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Yeah...it all makes sense now...

See, a good Slashdot article..conspiracy, bashing MS, and a shot at the Republicans...

:-)

-->Hopefully that'll suck up a few minutes of time of some campaign worker

It will suck up the .003 seconds of computer time that it takes to strip your info off the email header, send out a form letter, and put you in a database so you can be harassed by American politicians until the end of time.

I will probably read the swiss stuff and think about it

In a way swiss law are open source : at least the voting document always come with the exact text of the law you're going to vote for.
Same can't be said about amercan politicians

That's the point. They are sending pop-ups for their opponents, stupid!

So here in California, the Republicans already have lots of practice annoying Internet users. Let's hope they keep it up!

Well, let's wait a while... if it makes them unpopular, they'll stop it for sure. They can't afford losing their supporters. I guess they're just experimenting on a new idea, just like sending spam is. I personally never received their spam yet, but some people actually welcomed it. Unsure about the pop-up ads though.

Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats (Clinton) fed Saddam nor bin Laden in order to appease them. Whatever their reasons were, appeasement was not one of them. So your counterargument is wrong and without merit.

that government hijacks the backlash to attack a preferred enemy instead

Aznar did not do that. With what little was known then, ETA may well have been behind the attack. He promised a thorough investigation. Contrast that with Putin's reaction to explosions in Moscow subway: "We know, it is the Chechens," -- he said -- "There is nothing to investigate." He got 72% of the vote soon afterwards...

Spanish folks take back their government to ensure security.

The reaction of Spanish electorate to the carefully timed attack in Madrid has reminded the world, how dangerous the "government by referendum" is. Without the "checks and balances" of some sort, a democracy is just as prone to the irrational greed, stupidity, cowardice, and other human flaws as, say, a monarchy.

The first well known example of this is Socrate's conviction in the democratic Athens...

In November, American folks will do the same.

I just hope, Al'Qaeda will not succeed in bombing US right before the elections, the way they succeeded in Madrid...

Wow! What energy! I can just see your saliva hitting your monitor...

I don't "hate" democracy -- I merely suggested, it needs "the checks and balances," as, for example, the US model provided since US' very inception.

And I never called Americans "folks" (not that there is anything wrong with it, IMO) -- your vision must be impaired -- pull whatever it is out and relax. "Mad as hell" has been out of fashion for well over a month now :-)

And when you cool down a little (assuming it happens within a few days), please, describe a single terrorist event, that did not really happen, but was "manufactured by BushCo". Put up, or shut up?

WTC/Pentagon planebombing happened 9 months after Bush took office, after 8 years of Clinton's presidency. From what we already know about this attack, preparing it took much longer than 9 month.

You accused "BushCo" of manufacturing the attacks. I asked for evidence, and this is all you can come up with? The "mountain of evidence" is in your mind only, once you try to convey it, it turns into a mole-hill. One can hardly get more partisan than you, that's for sure...

Pop-up and pop-under ads of any variety haven't been around long ... ???

They've been around TOO long. More specifically, they have been around, period.

Wonder if the internet usage policy will classify Dubya with his silly grin as "distasteful, objectionable content" :-)

According to some porn filters [dansdata.com], yes, pictures of GWB are vile pornography. =)

And now, just to rub it in, they're going to pop up their campaign ads at me. Brilliant.

..living in a vassal state?

Next you`ll be griping about taxation without representation.

If you don`t like how the government in Brussels treats you, get out.

...taxation without representation.

What, you mean like Washington D.C.?

Yes, entirely like that. If the people of D.C. want greater voting rights, let them fight and take them, not whine to be given them.

If the people of Europe want to control their own destiny, let them establish, maintain, and pay a military force that will allow that.

What I`m unwilling to do is maintain an army and allow someone else to dictate its use.

Oh bloody hell

That's mostly a British expression, but of course it would have spread over most of the inhabitable planet (and Canada) back in the days of the British Empire, so I can see your problem... :)

Many ad companies already do use location targetted ads - I often see Sainsbury's, Switch etc ads on US sites. Of course this isn't 100% foolproof, but it did even work with my old (pre-RIPE) IP.

