Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Outrage of the Day

The US sent billions of dollars in cash to Iraq on pallets and it’s gone without a trace.

“Who in their right mind would send 363 tons of cash into a war zone? But that’s exactly what our government did,” the California Democrat said during a hearing reviewing possible waste, fraud and abuse of funds in Iraq.

On December 12, 2003, $1.5 billion was shipped to Iraq, initially “the largest pay out of U.S. currency in Fed history,” according to an e-mail cited by committee members.

It was followed by more than $2.4 billion on June 22, 2004, and $1.6 billion three days later. The CPA turned over sovereignty on June 28.

Paul Bremer, who as the administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority ran Iraq after initial combat operations ended, said the enormous shipments were done at the request of the Iraqi minister of finance.

“He said, ‘I am concerned that I will not have the money to support the Iraqi government expenses for the first couple of months after we are sovereign. We won’t have the mechanisms in place, I won’t know how to get the money here,”’ Bremer said.

This is one Democrat investigation that deserves to happen. One of the worst things about the Bush presidency is the flagrant way it has dumped taxpayer money down rat holes. It’s a sad day when a Republican is being investigated by Democrats for blowing the people’s money. 

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes.

The Surveillance Society is only getting worse.

In some cities in Europe and the United States, a person can be videotaped by surveillance cameras hundreds of times a day, and it’s safe to say that most of the time no one is actually watching.

But the advent of “intelligent video”—software that raises the alarm if something on camera appears amiss—means Big Brother will soon be able to keep a more constant watch, a prospect that is sure to heighten privacy concerns.

Combining motion detection technology with the learning capabilities of video game software, these new systems can detect people loitering, walking in circles or leaving a package.

New microphone technology can isolate the sound of a gunshot and direct the attached camera to swivel and zoom in on the source. Sensitivity may reach the point where microphones could pick out the word “explosives” spoken in a crowd.

“There’s just not enough personnel to watch every single camera,” said Chicago emergency operations chief Andrew Velasquez. “We are piloting analytic software right now ... where you can set that particular camera to watch for erratic behavior, or someone leaving a suitcase on the sidewalk.”

This software may be made with good intentions. But who decides what “erratic behavior is”? Imagine going to a mall or a restaurant and doing something the software flags as erratic and suddenly cops show up and arrest you. That may sound extreme, but if you have flown recently and experienced the absurd lengths they take to screen passengers, imagine that happening out there in the regular world. Cameras watching your every move and screening you. That’s where all this could lead. All in the name of “security”.

I don’t know about you, but I’m fine without all that nonsense.

* Who Watches the Watchers - Ancient Roman Graphitti

Thursday, February 01, 2007

No National ID!

Several States have been moving to block the Federal “Read ID” requirement, which I say is a good thing. Main already rejected it last week, leading the way. The Bush administration tends to go way too far in some area, and this is one of them.

Risking broad penalties for their residents, lawmakers in several states are fighting implementation of the Real ID Act, a federal measure that seeks to prevent non-compliant cardholders from boarding airplanes or entering federal facilities.

Opponents say national standards for drivers’ licenses would be a costly creep into the arms of big brother. Supporters say it is intended to protect Americans’ from fraud and potentially terror-related crimes.

“We don’t want it, we can’t afford it, get rid of it,” said Montana Democratic state Rep. Brady Wiseman, who authored the bill ordering the state not to participate in the federal program. The bill passed the Montana House of Representatives on Wednesday along with a companion measure, which challenges the Real ID law on constitutional grounds. Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer has spoken in favor of Wiseman’s bill.

I can see a lot of legit reasons for a real id. But the abuse aspects, the big brother and the control over people’s movements is downright Orwellian. The Feds have stripped away too many states rights. We need to see a return to more state rights and less Federal. Bush is one of the worst presidents when it comes to increasing the size of government bureaucracies. National Security during the war on terror is important. But so are civil liberties. We should never allow those to be stripped because it will be hard to get them back.

France Wants to Tax Us

Here’s a classic example of why the Global Warming thing is a scam. Bureaucrats want to use it to tax us using an international tax. Kyoto signatories have to pay fines if they don’t measure up (no country has), but since we didn’t sign it we’re exempt. So what then?

President Jacques Chirac has demanded that the United States sign both the Kyoto climate protocol and a future agreement that will take effect when the Kyoto accord runs out in 2012.

He said that he welcomed last week’s State of the Union address in which President Bush described climate change as a “serious challenge” and acknowledged that a growing number of American politicians now favor emissions cuts.

