You coffee aficionados will certainly want to try this Indonesian variety with “the taste and aroma enhanced by the digestive system of palm civets, nocturnal tree-climbing creatures about the size of a large house cat”, according to this Reuters report. At $175. per pound I’m sure you’ll be rushing right out to get yours.
Apparently the civet eats the coffee berries and excretes the beans which are collected and sold to people with more money than sense. Shall we call it Café Excreta? Crapresso? Civet Shit Especial? I’m sure some of you can come with better marketing handles, so let’s see your suggestions.
Whatever, like all coffee, I’m sure a cup would be good when you’re down in the dumps. It’s alimentary canal certified.
Best wishes for a healthful and prosperous new year.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Friday, December 30, 2005
Dusty
I am caring for my next door neighbor's dog, Dusty, while he is in Spain with his family for the holiday. Joel, as I've noted before, plays trombone in the Yucatan Symphony Orchestra. For the first few days Dusty was quite nervous with the change but has since settled in.Joel gave me very specific instructions on how much and when to feed Dusty and that I was to take him on a three kilometer walk each evening. I included this picture the other day in an email from Dusty to Joel, wherein Dusty assured Joel that I was following Joel’s instructions to the letter.
As it turns out when we’re out walking Dusty causes folks on the street to stop me for conversation. They want to know what Dusty’s name is, how old he is, what breed, and etc. Consequently I’m getting lots of practice speaking Spanish while walking Dusty.
Dusty is about eight months old, so is still as puppy. As such he is a bit excitable and has the puppy characteristic of not minding well, though I have made progress on the two most important commands, sit and stay. I’ve got him so he will sit and stay until I’ve put the food in his bowl and told him OK.
The other evening Dusty was out on the patio, being the rambunctious puppy that he is, and stuck his head under a plant stand to get one of his toys. When he went to pull his head out he hit it fairly hard on the plant stand and let out a series of the most pitiful little cries I think I’ve ever heard, kind of like the mews of a very young kitten. After a couple minutes of consolation he was as good as new.
Ahpids
I am having a bit of an aphid problem on a couple of cantaloupe plants and one watermelon plant, reminding me that aphids are kind of interesting. I guess it’s not the aphids themselves that are interesting; but, rather, their relationship with ants.
Aphids exude a sticky liquid which literature on the subject refers to as “honeydew”. Certain types of ants eat the honeydew and protect the aphids from predators, so as to protect their food source. The aphids are like the ants’ honeydew herd.
The ants here, at least the ones tending the aphids and which are by far the most plentiful, are very small, less than a quarter inch in length. They have paths that are like freeways, with ants moving in both directions from food source to nest; and the freeways have interchanges. It’s like Seattle or Tacoma rush hour traffic, but the ants are moving faster.
Aphids are fairly easy to control with a spray of water with a bit of mild soap mixed in. The soapy water works on the shepherd ants as well.
Aphids exude a sticky liquid which literature on the subject refers to as “honeydew”. Certain types of ants eat the honeydew and protect the aphids from predators, so as to protect their food source. The aphids are like the ants’ honeydew herd.
The ants here, at least the ones tending the aphids and which are by far the most plentiful, are very small, less than a quarter inch in length. They have paths that are like freeways, with ants moving in both directions from food source to nest; and the freeways have interchanges. It’s like Seattle or Tacoma rush hour traffic, but the ants are moving faster.
Aphids are fairly easy to control with a spray of water with a bit of mild soap mixed in. The soapy water works on the shepherd ants as well.
Congressman Ron Paul - One of Few True Conservatives
Those of you who have not read what Congressman Ron Paul, Republican of Texas, has to say, you should (please notice I’ve capitalized Republican, whereas I normally place in the lower case.)
Ron Paul is a conservative, not the run of the mill republican Bush Royalist or neo-fascist phony conservative.
If Ron Paul were running for president against Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards, Evan Bayh, or any of the other democratic wannabes, with the exception of Russ Feingold, I would vote for Ron Paul, despite the fact I abhor many of his political ideals. Congressman Paul, I believe, would stand up for the Constitution whereas Clinton et al. would piss all over it if the polls indicated it would be to their political advantage.
