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Libertarian
War on the News, 06 - 12 April, 2008
A short column this week, touching on a lot of stories, but not in
much detail.
American
union:
Colombia trade pact to land amid hostile
Congress
USA Today
“President Bush said he will Tuesday send Congress a controversial
trade agreement with Colombia, setting up a high-stakes legislative showdown
that is likely to keep trade at the center of political debate for months.
The president opted to force a congressional vote over the objections
of Democrats, who warned the deal may become the first trade agreement
ever rejected by Congress. The president’s move, which he said was
needed to assure that Congress votes before adjourning this year, marked
the first time a trade deal has been sent to Capitol Hill without congressional
leaders’ approval.” (04/07/08)
The baboons,
especially those with fingers in the drug trade (too many), will no doubt
support this, even though they may scream loudly about how they will not.
I expect it to pass, if not as handily as previous ones.
Mama's
Note: Ask yourself one question here. Who benefits from these "agreements"
between governments? The people who are producing the things they want
to trade, or government - or others who produce things and wish to eliminate
the competition? Absolute free trade is the only answer.
Asian front:
UK: Police, protesters
clash along torch route
BBC News [UK]
“Thirty-five arrests have been made after clashes between pro-Tibet
protesters and police as the Olympic torch made its way through London.
Protests over China’s human rights record began soon after the relay
began at Wembley, and prompted an increasing police presence through the
city. One protester tried to snatch the torch from former Blue Peter host
Konnie Huq. After an unpublicised change to the route, the Chinese ambassador
carried the torch through Chinatown.” (04/06/08)
As the
Olympic torch continues to demonstrate the world’s hypocrisy on China
and freedom in general, the attacks and fighting become normal and expected.
Asian front:
France: Torch relay descends into
chaos
Independent [UK]
“The global procession of the Olympic flame — a symbol of
sporting values hijacked as a symbol of Chinese state pride — stumbled
into abject political embarrassment for Beijing and Western governments
yesterday. The day after determined protests in London, a 17-mile torch
relay through Paris dissolved into chaos, farce and, finally, cancellation.
The torch, although not the master flame, was extinguished at least four
times as an elaborate security screen failed to fend off pro-Tibet and
human rights demonstrators. Finally, at the insistence of the Chinese
officials, the finale of the five-hour parade was abandoned. The flame
was carried ignominiously through the streets of the City of Light in
a police bus. French television and news agencies talked last night of
a ’security fiasco.’ Activists spoke of a triumph for the defence
of Tibetan and human rights.” (04/08/08)
Gee, what
a horrible thing to happen, especially to the French! I wonder how many
of these thousands of protesters would be willing to sign up for volunteer
brigades to go to Tibet and help end Chinese occupation and tyranny?
Baboons:
Senate
‘Megachurch’ Probe Wastes Tax Dollars, Experts Say
CNSNews.com
The Senate Finance Committee continues to gather the financial records
of several so-called "megachurches," despite the fact that other
government agencies have enforcement power in cases where non-profits
are found to have violated tax laws."This is what makes the Senate
investigation redundant and unnecessary," said Richard Hammar, editor
of Church Law & Tax Report...
Actually,
this is likely an example of yet another culture war front: the baboons
figure that they can use the tax laws and their power to pound on these
churches, and if they get away with doing that to these "megachurches"
then they know that they can go after the rest. But the real goal is not
so much tax money and revenue, but to drive the churches out of taking
ANY stand regarding political issues, such as war, abortion, "marriage,"
and anything else that the baboons wish to use to expand their power and
wealth.
Government-run,
theft-funded schools and Free speech:
CA: Senate panel OKs protection for
journalism teachers
San Francisco Chronicle
“A state Senate committee has approved a San Francisco lawmaker’s
proposed legal protections for high school and college journalism teachers
after hearing instructors’ complaints of retaliation for hard-hitting
articles in student newspapers. ‘Allowing a school administration
to censor in any way is contrary to the democratic process and the ability
of a student newspaper to serve as the watchdog,’ Sen. Leland Yee,
D-San Francisco, said after the Judiciary Committee sent his bill to the
Senate floor Tuesday. The measure, SB1370, would prohibit school officials
from punishing teachers for allowing students to publish articles that
are covered by California’s guarantee of freedom of the press on
campus. Teacher and student organizations and labor unions support the
bill, while the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA)
opposes it.” (04/09/08)
Yes, I
suppose this makes sense, but NOT as much as an easier solution: divorce
the state and the schools. By the way, is there any truth to the rumor
that the ACSA and the prison warden’s union in California are merging?
