The mainstream Democratic position on this issue is against gay marriage, but for gay civil unions, and the rights--especially as it relates to partner visitation in hospices--that it confers. That is also becoming a relatively mainstream Republican position (Mitt Romney and Rudy Giulani, in their heart of hearts, agree with that).
But there is a far-right fringe, led by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, and beholden to Pat Robertson, that is against both. It's a fringe that is against letting people that love each other spend the waining moments of life with each other. It is a fringe that is against domestic partner benefits. And it is a fringe that Luke Ravenstahl (D-Pittsburgh, R-Anywhere Else in the Country) belongs to.
ok Pittsbugh we have a total jerk - ravenstahal - as a would be mayor. with no sense of right or wrong! isn't hacking into kdka breaking some kind of federal law (call marybeth)but it is is all "in good fun." hey asshole you hack into my computer and I will come down there and kick you in the f--king balls and shove a computer up your ass. Some fun hey Lukey?
Ok, and you suck on the gay civil unions (tonight he said he said he does not support Gay/LBT marriage but you take gay community political contribution$! and slap us in the face with the revisionist jerry falwell crap - gays have no rights but they sure have the dollars so Lukey takes them and give nothing back in the way of mutual support Gays. Let's unite! This little co-k sucker is for sh-t. He lost my vote. I hope Barney Frank pokes him in the nose at the Kennedy Lawrence dinner on Saturday. Democrat my ass! He is an idiot and I will vote for DeSantis! F--k off Lukie you lying, coniving bastard.
“As far as I’m concerned, it was all in good fun,” Ravenstahl said.
“He did it as a private citizen. He’s well within his rights as a person,” Ravenstahl spokeswoman Alecia Sirk said. “People do it privately all the time for ‘American Idol,’ and nobody investigates that.”
memo to KDKA: Call the FBI or Secret Service - you were hacked.
memo to Luke Ravenstahl and Alicia Sirk: You are both idiots without a clue. Please see the Federal Anti Hacking Law. Congress doesn't think computer hacking is "fun" -good or other wise - at all.
Here is the federal law on Hacking .
memo to the city employee: You are toast. Luke is gonna have to give you up.
US Federal Anti-Hacking Laws
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (as amended Oct. 3, 1996) Section 1030. Fraud and related activity in connection with computers (a) Whoever--
(1) having knowingly accessed a computer without authorization or exceeding authorized access, and by means of such conduct having obtained information that has been determined by the United States Government pursuant to an Executive order or statute to require protection against unauthorized disclosure for reasons of national defense or foreign relations, or any restricted data, as defined in paragraph y of section 11 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, with reason to believe that such information so obtained could be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits, or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted, or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it;
(2) intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access, and thereby obtains--
(A) information contained in a financial record of a financial institution, or of a card issuer as defined in section 1602(n) of title 15, or contained in a file of a consumer reporting agency on a consumer, as such terms are defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.);
(B) information from any department or agency of the United States; or
(C) information from any protected computer if the conduct involved an interstate or foreign communication;
(3) intentionally, without authorization to access any nonpublic computer of a department or agency of the United States, accesses such a computer of that department or agency that is exclusively for the use of the Government of the United States or, in the case of a computer not exclusively for such use, is used by or for the Government of the United States and such conduct affects that use by or for the Government of the United States;
(4) knowingly and with intent to defraud, accesses a protected computer without authorization, or exceeds authorized access, and by means of such conduct furthers the intended fraud and obtains anything of value, unless the object of the fraud and the thing obtained consists only of the use of the computer and the value of such use is not more than $5,000 in any 1-year period;
(5)
(A) knowingly causes the transmission of a program, information, code, or command, and as a result of such conduct, intentionally causes damage without authorization, to a protected computer;
(B) intentionally accesses a protected computer without authorization, and as a result of such conduct, recklessly causes damage; or
(C) intentionally accesses a protected computer without authorization, and as a result of such conduct, causes damage;
(6) knowingly and with intent to defraud traffics (as defined in section 1029) in any password or similar information through which a computer may be accessed without authorization, if--
(A) such trafficking affects interstate or foreign commerce; or
(B) such computer is used by or for the Government of the United States;
(7) with intent to extort from any person, firm, association, educational institution, financial institution, government entity, or other legal entity, any money or other thing of value, transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication containing any threat to cause damage to a protected computer;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (c) of this section.
