How to Aaaarg.org Posted on August 5th, 2011 by Jay McKinnon

Aaaaarg.org is a human-generated index of pirated academic works popular among graduate students. This document is an introduction to how to use the system.
“citizenship is not a birthright” Posted on April 11th, 2010 by Jay McKinnon

Contra the claims that American birthright citizenship derives from a “misinterpretation” of the 14th amendment, I find more evidence in US Supreme Court rulings, before and after the ratification of the 14th Amendment, to support birthright citizenship than to support the right of citizens to vote, or the right of transnationals to own private property.
House Passes 100% Cargo Screening Posted on January 9th, 2007 by Jay McKinnon

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1 (Full Text PDF) today. While the bill contains many (many!) sections of interest to Long Beach includes funding for first responders, of particular concern to our local economy is Title V: ‘Strengthening The Security of Cargo Containers’. Title V contains provisions which the [...]
Manhattan Beach: Skateboarding is a Crime ($2000 Fine, 1 Year in Jail) Posted on September 12th, 2006 by Jay McKinnon

The criminalization of youth continues, same as it ever did. Relying on the same tired excuses of protecting public property from use by under-aged citizens and protecting kids from the risks of physical activity, the Manhattan Beach city council banned jumping “on or over objects” on a skateboard. Violating the [...]
+$26 Billion in Privacy Act Fines for Feds in 2006 Posted on August 25th, 2006 by Jay McKinnon

The Federal government cannot be trusted to keep your information secure. Period. One by one federal agencies are proving that they are not competent to handle sensitive, private, personal or confidential information. They should not be trusted with any information about anybody, anywhere, for any reason. The recent wave of [...]
Patriot Act vs Comment Spam Posted on March 21st, 2005 by Jay McKinnon

Blogs Canada suggests an interesting way to use the Patriot Act against blog comment spam: Dear System Administrator, One of your clients is defacing my website. It appears they are using an automated instrument to place ads on my site without my permission. This is hacking and that contravenes the [...]
ATTENTION VISA WAIVER TRAVELERS Posted on July 17th, 2003 by Jay McKinnon

If you have been entering the U.S. as a Visa Waiver traveler (WT/WB)on a non-machine readable passport, the rules are changing. As of October 1 you will need to either get a machine-readable passport (MRP) or get a US non-immigrant visa (B1/B2). How do I know if I was on [...]