Government-run,
theft-funded schools:
New
Zealand: School bans birthday cake
Yahoo! News
“Children in a New Zealand school have been banned from bringing
cakes to share on their birthdays, due to new government healthy eating
guidelines. Pupils at Oteha Valley primary school north of Auckland have
been told they are allowed to celebrate their birthdays, but the cake
must stay at home, the New Zealand Herald newspaper reported. The Ministry
of Education has been on a fat-busting crusade, introducing sweeping guidelines
against unhealthy food in New Zealand schools.” (04/04/08)
Ah, aren’t
these non-penal institutions wonderful? Never mind that if children were
allowed to play on the playgrounds and run and wrestle and tear around,
they would burn off that cake in a few hours – we MUST protect them
from the evils of sweets and their parents total inability to do what
is right for them.
Government-run,
theft-funded schools:
CO: Eight-year-old
suspended for sniffing marker
9 News
“Adams School District 50 is defending its decision to punish
a third grader for sniffing a Sharpie marker. Eight-year-old Eathan Harris
was originally suspended from Harris Park Elementary School for three
days. Principal Chris Benisch reduced the suspension to one day after
complaints from Harris’ parents. Harris used a black Sharpie marker
to color a small area on the sleeve of his sweatshirt. A teacher sent
him to the principal when she noticed him smelling the marker and his
clothing. … In his letter suspending the child, Benisch wrote that
smelling the marker fumes could cause the boy to ‘become intoxicated.’
A toxicologist with the Rocky Mountain Poison Control Center says that
claim is nearly impossible. … Despite the medical evidence, Benisch
promised to draw an even clearer line on markers. ‘We’ve purged
every permanent marker there is in this building,’ he said.”
[Editor’s note: I don’t know about those students and those
markers, but it sounds to me like the principal’s been hitting the
crack pipe - TLK] (04/03/08)
Tom, idiots
like this man don’t need to inhale or ingest or imbibe to do stupid
things like this – they are trained to do it by places like the “University”
of Northern Colorado a few miles north of this school district.
Government-run,
theft-funded schools:
NY: Charter schools to receive
multimillion-dollar boost
New York Sun
“Charter schools that have been struggling to find homes in New
York will receive a boost today from the Bush administration, in the form
of a multimillion-dollar grant. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings
is presenting the award to a local group that finances, constructs, and
renovates charter school buildings, Civic Builders, Inc. The money will
be used to aid building efforts in New York City and Newark, N.J., charter
schools, according to sources familiar with the grant.” (04/07/08)
More federal
government control and influence, and not much else. Charter schools are
definitely undermining private and even home-schooling across the nation.
Home front
– Texas war:
TX: Police abduct 219, search
“compound”
Salt Lake Tribune
“Texas officials said Sunday afternoon they had removed 219 women
and children from a FLDS ranch but were only halfway through their search
of the compound. Marleigh Meisner, a spokeswoman for the Texas Child Protective
Service, gave the new total at an afternoon news conference at 3 p.m.
CST. Three hours later, another bus filled with women and children left
the ranch, owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints. Meisner said authorities still have not identified or located
a 16-year-old girl who called for help and said she had been physically
abused. That call sparked a raid that began Thursday night at the ranch,
outside the town of Eldorado.” (04/06/08)
This seems
to be little more than moving these people from one concentration camp
to another (or several): the first ruled by the patriarchal FLDS hierarchs
and the new ones ruled by the equally tyrannical bureaucrats.
Home front
– Texas war:
TX: Conflict escalates at polygamist
retreat
Raw Story
“Sect leaders at a polygamist compound in West Texas refused Saturday
to let authorities search a temple for a teenage girl whose report of
abuse led to the raid, and authorities said they were preparing ‘for
the worst.’ If no agreement is reached with sect leaders, authorities
will forcibly remove the sect’s followers ‘as peaceably as possible,’
Allison Palmer, a prosecutor in Tom Green County, told the San Angelo
Standard-Times. Medical workers are being sent ‘in case this were
to a go in a way that no one wants,’ Palmer said. Law enforcers are
‘preparing for the worst,’ she said.” [Editor’s
note: Waco II, or a peaceful solution? The choice is mostly up to the
law-dogs - SAT] (04/06/08)
As this
“standoff” continued, it became more and more likely that there
IS no “sixteen-year-old girl” involved: either a bogus call
or an outright lie made up by the authorities. It would not be the first
time that the “child protection” agencies have invented a situation
out of whole cloth, nor the first time that accusations have been fabricated
by someone out to get the object of the lie.
Home front
– Texas war:
TX:
Papers detail alleged abuse at church ranch
USA Today
“Girls as young as 13 were forced into ’spiritual marriages’
with men and subjected to sexual and physical abuse at a West Texas polygamist
community, state investigators alleged in court documents released Tuesday.
