Random Thoughts (Political Edition)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11479831
A teenager has been jailed for 16 weeks after he refused to give police the password to his computer.
Oliver Drage, 19, of Liverpool, was arrested in May 2009 by police tackling child sexual exploitation.
Police seized his computer but could not access material on it as it had a 50-character encryption password.
Drage was convicted of failing to disclose an encryption key in September. He was sentenced at Preston Crown Court on Monday.[...]
So in Britian, if you are suspected of a crime ... you yourself have to provide evidence to convict yourself ... or you?ll get thrown in Jail anyway. I don?t want to defend anyone with child pornography, but this is a legal dilemma in my Opinion. How can it be legal in a state that has signed the European Convention on Human Rights (Articles 6 & 8 do aply)? Sure, the Police have the right to search when a Judge orders it ... but how can it be legal that cooperation is forced on you? Forced to make a case against yourself or prove your innosence? "Everything You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You" - in Britian, everything you DON`T say too ...
 
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There was a ruling some time back, where it was said that a computer password had the legal meaning of equating a key for a locked door. Refusing to provide the password was equated to refusing to provide a key for a locked door leading into a premise the police had a warrant to search, or something like that.

I don't like it, but I understand the rationale.
 
There was a ruling some time back, where it was said that a computer password had the legal meaning of equating a key for a locked door. Refusing to provide the password was equated to refusing to provide a key for a locked door leading into a premise the police had a warrant to search, or something like that.
... the Police in Britian stop at locked doors when they have a warrant? Wow. If Police run into a locked door here, they will open it. Ain?t no "please give us the key, we can?t get in" whining ... door locked, no key -> use of force.
 
So you should give them the key? Screw that. It's their job to open the door, not mine. Same goes for passwords.
 
What amazes me is that they appear not to have the skill to get into the machine anyhoo. Ask any ex-KGB computer technician - they could get into anything near enough. I bet the Chinese could provide someone too.

Having said that - the Cobol74 guide to happiness, NEVER EVER 'PLAY' WITH KIDS, grown women are so much fun anyway, and. ...

Never ever put anything on a computer that you would not want your worst enemy to get ahold of (or in this case the Police).
 
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/10/limbaugh-calls-president-obama-a-jackass.html

Limbaugh Calls President Obama a 'Jackass'


Derision of the president on his program is nothing new, but Rush Limbaugh?s tone today may have struck the ears of regular listeners as particularly disdainful, taking his contempt of the president to a new level.

The nation?s preeminent conservative talk radio host referred to Mr. Obama as a ?jackass,? an ?economic illiterate? and an ?idiot, where capitalism is concerned.?

The rough stuff came during a monologue on the president?s position on extending the Bush tax cuts to all but the top two percent of wage earners

Obama, Limbaugh says, is an "economic ignoramus" for not understanding how a "tax increase" on the wealthy won't stimulate growth.

Quoting an AP article from yesterday, Limbaugh pointed out Obama?s remarks at a meeting of his Economic Recovery Advisory Board that the wealthy would ?take our ball and go home? if their tax cuts aren?t extended.

Limbaugh then addressed the following line to the president directly:

?Mr. Obama, our imam-child, they have already taken their trillion dollar ball home, and they?re sitting on it, you jackass.?

(Limbaugh?s been calling the president ?Imam Obama? for several months now.)

"Extend the tax cut to everybody, and you'll inspire confidence," Limbaugh argued, saying that added degree of certainty would free business to spend some of the capital they?re holding onto and hire people, ?which, once upon a time, we were told, was Obama?s top priority.?

For not getting this, "He's a jackass. He's an economic illiterate. He's an economic ignoramus.?
?And that's being charitable,? Limbaugh said.


There is a video at the link.
 
... the Police in Britian stop at locked doors when they have a warrant? Wow. If Police run into a locked door here, they will open it. Ain?t no "please give us the key, we can?t get in" whining ... door locked, no key -> use of force.
They will break down the door. But if you've bought an old nuclear bunker, they might not be able to, I guess.
 
They will break down the door. But if you've bought an old nuclear bunker, they might not be able to, I guess.
It?s only a matter of time and resources ... ain?t no code or door that can?t be broken by (brute)force. But if the hardware the police run this kind of stuff on can only do it in 10 years ... maybe it?s upgrade-time ... rather than Jail-time.
 
