tregenza

A Feel Good, Sunday Morning Post

2008-06-22T09:33:13Z

Where the hell is Matt is the web site for that guy who videoed himself doing a silly little dance in different places all around the world.

He has a new video out and it is worth five minutes of your Sunday morning watching it. If you think that once you've seen one video of a man dancing badly in different places all around the world, you've seen them all, you are wrong. He has gone to some amazing places, including the Joint Security Area in the Korean DMZ which is one of the strangest places on earth.

Best of all, there is something right in the world when a guy can make a living by doing this.

P.s. You might want to go for the Watch In High Quality Option.

Anonymous Rant

2008-06-21T11:30:38Z

'Urgent' action on witness rules

... a ruling by the Law Lords that restricts the use of anonymous witnesses ... Police have warned that serious criminals could walk free as a result.

Why is it that whenever the appeals court or whatever make a ruling on these sort of issues the police or the Tories come out and say 'but criminals may escape punishment' or some such BS.

By that logic, we should not have trials because guilty people occasionally get off.

Plus we have Jack Straw's stupid quote of the day

"... in real life these days where you've got very serious gun and drug crime and there is such a high level of fear."

Because never before has there been criminals willing to use violence to silence witnesses. In the good old days they used to just throw up their hands and said "It's a fair cop Guv".

I'm now off to practice shouting at the radio.

A Quick Poll on Civil Liberties

2008-06-19T08:25:44Z

1) Do you think that a police force should reveal the total number of people it has arrested under the prevention of terrorism act?

Yes / No

2) Which of these reasons justifies the keeping this information secret:

i) Its threat to National Security
ii) Its impact on Current Investigations
iii) Its impact on the police's ability to conduct law enforcement in the future
iv) Its threat to the Health and Safety of police offices

A Mr John Bull asked Nottingham's Police Force, under the freedom of information act, the following questions.

1) How many people your force arrested under the terrorism act (2000) in the last year?
2) The section of the act they were arrested under?
3) For how many the charges were then dropped?
4) How many were charged with offences unrelated to the original arrest?

Their answer was

The (police force) can neither confirm nor deny that it holds information relevant to your request as the duty in s1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not apply, by virtue of the following exemptions.

Section 24(2) National Security
Section 30(3) Investigations
Section 31(3) Law Enforcement
Section 38(2) Health and Safety

So it appears that publishing statistical information on the effectiveness of anti-terror legislation is a threat to national security, compromises on-going investigations, hampers future law enforcement efforts and is somehow a health & safety risk.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the anti-terror legislation, the police must be accountable for how they use it.

Unless people know about the abuses of those with power, they are powerless to stop it.

Please publicise this case on your own blog.

All information taken from the fantastic What Do They Know?, specifically Further charges after terrorism act arrest

Cognitive Dissidence

2008-06-18T15:15:57Z

From: Woman soldier among Afghan dead

Defence Secretary Des Browne said: "We've had a very difficult time over the last 10 days. We've lost nine soldiers altogether in three separate incidents."

He added: "The Taleban are losing in Afghanistan, I know it may not appear like that at the moment, but we are enjoying a degree of success."

...

BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said the feeling among British military leaders was that the Taleban were being outgunned and that their command-and-control was disintegrating.

The problem is that this has driven the Taleban to measures such as the latest explosion which are very difficult to defend against, she said.

So the Taliban must be losing because they have successfully killed nine troopers in 10 days by using tactics that are effective and hard to defend against.

When the Taliban are winning, do they start using water-pistols to give our guys a sporting chance?

Something for a Fan Room

2008-06-15T09:26:39Z

Bloxes

Get Better or Else

2008-06-14T11:57:25Z

Something I put together for a friend who is poorly.

Available as an icon should you so desire.

Glastonbury Forecast: cold & damp

2008-06-13T09:30:56Z

I hate the Tories...

2008-06-12T13:17:22Z

...especially when they are right.

David Davis has resigned in order fight a by-election on the government's track record on Civil Liberties.

Whilst this is a pure political stunt, it is a very good one. The reasons for the 42 day detention were purely political: to make Brown look tough and allow him to seize the initive. This stunt forces Brown on the defensive once again, making him look like a weak PM whilst the Tories look principled.

