There is an online petition set up for Julie Amero, appealing to the state and local prosecutors to withdraw all charges against her and end the nightmare that has been the last 3 1/2 years of her life. Click here to sign it.

Even though it’s been 13 months since Judge Strackbein set aside the verdict against her, it’s not enough. She should be completely exonerated of the charges, and the only way for that to happen is for the prosecutors to formally drop all charges against her. If they don’t go on record with this, Julie will suffer the way she did earlier this year, when she was fired by her employer after someone left a copy of Rick Green’s New Year’s editorial on her supervisor’s desk, and others pressured her employer to fire the woman who “showed porn to kids”.

This is the stigma she lives with, despite concrete, irrefutable evidence that she was the victim of sloppy network maintenance and multiple malware infestations. Please, sign the petition, and tell these prosecutors the time has come to give Julie Amero the justice she deserves.

Unlike Julie Amero, Michael Fiola won’t face criminal charges for possession of child pornography. But that doesn’t make his case any less egregious, or his life any different today. It doesn’t give him his job back, restore his reputation, or the harm that’s been done as a result of yet another ignorant leap to the wrong conclusion.

Michael Fiola worked for the Department of Industrial Accidents in Massachusetts. On November 20, 2006, Fiola was issued a laptop for use in connection with his field work as an accident investigator. In March, 2007 the laptop was seized and Fiola was subsequently fired from his job for possession of child pornography. The case was also referred to the DA for prosecution.

This time, however, the laptop was examined by a qualified forensic examiner, Tami Loehrs. Her examination and analysis of the laptop concluded the following:

1. The laptop was infected with at least 5 serious viruses and Trojans that caused the computer to be compromised for at least 4 1/2 months — longer than Fiola had possession of the laptop.
2. The Symantec antivirus software installed was outdated and not functioning properly from day one.
3. The Systems management software wasn’t installed properly, so no network monitoring or updates were being pushed to the laptop.
4. Mr. Fiola not only wasn’t responsible for the pornography, he probably didn’t even know about it.

Of course, the DIA didn’t take kindly to the allegation that this was all their fault, and in a fashion similar to Julie Amero’s prosecution, said that with their 3-hour examination of the hard drive and the assumption that one has to DO something in order to initiate such activity it was clearly Fiola’s fault and so he should be fired, he should not get his job back, and he should suffer the stigma of being a kiddie porn downloader for the rest of his life.

This is outrageous. Beyond outrageous. You can read Loehrs’ report yourself. The investigator for the DIA climbs up on his high horse and makes the usual specious statements about how “the network is monitored carefully” and that “the user has to do something to have pornography downloaded, it just doesn’t download itself”, indicating that he has absolutely zero knowledge of how Trojans and viruses work. In fact, one of the times the laptop had activity was a time where Fiola was out for the evening without the laptop. Loehrs hammers home the responsibility of the network administrator here:

It is their opinion that Michael Fiola must be responsible for the activity because it was only happening when he possessed the Laptop out in the field. How else could viruses, Trojans and hackers attack a Laptop? The Laptop must be turned on for the viruses and Trojans to execute or for a hacker to gain access to it. Therefore, the Laptop could only be compromised when Michael Fiola had the Laptop turned on and he typically had the Laptop turned on when he was in the field. He did not need the Laptop at the office because he had a desktop computer at the office, therefore the Laptop was not compromised during those times. In addition, viruses and Trojans typically need some event to occur in order to trigger their execution. For example, when the Internet browser is opened, it may trigger the downloader to download a back door which in turn allows the hacker to gain access. Therefore, when Michael Fiola opens his Internet browser to access a work-related website, checks his email or logs into the DIA mainframe, the trigger is pulled, the virus or Trojan begins its attack and the activity subsequently appears to be caused by Michael Fiola.

