Since impeachment in response to the high crimes and misdemeaners from the NSA spying is the original motivation for the repository, we should go back to the future again. Recall our 544th post and this section of FISA.
Now we have it that there was a related program, which is also illegal under FISA, but that if actually existing eliminates the potential perjury charges against Gonzales. Now, I still don't understand why there are no charges being brought under FISA, except of course, that the AG would have to appoint the special counsel to do it. Or the democrats would have to start impeachment hearings, which they consider politically unwise. So here we are 18 months later, with no answers and a bunch of BS congressional testimony.
The Times article sites 6 former and current Justice Department officials anonymously:
WASHINGTON, July 28 — A 2004 dispute over the National Security Agency’s secret surveillance program that led top Justice Department officials to threaten resignation involved computer searches through massive electronic databases, according to current and former officials briefed on the program.
It is not known precisely why searching the databases, or data mining, raised such a furious legal debate. But such databases contain records of the phone calls and e-mail messages of millions of Americans, and their examination by the government would raise privacy issues.
The N.S.A.’s data mining has previously been reported. But the disclosure that concerns about it figured in the March 2004 debate helps to clarify the clash this week between Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and senators who accused him of misleading Congress and called for a perjury investigation.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Firefox upgrade and blogger?
Hey - what the hell happened to 'blog this'? I've finally upgraded to the new version of firefox and can't seem to find a compatible add on for a quick blog post...Any ideas?
Sunday, July 22, 2007
And I Thought Ethanol Production was bad in the US
The Forbes version of an AP story:
Brazil Raid Frees Ethanol Plant Slaves
Brazilian authorities said they raided an Amazon plantation where more than 1,000 laborers were found working 13-hour days, in horrendous conditions, cutting sugar cane for ethanol production.
Authorities said that if preliminary findings by investigators are confirmed, the raid would be Brazil's biggest to date against debt slavery, which is common in the Amazon.
Under the practice, poor laborers are lured to remote spots where they rack up debts to plantation owners charging exorbitant prices for everything from food to transportation.
But the Amazon plantation's owner - the biggest ethanol producer in the northeastern state of Para - vigorously denied the allegations Tuesday and said the workers make good money by Brazilian standards.
[snip]
Police found 1,108 poor workers working from 4:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. with only a short break for lunch, the statement said. They complained of paying exorbitant prices for food and medicine, and many walked miles to get to work while others were transported in ramshackle vans.
Many were sick from spoiled food or unsafe water, slept in cramped quarters on hammocks and did not have proper sanitation facilities, Humberto Celio, coordinator of the Labor Ministry's special unit that frees debt slaves, told the government news service Agencia Brasil.
The company, Para Pastoril e Agricola SA, has been in operation since 1969 and each year produces 13.2 million gallons of ethanol, often billed as an environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline.
Brazil Raid Frees Ethanol Plant Slaves
Brazilian authorities said they raided an Amazon plantation where more than 1,000 laborers were found working 13-hour days, in horrendous conditions, cutting sugar cane for ethanol production.
Authorities said that if preliminary findings by investigators are confirmed, the raid would be Brazil's biggest to date against debt slavery, which is common in the Amazon.
Under the practice, poor laborers are lured to remote spots where they rack up debts to plantation owners charging exorbitant prices for everything from food to transportation.
But the Amazon plantation's owner - the biggest ethanol producer in the northeastern state of Para - vigorously denied the allegations Tuesday and said the workers make good money by Brazilian standards.
[snip]
Police found 1,108 poor workers working from 4:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. with only a short break for lunch, the statement said. They complained of paying exorbitant prices for food and medicine, and many walked miles to get to work while others were transported in ramshackle vans.
Many were sick from spoiled food or unsafe water, slept in cramped quarters on hammocks and did not have proper sanitation facilities, Humberto Celio, coordinator of the Labor Ministry's special unit that frees debt slaves, told the government news service Agencia Brasil.
The company, Para Pastoril e Agricola SA, has been in operation since 1969 and each year produces 13.2 million gallons of ethanol, often billed as an environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Oh! The Problem in Iraq is Branding!