The court papers brought forward lurid details of what allegedly was happening
in Eldorado, Texas. Investigators say it was hard to determine who were
the biological parents of children in a society where men had multiple
wives going back generations. … More than 700 child welfare and law
enforcement officials were involved in the operation, according to an
affidavit filed at the courthouse in San Angelo in support of a state
intervention to take custody of the children.” [Editor’s
note: It takes about two minutes at the Texas CPS site to figure out why
they’re so hot and bothered to abduct these 400 kids … and as
you might expect, it has little or nothing to do with the children’s
safety or welfare, but rather with “correcting” a “racial
disparity” in the composition of CPS’s “clientele”
- TLK]
Today,
more than ever, we have to ask what PROOF there is of all these claims.
Those who have read Tom Kratman’s book “A State of Disobedience,”
will know exactly what I mean: the state’s interest is best served
by demonizing this group far beyond what they really have done.
Home front
– Texas war:
TX:
400+ children now in “state custody”
Agence France-Presse
“Texas state authorities have removed more than 400 children from
the secluded, sprawling compound of a polygamist sect, amid allegations
of widespread sexual and physical abuse. The tally could rise as authorities
search the 1,700 acre (688 hectare) ranch owned by the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, led by jailed Warren Jeffs,
who is considered the sect’s prophet. A judge has ordered every child
removed from the ranch because they were deemed at imminent risk of harm.
Some 133 women dressed in ankle-length dresses voluntarily left the compound
with the children. Most were mothers. … [Child Protective Services
spokesperson Marleigh] Meisner would not describe what type of abuse allegedly
took place on the ranch but said a judge determined there was sufficient
evidence to order all 401 children into temporary state custody. …
State police sealed off the compound and would not allow the men to leave
…” (04/07/07)
Look, this
Jeffs cult are NOT nice people; like too many polygamist sects, they are
all wrapped up in the false Old Testament/Koran idea of marriage as slavery,
and they are known for some outrageous acts. But that is no excuse for
the government at any level to invent a crisis.
Home front:
While reservists
serve, jobs don’t always stand & wait
Christian Science Monitor
“Steve Duarte worked in human resources for the same company for
19 years. But within months of returning from Iraq with his Marine Reserve
unit in 2003 -– his second military deployment in two years -–
he was told his job was ending in a week. ‘There was that initial
shock -– and then the shock of “What am I going to do?”‘
recalls Mr. Duarte of Littleton, Colo., whose expenses at the time included
tuition for his son at the University of Denver. As the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan grind on, tensions are mounting between the military’s
civilian volunteers, trying to step back into their professions, and employers,
straining at times to cope with a growing cadre of workers who are away
at war for months then expect to regain their former jobs.” (04/10/08)
We can’t
keep time standing still today, despite what might be found in the future
(see story on time travel and teleportation). And no, teleporting from
Mesopotamia to Denver and back is a BAD idea for Reservists to commute.
We do not know the INDIRECT economic impact that the occupations of Afghanistan
and Mesopotamia have on the US economy, but its impact on many families
and businesses is severe. With national economic conditions deteriorating,
there is no doubt that many people might have a hard time getting civilian
jobs if they lose theirs indirectly as Duarte did; although there is a
need for workers in the oil- and gas-producing areas, and of course, the
Corps would welcome him on more active duty.
Home front:
Iraq
[sic] Violence Peaked Just Before U.S. Election, Data Shows
CNSNews.com
Data from the Defense Intelligence Agency indicates that enemy-initiated
attacks on U.S. troops, Iraqi security forces and Iraqi civilians peaked
in October 2006, the month leading up to the U.S. midterm elections. At
the time, Vice President Dick Cheney suggested the insurgents were trying
to influence the upcoming election.
Although
this comes as no surprise to me – it is a basic strategy developed
to a high level by the North Vietnamese in the 1960s – apparently
most people and decision makers have poo-poohed the idea completely. We
can expect a repeat this year, and it is highly unlikely that either the
campaigners nor the public will be able to avoid letting it influence
them.
Homeland
pork-fest:
AZ: Local “defense” contractors
score billions
Arizona Republic
“President Bush’s $515.4 billion 2009 defense budget, now
before Congress, bodes well for Arizona’s more than 6,000 military
contractors and subcontractors. The spending package, the largest since
World War II, funds most major programs and does not include any significant
cuts. The 2009 budget is a boon to scores of small businesses that do
subcontract work. It’s also generous to the state’s major defense
contractors. There is $2.3 billion for missiles made by Raytheon Corp.
in Tucson, $800 million for the Boeing Co. to remanufacture Apache Helicopters
in Mesa and $728 million to upgrade Abrams tanks with new engines built
by Honeywell International Inc. in Phoenix. ‘There is plenty of work
for everyone,’ said Brad Curran, an aerospace and defense-industry
analyst in the San Antonio office of military-research firm Frost &
Sullivan.” (04/07/08)
Probably,
virtually every state in the Union has a similar story. Recalling Harry
Browne’s old question, “What is your favorite government program?”
– I suspect that the worldwide war on global terrorism is the favorite
of far too many contractors and their employees.
