one nation, under surveillance
number 53 05.26. 06
Gonzalez Cancels Subscription to First Amendment
Federal agents are tracking the phone
records and activities of journalists as
part of an investigation into leaks which
have embarrassed the CIA, and the
government has indicated that it may
pursue criminal charges against news
organizations under the Espionage Act of
1917. It has been widely reported that
the New York Times and the
Washington Post are being investigated
by the FBI with regard to stories about
domestic wiretapping by the National
Security Agency and secret CIA prisons.
Recently, ABC News reporters Brian
Ross and Richard Esposito were told by
one of their confidential government
sources, “It’s time for you to get some
records and activities of journalists as
part of an investigation into leaks which
have embarrassed the CIA, and the
government has indicated that it may
pursue criminal charges against news
organizations under the Espionage Act of
1917. It has been widely reported that
the New York Times and the
Washington Post are being investigated
by the FBI with regard to stories about
domestic wiretapping by the National
Security Agency and secret CIA prisons.
Recently, ABC News reporters Brian
Ross and Richard Esposito were told by
one of their confidential government
sources, “It’s time for you to get some
new cell phones, quick.”
There has never been a prosecution of a
journalist or news organization under the
Espionage Act, but Attorney General
Alberto Gonzalez said this week that he
believes that such a case is possible.
While denying that the government
would engage in routine or random
surveillance of reporters, Gonzalez
acknowledged that they may be
monitored as part of a criminal leak
investigation, saying, “We have an
obligation to ensure that our national
security is protected.” Some legal
scholars feel that the constitutionality of
such a prosecution is questionable.
There has never been a prosecution of a
journalist or news organization under the
Espionage Act, but Attorney General
Alberto Gonzalez said this week that he
believes that such a case is possible.
While denying that the government
would engage in routine or random
surveillance of reporters, Gonzalez
acknowledged that they may be
monitored as part of a criminal leak
investigation, saying, “We have an
obligation to ensure that our national
security is protected.” Some legal
scholars feel that the constitutionality of
such a prosecution is questionable.
Reporters Committee for Freedom
of the Press executive director Lucy
Dalglish decried the revelations. “I
can’t imagine a bigger chill on free
speech and the public’s right to know
what it’s government is up to –both
hallmarks of a democracy – than
prosecuting reporters,” Dalglish told
the Associated Press.
It remains unclear whether the
reporter’s phone records and e-mail
messages were obtained under the
authority of the recently disclosed
NSA program that seeks to create a
database of hundreds of millions of
US phone calls. it's all true
of the Press executive director Lucy
Dalglish decried the revelations. “I
can’t imagine a bigger chill on free
speech and the public’s right to know
what it’s government is up to –both
hallmarks of a democracy – than
prosecuting reporters,” Dalglish told
the Associated Press.
It remains unclear whether the
reporter’s phone records and e-mail
messages were obtained under the
authority of the recently disclosed
NSA program that seeks to create a
database of hundreds of millions of
US phone calls. it's all true
| interpreting the constitution crowd control spread of the red one nation, under surveillance fun d' mental in bed with the red red state rebate verbatim |
Weather
interpreting the constitution
Justice Relies Upon Secrecy to Thwart Justice
Ancient Icefields
Threatened by
Man Made Warming
Threatened by
Man Made Warming
The Justice Department recently
succeeded in having the court case of a
German citizen quashed by invoking the
‘state secret privilege’. The complaint of
Khaledal al-Masri, who claimed to have
been kidnapped by the US and rendered
to a prison in Afghanistan to be tortured
and held captive for more than five
months, was thrown out of court by a
federal judge without being adjudicated.
The Justice Department claimed that any
review or discussion of Masri’s allegations
would threaten national security. Masri’s
claim was not refuted or disproved, but
he will be unable to seek damages from
the US government for being wrongfully
imprisoned.
The state secret privilege follows from a
1953 Supreme Court decision and allows
the government to assert the privilege
to ask the court to dismiss court cases
succeeded in having the court case of a
German citizen quashed by invoking the
‘state secret privilege’. The complaint of
Khaledal al-Masri, who claimed to have
been kidnapped by the US and rendered
to a prison in Afghanistan to be tortured
and held captive for more than five
months, was thrown out of court by a
federal judge without being adjudicated.
The Justice Department claimed that any
review or discussion of Masri’s allegations
would threaten national security. Masri’s
claim was not refuted or disproved, but
he will be unable to seek damages from
the US government for being wrongfully
imprisoned.
The state secret privilege follows from a
1953 Supreme Court decision and allows
the government to assert the privilege
to ask the court to dismiss court cases
against the government when it believes
that national security is threatened. In
the first 23 years since the privilege was
created by the Supreme Court’s ruling
the right was invoked only four times.
