Links for you

If you haven't given up on this blog yet, you've probably noticed that there isn't much happening around here. And you'd be right. My blogging ventures seem to have taken a turn to the lesser and lesser in recent months, and stuff that I plan on posting sits patiently in draft mode, waiting for me to finish it and, eventually, click the publish button. The ghost of Nietzsche also waits, wondering what the hell I'm going to say about him. So without further ado, Mr. Nietzche will continue to wait - here are some stories to add to the otherwise abandoned space here at pooponpolitics:

So much for clearing the cache and formatting your hard drive... U.S. Wants Companies to Keep Web Usage Records. Nobody knows like the ISP knows. Muahahahaha! At what point does this become blatant sodomy? Pulling teeth? On the other hand, I did think about this in terms of the subpoena of phone records. I mean, insofar as browsing the web is considered a telecommunications activity, wouldn't this be similar to getting someone's phone records should they be needed in a court setting? Oh, wait, 'they' can already do that without any kind of court approval. Ugh.

600 attacks per week.
Damn. That's all I can say. Damn.

(cheers to maru at thecrankpot for the above links)

Forecasting the Future of the Internet (radio show, Windows Media or Real Player)
Overall a good listen. I've been sensing lately that the internet or, more specifically, the wwweb, is currently in its prime season, bound to age and/or evolve into an entirely different monster than the one we know today. Seriously, it's like a circus out here in webland. One could get their entire elementary and high school education with a decent browser and a few thousand clicks. I could sit for hours and watch a seemingly endless chain of old and new videos. (tip to TheWalkingDude) For free. This virtual realm is run amok, wild and freakishly out of control. It's only a matter of time before someone slams the gavel down on this one. Here's to keeping the web a cascading fountain of knowledge.

Once public, now sealed
This story has been out there for a while, but remains mindblowing nonetheless. Maybe it's always been standard practice to take public documents and make them classified documents. I don't know. Another element in the darkside of information control. The Matrix has you, Neo.

Hank III, a completely wasted baddass country rockabilly whiskey hodown. I've lied and I've stole and I aint fuckin' jokin' -- it must've been those pills I took *tap tap tap tap...