so much for closure

Formula One star Lewis Hamilton says he has been left saddened after being subjected to racist abuse in Spain.

From the "Give us Free" department:

Great Firewall of China Faces Online Rebels

As an 18-year-old student with an interest in the Internet, Zhu Nan had been itching to say something about the country’s pervasive online censorship system, widely known here as the Great Firewall.
When China’s censors began blocking access to the popular photo-sharing site Flickr, Mr. Zhu felt the moment had come. Writing on his blog last year, the student, who is now a freshman at a university in this city, questioned the rationale for Internet restrictions, and in subsequent posts, began passing along tips on how to evade them.
“Officials in our country claimed that Internet censorship is done according to the law,” Mr. Zhu wrote. “If so, why not let people know about this legal project, and why, instead, ban the Web sites that publicize and examine those legal policies? If you’re determined to do this, you shouldn’t be afraid of criticism.”

For some of the anticensorship activists, creating a broader awareness of censorship is itself a victory. “If you don’t know what’s on top of you, than you won’t fight back against it,” said Li Xieheng, a blogger who wrote a program he named Gladder, meaning Great Ladder, to help users of the Firefox browser overcome Great Firewall restrictions. “It’s just like many people not feeling that China isn’t free. They’re not aware of it and feel things are natural here, but that’s just the power of media control.”

Oh yes they are watching you indeed

Privacy concerns, some RFID supporters say, are overblown. One, Mark Roberti, editor of RFID Journal, says the notion that businesses would conspire to create high-resolution portraits of people is "simply silly."
Corporations know Americans are sensitive about their privacy, he says, and are careful not to alienate consumers by violating it. Besides, "All companies keep their customer data close to the vest ... There's absolutely no value in sharing it. Zero."

but wait...

However, "once a tagged item is associated with a particular individual, personally identifiable information can be obtained and then aggregated to develop a profile," the U.S. Government Accountability Office concluded in a 2005 report on RFID.

Federal agencies and law enforcement already buy information about individuals from commercial data brokers, companies that compile computer dossiers on millions of individuals from public records, credit applications and many other sources, then offer summaries for sale. These brokers, unlike credit bureaus, aren't subject to provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970, which gives consumers the right to correct errors and block access to their personal records.

IBM declined to comment for this story.

In 2002, Fleishman-Hillard produced another report for the industry that counseled RFID makers to "convey (the) inevitability of technology," and to develop a plan to "neutralize the opposition," by adopting friendlier names for radio tags such as "Bar Code II" and "Green Tag."

Here's a few interesing items

at least I think so...

Police don't want officers to be too smart
This is the same town that that used imminent domain for a private company.

Cheney wants to expand surveillance act.
You may want to check out the PBS documentary on Cheney's Law

Read before you drink another cup of water
And this, this, and this.

Alright BD, why don't you just record a 45 minute special on the evils of the Democrats and the fairness doctrine (something I am opposed to BTW) and I'll be happy to review it and maybe even play it on air for you. But in the mean time I'm moving on from Rush. As Miles so aptly pointed out:

he has his own press he can talk about that shit all day.


Or do you honesstly believe that I'm covering it up when I talk to a few hundred people per week while he talks to millions? I'm the nut job? (lol)

Now back to the contract...Sorry to anyone who is not a carrier but this is business. I think me and big dog and a few hundred others may be getting screwed.

What part are you talking about with discussion? I don't see that. Back when I got my new contract, with the insurance requirements, I thought the delivery section (4 paragraph 2) was different as it related to the times to the building. But, unfortunately I couldn't find my old contract to compare.

Is this another high profile low result case?

OK here is the headline:

Ex-Congressman Charged in Terror Case

and the second paragraph:

Mark Deli Siljander, a Michigan Republican when he was in the House, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about being hired to lobby senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.

and waaaaaaaaaay down in the 15th graph:

It's not clear whether Siljander ever engaged in the lobbying push, said John Wood, U.S. attorney in Kansas City. Nevertheless, IARA paid Siljander with money that was part of U.S. government funding awarded to the charity years earlier for relief work it promised to perform in Africa, the indictment says.

I'm just remembering that the terror cell that was found 2 years ago turned out to be a bunch of homeless guys being led by an FBI informer to record FBI HQ. and don't forget the clip I play on the show from time to time:

Is this the program announced on the show 2 weeks ago?

The The Gaurdian is reporting that the FBI is shopping around a program called SERVER IN THE SKY to link ID databases:

Americans seek international database to carry iris, palm and finger prints

This sounds very similar to the program that Mark Lerner warned about on the show Jan. 6th as well as at the Uptown Theater on the 10th.

Corsi: Bush could elect Hillary

"The Bush administration admits there are 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States," Corsi noted. "The real number is probably 20 million or more. But the question is why is one of every 10 people born in Mexico living in the United States as a Mexican national today?"

By 2010, Corsi said, 20 percent of Mexico's population would be living in the U.S. under the Mexican flag.

"Now there are 47 Mexican consulate offices in the U.S. dedicated to protecting the civil rights of these Mexican citizens living in our country," Corsi told the group. "We have already become a dual country, and I don't remember ever voting to allow that to happen."