But he warned that if the United States did not sign the agreements, a carbon tax across Europe on imports from nations that have not signed the Kyoto treaty could be imposed to try to force compliance. The European Union is the largest export market for American goods.

“A carbon tax is inevitable,” Mr. Chirac said. “If it is European, and I believe it will be European, then it will all the same have a certain influence because it means that all the countries that do not accept the minimum obligations will be obliged to pay.”

I guarantee, the Euros will try to find a way to try to milk us one way or another using this scam. But will they have the balls to do it with China, who is becoming a much bigger polluter than the US? We’ll see.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

California to Ban Light Bulbs

A California lawmaker wants to make his state the first to ban incandescent lightbulbs as part of California’s groundbreaking initiatives to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

The “How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb Act” would ban incandescent lightbulbs by 2012 in favor of energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs.

“Incandescent lightbulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications,” California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine said on Tuesday.

“Meanwhile, they remain incredibly inefficient, converting only about 5 percent of the energy they receive into light.”

The story says this politician may introduce a law. Be assured, he will. He’s already introduced a law, that passed that forces grocery stores to recycle plastic bags.

So here’s another example of GW hysteria being used to limit our rights. I’ve been saying it for years, Cigarettes are just the beginning. They are slowly trying to make them illegal by removing people’s ability to smoke just about every where. The excuse is second hand smoke, which no credible study shows it had any effect on someone’s health. Next, they are going after junk food claiming the obesity epidemic. Watch more and more hysteria there and the limiting of your choices.

GW will be used to make a lot of things illegal. And they always start out with some mild argument like this one claiming fluorescents are better. Then they wil just start shving laws down your throat.

I have florescent bulbs in my house, but I also have the other kind. Fluorescents last longer but they give off inferior light.

Personally, I am really sick of government stooges telling me what I can and cannot do. These people are going too far. No, strike that, they have gone too far years ago and it’s getting much worse. And it’s all from the position that they are saving us from something, which is generally a lie. And I’ll throw in airport security. Most of that is complete nonsense. 

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Injustice and Incompetance March On

Just hours remain before two Texas Border Patrol agents — convicted of shooting a Mexican drug runner in the backside while on duty — are to turn themselves in to U.S. Marshals, and there’s still no word on whether President Bush will grant them a pardon.

Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean are scheduled to begin serving 11 and 12 years, respectively, on Wednesday when they turn themselves in at 3 p.m. ET for the February 2005 non-fatal shooting of Osvaldo Aldrete Davila.

Several groups, including Friends of the Border Patrol, The Minutemen and Grassfire.org, have been trying through petitions to keep the agents out of prison — through either a motion to U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone to allow them to remain free on bond during an appeal or through a presidential pardon from Bush.

But Cardone on Tuesday denied a motion for the two ex-agents to remain free on bond until their appeals.

These border patrol officers are being sent to long prison terms for shooting a Mexican drug smuggler in the buttocks. Not for killing him, but for shooting a fleeing suspect.

What does that tell you about how serious our government is protecting the borders? They imprison border patrol agents for doing their job.

If Bush refuses to pardon these officers as he’s being asked, he is going to seal his reputation as the president who surrendered to Mexico. 

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Fantastic 4 2 Trailer: Rise of the Silver Surfer

This is a leaked copy so the quality isn’t great.

UPDATE: Here’s the real trailer, with quality focus. 

Monday, December 25, 2006

Have a Good One

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Food Tyranny

New York Mayor Bloomberg wants to be president, though I think he would fail the high requirement. There’s a sign next to the White House that says you must be this tall to run the country. Maybe his height is where his Napoleon complex comes from. Not only did he ban smoking in every public place, he also banned transfat in foods. John Stossel points out the absurdity of it

A New York Times headline about the ban reads: “A Model for Other Cities.”

“A model for what, exactly?” asks George Mason University economist Don Boudreaux. “Petty tyranny? Or perhaps for similarly inspired bans on other voluntary activities with health risks? Clerking in convenience stores? Walking in the rain?”

Trans fats give foods like French fries that texture I like. They are probably bad for me, but Radley Balko of Reason points out that “despite all of the dire warnings about our increased intake of trans-fats over the last 20 years, heart disease in America has been in swift decline ... So, if they’re killing us, they’re not doing a very good job.”

The control freaks are never satisfied. If you think they’ll stop there, tell that to smokers. 

ISG = Imbecilic Saudi Groupies

David Zucker on the Iraq Study Group. [Video Link]

UPDATE: More on the ISG and how Baker is a Saudi shill.