If the Tories had been anywhere near this effective in opposition during the last ten years, civil liberties would not of been so badly eroded.

As much as I admire the political skill of this maneuver, we must not forget that the Tories record on civil liberties has been very poor.

They have supported ID cards, supported greater police power and supported 28 day detention.

Its a stunt without any real policies behind it but if it make people take the issue of civil liberties seriously then it has merit.

Badger Badger Moon Cat Shed

2008-06-09T10:54:23Z

More Badgers than you can shake a stick at.

How long is your email address?

2008-06-08T10:30:07Z

I've just been buying train tickets from trainsfares.co.uk and their design is pretty naff.

What particularly annoyed me is the field for the email address is only wide enough to display 15 characters (but accepts longer).

The shortest email address I have is 14 characters and the one I use for site like that is notably longer.

This sort of thoughtless bad design really annoys me because

a) A brain damaged stoat can work out that 15 characters isn't enough

b) It would take about 2 seconds for the brain damaged stoat to fix the problem

Now off to shout at the radio when ~~an annoying~~ any politician starts talking.

RIPA Off

2008-06-06T16:52:56Z

Not two weeks since the last story about councils abusing the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) for I'm forced to link to the Dail Mail for another one.

Not content with just using CCTV to intrude into people's privacy, councils are now using RIPA to read your email in order to catch dangerous dog smugglers and bogus faith healers.

Warning: Not Safe For Your Credibility.
From the Daily Mail: Phone spies: Town halls using anti-terror powers to bug residents' calls and emails

Geekery Request

2008-06-06T08:53:54Z

Can anyone suggest a very quick grep / perl / whatever script to identify the most common IP addresses in a log file?

My server keeps being killed by bots sending too many requests. The IP addresses I've identified are in Russia so they are scrapers or spam bot rather than real search engines.

I've set up my htaccess file to block the ones I've identified but I want to search my log file for the most commonly occurring IP addresses so I can check them and ban them as needed.

Here is a sample line (it's a standard Wordpress wp-access.log file)

78.129.208.50 - - [01/Jun/2008:14:54:25 +0100] "GET /2008/04/slipping-on-the-wobble-board HTTP/1.0" 200 23477

Alternatively does anyone know of a trusted list of dodgy IP addresses that I use?

GM Crops Promote Fascism

2008-06-04T08:40:06Z

Or possibly fascism promotes GM crops.

It true. I've got the maps to prove it.

Also, ever wondered how far Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon?

Both from the Strange Maps blog

This is why

2008-05-27T09:16:46Z

Some of you may have noticed that I tend to go on a bit about the civil liberties and that I'm constantly warning that sky is falling down.

This is why.

Two men, Hicham Yezza and Rizwaan Sabir where arrested at Nottingham University on May 14th under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2000. The reason for their arrest was that they had printed out a 1500 page Al Qaeda manual they had downloaded from the internet.

That's right, they committed the terrible crime of printing something out that the Government doesn't want you to read.

They were held for six days without charge until the police released them, having finally decided that the reason the document was being printed out was because one of the men was a researcher studying Al Qaeda terrorist tactics.

Its a good job the anti-terrorism laws allow someone to be held for six days. What a threat to society these people would of been if the police could only hold them for 48 hours.

Once released, Hicham Yezza who has been resident in the UK for 13 years, an active member of peace groups and is currently applying for citizenship, was arrested on visa irregularities. He is now fast-tracked for deportation and being held in a detention centre (i.e. a prison). He is likely to be deported to Algeria, a country that uses torture in its interrogations of suspects.

Because of Government fear mongering, someone reported these men to the authorities.

Because the Government has made owning certain books and documents illegal, the police arrested them.

Because the Government allows the police to hold people for 28 days, two innocent people have lost six days of their lives.

One these men, an intelligent, educated man who wants to make the UK his home, is being fast-tracked out of the country. Not only has he lost his liberties in this country, but he faces almost certain arrest and interrogation in Algeria.

Civil rights are being abuse by the Government.

When do you say enough is enough?

Sources: Notts Uni detainee innocent but still facing deportation, Stop the Deportation of Hicham Yezza, Student researching al-Qaida tactics held for six days

The Good and the Bad

2008-05-24T08:50:31Z

Some good news as the case against the protester with the sign "Scientology is a Cult" has been dropped. The BBC have the gen: No charges over Scientology demo.