Corsi rebutted the argument that the U.S. could not evolve incrementally into a North American Union without the U.S. Constitution being amended.

"In Europe, the intellectual elite and the multi-national corporations who advanced the European integration agenda proceeded by the incremental method," Corsi answered.

"The same is happening here," he explained. "First, President Bush allows our borders to be open and a fait accompli just happens. An increasing proportion of Mexico's population begins living in the United States, without any requirement that they become U.S. citizens, and our elected politicians do nothing to stop it."

"Then President Bush comes to the Senate, now twice, and argues that 12 million illegal immigrants cannot be rounded up and deported," Corsi continued. "The only solution President Bush offers is to pass 'comprehensive immigration reform,' which is nothing more than a code name for an amnesty that one way or another legitimates the illegal aliens remaining here.

British jets intercept Russian bombers

the flights come against a background of increasing tension between Russia and some Western powers. Observers also see it as a sign of renewed Russian self-confidence on the international stage.

Ron Paul 1, Statism 0

In the investment world, it is a well-known axiom that the trend is your friend (until it reverses). This phrase has been around for hundreds of years and contains a lot of horse sense. Only an academic could truly posit that anything controlled by human behavior is a so-called "random walk." The tendency of humans to herd is well documented and proven. To those in the know about investing, the concept of trend uniformity is well known and to bet against a well-established trend is folly. Yet all trends go too far and then reverse. The trick is to know when they have reversed. I would submit that in the 20th and 21st centuries Statism has been a prevailing trend versus the Individual. Economies of scale and the need for large teams to accomplish big projects drove us in that direction in spite of our agrarian roots. But I sense a change of trend. I believe that the support for Dr. Ron Paul is a function of the fact that he is sitting on top of an enormous new trend: Individuals versus Big Organizations or Individuals versus the State. I am long Individuals and short the State.

This is nearly 100 years old

Robert M. La Follette... delivered 6 Oct 1917 Washington, DC
But, sir, it is not alone Members of Congress that the war party in this country has sought to intimidate. The mandate seems to have gone forth to the sovereign people of this country that they must be silent while those things are being done by their Government which most vitally concern their well-being, their happiness, and their lives. Today, and for weeks past, honest and law-abiding citizens of this country are being terrorized and outraged in their rights by those sworn to uphold the laws and protect the rights of the people. I have in my possession numerous affidavits establishing the fact that people are being unlawfully arrested, thrown into jail, held incommunicado for days, only to be eventually discharged without ever having been taken into court, because they have committed no crime. Private residences are being invaded, loyal citizens of undoubted integrity and probity arrested, cross-examined, and the most sacred constitutional rights guaranteed to every American citizen are being violated.

It appears to be the purpose of those conducting this campaign to throw the country into a state of terror, to coerce public opinion, to stifle criticism, and suppress discussion of the great issues involved in this war.

I think all men recognize that in time of war the citizen must surrender some rights for the common good which he is entitled to enjoy in time of peace. But, sir, the right to control their own Government according to constitutional forms is not one of the rights that the citizens of this country are called upon to surrender in time of war.

Rather, in time of war, the citizen must be more alert to the preservation of his right to control his Government. He must be most watchful of the encroachment of the military upon the civil power. He must beware of those precedents in support of arbitrary action by administration officials which, excused on the pleas of necessity in war time, become the fixed rule when the necessity has passed and normal conditions have been restored.

More than all, the citizen and his representative in Congress in time of war must maintain his right of free speech.

More than in times of peace it is necessary that the channels for free public discussion of governmental policies shall be open and unclogged. I believe, Mr. President, that I am now touching upon the most important question in this country today -- and that is the right of the citizens of this country and their representatives in Congress to discuss in an orderly way, frankly and publicly and without fear, from the platform and through the press, every important phase of this war; its causes, and manner in which it should be conducted, and the terms upon which peace should be made.

The belief which is becoming widespread in this land that this most fundamental right is being denied to the citizens of this country is a fact, the tremendous significance of which those in authority have not yet begun to appreciate. I am contending, Mr. President, for the great fundamental right of the sovereign people of this country to make their voice heard and have that voice heeded upon the great questions arising out of this war, including not only how the war shall be prosecuted but the conditions upon which it may be terminated with a due regard for the rights and the honor of this Nation and the interests of humanity.

I am contending for this right because the exercise of it is necessary to the welfare, to the existence of this Government, to the successful conduct of this war, and to a peace which shall be enduring and for the best interests of this country.

Suppose success attends the attempt to stifle all discussion of the issues of this war, all discussions of the terms upon which it should be concluded, all discussion of the objects and purposes to be accomplished by it, and concede the demand of the war-mad press and war extremists that they monopolize the right of public utterance upon these questions unchallenged. What think you would be the consequences to this country not only during the war but after the war?

Mr. President, our Government, above all others, is founded on the right of the people freely to discuss all matters pertaining to their Government, in war not less than in peace. It is true, sir, that Members of the House of Representatives are elected for two years, the President for four years, and the Members of the Senate for six years, and during their temporary official terms these officers constitute what is called the Government.

