June 6, 2007
Takin' a hit
I'm following this with interest lately...
Finance Blog - Market Movers by Felix Salmon: Whole Foods - Wild Oats: Has the FTC Been at the Nutmeg? - Portfolio.com
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May 2, 2007
May 1 - Law Day
Many people demonstrated for amnesty for those that are illegal immigrants or those that helped illegal immigrants enter the country. This opinion piece on CNN.com, by Lou Dobbs, makes the point that yesterday (May 1) was Law Day in the US; a day to reflect on the legal heritage of this country. Dobbs asks why those that are here in this country legally don't demonstrate that the illegal immigrants are getting a free ride on their dime; why, on a day codified by President Eisenhower, there is no enforcement of those laws that set our country apart from the rest of the world.
I don't spend much time thinking about these issues, but maybe I should as I am part of the "middle class" striving for a better life through the correct channels, yet my tax dollars are not going towards making my life better; how many lunches and medical expenses has my tax dollars paid for?
And no one seems to want to take note that we are first a nation of laws, and that without those laws and their enforcement, the foundation of our great republic turns to sand. What a spectacle on Law Day for demonstrators to demand amnesty for those who broke the law to enter our country, many of whom also broke the law with fraudulent documents.Read the Ed-Op and consider what it means to be American: Dobbs: A peculiar day for immigration rallies - CNN.com
And what a mess when the president of the United States and the U.S. Congress are pandering to a group of people who are not citizens and refuse to demand enforcement of our immigration laws, our criminal laws, and fails to secure our borders and ports.
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October 16, 2006
Who Knew?
Who knew that a seemingly simple pastime like planespotting could make international headlines and help the public become aware of secret CIA installations across the world? This article brings into perspective the harsh reality that is the war on terror. Midnight kidnappings, prisoners whisked away to various international locales for interrogation, or worse... torture. For what? Good question. What happens when the United States arrests you and takes you to an undisclosed location in the middle of nowhere, holds you for a seemingly random amount of time, and then releases you into who knows where? Another good question; this article may help you, but you'll have to formulate your own answers to those questions, because you won't be able to aks anyone directly.
Planespotting by Trevor Paglen & A. C. Thompson
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September 20, 2006
I just bought this from that guy in the newstand, what do you mean I can't bring it on the plane!?
This just about sums up all my pent up frustration at the TSA and government agencies telling us that they're making us safer by not letting us bring a bottle of soda or a cup of coffee that we bought at the newstand next to our plane's gate. I mean that has got to be one of the stupidest things I've ever heard.
<link>
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September 12, 2006
Remembering
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August 24, 2006
Why Is It So Hard To Understand?
In the United States we simply assume that we can pretty much do what we want. And to a large degree that is true, but after reading this story I'm not so sure anymore. A young Arabic man traveling through JFK airport wearing a shirt with Arabic script and English reading "we will not be silent" was told he would not be able to board his flight without changing his shirt because "people are feeling offended." I think the way it was handled was extremely poor; my biggest beef is with the officials statements about why he was being made to change his shirt. Here's what the inspector said when pressed:
you can't wear a t-shirt with Arabic script and come to an airport. It is like wearing a t-shirt that reads "I am a robber" and going to a bank
Here's the article which links to other sites with more info about the incident <link>. Stuff like this makes me sick sometimes.
Along the same lines with respect to flying is my take on the latest banning of liquid items in carry-on luggage. Currently if you go through security and purchase a beverage at a duty-free shop near the gates you can then not bring that beverage on the flight without drinking the entire thing before boarding. What's the deal with that?! Some airports are going as far as providing a delivery service from the shop where you purchased your drink to the gate of your airline! I mean, if you're drinking from a bottle wouldn't it make sense that it's not a liquid that could be used to make an explosive?! Last time I checked most of the common ingredients to make an explosive were pretty toxic!
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May 17, 2006
P2P and Fearmongering
TechDirt points to an interesting article by a Canadian politician on his blog about an interview he had with lobbyists for the RIAA who say that the Internet is a:
highway of stolen goods and child pornography that goes into the bedroom of every kid in this country.
p2pnet.net - the original daily p2p and digital media news site
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March 3, 2006
End of the World...
Well, it's official: the end of the world is near: US Congress approves the renewal of the Patriot Act. Now there is nowhere safe for anyone to go without fear of being spied on and followed; having their digital data tracked and analyzed without their knowledge.
Each day that we allow these types of laws to stick around we move closer and closer to 1984.
Posted by djkay at 10:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
January 18, 2006
Umass-Amherst in the news; not what you think
So I was reading my normal sites today and came across this article from Techdirt.
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September 2, 2005
Who the F!#? do you think you are?
California legistlators voted yesterday to allow same sex marriages. I say good for them, but what's up with all these other political people out there saying that it's bad. We have all these laws against discrimination on basically everything, including sexual preference, and yet when it comes to these peoples' civil rights they get stepped on repeatedly.
What's up with that? I mean, if you love someone what's it matter what sex they are? I think that it's unfair and unjust to tell someone who they can and can not love or be with. Just because it's two men or two women doesn't mean they should have their rights limited.
Posted by djkay at 10:23 AM | Comments (1)