Thanks to a $400,000 study from the Rand Corporation (not to mention the saucer people and the reverse vampires) the truth is now known:
From the Wapo
The Pentagon Gets a Lesson From Madison Avenue
U.S. Needs to Devise a Different 'Brand' to Win Over the Iraqi People, Study Advises
[snip]
'Helmus and his co-authors concluded that the "force" brand, which the United States peddled for the first few years of the occupation, was doomed from the start and lost ground to enemies' competing brands. While not abandoning the more aggressive elements of warfare, the report suggested, a more attractive brand for the Iraqi people might have been "We will help you."'
I wonder if the "you killed my child and imprisoned my brother for no reason" brand is also a problem...
And just in case you haven't been to Wal-Mart in a while:
'Wal-Mart's desired identity as a friendly shop where working-class customers can feel comfortable and find good value, for example, would be undercut if telephone operators and sales personnel had rude attitudes, or if the stores offered too much high-end merchandise. For the U.S. military and U.S. officials, understanding the target customer culture is equally critical.'
From the Wapo
The Pentagon Gets a Lesson From Madison Avenue
U.S. Needs to Devise a Different 'Brand' to Win Over the Iraqi People, Study Advises
[snip]
'Helmus and his co-authors concluded that the "force" brand, which the United States peddled for the first few years of the occupation, was doomed from the start and lost ground to enemies' competing brands. While not abandoning the more aggressive elements of warfare, the report suggested, a more attractive brand for the Iraqi people might have been "We will help you."'
I wonder if the "you killed my child and imprisoned my brother for no reason" brand is also a problem...
And just in case you haven't been to Wal-Mart in a while:
'Wal-Mart's desired identity as a friendly shop where working-class customers can feel comfortable and find good value, for example, would be undercut if telephone operators and sales personnel had rude attitudes, or if the stores offered too much high-end merchandise. For the U.S. military and U.S. officials, understanding the target customer culture is equally critical.'
Sunday, July 15, 2007
My continuing crusade against ethanol
Thanks to biofuels, the meager UN food program cannot manage its meager effort to feed 90 million people:
From the Financial Times (subscription may be required, but here is the whole article)
UN warns it cannot afford to feed the world
By Javier Blas and Jenny Wiggins in London
Published: July 15 2007 22:01 | Last updated: July 15 2007 22:01
Rising prices for food have led the United Nations programme fighting famine in Africa and other regions to warn that it can no longer afford to feed the 90m people it has helped for each of the past five years on its budget.
The World Food Programme feeds people in countries including Chad, Uganda and Ethiopia, but reaches a fraction of the 850m people it estimates suffers from hunger. It spent about $600m buying food in 2006. So far, the WFP has not cut its reach because of high commodities prices, but now says it could be forced to do so unless donor countries provide extra funds.
Josette Sheeran, WFP executive director, said in an interview with the Financial Times: “In a world where our contributions are holding fairly steady, this [cost increase] means we are able to reach far less people.”
She said policymakers were becoming more concerned about the impact of biofuel demand on food prices and how the world would continue to feed its expanding population.
The warning could re-ignite the debate on food versus fuel amid concerns biofuel production will sustain food inflation and hit the world’s poorest people.
The WFP said its purchasing costs had risen “almost 50 per cent in the last five years”. The UN organisation said the price it pays for maize had risen up to 120 per cent in the past sixth months in some countries.
Biofuel demand is soaking up grain production as is rising consumption in emerging countries for animal feed.
“We face the tightest agriculture markets in decades and, in same cases, on record,” Ms Sheeran said. Global wheat stocks have fallen to the lowest level in 25 years, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
Ms Sheeran added: “We are no longer in a surplus world.”
From the Financial Times (subscription may be required, but here is the whole article)
UN warns it cannot afford to feed the world
By Javier Blas and Jenny Wiggins in London
Published: July 15 2007 22:01 | Last updated: July 15 2007 22:01
Rising prices for food have led the United Nations programme fighting famine in Africa and other regions to warn that it can no longer afford to feed the 90m people it has helped for each of the past five years on its budget.
The World Food Programme feeds people in countries including Chad, Uganda and Ethiopia, but reaches a fraction of the 850m people it estimates suffers from hunger. It spent about $600m buying food in 2006. So far, the WFP has not cut its reach because of high commodities prices, but now says it could be forced to do so unless donor countries provide extra funds.
Josette Sheeran, WFP executive director, said in an interview with the Financial Times: “In a world where our contributions are holding fairly steady, this [cost increase] means we are able to reach far less people.”
