COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Fight the Power - Get the NSA out of our lives



February 13, 2014


Last week, a little noticed clash took place on Capitol Hill involving the fundamental values underlying the First Amendment. The issue was the lawfulness of publishing the secrets that were given to reporters by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden. The disputants were Cong. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and FBI Director James Comey.
Rogers is the chief congressional apologist for the massive NSA spying apparatus. He is the current chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and in that capacity, he is one of the dozen members of Congress from both houses who were privy to much of the NSA spying before the Snowden revelations. In our perverse post-9/11 world, federal law actually permits this Gang of 12 to substitute for all 535 members of Congress with respect to knowledge of intelligence secrets.
Since 9/11, the Bush and Obama administrations have succeeded in claiming they have congressional consent for the massive NSA spying by merely getting a consensus from the Gang of 12. There is, of course, no provision in the Constitution for the substitution of all 535 members of Congress with a select group of 12 of them, but Congress and Presidents Bush and Obama have gone along with this. The kicker is that all members of the Gang of 12 have been sworn to secrecy and threatened with prosecution if they reveal to anyone, including other members of Congress, what the NSA and other intelligence agencies reveal to them. What kind of representative democracy is that?
Rogers is one of the chief architects and cheerleaders of this post-9/11 unconstitutional version of representative democracy. This is the same system that sends the NSA to judges of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for search warrants that purport to authorize the NSA to capture the content of every text message, email, telephone call, bank statement, credit card bill and utility bill of everyone in America. This apparatus, too, involves another Gang of 12: the 12 federal judges on the FISA court. They suffer from the same secrecy kicker as Rogers’ gang does: They, too, are sworn to secrecy and have been implicitly threatened with prosecution if they violate their oaths.
These judges issue search warrants based on the NSA’s unchallenged wishes, not based on the constitutional requirement of particularly identifying for the court the target of the search and then presenting evidence to the court that constitutes probable cause of criminal behavior on the part of the target. This, too, is unconstitutional, as it is the product of a congressional alteration of the Constitution. As most schoolchildren know, Congress cannot alter or amend the Constitution; only the states can. Yet, by instructing FISA judges to issue search warrants that do not meet the constitutional identity of target and probable cause standards, Congress has substantially altered the Constitution, and the judicial Gang of 12 has gone along with this.
As one of the architects of all this domestic spying, and as one of the believers that the public should be kept in the dark about it, Rogers has not been happy with the Snowden revelations. Snowden subscribed to the same oath of secrecy as the two Gangs of 12, but he also swore — as have both Gangs of 12 — to uphold the Constitution.
To Snowden, the people have a fundamental right to know that their government has cooked up the most massive secret violation of civil liberties in the nation’s history, and his oath to uphold the Constitution compelled his revelations. To Rogers, Snowden must be a traitor or a spy.
Even the Obama administration has not bought that argument, as it only charged Snowden with the delivery of classified materials to unauthorized persons. It did not charge him with treason (waging war on the United States or giving aid and comfort to enemies of the United States) or spying (giving classified secrets to enemies of the United States).
Frustrated that Snowden is apparently living freely in Moscow, Rogers summoned the FBI director before his House committee to float a truly novel and pernicious theory of First Amendment law. At that hearing last week, he attempted to persuade Comey to accept his idea that publishing classified secrets is a crime if the publisher was paid for his work. So, if the owners of and reporters at The Guardian of London or The New York Times or The Washington Post, who publicly revealed the secrets Snowden gave them, were paid for their work, the Rogers argument goes, they, too, could be prosecuted for espionage.
Rogers is not a lawyer, but he is an ex-FBI agent. He should know the law, but it was necessary for Comey to tutor him. The law is clear and was stated by the Supreme Court in the Pentagon Papers case, and Comey publicly reminded Rogers of this: If classified materials are of interest to the public, their publication is protected.
Stated differently, it matters not how the journalist acquires the classified materials or whether the journalist and his bosses are paid for his work. If the classified materials are newsworthy, they can be published, and no one can be sued or prosecuted for doing so.
In the clash between government secrecy and public transparency, the Framers placed a value judgment in the First Amendment. Since the press is the eyes and ears of the public, and since the public needs to know what the government is doing so it can make informed decisions when electing people to the government, publishers and reporters are immune from criminal prosecution and civil liability for lifting the veil on the governments’ secrets. An informed public is more likely to make better decisions than an ignorant one.
I am happy that Comey did not fall for Rogers’ ignorant argument, and I am happy, too, that the argument will fall on deaf ears. In a free society, knowledge is superior to ignorance. Politicians who would criminalize publishing the truth should be voted out of office.
Reprinted with the author’s permission.





Bullshit going down:

275 comments:

  1. But when Nixon went after the leak of the Pentagon Papers, that was different, that was okay, it was patriotic, he was helping to shore up our fight against the Vietnam domino going commie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When a State protects itself with lies, half-truths, distortions, misinformation and then seeks out and identifies its “enemies”, it abandons its most important function -- the protection of the rights of its citizens. A government under a Nixon, a Bush or an Obama cannot protect its citizens by violating their rights. Which part of that do you not understand?

      Delete
    2. Perhaps you did not detect my facetiousness.

      Delete
    3. In all this NSA digital surveillance what right has been violated? Is it ok for private companies to do something similar because they own the data?

      marketers do it because that want to sell you stuff, the NSA ....

      Delete
    4. Honest to bejesus !!!!!

      "In all this NSA digital surveillance what right has been violated?"

      Ash, o Ash.........

      I weep.

      JESUS CHRIST

      "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.[1]"

      I was right. I really shouldn't try so hard to be nice to A BLITHERING IDIOT.

      Delete
  2. Which part of the Pentagon Papers were wrong?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmm, memories of 'School marm' Trish spring to mind.

      Delete
    2. What I do not understand is how Jenny Clark can be so wrong on all things middle eastern, and so right on a topic such as this.

      Must be something about those blue rimmed glasses......

      Delete
    3. Just one of many things that Cartel Bob does not understand.

      He did not understand how his diet is funding the rape and murder of innocent people.
      He did not understand that he behaves like a narco-terrorist.

      But now he does, and his despicable behavior patterns continue.

      Delete
  3. Criminal behavior hidden behind National Security is criminal behavior - Period.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Do you need a job? How is your French?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rufus IIThu Feb 13, 05:19:00 PM EST
    Trust me; he's never had an IRS audit.


    LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Regardless of how long the Jews have been in Palestine, their ancestors were nothing more than refugees from Iraq.

      Delete
    2. That's the kind of idiotic Miss T statement I've come to love and hate.

      Honest to Christ.......

      Delete
    3. Teresita RedingerThu Feb 13, 08:47:00 PM EST
      Regardless of how long the Jews have been in Palestine, their ancestors were nothing more than refugees from Iraq.



      By that logic, you will always be an asian who should be doing my laundry.

      Delete
  6. Rufus was suffering from impacted cum in the annus, he deserves our pity.

    Rat deserves our condemnation.

    ReplyDelete
  7. CBO- Obamacare’s 10-Year Costs Will Now Eclipse $2 Trillion

    And what will all of that taxpayer money—funneling to Washington, D.C. or to compliant insurance companies—buy?

    Well, back in 2009, we were told that Obamacare would reduce the number of uninsured by 31 million people, leaving just 24 million without insurance (see Table 3). Now those numbers have essentially flipped around, as we’re now told that it will reduce the number of uninsured by just 25 million, leaving 31 million uninsured (see Table B-2).

    That’s what Obama calls “universal coverage.”

    So, let’s do the math on that: In 2009, we were told it would cost $848 billion to insure 31 million people. That’s $27,000 per newly insured person. Now we’re told it will cost $2.004 trillion to insure 25 million people. That’s $80,000 per newly insured person—about a three-fold increase since passage.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rufus will explain that 80 thousand bucks for an insurance policy is a really good deal.

      Trust him: He looked out for the interests of "his" insured so well, it afforded him an early retirement.

      In Mississippi.

      FWIW

      Delete
    2. Maybe the CBO guys are racists and homophobes.

      ...or worse yet: Lying, deceitful, money-grubbing Jew$.