Since the terror attacks in 2001, the
government has invoked the state secret
privilege 23 times.
The Bush administration has directed
attorneys in the Justice Department to
assert state privilege in an array of court
cases against the government, some of
which have only a tangential relationship
to national security matters. The case
of an African American CIA officer who
alleged discrimination and that of an FBI
linguist who reported corruption were
both dismissed after the government
claimed the privilege.
The Justice Department recently
intervened in a lawsuit that is
that national security is threatened. In
the first 23 years since the privilege was
created by the Supreme Court’s ruling
the right was invoked only four times.
Since the terror attacks in 2001, the
government has invoked the state secret
privilege 23 times.
The Bush administration has directed
attorneys in the Justice Department to
assert state privilege in an array of court
cases against the government, some of
which have only a tangential relationship
to national security matters. The case
of an African American CIA officer who
alleged discrimination and that of an FBI
linguist who reported corruption were
both dismissed after the government
claimed the privilege.
The Justice Department recently
intervened in a lawsuit that is
currently pending regarding the
government’s massive warrentless
wiretapping and data collection to
invoke the privilege in an attempt to
stop the case from proceeding. The
Bush administration has asserted the
state secret privilege in five times in
the past year.
In the Masri case, Judge T.S. Ellis III
said that the “government seeks to
protect from disclosure the
operational details of the
extraordinary rendition program.”
Although the Secretary of State
Condolezza Rice characterized the
imprisonment of Masri as a
“mistake”, Judge Ellis decided,“the
applicability of the state secrets
privilege is wholly independent of the
truth or falsity of the complaint’s
allegations." it's all true
government’s massive warrentless
wiretapping and data collection to
invoke the privilege in an attempt to
stop the case from proceeding. The
Bush administration has asserted the
state secret privilege in five times in
the past year.
In the Masri case, Judge T.S. Ellis III
said that the “government seeks to
protect from disclosure the
operational details of the
extraordinary rendition program.”
Although the Secretary of State
Condolezza Rice characterized the
imprisonment of Masri as a
“mistake”, Judge Ellis decided,“the
applicability of the state secrets
privilege is wholly independent of the
truth or falsity of the complaint’s
allegations." it's all true
The China Academy of Sciences
has reported that the ice fields in
Tibet, which hold more than one
sixth of the world’s glaciers, are
melting at the alarming rate of
seven percent per year due to
global warming caused by
emissions of man made green-
house gases.
The scientists, who reviewed data
from 680 weather stations
throughout China, stated that the
ice fields will melt at a rate of 50
percent every decade going
forward until the ice completely
disappears. Ice cores removed
from Himalayan glaciers reveal that
temperatures in recent years are
the warmest in 1000 years.
The scientists have warned that
the ecological catastrophe that
will result from the massive and
unprecedented glacier melt off
will cause widespread desertifica-
tion in China and the countries
that border the Himalayas and
deplete many of the world’s great
river systems. The Yangtze,
Indus, Mekong, Yellow and
Ganges rivers all emanate from
the Tibetan glacier fields and
provide drinking water for more
than 300 million people in China
alone.
China’s capital, Beijing, was
blasted by a dust storm earlier
this year that was caused by the
increasing desertification of the
Himalayas. The storm swept
more than 330,000 tons of dust
and sand into the capital. The
storm was the thirteenth that
Beijing has experienced this year.
The Qinghai-Tibet plateau in the
Himalayas holds more than
45,000 glaciers, some more than
400,000 years old. The icefields
cover an area over 60,000 square
miles. it's all true
has reported that the ice fields in
Tibet, which hold more than one
sixth of the world’s glaciers, are
melting at the alarming rate of
seven percent per year due to
global warming caused by
emissions of man made green-
house gases.
The scientists, who reviewed data
from 680 weather stations
throughout China, stated that the
ice fields will melt at a rate of 50
percent every decade going
forward until the ice completely
disappears. Ice cores removed
from Himalayan glaciers reveal that
temperatures in recent years are
the warmest in 1000 years.
The scientists have warned that
the ecological catastrophe that
will result from the massive and
unprecedented glacier melt off
will cause widespread desertifica-
tion in China and the countries
that border the Himalayas and
deplete many of the world’s great
river systems. The Yangtze,
Indus, Mekong, Yellow and
Ganges rivers all emanate from
the Tibetan glacier fields and
provide drinking water for more
than 300 million people in China
alone.
