computer security consulting company. "The harm of everybody keeping their doors unlocked all the time is much greater than the benefit."

As I argued above as they already have legislation in place to allow targetted wiretaps such a proposal is unnecessary and overreaching.

On a far more local level my car number plate is being read every time I drive into Bath to work and checked against a database to see whether I'm a wanted criminal. The Bath Chronicle: Cameras scan for criminals

Now I don't know if the data is retained or if the number plates are only in the system as long as it takes to make the check against the database. But I am worried that this data is indeed being retained and thus my and every other communter or Bath resident movements are being in effect tracked.

I have therefore pledged to create a standing order of 5 pounds per month to support an organisation that will campaign for digital rights in the UK.

The pledge is currently only a small number away from reaching it's target.

Also I intend to use the Write to Them service to contact my MP and MEP in order to express my opposition to the EU data retention legislation.

Labels: Security, Surveillance

A number of things I recommend people download this weekend. All excellent and all free.

Civilization 2
The classic game of world building probably the best PC game of the 90s.

A 1200 page Physics textbook in pdf format.
This book from Motion Mountain is Both entertaining and fascinating. It is comprehensive but easy to read and is even better for being free to download. I believe everyone should have a knowledge of physics in addition to classic literature.

BlackLight from F-Secure
With the news that some CDs from Sony have installed rootkits on users PCs it would be wise for people to download the Blacklight rootkit scanner and remover. It's unlikely that you have a rootkit installed but for piece of mind take 10 minutes of your weekend to do this. There is an expiry date of 1st of January 2006 for this software so download and run before the end of the year.

Labels: Games

Pat Morita dies.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pat Morita, the Japanese-American actor who gained fame as the wise Mr. Miyagi in the "Karate Kid" movies and on the television show "Happy Days," has died in Las Vegas at the age of 73.

The Las Vegas Palm Mortuary home said Morita died of natural causes on Thursday.

Morita, who was born in California and sent to a Japanese-American internment camp during World War II, won a supporting actor nomination for his portrayal of the witty karate mentor of a young boy in 1984's "The Karate Kid."

Morita played the wise handyman, Mr. Miyagi. who befriended a new boy in town, played by Ralph Macchio, and helped him stand up to bullies by schooling him in Eastern philosophy and martial arts.

The film proved to be a box-office sensation and earned Morita the distinction of becoming the first Asian-American to be nominated for an acting Oscar. He lost that year to Haing S. Ngor of "The Killing Fields."

I'm far more cut up to hear that Pat Morita died than to hear of the death of George Best. He made want to take up Karate and got me interested in Bonsai, I shall miss him.

I continue to try to catch flies with chopsticks but as yet to no avail.

Daniel: Hey, what kind of belt do you have?
Miyagi: Canvas. JC Penny. Three ninety-eight. You like?
[laughs]
Daniel: No, I meant...
Miyagi: Daniel-san... karate here.
[he taps his head]
Miyagi: Karate here.
[he taps his heart]
Miyagi: Karate never here
[points to his belt]
Miyagi: Understand?

The Karate Kid is without doubt the best portrayal of the relationship between master and pupil in a movie that I can think of. RIP Morita-sama.

I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars - the rest I just squandered.

BBC News: Football legend George Best dies

The first rule of Security Theatre is never to talk about Security Theatre. (ruidh)

Foot-in-mouth Vanstone 'must resign'

ASTOUNDING comments from Amanda Vanstone ridiculing federal airline security measures and questioning increased spending on national security warranted an apology and the Immigration Minister's resignation, Labor frontbenchers said last night.

In a wide-ranging speech to Adelaide Rotarians, Senator Vanstone dismissed many commonwealth security measures as essentially ineffective. "To be tactful about these things, a lot of what we do is to make people feel better as opposed to actually achieve an outcome," Senator Vanstone said.

Like Bruce Schneier I don't know who she is but I also happen to think Amanda Vanstone is right about airline security.

A lot of what is presented as security measures are mere shams to create the illusion of security to make it look to the paying customers that the airlines value their lives and are doing what they can to ensure safe travel.

During her Adelaide speech, Senator Vanstone implied the use of plastic cutlery on planes to thwart terrorism was foolhardy.

