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Sri Lanka to Ban Phone Sharing to Thwart Terrorist Activities

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 1st 2008 at 3:33PM

We've seen countries institute some pretty weird regulations when it comes to wireless handsets, but this one is apt to seem patently absurd to anyone outside of (and possibly within) Sri Lanka. Government officials are reportedly gearing up to implement legislation that would require handset owners to "to carry a certificate of ownership at all times when carrying their phone around."

The new law will hopefully cut down on some terrorist activities that have apparently been going on, but it will also inconvenience quite a few innocent citizens as well. Ah well, at least locals can legitimately ask their mooching friends to get their own without sounding all snobbish. [Source: Cellular News via textually]
Engadget

UK City Bans Anti-Kid 'Mosquito' Gadgets from Buildings

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 16th 2008 at 10:56AMBreaking News

For the love of all that's humane in this world, it's about time someone stepped up and put an end to this lunacy. Okay, so maybe that's overstating things a bit, but we're joyous nonetheless to hear that the Kent County Council in southeast England has "become one of the first in the UK to ban mosquito gadgets from its buildings."

Here's a refresher: So-called mosquito tones are high-pitched frequencies that can only be heard by the younger sect (you know, those with outstanding hearing abilities). Apparently some businesses have been using said gizmos to keep kids from loitering and the like, but higher-ups in Kent feel this method of detraction isn't fair.

If all goes to plan, councilors are hoping to ask the government to ban the devices altogether, but only time will tell if the notion will catch on elsewhere in the country. [Source: BBC News via Digg]

US to Lift Ban on Sending Cell Phones to Cuba

by Terrence O'Brien, posted May 22nd 2008 at 12:02AMBreaking News

US to Lift Ban on Sending Cell Phones to Cuba
Cell phones are finally available for purchase in Cuba, but they're so prohibitively expensive that many Cubans can't afford them. Luckily, President Bush recently announced that the ban on sending cell phones to Cuba would be lifted soon, which means that Americans will be able to send phones to relatives or friends who can't afford them.

It's perhaps just the first step towards more open exchanges with the communist country as it softens its restrictions on non-essential items like consumer electronics and home appliances. Soon Cubans will be able to send dirty text messages and vacuum their living rooms all at the same time. [Source: BBC, Via: Textually]

U.S. Air Force Blocks Access to Blogs

by Will Safer, posted Feb 28th 2008 at 11:17AM




Chances are, if you're in the U.S. Air Force, you're not going to be reading this today. That's because Switched is a blog (short for Web log) and the Air Force has decided that most blogs are bad -- or at least not legitimate sources of news.

Air Force logoYou may think that's an oversimplification of the matter, but tell that to the Air Force, which, according to Wired, has just started automatically blocking access to almost all sites with the word blog in the Web address or on the Web site itself. Access is blocked for all active personnel who get online at work or on duty.

The new rule does allow for access to "an established, reputable media outlet," like the New York Times, and, presumably, even the blogs on the New York Times site.

The Air Force Network Operations Center, under the service's new "Cyber Command," typically will block all sites first, and then review which ones should be permitted to make their way through to Air Force personnel.

The concern is that leaked information will wend its way through blogs and into the wrong hands (although major news outlets are cited as being the primary source of sensitive information being leaked). YouTube and MySpace are banned because -- according to the Air Force -- they take up too much bandwidth.

As for the harm a blog can actually cause, one retired Air Force officer remarks that it's not necessarily what the blog itself may state but instead it's the good intentions of an airman who posts a comment or correction. In doing so, he or she may reveal more than intended -- and put good information into the hands of bad people.

Oddly enough, some Web sites that are considered recommended reading for airmen by the Air Force itself have been blocked because they are characterized as blogs.

But perhaps the Air Force only has itself to blame for blogs. After all, didn't the military invent the Internet?

From Wired.


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Texting and Driving Equated to Drunk Driving

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Aug 8th 2007 at 4:37PM


Harris Interactive has just released the results of a new poll, which found that 91 percent of Americans believe typing text messages while driving is just as dangerous as having a few drinks before getting behind the wheel. 89 percent of the 2,049 people polled believe it should be against the law -- leaving 2 percent that thinks drinking and driving shouldn't be illegal?

The most surprising takeaway from the poll, however, is that, though 89 percent of those polled believe texting and driving is a crime, 57 percent fessed up to doing it themselves.

This past May, Washington became the first state to put a ban on texting and driving, while California, Florida and New York don't appear to be too far behind.

Last month, we reported on two horrific car crashes linked to text messaging. The first, in upstate New York, caused the death of five young girls, including the driver who was believed to be texting at the time of the accident. The second was in Great Britain, where a 19-year-old girl was texting while driving when she lost control of her vehicle and killed a 64-year-old grandmother. In the U.K. case, the young driver was sentenced to four years in prison.

From TG Daily



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Cell Phone Ban for Terror Suspects?

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jul 10th 2007 at 12:41PM

Germany's interior minister, Wolfgang Schauble, is taking some heat after he made comments on Sunday suggesting that Germany institute a secret and warrant-less information-gathering program similar to the one President Bush set up in the United States that has become the center of controversy.

Schauble was lambasted further for suggesting that terrorism suspects should be subject to the death penalty. Capital punishment has been abolished in all of Europe, except for Belarus, and it is pretty much political suicide to suggest reinstating it.

He continued to dig himself into a hole by suggesting increased public surveillance similar to the type used in London (and soon, possibly, New York City), as well as declaring that terror suspects should be banned from using cell phones.

The last declaration is particularly confusing. If a person is a serious target in a terrorism case, wouldn't he or she be in jail? Maybe in Germany things are a bit different, but in the U.S., no prisoner is allowed a cell phone. Secondly, it would be all but unenforceable. Prepaid phones that require no contract would easily escape detection.


From Textually.org and Earth Times

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