Congressman Ron Paul on domestic spying
Ron Paul on the “Neo-cons”
Ron Paul is a conservative, not the run of the mill republican Bush Royalist or neo-fascist phony conservative.
If Ron Paul were running for president against Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards, Evan Bayh, or any of the other democratic wannabes, with the exception of Russ Feingold, I would vote for Ron Paul, despite the fact I abhor many of his political ideals. Congressman Paul, I believe, would stand up for the Constitution whereas Clinton et al. would piss all over it if the polls indicated it would be to their political advantage.
Congressman Ron Paul on domestic spying
Ron Paul on the “Neo-cons”
Friday Garden Report
In the foreground is the lettuce bed from which I've so far taken five cuttings. Just inside the bottom right of the fenced area you can see the little plants of the second crop of lettuce. To the left in the fenced area you can see coffee grounds lining two rows of onions. Just out of the picture to the left are about forty garlic plants.
Toward the upper left of the fenced area, around the log, you can see tomato plants at each of which I have driven a stake to which I will tie the tomatoes when necessary. There are nine Roma type plants. I have also planted a larger variety in the upper right of the fenced area but because of their small size are not visible in the picture. The habanero plants are next to the second lettuce crop but they have not grown much so are not visible in the picture.
The round bed toward the top of the picture is one bed of watermelons which are now blossoming.
Just behind the watermelons is another bed I've constructed, and fenced, in which I've planted carrots and cucumbers which have emerged and more garlic and habaneros which have not.
You Can't Know the Players Without a Program
The Washington Post has published a roster of the players related to the still unfolding investigation of the many crimes of Jack Abramhoff and his cronies, including Ralph Reed, Tom DeLay, and Grover Norquist, amongst many others.
Read the WP story here.
Read the WP story here.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Nixon Redux - Vol. II
The NSA has reportedly been spying on certain of its own employees, journalists, and congresspersons. Nixon lives.
Read Wayne Madsen's report here.
You may want to avoid visiting the NSA website as until Tuesday, when someone discovered the practice and complained, it put a "cookie" into your computer that allowed the agency to track you web surfing and didn't expire until 2035.
Read the Businessweek report here.
Read Wayne Madsen's report here.
You may want to avoid visiting the NSA website as until Tuesday, when someone discovered the practice and complained, it put a "cookie" into your computer that allowed the agency to track you web surfing and didn't expire until 2035.
Read the Businessweek report here.
Compost Report from El Gringo Loco
When composting, or so I’ve read, it is vital to have the correct nitrogen (generally green or wet materials) to carbon (generally brown or dry materials) ratio and the correct water content. Roughly 25 parts C to 1 part N, layered or mixed, and 60% moisture. With the correct proportion of ingredients the pile will heat up to 140 degrees F or higher and decomposition will occur.
Too much N is better than not enough, as with not enough decomposition will not occur. Too much water will result in a slimy concoction.
A couple of weeks ago I turned the compost pile, which at the time consisted mostly of dried mango and palm frond leaves, and incorporated a large pile of green vegetation that I had removed from the areas I cleared for the watermelon and cantaloupe vines to run and a bit of dried palm frond leaves I salvaged from next door. A couple of days later I left the reconstituted pile uncovered during a day of rain.
Apparently I got the nitrogen/carbon ratio and water content right, as now when I pull the plastic cover from the pile, to add kitchen wastes, steam emerges when it’s 60 degrees outside. The pile is really cooking, and is teeming with potato bugs, other insects, geckos, and an occasional mouse all doing their part. Consuming and excreting.
The soil here is quite shy of organic material so the compost will really help.
Too much N is better than not enough, as with not enough decomposition will not occur. Too much water will result in a slimy concoction.
A couple of weeks ago I turned the compost pile, which at the time consisted mostly of dried mango and palm frond leaves, and incorporated a large pile of green vegetation that I had removed from the areas I cleared for the watermelon and cantaloupe vines to run and a bit of dried palm frond leaves I salvaged from next door. A couple of days later I left the reconstituted pile uncovered during a day of rain.