Her indictment of their disingenuity is no less scathing:

If the DIA had reviewed the Symanec logs, they would have discovered the numerous viruses and Trojans attacking the Laptop for four and a half months without resolution; that log files were missing or incomplete; that virus definition downloads were failing; that virus scans were only taking 30 seconds to complete. If the DIA had reviewed the SMS logs they would have discovered the numerous errors that began the moment Michael Fiola received the Laptop thereby leaving the Laptop unmonitored and unmaintained for four and a half months. If the DIA had reviewed the temporary Internet files they would have discovered suspicious activity occurring day after day including the appearance of pornography with no preceding event; websites being cached to the hard drive at the rate of 20 to 40 per minute; JavaScript files with malicious code. What should have been a “red flag” to Mr. Glennon and the IT department when they found the Verizon wireless data usage to be four and a half times that of any other user is that the Laptop may have been compromised by a virus, Trojan or hacker.

According to the Boston Herald article, the Fiolas intend to sue the DIA for the destruction of his reputation, career and life. His attorney has a good grasp of the big picture:

“Imagine this scenario: Your employer gives you a ticking time bomb full of child porn, and then you get fired, and then you get prosecuted as some kind of freak,” he railed.

This is happening to many, many people. The combined arrogance of in-house IT folks who don’t want to admit they screwed up someone’s computer and someone’s life and the ignorance of many who investigate on the employers’ behalf leaves real people behind, bankrupt and ostracized.

I hope Mr. Fiola succeeds in his efforts to hold the TRUE culprits available. And I hope Julie Amero is given a new trial, or better yet, has the charges dropped against her. Both are victims of something they could not control, and both found themselves at the mercy of IT administrators’ arrogance (or ignorance), and hot zeal to hand out punishment for it, whether or not the responsible party was punished.

If you know of anyone who has found themselves in a similar situation and are in need of assistance, send them to The Julie Group blog for assistance.

h/t Alex Eckelberry - Sunbelt Blog

Kathy Sierra, meet Kevin Leitch. I think the two of you have much in common.

I especially hate trolls that threaten children. There’s a special place reserved in hell for those morons.

Kevin Leitch is shutting down his wonderful autism blog (Left Brain/Right Brain) after troll John Best did a number on his little seven year old daughter, including assuming her identity and encouraging others to do the same.

John Best is a rabid anti-vaxxer. And when I say rabid, I mean foaming-at-the-mouth-in-your-face-what-an-asshole kind of rabid. For some samples of his spew, click here.

Kevin writes:

Let me be clear. I do not care one iota what this cowardly idiot thinks of me. He can write whatever he wants. But he has involved my daughter. Not to reference her progression. Not to quote me. But to laugh at her and to put words in her seven year old mouth.

I genuinely fear for her safety at the hands of this person (I will refrain from calling someone who picks on children ‘a man’). Three days running he has posted blog entries about her, two of which assume her identity and one of which is attempting to gain money in her name. I do not know where he would stop. Therefore the only way to make her safe is to remove us from his presence.

I cannot tell you how angry this makes me. This goes so far beyond disagreement over issues and into the realm of mental illness that it’s impossible to understand. You differ with someone, then exchange opinions. But involving their kids is a tactic which leaves them with absolutely no choice but to be silent, because no one with half a brain is willing to exchange the right to speak on the Internet with their child’s safety.

At the same time…

I’m not sure how Kevin shutting down his blog will silence Mr. Loony-Tunes-Anti-Vaxxer Best, since he was conducting much of his mischief on his own blog and can continue to do so. The only one silenced here has been Kevin Leitch.

When I wrote about anonymity here and here, this was precisely the problem I was referring to. The law-abiders — even anonymous ones — give a route to a contact point. But the ones who really just want to destroy ideas, people and reputations online can find any number of shitholes to hide in, just like Mr. John Best is doing.

What Kevin Leitch ought to do is track down Mr. Best and his provider, get a good lawyer and sue the hell out of them. I don’t know what UK laws allow and don’t allow, but I’m sure there is some provision in there for harassing children (like child abuse laws, maybe????), harassing adults, identity theft, and the other juicy and expensive violations of the law that Mr. Best is engaging in.

When a parent fears for his daughter’s safety AND identity (Mr. Best was evidently soliciting donations in Mr. Leitch’s daughter’s name…), AND that daughter is a young girl who doesn’t even use the Internet, it’s time to take action. I’m just not sure pulling excellent and credible information off the Internet to give someone with a shrill, ugly dangerous voice his way is the right way to do it.

So I went over to see what Mr. Best (aka Fore Sam) was doing on his blog. Oh, here are some gems, which I will copy but absolutely won’t link to.