I suspect the system used to select adds is quite primitive, and I'm simply too strange a case to get tailored adds.

A proper formal investigation may well determine that it is not in America's best interests for ANY politician to make new laws in any period less that 72 hours AFTER taking Viagra.

WARNING: As long as you are feeling drowsy or dizzy, do not drive, use machines, pass laws, or do anything else that could be dangerous if you are dizzy or are not alert.

The intro to this article mentions Opera and Mozilla - forget it, there's much better out there. I've tried every browser out there, and for nearly 6 months now I've used MyIE2. It "takes over" IE2 and runs as a seperate program - not only does it do pop-up blocking, it also does _content_ blocking. My eyes are open, the internet (and slashdot) no longer has ads - try it, try it, try it (if you're stuck in Windows).

Vote for Bush, vote for the DMCA.

Nader ran against the DMCA in 2000, I can't see why he'd change his mind in 2004.

Kucinich, too, ran against the DMCA. Pity nobody cared.

. . . DMCA . . . DMCA . . . DMCA . . . DMCA . . .

The only thing worse than the two-party system is all the one-issue voters.

After all, only a conspiracy theorist would point to Skull and Bones. ;-)

Douglas Adams, writing in "So long, and thanks for all the fish", chapter 36:

"It comes from a very ancient democracy, you see..."
"You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?"
"No", said Ford, who by this time was a little more rational and coherent than he had been, having finally had the coffee forced down him, "nothing so simple. Nothing anything like so straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people."
"Odd", said Arthur, "I thought you said it was a democracy."
"I did", said Ford. "It is."
"So", said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't the people get rid of the lizards?"
"It honestly doesn't occur to them", said Ford. "They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates to the government they want."
"You mean they actually vote for the lizards?"
"Oh yes", said Ford with a shrug, "of course".
"But", said Arthur, going for the big one again, "why?"
"Because if they didn't vote for a lizard," said Ford, "the wrong lizard might get in. Got any gin?"
"What?"
"I said", said Ford, with an increasing air of urgency creeping into his voice, "have you got any gin?"
"I'll look. Tell me about the lizards."
Ford shrugged again.
"Some people say that the lizards are the best thing that ever happened to them." he said. "They're completely wrong of course, completely and utterly wrong, but someone's got to say it."

really not a trolling, just trying to better understand 'your perspective'.

Nearly half the eligible voters in 3000 cast no ballot, you going to claim them for Bush too? No wonder he was elected.

William H. Gates - George W. Bush - 1 Microsoft Way
CEO -------------- $2,000 --------- Redmond, WA 98052
Microsoft Corp.

asfhjku hdsjhkf hdfhbio

reminded me about the password generator that Honeywell's Multics system had back in the 80's. For each letter it generated it would check against some built-in rules to make sure that it didn't do silly things like put too many consonants together, and such.

I was wondering, has anyone done anything like that for spam-detection?

Not unless you contribute to a Republican so I have an excuse to burn your house down :-).

Actually, this type of info is very important to have, but I'm not sure that it's a great thing to have it so publically accessable. The access could easily be used to target individuals supporting either side. For those of us who do want to be involved with the political process monitarily, this could at some point become a very scary thing. OTOH, I've never been particularly quiet about my political beliefs in the past, so I doubt this would stop me.

So, yes, I'm concerned, but I'd try to rely on the good will of my neighbors with the backup of the authorities if needed for the time being.

Wasn't there some discussion about provisions in the CAN-SPAM act to exempt "informative" political messages?

What happened to the government mandated handicap access regulations, do Bush's popups work properly with a screen reader?

Any idiot who thinks the Republicans are the only ones planning to use the internet (or any advertising available to them) is just plain dumb... or just has their head in the sand.

"If you think that there isn't a difference between our President and the Nazi party of Germany, then God save us all."

