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December 31, 2003
Meantime, the Joy of Aviation Lives
Gus used to have an insane set of airplanes hangared close to where our widdle bitty arrow's home (I won't call it a hangar since it's a twisted pile of kind of aluminum cruft that vaguely resembles a cardboard box that might fall down at any time) is located. I spent hours talking to Gus about his airplanes, his plans, and his ideas of fun. So off he went on another world record adventure. The Psycho Sensei wishes him Goddess-speed :-)
From CNN
Pilot attempts first pole-to-pole solo flight
From Silvio Carrillo
CNN
Monday, December 29, 2003 Posted: 2:29 PM EST (1929 GMT)
Gus McLeod took off Monday headed to the South Pole from a Maryland airport.
COLLEGE PARK, Maryland (CNN) -- A Maryland man embarked Monday on a quest to become the first pilot to fly solo around the globe from pole to pole.
After numerous interviews with news media, and pictures and hugs from fans, admirers, and family, Gus McLeod sat in his South Korean-made single-engine plane and took off from a suburban Washington airfield.
"I'm trying to bring back the magic to aviation," McLeod said before de-icing his frost-covered plane with a towel. He planned the trip to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first successful powered flight, which was earlier this month.
He said his main concern is the weather over Antarctica, where he could not be rescued for approximately 15 hours if his aircraft goes down over the expansive southern ice cap.
If McLeod completes the 28,000-mile journey, it will be his third aviation world record. He also holds the records for being the first person to fly an open-cockpit airplane to the magnetic north pole -- the location compasses point toward -- and the first to fly an open-cockpit airplane to the geographical north pole.
His airplane, called the Firefly, is an experimental Velocity aircraft given to him by a South Korean aviation company. It does not have an open cockpit.
McLeod plans to stop first in Florida for extra fuel tanks, then to head through South America, over the South Pole, continuing across Australia, Asia, the North Pole and then back home.
Among the many supporters witnessing McLeod's farewell from College Park Airport were about a dozen Tuskegee Airmen -- the famed African-American World War II military squadron. And, as they were once his inspiration to take up flying, he hopes to inspire others himself.
"Here's an ordinary guy," said McLeod, referring to himself, "who's never been a professional pilot, who's doing world records in aviation; I can do it too and I think that's the real reason deep down."
Just When You Thought Things Were Stupid Enough
After I just heard an ad for TSA screeners paying from 11.00 to 16.00 an hour, I thought perhaps that for those types of wages they might be hiring people with two brain cells to rub together. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Were they afraid that perhaps someone would pack explosives in the fish? What is it about airports that shuts off the brains of anyone wearing a uniform? I'm afraid I can only sit slack jawed with wonder
From The Post Gazette Contributed by Paul H. :-)
Forum: The fish that threatened national security
College student Lara Hayhurst was not prepared to let officials treat her little pet like Osama 'fin' Laden
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Like many college students who flew home for the holidays, I had to endure the latest airport safeguards in the name of homeland security. A lot of us have stories to tell, but only mine is a fish tale, a contemporary melodrama of the absurd to prepare you for future travels.
My boyfriend Trey and I arrived by taxi at the US Airways terminal of La Guardia airport. We had four bags apiece, and one more precious piece of cargo -- MJ, my pet fish. MJ is a gorgeous fighting Betta fish, his palate a perfect pastel rainbow. He had become quite a solace to me in New York, a city that can make you feel so small and alone.
I missed my cats at college, and it really helped to have this tiny, exuberant creature to look after. Betta fish, research has shown, are the only aquatic animals that can recognize their owner. MJ was no exception. I'd walk into my cold dorm room after a long day and his body would just light up, and he would swim excited circles around his little bowl. Unfortunately, residence hall rules required that I take him home with me for winter break. That was just as well, since there would be no one there to care for him.
At La Guardia we proceeded to security and the X-ray inspection point run by the Transportation Security Administration. I have learned by now that, post-9/11, a traveler is better off safe than sorry when proceeding through security.
I wasn't prepared, however, for the TSA to stop me right at the entrance, proclaiming that no small pets, including fish, were permitted through security. I had, however, just received the blessing of the ticket agents at US Airways and pre-assured MJ's travels with Pittsburgh International Airport security weeks before our travel date. I tried to explain this to the screener who stood between me and the gates, but she would have none of it.
I was led back to the US Airways ticket counter, stocking-footed and alone, where the agents reasserted that they did not see a problem for me to have a fish on board, properly packaged in plastic fish bag and secured with a rubber band as MJ was. But the TSA supervisor was called over, and he berated me profusely. He exclaimed that in no way, under no circumstances, was a small fish allowed to pass through security, regardless of what the ticket agents said.
Mr. Supervisor was causing a grand scene, marshaling the full authority of the TSA to refuse me. Now, I know my fish is a terrorist (Osama Fin Laden we used to call him back at school), but doesn't it strike you as funny that, with all the commotion my little security threat was causing, by now engaging the full attention of the TSA at LaGuardia, that someone who posed a real threat to passenger safety might be conveniently slipping by?