China’s capital, Beijing, was
blasted by a dust storm earlier
this year that was caused by the
increasing desertification of the
Himalayas. The storm swept
more than 330,000 tons of dust
and sand into the capital. The
storm was the thirteenth that
Beijing has experienced this year.
The Qinghai-Tibet plateau in the
Himalayas holds more than
45,000 glaciers, some more than
400,000 years old. The icefields
cover an area over 60,000 square
miles. it's all true
| redstat |
spread of the red
Walmart Lowers Prices, Increases Poverty
Homicide rates by country
A study released by the State University
of Pennsylvania concludes that counties
across America that are home to
Walmart stores suffer from increased
poverty levels. The study, Walmart and
County-Wide Poverty published in Social
Science Quarterly, found that
approximately 20,000 families have fallen
into poverty as a result of the Walmart
stores expanding into the counties
where they live. The authors state that
Walmart stores are “unequivocally
associated” with increased poverty in the
counties where they exist.
The authors of the study reviewed
counties where stores had been built
during a time that the company greatly
increased the number of its locations
nationwide, between 1987 and 1998.
During this period, the poverty level
dropped by 18 percent nation wide.
The study found that the decrease in
poverty in counties where a Walmart
store was built was reduced by about 8
percent and dependence on food stamps.
of Pennsylvania concludes that counties
across America that are home to
Walmart stores suffer from increased
poverty levels. The study, Walmart and
County-Wide Poverty published in Social
Science Quarterly, found that
approximately 20,000 families have fallen
into poverty as a result of the Walmart
stores expanding into the counties
where they live. The authors state that
Walmart stores are “unequivocally
associated” with increased poverty in the
counties where they exist.
The authors of the study reviewed
counties where stores had been built
during a time that the company greatly
increased the number of its locations
nationwide, between 1987 and 1998.
During this period, the poverty level
dropped by 18 percent nation wide.
The study found that the decrease in
poverty in counties where a Walmart
store was built was reduced by about 8
percent and dependence on food stamps.
in the counties increased by 15.3 percent
The study’s authors found that one of
the most devastating effects to a
community when a Walmart is built is
the destruction of a “local class of
entrepreneurs”, the small businesses that
are displaced by the mega retailer’s
stores. Not only are ‘mom and pop’
businesses displaced; such as pharmacies,
hardware stores and auto repair shops,
but so too are the professional
companies that support them; such as
accountants and attorneys.
The decreased job availability leads to
what the study’s authors characterize as
a loss of “local leadership capacity” in
communities where Walmart stores exist
further contributing to economic decline.
The Walmart chain employs 1.3 million
workers in its 4,750 stores. The average
pay given to a Walmart ‘Associate’ is
$8.23 per hour, which represents an
annual income of $13,861. it's all true
The study’s authors found that one of
the most devastating effects to a
community when a Walmart is built is
the destruction of a “local class of
entrepreneurs”, the small businesses that
are displaced by the mega retailer’s
stores. Not only are ‘mom and pop’
businesses displaced; such as pharmacies,
hardware stores and auto repair shops,
but so too are the professional
companies that support them; such as
accountants and attorneys.
The decreased job availability leads to
what the study’s authors characterize as
a loss of “local leadership capacity” in
communities where Walmart stores exist
further contributing to economic decline.
The Walmart chain employs 1.3 million
workers in its 4,750 stores. The average
pay given to a Walmart ‘Associate’ is
$8.23 per hour, which represents an
annual income of $13,861. it's all true
0 7500 15000 22500 30000
source : United Nations
Traffic
GOP Plays to Their
Bases' Instincts
Bases' Instincts
in bed with the red
Phone Companies Outsource Invasion of Privacy
The US Senate has approved
legislation that would dramatically
increase the fines for indecency that
the Federal Communications
Commission may levy against
broadcasters. The bill now moves to
a reconciliation conference with the
House, which passed its own version,
imposing even harsher penalties, last
year.
Under the Senate bill, the maximum
fine for each incident of broadcast
indecency would increase from
$32,500 to $325,000. House
Republicans want the ceiling raised to
$500,000, and seek to include a
provision that would require the
FCC to hold license revocation
hearings after three offenses. The
authority would not extend to cable
and satellite broadcasters. The
broadcast communications industry
has lobbied against the new laws.
Political observers note that the
proposals are part of a package of
legislative initiatives designed to
placate the conservative base of the
Republican leadership, which is facing
difficult midterm elections in the fall.
Recent bills involving militarization of
the border, English- only laws, and
prohibition of gay marriage are part
of the push. it's all true
legislation that would dramatically
increase the fines for indecency that
the Federal Communications
Commission may levy against
broadcasters. The bill now moves to
a reconciliation conference with the
House, which passed its own version,
imposing even harsher penalties, last
year.
