Lewis W. HineIn 2001, as the article points out, the Supreme Court ruled that the use of thermal imaging to detect heat lamps in a residence was a "search" under the 4th amendment and a warrant was needed. The case was U.S. v. Kyllo, and the opinion was written by Justice Scalia.
he was concerned that information gained from warrantless NSA surveillance could have then been used to obtain FISA warrants. FISA court Presiding Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who had been briefed on the spying program by the administration, raised the same concern in 2004 and insisted that the Justice Department certify in writing that it was not occurring.The more that I hear the more that I think that Bush has created a constitutional crisis.
Support for Clinton's impeachment was much lower at Only 36% supporting hearings to consider impeachment, and only 26% supported actual impeachment and removal. What this says about the republicans is not pleasant and only further shows how corrupt they truly are.
Ipsos 10/8-9 Zogby 6/27-29 Net Change Support Impeachment 50% 42% +8% Oppose Impeachment 44% 50% +6% Impeachment Margin +6% -8% +14%
For centuries, mariners have returned home with surreal tales of "milky seas": expanses of seawater filled with bioluminescent bacteria that glow an eerie white. Little is known about these elusive sea conditions... images collected location by the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program included first-ever photos of a milky sea, a Connecticut-size area of the glowing water. Read More...Personally I just think that this is Cool. Makes you wonder what else we thought was a wise tale is really fact.
...if a similar-sized hurricane hit south Florida directly, tropical storm force winds would be felt as far north as Charlotte, North Carolina and as far south as Merida, Mexico and Kingston, JamaicaLuckily it weakened by the time it made landfall in Japan, but nonetheless caused significant damage. Tip cost the agricultural and fishing industries of Japan millions of dollars in damage. There were 68 deaths from Tip. Hopefully Rita will weaken some more before it makes landfall also.
Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from the Blackwater private security firm are openly patrolling the streets of New Orleans. Some of the mercenaries say they have been "deputized" by the Louisiana governor; indeed some are wearing gold Louisiana state law enforcement badges on their chests and Blackwater photo identification cards on their arms. They say they are on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and have been given the authority to use lethal force...This reminds me of the Pinkerton Detective Agency and their use by corporations as Union busters in the late 1800's and early part of the 20th century.
"This is a totally new thing to have guys like us working CONUS (Continental United States)," a heavily armed Blackwater mercenary told us as we stood on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. "We're much better equipped to deal with the situation in Iraq."...
What is most disturbing is the claim of several Blackwater mercenaries we spoke with that they are here under contract from the federal and Louisiana state governments...
As the threat of forced evictions now looms in New Orleans and the city confiscates even legally registered weapons from civilians, the private mercenaries of Blackwater patrol the streets openly wielding M-16s and other assault weapons. This despite Police Commissioner Eddie Compass' claim that "Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons."
Officially, Blackwater says its forces are in New Orleans to "join the Hurricane Relief Effort." A statement on the company's website, dated September 1, advertises airlift services, security services and crowd control. The company, according to news reports, has since begun taking private contracts to guard hotels, businesses and other properties. But what has not been publicly acknowledged is the claim, made to us by 2 Blackwater mercenaries, that they are actually engaged in general law enforcement activities including "securing neighborhoods" and "confronting criminals."
That raises a key question: under what authority are Blackwater's men operating? A spokesperson for the Homeland Security Department, Russ Knocke, told the Washington Post he knows of no federal plans to hire Blackwater or other private security. "We believe we've got the right mix of personnel in law enforcement for the federal government to meet the demands of public safety." he said. Read more...
FEMA won't accept Amtrak's help in evacuations
FEMA turns away experienced firefighters
FEMA turns back Wal-Mart supply trucks
FEMA prevents Coast Guard from delivering diesel fuel
FEMA blocks 500-boat citizen flotilla from delivering aid
FEMA fails to utilize Navy ship with 600-bed hospital on board
FEMA to Chicago: Send just one truck
FEMA turns away generators (See entry from 3:32 P.M. by Ben Morris, Slidell mayor)
National Geographic magazine wrote in an article published in October 2004 about a possible hurricane scenario for New Orleans:So everyone know that the situation was untenable there. When they knew that they had to evacuate the city consider the opening paragraphs of a July 24 story in the New Orleans Times-Picayune that for saw this situation.