Forced to make a case against yourself or prove your innosence? "Everything You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You" - in Britian, everything you DON`T say too ...
Not that I think the government is right, or that CP is anything but disgusting (I subscribe to the Cobol74 "Guide to Happiness" there :D), but depending on what the guy has on his hard drives 4 months could be light punishment.


But if the hardware the police run this kind of stuff on can only do it in 10 years ... maybe it?s upgrade-time ... rather than Jail-time.
It should certainly be a sign. But governments are never good at keeping up with technology.

Though you'd think it wouldn't be terribly difficult to find someone who did this sort of thing, even if just on a contractual basis. A friend of mine does that sort of stuff out of his living room. Granted he's got a computer science degree and a computer that practically dims the lights when he flips it on.

Rush is just mad because the extra 3% in income tax he'd have to pay would cut into his drug money. The man can't even string a coherent argument together, I don't know how people can stand to listen to him for a few hours at a time.
 
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Ranting un-intelligibly is - I suspect - what they pay him for. Personally I do not think he is nearly as funny as Glenn Beck.
 
What amazes me is that they appear not to have the skill to get into the machine anyhoo.
With any decent encryption, the only way is brute force. And with a decent key, that will require a few years of continuos number crunching. Enough time for the accusations to become time-barred.

They will break down the door. But if you've bought an old nuclear bunker, they might not be able to, I guess.
And this encryption would be the bunker door. Tough luck, police. At least in any decent law system.
 
Why is he calling Obama "Imam Obama"? That doesn't even make sense.
 
He's a dick.

No one chooses their name (Well very, very few do), like their colour of their skin, or their gender, or their sexual orientation (You can choose whether to exploit it or not if it causes harm to others though) so attacking people for what they are and have no control over is pointless and actually says more about you than the target.

Personally I think that no politician is free from criticism but it should be directed at his/her policies and the ability to put these policies into effect.
 
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Why is he calling Obama "Imam Obama"? That doesn't even make sense.
Cause he's an evil, progressive, fascist, stalinist, caaahmunist, moslem, terrist, nazi... Durka derrp... And that's enough rationale for his audience... :lol:
 
For not getting this, "He's a jackass. He's an economic illiterate. He's an economic ignoramus.?

I fail to see the problem here. Such criticisms have been made towards other presidents.
 
Mr Bean was a policeman?

Anyway, the Kim's have heard that there is something called an "Oktoberfest" and not to be outdone have come up with their own fest! Except without the m?dchens, atmosphere or fest. Altough it does have something remarkable, spontaneous interviews with people that are not reading off a script! Three of them infact! I've never seen that before in DPRK propaganda. Two even use their hands! That's close to taboo.
[video=youtube;-kHHUHCIwN8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kHHUHCIwN8[/video]
 
Haven't seen this posted anywhere, but this could be some serious shit both environmentally and politically.

BBC News ? Hungarian chemical sludge spill reaches Danube

BBC News said:
Toxic red sludge from a spill at an industrial plant in Hungary has reached the River Danube, officials say.

They said alkaline levels that killed all fish in one river were now greatly reduced, but were being monitored.

PM Viktor Orban called the spill an "ecological tragedy". There are fears the mud, which burst out of a reservoir on Monday, could poison the Danube.

Countries downstream from Hungary, including Croatia, Serbia and Romania, are drawing up emergency plans.

A million cubic metres (35m cu ft) of the sludge spilled from a reservoir at an alumina plant in Ajka in western Hungary. Four people were killed and about 100 injured.

The mud also caused massive damage in nearby villages and towns, as well as a wide swathe of farmland.

* continues *

(35m cu. ft.: On one of the American TV News programs, they said the volume of the sludge would be more than enough to fill up NY Yankee Stadium.)


BBC News - What is the sludge and how hazardous is it?
BBC News said:
But what exactly is the sludge, and how hazardous is it to humans?

The sludge is a by-product from the early stage of aluminium production, which leaked from storage reservoirs.

As part of the process, bauxite, the raw material, is taken out of the ground and washed with sodium hydroxide.

This produces alumina, which is processed further, and waste, which is composed of solid impurities, heavy metals, and the chemicals used as processing agents.

* continues *

I just wonder how dangerous to the drinking water extracted by all the downstream countries, this spill will be when it mixes with the Danube.

:unsure:
 
I just wonder how dangerous to the drinking water extracted by all the downstream countries, this spill will be when it mixes with the Danube.
Yeah, I also wonder how harmful that stuff could be (or how long it would be around) if it got down to the water table, into wells, etc.
 
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