By this time, I was in tears. The supervisor furiously told me to dispose of the fish. Dispose of my fish?! What did he want me to do, throw him away? He told me to go outside and give him to whomever I came to the airport with. When I explained I was a college student, alone in New York City (save for boyfriend Trey), he brushed me off and said that was not his problem.
I cried some more. With no other option that we could see, Trey and I headed toward a rest room.
Inside the ladies' room, I looked at MJ, swimming happily in his bag, and then the looming porcelain toilet bowl in front of me. I broke down. I couldn't do it.
I went back outside and told Trey I couldn't flush MJ. It was then, in this hopeless predicament, that Trey, ever brilliant and supportive, had an idea. He explained his plan to me.
Trey disappeared into the men's room with the fish and my backpack. When he got into the stall, he let out a bit of the water in MJ's bag, and packed the fish into my backpack, which only contained pants. Wedged between some corduroys and khakis, we prayed he wouldn't suffocate or get squished, not to mention fried by the security X-rays that can be fatal to small creatures such as fish. Every Web site I visited, every vet that I contacted said that air travel was no problem for Bettas, as long as I did not, under any circumstances, allow it to go through the X-ray machine.
In my research, I had learned that running a fish through an X-ray would be like a human getting radiation without wearing the protective lead cloak. At this point, though, we had no choice. We proceeded to a different security checkpoint, on the other side of the terminal.
Before we went through, Trey grabbed my hand. "Lara," he said, "you know there are only a few outcomes.
"One, they will see his bag or skeleton in the X-ray and catch us, we'll get in huge trouble for crossing security and we'll have to flush the fish. Two, he may die instantly in a blaze of glory from the X-rays. Or, he'll miraculously survive and we'll smuggle him onto the plane and pray that he survives the exposure." I shuddered and nodded.
We took a deep breath and proceeded. We loaded our things onto the belt before the X-ray machine and walked through. Once past the scanner, Trey and I grabbed our things and ran for the gates, eager to find the first bathroom to see if MJ was intact. On the way, we passed by the original security checkpoint we had tried to go through.
The agents were huddled together, and recognized us. "What did you do with the fish?" they asked, "What did you do with the fish!?"
Sensing a chance for comeuppance, Trey put on his "stone-cold-supportive-protector" face and said with great dramatics, "You know what ... we flushed him. We flushed him because you made us [pause for effect]. You killed my girlfriend's fish. No, you made herkill her fish ... Happy holidays."
I started sobbing again. Trey gave the TSA agents one last cold, steely gaze.
We turned and walked away. I smelled an Oscar.
Now in the rest room, I faced impending doom once again. I picked through my bag and found the familiar plastic. I pulled it out, and miraculously MJ was still alive!
Maybe it was God, maybe it was the corduroy, but someone wanted my fish to live. I then bought a doughnut from a coffee kiosk, placing MJ on the bottom of the paper bag I was given, and the pastry on top. Trey and I walked to the gate and checked in. A few passengers had witnessed our role in the La Guardia Christmas Security Spectacular and asked us what happened to the fish. We stuck to our story and told them it was gone.
The flight was full. I sat between two fat men who seemed intrigued by the brown paper bag I gently cradled in my lap the whole flight.
An hour and a half later, we were in Pittsburgh. We departed the people-mover, and ran one final time to the bathroom to see if MJ was OK, and he was.
Absolutely amazing. Two terminals, baggage claim and a car ride later, I was at home.
As I write this I sit with a cat in my lap and my fish, which I have aptly renamed X-ray, swimming contentedly in his glass-beaded bowl. And even though my actions may send Tom Ridge reeling and upset the karma of the Department of Homeland Security, I really don't care.
Honestly, they have bigger fish to fry.
December 28, 2003
The terror threat at home, often overlooked
Now this is pretty damn scary, don't you think? here we are, running in circles, screaming and shouting about people who might come in and out of our airspace, while ignoring the stuff that takes place on our own shores. Does this make any sense?
As the media focus on international terror, a Texan pleads guilty to possessing a weapon of mass destruction.
Last month, an east Texas man pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon of mass destruction. Inside the home and storage facilities of William Krar, investigators found a sodium-cyanide bomb capable of killing thousands, more than a hundred explosives, half a million rounds of ammunition, dozens of illegal weapons, and a mound of white-supremacist and antigovernment literature.[Christian Science Monitor: All Stories]
Send Help to Iran
Over twenty thousand people are confirmed dead in Iraq. That's 6 times more than were killed on 9/11. The devastation is unbelievable. Hundreds of thousands of homeless, freezing, mourning, people need help. You can send contributions to the Red Cross marked for Iran Relief or to the National Iranian American Council .
December 26, 2003
Calvin is recovering well
Calvin is settling back in after his great adventure. He is putting some weight back on, and his scratches and cuts are healing. He's very clingy right now, not wanting to be far away from us, but he seems to be feeling much better.