Implied? I'll say it outright. It's stupid. For all its faults, I'm always pleased when Northwest Airlines gives me a real metal knife, and I am always annoyed when American Airlines still gives me a plastic one.

As one commenter wrote in Schneier's blogpost the replacement of real cutlery with plastic knives and forks is more likely due to a financial motive than a question of security.

Senator Vanstone has a great grisly turn of phrase also.

I asked him if I was able to get on a plane with an HB pencil, which you are able to, and I further asked him if I went down and came and grabbed him by the front of the head and stabbed the HB pencil into your eyeball and wiggled it around down to your brain area, do you think you'd be focusing? He's thinking, she's gone mad again.

I'm liking her more and more. As you might expect opposition politicians are calling for her resignation because as I wrote at the start: The first rule of Security Theatre is never to talk about Security Theatre.

Labels: Security

Just finished watching Dispatches: America's Secret Shame on Channel 4.

It has left me feeling so angry. It is a documentary about the human cost for Americans of the War in Iraq, particularly in terms of those troops who are injured a number which far surpasses those 2000 US troops that lost their lives in the conflict.

Due to medical advances injuries that would have killed a person in previous conflict can be sustained and survived. But inevitably they suffer loss of limbs or other serious impairment and return home disabled.

But even for the family of the surviving marine, their joy is tempered with concern for his emotional wellbeing – up to 80 per cent of Iraq veterans are suffering from severe post–traumatic stress symptoms and levels of drug and alcohol abuse are soaring.

But despite such pain and suffering endured by military families, Deborah discovers that the Commander–in–Chief, George Bush has not attended a single funeral or memorial for the dead . The government also tried to ban photos of flag–draped coffins being flown back into America from Iraq.

Now none of this is news to me but putting a human face on the statistics with interviews with the returned troops and their families has gotten me really pissed off with this insane conflict that has no resolution in sight.

Many of the people interviewed are calling for all the troops to be pulled out and returned home. This is a pragmatic move for the US that will stop the loss of American lives but Iraq will descend into civil war. There is no easy answer to the situation that has been created. For fuck sake the experts said that this would happen that it was only the Iron Fist of Saddam that was keeping the people oppressed enough to quell the tensions between the various factions that would inevitably lead to civil war.

You can't win the War on Terror by killing people.

Companies I’d like to Profile (but don’t exist) and a responding piece Web 2.0 Products We Need (But Which Don't Exist Yet)

As if working at McDonald's wasn't bad enough the following story just illustrates how much worse it could get. Restaurant Shift Turns Into Nightmare

This story is astonishing and disturbing on many levels.

It's almost like a real life example of the Milgram experiment.

That Jack Thompson really is a crazy nutjob. First he threatens to sue Penny-Arcade and now he's threatening to sue Amazon.com because his book has been receiving many negative and abusive reviews.

Check out the reviews, some of them are quite amusing as are the tags and the related items. He really has pissed off some tech-savvy people who are making him look more of a fool than he already has become through his own dimwitted actions.

Stupid little movies I've been amusing myself with in the last hour.

I just don't get tired of seeing mashups of the Lord of the Rings. They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard

What kinda Kebab shop owner is this guy, he doesn't ask them You want chilli sauce with that?

This is the most amazing Christmas Lights display ever. But I'm sure the neighbours aren't as thrilled by it as I am.

In revenge, patience is a virtue.

And after a few thousand years, Colin MacLeod doesn't give a damn about virtue...

I would have thought that Highlander and anime would have been the ideal amalgam but I'm not too impressed with this trailer for the upcoming feature-length Higlander Anime. (Quicktime | Windows Media)

Reminds me too much of the awful Highlander II: The Quickening movie.

Teaser trailer for Superman Returns

Even though you have been raised as a human being you are not one of them.

This trailer for Superman Returns hits all the right notes for me, sent a chill up my spine to hear the Brando voiceover which has been lifted from the original Superman movie.

On the small amount of evidence here I'd have to say that it seems there has been a return to form for the adaptations of DC comics. Following a number of years in which I felt they had failed with their movies there seems now to be a resurgence of quality with Batman Begins and this.

