The Interocitor

Phishing password trap

There's a new email going around, from a Slovakian source, that purports to be a "bid confirmation" or "no-pay bidder notice" from E-bay. And of course it's for something you never had anything to do with. Helpful links to the appropriate E-bay pages are included, so that you can "correct the error."

Of course you have to go through the E-Bay login process first.... which of course is a phony login page. giving your ebay username and password (likely used on other sites such as paypal or american express) to some crooks in Slovakia.

It's actually a pretty well done fraud, and will doubtless catch many unaware. Pass the word.

San Francisco has its attractions

The wife and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in San Francisco. Despite the idiot politics, SF has some fine hotels, great restaurants and quite a bit to do.

Highly recommended is the musical Wicked, currently playing in SF on tour, and with permanent productions in New York and Chicago. Revisionist history of Oz. Margaret Hamilton was the real heroine you see...

They should call it performance art

The USS Iowa is not welcome in San Francisco. The city has rejected Senator Feinstein's plan to host the decommissioned battleship as a military and maritime museum. Why? The SF Supervisors are taking a Bold Political Stand™ against the Iraq War and the military.

There seems to be a conservation law regarding government stupidity, and it seems to have a high local value in SF.

Bad Plane Trip? It Could Be Worse

There's nothing quite like a British labor action. British unions and management have taken company after comapny to the wall with scortched earth strikes where both sides seem to think that sticking it to the customer is going to score them points. Apparently the "British disease" is alive and well at British Airways: a one day stike by ground crews and baggage handlers has left about 100,000 people with their travel plans in ruins and their bags in Cairo. That's 100,000 travelers who will never fly BA again, and will tell all their friends exactly why.

Book Report: Ken MacLeod's latest

Ken MacLeod, Learning the World (**** [out of 5])

Mankind has been expanding through the galaxy for 15,000 years. We appear to be alone and we've lost track of just how far we've come. There are thousands of human stars and quadrillions of human beings. A generation ship (there is no FTL) setting out from the edge of the expansion finds something utterly new at their destination star: indigenous aliens.

Problem is, they can't go home again, they can't easily go on, and they cannot reasonably stay. Meanwhile, the aliens aren't as dumb as they look.

Both a morality play and a study in hubris, and a new treatment on Heinlein's generation ship concept -- a debt that Ken acknowledges in a most satisfying way.

Lockyer's "New" Prop 77 Ballot Summary

The 3rd Circuit Court ordered AG Lockyer to redo Prop 77's ballot summary and title given the difference in the text originally submitted and the later revision. His changes? One word. Instead of "redistricting" the title now reads "reapportionment". Massive change, that. The summary is the same.

Old ballot title and summary
New ballot title and summary

The ballot labels are also the same. This cannot but help the case for Prop 77. (H/T: Rick Hasen)

(cross posted to the Bear Flag League Special Election page)

"Over There"

Steven Bochco's new FX show "Over There" seems to be getting short shrift from the milbloggers. Not all of whom seem to have actually watched it. It's interesting to note that many of their comment sections have a number of defenders though. Odd. Maybe it's that bloggers tend not to like much TV and spend most of their time, um, blogging, so they plugged in the old boob tube, watched the show and had their dislike of TV confirmed once again.

Anyhow, I actually liked it. Oh, sure there were moments that sucked, like the "intellectual" (Dim) going on about some pseudo-intellectual rot. Sure the veterans found howler after howler, but well, most of us find that in anything we know about, too. Consider Star Trek from a physics point of view (e.g. "Heisenberg Compensators").

What I liked was that Hollywood is addressing this war as something other than M*A*S*H or VietNam, with normal Americans in harsh conditions trying to do good. I feared the show would be leftist cant; it isn't. If there is any political bias it's pro, not anti. Seeing the troops bagging a terrorist who's shouting random BS anti-American slogans as he's being carted off, while the enemy-embedded al-Jazeera reporter is treated with contempt and derision; well it's hardly what you'd expect from Hollywood.

Sure this show could get really bad really fast. But it could also get really good -- FX's track record is pretty good here. The main problem is the political tightrope it walks and the obvious low cable-channel budget. I'm encouraged by how few in the MSM liked it, though. They must be doing something right.

UPDATE: Another supporter.