She said policymakers were becoming more concerned about the impact of biofuel demand on food prices and how the world would continue to feed its expanding population.
The warning could re-ignite the debate on food versus fuel amid concerns biofuel production will sustain food inflation and hit the world’s poorest people.
The WFP said its purchasing costs had risen “almost 50 per cent in the last five years”. The UN organisation said the price it pays for maize had risen up to 120 per cent in the past sixth months in some countries.
Biofuel demand is soaking up grain production as is rising consumption in emerging countries for animal feed.
“We face the tightest agriculture markets in decades and, in same cases, on record,” Ms Sheeran said. Global wheat stocks have fallen to the lowest level in 25 years, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
Ms Sheeran added: “We are no longer in a surplus world.”
Monday, July 09, 2007
al-Qaeda threatens war agaisnt Iran
A little note for when the calls for invading Iran becuase of their connection to al-Qaeda increase. Also note that this guy was supposedly killed by the US on May 1.
From Al Jazeera:
Al-Qaeda threatens war against Iran
US forces had claimed to have killed al-Juburi,
also known as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi [AFP]
The leader of an al-Qaeda umbrella group in Iraq, who was thought to have beeen killed by US forces, has threatened to wage war against Iran unless it stops supporting Shias in Iraq within two months.
Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, head of the Islamic State in Iraq, said his Sunni fighters have been preparing to wage a battle against Shia-dominated Iran.
Al-Baghdadi made the announcement in an audiotape that was posted on a web site commonly used by armed groups.
The 50-minute audiotape, which was released on Sunday, could not be independently verified.
US forces had earlier claimed to have killed al-Baghdadi.
Major General William Caldwell, the commander of the multinational force in Iraq, told a press conference in Baghdad that US forces had killed Muharib Abdulatif al-Juburi on May 1.
Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, operations director at the Iraqi interior minister, told state television that al-Juburi was also known as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.
Audiotape
"We are giving the Persians, and especially the rulers of Iran, a two-month period to end all kinds of support for the Iraqi Shia government and to stop direct and indirect intervention ... otherwise a severe war is waiting for you," al-Baghdadi said.
Iraq's Shia-led government is backed by the US but closely allied to Iran.
The United States accuses Iran of arming and financing Shia militias in Iraq, charges Tehran denies.
In the recording, al-Baghdadi also gave Sunnis and Arab countries doing business in Iran or with Iranians a two-month deadline to cease their ties.
"We advise and warn every Sunni businessman inside Iran or in Arab countries especially in the Gulf not to take partnership with any Shia Iranian businessman, this is part of the two-month period," he said.
Al-Baghdadi said his group was responsible for two suicide truck bomb attacks in May in Iraq's northern Kurdish region. He said the attacks in Irbil and Makhmur showed the "Islamic jihad" was progressing in the Kurdish areas.
From Al Jazeera:
Al-Qaeda threatens war against Iran
US forces had claimed to have killed al-Juburi,
also known as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi [AFP]
The leader of an al-Qaeda umbrella group in Iraq, who was thought to have beeen killed by US forces, has threatened to wage war against Iran unless it stops supporting Shias in Iraq within two months.
Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, head of the Islamic State in Iraq, said his Sunni fighters have been preparing to wage a battle against Shia-dominated Iran.
Al-Baghdadi made the announcement in an audiotape that was posted on a web site commonly used by armed groups.
The 50-minute audiotape, which was released on Sunday, could not be independently verified.
US forces had earlier claimed to have killed al-Baghdadi.
Major General William Caldwell, the commander of the multinational force in Iraq, told a press conference in Baghdad that US forces had killed Muharib Abdulatif al-Juburi on May 1.
Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, operations director at the Iraqi interior minister, told state television that al-Juburi was also known as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.
Audiotape
"We are giving the Persians, and especially the rulers of Iran, a two-month period to end all kinds of support for the Iraqi Shia government and to stop direct and indirect intervention ... otherwise a severe war is waiting for you," al-Baghdadi said.
Iraq's Shia-led government is backed by the US but closely allied to Iran.
The United States accuses Iran of arming and financing Shia militias in Iraq, charges Tehran denies.
In the recording, al-Baghdadi also gave Sunnis and Arab countries doing business in Iran or with Iranians a two-month deadline to cease their ties.
