Taking A Swipe At Skype

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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No, it’s not me who is taking a swipe at Skype. I use Skype a lot for communicating with people. I find it particularly good for contacting friends in foreign lands, which you can do for free, but also for making paid telephone calls too.

I have been using it for over a decade, almost from it started, and long before it was bought by Microsoft. Although other flavors have arrived on the scene I stick with Skype.

It’s the comfort of familiarity, something I wish the nerds at WordPress would pay attention to instead of continually making smart-ass changes that no one has asked for or wants. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it guys!

But getting back to Skype, it has now become a victim of the snoopers – again!

This time it has been told it has to appear before a court in Belgium because it refused to hand over customer data following a request for assistance by the Federal Computer Crime Unit of the Federal Judicial Police (FCCU) in a ‘criminal investigation’.

Microsoft has been very sensitive to appearing to buckle under when requested to release information about its Skype users ever since it was alleged that it had changed the architecture of the communications software to make it more “wiretap friendly”, something which it has always denied.

Despite Microsoft releasing transparency reports stating that it had not handed over the content of any Skype conversations in response to regular law enforcement requests, privacy and security analysts remain unconvinced.

Unfortunately, as usually happens when the lawyers get to work, the fundamental importance of this case – which is government’s mania for trying to remove the right to privacy of its citizens – gets lost in spurious legal arguments.

Now, instead of defending the right to privacy, the court’s time is being taken up with deciding whether or not a VoIP service like Skype should be treated as a telecoms operator in Belgium. If it is then it would have to comply with Belgian regulatory requirements for telecoms operators and release data to the snoopers.

I said earlier that the request by the Belgian snoopers is in regard to a ‘criminal investigation’ but the alleged crimes under investigation have not been specified, nor has the identity of the suspect or suspects.

It’s another one of those government catch-all phrases like ‘terrorist activity’ or ‘national security’ that are used as a cover for intrusions into people’s privacy whenever they feel like it.

The result of this Belgian case will be an interesting marker for future attacks on the privacy of Skype users. My guess is that if the snoopers win their case then Skype should brace itself for a multitude of similar requests from governments all over the world. If on the other hand the courts rules in favor of the privacy of Skype users then the government will simply put their hackers to work and try to get the information illegally as they have done and are doing.

So it’s another one of those ‘heads’ privacy loses and ‘tails’ the snoopers win.

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Happy Meal Facts!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Welcome to happy meal day at the fasab blog.

So tuck in tso a few interesting facts.

But above all…

Enjoy.

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Every 14.5 hours a McDonald’s

opens somewhere in the world

 

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Almost everything in space is unimaginably big

and the supergiant, as the name suggests, is no exception.

Supergiants are among the most massive and

most luminous stars, more massive and up to a

million times more luminous than the Sun.

 

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In Ancient Egypt servants were covered in honey

to keep flies away from pharaoh

 

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Antarctica holds as much water in its ice

as the entire Atlantic Ocean

 

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In spite of the fact that they

built over 30,000 km of road,

the Incas never developed

or discovered the wheel

 

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2.5% of the American population perished

during the American Civil War

 

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The Hope Diamond is estimated to be worth

$200-250 million and resides at the

Smithsonian Natural History Museum.

It is said to be cursed and supposedly causes

great misfortune and misery to whoever wears it.

One wearer was even said to have been

ripped apart by dogs, and another by a French mob.

 

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Did you know that you can get ice cream in

Bacon, Garlic, Deep Fried Oyster

and Corn on the Cob flavors?

 

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In Denmark all drivers must

check under the car before starting it,

just to see if there is someone underneath

 

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The Constitution of the Confederate States of America

banned the slave trade, and when

the American Civil War started,

Confederate Robert E. Lee owned no slaves,

whereas Union general U.S. Grant did.

 

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Apparently men buy more ties during harder times

to appear as though they’re working.

Tie width used to be a factor due to austerity measures

during past wars but these days economists mainly

just look at the number of ties being bought.

 

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Yellowstone in the USA was the

first national park on Earth.

President Ulysses S Grant declared

it a protected area in 1872.

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Don’t Beam Me Up Just Yet, Scotty!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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You will get what the title is all about later. Let’s just say for now I’ll still be buying my airplane tickets and enduring the rigors of airport security for a few years longer.

As for now it’s Fact Day so have a look at the current offerings.

Enjoy.

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In cold weather keeping your cell phone

as close to your body as you can,

or in the inside pocket of an insulated base layer

will help keep it warm and prolong battery life.

 

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In the West women usually start shopping for baby things

as soon as they discover they’re pregnant

but in China a pregnant Chinese woman will avoid

getting a stroller before her baby is born because

according to Chinese tradition it’s considered

bad luck to have an empty stroller in the house

while you’re pregnant.

 

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The world’s oldest-known formula for toothpaste

was created by the ancient Egyptians

who used crushed rock salt, mint, dried iris flowers,

and pepper and mixed them to create a cleaning powder.

Research suggests this ancient toothpaste was more

effective than formulas used as recently as a century ago,

although it did have the unfortunate side effect

of causing bleeding gums.

 

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A scientific study has suggested that if you

are stressing over an important test or exam,

writing down your feelings on a piece of paper

before an exam will allow you to achieve higher scores.

 

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Contrary to many theories,

the tongue does not have specific receptor areas

for bitter, sour, salty, and sweet flavors.