A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesman said: "In consultation with the City of London Police, we were asked whether the sign was abusive or insulting.

"Our advice is that it is not abusive or insulting and there is no offensiveness (as opposed to criticism), neither in the idea expressed nor in the mode of expression."

Whilst this is a good thing, it did not change the fact that the police harassed a protester and prevented them from exercising their self-expression. Too often the police are required to adjudicate what is or isn't a valid form of protest.

Given the IQ, educational background and authoritarian tendency of most police officers, their natural tendancy is to clam down on things. Except where it is 'non-whites' protesting and then they let them walk about with signs saying "Death to the heathens".

The police also mirror the attitudes of their political masters. With a government regularly passing laws to restrict free speech and demonstrations, it is not surprising that the police are over zealous in their interpretation of those laws.

Of course we can trust the police ...

2008-05-23T11:17:53Z

Or how authorities will always abuse the powers they are given:

1) In Northampton, covert surveillance is being used under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to track dogs crapping on the pavement.
Council 'acted like Dick Tracy'

2) The same act was used in April by Poole Borough Council to see if a couple were living outside the catchment area for an over-subscribed school.
Family's shock at council spying

3) The City of London Police and the City Of London Magistrates' Court have been heavily criticised for "wholly unacceptable" procedural failures in awarding a warrant for the search of Harry Rednapps' house.

"This was an outrageous abuse of power by the police who ignored the rule book and executed an unlawful search warrant at 6am in the full glare of media coverage which they no doubt organised or at least did not discourage."

Redknapp police raid was unlawful

Why Free Speach Matters

2008-05-21T10:30:15Z

Teenager faces prosecution for calling Scientology 'cult'

Interesting the police officer used section five of the Public Order Act of 1986 rather than the more draconian Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006.

Guess the Word

2008-05-20T08:30:00Z

Apparently the Government wants to hold a databases with details of every phone call I make, email I send and web page I visit. Details here: Phone calls database considered

Which word best describes my opinion / feelings on this idea:

A) Concerned

B) Appalled

C) Terrified

D) Other: Please specify

Gross Invasions of Privacy: Number 23

2008-05-19T11:29:51Z

Shops secretly track customers via mobile phone

Customers in shopping centres are having their every move tracked by a new type of surveillance that listens in on the whisperings of their mobile phones.

The technology can tell when people enter a shopping centre, what stores they visit, how long they remain there, and what route they take as they walked around.

The device cannot access personal details about a person’s identity or contacts, but privacy campaigners expressed concern about potential intrusion should the data fall into the wrong hands.

I suspect that many people on my friends list will not consider this an invasion of privacy either because the data is not linked to personal details or because how you move around a shopping centre is in the public domain already. Both of which are valid points but this raises numerous issues and privacy risks.

1) Permission and/or notification.
The shopping centre has a moral obligation to inform users of its premises that it is collecting this data so that those who are concerned by it may avoid that location or simply turn their phones off.

2) What is privacy in a public place?
Imagine you discovered that during your last shopping trip someone employed by the shops had been following you around secretly all day to see how long you had spent in each shop. Are you comfortable with this? Is it any different if a machine is tracking you rather than a human.

3) Private for all practical purposes
How we move around a shopping centre is pseudo-private data because the mass tracking of individuals has been either impossible or so costly to do it was effectively impossible. Thus it is not inappropriate to consider my movement patterns private and personal data because they always have been. Anyone or any organisation collecting that data from me without my informed consent is breaching my privacy.

4) How private is my mobile phone signal
My phone company can trace my location pretty effectively from my phone, why is it different if a shopping centre does it? Because I have a contract with the phone company. I choose to make certain information available to the phone company in return for a service and the phone company has a clear legal framework in which to operate in.
Part of that framework is that it is illegal for people to listen into my phone calls even if they are broadcast via a mobile phone. Why is it unreasonable to expect that my carrier signal, the meta data, the information about my phone calls, which is also broadcast by my phone to be covered by the same privacy rights as my actual conversation.

