Missouri Sues Web Site Purporting to Raise Funds - New York Times

~~ Cyber-fruadsters sprout like

mushrooms after a hurricane.~` TP
------------

"Missouri Sues Web Site Purporting to Raise Funds"
By TOM ZELLER Jr.
September 7, 2005

"The Missouri attorney general, Jay Nixon, filed a lawsuit this afternoon against InternetDonations.org, the hub for a constellation of Web sites erected over the last several days purporting to collect donations for victims of Hurricane Katrina."

"Also named in the lawsuit, Mr. Nixon said, is the apparent operator of the donation sites, Frank Weltner, a St. Louis resident and radio talk show personality with ties to neo-Nazi organizations and the notorious Web site JewWatch.com."

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Breaking down the Great Firewall

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Breaking down the Great Firewall

Breaking down the Great Firewall
By Kevin Anderson
BBC News

The complex system that the Chinese government uses to control the flow of information - known as the Great Firewall - has holes.

And these holes became more evident during the recent anti-Japan protests as a complex system of text messages, blogs, online instant messages, e-mail and bulletin board systems spread word about the marches.

The Chinese government and the Chinese people constantly play a cat and mouse game over the flow of information.

For every new restriction and technical door that the government slams shut, the Chinese people find a hack, a workaround or an entirely new way of communicating.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Yahoo 'helped jail China writer'

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Yahoo 'helped jail China writer': "Internet giant Yahoo has been accused of supplying information to China which led to the jailing of a journalist for 'divulging state secrets'."

» Thanks to tech, Gilligan couldn't happen today | IP Telephony, VoIP, Broadband | ZDNet.com

» Thanks to tech, Gilligan couldn't happen today | IP Telephony, VoIP, Broadband | ZDNet.com: "Thanks to tech, Gilligan couldn't happen today
-Posted by Russell Shaw @ 2:12 pm

* General

Sad to hear that Bob Denver, who played Gilligan on 'Gilligan's Island,' passed away today at the age of 70.

The 1964-1967 series, as you probably know, involved passengers on the SS Minnow, a tour boat that hit a storm, got marooned on a deserted island, and spent years trying to escape or get rescued.

Yet could a protracted 3+ year castaway fate happen today? Probably not.

I don't recall if the Minnow's radio washed overboard, failed or even if one was on board. But I do know that today's 'Minnow' would have had:

* Hand-held GPS to pinpoint their position;
* Hand-held satellite phone to call for help;
* Satellite-delivered Internet access,such as through an Iridium sat phone;
* Maybe even Skype or other Internet telephony, reachable through a sat phone or a High Speed Satellite Internet Solution from InfoSat;
* Better radar, drawing on the efficiency of geosynchronous weather satellites not fully deployed at the time.

And do I even need to mention satellites that cover most of the earth's surface, and could surely zoom in on a deserted island along the presumed sailin"

"Vanished, Under Force of Time and an Inconstant Earth" ; By DENNIS OVERBYE / NYT/

~~ ` This article below serves to remind us that

local societies , cites , and even nations –

can over the long term,

be very transient entities. ~

~TP
=========

"Vanished, Under Force of Time and an Inconstant Earth"

September 6, 2005

By DENNIS OVERBYE

"'Cities rise and fall depending on what made them go in the first place,' said Peirce Lewis, an expert on the history of New Orleans and an emeritus professor of geography at Pennsylvania State University."

Changes in climate can make a friendly place less welcoming. Catastrophes like volcanoes or giant earthquakes can kill a city quickly.

Political or economic shifts can strand what was once a thriving metropolis in a slow death of irrelevance.

After the Mississippi River flood of 1993, the residents of Valmeyer, Ill., voted to move their entire town two miles east to higher ground.

What will happen to New Orleans now, in the wake of floods and death and violence, is hard to ............"

From :Vanished, Under Force of Time and an Inconstant Earth - New York Times:
September 6, 2005

============

"The Council for Excellence in Government works to improve the performance of government at all levels; and government's place in the lives and esteem

http://www.excelgov.org/

--To promote e-government as a revolutionary tool for improving performance and better connecting people to government; and

--To improve the connection between citizens and government and encourage their participation in governance.