(b) Whoever attempts to commit an offense under subsection (a) of this section shall be punished as provided in subsection (c) of this section.
(c) The punishment for an offense under subsection (a) or (b) of this section is--
(1)
(A) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(1) of this section which does not occur after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and
(B) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(1) of this section which occurs after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and
(2)
(A) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(5)(C), or (a)(6) of this section which does not occur after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and
(B) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(2), if--
(i) the offense was committed for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain;
(ii) the offense was committed in furtherance of any criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States or of any State; or
(iii) the value of the information obtained exceeds $5,000;
(C) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(2), (a)(3) or (a)(6) of this section which occurs after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and
(3)
(A) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(4), (a)(5)(A), (a)(5)(B), or (a)(7) of this section which does not occur after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and
(B) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(4), (a)(5)(A), (a)(5)(B), (a)(5)(C), or (a)(7)of this section which occurs after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and
(d) The United States Secret Service shall, in addition to any other agency having such authority, have the authority to investigate offenses under subsections (a)(2)(A), (a)(2)(B), (a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(5), and (a)(6) of this section. Such authority of the United States Secret Service shall be exercised in accordance with an agreement which shall be entered into by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General.
(e) As used in this section--
(1) the term "computer" means an electronic, magnetic, optical, electrochemical, or other high speed data processing device performing logical, arithmetic, or storage functions, and includes any data storage facility or communications facility directly related to or operating in conjunction with such device, but such term does not include an automated typewriter or typesetter, a portable hand held calculator, or other similar device;
(2) the term "protected computer" means a computer--
(A) exclusively for the use of a financial institution or the United States Government, or, in the case of a computer not exclusively for such use, used by or for a financial institution or the United States Government and the conduct constituting the offense affects that use by or for the financial institution or the Government; or
(B) which is used in interstate or foreign commerce or communication;
(3) the term "State" includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other commonwealth, possession or territory of the United States;
(4) the term "financial institution" means--
(A) an institution with deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;
(B) the Federal Reserve or a member of the Federal Reserve including any Federal Reserve Bank;
(C) a credit union with accounts insured by the National Credit Union Administration;
(D) a member of the Federal home loan bank system and any home loan bank;
(E) any institution of the Farm Credit System under the Farm Credit Act of 1971;
(F) a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934;
(G) the Securities Investor Protection Corporation;
(H) a branch or agency of a foreign bank (as such terms are defined in paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of 1978); and
(I) an organization operating under section 25 or section 25(a) of the Federal Reserve Act. (5) the term "financial record" means information derived from any record held by a financial institution pertaining to a customer's relationship with the financial institution;
(6) the term "exceeds authorized access" means to access a computer with authorization and to use such access to obtain or alter information in the computer that the accesser is not entitled so to obtain or alter;
(7) the term "department of the United States" means the legislative or judicial branch of the Government or one of the executive departments enumerated in section 101 of title 5; and
(8) the term "damage" means any impairment to the integrity or availability of data, a program, a system, or information, that--
(A) causes loss aggregating at least $5,000 in value during any 1-year period to one or more individuals;
(B) modifies or impairs, or potentially modifies or impairs, the medical examination, diagnosis, treatment, or care of one or more individuals;
(C) causes physical injury to any person; or
(D) threatens public health or safety; and
(9) the term "government entity" includes the Government of the United States, any State or political subdivision of the United States, any foreign country, and any state, province, municipality, or other political subdivision of a foreign country.
(f) This section does not prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law enforcement agency of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State, or of an intelligence agency of the United States.
