Ecuador Puts Out the Garbage

Julian Assange, notorious rapist and willing tool of Putin (formerly also known for being a co-founder of WikiLeaks) has the last seven years been squatting at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid being sent to Sweden to answer for charges in several cases of rape and sexual molestation.

On Thursday the Ecuadorian Embassy asked British Police to assist them in removing Assange from their premises after his political asylum had been revoked by the Ecuadorian President.

In the video below president Lenin Moreno, explains why the asylum was revoked.

Ecuador decidió soberanamente retirar el asilo diplomático a Julian Assange por violar reiteradamente convenciones internacionales y protocolo de convivencia. #EcuadorSoberano pic.twitter.com/V02pvvtPY0

— Lenín Moreno (@Lenin) April 11, 2019

President Moreno doesn't elaborate on some of the truly disgusting things Assange has done towards his hosts, I will follow his example and instead refer you to the Internet for further information. 

Isolation of World Broken

Welcome back. people! I know you must have felt terribly isolated from me when my Internet crashed, but rest assured you are safe now and back in touch with me again.

The Southern Enchantment antiterrorist force is on the job and is rounding up the usual suspects of Mexicans, Arabs, and Muslims as we speak.

Prince Wild Zepp McMillan, the torturer extraordinaire, has been called home from his vacation at a gay resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to oversee the interrogations, which are expected to be strenuous. In a brief interview, Prince Wild stated, "We shall get to the bottom of this conspiracy to deprive the World's access to his lairdship a.s.a.p."

Arghh Binge Delayed

When I order something on the Internet I want only two notifications, no more and no less.

1. A message that my order has been received
2. A message telling me when and where my order can be picked up.

Well, as it turns out the notification I received yesterday, was not that I could pick up my order, but that my order had now been shipped from the seller.

Who the fuck needs to know things like this?

I am certain the seller has some kind of amazing "Excellent Service Policy Manual" that they have paid half a fortune for that tells them to do this to keep the customers satisfied by keeping them appraised of the delivery at every stage along the way, but I most certainly am not interested.

The end result of this is that my binge watching of Downton Abbey has been delayed. *deep sigh*

Support Net Neutrality

Net Neutrality Wins In Europe!

The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC)—which consists of EU national regulators - has published guidelines to ensure the regulators apply the rules consistently across the bloc on August 30, 2016.

Telecom operators in the European Union will have to treat almost all web traffic equally under net neutrality rules that took effect in April, according to the new guidelines.

The move dealt a blow to telecoms...

SaveTheInternet.eu/en/ comments:

"This summer, hundreds of thousands of Internet users banded together to keep the Internet open and free. Together, we sent a loud, clear message to BEREC, the Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications: protect net neutrality.

And it worked! BEREC’s final guidelines, which were published on 30 August 2016, offer some of the strongest net neutrality protections we could wish for. So long as these new rules are properly enforced by national telecom regulators, they represent a resounding victory for net neutrality. 

The public has made clear that will not leave the future of its digital public space to big telecom lobbyists, but wants to decide for itself. To that end, civil society has to stay watchful and observe that telecom operators don’t violate the new principles. 

The consultation came as the final step of a legislative process that was launched in September 2013. During the ensuing three years, the SaveTheInternet.eu coalition campaigned successfully for the Regulation on which the consultation is based."

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EurActiv.com shares this analysis of the new regulation.

"Large telecoms companies signalled their disappointment over the regulators’ move to rule out many so-called zero rating services that are offered for free with data packages, such as unlimited access to Facebook.

National regulators will approve those services on a case-by-case basis. Under the new guidelines, the watchdogs said they will block zero rating if it interferes with freedom of expression or internet user rights. 

Telecoms operators won’t be allowed to offer zero rated services for free if a customer has already used up their data allowance.

The European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO), which represents major firms including Deutsche Telekom and Orange, said in a statement that “most of the concerns outlined and described by industry experts have not been taken into account”.

Under the rules, telecoms firms will only be allowed to slow down internet traffic to fix bad quality, not to tamper with speed for commercial gain. 

The watchdogs can force companies to stop if they’re found violating the rules, or can issue fines."

Support the Open Internet

European Regulators are about to decide whether to give big telecoms corporations the power to influence what we can (and can’t) do online. Europe urgently needs clear net neutrality guidelines to protect our freedoms and rights online. We have until July to help Europe protect the open Internet.

Join the movement, take action now!

http://www.savetheinternet.eu

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Transcript of the video:

Corporations don't control the Internet. Yet.

You can visit Google, or Facebook, but they're not the Internet. Amazingly, these giant corporations exist right alongside smaller independent websites. Like those by Startups and activists, that are working to lessen their power and create something independent that allows more freedom and is less intrusive than the big corporations.

But now, that's changing. The telecom companies we use to access the internet are giving corporate giants like Facebook special treatment.

Sometimes it's a marketing trick. Other times it’s for profit: they sell special treatment to them.

