a cell phone and a stolen car

A Chicago web developer used his cell phone, and some help from a friend who is a sales representative from Sprint, to locate his stolen car by looking up calls made from the phone, and using an online reverse phone number lookup to find the addresses of those phone calls. The phone had been left in the car, and the person who took the vehicle used the phone to made a few calls, which helped lead to his being found.

nissan vs. nissan

A battle over the rights to use the name Nissan as part of a web address has pitted the automobile manufacturer against a businessman who was born with the name. Uzi Nissan would like to continue using his name in his web address. A grass roots effort to help him has included a site that allows people to enter their comments in a form, and those are forwarded to a number of media figures. One of the media figures responds to the email he has received on the subject, in an article called Nissan vs. Nissan.

would competition improve service by internet authority?

Critics of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) have signed and sent a letter to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) chief Nancy Victory, asking that the services ICANN provides be opened up to competition for the right to administrate those services. The agreement for ICANN to run the domain name address system expires in September, and the Commerce Department has the right to renegotiate, drop the agreement, or continue it. The letter comes at a time when ICANN is reviewing their own internal structure, and considering changes to the ways in which they operate.

random drug testing in schools?

The Guardian Unlimited is predicting that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in the next few days on the issue of random drug testing for U.S. pupils in public schools. They prognosticate that the Court will hold in favor of a school that allowed for random drug testing of all students who were involved in any after extra-curricular school activities in an Oklahoma school. In the past, only students who were involved in athletic activities were subject to random drug testing. The implications of such a decision are widespread, but I agree with a quote in the Guardian article that there may be no better way to alienate an entire generation than to treat them as if they were guilty until proven innocent. Yes, children and drugs shouldn't mix. But, should they be subject to random drug testing at the whim of a school administrator? Does the fourth amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures not apply to children? When the Court allowed random drug testing for students involved in school athletics, they cited a concern that children who might be engaged in sports while under the influence of drugs could pose health risks. The same can't be said for the debate society, or the math club. How should the Court rule?

protest ban lifted at capitol

The public sidewalks outside of the entrances to the House of Representatives and the Senate, in Washington, DC, have had a ban on protests enforced by Capitol police for the last 30 years. On Friday, an appellate three-judge panel lifted the ban:

No site is more attractive to protesters than the sidewalk and steps that lead to the entrances of the House and Senate chambers, where members of Congress, their staffs, lobbyists and tourists pass each day. But protesters have been banned from passing out leaflets there, holding signs or staging vocal demonstrations. They have been allowed to wear expressive T-shirts or buttons.

Peaceful demonstrations are an important part of a democracy, expecially at the site where most federal laws are made.

cartoon copyright dispute

One of the biggest selling bands for record label EMI is a cartoon. Last year, the band Gorillaz sold over 4 million records. The artists who designed the group's visual appearance have had a falling out, and are fighting over copyright ownership to the images they created. No news about the dispute from the official Gorillaz fan site.

separation day celebration

In 1651, it began as a Dutch fort. A city was set up at the site in 1655. Yesterday, Delaware celebrated Separation Day in the historic town of New Castle. It's a holiday that officially began in 1976, when the nation celebrated its centennial. Delaware has continued the celebration at New Castle, which was its continential capitol. (The capitol was moved further inland after the kidnapping of the governor of the state.) Delaware was one of the first colonies to declare its independence from England, on June 15th, 1776.

The town celebrated its 350th birthday in October, last year, and has a rich history as the oldest surviving town in the Delaware Valley.