(g) Any person who suffers damage or loss by reason of a violation of the section, may maintain a civil action against the violator to obtain compensatory damages and injunctive relief or other equitable relief. Damages for violations involving damage as defined in subsection (e)(8)(A) are limited to economic damages. No action may be brought under this subsection unless such action is begun within 2 years of the date of the act complained of or the date of the discovery of the damage.
(h) The Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury shall report to the Congress annually, during the first 3 years following the date of the enactment of this subsection, concerning investigations and prosecutions under section 1030(a)(5) of title 18, United States Code.
I can see someone calling the conduct unethical and a dirty trick. But what specific sections of the law you cite would apply? The descriptions I've read make it sound as though the city employee may have removed cookies on his own computer which tracked multiple votes. I haven't heard anything so far to suggest he gained an unauthorized level of access to KDKA Radio's servers. If he did so, then it's' worth looking into whether the law you quoted does apply. Can you clarify?
I am adamantly against abortion. Even if I were a one-issue voter (which I am not), why would I support Ravenstahl when the mayor of Pittsburgh can’t do a darn thing about it one way or another? Why would I look over the long list of Ravenstahl shortcomings that bear directly on Pittsburgh’s future, just to support a pro-life candidate when his pro-life stance will have no practical consequences?
Nobody broke the law with the on-line poll. They figured out a way to vote 1,000 times. I don't think they hacked into KDKA's server. They probably set their browser to automatically delete cookies and vote over and over and over again. Stupid, not illegal. If you want to alter an on-line poll, get 100 of your friends to vote ten times each...
Even the evil republicans? You know the ones that support all republican policies if they gave $1250 bucks 5 years ago to a republican candidate.
ReplyDeleteOne note, good retort to Luke with the nationwide directors search thing. Luke could not take that head on. People noticed.
The mainstream Democratic position on this issue is against gay marriage, but for gay civil unions, and the rights--especially as it relates to partner visitation in hospices--that it confers. That is also becoming a relatively mainstream Republican position (Mitt Romney and Rudy Giulani, in their heart of hearts, agree with that).
ReplyDeleteBut there is a far-right fringe, led by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, and beholden to Pat Robertson, that is against both. It's a fringe that is against letting people that love each other spend the waining moments of life with each other. It is a fringe that is against domestic partner benefits. And it is a fringe that Luke Ravenstahl (D-Pittsburgh, R-Anywhere Else in the Country) belongs to.
All I know is that I'd be willing to pay to see what would happen if Lil Mayor Luke ever tried to touch and feel The Angry Drunk Bureaucrat.
ReplyDeleteok Pittsbugh we have a total jerk - ravenstahal - as a would be mayor. with no sense of right or wrong! isn't hacking into kdka breaking some kind of federal law (call marybeth)but it is is all "in good fun." hey asshole you hack into my computer and I will come down there and kick you in the f--king balls and shove a computer up your ass. Some fun hey Lukey?
ReplyDeleteOk, and you suck on the gay civil unions (tonight he said he said he does not support Gay/LBT marriage but you take gay community political contribution$! and slap us in the face with the revisionist jerry falwell crap - gays have no rights but they sure have the dollars so Lukey takes them and give nothing back in the way of mutual support Gays. Let's unite! This little co-k sucker is for sh-t. He lost my vote.
I hope Barney Frank pokes him in the nose at the Kennedy Lawrence dinner on Saturday.
Democrat my ass! He is an idiot and I will vote for DeSantis! F--k off Lukie you lying, coniving bastard.
“As far as I’m concerned, it was all in good fun,” Ravenstahl said.
ReplyDelete“He did it as a private citizen. He’s well within his rights as a person,” Ravenstahl spokeswoman Alecia Sirk said. “People do it privately all the time for ‘American Idol,’ and nobody investigates that.”
memo to KDKA: Call the FBI or Secret Service - you were hacked.
memo to Luke Ravenstahl and Alicia Sirk: You are both idiots without a clue.
Please see the Federal Anti Hacking Law. Congress doesn't think
computer hacking is "fun" -good or other wise - at all.