Dame Stella Rimington the former head of MI5 has said that she believes that ID cards won't make us safer

Asked at a further education conference whether she thought ID cards would make the country safer, Dame Stella Rimington replied: "No is the very simple answer, although ID cards have possibly some purpose.

"But I don't think anybody in the intelligence services - not in my former service - will be pressing for ID cards."

Her own opinion was that ID cards would be of use "but only if they can be made unforgeable".

She added: "If we had ID cards at great expense and people can go into back rooms and forge them they will not make us any safer."

Of course the Tories leapt on Rimington's ID card rejection, what has the world come to when I find myself siding with the Conservative party against a Labour government.

The Conservatives said today that criticism of ID cards by former MI5 chief Dame Stella Rimington showed the government's justifications for their introduction were "completely bogus".

Dame Stella told a meeting of college heads yesterday that no one in the intelligence services favoured the government's plans to introduce biometric identity cards.

She warned that they would be "absolutely useless" unless they could be made impossible to forge.

Dame Stella's opinion will no doubt be dismissed as 'out of touch with what the public wants' by the government as they only seem to accept expert opinions of those experts whose opinions agree with their own.

The government has by and large given up on the prevention of terrorism aspect of the ID card proposal, which I find worrying as they now seem to focusing on the arguments about costs. This might indicate they think they have won the battle of ideas that ID cards are necessary and the only real question is whether the public will accept the high monetary costs of the scheme.

Labels: ID Cards

I'm not sure I like the tagline of Freedom! Forever! but the new posters for the movie V for Vendetta based on the comic by Alan Moore and Dave Lloyd are awesome.

They have gone for a look very reminiscent of the posters for German Expressionist movies of the Twenties and early Thirties. The choice is probably deliberate as the Expressionism movement preceded the rise of Fascism in Germany and thus echoes the background of the events in the movie which takes place in a dystopian future Britain that has become a totalitarian state.

The four posters can be viewed at the following urls
Poster 1
Poster 2
Poster 3
Poster 4

I think the second one is my favourite.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4438498.stm

Vote Rich "Lowtax" Kyanka for mayor

#1: 5937% rise in dense, fog-like air pollution from the flesh skinning factory below the Silent Hill Historical Society. First of all, I feel Mayor Barkley owes all citizens an explanation as to why he ever agreed to award Murderous Blackened Soul Decay Ltd. a business license allowing them to operate directly beneath the Historical Society. Their business has been pumping countless cubic tons of thick white fog into our town, dramatically reducing visibility and complicating travel of any kind!

Why just yesterday I found myself lost while walking to my own mailbox! After walking for three hours, I eventually realized the pollution had turned me completely around, and I was standing in the middle of the dead field full of cancerous pulsating beasts who shriek eternal murder through their dead, vacant eyes. Remember Ed Barkley's campaign promise to - and I quote here - "remove all cancerous pulsating beasts who shriek eternal murder through their dead, vacant eyes and replace them with festive non-denominational holiday decorations"? What exactly happened to that promise, Ed?

Although not a resident of Silent Hill I have visited it on many an occasion and it is quite ludicrous the amount of urban decay that has been allowed to occur there turning what was once a beautiful vacation spot for the family and I into what is quite literally a hellhole.

I dearly hope that the citizens of Silent Hill see sense and vote in Rich "Lowtax" Kyanka so that I may return to that once-fair town.

On the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets: An Empirical Study

Abstract
Among a fringe community of paranoids, aluminum helmets serve as the protective measure of choice against invasive radio signals. We investigate the efficacy of three aluminum helmet designs on a sample group of four individuals. Using a $250,000 network analyser, we find that although on average all helmets attenuate invasive radio frequencies in either directions (either emanating from an outside source, or emanating from the cranium of the subject), certain frequencies are in fact greatly amplified. These amplified frequencies coincide with radio bands reserved for government use according to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). Statistical evidence suggests the use of helmets may in fact enhance the government's invasive abilities. We speculate that the government may in fact have started the helmet craze for this reason.

Is it paranoia if they are really out to get you?

Thankfully I've been well aware of the ineffectiveness of aluminium foil as headgear for many years and have avoided the effects of psychotronic energy by adopting the practice of goat staring on a daily basis.

The House of Commons has rejected Tony Blair's call to allow police to detain terror suspects for up to 90 days without charging them.