5) Anonymous is not the same as untraceable
The IMEI (your handset's unique number) may mean that the data is anonymous from the shopping centre's point of view but that doesn't mean it cannot be traced back to its owner. The IMEI data for most handset is held on a database by the phone companies and this sort of data is easily obtainable by journalists let alone governments. Once the 'anonymous' shopping data has been matched, neither your past nor future shopping patterns are private.

6) Does it matter?
If you've got this far and are wondering what the problem is then consider those in the public eye? If the Minister (or partner of a minister) for Health was tracked going into a Chinese herbalist / new age medicine shop, that would be a front page splash. Alternatively a politician visiting an Anne Summers store is doing nothing wrong but could wake up to a "MP Prepares for Bonkfest Whilst Wife Away" type headline.

Shopping and movement data is as revealing about a person as their medical data. It can be used to discredit and embarrasses people, people who speak out against governments, people who speak out against big business.

Please answer Yes or No:

A: Using this technology, I think its OK for a shopping centre to track people's movements to help them plan their business

B: Using this technology, I think its OK for a city council to track people's movement around a city centre to help them develop a better city for shoppers and shop-keepers

C: Using this technology, I think its OK for a government to track people's movements across the country to help them plan a more effective transport system

If you did not answer all the questions Yes or all the questions No, please explain why you consider one acceptable and not another.

Wombats on the Underground

2008-05-18T11:30:13Z

Wombat and others.

OMG! I living in the future!

2008-05-18T10:08:38Z

Remember how in Blade Runner and many other films where the hero gets a photo and has the computer magnify a tiny part so that they can see some minute detail that is vital to the plot? Remember how you sit there and think "Bollocks, that is impossible."? Well think again.

Using a normal digital camera, Gigapan have some clever way of taking lots of photos from slightly different angles and then combining them into with incredible detail.

This image of a pub is a fine example. Use the zoom to see how much detail you can see in the pinned up photos on the left. Its incredible.

Right, all I need now is my personal jet-pack.

Restoring Faith in Human Nature

2008-05-17T08:40:54Z

This is a web site that gives me a warm feeling inside.

What Do They Know monitor freedom of information requests and puts the request and all the responses online for all to see. It is somewhere between political activism and voyeurism.

For example, what requests are people making about CCTV? or Nottingham City Council.

Once a search is set-up, any new requests can be sent to you by email.

Why?

2008-05-15T10:01:57Z

Hi-tech face recognition cameras used in Budgens to spot underage drinkers

A supermarket chain is introducing face recognition cameras to prevent staff mistakenly selling cigarettes and alcohol to under-18s.

Face recognition: Will be used to stop underage drinkers buying alcohol

The biometric technology is being piloted by Budgens at one of its London branches.

If successful, it could be rolled out across the country to create a database of youngsters who try to buy alcohol.

Never mind the civil liberties aspects of this, why would a company do this on commercial grounds?

If they want to stop kids buying alcohol from their store, they could have their staff ask for some form of ID. Yes they may loose a few sales when legitimate purchasers are turn away for not having some ID but that cost is going to be a lot lower than the price of installing and maintaining a sophisticated computer system.

Especially when face recognition technology is defeated by cunning disguises like hats or sunglasses.

Civil Rights Abuse Daily: Episode 23

2008-05-14T15:33:47Z

Ripper in legal bid for freedom

But Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said ...
"Top of my list of priorities, I have to say, is not Peter Sutcliffe's rights, it's the rights of those people who were his victims, ..."

First of all, I thought the point of human rights was that everyone had them equally, with no person's rights more or less important than another person.

Secondly, most of Sutcliffes' victims are dead and there is no evidence to suggest that those who are still alive (two I think) or the families of the deceased would have their right's threatened in anyway by Sutcliffe's release.

Thirdly, I would hope that the Home Secretary has, say, terrorism as their top priority and not the rights of some victims of a crime committed 20+ years ago.

Its life Jim, but not as we know it

2008-05-14T09:13:09Z

ABC in America is remaking Life on Mars and according to the Wikipedia article it will be sent in 1972 and not 1973.

My first thought was bloody typical American remake changing things for no good reason.

Then I remembered, 1973 was the year that Watergate exploded. Maybe ABC didn't want to remind the viewers about an unpopular, corrupt Republican President in an election year.