Massa wannabes:
Barr launches presidential “exploratory
committee”
Third Party Watch
“Addressing Midwestern activists at the Heartland Libertarian
Conference today, former Congressman Bob Barr announced the launch of
the Bob Barr 2008 Presidential Exploratory Committee (BobBarr2008.com).”
(04/06/08)
Barr or
Gravel? To many people, especially those who take their libertarianism
straight, neither one is particularly palatable, as compared to Mary Ruwart.
Mesopotamian
front:
Report: US
no closer to Iraq goals
Miami Herald
“The United States is no closer to achieving its goals in Iraq
than it was a year ago but a quick military withdrawal could lead to massive
chaos and even genocide, according to a report released Sunday by a U.S.
think tank. The U.S. Institute of Peace report was written by experts
who advised the Iraq Study Group, a panel mandated by Congress to offer
recommendations on U.S. policy in Iraq in 2006.” (04/06/08)
Hardly
an unbiased source for such a report, eh? It says more about the preparers
than the situation in Mesopotamia.
Mesopotamian
front:
Troop drawdown
likely to stop in July
Christian Science Monitor
“The two top US officials in Iraq –- Gen. David Petraeus
and Ambassador Ryan Crocker –- are on Capitol Hill this week to report
on the Iraq war, but expectations are low that US policy will change much
before the end of the year and the arrival of America’s next president.
That’s not just because General Petraeus has indicated he will recommend
against a further drawdown of US forces beyond the level they are programmed
to hit at midsummer. It is also the case because, despite security gains
of the past year, Iraq is expected to remain in a fragile state for the
rest of President Bush’s term. Several factors could contribute in
coming months to unstable conditions on the ground.” (04/07/08)
As long
as we pretend that there is a “nation-state” called “Iraq”
we won’t be able to progress farther.
Mesopotamian
front:
Hearings: Petraeus won’t promise
more Iraq pullouts
Phoenixville Phoenix
“The top U.S. commander in Iraq told Congress Tuesday that hard-won
gains in the war zone are too fragile to promise any troop pullouts beyond
this summer, holding his ground against impatient Democrats and refusing
to commit to more withdrawals before President Bush leaves office in January.
Army Gen. David Petraeus painted a picture of a nation struggling to suppress
violence among its own people and to move toward the political reconciliation
that Bush said a year ago was the ultimate aim of his new Iraq strategy,
which included sending more than 20,000 extra combat troops.” (04/08/08)
Despite
his castigation by a very wide array of groups, Petraeus seems to be both
honest and professional in his presentation and his analysis of the situation.
It doesn’t mean he is right, but all he can do is recommend things:
it is up to Congress (not the President, ultimately) to decide what to
do. And neither Dems nor GOP are going to pull anything much out of Mesopotamia
right now. Nor will Obama or Clinton, if elected, either.
Nazgul:
NY: Duck gets protective order
Yahoo! News
“A pet duck named Circles, shot and wounded by a neighbor with
a pellet gun, has received an order of protection to keep it safe, the
first duck in New York state’s Suffolk County to benefit from such
an order. Circles was in its owner’s backyard on Long Island —
long known as a habitat for wild waterfowl — when it was shot by
a neighbor through the neck, said Michelle Auletta, prosecutor at the
Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Circles, a white, yellow-billed
duck, was treated by a vet and survived, she said. The neighbor was charged
with animal cruelty. At the attacker’s arraignment on Thursday, Circles’
owners received an order of protection. ‘It’s the first case
that I know of in this area where a duck got an order of protection,’
Auletta said. ‘And in Suffolk County, Long Island, it is the first
case where an animal was included in an order of protection that was not
a domestic violence case.’ In 2006, former New York Governor George
Pataki signed into law a provision to include pets in orders of protection.”
(04/07/08)
Of course,
a protection order for a duck will have JUST as much effectiveness as
a protection order for an abused wife – as if a piece of paper can
substitute for being armed.
New religions:
climate changes
WHO: Climate change threatens millions
Associated Press
“Millions of people could face poverty, disease and hunger as
a result of rising temperatures and changing rainfall expected to hit
poor countries the hardest, the World Health Organization warned Monday.
Malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition and floods cause an estimated 150,000
deaths annually, with Asia accounting for more than half, said regional
WHO Director Shigeru Omi. Malaria-carrying mosquitoes represent the clearest
sign that global warming has begun to impact human health, he said, adding
they are now found in cooler climates such as South Korea and the highlands
of Papua New Guinea.” [Editor’s note: Ending the DDT ban
is a quick way to check that particular threat - TLK] (04/07/08)
I have
been watching this propaganda effort expand, literally across the globe,
now for several weeks. The lies being told are so easily disproved, and
so easily ignored by those pushing the line. What line? That a combination
of global warming, ethanol-burning, petroleum-burning, and other evils
are causing an explosion in food cost inflation and therefore starvation.
