Here on RTFA, we’ve been following the “printer yellow dots” story for some time… and it seems like other people have been, as well. I was tipped off to a really great project that has been trying for MONTHS to get Lexmark to confirm their yellow dots, and the punchline is that they DID confirm it, they’re not stopping the yellow dots program, and they’ll give you a refund if you complain enough.

Brahm’s blog has turned out a lot of new findings, and it’s a wealth of information. Great work! …and definitely check it out. I’ve linked to the final post in the series, but I recommend reading through all of them.

RTFA: http://brahmsyellowdots.blogspot.com/2009/02/end-o…

I am happy, however, that I jumped through all of these hoops and produced some consumer-centred documentation on how to pursue manufacturers (or at very least, Lexmark) if you are dissatisfied with the forensic dot technology.

It’s my hope that people can find these pages useful, and that during my five-month consumer rights crusade I contributed something useful to this particular issue.

Here’s a short summary of my most useful learnings:

1. ALL Lexmark colour laser printers have this tracking dot technology. It’s probably accurate to say that any modern colour laser printer you buy will have it as well.
2. You CANNOT disable this technology, at least not by any practical means. It’s deeply embedded in the hardware of the printer, don’t bother trying!
3. Entry-level tech support does NOT know that this technology exists. Don’t even try to get help from them, though you may end up with free photoconductor.
4. Lexmark Canada and Lexmark International (based in the USA) both have Privacy Offices:
USA:
privacy@lexmark.com
Privacy Mailbox
740 West New Circle Road
Lexington, Kentucky 40550
U.S.A

Canada:
canadaprivacy@lexmark.com
Attention: Privacy Officer Inc.
50 Leek Crescent
Richmond Hill, ON
L4B 4J3
5. 1-800-663-7662 is a verified and often-not-published phone number for Canadian Support, according to Google it is a link to their Service Dispatch team.
6. Suzanne Deland in the Canadian office may be able to help you, if you call 1-905-763-5544. This number doesn’t show up on Google or Yahoo.
7. If you are persistant, a refund of your printer is definitely possible. You just have to keep poking around until you get in touch with the right people – while I had terrible luck contacting Lexmark by phone, I had excellent luck contacting them by snail mail.

So, that’s it! Good luck with your own consumer battles, and thanks for reading! If you leave me a comment, I can and will respond to it, but I expect this to be my last post on this issue.

RTFA: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2009/…

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release January 21, 2009

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: Freedom of Information Act

…

The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails. The Government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears. Nondisclosure should never be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed to serve. In responding to requests under the FOIA, executive branch agencies (agencies) should act promptly and in a spirit of cooperation, recognizing that such agencies are servants of the public.

All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.

The presumption of disclosure also means that agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public. They should not wait for specific requests from the public. All agencies should use modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their Government. Disclosure should be timely.

I direct the Attorney General to issue new guidelines governing the FOIA to the heads of executive departments and agencies, reaffirming the commitment to accountability and transparency, and to publish such guidelines in the Federal Register.

Speaking as a scientist, free flowing information is the picture of pure beauty.

RTFA: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7841580.st…

China has censored parts of the new US president’s inauguration speech that have appeared on a number of websites.

Live footage of the event on state television also cut away from Barack Obama when communism was mentioned.

China’s leaders appear to have been upset by references to facing down communism and silencing dissent.

English-language versions of the speech have been allowed on the internet, but many of the Chinese translations have omitted sensitive sections.

Selective editing

China keeps a firm grip on the country’s media outlets and censors their news reports as a matter of routine.

Like the rest of the world, it has been keenly following developments in the United States; President Obama’s inauguration was front page news.

But the authorities seem not to want ordinary Chinese people to read the full, unexpurgated version of the president’s speech.

RTFA: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7836854.st…

Australian writer Harry Nicolaides has been sentenced to three years in a Thai jail for insulting the monarchy.

Nicolaides wrote a novel four years ago, which contained a brief passage referring to an unnamed crown prince. It sold just seven copies.

He admitted the charge of insulting the royal family, but said he was unaware he was committing an offence.

Thailand’s monarchy is sheltered from public debate by some of the world’s most stringent “lese-majeste” laws.

