What ignited the antigovernment revolts in Tunisia and then Egypt? Police "cracking down" on one man selling vegetables without a permit.

"Well, we used to have knives--a lot of them. But a few days before Christmas, we received a letter from management that we had to remove all of our knives from the sale floor. Apparently, New York State told us that we couldn't sell knives or utility knives anymore...."

This end-of-year article is a looking forward one -- looking forward to a year in which the Internet will be under a multipronged attack that threatens to change it irrevocably in ways that may destroy much of the Internet's potential.

You’ve heard of no fly and no buy lists – get ready for no work lists. Millions of workers now must apply to the DHS and prove they are not terrorists in order to be granted permission by the government to work. TWIC “is a biometric credential that ensures only vetted workers are eligible to enter a secure construction site, unescorted,” Ironworkers Local 361 in Ozone Park, New York, explains. In other words, construction workers in New York will need permission from the TSA and DHS in order to practice their profession and earn a living. SWAC is even more draconian.

The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) sets up a system through which the US government can blacklist a pirate website from the Domain Name System, ban credit card companies from processing US payments to the site, and forbid online ad networks from working with the site. This morning, COICA unanimously passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.