meta-roj

reelection on reagan’s coattails… you can’t ask for better timing than this…

President Bush Holds Press Conference Following the G8 Summit [the white house]

THE PRESIDENT: I can’t remember if I’ve seen the memo or not, but I gave those instructions.

final report of the independent counsel for iran/contra matters, volume 1, chapter 27. Grand Jury Interrogatories, Answer to Question 24 from Ronald Reagan

I do not recall signing a Finding relating to Iranian arms transactions in November or December 1985. I am aware that an unsigned version of such a Finding exists . . . although I am told that a signed version has not been found. I have been advised that the CIA was told contemporaneously that on December 5, 1985, I signed a Finding relating to this initiative. While I do not deny having signed such a Finding, I have no current recollection of doing so.

bush doesn’t remember seeing the memos telling him how he could justify authorizing torture of prisoners in american custody, in apparent violation of united states law, and reagan couldn’t remember seeing the operational details of how his staff could get around congressional restrictions on arms sales to the contras.

i don’t remember why we tolerate this.

Ex-Midnight Oil Singer Runs for Office [ap, via abc]

The former lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil announced Thursday that he will run for parliament with the opposition Labour Party and party leaders said he could even become a government minister someday.

that should make an interesting race….

following on the news from idaho, i stumbled into this from wired a few days ago:

Cities Say No to the Patriot Act

In the past two years, more than 300 cities and four states have passed resolutions calling on Congress to repeal or change parts of the USA Patriot Act that, activists say, violate constitutional rights such as free speech and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.

Barring that, the resolutions declare that their communities will uphold the constitutional rights of their residents should federal law enforcement agents come knocking on the door of local authorities for assistance in tracking residents. This means local authorities will insist on complying with federal orders only in ways that do not violate constitutional rights. The resolutions are not binding, however, and do not affect the federal government’s actions.

for more, visit the Bill of Rights Defense Committee.

today, sami omar al-hussayen was acquitted of all terrorism-related patriot-act-based charges by an idaho jury. this is going to be downplayed, i’m sure, but in light of the california ruling from january, the cracks in the patriot act are getting more and more obvious.

i just had to put these two stories together… from boingboing, art attack, on the developing story of steve kurtz, and from the new york post, wacko in ‘art’ attack.

the stealthy museum invader has hit the guggenheim (ny), the met (ny), the national gallery (dc), the philadelphia museum of art (pa), and, according to newsday, princeton (nj) and yale (ct).

not that these things are related, of course, but let’s get a statement from the metropolitan museum:

The Metropolitan is a repository for the greatest works of human creativity over the last 5,000 years. It is not a bulletin board. For us it is clearly an unwelcome demonstration of self-aggrandisement.

legend

and the trend continues…

via slashdot, we have news of the uk studying chipped license plates that can be read from 300 feet.

i’m going to get to work on the neighborhood watch reader that will tell parents when the kids sneak out late at night in the family car…

it seems to be “big brother” day here at meta-roj. ah well. might as well run with it….

from joi, Japan – Chips may be implanted in imported dogs. it’s important to track the dogs, but someone’s going to complain that these dogs being treated like princes, while billions of other humans have to go through life without chips.

primus [telecommunications] has jumped into voip to compete with vonage and at&t – offering $20/month unlimited calling.

no word on the big brown beaver.

Baltimore Plans 24-Hour Surveillance [ap via abc news]

Authorities in the Baltimore region are trying to build a network of around-the-clock surveillance cameras to target crimes from terrorism to drug dealing, the state’s homeland security chief said.

“We’re at war, ” said Dennis R. Schrader, director of homeland security for Gov. Robert Ehrlich.

Dozens of surveillance cameras are already in place to deter crime throughout downtown Baltimore, but those images are generally taped and reviewed only occasionally.

The new images will be monitored by about a dozen retired police officers or criminal justice college students, said Elliot Schlanger, Baltimore’s chief information officer.

i feel safer already knowing that criminal justice college students will be looking over my shoulder. that’s an interesting group of people to bring into this effort – it would seem to make the next generation of criminal justice graduates more comfortable with the concept of a surveillance state.

according to the story, this is the first 24/7 monitoring effort in the united states.