Occupation: Dreamland

I just watched the documentary called Occupation: Dreamland. Great stuff. Honest. Real. Will definitely give you a better perspective on what our soldier's face in Iraq.

- Vox

Helen Thomas/George Bush exchange

Watch this exchange between the feisty Helen Thomas and GWB.
http://win20ca.audiovideoweb.com/ca20win15004/BushHelen512K.wmv

- Vox

Another Bush "signing statement"...

...and if you don't know what a "signing statement" is, you might want to find out*.

Bush Shuns Patriot Act Requirement
"Bush wrote: ''The executive branch shall construe the provisions . . . that call for furnishing information to entities outside the executive branch . . . in a manner consistent with the president's constitutional authority to supervise the unitary executive (emphasis added by Vox) branch and to withhold information . . . ""

- Vox

*-"signing statment" = "King Bush's edict" (the Vox-saurus)

Bush uncle benefits from war spending

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/03-06/03-23-06/11world-nation.htm
"A report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows that William H.T. Bush collected a little less than $1.9 million in cash plus stock valued at more than $800,000 as a result of the sale of Engineered Support Systems Inc. to DRS Technologies of New Jersey. The $1.7 billion deal closed Jan. 31. Both businesses have extensive military contracts."

Hey, it's a free country.

- Vox

Welcome aboard, Charlie

Actor Charlie Sheen Questions Official 9/11 Story
"We're not the conspiracy theorists on this particular issue," said Sheen.
"It seems to me like 19 amateurs with box cutters taking over four commercial airliners and hitting 75% of their targets, that feels like a conspiracy theory. It raises a lot of questions."

I couldn't have said it better. Listen to the interview. He's done his homework.

- Vox

"Democracy", Afghanistan style

I thought the Taliban was gone. Guess not.
Afghan Christian convert may be freed

Now here's what I can't stand, and here's the reason why I started this blog (part of the reason, anyway). How can Condelezza Rice stand there and say that Afghanistan "has a constitution that embraces democracy rather than the autocratic mandates of the Taliban", when the only reason this Christian convert MAY be released and not executed is only if he's declared mentally incompetent to stand trial. (Can't you just hear the Afghan Muslims talking: "He converted to what? He must be crazy!"). So, if he's not mentally unfit, then BY AFGHAN LAW he should be executed.

I just want people to do a little analysis of what they hear. ANALYZE, and then you will get closer to the truth. Then you will see that this is not Republican-bashing, or Bush-bashing, or "skepticism". You'll realize that YOUR ARE BEING MISLEAD. And you should be upset, because it is costing the lives of our brothers and sisters.

- Vox

President Reaffirms Pre-emptive War Doctrine

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-031606bush_wr,0,3389762.story?coll=la-home-headlines
""If necessary, however, under long-standing principles of self defense, we do not rule out the use of force before attacks occur -- even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemy's attack," Bush wrote."

- Vox

Iraq Veteran Sees Nothing Positive About U.S. Troops Fighting There

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0317-07.htm
"I support the troops wholeheartedly," he said, "but I don't support the misuse of our armed forces as they are being used now."

More on Iraq Veterans Against the War.

- Vox

Analysis: States steadily restricting info

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110ap_sunshine_week.html
"In statehouse battles, the issue has pitted advocates of government openness - including journalists and civil liberties groups - against lawmakers and others who worry that public information could be misused, whether it's by terrorists or by computer hackers hoping to use your credit cards. Security concerns typically won out."

..."A democracy can only function if we have information. You can only have oversight of government if you have information."...

Thanks, RG (is that your real name?)

- Vox

Russ Feingold's presentation before Congress...

SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD: When the President of the United States breaks the law, he must be held accountable. That is why today I'm introducing a resolution to censure President George W. Bush. The President authorized an illegal program to spy on American citizens on American soil, and then misled the Congress and the public about the existence and the legality of that program. It is up to this body to reaffirm the rule of law by condemning the President's actions. All of us in this body took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and bear true allegiance to the same. Fulfilling that oath requires us to speak clearly and forcefully when the President violates the law. This resolution allows us to send a clear message that the President's conduct was wrong, and we must do that.
The President's actions demand a formal judgment from Congress. At moments in our history like this, we are reminded why the founders balanced the powers of the different branches of government so carefully in the Constitution. At the very heart of our system of government lies the recognition that some leaders will do wrong and that others in the government will then bear the responsibility to do right. This president has done wrong. This body can do right, by condemning his conduct and showing the people of this nation that his actions will not be allowed to stand unchallenged.

Clink this link to Democracy Now! to read the whole thing.

- Vox

Why must Russ stand alone??

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Feingold-Censure.html

Vox readers already know I hold Russ Feingold in very high esteem.

People should be rallying around Senator Feingold, who constantly and consistently has the courage to STAND ALONE for the right issues (you may remember that he is the only Senator to have voted "no" on the Patriot Act).

He is someone the Democrats should rally around to lead them to the White House in '08. But no. They don't. They allow him to hang out to dry.