Here is the federal law on Hacking .
memo to the city employee: You are toast. Luke is gonna have to give you up.
US Federal Anti-Hacking Laws
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (as amended Oct. 3, 1996)
Section 1030. Fraud and related activity in connection with computers
(a) Whoever--
(1) having knowingly accessed a computer without authorization or exceeding authorized access, and by means of such conduct having obtained information that has been determined by the United States Government pursuant to an Executive order or statute to require protection against unauthorized disclosure for reasons of national defense or foreign relations, or any restricted data, as defined in paragraph y of section 11 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, with reason to believe that such information so obtained could be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits, or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted, or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it;
(2) intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access, and thereby obtains--
(A) information contained in a financial record of a financial institution, or of a card issuer as defined in section 1602(n) of title 15, or contained in a file of a consumer reporting agency on a consumer, as such terms are defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.);
(B) information from any department or agency of the United States; or
(C) information from any protected computer if the conduct involved an interstate or foreign communication;
(3) intentionally, without authorization to access any nonpublic computer of a department or agency of the United States, accesses such a computer of that department or agency that is exclusively for the use of the Government of the United States or, in the case of a computer not exclusively for such use, is used by or for the Government of the United States and such conduct affects that use by or for the Government of the United States;
(4) knowingly and with intent to defraud, accesses a protected computer without authorization, or exceeds authorized access, and by means of such conduct furthers the intended fraud and obtains anything of value, unless the object of the fraud and the thing obtained consists only of the use of the computer and the value of such use is not more than $5,000 in any 1-year period;
(5)
(A) knowingly causes the transmission of a program, information, code, or command, and as a result of such conduct, intentionally causes damage without authorization, to a protected computer;
(B) intentionally accesses a protected computer without authorization, and as a result of such conduct, recklessly causes damage; or
(C) intentionally accesses a protected computer without authorization, and as a result of such conduct, causes damage;
(6) knowingly and with intent to defraud traffics (as defined in section 1029) in any password or similar information through which a computer may be accessed without authorization, if--
(A) such trafficking affects interstate or foreign commerce; or
(B) such computer is used by or for the Government of the United States;
(7) with intent to extort from any person, firm, association, educational institution, financial institution, government entity, or other legal entity, any money or other thing of value, transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication containing any threat to cause damage to a protected computer;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (c) of this section.
(b) Whoever attempts to commit an offense under subsection (a) of this section shall be punished as provided in subsection (c) of this section.
(c) The punishment for an offense under subsection (a) or (b) of this section is--
(1)
(A) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(1) of this section which does not occur after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and
(B) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(1) of this section which occurs after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and
(2)
(A) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(5)(C), or (a)(6) of this section which does not occur after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and
(B) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(2), if--
(i) the offense was committed for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain;
(ii) the offense was committed in furtherance of any criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States or of any State; or
(iii) the value of the information obtained exceeds $5,000;
(C) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(2), (a)(3) or (a)(6) of this section which occurs after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and
(3)
(A) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(4), (a)(5)(A), (a)(5)(B), or (a)(7) of this section which does not occur after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and
(B) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(4), (a)(5)(A), (a)(5)(B), (a)(5)(C), or (a)(7)of this section which occurs after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and
[former paragraph (4) stricken effective Oct. 11, 1996].
(d) The United States Secret Service shall, in addition to any other agency having such authority, have the authority to investigate offenses under subsections (a)(2)(A), (a)(2)(B), (a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(5), and (a)(6) of this section. Such authority of the United States Secret Service shall be exercised in accordance with an agreement which shall be entered into by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General.
