Recreation my ass

I don't know about you, but I find few things are as annoying as having to pay fees for every stupid thing you do or don't do. I find mandatory fees on top of something I've already purchased particularly fascinating - and stupid. Unfortunately the Americans have refined this fee-policy into an art form. Where else would you stay at a hotel and be charged a mandatory recreation fee of $15 a day upon check-out??? I mean, what the hell is a recreation fee anyway? A "thank you for letting me borrow a sundeck chair and a towel, and have access to the pool, obviously such a service couldn't be included in the $150 a night room rate"-fee? Why not have a room rate of $165, since this completely insane fee is mandatory anyway - recreation or not?

Add this to the ridiculous additional car hire fees and insurances (that are often not included in your booking price, and need to be paid at the counter when picking up the car), the annoying habit of never including sales tax on the price tags, and of course the fluctuating exchange rate of the dollar, and it all makes planning that US vacation a real pain in the ass.

Doubletwist brings you choice

Brilliant commercial...

Everything counts in large amounts

Corrupt, greedy politicians at their best. "Everything counts" by Depeche Mode seems to be a fitting soundtrack.

The wind of change

Traditionally, Swedes love surveillance, they love the thought of a "big brother" watching them and slapping them on their wrists when they do something bad. This has, of course, led to the government increasing their surveillance of ordinary people - just because they can. Thank God this mentality seems to be changing now. The oppression has increased severely during the last couple of years and culminated with the FRA law, which made people think twice about the amount of control a government should have over its citizens in a so-called democracy. The frustration has sparked much needed initiatives such as Piratpartiet.

Another lesson in irony

The Swedish movie industry has the nerve to accuse food company Dole of being a threat to the freedom of speech, following a lawsuit where Dole want's to prevent the movie "Bananas!" from being shown. Isn't that cute. The big bully pushing around all the smaller kids in the schoolyard gets pushed back and runs crying to the principle's office.

Oh well, I guess freedom of speech was a good idea after all?

"Join the dark side"

In a surprising twist of events it seems the French embassy is now doing the dirty work of the entertainment mafia lobby, trying to pressure single parliament members to change their view on integrity, freedom and human rights:

- De kom till riksdagen och de började prata om min syn på internet och
telekompaketet och varför jag hade en så naiv syn så att man inte skulle kunna
stänga av sidor.

"How can you be so naive and believe in freedom and integrity? Do you really think those human rights are worth more than the profit of the entertainment industry? Come, come, join the dark side. We promise we'll make it worth your while."

This behaviour by the French embassy is something previously unheard of in this part of the world, and just adds proof that the so-called civilized world is degenerating fast. It all makes sense though, considering that the pathetic fool ruling this poor excuse of a country is literally sleeping with the entertainment mafia. Makes you wonder what those crazy frogs will do next.

Refuse / Resist - part 2

Speaking of grim dystopias, there seems to be no end to what lengths governments in previously civilized countries will go in order to control the population. Have a look at this depressing piece of reading on how Holland's citizens are on a highway to hell, quite literally. And what's really sad is that the road tolls in Stockholm are looked upon as a role model for all these new, oppressive regimes. Obviously a role model on how to monitor each citizens every move in order to maximize the tax revenues. Seriously, you stupid-ass politicians, this is nothing to be proud of.

It's for your own safety. And tax purposes.

A double set of morals is twice as good as one!

Or so artist Lily Allen seems to believe. She's stirred up quite a commotion lately positioning herself as a firm believer in draconian, revolting laws enabling the music industry to cut the Internet access for people suspected of piracy without any form of trial or hearing, let alone a sentence.

Her attempt to brainwash the public on her anti-piracy blog "It's not alright" (which she has now deleted), backfired badly. Not only did she have to take a lot of verbal abuse from alienated fans, it was also discovered that Mrs. Allen herself has been quite the busy little pirate, creating mixtapes of copyrighted material and distributing it to the whole wide world through her website, lilyallenmusic.com.

So, if anything the RIAA should come knocking down your door, Allen, and slap you in the face with a 50 million dollar lawsuit, before they cut off your Internet connection. See how you'd like the record mafia treatment, you ignorant bitch.

Refuse / Resist

Yes, mangling the free Internet was just the beginning. Because, after all, people don't spend all there time on the web. They sometimes travel by car as well, and obviously they need to be closely monitored while doing so.

