Ah, the delicious irony
This is a page from the original version of Pagan Vigil. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.paganvigil.com/C1415225799/E20070520143152
Yahoo pulls the plug on fake profiles used by British police
““INTERNET companies including Yahoo! are hindering police investigations into child abuse by closing down the undercover identities used by officers to trap paedophiles.
British child protection police habitually pose as children online, using false profiles to ensnare abusers trying to groom girls and boys for sex.
But the companies say they will shut down all bogus identities on their sites even if they know they are being run to catch paedophiles.
“Everybody using our service, regardless of whether they are law enforcement agencies, has to abide by our terms of service and if they don’t we will close them down,” said Yahoo!.
Its terms of service state that all information used to make up a profile must be “true, accurate current and complete”.
The stipulations are intended to protect users from exploitation and abuse, but antiabuse campaigners say they are frustrating police sting operations on hardcore offenders.””
Why should police have special privileges not available to the general public? Why should a private company overlook abuses of services just because it is government agents?
Yes, I know it is that old saw about "protecting the children," but without that justification, doesn't Yahoo! owe it's customers protection from frauds online?Posted: Sun - May 20, 2007 at 02:31 PM
Friday roundup clearence
It’s Negative 24 Degrees and the Wind Isn’t Blowing. This is Why We Need Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power, Not Renewables
South Bend Mayor and Possible Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg Decries "Endless War"
Bill Nye’s Latest Climate Warning: The Us Will Have To Grow Its Food In Canada
Florida Gov. DeSantis signs executive order scrapping Common Core
The 16th Amendment: How the U.S. Federal Income Tax Became D.C.'s Favorite Political Weapon
Whatever Mueller Finds, Gag-Orders and No-Knock Raids Should Appall EVERYONE.
What the Press Missed About Vanguard Founder's Fortune
“John Bogle's life is a reminder that in capitalism you can make a fortune by saving your customers money.”Venezuela Finds Out The Hard Way That Only Bitcoin Is Unconfiscatable
VA announces new rules giving veterans access to private providers
Primetime CNN, MSNBC Ignore Virginia Dems Supporting Late, Post-Term Abortions
PRESIDENT PELOSI? House Speaker holds public bill signings — to compete with Trump?
Noncitizens registered to vote in Pennsylvania and Texas show vote fraud is real
Dems Are Shocked, Shocked To Learn That 'Medicare For All' Outlaws Private Insurance
No-Knock Warrant for Deadly Drug Raid Describes Heroin and a Gun Cops Didn't Find
Yoho’s ‘Zero-for-Zero’ Sugar Plan To Curb Foreign Subsidies Returns
Water From the Air and Power From Trash
“Technology extracts at least 2,000 liters of water per day from the atmosphere at a cost of less than 2 cents per liter.”Politico: Liberals Developing New Phraseology to Hype 'Climate Change'
Europe 'coming apart before our eyes', say 30 top intellectuals
South Carolina Police Hauled in $17 Million Through Civil Asset Forfeiture Over Three Years
France’s Red Scarves: Ready-Made Counter-Protest and New Media Darlings
Howard Schultz Shoots Down Liz Warren Attack With Passionate Defense of the American Dream
An American Nightmare
“Why were there more FBI agents sent to arrest Stone than Navy SEALs sent to kill Osama bin Laden? Why jackboots in the morning in America? Here is the back story.”Don't Expect The EU To Cave On May's Brexit Deal Until The Very Last Minute
Chaos has reportedly erupted inside Facebook as employees find themselves unable to open the company's apps on their iPhones
After 4 Cops Shot in Houston, Police Promise to Go After and ‘Track’ Those Who Criticize Police
‘I’m Not Going to Enforce That’: Sheriffs Disobey New Anti-Gun Laws—Refuse to Disarm Citizens
When 'Former' Spies Run Wild, Bad Things Happen
84% of 18-24 year olds don’t know how to change a light bulb… but they think they can run the economy?
