[BAD SIGNAL]Dry Fire bad signal WARREN ELLIS Finished JONES #5 last night, at 3am. That book is fucking hard work, I tell you. Jen Contino keeps asking me when I'm going to resume my space at The Pulse, now that they've finished jumping servers (which is what's kept me off there for months), and I have to admit, I'm dry. Might be time to leave that space to the kids. Rivkah's already started calling me Uncle Warren, which is just disturbing on so many levels. It'd be useful, from a marketing viewpoint, to keep a weekly space there -- The Pulse is still one of the main three or four comics news sites -- but I do feel like I've said pretty much all I needed to say about comics already, and The Engine's there for real-time reactions to any new developments, I guess, at least for the next few months. And so many of my interests lay outside comics that I know I bore a hardcore comics-fan audience to death when I start talking about what's really on my mind. A comics store recently contacted me to tell me that he's mostly selling DESOLATION JONES and FELL to girls. I'm not going to reach those people by talking about counter- culture and community and comics on The Pulse, I don't think.

I'd thought about starting some kind of secondary diary on Suicide Girls, but another look at their terms of service still has them exerting a license over everything appearing on the site. Which is a pain in the arse, because I need to own my own words. That's above and beyond the current drama happening there. It's the internet equivalent of speaking tours, really, being able to enter communities and strike up conversations. In one sense, you can, in a touring musician's words, "blow into town, tell everyone to keep going, and blow on out again." Once you've adjusted to the fact that people do listen to you -- hopefully without your ego blowing out of all fucking proportion -- you realise that you can do something with your breath beyond blowing your own trumpet. I am, in fact, Internet Jesus. Hurrah. --- Sent via mobile device probably in the pub

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[Politech] Once again, the Feds want to make "temporary" security restrictions permanent [econ]


This is only tangentially relevant to technology but it shows the
encroachment of bureaucrats and the national security.

In this case, "temporary" airspace restrictions that do little to stop
terrorists but quite a bit to terrorize law-abiding private pilots are
about to become permanent -- and perhaps even expanded.

This isn't new. New York's rent control law was supposedly temporary but
is now permanent. The expire-in-four-years portions of the Patriot Act
are about to become permanent. "National emergencies" were supposed to
be temporary but have become permanent.
(http://www.politechbot.com/p-04154.html) The Spanish American War
telecom tax was supposed to be temporary but has become permanent (and
is now causing problems for the Internet). See:
http://www.politechbot.com/2004/07/06/irs-voip-taxes/

More on DC-area airspace folly:
http://www.politechbot.com/2005/05/11/seater-airplane-brings/

-Declan

---

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Urgent message from Phil Boyer: AOPA fights permanent ADIZ
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2005 17:10:15 -0400
From: AOPAPRESIDENT@AOPA.ORG

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Special Notice from AOPA President Phil Boyer September 14, 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------


==> ATTENTION BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON, D.C.-AREA PILOTS <==

AS MANY OF YOU ARE ALREADY AWARE, THE FAA IS PROPOSING A NEW RULE THAT
WOULD
MAKE PERMANENT THE CURRENT "TEMPORARY" AIRSPACE RESTRICTIONS IN OUR AREA.
THIS SPECIAL E-MAIL MESSAGE IS TO INFORM YOU WHAT AOPA IS DOING IN
RESPONSE TO
THE FAA's RECENT NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING (NPRM), AND KEEP YOU
UPDATED ON
OUR EXTENSIVE PLANS, ALREADY UNDER WAY, TO CHALLENGE THE PROPOSAL.

All of us who fly in this area know that the Washington, D.C., Air Defense
Identification Zone (ADIZ) was created over a weekend in February 2003, in
response to a heightened national threat level. It was a sudden move and
was
explained as a temporary restriction. But when the government later reduced
the national threat level, the ADIZ remained. AOPA has been working to have
the ADIZ eliminated--or reduced--ever since.

THE FAA's NPRM IS NOT A SURPRISE (WE HAVE EXPECTED IT FOR SEVERAL MONTHS),
BUT IT IS AS ILL CONCEIVED AS THE ORIGINAL ADIZ.

I personally want you to know that we have and are continuing to dedicate
enormous resources to make very clear to the FAA, TSA, Department of
Homeland
Security, and Congress all of our concerns about the ADIZ and its onerous
effects on D.C.-area pilots. In a series of uncanny coincidences, our
efforts
over the past two years to counter the ADIZ have been frustrated by events
like terrorist warnings, increased security levels, and high-profile
airspace
violations, such as the "Smoketown 150," that caused the evacuation of the
Capitol on May 11. Despite ongoing pressure from pilots and AOPA, the ADIZ
still exists. And now the FAA wants to make it permanent.