Det kallas Pay as you drive. Systemet registrerar hur fort du kör, var du kör, vilken tid på dygnet, och så vidare. Baserat på den informationen sätts sedan din försäkringspremie.

(...)

Och precis som med säkerhetsbältet en gång i tiden blir registreringen med tiden lagstiftad och obligatoriskt för alla, uppger Rode vidare i en längre intervju i tidningen På Väg.

Read the grim dystopia that would have George Orwell turn in his grave here. Haven't politicians seen from various dictatorships that have crumbled over the last couple of centuries that complete and total control over citizens is neither desirable nor possible?

I'll just take a deep breath and listen to this old Sepultura classic. These guys knew what they were talking about.

"I think we're dead"

Have a laugh at the expense of this dumb-ass (ex-)police officer.

Mona Sahlin is not a fan of justice and integrity

Social democratic opposition leader Mona Sahlin wants to tear up the much debated FRA law, apparently out of concern for people's integrity. How convenient. Of course she wants to replace it with another, similar law... Quite frankly I fail to see how Sahlin's option is any more edible.

Also, Sahlin doesn't seem to understand that the legal abomination called the Ipred law is equally damaging (we're already seen the first examples of how the entertainment mafia abuses the law, and this is only the beginning), she simply sees it as a way for the entertainment mafia to protect their rights. You know, the classic "the goal justifies the means" argumentation:

Ipred handlar om hur man garanterar att artister, låtskrivare och författare också får möjligheter till att få inkomster. Det tror jag att alla tycker är självklart.

Oh well, as long as those greedy bastards are able to fill their pockets at an increasing pace, to hell with integrity and justice.

This nonsense leads me to the conclusion that Mona Sahlin is either dumb as a rock, or completely ignorant when it comes to questions of integrity and the Internet.

How to scare the crap out of your girlfriend

Lawsuits as a business model

Folkpartiet politician Madeleine Sjöstedt has a letter in today's DN where she asks if the new business model of the entertainment industry is lawsuits.

Could it be that politicians who have previously been so completely ignorant to this, the very same people political parties that have provided this industry with the tools needed to sue each and everyone, have finally started opening their eyes and see what every sane person has been saying for quite a while now?

This industry needs to be stopped, and the best thing you could do is not contributing to their revenue stream. Simply put, don't buy that new Mariah Carey CD. Or any other CD released on a major label.

The farce continues

The Court of Appeal in Stockholm have managed to get hold of a Spotify employee, Fredrik Niemelä, to be one of the lay judges when the Pirate Bay trial is to be tried again. As we all know Spotify is partly owned by the very same record companies who are part in this trial, so any moron would see that Mr. Niemelä ought to be disqualified at once. Except himself, of course:

– Jag har noga övervägt min anställning och kan inte se att det finns risk för jäv. I så fall skulle ingen som någonsin arbetat med försäljning kunna vara nämndeman i ett misstänkt stöldfall, säger han till SvD.se.

I'm sorry? You're saying you wouldn't consider it a problem if you were an Ica-employee and were set to be a lay judge in a trial where Ica was a party? There's no chance of you being biased with your employer sitting on one side of the courtroom? I'm impressed.

After the scandals surrounding the first trial you'd think the Court of Appeal would spend just a little extra time making sure none of the judges was on the entertainment mafia's payroll.

*Update 2009-09-24: Seems like there's more than just a Spotify-employee amongst the judges... I'm fascinated by how impossible it seems to be given a fair trial with unbiased judges here in Sweden. What is this, a banana republic?

Keep fucking that chicken

You go, Ernie.

Sweden on top of the world

Congratulations fellow Swedes, by the beginning of 2010 we'll be the country in the world with the heaviest tax burden, with a marginal tax rate of a whopping 56,7 percent! Now that's really something. In fact only 5 other countries in the world are part of this exclusive "50%+" club.

Of course confiscating over half of people's income isn't enough for social democratic opposition leader Mona Sahlin, who has already promised she will continue increasing the income-, wealth- and housing taxes, all in the name of decreasing the differences between rich and poor. Sure, I get that. After all, why should a hard-working, tax-paying citizen have more money to spend than a person living on welfare? Why should it pay to work at all?

In fact, I can't see any reason to stop at 56,7 percent. It would probably be best just to confiscate 100 percent of people's income and then redistribute it equally so that no one is left behind.