Entrepreneurship Lifts Cambodia from the Clutches of Extreme Poverty in a Single Generation
“So long as there is peace and political stability in Cambodia, the future is looking bright for this growing economy.”NANCY? Pelosi botches words, suffers face spasms, confuses Dems, GOP while vowing no border wall funding
Roger Stone faces a gag order. He has a plan to resist it.
The Unseen Costs of Humanitarian Intervention
Rep. Ilhan Omar calls for sharp tax increases on the wealthy: 'We've had it as high as 90 percent'
Thusday roundup
Illegal Migrants Boast of Aiding Democrats’ Campaigns
Funny how the rule of law is sacrificed to get the "right" people electedThree European Countries Block Tax on Tech Giants
Mo’ Money, Mo’ Invasion
America Goes to War
“Fighting Russia, China and al-Qaeda simultaneously requires more money”Fmr Assistant Secretary of Treasury Explains What The Mid-Term Elections Are Really About
“The establishment is seeking to make a massive statement this election cycle by punishing all those inside Washington who've ever challenged them.”Hillary Clinton remains the Democrats best chance to defeat Trump in 2020
Right-wing activist group films undercover video of Kyrsten Sinema, staffers
Police decrypt 258,000 messages after breaking pricey IronChat crypto app
6 Questions About The Huge CIA Blunder That Allowed Enemies To Kill 70 U.S. Spies
CIA's ‘surveillance state’ is operating against us all
This Ousted Judge Just Released All the Juvenile Defendants Who Promised Him They Wouldn't Kill Anybody
“He was releasing everybody. Apparently he was saying that's what the voters wanted.”Cannabis Industry Cheers Sessions' Departure at DOJ
3 Ways to Make the Post-Election World Better
Thursday roundup
Wednesday roundup
Tuesday roundup
Headlines that don't merit their own entry
An exclusive look at Cory Booker’s plan to fight wealth inequality: give poor kids money
Where does the money come from? Who decides who gets money and who does not? How is this not buying votes?A Law Intended to Protect Crime Victims Is Being Used to Shield the Identities of Police Officers
Unaccountable authority will be abused.Dear Resistance, listen to my lived totalitarian experience – you have no effing idea what you’re talking about
Politico Report Says Russiagaters Should Prepare To Kiss My Ass
Methods and Tricks Used to Create and Perpetuate the Human-caused Global Warming Deception
Divided Democrats struggle to answer Trump's claims on migrant caravan
Watching a Country Make a Fool of Itself
Saudi dissidents fear 'long arm' of state after Khashoggi murder
A Texas Police Officer Is Charged After Mishandling 130 Sex Crime Cases
Georgia Mayor Has Plan To Round Up Town's Sex Offenders on Halloween
California company that hires protesters is accused of extortion
Previously Deported Illegal Aliens Join Caravan: ‘It’s Time for Me to Go Back’
Judge bars New Hampshire proof of residency requirement for new voters
Monday extra-big roundup
Headlines that don't merit their own entry
Top 3% of U.S. Taxpayers Paid Majority of Income Taxes in 2016
How about that? They paid more than their fair share.Gore: Jet Stream 'Getting Loopier and Wavier,' So 'We Have a Global Emergency'
Al Gore is capitalizing on the news and fear. The jet stream hasn't changed.Trump snubs Feinstein, Harris to nominate conservative judges to liberal 9th Circuit
Mary Robinson on climate change: ‘Feeling “This is too big for me” is no use to anybody’
Italian Interior Minister prepares legislature for self-defence: “No trial for those who defend their property”
‘Bitcoin and Guns, That’s the Only Way to Save This Country’
From the UkraineLibertarian and Police Accountability Pages Deleted in Facebook Purge
Golly gee whilikers, could Facebook have an agenda?Facebook has lost 30% of its value since July
500,000 Afghan migrants are ready to enter Europe via unprotected Turkish-Greek border area
Technically, isn't that an invasion?Bear spray, bloody brawls at Patriot Prayer 'law and order' march in Portland
