Category Archive for News
October 6, 2004
Finally - Respect
CNN.com - Rodney Dangerfield dead at 82 - Oct 5, 2004
"Thousand bucks, you miss that putt!"
Play on, Al Czervik...play on.
Posted by Turfdigger at 3:55 AM
September 30, 2004
V for Victor(y)
V is also fairly close to the bottom of the pickin's as far as the alphabet goes, just like CNN coverage on this AP story yesterday, found buried at the bottom of the CNN homepage this morning:
U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero struck down a provision of the Patriot Act that authorizes the FBI to force Internet service providers and phone companies to turn over certain customer records. The companies are then barred from ever disclosing the search took place.
In his ruling, the judge called national security of "paramount value" and said the government "must be empowered to respond promptly and effectively" to threats. But he called personal security equal in importance and "especially prized in our system of justice."
This sounds like a great victory for the people ( although the decision is still open to appeal ) and comes as refreshing news, since the culled polls over at electoral-vote.com have been quite disheartening since the RNC ran its course and CBS ran their infamous story regarding the military record of W.
First debate is tonite - this will prove interesting.
CNN.com - Judge blocks part of Patriot Act - Sep 29, 2004
Posted by Turfdigger at 6:46 AM
September 11, 2004
Statutes and Lawsuits
A statute of limitations on 9/11-related lawsuits expires in several hours, this being the third anniversary of the horrific event. And it's about time that both the New York Port Authority and investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald have filed suit against the government of Saudi Arabia for its clear but apparently hushed involvement in the attacks. When news like this is being covered by an outfit like the BBC, it really makes ya think:
The agency that owns the site of the World Trade Center in New York says it is suing Saudi Arabia for damages suffered on 11 September, 2001.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey lost 84 employees in the attacks against the Twin Towers.
The agency did not explain why it held the Saudis responsible, but said it wanted to "preserve its legal options".
read the full story here at "the beeb".
Posted by Turfdigger at 3:36 AM
March 26, 2004
Edmonds Thread Continues
"We should have had orange or red-type of alert in June or July of 2001"
A former FBI translator told the 9/11 commission that the bureau had detailed information well before Sept. 11, 2001, that terrorists were likely to attack the U.S. with airplanes.
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Full Story By Eric Boehlert via salon.com
March 26, 2004 | A former FBI wiretap translator with top-secret security clearance, who has been called "very credible" by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has told Salon she recently testified to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States that the FBI had detailed information prior to Sept. 11, 2001, that a terrorist attack involving airplanes was being plotted.Referring to the Homeland Security Department's color-coded warnings instituted in the wake of 9/11, the former translator, Sibel Edmonds, told Salon, "We should have had orange or red-type of alert in June or July of 2001. There was that much information available." Edmonds is offended by the Bush White House claim that it lacked foreknowledge of the kind of attacks made by al-Qaida on 9/11. "Especially after reading National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice [Washington Post Op-Ed on March 22] where she said, we had no specific information whatsoever of domestic threat or that they might use airplanes. That's an outrageous lie. And documents can prove it's a lie."
Posted by Turfdigger at 7:36 PM
Hitting the Mainstream
It's one thing when you see cover-up stories on conspiracy theory sites; quite another when these stories start to hit the mainstream. Recently seen via the always superlative BoingBoing:
FBI translator says she was bribed not to spill beans on 9-11 cover-up During the 9-11 Hearing, the spotlight was on Richard Clarke's testimony, because they've been so devastating to the Bush administration. But there's hardly any media mention of Sibel Edmonds' tesimony. She's a Farsi and Turkish translator who worked for the FBI from Sept. 20, 2001 to March 2002. Here's what Govenment Executive magazine had to say about her testimony.Edmonds said she was hired to retranslate material that was collected prior to Sept. 11 to determine if anything was missed in the translations that related to the plot. In her review, Edmonds said the documents clearly showed that the Sept. 11 hijackers were in the country and plotting to use airplanes as missiles. The documents also included information relating to their financial activities. Edmonds said she could not comment in detail because she has been under a Justice Department gag order since October 2002.And here's what tomflocco.com reported:
FBI translator, Sibel Edmonds, was offered a substantial raise and a full time job in order to not go public that she had been asked by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to retranslate and adjust the translations of [terrorist] subject intercepts that had been received before September 11, 2001 by the FBI and CIA.
read the full post and linkage here.
Posted by Turfdigger at 3:02 AM
July 3, 2003
The New Doublethink
Should American citizens question the decisions of their government? Absolutely. Too often, our government and its various corporate cohorts make decisions and institute policies under the convenient umbrella of "public safety" or "homeland security" so that the public will not question the other implications of such decisions and policies; fear is a powerful means by which public opinion and perception may be influenced and we must always be conscious of this socio-political concept. The following AP byline in today's Wired News is a worthwhile read:
Another Tool for Big Brother?
"A surveillance camera that can track and analyze the movement of individual vehicles in a crowded city is being developed for the Pentagon. Despite assurances that the camera is meant only to protect troops in the field, civilian authorities will probably want to use it, too."
Link to full story | [Wired News]
Posted by Turfdigger at 11:44 AM
June 30, 2003
1st Amendment Rights Extended to Online Publishers
from a Wired News story by Xeni Jardin
02:00 AM Jun. 30, 2003 PT
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last Tuesday that Web loggers, website operators and e-mail list editors can't be held responsible for libel for information they republish, extending crucial First Amendment protections to do-it-yourself online publishers...
Read the full Wired News story | BoingBoing
Posted by Turfdigger at 4:18 PM
June 29, 2003
Pre-flight Security?
Airport feds rip off travellers
posted by Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing
The Transport Security Agency requires all fliers to travel with their luggage unlocked, so that highly trustworthy federal employees can rummage through them and ensure that they are WMD-free. And steal things. TSA employees are ripping off choice items ($1,000 binox and such) from the mandatorily-unlocked bags of America's travellers. I feel safer already.
Link to story | Discuss it at BoingBoing | [go to BoingBoing]
Posted by Turfdigger at 5:03 PM