Apparently I got the nitrogen/carbon ratio and water content right, as now when I pull the plastic cover from the pile, to add kitchen wastes, steam emerges when it’s 60 degrees outside. The pile is really cooking, and is teeming with potato bugs, other insects, geckos, and an occasional mouse all doing their part. Consuming and excreting.
The soil here is quite shy of organic material so the compost will really help.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Persecution of Iraqi Christians
One of the more ironic, and disturbing, results of the U. S. invasion of Iraq and the resultant disassembling of Iraqi society is the impact upon Iraqi Christians, many of whom are fleeing to Syria to escape the persecution they now experience in Iraq. During Saddam’s reign Iraq was a secular society where folks were free to worship as they wished. Likewise in Syria.
The new Iraqi constitution ensures the continued persecution of Christian by establishing Islam as the state church and prohibiting efforts to convert Muslims to other religions.
It is indeed ironic that with all of the concern in the U. S. with the discrimination of Christians, our self-professed fundamentalist Christian president has created conditions in Iraq intolerable to Christians.
Another great irony of the Iraqi adventure is that it has resulted in the greatly enhanced influence in Iraq of Iran, another of Bush’s “Axis of Evil”. Shiites closely aligned with Iran dominate the newly formed Iraqi government.
The primary objective of the Bush administration’s cabal of neo-fascists Iraq invasion was enhanced Israeli security, which with enhanced Iranian influence has become less secure. Another miscalculation by the Bush administration Straussian Philosopher brain trust, and the Israeli Likud party, the policies of which the neo-fascists promote.
Juan Cole, a University of Michigan history professor and one of the nation’s leading Middle East scholars discusses the lot of Iraqi Christians here.
The new Iraqi constitution ensures the continued persecution of Christian by establishing Islam as the state church and prohibiting efforts to convert Muslims to other religions.
It is indeed ironic that with all of the concern in the U. S. with the discrimination of Christians, our self-professed fundamentalist Christian president has created conditions in Iraq intolerable to Christians.
Another great irony of the Iraqi adventure is that it has resulted in the greatly enhanced influence in Iraq of Iran, another of Bush’s “Axis of Evil”. Shiites closely aligned with Iran dominate the newly formed Iraqi government.
The primary objective of the Bush administration’s cabal of neo-fascists Iraq invasion was enhanced Israeli security, which with enhanced Iranian influence has become less secure. Another miscalculation by the Bush administration Straussian Philosopher brain trust, and the Israeli Likud party, the policies of which the neo-fascists promote.
Juan Cole, a University of Michigan history professor and one of the nation’s leading Middle East scholars discusses the lot of Iraqi Christians here.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Interesting Analysis of Presidential Authority
If anyone might be interested in reading an analysis of the opinions John Yoo produced for President Bush asserting that president may legally ignore treaties the country has ratified, that the president can authorize torture, and do virtually anything else he or she wishes during times of war, follow the link to an analysis, in the “New York Review of Books”, by Georgetown University law professor David Cole.
I found it quite illuminating. As professor Cole notes, under Yoo’s Constitutional interpretations the president could authorize genocide.
Read professor Cole’s analysis
I found it quite illuminating. As professor Cole notes, under Yoo’s Constitutional interpretations the president could authorize genocide.
Read professor Cole’s analysis
Christmas in Merida
The big Christmas celebration here takes place on Christmas Eve and involved lots of fireworks, lots of music and folks out on the street until late a night. Christmas Day was very quiet, with very little traffic aside from buses.
The Friday night of the weekend before Christmas the neighbors across the street had a party that included a live band that played until probably midnight or one in the morning. The following night there was a party at the bus repair garage across the back yard wall that also featured a live band that played until late. It was great to lie in bed and go to sleep listening to live music. The folks who work at the bus always have music playing, so I get to listen to music when going to sleep every night, not to mention when I’m working in the garden.
Another Christmas tradition I observed is that of young children going from home to home or business to business singing seasonal songs for donations. I am easy touch for such performances.
Today things are back to normal.
