Others may not but I do…

“Two and a half years ago, EFF sued AT&T on behalf of its customers, seeking to hold the telecom giant responsible for its craven complicity in the White House’s illegal warrantless wiretapping program.
Since then, the phone companies and their allies in Washington have spent tens of millions of dollars lobbying Congress to grant them retroactive immunity. They ran ridiculous fear-mongering attack ads against any politician who dared to oppose them. President Bush threatened to veto any bill that allowed EFF’s lawsuit to continue.”
Our rights as Americans are being wiped off the slate by this administration …read more

Maybe if you conduct some illegal spying activities for the government you could get your car filled up for… sorry, you have to have immunity first!
I found this article at the Electronic Frontier Foundation: “Spying Telecoms Receive Billions in Government Contracts” and I believe this information ought to be passed along to as many folks as possible. Much thanks to the author, Kurt Opsahl.
“The telecoms who are being sued for their cooperation in the government’s illegal warrantless surveillance program have received billions in government contracts. According to Washington Technology magazine, Verizon received $1.3 billion, Sprint $839 million and AT&T $505 …read more

How’s that workin’ for ya’?
Ina Steiner at Auctionbytes gives us the scoop;
OZtion Sees Sales Spike after eBay Plans PayPal-Only Policy
“OZtion, an online auction site based in Australia, issued a press release to announce it has seen a 50% increase in sales for the month of May compared to the month of March. The company has seen a significant increase in sales since eBay Australia announced in April that all items must be paid for using PayPal.”
Ouch – 50%??? Could statistics be misleading? It doesn’t look like it as Ina also tells us;
“It has experienced a 65% increase in Gross Merchandise …read more

I thought these two were trying to fool each other but…
It seems I was wrong.
I also thought one of them was probably telling the truth…
Seems I was right.
In Restless Pursuit of Craigslist’s Success
“The Kijiji unit of eBay, a free classified ads service covering 13 countries online, was introduced in the United States in late June, and has already achieved modest success in some important markets, including New York. Its vice president and general manager, Jacob Aqraou, said it would market itself far more aggressively in 2008, and was further refining its service in hopes of putting a dent in Craigslist’s …read more

Brazen disregard for rights…
Save The Internet lets us know;
The Web’s Wannabe Gatekeepers: Comcast, Now Cox
“Comcast is not alone on the list of wannabe gatekeepers. Cox Communications has joined the ranks with news today that it is degrading and blocking customer file-sharing in the same deceptive manner.”
Just out of curiosity, how many Cox subscribers knew about this? But, what do you expect when the country has a lawless administration?
Harold Feld debunks the “reset packet faerie” theory and tells us;

You know how it goes…
“You can fool some of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”
Nowadays it seems that those who have a “feeling” of power have lost sight of this simple proclamation, especially politicians and executives in big business. More so today because those two are working hand in hand!
But this medium I have the absolute pleasure to be able to work in is increasingly putting the end to this crap these folks attempt to confuse us with! The playing field is getting leveled, and rightfully so!
How many …read more

It was attempted on me when I first got mine… sorry $%#&^%$#’s!
H/T to IAB SmartBrief;
FTC on Watch Against Wireless Ripoffs
“An FTC commissioner warned cellphone content providers they need to do a better job of disclosing the costs consumers incur when clicking or downloading services for their mobile devices.
Speaking yesterday at the start of a two-day Federal Trade Commission forum on mobile devices, the commissioner, Jonathan Leibowitz, said the FTC intends to step in to take enforcement action against deceptive or unfair content offers.”
Sure… once again, we’ll be expecting to trust who?
“Marketers, analysts and media companies told the workshop that the …read more

They are so incredibly brazen they throw the FCC’s rules back in their face upside down!
Despite the rules governing the 700 Mhz auction, Verizon has arrogantly decided that they are somehow not required to participate. Well, hell, that’s exactly what one ought to expect when there is a lawless administration, but that’s another story…
Google Accuses Verizon of Planning to Dodge 700 MHz Open Access Rules
Verizon has taken the public position that it may exclude its handsets from the open access condition. Verizon believes it may force customers who want to access the open platform using a device not purchased from …read more

May 1st is the date!
Sellers say they’ll boycott eBay and now writers will be boycotting Amazon.
Funny, but I find the news about Amazon strange. On one hand some say they’re “Standing Tall” and on another hand others say their Stock is Losing Ground. Causing wonder and amazement :) Actually it appears that profit margins are suffering.
Meanwhile PowersellersUnite offers information and hope for the eBay sellers regarding the boycott there.
eBay may also be feeling some sense of loss on Wall Street but it doesn’t feel too strong from this report or from this article telling us only that “eBay’s core auction …read more

And one of the first few thoughts are whether or not that is fair, legal, greedy or monopolistic?
Down under, they are concerned with eBay Australia’s requirement that sellers only offer PayPal as a payment processor for their auctions.
eBay Australia Sellers React to PayPal-Only Policy
“eBay Australia made a decision to remove direct deposit, money orders and checks as payment options”
Are eBay Australia’s New Payment Restrictions Fair Trade?