May 13, 2005

Liberal exec was 'racist,' Gomery inquiry told CBC - Newfoundland & Labrador - Former Liberal party fundraiser Beryl Wajsman, alleged to have engaged in illicit fundraising practices, shot back at his accuser Friday, calling him a racist. Daniel Dezainde, the former director general of the Liberal party's Quebec wing, told the sponsorship inquiry that he fired Wajsman in 2001. But Wajsman told the inquiry on Friday that he quit the party because Dezainde was intolerant. "He was a racist," said Wajsman, who is Jewish.  9:19:24 PM

CTV Mystery girl in child porn case found safe CTV, Canada - A girl who has been the object of a continent-wide child pornography investigation has been found and is reported to be safe. The young girl, believed to be around the age of 11 or 12, has been located in a foster home in the Pittsburgh area. The man who police believe responsible for taking sexually explicit photos of the girl is serving a 15-year sentence in a U.S. federal prison -- but no further details about the alleged perpetrator were released. 9:16:18 PM

Blogs are advertising: Elections B.C. CBC News - Elections B.C. is having a hard time keeping up with a boom of bloggers who are publishing partisan messages during the current election campaign. They're supposed to register themselves as advertising sponsors if they post a partisan position on a candidate, party, or referendum question. "Under the Election Act, it will fall within the definition of election advertising, and we would ask them to register," says Jennifer Miller, of Elections B.C. Miller says the volume of sites is overwhelming, and doesn’t rule out asking for a change to the Election Act. "If we feel certain parts of the act can be amended to make it more effective and efficient, we will definitely make that recommendation," she says. That's not sitting well with bloggers like Mike Culpepper of Nelson, whose website advocates the "no" side of the referendum on the single transferable vote. He says Elections B.C.'s definition of blogs as advertising is akin to calling a letter to the editor advertising. And he says that going after bloggers sends a chill over the right to free speech. "If you start looking on each person as an advertiser, then you begin to suppress political debate." In the meantime, Culpepper says other bloggers who have asked Elections B.C. for guidelines are being told to register as advertisers - so he's decided not to ask. 10:50:26 AM

Gomery revelations hit new lows Montreal Gazette, Canada -This week's testimony by the former director of the federal Liberal Party's Quebec organization has laid bare the festering mess at the heart of the the sponsorship scandal. The director, Daniel Dezainde, testified that Jacques Corriveau, a close friend of former prime minister Jean Chretien, told him that he collected kickbacks from advertising agencies. The money from the kickbacks went to the Liberal Party and into Corriveau's own pocket. 9:30:49 AM

Wi-Fi Net access proves fast, but it's also vulnerable Arizona Daily Star -  A drive around the block with a wireless-equipped laptop computer is all it takes to realize how ubiquitous Wi-Fi high-speed Internet access is - and how vulnerable it is to hackers.   Wi-Fi, which stands for Wireless Fidelity, is a high-speed computer networking technology widely used for wireless home and business networks. The technology has spawned a surge in mobile Internet surfing via free and fee-based public Wi-Fi access points, or "hotspots."   Wi-Fi has freed computer users from wires at home and on the road, but that freedom comes at increased risk of attack, experts say, as unsecured Wi-Fi networks have become a favorite target for hackers. UPDATE: I was just on CJOB Radio with Larry Updike, and Brian Barkley talking about this.  I am getting a few emails asking for advice on how to secure their wireless routers.  You can email me here.  If you are in Winnipeg, and would want me to come out, and do this for you, just ask. 6:45:20 AM