22 March 2008
States Balk At Real ID
I can't help but notice that this article mentions some extremely weak objections to State ID Cards meeting a Federal Standard before being accepted at a Federal level. If someone is entering a Federal Building or boarding a plane, their identity should be established in a reliable manner.
And how much did 9/11 cost? How about illegal aliens? Voter fraud? Identity theft? Why would any responsible agency be resistant to reliable identification? The argument about weakened privacy is just as flawed. If they're talking about that information being accessed inappropriately, that happens now. There is no reason to think that the information will be less secure and every reason to believe that misuse will be identified quicker than it is now because it can be cross-referenced faster.
What expectation of privacy should there be in boarding a commercial flight or entering a Federal Building? Even without a Real ID standard identification card, any person can still fly or conduct their business inside a Federal Building once they've undergone a secondary screening. If they don't like the idea of a secondary screening... get a Real ID compliant identification card or don't try to engage in activities that require reliable identification.
This should have been done a long time ago. Nobody is being forced to get a particular ID card and it's not a National Registration. All it's doing is making sure that a state driver's license will provide a reliable identification of that person... a minimum standard. What good is an ID card that doesn't ID someone reliably?
At issue is a law known as Real ID that would require new security
measures for state-issued driver's licenses. The Bush administration
says the law, passed after the Sept. 11 attacks, will hinder
terrorists, con artists and illegal immigrants. Opponents say it will
cost too much and weaken privacy protections.
And how much did 9/11 cost? How about illegal aliens? Voter fraud? Identity theft? Why would any responsible agency be resistant to reliable identification? The argument about weakened privacy is just as flawed. If they're talking about that information being accessed inappropriately, that happens now. There is no reason to think that the information will be less secure and every reason to believe that misuse will be identified quicker than it is now because it can be cross-referenced faster.
What expectation of privacy should there be in boarding a commercial flight or entering a Federal Building? Even without a Real ID standard identification card, any person can still fly or conduct their business inside a Federal Building once they've undergone a secondary screening. If they don't like the idea of a secondary screening... get a Real ID compliant identification card or don't try to engage in activities that require reliable identification.
This should have been done a long time ago. Nobody is being forced to get a particular ID card and it's not a National Registration. All it's doing is making sure that a state driver's license will provide a reliable identification of that person... a minimum standard. What good is an ID card that doesn't ID someone reliably?
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20 March 2008
But I Thought We Went To War For The Oil?
Barack Obama said today that the Iraq War was to blame for higher oil prices in a slumping economy.
So if we went to war for cheap oil, why are prices going up? Of course, if prices had gone down, he would blame the Iraq War for hastening Global Warming, right? Nothing is so good that it can't be spun negatively... against America if possible. What a tool.
"When you're spending over $50 to fill up your car because the price of oil is four times what it was before Iraq,
you're paying a price for this war," Obama said. "When Iraq is costing
each household about $100 a month, you're paying a price for this war."
So if we went to war for cheap oil, why are prices going up? Of course, if prices had gone down, he would blame the Iraq War for hastening Global Warming, right? Nothing is so good that it can't be spun negatively... against America if possible. What a tool.
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Shhhh.... It's Secret
Plans for the new headquarters of Canada's Counter-Terror Unit were found in a trashcan in Ottawa.
Did Sandy Burger get a work visa to Canada and nobody noticed?
The 26 blueprints, bearing a Department of
National Defense stamp, reportedly show everything from the location of
the security fence to the floor plan of the new home of the Canadian
Joint Incident Response Unit, the Ottawa Citizen reported.
Did Sandy Burger get a work visa to Canada and nobody noticed?
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Hamas Terrorists Fail Mid-Terms, One Gets An "Incomplete"
Two Palestinian terrorists blew themselves up after "mishandling" explosives at a training center.
Too bad it wasn't during the comprehensive final exam, but splodey-dopes should always be this competent. Preferably in large peer-group sessions.
Palestinian militants accidentally set
off a large blast at a Hamas training base in the central Gaza Strip on
Thursday, killing two members of the violent Islamic group and wounding
another, a Palestinian medical official said.