"We advise and warn every Sunni businessman inside Iran or in Arab countries especially in the Gulf not to take partnership with any Shia Iranian businessman, this is part of the two-month period," he said.
Al-Baghdadi said his group was responsible for two suicide truck bomb attacks in May in Iraq's northern Kurdish region. He said the attacks in Irbil and Makhmur showed the "Islamic jihad" was progressing in the Kurdish areas.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Fucking Asshole Bush and His Fucking Hubris
Repositing this here for posterity:
Bush spares Libby from jail term
US President George W Bush has intervened to prevent Lewis Libby, a convicted former vice-presidential aide, from serving a prison term.
President Bush described as "excessive" the 30-month prison sentence Libby was facing for having obstructed an inquiry into the leaking of a CIA agent's name.
Though no longer required to go to jail, Libby is still due to serve a period of probation and pay a fine.
An appeals court had earlier told Libby he could no longer delay going to jail.
The judge ruled that Libby could not remain free on bail while his lawyer appealed against the sentence.
CIA leak
Lewis Libby, also known by his nickname, "Scooter" Libby, was found guilty in March of perjury and obstructing justice in a case connected to Washington's decision to invade Iraq.
His trial saw the White House accused of having illegally made public the identity of a serving CIA agent, Valerie Plame, in retaliation for Ms Plame's husband's public criticism of the Iraqi invasion plan.
Libby was found to have lied to investigators about conversations where he mentioned Ms Plame but he was not convicted of having directly leaked her name.
He was sentenced to 30 months, or two-and-a-half years in prison, spend two years of probation and pay a fine of $250,000 (£125,000).
'Disgraceful decision'
President Bush said he had until now refrained from intervening in the case, waiting instead for the appeals process to take its course.
"But with the denial of bail being upheld and incarceration imminent, I believe it is now important to react to that decision," he said, referring to the appeals court's decision telling Libby he could no longer delay going to jail.
"I respect the jury's verdict," President Bush said. "But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr Libby is excessive," Mr Bush said.
However, he said, Libby's remaining punishments - the probation period and fine - were "harsh" and would leave his reputation "forever damaged".
The top Democrat in the US Senate, Harry Reid, attacked the president's decision as "disgraceful".
"Libby's conviction was the one faint glimmer of accountability for White House efforts to manipulate intelligence and silence critics of the Iraq war," Mr Reid said.
"Now, even that small bit of justice has been undone," he said.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6263616.stm
Bush spares Libby from jail term
US President George W Bush has intervened to prevent Lewis Libby, a convicted former vice-presidential aide, from serving a prison term.
President Bush described as "excessive" the 30-month prison sentence Libby was facing for having obstructed an inquiry into the leaking of a CIA agent's name.
Though no longer required to go to jail, Libby is still due to serve a period of probation and pay a fine.
An appeals court had earlier told Libby he could no longer delay going to jail.
The judge ruled that Libby could not remain free on bail while his lawyer appealed against the sentence.
CIA leak
Lewis Libby, also known by his nickname, "Scooter" Libby, was found guilty in March of perjury and obstructing justice in a case connected to Washington's decision to invade Iraq.
His trial saw the White House accused of having illegally made public the identity of a serving CIA agent, Valerie Plame, in retaliation for Ms Plame's husband's public criticism of the Iraqi invasion plan.
Libby was found to have lied to investigators about conversations where he mentioned Ms Plame but he was not convicted of having directly leaked her name.
He was sentenced to 30 months, or two-and-a-half years in prison, spend two years of probation and pay a fine of $250,000 (£125,000).
'Disgraceful decision'
President Bush said he had until now refrained from intervening in the case, waiting instead for the appeals process to take its course.
"But with the denial of bail being upheld and incarceration imminent, I believe it is now important to react to that decision," he said, referring to the appeals court's decision telling Libby he could no longer delay going to jail.
"I respect the jury's verdict," President Bush said. "But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr Libby is excessive," Mr Bush said.
However, he said, Libby's remaining punishments - the probation period and fine - were "harsh" and would leave his reputation "forever damaged".
The top Democrat in the US Senate, Harry Reid, attacked the president's decision as "disgraceful".
"Libby's conviction was the one faint glimmer of accountability for White House efforts to manipulate intelligence and silence critics of the Iraq war," Mr Reid said.
"Now, even that small bit of justice has been undone," he said.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6263616.stm
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