Well, one big difference between Bush and Hitler is that Hitler actually fought in WWI; Bush of course sat out his Guard duty during Vietnam ...

What follows is a long musing on the Dean campaign's use of internet tools, but it has a short thesis: the hard thing to explain is not how the Dean campaign blew such a huge lead, but rather why we ever thought that lead actually existed. Dean's campaign didn't just fail, it dissolved on contact with reality.

William H. Gates
CEO
Microsoft Corp.
George W. Bush
$2,000
1 Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052

GWB saved Gates' shiny white hind, and all he gives in return is 2000 dollars. Ingrateful sod!

Moderate this comment
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HOWARD M. DEAN
RETIRED
DEAN FOODS CO.
George W. Bush
$2,000
716 SOUTH OAK St HINSDALE, IL 60521

GWB saved Gates' shiny white hind, and all he gives in return is 2000 dollars. Ingrateful sod!

Well, there are two kinds of dinners like that. There are the $10000/plate dinners that PACs can host, and those wouldn't be included since there's no reporting requirement for PACs. The PACs can't directly campaign for a candidate, though, so you can't really call them campaign dinners

On the other hand, candidates often hold $2000/plate dinners to raise money (that's what Bush does very frequently). They can only collect $2000 because of campaign finance limitations, and that money does have to be reported. While you won't be able to see that Bush raised $100,000 at a dinner party hosted by person X, you will be able to see the names of each person who attended that dinner party and donated $2,000.

But not as much as when they start sending spam.

I had a knee-jerk reaction to browsing this database filled with no less than a dozen of my friends', families', and aquaintances' political affiliations with corresponding addresses. My inner-self cried "INVASION OF PRIVACY! ABORT! ABORT!"

I then took a mental step back, collected my wits, and clicked the "Privacy" link. lo and behold: [fundrace.org]

All the information presented on Fundrace.org is part of the public record and provided by the Federal Election Commission of the United States.

Anyone who contributes "hard money" to political campaigns must provide personal information. This requirement limits the political influence of wealthy, anonymous individuals and allows the public to track financial contributions that may influence the political process.

Upon further investigation it becomes apparent that this site is a Very Good Thing(tm). It is a bastion of democracy.

Fundrace, I salute you.

Upon further investigation it becomes apparent that this site is a Very Good Thing(tm). It is a bastion of democracy.

Because the privacy of the rich doesn't matter?

Republicans and conservatives (on slashdot) are traeted like the Klan treated ... well ... I'll lket you fill in th rest. It's already bad enough that this will either get modded into troll oblivion or offtopic just because I said the words "republican, conservative" - I guess I'll get 100% troll/flamebait if I say I use Macs too!

Trust me, if Bush does something, and enough people like it, the democrats will do it too!

Let's dispense the truth - the real story here is "ALL politicians would like to see broadband so as to push political agenda on the nation faster and cheaper."

A Republican website could read: "Slashdot subtlely brainwashes and force conforms its readers into being liberal ... majority of slashdotters have broadband, is there a link?"

It reminds me of my favorite classic Star Trek episode. They visit a planet that has warring races. Captain Kirk brings a leader from each side onto the Enterprise to negotiate a peace treaty - they refuse to get along. Finally, Kirk says, "You know, I don't understand, you guys seem to really like each other and not have any differences at all... so what's wrong?" One leader says, "I thought you knew, it's so obvious, Kirk I am offended... is that question a joke? Can't you see, he's black on the left side of his face and I'm black on the right side of my face." When standing opposite each other you didn't notice, but side by side you could.

Point is - debate politics but don't polarize your friends and ESPECIALLY try not brainwash or force your political agenda down people's throats. I'm wondering if my obviousness of conservative or Republican belief has anything to do with my story submissions being rejected or accepted.

Micheal has been the main culprit - he should just "know better" - no filtering required.

See the above post - it makes no sense to incite a one sided debate.

I'm not saying that Bush or Republicans are perfect by any means, and that by and large most Slashdot readers (and posters) tend to lean left. But editors should at least try to maintain some semblance of objectivity in the headlines. Otherwise they risk becoming a partisan political action website, not "News for nerds."