Too bad it wasn't during the comprehensive final exam, but splodey-dopes should always be this competent. Preferably in large peer-group sessions.
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18 March 2008
Olympic Boycott?
This is a good idea, but why are the Olympics being held in China in the first place? What did the selection committee think would happen? If they treated China as a responsible nation they would start to act like one?
Having the Heads-of-State skip the Opening Ceremonies would send a great message. I like this even better:
The Olympic rules forbid any open protest or political expression by the individual athletes, and rightly so. They are there to compete and represent their country, not to try and set foreign policy. They can protest or give interviews all they want before and after the Olympics, but should keep their personal politics to themselves while competing.
I like the thought of everyone skipping the Opening Ceremonies, athletes and world leaders, but it should be an individual decision and they should keep their reasons to themselves until after the Games are over.
Final Question: Why is this idea coming out from the European Union?
Moves to punish China over its handling
of violence in Tibet gained momentum Tuesday, with a novel suggestion
for a mini-boycott of the Beijing Olympics by VIPs at the opening
ceremony.
Having the Heads-of-State skip the Opening Ceremonies would send a great message. I like this even better:
U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman Darryl Seibel said there are no rules forcing athletes to attend opening ceremonies.
The Olympic rules forbid any open protest or political expression by the individual athletes, and rightly so. They are there to compete and represent their country, not to try and set foreign policy. They can protest or give interviews all they want before and after the Olympics, but should keep their personal politics to themselves while competing.
I like the thought of everyone skipping the Opening Ceremonies, athletes and world leaders, but it should be an individual decision and they should keep their reasons to themselves until after the Games are over.
Final Question: Why is this idea coming out from the European Union?
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17 March 2008
Just For Self-Defense
The 57-year-old man who was in a coma after being exposed to a deadly poison in his hotel room has told his brother it was just "for self-defense".
Ricin is illegal for individuals to make or possess any reason. Saying it was for self-defense is ludicrous.
Nope, just a patriotic American attempting to exercise his Second Amendment rights and being oppressed by our fascist government. I really hate the MSM... really. They'll downplay domestic terrorism because
'that's what the police told them'... but call the police and the administration liars and incompetents when the story disturbs their narrative.
Nothing to see here, move along.
"He just confirmed that it was not intended for anybody," Erich
Bergendorff said in a telephone interview from his home north of San Diego in Escondido "It was something that would be used for his own purposes, for self-defense."
Ricin is illegal for individuals to make or possess any reason. Saying it was for self-defense is ludicrous.
Police say they also found firearms in the room, along with castor
beans — from which ricin is derived — and four "anarchists cookbooks"
in the room, marked at sections describing how to make ricin. But
officials have said they have not found evidence in the motel room or
elsewhere of contamination and have downplayed the possibility that
Roger Bergendorff posed a threat.
Nope, just a patriotic American attempting to exercise his Second Amendment rights and being oppressed by our fascist government. I really hate the MSM... really. They'll downplay domestic terrorism because
'that's what the police told them'... but call the police and the administration liars and incompetents when the story disturbs their narrative.
Nothing to see here, move along.
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15 March 2008
Give Chavez What He Wants
South American thug Hugo Chavez wants to be put on the United States' list of "State Sponsors of Terrorism" so they "can shove it".
Interesting. I've written before about this dictator here, and here, and here. Notably (perhaps only to me, heh), in the comments of that last post I stated:
"Please don't throw me in that briar patch! put me on that State Sponsor of Terrorism List!" Br'er Rabbit Chavez doesn't want on that list because then we don't buy his oil. The thing to do is, give him what he says he wants and let him reap that harvest.
"They threatened to put us on the list of terrorists that
they've got there. Great, let them make their list and shove it
in their ... pocket," Chavez said with a pause for comic
effect.
Interesting. I've written before about this dictator here, and here, and here. Notably (perhaps only to me, heh), in the comments of that last post I stated:
By putting them on the list, we stop buying their oil. Stop buying
their oil, their economy takes the hit. The economy takes the hit, the
people take a more active role in removing the problem, which is Chavez.