I still can't get over how wonderful the Great Falls Park rangers were in helping us find him, and how the visitor who found him wouldn't let us give him a reward or anything else in appreciation.
We are truly lucky.
December 25, 2003
A Psycho Sensei Holiday
For those of you who don't know (or care :-)), the Psycho Sensei doesn't celebrate xmas. But since she has a lot of friends who do, she will post one of her favorite xmas songs here in their honor.
6. A Lonely Jew on Christmas
Performed by Kyle Broflovski and 'Special Mystery Guest'
It's hard to be a Jew on Christmas
My Friends won't let me join in any games..
And I can't sing Christmas songs
Or decorate a Christmas tree..
Or leave water out for Rudolph
cos there's something wrong with me..
My people don't believe in Jesus Christ's divinity..
I'm a Jew, a Lonely Jew.. on Christmas.
Chanukkah is nice, but why is it,
That Santa passes over my house every year?
And instead of eating Ham
I have to eat Kosher Lekeesh..
Instead of Silent Night
I'm singing hou-hazch-tou-gavish..
And what the fuck is up
With lighting all these fucking Candles, tell me please?
I'm a Jew, a Lonely Jew..
I'd be merry, but i'm Hebrew.. on Christmas.
Hey Little Boy, I can't help but hear,
You're feeling left out of Christmas Cheer..
But i've come to see that you shouldn't be sad
'Cos this is the one month that you shoud be glad..
Because it's nice to be a Jew on Christmas
You don't have to deal with the season at all..
You don't have to be on your best behaviour, or give to charity
You don't have to go to grandma's house with your alcoholic family..
And I don't have to sit on some fake Santa's lap
And have him breathe his stinky breath on me!
That's right! You're a Jew, a Stylin' Jew..
It'd a good time, to be Hebrew.. on Christmas.
December 24, 2003
Merry Xmas - You're Fired
I wonder how many places actually do things like this, and how many people do nothing about it and just move on?
From Knox News .com
Religion can be trouble in workplace
By PAMELA REEVES, Anderson, Reeves & Cooper P.A.
December 21, 2003
A case filed in federal court in Nashville two weeks ago illustrates why employers need to make sure their employees' religious beliefs remain outside the workplace.
The case was filed by a woman who adheres to the Baha'i faith, a sect that believes several religious figures are equally authentic messengers of God.
The lawsuit alleges that when she was fired, she was told that she was being fired before the Christmas season because her mere presence in the workplace would ruin her co-worker's holidays.
The plaintiff also alleged that other co-workers told her that they were praying for her soul and that the office manager gave her a framed picture of Jesus. She claims that her termination notice contained a letter from her supervisor that said, "Realize why Jesus Came. Recognize his Holy Name. Receive Jesus Christ into your heart. Rely on Jesus everyday."
While it is too early to predict the outcome of this lawsuit, it is safe to say that the actions of the co-workers have, at a minimum, created a potential for liability.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in the terms and conditions of employment based on religion in companies with 15 or more employees. The Tennessee Human Rights Act prohibits religious discrimination for employers with eight or more employees.
It is difficult for employees to realize that their desire to share their religious beliefs with co-workers can be a form of religious discrimination. Many have strong religious convictions that they should share their faith with others. Unfortunately, this type of behavior in the workplace can create concerns.
Companies should make sure that their supervisors are aware that attempts to impose religious beliefs can be a violation of law. In particular, supervisors should be trained to avoid this type of behavior personally and to take affirmative action to make sure that co-workers are not harassing other employees.
This is not to say that one can never discuss religion in the workplace. It is fine to invite someone to attend church or to answer questions about religious beliefs. The problems occur when an employee begins to harass a co-worker about religious beliefs or makes religion such a focus that it begins to affect the terms and conditions of employment.
While the Christmas season is definitely a time for many of us to take stock of our religious beliefs, it is also a time to remember that those beliefs are personal. The workplace is simply not a pulpit.
It may be difficult in this part of the country to accept this fact, but the New Year will be a lot happier if the company and its employees are not having to spend their time defending a religious discrimination lawsuit.
Pamela Reeves is a partner in the Knoxville law firm Anderson, Reeves & Cooper P.A. Because factual situations vary, competent legal counsel should be consulted for individual advice.
December 23, 2003
CALVIN IS HOME!!!
I am so relieved, so happy, so everything. It is just amazing. He was found in Great Falls Park about 2:45 today by a visitor who brought him to the rangers. I cried like a wuss when I saw him. I'm awful.
Thank the Goddess! He's HOME!!!!!
He's a bit scratched up, a bit skinnier, smells real bad, and he's sleeping a lot, but he's HOME. Thanks to everyone for all their help and kind thoughts.
The wonderful man who found him refused to take the reward. He said he was just happy to help. The neighbors have been calling to ask if he's been found and ok. It's so fantastic that people care so much, even when we're told about how rotten the world is.
