I Click, Therefore I Am

It seems the courts disagree, but the FBI’s new method of rounding up child porn suspects sounds an awful lot like entrapment to me.

The FBI has recently adopted a novel investigative technique: posting hyperlinks that purport to be illegal videos of minors having sex, and then raiding the homes of anyone willing to click on them.

Undercover FBI agents used this hyperlink-enticement technique, which directed Internet users to a clandestine government server, to stage armed raids of homes in Pennsylvania, New York, and Nevada last year. The supposed video files actually were gibberish and contained no illegal images.

A CNET News.com review of legal documents shows that courts have approved of this technique, even though it raises questions about entrapment, the problems of identifying who’s using an open wireless connection–and whether anyone who clicks on a FBI link that contains no child pornography should be automatically subject to a dawn raid by federal police.

It worries me that so far no judge has had the good sense to see all of the flaws in this plan. Just think, with this kind of trickery becoming a valid criminal busting technique, the possibilities are virtually endless. Click on a link giving information about so-called terrorist groups, you must be a terrorist. Click on an anti-government website, you’re either a terrorist or otherwise a threat to national security and need to be rendered post-haste. Click on what appears to be a torrent, you’re suddenly a thief, because everybody knows that that kind of technology is reserved specifically for dirty pirate scum who want nothing more than free music and movies.

What this is is an easy no work required method of arresting people dreamed up by folks too lazy or too stupid to be able to do any of the hard work that goes with the job. If the justice system has any sense at all and yes I’m aware that’s a mighty big if, they’ll put a stop to this. I can only hope that they’ll do so before the courts become hopelessly clogged with the wrongfully convicted.

Up, Up And Away In A Helium Balloon

Oh boy. Maybe the best thing that could happen to Lefkos Hajji would be to never find the $12000-ring intended for his fiance that he put in a helium balloon that was ripped from his hands by a gust of wind. If the accidental loss of a ring can make his wife to be so angry with him that she wants nothing to do with him, maybe he should run from her and forget about her.

But why put a ring in a helium balloon, the most susceptible to floating up, up and away, emphasis on away? Looks like they’re both a little stupid, but certainly not meant to be together.

Update On Holly

Remember a while ago, I mentioned Holly, and her need for an auditory brainstem implant? Well, she’s raffling off some artwork! So if you want a chance at a nice print, and want to help out too, go buy a ticket.

Note to blinks: When they wrote out the PayPal address, they wrote it out so it couldn’t be spammed, i.e. writing out the words at and dot and placing them in brackets, so if you copy and paste into PayPal, you’ll have to turn the words at and dot into their respective signs.

What’s really wacked out is I know the chick who is providing the print! Well, I met her 13 years ago at a camp. But she is an acquaintance of mine.

So go Holly, and go Dee-Ann! And everybody go buy a ticket!

The Babs Journal: Day 5 (May 13, 2005)

This will be a bit of a flurry…am writing at 10 o’clock…busy day. Let’s see. After the usual morning routine, which included a pretty hard bonk from Babs’s head, ouch, my nose still hurts, while she was trying to say hello, we went for breakfast. pretty uneventful I think, although today is a bit of a blurr. Went off to hang out for a bit and then headed for the van. Babs and Margery’s dog Amy really love each other. Babs always has her head right up against Amy’s butt when we’re riding together. And when I bring her in to busy or groom and Margery is there, she’ll go to see Margery and/or Amy. Sometimes the two of them try to have secret meetings in the van, wiggle closer and closer to each other, maybe they’re trying to whisper in dog language.

Went out in the morning and learned about what guide dogs do when they find a place where they absolutely must turn when they can’t go straight. Pretty cool. Got more used to catching her at sniffing. Once I thought she passed a curb, cause instructor Tim told me he’d try and make her miss the curbs, and we weren’t there yet! But he told me not to worry. And he’s a real devil. He purposely created diversions so I’d have to correct her.