It looks like the Thai Monarch is itching for some good ole fashion American satire… any takers?

What is amazing about the following story is the reaction of key Canadian religious figures to it. First, we begin with the background and a brief synopsis of reaction in the US and Britain, then we’ll move to reactions of Canadian religious figures, and close with the reactions to similar ads run in Washington D.C. and Italy:

RTFA: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM…

The atheist slogan, “There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life,” may soon be coming to subways and buses in Canada’s largest city.

The Toronto-based Freethought Association of Canada, inspired by a campaign that has plastered British buses with the phrase, has contacted the private firm that handles ads on the Toronto Transit Commission to see if the message would violate any rules. Organizers plan to launch a fundraising page on the website atheistbus.ca in the next few days.

The British campaign, which has inspired similar moves in Washington, Barcelona and Madrid, has sparked complaints to the country’s advertising authority and a backlash from the evangelical group Christian Voice, which has proclaimed that Britain is in “deep sin.”

Now for how Canadian religious groups are taking it:

Neil MacCarthy, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, said it was difficult to comment on ads that he hasn’t seen.

“The reality is that organized religion is often an easy target,” he said. “… At the same time, this type of campaign would likely generate discussion and dialogue around faith. And that can be a healthy thing, as long as it is done respectfully.”

The moderator of the United Church of Canada, Right Rev. David Giuliano, said he would rather see atheists say what they believe in, rather than what they are against.

But, pointing out that his church also uses advertising, he said he has some sympathy with the impetus behind the ads.

…

Mohamed Elmasry, founder of the Canadian Islamic Congress, said he had no problem with the ads: “They have a system of belief like anybody else, and they are entitled to live with this system and also propagate it among others.”

…

TTC vice-chairman Joe Mihevc, a former Christian theologian who has long sat on the ad-review committee, said he would welcome the atheist ads: “What better place to have one of the key theological, philosophical debates of our time but on public transit?”

Not a single religious group quoted said the Atheists were all damned to Hell and/or shouldn’t be allowed to post the ads. That’s a freakin’ enlightened society! I almost couldn’t believe these quotes when I read them. For me, anyway, this story is almost more interesting for the reactions of Canadian religious authorities than the ad campaign itself.

For a little comparison, here’s an article discussing the way people in the US reacted to a similar campaign being launched in Washington DC:

RTFA: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica…

[The American Humanist Association] launched our Washington DC advertising campaign on November 11 with the slogan “Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake.” The venue was the sides, rears and insides of 230 of the city’s buses. News coverage of the campaign generated an outpouring of phone calls and e-mails, mostly negative. The largest number came directly to us but hundreds of complaints also came to Metro, the government entity that handles the city’s buses and subways. One of the complainers expressed a wish (or perhaps a prayer): “May all your atheist buses break down!”

The sudden high volume of visitors to our special campaign website www.whybelieveinagod.org crashed our server twice. Soon, the conservative talkshow hosts were clamouring to give us air time so they could argue against us and further rouse their audience. And conservative Christian organisations not only denounced our efforts but encouraged their flocks to come bleat in our ears. All this before our bus ads actually started to appear one week later.

UPDATE: Similar ads banned in Genoa, Italy for violating advertising ethics code

RTFA: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM…

Italian atheists have lost a bid to run “no God” advertisements on city buses after strong opposition from conservative political parties, a member of the group said on Saturday.

The ads reading “The bad news is that God doesn’t exist. The good news is that you don’t need him” were to have been put on buses in the northern city of Genoa, home to the Catholic cardinal who is head of the Italian Bishops Conference.

The mock-up was ready and the contract was sent to the group for signing but the publicity agency changed its mind and said the ad could not run it because it violated an ethics in advertising code, according to Giorgio Villella of The Italian Union of Atheists and Rationalist Agnostics (UAAR).

“Right-wing politicians criticized us ferociously,” Mr. Villella said by telephone from the group’s base, adding that at least one bus driver in Genoa said he would refuse to drive a “no God” bus.

“It’s strange that in a country where ads depicting near-naked women wearing skimpy lingerie is permitted on buses that we can’t run ads about atheism,” Mr. Villella said.