December 22, 2003
Psycho Sensei is Very Very Sad This Evening
My beautiful little hairless Chinese Crested, Calvin, is missing. He's been gone since 10 this morning, and I'm so terribly worried he won't make it through the night. He was last seen in Great Falls Park. We went looking for him for hours and hours, and couldn't find him. I don't have any idea what to do now. We're devastated by this.
Please send good thoughts for Calvin's safe return to us.
If you happen to have any information, please write ooblick at ego dot org ASAP. Thanks.
Say It Isn't SO!!!
Say it isn't SO! The Patriot Act is being used for things OTHER than terrorism? John Asscruft's overreaching and controversial act, passed when everyone was running in circles, frightened by anything that moves, is being used to limit freedoms of innocent Americans? No kidding!
From the Sacramento Bee
Liberty in the balance: Patriot Act's broad brush
Aimed at terrorists, the landmark legislation affects average citizens.
By Sam Stanton -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PST Sunday, December 21, 2003
Becky Foster isn't a terrorist, but her bank didn't want to take any chances.
Before she could open a new account, bank officials told her, the USA Patriot Act required them to run her name through a government list of suspected terrorists.
The public corruption probe known as "G-sting" is aimed at strip-club owners, but that didn't stop the FBI from using the Patriot Act to secretly obtain reams of banking information for its investigation.
Originally sold to Congress as a means of fighting terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Patriot Act has been used in numerous criminal cases unrelated to terrorism probes, officials say.
In addition, some financial institutions have been citing it to explain why they're now asking for sensitive personal information from their customers.
Citizens looking to join college savings plans, for example, have been told they must provide extra information under the act.
And under its auspices, hotels and airlines have compiled personal information on customers and turned it over to the government.
Although the federal government defends its use of the law as appropriate and necessary, some elected officials and civil liberties advocates say the practices bear out their concerns that the scope of the law is too broad.
"It was never my intent to have the Patriot Act used as a kitchen sink for all of the law enforcement tool goodies that the FBI has been trying to get for the last decades," said U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, a Nevada Democrat who voted for the act in October 2001.
"It's a classic case of bureaucratic overreaching. It is Patriot Act creep."
The act became law six weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., passing overwhelmingly out of the House and Senate after administration officials said it was necessary to ensure the nation's safety.
The primary focus of the law is to fight terrorists, and the name itself -- Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism -- helped propel it through Congress.
But it also contained specific language about money-laundering cases that gained virtually no notice at the time it was passed, and the Justice Department says there is every reason to use that language to further its investigations, even if the probes are not related to terrorism.
"If a tool that is legal and constitutionally valid is good enough to use against organized crime or drug dealers, it ought to be good enough to be used against terrorism," said Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo. "Conversely, if it's good enough to be used against terrorists, it ought to be used against other kinds of criminals."
Corallo noted that the financial and money-laundering provisions of the act came at the request of Democratic Sen. Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee.
Sarbanes' office did not respond to a request for comment. But the senator has said in the past that tough new tools are needed to fight money laundering.
"We had nothing to do with those provisions," Corallo said. "They were not promulgated by the administration, particularly not by the Justice Department. We don't have any problem with them. We think they're fine and useful."
Berkley, who represents the Las Vegas area in Congress, has learned in recent weeks that her district is a prime example of the Justice Department's efforts to use the law in investigations outside of terrorism probes.
Last month, controversy erupted in Nevada when the FBI acknowledged it had used a portion of the act for the first time in a public corruption case.
The probe is known in Las Vegas as "G-sting" and seeks evidence of ties between a Las Vegas strip club operator and local politicians. As part of the investigation, the FBI used a section of the law that allows investigators to seek detailed financial information about suspects. Justice Department officials say such a move is a prudent means of getting information it needs quickly.
But opponents of the law say the tactic validates the concerns they have voiced about the potential for the government to abuse the powers it received under the law, which allows for secret searches and information-gathering.
"It has absolutely nothing to do with terrorism, which is why it's so troubling," said Gary Peck, executive director of the Nevada American Civil Liberties Union.
"The Patriot Act was sold to the American people and sold to the Congress as a tool to fight terrorism. We were told by the attorney general in the days and weeks after the horrifying events of 9/11 that it was an absolutely necessary tool in the war against terrorism, and that anyone who opposed its passage was unpatriotic and giving aid and comfort to America's enemies."
The ACLU voiced concerns at the time of the act's passage that it could be used to enhance the FBI's powers to investigate citizens in nonterrorism cases, and officials contend its recent use in Nevada underscores that point.
Kevin Bankston, a fellow with the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, which lobbies to protect computer users' rights and privacy, said the Patriot Act allows financial institutions to cooperate with the federal government in a wide array of investigations, including money laundering.
"Money laundering is very, very broad," he said. "There is no probable cause here. There is no judicial oversight. Yet the government can immediately query financial institutions across the nation to find out where you have an account or who you've done business with.
"It's not just if you have an account there, but any record of a financial transaction."
Bankston said the definition of "financial institution" in the act is very broad, and can include pawn brokers, real estate sales companies and others.
Federal officials acknowledge that the law greatly expanded the government's ability to seek financial records from a variety of businesses.