"The Federal Emergency Management Agency lists a hurricane strike on New Orleans as one of the most dire threats to the nation, up there with a large earthquake in California or a terrorist attack on New York City. Even the Red Cross no longer opens hurricane shelters in the city, claiming the risk to its workers is too great.
"City, state and federal emergency officials are preparing to give the poorest of New Orleans' poor a historically blunt message: In the event of a major hurricane, you're on your own."And they sure have lived up to these words. Now even in these areas, days later people are complaining that they see no federal response. I thought we learned are lessons from the problems of homestead.
Yet after 2003, the flow of federal dollars toward SELA [Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project] dropped to a trickle. The Corps never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security -- coming at the same time as federal tax cuts -- was the reason for the strain. At least nine articles in the Times-Picayune from 2004 and 2005 specifically cite the cost of Iraq as a reason for the lack of hurricane- and flood-control dollars. Read More...See article on Daily Kos .
By now it should be clear that President Bush's words on the subject of Iraq have ceased connecting with the American public. His speech yesterday to the Veterans of Foreign Wars is the latest - and one of the most serious to date - manifestations of the problem...A substantial majority (56%) now say that the war is going either "very badly" or "moderately badly." More than 50% now regard the war as a mistake. One-third want an immediate and total withdrawal. Maybe most fatefully: a plurality now say that they believe that the president deliberately misled the country into war.
...Again and again during the Bush presidency - and yesterday most recently - the president will agree to give what is advertised in advance as a major speech. An important venue will be chosen. A crowd of thousands will be gathered. The networks will all be invited. And after these elaborate preparations, the president says ... nothing that he has not said a hundred times before.
If a president continues to do that, he is himself teaching the public and the media to ignore him - especially when the words seem (as his speech yesterday to the VFW seemed) utterly to ignore the past three months of real-world events. Read More...
... new ARG poll has Bush below the 40 percent mark.
American Research Group. 8/18-21. MoE 3% (July results)
Bush approval ratings
Approve 36 (42)
Disapprove 58 (52)
Read more from Daily Kos
"There is no multi-tasking. There is only the monkey mind jabbering so fast it seems like multi-tasking." *
LET'S FACE IT, we all have far too much to do. But the only reason this is so is because of the proliferation of productivity tools that respond to our insane lust to be "productive." Driving this insanity is the To-Do list which is, being limitless, is unlimited in its ability to drive us insane. It's time to stop the To-List insanity. Toss all you've previous To-Do Listing Systems you've got out -- paper and/or electronic -- and convert to this new, improved certifiably not-insane system.
The PollThe real question is why the media is not reporting on this story? It just further shows that it is a myth that the media is liberal. Sure some reports are liberal but they work for large conservative cooperations. Read the debate in the Blogosphere at Memeirandum
It found that Bush’s job approval ratings had slipped a point from the previous week, to 43 percent. While half (50%) of respondents do not hold this view, supporters of impeachment outweigh opponents in some parts of the country.
"Among those living in the Western states, a 52% majority favors Congress using the impeachment mechanism while just 41% are opposed; in Eastern states, 49% are in favor and 45% opposed. In the South, meanwhile, impeachment is opposed by three-in-five voters (60%) and supported by just one-in-three (34%); in the Central/Great Lakes region, 52% are opposed and 38% in favor....
Section #3..."I hereby agree that I will never divulge classified information to anyone unless: (a) I have officially verified that the recipient has been properly authorized by the United States Government to receive it; or (b) I have been given prior written notice of authorization from the United States Government Department or Agency (hereinafter Department or Agency) responsible for the classification of the information or last granting me a security clearance that such disclosure is permitted. I understand that if I am uncertain about the classification status of information, I am required to confirm from an authorized official that the information is unclassified before I may disclose it, except to a person as provided in (a) or (b), above. I further understand that I am obligated to comply with laws and regulations that prohibit the unauthorized disclosure of classified information."For More on this see:
And fewer than 40 percent are combat soldiers—149,406—are members of the active armed forces. (The rest are in the National Guard and Army Reserve.)...others are support and logistics troops—50,252 in transportation, 37,763 in medical, 34,270 in the training and doctrine command, and so forth...Read More.Related article:
RightsThis combined with the story that reporters can go to jail for not revealing a source to a story they didn't write, shows the disturbing direction our nation is going.