      Delete
    3. You're still alive?

      Delete
  8. Annus Horribilis: the “horrible year" for Rufus, the human anus.

    ReplyDelete
  9. See my post, Doug, about how pissed Hitler was when he learned he couldn't keep his doctor, towards end of last thread.

    Say, why don't you take over this place.....you've can easily do it, and have the correct attitude.....

    DougThu Feb 13, 08:46:00 PM EST

    Rufus was suffering from impacted cum in the annus, he deserves our pity.

    Rat deserves our condemnation.




    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Think, Doug, how much fun it would be to put Ash, that honest and good man, in The Dunce Box !!

      Delete
  10. Judge Napolitano is a wonderful man and a right thinking Judge.

    "The 2nd Amendment is not about shooting deer, it is about shooting tyrants."

    Judge Napolitano

    ReplyDelete
  11. The commander of the Iraqi militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) reportedly blew up 21 suicide bombers in training when he made an error during a live explosives exercise. 15 other trainees were injured.

    Headline: "2014 Graduating class of Iraq Terror University sent off with a bang"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There was a cartoon that I failed to find, some year or so ago, along these lines, about a suicide class:

      Instructor:

      "Listen up close now, boys, and pay attention. I can only do this once."

      BOOM

      Delete
    2. One of the students was heard to say:

      "Blow me."

      Delete
    3. Some jihadi called Ru bin MIssi.

      Delete
  12. "In The Bronx, a 5-year-old girl tumbled out of a third-floor window while trying to clear snow from an air-conditioning unit at 224 East 164th St. around 2:30 p.m., cops said."

    ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Clear case of homicide. Whoever heard of anyone cleaning an air conditioner in winter, much less a kid?

      Call Detroit ASAP, put Inspector Q on the case. He used to be an air conditioner repairman, before he went into law enforcement, his way of going deep deep under cover as a criminal. He will be able to turn this cold case hot.

      Delete

  13. Human Genes Reflect Impact of Historical Events



    BERLIN February 13, 2014 (AP)

    By FRANK JORDANS
    Associated Press



    Tell-tale relics of Europe's colonial period, the Mongol empire and the Arab slave trade can be found in the genes of modern humans, scientists said Thursday.

    Researchers from Britain and Germany used almost 1,500 DNA samples from 95 different populations across the world to produce a map showing genetic links stretching back 4,000 years. By examining the moment when a particular part of DNA first appears, they were able to tie the genetic mixing of populations to historical events.

    Some of these links have long been assumed, but others came as a surprise, said Daniel Falush, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, who co-authored the paper published in the journal Science.

    DNA samples from the Tu people of China indicate they mixed with a European group — related to modern Greeks — around A.D. 1200. One likely possibility is the European DNA came from traders traveling the Silk Road.

    Another interesting find seems to bolster the legend among the Kalash people of Pakistan they are descendants of Alexander the Great's army, Falush said.

    Samples show that the Kalash were genetically isolated for a long period going back to about B.C. 300 — around the time of Alexander's military campaign in Asia.

    "Our dating fits very well with their legend," Falush said.

    Using a technique called "chromosome painting," the researchers were also able to illustrate the genetic flow caused by other historical events, such as the Arab slave trade that introduced African DNA to populations around the Mediterranean, the Arab Peninsula and what is now Iran and Pakistan from A.D. 800-1000.

    The results help scientists to pin-point the population effects of such historical events, said Graham Coop, an associate professor of population genetics at the University of California, Davis.

    "We have historical records of some of these events, but rarely do we know the demographic impact of such events," said Coop, who wasn't involved in the research.

    Similar studies may become harder to perform in the future, as population mixing speeds up because of global migration, Falush said.

    "We hope this will encourage people to collect samples soon," he said.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/human-genes-reflect-impact-historical-events-22502837

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. Works for everyone and it works everywhere, the Ashkenazi are not from the Middle East, never where, never had been.

      They did not 'return' to Jerusalem, they had never been there.

      Their 'Legend' is a fraud, just as is Zionism.

      When traced back the mitochondrial DNA of the Ashkenazi, it does not lead to Israel.

      Delete
    4. Farmer Rob

      By what right do you squat in America?


      Delete
    5. Farmer Rob,

      By what right do Arabs have 20 of the 21 nations in the middle east?

      Delete
    6. Thanks taking this blog down to the the most vile of Jew hating, Israel bashing blogs Hitler would be proud of.

      makes my case that you and this blog are anti-semites.

      Now go back to using your Israeli enhanced smartphones and computers.

      Delete
    7. I see the 'Wannabe' puts more value in materialism then he does in liberty, freedom and individual rights.

      Judge Napolitano would not be in that camp.

      Delete
    8. Benito Mussolini was an excellent 'Technocrat', too.

      Italy's trains ran on time.

      While Ethiopians died.

      Delete
    9. Fascist always point to materialistic gains, while they stomp on the individual freedoms and liberty of ohers.

      Delete
    10. Hitler revitalized the economy of Germany.

      Did that 'trump' the methods used to do it?

      Delete


  14. What’s wrong with the demand that the Palestinian leadership recognize Israel as the “nation state of the Jewish people”?

    Well, practically everything.

    States recognize each other. They don’t have to recognize each other’s ideological character.

    A state is a reality. Ideologies belong to the abstract realm.

    When the United States recognized the Soviet Union in 1933, it recognized the state. It did not recognize its communist nature.

    When the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) recognized the state of Israel in the Oslo agreement, and in the exchange of letters preceding it, it was not asked to recognize its Zionist ideology. When Israel in return recognized the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people, it did not recognize any particular Palestinian ideology, secular or religious.

    Some Israelis (including myself) would like to change the self-definition of Israel as a “Jewish and democratic state”, omitting the word “Jewish”. Some other Israelis would like to omit or demote the word “democratic”. Neither of us believe that we need the confirmation of the Palestinians for this.

    It’s just none of their business.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sabotage or inferiority complex?

      I don’t know what the real intention of Netanyahu is when he presents this demand as an ultimatum.

      The most flattering explanation for his ego is that it is just another trick to sabotage the “peace process” before it reaches the demand to evacuate the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories. The less flattering explanation is that he really believes in it, that he is driven by some deeply rooted national inferiority complex that needs outside assurance of “legitimacy”. Recognizing the “national state of the Jewish people” means accepting the entire Zionist narrative, lock, stock and barrel, starting from the divine promise to Abraham to this very day.

      When John Kerry considers whether to include this demand in his framework agreement, he should think about this twice.

      Where would this leave his special emissary, Martin Indyk?

      Indyk is a Jew, bearing a Yiddish name (Indyk means turkey). If Israel is the state of the entire Jewish nation and/or people, he is included willy-nilly. The state of Israel represents him, too. So, how can he function as an honest broker between the two warring sides?

      And where does this leave the millions of American Jews, now that the conflict between the governments of the US and Israel is deepening? On what side are they? Are they all Jonathan Pollards?

      The newly found independent American voice vis-Ă -vis Israel drives Israeli rightists to devise more and more weird solutions.

      Delete
    2. The latest example is Binyamin Netanyahu’s brilliant idea: why not leave the Israeli settlers where they are as Palestinian citizens?

      This looks to many sensible people as eminently fair, in the best Anglo-Saxon tradition.

      The state of Israel now has some 1.6 million Arab Palestinian citizens. Why should the State of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, not include some 0.6 million Jewish Israeli citizens?

      The Arabs in Israel enjoy, at least in theory, full legal rights. They vote for the Knesset. They are subject to the law. Why should these Israelis not enjoy full legal rights in Palestine, vote for the Majlis and be subject to the law?

      People love symmetry. Symmetry makes life easier. It removes complexities…

      This symmetry is false, too.

      Israel’s Arab citizens live on their land. Their forefathers have been living there for at least 1,400 years, and perhaps for 5000 years. Palestinian negotiator Sa’eb Erekat exclaimed this week that his family has been living in Jericho for 10,000 years, while his Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni, is the daughter of an immigrant.