Tom points out one obvious solution: frankly, I understand that virtually
ANY mosquito can carry malaria, even those found here in the US. But this
and other garbage (like the beer scare, next story) are sucked up like
suds by true believers and those who want to manipulate the public opinion
to their own benefit and for their own ends. All of these diseases listed
here have been far, FAR worse in the past, and those areas plagued with
these troubles today are usually also societies with little freedom, economic
OR social, and have been supported by the charity of the West for decades.
New religions:
global warming:
New Zealand: Climate “may hurt
beer-making”
Arizona Republic
“The price of beer is likely to rise in coming decades because
climate change will hamper the production of a key grain needed for the
brew, especially in Australia, a scientist warned Tuesday. Jim Salinger,
a climate scientist at New Zealand’s National Institute of Water
and Atmospheric Research, said climate change likely will cause a decline
in the production of malting barley in parts of New Zealand and Australia.
Malting barley is a key ingredient of beer. ‘It will mean either
there will be pubs without beer or the cost of beer will go up,’
Salinger told the Institute of Brewing and Distilling’s convention.
Similar effects could be expected worldwide, but Salinger spoke only of
the effects on Australia and New Zealand. He said climate change could
cause a drop in beer production within 30 years as dry areas become drier.”
[Editor’s note: They’ve tried everything else to promote “GW
terror” … maybe this will work! - SAT] (04/09/08)
More fearmongering,
although I admit that a shortage of ingredients for traditional beer doesn’t
bother me (I am a teetotaler, after all). However, this strikes me as
a totally bogus warning: barley is not that sensitive to climate and grows
in a wide variety of environments, even without genetic manipulation and
breeding programs: same for hops. Pubs without beer? Ha! Don’t make
me laugh!
Mama's
Note: None of this makes any sense, of course. IF the weather was getting
warmer - ask a few Montana cattlemen how much fun it was delivering calves
in sub zero weather this spring - warmer weather would mean longer growing
seasons in more places, which would mean MORE food could be grown. If
some areas got dryer, both water and food can be traded over long distances
these days. There is simply no logic involved in any of this scam.
People:
Charlton Heston, 1924-2008
United Press International
“Charlton Heston, who won an Oscar for playing the title role
in ‘Ben Hur’ and was probably best known as Moses, died Saturday
in Beverly Hills, Calif., at 84. Heston’s family released a statement
announcing the death, the Los Angeles Times reported. … While Heston’s
most famous roles were in Biblical epics like ‘The Ten Commandments’
and ‘Ben Hur,’ he showed an enormous range. He played a Mexican
police officer in ‘Touch of Evil’ with Orson Welles, Marc Antony
in ‘Julius Caesar’ and sci-fi heroes in ‘Soylent Green’
and ‘Planet of the Apes.’” (04/07/08)
While the
NRA is not one of the favorites of people who support our right to defend
ourselves, nevertheless, we must recognize the role that Heston, as NRA
president and spokesman, played in changing public attitudes towards weapons,
and his own personal journey from outright liberal statist to a conservative
view that approached (if it did not reach) libertarian philosophy.
Persian
front:
Iran begins installing 6,000 centrifuges
Associated Press
“Iran’s president says Iran has begun installing 6,000 centrifuges
at its uranium enrichment plant in Natanz. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced
the work on state television on Tuesday. Iran already has about 3,000
centrifuges operating in Natanz. The new announcement is seen as a show
of defiance of international demands to halt a nuclear program. The U.S.
and its allies say the program is aimed at building nuclear weapons. Iran
denies those allegations. … Centrifuges are machines that can enrich
uranium to a low level to produce nuclear fuel or a high level for use
in a weapon. Iran insists its nuclear program is solely focused on the
peaceful production of energy.” (04/08/08)
Ah-make-a-jihad’s
words seem to be at cross purposes to his actions, don’t they? He
and his supporters seem intent, as I have pointed out before, on tweaking
the West’s nose. No, it doesn’t want to attack the West (except
perhaps Israel) but it DOES want the West (especially Israel and the US)
to attack it, to help it continue to make its way to the top of the Islamic
world.
Mama's
Note: Excuse me, but how many centrifuges, ready to go bombs and other
nasty stuff do the US and Israel have? This is too much like the bully
telling the intended victim that he can't defend himself. And just because
the victim isn't too bright doesn't make it OK. I don't buy it.