(e) As used in this section--
(1) the term "computer" means an electronic, magnetic, optical, electrochemical, or other high speed data processing device performing logical, arithmetic, or storage functions, and includes any data storage facility or communications facility directly related to or operating in conjunction with such device, but such term does not include an automated typewriter or typesetter, a portable hand held calculator, or other similar device;
(2) the term "protected computer" means a computer--
(A) exclusively for the use of a financial institution or the United States Government, or, in the case of a computer not exclusively for such use, used by or for a financial institution or the United States Government and the conduct constituting the offense affects that use by or for the financial institution or the Government; or
(B) which is used in interstate or foreign commerce or communication;
(3) the term "State" includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other commonwealth, possession or territory of the United States;
(4) the term "financial institution" means--
(A) an institution with deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;
(B) the Federal Reserve or a member of the Federal Reserve including any Federal Reserve Bank;
(C) a credit union with accounts insured by the National Credit Union Administration;
(D) a member of the Federal home loan bank system and any home loan bank;
(E) any institution of the Farm Credit System under the Farm Credit Act of 1971;
(F) a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934;
(G) the Securities Investor Protection Corporation;
(H) a branch or agency of a foreign bank (as such terms are defined in paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of 1978); and
(I) an organization operating under section 25 or section 25(a) of the Federal Reserve Act. (5) the term "financial record" means information derived from any record held by a financial institution pertaining to a customer's relationship with the financial institution;
(6) the term "exceeds authorized access" means to access a computer with authorization and to use such access to obtain or alter information in the computer that the accesser is not entitled so to obtain or alter;
(7) the term "department of the United States" means the legislative or judicial branch of the Government or one of the executive departments enumerated in section 101 of title 5; and
(8) the term "damage" means any impairment to the integrity or availability of data, a program, a system, or information, that--
(A) causes loss aggregating at least $5,000 in value during any 1-year period to one or more individuals;
(B) modifies or impairs, or potentially modifies or impairs, the medical examination, diagnosis, treatment, or care of one or more individuals;
(C) causes physical injury to any person; or
(D) threatens public health or safety; and
(9) the term "government entity" includes the Government of the United States, any State or political subdivision of the United States, any foreign country, and any state, province, municipality, or other political subdivision of a foreign country.
(f) This section does not prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law enforcement agency of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State, or of an intelligence agency of the United States.
(g) Any person who suffers damage or loss by reason of a violation of the section, may maintain a civil action against the violator to obtain compensatory damages and injunctive relief or other equitable relief. Damages for violations involving damage as defined in subsection (e)(8)(A) are limited to economic damages. No action may be brought under this subsection unless such action is begun within 2 years of the date of the act complained of or the date of the discovery of the damage.
(h) The Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury shall report to the Congress annually, during the first 3 years following the date of the enactment of this subsection, concerning investigations and prosecutions under section 1030(a)(5) of title 18, United States Code.
Question for Anonymous 1:58am:
ReplyDeleteI can see someone calling the conduct unethical and a dirty trick. But what specific sections of the law you cite would apply? The descriptions I've read make it sound as though the city employee may have removed cookies on his own computer which tracked multiple votes. I haven't heard anything so far to suggest he gained an unauthorized level of access to KDKA Radio's servers. If he did so, then it's' worth looking into whether the law you quoted does apply. Can you clarify?
Oh, please.
ReplyDeleteHe can't clarify, because it wasn't hacking. He removed the cookies from his own computer so he could keep voting again.
That's stupid. And childish. But not even close to hacking.
I am adamantly against abortion. Even if I were a one-issue voter (which I am not), why would I support Ravenstahl when the mayor of Pittsburgh can’t do a darn thing about it one way or another? Why would I look over the long list of Ravenstahl shortcomings that bear directly on Pittsburgh’s future, just to support a pro-life candidate when his pro-life stance will have no practical consequences?
ReplyDeleteI would not, and I will not.
Nobody broke the law with the on-line poll. They figured out a way to vote 1,000 times. I don't think they hacked into KDKA's server. They probably set their browser to automatically delete cookies and vote over and over and over again. Stupid, not illegal. If you want to alter an on-line poll, get 100 of your friends to vote ten times each...
ReplyDeleteY'know, I just wanna say: Luke, I admire Bill Clinton, too. But that doesn't mean you ought to emulate his management style. Knowhatimsayin?
ReplyDelete-Shawn