Posted 9/16/07:

I have people question me once in a while about why I’m so rude to the neurodiverse. Some don’t think it’s fair that I bash these bastards constantly. Maybe those people should reread the posts here concerning the fraud by Baggs, Williams and Andrews. Them they should consider liars like Chew and Gorski. And, if that doesn’t help convince them that neurodiversity is just a sham to support drug company poisoning of babies, they should talk to some people whose kids have improved after being treated by Dr Geier who is bashed non-stop by neuroinsanity’s K Seidel. Seidel has dug up all sorts of junk that she portrays as “dirty laundry” but conveniently forgets to mention the improvement in Dr Geier’s patients. That sounds like a lie to me.

Posted 9/12/07:

Here’s another crock of shit from some conman claiming to have Asperger’s named William Stillman. This son of a bitch is using God to lie to parents, touting autism as a gift from God. He uses the spooky music in his video while he tells people there is no cure for autism.

Autism was caused by Eli Lilly not bothering to test thimerosal properly in 1929. Put that in your books, your videos and your speaking engagements you scumbag!!!

Posted today, in comments to his post celebrating the closure of RB/LB:

Justa Mom to 3,
I wouldn’t be surprised if Leitch didn’t even have a kid and used a tape of somebody else’s kid to further his deranged agenda. All these ND’s have to be mentally ill.

Should this kind of crap be allowed without any accountability? I say no. Google ought to shut down his blog, cache the whole thing so he can’t destroy evidence and Kevin Leitch should then subpoena them for records so that he can hold this thug accountable for the crap he spews not only about Leitch’s daughter, but respected doctors who don’t agree with him about his rabid anti-vax stance, therapists who are critical (and rightly so) of his whack-brained theories, as well as every professional he has slandered, libeled and otherwise smeared in the name of so-called free speech.

Incredible.

Technorati Tags: kevin leitch, john best, autism, antivax, cyberbullying, cyberbullies, internet,

Judge Strikes Down Part of Patriot Act

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge struck down parts of the revised USA Patriot Act on Thursday, saying investigators must have a court’s approval before they can order Internet providers to turn over records without telling customers.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero said the government orders must be subject to meaningful judicial review and that the recently rewritten Patriot Act “offends the fundamental constitutional principles of checks and balances and separation of powers.”

This is huge, not only because it puts the reins on the utter abuse of our right to privacy, but also because the court’s ruling clearly stated that requiring disclosure of records without informing the individual is a violation of Constitutional rights.

Unless Congress plans to repeal the Constitution, this ruling more or less ends any hope they have for covert review of citizens’ telephone records. Three cheers for the rule of law!

Technorati Tags: Patriot Act, privacy, constitution, rights

Back in June I wrote about Stephan Orsak’s unfortunate encounter with the Minneapolis Airport Police. They were unreasonable, hostile and made the LA Sheriff’s Department look like friendly grandparents. (For those of you unfamiliar with LA Sheriffs, they’re pretty notorious for being a rough, tough, and sometimes brutal police force).

Now I’m listening to the tape of Senator Craig being interviewed after his so-called “solicitation” of an undercover cop and I’m absolutely incredulous. This cop is completely out of line. I haven’t heard anything on this tape that would suggest he did anything improper or toward soliciting sex from anyone. Now I realize there are some nuances with regard to how signals are sent and read, but try as I might, I’m having a great deal of difficulty understanding why he pled guilty to anything at all!

One thing I do know: That cop was trying to bully him into confessing to something he didn’t do in a similar fashion to what was done to Orsak. I suppose Sen. Craig should count himself lucky that he wasn’t tossed to the ground and hog-tied.

With that said, this is a political hot potato because members of Craig’s own party insist on making it one. If they’d just lay off the wholesale condemnation of gays and lesbians, this would be complete non-news. Instead, the guy’s entire career is on the line over a trumped-up charge which surely appears to be manufactured by a heavy-handed airport cop.

Craig didn’t do anyone a favor by pleading guilty when there’s no evidence he did anything. He should’ve stood up and fought back, even if he DID try to solicit sex in the restroom. It was his word against the cop’s, no money was exchanged, no sex was had…so what would they possibly convict him of? This tape proves absolutely nothing. But by pleading guilty and giving up his right to defend himself against this charge, he sent the message to the cops that all they need to do is bully people into admitting something they didn’t do.