Oh, I asked him about her lump on her chest and a little crusty spot on her head, and he said he’d talk to the vet about it because that all went away. That worries me. She’d better not have any veterinary problems *already*! Oh well I’m probably just worrying too much.

Note to past self: She does have problems. You weren’t worrying too much. Wasn’t that a wonderful way to enter into guide dog life?

Then we came back and went for lunch, god damn I’m hungry at every meal! It was good. We met another one of the instructors, Sarah. She seemed nice. Then after lunch I let Babs rest for a bit and then I brought her in and groomed her and did some of the obedience, but I get confused by it so will get Tim to go over it with me. He said he would.

That was also dumb. At the Ottawa school, we were encouraged to do our obedience alone in aquiet place. Um, the point of obedience is that they’ll do it anywhere. So shouldn’t we do it in places with lots of distractions? We hardly ever did obedience in front of instructors unless we were asking for help, we never did it with them on aregular basis to make sure we were doing it right!

Then we went out to the van, and the driver’s name was Mike Jordan. Ha ha ha that’s funny. He’s a nice guy. So we get in the van and drive out and do more walking. Did streets where you cross, but if you go straight you’ll head into someone’s driveway…so you have to go left or right. But you have to make the dog go straight across the street because you don’t want her going kittie corner on any street.

Something funny happened while I was waiting to go out today. I was sitting in the van waiting for instructor Tim to come back with Margery…and this kid went past the van and said, hey mom, look! and his mom said, yes, a guide dog! My first guide dog comment! Ooo!

For a while, you will hate those. It’s a spotlight like no other, and you had no idea. None. Zip. Well, you had a teeny tiny fraction of an idea.

I don’t know how instructor Tim does 8 walks a day…and that’s just with a small class. Imagine 8 students? How would one do 16 walks a day? Holy crap. We found out he plays hockey in the winter. He’s one fit dude. He’s been doing this for 15 years I guess.

Then some great fun happened between Tim and Sharon. I guess on the way back from their jaunts, the dogs got in the van and started to play, leashes got loose, and well, abra cadabra, Tim got Charity and Sharon got Willow. They took them home, fed them, busied them, the whole deal, but noticed that the dogs would not listen at all! And then Willow mooed at Sharon, or made that moaning sound like a toy cow in one of those toy farms…and she said, “what? Charity doesn’t moo!” So, embarrassed, the two wondered what to do. So Tim walked up to Anka and said, “What colour is my dog?” She laughed and said, “black!” Um, that’s not Willow’s colour. That’s Charity. So they make the reunions and all is well, but wow that was funny and Anka laughed about it all through supper. He kept saying, “what colour is my dog?” And she’d say, “green!” and laugh some more. She’s so cute.

I managed to get them all to agree to get instructor Tim something at the end of the class, and managed to get student Tim to agree that we should get Anka something, just gotta get Sharon. Then instructor Tim said tomorrow he’s bringing us Timmy Ho’s for breakfast! That’s cool! And he gave us our lottery tickets. Oh tomorrow should be way interesting. In the morning, we’re doing an obstacle course, and then in the afternoon, we’re all going out, hopefully to a coffee shop and doing some kind of walk. Should be great gobs of fun.

Let’s see what else. Talked on the phone a bit, and then came here. Got lots of responses from my mass email that I sent to a bunch of people to say that she’s here, without having them endure the days and days of googoo gaga. That’s about it for now. Should finish battling with this beast while my snoring mooing dog sleeps beside me. She’d probably like to be back on her comfy bed again soon.

note: had to take dog to bed because she decided to play a lively game of let’s tell mom I don’t want to sit here anymore and watch you send emails. So she’s waiting…please Babs, don’t poop on my room floor, please? please? I already called Anka in, well instructor Tim ended up coming in because I thought I smelled something funny and wanted to make sure it wasn’t dog doodoo. it wasn’t, thankfully enough. Plese don’t doodoo on my floor? I really will be back soon!

Um, that was cream of dumb to leave her alone so soon, especially when you had no tie-down! . So dumb. You were lucky she didn’t crap on the floor.

