Posts by j

If they can break the law, why can't we?

Excellent Article

I think all Reg readers must have spotted the trend, but I had not thought about the long term implications.

Brit ISPs censor Wikipedia over 'child porn' album cover

The wikimedia foundation is a long way from perfect

perfection, and I read with great interest the reg's investigations into the somewhat obscured machinery behind the scenes of what is a very influential resource which is not probed adequately by mainstream media......but using this debacle as an excuse to attack the wikimedia foundation is frankly pathetic, and you now have me wondering if other reg reports on wikimedia are born out of biased vitriol.

I'd feel far more comfortable if our author would fully disclose any details about his own relationship with wikimedia?

'Bloody' is an offensive word, declares ASA

"WON'T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!"

child safety - every prudes stick to beat the rest of us over the head with. The concept of "childhood" wasn't even invented until Victorian times - how appropriate the it's being used to invoke victorian morality

BNP membership list leaks online

I think it's wrong that it was leaked but...

I think the anonomised addresses would be interesting to mash with other geographical data. Average house price of area, urban density, ethnic make-up of populations...

re: It shouldn't have been leaked but...

Had a quick look at an old postcode and it turned out there were a couple in the village next to ours - both of them known...hubby was a BNP candidate in the 2004 elections there. I found a wonderful article about him

*quote*

"In newspaper interviews, Mr Goodchild, claimed that there were other BNP members in the district, but he declined to say how many."

and from the last paragraph:

"Meanwhile the one Asian family in Yoxford was sanguine about the appearance of a far-Right candidate in the local election.

"I don't have a problem with him," said Mr Kanesan. "He seems all right, we just don't talk about politics.""

Class. It is a nice friendly village Yoxford.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1453472/BNP%27s-country-outing-angers-electorate.html

I can't wait for the Have Your Say reaction

to this

Google's comic capers: what they really meant to say

@David Harris

"Btw, disable the feedback box in Chrome. What a great browser."

Isn't it?! I'm no google fanboy (i updated to firefox 3 yesterday and started having problems so decided to try chrome), but I've found it really great. Wonderful clean intuitive interface, no bugs (yet), love the task manager.

Grazing cattle display animal magnetism

Come on....

..how many other people have just gone straight to google earth to check if their bed is aligned east-west or north-south?

US bars ID refuseniks from planes - but not ID losers

"I'll Take My Chances" Airways

I had an idea a while back for a new ultra low cost airline with no security. You sign a lengthy disclaimer, and at the time of departure just barrel up, chuck the baggage on the plane, and off you go. No waiting in line after line, no constantly having to take out and put away documents, no undressing and redressing, no hefty fees to BAA for security theatre or luggage handling/screening, no being cooped up in a departure lounge so you can be sold "tax free" products at 17.5.% higher prices

Let the market decide.

Heaviest Virgin Media downloaders face new daytime go-slow

I've been a Virgin DSL customer for years

and I'm pretty sure they've started throttling already. Speeds declined sharply ts e9 months ago. I live in the centre of London and my connection is APPALLING. Frequently around the 256kbps mark.

Google kills Anonymous AdSense account

This is a marketing opportunity for one or many businesses.

They should approach Google and *opt in* to advertise on the site, or even approach Enturbulation directly, given the publicity Anonymous gets (from this and various other stories).

Welsh student exposed to nude webcam operators

@Andrew Thomas

"I think very few women in the sex trade would continue selling sex if they had any other option, i.e., it's not a "lifestyle choice" as you suggest."

I would refer you to my first point:

"There is a seedy element to some sex work - one which I can't help feeling would be significantly reduced if not eliminated by proper regulation - I'd be interested to hear your views on this.

@Andrew Thomas & Mark

"whose desperation are they exploiting, though? Since the money is taken from men, surely it is exploiting the natural drives of men for the profit of the women and company involved"

I think this is a chicken and egg argument.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with sex, but there's plenty wrong with "sex work", be it prostitution, exploitation of women, or appearing on a web cam for some dirty old man to w@nk off"

I think you're painting with rather too broad a brush here. There is a seedy element to some sex work - one which I can't help feeling would be significantly reduced if not eliminated by proper regulation - I'd be interested to hear your views on this. But whatever my or your feelings on sex work, many people feel perfectly comfortable performing it, and that being the case who are you or I to stop them?

@Luther Blissett

"I consider myself a man of the world, but I have to admit this is one explanation of pedophilia I haven't seen."

As was clearly stated, it's not an explaination for paedophilia, it's an explaination for an abusee to suffer in silence.

@Hollerith

OK, so the original comment was a bit blokey, (it's going to happen, this *IS* the internet - *AND* a tech site to boot) but regarding the rest - a few years ago whilst at Uni and looking to subsidise my income I was referred for an interview with a sex chatline company (I'm a man).

I suppose if you consider removing your clothes on camera demeaning (which it no doubt is to some people, but also probably not to others) then you'd consider that to be also.

I didn't take the job - I didn't think I'd be very good at it, but I did go to the interview. It looked just like a normal call centre - a load of bored looking people talking into headsets whilst reading newspapers or fiddling with stationary.

US student planned to ice Chuck Norris

@ Daniel Ratcliffe RE "terroristic"

There's nothing technically wrong with "terroristic", but it's a perfect example of the current habit of trying to shoehorn buzzwords into official statements in order to justify what might otherwise be unjustified overreactions, which the US (and often UK) authorities and media seem particularly keen on.

eg. "making terroristic threats" vs "making threats"

It's also completely unneccesary, "making terror threats" would suffice perfectly if he actually had, but the subtle addition of "ic"implies he didn't make terror threats, he made terror-like threats. As far as I'm aware *any* threat could be considered terror-like.

Max Mosley loses battle to get sex video off web

Police Entrapment is Illegal

And I don't see why newspapers should be any different.

Turkmen prez sacks 30 for TV news cockroach outrage

What a splendid name

I hope he is every bit as entertaining as his predecessor Niyazov or "Turmenbashi" (Father of the Turkmen) who died in 2006 (not 1996 as stated in the article). He was my favourite dictator - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saparmurat_Niyazov

UK rattles 'three strikes' filesharing sabre (again)

for gods sake

Is there nobody in a position to explain to the government that this is an arms race that simply can't be won by something so cackhanded and slow as legislation. By the time any laws come in they will be totally obsolete. What a bloody waste of time and money.

OnlineTV recorder TVCatchup.com shut down

Strike another blow for unnovation

Consumers will always prefer a pull market to a push market, and new content delivery methods like the net put people like catchuptv in a position to fulfill the demands of consumers where the media monoliths are too slow, or too unwilling to relax their control. And why should they? unless smaller players like this force their hand. Everybody knows what catchuptv were doing is an inevitablity, and i think it's a great pity they've been stepped on by major players who simply want to buy time to implement there own overblown and overpriced offerings.

Strike another blow for unnovation

Consumers will always prefer a pull market to a push market, suppliers will always prefer the opposite. New content delivery methods like the net put people like catchuptv in a position to fulfil the demands of consumers where the media monoliths are too slow, or too unwilling to relax their control. And why should they? unless smaller players like this force their hand. Everybody knows what catchuptv were doing is an inevitability, and i think it's a great pity they've been stepped on by major players who simply want to buy time to implement there own overblown and overpriced offerings.