University of Alabama vs. Free Speech

The University of Alabama has come under fire for it's intolerance of free speech. Auburn (the other big state university) has also been known as a school unfriendly to free speech.

It makes headlines because it's in Alabama. But, don't think for one moment that northern and western colleges don't have their own versions of censorship.

Posted in politics jasonn's blog | read more

Dominos in the Middle East

Syria seems to have problems developing due to a growing Lebanese revolt.  Some, like people in Lebanon, are suggesting this has something to do with the President's persistent support for freedom in the Middle East.

Posted in politics jasonn's blog

Capitalism and Property Rights This Week

(Hat tip: Instapundit) The Vanity of the Capitalists may supply some entertainment.

If the high court decides that property rights are superseded by tax potential, the first and most sacred economic freedom is gone. Welcome to serfdom.

Posted in business | politics jasonn's blog | read more

U.N.: World Population to Hit 9B in 2050

The Soviet/Chinese/US liberal solution to unwanted pregnancies: abort every child possible so the sexual revolution may continue unencumbered by consequences. This is also the typical answer to any disease that comes from bad behavior. OK, maybe the Chinese and the Soviets were more acting pragmatic - but all these positions are coming from the Godless reactionaries just the same. There are two solutions to our population (family planning) and disease control problems worldwide, and they are solid unbreaking family relationships (you know, mother and father who love children - remember that?) and quality preventive medical services for married couples to plan children. There are social and moral issues to mold. The highest cause of unwanted preganancies in developed countries is unmarried sex. Unmarried sex is the largest cause of sexually transmitted disease in developing countries as well as developed countries (if you disagree, look up the definition of STD). Unmarried or promiscuous sex is bad.

The world's population will increase by 40 percent to 9.1 billion in 2050, but virtually all the growth will be in the developing world, especially in the 50 poorest countries, the U.N. Population Division said. - AP

Posted in politics jasonn's blog | read more

Eminent Domain Abuse Hits Supreme Court

At issue is whether governments can forcibly seize homes and businesses, for private economic development. Under a practice known as eminent domain, a person's property may be condemned and the land converted for a greater "public use." It has traditionally been employed to eliminate slums, or to build highways, schools or other public works. - CNN

Posted in business | politics jasonn's blog

Blogger Sentenced to 14 Years

It may sound odd to uberliberals worldwide, but many governments still consider speech in their policing purview. Iran is one of these countries, and they obviously found the writings of two bloggers offensive enough to justify incarceration.

Today, the Committee to Protect Bloggers has denounced the sentence handed down from the Iranian court. The day, Tuesday February 22, 2005, was to be "Free Mojtaba and Arash Day". Part of the committee's outrage is that the sentence was handed down on their declared protest day.

Posted in politics jasonn's blog | read more

Privacy Policy Translation

I don't even read privacy policies. If you want to know what most of them say, here's the lay term condensed version:

We use your private information as an asset, both for our internal business purposes and to sell to others. Our databases are open to any marketing company that wants to pay us for access. We call these companies "associates" or some other name that is intended to make you feel more comfortable about your sensitive personal and financial information being auctioned off to whomever will pay. If we collect your social security number, credit card numbers, banking information, or any other bit of data that may make a transaction take place more smoothly, you can bet we'll sell it at some point to dozens of comapanies around the world.

Posted in business | computer security | law enforcement jasonn's blog | read more

Hackers, Thieves, Terrorists, and Spam

A growing problem plaguing online transactions is fraud. There are many methods of acquiring credit cards, bank account numbers, and personal information to commit crimes ranging from petty theft to funding and facilitating terrorism.

I've personally received emails requesting that I log into a bogus site and clarify some details about my account. One that caught my eye was an email that asked me to help eBay with a "security issue". Of course, eBay had nothing to do with the email. That site was hosted in the UK and collected numbers from Paypal related bank accounts and the user's passport. Why would they want passport numbers? By linking a real passport to real bank information, your identity could be very useful for criminal activities. They could easily manufacture a very real looking set of identification and travel related documents.

Posted in business | law enforcement | tech jasonn's blog | read more | 2 attachments

Vioxx May Return

Addressing the FDA drug safety panel Thursday, Merck research chief Peter Kim said that "if the advisory committee and the FDA conclude that the benefits of this class outweigh the risks in some patient populations, then we would have to consider the implications of these new data given the unique benefits Vioxx offers." - Marketwatch

Posted in healthcare public policy jasonn's blog | read more

Courts Threaten Red-light Cameras

Alabama legislators are proposing a law placing cameras at red-lights. Before Alabama even begins, the traffic light camera controversy is playing out in courts nationwide.

Hat tip: Instapundit

Posted in politics jasonn's blog