Politics:
Campaign 2008: “Soft money”
battle brewing
Boston Globe
“Four years ago, wealthy Republicans bankrolled two influential,
loosely regulated political organizations that helped President Bush win
reelection with TV ads invoking the 2001 terrorist attacks and maligning
the Vietnam War record of Democratic nominee John F. Kerry. Now, some
of the same GOP donors and operatives are planning a similar independent
group to help the party hold onto the White House this fall, according
to Republicans familiar with the discussions. The organization is one
of several independent groups aligned with both Democrats and Republicans
that are busy arming for the general election, in a year that could see
record activity by such outside entities.” [Editor’s note:
And in the process they show McCain’s hypocrisy on this issue in
high relief - SAT] (04/06/08)
Frankly,
they have a much harder battle ahead this time, given that far too many
people still thought that Bush was a conservative, and McCain hasn’t
even been able to persuade the moderates in the party that he is to their
right by a quarter-inch.
Privacy:
PA: Couple sues Google over “Street
View”
TechShout
“A couple staying in Pennsylvania has sued Google over invading
their privacy. The couple claims that Google has disturbed their privacy
by showing pictures of their home on the ‘Street View’ website.
According to Aaron and Christine Boring’s lawyer, Google entered
their private driveway for taking images for its site. The driveway lets
one see street-level views of cities from a map. The lawsuit was filed
on April 2 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.” (04/05/08)
How many
people is this happening to? Google’s record for treating people
like humans (i.e., recognizing they have rights) is abysmal, and this
seems to be an example of it.
Our right
to defend ourselves:
CA: [Anti-]gun activists up in arms
Mercury News
An East Bay lawmaker's bill to clear the way for local handgun bans
has a committee hearing today, delving into issues now pending before
the state and nation's highest courts. Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley,
authored Assembly Bill 2566 in reaction to a state Court of Appeal ruling
in January which upheld the voiding of San Francisco's Measure H of 2005,
approved by voters to bar city residents from owning handguns or from
making or selling firearms or ammunition in the city. The California Supreme
Court is mulling whether to review this ruling, which found state law
leaves no room for cities and counties to ban handgun ownership; Hancock's
bill, to be heard today by the Assembly Public Safety Committee, seeks
to create that room by removing the state preemption entirely.
Never mind
the California nor the US Constitution, never mind six thousands years
of human history. “We know better.”
Our right
to defend ourselves:
MI: Pizza delivery driver shoots teens
Detroit Free Press
“A pizza delivery driver shot two teens who tried to rob him east
of downtown Detroit Thursday night, Detroit Police said. The teens, 14
and 16, were taken to local hospitals; their conditions were listed as
temporary serious, police said. The delivery driver had a permit to carry
a concealed weapon, police said.” (04/04/08)
And Pizza
Hut immediately fired him, stating that they try to protect their employees
safety by disarming them and letting them get killed, beat up, and robbed.
Mama's
Note: Ever notice how these delivery pizza places are always advertising
for help? Wonder why....
Our right
to defend ourselves:
IL: houseguest
shoots, kills intruder
Register Star
“About 11 p.m. Sunday, a man staying at a home in the 9100 block
of Meridian Road awakened to the sound of shattered glass and grabbed
a handgun after realizing people were inside, Beitel said. The man told
deputies at least three people broke into the house, one of whom entered
his bedroom and then fled, Beitel said. The houseguest then left the bedroom
and came face to face, Beitel said, with a man aiming a firearm at him.
The houseguest then fired twice, killing the man, Beitel said. ‘He
walked out of the bedroom and there was this guy right in front of him,
coming out of the other room,’ Beitel said. ‘He fired in self-defense.’
Beitel said it’s too soon in the investigation to know whether the
houseguest will be charged with a crime.” (04/07/08)
How stupid
to even consider charging the houseguest! What, was he supposed to cower
in his room and wait for his hosts to be tracked down and killed, raped,
and robbed?
Our right
to defend ourselves:
UK: Ban on samurai
swords becomes law
BBC News [UK]
“Legislation against selling, making, hiring or importing samurai
swords in England and Wales has come into force. Those breaking the law
face six months in jail and a £5,000 fine. Carrying a sword in public
is already illegal. Exemptions will cover swords which are used for reenactments
or antique weapons kept on display by collectors.” (04/06/08)
Guns, swords,
knives --- rocks and rolling pins are next!
Stupid
cop tricks:
AZ: Online mug shots in shoplift cases
raising concerns
Arizona Republic
“A controversial law-enforcement tactic used to deter crime is
now targeting shoplifters, reviving the debate over the civil liberties
of people who are singled out for an offense they may or may not have
committed. Avondale is the latest police agency to post suspects’
mug shots online. The city publicizes photos of adults arrested and accused
of shoplifting, even if they haven’t been convicted. Police officials
say they’re helping merchants by cracking down on shoplifting, which
peaked at 94 reports in October. But the American Civil Liberties Union
and Valley defense attorneys question whether the practice infringes on
citizens’ rights.” (04/08/08)
As long
as the people are clearly identified as “suspects” and no impression
is left that these people have been convicted, it seems to me that this
is NO infringement on anyone’s rights: and refusal to give out this
info would be taking away the public’s right to know the public business.