"Traditionally, we had a core group of financial institutions," said Judith R. Starr, chief counsel of the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. "The statute goes out much further than it has gone yet. It goes out to travel agents, vehicle sellers, pawn brokers. It's a broad statute."
Starr said critics who say the Patriot Act shouldn't be used for money laundering are missing the larger picture of how many different types of crime can help finance terrorist activities.
"We want to make sure we're combatting crime as well as terrorism, particularly because the two feed each other," she said.
Under Section 314a of the Patriot Act, law enforcement agencies can go to FinCEN and ask it to identify all the financial institutions that a suspect has a relationship with.
"We came up with a system that was supposed to be a pointer system or locator system ... in terrorist cases or significant money-laundering cases, where you didn't have a financial trail," she said. "You ought to be able to get one in real time on a nationwide basis. It was one of those things, after Sept. 11, where you hit yourself on the head and say, 'Why don't you have this?' "
Under the system, names of suspects are sent to financial institutions, which report back on whether they match anyone doing business with them.
The center does not provide financial documents to law enforcement, however, and the Justice Department notes that kind of information can be obtained only with a subpoena.
FinCEN data show that most of the 314a requests to which the agency responded didn't relate to terrorism, but to money laundering. The government has used the provision in 167 instances between February and October of this year, with 60 involving terrorism cases and 107 money laundering, according to figures compiled by federal officials.
But Starr warned that some of the money-laundering cases might turn out to be terrorism-related in the end.
"Sometimes it's going to take a while to find out," she said. "I went back and looked at some of the money-laundering cases. I can tell you that they resemble cases that turned out to be terrorist-financing cases."
In the winter and spring, the network proposed including travel agencies, vehicle sellers and people involved in real estate settlements as financial institutions, a proposal Starr said still is being reviewed.
As criticism of the Patriot Act has gained momentum nationally over the past year, the federal government and Attorney General John Ashcroft have said repeatedly that ordinary Americans have nothing to fear from the law.
But law-abiding Americans have been affected, since some banks and other businesses tell customers that the act requires them to collect personal information on the government's behalf, for things like opening a bank account.
Becky Foster counts herself among those. A court clerk who lives in a gated community on the outskirts of Las Vegas, Foster is president of her homeowners association.
When the association recently changed banks and tried to open a new account, board members received notice from the bank that under the Patriot Act, the "law requires banks to check all signers on all accounts to determine if there are any terrorist links."
"In order to comply, we are required to obtain Social Security numbers, driver license numbers and date of birth from each signer, to check them against the government's terrorist list," the Community Association Banc wrote.
"When they sent us the letter, we just all kind of looked at each other," Foster said last week, standing outside her split-level suburban home near Nellis Air Force Base. "We didn't take a vote on it, we just said we're not going to do it.
"This is another example of how far the tentacles reach into private people's lives. I had no idea it was going to affect us on a level like this, at a homeowners association. It's silly, I think."
The case had little real impact on the homeowners. They simply ignored the bank's request, began writing checks on their account and never heard anything about the matter again.
But furor over the case has increased attention in Nevada about the Patriot Act, and spawned rallies in Las Vegas and Reno.
The outcry there adds to the criticism law enforcement already faces over its undercover infiltration of peace and advocacy groups, and its demands for access to records of nonprofit groups that aid immigrants.
Hotels and airlines also have been affected by the law and related new federal policies, with some struggling to figure out what they are required to report.
Representatives from the travel and other industries gathered in Washington, D.C., in March to discuss these challenges for a conference sponsored by a group called Privacy & American Business.
Among the speakers was Chris Zoladz, vice president for information protection at Marriott International, who described changes the corporation has been navigating in the wake of new federal policies.
His comments were included on an audio tape from the conference obtained by The Bee. Marriott officials declined to discuss his comments when contacted for this story.
"Things in general for Marriott have changed very significantly" since the Sept. 11 attacks, Zoladz told those attending the session.
"The Patriot Act, in addition to the many provisions that it contains, basically turned Marriott into a financial institution," he said. "We are now considered a money service business because we cash checks and we do currency exchange."
As a result, he said, Marriott now reports "suspicious" transactions to the government.
But the definition of "what suspicious is isn't so terribly clear," he told the conference.
Zoladz also complained that the company still has difficulty understanding how to follow all aspects of the Patriot Act and related federal policy changes.
"Someone walks in off the street, goes to the lounge and orders a cocktail," he told the conference. "Are we supposed to ask them who they are and then go to Treasury's Web site and do a name search and see what happens?"
Ordinary citizens also are perplexed by facets of the law, civil libertarians say, noting that people across the country have complained about banks asking them to provide personal details to open accounts.
"One problem that we tried to point out when the Patriot Act was first being considered was that many of the powers of the Patriot Act were not limited to terrorism in any way," said Timothy Edgar, the ACLU's legislative counsel in Washington, D.C. "Although it was sold as a bill to go after al-Qaida and other terrorists, it was really making changes that would broadly affect Americans' privacy."