      The settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories are mostly new immigrants, too. They do not sit on the land of their forefathers, but on Palestinian land expropriated by force – either “private” land or “government land”. This so-called “government land” was the communal land reserves of the villages that in Ottoman times was registered in the name of the Sultan, and later in the name of the British and Jordanian authorities. When Israel conquered the area, it took over these lands as if it owned them.
      The settlers and their character

      But the main point is something different. It concerns the character of the settlers themselves.

      The core of the settlers, precisely those who live in the “isolated” small settlements in the areas that will in any case become part of the Palestinian state, are religious and nationalist fanatics.

      Delete
    3. The very purpose of their leaving comfortable homes in Israel and going to the desolate stony hills of “Judea and Samaria” was idealistic. It was to claim this area for Israel, fulfil their interpretation of God’s commandment and make a Palestinian state forever impossible.

      The idea that these people would become law-abiding citizens of the very same Palestinian state is preposterous. Most of them hate everything Arab, including the workers who work for them without the benefit of minimum wages or social rights, and say so openly at every opportunity. They support the “Price Tag” thugs who terrorize their Arab neighbours, or at least don’t speak out against them. They obey their fanatical rabbis, who discuss among themselves whether it is right to kill non-Jewish children, who, when grown up, may kill Jews. They plan the building of the Third Temple, after blowing up the Muslim shrines.

      To think about them as Palestinian citizens is ludicrous.

      Of course, not all the settlers are like that. Some of them are quite different.

      This week, an Israeli TV station aired a series about the economic situation of the settlers. It was an eye-opener.

      Those ideological pioneers, living in tents and wooden huts, are long gone. Many settlements now consist of palatial buildings, each with its swimming pool, horses and orchards – something the Israeli 99 per cent cannot even dream of. Since almost all of them came to the “territories” without a shekel in their pocket, it is clear that all these palaces were built with our tax money – the huge sums transferred every year to this enterprise.

      The clusters of urban settlements near the Green Line called “settlement blocs” are another matter. They are likely to be joined to Israel in the context of an “exchange of territories”. But at least two of them raise severe questions: Ariel, which lies some 25 kilometres inside the putative Palestinian state, and Maaleh Adumim, which practically cuts the West Bank into two.

      Incorporating these two large towns with their inhabitants into the sovereign State of Palestine is a pipe-dream

      When Netanhayu promised this week that he will not remove one single settler nor evacuate one single settlement, he may have been thinking of Charles de Gaulle, who also did not remove settlers or uproot settlements. He just fixed the date when the French army would leave Algeria.

      That was enough.

      Delete
  15. February 13th through the 15th marks the anniversary of the single worst atrocity of WWII, the firebombing of the city of Dresden. Nearly 500,000 innocent old men, women and children were slaughtered and should never be forgotten...particularly by the people who start wars and toss bombs on civilian populations. They should not complain when the same is done to them in return. And when their glorious leader declares "total war", he should not be surprised when he is taken at his word.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those innocent old men, and women really weren't all that innocent, Miss T. Some were, most weren't.

      The children are another matter.

      Delete
    2. The Glorious Leader of Our Time has seized power not granted to him by the Constitution.

      As Rat has pointed out, more than forty Million have been eliminated by his kind.

      Actual numbers:

      "Total number of abortions in the United States 1967-2013: 56,605,430
      Population of 82 largest U.S. cities: 56,628,114 (2011)"

      Delete
    3. Well Dear residents of Dresden? Your nation murdered MILLIONS and MILLIONS of jews, true christians, Gypsies and the handicapped.

      War sucks, your nation blitzed london 1st.

      Karma is a kick in the ass.

      Delete
  16. The Return of the Obsessed

    by Farmer Rob

    On sale now at Amazon: Sick-O Special Offering

    $0.19 New (hardcover)

    $0.00 Used (hardcover)

    Supply: Huge

    Shipping for free - warehouse clearing needed

    IOU's Accepted

    Dear Customer - Please take advantage of this clearance sale

    Any offer accepted



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also by author Farmer Rob, being given away for free now at Amazon, no sales ever being made -

      I Was Born A Professional Asshole And Proud Of It: Why Psychotherapy Won't Work On Me, An Autobiography

      Delete

    2. The Israeli government has, to a large extent, continued the Ottoman legal system in regard to land ownership. 
      Less than 7% of the land in the State of Israel is privately owned.


      Private property was the original source of freedom.  It still is its main bulwark.  ~Walter Lippmann

      Delete

    3. The system of private property is the most important guaranty of freedom, ...

      Delete
    4. William BlackstoneFri Feb 14, 08:36:00 AM EST

      “So great moreover is the regard of the law for private property, that it will not authorize the least violation of it; no, not even for the general good of the whole community. “

      Delete
    5. The Israeli government has, to a large extent, continued the Ottoman legal system in regard to land ownership.
      Less than 7% of the land in the State of Israel is privately owned.

      Delete
    6. What would Judge Napolitano, a wonderful man and a right thinking Judge say,
      about the lack of freedom exemplified by the Israeli use of Islamic Law?

      Delete
    7. Why would a 'Jewish State' retain Islamic Law?

      Delete
    8. Where you dropped on the head as a child?

      Delete
  17. The Glorious Leader of Our Time has seized power not granted to him by the Constitution.

    As Rat has pointed out, more than forty Million have been eliminated by his kind.

    Actual numbers:

    "Total number of abortions in the United States 1967-2013: 56,605,430
    Population of 82 largest U.S. cities: 56,628,114 (2011)"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eugenics, it's the socialist way.

      This year, the rabbis cited
      “the extreme seriousness involved in killing fetuses, which is like actual murder.”


      http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/chief-rabbis-of-israel-praise-efforts-to-reduce-abortions#ixzz2l0g8NiJB



      Delete
    2. As opposed to non-actual murder.

      Delete
    3. "I sentence you to One Years Probation for the non-actual murder of Fetus John Doe."

      Delete
    4. You are disrespecting the Rabbis!

      Why are you making light of the murder of Jews, by the Israeli government?

      Delete
    5. How about this?

      How many sheep pregnancies has Desert Rat had to pay for to prevent his sheepeople fetuses to come to term?

      Delete
    6. Rat is just angry his mommy took his xbox away...

      Delete
  18. If there are really aliens in Hanger 18, in Area 51, how come Snowden hasn't shown us pictures of them on his thumb drive?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He keeps secrets to insure his survival.

      Delete
    2. Did Snowden say there were aliens there, then refuse to provide the pictures?

      Or did Ms T say there were aliens there, then try to discredit Snowden with a 'false flag' misinformation campaign against his credibility?

      Delete
    3. Quirk got his ass shot down trying to penetrate Hanger 18, in Area 51, by using an ultralight, trying to answer that very question for us.

      I still recall his last words going in --"I'm going in Bobbo, I'm going in now....I'm getting to the bottom of this.......Bobbo, Bobbo there are jets......Bobbo Bobbo the je........"

      He stumbled into the bar in Elko, miraculously, about two months later. Really scratched up. Very badly beaten. What a tale he had to tell to Hamdoon and I about his marvelous survival, and escape.....

      Delete
    4. Maybe they got to Snowden, and he's helping to cover it up.

      Delete
    5. Again Farmer Bob demeans others, in another of his sad and futile attempts at humor.

      Delete
    6. But the Bar Remains Highlarious.

      Delete
  19. Gold medalist Jamie Anderson's mom- I didn't push my kids to read and write.

    What does it take to raise an Olympian? In the case of Jamie Anderson, 23, the first woman to win gold in slopestyle snowboarding, her mom took an unconventional approach: there was no TV, no traditional schooling, and a focus on outdoor activities and following one’s spirit.

    “I wanted them to be like children, playing outside, running and jumping and not sitting inside at a desk,” said Lauren Anderson, who raised the kids in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. “They got to be free, building their bodies, protecting their spirits and minds, and not being pushed or pressured.”

    Lauren home-schooled her eight kids while running a lawn-mowing business on the side. But the emphasis wasn’t on academics.

    “They went on the mountain and skied and snowboarded and they took the bus, and then they came home and did schoolwork — just to make it official,” she told TODAY.com during an interview at the P&G Family Home in the Olympic Park. “There wasn’t a big push for them to read and write and do arithmetic. I wanted them to learn how to get along and let life be the teacher. Character-building was more important than academics.”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you can't rub one out watching her on video, T, I give up all hope.