You mean like the objectivity of AM talk radio that floods the airwaves?

I do like to see opposing viewpoints presented intelligently.

For /. or for the right-wing talk radio shows, you notice that if intelligent expressions of opposing viewpoints get modded down or call-screened out, that the overall quality of the experience is diminished.

It's pretty boring if all you hear is the "party line", no matter which party it happens to be.

Perhaps Slashdot should change their slogan to "Commentary for Nerds..."

"AM talk radio shows rarely (if ever) claim objectivity. A website that calls itself "News" should be expected to adhere to some stardard of journalistic integrity."

Oh, you mean like Fox News [whatliberalmedia.com]?

Puh-leeze.

Besides, I doubt you've ever even watched Fox News. And it's only natural that, after a decade of news entirely from the Left, anything representing both sides is going to appear Right in comparison.

Grandparent post: "AM talk radio shows rarely (if ever) claim objectivity. A website that calls itself `News' should be expected to adhere to some stardard of journalistic integrity." (Emphasis mine.)

Goldspider's allegedly snarky reply: "Fox News is an AM talk radio show? That's news to me!"

No, you dumb fuck, Fox News purports themselves to be a news program, and according to the grandparent post, "should be expected to adhere to some standard of journalistic integrity."

More Goldspider snark: "Besides, I doubt you've ever even watched Fox News."

Actually, I have -- which is why I agree with those who state that they are biased, and certainly not "fair and balanced."

More GS: "And it's only natural that, after a decade of news entirely from the Left,"

..and where is this leftist news coming from?

"anything representing both sides is going to appear Right in comparison."

Back to the right-wing AM radio talk shows: the only use they have for mentioning "the other side" is to denigrate it. However, all of their arguments are baseless, except if you consider that their ill-informed, blowhard points-of-view are, in fact, a base for reasoned discussion. Of course, they have no use for reasoned discussion, since they clearly do not care about facts.

You make the fatal assumption that the Republicans actually do things that can have a positive interpretation without lying about it. Spin is one thing - lying another...

I'm sure that someone will respond saying that open debate is healthy. I am inclined to agree. But show me the open debate here. When people with a dissenting view are forced to post anonymously for fear of being moderated down, just for having a difference of opinion, that's not an open debate.

And the last time I checked, this website was "Slashdot: News for Nerds." How is this an article about News for Nerds? This is nothing more than a vehicle for attacking President Bush, thinly veiled in some article about pop-ups.

Mod parent up. Mod article down.

A Republican website could read: "Slashdot subtlely brainwashes and force conforms its readers into being liberal ... majority of slashdotters have broadband, is there a link?"

Have you read OSNews.com [osnews.com] lately? That site has turned into exactly of what you speak. They even practice heavy censorship.

This is at least the 4th story in 2 days; that has jabs at the Republican party or at George Bush. I understand that the majority of people here at /. are liberal or democrat, but this is NOT a political website - to polarize readers. It's starting to get on my nerves.

Republicans and conservatives (on slashdot) are traeted like the Klan treated ... well ... I'll lket you fill in th rest.

You are right about one thing: Democrats do tend to copy the Republicans. And unfortunately hot-button deliberately offensive brainless rhetoric is at the top of their borrowings. But at least they haven't gotten quite as good at it yet.

Certainly do not use popup blockers for this, on the contrary, bring them up, click, bring'em up again and click click until you're tired -- it'll cost them money for each click... I reckon we could even have a "Click The Bush" campaign in which good net citizens would click on those ads several times a day to help rid the world of this pestilence :)

Oooh, porn popups to try and influence the presidential election by draining campaign contributions. Very funny. But really, do you expect that to put a dent in Bush's $1,000,000? And you don't want any swing voters trying to help out in this way and getting sucked in by Bush's evil lies.

Well how many hits are typically generated by a good /.ing, especially one that is slightly porny sounding? Multiply that by say 25 (for the number of times people do it) and then by n cents. It could represent a fair amount, especially as online advertising usually represents a small part of the marketing budget...