The Justice Department says that simply is not true.
"The fact is that when you're talking about the provisions of the Patriot Act, they are governed on a case-by-case basis by federal judges," Corallo said. "We can't get authority to do surveillance, to do searches or to get records without the authority of a federal judge.
"We then have to report to Congress twice a year on all of our activities on the Patriot Act. That does not exist anywhere else in our law."
But concern over the amount of information the government can access under the law has spawned moves in hundreds of communities in the United States, including Sacramento, to pass resolutions opposing the act.
That concern extends to Congress, where Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass., and a dozen other members have called for hearings next year on whether the Justice Department is misusing the law.
"Critics representing a wide range of ideological perspectives have raised serious questions about how the Justice Department has used its legal tools, including the Patriot Act, to investigate individuals with no apparent link to terrorism," Meehan said in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, citing the Las Vegas strip-club case as an example.
In Las Vegas, Berkley's office hears almost daily from constituents angry about the issue.
"My constituents are up in arms," she said. "Las Vegas has always had a tenuous relationship with the FBI.
"People who move here are kind of independent-thinking people, and they want to be left alone. They don't believe in government interference with their lives."
December 21, 2003
Episcopal Church May Be Saved
Due to some very generous help from the Nigerian Anglican Church, the rift may be mending. A wonderful thing, that.
From this important link
The Right Reverend Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and titular leader of the Worldwide Anglican Communion, appeared on the steps of Lambeth Palace this morning to announce a possible, partial resolution of the schism that has been facing the Church since the Diocese of New Hampshire in the United States consecrated an openly gay priest as bishop.
Conservative churches throughout the world, and particularly in Africa, have denounced the consecration of Reverend Gene Robinson as contrary to Scripture. Thus, it was with evident relief that Archbishop Williams reported that the 17.5 million member Anglican Church of Nigeria had offered to recognize Bishop Robinson's status in exchange for assistance from the Diocese of New Hampshire in moving a substantial amount of money from Nigeria to the US.
"It seems they have some kind of bally regulations in Nigeria that restrict the amount of money you can send abroad," said Archbishop Williams, showing reporters a faxed letter Lambeth had received that morning from Lagos. "And well, these Nigerian chaps are very keen on supporting foreign missionaries, as it says here, so they need help from the Yanks in transferring some of their millions of dollars in missionary aid to the US for safekeeping."
"It says here that it is all quite legal and on the up and up. And they're being very generous on top of it all. Not only will they recognise the legitimacy of Robinson's consecration, they're even going to give the Diocese of New Hampshire one third of what they transfer out," he continued. "Lagos just needs the Americans to send over some bits of information, like their bank account numbers and, of course, their mother's maiden names so they can add them to their prayer lists."
Archdeacon Reginald Perthbite of the Diocese of New Hampshire later confirmed that the church had forwarded all of the requested information to Nigeria and was eagerly awaiting a visit from Nigerian churchmen who want to thank their fellow Anglicans in person for their help. "They promised to fly over as soon as they make the transfer into our account. At least, that's what I think they said. I was talking to someone using a cell phone and I guess reception is pretty bad over there because it sounded like he said something about transferring something out of our account, which of course wouldn't make any sense at all."
Nigerian Church officials, reached at a Champagne and Caviar Eucharist being held at the Lagos Rolls Royce Dealership, were quite enthusiastic about the help they had received from the Americans. "Oh my goodness yes indeedy," commented Canon Peter Karibi of the Diocese of Kebbi, Nigeria. "Please tell Bishop Robinson that everything is quite in order and that he should just sit tight on his rosy pink bottom until he hears from us again. Matters are very delicate right now and we must be very discrete, but everything is quite in order and that is all he really needs to know. Please tell him we shall fly right over and see him as soon as they deliver our new Lear Jet."
December 19, 2003
T Mobile Changes Number, Dumps Internet Access
So, at long last my number was changed to my old Sprint number. And I was happy. Then I tried to access the Internet. And I was unhappy. After an hour of trying to fix things, I was told that when your number gets changed, you don't get your Internet access or settings for up to 72 hours after the change.
How amazing! And their web service is down so I can't even check on things THAT way.
La la la. I'm just SO happy...NOT.
Court Rules Verizon Can Refuse to ID Customers to Music Industry
HOORAY! Finally some sense from judges who understand that the MEANS of distribution should not determine the outcome of a case. ISPs, at least in the DC area, do NOT have to rat out their customers, who then have to spend thousands of dollars to defend themselves from what are often completely unfounded charges
"Internet users are the winners in the Verizon case," said Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer. "The effect of the appeals court decision is that we do not lose our privacy simply by connecting to the Internet." [EFF: Press]
December 18, 2003
John Cleese To Become A Mayor???
From the Herald Sun
JOHN Cleese might follow in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gary Coleman by making a run for public office.
Cleese's Monty Python co-star, Michael Palin, said Cleese was "very involved with his local community" in Santa Barbara, California, and was thinking of running for mayor.
Palin said that Cleese would do a great job.
