Latest Radio News America Commentary

A BMBNS Agent's Journal - Part Two
Original satirical Op/Ed by Robbie Michaels
July 21, 2005

Continued from last Monday's journal entry...

We investigated the rest of the encampment, but we didn’t find any other clues inside the cardboard box home or in the surrounding tents. Back at central command, I brought the identification cards and the laptop computer into the crime lab, where one of the technicians examined the laptop at his desk. The technician was in his late forties, with thinning gray hair and a pair of glasses that framed his elongated face. I watched with interest, staring at the computer screen as he checked the Internet connection as well as the email program for clues.

“Whoever left this either wanted to be discovered,” the technician said, peering through his glasses at me. “Or he’s one of the dimmest bulbs in the hardware store.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked him.

“Take a look at this,” he replied as he typed furiously at the keyboard. Moments later, a small popup window appeared in the center of the screen. I tried to read the information on the screen, but the only thing I could make sense of were a series of numbers he pointed to.

“66.185.84.80. What is that supposed to mean?” I inquired. The technician flipped through the identification cards and when he found the one I discovered with the address printed on it, he held it up to the screen just a few inches in front of it. Immediately, I noticed the numbers printed on the identification card belonged to a man named Steve.

“So whoever used this computer at the encampment is named Steve,” he said. “This series of numbers is the IP address of the computer used.” The technician pounded away at the keyboard, and another popup screen appeared with more information.

Request: 66.185.84.80
from whois.arin.net:43 [cached Wed Jul 20 08:24:44 2005 UTC]

OrgName: Rogers@Home
OrgID: ROGERS-29
Address: 1 Mount Pleasant Road
City: Toronto
StateProv: ON
PostalCode: M4Y-2Y5
Country: CA

NetRange: 66.185.80.0 - 66.185.95.255
CIDR: 66.185.80.0/20
NetName: ROGERS-CABLE-BACKBONE
NetHandle: NET-66-185-80-0-1
Parent: NET-66-0-0-0-0
NetType: Direct Assignment
NameServer: NS1.WLFDLE.RNC.NET.CABLE.ROGERS.COM
NameServer: NS2.WLFDLE.RNC.NET.CABLE.ROGERS.COM
NameServer: NS1.YM.RNC.NET.CABLE.ROGERS.COM
NameServer: NS2.YM.RNC.NET.CABLE.ROGERS.COM
Comment:
RegDate: 2001-11-01
Updated: 2004-10-07

AbuseHandle: RHI9-ARIN
AbuseName: Rogers High-Speed Internet
AbusePhone: +1-416-935-4729
AbuseEmail: abuse@rogers.com

TechHandle: IPMAN-ARIN
TechName: IP MANAGE
TechPhone: +1-416-935-4729
TechEmail: ipmanage@rogers.wave.ca

OrgTechHandle: ILE6-ARIN
OrgTechName: Leung, Ida
OrgTechPhone: +1-416-935-4729
OrgTechEmail: ipmanage@rogers.wave.ca

“Rogers Cable? Isn’t Rogers Cable in…” I muttered when the technician interrupted me.

“Canada,” the technician replied. “The man you’re chasing isn’t even an American citizen.”

“What would a Canadian be doing around here?” I asked. “Why would he be interested in our politics if he can’t even vote?”

“I couldn’t tell you,” he replied. “I’m still trying to figure that out.”

I thanked the technician for his work, and as I left the crime lab my mind wandered. Why would Steve take an interest in our country’s politics? What was he doing at the encampment this evening? Who was with him? Was he one of the people I saw running through the open field into the woods?

I went home for the evening, but I knew in the back of my mind there was more to this story.

To be continued…