French protest for murdered Jew

Six days after I first heard about this, you finally see a reaction in France.

BBC NEWS | Europe | French protest for murdered Jew

Roger Cukierman, the head of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France said: "It's important for French society to realise that little anti-Semitic and racist prejudices can have terrible consequences."

France's Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who was at Sunday's march, said earlier in the week that greed was the main motive.

"But they believed, and I quote, 'that Jews have money'," he said. "That's called anti-Semitism."

Technorati Tags: France, Anti-Semitism, Hate Crime

Message for Congress: clean up your house or else

Can you believe that this Administrations D.O.J would give this kind of message to Congress, in any way shape or form.

TIME.com: Would Justice Clean the House?

The Justice Department has a message for Congress: clean up your house or else we may have to do it for you. A senior federal law enforcement official told TIME that the paralyzed and often lax House ethics committee has created a vacuum that prosecutors won't hesitate to fill. The House’s internal mechanism for keeping corruption in check is “broken,” says the official.

Technorati Tags: DOJ, Department of Justice, House Ethics, House Ethics Committee

RFID's in your Goodyears

Now I have to worry about the tires I place on my car! Sure they are using these in NASCAR races now, But I can see local government using these as the new Photo radar. Just embed readers in the road way the same way they do for some traffic light sensors. Then you'll get your speeding tickets because your tires were doing ninety in a sixty five miles an hour zone.

RFID Tags Embedded in Daytona 500 Tires - Gizmodo

Technorati Tags: RFID, spychips, Data Mining

Anti-Semitism in France

A HATE CRIME IN PARIS?

Technorati Tags: France, Anti-Semitism, Hate Crime

CityWatcher Story

Example of subdural chip

I'm glad to see that more are picking up on this story dealing with Citywatcher.com. But I would like to see more than: "Sure, implanting an RFID chip in your workers might incite privacy concerns, be a tad creepy, and signal the end of days..."Engadget.

I would hope that others as they pick up this story might have more concerns than chalking it up to a PR stunt.


Technorati Tags: RFID, Implants, spychip, Datamining

Chipping Employees - Welcome to a Brave New World

Photo Credit: VanHeber

I heard about this company -- CityWatcher -- that would requires RFID injection into it's employees a few days ago on the radio, but I am only now seeing it hit the the tech sites like Slashdot. Other than the revulsion that I felt upon hearing of this story, the so called security that this mark of the beast was supposed to give, is non-existent. A researcher recently published that these systems are as vulnerable as any other if not more so, since anyone with a reader only to get within a few feet to be able to copy the info.

I have the same feelings about the PayPass system that MasterCard has put in place in the last month or so in stories like 7-11. The idea that all anyone needed was a radio power transceiver reader to get my credit card number is frightening. As it is I feel that I'm going to have to line my wallet in Aluminum foil before long.

Related
SpyChips


Technorati Tags: RFID, Spychips, TIA, Datamining

Cartoon Riots

I stumbled across this analysis of the Danish Cartoon Controversy, and found it interesting.

The Danish cartoon controversy: A contrast in protests - Sepia Mutiny

I see great irony in this situation that doesn’t seem to have registered in the press (as far as I know). Muslims around the world are protesting this cartoon (often violently) because it is forbidden in Islam to depict the Prophet, especially in such a vulgar manner as this. Muhammad, in his boundless wisdom, wanted to make sure that his image would never be used or treated as an idol, and that men would never worship him as one. In Christianity for example, many most sects now worship Christ as God, instead of seeing him as only a mortal prophet. It was the message of Islam, and not Muhammad the man, that was to better the world. By violently protesting this cartoon, it could be argued that Muslims around the world are acting as if an idol has been desecrated. Using violence to protest this “desecration” legitimizes that which the Prophet cautioned against in the first place. He has become an idol to be defended and avenged in the eyes of many. Read more....

Related Links
The Danish cartoon controversy: A contrast in protests - Sepia Mutiny
Artists Explode the Bombs



Technorati Tags: Cartoon Riots, Islamic Protests, Islamic Riots

Islam

Islamic Groups Call for End to Riots

How they Spy

Noah Shachtman has outlined a two part series of articles by Declan McCullagh and Anne Broache on News.com outline what the NSA's domestic spying program might look like.

Defense Tech: NSA: How They Spy

Technorati Tags: NSA, warrantless taps, Scandal, Intelligence

Killing on US Soil?

This is not something that I would like to contemplate. The real issue is oversight, and has been since the beginning. What actions can a President order to be done and what hoops does he have to go through to meet his legal obligations under the law? Unfortunately Newsweek doesn't even come close to answering any of these questions other than several Administrations have looked into the issue of Can the President Order a Killing on U.S. Soil?

Technorati Tags: Presidential Powers, Oversight, War Powers

Tricky Dick

I caught Dick Cheney on the NewsHour. This man comes off as so rational, it is scary. But what he says about the legality of the Domestic Spying program is just plain wrong. The thing that is being overlooked is that congress in this case is not the oversight for this program. It is and was the FISA Court. Nothing about this, that has been made public, changes this or gives them these powers. Take a look at the transcript.

Online NewsHour: Newsmaker with Vice President Dick Cheney -- February 7, 2006

Technorati Tags: Warrantless wiretaps, Scandal, Vice President

Iran Behind Cartoon-Rage Riots??

Is it possible that the riots that happened in Lebanon that resulted in the burning of the Danish Embassy, were orchestrated by Iran? I don't know if I buy into this theory, but is interesting.

Related:
WorldNetDaily: Iranian fingerprints on cartoon-rage riots?

Technorati Tags: Conspiracy, Middle-East, Muslim, Riots