I guess The Story Isn’t So Ridiculous After All

Well, it looks like the story the other day about the safe texting street was a bit of a stretch. I guess the street hasn’t been officially made safe for all bumbling idiots. A research company found out a lot of people collide with stuff on that street, so set up the padding as a stunt to get attention and arouse debate. Then they took it all down. Well, they got their wish, that’s for sure. Newspapers around the world thought the padding was a permanent fixture.

The Picture Of Stupidity

I’m confused. What law says you’re not allowed to snap a photo of under cover cops while they’re conducting a search warrant? If they’re under cover, there’s nothing to see. If there’s something to see, well I guess they blew their cover.

But Randy Dean Sievert is being charged, and accused of violating his probation. Since when was not taking a picture a condition of probation? It seems like they were really looking to grab this guy. Sure he was a known drug dealer, but if they were doing their jobs, i.e. wearing masks, there wouldn’t be anything he could do with this picture. I mean, what could he do? Could he warn his druggy friends to stay away from some guys in ski masks who drive a non-descript car? Could he warn the guy whose house is being searched? It’s a little too late for him to do anything about it now, isn’t it?

The best part of this whole case is when they saw him snap snap snapping away, they threw him on the ground and made him destroy the photo! So, they now have 0 evidence for whatever crime they can dream up that he’s committed. I just don’t get it. If they’d just let him snap away, they would have still been under cover. But now, everybody knows who’s involved, and there’s a big uproar. This whole thing kinda backfired, didn’t it?

The Bitter Biddle Battle

I’m all cool with seeing someone get back what they’re owed, especially from the government, but doesn’t it get a little ridiculous when the person getting repaid is the original lender’s great granddaughter, a great granddaughter who is 77, and the debt is 147 years old? At this point, I don’t think anyone would have records going back so far. If she knew about this since she was a little girl, why wait so long? Good luck with that, Joan Kennedy Biddle, the battle ahead of you may eat up the end of your life.

Well, He Did Do What She Said…

Wow. Just imagine what would happen if we took everything a teacher said completely literally. “Put your nose in the corner.” “Eat the microphone.” “Hold it or pee in my lunchbox!” That’s exactly what the student did. He took her lunchbox behind a book-case, drained his lizard, and gave it back to the teacher. Just imagine her mortified face when he handed it back! That would have been priceless.

There’s another story where parents are all up in arms about it. I mean, I wasn’t there to see how the whole thing played out, but unless she specifically ordered him to pee in the box, how can you blame the teacher for something the kid did? He is 13 in a sixth grade class, so it seems the boy is a little slow.

I would have loved to have seen that classroom that morning. I don’t think anything would have been normal since. I mean, he peed in her lunchbox!

Accuracy? What’s That?

If I’m a reporter, I would think the most important thing to do is to make sure I’m talking to the person I think I am. Ya know, if I’m supposed to be interviewing Hillary Rodham Clinton, I don’t accidentally interview Hillary Wicai Viers, communications director for another senator. But that’s exactly what John Goodall, a reporter for the Warren Tribune Chronicle did. The only verification he got that he was speaking to his target was her picking up the phone saying “this is hilary.” Never did he make sure he got the right Hillary. Way to go, ace. Your career’s looking bright.

I Have A Dream

Black Guy Asks Nation For Change

CHICAGO—According to witnesses, a loud black man approached a crowd of some 4,000 strangers in downtown Chicago Tuesday and made repeated demands for change.
“The time for change is now,” said the black guy, yelling at everyone within earshot for 20 straight minutes, practically begging America for change. “The need for change is stronger and more urgent than ever before. And only you—the people standing here today, and indeed all the people of this great nation—only you can deliver this change.”

It is estimated that, to date, the black man has asked every single person in the United States for change.
“I’ve already seen this guy four times today,” Chicago-area ad salesman Blake Gordon said. “Every time, it’s the same exact spiel. ‘I need change.’ ‘I want change.’ Why’s he so eager for all this change? What’s he going to do with it, anyway?”