Someone needs to look hard at these Minneapolis Airport cops. These two incidents seem to be indicators of a systemic attitude problem desperately in need of adjustment.

Technorati Tags: larry craig, stephan orsak, minneapolis, airport, airport security, airport police, railroad

After I posted about the Eldest’s situation last night, my friend Liz Ditz picked up on it and dug very deep. She’s updating it periodically as she finds more information. 

Read Liz’ post first, then come back to this one.  Her post has many great links to media, news and consumer feedback about this.  Mine is intended to debunk the GoFirstline.com website, which is one of the recruiting tools they use for college students. It is a site I spent much time on back in April when he first chose to spend his summer working toward being “the prodigy”.  (jeeeez, what a lying sack of s**t these people are).

Starting with their “opportunity” page, where they outline the top 10 reasons to work for them in “summer sales” (a euphemism for indentured servitude), debunked, one at a time:

Lie #1: The claim that “working with hundreds of potential customers” will give students “invaluable skills and real world experience“.

Reality: The only experience gained is in the art of deception.  The students are trained to make a scripted sales presentation of a ‘future product’ by telling customers they’re getting all of the hardware free if they’ll just allow the Firstline sign in their front yard.  Sounds pretty good, right?  And the system is soooo much better than what they already have because they can control everything from their cell phone.   They can be thousands of miles away and know who is entering and/or exiting their home with this system.  The only “real world skill” they’re taught by the company is how to deceive potential customers by playing on their fear and waving technology around like a magic wand, for the low, low fee of $45/month, minimum.

Lie #2: The claim that “This job, like no other, will jump start your career.” Make the call on this lie after reading Liz’ post and related links.  They are not licensed in many of the states they’re marketing in, they are sending kids out door to door in neighborhoods that are…well, less than desirable, they are associating those kids’ good and unblemished name with a company and product built on the foundation of lies and deception.  I’d say the only jumpstarting of careers here would be to the biggest liars.  Oh, and the students are expected to use their own resources to sell the product, most notably, their own cell phones.

Lies #3 & #4: When the heavy financial burden is eliminated, you can focus on your studies, social life and in the end you come you get even more out of your college experience. and Most students end up paying their tuition with student loans that can follow them for years.

I combined these because they play on the same theme - this idea that working for Frontline(Freudian slip) FirstLine for one summer could generate enough income for students to pay for their education and free them from student loans.  This is an especially ugly lie, because it preys on the students most in need of real financial assistance to get through school — the ones who are not receiving help from parents, who are working part-time jobs to pay for their living expenses and tuition, and who are barely making ends meet. 

Reality: For 10+ weeks, they are clumped together in a “team” with a “manager” and dropped into neighborhoods where they’re expected to sell at least one unit per day to meet their quotas.  To make the kind of money they promise here, these kids would have to sell upwards of 4-5 per day on a door-to-door basis.  Selling means having a customer buy the service and get past the 3-day free look without terminating the agreement.

LIe #5: You will have the opportunity to expand your horizons by working in cities across the US.

Reality: Ask yourself this question:  If you were a student and wanted to travel to cities across the US, would you choose Fresno, Clovis, and Hayward in July?  What exactly would be the purpose of travel to those cities?  You don’t get a choice — you’re dropped where they drop you and screw you if it’s a crummy territory.   With apologies to residents of Fresno — I wouldn’t choose it as my top travel destination.

Lie #6: Work hard at Firstline and you will enjoy awesome weekly incentives.

Reality:  Not exactly. Noobs are brought in on a $250/week draw, but they have to give back $150/week to cover their housing expenses, so they have $100/week to live on until they start selling the systems.  At the time they start making sales, they get approximately $250 per sale on a contract worth $1500.  Those incentives don’t kick in unless you’re selling lots and lots more than that, and actually CLOSING them, which is something that doesn’t get done by the kids selling.  As soon as they have an interested customer they call them into the central office (presumably in Utah) for the close. 