In fact, there is a fifth taste (umami, for savory/meaty flavors)

and all zones of the tongue can sense all flavors.

 

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After banning the Nobel Prize,

Adolf Hitler developed his own version

– the German National Prize for Art and Science.

Ferdinand Porsche was one of the awardees

for being the man behind the world’s first

hybrid car and for the Volkswagen Beetle.

 

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In a statement he gave to the New York Times in 1909,

Nikola Tesla predicted that it would soon be possible

to transmit messages via personal devices.

Today, we have wireless communication devices

that we bring with us anywhere we go.

 

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A month after the USSR sent Sputnik 1 into space,

they sent Sputnik 2, which was the first spacecraft

to carry an animal (a dog named Laika) into space.

However, despite the Soviets initially claiming that

Laika had survived in orbit for a week,

decades later official Russian sources revealed

that Laika lived only a few hours

before dying from overheating.

Brave little doggie though.

 

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During WWI “Hello Girls,” as American

soldiers called them, were American women

who served as telephone operators for

Pershing’s forces in Europe.

The women were fluent in French and English

and were specially trained by the American

Telephone and Telegraph Company.

In 1979, the U.S. Army finally gave war medals

and veteran benefits to the few Hello Girls who were still alive.

 

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In its early days YouTube’s founders used

Craigslist to try to popularize the site

by offering $100 to attractive girls who would

post ten or more videos of themselves.

Unfortunately, they didn’t get a single response.

 

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The phrase ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’

goes back to at least the mid-nineteenth century

as found in George Eliot’s ‘The Mill on the Floss’ (1860),

where Mr. Tulliver uses the phrase in discussing

Daniel Defoe’s ‘The History of the Devil’,

saying how it was beautifully bound.

Its general meaning today, of course, is that

we shouldn’t judge or make a decision about

someone or something based on a brief

impression or outward appearance.

Wise advice.

 

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Just as true champagne must hail from France,

tequila has Denomination of Origin,

meaning that it has to be produced in Mexico,

mainly in the western Mexican state of Jalisco.

The states of Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit,

and Tamaulipas are also acceptable.

 

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Located in the city of Taipei in Taiwan, the

D.S. Music Restaurant has nothing to do with music at all.

In fact, it is a bizarre hospital-themed restaurant

where waitresses are all dressed as nurses,

tables are made from metal hospital beds,

drinks are served in IV bottles and

walls are decorated with X-ray scans.

 

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Remember the teleporter Star Trek?

Well, it’s no longer science fiction because now

matter can be dissolved into particles, transported

and reassembled at another location.

However, it won’t be available for use on humans

in the near future because at the moment,

whilst it is indeed possible to scan every molecule

in the human body and reassemble it in another area,

according to Quantum physics, scanning and

reassembling changes the entire object.

You can’t make an exact copy.

So don’t beam me up just yet, Scotty!

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Did You Know? Another Fifteen Fabulous Fasab Facts!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Fifteen fabulous and very random facts.

I don’t know how much of this information you retain, probably not that much if you’re like me, but hopefully you enjoy reading them all the same.

Here we go….

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The city of Austin, Texas,

was originally named “Waterloo.”

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The term “couch potato”

is the legal property of Robert Armstrong,

who trademarked it in 1976.

(I wonder where he got the energy?)

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Al Gore (1992, 1996),

Dick Cheney (2000, 2004)

and Joe Biden (2008, 2012)

are the first three consecutive vice presidents

to be elected to two terms.

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Worcestershire sauce was invented accidentally

when a British company was trying to recreate

the flavors in Indian food.

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The term “dogfight” originated during WWI.

The pilot had to turn off the plane’s engine from time to time

so it would not stall when the plane turned quickly in the air.

When a pilot restarted his engine midair, it sounded like dogs barking.

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Jim Henson said he made the first Kermit

out of his mom’s old coat.

He used Ping-Pong balls for eyes.

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The concept of community service as a form of probation

originated in Alameda County, California, in 1966.

It was first used as an alternative punishment for female traffic offenders.

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The name “The Birdman of Alcatraz” is not strictly accurate

because Robert Stroud was allowed to keep birds

when he was incarcerated at Leavenworth,

not when he was transferred to Alcatraz.

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Will Smith turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix.

Instead he starred in Wild Wild West.

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Mayan tradition dictated that a mother

should cover her newborn’s face for the first year of life

in order to drive away evil spirits.

The practice is still carried out in rural Guatemala.

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The modeling compound Play-Doh started out in the 1950s

as a wallpaper cleaner for coal residue.

Sales began to fall as coal was used less frequently in furnaces,

but the owner’s sister-in-law, a preschool teacher,

suggested it be used as a children’s toy.

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The 100-ounce pyramid-shaped capstone on top of

the Washington Monument is made of aluminum.

At the time it was placed (December 6, 1884)

it was the largest aluminum object cast.

In those days aluminum was very hard to produce

and was worth as much as silver.

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Chicago is America’s skyscraper capital.

The city has more 1,000-foot tall buildings

than any other U.S. city.

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If we define the “highest spot on the Earth”

as that which is closest to the moon, stars, etc.,

then Mt. Chimborazo in Ecuador is an

incredible 1.5 miles higher than Mt. Everest

due to the oblate spheroid shape of the earth.

(Y’all clumb the wrong mountain boyz!)

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The spooky theme song for Alfred Hitchcock Presents

is titled “Funeral March of a Marionette.”

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