The Friday night of the weekend before Christmas the neighbors across the street had a party that included a live band that played until probably midnight or one in the morning. The following night there was a party at the bus repair garage across the back yard wall that also featured a live band that played until late. It was great to lie in bed and go to sleep listening to live music. The folks who work at the bus always have music playing, so I get to listen to music when going to sleep every night, not to mention when I’m working in the garden.
Another Christmas tradition I observed is that of young children going from home to home or business to business singing seasonal songs for donations. I am easy touch for such performances.
Today things are back to normal.
Colin Powell Again Talks Out of Both Sides of His Mouth
Colin Powell – “American Hero”. What rot. Powell once again exhibits his spinelessness by stating that it wouldn’t have been “that hard” for Bush to legally secure warrants for the illegal eavesdropping his administration has been doing but that he sees “nothing wrong” with the eavesdropping. Once again he talks out of both sides of his mouth, wouldn’t want to offend the powerful by speaking truth to power.
Powell has made his career by carrying water for those in positions of power for whom he worked, from covering up the My Lai massacre to lying to the U. N. to justify conquering Iraq.
Read the NYT report of Powell’s interview on the ABC News program "This Week".
Powell has made his career by carrying water for those in positions of power for whom he worked, from covering up the My Lai massacre to lying to the U. N. to justify conquering Iraq.
Read the NYT report of Powell’s interview on the ABC News program "This Week".
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Hoax Alert
I have been informed by "anonymous" that the story I referred to on Wednesday under, "U. S. Fascism on the March", of a student who was visited by federal agents after checking out Mao's Red Book from the library is a hoax. The student who reported the incident has admitted the hoax.
I thank anonymous for alerting me to the report of the hoax and apologize to you for posting false information.
I thank anonymous for alerting me to the report of the hoax and apologize to you for posting false information.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Senate Majority Leader Frist - Crook
The fact that this slimy bastard is the Senate majority leader says loads about the sorry state, and pervasive corruption, of federal republican elected officials. Look for the republicans to defend themselves by asserting that the democrats were just as corrupt when they controlled Congress.
From the Associated Press
Frist's AIDS charity paid $456,000 in consulting fees to his political allies
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Jonathan M. Katz and John Solomon
Associated Press
Washington
-- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's AIDS charity paid nearly a half-million dollars in consulting fees to members of his political inner circle, according to tax returns providing the first financial accounting of the presidential hopeful's nonprofit group.
The returns for World of Hope Inc., obtained by the Associated Press, also show that the charity raised the lion's share of its $4.4 million from just 18 sources. They gave between $97,950 and $267,735 each to help finance Frist's efforts to fight AIDS.
The tax forms, filed nine months after they were first due, do not identify the 18 major donors by name.
Frist's lawyer, Alex Vogel, said Friday that he would not give their names because tax law does not require their public disclosure. Frist's office provided a list of 96 donors who supported the charity, but how much each contributed was not disclosed.
The donors included several corporations with frequent business before Congress, such as insurer Blue Cross/Blue Shield, manufacturer 3M, drug maker Eli Lilly and the Goldman Sachs investment firm.
World of Hope gave $3 million it raised to charitable AIDS causes, such as Africare and evangelical Christian groups with ties to Republicans -- Franklin Graham's Samaritan Purse and the Rev. Luis Cortes' Esperanza USA, for example.
The rest of the money went to overhead. That included $456,125 in consulting fees to two firms run by Frist's longtime political fund-raiser, Linus Catignani. One is run jointly by Linda Bond, the wife of Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, Republican of Missouri.
The charity also hired the law firm of Vogel's wife, Jill Holtzman Vogel, and Frist's Tennessee accountant, Deborah Kolarich.
Read the entire story here
From the Associated Press
Frist's AIDS charity paid $456,000 in consulting fees to his political allies
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Jonathan M. Katz and John Solomon
Associated Press
Washington
-- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's AIDS charity paid nearly a half-million dollars in consulting fees to members of his political inner circle, according to tax returns providing the first financial accounting of the presidential hopeful's nonprofit group.