Jane works in a law firm. Jane likes dennis kucinich. Jane's boss, a partner, likes GW Bush.

Jane's boss can only contribute up to the maximum personal limit of $2000 or whatever it is. But, he can strongly suggest to jane and others that it might be in jane's career interest to do the same.

now, the boss can check up on jane with this handy web site. of course, nobody has forced jane to do anything, but still, the boss can check up to see what kind of 'team player' she is.

this is TRULY scary. do a search of your loal neighborhood and see how many lawyers' names come up.

Nope, 100% illegal. We have labor laws in place that prohibit such coersion. If "Jane" feels that "Jane's Boss" is pressuring her to vote/contribute a certain way, that's grounds for an open-and-shut lawsuit.

For example, other employees who given similar "career advice" could testify oh Jane's behalf.

Also, I did a neighbor search and "Mona Lisa" turned-up. I know the people who live at the address and they are an elderly retired couple. The husband started a company and his daughter now runs it. I did some more searches on the family and at least the daughter turned up, but with a bogus address. Both had maximum contributions. This seems fishy. Shouldn't real names and addresses be used? If this is wrong, how do you report things like this?

It is good to see all that money I thought was being wasted in the campaigns being spent to prop up internet sites. I think Firefox needs a new feature where it downloads the ad, but does not display it, so that the ad money can still be paid out but the user is not annoyed. That way the web site doesn't have to think of ways to circumvent the blockers.

The geographical maps of contributions: I assume they would look quite different if displayed by contributor instead of by dollar contributed. In any case, the fish in the great lakes seem to be going democratic -- must be all those buckyballs [slashdot.org] they have been consuming lately.

Dear %NAME%, Thank you for your generous donation of %AMOUNT% to the presidental campaign of %CANDIDATE%. I, like you, have a strong concern in the proper leadership of this great nation for the next four years.

I have another issue that I think you might be interested in. %NONAME ORGANIZATION% is working hard to promote good wholesome %VALUE% in your community.

A donation of $100 would be greatly appreciated. We will gladly list you as a GOLD donation member in our event book and keep you informed of upcoming events.

%PREFERRED DEITY% bless %CANDIDATE% and %COUNTRY OF ORIGIN%!

If this let you search your neighbor's RFID tags from Wal-Mart, the Slashdot crowd would be saying what a major privacy breach this is.

"The Democrats are still waiting to see what their lastest focus group says about pop-ups before deciding how they feel about them."

You're an ass.

Consider why congressmen are called "representatives." They represent their constituents! As such, they should always be mindful of what the people back home think is important, and a rep's votes ought to reflect their community.

And if the representative's votes and actions run counter to the community's ideas, then (s)he's voted out at the next election. This, of course, is exactly what happened in Spain, where the overwhelming majority of the people were against the misadventures in Iraq, and they voted the bastard out.

There's a reason it's called a Democracy.

This is as opposed to, say, a coup or an installation, where the leaders aren't beholden to We The People, but rather the forces that installed them. In those instances, history has shown again and again that these leaders are interested in one thing only -- enriching themselves and their close circle, to the obvious detriment of the citizens.

Yeah right. They represent their own ideals. Just like the legislative branch.

This, of course, is exactly what happened in Spain, where the overwhelming majority of the people were against the misadventures in Iraq, and they voted the bastard out.

What happened in Spain is terrorists swung an election.

This is as opposed to, say, a coup or an installation, where the leaders aren't beholden to We The People, but rather the forces that installed them. In those instances, history has shown again and again that these leaders are interested in one thing only -- enriching themselves and their close circle, to the obvious detriment of the citizens.

Yeah, good thing that doesn't happen in a democracy....

"The Democrats are still waiting to see what their lastest focus group says about pop-ups before deciding how they feel about them."

Good.

Someone in the RNC is going to be fired for doing this without asking regular people whether it's a good idea. (Answer: No.)