      Delete
    2. I love the ACX Plywood "Finish" background at Sochi.

      Does Putin Proud.

      Delete
  20. Great news from the REAL natives of the middle east...

    Syrian Observatory says bomb went off in town near Jordan border; group also reports al-Qaida splinter group execution of 13.

    BEIRUT - A car bomb killed at least 18 people a town in southern Syria on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

    The bomb went off near a mosque in the town of al-Yadouda near the border with Jordan, Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Observatory, said by phone.

    Car bombs are commonly deployed as a weapon in the three-year old Syrian conflict.

    The Observatory said earlier this week that since peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition leaders began in Geneva some three weeks ago, Syrians had died at the fastest rate since the country's civil war erupted.

    Meanwhile the Syrian Observatory also reported Friday that an al-Qaida splinter group in Syria executed at least 13 people including relatives of fighters from rival rebel groups before withdrawing from a town near Aleppo.

    The London-based monitoring group said the men killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants included rebels who were detained by ISIL after laying down their arms. The Observatory said their bodies had been thrown into a well.

    It did not say when the incident took place in Haritan, just northwest of Aleppo, one of the most contested areas in an almost three-year-old civil war between insurgents and the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

    Several Islamist and more secular rebel factions joined forces in January for an offensive to try to push their former ISIL allies out of rebel-held regions in northern and eastern Syria.

    ISIL, which has attracted many foreign militants into its ranks, is a small but powerful fighting force in Syria and also operates in neighboring Iraq. It has alienated many civilians and opposition activists by imposing harsh rulings against dissent, even beheading its opponents, in areas it controls.

    So, at the time of this writing, over 140,000 Syrians have been murdered by FELLOW Syrians!!!

    4.5 MILLION arabs are actual real refugees, not the fake kind that live in high rises in Gaza.

    Thousands and THOUSANDS of Egyptians have been killed by the Egyptans, the Copt's churches in Egypt have been torched, rape of Christian girls is off the charts...

    But the important issue?

    Soda Stream...

    LOL

    Fuckards...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now let have a post how Israel killed 1500 Gazans in Operation Cast Lead...

      LOL

      The only real good news? The Palestinians across the middle east have backed the wrong side, again.... And their brother arabs don't like it...

      Delete
    2. Egypt's army reported on Saturday that it killed 16 palestinian terrorists in Sinai near the border with Gaza the day before. The liquidation of the 16 palestinian terrorists was conducted by an Egyptian airstrike in an area south of Sheikh Zuweid on Friday evening, according to the army's statement.

      The region has seen heightened violence; Hamas has been accused of a December attack on Egyptian police headquarters, and planning church bombings in Sinai last Christmas.

      Egyptian reports have indicated Hamas will become an increasing danger in 2014, and analysts comment that the Nile state will have to take out Hamas if it hopes to secure itself.

      The country has been in an incredibly violent and unstable period since the 'Arab spring' led to the toppling of former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The anniversary of Mubarak's ousting on January 25 this year sparked clashes that left over 29 dead.

      Former President Mohammed Morsi replaced Mubarak, and was similarly ousted by the military last July. His Muslim Brotherhood has been outlawed and has repeatedly clashed with the army since then.

      Egypt's military leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has indicated that he will run for president, an election bid which is widely expected to be a sure success.

      Delete
    3. Attack on prison in Yemeni capital kills 11

      (Reuters) - Eleven people were killed when attackers mounted a bomb, grenade and gun assault on the main prison in Yemen's capital on Thursday to free inmates, security sources and witnesses said.

      Explosions and gunfire could be heard several kilometers away from the prison in northern Sanaa, which has al Qaeda members among its inmates. The biggest explosion rattled windows in the area.

      "A terrorist group attacked the central prison," an Interior Ministry official said, according to comments published by the state news agency, adding there had been a car bomb followed by a gun attack on the facility.

      "Guards managed to confront the terrorists and forced them to flee," the report said.

      Eleven people were killed, a security source said. The Interior Ministry official said seven guards were killed and four wounded, while 29 inmates, including 19 jailed for terrorism-related crimes, escaped in the chaos.

      LOL

      Delete
    4. And you fail to Blame Bush?

      Delete
    5. Maybe these refugees should demand the same attention as the Palestinians???

      AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordanian officials say a fire at a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan has killed a Syrian man and two of his sons.

      A third son was in critical condition at an Amman hospital.

      The officials say 40-year-old Yassin Hariri and his boys — aged three and eight — died early on Tuesday, hours after a gas canister used for heating exploded and burned down their tent in the Zaatari camp. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

      Dr. Ishaq Maraqa says the Hariris were brought to Mafraq Hospital late on Monday with "severe burns all over their bodies."

      Zaatari is home to 120,000 Syrians who fled the war at home. After last week's storm, aid workers began distributing gas heaters to the refugees on Sunday.

      Delete
    6. The FUN never stops with the true natives of the middle east


      Suicide bomber kills three in Lebanese Hezbollah stronghold

      (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber killed three people at a petrol station in a stronghold of the Shi'ite militant Hezbollah movement on Lebanon's northern border on Saturday, the latest sign that Syria's civil war is spilling over into its small neighbor.

      The blast occurred in the town of Hermel at the northern end of the Bekaa Valley, an area populated mainly by Shi'ite Muslims among whom Hezbollah draws its support.

      Delete
    7. January
      In January, according to the Israel Security Agency's monthly summary, Palestinians fired 9 rockets and 7 mortar shells at Israel in 14 separate attacks.[3]
      January 1
      Palestinians fired two mortar shells containing phosphorus into Eshkol Regional Council. The shells landed in open fields, causing no injuries or damage.[4] The Eshkol Regional Council filed a formal complaint with the United Nations, noting that the Geneva Conventions prohibit the use of phosphorus against civilians.[5]
      January 19
      After nightfall, Palestinians fired a Qassam rocket into the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council, causing no injuries or damage.[6]
      January 21
      Overnight, Palestinians fired three mortar shells into the Eshkol Regional Council, causing no injuries or damage. In response to the attack, an Israeli Air Force helicopter immediately struck a group of terrorists in the Rafah area.[7][8]
      January 22
      Palestinians fired a rocket into the Eshkol Regional Council, causing no injuries or damage.[9] In response to this attack and previous ones, Israel carried out air strikes on a weapons factory in the central Gaza Strip, two tunnels in the northern Strip and one tunnel in southern Gaza, causing no injuries.[10][11]
      January 24
      In the afternoon, Palestinians fired two Qassam rockets into the Eshkol Regional Council, causing no injuries or damage.[12]

      This is the behavior of a classy group of natives....

      Delete
    8. February
      In February, according to the Israel Security Agency's monthly summary, Palestinians launched 36 rockets and 1 mortar shell at Israel in 28 separate attacks.

      March
      In mid-March there was a significant escalation of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel. Throughout the month, according to the Israel Security Agency's routine monthly summary, Palestinians fired 173 rockets and 19 mortar shells at Israel in 156 separate attacks.[48] However, according to a different report by the agency, during the escalation alone Palestinians fired 281 rockets at Israel, of which 86 were long-range.

      April[edit]
      In April, according to the Israel Security Agency's monthly summary, Palestinians launched 10 rockets at Israel in 9 separate attacks. Two of these rockets were launched from the Sinai in Egypt.[167]


      May
      May 1
      Palestinians fired a Qassam rocket into the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council, causing no injuries or damage.[184] Israel retaliated by attacking a tunnel in northern Gaza.[185]
      May 9
      Palestinians launched a Qassam rocket into the Sdot Negev Regional Council, causing no injuries or damage.[186]
      May 15
      In the morning, Palestinians fired a Qassam rocket into the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council, causing no injuries or damage.[187]
      June[edit]
      In June, according to the Israel Security Agency's monthly summary, Palestinians launched 83 rockets and 11 mortar shells, 3 shooting at Israel in 99 separate attacks. Also had been reported that Two were killed and seven were injured,[188]

      Delete
    9. In July, according to the Israel Security Agency's monthly summary, Palestinians launched 18 rockets and 9 mortar shells at Israel in 28 separate attacks

      In August, according to the Israel Security Agency's monthly summary, Palestinians fired 21 rockets and 3 mortar shells at Israel in 16 separate attacks.