The returns for World of Hope Inc., obtained by the Associated Press, also show that the charity raised the lion's share of its $4.4 million from just 18 sources. They gave between $97,950 and $267,735 each to help finance Frist's efforts to fight AIDS.
The tax forms, filed nine months after they were first due, do not identify the 18 major donors by name.
Frist's lawyer, Alex Vogel, said Friday that he would not give their names because tax law does not require their public disclosure. Frist's office provided a list of 96 donors who supported the charity, but how much each contributed was not disclosed.
The donors included several corporations with frequent business before Congress, such as insurer Blue Cross/Blue Shield, manufacturer 3M, drug maker Eli Lilly and the Goldman Sachs investment firm.
World of Hope gave $3 million it raised to charitable AIDS causes, such as Africare and evangelical Christian groups with ties to Republicans -- Franklin Graham's Samaritan Purse and the Rev. Luis Cortes' Esperanza USA, for example.
The rest of the money went to overhead. That included $456,125 in consulting fees to two firms run by Frist's longtime political fund-raiser, Linus Catignani. One is run jointly by Linda Bond, the wife of Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, Republican of Missouri.
The charity also hired the law firm of Vogel's wife, Jill Holtzman Vogel, and Frist's Tennessee accountant, Deborah Kolarich.
Read the entire story here
U. S. Air Operations Against Iran and Syria?
CIA director Porter Goss reportedly has informed Turkey that the U. S. will possibly launch “air operations” against Iran and Syria. Goss reportedly cited Iran’s nuclear developments and it’s support for terrorism. Sound familiar?
Why, I ask, do U. S. authorities think the U. S. has the moral authority to tell Iran, or any other nation, that it can’t develop nuclear weapons? After all the U. S. has the largest nuclear weapons arsenal in the world; the U. S. is the only nation to ever have used nuclear weapons; and three U. S. allies, Israel, Pakistan, and India, are not signatories to the non-proliferation treaty.
I won’t ask why the U. S. policy makers think they have the moral authority to tell other nations they cannot possess chemical and biological weapons. The U. S., after all, poisoned Viet Nam, not to mention Korea, with chemical weapons to the point that even today Vietnamese children are borne with the most grotesques deformities imaginable; and it even today is raining chemical weapons on cocoa farmers and their children in South America.
Nor will I ask why U. S. leaders believe they have the moral authority to tell other nations they cannot support terrorists, considering that, even today, U. S. authorities are permitting anti-Cuban terrorists, who admittedly bombed hotels and a civilian airliner, to reside, unfettered, in the U. S.
I don’t think there is any mystery at all why Iran, North Korea, and perhaps other nations wish to develop nuclear weapons. If U. S. policy makers actually believed Iraq had nuclear weapons there probably would have been no invasion.
The U. S. is the most militarily aggressive nation on the face of the earth. Even before the fall of the Soviet Union there was no nation that had used its military to invade and subjugate more other sovereign nations than the U. S. Nuclear weapons are an effective deterrent against U. S. aggression.
Read the TurkishPress.com report here.
Why, I ask, do U. S. authorities think the U. S. has the moral authority to tell Iran, or any other nation, that it can’t develop nuclear weapons? After all the U. S. has the largest nuclear weapons arsenal in the world; the U. S. is the only nation to ever have used nuclear weapons; and three U. S. allies, Israel, Pakistan, and India, are not signatories to the non-proliferation treaty.
I won’t ask why the U. S. policy makers think they have the moral authority to tell other nations they cannot possess chemical and biological weapons. The U. S., after all, poisoned Viet Nam, not to mention Korea, with chemical weapons to the point that even today Vietnamese children are borne with the most grotesques deformities imaginable; and it even today is raining chemical weapons on cocoa farmers and their children in South America.
Nor will I ask why U. S. leaders believe they have the moral authority to tell other nations they cannot support terrorists, considering that, even today, U. S. authorities are permitting anti-Cuban terrorists, who admittedly bombed hotels and a civilian airliner, to reside, unfettered, in the U. S.