"He doesn't really want to do comedy any more. He has a very active and inquiring mind," Palin said.
He said Cleese's appearances in the Harry Potter movies will "fund the rest of his life".
December 16, 2003
Let's Celebrate 100 Years of Powered Flight By Excluding Pilots
Gee, thanks George W. Bush for spoiling the plans of pilots across the country by deciding to grace First Flight with his presence, thus essentially shutting down the General Aviation airports closest to the celebration. What an ironic slap in the face to the freedom of flight.
As Phil Boyer, President of the AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) said, "This has got to be the bitterest irony — that America will celebrate a century of powered flight by grounding aircraft at the birthplace of powered flight," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "Certainly the President deserves protection when he travels. But because his security personnel continue to insist on demanding oversized TFRs, the inheritors of the Wright brothers' legacy — America's pilots — are being penalized." Read the AOPA article here
December 15, 2003
Wireless Portability is a Flaming JOKE
Friday at approximately 7PM I went to the T Mobile store at Dulles Town Center and asked for my Sprint PCS number to be moved to my Sony Ericsson P900 phone on T Mobile. They said that was no problem, and it might take maybe 2 days or so to move the number, but most were up within 24 hours. That seemed a long time, but I said ok and the process began, or so I thought.
By Sunday nothing had happened, and calling the number still gave me my Sprint PCS voice mail. So I sent off email to T Mobile and to Sprint. Sprint said they never received any requests to move the number. T Mobile said they were confused, and did I really even send anything in? Needless to say, I was not very pleased and went zipping off to the FCC website about portability, which said the wireless industry had agreed to a 2 1/2 hour number switch, wireless to wireless. Armed with this information, off to T Mobile customer service hell.
Fifteen minutes on hold yielded a very confused person who had my paperwork saying there was indeed a request there, but I had to talk to another department that would make sure it went through TODAY. I thought this might be peachy keen. 20 more minutes on hold and the person I spoke to next said it would be 7 business days. Well that wasn't 2 1/2 hours by any stretch of the imagination. But maybe I could talk to someone in yet another department. ANOTHER 30 minutes on hold and I got someone who said that a "date error" stopped the process and apparently, nobody had done anything since then and it might indeed now be 7 business days. However, so that I would not be without service totally, I got a temporary activation and number so that I could at least use the damn phone pending this switch.
Moral of the story - don't expect anyone to keep their word.
December 14, 2003
Aviation's Methodical Pioneers
A month before their fateful flight at Kitty Hawk, Orville Wright wrote his father in Dayton, Ohio, instructing him to prepare a press release hailing the success of the world's first flying machine. Wait for a telegram, the letter said, then "notify the papers and the Associated Press." [Washington Post: Front Page]
Would Ansel Adams Have Gone Digital?
As most know, the Psycho Sensei is an avid photographer and has been for many years. Hearing the siren song of digital photography, I changed my shooting from the Nikon F100 to the D100, including my underwater photography. I am very happy with the D100 and the image quality. So when I came across this article on my NetNewsWire perusals this morning, I decided to put it on the blog. I think it's interesting, therefore you should too, or I'll pummel you. :-)
From Fortune magazine By Peter Lewis
I had the extreme pleasure this week of attending an exhibition of photography by Christopher Burkett, whose images of nature are so breathtaking in their luminosity, color, and detail that many observers assume they are digitally enhanced. They are not; Burkett's photos are made on 8-inch by 10-inch color transparencies or medium-format film, without lens filters, and are masterfully printed without digital enhancement of any kind.
December 12, 2003
Rather than spending all that money on CRAP....
Rather than spending billions to set up special TFRs (temporary flight restrictions) that follow Dubya everywhere he goes and costs the taxpayers PLENTY to enforce, and rather than maintaining the ridiculous "Defense" restrictions 30 miles around DC that costs another bundle to enforce (including chasing phantoms, people who didn't actually cause violations, and violators that get away), we COULD be focusing on the REAL homeland security issues - preventing terrorism.
But Oh NOOOO! We instead have to spend the money to ensure the safety of a few politicians rather than take care of the people who pay their salaries and elect them to office. But then, after all, we're expendable. Right?
One year after President Bush sought to energize the nation's bioterrorism preparations with an unprecedented smallpox vaccination campaign, the program has all but ground to a halt. A report released yesterday, meanwhile, finds that only two states -- Florida and Illinois -- are prepared to distribute and administer vaccines or medicines that would be needed in the event of a major outbreak or attack. [Washington Post: Nation and Politics]
Margy Gets An OFFICE!!!
Margy Natalie, Teacher in Residence at the new Smithsonian's Aviation Museum, officially has an office and a real live place to work, as the fabulous facility was dedicated yesterday. And, of course, she didn't invite US :-)
Lots of other big wigs were there, however. You can read all about them at this handy link from the Washington Post .
Stupid Verizon Tricks
Our T1 is down, so when you finally see this message, they have brought it back up again. The reason why this is truly stupid is because months ago a Verizon guy came by and said that the cable running from our house to the street is bad, and must be replaced. He put in a "temporary fix." They were supposed to come and put in a permanent fix, but never did. So guess what broke?