      In September, according to the Israel Security Agency's monthly summary, Palestinians fired 17 rockets and 8 mortar shells at Israel in 25 separate attacks.

      In October, according to the Israel Security Agency's monthly summary, Palestinians fired 116 rockets and 55 mortar shells at Israel in 92 separate attacks.[

      Delete
    10. In November, according to the Israel Security Agency's monthly summary, Palestinians fired 1734 rockets and 83 mortar shells at Israel in 633 separate attacks

      February 26
      Palestinians fired an M-75 medium-range rocket at the Israeli city of Ashkelon. The militant wing of Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, claimed responsibility

      There was a reduction in rocket fire do to the fact that Amazon failed to deliver their monthly resupply of rockets... The Palestinians are now suing Amazon for lack of delivery

      Delete
    11. March 21
      Around 7:15 am, on the second day of a visit by US President Barack Obama in Israel, Palestinians in Beit Hanoun fired four rockets at the Israeli city of Sderot

      Delete
    12. Who do they blame for lack of targeting skills?

      Delete
    13. In April, Palestinians fired 17 rockets and 5 mortar shells at Israel in 13 separate attacks. Two of the rockets were fired from Egypt.[15]
      In May, Palestinians carried out two rocket attacks on Israel.[51]
      In June, Palestinians launched 5 rockets at Israel in 3 separate attacks
      In July, Palestinians launched 7 rockets at Israel in 6 separate attacks. Five of the rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip and two originated from the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt
      n August, Palestinians launched 4 rockets at Israel in 3 separate attacks. A fifth rocket was launched from the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt
      in September, Palestinians fired eight rockets at Israel in 3 attacks
      In October, Palestinians fired three rockets and two mortar shells at Israel Israel in three separate attacks
      In November, Palestinians fired five mortar shells at Israel in four separate attacks


      No wonder the Israelis don't feel loved by the Natives.

      I wonder how the USA would treat the Indians if they bombed Americans with the same frequency?

      Delete
    14. A hit on March 21 woulda saved us a lot of grief.

      Delete
    15. Israel, a secular and socialist state that was built upon ...
      ... the Three Pillars of Apartheid

      The first pillar
      “derives from Israeli laws and policies that establish Jewish identity for purposes of law and afford a preferential legal status and material benefits to Jews over non-Jews.”

      The second pillar is reflected in
      “Israel’s ‘grand’ policy to fragment the OPT [and] ...
      ... ensure that Palestinians remain confined to the reserves designated for them ...
      ... while Israeli Jews are prohibited from entering those reserves but enjoy freedom of movement...
      ... throughout the rest of the Palestinian territory.

      This policy is evidenced by Israel’s extensive appropriation of Palestinian land, which continues to shrink the territorial space available to Palestinians;

      the hermetic closure and isolation of the Gaza Strip from the rest of the OPT;
      the deliberate severing of East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank;

      and the appropriation and construction policies serving to carve up the West Bank into an intricate and well-serviced network of connected settlements for Jewish-Israelis ...

      ... an archipelago of besieged and non-contiguous enclaves for Palestinians.”


      The third pillar is
      “Israel’s invocation of ‘security’ to validate sweeping restrictions on Palestinian freedom of ...
      ... opinion, expression, assembly, association and movement [to] mask a true underlying intent ...
      ... to suppress dissent to its system of domination and thereby maintain control over Palestinians as a group.”

      Delete
    16. yawn... Is that the BEST can do?

      How about the fun treatment of the palestinians by the syrians with BARREL bombs...

      Now that shows some LOVE....


      Or how about Egypt using aircraft to bomb palestinians in the sinai?

      Or How Egypt has sealed off the gaza strip by bulldozing 1200 tunnels....

      That's entertainment...

      You say that 93% of israel is in state control and yet you state: and the appropriation and construction policies serving to carve up the West Bank into an intricate and well-serviced network of connected settlements for Jewish-Israelis ...

      Which is it?

      Cant be both...

      Sounds like 93% of the west bank aint developed....

      LOL

      you are a turd.

      Delete
    17. DougFri Feb 14, 09:49:00 AM EST
      Who do they blame for lack of targeting skills?



      Israel. The palestinians lack of ability to aim is a godsend. In fact many rockets never get reported as they land on their own kids heads...

      Thank Darwin

      Delete
    18. What WiO said !!

      You go, WiO !!

      Delete
  21. Of Course, besides all the interesting fiction that Rat aka who know who has posted.

    Israel is.

    many may not like it but that really is not important..

    It is a nation, unlike "palestine" which still is not.... Nor has it ever been a nation.

    Jews have been in Jerusalem for 3600 years or so. Regardless of whether pseudo-nazi wannabes like it or not...

    Israel IS.

    Now it is true that the arabs have repeatedly attempted to slaughter the Jews, and it is true the the Jews now fight back...

    So to those that post here that hate Israel?

    A short but important message I have for you....

    KISS MY JEWISH ASS....

    It aint loving, but it's to the point....

    Rat? go fuck yourself.

    Deuce? Hope you are happy with the anti-semite loony bin you have bring to the world.... Look in the mirror and ask yourself, what would your ancestors say about your hatreds....

    tsk tsk... pathetic.

    ReplyDelete
  22. .

    I agree.

    I normally disagree with Obama but I have to admit his policy of disengagement with the ME is genius.

    Get out completely with the exception of humanitarian aid to the victims there.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 800 Plus deaths in Afghanistan and counting...

      Al Queda running free in Iraq.

      Pure Genius

      Moron

      Delete
    2. Go, Doug !

      From Obama's perspective, the one place he is failing is Egypt, the big mother lode.

      Quirk got out of Area 51, but ever since I have wondered if he was implanted with some kind of chip, during his brief imprisonment there.

      It's possible he was chipped, then let go, and his marvelous escape tale is just chip memory.

      Delete
    3. .

      The only chip you have to worry about old timer is that one they put in your neck to track you down when you wander off.

      .

      Delete
  23. I wonder what would have happened in Vietnam and Iraq, if the Democrats hadn't rallied for defeat from day 30 on?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ...Actually, while LBJ was in charge...

      One thing is for certain, the Democrats felt no shame for pulling the rug out from under the Vietnamese.

      And Iraqis.

      Afghanistan falls as we age.

      Delete
    2. Weep for the women of Afghanistan.

      They can never catch a break.

      Delete
    3. .

      LBJ lied us into the war. Nixon and Kissinger lied us out of it.

      But that was 40 years ago and this is today.

      .

      Delete
    4. .

      As for Afghanistan, Obama should have started pulling out the day he took over but at least we will be out within a year, hopefully, entirely.

      .

      Delete
    5. .

      As for Iraq, Bush signed the Status of Forces Agreement that called for all troops being pulled out of the country. All Obama did was implement it.

      What are you suggesting, that you would want more American lives lost in that sectarian swamp?

      .

      Delete
    6. I'd suggest drilling domestic energy to the point that middle eastern oil became worthless.

      Think of the trillions spent on Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Saudis and yes even Israel.

      If oil was cheap? There would be no issues with the middle east as the sand dune fuckers and the chess playing carpet weaving persians would have to WORK to make a living.

      Delete
  24. Johnson put 500,000 troops into Vietnam, and we were never, at any time, winning. We were on the wrong side.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We could have prevailed if we had stayed. A lot longer. The country got wore out with it.

      Vietnam - the war without any real winners at all.

      Delete
    2. The Vietnamese I worked with greatly respected uncle Ho, and despised Thieu, and his government.

      Delete
    3. Communism works, everytime it's tried, Rufus.

      Tell us something we didn't know.

      Delete
    4. Instant victory in these things is not usually going to happen.

      That being the case, it is best not to go at all, rather than go and let it all unravel, after all the sacrifices.

      Delete
    5. The left, and the MSM, aka the Left's mouthpiece, greatly respect Castro.

      Compassionate Communist.

      ...unless you're Cuban.