I don't know, but I think this guy from Wisconsin is one of the few reasonable voices that can help get our moral compass back on track.

- Vox

PIN Scandal "Worst Hack Ever;" Citibank Only The Start

PIN Scandal "Worst Hack Ever;" Citibank Only The Start
"But Citibank is only the tip of the iceberg,...The scam -- and scandal -- has hit national banks like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Washington Mutual, as well as smaller banks, including ones in Oregon, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, all of which have re-issued debit cards in recent weeks."

Read the other article too (linked within the above article):
International Citibank Customers Shaken By Data Breach
"Citigroup is by no means alone in its inability to protect customer data. In fact, the list is extensive, and growing. Ameriprise Financial in January revealed that unencrypted data, including Social Security numbers of 226,000 customers and employees, was stolen from a laptop. Some H&R Block customers rang in the New Year by finding out that their Social Security numbers were included in the tracking number used to mail them packages containing the company's TaxCut software. Kaiser Permanente last year was fined $200,000 for a data breach that affected 150 customers."

If you think this is only limited to "international customers", I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

- Vox

Farewell to a fellow Parks

R.I.P. Gordon. Feels like you were around forever.

Dag.

R.I.P. Kirby

Spying program illegal, Senate committee told

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/01/news/nsa.php
"A group of legal specialists told a Senate committee that President George W. Bush's domestic spying program is illegal and may set a precedent that allows wartime presidents to break laws freely in the name of national security."

"...the theory used by the administration "could equally justify mail openings, burglary, torture, or internment camps, all in the name of gathering foreign intelligence. Unless rebuked, it will lie around like a loaded weapon ready to be used by any incumbent who claims an urgent need.""

The reasoning of those who agree with the President is even more frightening:

"...a former CIA director, R. James Woolsey, who served under President George H.W. Bush, said the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 transformed all of the United States into a battlefield, and that Congress could not restrict a president's constitutional power to conduct war as the commander in chief sees fit."
""Unlike the Cold War, our intelligence requirements are not just overseas," Woolsey said. "The country has been invaded, though of course not occupied, and defending against an invasion is at the heart of the president's powers."

So by this reasoning, the "Law of the land" is at the whim of ONE MAN, THE PRESIDENT. Gee, this sounds alot like an Autocracy, or a Dictatorship, or Authoritarianism. This certainly is not the way to act in a Republic .

- Vox

P.S. - The US Government is always using 9/11 as an excuse for going buc-wild, expanding it's powers of oppression both at home and abroad. Feeling as I do that it was elements in this same government that assisted in the orchestration of 9/11 is even more disturbing.

Update: Pat Tillman

Army to open criminal probe of Tillman death
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/03/04/tillman/index.html
"The U.S. Army will launch a criminal investigation to determine whether former NFL player Cpl. Pat Tillman's 2004 death from friendly fire in Afghanistan was negligent homicide,..."

- Vox

The Matrix, Part 2

HOMELAND SECURITY RFI HEIGHTENS PUBLIC CONCERNS OVER RFID
http://www.spychips.com/press-releases/dhs-rfid.html
"A copy of the RFI is posted at authors' website: www.spychips.com/DHS-RFID.pdf"
"DHS has set "several high-level goals" for the reading of RFID "tokens" carried by travelers, including:
- The solution must...identify the exact location of the read such as a specific pedestrian orvehicle lane in which the token is read.
- The solution presented must sense the remote data capture technology carried by a pedestrian traveler at distances up to 25 ft.
- The solution presented must sense all tokens (emphasis by Vox) carried by travelers seated in a single automobile, truck, or bus ata distance up to 25 ft. while moving at speeds up to 55 mph.
- For bus traffic, the solution must sense up to 55 tokens.
- For a successful read, the traveler should not have to hold or present the token in any special way to enable the reading of the token's information. The goal is for the reader to sense a token carried on a traveler's person or anywhere in a vehicle."

Replace "tokens" with MetroCard technology, perhaps?

And if you think this is "future, sci-fi technology":
TWO U.S. EMPLOYEES INJECTED WITH RFID MICROCHIPS AT COMPANY REQUEST
"Cincinnati video surveillance company CityWatcher.com now requires employees to use VeriChip human implantable microchips to enter a secure data center..."
"The VeriChip is a glass encapsulated RFID tag that is injected into the flesh of the triceps area of the arm to uniquely number and identify individuals."

- Vox

The Matrix, Part 1

ABC rejects KFC ad, cites policy against subliminal advertising
http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4574534
"It turns out that a hidden message in a KFC ad is too close to subliminal advertising for ABC. The network says it's following a longstanding policy and won't air the commercial with the message."

- Vox

Pay too much and you could raise the alarm

FYI
http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=RAISEALARM-02-28-06
"They both learned the same astounding piece of information about the little things that can set the threat sensors to beeping and blinking."
"They were told,...that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified. And the money doesn't move until the threat alert is lifted."

Courtesy of the highest ranking Republican I know. Thanks, MH

- Vox