Dozens of Witches Gather to Place Public Hex on Brett Kavanaugh
They have decided that he is guilty and they are going to be very public about itBlack Man Cuffed on His Own Property While Moving Into New Home
Venezuela Has Lost 13% of its Population in a Mass Exodus from Socialism
Fight Fizzles Before Police Arrive; Cops Start Tasing and Arresting People Anyway
Violence, Public Anger Erupts In China As Home Prices Slide
Lawsuit: KSP trooper attacks man after Facebook post
Strange doings in KentuckyFusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson in 'real legal jeopardy', GOP investigator says
Toronto's Sick Kids hospital preparing policy for euthanasia for youth over 18 that could one day apply to minors
Human 2.0 Is Almost Here: The Transhumanism Agenda Just Went Mainstream
The view from Saudi Arabia as world holds its breath
“With Saudi Arabia one of Britain's closest allies, diplomats are treating the alleged death of Jamal Khashoggi very carefully.”Thousands line up for zero-down-payment, subprime mortgages
This won't end wellHow the Heir of the White Nationalist Movement Learned to Let Go of Hatred
Congress Can’t Create an Independent and Unaccountable New Branch of Government
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was designed to be unaccountable.NeoNote — Human rights
❝❝For the record, there are no LGBTQ rights. There are no black rights. There are no women's rights. There are no Hispanic rights. There are no pagan rights. There are no Chinese rights. There are no Christian rights. There are no police rights.NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
There are human rights. Period.
It's not a right unless the other has it too.
Too many times there are privileges passed off as rights. Privileges benefit a select few at the expense of everyone else. Too often, what should have been rights for everyone were enforced privileges for some. This is a big reason why rights and privileges are confused.
It's not a right unless the other has it too.
Which means they get a head thump when they demand I submit.❞❞
Monday roundup
Fight back
Man attempts to kidnap 11-year-old girl, friends throw hot coffee on him and escape, Michigan police say
❝❝\A group of four girls, ages 11 to 14, noticed a man followed them as they left a gas station convenience store in Millington, Michigan, last week. They crossed the street. He did, too. Then, the man, identified as 22-year-old Bruce Hipkins, grabbed the 11-year-old girl in the group, Millington Police Department Chief Jason Oliver told USA TODAY.
“He grabbed the youngest and said: 'You’re coming with me,'" Oliver said.
No, she wasn't.
"The girls turned around and started punching him," Oliver said. "They threw coffee, slurpees. They used whatever they had.”
Then, Hipkins attempted to take another girl, grabbing her by the hair, Oliver said. The girls continued pummeling him, and he eventually ran away. ❞❞
— Ashley May
Tuesday roundup
Inside The Two Years That Shook Facebook—And The World
Very long but a good summaryFederal abuses on Obama's watch represent a growing blight on his legacy
Some of us knew this during his first term'We are being targeted': Voodoo believers fear a backlash
There's a mess, but this article doesn't help sort it ourIs California Starting To Circle The Drain?
A long and almost unbelievable tale of what happens when the police aren't policing anymoreWe All Live on Campus Now
Groupthink spillover'Hire the best and fire the worst': Trump proposes biggest civil service change in 40 years
If this is a plan and not a negotiating ploy, it's a really good ideaAre Progressives More Biased Than Conservatives?
“Progressives generally assume that they're less biased than conservatives. New research shows otherwise.”Woman Dragged Out of West Virginia House Hearing For Listing Oil and Gas Contributions to Members
It's an issue that should be examined before they pass any lawCatholic School Parents Fight Lesbian Teacher's Firing. Here's Why That's Good.