      Delete
    6. You're an idiot. Those poor peasants didn't know communism from constipation. All they knew was the government was a bunch of thieving assholes that stole their chickens, and rice, and took their sons away.

      Delete
    7. Anyway, we'll be back in Vietnam, one way or the other, to some degree, with the Chinese rising as they are........nuts, isn't it.

      Delete
    8. LOL You and Jane Fonda need to hook up..

      Delete
    9. Rufus IIFri Feb 14, 11:35:00 AM EST We were on the wrong side.

      You are one sick puppy...

      We may have not been winning and maybe it was wrong to be there but on the WRONG side?

      commie puke

      Delete
    10. Who wears the Strap on Dick?

      Delete
    11. .

      The only thing nuts here is you, dipshit.

      .

      Delete
    12. .

      You still haven't answered my question from above, Doug?

      You complain about Iraq.

      What would you have different, more US troops there fighting and dying for a bunch of sectarian pricks?

      Enlighten us, Rambo.

      .

      Delete
    13. My peace plan for the middle east is easy. DRILL BABY DRILL.

      Cut off all aid, direct and indirect for any nation that is deemed an enemy of the USA. This includes FOOD and medicine.

      Delete
    14. Of course, this would be problematic now that Obama is King and traditional allies like Britain, South Korea, Israel, Poland, Taiwan are viewed with suspicion.

      Delete
  25. Farmer Bob wrote:

    "Honest to bejesus !!!!!

    "In all this NSA digital surveillance what right has been violated?"

    Ash, o Ash.........

    I weep.

    JESUS CHRIST

    "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.[1]"

    I was right. I really shouldn't try so hard to be nice to A BLITHERING IDIOT."




    Good ole pleasant Farmer Bob, such a nice guy. There certainly are a lot of you turds all over this toilet for a guy who was going to split.

    Farmer Bob, I take you aren't a Constitutional Constructionist but rather believe that the Constitution is a living breathing document subject to interpretation and you welcome legislation by the judiciary? What security of persons, houses, papers and effects were breached by the NSA? Are they breaking into houses and rifling through papers and other personal effects? No they are not. Rather they are mining data that is floating about in the public realm. Heck, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and a myriad of other companies are doing just that - mining data yet I don't hear you screaming that they get shut down, their leaders thrown in jail, for violating the 2nd amendment. Why is that?

    Take, for example, the wireless internet service operated in airports. Is the NSA violating the 2nd amendment by mining the data available there? I think not.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ash, think about it for a few months, then get back to me.

      Delete
    2. On the Constitutional question - what "persons, houses, papers, and effects," have been unreasonably searched?

      If we grant you that the NSA is violating the Constitution through data mining should not Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft et al be also prosecuted? If not, why not.

      I await your considered response Farmer Bob.

      Delete
    3. Off to fight The Faucet here.

      Delete

    4. 182,000 resultsAny time

      START HERE ASH 182,000 results should give you something to read about.......

      Out the door.......










      NSA Spying Violated The Constitution - Business Insider


      www.businessinsider.com/nsa-spying-violated-the-constituion-2013-6

      Jun 10, 2013 · In July the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court found that NSA spying violated the Fourth Amendment ... So in violating that law, the NSA is violating ...
      .

      Does The NSA Surveillance Violate The Fourth Amendment …


      www.thebadgeguys.com/...the-nsa...violate-the-fourth-amendment-rights

      The question of does the NSA surveillance violate the Fourth Amendment rights in its current activities is already being addressed through congressional hearings, ...
      .

      NSA Metadata Collection: Fourth Amendment Violation ...


      www.huffingtonpost.com/marjorie-cohn/nsa-metadata-collection-f_b...

      Jan 16, 2014 · Edward Snowden, who worked for the National Security Agency (NSA), revealed a secret order of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), that ...
      .

      News about How Is NSA Violating The 4th Amendment ?

      bing.com/news

      Surveillance by NSA violates 4th amendment

      ABQJournal · 4 days ago

      What the NSA is doing is wrong. It is violating the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable…


      Fifteen and Counting: Iowa to consider legislation against NSA spying

      blog.tenthamendmentcente… · 16 hours ago


      Utah legislator to propose halting water to NSA data center to shut it down

      Vacaville Reporter · 21 hours ago

      .

      NSA Email Collection Violated 4th Amendment: FISA Court ...


      blogs.findlaw.com/decided/2013/08/nsa...violated-4th-amendment-fisa...

      Aug 23, 2013 · Looking for 'Red Flags' The NSA carried out its original program in 2008 to target emails of foreign terrorist suspects. It consisted of combing through ...
      .

      NSA's monitoring is a violation of Fourth Amendment rights


      gazette.com/nsas-monitoring-is-a-violation-of-fourth-amendment...

      NSA stands for National Security Agency. They monitor every telephone call you make and all your electronic communications. Using a tool called XKeyscore, the NSA ...
      .

      ACLU NSA Lawsuit: PRISM Violates the First and Fourth ...


      www.policymic.com/articles/48195/aclu-nsa-lawsuit-prism-violates...

      ... filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in New York which claims that the National Security Agency's ... violates both the First Amendment rights of ...
      .

      NSA and The Endangered 4th Amendment


      theblacksphere.net/2013/06/nsa...215-and-the-endangered-4th-amendment

      The government's legal justification for its 4th Amendment ... NSA and The Endangered 4th Amendment. ... of why the government is violating the Fourth Amendment.
      .

      July 4 protests target NSA surveillance as Fourth ...


      www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2013/0704/July-4-protests-target-NSA...

      Jul 04, 2013 · July 4 protests target NSA surveillance as Fourth Amendment violations (+video) This year, on the Fourth, ...

      Delete
    5. "If we grant you that the NSA is violating the Constitution through data mining should not Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft et al be also prosecuted? If not, why not."

      Maybe but probably not because you have given them some implied consent by doing business with them

      I got to go.

      Delete
    6. Make a contract with Google, etal, and Albertson's too forbidding them from mining your stuff and you got an argument.

      They may not sign your proposed contract though.

      Delete
    7. .

      For me, the answer is simple. Citizens 'voluntarily' waive their rights to privacy when sign the terms of use agreements with the carriers. The NSA 'secretly' monitors the lives of every US citizen and potentially every citizen in the world and they do it not to sell them a new TV but to use the transmissions as evidence in a criminal trial. You assertion that they are not 'breaking into someone's house' is simplistic. Laws have simply not kept up with the rapid growth of the internet.
      If law enforcement agencies are forced to get a warrant to tap a telephone line why wouldn't they be obligated to do the same for an internet message.

      You try to justify a growing police state where the head of the DNI can lie to Congress, admit he lied, and suffer no consequences, where countries in order to avoid restrictions on domestic spying form cabals with other countries so that they can do the spying for them, where those congressional committees responsible for oversight have instead become enablers, where newspapermen reporting on these secret arrangements are branded as spies and traitors and threatened with imprisonment, and where everything is classified 'secret' including the justification for rulings out of the star chamber we call the FISA court and anyone who mentions one word about their activities be they citizen, congressmen, newspapermen, or even the people involved in the spying are threatened with punishment.

      Yes, I would say it is unconstitutional and I await the time one of the lawsuits currently making its way through the courts make it up to SCOTUS.

      However, I am not all that optimistic. Typically, what happens in instances like this (executive orders is an example of another area where this happens) is that as a particular case makes its way up and it appears SCOTUS will review it, the executive usually moves in some minor way to address a specific grievance so that the plaintiff no longer has standing. This not only allows the executive to save face but also to preclude some broad ruling by SCOTUS that would invalidate government policy across a broad spectrum.

      Also, the current court has a mixed record when it comes to this type of matter and John Roberts is after all the same guy who appoints all of the recently conservative FISA judges.

      .

      Delete
    8. What is all that regurgitated crap from your googling? Are you suggesting because you read it on the internet it is true and it is even more true because you read it in a bunch of places on the internet? What kind of argument is that? Answer - it isn't an argument, just trash.

      Actually, with most of those internet guys, you form a contract with them and you actually click "I agree". There is a long list of conditions that you are agreeing to. They can do what they want with the data, including give it to the NSA. They also mine data through visitors to their search engines and websites, even *gasp*, this blog.

