Spudtater's Journal

What I saw: a blog collecting stories from G20 protestors and observers in London. (Link from batswing)

It seems police are up to their old tricks again, "kettling" protests (forcing them into smaller and smaller spaces for many hours without access to food, water or toilet facilities), and behaving aggressively to attempt to instigate violence. Spoiling for a fight, basically.

Video of police charging and using physical violence against peaceful protestors. (Protestors have their hands in the air, and are chanting "this is not a riot" and "shame on you". Police are pummelling them with batons and shield edges.)

News article: "Baton charges and kettling: police's G20 crowd control tactics under fire", The Guardian, 3 Apr 2009.

The new Facebook Terms of Use includes the following paragraph:

You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof.

Crucially, the recent change removes the following paragraph from the Terms of Use:

You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content.

Link: 'Facebook's New Terms Of Service: "We Can Do Anything We Want With Your Content. Forever."', The Consumerist, Feb 15 2009

You can delete, rather than simply 'deactivate', your Facebook using the following URL: http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account

UPDATE: They've backed down on this. New terms of use will be drawn up soon. Keep watching the skies tubes.

Prominent science fiction author and blogger Cory Doctorow is considering leaving the U.K. Why? Because it's becoming uncomfortably like the old Soviet Union:

I asked her why she didn't stay, and she shook her head like I'd asked the stupidest possible question. "It was the Soviet Union", she said. She waved her hand, groped for the answer. "Papers," she said, finally. "We had to carry papers. The police could stop you at any time and make you turn over your papers." The floodgates opened. They spied on you. They made you spy on each other.

[...]

The identity card I'm to be issued when I renew my visa is intended to be linked to all my daily activities: my medical care, my use of transit, my banking and finance, my tax – a single identifier that will track me through time and space, forever. [...] We are encouraged to spy on our neighbours and report their suspicious activity. We can be stopped and searched with no particularised suspicion, and during these searches, police officers can and do examine such things as the books we're reading and the personal notes we've made. [...] If the government of the day when I renew my visa in 2010 requires that I carry these papers as a condition of residence, the Doctorows will again leave their country and find a freer one. My wife – born here, raised here, with family here – is with me. We won't raise our British daughter in the database nation. It's not safe.

Very scary stuff... I can't put it any better myself. Also see Charlie Stross's post on this subject, for more links and context.

Edit: the post under the cut was accurate when posted, but Google have since stated that it was all a big mistake and have swiftly changed their EULA. See:

• Google on Chrome EULA controversy: our bad, we'll change it, Ars Technica — N. Anderson, 03 Sep 2008
• Google Updating Chrome EULA to Be Less Creepy, Gizmodo — M. Buchanan, 03 Sep 2008
• Current Chrome EULA, with section 11 all but removed

Reply from the Greens/EFA party (incorporating the SNP):

I can hardly make heads or tails of it.

"During the last twenty-four hours I have probably experienced the greatest humiliation to which I have ever been subjected. During these last twenty-four hours I have been handcuffed and chained, denied the chance to sleep, been without food and drink and been confined to a place without anyone knowing my whereabouts, imprisoned."

And what country is she talking about? Why, that good ol' US of A, of course.

Once again strengthening my resolve not to step foot on US soil again, ever, for any conceivable reason.

• Erla Ósk Arnardóttir Lillendahl's blog, English translation
• Iceland complains to US about treatment of tourist in New York — Associated Press

A protest in Canada almost turned into a riot after three masked protestors were seen acting in an aggressive fashion near the police line — one of them brandishing a rock. They are talked down by the organiser of the event, and arrested by the police. So far so unremarkable. But the event organiser claims that the three were actually provocateurs employed by the police. The police deny this. Then evidence is released on YouTube. And the police story suddenly changes — yes, they were undercover police, but he wasn't actually going to throw that rock, no, never. Honest! You can trust us!

• Police accused of using provocateurs at summit — Canadian Press, Aug 21, 2007
• Stop SPP Protest - Union Leader stops provocateurs — YouTube
• Quebec Police Admit Protesters Were Undercover Agents But Deny Wrongdoing — CityNews, Aug 24, 2007

1. With fuel taxing, not only are people charged for going on long journeys, they're also charged for using energy-inefficient cars. Woo! Green!
2. The more congested a road is, the longer a car stays idling in traffic, using up fuel. So the more congested the road, the more you pay in fuel taxes. Woo! Magic!