Frankly, though, it is the businesses, and NOT the cops, that need to
be putting this information out, both to alert their own employees and
the public in general of people suspected of being less than honest.
Stupid
government tricks:
CA: More
waters may be off limits to oil drilling
Christian Science Monitor
“A stretch of the Pacific Ocean off California’s wild north
coast seems poised to get permanent federal protection from oil exploration
and other development, in recognition that the area lies within one of
the four richest marine feeding grounds in the world. The US Senate is
expected this week to vote in favor of extending two marine sanctuaries
to cover ocean waters off a 76-mile stretch of the Sonoma County and south
Mendocino County coasts -– a move that would be a major victory for
California in its 50-year battle to restrict offshore oil drilling. The
House of Representatives approved the measure April 1. ‘After decades
of struggle, the door has opened to the national significance of this
region,’ says Richard Charter of the environmental group Defenders
of Wildlife.” (04/08/08)
Setting
standards to protect the ecology is one thing – complete prohibitions
are another.
Stupid
government tricks:
GAO: Millions wasted on government
cards
San Francisco Examiner
“Federal employees charged millions of dollars for Internet dating,
tailor-made suits, lingerie, lavish dinners and other questionable expenses
to their government credit cards over a 15-month period, congressional
auditors say. A report by the Government Accountability Office, obtained
Tuesday by The Associated Press, examined spending controls across the
federal government following reports of credit-card abuse at departments
including Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs.” (04/08/08)
Who can
be surprised? Theoretically, all this has been or will be paid back, including
finance charges. But I won’t hold my breath.
Stupid
people tricks:
Absolut apologizes
for expanded Mexico ad
Fox News
“The Absolut vodka company apologized Saturday for an ad campaign
depicting the southwestern U.S. as part of Mexico amid angry calls for
a boycott by U.S. consumers. The campaign, which promotes ideal scenarios
under the slogan ‘In an Absolut World,’ showed a 1830s-era map
when Mexico included California, Texas and other southwestern states.
Mexico still resents losing that territory in the 1848 Mexican-American
War and the fight for Texas independence. But the ads, which ran only
in Mexico and have since ended, came as the United States builds up its
border security amid an emotional debate over illegal immigration from
their southern neighbor. … The ads sparked heated comment on a half-dozen
other Internet sites and blogs.” (04/05/08)
Really
stupid, people. ‘Specially since Mexicans and Hispanics aren’t
particularly known to be partial to vodka, but a lot of Nordic/Slavic
types were.
Tech issues:
Pentagon issues pocket lie detector
to troops
Raw Story
“The Pentagon is planning to give US troops fighting in Iraq and
Afghanistan “hand-held lie detectors” aimed at rooting out potential
insurgents and terrorists. But polygraph experts doubt the system’s
accuracy and Defense Department memos show results of the few tests that
were run were manipulated to demonstrate more success with them than was
achieved, according to an MSNBC investigative reporter. ‘The Defense
Department says the portable device isn’t perfect, but is accurate
enough to save American lives by screening local police officers, interpreters
and allied forces for access to U.S. military bases, and by helping narrow
the list of suspects after a roadside bombing,’ MSNBC’s Bill
Dedman reports. ‘The device has already been tried in Iraq and is
expected to be deployed there as well.’” (04/09/08)
There is
no need for the devices to be perfect, or even better than perhaps 2 out
of 3, in order to be useful in such situations. However, the seeming successful
use in Afghanistan and Mesopotamia poses severe threats of their use by
the standing occupation forces in the United States, where the errors
could result in more than simply denied access to a secure zone: legal
fees, imprisonment, and conviction of crimes by overzealous prosecutors
and gullible juries are all possible problems.
Tech matters:
Physicist: Teleportation possible
“within decades”
The Telegraph [UK]
“Teleportation and forcefields could become scientific realities
within decades, and time travel will also be possible in the future, according
to one of the world’s leading physicists. Professor Michio Kaku of
City University in New York has studied a range of scientific ‘impossibilities’
and concluded that most will almost certainly be achieved as our knowledge
expands. Applying the rule that unless something breaks a law of physics
‘then it’s not only possible, it is sure to be built someday,’
Prof Kaku has established a hierarchy of ‘impossibilities,’
separating those phenomena that are sure to remain science fiction from
those which are likely to become reality at some point in the future.
Teleportation, telepathy, forcefields and invisibility are Class 1 impossibilities,
meaning they are likely to be realizable within a few decades or at most
a century. Class II impossibilities may take centuries or millennia to
perfect, while Class III impossibilities are truly impossible.” (04/09/08)
Hey, last
time I checked (actually, just a few seconds ago!) we ARE traveling in
time: a second into the future each second. Seriously, can we believe
this? I dunno. But I DO know that whatever is invented and/or discovered,
both lovers of liberty and statists will find reasons and ways to use
them for our nearly endless fight: a fight which will only end on Judgment
Day (with, I might add, the total victory of the forces of liberty).