The only "good news" in all this is that the federal process of rulemaking
allows individuals from across the country to formally oppose an FAA
proposal. This is important to all pilots because, if the ADIZ is made
permanent, EVERY PILOT IN THE COUNTRY FLYING IN OR NEAR CLASS B AIRSPACE
(there are 29 other such areas) COULD FACE THE SAME RESTRICTIONS. This is
not a vague threat: As this e-mail is being written the New York Class B
airspace has become an ADIZ.

By far, general aviation's greatest strength is AOPA's 406,000 members. And
because there is strength in numbers--strength and power of opinion--WE
INTEND TO USE YOUR VOICES TO FIGHT THIS ONEROUS AND UNNECESSARY AIRSPACE
RESTRICTION.

THE FAA NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU so they fully understand how difficult it
is to operate in and near the ADIZ--to file a flight plan by telephone with
flight service (FSS), then obtain a discrete transponder code, and
establish
and maintain communication with air traffic control--A PROCESS THE FAA IS
TERRIBLY UNDERSTAFFED AND ILL-EQUIPPED TO HANDLE.

In the coming weeks you will receive a nationwide appeal that will be
mailed
to all AOPA members asking them--and you--to comment directly to the FAA
and
to members of Congress before the November 2 close of the ADIZ NPRM comment
period. Our own ongoing efforts and asking our members to help in this way
are but two parts of our strategy.

Your association has engaged two of Washington, D.C.'s most powerful
lobbying
organizations to complement our efforts. These preeminent firms
include--and
have working on your behalf--a former secretary for the Department of
Transportation (a cabinet-level position) as well as a former deputy
assistant undersecretary of the TSA, the former general counsel for the DOT
and its former deputy secretary.

AOPA also has hired a noted expert whose company is currently conducting a
comprehensive analysis of the economic impact on pilots, airports, and
aviation
businesses that have been affected by the ADIZ. We feel this issue is so
important that we must use any and all resources available at this time.

All of this is in addition to your association's professional staff in
Frederick, Maryland, and Washington that has battled the ADIZ as well as a
wide range of other issues that affect your freedom to fly…and continue to
do so on a daily basis. Make no mistake: THIS IS A VITAL ISSUE FOR YOUR
ASSOCIATION.

Our ultimate goal is to eliminate the one-size-fits-all requirements of the
ADIZ that completely fail to recognize the stark differences between a
400,000-pound, 400-knot airliner and the far lighter and much slower
aircraft
that our members fly. Incredibly, there is presently no distinction between
these very different aircraft in terms of security, operation, and safety
issues.

BE PREPARED TO RESPOND TO OUR CALL FOR ACTION.

I hope this update accomplishes its intended purpose--to let you and all
D.C.-
area pilots know of the ongoing AOPA strategy and tactics uniquely
supported
by the upcoming Pilot Alert to all members throughout the country.

Thank you...
Phil


---------------------------------
AOPA sent you this important message because you subscribe
to "AOPA ePilot." If you do not wish to receive non-ePilot
messages in the future, reply to this message and type
"SUPPRESS" in the subject line.

AOPA, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701
Telephone: 800/USA-AOPA or 301/695-2000
( http://www.aopa.org )


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[Politech] In China,U.S. tech companies face free speech choices [fs]



http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/09/18/MNGDUEPNLA1.DTL
Chinese Internet vs. free speech
Hard choices for U.S. tech giants

Carrie Kirby, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, September 18, 2005

U.S. tech giants are helping the Chinese express themselves online -- as
long as they don't write about democracy, Tibet, sex, Tiananmen Square,
Falun Gong, government corruption or any other taboo subject.

Microsoft bans "democracy" and "Dalai Lama" from the Chinese version of
its blog site. Yahoo recently turned over information that helped the
Chinese government track down and imprison a journalist for the crime of
forwarding an e-mail. Google omits banned publications from its Chinese
news service.

Critics say that cooperating with governments to suppress free speech
violates human rights, international law and corporate ethics. But what
the experts can't agree on is what the companies should do about it. The
Internet -- even with limitations -- is generally considered a powerful
democratizing force. If international companies withdrew from the
Chinese Internet market, the result might mean even fewer chances for
free communications there.

[...remainder snipped...]
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