It had to be said

Well, yeah, it had to be said.

Where there's a will there's a way

According to Scania CEO Leif Östling there's absolutely no room for wage increases within the Swedish industry next year.

Not quite so. Apparently where there's a will there's a way... Ah, but wait, of course Östling was referring to the blue-collar workers, not hot shots like himself and his peers. Sorry, my mistake. You miserable industry workers can't expect a penny more next year, and that's final!

Housewife without a cause

Did any of you catch the new show "Svenska Hollywoodfruar" on TV3 the other day? I have to admit I didn't, but I've read a few reviews here and there, and I guess if you look at the show as some sort of bizarre, ironic reality-sitcom about Swedish gold-diggers gone mad, and you've got absolutely nothing else to do, it might work.

Anyway, I noticed one of these housewives, Kalle Anna Anka, actually wrote an article on Newsmill trying to justify her not so flattering appearance on the show, and stating that she wants to be a role model for women in Sweden (good luck with that, Anka!). I didn't read all of it, as frankly it bored me to death, but this particular part was brilliant:

Hur som helst, jag och min man skrattar hela vägen till banken. För självklart förhandlade jag till mig ett bra arvode för att ställa upp i "Lyxfruar". Inte för att jag är girig, för det är jag inte, utan för att min tid är dyrbar. Återkommer till det lite längre fram i texten.

I scrolled around a bit trying to find the part where she elaborates further on this, but failed. As far as I can see there's absolutely nothing valuable with Mrs. Anka's time. According to her very own article it's basically spent getting a massage or a pedicure, insulting gardeners, pleasing her 30 years older husband (come on, is she really only 38 years old???) sexually, and traveling around with him as his appendage. The kids are taken care of by a maid, and so is the house. In fact, I can't see her having any purpose in life, other than the sexual pleasing part, so why is she under the impression that her time so precious?

I don't know, all I know is that my time is precious and I've spent way too much time already pondering on what's going on in the plastic fantastic mind of Mrs. Anka.

FRA is illegal

The Stasi FRA law is in conflict with the European Convention on Human Rights, says lawyer Anders Lagerwall in today's DN.

No shit, Sherlock. How can wiretapping the entire Swedish population just in case any of them should ever commit a criminal offence be in conflict with human rights? I just wonder how long it'll take the experts to figure out that the Ipred law is in conflict with the same rights.

ARTICLE 8

1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.
2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

Want to stay anonymous? Incognito might be the answer.

Just read this article on idg.se. Obviously I'll take Incognito Linux distribution for a spin on my old laptop as soon as I get the time.


*Update* Speaking of avoiding the prying eyes of totalitarian governments, it seems Ipredator is finally approaching something that might be considered a public release, adding new users as capacity becomes available. Of course I'll take this for a spin too.

Socialdemokraterna - a success story

The Social democratic party, Socialdemokraterna, are not gaining any popularity in Stockholm, quite the contrary. Why, you might wonder? I think Socialdemokraterna's election manifesto speaks for itself:

We're gonna tax you Stockholmers to death.

Way to go. This strategy has left them with what is still a surprisingly high support in Stockholm, with roughly 20% of the voters claiming they would give their vote to these buffoons in the upcoming elections. Half of these are obviously the unemployed, who plan to stay unemployed for an extended period of time and would like their unemployment benefit to increase. The other half are just idiots.

Voddler - a fiasco in the making

Voddler is supposed to be a kind of Spotify-like service, only for movies and TV-series. This is all good, but according to the article in SvD, Voddler will be burdened by the same antique release window system invented by the movie industry that is killing the DVD market and causing people to illegally download US-released movies and TV-series that won't hit European theaters for months:

Alla filmer kommer alltså inte att finnas i gratisversionen och filmer kommer även att kunna flyttas från gratisvarianten till premiumvarianten och vice versa. Baserat på filmbolagens så kallade releasefönster kommer filmer även att kunna försvinna helt i perioder.

Seriously, who's gonna pay for a premium account?

Unfortunately it seems as long as you want to stay on friendly terms with the entertainment mafia, you're going to have a poor, defective service. If you, on the other hand, decide to give the customers what they want, expect to be persecuted prosecuted by an industry that makes its own laws. It's really a lose-lose situation.