But back of them always is the controlling, sovereign power of the People, and when the people can make their will known, the faithful officer will obey that will. Though the right of the People to express their will by ballot is suspended during the term office of the elected official, nevertheless the duty of the official to obey the popular will shall continue throughout his entire term of office. How can that popular will express itself between elections except by meetings, by speeches, by publications, by petitions, and by addresses to the representatives of the people?

Any man who seeks to set a limit upon those rights, whether in war or peace, aims a blow at the most vital part of our Government. And then, as the time for election approaches and the official is called to account for his stewardship -- not a day, not a wee, not a month, before the election, but a year or more before it, if the people choose -- they must have the right to the freest possible discussion of every question upon which their representative has acted, of the merits of every measure he has supported or opposed, of every vote he has cast, and every speech that he has made.

And before this great fundamental right every other must, if necessary, give way. For in no other manner can representative government be preserved.

Papers Please: Arrested At Circuit City

Me: “I’m required by law to state that my name is Michael Righi, but I do not have to provide you with my driver’s license since I am not operating a vehicle.”
Officer Arroyo: “Give me your driver’s license or I will place you under arrest.”
Me: “My name is Michael Righi. I am not willing to provide you with my driver’s license.”
Officer Arroyo: “Turn around and up against the wall.”

Comedian Gets the Hook for Using N-Word

A standup routine by black comedian Eddie Griffin was stopped after he repeatedly used the N-word, a magazine's spokesman said Wednesday.
Griffin, who has appeared in movies such as "Undercover Brother" and "Date Movie" and the TV show "Malcolm & Eddie," was performing at a Black Enterprise magazine event in the Miami suburb of Doral on Friday when he was cut off after using profanities and the N-word, said Andrew Wadium, a spokesman for the publication...
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who attended a meeting held by the magazine in Miami but not the performance, said the crowd gave an ovation to Earl Graves, the magazine's publisher, when he came on stage after the 39- year-old Griffin was pulled, according to a statement on the Web site of Sharpton's National Action Network.

Police State is upon us?

The Pentagon will end its Threat and Local Observation Notices (TALON)
Program. The program collects reports of activities that are alleged to
be threats to the Defense Department. The program will be shut down as
of September 17, 2007....

The department admitted that it had maintained the information
after it was determined that there was no threat from the protests past
the 90 days its guidelines provided for. The department also monitored
student speech and e-mails at several universities across the country,
tracking students involved in protesting military policies.

Anti-war groups and other organizations, including a Quaker group — the American Friends Service Committee — protested after it was revealed that the military had monitored anti-war activities, organizations and individuals who attended peace rallies.

Pentagon officials have said the program was productive and had detected international terrorist interests in specific military bases. But they also acknowledged that some officials may not have been using the system properly.

The TALON reports — collected by an array of Defense Department agencies including law enforcement, intelligence, counterintelligence and security — are kept in a large database and analyzed by an obscure Pentagon agency, the Counterintelligence Field Activity. CIFA is a three-year-old outfit whose size and budget are secret.

U.S. Northern Command recently hosted representatives from more than 40 international, federal and state agencies for an exercise designed to provoke discussion and determine what governmental actions, including military support, would be necessary in the event of an influenza pandemic in the United States.

a 200-yard stretch along a nature trail has been blanketed by a sprawling spider web that has engulfed seven large trees, dozens of bushes and the weedy ground.

Lies, Lies, and More Lies, in History-Illiterate America

China Enacting a High-Tech Plan to Track People

At least 20,000 police surveillance cameras are being installed along streets here in southern China and will soon be guided by sophisticated computer software from an American-financed company to recognize automatically the faces of police suspects and detect unusual activity.

Starting this month in a port neighborhood and then spreading across Shenzhen, a city of 12.4 million people, residency cards fitted with powerful computer chips programmed by the same company will be issued to most citizens.

“If they do not get the permanent card, they cannot live here, they cannot get government benefits, and that is a way for the government to control the population in the future,” said Michael Lin, the vice president for investor relations at China Public Security Technology, the company providing the technology...
Every police officer in Shenzhen now carries global positioning satellite equipment on his or her belt. This allows senior police officers to direct their movements on large, high-resolution maps of the city that China Public Security has produced using software that runs on the Microsoft Windows operating system.

“We have a very good relationship with U.S. companies like I.B.M., Cisco, H.P., Dell,” said Robin Huang, the chief operating officer of China Public Security. “All of these U.S. companies work with us to build our system together.”

Fred Thompson has a gift for knowing just what to say to anyone

The right has a crush on Fred Thompson, but his own papers suggest he is less conservative than they think.

Virginians Face $3,000 Traffic Ticket

Beginning Sunday, Virginia is adding new civil charges to traffic fines. They range from $750 to $3,000 and will be added to existing fines and court costs. The civil penalty for going 20 mph over the speed limit will be $1,050, plus $61 in court costs and a fine that is typically about $200.

Great post on Anthony's site

Gotta Love Mika.

I concur Mr. Evil Genius.

How To Not Hire An American

Thisis pretty outrageous. This is who we have to go after in this immigration debate. Nikki, you should be screaming right now.