On Aug. 1, Frontier Communications changed its policy to define acceptable use for high-speed Internet as 5 GB per month. In June, Time Warner Cable launched a test program in Beaumont, Texas, that imposes monthly Internet usage limits of 5 GB to 40 GB on subscribers.

This was in the comcast link.

“President Barack Obama has written a note to Michael Jackson’s family, a top White House adviser said today.”

Gag. I realize that Micheal Jackson was a famous person but let’s be real. His early death is not a big surprise to me considering what I knew about his medical and mental history. I figured out long ago the guy was an addict just by the freaky behavior and complaints of chronic pain. It makes me wonder if the family of the soldier killed in Arkansas earlier this month got a sympathy letter from President Obama too? For some reason, I doubt it. To me, PFC Long dying on American soil by a Muslim terrorist is a much more tragic and unexpected death than that of a bankrupt, drug addicted and frankly creepy pop singer.

true about the never having had any reason to believe one’s internet activities were private, but I find the spying very worrisome. AETA is already being used to charge what are essentially misdemeanor property crimes such as vandalism as federal charges such as racketeering.
I think it’s only going to get worse, the more they are allowed to spy.

it seems there is no place any longer an expectation of privacy, not even in one’s own home: my internet history is monitored, vans sweep our neighborhood looking for drugs with equipment that can see in our house, we’re buzzed by very low flying helicopters all the time; I don’t doubt it’s some sort of surveillance.

I really wonder what the long term effects of constant surveillance of ordinary citizens not suspected of having done anything will be. Remember the TruMedia thing with the spying ads at the mall? The same technology can easily be used for personalized indoctrination.

There is NO expection of privacy on the internet and I tell my end users this. The little “lock” on the bottom of the screen is a joke.

He said: ‘I am embarrassed as a British citizen that this is happening while the US has drawn a very firm line to stop this.’

Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
He is mistaken about the US as demonstrated by the disclosure of th installation of fiber splices installed in the ATT switch room and several dozen other locations in the USA.

The cnet article on trace back is interesting that it wants to include more than layer 3 and seeks to enter the application stack. What is interesting is that China would be able to increase it esponage activities.

The U.S. military is looking for a contractor to patrol cyberspace, watching for warning signs of forthcoming terrorist attacks or other hostile activity on the Web.

Why the US military would sub out this work is crazy. You think the DIA doesn’t have this going already?

Comcast said it will amend its user agreement to say that users will be allowed 250 gigabytes of monthly usage

I am a comcast customer and was not happy to hear this but the proposal to create tiered access worries me more.

Thanks for the links. It reminded me that they used this Las Vegas to scan financial transactions;

“It seems to me that the Patriot Act was used to circumvent existing laws in a case that had nothing to do with terrorism,” said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who said he supported the passage of the act in 2001, but now has growing concerns that the FBI is overreaching.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., wrote a letter to Ashcroft, demanding answers to why agents used the anti-terror laws in Las Vegas.

http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2008/06/30/Analysis-US-military-to-patrol-Internet/UPI-83401214841029/ they’ll probably claim it’s for our own security
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct9xzXUQLuY&eurl like this! (David Rockefeller hates you)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/technology/25iht-nettax.4.13993470.html and they’ll tax us (like Sarkozy)

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=5689480&page=1 and limit our access (here, in America)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1161215/Internet-ad-tracking-spy-camera-homes-millions-warns-founder-web.html?ITO=1490 and spy on us through it (UK already has deep packet inspection, just like Iran)

rawstory.com/news/2008/Cybersecurity_Act_seeks_broad_powers_0413.html
or just shut it down when they want to shut us up

u worRied yit?

Unrestricted powers are granted to the White House. The President would have the authority to suspend civilian law enforcement at the federal and state levels and call in the Military, which would be in charge of suppressing “domestic violence” “insurrection”( e.g. public rallies), or “conspiracy”, meaning anybody who might express dissent, indignation or opposition to the Bush Administration for having scrapped the Constitution.

With BO seeking to retain Bush’s “Unitarian Executive” model, I wouldn’t put it past him to use these laws.
Still it appears that Janet took away an assett and Gates wants it.
It remains to be seen if DoD will be willing to support this mission. Thanks for the reminder NomNomNom that we live in uncertian times. It is very easy to drift back to the “way things should be” as a default point of reference.
Which is the way to the dark side.