Either way, the result is the same: A terrible new future where old Telecom giants and new Internet giants conspire to remain in control. Forever. A future where videos on corporate sites work. But on small sites, they break. A future where expensive phone calls work. But free calls over the Internet break.

A future where giant corporate sites are subsidized to appear free. But independent sites are so expensive or slow to access, that no one visits them. This future may be coming to Europe.

By August, EU regulators will make their final decision: They will either prohibit special treatment with strong net neutrality rules, or hand the Internet's future to the corporate giants of telecom and tech.

In the United States, Brazil, and India, net neutrality activists and small startups have been winning, with millions of messages to regulators, and protests in the streets.This summer, it's Europe's turn. And it depends on you.

Click here to send your message to European regulators, share this video, and find a protest near you.

Internet Slowdown Day

Today is Internet Slowdown Day, learn more about it at Battle for the Net.

Conspiracy?

So here I am, just back after my modem died and it took my ISP four (4) days to send me a new one, when today my darling Tomais sends me an offline message from work informing me that his Internet at home is down and his ISP cannot fix it until late tomorrow afternoon.

If it wasn't for my healthy skepticism against all conspiracy theories, I would perhaps now be thinking that the NRA, Mossad, Little Father Putin's covert henchmen and the Swedish Secret Police were conspiring to keep me and my darling apart.

Rejoice

I am back on the Internet again! I hope you only missed me half as much as I missed ya'll, particularly one of you...

I lost connection with Tomais, the Internet and the World Wide Web late on Sunday evening (local time) when my modem completely died on me when I was restarting it. After reporting the failure to my ISP on Monday morning it took them until today to ship me the replacement modem.

I am going to tell Comhem (my ISP) what I think of this. I was almost close to dying from abstinence. Surely they should be able to speed up this process of replacing modems by letting its customers go and pick up a new modem at any of the very many home-electronic stores.

Science: Spread of Infection via the Internet

The illustrious scientist Dr. Field Marshal Bock McMillan at The McMillan Center for Disease Control, today published a sensational empirical study showing that viruses possibly can be transmitted through the Internet.

Asked for a comment Dr. McMillan said,

"Well, as most of you must certainly know I have been spending the last weeks kissing, slobbering and exchanging bodily fluids with that hunk of male beauty known as Tomais Ashdene.

Tomais has meanwhile had an exceptionally bad case of the common cold, which he barely survived with the help of chicken soup and some TLC from me. Now, to my own surprise and dismay, I find I have been infected by what may very possibly be the same strain of common cold-viruses that may have been transmitted transatlantically by the Internet. Further research will have to show if this is actually the case, but I thought it best to warn the general public of potential risks a.s.a.p."

Internet Privacy

From xkcd.com

I belong to the nihilist category. Which one do you belong to?

Dedication

This is to all the hateful trolls in first life, in SecondLife, in all other virtual worlds and last but not least in the blogosphere, especially the one that lately - for unclear reasons - called me a misogynist.

I know I should not post two songs back-to-back but I stumbled across this and here you have it...

(I tried finding an uncensored version of this particular video but without success, if you know where I can find it please tell me!)

On Bastards

I have always steadfastly maintained that it is one of life's basic truths that there are too few bastards in our lives.

What is important to know when you are reading my opinion above is that there are actually two different kinds of bastards.

First you have the bastards, that I am alluding to, the ones that say "To hell with it all, I will do and say what I wish." These are the ones who do not care about social conventions or rules that have been established to provide a sense of security to the more timorous among us. Although these bastards may sometimes hurt others feelings that is not their objective. It doesn't even occur to them that anyone can be hurt by what they have to say or do when they are being themselves, speaking their mind and voicing their opinions.

Then you have the other kind, the kind that give assholes a bad name. These bastards willfully set out to create trouble, destroy and hurt as many people as they possibly can in the process. Usually these bastards act in a sly, underhanded way, preferably cloaked in anonymity, because they are - Surprise! Surprise! - also huge cowards who do not wish to suffer the consequences of their words actions or convictions. This latter kind of bastards are usually motivated by revenge. They may have a lost an election of sorts or perceive themselves as not being appreciated enough for their charms, talents or work and now want to get back at the ones that they feel are the cause of their lack of success.

One of the bad kind of bastards has recently emerged, the Internet is a godsend for them. This bastard first appeared on Facebook I am told, but when Facebook banned him has moved the hateful slanderous vomiting to the blogosphere. The objective of this s-o-b, anonymous, loser is to bring discord into the gay community, smear the Second Pride Festival and some of it's directors.

I have now purged myself of this attention seeking good-for-nothing and will now continue enjoying Second Pride. May the wanker rot in his own vomit!

Tell-tale Email Addresses

Please note that this blogger has a gmail-address!

Blue & Non-Blue

Did you know that you have blue USB ports and non-blue USB ports on your computer?