Shifting moralityIf You Really Wanted to Ban Porn, Here's What It Would Take
Detailed look at exactly what it would takeNew York Times CEO: Print journalism has maybe another 10 years
Digital works better for millions of peopleCalifornia’s drought restrictions on wasteful water habits could be coming back — this time they’ll be permanent
Water is precious in the desert, and California has acted otherwise for decadesCommonwealth in secret succession plans
I didn't know that head of the Commonwealth wasn't hereditary.Conspiracy
Thursday roundup
Whatever Is On Imran Awan’s Smashed Hard Drives Likely Can Be Recovered
This will be interesting.Danish 17-year-old girl who used a pepper spray to fight off a rapist near migrant asylum centre is told SHE will be prosecuted for carrying the weapon
It's headlines like this that make me wonder if Europe has a future.Scientists Still Seek A Reliable DUI Test For Marijuana
How Civil Asset Forfeiture Reduces Economic Mobility
Related - Policing for Profit: Jeff Sessions & Co.’s Thinly Veiled Plot to Rob Us Blind. Someone please explain why civil asset forfeiture is not legalized highway robbery.Maduro’s Stranglehold On Disarmed Venezuelans
Related - Venezuela's Price Inflation Hits an Annual Rate of 952% — Venezuelan Opposition Leaders Detained at Gunpoint in Raids — Venezuelans killing flamingos and anteaters to stave off hunger amid mounting food crisis — Deadly election day in Venezuela as protesters clash with troops — Hungry Venezuelans Flee in Boats to Escape Economic Collapse — The elites and politicos are building a case for intervening in Venezuela. It's a bad idea.Pulitzer-Prize Winning Reporter: FBI Report Shows It Was Seth Rich – Not Russians – Who Gave DNC Emails to Wikileaks
Related - Lawsuit says Fox knowingly faked Seth Rich story“No Please Stop!” Dash Cam Shows Cop Fire 21 Shots as Unarmed Teens Beg for Their Lives
When will Americans start holding police officers accountable for breaking the law?Commercial Crabber Of 50 Years Tells Gore Sea Level Hasn’t Changed Since At Least 1970
Take away the adjusted numbers and there is no climate change.Navajo Nation Purchases Colorado Land
This has been in the works for a while. It gives the Diné a place close to the last of their sacred mountains.Thursday roundup
Apple patented blocking smartphone cameras
Take this Apple patent. An IR sensor receives a coded signal and disables the camera on a smart phone. Now at first glance, this might frustrate customers at concerts but it would make artists and music publishers happy. It's a tradeoff and customers will learn to accept it for their own good. After all, this is Apple we're talking about here.
Except, not quite.
Apple is usually about what the customer wants. Sometimes they goof. And sometimes Apple has to make compromises to get their product out there. It usually works out well.
Kinda. Sorta. Maybe.
Apple is saying that it could be used to block concerts. But not just concerts. Sensitive events.
This time I can see some damn scary possibilities. And not just me. Also here and here (HT to Daring Fireball for those last two).
It turns out that police can be very critical and aggressive when citizens film what police do. A Federal judge has ruled that filming police is not protected by the First Amendment. Yep. Police can seize your phone, even when you film them breaking the law. The are ways that could make the situation easier, but it's already tense. A little prep can go a long way here.
But if the police turn on a IR gizmo that disables your camera, then they don't have to deal with you. If this technology is introduced, do you really think police departments and Federal agencies won't find a reason to use it?
And of course it's for your own good. And public safety.
We already have agencies regularly abusing or ignoring FOIA requests in direct violation of the law. Now imagine Federal buildings and offices with the IR gizmo permanently installed and permanently on. How long do you think it will take state and local agencies to do the same thing?
And politicos? Hillary Clinton is famous for banning reporters from her campaign. She gives speeches where the press is closed out.
The two national parties have have designated "free speech" areas away from the action during the last few nominating conventions.
How easy it will be to put up the IR gizmos and not worry about any embarrassing videos on YouTube?
Of course the major news organizations will have exemptions. For the good of the nation, you see. Just because the news will be more spoon-fed when there aren't a bunch of angry citizens questioning the Official Story® with their own footage, well, that shouldn't be an issue, should it? The press will always look out for the little guy, right?
So don't complain, Citizen, this is for your own good. It's for the Nation. It's for security. It's for the American Spirit. It's for your freedom. Your own government will tell you so.
Relax Citizen, it won't hurt.
Much.
And after a while, you won't even notice.
Maybe I am overreacting.
The patent is real. The rest is speculation.
So far.