The Power of the Beat

by Nomad

Never ever underestimate the power of the beat.

Kentucky Lawmaker Wants Viagra Available Only to Married Faithful Men and Only with Wives' Approval

by Nomad

If it is good for the goose, the old saying goes, it should be good for the gander. In Kentucky, the government intrusion into the private lives of its citizens just took a step toward equality. 

According to a recent article from WDRB.com, if one Kentucky lawmaker has her way, men will have to swear on a Bible to be good little boys if they wish to enjoy the life-changing pharmaceuticals for erectile dysfunction. 

Democratic Rep. Mary Lou Marzian has introduced a bill in the Kenturky legislature wich would require men to be married and to have two office visits with a healthcare practitioner before getting a prescription for an erectile dysfunction drug such as Viagra or Cialis.

Single men would be out of luck. Horn-dawgs will just have to suck it up. They ought to feel relief that there was no mention of a mandatory prostate probe.

But there were other provisions to the draft bill.

Marzian’s bill would also require a man seeking an erectile dysfunction drug to get a signed and dated letter of approval from his spouse and to “make a sworn statement with his hand on a Bible that he will only use a prescription for a drug for erectile dysfunction when having sexual relations with his current spouse.”

As outrageous as it might sound, Marizan has a point to make. House Bill 396 is not exactly what it seems. Marizan explained in an interview that she wondered exactly how men might feel about the government injecting itself into their private medical decisions.

Knowing is Not Enough

by Nomad

You Say You Want A Revolution? More Evidence Trump is Pranking the GOP

by Nomad

It took me a long time to take Donald Trump seriously. Just about the time, I became convinced he was a genuine candidate, he goes and opens new doubts.

Believe it or Not?

After quite a bit of deliberation on the subject, I was finally persuaded that Donald Trump was actually a serious candidate. 
It wasn't easy to accept this. 

Just by his appearance alone, he cuts a somewhat comical figure. That's not his fault, okay. I get it. Sometimes bad hair days can last decades.

Whatever you think about him personally, you have to admit, he makes his liabilities work to his advantage. Being an unorthodox candidate- not carefully groomed by handlers or by professional stylists- is doubtless one of his main selling points. 

He is who he is and he doesn't give a frick what other people think. He owes his position to nobody but his people. Only a billionaire can think like that nowadays.

There's a hitch, however.

That might work for a celebrity or a private citizen. But as a candidate for the highest office in the nation, most voters require a tad more than what Trump is selling. 

How Anti-Terrorism Software Has Become a Threat to Human Rights and Democracy

by Nomad

One hacker's explosive information leak revealed the dark side of surveillance software and companies that sell them.  It sends a warning about authoritarian regimes using anti-terrorism software to target opposition and human right activists.  

In early July last year, a hacker who went by the name of Phineas Fisher claimed responsibility for an astounding information dump. 

The Hacking Team Dump

In all,  500 GB of client files, contracts, financial documents, and internal emails of Milan-based surveillance company called Hacking Team were made available to the public. 

The company sells sophisticated computer surveillance software to countries around the world, some nations with very doubtful human rights records.

According to one source:

It’s unclear exactly how much the hackers got their hands on, but judging from the size of the files, it’s certainly a large collection of internal files. A source who asked to speak anonymously due to the sensitivity of the issue, told me that based on the file names and folders in the leak, the hackers who hit Hacking Team "got everything."

So basically, a hacker hacked the Hacking Team. In doing so, he walked away with vital and incriminating information including emails between employees, a list of customers, which included the FBI. 

He or she also managed to find the source code of the surveillance software itself. The whole kit and caboodle.