Lie #7: If you prove yourself this summer you will be invited to attend special training meetings, go on the Firstline Cruise, and maybe even be invited to attend our tropical retreat.

Reality:  There are weekly and daily “pump-you-up” meetings conducted by regional managers intended to keep flagging enthusiasm from waning entirely because they drop these kids onto the streets for 10 hours per day, six days per week with the full expectation that they will walk from door to door knocking and making sales.  The only time there’s been any sort of ’special training’ was when the EVP flew in and shut down their Fresno operation, relocating them mid-week and at night to Northern California.  Sounds more like fleeing the local authorities than it does any kind of ’special training’.

Lie #8: Being part of Firstline’s management team allows you to hone your leadership skills while enjoying a great salary, car allowance, and other perks.

Reality: They are expected to use their own cell phones to close the sales.  This has cost my kid $1800 for one month’s usage.  His ‘regional manager’ was just switched from salaried employee to contract employee, forget about those magical management bonuses.  Despite promises in the beginning of stock incentives and other possibilities, nothing has materialized and nothing has been mentioned.  However, he hasn’t been paid for the past two weeks, either.

Lie #9, and it’s a whopper: We focus on continuous learning, personal development, and provide the tools to help you achieve your goals. (From the “opportunity” page)

Reality:  They are not given business cards, brochures, or anything that might actually associate them with the company other than contracts and shirts with logos.   Why?  My personal belief is that they are unlicensed for direct sales in many of the states in which they’re having the students direct sell.  If they had actual sales material, they’d have to include a license number which they do not have.  By having no written material and putting their logo on the sales reps as a form of identification, they circumvent the direct sales requirements of individual areas.  This is a theory:  I haven’t got enough facts to prove it.  Yet. 

Lie #10: Your earning potential is unlimited.

I saved this one for last because it is the most blatant lie of all. Of COURSE it’s limited. It’s limited by time, placement, and the product itself. These kids are being asked to sell air. The emperor has no clothes here. They’re basically out there to ask people to ‘allow the installation of this great new product’, get them to agree to ‘display the sign in their front yard’, and pay ‘a nominal maintenance fee’. AND (this is the real kicker), they’re expected to actually go into the home to evaluate installation points for the sensors.

Think about the utter improbability of that. Here’s a guy making a sales pitch with a foundation of fear — you could be robbed, you could be raped, you could be terrorized in your own home.  After that, would YOU let them come inside YOUR home to ‘evaluate it for security access points’ and then agree to a 3-year contract at $45.00 per month? Making a statement/promise of unlimited income is somewhat akin to promising lifelong happiness…it’s a pipe dream and one that’s especially ugly in light of what they really expect these kids to do.

Worst of all, they manipulate these students by suggesting that they will only succeed if they have an “I WILL NOT QUIT” attitude. That means that even when their instincts are sending off bells and whistles, they are expected to ignore those good instincts and ethics because to acknowledge them would brand them as ‘quitters’, something that none of us wish to be. 

I just had a two-hour conversation tonight with the Eldest.  The first hour was spent reassuring him that he wasn’t an idiot; that he had been LIED TO, and when one is evaluating lies, it’s impossible to make sound judgments because there are no facts.  When I did the research on this back in April, there were no complaints to find — there wasn’t even a NAMED COMPANY, because it was all marketed through “The Prodigy” promise of a shot at reality TV.

If you want to see the extent of the lies, check out their Partners Page.  I did.  Honeywell, GE, Dish Network, ADT.  All large, successful, well-branded companies.  And they emphasize the GE relationship above all.  Why?  I believe it’s because GE is the parent of NBC, giving legitimacy to the claim that the so-called reality show is legit.  The truth is, Firstline is a reseller of Honeywell, ADT, Dish Network and GE services.  That’s the complete extent of the so-called ‘partnership’.  Instead of eliminating the middleman as they claim, they ARE the middleman.

If you are a student contemplating this as a summer gig: Run, don’t walk to your nearest Starbucks and fill out an application there, where they actually give benefits to part-timers and operate above-board and legitimately.  Anything other than this, which is a scam and a lie.