Well, I didn't until today. I have wasted most of my day trying to reach my Internet bank and have been told that I do not have the correct card holder. This problem seemed to be known to my bank and there were instructions about how I should handle it. I followed the instructions meticulously and to the letter and still got the same error message "Incorrect card holder".

After removing and re-installing the shitty programs 15-20 times and a nap to release my frustration, I finally caved in and called customer support.

The friendly guy on the other end first tried to take me through the steps that were published on the banks website, I snapped at him that I had already done those steps 200 times (mildly exaggerating) and they did not help me.

He then asked me if I had a new computer, which I answered in the affirmative. He then went on to ask me if the USB port I was using was blue. The question amazed me because I thought a USB port is a USB port is a USB port. Apparently that is no longer true, there are now blue USB ports and non-blue USB ports, and I needed a non-blue one for my banking card holder.

When I found a non-blue port on the back of my computer everything worked fine. I thought I heard a silent giggle when I hung up after thanking the support guy.

The call with customer support lasted about five (5) minutes, I am considering suing my bank for the mental pain and distress and emotional anguish they made me suffer and the time wasted for not informing me about the blue and non-blue USB ports on their website. (No not really... I hate those frivolous and costly lawsuits, but I will make sure to send them a not so sweet e-mail about it.)

Bock: "2012 Will Be Wonderful!"

"Farm in fog", photography by Gary Hamburgh

OK, I felt the pressure building up inside me as the end of the year came closer.

Just as we watch the fogs slowly lifting over the farmhouse in Gary Hamburgh´s beautiful picture, here are my predictions for 2012.

Universal

1. The universe as we know it will still be here
2. We will have made contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence. However, they decline any further contact because they think we are dumb asses.
3. The answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything will remain 42.

Global

1. The Arab spring will continue with baby-steps and a few set backs, it will eventually also turn into a Persian spring. There will still be no Chinese spring in sight
2. The Internet will remain free, power mongers must realize you cannot put the genie back in the can once it is set free.
3. Barack Obama will be reelected for a second term as President of the United States of America

SecondLife

1. SecondLife will still be here, things will improve inworld when Viewer 1 has been dropped
2. Linden Lab will remain as owners of SecondLife and their financial situation will slowly improve
3. Mesh will...  ugh lets wait and see, my answer on this one is 42

Metaversal

1. The blog "Tinas universum" (Tina´s Universe) will be up and running again, the oldest Swedish avatar known to man cannot hold back long
2. "Bock in SecondLife" will most likely still be here, lets say 42 on this one
3. As for the rest - 42

Personal

1. I will be 42 and Bock will be 5, but we will still look like 32 and act like 12
2. I and Bock will have had sex again with another human being and/or avatar. Finally!
3. I will still be on antidepressants but vastly improved

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That´s it folks! All in all, we have a wonderful and marvelous year waiting for us. Enjoy 2012!

The World According to the Internet

Created by The Oxford Internet Institute (OII)

I found this interesting and thought provoking map on Joe.My.God. Click it to enlarge.

What struck me first was that I had no idea that 41-50 % of the Chinese population had access to the Internet. 41 percent would mean that at least 550 millions of the country's total population of 1,4 billions.

The second observation was that Africa has no real presence on the Internet yet, except for in the far north and the far south of the continent.

Thirdly, I wondered out loud, "Where the fuck is Norway?"

In a comment on Joe.My.God., someone said that almost all Internet users in Brazil and Venezuela are gay, so now I am wondering if that really can be true?

If it is, I sure am going there for vacations next time. This phrase may finally be useful if I decide to go, "Ei você hunk bonita de um homem, eu posso jogar com o seu Internet depois?"

Due Dates

Recently I have been thinking about a classic definition of a bohemian I heard a long time ago from my maternal grandfather. He used to tell me that a bohemian is someone who regards paying taxes and rent as unexpected and totally unforeseeable expenses.


I have always had difficulty remembering all the different dates of payments both in real life and in SecondLife. In real life Internet banking has saved me by allowing me to just add a bill when I get it so that I then can forget all about it, payment is made automatically on the day I decide on. I have the same problem with birthdays, rezdays and anniversaries.


In the beginning when I first started renting land in SecondLife I used to have huge problems remembering due dates. I had post-it stickers all over my computer and on the refrigerator to remind me, but they usually got to be so many of them that they either covered each other or I did not seem them because of the sheer amount of stickers everywhere.


Ars had the same problem, so when we moved to Southern Charm we made an arrangement with the landlady. Instead of paying our monthly tier on the 17th or 19th, whatever it was, we made an additional payment so that the due date always came at the end of each month, which is much easier to remember.


Today my payment of sim-tier to Linden Lab is handled by my credit card, which is also a relief. The correct amount is charged to my card monthly whenever it is due and I just pay the card bill.


I sometimes tell people that the invention of Internet-banking, the Global Positioning System and the electronic calenders have improved my quality of life with at least 15 %, just because my bills get payed on time and I can show up where I am expected to be at the correct time.