You're corrupt. You're incometent. Congratulations, you've won the jackpot.

You're corrupt and you're completely incompetent. That would normally be a good reason for an employer to give you a dishonorable discharge, and even report you to the police.

Well, not when you've managed to kiss ass far enough up in the political system. Your reward for doing a completely worthless job and making a laughing stock of yourself and your department is a new job, in this case investigating the sex ethics of the various government offices. What an important piece of work that is. And of course the ridiculously high paycheck remains the same.

Way to waste taxpayer's money!

A ban is always best

So, the Swedish government has decided that cars on winter tires with studs can now be banned from entering certain streets in certain cities. Another brilliant decision by our finest.

This means everyone using studded tires will have to make unnecessary detours to avoid these regulated streets. It also means somebody will have to follow up and make sure that the ban is actually working, handing out fines to those who are caught driving in the "no studs" streets on studs. What an incredible waste of police resources.

Instead of this ridiculous ban, why not impose a charge for motorists who for whatever reason feel the need to use tires with studs during the winter? The driver could pay a fee of say 500 SEK per season in order to drive inside the Stockholm toll zone. This would definitely reduce the amount of people driving on studs, it would let those who still need the studs keep them, and it would generate money. But noooo, a ban is always best.

Evidence in the way of "justice"

According to lawyer (yes, this buffoon is actually a lawyer, believe it or not!) Peter Danowsky, you can't expect the entertainment mafia industry to protect their new business models if they actually need any kind of evidence to obtain info on the person(s) behind an IP-address. Obviously, a mere allegation based on insufficient information gathered using plain criminal methods should be more than enough to get this information from the court, and proceed to ruining a persons life, innocent or not:

Bokförlagens juridiska ombud Peter Danowsky bedömer i överklagandet att syftet med lagen riskerar att undermineras om beviskraven ställs för högt.

What's that? Rule of law? Naw...we don't believe in that.

– Hovrättens beslut är inte acceptabelt för rättighetshavare, säger Danowsky.

Well, Mr. Danowsky, I can assure you it's perfectly acceptable for all those people who would be hunted down and had their life destroyed just because they might or might not have shared the latest Shakira album with others. I think most people, with the exception of politicians, entertainment industry lobbyists and Peter Danowsky agree that no one should be convicted without a shred of credible evidence. That is what has made us a civilized society, you don't burn a person on the stake just because someone accused this person of being a witch. Unfortunately it's the first thing to go now that an increasing number of previously civilized countries have decided that democracy, freedom and human rights are deeply overrated, and are moving back into the dark ages at a frightful speed.

Sweden turning into Norway

The introduction of the road tolls in Stockholm in 2006 sure opened pandoras box. Or the gates to hell, depending on you point of view. We've already seen the city of Gothenburg eager to plague their motorists with a similar toll ring system. Tolls will be collected on E4 near Sundsvall. Road toll plans have popped up regarding the new Skurubron in Värmdö and now even more road tolls are planned on E4, this time outside Örnsköldsvik.

All this because the 70 billion kronor that Swedish motorists annually pay in various car-related taxes apparently isn't enough to pay for a bit of road here and there...

I'm sad to say this country is turning into Norway fast. And no, I'm not talking about the oil, if only it were that well. I'm talking about punishing the motorists in every way possible. You guys who have ever had the "pleasure" of going to Norway by car know what I'm talking about (and you probably think twice before going back). And for the rest of you, have a good look at what's in store for you:


Looks nice, doesn't it? Norwegian motorists will pay almost 6 billion NOK in road tolls this year, half of it wasted on administration costs. We might as well just give Vägverket our credit card and let them charge us at will, because this toll road hell is exactly what awaits us if the current politicians get to decide. Bloody leaches.

Life behind the iron curtain

I woke up today and realized I'm living in DDR. Who would have thought, on that fateful day in 1989, that the fall of the Berlin wall, and the fall of the iron curtain, would in fact not export democracy and freedom to the east, but rather oppression and surveillance to the west? Who could have imagined that in Sweden in 2009 one would have to meet in secret places, talk quietly and constantly look over one's shoulder in order to stay out of the prying eyes and ears of the "Ministerium für Staatssicherheit"?

I sure as hell didn't.

A secure FTP server is...well, secure

Svea hovrätt just announced that having a secure FTP server that requires a username and password to access, means it's files are not publicly available. No shit, Sherlock. Although, I have to say I'm a bit surprised that this incompetent institution actually managed to find a judge that had no affiliation with the entertainment industry, and that actually made some sense. This means the ISP Ephone does not have to give up its customer's integrity.

Now what I want to know is when Antipiratbyrån will be prosecuted for breaking into this server in the first place, to gather the pathetic piece of "evidence" that was presented to the court (and found to be more than enough by the retards at Solna tingsrätt)? Last time I checked hacking into secure servers was still a crime. A much more serious one than copyright infringement, I might add.

Extorsion is the new business model

A german parasite company called Digirights Solutions are specializing in hunting down and threatening alleged pirates on behalf of the entertainment mafia, demanding 450 euro for the victim to avoid a lawsuit. Whether or not this person is actually guilty is irrelevant. Approximately 25% of the victims pay up to avoid the devastating costs of a lawsuit. Much like most people would give up their wallet and watch to a crook on the street to avoid a beating or a bullet in the head.

The loot is split 80-20 between Digirights Solutions and the entertainment mafia, making it a very profitable "business" for both. In fact, Digirights Solutions claim it's 150 times more profitable than actually selling content online.

In other words, as far as this mafia business is endorsed and encouraged by corrupted governments in Europe and the US, there's really no reason for the entertainment industry to come up with new business models. The threats and bullying business model is by far the most profitable. And we all know ethics is not part of the equation.