If you are a student who has been involved in this so-called reality show scam, I’d like to hear from you. I found Michael J’s blog tonight — he and some others left this week.  Interesting that both he and the Eldest used the term “sold my soul” in relation to their work with this company.  Here’s my retort:  You didn’t sell your souls, they were stolen for awhile by liars and thieves.  The day you walked away was the day you got them back.

The Eldest is on his way home.  We’ll sort things out together when he arrives tomorrow.  For now I’m pulling down the photo I have up of him on the “about” page to protect his identity until this is all sorted out down the line.

Update: Holy crap, they are licensed in California and the agent for service of legal process in this state is right here in Camarillo. Good lord.

Tags: firstline, the prodigy, student scams, college students, sales, deceptive marketing

Writing “I love Alex” on a school gymnasium wall brought a 12-year-old the same punishment as if she had made terrorist threats.

The Katy Independent School District rated the message, written with a baby blue marker by sixth-grader Shelby Sendelbach, as a Level 4 infraction _ the same as for threats, drug possession and assault.

Link

I wonder what they’d do about the Google Wall of Ideas?

Technorati Tags: legalism, school, punishment, ideas, creativity

At least, that seems to be the case in Minnesota.  A friend sent an email about Stephan Orsak today and his story is also on BoingBoing. The photo to your right is Stephan Orsak with his bicycle. Orsak, a professional violinist, chose to ride his bicycle away from the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, on his way to visiting his daughter and grandchildren.

After being stopped by airport police for no apparent reason, having a discussion with them about his choice to ride a bike instead of driving, and receiving several sets of conflicting instructions from them, he was thrown to the ground, tasered twice, and had his glasses crushed in the process. Rather than re-telling his story, I’ll point you toward the relevant documents, which I read before I wrote this. They are:

1. Orsak’s story, in his own words. Be sure to read through the comments for an idea of the diverse perspectives on whether or not the charges were justified. Some will scare you. What should scare you is knowing that such attitudes are not unusual in today’s US of A.
2. Full Police Report/Narratives of the Incident
3. Motion to Dismiss/Legal Arguments
4. Links to photos, maps, route and related stories
5. MN Bicycle Laws - Note that bicyclists are expected by law to ride on the road, respect traffic laws, and ride as close to the right as possible.
6. MN Vehicle Laws

Jury selection begins for his trial on July 16th.

Some commenters on Orsak’s blogspot site seem to think that riding a bike is a “hobby”, instead of a legitimate mode of transportation. This follows on a trend I’ve seen more and more of lately — the bike-hating public, who thinks that people on bikes are some kind of perverse sector of society (yes, one commenter even said that Orsak was ‘gay and perverse’ — their words, not mine — for riding his bike) who live to make life difficult for the ‘righteous ones’ in auto-mo-biles.

I rode a bike as my primary mode of transportation all the way through high school and college. I didn’t get a drivers’ license until I was 18, and only then because not having it would have inconvenienced my mother. I rode to school, to work, to parks and to the beach, 20 miles or more away. I rode on the same streets that you drive on, fully cognizant that I had a duty to abide by the rules of the road, yield to other vehicles and signal my intentions just as they did. This was before bike lanes were the norm and somehow we all managed to get along.

Somewhere through the years, it became a “hobby”? When, exactly, was that? I gave it up when I was nearly run down by a guy in a big truck and I had The Eldest in a child seat on it. Inhabiting the same road as the big boys carried too much risk for me to put my child on a bike and ride on the same streets which had felt so safe to me as a child.

In these days of $3+/gallon gas, why are we making targets out of bicyclists? And when did we start living in a country where someone riding a bike, posing no threat to the officers (by their own account there was no gesture worthy of a taser hit, much less the rest of it), breaking NO LAW, can be treated in such a shameful fashion?

This is another ‘get the word out’ kind of thing. Orsak shouldn’t be charged with anything, much less six counts of trumped-up self-justificatory pseudocrap intended to cover up unfair, unlawful and unjust acts on the part of the airport police.

Ordinarily, this is where I’d qualify my post by saying I’m sure most police officers are wonderful, law-abiding citizens. I’m not sure I think that anymore. It seems that the paranoia and apathy of recent years, combined with paranoid leadership are encouraging the good guys to become the bad guys.

Technorati Tags: stephen orsak, orsak, bicycling, minneapolis, police state, police action, injustice