If they're already disaffected with his policies because it screws up their lives, they're going to become more disaffected if continuing his policies screw up their lives even further. Nationalism isn't going to save him because he's beaten that horse to death already. Besides, they are a state sponsor of terrorism, let's call it as we see it and let the chips fall where they may. That's the morally courageous path.
If they're already disaffected with his policies because it screws up their lives, they're going to become more disaffected if continuing his policies screw up their lives even further. Nationalism isn't going to save him because he's beaten that horse to death already. Besides, they are a state sponsor of terrorism, let's call it as we see it and let the chips fall where they may. That's the morally courageous path.
"Please don't throw me in that briar patch! put me on that State Sponsor of Terrorism List!" Br'er Rabbit Chavez doesn't want on that list because then we don't buy his oil. The thing to do is, give him what he says he wants and let him reap that harvest.
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13 March 2008
The War Crimes Trial Of Charles Taylor
A chilling story over at doubleplusundead. I would have linked directly to the story and just given the hat-tip, but dpu has a humorous story just below this one that will get your mind off warcrimes. Check out both and enjoy.
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This Would Be Awesome For Our Military
New technologies are often developed specifically for the battlefield, then adapted for commercial use. I don't see any mention of a military application in this article, but it would be a nice tool for Special Forces and other trigger-pullers.
Or maybe just before an assault? Granted, once the bullets start flying... noise discipline is very low priority. But for the setup and coordination phase? Definitely something to look at.
Users have to specifically think about voicing words for them to be
picked up by the band, but it saves them from saying potentially
sensitive things while on a cellphone in public.
Or maybe just before an assault? Granted, once the bullets start flying... noise discipline is very low priority. But for the setup and coordination phase? Definitely something to look at.
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Venezuela Finally "Disturbing" United States
I've written about the South American thug Hugo Chavez more than once and still believe there is a strong possibility he'll move on Colombia soon. Although the State Department has now said that the information found on laptops used by FARC leaders was "disturbing", they're not ready to add Venezuela to the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Let's recap a bit to see if we're feeling froggy. First, Chavez buddies up with known sponsors of terror like Ahmadinejad and Castro. Second, the FARC computers. Third, constantly attacks the United States in speeches and at the United Nations, calling our President "the devil". Fourth, gets really angry when a terrorist buddy is killed in another country... mad enough to cut off diplomatic relations and send troops to the border. Fifth, threatens to cut off sales of oil to the United States even though nobody else will buy it. Sixth, tries to nationalize a private company from the United States and refuses to consider any compensation for the theft. Seventh...
Screw it, hell yes I'm feeling froggy. I think I'll just go ahead and jump to the fat, juicy conclusion that this guy is a sponsor of terrorists, is a terrorist himself, and is probably impotent... ok, maybe I won't jump to that last one. But, it would explain a lot, wouldn't it? Put him on the list Condoleezza... make the jump, it's not that far.
"The information that has emerged so far is worrisome. I
would even call it disturbing because it does seem to indicate
a degree of dialogue and discussion between members of the
government of Venezuela and the FARC that have to be
explained," he told reporters. "But ... we are very early in
the process and it would be a mistake to jump to conclusions."
Let's recap a bit to see if we're feeling froggy. First, Chavez buddies up with known sponsors of terror like Ahmadinejad and Castro. Second, the FARC computers. Third, constantly attacks the United States in speeches and at the United Nations, calling our President "the devil". Fourth, gets really angry when a terrorist buddy is killed in another country... mad enough to cut off diplomatic relations and send troops to the border. Fifth, threatens to cut off sales of oil to the United States even though nobody else will buy it. Sixth, tries to nationalize a private company from the United States and refuses to consider any compensation for the theft. Seventh...
Screw it, hell yes I'm feeling froggy. I think I'll just go ahead and jump to the fat, juicy conclusion that this guy is a sponsor of terrorists, is a terrorist himself, and is probably impotent... ok, maybe I won't jump to that last one. But, it would explain a lot, wouldn't it? Put him on the list Condoleezza... make the jump, it's not that far.
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