Stockholm needs infrastructure, not segregation

Lars Dahlberg, Social democratic politician, has a reader's letter published in Svenska Dagbladet today, where he argues that förbifart Stockholm, the planned motorway that will create a north-south passage outside the city of Stockholm, is necessary. All in all a fair letter, pointing out the importance of the infrastructure keeping up with the increasing population.

All except the following statement:

Utöver Förbifart Stockholm måste därför trängselskatten utvecklas så att ökningen av bilismen dämpas.

In other words: We need to build this motorway, but we also need new and increasingly expensive road-tolls, to further develop the segregation on the roads, where the wealthy, like Lars Dahlberg himself, will be driving around on half-empty roads with a big grin on their faces, while the rest of us can't afford it anymore, and are crowded together on uncomfortable and inconvenient public transportation, no matter what our transportation need actually is.

Thanks a lot, Dahlberg, but no thanks.

Viva megalomania

American senator Jay "I wish the Internet had never been invented" Rockefeller wants to give the American president power to shut down the Internet "in case of emergency".

I'm guessing an emergency is this case is a single mom sharing a couple of mp3-files...

Crazy megalomanic bastard.

Earphones

I'm fascinated by those kids who wander around on the streets with their cell phone in their hand, playing music that is so terribly boring, so bad, that you just want to take that stupid phone from them and throw it away.

Have they not yet been introduced to the wonderful accessory called earphones, that would enable them to enjoy that stupid music without bothering everyone passing by? Or do they simply live under a delusion that anyone else in this world is actually interested in the crap they're listening to? Is it some sort of pathetic cry for attention?

Just yesterday I was pestered by a moron walking around in the grocery store with the phone in his hands, some ridiculous arab disco-music blaring distorted out of the tiny mono-speaker. And this wasn't an 11-year old kid either, this guy was probably in his early twenties, and he still lacked basic social skills. That's just sad. And annoying.

Wasting taxpayer's money

No wonder the Swedes have one of the highest tax burdens in Europe when you start looking at how careless money is spent throughout the public administration.

I particularly love the fact that the morons at Skatteverket don't have a clue how much an e-mail system migration will cost, let alone how much money they will potentially, although not very likely, save on this migration some time in the future:

Hur mycket hela migreringen kommer att kosta - och vilka besparingar som kan göras - är ännu inte klart.

I'll give them a hint. We're probably talking of a migration cost somewhere in the 50-70 million SEK area. At best.

I'm also fascinated by the fact that Skatteverket is completely ignoring the intention that the authorities should strive for open standards when choosing IT solutions, and that these morons instead choose to "standardize" on a vendor which products are notoriously proprietary and unable to collaborate with any other product out there.

Furthermore, Skatteverket is complaining that their current system is way too expensive. Well of course it is, since you stupid bastards are paying through your nose for way more products than you need:

• Microsoft Office 2003 för ordbehandling, presentationer och kalkyler.
• Microsoft Sharepoint Portal Server för dokumenthantering och delar av intranätet.
• Senselogic Sitevision som content management system.
• Lotus Notes/Domino för brev, kalender, rumsbokning och intranät. Ska migreras till Microsoft Exchange och MOSS.
• Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 för chat och enklare videokonferens.

As far as I know, new versions of Lotus Notes include Lotus Symphony which is an office product based on OpenOffice.org. That would enable any sane organization to throw out at least most of the MS Office licenses, and save a lot of money there. The product can also be downloaded separately, and completely free of charge, so users can install it at home as well.

Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 seems like complete overkill if all they need it for is "simple video conferencing". After all, a limited Sametime license is included with Lotus Notes, so they already have chat and awareness included in their Lotus licenses.

And do they need both Domino and Sharepoint for their intranet? I'm sure they could get cheaper Domino licenses if they only used it for mail (which is complete insanity if you ask me, but still...), and not for applications. Or they could use Domino for document management and the intranet, and skip those Sharepoint licenses. Either way a lot of money could be saved.

So, dear Swedes, this is where your tax money ends up. Down the drain. I just hope that Microsoft-sponsored all-inclusive family vacation to the Maldives was worth it for whoever made this astonishingly ignorant decision.

E-delegationen ska i sitt arbete sträva efter att den offentliga förvaltningens e-tjänster i så stor utsträckning som möjligt ska bygga på öppna standarder, använda sig av programvara som bygger på öppen källkod samt sträva efter lösningar som stegvis frigör förvaltningen från beroendet av enskilda plattformar och lösningar.

Riiiight.