GoDaddy Silences Police-Watchdog Site RateMyCop.com

Interesting - RateMyCop.com, a website to watch the watchers, gets some crap from LEO's, and the hosting company pulls the site quicker than you can say "You have the right to remain silent".

The story is disturbing not only for the reaction of the hosting company (I won't name them - they don't deserve the publicity), but also the reaction of law enforcement officers who are afraid of ... what exactly?  Cyber-bullying?  Some whack job will come hunt them down?  They say the website exposes them, but they're government workers in the public eye 24x7 - aren't they exposed anyway?  Shouldn't they want more exposure?

del.icio.us Tags: government,crime,law enforcement,liberty

GoDaddy Silences Police-Watchdog Site RateMyCop.com -- Update | Threat Level from Wired.com

Pennsylvania takes on online auctions

Next time someone asks me why I don't like state licensing of businesses and trades, I'll point to this story.

The hero, one Mary Jo Pletz, was investigated by PA state officials for running an eBay store without a PA state auctioneers license.  The situation was summed up brilliantly by Barry Fallon, who was similarly investigated by PA's bureaucrats:

It's like the buggy-whip manufacturer's deciding whether these newfangled automobile manufacturers can do it without a buggy-whip license.

It's wrong, plain and simple - in this age of easy, instant, and world-wide communications and commerce, PA foisting their licensing scheme on a global business makes no sense.

Remember, you voted for these people - call them and tell them what you think.

del.icio.us Tags: liberty,economics,licensing,government,internet,crime

Pennsylvania takes on online auctions | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/30/2008

MySpace hoax victim’s kin seek justice

And I don't blame her.  Read the story if you don't already know it - the basics are this: a 13 year old girl named Megan committed suicide last year because of cyber-bullying.  Seems she had a falling out with her friend, and her friend's mother (who I'll call Eva) set up an account for a fictional 16-year-old boy named Josh, who pretended to like Megan, then turned on her and started the bullying.  She suicided within six weeks of meeting Josh.

Some thoughts:

Why isn't this negligent homicide?  If I ran a long con on someone in real life and they died because of it, I'd be criminally liable, wouldn't I?  Why haven't the local authorities followed that line of reasoning?

Megan's parents won't ID the family because of the daughter - good thing, protecting minors like that, but when that zaftig little snowflake turns 18, I'd be blasting the mom's name from the rooftops, taking our full page ads in the New York Times denouncing her and her actions.  She's despicable, she's evil, and worse, she's remorseless.  She deserves the same in return.  And if you know this repugnant creature, do yourself and us a favor - turn your back on her.  Pray for a painful and slow death then dance on her grave when it takes her.  I almost wish Satan and Hell existed - she deserves both.

Lastly, more on Eva's behavior - if you feel the need to get involved in your kid's social struggles, do us all a favor and don't.  Kid fights are kid fights, and you getting involved does more damage than not.

UPDATE: The Smoking Gun has some police reports that ID the evil mother.

del.icio.us tags: technology, justice

MySpace hoax victim’s kin seek justice - TODAY: People - MSNBC.com

» If kids don’t have electricity, will a laptop change their lives? | Education IT | ZDNet.com

Interesting ZDNet article, which parrots one of the arguments my wife had over OLPC (One Laptop Per Child).  The basic question, as stated in the article title, is whether a laptop will make that big a difference in the hands of a child with no electricity.

Reading the comments, I came across a gem:

Kids in third world countries have already been robbed of their childhood. They face the harsh reality of survival and hunger...

This had to come from someone in the West, probably someone in the U.S.  The notion of someone being "robbed of their childhood" is a completely Western and completely modern notion.  Having a carefree childhood is a completely modern convenience, like a refrigerator and leisure time.  These kids haven't been robbed of anything - they never had a carefree childhood claim to begin with.  Even in the West, up until the early 20th century, children worked, sometimes right alongside their parents.  Some still do in non-Western countries.

Personally, I find the technological aspects of OLPC interesting, but the politics it spawns and the tripe dribbling from the mouth of neo-socialists who back the project is quite irritating.  I'm no advocating doing nothing - doing something to help is always better - but for the love of humanity, stop deluding yourself about it.

del.icio.us tags: technology, laptop, third world, olpc, politics

» If kids don’t have electricity, will a laptop change their lives? | Education IT | ZDNet.com