The Council is supported by members (called Principals)---

private sector and nonprofit leaders who have served in

government and are united by a strong, sustaining

commitment to Council objectives-

--and by project grants and

other funding from government agencies, corporations and

foundations. [ Zzzzzzzzz, worst sentance ever. ~` tp}

Former Presidents Carter, Ford, Bush and

Clinton are honorary chairs of the Council.
===============================

~~~ Sound like a bunch of young idealiastic kids to me . They'll learn. ~` ` ` ` t p

"Killed by Contempt "- By PAUL KRUGMAN

~~Katrina will seal Bush's fate in history as fluke
President. A simple minded President's son and Senator's grandson , who was in above his head from the moment the Supreme Court elected him `

In the wake of G.W. Bush's tenure , there is a failing war that 100% his baby, and now maybe as many as 10,000 dead Americans who died for no cause under his -- lack of action -- command. ~~
~
~ TP

===============

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: September 5, 2005

"Killed by Contempt "

"Each day since Katrina brings more evidence of the lethal ineptitude of federal officials. I'm not letting state and local officials off the hook, but federal officials had access to resources that could have made all the difference, but were never mobilized."

"Here's one of many examples: The Chicago Tribune reports that the U.S.S. Bataan, equipped with six operating rooms, hundreds of hospital beds and the ability to produce 100,000 gallons of fresh water a day, has been sitting off the Gulf Coast since last Monday - without patients."

"Several recent news analyses on FEMAs sorry state have attributed the agency's decline to its inclusion in the Department of Homeland Security, whose prime concern is terrorism, not natural disasters...."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/05/opinion/05krugman.html?ex=1126065600&en=f89efac00ecce23e&ei=5070

After Failures, Government Officials Play Blame Game - New York Times

~~ it seems clear that much has gone wrong.

And all signs point to a FEMA gutted by the Bush Team.

FEMA --[ like NASA ]-- used to be a " always can-do" agency.

Katrina has made the Bush Administration FEMA look impotent ~`

~ ~ ` TP

"After Failures, Government Officials Play Blame Game"

By SCOTT SHANE

This article was reported by Scott Shane, Eric Lipton and Christopher Drew and written by Mr. Shane.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 -
"'We wanted soldiers, helicopters, food and water,' said Denise Bottcher, press secretary for Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Louisiana. 'They wanted to negotiate an organizational chart.'

Mayor C. Ray Nagin of New Orleans expressed similar frustrations. 'We're still fighting over authority,' he told reporters on Saturday. 'A bunch of people are the boss. The state and federal government are doing a two-step dance.'"

www.nytimes.com/2005/09/05/national/nationalspecial/05blame.html?hp&ex=1125979200&en=755e637e66f8b02f&ei=5094&partner=homepag

firstamendmentcenter.org: Rehnquist & First Amendment: end of an era analysis

~ ~ ` Justice Rehnquist is one of the more interesting ChiefJustices in American history. Both in character & intellect.

Rehnquist had the paradoxical effect of increasing the Federalist power of the Supreme Court by often overturning Congressional legislation....

.. while at the same time issuing other decsions that greatly decreased the Federal reach over states rights.

This article here is a nice overview of
Justice Rehnquist's legal legacy . ~~ TP

--------------

"Rehnquist & First Amendment: end of an era"

By Ronald K.L. Collins

First Amendment Center scholar
09.04.05
firstamendmentcenter.org: analysis:

"Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's death ends a

judicial career that has left its mark on our

constitutional law of freedom of expression and

religious liberty.

The Rehnquist II Court (the Court as currently

constituted)has been sharing courtroom and chambers

since the fall term of 1994.

Since then, the Court has handed down 58 First

Amendment freedom-of-expression opinions in

matters involving religious speech, association rights,

Internet regulation, government-employee expression,

indecent speech, commercial expression,

telemarketing, prisoners’ speech, campaign-finance

laws, hate speech, and various kinds of zoning laws

affecting free speech, among others."

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/analysis.aspx?id=15526

===============================================

e.thePeople : Article : What is Cuban President Fidel Castro's secret?

~` Yes, Totalitarianism works well in War and emergencies.

["Mussolini made the trains run on time" is the classic pol-sci quote.]

We must remember that our freedoms come with a price.

Today that price is
a President who is grossly under
qualified to handle emergencies.

{ Anyway , I though that is why we had Cheney as Veep,
to handle the hard stuff !}

==============

"What is Cuban President Fidel Castro's secret?"
posted 09/04, by bocamp22 http://www.e-thepeople.org/article/41632/view

Last September, a Category 5 hurricane battered the small island of Cuba with 160-mile-per-hour winds. More than 1.5 million Cubans were evacuated to higher ground ahead of the storm. Although the hurricane destroyed 20,000 houses, no one died.

What is Cuban President Fidel Castro's secret? According to Dr. Nelson Valdes, a sociology professor at the University of New Mexico, and specialist in Latin America, 'the whole civil defense is embedded in the community to begin with. People know ahead of time where they are to go.'

'Cuba's leaders go on TV and take charge,' said Valdes. Contrast this with George W. Bush's reaction to Hurricane Katrina. The day after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Bush was playing golf. He waited three days to make a TV appearance and five days before visiting the disaster site. In a scathing editorial on Thursday, the New York Times said, 'nothing about the president's demeanor yesterday - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis.' "

e.thePeople : Article : What is Cuban President Fidel Castro's secret?: "

----------

Firms testing Web-based immigration check

Firms testing Web-based immigration check: "
But across the country, a small group of businesses is quietly testing a Department of Homeland Security program that can check immigration status with a few clicks on the Internet. The program will likely be at the heart of any federal immigration reform, even as critics say it needs improvement.

'It's not a question of 'can we fix this?' It's 'when and how?'' said Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute think tank who specializes in immigration.

Many businesses, however, oppose making the program mandatory because it would stop them from hiring illegal workers and force them to pay higher wages, said Maria Echeveste, an immigration expert and political consultant who worked as a deputy chief of staff in the Clinton White House."

"Rehnquist's Death Puts Stevens in Charge" By ANNE GEARAN , Associated Press Writer