I don’t think there is any mystery at all why Iran, North Korea, and perhaps other nations wish to develop nuclear weapons. If U. S. policy makers actually believed Iraq had nuclear weapons there probably would have been no invasion.
The U. S. is the most militarily aggressive nation on the face of the earth. Even before the fall of the Soviet Union there was no nation that had used its military to invade and subjugate more other sovereign nations than the U. S. Nuclear weapons are an effective deterrent against U. S. aggression.
Read the TurkishPress.com report here.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
FISA Court Chided Ashcroft's Justice Dept. in 2002 for Lying to It
Maybe this is why the Cheney administration chose to spy on Americans without FISA court approval. In May, 2002 the FISA court made it clear it did not appreciate being lied to by the FBI.
Secret Court Rebuffs Ashcroft.Justice Dept. Chided On Misinformation
Dan Eggen and Susan SchmidtWashington Post Staff WritersFriday, August 23, 2002
The secretive federal court that approves spying on terror suspects in the United States has refused to give the Justice Department broad new powers, saying the government had misused the law and misled the court dozens of times, according to an extraordinary legal ruling released yesterday.
A May 17 opinion by the court that oversees the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) alleges that Justice Department and FBI officials supplied erroneous information to the court in more than 75 applications for search warrants and wiretaps, including one signed by then-FBI Director Louis J. Freeh.
Read the entire article here.
Secret Court Rebuffs Ashcroft.Justice Dept. Chided On Misinformation
Dan Eggen and Susan SchmidtWashington Post Staff WritersFriday, August 23, 2002
The secretive federal court that approves spying on terror suspects in the United States has refused to give the Justice Department broad new powers, saying the government had misused the law and misled the court dozens of times, according to an extraordinary legal ruling released yesterday.
A May 17 opinion by the court that oversees the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) alleges that Justice Department and FBI officials supplied erroneous information to the court in more than 75 applications for search warrants and wiretaps, including one signed by then-FBI Director Louis J. Freeh.
Read the entire article here.
Remember "Enemy Combatant" Jose Padilla?
Appeals Court Slams Administration on Padilla Detention
By Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 21, 2005; 5:24 PM
A U.S. appeals court, acting in the case of alleged "enemy combatant" Jose Padilla, today rejected the administration's move to avoid another Supreme Court review of its powers of detention, blasting the government in unusually blunt terms for its behavior in the case which, it said, may have significantly damaged "its credibility before the courts."
The decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond stems from the administration's actions last month just as the Supreme Court was set to consider whether to review the Padilla case.
At that time, after holding him without charges for three-and-a-half years, it indicted Padilla on criminal charges and asked the 4th Circuit to have him moved from a military prison to a civilian prison, thus mooting the issues the Supreme Court might have reviewed on the question of detention without formal charge.
On top of that, the government asked the appeals court to withdraw the opinion it issued that might have been considered by the justices, even though that opinion upheld the administration's position on detention.
Today, the panel rejected both requests in an opinion written by J. Michael Luttig, a conservative often mentioned on the administration's short list for the U.S. Supreme Court.
…………………………
Luttig said the government's actions created the appearance "that the government may be attempting to avoid" Supreme Court review in a matter of "especial national importance."
He also suggested that the government's actions in the Padilla case may possibly have had negative consequences for "the public perception of the war on terror" and "also for the government's credibility before the courts in litigation ancillary to that war.
" . . . We cannot help but believe that those consequences have been underestimated" by the government, he added.
For "as the government must surely understand," it has left "the impression" that Padilla may have been held for these years "by mistake, an impression we would have thought the government could ill afford to leave extant."
Read the entire article here. Judge Luttig makes his unhappiness with the governments legal maneuvering quite clear in the court’s opinion.
By Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 21, 2005; 5:24 PM
A U.S. appeals court, acting in the case of alleged "enemy combatant" Jose Padilla, today rejected the administration's move to avoid another Supreme Court review of its powers of detention, blasting the government in unusually blunt terms for its behavior in the case which, it said, may have significantly damaged "its credibility before the courts."
The decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond stems from the administration's actions last month just as the Supreme Court was set to consider whether to review the Padilla case.