MPs voted against by 322 votes to 291, with 49 Labour MPs rebelling.

Then followed a vote on a rebel Labour amendment for increasing the detention period from the current period of 14 days to a period of 28 days. That was passed by 323 votes to 290.

The story is covered by the Guardian and the BBC.

I'm pleased that it was defeated, shows that some Labour backbenchers have the balls not to follow the party line and I believe democracy has prevailed. There seemed to be a lot of public support for the proposed extension so it could be argued that the MPs voted against the wishes of their constituents but there has been so little real public debate of the issue that I don't believe that the general public was informed enough to make a judgement on it.

It has really pissed me off that supporters of the 90 day period kept saying "well the experts tell us that this is the length of time needed."

Which fucking experts?

The police you say. What about all the fucking independent experts who are saying that such an amendment will not achieve what it is set out to do and in all likelihood will cause further problems and increased insecurity.

Of course the police want to hold suspect without charge for longer, they'd support any move that gave them increased powers. Yet given recent events can we really trust their judgement on who is or who isn't a terrorist suspect and who should be held without charge.

Of course the government will not fall following this defeat, I wouldn't wish it to, and I very much doubt Tony will go either although his authority has taken a severe bashing.

But it's the stupid cunts own fault. I really don't know what is going on in his fucking head. I'm sure he's imagining there are terrorists around every corner poised to strike at 45 minutes notice.

BBC News: Q&A: Blair's terror bill defeat

What are the implications of this defeat for Tony Blair's government in the commons.

BBC News: Point-by-point: Terror debate

The main points so far from the debate over whether to extend from 14 days to 90 days the length of time police can detain terrorist suspects without charge

Have your say on this issue at the BBC forum

Curious Hamster gives his response to the vote results.

Public opinion is not always the best indicator of what is best for the country. It's a difficult problem to tackle without suggesting some form of intellectual elitist power structure which opens a huge new set of problems. That's part of the reason why democracy can be so fragile and why protecting it properly is so very important.

I'm agreement on the fact that public opinion is not always the best indicator of what is best for the country.

Also disturbingly I'm in the position of having admiration for David Davis the Shadow Home Secretary who made some excellent points in the debate before the vote.

The House of Commons today will vote upon the government's proposal to extend the detention period without charge by the police of terror suspects allowed from 14 days to 90 days.

The always excellent Curious Hamster presents his analysis and opinion on this issue.

The fact that the police want a 90 days detention period has been repeated ad nauseum by Blair and Blair. As regular readers may know, this doesn't cut much mustard with me. I suspect I've never explicitly stated why that is...

The police are charged with protecting us against terrorists. Their focus is, as it should be, on preventing terrorist acts and capturing terrorists. For understandable reasons they have a very narrow focus on the problem.

I couldn't agree more with this. Government should of course listen to the views of the police and take them into account but the police should not be dictating government policy.

A couple of pictures drawn by Bex of me at work with zombies/old people. Click them for larger images.

Nude Brits shop while drunk

A growing number of Britons are taking their wallets online after the pub closes, according to new research.

The number of people logging on to the internet to shop after having several drinks is on the rise, customer experience firm Conchango claims in a study into online spending behaviour.

The research shows a rise in a new spending syndrome dubbed BLOTO, or Buying Loads Of Tat Online, with seven per cent of Britons now claiming they know someone who has gone shopping on the web for items they don't need whilst intoxicated.

"These findings throw a new light on internet spending and pose a number of questions for retailers as they develop new online products and services," said Paul Dawson, head of customer experience at Conchango.

No doubt it will come as no surprise that I've done this.

But all quality stuff mind no tat.

!!! BREAD IS DANGEROUS !!!
My god why has this danger gone unrecognized for so long.

Circumcise yourself in 4 easy steps.
For this procedure you will need: A kitchen knife, a can of Crisco, a roll of paper towels, and your penis.

Responsible spam
I would quote one of them here but that would ruin the experience for you.

An eye for Annai (Quicktime)

I wonder if he lost his eye playing Chopstick Flies because it's driving me nuts and makes me want to stab myself in the eye.

Catching a fly adds a few seconds to the clock so it looks like it's possible to continue catching flies indefinitely. My best score so far is only 4 though.