~~~ Justice Stevens is my favorite Justice.

He is 85 and now in charge.

Click HERE to see an earlier--- and now important--- article on a

recent spreech he gave.

~ ~ ~TP

"Rehnquist's Death Puts Stevens in Charge"

By ANNE GEARAN , Associated Press Writer

1010wins.com

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist leaves the court's oldest member, 85-year-old liberal Justice John Paul Stevens, temporarily in charge.

Stevens, although chosen for the court by a Republican president, has emerged as the court's most liberal member.

Stevens, although chosen for the court by a Republican president, has emerged as the court's most liberal member.

That is due more to the court's gradual shift rightward under the leadership of the conservative Rehnquist than to changes in Stevens' own philosophy.

Small, acerbic and dapper in a bow tie, Stevens has a quiet and genial manner on and off the bench.

He is less likely to badger lawyers who argue before the court than some of his colleagues, and often says little during oral arguments.

He speaks in public infrequently, and is not the constant presence at arts performances or charity functions frequented by some of his colleagues.

He lives part-time in Florida, and spends his off-hours playing competitive duplicate bridge and tennis.

© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

By MAUREEN DOWD: "United States of Shame"

~~~ The first

line of this piece is a Grand

Slam sentence ~` TP

=======================

September 3, 2005
United States of Shame
By MAUREEN DOWD

"Stuff happens.
And when you combine limited government with incompetent government,
lethal stuff happens."

In Manhattan, Poor Make 2¢ for Each Dollar to the Rich - New York Times

In Manhattan, Poor Make 2¢ for Each Dollar to the Rich - New York Times

"U.S. Sells the Most Weapons to Others" : Congressional Research Service: http://www.crs.gov

~~ Oh what a surprise.

I never would have guesed this one.

I would have guessed Texas.

{ Well Texas used to be a country.}
~` tp
--------------

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/30/AR2005083001353.html
"U.S. Sells the Most Weapons to Others"

"Developing countries are the weapons' primary buyers. And the U.S. has been the most active seller for the past eight years, resulting mainly from agreements made in the aftermath of the first Gulf War.

The U.S. was responsible for more than 42 percent of the deliveries to developing nations in 2004.

Russia, which ranks second, sells mostly to China and India, as well as a number of smaller, poorer countries.

The CRS study, which is done each year, was written by national defense specialist Richard Grimmett.

___

On the Net:

Congressional Research Service: http://www.crs.gov
===================

Hallmark of Bush presidency: control over information flow | csmonitor.com

Hallmark of Bush presidency: control over information flow | csmonitor.com: "September 01, 2005 edition

Hallmark of Bush presidency: control over information flow
By Pat M. Holt
WASHINGTON – Disagreements with President Johnson over the Vietnam War drove Congress to circumscribe the powers of the presidency so much that when Johnson left the White House in 1969, it was said it would take until the end of the century to restore those lost powers. Thanks to a succession of weak presidents, the end of the century arrived without much having been done in this respect.

Richard Nixon, impeached by the House over Watergate, resigned to avoid trial by the Senate. Gerald Ford was unable to deal with the mess Nixon left. Despite the considerable accomplishment of the Camp David accord making peace between Egypt and Israel, Jimmy Carter was weakened by the hostage crisis in Iran and the botched rescue attempt. Ronald Reagan and his vice president, George H.W. Bush, had the Iran-contra scandal. For Bill Clinton, it was Monica Lewinsky and an impeachment trial (he was acquitted)."

BBC NEWS | Technology | Q&A: File-sharing ruling