Psycho Sensei is not amused.
December 10, 2003
Stupid Security Tricks
I was just watching CNN and saw a story that made me fall over laughing. Airport security in Canada is frightened by fruitcakes. No, not the two legged human kind, but the kind made by grandma. Seems airport x-ray machines can't get through the confection, and this frightens those who man the checkpoints. Perhaps they are afraid that they might be used as a cockpit doorstop, or perhaps as a wedge to keep the person in front of you from reclining into your knees.
In any case, these Canadian Fruitcake Haters could make your life miserable if you don't put the fruitcake into checked baggage. And that's good advice whether it be a two legged one, or one made by grandma :-)
Office of Hateful Security
It's hardly surprising that the Office of Hateful Security can't tell a server from a client. After all, they can't tell a terrorist from a little old lady. Still, I found this highly amusing.
From Good Morning Silicon Valley
At least it's an improvement over last year. The federal government?s overall grade on cybersecurity rose over the past year, from an F in 2002 to a D in 2003, according to the latest Federal Computer Security Report Card. This is the fourth year in a row that many federal agencies have received poor grades for failing to secure their computer networks. Eight of them received a grade of F, among them the Department of Homeland Security -- which was apparently too busy working out the bugs in its Total Information Awareness System to bother securing its own network. As one might imagine, the subcommittee that prepared the report card was horrified by the low grades. "It is disturbing that 19 of the agencies are still out of line," said Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla.. "I don't underestimate the challenge, but the fact of the matter is they need to do it. ... Some folks have proved it can be done, and not just small agencies."
No Knock Searches for Kazaa Users?
So the already rabid RIAA now has the director of the office that brought us such wonderful examples of arbitration and mediation as the David Koresh show and various other blunders. That most certainly makes me feel SO much better about their already fascist tactics. NOT (Thanks to RS for the stolen title)
From Fox News (of all places) :
WASHINGTON — The director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is leaving his post next month to lead the recording industry's efforts to stop music piracy.
Bradley A. Buckles, who served ATF for 30 years and was named director in 1999, will come head of the Anti-Piracy Unit of the Recording Industry Association of America, the trade group announced Tuesday.
"Brad's appointment should signal to everyone that we continue to take piracy, here and throughout the world, very seriously," said Mitch Bainwol, RIAA's chairman and chief executive officer.
Over the past six months, RIAA has filed more than 380 copyright lawsuits against computer users its says are illegally distributing songs over the Internet. The RIAA also says music copyrights are increasingly threatened by easy-to-produce counterfeit compact disks.
Attorney General John Ashcroft praised Buckles for "the seamless transfer" of ATF from the Treasury Department to the Justice Department, which was part of the law creating the Homeland Security Department.
Buckles' retirement is effective Jan. 3. No replacement was immediately named.
December 09, 2003
I Feel the Earth Move
Well, I didn't, but Morgan did. Wes told her that she was just feeling bass from someone's stereo or something. I didn't feel anything. 4.5 with an epicenter 30 miles west of Richmond. Morgan says, "it's my first earthquake, and by the way, TOLD YOU SO." Hmmm. What a kid.
December 06, 2003
The Thanksgiving Photos
It's your chance to see the amazing family and friends of the Psycho Sensei. There are pictures of my seester, brother in law, mom and dad, as well as my very first Psycho Sensei instructors, Peter and Linda Murphy in their nifty new boxing and kickboxing gym. And you can see them too at this nifty link
It was great to see everyone again.
We are buried in SNOW
We wound up with a whole ton of crappy snow all over the place and it's really icky and makes life really horrible and disgusting. And it hasn't stopped yet. Psycho Sensei's insurance is no longer in effect. You see, I bought a snow blower thinking that its very presence would ensure that there would be no snow in the area EVER. Well, I was WRONG.
December 04, 2003
North Carolina's Idea of Diversity
When my friend Brent told me that the North Carolina Constitution was this lame, I could hardly believe him. So I took a look for myself. Right here in the North Carolina State Constitution is this abjectly discriminatory line that some North Carolina citizen should take immediately to the Supreme Court.
It seems that you are automatically disqualified to hold office in the State of North Carolina if you "deny the being of Almighty God."
Now just what is "the being of Almighty God?" I would imagine that even dyed in the wool xtians would be hard pressed to show the "being" rather than the spirit. And if you don't know what the phrase means, how can you NOT deny it?
Time for a recall of all elected officials in North Carolina pending a Supreme Court ruling prohibiting this clearly contradictory clause to the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
Or maybe only Roy Moore is qualified to hold office in NC. You decide.
December 03, 2003
German Accused of Cannibalism on Trial
It all goes to show you. You can find anything you want on the Internet
A computer expert accused of killing, dismembering and eating another man who allegedly agreed to the arrangement over the Internet went on trial for murder Wednesday at a court in central Germany.
[AP World News]