      Delete
    9. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    10. Quirk,

      Yes, the Constitution was written before there was an internet. I think that adhering to the letter of the Constitution is problematic because of this. This problem with a static Constitution occurs in many other realms besides the 4th amendment. Many things occurring in our society today were not anticipated by the founders yet many Conservatives argue for a strict adherence to the letter of the Constitution. On the one hand, a guy like Bob, will argue that we must not limit the right to carry automatic weapons because of the 2nd amendment but he'll then turn around and say that an email, or a text, constitutes a "personal paper".

      By raising questions as to what constitutes information in the public realm I in no way support DNI of being able to go legally lie to congress. I do however question the hysteria expressed by many over NSA utilizing modern technology to mine data. I welcome cases working their way through the courts, hopefully all the way to SCOTUS, to help determine what is private and public.

      An example, related but different, to governments use of data is the IRS and the contracting arm of the government. The government contracts business with many different companies. Some companies don't pay their corporate taxes, payroll taxes, and have other government obligations (i.e are delinquent of federally guaranteed loans), or gone bankrupt in another incarnation, yet the federal contractors aren't allowed knowledge of this information and they then give further contracts to these scofflaws. That strikes me as a pretty absurd situation where the left hand isn't allowed to know what the right hand is doing.

      Delete
    11. In the past? The USA simply hired other nations or private off companies to do the spying. Then got the intel they wished.

      The reality? The rest of the world cannot collect what the USA actually now can collect. This is a major reason they bitch about it.

      Fact it simple. you have NO privacy on anything electronic you use. That was written into the fine print about 6 hours after the 1st western union telegraph was used....

      It sucks? but there is NOTHING that will change it.

      Delete
    12. .

      Yes, the Constitution was written before there was an internet. I think the adhering to the letter of the Constitution is problematic because of this.

      I disagree with you. There is plenty of reasons within the Constitution as it is written to strike down the NSA programs especially 215. In addition to the 4th amendment it also violates the 5th Amendment. The laws are there, it is merely the NSA's interpretation of those laws that is in question. It's not a matter of making up new law to address things like the internet, it is straight forward issues that have been there since the Constitution was written, unlawful seizure and safeguards against self-incrimination.

      .

      Delete
    13. Quirk wrote:

      "For me, the answer is simple. Citizens 'voluntarily' waive their rights to privacy when sign the terms of use agreements with the carriers. "

      I think this is something that should be looked at via regulation. It is entirely possible that the Feds could regulate this and not force you to waive rights simply to access the internet.

      The data collection doesn't only come from you carrier side. You can be tracked by the sites you visit. Logging into google to post here makes it easy for them to track you. When you go to a website they write cookies to your computer which then track your use. You can turn cookies off but that can make browsing the web tougher. Double click has made a very successful business from tracking peoples use. Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, all of them have a business model dependant upon tracking you. At least NSA can appear all warm an fuzzy and say they are tracking you in order to keep you safe instead of selling you Viagra to go with that brand spanking new flat screen.

      Delete
    14. NSA has their interpretation, you have yours, but what counts it how the judiciary interprets it.

      Delete
    15. .

      At least NSA can appear all warm an fuzzy and say they are tracking you in order to keep you safe instead of selling you Viagra to go with that brand spanking new flat screen.

      Warm and Fuzzy?

      Good lord, the voice of the sheeple is heard in the land.

      I delete cookies every couple days and I have no problems. Besides the carriers are limited to your activity on their system so the info they have may be broad but it is somewhat truncated. The NSA has no such limitations. It's reach is boundless.

      I have no problem with the regulation you suggest, in fact, would applaud it even though it would likely result in some cost to the consumer; however, it would do nothing to halt Big Brother.

      I saw an article the other day that stated George Orwell would likely be categorized a terrorist today.

      .

      Delete
    16. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    17. Yes, Quirk, the government is here to help you, and the NSA is there to give you peace of mind while you are safely tucked into bed by keeping mighty terrorists at bay. Our system of justice is so perfect that killing the convicted is a good and righteous thing to do while the Federal government is another perfect system that is simply an extension of the people and an embodiment of their democratic will.


      baaaaaaa!

      Delete
    18. .

      Finally, a sheep in sheep's clothing.

      :-)

      .

      Delete
  26. More loving fun from the natives of the middle east (natives according to Rat, our resident nazi-wannabe)

    The Lebanese Shiite Hizballah, itself a listed terrorist group, was forced Thursday, Feb. 13 to cancel its most solemn annual event in memory of fabled “special security chief” Imad Mughniyeh, over an inability to keep the event safe from terrorist attacks.
    In the six years since Moughniyeh was assassinated in Damascus, Hizballah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah has traditionally eulogized these annual mass-attendance events.
    No reason was offered for cancelling this year’s assembly. DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report that Hizballah and its Shiite following in Lebanon live in fear of devastating suicide bombing attacks by al Qaeda and other Sunni extremists. Since last July, they have staged 10 attacks and claimed scores of lives in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon over Hizballah’s participation in the Syrian war. In a single attack last year, the bombing of the Iranian embassy, 25 people were killed.
    Its Syrian expedition has left the Hizballah short of manpower for self-protection. This situation has become more acute since an intelligence tip was received disclosing that the terrorists were now gunning for Nasrallah and other top operatives. This has necessitated doubling up security on their persons.
    A special counterterrorism command center has begun operating at the Iranian embassy in Beirut. Two of its members are Mustafa Badr al-Din, commander of Hizballah forces, and Wafiq Safa, head of its security apparatus.
    This center was set up by a high-ranking Iranian intelligence delegation, which DEBKAfile reported exclusively on Jan. 26, had arrived in Beirut to tackle the terrorist threats to their Lebanese proxy. It was composed of senior IRGC Al Qods Brigades operatives and high officials of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).
    The decision to cancel the Mughniyeh memorial assembly was taken by the new counterterrorism center at the Iranian embassy for four reasons:
    1. Iranian undercover agents in Syria discovered that al Qaeda elements were plotting to hit the assembly for mass casualties.
    2. This information was confirmed Wednesday, Feb. 12, by three women captured in the Lebanese Beqaa on their way to conduct suicide bombings at the Beirut event. Under interrogation, the captives revealed that several more female suicide bombers were heading for Shiite targets across Lebanon.
    3. Hizballah is in the middle of a campaign to raise additional Shiite volunteers for the different Syrian warfronts (as we reported Feb. 10). A new wave of anti-Shiite terrorism in Lebanon would quickly derail this effort, especially in view of the hundreds of Hizballah fighters who have already laid down their lives in Syria. The organization is intent on concealing the real figure, but cannot hide all the funerals.
    4. Its Iranian bosses understand that until their counter-terror defense mechanism is functioning effectively and curbing those attacks, Hizballah’s manpower resources cannot be stretched both for providing security at home and for augmenting its fighting personnel input for the Syrian war.

    From Debka.

    ReplyDelete
  27. DougFri Feb 14, 09:51:00 AM EST
    A hit on March 21 woulda saved us a lot of grief.


    LOL

    ReplyDelete
  28. A Really Excellent Presentation by Steven Kopits at

    Columbia University

    Supply-constrained Forecasting

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      I tried to pull up the PDF version but was unable to.

      I watched about 15-20 minutes of the video but Internet Explorer kept kicking me out. Maybe he would have made his case clearer by the end of the video but from what I saw, I wasn't convinced.

      Trying to take a 'model' whether supply or demand to explain oil supply and pricing based strictly on numbers is IMO simplistic. Whatever period you are in especially today's ignoring economic and geopolitical issues is way to simple an approach.

      .

      Delete
    2. Yeah, you missed a lot. Too bad. Oh, well, maybe you can catch him somewhere else down the line. Some very important companies pay him quite a lot for his work.

      Delete
    3. Notice Quirko did NOT say "IMHO"

      Humility and Q-o are not bedfellows.

      Delete
  29. While stationed in Panama, with the 193rd Infantry Brigade there was little hand to hand combative training, within the military system. Patrolling, basic rifle marksmanship, running, explosive demolitions, rappelling, we had our share of that, and more. But hand to hand combatives like knife and sick fighting, bayonet drills, never. There was a little pugil stick training action, but not much and not often, so we developed our own programs for knife and stick combatives.