The African
collapse:
Zimbabwe: Court could force release
of election results
CNN
“Zimbabwe’s High Court ruled Monday it can force the country’s
electoral commission to release the results of the March 29 presidential
election, but it is still unclear if the court will do so. The court is
expected to announce Tuesday morning if the matter is urgent, or whether
the petition will be added to the long list of other matters on the court’s
docket.” (04/07/08)
I assume
that they have a considerable guard force loyal to them personally, to
even make this ruling, whether they act on it or not.
The African
collapse:
Zimbabwe: Gangs go after opposition
voters
Los Angeles Times
“MDC spokesman Shadrick Vengesai said hundreds of opposition activists
and supporters had been arrested, beaten or displaced in Zimbabwe since
the March 29 elections, for which the presidential results have yet to
be released by the Electoral Commission. The parliamentary outcome has
been announced, and Mugabe’s ZANU-PF, for the first time in the nation’s
28 years, has lost control of the legislative body. The opposition insists
its candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, won the presidential vote outright,
and it fears spiraling violence if election officials decide a runoff
is needed. The ruling party, which controls appointments to the Electoral
Commission, says no candidate won the required 50%-plus-one majority to
avoid a runoff.” (04/08/08)
The rest
of Africa will do nothing about this; the US does not see this as a critical
location to see freedom restored, and there is no overt religious aspect,
as in Darfur. It is going to be a bloody mess.
Theft by
government:
MA: Boston parking fines may jump
Boston Globe
“Drivers would be slapped with tickets as high as $100 for violating
the city’s parking rules in a series of steep fine increases proposed
as part of the mayor’s budget for fiscal 2009. Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s
$2.42 billion budget, which was filed yesterday, would increase city spending
by 5.1 percent and keep funding for basic services largely untouched while
sprinkling new cash into several community initiatives. The budget and
new fines, which would generate an additional $13 million in revenue,
must be approved by the City Council. Menino said the fine increases,
such as doubling the penalty for parking in a handicapped ramp from $50
to $100, are overdue. ‘This budget shows stability at a time of real
uncertainty,’ Menino said in a telephone interview yesterday. ‘We
have got to raise some new revenues to maintain that stability. Some of
these fines haven’t been raised in over a decade.’”
[Editor’s note: This is just too rich, but at least they aren’t
claiming it’s about “public safety” - SAT] (04/09/08)
The truth
is out: fines aren’t imposed for reasons of safety, security, or
health, but for revenue. How long will the citizens of this city, which
once boasted that they were the Cradle of Liberty, put up with this sort
of theft?
War on
some drugs:
WI Study:
Banning smoking increases drunken driving
Fox News
“Enacting city smoking bans appears to increase drunken driving,
according to a new national study of arrests by Wisconsin researchers.
Fatal accidents involving alcohol increased after communities banned public
smoking, the study to be released by the Journal of Public Economics found.
The authors attributed the increase to people driving farther to drink,
either to a place with an outdoor smoking area or a city without a ban.
‘The increased miles driven by drivers who wish to smoke and drink
offsets any reduction in driving from smokers choosing to stay home after
a ban, resulting in increased alcohol-related accidents,’ the study
says. The researchers, Scott Adams, of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee,
and Chad Cotti, now at the University of South Carolina, said they were
surprised by the results. ‘We thought we would see a reduction,’
Adams said. ‘Our first thought was, ‘Throw it away, it must
be wrong.’ But it wasn’t,’ he said.” (04/07/08)
Interesting
data, indeed.
World wars:
Haiti: Food price protests paralyze
capital
Canada.Com
“Haitians erected flaming barricades and tried to storm the National
Palace on Tuesday as protests against rising food prices, which have killed
five people, paralyzed the impoverished nation’s capital. Some demonstrators
in the city carried empty plates to show the government they had nothing
to eat. U.N. peacekeepers fired rubber bullets and tear gas to control
the angry mob after the protesters used large steel garbage containers
as battering rams to try to smash the gates of the whitewashed palace
in downtown Port-au-Prince, witnesses said.” (04/08/08)
Bizarrely,
these idiots are blaming the UN peacekeepers, even though vast quantities
of food (mostly from the US) are shipped both to the UN troops and to
the public, and it is likely that LESS food would be imported if there
were no UN troops there. What is also insane is that a country with the
climate and soils of Haiti should be able to produce almost NO food for
their own people. I blame both the government and the people who live
there and have become worse than the slaves that their ancestors once
were before they revolted from France. For more than 150 years, they have
driven the best and brightest to flee from Haiti to anywhere else, and
what is left is a debased and apparently hopeless population unable to
understand anything about personal responsibility, freedom, or basic human
dignity.
Sorry for
the short column this week: work and family demands have sucked a lot
of time out. But stay tuned for next week!
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