Volume 2, Issue 15 July 6 - July 19, 2000

THOMAS: The U.S. Congress on the Internet
thomas.loc.gov

This is an excellent site that has a variety of ways to look for current and past legislation. There are three proposed statutes for trademark registration on the Internet: Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection, Trademark Cyberpiracy Prevention Act, and Domain Name Piracy Prevention Act of 1999. These bills act to protect consumers and promote electronic commerce by prohibiting the bad-faith registration, traffick-ing or use of Internet domain names that are identical or similar to distinctive trade-marks or service marks (i.e. www.cokeacola.com and www.coke.com).

Spam Laws
www.spamlaws.com/us.html

This site features legislation on both the state and federal level. On our state level, The Colorado Junk Email Law, enacted in June 2000, prohibits the sending of unsolicited commercial e-mail that uses a third party's Internet address or domain name without permission, or contains false or missing routing information. Unsolicited commercial e-mail messages must contain a label at the beginning of the subject line, and must include the sender's e-mail address and opt-out instructions; opt-out requests must be honored. The law applies to e-mail that is sent to Colorado residents via a provider's service or equipment located in Colorado.

Center for Democracy & Technology
www.cdt.org/legislation/

This site is very informative if you are looking for legislation affecting the Internet. The Internet Integrity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2000 increases penalties for computer crimes and eliminates the threshold for federal prosecution. It also makes fraudulent access to personal information a crime. As of May 25 this hearing has been put on hold to hear Center for Democracy and Technology testimony.

The Blue Ribbon Campaign for Online Free Speech
www.eff.org/blueribbon/

Big Brother is watching! The Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act makes it illegal to share information about growing hemp, even for industrial purposes. purposes. Not only does it criminalize speech, it makes it illegal to even link to sites with these types of articles, and gives the government power to order sites censored and shut down without due process of law. It gives the DEA and the FBI the right to order ISPs to close down a site on a police judgement call, without notice to the owner, with-out an order from a court. The government could enter your home or office with a warrant, search or copy files from your com-puter, and not tell you (secret searches) until months later. Another section of this bill removes the responsibility of the government to give an inventory of what was seized. This provision violates the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments. To fight this proposed bill, which has already passed through the first stage of approval, contact your local representative.

On a lighter note...

Eaton Bear's Spy Cam
members.xoom.com/SkipRhoades/

Okay, see if this freaks any of you out. The cam image is of some guy sitting in front of his monitor sans shirt. That's not the scary part. Check out what appears to be a hundred or so videotapes on a bookshelf right behind him. Sex, lies, and web cam tapes?

The Ashtray Cam
www.ashtraycam.com/

Looking for a place to put your butt? Welcome to the big cyber ashtray ... no mess, no smell. And they even leave the lights on for you.

Cathouse Web Cam
www.lisaviolet.com/camera/webcam.html

No, it is not that kind of cathouse! Oddly enough, you would not believe how many web cams there are dedicated to viewing cats. What better way to keep an eye on your pets (or kids for that matter) than a dedicated web cam nanny? I see the future, and it is a streaming live feed web cam system in every room of the house.

The Nerdman Show
www.nerdman.com/

This computer nerd has cameras all over the place, six home cams and 12 office cams. You can see the nerd at his desk, with his nerd baby, or visit the nerd cat taking a dump in its litter box. One observation: nerds aren't very clean.

The Amazing CAM CAM
www.albionweb.com/peter/camcam.htm

This is an excellent play on words. A cam cam ... how much more witty can one get?

Buzz TV
www.vintagetype.com/BuzZ/buzztv.html

Have you ever been inspired to watch grass grow? Over at the Buzz TV site you are invited to sit and watch grass seed sprout into a lush green lawn. However, the web cam is not positioned on a patch of dirt, but oddly enough on the side on some dude's head. I am wondering if this is really an ad for hair growth products for men. Maybe the guy in the picture is the hair-club president?

Tarantula Cam
www.timburke.com/

Welcome to the home of Don the Tarantula. This could be an extremely cool site. However, Don has been in the same position since June 26 and the graphics on the page distract from the lovely Chilean Rose Tarantula. I think if the creator needs to use a still photo, it should be of Don eating a grasshopper or a small rodent much more appealing to the kids.

The Pythor Web Cam
www.midcoast.com/~rickw/Pythorcam.html

Who is this guy kidding? He looks like a potential X-File and if that isn't enough ... Pythor? Be afraid ... be very afraid!

Rocky Mountain Cam
www.rvinteractive.com/CDROMS/mountain.html

Can't see the mountains from your window? Now you cam. This site has some really awesome pictures. Today's image: snow-capped mountains with partly cloudy blue skies. I think I'll head up for a hike ...

Oval Office Cam
free.prohosting.com/~thumbs/ovalcam1.html

This is great, especially if you are not a big Clinton supporter. You can see Hillary, Bill, and guests in action in the Oval Office. Stick around long enough and you might get a show. I especially liked the image of the dog taking a crap on the official presidential seal.

Until next time ... surf nude in front of your web cam, and be sure to smile. .