At that time, after holding him without charges for three-and-a-half years, it indicted Padilla on criminal charges and asked the 4th Circuit to have him moved from a military prison to a civilian prison, thus mooting the issues the Supreme Court might have reviewed on the question of detention without formal charge.
On top of that, the government asked the appeals court to withdraw the opinion it issued that might have been considered by the justices, even though that opinion upheld the administration's position on detention.
Today, the panel rejected both requests in an opinion written by J. Michael Luttig, a conservative often mentioned on the administration's short list for the U.S. Supreme Court.
…………………………
Luttig said the government's actions created the appearance "that the government may be attempting to avoid" Supreme Court review in a matter of "especial national importance."
He also suggested that the government's actions in the Padilla case may possibly have had negative consequences for "the public perception of the war on terror" and "also for the government's credibility before the courts in litigation ancillary to that war.
" . . . We cannot help but believe that those consequences have been underestimated" by the government, he added.
For "as the government must surely understand," it has left "the impression" that Padilla may have been held for these years "by mistake, an impression we would have thought the government could ill afford to leave extant."
Read the entire article here. Judge Luttig makes his unhappiness with the governments legal maneuvering quite clear in the court’s opinion.
First Cantaloupe Blossom
The blossom opened today, December 21, the shortest day of the year. Take heart you of the Northern climes, Spring is just around the corner.Update 12-22-05: A second blossom opened today on the same plant.
U. S. Fascism on the March
Update: 12-24-05 - The student who reported this story has admitted it was a hoax. I am relieved that our federal agents are not wasting their time on such. Thanks to "anonymous" for alerting me to the hoax.
Book checked out of the library results in a visit from federal agents. What's next, book burnings?
Feds Question Student, Frighten UM-Darmouth Faculty
"Why are You Reading that Little Red Book?"
By GARY LEUPP
Just when you think it can't get crazier, it gets crazier. Aaron Nicodemus, a journalist with the southern Massachusetts newspaper The Standard-Times, reports that in October of this year a senior at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth was visited by federal agents and questioned about a book he had ordered through inter-library loan. Apparently U Mass librarians are cooperating with the USA-Patriot Act. You know, the one that's all about Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. The book was for a research paper he was doing for a course on fascism and totalitarianism taught by Professor Robert Pontbriand, a specialist in European intellectual and cultural history. The agents visited the student after he ordered a book that is, they informed him, on a "watch list."
The book being watched? No, not some Islamist tome, al-Qaeda training manual or technical work on explosives, but a well-known book the whole text of which you can find online or order from amazon.com. It's Quotations from Chairman Mao Tsetung, also known as the "Little Red Book," a book once rivaling the Bible in circulation. To really monitor its readership would involve watching all internet access to the text, purchases of the book, and library loans of it. A formidable task and insane waste of FBI time, surely. But these are mad times.
Read the complete Counterpunch report here
Book checked out of the library results in a visit from federal agents. What's next, book burnings?
Feds Question Student, Frighten UM-Darmouth Faculty
"Why are You Reading that Little Red Book?"
By GARY LEUPP
Just when you think it can't get crazier, it gets crazier. Aaron Nicodemus, a journalist with the southern Massachusetts newspaper The Standard-Times, reports that in October of this year a senior at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth was visited by federal agents and questioned about a book he had ordered through inter-library loan. Apparently U Mass librarians are cooperating with the USA-Patriot Act. You know, the one that's all about Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. The book was for a research paper he was doing for a course on fascism and totalitarianism taught by Professor Robert Pontbriand, a specialist in European intellectual and cultural history. The agents visited the student after he ordered a book that is, they informed him, on a "watch list."
The book being watched? No, not some Islamist tome, al-Qaeda training manual or technical work on explosives, but a well-known book the whole text of which you can find online or order from amazon.com. It's Quotations from Chairman Mao Tsetung, also known as the "Little Red Book," a book once rivaling the Bible in circulation. To really monitor its readership would involve watching all internet access to the text, purchases of the book, and library loans of it. A formidable task and insane waste of FBI time, surely. But these are mad times.
Read the complete Counterpunch report here
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