Under the Senate bill, the maximum
fine for each incident of broadcast
indecency would increase from
$32,500 to $325,000. House
Republicans want the ceiling raised to
$500,000, and seek to include a
provision that would require the
FCC to hold license revocation
hearings after three offenses. The
authority would not extend to cable
and satellite broadcasters. The
broadcast communications industry
has lobbied against the new laws.
Political observers note that the
proposals are part of a package of
legislative initiatives designed to
placate the conservative base of the
Republican leadership, which is facing
difficult midterm elections in the fall.
Recent bills involving militarization of
the border, English- only laws, and
prohibition of gay marriage are part
of the push. it's all true
Press reports revealing that the National
Security Agency has compiled a massive
database of hundreds of millions of
telephone calls indicated that three of
the four largest phone companies in the
United States, AT&T, Verizon, and
BellSouth, had actively cooperated with
the agency by providing access to their
customers’ records. The fourth, Qwest
Communications, refused to comply
with government requests for private
information because of concerns about
the legality of the NSA operation. But
emphatic denials by both BellSouth and
Verizon left observers wondering how
the companies’ records were merged
into the NSA database. A little-known
niche in the telecommunications industry
may help to clarify the matter.
An obscure but powerfully connected
firm, NeuStar Inc., is the most
prominent player in a growing market:
companies that gather and provide bulk
communications data to various
government and law enforcement
agencies. A dramatic increase in requests
for wiretaps, phone records, and call
information since 2001 has led the
telecom giants to outsource the work to
entities like NeuStar.
The phone companies benefit from the
arrangement by assigning the increasing
Security Agency has compiled a massive
database of hundreds of millions of
telephone calls indicated that three of
the four largest phone companies in the
United States, AT&T, Verizon, and
BellSouth, had actively cooperated with
the agency by providing access to their
customers’ records. The fourth, Qwest
Communications, refused to comply
with government requests for private
information because of concerns about
the legality of the NSA operation. But
emphatic denials by both BellSouth and
Verizon left observers wondering how
the companies’ records were merged
into the NSA database. A little-known
niche in the telecommunications industry
may help to clarify the matter.
An obscure but powerfully connected
firm, NeuStar Inc., is the most
prominent player in a growing market:
companies that gather and provide bulk
communications data to various
government and law enforcement
agencies. A dramatic increase in requests
for wiretaps, phone records, and call
information since 2001 has led the
telecom giants to outsource the work to
entities like NeuStar.
The phone companies benefit from the
arrangement by assigning the increasing
workload of compliance to a third party.
At the same time, they are able to deny
that they provided information to the
government, or that they entered into
any agreements or contracts with federal
agencies. Obtaining the commercially
collected records allows the government
to circumvent provisions of the Privacy
Act of 1974, which places restrictions on
the use and dissemination of private
data. The Act only applies to
information actually gathered by
government agencies.
NeuStar is one of the largest routing
companies in the industry, and it also
holds an exclusive contract to maintain a
database of some 200 million phone
numbers in the US and Canada.
According to the company’s website,
“Nearly every telephone call placed is
routed using NeuStar’s system, and every
telecommunications service provider is
one of NeuStar’s customers.”
In 2005, NeuStar acquired Fiducianet,
Inc., which specializes in helping the
telecoms comply with subpoenas, court
orders, and requests for surveillance
from law enforcement agencies.
According to Forbes, Wall Street
analysts expect 25% annualized growth
in earnings from NeuStar for the
foreseeable future. it's all true
At the same time, they are able to deny
that they provided information to the
government, or that they entered into
any agreements or contracts with federal
agencies. Obtaining the commercially
collected records allows the government
to circumvent provisions of the Privacy
Act of 1974, which places restrictions on
the use and dissemination of private
data. The Act only applies to
information actually gathered by
government agencies.
NeuStar is one of the largest routing
companies in the industry, and it also
holds an exclusive contract to maintain a
database of some 200 million phone
numbers in the US and Canada.
According to the company’s website,
“Nearly every telephone call placed is
routed using NeuStar’s system, and every
telecommunications service provider is
one of NeuStar’s customers.”
In 2005, NeuStar acquired Fiducianet,
Inc., which specializes in helping the
telecoms comply with subpoenas, court
orders, and requests for surveillance
from law enforcement agencies.
According to Forbes, Wall Street
analysts expect 25% annualized growth
in earnings from NeuStar for the
foreseeable future. it's all true
redstateupdate.net
verbatim number 10.5
"We will construct high-tech fences."
Washington DC 05.16.06
Washington DC 05.16.06
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