    Approaching the challenge in our training with a sense of purpose, with seriousness, there was a need for knowledge. Starting at Soldier of Fortune magazine we ordered a series of books that would form the basis for our training program, we started with the series written by Michael Enchains, (November 16, 1950 – September 8, 1978). Echanis had been a security contractor working with the Nicaraguan National Guard. I had first become familiar with his work when he was the martial arts editor for Soldier of Fortune magazine.

    Frustrated with the impractical knife-fighting tactics in the Army manuals, we were looking elsewhere for training tips and techniques. Soldier of Fortune magazine had well written interview with Echanis that turned out to be the answer we were looking for..

    We knew his personal story from Soldier of Fortune magazine, how Echanis’s experiences as a Ranger in Vietnam and of his working as an Instructor at For Bragg with the Special Forces had help him develop a training process, we thought those were impressive references. I ordered the three books he had written, Special Forces/Ranger-UDT/SEAL Hand-to-Hand Combat/Special Weapons/Special Tactics.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This was written by a traitor to the USA.

      Delete
    2. .

      No, link?

      First, thing that comes to mind is that someone is trying to hide something.

      .

      Delete
    3. http://borderwar-2014.blogspot.com

      Delete
    4. google is an amazing tool for the lazy.

      just paste and hit the return,

      Delete
    5. Thanks, I didn't want to 'self-promote'

      Delete
  30. It's just more junk by Jerkoff Jack Hawkins, aka pa1.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Come on Cartel Bob, quit using your drug dealer codes

      Delete
    2. OK, professional asshole, then, your self designated tag.

      Delete
    3. Well, it is better than being an amateur asshole, like you.

      Delete
    4. Keep training it, you'll get better at it.

      A few more enemas, you'll get there.

      Delete
    5. desert ratFri Feb 14, 03:49:00 PM EST
      Well, it is better than being an amateur asshole, like you.


      Definition of AD HOMINEM

      1: appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect
      2: marked by or being an attack on an opponent's character rather than by an answer to the contentions made

      Delete
    6. Rules of the House

      All I demand is a level of agreeable cordiality, especially when you disagree.

      Delete
    7. desert ratFri Feb 14, 03:50:00 PM EST
      Keep training it, you'll get better at it.

      A few more enemas, you'll get there.




      Rules of the House

      All I demand is a level of agreeable cordiality, especially when you disagree.

      Delete
    8. If you're not happy and you are Deuce, lock the door.

      Delete
    9. Your violations to the rules show your lack of respect to the blog.

      Delete
    10. Ms T described how the 'Rules' were constantly abused, while the door was locked.

      Don't matter to me, it's Deuce's blog.

      He can do as wishes, I certainly will.

      Delete

    11. He can do as HE wishes, I certainly will.

      Delete
    12. http://borderwar-2014.blogspot.com

      desert ratFri Feb 14, 03:38:00 PM EST
      Thanks, I didn't want to 'self-promote'

      Wow some friend to Deuce you are. Using his own blog address to promote your writings.

      Delete
    13. desert ratFri Feb 14, 04:27:00 PM EST

      He can do as HE wishes, I certainly will.


      We COUNT on you doing whatever you wish, regardless of rules.

      Delete
    14. Good deal, then.

      As to being Deuce's 'friend', that is not the case.
      He is not even an acquaintance, we have never communicated outside the threads of the blog, doubt if we ever will.

      He does not have my e-mail address, and I have no reason to write to his.

      Delete
    15. And yet you USE http://borderwar-2014.blogspot.com as your url.

      Delete
    16. Rat is an old friend and I wanted some help with some content, I didn't post the link.
      I doubt he did either

      All I did was post, one of the readers was interested in my profile, then they must have thought the content of the blog was worthy of a post of their own.

      If Deuce is unhappy, as Rat said, he can lock the place up, make it a 'Private Club', again.

      Delete
    17. You're friends with a 12 year old kid?

      Delete
    18. If you check his profile, you'll see it has been up since 2005, which would make Rat the smartest 2 year old, ever.

      Delete
    19. .

      Come on folks, give the rat his due. He put a lot of time in on his story.

      .

      Delete
  31. So let's see, the people of the US spent $250,000 on Cartel Bob's hip.

    The new study was the most comprehensive cost analysis ever, and it compared the costs and outcomes associated with the various types of treatment for all forms of the disease, which ranged from $19,901 for robot-assisted prostatectomy to treat low-risk disease, to $50,276 for combined radiation therapy for high-risk disease.

    $300,000 the people of the US have spent on keepin' Cartel Bob on the world wide web

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We might as well be honest; we're all "welfare kings."

      From our Homeowner Interest Deductions (which the poor/renters don't have,

      to our Group Health Policies (paid with before tax dollars,) which many of the poor don't have,

      to our Farm Subsidies, including, but not limited to, being paid not to farm at all.

      The only difference between us is, some of us admit it, and some of us don't.

      Delete
    2. Renters and the poor have the option to use that deduction when the elevate themselves to the position to take advantage of such deductions.

      Filing a simple 1040 verses a "long form" doesn't make you a welfare king, it means you use the legal means to pay a fair share of taxes bases on your contribution.

      I things were fair? All citizens should pay the exact same head tax. No more or less for anyone. But the tax code is PROGRESSIVE by definition. Taking more and more in real dollars from those that earn more and redistributing it to those who don't.

      Delete
    3. You're an asshole AND a moron.

      Delete
    4. You can't go in a coffee shop, down here, w/o having to listen to some asshole rice farmer (easily, the most subsidized sonofabitch on the planet) bitching about someone getting food stamps to buy their shitty welfare-ridden rice.

      It's easier on the blood pressure, not to mention the taste buds, just to mix, and brew my own.

      Delete
    5. No doubt Rufus II, everyone benefits from the government.
      Some folk appreciate it, some folk don't.

      Farmer Bob, obviously does not appreciate it.
      Anonymous, above, is dumber than a rock.
      He doesn't appreciate the benefits of living in the greatest nation on the planet.
      But more than that, he won't leave it, either.

      Delete
    6. :) Not as long as we can keep that Medicare going, he won't. :)

      Delete
  32. Guy calls 911 because his wife's zipper is stuck.

    Fire Department Dispatched, wife is saved.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Yo, Farmer Bob,

    I know how you like to use the fundamentalists to condemn Islam. Will you now be intellectually consistent and condemn Judaism?

    "Police documents allege assault, forced marriage of girls in Quebec Jewish sect

    Quebec police started probing the Lev Tahor ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect after hearing nearly two years ago of allegations that teen-aged girls were confined in basements and married by force to older men, according to unsealed search warrant applications.

    The court documents also mentions allegations that children from other countries were brought to the Hasidic community under false immigration pretense to be married.

    Followers were kept under "psychogical control" with the help of medications and government money given to families were managed by the community leader, the documents say.

    ..."

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/lev-tahor-search-warrant-jewish-sect-quebec-chatham/article16893533/#dashboard/follows/

    ReplyDelete
  34. Replies
    1. Remember when Farmer Bob was going to lease a man, to allen?

      allen needed help with asparagus, and Farmer Bob said he'd lease allen his man.

      Farmer Bob supports slavery, in India, in Idaho and perhaps, if does not speak up on the subject, in Canada, too.

      He never spoke out against the use of children as prostitutes in Israel, either.

      His actions indicate that he believes exploiting people is an OK 'Thing to Do'.

      Delete
    2. He won't renounce eating 'Blood Avocados', either.

      He won't sacrifice even a dime, to eat domestically grown avocados from California.

      Supporting the narco-terrorists with his money and his content, here at the blog.
      Trying to make the use of drug dealer codes common place and acceptable in the US.

      Delete
  35. What does "cordiality" mean?

    Is it mean?

    ReplyDelete
  36. Me and Freedom Works are finished.

    Rand Paul is his usual unkempt self.

    The Big Talker has the most ridiculous sideburns I've ever seen.

    And the other guy seems to be sporting a Salt and Pepper Wig on top of his no doubt mostly bald black and white dome.

    ReplyDelete