News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
On May 11th, the price of a first-class stamp will rise to 44¢. The linked article suggests that you stock up on forever stamps. As for me, I’m still going through my 41¢ Yoda stamps.
Link: http://consumerist.com/…
Update: The Presurfer clued me in to this site, which simply displays the current price of a USPS first-class stamp.
The linked article lists the major effects that the stimulus bill will have on everyday Americans. There’s some pretty good stuff. Of note:
Link: http://consumerist.com/…
Here’s a direct quote from Mayor Frank Melton of Jackson, MS: “I certainly respect the Constitution, but we have some issues that are much bigger than the Constitution.” He’s referring to an executive order banning saggy pants. No, really.
Link: http://www.clarionledger.com/…
(via Neatorama)
January was a good month for class action lawsuit settlements. Some of them have very broad participation requirements.
New Zealand will be implementing a new section of its copyright law, aimed at file sharers. Guilt will be assumed upon accusation. The penalty will be to disconnect the user’s internet service. This reminds me to be thankful for the Bill of Rights.
Link: http://torrentfreak.com/…
(via Slashdot)
Update: New Zealand has changed its mind.
Because the borders of a country are special cases, the U.S. Government is allowed more flexibility in border zone searches and seizures than is normally permitted by the 4th Amendment of the Constitution. For this purpose, the border zone of the U.S. is defined as anything within 100 miles of its external boundary. This doesn’t sound that bad, until one realizes that it encompasses two-thirds of the U.S. population.
Link: http://www.aclu.org/…
(via digg)
The Australian government will be implementing a nation-wide internet filtering system, to prevent its citizens from accessing illegal content. Concerns have been raised over the possibility that, with such a mechanism in place, it would be all too easy for the government to filter legal content that it deems inappropriate. And this appears to be exactly what is happening. At times like this I’m thankful for the Bill of Rights.
Link: http://www.news.com.au/…
(via Slashdot)
Here’s a way to get a two-for-one deal on airline seats. It appears that Canada officially considers obesity to be a disability.
Thanks to Josh for this topic.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/…
And I always thought it was because they were too out of touch with technology.
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/…
(via Lifehacker)
Update: Turns out that he may be keeping his Blackberry after all.
Update #2: Yes he can.
In the UK, suspected criminals are required to provide their encryption keys to law enforcement officials, even if the unencrypted data would be incriminating. From the linked article, “In the decision, the Court stated that although there was a right to not self-incriminate, this was not absolute, and that the ‘public interest’ can supersede this right in some circumstances.” All I can say is thank God for the Bill of Rights. (Chad’s New has previously covered the UK’s use of ubiquitous surveillance cameras.)
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
It’s Y2K all over again! The National Debt Clock no longer has enough digits to accurately display the US national debt. They’ve got a temporary workaround, but we’ll have to wait until next year for a new clock with two additional digits. (God forbid the national debt should ever reach $1 quadrillion in my lifetime…)
Link: [Video] http://www.youtube.com/…
(via digg)
Link: [Non-Video] http://ap.google.com/…
In George Orwell’s famous novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, a primary feature of the totalitarian government is that every citizen is under continuous observation. Over the past couple years I’ve read about how various parts of the United Kingdom have gone all-out with video surveillance cameras. The linked video shows how pervasive it is. Oh, and you get to see a neat, 8-foot tall alien.