BBC NEWS | Technology | Q&A: File-sharing ruling: "Q&A: File-sharing ruling
The US Supreme Court has dealt the company behind the Grokster file-sharing network a heavy blow
The US Supreme Court has ruled against file-sharing firms
In a shock decision the US Supreme Court has ruled that the firms behind file-sharing networks must answer for what people do on these systems. Here we take a look at the decision and the implications it has for the future.

What did the court decide?"

BBC NEWS | UK | Wales | Computer alert for drowning girl

BBC NEWS | UK | Wales | Computer alert for drowning girl: "The girl, from Rochdale, was at the deep end of the pool in Bangor, north Wales, when she sank to the bottom.

The £65,000 system, called Poseidon, detected her on the pool floor and sounded the alarm. A lifeguard pulled her out and she recovered in hospital.

It is thought to be the first such rescue in the UK."

PCWorld.com - Massachusetts Plans to Dump Office

PCWorld.com - Massachusetts Plans to Dump Office

Government prefers Open Document Format to proprietary Microsoft formats.

Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service

Sep 1, 2005 6:00 pm

CBS News | Not A Time For Partisan Sniping | September 1, 2005 09:00:05

~~ I agree with the below's headline.

This is a time for the noblest of human qualiites, not political cheap shots.

For a least a week I would like to only see the best

non-partisan face our politicians can muster.
~~

~` ~ technopolitical.com

========================

CBS News |

"Not A Time For Partisan Sniping"

| September 1, 2005 09:00:05:

"This event is frankly too big to have opinions about. All I can think to do is point to one of my all-time favorite college quotes: 'Think of destiny,' the Roman Emperor and stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius wrote in the second century, 'and how puny a part of it you are.'
"

"Lawsuit hits home for bloggers Blogma | News.blog | CNET News.com

Blogma | News.blog | CNET News.com:

"Lawsuit hits home for bloggers"

In one of the first legal battles involving bloggers, Aaron Wall, who runs SEOBook.com, is being sued by Traffic-Power.com for defamation and publication of trade secrets that were allegedly posted on his blog. The kicker is that much of the content in question was not posted by Wall at all, but by readers in the comments section of his blog. The lawsuit will be an interesting test case in a realm that has largely avoided legal actions thus far."

CBS News counters bloggers with 'nonbudsman' | Tech News on ZDNet

CBS News counters bloggers with 'nonbudsman' | Tech News on ZDNet: "After a controversial run-in with bloggers last year that helped sink '60 Minutes Wednesday,' CBS has hired a 'nonbudsman' to write a blog that will go behind the scenes at the news division."

Mass Media vs. Mirco-media.

Job Posting - New York Times

Job Posting - New York Times: "So maybe it does make sense that the law should provide special protection for bloggers, because of the social benefits Weblogs provide. The simplest place to start would be to put the burden on employers to show actual harm, if they are firing someone because of her Weblog."

Save the Bloggers !!

BBC NEWS | Americas | 'Thousands dead' in New Orleans

BBC NEWS | Americas | 'Thousands dead' in New Orleans

New Orleans Facing Environmental Disaster

~Hurricane Katrina is a terrible blow. Over 50 confirmed deaths, with the toll expected rise.

May the recovery be speedy and may Heaven offer comfort to those who have lost loved ones ~ ~
~ technopolitical ~~

-------------------------------------------

New Orleans Facing Environmental Disaster
- By MATT CRENSON, AP National Writer
Monday, August 29, 2005

(08-29) 18:23 PDT , (AP) --

As Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on Monday, experts said it could turn one of America's most charming cities into a vast cesspool tainted with toxic chemicals, human waste and even coffins released by floodwaters from the city's legendary cemeteries.


URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/08/29/national/a055207D61.DTL
©2005 Associated Press

E–deliberation and local governance

E–deliberation and local governance: "
http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue10_7/hands/index.html

This paper focuses on the use of local government Web sites in the United Kingdom to encourage and facilitate democratic deliberation. The question addressed is to what end, and on whose terms, citizens are being encouraged to engage local government via computer–mediated communication. After an initial investigation into the legislative framework of local e–democracy, this paper examines opportunities available for citizens to deliberate by examining 469 local government Web sites. This information is then reviewed in the context of empirical evidence on the practices and attitudes of those responsible for the management and upkeep of the specific sites under question. It appears that while interaction is being encouraged, it is limited and tends towards an individualistic liberal model."

http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue10_7/hands/index.html

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: “For They That Sow the Wind Shall Reap the Whirlwind”

~~ Mr. Kennedy ,it might be deemed insensitive by some to raise this point [below] now.

It looks like you are politicizing the tragedy , even though you are factually correct in your comments ~~ tp

------------------------------
by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Mon Aug 29, 7:05 PM ET

"As Hurricane Katrina dismantles Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, it’s worth recalling the central role that Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour played in derailing the Kyoto Protocol and kiboshing President Bush’s iron-clad campaign promise to regulate CO2."


www.StopGlobalWarming.org

FROM : Copyright © 2005 HuffingtonPost.com. All rights reserved. The information contained in Huffington Post commentary may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without prior written authority of huffingtonpost.com.

Data Mining Found to Flunk Privacy Rules -

Data Mining Found to Flunk Privacy Rules - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - None of five federal agencies using electronic data mining to track terrorists, catch criminals or prevent fraud complied with all rules for gathering citizen information."

" As a result, they cannot ensure that individual privacy rights are appropriately protected, congressional investigators said Monday."

FBI and State claimed they were exempt from the assessments required by the E-Government Act of 2002, the FBI because it was a national security system and State because its data dealt with federal employees, not the public.

=========

~~~ I find this above hard to believe.

I mean the Government--

-- our Government , of the People , by the People , for the People --

would NEVER make a mistake like this,

over and over and over again !!

This has to just another one of those vailed liberal media

attacks on the Bush administration

that my hero ,

Rush "I only do pharmaceutical drugs" Limbaugh,

keeps telling me about !! ~~

~ ` ` ~ tp
=

Andrew Kantor: CyberSpeak - With technology, it's easy to break the law - Yahoo! News

Andrew Kantor: CyberSpeak - With technology, it's easy to break the law - Yahoo! News:

"But it's a good example of how traditional definitions don't always fit in the brave new world. Was I stealing? I was depriving my neighbor of bandwidth. I was slowing his access. But what if he wasn't online? (In fact, he wasn't home at the time.)"

The Internet has really complicated life. Thank G-D ! 

Japanese Robot Knows Words, Can House-Sit - Yahoo! News

Japanese Robot Knows Words, Can House-Sit - Yahoo! News:

"Mitsubishi-Heavy said it would be the first time a robot with communication ability for home use has been sold."

I want one !!!!