A brave new world

It's a brave new world, indeed...

Who knew Warner Brothers owned Casablanca...

Threats and lawsuits are in no way a new invention in the entertainment industry, and Warner Brothers have a long and proud tradition of harassing their customers, peers and actors:

Dear Warner Brothers,
Apparently there is more than one way of conquering a city and holding it as your own. For example, up to the time that we contemplated making this picture, I had no idea that the city of Casablanca belonged exclusively to Warner Brothers. However, it was only a few days after our announcement appeared that we received your long, ominous legal document warning us not to use the name Casablanca.
It seems that in 1471, Ferdinand Balboa Warner, your great-great-grandfather, while looking for a shortcut to the city of Burbank, had stumbled on the shores of Africa and, raising his alpenstock (which he later turned in for a hundred shares of common), named it Casablanca.
I just don’t understand your attitude. Even if you plan on releasing your picture, I am sure that the average movie fan could learn in time to distinguish between Ingrid Bergman and Harpo. I don’t know whether I could, but I certainly would like to try.
You claim that you own Casablanca and that no one else can use that name without permission. What about “Warner Brothers”? Do you own that too? You probably have the right to use the name Warner, but what about the name Brothers? Professionally, we were brothers long before you were. We were touring the sticks as the Marx Brothers when Vitaphone was still a gleam in the inventor’s eye, and even before there had been other brothers—the Smith Brothers; the Brothers Karamazov; Dan Brothers, an outfielder with Detroit; and “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (This was originally “Brothers, Can You Spare a Dime?” but this was spreading a dime pretty thin, so they threw out one brother, gave all the money to the other one, and whittled it down to “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”)
Now Jack, how about you? Do you maintain that yours is an original name? Well it’s not. It was used long before you were born. Offhand, I can think of two Jacks—Jack of “Jack and the Beanstalk,” and Jack the Ripper, who cut quite a figure in his day.
As for you, Harry, you probably sign your checks sure in the belief that you are the first Harry of all time and that all other Harrys are impostors. I can think of two Harrys that preceded you. There was Lighthouse Harry of Revolutionary fame and a Harry Appelbaum who lived on the corner of 93rd Street and Lexington Avenue. Unfortunately, Appelbaum wasn’t too well-known. The last I heard of him, he was selling neckties at Weber and Heilbroner.
Now about the Burbank studio. I believe this is what you brothers call your place. Old man Burbank is gone. Perhaps you remember him. He was a great man in a garden. His wife often said Luther had ten green thumbs. What a witty woman she must have been! Burbank was the wizard who crossed all those fruits and vegetables until he had the poor plants in such confused and jittery condition that they could never decide whether to enter the dining room on the meat platter or the dessert dish.
This is pure conjecture, of course, but who knows—perhaps Burbank’s survivors aren’t too happy with the fact that a plant that grinds out pictures on a quota settled in their town, appropriated Burbank’s name and uses it as a front for their films. It is even possible that the Burbank family is prouder of the potato produced by the old man than they are of the fact that your studio emerged “Casablanca” or even “Gold Diggers of 1931.”
This all seems to add up to a pretty bitter tirade, but I assure you it’s not meant to. I love Warners. Some of my best friends are Warner Brothers. It is even possible that I am doing you an injustice and that you, yourselves, know nothing about this dog-in-the-Wanger attitude. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to discover that the heads of your legal department are unaware of this absurd dispute, for I am acquainted with many of them and they are fine fellows with curly black hair, double-breasted suits and a love of their fellow man that out-Saroyans Saroyan.
I have a hunch that his attempt to prevent us from using the title is the brainchild of some ferret-faced shyster, serving a brief apprenticeship in your legal department. I know the type well—hot out of law school, hungry for success, and too ambitious to follow the natural laws of promotion. This bar sinister probably needled your attorneys, most of whom are fine fellows with curly black hair, double-breasted suits, etc., into attempting to enjoin us. Well, he won’t get away with it! We’ll fight him to the highest court! No pasty-faced legal adventurer is going to cause bad blood between the Warners and the Marxes. We are all brothers under the skin, and we’ll remain friends till the last reel of “A Night in Casablanca” goes tumbling over the spool.


Sincerely,
Groucho Marx

Source.

Miljöpartiet wants your money

Miljöpartiet (Mp) needs money to finance their highly hypothetical national budget. They've already promised their miserable, masochist voters higher income taxes, but obviously that's not enough. Now they want to increase the fuel taxes as well, which will add another 2 kronor on the petrol price.

My only question is why? It sure as hell isn't to save the environment. Today the first generation of "environment cars", miljöbilar, are already up to an impressive 37 percent market share, up 20 percent from last year. These cars are boring as hell, with tiny diesel engines (Volvo DRIVe) or poor handling (Toyota Prius), but people are still buying them - to contribute to the environment and to save money on fuel, on toll charges and on the company car taxation.

When plug-in hybrids hit the market around 2012 or so I suspect the environmental car market share will increase significantly. Seeing as these cars will cover most of their daily driving without burning as much as a liter of fuel not only will they make the fuel price less relevant, they will also contribute to less local pollution. Let us not forget that this second generation of environmentally friendly cars will also be bigger, perform better, and be more suited for a broader public.

And after the plug-in hybrid era perhaps we've got pure electric cars waiting around the corner? Powered by some new battery technology or by hydrogen? All I know is that the research is moving away from the traditional fossil fuel combustion engines fast, and that there is absolutely no sense in pestering the regular car owners with an increased fuel tax at this point. We're simply waiting for an environmentally friendly car that can suit our needs, ok? If anything go bother the car manufacturers to increase their R&D speed.

My guess is that Miljöpartiet is suggesting this moronic tax increase to satisfy their bitter, car-hating core voters. There simply is no other explanation.