Comment More stuff to waste company time. (Score 1) 267
So glad we're getting these articles these days. I find myself begging for interesting humorous articles. Helps keep the tunnel vision away.
FBI Coerced Confession Deemed "Classified" 456
Steve Bergstein is one of several who have blogged about a recent court ruling that reads like most any bestselling crime novel. Apparently, when the court originally posted their decision (complete with backstory) it detailed how a coerced confession was obtained by the FBI from Abdallah Higazy in relation to the 9/11 attacks. The details, however, were later removed and deemed "classified". "As I read the opinion I realized it was a 44 page epic, too long for me to print out. I blogged about the opinion while I read it online and then posted the blog as I ate lunch. Then something strange happened: a few minutes after I posted the blog, the opinion vanished from the Court of Appeals website! [...] The next day, the Court of Appeals reissued the Higazy opinion. With a redaction. The court simply omitted from the revised decision facts about how the FBI agent extracted the false confession from Higazy. For some reason, this information is classified."
Home-made Helicopters in Nigeria 319
W33dz writes "A 24-year-old undergraduate from Nigeria is building helicopters out of old car and bike parts. Mubarak Muhammed Abdullahi, a physics student, spent eight months building the yellow model seen on yahoo or on Gizmodo using the money he makes from repairing cell phones and computers. While some of the parts have been sourced from a crashed 747, the chopper contains all sorts of surprises."
Internet Archive Challenges Google 115
richards1052 writes "The Internet Archive, whose main claim to fame is the Wayback Machine, designed to archive the internet's web history, has created a new project: the Open Content Alliance. It's purpose is to open the nation's library collections to universal web search.
A number of major library systems, including the Boston Public Library and Smithsonian, have refused to sign up with competing ventures by Microsoft and Google because they do not provide for universal access to digitized books. These commercial ventures prohibit books being accessed by competing search engines.
So far, 80 libraries and research institutions have signed on with Open Content Alliance. They must pay for the scanning of their books while Google and Microsoft offset that cost for their participating institutions."
Comcast Charges $1000 Per Wiretap 178
It seems trashing the Fourth Amendment is very profitable:
For one company, FISA wiretaps carry a $1K pricetag
Comcast, which is among the nation's largest telecommunication companies, charges $1,000 to install a FISA wiretap and $750 for each additional month authorities want to keep an eye on suspects, according to the company's Handbook for Law Enforcement. Secrecy News obtained the document and published it Monday.
Very High Tech - Elevator Garages in an NYC Hi-Rise 308
theodp writes "If the hassle of getting groceries from the parking garage to your 12th floor condo has been holding you back from buying a deluxe apartment in the sky, wait no more. Wired reports on the En-Suite Sky Garages at 200 Eleventh Avenue (Flash) in Chelsea, where an 8,000-pound-capacity freight elevator will whisk your Bentley directly into your pad. The convenience doesn't come cheap — a garage-equipped 2BR starts at $4.7M."
Journal Journal: Super-DMCA Laws
I've decided that I am fed up with the government and big business teaming up to rape the consumers. It is time for some major retaliation. Drop me an e-mail if you would like to get on IRC and discuss recent events with the new DMCA laws.
Journal Journal: 8march2003.com
Well, now that we have all figured out that 8march2003.com was a hoax, what will we do now? What are the people of the internet community gonna do now? Wait for another egotistical or capitalistic jerk to use us for our hits to his website that's really just an advertisement? I would certainly hope not. It is time for people to take back the internet and stop people for misusing the trust of it's users.
Journal Journal: Life is weird, and so am I
I began work on another version of the site today, hopefully it will be easier to administer that the first version, flash is just such a bitch to use as a main nav menu.
Tip to all am webdesigners: DON'T MAKE FLASH NAVBARS
Tip to all am webdesigners: DON'T MAKE FLASH NAVBARS