Maybe it is just me, but I think the juxtaposition of two recent Supreme Court decisions is highly disturbing. The intellectual property rights of corporations are so important that any technology that could conceivably impinge on them should be suppressed - literally or by forcing inventors to lawyer up before they even know what to do. Your right to keep your own house if a corporation wants to develop the land, however, isn’t so important. The theoretical taking of imaginary property is to be avoided; the literal taking of your physical property is to be encouraged. This strikes me as completely fucked.
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Rumsfeld said: We're not going to win against the insurgency; the Iraqi people are going to win against the insurgency.Daily Kos' is right, that if say Dean had said this all hell would of cut loose on him. The Republicans and in particular this Administration is have been getting off way to easly in the press.
Thank god the College Republicans are in the forefront of the fight for freedom...Just like our soldiers are dying in Iraq, campus conservatives are stapling flyers for an Ann Coulter speech to a kiosk. Basically the same thing...Our nation desperately needs young men and women to fight the war they support. Yet they refuse to step forward. They pretend to honor those making the sacrifices, but don't you dare ask them to move past empty rhetoric and put words into action. That would be too "negative"..Read from Daily Kos More.
Disinformation: Bases
What is disinformation ? The disinformation is a manipulation of the public opinion, for political purposes, with an information processed by diverted means.
What are its goals ? - at the enemy : to demoralize, weaken, disintegrate, destroy it. - at home : to neutralize and drive the masses in order to make them go in the desired direction at the desired moment without resistence. Success in this area is mandatory in any democracy, which is in fact nothing else than an apparent dictature of the majority.
How to do it ? - Discredit the authorities of the opposing country, imply them into illegal operations, shake their reputation. - Discredit and hold up to ridicule everything which is good in the opposing country. Its traditions, its religion, its faith, its army, its history. The aim is to destroy the identity of a people. - Weaken the adversary. Encourage and make him a slave of his passions (sex, money, wealth, power) in order to make him paralyzed and without resistence.
- Destroy the adversary by dividing him. Excite some against others, young against old, women against men, political wing against political wing. - Accordingly, do exactly the contrary in your country. Make the nation united in the same spirit and having the same will, reinforce the trust in your power, your institutions, your leaders. Read more....
Blogger Legal Liability Issues
Bloggers As JournalistsThe Overview of Legal Liability Issues FAQ briefly addresses some common legal issues that affect you as a publisher, especially situations where you may face legal claims or threats based on the information you published on your blog.
The Bloggers' FAQ on Intellectual Property addresses issues that arise when you publish material created by others on your blog.
The Bloggers' FAQ on Online Defamation Law provides an overview of defamation (libel) law, including a discussion of the constitutional and statutory privileges that may protect you.
The Bloggers' FAQ on Section 230 Protections discusses a powerful federal law that gives you, as a web host, protection against legal claims arising from hosting information written by third parties.
The Bloggers' FAQ on Privacy addresses the legal issues surrounding the privacy rights of people you blog about.
Other Legal Issues for BloggersThe Bloggers' FAQ on the Reporter's Privilege is useful to bloggers who report news gathered from confidential sources.
The Bloggers' FAQ on Media Access can help bloggers who need to get access to public records and government meetings, as well as secure press passes to help with newsgathering.
The Bloggers' FAQ on Election Law addresses the legal issues you may face blogging about political campaigns.The Bloggers' FAQ on Labor Law addresses legal issues with workplace blogging, including union organizing, protections for political blogging away from the workplace, and whistle blowing.
The Lost Episode is our tribute to 'Alias' the ABC series that brought Sydney to life. The spoof was a gift to series creator JJ Abrams, who was so pleased that he mailed personal letters of praise to each member of our cast and crew.
Photo Credit: NewBorn Pictures
The cuts come as Air Force aircrews are heavily worked, flying missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and over some U.S. cities in an attempt to prevent another terrorist attack.
"Starting early this summer, units may have aviators unable to get required training to maintain full combat-ready status," Col. Jim Dunn, deputy director of flight operations for ACC, said in a written statement. "Overall effectiveness will become a growing challenge." Read more...
